U.S. President Donald Trump waves upon his arrival at the White House from Philadelphia, in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge issued an emergency stay on Saturday that bars the U.S. government from deporting some of those subject to President Donald Trump's newly-imposed "Muslim ban," local media reported.

The ruling presented the first legal challenge against the executive order Trump signed Friday on slapping a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and a four-month suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that citizens of those seven countries -- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen -- who have already arrived in the United States, who are in transit and who hold valid visas cannot be removed from the United States, according to U.S. broadcaster CNN.

The executive order, widely described as a "Muslim ban," has triggered confusion and chaos across the country and drawn concern and criticism from across the world. Protests have erupted at airports in many cities.

Related:

Trudeau welcomes refugees after Trump's executive order issued

OTTAWA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Saturday extended Canada's welcome to refugees a day after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength," Trudeau tweeted Saturday. He followed it up by tweeting a photo of himself greeting a young Syrian refugee. Full Story

Hundreds protest at L.A. in'l airport against Trump's "Muslim ban"

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Some 300 protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Saturday evening to demonstrate solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees detained under President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban."
by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Canada is prepared to kick off talks next month on a bilateral trade agreement with China, the newly-appointed Canadian Ambassador to China John McCallum said here Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, McCallum said that the Chinese officials are "enthusiastic on this free-trade issue, and so are we."

However, McCallum admitted that reaching a pact would take time, but hoped that the negotiations would move a lot faster than the decade it took Australia to reach a free-trade deal with China, which came into force in December 2015.

"Free trade deals are very complicated, and we have to make sure that any such deal is beneficial to Canadians -- and that's a lot of work," said the new ambassador, who was appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this month when he was serving as the immigration minister.

He said that the process will benefit from a "very strong" China-Canada relationship, which dates back to the late 1930s when Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune sacrificed his life while assisting the Chinese against Japanese aggression. The bilateral ties were cemented under Canadian prime ministers, such as John Diefenbaker, who opened up Canada's wheat market to China in 1961, and Pierre Trudeau (father of the current prime minister), who became one of the first Western leaders to recognize the People's Republic of China.

McCallum is quite familiar with China, having travelled there more than a dozen times -- most recently last August when he sought more Canadian visa-application centers in China.

Born in Montreal 66 years ago, McCallum was appointed chief economist for the Royal Bank of Canada, before entering federal politics in 2000. He is expected to be in Beijing during the first half of March, pending the Chinese government's approval of his ambassadorial appointment.

McCallum's Malaysian-born wife, Nancy Lim, is ethnic Chinese and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese fluently.

The ambassador-designate hopes to work on his language skills while in Beijing.

"If I memorize it, I can give a five-sentence speech in Mandarin for Chinese New Year. I cannot carry on a conversation in Mandarin, but I hope to improve that," the Canadian diplomat said.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian court has blocked funds of the local state government in order to guarantee the maintenance of services for retirees, local media reported Saturday.

The measure, revealed by the G1 news site, froze 210,000 reais (66,000 U.S. dollars) to guarantee food supplies for two retirement homes in the west of Rio de Janeiro, the state capital.

This came in response to a request by the Attorney-General, who stated that the regional government and a foundation were obliged to supply food on a daily basis to the people in these shelters.

The blocking of the accounts aims to secure the food supply for the elderly people for at least a month.

In recent months, Brazilian courts have frequently frozen Rio de Janeiro state funds in order to guarantee the payments needed to be made by the regional government.

Brazil's deep economic crisis has seen thousands of public officials work without receiving their salary, or only being paid a part of it.

Rio de Janeiro, despite being the most popular state for tourists in Brazil, is undergoing a serious financial crisis, due to low oil prices, its main source of income.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Taliban local leader together with five comrades have surrendered to government in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, a local official said on Sunday.

"Payyenda Mohammad after understanding the truth about the situation of his country defected the Taliban ranks and surrendered to provincial branch of National Directorate of Security (NDS) late Saturday," a NDS official told Xinhua on the condition of anonymity.

The NDS is the national intelligence agency of the country.

The surrendered man was leading a group of Taliban militants in Dasht-e-Archi district of the province, according to the official.

"Mohammad took the decision after founding the high-ranking leaders of the Taliban insurgent group have made contacts with the Russia recently," the source said.

Some Taliban members or their fathers were involved in fighting against former Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 to 1989.

The source also noted several hundreds of Taliban members would join the government-initiated peace and reconciliation process in near future in the province, bordering Tajikistan.
CARACAS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Venezuela and the Venezuelan government Saturday jointly held the first public ceremony here to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival.

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodriguez and Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Zhao Bentang attended the ceremony, highlighting the strength of bilateral ties, and expressed their good wishes for the new year.

The ceremony, held in Caracas' central Bolivar Square, attracted tens of hundreds of visitors. Chinese food, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese calligraphy, paper-cutting, porcelain as well as a fashion show and a Chinese martial arts performance were featured at the event.

Rodriguez said the rooster "is a mark of wisdom and intelligence."

For his part, Zhao gave "the warmest welcome to all the Chinese compatriots and Venezuelan friends who accompany us today in this first celebration of the Chinese New Year in Venezuela."

In terms of China-Venezuela ties, Zhao said that in 2016, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries "maintained a good growth impetus" and saw advances in political, economic, social and cultural cooperation.

"China will continue to deepen its traditional friendship with Venezuela, elevating bilateral relations to a higher level, and promoting the creation of a Sino-Venezuelan community which is characterized by common interests, interdependence and linked destinies," Zhao said.

Caracas and Beijing are currently jointly developing 672 projects, which mainly focus on strengthening commerce, productive sectors, science and technology, oil and mining, culture and education.
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) on Sunday activated emergency measures after a boat carrying mainly Chinese tourists was reported to have gone missing in Malaysia.

An emergency team led by a deputy chief of the administration has been set up to deal with the incident, according to a CNTA statement.

The administration is checking the information of the tourists, and the staff in its Singapore office are preparing to search the area where the boat went missing, the statement said.

A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, lost contact with marine authorities after it left a port in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK, on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said Sunday.

It is not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat, but an official from the Chinese consulate said there was unfavorable weather condition Saturday.
LHASA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Between gulps of homemade highland barley wine, Kelsang talks enthusiastically about the large red truck parked behind him.

"This is my third heavy-duty truck in four years," he says proudly as he slaps the huge tire of the 360,000-yuan (52,500 U.S. dollars) Foton Daimler.

Kelsang, 51, is one of just over 240 people that live in Lumpa, a tiny village in Gongkar County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The village is blessed by its proximity to the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) River, the mother river of Tibet.

Despite this rich natural resource, however, Lumpa lacks arable land and the local farmers were once among the poorest in Tibet.

Things changed in 2012 when the government broke ground on two infrastructure projects near Lumpa -- roads along the north bank of Yarlung Zangbo River and an expressway to Lhasa Airport.

Kelsang understood early on that these projects brought with them exciting opportunities. After careful consideration, he withdrew 75,000 yuan from his savings account and bought a secondhand Dongfeng truck. He then despatched his 20-year-old son to work as a driver for the construction teams.

The following year, Kelsang found work at a nearby quarry. Today, the quarry employs more than 70 villagers, each taking home a fixed salary of 3,000 yuan per month.

"My son and I were earning nearly 30,000 yuan a year, each," Kelsang said. "This increase in income meant that not only could the family be more comfortable, but we had a good shot at living much more prosperous lives."

Kelsang made his next big decision in 2014, when the railway from Lhasa to Xigaze started operation.

"Trains meant a more regular flow of goods in and out of Tibet, which would mean there would more demand for trucks to transport these goods," Kelsang said.

Keen to maximize on this opportunity, Kelsang sold his truck and bought a new one that had a larger-load capacity. The decision proved to be good one.

The following year, in 2015, another golden opportunity arose -- construction began on the Sichuan-Tibet Railway. The Lhasa to Nyingchi section of the line was set to pass by Kelsang's village, and a station was going to be built in Lhokha, the nearest city

With this news, Kelsang left his job at the quarry and joined China Railway Construction as a bricklayer. The same year, thanks to a 80,000 yuan bank loan, he part-exchanged his truck and bought the red Foton Daimler.

The loan was guaranteed by the government without any interest, and since joining the railway project, Kelsang's monthly salary has increased to 4,500 yuan.

"My wages coupled with the money I make from the truck meant I repaid the loan in less than a year," said Kelsang.

Today in Lumpa, almost every household is connected to a construction project. More than 60 villagers work on construction sites and there are more than 100 trucks, excavators and other machinery up for hire, which were self-financed or purchased through interest-free loans.

"I have never taken a train, so when it arrives I will jump aboard and go and see what the outside world has to offer," Kelsang said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A missing boat carrying Chinese tourists has been found sunken off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo, and multiple survivors were reported drifting at sea waiting for rescue, China's consulate general's office in Kota Kinabalu said Sunday.
TOKYO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival for Chinese society, has been celebrated all over Japan, attracting appreciation for Chinese culture among both local people and visitors from all over the world.

The Spring Festival is celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first day, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month.

This year, the first day of the Chinese lunar new year falls on Jan. 28, initiating the year of the Rooster, based on the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year of a 12-year cycle, beginning with rat and continuing through ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and finally pig.

On Jan. 28, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Chinatown in Yokohama, capital city of eastern Japan's Kanagawa prefecture, was filled with festival atmosphere. Tens of thousands of visitors came to Yokohama Chinatown, the largest Chinese communities in Japan, to feel the festive atmosphere.

With red lanterns and flags hung high on the Chinese-styled buildings along the streets, the whole area of the Chinatown is adorned in red and gold banners theming happiness, wealth and good luck, and is alive with people from all parts of the world.

There are a series of special events in Yokohama's Chinatown to celebrate the New Year until March started with lion dance.

The "lions" performed Cai Qing, which literally means "picking the greens" in Chinese. With a history of hundreds of years and as a tradition in China during the lunar new year, Cai Qing is a ritual in which lion dancers overcome obstacles to get a bunch of green vegetables which comes with a red packet.

The "lions" danced in front of and inside the shops and restaurants alongside the Chinatown to pray for prosperity and drive away the evil spirits.

The "greens" used to be vegetables hung in or outside shops, but nowadays they are red envelopes within which is a payment to the lion dancers. Cai Qing supposedly brings good luck and fortune to the business and the dancers receive the money in the envelop as payment.

The "lion" collected the envelopes in its mouth and swallowed them down. Firecrackers were set off and the crowd erupted in applause amidst the smoke and merriment.

The event drew lots of visitors and many of them said it's a fun and amazing scene.

"It was very good. We don't know anything like this in England. So it's a privilege to see," Charlotte, a British visitor to Japan told Xinhua.

Another British visitor, Francis, told Xinhua that, "It was very interesting. Some of the movements, like in and out of the shop, different... We are visiting Japan. we realize it is the Chinese New Year and there will be a festival here. We thought we should come and check it out. "

Local people were also fascinated by the performance. "This is my first time to watch the show and I was very surprised. It was very lively and the sound of the firecrackers really surprised me. It was very good, " a Yokohama resident told Xinhua.

Chinese Student of Waseda University, Xiao Yi, told Xinhua that, "This place is filled with festive atmosphere. I come with a bunch of my classmates...I brought my Japanese classmates here to introduce our Chinese culture."

"I like Chinese food the most and I like China very much. Compared with the quietness in European countries, I like Chinese festivals better as they are livelier, " said a Japanese student of Waseda University.

In the town of Hakone, a popular sightseeing spot situated in the southwestern part of Kanagawa prefecture, a Japanese shop adopted the Chinese custom of giving lucky money, an old tradition during the Spring Festival. The shop gave every Chinese customer five yen as lucky money to wish them good fortune, as the pronunciation of five yen in Japanese means fate with good luck.

In central Japan's Nagoya, a three-day celebration for the Spring Festival was carried out earlier this month.

The celebration was held on Hisaya Square in downtown Nagoya, where red lanterns and flags hung high, and people cheered and smiled, creating a festival atmosphere.

A number of Chinese artists gave shows on a spectacular stage set up at one end of the square, including facechanging stunt of Sichuan opera, acrobatics and lion dances.

People also lined up before the dozens of booths around the square which sold traditional Chinese cuisine, including dumplings, candy gourds and others.

A number of exhibitions were also held on the square, including a show featuring photos of Chinese scenery shot by Japanese photographers.

"The three-day festival is expected to attract a total of some 120,000 visitors this year, including overseas Chinese, as well as Japanese citizens and tourists from other countries," said Wang Libao, a member of the executive committee of the Spring Festival celebration.

The celebration has also become a grand event for the local people. "The yearly Spring Festival celebration in Nagoya has helped promoting understanding between Chinese and Japanese people and livening up local economy," said Hideaki Ohmura, Governor of Aichi Prefecture of Japan.

He also said that Aichi prefecture, with Nagoya as its capital, has a rather close relationship with China, with nine of its cities having sister cities in China, and tens of thousands of Chinese living in the prefecture.

"This year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations, and next year marks the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan. The two countries now are facing new opportunities for enhancing bilateral ties, " said Cheng Yonghua, Chinese Ambassador to Japan.

"I hope that cultural exchanges such as spring festival celebrations in Japan, will flourish and make new contributions to improving bilateral relations," he added.

Overseas Chinese have been holding Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Nagoya since 2007. The celebration has become an important platform for local people to learn more about Chinese culture and for promoting mutual understanding and cultural exchanges between central Japan and China.
JENIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Ministry of Health said a 19-year-old Palestinian was killed and five others wounded early Sunday by Israeli soldiers in a Jenin refugee camp, in northern West Bank.

Palestinian sources said clashes erupted between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces after the latter stormed into the camp.

Medics at the Jenin Public Hospital said that Mohammad Abu Khalifa was killed due to a gunshot in the back and that the five wounded are in in moderate condition.

The medics said Israeli soldiers used live ammunition to disperse protestors, while witnesses said young men hurled stones and homemade grenades on the soldiers.

Israeli media outlets, citing military sources, said "violent rioters attacked and hurled pipe bombs at Israeli forces at the camp" but no injuries were reported.

The latest clashes came amid a wave of violence between Palestinians and Israelis since October 2015, which has killed more than 340 Palestinians, one Jordanian and over 40 Israelis, according to official data.
NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's military said its soldiers have intensified both air and ground operations targeting Al-Shabaab camps in southern Somalia after the militants raided its camp in Kulbiyow on Friday, killing nine of its personnel.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Col. Paul Njuguna said on Saturday night that the troops operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will relentlessly pursue the terrorists to ensure peace and stability of the region as well as support AMISOM in stabilizing Somalia.

"Since Friday, offensive ground and air operations have been intensified targeting Al-Shabaab camps and pacification of the area has been undertaken," Njuguna said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Saturday night.

Njuguna confirmed that the bodies of the dead soldiers had been flown to Nairobi while the injured were receiving treatment at the Forces Memorial Hospital.

On Saturday, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and senior military officers visited the Defence Memorial Hospital to comfort the recuperating soldiers as well as address the next of kin of the dead soldiers.

Kenya said nine of its personnel were killed when Al-Shabaab overran the camp on Friday. Njuguna said KDF killed 70 Al-Shabaab militants while the terror group claimed at least 57 Kenyan soldiers had been killed.

However, reports quoting military sources said at least 68 Kenyan soldiers were killed in the Friday dawn attack on their camp by Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.

"It was a terrible scene," one of the officers told The Standard, a local daily, on Sunday, adding that the attack closely mirrored last year's ambush at El Adde, where 173 soldiers were killed.

The Friday dawn attack started at 5 a.m. when two vehicles filled with powerful explosives were driven by suicide bombers into the barrier leading to the camp.

The explosion ripped through the camp, tearing down the sack-filled barricades. Tens of militants on pick-up trucks fitted with heavy artillery, stormed in and opened fire on the soldiers.

These suicide explosions were followed by hordes of attackers who were repulsed by the soldiers.

It took hours for a specialized rescue team from Hulugho Camp, at least 20 km away, to reach their comrades as the militants had planted explosives on various routes.

Troops on the ground embarked on restoration of the innovative tactical defence to address the threat posed by vehicle bound explosive devices (VBIED).

However, Njuguna said KDF soldiers at Kulbiyow camp remain vigilant and undeterred and will ruthlessly pursue the insurgents to stabilize the Horn of Africa nation.
U.S. President Donald Trump waves upon his arrival at the White House from Philadelphia, in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Confusion and chaos reigned across the United States and the world as U.S. President Donald Trump's newly-imposed refugee ban met its first legal challenge on Saturday.

A U.S. federal judge issued an emergency stay on Saturday that bars the U.S. government from deporting some of those subject to the executive order Trump signed on Friday.

The ruling presented the first legal challenge against the executive order which slapped a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and a four-month suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that citizens of seven countries -- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen -- who have already arrived in the United States, who are in transit and who hold valid visas cannot be removed from the United States, according to U.S. broadcaster CNN.

The executive order, widely described as a "Muslim ban," has triggered outrage and chaos across the world.

Chaotic scenes played out at U.S. airports as immigration and customs officials were struggling to grasp the new rules, with some legal residents who were in the air when the order was issued detained at airports upon arrival.

New York City's Kennedy airport "became a scene of anguish and desperation" on Saturday for the families of people detained after arriving in the United States from nations subject to Trump's travel ban, according to AP reports.

In Chicago, more than 1,000 protesters gathered at the international terminal of the O'hare airport Saturday night to protest against Trump's decision.

Chanting slogans like "Let them in" and "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here," protesters held signs that read "Do the right thing, let them in," "Stop profiling Muslims" and "Refugees Welcome."

Police and law enforcement members were present at the scene but were careful not to intervene. The traffic was halted to a full stop as vehicles lined up on the drive way leading to the terminal.

After the executive order took place, as many as 18 people were believed to have been detained at O'hare international airport alone, with some of them being green card holders with Muslim backgrounds, according to Chicago Tribune reports that cited lawyers working with the International Refugee Assistance Project.

In San Francisco, hundreds of protesters took to the city's international airport Saturday afternoon in response to Trump's travel ban.

As the largest airport in San Francisco Bay Area -- one of the most diversified regions in terms of ethnicity across the United States as it harbors the highest density of high-tech businesses -- SFO posted a message on its Twitter account about a roadway to the airport's international terminal being closed.

Similar events also took place at airports in Washington D.C., Denver and some other U.S. cities.

Google, Apple and others expressed dismay over the executive order as the country's tech industry relies on foreign engineers and experts for a sizeable percentage of its workforce.

Under the ban, green card holders who are legal permanent residents of the United States will not be allowed back in until they are re-screened.

Calling the travel ban "injudicious" and "discriminatory," Iran said the decision was an "open affront" to the Muslims and the Iranians.

"The decision is an open affront against the Iranian nation and the Muslim world and Iran would respond to the U.S. action in kind," Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Trump's decision to curb refugees flows are worrying.

At a joint press conference Saturday with his visiting German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, Ayrault said Trump's decision to halt immigration and refugees from some Muslim-majority countries "can only worry us".

"We have international commitments that we have signed. Welcoming refugees fleeing the war, oppression is part of our duties," Ayrault added.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extended Canada's welcome to refugees. "To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith," Trudeau tweeted Saturday.

Related:

Trudeau welcomes refugees after Trump's executive order issued

OTTAWA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Saturday extended Canada's welcome to refugees a day after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength," Trudeau tweeted Saturday. He followed it up by tweeting a photo of himself greeting a young Syrian refugee. Full Story

Hundreds protest at L.A. in'l airport against Trump's "Muslim ban"

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Some 300 protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Saturday evening to demonstrate solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees detained under President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban."
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- China has released a short list of eight names for the country's first Mars spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch by 2020.

The eight names-- "Fenghuang" (phoenix), "Tianwen" (questions for heaven), "Huoxing" (Mars), "Tenglong" (soaring dragon), "Qilin" (Kylin), "Zhuque" (rose finch), "Zhuimeng" (chasing dreams) and "Fengxiang" (flying phoenix), were the top names chosen from over 14,500 choices submitted through more than 35,900 proposals entered by people worldwide.

China plans to launch its first Mars spacecraft by 2020, which will orbit, land and explore the Red Planet.

Proposals were accepted from August last year.

The eight names were selected via a jury review and online polls.

The final choice will be announced around Space Day, April 24, according to a moon probe and space program center under the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, which solicited the proposals.
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers beef up security in Mandera, Kenya, July 8, 2015. The town's proximity to Somalia makes it an easy target for Al-Shabaab militants to carry out its attacks. (Xinhua/Stephen Ingati)

NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's military said its soldiers have intensified both air and ground operations targeting Al-Shabaab camps in southern Somalia after the militants raided its camp in Kulbiyow on Friday, killing nine of its personnel.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Col. Paul Njuguna said on Saturday night that the troops operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will relentlessly pursue the terrorists to ensure peace and stability of the region as well as support AMISOM in stabilizing Somalia.

"Since Friday, offensive ground and air operations have been intensified targeting Al-Shabaab camps and pacification of the area has been undertaken," Njuguna said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Saturday night.

Njuguna confirmed that the bodies of the dead soldiers had been flown to Nairobi while the injured were receiving treatment at the Forces Memorial Hospital.

On Saturday, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and senior military officers visited the Defence Memorial Hospital to comfort the recuperating soldiers as well as address the next of kin of the dead soldiers.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers prepare to receive the bodies of Kenyan soldiers killed by Al Shabaab, at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Jan. 18, 2016. The first batch of bodies of the KDF soldiers killed in Somalia's El Adde region were received on Monday. (Xinhua/John Okoyo)

Kenya said nine of its personnel were killed when Al-Shabaab overran the camp on Friday. Njuguna said KDF killed 70 Al-Shabaab militants while the terror group claimed at least 57 Kenyan soldiers had been killed.

However, reports quoting military sources said at least 68 Kenyan soldiers were killed in the Friday dawn attack on their camp by Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.

"It was a terrible scene," one of the officers told The Standard, a local daily, on Sunday, adding that the attack closely mirrored last year's ambush at El Adde, where 173 soldiers were killed.

The Friday dawn attack started at 5 a.m. when two vehicles filled with powerful explosives were driven by suicide bombers into the barrier leading to the camp.

The explosion ripped through the camp, tearing down the sack-filled barricades. Tens of militants on pick-up trucks fitted with heavy artillery, stormed in and opened fire on the soldiers.

These suicide explosions were followed by hordes of attackers who were repulsed by the soldiers.

It took hours for a specialized rescue team from Hulugho Camp, at least 20 km away, to reach their comrades as the militants had planted explosives on various routes.

Troops on the ground embarked on restoration of the innovative tactical defence to address the threat posed by vehicle bound explosive devices (VBIED).

However, Njuguna said KDF soldiers at Kulbiyow camp remain vigilant and undeterred and will ruthlessly pursue the insurgents to stabilize the Horn of Africa nation.
M23 rebels stand at a small base in the hills of Kanyarucinya on the outskirts of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Nov. 19, 2012. (AFP PHOTO/PHIL MOORE)

by Samuel Egadu, Ronald Ssekandi

KAMPALA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- There is simmering tension as former fighters of the M23 rebel group flee from a Ugandan military camp back to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

DR Congo authorities argue that this may lead to resumption of subversive activities by the former fighters who were defeated by the Congolese and UN troops before fleeing to Uganda in late 2013.

Lambert Mende Omalanga, the Congolese government spokesperson, told reporters in Kinshasa, DR Congo capital this week that hundreds of ex-M23 fighters, including its military leader, Sultani Makenga, who had been exiled in Uganda, sneaked to their former bases in eastern DR Congo.

The Uganda government on Jan. 19 said it had arrested 101 former M23 fighters as they attempted to cross back to the DR Congo.

"These people were arrested on their way back aboard taxi minibuses as normal passengers. On questioning them, all of them were found to be former M23 combatants," said Ofwono Opondo, a Ugandan government spokesman, told Xinhua.

The arrest came days after some 40 former fighters escaped back to the central African country.

The incident is likely to cause a diplomatic row between the authorities in Uganda and DR Congo.

Uganda has "no sinister motive against" DR Congo, said Opondo. "These are individuals who were trying to escape against the agreed modalities and agreement. We still don't know the motive of their escape."

After several months of fighting back in 2013 that sparked a refugee influx into Uganda, the M23 and DR Congo government signed a peace agreement mediated by Uganda.

To fuse the simmering tension, Ugandan and DR Congo authorities are said to be in talks.

Henry Obbo, Uganda's deputy army spokesman told Xinhua in an interview that the two governments are in talks over the repatriation of the former fighters.

"The ministry of foreign affairs (Uganda) is working closely with the Congolese authorities on the return of the M23. The two government signed agreements in 2014 regarding the M23. We are waiting for what will be agreed and action will be taken," Obbo said.

Uganda, DR Congo and M23 reached an agreement in 2014 regarding the return of 1,377 former rebels camped at Bihanga military training school in the western district of Ibanda for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration back home.

Of the 1,377 ex-combatants only 200 have been returned home for official disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program.

Eastern DR Congo has got a string of rebel groups that cause mayhem in the central African country.
Chinese ambassador to Nigeria Zhou Pingjian (R) paints the eyeball of a dancing lion, a ceremonial move to open celebratory activities featuring traditional Chinese lion dances. (Xinhua/Jiang Xintong)

ABUJA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese community in Nigeria on Saturday held a carnival-like celebration to mark the beginning of Chinese Lunar New Year 2017, Year of the Rooster.

In Abuja, Nigeria's capital, the event, organized by the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, witnessed a large turnout of Chinese citizens, local Nigerian officials, and students.

It was the first of several events outlined for the celebration of what is also known as the Spring Festival observed by the Chinese people.

The revelers, who gathered at the China Cultural Center tucked in the central business area of Abuja city, were enthralled by an exhibition of the Chinese culture and various Chinese and Nigerian art performances as well as the Chinese traditional lion dance performed by students of the Government Girls Secondary School in the Nigerian town of Dutse.

Nigerian artists waiting for their turn to perform at the back stage of a carnival-like event to mark the beginning of Chinese Lunar New Year in ABuja, Nigeria, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Jiang Xintong)

Zhou Pingjian, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, told Xinhua the celebration was to mark the beginning of good things to come.

In an earlier message to congratulate China, the Chinese community in Nigeria and the world over on the Chinese lunar new year, Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari noted the Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese. The celebration emphasizes the concept of family and the opportunity of reunion -- values shared by both Nigeria and China, Buhari wrote in a statement released by his office last Sunday.

Nigerian drummers perform at a carnival-like event to mark the beginning of Chinese Lunar New Year in ABuja, Nigeria, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Jiang Xintong)

The Spring Festival has gained popularity in most cities in Nigeria due to the sense of anticipation and excitement shared by the Chinese community in the West African country for the festival and the way it is colorfully celebrated every year.

The Chinese new year celebrations are emblematic of the cultural tradition, heritage and aesthetic aspirations of the Chinese nation, abounding in distinctive Chinese symbols of great emotional appeal.

The tradition of such celebrations by Chinese dates back to more than 4,000 years and includes displaying fireworks, Chinese new year couplets, preparing Jiaozi (the Chinese dumplings) and having the family reunion dinner on the new year's eve.
ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- United States Special Forces launched a pre-dawn security raid on Sunday in central Yemen, killing more than 12 civilians and eight al-Qaida militants, including senior commanders, military sources told Xinhua.

The surprise operation took place in the rural district of Yakla in al-Bayda province, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

A senior al-Qaida leader, Abdul-Raoof Dhahab, his two brothers, and five other terrorists were killed in the operation, which was carried out in cooperation with local authorities, said the sources who are based in the province.

Another medical source, who also demanded anonymity, told Xinhua by phone that 12 civilians, including four women and three children, were also killed in the operation.

Residents near the scene told Xinhua that "four military planes participated in the operation and kept hovering over the village for hours."

A source at Yemen's intelligence agency confirmed to Xinhua that helicopter-borne commandos raided houses held by al-Qaida leaders and that a firefight broke out and continued for several minutes in the area.

Some American soldiers were injured in the raid on the ground, the intelligence source said.

Yemen's central province of al-Bayda, where dozens of al-Qaida members are believed to be based, has been the focus of American-led airstrikes.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known locally as "Ansar al-Sharia," emerged in January 2009, claiming responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and governmental institutions.

The AQAP and Islamic State-linked terrorists, taking advantage of the security vacuum and ongoing civil war, managed to expand their influence and seize more territories in southern Yemen.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated further since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Over 10,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, many of them civilians.
This undated photo shows a port in Kota Kinabalu, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, has lost contact with the authorities since it sailed out from Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said on Sunday. (Xinhua)

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy based in Kuala Lumpur said Sunday they were informed by the Malaysian Navy that five people were rescued, including a child, from a sunken boat.

Most passengers on board have been found, according to the Consulate General's office in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah where the boat carrying 31 people, including 28 Chinese tourists, has gone missing since Saturday.

The boat was sailing from Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island some 60 km to the west.

Related:

Passengers wait for rescue at sea after Malaysian boat carrying Chinese tourists sinks

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A missing boat carrying Chinese tourists has been found sunken off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo, and multiple survivors were reported drifting at sea waiting for rescue, China's consulate general's office in Kota Kinabalu said Sunday.
DUBAI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial center in Abu Dhabi, and the Mauritius Financial Services Commission, agreed on Sunday to boost cooperation, United Arab Emirates (UAE) state news agency WAM reported.

The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen regulatory cooperation, facilitate joint collaboration and exchange of information.

"We are pleased to continue our efforts in establishing closer collaboration with global authorities to bolster the high regulatory practice and standards in our respective jurisdictions," said Richard Teng, chief executive officer of Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM.

P.K. Kuriachen, acting chief executive of the Mauritius Financial Services Commission, said the memorandum of understanding "represents our mutual endeavour to bridge the gap further with the Middle East countries... and to work together toward the development of the respective markets in a business friendly and healthy environment."
NINGBO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A man has died in hospital after he was attacked by a tiger in a zoo in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo on Sunday afternoon.

The attack occurred around 2 p.m. at the Tiger Hill enclosure in Ningbo Youngor Zoo, according to the administrative committee of Dongqian Lake Tourist and Holiday Resort in the city, where the zoo is located.

The tiger was shot dead by the police. The surveillance footage is currently being reviewed.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Jan.29 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen miners including a Chinese national, who were trapped underground for more than 72 hours in a collapsed Tanzanian gold mine, have been rescued, police said on Sunday.

Mponjoli Mwabulambo, Geita Regional Police Commander said that the trapped miners were rescued at around 10 a.m. local time and they were found when their condition started deteriorating as they had no water and food for more than three days.

"There is no one who died in this incident, though one of them was injured by a nail inside the mine pit," the regional police chief told Xinhua.

According to Mwabulambo, the 15 people survived because they were getting oxygen through pipes that supply air in the mine pit.

"The oxygen pipes were not disturbed during the entire rescue operation. The rescue team was very keen to ensure that those people continue to get air inside the mine," he said.

He said: "The challenge they were facing is food, we tried to find better ways of supplying them with foodstuffs by Saturday, we failed, but we're happy that we find them alive."

"We are now taking the survivors hospital for medical check-up and treatments," Mwabulambo said, without divulging the name of the hospital, where they were taken to.

The rescued people were trapped on January 26 when the RZT gold mine, owned by a Chinese investor collapsed.

Mwabulambo said that the incident occurred at around 4 a.m. local time in a remote area of Nyarugusu located on the western shores of Lake Victoria.
MANILA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- About 15 terrorists including an Indonesian were killed, while seven others were wounded in the renewed military offensive operations in southern Philippines, an official said Sunday.

Marine Colonel Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, said the slain Indonesian terror suspect was identified only as Mohisen.

Two of the seven wounded terrorists were certain Amirul and Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was reportedly "severely wounded."

The military conducted airstrikes past midnight on January 26 in the municipality of Butig in southern province of Lanao del Sur where local terror Maute Group, which has links with Islamic State (IS), has been operating.

AFP chief of staff General Eduardo Ano said President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to end the terror groups in Western Mindanao by the end of June.

The Abu Sayyaf is also a local terrorist group, which allegedly pledged allegiance to IS.
YANGON, Jan.29 (Xinhua) -- Legal advisor of Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party U Ko Ni was shot dead on Sunday at about 5 p.m. local time, at Yangon International Airport, U Zaw Htay, spokesperson of the President's Office, told Xinhua.
BERLIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Former European Parliament president Martin Schulz has been nominated by Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) as the party's candidate for the chancellery in the coming national elections scheduled for September, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on Sunday.

SPD, or Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, is a major partner of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition. The center-left party made the decision at a conclave in Berlin on Sunday, a few days after Sigmar Gabriel resigned from party chairman to become German foreign minister.

The decision will be formalized at a special party conference to be held on March 19 when Shultz, 61, is expected to be officially elected to be SPD chairman, DPA reported quoting sources.
YANGON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Legal advisor of Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party U Ko Ni was shot dead on Sunday at about 5 p.m. local time, at Yangon International Airport, U Zaw Htay, spokesperson of the President's Office, told Xinhua.

U Ko Ni was shot at a close distance by a gunman at the airport's taxi stand near overseas arrival terminal soon after he returned from Indonesia.

The gunman was instantly arrested by police.

The investigations are underway by local authorities.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-five people, mostly Chinese tourists have been rescued after their boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo, officials said Sunday.

Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, told a press conference that 23 people were rescued by tug boats and fishermen.

The skipper and a crew member were rescued earlier on Sunday.

The boat went missing on Saturday when travelling from Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island, 60 km west to Kota Kinabalu. A total of 31 people were on board, including 28 tourists from China and three crew members.

The Consulate General's Office of China based in Kota Kinabalu said the newly rescued survivors would be brought to the nearby Labuan island for medical check-up.

Shahidan said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, maritime police as well as Malaysian navy and airforce have joined the search efforts.
DUBAI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Russian travelers will get visas on arrival in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under a cabinet decree approved on Sunday, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Under the decree approved by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Russian citizens are granted an entry visa for 30 days for the first time, renewable one time only for another 30 days, WAM said.

The decree will "enhance strategic cooperation and the common ambitions" of the two countries, said the report.

The UAE is considered the 10th largest foreign investor in Russia, with projects valued at 66 billion dirham (17.98 billion U.S. dollars) up to 2014.

In 2015, non-oil trade between the two countries reached 9 billion dirham (2.45 billion dollars).

According to WAM, the UAE received more than 600,000 Russian tourists in the past two years.
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded all-out search and rescue efforts for the 28 Chinese nationals on a boat that sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo on Saturday evening.

According to an official release issued on Sunday, Xi asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia to maintain close contact and cooperation with authorities of Malaysia, and China's transport and tourism authorities to activate emergency measures immediately to assist the rescue.

Premier Li Keqiang also urged the search and rescue efforts to ensure that not a single Chinese national will be left unaccounted for.

Chinese Consulate General's Office based in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, said in the latest briefing that 25 Chinese have been rescued so far.

The office said the survivors were rescued by several vessels and will be sent to the nearby Labuan island for medical check-up.

The boat carrying 31 people, including 28 tourists from China, went missing on Saturday after sailing from Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island, some 60 km west to Kota Kinabalu.

Given a surging number of tourists and travellers during the ongoing Spring Festival holiday, security and emergency response measures must be increased and safety awareness must be enhanced among the public, Xi said.

Premier Li pledged measures to guarantee rights and interests of the Chinese citizens and inform their families about the progress in the rescue.

Related:

China launches emergency measures over missing tourist boat in Malaysia

BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) on Sunday activated emergency measures after a boat carrying mainly Chinese tourists was reported to have gone missing in Malaysia.
JERUSALEM, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that it is the Israeli government's position that the United States embassy should be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

His remarks came a day after the co-chair of the Republicans Overseas organization in Israel, Marc Zell, told Ha'aretz newspaper that the foot-dragging on the relocation, first suggested by Trump's campaign, is happening at Israel's request.

"Our position has always been, and will always be, that the U.S. embassy needs to be here, in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting.

He also called on other countries to move their missions to Jerusalem. "I believe that over time most of them will indeed come here, to Jerusalem," he said.

Israel claimed all of Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided capital." But the international community has never recognized East Jerusalem, a territory Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and later annexed.

The Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The idea of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was discussed in the past but never carried out for fear it will spark fresh tensions in the region.

Statements released by Trump's team during his election campaign repeatedly stated his determination to move the embassy.

However, after his inauguration, the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, said several times that discussion about the issue is in its very early stages, hinting no announcements are expected soon.
AMMAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday signed a 14.1 million U.S. dollar grant agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, who signed the agreement, said the agreement will finance projects in the field of municipalities.

The grant will help reduce unemployment in Jordan and enhance public services and raise the living standards of Jordanians.

The grant is part of a 1.25 billon dollar grant that Kuwait pledged in 2011.

Stressing the importance of the grant in light of the ongoing regional developments, the minister said it will help implement key projects in various areas.

The projects, Fakhoury said, will help reduce pressure on Jordan, which hosts around 1.4 million Syrian refugees.
TEHRAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday told its citizens visiting the United States to make sure that there would be no problem for them to enter the country, official IRNA news agency reported.

The advisory came after reports that several Iranian passengers have been barred from boarding flights to the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to restrict immigration from countries that he said are "compromised by terrorism."

A White House official later named the restricted countries as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

Iran condemns Washington's "uncalculated and illegal" decision, and strongly advises its nationals to acquire authentic information that they would not face any problem on the way to or upon entry into the United States, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) improved financial support for domestic firms to help them increase their presence in the global market last year.

The bank issued a total of 208 loans to overseas projects of Chinese businesses in 2016, and its outstanding loans rose 17 percent from a year ago by the end of the last year.

Projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative, international cooperation on industrial capacity and equipment manufacturing were especially favored by the bank.

China has seen rising demand for financing to support outbound investment. The country's non-financial outbound direct investment increased 44.1 percent year on year to 170.11 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, with a big share going to manufacturing and information technology sectors.

Founded in 1994, China Exim Bank is one of the country's three policy banks and works to facilitate foreign trade, offshore project contracting, and outbound investment.

The bank's lending to foreign trade improvement reached 50 billion yuan (7.29 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016.
DAMASCUS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 160 people, including rebels and their families, left the water-rich town of Ain Fijeh on Sunday, as part of a deal with the government, after the Syrian forces captured the town to restore water supply to the capital of Damascus, a military source told Xinhua.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Three people on board a boat which sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo passed away after being rescued, officials said Sunday.

Three people have passed away among the 25 people rescued so far, while six people remained missing, said Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar, Director General of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, told a press conference earlier that 23 people were rescued by tug boats and fishermen, after the skipper and a crew member were rescued earlier on Sunday.

The boat went missing on Saturday when travelling from Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island, 60 km west to Kota Kinabalu. A total of 31 people were on board, including 28 tourists from China and three crew members.

Shahidan said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, maritime police as well as Malaysian navy and airforce have joined the search efforts.
YANGON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Legal advisor of Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party U Ko Ni was shot dead on Sunday at about 5 p.m. local time, at Yangon International Airport, U Zaw Htay, spokesperson of President's Office, told Xinhua.

Holding his grandson, U Ko Ni was shot at a close distance by a gunman at the airport's taxi stand near arrival terminal 1.

The gunman was instantly arrested by police.

A taxi driver was also shot dead while helping capture the gunman.

The investigations are underway by local authorities. According to investigations, the gunman is named as U Kyi Lin and was a resident in Mandalay region, holding citizen card.

U Ko Ni returned from Indonesia capital Jakarta as a member of Myanmar delegation led by the Minister for Information attending a Senior Leadership program.

U Ko Ni was a prominent practicing lawyer and consulted various clients for past four decades. He has established Laurel Law Firm with two other advocates in 1995 and it has been operating with seven advocates, four high grade pleaders (HGPs) and two members of administrative staff.
Photo taken on Dec. 15, 2016 shows Martin Schulz, then the European Parliament president, arrives at EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

BERLIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Former European Parliament president Martin Schulz has been nominated by Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) as the party's candidate for the chancellery in the coming national elections scheduled for September, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on Sunday.

The SPD, or Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, is a major partner of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition. The center-left party made the decision at a conclave in Berlin on Sunday, a few days after Vice-Chancellor and Economic Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced his resignation from party chairman and proposed Schulz to replace him.

The decision will be formalized at a special party conference to be held on March 19 when Schulz, 61, is expected to be officially elected to be SPD chairman, DPA reported quoting sources.

Gabriel, a long-time hopeful for SPD candidate to challenge sitting Chancellor Merkel, suddenly announced on Wednesday that he would not participate in the Sept. 24 general elections and would also step down as SPD chairman.

The 57-year-old political veteran, who has also given up his post as economic minister, took over the foreign ministry portfolio on Friday from Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is expected to become the country's next president in February.

Sources here told Xinhua that Gabriel's decision not to run against Merkel as SPD candidate largely because of poor poll results while Schulz candidacy would instead raise SPD's prospects in the upcoming elections.

According to DPA reports, a recent survey published on Friday showed support for the SPD has jumped by 3 percentage points since the beginning of the year to 24 percent, but still 12 percentage points behind Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its ally, Bavarian-based Christian Social Union (CDU).

If Germans could directly elect their chancellor, sitting chancellor Merkel would get 44 percent of the votes, while Schulz would follow closely with 40 percent, according to the survey drawn up by pollsters Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for the German public broadcaster ZDF.
GENEVA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- "Happy the Year of the Rooster!" a Swiss bodyguard greeted a Chinese reporter in Chinese at the Palace of Nations, as the holiday atmosphere of China's Spring Festival has been infiltrating the central European country.

At the largest Swiss army knife store in Geneva, a limited edition of a army knife inlaid with a gilded rooster is on hot sale. The rooster is raising its head and crowing, with full of energy.

The salesman told us that this edition of army knives is named "city hunter," and is designed and made specifically to welcome China's Year of the Rooster, which falls on 2017.

"Rooster resembles opportunity and success, which is exactly what the fast-growing China is going to bring us," the salesman said.

World-renowned Swiss watch brands also launched their souvenir editions of rooster watches. On one rooster-relief diamond wristwatch, craftsmen hand-draw the colorful feathers of the rooster, making the lively bird shinning as brightly as the diamonds.

On another top-brand watch, the craftsmen use China's kirigami, cut paper into the shape of a rooster and put it into the Chinese Zodiac watch.

Beside Lake Geneva, dozens of Chinese in bright Kungfu clothes are performing Tai Ji, attracting many Swiss people to watch and learn.

A Chinese lady told us that during the Spring Festival week, local Chinese plan to hold all kinds of celebrations including dragon and lion dance, a traditional Chinese music festival, martial arts performance, and Beijing opera performance.

While many parts of the world are celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, which began on Feb. 28, a Chinese new year reception hosted by Ma Zhaoxu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland, has attracted more than 200 Chinese employees and overseas Chinese.

Many people resonated with the speech given by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who said that Chinese President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Switzerland in January, which happened at a time when the world is faced with multiple difficulties and challenges, sufficiently proved that China is a big country that delivers on commitments.

"It makes every Chinese feel proud," Chan said.
CAIRO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court sentenced on Sunday 17 Islamists, including a former presidential hopeful, from five to 10 years in jail over inciting violence and besieging a court in late 2012.

Radical Islamist and former Salafist presidential hopeful, Hazem Salah Abu Islamil, and five of his loyalists were sentenced to five years while 11 fugitives were handed 10-year terms in absentia.

The 17 defendants have been facing charges of flexing muscles, inciting violence, besieging a court and intimidating prosecutors in December 2012 in an attempt to release a defendant in custody.

When allowed to speak outside the dock earlier in January, Salafist lawyer and cleric Abu Ismail said during a court session that he had nothing to do with the case and that his name was just inserted for political reasons.

The ex-presidential candidate is already serving a seven-year jail term over submitting misleading nomination documents for the 2012 presidential elections to hide his mother's U.S. citizenship.

Abu Ismail was arrested among thousands of Islamists following the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against Morsi's one-year rule and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Morsi himself is currently serving a recently-confirmed 20-year prison sentence over inciting clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in late 2012 that left 10 people dead.
VIENTIANE, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry expects to export about 400,000 tons of rice in 2017 and hopes the figure will climb to 1 million tons by 2020.

The ministry plans to increase yields so that white rice accounts for about 30 percent of the total rice crop, and is certified with the Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) standard for export, according to Lao state-run Vientiane Times on Sunday.

Many farmers and entrepreneurs are now growing rice on a commercial basis in order to improve quality in line with internationally accepted standards. Many businesses have exported their rice products to foreign countries such as China, Vietnam, Mongolia and European countries.

In 2016, some 21,000 tons of polished rice and about 52,000 tons of paddy rice were exported while about 248,000 tons of paddy rice was sold in border trading.

During the past year, the ministry encouraged farmers to grow 4.2 million tons of rice, an increase of 2 percent compared to 2015. The target for this year's crop is 4.3 million tons.

About 2.1 million tons of rice will be supplied for consumption, 400,000 tons will be allocated to stockpile, some 500,000-600,000 tons will be processed, and 100,000 tons will be used as seeds.

Rice is the main commercial crop for Lao domestic market supply and export, along with coffee, maize, tea, sugarcane, cassava, Job's tear, and beans.

This year, the ministry will encourage farmers to produce commercial crops for domestic supply and export, with targets of 126,200 tons of coffee, 1.3 million tons of maize, 2.43 million tons of sugarcane, 1.55 million tons of cassava, and 94,300 tons of beans.

The ministry expects that the agriculture and forestry sector will grow by an annual average of 3.1--3.4 percent between now and 2020, and account for about 17 percent of Gross Domestic Product.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- From time to time, whenever protesters stamped their feet while chanting in unison, the floor at the arrival level of the international terminal of San Francisco airport was literally shaking.

The protesters, thousands of them, started to gather around 3:00 p.m. (2300 GMT) Saturday at San Francisco International Airport and continued into 2:00 a.m. (1000 GMT) Sunday to demand the release of those held by the U.S. Customs in line with one of the executive orders from President Donald Trump.

In an executive order signed Friday, just a week into his administration, Trump initiated a temporary ban on the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Some immigrants were reportedly held by the U.S. authorities after flying into the airport, known as SFO, as of Saturday.

"We are a country of immigrants," read a hand-written poster. "Immigration built this nation," said another. "Discrimination against religion is un-American," proclaimed still another.

The protest appeared to be spontaneous, as families and friends converged, hugging each other upon arrival, some bringing their pets with them to the site, and writing their individual posters on the floor.

"My grandparents were Holocaust refugees," a girl wrote on her poster.

"Former Jewish refugee against the Muslim refugee ban!" a new arrival wrote.

In random chats with strangers, a protester in his 30s said his grandparents moved from Italy to the United States in the late 1930s, in order to escape the rule by Benito Mussolini, the fascist Italian leader who allied with his German counterpart, Adolf Hitler, during the Second World War.

Another protester, a senior citizen, moved around among the crowd with a poster reading, "1939: we turned away refugees. They died at Auschwitz. Never again."

Some travelers just landed at SFO and joined the protest. A woman in her 40s and with a piece of carry-on luggage thanked a young member of the crowd for speaking out for her, because she was from Indonesia, the Asian country with the single largest Muslim population.

"The crowd, especially young people in the crowd, is the hope of America," said the woman, who identified herself as a Muslim American.

Nearing the end of the protest, 11 hours after it started, a veteran of Iraq War from downtown San Francisco, about 15 miles (24 km) north of SFO, said he would stay and wait for the metro line, known as Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, to reopen Sunday after 10:00 a.m. (1800 GMT).

Asked whether what is going on now in the United States, such as the "Muslim ban," was what he fought for in Iraq, the young veteran answered: "No."

While the protest went through without an incident, officers from San Francisco Police Department and legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild were on site.

Similar protests took place Saturday at airports in at least nine U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C. and Denver.
Yemeni pro-government forces patrol during clashes against Shiite rebels in Yemen's western Dhubab district, about 30 kms (20 miles) north of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, on January 11, 2017. (AFP/Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Intense fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and Shiite Houthi rebels in western Yemen claimed the lives of 120 fighters from the two-warring sides over the past 24 hours, official sources said Sunday.

In the latest armed confrontations in and around the country's Red Sea coastal city of Mocha, according to a local official, more than 95 members of the pro-Houthi Shiite forces were killed and many others injured.

Heavy reinforcements of the pro-Houthi forces were mobilized to confront Saudi-backed government forces in the strategic town of Mocha, sparking fierce battles, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Government forces lost more than 25 soldiers within 24 hours but managed to repulse several attacks launched by Houthi rebels, according to the local source.

Aircraft and armored vehicles from the Saudi-led coalition were heavily involved in the anti-Houthi offensive, the source said.

On Saturday, the Saudi-led Arab coalition said an Iranian-made military drone was destroyed by surface-to-air missile launched by UAE air forces in Mocha.

Last week, Yemeni government forces and allied southern resistance fighters took full control over Mocha, along with its seaport, and driven Shiite Houthi rebels from the strategic area.

Scores of fighters from the pro-Houthi forces immediately surrendered themselves to while many others fled Mocha, army commanders said.

The forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour were deployed in and around Mocha, a government official told Xinhua by phone.

The government source said that bomb squads are dismantling hundreds of landmines and bombs planted by Houthis in Mocha.

The loss of Mocha, located about 75 km away from the Bab al-Mandab strait, is considered a big setback for the Shiite Houthis, according Yemeni observers.

In all, the fierce battles in Yemen's western coast that started several days ago have left more than 250 Houthi fighters killed and over 350 others injured, medical sources said.

Yemen has been suffering from a bloody war between Saudi-supported government forces and Houthi rebels for around two years.

In September 2014, Houthi rebels, with support from forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, ousted the UN-backed transitional government and seized Sanaa, the capital.

The internationally recognized government now controls the south and some eastern parts, while the Houthi/Saleh alliance controls the other parts, including Sanaa.

The UN has sponsored several rounds of peace talks between the warring factions, but with no success so far.

Airstrikes and fighting on the ground have killed about 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others, according to humanitarian agencies. More than 2 million people have been displaced.
A picture shows the area around the Ain al-Fijeh water pumping station, in the countryside of Damascus, on January 29, 2017, after the Syrian army entered it for the first time in four years after a deal with rebels who first seized it in 2012. (AFP/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A first batch of 160 people, including rebels and their families, evacuated the water-rich town of Ain Fijeh northwest of the capital Damascus toward the northern city of Idlib on Sunday, as part of a deal with the government, after the Syrian forces captured the town to restore water to thirsty Damascus, a military source told Xinhua.

The rebels and their families have gathered in the nearby towns of Deir Mikren, and Deir Qanun for their departure toward Idlib, a day after the Syrian army wrested control over Ain Fijeh town in the Barada Valley region.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the rebel evacuation is witnessing some delays because of the difficulty of their movement due to the heavy snow in that area.

Those departing along with their families are militants who have rejected to reconcile with the government, as many rebel group in that region accepted a deal with the government and will stay in their areas after their records are cleared and situation is settled.

Capturing Ain Fijeh is crucial for the Syrian government, as it contains the Ain Fijeh spring, the main water source feeding the capital's over five million people with water.

The rebels in that area cut off the water from Damascus on Dec. 22, prompting the army to unleash a wide-scale offensive with the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

The battles were penetrated with a few pauses, in which efforts were being exerted to reach a deal with the rebels. However, all previous efforts had failed without achieving its intended goals, as the rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front were reluctant to leave the area, insisting on rendering flat all efforts to defuse the tension in that area.

Meanwhile, maintenance workers entered the spring area early on Sunday to assess the damage, and embark on the reparation process, which officials say it would last a month.

Still, water authority officials said there will be emergency restoration to deliver water to Damascus within the next 24 hours.
Protesters gather at JFK International Airport against Donald Trump's executive order on January 28, 2017 in New York. (AFP/Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday told its citizens visiting the United States to make sure that there would be no problem for them to enter the country, official IRNA news agency reported.

The advisory came after reports that several Iranian passengers have been barred from boarding flights to the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to restrict immigration from countries that he said are "compromised by terrorism."

A White House official later named the restricted countries as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

Iran condemns Washington's "uncalculated and illegal" decision, and strongly advises its nationals to acquire authentic information that they would not face any problem on the way to or upon entry into the United States, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
A Palestinian demonstrator holds placard during a protest against a promise by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to re-locate U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, in the West Bank near Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, January 20, 2017. (Reuters photo)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that it is the Israeli government's position that the United States embassy should be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

His remarks came a day after the co-chair of the Republicans Overseas organization in Israel, Marc Zell, told Ha'aretz newspaper that the foot-dragging on the relocation, first suggested by Trump's campaign, is happening at Israel's request.

"Our position has always been, and will always be, that the U.S. embassy needs to be here, in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting.

He also called on other countries to move their missions to Jerusalem. "I believe that over time most of them will indeed come here, to Jerusalem," he said.

Israel claimed all of Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided capital." But the international community has never recognized East Jerusalem, a territory Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and later annexed.

The Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The idea of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was discussed in the past but never carried out for fear it will spark fresh tensions in the region.

Statements released by Trump's team during his election campaign repeatedly stated his determination to move the embassy.

However, after his inauguration, the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, said several times that discussion about the issue is in its very early stages, hinting no announcements are expected soon.
A Yemeni man walks near a painting of US drone on the wall in Sanaa, Yemen, on Jan. 29, 2017. At least 25 civilians were killed in the latest U.S. counter-terror raid in Yemen on Sunday, tribal and local sources in Baida province told Xinuha. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

SANAA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 civilians were killed in the latest U.S. counter-terror raid in Yemen on Sunday, tribal and local sources in Baida province told Xinuha.

At least nine women, six children, including eight-year-old daughter of former al-Qaida leader Anwar Al-Awlaqi, and 10 men were killed in the raid which was carried out at dawn in the Yakla village within the Walad Rabi'e district in the town of Qaifa, Baida, the sources said.

Around 10 al-Qaida militants were killed in the raid, the sources added. The authorities have declined to comment.

The U.S. has increased its drone operations in Yemen since the civil war erupted in late 2014 after the Houthi militia with support from the former president seized power.

The National Organization of Drone Victims in Yemen said that in every U.S. drone strike or anti-terror operation, there are civilian casualties.

The organization documented 27 drone strikes in Yemen in 2016 in which around 142 people including many civilians were killed.

The drone strikes in 2016 were carried out in Marib, Shabwa, Abyan, Hadramout and Baida provinces, the organization said.
RAMALLAH, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official said on Sunday that United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres should apologize for the remarks he made earlier on Jerusalem.

Israel Public Radio reported on Sunday that Guterres earlier stated that "It's clear as the son is clear that the Temple, which was demolished by the Romans, is a Jewish temple."

Adnan al-Huseini, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) minister for Jerusalem affairs, told Xinhua that "he (Guterres) neglected the UNESCO resolutions, which clearly said that the al-Aqsa Mosque is purely an Islamic heritage."

Al-Huseini added that Guterres' remarks "are a violation to all human, diplomatic and legal rules and laws and a violation to his position as the secretary general," adding "he (Guterres) should apologize to the Palestinian people for his remarks."

However, the former Portuguese prime minister, who took office in the UN earlier in January, stated that "no one can deny the truth that Jerusalem is holy for the three major religions."

Guterres said he is not intending to present any political initiative "to resolve" the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, although he supports the two-state solution and ready to extend his hand to help the two sides if it is needed.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Majdalani, the official in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in an emailed press statement that the remarks of Guterres "is a strike to the credibility of the UN as a global organization that should stay to the side of the occupied people and be against the power of the occupation."

The PLO official went on saying that "it seems the new UN secretary general is lacking trust and he doesn't understand his position," adding "he (Guterres) should clarify his remarks that give Israel a green light for more measures against Jerusalem."

The Palestinians want the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in 1967, the capital of their future Palestinian state, while Israel, which annexed the eastern part of the city, insists that the whole city is the eternal capital of the state of Israel.
DUBAI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) international carrier Emirates Airline said Sunday it will carry on with flight operations to and from the United States, the UAE state news agency WAM reported.

WAM quoted an Emirates spokesperson as saying that "a very small number of our passengers travelling were affected by the new U.S. immigration entry requirements," implemented by the U.S. customs and border protection on Jan. 28.

The biggest carrier in the Middle East said it offers both re-booking and refund options to passengers holding passports from the seven countries: Syria, Iraq, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, which are booked to travel to and from the U.S..

"To date, no Emirates crew has been affected by the change," said the statement.

The airline flies from its home base Dubai International Airport to 11 destinations in the west coast, midwest and east coast of the U.S..
KHARTOUM, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Sudan summoned the U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum Steven Koutsis on Sunday to protest a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to restrict the entry of Sudanese citizens into the United States.

"The U.S. Charge d'Affaires has been summoned where he met with Foreign Ministry's Under-Secretary Abdul-Ghani Al-Naeem regarding the executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump to restrict the entry of Sudanese citizens, among nationals of seven countries, into the United States," said Sudan's Foreign Ministry in a statement.

"The under-secretary expressed the Sudanese government's dismay over the procedures taken against the Sudanese citizens," the statement said.

"The Sudanese government regards it as a negative message under the positive developments of bilateral ties, particularly after the lifting of economic sanctions on Sudan and under the long-standing cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism."

The ministry reiterated Sudan's keenness to continue dialogue and cooperation with the U.S. on regional issues of mutual concern.

"Sudan is waiting for the U.S. government to lift Sudan's name from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism and reconsider the executive order which restricted the entry of the Sudanese citizens into the United States," said the statement.

On Saturday, Sudan expressed regret over a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to restrict the access of the Sudanese into the United States.

On Jan. 13, former U.S. President Barack Obama issued a decision to cancel two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.

The United States has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and putting it on its list of countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.

Since then, Washington has been renewing its sanctions on Sudan due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions in addition to a number of outstanding issues with South Sudan, such as the territorial dispute over the oil-rich Abyei area.
by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Greece's Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that a Greek Navy cannon vessel and Greek Coast Guard patrol vessels turned away a Turkish flotilla away from what are known in Greece as the Imia islets and in Turkey as the Kardak islets.

According to an official statement of the Greek ministry, a Turkish warship accompanied by two dinghies tried to approach the disputed islets which 21 years ago brought the two neighboring countries to the brink of war.

"The Turkish vessels remained in the area for approximately seven minutes violating the Greek territorial waters. The Greek Navy cannon ship 'Krateos' and coast guard patrol vessels sailing in the area called on the Turkish ships to leave. The Turkish flotilla sailed to the port of Bodrum," the announcement said.

Greek government sources viewed the incident as a "provocation" by Ankara in the context of the mounting tension in bilateral ties regarding the case of the eight Turkish servicemen who sought asylum in Greece last July.

On Thursday Greece's Supreme Court turned down the request for their extradition citing concern over their treatment in Turkey.

Turkish authorities accuse the eight men of participating in the failed coup attempt and Greece of making a politically motivated decision. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has warned with a review of bilateral cooperation.

The two countries have been engaged in disputes over sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea for decades dating back to the Imia/Kardak military crisis in 1996 in the Aegean.

Known as Imia islet by Greece and Kardak islet by Turkey, the islet was the subject of a dispute over sovereignty which arose after a Turkish cargo vessel ran aground on the islet on Christmas Eve 1995. Tension gradually increased in following days as the two sides could not agree which was responsible for the salvage operation.

Then, on the night of Jan. 31, 1996, a Greek helicopter with three officers on board crashed on Imia under initially unclear circumstances that further escalated tensions. With foreign mediation the crisis de-escalated, although the territorial issue remains unresolved.
JUBA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Sunday expressed concern about the outbreak of heavy fighting between government and opposition forces in Malakal town.

The UNMISS said the situation in the town remained tense after heavy fighting broke out between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and SPLA-in-Opposition in and around Malakal town, amid intermittent shelling that has been reported over the last few days.

"The Mission reiterates its call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and fully implement the peace agreement," the UNMISS said in a statement released in Juba.

The UN mission said its peacekeepers will continue to patrol regularly in Malakal amid reports that the town is largely deserted.

The UN mission will continue to act within its capacity to protect South Sudanese civilians in imminent danger, according to the statement.

It called on all parties to silence the guns to enable the movement of humanitarian aid and personnel to affected areas.

The world's youngest nation descended into civil war in December 2013 when political differences between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar led to fighting that often occurred along ethnic fault lines.

The country plunged into fresh violence in July 2016 due to clashes between rival forces -- SPLA, loyal to Kiir, and the SPLA-in-Opposition, backing Machar.
People who have been rescued after their boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state arrive in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on Jan. 30, 2017. Three Chinese tourists on board a boat which sank off Malaysia's Sabah state were confirmed dead early Monday after being rescued. Three Chinese tourists have passed away among the 25 people rescued so far, while six people remained missing, said Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar, Director General of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. The Chinese tourists who were rescued and the bodies of those passed away arrived in Kota Kinabalu early Monday. (Xinhua)

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Three Chinese tourists on board a boat which sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo were confirmed dead early Monday after being rescued.

Three Chinese tourists have passed away among the 25 people rescued so far, while six people remained missing, said Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar, Director General of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The Chinese tourists who were rescued and the bodies of those passed away arrived in Kota Kinabalu early Monday.

Chen Peijie, Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu, said the surviving Chinese tourists suffered different degrees of injuries and would be sent to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Malaysia's Prime Minister's Department, told a press conference Sunday night that 23 people were rescued by tug boats and fishermen, after the skipper and a crew member were rescued earlier on Sunday.

According to him, the skipper said the boat was broken by strong wave before wrecked in bad weather and rough sea.

The boat went missing on Saturday when travelling from Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island, 60 km west to Kota Kinabalu. A total of 31 people were on board, including 28 tourists from China and three crew members.

Shahidan said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, maritime police as well as Malaysian navy and airforce have joined the search efforts.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The newly established Tanzania and Zambia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) which is to start operation on February 1 at the Tunduma-Nakonde border will ease and boost trade between the two countries, senior officials said Sunday.

The two countries have already signed an agreement on how the OSBP will be operating.

The decision to establish the OSBP came as part of implementing orders issued by the presidents of the two countries, John Magufuli and Edgar Lungu. The two leaders issued the order in Dar es Salaam when Zambian President Lungu visited the East African nation last month.

The signing ceremony of the key document was held at Vwawa town few kilometers from the Tunduma-Nakonde border, whereby Tanzania was represented by Amina Khamis Shaaban, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister and Adolf Mkenda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Zambia was represented by Kayula Siame, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry.

Tanzania's Amina said that the Tunduma-Nakonde OSBP combines two stops for national border control processing into one and consolidates border control functions in a shared space for exiting one country and entering another.

She explained that the post will be using simplified procedures and joint processing wherever appropriate.

She further disclosed that the border facility is aimed at reducing transit costs incurred in cross-border movement by combining the activities of both country's border organizations and agencies.

According to the Tanzania's deputy minister, the post will easy trade between the two nations, as goods will be inspected once as all authorities will be operating under one roof.

"This will also boost revenue collections," the official said, adding: "The facility will also address all key challenges that have been thwarting trade between the two nations. It will encourage people to do the cross-border trade."

She is optimistic that the new drive will also help to address the smuggling of goods at the Tanzania-Zambia border.

"The center will bring on board institutions from the two countries to work as one team, something that makes them exchange their experiences, which will improve their day-to-day operations," she said.

Tanzania's Mkenda explained that to improve services at the border will increase transport business for cargo from Dar es Salaam Port to Zambia and other neighboring countries.

Charles Kichere, Deputy Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), said the center will be equipped with the information communication and technology (ICT).

Zambia's Siame said that citizens of the two countries will take advantage of the existence of facility to achieve their business and use its export and import goods from either of the two sides.

The Tunduma-Nakonde OSBP becomes the fifth one after the completion of four others in the borders of Tanzania and neighboring countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.
NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said on Sunday that more than 17 million people are currently in crisis and emergency food insecurity levels in the Horn of African region.

FAO said widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the October-December rains with only one-quarter of expected rainfall received.

FAO Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo warned that if response is not immediate and sufficient, the risks are massive and the costs high.

"The magnitude of the situation calls for scaled-up action and coordination at national and regional levels. This is, above all, a livelihoods and humanitarian emergency -- and the time to act is now," Semedo said in a statement received in Nairobi.

The UN food agency said the 17 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance are in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

Currently, close to 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of food assistance, as families face limited access to food and income, together with rising debt, low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production.

A pre-famine alert has been issued for Somalia and an immediate and humanitarian response is highly required.

Acute food shortage and malnutrition also remain to be a major concern in many parts of South Sudan, Sudan (west Darfur) and Uganda's Karamoja region.

"We cannot wait for a disaster like the famine in 2011," Semedo said, adding that repeated episodes of drought have led to consecutive failed harvests, disease outbreaks, deteriorating water and pasture conditions and animal deaths.

She said the drought situation in the region is extremely worrying, primarily in almost all of Somalia but also across southern and southeastern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya.

"As a consequence, with the next rains at least eight weeks away and the next main harvest not until July, millions are at risk of food insecurity across the region," Semedo said.

Bukar Tijani, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, warned that insecurity and economic shocks affect the most vulnerable people.

"The situation is rapidly deteriorating and the number of people in need of livelihood and humanitarian emergency assistance is likely to increase as the dry and lean season continue with significant negative impact on livelihoods and household assets as well as on the food security and nutrition of affected rural communities," he said.

FAO called for joint priorities to increase and include enhanced coordination, increased and systematic engagement of member states and effective response to member states' identified needs, as well as strengthened resource mobilization efforts.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar is facing a serious shortage of sand for the construction industry, a senior official said Sunday.

Hamad Rashid Mohamed, Minister of Agriculture Natural Resources Livestock and Fisheries, said that the Isles' government is considering instituting a ban on sand mining as the resource has been depleted in the Indian Ocean Island.

"Our study shows that in Unguja and Pemba islands, sand for construction has been exhausted due to the high demand of the construction materials. That's why we're thinking of banning sand mining and start importing the materials to meet the isles' growing demand," the minister said.

"We have remained with few pockets where sand is available. So, we need to protect those areas, because most of the time they are overwhelmed with farming activities and human settlements," he said.

He suggested the need for Zanzibar engineers and other players to start thinking about the alternatives to sand in the construction industry.

He said for the last 10 years Unguja mined 2,658,503 tonnes of sand, while in Pemba 200,959 tonnes of sand during the same period. During the period, 522 hectares of land were involved in sand mining, while 150 hectares of land in Pemba.

Currently, Zanzibar remains with only 14 hectares of land which are rich with sand, the area which is not enough to meet the Isles' sand demand.

It is estimated that Unguja Island mines three hectares of sand per month, while half hectares of sand in Pemba per month.

Sand scarcity is expected to affect construction activities in the tourist island of Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of East Africa.
Patients have acupuncture at a village clinic in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China, Aug. 25, 2016.

YEREVAN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Traditional Chinese medicine has enabled Armenian proctologist Sona Yeritsyan to do better in her treatment of patients in the Armenian capital.

For example, with acupuncture, massage and physical therapy techniques, she has discovered more effective options for relieving her patients' pain.

Yeritsyan also believes she could use these methods to help patients quit smoking or alcoholism.

"Traditional Chinese medicine is very fascinating," the Armenian medical practitioner told Xinhua, and that she is ready to tap its potential in her medical practice.

Yeritsyan studied traditional Chinese medicine techniques last year. She attended a two-month training course sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce at the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

However, it was a Chinese woman on whom she first tried what she had learned in Beijing after finishing the training course. She not only succeeded, in fact, she saved the woman's life.

This was in mid-December when Yeritsyan and two of her Armenian "classmates" returned home from Beijing. The Chinese woman aboard the same flight to Moscow suddenly fell ill, losing pulse.

Rushing to administer first aid, the three Armenian doctors managed to bring her back to consciousness using the acupressure technique of traditional Chinese medicine they had just learned, thus saving her life.

No doubt, this success greatly increased Yeritsyan's confidence in traditional Chinese medicine, which she knew little about before studying it in China's capital.

She said Western medicine can help the patient as much as it is medically possible, and a lack of medications often makes options limited in Armenia.

"Due to the lack of certain medications, certain treatments might not be possible in Armenia," she said. This is where she believes traditional Chinese medicine can come to her aid.

There are currently quite a few doctors at Armenian hospitals using acupuncture and other traditional Chinese medicine techniques. Yet Yeritsyan thinks traditional Chinese medicine should be more widely applied in the Central Asian state.

She also suggests Armenian doctors travel to China to learn more about traditional Chinese medicine.
Demonstrators participate in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order barring U.S. entry to all regugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens near the White House, in Washington D.C., the Unite States, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of protesters rallied in front of the White House on Sunday while demonstrations continued across more than 30 American airports after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entry into the U.S..

The Lafayette Square before the White House was packed by protesters against Trump's ban from noontime as more demonstrators were still arriving, witnesses said.

They wielded poster boards bearing messages such as "Ban Trump" "Refugees Welcome" and chanted "No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcome here!"

Protests are also scheduled throughout the day in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago, said a CNN report.

In Boston's Copley Square, thousands of people also gathered to protest the immigration ban, according to a report from the USA Today.

Earlier on Sunday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said the international travel disruptions in the wake of the ban was "a small price to pay" for greater security of the United States.

On contrary, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday said Democrats are considering legal actions to overturn the order.

A federal judge in New York on Saturday night granted an emergency stay temporarily halting the removal of people who, though with previously approved refugee applications or with valid visas, had ben detained following Trump's refugee and immigration order.

Similar rulings were later issued in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington state, said a TheHill news daily report.

Under the order, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
CAIRO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The recent temporary entry ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on visitors from seven Muslim states has been received by world and regional criticism.

Friday's decision was criticized by the seven concerned states - Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran - as well as Western governments including those of Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Czech and others.

It was also declined by world and regional bodies including the United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office said Sunday that the minister would interfere if the decision affected British nationals, stressing, "we do not agree with this kind of approach."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, "To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength," posting a photo of him greeting a Syrian child at a Canadian airport.

Trump's entry ban was also rejected by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who emphasized that "welcoming refugees who are fleeing war is part of our duty."

As for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, she slammed Trump's 90-day restrictions on the seven Muslim countries' refugees and migrants as unjustifiable.

"It is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion," said Merkel's spokesman on Sunday, noting she raised the issue on a phone call with Trump one day following the entry ban.

Also on Sunday, Sudan summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires in Khartoum to protest the ban, while Iran summoned Switzerland's ambassador for the same purpose, as he is the one in charge of the U.S. interests in the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif described earlier on Sunday Trump's entry ban as "a great gift to extremists." A day earlier, the Iranian foreign ministry denounced the move as "an open affront against the Muslim world."

In Baghdad, the parliament's foreign affairs committee urged on Sunday the Iraqi government to "respond equally" to Trump's entry ban and prevent U.S. nationals from entering the Arab country.

Similar statements were made by officials from other involved Muslim countries including Libya and Yemen and some countries irrelevant to the ban like Indonesia.

With regards to international and regional organizations, UN agencies jointly appealed to Washington to backtrack Trump's anti-refugee decision, pressing "the need of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater, and the U.S. resettlement program is one of the most important in the world."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini vowed that her commission would continue to support, welcome and take care of those who flee from war. "We will keep working for peace and coexistence. This is our history, this is our identity, our work and our commitment," she added.

For his part, AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit voiced on Sunday his deep concern over Trump's "unjustified restrictions," urging the U.S. administration to reconsider its position that would have negative social and cultural effects.
SANAA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's dominant Houthi-run government strongly condemned a U.S. raid on southern Yemeni province of Baida at dawn on Sunday that killed more than 30 people, mostly children and women, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported.

"The National Salvation Government strongly condemned the big crime that committed by the U.S. marines on the residents of Qaifa town in Baida Province," Saba quoted a spokesman of the Houthi-run government as saying in a statement late Sunday.

"This crime is a form of state terrorism practised by the United States under the pretext of fighting terrorism," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

At least nine women and six children, including the eight-year-old daughter of former al-Qaida leader Anwar Al-Awlaqi, were killed in the U.S. raid on the village of Yakla within the Walad Rabie district in the town of Qaifa.

About 10 al-Qaida militants were also killed in the raid, according to local sources.

The United States has increased its military operations in Yemen since the civil war erupted in late 2014 after the Houthi militias, supported by Yemeni former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized power.

The National Organization for Drone Victims, the first of its kind in Yemen, said that in every U.S. drone strike or anti-terror operation, there are civilian casualties.

The organization documented 27 drone strikes in Yemen in 2016, which killed about 142 people including many civilians.

The drone strikes in 2016 were carried out in Marib, Shabwa, Abyan, Hadramout and Baida provinces, the organization said.
LONDON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Japan has been paying 10,000 pounds per month to a British think tank to hype up "China threat" among British high-level politicians, local media reported Sunday.

A detailed report carried out by The Sunday Times said that the Japanese Embassy in London reached a deal with the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), a registered charity, to wage a propaganda campaign against China.

It said that the deal was reached in response to growing cooperation between China and Britain.

This weekend, the former British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind acknowledged that the HJS, founded in 2005, had approached him to put his name to an article published by the Daily Telegraph last August expressing concerns about China's involvement in Britain's Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.

The article, titled "How China could switch off Britain's lights in a crisis if we let them build Hinkley C", raised fears that "no one knows what 'blackdoor' technologies might be able to be introduced into the building of a power plant."

The Sunday Times said Japan's secret PR (public relations) war on China reflects Tokyo's concerns about the "golden decade" of Sino-British cooperation.

The HJS has not responded to Xinhua's interview request.
BAGHDAD, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi lawmakers urged the Iraqi government on Sunday to take counter-measures against the latest restrictions by U.S. President Donald Trump on the entry of the nationals of seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, into the United States.

Some members of the Iraqi parliament rejected the decision of the new U.S. president, saying Iraq should retaliate by barring U.S. nationals from entering Iraq.

"We reject the decision of President Trump as Iraq is on the front line of fighting terrorism, and we are the side who gives martyrs and sacrifices for a war that we fight on behalf of the whole world," said Hanan al-Fatlawi, a female member of the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"It is unfair that Iraqis are treated in this way," she said at a press conference after a committee meeting to discuss the U.S. decision.

"We ask the Iraqi government to take a similar action against the United States' decision," she said, adding that the parliament committee demanded the Iraqi Foreign Ministry contact the U.S. government for review of their decision.

"Iraq is a sovereign country and will be forced to reciprocate, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation in the war on Islamic State (IS) group," said Ahmed al-Jubouri, another lawmaker from the committee.

On Twitter, the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also condemned Trump's decision, calling it "Istikbar (arrogance)."

Ahmed al-Asadi, spokesman of the predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units, said in a statement that Iraq should "bar American nationals from entering Iraq and exile those who are inside Iraq."

The Iraqi government declined to comment on the U.S. decision, but Trump's order has caused fury in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi forces in battles against IS militants in Mosul in northern Iraq.

On Friday, Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from Iraq and six other Muslim countries, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.
Benoit Hamon casts his ballot during the second round of left primary at a polling station in Trappes, France, on Jan. 29, 2017. Benoit Hamon, former education minister and traditional left-winger, on Sunday became the Left candidate for France's upcoming presidential election after beating his rival Manuel Valls in the primary run-off, partial results showed. (Xinhua/Hubert Lechat)

PARIS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Benoit Hamon, former education minister and traditional left-winger, on Sunday became the Left candidate for France's upcoming presidential election after beating his rival Manuel Valls in the primary run-off, partial results showed.

With votes in 4,322 polling stations out of 7,500 site counted, Hamon enjoyed a comfortable win with 58.65 percent of votes ahead of Valls' 41.35 percent, organizers said.

"Tonight the left raises its head and turns to the future. Our country needs a modern and innovative Left. We must write a new page of our history," Hamon told his supporters.

"I assess with gravity and lucidity the responsibility that you entrusted me ... In face of a conservative right and a destructive far right, France needs the Left," he added in his victory speech.

The Left presidential candidate is said to seek a united front with other left-wing candidates, such as Jean-Luc Melenchon and Yannick Jadot who had launched their own campaigns.

Valls, 54 and former prime minister, quickly conceded defeat, saying "Benoit Hamon has clearly won."

"Hamon is the candidate of our political camp," he acknowledged.

Hamon, 49, had long trailed in vote intentions before he made a spectacular surge after three televised debates. During the debates, he styled himself the unifier of beleaguered Left party which suffered severe rifts during the time of President Francois Hollande.

Hamon resigned from Hollande's government as the education minister in protest over what he said was a too liberal economic policy.

During his campaign, Hamon proposed an universal basic income for every single French citizen aged over 18, regardless of whether they are employed or not.

He also vowed to repeal the controversial labor reform which aims to soften job market rules and offer more flexibility to companies, in the case of his election.

After dominating France's political landscape for decades, the Socialists and the broader Left are weakened by internal upheavals that are blocking their way to building momentum to take on the right-wing and the far right party.

A Kantar Sofres-OnePoint survey for Le Figaro, RTL and LCI released on Sunday showed Hamon, collecting 15 percent of vote intentions in the presidential election's first round, is behind centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron.

The poll also predicted far-rightists leader Marine Le Pen would win on April 23 with 25 percent against conservative Francois Fillon's 22 percent.
Visiting Chinese artists perform a puppet show at the National Maritime Museum to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year in London, Britain, on Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
News / National

by Staff Reporter

Police have identified the two students that were struck by lightning at Chinatsa Secondary School in Macheke yesterday.Grief has also gripped the community following the incident that left a trail of destruction and ploughed the ground for over 200m surprisingly with not a single drop of rain falling.Police confirmed the two students who fell victim are Munashe Godknows a form two student aged 15 of plot 23 village 18 Wenimbe and Blessed Muchenga a form 4 student aged 17 of plot 24 village 4 Wenimbe.The number of those injured has also risen to 83 with 57 having been treated and discharged at both Marondera Provincial Hospital and Wenimbe Clinic while 26 are admitted at Marondera Provincial Hospital.Hours after the incident a sombre atmosphere engulfed the school vicinity with no students having turned up for school this Friday (today) while visibly shocked villagers were trickling in hoping to find some explanation.An inspection of the area showed no rains fell despite the lightning bolt ploughing a distance of 200m in the school yard.Burnt school uniforms, satchels and torn shoes belonging to the students have been gathered and kept in the school office.Meanwhile relatives, friends and church members have also started gathering for the funeral of Blessed Muchenga at the Shekede homestead in village 4 just 100m from the school.It is an occurrence that has shaken the entire community in Macheke and one hopes there will be counselling for the many traumatised children.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

A 29-YEAR-OLD Doubt Mathe from Chief Chireya area in Gokwe North has been sentenced to death by High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi.Mathe was on Wednesday convicted over the murder of Taurayi Mache, who was guarding Grafax Cotton Company premises on June 14, 2008.Mathe struck Mache with a hoe handle on the head leading to his death, after his robbery bid was foiled by the deceased.Justice Mathonsi said Mache's killing was preconceived and brutal and that a heavy sentence was necessary in the circumstances to send a clear message on the need to respect the sanctity of life.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Matobo Community Development has complained over police and Centyral Intelligence organisation (CIOs) harassment ahead of President Robert Mugabe's birth day celebrations slatted for next month in the Kezi area.The community said the suffering people of Matojeni are appalled and disturbed by thew developments."In fact we now live in fear as we are being harassed by the Police and CIO, our cellphones and private electronic gadgets being confiscated and being made to pay fines for alleged "possession of incriminating information" in our private communication gadgets ultra vires the constitution of Zimbabwe. We live in fear of the man, the state and his party Zanu PF,"said the organisation in a statement."Memories are still fresh on how thousands of our loved ones were mercilessly butchered by Robert Mugabe between 1983-1987 and thrown into Antelope Mine others thrown into Nhungwe gauge just about 7 km from the Cecil John Rhodes' grave. Our hearts are still in grief and awe, we have not yet been given an opportunity to mourn our loved ones such as Matshatha Tshuma, Mvulo Nyathi, Simimba Dube among others, who were murdered by Mugabe's in cold blood and their remains eaten by dogs and were in shallow graves for many years until we the community reburied some of them on our own."The community said memories are still fresh on how the CIO under Emmerson Mngangagwa hunted their leaders down and murdered them in cold blood, one such is their late Zanu councillor Ndlumbi Mpofu among others while many ZAPU leaders and former ZIPRA cadres who had demobilized were arrested and tortured at Matopos, Hazelside police camp some eventually taken to Bhalagwe."We have names of such people who include Stanley Dube of Silozwe among others.We still recall how the notorious leader of the CIOs a certain Officer Donga hounded and kidnapped our relatives, some of whom never returned to this day. We have children whose fathers are unknown up to this day, our daughters and sisters were rapped by Mugabe's Fifth brigade that was led by a short man who called himself "Black Jesus". We will never forget the various acts of torture that we went through very inhumane and degrading to say the least we shudder to imagine school female teachers being trashed by an electric cord in their privies in front of the whole school," said the community."Matobo also had a painful predicament in that the mountains provided a hideout for the notorious dissidents whom we believe were created by Mugabe in order to justify his tribal purging of the 'bed bugs'. These men terrorized, rapped, maimed and murdered our relatives during the night, while the CIO and fifth brigade terrorized us during the day. Those overzealous and insensitive youths and foreigners who invaded our province and became members of Parliament such as Dhewa of Umzingwane and Never Khanye the notorious farm grabber, stay warned that the impact of bringing Mugabe to our backyard against our will will be seen next year during the elections.""We draw inspiration from the brave warriors, our fore fathers who fought gallantly in 1896-7 at notable battles such at the battle of Inungu until Cecil John Rhodes opted for a peace settlement. No amount of intimidation and harassment can ever kill our spirits."The community added that they remain resolute in defence of justice and peace that their Father Zimbabwe, the late Dr Joshua Nkomo, the late Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo, Alfred Nikita Mangena and many sons of the soil who died in numerous battles died fighting for and they will always resist black tribal imperialism that Robert Mugabe at 93 represent."Our gallant warriors on Inungu battles, Father Zimbabwe who hailed from this district that Mugabe has failed to even recognize by constructing a decent road and indeed the founder of Umthwakazi nation, King Mzilikazi himself who is resting at Entumbane here in Matobo should be turning in their graves at the mention of Mugabe's birthday party close to their resting places," said the community."We want to warn those behind the so called celebrations that Matobo is home to over 2500 historic sites some of whom are sacred sites including Njelele, Dula among others hence Matobo is a sacred area and ukuthaba engani abantu basuthi amasi okosiwa may have catastrophic consequences. We have no powers to stop His Excellency from celebrating his birthday whereever he wants to if we had, we would not want him to dare step his foot in Matobo but history will record that we are against it and that we warned.""We appeal to the broader Civil Society, opposition parties, media and everyone who is sane and cares to stand in solidarity with us during this painful time of celebrating Mugabe's birthday. We may be arrested, tortured and even disappear we live in fear but our spirits are unwavering. We are being threatened and forced to attend by the regime against our will.We fear this man and his people that seem to have lost their minds worshiping him."
News / Press Release

by ZimVigil

Other points

Zimbabwe's Christmas holidays drew to a close on Friday with the fleeting return to Harare of President Mugabe after six weeks gallivanting around the world. The government can now turn its attention to the main business facing the country: preparations for the President's 93rd birthday party on the grave of Cecil Rhodes next month.The two Vice-Presidents, accompanied by a variety of cabinet ministers and senior officials, were at the airport to brief the presidential couple on preparations for the celebrations. They obviously had good news as Mugabe was said to have been in high spirits. He, in turn, assured them that his holiday had not been all frolics. He had, for one thing, interrupted it to see China's President Xi, who had assured him he would help as much as possible with the mega deals agreed some years ago.Unfortunately, Mugabe had no news of a mega financial bailout to enable the government to pay its mega workers and enable the country to pay for its mega imports. The Vigil believes this is a mega problem and all the government's mega promises are mega delusions.As if to prove it, the mega welcoming delegation returned to the airport today to say a mega farewell to the President who, having refilled his mega wallet, flew off to Addis Ababa for a mega African Union meeting on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend for Investment in the Youth'.The youth of Zimbabwe await the outcome with bated breath.Zanu PF's anti-Vigil reappeared outside the Embassy today after their Christmas vacation but only six people took part and they left dispirited after less than an hour. Come on, earn your money!Thanks to those who arrived early to help set up: Mercy Bayipayi, Joseph Chivayo, Deborah Harry, Fungayi Mabhunu, Emmanuel Magarira, Phillip Mahlahla, Alice Majola, Benjamin Molife, Alfredy Mukuvare, Nontokozo Ncube, Pretty Okechukwu, Tawanda Rusape and Maxmus Savanhu. Thanks to Cathrine Musa, Nontokozo, Alice, Deborah and Pretty for looking after the front table, to Alice and Nomusa Dube for handing out flyers and selling wristbands and to Phillip, Alfredy, Maxmus, Emmanuel, Tawanda, Joseph and Benjamin for putting up the banners and tarpaulin.
Opinion / Columnist

The large craving for gender equality and a continuous upgrade in affirmative action for women, may yield a generous amount of progress in the liberal world, but will continue quite sadly, to suffer reoccurring setbacks in Africa and the Middle East!The Supervised Entitlements of Women In Africa:Africa is traditionally built around draconian cultures that frown at the allocation of certain privileges to women, which take liberties with gender equality, or promote any form of insurrection towards their male counterparts.Women's rights are almost extinct in most places in Africa! The heavy occurrence of female genital mutilation and coercion of teenage girls into early marriage in countries like Mali, Chad and Somalia, seems to be a revered and celebrated practice!In most parts of Nigeria, women who dress in clothes that are perceived to be "indecent" are often mobbed, and in most cases, stripped unclad and subjected to gruesome public ridicule by hoodlums. These events are astonishingly displayed at the spectacle of a cheering narrow-minded audience, comprised of even security agents! (I really cannot understand how a lady's choice of fashion deserves such extreme humiliation, or how her dressing infringes on the fundamental human rights of these mobs!) Could this be the unfortunate effect of illiteracy? Or the hypocritical and judgmental nature of the typical African society?In some parts of Africa, a woman can be easily expelled from her marriage without any severance package, for being 'incompetent' at conceiving a male child, or 'committing the evil' of birthing too many female children! (of course, not too many Africans embrace the "dangerous idea" of legalizing their marriage at the government registry, so this ultimately yanks off any safety nets for the women when adversity strikes).Most African husbands, uncompromisingly demand the production of children in quick succession without considering the health and psychological preparedness of their wives.Treading the part of religion, women are rarely allowed to preach in some rigid African churches. The same counts as blasphemy for the Muslim folks as well...(are women the proponents of sin, or I'm not getting something right?) The 'Restraining Order From Freedom' Given To Women In The Middle East:Islam is practically a 'Male-Centered Religion,' so I'm not naive to expect the Muslims to be apologetic about that, or suddenly expect them to bend to public opinion(regardless of how prevailing!)But my point will be made anyway...The horrible punishment meted out to women for disobedience, or for causing a dent on the family name, commonly referred to as "Honour killing" continues quite strongly in the Middle East! Women are periodically put to death by their male relatives for either converting to a new religion, marrying a suitor of their choice, or embracing western education.Women in some parts of the Middle East, are often dissuaded(sometimes forcefully) from their desire to acquire education or become literate. It is also a common practice for female rape victims to be compelled by 'law' to marry their defilers!Achieving a guaranteed provision of Women's Rights in Africa and the Middle East may remain a figment of our imagination, until the deep cultural and religious roots of both environments are reviewed or ultimately reinvented!
3 in court for robbery in Rio Claro

The accused men are Jovin Jotis, 27, of Rest House Village in Mayaro; Kevon Pierre, 23, of Gran Lagoon, also in Mayaro; and Cobin Scott, 21, of Plum Mitan Junction as well as Point Fortin. All three accused are unemployed.

They appeared in the Rio Claro Magistrates Court charged by PC Abraham with two counts of robbery with aggravation and possession of ammunition.

The charges against the accused men alleged that on Thursday at about 7 pm, they together with another person, being armed with a firearm and a knife committed the act at Unipet Service Station located at the Naparima/ Mayaro Road in Rio Claro.

Police report Anil Moonan was at the service station where two men, one armed with a firearm and the other with a knife, stormed in.

The armed men ordered Moonan as well as a pump attendant to hand over all cash to which they complied.

The armed men made off with an estimated $11,000 and fled the scene in a car which had two accomplices.

A report was made to the nearby Rio Claro Police Station and under the supervision of Cpl Naim Mohammed, officers responded.

Police reported Mohammed, together with PCs Abraham, Sookoo, Mohammed, Meighoo, Charles, Ali and Ramkissoon intercepted the car a short distance away along the Naparima/Mayaro Road.

The officers only retrieved a portion of the stolen cash and a fourth accomplice managed to evade them.

The report added that when police searched the car, they found four rounds of ammunition.

When the matter was called before Ramsaran, court prosecutor Sgt Ramnarine Gadar did not make any recommendation on how to proceed.

Ramsaran remanded the accused into custody for tracing to reappear in court on Wednesday.
Coast Guard seizes ganja

According to reports at approximately 8.50 pm, a Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard interceptor while on routine patrol intercepted a 28 foot pirogue approximately four kilometres south of Diamond Rock with two occupants on board.

The pirogue, occupants and contents on board were escorted back to Staubles Bay where further searches were conducted.

During the search one crocus bag with 20 packets of a plant like substance was discovered, weighing approximately 10 kilograms with an estimated street value of one hundred thousand two hundred dollars.

The two Trinidadian occupants were detained by the Coast Guard and subsequently handed over to the Organized Crime Narcotics and Firearm Bureau of the Police Service who will be continuing investigations.
Opinion / Columnist

A YOUNG man barely 20 draped in a white garment with a red lining scampers about in a circle like manner while chanting unintelligibly and convulsively in a frenzy state.He draws a box on the ground with a stick which he terms his consulting room before instructing villagers who have congregated at the local village head's homestead where the cleansing ceremony of all those alleged to be possessing extra terrestrial powers or objects for purposes of witchcraft will be uncovered to form a queue.A little while later he takes a handful of villagers to their homesteads with the crowd which has swelled in number curiously following behind. He disappears into a hut leaving the owner outside. A few seconds later a crashing and screaming sound is heard from the hut. The wooden door to the mud hut is flung open with so much force that its integrity on its hinges is tested as the young man dashes outside.He runs frantically around the compound as if chasing something invisible before throwing himself to the ground like someone catching an object. What follows next can be likened to a fierce epic fight between the visible and invisible characterised by punching and speaking in "tongues". After a while with sweat flowing in streams from his face there is calm once again, a sign that the "goblin" has been subdued. In haste the curious villagers stampede towards the "prophet" who sits panting while holding a strange looking object in his hands.He tells the curious gathering that the "goblin" which is composed of a small kudu horn wrapped around with a red string and a needle stuck in the gaping hole was the reason for the mysterious deaths that had bedevilled the family. He goes on to burn the "goblin" in front of the amazed villagers before conducting the final cleansing ceremony that involves planting an unknown object in the middle of the homestead and front gate. After assuring the family that no harm will ever befall them because of the "protection" he has planted around the homestead he demands a beast as a fee for his service.This is just but a little insight into the world of the "tsikamutandas" or "prophets" as they are popularly known in Binga where they have taken the colossal fight against witchcraft to higher levels through their somewhat controversial methods of sniffing out witches and wizards or victims of such from the communities. These young witch-hunters hailing from Gokwe with some as young as 19 years old have taken Binga by storm over the past years leaving behind a wave of awe in the superstitious communities of the Matabeleland North district.Gwangwaliba Village head in Binga's Lusulu area, Fidias Munsaka explains how the phenomenon has shaped villagers' understanding of supernatural realms and helped rid his area of witchcraft that had caused untold calamities."Ever since the rise of these tsikamutandas they have not only brought fear in communities but also unravelled mysteries surrounding witchcraft that we never understood. We have had mysterious deaths, illnesses and misfortunes all suspected to be the work of black magic hence the emergence of the witch-hunters in my area is a welcome move meant to rid all evil practice," said Munsaka.However, the tsikamutandas are not without controversy as they have been accused by villagers in some areas of fabrication, deceit, sowing seeds of hatred and causing calamities to befall innocent people. Infact, chiefs and Government officials have said their actions are illegal. In 2014 a "prophet" who called himself Ngwenya from Sikomena village in Nakapande area under Chief Pashu caused a stir when he reportedly told women in a village he had visited to conduct a ritual ceremony that he could remove charms planted by their enemies in their bodies.However, it was his method of exorcism that shocked villagers out of their wits that involved inserting his hand into their private parts in order to remove the charms. It is alleged that some "brave" ones underwent the ritual after being threatened with intense torment from the charms to the extent of losing their husbands."I don't believe in any of these prophets as they come to exploit innocent people and plant seeds of division and hatred in families. I recall that at one point one man came here and told us that our women were not ours alone as they had charms inserted into their bodies without their knowledge. Our village head refused to listen to our calls to turn away the prophet after being sweet talked but soon realised his blunder when Ngwenya declared that he would have to remove the charms by inserting his hand into the women's private parts," said Mr Mathias Mwinde.Amazingly instead of the stunt sealing the prophet's demise, his popularity ratings increased leading to him abandoning his church and opening his own Zion sect. Today he boasts of having opened several branches of his church in places like Lubimbi, Nakapande, Gwatagwata, Chibila and Siandindi.However, of late the tsikamutanda movement has begun to meet mounting resistance in a district which is still entrenched in traditional and cultural beliefs. Slowly villagers are waking up to the fact that they are being ripped off of their livestock and crops as a result of the "prophets of doom".One self-proclaimed witch-hunter from Gokwe was almost torn to pieces after he attempted to hoodwink villagers in Muchesu using the same trick he had employed in an area 50km away. It so happened that a man who had been paid through beer by the prophet to extort some sensitive information on his neighbour's family members known only by the villagers sold him out after the witch-hunter failed to meet the imbiber's demands. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old witch-hunter he was apprehended before he could fleece the fear stricken rural communities in Binga."We have lost a lot of livestock at the hands of these thieves who rob poor and vulnerable communities of their only source of livelihood. We have learnt how they deceive people by gathering information of peculiar families mostly at drinking places from unsuspecting imbibers whom they buy lots of beer for," said a headman from Chibila who is also a victim of the tsikamutandas' crusades.Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Matabeleland North Ambassador Cain Mathema condemned the witch-hunters describing them as thieves and peace destroyers arguing that they were supposed to be banned as they caused untold misery to rural communities, particularly the elderly."These so-called witch-hunters should be banned. They are thieves who cause untold misery to communities, specifically targeting elderly people who they accuse of witchcraft because of their old age. What they are doing is wrong. They cause divisions at family and community levels because of their lies," said Minister Mathema, a renowned author of various cultural books.Of late there has been a rise of prosecution cases of some witch-hunters for various offences ranging from extortion to assault with the latest being of a 20-year-old prophet Jabulani Nyoni who terrorised villagers in Jambezi and Lubangwe in Hwange District by forcing them to his cleansing ceremonies.He was arrested after he inserted needles into the spines of former councillor for Mununa ward, Edson Muleya who is living with disabilities and his 74-year-old mother, Jessie Chuma as a way of exorcising evil spirits that he claimed they possessed.The two were hospitalised.He was subsequently charged with kidnapping, extortion and assault in a saga that threatened to suck in six village heads from Matesti and Lubangwe who allegedly took part in the kidnapping and forced cleansing ceremonies. As the debate on whether the tsikamutandas are God sent or of the devil rages on, their impact is being felt in the rural communities where they leave a trail of wars.
Bar owner shoots 3 bandits, one dies

The dead man has been identified as 23-year-old Richard Olivierre, of Valencia, while the names of his two other accomplices have not been released but they are a 23-year-old from DAbadie and a 26 year-old from Valencia.

According to police, at about 6.30 pm three men, one armed with a pistol, got out from a silver Lancer, entered the Kool Breeze Bar in Paramin and announced a hold-up, ordering everyone on the ground. One of the bandits made his way to the roulette room at the rear of the establishment.

According to a relative of the proprietor, he drew his firearm and shot the two bandits in the main bar area and then they ran out of the bar. He then exchanged fire with the third in the roulette room and then the third bandit escaped.

According to police sources, however, the proprietor refused to hand over any valuables and the bandits became enraged and then the shootout occurred with the proprietor shooting and injuring all three. A bar patron was shot in the leg as the three bandits attempted to flee the scene empty-handed.

The proprietor then used his cellphone and alerted Paramin villagers who placed a concrete slab across the roadway; there is only way in and one way out of Paramin.

A villager spotted the suspects vehicle. The car reportedly crashed into a barrier, causing the car to explode in flames.

There were reports that a single shot was fired at the engine of the car which prompted the car to burst into flames but patrons report that there was no shooting outside the establishment.

According to patrons, the injured bandit who sat in the drivers seat attempted to turn the car but slumped over and crashed into the barrier. With his foot on the gas but the car not moving the vehicle burst into flames.

As the fire raged, two of the three suspects managed to run out of the vehicle. However, the third suspect, Olivierre, was pulled out of the car by residents but had died already from gunshot wounds.

Police were called to the scene and found one of the suspects in bushes with the pistol. The second admitted himself to the Port-of- Spain General Hospital and was held there by police.

According to police, both men were currently hospitalised with gunshot wounds, one of the men critical and the second in a stable condition.

The body of Olivierre was viewed by a DMO and the charred remains were ordered removed to the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James together with the vehicle.

The proprietor of the bar said yesterday he was too shaken up to speak about the incident but Paramin villagers said that under no condition would they allow outsiders to come into the community and commit crimes against any of the villagers.

When Sunday Newsday visited Kool Breeze bar yesterday afternoon it was business as usual with patrons drinking and sitting and chatting. The burnt remains of the car on the street and the broken glass leading to the roulette room were the only signs of the incident. Patrons reported that, to their knowledge, the bar had not been robbed in the past and that Paramin is a close knit community.

The relative said the proprietor had no remorse for shooting the bandits and that he would do it again. The also relative called on the State to give citizens guns.

Give us guns, let us help the police, the relative pleaded.

Corporal Hunte and Constable Joseph of the Maraval CID are continuing investigations.
Granny, 74, stabbed to death

According to reports Cynthia Matthews, who lives alone, was at home when it is believed that intruders broke into the house and attacked her.

She was stabbed repeatedly about the body by the bandits who then ransacked the house and carted away valuables.

Sunday Newsday understands relatives began calling the home of Matthews and when they got no reply they became suspicious. Police officers were alerted and they accompanied relatives to the house where they found the bloodied body of Matthews in a bedroom lying on a bed.

Homicide officers were summoned to the scene along with Port-of-Spain officers. Up until late yesterday the scene was being processed by a team of officers. Sunday Newsday understands Heerah, who also lived in the East, was informed of his aunts demise. He went to the crime scene where he was seen in a distressed state.

Contacted yesterday, Heerah said the murder was shocking.

This is a woman who posed no harm or threat to anyone but I heard that here was a struggle and she may have put up a good fight.

But I am trusting that the authorities would do all the find the killer or killers, he added. He said when elderly people in a country are murdered and other people as well it indicates that crime is spiralling out of control and citizens seems helpless on how to protect themselves and their loved ones.

He described his aunt as an independent person who loved her relatives dearly and added that to break the news to her children and grandchildren would be very difficult.

He however promised that relatives would come together to provide the necessary emotional and other support needed at this time.

Matthews is a grandmother of six and her children all live abroad.

Police believe the motive was robbery and they are hoping to get surveillance footage from nearby residents to assist them in solving this murder. Homicide officers are also probing the murder of an unidentified man whose headless body was found in bushes at Edna Hill, Lopinot shortly after 10 am yesterday.

According to reports, a Lopinot villager was walking along the roadway when he saw blood on the street. The man followed the trail of blood which led him to some bushes where he saw to his horror the headless body of a man, clad only in boxer shorts. The mans hands were also severed from his body.

Police were called to the scene and the were unable to find any form of identification on the mans body or close to scene where the body was found. Up to late yesterday the missing head and hands of the dead man had not been located.

The body was viewed by a district medical officer and ordered removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James. The discovery of the body resulted in Lopinot villagers gathering at the scene and looking on in disbelief as the body was removed by a hearse.

Northern Division police are asking persons whose relatives are missing to contact the Homicide Bureau in a bid to identify the headless body.
Tame tempo at Revue

Nor was there biting satire and the over the top Carnival atmosphere that has defined the show over the years.

Instead, patrons at the 53rd instalment of the opening of the Kalypso Revue at the Arima Velodrome on Friday night were served a brand of conspicuously tempered offerings, which, though topical and entertaining, did not work them into a frenzy.

In fact, allusions to the political misdeeds, of past governments, particularly the former Peoples Partnership, were masked by veiled references to these scenarios or, in some cases, none at all.

For instance, Skatie (Carlos James), one of the tents political standard bearers, dispensed with his usual stinging style in favour of an almost demure piece titled, Let Us Turn The Tide, which called on all citizens - children, parents and leaders - to each do their part in ridding Trinidad and Tobago of its many ills.

He referred to the countrys attributes - its status as a melting pot for everybody and one where the world marvels to see how we live together as one, saying the time had come to put on a positive agenda amidst all of the negativity.

It earned the reigning political commentary monarch an encore.

Even national calypso monarch Devon Seale seemed to tone down a bit with Cyah Buy Class, a reprimand to people with money but no decency. Money is temporary but class is permanent, a dapper-looking Seale sang in the tune, which also earned him an encore.

Another political hard-hitter, Alana Sinette, who now goes by the sobriquet Lady Watchman, opted for No White Collar Crimes, a socio-political commentary about the consistent failure of the Government and security agencies to address the problem of white collar crime. Sinette, whose piece featured a brief theatrical presentation, complained there was no need for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Fraud Squad because both agencies appeared powerless in dealing with white collar crime.

As if in direct response to the effects of the economic downturn, escalating crime and the other social ills plaguing the country, calypsonians focussed heavily on social commentaries and nation-building offerings.

There also was a sprinkling of smutty selections, a tribute to the late Makandal Daaga and a song which celebrated womanhood.

Some patrons, commenting on the paucity of hard-hitting political commentary, suggested the Peoples National Movement (PNM) Government, which assumed power in September 2015, was perhaps being given an extended grace period by the calypsonians.

Maze (Terrence Rivas) got the ball rolling with Cyah Mash Up T&T, which dealt with crime and race relations. He was followed by Teneille Cooper, who performed an upbeat song, Moving On, in tribute to her late father.

Island Tabanca, a well-crafted ditty about Young Posers (Vivian Lockharts) yearning for all things TT, including Carnival, crab and dumplings and fireworks on Independence night, went down well with the crowd, as did Original Tempos (Lewis Rowans) Proud Trinbagonian and Wendell Goodridges Who To Blame, a song about moral decay and the fact that many citizens were losing confidence in the system.

Sexy Suzie (Natasha Nurse), dressed in African wear, kept social issues on the front burner with Negative Progress while Ninja (Keston Neptune) called on people of African descent to Take Yuh Place in the society through positive endeavours as opposed to crime. Neptune, who forgot some of his lines, still received an encore.

Other calypsonians performing in the first segment of the show included Marlon Edwards with Energy For So, Malaika Ballantyne with Calypso and Country and It Eh Right, by Saint Nick (Shashi Gosine).

Former national calypso monarch Eric Pink Panther Taylor, too, deviated from his standard political fare. He chose to sing a tune called Remember, urging those in the calypso, pan and soca artforms to reflect on the contribution of their predecessors, whom, he said, paved the way for the success they enjoy today.

Mimicking the stage presentation of late calypsonian, Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), Taylor then sang one off the Grandmasters favourites, 12 Bar Joan, to the delight of the audience.

Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool) had the crowd in stitches with Arithmatic, an hilarious, yet telling song about child marriage, and Speaking Frankly, his take on the crime situation.

Making up the cast were Revue manager Sugar Aloes (Michael Osuna); Baron (Timothy Watkins); Bally (Errol Ballantyne) and Antiguan calypsonian Swallow (Rupert Philo), who ended the show.
Slain girls mom waits to bury her

Thomas, 17, was found with her hands bound behind her back and a single bullet wound to the back of the head in bushes near her home at Calvary Trace, Arima shortly after 11 am Friday.

Her ex-boyfriend (and not boyfriend as had been previously reported) Carlyle Hamilton, 33, was hours earlier shot and critically wounded a few metres from where her body was found.

Thomas had converted to Islam just over a year ago around the same time when she met Hamilton.

Cipriani said she was coping at this time and she just wanted to lay her daughter to rest. She was still awaiting the return of her other daughter Elizabeth, 10, who lives with her father. The mother said that brothers from the mosque have been assisting her in trying to get her child to be laid to rest, hopefully on Monday after the Forensics autopsy was done.

The mother said, despite media reports, Thomas and Hamilton were never married but were romantically involved in the past.

Cipriani said she had no problem with her daughter seeing a much older man because he never showed her any disrespect.

She described her daughter as a level-headed teenager who made right decisions for herself because she wanted to reach forward in her life.

She said Hamilton was not from the area and had not been there in a while.

Investigations are continuing.
Appoint CEO from Arima Corp

She said, however, that this action will only be taken if the Statutory Authorities Services Commission (SASC) does not heed its call for an in-house acting CEO to be appointed.

We will move our resolution in council. We feel very strongly about this, an adamant Morris-Julien told Sunday Newsday.

The mayors stance came a day after she issued a media statement saying she has appealed to the Statutory Authorities Services Commission (SASC) asking that it reconsider its choice for acting CEO of the corporation.

Her statement followed news that the pending appointee for the acting CEO position originated from another corporation.

She has recommended that a qualified senior officer from the Arima Borough Corporation who has previous experience acting in the position and is familiar with the corporations operations and upcoming plans. Morris-Julien, in the release, said proper leadership was critical for the borough as it changes hands in the local government arena and requires institutional stability. She has yet to receive word from the SASC about the issue.

Yesterday, she added: The fact of the matter is that we are a new council, this is a new mayor and obviously we want a CEO with the institutional memory to continue with a course of action within the next two months. Morris-Julien said those who have acted as CEO were already apprised of several major projects currently in the pipeline.

We have Carnival, the clean-up.

We have the maxi taxi situation, several things that the people that are currently in administration, who usually act in the position, are fully aware of and support, she said.

Morris-Julien said she had also spoken to Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein about the issue.

She said Hosein has vowed to see what he could do from his end. On plans to develop of the borough, Morris-Julien said the market was of critical importance.

Mayors have come and gone with regards to the market and I have decided to ask every living mayor to join with me to get a solution to solve this issue, she said.

The mayor said the borough also was in dire need of an administration complex.

The sod-turned since 1973, three times and we still dont have a place to call our own, she said, adding that the corporations administrative staff was currently being housed in a section of the top floor of First Citizens Bank in Arima.

Morris-Julien said the inadequate accomodation has created health and safety challenges.

So, we have to find a place. My plans for Arima are really to get those two things done, at least start the ball rolling.

Morris-Julien said she cannot do it alone.

No matter what political party.

The only requirement is that you have to care for Arima and want the best for Arima and I need that support, she said.
Govt to award 400 scholarships

As he did so, he urged the countrys top 200 students in the 2016 Secondary Entrance Assessment Examination to aspire to earn such scholarships when their secondary education ends in the next five years.

I want to see you lift yourselves as you climb higher so that in five years, many of you will be in line to receive these scholarships, Garcia told the SE A honourees during a function at the National Energy Skills Centre, Rivulet Road, Couva.

He noted the Education Ministry will look into providing continuous training for teachers so they can deliver the best curriculum.

We of this ministry will provide the best tools for teachers too, Garcia said.

On the registration of children for entry into primary schools, Garcia said he recently learned of a school in Port-of-Spain where parents had to line up from 4 am to get forms. If our aim is to ensure equal access to education for all our students that situation must come to an end, he said. He said the ministry issued a circular asking all primary schools principals to allow access to students across the board.

On the topic of rebuilding aged schools, Garcia said this is a slow process. He said there are teachers who encourage parents to remove their children and close down schools for the slightest reasons.

This is preventing access of education for our children, Garcia said, noting parents and teachers should work together to ensure children have access to quality education. Garcia assisted in distributing certificates to students and school representatives at the function.

He also said his ministry will implement new methods to help students who scored 30 percent in SE A and are placed into the secondary schools system.

Top SE A student for 2016, Caitlin Brooker, of the Trinidad Muslim League (TML) Primary School, San Fernando, thanked her parents, teachers and all those who helped her to score high marks. Brooker, who now attends Naparima Girls High School, said she wants to make Trinidad and Tobago a better place.

Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Francis Lovell, in his remarks, urged students to work hard since a good education will provide a solid foundation in life.

Couva MP Rudranath Indarsingh attended the function. Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan gave the vote of thanks.
Lee calls for unity in UNC

Speaking yesterday at the relaunch of the UNCs Academy/ Training Session at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, Chaguanas, Lee called for unity as the party positions itself for the 2020 general election.

Brothers and sisters, there is a saying that in unity there is strength and in todays society the fact is as a united force, we will be able to achieve, beyond our wildest dreams, he said.

For too long we have looked to allow small differences and misunderstandings to divide us which has time and time again led to our downfall. If we are to progress, we must do it together. He added: We must all understand that our different qualities make us stronger. It is time we end the small bickering and bickering over positions, over territorial control, over individuals, because as we do so the PNM moves ahead. Let us remain focussed, united, determined and we will winwe will win. Yesterdays session, Lee said, sought to devise a strategy to take the UNC back into government by enabling enable each one of us to understand, to practice and to pass on the philosophy of the United National Congress. If we, as a family, are not able to undertake or enact our partys vision then we would have failed as a group, he said.

Lee said the session focussed on three key components: unity, mentorship and venturing out of ones comfort zones. Regarding mentorship, Lee said while many of the partys more experienced members and office holders would say they have been thought these lessons before one of our greatest issues has been the inability to mentor others. The inability to pass on knowledge to less experienced individuals. Many times new councillors are brought into the local government framework or someone is elected into a constituency executive and instead of passing on what is the correct way of performing their duties we withhold that knowledge. The time for those tactics are over. It is time we pass on our knowledge and groom others to be agents for change as ourselves so we can truly fulfil our partys philosophy, he said.

Lee argued that unity, mentorship and service meant nothing if it cannot be translated to those areas where we must solidify our UNC support to ensure victory. For example, the councillors within the constituency of Moruga must be given full support if not a tad extra support from their colleagues at the Princes Town Corporation to ensure they can best meet the needs of the electorate allowing us to retake Moruga Tableland in the next general election, he said.

The same can be said about the Pointe-a-Pierre constituency, a marginal seat in the heart of a number of safe seats.
MP wants plan for spraying near schools

An emergency meeting was held at the school on Thursday among officials including Mayaro MP Rushton Paray and chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh.

Paray, after the meeting, said the issues raised included the scheduling and co-ordination of spraying and fogging close to public institutions.

As we ramp up agricultural activities throughout the country, events such as these have the potential to flare up and we must put systems in place to deal with them with urgently, Paray said via a post on Facebook.

On Wednesday at about 9.15 am, while classes were in session, students and teachers complained of headaches, nausea, a burning sensation in their stomachs and respiratory problems.

School sources said there was a pungent stench at the schools compound that day. The incident came days after 14 students of the Rio Claro Vedic Primary School were taken to San Fernando General Hospital with similar symptoms.

It is believed the students inhaled pesticides from a nearby farm.

Paray also called on the Agriculture Ministry and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to collaborate in addressing the issue of chemical usage among agricultural practitioners who operate in fields near educational institutes and residential homes.
Sean Spicer. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Last night, Sean Spicer retweeted a video from satirical news publication the Onion. You nailed it, Spicer tweeted, along with the video which listed Five Things to Know About Sean Spicer. Except it seems like maybe Spicer  who remember, as White House Press Secretary, is partially in the business of watching videos and reading tweets  didnt watch the video or read the Onions tweet as carefully as he could have  since they declare Spicers role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation.

A screenshot of Spicers tweet. Photo: Sean Spicer/Twitter

The videos things to know also include Spicers former role as a senior correspondent for NPR (false), his defensive speaking style (slightly less false), and his questionable pocket squares (style is subjective, I guess). Thing-to-know number four is whether or not Spicer has ever knowingly lied to the press. Ones own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of ones experience, the Onion explains in its answer.

To quote Sean Spicer, nailed it.
there is a massive crowd at jfk airport right now

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and SFO. JFK's parking garage is filled with protestors!!

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Goddamnit. Once again I miss a protest due to out of town family stuff. I'm so proud of everyone who showed up though. And considering it's a Bart stop, I hope it fills even more

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There was one at DIA too. Though not quite as massive, I'm sure.

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The Judge has ordered a nationwide Stay on the EO. Cheeto Jesus is going to be mad. I donated $25 this morning.



Edited at 2017-01-29 02:04 am (UTC)

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Next time someone tells me that protesting doesn't help, I'm going to show them pictures of people protesting at airports and lawyers working PROBONO to help those who were stopped at customs.

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Nah protesting works. I am planning on going to every march being planned in DC. Next major one is scheduled for the Tax Day.

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i know. it's quite amazing what protesting has done this week.

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mte

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Protesting does work. It might take years, but organized resistance works if enough people join the movement. Think abolition, suffrage, civil rights, etc.

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I'm hearing different things on who this actually affects. Possibly only people currently in U.S. airports and it's not clear if they must be released?

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that judge is risking his job but damn yessssss

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Oh he's going to throw a tantrum any time now. Probably in the middle of the night.

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it's 3AM here & i can't go to bed. and i'm not the only one, most of my european tl on twitter is also still up & talking about this ban nonstop. this is so fucking shocking.

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Fellow ONTDers, if you can, please donate to ACLU and CAIR. Even $5 will help. We minorities need this now more than ever.

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I completely forgot about CAIR oops.



I just sent them my last $12. I'll send more after I pay my vet.

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will do!

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Do you have a link? I just want to make sure it's the right one.

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I am definitely donating, this is helping sue Trump? Will this also help with his take down of being POTUS?

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Thanks for the reminder! I donated to the ACLU earlier this month, but I just donated to CAIR now.

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I'm broke as hell rn, but I just donated to both. I'm making a list of charities to make donations to each month when/if I have the money.

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Do they mean they will match up to the point that they have personally donated 100K, or that they will match any single donation of up to 100K with no limit

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The first thing

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Thanks



It's a good way to get people donating as well, good for them

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I've been giving monthly to them & PP. It's not much but it's all I can really do rn 

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I started a small monthly donation with PP since the start of the Apocalypse (aka the day after the election) and I really gotta start doing one for the ACLU as well. I'm a lazy asshole who eats out a lot so I already know I should spend the money on more worthwhile things.

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SAme. I already have the automatic donation to PP, but tonight when I get home I'm making sure I add the ACLU to my credit card as well. Even 10 bucks a month adds up to 120 a year, which is way more than like a one-off 25 dollar donation i might make when i think about it.

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Federal court halts Trumps immigration ban https://t.co/S4DBZhvQ7f pic.twitter.com/sDYkFKT1ff  The Verge (@verge) January 29, 2017



Three GOPers: Sasse, Amash and Flake spoke out agains this. Just three. And we were told the Senate and the House will keep him in check. Three GOPers: Sasse, Amash and Flake spoke out agains this. Just three. And we were told the Senate and the House will keep him in check.

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they are cowards

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Clarification:Stay covers the airport detainees and those currently in transit. Doesn't change ban going forward. Prev unclear tweet deleted  Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) January 29, 2017

Yes, the clarify that in the article

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what are these Lite-Brite things I keep seeing in night-protests?

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The ban will be litigated further at a later date, but until that time the ban will not be enforced.  Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) January 29, 2017





Thank you to lawyers everywhere and especially immigration laywers. Donate to the ACLU and CAIRO!



Lawyers are arriving by the dozens to JFK, taking shifts outside of international arrivals. Here's their call to action: pic.twitter.com/p34bTVKCwj  Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) January 28, 2017

The stay apparently only covers the airport detainees and those in transit rn. Big that it's national. One step at a time. The first legal defeat of the Trump admin and may many more happen. Protesting and showing up matters.Thank you to lawyers everywhere and especially immigration laywers. Donate to the ACLU and CAIRO!

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This is amazing and heartwarming to see. All these lawyers working on a saturday to help so many in need.

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I'm seriously in awe.

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this gives me hope.

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this is fucking amazing

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This is so heartwarming

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This is such an amazing thing to see. My heart fluttered when I first heard that lawyers were rushing down.

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Watching the videos on this Twitter thread made me start to cry. This is such a horrible situation but seeing all of these lawyers come through to help the detainees is so fucking amazing.

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my sister the lawyer (human rights lawyer) is in Jamaica right now and says she'll be ready as soon as she lands in the US on Wednesday to help.

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i'm curious as what trump thinks all of these protests and it's gonna be start of two weeks into his presidencity. he prolly thought it was gonna be all rainbows and no protests

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it's tearing him up inside

his staffers have to keep him from watching tv because it upsets him

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I'm sure he hates it but he's so damn delusional that he probably just searches for tweets praising him all day and convinces himself that he's well liked. lol

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I hope it upsets him so much it gives him a heart attack.

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strap him to a chair and pry his eyes open, Clockwork Orange style

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He legitimately believes that a majority of the country likes what he's doing and approves of it.



Like bitch, you only won because tone deaf democrats put Hillary at the top of the ticket.

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I'm torn between fear that he'll retaliate somehow and hope that the absolute fury he must be feeling will be enough to cause a heart attack.

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His disapproval rating took only 8 days to go above 50 percent.. it took Bush one like three years

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Chicago is showing up too.





This is a fucking dystopian novel.

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no, this is what Americans are supposed to do wrt to protesting and showing up.

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I think the oc was talking about the reason for the protest and that they need to happen at all.



Could be wrong, though.

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Wasn't talking about the protesting, I'm proud AF that people are turning out- I meant all the shit that the administration is trying to push through.

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Come protest at DTW airport tomorrow 4-6pm!

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Love it! As someone who's lived in red states most of her life, it's been a fucking lifesaver living here during this last year. I don't think I could handle living in a Trump-loving state at this time.

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i had to stop watching he will not divide us for my own sanity. i can't believe there are so many nazis in new york city.

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they're all coming out now... their hatred is being justified by the clown in chief.

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I just saw someone with a Trump hat say "make America white again". I'm from NYC and it's shocking to see how many idiots there are here. Thankfully they are the minority.

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Where did you see this. I'm so angry and crying right now cu I can't believe the US turned into this bullshit

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They're getting too cocky. He'll say that to the wrong fucking person one day.

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I suspect more than a few are from New York State

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It would have been nice if everyone protesting like, you know, voted in November... but okay.

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They probably did. Hillary won the popular vote by 3 million and crushed it in the states where the most active protests are going on.

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A lot of Bernie bots refused to vote for Clinton, so they either went third party (lol), voted Trump, or didn't vote.



They can fuck right off.

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Don't even get me started. I literally just got into a fight with someone who didnt vote who had the nerve to tell me that they would have voted if they thought Trump "was serious"...

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I really doubt that the people who are politically engaged enough to protest on a moment's notice are the same ones who didn't vote. Apathetic people don't protest.

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I'm dying at seeing even people in these posts still talking shit about Hillary. Like, thanks, yes that is the most important aspect of things right now. Probably voted for Stein.

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What are the deets on Patrick Dempsey? His face has always been so punchable

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A lot of people involved with Greys Anatomy were pretty glad when he was killed off.

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almost none of his co-star tweeted him a goodbye after his last ep

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They just cite diva-ish behavior on the set of "Greys".

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he was having an affair when he was on grey's that was causing a lot of issues

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Kinda team Shia on this one.

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lol mte

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Yeah, I mean, it seems like he's punching the right people.

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same lol

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lmao ikr

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http://www.indiewire.com/2013/02/mia-wasikowska-says-shia-labeoufs-stories-about-his-scary-drunken-method-acting-in-lawless-are-all-true-249201/ Pitt and Hardy are dead ass problematique, no arguments here, but I'm hard-pressed to ever identify as "team Shia." He was so out of control and scary on the Lawless set, Mia Wasikowa almost left the film.

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I mean, strong emphasis on "kinda" and "on this one"

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Yeah in the case of punching Pitt and Hardy I am not mad at him for those.

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Team kraft services on the one with mike Myers. Margarine sucks and should be outlawed.

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Ok but what about those of us who are lactose intolerant but still want something that vaguely reminds us of butter?

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Is this a real question? There are several alternatives to butter besides margarine. Educate yourself.



(I don't think margarine should be outlawed bc lol but it is an absolute crap product.)

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Earth Balance sis.

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Butter has very little lactose iirc.

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Margarine was actually banned in Wisconsin for a period of time, because of our strong dairy collection.

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i always liked teri hatcher. i never imagined her to be mean but you never know i guess.



also, desperate housewives was so amazing. seasons 1 and 4 were especially amazing. it's sad it fell apart during the last few seasons because it was so good in its prime.



also they screwed with the couples too often. rip susan/mike and bree/orson.

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season 1 is so perfect. a great beginning, middle and end

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i'm here for shia punching out tom and brad even though i'm the mascot for team "none of these heauxs involved".

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Oh, Alec Baldwin is also mentioned. Surprise, surprise. LOL!



Cheyenne Jackson said that Alec taught him great comedic timing but "don't get in his light."

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lmao the Myers one



I can't watch the video, did they tell that story with a straight face?

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LOL yep, just straight narration.

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He tried really hard to have Dana Carvey fired from 'Wayne's World' before filming began because he didn't want another character taking attention from him.

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Myers is well known to be one of the worst people to work with in Hollywood. He'd literally fire crew members who made eye contact with him, would hole up in his trailer and refuse to work for petty reasons, etc.

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goop didn't deserve a place on the list. it was mostly just complaining that she is goop

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This list wouldn't be complete without making a woman sound worse than she is and labeling her as "difficult to work with" lmao

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And that thing with Scarlett sounds made up tbh

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Nah, Goop does. Ages ago someone on here (and I mean ages ago, several years) posted in a comment how they'd interned for something like the Today Show in NY and Ellen Barkin and Goop were entitled shits. It's been so long I can't remember all the details (other than "don't talk to my daughter, she's a star!" and Goop ignoring everyone that wasn't talent), just remember reading it and it completely coloring my opinion of Goop (didn't care for her, but didn't actively avoid her movies until that point).

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meh i know someone who works with her and says that she's a very great boss and has been very generous with them

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Some of these don't make sense but I just never understood being assholes to coworkers. Maybe I just see my job different but I feel like I'm always going the extra mile to seem nice that I couldn't imagine being full out rude. A lot of my work is communicating with people working on 6 other divisions in different states and it's mostly telling them they ar wrong but I always try my hardest to be as nice as I can about it

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I always try and be pleasant when I would be at work because no one wants to work in a hostile environment. Granted other people seem to thrive in that and I don't understand why.

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Datalounge has some shit on Mandy Patinkin. Fantastic actor (Julliard) but a total intense asshole to work with. He did a show with Toni Collette where he played an unlikable jerk and he got so into it that during on show he really slapped Toni. Plenty of Broadway gossip on him.







Look at Babs in this behind the scene Yentil clip. She's fucking scared.



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just watching that clip has me exhausted & stressed

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jfc. i am like curled into myself to get away from it

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Small correction to your story. He was playing Toni's abusive husband in The Wild Party and spat in her face in a scene. She credits the negative experience of working with Mandy as the reason she hasn't gone back to Broadway.

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!!!!!! i can't even. that's insane. that sounds traumatizing. esp. since those scenes in the wild party are so intense.

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i feel like the 'bitchy' character that emma plays in everything is probably just her irl

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supposedly she uses coke to stay rail thin, and it's made her a miserable bitch. when she was a kid actress people used to praise her.

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Emma always look unpleaseant so it's not hard to believe it

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Damn Shia, talk about a pomeranian ankle biting pitbulls.

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I'm always disappointed to here about Mandy Patinkin acting like an whole bc I think he's a good actor and I've liked everything I've seen him in lol.



Shocked about Mike Myers tbh.



Idk what to say about Shia LaBoeuf just based on the fact that he seems legit mentally ill and the people he fought with.





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The only person who has ever said Mandy was a jerk on a set was Mandy. He tends to be hard on himself, and he said he was arrogant when he was younger and wouldn't listen to the directors on 'Chicago Hope'. But none of his co-stars have ever said he mistreated them. On the contrary, they only ever say great things about him.

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I heard there were fights on homeland between him and the actor who plays Dar.

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Shia LaBoeuf: Got in two different fist fights on set, one with Tom Hardy, another with Brad Pitt





Son stays earning hood stripes

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And he punched a nazi!

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i like the tumblr post that says: "For years we believed Shia LaBeouf couldnt be the son of Indiana Jones, but look at him now. Putting things in museums and fighting Nazis."

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Katherine Heigl was the worst during Roswell, too. Long, long history of being terrible.



The only person that surprises me a little is Mike Myers, but even he isn't really super shocking.

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yeah, i think its one of the main reasons why i cant stand her character on that show.

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I love this



Not the part where people are being banned but that people are so vehemently angry and against this



Edited at 2017-01-29 07:26 pm (UTC)

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As a Muslim, the outpouring of support has made me so emotional. I can't help but tear up anytime I see pictures of lawyers working to help those detained and those who are also protesting at airports.



Edited at 2017-01-29 07:29 pm (UTC)

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Girl, wallahi i spent most of yesterday crying because of this. I have been afraid of being deported since I was a kid (my family stayed here illegally for a few years before gaining legal residence and then citizenship) and after 9/11 I was sure I'd be thrown into a concentration camp. Seeing this is so overwhelming.

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I'm a Muslim who emigrated to the U.S. from one of the countries on the banned list, and I feel the same way. And I just want to say that seeing all the people here on ONTD who have donated $ to the ACLU has lifted my spirits so much. Yall can be shitty little snarks sometimes but damn I'm full of gratitude right now. I still feel really scared but knowing that there are so many people fighting tooth and nail for us makes it a little easier to bear.

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I'm not Muslim but I am a black woman living in the South. I have known fear. I stand by all Muslims. No one should be banned anywhere for their religion. This is not the America I love.

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It makes me sad and angry and frustrated that this has to even happen in the first place but on the other hand I'm really happy to see a lot of America coming together on this one.

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The only thing that has given me any hope with this new regime is that people are protesting en masse and on short notice.

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the outpouring of support and solidarity is a true silver lining.



Thinking of you and your family bb <33

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Good on him. There are more people being detained. Please continue donating to ACLU and CAIR. CBP is denying court orders bc that's what Trump and his legion of doom are ordering them to do. They are violating the constitution. Continue calling your asshole Republican and democratic congressmen.

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Also the Southern Poverty Law Center

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Yes. We're all we have right now. It's us vs Trump and his crew of hillbillies. If you can donate, please do so!

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CBP is denying court orders bc that's what Trump and his legion of doom are ordering them to do.



This is terrifying.

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That's so fucking illegal I can't

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We are now donating all sales revenue of @tinahassannia's book ASGHAR FARHADI: LIFE AND CINEMA to the ACLU https://t.co/jklT011UGf  The Critical Press (@criticalpress) January 28, 2017





Or just straight up donate to ACLU. Either one is good! For cinema fans:Or just straight up donate to ACLU. Either one is good!

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Merkel's office says she explained the Geneva Convention over the phone to Trump on Saturday  Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) January 29, 2017



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Omg

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lmaooo

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Good grief

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Trump probably thinks the Geneva Convention is some type of convention he can host at the Trump Grill.

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Germany is not the leader of the free world. LMAO.

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/29/merkel-explains-geneva-refugee-convention-to-trump-in-phone-call



The chancellor regrets the US governments entry ban against refugees and the citizens of certain countries, Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. She is convinced that the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify a general suspicion against people of a certain origin or a certain religion. The Geneva refugee convention requires the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds. All signatory states are obligated to do. The German government explained this policy in their call yesterday.







I mean good for her, but it's not like Trump is going to listen. She's something of a common enemy for the far right and referenced her during his campaign often enough, so... nope...The chancellor regrets the US governments entry ban against refugees and the citizens of certain countries, Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. She is convinced that the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify a general suspicion against people of a certain origin or a certain religion. The Geneva refugee convention requires the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds. All signatory states are obligated to do. The German government explained this policy in their call yesterday.I mean good for her, but it's not like Trump is going to listen. She's something of a common enemy for the far right and referenced her during his campaign often enough, so...

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nooooo

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I was ready to hate on her again because she stayed quiet yesterday but then she made a statement today and her press secretary let it "slip" that she had to explain the Convention to Drumpf.

He will be here in July for the G20 summit. It won't be fun for him, we are really good when it comes to protesting.



Edited at 2017-01-29 07:45 pm (UTC)

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During the campaign he was asked his thoughts on the Geneva Convention and it was obvious he had no clue what it was so he just basically said "mmhmm, we'll look into it and renegotiate it"

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I wonder if I should start low key stanning her.

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oh good lord...





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i'm far from her biggest fan (like, really far), but i honestly wish her all the strenght for when she has to meet him.

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Do people even need more proof that Trump is thoroughly unqualified to be president (with this just being yet another point)? Oy Vey.

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So embarrassing

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omglol

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I cannot get over this.

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Trump is so clearly going to watch the Oscars and angrily tweet about every speech or joke aimed at him or in support of Farhadi, so I hope they just go all out political rally with the show. They've really nothing to lose from it and it's not like the Oscars don't have a long history of politically charged speeches and rhetoric.

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i wish all the winners start their speech with, " first and foremost i would like to say fuck Donald Trump "

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good on mr. farhadi. i hope hollywood takes a break from the self-congratulatory nonsense and makes an attempt to shine a light on this on the night of. they have a huge platform to do so.



my fellow ontd iranians, i hope you are all faring as well as u can be rn. i know i've commented back and forth w/ several of u throughout the past couple years and u are in my thoughts. same 2 all others from all nations affected by this bullshit rn.



Edited at 2017-01-29 07:33 pm (UTC)

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I'm slowly realizing how much my extended fam is effected...family that got us citizenship aren't allowed to visit Iran now and family in Iran can't visit us...maybe if we can get an orange hitler hotel in Tehran he will lift the restrictions?

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Emergency protest against Trump's #MuslimBan and @theresa_may's silence, this Monday. Please share everywhere: https://t.co/KmN4Wp4IsB  Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) January 29, 2017





There is also one happening tomorrow at noon at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa. For London UKers protest tomorrow:There is also one happening tomorrow at noon at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa.

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6pm is such a shitty time, but I get it. Hopefully I can get out of work 6 on the dot.

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Good for him. Why would you when the US humiliates your country like so.



On another note, The Salesman is winning that Oscar.

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could you imagine how republicans would feel if a president made a ban on White Christians? especially for their several acts of terrorism ie - Birmingham Church Bombing and Charleston Church Shooting violence on Planned Parenthood. They are the biggest threat to our nation. is there a article somewhere with a full list of places and websites to boycott for supporting trump? I just donated 200$ to aclu thank to you guys informing me this is the best action against his new policy. But I want to do so much more and inform others how they can help.







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I keep hearing that the best ways to help aside from donating are to get involved locally with your local democrats, local food shelters, local anything basically. There is going to be a crackdown on the internet next to keep people from mobilizing, but if people are already tapped into local groups they will be able to overcome this.

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boycotting businesses makes republicans scream and cry though.

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Watching the Oscars and seeing pieces of shit like Casey Affleck and Mel Gibson be rewarded as this country turns away people might be too much for me to handle tbh. People on that stage should be speaking out or maybe even invite a refugee to speak/accept your award on your behalf. Anything. Although I have little expectations in Hollywood...



Here's an updated list. Add anything you might know of happening!



UPDATED list of anti-#MuslimBan protests happening TODAY: pic.twitter.com/oU8DHKQcCe  igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) January 29, 2017

His statement is really lovely. What an absolute shitshow this has been and we know it's all Bannon and his dorito stained hands pulling the strings. So many people will be in harms way or be killed. I have a colleague who has no idea when she will see her family in Iran again. So much of our society relies on immigrants - arts, medicine, science, research, technology, business, sports, hospitality, etc. They make our world better and the US will suffer greatly for it. We will fall so far behind in every facet of society.Watching the Oscars and seeing pieces of shit like Casey Affleck and Mel Gibson be rewarded as this country turns away people might be too much for me to handle tbh. People on that stage should be speaking out or maybe even invite a refugee to speak/accept your award on your behalf. Anything. Although I have little expectations in Hollywood...Here's an updated list. Add anything you might know of happening!

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Schemer and the Democrats stepped up their shit these past two days.

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Sen. Chuck Schumer becomes emotional speaking against Pres. Trump's immigration order, calling it "mean-spirited and un-American." pic.twitter.com/NkhUdpaNyV  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 29, 2017

Schumer cried and it was really how I've been feeling lately. Simply put - it's just so damn mean-spirited and cruel.

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st. louis - lambert airport from 1-4

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I'm surprised McConnell has an office in Louisville considering how little time he actually spends in the state... (but I'm glad there's going to be a protest at his office. Fuck his turtle looking ass.)

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Shit, there is a protest in my city. Earlier, when MSNBC was talking about protests, my city wasn't on there at all. I feel bad now for not going. My mom is flying in later this week. I told her if any were going on at our airport that she could just find me in the crowd.

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its going to be crazy downtown with all the super bowl stuff happening too

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I feel like the oscars should be moved out of the USA. It makes no sense since it's for the USA and originated here but it often claims to represent world cinema so it should be no biggie if it was held in another country. idk....

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Edited at 2017-01-29 07:40 pm (UTC) so proud of all our protesters out there again today. fuck this administration up.

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Lmao I think you can see me in this photo but I can't tell if it's my hat or not

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omg hey boo!!! i wish i was out there today but a family emergency took me elsewhere. tear it up <3

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Honestly, I'm surprised people are stepping up an speaking out...

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Fuck Trump

Fuck Bannon

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They're not being allowed to see them to stop them from signing.

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FUCK THIS

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fuck this

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This happens to Mexicans caught at the border. It's awful.

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Repulsive. And you just know that there will be people who cave to such pressure and sign stuff they shouldn't. Bless all the lawyers coming down and protecting those who need it

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What the actual fuck.

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OMG... wtf man.

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holy shit....

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Omg fuck Trump and Bannon. And the GOP for remaining silent

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hSGjyWJZIQJpGz4V2ftX_qioCgBtL59oJkkhx146nFE/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0



Here is a list of dems/repubs and their response to the ban if they had one Here is a list of dems/repubs and their response to the ban if they had one

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Bill Nelson is quiet, not surprising. Let me call up his office.

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Email I just sent him.



Subject: Muslim Ban



I do not support Donald Trump's Muslim ban. I hope that you will speak out against this illegal ban publicly, and work as my elected representative to overturn this racist executive order.

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I'm not surprised by Georgia senators. They're spineless pieces of shit on the best days. Otherwise, they're Tea Party types who never move from party line.

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Wow, it's really telling that only one of the repubs is even neutral. None are supporting it and yet they're almost all staying silent. Talk about spineless.



Edited at 2017-01-29 08:45 pm (UTC)

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my state continues to disappoint as per usual

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In an ironic decision, Saudi Arabias Muslim rulers, leading anti-Communists of the Cold War, may be adopting the economic management model of the atheist Communist Party of China. But rulers gotta rule...

Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia recently announced Vision 2030, the most ambitious Saudization project ever, likely driven by a $150 billion drop in reserves due to a steep decline in oil prices. Among the projects stated objectives are some hardy perennials: reduce the role of the public sector and make the private sector the engine of the economy, reduce dependence on oil, increase participation of women in the work force, reduce corruption, and an unprecedented public share offering of 5 percent of Saudi Aramco (the Saudi Arabian Oil Company) to recapitalize the countrys reserves. But the key goal isnt mentioned: ensure the continuing rule of the country by the Al-Saud family. Vision 2030 can be accurately characterized by: "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change," from the story of another prince seeking to maintain his familys influence.

Observers have noted the absence of political reform in the kingdoms plan to move from a rentier economy to a production-based economy and then to a knowledge-based economy, but thats not an oversight.

Vision 2030 seeks to move the Saudi kingdom into the 21st century, the Saudis having mashed several centuries of catch-up development into the last half of the 20th century. So the challenge is: how do the Saudis modernize and liberalize the economy while not spiraling into the chaos the rest of the region suffered when authoritarian regimes were challenged by popular dissent in Syria, Libya, and Egypt?

The model the Saudis are looking to for their future is not American republicanism or European parliamentarism, systems that took hundreds of years to develop, but the Chinese model, where an authoritarian state, ruled by the Communist Party of China, keeps exclusive control of the political dynamic while dramatically liberalizing and opening the economic sphere enough that the population accedes to continued Party rule. Thus a deeply tribal society, with the accompanying rigid social hierarchy, which is not ready or appropriate to transition to Western-style representative government, can hope to square the circle of rapid economic development and continuity of culture.

Though one is Islamic and the other atheistic, the two regimes share some significant features:

1. State control over the Internet and media (Great Firewall of China; Article 39 of the 1992 Basic Law and the 2003 Press and Publications Act)

2. Strict state rules regarding private behavior (the one-child policy; sharia)

3. Organized state repression of religious out-groups (Falun Gong and Christians; all non-Sunnis)

While retaining state ownership and control over key industries and sectors, the Chinese have also empowered hundreds of millionaires, most affiliated in one way or another with the Party, thus providing the power of entitlement and funding for those favored by the Party. Likewise in the Saudi Arabia, the royal family and the leading business families have long and deep relations where the business sector has preserved the benefits of rent from the oil and gas sector and government contracts by supporting Al-Saud rule. But the Al-Saud are increasingly getting involved in business as the growing younger generation of princes realizes they arent in contention for the top political posts, blurring the line between business and government. This development has the potential to strain the relationship with the business sector which has always supported the royals. This strain may be compounded by Vision 2030 if the reforms further diminish the revenue of the leading merchant families. Related: Is The Oil Crisis Over? Oil Majors Report Positive Cash Flow

That relationship may break down as the Saudi state tries to cut the number of public employees, currently 70 percent of the Saudi citizen workforce, while expecting the private sector to soak up the now-surplus bureaucrats. Expatriates are now about 80 percent of the countrys workforce, and most of them lack the salary, benefits, and working conditions that Saudis consider their due. The private sector may be reluctant to hire former public employees who are used to the well-paid, less-strenuous public sector and may not have the technical or business acumen the expatriates bring to the economy. The private sector may be encouraged by top-up subsidies for the transitioning bureaucrats, but their presence will consume management bandwidth and their higher salaries will hurt the morale of their new colleagues.

Vision 2030 hinges on what McKinsey estimates will require $4 trillion in investment in eight sectors: mining and metals, petrochemicals, manufacturing, retail and wholesale trade, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, finance, and construction. Aside from wondering where that $4 trillion will come from, this raises the question: what will Saudi Arabia do? The current industrial sector of oil, gas, petrochemicals, and mining employs relatively few people, retail and wholesale trade is controlled by the large trading houses, and everyone is already covered by government healthcare.

Tourism will be limited as, other than Mecca and Medina, which are closed to non-Muslims, there is little of note as most traces of pre-Islamic society have fallen into disrepair. Social restrictions, such as on mixed-sex groups, may limit initial opportunities to academics, historians, and researchers. And the pushback from the religious authorities on the tourism initiative wasnt long in coming when the Grand Mufti warned, We know that singing concerts and cinemas are a depravity."

The Kingdom may hope there is salvation in the services sector, but it will have to compete with the U.A.E., which has built out its physical and human infrastructure for over 20 years, is more welcoming to expat workers due to its small population, and practices a tolerant Islam that does not rely on state-employed enforcers that roam the streets providing on-the-spot correction.

Aramco has been the example for decades of Saudization, where the vast majority of engineering, technical and management employees are Saudi. They are young, mobile, have very high social media access, and so are far more engaged in a wider society than their parents.

The Kingdom has taken steps to expand the Aramco example to the rest of the kingdom. Over 250,000 Saudis have studied at U.S. and Western universities over the past decade. The vast majority have studied engineering, other technical subjects, and management. They are very ready to assume new roles across a wide range of skill levels, not in service positions, but in middle-rank and senior positions making policy and directing programs or companies. If this cohort is employed and empowered it may remain the foundation for continued Al-Saud rule. Related: Russia Makes A Move On Asian Oil Markets As OPEC Cuts

And are the Saudis ready to work? The Chinese were ready to take advantage of the economic reforms kicked off by Deng Xiaopings 1992 southern tour as they knew the shortages and privations endemic to Communism, and they had the example of the successful Chinese diaspora throughout Asia. Most Saudis are employed in undemanding government jobs with the wrong skills, the wrong attitude to risk and reward, and a strong desire for security and stability.

As the Saudi government pushes to the future with Vision 2030, it may get some maneuvering room from that same desire for security and stability which is deeply rooted in the countrys tribal culture. Recent polling in other Persian Gulf states found more security-minded Gulf citizens are willing to accept lower levels of economic performance by a government in return for stability. Thus, the Al-Saud may be able to rationalize the economy, which will require painful cuts to social benefits and some economic uncertainty, if they can manage the populations expectations by exploiting anxiety created by violence in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, and the menace of the looming Islamic Republic of Iran.

The reformers in Saudi Arabia will have to deploy extraordinary political skills as they renegotiate the founding deal of the kingdom, where the citizens assent to Al-Saud rule in exchange for economic security, while confronting an insurgency inside the palace by princes who will lose money and power in the new paradigm, and minding the interests of their supporters in the business community. All this while staying true to their culture and traditions.

Its a tall order, indeed, and on its success hangs the stability of the Gulf and the well-being of Americas interests. We hope they get it right.

By James Durso and Charles Kestenbaum

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Talk about the legendary natural resources wealth of the Arctic has been going on for some years now, as the polar cap continues to melt at unprecedented rates. What makes those concerned with the wellbeing of the planet cringe makes others rub their hands in anticipation of future profits. The Arctic race is on.

There are eight countries with legal territorial claims in the Arctic: Russia, the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark (for Greenland), Iceland, and Finland. Five of these have been building up their military presence in the region in the last few years, as an analysis from Army Technology notes, but there is no indication that they are preparing for conflict.

This might sound markedly strange given the anti-Russian media rhetoric in the West. Yet, according to several defense experts from Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, this rhetoric is just media hype and fear-mongering. The reason why the Russian threat is exaggerated is simple enough: Moscow has no interest whatsoever in antagonizing the West  not in the Arctic, not anywhere else.

As one of the experts quoted by Army Technology, Marcus Matthias Keupp, says, Russia has too much to lose if it decides, for some unfathomable reason, to flex its muscles to its Arctic neighbors. Keupp, by the way, is the head of the department of Defence Management at the Military Academy of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Yet there is one thing that sets Russia apart, especially from the U.S.: it has made the Arctic an economic development priority. This, of course, makes sense given the size of its Arctic territories, and it also makes sense given its traditional reliance on natural resources for state revenues. Besides, it makes sense in light of climate change, which will create new trade waterways through the North. Related: Keystone XL Still Faces Obstacles Even With Trumps Approval

To date, Russia has 40 icebreakers and 16 deepwater ports in its Arctic waters. And icebreakers are the difference between winning and losing in this region, or, as Foreign Policy quotes Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, The highways of the Arctic are icebreakers. Russia has superhighways, and we have dirt roads with potholes.

In addition to its presence there, Russia has dedicated an academic program in its Academy of Sciences to the Arctic. And it has been treating the Arctic as a priority area for decades. While some might see this as muscle-flexing, other would probably take the more logical stance that there is just so much Arctic territory in Russia that it has to be put into some use.

The new Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, has called the Arctic strategic, pledging to develop an integrated strategy for it. Yet so far, the Arctic has not been strategic, it seems, and this means it will take a while, and quite a while, to develop and implement any strategy that comes from the DoD. As far as icebreakers go, for instance, the U.S. has one operational vessel for the Arctic. It also has a second one, but its broken. Meanwhile, Russia has 11 in construction, to add to its existing 40. Related: Robots Over Roughnecks: Next Drilling Boom Might Not Add Many Jobs

Can the U.S. curb Russias activity in the Arctic? Hardly, since it is staying within its borders, despite an attempt a few years ago to extend these at its European neighbors expense. Can it catch up? This seems to be the only useful option. Must it? Maybe. The U.S. has a tiny portion of the Arctic compared to Russia, but it might want to be better placed there, just in case. Because the Arctic nations are not the only ones eyeing the energy, metals, and trade corridor potential of the Arctic.

China has been quietly building a close relationship with Iceland. This year, a Chinese-funded research facility on the island will open doors, marking another milestone in bilateral relations, after China helped Iceland get back on its feet after the 2008 financial crisis.

China is also in the sights of President Trump who seems to consider it a greater threat to the U.S. than Russia. This is one more reason to choose cooperation instead of confrontation in the Arctic. The region is shaping up to be the last big mineral resources pie on Earth, and everyone will want a piece of it. The bigger the fork each stakeholder makes for themselves, the bigger the piece they will be able to eat. In this case, the easier and safer way to make a bigger fork is by joining forces with others hungry for the pie.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Uncertainties in the oil market have highlighted the news for weeks now, collecting everyones attention. The IEAs recent forecast is generating optimism for oil, estimating that demand for crude will grow faster than expected at an average level of 1.3 mb/d over the year. This along with several upcoming events will play a key role for oil, adding to the ambiguity of its future value. Weve already seen the price of both WTI and Brent surpassing the $50 mark at the end of last year and Brent reaching over $56 per barrel this past month. Both benchmarks dropped $3 over the course of the first weekend in January but have since resurfaced. Investors are interested in how President Trumps policies will impact the market as well as how OPECs supply cuts will play out.

Then we have Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, who is focused on the long-term future of oil. Last week, at the World Economic Forum, Nasser stressed the importance of further capital investment in the industry. He believes $25 trillion needs to be invested in oil capacity over the next 25 years to continue meeting demand. This is quite a statement especially in a time when producers are making an effort to limit supply.

Saudi Aramco is the largest producer of crude oil in the world and a leader in developing new forms of energy. Nasser emphasized the relevance of renewable energy but doesnt believe itll replace oils vitality. He acknowledged the fact that demand for oil will exist for decades and as such needs to been prepared for.

Coming from an executive of a leading oil producer, Nassers $25 trillion figure should be taken seriously. Oil rig counts have decreased in recent years with profits narrowing for suppliers, not able to pump at an affordable cost. With rising oil prices, however, weve begun to see an increase in rig count in several countries as reported by Baker Hughes. Demand and rig count are both expected to continue increasing, showing signs that the industry is certainly returning to a growth cycle. Related: Large Rig Count Gains Rock Oil Markets

Long-term investors should look to companies prioritizing the exploration of new oil fields as it supports Nassers notion of continued industry growth. For investors having doubts about the next couple months, they should be reassured that their investments will continue to grow for years to come. Oil field service companies such as Baker Hughes and Halliburton would be strong long-term investment choices since producers will be heavily reliant on these types of companies. Investors should keep a close eye on Aramco as theyre in talks for valuing an IPO, likely going public sometime next year.

As for the price of oil, speculators are unsure where itll move next. Theres a general consensus that crude will see a downward trend throughout the remainder of the year. President Trump is pro-fracking giving economists the impression the United States will ramp up production, potentially interfering with OPECs cuts. If this occurs, investors should look for potential profits on a spread between the two regions benchmarks. One thing remains certain, though, capital investment needs to be at the center of oil majors concerns if they hope to take advantage of the industrys expected growth.

By Michael McDonald of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Welcome to 'OZ' - The 'Other' Side of the Rainbow!! Posting is at 10AM, Noon and 2PM CST daily. Up to 12 days of posts on the main page. The archives have more. You can forward posts by clicking on the envelope at the bottom of the post. Enjoy your stay! *** If you need to contact me, or have a copyright issue, please use the "Contact The Wizard" form on the left side of 'OZ'. Original source and author is cited and credited in each post where possible. ***
PM cousins submitted affidavit to SC 29 January, 2017



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Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry

Woke Bingo ISLAMABAD: One of the prime ministers cousins, in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court bench hearing the Panamagate case, has claimed that he deposited 12 million dirhams in cash with the Qatari ruling family following the sale of the Gulf Steel Mills in 1980.



In an affidavit dated Jan 20, 2017, which is also part of the concise statement submitted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs son Hussain, Tariq Shafi stated that he had deposited the massive sum with Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani of Qatar, after receiving each instalment from Mohammad Abdullah Kayed Ahli.



Mr Ahli was the owner of the Ahli Steel Company, Dubai, of which Mr Shafi held 25pc shares. Following an agreement on April 14, 1980 between the two, the shares were sold and a net aggregate sum of 12m dirhams was received by Mr Shafi over the course of the year 1980.



The sum was deposited with the Al-Thani family on the instructions of his uncle, the late Mian Mohammad Sharif, the prime ministers father.



Affidavit, concise statement explain Mian Sharifs business dealings with Al-Thani family

At the time, Fahad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani was frequently in Dubai in connection with his business concerns and received the cash payment.



This is the second affidavit, the first being filed on Nov 12, 2016, where Mr Shafi has been shown as the owner of all Sharif family businesses in Dubai.



In the affidavit, Mr Shafi stated that Mian Sharif had made him a partner/shareholder in Gulf Steel out of love and affection in 1974, when he was only 19 years old.



In his concise statement, Hussain Nawaz had claimed that his grandfather, Mian Sharif, had told him that the late Sheikh Jassim bin Jabber Al-Thani had retained 12m dirhams and had assured the elder Sharif of a just and equitable return on the amount, as and when required.



Mian Sharif had also told Hussain, the statement claimed, that he had asked the Al-Thani family to consider Nawaz Sharifs eldest son as the beneficiary of that amount. The grandfather had also informed Hussain that during his lifetime, he had been in touch with the Al-Thani family from time to time, including the late Sheikh Jassim bin Jabber Al Thani  who passed away in 1999  directly and through his son, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim bin Jabber Al-Thani, the statement said.



After Sheikh Jassims death, the statement said, Mian Sharif remained in contact with Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabber Al-Thani  the first foreign dignitary to fly to Pakistan to intercede with retired Gen Pervez Musharraf to respect Nawaz Sharif and his family.



Along with the affidavit, another letter from Sheikh Hamad was also appended, which clarified that in 1980, Mian Sharif had invested approximately 12m dirhams in the real estate business of the Al-Thani family.



This investment was made in cash, which was common practice in the Gulf region at the time and a customary way for them to do business, given the longstanding relationship between his father and Mian Sharif, the letter stated.



Between 2001 and 2003, Hussains statement explained, Mian Sharif had arranged $5.41m so he (Hussain) could invest in the Al-Azizia Steel Company Ltd. These funds were transferred by the Al-Thani family at the request of his grandfather, the statement said.



This fact was related to Hussain by Sheikh Hamads representative Nasir Khamis at the time of an overall settlement in late 2005, the statement said, adding that the equity injected by his grandfather, along with loans from financial institutions, were utilised to set up the Azizia Steel Manufacturing Plant near Makkah, Saudi Arabia.



The refurbishment of the old steel manufacturing machinery was personally overseen by Mian Aziz, who employed engineering staff from Ittefaq Foundaries in Lahore at the Azizia Steel Company. The Saudi Arabian government, out of regard for the efforts of his grandfather, allowed the conversion of agricultural land for industrial use, where the Azizia steel plant was set up, the concise statement explained.



The steel business was later sold in 2005 for a total consideration of over 63 million Saudi riyals.



In 2005, Sheikh Hamad offered to settle Mian Sharifs outstanding investment with the Al-Thani family, the statement said.



Subsequently, the representatives of both met in Jeddah, where it was agreed that a cumulative return based on the London Inter Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR), as well as other established international lending rates from 1980 onwards, would be considered payable to the Al-Thani family, along with the principal amount of $3.257 million, the statement said.



Hussain was informed by the Al-Thani family representative that a sum of $8 million had been paid during the year 2000 to the Al-Towfeek Company for investment on the instructions of Mian Sharif, and the same amount was determined payable to Hussain by the Al-Thani family.
USA federal judge blocked part of Donald Trump immigration ban 29 January, 2017



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Woke Bingo A federal judge on Saturday blocked part of President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.



The decision accompanied growing resistance to Trump's crackdown on Muslim immigration, with large protests spreading at major airports across the country.



Victory!!!!!! the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), whose lawyers sued the government, tweeted after US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued her decision.



Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders.



Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travellers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.



The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators there chanted Let them in, let them in!



Large protests took place at the main airports for Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.



Donnelly's decision to issue a temporary stay  which stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's order  came after dozens of people were detained at US airports following Trump's actions.



The exact number of those affected is unclear, but the judge ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.



Sending those travellers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to substantial and irreparable injury, wrote Donnelly, who was appointed by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.



A second federal judge in Virginia also issued a temporary order restricting immigration authorities for seven days from deporting legal permanent residents detained at Dulles Airport just outside Washington, according to US media.



We knew that was coming  we were prepared, said Camille Mackler, a lawyer who heads legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that quickly mounted the demonstration there.



But we didn't know when, and we couldn't believe it would be immediate, that there'd be people in an air plane the moment the order was taking effect.



The List Project, which helps Iraqis whose personal safety is threatened because they have worked for the United States, expressed outraged over the move, warning it put American lives at risk too.



I can't say this in blunt-enough terms: you can't s**** o*** the people that risked their lives and bled for this country without consequences, wrote the project's founder and director Kirk Johnson.



The ACLU's legal challenge sought the release of two Iraqi men on grounds of unlawful detention. One of them  Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who has worked as interpreter and in other roles for the US in Iraq  was in fact released on Saturday after being detained the day before.



Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, who went to JFK to press for the release of those detained under Trump's measure, said We must fight this executive order in the streets, in the courts, anywhere, anytime. We must resist. We must fight.



Trump's pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travellers from Islamic countries to extreme vetting  which he declared would make America safe from radical terrorists. The targeted countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



Donnelly's decision shows that when President Trump enacts laws or executive orders that are unconstitutional, and illegal, the courts are there to defend everyone's rights, ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in leaving the emergency hearing.



The ban has triggered political backlash, including from Trump's fellow Republicans.



Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the US Senate, spoke of America's legal and moral obligations to help the innocent victims of these terrible conflicts.



I strongly urge the new administration to move quickly to tailor its policy on visa issuance as narrowly as possible, delivering on our security needs while reducing unnecessary burdens on the vast majority of visa-seekers that present a promise  not a threat  to our nation, he said in a statement.



Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, wrote: To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today.



His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada.



The rapid mobilisation against the order suggests a protracted battle is shaping up between migrant advocates and Trump and his administration.



This is the opening salvo of a long battle that will go on in the courts, said Michael Kagan, a law professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who specialises in immigration issues.



He said the outcome of the legal battle is unclear because we are in unchartered territory in modern America.



The battle could end up in the US Supreme Court, which has not ruled on this type of immigration issue since the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.



A White House official said that holders of a green card  which allows permanent residence in the US and often takes years to obtain  who are abroad should first go to the US consulate to obtain a document allowing return to the US.



And green card holders in the US who want to travel abroad must obtain approval from a consulate official.



The State Department has said that people from the seven countries under the 90-day travel ban will be prohibited entry no matter their visa status. Only those holding a dual citizenship with the US will be allowed to enter.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
In his maiden post-appointment postings as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu has replaced COP Prosper Kwame Agblor with DCOP Bright Oduro as the Director General of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID).



In a police signal signed by Mr Asante-Apeatu and stumbled upon by DAILY GUIDE, COP Prosper Agblor is now Director-General, Special Duties.



DCOP Bright Oduro, until the new posting, was DG in-charge of Welfare.



ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, second-in-command of the PIPS, now moves to the CID headquarters as the deputy.



ACP Dennis A. Akob-dem, second-in-command, CID headquarters, now moves to CID headquarters Special Duties as second-in-command.



The changes at the CID headquarters  a critical segment of policing  is a pointer to what the new IGP intends doing to the law enforcement system which in the past few years has been regarded as not living up to the expectation of Ghanaians, including personnel of the Service.



With many deliberately delayed murder cases involving political activists, the CID is one area Ghanaians would be looking up to for addressing the many instances of improprieties.



Other changes ordered by the new Chief Constable are Chief Superintendent Paul Sampson Kontomah, the Central Regional Crime Officer, who now comes to the CID headquarters in Accra.



Chief Superintendent Eric Ken Wilful, national headquarters, Accra, moves to Projects, (headquarters), as Superintendent Benjamin Affisah, national headquarters, moves to CID headquarters.



Superintendent Alice Awarikaro, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Ministries, moves to DOVVSU CID headquarters as Superintendent Philip Kwaku Atsiasa, CID headquarters, goes to Protocol, headquarters.



DSP Sophia Eva Ennim, Court Unit, Accra, goes to DOVVSU, Madina, as DSP Solomon Korli, Secretary to IGP, goes to Legal, national headquarters.



DSP Daniel Yao Dzansi, Crime, Suhum, moves to Dormaa Ahenkro in the Brong-Ahafo Region as ASP Daniel Turkson, national headquarters, goes to Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Kotobabi District, Accra.



ASP Simon W. Setorglo, Operations, national headquarters, goes to PIPS headquarters, Accra, as ASP Cecilia H. Appiah-Ampofo, national headquarters, goes to IRD, headquarters.



ASP Lydia Otu-Nyarko, headquarters, is going to the Police Hospital and ASP Bruce Nii-Nanka, national headquarters, heads for JOC.



ASP Gariba Basomi, national headquarters, moves to Court Unit, Accra, as ASP Stephen Antwi, Crime, Nkawkaw, goes to Suhum District as the Crime Officer.



ASP Agnes Boafo, national headquarters, has been sent to Court Unit.



It is expected that more movements would be announced in the coming weeks as sources close to the new IGP suggest that he intends to work hard to change the image of the Police Service.

Source: Daily Guide









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It was almost as if he was waiting for Theresa May to leave US airspace. Donald Trump's executive order to effectively ban citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for at least 90 days, was signed not long after his meeting with the British Prime Minister.But he need not have worried (not that he cared) for when questioned in detail about the ban, Theresa May refused to condemn and it took concerted pressure for a late night statement to emerge from 10 Downing Street grudgingly stating that the Prime Minister does "not agree" with Donald Trump's refugee ban and will appeal to the US if it affects British citizens.No statement of principle, no acknowledgement of the injustice being visited on innocent people who are being separated from their families, not even a hint of compassion for the plight of refugees fleeing from oppression, poverty, injustice and murder. Instead we had a neutral, self-interested inward-looking comment focusing on the impact on British citizens.Compare her response to that of the Liberal Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau , who responded on Twitter:That is real leadership. Theresa May should take note.Trump's executive order was the act of a paranoid President lashing out at every conceivable target with little regard or understanding for its consequences. Or was it? For as the New York Daily News reports , some Muslim countries were spared from the order's blacklist, even though they have deep-seated ties to terrorism.They say that the records show Trump does not hold business interests in any of the countries on the list, but he does holds major stakes in several of those excluded from it even though those countries he has spared a ban have deep-seated ties to terrorism.They further note that despite Fridays executive order suspending the issuing of U.S. visas or travel permits to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the conservative-leaning Cato Institute says that not a single American was killed on U.S. soil by citizens from any of those countries between 1975 and 2015:And it goes on, click on the link for further details. Perhaps Theresa May needs to study the track record of her new best friend more closely. Maybe she also needs to wake up and understand that a trade deal with the US will be costly to the UK both in our having to lower food standards but also in its impact on national institutions like the NHS.If she can persuade Trump to sign on the dotted line it is likely to lead to 2% increase in trade with the US. Compare that to the 30% loss of trade when we sever links with the single market. Is May putting British interests first? it does not look like it from where I am sitting.
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Since becoming president of the United States, Donald Trump has completely accidentally helped one group of people  authors, both dead and alive.

It seems that every time something controversial happens in the world of Trump a different author sees an uptick in book sales.

When the president got into a Twitter dispute with civil rights leader and Georgia Rep. John Lewis, saying, "Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to ... mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!," sales of Lewis' book trilogy March topped Amazon's best-seller list, and five of his books found their way into the top 20.

That was taken by many as a rebuke of a Trump and a showing of support for Lewis.

Trump's comments continued to spark increases in book sales his week.

Following Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway's Orwellian comment that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was not lying about crowd sizes, but giving "alternative facts," sales of George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece 1984 also soared.

The publishing house said since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration sales of 1984 have climbed 9,500 percent. Amazon sold out of hardcover versions of the novel.

In the book  originally published in 1948  Orwell coins the term "Newspeak," which is the language of the fictional setting of Oceania. The language is meant to suppress truth and free thought, so it's no wonder Conway's "alternative facts" comment led to a spike in sales.

Orwell's dystopian novel has a history of increased sales when its themes of "Big Brother" watching citizens become relevant in the contemporary political world. For example, when whistle-blower Edward Snowden released documents detailing the American government's massive spying apparatus, sales of 1984 went up 6,000 percent.

I guess Trump didn't want to be outdone by Snowden.
FORT ANN  When Hunter Charpentier was 7, he found himself covered in an unexplained rash and had to have a blood test to find the source of the mysterious illness.

I went to the doctors and I got my blood drawn, said the now 9-year-old. I hated it, so they gave me this bear that helped me be brave.

His step-father Tyler Whitney, who listened to him recount this story in their Fort Ann home, looked at him with admiration.

Youre melting my heart, dude, Whitney said.

His mother Heather Whitney remembers the painful moment well.

It took a nurse, Tyler and a bear to hold him down, she said.

It was the teddy bear that really helped Hunter calm down, they said.

It made me feel happy after I got it done, Hunter said. It made me feel brave.

On the way home from the blood test, Hunter decided to find a way to help other kids going through medical procedures face their fears with bears.

With his mother and step-fathers help, Hunter has started The Hunter Bear Project, which is run through Community Action Angels and the state Community Action Network.

Hunters idea was to gather up a bunch of bears and deliver them to the hospital. He also decided to write a book of jokes to cheer up sick kids.

They enlisted Synergy Promotions in Queensbury to make little brown and white bears wearing shirts donned with The Hunter Bear Project and a bear playing the drums.

He made a Facebook video and a GoFundMe fundraising page asking people to purchase a bear for $5 and send him jokes for his joke book.

Hunter loves jokes, Tyler Whitney said. His favorite thing to do in the car is ask us to make up jokes.

The response was overwhelming, Heather Whitney said. Hunter was inundated with jokes, so the book will have different joke sections  including various well-known members of the community.

I sent the White House an e-mail, Heather Whitney said, but she hasnt heard back. I should have written to Michelle (Obama).

Hunters eyes grew wide with an idea.

Mom, can you write an email to Ellen (Degeneres)? he asked.

Hunter shared some of his favorite jokes that are included in the book.

What smells like carrots and is invisible? he asked. Bunny farts.

What do you call cheese thats not yours? he continued. Nacho cheese.

Despite the help from his mother and step-father, Hunter spearheads the project, they insist.

He has been featured in an assembly at his school and has promised that the first copy of the joke book will go to the Fort Ann school library.

His school is so proud of him and so behind him, said his mother.

Hunter would like to donate bears to the Glens Falls Hospital cancer center and to nursing home residents. The well-spoken fourth grader also wants to be able to interact with the people receiving the bears.

I think thats an important piece of it, said his mom, who is the director of student development and community engagement at SUNY Adirondack.

Hunters campaign has already raised close to $2,000, and his family couldnt be prouder. Tyler Whitney, who is the director of navigation services for Southern Adirondack Independent Living, said Hunter has picked up on the idea of being civic minded through their jobs.

His opportunities are endless, his mother said, with the heart that he has.
So many people will say, Are you the Kim Butler from The Post-Star? Do you teach the coupon class? Once I explain who I am, they begin the questions. I also get questions in my email and on Facebook all the time. And I love it. Because it means that people want to learn how to save money. And when it comes to saving money, I am the girl you want to talk to.

Some of my favorite questions are the same from most people. How do I begin using coupons? I always tell them to give The Post-Star a call and sign up for my class each month. It is a great way to begin learning the ropes of couponing. It is a fun hour filled with tips and deals, and even a couple of giveaways.

Another one of my favorite questions is, How do you use everything before it expires or goes bad? This one is simple. I am a businesswoman who owns a New York state-registered group daycare in Queensbury. I have many little mouths to feed each and every day. We use many taxable items and paper products daily. Things usually dont go bad in this house! Not to mention, I have a 13-year-old son who eats his weight in food every day!

If I ever think I am not going to be able to use items, or I have a chance to get items for free that I dont actually need, I will always donate these items. There are so many places that collect food and toiletries to give to those in need. I make sure that the couponing I have done is not a waste of time and energy, and share my items if I can.

Some ask, Do you ever get sick of couponing? I would have to say never. It is difficult to fit it into my busy schedule, and I have to be organized in order to find the best deals, but it is much easier than paying full price for items. Paying full price at the store is definitely something that I would get sick of!

In my monthly class at The Post-Star, I go into detail about using coupons, saving money, finding monthly deals and how it will benefit your family and your pocketbook. There are free giveaways during the class as well. Please join me for my next class at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22. Feel free to call 742-3309, or go to poststar.com/couponclass.

Head over to my blog at Making Cent$ About Extreme Couponing to find some great deals around the region this week. Post your questions, comments and deals in the comments section.
Local man joins National Guard

LATHAM  Maj. General Anthony P. German, the adjutant general of New York, announced the recent service accomplishment of members of the New York Army National Guard in recognition of their initial commitment to serve community, state and nation. The newest Citizen Soldiers to complete Army basic combat training and advanced individual training were welcomed to their units during a New York Army National Guard battle hand-off ceremony.

Pfc. Ricky Baker of Granville was formally welcomed into the Company E (Forward Support Company, Infantry), 427th Brigade Support Battalion during a transition ceremony held Jan. 22 at the Queensbury Readiness Center in Queensbury.

National Guard soldiers reenlist

LATHAM  Maj. General Anthony P. German, the adjutant general, announced the recent reenlistment of members of the New York Army National Guard in recognition of their continuing commitment to serve community, state and nation as part of the Army National Guard.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Kyne of Granville has reenlisted to continue service with the 466th Medical Company Area Support.

Sgt. 1st Class Adam Barber of Hudson Falls has reenlisted to continue service with the Company B, Recruiting and Retention.

National Guard honored

LATHAM  Members of the New York Army National Guard Joint Force Headquarters received military awards Jan. 7 for their support of a 2016 training exercise during their July 2016 deployment to Fort Polk, Louisiana.

The soldiers deployed as part of the Exercise Support Group, supporting more than 5,000 participants from more than 30 states across the country, during the month of July at Fort Polk as part of the training rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center, known as JRTC.

Their experience included managing the personnel and logistics support for the deployment and staging at Fort Polk followed by more than 10 days of offensive and defensive missions in the post maneuver areas.

The Exercise Support Group provided the administrative and logistics backbone to allow the combat forces of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat team to focus on the force on force training exercise.

The brigade task force included the entire New York Army National Guard brigade combat team, along with supporting elements that included additional infantry units from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Aviation support for the task force included aircrews from Connecticut, Maryland and Utah.

Awardees included:

Sgt. Maj. Timothy Casey of Granville, who received the Army Commendation Medal;

Staff Sgt. Amanda Chard of Hudson Falls, who received the Army Achievement Medal;

Sgt. Cristie Heath of Hudson Falls, who received the Army Achievement Medal;

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Landry of Greenwich, who received the Army Achievement Medal; and

Staff Sgt. Kara Livingston of South Glens Falls, who received the Army Achievement Medal.
CAMBRIDGE  A Cambridge man was admitted to Albany Medical Center after an apparent accidental shooting late Saturday, police said.

Jacob Worthington suffered a serious leg injury when a 9mm handgun he was handling apparently went off around 7:30 p.m., according to Cambridge-Greenwich Police. The injury required surgery, but is not believed to be life-threatening, and his condition was not available Sunday morning at the hospital.

Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell said the round passed through one of Worthington's thighs as he removed the gun from a drawer and it somehow discharged.

"He told us his finger got stuck in the rail and it went off," Bell said.

The rail sits on top of the handgun.

Worthington has a permit for the 9mm semiautomatic handgun, and has numerous other guns, police said.

The investigation was ongoing as of Sunday but no charges had been filed. Cambridge-Greenwich officers Cameron Missenis and Cory Winch are investigating.
SALEM  For the Battenkill Conservancy, one good donation has led to another.

According to Lorraine Merghart Ballard, the executive director of the conservancy, Jessica Oakley, who owned a 3-acre parcel that included 2,000 feet of riverfront near the Rexleigh covered bridge, read about another recent donation and decided to donate her land to the conservancy.

The land includes the iconic Rexleigh Mill, the remains of a white marble building, a former marble milling operation, then a scythe-making company, then a commune and pottery-making operation where Oakley grew up.

Every parcel we can keep open to the public is good, Merghart Ballard said. And this is such an iconic spot. People know the bridge and they know the mill. This is really exciting for us.

The conservancy also has a 17-acre site in Greenwich called the Livingston Brook Rookery, which has 12 heron nests, and the 11-acre Schmidt Marsh Preserve in Jackson.

Oakley, now a science teacher in western Massachusetts, and her father, John, read about the Schmidt donation in 2015 and decided to make the donation to the conservancy. Oakley inherited the land from her mother, Edythe Donovan, who co-founded the commune with her husband.

Merghart Ballard said the group will need help with its newest project.

We are basically an all-volunteer organization with a pretty small budget and taking on a project like Rexleigh is a bit of a leap of faith that we can raise the necessary funds, she said. We would like to make people aware that donations, financial donations in kind or pro bono expertise.

The project was made possible through pro bono work by local resident Phil Gitlens law firm, Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, LLP of Albany. Cindy Lange of Title North in Hudson Falls also assisted in the closing.

The long and relatively narrow parcel benefits from more than 2,000 feet of riverbank frontage and connects the state-owned land of the bridge to the state-owned railroad that once carried goods from the mill.

The conservancy plans to work with local volunteer groups to help create safe walking trails on the property and to restore nostalgic artifacts that remain at the site. Access for fishing and swimming is also planned.

While there are no plans to embark on a full building restoration, the hope is to restore an adjacent timber-framed building located on the property. The building with its slate roof and concrete walls still houses one of two large scale pottery kilns.

For more information, or to offer a donation, contact, www.battenkillconservancy.org.
January is an extremely busy time of year for those who work with the homeless, not only because of the cold, but because of the timing of two programs run by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Michelle Dennis of CARES, an Albany-based organization, which oversees homeless issues from Rockland County to Hamilton County, said Friday that not only was the HUD-mandated point-in-time count of the homeless conducted Thursday, local organizations that deal with the homeless were informed of their annual HUD funding in the last week.

This areas funding has remained strong, said Dennis, who is the director of the Continuum of Care Unit and oversees seven groups, including the Saratoga-North Country Continuum of Care, which includes the local region. Some areas of the state have seen cuts, but Saratoga-North Country has not.

Four Warren or Washington County organizations that help the homeless recently received their annual notification funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Developments Continuum of Care grants. The total of the funding for the local region was $1.5 million.

Count completed

HUD mandates the date and methods for the annual point-in-time count that is designed to find out how many people are homeless. It is done during the winter, because many homeless people live outside during the summer and are harder to find.

Dennis said the results of the count will not be finalized for three to six weeks. They are done in several ways, and this year, for the first time in several years, they include a boots-on-the-ground count in some areas, including Saratoga Springs.

HUD wanted us to focus on teen homelessness, and a lot of teens are on the streets, so they had us do an actual street count in some places, she said.

In other places, the counts were done in the usual two manners. One is a sheltered count, done in places like the Open Door Missions Code Blue emergency shelter in Queensbury or other homeless facilities.

The other part of the count is done during the day at social service agencies. Those using the agencies are asked where they slept the night before and those who were not in their own homes are counted.

Funding comes through

Dennis said that in many regions, HUD funding is down, but that in northeastern New York, there are enough multi-year projects to make sure that is not an issue.

HUD awarded $60,177,796 in federal funding for 38 organizations across Upstate New York and the $1.5 million locally.

The Continuum of Care program provides funding to nonprofits, as well as local and state governments, to quickly re-house homeless individuals and families and promote access to programs that encourage self-sufficiency.

The biggest local recipient was the City of Glens Falls Housing Authority, which received close to $360,000 for eight programs

The Housing Authority is really an anchor for a lot of the help that goes to the homeless, Dennis said.

WAIT House in Glens Falls received $93,462 for its transitional living program for homeless pregnant and parenting youth.

The Adirondack Vets House in Glens Falls received two grants totaling almost $90,000.

In Washington County, Warren Washington Association for Mental Health received three grants totaling $105,817 for housing for people with mental health issues.

Dennis organization also coordinates the HUD grants in Saratoga County.
LAKE GEORGE  The mirror on the back of a compass is one of the best ways to signal helicopter rescuers if lost in the wilderness or trapped on the side of the mountain.

Duct tape can help prevent blisters while hiking and poking a tiny hole in a water-filled plastic bag can clean a wound on the trail.

And moleskin can alleviate discomfort.

Jon Politis, who is an EMT trainer/paramedic and National Park Service park ranger, gave emergency workers examples of how to care for injured trekkers. He was training EMTs on Saturday as part of a two-day EMS training symposium at the Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center.

There is no substitute for self-reliance and being prepared, said Politis. This is for the public and for rescuers. They need to know how to take care of themselves or they become part of the problem, not the solution.

On Friday and Saturday, EMTs and paramedics from as far away as Pennsylvania and Old Forge, attended the West Glens Falls Emergency Squad EMS symposium.

We had 90 people and we had speakers from as far as Texas and Oklahoma, said Sandy Mahoney, a Glens Falls Emergency Squad board member and a certified instructor for the state. We had an amazing group of people who really wanted to learn.

According to Mahoney, EMTs and paramedics are required to complete a certain number of continuing medical education credits every three years to keep their certification valid. And to be certain attendees get the appropriate credit, their name tags are scanned into each session and scanned out if they leave. At the end of the sessions, if they completed the required hours, attendees earned 14 CME credits.

This year, clinical sessions covered such issues as dealing with crush injuries, pharmacology, strokes, wilderness rescue, neurological assessments and bone injuries. Additionally, at the end of Saturdays sessions, the LifeNet helicopter ambulance flew from their base in Fort Ann to the Fort William Henry parking lot to let attendees see their capabilities.

They asked us to come and show them what we have and see the level of care we can provide, said Guy Harris, a pilot with the rescue unit.

And Brad Dumas, an RN with LifeNet, said they always fly with a pilot, nurse and a paramedic.

In the wilderness session, Politis said that blisters are one of the most common wounds on the trail. And he asked attendees the best way to handle such an injury.

Do you pop it open?

Do you leave it alone?

Basically, it comes down to how much the blister is restricting activity or movement, he said, adding that he was a fan of covering it with duct tape or making a cushion out of moleskin to put around the blister.

Politis said that preparation before going off the road is key. If something goes wrong can you survive several hours before rescuers reach you? Do you have the right clothing to stay warm and dry? Food? Hydrated? he said. Make sure your navigation and other tools are independent of your phone. And before you leave make sure someone knows where you are going and register at the trail head.

In the bone injury session, Scotty Bolleter, chief of clinical direction for Bulverde Spring Branch Fire & EMS who directs the Office of Clinical Direction and Centre for Emergency Health Sciences in Spring Branch, Texas, opened by asking attendees, What is your job?

And several answered. But Bolleter kept pressing for more, finally posing the scenario, If you break your femur and you are in pain would you want to lay there?

Your No. 1 job is to alleviate suffering, he said.

Bolleter talked about bone breaks and the important role EMTs and paramedics play in the injured persons ultimate recovery, explaining about bone bleeding, swelling and how swelling leads to pressure and how pressure leads to damage.

So doing something about swelling is important, he said.

Snow is freaking awesome for swelling, Bolleter said.

This weekends symposium has been offered by West Glens Falls Emergency Squad on and off for the past six years, Mahoney said.
This tweet got 85,000 retweets and likes in 27 hours.

It reads: The only person who voted no on every Trump appointment was Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Remember that in 2020.

Remember that in 2020, indeed.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrands, D-N.Y., name has come up as a potential Democratic presidential candidate before, of coursepretty much ever since she was appointed to replace that other female senator from New York who ran for president. Our own Chris Cillizza has put Gillibrand on his short list of leading 2020 Democratic candidates, and The Posts Paul Kane, who covers her in the Senate, concurs.

Since that tweet, she broke her streakvoting for Nikki Haley to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations later Tuesdaybut it is conspicuous that this former moderate congresswoman turned more-liberal senator has been so anti-Trump on the first few votes of the Trump era. She has now voted against three of four Trump Cabinet-level nominees, which is still more than any other Democrat.

Its hard to say whether thats really a function of angling for 2020 or something else. A big reason she has the most votes against Trump is that she was the only senator to vote against retired Gen. James Mattis for defense secretary. But her publicly stated objections werent about partisan politics; it was her objection to the idea of a military leader heading up the department before the required seven-year waiting period had elapsed. This required a waiver from the Senate. Gillibrand also voted against that, along with 16 other Democrats.

But none of those other 16 voted against Mattis in the final vote, and Gillibrand did ask for a roll-call votegiving herself a chance to put her lonely opposition on the record.

Its also worth noting that other potential 2020 Democratic candidates have been voting against Trumps nominees, too. Sens. Cory Booker, of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts both voted against Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and CIA Director Mike Pompeoin addition to voting against the Mattis waiver. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has left open the possibility of a 2020 bid even though hes in his mid-70s, voted against Pompeo, Haley and the Mattis waiver. So through five Cabinet-level votes, Gillibrand was a no on four, while Booker, Warren and Sanders voted no on three apiece.

But were dealing with a very limited sample size this early in Congress. Gillibrand also has a 2018 reelection campaign to think aboutsomething her office pointed to when asked about this speculation.

Gillibrand spokesman Marc Brumer said, The only race she is interested in is her reelection to the Senate in 2018, and the only thing she takes into consideration when deciding how to vote on Cabinet nominees is their record and qualifications.

And Gillibrand, while first joining Congress as a kind of middle-of-the-road Democrat, has been a pretty liberal senator from her earliest days. So these votes shouldnt be hugely surprising.

But they will be interesting to watch going forward. Democrats hate Trump in much the same way Republicans hated President Barack Obama, and as there was a premium on anti-Obama purity for Republicans in 2012, there will be a premium on anti-Trump purity for Democrats in 2020. Every vote that could be construed as being supportive of Trump will be one that could be used against you in the Democratic primary, and Gillibrand and her fellow aspirants know that.

Its certainly worth keeping an eye oneven if we cant tell a ton from five votes.
Democrats in the region where Kirsten Gillibrand launched her political career about a decade ago think New Yorks junior senator would be a formidable presidential candidate in 2020.

She is devoted to fairness for working families, to womens rights, as well as the security of this nation, said Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher. It would not surprise me if she would turn to become a very positive national voice.

I saw Kirsten speak several years ago, and I was very impressed with her and I have been impressed with her ever since, said Glens Falls 3rd Ward Supervisor Claudia Braymer, a Democrat. She would be a great candidate.

Braymer said its early to speculate on the 2020 campaign field, even though national news outlets are doing so.

Now I dont know if she (Gillibrand) really is running, Braymer said. Theres other prominent Democrats out there, perhaps the governor (Andrew Cuomo), who may be interested. So well have to see how things shake out.

Boecher said Gillibrand has the right temperament to be president, and, in middle age, is at a good time in life to run.

She is not afraid to take a stand and articulate that stand, Boecher said. She wants to get things done, but shes not pig headed. Shes pragmatic and will compromise where it is necessary.

Gillibrand demonstrated in her local congressional victories in 2006 and 2008 that a Democrat can win in traditionally Republican territory, Boecher said.

Since being appointed to the Senate in 2009, and being elected twice, Gillibrand has united upstate and downstate interests on topics such as healthcare for 9-11 first responders and federal funding for fire and police departments, she said.

I have no inner knowledge of her intent, Boecher said. I know at this point she is committed to serving New York and certainly serving the agenda she has stood with.

Gillibrand, for years, has been talked about as someone who might run for president some day.

Former Gov. David Paterson, in an interview in Glens Falls in 2015, said, Id like to see Kirsten Gillibrand on a national ticket some day.

National news reports in recent days have speculated Gillibrand might be laying ground work for a possible presidential run in 2020, based on Gillibrands opposition to Trump cabinet nominees.

State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, said Gillibrand has indicated to her she is focused on her 2018 Senate re-election campaign.

In my conversations with the senator, she is very focused on being a senator, Woerner said. And I think it is way too early even to be talking about 2020.

Boecher said there has been talk in Democratic inner circles about Gillibrand possibly running for president, but Gillibrand, herself, has not said anything.

Yes, her name has come up, she said.

Boecher said a lot of names are being floated as the Democratic Party tries to shape its vision.

The Democratic Party is in a period of mourning right now, she said. Right now, its a time of reflecting and regrouping.
In my house, Margaritaville  is not just a hit Jimmy Buffett song, but a way of life.

It is a lifestyle choice.

Its 5 oclock somewhere is an acknowledgement that mixing up a batch of that frozen slice of heaven is not limited to the narrow parameters of happy hour, or even summer on the patio.

Who knew that margaritas could be a Christmas cocktail?

None of this is my doing.

While there was no dowry, my wife did come with a blender and a bottle of Jose Cuervo. Not a bad deal. And one of the first things I learned how to do on my honeymoon was order a margarita properly: Two margaritas on the rocks with salt.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I repeated that phrase.

Shortly after returning from the honeymoon, the second blender followed, because as my wife explained it to me, What if the first blender should break?

We are now a four-blender family that includes one of those industrial-sized mixing mechanisms you only see in Florida taverns because, well, it really is impossible to have just one margarita.

Now what we need is an industrialized ice machine like the ones they have in hotels. My birthday is just around the corner.

Naturally, you cant put a margarita in any type of glass. You need a margarita glass. They have a broad rim that you line with salt and lime juice and a narrow, short stem. We have more margarita glasses than coffee cups.

Thats not as bad as it seems, because we dont drink coffee. Why should we when margaritas are available?

We also have several different sets of margarita glasses. The stem on one is a replica of a cactus because this luscious creation was invented in Mexico, and I suspect smuggled across the border.

Another set of margarita glasses has a figure in siesta repose against the stem of the glass, most likely hiding from border agents trying to confiscate his tequila.

We also have at least one of those signs Its five oclock somewhere out by the patio and enough Jimmy Buffet music, salsa and chips and avocados to last through any weekend.

Its not unusual for us to have a tropically-themed party in February where we wear grass skirts and drink, well, you probably know what we drink.

When visitors come for dinner or a barbecue, forget about a bottle of wine, were looking for tequila and margarita mix.

I dont want you to get the wrong idea. We dont have a drinking problem, just a margarita problem.

Which is why I am so concerned about the events of this past week. You cant get to Margaritaville without tequila, and a great deal of tequila comes from Mexico.

That 20 percent import tax floated by the new administration would hit my family hard. Id rather see the property taxes raised. Those imports include tequila, avocados and salsa. That all adds up.

This should be of great concern to all free thinking Americans who own more than one blender.

I believe the whole premise is unconstitutional.

By building a wall and imposing an import tax, my pursuit of happiness has been compromised.
The defining characteristic of Elise Stefaniks 21st Congressional District is its wilderness. The district includes the whole top of New York state, including all but a tiny corner of the immense Adirondack Park.

Since she is the federal representative for one of the great natural treasures of the United States, climate change should be her top priority, so we applaud her recent decision to join a bipartisan caucus on the issue. The mission of the Climate Solutions Caucus, which now comprises 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, is to look for economically viable options to reduce climate risk and explore bipartisan policy options.

The caucus does not have a bold agenda, at least not yet. But as storms strengthen and sea levels rise, perhaps this group of moderates will come up with responses that match the seriousness of the threat.

It is reassuring that the congresswoman who, just a few years ago, would not affirm the reality of climate change has now committed herself to finding ways to cope with it. She is no longer in the head-in-the-sand camp of people like Scott Pruitt, President Trumps nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. As recently as 2016, Pruitt wrote the debate over global warming is far from settled.

Pruitt is the attorney general in Oklahoma, where hundreds of earthquakes triggered by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for oil and gas have been shaking the state apart. Despite the extensive damage from these fracking-generated quakes, the strongest statement Pruitt would make at his confirmation hearing, under questioning by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is Ive acknowledged that I am concerned.

We are concerned about the consequences for the worlds environment and for upstate New York if the United States fails to lead the effort to slow the pace of climate change. Big changes have already taken place, but even bigger ones  such as sea level rises that would have a catastrophic effect on oceanside communities  will take place without a concerted worldwide effort.

Oceanside communities in the context of rising sea levels does not refer just to Key West and American Samoa. More than half of the worlds great cities are near the ocean and hundreds of millions of people live in low-lying coastal areas.

It makes sense that the co-chairmen of the Climate Solutions Caucus, Ted Deutch and Carlos Curbelo, are both from Florida. It also makes sense that climate change skeptic Pruitt is from landlocked Oklahoma.

Here in Stefaniks district, we also are landlocked, but we are affected by climate change in countless ways, from the increase in tick-borne diseases among upstate residents to the struggles of snow-dependent businesses like ski centers and snowmobile dealerships.

We consider Congresswoman Stefaniks alliance with the Climate Solutions Caucus a good start, but no more.

We have a lot of work to do on this issue, said Co-Chairman Curbelo, who, like Stefanik, is a Republican.

Hes right, and because climate change legislation will face resistance from the Trump administration, progress will require bipartisanship. Rep. Stefanik has so far kept a low profile when bucking the Republican line, but the time has come for her to speak up for her district and the country on climate change, even if that means speaking against the Trump administration.
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The drone of choice: The $1,200 DJI Phantom 4. As a flying machine, it isn't that much different to other drones  it goes up, down, sideways, forwards, and backwards, and a single battery lasts about 25 minutes, which is unfortunately typical for commercial drones.

What sets the Phantom 4 apart is its incredibly sharp 4K camera.

Indeed, Hawaii's unreal beauty and landscapes made for the perfect location to test a drone and its camera. For those familiar with Hawaii, I was mostly flying outside of Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, on the island of Oahu.

Here's a 4K YouTube video of Hawaii taken with the DJI Phantom 4 (not by me):

My first few flights were relatively limited, as I gingerly got used to the controls and the Phantom 4's abilities.

And it can go far, too. At one point, I flew the drone two miles out to sea before the DJI app on my iPhone, which was connected to the Phantom 4's controller, alerted me that it had only enough battery life to return to the take-off location. Two miles.

It just does what you want it to do during its 25-minute battery life.

Until it doesn't.

On my final flight which wasn't meant to be my final flight I took the Phantom 4 out to film along the coast on Oahu's south shore. Before the battery alert even popped up, I pressed the "return home" button on the controller, which puts the Phantom 4 into auto-pilot to make a bee line to the take-off location.

The moment the drone began making its way home, I lost the video streaming feed from the drone to my iPhone.

It was odd, as the video feed was fine on its way out, and it raised my heart-rate a little bit. Yet, I knew that the drone was at least on its way home regardless, and I thought I'd get the video feed back as it got closer.

About five minutes went by when the video feed suddenly returned. My heart skipped a beat and sank when I saw that it was landing somewhere it shouldn't. For reasons unknown at the time, the Phantom 4 was in auto-land mode, and it was descending upon a cluster of homes in a cul-de-sac about 1,500 feet away from my location.

I immediately tried to manually control the drone to ascend. The whole time it felt like a movie scene where alarms are going off in the cockpit of an aircraft in peril, complete with a voice telling the pilot to "pull up, pull up" in a disconcertingly calm way.

But lo, my efforts to "pull up, pull up" were fruitless, as I lost the video transmission one final time.

I was blind, and the drone continued to auto-land.

According to the DJI iPhone app, the Phantom 4's last known location was halfway up a ridge, about 1,000 feet away from my location. There was no retrieving it, as the ridge side was sheer, and it was too dangerous to climb up or down.

After checking the flight log on the DJI app, I saw that the Phantom 4 had apparently entered a "no-fly zone" during its flight home, which causes the drone to land automatically.

I checked the map on the DJI app (below), and there was a "no-fly zone" nearby, as marked by the bold yellow line towards the top. However, the drone was never in the no-fly zone. Had I had the video feed, I could have seen the alert that the Phantom 4 was getting too close to this supposed no-fly zone, and I could have flown further around it to prevent the auto-land.

My suspicion is that ex-President Obama's presence on the island at the time had something to do with the Phantom 4's random behavior. The Secret Service are supposedly very touchy about drones flying near presidents. Thanks Obama.

So now, the Phantom 4 is stranded halfway up a ridge on Oahu. To be honest, I'm jealous of the drone, as it's still in beautiful Hawaii enjoying a glorious view, no doubt while I'm back here in comparatively miserable NYC.

The takeaway

Drones are enormously fun  at first. But soon, the novelty wears off. Unless you have a reason to film beautiful footage from high altitudes, there aren't many reasons why you should buy an expensive drone like the Phantom 4, or the newer Phantom 4 Pro, which can record 4K at 60 frames-per-second (the Phantom 4 records 4K at 30 fps).

So, unless you're a photographer, buying a drone is essentially buying a very expensive remote-controlled toy that needs a battery-swap every 25 minutes  and extra batteries can get quite expensive.

And if you lose it, there goes your money.

However, there are options to rent drones for much less money than buying one. For example, this website lets you rent a Phantom 4 for a week for $250, which is perfect if you know you'll only use a drone a few times, and you can always rent newer models when they come out. Unfortunately, however, the optional protection plan from the website I mentioned doesn't cover lost or damaged drones, so you'll need to be careful!
He and his colleagues don't have much else to do. There hasn't been a single customer since December, when neighbouring Nigeria banned car imports by land as part of a wave of protectionist policies that are strangling Benin's economy.

"We spend our days smoking, it's our life now," Hijazi sighs, sitting in a gazebo beside his stock of thousands of cars steadily accumulating the dry winter dust.

This afternoon, Hijazi -- who, like the vast majority of car dealers in Benin, is Lebanese -- called in his Beninese accountant to help close up shop.

Debts are accumulating and the stress is becoming too much. "I lost in one year what I have earned in 16," Ali Assi, another car dealer, told AFP.

Of the 2,500 Lebanese dealers in Cotonou, 1,600 have packed up and left in the last six months, shutting down businesses that employed dozens of drivers, cleaners and security staff.

"Unemployed people used to come here to find work," said Vincent Gouton, who represents a group of car dealership managers in Cotonou.

The Benin car market began its free fall last year when neighbouring Nigeria entered its first recession since 1994.

Nigeria, an economic behemoth of 190 million people, gobbles up "99 percent of car exports" in Benin, according to Gouton.

Benin, a tiny country with scarce natural resources, relies on its port business to survive.

From the port city of Cotonou, imported cars, fabrics, and food from all over the world get distributed across west Africa.

But since the Nigerian economy crashed following the collapse in global oil prices, Benin has been suffering knock-on effects.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's protectionist policies -- his government has banned a slew of items including cars imported by land -- has only aggravated the situation.

- 'Encourage smuggling' -

Since the Nigerian economy crashed following the collapse in global oil prices, Benin has been suffering knock-on effects, with the car market going into free fall

"This decision will encourage smuggling, it's back to square one," Gouton said.

Several agreements were signed in the past between Benin and Nigeria to facilitate legal trade.

But Nigeria accuses Beninese customs of failing to monitor the exported goods and collect taxes.

Today over 20 products -- the list has never been officially published -- are banned from being imported overland.

"For the past 18 months, we have seen a lot of policies that are not market friendly", said Nigerian economist Nonso Obikili.

"The self-sufficiency policy has led the government to create all sorts of hostile environments around import", Obikili said.

"The government wants to ban palm oil (imports) but our plantations are not ready to meet local demand, and it takes two years to get oil from trees. It's a mess," Obikili told AFP.

"And this will encourage illegal trade."

- 'Killing business' -

It isn't just Benin which is hurting.

Nigerian car dealer Olabanji Akinola said he had to fire half of his employees last week as a result of the ban.

Business used to be brisk at Akinola's car dealership, located on the outskirts of Lagos.

Yet now he can't pay any wages. "In Cotonou, they tax 35 percent of the value of an imported car. In Lagos, it's 70 percent", Akinola said. "It's killing the business."

"The price of cars will go up, and the smuggling will increase. There are 200 roads through the bush to come to Nigeria, the borders are porous," Akinola said.

"This morning, customers begged me on my knees to lower my prices, but I cannot," Akinola said.

Ultimately, it may only be the Nigerian government who benefits from the import ban.
Dear Mr President... Ghana will be 60 a few days after my birthday and I will be turning 35 years this year.. Looking at my 35 years accomplishment which I started with nothing and A 60 years healthy mother who had it all but chose to squander, I think Granny is not worth celebrating A 60 yrs Mother who can't boast of a stable relationship with electricity and water in this modern age My 60 years mother who got nothing in her accounts but debts... My 60 years mother whose children are all jobless My 60 yrs mother that prostitute herself internationally for gas etc is not worth celebrating.. Mr President, some of us are still looking forward to the change you promised.. And as a citizen not a spectator,I plead with your office to be different in this years anniversary celebration , Enough of squandering money on dinner dance,anniversary clothes,parties,etc Enough of squandering money on fuel for aircraft shows etc Ain't we tired of watching men in uniform and students march every 6th March Can we use that day to do something very significant to this nation than printing brochures and partying with other head of states with loan..eg a nation wide massive clean up exercise whiles our men uniform assist in disposing the rubbish we will gather to avoid flooding?? Etc Most Ghanaians are looking forward to the change and believe you can deliver.. This is the time to prove yourself as a man of your word. Thank you so much Sir God bless you and God bless our homeland Ghana. #Queenofcomedygh # Onyamekala #MAD # mycaseisdifferentDress by @wardrobeyak
March 6, 2017 will be exactly 60 years since Ghana declared political independence from Great Britain. Ahead of the celebrations, the president has named a 30-man squad as the Planning Committee of the Diamond Jubilee.

READ MORE:

...This event is just a way of misusing money which could have been used for the betterment of the country. A lot of money, time and energy goes into the celebration. This same resources could be used to develop other sectors especially the creative arts which is what I am very concerned about.

We all love our country Ghana and a day is marked to celebrate freedom which we should be excited about, but when this celebration becomes an avenue for our leaders to enrich their bank accounts, then that's a big problem. At the mention of Ghana at 50, the only thing I remember is how a large amount of money was misused. Enough is enough.

He called on fellow artistes to join him in distancing themselves from the celebrations as it would do be of no help in the long run for them.

Fareed is currently out with a new Hip-hop banger titled Zaafi which addresses the hardships Ghanaians are going through even though political parties and its leaders promise prosperity anytime they are in need of power.

In Zaafi (meaning hot in Hausa language), Fareed he talks about the struggles young men and women and the old are going through on daily basis in the country.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Flagstaff House on Friday evening.

He told the ministers: The manifesto has also committed us to implementing an effective asset declaration regime. Its relevant elements are these: firstly, the president shall within 14 days forward a list of appointments made in pursuance of chapter 24 of the constitution to the Auditor General. Chapter 24 covers all of us. The Attorney General shall forward to parliament a law requiring the Auditor General to publish periodically the list of all persons appointed under chapter 24 of the constitution who have declared or defaulted.

The new law shall provide for public disclosure of assets declaration. These and other measures indicate the importance our party attaches to the fight against corruption. We here must be in the forefront of that fight. I myself filed my own asset declaration forms two weeks ago after entering into this office on the 23rd of January. All Chapter 24 office holders should do the same.

The President also entreated the ministers to work towards achieving policies promised Ghanaians by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2016 general elections.

He also charged them to protect the public purse and ensure value for money in any activity they undertake.

The president is currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) which is to take place from 30th to 31st January, 2017.

He earlier on Saturday performed the swearing-in ceremony for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway at Ghanas embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

A statement from the Presidency said Nana Akufo-Addo who arrived in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday [January 28] will prior to the commencement of the Ordinary Session of the Assembly on Monday, attend a retreat for the Heads of States on Sunday, January 29, 2017 immediately after a breakfast meeting with the new Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.
The short ceremony was held at Ghanas embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday.

Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway although part of the 13 was not sworn in because she was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she was representing Ghana at a meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers in preparation for the AU summit from January 29 to 31, 2017.

A statement from the Presidency said Nana Akufo-Addo who arrived in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday [January 28] will prior to the commencement of the Ordinary Session of the Assembly on Monday, attend a retreat for the Heads of States on Sunday, January 29, 2017 immediately after a breakfast meeting with the new Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.
It's a big day for corporate news today.

First up, here's the deal news:

The telecommunications giants

In macro news, UBS asked 2,000 Americans if their loan applications were "completely accurate and factual," and the results are worrying. And the US has been downgraded to a "flawed democracy."

Donald Trumps border tax would make filling your car up with gas a lot more expensive, according to top oil trader Pierre Andurand.

The Mexican peso is tumbling after Mexico's president says he won't meet with Trump. And it's already fairly obvious where Trump's infrastructure push will turn into a dogfight.

In markets news, the Dow opened above 20,000 for the second day in a row. Here's why Dow 20,000 is the "picture-perfect" moment Wall Street has been waiting for.

Heading back to corporate news:

What to expect from Alphabet's Q4 earnings: Pay attention to those 'other' bets

Trump's policies have Nike facing one of its biggest threats in history

Caterpillar beat on earnings but issued a gloomier outlook

Dow Chemical profit beat estimates

GM is on an epic run  and it has no plans of slowing down with Trump in office

Ford is comfortable with the number of factories it has in the US

Fiat Chrysler said it will nearly halve net debt in 2017

Blackstone's income nearly doubled

RBS is setting aside another 3 billion to deal with its mortgage-backed security case in the US

Bristol-Myers slashed its 2017 outlook

Lastly, taccidentally published a list of George Soros' short bets

How to save America's broken retirement system, according to the man who revolutionized investing for Main Street -

Why Donald Trump is inadvertently going to accelerate the rise of robots - President Trump argues that too many US workers have lost their jobs to foreign peers as companies have offshored manufacturing.

Harvard's endowment is expected to lay off half its staff -

There's a troubling trend brewing in how medical diagnostics startups are funded - Diagnostic and medical tools companies are getting a lot of attention from tech investors lately.

2016 was the best year for the US housing market since the financial crisis -

MOBIUS: Fears about China's shadow banking system are unfounded -

Barclays has reportedly chosen Dublin for its EU HQ after Brexit -
Prophet Bempah, the General Overseer of Glorious Word Chapel International, had declared, among other prophecies, that Buhari would not see the end of the year 2017 in his New Year predictions and that has led a lot of people, especially his countrymen, pouring invectives on him.

Though the media in the West African country see Prophet Bempah as a great soothsayer and oracle of God, the masses see him as a rabble rouser, false prophet and a politician who only makes predictions to favor his pay masters.

Apart from foreseeing the death of Nigerias president, Prophet Bempah also predicted the deaths of a former president in his country, a former first lady as well as a 'great king' in Ghana.

He also predicting a terrorist attack in the country, a coup d'etat as well as more clashes between Christians and Muslims in the country.

Read some of Prophet Bempahs 2017 predictions:

However, some people are not happy with his predictions and have resorted to calling him derogatory names.

This is how some describe him on the social media:

Sheshe Jones: U this stupid fool is just using the name of God to fool Ghanaians. If u are not afraid, just be bold n mention the names of those u claim would die. Ur false prophecies will kill u, fool.

Shaibu Shamsu: U better stop playing games with Ghanaians. Even me, I know a chief will die, given their number and ages. What do u mean? Who do u take for a child in Ghana?

U staked a lotto and Nana won and that makes u feel a hero? Anybody with small acumen in arts can make these predictions and get them right.

If u ar serious about your prophesies, mention the name of the police officer, the First Lady and the Chief who will die. Stop this play of God and be saved.

Freeman Owusu: This man is another fake prophet from the pit of hell. You only predict the death of people. Let Nigerians catch you, they will skin you alive.
They called the Benin Electricity Company (BEDC) which is responsible for power supply in the region to question concerning the recent dip in their performance.

Clearly feeling dissatisfied, one of the protesters was seen carrying a generator set on his head while others carried placards with inscriptions such as "We don tire for darkness" and "No light, no bill payment. BEDC na thief."

The state is not the only region suffering irregular or epileptic power supply.

According to the Daily Post, even a busy environment such as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja is also experiencing the glitch.

ALSO READ: PHCN official reportedly stabbed to death by woman for disconnecting light

This incident has led to a negative effect on trade activities in the state as the poor power supply continue to linger.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Maiduguri shortly after commiserating with victims of this months accidental bombing at the Specialist Hospital Maiduguri, he said that the North East required a Marshal Plan and allocation of huge resources to tackle the high level of devastation.

The Federal Government has allocated only N45 billion in this years budget for the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure in the North East.

I just hope that the money is a component of a counterpart funding hopefully being expected from the International Community, Zoro said.

He pointed out the amount required for the reconstruction of the Sub-region was much higher.

Various sources have put the required resources needed for the rebuilding at a far higher figure.

For example, Retired Gen.Theophilus Danjuma the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the North East said that the project will require about N3.7 trillion.

For us at the National Assembly, the allocation of a paltry N45 billion in the budget is grossly inadequate.

We want to assure Nigerians that we are committed to allocating whatever we think is desirable from the capital budget to the North East project, Zoro said.

He said that a submission by Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno also indicated that about 9 million dollars will be required for the rebuilding.

He expressed optimism that the International Community would also allocate huge resources for the rebuilding of the sub-region.

ALSO READ: 7 important allocations in the 2017 budget you should know aboutThe International Community ought to bring funds under the UN to provide aid for the project, Zoro added.
According to reports, the Man of God has already put together a team of 30 top legal luminaries who will go to the Abuja office of the DSS with him.

The pastor has been in the books of the DSS, following a comment which he made during one of his sermons, where he allegedly told his members to kill Fulani herdsmen.

Following the speech, the DSS reportedly planned to arrest him secretly from his hotel room in Ado-Ekiti where he went to hold a crusade.

The attempt by the DSS to arrest the fiery pastor was foiled by the Ekiti state Governor, Ayo Fayose, who rescued Suleman.

According to Punch, a source close to the pastor said Suleman will be appearing before the DSS with about 30 lawyers because we believe that his persecution has become politicised.

The Pastors Communications Adviser, Phrank Shaibu also confirmed that his boss was invited by the DSS.

ALSO READ: How Fayose rescued Apostle Johnson Suleiman from DSS ambush

Shaibu said Yes, I can confirm to you that he (Suleman) was officially invited and as a law-abiding citizen, he will honour the DSS invitation on Monday. The invitation, though ludicrous and an afterthought, is a welcome development.
Acting Director of Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor in Abuja on Sunday, insisted that its FX policies were not meant to favour special interests.

According to Okorafor, the apex bank had to make the clarification following allegations of irregularities in the rates at which foreign exchange is obtained by some individuals and companies from different banks.

We wish to reiterate that the Central Bank of Nigeria neither allocates foreign exchange nor does it deal directly with bank customers.

The CBN does not fix FX rates for transactions by individuals or companies.

In line with our principle of transparency, we directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to forward to us evidence of FX sales to end users and to advertise same in national dailies.

Since the introduction of the new FX Policy in 2016, we have published monthly, the evidence of sales from DMBs, as received from the banks and without any alteration by us in the spirit of transparency.

As the constitutionally authorised industry regulator mandated to manage the forex market, we wish to state unequivocally that the CBN has a duty to perform and would not indulge in acts capable of discrediting the FX market, Okorafor said.

He said the CBN recently observed, however, that some banks forwarded inaccurate data which was erroneously published and gave a wrong impression of disparate rates.

He said the banks involved had been issued queries accordingly.

According to him, some of the banks have returned a response indicating that some of the figures are related to formatting errors which do not affect the true rates of the affected transactions.

ALSO READ: Nigerians say no to CBN and yes to MMM

It will be recalled that in June 2016, the CBN unveiled new guidelines in the management of FX which were being determined by the market.
In its review of the situation in three local government areas of the state that are under curfew, the council, in a statement issued Saturday by Samuel Aruwan, Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, noted the destablising activities of some rumour mongers.

The council received reports of a spike in false stories of attacks and killings.

These appear tailored to promote panic within communities, create fear and provoke a spiral of reprisals and vengeance.

If any individual or community is attacked, the correct and lawful procedure is to report to traditional rulers and the police.

The police have the statutory duty to record the incident, investigate and ascertain its veracity and take steps to establish the identity of victim and perpetrator, amongst others, it said.

The council therefore warned those spreading false stories and images of attacks that they would incur the full wrath of the law if caught.

It however observed that security agencies had taken actions aimed at preventing attacks and stabilising the situation in Jemaa, Kaura and Zangon-Kataf Local Government areas.
The IYC in a statement issued in Yenagoa by its spokesman Eric Omare noted that the plan negates the policies of the Federal Government encouraging investments in oil communities.

Omare described the plan as insensitive and provocative at a time stakeholders were seeking to strengthen the economy of the region.

He challenged the oil firm to also move its oil blocs out of the region.

This move by Shell is not only insensitive but capable of escalating the already volatile security situation in the Niger Delta region.

While critical stakeholders are making frantic efforts to restore peace and security to the already volatile Niger Delta, the company is planning another move that would worsen the security situation in the region.

The IYC is aware of the evil and selfish plan of Shell which is to substantially sell off its onshore assets, maintain only crude oil transportation and storage facilities and operate the lucrative EA and Bonga offshore oil fields located in the Niger Delta from Lagos by carrying its workers through helicopter on a daily basis.

This plan clearly demonstrates the anti-community and Niger Delta nature of Shell.

It was such anti-oil producing communities policies by Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other multinationals operating in the Niger Delta region that gave birth to the present restiveness in the Niger Delta region, Omare stated.

According to him, the implication of the company relocating from the Niger Delta to Lagos is that the region will lose all the economic and other associated benefits that come with having its corporate headquarters in the region.

Omare said Niger Delta would not only lose revenue but even businessmen doing business with Shell had to move from the Niger Delta region to Lagos.

He noted that there were attendant negative economic effects.
A reliable source disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday afternoon in Warri.

The clergy was kidnapped on Jan. 27 along the Eku-Sapele Road on his way to Sapele.

He was said to have been forced out of his car around Dafinone Plantation and subsequently abandoned the vehicle.

The kidnappers have reached out to some parishioners on Saturday and insisted that the Father wont be released unless we pay N10 million ransom, the source said.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ,Delta Command, DSP Andrew Aniamaka confirmed the abduction, adding that the police were on the trail of the suspects.

Our men are on the case already and what I can assure you of is that we shall not let these criminals succeed.

Our primary concern is to get the Reverend Father out unhurt first, then we shall ensure we arrest the criminals and get them prosecuted.
The campaign which is running on Facebook, also presents the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, as the former ministers running mate.

From Pulse News investigation, the Facebook campaign with an official page name: Okonjo-Iweala/Adesina 2019 Rescue has 25,263 Likes already.

According to post on her Facebook page, Okonjo-Iweala said she has nothing to do with the campaign.

The former minister posted on her timeline, saying:

Disclaimer

My attention has been drawn to this campaign making the rounds on Facebook https://web.facebook.com/OkonjoIwealaAdesina2019Rescue/

I have nothing to do with this and I urge those behind it to stop, as I am focused on other things.

While I thank those who want to have my name constantly in the headlines for one important position or the other in the country, rest assured I am fully occupied with my international assignments and loving it.

Best.

NOI

Okonjo-Iweala recently debunked reports that she is running alongside former vice president, Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential elections.
Oshiomhole also slammed those spreading rumours that the President has died, saying it is uncalled for.

According to Punch, the former Governor said We like to speculate the worst. I have been in government; to be honest, the President today, as a retired general, does not need that. The least we owe him is prayer, not the kind of sponsored, negative speculation that, sometimes, you wonder what the people really want.

To those who like to speculate bad news, they should not forget the story of (the late Nnamdi) Azikiwe. People went to town to say that Azikiwe was dead. Newspapers wrote editorials about his stewardship and someone constituted himself as the chairman of the burial committee; remember the guy who said that the great tree had fallen.

Azikiwe, because it was not his time, said that he would attend the funerals of all those who wished him dead. And all those who were members of the funeral committee, one after the other, joined their ancestors while Zik was alive. So, lets be careful when we speculate ill for others. What we do not wish for ourselves, we should not wish for others, he added.

Oshiomhole also wondered why some Nigerians like to spread false news.

The former Governor said this on Saturday, January 28, 2017, at his hometown in Iyamho, Estako-West Local Government Area, after casting his vote in the House of Reps by-election for Etsako federal constituency.

ALSO READ:EFCC probes Oshiomhole over alleged inflation of contracts

Oshiomhole also said I think it is unnecessary. Let us be honest. As the governor of Edo State, we have had to sponsor. Nigerian medical doctors who requested for it in black and white that they had to be treated in India, the UK or the US and they gave me several reasons why they needed foreign medical check.
According to Daily Post, Buhari made the plea at the 46th convocation ceremony of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka.

The President also praised the founding fathers of UNN for building a solid foundation for Nigerians.

Buhari, who was represented by the minister of state for education, Professor Anthony Awnuka said The assemblage of Nigerians to mark the convocation has in no small measure fueled the belief that the general public share the agony of the present state of affairs in the country.

He also added that the University has added value to the nation and lives of many Nigerians.

ALSO READ: Aisha Buhari takes selfie with Buhari in London
Mr Saidu Garba, the President-General of the union, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos that the concession will also retard the economy instead of growth.

He therefore advised the Federal Government to reverse the planned concession so as not to worsen the nations economy.

According to him, privatisation policy has not brought any positive change to the economy from its inception.

It is not good for government to continue falling into the same mistakes all the time.

Some privatised government companies, bought by individuals, are not making progress up till date.

NEPA and NITEL are good examples of failure of the privatisation policy in the country.

Some of the privatised company still collect bailout funds from the government, which should not be so, he said.

The union leader said that the proposed concession, if implemented, would affect over 15,000 work force of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC).

We are appealing to the government to reverse its plan on the concession, Garba said.

NAN, however, reports that the fear of NUR about job loss, if the railway is concessioned, was allayed by the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, in October, 2016 in Abuja.

Amaechi said at an International Transportation Conference in Abuja, where the idea of concessioning the railway was announced, that an American company, General Electric (GE) would take over the management of NRC under a concession plan.

According to him, the entrance of General Electric into the management of the NRC was to harness the full potential of rail transportation infrastructure.

The concession arrangement, billed to commence in the first quarter of 2017, Amaechi said, will also create additional new jobs.
Saraki made the call on Sunday in a statement released by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Mr Chuks Okocha, when the executive members of the Tomatoes and Orchid Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN) visited him.

According to him, youths should take advantage of the recently passed Agro-Finance Bill by the 8th Senate and access the benefits of agriculture on the small and medium scale financing and agro allied jobs.

He however expressed his happiness that youths had begun to take to agriculture as a means of livelihood instead of waiting endlessly for non-existing white collar jobs.

This Bill, if properly harnessed by the youths, would create jobs and ensure food security for the country and help grow the economy, especially, in the time of recession in the country, he said.

Saraki assured members of the association of the willingness of the Senate to partner and work closely with them to ensure the realisation of the added value of agriculture to the economy.

He also expressed his happiness that the youths were gradually tapping into agriculture, especially through the use of high yielding seedlings.

ALSO READ:Saraki reveals source of his wealth

Earlier, the leader of the association, Mr Oyeleke Job, had said that the members encouraged massive production of tomatoes and orchids by offering training and technical assistance to producers in the rural areas.
SERAP,in a mail to Pulse News, told Buhari to urgently refer the allegations of corruption against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for further investigation, and if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence, for him to face prosecution.

The organization also said the President should urgently publish the outcome of the investigation conducted on the matter by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN, and to ask Mr Malami to hand over the file to both the EFCC and ICPC.

In the letter dated 27 January 2017 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization said, We are concerned that the failure to suspend Mr Lawal from his position as Secretary to the Government of the Federation pending the investigation by Mr Malami, and the perceived lack of transparency in the outcome of that investigation may have created the impression that your government is treating Mr Lawal as a sacred cow.

The letter copied to the Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo reads in part: SERAP believes that Mr Lawals case presents your Administration with a real opportunity to reassure a lot of Nigerians who may be worried about the direction of travel of your anti-corruption agenda. Rather than assuming a defensive posture to the matter, we advise you to use this case to show to Nigerians that there will be no two standards of justice in your Administrations fight against corruption.

SERAP also believes the recommended approach would help to address the growing public suspicion and pessimism about your governments ability to fight high-level official corruption to a standstill, and to avoid any collateral consequences. It is absolutely important that the public should have complete confidence and trust in your Administrations oft-repeated commitment to fight corruption and the impunity of perpetrators.

It is true that Mr Lawal enjoys a constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to a fair trial, which includes the right to be presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. But we believe that the right to presumption of innocence is one that should have personally be raised by Mr Lawal and not your government, especially given his position as Secretary to the Government of the Federation. SERAP believes that the guilt or innocence of Mr Lawal is for the court to decide, following a due process of law.

To assist the government to achieve public confidence and trust, effectively spread the gospel of anti-corruption, and be on the right side of history."

SERAP made the following recommendations:

1. Urgently refer the allegations against Mr Lawal to both the EFCC and ICPC for further investigations, and if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence, for him to face prosecution;

2. Pending the referral to the EFCC and ICPC, to suspend Mr Lawal from his position as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, pending the outcome of any investigation by the EFCC and ICPC;

3. Promptly and widely publish the outcome of investigation carried out by Mr Malami and instruct that any files relating to that investigation be handed over to the EFCC and ICPC to assist in their follow-up investigation

SERAP notes that following a report by the Senate ad hoc committee which indicted Mr Lawal over alleged breach of Nigerias law in handling contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative for the North East, PINE, you reportedly instructed Mr Malami to carry out further investigation into the allegation. Among other allegations contained in the Senates report is that Mr. Lawals company, Global Vision Ltd benefited from inflated contracts of over N200 million to clear invasive plant specie in Yobe State. According to the report, Mr. Lawal was still the director of Global Vision as of the time the contract was awarded in March 2016, and remains the signatory to the companys account.
According to Daily Post, Wike also said the armoured helicopters were bought by the Rotimi Amaechi administration.

The NCS, recently handed over two bell helicopters worth $19million to the Airforce saying it was seized because the importers failed to comply with importation requirements.

Wike however said that he wrote to President Buhari to hand the helicopters over to the Airforce, but he did not get any response from the Presidency.

Wike said These helicopters were imported by the immediate past administration. When I assumed office,we wrote to the Federal government that it was strictly for security use. What am I going to use armoured helicopters for?

In any case, where will the Rivers State Government get money at this time to import armoured helicopters. The previous administration imported it because they had the money.

I went to the Federal Government to give me a waiver for us to clear the helicopters, but the Federal Government refused.

I wrote a letter to the President and to assure him that the helicopters are meant for security purposes, it should be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force. 

I am surprised that they have started propaganda and political falsehood on the said armoured helicopters. What kind of country are they turning Nigeria into ?

We stated that we cannot pay the custom duties because the helicopters are not for commercial use. They are to be used to monitor the creeks and track criminals.

I wrote to the President to give the helicopters to the Air force. It is shocking that the custom would turn around to claim that they impounded the helicopters. The Chief of Staff to the President admitted that I have done well when I wrote the letter to the President, he added.
The Igbo APC leaders also said they will support Buhari to rule as President for another term of four years.

This is coming on the heels of a comment by former President Obasanjo, calling for the Igbos to take a shot at the 2019 presidential race.

Speaking on behalf of the leaders of the APC in the South-East, Rochas Okorocha said APC is the party for Igbos to realise their potential.

According to Vanguard, the Imo Governor also revealed that three serving Governors in the South-East are planning to defect to the APC.

Okorocha also added that Now that Igbo leaders are together in APC, Nigerians will hear us. There is a vacuum of leadership in the South-East APC. I am a governor. My brothers Chris Ngige and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu are Ministers. Hence the importance of Ken Nnamani coming at this time. I decline the leadership of Ndi-Igbo in APC. With Ken Nnamani, the question of who is the leader of APC in the South-East has been answered. Ken Nnamani is the leader of APC in the South-East.

Senator Nnamani should then work with other leaders like Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Jim Nwobodo and a host of others to give Ndi-Igbo political direction. Those who have joined the party or who want to join should do so to build the party and not to cause confusion. APC is the right party for the Igbo, and the only party that can guarantee Igbo presidency.

We are going to support President Mohammadu Buhari for the eight years he is going to lead the nation. This is the time for Ndi-Igbo to come and work together. We are also going to use the Anambra election to show that APC has arrived South-East. The Igbo played bad politics in 2015. Today, we have lost a lot. We are not anywhere because of our bad politics.

Okorocha also named the former Senate President, Ken Nnamani as the leader of the APC in the South-East.
Trump, on his Twitter handle, had accused two foremost U.S. media The Washington Post and The New York Times  of false and angry coverage of him.

The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning; said I would lose the primaries, then the general election.

Their coverage about me has been so false and angry that The New York Times actually apologised to its dwindling subscribers and readers.

They got me wrong right from the beginning and still have not changed course and never will, he said.

His recent visit to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was also prompted by the U.S. media reports that portrayed him as having a negative view about the agency.

As you know, I have a running war with the media because they make it look as if I have a feud with the intelligence agencies.

The reason CIA is my first stop is because of the media because they are the most dishonest people on earth. They make you feel that I hate the intelligence people, Trump said.
The Russian warship travelled through the North Sea to Syria last year, to help Moscow ally President Bashar al-Assad's troops recapture rebel areas of Aleppo city after four years of fighting there.

The offensive forced thousands of civilians and rebels to flee the city, after years of intense bombing and clashes that ravaged swathes of Syria's former economic capital.

Fallon called the aircraft carrier "a ship of shame whose mission has only extended the suffering of the Syrian people".

"We are man-marking these vessels every step of the way around the UK as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe," he said.

Britain is deploying Typhoon jets and a frigate to shadow the Admiral Kuznetsov, which is accompanied by a Russian cruiser and salvage tug, the ministry said.

Moscow criticised the escort and accused Fallon of hitting out at the Russian navy in a bid to distract the British public.

"The aim of this type of statement and the 'show' performed by the naval escort of our vessels is designed to turn the attention of British taxpayers away from the real state of Britain's military fleet," Igor Konachenkov, spokesman for the Russian defence ministry, said in a statement.

"I would like to point out that in the first place, the Russian military vessels did not require this kind of senseless escort, they know how to find their way through this stretch of sea.

"And secondly, we recommend, Mr Fallon, you pay more attention to the British fleet, as the English press have for good reason also stressed," he added.

The jibe was in reference to media reports on Sunday of a failed test of Britain's nuclear weapons deterrent last year, which the British government has refused to confirm or deny outright.

Russia scales down deployment

Russia's military said earlier this month that it had begun scaling down its deployment in Syria under a drawdown ordered by President Vladimir Putin on December 29.

Aircraft from the carrier hit 1,252 "terrorist" targets during a two-month mission, Russia's main commander in Syria, Andrei Kartapolov, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

The Syrian regime and its allies have consistently referred to all of Assad's opponents -- jihadist or otherwise -- as "terrorist" since a conflict erupted in 2011.
RBU hosts get together of senior citizens

Educational institutions of the SGPC are leading in every field: Sukhminder Singh
DES MOINES  Caleb Helland, when he was 10 years old, was having roughly 10 atonic, or head-drop, seizures as a result of his intractable epilepsy.

After two weeks of cannabis oil treatments, the Mason City boys atonic seizures stopped completely and never returned, his mother said. That was roughly a year-and-a-half ago.

Hes way more aware of his surroundings. Hes a lot more alert, just more with it, Cassie Helland said of her son, who is now 12 years old. Hes in a wheelchair, and he doesnt speak, but he smiles a lot. You can just tell by looking at him that hes kind of more there.

Caleb Helland is one of the many dramatic success stories that advocates like his mother relay to state legislators as they consider the future of Iowas medical cannabis program.

Iowa lawmakers in 2014 passed a limited medical cannabis program that allows residents to possess cannabidiol, a medicinal byproduct of the marijuana plant, for treatment of intractable epilepsy, even though that runs afoul of federal laws.

The law was passed with a July 1, 2017, expiration date, leaving state legislators this year with, essentially, three options:

 Extend the current program.

 Extend and expand the current program.

 Allow the law to expire, which would end the program.

Since the programs 2015 implementation, 222 cannabidiol registration cards have been issued in Iowa, according to the Department of Transportation, which issues the cards.

Critics of the program, including many who use it, say it does not create an avenue for Iowans to obtain cannabidiol, which is produced only in other states, many of which do not sell to non-residents.

Thats why Cassie Helland and her fellow advocates have spent the past two years pressing state lawmakers to expand the program, sharing their personal success stories.

Caleb still experiences the occasional grand mal seizure, Cassie said, but the head-drop seizures that completely stopped were more frequent and more alarming.

Those were really bothersome because they were on and off all day long, so they really interrupted his daily routine and activities, Cassie said.

Cassie is one of the states 222 cannabidiol registration cardholders, although her family has been fortunate to not have to use it. Caleb was accepted into a clinical trial at the University of Iowa, through which he receives his treatments.

But Cassie said she does not know how long the trial will continue, and at some point, she may need the card to obtain oil for Calebs treatments.

And Cassie said she knows many families who have to use the card to get oil from states such as Colorado.

If they dont pass this or if they dont renew the bill or think of something different, its not going to directly affect my son, Cassie said. But we dont know how long the study is going to go on for. ... (And) I do know families that will be directly affected by it because theyre not in the study.

Advocates for expansion of the program say they would like more forms of medical cannabis to be legalized and more ailments, such as cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to be covered and for the medicinal products to be produced and sold in Iowa.

We are hopeful for a more comprehensive program that will help more Iowans, said Sally Gaer of West Des Moines, co-founder of the advocacy group Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis whose daughter has a rare form of epilepsy. We have kids with epilepsy that need THCA (another compound of the marijuana plant) because the (oil) doesnt work for them, so they need a different component of the plant. So we need to help those kids.

Among state lawmakers, opponents of expansion or the program in general say the state should not pass a law that conflicts with federal law and they should not be making decisions that are better left to medical experts.

One key state legislator, who is drafting the medical cannabis bill that will be considered in the Iowa House, said he thinks it is important the program be extended but he is uncertain whether it will be expanded.

We have to extend the current program. I dont think theres any question about that, said Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, chairman of the House Public Safety Committee. Expansion? Theres a question. ... I think I can safely say that the (expiration) date of July 1, 2017, will be eliminated and the present program can continue.

Baudler said approval of program expansion would require time, education and want from my (House Republican) caucus.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake said that before proceeding with new state legislation, she wants to hear the intentions of the federal government and the new administration regarding medical marijuana.

I dont know where well land, Upmeyer said. We are breaking federal law no matter what we do. I would appreciate the federal government to make a decision on how they want this to be approached, and then the state can take the appropriate action. So I think thats kind of Step One, knowing that.

Rep. Peter Cownie, R-West Des Moines, oversaw a proposal that failed to pass the Iowa House in 2016. While he has handed off that responsibility this year to Baudler, Cownie said he remains hopeful legislators pass a program expansion.

Its my hope that the Legislature will act because of that (July 1 deadline) and hopefully pass something thats a better bill, a better law, Cownie said. The current law, while good-intentioned, hasnt really been able to do a lot of good for people who need help.
1. Smaller district

Davenport school officials have been fighting for equity in the state school funding formula, but that's not helping to stave off potential cuts in programs. Last week, the district's School Board learned that $18 million in cuts are being proposed over the next three years. It could mean more students in each classroom, less funding for the Creative Arts Academy and eliminating teaching positions. A proposed budget will be presented to the board March 27, and board members are expected to vote on it April 10.

2. Immigrant issues

President Donald Trump's first full week on the job was plenty eventful, and his action to toughen immigration policies brought reactions from Quad-Citians. A citizen task force that met Wednesday is worried that a crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities could mean families being torn apart by deportations of undocumented immigrants picked up in federal raids. They suggested immigrant advocates need to be prepared to shelter people. Meanwhile, two area sheriffs say Scott and Clinton counties shouldn't be labeled sanctuary counties even though they are reluctant to honor detainer requests from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

3. Quick deal

The plans for a new household plastics manufacturing and distribution plant in Davenport are on a fast track. The City Council last week decided to forego its rules for three readings and three votes on such projects and OK the Sterilite Corp. proposal on its first vote. Work on the $73 million, 2.4 million-square-foot facility could begin in March in the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center and be finished about a year later. The plant still needs a zoning change from the city, and that vote is expected next month.

4. Tweet trouble

The Women's March in Washington, D.C., and other cities brought out huge crowds and lots of reaction, including here in the Quad-Cities. One such reaction, in the private Twitter feed of a United Township High School teacher, resulted in school removing the teacher from the classroom while it investigates the issue. Teacher Mark Kaczmarek said: "an impressive turnout. Lots of pink hats & stuff. Then they all went home to make dinner. Well done, ladies!" That spurred a student to start an online petition against him. Later, another online petition was launched to support him.

5. Camera shy

Lawmakers in the Iowa Legislature again are taking aim at traffic enforcement cameras, and with Republicans in charge in both chambers, proposals have new life. One committee's proposal would ban them altogether, and another committee is suggesting limits but not an outright ban. Meanwhile, Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski was in Des Moines to defend the speed and red-light cameras it uses in various parts of the city. He denied the lawmakers' claims that the cameras' only purpose is to raise money. Instead, Sikorski presented statistics showing intersections are safer as a result.

6. Mine accident

Tragedy hit last week at Linwood Mining and Mineral near Buffalo when a worker died in an accident there Wednesday night. Ronald Trich Jr., 52, of Rock Island was identified Thursday as the victim. He was found buried in rock in a remote part of the mine where no operations were underway. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

7. Second plea

An Andalusia man entered his second Alford plea in connection with a double-fatal crash in 2013. Mitchell A. Gayer didn't admit guilt, but the plea means he thinks prosecutors may have enough evidence to convict him. He also entered an Alford plea in the case in January 2015 but later asked that the plea be taken back because his original attorney was ineffective. He is to be sentenced March 7 and faces up to 14 years in prison. Jamie Sedam, 22, of Port Byron and Clayton Carver, 24, of Taylor Ridge died in the crash.

8. Shooting arrests

A man was injured in a shooting Wednesday night outside Frick's Tap, 1402 W. 3rd St., Davenport, and charges were filed Thursday and Friday against four men who police say were involved in the incident. Police said the shooting resulted from a drug deal that went bad.

9. Uncle Ken

Columnist Barb Ickes brought us the story of Uncle Ken Ruggeberg, who is included in the striking "Portrait of Maquoketa" paintings by Rose Frantzen now on display at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport. Ken and his brother, Everett, were born on the family farm near Welton, Iowa, and Barb wrote about them and the family in 2015 because the farm's barn was stolen. Everett died later that spring. When Frantzen heard that story from Everett's daughter, she asked if Ken would sit for her. The result is a remarkable portrait.

10. 'Chase the Chill'

Knitted scarves and hats adorned lampposts, benches and trees along downtown Davenport's riverfront last week, but they weren't decorations. They were meant for anyone who is cold to use to warm up a bit. "Chase the Chill Quad-Cities" is a local effort that is part of a national program to knit items that the homeless and others can take. About 40 students from John F. Kennedy Catholic School, connected to Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, learned to crochet to produce the items.
Diminishing wildlife habitat, topsoil erosion, flooding and water quality degradation were growing conservation problems facing Iowa over a decade ago. Recognizing the need for action and growing budget shortfalls to address these important issues, the Iowa Legislature formed the Advisory Committee on Sustainable Natural Resource Funding in 2006 to recommend the best long-term, sustainable and predictable model to fund Iowas natural resources.

Representatives from the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Association of County Conservation Boards, The Nature Conservancy, numerous other conservation, sportsmen and environmental groups, including Ducks Unlimited came together and reviewed over 40 sustainable funding models. I was one of the original 18 members chosen to serve on this bipartisan Advisory Committee. After a tremendous amount of research into the best practices for long term natural resources and outdoor recreation funding, the Advisory Committee recommended establishing a constitutionally protected trust to be funded by a 3/8 cent increase in the Iowa sales tax.

In November 2010, a 63 percent supermajority of Iowans voted to create the trust fund, yet Iowa lawmakers from both political parties have repeatedly failed to pass the sales tax increase to provide the funding. Six years after voters spoke loudly, the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund sits empty without a dime of funding. Had our state elected officials followed the will of the people and raised the sales tax back in 2010, nearly $1.0 billion in funding for natural resources and outdoor recreation would have been invested in shovel-ready projects across all 99 counties.

Conservation activities funded by the Trust will have a positive impact on local economies with increases in production, recreation, jobs, taxes and spending. These impacts have a multiplier effect and investment in our natural resources is important for the states economy. Tourism generates more than $7.6 billion in Iowa, employs 64,600 people, and generates $328 million in state taxes.

Today, roughly half of Iowas rivers, lakes, and streams fail to meet minimum water quality standards. The lost sales tax revenue could have been used to improve water quality standards and likely avoid the divisive Des Moines Waterworks lawsuit. Today, less than 10 percent of Iowas wetland areas remain. Wetland restoration would improve water quality, help with soil erosion, and provide important wildlife habitat critical to the $1.0 billion hunting and fishing industry in Iowa. The lost sales tax revenue could have been used to protect those wetlands. Iowa loses an average of 5 tons per acre of top soil annually to erosion. The lost funds could have been used to protect the precious soil which current and future generations of Iowa farmers will use to provide the food, fiber and fuel to meet global demand.

Iowans have consistently spoken loud and clear that they want action on funding the Iowa Outdoor Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund through a 3/8 increase in the statewide sales tax. Minnesota, Missouri and Arkansas have passed similar sales tax increases and the time has come to Fund the Trust in Iowa. As a conservative Republican voter, I strongly encourage Gov. Terry Branstad and the Iowa Legislature to secure our land and water legacy for future generations, leaving a truly lasting legacy.
MIAMI | The first Cuban exports since the embargo went into effect over a half century ago arrived last week at Florida's Port Everglades as port officials prepared to receive a business delegation from Cuba later in the week.

The delegation also plans to visit the Port of Palm Beach, which is located in Riviera Beach, and Port Tampa Bay in a swing through the United States that has already included a stop at the Port of Houston. Also on the itinerary are visits to the Port of New Orleans and the Port of Virginia in Norfolk and meetings with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., members of Congress and the American Association of Port Authorities.

Two containers of artisanal charcoal made from Cuban Marabu, an invasive woody species from Africa that is considered a nuisance on the island, arrived Tuesday morning at the Fort Lauderdale port aboard a Crowley Maritime ship called the K-Storm. The charcoal exports, which are produced by private worker-owned cooperatives, are legal under a rule change by the Obama administration that allows the importation of some products produced by independent Cuban entrepreneurs.

In Cuba, Marabu has taken over wide swaths of idle agricultural land and strangled other plants. But it makes a hardwood charcoal that is winning acceptance as a fuel for pizza and bread ovens in Europe and the Middle East. It will be sold under the Fogo Charcoal brand by various U.S. retailers.

The charcoal deal was put together by Coabana Trading, a subsidiary of Reneo Consulting, a firm chaired by Scott Gilbert, the Washington, D.C., lawyer who represented Alan Gross, the USAID subcontractor who was jailed by Cuba for five years.

"This is truly a momentous occasion," Gilbert said when the deal for 40 tons of charcoal was announced earlier this month. "Now U.S. consumers will be able to purchase this product, as have Europeans and others for many years. More importantly, this marks the beginning of a new era of trade between the United States and Cuba."

The agreement was struck with CubaExport, a Cuban government entity that develops trade opportunities, but Scott said that the Marabu plant is cut and the charcoal produced by private Cuban cooperatives.

The embargo still remains in effect, but executive orders issued by former President Barack Obama over the past two years have eased some Cuba-related travel and trade restrictions.

Although the transaction was negotiated under the Obama opening, the historic Cuban exports are arriving during the Trump administration. Trump has said he might roll back some of Barack Obama's executive orders on Cuba unless Cuba offers a better deal to the United States and Secretary of State-nominee Rex Tillerson has said that all Obama's executive orders on Cuba will be reviewed.

Whether Cuban charcoal becomes a staple of U.S. trade with the island remains to be seen.

"It's experimental, but the importer hopes to have regular shipments," said Jay Brickman, vice president of government services and Cuba service at Crowley. Brickman called the shipment "the first truly commercial shipment from a Cuban cooperative to a private U.S. business since the U.S.-Cuba trade embargo was imposed more than 50 years ago."

The shipping line makes thrice-monthly trips from Port Everglades to Cuba's container port in Mariel and also calls in Honduras and Guatemala before returning to the Fort Lauderdale port. Crowley mostly carries frozen chicken parts and foodstuffs to Cuba, but it also handles small amounts of other legal exports to the island and was involved in shipping some of the equipment that the Rolling Stones used in their historic concert in Cuba in March 2016.

Crowley has been calling on Cuba for the past 15 years.

On Thursday, a Cuban delegation will be at Port Everglades to sign a memorandum of understanding between the port and the National Port Administration of Cuba that could pave the way for joint marketing studies, joint training and other cooperation, said Jim Pyburn, Port Everglades director of business development.

"We would like to see U.S. exports to Cuba increase; imports are good, too," said Pyburn.

The seven-member Cuban delegation will begin its day at Port Everglades with a meeting with Port Director Steven Cernak, then have a tour of the port and a lunch with executives from Crowley.

The Cuban delegation includes Ana Teresa Igarza, general director of the Mariel zone; Jose Leonardo Sosa Barrios, deputy director of the Mariel Container Terminal.; Eradis Gonzalez de la Pena, president of Almacenes Universales; Rene Rolando Fernandez, director of inland waterway and sea transport for the Ministry of Transportation; Tania Vazquez, an official with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment; Joel Lago from the Cuban Embassy in Washington's economic and trade office, and Ernesto Vinas, an adviser to the deputy minister of transportation.

Pyburn said Port Everglades had been working on an MOU with Cuba since early 2016 but originally it was only going to cover Mariel, which is about 28 miles west of Havana. Now with the involvement of the National Port Administration of Cuba, it will cover all Cuban ports.

He said the MOU was completed for signing in May. But there was little action until Brickman visited Washington in December. During his trip, he received a call from the Cuban Embassy "saying the Cubans would really like to sign a memorandum of understanding with Port Everglades," said Brickman and he helped facilitate the visit and the signing.
A helicopter companys art contest has resulted in a long-awaited tribute to Lakota warrior Eagle Elk.

Airbus Helicopters in Grand Prairie, Texas, manufactures the UH-72A Lakota, a multimission helicopter used by the U.S. Army and National Guard that is named for the Lakota people. Last spring, Airbus hosted an art contest in hopes of finding a symbol that would capture the spirit and history of the Lakota people.

The contest caught the attention of Dave Smith of Dallas, a retired U.S. Army and Coast Guard pilot who is now studying art at Southern Methodist University. Smith spent 12 years of his military career flying Airbus helicopters.

When I read the description of the contest, I felt like it was made for me, Smith said. This is bringing my last 20 years (in the military) together with my intended future. I thought theres no way I cant make an entry in this contest.

Smith also has long been interested in the Native American culture. The contest parameters were very specific, Smith said, and wanted a symbol focused on a Lakota warrior. As he researched Lakota warriors, he was impressed by an image of Eagle Elk, a contemporary of Crazy Horse.

Eagle Elk epitomized what I perceive to be a highly respected warrior. As a fellow warrior (in the military), that means a lot to me, Smith said. The name of the painting is Spirit of the Lakota and he represents that to me.

The warrior culture associated with the military is drawn to the names and images of Native American culture because of their greatness as warriors. The basis for my painting is the famous Edward S. Curtis image of Eagle Elk (He'haka Wanbli) of the Oglala Lakota, Smith added. I made every effort to be culturally sensitive by showing that Eagle Elk becomes the sky and the mountain and the Earth.  I wanted to give the idea of a spiritual warrior watching over the Earth and what is happening with the helicopter (in the) treetops.

Smiths painting was chosen as the winning contest entry. Airbus Helicopters consulted with the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribal Council to ensure the painting was culturally accurate and respectful. Tribal council leaders referred the company to the family of Eagle Elk  including grandson Robert Eagle Elk and great-granddaughter Charleen Eagle Elk of Pine Ridge  who approved the use of Smiths painting.

Last fall, Airbus Helicopters hosted a ceremony in Dallas to unveil the Spirit of the Lakota painting. Smith attended, as did members of the Eagle Elk family who sang and prayed during the ceremony.

For the Eagle Elk family, the long-awaited recognition of their ancestor is something they cherish. Eagle Elk and Crazy Horse were considered cousins, Charleen Eagle Elk said. Eagle Elk wanted to be like Crazy Horse and he rode with him in all the battles, she said.

Charleen said that, when Crazy Horse was captured and then killed by a Crow scout, Eagle Elk witnessed the event and later killed the Crow scout.

Unlike Crazy Horse, Eagle Elks legacy had little fanfare until the Spirit of the Lakota painting. Our family was really honored (by this tribute), Charleen said. Its the legacy of our whole family history. Its an honor to be the great-granddaughter of a real Lakota warrior.

Charleen praised Smiths work. Its a beautiful painting. Its like Eagle Elks spirit is coming through and everything. Its finally time he got recognized the way he should have a long time ago. Its a proud moment for all of our family.

Smith, meanwhile, was honored to meet the warrior Eagle Elks family at the ceremony. To be accepted and have the art accepted by them, I was completely blown away, Smith said. Winning (the prize money) was great, but for me the unforeseen payoff was the way the family received the painting.

Charleen said her family received the first print of Spirit of the Lakota, which now hangs in a place of honor in her home. Airbus Helicopters also will present prints of Spirit of the Lakota and a history of the Eagle Elk family to its key clients.

Meanwhile, the celebration of the tribute to Eagle Elk will continue later this year at a family reunion, Charleen said. Representatives from Airbus and Smith and his wife are planning to attend, Charleen said.

I just thank Airbus for doing this competition. I think it really captured the Lakota spirit, Charleen said.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

Editor's note: This question was inadvertently left off the newspaper's website last week, so it appears there now and is open for voting. Results and a new poll question will be published next week.

Do you support a proposal by Senate lawmakers to ban lobbyists from entering the legislative chambers, or from standing in the hallways near where laws are made?

YES: Lobbyists hold too much sway in South Dakota already, and keeping them out of the way of lawmakers as they debate and decide measures makes good sense and may lead to more effective legislation with less influence from outside groups.

NO: Lobbyists have had that level of access for years without problems; additionally, many lobbyists work hand-in-hand with lawmakers to help them understand issues, which leads to more sensible and meaningful legislation.

To vote, visit rapidcityjournal.com, scroll down to the lower right side of the page, and make your voice heard. Results will be published in the "From Pierre to Here" section in next Sunday's Journal.
South Dakota lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would no longer make it illegal for someone to have marijuana in their system.

Senate Bill 129 has 17 sponsors from both Republicans and Democrats. State Rep. David Lust, R-Rapid City, is the prime sponsor in the House and state Sen. Justin Cronin, R-Gettysburg, is the prime sponsor in the Senate.

Lust said the bill is not done and amendments will be added, but the intent of the bill is to repeal the state's possession-by-ingestion law for marijuana. Physical possession of the drug would remain illegal as would ingestion of other illegal drugs. He sees the measure as a law enforcement bill that could save the state money and would put South Dakota's policies in line with those of the rest of the nation.

"When I hear possession, I think the of the potential for distribution, and obviously if the drug is already ingested that can't happen," Lust said Thursday. "There is no chance this drug would end up in the hands of a child once it has been ingested." He noted the punishment, which can include a felony charge, seemed "unduly harsh" for the crime.

Lust said there is a feeling in Pierre that the possession-by-ingestion law is leading to higher incarceration rates and parole violations. He said legislators asked for data on these types of crimes in past sessions but never received them.

South Dakota is the only state in that nation that says the existence of drugs in the body can be a felony crime. The law was passed in 2001 and upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2004. Utah has a similar provision under its consumption law, but that charge can be only a misdemeanor.

This means someone could be charged with felony possession of an illegal drug if that drug shows up in a urinalysis or blood test. With Colorado legalizing the drug for recreational use, it can also create a legal problem for vacationers who use legally in that state.

That could come into play because tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, is extremely fat-soluble and can be present in blood for weeks after the drug had been ingested.

This creates a situation in which a person could legally use the drug in Colorado and then travel back to South Dakota. Even if the users no longer feel any of the effects of the drug, the simple presence of THC in their bodies would put them in violation of the law when they cross the state line.

Lust said this bill isn't some ploy to allow for expanded marijuana use. "It's not a slippery slope, not a first step. If we are only state that has this law, we need to look into why," Lust said.

Rep. Kristen Conzet, R-Rapid City, is another sponsor of the bill. She spoke out strongly against a bill last session that would have allowed patients suffering from intractable epilepsy to use some forms of medical marijuana rich in cannabidiol, or CBD. That bill died in the House after it passed the Senate.

A bill similar to last year's CBD oil bill was introduced this week also. The bill would add cannabidiol to the list of Schedule IV controlled substances and exclude it from the definition of marijuana.

Melissa Mentele, a marijuana advocate with New Approach South Dakota, said the ingestion bill is a "good start in smart cannabis reform for our state."

"It is refreshing to see our state making choices to move forward into lessening the penalties of cannabis use," Mentele said. "With cannabis being legal in over half of the U.S., it is very sad to see children and adult patients still suffering in our state. While this is not where we need to be, it is a step forward."

Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said he opposed the ingestion bill and asked of the measure: "What problem is it solving?"

He envisioned a situation in which two people smoke marijuana in a car together. Under this bill, Thom said, only the person who had the raw marijuana on him or her could be charged for the crime even though both of them were smoking it. Thom said both people in that case should be charged.

Both the ingestion and CBD oil bills are expected to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.
A handful of West River students are back at their high schools after a heavy dose of state government in Pierre.

Students from Rapid City, Hot Springs and Belle Fourche spent two weeks as Legislative pages during this year's session.

Among them was Belle Fourche High School senior Cheyenne Davis. She said the up-close view of the South Dakota lawmaking process was invaluable.

"How government works is so hard to explain to people. It's hard to make sense of it, but once you actually live it and experience it, it's so much simpler," she said.

In the past, legislative pages served for the same time period as the legislators, who work a two-month session. But now, with so many students enrolled in college equivalent courses and Advanced Placement courses, they serve only two weeks in the session to stay focused on academics.

"I wish I could have stayed the whole time. It was so much fun," said Davis, who serves as student body president at Belle Fourche High School.

Nick Lust, a junior at St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City, said he applied to be a page to keep an eye on his dad, state Rep. David Lust, R-Rapid City.

"I've always been very interested in what my dad is doing in Pierre," he said. "This is a way for me to gain a deeper understanding of what all goes on here."

The younger Lust's future plans are still fluid. He hopes to attend college in California, either at Stanford or UC Berkley to study marine biology.

Austin Lannen, of Rapid City Christian High School, said he applied last year but was not chosen as a page. He reapplied this year and was chosen.

"I want to learn not only how our government works, but some of the things our government doesn't do well and can be improved upon," he said.

Lannen said he is keenly interested in education reform.

"I've seen some of the struggles in our public school system and thought that this would be a good way to learn about it," he said.

Lannen hopes to attend Augustana University to earn a science education degree and business.

He eventually would like to teach and become a principal at a high school so he can get a firm grasp on the educational system.

"I would someday like to get involved in our political system and hopefully reform the education system," he said.

Lannen said the students need to be at the heart of discussions about education reform.

"We need to realize that it's the kids that matter, not the politics," he said. "It's about teaching people, so get rid of all the politics surrounding education."

Change doesn't come easily when it comes to government, Lannen said.

"There's a lot of room for improvement in our education system to move us to the top in the world," he said.

Haley Sowers, also of Belle Fourche, said she had not been a page in the past, but her older sister was a page.

"She said it was amazing, and from friends, I've heard that it was really fun," Sowers said.

So, at the last minute, Sowers decided to apply.

The pages' first day of work coincided with the legislators' first day. They had orientation and a tour of the Capitol.

Each session, the Legislature uses high school students as pages to not only introduce them to the political process, but also to help with day-to-day tasks such as delivering mail to legislators.

Pages are appointed to serve in the House of Representatives or the Senate. Application is made through a sponsoring legislator or legislator-elect.

But once the page is selected, they do not serve only for the legislator who nominated them.

Being a page is not for the faint of heart. Here's a typical work day: The Legislature begins with committee meetings at 7:45 a.m., so pages need to be in the office by 7:15 a.m.

Floor sessions normally convene at 2 p.m. The floor sessions vary in length, from two hours on up. Certain committees also have night meetings, so pages need to keep their schedule flexible.

Pages receive $50 for living expenses for each day they serve. They are assigned to host families for their accommodations.

Davis' host parent, Dawn Slama, outfitted her home with an apartment-like basement for pages.

"She gave us our own place to live. She wanted it to be like when we went away to college," Davis said.

The Legislature provides each page with three shirts in distinctive colors, which is their uniform of sorts. That ensures that pages are easily recognizable while working on the floor of the Legislature.

Aspen Stover of Hot Springs said other students from Hot Springs had served as pages and had good things to say about the program.

"They told me it was a good opportunity and lots of fun, and that I should totally do it," Stover said.

Stover, a junior at Hot Springs High School, said going into the program, there were a lot of unknowns, but it was a valuable learning experience.

"I think a lot of people know a little bit about how our state works, but we get to experience it up close," she said.
Selling cookies is taken very seriously by the Girl Scouts.

So this weekend, the girls went to Cookie University.

Saturday's event, themed "Built by Girls," brought more than 130 girls to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology campus in Rapid City. There, girls spent the day learning how to sell the Girls Scouts' trademark cookies through education on topics like money management, customer service, and marketing on an online platform.

Girls were also introduced to the brand new cookie hitting the 2017 lineup, the Girl Scout Smores Cookie. The Girl Scout cookie selling season is just around the corner, beginning on Feb. 3 and ending on March 5.

Cookie sale revenue is a critical source of funding for Girl Scout councils. One hundred percent of net proceeds go to supporting the local Girl Scout troops, from events to supplies to group travel.

Girls Scouts is important to me because it is really fun. I have the opportunity to learn about a lot of different things, and it has supported me over the years, said 12-year-old Javonte Madison, of Rapid City.

Event organizers said Cookie University is important for first-time sellers, because they can learn the tricks of the trade, as well as dive into topics like goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

The younger students, called Daisy Scouts, learned about counting money. Older girls learned about running a business, money management and customer service. They also had a meet-and-greet with School of Mines President Heather Wilson.

Cookie selling has evolved to keep up with the times, meaning cookies are now also sold online. Cookie University also included a session called Digital Cookie where attendees learned strategies on how to sell online and on the Girl Scout mobile app. They are also encouraged to market their cookies on Facebook and through email.

They can get credit card payments on the app, track their sales online, send out emails to family, and share the link to their cookies on social media, said Jennifer Sullivan, a coordinator with Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons.

Safety tips also were provided. An officer from the Rapid City Police Department came to the event to give a safety talk, citing "stranger danger" as the biggest issue. He urged the girls to stay away from houses they dont know.

At the end of Cookie University, the girls were awarded the Cookie University patch.
Winner  Opponents of a new state park

It was a big week in the debate over whether the state should trade for federal land around Spearfish Canyon in the potential run-up to declaring the area a state park.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard, apparently feeling the growing opposition to his plan, made the bold announcement that his administration will not charge an entrance fee if the area is declared a park. The move seemed reasonable, but also hinted at desperation to assuage public opinion against the park concept.

Meanwhile, that same day, the GOP leadership in both legislative chambers stated flatly that they don't think the governor has support for a $2.5 million allocation that is needed to get the whole land-swap and park process started. They said they are hearing loud and clear that there is not support for the plan in the Black Hills.

But don't count the governor out. He and his team have not even begun to lobby in favor of the bill, and governors tend to have a way of winning out in the end.

It isn't helping Daugaard and proponents of his land-swap plan that many lawmakers don't seem to be up to speed that the allocation and land swap are a first step to a state park, but technically completely separate moves. The governor has acknowledged he has some make up work to do to get that message across clearly.

Loser  Science teachers and students

On its face, a Senate bill described as a measure to "protect the teaching of certain scientific information" sounds like a noble measure.

But anyone who has followed South Dakota politics and government can see this is a veiled attempt by conservative lawmakers to delve into the creationism versus evolution debate, and allow teachers to do the same.

Fine. That's their right as legislators to do so.

It's a rather simple measure, which in fulls reads: "No teacher may be prohibited from helping students understand, analyze, critique, or review in an objective scientific manner the strengths and weaknesses of scientific information presented in courses being taught which are aligned with the content standards established pursuant to statute 13-3-48."

And yet, it has already caused ripples of concern among science teachers and other educators. They include Rapid City Area Schools Superintendent Lori Simon, who called it a measure in search of a problem, and others who say it could allow teachers to present almost any topic as science.

But beyond that, the timing of this bill appears to play into the new, frightening world of open mendacity pushed in part by our new president in which the preposterous term "alternative facts" has been given some form of unrealistic credibility.

Even if this measure passes, let's all hope that teachers who know the difference between facts and theories just continue to teach science they way they always have: with proof the basis for facts, and facts as the basis for learning and intelligence.
At first glance, Bruce Speidel's paintings of antelope, deer, bison and prairie landscapes look more like photos. With such a commitment to detail, Speidel said, some pieces can take more than a month to complete. Not that he's worried about it.

"I knew it (art) would give me the freedom to do stuff around the world," he said Saturday from behind a work desk at his stand in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

A graduate of Black Hills State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in art and communications art, Speidel is also a former Marine Corps combat illustrator. For four years, he worked in Washington, D.C., drawing battles, landscapes, and fighters in combat for historical records and books, he said.

That experience, it's clear, lends itself well to the works he now devotes his time to as a full-time, professional painter in Sundance, Wyo., where he operates an art gallery. It's his second year at the Black Hills Stock Show.

"It's a local show that I can do," Speidel said. "Customers that find me here can make the trip out to my gallery."

Speidel's art has taken him all over the world, including to Nepal and Chile, he said, but Wyoming and the Black Hills still have his heart.

"I'm blessed to live in the Black Hills," he said. "The local support is wonderful."
When you were a child, did your parents read to you? Once you learned to read, did you read by yourself? Norm Peterson of the Rapid City Rushmore Rotary Club is trying to ensure no child on the Rosebud Reservation will have to answer these questions with a sense of regret when theyre older.

Peterson, along with his wife, Linda, the Rotary Public Image chair, recently donated 73 cartons of children's and young adult's books to the Rosebud Reservation. The books, collected by Peterson from donors across South Dakota and parts of Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, were just a small slice of the more than 50,000 books the Petersons have collected over the past few years.

Now in a previously unused building on the reservation, the cartons of books have been unpacked and are on display in a makeshift library, Peterson said. Theyre available to anyone on the reservation, though their content is catered toward children and teens.

Hopefully we can get the parents of those children reading and reading to them, said Peterson in an interview with the Journal. If they dont have that education to start off with, theyre at a disadvantage, and I dont like to see that.

Peterson and the Rotary Club have donated books to various organizations and locations in the past, including childrens health clinics across South Dakota through a program called Readiatrics. The ethos and return policy at the Rosebud Reservation will mimic those programs.

If we can get the kids reading ... then they have a good start for something that is very important, and that is education and literacy, Peterson said. The children can take a book. They dont necessarily need to return it.

To donate books to the Rotary Club, email pete2@q.com. To donate to Readiatrics, call Darla Drew Lerdal at 341-5940 or email her at ddrewlerdal@gmail.com.

Rapid City group awarded $98K grant

A local group has been awarded $98,000 from the Ludwick Family Foundation.

Earlier this month, Rapid City Community Conversations announced in a release that it received the grant from the foundation to support community organizers, public events and an office space.

"We are super excited to continue the good, transformative work happening today in Rapid City," Chas Jewett, from the Host Planning Team, said in the release.

Rapid City Community Conversations is a Lakota-led grassroots organization that has been leading difficult conversations of race and place in the past two years.

It was formed in the wake of an officer-involved shooting and death of a Rapid City Native American man, "to bring people together around the concepts of identifying shared values despite racial and cultural differences, designing a new social framework for Rapid City, and delivering lasting positive change for the future," according to the release.

Helpline Center & Black Hills Urgent Care name January Volunteer of the Month

The Helpline Center and Black Hills Urgent Care named Nancy Stephenson their January 2017 Volunteer of the Month.

A release from the Helpline Center said the Volunteer of the Month program is sponsored by the Helpline Center and Black Hills Urgent Care, a division of Black Hills Surgical Hospital.

Stephenson was nominated by Rapid City Arts Council at the Dahl, where she has volunteered since 2015. Stephenson volunteered more than 400 hours in 2016.

Jillian Jez of the Dahl Arts Center, who nominated Stephenson, said, Nancy is a retired educator. She has a passion for the arts which motivates her to give her time to teaching youth and adults about art. She epitomizes our mission statement, which is to champion inclusive, innovative, and inspired arts opportunities to enrich the communities we serve.

Stephenson received a certificate, gifts and a letter of appreciation from Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender. She will also be recognized at the Spirit of Volunteerism Awards banquet in May.
A meeting of the Rapid City School Board doesnt always end when everyone files out of the room.

Most of the time, the meeting continues behind closed doors, where the public isnt allowed to listen in, participate or even know what specific topics were discussed.

Those secret sessions took place at almost eight of every 10 school board meetings in 2016, according to a Rapid City Journal analysis of meeting agendas and minutes.

There is nothing illegal or inherently unethical about a governing body holding closed  or executive  sessions. The practice is protected under state law for a narrow set of topics, often having to do with personnel matters, awarding of contracts, legal matters and private student issues.

But by their very nature, the executive sessions tend to raise questions about what elected officials are doing behind closed doors. And complaints are sometimes made that  intentionally or not  the government body may have improperly held a closed meeting or done things in secret that should have been done in the open.

That question has arisen regarding the Rapid City School Board, which is the subject of an open meetings complaint filed against the board this month by the Journal, and which has drawn criticism by paraprofessional teachers who feel their union was unfairly targeted for dissolution during a closed-door discussion. School Board President Jim Hansen said the board acted appropriately in that case and the others where executive session has been used.

During an executive session on Nov. 14, the board authorized district officials to file a petition to decertify the paraprofessional employees' labor union. The action was taken in possible violation of the states open meetings law, which requires any action by a government body be taken in an official open meeting.

The Journal's complaint is now being reviewed by Pennington County State's Attorney Mark Vargo; if the complaint is upheld, Vargo could file a criminal charge or forward it to the state Open Meetings Commission, which reviews complaints and can levy reprimands for violations.

Shrouded in mystery

The opaque nature of executive sessions makes it difficult for the Open Meetings Commission to determine if and when a violation has taken place. With no rules in place requiring that records be kept of closed meetings (minutes are required to be taken in all open sessions) the conversations that happen there are stored only in the memories of the officials who are present after all members of the public and press shuffle out and the doors shut behind them.

What can be determined by the outsider, however, is how often these closed meetings take place, how long they last, and generally what they are about.

Of the 52 total meetings the Rapid City school board held last year, 41 included an executive session. Sometimes the school board retired behind closed doors more than once per meeting, however, putting last years total of closed sessions at 43.

That is a significant increase over 2015, when 35 of the school boards 53 meetings included executive sessions.

The closed meetings in 2016 were as brief as five minutes to as long as four hours. Altogether, the school board spent a total of about 54 hours  equal to nearly two and a half days  in executive session last year.

Neither the South Dakota Department of Education nor the Associated School Boards of South Dakota keeps track of how often each of the 150 school boards in the state uses executive sessions.

In Sioux Falls  the only school district in the state larger than Rapid City  the school board held 34 closed sessions out of a total of 41 meetings in 2016. For further comparison, the Rapid City City Council held a total of 29 meetings last year, only five of which included an executive session.

The Rapid City School Board usually enters into a closed session during the course of an open or regular meeting. Other times, however, the school board will meet in a special executive session that is held separately from a regular meeting.

In 2016, the school board met in 12 such special executive sessions, where the entirety of the meeting was conducted away from public view. This is also a marked increase from 2015, when the number of separate, closed meetings was just five.

South Dakotas open meetings law says an executive session can be used only to discuss certain topics, which, in general terms, are limited to personnel, students, legal consultation, contract negotiations, and marketing or pricing strategies.

Government officials are required to disclose to the public the general reason for entering into an executive session. The reason cited needs to be one of the five listed above, though again, there is no way to know whether or not the conversations adhere strictly to the topic cited.

In 2016, the Rapid City school board most frequently cited personnel and contract negotiations or a combination of the two  as the reason for entering a closed meeting. There were 22 instances in which both personnel and contract negotiations were listed.

All told, the school board entered into executive session to discuss personnel 34 times, contract negotiations 13 times, students five times, and twice for legal consultation.

This is in line with state trends. According to Wade Pogany, executive director of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota, the most common reason school boards in the state enter into closed session is to discuss personnel matters.

Of the four meetings the Rapid City school board has held so far in 2017, only one has not included an executive session.

Hiring seen as reason

School Board President Jim Hansen said that the increased number of executive sessions last year can be explained in part by the need to discuss multiple candidates who applied to replace former superintendent Tim Mitchell.

The search, which ended with the selection of Lori Simon as new superintendent, sometimes required long meetings behind closed doors. Hansen said this by way of explaining why some executive sessions lasted as long as four hours and were focused mostly on personnel and contract negotiations.

Hansen said he is confident the school board has not violated the states open meetings laws during any of its closed meetings.

Thats why you voted for me, because youre trusting that Im going to do the right job, Hansen said. Has anybody been hurt by this?"

Dana Livermont has one possible answer to that question.

A counselor at Meadowbrook Elementary School, Livermont has become a vocal critic of the school boards decision to pursue decertification of the paraprofessional union during the Nov. 14 executive session. Livermont works closely with the paraprofessionals in her building, many of whom, she said, felt attacked by the school board's action.

We instill a certain amount of trust in the people we vote for, Livermont said, but there is still an accountability piece there. We deserve to know how they are acting on our behalf.

When the school board entered executive session on Nov. 14, the reason given on the agenda was to discuss personnel issues.

To me, Livermont said, personnel would be talking about specific employees and their individual contracts.

The school boards decision to act in the secrecy of an executive session on something that affects a large group of district employees has left a sour taste in Livermonts mouth.

It makes me wonder, she said, are there other items being discussed in executive session that arent necessarily personnel related but are just being marked that way so they can discuss it behind closed doors?

Open Meetings Commission

A citizen or media member who believes a governing body has violated state open meetings law can submit a complaint to the local states attorney, who can then take one of two actions.

Upon investigating the legitimacy of the complaint, the states attorney can forward the complaint to the state Open Meetings Commission, or choose to prosecute the violation as a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.

No states attorney in South Dakota has ever taken the criminal prosecution route, as far as Dave Bordewyk knows. As executive director of the South Dakota Newspaper Association, Bordewyk is an expert on the states open meetings law.

Thats in part why we ended up with the Open Meetings Commission, because it was sort of seen as an alternative way to deal with violations of the law, rather than leave it to a states attorney who politically may not want to go after a school board or council member, Bordewyk said.

Submitting the complaint to the Open Meetings Commission is the second avenue available to a state's attorney. Created in 2004 by an act of the state Legislature, the Open Meetings Commission is composed of five county state's attorneys appointed by the state attorney general. They are tasked with receiving open meetings complaints, reviewing the evidence presented by both sides, and making a ruling as to whether or not a violation occurred.

The complainant has the burden of proof in many of these cases to prove that an impropriety took place, said Grant County State's Attorney Mark Reedstrom, a member of the Open Meetings Commission. Sometimes theres a failure of proof, so its difficult to make a determination of what happened in an executive session.

If the commission finds a violation has indeed taken place, it will issue a public reprimand, which is the limit of the commissions authority.

We dont yell at anybody or chew them out or anything like that, said commission member Kevin Krull, the Meade County state's attorney. We cant fine anybody, we cant put anybody in jail. Its just an official finding that there has been a violation.

Once the commission issues a reprimand, the parties go their separate ways, and the complaint cannot be prosecuted further in any other venue, according to state law.

Since its creation 13 years ago, the Open Meetings Commission has reviewed a total of 43 complaints, 28 of which resulted in a reprimand, seven of which were against school boards.

For comparison, Iowas Public Information Board, which was created in 2012, addressed a total of 875 complaints last year alone. The board  composed of a mix of government, public, and media representatives  has the ability to enforce financial penalties and often provides open meetings training for government officials.

While there is room for improvement, Bordewyk believes South Dakotas Open Meetings Commission has been a good thing for the state.

What its done is brought attention to the law, brought attention to both the weaknesses and the strengths of the law, and provided education to public officials, he said.

One weakness that Bordewyk identifies is in how exceptions  or the instances in which executive sessions are allowed  are spelled out in the open meetings law.

I think some of those are overly broad, in terms of allowing governing bodies to go behind closed doors to have secret discussions, he said. If we could narrow those exceptions it would be a good thing. I know local government officials are going to argue otherwise, but I think thats oftentimes where weve seen abuses of the open meetings law, under those exceptions.

Another weakness, in Bordewyks view, is the lack of rules requiring government officials to keep records of what transpires in executive sessions. The idea has come up several times before in pieces of proposed state legislation, most recently in 2012, but it has fizzled out each time.

Records of executive sessions would not only help the Open Meetings Commission determine if a violation has taken place, Bordewyk argued, but could also provide government officials something to point to as proof that they have indeed followed the open meetings law.

It can be a delicate balance in terms of governments walking a line between allowing the public to know as much as possible while at the same time having to protect legitimate confidential information, Bordewyk said, adding that he will always advocate to come down on the side of transparency whenever possible, recognizing also that there are times when confidential information needs to be kept private.
Three rigs and three days; that's what it took for Jeff and Ashlee Miller to transport and set up a display in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center for their company, Slick Rock Designs. Walk around and through the showroom, and it's not hard to understand why.

Based out of Coleman, Texas, where the Millers own a ranch and permanent showroom, they came directly to the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo from the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, held last weekend in Denver. It's their sixth year at the Black Hills event.

Though they sell some smaller items such as lamps and chairs to passers-by, Jeff Miller said, the real goal is to corral orders for the larger custom pieces they make back in Texas and ship to buyers. They do that by showcasing their craftsmanship and the comfort of their furniture in showrooms at stock shows.

Large pieces, such as a light brown leather sectional on display Saturday, go for anywhere from $7,000 to $8,500, Miller said.

Aside from the Black Hills Stock Show and National Western Stock Show in Denver, the Millers attend the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Texas.

"Our main thing is to show what we can do with making custom pieces for people," Miller said.
As its name implies, everything about the Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline could be extra large, including the level of outrage aimed at the 1,073 waterways it would cross in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

A separate project, the Dakota Access pipeline, has attracted more attention in recent months while it has been blocked by protesters who call themselves water protectors. Most of the Dakota Access pipeline is already built, except for a planned crossing under the Missouri River in southern North Dakota where protesters inspired by Native American activists are encamped.

Both pipeline projects vaulted into the news last week when newly sworn-in President Donald Trump issued memorandums supporting their completion. The Dakota Access pipeline, by virtue of being nearly finished, might continue to be the more controversial of the two in the short term.

But in the long run, if water crossings remain the focus of anti-pipeline activism, any controversy over the proposed $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline holds the potential to make the Dakota Access fight seem like a warm-up exercise. And it could bring protests to western South Dakota, where the Keystone XL route includes 333 water crossings.

Keystone XL opponent Elizabeth Lone Eagle lives in the tiny Cheyenne River Indian Reservation community of Bridger, near a spot where the Keystone XL would cross the Cheyenne River. Lone Eagle said the Dakota Access protest camp has emboldened and unified anti-pipeline activists.

In South Dakota, in certain areas, its not going to be a protest, she said. Its going to be a shutdown.

Anti-pipeline groups such as the Indigenous Environmental Network, which has been active in the Dakota Access protest, are also promising a bigger fight.

If Trump does not pull back from implementing these orders, said a release from the network, it will only result in more massive mobilization and civil disobedience on a scale never seen of a newly seated President of the United States.

Earlier start for protests

Part of what makes the Keystone XL (the "XL" actually stands for "export limited") so ripe for large-scale protests is the head start that activists have on it. Large-scale opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline arose late in the regulatory process as construction was beginning, and now the only segment left to oppose along the 1,172-mile route from the North Dakota oilfields to an Illinois distribution center is the crossing under the Missouri River, next to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

In other words, the Dakota Access fight, while symbolizing a broader opposition to societys dependence on oil, essentially hinges on one crossing under one waterway near one Native American reservation.

Conversely, Keystone XL presents activists with an opportunity to organize before the pipeline is built. The 1,179-mile route would stretch from the Canadian oil sands in Alberta, through eastern Montana and western South Dakota, to an existing pipeline connection at Steele City, Neb., for transport to Gulf Coast refineries (an existing Keystone pipeline already stretches through eastern South Dakota to Steele City and on to Illinois).

Along the way, the 36-inch wide Keystone XL pipeline would cross more than 1,000 bodies of water in the United States (after crossing an untold number of waterbodies in Canada) and weave between about a dozen U.S. Native American reservations within 100 miles of the route. None of the reservations would actually be crossed by the pipeline, but two of them  the Fort Peck reservation in Montana and the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota  would be skirted by just a few miles while several other reservations would be within 50 miles.

A possible epicenter for Keystone XL protests is the proposed crossing under the Missouri River in Montana, a spot that is similar to the contested Dakota Access crossing. Both sites involve the mighty and symbolic Missouri, the lifeblood of the Great Plains, and both are next door to Native American reservations that draw water from the river  the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota, and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. The Fort Peck reservations Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, which draw water downstream from the proposed crossing, adopted a resolution opposing the Keystone XL pipeline in 2015.

Besides the Missouri River crossing in Montana, there are hundreds of places where protesters could try to block a Keystone XL water crossing. The pipeline would make a total of 1,073 water crossings in three states, including dry stream beds that fill only during periods of heavy precipitation, irrigation ditches, small tributary creeks and well-known rivers used for drinking water, irrigation and recreation.

The Keystone XL would cross 333 waterways in South Dakota, including notables such as the Little Missouri, Cheyenne, Bad and White rivers; 459 waterways in Montana, including the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers; and 281 waterways in Nebraska, including the Niobrara and Platte rivers.

Additionally, the Keystone XL would cross some water pipelines, including a pipeline managed by the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. The Keystone XL would also pass above some underground water resources including the vast Ogallala Aquifer, which is said to supply water for more than 2 million people in the Great Plains.

Activists ready to pounce

Fear of a pipeline leak polluting water resources has motivated Paula Antoine, of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in south-central South Dakota, to watch Keystone XL news closely. She has spent time at the protest camp in North Dakota and was previously involved in a smaller and lesser-known protest camp near the South Dakota town of Ideal, in the potential path of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Ideal camp formed in 2014 and swelled to as many as several hundred people, Antoine said, but it disbanded in November 2015 after then-President Barack Obama announced his rejection of a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline to cross into the United States from Canada. Antoine said the Ideal camp helped inspire the North Dakota camp, which was founded last spring and swelled to thousands of protesters over the summer before dwindling to several hundred this winter.

Antoine does not know whether or where another protest camp might arise in opposition to the Keystone XL; however, she said, I dont discount the fact that there probably will be a camp.

Lone Eagle, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, is convinced that large-scale protests against the Keystone XL are inevitable. Her remote community of Bridger consists of a cluster of homes in the extreme southwest corner of the Cheyenne River Reservation, built into the bluffs that rise above the Cheyenne River.

The spot where the Keystone XL pipeline would cross under the river is about five miles southwest of Bridger as the crow flies. Lone Eagle worries not only about pollution if the pipeline were to leak, but also about potential disruptions to the winding rivers path from pipeline construction. Lone Eagle said there are already erosion problems in the area from natural and human-caused changes to the rivers course, and she worries about resulting changes to the floodplain.

Theyre going to kill our community, Lone Eagle said.

A spokesman for TransCanada, the company proposing the Keystone XL pipeline, declined an interview request. But the company issued a release Thursday when it re-applied for a presidential permit to bring the pipeline across the border into the United States.

The release said, among other things, that the pipeline would be built with "enhanced standards" and "the most advanced technology" to ensure its safe operation, and that construction of the pipeline would "support tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs" while contributing about $3.4 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product.

Water-crossing details

Fourteen major waterway crossings along the Keystone XL route, including the Cheyenne River crossing, would be achieved with a technique called horizontal directional drilling. As described in the Keystone XLs federal environmental impact statement, the technique involves drilling a pilot hole under the waterway and its banks, and then enlarging the hole with progressively larger bits until the hole is large enough to accommodate a pre-welded segment of pipe.

Regulatory documents maintained by the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission say the pipe under the Cheyenne River would arc down to 50 feet below the river bottom (as opposed to standard depths of 3 to 4 feet where no water is present, depending on soil conditions) to protect the river from a potential pipeline leak. The pipe would begin its descent well back of the river and its ascent well beyond it, so that the horizontal distance from the beginning to the end of the arc would be 2,491 feet  much wider than the river itself.

Similar techniques would be used to cross under other major rivers, with the depth of the pipe dependent on site-specific conditions. The pipe under the White River in South Dakota, for example, would be 70 feet under the river bed, according to PUC documents.

Minor waterways, including small creeks, dry stream beds and drainage ditches, would be crossed with other methods, according to the Keystone XL's federal environmental impact statement.

For channels where no flow is present, workers could simply dig an open trench across the channel, put the pipeline in it and cover it up. If a small amount of water is present, a similar method could be used, with the trench simply excavated through the flowing water. For other streams with higher flows, dams with flumes or pumps and hoses could be installed to temporarily divert the flow around the construction area while a trench is dug and the pipeline is installed.

Whether the Keystone XL pipeline gets built, and whether the Dakota Access pipeline gets finished, remains to be seen. Trumps memorandum on the Dakota Access pipeline ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to quickly consider approval of the contested Missouri River crossing, but that issue is tied up in litigation and the Corps said last week that it was studying Trumps memorandum.

Trumps memorandum on the Keystone XL pipeline invited the TransCanada Corp. to resubmit its application for a presidential border-crossing permit (which the company did Thursday), and Trump also ordered federal agencies to make a decision on the application within 60 days. But environmental groups have threatened litigation seeking a comprehensive new review of the project, rather than reliance on the review conducted by the Obama administration.

At the state level, the Keystone XL project already has approval from Montana and South Dakota but lacks approval from Nebraska. In that state, a diverse and highly organized coalition concerned in part about potential pollution of the Ogallala Aquifer has rallied the staunchest opposition to the Keystone XL so far.

Antoine, the veteran of two protest camps, said activists will anxiously await further developments.

Its like a suspense show, she said, just waiting for something to happen.
On Friday, Jan. 20, I was in Washington, D.C., among the many who attended the inaugural ceremonies for our 45th president. As governor, I was provided a seat on the platform, among other governors, former presidents, Supreme Court justices, senators and members of Congress. For someone like me, who grew up on a small farm and attended a one-room school, being among those seated behind President Trump was both surreal and humbling.

In recent years, the regulations and unfunded mandates imposed by the federal government have been a concern. Under the EPA alone, the last eight years have seen 4,000 new rules, requiring an estimated 33 million hours of paperwork and a price tag of $334 billion in compliance costs. Under the Affordable Care Act, another 3,852 new federal regulations were adopted, with an annual price tag of more than $116 billion.

Some of these regulations are overly burdensome to the states and nonsensical. For instance, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act requires state Medicaid and health program agencies to post notices in the states top 15 languages. Even though South Dakota has only about 200 residents who speak French, we are still required to print all significant publications in French.

With President Trumps inauguration, I am hopeful many of these unreasonable regulations will be repealed. I look forward to an administration that respects limited government, is committed to reining in the federal bureaucracy and understands the role of the states in a federal system. Both the Trump Administration and leaders in Congress have been reaching out to governors, asking for ways to eliminate red tape and return flexibility to the states.

While I was in Washington, D.C., for the inaugural, I was invited to speak with members of the Senate Finance Committee about South Dakotas recommendations concerning Medicaid reform.

I cautioned the senators against a one-size-fits-all approach to funding state Medicaid programs and urged them to pass reforms that are equitable to rural states and also to states that have not expanded Medicaid. State governments should have the option of establishing work requirements or requiring wellness activities or performance benchmarks for Medicaid enrollees. These approaches could help keep costs down and improve health outcomes for individuals.

I also identified the Medicaid/Indian Health Services reimbursement issue as South Dakotas number one priority and urged the senators to consider this issue when repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. The federal government needs to live up to its obligation to provide health care for Native Americans.

I am encouraged that the Trump Administration and federal lawmakers are asking for state input. My meeting with Senate Finance Committee members marked the first time since my election in 2010 that governors have been asked by members of Congress to come to Washington to give our states' perspective on federal reforms. I am hopeful they will take South Dakotas priorities under serious consideration and, in the coming years, continue to look to the states.
Millions of American are disgusted with where their country is right now. For them, their hastily arranged Women's March on Washington was awe-inspiring. Hundreds of thousands of people came to Washington to register their defiant disgust, and more than a million hit the streets worldwide, jamming up several cities.

Here in D.C., it obviously jammed all the circuits in the president's brain. He tried to ignore the crowds and the fact that their protest was bigger than the piddly turnout of those who assembled for his swearing-in. But in the end, he went haywire about journalists he describes as "among the most dishonest human beings on earth" for reporting the obvious fact that the turnout for his inauguration festivities the day before stacked up poorly with previous inaugurations. That was ascertained by side-by-side photo comparisons. A variety of factors led to estimates that about a quarter-million attended his ceremonies. But he insisted that he'd drawn over a million and a half. As for the media who dared to report otherwise, he promised that "they're going to pay a big price." He was indulging his petulance, by the way, at CIA headquarters, speaking in front of the solemn wall memorializing the anonymous operatives who died in the line of duty.

Back at the White House, he unleashed his pugnacious press secretary Sean Spicer to accuse news organizations of intentionally lowballing. Spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway then astounded almost everyone by defending Spicer's blatant fabrications. She came up with the outlandish term "alternative facts" to describe outright lies. Meanwhile, Spicer was threatening "to hold the press accountable" for daring to report alternatives to his "alternative facts."

Outside on the streets, the massive turnout of individuals with all their different priorities had one stated common purpose: resistance. The universal theme was that the Trump administration must be stopped before its disruption of civilized decency can take root.

The crowds included a high percentage of male supporters, but this was put together and led by women. So, beyond just Trump, it was a dramatic repudiation of history's tortured repression of females. A rallying cry that Hillary Clinton was not able to manage. Still, no matter how well-intentioned, many of us men still find old habits hard to break. We justifiably hear a lot these days about "mansplaining," where a man seems to find it necessary to clarify what a woman has just said. Or what we think she said. It's offensive, plain and simple. Condescension at its worst.

The huge turnout at the Women's March was a huge morale boost for all the Americans on the side of the divide that looks so bleak now that Donald Trump is president. Trump's first Twitter reaction to the outpouring was a derisive "Why didn't these people vote?" He has a point there. But now, they must show that they've learned that lesson, will they get involved to the extent necessary? If they don't, they will have some real explaining to do.
RAPID CITY | Lela Shirley Matson, 90, passed away Jan. 24, 2017, at Rapid City Regional Hospital, from complications of Parkinson's and other medical issues.

She was born July 9, 1926, in Crawford, NE, to Martha (Rassmussen) Shirley and Earl Merill Shirley. She spent her childhood in several towns in Nebraska and South Dakota. After graduating from Rapid City Central in 1944, she attended National Business College. Her first job was as an usher at the State Theater in Rapid City. She also was employed at Ellsworth Air Force Base as an aircraft technician, Quarnberg Furriers, CP Clare, and followed in her father's footsteps retiring after 26 years from Northwestern Bell Telephone Company.

Lela was united in marriage to Karl Wesley Matson on July 31, 1946. They rode their motorcycles to Broadus, MT, and eloped after a brief two-week courtship. This marriage lasted 62 years until Karl's passing on Sept. 5, 2008. To this union were born two children, Karla and Shirley.

After retiring she was active with genealogy, spending a great deal of her time while traveling, stopping at graveyards to take photos or etchings of ancestor's gravestones. During this endeavor, she discovered in her later years that she had a half sister and was successful in locating her in Nebraska, making two trips to meet and visit with her.

Lela was preceded in death by her husband, Karl and her half sister, Ethel. She is survived by two daughters, Karla (Edwin) Ling, Rapid City, and Shirley (Curtis) Kidner, Ridgecrest, CA; four grandchildren, Katie, Adam, Isabel and Matthew; and five great-granddaughters, Stephany, Hailley, Kacey, Sylvie and Annabel.

Lela will be buried at Black Hills National Cemetery alongside Karl. Per her request, no funeral services will be held but a private family memorial will be held at a later date.

Behrens-Wilson Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements and condolences may be conveyed to the family through their website.

Miss Me But Let Me Go  attributed to Edgar A. Guest

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little  but not too long

And not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that we once shared,

Miss me  but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take

And each must go alone.

It's all a part of the Master's plan,

A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart

Go to the friends we know

And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.

Miss Me  But Let Me Go.
RAPID CITY | John Jay Kirk passed peacefully at home from this life on earth to eternal life in heaven on Jan. 23, 2017. His big beautiful heart stopped beating.

John was born on Dec. 7, 1956, in Belle Fourche to John Jr. and Ruth (Kokesh) Kirk, the first grandchild among Ruths brothers and sisters.

He loved growing up in Belle Fourche from kindergarten to 10th grade and was active in sports, drama, music and Boy Scouts reaching the level of Explorer. He gathered many lifelong friends along the way.

In 1973, his family, now with little sister, Janifer, in tow to dote on, moved to Pierre. He graduated from T.F. Riggs High School in 1975.

After graduation, he tried college life at South Dakota State University, but his lifelong commitment to service called and he joined the U.S. Army in 1977, training in helicopter maintence stationed at Fort Campbell, KY, with the 101st Airborne.

After his tour, he was honorably discharged and the Black Hills of South Dakota called him home. He joined the S.D. Army National Guard and served in guard units across the state as everything from a radio operator (wire dog) to a mess cook, training and volunteering for extra duty along the way. During his time in the National Guard he was overheard saying, Whos that? and he met his someday wife, Jennifer Friel at the 842 D in Spearfish. Some day they managed to meet up again in 1990 and were married May 24, 1991, in Pierre.

While in Spearfish he attended Black Hills State and graduated with a bachelors degree in Industrial Arts. He shared his college graduation day with his sisters college graduation day. And of course he gathered many more lifelong friends especially the BH Vets Club, near and dear as his brothers and sisters.

With degree in hand, he landed a job with the State of South Dakota. Staying with them for over 30 years. He worked for transportation and as a draftsmen in the office of Building Engineers. He was also a draftsman planner for BOA Special Projects in Pierre. His work can be seen at the Fighting Stallions Memorial, and he was most proud of the Capitol Lake Improvements, World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Peace Officers and Firefighters Memorial, Hilgers Gulch and the Cultural Heritage Center. He was so proud to participate and help facilitate the WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War Memorial dedications and celebrations. He was especially inspired because his dad John, was a Korean War vet and his Aunt Sharon, is a Vietnam veteran.

In 2007, he was excited to learn of a position at Camp Rapid with Military and Veterans Affairs, CFMO. He proudly worked there up to his passing. Once again John got to work on amazing projects, he was especially proud of the new Joint Force HQ Building and the old gym at Fort Meade. There are many small and significant improvements scattered all over Camp Rapid and the National Guard Armories in South Dakota with Johns touch and attention.

Aside from work he loved the outdoors, as a little boy riding his bicycle at break neck speed up and down Water Tank Hill and later feeling the wind in his face on his Harley. He hunted with Dad all over North Western South Dakota and fished the beautiful lakes and streams of the Black Hills. He and his wife logged hundreds of hours four-wheeling with a pickup, a jeep, and finally a Can Am Commander. It was in those places that he felt closest to God. One of his favorite John Muir quotes, Go to the mountains and get their good tidings.

John and Jennifer were not blessed with children but loved their bar kids (you know who you are). They also loved their fur kids and they miss him very much.

Also surviving him and missing him terribly is his wife, Jennifer, Rapid City; mother, Ruth, Sturgis; sister, Janifer, Rapid City; mother- and father-in-law, Clara Mae and David Hlavinka; brothers-in-law, Andy (Yennifer) Friel of Spearfish, Paul (Penni) Friel of Kodiak, AK, Sam (Dawn) Friel of Wilson Creek, WA; uncles, Jim (Margy) Kokesh, Robert (Joyce) Kokesh, Donald (Pam) Kokesh, Ron (Darlene) Kokesh; aunts, Delores Frost, Norma Leger, LaVerne Kokesh, Sharon (Mike) Arent; and many wonderful cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father, John Jr. Kirk; grandparents; and father- in-law, Fred Friel.

John had an army of amazing friends and co- workers- God Bless you all!! Especially Don D.

Johns service to others lives on through organ donation.

Graveside services will be at noon Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, with Chaplin Lynn Wilson officiating. Military honors will be conducted by the Sturgis Volunteer Honor Guard and the SD Army National Guard.

Friends and family may sign the online guest register and leave condolences for the family at Black Hills Funeral Home website.
After almost a year at the negotiating table, the Corvallis School District has come to terms on a five-year contract with its teaching staff.

Weve reached a verbal agreement on language and pay, said Corvallis School Board Chair Wilbur Nisly. Right now, were still working on hammering out some language in the contract. I believe we have an agreement that works for both sides.

The negotiations bogged down last spring after the board and teachers union struggled to find the right mix for a wage matrix for the teaching staff.

For a time this fall, some teachers arrived early to hold a picket sign in front of the school to make the public aware that negotiations were ongoing.

When we got to the money issue, thats when it got way more challenging, Nisly said.

It took time for the board and teachers union to agree on the financial situation of the district and how the available funding should be allocated to the staff.

In general, our starting salary was solid and the matrix wasnt out of line with a lot of other school districts. But in terms of end-of-career potential, the argument was we were falling behind, Nisly said.

In the end, each side had to give a little to find the middle ground.

The teachers received a 5.5 percent pay increase in year one but turned down an increase paid toward health insurance premiums.

In years three and four of the contract, the increase will drop to a half percent. The increase will be 1 percent in the final year.

The pay raise for the first year of the new contract was not across the board, Nisly said.

Teachers with the most experience and education were provided a stipend, while those in the mid-career accepted a 5.5 percent raise in the first year, he said.

Negotiators agreed on a freeze on the bottom lanes of the pay matrix.

We agreed on a stipend for those teachers in the frozen cells, Nisly said. We wanted to provide them with some type of raise in pay. The stipend was less than 5.5 percent, he said.

In the second year, the certified staff will receive a 1.2 percent increase.

Corvallis School District Superintendent Tim Johnson said the district also compressed the step and lane matrix that determines how much a teacher is paid due to longevity and education.

To meet the financial constraints of the district, the salary increases needed to average $180,000 in the first two years of the contract.

The final five-year contract showed a commitment from both sides to step in the arena together and get it worked out, Johnson said. There is a risk to both sides. There were also a lot of very good fundamental conversations that may not have happened without this process.

Everyone heard each other say their piece several times, he said. Everyone realized in the end that there was an avenue to make this risk palatable for both sides.

The contracts language also changed the way the district views the 13 days of personal and sick time provided the certified staff. Teachers will no longer be required to ask for either sick or personal days.

Its the professional culture that we want to create about leave, Johnson said. The policy also has clear language that when that discretionary leave is used up, accountability increases.

Nisly said the district and teachers union still need to ratify the agreement. He believes the board will do that at its next meeting on Feb. 14.

The five-year contract gives us the ability to firmly budget for that time frame, Nisly said. Thats pretty attractive for the board.

"Im more than happy to not have to negotiate again for awhile, he added.

Like all Montana school districts, Nisly said Corvallis faces uncertainty surrounding state funding now being debated in the Legislature.

The outlook for state funding is very bleak, Nisly said. That really impacts our ability to try to raise teachers salaries.

Corvallis Teachers Union Chair Alyce Leonardi didnt return a phone call from the Ravalli Republic.
Every other Thursday afternoon, Bitterroot Public Library Director Mark Wetherington or another friendly staff member opens the closet in the librarys downstairs meeting room to unearth bins of colorful Legos.

We dont do much except set out the supplies for the Lego Club, open our doors and the children come, he said. So its a learning opportunity with different educational components, but one thats really beneficial for the kids and the parents.

Four-year-old Carson Herczeg was the first to bound through the door and gravitate to the Lego pirate ship with its towering masts. He was thrilled when his neighbor, Reif Ramer, joined him in play. They alternated between interactive and independent play and often found pieces for each others projects.

Its a nice place to make a mess and they have a lot more pieces than we have at home, Reifs mom, Brittany McKenzie said. Shes a trustee at the library and has been bringing Reif to attend library programs and classes since he was a baby.

Lego Club is definitely a step in another direction from everything thats literacy based, but its just right for us, she said.

Several bins also include Lego books and kit directions for the pre-readers to look and learn from.

Look at this! Herczeg said as he turned pages of a hardbound Legos book.

McKenzie said one of the things she loves about raising her child in Hamilton is the fun and educational programming offered at the public library.

Coming here has been part of our routine since Reif was a baby, she said. And its not just for the programming. Its for the social benefits too  getting to know other families and meeting new friends for Reif.

Both boys ears perked when McKenzie mentioned Sally Blevins.

Miss Sally reads us stories, Carson said.

Sally Blevins is the youth librarian director and said the Lego Club has been ongoing for the last five years.

There are great benefits including building creativity and problem solving skills., she said. Working with Legos develops fine motor skills and encourages cooperation and teamwork.

The other thing that I really appreciate is that the Montana State Library promotes STEM activities  Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Blevins said. So Lego Club fits that goal - increases kids awareness of engineering as they explore concepts like structure and stability. Math concepts such as size and shape are explored. Its just another one of the open-ended activities that we like to present to kids.

Entering its second century of operation in 2017, the Bitterroot Public Library continues its quest for quality programming and services.

Its a major priority for the board and the employees to continue to increase the diversity of programming so it meets the needs of all our residents, McKenzie said. This year, the board will be working on creating a strategic plan for our library and continue to ask what the role of the library is in providing life-long exploration.

Other library programs for children include:

 Babies and Toddlers Story Time on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Blevins said the short stories are accompanied with song and dance appropriate for toddlers 2 years and younger. Its a great time where we bring out blocks and stuffed animals and books and the kids and parents get to play and read together, she said. It really builds community and is a great opportunity in the winter for families to get out and be together.

 Storytime for Kids is Fridays at 10:30 a.m.

Blevins said, The books are longer, but may still have active rhymes and stories with themes. We also have open-ended play activities after the story time. This week, we pretended to set up an animal shelter. The kids got certificates for adopting a dog or cat. We also had a pretend wash and dry dog salon and a dog training center. It was a great opportunity to learn more about working with dogs.

 Lego Club is every other Thursday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

 Reading to cats and dogs at the Bitterroot Humane Association is on the second Wednesday every month. Its great for the kids to help socialize the animals as well as encourage the fluency and competence of the young readers, Blevins said.

 Family Night is the second Friday of the month and is geared toward families with children who have disabilities. Its a fun time for families, Blevins said. Sometimes we have musicians or dancers or maybe we watch movies together.

Blevins also said shes currently planning activities to celebrate the solar eclipse in August and more information will be coming on that.

Current library programming for adults includes:

 Genealogy Interest Group for those pursuing family genealogy or learning about local and online resources. They meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 2  3:30 p.m. For questions, call Alan Cosper at 961-4879 or Gene Wilhelm at 961-0097.

 Coloring Club for Grown-ups where the coloring pages and colored pencils are complimentary. They met to relax, enjoy and be creative every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon.

 Brown Bag It Book Club meets from noon to 1 p.m. once a month to discuss a different book. On Jan. 26 they reviewed, My Brillant Friend, by Elena Ferrante. On Feb. 23, they will discuss, Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell.

 The Marjorie A. Crawford Literature Seminar is directed by Shawn Wathen and meets monthly from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. On Feb. 7, they will meet to discuss Transit by Anna Seghers. On March 7, Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau will be the focus of the seminar.

 Cribbage Club meets every other Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room. Call 363-1670 for more information. Next months matches are on Feb. 2 and 16.

 Writers Group meet every other Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and is directed by John Robinson. Their next meetings are Jan. 31 and Feb. 14 and 28.

 Socrates Cafe meets every other Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. The conversation is facilitated by Kris Bayer. At each gathering, participants choose a question to discuss, define terms and respectfully consider whatever answers develop. They meet next on Feb. 7 and 21.

 The Documentary and Narrative Film Club meets at 7 p.m. every week to watch and discuss thought-provoking films. On Feb. 1, they will be watching the French drama, Once in a Lifetime. On Feb. 8, they will watch Hummus! The Movie.




Mr. Trump  in office just a week  found himself accused of constitutional and legal overreach by two Iraqi immigrants, defended by the American Civil Liberties Union. Meanwhile, large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce Mr. Trumps ban on the entry of refugees and people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Lawyers who sued the government to block the White House order said the judges decision could affect an estimated 100 to 200 people who were detained upon arrival at American airports.





Judge Ann M. Donnelly of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, ruled just before 9 p.m. that implementing Mr. Trumps order by sending the travelers home could cause them irreparable harm. She said the government was enjoined and restrained from, in any manner and by any means, removing individuals who had arrived in the United States with valid visas or refugee status.





The ruling does not appear to force the administration to let in people otherwise blocked by Mr. Trumps order who have not yet traveled to the United States.

The judges one-page ruling came swiftly after lawyers for the A.C.L.U. testified in her courtroom that one of the people detained at an airport was being put on a plane to be deported back to Syria at that very moment. A government lawyer, Gisela A. Westwater, who spoke to the court by phone from Washington, said she simply did not know.





Hundreds of people waited outside of the courthouse chanting, Set them free! as lawyers made their case. When the crowd learned that Judge Donnelly had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, a rousing cheer went up in the crowd.

Minutes after the judges ruling in New York City, another judge, Leonie M. Brinkema of Federal District Court in Virginia, issued a temporary restraining order for a week to block the removal of any green card holders being detained at Dulles International Airport.

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Around the nation, security personnel at major international airports had new rules to follow, though the application of the order appeared chaotic and uneven. Humanitarian organizations delivered the bad news to overseas families that had overcome the bureaucratic hurdles previously in place and were set to travel. And refugees already on flights when the order was signed on Friday found themselves detained upon arrival.





Weve gotten reports of people being detained all over the country, said Becca Heller, the director of the International Refugee Assistance Project. Theyre literally pouring in by the minute.





Earlier in the day, at the White House, Mr. Trump shrugged off the sense of anxiety and disarray, suggesting that there had been an orderly rollout. Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared, he said. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over.





But to many, the government hardly seemed prepared for the upheaval that Mr. Trumps actions put into motion.





There were numerous reports of students attending American universities who were blocked from returning to the United States from visits abroad. One student said in a Twitter post that he would be unable to study at Yale. Another who attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was refused permission to board a plane. A Sudanese graduate student at Stanford University was blocked for hours from entering the country.





Human rights groups reported that legal permanent residents of the United States who hold green cards were being stopped in foreign airports as they sought to return from funerals, vacations or study abroad. There was widespread condemnation of the order, from religious leaders, business executives, academics, political leaders and others. Mr. Trumps supporters offered praise, calling it a necessary step on behalf of the nations security.

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Homeland Security officials said on Saturday night that 109 people who were already in transit to the United States when the order was signed were denied access; 173 were stopped before boarding planes heading to America.





Eighty-one people who were stopped were eventually given waivers to enter the United States, officials said.





Legal residents who have a green card and are currently in the United States should meet with a consular officer before leaving the country, a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told reporters. Officials did not clarify the criteria that would qualify someone for a waiver, other than that it would be granted in the national interest.





But the week-old administration appeared to be implementing the order chaotically, with agencies and officials around the globe interpreting it in different ways.





The Stanford student, Nisrin Omer, a legal permanent resident, said she was held at Kennedy International Airport in New York for about five hours but was eventually allowed to leave the airport. Others who were detained appeared to be still in custody or sent back to their home countries.





White House aides claimed on Saturday that there had been consultations with State Department and homeland security officials about carrying out the order. Everyone who needed to know was informed, one aide said.





But that assertion was denied by multiple officials with knowledge of the interactions, including two officials at the State Department. Leaders of Customs and Border Protection and of Citizenship and Immigration Services  the two agencies most directly affected by the order  were on a telephone briefing on the new policy even as Mr. Trump signed it on Friday, two officials said.

The A.C.L.U.s legal case began with two Iraqis detained at Kennedy Airport, the named plaintiffs in the case. One was en route to reunite with his wife and son in Texas. The other had served alongside Americans in Iraq for a decade.





Shortly after noon on Saturday, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an interpreter who worked for more than a decade on behalf of the United States government in Iraq, was released. After nearly 19 hours of detention, Mr. Darweesh began to cry as he spoke to reporters, putting his hands behind his back and miming handcuffs.





What I do for this country? They put the cuffs on, Mr. Darweesh said. You know how many soldiers I touch by this hand?





The other man the lawyers are representing, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who was en route to Houston, was released Saturday night.

Before the two men were released, one of the lawyers, Mark Doss, a supervising attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project, asked an official, Who is the person we need to talk to?





Call Mr. Trump, said the official, who declined to identify himself.

While the judges ruling means that none of the detainees will be sent back immediately, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case expressed concern that all those at the airports would now be put in detention, pending a resolution of the case.

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The White House said the restrictions would protect the United States from foreign nationals entering from countries compromised by terrorism and allow the administration time to put in place a more rigorous vetting process. But critics condemned Mr. Trump over the collateral damage on people who had no sinister intentions in trying to come to the United States.





Peaceful protests began forming Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Airport, where nine travelers had been detained upon arrival at Terminal 7 and two others at Terminal 4, an airport official said. Similar scenes were playing out at other airports across the nation.





An official message to all American diplomatic posts around the world provided instructions about how to treat people from the countries affected: Effective immediately, halt interviewing and cease issuance and printing of visas to the United States.





Internationally, confusion turned to panic as travelers found themselves unable to board flights bound for the United States. In Dubai and Istanbul, airport and immigration officials turned passengers away at boarding gates and, in at least one case, ejected a family from a flight it had boarded.





Seyed Soheil Saeedi Saravi, a promising young Iranian scientist, had been scheduled to travel in the coming days to Boston, where he had been awarded a fellowship to study cardiovascular medicine at Harvard, according to Thomas Michel, the professor who was to supervise the research fellowship.

But Professor Michel said the visas for the student and his wife had been indefinitely suspended.





This outstanding young scientist has enormous potential to make contributions that will improve our understanding of heart disease, and he has already been thoroughly vetted, Professor Michel wrote to The New York Times.

A Syrian family of six who have been living in a Turkish refugee camp since fleeing their home in 2014 had been scheduled to arrive on Tuesday in Cleveland . Instead, the familys trip has been called off.





Everyone is just so heartbroken, so angry, so sad, said Danielle Drake, the community manager for US Together, an agency that resettles refugees.

A Christian family of six from Syria said in an email to Representative Charlie Dent, Republican of Pennsylvania, that they were being detained on Saturday morning at Philadelphia International Airport despite having legal paperwork, green cards and visas that had been approved.





In the case of the two Iraqis held at Kennedy Airport, the legal filings by his lawyers say that Mr. Darweesh was granted a special immigrant visa on Jan. 20, the same day Mr. Trump was sworn in as president.





A husband and father of three, Mr. Darweesh arrived at Kennedy Airport with his family. Mr. Darweeshs wife and children made it through passport control and customs, but agents of Customs and Border Protection detained him.

In Istanbul, during a stopover on Saturday, passengers reported that security officers had entered a plane after everyone had boarded and ordered a young Iranian woman and her family to leave the aircraft.
country . But it took only a few seconds for Justin Trudeau to shame It takes months to become a real bad guy, to turn against a whole race of people , to boast about your lack of compassion, to whip even your most craven allies into grovelling silence as you besmirch the good name of your. But it took only a few seconds for Justin Trudeau to shame Donald Trump at the weekend. All he said was Welcome to Canada, and his own freezing, cantankerous, glorious country became the Land of the Free.

It was a lesson, if she had the wit to grasp it, for our own little poodlet  whose frightened complicity when asked, repeatedly, to respond to Trumps meanness of heart shamed even her own cabinet of buffoons. Is this where Brexit has taken us?

So lets just appropriate the tweet she should have sent after her meeting with the American President with whom she wants a special relationship: To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Britons will welcome you, regardless of your faith. It even has a touch of British guts about it  the kind a few good souls demonstrated when they brought the Jewish children of the Kindertransport to the UK and saved them from Hitlers extermination camps.

But that was too much for Theresa May. The message wasnt sent out to the masses yearning to breathe free by a proud Britain, but by a united and self-confident Canada. It will be Canada that welcomes those fleeing persecution, terror and war, not a Britain whose pitiful Prime Minister goes begging for save-our-face trade deals with a man who cares nothing (like her) if British Muslims also want to visit America.

Trudeaus re-publishing of a picture, which showed him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto airport just over a year ago  the first of 39,000 refugees to come to Canada  was worth a thousand words. Instead of hiding behind Mays mean-spirited render unto Caesar approach, Trudeau merely let it be known that he looked forward to discussing the success of Canadas immigration and refugee policy with Trump.

No, Trudeau didnt condemn Trump. It wasnt necessary. Not just because 75 per cent of Canadas exports go to the US. Not because more than 20 per cent of Canadas population are themselves foreign-born immigrants. Not because Trudeaus own immigration minister is a dual national who arrived in Canada as a Somali refugee  from one of the seven countries whose refugees are temporarily blacklisted by Trump. Nor did Trudeau need to rub salt in the face of Stephen Harper, the Conservative right-wing anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim prime minister he decisively beat in Canadas October 2015 national elections. Harper had wanted to set up a police hotline for citizens to report barbaric cultural practices.

0:00 / 0:20 Bill de Blasio : Trump's travel ban is " unamerican "

Of course, we mustnt get romantic. Trudeaus a sleek guy with his fathers knack of both annoying and energising his nation. Pierre Trudeau saw off the Quebec sovereignty movement in a manner that May showed no spirit for when confronted by Ukip and her own home-grown separatists. But Pierre could be a vain, self-regarding man, and young Justin  with his cool dismissal of big money and penchant for self-advertisement  is not without his flaws. His wife Sophie is a lot smarter than Melania; she doesnt have to crib Michelle Obamas speeches when she speaks in public. But did the Canadian couple really have to pose for Vanity Fair?

And Canadas immigrants dont all live peachy lives. Theres a ghetto mentality about parts of Toronto. West of the capital, you can colour Mississauga a Muslim green. There are tribal gangs in big cities. Diversity does not always mean strength, as Trudeau tweeted. But for that matter, you colour Dearborn, Michigan, green. Some Canadian immigrants do better than others. Afghans have a hard time assimilating. But Canada wants its immigrants to keep their own cultures alive in their new home. The government encourages foreign language radio stations and newspapers. Canadian business has learned to use its top Pakistani, Chinese or Arabic staff as senior management for Canadian companies, speaking their parents language in their countries of origin.

And so Trudeaus government has even ensured that its dual national citizens will not be harassed by US Homeland Security when they visit America. Did May do that? Forget it. Those are not the kind of British citizens she cares about.

Trump is no Roosevelt or Kennedy  not even a Bush, for what thats worth. But May is no Churchill. Not even an Attlee or a Macmillan or even a John Major. She lacks what so many of the Brexiteers cannot find in their souls. Its not just a failure of compassion  even for her own Muslim Britons. She does not have what Churchill spoke about very often and what he prized most: magnanimity. But to possess that quality, you have to be brave. Like that rather arrogant, cocky, over-confident but courageous young man who is prime minister of Canada.
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America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
Revcom.us/Revolution received the following report in Spanish from Aurora Roja, voice of the Organizacion Comunista Revolucionaria, Mexico. The translation is the responsibility of revcom.us/Revolution.

Protest Action in the Mixteca, Oaxaca, Mexico:

NO! In the Name of Humanity, We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America

January 28, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico, January 20, 2017. On the day of Trump's inauguration, we held a political-cultural protest rally and speak-out in unity with the Call "NO! In the Name of Humanity, We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America" from the Refuse Fascism initiative (RefuseFascism.org; @RefuseFascism). The Movimiento Popular Revolucionario (Revolutionary Peoples Movement), a student from the U.S., youths from the hip hop culture, active and retired teachers, a young trova musician, painters, and others who supported with car horns and microphones gathered in the park of this town in the Mixteca to proclaim, "Get out Trump! Get out [Mexican president] Pena Nieto! Down with the whole system!"

We put up a banner made by painters with the fascist Trumps face and the slogan "Get out Trump! Get out Pena Nieto! Down with the whole system! We pasted sheets of paper on poster board to make a wall newspaper that was hung on a rope tied to the trees of the park with the call of RefuseFascism.org, several posters that we downloaded from revcom.us (of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA), exposing the fascism of the Trump-Pence regime, as well as other posters against womens oppression, about Ayotzinapa with Pena Nieto behind bars, the poster of the Proclamation "Prepare the Revolution!" of the Organizacion Comunista Revolucionaria, Mexico (OCR,M; Revolutionary Communist Organization), and the flyer "The truth on the fascists Trump and Pence, and the necessary fight to stop them" (available at aurora-roja.blogspot.com).

Dozens of people approached and read the wall newspaper. The people there or who were passing by came up to take flyers, contribute and to express an opinion against Trump, and many consider him a danger for Mexico. Among students, shopkeepers, teachers, some peasants, and other youths who were hanging around, we handed out hundreds of fliers from Aurora Roja, the voice of the OCR, M, against Trump and Pence, the Proclamation, and a leaflet on the recent gasolinazo [sharp January 1 price increase for gasoline] and the widespread protest it provoked. When talking to some people, they said that they have relatives or acquaintances in different places in the United States and that they are worried about what they see is going to come with the deportations. Some asked for leaflets to take to others. A teacher said that she has already seen us in other events and that it is very good this protest was held. She said that a revolutionary change is needed and that we should contact her. One student said it was very good this event was being held, because no one else does so. Overall, we talked to people who were worried and repudiated the Mexican government and president Pena Nieto for conciliating with the U.S. fascist government.

At the rally, two companeros from the Movimiento Popular Revolucionario (MPR) exposed what Trump represents: a fascist, racist, macho, misogynist, and homophobe. He is threatening to expel millions of Mexican and Central American migrants who he accuses of being criminals; he threatens to knock down the rights women have won such as the right to abortion, and to do away with the right of lesbian, gay and trans people to love each other, get married, and live without fear. He denies the proven fact of global warming and will accelerate the voracious destruction of the environment. He is an imperialist predator: Trump openly defends the use of torture and threatens to use nuclear weapons. He is a danger and a threat to all humanity.

They also exposed the Mexican state represented by Pena Nieto as a criminal government subordinate to U.S. imperialism, which represents the interests of the foreign and Mexican big capitalists. They called on people to support the demonstrations of people in struggle in the United States against Trump and the fight in Mexico against the system, and to transform people for communist revolution. They said that the problem is this world capitalist-imperialist system and the solution is communist revolution, a new society with another economy where no longer do a few live off of the work of others, where the armed forces and police forces truly give their life for the people, instead of taking it away, as they have done in Ayotzinapa, Nochixtlan, Tlatlaya, and so many other places in Mexico. They called on people to link up with the Call "NO! In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America." The slogan "Get out Trump! Get out Pena Nieto! Down with the whole system!" was also shouted out.

The student from the United States exposed the fascist character of Trump and his goal to go back to having a more powerful United States. He exposed how the U.S. became a power: it massacred the Indians and stole their lands, it enslaved Black people for 250 years, and stole half of Mexico's territory. He also said that in the United States, the police are constantly murdering Blacks and Latinos; the jails are full of more Black and Latino youths than anywhere else; and reactionary armies have invaded and looted people throughout history. He said that another society is necessary and possible, as expressed by the companeros of the MPR. It is right and good that this event has been organized in Tlaxiaco. He finished with the slogan "Get out Trump! Down with the system! Up with revolution!"

There were several cultural presentations. A young troubadour sang songs while playing guitar and called on people to participate in this fight. A young rapper also sang and called on people to read the wall newspaper and join the fight. The companero from the U.S. also sang a song in English with guitar and a few words in Spanish: Bob Marley/Peter Tosh's song "Get up, Stand up."

The event ended at 8 p.m. with a man who requested the microphone and exposed that the problem of why we are in this situation is due to the state and the church. He made a call to organize, get informed and participate. From the news we learned that in the city of Oaxaca, a few hundred Americans held a demonstration denouncing the Trump regime, in addition to demonstrations that took place in Mexico City and other cities in Mexico, important protests in the United States and around the world.

In the face of the fascist Trump-Pence regime, criminals like Pena Nieto who are conciliating with this fascist regime, and capitalism and imperialism in general, we are fighting for the unity and combative mobilization of the masses of people on both sides of the border and throughout the world.

NO! In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America

Get out Trump! Get out Pena Nieto! Down with the whole system!

For full coverage and the current issue of REVOLUTION click here
Kathmandu, Nepal. With the Pakistan expressed its expectation to host the postponed 19th South Asian Association for the Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit soon in Islamabad, new form of sensation has emerged among the member countries regarding the fate of the upcoming summit.

The summit scheduled for November 9-10, 2016 in Islamabad of Pakistan was postponed after Afghanistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh refused to participate in the summit following the Indias line owing to the terror attacks in Kashmir.

India had blamed the Pakistan that the attack was orchestrated by a Pakistan-based militant group, in which India troops were killed.

As some member countries refused to participate in the summit, Nepal had said to postpone the summit in October 2016 stating that the environment was not conducive to hosting the summit in Islamabad.

As India securities had blamed Pakistan for the attack, India government had not only refused to participate in the scheduled summit but also influenced to other member countries to postpone the 19th SAARC meeting. While India wields a significant amount of power in the SAARC, the Pakistan has been accusing the India for derailing the summits proceedings.

Pakistans foreign affairs officials including foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz and Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry have officially raised the issue and desire to host the 19th summit soon in Islamabad with the SAARC Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa during a recent meeting in Pakistan.

Pakistani officials had not only accused India of impeding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperations proceedings bus also impeded the process by violating the spirit of the charter.
Chitwan Nepal: A person has been missing after a truck fell into the Trishuli river at Dharechowk VDC  4, of the district on Sunday morning.

According to a report, an ill-fated truck with registration number Na 5 Kha 5354 en route to Kathmandu from Birgunj had plunged about 70 meters down to the river at 5 around am.

Police have rescued Ram Sharan Wagle, 20, of Khayerghari in Dhading with injuries. The details about the missing persons are yet too established.
Kathmandu, Nepal. The United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) has decided to launch another round of agitation from February 12 to protest the delay to precede the constitution amendment bill registered in Parliament.

A meeting of the leaders of the various parties associated under the UDMF held on Saturday in Kathmandu also decided to stage mass demonstrations in Terai districts on February 5.

The UDMF has already shown a positive signal to support the constitution amendment bill to passage from the parliament even though it has also been putting reservations on some contents of the bill.
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Hundreds showed up at SFO and elsewhere Saturday to protest President Trump's executive order on immigrants from seven primarily Muslim nations, which had led to detentions of innocent people at airports nationwide who were trying to enter the country legally. As of 9 p.m. Eastern, a federal judge in Brooklyn sided with lawyers from the ACLU and stayed Trump's order, and national director of the organization Anthony Romero gave the speech above celebrating the judge's decision.

In a statement to reporters, Romero said, "Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country. Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court."

As the Atlantic reports, "Dozens of immigration lawyers went to airports to assist refugees and visa holders, many of whom have been detained and questioned by authorities. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance also released statements decrying the ban and calling on its workers to strike in solidarity of the protesters, noting their membership is largely Muslim and almost universally immigrant."

SF Mayor Ed Lee issued his own statement:

I commend the judge that granted the emergency stay today, allowing seven Muslim immigrants with valid visas to enter the United States.

As the son of Chinese immigrants, I am disgusted by the Presidents Executive Order to target the Muslim community and ban immigrants from entering the United States.

Our country was built by immigrants in search of religious freedom and a life free of persecution and violence. These actions of are a direct betrayal of those American values.

We cannot turn our backs on those looking for a better, safer life for themselves and their children. Now is the time to be firm in our values of inclusion, compassion and liberty for all. In San Francisco, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim and immigrant communities and promise to continue to lift the lamp for all those in search of a better life.

Previously: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Calls Trump's Ban On Immigration 'Painful'; Zuckerberg Says He's 'Concerned'


Protesting an immigration ban ordered by President Donald Trump, signs at SFO announce "We Want You Here" and "Give Us Your Huddled Masses."

Demonstrators gathered at the airport this afternoon as similar actions broke out at Chicago O'Hare, Washington Dulles, and John F. Kennedy airports.

American protesters were responding to an executive order imposing a federal ban on US entry from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days. Trump's order also bars refugees from US entry for 120 days and bans Syrian refugees indefinitely.







Max Strebel/SFist

Trump's orders quickly resulted in the detention of immigrants at US international airports. At JFK, two refugees from Iraq were being held, and according to the Chronicle, reports of travelers being detained at SFO helped spur local demonstrations.

There was at least initial confusion over the number of detainees. "We have lawyers currently at SFO" Lara Kiswani of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center told KRON4. What were not clear about is who or what type of families are being held... whether theyre from Syria or Iran or other countries, we dont know for certain,

Palo Alto-based attorney Susie Hwang told the news station "several families" were waiting at the airpot to hear whether family members and loved ones would be forced to return to their countries of origin. One woman from Iran who received asylum in the US six years ago waits on news of her 30-year-old son, who arrived at SFO this morning.





Beautiful "From Palestine to Mexico all the borders got to go!" Being chanted by hundereds at #SFO #Muslimban protest pic.twitter.com/502bn5huJ4  Rebecca Pierce (@aptly_engineerd) January 29, 2017



Hwang clarified to the San Jose Mercury News that there were three Iranian immigrants in total, the 30-year-old man and an elderly couple, who were detained after their flights.



Max Strebel/SFist

California Lieutenant Governor and former SF Mayor Gavin Newsom attended the protest, as did State Senator and former SF Supervisor Scott Wiener, and Bay Area writers Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman.

The lieutenant governor of California just joined the protest at SFO. #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/SvT1SytWEi  anand kulkarni (@polybot) January 29, 2017

A photo posted by Michael Chabon (@michael.chabon) on Jan 28, 2017 at 2:10pm PST





As some technology CEOs have responded to Trump's executive order with outrage and others with degrees of passivity, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, a Russian immigrant, was at the SFO protest in a "personal capacity."

Sergey Brin at SFO, told me he's here with protestors in a personal capacity, wouldn't give a comment.  Selena Larson (@selenalarson) January 29, 2017 @karaswisher look who joined the protest at SFO pic.twitter.com/tCfm6CS0n7  Sina Vaziri (@SinaVaziri) January 29, 2017 Google cofounder Sergey Brin at SFO protest: "I'm here because I'm a refugee." (Photo from Matt Kang/Forbes) pic.twitter.com/GwhsSwDPLT  Ryan Mac (@RMac18) January 29, 2017

Later in the evening, SFO protesters cheered news that Federal Judge Ann M.Donnelly had ordered an emergency stay against the implementation of Trump's executive order following lawsuits filed by the ACLU and other legal organizations.

As protesters held tight and hunkered down, staging a sit-in, ACLU officials told Chronicle reporter Vivian Ho that two detainees were released to their families.

ACLU lawyers were applauded as they were permitted to speak with SFO detainees and their families.

The family of one detainee announced he had been jailed according to several sources on Twitter.

Family of detained young man here at #SFO just announced he has been put in jail. #MuslimBan  ReneeIrani (@ReneeIrani) January 29, 2017

lawyer working with an individual detained at SFO, received news 30 year old Iranian man put in jail  Pamela Larson (@PamReporting) January 29, 2017

Family of detained young man here at #SFO just announced he has been put in jail. #MuslimBan  ReneeIrani (@ReneeIrani) January 29, 2017

Protesters, vowing not to leave until all detainees are released, recharged with pizza and water, some joining with signs written on pizza boxes in sharpie

The airport staff at SFO are providing water to protesters. pic.twitter.com/fBfCr3ZIrR  Patrick O'Neill (@HowellONeill) January 29, 2017

"Let them go right now." Protesters have made it to the security checkpoint at SFO. pic.twitter.com/Rhz6R4AhKP  Bianca Graulau (@bgraulau) January 29, 2017

You can take BART to all kinds of weekend events - also, direct service to SFO is running great right now.  SFBART (@SFBART) January 28, 2017

About to leave the US. Managed to organize w/friends and bring pizza, coffee and water to SFO. You should if you can too. pic.twitter.com/OlFk7dS2RL  David Padilla (@dabit) January 29, 2017

Barely made it, by the way. Security checkpoint A at SFO now totally closed. pic.twitter.com/qVR0mmTr63  David Padilla (@dabit) January 29, 2017

I'm at #SFO. There's a bit of a makeshift buffet going on. Everything donated from people here #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/2rJJrk0I2C  Gillian Edevane (@GillianNBC) January 29, 2017

Omfg this is the 7th hour of the protest at SFO and people are getting more energized by the minute. Release the detainees! pic.twitter.com/qnfs38VpL6  Meagan Day (@meaganmday) January 29, 2017

Still two HUGE protests at #SFO going strong to say #noMuslimBan, at both the intl terminal & now at security gates. pic.twitter.com/Vjn5iPit8F  wongofu (@wongofu) January 29, 2017

This is just one small sample of the immigration attorneys still at #SFO re: #MuslimBan #MuslimBanprotest pic.twitter.com/xSZRIEa5zN  Vivian Ho (@VivianHo) January 29, 2017

SFO protest is moving to a different checkpoint. Some airport staff cheering along the way! #Resist #NoBanNoWall #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/DPKUKVfHi5  Matt Maiorana (@MattMaiorana) January 29, 2017

Related: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Calls Trump's Ban On Immigration 'Painful'; Zuckerberg Says He's 'Concerned'
SIOUX CITY  Tim Bottaro's experiences as a member of the Bishop Heelan Catholic High School debate team in the late 1970s inspired him to a career path as an attorney.

The parallel between arguing positions in debate and the thought of being able to do so during a trial is what appealed to him about entering the legal field, Bottaro said.

It wasnt the research; just arguing positions, he said.

Bottaro, 58, has practiced law for 34 years in the Sioux City metro area, the last 22 at the Vriezelaar, Tigges, Edgington, Bottaro, Boden & Ross law firm, which he co-founded.

After completing his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Iowa Law School, the Salix, Iowa, native knew he wanted to return to the region to practice.

In December, Bottaro was named the 44th president of the Iowa Association for Justice, a statewide association representing 700 trial attorneys. Bottaro is the third lawyer from Sioux City to hold the distinction. The former presidents from Sioux City are Jim Daane with the law firm of a partner at Mayne, Arneson, Hindman, Hisey & Daane, and Daryl Hecht, who is now a justice on the Iowa Supreme Court.

Past presidents also have included former Gov. Tom Vilsack, who recently completed an eight-year term as U.S. agriculture secretary.

Outside of law, Bottaros other passions are film and politics. He is one of four founding members of the Siouxland Institute of Film, which puts on the annual Sioux City International Film festival.

Since as young as I can remember, I remember going to theaters with my family and watching Disney classics and I just kept watching film, he said about the origin of his love for cinema. Id come home from college and I would go on a movie binge and just watch six movies in a weekend.

As for politics, much like his legal career, that interest developed during his teenage years.

I was 17 in high school and it was just this candidate that I got interested in, Bottaro said. I just started volunteering and I did everything after that and just moved up the ranks.

Bottaro has served as chairman of the Woodbury County Democratic Party three times and currently serves as the senior advisor to current chairwoman Penny Rosfjord. He considers former President Barack Obamas 2008 campaign as the most successful campaign hes ever worked on. Bottaro chaired the Woodbury County and Iowas 4th Congressional District campaigns teams on behalf of Obama during that historical run.

The Journal recently caught up with Bottaro to discuss his career, his community involvement and new role with the Iowa Association for Justice.

Q: President for the Iowa Association for Justice, how did that come about?

A: Well, I started that 12 years ago and Bruce Braley  hes a former congressman who ran for the U.S. Senate, he was a friend of mine from law school, and I went to a couple of their continuing legal education seminars  he told me I ought to join the organization and I did. Then he said the next year, you ought to be on the board, so I went on the board.

Q: How does one become the president of the organization?

A: Generally, youre on the board and youre involved there. Basically, you are asked by people on the executive board to consider running  and theyve been after me for a couple of years to get on the executive board, but the kids were in college and I didnt have time.

Q: What are some of your duties as president?

A: Well, representing the organization, and Im also chair, which is unusual for this position, of the legislative committee, but Ive been doing that for about 10 years and that takes a tremendous amount of work. We study every bill to see if it has an impact on Iowans, their access to the courthouse, or justice in general. So, we review hundreds of bills, we will give input, sometimes we will fight the bills, we give input as to rewording, we work on getting some bills stricken or not passed. Then we also sometimes have a proactive agenda where we try to get bills passed. So, like I said, representing the organization, running the meetings  well, as far as representing, we have meetings with the chief justice of the supreme court, we have meetings with other legal groups within the bar of Iowa, we have national meetings we will sometimes attend  and thats pretty much what we do.

Q: Are there any bills that you guys are concerned about with this years legislative session?

A: Just about every bill. One of the ones they are promoting is called loser pay, where whoever loses pays the attorney fees of the other party. What it really is, is an attempt to  youre going up against billion dollar insurance companies on the defense side  so for individuals, regular people that have something happen to them, you tell them, Well, if you lose, you have to pay the other sides attorney fees, well they freak out literally and they wont want to pursue their claim even though they have a valid claim because no lawyer can guarantee the outcome. Now, it does work both ways, if the defense loses, then they pay the contingency fee of the plaintiff's attorneys, but they can better handle that, absorb that cost then individuals.

Q: In your career, what would you say was the most difficult trial for you?

A: I was local counsel  on a case that involved tainted baby formula powder. There is a bacteria out there that in the first 30 days, if a human is exposed to this, if they survive it turns them into a vegetable. And the powdered infant formula industry knows about this, they dont warn about it, and its rare  thank goodness  and it was a case involving a little girl who was here in Sioux City. Ultimately, we lost the case.  the most disappointing was because it did not result in the family getting the help that they needed to take care of this little girl, and I was really hoping that it would change the baby formula industry, the powdered infant formula industry, and warn about this. So, if I know somebody thats about to have a baby, I just tell them, No powdered infant formula before 30 days.

Q: With all of the community involvement that you are part of, how do you find the time?

A: Well, a lot of those groups, our meetings are quarterly or twice a year, so there arent a huge number of meetings to attend. So the film festival is probably the most time (consuming) and the Democratic Party, since I am more of an advisor, the chair calls for advice on things and sometimes we get together and plan if there is a situation that needs to be addressed.

Q: Why is it important to you to be involved?

A: Generally, they are organizations I want to be a part of and believe in. I just think its something you owe to your community.
DENISON, Iowa | J. Socorro Nieto A shakes his head on Friday while standing in his wife's dress shop in downtown Denison. He's got a case of voter's remorse.

"I voted for Trump," he says.

"You voted for Donald Trump?" asks an animated Lorena Lopez, editor in chief of "La Prensa," the Hispanic newspaper serving western Iowa. "You voted for Donald Trump!"

Nieto A, who voted twice for Barack Obama, says he didn't intend to. Rather, his ballot was marked for the Republican at the top of the ticket when he worked with a poll worker to fill out his ballot. Rather than stop the process and start with a new ballot, he shrugged his shoulders and let it go.

"Latinos will do that," says Lopez. "They don't want to cause any trouble."

The trouble they see now involves Trump's plans to build a $15-billion wall between Mexico and the U.S., and perhaps impose a 20-percent tax on Mexican goods entering the U.S., one manner in which construction of the wall could be funded. Trump may see the effort as making good on a campaign promise he repeatedly stressed during the campaign.

The new president has also said his efforts are focused on keeping the criminal element from crossing into the U.S., a plank these Denison Latinos can agree upon.

"It is good to keep drugs out of the U.S.," Nieto A says. "But you must ask: Why are drugs coming in? The U.S. is a consumer."

"Trump now seems to be focused on the criminal element," says the Rev. Paul Kelly, who conducts a weekly Spanish Mass that draws more than 400 parishioners to St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Dension, a Crawford County seat that's home to a significant Hispanic population. "Yes, I think we could all agree with that."

Kelly believes key issues aren't so much involved with a wall, which has had components in place in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona for years, but in the possible limitation of travel between the countries among family members.

"The issue I hear from people involves papers allowing people to travel back and forth," Kelly says.

Nieto and her husband have property in both Denison and Mexico. The couple, who have been married for 42 years, have extended family members and friends south of the border. J. Socorro, a U.S. citizen, travels to Mexico for weeks at a time each year. He says he's seen changes in the area through which he passes on the border.

"I have seen U.S. guards treat people worse than I would treat animals," he says. "I walked four days and four nights to get to the U.S. many years ago. That area is now like a cemetery, you see no one. Many people have died in that area."

Ana Nieto, the dress maker who worked for 5 1/2 years for Tyson Fresh Meats before opening her store more than a decade ago, sees Trump's business acumen not matching his human touch.

"I pray to God for a president who is good for the economy," she says. "But this is a man who builds walls between people. An invisible wall is just as harmful as a physical wall."

A tariff, her husband says, will hurt the Mexican economy, forcing more to flee their homes, driving them illegally into the U.S. for job opportunities.

"It won't just be Mexicans coming," he warns. "There will be people from Central America coming. Mexico is just a bridge to the U.S. for those people."

It was for Lopez, who left her home in Nicaragua more than 20 years ago to come north. She resided in Carroll, Iowa, for 18 years before moving to Denison last May. She circulates through the community, taking the pulse of Hispanics and reporting on their fears for the future.

Immigration reform, she says, is much more pressing than the construction of a wall. Lopez, a U.S. citizen, cites numerous cases in which families have been forced to live in the shadows because one parent cannot obtain correct paperwork that puts them on a path to citizenship. Kelly has dealt with parishioners who have been repeatedly scammed while attempting to navigate the complex process.

"It has happened to us," says Ana Nieto, who is a resident, not a citizen. "Five of our children have been U.S. citizens for years. We started the paperwork for our youngest 21 years ago and he still isn't a U.S. citizen."

"There are people with green cards now who want to take their citizenship test," Lopez adds. "But they are now afraid the laws will change."
SIOUX CITY | Being a good Elvis Presley impersonator takes a lot more than common quips and gyrating hips, Cliff Wright said before performing at the Ultimate Elvis Tribute contest at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Saturday.

"Hair, makeup is a good 25 percent of it, the voice is 50 percent of it, and the remainder is the moves," the Alabama-native explained while dressed in "Young Elvis" attire and with a pompadour hair wig on.

Almost a dozen other Presley tribute artists came from across the country to have their Presley performances judged with the hope of winning a slot in the finals in Memphis, Tenn. during Elvis Week. The winner of that summer competition gets $20,000 and a performance contract.

Saturday's event had two preliminary singing performances and a final show later that night where the winner would be chosen.

"I watch a lot of (Elvis) footage," Wright said about preparing. "I try to study what he did effortlessly and make it look like I'm doing it effortlessly which is impossible. No one will ever look, sound, move like Elvis Presley."

By day, Wright is a musician with a Johnny Cash tribute band and started impersonating The King Of Rock and Roll in 2009. His talents took him to headline a show in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He offered a tip to a good Elvis impersonation, confidence along with the basics.

"It takes shaking the hips, shoulder shrugs, lip curls, but commanding the stage is the main thing you should do," he said. "Elvis was the man. Whether he was singing in the studio recording or in a movie he was the man. He was in charge."

Fellow competitor Junior Talley, of Fort Madison, Iowa, said he actually got into Presley impersonations 30 years ago after he watched a performance that was too run-of-the-mill.

"I was watching a guy in Illinois... who was awful. He was portraying Elvis as this stereotype-- Thank you, thank you very much guy-- and I hated it..," Talley said. "I knew I could sing better than him, so I just started picking up gigs here and there. Once one guy hired me, then four guys hired me and it snowballed to 180 (gigs a year.)"

Talley took offense to poor Elvis impersonations because his love of Presley is deeply rooted in his childhood.

"When I was three, I remember my dad and mom putting all the kids to bed because Elvis big 1968 Comeback Special was on that night. And they didnt want any kids around, he laughed. And my dad said once I heard that music from my room... I came running and knee-slid in front of the TV. He said he tried to move me three times, because I was in the way-- but he couldn't-- because I was just like a board glaring at the TV. Ever since then, I loved it."

The Journal's Charlie Hildebrand contributed to this story.
OKOBOJI, Iowa | What Iowa Great Lakes Chamber of Commerce president Jeff Thee refers to as Tuesdays miracle snow, brought perhaps thousands of additional revelers to this weekends University of Okoboji Winter Games.

Any time we get the snowfall and hold on to it as we did this week, it feels like those old-fashioned Winter Games, when we had snowmobilers all over the place, Thee said. And thats wonderful, because snowmobilers are historically the ones who stay over a night or two on campus, dine in our restaurants, and buy fuel for their machines. That brings an economic shot-in-the-arm with an exponential increase in retail. So were always glad to have nearly ideal weather as we have this weekend.

The high number of snowmobiles was evidenced in many parking lots, but especially at Okobojis Arrowwood Resort, where the lot was full of trucks and trailers hauling snowmobiles and ATVs and bicycles. Jordan James, who was making his first trip from Woodward, Iowa to Okoboji for the Winter Games with four others, hauled three snowmobiles, three four-wheelers and a moped for the five-member group.

With more than 15 years experience at the nearby Kum & Go, sales manager Marlys Nolan said winter weekends are usually slow. But early Saturday morning she explained, Its getting to be more like a 4th of July weekend. A lot of snowmobiles gas up here because its right across Highway 71 from East Lake Okoboji.

At the Okoboji Post Office adjacent to the convenience store, clerk Marilyn Olesen said business even picked up a little bit there, with people wanting a commemorative postmark as a keepsake of their participation in the weekend.

In his third year at the Okoboji Expedition Company, the bicycle shop that sponsors the Freeze Your Fanny Bike Ride in the morning and the Frozen Fanny (45-minute, Fat Tire) Challenge race in the afternoon, owner Taylor Huseman said for some businesses, Winter Games weekend is the second or third busiest weekend of the year. Driving on Highway 71 in the winter months you can normally hit every green light, and not have any issues. Maybe you see two cars. But even Friday traffic was heavier.

Huseman said he expected 80-100 bicyclists for each ride.

Saturday nights activities included the traditional Burning of the Greens (contributed Christmas tress,) in Preservation Plaza, and, also celebrating the first day of the Chinese New Year with a fireworks display across Smiths Bay on West Lake Okoboji.

Fridays nights Winter Games kick-off event, the Chili Cook-off held at the Dickinson County Expo Center in Spirit Lake, saw Minervas taking first place in the business division. Camp Foster earned first place in the not-for-profit category.

Thee said, The chili feed always draws a great crowd. But Friday night it was extra-packed Friday night -- and they stayed longer. Other night spots also enjoyed a busy night, he added.
SIOUX CITY | Leesa McNeil has seen budget crunches like the one currently facing Iowa's judicial system play out before.

Unfortunately, she said, court officials over the past decade have become familiar with various ways of cutting costs -- layoffs, furloughs, reducing hours that Clerk of Court offices operate.

With that experience, she said, court administrators haven't needed to begin making many contingency plans in advance of this year's expected budget reductions.

"Once we know the numbers, we will know what we need to do," said McNeil, court administrator for the 3rd Judicial District, which includes 16 counties in Northwest Iowa.

Earlier this month, Gov. Terry Branstad announced a reduction of $7.7 million to the judicial branch's budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, as one of many steps to tackle a projected $117.8 million shortfall in the state's overall budget.

On Thursday, the state Senate passed a de-appropriation bill that reduced the proposed judicial cuts to $3 million. The measure now goes to the House, which is expected to debate it Monday.

Knowing that tougher budget times were in store, the judicial branch last summer began anticipating cuts by enacting cost-saving measures such as hiring freezes and delaying the appointment of new judges by several months. Other options to meet the budget reductions include layoffs, furloughs, reduction of clerk of court office hours and elimination of non-mandated programs such as drug, mental health, family and veterans courts.

"All options are on the table," McNeil said. "It's going to be disruptive."

Cuts could hamper public access to court services and create backlogs of filing documents or scheduling hearings. If you've got a pending divorce, child support or mental health commitment case, any delay can have bad consequences, said Sioux City lawyer Tim Bottaro, president of the Iowa Association for Justice, a statewide organization representing trial lawyers.

"All of those are going to be delayed or slowed down, and a lot of them can't afford to be delayed or slowed down," Bottaro said. "The law and the legal system does play a huge role in people's lives every day."

Many of the delays may occur behind the scenes and never be fully realized by the public, said District Judge Duane Hoffmeyer, 3rd District chief judge. But they could lead to a whole slowdown within the system.

"Will the public notice? Maybe not," Hoffmyer said, "but then it becomes the norm."

McNeil said some effects of the tight budget have already been seen. There are currently 10 openings in Clerk of Court offices across the district. In smaller counties with already-small staffs, it's becoming harder to staff an office during lunch hours.

"I'm sitting on 10 vacancies. At this point in time, we are unsure if we will get to fill them," McNeil said.

The court system could see further consolidation. At one time, each county in the district had its own Clerk of Court. Now some clerks oversee more than one county. Currently there are 10 clerks serving the district's 16 counties.

"The fact we have a clerk in charge of more than one (county), I think that will be a thing of the future," Hoffmeyer said.

Bottaro said his organization is lobbying legislators to ease the proposed judiciary cuts and is encouraging its members to contact their representatives. The results of those efforts and negotiations between the judiciary, legislators and the governor's office remain to be seen.

McNeil hopes a final decision is made soon so that everyone knows what must be done. The uncertainty is almost harder to bear than the effects of any budget cuts.

"Just the knowledge that this is hanging over us causes a lot of stress," she said.
Editor's note: Every other Sunday through the conclusion of this year's session of the Iowa Legislature, local lawmakers will share their Statehouse views.

Sen. Bill Anderson, R-Pierson

This week Id like to touch on the first bills filed by Senate Republicans. These bills are intended to fulfill promises made to Iowans.

SF 1: An act providing for job impact statements for new administrative rules. This will be a tool for legislators to consider when approving or opposing new rules from state departments. Regulations can have a serious impact on the job climate in our state and ensuring a rigorous evaluation of any impact on jobs an administrative rule may have will help protect Iowa from needless regulations. This became common practice when Gov. Terry Branstad signed Executive Order 71.

SF 2: An act for establishing a state family planning services program. The bill eliminates taxpayer funding for abortion providers. Currently, family planning funding is only available in a limited number of clinics. This bill will substantially increase the number of facilities available to women. Many women in rural Iowa must travel far to receive womens health services. The goal is to improve access to care and offer many Iowans the confidence their tax dollars are not being spent in a way that violates their conscience, while providing more health care choices for more women.

SJR 1: A proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution limiting expenditures to 99 percent of revenue. This is current law and adding it to the Constitution will make it more difficult for future legislatures to use budget tricks to get around the current law.

SJR 2: A proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution protecting Iowans' right to keep and bear arms. A constitutional amendment enshrining the right of Iowans to keep and bear arms will protect Iowans against the increasingly active courts who seek to eliminate Second Amendment rights by judicial command.

Rep. Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City

This past week, the Legislature reached an agreement on FY17 budget reductions. Working off of Gov. Terry Branstads initial proposal which held K-12 education harmless from any cuts, House Republicans worked to protect K-12 funding and soften cuts to key priorities like public safety and community colleges.

For FY18 the House, Senate and governor have agreed to a maximum level of spending totaling $7.455 billion. This agreement is within ongoing revenue and is $25 million below the 99-percent-of-available-revenue expenditure limitation. If the March revenue estimate is lowered, then that maximum spending level will be lowered.

Resolution on the FY17 budget allows for movement on setting supplemental state aid for K-12 schools, with House Republicans remaining committed to setting SSA in the first 30 days of the session.

Total spending on K-12 education now accounts for 43 percent of Iowas budget. Since Republicans have been in the majority in the House, funding for schools has increased $640 million and schools have been able to count on funding promises during that time.

House Republicans believe this conversation should be broader than just the annual discussion of how much more money we commit to schools. We should be focusing on policies that are targeted at improving the educational environment for Iowas students and providing schools with more flexibility and more local control.

Finally, Iowas law on collective bargaining for public workers, known as Chapter 20, has not had a thoughtful review for nearly 40 years. The original law, passed in 1974, has remained relatively untouched during that time.

House Republicans believe now is the time to take a look at the law to ensure that there is an equitable and fair process for public employers, employees and taxpayers.

Please contact me at jim.carlin@legis.iowa.gov or 515-281-3221 or 712-253-4270 with questions or concerns.

Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City

An interesting story is unfolding in Iowa right now. Most of us recall difficult budget cuts made during the global recession of 2009. States and countries around the world were in shared crisis, and Iowa was recovering from natural disaster the year before. This past week, GOP lawmakers moved ahead with another round of cuts for entirely different reasons.

Let's look at the landscape. Iowa's unemployment rate is 3.6 percent today. According to non-partisan experts, the state will have more revenue available this year than last. No, Iowa is not in recession. The state is experiencing some lagging factors in agriculture, but the current budget mess involves poor decision making. Against the advice of their own governor and Senate Democrats last year, another round of tax cuts was pushed by legislative Republicans. Those cuts did not reach the average Iowan. Instead they followed a pattern of the past few years - think $100 million to a fertilizer company across the state, two airplanes for a university president, and tax cuts that now top $500 million annually but didn't lower property taxes for your family or mine.

The state is without the $700 million surplus it had just three years ago. Iowa now has a deficit of roughly $118 million. The irony is that Gov. Terry Branstad offered to cut his own office by $62,000 and legislative Republicans essentially said, "No, that's okay." While holding his office harmless and preserving tax cuts to companies located in other states, their proposal instead cuts community colleges, public safety, and inspections to nursing homes, among other areas.

Fiscal discipline is both what we can afford and where it goes. Neither party owns it. I encourage you to call and email your legislators. Our contact information is available on the Legislature's website, found easily by a search online.

Rep. Tim Kacena, D-Sioux City

The third week of legislative work was filled with bills ranging from a resolution designating the Regal Fritillary as the official state butterfly to legalizing machine guns and defunding Planned Parenthood, the subject of which I would like to speak to this week.

The defunding of Planned Parenthood is a prime example of ideology over sound policy. Despite the fact that 74 percent of Iowans disagree with the bill, lawmakers in the majority will very likely pass this legislation.

The biggest problem I have with the defunding are the costs associated in doing so. The state will pass on up to three million in federal funds, in a time of declining budgets and increased tax breaks. Im not sure we can really afford to do so.

What really scares me more is the lack of vision of what the defunding will have in the future. It is reasonable to believe that there are going to be more unwanted pregnancies associated with not having timely access to the medical procedures. It is also reasonable to believe that some of these children will end up being taken care of by the state agencies designated to do so in a climate of cutting back on social programs. It is reasonable to believe that in future years that there will be juveniles involved in the justice system because they were raised by uncaring parents who would not have chosen to become a parent at that stage of their life and the ongoing costs associated with making that child a productive citizen of society.

The fact that no public tax dollars are used for the medical procedure of abortion or that 97 percent of the funding is used for needed and preventive care for women, not to mention taking the choice away from what a woman can do with her own body, Im afraid ideology will win out in the end.

So I guess it is reasonable to believe that it will be easier to buy a machine gun than it will be to get a pap smear in Iowa.
WASHINGTON -- The flurry of bold executive orders and of highly provocative Cabinet nominations (such as a secretary of education who actually believes in school choice) has been encouraging to conservative skeptics of Donald Trump. But it shouldn't erase the troubling memory of one major element of Trump's inaugural address.

The foreign policy section has received far less attention than so revolutionary a declaration deserved. It radically redefined the American national interest as understood since World War II.

Trump outlined a world in which foreign relations are collapsed into a zero-sum game. They gain, we lose. As in: "For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries" while depleting our own. And most provocatively this: "The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world."

JFK's inaugural pledged to support any friend and oppose any foe to assure the success of liberty. Note that Trump makes no distinction between friend and foe (and no reference to liberty). They're all out to use, exploit and surpass us.

No more, declared Trump: "From this day forward, it's going to be only America First."

Imagine how this resonates abroad. "America First" was the name of the organization led by Charles Lindbergh that bitterly fought FDR before U.S. entry into World War II -- right through the Battle of Britain -- to keep America neutral between Churchill's Britain and Hitler's Reich.

Not that Trump was consciously imitating Lindbergh. I doubt he was even aware of the reference. He just liked the phrase. But I can assure you that in London and in every world capital they are aware of the antecedent and the intimations of a new American isolationism. Trump gave them good reason to think so, going on to note "the right of all nations to put their own interests first." America included.

Some claim that putting America first is a reassertion of American exceptionalism. On the contrary, it is the antithesis. It makes America no different from all the other countries that define themselves by a particularist blood-and-soil nationalism. What made America exceptional, unique in the world, was defining its own national interest beyond its narrow economic and security needs to encompass the safety and prosperity of a vast array of allies. A free world marked by open trade and mutual defense was President Truman's vision, shared by every president since.

Until now.

Some have argued that Trump is just dangling a bargaining chip to negotiate better terms of trade or alliance. Or that Trump's views are so changeable and unstable -- telling European newspapers two weeks ago that NATO is obsolete and then saying "NATO is very important to me" -- that this is just another unmoored entry on a ledger of confusion.

But both claims are demonstrably wrong. An inaugural address is no off-the-cuff riff. These words are the product of at least three weeks of deliberate crafting for an address that Trump said would express his philosophy. Moreover, to remove any ambiguity, Trump prefaced his "America first" proclamation with: "From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land."

Trump's vision misunderstands the logic underlying the far larger, far-reaching view of Truman. The Marshall Plan sure took wealth away from the American middle class and distributed it abroad. But for a reason. Altruism, in part. But mostly to stabilize Western Europe as a bulwark against an existential global enemy.

We carried many free riders throughout the Cold War. The burden was heavy. But this was not a mindless act of charity; it was an exercise in enlightened self-interest. After all, it was indeed better to subsidize foreign armies -- German, South Korean, Turkish and dozens of others -- and have them stand with us, rather than stationing even more American troops everywhere around the world at greater risk of both blood and treasure.

We are embarking upon insularity and smallness. Nor is this just theory. Trump's long-promised but nonetheless abrupt withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the momentous first fruit of his foreign policy doctrine. Last year the prime minister of Singapore told John McCain that if we pulled out of TPP "you'll be finished in Asia." He knows the region.

For 70 years, we sustained an international system of open commerce and democratic alliances that has enabled America and the West to grow and thrive. Global leadership is what made America great. We abandon it at our peril.
HARTFORD, Conn.  Notes that Mark Twain jotted down from a fairy tale he told his daughters more than a century ago have inspired a new children's book, "The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine."

At the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, there is excitement that the story could help introduce the writer to wider audiences  and provide a financial lift for the nonprofit organization that curates the three-story Gothic Revival mansion where Twain raised his family.

A researcher found the story in the archive of the Mark Twain Papers at the University of California at Berkeley.

When the University of California Press passed on taking it to publication, the archive's director, Bob Hirst, endorsed enlisting the Twain House as an agent in part because of financial struggles the museum has had to overcome.

"I don't think it's a secret they need funding," Hirst said. "If it was going to make some money, which Mark Twain would certainly approve of, that house was a good place for it to go."

The Twain House connected the UC Press with DoubleDay Books for Young Readers, which hired an author and illustrator to turn Twain's unfinished notes into the book to be published in September. The publisher and others involved declined to discuss the financial terms.

Amy Gallent, the Twain House's interim executive director, said the museum has a balanced budget and its finances are sound.

Since cost overruns brought the museum to the brink of closing a decade ago, it has reported strong admissions numbers and state aid has helped with needed improvements. But Gallent said she understands the Twain House will receive royalties on book sales and she hopes it is "incredibly successful."

The book tells the story of a boy who gains the ability to talk to animals by eating a flower from a magical seed and then joins them to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Winthrop University English professor John Bird was mining the Berkeley archive for a possible Twain cookbook in 2011 when he flagged "Oleomargarine," thinking it might be related to food.

After reading over the 16 pages of Twain's handwritten notes, he realized the manuscript was a story Twain apparently told his daughters in 1879 while the family visited Paris.

The 152-page illustrated book, completed by Philip and Erin Stead, frames the narrative as a story "told to me by my friend, Mr. Mark Twain."

The author, born Samuel Clemens in Missouri in 1835, lived with his family from 1874 to 1891 at the house in Hartford. Tours feature the home's library and a discussion of the bedtime stories he would conjure there nightly for his three daughters.

Cindy Lovell, who recently stepped down as the Twain House director and helped shepherd the book project, said the story is exceptional because Twain was not known to write down any of the thousands of stories he told his children.

"To him, this was nothing. He never wrote it because it came so easily," she said. "I don't think it ever occurred to him that could have been a gold mine."

Lovell said the Twain House will benefit financially from the book, as will the UC Press and the Mark Twain Project, led by Hirst at Berkeley.

In 2010, a Twain autobiography became an unexpected best-seller when it was published a century after his death, at the author's request. Hirst said there are still other Twain works in the archive that could be published.
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For the Week of January 30, 2017

Adversaries coming together. Allies coming apart. A little visit to a place called Genoa City. And Sally Spectra in the house. See how or if it all fits with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you finally find some fruit in your Fruit of the Looms? Did you dream of hanging around someone like a necklace? Did you take multiple trips down Memory Lane? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer clan this week!

Well, here we are, Scoopers! We're entering into a time where we're told down is up and day is night. Amazingly, B&B seems poised to correct some of their own missteps, at least where Never-Ending Triangle Syndrome is concerned. Yet Sally's surprise sequence and Eric's crossover to Y&R provided an interesting contrast we wouldn't get in a typical week. Get ready to go rogue, and let's Scoop about it!

DIVORCE, AMERICAN STYLE

Now, I haven't always been able to watch episodes the same day they aired since before my Best & Worst and If I Wrote B&B columns, though I've kept up through recaps and posts/comments across social media. I half expected to see a completely different show, considering how fast B&B moves sometimes. Yet here was Wyatt looking all weepy about Steffy and Liam complaining that Eric and Quinn were manipulating him. Where was that fast-forward button?

Thankfully, things changed once Carter showed up for his 8.2-second appearance at Wyatt's crib. (When is Mr. Walton going to get his own storyline? Or at least a date?) Some guys bring girls flowers -- Wyatt gave Steffy a stack of divorce papers. My jaw is gonna bruise from where it dropped. But wait: Steffy already filed, and we were told the divorce wouldn't be final for six months. How could Wyatt suddenly push it through?

If you think B&B marriages are inconsistent, their divorces are whoppers: some characters wait six months that turn out to be three, others untie the knot the next day. But it was worth it that Wyatt pulled whatever strings he did to see him finally grow some balls. I've watched this guy simper around for almost a year, trying to convince Steffy he was a better match than Liam. It was pathetic and becoming unwatchable.

Case in point: Wyatt telling Steffy "we carved out some good memories here" and then subjecting us to flashbacks of them playing on the beach and in Monte Carlo. "Wyatt, don't," Steffy sighed, right along with me. But Wyatt switched gears and said something I never thought I'd hear: "You were never really mine to begin with." He decided it was time to man up and let Steffy go. It's about freakin' time!

Wyatt even brought the tattoo removal guy over to zap his own hand, and it was actually funny when he couldn't take the pain as well as Steffy. I've been saying for months that Wyatt just needed to concede defeat and move on. I half wonder if the show listened. I'll repeat that Statt never had a chance; I know part of why we watch soaps is to feel superior to people doing stupid things, but thank the soap gods that's over.

YOU BETTER NOT POUT, YOU BETTER NOT CRY

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Malibu, Bill was about to go out for a box of diapers because Liam was having such an infantile conniption about Steffy not being back from her Wyatt-dumping errand. Maybe I missed something, because Steffy never actually went back to Wyatt, despite all the shipping by Eric and Quinn. "I want our life back!" Liam whined. The one before or after you caught Wyatt and Steffy snoozing half-naked?

"I'm tired, I'm so tired," Liam complained, and I nodded wearily. Either Steffy came through that door right now or Liam was walkin'! Huh? Were we being set up for another one of B&B's infamous, latter-day, contrived misunderstandings? Liam pitched a fit, then his phone (hopefully it didn't start recording like his iPad in Italy), then declared he was eating veal and getting on a plane for parts unknown.

Maybe not his best choice, since the last time he was on a jet, he gave himself amnesia in the restroom. He never works, anyway, so I guess he can just take off at whim. The way Steffy and Liam were shown driving separately, I thought there was a head-on collision in their future, which might have been a cool twist. Instead, Liam drove to the airport and parked near the terminal of CBS Airlines.

You think I'm kidding? That "airport" was totally the parking lot at the CBS Studios on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. I once wrote a column from the other side of that fence! Then Liam apparently sat in his car for however long it took for Steffy to drive from Malibu to L.A. proper -- until Steffy darted into the parking lot, looking for him. Good thing B&B stopped that foolishness before my eyes got locked in the upright position.

Yes, Liam and Steffy, the only people in the parking lot of even a private airport, ran to each other in slo-mo, as if they hadn't just done that on the beach last year. I was actually relieved when Steffy purred, "I'm yours," because it saved weeks of more silly miscommunication. I don't particularly care who Steffy ends up with; let's just pick one and be done with it. That pick now seems to be Liam.

Could have done without them going home and rehashing the whole divorce with Wyatt, and of course they were gonna boof, but seeing it didn't move me. (Well, okay, Scott Clifton without a shirt did, but still.) "I like that we have our disagreements and it's not the end of the world," Steffy marveled. Then you wouldn't have wanted to see his ass a couple of hours before, Steffy. To top things off, Liam proposed. Yay! I guess.

THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE

Wyatt continued demonstrating his much-welcome growth spurt by reiterating to Eric and Quinn that was time to set Steffy free. Then Wyatt joined Liam for a brewski and declared he was tired of fighting with him over "women, Dad, business, everything." It was pointless, and "think about what we could accomplish if we weren't competing." The Spencer brothers against the world? Hell to the yeah!

I have always said that Wyatt and Liam play better as a team. I know -- feuding brothers is basic Soap 101. But Scott Clifton and Darin Brooks have such a natural rapport that when the brothers Spencer come together, it's a joy to behold. I could get used to it. Imagine them facing some other kind of drama together. Imagine Wyatt with a woman who isn't a Liam leftover! For the first time since Wyatt's 2013 debut; it could happen.

YOU HAD THE FRONT SEAT LAST TIME

I guess CBS Airlines found Thomas' lost sense of entitlement, because he came back from New York P.O.'d that he'd been dissed for CEO. Oh, come on. How many times are we gonna fight over that godforsaken chair? I wish I'd never heard of it! Thomas may be Ridge's firstborn, but he doesn't have any more experience running Forrester than Steffy does. Even Ridge never captained that ship until he was much older.

"Maybe I should have just married Wyatt, and Quinn would have fought for me," Thomas spat. That I'd like to see! It's still legal (though who knows for how long), and Wyatt's single now. Anyway, Rick also jockeyed for his old CEO seat by suggesting Steffy take Liam on an extended honeymoon. Yeah, Rick, because your approval ratings as CEO rivaled someone else I could mention.

It may be all academic, because while Thomas and Rick seem to be picking up Liam's crybaby baton, Quinn decided that maybe Steffy could share CEO duties with Ridge. The legend of Ridge's magic lips must be true because Quinn would sooner have dumped him out of a helicopter herself until her San Francisco treat. Can we just give the CEO angle a rest for a few months? A year? A decade or two? It's sooo overplayed.

YOU ROCK MY WORLD, YOU KNOW YOU DID

Quinn had such hot flashes from her Ridge flashbacks that she didn't even question Ivy getting over her Americanitis (or why she suddenly reverted to her natural accent). There was no earthquake in L.A., but that hand-held camera shook to underscore the tension as Quinn wandered backstage at CBS (ahem, Forrester), trying to outrun the heat from her nether regions. Still love Eric there, Quinn?

For his part, Ridge had the same flashbacks and told Eric he had come to appreciate his stepmommy before likewise wandering backstage and making closeup eye contact with her. I'm not sure what B&B is trying to do here. Why go to the trouble of reuniting Bridge if they're just going to mess that up with a Ridge/Quinn dalliance? Or worse -- a coupling?

Quinn's been a busy girl. Deacon, Liam, Eric, now Ridge, all in two years. At this rate Charlie had better watch out. Rena Sofer is killing it, but ever since about 1999, B&B has done what you could call The ________ Show. First it was The Amber Show. The Leffy/Lope Show. Steam/Statt. They fixate on one character or story and roll with it and roll with it and roll with it.

Now it's The Quinn Show. And despite the excellent delving into Quinn's past and admission that she made bad choices to protect herself and Wyatt, I am still not buying her changeover. Not because I think she's faking but because I think she's recovered too fast. She was mentally ill; the story should be her struggle for normalcy, not just her saying one day she's changed and that's it.

Instead, the story is Ridge trying to trick Quinn into betraying Eric. How did he think that was going to work? Was he just going to tell Eric it happened with no proof? At least Stephanie rigged up video cameras to catch Ridge and Brooke in the act way back when. And then Ridge promised Quinn he'd keep quiet because he didn't want to be banished. What does he think would have happened if he'd succeeded in his plan?

No, Ridge confessed said plan before the kiss and now added that he'd been blinded by his scheme. Wouldn't it be great if his newfound appreciation for Quinn was just a new tactic? But I don't think we're going there. Ridge is daydreaming about Quinn and confusing Rick and the others by adding jewelry to his designs and uncharacteristically advocating friendship with Quinn for the sake of peace.

THE ISLAND OF MISFIT TOYS

Nicole, fresh from the meeting an intern probably wouldn't be in on, brought the prototype of a chunky necklace Quinn had been working on. Ridge decided he wanted to see it on her. Now, if Thorsten Kaye was standing behind me touching my neck, I'd go weak in the knees, too. Citing the different sizes of stones, Quinn said, "It's the mismatch, the antagonism..." which Ridge finished with, "But they fit perfectly, don't they?"

This is the way CaRidge started. But the heat is dampened for me because I can't see Ridge falling for a woman with Quinn's history. That would be like Ridge crushing on Sheila. Eric has a pattern of getting with crazy women, so it can be justified with him. Ridge's pattern is Brooke. Please, let's just stick with Bridge. Anything to keep Brooke from going back to Bill. Unless Brooke likes being locked in towers.

I did enjoy Ridge and Eric's first step in tearing down the wall between them. Kaye or Moss, Eric and Ridge have always had a special warmth between them. As Eric headed out the door, Ridge proclaimed, "There's something you should know." But he just told his not-biodad how much he loved him. Was Ridge going to rat on Quinn? And how could he spin that when he was the one who kissed Quinn in the first place?

SOMEONE'S IN THE KITCHEN WITH DINAH

I'm sorry, but it made no sense that Pam would sneak into Eric's kitchen to make lemon bars with kale as a decoy when Quinn is right in the next room. And when Katie came over to dish, I smelled a contrivance. Like Pam doesn't have her own kitchen, wherever she lives. But her "I wonder if she's trying to win Ridge over like she did with me" query about Quinn was sound. I'd love it if Quinn was playing Ridge the whole time!

Not knowing who was playing who would be delicious, too. But the growing connection between Ridge and Quinn seems to be genuine, which isn't as interesting. Quinn dubbed Ridge "Chicken Little" while Ridge wondered if Quinn was the fox who ate everyone at the end of that story. Indeed. Yet Ridge surprised her with the absent Eric's martinis and toasted her portrait. I may have inherited Ridge's now-obsolete gag reflex.

Ridge was over the moon that he might reclaim half of the CEO chair because of Quinn. He picked her up and spun her around, and faster than you could say "engagement string," the convenient Katie padded in from the kitchen and caught the former enemies' embrace. Too bad Katie didn't film it, like she did Quinn's oblique threat to Liam. Was Katie ever going to do anything with that? She's not a very effective snoop!

ALWAYS IN FASHION

Out of absolute nowhere, Eric needed to see Katie's newspaper (you know, because he doesn't know how to use Google) to confirm that Sally Spectra's notorious downtown warehouse was scheduled for demolition. Huh. Did Jackie M revert to Spectra after the Marone-Knights skipped town in 2012? And B&B, please don't tear down Spectra Fashions. I'm still not over the closure of the Cafe Russe!

But Eric smiled as he thought back to his first meeting with Sally and the success of the joint Forrester-Spectra fashion show on the Queen Mary back in 1989. And, in case you're wondering why Eric and Sally were toasting bubbly together, that was in 1995 while he was romancing her into pulling his stolen designs from her collection. Oh, for the good old days. My heart smiled and hurt at the same time.

It's not as random a recollection as it seemed. January 14 was the tenth anniversary of Darlene Conley's passing. So the homage wasn't out of place. What it brought out, though, was the continuing glaring absence of the Spectras, and Forrester not having another fashion house to compete against. And just how awesome the stories were then. Clarke saved Spectra once before; can't he come back to stop the bulldozers?

I must tell my Darlene Conley story. I met her at a soap event in 1998. "Hallo, handsome," she said in her Sally Spectra best. I'd hoped to get photos with her, Bobbie Eakes (Macy), Ken Hanes (Mike Guthrie), and Tracey Bregman (Lauren), but a security guard wouldn't let me. Until Darlene stepped in. I have snaps with them all, and Soaps in Depth published me getting photographed with "Macy." None of that would have happened without the coolness that was Darlene. Thank you, Sally.

RESTLESS HEARTS

In yet another example of throwback, Eric crossed over to Y&R, so of course I had to watch. Man, those Lauren/Sheila crossovers in the mid-'90s were epic beyond epic. And don't forget, Lauren was on B&B from 1995-1998. Meeting at a Genoa City hotspot, Lauren asked Eric, "Remember when you shot Rush with the crossbow?" And Eric replied, "Yeah, that was badass."

Okay, they didn't really say that. (But Tracey Bregman did like my tweet about it!) However, Eric and Lauren did broach their one-time romance, and Eric even asked about Scott, Lauren's son who had been switched for a black market baby by Sheila. (Fen is in college already? SORAS is alive and well!) Their reunion was warm and wonderful, but it also got a little weird.

Relaying that his family felt Quinn was out to manipulate him, Lauren cooed, "I don't believe there's a woman who's been born who could manipulate you." Hello, wasn't Lauren the one who stood up to stop Eric's wedding to Sheila for that very reason? And then Lauren congratulated Eric on his marriage to Quinn! Ms. Fuller's bridge-pushing, Liam-impaling escapades must not have reached Genoa City.

Eric sassed that he couldn't have been that potent or Lauren wouldn't have broken it off with him. I'm rusty, but didn't Eric leave Lauren to go back to Stephanie? At any rate, Eric knew all about Lauren's financial troubles at Fenmore's. Wait -- he heard about Fenmore's through the fashion press but had to look in the paper for info about Spectra?

Well, I don't know the backstory (I haven't actively watched Y&R since the '90s), but wasn't Jack Abbott surprised when Eric championed Lauren and topped Jack's offer for a Fenmore's merger. Did you notice how much stronger Eric was on Y&R? I think it's definitely a spike in the material. B&B could benefit from an influx of new talent the way Y&R seems to be doing!

Speaking of such influxes, there were lots of opinions posted in reaction to my "If I Wrote B&B" column. Got any opinions about this one? Share 'em in the Comments section below or on the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could wind up in a future column! Like these!

 "I love what B&B would be like if you wrote [it]. Can you tell us fans how to make it happen...I have been watching this soap since it started and...am tired of this vicious circle." -- Ruth



 "I find your version of what happens more entertaining [than] B&B has been in years. I love your use of history which B&B often forgets...I love that you have written in Massimo and Sally's death, as I never liked how B&B kept Sally alive...only thing I didn't like was Douglas turning out to be Ridge's...I do love that you made Ridge a Forrester again, something that should have been fixed long ago..." -- SG66



 "Sounds good except for Quinn. I don't care what she has done, this isn't real life and she is the only reason I still watch. [Rena Sofer] is an amazing actress and [Quinn] and Eric have amazing chemistry. Unless they send Bill to prison for breaking out Deacon, faking Steffy's brain tumor, etc, Rick for murder, Steffy and Ridge for fraud (POA), I am good with Quinn sticking around." -- Priscilla [AUTHOR'S NOTE: Agreed, but while Rick did shoot Grant Chambers while in a fugue state as a teen, he never murdered anybody.]



 "I like your version of events except for undoing Ridge as Massimo's son. I really liked their scenes together and that was a great storyline with tons of emotional payoff and to retcon that retcon would sort of invalidate it, which would be disappointing. But otherwise...brilliant! You even managed to redeem Sheila, something I never thought was possible." -- GM



 "Quote of the year: Wyatt, who said he needs 2 find a girl that doesn't know Liam's name...no takebacks Brad it's on tape!" -- @Janet_TamaraFan

I about cheered when Wyatt said that! At least at this point the only other girl Wyatt could get with who was with Liam first is Amber, which could be interesting. Footnote: Brad, I'm totally available. I don't know much about the business end but I'd do my best to give B&B a reboot while staying true to its history!

Devoutly to be wished, as Ridge said. I will be back just in time for Valentine's Day while Chanel fills our Two Scoops next week. Did you hear B&B is jetting back to Australia next month to film for the show's 30th anniversary? Hope that turns out to be my week! LOL Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And remember, now more than ever, no matter color, creed, religion, gender identity, or orientation, we're all beautiful.
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...
Richard Moreau had a pair of reasons to celebrate on Saturday night (January 28). Right around the time he was taking the stage to accept his fourth consecutive Trainer of the Year title at the OBrien Awards, a new recruit to his operation, Fine Diamond, got up and defeated some of the finest competitors on the WEG circuit in Woodbine Racetracks $34,000 Preferred Pace.

Fresh in from the stable of heavyweight trainer Ron Burke, Fine Diamond, a four-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven, lined up in Post 3 for the Preferred, which was called to the starter for the ninth race of the evening.

A field of six slugged it out in the Preferred, and Fine Diamond, with pilot Doug McNair in the race bike, opted to take a cautious approach through the first three quarters of the mile.

McNair and the six-time career winner watched from fourth as Company Man (driven by Jody Jamieson) dictated the terms of the bout through fractions of :27, :54.2 and 1:22.1.

Fine Diamond was almost five lengths off the engine before he made his move, but when he did, those that were observing the affair began to take notice.

McNair reduced his deficit quite a bit by the head of the lane, as he was just one and a quarter length behind Company Man, who was feeling the effects of his front-end journey.

After having been positioned third throughout the mile, Nickel Bag made a solid bid for the win in the final quarter for pilot Trevor Henry.

It was all Fine Diamond and Nickel Bag in the final eighth, but it was Fine Diamond, Doug McNair and Team Moreau that got the job done, as they fought for a nose win in 1:50.4.

On January 16, Fine Diamond became the property of new owners 9099 3833 Quebec Inc., and Gaar Racing Stables, of North York, Ontario. Saturdays victory was the first start for his new connections.

Pilot Trevor Henry had yet another productive night at the office, as he won four consecutive races (Race 2 through Race 5) with Withahearttomatch ($13.30), Mach Code ($24.70), The Wayfaring Man ($4.10) and Carracci Hanover ($19.40), respectively.

To view the harness racing results for Saturday at Woodbine, click the following link: Saturday Results  Woodbine Racetrack.
Aberdeen resident John Barclays daughter River was four years old when she started having seizures. Already a bright student, she could count above 30 and recite the alphabet. But the seizures soon became debilitating, and a series of prescribed medications couldnt stop them.

Then River began using dosages of medical marijuana, administered by her father. Educators watched as she became more involved in classroom activities again. Now, when Barclay comes to take River out of school at lunch for another dose of medication, she doesnt want to leave.

Barclay told this story in front of the state House Health & Wellness Committee in Olympia on Jan. 17 in support of a new bill, HB 1060. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by 19th District Reps. Brian Blake and Jim Walsh of Aberdeen along with two other representatives, would require school districts to allow students that use on medical marijuana to consume it on school grounds.

Right now, Barclay removes his daughter from school every day after lunch because the cannabis cannot be administered on school property.

Three hours of school just doesnt work for her. Id love to have 7 hours, Barclay told the House committee. He said that it was too difficult to take his daughter  now 7  home and then try to get her to go back to school in the afternoon.

According to the Department of Health, there are 57 minors registered in the states medical marijuana database to date.

The way I envision the process working is that the parents and school would be in communication, Blake said Thursday. The parent would show up at a determined time during the day. The child would come out of class, meet them and step into a side room. The parent would feed them a cookie and the child would go back to class and the parent would go home.

The bill would not require any school staff member to be involved in any part of the administration of the marijuana. It also would prohibit smoking or inhalation as a way of administering the cannabis.

Ive met (Barclays) daughter, and Ive seen the anguish of him as a parent dealing with these seizures, Blake said. I mean, what a terrible thing to have your child experiencing this medical distress.

Barclay approached Blake last year and asked him for help drafting a bill that would allow his daughter to stay in school for the entire day.

Ive seen (Barclay) express the difference that hes seen from this different therapy, Blake said. And so it was not a hard call for me to support this. I think any child benefits from access to education professionals, and thats what Im trying to accomplish here.

But school administrators are concerned that the current wording of the bill would put districts in the awkward position of choosing between breaking a state law (if they refuse to allow the medical marijuana) and federal law, which still prohibits the manufacture, possession or distribution of cannabis and treats it as a criminal offense.

The Washington State School Directors Association, which represents local school boards around the state, declined to support the bill in its current form because of this conflict between state and federal law.

The bill requires school districts to adopt a policy that is in direct violation of federal drug laws, said Jessica Vavrus of the school directors association. This puts districts at risk of losing federal dollars, a good portion of which comprise their budgets. So in good faith, we cant put our 295 school districts in danger of losing that funding.

As of Friday, HB 1060 was still in the Health Care & Wellness committee. If the committee decides to move forward with the bill, it will move to the floor agenda, where members of the House will have the opportunity to vote on it. Right now, HB 1060 is not listed on any upcoming agendas for the committee through the beginning of February.
tech2 News Staff

Google co-founder and president of Alphabet Sergey Brin has joined the protesters at the San Francisco International Airport, to express his disappointment over the executive order passed by US President Donald Trump.

US President Donald Trump has passed an executive order which halts immigration from seven Islamic nations including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria, for at least 90 days. For Syrian refugees, the ban is indefinite. Trump said that the order was to keep away radical Islamic terrorists.

"I'm here because I'm a refugee," said Brin in a statement to Forbes' Ryan Mac.

https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/825641413077405696

Brin's family immigrated to the US in 1979 from the then Soviet Union. Brin has stated that he is attending the protests in a personal capacity as his family too were immigrants.

Every major tech CEO has expressed disappointment over Trump's new executive order which bans immigrants from seven countries.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the order affected close to 187 current Googlers. Were upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US. It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues, he said.

Read what other tech CEOs had to say here.
tech2 News Staff

US President Donald Trump has passed an executive order which halts immigration from seven Islamic nations including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria, for at least 90 days. For Syrian refugees, the ban is indefinite. Trump said that the order was to keep away radical Islamic terrorists.

This has caused a lot of furore not just among the general population, but also among technology companies.

Most of the top technology firms in the US are filled with staff who aren't native US citizens. And logically enough, most leaders from across the technology industry spectrum have criticised this new temporary ban that Trump has issued.

Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Uber Technologies and many other companies have expressed concern about the immigration order's effects on their employees, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Here is what the heads of top US tech companies have to say about this order.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, himself an immigrant told the Wall Street Journal that he had experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has had on Microsoft as well as for the US and the world. He said that Microsoft Corp would continue being an advocate on the issue.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent an email to his employees assuring them that Apple has contacted the White House to explain the negative effects of such restrictions. Cook had also spoken about the importance of immigration, both to Apple and the US's future, when he had visited Washington last week.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the order affected close to 187 current Googlers. "We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US. It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," he said.

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg put out a status on his Facebook page stating that both his and his wife's parents were immigrants to the US. "We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation," said Zuckerberg.

Digital storage firm Box's CEO Aaron Levie said that the move was quite infuriating and morally wrong. He said that he was looking at ways to get personally involved and fight the order.

Amazon's vice president for HR, Beth Galetti, said that a diverse workforce helps Amazon make better products for its customers. It has sent out an email to its staffers, recommending US based employees from countries in the ban-list, from travelling outside the US. It has also asked such employees to get in touch with the company if they are already outside the borders for travel or work.

Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, in a personal post on his Facebook page said, "Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has sent out an email to his employees titled, 'Standing up for what's right.' Kalanick goes on to talk about the executive order issued by Trump and how it affects Uber drivers. He said that Uber will be reaching out to all its drivers who work in the US but go home for long breaks to be with family. These drivers affected by the order will be compensated for three months, pro bono, said Kalanick.

"While every government has their own immigration controls, allowing people from all around the world to come here and make America their home has largely been the U.S.s policy since its founding. That means this ban will impact many innocent peoplean issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trumps first business advisory group meeting," he said.
41 Qaeda militants, 16 civilians dead in US raid in Yemen

A dawn raid carried out by US drones and Apache helicopters killed 41 suspected Al-Qaeda militants, including three prominent figures, and 10 civilians in Yemen.

AFP, Aden :

The death toll from a US raid on Al-Qaeda in Yemen on Sunday has risen to 57 people, including 41 suspected militants and 16 civilians, a provincial official said.

Eight women and eight children were among those killed in the raid in the central province of Baida, the official said.

It would be Washington's first strike on jihadists in Yemen since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.

Seven women and three children were among those killed in the raid on Yakla district in the central province of Baida, said the official, who did not want to be named, and tribal sources.

Earlier, tribal and sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to Al-Qaeda, adding that a number of civilians were also killed.

But the provincial official said Apache helicopters targeted also a school, mosque and a medical facility used by Al-Qaeda militants.

Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected jihadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan. The United States considers the extremist group's Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous. But although it only sporadically reports on a long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to be operating drones over Yemen.

On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing a senior Al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group have exploited a power vacuum created by the two-year-old conflict in Yemen between the government and Shiite Huthi rebels, especially in the country's south and southeast. A Yemeni security officer and a local official corroborated that account. Fahd, a local resident who asked that only his first name be used, said several bodies remained under debris and that houses and the local mosque were damaged in the attack.

U.S. special forces attempted to rescue an American and a South African hostage held by al Qaeda in another part of the country in December 2014. The captives were killed in the subsequent firefight.

The United States conducted dozens of drone strikes in Yemen throughout Barack Obama's presidency to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded as one of the global militant group's most dangerous branches.

The local al Qaeda unit organised the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack in Paris in 2015 and has repeatedly tried to down U.S. airliners.




Turkey, UK plan post-Brexit free trade deal

British Prime Minister Theresa May shaking hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Saturday.

Agencies, Ankara :

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday promised steps to ramp up trade between Turkey and Britain ahead of Brexit but also urged Ankara to uphold human rights following a failed coup.

On her first visit to Turkey as premier and fresh from meeting new US President Donald Trump at the White House, May held three hours of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

May sought to strike a delicate balance between showing Britain's keen interest in expanding trade with Turkey following the June vote to leave the European Union while echoing European alarm over the scale of the crackdown after the July 15 attempted coup. May announced the creation of a joint group to boost trade ahead of Britain's departure from the EU and also oversaw the signing of a deal for Britain's BAE Systems to develop a new Turkish fighter jet.

Turkey and the United Kingdom plan to sign a free trade deal once Britain leaves the European Union, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.

Yildirim made the comment in a joint news conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who was visiting Ankara after a trip to the United States.

May said after meeting Erdogan at his palace she was "proud" Britain had stood with Turkey's democratically-elected government when the coup struck. But she added: "Now it is important that Turkey sustains that democracy by maintaining the rule of law and upholding its international human rights obligations, as the government has undertaken to do." May stressed that Turkey was one of Britain's "oldest friends" with relations going back over 400 years, referring to the establishment of relations between the Ottoman Empire and England under Elizabeth I.

Earlier, a spokeswoman countered criticism from some MPs that Britain was cosying up to Turkey while turning a blind eye to its human rights record.

The spokeswoman said: "I don't think there are any issues that the prime minister is afraid to bring up." Around 43,000 people are under arrest on charges of links to the coup bid, which Ankara blames on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. He denies the charges.

May's visit is also seen as the first to Ankara by a major Western leader since the attempted putsch, although then US vice president Joe Biden held talks with Erdogan in August.
BTRC upholds Tk300m fine on Grameenphone

Economic Reporter :

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has rejected Grameenphone's petition for revising the fine of Taka 30 crore that was imposed for providing unauthorised services by the operator.

A Tk 30 crore fine was slapped on GP for providing internet broadband service to clients breaching the Telecommunications Act 2001

However, the regulator has also directed the country's leading operator to deposit the fine of Tk 30 crore to the national exchequer within 10 days, otherwise legal action would be taken. The 201th meeting of the commission has upheld the decision taken earlier scrapping the plea filed by the operator, according to the official documents.

Talking to the New Nation, BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood recently said the commission has rejected the appeal. "So Grameenphone has no option, they have to pay the money." However, Grameenphone official said they were yet to receive any letter from BTRC.

BTRC Secretary and Spokesperson Sarwar Alam said that they will send the letter within one or two days.

In October last year, the telecom regulator has slapped a Tk 30 crore fine on Grameenphone for providing internet broadband service to clients breaching the Telecommu-nications Act 2001.

The penalty is related to Grameenphone's "Go Broadband" initiative, a high-speed internet service offered by Agni Systems and ADN Telecom in partnership with the operator. The network solutions were provided to Sonali Bank.

In December, 2014, Grameenphone signed a bilateral agreement with Sonali Bank to set up last-mile connectivity for the bank through a fibre optic network. But, rules do not permit a mobile operator to deploy fibre optic cables. Later, the operator revised the agreement and incorporated AND Telecom and Agni System.

Following the introduction of the service, Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) lodged a complaint to the regulator that GO Broadband was providing point-to-point data connectivity with transmission to some commercial banks.


Air Chief calls on President



Air Chief Marshal Abu Esrar on Sunday made a courtesy call on President Md Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban.

"The Air Chief apprised the President about the overall activities of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) at home and in UN peacekeeping missions abroad," President's Press Secretary Joynal Abedin told.

Abedin added that the Air Chief also updated the President about different development activities of the force during the call on President Hamid, he said, expressed his satisfaction over the BAF activities and professional performance in safeguarding the country's skyline and their nation building activities.

"The President assured the Air Chief of his continued cooperation in modernising and developing the country's air force," the Bangabhaban spokesman said.

The President simultaneously expected the BAF to uphold the country's image at home and abroad with outmost sincerity and honesty.

Secretaries concerned to the President were also present there.
Diana under Zahid Hasans direction

Sheikh Arif Bulbon :

Local residents call him Juboraj. When local people give upload after taking photograph with him in the caption they mention it With our Juboraj From January 28 popular actor and director Zahid Hasan started shooting of his directed serial Vagabond at own birthplace Sirajganj. Across the country he is known to all by Zahid Hasan but in his birthplace he is known as Juboraj Pulok. So in his directed serial, he plays the role of Pulok.

In Banglavisions ongoing serial Vagabond, Zahid Hasan is also acting in role of Pulok. According to the story of the serial, after travelling village friends younger sister, Nodi falls in love with him. Story of the serial continues. Promising actress Diana is acting in role of Nodi. For the first time Diana is acting against Zahid Hasan. So Diana is very much excited in this regard. Zahid Hasan visits different places in Sirajganj like normal people.

While talking in this regard Zahid Hasan said, Not only people of my village love me but also people of Bangladesh love me a lot. I can move elsewhere in my hometown when I want. I always work with them who knows how to acting. Diana gets the role by virtue of her acting quality. She is trying her level best to perform well in the serial.

While talking about to work under Zahid Hasans direction Diana told this correspondent, Zahid Bhai is a top class actor. In the meantime, he gives direction well. It is surely a great luck for me to get the opportunity to work under his direction. When an actor works with a reputed actor he/she surely gets honour. Though I am junior to him but the full unit including Zahid Bhai gave me so honour I feel proud of it.

It is noted that serial Vagabond is being aired on Banglavision at 9:45pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday now.


20 members of Jahangir Bahini, robber gang of Sundarbans area surrendered to RAB in presence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan with huge arms and ammo at its Headquarter in Barisal on Sunday.
Who will rule Trump foreign policy?

Jim Lobe :

The most frightening commentary I've read in the run-up to the inauguration-and there have been many-appeared in a column identifying the four people whose foreign policy ideas were likely to be most influential with the then-president-elect. It was written by The Washington Post's Josh Rogin and entitled "Inside Trump's Shadow National Security Council."

Those four people, according to Rogin, are chief strategist Stephen Bannon, who "has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration's overall foreign policy approach;" chief of staff Reince Priebus; Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner; and his national security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn (ret.).

What is particularly striking about these four men is their collective lack of foreign-policy-making experience. I can't see any in Bannon's resume. Priebus, until he took over the Republican National Committee six years ago, was essentially a local Wisconsin political operative. Aside from occasional visits to Israel and his family foundation's philanthropy for Israeli and settler institutions, Kushner has never, to my knowledge, expressed any particular interest in foreign policy although, according to Rogin, he has recently been meeting with "leading representatives from countries including Israel, Germany and Britain." Although Flynn undoubtedly gained a lot of experience overseas, his entire career was devoted to military intelligence, not policy making. And, despite her lengthy resume compiled in the national security bureaucracies under various Republican presidents, Flynn's hand-picked deputy, K.T. McFarland, worked virtually exclusively in communications and speechwriting - never in a policy-making role.

Is there any modern precedent for this total lack of experience in the top echelons of the White House, including the National Security Council?

No Experience, Lots of Opinions

The absence of foreign-policy-making experience however, does not mean that these individuals lack foreign-policy opinions. And, of course, in Washington, as a hoary, inside-the-Beltway maxim puts it: "Personnel is policy."

Aside from his overseas business interests, Trump himself also has no foreign-policy experience. Nor, it seems, does he have much curiosity about the subject. Aside from the fairly consistent Islamophobia and aggressive nationalism expressed in various ways and degrees over the past couple of decades, he also doesn't seem to have much in the way of fixed foreign-policy ideas or principles other than self-glorification, a desperate need to gain and retain public and media attention, and possibly the repayment of any debts he feels he may have incurred to foreign interests that helped- Putin? The Adelsons on behalf of Bibi?-put him in the presidency. Certainly, his often-contradictory utterances during the election campaign bolstered the impression that he is not grounded in any firm beliefs about Washington's role in the world. So it seems relatively safe to assume that the worldviews of the same individuals cited by Rogin as the most influential-and closest to the Oval Office-are those that will at least initially guide Trump.

Is there any modern precedent for this total lack of experience in the top echelons of the White House, including the National Security Council?

Of the five individuals mentioned above, only three have particularly strong publicly expressed foreign-policy worldviews: Bannon, Flynn, and McFarland.

Of these, Bannon appears pre-eminent, at least for the moment. That became clear not only in the content and dark, almost apocalyptic tone of Trump's "America First" inaugural address-which, according to the Wall Street Journal, was actually drafted by Bannon and alt-right fellow-traveller Stephen Miller-but also in Trump's controversial interview last week with The Times of London and Das Bild.

The most comprehensive account of Bannon's worldview is contained in his 50-minute interview at a conference held at the Vatican in 2014. In addition to the kind of populist ethno-nationalism with which his name and Breitbart News (of which he was former CEO) have now been associated, Bannon sees the world as a true "clash of civilizations" that pits "Islamic Fascism" against the "Judeo-Christian West." His remarkable invocation in that interview of the "church militant" and the battles of Tours against the Arabs in 732 and Vienna against the Ottomans in 1638 as historical models to which the Judeo-Christian world should now aspire suggests a certain grandiosity (that would naturally appeal to Trump, too). To Bannon, global or other kinds of supra-national institutions that espouse universalist ideals and that get in the way of "strong nationalist movements [that are] really the building blocks that built Western Europe and the United States," are anathema. (You have to wonder how much modern European history Bannon has studied.) In the entire text, he never mentions human rights or democracy or other liberal values.

Along with his ideas about capitalism, Ayn Randism, traditionalism, and populism, it's fair to say that Bannon thinks deep-if somewhat contradictory-thoughts. He's also very, very far to the right-although he identifies as "center right"-and has what I would call proto-fascist inclinations. It's no wonder that he's fascinated by and identifies with Europe's far-right nationalist and anti-European Union (EU) movements. But he also finds common ground with Putin and his promotion of the Russian Orthodox Church and Israel's Likud Party. The latter's roots, after all, lie in Ze'ev Jabotinsky's Betar movement, which, despite its founder's liberal convictions, has always harbored messianic nationalist, if not fascist tendencies.

The degree to which Trump has apparently absorbed and now echoes these ideas is reflected in his most recent public remarks. Compare, for example, Bannon's defense of Putin-that "people want to see the sovereignty for their country, they want to see nationalism for their country"-with what Trump said in defending Brexit in his interview with The Times and Bild. "People, countries want their own identity, and the U.K. wanted its own identity," Trump stressed as he effectively urged other EU members to emulate Brexit, presumably as part of the Judeo-Christian civilizational struggle against Islam. He reiterated this theme in his inaugural speech Friday in the kind of messianic vision favored by Bannon: "We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth" (emphasis added). In the same Times/Bild interview, Trump clearly tried to undermine confidence in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's leadership, saying that he trusted her as much as Putin, at least for the time being-a rather striking assertion that must have sent blood pressures soaring in various foreign ministries, including the State Department. Trump also questioned the current relevance of NATO to similar effect in European defense ministries and the Pentagon.

Of course, these statements were presaged by Trump's enthusiasm over Brexit itself and the fact that the first foreign "leader" to personally celebrate his election victory with him was none other than Nigel Farage. Farage, who Trump subsequently recommended as UK ambassador here much to the discomfort of the British prime minister, was subsequently seated in the special VIP section at Friday's inauguration, along with leaders of the Israeli settlement movement. Bannon has made little secret of his admiration-and support-for the French National Front's Marine Le Pen, another anti-EU European, pro-Putin leader (whose visit to Trump Tower two weeks ago likely included a tete-a-tete with Trump's chief strategist). We'll see whether the far-right, Islamophobic Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, shows up at the Tower at some point before this year's elections in the Netherlands, while Czech President Milos Zeman, another Islamophobic Putin admirer, is set to visit the White House in April. Can Hungary's Viktor Orban be far behind?

Bannon and Putin-and probably Netanyahu, too-clearly have Angela Merkel and the EU in their crosshairs as part of a larger effort to create what The Daily Beast's called a "worldwide ultra-right" movement, or, perhaps more bluntly, a Proto-Fascist International. Aside from exterminating "radical Islamic terrorism," such a coalition appears to be a central goal of Bannon's "long-term strategic vision." That makes Rogin's final observation about Bannon's role in the White House especially chilling. According to Rogin, Bannon's mandate includes "connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe." Whatever is meant by "the Trump apparatus," its intellectual leader is now sitting in the White House, just a few steps from the Oval Office.

As for the two senior advisers with actual foreign policy-if not policy-making-experience, Flynn and McFarland are far more likely to embrace Bannon's vision than to oppose it. What unifies all three is an intense Islamophobia and Manichaeism befitting Fox News, as well as Breitbart. We have covered Flynn's wacky worldview, particularly as expressed in his 2016 book, Field of Fight, co-authored by serial intriguer Michael Ledeen, at considerable length. Suffice to recall Flynn's belief in the existence of "an international alliance of evil countries and movements that is working to destroy us," an alliance that includes North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia (whose government, incidentally, just hosted the former First Daughter, Malia Obama on a lengthy trek through the Andes). The same alliance also includes al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Islamic State, and "countless other terrorist groups." As Rogin reported Sunday, Flynn, who, like Bannon, also appears to admire Putin, is filling senior NSC positions with a phalanx of former military intelligence officers with whom he has worked closely in the past.

(To be continued)
Dhaka city canals in death throes

Reza Mahmud :

At least 26 canals, once used to flow through the capital Dhaka and added the city its lifeline, are now near to disappearance due to rampant encroachment and indiscriminate waste dumping.

While the influential quarters have been gradually grabbing the canals, the reckless people are using them as an open dustbin on the nose of the concerned authorities, leading the water flowing channels on the verge of extinction.

These powerful persons have also built lots of buildings, shops, garages and steel bridges after occupying canals' lands, it was alleged.

This situation has led the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) to conduct eviction drives against all illegal encroachments. The corporation announced the decision on January 22 after a meeting with the officials of the concerned agencies.

"We will start eviction drives to free the canals from grabbers and make those clean from waste," a DSCC official told The New Nation yesterday.

He said the concern agencies have also taken a similar move in the recent past but it did not yield any positive outcome.

"Because, the drives were conducted haphazardly without coordination among the agencies concerned," he added.

The official, however, said that this time we would conduct the drive with an utmost coordination of all agencies to make the effort a success.

However, a Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) official expressed pessimism over the success of the upcoming drives.

"How the drive would be successful when many government offices have built structures grabbing lands of the canals," he questioned, "Besides, many influential persons have already recorded a significant portion of the canals' lands as their personal property."

According to Dhaka WASA, there are 26 canals in Dhaka city. Among them seven canals are in DSC area. But the Dhaka District Administration said that there are in total 11 canals under DSCC. They identified some canals divided into two parts and then concluded the numbers as 11.

"We are regularly operating eviction drives to drive out the grabbers and clear the garbage of the canals. But the problem is the grabber found come back soon and reckless people used to throw waste to the canals," WASA Managing Director Engineer Taqsem A. Khan told The New Nation on Sunday.

"We will recover the canals at any cost because it is necessary to maintain ecological balance as well as remove water logging in the city," DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon told The New Nation yesterday

The mayor said he got the nod from the Prime Minister's Office to make the eviction drive successful and sustainable.

The DSCC will launch its eviction drives from the Nandipara Trimohini canal. Segun Bagicha canal may be cleared by WASA in the second week of February.

The canals which are near to disappear include Kajla Canal of Jatrabari, Khilgaon Basabo canal, Dholai Khal, Segun Bagicha canal, Katasur canal of Mohammadpur, Ibrahimpur canal, Diabari canal and Trimohini canal.


Yunus Centre protests Hasina's statement made in Parliament

Reuters :

A media release on behalf of Muhammad Yunus claims that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's statements made in Parliament were 'incorrect and untrue.'

The Yunus Centre, which claims to be an organisation aimed at 'promoting and disseminating

Professor Yunus' philosophy', issued a rejoinder on Saturday, claiming that most of these allegations have been made repeatedly since 2011.

"They have been thoroughly responded to on each occasion," it read. In her address at the House on Wednesday, Hasina claimed Yunus used his connections with former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to block the $1.2 billion World Bank funding for the Padma Bridge project.

"He (Yunus) and the editor of a renowned newspaper in our country went to meet the World Bank president.
Prime Minister May exposed her bias against Islam

BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May used her speech in Philadelphia to needle the new Trump administration on a number of issues ranging from globalism to climate change, Islam, and even to defending the European Union. Mrs. May began her speech at the Republican Retreat in Philadelphia with a brief history of Anglo-American relations, invoking the spirit of the Founding Fathers of the US as well as expressing gratitude towards America's involvement in the World Wars of the 20th century.



But her speech was also littered with politically correct terms, as well as left and centre-left talking points regarding international institutions, Islam, and radical terrorism, the latter of which she called "Islamist extremism". The British premier compared "open, liberal and democratic" societies in the West versus "closed, coercive" ones. She hailed the United Nations, praised the World Bank, and called NATO "the cornerstone" of Western defence. And Mrs. May also spoke of the necessity for multilateralism in stark contrast with the line pushed by the White House - which prefers bilateralism - over recent days. She cited the need to tackle "climate change" as one of the reasons to back globalist institutions.



She called for the two nations to be "internationalist" and "global", though noted "Some of these organisations are in need of reform and renewal". And while committing to the destruction of the Islamic State, she failed to mention the name of the group, choosing instead the term "Daesh" - a word preferred by politically correct types and most notably popularised by former Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama. She went on to describe "radical Islamists", stopping short of echoing the phrases used by the new US administration including "radical Islamic terrorism", while stating that the first victims of the terrorist ideology were the millions of peaceful Muslims who are adherents to the faith.



While we applaud certain sections of Mrs May's speech, one thing which we don't applaud is the use of the words radical Islamists. Using a phrase to single out adherents of one religion is not acceptable coming from the speech of the PM of the UK. Many terrorist groups terrorized Europe from the 1960s to the early 1990s, among them the Baader Meinhof gang, the IRA, and the Basque separatist group ETA. However none of these groups were ever classified as Catholic or Christian terrorists but instead called terrorists at large.



While organizations like Daesh use Islamic sounding names they are in fact not Islamic at all but rather a perversion of the true tenets of Islam. Thus they can in no way be said to represent or follow the true ideologies of Islam. By deliberately using phrases like radical Islamists world leaders like Ms May are perpetuating the ideologies of hatred which exist to discriminate against Islam in the eyes of the world. Statements like these must be balanced to ensure that no bias exists against any one religion - whether it be Islam or any other.
Merkel says Trump`s ban `not justified`

AFP, Berlin :

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesman said.

"The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries," Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

"She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion."

The German government "will now examine the consequences" of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months. Merkel's condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.
Muslim countries with business interest kept out of Trumps ban

International politicians, celebrities and rights groups have voiced concern at the ban ordered by President Donald Trump on the seven Muslim- majority countries, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, from entering the U.S.

The U.S. court, however, has temporarily blocked part of Trump's ban on refugees and citizens. And interestingly, Trump did not order ban on other Muslim countries with which the U.S. has "business interest"-such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, UAE, Turkey and Afghanistan. According to information available, currently the Trump Organization has done or pursued business in Turkey, the U.A.E., Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan.

In an instant reaction, Iran- one of the targeted nations- suggested it would limit issuing visas to American tourists. "Iran, to defend the dignity of the great Iranian nation, will implement the principle of reciprocity until the removal of the insulting restriction against Iranian nationals. It will apply corresponding legal, consular and political actions," a statement of Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Sunday decried the order saying that Trump's refugee policy contradicted America's Christian traditions of "love thy neighbor."

Echoing the same, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday voiced her disapproval, calling Trump's move "unjustified" by security concerns. "She [Angela Merkel] is convinced that even the necessary determined fight against terrorism does not justify placing people of a certain background or a certain faith under general suspicion," a government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin.

Merkel had also expressed her concerns to Trump during a telephone call on Saturday and reminded him of the international community's obligation under the Geneva Conventions to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds.

On the other hand, British Prime Minister Theresa May though initially refused to condemn the policy, a spokesman for May on Sunday modified this stance saying that the British Premier was opposed to measures such as those adopted by Trump.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States.But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals, then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that," May's spokesman said.

Significantly, Trump found praise from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who likened the visa ban to Israel's walled southern border people in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the media report said that UK Labour laeder Jeremy Corbyn has called for Trump's UK state visit to Britain in the summer to be cancelled for taking such step. The UK Government's chief secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, has described the measures as "divisive" and suggested they could "fuel terrorism".

Not only that, the celebrities also showed support to protesters. Movie producer Judd Apatow tweeted, "He [Trump] doesn't understand that this will lead to people in America becoming radicalized as a result of his ignorance and cruelty."

Another celebrity Michael Moore apologized to Muslim neighbors saying: "The majority of Americans did not vote for this man." Besides, Russell Simmons took to twitter saying, "Donald Trump's Muslim ban is "against everything this country was founded on" calling the president "shameful."

It is not the end! Noted musicians also have begun to speak out against Trump's order. Tegan and Sara said: "How can you read this and not feel ill. Outraged. Terrified. Shame on anyone who supports this!"

Besides, KT Tunstall said: "I'm a green card holder, and aghast at how the administration are treating people who live in the US, contribute & pay taxes here. Besides, Emmy Rossum said: Refugees are FLEEING TERROR. They are not terrorists."


3 Indian channels telecast to continue

Staff Reporter :

Telecast of three Indian channels namely Star Jalsha, Star Plus and Zee Bangla will continue in Bangladesh.

The High Court (HC) on Sunday rejected a writ petition filed seeking directives on the government to stop telecast of the above three Indian television channels.

The HC bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice J B M Hassan delivered the verdict after hearing the petition.

Advocate Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan took part in the hearing in favour of the petition. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju stood for the State while Advocate Abdul Motin Khasru and Advocate Shamsul Hasan were for the channels.

Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju told the reporters now there is no legal bar to telecast these three channels in Bangladesh after the HC judgment.

Advocate Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan said that they would appeal against the judgment. Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan said in the hearing that these three channels are decaying moral values, ethics and culture in our society. Our own culture is under threat. These channels are harming study of our students, promoting rift between husbands and wives, extra marital affairs and murders even.

Syeda Shahin Ara Laily, a Supreme Court lawyer, submitted the petition to the HC in September 2014, saying programmes broadcast by the three channels left adverse impact on social and cultural life of Bangladeshi people.

Education of the students and regular activities of housewives are being hampered due to watching the channels' programmes, she mentioned in the petition.

The petition was filed after a report published in the newspaper, which said, many committed suicide in our country failing to buy a 'Pakhi Jama' marketed in the name of Pakhi, a character of a serial broadcast by Star Jalsah.

Syeda Shahin Ara Laily also said in the petition that these channels were broadcasting violating the Cable and Television Network Act of 2006. The HC issued a rule on October 19 in 2014 after hearing the petition. On January 8, 2017, the HC started the final hearing and concluded on January 25. That day the HC fixed January 29 to deliver the verdict.
Iran bans entry of US citizens

Ya Libnan News :

Iran will ban US citizens from entering the country in retaliation to Washington's visa ban against Tehran and six other majority-Muslim countries announced by new US President Donald Trump.

"While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the US government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted," a Foreign Ministry statement said on Saturday.

"The restrictions against travel by Muslims to America are an open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation in particular and will be known as a great gift to extremists," said the statement, carried by state media. The US ban will make it virtually impossible for relatives and friends of an estimated 1 million Iranian-Americans to visit the United States.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said it was no time to build walls between nations and criticised steps towards cancelling world trade agreements, without naming Mr Trump.
Chaos, panic, anger worldwide: Protests also at major US airports: Green Card holders will need additional screening: White House

Protesters gather at JFK International Airport\'s Terminal 4 to demonstrate against President Donald Trump\'s executive order on Saturday, in New York. Internet photo

AFP, New York :

US airports braced for fresh protests Sunday against Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, which a federal judge partially blocked by ordering authorities not to deport refugees and other travelers detained at US borders.



The ruling coincided with a wave of anger and concern abroad, including among US allies, and rallies at major airports across the United States.



"Victory!!!!!!" the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had sued the government, tweeted after US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued an emergency stay.



"Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders," the ACLU said.



But the ruling, which did not touch on the constitutionality of Trump's order, did not quiet protestors at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, where thousands had gathered.



"People are prepared to stand against this" said David Gaddis.



"It's not surprising that people are mobilizing," the 43-year-old said. "Every day he's in office, it's a national emergency." Mass protests also broke out at major airports, including Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.



Trump's executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.



The exact number of those affected is unclear, but Donnelly ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.



Sending those travelers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to "substantial and irreparable injury," she wrote in her decision.



A second federal judge in Virginia also issued a temporary order restricting immigration authorities for seven days from deporting legal permanent residents detained at Dulles Airport just outside Washington.



The ACLU's legal challenge sought the release of two Iraqi men on grounds of unlawful detention.



One of them-Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who has worked as interpreter and in other roles for the US in Iraq-was released on Saturday after being detained the day before.



The List Project, which helps Iraqis whose personal safety is threatened because they have worked for the US, was outraged over Darweesh's detention, warning it put American lives at risk too.



"I can't say this in blunt-enough terms: you can't screw over the people that risked their lives and bled for this country without consequences," wrote the project's founder and director Kirk Johnson.



Trump's order follows through on one of his most controversial campaign promises, to subject travelers from Muslim-majority countries to "extreme vetting"-which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists." The targeted countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



"We knew that was coming-we were prepared," said Camille Mackler, a lawyer who heads legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that quickly mounted the demonstration there. "But we didn't know when, and we couldn't believe it would be immediate, that there'd be people in an airplane the moment the order was taking effect."



According to Trump aide Rudy Giuliani, the president originally dubbed his executive order a "Muslim ban," and asked the former New York mayor to show him "the right way to do it legally."



"When he first announced it, he said, 'Muslim ban," Giuliani told Fox News Saturday, adding that the seven countries were targeted because they are "the areas of the world that create danger for us."



The State Department has said that people from the seven countries under the 90-day travel ban will be prohibited entry no matter their visa status. Only those holding a dual citizenship with the US will be allowed to enter.



The plan triggered a fierce political backlash at home and abroad, including from Trump's fellow Republicans.

Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the US Senate, spoke of America's "legal and moral obligations to help the innocent victims of these terrible conflicts."Trump's Democratic campaign rival Hillary Clinton chimed in on Twitter: "this is not who we are."



Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, wrote, "to my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today."



His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada.



The rapid mobilization against the order suggests a protracted battle is shaping up between migrant advocates and Trump and his administration.



The battle could end up in the US Supreme Court, which has not ruled on this type of immigration issue since the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. In Europe, French President Francois Hollande lashed the refusal of refugees, and called out to fellow EU members: "We have to respond." German Chancellor Angela Merkel likewise condemned the restrictions, saying that however hard the fight against terrorism was, "it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion," her spokesman said. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is seeking to strike up a friendship with Trump, said US immigration policy was "a matter for the government of the United States... but we do not agree with this kind of approach." On Sunday Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called Trump's ban "a great gift to extremists" "Muslim ban will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.



Meanwhile, The ban extends to green card holders who are authorized to live and work in the United States, Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said.



It was unclear how many legal permanent residents would be affected. A senior U.S. administration official said on Saturday that green card holders from the seven affected countries have to be cleared into the United States on a case-by-case basis.



Legal residents of the United States were plunged into despair at the prospect of being unable to return to the United States or being separated from family members trapped abroad.



"I never thought something like this would happen in America," said Mohammad Hossein Ziya, 33, who came to the United States in 2011 after being forced to leave Iran for his political activities.



Ziya, who lives in Virginia, has a green card and planned to travel to Dubai next week to see his elderly father. "I can't go back to Iran, and it's possible I won't be able to return here, a place that is like my second country," he said. Saleh Taghvaeian, 36, teaches agricultural water management at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, said he feared his wife would not be able to return from Iran after a visit.



In Cairo, five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York on Saturday, sources at Cairo airport said. Dutch airline KLM said on Saturday it had refused carriage to the United States to seven passengers from predominately Muslim countries.



Canada's WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday in order to comply with the order. A spokeswoman did not say which country the passenger had come from.



At least three lawyers from the International Refugee Assistance Project were at the arrivals lounge at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, buried in their laptops and conference calls, photocopies of individuals' U.S. visas on hand.



In Washington, the agencies charged with handling immigration and refugee issues grappled with how to interpret the measure. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the executive order and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public.



At the State Department, a senior official said lawyers were working closely with their counterparts at Homeland Security to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the "national interest."



However, a federal law enforcement official said, "It's unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is."



Senior administration officials said it would have been "reckless" to broadcast details of the order in advance of new security measures. The officials told reporters that Homeland Security now has guidance for airlines.



They dismissed as "ludicrous" the notion that the order amounted to a "Muslim ban." Afghanistan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Oman, Tunisia and Turkey were Muslim-majority countries not included, an official said.



Since it was announced on Friday, enforcement of the order was spotty and disorganized.



Travelers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers were advising clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, she said. Houston immigration lawyer Yegani said officials denied travelers with dual Canadian and Iranian citizenship from boarding planes in Canada to the United States. The order seeks to prioritize refugees fleeing religious persecution. In a television interview, Trump said the measure was aimed at helping Christians in Syria.



Some legal experts said that showed the order was unconstitutional, as it would violate the U.S. right to freedom of religion. But others said the president and U.S. Congress have latitude to choose who receives asylum.



Lawyers from immigration organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal court in Brooklyn on behalf of two Iraqi men, one a former U.S. government worker and the other the husband of a former U.S. security contractor.



The two men had visas to enter the United States but were detained on Friday night at Kennedy airport, hours after Trump's executive order, the lawsuit said. One of the men, former U.S. Army interpreter, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was later released.


Search Committee has no magic formula

Like the last time the President Abdul Hamid has formed a Search Committee. The six-member Search Committee so constituted has started consultations for suggesting names to be appointed by the President as the Chief Election Commissioner and members of the Election Commission.



The incumbent Election Commission so constituted with the recommendation of such a Search Committee symbolised itself as disastrous for holding free and fair elections, national or local.



On the face it the exercise looks very fair and transparent. The BNP as the largest opposition party expressed reservations about the impartiality of the Search Committee. But still it will wait and see. Whether BNP has justification or not owing to the contentious nature of our politics the Search Committee was sure to come under criticism.



But at the same time we have to say that the members of the Search Committee should have known how futile their hard work will be for holding the election free and fair with the incumbent government in power fighting to win and to continue in power. The precedent of the past should have been enough to know the Election Commission has no chance of being free or strong against the government. The truth is, the government itself will be the Election Commission to decide the election results and not the voters or the Election Commission.



No matter how hard the Search Committee tries the Election Commission will also be disputed. BNP knows it is in a desperate dilemma yet it does not know how to handle the critical situation.



The crisis the nation is facing is the crisis of political leadership for solving political problems. Our political problem must deepen than the election, destroying democracy.



Decent and competent people are most reluctant to be associated to be helpful to resolve the political crisis for fear of ungrateful and unrestrained foul remarks that come inevitably from one political party or the other. To them winning the election is everything with or without any election. Decency or honesty is not a consideration in our party politics.



But what to do? The country belongs to all of us and we must have our votes counted. And we all want to live in peace and save ourselves from political violence.



What is not politically understood is that the political or constitutional arrangement for free election has been politically destroyed by politicians. A disputed parliament was used to change the Constitution unilaterally despite serious opposition from the constitutional experts and civil society.



All party parliamentary committee also opined in favour of retaining the election time non-party caretaker government.



Three judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court out of seven vehemently disagreed with majority judgement declaring the arrangement of unelected caretaker government as unconstitutional.



The largest opposition party BNP fought tooth and nail opposing replacement of the caretaker government system established on the basis of political consensus.



It was Awami League that first challenged position of the "elected government" to preside over the election when BNP was in power for holding election under it.



Awami League found no contradictions in introducing the amendment to the Constitution to remain in power while holding the election.



A strange new change was also added to make the illogical arrangement more illogical. The Parliament is not to be prorogued for declaring the seats of the Parliament vacant for fresh election.



There cannot be an elected government in power during the election when Parliament stands dissolved under the Parliamentary System everywhere. Even a schoolboy will understand it.



On a totally confused premise the Supreme Court held that the election will be proceeded under the elected government. Election time is not the time for deciding the basic structure of the government. It is the time for ensuring free and fair election in the best possible way.



The problem created for holding free and fair elections by the politicians cannot be solved without cooperation among the politicians. But politicians are not bothered. The opposition criticises Search Committee and later it will be found criticising the formation of Election Commission too.



Yet, our politicians cannot think politically for solving the political problem of holding the next national election free and fair.



It is because our politics is not a battle of ideas but battle for power and enjoyment of state benefits that go with it.



It is most unrealistic to have high expectation from the Search Committee that it will have a magic formula to form the Election Commission powerful and independent as against the powerful and strong government competing to win the election.


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"The house was totally booked with 180 guests; we had no other choice. Neither police nor insurance helps you in this case.

The restoration of our system after the first attack in summer has cost us several thousand Euros. We did not get any money from the insurance so far because none of those to blame could be found.

Every euro that is paid to blackmailers hurts us. We know that other colleagues have been attacked, who have done similarly."

What's the worst that could happen when a Ransomware hits a Hotel?Recently, hundreds of guests of a luxurious hotel in Austria were locked in or out of their rooms when ransomware hit the hotel's IT system, and the hotel had no choice left except paying the attackers.Today, we are living in a digital age that is creating a digital headache for people and organizations around the world with cyber attacks and data breaches on the rise. Ransomware is one of them.The threat has been around for a few years, but during 2016, it has turned into a noxious game of Hackers to get paid effortlessly by targeting hospitals, Universities, private businesses and even police departments and making hundreds of millions of dollars.Now, thehas admitted it paid 1,500 (1,275/$1,600) in Bitcoin ransom to cybercriminals who managed to break into their network and hack their electronic key card system that prevented its guests from entering or leaving their rooms.The luxury hotel with a beautiful lakeside setting on the Alpine Turracher Hoehe Pass in Austria, like several other hotels in the industry, has a modern IT system that includes key cards for its hotel doors, which could not be programmed.According to the hotel management, the hotel has been hit multiple times by hackers, but this time they managed to take down the entire key system, preventing its guests to getting in or going out of their rooms, reported The Local.Besides gaining control of the electronic key system, the hackers even gained control over the general computer system, shutting down all hotel computers, including the reservation system and the cash desk system.Once the hotel made the payment, the system was completely restored that allowed the hotel staff to gain access to the network and hotel guests to enter and exit their rooms.What's interesting? Even after the hotel fulfilled the hackers demand, the hackers left a backdoor to the hotel system in an attempt to conduct another cyber attack later.Fortunately, the security standards of the hotel had been improved by its IT department, and critical networks had been separated to thwart the attack, giving attackers no chance to harm the hotel again.Furious hotel managers decided to go public with the incident to warn others about the dangers of cyber attack, with Managing Director Christoph Brandstaetter said:The Ransomware had stolen the nights of many businesses and organizations, as they would often be blamed to fight up to this nasty threat.Ransomware criminals often demand the ransom in Bitcoin (BTC) for the surety of not getting caught, as Bitcoin transactions are non-trackable due to its decentralized nature.The frequent payment to Ransomware encourages criminals to stash the cash and develop a more enticing framework for the next target. So, instead of paying or encouraging this scheme, keep your software and systems updated and avoid clicking suspicious links.
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Photos: Chicagoans Protest Trump's Immigration Ban & Detentions At O'Hare

By aaroncynic in News on Jan 28, 2017 10:35PM



Update, 10:25 p.m.:

All detainees that were held at O'Hare have been released, lawyers told a throng of celebrating protesters at the airport. Each of the detainees were green card or visa holders or on advanced parole for green cards, according to reports.

Lawyers now saying everyone that was detained at O'Hare has been released @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/Lx6V1ZQNPI  Maggie Huynh (@maggiehuynh) January 29, 2017

Cheers go up at O'Hare as attorneys announce all the detainees have been released, pic.twitter.com/3Z2ONADRcr  Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) January 29, 2017

Update 9:49 p.m.:

Protesters continue to fill Terminal 5 as at least 12 people are reportedly still detained.





Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for a list from the federal government of names anyone being detained at O'Hare or Midway and urged the release of anyone "unjustly affected."

Mayor's statement this evening calls on the federal government to identify those unjustly detained & provide immediate access to counsel. pic.twitter.com/stD5TJs8rI  ChicagosMayor (@ChicagosMayor) January 29, 2017

Update:

A federal judge ordered an emergency stay that allows those who have landed with visas to stay.

#NoBanNoWall protesters at Chicago's O'Hare airport announce the temporary stay & that they plan to keep fighting Trump's #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/GObB084UA2  agitator in chief (@soit_goes) January 29, 2017

Original:

Confusion and outrage continue to build across the nation in the wake of President Donald Trumps executive order that blocks refugees from entering the United States and bans all people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Trump and his loyalists have said the order, which bans travel to the U.S. from those countries for at least 90 days and suspends the refugee program for 120, will help to fight terrorism. Critics and other more rational people, however, have said that the order not only undermines US security at home and abroad, but widely discriminates against Muslims and others from the Middle East. The order was also signed while many refugee families and others targeted by the ban were already in transit to the United States, causing people to become stranded or detained at airports around the country.

A man, woman and their young child who were traveling from Iran were detained at O'Hare on Saturday, before eventually being released. The man, Hessam Noorian, a green card holder and Park Ridge resident, was detained for five hours. As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, there were between 12 and 14 people being detained, all of whom reportedly had legal status in the country. More than a dozen lawyers were on hand at the airport after a request was issued by immigrants-rights lawyers organizations. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky was also working to secure the release of detainees. As many as 18 people were detained, including legal permanent residents and two babies, according to U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.

Duckworth said in a statement:



"I wish the President had realized that governing in a fair and just manner is harder than rallying crowds with catchphrases before human lives were affected, as they were by today's needless and dehumanizing detentions at O'Hare and airports around the country. Stopping legal permanent residents and babies simply because of where they're from is not the American way and it doesn't make us safer. This Muslim ban must end."

This man is waiting for detained family members at O'Hare. They have dual Citzenship. #NoBanNoWallChi pic.twitter.com/GJeHr6ByHz  Joe Brady (@JoeBrady3) January 28, 2017

Today we stand with our Syrian brothers and sisters, the Muslim community and all those refugees and immigrants who are being used as scapegoats by the current administration, said Lawrence Benito, chief executive officer of Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in a statement yesterday. We will push back against this and other executive orders and will not give into the rhetoric of a fear and nationalism. Our communities are strong, diverse and resilient. We are here to support each other and we are here to stay.

A heartbreaking scene played out yesterday at OHare Airport as when a group of co-sponsors tweeted out a group photo awaiting one of the last Syrian families to enter the country.

Local opponents of Trumps ban, which interestingly does not include several Muslim-majority countries where he has business dealings, are gathering at Terminal 5 at OHare for a protest and vigil to support those affected by it.

By protesting President Trumps blatantly discriminatory order hundreds of Chicagoans will show our city rejects his bigotry, said the Arab American Action Network in a joint press release with several other local immigrants rights organizations.

While the action did not officially begin until 6:00 p.m. people began gathering at the airport as early as 4 p.m.

More than a thousand people protested at the airport, demonstrating at Terminal 5 and marching inside the O'Hare terminal. CTA trains were flooded with people heading to the action early on Saturday evening.

#Live: More footage of the growing protest outside O'Hare airport ag. Trump's immigration bans, chanting refugees are welcome. #MuslimbanChi pic.twitter.com/BQJcrgtBI3  The Chicago Reporter (@ChicagoReporter) January 29, 2017

Thousands of protestors at OHare terminal 5 #muslimban protest. No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here. pic.twitter.com/rbY1hzvolg  Christopher Jobson (@christopherjobs) January 29, 2017

NOW: Rally moving outside of #Chicago O'Hare airport. Several dozen protesting immigration ban. Lawyers: 10 detainees so far @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/ocoZCfKxDL  Chris Hush (@ChrisHushNBC) January 28, 2017

Traffic was snarled at Terminal 5 as protesters marched through lanes, blocked vehicles from passing and chanted "Our streets!"

#NoBanNoWallChi protesters have sat in the road to keep blocking the traffic at Terminal 5 at #ohareairport pic.twitter.com/rbO57FYWDv  Roxi (@roxi_sanji) January 29, 2017

The arrivals gate at O'Hare's intl terminal is packed pic.twitter.com/7aBUMXEVHR  Sam Charles (@samjcharles) January 29, 2017

First protesters have arrived. Come add your voice. Ohare intl terminal 5. #nobannowallchi pic.twitter.com/urCJyEF8ya  RC Immigration (@RCImmigration) January 28, 2017

Our supporters are growing. Chicago will not stand for this. Come to ORD Terminal 5 #NoBanNoWallCHI #NoMuslimBan pic.twitter.com/crqBMqgiZW  Leah Casto (@leahkcasto) January 28, 2017

Protesters now gathering at O'Hare pic.twitter.com/IVZ0fiMVJv  Paris Schutz (@paschutz) January 28, 2017

This post will be updated as the story develops.
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.
The sciences have been a male-dominated field and there are many different reasons that are offered to explain why.

There are many women, including those featured here, who have found success in scientific fields despite the challenges. The women in these photographs are a small representation (or sample size, in scientific jargon) of women working in science in Southern Illinois, but they are positive examples of the opportunities that the sciences present.

Each of the featured scientists came to science in a different way and for a different reason. Some were influenced early on by teachers or guidance counselors, such as Dawn Grisley, who credits her high school science teacher, Pete Moake, who taught at Johnston City High School. She says Moake let me dissect anything. Grisley also had a mentor in her colleague Maureen Doran who recruited her to work in histology  the study of animal and plant tissues  at Saffron Scientific Histology Services.

Others came to science through their aptitude, dispelling the myth that women do not have an aptitude for math and science. Some entered science because they had a curious mind and a love and passion for their study. Although obstacles remain, opportunities for women in the sciences are increasing.

Grisley and Doran, in talking about these opportunities, say in their field of histology there is a demand and they encourage students who come to their lab to pursue a career in their field.

The scientists represented here all have in common that they find their work to be fulfilling, rewarding and they all seem to enjoy their work. Grisley and Doran at Saffron are no exceptions. In talking about their work jokingly borrowed a line from the film A League of Their Own, saying, there is no crying in science.
HERRIN  There is no version of parenting that is easy. But parents whose children who are differently-abled are faced with countless challenges for which there is little training.

Suddenly, they must become experts at navigating health insurance, specialty care, adaptive equipment, federal and state benefits for people with disabilities and their childs rights in school  just to name a few subject areas that can become a full-time job for parents who take them on.

Among the countless challenges that Savannah and Ben Watts never expected to face until their baby girl was born with spina bifida is making sure they dont make, save or inherit too much money to disqualify the family for daughter Liliths subsidized care. Because while they would like to improve their household income over time, neither are in a position to make enough to privately pay for the medical care and equipment she needs to survive and develop to her fullest potential.

Thats the difficult dance they, and countless other middle to lower-income families caring for a child with a disability, are forced into.

A new program that Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is scheduled to unveil on Monday at a news conference in Chicago is aimed at reducing at least some of that burden. The new Illinois ABLE accounts will allow people living with blindness and disability a way to save money without affecting their means-tested federal benefits.

The accounts are made possible by the federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 establishing section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code, and a state law that followed in 2015 that gave Frerichs the greenlight to establish the program in Illinois.

Illinois ABLE will allow annual contributions of up to $14,000 into an account opened in the name of a person with a disability, for a maximum cap of up to $100,000, without affecting federal benefits.

Illinois is offering the program in a partnership with 12 other states. The consortium is intended to make the program more attractive to investors by reaching across state lines to create a larger pool of account holders. According to the treasurers office, the pact will be the largest in the country for this type of special investment tool that allows for tax-free growth on investments when used for qualifying purchases, similar to 529 college savings plans.

Families say their biggest fear is that their children outlive them, because who is going to take care of their child when theyre gone, Frerichs said of parents who are raising differently-abled children. He spoke to The Southern Illinoisan this past week, in advance of the news conference in Chicago, saying his goal is to get the word out statewide about the program.

Theyre worried about leaving their child in poverty, he continued. This alleviates some of their concerns.

Savannah Watts said it is a great relief. As a member of the Southern Illinois Spina Bifida Association, as well as the larger Illinois chapter, she was among those pushing for the option.

She said its important to give credit where its due. Despite the bitter partisan battles and budget impasse in Springfield, lawmakers unanimously passed and Gov. Bruce Rauner, on July 27, 2015, signed the measure into law.

In a time where our country and state and the people and politicians are so divided, it was wonderful to see this piece of legislation, which is desperately needed, pass unanimously, she said.

The Watts daughter, Lilith, was born with myelomeningocele, a birth defect in which a child is born with an open spine, which resulted in her having no feeling in her feet and only some in her legs. She receives federal Supplemental Security Income funds to support her care, which, despite the barriers shes broken in her first three years, will be a lifelong necessity and expense. But if the family earns above a certain income or accumulates more than $2,000 in assets, her benefits are affected.

Liliths health care plan is through the states All Kids program that provides comprehensive health care coverage to children in Illinois regardless of immigration status or health condition. Costs for coverage are based on a sliding scale in relation to household income. Savannah and Bens health care coverage for themselves is through Illinois Harmony Health Plan which provides a low cost option for certain low-income adults who would not traditionally qualify for Medicaid but are able to access a WellCare plan through the Affordable Care Acts expansion options.

In addition to monitoring their household income, the two also cannot have a savings account, and even having cars registered in their names can be problematic. They cannot buy a life insurance policy to protect their daughter, as most policies are considered assets.

Savannah Watts said that, though their income qualifies them for food stamps, they were unable to access the state benefit because they were told Lilith's Supplemental Security Income counted as disposable income for the family, and they did not have enough expenses to qualify. And in June, when her grandmother became ill prior to her passing away, Watts said she had to ask her grandmother to write her out of her will because what she had planned to leave them would have instantly disqualified Lilith for federal benefits, she said.

Ben works as a cook at OCharleys in Marion. Savannah, who has an undergraduate degree in graphic design, stays home with Lilith. Savannah said child care for Lilith, because of her special needs, was out of financial reach for the couple when she was young.

As Lilith moves into pre-school and readies to advance to kindergarten in a few short years, Savannah said she would like to reenter the workforce at some point, at least part time.

But there is no job either could take on at this point that would provide them enough money to otherwise qualify for the coverage Lilith has to have, as her medical bills are astronomical, and it is yet uncertain what medical care she may need in the future. And if she starts bringing home an income, their entire carefully crafted financial plan may crumble, putting them in an extremely vulnerable position, a risk they cannot afford.

Below is an abbreviated Q&A from the Illinois Treasurers Office on the new Illinois Able program. Find more online at http://www.illinoistreasurer.gov/Individuals/ABLE.

What is Illinois ABLE?

It is a 13-state consortium to encourage individuals or their caregivers to invest money on behalf of people with a disability or blindness.

The pact will be the largest in the country for this special investment tool that allows for tax free growth when used for qualifying purchases, similar to 529 college savings plan. Illinois leads this Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) consortium, which will feature direct-sold investment options.

What States are in the consortium?

Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Why is this needed?

Caring for children with a disability or blindness is expensive. Currently, many federally means tested programs are lessened if an individual has assets of more than $2,000. One Illinois family chose not to receive food assistance through a state program because the value counted against federal assistance for their child with spina bifida. An ABLE account is a way to invest without jeopardizing means-tested financial assistance.

Why was launching ABLE accounts such a big lift?

ABLE is similar to the 529 college savings program. The potential pool of users for college savings is large enough to keep investment and administration costs reasonable. In the children with a disability or blindness arena, the exact opposite is true. At the state-level, there are not enough potential investors to keep costs reasonable. That is why Illinois built the multi-state pact. By broadening the potential investor pool, the multi-state pact can keep costs reasonable. The pact also welcomes other states.

What is the fee structure?

The fee structure is among the lowest in the nation. Costs will vary by participant depending upon the investment strategy. The typical fee will be 34 basis points, which is 34 cents for every $100 invested.

Who can invest?

Illinois ABLE investment program is open to residents of other states. In Illinois, 36,000 accounts are expected to be opened by in-state residents in the first five years. Across the consortium, 500,000 accounts are expected. The minimum amount to open an account is $25. The multi-state pact has a combined population of 74.6 million people.

Who Would Qualify and Other Rules

To qualify for an ABLE account, the beneficiary must have developed the disability or blindness before the age of 26. With the age established, a person who qualifies for Social Security benefits or Social Security Disability benefits typically will qualify for an ABLE account.

Annual contribution limits are tied to the federal gift tax amount, which today is $14,000. The ABLE investment can grow up to $100,000 and still not be counted toward eligibility for Social Security Income or other means-tested programs at the federal level. When an ABLE account balance exceeds the $100,000 cap, Social Security Income benefits are suspended. The benefits automatically resume if the account value falls below $100,000. ABLE balances have no implications on Medicaid eligibility.

Investment growth is tax-free at the federal level when used for qualifying purchases, such as medical services, transportation and job training. In Illinois, investment growth is not tax-free for state income tax purposes.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the reason why the Watts were unable to access food assistance from the state of Illinois.
HERRIN  Lilith Watts has overcome more challenges in the first three years of her life than many people do in a lifetime.

At 24 weeks into Savannah Watts pregnancy, her daughter Lilith was diagnosed with myelomeningocele spina bifida, a birth defect in which an unborn babys backbone, spinal cord and canal do not close normally prior to the birth.

Because it was considered a high-risk birth, Watts was to give birth at St. Marys Hospital in St. Louis, so that after the delivery, Lilith could be taken immediately to Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital for spinal surgery.

But Lilith, who was born on Dec. 15, 2013, came two days ahead of moms scheduled cesarean section. The Watts, Savannah and husband Ben, were still in Southern Illinois  two hours away from St. Marys  when she went into labor.

At Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Watts was given medication to slow down the delivery process. She was told to prepare for a helicopter ride. But the weather had turned unfavorable, and so then she was told shed be going via ambulance instead.

But she could not go via Jackson County Ambulance Service because her insurance would not cover the expensive ride unless the ambulance came from St. Marys, so the wait stretched on. After she finally arrived in St. Louis, Watts said she was told it would be just a matter of minutes before she would be wheeled into the operating room for the C-section.

But in a day of obstacles, there would be another. The operating rooms and doctors were tied up when she arrived by a wave of emergency C-sections that hit the hospital at once. So she waited. And waited. It was at least another hour before a room was cleared for her  and it opened up just in time. Lilith was moving toward the birth canal, which was problematic on a number of fronts. The umbilical cord threatened to wrap around her neck, and Lilith was breech, with her bottom facing down and her legs folded up around her head. She would end up stuck. The protective sac around her open spine was in jeopardy of rupturing.

But little Lilith is a fighter, and so is mom. Watts said she recalled at one point during the operation seeing stars, and the anesthesiologist rubbing her face to keep her calm, explaining that her heart rate was dropping and so was the babys. Watts recalled feeling confused and scared for her baby. Then, over the sound of beeping machines, she heard a beautiful sound  a cry. That was, like, the greatest thing. Im thinking, Shes here, shes alive and shes got powerful lungs.

And it wasnt long after that her husband was holding the baby. It may have been the medication wearing off and the trauma of the ordeal that left her in a daze, but Watts said she could swear it looked as if the two had halos around their heads as they stood under the operating room lights.

Five minutes later, Lilith, wrapped in protective plastic to protect her open spine, was rushed to Cardinal Glennon, where she underwent a four hour surgery to close it.

To say the least, it was a big day for a tiny girl who had just moments earlier taken her first breath in the world.

They expected her to be completely paralyzed from the waist down and she wasnt and that was a miracle, Watts said.

The fact that she faced so many challenges in her first few days may have something to do with the brave and curious little 3-year-old preschooler shes grown into, Watts said. Watts said she watches her push past expectations with both amazement and pride. She is truly growing into a lionhearted warrior child who knows no bounds.

Which is incredible, considering that earlier in her pregnancy, doctors told Savannah and Ben to prepare for the possibility of a stillborn child. As she progressed, the prognosis improved but was still grim, and there was no way for doctors to fully predict the complications they might run into after Liliths birth.

Now, they are going to have to rethink her entire orthopedic plan because shes showing a lot more movement than they expected.

One recent evening at the Watts home, Lilith asked if she could show off her push-ups. She did at least 10, and a little later, 10 more.

Lilith moves about the house with ease, in her wheelchair, or scooting on her bottom, using the strength of her arms to move about as fast as any child her age could walk or crawl.

Shes unable to walk at this stage because she has no feeling in her feet, and only some in her legs. But there is hope, said parents Ben and Savannah, that with adaptive gear and physical therapy, she may be able to walk in the future. But Ben and Savannah say they take her progress one day at a time, because theres also the possibility that she will suffer setbacks in development over time. In the meantime, she doesnt let the fact that she is differently-abled slow her down.

Lilith Watts loves Doc McStuffins, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Pikachu and Star Wars. She can count to 10 in three languages  English, Spanish and French. And shes figured out how to bypass the parental controls on her parents Samsung tablet. At times, mom said shes discovered Lilith watching YouTube videos of medical procedures. Watts said she wonders if her daughter is drawn to the videos because she has spent so much time in the hospital.

With her Doc McStuffins toy accessories, she loves to check visitors hearts with her stethoscope and then give them a pretend shot so that they feel all better.

She recently told mom that when she grows up, she wants to be a doctor, but theres a twist. She also wants to become Batman. And she plans to have her medical practice in space, as she also aspires to be an astronaut.

Which makes perfect sense for this little Herrin girl for whom the sky is the limit.
Starting today, The Southern and its sister papers throughout Illinois embark on the State of the Standoff, a three-part series that looks at those most affected by the failure of state leaders and lawmakers to make tough budget decisions.

SPRINGFIELD  First-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and long-serving Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan agree that Illinois long-term budget deficits are a major threat to the vitality of the state.

Where they diverge is how to address those deficits, and that fundamental disagreement has been at the root of an impasse that has plagued the state for the past two years.

Rauner came into office vowing to shake up Springfield, which he argued was controlled by special interests and entrenched politicians, namely Madigan, whos been speaker for all but two of the past 34 years and also leads the state Democratic Party.

The new governors prescription was the turnaround agenda, a set of policies, such as changes to workers compensation laws and collective bargaining rights, that he said would jump-start Illinois economy and bring more money into the states coffers.

While he acknowledged that tax increases of some kind would be needed to balance the budget, he said hed only sign on if the Democratic-controlled legislature agreed to some of his proposals.

Madigan, meanwhile, argued that much of what the governor wanted ran afoul of the Democratic Partys core values. He accused Rauner of holding the budget-making process hostage to advance his personal agenda.

The speakers prescription has been a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to bring the budget into line. Madigan has said Democrats dont have the votes to pass a tax increase on their own.

More recently, hes proposed a 50 percent reduction in the corporate income taxes, coupled with provisions to make sure every company pays something, and increased investments in higher education and infrastructure to spur economic growth. But Madigan isnt tying that to budget negotiations.

In separate interviews with the The Southern's Springfield bureau, Rauner and Madigan showed that their positions havent significantly changed since the last comprehensive state budget expired after June 30, 2015.

The reality is our system in Illinois has been broken for a long time and has needed significant changes, Rauner said. The reason I ran for governor was to change it. We need more jobs. We need better funding for schools. We need to have balanced budgets.

Among the changes Rauner has pushed are term limits for elected officials and an independent commission to redraw legislative districts once a decade. He said those actions would send a message to businesses and taxpayers that Illinois is changing.

Madigan and many Democrats counter that those ideas have nothing to do with the budget and should be addressed separately.

The speaker notes that, despite their political differences, he was able to reach compromises with Govs. Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar and George Ryan, the previous card-carrying Republicans who held the office during his tenure.

All three of them were very successful in working with a Democratic legislature, identifying governmental problems, acknowledging political differences, and then working through all of that and coming to agreements that would be in the best interest of the people of the state of Illinois, Madigan said, adding that Rauner could learn from his GOP predecessors.

Both leaders said theyve attempted to compromise, often to no avail.

One situation that typifies these attempts was a proposal early in Rauners tenure to privatize some operations of the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Madigan said House Democrats supported the effort but wanted to put in a three-year sunset provision to re-examine the setup because similar arrangements in other states, including Wisconsin, have run into problems and scandals.

Rauner said the Democrats proposal might have made for a good headline but wouldnt have been effective because the new organization wouldnt be able to attract talented people if they thought it might go away in a few years.

Instead, Rauner helped launch an independent, not-for-profit corporation last year to work with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to attract businesses to the state.

Looking back at the past two years, neither Rauner nor Madigan could offer an example of something he could have done differently that might have brought the standoff to a swifter end.

But looking forward, they both said they have some degree of optimism that a resolution may be in sight.

Rauner said hes heartened by the Senates discussion of a grand bargain on the budget and other issues, including some changes to workers compensation laws and term limits for legislative leaders.

Hes also encouraged that House Democratic leaders are talking about the need for economic growth and that the House passed a bill at the end of the previous legislative session that wouldve required voter approval for future property tax increases.

While hes made specific items on his agenda prerequisites to a budget deal in the past, Rauner said hes not insisting now that any specific item be included.

The critical thing is that whatever compromise we work out, it needs to be real and needs to really make a difference, Rauner said.

Madigan, meanwhile, said his optimism is a little tempered with reality and hope based on his four decades in Springfield.
To the Editor:

There was an article in the Jan. 18 issue of The Southern Illinoisan newspaper titled Soda and Cents. It described a new bill that proposes a tax on sugar sweetened beverages, syrups or powders sold or offered for sale to a consumer. It would be a penny per ounce. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, who is a Democrat from Chicago Heights. It requires that the distributors of sugary drinks to obtain permits, which of course would not be free.

We are already taxed quite vigorously and vehemently here in Illinois, thank you very much. This idea is crazy. The tax would be imposed on everybody, not just those who enjoy some sugar now and then. Restaurants would hike the prices on everything they sell. Distributors would be troubled with more paperwork, the state would add more bureaucrats to keep track of it all, and worse yet, the aforementioned lunacy would probably be just the first step on a steep, slick and slippery slope, as slick as a disgusting substance spread on a door knob. You may think this is funny but it's not. Like when youre dancing with your honey and her nose is kind of runny. Why is it not funny?

It is not funny because if they can get away with taxing sugary drinks, they could get away with taxing, say, candy, cakes, sugar for your coffee and sugar for you tea. They would gladly tax delicious donuts dipped in rich yummy chocolate and topped with colorful sugar sprinkles. Some barbeque sauces have a lot of sugar in them too. Ice cream, shakes and sundaes, and lets not forget cookies for crying out loud. Go for it! Be sure to include brownies, Ho-Hos, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and even Forest Gumps moms box of chocolates.

Go right to the source and tax the sinister substance itself, sugar. White and brown, raw and refined, granulated and powdered should all be included. Grab on to glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose and galactose. If Senator Hutchinson figures that the state can rake in 560 million dollars just on taxing sugary beverages then she should consider the billions it could rob by taking on and taxing all sugar sold in Illinois. Wouldnt that be sweet!

Mark Santopietro

Mulkeytown

Editor's note: According to reporting from The Southern's Springfield bureau, the proposed bill to tax sugar-sweetened drinks has been put on hold.
Updated: Chicagoans To Protest 'Muslim Ban' At O'Hare On Sunday As Lawyers Mobilize

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 29, 2017 7:40PM



Photo: Tyler LaRiviere

Update 7:00 p.m.:

Several hundred people, if not more than a thousand, gathered at O'Hare. Protesters moved outside as speakers, including Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Robin Kelly and Rev. Jesse Jackson, addressed another large crowd.

"We are all important... Im so embarrassed we have to be out here for this reason," Kelly told the crowd shortly before 7 p.m.. "Im so sorry this is happening, and I just want you to know that I stand with you."

"Today we are all refugees," Schakowsky said.

Hatem Abudayyeh, Executive Director of the Arab American Action Network, called on Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was in attendance, to "close loopholes" in Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance. (An audible boo echoed across the crowd as Abudayyeh invoked Emanuel's name.)

A huge chant of "No wall, no registry, no white supremacy" tore through the crowd, which continued to fill up.

Over a thousand at Chicago's O'Hare Airport chanting "no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here" | #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/LYLAfLo4XQ  agitator in chief (@soit_goes) January 30, 2017

No papers! No fear! Refugees are welcome here! pic.twitter.com/k6Fn4DbT3F  IL Immigrant Rights (@icirr) January 30, 2017

The number of people held for additional questioning on Sunday has reached as high 50, lawyers told the Tribune. A Jordanian man waited six hours after his brother's arrival only to be told his brother was being sent back, according to Sun-Times reporter Nader Issa. Travelers from Mexico were also impacted, according to the Trib. Neither Jordan nor Mexico are on the list of banned countries.

Update 5:45 p.m.:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia arrived at O'Hare shortly before 6 p.m. to thank lawyers and their supporters.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel just showed up, briefly shook hands w lawyers, headed upstairs #nobannowallchi #NoBanNoWall Chicago  Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) January 29, 2017

At least one hundred demonstrators had arrived ahead of the 6 p.m. protest start time.

Group of at least 100 demonstrators here at OHare now, ahead of the 6pm protest #NoBanNoWall #NoBanNoWallChi pic.twitter.com/BpMsY5nXou  Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) January 29, 2017

Some travelers were detained for over three hours on Sunday, including an American-passport holder from Lebanon, according to the Sun-Times. A Jordanian man whose flight had arrived at 12:30 p.m. had still not passed through more than five hours later, as of 6 p.m.

Original:

Protesters will demonstrate at O'Hare International Airport for the second consecutive night against Donald Trump's so-called Muslim Ban executive order. As of early Sunday afternoon, volunteer lawyers were already again filling Terminal Five, the site of Saturday's chaotic events, during which more than a dozen travelers were detained and at least one detainee was turned back.

Sunday's protest will take place at Departures in Terminal Five at 6 p.m. "We stand again in Chicago as people continue to stand all over the US #NoBanNoWall We say #NoMuslimBan #100DaysofResistance, " wrote the Arab American Action Network on the event page, which has several hundred respondents as of Sunday afternoon.

More than 100 lawyers set up shop at O'Hare on Saturday to help facilitate the passage of detainees; and after another call International Refugee Assistance Project, attorneys again are piling into the airport to continue their efforts on day two.

Today at O'Hare: 20+ lawyers (all volunteering) wait in terminal 5. They're awaiting info on 2 travelers. No confirmation yet. @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/RNBLKtHZob  Chris Hush (@ChrisHushNBC) January 29, 2017

Protesters shut down traffic for a portion of Saturday night at Terminal Five as more than a thousand people showed up to demonstrate against the detention of travelers at O'Hare, all of whom either held green cards or visas.

Illinois lawmakers, inlcuding Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, blasted Trump's executive order and called for its end.

Trumps action, signed on Friday, suspends the United States refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely prohibits Syrian refugees and imposes a 90-day entry ban on people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The bans also target visa and green card holders, who will only be allowed entry on a case-by-case basis by the Department of Homeland Security, White House officials said on Saturday, after the wave of confusion had already set in.

A judge on Friday issued an emergency stay that allowed Saturday's arrivals and in-transit travelers to stay in the country, but the order was only partial and left the fates of travelers on Sunday in beyond in doubt.

A BBC reporter, Ali Hamedani, was reportedly detained at O'Hare for two hours on Sunday before his eventual release, causing him to miss a connecting flight.

BREAKING: BBC reporter Ali Hamedani, detained two hours at O'Hare, now released. Missed his American Airlines connection to LA. @Suntimes pic.twitter.com/UJeu49QRcZ  Nader Issa (@NaderDIssa) January 29, 2017

Cardinal Blase Cupich on Sunday afternoon fiercely denounced Trump's immigration ban, saying, "This weekend proved to be a dark moment in U.S. history."

"The world is watching as we abandon our commitments to American values," Cupich said in part in a statement. "These actions give aid and comfort to those who would destroy our way of life. They lower our estimation in the eyes of the many peoples who want to know America as a defender of human rights and religious liberty, not a nation that targets religious populations and then shuts its doors on them."

"It is time to put aside fear and join together to recover who we are and what we represent to a world badly in need of hope and solidarity," Cupich added.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan added her voice on Sunday to the chorus of denouncement, as well, joining other Attorneys General in a condemnation.

Today, I joined with 15 other State AG's to condemn the unconstitutional Executive Order on immigration.  Lisa Madigan (@LisaMadigan) January 29, 2017

This post has been updated.
Compromise.

It seems such an antiquated, genteel notion these days.

Like much of the English language, the definition of compromise seems to have altered inexplicably. When used in the context of negotiations, compromise used to mean Ill give a little if you give a little.

But thats just reminiscing about the good old days.

This somewhat whimsical dalliance concerning the definition of a simple word is not without purpose. We are thinking of the impasse between the State of Illinois and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Negotiations between the entities have broken down. The case was presented to the National Labor Relations Board, which ruled that an impasse does exist. AFSCME has already voted to take a strike vote.

As can be expected, a virtual state of war exists between the two parties. Both are stumping to claim the high moral ground. And, frankly, after looking at some of the most contentious issues, there appears to be room for negotiation.

Gov. Bruce Rauner and his staff are advancing the argument that AFSCME should accept the terms because 20 other unions have agreed to the same terms. Although an interesting fact, thats a non-starter.

The purpose of a union is to negotiate for its members. Agreements made between the state and other unions are completely irrelevant.

Some of the issues keeping the two sides apart deal with overtime pay, insurance benefits and a wage freeze.

The state wants overtime pay to begin after 40 hours. The current contract calls for overtime to be paid after 37.5 hours. For most people to work in the private sector, that seems quite reasonable, especially given Illinois dire economic situation.

At the very least, that issue seems to provide wiggle room for negotiation.

Conversely, the state wants AFSCME employees to pay a larger share of their health insurance. On the surface, that sounds eminently reasonable. Corporations that provide health insurance to their employees routinely pass along the increased cost of insurance.

But, as is frequently the case in these negotiations, the devil is in the details.

According to members of Gov. Rauners staff, employee contributions would double if they want to maintain their current coverage. That isnt insignificant.

The state counters that employees could select between a wide variety of plans. Well, thats fine. But, if a person goes to a restaurant and finds the menu overpriced, and finds nothing appealing on the menu, they wont buy something they cant afford or dont like.

Surely, when youre dealing with a 100 percent increase in premiums, there is room for negotiation.

Another sticking point is a temporary wage freeze. The wage freeze would last through the proposed contract, which would expire in 2019. The freeze would be absolute, no cost of living increases.

Given the state of Illinois finances, asking for a wage freeze at this time is understandable. On the other hand, wage freeze is a term no employee ever wants to hear.

There are a couple other ancillary issues that seem almost bizarre  the state is asking for additional latitude in alcohol testing. One would hope that drinking on the job isnt a major issue with state employees, but surely a reasonable policy, acceptable to both parties, can be negotiated.

And, the state is arguing that AFSCME employees are well-paid. Wage figures for public sector employees are readily available for anyone interested enough to look. We did look. And, most state employees appear to be well-compensated for their work.

On the other side of the coin, AFSCME members see their fellow workers being laid off and being replaced by private contractors. That prospect has to have a chilling effect.

Which brings us all the way back to the word compromise. Obviously, something has to give. In a true compromise, no one gets everything they want. Surely, adults can still sit down together and hammer out a deal that is fair to taxpayers and workers.
Illinois Lawmakers Blast 'Shameful' 'Muslim Ban' After O'Hare Chaos

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 29, 2017 3:46PM



Photo: Tyler LaRiviere

Illinois lawmakers and politicians blasted Donald Trumps executive order that bars entry of people from seven Muslim-majority nationseven those visa and green card holders. The executive action created mass confusion and sparked massive (hope-giving) protests at airports around the country on Saturday, including OHare.

Noting that at least 18 legal residents were detained on Saturday, including the father of a six-month-old who was returning from introducing his child to relatives in Iran, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said the Muslim ban must end.

Duckworth said in a statement:



"I wish the President had realized that governing in a fair and just manner is harder than rallying crowds with catchphrases before human lives were affected, as they were by today's needless and dehumanizing detentions at O'Hare and airports around the country. Stopping legal permanent residents and babies simply because of where they're from is not the American way and it doesn't make us safer. This Muslim ban must end."

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin called on Trump to end his cruel and slapped together immigration policy.

It's clear these executive orders were slapped together without a plan to implement themI call on @POTUS to end these cruel policies now  Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) January 29, 2017

Before all detainees had been released from OHare on Saturday night, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the actions tarnished Americas standing as a beacon of hope for the free world.

Mayor's statement this evening calls on the federal government to identify those unjustly detained & provide immediate access to counsel. pic.twitter.com/stD5TJs8rI  ChicagosMayor (@ChicagosMayor) January 29, 2017

Several Chicago aldermen attended the protests, including Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), who addressed the crowds at Terminal 5, and Brendan Reilly (42nd).

Date night with my beautiful wife at Terminal 5! No dinner for her though, hundreds of protesters between us & McD's pic.twitter.com/Y9G7YgycM2  Brendan Reilly (@AldReilly) January 29, 2017quote>

Rep. Jan Schaowsky worked behind the scenes, along with more than 100 attorneys, to facilitate the release of detainees in Chicago. I think its un-American. I just cant stand it, Schakowsky said, according to the Tribune. Its painful to me. You know (Trump) signed the executive order on Holocaust Remembrance Day and one of the things were supposed to remember is that the United States actually turned back people that went to their deaths."

Rep. Mike Quigley joined his Congressional colleagues in condemning Trumps executive action. He said in a statement:



President Trump's executive order creating a Muslim ban undermines the foundational ideals of the United States, a nation founded by immigrants. I call on the administration to immediately rescind this shameful order, which will have very real and dangerous consequences.

Trumps executive action suspends the United States refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely prohibits Syrian refugees and imposes a 90-day entry ban on people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The bans also target visa and green card holders, who will only be allowed entry on a case-by-case basis by the Department of Homeland Security, White House officials said on Saturday, after the wave of confusion had already set in.

Late Saturday a federal judge ordered an emergency stay that allowed those who had landed with visas to remain in the country.
Scenes From Last Night's Massive Protest At O'Hare That Give Us Hope

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jan 29, 2017 3:21PM

Last night, hundreds of Chicago-area protesters virtually shut down O'Hare Airport's Terminal 5 in a massive, last-minute protest of the so-called federal Muslim Ban that resulted in about 18 people detained at O'Hare, and more at other airports around the country.

An emergency stay on President Donald Trump's executive order to keep people from seven predominantly Muslim countries out of the U.S. (including those with visas and green cards) allowed lawyers to get the detainees at O'Hare freed last night, but it's still unclear how many travelers around the world were affected by the ban this weekend, and whether authorities will attempt to detain more people at O'Hare and elsewhere Sunday.

Attorneys are already lining up at the airport early Sunday morning to stand by to offer legal counsel to families affected by the ban:





SUNDAY MORNING at O'Hare, attorneys started gathering around 6:30 to help potential detainees of Trump's executive order. pic.twitter.com/xAymLmv55U  Courtney Gousman (@cgousman) January 29, 2017

Attorneys standing outside customs at O'Hare looking for people who may have loved ones who were detained due to the executive order. pic.twitter.com/mysO1Btn9A  Courtney Gousman (@cgousman) January 29, 2017

Some protesters reportedly left their signs behind at O'Hare last night to serve as a greeting and show of solidarity with travelers today:





Signs on bridge from terminal 5 to parking lot at O'Hare pic.twitter.com/xGXhPvxyqx  Paris Schutz (@paschutz) January 29, 2017



Signs now greeting arrivals from foreign destinations at O'Hare. pic.twitter.com/2FbhImHBc5  Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) January 29, 2017





Several local lawmakers slammed the ban in statements Saturday night, including Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin. No one was arrested in last night's protests, according to the Sun-Times, even as protesters blocked traffic into the airport terminal.
BAMBERG -- Franklin Bamberg Jr.'s bright smile and warm spirit show how far he's come from the pain and stress he endured following a near-fatal allergic reaction to medication he had been taking.

Blistery skin, bleeding gums, bloodshot eyes and an inflamed stomach were among the symptoms Bamberg endured during a bout with toxic epidermal necrolysis, or TEN, a rare skin condition which landed him in the intensive care unit at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia for nearly three months.

The former Bamberg County Sheriff's Office deputy's condition resulted from his reaction to a combination of the antibiotic amoxicillin and the anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam.

"I was taking both of those. They were given to me by two different doctors, and apparently that is what caused my allergic reaction. At first, my eyes just got bloodshot and then I developed a fever. My lips started peeling and, of course, I was going to the doctor. They just thought I had pink eye and the fever was a part of it, and that's how it started," he said.

In adults, TEN is usually caused by a reaction to taking a pharmaceutical drug, especially anticonvulsants, non-steroid anti-inflammatories, and/or some antibiotics. Nearly all people with TEN have oral, eye and genital involvement as well. Painful crusts and erosions may develop on any mucosal surface.

The 54-year-old Bamberg, whose hospital stay extended from Aug. 31 until Nov. 8, 2016, said, "My skin started peeling and my whole body turned out to be covered in blisters. I didn't get to see none of that because I was out of it for about eight to nine weeks. The last three weeks is when I got my awareness back."

He had to undergo surgery to remove his dead, peeling skin, and was wrapped in sterile gauze from his hands to his ankles, much like a mummy, with only an opening for his nose and mouth.

Bamberg was also placed on a ventilator, which caused additional medical issues for him.

"I had just started burning from the inside out. With the ventilator in my mouth, the tissues and skin and everything gets soft. The skin started forming around the ventilator that was in my mouth. So I recently had to have surgery to correct that problem," he said.

Bamberg considers himself "a miracle" after surviving a condition from which death usually occurs as a result of sepsis and subsequent multi-organ system failure.

"I always had faith in God. Even though my vision was blurred, my mom would still always tell me, 'Read the Bible.' She brought me a magnifying glass. My faith is a lot stronger now than it was. I glorify God for what he brought me through. Without God's grace, I wouldn't be here today," he said.

He also credits Dr. Jazman E. Beach, an emergency room doctor at the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, for diagnosing him and sending him for advanced treatment.

Bamberg is the son of Franklin and Virgie Bamberg. The father of five has two brothers and a sister. He and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of his two youngest children, ages 7 and 1.

Bamberg served 24 years as an officer with the BCSO and spent 10-1/2 years in the U.S. Army. He had to medically retire from his job as a law enforcement officer and has had to make other adjustments as well.

"I can't go out in the sun unless I cover up. I have to put on sunscreen so that changed a lot. I'm an outdoors person, and I had spent a lot of time out in the yard. I would pick up trash up and down the road. That was just a daily routine for me, but that pretty much changed," Bamberg said.

The pigmentation of Bamberg's skin has not yet fully returned, but he said it will after a year or two.

"Going out in public now with my appearance doesn't bother me, I just can't be out in the sunlight. I still haven't severed all my ties with law enforcement. There is some type of job that I may be able to do that's inside," said Bamberg, who was named the Bamberg County Sheriff's Office's Officer of the Year in 2012.

Michelle said she is glad to have her husband back home.

"It was a big change because he was more of the one that would take care of us when we're sick. And then the tables were turned, and he's in the hospital and not able to do much," she said. "There was a little struggle getting used to him not being here. It was a big change. I'm glad that God answered our prayers."

Michelle said the support of Bamberg's family and friends also meant a lot. His visitors included his pastor, Bamberg County Sheriff Ed Darnwell and Bamberg County Chief Deputy Ben Hay.

"I had one friend that was over in the Gaza Strip, and he flew over when he found out that I was in the hospital," Bamberg said. "That just really lifted me up to know that he would come all the way from over there to visit me.

"I have positive friends. One of them told me, 'Well, Franklin, you wasn't a pretty fella anyhow.' So we can laugh and joke. It just made it better," Bamberg said, noting that his younger brother became somewhat of a personal bodyguard for him at the hospital.

His sister, Joanne Bamberg Jackson, said having her brother back home is a blessing.

"Telephoning him and hearing his voice is such a wonderful feeling. Franklin is not just my brother; he is my friend. When speaking to him on the telephone, the image of him lying unrecognizable in the hospital bed remains very vivid to me," Jackson said. "But its OK because that memory reminds me that Gods grace and mercy is real!"

Michelle, who Bamberg said has lovingly encouraged him along the way, said he is recovering nicely and without any major complications.

She said, "I think the biggest thing is to make sure that someone else doesn't have to go through the same thing we did. We just want to make sure that everyone is aware. You may have some elderly that listen to one doctor and go back home, but it may not be something positive in their case. They may need to get a second opinion. Keep pressing the issue."

Bamberg has made some changes, including wearing a medical ID bracelet that includes the medications to which he is allergic.

"I'm just trying to take as less medication as possible now. I'm taking about five now. All my medication is coming through the VA now. I'm going to have just one person dispense my medicine," he said.

He also urged people to not delay medical care if they notice themselves having adverse reactions to any medication.

Bamberg added, "Don't take that for granted. You need to do something soon instead of just waiting. I would wait, but I know better now. Do seek medical care."
The historians, politicians and religious leaders gathered for a forum on race and church Saturday called for both vigilance and optimism in the midst of change.

Claflin University President Dr. Henry N. Tisdale welcomed the group with the thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying The real fight is going to be the fight for real equality and genuine economic justice.

Thats the fight that were in today.

The forum, sponsored by Trinity United Methodist Church, explored Race Relations and the Role of the Church: Then and Now. It was held on the Claflin campus.

Photojournalist and civil rights historian Cecil Williams kicked off the forum with a presentation showcasing his personal account of things he experienced in the Civil Rights Movement through pictures he took through the years.

Here we stand in the midst of greatness, Williams said to the crowd. We have in this room real American heroes, many of them unsung.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson, an Orangeburg native, expressed concerns about racial tensions following the election of Donald Trump.

I have to say that I saw a kind of raw, old-school racism in some of the negative comments and remarks, the likes of which I had not seen since the old days, the days of segregation, Robinson said.

It intensified, at least in my limited experience, fivefold and tenfold as the Trump campaign gathered steam, he said.

Congressman Jim Clyburn said he has hopes for the future because change and progress in United States have never moved in a linear fashion.

This country has always moved like a pendulum on a clock, he said.

Clyburn said the country went far left with the election of former President Barack Obama and with the most recent election, went back the other way, to the extreme right.

Now what stops the pendulum? he asked. The intervention of voters will determine how far right or how far left that pendulum will go.

Clyburn said that the emotions and energy of concerned citizens is high and if directed properly, he believes change can occur.

What we saw last Saturday was a lot of energy, Clyburn said, noting the womens marches in Washington, D.C. and around the world.

Ive got to be optimistic, he added.

Historian Dr. Millicent Brown said she is not as optimistic that a positive change will come automatically.

I think that there may be tipping points beyond which nations cannot return, Brown said.

I think we should be very, very vigilant, she added. Participate as much as we can at every level  locally, state, nationally  because it is not inevitable that things will get better.

Brown said that with the national issues of racism and sexism that were uncovered during the election, everyone should be willing to ask questions that were not being asked before and understand that what true change is.

Brown went on to say that churches and charismatic leadership from pastors will be a large factor in community support.

Dr. James Salley agreed, saying, Thats where the organizing, all of the things that needed to happen that have us where we are today, happened.

Salley noted that it was at an NAACP meeting at Trinity UMC where Willie B. Owens, now an Orangeburg County Councilman, and Liz Zimmerman Keitt, now Orangeburgs mayor pro tem, decided to sue the city for single-member districts.

Salley is associate vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement for Africa University.

Former Voorhees College President Dr. Cleveland Sellers encouraged the audience to share history with younger people.

We havent told them that its not going to be easy. We havent told them that when they fight and get knocked down they have to get back up as quickly as they can, he said.

We have to create some hope, Sellers said noting that the best place to find hope and faith is in the church.

The thing for us to do now is to keep telling the story, Keitt said. We will understand why we are working as hard as we are.

Orangeburg City Councilwoman Sandra Knotts said inequalities and injustices should be identified.

We definitely have some work to do, she said. All ethnicities, all cultures have to come together.

Robinson said the times we live in are confusing but hope remains alive.

Theres great peril but theres also a great possibility, Robinson said. I think we have to focus on the possibility.

Other participants were retired Bishop Marcus Matthews, retired history professor Dr. William Hine and Joan Mooney, CEO of Faith and Politics Institute of Washington D.C.
U.S. Army Reserve Col. Bill Connor is a featured expert commentator for the military documentary program, Ancient Assassins." The show is currently airing on the American Heroes Channel, which is owned by Discovery Communications.

In the new international television series, Connor discusses the campaigns of fourth-century military commander Alexander the Great, specifically Alexanders operations in Afghanistan. Connor compares them with 21st century operations in that same country.

Connor also provided expert commentary regarding operations during the first Persian Gulf War, comparing that war with the wars and feudal campaigns of the ancient Samurai among others.

"I enjoyed working with the American Heroes Channel as it was a great opportunity to share with a global audience my own understanding of military history with all of its little-known anecdotes and nuances, which are key to a fuller grasp of the art of war for modern military leaders, Connor said.

An Orangeburg-based attorney and decorated U.S. Army Reserve infantry officer and Ranger (Airborne), Connor is a former senior U.S. military advisor in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He is an expert in counterinsurgency combat and a founding partner of National Defense Consultants, LLC.

He presently serves as the South Carolina Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer for S.C. under FEMA Region 4, Army North. He is pursuing a masters degree in strategic studies at the U.S. Army War College.

The interviews were conducted last year around the world and, for Connor, held just outside of Ft. Bragg, N.C.

For more information and to view the programs, visit www.ahctvgo.com/ancient-assassins.
A man shot his neighbors before he apparently killed himself near Elloree on Saturday, according to Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell.

The Sorin Circle gunman spoke to his neighbors on Friday, Ravenell said. On Saturday, for an unknown reason, the man opened fire on the couple.

The victims, a husband and wife, were flown to area hospitals.

The Orangeburg County Coroners Office has not yet released the gunmans name.

Neighbor Edythe Williams said she heard two or three gunshots and thought they were from deer hunters near her home.

At about the same time, she saw smoke coming from her neighbors truck parked in the front driveway of his home.

She decided to walk across the street to her neighbors home to let him know he may need to check on his truck.

When I did, two police cars drove up. I almost knocked on the door and they said, Get out of here, she said.

And I said, What? and they said, Weve got a suspect, she said.

Williams ran across the street and I seen both of them had been shot, she said.

One was laying on the ground and the husband was laying in the doorway of the front door, but both of them had been shot, but they was alive, Williams said.

Williams said the gunman and her next door neighbors never feuded and she doesnt know why he would have shot them.

The sheriffs office said the gunman retreated into his home after the shooting.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday, sheriffs office SWAT team members entered the gunmans residence with the goal of subduing a possible active shooter. When they entered, they discovered he was dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Williams said she didnt know the man who died.

He had just moved here maybe three or four months ago, she said. She rarely saw him.

He looked like a man that come and go. Hed be gone two to three weeks and then come back in. He might be here for a few days and then hes gone again, she said.

Williams and her husband have been living on Sorin Circle for the past 12 to 13 years.

Its a nice and quiet neighborhood and then this happens. It was scary, because you least suspect it, she said.

She said her next-door neighbors, the couple who was shot, moved there between six to eight months ago.

Theyre good neighbors, she said. And for this to happen like that, Im kinda devastated with it because I dont know why this man did it, but it sounded like he was on a suicide mission.

Throughout the ordeal, she was concerned about her neighbors and wanted them to be all right.

Why he picked them, I dont know, she said.

You think youre going to get good neighbors. You just never know what is going to happen, Williams said.

I think the Lord was really watching over me at the time, she said.

OCSO spokesman Richard Walker said the investigation is ongoing.

Several agencies responded to the incident, including the Elloree Fire Department, Elloree Police Department, Orangeburg County Office of Emergency Services, S.C. Highway Patrol and Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young.

The condition of the couple isnt known at this time.
"It was a Trump speech," said Beth Lesser, a Donald Trump supporter from Greenville, S.C., after listening to the president's inaugural address on the Mall.

"He hasn't changed at all -- and I don't want him to."

Lesser was one of the thousands who traveled a long way to come to the inauguration, and who loved what they heard. They didn't come to hear soaring rhetoric from Donald Trump. They didn't come to hear Trump try to sound like Marco Rubio or, God forbid, Barack Obama. They came to hear Trump sound like himself.

That's what they got. And to them, Inauguration Day was a day of hope.

"It brings some hope that we're going to have a new direction for the country, that we're going to create a real economic recovery," said Rick Fischer, who organized for Trump in Fairfax County, Virginia.

"To me, it means the future of America," said Emily Ovecka, who volunteered for Trump in Philadelphia.

Talking to people on the Mall was like entering a universe entirely apart from that of the political commentariat. In the pundits' world, Trump delivered a pessimistic and foreboding address, one sure to further divide the nation. The adjective of choice was "dark."

"Unusually dark," wrote The Atlantic.

"Short, dark, and defiant," wrote USA Today.

"A dark vision," wrote the Los Angeles Times. There were many, many more.

Where journalists and pundits saw darkness, the people who came to the inauguration saw promise. For example -- and this should shock no one who has spent even a minute paying attention to politics -- they really liked it when Trump talked about jobs.

Indeed, the biggest applause line in the area where I was standing was when Trump said, "We will get our people off of welfare and back to work -- rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor."

Where the pundits heard a "dark, weird" speech (New York magazine) or a "dark, raw" speech (Vanity Fair), or a "dark, hard-line" speech (the New York Times), the audience heard the possibility that jobs -- not just low-paying service jobs, but better, higher-paying jobs -- would come back to their communities.

Trump's speech was remarkable in that he spent a significant amount of time bashing the political establishment arrayed behind him on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. That was just fine with the people standing in front of him.

"For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost," Trump said. "Washington flourished -- but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered -- but the jobs left, and the factories closed."

"The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country," Trump continued. "Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land."

The people who come to inaugurations are a new president's biggest supporters. Out where I was standing -- the podium was far, far away -- there were no bigwigs, no people who would have reservations Friday night at Washington's priciest restaurants. Some had traveled a long way, but a lot were from neighboring Eastern Seaboard states. And many said they believed in Donald Trump from nearly the first day.

Patrick O'Neal, a Trump supporter from the get-go, said he booked tickets on Amtrak and made hotel reservations for Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington back in January 2016. He felt that strongly that Trump would win.

From the moment Trump finished speaking, many analysts compared the inaugural address to Trump's Republican convention acceptance speech last summer. And indeed, much of the punditocracy's reaction to that speech was the same as its reaction to this one: it was "dark."

Immediately after the convention speech, I asked 20 people in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, in quick succession, what they thought of it. They all thought it was great.

So Trump has given another speech with worlds-apart reactions from the commentators and the people who came to see him. Dark? On the Mall, people saw Trump's speech as a ray of sunshine.

"It means we have a chance," said Liz Rawlings, of Annapolis, Md. "We have a chance to move our country forward."
BAMBERG  Gov. Nikki Haley returned home in September to celebrate the opening of Bamberg County's new barrel-making company.

Black Water Barrels LLC is investing more than $3.6 million in the former Zeigler automotive facility to produce white oak barrels for the growing bourbon industry.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Black Water President Greg Pierce thanked the people of Bamberg County and the surrounding areas for their warmth and support.

"Everybody's been very helpful. It's made it easy. They knew who I was before I knew who they were. Everybody's been outstanding. If I was in a big city, it wouldn't be like that," Pierce said.

Black Water Barrels is expected to create up to 60 new jobs over the next five years.

Haley spoke warmly of her native Bamberg.

It is still neighbors taking care of neighbors. It is still that hometown that I remember, she said.

Haley praised Pierce for transforming the former auto dealership into something the community can be proud of. She also touted the area's workforce, particularly the 21 workers currently employed with the company.

"This is a top-notch group. They're ready, they're excited and if we do this right, we're working with the Department of Tourism. We want this to be a destination site. We want this to be a place that people travel to," Haley said.

"As we're continuing to try to bring more jobs and opportunities to Bamberg, this is a great way to add to that," she said.

Pierce said the company has surpassed its initial $3.6 million investment and is going to be pretty close to $5 million before we're done."

SouthernCarolina Alliance Executive Director Danny Black said, "There are very few places you can go in the United States and see an actual barrel being made in the old-style cooperage form. Now you'll be able to do that here."

"Black Water Barrels will use American white oak to make their 30-, 53- and 60-gallon barrels for the bourbon, wine, cider and whiskey industry," Black said.

The former Zeigler automotive facility has been transformed into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with an additional 11,000 square feet, he said.

Haley said Pierce could not have picked a better location than Bamberg after looking at eight counties in three states.

"You really have come to one of the sweet spots in the state, and I am personally committed to you in every way to make sure this is a success. We were already -- as we were touring in the back -- talking about expansion," Haley said. This is an industry that you don't see a lot of, especially in South Carolina. So now we're on the map.

Black Waters operation includes the selection of wood, the preparation of the staves and the final construction of the barrels.

Pierce said, "We have 17 pieces of equipment. The wood comes in, we process the wood into an inch-and-a-quarter or an inch-and-a-half thick pieces, seven inches long, and we assemble the barrels. We have to steam them, we soften the wood, put the rings on them, char the insides and pressure test them before they leave."

He added, "It's a lot more to it than that, but we can make 150 barrels a day right now."

"We use very high-quality wood. We pressure test all of our barrels, which means they don't leave here if they're leaking. Not all of my competitors do that, Pierce said.
Since arriving in Beijing to study in 2014, every Chinese New Year Sabaa Ali El-Tayeb has bought a stuffed toy animal.

This year, the Year of the Rooster, she bought a rooster on Wangfujing, a busy commercial street in downtown Beijing. Last year, the year of the Monkey, she bought a lovely monkey toy.

"I will take these toys back home, and when I finish my degree they will remind me of my time in China," said the Sudanese woman, who is studying literature at Beijing Language and Culture University.

The Chinese zodiac assigns one of 12 animals, either real or mythological, to each year. This lunar year began on Saturday.

"Celebrating Spring Festival in China makes me love China even more," said Tayeb.

On Thursday, Tayeb's university organized an event where foreign students could try their hands at making dumplings, a traditional food eaten during the festival.

Tayeb said she liked this aspect of the festival the most. "Back home we have similar important meals where we eat specific food and extend our best wishes to each other."

Besides dumplings, Chinese New Year is a time for temple fairs, red lanterns, paper-cuts, blessings of good fortune and ancestor worship.

Basma Bayomy, an Egyptian student at the same university, said she planned to visit a temple fair in Chaoyang Park on Sunday.

The girl, who has been in Beijing since 2012, spent one Spring Festival at her Chinese classmate's home in Shijiazhuang, a city 300 km south of Beijing.

Bayomy was deeply impressed with the Spring Festival in 2014. She remembers how her classmate's father left out plates of food for their families' ancestors.

Similarly, Egyptians leave offerings of fruit and bread on the graves of their ancestors. Both traditions, Bayomy said, are rooted in respect for the family.

Like Chinese, many foreigners put couplets, Chinese characters wishing for good fortune, on their front doors.

Marie, a British translator in Beijing, was sent a couplet by her Chinese friend on Thursday. She stuck them on the door of her apartment, took a photo of herself standing in front of it, and shared it with her parents in Britain.

"These couplets are an expression of hope for the future and contain the Chinese spirit of 'harmony'," she said.
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By Trend





German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the order of US President Donald Trump aimed at decreasing the flow of migrants into the United States, saying that security measures cannot justify the ban for people of certain origin, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Sunday, Sputnik reported.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order blocking all refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days and suspended the entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

"[Merkel] is convinced that even the necessary resolute struggle against terrorism does not justify placing people of a certain origin or belief under suspicion," Seibert said, as quoted by the Spiegel magazine.

On Saturday, Merkel and Trump held a telephone conversation, but the issue of the entry ban was not covered, according to the newspaper.








By Trend





Iran on Sunday summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the US President Donald Trumps executive order restricting entry for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries.

Spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry Bahram Qasemi described the decision as discriminatory and baseless adding that the decision is against the international conventions on human rights, IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif early on Sunday wrote on his Twitter account that the USs decision to restrict arrivals from the Islamic Republic shows the baselessness of the Washingtons claims of only having issues with the government in Tehran, adding that the move is the greatest gift to terrorists and their supporters.

US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Zarif further assured that Iran will take suitable reciprocal actions to protect its citizens, while respecting US citizens and differentiating between them and Washingtons hostile policies.
Gulf International Banks (GIB) latest bond issue met with robust demand as the bank recently successfully priced its $500 million long five-year bond issuance.

The order book peaked at over $1.2 billion, allowing price guidance to be tightened to achieve a final pricing of 170 basis points over mid-swaps, 10 basis points less than the indicated initial price thoughts, said a bank statement.

The order book was well diversified by both geography and investor type with investors comprising banks, fund managers, insurance companies, private banks and other investors from Mena, Europe and Asia. The final investor allocations were 57 per cent for Mena, 22 per cent for Europe, and 21 per cent for Asia, with 54 per cent of allocations going to banks, 32 per cent to fund managers, and 14 per cent to the others.

Jammaz Bin Abdullah Al-Suhaimi, GIB chairman, said: "We are very pleased with the successful closing of this bond issue at this attractive pricing level. Strong demand by a great number of highly esteemed entities from the international investor community reflects the markets confidence in GIBs experience and strong financial position.

This bond issuance was the first non-sovereign bond offering out of CEEMEA in 2017, establishing a dollar benchmark for global investors to follow in the Mena region, particularly for quasi-sovereign Saudi Arabian risk. GIB were able to position themselves with investors by following a methodology of pricing against the newly established Saudi sovereign yield curve, the statement said.

Abdulaziz Al-Helaissi, GIB chief executive officer, commented: This bond issue reaffirms GIBs commitment to expand its funding sources and employ a variety of funding structures to achieve an equitable cost of funding for the bank.

GIB Capital and JP Morgan acted as joint global coordinators and Citigroup, GIB Capital, HSBC, JP Morgan, Mizuho, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank were joint bookrunners for the offering.

GIB is owned by the governments of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, with Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund being the primary shareholder.

GIB, the Gulfs international bank, helps its clients thrive by working together to realise ambitions. GIB aims to be the preferred financial services partner, delivering bespoke banking solutions to a wide customer base in the region and beyond. This includes corporate banking, asset management, debt and equity capital market services, financial advisory services, mergers and acquisitions, and the worlds first Shariah compliant digital retail banking service, meem by GIB.

GIB Capital is the investment banking arm of GIB, offering innovative solutions in the fields of bond and Sukuk issuance, financial restructuring, private placements, private sale, IPOs, underwriting equity and debt, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

In addition to its main subsidiaries, London-based GIB (UK) Ltd., and Riyadh-based GIB Capital LLC, it has branches in London, New York, Abu Dhabi, Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah with a representative office in Dubai. TradeArabia News Service
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre, has registered more than 50 Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) with continuous strong interests from local and international business communities.



The innovative ADGM SPV regime , benchmarked against leading international jurisdictions in terms of features, cost and ease of set-up, has gained exceptional industry recognition and business endorsements even before its official launch on January 24.



To address the needs of the business community, ADGMs SPV regime is designed to cater to a broad range of uses within many industry sectors including but not limited to corporates, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and individual investors. SPVs have been deployed as a strategic tool for a variety of purposes including efficient corporate and financial structuring, risk management and ring-fencing of assets and liabilities, said a statement.



Since the SPV platform went live, ADGM has seen high demand and strong interest from sectors such as asset management, family wealth, aviation, shipping, and technology/intellectual property development, it said.



The SPV regime is underpinned by ADGMs international legal and regulatory platform, independent courts with outstanding legislation and common law judges, and a favourable tax environment, benefitting from UAEs extensive network of double-taxation treaties. Local and regional UAE firms and family businesses are now able to effectively address their business needs and domicile assets and investments via ADGM SPV regime without going to overseas jurisdictions.



As part of ADGMs ongoing commitment to engage its stakeholders, a great turnout of legal and professional participants were present at the ADGM SPV launch event on 24 January to gain a deeper understanding of the structure and benefits of ADGMs SPV regime and offerings.



Shirish Bhide, head of Wholesale & International Banking of FGB said: FGB is extremely proud to have assisted Abu Dhabi Global Markets in its journey of becoming a key player in the Middle East for aircraft SPVs on lease arrangements to leasing companies and airlines around the world competing with the likes of Dublin and other offshore entities. FGB aims to partner with ADGM in its future growth by promoting its services through its aircraft financing business globally. We also look forward to working with ADGM in executing complex and innovative transactions that help ADGM become a promoter of sustainable growth in Abu Dhabi and UAE.



Salem Al Matroushi, founder and CEO of Tasleeh Limited said, ADGM offered an excellent SPV option which meant that I could use a jurisdiction closer to home, which provides a great deal of comfort and ease.



Cara Dwyer, senior associate, Corporate Structuring of Al Tamimi added, The introduction of SPVs is an important addition to the range of entities available in ADGM and is another example of ADGM seeking to respond to the needs of the market.



Chad Fox, managing director, Disruptive.Legal, said: The ADGM SPV regime is an innovative legal development that has been desperately needed in the UAE and Middle East region. The flexibility, robust corporate laws and the direct access to the ADGM Courts are just some of the reasons that the ADGM SPV regime is likely to become the go-to holding company regime in the region. We are very excited to see the progression of the regime and have already seen its benefits to the technology sector.  TradeArabia News Service
An overview of transactional activity by sales and mortgage transactions reveals a two-tiered market trajectory, according to a report.

Sales transactions have continued to decline, whereas mortgage activity is continued to experience growth, said the report by Reidin, a leading real estate information company focusing on emerging markets.

The mortgage activity as a percentage of sales activity accounts for 55 per cent, doubling over the last seven years, it stated.



This new structure has shifted towards more mature markets such as US and UK, where the cash sales only account for 30 to 40 per cent of all transactional activity, said the report.



This shift has added to the slowing the pace of the property market as time to close a transaction has elongated. Typically, cash sales take 15 to 30 days, but mortgages take between 30-60 days due to the regulatory requirements and involvements of banks, it stated.



In recent years in the apartment space, mortgage activity in mid-income communities such as JVC and IMPZ have surpassed historically favored developed communities such as JLT and Marina.



This indicates a shift in buying preferences which has been fueled by access to bank finance.



Whereas in the villa space, Jumeirah Park, which started off as an investor product with a low mortgage to sales ratio has moved into nearly all finance sales.



This indicates that mortgage demand continues to increase across a cross section of villa communities over time, with the sharpest rate of incline being in Jumeirah Park, stated Reidin in its report.

Despite concerns being raised regarding Central Bank curbs on mortgages that came into effect in 2014, the demand across the board has increased steadily, indicating not only access to bank finance, but also a more mature price cycle in line with international markets.



On its 2017 outlook, Reidin said the trend of mortgage financing will continue to increase steadily, despite headwinds such as the strong US dollar and other exogenous factors, indicating resilient underlying demands.-TradeArabia News Service
Learning company Pearson and innovation foundation Nesta today announced a research partnership in collaboration with Michael Osborne (Oxford Martin School), designed to provide businesses, governments and education experts with new insights and evidence about the skills and competencies which will be required in the future economy.

Through Employment in 2030: Skills, Competencies & the Implications for Learning, the research team will provide recommendations for how education, job training and other workforce development efforts can shift practice today in an attempt to better prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

Businesses, governments and schools are struggling to adapt to the pace of change required to prepare the workforce of tomorrow. This world-class research partnership provides an opportunity for us to learn now about the skills and competencies that will be needed tomorrow - and to prepare accordingly, said Michael Barber, chief education advisor to Pearson.

At the heart of the research are two cutting-edge methodologies that are rarely combined:

 Foresight exercises featuring sector experts who will examine the trends that will shape the jobs market in the future, how they will interact, and what that means for the demand for different types of jobs; and

 A machine learning algorithm deployed on O*NET data (a US Department of Labor occupational database that offers a wealth of insights into the skills and competencies required for nearly 1000 occupations).

Through this novel methodology the research team will be able to predict the likely demand for different skills, and skill combinations, for the jobs economy of 2030.

This research will provide a substantial contribution to answering some of the most pressing questions that education faces. By extending beyond the effects of automation to examine the wider set of profound trends that will shape the demand for skills in 2030, and by coupling expert foresight exercises with machine learning, we will be able to surface novel insights that policy makers and practitioners can have the confidence to act on, said Hasan Bakhshi, senior director, creative economy and data analytics, Nesta.

The project builds on Carl Benedikt Frey and Osborne's seminal 2013 paper on The Future Of Employment, in which they found that up to 47 percent of total US employment is at risk from computerisation. It also extends the existing collaboration between Hasan Bakhshi and Michael Osborne, who worked with Carl Benedikt Frey (of the Oxford Martin School) to detail the power of creativity - read in a wide sense - to future-proof work.

"I am optimistic that there will still be plenty of good jobs available in 15 years time, but it's clear that many of these will require mixes and depths of skills that are currently rare. To plan for this, we need greater insight into what these skill combinations will be. We also need learning - across ages and stages - to begin to prepare for these probable futures," Osborne said.

As a region investing heavily into workforce development and planning, the countries of the GCC will find the research, and its findings, particularly useful.

The GCC has a unique set of circumstances which make predicting the future of the workforce here very important. With a large percentage of the population under the age of 25, it is critical that we get workforce planning right. Economic diversification efforts of governments across the GCC mean that in all likelihood, the jobs required in ten or 20 years time will be very different to those in demand right now. We therefore need to be concentrating on ensuring that we are getting education right. That is, giving young learners across our region the kind of skills and knowledge that will make them successful as they leave school and progress in their careers, said Karim Daoud, managing director, Pearson Middle East.

Pearson and Nesta will share the findings of this research publicly in order to facilitate dialogue with educators, policymakers and others who seek to understand the impact of technological advancements on the future jobs economy, and the implications for how education can best be organised to prepare learners today for the jobs of tomorrow, the statement said.  TradeArabia News Service
UAE-based Spatial Composite Solutions, a specialist provider of world class crew training solutions for the civil aviation and aerospace industries, was honoured at the recent RAK Business Excellence Awards.



Spatial was recognised as the Best Industrial Company 2016 in its size category, said a statement from the company.



The award was granted following a thorough review of all entrants by representatives of the Ras Al Khaimah Government and Investors in People.



Henry Robertson, managing director, Spatial, said: We are delighted to have been recognised by the Ras Al Khaimah Government in these prestigious awards.



We are especially thankful to our clients for the opportunities they have provided us throughout 2016 that have resulted in this award, he added.



Marc Van den Broucque, managing director, Spatial, said: This award is a great recognition for our entire workforce.



We are privileged to have in our team not only some of the finest workers locally, but we believe in our industry as a whole, he concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), one of the world's leading aluminium producers, is looking to recruit 200 UAE nationals at Tawdheef in Abu Dhabi this week, to join its national trainee and graduate trainee programmes, as well as for other positions.



Tawdheef is the leading recruitment event for UAE Nationals, which will kick off on January 30 and conclude on February 1, at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre.



EGA is the largest industrial company in the UAE outside the oil and gas industry and a major employer of engineers and technicians as well as finance, human resources, IT administrators and other corporate professionals, said a statement from the company.



Over 1,200 UAE Nationals work at EGA, it said.



EGA has participated at Tawdheef since 2009, and this year will be at stand H4 C10 at the career fair, it added.



Abdulla Kalban, EGAs managing director and chief executive officer, who himself joined the company as a graduate trainee in 1985, said: I have had an amazing career at the company myself for over more than 30 years, and I encourage enthusiastic and able UAE Nationals to approach us at the event.



When normalised for the high number of blue collar jobs in heavy industry, EGA has one of the highest rates of Emiratisation of any major UAE company.



Most of EGAs top executive committee are UAE Nationals including seven who originally joined as graduate trainees or fresh graduates, it said.



Some 40 per cent of those holding the top 250 positions at EGA are UAE Nationals, as are more than third of the 2,000 people in supervisory positions and above, it added.



EGA typically has over 100 graduate trainees employed at any time, on 18 month graduate training programmes before assignment to permanent roles in the organisation.



EGA has sponsored over 300 UAE Nationals through education since 2001. Over 130 UAE Nationals are sponsored in their studies at universities by EGA currently, including 18 studying abroad.



EGA is also pioneering the role of women in heavy industry. Over 16 per cent of those at working at supervisory level and above at EGA are female, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
President Trumps executive order blocking permanent legal residents and visa holders from seven majority Muslim nations from entry into the US resounded across the world on Saturday, sparking chaos at airports, media reports said.



Trumps directive issued on Friday suspended entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the country for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, reported News York Times.



The Department of Homeland Security said that the order also barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the US. In a briefing for reporters, White House officials said that green card holders from the seven affected countries who are outside the US would need a case-by-case waiver to return, the report said.



Legal residents who have a green card and are currently in the US should meet with a consular officer before leaving the country, a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told reporters. Officials did not clarify the criteria that would qualify someone for a waiver, other than that it would be granted in the national interest.



Some legal residents were in mid-flight when Trump signed his executive order Friday  and were detained at airports upon arrival back in the States.



Imagine being put back on a 12-hour flight and the trauma and craziness of this whole thing, said immigration lawyer Mana Yegani. These are people that are coming in legally. They have jobs here and they have vehicles here.



One Google employee of Iranian descent barely made it back to the US before the ban went into effect, and the company said more than 100 of its workers were affected.



A senior Trump administration official said green card holders from the nations of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen would need a waiver to return to the US.



Green card holders in the US would need to meet with a consular official before leaving the country, according to the official.



Trump said the first full day of the ban was going smoothly, but insisted, Its not a Muslim ban.



Protests



Refugees already on flights when the order was signed on Friday found themselves detained upon arrival.



Peaceful protests began forming Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Airport, where nine travellers had been detained upon arrival at Terminal 7 and two others at Terminal 4, an airport official said. Similar scenes were playing out at other airports across the nation.



An official message to all American diplomatic posts around the world provided instructions about how to treat people from the countries affected: Effective immediately, halt interviewing and cease issuance and printing of visas to the US.



Internationally, confusion turned to panic as travellers found themselves unable to board flights bound for the US. In Dubai and Istanbul, airport and immigration officials turned passengers away at boarding gates and, in at least one case, ejected a family from a flight it had boarded, the report said.



Order blocked partially



Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked part of Trumps order on Saturday evening, ordering that refugees and others trapped at airports across the US should not be sent back to their home countries. But the judge stopped short of letting them into the country, the NY Times reported.
Hours after a federal judge issued a stay on President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a senior White House adviser issued robust responses, emphasizing that the order remains in force.



The ban is on citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen will be prohibited from entering the US for the next 90 days, reported NBC.



Green card holders from any of those countries currently outside of the US will need to report to a local US consulate for "extra vetting," and admitted or rejected on a case-by-case basis, stated the report.



In a statement issued in the early hours of Sunday, the DHS said: "President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place  prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the US government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety."



The department will "continue to enforce all of President Trump's Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people," it stated.



In addition, Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, told the Associated Press that nothing in the judge's order "in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."



The responses came just hours after federal Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York granted an emergency stay on parts of the order late Saturday.



Her ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of two Iraqi refugees who had been detained at New York's John F. Kennedy airport.



The stay will prevent the government from deporting citizens from the affected countries that had already arrived in the US. The ACLU estimated that around 200 people would be affected by the ruling.



For travelers outside of the U.S. however, even those with valid visas, the ruling will not change the restrictions imposed on them by the orderm, said the report, citing administration officials.



On refugees seeking asylum in the US, the DHS officials said all refugees will be banned from entering the country for 120 days. However, anyone with US citizenship will not be affected.



A DHS spokesperson on Saturday told the Associated Press that foreign-born US residents who could have been barred from re-entering the United States under Trump's immigration order have been allowed back into the country.



The official said all green card holders from the seven countries who sought to enter the U.S. Saturday were granted special permission, it added.
British car company MG, together with its local retail partners in Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE, has launched a free door-to-door service geared towards making life easier for the regions busy professionals.



The hassle-free service adds to the companys increasing repertoire of aftersales offerings in the Middle East and demonstrates MGs commitment to providing the highest possible levels of customer service.



Upon booking a service appointment over the phone with a local retailer, MG customers will be sent a courtesy vehicle to their doorstep. The customers car will be taken to the local retailer to carry out the required maintenance work. Once the procedures are completed, the vehicle is returned to the owner, said a statement.



Sun Guang, general manager of MG Middle East, said: We are always looking for initiatives to further satisfy our loyal customer base and enhance the MG aftersales offering. We believe this service will strengthen relationships with our current customers, at a time when sales of MG cars in the region are at an all-time high, while also appealing to prospective buyers.



This new initiative enhances MGs extensive aftersales service, with customers already offered an extended six-year or 200,000km warranty across all models, emphasising the reliability of MG vehicles and offering peace of mind to customers. The company also offers 24/7 call center support, ensuring customers have round-the-clock access to roadside assistance.



MG is a long-established British automotive brand, founded in 1924. Its retail partners in the region are: Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE are Zayani Motors (Bahrain), Mohsin Haider Darwish (Oman), Adel Alghanim Automotive (Kuwait) and AW Rostamani Trading (UAE).  TradeArabia News Service


Iran's leading car manufacturer Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) recently signed three contracts with the German automaker Mercedes-Benz on joint ventures, said a report.



A total of three cooperation deals have been signed between the IKCO and Mercedes-Benz while two more contracts are in the final stage of negotiations and will be finalised in the near future, Hashem Yeke Zare, chief executive, IKCO, was quoted as saying in an Iran Daily News report, citing Tasnim News Agency.



Zare further pointed to a recent contract with France's PSA Peugeot Citroen, adding the first series of the Peugeot 2008 cars manufactured by IKCO will enter the market in the coming months.



Iran's automotive industry is the second largest in the country after its oil and gas industry, accounting for 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product, added the report.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has announced the launch of the first 132/11 kV substation at Dubai Design District (d3), in collaboration with Tecom Group; the developer and operator of d3.



The substation is the first of three that will support d3s innovative business partners as well as the events and activities hosted within this vibrant destination.



The first d3 substation will provide current and future power requirements for d3 with a total capacity of 178 megawatts (MW) to support lighting, district cooling, and general power requirements. The new station mirrors d3s unique design and enhances the creative environment provided to all visitors and partners.



The construction of the first d3-132/11 kV substation is part of Dewas efforts to achieve its vision to become a sustainable and innovative world-class utility, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa.



The project is a first of its kind in the region, with plans to launch two more substations in d3 in the future. Dewa continuously works on developing its water and electricity infrastructure, and enhancing its services reliability and efficiency by launching ambitious projects to actively increase our effective contribution to Dubais economic growth and prosperity.



We follow our strategic plan which is aligned with Dubai Plan 2021 to enhance Dubais leading position as an international role model for electricity and water grid effectiveness and sufficiency, to meet Dubais current and future demand, added Al Tayer.



Tecom Group contributes to Dubais economic development diversification, and we are proud to work closely with them. We are pleased to celebrate their success, and provide them with support in their new business destinations, concluded Al Tayer.



Dewa has been one of the most prominent national entities to support Dubais sustainable development, helping achieve the ambitious goals of Dubai Plan 2021. Dewa exerts great efforts to support Tecoms business communities by supporting our strategic initiatives and qualitative services ensuring a distinguished infrastructure for our customers and visitors, said Dr Amina Al Rustamani, CEO of Tecom Group.



We have a close relationship with Dewa and we share the same successes and strategic goals. Achieving the ambitions of Smart Dubai is a priority for us, as we are working hard to deploy distinctive smart services at d3, being the pilot development in achieving this promising vision, added Dr Al Rustamani.



We are proud of our fruitful collaboration with Dewa to launch the first d3 substation. This is a constructive step to enhance d3 operations as per the highest quality and sustainability standard. We are pleased to have such a design which is in line with d3s modern and sustainable design concept, concluded Dr Al Rustamani.  TradeArabia News Service
GCC companies can use the new Bureaucracy Measurement Index (BMI), recently launched by management consultancy Strategy&, (formerly Booz & Company), to assess the level of bureaucracy within an organisation, compare it to competitors and highlight problem areas.



Developed in the Middle East for the first time, the Index provides a fact-based recommendation how bureaucracy should be treated best.



The BMI breaks down all work a company does into a hierarchy of processes and measures three parameters quantitatively: a) the performance score (representing the process speed and capacity required to deliver it), b) the risk associated with the process (representing the probability and severity of a negative event occurring), and c) the impact of the process (defined by the weight of the single process on the companys overall mandate).



George Chehade, partner with Strategy& said: In the region we see more rigid, siloed organizational structures, less cross-department teaming and less successful uptake of process-led organizations.



There is also a tendency for individuals to be more attached to formal policies, rules and procedures - the foundations of bureaucracy. These bureaucratic procedures, and the approval chains they create, eventually become more a mechanism to safeguard decision-makers from the wrong decisions than actually advancing the goals of the organization.



We believe that GCC organizations would benefit from occasionally stepping back and asking themselves whether their accumulated policies, rules and procedures are creating and protecting value and fostering growth, or hindering it, he added.



Each company needs to operate with a certain level of bureaucracy to be effective. The bulk of the especially large Middle East companies, however, show similar behaviours like public sector organizations. It is therefore expected to see more bureaucracy in these companies relative to the private sector and start-up organizations.



Particularly relevant for service organizations and public administrations, applying the BMI in the current GCC context (in light of the transformational programs of the various countries) can help create the case for a much needed acceleration of decision making paired with an increase of service levels.



Manish Mahajan, director at Strategy& commented on the need to find balance: Companies should tread lightly in how they treat processes that entail high risk, even if they are highly bureaucratic.



Removing bureaucracy may seem to be a good move, but not if it exposes the company to new vulnerabilities. The Index can help to shed light on these areas for improvement and even suggest increasing the amount of oversight needed. This highlights how important the assessment is, and the benefits it can bring to direct the company on the right path for growth, he added.



The Bureaucracy Measurement Index has shown that tackling the top 20 bureaucratic processes can improve overall process efficiency and effectiveness by 35 per cent. Executives can then delegate in some areas up to 70 per cent of their decision responsibility to lower levels, and focus on more significant decisions aligned with their defined accountability.



Olaf Schirmer, principal with Strategy& concluded with the long-term benefits of the BMI: As the pace of business accelerates, the costs of bureaucracy are going up, especially as it affects employee morale and productivity.



As a problem with deep roots in many organizations, we believe that the BMI can give leadership teams a systematic way to address it. The Index can become an ongoing capability that helps a company continue to assess bureaucracy over time. In this way, the BMI methodology is not a one-time project but a regular health-check to stay attune creating an agile operating climate for success, he added. - TradeArabia News Service
Royal Jordanian has taken delivery of a new Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) as part of the national carrier's plans to modernise its long-haul fleet, the airline said.



The new aircraft landed at Queen Alia International Airport straight from Boeing manufactures in Seattle and is the seventh Dreamliner to become part of the airline fleet.



RJ president/CEO Captain Suleiman Obeidat expressed satisfaction with the addition of this new 787 to the currently operating six aircraft of the same type, which RJ started to receive at the end of 2014.



He said that this aircraft along with the sixth aircraft which joined the fleet in November 2016 are on capital lease, while the first five are operationally leased.



The Dreamliners replace the Airbus 340s and 330s the company previously had.



Obeidat said that the 787s paved the way for RJ to step into a significant new era, a step that pushes the national carrier of Jordan forward in terms of inflight services and route network, enhancing its regional and international competitiveness.



He added that all new 787-8 aircraft, together with the operating A320 family and Embraer jets, help RJ meet its operational needs and leverage passengers experience.



Today RJs fleet age does not exceed five years, a young, and modern, fleet when compared regionally and internationally.



Obeidat pointed out that the wide-body, revolutionary aircraft is capable to fly long distances with full load non stop, making it a suitable choice for RJ to run it to North America, the Far East and Europe.



The state-of-the-art features and high specifications of the 787s offer higher levels of comfort and luxury to the RJ clients.



The Dreamliners have improved ventilation and humidity levels onboard, taking the travel experience to a new level, offering passengers more comfort and significantly reducing jetlag. It is also designed to be able to monitor safety and inform the ground systems about the need of maintenance.

Customers in all classes experience cabin environment improvements, such as LED mood lighting, larger windows, bigger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and enhanced ventilation systems, among other features.



The aircraft is built of carbon-fiber composite materials and has a powerful electrical system to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency. It consumes 20 per cent less fuel than todays similarly sized airplanes, enabling it to offer an exclusive eco-friendly performance.



The new planes also enable airlines to increase their cargo revenues by providing about 20 to 30 per cent more cargo capacity than the current airplanes of the same size. - TradeArabia News Service


 Flash

There is simmering tension as former fighters of the M23 rebel group flee from a Ugandan military camp back to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

DR Congo authorities argue that this may lead to resumption of subversive activities by the former fighters who were defeated by the Congolese and UN troops before fleeing to Uganda in late 2013.

Lambert Mende Omalanga, the Congolese government spokesperson, told reporters in Kinshasa, DR Congo capital this week that hundreds of ex-M23 fighters, including its military leader, Sultani Makenga, who had been exiled in Uganda, sneaked to their former bases in eastern DR Congo.

The Uganda government on Jan. 19 said it had arrested 101 former M23 fighters as they attempted to cross back to the DR Congo.

"These people were arrested on their way back aboard taxi minibuses as normal passengers. On questioning them, all of them were found to be former M23 combatants," said Ofwono Opondo, a Ugandan government spokesman, told Xinhua.

The arrest came days after some 40 former fighters escaped back to the central African country.

The incident is likely to cause a diplomatic row between the authorities in Uganda and DR Congo.

Uganda has "no sinister motive against" DR Congo, said Opondo. "These are individuals who were trying to escape against the agreed modalities and agreement. We still don't know the motive of their escape."

After several months of fighting back in 2013 that sparked a refugee influx into Uganda, the M23 and DR Congo government signed a peace agreement mediated by Uganda.

To fuse the simmering tension, Ugandan and DR Congo authorities are said to be in talks.

Henry Obbo, Uganda's deputy army spokesman told Xinhua in an interview that the two governments are in talks over the repatriation of the former fighters.

"The ministry of foreign affairs (Uganda) is working closely with the Congolese authorities on the return of the M23. The two government signed agreements in 2014 regarding the M23. We are waiting for what will be agreed and action will be taken," Obbo said.

Uganda, DR Congo and M23 reached an agreement in 2014 regarding the return of 1,377 former rebels camped at Bihanga military training school in the western district of Ibanda for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration back home.

Of the 1,377 ex-combatants only 200 have been returned home for official disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program.

Eastern DR Congo has got a string of rebel groups that cause mayhem in the central African country.
A passenger of Oman Airs flight from Muscat to London Heathrow was bitten by a centipede and was taken for treatment, the airline said in a statement.



The insect was hidden in in the pocket of the passengers jacket and the incident happened during boarding at Muscat airport, the statement said.



It said: Oman Air regrets to inform that a guest during boarding of flight number 101 from Muscat to London Heathrow was bitten by a centipede which was hidden in the pocket of his jacket. Immediately after the incident, Oman Air Team requested for medical attention and the affected guest was taken for treatment accompanied by his family.



It added: Oman Air apologises for the inconvenience caused to its valued guests, confirming giving its utmost priority to the safety and wellbeing of the guests, and extends its appreciation for their understanding and cooperation.



The flight departed after a delay of 1 hour and 18 minutes, it said.  TradeArabia News Service


Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village
Clubs

Izaak Walton League talks climate change

Friday, Feb. 3, 6 p.m. potluck dinner, 7 p.m., presentation, at the Izaak Walton League Lodge at Fort Caspar Campground, just past Fort Caspar Museum. Dan Cooper will present "Global Weirding," a Texas PBS series on climate change by Katharine Hayhoe. There will be a brief discussion after each episode. Dr. Hayhoe is a climate scientist, evangical Christian, and a remarkable communicator. Any religious person, or anyone skeptical that religion can be part of the solution, should see this.

County pioneers meet Feb. 5

The Natrona County Pioneer Association will conduct its Winter Quarterly luncheon meeting at 12:30 p.m., on Sunday, Feb. 5, at the Senior Center, 1831 East 4th Street. The luncheon cost will be $5 for those 60 years old and older. The speaker will be author Don Merback. Anyone interested is invited to attend. Contact Vaughn Cronin at 315-4659 for more information.

Super Bowl at the Elks

Super Bowl Sunday at the Casper Elks Lodge. Bar opens at 2 p.m., beer and drinks specials, raffles and door prizes. This is going to be a potluck, so take a favorite snack to share with everyone. Members, significant other and guest accompanied by a member. For more information, call 234-4839.

Casper Charla begins

Would you like to practice conversational Spanish or help others learn? Come and join the Casper Charla! Te gustaria platicar en espanol? Ven y charla con nosotros! Todos son bienvenidos! Come and join us on the second Wednesday of each month this spring. We meet at a different restaurant each month and partake in food, drink and conversation. All levels of Spanish are welcome, from beginning to native-speakers. Nos reunimos los miercoles en varios restaurantes en Casper. Ven por una copa, un antojito o simplemente una charlita.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 5-7 p.m.: El Toro; Wednesday, March 8, 5-7 p.m.: Guadalajara; Wednesday, April 12, 5-7 p.m.: La Costa; Wednesday, May 10, 5-7 p.m.: La Cocina.

Beekeepers meet

Natrona County Beekeepers Association will meet at 7 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 9, in the basement of the College Heights Baptist Church, 600 West 21st Street. This group is for those thinking about becoming a beekeeper or those who already have hives. A group order to purchase bees is in the works.

Freedom Fund lunch set

During the civil rights era of the 1950s and 60s, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hosted Freedom Fund banquets to raise money for legal aid for folks who had been arrested while attempting to register to vote and fighting for their civil rights. Following that tradition, the Casper Branch of the NAACP is hosting its annual Freedom Fund luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Sat., Feb. 11, at the Parkway Plaza, 123 East E St. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m.

Henry Allen, past president of Colorado Springs Branch NAACP, and current president, Pikes Peak Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will address the topic, America 2017 through the Eyes of Martin Luther King, Jr. Allen served 24 years in the U.S. Army and worked as a sheriff until his retirement.

NAACP members and the general public are invited to attend the luncheon. Tickets cost $30 (checks made to Casper NAACP) with lunch choices: salmon, strip steak au jus, or vegetarian pasta. To make reservations, call Joanne Tanner at 234-6266 by Feb. 6.

Woman as president forum topic

Why its Harder for a Woman to Become a President than a Prime Minister is the subject Dr. Stephanie Anderson will address at the next Democratic Womens Forum on Saturday, Feb. 11. Her talk will follow the noon buffet luncheon at the Ramkota Hotel dining room.

An associate professor of political science at the University of Wyoming, Dr. Anderson has wide experience in international relations, having studied in various foreign countries, as well as focusing her research on the European Union (EU) as an international actor.

Democratic Forums are open to all persons interested regardless of gender. Luncheons are $15 per person, including tax and gratuity. Reservations are requested by calling Jerre at 234-8625 by Thursday (Feb. 9) prior to the meeting.

Elks Sweetheart Ball

Sweetheart Ball Dinner and Dance in the Casper Elks Lodge Ballroom on Saturday, Feb. 11. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. in the ballroom. Menu options are prime rib, $25; crab legs, $35, or $55 for both. Price includes a $5 drink ticket. We will have a theatre production with a pirate theme. This play is not age appropriate for children. Members, significant other and guest accompanied by a member. For more information, call 234-4839 or 237-2432.

Father Daughter at Elks

The annual Father Daughter Dinner and Dance at the Casper Elks Lodge is Feb. 25. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Music by Good Times Only. If you don't have a daughter, borrow one and come down for dinner, dancing and door prizes and get your picture taken. Ticket prices are fathers, $10; daughters ages 14 and up, $9; ages 8 to 13, $8, and ages 7 and under are free. For more information, call 234-4839.

NARFE has social

Casper Chapter #358 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) will have a no-host Social Meeting at noon on Feb. 28, in the meeting room at the Casper Senior Center at 1831 East 4th Street.

Mardi Gras Bingo

Mardi Gras Bingo, sponsored by Reveille Rotary of Casper, is 6 to 8 p.m., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 E. 4th Street. Enjoy Bingo fun for the whole family. Tickets are $20 for two Bingo cards. There will be eight $25 games, nine $50 games, one $250 game and one $500 game. Concessions will be available (including homemade slices of pie). Proceeds benefit Wyoming Dementia Care. Tickets can be purchased from any Reveille Rotary member or at First Interstate Bank Downtown.

Scholarship notice

The Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration -- Central Wyoming Section offers up to four $2,500 scholarships, the Coates, Wolff, Russell, and Swank Memorial scholarships. Applicant must have graduated from a Wyoming high school, must be enrolled full-time for the 2016-2017 academic year, upperclassmen -- current college sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student, enrolled in mining/mineral extraction-related discipline, and have a 3.0 GPA minimum. Application forms are available by email request to smecasper@gmail.com

Civil Air Patrol meets

Civil Air Patrol meets from 7 to 9 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at Casper National Guard Armory, 5905 CY Ave. For more information, call 259-0855.

Stammtisch at Applebee's

The Casper German Stammtisch is meeting weekly on Thursdays at Applebee's from 6:30 to 8 p.m. New this year -- on the second Thursday of each month we will focus on speaking German! All ability levels are welcome, as long as they are eager to hear German.
Valentines for Veterans collected

The American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 2 of Casper, is collecting Valentines for Veterans to be sent to veterans at the Sheridan VA facility, the Cheyenne VA facility and the Wyoming State Veterans Home in Buffalo.

Valentines will be accepted at the Senior Center, 1831 E. 4th St. in a red box in the main lobby. The valentines do not need to be in envelopes and a simple note, such as Thank you for your service, or something similar may be written. Please do not put names on the valentines as they will be divided among the three facilities.

They will be picked up at the Senior Center on Feb. 7 and mailed on Feb. 8.

For more information, please call 234-0246. If there is no answer, please leave a message and your call will be returned.

This would be a wonderful project for schools as well, and you may call the above number for large group information.

Socks and gloves drive continues

Community Action Partnerships Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) launched a Glove and Sock Drive in our community beginning in December, which has been a huge success. The initial goal of 500 pairs of new socks and gloves has been exceeded. So far, the community and local businesses have generously donated 678 pairs of socks and gloves, which makes 6,780 cozy toes and fingers. The new goal is to receive a total of 1,000 pairs of socks and gloves by the time the drive is finished.

There are currently nine drop box locations throughout Casper-Central Wyoming Senior Services, River Rail Credit Union, Casper Recreation Center, Nicolaysen Art Museum, YMCA, Mills Senior Center, Evansville Senior Center, Natrona County School District Central Office and Community Action Partnership.

The Sock and Glove Drive will last until Jan. 31. So far, the donations have helped a family who lost their home to a fire, a church that distributed socks and gloves to homeless during a holiday event, and several needy families with children.

In January, RSVP volunteers will be sorting and distributing the gloves and socks to schools in the Natrona County School District for students in need. The donations will also benefit the homeless during the annual Point in Time Count event in January.

Blood centers extend hours for convenience

United Blood Services (UBS) is expanding hours at its Casper and Cheyenne donor centers in an effort to make blood donation more convenient for more donors.

The center at 2801 East 2nd Street in Casper will be open six days a week. Closed only on Tuesday, the Casper center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

The center at 112 E. 8th Ave. in Cheyenne will be open five days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Blood donations can drop as much as 20 percent during the holidays and winter months, but every two seconds, every day of the year a patient in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion.

Whole blood donors are eligible to give blood every eight weeks and are encouraged to donate at least three times each year to help UBS meet the needs of patients.

Donors can save time and fill out their Fast Track Health History Questionnaire online at unitedbloodservices.org the day of their donation. To donate blood, volunteers must be at least 16 years old (16 and 17-year-old donors need a minor donor permit which is available online) and be in good health.

In addition to its community donor centers in Cheyenne and Casper, UBS operates various blood drives across Wyoming. To make an appointment call 877-827-4376 or go to unitedbloodservices.org.

Volunteer for new literacy program

INGLES!, a non-profit group teaching English as a second language to adult learners, is currently looking for enthusiastic, patient volunteers. Volunteers will help adult students improve their English one-on-one and in small classes. Volunteering requires a commitment of two hours twice a week. No Spanish proficiency or prior teaching experience required. Volunteer application forms are available at the Natrona County Library Reference Desk located on the second floor.

Monthly fleece blanket making continues

The Fleece Blanket Project meets on the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First Christian Church, 520 CY Ave. Parking is in the back of the building. Upcoming dates are Feb. 18, 2017 and March 18, 2017. Thus far, 289 blankets have been made and given to individuals in need of comfort and warmth and to agencies that serve a vulnerable population. Bring two yards of a print fleece and two yards of a solid fleece for each blanket, or just come and join others who want to make a difference. For more information, call First Christian Church at 234-8964.

Disabled vets need volunteer drivers

The Disabled American Veterans need volunteer drivers to take veterans to their medical appointment at the VA hospital in Cheyenne. The volunteer driver will transport them in a VA vehicle. If you are interested, please call the DAV transportation office in Cheyenne at 307-778-7577 for further information.

Museum needs Troopers items

Fort Caspar Museum will be celebrating 60 years of the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps with an exhibit to run in 2017 and 2018. The museum has acquired a number of items from the Troopers such as uniforms, flags, and instruments, but additional, more personal souvenirs and memorabilia items are desired. By loan or by donation, any souvenirs or collectibles will appreciated. Trooper photographs will also be considered. With a potential spring opening, donations are welcome as soon as possible.

Please contact Rick Young at Fort Caspar Museum at 235-8462 or at ryoung@casperwy.gov.

Jerry Behrens Foundation to assist vets

The doctors and staff at Casper Orthopedics have established the Jerry Behrens Foundation to honor the lifelong achievements and commitment to community service that was demonstrated by Jerome A. Behrens, M.D., retired orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of Casper Orthopedics. The practice will be funding administrative costs so that all financial contributions will go directly toward assisting injured, wounded and ill service members and their families. To donate to the Jerry Behrens Foundation, please call 265-7205.

Dr. Behrens practiced medicine in Casper for over 40 years and was known as a compassionate, conscientious and trusted orthopedic surgeon and community member. Dr. Behrens demonstrated courage and determination as he served our country as a surgeon for the Marines in Vietnam.

Volunteer at WMC

Wyoming Medical Centers Volunteer Services Program is seeking individuals who enjoy helping others.

If you enjoy walking, we have openings for patient escorts. Its a great way to lend a helping hand and get exercise. Both early and late morning shifts are available.

Volunteers are also needed in the surgical staging area. Volunteers will assist families who are waiting on a patient in surgery.

There are many ways to help in every department.

For more information, please call NJ Olsen at 577-2794 or email nolsen@wyomingmedicalcenter.org.

English speakers needed

CHAT, the English Conversation Club at Casper College Adult Learning Center, needs English speakers to meet international community members and help them speak English. Join us for an international potluck in the Werner Technical Center, Rm. 105: Feb. 14, 11 a.m. to noon; March 22, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.; April 13, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; and May 4, 11 a.m. to noon. For more information, call 268-2230 or email mdugan@caspercollege.edu

Save the date, restorative justice

Save the date! Restorative Justice Symposium 2017: Wyomings Introduction to a New Frontier. March 15 and 16, 2017, at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center. Hosted by Natrona County Restorative Justice. For additional information and to learn more on what restorative justice is all about, visit and like NCRJsFacebook page.
As she prepares to leave the office at the end of each day, Rosemary Bartle tucks in her clients. She organizes her papers into their respective files  stories of kids being beaten and sexually assaulted  and puts them away for the night.

Its just like kissing the kids goodnight, she said.

Bartle works as a counselor and forensic interviewer at the Childrens Advocacy Project, a Casper nonprofit situated just down the street from the citys police station. She interviews kids who have been the victims of abuse about what happened to them. Law enforcement, Department of Family Services investigators and prosecutors then use those interviews to pursue criminal cases or decide what other actions would be best for the child. Bartle and the other two interviewers are also mental health professionals and help those kids and teenagers process what happened to them through counseling.

Between 2013 and 2015, the three counselors at the project have completed an average of 322 interviews a year for agencies across the state and country  more than one per work day. Between July and December, they conducted 145 forensic interviews. Almost three-quarters of those interviews were for children who reported that they had been sexually abused.

There are two other similar organizations in the state: Hirschfield Center for Children in Jackson and Safe Harbor in Cheyenne.

As Wyomings government continues to grapple with an economic decline and budget shortage, however, the three facilities have seen their funding change repeatedly over the past few years as state agencies were asked to slash expenses.

Last year, the Division of Victim Services, which funnels state funding to more than 60 groups that provide services to crime victims, ended state funding for the three facilities and replaced it with money from federal grants. Although the federal money not only fully replaced the states money but also increased the funding, the shift highlights the financial uncertainty that nonprofits and government agencies now face.

So far, cuts to statewide funding for providers of victim services  like the Childrens Advocacy Project  have not deeply impacted the programs operations. However, it remains to be seen how further reductions could affect the resources victims of crime are able to access.

Would I like to have enough (state) general fund money to fully fund all of my programs? Of course, the director of the division said. But we all have our part in this.

Necessary conversations

Tucked in a back room of the Childrens Advocacy Project building is a white board where the faces of criminals stare back at you from printed-out mug shots. Next to the mugs, staff pinned news articles detailing the alleged crimes of each man and tracing the progress of his court case. In the corner, a map marks the locations of many of the homes of registered sex offenders in the Casper area.

On the opposite wall, theres a drawing from one of the nonprofits clients, the words You are the best person ever scrawled across the page.

Its rewarding to see the cases progress, said Stacy Nelson, executive director of the project, as she looked at the printouts.

Near the observation room, one of the buildings back walls was covered with 1,767 paper cutouts of tiny hands  one for each interview conducted at the project between its opening in 2002 and its 10-year anniversary in 2012.

Each of those children sat in one of the two small interview rooms. Younger children are interviewed in a small room with two tiny chairs and a table of coloring supplies. Older children sit in a room with two comfortable brown leather chairs.

During interviews, law enforcement and DFS officials sit in the back rooms black office chairs and observe the interviewer and childs interactions through a television. The interviewers job is to soak up all the childs information by guiding them to tell stories and recount memories with as much detail as possible by using open-ended questions, Bartle, the interviewer, said.

Some kids are ready to tell every detail and need very little prompting, she said. Others are more reticent. Some dont speak at all. About a third of the time, the information shared in the interview doesnt substantiate the original report of abuse, Bartle said.

Victims sometimes hesitate to share if they feel theyll get in trouble for talking or have reported similar abuse before but felt they werent believed. In some cases, she said, the reported offender is also the breadwinner for the family and the child fears that their loved ones would go hungry if the offender were jailed.

Its especially difficult when a child is a victim of repeated, targeted abuse. The interviewer then has just minutes to dismantle months or years of grooming that taught the child that the abuse was OK and that the victim shouldnt report it.

People who exploit children are really good at it, she said. Theyre good at picking their victims and grooming them. We have to work against that.

After the interview, the child has access to CAPs therapy program, though not with the same counselor who performed the interview. During those therapy sessions, Bartle and her peers help the child cope with the emotional turmoil of surviving their abuse and teach the kid that they are not alone. The final step is to help the child learn that what happened to them was not their fault. Kids almost inevitably blame themselves, Bartle said.

Having the case go to court or having him found guilty doesnt really change what happened, she said. Really, one of our main goals is to help kids process the trauma in a way that it doesnt become the defining moment of their lives.

Despite the horror of some of the situations Bartles clients share with her, she is adamant that her job is not dreary. The cases that stick with her, the ones that have affected her the most, are those where the child showed incredible resiliency and hope in spite of it all.

Its amazing to me that kids can have these really, really bad things going on in their life and still have straight As or still have meaningful, reciprocal relationships with, say, a best friend or still have a deep affection for macaroni and cheese, she said. I think its humbling sometimes. We (adults) could learn something about allowing things to be OK, allowing ourselves to change.

Without them, wed be in a world of hurt

When local law enforcement responds to a report of child abuse, officers are trained to ask limited questions of kids who may have been the victim of a crime. In general, law enforcement will ask basic questions to establish that a crime may have occurred and then refer the child to CAP so that a full forensic interview can be performed.

Not only have the three CAP interviewers gone through intensive training at the National Childrens Advocacy Center in Huntsville, Alabama, but their distance from the rest of the investigation allows them to interview the children without accidentally influencing the kids responses.

Many cases involving the physical or sexual abuse of a child are difficult because they often begin as he said, she said cases with little physical evidence, said Taylor Courtney, an investigator at the Natrona County Sheriffs Office who works on many of the cases that involve a child victim. A defense attorney could easily attack a case based mostly on a childs report of a crime by saying that the law enforcement officer who interviewed the victim influenced the childs responses because the officer wanted to make an arrest.

But that argument is harder to make when the interview is conducted by a CAP interviewer who has no ulterior motive and who uses methods backed by research, said Detective Sara Nelson, who handles the bulk of the crimes involving children at the Casper Police Department. Although Nelson is a trained forensic interviewer herself, she prefers that CAP interview the victims in her cases.

I lean on them heavily to get as much honest information as possible, Nelson said. Without them, wed be in a world of hurt.

CAP is also particularly effective because, unlike law enforcement agencies, it has the ability to help children process their trauma through one-on-one counseling.

The justice system can never give those kids the ultimate justice, which is the victim being able to deal with the incident in healthy way and move on, Courtney said. CAP does that.

Difficult choices during hard times

For years, the three advocacy centers split about $200,000 in state funding every two years  meaning each center received about $33,000 annually. During last years budget session, the centers funding doubled to $400,000, though the Legislatures Joint Appropriations Committee chipped that number down to just above $368,000 to for the centers to share over a two-year period.

Then, agencies were asked to make cuts.

Thats when the sky fell and budgets were hit very hard, said Cara Chambers, director of the Victim Services Division, which operates under the Attorney Generals office.

Chambers knew she could substitute the centers state funding with money from the federal Victims of Crime Act program, which had substantially increased in recent years.

So, after a meeting with the centers administrators, she made the move. It was a necessary shift, Chambers said, one that not only allowed the centers to remain fully operational but also increased their funds.

But Erin Johnson, director for the Child Advocacy Centers of Wyoming, said while the centers immediate needs are fulfilled, she feels that the federal funding is less stable than state funding, especially as a new federal administration settles into the nations capital.

Now that theres a new administration, I would expect that anybody relying on federal funding would feel a little uneasy, she said. Having some state funding would provide some assurance in case that did go away.

Johnson said she is optimistic that state legislators and others in government appreciate the value of the childrens centers and would move to make money available should the federal funding fall through.

The funding shift allowed Chambers to make the needed cuts without decimating actual services for victims. Along with the centers funding change, Chambers reduced a program that supplemented salaries for people who work in victim services across the state, eliminated a position in her own office and made other staffing changes.

Chambers recognizes that program directors prefer to have money from the states general fund because its easier to obtain and is more flexible but said the change was the most strategic move available. Funding from the Victims of Crime Act is relatively stable, she said, because the money is generated through fees and fines paid by criminals, rather than from taxes.

Chambers laughed nervously when asked about how potential further budget cuts could affect victims services. So far, her division has managed to spread out the cuts so that no one service provider was deeply hurt.

And if there were more cuts?

You can only cut so much before giving up programs, she said. Thats when it starts to get really scary.
CHEYENNE  A Cheyenne man accused of putting his 15-month-old daughter in scalding bath water last year has pleaded guilty.

Charles W. Keppel, 22, pleaded guilty Friday in Laramie County District Court to physical child abuse. It was a lesser charge than he originally faced, aggravated child abuse.

Prosecutors are expected to recommend five to seven years in prison.

Keppel told the judge that he started a bath for the girl with only hot water and did not check the temperature before putting her in.

The judge asked him if his behavior was reckless, and Keppel said yes. The girl suffered burns on approximately a third of her body. Doctors also found bruises on her face, a fracture in her left foot, and chronic malnutrition.
Gerald Gary Lawrence Dionne

Casper, Wyoming

June 26, 1940 - January 24, 2017

Was born June 26th, 1940 in Anaconda, Montana to Larry F. Dionne and Mary J. (Wilson) Dionne, he passed on January 24th, 2017 at 12:10 pm in Casper, Wyoming at Central Wyoming Hospice with a battle of cancer which he fought very bravely over two years, at the age of 76.

He lived in the San Francisco and Seattle area until 1946. One Brother, David, was born during this time. His parents went their separate ways, he and David went to live with Mary and Richard (Sandy) R. Smith (the best stepdad one could ever have). He then went to live in Superior, Montana and Wallace, Idaho. One sister, Kathleen and brother, Ralph were born, Gary's mother died in child birth with twins. Gary and David then came to live with their dad and stepmom Edna, (best stepmom one could ever have). Two brothers, Ron and Eugene, and one sister, Teresa were born.

Gary went to School first and second grade in Superior, Montana, third and fourth grade in Wallace, Idaho, fifth through eighth grade at Elk Creek Grade School, ninth through twelfth grade at Kellogg Senior High School both in Kellogg, Idaho. He graduated in 1958.

He worked almost a year, 3700 feet underground at the Sunshine Mine in Big Creek, Idaho. He joined the US Navy in 1959. First duty station, RTC located in San Diego, California. Second duty station, MMA School Naval Station in Chicago, Illinois. Third duty station, Naval Hub Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He saw the start of the building of the Arizona Memorial, the Making of the movie, The Wackiest Ship in The Army and title wave from earth quake in Peru. Fourth duty station, USS Mispillion AO105. Fifth duty station, USS Navasota AO106; cruised to Hobart Tasmania, Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia, for the USS Coral Sea CV43 celebration. Pulled into Long Beach, California, at the start of Cuban Missile Crisis (October of 1962).

Gary was discharged from the US Navy, and went back to work at the Sunshine Mine. He saw no future at 3700 feet underground, went back into the US Navy. Seventh duty station, USS Steinaker DDR863. Eighth duty station, USS Eaton DD510, pulled spy ship out of Havana Harbor, Cuba. Ninth duty station, USS Sacrame into AOR5. Part of fleet during the USS Pueblo Crisis when captured by North Koreans. Tenth duty station, RTC San Diego was company Commander. Stayed single never got married, and never got hung for maltreatment. Eleventh duty station, USS Wabash AOR5, which he was a plank owner for commissioning the Ship, November 20th, 1971. Trip from Boston, MA to Long Beach, CA, via tip of South America.

March 18th, 1972 he met his future wife. On July 22nd, 1972 he married his wife, Dorothy Rose Ferrante and his daughter, Samantha Lynn.

Ship changed port from Long Beach to Alameda, California where daughter, Marie Antoinette was born March 4th, 1974. Twelfth duty station, Naval Station Long Beach California, managed enlisted barracks and was PMS Coordinator for Port Services. Gary's son, Kari Lawrence was born September 7th, 1976. Thirteenth duty station, USS Coral Sea CV-43, was part of the Iranian Hostage Rescue Attempt. Last tour was March 1981 to April 1981 the Pineapple Cruise.

Gary retired from US Navy in July of 1981 after over 22 years of service. He received a Vietnam Service Medal with a Bronze Star and ten other awards of valor. He then ended up in Casper, Wyoming. Where he worked for National Machine, Compressor Pump and Engine, and National Oil Well Varco.

Gary enjoyed watching the news, building models, reading books and the newspaper, and listening to books on CD with his wife, while getting to travel the last couple of years. He enjoyed spending time with his pets, as well as with his grandchildren, teaching while receiving life lessons. Fishing with his sons, camping at the lake and mountains with all of his family, even getting to go for a 4 wheeler ride for the first time and not realizing that we had such beautiful country so close to home.

Those who have passed are his mother, father, two sisters, three brothers, step-parents, mother-in-law and son-in-law.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Rose; children, Samantha (Elgin) Dehoff of Evansville, WY, Marie Dionne of Forks, WA, Shad (LeaAnn) Caulfield, and Kari (Cheryl) Dionne both of Casper, WY; ten grandchildren, Melinda, Dylan, Rachael, Kimberlee, Mathew, Frank Cary, Wyatt, Corbin, Katelynn and Landon; expecting his first great-grandchild; brothers, Ron (Sharon) of Coeur d'Alene, ID, and Eugene of Spokane, WA; sister, Kathleen Dorset of Wenatchee, WA; his lifelong military brother, Allen McNerney; and numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws.

A memorial service will be held 1:00 PM, Sunday, February 5th, 2017 at VFW Casper Memorial Post, 1800 Bryan Stock Trail, Casper, Wyoming.

In lieu of flowers and gifts please make donations to Central Wyoming Hospice; 319 S. Wilson Casper, WY, 82601, Must have in memory of Gary Dionne on donation.
CHEYENNE  Hundreds of supporters turned out for the annual Celebrate Life March on Saturday in Cheyenne.

After listening to speakers at the Cheyenne Depot, the crowd grabbed signs and participated in a silent march down Capitol Avenue to the State Capitol Building.

There, they heard from Right to Life of Laramie County President Randy Rhodes, state Rep. Marti Halverson, R-Etna, and Dr. Alveda King, director of Civil Rights for the Unborn.

You would think that the state of Wyoming would be a very pro-life state, Rhodes said. But theres ways to make it better and its upon all of us to do that. We have to get involved with our Legislature.

He encouraged the march participants to show up at 4 p.m. Monday at the Jonah Business Center to show support for abortion-related bills state legislators will be discussing.

Halverson cited the right to life mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, saying where the government does not guarantee the right to life, there are no other rights.

When there is no guarantee to life for both the weak and the strong, the rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all are themselves at risk, she continued, ending with:

Be there for your pro-life legislators that are trying to make a dent in the laws and move us up a little bit on the scale. Thank you very much, you brave souls. Choose life.

King, who is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., encouraged the crowd to show up in numbers, and that will speak volumes.

In the beginning of her remarks, Alveda King led the group in singing part of How Great Thou Art.

Everybody should be born, she said. Thats a civil right; thats a human right; and we have to keep that message moving forward.

King closed her speech by leading the crowd in singing This Little Light of Mine.

Supporters marched with many different signs.

Several said, Shes a child, not a choice, while others said, Smile, your mom chose life; United we stand for life; Stop abortion now; Take my hand, not my life; and Adoption: the loving option.

The event is put on by Right to Life of Laramie County.

Rhodes estimated the turnout was around 415 people.

Before the group marched, they gathered inside the Depot and heard from Right to Life of Laramie Countys secretary, Lisa Provance, as well as essay contest winners and Bethany Jensen, director of the Rocky Mountain Region of Students for Life of America.

We cannot be apathetic any longer, Jensen, who delivered a lively message, said.

Jensen said she once spoke with a man, a child of a rape, who told her that hearing people say abortion should be OK in cases of rape makes him feel like theyre saying he shouldnt be alive.

She also told the crowd about a college friend of hers who was raped, and told the story of a woman whose mother tried to get an abortion at six months pregnant with her, but went into labor and gave birth instead.

Abortion isnt the solution, Jensen said.

She called for more Students for Life groups in Wyoming and said she envisions the Cowboy State becoming a pro-life mega center.

Jensen encouraged the crowd to be not just personally pro-life but actively pro-life.

Be a modern day hero, she said, telling them to not get discouraged.

Keep it up. You are saving lives.
CHEYENNE  Of the nearly 280 bills filed by members of the Wyoming House, five promote gun possession, three restrict abortion and one blocks obscene material from the internet.

There is legislation discouraging the state from working with companies that boycott Israel and banning undocumented immigrants from receiving public assistance. Another penalizes transgender people for using bathrooms of the gender with which they identify.

And that was only as of Friday afternoon. Members of the House have until Monday to submit bill proposals to legislative staff, and more social issue legislation could be made public soon after.

Gov. Matt Mead and Senate President Eli Bebout, both Republicans, warn that social issue legislation could distract lawmakers from more pressing issues.

Wyoming has a $156 million revenue deficit in general government operations. Since the Wyoming Constitution requires a balanced budget, the Legislature must decide in the coming weeks whether to close the gap with savings, tax increases or program cuts.

The energy downturn will also affect education. Next year, K-12 education faces a $400 million shortfall that is expected to continue annually at least through 2022.

And there isnt much time to make decisions. The Wyoming Legislature meets this year for roughly 40 days.

Bebout, who describes himself as a social conservative, said the hot-button issues take hours to debate and often fail. They are contentious, he said.

To get bogged down on social issues that are not going to pass one body or the other, you go through a lot of debate  gut-wrenching discussion, he said. In the end, nothing happens, so why do it?

In a perfect world, Mead said, there is one issue the Legislature would resolve this year.

If weve figured out a solution for education funding but weve been unable to get to any other issues, I think that would be a very successful session, he said. My concern is we leave this session and we dont have a fully formed plan to move forward with education.

This year, freshman legislators compose over a third of the House.

I think every session we see certainly a number of social bills, Mead said. It may seem like theres more this session. I dont know what the count is. I think we have some new legislators, particularly on the House side, who have strongly held beliefs on some of these issues.

Rep. David Miller, the second-ranking Republican in the Wyoming House, disagrees with Mead and Bebout.

In the Wyoming Legislature, even-numbered years are budget sessions when the states two-year spending bill must be adopted and bills addressing other issues are limited. Odd-numbered years  like this one  are general sessions when more non-budgetary issues are considered, he said.

This isnt just a legislative session for school funding, he said.

Time will tell whether social-issue bills succeed amid the strong focus on the states finances.

On Thursday, sponsors of a religious rights bill that enraged the gay community withdrew the measure.

House Bill 135 would have protected people from accommodating others whose lives they find wrong from a religious or moral standpoint. Wyoming Equality called the measure the most discriminatory of all the religious protection legislation before state legislatures currently in session.

Bill sponsors said they withdrew the bill because of the lack of time for discussion. They said they hoped to look at the issue after the session.

People in Wyoming and across the nation called and emailed lawmakers, expressing opposition to the bill.

Bebout said HB135 likely would never have passed the Senate, but he liked the concept of balancing competing rights and interests.

There were some constitutional issues, he said. I like the idea of that bill and what they were trying to do.

House Speaker Steve Harshman noted that Friday was a key deadline for some bills to pass the first of three votes in the House. If they dont clear that hurdle, they die.

I dont think any ideas are off the table, he said. Thats why were elected. Some are better than others. In the end, the people  through their representatives  will pick the best idea.
 Flash

Workers work in a part of the electricity generating plant of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran, Oct. 26, 2010. [File photo / Xinhua/ Mehr News Agency]

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) began the test of advanced generation of IR-8 centrifuges by injecting uranium hexafluoride (UF6), Iranian Students News Agency reported on Saturday.

"In line with the development of Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the Islamic republic began an important stage of research and development of the advanced generation of IR-8 centrifuges," AEOI said in a statement.

The statement said that this important stage of nuclear enrichment research and development is based on rights and commitments within the JCPOA, known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal.

The international agreement on the nuclear program of Iran was reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015 between Iran, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States -- plus Germany) and the European Union.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Jan. 29 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
Often, President Trumps supporters explain his more extreme statements and stances by pointing out they are negotiating positions.

Trump is a master negotiator, they say, and can wring the most out of a deal by staking out tough opening positions.

Thats the spirit in which were supposed to take the presidents declaration last week that we will build a border wall and Mexico will pay for it  a staple of his campaign speeches. Or the trial balloon floated last week that we will impose a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico to pay for it.

Just negotiating positions, a means to an end  a way to win the deal called foreign relations.

But what if the means  the tough declarations and pronouncements  have effects of their own, before we even get to the ends? And are the ends something that we in Southern Arizona really want anyway?

As Jaime Chamberlain, owner of a produce company called J-C Distributing in Nogales, Ariz., told me: I find myself explaining to people all over the United States how lucky and privileged we are to live near the border.

Trumps positions are old news  he always said he wanted to build a wall, or a barrier, or some sort of monument to waste and ego along the southwestern frontier. I call it that not because border security is unimportant, but because a long wall is a wasteful and environmentally disastrous way to achieve it. But it had a gut appeal to people who live hundreds of miles away.

Then, during the campaign, Trump found it irresistible before his excited crowds to say not just that he would build a wall but that Mexico would pay for it.

Why? Well, naturally we dont want to pay for anything we dont have to. But of course, this fits in with a Trump pattern: Humiliate the adversary. Dont just knock a guy down, but make him eat dirt.

That sold well to the people who operate from the position that Mexico is an adversary that has taken us on a ride, that weve been victimized by them, never mind our dominant position in the relationship. It sold well, importantly, in the Rust Belt states that Trump needed to win to take the presidency.

But the idea that Mexico would or should pay for a wall we build on our side of the border was always an absurd proposition that never should have made it past the campaign-rhetoric stage. A flourish like that should have been forgotten on Nov. 9. Try to get the wall built if you can, sure, but forget about Mexico paying for it.

Any financial lever we use can just be countered by Mexico using a lever of its own against us. If we make them pay through a fee on remittances, for example, they can easily make us pay the money back through a duty of their own.

But of course, Trump could not let go of that campaign promise of humiliating Mexico. So last week, on the same day Mexican diplomats were in Washington, D.C., preparing a planned summit meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump reiterated the pledge to make Mexico pay.

Pena Nieto, a widely despised president, had no choice but to cancel this weeks meeting in protest. For that, and for Trumps excesses, the weak president Pena Nieto has suddenly been granted a largely unified Mexico.

Unifying Mexico against him was a magic trick that Trump never intended to perform, but he did it as part of his means to an unclear end.

In a press conference Friday, Mexicos richest man, Carlos Slim, said in Spanish, This unity is the most surprising thing Ive seen  with great pleasure  in my life.

This national unity is very important, he went on. Its going to put the (Mexican) government in a strong position that best supports national interests.

While Mexicans rose up in loud opposition to the tenor of Trumps overtures, the response from Arizona leaders  the ones who dared speak out  was also mostly negative. Thats because the policy that theoretically could help a few in the Rust Belt would most likely hurt us in Arizona.

As Sen. John McCain, a Republican, said in a written response to Trumps actions last week, Facts are stubborn things, and the facts clearly show that NAFTA has delivered enormous economic benefits to the citizens of my home state since it went into effect in 1994.

Sen. Jeff Flake, also a Republican, echoed McCains sentiments, and Lea Marquez Peterson, CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber, decried the possible loss of commerce in Southern Arizona. Marquez-Peterson is a close ally of Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican free-trader who was quiet last week about Trumps blow-up of the Mexico relationship.

We need Ducey, and Republican U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, to speak up against the pointless bullying of a country that is, despite all the complications of the relationship, our friend. Ducey and Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, among others, have just rebuilt the relationship after the disastrous days of Gov. Jan Brewer, who brought on a Mexican boycott of Arizona.

It behooves us to think of ourselves as a North American economic bloc, Chamberlain, of Nogales, said. Were a tremendous force to be reckoned with when you talk about the Canadian economy, the Mexican economy and the American economy.

Fracturing that relationship does not help Southern Arizona, where one of our few economic advantages is cross-border trade.

Now we have Trump tearing up much of the hard rebuilding work with his rhetorical negotiating position, creating a new call for boycotts of American goods in Mexico.

Slim said Friday, Mexico is in a great position to negotiate with the United States and should now emphasize improving its internal economy, not international trade.

All this for what? To bring a possible benefit to the Great Lakes states.

Theyll create a few thousand jobs, but 325 million American consumers will pay for it, Slim said of the proposed border tax.

And we especially will pay for it, here in the borderlands.
Before being submerged in scalding water, allegedly by the woman who recently adopted her, a Tucson 5-year-old lived with a foster father now imprisoned for sex crimes against children.

The girl, who is in critical condition, had been shuttled from one troubled home life to another before 911 responders found her severely burned on Dec. 29.

State authorities had removed her from her biological parents and placed her, as a toddler, in the Sierra Vista home of David Frodsham, where she lived with other foster children from 2013 until January 2015.

Frodsham was arrested in 2016 after federal authorities accused him of sexual misconduct with children and of providing at least one child to an alleged child pornographer, Randall Bischak, for sexual contact. The foster father eventually pleaded guilty to counts involving a child over age 15, in return for prosecutors dropping other charges. The names of child sex victims are not public record and would not be published by the Arizona Daily Star.

Previous reports on his case quote a federal criminal complaint as saying Bischak and Frodsham allegedly met for consensual sex with children present.

The biological mother of the Tucson child says she raised concerns with state workers that while living in Frodshams home, her toddler daughter had repeated urinary-tract infections, which can be a sign of sexual abuse in children, but says those concerns went unanswered.

From Frodshams home, the little girl had to commute nearly 90 minutes each way to see her biological parents in Tucson. She initially would cry until she fell asleep after she left her parents, said Beth Breen, a former taxi driver for children in state custody. Breen took the child back and forth for nearly a year, ending in March 2014.

The little girl would scream in fear around strange men, Breen said, making it nearly impossible for male drivers to take her, and so Breen said she became her regular driver. Breen would sing to her and the girl would watch movies on a DVD player Breen bought for the drive.

Breen has had trouble sleeping since she realized, about a week ago, that the little girl in the news was the toddler shed transported.

After the recent news reports, Breen looked up the childs adoptive parents on social media and saw family photographs that confirmed her fears: This was the same girl she had known.

We spent a lot of time together. We would sing songs and play I spy, Breen said. I would know that child anywhere. I have always had a special place in my heart for her.

Arizona Department of Child Safety records show that the girls biological mother, Michelle Tremor-Calderon, was nearly reunified with the child before her parental rights were terminated in 2015.

What Calderon desperately wants now  and she has asked Tucson attorney Lynne Cadigan to help her  is to see her hospitalized daughter and, if the little girl is not going to survive, to say goodbye.



The child was adopted last summer by Samantha and Justin Osteraas and given a new name, law enforcement records and accounts on social media show.

Samantha Osteraas, 28, was arrested Jan. 5 after the girl suffered third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body, from the upper chest down, sheriffs records show. Osteraas might have waited up to six hours to seek medical treatment, court records say. She told 911 dispatchers she didnt realize she was bathing her daughter in scalding water.

Deputies also noted bruises to the childs neck and left arm, and saw blood and signs of trauma on her upper lip. Hours after the incident, the 5-year-old was reported to be in respiratory and organ failure. She remains at Banner-University Medical Center in a medically induced coma.

DCS spokesman Darren DaRonco said Samantha Osteraas did not have a history as a perpetrator with the child-welfare agency before this case.

After the arrest, the DCS removed the Osteraas three young biological children from the familys home near North Shannon Road and West Lambert Lane. It is unclear whether they have been reunified with their father.

Samantha Osteraas, charged with two counts of child abuse, was released Thursday from the Pima County jail on a bond of $25,000.



Calderon learned a little more than a week ago that the hospitalized girl was the child shed lost. Calderon has not seen her daughter since July 2015, but, like Breen, looked up the adoptive parents on social media and saw her daughter in their family photos.

The girl was taken from her in April 2013 following a domestic fight between Calderon and the childs father, Jonathan Hileman. She remained in foster care while her parents, who struggled with cocaine addiction, worked toward reunification.

The girls father, who is a registered sex offender from a 1999 crime involving an adult victim, had failed to notify police about his new address, and that was another factor in their case, at least initially.

Throughout the dependency case, Hileman continued to relapse while Calderon began to sustain her sobriety, reports show.

As of May 2014, Calderon was moving toward reunification with her daughter when she violated a court order by letting the father, who was not allowed unsupervised visitation, to be at home with them.

The couple tried to remedy that significant error by later separating, records show. In February 2015, Hileman relinquished his parental rights. Calderon said he did this primarily to help her regain custody of their daughter.

A couple of months later, in April 2015, court records showed Calderon to be in full compliance with her case plan. But the behavior of their then-3-year-old child was deteriorating around this time, DCS records show. She had prolonged temper tantrums, urinated on herself and cried for prolonged periods after her visits.

The childs caseworker and a DCS-appointed family therapist testified this was because the child was having difficulty relating to her mother, that the mother had inappropriate conversations in front of the child and didnt know how to meet her daughters emotional needs.

In the end, a judge severed Calderons parental rights based on her violating the courts orders related to Hileman, the length of time the child had been in out-of-home care without successful reunification  well beyond the nine months required by law  and the serious negative behaviors the child would exhibit around her mother but reportedly would not display when away from her.

Calderon tried to appeal the termination, but was not successful.

They took her away, she said last week, and look what theyve done to her.



Calderon repeatedly told Breen, the driver, that she thought something was wrong while her daughter lived in Sierra Vista. Calderon said she was always on the watch, fearful her daughter was being mistreated  so much so that it was brought up as a problem in her trial to sever her parental rights.

At one point, Calderon called Sierra Vista police to have a welfare check done at the house, and this was not well-received by the DCS, according to both the mother and DCS records.

I did address my concerns to the case manager and she had no concerns, Calderon said. She told me the (Frodsham) home was a good home and nothing like that was going on there.

The repeated urinary-tract infections, which records show were treated following medical visits, were blamed mostly on the child consuming too many sugary drinks.

Records show the caseworker thought it was Calderon who was teaching her daughter to fear men and told her to stop more than once.

Breen, who also thought the Frodsham home seemed like a safe placement, said she feels guilty she didnt take Calderons fears more seriously.

When I was transporting her, her mom kept saying, Somethings not right, somethings not right, Breen said. I kept reassuring her that it seemed like a good home.



Frodsham was licensed to have up to five foster children at a time, male and female, with the ages ranging from birth to 11, the DCS reported. DCS officials said they could not comment further on the case.

Breen said several foster children of various ages were living in the home when Calderons child was there, including one other toddler. Frodsham was licensed as a foster parent in Arizona from 2002 until January 2015, when he was arrested on charges of aggravated drunk driving. His license was then suspended due to suspension of his fingerprint clearance card.

Frodsham was later charged with sex crimes after federal authorities, in 2016, alerted Sierra Vista police about his alleged involvement with Bischak, a former U.S. Army specialist. The Department of Homeland Security was investigating Bischak for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography.

Frodsham, who was indicted on seven counts related to sex crimes against children, pleaded guilty in June 2016 to three counts, including two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and attempted sexual conduct with a minor, said Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre.

Frodsham is now serving a 17-year prison sentence with the Arizona Department of Corrections and will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

There is an investigation pending on Bischak in Cochise County, but thats on hold until his federal case is done. Bischak was indicted on multiple counts of child pornography in a case pending in U.S. District Court in Tucson.



Calderon has a small collection of photographs from her visits with her daughter, along with photos she collected of bruises and scratched feet she feared indicated her daughter was being mistreated in foster care.

Months after her rights to her daughter had been severed, she learned about Frodshams arrest.

She agonized over that, thinking  until now  it was the worst news she could ever hear.
Arizona Senator John McCain this morning voiced concerns that President Donald Trump's executive order barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries will prevent Iraqi military pilots from training in Tucson.

The program, run by the Arizona Air National Guards 162nd Wing, trains F-16 pilots from a number of countries, including those from Iraq.

McCain told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson he recently spoke with the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, David Petraeus, about the unintended consequences of Trump's executive order.

"I talked with Gen. Petraeus last night, he is very concerned about the special visas for those interpreters whose lives are literally in danger as we speak," McCain told Dickerson.

"What about the Iraqi pilots that are training right now in Tucson, Arizona, learning to fly the F-16?" he said. "And there are more coming in."

The National Guard began training Iraqi pilots in 2012.
Inside the somber Holocaust History Center, on a wall, is an exhibit of a large reprint of a Parade Magazine cover. In the photo dozens of people peer up into the camera with eyes of despair, uncertainty and glimmers of hope.

Two people in the photo, taken in June 1939, are Erna and Arthur Blachmann, husband and wife, on the deck of the SS St. Louis. They, along with more than 900 other men, women and children, including the Blachmanns young daughter who is not in the photo, had fled Nazi Germany. They were persecuted, fearful Jews.

The ship left Germany for Cuba. They were not permitted to enter. The ships captain then took the refugees to the U.S., where they were denied entry. The ship moved north along the coast to Canada and found the door was also closed.

The ship eventually returned to Europe, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and the refugees dispersed to several countries. It is estimated that several hundred of the passengers eventually died in Nazi concentration camps.

Arthur Blachmann was one of those killed. His wife and daughter, Gerda, survived and eventually fled Europe again, only this time they were allowed into the U.S. Erna and her daughter finally came to Tucson, where they lived out their lives and contributed to the community.

This is kind of instructive of what happens when one immigrant gets in, the other one doesnt, said Peter Marcus in a telephone interview. The Blachmanns were his grandparents; his mother was Gerda, who died in Tucson in 1999 at the age of 76.

Friday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I went to the Holocaust Center on the downtown campus of the Jewish History Museum, a week after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who had campaigned on a platform of fear-based exclusion, of turning away suffering refugees, and of demonizing groups of people.

Trump made good on his demagoguery and America first promises when he announced the expansion of the unfinished portion of the southern border wall, that his administration would punish U.S. cities that offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, and that he would push local law enforcement to function as immigration agents.

And Friday the president, in an executive order, barred indefinitely Muslim Syrian refugees from entering the country, refused entry to all refugees for 120 days and halted entry into the U.S. of anyone from seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days. The order also bans U.S. residents with green cards from returning to the United States.

When and if Syrian refugees are allowed to find refuge in the U.S., the Trump government plans to slash the number in half. To drive home his anti-Muslim point, the president exempted Christian Syrians from his blanket directive.

The order was immediately applied Saturday as travelers returning home to the U.S. were detained at U.S. airports and others were not allowed to board U.S.-bound flights.

This is what this country, land of the free and the brave, has come to. Tucsons refugee community has suffered enough and will face additional uncertainty.

Looking at the Blachmanns faces, I see the faces of Syrian men, women and children who have suffered war and deprivation. I see the face of the dead Syrian baby on the Mediterranean shoreline and photos of drowned immigrants. I see and hear the increasing attacks  verbal, political and physical  on peaceful Muslims living as our neighbors.

The Blachmanns and the thousands of German Jews in the 1930s who were turned away were considered dangerous and a menace to the United States. Today, in Trumps alternative fact-based world, so are Muslim refugees.

The parallels to how the United States denied the entry of Jews from Europe trying to escape the Nazi regime and now the Syrians seeking refuge is eerily similar. This countrys refusal of sanctuary to those displaced Jews resulted in hundreds of deaths, Tucson immigration attorney Mo Goldman wrote me.

I am fortunate to be alive today, as my grandparents were able to seek refuge after miraculously surviving concentration and labor camps in Nazi Germany, he wrote.

Bryan Davis, executive director of the Holocaust History Center, said since it opened in February 2016, many visitors have made similar connections between the U.S. treatment of Jewish refugees to todays vilification of Muslim refugees and immigrants. More will make that connection, hopefully.

Who knows how long reason, compassion and true American ideals will hemorrhage, but already there is honest resistance to this shameful action and Trumps blatant disregard for the Constitution.

The Holocaust center is at 564 S. Stone Ave. Hours are 1-5 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and 12-3 p.m. Fridays.

Go.
The Arizona Daily Stars Sportsmens Fund Send a Kid to Camp program raises money so children from low-income households and military families can attend overnight YMCA, Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps and Camp Tatiyee, for school-age children and older teens with special needs, at little or no cost to their families.

We spent $190,982 to send 644 children to camp in 2016 and received 1,434 donations totaling $181,449.

Since 1947, the Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund has helped pay for 38,551 children to go to camp. Were one of the oldest 501(c)3 charities in Arizona.

Your contribution qualifies for the Arizona tax credit of up to $800 for donations to qualifying charitable organizations. That tax credit was increased starting for tax year 2016 and donations made through April 17, 2017, qualify.

Donations are welcome throughout the year.

Recent donations include:

Rochelle Abell, in memory of Mildred McElroy, $50.

Linda Baccio, $75.

Robert Baldwin, $200.

Avery W. Bates, $100.

Paul and Janice Bouchee, $400.

Linda Brotsch, $100.

Mary Brown, $100.

Michael Buckley, $200.

Susan Carmody $300.

Robert Chappell, in memory of Vona Chappell, $100.

Debra Childers, $100.

Robert Christofk, $100.

Bowman Coral, $100.

Dr. and Mrs. David R. Davenport, $200.

Joann Davis, $50.

Hannelore Eckert, $100.

W.M.F. Faust, $100.

Patricia H. Frannea, $100.

Beverly Goodwin, in memory of her father, Elbert D. Brooks, $100.

Holly J. Hail, $400.

James Harrison, $200.

James Hemphill, $200.

Dr. and Mrs. Hicks, $400.

Michael Hyatt, $50.

Michael Jacobson, $200.

Harvey Jansen, in memory of LaVerne Hawkins, Jim Riley and Sue Bach Call, $400.

Sidmon and Barbara Kaplan, $200.

Marsha Kavaney, $100.

Burton Kinerk $500.

Vincent and Carol LeVigne, $100.

Jeff and Heather Lewis, $800.

Bettina Lyons, $400.

Kenneth Mahan, $200.

Anne Mosher, $200.

David Mungo, $200.

A.W. Newman, $200.

Jeff Oestrike, $200.

Terri Parsons, $200.

Ross A. Phelps, $50.

Donald Pitt Family Foundation Philanthropic Fund, $1,000.

J. Thomas Poore, $200.

Kay Ransdell, $200.

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Reynolds, $200.

Evelyn Richards, $200.

Barbara Richie, in memory of George Case, $100.

Kathleen Rivera, $400.

Charles Sanner, $500.

Nick Soloway, $400.

Stephen Thomas, $80.

John Thomas, $200.

Dr. and Mrs. Hugh Thompson III, $500.

Rod Tizzard, in memory of Vee, $100.

Patricia Trossman, $200.

Thomas Tucker, $300.

Candace Wagner, $200.

Chris Wassenberg, $400.

One anonymous donation of $50.
 Flash

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that China and Pakistan are now bonded through ever strong friendship, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in Islamabad on Saturday.

On behalf of the people and government of Pakistan, the prime minister expressed his good wishes for the people, leadership and the Chinese government on the advent of new Lunar year being celebrated in China.

He also said that the bilateral partnership in the form of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will prove to be a historical milestone in the Pak-China bilateral relations.
Free Mecca, for the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

Free Mecca for the wretched refuse of the teeming shore,

Free Mecca from the clutches of the despot,

Free Mecca, birthplace of Mohammad, land of the Holy Places of Islam. End, ancient lands, your storied tyranny and gilded pomp.

Free Mecca.

A modest proposal for the safety of Muslim refugees from the violence and destruction in Middle East. The West has absorbed millions of non-Western refugees from the ongoing strife and conflict in the region. Yet the King of Saudi Arabia has accepted virtually none; all while allowing the funding of radical jihadist terrorists across the globe and serving as a safe haven for such. His government is even now bombing fellow Muslims in neighboring Yemen while the world behaves like Chamberlain at Munich.

It is time to create a safe zone for the followers of Islam. There is no better place on Earth than the one most sacred to followers of Mohammad. To provide the proper legal justification I submit the following:

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When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to assume among the power of the earth the separate and equal station to which God entails them, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that we should declare the causes which impel this assumption of responsibility.

Whereas the King of Saudi Arabia, defender of the holy places of Islam,

For, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these neighboring lands,

For declaring himself invested with power to legislate in all cases whatsoever.

He has made judges dependent on his Will for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has deprived the people of the benefit of Trial by Jury.

He has endeavored to prevent the migration of people of neighboring states; and raising the conditions of new barriers to entry to these of Lands.

He has plundered Yemens seas, ravaged her coasts, burnt her towns, and destroyed the lives of her people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless ISIS Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the People of the Free World, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the Refugees, solemnly publish and declare, a safe zone for the followers of Islam.

---

There is no better place on Earth than the one most sacred to followers of Mohammad.

Free Mecca.
Help India!

By Asif Moazzam Jamai for Twocircles.net

The Samajwadi Party came to power in 2012 with lucrative promises to the people of Uttar Pradesh. Sixteen points, pregnant with best-sounding promises were dedicated to the Muslim community, in the election manifesto. At the end of five years of governance, lets have a review of promises and their delivery before we are taken to view a new mirage. Below is a rough translation of most of the promises made in the Election manifesto of SP 2012.

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1. SP government will pressurize the center to implement the recommendations of Ranganath Mishra Commission and Sachar Committee. It will immediately implement the recommendations that fall under the jurisdiction of state government.

2. In the light of recommendations of Sachar Committee report, Muslims being education-wise, economically, and socially backward, will be given reservation on the lines of scheduled castes on the basis of their population.

3. Innocent Muslim youths arrested in fabricated cases will not only be released immediately but also be compensated. The accused officers will be punished too.

4. In Muslim pockets, new educational institutes will be opened.

5. In Muslim pockets, Urdu medium schools will be opened on primary, middle and high school level.

6. The separate budget will be allocated for the technical education of madrasa.

7. In order to instill confidence among the community, special provisions will be taken to recruit them into State Security Forces.

8. The special budget will be allocated for the protection of graveyards and to remove the encroachments.

9. One representative of the community will be appointed to every government commissions, boards, and committees.

10. A separate law will be enacted to safeguard Waqf properties. Waqf properties will be cleared from all encroachments and handed over to its waaqif. Waqf board properties will be kept away from Land Acquisition Act.

11. Minoritys profession like handloom, handmade art, carpet industry, bangles, locks, bidi, jardoz, scissors industry will be given subsidy for their promotion. Outstanding electric bills and their interest on looms will be waived off to relieve them. In order to produce skilled hands for small and cottage industries, ITIs will be opened on block levels.

12. Weavers, like farmers, will be given free electricity.

Rihai Manch, a political front for resistance against repression, raised as many as 40 questions related to minorities, on the completion of four years of Samajwadi Government on March 14 2016.

Most of the questions were based on the promises made by the Samajwadi government in its election manifesto 2012. It reminded and sharply rebuked the government for the failure of its promises. It raised questions about the release of Muslim youths falsely arrested, compensation for the youths acquitted by courts, 18% of reservation for Muslim, compensation for the Muzaffarnagar riot victims, as promised in the manifesto.

Rajeev Yadav, member of Central Executive Committee, Rihai Manch, says, To speak of release is a remote dream, especially against the deceptive attitude of the government which went to the length of appealing to the high court in Feb 2016, to revoke the release order of six Muslim youths who were acquitted of all charges with full honor and dignity by the lower court.

Rihai Manch also asked why there was no recruitment in State Security Force and why there was no representative of the community in every government commissions, boards, and committees, as per manifesto. It also reminded the government of its promise to waive off outstanding electricity bills and interests, to extend subsidy, and to open ITIs which remained a distant dream for Muslims associated with small scale industries.

The condition of State minority commission (SMC) in the state is almost null and void. The State minority commission doesnt prepare any annual report on minority issues. Things climaxed when no representative of the commission visited either Muzaffarnagar or Dadri, while anti-Muslim violence there had shaken up the nation. According to the guidelines of the commission, every district welfare officer should come from minority, but this is not followed in the case of Uttar Pradesh SMC.

In Unani medical courses, Urdu is removed from courses like nursing and pharmacy. The government has put a ban on Urdu as a language to appeal in RTI, from RTI regulation Act, with effect from Dec 3, 2015. Waqf data is not yet computerized under Waqf data computerization scheme.

In a nutshell, Samajwadi party hardly implemented any of the promises made in the manifesto. Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are all set to defeat a communal force against a secular force. I hope, Muslims this time, will be smart enough to identify their foes and friends.

The author is associated with Dept. of English, University of Bisha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Help India!

By Abdul Kalam Azad

When the entire country was celebrating 68th Republic Day, a tenth standard student of Sidhuni High School in Barpeta district of Assam was raped by her neighbour Jahidul Islam (22). The Gaon Panchayat president Mr. Abdul Karim barred her father from accessing legal remedy and the panchayat offered eighty thousand rupees as compensation. Traumatized girl committed suicide soon after the kangaroo court pronounced the verdict.

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I often get telephone calls regarding violation of child rights i.e. trafficking, child marriage, sexual abuses etc. Interestingly, most of the calls I get are from two different areas: (a) conflict-affected areas of Bodoland Territorial Area Districts and (b) flood and erosion affected char and chapori areas of lower Assam. I try to bring the matter to the notice of various government and non-government bodies which are working for the protection of child rights. In most the cases, the agencies, both government and non-government quickly take up the cases and surprising results are delivered.

For example, September last year, a thirteen-year-old girl from Barpeta was abducted by a suspected gang of human traffickers. The girl was taken to Nalbari district and her father was pleading before the police officer for her rescue. The Police werent willing to register the case until her father would pay them a bribe. When I brought the matter to the notice of the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) and Universal Team for Social Action and Help (UTSAH), the girl child was rescued within 24 hours. In another case in Baksa district, a tenth standard girl student was trafficked and sold in Rajasthan. The Investing Officer (IO) took money from her widow mother to fuel the police jeep. Police didnt arrest the perpetrators even after being handed over by the community people. When the matter was brought to the notice these agencies, Assam Police team went to Rajasthan and rescued the girl and arrested the members of trafficking racket.

But it is challenging to bring the matter to the notice of these child protection agencies. When the grass-root institutions  the family, the school, the Panchayat, the police station do not realise their roles and responsibilities in child protection or not even realize why the children need care and protection; it becomes really challenging to bring the matter to light. Often heinous crime against children is not even considered as a crime; it is doused and put under the carpet by the powerful people in the society. My experience of working in these areas makes me believe that our grass-root social, as well as democratic institutions, are not child-friendly and there is something seriously wrong. Often these institutions dont allow the information of child rights violation to reach the modern child protection agencies. Sometimes, it reaches too late to protect the children.

In one of such tragic incident which occurred in Sidhuni village in Barpeta district of Assam. When the entire country was celebrating 68th Republic Day, a tenth standard student of Sidhuni High School in Barpeta district of Assam was raped by her neighbour Jahidul Islam (22). The Gaon Panchayat president, Abdul Karim, barred her father from accessing legal remedy and the panchayat offered eighty thousand rupees as compensation. The traumatized girl committed suicide soon after the kangaroo court pronounced the verdict.

On the fateful evening of January 26, 2017, S*****n Nessa was raped at her residence. After the heinous crime, perpetrator Jahidul Islam asked the victim to keep quiet and promised her to marry. Her father Taizuddin, an illiterate poor farmer approached the Dewanis (Community Leaders) for help to give justice to his minor daughter. President of 78 No Sitoli Gaon Panchayat, Abdul Karim (elected PRI member) stopped him from going to police station and suggested to settled the case in the panchayat itself.

Next day i.e. January 27, 2017, the president called panchayat at his residence and invited the Dewanis (community leaders, similar to the leaders of khap panchayats) including the president of nearby Chachra Gaon Panchayat, who happens to be the brother-in-law of the perpetrator. The victim was interrogated by the president and other Dewanis in front of hundreds of villagers in the panchayat (they call it bichar). An educated youth from the same village who was present in the panchayat informed me over the phone:

Dewanis repeatedly asked the girl every detail of how she was raped. She was terribly frightened and traumatized. But they were asking questions after questions. The questions were so terrifying that one of the Dewanis asked her where and how she was touched during the course of the sexual assault.

After listening to the interrogation, the president Mr. Abdul Karim held the victim to be responsible and remarked; If the female goat is set free; the billy goat will try to have some fun. Nayan Ali, one of the Dewanis and a trusted ally of president explained why the victim shouldnt go to court. He tried to inculcate the gathering by drawing his knowledge (?) and experience that if she goes to court, her medical check-up will be done by police and doctors from another caste (read religion) which is against their religious belief and practice! Finally, the panchayat offered eighty thousand rupees to be paid by the perpetrator in installments and asked the victim to keep quiet and move on. Soon after the pronouncement, the victim committed suicide by hanging herself. Listen to the verdict of the kangaroo court here.

From this particular area of Barpeta district, I have been getting reports of violation of child rights on regular basis. The incidences of child marriage, child trafficking, child labour and child sexual abuses are really alarming. In one hand, people living in this area are devastated by annual flood and erosion. Poverty and illiteracy have been helping to feudal minded Dewani and other powerful social groups to keep their grip over the marginal groups intact and thus undermines the rights and entitlement of the children. On the other hand, the democratic institutions like Gaon Panchayats and police stations are highly corrupt and have miserably failed to live up to their mandates as far as protection of child rights is concerned.

It has been almost two days; police hasnt even tried to arrest either the rapist or the Dewanis who conducted the panchayat and abetted the child to committing suicide. Moreover, I am being informed that the Dewanis are now trying to compromise the case by paying three lakhs rupees to the father of the victim and settle the case. How shameful is the fact that our society has a different slab of an amount fixed for different types of crime that too in case of crime against children!

I dont know who is to be blamed or what is to be done but as far as child protection is concerned we should at least acknowledge the fact that there is a serious problem with our grass-root social and democratic institutions. Various stakeholders, who are concerned and mandated for ensuring care and protection of children, should rethink their strategies and approaches.

*This article was originally published here.*
Carnage has ensued at airports in the United States (US) as President Donald Trump's immigration plan begins to take effect. But the questions to ask are, not only why is Trump advocating such a policy but what has been the reaction around the world?

The facts

First of all the facts. According to USA Today, President Trump has "suspended the US refugee programme for 120 days". In addition, all immigrants from seven Muslim countries (Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen) have been banned from entering the country for ninety days. As the Guardian reported, this has led to "confusion and despair" at ports and airports as approved refugees, valid visa holders and non-US dual citizens are "detained, barred from planes or ordered out of the US".

There are a few examples of such action. An Iraqi translator who is a visa-holder, Hameed Khalid, was held for seventeen hours at New York's JFK Airport before being released, according to The Sun newspaper. As of last night (28th) there were ten others still being held at JFK as a result of the ban.

Why the ban?

But the first question to ask is, why is Trump advocating such a policy? It seems that the key reason is Security. As reported on the First Post website, the rationale behind such action was to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States". Trump went on to state that "we don't want them here" and that "we want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas".

In addition, Trump said that "we will never forget the lessons of 9/11" and that "we only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people".

The reaction?

The second question to ask is, what has been the reaction throughout the world? The Guardian noted that there has been "fury and anguish".

The UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that she "does not agree" with Trump's ban, and the International Rescue Committee called Trump's decision "harmful and hasty", as stated on CNN. In addition to this there have been protests held throughout the United States to show their dismay to what was happening.

Although Donald Trump may have his reasons, it simply is not viable to prevent people from entering a country simply because of who they are. It has caused international condemnation and so it should. Such a policy will surely send shockwaves throughout the world and threaten relations in particular with the Arab world.
Jo Stevens, the shadow secretary for Wales, has resigned from her position due to a disagreement with Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn over Brexit. Stevens, in her parting words, branded 'leaving the European Union a terrible mistake that can not be reversed'. Stevens stated that she could not vote to trigger article 50 in good conscience.

Stevens' letter to Corbyn

In her final letter to Jeremy Corbyn, who recently issued a three-line whip to his party to vote to trigger article 50 in parliament, Stevens stated: 'I am a passionate European that voted remain.

The majority of my constituency of Cardiff also voted to remain in the European Union. I couldn't vote to trigger article 50 in good conscience. That is why I must resign from my position as shadow secretary for Wales'.

Stevens continued, writing: 'I fully accept the result of the referendum. That is democracy in action. Although leaving the European Union is inevitable, I can't reconcile my beliefs with endorsing this bill'.

Corbyn faces further rebellion

Jo Stevens was the first member of the shadow cabinet to depart over Corbyn's stance on Brexit. Although Labour aren't expecting a host of resignations, Corbyn faces internal rebellion once again. In summer last year, Corbyn faced widespread rebellion against his leadership throughout the Labour party.

Further, the recent supreme court judgement determined that Wales, Scotland and Northern Island would not be individually consulted on Brexit negotiations. Stevens raised this issue in her letter of resignation. Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party, has used the judgement to fuel her calls for a second Scottish independence referendum.

In a statement today, Sturgeon said: 'I am not surprised that Jeremy Corbyn faces rebellion in his party once again. Evidently, Brexit is a divisive issue and, despite his recent statements, Corbyn has consistently failed to take a stance on issues pertaining to Britain's departure from the European Union. I would not be surprised if the issue of Brexit further divides a Labour party that continues to lose ground under his failing leadership'.
 Flash

A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, has lost contact with the authorities since it sailed out from Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said on Sunday.

A statement from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the boat, with three crewmembers on board, sailed out at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday from Tanjung Aru to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night, and then sent out rescue ships and helicopters to the site for rescue.

A report from the New Strait Times quoted a Sabah MMEA communications officer as saying that "the search area covers 400 nautical square miles and involves waters between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum."

It is not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat, but an official from the Chinese consulate said there were stormy waves at the waters on Saturday.
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President-elect Donald Trump has created yet another firestorm on Twitter, but the Russian Embassy is making it very clear that they love Trump's support of Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation. On Friday, Trump tweeted, "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart." Not only did he tweet praise about Putin, Trump pinned the tweet to the top of his Twitter account.

His tweet brought out both his supporters and detractors in full force, but the one tweet that got noticed immediately was from the official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in the United States.

Shortly after Trump tweeted his kudos to Putin, the embassy retweeted the President-elect  a retweet that has already been "favorited" by more than 20,000 people on the social media site.

Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016

"Trump is openly siding with Russia"

It didn't take long for Twitter to blow up with comments about Trump's odd allegiance to Putin. His tweet about the Russian president being "very smart" comes just one day after President Barack Obama revealed that his administration had issued sanctions against Russia for allegedly hacking the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump told reporters that it was "time to move on to bigger and better things" instead of focusing on the Russian hacking.

It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things, Trump said in a response to President Obama's sanctions. Although Trump seemed to indicate that he wanted the topic to go away, he went on to say that he would "meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week" so he could stay "updated on the situation."

"Trump is openly siding with Russia against @POTUS," NBC journalist Evan Rosenfeld tweeted.

"And against many members of his own party. This is NOT NORMAL."

Trump is openly siding with Russia against @POTUS, and against many members of his own party. This is NOT NORMAL... #12News pic.twitter.com/YI8Fo3rzme  Evan Rosenfeld (@Evan_Rosenfeld) December 30, 2016

Shortly after the Russian Embassy retweeted Donald Trump, CNN's Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta tweeted that Putin's non-response to Obama's sanctions is "getting the response he was likely hoping for" and one of his followers agreed, stating that Putin is "playing Trump like a fiddle."

@Acosta he's playing trump like a fiddle  John (@kabyr) December 30, 2016

With just three weeks until Inauguration Day, perhaps one tweet about Trump's praise for Putin says it all  "frightening times in the USA come January 20."
It was the second time in a couple of weeks that the Kentucky teen had seen the dog, sniffing around at the gas station, so he assumed the mutt must be lost. He was concerned for the dogs welfare, until the animal strolled on up to him to make his acquaintance. As the Yellow Lab approached him, Tyler bent over to check him out and turned over an ID tag attached to the dog's collar. This is where the surprise came in.

The tag introduced the Labrador as Dew, going on to stress that the dog was not lost, he just likes to roam. The message ended with the words, Tell me to go home. Once Tyler read the words, he realized the dog was definitely not lost, but was rather enjoying a little adventure.

He told The Dodo that they looked at each other and all of a sudden he knew everything was OK, adding that Dew is so cute. He said he then petted and hugged the Yellow Lab and got a few photos before leaving the gas station.

Later, the 19-year-old headed to Twitter to share images of the dog and his tag.

Kentucky teens post went viral on Twitter

The tweeted images quickly went viral and it has since been revealed that Dew is quite the local celebrity, as he often leaves his owners 70-acre farm to go on his little adventures. The mutt even has his own Facebook page, titled Dews Adventures and his very own Twitter feed, @dewsadventures.

Among the stories on the Facebook page is a tale of how he once comforted a stranger who he found crying on her porch. The lady apparently lived two streets over from Dews home and enjoyed his attention no end.

Yellow Labrador is street-wise and safely tracked

According to his owners, Dew is a very loving dog and often comforts people and makes new friends in the neighborhood.

However, some social media users were concerned about the dogs safety out on the streets and that he might cause concern to people who are afraid of Dogs. However, his Family reiterated that the Yellow Labrador loves making friends and spreading love all over the area and he is reportedly very popular with students at the nearby school.

The Yellow Lab is, as reported by the Mirror Online, chipped and fitted with a GPS tracker, so no matter where he roams, his family always knows exactly where he is. This is no doubt a relief for one Kentucky teen who kindly showed his concern for what he believed to be a lost dog.
One of the first things that Donald Trump did after he was officially sworn into office as president was sign an executive order that restricted Muslim refugees from entering the United States. Backlash quickly followed, including Malala Yousafzai.

Malala on Trump

Malala Yousafzai was just 15-years-old when an Islamic extremist took over a school bus in Pakistan and shot the future women's activist in the head. Miraculously, Malala survived and has been outspoken on reform in the Muslim world ever since. In addition, Malala is the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Prize, while consistently being named to TIME magazine's list of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World." After Donald Trump signed the aforementioned executive order, Malala decided to speak out, as was seen in a January 27 post on Facebook.

"I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war," Malala wrote. "I am heartbroken that America is turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants," she continued, while pointing out that immigrants help "build your country."

Malala responds to Trump's executive action on refugees: "I am heartbroken" https://t.co/E9fDH2vr9E pic.twitter.com/VFaOi7rdUO  The Hill (@thehill) January 27, 2017

"I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled-out for discrimination," Malala continued, while pleading with the new president "not to turn his back on the world's most defenseless children and families." As of press time, Donald Trump and his administration have yet to respond to Malala's criticism.

Moving forward

During his campaign for president, Donald Trump was vocal about his opposition to the alleged "Muslim ban," which appears more vague in his recent executive order. Trump supporters were able to rally around the message of refugee restriction from the Middle East, which has also become a controversial topic throughout Europe. While there continues to be growing backlash to his first week in the White House, the former host of "The Apprentice" doesn't appear willing to have a change of heart on the issues at hand.
Malaysia's top transportation official told relatives of more than 200 missing passengers from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that the search for the missing jetliner would not resume unless new evidence was found.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai updating the gathering Monday in Perth, Australia, about the status of the recently suspended three-year search for the missing Boeing 777.

Families object

Liow met the Voice370 group in response to lobbying efforts by family members who objected to last week's decision to halt extensive and expensive search efforts.

"We hope that we can have a good discussion," Liow told reporters, according to the Reuters international news service.

Plane disappeared

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it vanished in March 2014 on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Authorities said the plane appears to have inexplicably veered to the west after takeoff and to have flown across the Indian Ocean before running out of fuel and crashing.

Most of the passengers on the ill-fated flight were from china, but Australia and Malaysia also led search efforts that included mapping of previously uncharted areas of the South Indian Ocean. Numerous countries sent ships to aid the search, including the United States.

Some efforts to continue

Sheryl Keen of Aircrash Support Group Australia, which represented Australian victims, turned over around 100 letters to Liow protesting the suspension and said the Malaysian government minister expressed interest in continuing to try to find the jet.

"We will continue to work on the debris," Liow said at a news conference on the Perth dock.

"We are committed to continue with the search for the debris, and from today on we hope we can get more credible evidence."

Parts of the plane are believed to have been found off Reunion Island off the eastern coast of Africa, and on beaches in Mauritius and Tanzania, but no trace of the missing passengers has been located, Reuters said.
Chief White House strategist, Steve Bannon, has kept largely quiet since leaving Breitbart News to join the ranks of the Trump camp, much to the suspicion of many. Given his questionable background, speculation as to his role and influence is about to be confirmed front and center. During a telephone interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Bannon argued that news organizations were humiliated by the presidential election outcome and described the media as the Trump administrations opposition party. Bannon said the media should be embarrassed, keep its mouth shut and listen for a while.

Bannon, who rarely gives interviews, even gave the paper permission to quote his remarks. Trump, and those close to him, have been very vocal in their opinion of media coverage (with the exception of Fox News) for the presidents inaugural crowd size and his allegations of voter fraud. Ironically, Steven Bannon and the presidents daughter Tiffany, were both registered to vote in two states during the election. The former head of the right-wing website Breitbart echoed his boss sentiments of being in a war with the most dishonest people on earth  the media. During the phone call, Bannon accused the elite media of being biased, being dead wrong and out of touch with the public.

The war against the media

Reportedly, Steve Bannon spoke bluntly, but calmly and did not shy away from using profanities. At one point, he referred to himself as Darth Vader and stated that Mr. Trump was elected by working class hobbits and deplorables. When asked if Sean Spicer lost any credibility, Bannon chortled and answered with his belief that Spicers conduct was a badge of honor and it was the media who has zero integrity and intelligence.

A manipulator of the press, it is said that it was Bannon who egged on Spicers confrontational comments at the recent White House briefing.

Could it get even worse?

Throughout history, whenever fascism, authoritarian rule and the like began, it was usually preceded by an attack on the press. It began with words. Scorn and harassment of the elite media is encouraged and whips the listening public into a frenzy.

The press is constantly identified as enemies. Americans are at a serious crossroad. At some point, the question will be seriously asked: are we headed in the direction of fascism, and if so, do we really want to give up democracy for domination?
In the midst of the pearl clutching, finger pointing, virtue signaling, and mass hysteria surrounding President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, the New York Times reports that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has signaled a slight adjustment in the executive order. People with green cards that allow them to legally live and work in the United States will no longer be barred from entering the United States during the three-month reevaluation period. However, some may be subject to extra scrutiny.

By making the adjustment, the Trump administration sought to stanch a self-inflicted wound that caused several long-term residents of the United States to abruptly find themselves prevented from reentering the country where they had made their home.

The extra vetting makes sense in that some previous perpetrators of terrorist outrages in the United States, such as Syed Rizwan Farook, became radicalized after visits to Muslim countries and return to commit acts of mayhem and murder in the name of jihad.

Even so, the hysteria surrounding the temporary ban has continued unabated. With protestors clogging airports and burning up social media with references to the Nazi Holocaust and demands that President Trump be impeached and that the borders of the United States should be thrown open to whoever wishes to come, Politicians in both the United States and abroad are making statements of varying degrees of coherence. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed that he saw the Status of Liberty crying.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that his country would welcome any and all refugees. SpaceX CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk tweeted, mildly and reasonably, The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the countrys challenges.

It should be noted that President Obama enacted a similar temporary ban on refugees from Iraq in 2011 citing increased terrorism concerns without a lot of the drama that is occurring over the Trump order.

Indeed, the former president imposed a permanent ban on refugees from Communist Cuba in what many considered a slap in the face to victims of the Castro regime and a middle finger extended to Floridas Cuban community for supporting Donald Trump. Thus we have hysteria marinated with hypocrisy on an epic scale.
President Donald Trump is an early morning riser, as the reporters from Fox and Friends have noted this week. The lights in President Trump's living quarters are on much earlier than they have been over the past eight years.

It was only 6 a.m. when Fox and Friends showed the White House with the lights blinking on and off in a window on the top floor. Those lights seemingly blinked on cue, after Fox and Friends asked if they would blink the lights on and off at the White House if anyone was watching them. Apparently, they were, or it was Fox and Friends playing around with special effects.

Lights blinking for 'Fox and Friends'

It didn't take long for Fox and Friends to show a shot of the White House with the lights in one window blinking on and off. This is what is so different about Donald Trump and his administration. While he is all about getting right to work, as also seen this week, he is a president who is very approachable to the American people.

Even before Donald Trump set sail with his campaign on his journey to the White House, he's been a welcomed guest of the Fox News station. The morning show over at Fox News would talk to Trump by phone every Monday morning. Trump would call into Fox and Friends and talk with Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, which was before she left the Fox News station.

Donald Trump old friend

Brian and Steve are still on the curvy couch, and Ainsley Earhardt is now the full-time on-air personality who replaced Hasselbeck. These three, as well as the rest of the Fox News people, treat Donald Trump with fairness and they aren't one of the mainstream news channels seemingly working overtime trying to discredit the new president of the nation.

While the Monday morning phone calls have stopped, Donald Trump is still someone very happy to talk with Fox News, or seemingly happy to blink the White House lights for the Fox and Friends show as seen on Wednesday morning. He is approachable, very approachable like a friendly next door neighbor.

Hits the ground running

The lights might be blinking, offering up an early morning smile for anyone who watched the morning show, but President Trump is expected to hit the ground running once again today.

He is on a roll in his attempt to right the wrongs of the past administrations and getting the country back on track. As CNN News reports, he's already seen as the friend of the blue collar worker with the trade deals he has in the works after pulling out of TPP.

So, if you happened to see the lights blink on and off in the White House this morning, it wasn't an electrical glitch, it was either Donald Trump or as Brian Kilmeade suggested, "the guy making coffee," letting Fox and Friends know they are watching them in the White House today! There is also an outside chance the Fox and Friends cast had some special effects going on making it look as if the White House lights were blinking on cue!
On Friday, Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans Muslim refugees from entering the United States, which was quickly met with serious backlash. One day earlier, a woman was detained at Kennedy International Airport in New York where she attempted to take her own life instead of getting deported back to her home country.

Trump ban

Since the start of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has made it clear that he will take extreme measures to prevent the spread of Islamic terrorism into the United States. Trump was often critical of the Obama administration for allowing refugees into the United States from Muslim nations, while citing the dangerous of Islamic terrorist groups infiltrating into the country.

On Friday, Trump signed the aforementioned executive order, and then less than 24 hours later, multiple detainees were held at the JFK airport in New York. As reported by The New York Daily News on January 28, one detainee nearly lost her life before the executive order even came into law.

The New York Daily News reports that on Thursday, just hours before Donald Trump signed the executive order into law, a woman who was detained and ready to be sent back to Chile was reportedly so distraught that she attempted suicide in terminal eight of Kennedy International Airport. According to reports, the unnamed woman took 30 different sleeping pills, including muscle relaxants around 2 p.m. local time.

The woman was found by two members of the Port Authority, who rushed her to Jamaica Hospital where she is currently listed in stable condition.

REPORT: Lawyers For Detained Travels Now Saying There Are Dozens and Dozens of Detainees Inside JFK https://t.co/LQoBlpIL7a pic.twitter.com/wBySibbTlH  Mediaite (@Mediaite) January 29, 2017

Growing backlash

As the news spread about detainees being held at the airport in New York, a small protest took place, which expanded to a crowd of a few thousand as of Saturday night.

Filmmaker Michael Moore encouraged people on social media to gather at JFK airport, which was being live streamed on the director's Facebook page. According to a report by Mediaite, lawyers for the detained refugees claim there are "dozens and dozens" more being held inside the airport, though an exact number has not yet been confirmed. Donald Trump addressed his executive order while speaking to reporters earlier in the day, and claimed that everything was going "very nicely."
Joanna Krupa has just been put in an odd position. As she continues to battle Brandi Glanville in court after accusing the former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" of causing her emotional distress and ruining her reputation by claiming her lady parts stunk and suggesting she slept with a married man, Krupa has been ordered to turn over some potentially embarrassing documents: her gynecological records.

On January 26, the Daily Mail shared details regarding the latest update in Krupa's defamation lawsuit against Glanville, revealing the model has been required to turn over her records from 2000 to 2005.

Once received, the judge on their case will review the documents and determine whether or not they are relevant to the years-old case. Krupa is also being forced to hand over her former Bravo TV contract, which allowed her to appear on "The Real Housewives of Miami" -- and all of her communications with Lisa Vanderpump, Mohamed Hadid and Andy Cohen relating to the case.

Joanna Krupa sued Brandi Glanville in January 2015

After Glanville appeared on Andy Cohen's late night talk show "Watch What Happens Live" and suggested that Krupa had served as Mohamed Hadid's "other woman" during the last couple of years of his marriage to her former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" co-star, Yolanda Foster, Krupa filed a suit against her requesting punitive damages.

Glanville also said Krupa's lady parts "smelled" on the show.

In court documents filed by Krupa, she claims that three key witnesses have denied Glanville's account of her alleged relationship with Hadid. While Glanville has suggested that she learned of the alleged affair from both Hadid himself and her former co-star and friend, Vanderpump, but they have denied her claims.

Was Joanna Krupa attempting to land a role on 'RHOBH'?

According to Glanville, Krupa's lawsuit against her is nothing more than an attempt at remaining in the spotlight and landing a role on the Beverly Hills-based version of the "Real Housewives" franchise. Krupa has yet to speak out on the claim.
Many don't know that Mary Tyler Moore was a true animal advocate. Although Moore was best-known for her role as Mary Richards on the "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," she also inspired others to make a difference for Animals. Throughout her life, Moore rescued numerous animals from shelters, including dogs, cats, horses and even goats. Animals can give you so much in terms of a warm, full, rich feeling about yourself and your life, she told The Pet Press. When you sit down with an animal or just watch it playing off on its own with another animal, you are inspired.

And that stays with you. And that gives you more to go on than you ever had before.

Mary's first animal rescue attempt

I was coming home from school, and I saw a man had cornered a dog and was beating him with a stick, she told The Pet Press, a Los Angeles-based monthly magazine, in 2002. I yelled at him to stop but he wouldnt, so I just dropped my schoolbooks and ran and jumped him and beat him around the head and shoulders and kicked him with my feet. That was the first time I felt passion and anger at mans inhumanity, she continued. I beat the man up as best I could, but I didnt undertake any active role until many years later.

Mary Tyler Moore co-founded Broadway Barks with Bernadette Peters, an annual animal adoption event held in New York City.

Broadway Barks helps many of New York Citys shelter animals find permanent homes by educating New Yorkers about the plight of the thousands of homeless dogs and cats there in a fun way through this event held in July. The event takes place in Times Square's famed Shubert Alley, sponsored by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

What is Broadway Barks?

The Broadway Barks Facebook page states, originally conceived as a program to promote the adoption of shelter animals, Broadway Barks has evolved into an event that has not only focused on the plight of homeless animals but has opened the door of communication and fostered a spirit of community among the number shelters and rescue groups working throughout the city.

The fate that many animals face in New York Citys crowded animal shelters is bleak.

Broadway Barks strives to educate the public on the importance of spaying and neutering, and responsible pet ownership. Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, spoke of Mary Tyler Moore on Facebook. "Marys love for animals, particularly those abandoned or abused has galvanized all of Broadway to ensure that thousands of adorable, adoptable dogs and cats find their forever homes, as well as raise funds for the organizations that embrace them in their darkest hours," he said.

He remarked that Marys affection for animals was matched by a generous, kind, and cherished spirit. That "spirit" touched the hearts of many around the world.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has revealed that there are approximately 129,000 records of shared registration documents. This comes following prerogatives of shared identification numbers. The latest case indicated that the CORD leader Raila Odinga shared his ID card number with a woman for a concealed county. IEBC Chair has conversely said that the cases of multiple registrations are attributed to data entry errors at the time of registration, possible use of one ID to register more than once, attempted registration of more than one person using same ID as well as shared National ID numbers.

The BVR kits are defunct

Inconsistency in the voters registration indicates that the Biometric Voters Registration (BVR) kits are non-operational. As reported earlier, almost 70 kits failed on the first day of the mass voters registration exercise. It will be remembered that the BVR tools were not reliable in the disputed general election in 2012, forcing the IEBC to embark on manual alternatives. There is fear that Kenya will revert to the manual voting unless the kits are refurbished.

Raila warns of Rigging

On the contrary, Raila Odinga has pointed out that the cases of multiple voters registration is Jubilees plan to rig in the coming general election. He has also claimed that Jubilee is using the looted public funds to hire goons to coerce them.

A few days ago, Raila Odinga raised concerns that the Jubilee government is registering foreigners to participate in the August General Election, besides using the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to register voters for the upcoming election.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has however disputed these assertions by terming them as malevolent propaganda.

Uhuru has warned the opposition leader Raila Odinga against constantly extorting Kenyans with threats to violence. He has also criticized Raila for trying to blackmail Kenyans with violence after the August 8 election. Uhuru has urged Raila to go and seek votes from Kenyans instead of talking daily about violence and claims of rigging.

Is Raila conceding defeat?

President Uhuru Kenyatta has openly termed the concerns raised by Raila Odinga over multiple voter registration as phobia of losing in the general election. Uhuru claims that Railas habit of gratuitously citing his name in political campaigns is a sign of conceding defeat. He has accused the opposition of forging scandals to taint the good name of the jubilee government. The deputy President William Ruto has also added that the allegations leveled by the Cord leader that Jubilee MPs are changing laws to suit their needs is malicious and deluded. Raila has however laughed off their remarks by saying that they will be embarrassed during the elections and that he will not accept the results of rigged election. Kenya will not be peaceful.
Clifford Coffin, American Vogue, June 1949 [Photo/Courtesy of Conde Nast]

Coming into Fashion is running at Beijing's Ullens Center of Contemporary Art after touring 12 cities worldwide since 2012. It runs through March 5.

The exhibition displays a selection of fashion photos from the archives of Conde Nast, the US media company founded in 1909.

Displayed photos survey the evolution of fashion and fashion photography since the early 20th century. It offers a historical perspective of how women were viewed and portrayed, and what social roles they were expected to perform.

Photographers include Horst P. Horst, Erwin Blumenfeld and David Bailey.

The exhibition is curated by Nathalie Herschdorfer, who selected the images from over 8 million in Conde Nast's archives in New York, Paris, Milan and London.
A lion dance celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year kicks off in downtown New York City. Photo / China Daily

New York City organizations made a push to recognize the Chinese Lunar New Year outside of Chinatown by holding festivities on Madison Avenue, hoping to impress upon tourists and members of the New York City community the cultural significance of the Chinese Spring Festival.

The holiday officially kicked off on Saturday and four New York City business improvement organizations  Chinatown Partnership, East Midtown Partnership, The Grand Central Partnership, the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District (BID)  and the Confucius Institute for Business at the State University of New York celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year on Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Cultural performances were held at the Harmon Store, including shows from the New York Eastern Chamber Orchestra, FJ Music, juggling Lina Liu, the Confucius Institute for Opera at SUNY Binghamton and Chinese Theatre Works.

"New York City is a wonderful collection of communities, and it's wonderful when we bring them together," said Matthew Bauer, president of the Madison Avenue BID.

"The connection between the neighborhoods along Madison Avenue and Madison Street in Chinatown really create a strong sense of community of cultural exchange and a great sense of We're all in it together.' This event really does that," he said.

Wellington Chen, executive director at the Chinatown Partnership, said that Chinatown has never had a parade for the holiday in uptown Manhattan. "Other ethnic groups have had parades up and down Manhattan, but we're the only group that hasn't," he said.

Chen said the major goal of the event, which was also held last year, was to help "connect the dots" between uptown Manhattan residents and tourists with businesses in Chinatown, situated in lower Manhattan. His group works in Chinatown to encourage business and economic development.

"We want to raise awareness and grow the profile of Chinatown," he said of the event, named Madison Street to Madison Avenue, referring to the block in Chinatown and the avenue running north to south in Manhattan, respectively.

"Nobody knows what Madison Street is, but they do know what Madison Avenue is. Chinatown cannot sustain [itself] on our own," he said, saying that raising its profile through getting involved in this sort of cultural event is exactly the kind of spotlight Chinatown could benefit from.

Xu Yongji, education officer at China's consulate general in New York, echoed those sentiments in an interview on the sidelines of the event on Sunday, adding that China's economic growth has been a contributing factor to "the rising Chinese community in the US."

US retailers along Madison Avenue and other neighborhoods in the area participated in the festivities by providing their own discounts for the Chinese Lunar New Year, encouraging shopping from those who are visiting for the Chinese Lunar New Year, said Bauer.
President Donald Trumps controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries hit a roadblock on Sunday as a United States judge issued an emergency order, temporarily barring authorities from deporting refugees and other visa holders who have been detained.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition on behalf of two Iraqi men detained at the John F Kennedy International Airport as the immigration ban took effect triggering protests at major airports across the country.

Judge Donnelly, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ordered that the government could not remove individuals with refugee applications approved by US Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the US Refugee Admissions Programme, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen legally authorised to enter the United States.

The judge ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.

The judge said that sending those travellers back to their home countries following Trumps order exposes them to substantial and irreparable injury.

The order barred US border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the US with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

President Trump yesterday ordered extreme vetting of people entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of America.

The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn-in as the President, fulfils the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

Welcoming the federal judges ruling, ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project Deputy Director Lee Gelernt said, This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off US soil.

Judge issued stay on Muslim ban, said no one could be removed/sent back. But unclear what will happen to those detained, said ACLU executive director Anthony D Romero.

Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country, he said.

Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court, he added.

Earlier in the day, Trump has asserted that his 'very strict ban' on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries was working very nicely and should continue.

Its working out very nicely. You see it in the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely, Trump told reporters on Saturday.

We are going to have a very, very strict ban and we are going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years, Trump said.

New York Citys Kennedy airport became a scene of anguish and desperation for the families of people detained after arriving in the US from nations subject to the travel ban.

Many flights to the US from countries subjected to the ban were already in the air on Saturday when the Presidents order barred entry to their citizens.

Trump, however, denied that barring refugees from several predominantly Muslim nations amounted to a ban on Muslims.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared, Trump said.

But the lawyers and advocates working at the NYC airport said they didn't have a hard count on the number of people taken into custody after getting off their flights.

The detainees included two Iraqis who had previously been given permission to come to the US because of their ties to the US military.

The order, which bars Syrian refugees and halts the countrys refugee resettlement programme for four months, has triggered widespread criticism, including from Googles India-born Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Terming it a painful decision, Pichai said the move will affect at least 187 Google employees.

Indian-American Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a note on LinkedIn, saying the company will continue to advocate on this important topic.

He said as an immigrant and the companys CEO he had both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world.

We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we're actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance, the company said in a statement.

The company said it was aware of 76 employees who belonged to the seven banned countries mentioned in the order.

Zuckerberg has also criticised the decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

Like many of you, Im concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump, Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.

IMAGE: A woman greets her mother after she arrived from Dubai at John F Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters


I entered Shabbat and emerged from Shabbat heartsick at news of Trump's ban on Muslims and refugees entering this country. That he would issue such a ban at all is horrifying. That he did so on a day of remembrance of the wholesale slaughter of six million souls who were persecuted and killed for their religion (my religion) just makes this dystopian reality more surreal and more appalling.

Trump has suspended entry of all refugees into the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into this country for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for the next 90 days. His ban also blocks entry for green card holders from those countries.

There are already countless reports of permanent residents of this country held in airports across the country as they tried to return from funerals, travel, or study abroad, and family members of American citizens who sought to come here legally on family visas now facing immediate deportation. These are some of the instances we know about because they're making it into the media; surely there are other stories, equally heart-wrenching, that aren't known to us.

And the Syrian refugee crisis has been called the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. We should be responding to that crisis by welcoming refugees with open arms -- not, God forbid, closing our borders out of fear of people who look different, dress differently, or pray differently than we do.

Can you imagine escaping from wartorn Syria, living in a refugee camp for years, and finally making it through the red tape to be resettled here in a free country -- only to be turned away now by this? (That's exactly what happened to one family -- two parents and four children, one of whom is six years old. That child has been through hell I cannot imagine, and now that hell is prolonged.)

By the time I headed for bed on Saturday evening I was mildly heartened to see that a federal judge has blocked part of Trump's order -- but that's not enough.

In November, ALEPH was the first Jewish organization to insist that if the President requires Muslims to register, we will register with them. The Jewish people have living memory of being refugees barred from entry into nations (including this one) where our lives could have been saved. We of all people should be fighting this unconstitutional and unconscionable executive order with all our might.

This is not the America I want to live in.

The America I want to live in is one where religious freedom is uplifted and cherished -- not one where the person holding the highest office in the land demonizes adherents of any religion or people of any ethnicity.

The America I want to live in is one where refugees are welcomed and embraced -- not one where they risk being sent back to the horrors they fought so hard to escape.

The America I want to live in is a nation of opportunity and freedom -- not one where this kind of bigotry is allowed to stand.

The America I want to live in is the America of Emma Lazarus' poem The New Colossus:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

The verse most often repeated in Torah is "love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." The deepest wisdom of my religious tradition demands of us that we welcome refugees, not turn them away.

Torah demands that we love those who are different from us, not persecute them for their differences. My firmly-held principle of deep ecumenism reflects the truth that all religions are paths to the One, and my religious tradition calls me to stand firmly against bigotry and xenophobia in all of its forms.

I am outraged: as a rabbi, as the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants who fled the Holocaust to seek safety on these shores, as an American citizen, and as a human being. This policy is unconscionable. My nation must be better than this.

I donated to the American Civil Liberties Union and to T'ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights after Shabbat ended. Here's a list from HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) of ways to help refugees. If you have suggestions of other actions we can take, I welcome them in comments.

It's a new week, friends, and we have work to do.

Although I cited, above, ALEPH's resolution urging all citizens to register as Muslims if the proposed Muslim registry were to come into being, I speak here as an individual, not as co-chair of ALEPH. I am also not speaking here for either of the institutions that employ me, the synagogue or the college. These views are my own.
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A NANG  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc conveyed Tet (Lunar New Year) greetings to officials and locals of a Nang during his visit to the central city on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Congratulating the city on its achievements in 2016, the Government leader expressed hope that the central city will make greater success in the Year of the Rooster, contributing to realising the 12th National Party Congresss resolution.

a Nang should continue proving itself as a worth-living and peaceful tourism city, while seeking measures to make more obvious breakthroughs to show its strength in not only tourism but also in production and high technology, promoting its role as growth driver of the region, he said.

The PM suggested that a Nang reform its management methods to optimise and attract high quality human resources, while concentrating on Party building.

Highlighting that hosting the APEC Summit 2017 is one of the major tasks of the city this year, he said this is a chance for a Nang to promote its image and attract foreign investment.

The PM also paid visits to armed forces units in a Nang, including Public Security, Fire Rescue Police, Border Guard and Military forces.

He said each official and soldier should take the pioneer role in fighting corruption, adding that local armed forces should work hard to ensure security, traffic safety, food safety and social welfare in the city, especially during the APEC Summit Week 2017.  VNS
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to improve floundering ties with Russia, while also reassuring close US allies he supports NATO.

Amid growing international alarm over Trumps halt to refugees and travellers from Muslim countries, French President Francois Hollande warned of the "economic and political consequences" of the American leaders protectionist stance.

The comments came one day after Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travellers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.

Trumps friendly stance toward Putin, whom France and Germany both accuse of seeking to undermine Western unity, is being scrutinised since he won the US election in November.

The White House hailed the call with Putin as a "significant start" to better US-Russia ties, while the Kremlin said the pair agreed to develop relations "as equals" and to establish "real coordination" against the Islamic State group.

Trump took office last week with US-Russia relations at new Cold War-level lows amid accusations by American intelligence agencies that the Kremlin hacked Democratic Party emails as part of a pro-Trump campaign to influence Novembers election.

In a flurry of calls that began early in the morning and rounded out an already frantically paced week, Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin, Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The conversations gave the US president an early opportunity to explain new policies that have baffled and unnerved much of the rest of the world --particularly his order to temporarily halt all refugee arrivals and those of travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

European leaders are also concerned about Trumps virulent criticism of NATO -- he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" -- at a time when it stands as the main defence against Putin.

But in his call with Merkel, Trump agreed on NATOs "fundamental importance," the White House said.

"The leaders recognised that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defence requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," it added.

The United States provides significant funding to NATO, and Trump has called on other member nations to step up their contributions.

Extreme vetting

Trumps pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travellers from Islamic countries to "extreme vetting," which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists."

"Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump told reporters, after travelers from those countries were stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests.

"Were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting which we should have had in this country for many years."

Hundreds of people protested at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport, chanting "Let them in, let them in!"

The new protocols specifically bar Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat.

Detentions underway

US authorities wasted no time implementing Trumps order, detaining travellers arriving at American airports within hours of the measures being signed.

The New York Times reported that airport officials as early as Friday night began detaining travellers, some of whom were already aboard their flights when Trump announced his executive order.

The order faced its first lawsuit, signalling a tough battle ahead in US courts.

The legal challenge was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after two Iraqi men were detained late Friday at JFK.

Mark Doss, a supervising attorney at the International Refugee Project at the Urban Justice Center, said Darweeshs detention and release showed the new policy was being implemented "with no guidance."

Immigration advocacy groups issued an appeal for demonstrations at JFK airport, which spread rapidly over social media.

The ban has also triggered a political backlash.

"To my colleagues: dont ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, tweeted late Friday.

Many foreign leaders said they were aghast over the new US policy.

Iran answered in kind by saying it would ban Americans from entering the country, calling Trumps action insulting.

But the US leader did get backing from Czech President Milos Zeman, who praised him for being "concerned with the safety of his citizens."  AFP
SANTIAGO  Forest fires ravaging southern Chile have now killed 11 people, President Michelle Bachelet said Saturday, as firefighters waged an all-out battle to extinguish the raging infernos.

Bachelet told reporters that more than 9,000 firefighters and other responders have been enlisted to battle the fires, which have destroyed almost 1.2 million acres (480,000 hectares) in seven regions of the South American nation.

"We are fighting the fire without pause and without precedent," Bachelet declared. More than 4,500 volunteer firefighters and members of the countrys national forest brigades plus some 4,600 police officers and other public officials are battling the blaze.

The fires have forced more than two thousand people into shelters, and have damaged or destroyed more than 4,000 dwellings.

Among the countries that have dispatched aid to help put out the infernos are Argentina, Spain, France, Portugal and Mexico.

A Russian aircraft with a 42-ton water-carrying capacity is due to arrive on Sunday, while Brazil and Peru were also expected to send firefighting aircraft.

According to the latest report by Chiles national forest service, Conaf, there are a total of 110 separate fires, 50 of which are under control, while 60 are still being fought.

Fires are common in Chiles parched forests during the southern hemispheres summer. Most are caused by human activity. More than 35 people have been arrested and accused of playing a role in starting or propagation the fires.

Fire activity this year was worse than usual because of a drought attributed by environmentalists to climate change.  AFP
Blazes destroys mosque in Texas

VICTORIA, Texas (AP)  An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago.

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m. and called the fire department.

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshals Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze. Hashmi said authorities have told him it was too early to speculate.

Historian: Till witness lied

NEW YORK (AP)  The woman at the center of the trial of Emmett Tills alleged killers acknowledged she falsely testified he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book.

Duke University historian Timothy B. Tyson said Saturday Carolyn Donham broke her long public silence in an interview with him in 2008. His book, The Blood of Emmett Till, comes out next week.

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old black tortured and killed in 1955 in Mississippi after allegedly whistling at a white woman, then known as Carolyn Bryant.

His murder became national news, was a galvanizing event in the civil rights movement and has been the subject of numerous books and movies.

Cops ease rules on tattoos, turbans

NEW YORK (AP)  The Joe Friday look is out. Tattoos, turbans and beards are in.

Police departments, compelled by a hiring crisis and eager for a more diverse applicant pool, are relaxing traditional grooming standards and getting away from rules that require a uniformly clean-shaven, 1950s look.

More officers are on the job with tattoos inked on their forearms, beards on their chins or religious head coverings like hijabs and turbans in place of  or tucked beneath  their blue caps.

Audi recalls 576,921 vehicles in U.S.

DETROIT (AP)  Volkswagens luxury Audi brand is recalling more than 576,000 vehicles in the U.S. for two separate defects.

Audi says 2013-2017 model year A5, A5 Cabriolet and Q5 SUVs with 2.0-liter turbocharged engines may have an electric coolant pump that can get blocked with debris. If that happens, the pump can overheat and cause a fire. The recall affects 342,867 vehicles.

Audi also is recalling 2011-2017 Q5 SUVs because the sunroof drainage system can allow water to soak into the foam surrounding the side air bag inflators. If that happens, the inflator could rupture and spew metal fragments into the vehicle. The recall affects 234,054 vehicles.

Audi will notify owners and repair the vehicles for free, begin ning next month.

Boat with 31 aboard missing in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  Chinese state media say a boat carrying 31 people, including more than 20 Chinese tourists, is missing after sailing out from an eastern Malaysian city.

The official Xinhua News Agency cited the Chinese Consulate General in the Malaysian state of Sabah as saying today the boat lost contact after sailing out on Saturday.

It left Kota Kinabalu in the morning, bound for Pulau Mengalum, an island west of the city.

Xinhua reports the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said it deployed search and rescue ships and helicopters to the site after receiving a call Saturday night about the boats disappearance.
NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that the restaurant will now open the week of Valentine's Day, not this Wednesday as earlier reported.

CEDAR FALLS  Justin Buck is fired up about River Place, the growing residential-commercial development in downtown Cedar Falls.

So much so, hes firing up a brick oven pizza restaurant there.

Bucks Urban Pie restaurant is scheduled to open there the week of Valentine's Day. Itll be the final ground-floor commercial tenant, filling out the commercial space at the 200 State St. building.

Itll be a fast-fired Neapolitan type of pizza, said Buck, who moved back to the area from Arizona. We have an oven imported from Italy that rotates on the inside. It times out to about 90 seconds to 2 minutes as far as preparation time to cook.

What were really focusing on is a fast-service, fast-casual type experience, he said. The customer should be able to be in and out of the building in five minutes with a pizza. But if youre not in a hurry, and you just want to sit down and enjoy some pizza and drinks with friends and family, well be able to serve you that way.

The restaurant will have about 2,300 square feet of inside seating plus an outdoor patio.

Im hoping to employ possibly 25 to 30 people, he said, with four to 15 at any given time, depending on the day and level of business.

Buck, Blake Keating and Derek Hamil are partners in the restaurant.

I spent the last seven years in Phoenix, working for the University of Phoenix, Buck said. I had over 10 years of experience in restaurants and bars before. We talked to a couple of franchises and felt we knew the Cedar Valley better than any of those franchises. So it was something where we felt comfortable putting together our own type of concept, really, to fit this area.

Wed like to grow in the first couple of years, Buck said. Were focused on here, initially, to make sure we do this right, and then possible some other spots in eastern Iowa, maybe Marion or Cedar Rapids. Well see what happens, six months to a year, to see where we want to go.

Buck and his partners liked the River Place location, and specifically a plaza planned just north of 200 State, adjacent to their restaurant space.

We looked at multiple locations in Cedar Falls, but once we saw this location down here and talked to Mark (Kittrell, River Place developer) and the rest of the crew here, what its going to draw as far as tourism or just community gathering opportunities, its something that were willing to put in the time for the next couple of years while this comes to completion to be a part of it. Its going to really grow and do a lot for the downtown.

Plus, with a built-in clientele with apartments in the same building, for us its a lot of opportunity, Buck said. In addition to apartments, the upper level of 200 State St. houses Mill Race, a shared co-working space for entrepreneurs, professionals and people working remotely for employers online. We cant see, really, a better opportunity. Business-wise, its going to grow. I cant see it going any other direction, as long as were doing what we need to be doing.

Neapolitan pizza  with a crust that goes through a curing or fermentation process  had caught on in the Phoenix area but was not as prevalent here, Buck said. Its also a one-price, build-your-own pizza.

I just saw the opportunity  why not take a chance and see where we can go with it? I figured it gives me a lot more opportunity.

He also plans to live at River Place. I can take an elevator to go to work, he joked.
WATERLOO -- Ron and Jan Bockenstedt are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary by visiting all the different places they have lived in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois.

A family dinner also is planned at a later date.

Ron Bockenstedt and Jan Oberbroeckling were married Feb. 4, 1967, at St. Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville.

Jan worked in secretarial and bookkeeping positions and sold real estate in Illinois. Ron worked in the agricultural field in various positions, retiring from his own agricultural consulting and service provider business in 2013.

Their family includes three sons, Bart and Candice of Columbia, Mo., Barry of Johnston and Bruce and Sara of Waterloo, along with 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Cards may be sent to 1234 Hummingbird Circle, Waterloo 50702.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Woman of Life will be hosting a Valentine dinner and concert on Saturday, Feb. 11, featuring the Johnson Strings.

Dinner is at 6 p.m. (pork ribeye chop), and the concert is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and younger. There is a mac and cheese meal available for $5.
WATERLOO  The City Council will hold a public work session Monday to discuss next years budget.

The meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall will take advantage of what would normally be a day off, because regular Waterloo council meetings are only held on the first four Mondays of any month. This week is Januarys fifth Monday.

Mayor Quentin Hart said the work session is designed to provide some baseline information about the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 and discuss the process moving forward.

He said additional budget meetings are tentatively slated for Feb. 8 and Feb. 11, the latter being a Saturday. The city must set the budget before March 15 to comply with state law.

This weeks meeting is not designed for public input, but future meetings and the mandatory budget meeting will allow comments.

Meanwhile, the city has put a link on the home page of its website  www.cityofwaterlooiowa.com  where anyone can post ideas on priorities, programs, improvements and organizational processes related to the budget.

Last year, a deeply divided City Council voted 4-3 to approve a budget cutting the property tax rate from $17.76 to about $17.61 per $1,000 of taxable value.

New goals adopted by the City Council in December included reducing the citys property tax levies through a responsible balance of cost reduction in city operations and increases in taxable property valuations to ensure that Waterloo is a competitive, affordable and livable city.
FAIRBANK  The Iowa Supreme Court has been asked to intervene in an ongoing dispute over three wind energy towers in Fayette County.

Attorneys for Mason Wind and Optimum Renewables turned to the states high court this month after a district court judge deemed three turbines in a farm field just east of Fairbank are illegal and void and must be removed.

As Iowas wind energy industry gears up for a major expansion over the next three years, this high-stakes legal battle reveals wind farms arent always welcome, while some county zoning rules may not be ready for the test.

Mason Wind sought permission in Fayette, Buchanan and Black Hawk counties for three 445-foot turbines in 2015 before the $11 million project was built near the Flint Hills Resources ethanol plant.

Court records show Fayette Countys zoning ordinance at the time lacked specific language for large wind energy conversion systems, an issue central to the ongoing lawsuit.

But the county had previously approved a 16-turbine wind farm near Hawkeye for RPM Access under a special permit process through the countys board of adjustment. The same process was followed for Mason Wind.

The project drew heavy opposition from neighboring property owners worried about property values and environmental impacts, while Fairbank City Council members voted to oppose the project just a half mile from the city limits.

The county board of adjustment sided with the opposition and rejected the special permits in early 2015.

Mason Wind found a new site a few miles south in Buchanan County but saw its rezoning request rejected by the county Board of Supervisors in August 2015. The firm moved west into Black Hawk County a few weeks later where its special permit was rejected by the board of adjustment.

Meanwhile, attorneys for Mason Wind convinced Fayette County Zoning Administrator Catherine Miller their towers near Fairbank did not require special permits because the vintage 1973 zoning ordinance allowed electric and gas transmission and regulating facilities on agricultural land.

The county board of adjustment confirmed Millers decision Oct. 20, 2015, and Mason Wind began construction a few days later.

The city of Fairbank and a local construction company filed a lawsuit in Fayette County District Court a month later claiming the zoning ruling was incorrect and asking for construction to halt until the issue was heard by the court.

The suit was filed against the board of adjustment, Miller, the board of supervisors, several companies involved in the wind project and property owners Thomas and Kimberly Rourke.

While the court initially stopped the work, the order was lifted after Mason Wind attorneys argued in court they understood the risk of proceeding while the suit was pending.

The turbines were already built by Aug. 24, 2016, when District Court Judge John Bauercamper presided over the trial.

The question is whether or not a wind turbine that produces electricity is or is not an electrical transmission and regulating facility, Bauercamper said.

In his Nov. 2, 2016, ruling calling the turbines illegal and void, Bauercamper said the structures were power generators, more like a coal-burning or nuclear plant and not transmission or regulating facilities.

But he added: The court is fully aware that wind turbines are a valuable method for producing electric power, they are becoming common place on the Iowa landscape, and they can be installed in harmony with the environment and neighbors.

Mason Wind filed its notice of appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court on Jan. 18 and does not have to remove the turbines pending the appeal.

Meanwhile, the Fayette County Board of Supervisors has changed its zoning ordinance to avoid similar issues in the future.

The new ordinance, among other things, requires any commercial wind energy project to get approval from the Board of Supervisors; to be at least three times the tower height or 1,500 feet from any occupied building; and does not allow construction within one mile of an incorporated city without thats citys written permission.
King program set at Jubilee

WATERLOO  New Jerusalem Ministries, a ministry of Jubilee United Methodist Church Resource Center, will conduct a program and awards ceremony Tuesday at the church at East Fourth and Newell streets.

The program, Actualizing the Dream: The Relevance of King Post-Obama, will start at 6 p.m.

Honorees at the event will include the Rev. Dr. Robert L. Holmes, 2017 James W. Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award; Brion Martin, 2017 Howard W. Thurman Leadership Award; ReShonda Young, 2017 Janice Bryant Howroyd Trailblazer Award; Lisa Speicher Munoz, 2017 Alicia Schmidt Camacho Leadership Award; Bridget Saffold, 2017 Delores Lawrence Leadership Award; and Hope Mack, 2017 Golden Jubilee Award.

The event, celebrating the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., will be characterized by encouraging words to all attendees regarding the important social justice work that must continue in the community, said the Rev. Abraham L. Funchess Jr. Jubilee pastor and building administrator.

The event is free and open to the public.

T-shirts needed for school drive

GILBERTVILLE  Don Bosco Catholic High School is having a T-shirt drive through Saturday.

Clean, used T-shirts in good condition should be brought to the Campus Ministry room at the school or placed in the boxes inside the entrance at Immaculate Conception or St. Joseph.

The shirts will be sent to Chinandega, Nicaragua, to be used by girls who are being taught to sew at school. They make cloth diapers with them.

Meeting focuses on downsizing

CEDAR FALLS  Caring Transitions of Northeast Iowa is hosting a free senior event from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 8 at the Cedar Falls Public Library.

Discussion will focus on organizing, downsizing, moving, home clean-out, junk removal and more. Refreshments will be provided, and no reservations are necessary.

Call 242-7819 for more information.

UNIs ROTC wins award

CEDAR FALLS  The University of Northern Iowa Reserve Officers Training Corps Panther Battalion recently achieved first place for recruiting and retention out of 42 Army ROTC programs throughout the Midwest.

This is the third year in a row the UNI ROTC achieved recognition for recruiting and retention. The program received second place in the previous two years.

The program was also recognized as the third best overall program in 2013 and first place for administration in 2015 out of the ROTC programs in the Midwest.

For more information, contact Lt. Col. Glen Keith, department head of military science, at 273-6220 or glen.keith@uni.edu.
WATERLOO  While the Cedar Valley Youth Action Council coordinated a diversity celebration Saturday, it was the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Centers youth group that brought the party.

Cultures came together Saturday afternoon at C.O.R. 220 East in downtown Waterloo. Students from the Youth Action Council planned the event while EMBARCs youth group prepared noodles, spring rolls, fried banana and other cuisine.

We wanted to share our culture, said Sei Se Lia, an eighth-grader at Blessed Maria Assunta Pallotta Middle School.

Dozens of people attended the afternoon event.

We have a lot of amazing cultures in the Cedar Valley, said Jocelyn Roof, Youth Action council volunteer who helped organize the Saturday afternoon event. But its kind of segregated, and we dont come into contact with all of them regularly.

The volunteers contacted EMBARC and also invited students from English language learning classes to attend and bring a dish.

It was really a group effort of different people reaching out, said Elizabeth Storey, Youth Action Council volunteer.

The EMBARC youth group got together beforehand to make large batches of food for the event. Lai and other group members said they want to show the community some of their culture.

We want people to see we are a very hard-working people, and we want others to treat us nicely, Lai said. We appreciate their help too.

In addition to the potluck, the event included games and activities designed to help attendees to get to know each other and interact with people from other cultures.

A lot of people, especially immigrants, want to feel needed in their community and be able to express their culture and not have it suppressed but have it embraced, Roof said.

The activities also showed people have much in common despite cultural differences.

We communicate in so many ways, Roof said.

The Youth Action Council, affiliated with the Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley, has members from Waterloo East and Waterloo West high schools as well as Hudson High School and Don Bosco High School.

Jean Seeland, youth program director of the Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley, said events like this show the impact volunteers have on the community. Which is something members of the Youth Action Council learn from experience.

They know they can make a difference, Seeland said.
WATERLOO  The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley needs help with the following:

EMBARC-Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center Waterloo is searching for a volunteer who will offer professional legal advocacy for clients in our refugee community.

Assistance is needed with a Valentines themed British low tea at the Snowden House on Feb. 11 from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Amani Community Services needs volunteers to clear and clean tables, refill beverages, and assist with buffet tables for a Pizza Ranch Community Impact Night on Feb. 15 from 4:45 to 8 p.m.

UnityPoint Hospice volunteer orientation will take place Feb. 23, March 2, 9 and 16 at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Volunteers must apply by Feb. 16 and interview before starting the required 16-hour orientation. Background checks and TB testing is also required.

For more information, call the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at 272-2087, or go to www.vccv.org.
WATERLOO  The Waterloo fire departments plan to increase training last year hit a snag when state officials allegedly left tests ungraded.

Exams for more than 70 members of Waterloo Fire Rescues firefighters went unscored for more than a month before the materials were found in a drawer at the Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau at the Iowa State University in Ames. Now, almost a year since the testing, the department is still waiting for certificates to show firefighters passed the course.

The grading lag appears to have been part of a larger problem with the state training facility discovered last spring.

In April, two state bureau employees were placed on administrative leave when questions arose surrounding irregularities in the scoring of firefighter certifications, and the bureau was in jeopardy of losing its status with accreditation organizations.

Last week, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced criminal charges for John McPhee, who had been the bureaus certification and accreditation coordinator. McPhee - who came to Waterloo last year to administer testing for Firefighter II certification for the citys firefighters  is charged with felonious misconduct in office and misdemeanor tampering with records.

An investigation determined between February 2012 to February 2016, some 2,278 certifications were issued improperly. The Fire Service Training Bureau is now offering free training courses and test retakes for people whose tests were improperly scored.

State officials point out the certification and accreditation programs are voluntary and not required by the state.

Waterloo firefighters are expected to complete a Firefighter I curriculum within the first year of being hired. In 2016, Chief Pat Treloar set a goal to bring all fire fighting staff  from tail boarders to battalion chiefs - up to Firefighter II certification.

Although the Firefighter II course, which includes more testing on hazardous materials and in-depth material on tactics and operations, isnt a state requirement, Treloar said the higher certification would provide additional safety for the departments staff.

I thought it was a good way to take training up a notch, Treloar said.

Waterloos firefighters took the course  which included three days of hands-on activities and homework assignments  in March. The department spent $3,600, which is about half of its training budget, according correspondence between city and state officials.

Treloar said the exams were supposed to be graded immediately, but they werent.

According to a city review of the matter, at the end of the March testing, McPhee took the ungraded tests and verbally told a Waterloo fire lieutenant everyone had passed and certifications would be coming within 10 days. The lieutenant thought this was odd because at that point McPhee hadnt received the homework that accompanied the exams, the report states.

The certificates werent forthcoming, and after McPhee was been placed on leave, the ungraded Waterloo exams were discovered in early May 2016. Treloar said he was told state training officials then scored the tests and informed him all of the Waterloo firefighters passed the course.

Still, as of last week Waterloo Fire Rescue hadnt received certificates indicating they had passed the Firefighter II testing.
Iowa children Timothy Boss, 10, and Natalie Finn, 16, died, while Malayia Knapp, 18, is a survivor, in cases where foster children were adopted to get state financial assistance, but parents used home schooling as a ruse to avoid reports of abuse.

More than two million U.S. children are home schooled. Iowa had 10,732, last counted in 2012-13 before the Legislature eliminated virtually all oversight over their education, triggered by influential House Republicans who wouldnt otherwise support Gov. Terry Branstads educational reform package.

Since 2000, according to the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, at least 320 home-schooled children in the U.S. have been severely neglected and abused, including 116 deaths. Eighty-eight were adopted.

While its a small fraction of the home-schooled children, large Iowa loopholes allow some parents to try to get away with murder and abuse.

Home schooling allows parents, guardians and custodians to educate their children, as well as independent private home-school instructors, who can teach up to four unrelated children. No license, high school diploma or known ability is required; neither is a criminal background check.

Nicole Proesch, Iowa Department of Education general counsel, told the Des Moines Register parents home schooling their children, but not through a school district, are automatically in compliance with compulsory attendance laws. If someone calls you out if your kid isnt enrolled this year, if the parent said, Im doing (independent private instruction) this year, you could not file truancy on that child.

Yet Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds 2016 Future Ready Iowa Summit determined Iowa faces a major challenge with 8.3 percent of public school students chronically absent in 2015-16. In an increasingly knowledge-based economy, missing a lot of school puts students at a disadvantage that is difficult to overcome, Branstad said.

The lack of oversight contributed, in part, to tragedies involving these home-schooled children adopted from foster care:

Timothy Boss, a special-needs child, was adopted by Lisa and Donald Boss Jr. of Remsen. School officials sought to do a year-end educational assessment in 1999-200, but were told he was living in Michigan with relatives.

The relatives never saw him. He was beaten to death and buried in the basement. The father got a life sentence for murder; the mother 50 years for attempted murder.

Natalie Finn of West Des Moines, adopted by Nicole and Joseph Finn, died from cardiac arrest in October as a result of severe malnutrition. She was enrolled in an alternative public school in 2014-15, but removed.

Natalie was on a self-study course with her parents, and she did not need to report to school, school officials, who suspected abuse, told state Sen. Matt McCoy, D-West Des Moines, the Register reported.

The Finns face multiple felony charges.

Malayia Knapp of Urbandale, the oldest of six home-schooled half-siblings adopted by Mindy and Arthur Knapp, escaped to call police. Among other forms of abuse, video cameras in the house showed Mindy Knapp handing the older children a belt to discipline a sibling and locking them up for hours. She was charged with two counts of assault causing bodily injury or mental illness. After pleading guilty to one count of simple assault, Polk County Judge Terry L. Wilson gave her a years probation and deferred judgment.

Home schooling works well for most children, Dr. Barbara Knox, medical director of the University of Wisconsin Child Protection Program, which serves eastern Iowa, told the Register.

The program studied 28 cases of extreme abuse in five states to find any red flags to get children protected before they wound up victims of homicide. Nearly 90 percent were isolated beyond the immediate family, three-quarters put in solitary confinement (one in a clothes dryer) and most had food and water restricted.

In almost half the cases, children enrolled in school were removed. But that was a guise, Knox said. There was no home schooling or little home schooling taking place. The move typically happened after a child-abuse investigation.

Home-schooling loopholes arent the only culprits.

Child welfare workers were called to investigate concerns the Finn children were abused and begging for food five months before Natalie died of starvation, according to West Des Moines police. But DHS didnt act.

The DHS found the Knapps responsible for multiple allegations of abuse, but Judge Colin Witt returned the other children. They continue to receive DHS special-needs subsidies for adopting the half-siblings. The amount is confidential, but DHS pays $5,800 to more than $12,000 a year for each special-needs sibling removed from foster care.

While many parents involved in home schooling are wary of any government intrusion, the Legislature shouldnt turn a blind eye to these ruses and abuses, possibly enacting a form of independent oversight as a compromise. No matter how rare, these tragedies still must be avoided  with an assist from a responsive DHS and a responsible judiciary.
In some respects the office of the President of the United States is an apprenticeship. Many former presidents have said they didnt realize what the job entailed until they actually sat in the Oval Office. At the least it is on the job training.

Even during the transition period before Donald Trump took the oath of office as POTUS, America didnt approve. On Inauguration Day a composite of polls put Trumps favorability rating at only 42 percent. Trumps dismal percentages possibly set a record in low for incoming presidents. As a comparison, Barack Obamas incoming composite favorability rating was 68 percent in 2009. Since Inauguration Day things havent improved. Millions upon millions of people have already marched in protest of this new president in hundreds of communities all over America and the world. An estimated half a million people marched against Trump in Washington D.C., a total many determined from photographs to be double the amount of people who attended Trumps inauguration speech.

After a week in office, the Trump administration has already gagged employees at federal agencies. Memos obtained by various media outlets show scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies are blocked from communicating with the public and the press. EPA grants and contract budgets also have been frozen, and employees are not allowed to talk about this change to reporters or on social media. The EPA is responsible for upholding regulations on issues such as clean air and water and the carbon emissions responsible for global warming. Trumps cabinet nominee for EPA head, Scott Pruitt, is against environmental regulations. Trump just promised national corporate leaders he would eliminate 75 percent of federal mandates regulating their factories.

Trumps actions resemble fascism or totalitarianism. His presidential actions so far give the appearance he answers to no one, and he can be completely autonomous. The president actually works for every citizen in our country. In short, Mr. President, you work for us.

Then there is the issue of Trumps bald-faced lying and expecting his appointees, advisers and administration staff to support his lies. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway last week stunned the nation by telling MSNBCs Chuck Todd Trumps deviations from the truth were not lies but alternative facts.

Numerous health professionals in America have said Donald Trump is most likely mentally ill. Professionals have said his behaviors resemble ones seen in people with antisocial personality disorders and narcissistic personality disorders. The Mayo Clinic defines narcissistic personality disorder as, a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem thats vulnerable to the slightest criticism. Describing Trumps narcissistic personality traits, clinical psychologist George Simon said Trump is so classic that Im archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because theres no better example of his characteristics. Otherwise, I would have had to hire actors and write vignettes. Hes like a dream come true. Simon conducts lectures and seminars on manipulative behavior exhibited by people with psychological disorders.

During the transition to power and the short time Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have been in office, it has become evident they have exhibited unlawful behavior and are endangering the freedoms, rights and safety of all Americans. When they were candidates these were not impeachable offenses, but the day Trump and his administration took their oaths that all changed. Ultimately Congress and the Senate will have to put their partisan differences aside and collectively develop intestinal fortitude. They need to take whatever steps are necessary to eliminate this unfit presidential administration. Our country and our lives depend upon it. Referring to the phrase Trump, the TV celebrity, coined, Congress needs to say, Mr. President, youre fired!
Obamacare is a health care payment system. Thats very different from the health care system itself, and we should remember that as we debate the fix/replacement issue. Since much of the talk is about insurance coverages and costs, we laymen should try to understand enough about the subject to properly identify and evaluate the facts.

We are told premiums are down for some, but not that someone else is picking up the tab through subsidies. A family can be delighted their premiums appear under control, but sometimes forget co-pays and deductibles have gone way up. Its often difficult to know which of the various categories of expenditures is relevant to a particular discussion. I believe Obamacare proponents have used this ambiguity to their advantage  very similar to a shell game.

Lets list categories of expenditures that must be identified to understand health care costs. Heres a laymans list of various expenditure categories:

Net payments for individually owned insurance coverage.

Subsidies for individuals qualifying for government assistance.

Amount contributed by employers for group plans.

Employee contributions for employer provided group plans.

Deductibles. This is a cost over and above premiums costs.

Co-payments. This also is a cost over and above premiums.

Contributions to, and subsidies of, Medicare and Medicaid.

Costs of operating Veterans Administration hospitals.

Obamacare overhead costs. This includes salaries, wages and expenses for the additional IRS personnel, commissions, agencies and other government regulators added because of Obamacare.

Direct cash payments to health care providers made by individuals who have no coverage.

For those who either self-insure by making direct payments without health care coverage, or who choose not to seek health care insurance or services, there is a penalty/fine the government assesses. Thats a cost as well.

Public and private subsidies and donations to institutional providers of health care including hospitals, free clinics, Planned Parenthood and the like.

Add up those expenditures and that is the economic burden to our economy  i.e. total health care costs. Any generalization about health care costs that doesnt consider all of these is misleading or purposefully deceptive. No shell games. Politicians shouldnt suggest changing one of these in a vacuum without dealing with all of its implications.

Here are some proclamations being made and the truth regarding those claims:

Subsidies reduce health care costs. Counterpoint: Subsidies merely redistribute health care costs.

ACA will reduce a typical familys health care costs by $2,500. Counterpoint: We know that didnt happen.

ACA has reduced health care costs for many Americans. Counterpoint: Actually, few have had their costs reduced, and that happened by redistributing costs using subsidies. Thats not a true cost reduction.

ACA has benefited many through reduced insurance premiums. Counterpoint: In fact, for those few who have had those reductions, a closer look often yields offsetting increases in co-pays and deductibles.

The government needs to increase subsidies to fix Obamacare. Counterpoint: Too often we try to fix things by subsidizing them.

Well be fixing/replacing our health care payment system soon. Lets be sure we understand all the implications of any single change being proposed.
Claysons silliness

RICK JOHNSON

WAVERLY  An online dictionary defines politically correct as conforming to a particular sociopolitical ideology or point of view. Often the term is used to denigrate so-called liberals who supposedly bend over backward to accommodate everyone.

Many years ago when I was teaching school, a student used the N word to refer to an African-American. I told her never to do so again. She told me if she used any other term in her home, her father would slap her. What was politically correct in her house was the opposite of what was politically correct in my classroom.

I use this story to illustrate the divide not just in opinions in our country, but in actions. What is politically correct on the right is often the opposite on the left, but the reactions are usually identical. And both claim only the other side does it.

Such is the case also with the latest silliness from Dennis Clayson. He seems to have forgotten all the green cheese stories from right wing media about President Obama over the last eight years. I, as a liberal, ask us all to be true conservatives. Lets get back to the old-fashioned idea of real truth.

The voters spoke

BOB KAISER

CEDAR FALLS  Lets see. We had a presidential election, right. The Constitution has been in existence since the 1700s. The Electoral College was created in 1789 so heavy population centers wouldnt dominate our elections. And the liberals are crying foul  go figure.

True, Clinton won by 3.5 million of the popular vote in California, Cook County, Ill., by 1.1 million and three counties in New York by 1.2 million  the most liberal areas of the country. Do you want the USA controlled by them?

Why do we have 33 Republican governors, 15 Democratic and two independent? It should be obvious. We are a democratic republic, which means the ultimate power is in its citizens. Your representative votes for you unless it is a referendum like legalizing something in your state.

It would be interesting to know how the 161 million citizens of the U.S. that are on government benefits vote  if they voted. Do you suppose they voted for Trump? I think not. Too bad they didnt have enough time in their busy day to go vote. They will stand in line for their freebies though. Maybe next election they will all be working  we can at least hope.

Reality check

KIM REITER

WATERLOO  Television allows us to escape reality. After reading Gary Kroegers column from Jan. 22, I think he is still living in TV land.

Kroegers assertion school choice programs will diminish public schools lacks reality. Iowa currently spends almost $11,000 per pupil on average and ranks 11th while our neighbor Wisconsin spends just over $11,000 and ranks 5th. Wisconsin provides a $10,000 tax credit/pupil to families enrolling in private high schools and had its funding cut by 14.2 percent from 2008-2016, yet they are still in the top five. Iowa allows a $250 tax credit/pupil.

Public schools currently receive the money for students enrolled in private schools, and given the assertion they are still unable to meet current needs, imagine adding an additional 50,000 students currently enrolled in private schools to the system. That scenario would be more likely to lead to collapse.

Equal opportunity means families have a real choice in what educational environment best serves their child versus having the decision made by their address and income. School choice programs level the playing field by giving parents the choice of all educational options available in Iowa and inject healthy competition into the education market.

Diagnosing Clinton

JAYNE DRAPER

BUCKINGHAM  Jewel Cooper in her Jan. 20 letter to the editor states she has analyzed and diagnosed people for a living.

She informed us there are adequate reasons for concerns about Donald Trumps mental health. She lists over 20 symptoms of antisocial personality disorder.

Cooper then gives her diagnosis for President Trump. He will never change  ever.

After I read all the symptoms, I found many of them also applied to Hillary Clinton. Some apply because of her pro-abortion views. These symptoms are disregard for right and wrong; callousness; lack of sympathy and remorse about harming others; and failure to consider negative consequences.

President Trump and Hillary Clinton are not alone in deserving such a negative view. In varying degrees every person can have the same symptoms. God has a diagnosis for us. It is found in his word in Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Good news. God can change us! In Psalms 51:10 we read, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Lets pray and humbly ask God to do this for each of us.

NAMI says thanks

LESLIE COHN, LMSW

Executive director

NAMI Black Hawk County

WATERLOO  In the Jan. 23 edition of The Courier in the Ask Amy syndicated column, a reader referred to any earlier response from Amy Dickinson about a family dealing with bipolar disorder. The reader wrote about the National Alliance on Mental Illness and how I learned a lot and was helped by the organization. She had found a local support group and now I dont feel so alone. Amy replied she applauded NAMIs work in advocating for people with mental illness.

NAMI Black Hawk County, the local affiliate, thanks both her and the reader for acknowledging the work of our organization. We offer free classes, educational programs and support groups for people who have mental illness, their families, partners and friends.

People who have questions, need more information, or would like to receive our free newsletter can contact our office at 235-5263 or by email at namibh@qwestoffice.net.
Powerball up to $1.6 billion, now largest jackpot on record
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Sitting around a dining room table, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) met with eight dairy farmers from Jim Falls, Boyd, Rice Lake and others as far as Albany, Minn., Saturday morning at Triple T Farms, co-owned by brothers Tom and Tony Bowe, in Chippewa Falls.

Baldwin came to discuss her DAIRY PRIDE Act, which she hopes will enforce current Food and Drug Administrations regulation to properly label milk, yogurt and other dairy products. But, as these farmers know, there is a lot more that goes into dairy farming than labels.

The group of nine chatted for nearly an hour about topics ranging from Sonny Perdue, President Donald Trumps pick for agriculture secretary, NAFTA and other trade agreements and immigration to the need for workers.

A point of pride

The Food and Drug Administration defines milk as the lacteal secretion ... obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows.

Baldwin and the dairy farmers agreed, products such as soy milk or almond milk, as well as those that misrepresent other dairy products, are hurting the dairy industry.

People dont recognize a lot of effort was put into defining milk as a law so we can guarantee consumers when they are buying a product called milk, it is of highest quality and nutritional standards, Baldwin said. Currently these other products arent meeting those standards.

Baldwins DAIRY PRIDE Act would require the FDA to issue guidance for imitation dairy products that are improperly labeled within 90 days, and report to Congress to hold the agency accountable.

There is existing federal regulation, but Baldwin said the FDA has not enforced improper labeling regulations, leading to an increase in these products.

Steve Schlanglen, a dairy farmer from Albany, Minn. and Associated Milk Producers, Inc. board member, said those mislabeled products lead to a lower demand of milk products, which puts farmers like himself and the seven others in the room in a tricky spot.

Milk consumption has been dropping for several years and that is definitely a part of it, Schlanglen said. People believe theyre getting something really close or similar (to milk) and they arent, its not near the same nutrition. The label should be clear what it means.

Of course, a successful dairy farm wouldnt be anywhere without its workers, and another major concern they discussed was the workforce, where they come from and who they are.

A new ag face

Baldwin said she has only briefly interacted with Trumps ag secretary pick, Perdue, but shes heard favorable reviews so far.

The former senator from Georgia may not be from a dairy state, but Baldwin will make sure he knows Wisconsins needs at her scheduled meeting with him.

We are Americas dairyland and were proud of that, Baldwin said. I want him to understand there are policies that need to be focused on that will disproportionately affect our state if not done right, especially as we head toward a new farm bill.

She also wants him to be aware of the ag industry as a whole. Economic development in rural areas is also important for dairy farmers, such as good broadband connections, which affects farmers from marketing their products.

Its not just policies that affect family farms, but also what affects rural communities and their well being, she said.

The National Milk Producers and Midwest Dairy Coalition have endorsed Purdue and farmers like Schlanglen have confidence in him.

A changing workforce

Since she was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2012, Baldwin said shes seen a dramatic shift in workers in the dairy industry.

Family owned and operated is no longer enough to keep most farms going, as AMPI board member Mark Kaeding knows. In the Augusta-area alone, he knows farms employ Hispanics and Ecuadorians. With recent laws on immigration, Kaeding worries farmers will lose the employees they depend on to keep their farms going.

When talking about ag workfroce, dairy is different because it is 24/7, 365 days a year, Baldwin said. The best approach we can take is recognizing we have workforce needs that include people who arent necessarily born here.

Tom Bowes answer to his response to immigration policies was simple: Quick visas.

Were competing with local manufacturers, labor market is tight all around and we dont have a very glorious job, Bowe said. Quick visas to get these workers here, thats the route we need to take.

On the borders

In addition to closing off workers, closing borders could also affect production.

Sarah Schmidt, AMPIs director of public affairs, said Trumps conversations about building a wall on the Mexican border could very negatively impact the dairy industry.

(Mexico) is one of our major exporters of non-fat dry milk, Schmidt said. Any kind of tariff rate or tax situation that would decrease our ability to bring non-fat milk into Mexico could significantly impact dairy farmers here in Wisconsin.

On the northern end, Ontario, Canadas recent trade announcement to use condensed milk when crossing the border, thus easing transportation costs, also alarmed Baldwin. The U.S. depends on exporting a high-quality product.

Baldwin hopes Purdue will get on that as soon as possible, before other provinces follow Ontarios lead.

With topics turning toward the Trump Administration, Baldwin was also asked about her thoughts on the new president. She said he needs to be held accountable on his pledge to help the American people, but there are things she thinks will harm them, like the dismantling of health reforms.

She said Trump has gone against his pledge to drain the swamp by putting billionaires in powerful positions. But overall she remains optimistic.

We need cabinet secretaries who are working for the American people every day, not trying to enrich themselves or others in the administration, Baldwin said. The people of this state sent me to fight for the working people of my state, and my job hasnt changed.
BRIDGEPORT VILLAGE, OR, January 29, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ways & Means, Southern California's award-winning oceanfront oyster house, will open at the premiere shopping center Bridgeport Village this Spring. Created in the tradition of world-class oyster bars around the world, Ways & Means features fresh, sustainably-caught seafood and seasonal dishes. Its creative menu boasts small plates with bold flavors and an extensive bar program. The oyster house aims to reflect a strong sense of community and bring the California coastal lifestyle to Portland. It plans to open in the spring of 2017 at 7455 SW Bridgeport Rd, Tigard, OR 97224.



In addition to fresh oysters, the menu has a large emphasis on smaller plates intended for sharing. Signature dishes include the Ways & Means Oysters, served simply with a signature champagne mignonette and lemon to enhance the ocean-fresh flavors; Jerk Seared Salmon Bowl, made with Atlantic salmon, jerk glaze, coconut rice and papaya salsa; Lobster Roll, stuffed with Maine lobster, mango coleslaw, served with aioli and a brioche bun; and the Smoked Salmon Stack, stacked with avocado cream salsa, mango salsa and crispy wontons. Wines by the bottle, produced by wineries from around the world, were chosen to reflect the quintessential qualities of each varietal or region. This also includes the Ways & Means Chardonnay, Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc. The thoughtful bar program includes classic hand-crafted cocktails prepared with a twist and premium beers. Guests can enjoy popular cocktails such as the W&M Old Fashioned, mixed with W&M Papa's Pilar 24-year-aged 90-day re-barrelled dark rum, Vya sweet vermouth, honey syrup & orange; or enjoy the Ways & Means California Blonde Beer.



Destined to become a Portland staple, anchored within the heart of the Bridgeport Village shopping center, Ways & Means aims to offer more than just incredible seafood. The staff is dedicated to offering each guest a fun and friendly experience that transports them to a coastal oasis. Guests can enjoy an open dining room with large floor to ceiling windows, providing plenty of natural light, wooden countertops, beautiful glass bulb chandeliers and outdoor patios. Founders Parnell and Jennifer Delcham and Dena Mathe took inspiration from heritage flavors and the community atmosphere of seaside clam shacks, oyster bars and harbor houses around the globe to create the fast-growing concept.



What sets Ways & Means apart from other restaurants is that it's much more than just a restaurant. It has extended itself beyond just dining services with the introduction of its Ways & Means At Home Store that offers nautical and beach-inspired decor, kitchen tools and gifts. Ways & Means has also developed a collection of private label products, including oysters, wine, rum and beer. The brand introduced its own Chardonnay, Cabernet and Sauvignon wines, produced through a partnership with Tate Dog wines in Livermore, California. Ways & Means formed a partnership with Tom Perry to harvest its own branded oysters out of White Stone, Virginia. In a similar partnership with Papa's Pilar Rum, the brand now offers its own 24-year-aged rum.



Ways & Means Oyster House will be located at Bridgeport Village at 7455 SW Bridgeport Rd, Tigard, OR 97224. For more information, please visit www.wmoysters.com or follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.



ABOUT WAYS & MEANS OYSTER HOUSE:

The award-winning seafood restaurant concept, Ways & Means Oyster House, is a full-service restaurant committed to sustainability and localization of product with a menu focused on seafood. The menu features a small plate format with a price range that begins at $4 and offers weekend brunch, lunch, and dinner. The culinary program is complimented by a carefully procured wine list tailored to provide unique experiences at every visit. The restaurant concept is centered around a bar program that is driven to execute an exciting selection of cocktails composed of high quality spirits and fresh ingredients. A selection of local, seasonal, and specialty beers are on tap and flowing from opening to closing every day. The operations also offer banquet services along with the availability of retail items, including wine and beer, to be carried off premise.



ABOUT BRIDGEPORT VILLAGE:

Bridgeport Village is a landmark shopping destination, characterized by its open-air lifestyle design, distinctive architecture and an outstanding and enviable array of the region's first, exclusive, one-of-a-kind, and internationally renowned stores and boutiques including Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, Crate & Barrel, The Container Store, Z Gallerie and Cole Haan. The Village boasts 75 stores, the largest Regal Cinema IMAX in the state, and features a dozen sit-down dining restaurants & eateries such as California Pizza Kitchen, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Grill, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Sinju Japanese Restaurant, and Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar. The Village also offers unparalleled amenities and services that cater to a luxury experience such as Concierge Services, Valet Parking, Courtesy Umbrellas and Exclusive Partnerships.



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Of course, Azra Raza is also my older sister! Rebecca Robbins in Stat:

During a week when President Trumps efforts to ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations touched off alarms among scientists worldwide, his former rival was sending a very different message.

Hillary Clinton spent Wednesday evening at a star-studded fundraiser supporting the cancer research of two top scientists at Columbia University  both of whom happen to be immigrants.

One of the events beneficiaries was Dr. Azra Raza, who last summer wrote an opinion piece for STAT under the headline: Im an immigrant and a Muslim. And Im here to cure cancer. Raza, who researches early-stage leukemia, grew up in Pakistan. She said Clinton repeatedly thanked her for her work.

The fundraiser also raised money to support the work of Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. Mukherjee, who studies blood cancers, was born in India.

More here. And a picture slide-show of the event here in the New York Times.
Eric Foner in the New York Times:

The first book by Richard Hofstadter, the leading historian of his generation (and, decades ago, my Ph.D. supervisor), was Social Darwinism in American Thought, a study of the impact on American intellectual life of the scientific writings of Charles Darwin. Hofstadter related how businessmen, free marketeers and opponents of efforts to uplift the poor seized upon Darwins seminal work, On the Origin of Species, to justify social inequality during the Gilded Age. They invoked Darwinian ideas such as natural selection, survival of the fittest and the struggle for existence to assert the innate superiority of the eras 1 percent and to define people at the bottom of the social order as innately ill equipped to succeed in the competitive race of life.

Social Darwinism has remained a byword for racism and a dog-eat-dog vision of society. But as Randall Fuller shows in The Book That Changed America, this was not the only way Darwinian precepts were assimilated into American life and thought. Fuller, who teaches English at the University of Tulsa, is the author of a prizewinning study of the Civil Wars impact on American literature. His account of how Americans responded to the publication of Darwins great work in 1859 is organized as a series of lively and informative set pieces  dinners, conversations, lectures  with reactions to On the Origin of Species usually (but not always) at the center.

Fuller focuses on a group of New England writers, scientists and social reformers. He begins with a dinner party on New Years Day, 1860, at the home of Franklin B. Sanborn, a schoolmaster in Concord, Mass. The guest of honor was Charles Loring Brace, a graduate of Yale and founder of the Childrens Aid Society, which worked to assist the thousands of orphaned, abandoned and runaway children who populated the streets of New York City.

More here.
Sheila Weller in Vanity Fair:

On a steamy hot September day in 1955, in a racially segregated courtroom in Sumner, Mississippi, two white men, J.W. Milam and his half-brother Roy Bryanta country-store ownerwere acquitted of the murder of a 14-year-old black Chicago boy. His name was Emmett Till. And in August of that year, while visiting a Deep South that he didnt understand, Till had entered a store to buy two cents worth of bubble gum. Shortly after exiting, he likely whistled at Bryants 21-year-old wife, Carolyn. Enraged, Bryant and Milam took matters into their own hands. They would later admit to local authorities that theyd abducted Till three nights later. And when they finished with him, his body was so hideously disfigured from having been bludgeoned and shot that its horrifying depictionin a photo in Jet magazinewould help to propel the American civil rights movement.

Milam and Bryant were arrested, and, with the aid of NAACP Mississippi field secretary Medgar Evers and other black activists in seeking out witnesses, the prosecution produced compelling evidence. Even so, it wasnt a surprise when the all-white, all-male jury voted not guilty, in little over an hour. Mississippi, after all, had had very few convictions for white-on-black murders. And the state led the nation in lynchings. (Four months after their irreversible acquittal, Milam and Bryant admitted their guilt to Look magazine, receiving a fee of some $3,000 for their story.) But the most explosive testimony, which certainly influenced the local white publics perception of the motive for the murder, were the incendiary words of Carolyn Bryant, who was working in the store that night. On the stand, she had asserted that Till had grabbed her and verbally threatened her. She said that while she was unable to utter the unprintable word he had used (as one of the defense lawyers put it), he said [he had]done something  with white women before. Then she added, I was just scared to death. A version of her damning allegation was also made by the defendants lawyers to reporters. (The jury did not hear Carolyns words because the judge had dismissed them from the courtroom while she spoke, ruling that her testimony was not relevant to the actual murder. But the court spectators heard her, and her testimony was put on the record because the defense wanted her words as evidence in a possible appeal in the event that the defendants were convicted.)

More here.
Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept:

It is not difficult for any decent human being to immediately apprehend why and how Donald Trumps ban on immigrants from seven Muslim countries is inhumane, bigoted, and shameful. During the campaign, the evil of the policy was recognized even by Mike Pence (offensive and unconstitutional) and Paul Ryan (violative of Americas fundamental values), who are far too craven and cowardly to object now.

Trumps own defense secretary, Gen. James Mattis, said when Trump first advocated his Muslim ban back in August that we have lost faith in reason, adding: This kind of thing is causing us great damage right now, and its sending shock waves through this international system.

The sole ostensible rationale for this ban  it is necessary to keep out Muslim extremists  collapses upon the most minimal scrutiny. The countries that have produced and supported the greatest number of anti-U.S. terrorists  Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, UAE  are excluded from the ban list because the tyrannical regimes that run those countries are close U.S. allies. Conversely, the countries that are included  Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Iran, Sudan, and Yemen  have produced virtually no such terrorists; as the Cato Institute documented on Friday night: Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015. Indeed, as of a 2015 study by the New America research center, deaths caused by terrorism from right-wing nationalists since 9/11 have significantly exceeded those from Muslim extremists.

Trumps pledge last night to a Christian broadcasting network to prioritize Christian refugees over all others is just profane: The very idea of determining who merits refuge on the basis of religious belief is bigotry in its purest sense. Beyond the morality, it is almost also certainly unconstitutional in a country predicated on the free exercise of religion. In the New York Times this morning, Cato analyst David Bier also convincingly argues that the policy is illegal on statutory grounds as well.

More here.
Sara Jo Schneider and Hickle, along with fellow Girl Scouts Jayna Kelley and Autumn Helgeson, were killed when a pickup truck crashed into them as the scouts cleaned up debris on the west side of Highway P at about 11 a.m. Nov. 3, 2018. All four were killed at the scene. A fifth girl was injured but later recovered. The girls attended Southview Elementary and Halmstad Elementary in Chippewa Falls. On Wednesday, a 20-foot-tall memorial was dedicated at the crash site, honoring the three scouts and mother killed that day.
Northern football players, cheerleaders from beyond the U.S.

Two Northern football players and two cheerleaders have common ground with hometowns outside the U.S.
Addis Ababa  Moroccos King Mohammed VI has arrived in Ethiopia ahead of the arrival of other continental heads of state for the African Union summit.

His arrival on Saturday comes after news that the issue of Morocco becoming part of the AU again is on the summit agenda. For an item to be discussed at the summit, half of the member states have to agree to it, but for Morocco to be admitted to the AU, consensus or a two-thirds majority is needed.

Rumours of his arrival abounded last week but some commentators said this would not happen after he was a no-show amidst similar rumours at the AUs mid-year summit in Kigali, Rwanda last year.

Institute for Security Studies Yann Bedzigui said it was likely that the king came to show his commitment. Every head of state from Africa is coming, so he probably wants to strengthen his case, he said.

King Mohammed VI has been travelling the continent over the past six months to lobby for Morocco to be admitted.

One of the sticking points over Morocco joining the AU again is whether it would lobby the continental body to expel the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. Morocco left the Organisation of African Unity, the AUs predecessor, in 1984 out of protest about the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republics admission.
The visit represents the long-awaited return of Morocco to its institutional family, the African Union (AU), which will take its destiny into its own hands, said Peter Pham, Vice-president of U.S. think-tank, the Atlantic Council, and Director of the Africa Center.

The royal visit is an historic event for Moroccos long-awaited return to the Union by an overwhelming majority of the AU member countries, said the US expert in African geo-strategic issues. He went on to hail what he called the perspicacity of the African strategy of the Sovereign.

Morocco has never left Africa and its return to the AU is all the more necessary and essential as the continent faces major geopolitical challenges in the economic and security fields, Pham said.

He also noted that Morocco is a bastion of political stability and a country committed to promoting South-South cooperation, co-development and investment across the African continent.

He went on to add that the Kingdom is a key partner in the fight against violent extremism, against all ideologies that pervert the precepts of authentic Islam. Pham noted that Morocco also provides key support in peacekeeping on the African continent, as well as acting as a bridge between Europe, America and Africa.

King Mohammed VI is currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the African Union (AU) summit, scheduled to take place on January 30 and 31.

Earlier this week, Morocco officially notified the countries constituting the Commission of the AU of this development.

During the 30th regular session of the AU Executive council, held Thursday in Addis Ababa, four countries reaffirmed their support for the return of Morocco to the AU.

Morocco World News reported on Wednesday that Morocco had officially notified the countries constituting the Commission of the AU of this development.
Donald Trump originally dubbed his executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries a Muslim ban, according to the US presidents aide Rudy Giuliani.

When he first announced it he said, Muslim ban, the former New York mayor told Fox News late Saturday when asked whether the ban was connected to religion.

Show me the right way to do it legally, Giuliani  who Trump has tapped as his cyber security guru  said the US president told him.

The 72-year-old said he and a team of legal experts focused on  instead of religion  danger! when they drafted the immigration crackdown that has sparked a global outcry and mass protests.

Trumps sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and prohibits issuing visas for travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Giuliani said those predominantly Muslim countries were targeted because they are the areas of the world that create danger for us.

Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis, he said.

The crackdown on Muslim immigration has infuriated civil rights groups and activists.
Protesters of a fringe group, Karni Sena, stalled the shooting and vandalised the sets of Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmavati at Jaigarh Fort. They alleged that the movie distorted history. It features Deepika Padukone as Padmavati and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji. In his previous movie Bajirao Mastani, the history was slanted. Though, Bhansali gave disclaimer stating that the story is conceived to entertain viewers and may not have any relevance with the history. Brahmins from Pune were more mature and cultured, so they had not registered any protest against the films. On the other hand, Rajputs are known to be warriors to the core and expecting maturity on mostly twisted facts under the sweet name of freedom of expression in Bollywood, the backlash was expected. Still, we should condemn violence.

While any such attack deserves to be denounced, it is a fact that the film industry is twisting the history and trying to rewrite it in a deliberately offensive way. The story of Rani Padmini, who killed herself rather than be captured by invading Islamic forces, has been totally rewritten for the screen to show love scenes between the two. Bhansali may be a renowned director but he should have a responsibility to present the history accurately and not to play with the facts and in such obscene levels. This might be the reason, Rajput groups, the very own caste-based outfits warned director against filming Padmavati with distorted facts. Meanwhile, after the attack five persons were arrested under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), were released as no formal complaint was made against them by the victim.

The account of Alauddin Khiljis attack on Chittorgarh (1303 A.D.) is based on Khazain Ul Futuh (Treasures of Victory) written by the court poet Amir Khusru, who accompanied him during the campaign. The writing neither mentions Padmini nor the story that we know today. Around 1540 A.D, more than two hundred years after the said incident, poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote an epic titled Padmavat in which he created the story of Padmini as we know it today. His writing was so compelling that the later poets and court historians took it as it is and thus it flowed on for centuries and approved as history. Modern historians sharply differ on the account presented by Jayasi, as there is no other contemporary evidence to corroborate the story. It should be brought to light, for people in general and students in particular, that such stories as of Padmini do not have clear historical evidence.

Maharani Padmini or Padmavati is a legendary queen mentioned in Padmavat by Jayasi. According to the poem, she was the wife of King Rawal Ratan Singh of Chittor. Maharani Padmini was known mostly for her divine beauty, and Jauhar (self-immolation) in 1303A.D, the year Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittor. However, her historical existence is a matter of debate among historians. Padmini or Padmavati spent her life under the care of her father Gandharvsena and mother Champavati.

Padmini had a talking parrot named Hiramani. Her father arranged a swayamvara (request to marry her by showing their eligibility) for his beautiful daughter to an able man and invited all the Hindu kings and Rajputs. King Rawal Ratan Singh of Chittor hearing of Padminis attributes went to the Swayamvara regardless of having multiple wives. There, he won her hand by defeating another eligible king, Malkhan Singh. He returned to Chittor with his beautiful queen Padmini.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Sultanate of Delhi, set up by Muslim Turkic nomadic invaders, was growing in power. The Sultans made repeated attacks on Mewar. It is famously said and believed that Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittorgarh to have Maharani Padmini all for himself, as describe by Jayasis poem, written in Awadhi.

King Rawal Ratan Singh, a brave and noble warrior, had many skilled and talented artists in his court, one of whom was a musician named Raghav Chetan. But what people did not know was that Raghav Chetan was also a practitioner of magic and spells. He used this hidden talent to defeat his rivals. Unfortunately, he was caught red-handed while practicing magic, which greatly displeased the king. Raghav Chetan was thus banished from the kingdom after he was publicly humiliated when forced to sit on a donkey with black paint on his face and ride around the capital. This harsh punishment earned Ratan Singh an uncompromising enemy. Sulking after his humiliation, Raghav Chetan went to Delhi with the aim of trying to incite the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji, with a reason to attack Chittor.

The Sultan on reaching Mewar was anxious to see the beautiful queen Padmini of whose beauty he had heard a lot. As a guest to the kingdom, he requested for a meeting with the queen. Padmini however, suspicious of Alauddins demand, declined the request. King Ratan Singh then tried to talk to his queen into agreeing for as he knew the strength of the Delhi Sultanate and the Khilji Dynasty. Padmini then put a condition that Aladdin should see only her reflection that too in the presence of her husband, herself accompanied by a hundred female servants. When Khilji saw her, he was so smitten by her beauty that he wanted Padmini for himself. He thus, decided to attack Chittorgarh. He believed that if he killed Ratan Singh then queen will be of his.

The Rajputs fought valiantly in the battle, but lost. Alauddin Khilji, all triumphant when reached the fort was shocked. To his great dismay and disbelief all the royal women including Padmini had committed jauhar. The women who performed jauhar perished but their memory has been kept alive till date in the bards and songs which glorify their valour. To protect their self-respect and honour, they jumped into the fire pyre.

Other than the epic written by Jayasi, there is no other historical evidence to this entire saga. However, ladies like Padmini were pride of their own culture and carrying the pride and legacy of Rajputana culture. Portraying her romancing with Alauddin, which is not even remotely mentioned in poetry, goes against religious sentiments. Filmmakers must exercise extra caution while narrating sensitive iconic historical characters.

With Inputs from Various Sources

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
Mexicos government rebuked Israel on Saturday for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to applaud US President Donald Trumps plan to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

Netanyahu said on Twitter earlier on Saturday that, President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israels southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea. (sic)

The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexicos foreign ministry.

The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahus message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall, the ministrys statement.

Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister, it said, noting that Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking Holocaust memorial day on Friday.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter Netanyahu had been referring to his countrys specific security experience and that Israel was not voicing an opinion on U.S.-Mexican relations.

Mexicos government and Trump have been locked in a bitter dispute over his election campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S. southern border that he says Mexico will pay for. Mexico has repeatedly said it will not pay for the wall.

The Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico issued a statement saying it forcefully rejected Netanyahus comment, while several prominent Mexicans of Jewish origin sharply criticized the Israeli leader on Twitter.

So you like walls @netanyahu? Here you have a couple of nice designs, said Mony de Swaan, a former head of the Mexican telecommunications regulator, posting images of walls commemorating Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp where diarist Anne Frank died, and the Warsaw Ghetto.

On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a visit to meet Trump next week after the American advised him to forgo the trip if he was not willing to pay for the wall.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Foggy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Showers this evening then scattered thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
A Post-National Framework for Peace and Stability in the Middle East

The Syrian crisis, about to enter its sixth year, has created the largest humanitarian disaster since the Cold War, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and creating the worst refugee crisis of our generation. Yet, the Syrian crisis is hardly the only fire burning in the Middle East. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Middle East has been stuck in endless wars and an ever-worsening cycle of violence and extremism. Beyond the devastating human cost of these conflicts, instability in the Middle East has the potential to destroy the global order. In his recent article "Toward a Global Realignment," Zbigniew Brzezinski warns that if not contained the current violence in the Middle East can spread to Russia's southern and eastern territories as well as the western portion of China.[1] Mr. Brzezinski is not the only one sounding alarms about the increasing instability in the Middle East. General David Petraeus has described the Syrian conflict as a "Chernobyl, a potential geo-strategic catastrophe."[2] The flood of refugees into Europe was a major driver behind Brexit and the rise of nationalism across Europe, which threatens to unravel the continent's post-nationalistic framework. Mr. Brzezinski warns that America's quest for a one-sided militarily and ideologically imposed outcome in the Middle East is an act of prolonged and self-destructive futility. Instead Mr. Brzezinski encourages the United States to forge a cooperative relationship with Russia, China, and the EU, who can partner with more established and historically rooted countries in the Middle East to shape a wider framework for regional stability. The Current Framework of the Middle East The framework for the Middle East was laid out at the beginning of the 20th century with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, mostly on a nationalistic basis. Nationalism is defined as a political movement to unite people into nations based on shared language, race or religion. This idea emerged in Europe in the 19th century, and spread to the Middle East in the early 20th. Nationalism held that the boundaries of a nation should as much as possible coincide with one culture. The Armenians and Assyrians were the first victims of nationalism in the Middle East. The Young Turks, in an effort to Turkify the new republic, executed a systematic campaign to exterminate the Assyrians and Armenians from eastern Turkey, a plateau they had inhabited for 3,000 years. As many as 1.5 million people were killed in what is today known as the Armenian Genocide. Two other nationalist movements, Arab nationalism and Zionism, were also gathering strength and about to collide. Zionism was born in Europe in the 19th century. Its founder, Theodore Herzl, was once a member of the German nationalist fraternity (Burschenschaft). Zionism's founding was not a reaction to the Holocaust, which occurred 40 years after the Zionist movement emerged. It was a nationalist movement to build a nation for the Jewish people. David Ben-Gurion, who was born in Poland, and then immigrated to Israel in 1906, wrote (quoted in Wikiquote, 2016), For many of us, anti-Semitic feeling had little to do with our dedication to Zionism. I personally never suffered anti-Semitic persecution. We emigrated not for negative reasons of escape but for the positive purpose of rebuilding a homeland."[3] European-educated Arab intellectuals from the Levant were also eager to establish an Arab homeland. In 1911, they founded the Young Arab Society, Al Fatat, in Paris. Their goal was to gain independence and unify Arab territory under the Ottoman Empire. In 1919, Ben-Gurion (quoted in Wikiquote, 2016) wrote, "We, as a nation, want this country to be ours; the Arabs, as a nation, want this country to be theirs."[4] Tensions between Arabs and Jews grew. In 1947, the Arabs rejected the UN partition plans for Palestine, and Arab nationalists vowed to eradicate the new Zionist entity. Between 1947 and 1949, more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes. Later, a series of laws in the newly declared state of Israel prevented them from returning to their homes or claiming their properties. Towns and streets, which had traditionally carried Arabic names, were given Hebrew ones. Against this backdrop, the Arab-Israeli conflict has continued for 67 years. Kurdish nationalists have demanded a homeland partitioned out of territories in parts of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. The Kurdish-Turkish war, which has escalated with the Syrian crisis, has caused tens of thousands of deaths and created masses of refugees. Turkey, in its effort to combat Kurdish nationalism, has restricted the use of the Kurdish language in Turkey. At one point the Kurdish language, dress, folklore, and names were prohibited. Today, the Arab countries of the Levant have collapsed into proxy, sectarian and civil wars. In the Middle East there are three competing regional projects, all exacerbating the regional conflicts and contributing to the radicalization of the population. Turkey's Neo-Ottomanists are trying to extend Turkey's influence in the Middle East; Iran cloaked in a Shia theocracy is extending its regional influence through a network of proxies and regional allies; and Israel remains strongly nationalist and is becoming increasingly right wing. In the middle of this regional dysfunction, ISIS has sprung up with an appalling mix of fascism and religious extremism, and Al Qaeda has gained a foothold on the Mediterranean. Religious radicalism and terrorism thrive in the Middle East today. These conflicts are polarizing and each side rallies its base using the most divisive issues, often religion. The governments of Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have all been accused or are at least suspected of supporting the most sectarian, often-terrorist groups, even ISIS, in their bid for regional influence. While the Middle East is becoming increasingly unstable, its strategic importance as an oil supplier to the United Stated is diminishing. According to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook, the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the biggest oil producer by the end of this decade, and will become self-sufficient in energy production by 2035.[5] The United States' shift away from the Middle East started during the Obama administration as it pivoted to Asia. An estimated $5 trillion, $1.2 trillion of which is in American goods, is traded through the South China Sea shipping lanes each year, which is a vital national security interest for the United States. President Donald Trump also campaigned with the promise that the United States would disengage from the Middle East and prioritize fighting terrorism. The continued crises in the region however, risks sucking the United States back into the Middle East. A stable Middle East is of vital importance to China. It is estimated that there are around 5000 Chinese from the Uighur region fighting alongside radical Islamic groups in Syria. The recent suicide attack against the Chinese embassy in the Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan was ordered by Uighur militants active in Syria.[6] China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are, and will be for the foreseeable future, heavily dependent on the flow of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The E.U. is in desperate need of stability in the Middle East as well. They are struggling to deal with the flood of immigrants coming from the region and with the threat of radicalized European Jihadists fighting in Syria. In many proxy wars, regional players manipulate their external backers and not the other way around.[7] None of these major powers wants to be dragged into these conflicts in the Middle East as long as their geostrategic interests are protected. A New Framework Many blame the current arbitrary borders of the Middle East for its many troubles. The British and the French drew up these borders after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. In the early 1900s under Ottoman rule there were provinces -- Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul -- that corresponded to today's Iraq. The other provinces were those of Damascus, Beirut, Aleppo, and Deir al Zor, plus the district of Jerusalem, which had special administrative status. These areas included today's Syria, Lebanon, and much of Jordan, Israel and Palestine. Mixed communities with a myriad number of religions, sects, and ethnicities populated these provinces. The new colonial borders divided communities and restricted the movement of people and commerce, but they were not a cause of war. It was the nationalists who caused wars. The territorial claims of the different nationalist movements that sprung up in the late 19th and early 20th century overlapped and set the stage for conflict. Nationalism as a cause of war, authoritarianism, and racism is well established. The role of nationalism in European wars, including the two world wars, is well documented. After decades of war, Europe had to build a new framework for a lasting peace. It began with the Schuman Declaration in 1950. It laid the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) the first supra-nationalist organization in history. Pooling coal and steel production -- in the words of the Declaration -- made war between historic rivals not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible."[8]Then through successive steps including de-emphasized borders, Europe led the world in pioneering a post-nationalist experiment and established peace.Post-nationalism is also the best framework to resolve the myriad conflicts in the Middle East. Candidate Countries The selection of countries for this new framework aims to defuse existing tensions that exacerbate the current conflicts and fuel extremism. These countries are Turkey, Iran, Israel, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan. Membership in the bloc would be available on a rolling basis and might include other countries like Egypt, whose membership could provide a tripartite peace with Iran and Turkey to anchor the new bloc. Alternatively, Egypt could be part of a North African bloc. Armenia should be considered for membership in this new bloc as well. Armenians were the first victims of nationalism in the Middle East and deemphasizing its border with Turkey would give Armenians peaceful access to areas they have been forced out of including the revered Mount Ararat. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) would continue to develop their own relationships and would not be part of this proposed post-nationalist bloc. Historically, the GCC's main strategic threats have been Arab nationalism, pan-Islamic movements, and Iran. All these risks would be reduced with the creation of the proposed post-nationalist bloc. The Pillars of the New Framework While this proposed framework borrows heavily from the European experience, it is not a proposed union. This proposed framework is built with a series of multilateral agreements between the named countries aimed at replacing the current framework which is built of nationalistic bases with a post nationalist framework built on three pillars, deemphasizing borders, multiculturalism, and regional projects. In this new bloc, borders would be frozen where they are and deemphasized, with the ultimate goal of guaranteeing the free movement of capital, people, goods and service within the bloc. Borrowing from the example of the ECSC, a regional body would be created to manage the regions water and energy resources, as well as transit roots for energy from the Gulf area and Russia to the West. All these, especially water rights, are a source of conflict, and are best managed on a regional basis. According to scientists with the World Resource Institute (WRI), water shortages are expected to intensify and will exacerbate conflicts. Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Turkey will all be facing severe water stress by 2040, according to the WRI.[9] Combating terrorism will likewise be a focus of cooperative police forces in the region. Multiculturalism is the third pillar of this new framework, and is the antithesis of nationalism. Where nationalists aim for the primacy of their culture and language in specific regions, often to the exclusion of others, multiculturalism is the celebration of all cultures and religions as equals. Multiculturalism is not meant to mix different cultures and religions together to create a new identity, nor does it weaken people's connection to their religion and traditions. The Europeans paid special attention to this issue when structuring their post nationalist framework. They made multiculturalism a foundation of their new post-nationalist framework. In contrast with the nationalistic fervor of old Europe that emphasized language as a central part of national identity, in the E.U. there is no official language. All of the 24 languages spoken in the E.U. region are official E.U. languages.[10] Post-nationalism is a different polity than pre-nationalists empires many of which were also composed of many cultures and religions like the Ottoman empire. Those Empires were governed by one religious group or one clan. This new proposed framework for the Middle East would not simply replicate the E.U.; greater autonomy would be granted to local governments, and a single currency is not necessary for a post-nationalist framework. This is also not a proposed military pact, and is not an invitation to disarmament. Countries in this new proposed bloc will maintain their military treaties with non- member countries, such as Russia's agreements with Syria and the United States' agreements with Turkey. Creating a new bloc with deemphasized borders, regional projects, and multiculturalism should defuse most of the regional conflicts. Since Iran is a majority Shia country, and Turkey is a majority Sunni country, the focus of the countries in this new-shared bloc will be on the shared values of both religions. Christianity and Judaism also share the values that are common to these two forms of Islam. This should defuse religious extremism as well. The conflicts of the Middle East today are regional, the Kurdish question, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and the Syrian crisis are all regional, zero-sum conflicts. Regional conflicts require regional solutions. A Prerequisite for Peace not a Product of Peace Some believe that post nationalism will be the result of peace and that creating a post-nationalist bloc would be putting the cart before the horse. The European experience proves otherwise. After decades of conflicts and two world wars, Europeans sought an escape from the nationalism that had devastated the continent. The political elite took the lead in the search for a new structure for governance. The result was the E.U., a pioneering experiment in interdependence and multiculturalism. In 2012, the E.U. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Explaining the Nobel Committee's decision, Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland argued that the E.U. has transformed Europe, "from a continent of wars to a continent of peace."[11] While it is possible to argue about the economics of the project, such arguments ignore the fact that the purpose of the E.U. was to prevent war. The Middle East has transitioned from a religious empire to a region torn by nationalism, now it needs to move toward post nationalism as its third political act, to bring stability to the region. The Alternative Many have argued that the promotion of liberal democracies is a precondition to peace in the Middle East, and the neoconservatives have pushed for regime change in many countries in the region, only to see violence, and extremism reach new heights. Peace building by focusing individual conflict has yielded precious little despite decades of international efforts. Alternately, the region could undergo further segregation and population transfer as proposed by people such as Michael Bernstam.[12] This approach will lead to ethnic cleansing and the creation of small warring, unsustainable states. How do we get there? It took Europe a cataclysmic war to abandon nationalism and seek an alternative framework. Moving the Middle East to a post nationalist structure will require that the regional actors be exhausted by and realize the futility of the current wars. It will also require a paradigm shift in thinking both inside and outside the region. Post nationalism in Europe remains a deeply misunderstood process in the Middle East. Many on the left believe that the E.U. is a capitalistmanifestation to create open markets and help big business. Islamists see it as areconstitution of Christendom. And nationalists are still attached to their dreamsand view the E.U. as a union of mature nations that have already achieved theirnationalist aspirations. Middle Eastern nationalists also argue thattheir brand of nationalism is different than the European variety. Arabs argue that theirnationalism is rooted in liberation nationalism and that the Zionists use the Holocaustas a reason to hold on to their nationalist project. But all these views ignore the history of the development of post nationalism in Europe, and the history ofnationalism in the Middle East. Work on the new framework should be initiated by local politicians, most likely from Iran and Turkey, with the consent of the major global powers. It would involve direct negotiations between potential member nations on the first steps toward and the overall parameters of the new structure. The E.U. can provide technical expertise, drawing on it vast experience in regional post nationalist frameworks. Other countries, most importantly Israel and Syria, can join these negotiations. It will be an evolving project that will be built one treaty at a time with an overarching goal of replacing the current zero sum structure with a new post nationalist framework. Peace-building institutes, like the Carter Center and The Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution (NOREF), can take a leading role by hosting politicians and activists from the region to explore and promote this new solution. Potential Obstacles There will be resistance to such new framework from Islamists and nationalists inside the region. There are also potential obstacles from outside the region; the U.S might want to continue to isolate Iran. Russia is increasingly suspicious of post nationalism, and U.S.- Russian rivalry and mutual suspicion has the potential to prevent this project from moving forward. For those who see too much chaos in the Middle East to even ponder post-nationalism, it is worth keeping in mind that the E.U. was born in the aftermath of World War II when war, genocide and religious rivalry had swept the continent. The E.U. has been an evolving, contentious project that took shape in the shadow of the Cold War, in a divided Europe governed by many right-wing military dictatorships well into the 1970s. The E.U. was a top-down project engineered by a few visionary statesmen that allowed Europe to develop into what it is today: peaceful, democratic, and liberal. All of this human progress is at risk today by the escalating violence and dysfunction in the Middle East. Considering the decreasing strategic importance of the region to the U.S., and the potential seismic geopolitical impact of the continued instability in the Middle East, the U.S. should aim to stabilize the region as it continues to disengage from it. Patiently guided by long-range vision, The U.S. and in partnership with China, Russia and the E.U., should help guide local countries to seek a new post nationalist regional framework.

Bibliography Beehner, Lionel. "How Proxy Wars Work: And What That Means for Ending the Conflict in Syria." Foreign Affairs. Nov. 12, 2015. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-11-12/how-proxy-wars-work Bernstam, Michael. "Redraw Country Lines in the Middle East." Forbes. Dec. 23, 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/12/23/redraw-country-lines-in-the-middle-east/#78181fda7765 Brzezinksi, Zbigniew."Toward a Global Realignment." The American Interest 11, No. 6, (April 17, 2016). http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/04/17/toward-a-global-realignment/ Dzyubenko, Olga. "Kyrgystan says Uighur militant groups behind attack on China's Embassy."Reuters. Sept. 7, 2016. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kyrgyzstan-blast-china-idUSKCN11C1DK Mackey, Peg. "U.S. to overtake Saudi as Top Oil Producer: IEA." Reuters. Nov. 12, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iea-oil-report-idUSBRE8AB0IQ20121112 Noren, Alexander. 2012 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. video. 80 min. 2012. http://www.lectoro.com/index.php?action=search&ytq=2012%20Nobel%20Prize%20Award%20Ceremony Petraeus, Gen. David (ret.). Address to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Syria. Sep 22, 2015. Youtube video. 1 min. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScBrQaDzgpA Prospero, a blog published by The Economist. http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero. Schuman, Robert. "The Schuman Declaration -- 9 May 1950." European Union. Last updated Dec. 12, 2016. https://europa.eu/european-union/abouteu/symbols/europe-day/schuman-declaration_en WikiQuote. David Ben-Gurion.Last updated on July 1, 2016. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Ben-Gurion. Originally published in David Ben-Gurion, Memoirs (The World Publishing Company, 1970), 36. WikiQuote. David Ben-Gurion. Last updated on July 1, 2016. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Ben-Gurion. World Resources Institute Blog. http://www.wri.org/blog [1] Zbigniew Brzezinski, "Toward a Global Realignment," The American Interest, 11, no. 6 (April 17, 2016), http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/04/17/toward-a-global-realignment/. [2] Gen. David Petraeus (ret.), Address to Senate Armed Services Committee on Syria, Youtube video, 1 min, September 22, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScBrQaDzgpA. [3] Wikiquote, David Ben-Gurion. Last updated on July 1, 2016. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Ben-Gurion. [4] Ibid. [5] Peg Mackey, "U.S. to overtake Saudi as Top Oil Producer: IEA," Reuters, Nov. 12, 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iea-oil-report-idUSBRE8AB0IQ20121112. [6] Olga Dzyubenko, "Kyrgystan says Uighur militant groups behind attack on China's Embassy," Reuters, Sept. 7, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kyrgyzstan-blast-china-idUSKCN11C1DK. [7] Lionel Beehner, "How Proxy Wars Work: And What That Means for Ending the Conflict in Syria," Foreign Affairs, Nov. 12, 2015, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-11-12/how-proxy-wars-work. [8] Robert Schuman, The Schuman Declaration -- 9 May 1950, European Union, last updated Dec. 12, 2016, https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day/schuman-declaration_en. [9] Andrew Maddocks, Robert Samuel Young and Paul Reig, "Ranking the World's Most Water Stressed Countries in 2040," World Resources Institute (blog), Aug. 26, 2015, http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/08/ranking-world's-most-water-stressed-countries-2040. [10] "Multiculturalism and the E.U.," Prospero (blog) The Economist, April 30, 2015, http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/04/multilingualism-and-eu-0. [11] Alexander Noren, 2012 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, video, 80 min, 2012, http://www.lectoro.com/index.php?action=search&ytq=2012%20Nobel%20Prize%20Award%20Ceremony. [12] Michael Bernstam, "Redraw Country Lines in the Middle East," Forbes, Dec. 23, 2015, http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/12/23/redraw-country-lines-in-the-middle-east/#78181fda7765.
Mary Tyler Moore chose her upbeat attitude despite her personal struggles in life.

In reporting her death, Mary Tyler Moores publicist wrote, She turned the world on with her smile.

What will they say about you?

Growing up watching her show, I always admired her spirit, spunk and upbeat attitude towards life. Reading about her death, I gained a deeper appreciation of the power of Marys smile. It is one thing to smile when the world seems perfect and all is right. It is another thing to find a reason to smile when you stumble yet somehow find the strength to move onwards and upwards. Mary Tyler Moore was noted as saying, You cant be brave if youve only had wonderful things happen to you. Take chances, make mistakes. Thats how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

Over 25 years ago, I learned the meaning of being brave and learning how to smile again.

Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

I remember the moment as if it was yesterday. More than 25 years ago, sitting in the hospital next to my mother as she lay in a coma, I sensed this would be my last time in her physical presence. For the first 20 years of my life, she taught me, cared for me, loved me, and motivated me. I couldnt believe the reality we all faced. I felt the touch of her hand and offered her a kiss on the forehead. I looked at her, once so full of life and now barely holding on. I remember feeling such sadness and despair.

How could this have happened? How would we survive as a family? All I felt was the world caving in and a darkness enveloping me. I began to cry from the depths of my heart. The January day was cloudy and cold, as if the world mourned with me. I struggled to find an anchor, some ray of hope, some way to be able to move forward. My universe was upside down. My mother had died, and although I was surrounded by family and friends, I felt all alone.

In retrospect, I understand now that those days were a crucible of my faith. As a young boy, I believed in a higher power but was never before challenged to muster such strength. To this day, I remember making a choice: I could either believe my mothers untimely death was an accident and reject God or I could choose, in humility, to accept a higher plan and harness all of my inner strength, the resources of my faith, to carry mother with me in soul and spirit, and grow from this dark time in my life. I chose life and renewed my faith. I learned how to smile again.

As a rabbi, father, husband, teacher, and friend, I realize that every day Im faced with a choice to sit in the darkness or light a fire. We all are. My crises may no longer, thank God, be existential, but we all choose between despair and hope, regret or resolve, stagnation or growth.

Just as God proclaimed Let there be light in the midst of chaos and darkness at the beginning of time, we must confront moments of personal chaos, darkness, and spiritual stagnation and choose to instill our lives with clarity and light. Were tasked with the mission to find faith and see the light, and to pass the light to others. Youre alive today for a purpose. Dont lament days lost but seize the moment now to make the best of today.

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I credit my mother and father with instilling within me a can-do approach to life and the value of positive thinking. I learned not only from their words but their deeds as well. As parents, our children learn from how we respond to setbacks. Do we blame others for our disappointments or as my father always says, When one door closes, another door opens. My mothers motto, when asked how she was doing no matter the chaos in the house Thank God, I am fantastic! lifted my spirits and buoys me up to this day.

Ive also discovered that when you offer positive words to someone else, when you give someone a needed emotional boost, you yourself are uplifted. People will often ask me how Im able, as a rabbi, to give people comfort in times of grief and tragedy. They ask, Isnt it emotionally draining? What do you say when you walk into a house of sorrow? How do you comfort the bereaved? I know that I cant provide answers to why something has happened, but I can provide strength and hope. From my heart, I share that God will give them strength and that I and others are there for them. Just being present, sharing a kind word, and praying with them in turn renews my strength.

When we only see lifes problems, we never realize the infinite possibilities latent in each day. There is a divine design to every moment. There is a higher power. No diversion is without merit and meaning. If you meet someone, there is a holy purpose in the encounter. If you experience a closed door and a lost opportunity, know that youre being pushed to find another opening in your life that you never thought possible.

No moment is for naught; no encounter is random. When you find yourself seemingly off your projected path, rather than mourn, find meaning and turn on the world with your smile.
January 29, 2017

US President Donald Trumps Jan. 27 executive order to ban the entry of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, continues to prompt reactions from both Iranian officials and media.

On Jan. 28, in remarks interpreted by Iranian media as a direct hit at Trump for seeking to build a wall along the US border with Mexico, President Hassan Rouhani said, Today is not the time for raising walls between nations; they have forgotten that the Berlin wall collapsed a long time ago.  Now is the time for being neighbors.

Rouhani, who was speaking at the 17th Convention of World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations in Tehran, continued, Breaking trade pacts does not contribute to the global economy and development.

On Jan. 29, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took to Twitter to express his disappointment and anger about the executive order, writing, #MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters. 

He continued, "#MuslimBan shows [the] baselessness of the US claims of friendship with the Iranian people while only having issues with the Government."

"While respecting Americans & differentiating between them & hostile U.S. policies, Iran will take reciprocal measures to protect citizens.  Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visas will be gladly welcomed," Zarif concluded.

The Swiss envoy to Iran, who represents US interests given the absence of diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Jan. 29 in protest of Trumps executive order.

Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to the supreme leader, said Jan. 29, "It is the pride of Iranians that they don't need acceptance from an imbalanced individual such as Trump.  Without doubt, these kinds of measures will be detrimental to the future of the United States and what can be evaluated about the future of this country is that day by day its domestic problems are getting worse."

Also on Jan. 29, parliament Speaker Ali Larijani slammed Trumps move, saying that it showed their violent and racist spirit, adding that the US government is even afraid of its own shadow.

Referring to prominent Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoostis decision to boycott the upcoming Academy Awards in protest of the racist visa ban, Larijani described her stance as an example of respect for Iranian national values and a sense of patriotism.

In this vein, Hamid Aboutalebi, the deputy chief of staff of the president for political affairs, tweeted Jan. 27, Mr. President of the United States, the Iranian nation is the symbol of identity and Aryan history, Islamic humanitarianism, freedom, liberty and philanthropy. You have definitely seen the Cyrus Cylinder? The Iranian nation is an ancient and very civilized nation. It doesnt tolerate violence and terror and will stand up to it.

He continued, You have definitely read history, Mr. President. You should remember that the Iranian nation has been strong and proud for more than 3,000 years. Nobody has been able to belittle Iranians during their history.

Of note, the Cyrus Cylinder, which dates to the 6th century B.C., has been referred to as the oldest known charter or symbol of universal human rights.

Meanwhile, Masoud Khansari, the chairman of Tehrans Chamber of Commerce, said Jan. 28, Iranian businessmen, like other persons, arent allowed to go to the United States following Trumps executive order, and this order puts some restrictions on the trade between the two countries.

The executive order has been a gift to Iranian hard-liners, who have continuously sought to undermine and question Rouhanis foreign policy achievements, including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed with six world powers in July 2015.

the hard-line Kayhan daily, under the headline The first signature of Trump on the anti-Iran document, wrote Jan. 29, The new situation of today is clearly the result of the weakness of our countrys [nuclear] negotiating team, and is the fruit of trusting the false promises of the United States. If the Foreign Ministry had dealt with the first violation of the JCPOA with the Obama administrations approval of the [December 2015 US law to exclude nationals of Iran and several other Muslim-majority countries from the] Visa Waiver Program and forbidding tourist trips, Trump wouldnt have dared to raise his excessive demands to an extent that is a practical violation of the JCPOA.

Hard-line analyst Foad Izadi told the ultraconservative Vatan-e-Emrooz on Jan. 29, The question is why the situation has worsened after the JCPOA. Now the time has arrived for the government to change its foreign policy toward the United States, and [the government] should answer for why the outcome of its policy of approaching the United States is this new situation.

However, Amir Abolfath, a foreign policy analyst, told the Reformist Shargh daily Jan. 29, The important matter is that we shouldnt display a hysterical reaction, and the supreme institutions of the establishment should make decisions based on accurate studies [of the situation]. We should be cautious not to be trapped by the United States.  The more serious danger [for Iran] than a violation of the JCPOA by the United States is that they shouldnt succeed in provoking us into violating the JCPOA.

Meanwhile, under the headline The wall of Trump [has] reached Iran, Reformist Shahrvand daily published a report about the problems caused by the executive order.

In an interview with Shahrvand on Jan. 29, Mehrdad, a mechanical engineering student who has been admitted to a doctoral degree program at the University of Rhode Island, said the executive order could destroy the chances of hims studying in the United States. There is nothing I can do except wait. During this [90-day] period [outlined by the executive order for review of entry requirements], I will surely go to the US Embassy [in a neighboring country], and I hope that at least this [order] will not be extended, Mehrdad said.

Speculation has also mounted about whether Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, nominated for an Academy Award this year for his film The Salesman, will be able to attend the awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

The public relations team of The Salesman said Jan. 28, Mr. Farhadi faces no legal prohibition to travel to the United States, but he will state his decision about whether to attend the ceremony in the next few days.

Farhadi's A Separation won an Oscar for best foreign language film in 2012.

Then, on Jan. 29, the prominent director announced he would not be attending. I neither had the intention to not attend nor did I want to boycott the event as a show of objection, for I know that many in the American film industry and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are opposed to the fanaticism and extremism which are today taking place more than ever.  However, it now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip.

He added, Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way.  To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity.

Farhadi concluded, I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations.
January 27, 2017

In view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus February visit to Washington and his meeting with US President Donald Trump, the US administration will soon be confronted with conflicting pressures: Israel on the one hand, and the Palestinians, the European Union and Egypt on the other.

According to a senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who is part of the policy team preparing Netanyahus visit, Israel is currently drafting a proposal for Trump and his team, pre-empting any future agreement with the Palestinians. The draft will propose that the new US administration recognize Israels future sovereignty in the settlement blocs without defining their scope. Israel also seeks US assurances that it will prevent any diplomatic move internationalizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution, such as the continuation of the Jan. 15 Paris conferences or any other UN Security Council resolution stipulating the illegality of Israeli West Bank settlements. On the other hand, the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem is not high on the Israeli agenda, out of concern for unrest in the West Bank. Such an agreement by the new administration will enable the Netanyahu government to freely continue its settlement expansion policies, especially within the settlement blocs and the Jerusalem area. Netanyahu will also ask for new sanctions on Iran.

The senior official said that this strategy was commonly elaborated by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. He indicated that according to initial contacts between the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Trump administration, it seems that two camps are emerging within Trumps foreign and security policy team. On the one side are the officials who were part of the presidential election campaign and are now part of the White House team  people who are clearly leaning toward Israeli right-wing positions, are skeptical of the two-state solution in the foreseeable future and are in favor of Israeli settlement construction within the settlement blocs. On the other side are the secretaries of state and defense  people who are more pragmatic, tend to favor a two-state solution (on the condition that Palestinians take stronger measures against violence and terror) and oppose a move of the embassy to Jerusalem at this point.

The Palestinian Authority leadership is well-aware of Jerusalems diplomatic symbiosis with Washington. Hence, it is currently working to create a counterbalance with Egypt, the EU and Russia. Talks between Ramallah and Brussels have already taken place, both before and after Trumps inauguration, as to how to counter what seems to be a new US-Israeli understanding on settlement policies. And more specifically, on how to curb these tendencies during the Netanyahu visit, which will only strengthen the Israeli governments annexation ambitions.

A senior EU official close to Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, told Al-Monitor that EU headquarters and most member states (except for the United Kingdom) were dismayed with Trumps inauguration speech. While indicating to UK Prime Minister Theresa May the possibility of a quick and good trade deal, the US president publicly criticized the EU. The new US president is clearly opposed to multilateral frameworks, especially those open to the integration of migrants. His sharp criticism of [German] Chancellor Angela Merkel on the issue also signals an anti-EU posture. Nothing could please [Russian President] Vladimir Putin more than such comments and approach, the official said.

That being said, the EU has initiated a dialogue with the new Trump administration, especially with the president himself and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. On the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the EU will convey in the strongest possible terms its opposition to moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, warning that such a step would endanger the stability of the region. Mogherini made this clear in her Jan. 22 meeting with Israels Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi in Barcelona. The EU will also impress upon the new administration the absolute necessity and feasibility of a two-state solution based on the Paris conference conclusions, the Quartet report and Security Council Resolution 2334.

In parallel to talks with Washington, the EU intends to hold similar dialogues with Russia and the Arab League. The aim is to present the Trump administration with a two-state process consensus of the international community, right after Netanyahus visit there.

The Palestinians are not only counting on the Europeans to influence Washington. They are attempting to enlist Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to these efforts. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sent several emissaries to Sisi asking him to intervene vis-a-vis the Trump administration on the issue of the US Embassy in Israel, and in favor of a two-state solution.

The Egyptian president, who has a personal rapport with the new US president and spoke to him by phone on Jan. 23, has agreed to raise these issues also when he meets Trump in the near future.

It is too early to predict which of the two conflicting forces  Israel versus the Palestinians, the EU, Egypt and also Russia  will have a greater impact on Trumps Middle Eastern policies. These will depend on the advice he receives from his political team in the White House and from the State and Defense departments  advice that might be contradictory. One can assess in the short term that political popularity interests (vis-a-vis the American Jewish community) will override policy considerations. And if so, Netanyahu will reap these fruits during his upcoming Oval Office meeting.
January 27, 2017

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  On Jan. 2, Palestinian Authority (PA) Attorney General Ahmed Barak issued a decision to commission members of the Public Prosecution to start operating the Cybercrime Task Force in preparation for the issuance of the Cybercrime Law, which is expected to be passed in the first half of the year.

The law would address all forms of electronic crimes, in light of the recent high number of cybercrimes in Palestine. Per Palestinian police statistics in Ramallah, 2016 witnessed more than 1,200 cybercrimes compared to 520 in 2015, according to officer Louay Azriqat, the spokesman for the Palestinian police in Ramallah.

Amal (a pseudonym) is a 26-year-old woman from Jenin, working in a private production company. Her Facebook account was hacked, but she did not file a complaint with the police forces. Instead, she contacted an IT technician who managed to recover her account.

I did not file a complaint because this might take a while to be solved and might further complicate things. All I wanted was to recover my account, and I managed to do so without referring to the police, she told Al-Monitor.

Azriqat told Al-Monitor that the concept of e-crimes includes all law-breaking offenses committed through the use of a cellphone or a personal computer connected to the internet. He also said that e-crimes have similar elements as regular crimes, including a perpetrator, a victim and a crime tool. Azriqat said that there is a direct proportion between the increased use of electronic equipment and the increase in crimes associated with them.

Azriqat added that the statistics on the number of cybercrimes in Palestine are not accurate, as they include only the reported cases, knowing that many victims do not file complaints out of fear and intimidation by the perpetrator. This is not to mention the lack of awareness about the danger of impunity, which leads to more crimes. He said that the most common types of cybercrimes in Palestine are defamation, extortion, threat and theft, noting that more men than women use the internet, which means the crime rate is higher among male internet users.

Commenting on the reason behind the spread of cybercrimes, Azriqat said that this is due to ignorance and lack of experience in using the internet, not to mention the lack of use of safety precautions. He added that some internet users lack a sense of security, which makes them more prone to such crimes, noting that cybercriminals usually try to lure victims online in order to access or hack accounts or websites.

Regarding the necessary procedures and actions the police are taking to reduce the rate of cybercrimes, Azriqat said they are working on two levels. First they are following up on complaints and carrying out investigations, and second they are raising awareness about the threats and consequences of cybercrimes through lectures and seminars in educational institutions and nongovernmental organizations, as well as through the local media. He noted that in 2016 the police managed to solve 55% of the reported crimes immediately thanks to the capabilities and material they have.

We have the Cybercrime Unit that was established in 2014 by the PA. It includes technicians trained at home and abroad to develop their skills and abilities to expose perpetrators, Azriqat said, refusing to disclose the techniques they use to detect and follow up on crimes for security reasons.

About the Public Prosecution decision to establish a Cybercrime Task Force, Azriqat said it was too early to gauge the impact of such a task force on the crime rate, noting that he expects this rate to decline. Azriqat also said that the establishment of the task force would coincide with the passing of the Cybercrime Law, which addresses all forms of e-crimes and ways of dealing with them. Of note, the current applicable law in Palestine is the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, whereby the punishment is handed out according to said law and type of crime.

In this context, Nisrine Zeina, the head of the Cybercrime Task Force, told Al-Monitor, The decision to establish the task force came after the e-crime rate has been rising by 40% annually. Not to mention the perils of these crimes on the Palestinian community.

According to Zeina, e-crimes have become rampant because they do not follow the same traditional crime pattern. They are carried out with modern technology tools that are available to everyone and can be committed anywhere and anytime, and they are easily committed compared to other types of crimes.

Zeina added that establishment of the Cybercrimes Task Force is a prelude to the issuance of the Cybercrimes Law, which is expected to be passed after its second and third reading by the end of the first half of 2017.

The provisions of the Jordanian Penal Code are loose and nondeterrent, as they do not include anything on cybercrime. We need law texts that are more detailed and specialized to keep pace with the technological development. This needs to happen in tandem with the establishment of the Cybercrimes Task Force in order to prevent the spread of this type of crime, Zeina said.

She added that the term cybercrime includes electronic and technical cybercrime and is not only limited to defamation and extortion, but it also embraces e-viruses and electronic spying, among other e-crimes. She noted that they are trying to create a solid mechanism to combat these crimes through training of staff, judiciary control as well as the establishment of a specialized unit.

According to Zeina, the attorney general took gradual steps in the establishment of the task force. In 2006, a cybercrime unit was established by a decision of the PA Public Prosecution in the West Bank, operating on a small scale. In 2009, the unit was fully operational as it followed up on cybercrimes and coordinated with the concerned authorities, such as the Ministry of Telecommunications. In 2014, a police cybercrime department was established. In 2016, the attorney general established the Cybercrime Task Force, and on Jan. 2, he commissioned members of the Public Prosecution to start operating the task force.

Zeina said that the prosecution has trained 164 members to deal with e-crimes, with 26 members distributed among 13 prosecution departments across the West Bank. These members received intensive technical and professional training at the hands of foreign and local experts in order to be able to deal with cybercrimes, learning about methods of interrogations, and tracking and analyzing digital evidence in order to take the necessary steps and measures.
January 29, 2017

Russia seizes diplomatic momentum on Syria

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura praised the Russian-brokered Syria talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, which ended Jan. 24, as a concrete step toward implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions dealing with Syria, commending Russia, Turkey and Iran for setting up a mechanism to ensure compliance with the cease-fire announced last month.

Russias diplomatic blitz did not end in Astana, however. On Jan. 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Syrian opposition parties in Moscow for further discussion of a Russian draft of a new Syrian Constitution that had been offered in Astana. While representatives of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian opposition and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces refused to attend, the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Turkey had excluded from the Astana talks, participated in the Moscow meeting.

Maxim Suchkov reports that the draft constitution includes restrictions on the power of the Syrian presidency, with most powers deferred to the parliament and a newly created Assembly of Regions. Under the draft, the president would serve for seven years with no option for a second consecutive term.

Most controversial in the draft may be the decentralization of government authorities and the empowerment of local councils. One issue that has stirred debate, Suchkov writes, "is a provision allowing for 'autonomy of Kurdish regions,' which Russia sees as an adequate compromise for the countrys federalization. A provision stipulating equal rights for Kurds and Arabs on Kurdish territories is also remarkable. Moreover, under the proposed draft, every region in the country should be given the right to legalize the use of a language of the regions majority  in addition to the state language and in accordance with the law.

Not surprisingly, Suchkov continues, the draft elicited strong reactions from the parties to the conflict. So far, he writes, the Kurdish issue is the most controversial. Turkey, Damascus and the Arab opposition forces all have their own caveats about the proposed autonomy  and it doesnt please the Kurds, either, as they want more.

This is not the first time that Russia has floated the idea of autonomy for Syrias Kurdish regions. Al-Monitor broke the news of a Russian-mediated effort in September that broached the subject of autonomy, but was dismissed by the Syrian government.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied that Russia was backing autonomy for Syrian Kurds, saying, Only Syrians can uphold their country as an integral, sovereign, multi-ethnic and multireligious country.

Lavrov contrasted the Russian draft with the Iraqi Constitution, which he claimed was forced on Iraq by the United States. We have only offered our proposals to the Syrian parties without any intention of forcing them to adopt them, he said. Based on the experience of the past five years, we are convinced that practical work can only begin if specific proposals are put on the table. I hope that all Syrians will read our draft while preparing for a meeting in Geneva and that it will provide an impetus for a practical discussion of ways to achieve accord in Syria in keeping with the Geneva Communique.

Suchkov said, The expectation in Moscow is that, at the end of the day, the parties will share the view that extreme, uncompromising positions will mean no end to the civil war in the near future, while the proposed formula may be the best possible solution under the current circumstances.

Turkey bogged down in al-Bab

Metin Gurcan reports that the Turkish military is facing a new generation of urban warfare in its battles against the Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria, as well as expanded military arsenals of both the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey and the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.

Gurcan writes, The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is learning on the ground in al-Bab clashes how tough the new generation of urban warfare with the Islamic State (IS) can be. Turkish troops are experiencing major tests against the defensive model IS has developed based on tunnel warfare, anti-tank missiles and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, used with lethal effect in urban warfare. Ankara is now seriously considering whether the PKK will also be achieving the military technology and modern military capability levels of IS."

He adds, Because of the wars in Iraq and Syria with advanced weaponry used by all belligerents, the PKK has become a sophisticated force by diversifying its weaponry, ammunition and equipment. The Turkish military notes the PKK and its northern Syrian combat affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG), are gradually becoming more of a regular army by constantly improving their conventional capabilities such as armored unit tactics; artillery and rocket-fire support without line-of-sight availability; large-scale logistics movements; coordinating close air support; and providing artillery-forward observation, surveillance and reconnaissance with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and urban warfare.

How are the PKK and YPG obtaining these advanced weapons? Gurcan writes, "A hard reality everyone knows but doesnt talk about is the weapons black markets that have blossomed in Syria and Iraq, where one can buy or lease any weapons system including tanks and multibarreled rocket launchers. Particularly widespread in Syria is the sale in bazaars of guns and ammunition sent to opposition armed groups or exchanges with other groups. US, European and Iranian weapons and ammunition supplied to armed groups such as Kurdish peshmerga forces, the Iraqi army and Shiite militias are sometimes transferred to the PKK or sold on the market. One must also not ignore the PKK/YPG war booty of weapons and equipment  especially from their clashes with IS.

Khaled al-Khateb reports from the front lines with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army near al-Bab that the fight against IS has been difficult. IS fighters are dug in and the Turkish effort is complicated by the role of Syrian Kurdish forces. The forces leading Operation Euphrates Shield, Khateb writes, which include FSA factions and special Turkish forces, have been at odds with the [Syrian Democratic Forces] SDF, of which the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) constitute the backbone. Turkish officials consider the SDF a threat to Turkey's security as the organization is an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which Turkey considers a terrorist group. The interests of Turkey and the FSA are similar, as they both fear the SDFs separatist goals.

Al-Monitor goes deep on Syrian Kurds

In the first of a new series of long-form, in-depth articles, Amberin Zaman describes the complexity of Kurdish regional dynamics from firsthand reporting in Syria and Iraq, including the rationale behind what Syrian Kurdish leaders now call the Democratic Federal System of Northern Syria.

Cynics say the change is a ruse to mask Kurdish domination over the area, Zaman reports. Rojavas leaders say the federation is a blueprint for the secular, egalitarian, multi-ethnic and federal plan they giddily imagine for the rest of Syria. Most people still call the place Rojava, and its administrators make no secret of their desire to dilute decades of government-enforced Arabization crafted to efface the Kurds.

She continues, Education is a key pillar of this new order, and mandatory schooling in the Arabic language is being phased out. Kurds, who make up the largest ethnic group in Rojava, are finally receiving education in the long-banned Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish that is spoken here. Arabs continue to send their children to Arabic schools while Syrian Orthodox Christians, also known as Syriacs, tutor their children in their own tongue.

In practice, things are a lot fuzzier, Zaman observes. Young Kurdish students are easily immersed in Kurdish-language education, though the program remains very much in the pilot stage. But Kurdish and Syriac high school students who are caught in the middle continue their schooling in Arabic-language facilities affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Education. Only these schools, which include the Taleyah lycee, offer diplomas that are internationally recognized.

The Kurdish administered regions of Syria have become laboratories for the revolutionary, egalitarian ideas of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Turkish-Kurdish rebel group called the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). When Ocalan and his comrades set up the PKK in 1978, they said they would be fighting for an independent Kurdistan that would unite the Kurds of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. But over time the PKK scaled back its ambitions as geopolitical realities set in. Ocalan now preaches a radical brand of communalism that rejects ethnic nationalism and national borders and encourages gender equality and environmental friendliness in their stead."

She adds that Ocalans world view is influenced in by the late American libertarian socialist Murray Bookchin. Yet for all its talk of diversity, Rojava is unabashedly Kurdish, its leadership is top-down, and the PKK is clearly at the top.

Syrias Kurds also have a complicated relationship with the leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistans president and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on which the KDP-S was modeled, is well liked throughout Rojava and especially in Derik and its environs, where the yellow KDP banner flutters above entire villages, Zaman reports. Muhammad Yusuf, who runs a small shop that sells mobile phone accessories, said cellphone covers with Barzanis face sell in numbers equal to those featuring Ocalan. Barzani owes his popularity above all to his father, the legendary Kurdish warrior Mullah Mustafa Barzani, a central figure in the Kurds struggle for freedom. But Barzanis friendship with Turkey and hostility to the PYD are beginning to dent his image here. Still, Barzani is lobbying the United States to pressure Rojavas leaders to let back in some 3,000 KDP-S fighters he helped arm and train. The aim, Barzani says, is to unify the Kurds. Critics counter that it is to shatter the PYDs monopoly over power to his own advantage. The Rojava administration says it will allow the KDP-S forces to return provided they agree to fall under their command. But they won't.

Zamans exclusive report is part of Al-Monitors expansive offerings to provide the most extensive coverage of the Middle East. As always, any feedback is appreciated at contactus@al-monitor.com.
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Protesters gathered in Birmingham on Saturday to speak out against President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration. (Facebook | CAIR-Alabama)

Alabama immigration advocacy groups are speaking out this weekend against President Donald Trump's moves to severely limit immigration and refugee arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries including Syria, Iraq and Iran.

The groups' calls to repeal the far-reaching policies come as chaos grips the world's transportation networks and protesters gather at airports and other locations across the nation and around the world to demand and end to Trump's new policies.

"Donald Trump is forgetting that this country was founded on the principles of religious freedom and the welcoming of the world's most vulnerable and marginalized people; the United States of America was to be a safe haven and a land of opportunity," Victoria Siciliano Zucco, communications coordinator for the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, told AL.com via email.

"We will not stand for these Executive Orders that will send innocent people to their deaths. We will use every right we still possess to protect Muslims, Refugees, and Immigrants."

Alabamians, particularly the state's thousands of immigrants, have experience with imposing strict immigration restrictions, having gone down that road in 2011 with H.B. 56, one of the harshest immigration laws in modern American history.

The highly controversial state law required police to check the immigration status of people they believed might be undocumented immigrants and asked schools to verify students' immigration status. H.B. 56, which became a national symbol of anti-immigrant sentiment, was eventually partially invalidated in court and its tenets largely abandoned in the face of widespread public outcry and opposition.

Protesters were scheduled to host a rally Sunday afternoon at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.

"Birmingham is the home of the Civil Rights Movement and home for thousands of immigrants from nations including those that Trump has targeted... [the protest will] show that we do not stand with the bigotry and hateful ideology that triggered Trump's orders," Carlos Chaverst, Jr., an organizer for Birmingham Protest for Refugees and Immigrants, said in a statement.

On Saturday, Alabama leaders hosted a rally in Birmingham that had strong parallels to anti-H.B. 56 protests of several years ago.

A crowd has gathered this morning in Kelly Ingram Park to Stand As One with immigrants and refugees targeted by Trump's executive actions. Posted by Victoria Sizu on Saturday, January 28, 2017

The event was hosted by the Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and featured speeches by a number of state and local leaders, including CAIR-Alabama Executive Director Khaula Hadeed.

"We all understand and are acutely aware of national security concerns as individuals, leaders in our communities, as organizations, and as patriots," Hadeed said. "However, banning Muslims and building walls are the kind of solutions that are not just counter-productive but also an affront to what America stands for."

Birmingham Mayor William Bell also spoke out against Trump's immigration restrictions at the event. He referenced the symbolism behind the fact that the rally took place on the "hollowed ground" of Kelly Ingrum Park, where key moments in American civil rights history took place in the 1960s.

"Today I join with CAIR-Alabama to voice our strong opposition to the persecution of individuals who seek the same thing that all of our ancestors sought, to live in a free society, free from persecution, from physical harm, free to worship their god, free to associate with each other," Bell said.

Lecia Brooks, outreach director for the Southern Poverty Law Center issued a statement slamming the immigration executive orders as "shameful" measures.

"President Trump's actions match the ugly bigotry of his campaign, fly in the face of our nation's values, and will likely cause thousands of innocent lives to be lost. It is a shameful day for our great country,' Brooks said.
An investigation is underway after a man was wounded by gunfire Saturday night in Vestavia Hills.

The incident happened about 8 p.m. at Brookwood Green condominiums off of U.S. 280 near Dolly Ridge Road. Vestavia Hills police Lt. Brian Gilham said the victim, an adult male, told police the shooting was self-inflicted and accidental.

He was taken to Brookwood Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He is listed in stable condition, and expected to recover.

Gilham said police are investigating the incident as accidental, but said the probe is ongoing. Detectives hope to speak more with the victim in several day, and are not releasing additional information until that interview takes place.
A protest at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport is planned for this afternoon on the heels of others nationwide.

"Birmingham is the home of the Civil Rights Movement and home for thousands of immigrants from nations including those that Trump has targeted... [the protest will] show that we do not stand with the bigotry and hateful ideology that triggered Trump's orders," Birmingham Protest for Refugees and Immigrants organizer Carlos Chaverst, Jr. said in a press release.

President Donald Trump's order, signed Friday, suspends admission to the United States of all refugees for 120 days and bars for 90 days the entry of any citizen from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

According to the order, the restriction applies to countries that have already been excluded from programs allowing people to travel to the United States without a visa because of terrorism concerns.

There was widespread confusion yesterday about how that order will be enforced. Officials tried to reassure travelers and their families that green-card holders in the U.S. will not be affected. Federal officers detaining refugees and migrants with valid U.S. visas and restricting them from entering the country said they were following orders handed down by top Department of Homeland Security officials, who were directed by the White House.

A federal judge in New York blocked deportations nationwide late yesterday of those detained on entry.

The Birmingham Protest for Refugees and Immigrants is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the airport's baggage claim area.

"...just seeing what's going on in our county, this has to be done," Chaverst said. A member of the National Action Network, Chaverst said he organized the protest so different groups in the community could "stand in solidarity" and support refugees and those detained at airports nationwide.

"Birmingham does not have direct international flights that would result in any sort of refugee detention situation. Birmingham is a peaceful protest city. It is our legacy. We support the right to protest and will assist in every way to make that possible," April Odom, a city spokesperson, said today.

Chaverst is expecting anywhere from 200-400 people at the protest. More than 700 people have said they are interested in attending, according to the event's Facebook page.

The protest this afternoon comes after thousands protested Trump's ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Saturday. More than 2,000 people were said to have attended that rally.

Similar protests erupted across America Saturday night, including at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in Texas.
Omar al-Shogre spent three years in 10 Syrian government prisons, where he was tortured and starved  and yet he describes his imprisonment as the most beautiful days of my life.

On June 11, 2015, Shogre saw light for the first time in nearly three years. He weighed only 35kg and had no hair left. When he said hello to people on a bus near Damascus, no one replied; they were too busy looking at the wretched figure in front of them.

A year later, in a checkered shirt and jeans, Shogre runs along the waterfront in Stockholm, stopping to buy a sticky Swedish bun. Behind him, families queue for the roller-coasters at the central Grona Lund theme park.

Shogre, 21, was among tens of thousands of people jailed in Syrian regime prisons. More than 17,000 people died in custody across Syria between March 2011 and December 2015, according to Amnesty International, while the United Nations has accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of committing the crimes against humanity of extermination, murder, rape  torture [and] imprisonment.

Shogre was arrested at 17 in Syrias coastal province of Tartous in November 2012, along with three of his cousins. Two of them would later die in prison. He says that he does not know why they were arrested that day; soldiers showed up at his aunts home with no explanation, struck Shogre in the face until he was pouring blood, and hauled the group off to jail.

Moved between 10 government detention centres, Shogre ended up in the notorious Sednaya prison, wedged into the craggy mountains 30km north of Damascus. He spent a year and nine months in Branch 215, a military intelligence detention centre in central Damascus known among some Syrians as the Branch of Death.

We used to see when a prisoner was forced to have sex with another prisoner, or when a head of a cell was raping another prisoner, Shogre told Al Jazeera in a matter-of-fact tone. Everybody used to be afraid of it. I always used to think about it, especially because I was very young. I thought that soon they would do it to me.

READ MORE: It was hell  Syrian refugees share stories of torture

For the first seven months, Shogre was kept in solitary confinement. Later, he watched as sick prisoners were picked off and locked in a room, visible to other prisoners. Those who fought to live were beaten until they would fight no more.

Torture and death became normal. A lot of people were being raped and killed themselves as a result. It is horrible, but it became something normal, Shogre said. The person who was being raped was only a body for us, just like all the people who were being killed and tortured.

Sednaya would be Shogres final prison, and the worst. His welcome party on August 15, 2014, involved a beating with tank tracks. He grimaces as he remembers it: There were 10 of us in a row and [an officer] started to hit us, one after the other. For 15 days, I could not open my eyes or get up.

A month later, Shogre was taken to court, where a five-second trial led to his conviction for terrorism offences  the charge used against scores of anti-government activists by the Syrian regime. Shogre, who had taken part in anti-government protests during the 2011 revolution, says that he was forced into a false confession of forging ID cards.

The food was always mixed with blood in Sednaya prison. At least the blood had some salt in it. by Omar al-Shogre, former Syrian prisoner

When prison guards brought the days food rations  a few eggs and some bread to share among several dozen prisoners  they came equipped with metal sticks to beat the prisoners. The food was always mixed with blood in Sednaya prison. At least the blood had some salt in it, he added wryly.

Amnesty International, which has conducted extensive research on Syrian prisons, said that the experience Shogre described was typical. Many detainees were able to recall specific dates and vivid details of what they endured, said Nicolette Boehland, who has led the organisations work on Sednaya.

Many of them know it might be useful later  and memorising them is almost like their act of rebellion, or a way to retain dignity, Boehland explained.

Shogres nights are still filled with memories of the horrors that he endured.

When I sleep, I dream a lot of me being tortured. I see my cousins being killed. When I wake up after all these horrible dreams and find myself in my room and not in prison, I am so happy, he said.

But today, as he sits at the edge of the lake next to his new home in Sweden, he whistles loudly and smiles, watching a white bird fly low over the cobalt water.

They were the most beautiful days of my life, prison, Shogre mused. I became human. It was the best university. I entered prison as a child and I learned how to live.

Although he still despises the guards who tortured him, Shogre says that he also saw the best of humanity while in prison. Other prisoners helped to save him, giving him their food rations so that he could live, and paying guards not to kill him. Although practising Islam was banned in Sednaya, he silently memorised 18 chapters of the Quran during his time in confinement, taught in whispered exchanges with other prisoners.





Today in Sweden, I see things here that people are afraid of, and they are very normal to me compared to what happened in prison  [But] if I was always happy, then I would not know the meaning of happiness any more.

The path towards Shogres eventual release from prison began in May 2013, when two of his brothers and his father were killed in a massacre. His mother and remaining siblings fled to Turkey, where they scraped together the $15,000 bribe needed for his release.

In June 2015, he was issued with a letter confirming that he would be released after serving a quarter of his three-year-and-four-month sentence of temporary hard labour for his terrorist activities.

His time in pretrial detention was not counted against his sentence, the length of which he had not been informed; he was expecting to die in Sednaya.

Upon his release, Shogre was blindfolded, driven outside the prison perimeter, and made to crouch by the roadside before his jailers let him go.

Although his family was in Turkey, Shogre opted to restart his life in Sweden, where he would be able to access necessary treatment for the tuberculosis that he contracted in prison. In Stockholm, Shogre now has a warm home and compassionate friends, but he remains wary at the knowledge that the Syrian regime may try to take revenge for his public comments about the realities of Syrias prison system.

I am always waiting for what is going to happen to me next, he said. When I was in Branch 215, I was freer. But now I am not free, because I am just waiting and waiting and I do not know what will happen to my family next.

READ MORE: Syrias war  Speaking out on sadistic government jails

The support networks available to Syrian former detainees are relatively limited, and some, including Shogre, choose not to access professional help.

Psychiatrist Jalal Nofal, who himself spent nearly nine years in Assad regime detention in the 1980s, says that the main issues among former Syrian prisoners are depression and anxiety.

We encourage people not to see themselves as victims, but as survivors, and to look for their strengths, Nofal told Al Jazeera. [Sometimes] they think, How am I free, laughing, eating well, when my comrades are still suffering?'

For now, Shogre knows the difference between being alive and being human. He feels that he is both.

I do not know how I am still alive, he said, walking along the lawn by his new Swedish home as the sun dipped lower in the sky. It is impossible to believe. I think of that, sometimes, when I wake up in the morning.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  As the early morning sun pierced through the morning chill of the waking city, diplomats with flag lapels pinned to their suits filled the spacious lobby of the African Union headquarters in the heart of the Ethiopian capital.

The diplomats and dignitaries were gathered following a night of intense lobbying and backroom deals to try to secure their preferred candidate for the AUs top job in the upcoming election.

Security in front of the headquarters building, which is the tallest in the city and was built by the Chinese at a cost of some $200m, is tight. New and long-term AU heads of state have gathered in Addis Ababa to elect a new chairperson.





Five candidates are competing for the top seat of the continental body. The new chairperson will take office on a four-year term replacing the outgoing South African politician Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who took the post in 2012. Shes not seeking re-election and is thought to be gunning for the presidency in her home country.

Zuma had admirers and critics in equal measure. She made history when she was elected the first female leader of the AU and did much to soften the image of the body which had until then been led by old men.

But whoever succeeds Zuma, the challenges awaiting them are plenty.

READ MORE: African Union Commission: Who will be the next chair?

Financial pressure

The 54-member body is struggling to fund its missions across the continent. With conflicts  old and new  still continuing in some parts of Africa, the AU has been increasingly bold in sending troops into conflict zones to quell the unrest. But sending thousands of troops to foreign countries is not cheap.

In 2004 the AU established the Peace and Security Council, and since then the body has either sent or authorised the deployment of more than 64,000 troops and police officers to intervene in conflicts, according to the New York-based think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations.

So far, the continental body has not been able to fund its peace missions abroad  its Somalia mission is funded by the EU and its South Sudan one is backed by the UN.

The AU is shouldering a heavy burden on its shoulders. It has taken on the heavy burden of protecting world security. It is a big financial burden that Africa alone cant and should not bear, Dr Solomon Ayele Dersso, an Addis Ababa-based legal academic and analyst of African affairs, told Al Jazeera.

'The AU is shouldering a heavy burden on its shoulders. It has taken on the heavy burden of protecting world security. It is a big financial burden that Africa alone can't and should not bear' by Dr Solomon Ayele Dersso, analyst

Human rights

In the past year alone, pro-democracy demonstrators and activists on the continent have faced harsh treatment at the hands of security services: from Ethiopia, home of the AU, in the east to Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi in the heart of Africa.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International have been vocal in calling for the incoming chairperson to prioritise issues of human rights.

The incoming chairperson must take the promotion and protection of human rights not just as a convenient afterthought, but an essential and sustainable element of the African Unions conflict prevention strategy, Netsanet Belay, Amnesty Internationals Africa Director for Research and Advocacy, said in a statement released on the day after the summit began.

High unemployment

Unemployment in the member states is also unbearably high, forcing young Africans to seek better lives outside the continent. A record number of young Africans have risked their lives crossing the Sahara desert before embarking on perilous boat journeys over the Mediterranean to reach Europe and start an uncertain life.

Last year a record number of 181,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy, up from the 154,000 of the previous year. More than 90 percent of them set off from war-torn Libya  an AU member state.

The number of deaths also hit a new grim record: more than 5,000 perished crossing the Mediterranean.

But AU is attempting to stem this flow and has put forward an ambitious development project  Agenda 2063  which, it says, will lift the continent out of economic and social hardships.

It is not only lack of jobs forcing Africans to risk the treacherous route to Europe. Droughts, man-made ones, are also becoming increasingly common on the continent. High rates of deforestation and global warming have played a huge part in this.

READ MORE: Number of refugees reaching Europe plunged in 2016

Image problem

Some of the old problems that faced the continental body since its inception in 1963 still exist. Many of the organisations most vocal and well-known leaders  such as Ugandas Museveni, Zimbabwes Mugabe and the current chairperson Idriss Deby  lack the democratic and human rights credentials the body desperately needs.

It is an almost impossible battle convincing the continents citizens, activists and human rights bodies that the body takes human rights issues seriously.

The AU, while being led by President Deby of Chad, who came to power in 1990, has been vocal in calling for Jammeh to relinquish power in Gambia and has also criticised Burundis Nkurunziza for going against the constitution and seeking a third term. But the organisation was happy to appointment President Deby, who has been accused of human rights violations, to be its chairman.

The AU has a consistency issue. National interests play a huge role in how it engages and implements agendas. It is a political entity and not a human rights body, Dersso said.

For a long time the organisation has also turned a blind eye on a long-standing issue  that of border disputes between member states. Most of the unions members have border disputes left behind by the colonial powers. Africas borders were drawn by colonists and they havent changed much.

As the lobbying reaches fever pitch in the Ethiopian capital there is one thing all the experts, dignitaries and heads of states agree on: that the African Union needs to do more to win the hearts and minds of its ever increasing and demanding citizens across the continent.
Donald Trumps Muslim ban is not the first time specific groups or nationalities have been blocked from the US.

On Friday, Donald Trump barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries  Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen  from entering the United States for at least the next 90 days.

He also suspended the US refugee programme for 120 days, specifically banning Syrian refugees until further notice, reduced the number of refugees who would be admitted this year to 50,000 and specified that refugees who were from a religious minority and fleeing religious persecution should be prioritised.

A federal judge has blocked part of Trumps executive order , ruling that travellers who have already landed in the US with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries, and protests in response to passport holders from some Arab countries, including US green card holders, being blocked from passing through customs or prevented from boarding US-bound planes, have taken place at airports across the country.

But this is not the first time that the US has banned immigrants from its shores. Over the past 200 years, successive American presidents have placed restrictions on the immigration of certain groups.

Here are six occasions when laws have been passed to restrict some people from entering the country.

READ MORE: Donald Trumps #MuslimBan sparks outrage and fear

1. Exclusion of the Chinese

President Chester A. Arthur.

Signed on May 6, 1882.

The Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned skilled and unskilled labourers and Chinese employed in mining from entering the US for 10 years, was the first significant law restricting immigration to the country. It came at a time when the US was struggling with high unemployment and, although Chinese made up a very small segment of the countrys workforce, they were nevertheless scapegoated for its social and economic woes.

The law also placed restrictions on Chinese who were already in the US, forcing them to obtain certificates in order to re-enter if they left the country and banning them from securing citizenship.

The act expired in 1892 but was extended for a further 10 years in the form of another  the Geary Act. This placed additional restrictions on Chinese residents of the country, forcing them to register and to obtain a certificate of residence, without which they could be deported.

This changed in 1943 with the Magnuson Act  which allowed some Chinese immigration and for some Chinese already residing in the country to become naturalised citizens, but which maintained the ban on property and business ownership. This came at a time when China was a US ally during World War II.

2. Jewish refugees during World War II

President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

As millions of people became refugees during World War II, US President Franklin D Roosevelt argued that refugees posed a serious threat to the countrys national security. Drawing on fears that Nazi spies could be hiding among them, the country limited the number of German Jews who could be admitted to 26,000 annually. And it is estimated that for most of the Hitler era, less than 25 percent of that quota was actually filled.

In one of the most notorious cases, the US turned away the St Louis ocean liner, which was carrying 937 passengers, almost all of whom are thought to have been Jewish, in June 1939. The ship was forced to return to Europe, where more than a quarter of its passengers are thought to have been killed in the Holocaust.

My name is Regina Blumenstein. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered in Auschwitz pic.twitter.com/TZXJM2Ar94  St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 28, 2017

3. Anarchists banned

President Theodore Roosevelt.

Signed on March 3, 1903.

In 1903, the Anarchist Exclusion Act banned anarchists and others deemed to be political extremists from entering the US.

In 1901, President William McKinley had been fatally shot by Leon Czolgosz, an American anarchist who was the son of Polish immigrants.

The act  which was also known as the Immigration Act of 1903  codified previous immigration law and, in addition to anarchists, added three other new classes of people who would be banned from entry: those with epilepsy, beggars and importers of prostitutes.

The act marked the first time that individuals were banned for their political beliefs.

READ MORE: EU looks to fund camps in Africa to cut immigration

4. Communists banned

Passed by Congress on August 23, 1950, despite being vetoed by President Harry Truman .

The Internal Security Act of 1950  also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950 or the McCarran Act  made it possible to deport any immigrants believed to be members of the Communist Party. Members of communist organisations, which were required to register, were also not allowed to become citizens.

Truman opposed the law, stating that it would make a mockery of our Bill of Rights.

Sections of the act were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1993. But some parts of the act still stand.

5. Iranians

President Jimmy Carter, April 7, 1980.

Following the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, during which the US embassy in Tehran was stormed and 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days, American President Jimmy Carter cut diplomatic relations with and imposed sanctions on Iran. He also banned Iranians from entering the country.

Confirmed: Iran's Asghar Farhadi won't be let into the US to attend Oscar's. He's nominated for best foreign language film#MuslimBan  Trita Parsi (@tparsi) January 28, 2017

Today, Iranians have again been banned  one of seven Muslim majority countries included in Trumps executive order .

6. Ban on HIV positive persons

Under President Ronald Reagan, the US Public Health Service added Aids to its list of dangerous and contagious diseases. Senator Jesse Helms Helms Amendment added HIV to the exclusion list.

In 1987, the US banned HIV positive persons from arriving in the US. The laws were influenced by homophobic and xenophobic sentiment towards Africans and minorities at the time, as well as a false belief that the HIV virus could be spread by physical or respiratory contact. Former US President Barack Obama lifted it in 2009, completing a process begun by President George W Bush.
Twenty-five years ago today, India and Israel established diplomatic relations. For decades until 1992, India had abstained out of principle from having close relations with Israel, a state seen as a colonial and apartheid power. But this hesitancy came to an end when India opened up its economy to the winds of globalisation and decided to tilt its foreign policy alignment towards Washington.

Having normalised relations with India was a prize for Israel. India remains an influential country in the Global South and Israel hoped that Indias entry into the ledger on its side would break apart the Global Souths solidarity with the Palestinian people. This has not happened. Even India has not been able to fully join the pro-Israel camp.





A colonial power

Being an international scofflaw and an occupying power, Israel has had a hard time breaking its diplomatic isolation among the states of the Global South. Solidarity with the Palestinian people  even if it has weakened over the years  remains strong, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. When there is a vote on the Israeli occupation of Palestine in the United Nations General Assembly, the margin is overwhelming: Only a handful of states  led by the US  stand with Israel.

For decades since the 1950s, the Israelis have tried to break this wall of solidarity among the countries of the Global South. Neither sending aid packages to Western African countries, nor pleading to US allies in Asia helped them succeed. None of the states of the Global South would walk away from the basic principle that colonialism is abhorrent and that colonised people must have the right to resist  a formulation that the UN produced in its 1960 resolution on colonialism, which argued that the process of liberation is irresistible. They saw Israel as a colonial power and the Palestinians as a people with the right to resist against their occupation.

Road to Washington

It is clear that the volume of Indian arms purchases from Israel underwrites the country's stand against the occupation of Palestine. by

Over the years that I have covered the story of Indias tilt towards Israel, Ive met senior Indian diplomats who played a role in the 1992 events. Most of them agree that the real reason why the government  then led by the Congress Party  decided on a rapprochement with Israel is that this was the price demanded by Washington for Indias foreign policy engagement with the US.

Washington, Israels emissary, made it clear that there could be no real strategic partnership between India and the US if the former continued to hold adverse views on Israel.

What is important about this fact is that it was the Congress Party, and not the Hindu Right (Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP), that drove the policy of normalisation. The BJP, with its instinctual anti-Muslim politics, had long called for close relations with Israel, on the grounds that both the Israelis and the BJP have an antipathy to Muslims.

It was not this anti-Muslim agenda that provoked normalisation, but it was the pressure from Washington. The Indian government at that time believed that it had to accede to commands from the International Monetary Fund and that it had to align itself with the new world developments  the emergence of US hegemony with the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the exhaustion of the Third World Project. As a result, India paid the price and established full diplomatic ties with Israel. Washington was satisfied.

Israels arms bazaar

In 1998, India tested nuclear weapons for the second time, the first being in 1974. The US government was forced to stop selling India certain weapons systems because of the Glenn Amendment, which prohibits US military assistance to countries that acquire or transfer nuclear reprocessing technology outside of the international nonproliferation regimes.

India had, before 1991, relied upon the USSR for weapons systems. It then moved to reliance on the United States and Western Europe. With the Glenn Amendment shutting off the US spigot and with international sanctions making it hard to buy certain systems from Western Europe, India turned to Israel.

Israeli arms manufacturing has long benefitted from a close relationship with Western weapons manufacturers, going into joint ventures with several of them. India was able to buy  essentially  US arms from Israel, sidelining the Glenn Amendment.

OPINION: Indias forgotten solidarity with Palestine

India quickly began to buy half of Israels arms exports, with annual totals in the billions of dollars. These figures have remained stable over the years, although with the return of Russian arms, India has begun to diversify its sources. Nonetheless, it is clear that the volume of Indian purchases from Israel underwrites the occupation of the Palestinians. This is the most material relationship between India and Israel.

It has been difficult for Israel to bring India to its side in diplomatic circles. India continues to be critical of Israels occupation of Palestine  whether it be the wars on Gaza or the settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem or indeed Israels evisceration of the peace process.

Every time the Indian government  ruled by the temperamentally pro-Israel Hindu Right  tries to ignore Israeli actions, it faces an immense pressure from Indias Arab allies, from the diplomatic corps in India and from the Indian left to be more forthright. It will be difficult for India to join the US, Palau and Nauru in the UN General Assembly to vote on behalf of Israel. This would lose India its fragile legitimacy in the Global South.

Vijay Prashad edited Letters to Palestine: Writers Respond to War and Occupation. He is the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, which published From India to Palestine: Letters in Solidarity, edited by Githa Hariharan, in which he has an essay.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
On January 27, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to make good on his promised Muslim Ban. One of the primary provisions of the order is a ban on visas to the US to nationals from seven countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, which are all Muslim-majority nations.

There is something peculiar about this list. The draft of the executive order begins by citing 9/11 as a failure of the visa-issuance process. It blames the state department for preventing counselor officers from properly scrutinizing the visa applications of several of the 19 foreign nationals who went on to murder 3000 Americans.

The overwhelming majority of those individuals were from Saudi Arabia, yet, Saudi Arabia is not on the list. Furthermore, when it comes to homegrown terrorism of all the Muslims accused, charged, convicted and killed, some of them are from these seven countries in Trumps list and some are not, some are immigrants and some are American citizens, and a number of them have been entrapped by federal law-enforcement agencies. This either means that the list needs to be much longer or there is something more than national security concerns at play.





The Muslim bogeyman

Trump promised a Muslim Ban as part of his election strategy. He got support for his unlikely candidacy by fomenting the already seething tide of anti-Muslim racism in the US. The way anti-Muslim racism works is that Islam and Muslims are a bogeyman, hated and feared because of how they are different, i.e. by how they look and what they do. Muslims are bogeymen not solely because some Muslims are guilty of violent acts against Americans.

As was reported not too long after white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine black Americans in Charleston, white Americans cause the largest numbers of American deaths by terrorist acts on US soil. Yet unsurprisingly, Trump has not signed any executive orders specifically targeting white Americans. This is because Islam and Muslims have been othered  made to be seen as distinctly and most despicably bad and evil in the popular imagination.

Violence against women, honour killings in particular, is cited two times in the draft as something from which the US government is obliged to protect Americans. This specific practice of violence against women has been sutured to Arabs and Muslims in popular conversation. It builds on a broader narrative that Muslim women are oppressed by the men in their lives, their families and the religion they follow, and they need saving  by the US.

OPINION: The Muslim as a Manchurian candidate

Recall, Laura Bushs call to support the invasion of Afghanistan to save Muslim women. By explicitly including honour killings, Trump is basically telling his supporters I told you Id do something about this bogeyman and look, I am. And this something is doubly significant for people who believe we need to make America great again, because it is not only standing against the evils of Islamic extremism, but it is allegedly standing up for democracy and freedom.

It feeds into an idea that violence against women is a particularly Muslim thing, due to their backwards culture. Yet in the US, every minute nearly 20 people, the majority of whom women, are victims of intimate partner abuse. However, Trump is not ramping up protections for violence against women here at home.

In fact, while he is marking himself the anti-honour killings crusader abroad, he is cutting funding for the Office on Violence Against Women. This means cuts to programmes around the country that try to prevent domestic violence and provide services, like transitional housing and legal aid  services that would surely be of benefit to the white and working-class women among Trumps supporters.

Smoke and mirrors

Trump also promised jobs and to that end, he signed an executive order to push forward the Dakota Access Pipeline. But of all the jobs he promises, only about 40 will be permanent, which is peculiar considering Trump supporters presumably want permanent work.

He also promised to protect Americans from the scourge of illegal immigration by building a wall. He signed that executive order this week and missing from much of that fanfare is the small detail that taxpayers, and not Mexico, will be footing part of the bill.

And while there has yet to be an executive order, Trumps recent declaration that he would send the feds to Chicago to stop what he called American carnage at his inauguration, only thinly veils the real objective: militarisation on the home front. And while that will initially target those living in the scary inner cities, it will ultimately compromise the liberty his supporters hold so dear.

OPINION: Sexual assault in the time of Trump

So, what is at play here? Trump is continuing what he started on the campaign trail. He is tapping into the fear that breeds the kind of xenophobia that gets folks excited about walls and bans, only to distract them from all the promises he wont be keeping.

In this way, these moves are a bunch of smoke and mirrors, for which Trump has become pretty famous. However, that doesnt mean these distractions arent dangerous. Indeed, they are. They are a danger to the communities of colour they target. Likewise, they are dangerous for Trump supporters who will find that even with bans and walls, they will still be left behind.

Suad Abdul Khabeer is an assistant professor of Anthropology and African American Studies at Purdue University, founder and editor of sapelosquare.com and the author of Muslim Cool: Race, Religion and Hip Hop in the United States.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
With Brexit, Theresa May is seeking alternative free trade partners, but Trumps nativism is standing in her way.

Richard Seymour is a London-based writer and editor. He is author of The Twittering Machine (Indigo Press, 2019) and a founding editor of Salvage magazine.

Theresa Mays historic summit with President Trump has exposed a serious predicament for her government.

For, defying augury, the British prime minister is out to achieve something improbable. If Britain is going to leave the European Union, May has decided, it will leave decisively, even sacrificing tariff-free access to the single market  Britains largest export market  and seek its fortune elsewhere.

But if the British state is to put border controls and withdrawal from the European Court of Justice ahead of its major trading relationship with Europe, it will need a world in which it can turn a profit. And for May, that means an American-led world, a free trade empire in which US-led multilateral institutions open markets in labour, goods and capital, suppress legal obstacles and defend strong property rights for corporations.





The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which Trump has overruled with an executive order, would have given new property rights to companies, such as pharmaceuticals, and allowed businesses to sue over environmental and other restrictions to their profit-making. It was worth hundreds of billions to US corporations and would have been a goldmine to anyone who gained access.

Only in this context can Mays pivot to hard Brexit make sense. The Financial Times pointed out a particular irony in her turning her back on the single market, a model Thatcherite institution. But it has long been a dream of the middle-class right in Britain that it could recover its old colonial elan by shaking off European shackles and becoming a dominant, freewheeling global trader.

If May could achieve this epochal shift, she would reconcile diverging branches of conservatism, restore the Tories as the dominant party of government, tighten the Atlantic alliance, and use new agreements to drive down labour costs and make British capitalism more competitive.

Her biggest problem is Donald Trump. For, while she likes to sound the odd Trumpian note, she wants America to preserve its long-standing role in managing globalisation. Trump does not. Thus, her trip to the United States, though hedged with grovelling remarks about the president, began with a carefully pitched appeal to Republican elites to hinder Trumps protectionism and nativism.

May-Trump disagreements

In a speech to the Republican Party in Philadelphia, May deployed the word international or internationalist 12 times and made 22 mentions of lead or leadership. The burden of her appeal was to American exceptionalism and the old imperial ideal of Manifest Destiny.

She claimed, with the self-regard typical of British and American politicians, that the special relationship between two predominantly white, English-speaking powers, made the modern world. Crucially, she warned, when others step up as we step back, it is bad for America, for Britain and the world. She also defended the UN, and Obamas Iran deal. This was a barely coded plea to Republican elites not to turn towards autarky.

OPINION: Brexit is still happening, just not the way May hoped

In a symptomatic move, she also pandered to Republican Sinophobia, citing China as an emerging rival, alongside Russia. On the face of it, this was disingenuous, since her next stop after visiting Trump in the White House was Beijing. May has consistently courted Chinese investors, opposed tariffs on Chinese imports, and even helped fund a Chinese-led Asian investment bank over the objections of the US.





But it could also be seen as a tacit appeal to reprise Obamas pivot to Asia, of which the TPP was to be a culmination. The TPP would have outflanked Beijings own attempt to forge a trade pact in the Pacific Rim economies, thus preserving Washingtons global dominance against an emerging competitor.

In their press conference, the differences between May and Trump were obvious, though blanketed with diplomatic niceties. Mays insistence that sanctions continue to be applied to Russia until the Minsk Agreement is implemented, was met by bluff indifference on Trumps part, who gives the impression he wouldnt know a Minsk from a matchbox.

On Brexit, Trump tried to flatter May, but couldnt even remember the name of the European Union, which he referred to as the group, I call them the consortium. May almost pleaded with Trump to continue to back NATO against Russia, a plea which Trump met with polite nodding.

Trumps understanding of the relationship between markets and the military was defensive rather than global. Blaming Mexico for beating the US to a pulp in trade negotiations, costing millions and millions of people their jobs and sending illegal immigrants, he lauded the appointment of General Kelly, formerly of Guantanamo Bay and US Southern Command (the military branch that covers US dominion over South and Cenral America) to Homeland Security. That is, he would resolve supposed market dysfunctions by militarising the border.

May visibly squirmed. If she had hoped Trump was not for real, her best hope now might be that with chaos in the corridors of power, he will soon be replaced by a more conventional Republican leader. Otherwise, her own attempt to have a decaffeinated Trumpism, is set for a calamitous failure.

Richard Seymour is an author and broadcaster based in London. He has written for The Guardian, the London Review of Books and many other publications.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Daphne Matziarakis powerful short documentary follows a Greek captain and his crew as they save refugees off Lesbos.

Its dark outside and Kyriakos Papadopoulos fills out his boats log inside a small, dimly-lit cabin.

Its a nightmare, this agony  he sighs, his voice worn out and distant.

Everywhere we went, there were people in the water. The only thing Im hoping is that there is no one missing, he continues, his gaze darkening as the memories of yet another grim day flood back to him.

READ MORE: Spurned, hopeless and attacked, refugees drama goes on

These closing sequences are as powerful as every other scene in Daphne Matziarakis film 4.1 Miles, nominated this week for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category.

Over 21 minutes, Matziaraki captures the efforts of Papadopoulos, a Greek coastguard captain, as he and his small crew rescue men, women and children in the waters surrounding the island of Lesbos  just 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast  in late 2015.

Dramatic footage

The footage is captivating and hard-hitting, often unnerving. In one particularly poignant scene, Papadopoulos boat is gradually filled with frightened, wailing children as a handful of crew members frantically tries to pull to safety dozens of refugees, one-by-one.





But not everyone makes it.

Oh my God, she has two children with them, a panicked voice is heard screaming, as a mother falls back into the rough sea with her son and daughter.

Instantly, there is chaos, tears and desperation.

The crew eventually manages to rescue the family, but the children are unconscious. The camera pointedly stays away, capturing from afar the frenzied efforts of Papadopoulos and his crew as they pump the small bodies in a bid to bring them back to life.

I had never seen so many people, so many children, so many families being so scared, Matziaraki tells Al Jazeera.

WATCH 4.1 MILES HERE

The Greek filmmaker, who made her debut with award-winning 4.1 Miles, joined Papadopoulos and his team on their boat for three weeks, but all the rescue scenes included in the film are from October 28, 2015  her first day on the ship.

That day wasnt very different to every other day that followed, she recalls, but I was so shocked by what I witnessed in that first time.

I think this is really conveyed in the footage, and I really wanted the audience to have this experience in the same way that I had it.

Alone and abandoned

Matziaraki was in the United States when her country  already struggling after years of a deepening recession  was confronted with a worsening refugee crisis, the worst since World War II. During 2015, some 600,000 people made the crossing from Turkey to Lesbos; across Greece, the figure topped 820,000.

California-based Matziaraki, who has also worked as a journalist in East Africa and Europe, decided to return home to shoot a documentary that would bridge this gap between our everyday lives, where we are in a safe comfort zone, and what is actually happening out there in the real world, she says.

READ MORE: Greek theatre hosts play for refugees after 2,100 years

Yet upon arriving in Lesbos, she encountered a situation far worse than what she had imagined.

There were just four Greek coastguard boats, with four-five crew on them, and one helicopter from the European border patrol  and that was it, the young director says.

The scale of the emergency was so big that I would expect tonnes of helicopters and ambulances and big boats rescuing these people  but there was no help. I just couldnt believe that nobody in the world was providing a safe passage for these people and they were just letting them drown.

Instead, it was people like Papadopoulos  whose jobs up until that point simply involved routine border patrols around Lesbos  who were charged with responding to the massive crisis.

You cannot even begin to compare the numbers, the captain says in the film. Every hour that goes by, 10 of us are asked to rescue an influx of 200 people [from Turkey].

Moreover, most of the coastguard crew did not have CPR training, while their boats lacked basic equipment to deal with such emergencies, according to Athens-born Matziaraki.

The Greek coastguard was not prepared or equipped to undertake this, she says. They felt alone and abandoned; the captain thought that the entire world is turning their backs to this crisis, and they are leaving this overwhelming burden to be carried by them.





Honourable man

At one moment in the film, Papadopoulos recalls the arrival of 20 Afghan refugees to Lesbos in 2001, describing it as the biggest news of that year.

Back then, things used to be easy, he says, under control, but today everything has changed  including his own life.

Its an overwhelming and a haunting nightmare that the captain is going through, says Matziaraki of Papadopoulos, whose daily rescue operations  sometimes more than five a day  have saved the lives of thousands of refugees.

The burden is more than he can handle, and that comes not from the intensity, but from a feeling of duty.

He is a truly honourable man who has a real sense of responsibility that he cannot afford to lose one person  and the people and the children that he does lose really haunt him.

Timely and relevant

In the months after Matziaraki shot 4.1 Miles, arrivals in Lesbos and other Greek islands sharply decreased, mainly due to a series of Balkan border closures and a controversial EU-Turkey deal aimed at stopping the flow of refugees into Europe  an agreement that has been widely criticised both by aid groups and United Nations agencies.

Yet, more than 62,000 people still remain stranded across Greece, often living in appalling conditions.

It may be that some time has passed since I shot that film, but it couldnt be more timely and relevant, Matziaraki says, citing the collapse of the EU-Turkey treaty and actions such as US President Donald Trumps executive order banning refugees from entering the country.

At the moment, I feel we are in a very dark place in the world, so its very hard to be optimistic because of the developments in the US and Europe.

But its very optimistic that the Academy chose to honour the film because it means that at least in the world of cinema, art and journalism there is a huge recognition that this is a really important story that is affecting all of us, she says.

Its choice echoes the message of the film that we are really interconnected and that we are all the same.

4.1 Miles, which premiered in September 2016 as part of New York Times Op-Docs, has already won several accolades, including a Student Academy Award Gold Medal last year.

The Academy Awards ceremony will be held in the US city of Los Angeles on February 26.
Though it is unclear how the mosque caught fire, an online fundraiser seeks to raise $850,000 to rebuild Islamic centre.

A Texas community has rallied behind its Muslim residents after their mosque burned to the ground shortly after President Donald Trump signed into effect a Muslim ban on refugees and others from seven Muslim-majority countries.





Following the news that their house of worship in southeast Texas was completely destroyed early on Saturday, the Islamic Centre of Victoria set up an online donation drive via GoFundMe to rebuild. It has raised more than $600,000 of its $850,000 goal in 24 hours.

We were very shocked Saturday morning when we saw the mosque burning, Shahid Hashmi, president of the Islamic Centre, told Al Jazeera.

According to local reports, the building caught fire shortly after 2am local time.

Now, the outpouring of monetary and moral support has shocked Hashmi again: Its incredible. We are very grateful.

Hashmi had just come from a meeting with representatives from the local synagogue and churches, as well as laypeople. Muslims came from Houston, Dallas, which is four hours away  It was really heartwarming, everything has been good.

But the mosques destruction has sent ripples throughout the community. The Victoria police and fire department are working with the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to determine the fires cause.

I hope it wasnt a hate crime, Hashmi continued. The doctor has lived in the so-called Bible Belt, one of the most conservative parts of the United States, for 40 years. The mosque was constructed in 2000, just a year before the September 11 attacks.

READ MORE: US protests grow against Trumps immigrant ban order

When asked how the political climate after President Trump signed the Muslim ban compared to the times after September 11, which saw a massive spike in hate crimes, Hashmi said its about the same.

He added: Nothing hateful has been expressed locally. Nationally, obviously, there are many more voices that are anti-Muslim.

The Victoria Fire Department told Al Jazeera an investigation is ongoing.

Although it remains unclear if the mosque was burned down deliberately, John Esposito of the Bridge Initiative, a research project that connects the academic study of Islamophobia with the public square, explained that hate crimes have risen since Trumps inauguration.

Some of the hate crimes targeting Muslims seemed to be inspired by the new president, Esposito told Al Jazeera. We see with the number of hate crimes  not all [of them]  people are saying lines that Mr Trump has used, he said.

No community should lose its home

Saturday evening, a federal judge in New York blocked deportations stemming from the order.

Commenters on the GoFundMe page are speaking out against a perceived national wave of discrimination and the Trump administration.

Benjamin Tamber-Rosenau, who donated $100, wrote that his ancestors fled to the US from Europe due to persecution of Jewish communities.

Now we are watching another community become victims of baseless hatred here in the United States, with the complicity (at minimum) of a depressingly large part of our government, including our president  whatever the cause of this fire, no community should lose its home, he wrote.

OPINION: Trumps Muslim ban is a dangerous distraction

Martin Wagner, another donator, had one of the highest-rated comments: Im an atheist and I am deeply saddened and disgusted by what was done to you. Religious freedom and freedom from persecution are fundamental rights!

With so many donations coming in, Hashmi happily commented there might be enough funds to rebuild by the end of the weekend. He is in contact with the original builder of the mosque who is ready to help, and the next step is to clear the debris and attain building permits.

God willing, we will celebrate Ramadan in the new mosque, Hashmi concluded.

Follow Creede on Twitter: @creedenewton








Uber provided rides at JFK airport while taxi drivers held solidarity strike over Trumps ban on Muslim travellers.

Hundreds of Uber users have taken screenshots of themselves deleting the ride-hailing app, accusing it of profiting as New York taxi drivers held a strike against President Donald Trumps ban on Muslim travellers and refugees.

The hashtag #DeleteUber trended worldwide on Sunday as users also accused the companys CEO of collaborating with the new US president.

Drivers affiliated with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance had refused to pick up airport passengers between 6pm and 7pm local time on Saturday as protesters rallied against Trumps discriminatory ban inside John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) .

Hundreds gathered at the airports Terminal Four arrivals section holding placards and chanting: No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all! and No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!

Users said Uber continued to service rides to and from JFK, while taxi drivers held the strike in solodarity against Trumps order banning refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

However, while Uber automatically charges more for rides when demand is high, the company switched this function off during the one-hour taxi strike.

The citys taxi drivers, many of whom are immigrants or have roots in Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, had urged Uber to join their boycott.

#deleteUber Here's the NY Taxi Workers Alliance Statement on the refugee ban. @Uber is still trying to go to JFK anyway pic.twitter.com/qQAkPm2r9s  Eri66012840 (bot) (@EricRMurphy) January 29, 2017

Uber has also faced criticism after CEO Travis Kalanick joined Trumps business advisory council, a group comprising the leaders of a variety of major US corporations.

Several protesters barricaded the front of Ubers headquarters in San Francisco on Friday over Kalanicks ties to Trump.

Twitter and Facebook users began taking screenshots of themselves deleting their Uber accounts, including messages they were sending to the company.

https://twitter.com/ziwe/status/825543287100555264

https://twitter.com/BoobsRadley/status/825528530180067328



https://twitter.com/flwrwrk/status/825546757882933248

Earlier on Saturday, Kalanick said that the company would compensate drivers from the seven countries who might not be able to return to the US for three months or more.

In a statement, Kalanick said the company knew of about a dozen affected employees.

This ban will impact many innocent people  an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trumps first business advisory group meeting, said Kalanick.
Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says US presidents restrictions on travellers shows baselessness of US friendship.

Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has said US President Donald Trumps decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries was a great gift to extremists, as Tehran takes retaliatory action on US passport holders.

Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening faultlines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks, Zarif posted on Twitter early on Sunday.

Zarifs statement followed an announcement that Iran is taking reciprocal measures, deferring the issuance of visas to US passport holders.

He said the Trumps decision shows baselessness of the US claims of friendship with the Iranian people.

READ MORE: Rouhani says not the time to build walls

Zarif wrote that Tehrans decision to ban entry of Americans is not retroactive, and that all visitors with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed.

The visa suspension stands until the US government removes its own restrictions on Iranian nationals, he said, adding that it is trying to differentiate the American people and the hostile policies of the US government.

On Friday, Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Al Jazeeras Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said Trumps decision is causing a lot of concern among Iranians planning to travel to the US.

Iranians make up 45 percent of all US visa holders coming from the seven countries covered in the ban.

More than a million Iranians live in the United States.

Concern and anxiety

Jabbari said there was also anxiety about how the new order would affect Irans effort to open up the country to more tourists. A four-day international travel exhibition, attended by US travel agencies, opens in Tehran on Sunday.

Travel agents in Tehran said that foreign airlines had begun barring Iranians from US-bound flights.





In Tehran, two travel agencies told AFP they had been instructed by Etihad Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines not to sell US tickets or allow Iranians holding American visas to board US-bound flights.

An Iranian studying in California said she could not now return because her ticket had been cancelled under the new restrictions.

I had a ticket for Turkish Airlines on February 4, but it has been cancelled, the girl, who did not wish to be identified, told AFP in Tehran.

On Saturday, Trump said his order was working out very nicely.

Irans foreign ministry called the decision illegal, illogical and contrary to international rules.
At least 47 people die and 22 suffer injuries in road accident outside the town of Anjozorobe near Madagascars capital.

At least 47 people, including 10 children and a newly-wed couple, have been killed in a traffic accident north of Madagascars capital, Antananarivo, according to police.

The incident took place early on Saturday when a truck carrying wedding guests swerved off the road and plunged into a river outside the town of Anjozorobe.

Police spokesperson Herilala Andrianatisaona told AFP news agency on Sunday that at least 22 people were also injured in the accident.

READ MORE: Traditional healers and modern medicine in Madagascar

The police have blamed the driver for carrying too many passengers on a truck that is only meant to transport goods.

According to our hypothesis, the truck driver, cognisant of the offence he was committing, which was transporting too many passengers in a vehicle meant for carrying goods, drove fast to escape traffic police checks, Andrianatisaona said.

The driver lost control of his vehicle after having negotiated a wrong turn and ended up in the Mananara river, he said.

The truck was reportedly transporting guests who were celebrating a wedding a day earlier.

The island nation off the southeast coast of Africa has a population of about 24 million people.
Parliament committee calls on Baghdad to reciprocate travel ban on Americans as Iraqis express sense of betrayal.

Iraq should reciprocate the United States discriminatory travel ban on Iraqis and citizens from six other Muslim-majority countries, the parliaments foreign affairs committee told the Baghdad government.

The committee issued the call on Sunday following a meeting in the capital to discuss US President Donald Trumps ban.

We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the US administration, said the committee in a statement read to Reuters by one its members, Hassan Shwerid. Iraq is in the frontline of the war of terrorism  and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way.

READ MORE: Return to Iraq  Former translator chases safety in US

Iraqs Popular Mobilisation force also called for a ban, and for Americans already in the country to be expelled.

Popular Mobilisation is a coalition of Shia paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

An Iraqi government body approved the force last year.





Popular Mobilisations call to ban US nationals came in a statement published by its spokesman, Ahmed al-Assadi.

From the northern city of Erbil, Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid reported that there was a sense of betrayal and anger among Iraqis, especially those who had helped and worked with the Iraqi forces.

They are saying that they are shocked and feel betrayed, that the friends of America have been betrayed, and the enemies of America have been vindicated.

Theres anger among people who would never even dream of going to America, but they feel that they should not have been subjected to this blanket ban just for being an Iraqi.

Our correspondent said Iraqs government is now under pressure to take action against the US.

In Chicago, Al Jazeeras John Hendren reported that a former colleagues elderly father who was on his way to the US became stranded in Qatar following Trumps order, and was eventually forced to return to Iraq.
Father says Asim Saeed, who disappeared three weeks ago along with four others, was held by an intelligence agency.

Islamabad, Pakistan  Three of five Pakistani activists who disappeared three weeks ago have been released and are safe, their family members say, although it remains unclear who abducted them.

The family of Asim Saeed, a Singapore-based IT manager who was abducted from his home in the eastern city of Lahore on January 4, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that he had been released.

Saeed has now left the country, the Reuters news agency reported, citing his father.

The families of Ahmed Raza Naseer, a shopkeeper from the town of Nankana Sahib, and Salman Haider, a noted progressive activist, poet and university lecturer, told Al Jazeera their relatives had also been released on Saturday.

The whereabouts of two other activists  Waqas Goraya and Samar Abbas  who also disappeared in early January  remain unknown. All five men went missing from across Punjab province and the capital Islamabad within four days of each other in early January.

READ MORE: Silencing Pakistans activists

The disappearances prompted a series of protests by rights groups across Pakistan, calling for the government to locate the men, or for them to be produced in a court to face formal charges if they had been detained by the states intelligence agencies.

No one, including state agencies, has taken responsibility for detaining the men, but Ghulam Haider, Saeeds father, said his son had been taken by an unnamed intelligence agency.

It was no one other than the state agencies who took him, Haider told Reuters.

He said Saeed was picked up because of a social media post intelligence agencies deemed objectionable.

My son is not against any agency, he is not against the military or government and he is not against Islam, Haider said. The fact that he was set free means that he has been cleared of all charges.

Haider was referring to a slew of blasphemy allegations that were levelled against the five activists on social media and some mainstream television news channels in the days following their abduction.

Blasphemy can carry a judicial death sentence in Pakistan, and, increasingly, right-wing vigilantes have murdered those accused in acts of targeted violence. At least 68 people have been killed in violence related to blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to an Al Jazeera tally.

On January 19, a rally calling for the release of the activists in the southern city of Karachi was attacked by stone-throwing right-wing protesters.

Families of all five activists have denied the blasphemy allegations, and repeatedly stated their fear that their relatives could be attacked, even after their release.

Always now [] he will be looking over his shoulder all the time, Zeeshan Haider, Salmans brother, told Al Jazeera earlier. It is a permanent threat.

Other families have reported receiving death threats via telephone calls since the allegations surfaced.

Pakistans government has long been accused by rights groups of carrying out a campaign of disappearances, with thousands said to be in custody, and some allegedly killed while detained.

The Pakistani government denies any wrongdoing in the case of the five missing activists.

The only instruction Asim got from the agencies was that he could not give any media interviews, Saeeds father said.

Follow @AsadHashim on Twitter
Security officials say incursion into Jenin camp by Israeli forces sparked clashes with young Palestinians.

A Palestinian has been shot dead and five others wounded by Israeli soldiers at the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medical sources said.

The person killed on Sunday was identified as 19-year-old Mohammed Abu Khalifa, the sources said.

The shooting occurred after an incursion into the camp by Israeli forces sparked clashes with young Palestinians, Palestinian security officials said.

Maan News Agency cited reports saying that undercover Israeli forces used live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas against protesters after dozens of military vehicles stormed the area.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the soldiers had opened fire after entering the camp and been attacked with explosive devices.

Faced with immediate danger, the soldiers fired at the main instigators of the violence, she told AFP.

None of the soldiers were hurt, she added.

The purpose behind the raid remained unclear, as the Israeli army spokesperson said no detentions were made in the camp.

Israeli forces regularly carry out raids in the West Bank.

A wave of violence that erupted in October 2015 has resulted in the deaths of 252 Palestinians, 40 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were accused by Israel of carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some died in Israeli air raids on Gaza.
Protests continue for a second day after dozens of travellers and immigrants are detained at US airports since Friday.

Protests against right-wing US President Donald Trumps ban on refugees and immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries have been held in cities across the United States, including in New York City and Washington, DC.

In the US capital, thousands gathered outside the White House, while more than 1,000 protesters assembled in New York Citys Battery Park to demonstrate against Trumps executive order, which places harsh restrictions on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Thousands out at the White House to protest the #MuslimBan @DemSocialists pic.twitter.com/u7uOc49L7T  Metro DC DSA (@mdc_dsa) January 29, 2017

Speaking to Al Jazeera in Battery Park, Hizam Mohammed Saleh, a 45-year-old of Yemeni descent, said: I came here because I want peace for everyone, for the immigration law to be the same for everyone.

Jessica Taube, 37, brought her children to the protest. I dont believe in borders. Were all humans and we all share the same world and deserve a place to be happy and healthy, she told Al Jazeera.

I have my kids here because I want them to learn that  In this era of Trump, thats what is going to save us  community.

Protests also gripped Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Boise, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, San Francisco and other cities across the country.

Footage shows crowd amassing in Boston protest of Pres. Trump's immigration order, with sign reading "No Muslim Ban" https://t.co/VOd87sqMQs pic.twitter.com/V71l0iEwXk  ABC News (@ABC) January 29, 2017

A day earlier, thousands of protesters amassed at airports across the country as news spread that immigrants and travellers were being detained there. Among those held were legal residents who carry US green cards.

Demonstrators only dispersed when a federal judge blocked part of Trumps executive order on immigration, ruling that travellers who have already landed in the US with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries.

Lawyers had filed a legal case in response to the order that includes a 90-day entry ban on citizens of Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Libya and Yemen.

US District Judge Ann Donnellys ruling late on Saturday concerns dozens of people who were held at airports following Trumps actions. The total number of people held was unclear.

OPINION: Trumps Muslim ban is a dangerous distraction

Some reports said immigration authorities were still implementing the ban sporadically in a number of airports.





Politicians, officials speak out

Attorney generals from 16 US states  including California, New York and Pennsylvania  issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning Trumps move.

We are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created, the statement said.

US senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, both from Trumps Republican Party, said on Sunday that the presidents order may do more to help recruit terrorists than improve US security.

READ MORE: #TheresaTheAppeaser  Anger at PM over Trump Muslim ban

Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism, they said in a statement, adding that the US should not stop green card holders from returning to the country they call home.

This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security, said McCain, of Arizona, and Graham, of South Carolina.

The top Democrat in the US Senate said on Sunday that he will push legislation to undo the discriminatory ban.

Senator Chuck Schumer called the executive order mean-spirited and un-American and said it must be reversed immediately.

READ MORE: US judge blocks deportations under Trumps Muslim ban

Amid growing global criticism, outrage from civil rights groups and legal challenges, Trump defended the ban on Sunday.

He and senior aides sought to defend the policy and play down the chaos sparked by Fridays order.

US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement that people from the seven countries who hold green cards as lawful permanent US residents would not be blocked from returning to the United States from overseas, as some had been after the directive.

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess! Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Additional reporting from New York City by Kelly Lunde: @Kllunde
The advance of government forces comes a week after fruitless negotiations between Damascus and rebels in Astana.

Syrian government forces have recaptured all towns and villages in the Wadi Barada valley near the capital, Damascus, according to a statement by the Syrian military.

Units of our armed forces, together with  allied forces have achieved their mission in returning security and stability to the area, said the statement, read out by a military spokesman on Syrian state TV on Sunday.





The Syrian army and its allies took over a Wadi Barada village containing a major spring and pumping station that supplies most of Damascus water on Saturday.

Heavy clashes between government troops and rebel forces were sporadic in Wadi Barada since a December 30 ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey.

Fighting continued even after a negotiated deal to restore water to Damascus earlier this month.

Under the agreement, teams were meant to repair the infrastructure that supplies Damascus with water in exchange for a cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of rebel fighters willing to do so.

About 5.5 million in Damascus and its suburbs have been without water since December 22.

The Syrian conflict started as an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. It subsequently escalated into a full-scale civil war that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than half the countrys pre-war population displaced.

OPINION: Astana  What talks?

United Nations-hosted negotiations on the Syrian conflict planned for February 8 in Geneva have been postponed until the end of that month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week.

The date of February 8 has been put back until the end of next month, Lavrov said at a meeting on Friday with Syrian opposition groups in Astana, Kazakhstan, that ended last week without a major breakthrough.

Key players Russia, Turkey and Iran backed the Astana talks, also attended by government representatives, and the main result was an agreement by the three sides to try to shore up a shaky ceasefire on the ground in the war-torn country.

The latest peace initiative to halt fighting comes after the Syrian army, backed by Russian and Iranian firepower, dealt rebels a crushing blow by forcing them out of eastern Aleppo last month.
British leader condemned for refusal to denounce US ban on visitors, refugees, and migrants from seven Muslim states.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has received heavy criticism for her refusal to condemn US President Donald Trumps ban on citizens of seven Muslim states.

May said the ban, which affects refugees, migrants, and visitors, was a matter for the US but later issued a statement that she disagreed with it.

The ban means a number of British citizens with dual nationality will not be allowed to enter the US, including Somalia-born Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah and Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi, a member of Mays Conservative Party.

Citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are banned from entering the US, even if they hold permanent residency or valid visas.

I'm a British citizen & so proud to have been welcomed to this country. Sad to hear ill be banned from the USA based on my country of birth  Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 28, 2017

Leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said the governments lack of response was a disgrace and called for Donald Trump to be banned from the UK in response.

[Trump] should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with shameful #MuslimBan and attacks on refugees and women. Corbyn wrote on his Twitter account.

[May] would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trumps actions in the clearest terms, he added.

. @theresa_may hand in hand with the man who banned @Mo_Farah & Tory MP @nadhimzahawi. Yet she remains silent. pic.twitter.com/5BhkdWW2pL  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 28, 2017

The opposition leader called on Britons to sign a parliamentary petition demanding that Trump be barred from the UK, which has picked up hundreds of thousands of signatures so far.

The response means parliament must consider debating a ban.

May met Trump at the White House on Friday, in a cordial meeting in which the pair held hands and promised stronger trade and security ties between their two countries.

The British prime minister used the meeting to invite Trump to visit the UK on a formal state visit.

Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, echoed calls for Trump to be banned, telling broadcaster Sky News that an invitation should never have been made .

Senior Scottish National Party politician Alex Salmond said Mays conduct was a shameful moment of cowardice .

Despite stopping short of condemning May, Conservative MPs joined criticism of Trumps ban.

President Trumps immigration and Syrian refugee ban is indefensible, unworkable and almost certainly unconstitutional, wrote Conservative MP James Cleverly on Twitter.

Trump's latest histrionic plan is nuts, unsustainable and counter-productive-all power to the courts and Congress to overturn it  Tim Loughton MP #StayAlertSaveLives (@timloughton) January 29, 2017

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the country would defend the rights of British citizens abroad, in a tweet aimed at the US measures.

We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality, he wrote.

Religious groups also condemned Mays stance on Trump; the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said May should have used her time with the US president to remind him of the countries shared values.

In front of Mr Trump, the Prime Minister said that the point of the Special Relationship was to have a frank dialogue. Well, this is one area where we need to be frank about where we stand, said Harun Khan, the MCBs secretary general.

#TheresaTheAppeaser is the one who approved the 'Go Home' vans, why people expect her to disagree with #MuslimBan ? pic.twitter.com/Ec8PESVyMD  Tal Ofer     (@TalOfer) January 29, 2017

Tal Ofer, of the Board of Deputies, the UKs leading Jewish organisation, said: I wouldnt be surprised if the PM offered Trump her famous Go Home vans  a reference to Mays deployment of trucks carrying banners telling migrants to leave the UK when she was home secretary.

TheresaTheAppeaser

Anger was also palpable on social media, with the hashtag TheresaTheAppeaser trending in the UK, as well as several related hashtags.

#TheresaTheAppeaser shows just how desperate the position for the UK is post Brexit. Willing to accept openly fascist policy for trade  Matthew Hexter (@hexter101) January 29, 2017

Many users compared Mays behaviour to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlains during the run-up to World War II.

Others said they were embarrassed at the deferential manner in which May had behaved towards Trump.

She did the equivalent of handing the car keys back to a drunk who intends to drive, saying ''it's up to him'' #TheresaTheAppeaser  Her Holiness Pope Mrs Trellis, the 1st (@theonlywayisup) January 29, 2017

Anti-Fascist groups have organised several protests against Trump, with one due to be held outside Downing Street Monday evening.
Ruling temporarily ends detention of travellers with valid visas and prohibits their removal from the US.

A federal judge has blocked part of President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration, ruling that travellers who have already landed in the US with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries.

Lawyers had filed a legal case in response to the order that includes a 90-day entry ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations.

US District Judge Ann Donnellys ruling late on Saturday concerns dozens of people who were detained at US airports following Trumps actions.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had filed a class action lawsuit against the ban, hailed the temporary stay of execution as a victory.

This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off US soil, Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, said.

ACLU said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status, who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports after Trump signed the order late on Friday.

The legal case was raised after two Iraqis were held by law enforcement officials at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) while trying to legally enter the country.

More than 100 detained

At least 12 travellers have been detained at JFK, prompting mass protests at the airport.

Less than 24 hours into the ban, Homeland Security said that at least 109 travellers had been denied entry into the US in total.

Homeland Security said on Sunday it would comply with judicial orders, referring to Donnellys ruling, but that Trumps order remains in place.

A group of state attorneys general, meanwhile, are discussing whether to file their own court challenge against the order, officials in three states told the Reuters news agency.

Officials in the offices of attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaii said they were evaluating what specific claims could be filed, and in which court.

READ MORE: World leaders condemn Trumps Muslim ban

Trump signed the executive order on Friday that effectively denies entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including those with green cards, who otherwise have permanent residence in the US.

Signing the order at the Pentagon, Trump said the move would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

Absolute chaos

Its been absolute chaos at airports across the country, Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, told Al Jazeera. Its definitely not making America safe again, its just making America hate again.

He added that the order doesnt only concern American Muslims, it concerns Americans. [Trumps] hate rhetoric is turning into destructive policies.

In the case of war-torn Syria, Trump qualified the orders scope by saying he would prioritise Syrian Christians entering as refugees.

Al Jazeeras John Hendren, reporting from Chicagos OHare International Airport, said: People who were already here are not allowed to be deported under that court order  [But] this was only a temporary reprieve. Not everybody who has been trying to get into this country has been able to get here. We really dont know the end of this story.

The order limits entry for at least 90 days from Syrian travellers and other Muslim-majority countries, but did not list the countries by name. The state department said the three-month ban in the directive applied to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen  all Muslim-majority nations.

Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Erbil in northern Iraq, said: There is a lot of angst among the Kurdish population of Iraq, because if theres a spat between Baghdad and Washington, these are the people who will be worst affected.

He added: So far from the people we have spoken to there is anger and shock. These are people who have been working side-by-side with American forces and contractors in various roles. They are not sure how its going to pan out. Families have been separated.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed in on Saturday on Trumps orders with a decidedly different approach.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada, he tweeted, along with a photograph of him greeting a Syrian child at a Toronto airport.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau told The Associated Press, he is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canadas immigration and refugee policy when he meets with Trump at the White House  a meeting that is expected in the near term.

I think we keep fighting, Sarah Owing, with the American Immigration Lawyers Associations, told Al Jazeera. Were not going to rest until we make sure that the constitutional rights of lawful permanent residents are respected, and that those that seek asylum on our shores are entitled and given all the rights to seek that form of relief.
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart have made a significant start in fixing their countries relationship, while agreeing to cooperate in fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, the White House said following an hour-long phone call.

The two leaders first conversation since Trumps inauguration covered topics ranging from cooperation in defeating ISIL to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria, the statement said.

In separate remarks, Putins office said both leaders expressed readiness to cooperate on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis.

The Kremlin statement said the conversation also covered the main aspects of the Ukrainian crisis.

US relations with Russia were strained during President Barack Obamas term, following the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, prompting Washington to impose sanctions on Moscow.

The US and Russia have also been at odds over Syria, where Russia has provided extensive military support for its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

Diplomatic relations were further strained after American intelligence agencies reported Kremlin hacked Democratic Party emails as part of a pro-Trump campaign to influence Novembers election.

OPINION: Why is Russia so happy with Trump?

Since Trumps victory, Putin has praised the US leader and his policies.

The telephone conversation on Saturday came on an intense day of diplomacy for Trump, who had talks scheduled with other world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Japan, France and Australia.

He also signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to submit a strategy within 30 days to defeat ISIL

Merkel call

Trump and Merkel stressed the fundamental importance of the NATO alliance to transatlantic ties in their first telephone conversation.

The alliance was vital in ensuring the peace and stability of our North Atlantic community, the two leaders said, according to a separate statement released after the 45-minute chat.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Merkels spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Sunday that Merkel had reminded Trump of his human rights responsibilities.

The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, he said.

The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterdays phone call with the US president.

Trumps executive order restricting travel and instituting extreme vetting of visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries puts him at odds with Merkel, whose embrace of Syrian refugees was praised by Barack Obama even as it created political problems for her domestically.
A committee of UK parliamentarians plans to investigate a scandal surrounding an Israeli diplomat who was caught promising to take down Britains foreign office minister in an Al Jazeera investigation.

The parliaments Foreign Affairs Select Committee intends to examine evidence that the Israeli embassy in London, through senior political officer Shai Masot, attempted to interfere in British politics in order to shape the countrys policy towards Israel-Palestine.

The government may have formally closed the issue of Shai Masot, but we intend to look into the way foreign states seek to influence UK policy, said committee chairman and Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, as reported by local media.





The Lobby, Al Jazeeras six-month investigation, exposed Masots plans to manufacture a scandal and take down Alan Duncan, foreign office minister.

The Lobby also uncovered Israels extensive, well-financed propaganda campaign in the UK to counter negative news stories about its policies and to fund trips to Israel for young activists.

As part of the investigation, Robin, an undercover reporter using an alias, infiltrated a lobby of politicians, activists and Israeli embassy officials working to drum up support for Israel.

Many enjoyed financial or strategic support from the Israeli embassy in London via Masot.

In the wake of the investigation, Masot was forced to resign from Israels UK embassy, which subsequently attempted to distance itself from Masots actions and apologised to the UK.

Duncan targeted

Robin secretly filmed the moment at a London brasserie when Masot asked Maria Strizzolo, who was then chief of staff to MP Robert Halfon, the deputy chairman of the ruling Conservative Party: Can I give you some MPs that I would suggest you take down?

In response, Strizzolo said: Well you know, if you look hard enough Im sure that there is something that theyre trying to hide.

Yeah. I have some MPs, Masot replies.

READ MORE: Israel Lobby  Insidious threats should be feared

[Strizzolo] knows which MPs I want to take down  The Deputy Foreign Minister.

Masot was referring to Duncan.

Strizzolo later hinted that a little scandal might see Duncan dismissed.





Duncan said in 2014 that, while he fully supports Israels right to exist, he believes settlements on occupied Palestinian land represent an ever-deepening stain on the face of the globe. He also likened the situation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank to apartheid.

At the same dinner table conversation, Masot described British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Duncans boss, as an idiot  without any kind of responsibilities, while Strizzolo said he was solid on Israel.

Opposition targeted

Earlier this month, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, called for an inquiry into Masots activities.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, Corbyn described the actions of Masot as improper interference in this countrys democratic process.

Explaining that he was concerned by Johnsons announcement that the embassys activities were a closed matter, Corbyn urged May to launch an inquiry: This is clearly a national security issue.

He continued: It is only on [the basis of an investigation] that Parliament and the public will be reassured that such activities will not be tolerated by your government.

Supporters of Corbyn, who is a leftist with a long history of Palestinian solidarity activism, were among those accused of anti-Semitism by Israeli officials, as Al Jazeeras investigation documented.

All four parts of The Lobby are available to watch online.
The case against Assange is as political as it is legal; where does it go from here? Plus, Kenyas election influencers.
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.
On December 23, 2016, the United Nations announced the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemns Israeli settlements east of the 1949 armistice line, that is, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (including the Old City with its ancient Jewish Quarter). Passage of this resolution was only possible because of the deliberate refusal of the U.S. to exercise the veto power it wields as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that in refusing to veto the resolution, the Obama administration was simply conforming to long-standing U.S. policy in favor of the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a policy that has also included U.S. condemnation of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank.[1] In fact, however, UNSC Resolution 2334 is a departure from past precedent, both for the Security Council and for the U.S., and one that creates big problems for Israel. Moreover, the Trump administration will probably not be able to reverse this new state of affairs, since the other permanent members of the Security Council would presumably use their veto power to protect Resolution 2334. It is therefore important to understand the impact of this resolution.

For the past half-century, a key point of reference in all discussion surrounding Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has been UN Security Council Resolution 242, passed on November 22, 1967 in the wake of the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war. This resolution famously called for the withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict, but only in the context of a peace agreement that would guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every state in the area, including Israel. While Resolution 242 emphasizes the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, the key diplomatic players at the time also stressed that Israel had no clearly defined borders that would exclude territories in the West Bank as unambiguously lying outside of its boundaries. On December 9, 1969, U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers made the point as follows:

The boundaries from which the 1967 war began were established by the 1949 armistice agreements, and have defined the areas of national jurisdiction in the Middle East for twenty years. Those boundaries were armistice lines, not final political borders. The Security Council Resolution [242] neither endorses nor precludes the armistice lines as the definitive political boundaries.[2]

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Arthur Goldberg made the same point in debate at the UN on November 15, 1967, pointing out that there had never been agreement on permanent borders between Israel and her neighbors after the 1948 war and that the 1949 armistice lines were just that  provisional lines based on purely military considerations. These lines, he said, stood to be revised as a part of the transition to peace.[3]

Moreover, Resolution 242 deliberately refrained from demanding Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied in the Six-Day War, instead calling for withdrawal from territories occupied in that war, without defining the extent of the withdrawal. Abba Eban, the Israeli Foreign Minister at the time, notes that the British government sponsored Resolution 242 and so its interpretation of the text deserves special weight. Key British diplomats went on the record as stating that the withdrawal envisaged by the resolution was not to be from all the territories, but only from some.[4] More recently, Northwestern University Law School professor Eugene Kontorovich, one of the leading scholars on this topic, has demonstrated that Resolution 242 contemplates only a partial Israeli withdrawal.[5] Kontorovich points out, for example, that over several months of deliberations in the Security Council, British and U.S. diplomats repeatedly rebuffed efforts by Arab-aligned nations to require withdrawal from all or the territories.[6]

In short, one cannot reasonably interpret UN Resolution 242 as denying Israel a right to retain and settle any of the territories it occupied in 1967. Yet this is exactly what the Obama administration and Resolution 2334 have now done. Resolution 242, as Abba Eban points out, does not even mention the armistice lines of 1949 or the lines of June 4, 1967, let alone describe them as sacrosanct and inviolable international boundaries.[7] In contrast, Resolution 2334

Presupposes a two-State solution based on the 1967 lines.

Reaffirms that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem , has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law [emphasis added]

Demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem  [emphasis added]

Presupposes, as the two preceding bullet points show, that all the territory occupied by Israel in 1967 is (or already was) Palestinian territory.

Urges an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967.

It is highly significant that resolution 2334 begins with an explicit re-affirmation of resolution 242. In doing so, it imposes a (historically false) reinterpretation on the text of resolution 242. According to this anachronistic re-interpretation, resolution 242 is now seen as calling for Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied in 1967 and presupposes the sacrosanctity of the 1949 armistice lines as if they were the agree-upon international frontier between Israel and her neighbors.

The upshot is that Israel now finds itself in a dramatically weaker bargaining position in any future peace talks with the Palestinians. Consider just one point of contention, the status of the Western Wall plaza and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, of inestimable cultural and religious significance to Jews everywhere and both falling to the east of the 1949 armistice line. The UN Security Council is now on record as stating that Israeli occupation of these sites has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law. Palestinian negotiators can now use this small patch of earth to extract much bigger concessions from Israel. Imagine a Palestinian negotiating team saying to their Israeli counterparts, Oh, so you want us to give you the Western Wall. Well, how much is it worth to you? Consider also the fact that Palestinians have consistently stressed that any future land swap in a peace deal must be equal in size and quality.[8] If Israel wishes to swap some part of its pre-1967 territory for the Western Wall, which portion exactly would be equal in quality?

John Kerry insists that the U.S. abstention was motivated by friendship for Israel, but by weakening Israel as it does, the abstention is more a violation than a fulfillment of the obligations of friendship.
Despite the boasted rhetoric about the agreement reached in the Astana talks over the Syria ceasefire, this latest stage unveiled the limits involved parties face in bringing an end to the six-year war. Even Russias chief negotiator at the discussion reached the point of complaining, more than once, about diverse complications. And the main obstacle remains Iran, due to the fact that a true ceasefire in Syria should spell the end of its foothold.

The talks have even been dubbed a diplomatic coup, with all three sponsors, Moscow, Ankara, and Tehran accused of seeking separate objectives. The truth is there is no ceasefire thanks to Irans support for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Despite the so-called ceasefire pact sealed on December 30th, pro-Assad forces backed by Iran -- including the Lebanese Hizballah -- have continued attacks on the besieged rebel-held area of Wadi Barada near Damascus.

The Syrian regime has resorted to the ridiculous excuse that al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups are in control of Ain al-Fijeh, a small town in Wadi Barada. This despite locals reporting only a tiny minority of such elements being present. It is thus crystal clear that neither Assad, nor his Iranian masters, have ever sought a meaningful ceasefire in Syria.

In other areas, regime warplanes launched further airstrikes targeting rebel-controlled areas in west Syria, leaving 12 dead in one area alone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The fact is that the Astana talks have left many loopholes, and this is exactly what Iran will exploit to plunge the entire process into utter failure.

No details are available about a mechanism to monitor a supposed ceasefire.

Political issues failed to achieve any tangible progress and the talks are described as narrowly focused.

One senior Western diplomat criticized the entire initiative as not very serious, adding, You dont seal a ceasefire in two days. There are no indications of any work on modalities, observers, mechanisms, maps, and so forth.

No document has been signed by Syrian opposition or regime representatives, the two parties who actually have to reach an arrangement.

While the agreement promises a separation of rebel forces into legitimate opposition and terrorists, no specific method is laid out over how, and according to what merits.

Russia may be considered the main benefactor of the talks, especially since the U.S. cited transition duties and participated only as an observer. Iran is amongst those tasked to monitor the ceasefire, while it is obvious Iran-backed Shiite militias, already accused of violating this ceasefire, will seek to exploit the numerous Astana agreement loopholes.

Even the next date set for future talks between Syrian opposition and regime delegations, Feb. 8 in Geneva, lacks firm confirmation. The Astana negotiations ultimately did not go as planned due to different interests pursued by all three sponsors, proving that Washington and the Gulf States must take part in any future effort.

Even such a goal encounters difficulty due to stark differences seen between Russia and Iran over the United States possibly taking part. Moscow is in favor of Washington, under the Trump administration, taking part, while Iran flatly rejects the proposal.

They (the Russians) can now see how difficult their partners are, one Western diplomat described, according to Reuters.

They are finding a lot of obstacles from Hezbollah forces, Iran and the regime, explained Mohammed Alloush, head of the Syrian opposition delegation.

Western diplomats have also voiced concerns, viewing Iran as a main obstacle to progress. Uncertainty is the least that can be said about Tehrans commitment to what can hardly be described as a ceasefire.

At a time of concerns regarding Irans involvement in Syria, including a conglomerate of militias and Assad forces continuing to launch attacks on civilians in rebel-held areas, there are serious questions and doubts over Tehrans legitimacy as a broker in this entire ordeal.

As seen over the past four decades, Tehran thrives on two pillars of domestic crackdown and provoking unrest across the Middle East. This leaves the international community lacking an obvious solution.

The regime in Tehran is the source of crisis in the region and killings in Syria; it has played the greatest role in the expansion and continuation of ISIS. Peace and tranquility in the region can only be achieved by evicting this regime from the region, said Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella group of dissidents including the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Irans meddling report card in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen proves this is the sole solution that can render a lasting ceasefire and pave the path to genuine peace.

Heshmat Alavi is a political and rights activist. His writing focuses on Iran, ranging from human rights violations, social crackdown, the regimes support for terrorism and meddling in foreign countries, and the controversial nuclear program.

He tweets at @HeshmatAlavi & blogs at IranCommentary
The first full week of President Trumps term has seen Hoseas They who have sown the wind, shall reap the whirlwind made manifest to his political opponents, the federal bureaucracy and the terrorist sponsors of the Middle East.

A. The Congress and Bureaucracy

The Democrats rammed through ObamaCare. To cite Judge Napolitano, Trump has begun dismantling it by an executive order that

regulations already in place be enforced with a softer, more beneficent tone, and he ordered that no penalty, fine, setoff or tax be imposed by the IRS on any person or entity who is not complying with the individual mandate, because by the time taxes are due on April 15, the IRS will be without authority to impose or collect the non-tax tax, as the individual mandate will no longer exist. Why take money from people that will soon be returned? Then he ordered a truly revolutionary act, the likes of which I have never seen in the 45 years I have studied and monitored the governments laws and its administration of them. He ordered that when bureaucrats who are administering and enforcing the law have discretion with respect to the time, place, manner and severity of its enforcement, they should exercise that discretion in favor of individuals and against the government.

EPA overreached its mission and authority and Trump has reined it in and promises drastically to cut its staffing and budget.

The prior administration, working with radical environmental groups, halted construction of the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipelines. Trump greenlighted them. Crude oil will flow from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries and from North Dakota to Illinois. He ordered that steel and other materials used in the pipelines be fabricated here. No wonder construction unions are pleased. We should be, too -- it will make us more energy independent and stands to reduce OPEC and Russian energy profits by increasing world supply.

The Second Circuits opinion that the dreadful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the creature of Elizabeth Warren, formerly the Harvard Law Schools token Indian professor) is unconstitutional because it does not provide for Congressional oversight means it is likely CFRB will be overhauled or scrapped.

Dodd-Frank is likely to be restructured and the Department of Labor rules under it respecting fiduciaries and ERISA plans probably will be significantly changed.

Republicans in Congress are considering a resolution to wipe out Obamas coal-mine killing regulations and overly restrictive rules on methane emissions.

Scores more federal regulations likely will be wiped out by the Congressional Review Act of 1996.

B. Voter Eligibility

Trump has suggested that millions of illegal votes were counted. The media has almost uniformly denied this, but there is ample evidence -- anecdotal and otherwise -- establishing that there is substantial vote fraud. What states do with respect to local elections is their own business under the federal system, but respecting federal elections, its long past time to have the Department of Justice and FBI review the record and prosecute those who engage in it.

Slightly over two years ago the Washington Post conceded millions of votes have been cast in prior elections by illegal aliens, though it later tried to walk back the cat.

Our data comes from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES). Its large number of observations (32,800 in 2008 and 55,400 in 2010) provide sufficient samples of the non-immigrant sub-population, with 339 non-citizen respondents in 2008 and 489 in 2010. For the 2008 CCES, we also attempted to match respondents to voter files so that we could verify whether they actually voted. How many non-citizens participate in U.S. elections? More than 14 percent of non-citizens in both the 2008 and 2010 samples indicated that they were registered to vote. Furthermore, some of these non-citizens voted. Our best guess, based upon extrapolations from the portion of the sample with a verified vote, is that 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted in 2008 and 2.2 percent of non-citizens voted in 2010. Estimated Voter Turnout by Non-Citizens 2008 2010 Self reported and/or verified 38 (11.3%) 13 (3.5%) Self reported and verified 5 (1.5%) N.A. Adjusted estimate 21 (6.4%) 8 (2.2%) Because non-citizens tended to favor Democrats (Obama won more than 80 percent of the votes of non-citizens in the 2008 CCES sample), we find that this participation was large enough to plausibly account for Democratic victories in a few close elections. Non-citizen votes could have given Senate Democrats the pivotal 60th vote needed to overcome filibusters in order to pass health-care reform and other Obama administration priorities in the 111th Congress. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) won election in 2008 with a victory margin of 312 votes. Votes cast by just 0.65 percent of Minnesota non-citizens could account for this margin. It is also possible that non-citizen votes were responsible for Obamas 2008 victory in North Carolina. Obama won the state by 14,177 votes, so a turnout by 5.1 percent of North Carolinas adult non-citizens would have provided this victory margin.

Professor Jesse Richman of Old Dominion University extrapolated from a 2014 study on voting in the 2008 and 2010 elections that 800,000 noncitizens voted in the last presidential election.

The Pew Foundation study went further. Examining duplicate registrations in more than one state and dead voters still on registration lists, Pew concluded that the possibility of fraud was enormous.

Approximately 24 million -- one of every eight -- voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate.

More than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as voters.

Approximately 2.75 million people have registrations in more than one state.

One citizen tried to spearhead an examination into voting integrity -- Catherine Engelbrecht -- and in response, a weaponized IRS, OSHA, BATF working with Congressman Elijah Cummings singled her out for onerous audits of herself, her family, her business and nonprofit organization.

Clearly, the left was worried about an examination of voter fraud and any attempt to end it.

In fact, Obama himself appears to have encouraged non-citizens to vote this November with a convoluted answer to a question about non-citizen voting. Project Veritas videotaped admissions by Democrat operative Robert Creamer and his sidekick Scott Foval in which the later discussed moving illegals around through the Midwest to vote illegally, bragging that theyd fixed elections there for decades. Creamer visited the White House 32 times in the runup to the election, something the White House declined to explain:

Many Democratic leaders, in fact, have made no secret of their efforts to allow non-citizens to vote.

Whether Trump is right that the margin of Clintons popular vote was as a result of illegal voting remains to be seen, but that there is such voting and it is not insubstantial seems likely and deserves examination.

[A]s [John] Fund and [Hans] von Spakovsky point out, "we don't know how big of a problem voter fraud really is because no systematic effort has ever been made to investigate it." That's a knowledge gap that needs to be filled in, and Democrats should eagerly embrace such an effort. After all, they are the ones who keep insisting that we have to "count every vote" and "every vote counts." Well, every single vote cast by an ineligible voter cancels out one legitimate ballot, which means that any level of fraud should be intolerable. Plus, if Trump is wrong about the scale of voter fraud, a thorough investigation is the only way to prove it. Somehow, we doubt Democrats will see it this way.

My online friend Henry notes that such fraud is usually accompanied by an impossible-to-follow audit trail and suggests the same rules that apply to businesses be applied to vote counters:

It is not clear to me that an investigation will yield a number of illegal votes. Just around here, the police audited Milwaukee's 2004 vote and found many registrations were multiple voters at vacant lots. Something in the neighborhood of Kerry's 2004 victory margin of undeliverable voter confirmation cards were found. No way to tie that to who voted though. Same thing in the recall in Racine at the Cesar Chavez Center polling location. Total pandemonium, no way to tell what happened as audit trails were broken. Then Detroit in Stein's Michigan recount, complete chaos on many polling places where ballots did not match up to vote totals. In all three cases, not so much as a slapped wrist for the government types whose job was to fairly manage the election. In the private sector, your numbers don't add up and the audit trail is broken? Go to jail (SARBOX). Need that for elections.

C. The March of the Loony Pussies

Thousands of women, many dressed as vulvas and carrying vulgar signs, who purported to have been offended by some bawdy Trump locker room talk years ago marched on Washington. Leading organizers and speakers of the march included Angela Davis, a Communist closely connected with the Black Panther party, Donna Hylton, who served 27 years in jail for the 15- to 20- day kidnapping, starving, torture and murder of a man, and Linda Sarsour, an advocate of Sharia Law.

So these delicate souls are okay with Stalinist repression, Islamic denigration of their rights and psychopathy. Got it. I especially loved shots of these largely upper-class urban white women willingly draping themselves in American flag hijabs. I score this another self-inflicted Democrat wounding.

D. Immigration

In his 1995 State of the Union address, then-President Clinton spoke about securing our borders and restricting immigration to a standing ovation. A 2006 law signed by G.W. Bush authorized the construction of a wall on the Mexican border but the Democratic Congress prevented it in its spending bill. The law, however, was never repealed, so Trump and the new Congress can get to work on it without requiring the passage of a new law and he has several means at his disposal to get Mexico to pay for it.

In addition to effective Southern border security, this week Trump issued an executive order providing a ninety-day suspension of all visas from Iran, the Sudan, and Syria, state sponsors of terrorism, and Libya, Somalia, and Yemen countries of concern."

It begins by noting that State Department policy prevented consular officers from properly scrutinizing the visa applications of several of the 19 foreign nationals who carried out the 9/11 attacks, and that after-enacted measures did little to stop attacks on American soil by foreign nationals. It places the onus on the countries involved to provide us with information we need to determine that visa applicants from those countries are not a security or public-safety threat. Its key provisions include the following:

Nationals of countries, which upon notification of information we need, do not cooperate within 60 days will, with few diplomatic exceptions be, barred entry. Uniform screening standards for all immigration programs will be put in force. The totally corrupted Refugee Resettlement Program in which religiously denominated NGOs (the shells of their original organizations which received funds to flak for more open borders) will be suspended for 120 days. When the suspension period is over, refugee claims will be re-prioritized to give preference to Individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country of nationality. States and localities will be granted a role in the process of determining the placement or re settlement in their jurisdiction  of alien refugees, The completion and implementation of a biometric entry-exit tracking systems for all travelers to the US will (at long last) be expedited. The Visa Interview Waiver program is suspended. All applicants not covered by specific statutory exceptions, must undergo an in-person interview. We will collect and report the number of foreign nationals charged with, convicted of, or removed because of terrorism-related offenses here.

As to the charge that the executive order is racist or anti-Muslim, we cannot forget that Jimmy Carter halted travel to the U.S. by Iranians

and the determination of to which countries the travel suspension now applies was made by Obamas Department of State which, by the way, did not include Saudi Arabia on the listing. Obama banned Iraq refugees in 2011 and the determination of to which countries the travel suspension now applies was made by Obamas Department of State which, by the way, did not include Saudi Arabia on the listing.

The Democrats, bureaucrats, and terrorists imagined that they could beset us all without consequences -- they should have heeded Hoseas warning.
As I was growing up, I lost my faith in both God and the Church. There are many things that made me lose my faith, among them terrible stories I heard about the Catholic Churchs past.

Most of todays pagan youth imagine people being burnt at the stake whenever they hear people talk about Catholicism. They are wrong, but its not their fault. The Churchs enemies, among them the communists, have spread lies about the history of the Church and the content of the faith.

One thing they never told you, and the mainstream media simply wont tell you, I assume, is that the Church has given us most of the important and positive things we have in Western societies. In todays politics, people often mention the necessity of reforming the health care system. People need better care, we are told. Nobody, though, talks about the origins of the hospitals. Some people simply assume that hospitals have always existed. Unfortunately, there was not even one in ancient Egypt. There were no hospitals in ancient Greece or in the pagan Roman Empire. There were doctors, of course, but they would treat only the royalty and nobility, and sometimes the soldiers. There was absolutely no care for the poor, and no building where people could go to receive health care.

Things changed when the Catholic monks began to host the ill in their monasteries. The Church was the main entity responsible for the existence of hospitals, and nobody thanks her for that. During the Middle Ages, almost all European cities had their own hospitals.

Something else happened during the Catholic Middle Ages: the arrival of the universities. I bet your liberal history teacher never told you that. There was no intent in antiquity of spreading knowledge to many people. Before Christ, knowledge was a symbol of power. In the Middle Ages, the Church wanted to make sure that knowledge was spread and that more people could have access to the absolute truth. Jesus told us to teach all nations, so lets do so. The first European universities began in the 11th century. In the 12th century, the archdiocese of Paris created the University of Paris. About a century later, the English founded Oxford and then Cambridge. Dozens of superior institutions were opened before the 16th century.

UNESCO considers the first universities to be the ones created by the Muslims before the 11th century. The Muslims did, in fact, have their institutions opened before the year one thousand, but those institutions never brought about any social results. Its so true that to this day, most people have never heard of Muslim universities. If we are to speak about true colleges, the ones that really increased the universal knowledge in all fields, like the Universities of Oxford and Paris, then yes, the Catholic Church was their first founder. Why doesnt the Church receive the credit for that? Great question.

Speaking again about Muslims, we should thank the Church of not allowing Europe to become Muslim. Well before the First Crusade, which started in the 11th century, the Muslim army had already reached France and dominated Spain. The pope decided to react and called for volunteers to fight. Today, as the Catholic faith goes down and paganism is on the rise, Muslims are once again taking control. Yet people blame the Church for the holy wars. Try to understand that.

The Church also helped in the creation of the international laws and other things like sacred music, beer (the Catholic monks were the ones to make beer popular in Europe during the Middle Ages), and the beautiful buildings of the cathedrals. In the 19th century, Popes Pius IX and Leo XIII wrote against communism, stating that it represents a big danger for humanity. Nobody listened to the Church, and the Soviet Union was formed. In 1937, two years before the Second World War, Pope Pius XI wrote an encyclical to Germany warning about a pagan authoritarian government. He was referring to Nazism, of course. Once again, they didnt listen. In 1968, Pope Paul VI wrote, in his controversial encyclical on birth control, Humanae Vitae, that artificial birth control methods were not intended to avoid giving birth to too many children inside the marriage, since we can use natural methods  like the Billings Method  to control the number of children within matrimony. No, the pope said, those artificial methods will only make it much easier for people to have sex before or outside marriage, and that will not only make young men treat women like objects, but will also create a huge family crisis. I dont need to say that nobody listened to the pope and that today we see the results (huge divorce rate, huge abortion numbers, and so on).

Some people say that we would be better off if the Church did not exist. Is that so?

Iohanan A. Carvalho is a Brazilian writer.
Out of all of President Trumps cabinet nominees, Scott Pruitt has probably received more heat from the Left and the environmentalist movement than anybody else. From the moment the former Oklahoma attorney generals name was floated, liberal doomsayers have been putting out warnings of an impending end to environmental protection laws.

Based on the current tone of the mainstream media and the resistance movement, you would think the government was about to start mandating coal plants in national parks. As usual, the reality is not what they make it out to be. What Scott Pruitt will really be bringing to the EPA is a badly-needed refocusing on executing this countrys laws instead of making up its own. As EPA administrator, Pruitt will be reining in an agency that has taken off in pursuit of its own agenda with hardly any oversight by elected lawmakers. Under questioning by the Senate last week, he hammered home how the agency has overreached by essentially making its own laws: EPA is an administrative agency, as he put it, not a legislative body.

Those answers are in line with the presidents America First Energy Plan, which emphasizes deregulation, energy independence, and efforts to refocus the EPA on its essential mission of protecting our air and water. They also speak directly to a respect for the Constitutional separation of federal and state powers that has been missing from Washington for years. To quote the transition team, one of the items on the presidential agenda is to issue an executive order barring EPA from overruling federal/state regulatory/permit decisions unless in clear violation of established law.

To be fair to liberals and the climate lobby, its easy to understand why theyve gone apoplectic. When the Left couldnt force an environmentalist agenda on a Republican Congress, these groups focused instead on Obamas executive branch and essentially created activist agencies in the same way they fostered activist judges. Climate science has been the most obvious battleground, but agriculture has been just as directly affected. The American farm industry has been feeling the EPA breathing down its neck for the past eight years. It isnt just the Waters of the United States rule, a federal power grab disguised as a technical document that defines which waterways fall under the jurisdiction of the EPA. Farmers have also been left hanging for months over of the agencys recent atrazine and glyphosate reviews, which have been criticized for delays and for allowing interference by activists.

The glyphosate review is a textbook example of why an executive agency shouldnt be in the legislative business. Last September, the EPA finally announced preliminary findings on the widely-used pesticide following a years-long evaluation process. In what came as no surprise, the agency concurred with almost every other scientific body (both the U.S. and Europe) in finding that glyphosate does not pose a realistic cancer risk to humans -- a relief for thousands of farmers who had been awaiting the review panels consensus. So why did this review take so long? Because left-wing activists, using an outlier result from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in France, tried to derail the review process.

The process became so chaotic that Jason Chaffetz had to launch an investigation calling for answers on why U.S. taxpayer dollars are going to IARC and whether EPA employees might have been colluding with scientists in France to undermine the review being carried out here in America. There are also demands for reforming how IARCs review process works, since this is just one of several controversies the agency has touched off over the past few years. The Obama administration didnt seem too bothered by this agency capture on the part of militant environmentalists, but there is no way subterfuge like this will be allowed to continue now that Trump is in office. Instead, the agency will take a markedly more streamlined approach to regulation; Pruitt is set to preside over a shift in power to the states. As Oklahoma attorney general, he had a firm record of support for federalism, pushing back against federal regulations that encroach on state authorities.

This is, of course, anathema to Democrats, who look down their noses at the states and insist that all rules and regulations emanate from Washington. All of this begs an important question, though: instead of endlessly complaining about Pruitt and limiting the powers of the federal government, why dont they try to learn from him? Federal agencies respecting constitutional boundaries doesnt preclude the blue states from enacting whatever onerous environmental regulations they want. In fact, Pruitts approach offers a silver lining: without dictates from the feds, left-wing lawmakers in New York and California can implement as many regulations as they please.

Even before Trumps election, many states and cities were going wild enacting far stricter laws than those required by federal thresholds. In California, people like Jerry Brown now say they plan to bypass Washington and work directly with other nations and states to protect and fortify their laws. States attorneys are also tearing a leaf out of Pruitts playbook, attacking what they see as federal crimes in the courtroom. Californias Xavier Becerra has already promised to fight the Trump administration on issues ranging from immigration to climate change.

More power to them. Instead of undercutting popular sovereignty by working through unelected agencies, Becerra and the rest of his party can see whether their arguments and the impositions they want to put on American business can stand up to constitutional scrutiny. Elected lawmakers, and not a semi-autonomous government agency, should be making the rules.
A federal judge in New York has issued a temporary stay on parts of President Trump's executive order in immigration that halts the deportation of some individuals affected by the ban on refugees from certain countries.

The Hill:

The move appears to mark the first successful legal challenge to the Trump administration and affects those who have arrived in the U.S. with previously approved refugee applications or were in transit with valid visas. Similar rulings were later issued in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington state. U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly ruled in favor of a habeas corpus petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of two Iraqi men who were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday after Trump signed his order. Donnelly, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama and confirmed to her judgeship in 2015, ruled in the Eastern District of New York that "there is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations subject" to Trump's order. This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project. The ruling deals with a portion of Trump's order handed down Friday, which bars Syrian refugees indefinitely and halts the resettlement of all refugees for four months as the administration reviews the vetting process. The order also denies entry for 90 days for individuals from seven predominantly Muslims countries: Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen. Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement. "Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court. The order Saturday evening capped off a chaotic first day following Trump's directive, as the administration moved to implement his order, with reports emerging of individuals being detained at a number of airports across the country.

The ruling affects only those travelers who have approved visas or approval to enter the US as a refugee. The court's concern is that once issued, these documents can't be rescinded without due process.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, there is nothing illegal about denying entry to refugees from specific countries. My concern is with legal US residents who may have been traveling overseas (or are planning an overseas trip) that are prevented from returning to the US. Also, there are US citizens who hold dual citizenship who are unable to return.

There is absolutely no reason for this and it appears that this interpretation of the executive order was not thought through. Banning the return of legal residents - even from Canada - is going to be the next part of the executive order that will be challenged.

When all is said and done, Trump's order will remain largely intact with a few tweaks to account for legal residents and those who have already been approved to travel to America. Meanwhile, DHS, the FBI, and immigration officials will come up with a better way to vet the refugees , improving on the Obama administration's procedures which everyone from the FBI director to those in the national security establishment believed wasn't good enough.
Twitter has turned out to be a very dangerous addiction for a number of journalists. But within a few hours of each other, two famous journalists at the nations two most prestigious metropolitan dailies tweeted out what turned out to be confessions of incompetence.

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times outed herself as an ignoramus with this tweet:

Other than San Bernardino shootings, has there been a terrorist attack involving a non-US-born attacker since 9/11?  Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 28, 2017

Many tweeters were eager to help her, and Twitchy collected some of the best responses:

Boston bombers, Times Square bomber, underwear bomber, Ohio State attacker, Chattanooga shooter, & numerous plotters... https://t.co/pZac6XLNoO  Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 28, 2017

@maggieNYT @nytimes and Rahami was born in Afghanistan, but, again, came to US young, was naturalized https://t.co/45DgZVLsFI  Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) January 28, 2017

Many AT readers remember that Haberman was revealed by the Wikileaks emails to be a Clinton campaign adjunct during the election. Glenn Greenwald:

One January 2015 strategy document  designed to plant stories on Clintons decision-making process about whether to run for president  singled out reporter Maggie Haberman, then of Politico, now covering the election for the New York Times, as a friendly journalist who has teed up stories for them in the past and never disappointed them. (snip) That strategy document plotted how Clinton aides could induce Haberman to write a story on the thoroughness and profound introspection involved in Clintons decision-making process. The following month, when she was at the Times, Haberman published two stories on Clintons vetting process; in this instance, Habermans stories were more sophisticated, nuanced, and even somewhat more critical than what the Clinton memo envisioned. But they nonetheless accomplished the goal Clinton campaign aides wanted to fulfill of casting the appearance of transparency on Clintons vetting process in a way that made clear she was moving carefully but inexorably toward a presidential run.

There were no professional consequences for Haberman when her perfidy was revealed. Does anyone think her ignorance will be a disqualifier at the dotty old Gray Lady?

Then theres the case of Glenn Kessler, the WaPos purported fact-checker. He took the bait when Sean Davis tweeted this:

Obama banned all refugees from Iraq. He enforced a de facto ban on Christians from Syria. Media didn't say a word. https://t.co/47jHl181eF  Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 28, 2017

Kessler didnt think through his one:

@seanmdav @FDRLST two big differences: 1) pause was not announced at the time, done quietly. reporters only found out years later. 2) not based on religion.  Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) January 28, 2017

Once again, Twitchy collected the responses that are devastating:

Shorter @GlennKesslerWP:



We weren't really into doing our jobs back then. https://t.co/21n6l1PbTq  A Raised Eyebrow (@ARaised_Eyebrow) January 28, 2017

Your first rationalization here is a massive indictment of media performance under Obama. https://t.co/7KPS8G06lo  Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 28, 2017

@GlennKesslerWP @seanmdav @FDRLST 1) We don't do our jobs when Dems are in power 2) QED  100 Proof (@ChampionCapua) January 28, 2017

@GlennKesslerWP The most transparent adm did things they didn't publish? Isn't it the job of a free press to monitor that?  Roxanne Chester (@ggm281) January 28, 2017

I think the best word for this is implosion.
It was a tough week for the U.S. and Mexico. It started with talk of President Pena-Nieto visiting the U.S., but it ended with a cancelation of the visit.

To be honest, I think President Trump pushed President Pena-Nieto into a corner. It was wrong, but both sides will get over it. Mexico and the U.S. need each other a lot.

Down in Mexico, there is a "Mexico first" movement brewing, too, and none other than Carlos Slim is in the picture.

This is from CNBC:

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim said a united country could help the government negotiate with President Donald Trump. Mexico needs to negotiate from a position of strength, Slim said in a Fridaynews conference. Slim, who gained a $50 billion fortune owning mobile network America Movil, argued the clash between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has brought Mexico together. Slim urged political parties in the country to unite behind Nieto. While he called Trump a great negotiator, Slim said Friday that Mexico should not be scared of him or assume things will go badly.

Slim even joked that the U.S. will need Mexicans to build the wall.

During the last few days, I've exchanged a few messages with Mexican friends, and they are angry with Mr. Trump. They fear that Mr. Trump is making Mr. Lopez-Obrador, the leftist who nearly won the 2006 election and put up a strong showing in 2012, into the next president of Mexico.

AMLO, as he is known in Mexico, is a leftist in the style of Chavez, or not the kind of man we really want next door. You can count on him to be a nuisance and not cooperate with the U.S. at all.

Do you think we have troubles with Mexico? Wait until a Chavez disciple takes over!

At the same time, some of my friends feel that Mr. Trump may actually be doing a much needed favor. In other words, Mr. Trump may be forcing Mexicans to realize that they are too dependent on remittances (U.S. $25 billion) and not doing enough to make the country more appealing to the young people who are cutting our grass and fixing our roofs.

Time will tell where this story goes. We are entering into a new period of U.S.-Mexico relations.

It could be good or bad. I guess it depends on Mr. Trump and how far he wants to fight with Mexico. I hope Mr. Trump lowers the volume because we have much bigger problems in this world than Mexico.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
The propaganda organs spun furiously into action the minute President Trump's new policies on immigration took effect. The media quickly looked for the most virtuous examples of foreigners who were denied entrance into the United States. An Iranian scientist studying heart disease? Check. A Ph.D. student studying at Yale? Check. (Though the student, somewhat suspiciously, had just been heading to Afghanistan for "ethnographic" studies.)

What about unattached, military-aged young men from Syria who have no paper trail? No profile for one of those! What about the hijabi bringing in three children and pregnant with a fourth who would immediately become an American citizen? No profile of her, either.

The media's attention was elsewhere. The most virtuous example the media came up with was an Iraqi interpreter who had worked with U.S. armed forces who was emigrating to America with his family. He was moving to America because of "death threats."

Hameed Khaldi Darweesh, who worked a translator for American forces for 10 years, had been detained overnight following his arrival from Istanbul. He said he had feared he would be sent back to Iraq, which his family fled because of death threats.

Don't worry: Hameed was released into America after a few hours! But it does raise the question: does working with armed forces in Iraq entitle one to American citizenship?

Some say yes, because people like Hameed helped American forces. But actually, isn't it American forces who helped Hameed, not the other way around? Wasn't it Americans who came to his country to fight Hameed's war for him? Given that, wasn't Hameed merely helping Americans help his own country, and wasn't that the least he could do, given that Americans were risking their lives for Hameed's family and his country? In that sense, isn't it Hameed who owes America something, rather than the other way around?

Hameed claims he wants to move to America because of "death threats." Iraq is not Vietnam. We did not pull out leaving a hostile government in power that imprisoned anyone who worked for us. In fact, the Iraqi government is supposed to be our ally. While ISIS controls part of the country in the northwest, if Hameed lived in one of those areas, he could move to one of the many parts of the country controlled by the government.

Consider that American soldiers are still in Iraq, today, in 2017, fighting for Iraq while Hameed flees his own country. Hameed should go back and fight for his own country. Aiding Americans who are risking their lives for a foreign country should not be a golden ticket to American citizenship.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
The latent fingerprints of Democrat icons, especially ex-president Obama, are discoverable all over President Trumps executive order of the 27th titled, Protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States.

Do you remember the leftist media outcry that responded to President Obamas ban on processing visas for Iraqi refugees in 2011? I certainly dont. But the Internet remembers this ABC News dispatch:

The discovery in 2009 of two al Qaeda-Iraq terrorists living as refugees in Bowling Green, Kentucky -- who later admitted in court that they'd attacked U.S. soldiers in Iraq -- prompted the bureau to assign hundreds of specialists to an around-the-clock effort aimed at checking its archive of 100,000 improvised explosive devices collected in the war zones, known as IEDs, for other suspected terrorists' fingerprints... As a result of the Kentucky case, the State Department stopped processing Iraq refugees for six months in 2011, federal officials told ABC News  even for many who had heroically helped U.S. forces as interpreters and intelligence assets.

How about the outcry when President Carter suspended the issuance of visas to Iranians in 1980:

During the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981, in which Iran held 52 American diplomats for 444 days, President Jimmy Carter placed retaliatory sanctions on Iran. During an April 7, 1980, press conference, Carter instructed his administration to "invalidate all visas issued to Iranian citizens for future entry into the United States, effective today, according to a transcript of the event kept by the American Presidency Project.

The mainstream media are staying in the fake news mode, eager to portray President Trumps executive order as religious bigotry, calling it a Muslim ban, a contention that numerous Democrat pols like Elizabeth Warren make when such language is nowhere found in the text of the order.

Seth Frantzen explains that only Syria is mentioned in the order and that it was the Obama administration that first listed the other countries as terror risks:

But, wait a sec. I read the order and Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are not mentioned in it. Go back and read it again. Do a ctrl-f to find Iraq. Where is Iraq in the order. Its not there. Only Syria is there. So where are the seven nations? Where is the Muslim ban? It turns out this was a form of fake news, or alternative facts. Trump didnt select seven Muslim-majority countries. US President Barack Obamas administration selected these seven Muslim-majority countries.

He goes on to document this contention.

The Department of Homeland Security targeted these seven countries over the last years as countries of concern. In February 2016 The Department of Homeland Security today announced that it is continuing its implementation of the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 with the addition of Libya, Somalia, and Yemen as three countries of concern, limiting Visa Waiver Program travel for certain individuals who have traveled to these countries. It noted the three additional countries designated today join Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria as countries subject to restrictions for Visa Waiver Program travel for certain individuals. It was the US policy under Obama to restrict and target people who have been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, at any time on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited government/military exceptions).

In the end, it is common sense to exclude populations that harbor murderous jihadis that want to kill us. All the media hysteria and demonstrations cannot persuade me that we have an obligation to host such populations.
Donald Trump has temporarily imposed a ban on people entering the country from places like Syria, Iraq, and Iran, which makes perfects sense. But there are many other countries he did not include on his list that he should have.

Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on 9/11, as well as Osama bin Laden himself, were Saudis. Of course, banning Saudis from coming into America is not a simple thing. We have strong economic relationships with the Saudi theocracy. But in many ways, Saudi Arabia is the enemy. Their educational system and media teach that non-Muslims are worthy of contempt. Saudis export their radical Wahhabi ideology in places like Pakistan, which are basically factories for producing Talibanis. They have never been called to account for this in a serious way. A temporary entry ban might get their attention.

Turkey. The Russian ambassador to Turkey was recently assassinated. Terrorist bombings in Turkey are commonplace. The ruler of Turkey is an authoritarian Islamist. It's not a safe place to let people in from.

Egypt. The ruler of Egypt, Abdel El-Sisi, is an ally of the United States. That's great. But Egypt is also ground zero for the Muslim Brotherhood. At the very least, we should intensively screen those from this country.

United Arab Emirates. The UAE is permeated by radicalism.

While the UAE ranks as the sixth richest country in the world, a widespread presence of ISIS- and Al Qaeda- affiliated groups persists in the area and poses a serious threat to American citizens, according to the State Department. "Both historical and current information suggest that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Qaida, and affiliated organizations continue to plan attacks against Western targets," states a safety notice on the department's website, using alternate spellings for the groups.

A travel ban would be awkward, because the UAE is full of rich and influential Arabs. But as with Saudi Arabia, a temporary ban might be useful to persuade the government to crack down on radicals.

Tunisia. Remember the guy who ran down a few dozen people in Nice, France? Guess where he was from. That's right: Tunisia. A lot of the terrorism in France is caused by Tunisian immigrants.

Afghanistan. We're losing in Afghanistan (it's the truth, sorry!) because so much of the population supports radical Islam. We shouldn't let anyone in from there.

Pakistan. Pakistan is one of the most anti-American countries on the Earth. It sheltered Osama bin Laden, it shelters (present tense) the Taliban, and it tolerates hundreds of madrassas, which produce more and more radicals every year. We need a ban from this country, too.

Yes, these countries would be angry and "outraged!" at such a ban. Good. Maybe some of them would get their act together and stop playing footsy with both sides and crack down on radicals. If not, an entry ban is even more warranted.

The New York Daily News, in an extensive list of Donald Trump's assets, claims that Trump is not cracking down on many of these countries because he has strong business ties in places like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump should prove them wrong and expand his entry ban to include these countries.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
The story of Moses is a famous tale among Christians and Jews throughout the world. The miracle of the parting of the Red Sea when Moses and the Jews were trapped between the Red Sea and the armies of Egypt is perhaps the most memorable and impressive part of the story. But do you know that the same miracle happens in Korea every year?

The Jindo county is an archipelago of 250 islands, of which Jindo Island is the third largest in Korea. Every year at the end of February and again in mid-June, extremely low tide causes a natural land pass 2.9 km long and 1040 meters wide to appear connecting the main Jindo island and a small Modo island to the south of Jindo. The pass stays for about an hour before being submerged again. The event is celebrated by a local festival called "Jindo's Sea Way" when visitors and tourists gather to watch the phenomenon and walk the path in the middle of the sea.

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According to the local legend, a long time ago, there were many tigers on Jindo Island. When tigers began appearing frequently in the village, the people fled to Modo Island accidentally leaving behind an old woman named Ppong. The old lady longed to be reunited with her family and prayed for help night and day to the Dragon King of the Sea. Then, one night, the Dragon King appeared to her in a dream and told her to cross the sea by walking on the rainbow that he will provide for her. When she awoke the next morning, she ran to the sea and saw the sea part.

Jindos natural causeway was largely unknown to the world until 1975, when the French ambassador Pierre Randi described the phenomenon in a French newspaper. Nowadays, nearly half a million foreign and local tourists attend the event annually.

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Sources: 1, 2

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On Jan 28th, Sergey Brin was spotted taking part in a protest at San Fransisco International Airport. The protest was being held in response to one of US President Trumps most recent executive orders, which blocks immigration from several predominantly Islamic countries. The Google Co-founder  and President of Googles parent company, Alphabet  was noted as saying that he was attending in a personal capacity but was not going to be making any further comments. While he did not wish to make a statement, it is known that Brins family immigrated to the US to escape persecution against Jews in Soviet Russia in 1979  lending credibility to his statement that he was there for personal reasons and not acting in his capacities as they pertain to Google or Alphabet. However, Google itself has been ramping up its lobbying efforts to the Presidents political party in recent months as the company could be negatively impacted by many of the promised actions of the new administration.

President Trump has stirred up a fair amount of controversy since taking office, causing several tech companies and their representatives to respond in a more official capacity as well. The most recent string of responses comes  as Brins personal response does  as a result of the Presidents recent executive order on immigration. Adding to the slew of responses from representatives of SpaceX, Amazon, and Netflix, the search giant was also reported to be calling home many of its overseas-stationed employees as a precautionary measure since they were in countries affected by the order.

It is worth bearing in mind that quite a few of the CEOs, Presidents, and employees at major tech companies are not native-born themselves. In fact, several companies that are household names were either founded, co-founded, or are run by people who immigrated to the US. Perhaps surprisingly, some estimates put the number of tech companies at least co-founded by immigrants to the US as high as 40%. Among the household names are Ebay, Google, and Tesla Motors. With so much American innovation in the tech industry seeming to come from people who were not actually born in the US, it makes sense that any attempts to block immigration entirely is going to draw out strong responses. Fortunately, at least for these companies and others like them, the executive order which led to the protest was recently halted by a judge at the federal level. It is not known whether protests  such as the one attended by Brin  had anything to do with the judges decision.
According to state law, fines, penalties, and license money shall be appropriated exclusively to the use and support of the common schools ... . An exception is fines for overloaded vehicles. Seventy-five percent of those funds go to state highways; 25 percent go to the county general fund where the fine or penalty is paid. Fifty percent of money forfeited or seized in enforcing drug laws goes to counties for drug enforcement. Vehicles seized in drug law cases may be used by law enforcement agencies or sold with the proceeds going to schools.

County Court

Traffic Sentences

Marjie Briscoe, 49, Madison, speeding 79 in 60 mph zone; $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Amber Sladek, 29, 668 12th Ave., speeding 63 in 35 mph zone; $200 fine and $49 court costs.

Aaron Wewel, 19, 5967 41st Ave., speeding 64 in 50 mph zone; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Jon Voss, 50, Fullerton, failure to maintain control; $25 fine and $49 court costs.

Kelly Kamrath, 20, 3257 31st Ave., speeding 75 in 60 mph zone; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Gary Wecker, 45, Norfolk, improper vehicle lighting and failure to use seatbelt; $50 fine and $49 court costs.

Jacob Bakenhus, 27, St. Edward, speeding 75 in 55 mph zone; $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Whitney Ward, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, speeding 75 in 65 mph zone; $25 fine and $49 court costs.

Marino Carrera, 32, #1 1267 26th Ave., expired in transit decals; $50 fine and $49 court costs.

Sabrina Blaser, 23, 4829 14th St., speeding 81 in 65 mph zone; $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Tristan Munn, 22, Fremont, speeding 50 in 35 mph zone; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Gilberto Hernandez Sarduy, 47, 26447 246th Ave. Lot 538, speeding 84 in 55 mph zone; $200 fine and $49 court costs.

Jacob Running, 24, 2663 Sioux Dr., speeding 50 in 35 mph zone; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Brayan Izaguire, 24, 1156 45th Ave., speeding 75 in 55 mph zone; $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Lee Morisch, 62, Belgrade, over axle weight two counts; $100 fine and $49 court costs.

Gerry Perzee, 32, 2621 7th St., violation of traffic signal; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Sarah Strnad, 30, Genoa, violation of stop/yield sign; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Miguel Lopez, 43, Grand Island, speeding 72 in 60 mph zone; $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Tyler Haferland, 30, Omaha, speeding 76 in 55 mph zone; $200 fine and $49 court costs.

Jesse Hernandez, 24, Schuyler, speeding 88 in 65 mph zone; $200 fine and $49 court costs.

Criminal Sentences

Brandon Gilliard, 27, Norfolk, possession; $300 fine and court costs.

Jordan Huettner, 30, Humphrey, driving under suspension; $75 fine and court costs.

Wendy Lopez, 23, 322 27th St., driving under suspension; $50 fine and court costs.

Luis Perez-Paramo, 22, Phoenix, possession K2 or marijuana; $300 fine and court costs.

Martin O. Nutter, Jr., 26, unauthorized use of financial transaction device; 30 days in jail with credit for 33 days and court costs.

Cesar Garcia, 27, 3417 13th St., attempt class I misdemeanor; 45 days in jail with credit for 22 days served and court costs.

Jaime Beiermann, 32, 1703 7th St., issue bad check; $75 fine and court costs.

Sherly Aguilar De Gonzalez, 36, Schuyler, theft; $15 fine and court costs.

Michael Cordero, 58, 1173 18th Ave., theft; $375 fine and court costs.

Yorjany Roche-Acosta, 37, 3012 28th St., theft; $150 fine and court costs.

Gustavo Montes-Velasquez, 54, 2566 47th Ave. #1, no operators license; $75 fine and court costs.

Edvin Vicente Ralios, 23, Schuyler, DUI; jail for 30 days with credit for one day served, revoked license for 6 months, $1000 fine.

Amber Pollitt, 27, Platte Center, leaving the scene of an accident; $150 fine.

Tyler Becker, 21, 2481 Leland Dr., possession of controlled substance; jail for 60 days with credit for 10 days served.

Pamela Boltet, 57, 4809 36th St., DUI; probation for 9 months, revocation of license for 18 months, $500 fine.

Joaquin Chavez, Jr., 34, Linwood, issue bad check; jail for 15 days.

Joseph Voecks, 20, 6023 55th St., possession or use of drug paraphernalia; $100 fine.

Adrienne Williams, 23, 4005 38th St., attempt class 4 felony; probation for 12 months.

William Palma, 18, 312 27th St., driving under suspension; $50 fine.

Luis Garcia, 28, 3417 13th St., theft; jail for 30 days and restitution of $90.

Rosalia Ramos Roque, 26, 3728 23rd St., no proof of insurance, no operators license, no valid registration; $150 fine.

Dylan Svitak, 23, Schuyler, issue a no account check; $75 fine.

District Court

Criminal Sentences

Yessenia Chavez, 22, 2610 E. 30th Ave., attempt class 4 felony; $750 fine and court costs.

Dustin Fox, 25, Platte County Detention Facility, burglary, theft, stalking; jail 3-4 years plus 6 months with credit for 11 days served and court costs.

Benjamin King, 20, Platte County Detention Facility, attempt class 2 felony; jail for 364 days with credit for 63 days served.

Eleazar Oceguera Jr., 36, 2818 20th St., driving while revoked from DUI; jail for 18-36 months, revocation of license for 15 years, and court costs.

Christopher Palmer, 22, Omaha Correctional Center, operating motor vehicle to avoid arrest, criminal impersonation; jail for 360 days with credit for one day served, revoked license for two years and court costs.

Barbara Schoonover, 53, Clarks, possession of exceptionally hazardous drug; jail for 2-4 years with credit for four days served and court costs.

Mario Silva, 22, 2500 4th Ave. #4, assault second degree, attempt class 2A felony, willful reckless driving; prison 3 years plus 3 months with credit for 39 days served, probation for 18 months, revoked license for one year, pay restitution of $8,098.36 and court costs.

David Tate, 33, 2354 54th Ave., domestic assault; jail for 18 months-3 years with credit for 135 days served and court costs.
The thugs who attacked a Birmingham jogger were schooled in Islam

Does the Press have an issue with Muslims? Or do sections of it pick news stories that appeal to its readers prejudices? Or is debate on all religions so stymied by fear of causing offence and the speaker being labelled a bigot that free speech is on the rack? These questions and others are triggered by a story in the Express of a jogger who having been knocked into a canal only escaped his attackers by speaking Arabic.

The story, culled from the Birmingham Mail where it first appeared, tells of Lee Skinner, 38, who was punched and knocked into the freezing water as he ran past five hooded youths in Acocks Green, Birmingham.

The Expresss writer is  get this  Rob Virtue. The Birmingham Posts reporter is Jeanette Oldham. The reports are identical.

Badly bruised, Mr Skinner managed to clamber out.

As he struggled to get out of the cold, slippery canal the thug who punched him was waiting  until the former language teacher started speaking Arabic. The shame-faced gang, all aged around 17, then fled the scene and the attacker is now being hunted by police.

Mr Skinner told the Birmingham Mail:

The police praised me and said my speaking in Arabic showed quick-thinking. They said my actions could have stopped the situation from being a lot worse.

He went on:

There were five in total, all wearing grey and black, casual clothing, puffy coats, caps and hoods. The guy who punched me was rounded in the face and had neat, tidy stubble. The other four were quite slim.. As I jogged past, the one with a rounded face punched me full force with his left hand, into my right cheek. I went up into the air and into the water. The one who punched me was waiting at the side of the canal with an incredible look of pleasure on his face. He was waiting to watch me suffer or to come back so he could hit me again. I was able to identify them as Pakistani as Ive worked in Muslim communities and have a detailed knowledge of Islam and speak Arabic to a certain level. I also used to teach asylum seekers for a while. So in that moment I said something in Arabic  a Muslim declaration of faith. As soon as I said it, a look of panic spread across their faces. I then shouted in Arabic, May God forgive you. At that moment they looked like a bunch of terrified schoolchildren. Thats what ended it They said they were very sorry this had happened. They then walked off and I walked home The four boys admitted that the attack happened because I was white and I explained that in the current political climate, such actions could have a negative effect on the Muslim Pakistani community which they are supposed to be representing.

It could be argued that the thugs were stopped from doing worse damage and perhaps repeating their alleged crime by their faith and Mr Skinners intelligence. Does religion make you less violent?

No-one on the Express got to debate that or more because comments below the papers article are closed. The Birmingham Mail left them open. Here are a few of them:

My initial comment on this has been deleted. This I feel is unfair.

I only suggested that those who commit a crime be deported along with their families. This may deter those who are willing to carry out attacks such as these. Surely being passionate about the country you live in cannot make me racist. Congratulations to Lee Skinner for his quick thinking and courage. Nevertheless he is sadly deluded. Firstly there are no genuine positive aspects of Islam and Mohammed for the non-Muslim Secondly, this is an illustration of the difference between radical and moderate Muslims. The attacker was following the cruel, violent example of Mohammed and the other four gave him passive support and didnt help the nearly murdered kaffir. What a surprise. More proof that integration does not work. These people do not live by our standards and do not have the same morals. Just look at the areas they live in, Rubbish piled high, dirty and dangerous. Some of you may not like it but its true. Islam a religion of peace my a##e. You what? Absolutely disgusting behaviour, Ive always thought whites were overly paranoid about being in majority asian areas but I might have to revise my position

Many of the comments claim the gang attacked Mr Skinner because they were Muslims and thereby inherently violent. One commenter notes:

EVERY TIME there is a news story to do with a Muslim or Islam,

MOST of the comments are full of HATE or BIGOTRY,

So how does the Birmingham Mail follow up its story? Like this: Jogger who escaped canal thug by speaking Arabic hailed a hero by readers. Thugs is right. And which readers praised Mr Skinner? Five are name-checked:

Adam Lii Khan said: Absolutely disgusting behaviour. A human is a human regardless of his nationality, colour or language. You did an amazing job by schooling them though! Hope you get better soon. Raziq Rashid wrote: Lee Skinner I wish a speedy recovery and hope they catch the criminals. It was brave what you did and hope it shows the racist people our there that someone of a diffrent colour is still human and should be treat with the same respect we expect for ourselves. Once again fair play on confronting the individuals with dignity which they probably didnt deserve. Nad Arabian wrote: This is ridiculous, I am Arabic and against what these guys did. Language is not the protection they should know their religion properly. Unfortunately it is individuals behaviour. Hope they get what they deserve and well done to this Man. Bob Khan said: It doesnt matter what race or colour people are, we are all human beings and we should respect everyone religion and race. I personally condemn this action against a respected person who was jogging on his way home. Get well soon my brother and hope police can catch those idiots soon

The Mail must haver picked through its readers carefully to get that report out.

The only other readers name-checked are Dee Webb, who says:

Dee Webb said all five of the gang should be prosecuted by police. She said: How can he shake their hands, the hands that could have killed him? It wasnt just the one that hit himthey all took part and watched and did nothing..they are all responsible. .and should all be charged the same. Scum.

And Jackie Playdon:

Brave man. I hope his attackers are caught and punished. It could have been so much worse had he not been able to speak a bit of Arabic. I doubt I could have offered them my hand.but kudos to him.

To call the assault on Mr Skinner a crime typical of Muslims is absurd and monocular. You can follow these links and discover that not all thugs, thieves, alleged rapists, muggers, robbers, would-be killers, rapists, bastards who shove joggers into the canal and criminals on Birminghams many towpaths are Muslim. Being a criminal is not the preserve of any one religion or race. To say the hateful acts of a few epitomise the many is as stilted and absurd as the Birmingham Mails vox pop.

Anorak

Posted: 29th, January 2017 | In: Reviews, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink


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The veteran actor was last seen in Shakun Batra's 'Kapoor & Sons'.

he actor was speaking at the launch of his autobiography, 'Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored'.

Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor today advocated creating two different time zones for the country at a literary meet in the 'City of Joy'.

The heartthrob of the 70s-80s Hindi cinema, who was here to attend Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet, was visibly displeased as dusk descended during a conversation on his autobiography 'Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored' at the magnificent Victoria Memorial compound.

"You have darkness descending even at 5:30 PM while sun light is very much there in Mumbai around this time. In the northeast dusk settles even before here in Kolkata. So much loss of man hours," he said.

"In our country there must be two time zones to save working hours. Why we don't have it; I have been talking about this issue for a long time," the actor said.

Recalling that he had heard Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had discounted such a proposal decades back on the ground that our populace was not so educated to be nuanced with the differences of latitude and longitude and get confused, Rishi said, "Now since we are already in 2017 and moving into 2018, it is high time such a proposal is implemented.

Rishi, who also dwelt on his family's tryst with the city since 1927, complimented Kolkata for its pretty and clean look and said it was far better than Mumbai in that respect.

"In five years time I see beautification of Kolkata. It is really pretty and clean. You guys are notches ahead of Mumbai right now," he said.

The 64-year-old actor said that of the 100 year old history of Indian cinema, the four generation of Kapoors have the contribution of 89-90 years to a thunderous applause from the audience.

He later signed autographs of his new title.
Bhansali was slapped and his hair was pulled by sena activists, who alleged that the film distorts the Rajput history.

Jaipur: Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has cancelled the shooting of Padmavati here, saying the assault on him and vandalism on the sets of his movie by a Rajput group that triggered outrage in the film industry was uncalled for and extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city.

A statement issued through Bhansalis representative said keeping in mind the safety of the films crew, the director decided to stop the shooting post the shocking incident.

Meanwhile, the Rajput Karni Sena refused to apologise for the assault and claimed the film crew fired shots in the air, which provoked the organisations volunteers.

Mr Bhansali was slapped and his hair was pulled by sena activists, who alleged that the film distorts the Rajput history.

They also vandalised equipment set. Yesterday, Sanjay Leela Bhansalis crew fired shots in the air. That led to the confrontation, said Lokendra Singh Kalvi, spokesperson of the Rajput Karni Sena, justifying the attack.

Does Bhansali have the nerve to go to Germany and make a fiction film against Hitler? Even when Jodha Akbar was being made, I raised objections as one cant insult our blood-spattered history, he added.

Saying that the organisation has registered a complaint with the ministry of information and broadcasting, he said, Bhansali has asked for two days time to get back to us. He has agreed to temporarily to halt the shooting, said Mr Singh, addressing a press conference in Jaipur.

The protesters alleged the film has love scenes between Queen Padmini and Alauddin Khilji, played by actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. The allegations are unconfirmed, but the Rajput Karni Sena demands that Mr Bhansali delete such scenes.

We had warned the filmmaker against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested, said a leader of the group, Narayan Singh.

Reacting to the developments, Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria said, Anger should not be shown by breaking the law. Its natural to be angry but people should come to the police. We will probe to find out whos at fault and who is not.

Meanwhile, the Karni Sena has been backed by Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who blamed Mr Bhansali. No one should take law into his hands but Sanjay Leela Bhansali is equally responsible for the incident. He cant distort the history, said Mr Khachariyawas, who is also party spokesperson.
The film stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmini and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji.

The director had been manhandled on the sets of the film in Rajasthan, by the Rajput Karni Sena.

Mumbai: After being beaten up on the sets of his upcoming magnum opus 'Padmavati' in Rajasthan by the Rajput Karni Sena over alleged distortion of historic facts, Bollywood had unanimously critiqued and voiced their umbrage over the bullying that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was subjected to.

The director's primary protagonists, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor had also come out and voiced their opinion on it.

However, Bhansali had chosen to remain mum on the issue.

His official spokesperson has finally released a statement on his behalf, in the wake of the widespread support from within the industry and outside, and the political party's refusal to apologise.

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to stop the shoot and leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'. SLB had directed the opera 'Padmavati' to packed houses in Paris and earned worldwide praise for it. He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story. We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film. In spite of this, the attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur. We are grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage on shoot. We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," reads the statement.

"We had warned the filmmaker against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested," district president of Karni Sena Narayan Singh had said.

"The incident that took place yesterday on the sets of Padmavati is shocking; Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a veteran with an acclaimed body of work. We stand by him and our film which is a celebration of the Rani and what she represented. We truly don't wish to hurt the sentiments of any person or community. We didnt expect this," said Ajit Andhare, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

'Padmavati' is set for a Diwali 2017 release.
Sushant has been vocal of his support of Sanjay Leela Bhansali through the fiasco.

Mumbai: Sanjay Leela Bhansali has received widespread support from within his fraternity, after he got manhandled by members of the Rajput Karni Sena, citing distortion of history on his upcoming film, 'Padmavati'.

Whiel the industry has been calling for unity, Sushant Singh Rajput has also reacted to the fiasco, in his own way.

The actor, a Rajput himself, has taken his surname off his Twitter profile, expressing solidarity with the wronged director.

Sushant also urged people to drop their obsession with caste discrimination.

Earlier, the director's team had sent out an official statement on his behalf.

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to stop the shoot and leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'. SLB had directed the opera 'Padmavati' to packed houses in Paris and earned worldwide praise for it. He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story. We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film. In spite of this, the attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur. We are grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage on shoot. We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," reads the statement.

"We had warned the filmmaker against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested," district president of Karni Sena Narayan Singh had said.

"The incident that took place yesterday on the sets of Padmavati is shocking; Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a veteran with an acclaimed body of work. We stand by him and our film which is a celebration of the Rani and what she represented. We truly don't wish to hurt the sentiments of any person or community. We didnt expect this," said Ajit Andhare, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

'Padmavati' is set for a Diwali 2017 release.
Shah asserted that there is no difference between building Ram Mandir and development.

BJP President Amit Shah addresses during the party manifesto release for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in Lucknow on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah has said that they will try to build Ram temple in Ayodhya according to the constitutional norms.

"The government under BJP rule will follow constitutional norms and build Ram Mandir in UP. By winning more than 300 seats in UP, the BJP would form the government," he said.

Shah asserted that there is no difference between building Ram Mandir and development.

Days after declaring that a "grand" temple will be built in Ayodhya if BJP gets majority, state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya sought on Friday to make amends, saying it would be built after Supreme Court's order but Uttar Pradesh will see 'Ram Rajya' if his party wrests power.

"Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya only after the order of the Supreme Court, but 'Ram Rajya' will soon prevail in the state with the party sweeping the UP assembly polls," Maurya said.

Shah today released the party's manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which will be held in seven phases from February 11.

While releasing the manifesto, called 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra' (Pledge for People's Welfare), the BJP president said the party will form government in Uttar Pradesh with a two-thirds majority.

As parties brace for assembly elections in seven states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat in 2017, the Supreme Court earlier ruled that "religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process" and that election of a candidate would be declared null and void if an appeal is made to seek votes on these considerations.
Modi and Duterte reached out to each other, with the current year marking the 25th anniversary of the Asean-India Dialogue Partnership.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to the Obama baiter, President R.R. Duterte of the Philippines and current Asean chair, with both leaders praising each other on Indo-Asean cooperation.

However, what is most significant is that in a veiled message to China, PM Modi  in his outreach to Mr Duterte  clearly said India would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Asean in the pursuit of a rules-based regional architecture.

During the last year of former US President Barack Obamas tenure, the US and the Philippines had a bitter falling out over the alleged brutal crackdown on the drug menace in the southeast Asian country. The rift was used by China to its advantage, which reached out to the Philippines despite the Sino-Philippines dispute over maritime rights to the South China Sea.

The ministry of external affairs on Saturday said, The PMs message clearly says that India would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Asean in the pursuit of a rules-based regional architecture which is open, inclusive, balanced and equitable. India wants to continue to work closely with Asean in regional and international fora.

The reference by PM Modi to the rules-based regional architecture in the southeast Asian region is a clear indication of the apprehension that China is using its military might to settle territorial disputes in the South China Sea. And Indias move is also being perceived in some quarters as an attempt to reach out to the Philippines and contain Chinese influence there.

PM Modi and President Duterte reached out to each other, with the current year marking the 25th anniversary of the Asean-India Dialogue Partnership.

The ministry said, In his message to President Duterte, the PM observed that the Act East Policy is a reflection of the importance we attach to our strategic partnership with Asean. He also reaffirmed Indias desire to deepen its engagement with Asean.

The MEA added, President Duterte praised the ground-breaking initiatives taken by India across the political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars of the Asean-India strategic partnership for mutual benefit.
The reason behind the missive to the government was the decision to fix Budget date without seeking EC clearance.

New Delhi: Taking umbrage to certain union ministries failing to seek its concurrence before taking decisions that can affect level playing field during Assembly polls in five states, the Election Commission has asked Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to ensure that its guidelines on the model code are adhered to strictly.

The Commission specifically mentioned that the Finance Ministry, Niti Aayog and the Defence Ministry "failed" to refer important matters to it during the model code period.

The code came into force on January 4 and will last till polls are over.

"The Commission has noted that in certain cases, the ministries/departments took decisions, which have effect of disturbing level playing field of poll-bound states, without referring the matter to the Commission, particularly by Niti Aayog, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance," the letter said.

Sources in the Commission said the reason behind the January 27 missive to the government was the decision of the Finance Ministry to fix Budget date without seeking its clearance when it was clear that as per the new date, the union budget will be presented when election process in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Punjab and Goa will be on.

The poll panel had on January 20 pulled up Niti Aayog for holding special gram sabhas in the five poll-bound states without seeking its permission and said such events can only be organised after the elections are over.

On the same day, it had allowed the Defence Ministry to hold Combined Commanders' Conference in Uttarakhand with a rider that the Prime Minister, who inaugurated it, would not combine the event with an election rally in the poll-bound state.

Congress had complained to the Commission that BJP may use the event to influence former and serving defence personnel to gain an upper hand in the five poll-bound states.
'With pain and anguish, I have decided to quit the Congress,' said the 84-year-old leader, who gave 46 years to the party.

Bengaluru: Having decided to end his nearly five decades old association with the Congress, former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna on Sunday said the party is in a "state of confusion" on whether it needs mass leaders or not even as he made it clear that he would not reconsider his decision to quit as it was about his "self respect" and "pride".

He, however, made it clear that he was not retiring from active politics.

"With pain and anguish, I have decided to quit the Congress," 84-year-old Krishna said.

"A situation has now come wherein I have to leave the home in which I resided peacefully for the last 46 years," the former External Affairs Minister, who had maintained a low profile for the last two years, told reporters in Bengaluru.

Krishna declined to spell out the next step, saying he had not yet decided on it but said he had no plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi as was being speculated in the media.

Noting that the Congress had given "everything" to him, Krishna said, "I have seen both good and bad and tasted sweetness and bitterness but my loyalty to the party has always been steadfast.

"But it now seems the Congress is in a confusion whether it needs mass leaders or not. Just managing the situation seems to be good enough," he said.

Krishna said he had been haunted by the "question as to how appropriate it was to sideline a loyal Congress worker keeping the age as a factor for it."

"Age is a question of mental attitude," he said, adding "a politician never retires, he only fades away."

He said the Congress central leaders tried to persuade him to reconsider his decision but he made it plain to them that he stood by it.

"I reminded the leadership that I am still in existence," he said on a sarcastic note, adding, they said they took note of it.

Krishna made no secret of his unhappiness over the way he had to step down as Minister for External Affairs in 2012 just days before a major ministry revamp, indicating that he expected a 'graceful' exit.

"2012 onwards there is a way of getting rid of a political leader. The Congress should learn the art of being graceful. They could have told me that we are thinking of some

drastic step. It would have been a graceful exit," he said in reply to a query about when his "disillusionment" started.

Asked about his next step, Krishna said, "I am not going to spell out what my future plan is. All that I am reiterating is that I am quitting Congress."

He said: "This is a decision which I have taken without consulting anyone except my wife. What my next step will be, I will have to ponder, contemplate, introspect and look around and take a decision."

He also said he was not retiring from politics, adding, "the word retirement is not in my dictionary.
Of them, 78 candidates are facing serious criminal charges including that of murder, attempt to murder and crime against women.

Chandigarh: As many as 101 candidates in Punjab are facing various criminal cases, including that of murder and attempt to murder, according to poll watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Furthermore, out of total 1,145 candidates in the fray, 428 are having assets of more than Rs 1 crore, with average assets per candidate being worked out at Rs 3.49 crore.

According to the analysis of candidates' affidavits by ADR, 101 out of 1,145 candidates have declared criminal cases against them.

Of them, 78 candidates are facing serious criminal charges including that of murder, attempt to murder and crime against women, said Jagdeep Chhokar, founding member of ADR.

Prominent among those who are facing criminal charges are Navjot Singh Sidhu, Captain Amarinder Singh, Simarjeet Singh Bains, he said.

53-year-old Sidhu, Congress candidate from Amritsar East, declared in his affidavit that on December 27, 1988 a case under section 302, 323, 34 of IPC was registered against him.

He was acquitted in the case by the Session Court Patiala on September 22, 1999.

But the Punjab and Haryana High Court convicted him on December 6, 2006 sentencing him to three years' rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs 1 lakh. However, the Supreme Court suspended the sentence on January 23, 2007.

Congress' chief ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh, who is contesting from Lambi and Patiala, is facing four cases, as per the report prepared by ADR.

Lok Insaf Party candidate Simarjeet Bains is facing case under relevant sections of IPC including 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (charges related to voluntary causing hurt to deter servant from his duty).

As per report prepared by ADR, 14 candidates of Congress, 12 of AAP, 10 of SAD and 2 of BJP and 20 out of 304 Independents were facing criminal charges, said Chhokar.

The report also said that a whopping 688 out of total 1,145 contestants, have declared their educational qualification between 5th standard and 12th standard while 41 candidates are illiterate.

Despite political parties stressing upon giving more nominations to women in polls, 81 (7 per cent) women out of 1,145 candidates are contesting Punjab Assembly polls, as per the report.
Kotkapura: Addressing a rally here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the AAP on Sunday, calling it an "outsider", that is "dreaming of creating its own world" at the cost of Punjab.

Modi, who addressed a poll rally in the Malwa heartland, asked the electorate to vote for the SAD-BJP alliance for the third time, warning that Punjab as well as the entire nation could face a "crisis" if a government led by any party other than the alliance comes to power.

"In this election, it (AAP) is eager to create its own world at the cost of the state. Those who are having such dreams should be sent back to Delhi from where they have come," he said, apparently hitting out at the new entrant AAP in the state.

He also asked the people to first question AAP as to whether it had fulfilled its promises in Delhi.

"Ask it to first fulfill its responsibility of that place (from where they have been elected). Fulfill the promises made to the people of Delhi," the Prime Minister said.

Saying that the fate of Punjab is linked with that of the nation, he warned that the people of Punjab, as well as the country, would have to face consequences in case a "government of outsiders and government of people leading a luxurious lifestyle" is voted to power, in an apparent dig at both AAP and Congress.

"This is a border state and Pakistan is eagerly awaiting a chance to use the land of Punjab to destroy India. If a non-serious (dheeli-dhaali) government is elected then not only the people of Punjab will suffer, but the entire nation will face a crisis," he said.

Batting for SAD-BJP government for Punjab, Modi asserted that the state required a government of the combine which could guarantee safety of the nation.
Rahul said the main agenda of the alliance would be to work towards three Ps, i.e., the peace, progress and prosperity of the state.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi during a joint press conference in Lucknow on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday held their first joint press conference after the two parties forged an alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the media in Lucknow on Sunday, Rahul said the SP-Congress alliance in the state is a partnership between him and Akhilesh to defeat the fascist forces, purportedly hinting at the BJP government at the Centre.

The Congress leader also said that the main agenda of the alliance would be to work towards three Ps  peace, progress and prosperity of the state.

"Our alliance can be compared to the sangam of Ganga and Yamuna rivers. This alliance has made the political and personal relationship between me and Akhilesh stronger," he said.

Backing Rahul at the conference, Akhilesh said Rahul and he are the two wheels of a cycle and well together fight against the politics of hatred.
In a first for a fashion show in the city, models will make way for daughters of sex workers to take to the ramp in designer finery.



Twenty-year-old Sandhya Nair, who takes to the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week later this week, is overwhelmed by the idea of the event. As the daughter of a sex worker from Kamathipura, who was once denied admission in a school, due to her background, she never thought there would be a day when she would walk the ramp in designer clothes. Sandhya, along with her friends from Mumbais notorious red light area, will narrate their tale in a way never done before. The LFW this year has collaborated with Kranti, an NGO that empowers girls from Mumbais red-light areas, to be agents of social change. Pitching in the effort is designer Mandeep Nagi and together they will present a fashion collection through an interactive performance.

I dont know how people will react or what kind of help we will get, but one thing is for sure  we want to tell people that we are just like them; we are no different, says Sandhya.

Mandeep, who will be making her debut at LFW this year has always maintained that her clothes are not for your typical models. With these girls, she has says she has finally found someone who depicts the language of her work perfectly. She shares, I came back after meeting the whole bunch at Kranti and the feeling was so overwhelming. Its not going to be a quintessential ramp walk, but a presentation, where the girls would be enacting and talking. I have decided to keep the collection natural with handloom fabrics and simple designs. There are eight to nine girls who will be wearing saris, kurtas, palazzo pants, tops and trousers and a variety of clothes.

Like Mandeep, the girls are equally excited. They have been practising their act for over a month at their shelter in Santacruz. Asmeeta Katti, all of nineteen, however, is not new to the arc lights. She has earlier performed a play, Lal-Batti Express before an audience in the US. A shortened version of the same, cut to suit the LFW format will be performed on the ramp. She says, Im excited and nervous at the same. It is a huge platform for us, and Im very excited to wear designer clothes. I had only heard of one designer before, and thats Manish Malhotra. I cant wait to wear the clothes that Mandeep has designed for us, she shares.

Another team member, 18-year-old Danish Shaikh adds, We will be sharing our stories and the things we have been through. That means essaying the roles of some girls we know, as well as our mothers. We have performed the play in US but since the time span here will be less, we have shortened it to 25 minutes. Everyone who has heard of Kamathipura or been there has only one perception of the place, we will be showing them Kamathipura through our eyes.

About the line Mandeep adds, My collections are not typical ramp clothes and professional models dont matter to me. The stories of these girls are so inspiring and heart-touching that I feel lucky to have got this opportunity. Their spirit is amazing and the confidence they radiate bring a sense of happiness to you, says Mandeep, who for one of her previous collections, had chosen Kamla, a housemaid, as the model.
Mr Sisodia sought details to know who has developed Narendra Modi app and who has the ownership right of this app.

New Delhi: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia shot off a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modis principal secretary, Nripendra Mishra, asking him to furnish details regarding the process of payments made for social media campaigns for various Centre-run schemes.

Mr Sisodia is under the scanner of CBI for the Delhi governments social media campaign, Talk to AK.

He sought to know details regarding the Central governments agencies, private advertisement and event management companies, asking whether a bidding process was adopted by the Centre for advertisements for the Centre-run schemes on Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

For social media campaign, payments have to be made through credit cards and credit limit only. Which departments, government-run agencies or private agencies credit cards and credit limits were used for making payments for social media campaign for Centres schemes? the deputy CM said in his letter in Hindi.

Mr Sisodia asked the PMs principal secretary to also shed light on the procedure adopted for issuing adverts for governments social media campaigns for Make in India, Narendra Modi app, Startup India, and Digital India.

He also sought to know who has developed Narendra Modi app and who has the ownership right of this app and how much money was spent on advertisements for the app.

Last week, the CBI registered a preliminary enquiry against Mr Sisodia and some unnamed state government officials to probe alleged irregularities in the Talk to AK campaign. The campaign was an interactive session of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, under which people could reach out to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader through social media.

The AAP dispensation had refuted the charges, saying no consultant was hired for the Talk to AK campaign.

According to the Delhi government, a public relations company was appointed through proper tender by the government in June last year.
A complaint was made to the West division police who activated their network and, with the help of their informer, arrested three women.

Once the target became comfortable, they used to rob them by sedating their drinks and later made away with the booty. (Representational image)

New Delhi: Smitten by her looks, a Delhi-based man ended up being looted of his gold valuables worth Rs 67 lakh after he was sedated and later robbed at his house in Pandav Nagar by a woman. A complaint was made to the West division police who activated their network and, with the help of their informer, arrested three women.

The arrested are identified as Pinki (19), Anjali (34) and Gudiya (40)  the kingpin of the gang. One of their associates is on the run. The gang members used to trap gullible targets and befriend them. Once the target became comfortable, they used to rob them by sedating their drinks and later made away with the booty.

The police said that the incident came to light after a Pandav Nagar-based man approached the police a few days ago and filed a complaint. In his complaint to the police, Ajay (name changed) stated that he had come in contact with Gudiya in November, last year. She befriended him and later introduced him to the other two. Thereafter they began meeting frequently.

Recently the three women, on the pretext of a get-together, came to Ajays house in Pandav Nagar and served him a sedated drink. Following this, a drugged Ajay fell unconscious. The gang members then swept the house and made away with 25 grams of gold valuables and silver articles worth Rs 67 lakh along with other things. Later at night when Ajay regained his senses, he realised that he was looted, said a police officer. Ajay initially didnt come forward, but later approached the police and lodged a complaint.

The police, who took the note of the complaint, activated their informers and zeroed in on the three women. During questioning they allegedly told the police that their associate used to find targets, especially men who live alone, and then passed on the information to them. Following that, the women used to target them.

The police has launched a manhunt to nab the suspect who is currently on the run.
The senior Congress leader said he would have resigned if demonetisation was implemented in his tenure as finance minister.

Kolkata: Former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram said on Saturday that demonetisation has put the central banks reputation at great risk. Instead of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recommending withdrawal of legal tender status for the currency, the government is recommending (that) to the RBI... It has been a reverse in the sequence stipulated in the (RBI) Act, Mr Chidambaram said during a discussion at the Kolkata Literary Meet.

According to him, the RBI has acted as a puppet of the prime minister. The RBI board was called on November 7, 2016, and it was not known if there was a written notice, how many people attended the meet, if there was an agenda and how long did the meeting last. I have learned that only two of the three independent directors had attended the meet, which lasted for 30 minutes and then the recommendations were made to the government and the Cabinet was waiting for them. How did the Cabinet know that the RBI would recommend about the legal tender status (of currencies) would be withdrawn? It was a command performance, he alleged.

His remarks echo former RBI governor Y.V. Reddys, who had recently commented that the central banks reputation has been put at a risk. Mr Chidambaram termed the decision to ban currency notes as terrible, and said that discussion was not held with anyone. I think it is a terrible decision, ill-conceived, terribly implemented, with horrendous consequences and I think this would have been foretold by anyone who knows about money and monetary policy.

The senior Congress leader said he would have resigned if demonetisation was implemented in his tenure as finance minister. In the last 50 years, no major economy has demonetised its currency. India has been added to the list that includes Zimbabwe, North Korea and Libya,  Mr Chidambaram said.
Shiv Sena had earlier ruled out an alliance with the dominant ruling alliance party.

Mumbai: A meeting of BJP leaders, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar was held here on Sunday, to finalise the party's nominees for the February 21 BMC polls.

After Shiv Sena announced that it will be contesting the polls sans any tie up with BJP, the dominant ruling alliance partner is in the process of finalising candidates for the 227 member BMC. The party will leave some seats for its smaller allies, a BJP functionary said.

A list of 120 candidates was finalised on Sunday, while the remaining list will be finalised on the next day, he said. The party's poll manifesto for the BMC polls will also be released soon, he added.

Meanwhile, state BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari, without naming Sena leader Sanjay Raut, said "it is a puzzle why only one person (in the Sena) is responding to Chief Minister's reference of Mahabharat character Shakuni mama, at the BJP rally here last night.

"In Mahabharata, it was Shakuni mama who was responsible for the defeat of Kauravas and in this version of Mahabharata today also, he will ensure their defeat," Bhandari said.
Rane was the leader who pushed for an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party across state.

Mumbai: Expressing dissatisfaction with Congress city unit president Sanjay Nirupams style of functioning, senior party leader Narayan Rane has refused to campaign in Mumbai, citing a busy schedule of rallies in the state. Nirupam alone is able enough to campaign for party in the city. Speaking with the reporters, Mr Rane said he has responsibilities of Thane, Ulhasnagar municipalities as well as Ratnagiri and Sindhudurga districts elections.

He further said that he would have to campaign in other municipal councils and all zilla parishads. Mr Rane was the leader who pushed for an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party across state. He was of the opinion that both parties should seize the opportunity when the Sena and BJP are contesting independently in Mumbai. In meeting with senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Mr Rane had expressed dissatisfaction with Mr Nirupams functioning.

Mr Rane is Congress in-charge of Thane and Ulhasnagar municipal councils where he has sealed the alliance deal with the NCP. In last week, Mr Rane called Mr Nirupam to his residence in Juhu and instructed him to go for an alliance with NCP. Mr Rane switched from Sena to Congress in 2006. In the 2014 Assembly elections, Mr Rane lost to the Sena candidate. Later in bypoll at Bandra East assembly constituency, he again lost in 2015 against the Sena candidate. Later in 2016, he got elected through the Legislative Council.
The mentally unstable man lives off the street and was drunk when the incident occurred.

Mumbai: A statue of Lord Jesus Christ was found broken and smashed with a stone in Carter Road area of Bandra on Saturday morning. Residents said that they heard a noise and woke up to see an inebriated man vandalising the statue and nabbed him and handed him over to the police. Khar police which detained the drunk said that he was mentally unstable and hence, residents did not register a formal complaint; rather, they remanded him to a shelter home.

According to Randel, a resident of the area, the incident occurred at about 1.30 am on Friday. The statue of Jesus is located at Carter road promenade. There are some fisher folk who stay in the area and they woke up after hearing some noise. A man who seemed drunk was fiddling with their equipment and he even had a stone in his hand, said Randel. He added that they saw the broken statue of Christ and chased the man. We simultaneously informed the police and they came and took him away, said Randel.

Apparently, the mentally unstable man lives off the street and was drunk when the incident occurred. The police in the morning told us this and we decided not to file a complaint. They said they would take care of the issue, said Randel. A Khar police officer confirmed the incident and said they had questioned the man. We asked him why he vandalised the cross and he said that he did not know. said the officer.
Raut said his party will continue to maintain the alliance with the BJP at the state level for 'some time'.

Mumbai: A day after Shiv Sena decided not to have an alliance with BJP for local body polls in Maharashtra, its MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday asserted the Uddhav Thackeray-led party does not want to create instability in the state.

Raut said his party will continue to maintain the alliance with the BJP at the state level for "some time".

"The Sena does not want to create instability in the state and will continue to maintain the alliance (with BJP) in the state government for some time," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Shiv Sena is part of the BJP-led ruling coalitions in Maharashtra as well at the Centre. The two had been ruling the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as part of an alliance for over two decades.

However, the regional party has now decided not have any truck with BJP for the next month's polls to municipal corporations and zila parishads.

The comments by Raut came hours after Sena minister Ramdas Kadam added an element of instability in the BJP-led government by saying party ministers are ready to quit. "We carry resignation letters in our pockets. We will resign whenever Uddhavji asks us to do so," he said in the morning.

Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve had yesterday maintained the break-up of the alliance for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls will not have any impact on the Devendra Fadnavis administration.

In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 288-member House but fell short of simple majority mark. The Sena, which snapped its alliance with the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls, later joined the Fadnavis government.

Danve today claimed his party will emerge No. 1 in the municipal corporations and zila parishad elections in the state to be held next month.

Minister for Cooperation Chandrakant Patil of BJP hoped there will be a reconciliation and Sena-BJP alliance would be revived.

Meanwhile, BJP will be holding 'Vijay Sankalp Melava'

(Resolve for Victory Rally) tomorrow at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, the venue where Sena President yesterday declared his party will go it alone in the local body polls.

Fadnavis will address the rally, where he is expected to announce the way ahead for BJP after Sena's decision of going solo in the polls.

In a related development, BJP launched its campaign on social media with a tag line 'Vees Varshateel Senechya Pragatichi Vatchal... Hyala Jababdar Kon?' (Sena's path to progress in last 20 years... Who is responsible for this?) The Sena had launched its social media campaign with a tagline 'Je Bolto Te Karu Dakhavto' (What I say, I do it).

BJP MP Kirit Somaiya said his party will come out with a 'Kaali Patrika' (Black Paper) next week on "scams" in the BMC.
Mr Gandhi, in a couple of tweets, articulated his annoyance over the matter.

Mumbai: Mahatma Gandhis great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi, asked why Gandhijis death anniversary is missing from the Maharashtra governments circular that is sent out to mark Martyrs Day on January 30. This comes after allegations that the Mahatma's picture went missing from the annual diary of the calendar of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and was replaced with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Gandhi has expressed his displeasure against the Maharashtra government on Twitter for not mentioning the name of the Father of the Nation in its circular regarding a two-minute silence that is to be observed on his death anniversary on Monday. It may be mentioned here that January 30 was chosen as Martyrs Day as it marks the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1948.

Mr Gandhi, in a couple of tweets, articulated his annoyance over the matter, and tweeted Maharashtra Govt. circular regarding 2 min silence tomorrow, does not mention Gandhi Punyatithee. Ito pay homage to martyrs of freedom movement' (sic).

Explaining his tweet, Mr Gandhi told The Asian Age on Sunday, Actually this (Martyrs Day) is a tribute to Bapu. It (the tweet) was amused reaction to that circular. I was amazed that on commemoration day there was nothing mentioned about Bapu. Elaborating, he said, Earlier, silence was observed in the evening as Bapu was martyred in the evening but people had to leave for their homes, so the time was kept in the morning. So far yet I have not got any reaction from the government on this, Mr Gandhi said. Mr Gandhi is the son of Arun Manilal Gandhi. He had led the 75th anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March in March 2005. Repeated attempts to contact chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over the issue got no response.
Sources in the Arthur Road jail said that Gohil died while walking back to his cell after the evening stroll.

Mumbai: A day after Ramesh Gohil, who was arrested for his role in the 2002 Gujarat Best Bakery case and lodged in Arthur Road Jail as an under trial, was found dead in the jail premises on Saturday evening, the jail authorities began an inquiry into the incident. While, prima facie, Gohils death was said to be caused by a heart attack, the authorities are waiting for the post mortem report to confirm the initial finding.

Gohil was jailed in Arthur road Jail since four years after being arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in the Best bakery case. He was arrested along with his father Jayanti Gohil. The father-son duo was earlier acquitted by a Vadodara based court but went absconding after the Supreme Court ordered a retrial. While the rest accused in the case were chargesheeted, the Gohils were still under trial as they were not present during the hearing of the retrial.

Sources in the Arthur Road jail said that Gohil died while walking back to his cell after the evening stroll.

The prima facie death report states that he has suffered a heart attack. But we have sent the body for post mortem, said a source. He added that an internal inquiry is being conducted to rule out any foul play. We are looking into all angles and questioning other inmates too. We will wait for the post mortem report to give final reply, said a source.

In 2002, a day after the Godhra riots that rocked Gujarat, a mob targeted Best Bakery in Vadodara city which led to the death of 14 people including the Sheikh family who ran the bakery and had taken refuge inside it. After a Vadodara court acquitted all the 21 accused, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial, which was conducted in a local court in Mumbai.

The court then convicted nine of them of murder, sentencing them to life imprisonment. It acquitted eight others and then issued look-out notices for the four absconding including the Gohils. The NIA then arrested Ramesh Gohil in 2013 and he was being interrogated for his role in the 2007 Ajmer Blast case.
Under a programme titled 'MPower', students from various schools would be trained in the Magic Academy by renowned magicians.

Thiruvananthapuram: Intellectually challenged, differently-abled children will soon don the garb of magicians in Kerala, thanks to an innovative programme drawn up by the state government.

The Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM), under the Social Justice Department, and the State Initiative on Disabilities (SID) are joining hands with the Magic Academy here to formulate the unique troupe.

Under the programme titled 'MPower', more than 400 differently-abled students from various schools would be given training in the Academy under the patronage of renowned magician Gopinath Muthukad and a team would be selected from them.

They would be the ambassadors of the state government's 'Anuyatra Campaign', aimed at creating a friendly-state for differently-abled, said KSSM Executive Director Dr Asheel.

The selected team would be given training free of cost at the Academy for four months. The team would be officially launched on June 7 in the presence of dignitaries from various fields of the society, he said.

State Social Justice Minister K K Shylaja would inaugurate the 'MPower' programme at the Magic Planet in Kazhakuttom near here in a function on Monday.
Russia also armed sympathisers in eastern Ukraine in areas declaring themselves self-governing.

Despite his vainglorious nature and thin skin, US President Donald Trump could play a historical role in resolving the dead end in relations the West has reached with Russia. He has consistently rejected the caricature that Russias President Vladimir Putin has become in American eyes and treats his fellow President with respect as a person he can do business with.

How far Mr Trump will go in befriending Mr Putin remains to be seen, but what is already clear is that he has broken the mould, even praising his Russian counterparts smartness. One of the trademarks of the Obama era was its obsession with bringing China on board by lauding Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite blatant human rights abuses, while condemning Mr Putin. China, of course, has economic clout and aspires to be a superpower.

While Barack Obama hinted to the Atlantic magazine in a series of soul-bearing interviews that Ukraine was a core Russian interest while it was not Americas, he did not act on it. One of the problems flowing from the break-up of the Soviet Union was Washingtons resolve to humiliate Moscow and to hive off the adjoining state of Ukraine with a population of 50 million, with close ethnic, religious and family ties to Russia into the Western world.

This was part of the Western philosophy of having won the Cold War and with the populist Russian leader Boris Yeltsin at the helm, decided to tilt the scales against Moscow. Ukraine was, indeed, divided by the western regions of the country being pro-West while the eastern parts, largely Russian-speaking, were pro-Russian. The crisis in Moscows relations with Kiev reached a climax with Russia annexing Crimea Nikita Khrushchev had once given to Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union. Russia also armed sympathisers in eastern Ukraine in areas declaring themselves self-governing.

Mr Putin cannot restore the Soviet Union, but he is suggesting that hiving off Ukraine from its close ties with Russia, given the geopolitical scenario, is unnatural and should be reversed. The West had imposed economic sanctions against Moscow after it annexed Crimea and sponsored two Minsk agreements to keep it in line on eastern Ukraine.

What Mr Trump is suggesting is that Mr Putin is a leader fighting for his countrys interests and need not be painted in lurid colours, the fashion in the United States. Indeed, during his recent hour-long telephone conversation with the Russian leader, Mr Trump touched on the themes of fighting the Islamic State and terrorists in Syria. Both sides, it would seem, are carefully calibrating their relations after Mr Putin was virtually blackballed by the West.

Mr Putins interests are plain, to rehabilitate his country as a major power  nothing hurt him as much as Mr Obamas description of his country as a regional power  with a role to play in the wider world. He proved it by his military intervention in Syria tilting the scales in favour of President Bashar al-Assad and his moves in seeking new terms for peace. Unlike his predecessor, Mr Trump is demanding concessions from China in giving it a pass in world affairs, making Beijing see red. In geopolitical terms, it does not make sense to see Russia get closure to China because it is spurned by the West.

Thus far, Mr Trumps vague suggestions of removing sanctions against Russia for other favour offered have met strong opposition from Republican leaders. The picture is further complicated by US intelligence agencies conclusion of Russian hacking of US sites to help Mr Trump win. The new US Presidents argument is that Russia can help in the fight against the Islamic State and can be of assistance in Syria.

Judging by Mr Trumps temperament and often-erratic behaviour, it is difficult to gauge how far the opening to Mr Putin will take the two countries and the world. The West still swears by keeping Ukraine in the Western sphere of influence even as more leaders in Europe are coming out against maintaining economic sanctions against Moscow, with several aspirants for the French presidency pleading with Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel to reconsider her hard line on sanctions. She was, of course, living in East Germany before the reunion of the two Germanies.

The Cold War was supposedly over with the break-up of the Soviet Union, but a new kind of murky Cold War has taken its place, with a more assertive Russia provoking the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) to police European Union borders with members troops. Mr Trumps designation of Nato as obsolete has been replaced for the moment by his endorsement in his talks with Britains Prime Minister Theresa May. In any event, the US President does not set much store by the longevity of the European Union after Britains exit.

Undoing the aberrations of the break-up of the Soviet Union is not on anyones agenda. Rather, the more limited task of evolving a reasonable compromise with Russia on Ukraines future is within the realm of possibility. The difficulty is that the myth of a valiant Ukraine fighting the bad boy (Russia) is so ingrained in the Western view and so enmeshed in the triumphalism of the West that it is difficult to separate reality from popular credo.

Britain will suffer from its foolish decision to leave the European Union for a long time. It is indeed ironical that an outsider who beat the insider in the US presidential election should have so little respect for the European traditional warring parties coming together in what became the European Union. Perhaps the shock of Mr Trumps US presidency was necessary to get European leaders to refocus on what they have achieved, despite the new strains of nationalism gaining ground.

Mr Trumps entry into the world scene might be akin to the proverbial bull in a china shop, but to the extent it has disrupted conventional wisdom on Russia in the West, it will be salutary. Russia is a country that cannot be ignored.
In an executive order, Trump halted entry of refugees for 120 days and imposed new travel controls from certain Muslim majority countries.

Protesters block an intersection at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, after earlier in the day two Iraqi refugees were detained while trying to enter the country. (Photo: AP)

Washington: US President Donald Trump boasted Saturday that his "very strict" crackdown on Muslim immigration was working "very nicely," amid mounting resistance to the order which has been branded by many as blatantly discriminatory.

In an executive order signed Friday, Trump halted the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and imposed tough new controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump told reporters, after travelers from those countries were stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests.

"We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting which we should have had in this country for many years."

His comments came as the order faced its first lawsuit, signaling a tough battle ahead in US courts.

The legal challenge was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after two Iraqi men were detained Friday night at John F Kennedy Airport in New York.

Several US airports were rocked by protests and arrests after the ban.

It was not immediately clear how many travelers got caught up in Trump's crackdown, which he says is necessary to prevent "radical Islamic terrorists" from entering the United States.

The ban has also triggered a political backlash.

"To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, tweeted late Friday.

His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada.
Trump also accepted the German Chancellor's invitation to attend the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July.

President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in the Oal Office. (Photo: AP)

Washington: US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to NATO and recognised that it must be capable of confronting 21st century threats during talks with leaders from EU's traditional power couple France and Germany.

During a call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday, the first between the two leaders after Trump occupied the White House, they held an extensive conversation covering a range of issues, including NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, relations with Russia, and the Ukraine crisis.

"Both leaders affirmed the importance of close German-American cooperation to our countries' security and prosperity and expressed their desire to deepen already close German-American relations in the coming years," the White House said.

They agreed on the NATO Alliance's fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of the North Atlantic community, it said.

"In this vein, the leaders recognised that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defence requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all Allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the White House said.

The leaders agreed on the need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilise conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa, it said.

Trump accepted the Chancellor's invitation to attend the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July, and said he looked forward to receiving the Chancellor in Washington soon.

In a phone call with his French counterpart Francois Hollande same day, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to NATO.

"President Trump reaffirmed the US commitment to NATO and noted the importance of all NATO Allies sharing the burden on defence spending," the White House said after the phone call.

"The leaders discussed our military and defence cooperation both bilaterally and through NATO," the White House said, adding that during the call, the Trump expressed his desire to strengthen US-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially on counter-terrorism and security.

"The leaders also lauded our combined efforts to eliminate ISIS in Iraq and Syria," the White House said.

"Trump expressed his condolences for the loss of life in terrorist attacks in France over the past two years. The two leaders agreed to continue close coordination between Washington and Paris on issues of mutual concern," it said.
Verma demitted office more than a week ago just before the new Trump administration assumed office.

New Delhi: China has reportedly raised objections to a dinner hosted recently by former US ambassador to India Richard Verma that was attended by Union minister of state (MoS) for home affairs Kiren Rijiju and Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay.

Mr Verma demitted office more than a week ago just before the new Trump administration assumed office. Mr Rijiju is a resident of Arunachal Pradesh.

China is extremely sensitive to any foreign dignitaries interacting with Tibetan leaders who do not recognise Tibet as part of China. China also regards the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh  which it refers to as south Tibet  as part of its territory.

Reacting to the event, the Chinese foreign ministry was quoted as telling news agency told PTI in Beijing that No country in the world recognises the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile. We are firmly against any countrys official contact with it in any form, and resolutely opposed to any countrys interference in Chinas internal affairs by using Tibet- related issues as an excuse.

Winding up his tenure in New Delhi, Mr Verma reportedly hosted the dinner on January 15 for his visiting friend and Hollywood actor Richard Gere, in what may signal prominence to the Tibet issue in international fora.

Mr Rijiju had tweeted about the January 15 event on Friday along with a picture showing Mr Sangay and Mr Gere, among others.

Nice meeting my dear friend Richard Gere again. Thank you HE Richard Verma for a wonderful dinner & great tenure as USA Ambassador to India, Mr Rijiju tweeted.

Both of them are great friends of India and contributed a lot in many areas, the minister added. In October last year, China had objected to Mr Vermas visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
Philippine forces dropped bombs and fired shells at rebel positions in the mountains of Lanao del Sur in a bid to flush out Hapilon.

Manila: Philippine soldiers killed 15 militants and seriously wounded their leader, believed to be the Islamic State's representative in the country, following air and artillery strikes in a southern province, a senior military official said on Sunday.

Isnilon Hapilon, also known as Abu Abdullah and a leader of the Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf, might die as he needed immediate medical treatment, military chief General Eduardo Ano told reporters, citing intelligence and communications intercepts.

"He needs blood transfusion. Without proper medical treatment, he may die," Ano said.

Philippine forces on Thursday dropped bombs and fired shells at rebel positions in the mountains of Lanao del Sur in a bid to flush out Hapilon. The province is a stronghold of the Maute rebel group, which has also pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Hapilon is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's most wanted list for his role in the kidnapping of 17 Filipinos and three Americans in 2001 and carries a bounty of $5 million.

One of those killed is an Indonesian but Ano said they were still "digging and doing more investigation" about the foreigner's background. Hapilon was with two other foreigners whose nationality was uncertain, he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte appealed on Friday to the country's Muslim separatist groups to deny sanctuary to militants with links to Islamic State, warning a war would ensue that would put civilians in danger.

A day before he made the appeal, the defence minister said foreign intelligence reports showed Hapilon was getting instructions from Islamic State to expand in the Philippines, in the strongest sign yet of links to the Middle Eastern militants.

Duterte has said he could no longer contain the extremist "contamination" and urged two Muslim separatist rebels groups - the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front - to rebuff Islamic State's advances.

Ano said a firefight could be expected between soldiers and Hapilon's group following the strikes.
The happiness of the poor in spirit has two dimensions: towards goods and God. With respect to material goods, this poverty in spirit is sobriety: not necessarily surrender, but the ability to taste what is essential, sharing; the ability to renew every day the wonder for the goodness of things without added weight in the opacity of voracious consumption: the more I have, the more I want.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  "The poor in spirit is the Christian who does not rely on himself, on his material wealth, the one who does not insist on his own opinions, but listens with respect and willingly defers to the decisions of others, said Pope Francis on the Sunday in which the Gospel proposes the discourse of the Beatitudes.

In focusing on the meaning of the beatitude of the poor in spirit, the pontiff said that "if in our communities there were more poor in spirit, there would be fewer divisions, conflicts and controversies."

Speaking before some 30,000 people in St Peter's Square for the Angelus, the pope said that "the liturgy of this Sunday makes us meditate on the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:1-12a), which open the great sermon 'on the mount', the 'magna carta' of the New Testament. Jesus manifests Gods will to lead people to happiness.

This message was already present in the preaching of the prophets: God is close to the poor and oppressed, and frees them from those who mistreat them. But in his preaching Jesus follows a particular path. He starts with the word blessed, i.e. happy, continues with the indication of the condition to be so, and concludes by making a promise.

The reason for beatitude, i.e. happiness, is not in the required condition  for example poor in spirit, afflicted, hunger for justice, persecuted . . .  but in the next promise, to be accepted with faith as Gods gift. It starts with the condition of distress before opening up to Gods gift, and entering the new world, the kingdom announced by Jesus. This is not an automatic mechanism, but a journey of life in the wake of the Lord, so that the reality of hardship and affliction is seen from a new perspective and tested according to the conversion that takes place. One is not blessed unless one is converted, able to enjoy and appreciate Gods gifts."

"I focus on the first beatitude: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (v. 3). The poor in spirit is the one who has taken on the feelings and attitudes of those poor people who in their condition do not rebel, but know how to be humble, obedient, available to God's grace. The happiness of the poor in spirit has two dimensions: towards goods and God. With respect to material goods, this poverty in spirit is sobriety: not necessarily surrender, but the ability to taste what is essential, sharing; the ability to renew every day the wonder for the goodness of things without added weight in the opacity of voracious consumption: the more I have, the more I want. This is voracious consumption and this kills the soul. With respect to God it is praise and recognition that the world is a blessing and that the Fathers creative love is its origin. But it is also openness to Him, He is the Lord, not me; it is docility to his lordship, who wanted the world for all men in their condition of smallness and limitation."

"The poor in spirit is the Christian who does not rely on himself, on his material wealth, the one who does not insist on his own opinions, but listens with respect and willingly defers to the decisions of others. If in our communities there were more poor in spirit, there would be fewer divisions, disagreements and controversies! Humility, like charity, it is an essential virtue for living together in Christian communities.

The poor, in this evangelical sense, appear as those who keep alive the goal of the Kingdom of Heaven, showing a glimpse that it is anticipated in embryo in the fraternal community, which privileges sharing over ownership. I would like to emphasise this, privileging communion over possession. May the Virgin Mary, model and first fruit of the poor in spirit because she was totally docile to the Lords will, help us abandon ourselves to God, rich in mercy, so as to fill us with his gifts, especially the abundance of his forgiveness."

As in previous years, two youths from Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) Association representing Roman parishes and Catholic schools, appeared with the pope for the recitation of the Marian prayer. The two read a message in favour of peace bringing to a close the 'Caravan of Peace', whose slogan was Surrounded by Peace. This was followed by the release of coloured balloons in the square.

The Pope concluded by noting that today is World Leprosy Day. "This disease, although declining, is still among the most feared, and affects the poorest and the most marginalised. It is important to fight this disease, but also the discrimination that it engenders. I encourage all those engaged in assistance and social rehabilitation of people affected by leprosy, to whom we assure our prayer.
New product liability litigation appears to be lurking just around the corner, Crowell & Moring suggested in its 2017 litigation forecast. This could particularly be the case in the personal care and cosmetics industry, where a wave of product liability litigations is right on the cusp of hitting, said firm partner April Ross.The industry in the US is regulated by the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Cosmetics traditionally get far less scrutiny than food and drugs, Ross said. In general its a passive regulatory regime, leaving much of the area largely unregulated.Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates cosmetics, it does not have the legal authority to approve them before they go on the market.Under US law, cosmetics cannot be "adulterated" or "misbranded." They must be safe for consumers when used according to directions on the label, or in the customary or expected way, and they must be properly labeled.In Europe, chemicals used in cosmetics are more heavily regulated. The European Union requires cosmetics to pass a safety assessment by a qualified person before they come out in the market. Assessors must have studied in pharmacy, toxicology, medicine or other similar disciplines.The plaintiffs bar may be paying attention to the medias focus on such chemicals and their alleged links to health concerns. As a result, there may be a growing litigation focus on cosmetics, including class actions from workers with prolonged exposure to such products, such as cosmetologists and salon operators, Ross said.The industry can find its best defense in understanding the relevant science  or lack thereof. [W]e can expect to see courts grappling with the scientific evidence, and specifically their gatekeeping function under Daubert or its state equivalents, explained Ross.Product liability cases in 2016 saw different outcomes in US courts. For instance, Johnson & Johnson was found liable in three lawsuits for failing to warn consumers of the risk that its brand-name baby powder caused ovarian cancer, according to ConsumerSafety.org.Plaintiffs claimed that the company's talc-based products played a role in the development of their ovarian cancer, and that J&J knew about the associated cancer risks but did nothing to warn consumerswhich makes them liable," said Jonas Sickler of ConsumerSafety.orgA New Jersey court threw out two similar cases during the same year, on the narrowness and shallowness of the scientific evidence, Ross said.There was actually overlap between the experts in these cases, and the evidence was not markedly different, said Ross. Well continue to see cases develop around these gatekeeping questions. How these play out will determine, in part, whether this litigation trend has a long lifespan or whether it has a short one.
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King & Wood Mallesons ( KWM ) has worked with logistics and infrastructure company Qube on the financial close of the $2bn Moorebank Logistics Park in New South Wales.The agreement between Qube and Moorebank Intermodal covers a 234ha site. The project will include the construction of an import-export terminal, rail links to the Southern Sydney freight line, and container processing areas. Up to 850,000sqm of integrated warehousing will also rise.Qube will develop and operate the facilities under a 99-year lease on the combined Commonwealth and Qube-owned sites.The KWM team was led by partners Mark Upfold and Stuart Dixon-Smith, with lead support provided by special counsel Simonne Einfeld and senior associates Gareth Howe and Scott Phillips.Upon completion, the logistics park is expected to reduce constraints on container volumes moving through Port Botany, and relieve traffic congestion on Sydneys roads. Norton Rose Fulbright Australia also assisted Qube Holdings. Herbert Smith Freehills acted for Moorebank Intermodal Company Limited. Ashurst represented the Commonwealth.KWM recently advised Investec Australia Property Fund on its $160 million acquisition of two Sydney office properties.Investec, a new client of the firm, acquired the units of two trusts which hold two properties located in North Ryde and Frenches Forrest.KWM has also assisted QIC on behalf of its clients, the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund and the Future Fund, on the $450 million development of the Silverton Wind Farm, expected to be completed in mid-2018.
By Megan Willis, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University

Shutterstock/lipik

We live in an age where most of us have an online presence. Many of us have numerous accounts on social and professional networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. And singles among us are increasingly turning online to find love.

So how do the images we post of ourselves online influence the first impressions others form of us?

While its often said we shouldnt judge a book by its cover, the reality is that we all do. It takes only the briefest glance of a face, for us to form first impressions on a range of social attributes such as attractiveness, trustworthiness, likeability and competence.

And it isnt all in the eye of the beholder. There is a high degree of consensus in the first impressions we form of others from their facial appearance. This means many people will often form the same impression of another person based on their appearance.

First impressions count

It goes without saying that the extent to which youre evaluated as attractive, trustworthy, likeable and competent can influence important personal outcomes, such as your love life and employment prospects.

But perhaps less intuitive is the fact that first impressions formed on the basis of an individuals facial appearance can have important consequences for societal outcomes.

Within politics, first impressions of competence predict electoral success. Political candidates with more competent-looking faces win more votes and are more likely to win elections.

In business, competent-looking CEOs are more likely to be hired by large corporations and receive larger salaries. In the judicial system, individuals who have untrustworthy-looking faces are more likely to receive guilty verdicts.

Face facts

Given first impressions predict such important personal and societal outcomes, wed want them to be highly accurate. The problem is, theyre not.

Research has shown that people judge both criminals and non-criminals similarly in terms of their perceived trustworthiness.

The lack of accuracy in our first impressions is further illustrated by inconsistency in the nature of first impressions assigned to different images of the exact same face.

Consider the first impressions of facial attractiveness as an example. Stable, biologically based features of a face, namely symmetry, averageness (mathematically average for the population) and sexual dimorphism (masculinity and femininity) are well established markers of facial attractiveness. These are all attributes that remain constant across different images of a persons face.

But research shows that separate images of the same face will often receive very different attractiveness ratings. The variability in attractiveness ratings across images of a single persons face is on par with the variability in attractiveness ratings assigned to faces of different individuals.

Similar findings have also been observed for other first impressions, including trustworthiness and competence.









How is it that different images of the same face can create such different first impressions?

The answer lies in the fact that an important determinant of the first impressions we form from an image of a face, comes from changeable aspects of our facial appearance. That is, variations in our facial expression, facial viewpoint and eye gaze direction.

Facial expressions in particular have a profound influence on our first impressions. Smiling faces are evaluated more positively on a range of social attributes, including approachability, trustworthiness, and attractiveness.

The most negative evaluations are assigned to faces conveying negative emotions, such as anger. Even subtle cues to positive and negative emotion influence first impressions assigned to emotionally neutral faces in a similar manner. Its an issue that those  including myself  who have been accused of suffering from resting bitch face, would be all too aware of.





So why do facial expressions play such an important role in guiding our first impressions?

Express yourself, facially

Facial expressions are important social signals giving information about the internal state and behavioural intentions of others. The ability to accurately infer this information from a momentary glance of a face enables us to regulate our social behaviour appropriately.

This capacity can be important for survival. For instance, the ability to rapidly detect emotions that convey threat, such as anger, can enable you to flee an attacker.

It appears that the extent to which a face is perceived to convey threat, as communicated by ones facial expression, is directly related to our first impressions. For example, faces that are perceived as more threatening are considered less approachable than faces conveying non-threatening emotions.

From an evolutionary perspective, using this information when forming first impressions is clearly adaptive when we encounter strangers in person. This is particularly the case when its the only information we have available to guide our interactions.

But when we are forming first impressions of others from a brief glance of their images online, it clearly has the potential to lead us astray.

Putting your best face forward

So what does this mean for how we should present ourselves online if we want to make a good first impression?

The message is simple. The key to making a good first impression, whether were wanting to be perceived as attractive, competent, trustworthy or likeable all rests with a smiling face.

So whether youre looking for love, or on the look out for a new job, go for the snap of you smiling if you want to put your best face forward.

Megan Willis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Originally published in The Conversation.
People travelling between Australia and China now have more choice with a series of new flights launched in time for the Chinese New Year celebrations.National Australian airline Qantas has added Beijing as a third destination in China. It already flies into Shanghai and Hong Kong with the timetable aimed at people travelling from a number of different Australian airports. China is now regarded as the top growth country in terms of tourism, international students and trade. A number of recent changes means that those travelling between the two countries can now get a visa more speedily and in some cases documents can be processed online.Inbound flights on the new Beijing route are timed to connect with Qantas' domestic network to popular onward destinations such as Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart, as well as the airline's Tasman services to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown in New Zealand.Qantas said it will be working with Tourism Australia, Destination New South Wales and across its own marketing channels to showcase Australia for a Chinese audience, as well as jointly selling the route with its joint venture partner China Eastern.Flights will operate to Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 and add 3,300 seats to the market per week with a 12 hour flight time.'It's the perfect time for Qantas to fly to Beijing. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is hitting its stride and China is on track to become the number one source of visitors to Australia within the next year or so,' said Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce.'What's really exciting is the potential we see for the future. We now have the Qantas Group's biggest ever network in Greater China, and our goal is to make our Beijing route a flagship corridor for tourism and trade,' he said.'For Chinese travellers, our message is that there's no better way of getting to know Australia than with the national carrier. In the business market, this route gives our companies the ability to win new business and get their products and services into the market. And it's a positive for the Australian travel industry,' he added.There are now more flight choice for people travelling to and from Australia in the Asia Pacific region. A Melbourne to Tokyo Narita route was launched just before Christmas and a new Jetstar service between Melbourne and Ho Chi Minh city is set to begin in May 2017.
hullo everyone. I'm applying for a pmv300 from the US to be with my fiance who is in Australia.I've filled out my 47sp and have begun uploading evidence.unfortunately, we didn't realize my fiance was supposed to create his own immi account for a 40sp. I thought he was supposed to sign into my immi account and fill out his 40sp there.he filled and submitted it. thankfully, we have yet to attach any evidence. also it says submitted, but not received in the status column.what should we do?- should he withdraw it and create a new account with a new sponsor 40sp?-should he just create his own immi account and import that application? can he do that? and then i'll just delete it from my account?sorry for all the questions, but its a Saturday and I cant call the embassy to pester them lolthanks in advance
Hi



My wife is on currently on a 1 year tourist visa (coming and going every 3 months) which ends sometime in September 2017.



We received an email from immigration stating: "I wish to advise that a decision has been made and a bridging visa has been granted on 24 November 2016"



A little later it reads: "This bridging visa is not in effect because your Visitor visa is currently in effect."



So my question. Since my wife's tourist visa is for a year (3 months at a time) does that mean the bridging visa comes into effect in September 2017 and she needs to continue leaving every 3 months until then? Or, does it mean when her current 3 months expires the bridging visa will automatically kick in? My concern with this is that... she last entered Australia on the 18th of Nov and the Bridging Visa was granted on the 24 Nov - so if we wait 3 months from the day it was granted she will have overstayed her tourist visa for a few days.



I have been checking VEVO every few days and her bridging visa has not been listed there.



Penny for your thoughts.



Kind regards



Adam
The competitors will travel to Hanumangarh from New Delhi for the first transport stage, the latter being the starting point for the rally.

The 15th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm will be flagged off from New Delhi today, which will see competitors traversing through the Thar Desert over 2000km and six days.

The competitors will travel to Hanumangarh from New Delhi for the first transport stage, the latter being the starting point for the rally. Over the next few days, competitors will head to Bikaner and Jaisalmer, before crossing the finish in Jodhpur on February 4th.

As always, the competitors will be classified into four categories  Xtreme, NDure, Moto and Xplore, with the Xplore category being offered the option to participate either on all six days or opt for a shorter duration (first three or last three days).

The night leg, which debuted in 2015 will return for a third year running  with competitors battling the darkness of the night over 150km in and around Jaisalmer.

Driving in Team Maruti colours, Suresh Rana will look to defend his title from veterans like Sandeep Sharma and Aabhishek Mishra, while in the moto category, all eyes will definitely be on C S Santosh, who recently finished his second Dakar Rally and will compete against over 40 riders to defend his title.

Commenting on the 15th edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, Mr. Vinay Pant, AVP Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India said, At Maruti, we are passionate about motorsports and consistently aim to provide the fans with an opportunity to relive the fun and excitement through pioneering motorsport rallies. The journey of Desert Storm has been remarkable since its inception in 2003. The terrain is extremely thrilling and will challenge the combination of man and machine.
The 2017 Dodge Durango is a 7-passenger luxury SUV from the American car brand. This SUV is quite the looker although performance is debatable.

The 2017 Dodge Durango. The 2017 Durango has a muscular stance thanks to a GT body kit and 20-inch wheels. It still exudes class even with a big crosshair grille on the front and a boxy design with LED rear lights that give off a race car impression. The Durango comes in 4 trims namely SXT, GT, R/T, and Citadel.

The insides of the Durango is subtle and isn't noisy to look at. Its dash is covered in soft-touch materials with metallic-accented gauges and a large enough display touchscreen. The 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment systems bring together audio and climate controls, calling functions, and navigation. Other features include a standard rearview camera, blind-spot monitors, and adaptive cruise control with a stop.

Under the hood, the Durango comes with two available engines. The standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine and a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 are the two engine options the Durango has. The former churns out 290 horsepower and 260-pound foot of torque while the latter provides 360 horsepower and 390-pound foot of torque.

The SUV comes with either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The all-wheel drive has two systems, one for the V8 engine models with a low-range transfer case and another for the V6 engine models with a much simpler single-speed unit. The V8 engine model is able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 6.2 seconds which is quite fast for a large SUV like the Durango.

There is more than enough legroom and headroom inside the Durango with the second and third-row seats being comfortably spacious. The rear seats fold down easily increasing the already large cargo space the Durango has.

With its spacious interior, the Durango offers a comfortable ride especially for adults on all rows. It drives firmly and the steering has a precise feeling to it. The usual side-to-side head movements when on dirty roads are noticeable but its ride is reassuring and stable otherwise thanks to an independent suspension.

As far as safety is concerned, the Durango is an aging vehicle and doesn't quite fare well in crash tests even with its list of safety features. The 2017 Dodge Durango's retails at a base price of US$33,690. Top level trims cost higher with additional fees for specific features.
This year the Honda Auto Brand has launched several new cars that target different car enthusiasts. With a fleet composed of subcompact cars, sedans, coupes, minivans and a lot more, users can choose what car will work best for them.

Honda is one of the high-ranking auto brands in the world. With its headquarters stationed in Japan, users are assured of its top quality and great design.

2017 Honda Clarity. It's the latest fuel cell automobile that is geared towards fuel efficiency with only a 5-minute refueling. At the same time, it has a 366-mile range rating, making this vehicle a truly great powertrain.

2017 Honda Civic Sedan. This undeniably one of the finest cars in the Honda Auto Brand for the starting price of $18, 740, as mentioned in Honda. It has the most impressive standard features like the 6-Speed Manual Transmission, Automatic climate Control, and Multi- Angle Rearview Camera. The EX also comes with a Remote Engine Smart entry, Apple CarPlay, and Andriod Auto.

2017 Honda HR-V. One of the newest cars from the Honda Auto Brand for 2017, this sleek and stylish family car will delight every user with its touch screen climate control. On top of that are its bigger space and foldable seats that will allow owners to bring more luggage with them during out of town trips with their loved ones. With a 1.8 L 4-Cyl Engine, this 2 WD car is a great steal for the price of $19, 465.

2017 Honda Accord. Last but definitely not the least in quality this car is named as one of the 10 Best Car and Driver of 2017 as mentioned in Honda. This car is not only impressive when it comes to its features and style. It also exceeds all expectations with its 2.4L 4 Cyl engine manual car. Its automatic transmission counterpart also has the same standard features.
Santa Monica Airport will close in 2028 and the runway will almost certainly be shortened to 3,500 feet. The FAA announced Saturday that it had reached an agreement to end decades of legal wrangling over the airport, which is surrounded by urban development and has been targeted for closure by local politicians since the 1980s, citing safety and environmental concerns. Under the terms of the deal, the airport has to be maintained in continuous and stable operating condition until Dec. 31, 2028, and allows the city to chop almost 1,500 feet from the runway. The airport has 270 aircraft and about 450 landings and takeoffs a day. Its likely the short runway will curtail itinerant operations and may force some of the aircraft based there to move. Until the runway is shortened, the FBOs and flight schools at the airport can stay in business but after the bulldozers are finished the city can assume services at the airport. The deal is significant because it mentions local land use decisions as a factor in making decisions about aviation services and EAA Chairman Jack Pelton was quick to point that out. Its also clear that none of the aviation groups were in on the discussions.

It is certainly a disappointing development, first concerning the immediate ability to shorten the runway,and the ultimate ability to close the airport in 2028, Pelton said in a statement. While we can only guess at the inside discussions to reach this settlement as to our knowledge,the airports stakeholders were not a part of it, the founding principles of FAA grant assurances are to maintain stability for an airport and its users as part of the national airspace system, above local political maneuvering.

NBAA and AOPA both suggested theyll fight the agreement. NBAA President Ed Bolen said theyre still analyzing the agreement but on first blush it has concerns.We are disappointed that the government decided to settle this case, especially given that NBAA has long been committed to aggressively supporting business aviation access to SMO, through every legislative and legal channel available. If there are further avenues available to us, we intend to explore them. AOPA President Mark Baker said his group is also studying the agreement but opposing the decision. Our main goalto keep this airport permanently open and available to all general aviation usersremains unchanged. We are not done fighting for Santa Monica

Meanwhile, Santa Monica officials were quick to trumpet the news, saying the airport will be turned into a park. The agreement ends a longstanding legal battle and secures, with absolute certainty, that the 227 acres of aviation land will be returned to the residents of Santa Monica, the city said in a statement. The FAA and the city have been in a pitched battle recently over the citys attempt to effectively evict airport businesses with a goal of closing the airport in two years. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta called the agreement a fair resolution for all concerned in a statement released Saturday.  It strikes an appropriate balance between the publics interest in making local decisions about land use practices and its interests in safe and efficient aviation services, he said.
29 January 2017 12:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 11 times violated the ceasefire in various directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported on January 29.

The Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns while shelling Azerbaijani positions.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Kamarli village of the Gazakh district, the Kohnagishlag village of the Aghstafa district and the Alibayli village of the Tovuz district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in the Dovekh village of the Noyemberyan district, the Paravakar village of the Ijevan district and the Aygepar village of the Berd district.

The Azerbaijani army positions were also shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Horadiz village of the Fuzuli district, as well as on nameless heights of the Goranboy and Fuzuli districts of Azerbaijan.

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.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
29 January 2017 10:18 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan-Scandinavia Alumni Association arranged its first ever alumni networking event in Baku, Azertac reported.

The event brought together alumni network representatives from various sectors of the Azerbaijani civil society and from the Scandinavian community in the country.

Head of the Association Turan Suleymanov highlighted the projects of the Organization.

Vusal Guliyev, Head of Youth Sector of Social and Political Department at the Presidential Administration spoke about the state care to the youth organizations, as well as works done by alumnus graduated in foreign universities in popularization of Azerbaijan across the world.

Norwegian Ambassador to the country Bard Ivar Svendsen praised the activity of the Association.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
29 January 2017 11:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Trump has accepted Merkel's invitation to come in July at G20 summit in Hamburg and also has invited the Chancellor to visit Washington, Sputnik reported.

US President Donald Trump has accepted German Chancellor Angela Merkel's invitation to come in July at G20 summit in Hamburg and also has invited the Chancellor to visit Washington in near future, the German government reported.

In a phone call between the two leaders, Trump and Merkel also agreed to step up joint fight against terrorism and work together for stabilization in the crisis regions.

"They also agreed to intensify their cooperation aimed at fighting terrorism and violent extremism as well as stabilization of the situation in the Middle East," the statement said.

According to the German government, the two leaders also discussed relations with Russia.

"Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump have held a detailed phone conversation on Saturday evening. A wide range of topics were discussed, particularly, NATO, the situation in the Middle East, as well as in North Africa, relations with Russia," the statement said.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
29 January 2017 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Firefighters have fought for four hours to put off a fire that had erupted at a tanker at Tehrans Tondgooyan Refinery, no lives were lost, IRNA news agency reported on January 29.

A 500,000-liter tanker at the refinery caught fire at 00:19 (GMT +3:30). One hundred and twenty firefighters were dispatched to the spot, according to the news agency.

Local authorities said the cause of the conflagration has not been identified. The heat melted the tanker. The refinery suffered great financial loss, the report said.

Last October reports said a series of suspicious fires at Irans oil, gas, and petrochemical facilities had cost the country some 100,000 liters of condensates.

Some news outlets have said the serial fires indicate the possibility of cyberattacks.

The most recent such fire hit Piroozi Oil and Gas Refinery in Shahrud, Semnan Province early morning on Oct. 7 and was put out only after five hours of 40-man firefighting. Local authorities said four people had been injured. The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

From April to October last year, a similar incident had happened in Iran every 12 days on average.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
29 January 2017 18:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Iran on Sunday summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the US President Donald Trumps executive order restricting entry for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries.

Spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry Bahram Qasemi described the decision as discriminatory and baseless adding that the decision is against the international conventions on human rights, IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif early on Sunday wrote on his Twitter account that the USs decision to restrict arrivals from the Islamic Republic shows the baselessness of the Washingtons claims of only having issues with the government in Tehran, adding that the move is the greatest gift to terrorists and their supporters.

US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Zarif further assured that Iran will take suitable reciprocal actions to protect its citizens, while respecting US citizens and differentiating between them and Washingtons hostile policies.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Christian Post a Evangelical Christian newspaper based in Washington, D.C whos ts chairman is currently William L. Wagner, a former second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention is all up in arms about how a ragtag band of infamous extremist street preachers was treated at last Saturdays womens march.

Bible-believing street evangelists warning against all sin, including abortion and homosexuality, were shouted down, spat on and had water thrown on them by participants of the Womens March on Washington on Saturday afternoon.

As hundreds of thousands of Americans descended to the nations capital to stand for womens rights and protest President Donald Trump in the demonstration organized by pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood, various groups of Christian believers also took the streets to warn the predominantly-liberal crowd about what the Bible has to say about sin.

Along Pennsylvania Avenue, a group of over 10 street preachers from various states branched off into two different huddles  each with a megaphone and signs warning that hell awaits those who sin and calling for people to repent.

Some did not take kindly to what the street preachers were saying. Kerrigan Skelly, a street evangelist from Kentucky, told The Christian Post that he was spit on while speaking over the megaphone. Skelly and witnesses tell CP that the person who spat on him was a lesbian woman.
BMS Action Teams: where mission begins

Mission accomplished? Three former BMS World Mission Action Teamers didnt expect their call to overseas mission to go on, but it did





Life-changing. Challenging. Faith-stretching.



These are a few of the words that people have used to describe what its like to go on a gap year with BMS. Action Teams is an experience that allows young people to grow and also to serve God and others around the world.



But what happens when the year is over? We have three exciting stories from former Action Teamers who share how doing the BMS gap year programme inspired them down further paths of mission.



Life-changing





Sarah Whybrew fell in love when she went to Thailand on an Action Team in 2010/11. But not in the way you might be thinking.



I came back with a love for Thailand and overseas mission, says Sarah. It was a life-changing experience.



Sarahs heart was transformed while she was in Thailand working with disabled children and helping to run after-school Bible clubs. The challenge gave her a new-found confidence and changed her view of God.



I realised that God is not just an English God, says Sarah. But that actually hes a God that understands and loves all languages and people.



Sarahs heart for the world grew when she did mission, and the experience impacted the path she took when she returned to England. After going to university, she felt God call her back to her beloved Thailand, this time as a Christian gap year team leader.



Returning from Thailand for the second time, Sarah still felt Gods call on her heart to overseas mission. A door opened when an opportunity to work as a Short-term Programmes Administrator at BMS presented itself. Today, thats where Sarah continues her mission journey.



I love working for a place where there are maps on the walls and we have people come into the office whove been working overseas, says Sarah. I find it so inspiring when they share about what theyve been doing and how Gods been using them around the world.



Challenging





Doing an Action Team year with BMS taught Brian Leitch to overcome challenges and develop his own faith. It also showed him that he wanted to embark on a life of overseas mission.



For me, it was the first time away from home, says Brian. It was all about being in this completely new world where you have to learn to stand on your own two feet and build connections within a new community.



Brian went to Jamaica in 1994/95. His Action Teams mission was focused on doing youth work in schools and churches. Brian remembers how the challenging moments strengthened his faith, like when he was asked to preach at church. The thought was terrifying to Brian, he didnt believe he could do it.



It was a situation where I felt totally out of my depth, says Brian. And it really made me stop and think, who do I trust in these kinds of situations? It taught me to look to God.



Following his gap year, Brian studied economics and politics at university, and then went on to complete a Masters in development economics. After university, he decided to pursue overseas mission with BMS. Since September 2014, his wife Mo and their two children, Evie and Eddie have lived in India. They have been helping women whove been impacted by gender based violence by equipping churches to stand up for them.



When Brian reflects on the journey he took to get to where he is today, he wouldnt have it any other way.



Doing an Action Team was a life-changing experience, says Brian. I would recommend it to anybody.





Faith-stretching





Trusting God  its one of the most important lessons God taught Debbie Drew when she did her Action Team year in Brazil in 1993/94. Her strengthened faith would prove to be a crucial quality that shed carry with her as she embarked on a challenging (and rewarding) life of mission in the years to come.



Action Teams taught me to depend on God, says Debbie. I learnt that he was with me, wherever I was.



Debbie and her team helped with church planting and childrens work while in Brazil. She remembers how deeply moved she was by the poverty that surrounded her.



I saw people who didnt have anything, says Debbie. It made me reflect on my own privileges, and how those privileges meant that I had a responsibility to help others.



Debbies gap year experiences motivated her to continue stepping out of her comfort zone and helping those most in need. Beyond Action Teams, her heart for mission eventually led her to live and work with youth in tough, inner-city London.



That experience in another challenging environment inspired her and her husband Chris to apply to do overseas mission with BMS. Together with their children, they have lived and worked in Afghanistan and now are living in Nepal, where theyve faced tough times with the 2015 earthquakes and the recent fuel crisis.



Mission has taught me that I can go wherever God wants me to be, says Debbie. It has also given me the confidence to go to challenging places where other people arent always willing to go.





Step out in faith

Trusting God, overcoming challenges, developing faith and having your heart transformed  those are just a few of the rich blessings that can come from an Action Team experience. And sometimes (as seen from these stories), it can lead a person to continue a life of overseas mission.



Doing mission is an adventure, says Debbie. Sometimes I think that if Id known everything that was going to happen, I might not have taken that step. But thats what being a Christian is all about, isnt it? Stepping into the unknown, trusting God and taking a journey with him.





Wondering if God could be calling you to do an Action Team? If youre between 17 and 23 years old, why not check out the opportunity to serve God around the world? If not, maybe you know someone who you could share these stories with  it might be just the thing they need to hear to begin their own mission journey. Find out more information and apply today.





This article first appeared on the website of BMS World Mission and is used with permission.









Baptist Times, 29/01/2017
A federal judge in New York has issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the order Saturday evening after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

Cheers broke out in a crowd of demonstrators outside a Brooklyn courthouse as the decision, effective nationwide, was announced.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates
Protesters in Tampa joined protesters from around the country Saturday night following President Trumps latest immigration plan.

"I think that our voices are being heard, said Tampa protest organizer Alicia Damico. I barely have one right now. But that means we're out here doing good and we're making sure the voices are heard of us and of everyone else in the nation."

Approximately 75 people attended Saturday nights protest on Kennedy Boulevard.

Protesters said they were there to show their solidarity to refugees.

Politicians from all over the country are also weighing in, including Hillary Clinton, who posted to Twitter.
St. Petersburg Police officers received a call mid-morning Sunday after someone saw tire tracks leading into Sheffield Lake.

The tracks, combined with a knocked down sign, prompted detectives to call from assistance from the fire department. Using their ladder truck, investigators were able to clearly see the vehicle submerged at the bottom of the lake.

By 2 p.m., investigators had tracked down the owner of the car.

They didn't release the man's name, but authorities did say in a press release that:

He admitted to crashing into the lake early this morning. He was not hurt and was able to get out safely.

No one else was in the vehicle, police say.

The investigation caused police to close part of 49th Street for several hours.

Charges are pending.
A disagreement between neighborhood acquaintances led to one man being stabbed to death Saturday, deputies say.

Neighborhood disagreement leads to fatal stabbing

Deputies: Brandon Burchett, 38, was attacked in his driveway



Daniel Ponce, 29, was arrested for first degree murder



Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested 29-year-old Daniel Ponce of Kissimmee, for stabbing -- and killing -- 38-year-old Brandon J. Burchett.

Detectives say at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, first responders arrived at 580 Finch Court in Kissimmee.

They found Burchett inside, bleeding. Ponce had fled the scene, but contacted authorities a short while later to let them know where he, and the knife, were.



According to reports, an argument, stemming from a Jan. 27 confrontation, started in Burchett's driveway.

Detectives believe Ponce rode a bicycle to the front of Burchett's residence and began yelling expletives at the victim when he came outside.

After their disagreement turned physical, Ponce pulled out a folding pocket knife from his pocket, opened it, and, according to deputies, 'intentionally stabbed the victim in the abdomen area and arm.'

Burchett ran inside his home, yelling for someone to call 911. Ponce fled the area on his bicycle.

Deputies believe the two men had been exchanging confrontational text messages since their disagreement the day before.



Burchett was transported to Poinciana Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at approximately 5:15 p.m.

Ponce said he was in fear for his life and stabbed the victim in self-defense.

According to deputies, he was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon just hours after the alleged attack. He is being held without bond.

Ponce's criminal history includes battery domestic violence, possession of drug paraphernalia, and traffic offenses.
Oregon Coast Antique Week Boasts Treasures and 100s of Glass Floats

Published 01/28/2017 at 10:29 PM PDT - Updated 01/28/2017 at 10:39 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Lincoln City, Oregon)  Dust off your oldest belongings and sharpen your shopping skills, as one Oregon coast town takes a trip back in time and it's bringing you along for the ride. February 11 through 20 is Lincoln City Antique Week, a ten-day extravaganza where essentially the entire town becomes a massive antique store and sale. Treasures will abound, and participating antique retailers will have special deals and discounts during the citywide event.

Antique Week features over 100 antique dealers from over a dozen retailers in Lincoln City. Collectors can take advantage of deals and discounts during Antique Week while discovering treasures of all types. From art, to books and furniture, there are a variety of items to adorn your home or add to your collection. It is no wonder that Lincoln City was once declared to be one the "Ten Best Undiscovered Antique Destinations in the Country."

This year's theme is Communities Sewn Together, and through that you can earn fabulous prizes during the week by participating in the Quilt Quest Treasure Hunt. Get your sleuthing cap on and search for quilt squares at various retails shops in the central Oregon coast hotspot. Collect all seven stamps and be entered to win prizes such as a weekend getaway to Lincoln City, antique glass floats and glass hearts. Pick up a map and entry form from the Visitor Information Center, Chamber of Commerce or from many of the antique stores in Lincoln City. The map is also available for download at OregonCoast.org.

An especially engaging stop during Antique Week will be the North Lincoln County Historical Museum. Not only can you learn about Lincoln City's past and the history of glass floats, the museum will also have a special antique quilt exhibit to enjoy.

The Lincoln City Cultural Center will be hosting an appraise-a-thon on Wednesday, February 15 from 5 - 8 pm, where you can have your treasures appraised by a panel of experts for only $5 per item. The event will also include a silent auction and food and beverage for sale.

For those smitten by the glass float drops in Lincoln City, the weekend will also feature a special drop of the glass art pieces around the beaches. It's another kind of treasure to look for. From February 11 through February 20, there will be 300 antique Japanese glass floats carefully hidden during daylight hours between the high tide line and the embankment on the beach. For the romantics, on February 11 and 12, look for 14 heart-shaped paperweights, which will be lovingly placed along Lincoln City's seven miles of shoreline. Search the beach for a glass art piece worthy of a Valentine's Day gift.

If you happen to find one of these glass treasures on the beach, make sure to share your photos of them via Facebook at Facebook.com/LincolnCityOregon, on Twitter using the tag @LincolnCityOR or on Instagram using @LincolnCityOR and #FindersKeepersLC.

These special glass drops are part of Lincoln City's popular Finders Keepers promotion. From mid-October through Memorial Day, mysterious volunteers called Float Fairies hide hand-made glass floats along the beach in Lincoln City. The glass art pieces are carefully hidden between the high tide line and the embankmen - where they wait to be found. If you find one, you keep it.

For more information about Antique Week or Finders Keepers, please visit OregonCoast.org or call 800-452-2151. Lincoln City Hotels/Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Map and Virtual Tour More about Lincoln City below:





















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An Iranian director whose film is nominated for an Oscar has said he will not attend the ceremony even if he is granted permission to go despite US President Donald Trump's travel ban.

Asghar Farhadi's film The Salesman is up for best foreign language film at next month's ceremony in Los Angeles.

Mr Trump's decision to ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US had thrown into doubt whether the Iranian cast and crew could attend.

But Farhadi has now told The New York Times that although he had intended to attend the ceremony, "the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip".

The film-maker said : "I would therefore like to convey via this statement what I would have expressed to the press were I to travel to the United States.

"Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way.

"In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an 'us and them' mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of 'them' and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.

"This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same."

Farhadi said he believed "similarities among the human beings on this earth and its various lands, and among its cultures and its faiths, far outweigh their differences".

He added: "To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity.

"I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations."

One of the stars of The Salesman, Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, said she would not attend the Oscars in protest over Mr Trump's immigration policies.

She tweeted: "Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist.

"Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the Academy Awards 2017 in protest."

Organisers of the Oscars previously said it was "extremely troubling" that the makers of The Salesman could be barred from entering the US.

An Academy spokeswoman said: "As supporters of film-makers - and the human rights of all people - around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran, A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year's Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin."

Farhadi's film A Separation won the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2012.
The towering statue in honour of engineer John Rowan, which dominates the centre of Doagh in east Antrim, has been looked on for years by villagers as their lucky mascot.

Even employment problems that cropped up in local businesses, which could have resulted in redundancies, don't dent the way folk in Doagh feel about the handsome edifice in memory of the talented inventor.

They'll tell you that apart from the ploughs, threshing machines and other farm implements he built and which were new-fangled in his day, Rowan's finest achievement was creating the first car.

Now Mike Gonzalez, senior fellow at the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy in Washington DC, whose wife, Siobhan Bullock, is Rowan's great-granddaughter five times removed, is researching - with a little bit of help from yours truly - the truth of this claim.

Mike, a former speech writer in President George W Bush's administration, wants children Jack (14), Saskia (12) and Rafe (7) to know more about their famous ancestor.

"I want them to understand the past and develop a pride in their roots," he confides.

There is no doubt that Rowan (1787-1858) designed and built a steam-powered road vehicle "on an entirely new principle" in 1835 - 50 years ahead of German inventor Karl Benz.

It was introduced to public gaze on January 5, 1836, and Rowan predicted, when he drove it through the streets of Belfast to the amazement of crowds, it would be a success.

Alas, his dream came to nothing, as potential investors shook their heads and turned him down. Perhaps if John had been a better driver they might have been impressed by what he maintained was the world's first car.
Lady Justice Hallett examined the On The Runs scheme for the Government

No fugitive "comfort letter" republicans suspected of serious crimes have been reported to prosecutors yet.

A total of 145 crimes linked to 36 IRA On The Runs (OTRs) who received official assurances have been reviewed and forensic evidence examined as a priority, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable said.

The status of those involved had originally been changed from wanted to not wanted.

The investigation by detectives in Northern Ireland is ongoing after the issue was raised in a senior judge's report two-and-a-half years ago.

PSNI chief George Hamilton said: "At this time no cases have been concluded, no person has been reported to the Public Prosecution Service and potential investigative opportunities are still being sought."

OTRs were suspects fleeing potential imprisonment for murders and other serious offences during the Northern Ireland conflict.

The contentious peace process, agreed between Sinn Fein and the last Labour government, saw letters sent to republicans informing them they were not being sought by the authorities in the UK.

Police were asked to review people regarded as "wanted" in connection with terrorist-related offences up to April 10 1998, the date of the Good Friday Agreement.

Those who were not being actively pursued due to a lack of sufficient evidence received a letter from the Government informing them.

Sinn Fein said the concession was necessary to restore confidence in the Government's commitment to deal with OTRs to ensure the success of arms decommissioning, a review by senior judge Lady Justice Hallett reported.

The Government said it was a statement of fact carrying no future guarantees.

Mr Hamilton updated MPs on the police review.

He said: "The 36 individuals, highlighted within the report of Lady Justice Hallett as having had their status changed from wanted to not wanted, have been prioritised.

"The purpose of this is to better understand the rationale for the status change and to identify whether any opportunities currently exist to bring those offenders to justice.

"To date, we have completed reviews of 145 serious crimes to which those individuals are linked and this includes a re-examination of the forensic potential within each case."
Political rivals have called on Enda Kenny to turn down an invite to the White House due to Donald Trump's travel ban

Enda Kenny is facing calls to snub Donald Trump's invite to the White House over his travel ban on Muslims and refugees.

Two party leaders are urging the Taoiseach to boycott the traditional gifting of a bowl of shamrock to the US president on St Patrick's Day amid a growing global backlash over the immigration crackdown.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said a visit this year would be humiliating and depict Ireland as a weak supporter of Mr Trump.

"President Trump does not share our values," he said.

"Indeed, he is openly hostile to them. He and his team have made clear that he is unwilling to hear or even listen to discordant voices.

"In that context, the only thing a visit by the Taoiseach to the White House could achieve would be to present Ireland as a supine supporter of Trumpism.

"Such a presentation would be humiliating to the vast majority of Irish people who stand opposed to the policies being implemented by President Trump."

Mr Howlin called on Mr Kenny to confirm he would not travel to Washington on March 17.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan also urged the Taoiseach to postpone his visit to the White House.

"We respect the US political system and value our historic connections, but we cannot in all honesty hand over that bowl of shamrock in these circumstances," he said.

"It is time for our Taoiseach to represent our country and what we stand for in the world.

"We should do so in a civil and diplomatic manner, but proceeding as if everything is normal is not an option."

An online petition calling on Mr Kenny to boycott the White House has also attracted more than 10,000 signatures within 24 hours.

The US president has temporarily barred citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries - Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - from entering the country.

All refugees have also been barred for four months but those from war-ravaged Syria are blocked indefinitely as part of a plan to stop "radical Islamic terrorists".

The ban is being implemented in Ireland at US immigration pre-clearance facilities at Dublin and Shannon airports.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said he shares the concerns of other European Union partners over the travel ban.

"While US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities, it is clear that the most recent decisions could have far-reaching implications - both on humanitarian grounds and on relations between the US and the global Muslim community," he said.

"Accordingly, I share the concerns of other EU partners regarding this most recent development."

Mr Flanagan said some Irish citizens in the US are among the many "feeling great concern" about the immigration policy changes.

"I am conscious that matters are still evolving and that the US courts are now involved," he added.

"We will continue to monitor developments in this area very closely."

Mr Trump confirmed last week that his St Patrick's Day invitation to Mr Kenny, originally extended in a ten-minute phone call last November, still stands.
Tourists gather in front of the Sagrada Familia church, designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, in Barcelona (AP/Manu Fernandez)

Protesters have held a rally in Barcelona over claims that the tourism boom is out of control and damaging local people's experience of the Spanish city.

Soaring tourism has fuelled higher rents and property sales, leaving many of the city's 1.6 million residents priced out of the centre.

Under a large banner reading "Barcelona is not for sale", protesters marched and read a manifesto in which they denounced the tourist boom they say has overtaken the city.

Police said over 1,000 people demonstrated in the famed central walkway of Las Ramblas, while protesters estimated the total as closer to 2,000.

Camilo Ramos, 63, of the Barcelona Neighbours Association, said: "This march is a way to portray the fact that we have lost our city, and are hoping to claim it back.

"Rent and property prices have risen back to what they were in 2008, before the economic crisis, and residents can no longer afford them."

Despite fierce opposition from hotel and business owners, the City Council agreed on Friday to curb the number of rooms for tourists in the city.

Anna Moreno, a 59-year-old school professor on the march, said: "It was a necessary measure, but it's still not enough.

"We need to decrease the number of hotels and increase public space for residents."

Asha Nen, a visiting 35-year-old French engineering assistant, watched the scene from a distance.

"We are enjoying our stay, although it's true that the city is quite full. Some locals seem to be weary of us tourists," she said.

AP
President Donald Trump's senior aides have defended his sweeping US travel ban in the face of widespread protests.

During a round of Sunday show interviews, Mr Trump's advisers stressed that just a small proportion of travellers had been affected by the order, which temporarily bars the citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the country.

The aides also reversed course and said that citizens of those countries who hold permanent US residency "green cards" will not be barred from re-entering the country, as officials had previously said.

"I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone travelling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States," insisted Mr Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus. "And that's all this is."

The changes, said White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, are "a small price to pay" to keep the nation safe.

But others see the order as ill-conceived and rushed.

The order, which also suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely bars the processing of refugees from Syria, has sparked widespread protests and denunciations from Democrats and a handful of Republicans.

Many have accused the administration of rushing to implement the changes, resulting in panic and confusion at the nation's airports.

"You have an extreme vetting proposal that didn't get the vetting it should have had," said Republican Senator Rob Portman, who urged the President to "slow down" and work with lawmakers on how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.

"In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants," he said.

The comments came the morning after a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the US from deporting people from the seven majority-Muslim nations subject to Mr Trump's travel ban.

The judge said travellers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

The order barred US border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the US with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

But the Department of Homeland Security said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order.

"President Trump's executive orders remain in place - prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the US government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the department said in a statement.

Top congressional Republicans, meanwhile, were backing Mr Trump despite concerns raised by a handful of lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he supports more stringent screening mechanisms, though he cautioned that Muslims are some of the country's "best sources in the war against terror".

"I think it's a good idea to tighten the vetting process But I also think it's important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas," he said.

He also stressed the need "to be careful as we do this", and said it would be up to the courts to decide "whether or not this has gone too far".

Mr Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen.

But it is unclear the measures would prevent attacks on American soil.

The directive did not address homegrown extremists already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. And the list of countries in Mr Trump's order does not include Saudi Arabia, where most of the September 11 hijackers were from.

Mr Priebus, who is Mr Trump's chief of staff, said the ban could be expanded to more countries in the future.

AP
A new documentary revealed that the French Revolution was not without blemish. It is something that the history books would rather gloss over.

The Hidden Rebellion is a documentary by filmmaker Daniel Rabourdin that will richly uncover the battle that aled to the murder of 50,000 civilians after the Vendeans were defeated by the military. This included the murder of women, nuns and the destruction of religious freedom.

Vendee was a peaceful community of farmer and Catholics. They welcomed the French Revolution initially, but the reforms were not what they expected. The revolution put the countries at stake and its freedoms. In fact, it was mayhem and the Vendeans revolted against the tyranny of higher taxes, refused to wage wars beyond their borders and wanted to protect religious freedom.

People decided to rebel against this ideology. The Vendeans won the early battles against the military but buckled beneath the force the militants.

The film presents a searing examination of the events and, even more importantly, of the ideas surrounding one of the historys most chilling instances of genocide, the films site rendered.

The producer of the film, Daniel Rabourdin told Breitbart Radios Curt Schilling that people dont know the truth regarding the French Revolution. They were a group of elites that wanted to overthrow the Catholic faith and wanted to create a perfect culture.

Rabourdin said that the revolutionaries were not that smart, but they were certainly intellectual and they were prepared to resort to unlimited violence in order to remake society along the lines of their dangerously utopian ideals. If this sounds familiar, you are right. We live in a society that is suffering from political correctness and where there is an assault on our freedoms. The Vendeans sent a strong message to us from the past.

I could hear modern American politicians talking when I heard and read the quotes of French military and government officials in the film, Schilling responded.

This is just a taste of what you will experience when you watch the film. Check out The Hidden Rebellion today.
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The Bible has been under attack in the western world for over 200 years but never more intensely than today. These attacks have taken different forms and have come from many different corners of the academic world, from philosophers, to scientists, to textual critics. In the specialized world of archaeology the attacks have increased dramatically in the past 50 years. Once a specialization filled with Bible believing individuals, the field of archaeology is now overrun with atheists and skeptics, agnostics and those committed to the destruction of the Bible as a source of true historical information.

These attacks on the Bible are a part of a sweeping movement in western culture. Spearheaded by academic elitists in the university and the public educational system, the news and popular media, and the entertainment industry, these revisionists cloak themselves with supposed objectivity, purity of motives, and the superiority of science over the "uninformed", "unscientific", religious community.

They regularly mock those who question their world-view and their conclusions by name-calling and the worst forms of anti-Bible and anti-Christian propaganda. They have powerfully infected the church by turning Bible believing Christians against the very Scripture which is the foundation of truth and life in this world. Instead of contending for the Bible, Christian academics, pastors, and lay-persons are making egregious accommodations to these destroyers of faith and truth.

In these days of intense spiritual battle, God has called ABR to step into the gap to contend for the truth and to assist the church in this critical hour. ABR is a non-profit ministry dedicated to demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible and to give answers to questions being asked by believers and non-believers alike. We do this by using original archaeological fieldwork and research along with studies in other apologetic disciplines. We take on the bold claims of skeptics and critics. We challenge the bizarre anti-biblical propaganda that is purveyed upon the public as gospel through television and print media. We uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is God's message for the salvation of all mankind!
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
Gen. Museveni, the servant who despises his employers -- Uganda's citizens.

[Uganda: Commentary]

This week at a televised event to celebrate the 31-year anniversary since the day he and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) seized power, Uganda's ruler Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni angrily declared to the citizens that "I am not your servant."

In an electoral democracy, which Uganda is constitutionally, the nation's leader is indeed a servant of the citizens and is supposed to serve at the pleasure of the voters.

Gen. Museveni knows that as president of Uganda, not only is he a servant, he's the most senior, or supreme servant, as head of the government comprised of junior servants.

Gen. Museveni is well aware of this as fact; one need only recall his own words from 1986 when he first seized power to confirm this: "The sovereign power in the land must be the population, not the government. The government should not be the master, but the servant of the people."

So, why would Gen. Museveni now suddenly declare to Ugandans that "I am not your servant?"

Is Gen. Museveni finally telling Ugandans openly what the citizens know anyway? That he is in fact a military ruler and that the constitution, the political campaigning, the election, the swearing-in, are all mere formalities or window dressing? If that's the case, he should explicitly state so and allow the citizens to decide on how to also openly confront that reality.

Perhaps Gen. Museveni has had some sleepless nights, bothered by the many challenges to his legitimacy since there is reportedly strong evidence that he and hand-picked election commission chair Badru Kiggundu rigged last February's presidential election?

Ugandan election observers, the observer teams from the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth, and even Gen. Museveni's primary foreign benefactor, the United States, did conclude that the February 18, 2016 vote was not free, fair, or credible.

So perhaps Gen. Museveni is acknowledging that he's not the legitimate president, and therefore can't possibly be Uganda's supreme servant, since the vote was rigged. Dr. Kizza Besigye and the millions who voted for him as flag-bearer of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party have been saying this all along. Dr. Besigye even called for an independent audit of the votes which Gen. Museveni rejected.

On the other hand, if Gen. Museveni still means something else when he states "I am not your servant," might he be admitting that he has not lived up to the compact with Uganda's citizens, when he took the presidential oath and oath of allegiance last year and after previous elections?

Gen. Museveni did declare, while holding the holy bible, that "in the name of the Almighty God" he "solemnly" affirmed to "faithfully exercise the functions of the President of Uganda" and "uphold, preserve, protect and defend the constitution and observe the laws of Uganda" and also "promote the welfare of the people of Uganda."

Clearly, Gen. Museveni has not lived up to the presidential oath and oath of allegiance. Let's consider one instance where he's clearly violated the oath of office and constitution since his last swearing in on May 12, 2016.

Gen. Museveni promised to "promote the welfare of the people of Uganda"; yet, the nation's armed forces on November 27, 2016 stormed the palace of King Charles Wesley Mumbere, hereditary ruler of Uganda's Rwenzuru people resulting in many deaths; even characterized as a massacre.. Reports of those killed range from 60 to over 100; this was not promoting the welfare of Ugandans.

Gen. Museveni knows that violating the presidential oath of office and the constitution is treason. Yet, ironically, it was Gen. Museveni who ordered King Mumbere arrested, locked up, and charged with treason. (He also ordered Dr. Besigye arrested and charged with treason for declaring that it was he who won the 2016 presidential election).

So if by saying "I am not your servant" because Gen. Museveni either knows he did not win the elections or because he has violated the constitution since he took the oath of office, then he may have a point. Only a legitimately elected citizen can be president of Uganda; and the country's supreme servant. (Citizenship is a sensitive topic that will not be discussed today).

Yet perhaps Gen. Museveni means something else when he asserts he's not a servant; perhaps his inability to vastly improve the nation's economic well-being? In addition to him swearing on the bible to "promote the welfare of the people of Uganda" he has also on numerous occasions, unsolicited, vowed to lift Uganda to "middle income" status.

Of course a good servant of the people would deliver on a promise to improve the standard and quality of living of the citizens. One such servant who kept that vow was Lee Kwan Yu, the late prime minister of Singapore. He ruled from 1959 to 1965, before the country was independent or separated from federation with Malaysia; he then continued in power from 1965 to 1990.

While nominal income measures for countries, unadjusted for standards of living or for net-foreign economic interactions, are not the best barometers, they still provide some useful insight into a country's economy.

In 1965, Singapore's estimated nominal gdp per capita was $500 (World Bank); by the time Lee Kwan Yu retired in 1990 it was $12,766 (IMF), almost 26 times more. The prime minister and his ruling party transformed Singapore from a low-income to wealthy country.

When Gen. Museveni seized power in 1986, Uganda's nominal gdp per capita was $342 and 30 years later in 2016 it was $623 (IMF); less than 2 times more. (Even if Gen. Museveni's economists come up with rosier statistics they will never come anywhere close to Lee Kwan Yu's accomplishments. By 2016 Singapore's estimated nominal income per head was $53,053.).

So, when Gen. Museveni declares to Ugandans "I am not your servant," perhaps he's conceding what the citizens already know; that he will never serve them the way Lee Kwan Yu did the citizens of Singapore.

Gen. Museveni might claim that it's unfair to compare his performance with that of the leader of an Asian Tiger -- this is the term used to refer to the first newly-industrialized countries that in addition to Singapore included Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

In that case, consider Ghana's performance then: When Museveni seized power Ghana's nominal income was $711 (IMF); today it's expanded by nearly 2.5 times to $1,551 and Ghana is a low middle-income country. (The World Bank defines lower middle-income countries as those whose average income ranges from $1,026 to $4,035; in East Africa the only other country that meets the measure is Kenya at $1,522).

In truth, Gen. Museveni knows that he will never transform Uganda into a middle-income country. While campaigning for the 2016 vote he promised voters free hoes to till the soil. How would Uganda transform into middle income in Gen. Museveni's lifetime while offering hoes to his citizens in the 21st century?

Gen. Museveni, in his burst of megalomania --which has been frequent-- also added, "I am just a freedom fighter; I am fighting for myself, for my belief; thats how I come in." In his mind, he is engaged in a personal feud with Gen. Idi Amin and President Milton Obote, two rulers who are now both dead and who were deposed in 1979 and 1985, respectively. At least he was honest in conceding that his involvement in the freedom struggle was never about Ugandans; it was, in his words, "for myself."

Gen. Museveni also said: "If anybody thinks you gave me a job, he is deceiving himself. I am just a freedom fighter whom you thought could help you also." He added, in a tone signifying disgust: "I am not an employee." This statement clears up another critical issue; the source of his wealth.

Ordinarily, full-time leaders are paid by the treasury from funds from the citizens; the tax-payers, who employ the president. Since Gen. Museveni does not own proprietary intellectual property, such as Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook, or Jeff Bezos's Amazon, he has opened himself up to speculation. Unless he offers clarification, Ugandans may wonder whether embezzled state funds or loot from the Congo may account for his fortune.

Gen. Museveni's declaration that "I am not your servant" should not be taken lightly.

If he claims he's the legitimate president, there's no debate he is a servant; albeit, a bad servant who has refused to be fired, by constantly rigging elections and rejecting the will of the voters; his employers.

On the other hand, if Gen. Museveni is admitting he's not the legitimately-elected president of Uganda, then he's right to confess that he's therefore not the country's supreme servant.

He would then have to explain why he's in State House.
Unions at Bus Eireann will meet this week to discuss strike action at the company.

The NBRU has accused the firm of playing a game of chess with employees, after the company announced a series of cutbacks to come into force next month.
Update 6.20pm: the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he WILL travel to the White House on St Patrick's Day, despite calls for him to refuse the invitation in protest at Donald Trump's travel bans.

A statement released on his behalf this evening he said: "In order to maintain the historically strong links between the Irish and American peoples it is important that the Taoiseach continues to engage with the US President and his administration in Washington around the events of St. Patrick's Day.

"Doing so allows the Taoiseach to outline, in person, his Government's views on a range of issues, including business and economic ties, immigration and other matters of common interest.

"He will continue to act in the interests of Irish people and to that end he will raise these matters again this year."

Update 6pm: Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said Irish airports should not enforce Donald Trump's travel bans, and said he would raise the matter with the Taoiseach.

"This arbitrary ban and the refusal to offer sanctuary to refugees runs counter to international obligations, equality and decency," he said.

"Generations of Irish fled starvation, poverty and conflict to make a new life and contribute to building America.

"I congratulate the protesters at the airports last night and welcome the temporary stay on this unjust policy. I believe that the Irish Government should not allow Irish airports to enforce this fundamentally unjust order. I will be raising the matter directly with the Taoiseach."

Earlier:

The leader of the Labour Party has said the Taoiseach should not go to Washington for St Patrick's Day.

US President Donald Trump has invited Enda Kenny for the traditional shamrock bowl ceremony on St Patrick's Day.

More than 13,000 people have signed an Uplift petition in the last 24 hours calling on Enda Kenny to refuse the invitation.

Brendan Howlin's comments came after Donald Trump imposed a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the US.

Mr Howlin said that while he values the links between Ireland and America, Trump's actions and views are completely contrary to those of the vast majority of Irish people.

He called on Enda Kenny to withdraw from the planned visit as he does not think meeting the US President will achieve anything.

"(Mr Trump) doesnt allow any criticism, as we've seen. Therefore there's no point going and even arguing with him," he said.

"If the Taoiseach arrives in Washington it will be seen as giving credence and support to a policy platform that is anathema to the vast bulk of Irish people."

A number of political parties are calling on Mr Kenny to reject the invitation as a result of Mr Trump's barring of immigrants and refugees this weekend.

However Colm O'Gorman of Amnesty International Ireland said Mr Kenny should make use of the opportunity.

He said: "Personally I think it would be a powerful thing if the Taoiseach were to attend the White House and make clear in public and private statements to the US administration that Ireland believes this is a grave breach of international human rights law for the US to conduct itself in this way."
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said progress has been made in discussions with government departments on the issue of recruitment and retention of nursing staff in hospitals.

90% of the INMO nurses union voted in favour of industrial action last month, and say they could put that into effect in the coming weeks.
The National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney is, as its name suggests, best known as a theatrical training school. But it was recently given a $300,000 grant by the Luminis Foundation intended, in part, to assist Indigenous creative professionals undertaking a Master of Fine Arts in Cultural Leadership at NIDA.

The fellowship, which will be awarded annually for six years to an Indigenous student undertaking that MFA at NIDA, will fund 50 per cent of the fees for the course. It will develop entrepreneurial and advocacy skills to drive innovation, inclusion, growth and sustainability across the cultural sectors. The money has also been used to build the Luminis Foundation Director's Studio, a black box teaching space for NIDA's MFA students in directing.

Artist and curator Mel George Credit:Trevor King

Canberra glass artist and curator Mel George is very honoured to receive the inaugural Luminis Foundation Indigenous Fellowship for Cultural Leadership. She was selected by arts advocates Robyn Archer, the chairwoman of MFA Cultural Leadership, and associate professor Cheryl Stock, director of graduate studies and head of cultural leadership.

"I'll be studying 30 months part time for my masters degree at NIDA," George, 41, says. She'll be able to keep working in Canberra and do most of the work online: since the students are from all over Australia, the course is structured so they come together four times a year at NIDA for instruction and "unbelievable" networking opportunities and George hopes it will have a positive wide-reaching, long-term, effect on Australian cultural policies.
But for all the hand-wringing, Trump needs China's help to fulfil some of his campaign pledges. Here are five areas where he may find the carrot works better than the stick.

From stealing US jobs to manipulating its currency to failing to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Trump's accusations against China have come fast and furious. He's broken with decades of diplomatic practice by questioning the One-China principle, which acknowledges Beijing's claim to Taiwan.

Since his election win, US President Donald Trump has put a bullseye on China.

In one of the first policy briefs posted to the new White House website, Trump promised 25 million new jobs over the next decade.

From stealing US jobs to manipulating its currency to failing to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Trump's accusations against China have come fast and furious. Credit:AP

While the plan contains few details, foreign investment can help. Trump recently heaped praise on Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, who suggested he could create as many as 1 million new jobs for US small and medium-sized business owners.

"For him to achieve his domestic aims around jobs and the economy, he's going to have to figure out how to work with China," said Paul Haenle, a China adviser to former president George W. Bush and now director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy in Beijing.

North Korea
Rarely does an executive order announce a more straightforward and laudable purpose than the one President Donald Trump signed Friday: "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States." But the president's directive is unlikely to significantly reduce the terrorist threat in the United States, which has been a minuscule part of the toll of violence since 2001. Many experts believe the order's unintended consequences will make the threat worse.

While the order requires the Department of Homeland Security to issue a report within 180 days providing detailed statistics on foreign nationals who commit acts of violence, terrorism researchers have produced rich and revealing data. For instance: Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, no one has been killed in this country in a terrorist attack by anyone who emigrated from, or whose parents emigrated from, any of the seven countries named in the order's four-month visa ban: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to Charles Kurzman, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.

Demonstrators gather outside of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) airport to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order blocking visitors from seven predominantly Muslim nations. Credit:Bloomberg

Of Muslim Americans involved in violent extremism of any kind - for instance, charged with plotting terrorism or supporting a terrorist group - only 23 percent had family backgrounds in those countries, said Kurzman, who just published the latest of his annual studies of Muslim Americans and terrorism.

The larger point of experts is that jihadi attacks garner news attention that far outstrips their prevalence in the United States, and the president's order appears to be designed to address not a rational calculation of risks but the visceral fears that terrorists set out to inflame.
Coal mining in Sydney's water catchment could prove an early test for new Premier Gladys Berejiklian, with one miner seeking eased conditions to dump waste in the Coxs River and another lodging plans to dig coal out to 2048.

Centennial Coal has applied to the Planning Department to remove a requirement on its Springvale project near Lithgow to reduce the salinity of discharges it dumps into the Coxs River.

It is also seeking to delay for two years until mid-2019 an order to "eliminate acute and chronic toxicity" from those discharges.The Coxs flows through the Blue Mountains World Heritage area and is the second-largest supply of water to Sydney's main dam at Warragamba.

Separately, South32, a coal miner which recently had its operations curtailed for its latest longwall expansion, has applied to state and federal authorities to develop two large underground sections of its Dendrobium mine near the Cordeaux and Avon reservoirs that supply Sydney and the Illawarra, respectively.
Russia's parliament has voted 380-3 to decriminalise domestic violence in cases where it does not cause "substantial bodily harm" and does not occur more than once a year.

The move on Friday, which eliminates criminal liability in such cases, makes a violation punishable by a fine of roughly $500, or a 15-day arrest, provided there is no repeat within 12 months.

Yelena Mizulina (L), is the ultra-conservative Russian MP behind the bill. Credit:ITAR-TASS via Alamy

The bill now goes to the rubber-stamp upper chamber, where no opposition is expected. It then must be signed by President Vladimir Putin, who has signalled his support.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that family conflicts do "not necessarily constitute domestic violence."
If Gladys Berejiklian wants to make housing more affordable across Sydney by supplying more homes, Appin, to the far south-west of the city, may be one of the areas to which the Premier turns her eye.

The NSW government last year pleased major land-owners south of Macarthur and Campbelltown when it reversed its position not to include areas around West Appin in housing development plans for the next 20 years.

In 2015, the Department of Planning and Environment foreshadowed the release of another 35,000 homes in the greater Macarthur area. The plan included the potential for two suburbs at Menangle Park and Mount Gilead, just to the south of Campbelltown, and a satellite city at Wilton further to the south.

But the documents released as part of the plan did not include housing developments around Appin, roughly in the middle of the two land release areas. Those documents were a blow to Lang Walker's Walker Corporation, which owned 1400 hectares at Appin.
Trains have resumed on the Redcliffe Peninsula line after more than three hours of customers being forced onto buses and waiting out delays.

Customers were warned to expect residual delays of about 15 minutes when trains resumed just after 9am.

The newly added line has been plagued with problems, from a months-long opening delay last year the increased demand it placed on Queensland Rail's understaffed driver rosters, resulting in mass cancellations and eventually sackings at the rail provider.

The Moreton Bay Rail Link's opening was originally scheduled for mid-2016 but was delayed until October because the signals could not properly communicate with the network.
Kangaroo Bus Lines managing director Daryl Webster said the fire appeared to have started in the engine bay and the company would investigate what went wrong.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said a crew arrived about 10 minutes later and had the fire under control but not extinguished.

Emergency services were called to the fire on the Redcliffe Peninsula's major arterial road about 8am but there were no reports of injuries.

"The kids are all off the bus and safe, which is the main thing but other than that I have no details of what may or may not have caused it. I'm not too sure," he said.

"They've already been transported as far as I know onto another bus and to school.

"The driver used both the fire extinguishers in the bus to try and put it out but unfortunately he run out of powder before he could really get it out."

Mr Webster said the bus was relatively new, from 2008, and was believed to be taking kids to various schools on the Redcliffe Peninsula.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said there were children on board the bus but they were not injured.
Rather than throwing away nature's chocolate wrapper Queensland scientists may be able to use them to solve the world's chocolate shortage.

Using the husk of the cacao bean around cocoa trees has been found to increase the pollinator population, tripling the number of fruit on each tree on average.

Spreading husks around cacao trees has been found to increase fruit on trees by three times the amount and four times the weight on average. Credit:JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY

James Cook University graduate student Samantha Forbes re-worked the idea from old texts to spread the husks on the ground around the trees.

"I did some research and globally all cacao crops seem to have shortfall in pollination," Ms Forbes said.
A prominent Melbourne dentist has taken defamation action against a patient who posted a scathing online review after claiming he was quoted $1200 for a filling that would take only 45 minutes.

Carlton resident Mark Robert Bradbury gave Smile Solutions a one-star rating on the practice's Google listing page before launching a personal attack on the business' owner and director, Kia Pajouhesh.

Dr Kia Pajouhesh in his office at the Manchester Unity building. Credit:Arsineh Houspian

"The greedy owner drives a Bentley and brags about his private box at the footy ... yet his motto is 'we see things from the patient's perspective'. Hmm ... the only thing this lot see is the size of your wallet," wrote Mr Bradbury, according to a Supreme Court writ.

Based in the Manchester Unity building in Collins Street, Smile Solutions was founded by Dr Pajouhesh 24 years ago and has become one of the nations's largest private dental practices, with almost 50 dentists, specialists and hygienists.
Exclusive

The Immigration Department paid more than $22.5 million over a decade to firms owned by a prominent Melbourne migration lawyer, who fled the country owing millions to the Australian Taxation Office.

Former migration lawyer Florin Burhala's professional networking page says he is now a "freelance consultant" dividing his time between the Middle East and Europe. Credit:LinkedIn

Despite pocketing multiple lucrative contracts to help asylum seekers apply for Australian protection, Florin Burhala's company BMA Lawyers is now in liquidation and owes creditors almost $1 million.

He also owes the ATO about $4 million, and questions have been raised about the quality of advice provided by his firm to asylum seekers needing protection.
A prominent Melbourne Muslim restaurateur has labelled US President Donald Trump's 90-day visa ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority nations as amounting to tyranny and bigotry.

Hana Assafiri described the move as a "war" against Muslims, and that human rights were being scaled back, which was "scary".

Restaurateur Hana Assafiri at her Moroccan Deli-cacy cafe in Brunswick. Credit:Justin McManus

Ms Assafiri had planned to fly to New York in March to an international conference on the status of women.

But she has decided not to go, which she says is "100 per cent" due to the ban and unease at how authorities might act towards her.
An alleged teenage crime spree in a stolen bus came to an end after a short police chase through Melbourne's western suburbs.

Four teenagers, a boy and three girls, were pulled from the bus and arrested on Friday night following the one-day crime spree, police said.

Four teens have been arrested after a crime spree on a stolen bus. Credit:Cathryn Tremain

The vehicle, a smaller-sized bus owned by a private company, had been reported stolen on Friday at 1am from a West Footscray depot.

The teens on the bus were then spotted in western suburbs before police finally caught up with them.
Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

A day after US President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from the seven countries, Mr Trudeau posted his retort.

A second pointed tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Mr Trump's immigration policy, included an archive photo of Mr Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport in 2015.
Travellers arriving at the international gate of Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport are greeted by protesters. Credit:AP "Refugees are welcome here!" one read, and another said: "We turned Jews back, now Muslims?" The growing crowd in Terminal D erupted into jubilant chants of "USA! USA! USA!" when Arya Neal Behgooy of Plano and his wife, Shima, emerged from the door that spits out international travellers. Iranian green card holder Shima Behgooy, right, cries on the shoulders of her father-in-law Ahmad Behgooy, a native of Iran who is now a US citizen, after she was released at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Credit:Dallas Morning News via AP Arya Behgooy is a US citizen. Shima Behgooy is a green-card holder from Iran.

Ahmad Behgooy embraced Arya, his son. Shima dissolved into the arms of her mother-in-law, Afsaneh Behgooy, who was holding a bouquet of roses that had begun to wilt during the hours-long wait. Hisham, left, and Mariam Yasin, centre, welcome their mother Najah al-Shamieh, from Syria, after immigration authorities released her at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Saturday. Credit:AP Shima and her husband had flown from Tehran to Frankfurt, Germany. Mid-flight on their way to Dallas, the couple learned about the ban on travellers from Iran, including green-card holders. Immigration officers ultimately gave Shima an exemption, her husband said, though he noted that 30 to 40 other travellers were still being held. Mariam Yasin, left, translates for her mother Najah al-Shamieh, 55, from Syria, after immigration authorities released her. Credit:AP

Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings made his feelings about Trump's order known at a downtown news conference on Saturday night. "It's just not good for our city. It's not good for the state," Rawlings said. "This is not a solution. This is a foul insult to the rest of the country." April Harrison-Bader protests President Donald Trump's executive action at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Credit:AP Miriam Yasin was eventually reunited with her 54-year-old mother, Najah al-Shamieh. "It feels so good, but it's sad for the other ones," Yasin said, the crowd cheering at their tearful reunion. "I feel like I want to stay here for the other ones."

Alia Salem, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said about 50 people had been detained at Dallas-Fort Worth on Saturday morning. By midafternoon that number was down to nine, some joined by local family members in a detention area at the airport. The virtually unprecedented measures triggered harsh reactions not only from Democrats and others who typically advocate for immigrants but also key sectors of the US business community. Leading technology companies recalled scores of overseas employees and sharply criticised the President. Legal experts forecast a wave of litigation over the order, calling it unconstitutional. Canada announced it would accept asylum applications from US green-card holders. Yet Trump, who centred his campaign in part on his vow to crack down on illegal immigrants and impose what became known as his "Muslim ban", was unbowed. As White House officials insisted that the measure strengthens national security, the President stood squarely behind it. "It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely, and we're going to have a very, very strict ban, and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

Though several congressional Republicans denounced the order, the vast majority remained silent and a few voiced crucial support - including, most prominently, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had rejected Trump's anti-Muslim proposals during the campaign. "This is not a religious test, and it is not a ban on people of any religion,'' Ryan said on Saturday. "This order does not affect the vast majority of Muslims in the world." The President's order suspends admission to the US of all refugees for 120 days and bars for 90 days the entry of any citizen from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. That list excludes several majority-Muslim nations - notably Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia - where the Trump Organisation, now run by the President's sons, is active and which in some cases have also faced troublesome issues with terrorism. According to the text of the order, the restriction applies to countries that have already been excluded from programs allowing people to travel to the US without a visa because of terrorism concerns. Hewing closely to nations already named as terrorism concerns elsewhere in law might have allowed the White House to avoid angering majority-Muslim allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Amid widespread confusion on Saturday about how the order will be enforced, some administration officials acknowledged that its rollout had been chaotic. Officials tried to reassure travellers and their families, pointing out that green-card holders in the United States will not be affected and noting that the Department of Homeland Security is allowed to grant waivers to those individuals and others deemed to not pose a security threat. It can take years for someone to become a green-card holder, or lawful permanent resident authorised to permanently live and work in the country. "If you've been living in the United States for 15 years and you own a business and your family is here, will you be granted a waiver? I'm assuming yes, but we are working that out,'' said one official, who could not be more specific because details remained so cloudy. A senior White House official later said that waivers will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and that green-card holders in the United States will have to meet with a consular officer before leaving the country.

But officials made clear that the federal officers detaining refugees and migrants with valid US visas and restricting them from entering the country were following orders handed down by top Homeland Security officials, at the White House's behest. More than 4000 academics from universities nationwide signed a statement of opposition and voiced concern the ban would become permanent. They described it as discriminatory and "inhumane, ineffective and un-American". The executive action has caused "complete chaos" and torn apart families, said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. At Dulles International Airport, Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe addressed more than 100 people protesting Trump's order. "We want to know who is being detained and why they are being detained," McAuliffe said. "I remind everybody we are a land of immigrants. . . . Discriminatory tactics breed hatred.''

His remarks were cheered by demonstrators holding signs saying "Refugees welcome here" and "Stand with Muslims". In New York City, lawyers for two Iraqi men detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport - one of whom, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, served the US military mission in Iraq - filed a federal lawsuit challenging the order as unconstitutional. They also are seeking class certification so they may represent all refugees and visa-holders who are being held at US ports of entry. "We have a moral obligation to protect and repay these people who risked their lives for US troops," said Brandon Friedman, who, as an infantry lieutenant with the 101st Airborne Division, worked with Darweesh in Iraq. "There are not many Americans who have done as much for this country as he has. He's put himself on the line," Friedman added. "He's put his family on the line to help US soldiers in combat, and it is astonishing to me that this country would suddenly not allow people like that in."

Outside the terminal, Darweesh was greeted by his advocates after nearly 19 hours in detention, as well as protesters opposed to the Trump policy who had come to the airport to support him and the others who had been detained. Although shaken, Darweesh paused to speak to the media before moving on to reunite with his family. A reporter asked if he was angry. "No, because I have these people," he said, gripping his lawyer's shoulder. "This is America." While immigration advocates said at least one refugee family had been detained at San Francisco International Airport, there was no immediate count of how many refugees were being held at airports nationwide. Advocates said that ticketed passengers also had been barred from boarding US-bound flights overseas, and they confirmed that green-card holders who left the United States have been unable to return. In Cairo, airport officials said seven US-bound migrants - six from Iraq and one from Yemen - were prevented Saturday from boarding an EgyptAir flight to JFK Airport, according to the Associated Press. Other advocates promised further legal challenges. CAIR said it would file a lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional.

"There is no evidence that refugees - the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation - are a threat to national security," said Lena Masri, CAIR's national litigation director. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality." In a conference call with reporters, immigration lawyers and advocates said Trump's order violated the Constitution, along with US and international laws that guarantee migrants the right to apply for asylum at the border and the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which forbids discrimination in the issuance of visas based on race, nationality, place of birth or place of residence. But Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Centre for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, praised Trump for taking action to pause the refugee resettlement program and limit immigration from the seven countries. "It's a prudent measure," he said. "It's not the end of the world. It's not the Statue of Liberty crying. The reaction has been hyperbolic." The effects of Trump's order played out nationwide.
HS Football: North Penn upsets Pennsbury in instant playoff classic

With the game on the line, North Penn coach Dick Beck opted to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt against Pennsbury.
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...
Where Andy Kim, Bob Healey stand on abortion, inflation and more

The USA TODAY Network New Jersey asked Andy Kim and Bob Healey where they stand on key issues in the midterms. Here's what they said.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, and Macquarie, an Australian investment firm, could become the latest global investors joining the race to buy and build malls in the country.
handled nearly 56 million passengers last year, joining the ranks of some of its busiest global peers such as Bangkok, Singapore and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Hyderabad-based is planning to establish five startup incubation hubs in tier-II cities of Karnataka. Already, it has created an incubation facility in Bengaluru with an investment of Rs 8 crore, raised from Karnataka government.
Indias software services sector is bracing for the consequences of new US President Donald Trump action against outsourcing of jobs.

Trump has signed an order to block entry of people, including highly qualified professionals, from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Having won the presidency on the promise of protecting US jobs and against moving work offshore, he has been warning big companies, such as Ford and Carrier, to cancel factory plans in Mexico and shift these home. And, extracted a promise from computer giant Apple and its supplier Foxconn, and online retailer Amazon, to generate as much as 150,000 American jobs.

Thousands have demonstrated in the US to protest Trumps move to block people from Muslim nations, despite their having the needed permits. The US information technology (IT) has found a rare common ground, saying the measures are immoral and un-American.

Trumps action comes soon after two senators of the US legislature proposed a new law for H1B visa holders there. Indian IT is keenly watching for Trumps directions on H1-B visa norms -- a large chunk of Indian software engineers on site work in America are on H1B and L1 visas.

It is unclear at this point. However, if the proposals for changes at the H1-B visa norms (happen), the will surely have an impact, said S Gopalakrishnan, a co-founder and former chairman of Infosys.

Indias software lobby group, Nasscom, has asked IT majors in America such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and IBM to lobby with Trump, to explain that more jobs would be generated by US if they outsource to India. The potential visa curbs come a time when the traditional IT services sector is under pressure from automation and the shift in spending on newer areas such as digital and cloud.

So far, it appears Trump is following through on his poll promises. The IT is definitely little bit less optimistic. Indian will have to hire more locally and it is going to be difficult if such a sentiment continues, said Dinesh Goel of ISG, an IT research firm. The policies hint at the fact that there is no other way but more local hiring. Indian firms have to find ways to do business with the US, a 60 per cent revenue generator (for them).

Some experts say Trumps order on refugees and immigration does set the tone but does not directly impact the IT sector. It is about the environment in the US, said Pareekh Jain of HfS Research India.





Wait & Watch
Joan graduated from Downey High School in 1943 and began working as a secretary. She met her future husband, 2nd LT Anthony J. Deskis, Jr. in 1951 and they exchanged their wedding vows on January 25, 1952. Joan and Anthony moved from sunny California to snowy Alaska on their first military assignment as a married couple where they lived in a homestead cabin for a year. Throughout her marriage, she moved the family to various locations as the Army dictated. She never failed to efficiently set up and continually improve the home to make a warm and welcome place. The many moves took them throughout the entire United States and twice to Taiwan. Finally settling down in Carlisle, in 1980, Joan and Anthony Jr. set up their retirement home. After the death of Anthony, Jr. in 2008, Joan moved to a smaller home in town. She loved to travel, go out to dinner, and play Mah Jongg and cards with her many friends. Joan remained fairly active until her health began to decline due to a series of strokes. She wanted to remain in her home until she passed and Fataba Swaray answered the call and provided efficient, professional, and loving care in the home.
The herbal-natural products market has got an impetus in recent times with the emergence of . The astounding success of yoga guru Ramdevs venture has not only attracted the attention of multinational fast moving consumer good (FMCG) majors towards the growing segment but also injected enthusiasm in smaller players, trying for years to expand.
The Chennai Police has decided to impose Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) at the Marina beach and surrounding areas, where agitation against the ban acquired the centre-stage.
Army chief General on Sunday said climate change and heavy shelling from Pakistan are responsible for the increase in avalanches that have claimed lives of at least 15 army men since last week.

The army chief was speaking after laying wreath at the mortal remains of Major Amit Sagar, who lost his life in an avalanche that struck an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Gurez sector on Wednesday.

"Ceasefire violations and use of heavy weapons by Pakistani troops is leading to loosening of soil, hereby creating danger of a landslide... There have been a lot of ceasefire violations and heavy weapons too are being used," the army chief said.

"Global warming is also leading to cracks in glaciers," he said.

He added that avalanches were being reported from areas which in the past did not have so many incidents.

Gen. Rawat said the soldiers had to be deployed at many places despite the danger of an avalanche to prevent infiltration.

"In the weather that is prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir, the soldiers have been deployed to counter the terrorists and infiltrators. They are doing their duty despite the adverse conditions," he said.

"Major Amit Sagar is an example, he volunteered to serve in the area knowing the difficult conditions," he said.

The army chief added that the bodies of the soldiers that were martyred are still in Jammu and Kashmir because of the weather conditions, but all efforts are being made to bring them down.

"I want to assure the families of soldiers affected by the avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir that we are with them," Rawat said.

He said the army should withdraw troops from places where there is a possibility of an avalanche. However, some posts are vulnerable to insurgency.

"We are working with Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment to map avalanches so that we are better prepared and can move troops in case of danger," he said.

At least 15 soldiers were killed after two avalanches hit a military post and a patrol team along the Line of Control (LoC) in last few days.
A judicial commission probing the has begun its second round of inquiry in which the statements of eyewitnesses, organisers and officials are being recorded.

The one-man inquiry commission headed by a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Rajmani Chauhan, had begun the probe here yesterday, officials said.

The commission is on a two-day visit to Varanasi to probe the stampede in which as many as 25 people, mostly women, were killed and over 100 injured, while crossing the overcrowded Ganga bridge.

The incident had occurred when the devotees of Jai Gurudev sect were on their way to attend a religious congregation, two km away in a village in Chandauli district.

More than a lakh people had participated in the procession that was heading to the religious camp of Jai Gurudev sect. However, permission had been sought only for 3,000-5,000 people.

Following the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Akhilesh Yadav had constituted a one-man inquiry commission to probe the stampede.

Justice (Retd) Chauhan had summoned nearly 42 officials, who were on duty the day the incident occurred to record their statements.

The commission had earlier this month visited Varanasi between January 3 to 6 to probe the stampede incident and completed its first round of inquiry with recording statements of over 100 people, including eyewitnesses and organisers.

However, Chauhan while talking to the media has said that so far only one official from Chandauli district had appeared before the commission to record his statement and no other officials turned up before the commission to record their statements.

He said that due to being engaged in the Assembly election duties, most of the officials had requested to extend the dates for appearing before the commission (to record their statements), to which the commission had given them one more chance and it will be returning again to Varanasi for holding its third round of inquiry.

Chauhan said the commission may extend its date of probe for nearly six more months and it is likely to return again on February 20, for its third round of inquiry.

He made an appeal to the people including the media that if they had any video footages or photographs taken at the time of the incident, then they may provide it to the commission.
A body representing Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers decided to stick to its earlier stand to observe Monday as a black day.

This is against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council's decision to divide administrative turf between the Centre and states, despite an assurance by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the new indirect tax regime would create ample job opportunities.

The officers would wear black bands on Monday, the IRS Association (Customs and Central Excise) said, in reply to whether they were relenting after the ministers assurance.

Former (Central Board of Excise and Customs) CBEC chairman Sumit Dutt Majumder echoed the officers stand, of feeling let down by the Centre's compromise with states for the proposed regime.

Observers say that as the Council had worked out a broad political compromise, after extensive discussion, it should not be reversed. However, a lot of detailing is still required and could be so done as to assure the central officials that they would be engaged appropriately under the regime.

The Council had decided states would have the power to assess and administer 90 per cent of payers of the new tax, with annual turnover of less than Rs 1.5 crore. Over this threshold, states and the Centre would have administrative control over assessees in a ratio of 50:50.

Grouse

Majumder said the concerns were mostly related to services tax, on which central officials have expertise over 20 years and their state counterparts were "novices". "GST is a joint venture between Centre and states. No one should feel let down. But, central officials have expertise of over 20 years on services and now will control only 10 per cent of assessees up to Rs 1.5 crore of turnover," he complained.

Unlike goods, you need deft handling in taxing of services, he said, particularly when there is inter-state sale and purchase. "You need expertise to determine the place of supply in intangibles."

There will be fights between states whenever services move inter-state every now and then under GST, he added. And, quoted data from the directorate general of commercial intelligence that the highest incidence of tax evasion was in services below Rs 1.5 crore.

Soothe them

However, M S Mani of consultancy Deloitte Haskins & Sells says the apprehensions of central officials seem to be exaggerated. GST would increase the powers of both Centre and states , he said.

Pratik Jain of consultancy said the same thing; various types of new work would emerge under GST where central tax officials could be employed.

"Both, central and state officials, are going to become more powerful. I don't think anyone is going to become less powerful," Mani said.

The Council had decided the broad issue of administrative turf. It should now work out specifics about who is going to do what and how will that be divided, he added.

And, it should communicate more with both the Centre and state officials, reassuring them. "Nobody's role is going to be undermined. If GST is successful, it is going to significantly increase revenues, scope of work, role and powers of both central and state officials. However, the roles are going to be different from the present roles," Mani said.

Jain said the central officials worry was on how well theyd be engaged. Of the 10 per cent of assessees up to Rs 1.5 crore of turnover (and the 50 per cent above that), it isunderstood that only up to five per cent could be taken up for scrutiny, he said. "So, their concerns are over how the officials will be engaged," he said.

Since the decision has been taken, a solution has to be found out within that, Jain said.

Adding: "A huge data will be generated under the GST regime. Somebody has to analyse it and make use of it. There would be enforcement issues, where lots of officials would be needed. Also, there would be an anti-profiteering body under the GST regime, where officials could be employed."

Earlier

The IRS Association had on January 25 decided to not celebrate Customs Day on January 27 and observe January 30 as a black day. They had also said that giving powers to states for taxing economic activities within 12 nautical miles of the coast was a national security issue.

States are only getting power to levy and collect taxes, not other controls, is Jains comment on this.

CBEC Chairman Najib Shah had on Friday raised these issues on the same dais shared by the finance minister. Jaitley had then said GST would create ample opportunities for all staffers.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has welcomed immigrants in a sunny Twitter message written in stark contrast to Donald Trump's order temporarily banning all refugees and many Muslims from travelling to the United States.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau posted on Twitter on Saturday.

The message comes one day after Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and impose tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Since then, travellers from those countries have been stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests and detentions at airports.

Some who were already in the air when Trump signed the executive order were detained on arrival, The New York Times reported.

On Saturday, Canadian airline WestJet said it would reimburse passengers prevented from travelling to the United States under the new policy.

"WestJet will comply with this executive order," the company said in a statement.

"In the event, there are foreign nationals from these countries on WestJet who are denied entry, we will be providing them with a full refund."

The airliner has already had to refuse one passenger transport to the United States, a spokeswoman said, without specifying the passenger's origin.

According to the latest Canadian census, from 2011, one out of five people in the country are foreign-born.

Canada has welcomed more than 39,670 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and the beginning of this January, according to government figures.
Britains prime minister is the first foreign leader to visit the new American president, Donald Trump. They have lots to discuss  security, immigration, the special relationship. There is also much talk of laying the ground for a US-UK trade deal.
True to his promise, President withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership within 72 hours of assuming office. His decision has many implications for trade and geostrategic issues in the Asia Pacific, and remaining members are planning to meet and discuss their options.
First, reflect on the cruelty of President Trumps decision on Friday to indefinitely suspend the resettlement of Syrian refugees and temporarily ban people from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States. It took just hours to begin witnessing the injury and suffering this ban inflicts on families that had every reason to believe they had outrun carnage and despotism in their homelands to arrive in a singularly hopeful nation.
YORK  As the halls of William Penn Senior High emptied, a quiet began to fall over the building.

Chris Kurz stood in one of his old classrooms on a recent afternoon, returning to his music home after a decade away.

He handed one newly crafted violin, then another, to his former teacher.

Violins he made in Italy.

Soon, mundane tuning and scales transformed into melodies as longtime mentor Don Carn warmed up. Mozarts Eine kleine Nachtmusik flowed into Bachs Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring, the sounds reverberating deeper as he played, horsehair flying faster across the strings.

Kurz, 27, described it as a full-circle moment. The former high school valedictorian is in the midst of completing a most striking conversion from preparing to play violins for a living to making them.

His instructors cannot boast of another who has traveled his path. Not in Carns 24 years working in the York City School District and not in Kathleen Yeaters more than 40 years teaching strings throughout York County.

Once an over-zealous performance major, Kurz changed directions after a college study-abroad trip to Italy. He was overwhelmed by history and possibility in legendary Cremona, the small city that commands some of the finest violin craftsmanship in the world.

Kurz immediately gave up his Penn State studies to learn this ancient trade while living by the sea, biking in the mountains and becoming a man of the world.

As people would say to me, I wish I had your life. Thats happened to me so many times, Kurz said quietly, a smile beginning to form.

But where exactly does he go from here?

There is no blueprint for becoming a profitable or even sustainable violin maker, or luthier, because there are so few who do it. For example, there is only one publicized string instrument maker in York County.

Many professional players in the area venture to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia for maintenance work on their instruments.

Kurz just returned to Italy but isnt sure where hell be working or living. His official schooling complete, he figures to continue learning and earn a meager living as a workshop apprentice.

And with no extended visa, he must leave the country in April.

He still is unsure exactly how his dreams will support him.

He jokes that money made it easy to shift his career focus.

Studying violin making in the sleepy birthplace of Antonio Stradivari, the man by which all stringed instruments have been judged, cost only about $175 a year.

I thought I didnt understand when they told me, Kurz said. You could add two zeros to that number and you could still say thats not that expensive.

Even more, he was intoxicated by the mixing of two musical worlds, art and science combining to not only create a beautiful instrument but also one that sings like a renowned soprano.

Plus, there is the adventure of it all, of learning an elite craft in a medieval city with new countries and cultures only a bike ride away. His violin-making roommates were from Mexico and South Korea.

Hes a Renaissance man, Carn said. Hes learning languages and traveling around the world and doing something he loves.

This is an exotic career. Making violins in Italy? Cmon ...

His goal is to run his own shop one day. He knows more steady money is in small parts and repair  making bridges and sound posts, re-hairing bows and replacing strings  but he prefers to carve instruments out of blocks of maple, pine and willow.

Hes attempting to sell his second violin for about $4,000. Renowned Italian and German makers can earn $25,000 to $50,000 and even more per piece.

For now, hes caught between boldly pursuing a career abroad, or finding stability closer to home. Should he trade living by the Mediterranean Sea and biking into France and Germany for greater financial possibilities in the States?

He is resolute to push on and decide as he goes. He said he is driven each day to create.

There is something romantic about it, he said. Youre making something that makes music.
You might call it a Noahs Ark for an era of melting polar ice sheets. An audacious plan to respond to climate change by building a city of floating islands in the South Pacific is moving forward, with the government of French Polynesia agreeing to consider hosting the islands in a tropical lagoon.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesman said.

"The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries," Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

"She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion."

The German government "will now examine the consequences" of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

A federal judge on Saturday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Merkel's condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.

"The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds," he said.

"The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterday's (Saturday) phone call with the US president."

In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a "catastrophic mistake" in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.

More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the country's doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution, although the influx has slowed in recent months.
It did not take long for a diplomatic rift to open between the United States and Mexico following the election of Donald Trump.
The Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee on Sunday called for a reciprocal travel ban on Americans after Washington barred the entry of citizens from countries including Iraq, a lawmaker said.

"We clearly demanded that the Iraqi government deal reciprocally in all issues... with the United States of America," Hassan Shwairid, the deputy head of the committee, told AFP.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order barring citizens of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering the US for at least 90 days, a move he billed as an effort to make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists".

Trump's decision led to the detention of incoming refugees at US airports, sparking protests, legal challenges and widespread condemnation from rights groups.
Theresa Mays visit to the US as the first foreign leader to meet President Donald Trump has prompted much pondering about how the special relationship will fare in a new world order, in which past and precedent have been cast aside. One thing is certain  the characters involved mean it now needs to take on a less romantic tinge.
It has been nearly 250 years since a woman last held the title to Japans Chrysanthemum Throne, and almost that long since an emperor abdicated the position.
In August, Emperor Akihito, 83, signalled that he wanted to step down, telling the nation that he worried he would not be able to fulfill his duties much longer (Photo: Reuters)
Fierce battles between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels on the country's west coast have killed more than 100 fighters in the past 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.

The bodies of at least 90 Huthi rebels were taken to a hospital in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, which is controlled by the insurgents, while 19 dead soldiers were taken to the southern port city of Aden, the medical and military sources said.

Deadly clashes have shaken the area around the key Red Sea town of Mokha since the start of the year when loyalist fighters launched an offensive to oust the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies.

Loyalists backed by the firepower of a Saudi-led Arab coalition advanced on Saturday into the town after having captured its port on Monday, despite strong rebel resistance.

Clashes raged in the town on Sunday, a military official said.

Air strikes by coalition warplanes hit rebel supplies along the route between Mokha and Hodeida, the official said.

Huthi forces had controlled Mokha since they overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced on other regions aided by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Forces supporting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the coalition, launched a vast offensive on January 7 to retake the coastline overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Mokha was Yemen's main port serving as its export hub for coffee until it was overtaken by Aden and Hodeida in the 19th century.

Nearly 370 combatants have been killed since government forces launched their drive up the Red Sea coastline.
Before and the US elections, Nature magazine columnist Colin Macilwain set out a challenge: If Donald Trump were to trigger a crisis in Western democracy, scientists would need to look at their part in its downfall.
US President once again took aim at two of his harshest critics, the New York Times and Washington Post, accusing them of dishonest coverage.

"The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning. Said I would lose the primaries, then the general election. FAKE NEWS!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday, Efe news reported.

He also referred to a post-election Times letter to readers in which it claimed it treated both Trump and Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton (whom it endorsed) fairly but acknowledged underestimating the real-estate mogul's appeal among many Americans and vowed to "rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism."

"Thr (sic) coverage about me in the @nytimes and the @washingtonpost gas (sic) been so false and angry that the times actually apologised to its dwindling subscribers and readers," Trump wrote. "They got me wrong right from the beginning and still have not changed course, and never will. DISHONEST."

Trump did not indicate what sparked his latest tweet storm, although the Times and Post regularly post scathing editorials criticising Trump and his administration's policy proposals.

The tweets also came a day after both dailies extensively covered his signing of executive orders that, among other things, suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days and imposed a 90-day suspension on the issuance of visas to anyone planning to travel from seven Muslim-majority countries - Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran.

The New York Times fired back at Trump on Twitter.

"Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters," the paper said. EFE
HARRISBURG  The largest Republican majority in the Pennsylvania state Senate in nearly 70 years is wasting no time in flexing its conservative muscle, advancing bills that ultimately could test whether a veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf can withstand an override vote.

In the Senates first full week of the new two-year session, a Senate committee advanced legislation that would kill Philadelphias sick-leave law, and any other municipal law like it, and punish sanctuary cities by withholding state grant dollars.

More committee votes are planned, including on legislation to make it harder for public-sector labor unions to collect member contributions through paycheck deductions.

Versions of those bills and other hard-line or hot-button measures  have passed the Senate after Wolf took office in 2015. Some died amid opposition in the Republican-controlled House or a veto threat by Wolf.

Some did get vetoed, such as a bill to strip teachers of seniority as protection during school district layoffs.

Now, Senate Republicans are hoping to launch some of those bills through the chamber in the next two weeks as the chamber tries to pick up where it left off, said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman.

We may be a little more aggressive than we have been in the past, because its easier to find votes to pass more difficult or more controversial items, Corman said.

So far, Wolf has vetoed 16 bills since he became governor two years ago, and none have been overridden.

Veto overrides are rare, in any case: The last one was in late 2010, when the lame duck Legislature overrode then-Gov. Ed Rendells veto of a massive schools bill because it carried tax breaks for certain charter schools. Before that, the last one was in 1994, when the late Gov. Robert P. Casey was in office, according to House parliamentarian Clancy Myer.

This year could test that rarely crossed line.

Republicans picked up three Senate seats in Novembers election, giving the GOP a 34-seat veto-proof majority in the 50-seat chamber. The GOP also picked up two seats in the House, leaving Republicans 14 members short of a two-thirds majority.

Thus far, House Majority Leader Dave Reed has focused his public comments on the states ragged finances, and House GOP members say the caucus has not yet held its policy retreat to prioritize issues.

In the recently ended two-year session, Senate bills limiting the collection of union dues through paycheck deductions or abolishing Philadelphias sick leave law stalled in the House, hitting a wall of opposition from Democrats and labor-friendly Republicans from southeastern Pennsylvania.

That is unlikely to change, said Rep. Gene DiGirolamo.

My guess is that the votes still arent there in the House to do that, DiGirolamo said.

Legislation to punish sanctuary cities  counties or municipalities where authorities do not honor federal requests to detain someone suspected of being in the country illegally  got bogged down amid disagreements between the House and Senate GOP.

Measures to restrict abortion rights or broaden gun rights have received bipartisan majorities in the Republican-controlled Legislature, and could pose the biggest threat to override a Wolf veto.

Last year, bills on both subjects inched toward the finish line late in the legislative session, but died amid a veto threat by Wolf.

One bill would have made Pennsylvania the 15th state to ban elective abortions after 20 weeks.

Another would make it easier for gun owners and organizations like the National Rifle Association to win court challenges to cities firearms ordinances.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa said he believes the chamber would reject an attempt to override a Wolf veto of abortion legislation.

You probably have three, maybe four strong pro-life Democrats, Costa said. I think on the other side you probably have five or six or seven or eight pro-choice folks. So I think combined, we get there.

The legislation targeting municipal firearms ordinances sought to revive a 2014 law struck down in court on a technicality.

It passed the Legislature under Wolfs predecessor, Republican Tom Corbett, with veto-proof majorities.
When details leaked earlier this week about a spate of immigration-related executive orders from President Donald Trump, much public discussion focused on a 30-day ban on new visas for citizens from seven "terror-prone" countries.
Emirates airline has changed pilot and flight attendant rosters on flights to the United States following the sudden US travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, but it said US flights continue to operate to schedule.
Global opposition to US President Donald Trump intensified on Sunday as world leaders condemned the move to temporarily limit entry from what are predominantly Muslim countries, while Germany pledged to play a bigger role on the international stage. World leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised Trump and said their nations wont change their immigration policies. Merkel expressed her concerns about a ban during a call with Trump on Saturday, according to a tweeted statement from spokesman Steffen Seibert. ...
The White House defended President Donald Trumps executive order halting entry to the US from seven predominantly Muslim Middle East countries after two judges blocked parts of the plan, even as Republican lawmakers suggested the presidents action was too broad. Trump led the charge, telling his almost 23 million Twitter followers on Sunday morning: Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess! The president was putting Americans first, White House ...
One US soldier died and three were injured in a raid in Yemen, the United States military said today, adding that 14 members of Al-Qaeda were also killed.

A local Yemeni official had reported that the raid left 41 suspected Al-Qaeda militants and 16 civilians dead, among them eight women and eight children.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Yogi Adityanath, in a scathing attack on the Congress, said the older 'destructive' symbol of the party (a couple of bulls) indicated it can only ruin Uttar Pradesh.

Reacting on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's comment on the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) ideology not dangerous like that of the BJP, Adityanath said people with destructive mindset can only utter foul words.

"Have you seen the older symbol of the Congress? It was a couple of bulls, which showed that it will destroy Uttar Pradesh, not prosper it," said the BJP MP.

"Expecting destructive people to speak something good is in itself wrong to think," he added.

Rahul Gandhi, in a joint press briefing with Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav earlier today in Lucknow, scoffed at the BJP, saying that at least BSP's ideology was not dangerous like that of the saffron party, adding that he holds immense respect for Mayawati.

Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on February 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Haryana has been put on maximum alert in view of the call for a fresh round of quota agitation from Sunday given by some Jat outfits.

During a similar stir a year ago, there were 30 deaths and widespread destruction of property.

An assembly of five or more people in about 500 meters from and state highways and railway stations has been banned.

The paramilitary forces are out in sensitive areas while heavy police force too has been deployed to maintain strict vigil.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Welcoming U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on Muslim immigrants and refugees, the Janata Dal (United) on said that building up barriers could help in countering terrorism, while asserting that Pakistan is the epicentre of terrorism and the decision can successfully put pressure on Islamabad.

"I think this building up of barriers may have an impact on terrorism and act as pressure point on these countries. It can also shrink the globe in somewhat good manner," JD (U) leader Pawan Varma told ANI, adding the United States is the only country that can influence Pakistan to severe its nexus to the support and nurturing of terrorism.

Meanwhile, the Congress Party disapproved Trump's ban, saying scrutiny should take place if there is any doubt on somebody.

Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed said: "But stating that all citizens of a country are dangerous it is not right. It is an international issue and the foreign delegation should look into it."

Trump yesterday signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries.

Fulfilling a 2016 campaign promises, Trump suspended the entire U.S. refugee resettlement programme for at least 120 days while tough new vetting rules are established.

He said that the executive order is aimed at ensuring the security and welfare of the United States.

It has also been announced that no visas will be issued for 90 days to migrants or visitors from seven Muslim dominant countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

However, exceptions will be made for "religious minorities", which would imply favourable treatment for Christians.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Clarifying his stand on his upcoming flick 'Padmavati', director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has said that the periodic film shows no objectionable scenes between Rani Padmavati and Muslim king Allauddin Khilji, while expressing confidence that the people of Mewar would be proud of the movie made on their 'revered queen'.

Workers of Rajput Karni Sena created ruckus and assaulted the filmmaker on the sets of 'Padmavati' in Jaipur's Nahargarh Fort on Friday, claiming that the film portrayed a much-celebrated Rajput queen in 'poor light'.

The official statement of the team said, "Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to stop the shoot and leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'."

"He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story. We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film," it added.

The 'Bajirao Mastani' director has earlier directed the opera "Padmavati", which opened to packed houses in Paris and received glowing response. It was then that he decided to make a film on the courageous queen.

Expressing gratefulness to the authorities of Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage on shoot, the statement further said, "We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world."

The 53-year-old has called off his Jaipur shoot and has come to Mumbai after the vandalism on the sets of his film.

A day after assaulting the filmmaker, the fringe group set an ultimatum asking the filmaker to cut the obscene scenes.

The Karni Sena claims that Padmini was a proud queen known for taking her own life rather than submit to Alauddin Khilji, the emperor who attacked the Chittorgarh Fort.

The film stars actors Deepika Padukone as queen Padmavati and Ranveer Singh as the Muslim king Alahuddin Khilji.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
       :       ; CBI      FIR  
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the former who contradicts his own statements considers himself to be the number one leader and doesn't perceive anyone in the number two position.

"The Prime Minister says he is number one and there is no number two for him," he said while addressing a joint press conference with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Gandhi further hit out at the government's demonetisation drive, saying it has hurt the people of the nation.

Slamming Prime Minister Modi for supporting the Shirmonai Akali Dal (SAD), he said the former pitches for corrupt-free India while he is backing a tainted party.

The Congress vice-president yesterday also cornered Prime Minister Modi for the same during a public rally in Punjab's Majitha.

"Prime Minister Modi claims to fight against corruption, then how can he support the Akali Dal? The entire nation knows Akali Dal has ruined Punjab," Gandhi said.

The Prime Minister had hit back at Gandhi's remark during a rally in Goa, saying the corrupt people, who have been hiding their black money for last 70 years are worried post denomination.

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Slamming the Shiv Sena which severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the BMC polls in Maharashtra, the saffron party on Sunday said the Sena suffers from inferiority complex and lack of meritocracy in their system.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao also said the Shiv Sena must understand its limitations.

"The Shiv Sena suffers from an inferiority complex. I think they are jealous of the immense popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi ji is a self made leader. He is not reveling at the position because he is somebody's son," he said.

"The Sena must understand its limitations. It's a party that's been found on dynastic principles. Prime Minister Modi is the choice of the people of the country," he added.

Rao also said that Ram Mandir wasn't an issue for them for assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

"Certainly, Ram temple issue is not an electoral issue for the BJP. But the BJP is committed to the construction of a Ram temple, a grand temple in Ayodhya under the constitutional orders by the court," Rao clarified.

This comment came after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut earlier in the day questioned the BJP over the promise of Ram temple in Ayodhya in its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh polls.

A day before, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said his party had no qualms about fighting on lesser number of seats in the BMC elections.

"Like the Shiv Sena, I will not say that 25 years have been wasted with the alliance. I will only say that we learnt a lesson that we caused a loss to Mumbai all this while."

Fadnavis had earlier also accused the Shiv Sena of being involved in extortion and corruption.

The BMC polls will be held on February 21 and the results will be announced on February 23.

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Moscow has said that Russian President Vladimir in a phone call to U.S. President Donald Trump talked about stabilizing the relationship between the two nations along with several other subjects.

It was Trump's first phone conversation with the Russian President since he took office last week, and one whose outcome will be closely studied.

Some of the other issues discussed included restoring trade ties, international terrorism, the situations in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, and the coordination of military action against ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria.

The Kremlin call summary didn't specifically mention U.S. sanctions against Russia. It said restoration of mutually beneficial economic ties "could further stimulate progressive and stable development of bilateral relations," according to a CNN translation of the Russian statement.

The White House called the one-hour conversation a significant start to improving a relationship "in need of repair."

Both Trump and Putin said before the call that they would like to see warmer ties between their two nations. However, relations between the two have been under scrutiny following allegations that Moscow meddled in the US election last year.

Before speaking with Putin, Trump held a 45 minute call with Merkel and also spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trump and Abe included discussed the threat posed by North Korea, and both leaders agreed to speak face to face in Washington on February 10.

Abe and Trump also discussed the significance of Defence Secretary James Mattis' upcoming visit to Asia, according to the White House.

Later Saturday, Trump was to speak with French President Francois Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

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Lindsay Lohan, who kicked off the New Year by deleting all of her Instagram posts, has recently returned to the platform with a bang.

The 30-year-old posted about a meeting she had with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey and described it as a 'dream'.

'What a dream it is for Mr. President Erdogan and The First Lady to invite me to their home. Their efforts in helping Syrian Refugees is truly inspiring,' she wrote in her caption.

She added: '#peace starts now @a_boynukalin @hilalkaplanogut @rterdogan please for peace @therealdonaldtrump Alaikum Salam' and ultimately closed out: '#cleanslate2017 #theworldisbiggerthan5'

In another post, Lohan shared a photo of her sitting with a group including President Erdogan and his wife in the president's lavish 1,150-room complex.

'This. Now. This moment. A moment in time. Is to forever exist. #peace #2017 #theworldisbiggerthan5 hashtag yourself to help the Turkish people and what they do everyday. #theyearoflindsaylohan #sevenwonders @rterdogan #lohanclub is a form of making others happy,' she captioned.

Lohan had previously expressed support for Turkey's efforts to host nearly three million Syrians fleeing their nation's five-year war, the State-run Anadolu news agency said as reported by the Daily Mail.

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As many as 11 people, including a leader of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, were arrested in connection with ransacking of a police station in the state's Burdwan district, police said on Sunday.

"We launched a search operation and it was conducted overnight. So far, we have arrested 11 people and about 17 people have been detained for the attack of Ausgram police station. Trinamool councillor of Guskara municipality, Chanchal Garai was arrested," police said.

Local Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Suren Hembram has also been detained, police added.

A large police contingent has been deployed at the police station and they conducted a route march in the area.

A mob on Saturday ransacked Ausgram police station, assaulted police personnel and damaged police vehicles. The incident came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state government would bring a bill in the next assembly session to prevent destruction of public as well as private property.

Police said the attack cane after they declined to accept memorandum opposing the construction of a stall beside the main gate of a local school.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress of working together against the AAP in Punjab, which goes to polls on February 4.

In a tweet, Kejriwal claimed to have learnt from his "sources" that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were sending messages to voters in Punjab "not to vote for them, but for the Congress".

"(Are) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress fighting together against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)," Kejriwal asked.

The AAP, which led in 33 assembly segments in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and was second in a few segments in Punjab, is eyeing to increase its lead in more assembly constituencies.

Early last year, projections suggested 75-100 seats to the AAP. But since then, things have changed for the party as the Congress has gone into overdrive, with state Congress President Amarinder Singh at the helm, to revive the party.

The Punjab assembly has 117 seats.

--IANS

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Indian cine icon Amitabh Bachchan hopes due attention is paid to the "noble cause" of documentation of India's film history, an "amenity" that he feels is "much needed".

In a blog post, Amitabh steered attention towards a work-in-progress project for the print medium in this respect.

He shared how he and "Deewaar" co-writer Javed Akhtar on Saturday sat down to discuss many reasons and aspects of the iconic film "for a print medium... which should be out shortly".

"Moments like these lend much to the documentation of history and the prevailing circumstances with all the right stories of the times, as a documentation of record. Posterity shall never forgive us if we did not do this," he said.

"And as we talk, there are certain very keen and interested gentlemen and ladies that are fervently working towards this end... A documentation and restoration of our filmic history through the years from its beginning... A most noble cause, and one that needs to be done most sincerely and urgently," the veteran actor added.

He said: "The process of thinking has begun and hopefully some attention shall be given to this most needed amenity... I shall be getting back on this... Pretty soon."

--IANS

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A court has issued an emergency stay halting deportation under President Donald Trump's executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

A federal court for the Eastern District in New York on Saturday issued the order preventing the government from sending immigrants back to their home countries as it would cause them "irreparable harm".

It is unclear yet if they would remain in detention until a substantive ruling on the constitutionality of the ban is delivered.

"If someone is not being released, I guess I'll just hear from you," The New York Times quoted Judge Ann Donnelly as saying.

The order comes as American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) early on Saturday filed a lawsuit in response to the "extreme vetting", BBC reported.

Trump's executive order halts all immigration from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

The ban led to widespread confusion about how it would be implemented and enforced.

According to the ACLU, 100 to 200 people are being detained at airports or in transit.

Hundreds of people protested at airports across the country over the new President's clampdown on immigration.

Lee Gelernt, deputy legal director of the Immigrants Rights Project, argued the case in court and was greeted by a cheering crowd outside.

He said some people had been threatened while being "put back on a plane" later on Saturday.

"This is a remarkable day," said the ACLU's executive director, Anthony Romero.

"On day one, after he signed the executive order, we took him to court... that it was unconstitutional, it was un-American, and it flew in the face of established statutes that we have long regarded in this country."

--IANS

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Delhi is poised to become a "saturated model state" in healthcare in the near future and dramatically improve the quality of education, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader also said the Delhi government had built some 8,000 schoolrooms since taking office in February 2015 and will add a similar number within one-and-a-half years.

"When we build 1,000 Mohalla Clinics, Delhi will be a saturated model state for healthcare," he said.

The Mohalla Clinic is a flagship initiative of the Delhi government that aims to provide free primary healthcare to people in their neighbourhoods. As many as 1,000 Mohalla Clinics are to be set up by March 31.

"Once we build that number, wherever you may be in Delhi, you will have access to a Mohalla Clinic within 10 minutes (distance)."

At least 107 Mohalla Clinics have already come up across the capital, in both middle class and urban poor neighbourhoods, where doctors and medicines are available and people enjoy facilities for tests -- all for free.

Around two million people have so far availed themselves of the benefits of Mohalla Clinics, the minister said, adding that a sharp increase in the number of clinics will significantly reduce the burden on major hospitals in Delhi.

Sisodia also said the Delhi government was committed to dramatically improving the quality of education. He said the number of schoolrooms built so far amounted to constructing some 200 new schools.

In addition, 100 new schools would come up in Delhi in the coming years, he said. "It will be a good infrastructure for the next 20 years."

Sisodia said some 100 principals of government schools in Delhi which, he said, were undergoing major transformation, had gone to Cambridge for exposure to high-quality education.

"Another 100 will be sent to Harvard... And teachers will also go to Singapore, Finland and Germany."

--IANS

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Electrocution is turning into a preferred method for trapping wild animals across Indian forests, but nothing much is being done by the government to check it.

Wildlife lovers and experts say that while poisoning, shooting, foot-traps (snares) and even explosive-traps are among some of the popular poaching methods in Indian forests, electrocution is rising because it mostly goes undetected and animals mostly die quickly.

"In last three years, this trend has increased... the incidents point towards a specialised poaching... maximum cases go undetected," Shekhar Niraj, Head of TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network in alliance with the WWF, told IANS.

According to experts, while shooting is risky and poisoning often harms cattle, leading to an uproar from the villagers, electrocution is a silent way that mostly goes undetected.

"Only strong intelligence and active surveillance can stop the rising incidents of electrocution," Niraj added.

Among some of the most recent incidents, at least two elephants, one tigress, two leopards, two sambar deer and one sloth bear were killed due to electrocution in different regions of the country. The reasons were both poaching and accidental.

On Friday, January 27, a 20-year-old elephant died after coming into contact with an illegal electric fence around a field near Karnataka's Bandipur National Park. On January 25, a female elephant was killed due to electrocution in the forests of Odisha's Rourkela district.

"The elephant climbed a small Bandha to reach out to the leaves, and touched the loosely hanging wire. We had informed the electricity department. Wires often hang loose due to the long distance between the electric poles in forests," Rourkela District Forest Officer Sanjeet Kumar told IANS on telephone.

Electrocution is a method in which a wired trap or fence, mostly powered by a high tension electric line passing nearby in the forests, is used to kill the animals, either for poaching or to protect fields from herbivores. The wires with electric current are either placed on the preferred routes of the animals or passed through the water bodies used by animals.

Wildlife experts say instances of electrocution are on the rise and despite the 2005 guidelines of the Supreme Court's Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to the State Electricity Boards and Forest Departments to strengthened security to prevent poaching by electrocution, nothing much was done.

According to Tito Joseph of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), while every year at least 20 elephants die due to electrocution, at least 43 elephants were killed in 2016 in this manner.

"In 2016, at least 11 leopards died due to electrocution and at least 10 wild tigers were poached," Joseph told IANS.

Two leopards, one tigress and two sambar deer were also electrocuted between January 11 and 14 in different forest divisions of Maharashtra's Nagpur district.

On January 25, a sloth bear was found electrocuted with its claws harvested, in Amravati Forest Division of Maharashtra, an official told IANS.

(Kushagra Dixit can be reached at kushagra.d@ians.in)

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Roger Federer has won his fifth Australian Open title and 18th overall major crown, defeating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena here on Sunday.

Federer extended his lead over Nadal in the all-time major wins list to four with his first Melbourne Park crown since 2010, and his first major singles title win since Wimbledon 2012, reports ausopen.com.

The Swiss, who will rise to No.10 in the world with the victory, earned his first win over Nadal in four meetings at the Australian Open, and won just his third major final over the Spaniard in nine attempts.

The win snapped a six-match losing streak to Nadal in Grand Slam play. Before Sunday night, Federer's most recent major win over his great rival came in the Wimbledon final of 2007.

Federer has become the first man in history to win five or more titles at three different Grand Slam events.

Federer hit 73 winners, including 20 aces, and won 76 per cent of his first service points for victory in three hours and 37 minutes.

Nadal committed 28 unforced errors -- 29 fewer than Federer.

The Swiss, who returned this year after a six-month injury lay-off, is now 12-23 in their head to head matches.

All-out aggression from Federer proved decisive in the match, his 100th match at the Australian Open.

It was an iconic contest and it deserved five sets as Federer prevailed in three hours and 37 minutes in an electric atmosphere, rallying from a break down in the fifth set to win the last five games.

The tears of joy flowed freely for Federer as the electronic eye reviewed his forehand winner on match point, ruling it in.

At the age of 35, Federer has made history by winning his 100th Australian Open match, and by becoming the second oldest Grand Slam singles male champion after the Australian Ken Rosewall, who won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.

Sheer will and hard work saw them both find their best level and rise to the occasion in Melbourne, taking advantage of shock week one defeats for No.2 Novak Djokovic and No.1 Andy Murray to bring about a nostalgic final for tennis enthusiasts.

For Nadal, he has come a long way from crying in the car on the way back to the hotel after injury forced him out of the 2016 French Open.

The ninth-ranked left-hander is now set to rise to No.6 in the rankings, according to atpworldtour.com.

--IANS

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Actor Idris Elba hopes that a channel will fund his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.

"To be a spaceman. If Discovery (channel) will pay for it, then I'll go into space," Elba told Closer magazine when asked what he wants to try next, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The 44-year-old star is currently filming "The Mountain Between Us" with Kate Winslet and thinks his fight training has inspired the Oscar-winning actress to push herself more.

He said: "I think my current co-star is quite impressed actually and has decided to take up pilates pretty heavily."

However, his "Thor: Ragnarok" co-stars Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth and "The Dark Tower" co-star Matthew McConaughey were not so impressed and felt he was putting himself at risk unnecessarily.

He said: "I think they thought I was a bit stupid for doing it because they were like, 'What if you hurt your face or break your arm?' They didn't think it was a smart move."

--IANS

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Being dismissed as "outsiders" by the three main political parties in Punjab has hardly dented the resolve of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A silent undercurrent among voters has positioned the newest party on the state's political scene as a contender to form the government after next month's assembly elections.

Voters in rural areas, especially among the state's youth, as well as sections of Dalits, seem to be backing the AAP in the run-up to the elections to the 117-seat assembly scheduled for February 4.

"The Aam Party (as the AAP is commonly referred to in Punjab's rural areas and towns) is attracting the youth. Many other voters have also become wary of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance and the Congress," Happy Singh, a taxi driver from Samrala town, 65 km from here, told IANS.

The AAP, which has still not projected its chief ministerial candidate, is banking on its large army of volunteers to make an impact in a state where the fledgling party has seen grassroots support.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha general election, four of Punjab's 13 parliamentary constituencies elected AAP candidates to the Lok Sabha even as the Narendra Modi wave was sweeping large parts of the country. The AAP drew a blank elsewhere in the country.

"The fact that the Akali Dal-BJP and the Congress see a common enemy in AAP clearly shows how much ground this party has covered in Punjab in less than three years. People are fed up with the same leaders and the same old policies being projected by the Akalis and the Congress. Many voters want to see a change now," said Swaran Singh, an agriculturist in Sangrur district.

Despite internal bickering in the Punjab AAP unit, including the sacking of its state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and several units and leaders revolting before and after ticket distribution, the party leadership is confident of getting a majority on its own.

Earlier projections, till the beginning of last year, gave 75-100 seats to the AAP, a party that created ripples when it swept Delhi in early 2015, winning 67 of the 70 seats and handing Prime Minister Modi his first electoral defeat after his sweeping 2014 victory.

Since then, things have changed for AAP as the Congress has gone into overdrive, with state Congress president Amarinder Singh at the helm, to revive the party.

"We are definitely going to have a two-thirds majority and end the mafia rule of the Akalis. The AAP and Akalis are fighting for the 2nd and 3rd positions," Amarinder Singh said.

The AAP, which led in 33 assembly segments in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and was second in a few segments, is eyeing increasing its lead in more assembly segments.

The AAP has good support in Punjab's agriculturally-dominant Malwa belt (south of the river Sutlej) comprising the districts of Sangrur, Patiala, Mansa, Muktsar, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur, Faridkot and Fazilka. This belt accounts for around 70 assembly seats.

"We will do quite well in the Majha belt (north of the river Beas) also. People are extending support to AAP in a big way," AAP's Amritsar-south seat candidate Inderbir Singh Nijjer, a doctor by profession, told IANS.

The AAP leaders and cadre will have to work hard in the Doaba (area between the Beas and Sutlej rivers) and Majha to be able to take a shot at power in Punjab.

The party's support from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can help AAP cover some ground on this front.

(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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After getting a firm commitment of Rs 3,000 crore allocation over the next two decades for atomic power projects in the last Union Budget, the nuclear power sector is not expecting anything new in the upcoming 2017-18 budget, said the Atomic Energy Commission chief.

"Unlike other industries, we do not have any new expectations from the Union Budget. Yes, it is true last year Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced annual additional allocation of Rs 3,000 crore to expand nuclear power capacity," Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Sekhar Basu, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), told IANS.

"Our focus now is on setting up 10 more 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR). The PHWRs are our own technology. Apart from expanding the power generation capacity, this would give steady stream of orders for the domestic industry involved in the nuclear field," Basu said.

Presenting the Budget for 2016-17, Jaitley said: "In the power sector, we need to diversify the sources of power generation for long-term stability. Government is drawing up a comprehensive plan, spanning next 15 to 20 years, to augment the investment in nuclear power generation."

Echoing Basu was S.K. Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. He told IANS: "When a project is designed, the funding part is finalised after discussions with the government."

Sharma said new sites to house reactors -- indigenous as well as foreign -- are being explored.

In response to a question raised in Parliament, the government has said it has accorded in-principle approval to set up 14 units of 700 MW in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

Basu said after six 1,000 MW units from Russia, India will source VVER 1,200 MW reactors from that country.

He said various locations for housing the next batch of six Russian reactors are being looked at.

"It has to be a coastal site," Basu said, adding Andhra Pradesh could also be considered as a potential site.

According to the Russian nuclear power company Rosatom, it is building two such VVER reactors at Belarus.

The VVER reactors are Russian Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reaktors, translated in English as Water-Water Energetic Reactors.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

--IANS

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The International Young Chef Olympiad began here on Sunday with teams from 45 countries showcasing their culinary prowess.

The third edition of the culinary competition for student chefs, being organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) and Incredible India, will witness the teams competing in three rounds with varying difficulty levels.

The top 10 contestants from the three rounds will showcase their gastronomic talent in the final battle for the winner's trophy and a cash prize of $10,000.

"Being a professional chef is a very demanding, high pressure and extremely competitive job. A platform like the Young Chef Olympiad is a great way to showcase your talent and stand out amongst scores of others in the field," the principal judge, chef Sanjeev Kapoor, said in a statement released on Sunday.

"It also provides a brilliant learning curve because it gives you a great insight on what is going on in the industry. Winning or even just participating can boost the levels of confidence and motivation in a young chef," Kapoor said.

The first round of the olympiad will have contestants following a given recipe to prepare a classic chicken dish appropriate for fine dining service.

Additionally, they will also prepare an omelette appropriate for fine dining.

In the second round, to be held in Bangalore and Pune, the young chefs will prepare a vegetarian main course dish, appropriate for service in a bistro, using a compulsory mystery ingredient that will be announced 24 hours before the start of the round.

The third round will take place in Kolkata wherein the contestants will prepare a classic pudding dish. In this round, they will also have to prepare a desert.

Each round will be of 90 minutes.

The 14-year-old MasterChef Junior US 2014 Winner Logan Guleff has come to India as the Young Chef Olympiad 2017 Mascot so as to boost the morale of the participants.

"It's a fantastic event and a great platform for young chefs from so many countries to display their talent. I can't wait to meet these young contestants and experience the taste and flavors of all their countries. There'll be so much to learn from each other," he said.

The event finale will be a two-hour long challenge in which the contesting student chefs have to prepare four portions of four Tapas (appetisers) along with four portions of a fish dish as the main course.

The contestants will be judged on the basis of their culinary skills and techniques, adherence to good health, safety and hygiene practice, working methods, minimal waste, best use of ingredients, professional appearance, attitude, dish presentation, taste and flavour.

--IANS

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Iran said it was blocking entry to US citizens in response to a move by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order temporarily barring most arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Iran said Trump's wide-ranging order, which was signed on Friday and, among other things, prevents most travellers from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen from entering the US, was insulting and that it would respond in kind while the restrictions are in place, Efe news reported on Saturday.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the measure would backfire and promote more violence and extremism.

"Despite its false claims of combating terrorism and ensuring the safety of the American people, (the executive order) will go down in history as a big gift to extremists and their supporters," it said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier had indirectly criticised another Trump executive order that assigns federal funds for the construction of a wall on the border separating the US and Mexico.

The current era is one of "reconciliation and coexistence and not of putting up walls between countries," he said.

A further deterioration in Iranian-US relations was expected with the coming to power of Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the nuclear deal signed in July 2015 between Iran and six major world powers.

--IANS

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet US President in Washington on February 10, the White House has said.

Trump and Abe on Saturday discussed over phone the importance of the US-Japan alliance and cooperation on regional and global issues, Xinhua news agency cited the White House as saying in a statement.

Trump affirmed the "ironclad" US commitment to ensuring the security of Japan, it said.

The two leaders during their 42-minute-long conversation committed to deepening the bilateral trade and investment relationship and agreed to cooperate on the threat posed by North Korea, according to the statement.

According to the Japanese Prime Minister's office, Abe in the meeting next month hoped to meaningfully exchange views with Trump in the fields including bilateral economic and security ties.

However, they did not get into any detailed conversation on issues such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Free Trade Agreement, said Hagiuda Koichi, Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary.

Soon after Trump's victory in the presidential election in November, Abe held talks with the then US President-elect in New York.
A group of 18-20 Jats held a sit-in in Gurugram on Sunday to press for quota in government jobs and educational institutions for their community.

A few leaders of the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti organised the hour-long protest near Lt. Atul Kataria Chowk here on Delhi-Gurgaon road. The protest was only symbolic, said a protester.

The protesters handed over a memorandum to Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Hardeep Singh for Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Jat community.

They also demanded that the FIRs against people who participated in the Jat stir in February last year must be cancelled.

In 2016, 30 persons lost their lives and properties worth over Rs 20,000 crore were damaged across the state when the agitation by the Jat community members for reservation turned violent.

--IANS

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Jordan signed a $14.1 million grant agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Sunday, who signed the agreement, said the agreement will finance projects in the field of municipalities.

The grant will help reduce unemployment in Jordan and enhance public services and raise the living standards of Jordanians, Xinhua news agency reported.

The grant is part of a $1.25 billon grant that Kuwait pledged in 2011.

Stressing the importance of the grant in light of the ongoing regional developments, the minister said it will help implement key projects in various areas.

The projects, Fakhoury said, will help reduce pressure on Jordan, which hosts around 1.4 million Syrian refugees.

--IANS

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The 15th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm was flagged off from here on Sunday. The rally will cover a total of 2,000 kms over a span of six days across the state of Rajasthan.

The rally lovers will get a chance to navigate through Rajasthan's picturesque yet challenging terrains of Hanumangarh, Bikaner and Jaisalmer to conclude in Jodhpur on February 4 wherein the winners will be felicitated.

The rally promises great excitement with three categories -- XTreme, NDure, Xplore and Moto.

The rally will also see 10 women participants, which includes Bani Yadav and Sarah Kashyap, the podium finishers of previous editions of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, Dakshin Dare and Raid de Himalaya.

Known as mini Dakar, Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm 2017 will feature a 207 kms stage which is the longest stage in Indian Motorsport history.

Participants are provided clearance for their vehicles after a strict one day scrutiny check prior to the flag-off ceremony at the GIP Mall.

About this adventurous journey, R.S. Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki said: "Pioneered in 2003, Desert Storm has been an effort to replicate our success in off-road rallying in the Western region of the country. The perfect recipe of thrill and competition challenges motorsport enthusiasts to achieve greater milestones in their motorsport journey.

"With no restriction on participation, we encourage all motor enthusiasts be it amateur or professional, man or woman from all regions to gain as much experience as they can from these events."

--IANS

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Area residents may have noticed a new kind of traffic coming from Route OO in the last month.

A group of mostly former Kentuckians belonging to the Mennonite faith are in the process of establishing a community of families between Fredericktown and Farmington, giving area leaders, business owners and community members the opportunity to extend a warm welcome to the Mennonites as they travel the area in their horse-drawn buggies.

David Mazelin, one of the Mennonites who has moved to the area, said many of those coming to the area have traveled from Scottsville, Kentucky.

We moved here from Kentucky, most of us, Mazelin said. Theres a few families that are coming from western Missouri.

Mazelin said they chose the area because of its relative proximity to the communities in western Missouri and Scottsville, Kentucky.

We have a group that we work with in western Missouri, and were getting full there in Scottsville so we decided to check in between the two settlements and this is what we found, Mazelin said.

Mazelin said the Mennonites have found the area to be similar to the one they left in Kentucky, except there seems to be more wind. Making the transition even easier, Maslan said the people of St. Francois and Madison Counties have been very welcoming so far.

Currently, there are four families who have made the move to the area, but Mazelin said there will eventually be 20 to 25 families living on the 900 acres the group purchased just off Route OO.

Its going to take a few years, Mazelin said. Theres going to be eight families coming in this winter.

What land isnt used for housing will be used to raise produce, much of which will be available for local sale.

Well put up a stand down here by the road, Mazelin said. And we might sell some other things, too.

The group is currently working on constructing houses and preparing for the arrival of other families.

Fredericktown City Administrator Doug Friend said he was approached by some members of the Mennonite group and asked about the possibility of accommodations being made in the way of parking locations for their horse-drawn buggies. The city is currently considering locations to install hitching posts for that purpose.

Madison County installed a hitching post in a gravel parking lot north of the county courthouse near the sheriffs department.

Local businesses have also made efforts to accommodate the Mennonites. According to Friend, Gifford Lumber Company has put a hitching post up on their property and other businesses have expressed a desire to do the same.

Everyone that I talked to indicated they thought that was a good idea, Friend said. I would think if they do any amount of trade there, then they would accommodate them.

Mazelin said the traffic in Farmington causes some difficulty in comparison to travelling in Fredericktown, but the group is doing business in both towns.

While there are many variations within the larger Mennonite faith, the core beliefs are largely similar to those at the center of most modern protestant denominations, with a stronger emphasis on rejecting worldliness.
India's former External Affairs Minister and former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna on Sunday quit the Congress, saying he was being sidelined by its leadership.

"I have resigned from the Congress to protect my self-respect and dignity after serving it for 46 years as the high command has sidelined me because of my age," an emotional 84-year-old Krishna told reporters here.

Clarifying that he was not retiring from politics, Krishna said he had resigned from the party's primary membership through a letter to its President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday.

"I am herewith tendering my resignation (from) the Congress Party," said the letter.

Asserting that age was a state of mind, Krishna regretted that the high command had removed him as the External Affairs Minister in 2012 without any valid reason.

"I did not consult anyone on leaving the party. And except my wife, I did not tell anyone that I was resigning from the party though it is a painful moment in my life," he said.

He said efforts were made by the party's leadership in Delhi to change his mind.

"I am indebted to the leadership which became aware of my existence after I sent the resignation letter. No change in the decision to quit," Krishna said.

Krishna was the External Affairs Minister in the second UPA government from 2009 to 2012 after his stint as the Maharashtra Governor from 2005 to 2008 and Karnataka's Chief Minister from 1999 to 2004.

Krishna was also a Rajya Sabha member.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes to soldiers who died in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir.

"When we were happily celebrating Republic Day, soldiers were killed in an avalanche," Modi said in his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "I salute them."

At least 15 soldiers were killed after two avalanches hit a military post and a patrol along the Line of Control (LoC) last week.

--IANS

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A day after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik rejected the Centre's negotiation committee to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday accused Patnaik of creating hurdles to serve his political ends.

"The Chief Minister has given precedence to his party's interest ignoring Odisha's interest on Mahanadi water issue," Pradhan told reporters here.

He also criticised the "double standard" of the state government.

"As per the Inter State Water Dispute Act, there is a right to form a tribunal. Let a tribunal be formed. But prior to the formation of the tribunal, the Centre has gone a step forward with the formation of a negotiation committee to resolve the Mahanadi issue. But, the Odisha government is not in a mood to agree to it," said Pradhan.

He said the Centre had convened meetings of the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries to resolve the water dispute, but every time the Odisha government changes its opinion after the meetings.

"A meeting of the Chief Secretaries of Odisha and Chhattisgarh was convened by the Water Resources Ministry. Although the Odisha Chief Secretary agreed to the decisions at the meeting, he changed his mind after talking to someone else, most probably, one of the clerks in the Chief Minister's office," said the union minister.

He also said that Naveen Patnaik also changed his mind even though he had agreed to the proposal for formation of a committee at the Chief Ministers' meeting presided over by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.

"The meeting has been recorded and it will be put out as a proof. Our Chief Minister, who had agreed to the proposal at the meeting, also changed his mind later at the instance of a subordinate staff," said Pradhan.

He said that Patnaik has never raised the issue before the Prime Minister even though he has visited New Delhi about 10 times in the last six months.

Notably, Naveen Patnaik on Saturday rejected the Centre's negotiation committee proposal for resolving the ongoing Mahanadi water sharing dispute with the Chhattisgarh government.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said: "The proposed committee will only delay the setting up of a tribunal, which will allow Chhattisgarh to complete the construction of disputed projects."

--IANS

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it is "extremely troubling" that Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, nominated for an Oscar, will be barred from entering the US for the Oscar ceremony under President Donald Trumps travel ban on seven countries.

A statement was issued on Saturday in response to reports that Farhadi will not get permission to enter the US according to the provisions of an executive order signed by President Trump, reports variety.com.

The statement read: "The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences.

"As supporters of filmmakers - and the human rights of all people - around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Farhadi, director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran 'A Separation', along with the cast and crew of this year's Oscar-nominated film 'The Salesman', could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin."

Trump signed an order to suspend entry of refugees to the US for 120 days and imposed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria. A 90-day ban was also placed on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Academy Awards will take place on February 26 here. "The Salesman" star Taraneh Alidoosti has said she plans to boycott the ceremony after Trump proposed the ban.

--IANS

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Sunday said if the party wins the election in Goa, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar could be sent back there as Chief Minister.

"The party has not yet decided to send Manohar Parrikar back to Goa as CM. What we have said is that if people of Goa and the elected MLAs want, both the options are open," Shah said to a question if Parrikar can be sent back to Goa, in an interview with CNN-News18 channel.

In a freewheeling conversation that went on for an hour, Shah talked about BJP's strategy for the assembly polls, stand on reservations, the likely impact of demonetisation on the electorate and also gave some clues into his political future.

Elections to the 40-member Goa legislative assembly will be held on February 4.

Parrikar, 62, served as the Chief Minister of Goa from 2000 to 2005 and from March 2012 to November 2014, before inducted as Defence Minister on November 9, 2014. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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Defence Minister was in Goa and learnt about the surgical strikes on terror hubs in Pakistani territory from television, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Sunday.

"The defence minister came to know of the surgical strikes from TVs when he was in Goa," Singh told the media here.

He also said it was wrong on Parrikar's part to have credited his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) training for the surgical strike and not Indian armed forces which carried out the strike.

"I am sorry to say that a person who has been a chief minister and now the defence minister refuses to give credit to the Army, but instead gives it to the RSS," Singh said.

"This has been done earlier and even the former chief of army staff said these things have been done earlier. But such things are not taken credit for in public," he added.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered at airports across the US against President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban".

The demonstrators came out on Saturday night to protest against the executive order of Friday that bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

According to the "extreme vetting", refugees from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen were banned from entering the US for 90 days, citizens from Syria were indefinitely banned and the application of all refugees to the US was suspended for 120 days.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered at the international terminal of Chicago's O'Hare airport on Saturday night to protest against the order.

Their number kept growing until over 1,000 of them blocked the driveway outside the terminal, Xinhua news agency reported.

The crowd chanted slogans like "Let them in" and "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here" and held placards "Do the right thing, let them in", "Stop profiling Muslims" and "Refugees Welcome".

Police and law enforcement members present at the scene did not intervene.

In New York, hundreds gathered at the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

They blocked Terminal 4 after immigration authorities detained 11 refugees, who were likely already in transit when Trump ordered the ban.

Hundreds gathered at Washington's Dulles Airport. The crowd got so big that the airport officials kept expanding the protest zone.

Chants of "Refugees welcome" and "No ban, no wall" echoed outside the airport.

About 300 protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport to demonstrate solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees detained under the ban.

Chanting "Trump has to go", "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascism in USA" and other slogans, the crowd called on people to defy the order.

At least seven foreign nationals have been detained at Los Angeles and told they were no longer welcome, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The protesters' demand was echoed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who tweeted: "Los Angels will always be a place of refuge."

In Denver, Colorado, dozens gathered outside the international airport to show support for refugees.

Demonstrations were also witnessed at San Francisco International Airport.

A rally was staged as some immigrants have reportedly been held at the airport.

Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and president of Alphabet, joined the protesters.

Brin said: "I am here because I am a refugee." He was attending the protest "in a personal capacity", The Verge reported.

Brin's family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the US in 1979 to escape Jewish persecution.

Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, also an immigrant, said: "We're upset about the impact of this order."

Lara Kiswani, an organiser with the Arab Resource and Organising Centre, said: "What we're not clear about is who or what type of families are being held, whether they're from Syria or Iran or other countries, we don't know for certain."

San Francisco harbours the highest density of high-tech businesses. Google and Apple, among other tech giants, have expressed serious concerns.

Earlier in the afternoon, several local groups called for an "emergency solidarity rally" in response to Trump's order.

The measure has triggered confusion and chaos across the country and drawn concern and criticism from across the world.

--IANS

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Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Sunday ruled out a probe into the alleged "inappropriate behaviour" of V. Shanmuganathan, who was forced to resign as the Governor of Meghalaya.

"As of now, there is nothing in the form of documentary evidence against the former Governor to investigate the allegations. Nothing is in our hands (central government)," he told IANS on the sidelines of the first North East Investment Summit here.

However, he described the resignation of Shanmuganathan, who was also the Governor in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh, was done on "moral grounds".

"I cannot comment on whether the government will institute an inquiry into the allegations. It is too premature for me to do so," the minister said.

Earlier, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that he was communicating with the central government on the controversy.

Shanmuganathan resigned on January 26 after nearly 100 employees of Raj Bhavan in Shillong sent a five-page letter to the Prime Minister's Office and Rashtrapati Bhavan, demanding that the Governor be recalled for what they alleged was "turning Raj Bhavan into a Young Ladies Club".

From the time Shanmuganathan took office, the employees alleged, they were going through "severe humiliation, mental stress and torture".

The protest letter by the Raj Bhavan staff came after an English daily report quoted a woman accusing Shanmuganathan of making advances by "hugging and kissing me".

The woman was one of the seven candidates selected for an interview for the post of a Public Relations Officer at Raj Bhavan.

--IANS

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In a strange incident, unidentified robbers broke into an ATM here and stole Rs 8.62 lakh from it while leaving the rest of the money in the machine "untouched", police said on Sunday.

The incident was reported on Saturday night after the HDFC Bank learnt about the missing amount from one of its ATMs installed on Vikas Marg in east Delhi.

"A case under charges of stealing has been registered. We suspect over the role of bank employees and other connected people behind the incident as the missing amount was taken out of the ATM without damaging the machine," Deputy Commissioner of Police Omvir Singh told IANS.

As some nuts and bolts of the machine were found loose during investigation, it gives a clear indication towards staff members of the bank, the officer said.

"Without knowing password or other internal information about the machine, no one can manage to open it easily. There are various ways to rob any ATM machine," he said.

The criminals also changed the position of the CCTV camera to avoid any recording, said the officer, hoping to solve the case very soon.

--IANS

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Tax officers and employees across the country will wear black bands at work on Monday to protest against certain decisions taken by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, the staff associations announced here.

Central Board of Excise and Customs officials's associations in a statement on Sunday said that they would protest the erosion in central government's authority to levy and collect taxes through this token gesture on January 30, which is officially designated as Martyr's Day to mark the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on that day in 1948.

The members of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers, All India Central Excise Inspectors' Association and All India Central Excise and Service Tax Ministerial Officers Association will all participate in this protest against the GST Council's decision on the issue of dual control for being heavily tilted in favour of the states.

Following the ninth meeting of the Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, here earlier this month, Jaitley announced that the entire taxation base is to be shared between assessment machinery of Centre and states.

"As per the understanding between the Centre and states, 90 per cent of the GST taxpayers with up to Rs 1.5 crore turnover will be assessed by states, while 10 per cent will be assessed by the central government.

"As far as those above Rs 1.5 crore turnover is concerned, the assessment will be done on a 50:50 basis between the Centre and states," he added.

The states have been demanding exclusive control on businesses with turnover below Rs 1.5 crore (the current threshold for central excise), including the service taxpayers.

The associations of tax officials statement said: "However, in the present set of things and decisions, which has been taken in the recent meeting of the GST Council, it is felt that the basic structure of the scheme is being compromised and the same may lead to utmost chaos which may be detrimental not only to the revenue but also to the industry, trade and commerce in general."

They said duality of control would, in turn, lead to spurt in litigation among the states, thereby increasing the load on the courts that are already burdened.

"Any decision taken in haste may lead to a situation wherein the national interest gets jeopardised and the trade and industry suffers which would not be in the interest of the nation and its economical growth," they said.

Eight earlier meetings of the Council had failed to resolve the deadlock between the Centre and the states on the issue of "cross empowerment", or dual control of assessees, and who will exercise control over them.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed during a telephone conversation on the "fundamental importance" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) for transatlantic relations.

Trump, who had called that organisation "obsolete," and Merkel agreed on Saturday on "the alliance's fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of our North Atlantic community," the White House said in a statement, Efe news reported.

"The leaders recognized that must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all Allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the official note said.

Many times during last year's electoral campaign, Trump had called "obsolete," and this month repeated that opinion in two interviews with European media.

The new US president also criticized America's NATO partners in Europe last year for not contributing a fair share of funds to the alliance, and suggested he might even reduce US support for the transatlantic bloc, while simultaneously talking about better relations with Russia.

Trump and Merkel also spoke Saturday about the "need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilize conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa."

The president and chancellor talked as well about Russia and the crisis in Ukraine, and the importance of close German-US cooperation for the peace and security of both countries.

Finally, Trump on Saturday accepted Merkel's invitation to attend the G20 Summit of developed and emerging countries in the German city of Hamburg next July.

The first official talks between Trump and Merkel since the magnate took office on January 20 lasted "45 minutes", White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Twitter.

That dialogue came on a day of telephone conversations Saturday between Trump and several other national leaders, including Francois Hollande of France, Japan's Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin of Russia.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Sunday described US President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban on people from seven Muslim nations as "divisive and wrong".

Johnson, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in a tweet, slammed the US President's decision to "stigmatise" people according to their nationality, and stressed the British government will protect the rights and freedoms of British nationals, many of whom hold double nationalities, EFE news reported.

President Trump provoked an outrage after signing a temporary ban on the entry of refugees and immigrants from seven nations with a Muslim majority: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

"We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality," Johnson wrote on Twitter.

Johnson made his remarks after a British government spokesman said that "immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States" but that "we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking".

Prime Minister Theresa May was also criticised on Saturday for not publicly denouncing Trump's Muslim ban as she held a press conference in Turkey.

--IANS

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Two of the three workers of the Maphou dam project in Manipur's Senapati district who were kidnapped by unidentified armed Kuki cadres were found shot dead on Sunday while the third was rescued unharmed, the state police said.

A Kuki tribal alleged to be one of the kidnappers has been arrested.

The police said that the workers -- Kangujam Thoi, a helper, JCB driver Kangujam Tompok, and truck driver Khumukcham Bije from Itham -- were kidnapped from the project site on January 26 by armed Kukis. The police added they are trying to establish identity of the outfit.

The three were held captive in the Monroi village in neighbouring Ukhrul district. On Sunday, some cadre of the Kuki Liberation Army had an exchange of fire with the kidnappers, during which the two captives were fatally hit in cross-fire.

The police say that one of the kidnappers identified as Thangminlien Khongsai was caught and handed over for interrogation.

Most of the Kuki outfits had signed the suspension of operations with the central government. Major ground rules of the agreements are that the militants cannot carry arms and indulge in terrorist acts including kidnappings for ransom.

Initial reports say that the three workers were kidnapped to extract hefty ransom from the project officials. Since the two killed workers are non-tribals, there is a fear that there may be a communal fallout.

Leaders of the Kuki Impi Manipur and other civil society organisations held a meeting in Manipur to deal with the issue. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has asked the state administration to take up all necessary steps to check follow-up violence.

--IANS

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A group of 8 to 10 robbers stormed into a casting factory and poultry farm near a village here, gang raped two women labourers and took off with Rs 42,000, police said on Sunday.

During the four-hour heist, they also cooked themselves chicken using gas stoves of the labourers.

Police said that 8 to 10 men armed with pistols and sharp weapons stormed into the premises in Mandpura village near Pataudi, some 30 km from Gurugram early Sunday morning.

Police said that the robbers took two women to different rooms and sexually assaulted them at gunpoint. They tortured the labourers and raped the women for nearly four hours.

The casting factory and the poultry farm belonged to Gurugram resident Pritam Singh.

Police have registered a case at Pataudi police station.

Gurugram police chief Sandeep Khirwar, who visited the crime scene, said that several police teams were formed to find the robbers.

A similar incident happened in a village near Taoru in Mewat district of Haryana last year, in which two persons were killed and women of the family were gang raped.

A CBI enquiry was ordered into the incident after the Manohar Lal Khattar government faced criticism for poor law and order situation in the state.

--IANS

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Eight Al Qaeda militants and 12 civilians were killed on Sunday when the US Special Forces launched a pre-dawn security raid on a village in Yemen's al-Bayda province, the media reported.

A senior Al Qaeda leader, Abdul-Raoof Dhahab, his two brothers, and five other terrorists were killed in the operation, which was carried out in cooperation with local authorities, military officials told Xinhua news agency.

The 12 civilians included four women and three children.

Local residents said that "four military planes participated in the operation and kept hovering over the village for hours."

A source at Yemen's intelligence agency confirmed that helicopter-borne commandos raided houses held by the Al Qaeda militants.

Some American soldiers were injured in the raid on the ground, the intelligence source said.

--IANS

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Weavers and craftsmen from all eight northeastern states on Sunday gathered here for the 1st North East Business Summit to explore the region as a "global destination" for investment.

The two-day summit dubbed as "Exploring Opportunities in North East Region" is organised by the Union Textiles Ministry, in association with the Development of North East Region (DoNER) Ministry and the industry Associations FICCI and CII.

Nearly 60 textile export houses from across India are participating in the summit.

Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani said that there has been around 715 various development projects in the northeastern states including tie ups with countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and China through economic corridors to ensure that "the 'Act East Policy' under the leadership of Narendra Modi is something that fructifies in front of our very eyes".

She said her ministry has sanctioned projects of more than Rs 1,040 crore for the region through textiles promotion schemes of handloom, handicrafts, sericulture and garmenting so that the central government can add to the efforts of the state governments to create more employment opportunities.

"The region itself has huge potential for investments, particularly in the field of textiles industry due to its strong traditional skill base and a variety of unique designs and eco friendly products," Irani said.

"We are in a position for infusion of Rs 820 crore for support to sericulture in the northeastern states and is estimated that it will impact around 3.95 lakh families of which 70 per cent are women," she said.

Further, she also informed that her ministry had launched the "Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre" where professional queries of weavers will be answered by the experts and a mobile app, 'E-Dhaga', developed to address the concerns of individual weavers relating to the availability of raw material, delays in supplies and ensuring stocks in depots.

"The mobile app will be a boon for handloom weavers to transact business anytime, anywhere and they can send their indents and payments online through this app," she said.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that the two day summit would provide an opportunity to showcase the talents of the weavers, to inculcate upon themselves the job avenues which ultimately becomes self-sustainable.

Stating that the central government was concerned on the exodus of youth from the region in search of quality education and jobs, DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh said the business summit will surely open the region to investments in textile industry, adding that his ministry will provide initial venture capital fund for start ups in the region.

Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju urged the central government to ensure that the northeastern people should be made to feel that the central government is funding the states not for charity but for its commitment towards developing the region.

Stating that India's biggest challenge is "job creation", NITI Aayog Vice Chairma, Arvind Panagariya said that the textile industry is the best sector for providing jobs to unemployed youth.

--IANS

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Aravinda Pillalamarri, the inspiration for "Swades", says she was stopped by police during her morning stroll in her hometown and questioned about her immigration status making her feel unequal because of her colour, according to media reports.

Pillalamari was stopped near her home in Bel Air in Maryland by a police officer after a neighbour had reported her as suspicious, she told the local Baltimore CBS television station on Friday.

Pillalamarri said: "I had just come out for a walk, so I didn't have my ID. And he said, 'Why don't you have ID? Are you here illegally?'."

"I didn't expect this to happen in Bel Air. Walking while brown?" she told the official.

The official replied: "No, no, no, nothing like that."

According to the Baltimore Sun, the incident took place on December 21 and Pillalamarri, 47, spoke out about it at a town commissioners board meeting earlier this month in Bel Air, where she had lived for 30 years.

When she asked if it was because of "walking while brown?" a police supervisor told her she "was under criminal investigation", the Sun quoted her as saying.

After checking her name on their computer system, Pillalamarri was allowed to go.

"Only when the supervisor asked 'are you here illegally' did my sense of colour, and of being unequal, come forth and interest in my civil rights take a back seat to get out of the situation safely," she told the town commissioners.

Bel Air Police chief Charles Moore defended the official. According to him, asking nationality is insensitive, but not racial profiling.

"They were trying to figure out why there was some hesitation in providing identification, that's why he asked if she was illegal," he said.

Although the incident in Maryland -- which is considered a progressive state -- took place after President Donald Trump's election but before he took office.

Such police behaviour after a racist neighbour complains about a non-white resident had been routine during former President Barack Obama's administration, as they have always been in the US.

In 2015, 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel, who was visiting his son in Madison in Alabama state, was physically harassed by police.

Patel was stopped by police near his son's house after a neighbour complained that a "black" person was prowling around the neighbourhood.

He suffered serious injuries that left him partially paralysed.

Two prosecution attempts to convict the police officer on civil rights violation failed because juries in both cases could not agree on a verdict.

The attack was captured by a camera mounted on the police car and officials tried to prosecute the officer because there was a public outcry.

A case that received national attention involved the distinguished African American Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates in 2009.

A neighbour, who saw him trying enter his own house in Cambridge in Massachusetts, called police. They arrested the professor inside his home and charged him with disorderly conduct. The charges were dropped.

Obama, who is personal friend of Gates, called the police action stupid and said the incident showed "how race remains a factor in this society".

Another case in 2015 involved African American senior corporate executive Fay Wells who has an Ivy League MBA.

After a neighbour called the police, 19 of them charged into her own apartment in Santa Monica in California with guns drawn and bringing along a police dog and held saying that she was burglarising her own apartment.

--IANS

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What gives Donald Trump the gumption to take China on, question the long established One China policy and threaten to impose punitive tariffs on imports? The simple (or perhaps simplistic) answer to this question lies in the balance of trade between the two economies. China sells much more in dollar terms to the US than it buys from it. In 2015, US exports to China were only $116.2 billion while imports from China hit a new record of $483.9 million. The upshot is that if there is indeed a trade war, the bigger seller China would stand to lose.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of forging a pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP on Saturday sought to woo different sections of society in Uttar Pradesh, making a slew of promises in its election manifesto, including farm loan waiver, round-the-clock power, 70 lakh employment opportunities. It also raked up the controversial issues of triple talaq and construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

The manifesto, released by BJP chief Amit Shah here in the presence of senior state leaders, promised free education for girls till graduation, laptops to youth, 90 per cent reservation for state domiciles in jobs, filling of all pending vacancies in one year and free books and uniforms for school children from poor families.

Asked how the BJP could counter criticim of pandering to "dynastic rule" by giving ticket to the offspring of party leaders, Shah instead took a dig at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, saying that if the Congress leader were to get married, his child would be anointed the next leader of the opposition party.

Shah said Uttar Pradesh had been "left behind" in the race for development and the country's GDP cannot touch double digits without the state registering fast growth.

Slamming Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party which have ruled the state for the past two terms, he said the BJP will bring an "era of performing politics".

"We will make Uttar Pradesh a developed state in five years," he said.

Referring to the issue of triple talaq, Shah said the BJP government will seek the opinion of Muslim women in Uttar Pradesh and accordingly approach the Supreme Court where the issue is pending. The Allahabad High Court had in December last year termed triple talaq as "cruelty against Muslim women". The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) differed with the decision but the concept of triple talaq has come under attack from Muslim women activists.

On the Ram temple, Shah said a BJP government will work towards its construction under "constitutional ambit".

Shah said a special task force will be set up to look into the charges of corruption against the Akhilesh Yadav-led government.

"Ever since we were voted to power, we have given almost Rs 2.5 lakh crore to the state government for use in various schemes but nobody knows where the money has gone. I would like to ask Akhilesh Yadav ji to explain the whereabouts of these funds," Shah said.

The manifesto has made several promises for the farmers, youth, women and the poor sections.

Seeking to woo the farming community, which has a sizeable presence in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has promised to waive off loans of small and marginal farmers and provide them interest at zero percent interest.

He said sugarcane farmers would be paid for their crops within 14 days from sugar mills and pending arrears of around Rs 6,000 crore will be cleared within 120 days.

Shah said a Chief Minister Agriculture Irrigation Scheme would be started with a budget of Rs 20,000 crore in Bundelkhand region.

The BJP, he said, will ban the illegal and automatic slaughter houses in the state and a Dairy Development Fund will be started with corpus of Rs 150 crore.

Shah said BJP would give a bond of Rs 50,000 if a girl child is born in a poor family. He said such a girl will be given different amounts as she reaches Class 12 and will get Rs two lakh when she attains the age of 21.

The BJP also promised to double widow pension.

Referring to laptop scheme started by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Shah said a BJP government will not discriminate in their distribution.

"We will distribute laptops to youth with 1 GB free internet for an year," he said.

He said 1.5 lakh vacancies in police will be filled on merit with provisions of quota and interviews for Class III and IV posts will be abolished.

Shah said girls will be given free education till graduation under the Ahilyabai Kanya Free Education Scheme and boys will get free education till Class 12. He said boys scoring over 50 percent marks in Class 12 will be entitled to free education till their graduation.

"For higher education of children from poor families, a Babasaheb Ambedkar Scholarship Fund will be set up with allocation of Rs 500 crore. Arrangement will be made to provide books, school uniform, shoes and school bag to children from poor families till Class 12."

The manifesto talks of Rs 1,000 crore start-up venture capital fund and promises setting up of the country's biggest start-up incubator.

The BJP has promised 10 universities of international level, engineering college or polytechnic in each district and free Wi-Fi connections in all colleges and universities.

On law and order, Shah said criminals will be put behind bars, FIRs will be registered without any bias and a special task force formed to tackle land and mining mafias in each district.

Shah said that metro train service will be started in new areas.

On health, he said 25 new medical colleges will be set up and an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) established in six different zones of the state.
ttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi wave during their road show, as a monkey uses an electic cable to move across a street in the background, in Lucknow
Calling Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav his friend, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the alliance of his party with the Samajwadi Party would make the northern state stronger. He added that the joint front was against the politics of aggression and fear. "And, this is no alliance of convenience," said Gandhi.
As many as 101 candidates in Punjab are facing various criminal cases, including that of murder and attempt to murder, poll watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has said.

Besides, out of total 1,145 candidates in the fray, 428 are having assets of more than Rs 1 crore, with average assets per candidate being worked out at Rs 3.49 crore.

According to the analysis of candidates' affidavits by ADR, 101 out of 1,145 candidates have declared criminal cases against them.

Of them, 78 candidates are facing serious criminal charges including that of murder, attempt to murder and crime against women, said Jagdeep Chhokar, founding member of ADR.

Prominent among those who are facing criminal charges are Navjot Singh Sidhu, Captain Amarinder Singh, Simarjeet Singh Bains, he said.

53-year-old Sidhu, Congress candidate from Amritsar East, declared in his affidavit that on December 27, 1988 a case under section 302, 323, 34 of IPC was registered against him. He was acquitted in the case by the Session Court Patiala on September 22, 1999.

But the Punjab and Haryana High Court convicted him on December 6, 2006 sentencing him to three years' rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs 1 lakh. But the Supreme Court suspended the sentence on January 23, 2007.

Congress' chief ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh, who is contesting from Lambi and Patiala, is facing four cases, as per the report prepared by ADR.

Lok Insaf Party candidate Simarjeet Bains is facing case under relevant sections of IPC including 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (charges related to voluntary causing hurt to deter servant from his duty).

As per report prepared by ADR, 14 candidates of Congress, 12 of AAP, 10 of SAD and 2 of BJP and 20 out of 304 Independents were facing criminal charges, said Chhokar.

The report also said that a whopping 688 out of total 1,145 contestants, have declared their educational qualification between 5th standard and 12th standard while 41 candidates are illiterate.

Despite political parties stressing upon giving more nominations to women in polls, 81 (7 per cent) women out of 1,145 candidates are contesting Punjab Assembly polls, as per the report.

(REOPENS DES43)



As per the report, 87 candidates of SAD are 'crorepatis', while 103 candidates of Congress, 20 of BJP and 71 of AAP have declared their assets worth over Rs 1 crore.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate was Rs 12.38 crore for Congress, Rs 6.10 crore for BJP, Rs 6.24 crore for AAP and Rs 9.26 crore for SAD, as per report prepared by ADR.

Despite several 'crorepati' candidates, there are seven candidates who have declared zero assets in their affidavits, as per the report.

There are three candidates Satish Kumar (Kapurthala), Tarsem Singh (Sanour), Alwinder Singh (Muktsar) have declared Rs 2,000, Rs 2,400 and Rs 5,500 as total assets, respectively.

A total of 221 candidates have not declared their PAN numbers while 471 candidates have not declared income tax details, as per the report.

Among prominent candidates who have declared highest liabilities are Rana Gurjit Singh from Kapurthala (Rs 81.71 crore) and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal from Jalalabad (Rs 39 crore), it said.
The Coast Guard today nabbed 139 fishermen on charges of undertaking unlawful fishing activity in turtle concentration zones of Odisha's Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.

Fourteen fishing trawls used by the intruders for fishing along the prohibited sanctuary area were seized by the patrolling unit.

The interception took place early today near Satabhaya coast about 11 nautical miles from Paradip coast, Coast Guard Commandant Ashis told PTI.

The nativity antecedents of the arrested crew of the vessels were thoroughly cross-checked to ascertain whether they owed any anti-national links or had subversive design, he said.

This was of the largest interception of intruding vessels by the Coast Guard in a day in Odisha, Ashis said adding as the nabbed fishermen violated the law by sneaking into turtle concentration zones of prohibited marine sanctuary seawaters, they were handed over to the forest department for legal action.

The fishing vessels had trespassed into prohibited sanctuary corridors contravening the provisions of wildlife protection act, Orissa Marine fishing regulation act and mandatory rules of marine sanctuary, the CG official said.

The intruders were being forwarded to jail custody under sections 27 and 29 of the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982, said Gahirmatha Forest Range Officer, Subrat Patra.

Nearly 60,000 turtles had arrived at the Nasi-2 nesting ground from 16-23 March to lay eggs on the sandy beach of the sanctuary.

The mass nesting figure was much on the lower side as an estimated 4.14 lakh female turtles had turned up to dig pit and lay eggs on the nesting beach during 2015 year, Patra said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
20 people, including 19 bootleggers and a drug peddler were arrested from several parts of the district today, as part of a police crackdown on smuggled and illicit liquor ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.

A huge cache of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), country wine, raw booze containers and intoxicating pills have been seized from their possession, they said.

"330 cartons of full bottles, 300 quarter bottles, 295 litres of country wine, which was filled in the plastic canes and 200 sleeping tablets have been confiscated from their possession," Deepak Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ghaziabad told PTI.

"All 20 accused have been sent to jail under excise and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act," he said, adding that Loni Kotwali, Loni Border, Modinagar, Muradnagar, Khoda, Link Road, Sihani Gate and Sahibabad police arrested them when they were ferrying the liquor.

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Twenty-five Chinese have been found alive after their tourist boat sank off eastern Malaysia but six people remain missing, a minister said today.

The figures were given by Shahidan Kassim, minister in the Prime Minister's Department, after the catamaran sank on Saturday off Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island.

Five Chinese and one crew member are still unaccounted for, Shahidan told a press conference in Sabah.

The boat had left yesterday morning from the state capital Kota Kinabalu en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites.

The boat owner reported it missing yesterday evening.

The skipper and one of the two crew members were found alive earlier today off a nearby island.

"According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by waves and sank," said Ahmad Puzi Kahar, head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, in a statement.

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Three Chinese passengers died and five are missing after a tourist boat sank in rough seas off eastern Malaysia, officials confirmed late today, with 22 people rescued following the shipwreck.

Twenty Chinese tourists and two of the vessel's three crew members were rescued and sent to a hospital in Kota Kinabalu after the boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, according to Malaysian officials.

The third crew member has not yet been found, bringing the total number of missing to six.

The sinking of the catamaran today, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, sparked a major air and sea search covering some 400 nautical square miles.

The mission was halted tonight due to bad weather, but will resume early Monday morning, an official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said.

The boat left yesterday morning from the Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites.

The boat owner reported it missing on Saturday evening.

The skipper and a crew member were found alive earlier Sunday off a nearby island, before the discovery of the other survivors.

"According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by waves and sank," Ahmad Puzi Kahar, head of the MMEA, said in a statement.

The search and rescue involved officers from the maritime agency, police, navy and air force.

Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin said naval ships and a C130 aircraft were used in the search.

Roughs seas and strong winds hampered rescue efforts on Saturday night and Sunday, authorities said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said he was closely monitoring developments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping "demanded all-out search and rescue efforts" by Malaysia, his country's official Xinhua agency reported.

It added that an emergency team, led by an official from Beijing's national tourism administration, had been set up to handle the incident.

China's foreign ministry said its consulate in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged them to do everything they could to rescue the tourists.

"Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and it should have been a happy day. Unfortunately, such a bad thing happened," China's consul-general in Sabah, Chen Peijie, was quoted as saying by Malaysia state agency Bernama.

An earlier disaster involving Chinese visitors to Malaysia -- the unexplained disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane in March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing -- soured relations between the two nations.

Most of the 239 people on board were Chinese and Malaysian authorities were fiercely criticised for allegedly giving little or inaccurate information about the incident.

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The head of the Arab League expressed "deep concern" today about President Donald Trump's restrictions on citizens of seven Muslim majority countries entering the United States.

The new regulations "are unjustified restrictions on the entry of citizens of several Arab nations to the US, in addition to the consequences of suspending the acceptance of Syrian refugees," Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.

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An Arab League official said today the organisation hopes US President Donald Trump will retract his campaign pledge to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"The position expressed by President Trump while campaigning needs to be more cautious," Assistant Secretary General for Palestinian Affairs Said Abu Ali told reporters in Cairo.

Departing from Washington's long-standing position, Trump promised to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the American mission there, a vow that drew a fierce rebuke from Palestinian officials and concern from the European Union.

The city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967, later annexing east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

"We look to the new US administration to reconsider its position so it can better act as an objective sponsor of the peace process," Abu Ali said.

Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Trump to keep his campaign pledge.

"Jerusalem is Israel's capital and it would be good if the American embassy wasn't the only one to move here... I think that with time the majority of embassies will move to Jerusalem," he was quoted as saying by his office.

The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.

"Transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem would be aggression against the rights of the Palestinian people in their eternal capital east Jerusalem," Abu Ali said.

He said it would violate UN Security Council resolutions and be "a retreat from the historical American position" on the city's status.

Two days after Trump's inauguration, the White House appeared to play down suggestions that such a move was imminent, however.

"We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," press secretary Sean Spicer told AFP.

Trump's pick for the new US ambassador to Israel, hardliner David Friedman, is a staunchly pro-Israel lawyer who opposes the two-state solution.

Trump has said "there's nobody more pro-Israeli than I am", and Friedman has said he looks forward to working from "Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem".

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said the state has shown the light on prohibition and de-addiction by forming a huge human chain, in which four crore people participated.

"Prohibition in Bihar is being talked and discussed across the country. A loud and clear message has gone to the entire country through the human chain on prohibition. The light Bihar has shown on prohibition and de-addiction is not going to be doused," Kumar said.

"People formed a huge human chain on January 21 in support of prohibition and de-addiction. The target was fixed that around two crore people will participate in the human chain spread at a length of 11,000 km, but because of enthusiasm, people stood beyond the designated route. Later it was known that four crore people participated in the human chain which is not at all an ordinary thing," he said.

The chief minister was addressing a gathering of Jeevika members at Suggi village under Amas block of Gaya district after inspecting four schemes of seven resolves in the village.

It was the second day of his 'Nishchay Yatra' visit of Gaya. Earlier in the day, Kumar also inspected schemes at Oob village under Obra block of Aurangabad district and addressed a public meeting there.

Making light of the Centre's 'Smart City' scheme, he said, "Central government talks of making smart city. We don't believe that any city will become smart by spending Rs 500 crore on it. We want to make every village and city of Bihar smart. If basic infrastructure facilities are provided, then our villages and cities will become smart."



Earlier, Jeevika sisters honoured the chief minister by presenting him a memento.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Animal and Fish Resources minister Awadhesh Narayan Singh, Public Health and Engineering Department minister Krishnandan Prasad Varma, Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, Director General of Police P K Thakur and other senior officials.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump and will intervene if they affect UK nationals, Downing Street said on Sunday.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman said.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."



May had sparked controversy in Britain on Saturday after refusing to condemn the order by Trump to suspend refugee arrivals, saying Washington was responsible for its own immigration policy.

"The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May said at a news conference during a trip to Ankara.

Meanwhile an MP from May's Conservative Party yesterday revealed he would be barred from entering the US under Trump's clampdown.

Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he had had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports.

"A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added.

The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed with the new president the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU.

Shortly after their meeting on Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

The implications for British citizens led to increasingly loud calls from lawmakers that she denounce the policy.

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" and demanded that he not be allowed to address both of Britain's Houses of Parliament when he makes a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that May's refusal to condemn Trump "shames Britain".
China has released a short list of eight names for its ambitious Mars mission, scheduled to launch by 2020, to join the elite club of countries, including India, who have successfully reached the orbit of the Red Planet.

Out of the eight names, one will be selected in April.

China's first attempt to reach Mars was unsuccessful when its spacecraft Yinghuo-1 failed in 2011 alongside the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission with which it was launched.

If successful, China will become only the second Asian country, after India, to have successfully reached the orbit of the Red Planet.

Earlier in 1998, a Japanese mission to Mars had ran out of fuel and was lost.

The eight names - 'Fenghuang' (phoenix), 'Tianwen' (questions for heaven), 'Huoxing' (Mars), 'Tenglong' (soaring dragon), 'Qilin' (Kylin), 'Zhuque' (rose finch), 'Zhuimeng' (chasing dreams) and 'Fengxiang' (flying phoenix), were the top names chosen from over 14,500 choices submitted through more than 35,900 proposals entered by people worldwide.

China plans to launch its first Mars spacecraft by 2020, which will orbit, land and explore the Red Planet.

Proposals were accepted from August last year.

The eight names were selected via a jury review and online polls, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

The final choice will be announced around Space Day, April 24, according to a moon probe and space program centre under the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, which solicited the proposals.

India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, is orbiting Mars since September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Russia, the US, and EU have also launched successful MARS mission in the past.

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Congress today expelled Balbir Singh Sidhu for "anti-party activities" after he refused to withdraw himself from the electoral fray in Punjab, the 18th rebel candidate to be removed from the party.

Sidhu, the rebel candidate from Talwandi Sabo Assembly constituency, "is expelled for anti-party activities with immediate effect", according to a party statement.

Sidhu is the 18th rebel candidate of the Congress to be expelled for refusing to withdraw from the poll race.

However, earlier in the day, heeding to Amarinder's appeal, rebel Congress candidate from Bassi Pathana seat Harnek Singh Diwana announced his decision to withdraw himself from the poll race in favour of the official Congress nominee Gurpreet Singh GP.

Harnek, who was Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), announced his withdrawal from the elections, saying he would whole-heartedly support Gurpreet in the interest of the party and the state.

Harnek, a close confidant of late Punjab Minister Captain Kanwaljit Singh, had resigned from the primary membership of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2009 to join Congress.

An ex-serviceman, he had filed his nomination papers from Bassi Pathana after being denied the Congress ticket.

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With the entry of Aam Admi Party, the fight for February 4 Assembly election in Goa has become a four-cornered contest where the ruling BJP is eyeing another term and facing challenge from Congress and some new players.

While BJP is fighting the poll on development plank, showcasing its work in infrastructure and other sectors, main Opposition Congress is harping on "failures" and "unfulfilled" promises of the Government.

BJP is contesting 36 seats out of the 40 and has extended support to four independents. The saffron outfit has centred its entire campaign around the slogan 'once again BJP', seeking another term in power.

The Amit Shah-led party, which had won a clear mandate in the 2012 polls in alliance with regional heavyweight Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), is vying for votes on the back of its prominent infrastructural works and popular social welfare schemes launched over the last five years.

Ahead of the poll announcement, a series of 'Vijay Sankulp' rallies were held along with several corner meetings attended by senior Central leaders like Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani.

BJP's high-voltage campaign has so far seen Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, among others, addressing rallies in support of party nominees.

Parrikar, the architect of BJP's victory in 2012 who later took over as Chief Minister, was inducted in the Union Cabinet in 2014 and given the key defence portfolio.

The 61-year-old IIT graduate-turned-politician has been camping in his home State to pitch for his party aggressively even as speculation is rife he might return as Chief Minister if his party BJP wins the polls.

With just five days remaining for the big day, BJP leaders like Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will address public meetings early next week.

Congress, on the hand, is fighting on 37 seats, and has so far witnessed a lacklustre campaign. The party is pinning hopes on Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who will address an election rally at Mapusa town tomorrow.

Clarifying about its mellowed tone during campaigning, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said the party has decided to go for 'subdued campaign' and door-to-door visits.

The pack of nominees of Congress for this poll is a mix of old and new faces. Except for a couple of places, it has not encountered rebellion.

The party has left at bay like-minded force Goa



Forward, which had made desperate attempts to seal of poll truck, while it okayed seat-sharing agreement in two constituencies - Atanasio Monserratte (Panaji) and Rohan Khaunte (Porvorim).

Wooing voters with lucrative poll promises, its manifesto mentions ban on casinos, free petrol for students, special status, defreezing lands given to Special Economic Zone developers among others.

New entrant AAP will look at repeating its historic Delhi win of 2015 with the party contesting 39 seats.

Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas are often camping in the state.

Party workers sporting the trademark 'topi' can be seen across the state reflecting some influence in the tourist state.

Clinging on its pet issue of corruption, the Kejriwal- led party among its poll promises has assured a 'corruption free government' and ban on casinos, which has been a prominent issue for the saffron parties.

AAP has projected Elvis Gomes as its chief ministerial candidate, who is contesting from Cuncolim constituency.

The biggest surprise package in this election is poll alliance of three different forces - Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) and Shiv Sena.

BJP's former ally, MGP had suffered a major fall out with the ruling party, making it anti-BJP.

RSS rebel and regional language crusader Subhash Velingkar-led GSM has made the issue of grants to English- medium schools as its poll plank and is supported by the Shiv Sena.

The Sudin Dhavalikar-led MGP has fielded 18 candidates and is harping on good governance. Dhavalikar is party's chief ministerial face.

Beside the issue of grants to English schools, the joint manifesto of GSM and Sena promises ban on rave parties, Electronic Dance Music festivals and removal of casinos.

While MGP is contesting 18 seats, GSM will fight on six seats and Sena on four.
Slamming BJP for raising the Ram Temple issue in the coming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, CPI(M) politbureau member M A Baby today alleged the saffron party was trying to create Hindu-Muslim divide in the northern state.

In a Facebook post, he said the BJP's election manifesto, released by party President Amit Shah yesterday, had promised to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

This was "a naked violation" of the January 2 verdict of the Supreme Court's Constitutional bench against use of religion for soliciting votes, Baby, a former Kerala education Minister, said.

"The BJP's UP election manifesto, released by Amit Shah yesterday, said Ram Temple would be constructed in Ayodhya. This is a nake violation of the the (court) verdict," he claimed.

The apex court had held that any appeal for vote on grounds of 'religion, race, community or language amounted to corrupt practice under the election law provision'. The Election Commission should immediately intervene and take action, he said.

Accusing the BJP of attempting to raise religious fervour and polarise people in the name of Lord Ram Temple, he said the Supreme Court should be approached against this. Claiming that the Narendra Modi government had been a "total failure" on all fronts, he alleged that the Centre had been unable to fulfil the promises made and had also inflicted undue hardships on people through demonetisation. Baby urged all progressive and secular forces in the country to come together to defeat BJP's 'devious' attempts.

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The father of a criminal was shot dead allegedly by a group of men in outer Delhi's Baba Haridas Nagar today in what is suspected to be a revenge killing.

It is suspected that the Jyoti Nadu gang is involved in the attack on Manjeet Mahal's father and Delhi Police's Crime Branch teams are probing the matter, police said.

The incident took place around 10.10 AM when Shrikrishan was walking outside his home in Mitraon village.

A white colour Scorpio stopped outside his home. Five persons came out of the car, fired 12 rounds at him and fled the scene, said a senior police officer.

Hearing the gunshots, Shrikrishan's family members rushed out and found him lying in a pool of blood. They then informed police about it.

"After receiving a PCR call, local police immediately rushed to the spot and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. A case of murder has been registered and police has started a probe," the officer said.

"With Shrikrishan's death, the tally of those murdered in the series of revenge killings that started in late December in 2014-2015 has gone up to five. Last year, a father-son duo, the family of an arrested member of Mahal gang, was gunned down at their residence in Chhawla.

"Mahal, a native of Najafgarh's Mitraon, a village infamous for gang wars, came in contact with notorious gangster Balraj over two decades ago. Once Balraj was killed in a gang war, Mahal took over the gang and he was in the crime world for over two decades," he said.

He was arrested for allegedly masterminding the killing of ex-MLA Bharat Singh and half a dozen other murders and is lodged in Bhondsi Jail.

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Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) has held a dismissed police constable who was wanted in several cases of loot, robbery and murder.

UP STF (Western) SP Rajiv Narain Mishra said, "DSP Raj Kumar Mishra along with his team has arrested Devendra Jat from Agra. Around 34 cases of loot, robbery, and murder were registered against him at various police stations in Agra, Hathras, Firozabad, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi."



He was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his arrest.

"In 2007, the constable was dismissed from service. In 2008, his gang had allegedly robbed 550 kg silver in Firozabad. In 2011, he had robbed a truck and killed its driver and cleaner in Madhya Pradesh. In 2014,he robbed Rs 44 lakh from a trader in Hathras," the SP said.

He was a 1991 batch UP police constable and later got involved in criminal activities.

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Next generation satellite INSAT-3DR has opened new frontiers in India's weather forecasting and is set to equip the country with the ability to detect farm fires, which intensifies air pollution in the northern region seasonally, leaving Delhi gasping for breath.

A team of the Satellite Meteorology Division of India Meteorological Department (IMD), housed in New Delhi's Mausam Bhawan, has amassed a huge tranche of data relayed by it over the past few months, at an average rate of a whopping 142 GB per day.

Launched in September last year, INSAT-3DR works in tandem with INSAT-3D, operational since 2014, in sending raw data and high-resolution images, zoomed up to 1 kilometre near the earth's surface, every 15 minutes.

Dr Sunil Peshin, who heads the division, told PTI that while storing and archiving data was itself a challenge, the IMD shares information relayed by these satellites with international agencies like the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Peshin said with the operationalising of INSAT-3DR, night time monitoring of atmospheric phenomenon like cloud cover, fog, haze and snow among others has become possible.

"Within the next few months we hope to equip ourselves with the ability to detect farm fires as well which the NASA does currently. It is just a matter of developing the right tools and algorithm which will take a little time," he said.

This assumes importance against the backdrop of the Delhi government blaming seasonal agro-residue burning in the fields of Haryana and Punjab and the subsequent emission of smoke for the city's foul air, especially during October, November.

Dr A K Mitra, a scientist with the Satellite Research and Calibration/Validation Unit of the division, explained that apart from night-time monitoring, INSAT-3D/3DR has enabled forecasters here to prepare a 'vertical profile' of weather data which comes in handy in case of extreme weather events, picking last year's Chennai floods as a case in example.

"The Sounder payload of INSAT-3D/3DR provides vertical distribution of temperature and moisture which also gives more information on the nature of fog and its potential of remaining suspended or lifting. It can be put to great use by the railways and the airlines," Mitra said.

Both Peshin and Mitra concurred that the advanced weather forecasting capabilities could be put to greater use by training staff of the public transport sector like railways in handling the 'RAPID' tool (Real-time Analysis Product Information Dissemination) available on the IMD website.

The officials said the other set of weather data that INSAT-3DR measures using its 'Imager' payload include sea surface temperature, snow cover, snow depth, smoke, aerosols, water vapour, wind, flash floods.

INSAT-3DR, which weighs 2,211-kg and has a designed mission life of 10 years, was launched by ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F05) on September 8, 2016.

Apart from 'Imager' and 'Sounder', the payloads of INSAT-3DR include 'Data-Relay Transponder' and 'Satellite Aided Search and Rescue Transponder'.

The former transmits meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data while the latter picks up and relays alert signals originating from distress beacons of maritime, aviation, among others.
A meeting of BJP leaders, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar was held here today to finalise the party's nominees for the February 21 BMC polls.

After Shiv Sena announced that it will be contesting the polls sans any tie up with BJP, the dominant ruling alliance partner is in the process of finalising candidates for the 227 member BMC. BJP will leave some seats for its smaller allies, a BJP functionary said.

Today, list of 120 candidates was finalised, while the remaining list will be finalised tomorrow, he said. The party's poll manifesto for the BMC polls will be released soon, he added.

Meanwhile, state BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari, without naming Sena leader Sanjay Raut, said "it is a puzzle why only one person (in the Sena) is responding to Chief Minister's reference of Mahabharat character Shakuni mama, at the BJP rally here last night.

"In Mahabharata, it was Shakuni mama who was responsible for the defeat of Kauravas and in this version of Mahabharata today also, he will ensure their defeat," Bhandari said.

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A documentary film on this year's Ashok Chakra awardee Hangappan Dada has taken the internet by storm with over eight lakh views within three days of its release, a tribute to the valiant soldier who killed three infiltrators single-handedly in Jammu and Kashmir before being martyred.

One of the makers of the 12-minute film --Warriors of India-- is 27-year-old Somesh Saha could closely relate to the supreme sacrifice made by the soldier from Arunachal Pradesh as his father also belongs to Assam Regiment like Dada.

"My father, who happens to be the Colonel of Assam Regiment, was tensed over the loss of a soldier. An ordinary Indian would not understand this, but being the son of an Army officer, I have always been inspired by stories of soldiers. They have been a part of my upbringing," says the young filmmaker.

"I was not aware of the huge response but I wanted the valour of Havaldar Dada to go into the annals of history and these days history is internet. I talked to my two other friends and the result is extremely wonderful. The comment of one soldier, 'the film made me cry and smile at the same time', is etched on my mind and will remain my most treasured memory," says Somesh, who is a jingle expert in advertisement industry.

The other two -- Soumil Shetty, 27, and Rohan Sharma, 29 -- were more than willing to join Saha in the venture. "I knew it was a story waiting to be told. The first thing we requested the Army was to allow us meet Havaldar Dada's comrades. After meeting them, we felt that his story needs to be told by those who were actually a part of Dada's life," Saha says.

"Dada's presence was an inspiration for all those who were associated with him including his colleagues, friends and family. He was a hero since birth. As a kid he used to be the first one to accpet a challenge. His honesty made a huge impact on those around him. This was our motivation to make the film," he says.

Along with writer-director Shetty, and Sharma, who works with a production house, Saha went to Dada's native village Borduria in Arunachal Pradesh.

"We travelled from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. We lived for a number of days with the soldiers who fought with him in the operation so that we could understand their feelings on a whole range of issues. It surely was a lifetime experience," Saha recalled. He said he wished to travel once again to Arunachal Pradesh to meet the six-year-old son of Dada.

Shetty, who took time off his routine job to work on the



real script, said his aim was not to showcase Dada only as a soldier but someone who belonged to a family whose ties extended beyond the bond of blood.

"When we reached out to all the lives he had touched, the enormousness of his contribution came to fore. All we did was to showcase it as sincerely as possible," Shetty says.

Sharma, who is a post-production and animation man, recalls that when he read the citation of Havaldar Dada, this year's recipient of the highest peacetime gallantry award, his mind was flooded with many questions.

"For once, I wanted to experience what goes behind making of such a warrior. We were motivated to know more about the man, his upbringing, how he imbibed the rare daredevilry... the reaction of his family on getting the of his martyrdom....And the motivation which makes a man become so fearless to serve a national cause selflessly..," says Sharma.

Sharma, whose father is an Army veteran, says, "We were inspired to pay a befitting tribute to Dada and his family and the region to which he belonged. I saw it as a golden opportunity to pay tribute to the brave soldier as I could relate with the army atmosphere so well owing to my background. I always regret to have missed the opportunity of following in the footsteps of my father," says Sharma.

On the number of hits on social media and comments, all the three said that they were indebted to the nation and appreciated the response. "The response has been immense. It is an encouragement for us to make many more films on warriors of India," says Saha.
The Centre will invest Rs 15,000 crores to develop 1,253 kilometres of roads in Assam into Highways over the next few years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday.

"When Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met me, he demanded to declare 1,253 kilometres of state roads as Highways. Today I am declaring that those will be developed as NHs," he said in Guwahati.

Inaugurating the second road bridge over Brahmaputra here, the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister said the Centre has already sanctioned an investment of Rs 15,000 crores for developing the existing roads as NHs.

"I have ordered to prepare the DPR (Detailed Project Report) and it will be over soon. I hope the CM will initiate land acquisition process soon. As soon as the state government gives us the land and forest clearances, we will start the work immediately," he said.

Gadkari said the Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) will spend Rs 8,000 crores over the next two years for developing 143 kilometres of road, including a few bridges over Brahmaputra.

"The work on preparing the DPR for the bridge connecting Sonowal's constituency Majuli has already started. I have asked the officials to make a light weight and cost-effective bridge there," he said.
Gems and jewellery exports are likely to witness a growth of about 10 per cent this fiscal due to increasing demand in the US and Europe, according to the industry's apex trade promotion body.

"We are seeing the markets improve slowly, especially US and Europe to some extent. Looking at the growth in demand in these markets, we are expecting close to 10 per cent growth in the gems and jewellery exports led by polished diamonds," Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Chairman Praveen Shankar Pandya told PTI here.

Total exports witnessed 28.26 per cent growth at Rs 1.44 lakh crore during April-December 2016, compared to Rs 1.12 lakh crore in the corresponding period of FY15, according to government data.

Cut and polished diamonds saw flat growth at Rs 13,499.76 crore in the period, compared to Rs 13,537.21 crore in the same period of the previous financial year.

Pandya said all eyes are on US President Donald Trump, who is expected to boost the American economy.

"When the economy improves, there are more jobs and a rise in demand for jewellery. It is already a big market, which is expected to be even bigger," he said.

He said exporters are also watching what Trump does with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -- a three-country accord negotiated by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

"If NAFTA is abrogated, the exports will increase. However, the negotiations will have to be done carefully," he added.

On Europe, Pandya said the situation is improving but the US dollar and Euro parity have made things more competitive.

On exploring new markets, Pandya said GJEPC will strive to strengthen the existing markets and also explore new ones.

"We are making efforts to strengthen our strong markets like US, Europe. However, we also continue to explore new export destinations for the sector that will earn revenue for the country. We are looking at markets like Korea and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries," he said.

GJEPC is also striving to increase the country's exports to Japan and the Middle East, Pandya said.

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Greek and Turkish warships were involved today in a brief faceoff near a group of disputed Greek islets in the Aegean, coinciding with renewed tensions between Athens and Ankara.

The Greek defence ministry said a Turkish navy missile boat, "along with two special forces rafts," entered Greek territorial waters near the Imia islets.

Located just off the Turkish coast and claimed by Ankara, the unhabited rocky specks are an historic flarepoint in a long-running demarcation dispute.

Greek coastguard vessels and a navy gunboat shadowed the Turkish group, notifying them of the violation, and the Turks left the area after about seven minutes, it said.

In Turkey, the local media initially reported that the Turkish warship -- with Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar onboard -- was blocked by Greece from approaching the islets.

The private Dogan agency reported that there were "tense moments" for half an hour before the Turkish ship returned to the Turkish peninsula of Bodrum.

But Turkish armed forces, quoted by the state-run agency Anadolu, denied that the ship had been blocked, and said a small Greek coastguard vessel had watched from afar.

It added that General Akar was onboard the ship to "review and inspect" Turkish vessels in the Aegean.

The Imia islets -- called Kardak in Turkey -- lie just seven kilometres from Bodrum.

A row over their sovereignty islets flared in January 1996, when the two countries sent marines to two neighbouring islands in a sign of an imminent armed confrontation.

They then withdrew their troops after heavy diplomatic pressure by the United States, a fellow member of NATO.

Today's incident comes amid fresh tension between the two countries, after the Greek Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the extradition of eight former army officers who had fled to Greece after the failed July 15 coup.

Turkey lashed the ruling as "political" and threatened to scrap a "readmission agreement" under which Turkey has been taking in migrants landing illegally in Greece.

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Polish prosecutors will on Tuesday present what they believe is proof that Solidarity freedom hero Lech Walesa collaborated with the communist-era secret police, the national agency PAP reported.

Citing unnamed sources close to the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which prosecutes crimes from the communist-era and from the Nazi occupation, the PAP said today a team of forensic experts had come to that conclusion notably through handwriting analysis.

The 73-year-old former president and Nobel Peace laureate has been battling the allegations since last year, when the IPN seized previously unknown secret police files from the widow of a communist-era interior minister.

The IPN has said the files include a collaboration agreement signed with "Lech Walesa" and his alleged codename "Bolek".

Walesa, who co-founded the independent Solidarity union and then negotiated a bloodless end to communism in Poland in 1989, has repeatedly denied the authenticity of the documents and once again called the accusations a "lie" yesterday.

He enigmatically admitted however last year to having "made a mistake" and in the past had said he signed "a paper" for the secret police during one of his many interrogations.

A book published by the IPN in 2008 alleged that while the regime registered Walesa as a secret agent in December 1970, he was cut loose in June 1976 due to his "unwillingness to cooperate".

Poles have mixed feelings about Walesa. His boldness in standing up to the communist regime is still widely respected, but the combative and divisive tone of his later presidency earned him scorn in many quarters.

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Intellectually challenged differently- abled children will soon don the garb of magicians in Kerala, thanks to an innovative programme drawn up by the state government.

The Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM), under the Social Justice Department, and the State Initiative on Disabilities (SID) are joining hands with Magic Academy here to formulate the unique troupe.

Under the programme titled 'MPower', more than 400 differently-abled students from various schools would be given training in the Academy under the patronage of renowned magician Gopinath Muthukad and a team would be selected from them.

They would be the ambassadors of the state government's 'Anuyatra Campaign', aimed at creating a friendly-state for differently-abled, KSSM Executive Director Dr Asheel said.

The selected team would be given training free of cost at the Academy for four months. The team would be officially launched on June 7 in the presence of dignitaries from various fields of the society, he said.

State Social Justice Minister K K Shylaja would inaugurate the 'MPower' programme at the Magic Planet in Kazhakuttom near here in a function tomorrow.

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Iran's new charter of rights outlining freedoms of speech, protest and fair trials does not apply to the detention of opposition leaders and dual nationals, the bill's architect says.

The Charter of Citizens' Rights, released last month by the office of President Hassan Rouhani, embodies freedoms including the right to trial in open court without arbitrary detention.

But Elham Aminzadeh, special assistant to Rouhani on citizens' rights, told AFP in an interview that the bill has no power over the judiciary or parliament and only covers the civil service and other parts of the executive.

"I cannot put an article in this charter for the judiciary or legislative," said Aminzadeh, who spent three years compiling the document.

Asked about the continued house arrest without trial of opposition leaders since anti-government protests in 2009, she said: "It is not very related to the executive or administrative power. It is something else. I cannot answer to this."



On the trials of dual nationals, who have recently been jailed in closed-door courts, Aminzadeh said: "Security prisoners have a special process inside the judiciary. We cannot say anything about special security prisoners.

"We talk to the judiciary, but just talk and notifying -- nothing more," she added.

Recent months have seen several cases such as that of British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, sentenced to five years in prison for "sedition", and US-Iranian Siamak Namazi and his father, both given 10 years for espionage, which have caused outrage around the world.

Aminzadeh said she hoped the charter might one day be made into law by parliament and extended to all branches of government, but she indicated this was not a pressing concern.

"In comparing to other countries, I think (the human rights situation in Iran) is good, but it can be better," she said.

Aminzadeh denied the charter was just an attempt to win votes ahead of Rouhani's likely bid for re-election in May. It had been a key campaign promise in 2013.

"It's not a slogan... It is not just for the Rouhani government, it is for the next 100 years," she said.

Pressed on the detention of dissidents and journalists, and other allegations of rights violations, Aminzadeh said these were largely invented by the foreign media and NGOs.

"I don't know why of the many different human rights violations around the world, the foreign media is not keen on discussing them," she said, highlighting the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in the 1980s.

She accused Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of picking on Iran and ignoring rights abuses in countries like Bahrain and Yemen -- saying this was "double standards".

In the past five years, Human Rights Watch has written 14 long reports on Yemen and five on Bahrain, compared with four on Iran.

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Seeking reservation in government jobs for the community, members of Jat organisations today started their agitation in most districts of Haryana.

The call for the fresh stir has been given by some Jat outfits, especially those owing allegiance to the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Yashpal Malik.

Members of the Jat community are staging peaceful dharnas at Ramayan village near the Hisar-Bhiwani railway track, Jolilath village on Sonipat-Gohana road, Jassia village on Rohtak Highway, Rasalwala Chowk in Jhajjar, Umrakheri village near Panipat-Shamli road, Bala village near Assandh road in Karnal, Malik told PTI.

"The agitation in Yamunanagar, Panchkula and Mewat districts of the state will begin from January 31," Malik said, adding "the dharnas are peaceful...We are not blocking rail or road traffic".

Violence in last year's Jat stir claimed 30 lives and caused huge damage to property in the state.

However, officials said Haryana this time has been put on maximum alert.

Section 144 has already been imposed in sensitive districts including Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar and at other places as a precautionary measure, they said.

The assembly of five or more people in about 500 meters from national and state highways as well as railway stations in the city has been banned, officials said, adding paramilitary forces and state police personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain strict vigil.

"We are fully geared up to deal with any situation. Although the leaders of various agitating organisations have promised to hold dharnas in a peaceful manner, yet the administration is fully geared up to maintain law and order," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said.

The Haryana government had sought 55 companies of paramilitary forces from the Centre besides deployment of 7,000 Home Guards in the state.

Some companies of paramilitary forces have already reached Haryana, Niwas said.

Rapid Action Force has been deployed at Munak canal,



which was damaged by the protesters during the 2016 February stir, officials said, adding central forces are also conducting flag marches in some sensitive areas since yesterday.

Rohtak and some of its neighbouring districts including Sonipat and Jhajjar were the worst-hit in last year's violence, which had also affected Delhi as protesters had cut water supply to the national capital.

Deputy Commissioners (DC) and Superintendents of Police (SP) have been directed to ensure that highways and railway tracks are not obstructed and no damage is caused to property, they said.

Meanwhile, 'Khap' (council) leaders stated that their immediate demands include the release of Jat youths from jails, withdrawal of cases registered during last year's agitation and government jobs to kin of those killed during the stir.

The Haryana government has assured jobs to kin of those killed during in the 2016 agitation.

In Jhajjar, the administration has suspended mobile phone services like voice-call, SMS and internet in the district from 8 am to 6 pm on daily basis.

District Magistrate Ramesh Chander Bidhan has directed telecom service providers to ensure compliance of these orders, an official spokesman said, adding the decision was taken to "prevent disturbance of public peace and tranquillity".

Anyone found violating these orders will be punished under Section 188 of IPC, he said.

The magistrate has also ordered that all liquor shops within 5 km of Rasalwala chowk and Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh Road would remain closed till further orders, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Fatehabad SP O P Narwal suspended ASI's Naresh Singh and Suchha Singh and head constables Kuldeep, Surjeet and Subhash for dereliction of duty during a flag march, he said.

DC Faridabad Sameer Pal Srow said there is complete peace in the district.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party today held a protest against the settlement of Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslims here, alleging that it is a conspiracy to reduce Dogras to minority by engineering demographic changes.

Led by the party chairman Harsh Dev Singh, the activists wore black gowns printed with slogans like "Quit Jammu Rohingyas-Bangladeshis" as they staged a demonstration against the state government for the settlement in Jammu, the home of Dogra population.

"It is conspiracy to to reduce Dogra population to minority in their bastion Jammu by engineering demographic changes," Singh told reporters.

He claimed that the ingression and unlawful settlement of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in Jammu is a grave threat to the cultural, historical and religious identity of Dogras.

The party staged a vigorous protest demonstration seeking the Muslims' immediate repatriation to their native countries.

He said that the Jammu and Kashmir government had admitted on the floor of the House that there were several thousands of Burmese and Bangladeshi immigrants who had been unlawfully settled in the outskirts of Jammu city and Samba by several NGOs and Madrasas.

Earlier, thousands of Tibetan Muslim refugees who were forced to flee China had also been inhabited by the state government in the colonies located at Idgah, Badamwari and Gulshan Mohalla in Kashmir and Ladakh, Singh said.

He said the events like mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, communal and fascist ideology of the separatists, and the state government's silence over the unlawful settlement of foreign nationals was undoubtedly manipulative and dangerous.

Singh called upon intellectual forums, social organisations, nationalist forces, youth and student organisations to get united to launch a mass agitation against the settlement of foreign nationals in Jammu.

Hitting out at the Centre for its despicable apathy in addressing the grave issue, he said that the BJP leadership was merely issuing press statements for public and media consumption with all their jingoistic claims falling flat.

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Indian-origin American actor Kal Penn has started a CrowdRise fundraiser in the name of a commenter who told him he doesn't belong in the US.

The message appeared to be written in an Instagram post of 39-year-old Penn's, in which he spoke out about the personal effect President Donald Trump's "Muslim Ban" is having on him and his friends, reported People magazine.

"Families are being torn apart," Penn wrote.

"Shame on us. This is un-American. ?What Donald Trump and the Republican Party are doing is wholly unAmerican."



His online critic responded, "you don't belong in this country you ... Joke."



Penn, who worked in President Obama's administration as an associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement and plays fictional White House Press Secretary Seth Wright on the hit ABC show Designated Survivor, was born in Montclair, New Jersey, to Gujarati immigrant parents.

Responding to the racist claims with a charity effort is an example of the love Penn sees in the United States, he said.

"We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don't belong in our own country, that America can't be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world," Penn wrote in the fundraiser's description.

"We will turn their bigotry, along with the President's, into love."



Within 30 minutes of the fundraiser's posting, it had already received over USD 5,000 in donations.

Penn's response is just one of the many ways in which Americans are responding in opposition to President Trump's executive order, which he signed Friday.

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Aam Aadmi Party today questioned Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on "tacit support" given by ruling Shiromani Akali Dal to Congress party in the fight against Arvind Kejriwal's outfit.

AAP campaign committee chairman Bhagwant Mann attacked chief minister Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for allegedly hobnobbing with Congress and for targeting AAP for sacrilege of holy Guru Granth Sahib.

Sukhbir was home minister of state and he was directly involved in the sacrilege incidents, Mann alleged.

"Before accusing AAP, Sukhbir should explain why he didn't arrest the guilty," Mann asked.

Mann said that when first incident of sacrilege was committed in Bargari, Sukhbir had blamed "Pakistan's ISI and German intelligence agency" for the act.

"Sometimes he thinks Russia might be behind the sacrilege. Lately he realised that AAP was the real culprit, he said, mocking Sukhbir.

He alleged SAD is giving "tacit support" to Congress against AAP candidates.

Mann said that Sukhbir had no stand and no morals and that he had ruthlessly and arrogantly ruled Punjab for 10 years thinking that he would purchase the voters with his "ill-gotten money".

He accused chief minister Badal of allegedly allowing Sukhbir and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia to flourish in their "illicit drug trade and illegal mining business".

He asked Badal why he was silent spectator to the corruption by his family members in the cabinet and other ministers.

"The government was virtually run by Sukhbir and Bikram Majithia and Badal was used as stamp to issue clean chits to the corrupt minister," Mann alleged.

He said that Badal must explain his compulsions to support Congress candidates on seats where SAD is on weak wicket.

He said that it shows that SAD had lost ground in Punjab and now it wants to pass on power to Congress, its ally in corruption.

He said that SAD and Congress had fought several elections blaming each other as enemy of Punjab and surprisingly both these parties have now joined hands against AAP as fear of the party has exposed their unholy nexus.

Mann said that "blood of Congress party flows in the veins of Badal family".

"If former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu who worked with BJP for 15 years can claim he is born Congressman then it is birthright of Badal to be loyal to Congress as he had won his first election in 1957 on Congress party ticket," he said.

Mann said that people of Punjab gave utmost love and respect to Badal and made him chief minister for five terms which is a very rare achievement in life of any politician.

"It is shameful that Badal has cheated people of the state. Unfortunately Badal had fallen from grace at the fag end of his political career," Mann quipped.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel today condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesman said.

"She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion," Steffen Seibert was quoted as saying by national agency DPA.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel today slammed the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, saying it was "not justified" to target people based on their background or religion.

Her spokesman said Merkel had raised the issue in a telephone call with Trump yesterday, reminding him of obligations under international human rights law.

"The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries," spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

"She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion."



The German government "will now examine the consequences" of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

A federal US judge on Saturday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Merkel's condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.

"The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds," he said.

"The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterday's phone call with the US president."



In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a "catastrophic mistake" in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.

More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the country's doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution in 2015.

Although the number of arrivals has slowed significantly in recent months, concern over the influx has fuelled support for the rightwing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

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Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has a new diplomatic invitation to visit the United States after cancelling a trip to Washington in response to President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall this time from a trio of Democratic lawmakers in the heavily Hispanic state of New Mexico.

Democratic state Republican Javier Martinez of Albuquerque on Friday said that Trump's insistence on making Mexico pay for a border wall extension is a threat to centuries-old economic and cultural ties between Mexico and the state of New Mexico, including recent investments by taxpayers in the Santa



Teresa-San Jeronimo border crossing that have spurred trade.

Martinez, with state Republicans Bill McCamley of Mesilla Park and Angelica Rubio of Las Cruces, sent a letter Friday inviting Pena Nieto to address the New Mexico House Chamber during the current legislative session.

"If you look at the way Trump has spoken out against the Mexican president, the country of Mexico, his position to build this very expensive wall across the border and then his suggestions that it be paid for with a 20 per cent tariff on imports those are all statements and actions that can only be detrimental to the state of New Mexico," said Martinez, an attorney and El Paso native who spent part of his childhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

There's no word yet if Nieto will accept the invitation. The decision by Pena Nieto to scrap a planned Jan. 31 meeting with Trump in Washington has boosted the Mexican president's lagging popularity as he struggles to contain rising crime, a sluggish economy and a series of corruption scandals in his party.

Republican New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has avoided criticising Trump on his executive action pushing a border wall along the border.

A spokesman for Governor Martinez said Friday that she "supports strengthening our border and giving the federal government a variety of tools" to protect residents while declining to comment specifically on the border wall.

The second-term governor of no relation to Javier Martinez said last year that building fences could impact the US economy and relationship with trading partners in Mexico and farther south.

Martinez was a vocal critic of Trump during the presidential campaign for his derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants and women.

Trump lost the popular vote in New Mexico to Democrat Hillary Clinton by about 8 percentage points.
It is turning out to be a heartbreak for Muslim ticket aspirants of the BJP in the upcoming Manipur Assembly polls with even the party's state unit President of Minority Morcha failing to get the nod.

Out of a total of 17 aspirants who had sought party tickets to contest in five different assembly seats, so far only one -- Md Anwar Hussain -- has been given the green signal to be the candidate from Lilong -- a constituency with the largest Muslim population in the state.

In three other constituencies of Keirao, Wabgai and Wangkhem where there is a sizeable Muslim population, the party has decided to go with candidates from the majority Meitei community. The party has so far announced the first list of candidates from 31 seats out of a total of 60.

The next list is expected in a day or two in which state BJP Vice President and former bureaucrat AR Khan, who has sought ticket for Kshetrigao seat, will get to know about his fate.

Md Salam Khan, the President of Minority Morcha of BJP Manipur, who had sought to contest from Keirao seat, expressed disappointment with the way the party has distributed tickets.

"BJP's ticket distribution hasn't taken into consideration the ground reality. It is not on the basis of merit for sure but neither central nor state leaders have explained to us why we have been denied tickets," Khan told PTI. He had lost out to L Rameshwor Meitei.

Khan had joined BJP in 2014 after being a Congress member for over 10 years.

"If you look at it, the ticket has been given to someone who joined the party just two months back," he lamented.

While asserting that he would continue to be with BJP, Khan said: "The way tickets have been distributed this time has definitely made my job difficult to explain to the Muslim community in the state about BJP's intention. We are finding it to counter Congress' propaganda that BJP wants a minority-less government in Manipur."



He said out of a total of 60 seats in Manipur there are 18 constituencies, where Muslim votes are swing factors, which BJP will now find it difficult to garner.

"When you give ticket to Muslim for just one seat, that too for a constituency where the community is majority what is the message being sent out to the rest of population in the state?" he wondered.

Expressing similar sentiments, MI Khan, who joined BJP



six months back after giving up the vice president post of state Trinamool Congress unit, said he was lured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ideology and principles.

"But when you see the pattern of ticket allotments, when deserving Muslim candidates are denied tickets you do realise that the BJP isn't for the minority community," Khan alleged.

Now having decided to contest from Keirao constituency on NCP ticket, he said, "We will expose the fact that BJP doesn't stand for the minority. There are 18 constituencies in Manipur where Muslim votes do play a key factor and we will ensure that the community doesn't endorse the communal party."



Likewise, Md Habibur Rahman, who was the Vice President of Minority Morcha BJP Manipur, has joined JD(U) to contest from Wagbai after failing to get BJP ticket.

"Initially we believed in Narendra Modi's 'sabka saath sabka vikas' slogan but when tickets are distributed there's a question mark raised on the intent of BJP. Its actions are showing to be Hindu-oriented," he said of the party for which he was a member for two years.

Calls and messages to BJP Manipur spokesperson O Joy remained unanswered.
Families split, a father unable to reach his son's wedding and officials warning of a "gift to extremists" -- President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries has triggered shock and confusion among those affected.

"There is mass hysteria among the Iranian-American community -- that's no exaggeration," said Saam Borhani, an attorney in Los Angeles.

He said clients were bombarding him with questions since Trump passed an executive order on Friday, suspending refugee arrivals and imposing tough controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the restrictions have already caused chaos for students, businessmen and families.

"I have several clients impacted by the executive order -- married couples whose spousal visas have been stopped, causing them to be separated. A father living in Iran who is unable to come to his son's wedding in California," said Borhani, who was himself born in the US to Iranian parents.

US State Department figures show Iran accounted for around a quarter of the 31,804 visas granted to citizens from the seven countries last year.

Among thousands facing difficulties, an Iraqi family was barred in Cairo from taking their connecting flight to New York yesterday.

"I had sold my house, my car, my furniture. I resigned from work and so did my wife. I took my children out of school," Fuad Sharef, 51, told AFP.

"Donald Trump destroyed my life. My family's life. I used to think America was a state of institutions but it's as though it's a dictatorship," he said.

An Iranian woman blocked from boarding at Tehran airport today said she had waited 14 years for her green card.

"Even during the hostage crisis at the US embassy (in 1980), the US government didn't issue such an order. They say the US is the cradle of liberty. I don't see freedom in that country," she said, asking not to be named.

The US embassy in Baghdad said on Facebook that dual nationals from the seven countries would be barred from entering the United States, excluding those with American passports.

"Daeshi decision," Baghdad resident Nibal Athed wrote in response to the post, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

He asked why the list excluded Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which he described as the "biggest sponsors of terrorism".

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today that Trump's move "will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.

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Madhesi parties today said they will hold fresh protests in Nepal's southern Terai region next week to exert pressure on the Prachanda government to address their demands through an amendment to the new Constitution.

The Joint Democratic Madhesi Front (JDMF), an alliance of seven Madhes-based parties, decided to stage mass protests at the headquarters of Terai districts on February 5, demanding the implementation of a 'three-point' agreement it had signed on August 3 - the day Prachanda took over as prime minister.

As per the agreement, the Front had extended support to the CPN Maoist Centre-Nepali Congress alliance to elect Prachanda as the prime minister. In return, Prachanda promised to address the Front's demands through an amendment to the Constitution.

The major demands of the Madhesis include re-drawing of the provincial boundary and the citizenship issue.

But a Constitution amendment bill, which was tabled in Parliament on January 8, is currently in a state of limbo, as the main opposition CPN-ML has opposed it and the Madhes-based parties themselves have expressed dissatisfaction over the content and have demanded a revision.

The Madhesi parties say they would not let the polls to Parliament and local bodies take place before the Constitution is amended to address their demands.

The government's silence on the Constitution amendment bill has also irked the Front.

The governing Maoist Centre and the Nepali Congress had reached an agreement with the Front to form a taskforce to revise the amendment proposal.

The taskforce held discussions on Thursday, but only to fail to find a point of compromise. The next meeting of the taskforce has been scheduled for Tuesday.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, had launched a six-month-long agitation during KP Sharma Oli's premiership, from September 2015 to February last year, in which more than 50 people were killed.

The agitation had also crippled the landlocked country's economy as supplies from India were blocked.

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An NRI was grievously injured after he was hit by a bullet during a celebratory firing at a wedding in Gangoh town in the district, police said today.

Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Singh told PTI that Mona Singh was admitted to a private hospital after he was injured in the firing last night.

Singh was one of the many NRI guests from Canada and USA, who had come to attend the wedding at Mahangi village.

A case has been registered in this connection and further investigations are underway.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will start his three-day visit to Pakistan tomorrow to discuss bilateral ties, the Foreign Office here said today.

Abbas will stay in Pakistan from January 30 to February 1 and is scheduled to meet President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

"He will be accompanied by a 17-member delegation, including five ministers," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Abbas will have a one-on-one meeting with Sharif followed by delegation-level talks, it said.

Abbas and his delegation will meet President Mamnoon Hussain, followed by a state banquet in his honour. Bilateral political matters as well as other issues of common interest will be discussed between them.

The relations between Pakistan and Palestine have traditionally been strong. Pakistan has consistently supported the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Pakistan has also extended support to the Palestinian struggle for their independent homeland, in all international forums.

This would be his third visit to Pakistan. He has previously been to Pakistan in 2005 and 2013.

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Biscuits and confectionery maker Parle Products is aiming to increase its market share in the premium biscuits category to around 20 per cent in 2017-18 from 15 per cent now.

"We will be expecting decent dividends coming in from our premium range. While we are very strong in the mid-tier or popular range and the mass range, premium is one place where we have started making our mark felt," Parle Products Category Head Mayank Shah told PTI.

"We have brands like Hide & Seek and Milano and of late we also launched their variants. Having done that, we are seeing an increase in market share in that particular segment. We have seen our market share going up by almost 4-5 per cent in premium segment in last one year," he added.

The premium biscuit category is estimated to be worth around Rs 5,000 crore, growing at 15-17 per cent. Shah said the company is expecting its market share to increase to 18-20 per cent in fiscal 2017-18 from 15 per cent at present.

Its premium offerings include Milano, Simply Good, Happy Happy and Hide & Seek, while the mass brands are Parle G, Parle Marie, KrackJack and Monaco, among others.

The biscuits major will also focus on consolidating its position in the popular and mass segments.

"While we would like to improve our share by focusing on premium biscuits, we would also like to consolidate our position in mid-tier and low price range," he said.

Parle Products has a market share of 28 per cent in the overall Rs 36,000 crore biscuit market.

The company has expanded its portfolio over the last two years by launching new products and would be consolidating them before launching new items.

On overall rural demand, Shah said there would be an impact of 2-3 per cent on growth in this segment due to demonetisation.

"This year, with a good monsoon, we were expecting good growth coming in from rural but with demonetisation, growth across urban and rural has taken a hit. While we are seeing recovery in urban India, rural will take a bit of more time.

"While we expect rural to be the growth driver, the impact of rural growth coming in would only be seen in the next fiscal. This fiscal, we will not be able to realise the full potential of rural demand," he said.

"We were expecting category growth in rural to be in double digits but after demonetisation there would be at least 2-3 per cent impact in rural growth," he added.

The company, which has presence in confectionery and snack segments with brands like Mango Bite, Melody, Fulltoss and Mexitos, among others, said it cut its advertising budget by 15-20 per cent post demonetisation.

"From mid-November to end December, there was hardly any advertising that was done and on an average it would have been 15-20 per cent cut in advertising as a result of demonetisation," Shah said, adding that the company spends 7-10 per cent of its revenue on advertising.

The Mumbai-based company is rolling out a new ad campaign for its flagship brand Parle G launched in 1939 to strengthen its position as a home-grown brand that has remained unchanged over the years.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today extended his deadly drug war until the last day of his term in 2022, but conceded the police force acting as his frontline troops was "corrupt to the core".

Thousands of people have died in the crackdown that began when Duterte took office in the middle of last year, with rights groups warning police are carrying out extrajudicial killings not just to fight crime but to aid their own corrupt activities.

Duterte won the presidential elections largely on a law-and-order platform headlined by a vow to eliminate the illegal drug trade in three to six months.

Once in office Duterte extended the timeframe until March of this year, but today he said there would be no end while he was in power.

"I will extend it to the last day of my term," Duterte told reporters.

"March no longer applies."



In the Philippines, presidents are allowed to serve only a single term of six years.

Duterte has been unrepentant in the face of fierce criticism of the drug war from various Western governments, UN agencies and rights groups, saying he must take extreme measures to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco state.

However a series of scandals involving the police using the drug war as a cover for extortion, including the abduction and murder of a South Korean businessmen, have fuelled fears that rogue cops are on the rampage.

Police chiefs had repeatedly insisted in recent weeks that those crimes were isolated cases, and that they did not signal a larger problem.

However Duterte said today he believed almost 40 per cent of all police officers around the country were involved in graft.

"You policemen are the most corrupt. You are corrupt to the core. It's in your system," Duterte told reporters as he railed against the officers who allegedly masterminded the murder of the South Korean businessman.

He said he wanted to "cleanse" the police force by doing a review of all the police officers that had previously been involved in extortion.

However Duterte had previously insisted on many occasions he would not allow any police officer to go to jail for killing people in the name of his drug war.

He also said last year he would be "happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts as part of his crime war.

Police have reported killing more than 2,500 people they have accused of being drug suspects, while nearly 4,000 others have died in unexplained circumstances in the crackdown, according to official figures.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the three-day National Women's Parliament-2017 (NWP) being organised by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly at Pavitra Sangamam at Ibrahimpatnam on February 10.

Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama will attend the inaugural session along with a host of leaders from India and abroad, Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao said addressing a press conference.

The vision of NWP is to enable and encourage social, political and economic empowerment of women in all strata of the society.

"The NWP will come out with Amaravati Declaration on women empowerment at the end of the three-day deliberations," the Speaker said.

"National Women's Parliament will be a common platform for women from diverse backgrounds like politics, arts and culture, sports, education, industry, media, cinema, judiciary and social sector to share their knowledge and research in the area of women's social, economic and political empowerment," he said.

Asked if a resolution would be passed at the conclave seeking the long-pending 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, the Speaker said the issue would only be "discussed".

"We want to stay clear of any controversial issues," Kodela said.

The NWP, a first-of-its-kind conclave in India, would facilitate interaction between women from varied backgrounds and also girl students to raise awareness on issues like malnutrition, social security, sexual harassment, sanitation, oppression and other gender-based problems.

"One of the objectives of this conclave is to make girls realise their potential and make them aware of the canvas where they can leave their footprints.

"Our endeavour is to enhance the network between eminent women and girl students to enable them to take leadership roles in all sectors," Kodela added.

There would be seven plenary sessions at the event with



discussions on subjects like socio-political challenges in women empowerment, women's status and decision-making power, building own identity and vision for the future.

As many as 91 parliamentarians, 401 legislators, 300 social and corporate sector leaders from India and abroad are expected to attend the NWP while over 10,000 "socially and politically sensitive" girl students of higher education will interact with the women leaders, the Speaker said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Bangladesh Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Governor E S L Narasimhan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, noted Gandhian Ela Bhatt, Lata Mangeshkar, actresses Juhi Chawla, Manisha Koirala, Sania Mirza, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and a host of other luminaries will attend the event.
Top Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris, today urged US President Donald Trump to rescind his alleged "Muslim ban".

"This is effectively a Muslim ban. One that will do nothing to keep us safe and undermines our core American values," Harris, who is of mixed Indian-American and African- American heritage, said as she launched an online petition campaign urging Trump to rescind the ban.

The White House has denied that this is a ban on Muslims.

Senator Schumer, the Senate Minority leader, said the executive orders are wrong.

He demanded that the President immediately rescind the executive orders.

"Executive orders make US less safe and secure; turn much of the world against us. Joining recent refugees today to call on President Trump to rescind," he tweeted.

"Still much more work to do; President Trump must overturn this awful executive order," he said.

Schumer demanded that those refugees coming here must not be coerced without advice from supporters and advocates to sign 'voluntary' deportation orders.

Referring to a phone call he had with Gen (rtd) John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security, Schumer said he has been assured that the court order will be complied with.

"All those still in airports expected to be admitted," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the Muslim ban is unconstitutional.

"The injunction against President Trump's Executive Order must be immediately enforced nationwide to prevent further harm from his immoral and unconstitutional ban on Muslims," she said.

Pelosi said she supports the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others to challenge this order on Constitutional grounds and call on the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection to respect the district court's nationwide injunction prohibiting the US government from removing lawful permanent residents and other visa holders who are returning home to the United States.

"Any delays in implementing the injunction will have extremely harmful ramifications across the United States as families, coworkers and communities will be arbitrarily separated. I expect a full report from the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs as to the wellbeing and status of those who have been affected by the Executive Order," Pelosi said.

"As the Statue of Liberty holds her torch of welcome high, there are tears in her eyes as she sees how low this Administration has stooped in its callousness toward immigrant families and refugees who have trusted in the laws and protections of the United States," she said.

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"House Democrats will continue to defend our Constitution and demand smart and strong action to defeat terrorists while protecting religious freedoms," Pelosi said.

Congressman Elijah E Cummings said Americans of all faiths -- Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon -- must oppose this blatant religious discrimination.

"I urge President Trump to rescind his order immediately," he said.

"A policy that stigmatises and isolates Americans of any faith, makes us weaker, not stronger. We are better than this and I urge Republicans in Congress to join Americans across the country in rejecting this hate-driven policy and call on President Trump to immediately rescind this executive order," said Congressman Jim McGovern.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey said America's most powerful tool is its moral leadership.

"President Trump's order doesn't live up to our values and he must rescind it immediately," she said.
Rifles used by anti-terror officers at Scotland Yard in the UK have been recalled after it was discovered the weapons could fire unintentionally.

The Metropolitan Police was instructed last month by the maker of the SIG Sauer MCX rifle to stop using it after the American company found a fault with potentially fatal consequences, 'The Sunday Times' reported.

"SIG has found through extensive factory testing that in extremely rare instances, not reported in the field and extremely difficult to replicate, a condition may exist causing an unintended discharge," the company said in a statement.

"Failure to follow the loading procedures and basic rules of safe firearms handling outlined in the user's manual has the potential to cause serious bodily harm or death," it said.

SIG said it was conducting "a mandatory replacement of the carriage assembly in SIG MCX rifles".

"SIG has decided to upgrade all MCX models. We want to ensure the quality and reliability of all products we manufacture. Stop use of [the] firearm immediately," the statement said.

The MCX rifles are seen being carried by Met officers at public venues across London.

There are furtherplans to increase the number of armed police in Britain in the wake of the terrorist attack on Paris at the end of November 2015, which killed 130 people.

As well as armed response teams on regular patrol, Scotland Yard has specialist counter-terrorism firearms squads on call 24 hours a day.

"Officers within the specialist firearms command do carry the MCX weapon and the Met is aware of the issue which SIG Sauer have outlined," a Met Police statement said.

There is no suggestion that the rifles have discharged unintentionally in public.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today appealed to electorates to join him in the battle against the dangers posed by the Badals and Arvind Kejriwal to the state.

He pledged not to allow the Badals to "get away with goondagardi" and urged the Election Commission to "remove thousands of volunteers brought by AAP from other states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to manage its Punjab poll campaign".

At a public meeting in his hometown of Patiala, Singh said the Akalis and the AAP leadership posed a threat to the state and asked people to see through their "false" promises.

The Congress chief ministerial candidate, with his wife Preneet Kaur by his side, denounced the Badal government, saying development works ground to a halt in Patiala and Amritsar, which he represented as a Member of Parliament, under the Badal rule out of "sheer vengeance".

He said he had set up the Patiala Development Authority with a corpus of Rs 300 crore at the time of leaving the state government and the Amritsar Development Authority, which had funds to the tune of Rs 2,700 crore during his tenure.

The Badal government, however, diverted the fund to their "personal" coffers, the PPCC chief alleged.

Singh, while referring to "the list of Kejriwal's broken promises" in Delhi, said AAP "with its threatening mix of extreme ideologies" was an example of poor governance and corruption.

As many as 19 AAP MLAs in Delhi were behind bars on charges of graft and rape, he said and added that with "its bunch of outsiders and total lack of experience in good governance", the party could not put Punjab back on the track of progress.

He said that in the Akalis' 10-year rule, industries fled the state and mafias ruled the roost, "which is evident from the Nabha jailbreak".

He reiterated his promise of punishing all those found involved in the recent incidents of sacrilege in the state.

"I will not spare anyone even if it is Badal," he said.

Under the SAD-BJP rule, the government exchequer did not have sufficient money to pay salaries and properties were "sold and mortgaged" to make essential payments, he said, adding that nowhere had he seen any government being run like this.

"The youth of the state suffered due to unemployment and the drug menace," Singh said as he vowed to "wipe out" drugs from the state within four weeks if his party came to power.

"The halqa in-charges are looting people at the behest of the Badals," he alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Many online shoppers in the United States have for years had to pay state sales taxes whenever they buy goods from Amazon.

But the Seattle giant has dragged its feet on collecting sales taxes in small and sparsely populated states where it doesn't have a physical presence.

That's quickly changing this year. And state governments looking to balance their beleaguered budgets are rejoicing as they brace for a boost of tax revenue from Amazon sales.

Customers in at least 10 states will begin paying sales taxes on Amazon purchases for the first time this winter. Tax collection begins Wednesday in half those states: Mississippi, Missouri, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Vermont.

The move follows last month's US Supreme Court ruling rejecting a challenge to a Colorado law affecting online sellers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The decision to ally with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh is like choosing the "lesser evil" because of the need for secular forces to come together to take on the BJP, feels senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.

The UP Minister also took a dig at rival BSP, saying that giving 97 tickets to Muslim candidates is not enough and the Mayawati-led party should have given 403 seats to candidates from the community if it wants to woo it.

"In the laboratory of politics, there are experiments of political science...There was an experience in Bihar of a 'mahagathbandhan' (grand coalition). That experiment in Bihar had succeeded and there was a view among common people that there could be a coalition of like-minded secular people or people who are close to being secular or those who were once secular but because of political compulsions lost their way and again want to take that path, so those people should come together and contest elections," Khan told PTI.

He was asked about the Samajwadi Party's decision to contest the UP Assembly polls in coalition with Congress, a party which he has often criticised in the past and has accused of making false promises to the Muslim community.

Khan, who is the most prominent Muslim face of the SP, said the Muslim community has a long history of association with the Congress from the days of the freedom struggle and people including Maulana Azad, M A Jinnah and Allama Iqbal have been Presidents or prominent leaders of the party.

The Congress was even the champion of the freedom struggle and even 50 years after Independence, the Muslims stayed with Congress despite the fact that there some were big incidents, Khan said.

However, the Babri Masjid incident, the 'shilanyas' episode etc. Did hurt and led to introspection as to whether the community had made a mistake by not going to Pakistan in 1947, he added.

"We are not giving (Congress) a clean chit. We are choosing the lesser evil," Khan said.

Asked to elaborate on his comment, the SP leader said it is lesser evil in a way that while he does not know what compulsions Congress may have had, but the "very agenda of BJP and RSS is against the weak, Dalits, backward and minorities."



Khan, however, added that this is not a time to discuss these issues and these questions could be answered better after the elections.

Asked about his opinion on various corruption charges



levelled against the Congress, Khan said demonetisation is in itself a much bigger "scandal" than anything that may have happened during a Congress regime.

On whether the Congress-SP tie up would be extended to 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well, Khan said it can't be said now but added that the the tie up in "2017 would yield benefits in 2019 as well."



Asked about the BSP's bid to woo the Muslim community, as the party has given 97 tickets to candidates belonging to the community, Khan said that if the party really wanted to please Muslims it should have given them 403 seats.

"This is less, they should have given them 403 seats, if they really wanted to please the Muslims. Muslims have brought their (BSP) government in the state four times. We deserve this much," he said.

Asked to comment on the differences between SP leader Mulayam Singh and his son UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Khan said that he had all along tried to be a bridge and tried to ensure that SP comes to power in the state.

Khan also also referred to remarks made by RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya in Jaipur, saying that despite the "heavy loss" in Bihar, RSS leaders keep making remarks against reservation as it is an attempt to test the mood of the people.

"They are waiting for the day when they would say that there should be no reservation and the reaction is mild or not there. Then they would withdraw it," Khan alleged.
A top Moroccan security official said today jihadists linked to the Islamic State group arrested this week had planned to attack embassies and tourist sites in the North African country.

Seven members of a "dangerous cell" were arrested in a dawn operation on Friday in five different cities and "other suspects are on the run", said Abdelhak Khiam who heads Morocco's anti-terrorism security service.

He told a press conference that the group's chief, calling himself an "emir" was among those arrested, and that he had sought to set up a branch of IS in the kingdom.

Khiam said the man had received "financing and weapons from members of the Libyan branch of IS".

This cell was "determined to take action" against "diplomatic representations, tourist sites and public figures", he said, in "coordination with IS members from the Syria-Iraq area and Libya".

The suspects were aged between 20 and 29.

Reporters were shown seized weapons and equipment including seven handguns and a machinegun that Khiam said "came from Libya and were transported via the border with Algeria".

Two military jackets "containing explosives products" were also recovered.

Several suspects were apprehended in a rented apartment in the city of El Jadida.

In a statement today, the interior ministry said it intended to strengthen controls on the renting of furnished properties.

"It has been discovered that some terrorist groups and organised crime groups have rented houses or apartments whose owners in several cases did not inform the authorities," the statement said.

This "helps suspects conceal themselves and prepare acts of sabotage," it warned, urging owners "to notify the authorities of tenants' identities", on pain of prosecution for complicity.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Syrian army said today that it had recaptured a flashpoint area from rebels near Damascus that supplies water to the capital.

Wadi Barada had been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between regime and rebel forces that tested a fragile nationwide truce and left millions in Damascus facing water shortages.

"Our armed forces ... Have accomplished their mission by restoring security and stability in the region of Wadi Barada", the army said in a statement carried by state television.

The announcement came a day after the army entered the water pumping station in Wadi Barada for the first time in four years.

Under a deal with the authorities, rebels can choose to stay in the area but hand over their weapons, or leave to the northern province of Idlib, last major bastion of the armed opposition.

Around 5.5 million people in Damascus and its suburbs have been without water since fighting intensified in the Wadi Barada area in late December.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Unfazed by growing criticism, US President Donald Trump has asserted that his "very strict ban" on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries was working "very nicely" and should continue.

Trump has ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it in the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely," Trump told reporters on Saturday.

"We are going to have a very, very strict ban and we are going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years," Trump said.

He, however, denied that barring refugees from several predominantly Muslim nations amounted to a ban on Muslims.

"It's not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared," Trump said.

The controversial move signed a week after he was sworn- in as the President includes countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The order, which bars Syrian refugees and halts the country's refugee resettlement programme for four months has triggered widespread criticism, including from Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Terming it a "painful" decision, Pichai said the move will affect at least 187 Google employees.

Indian-American Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a note on LinkedIn, saying the company "will continue to advocate on this important topic."

He said as an immigrant and the company's CEO he had "both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world."

"We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we're actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance," the company said in a statement.

The company said it was aware of 76 employees who belonged to the seven banned countries mentioned in the order.

Zuckerberg has also criticised the decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

"Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.
Defending Donald Trump's order to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, the White House today said the US President was only delivering what he promised during his campaign, even as the decision invited backlash from some of his own Republican party members.

"This is nothing new. President Trump talked about this throughout the campaign and throughout the transition," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told ABC .

"Protecting this nation and our people is the number one priority of this president and our government," Spicer said in a defence of the executive orders signed by Trump earlier this week which calls for temporary ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US.

The order immediately suspends entry of Syrian refugees into the US and bans nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Somalia for at least 90 days.

Spicer said the countries were first flagged as "countries of particular concern" by the previous administration of Barack Obama. "They should be asked certain questions. They should go through certain vetting," Spicer said.

The White House also pushed back on the argument that the executive orders literally means a ban on Muslims.

"These seven countries, what about the 46 majority Muslim countries that are not included. Right there, it totally undercuts this nonsense that this is a Muslim ban," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox separately.

"This is a ban on prospective travel from countries, trying to prevent terrorists in this country, from countries that have a recent history of training and exporting and harboring terrorists," she said.

However, three Republican Senators - Ben Sasse, Susan Collins and Jeff Flake - joined the anti-Executive Order protest. "The president is right to focus attention on the obvious fact that borders matter. At the same time, while not technically a Muslim ban, this order is too broad," said Sasse.

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In a statement, Flake called the order unacceptable.

"President Trump and his administration are right to be concerned about national security, but it's unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry," he said.

"Enhancing long term national security requires that we have a clear-eyed view of radical Islamic terrorism without ascribing radical Islamic terrorist views to all Muslims," Flake said.

Lawyers have begun to throng American airports, offering legal assistance to people who were detained at the airports. Volunteer lawyers, sitting on the floor at airport terminals, worked pro-bono on a preparing habeas corpus petitions for detainees at the JFK.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National said on Twitter "If you know someone entering country, tell them not to sign anything before talking to lawyer."



Appearing on CNN, Senator Rob Portman said the travel ban imposed on people from seven countries were identified by the previous administration. "I think the previous homeland security secretary had named those countries because of a lack of information and the fact that either ISIS or al Qaeda was present in those countries," he said.

"In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security and, again, for this notion that America has always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants," he said.

"In fact, we are more welcoming than any country in the world, and we should continue to do so," Portman said.
Donald Trump originally dubbed his executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries a "Muslim ban," according to the US president's aide Rudy Giuliani.

"When he first announced it he said, 'Muslim ban,'" the former New York mayor told Fox late Saturday when asked whether the ban was connected to religion.

"Show me the right way to do it legally," Giuliani -- who Trump has tapped as his cyber security guru -- said the US president told him.

The 72-year-old said he and a team of legal experts "focused on -- instead of religion -- danger!" when they drafted the immigration crackdown that has sparked a global outcry and mass protests.

Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and prohibits issuing visas for travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Giuliani said those predominately Muslim countries were targeted because they are "the areas of the world that create danger for us."



"Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis," he said.

The crackdown on Muslim immigration has infuriated civil rights groups and activists.

A federal judge blocked part of Trump's ban yesterday, ordering authorities not to deport refugees and other travelers detained at US airports.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The immigration, visa and travel restrictions introduced by the Trump Administration would have international ramifications, a top Republican Senator and a former Defence Secretary said today.

"I think there will be a negative reaction among many countries," former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who was also the CIA Director, told ABC . His views were also echoed by Senator John McCain.

"I do worry about the impact of this executive order in terms of the way it's received around the world," Gates said.

Gates, who has served under eight different presidents in various capacities, said any effort to strengthen national security, to improve the vetting process, is all perfectly reasonable and totally legitimate.

"In fact, we would expect that of the president. I think the key is doing it in a way that doesn't risk creating more enemies than threats it deters. And that's the balance that has to be weighed," he said.

Gates said former senior commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan are very concerned about this order and the impact it will have on those that helped US in Iraq and Afghanistan, the interpreters, translators and so on, who were promised safe haven in the United States and now may not get it.

"I spoke as recently as last night with General Petraeus and he and others, like General Chiarelli, are very concerned about this," he said.

McCain echoed Gates.

"I talked with General Petraeus last night. He's very concerned about the special visas for those interpreters whose lives are literally in danger as we speak, that they would not be allowed to come into our country," he said.

"What about the Iraqi pilots that are training right now in Tucson, Arizona, learning to fly the F-16? And there will be more coming in. So, there is so much confusion out there," McCain said.

"And published reports are that neither the Department of Homeland Security or the Justice Department or others were consulted about this before this decision was made," he said.

"Finally, lumping Iraq with Iran, right now, we have several thousand Americans who are fighting in Iraq against ISIS alongside Iraqi men and women. The battle of Mosul has taken an enormous toll on the Iraqi military," McCain said.

"Is Iraq the same as Iran is? Of course not. So, it's been a very confusing process. I'm glad that it's a pause. We have got to understand the ramifications of this kind of action," McCain said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump will speak with the Saudi King and Crown Prince of United Arab Emirates today over phone, amid an uproar over his controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Trump will also talk to the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, the White House said yesterday.

"In the afternoon, the President will speak with the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud. The President will then speak with the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed," the White House said.

"The President will end his day with a call with the Acting President of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn," the White House said.

The new Republican president, who took office on January 20, last night spoke with the leaders of Japan, Germany, Russia, France and Australia.

Earlier in the week, he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump had his first foreign visitor on Friday when he met the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Oval Office.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE are among the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by Trump's sweeping executive order barring visas for 90 days to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The executive order signed by Trump bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days. There is exception for Christian refugees.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today that US President Donald Trump's decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries was "a great gift to extremists".

"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.

"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."



Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and bar visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Iran's foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.

But Zarif added that its restrictions would not apply to Americans who already have a valid visa.

"Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he wrote.

With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the travel restrictions are expected to cause chaos for students, businessmen and families travelling between the two countries.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the measures were proof of America's "violent racist spirit".

The foreign ministry released a travel advisory, calling on all citizens travelling to the US to "make completely sure" before leaving that they will not face obstacles.

Travel agents in Tehran said Saturday they had been instructed by foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, not to sell US tickets and that Iranians holding American visas were not being allowed to board US-bound flights.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump's immigration order sowed more chaos and outrage across the country today, with travelers detained at airports, panicked families searching for relatives and protesters registering opposition to the sweeping measure that was blocked by several federal courts.

Attorneys struggled to determine how many people were affected by the rules, which Trump said yesterday were "working out very nicely."



But critics described widespread confusion, with travelers being held in legal limbo because of ill-defined procedures.

Some lawyers manned tables at New York's Kennedy Airport to offer help to families with detained relatives.

"We just simply don't know how many people there are and where they are," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project.

Advocates for travelers say they did not have clear picture about what's happening and that the chaos is likely to continue. The executive director of National Immigration Law Center, Marielena Hincapie, said "this is just the beginning."



"We're really in a crisis mode, a constitutional crisis mode in our country, and we're going to need everyone," she said. "This is definitely one of those all-hands-on-deck moments."



Protests were planned or underway today, including one in suburban Chicago organized by Jewish groups to show support for Muslims, as well as at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

A federal judge in New York issued an order yesterday temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump's travel ban took effect.

But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out of the country in the coming weeks. Federal courts in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington state took similar action.

Michigan's civil rights chief, Agustin Arbulu, condemned Trump's order, saying he hoped the federal court ruling would led him to narrow its scope.

"During this time of uncertainty and confusion, we urge everyone to act with restraint and not in ways that foster fear and division," Arbulu said.

Criticism also continued abroad.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, lashed out at Trump today, insisting that instead of building walls, the continent will "celebrate" every wall which is torn down and "every new bridge that is built up."



Among those caught in limbo: Iraqis who had been promised a life in America because of their service to the US military, frail and elderly travelers from Iran and Yemen, and longtime US residents traveling abroad who don't know if they will be allowed to return home.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington faced a growing backlash in Baghdad today to its decision to bar citizens of Iraq, a key partner in the war against jihadists, from entering the United States.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering the US for at least 90 days, a move he billed as an effort to make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists".

The move has sparked anger in Iraq, whose forces have been fighting against the Islamic State group with American assistance for more than two years, and led to calls for a reciprocal ban on US citizens.

"We clearly demanded that the Iraqi government deal reciprocally in all issues... With the United States of America," Hassan Shwairid, the deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee, told AFP.

Because of its role in fighting IS, Iraq is worthy of special treatment rather than restrictions, Shwairid said.

"It is not possible for Iraq to fight (IS) today on behalf of all countries of the world (and) be dealt with like other countries," the lawmaker said.

Shwairid said that the call did not apply to the thousands of American military personnel in the country as part of the US-led coalition against IS.

It "is not related to the soldiers because they are present in the framework of the forces of the international coalition", he said.

A foreign ministry official said that meetings were ongoing to determine Iraq's response.

"Intensive meetings are taking place now and a crisis cell was formed in the foreign ministry to discuss the stance of the American administration," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier today, the Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful paramilitary umbrella organisation that includes Iran-backed Shiite militias that fought against American forces in past years, called for US citizens to be banned from the country.

"After the decision of the American president to prohibit the entry of Iraqi citizens to the United States of America, we demand Americans be prevented from entering Iraq, and the removal of those of them who are present," the Hashed said in a statement.

The statement did not specify if the call applied to American military personnel in Iraq, and the Hashed al-Shaabi's spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Newest small finance bank Utkarsh Micro Finance will focus on affordable housing and MSME segments and target more retail customers to expand its deposit base, a top company official said.

Varanasi-based Utkarsh started its small finance bank (SFB) operations last week with five branches in Varanasi, Patna, Delhi-NCR and Nagpur.

"In terms of asset size, we currently have micro finance, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and affordable housing. Our idea is to increase the share of MSME and affordable housing in the next 12-15 months time.

"Also, our ticket size in MSME and housing is on the lower side. We want to increase the ticket size," Govind Singh, MD and CEO, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank told PTI.

Singh said micro financing still remains one of the key components in the company's balance sheet and asset size growth will come from MSME and affordable housing sectors.

Currently, the average ticket size of MSME loan is around Rs 90,000, which the company would raise up to Rs 7-8 lakh going forward.

For affordable housing segment, the average ticket size of the loan will increase to Rs 25 lakh from current Rs 5-6 lakh, Singh said.

Having evolved from a non-banking finance company (NBFC) to an SFB now, Singh said the focus will be to create assets through deposit growth and gain more retail customers.

"For a bank, it is more important to create assets. As an NBFC, we were getting money from various sources, banks and FIIs. Now going forward, our focus will be to increase our retail liabilities portfolio, create deposits. So our core focus is going to be on that retail liabilities to increase our base as a bank," Singh said.

The bank's big focus is on retail liabilities and all the branches are geared up for that from day one, he said, adding it will target the interior areas of the country.

To attract customers, the bank will offer deposit rates that are 1-1.25 percentage points higher than other banks.

"In terms of balance sheet, I think by March 2018 we are looking around Rs 2,000 crore of overall deposits from public. and our asset size will be Rs 3,000-4,000 crore plus by that time and the rest (the difference) will come from borrowings," he said.

Singh said Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which cover almost one-third of the country's population, would drive business growth as it would target customers in these states.

In the last one year, Utkarsh has hired over 1,000 people and plans to recruit another 1,000 in the next 12 months as it opens more branches.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yemen's Huthi rebels have slammed US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a temporary order restricting arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries including the Arabian Peninsula country.

In a statement issued yesterday, the rebel-controlled foreign ministry called for the decision taken "under the pretext of fighting terrorism and Islamic radicalism" to be reversed.

"All attempts to classify Yemen and its citizens as a probable source for terrorism and extremism is illegal and illegitimate," said the statement carried by the rebel-run Saba agency.

The Iran-backed Shiite rebels seized the capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen in 2014, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee.

The government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, has not yet reacted to Trump's tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The newly inaugurated US president signed a sweeping executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travellers from the seven countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By all accounts, growth has slowed after demonetisation. But while some analysts expect it to bounce back quickly after full remonetisation, others arent so sure.
Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai on Saturday criticised President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it will create "barriers" to bringing great talent to the US, as the Internet search giant ordered its travelling staff to return to America.

Pichai in an email to staff said the US ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries will hit at least 187 Google employees.

"We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," the Wall Street Journal quoted Pichai as saying in the email.

"It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," he said.

Google has recalled around 100 of its affected staff from overseas, the BBC reported.

President Trump on Saturday ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.

The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn- in as the President, fulfills the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

In his message to employees, 44-year-old Pichai, who grew up in India, suggested that at least 187 employees hailed from countries included in the ban.

"Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected," he said. "If you're abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team."

"We wouldn t wish this fear and uncertainty on anyone and especially not our fellow Googlers," Pichai wrote. "In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide."

Immigrants make up much of the workforce in Silicon Valley, including many executive roles, and the tech industry has long advocated for more open immigration laws in the US, saying they need more skilled foreigners to fill technical jobs.

The new restrictions will have a major impact on American technology companies that hire skilled staff from all over the world on special H1-B visas, mostly used by Indian IT firms.

"There have already been reports of green card holders, who are allowed to work in the US, being prevented from getting on flights. However, green cards are not specifically mentioned in the executive order," the WSJ said.

Microsoft has also warned its shareholders that curbs on immigration could have a material impact on its business.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also criticised Trump's decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

"Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page
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These are not normal times, and I can't just post economic data and remain silent on other issues.



Mr. Trump's executive order is un-American, not Christian, and hopefully unconstitutional. This is a shameful act and no good person can remain silent.



From the NY Times: Donald Trumps Muslim Ban Is Cowardly and Dangerous



The first casualties of this bigoted, cowardly, self-defeating policy were detained early Saturday at American airports just hours after the executive order, ludicrously titled Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States, went into effect. It must have felt like the worst trick of fate for these refugees to hit the wall of Donald Trumps political posturing at the very last step of a yearslong, rigorous vetting process. This ban will also disrupt the lives and careers of potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been cleared to live in America under visas or permanent residency permits.



That the order, breathtaking in scope and inflammatory in tone, was issued on Holocaust Remembrance Day spoke of the presidents callousness and indifference to history, to Americas deepest lessons about its own values.



The order lacks any logic. It invokes the attacks of Sept. 11 as a rationale, while exempting the countries of origin of all the hijackers who carried out that plot and also, perhaps not coincidentally, several countries where the Trump family does business. The document does not explicitly mention any religion, yet it sets a blatantly unconstitutional standard by excluding Muslims while giving government officials the discretion to admit people of other faiths.

...

Republicans in Congress who remain quiet or tacitly supportive of the ban should recognize that history will remember them as cowards.
Barrister Bobga Harmony, middle, brandishing Southern Cameroon Flyer Wilson MUSA

The President of North West Lawyers Association, NOWELA, Barrister Bobga Harmony, who recently escaped from being arrested in Cameroon has explained how he narrowly ran away to the US through Nigeria. He reveals that the Cameroon Government has been killing Youths arrested in Bamenda and burying in a big grave in Soa, outskirts of the Nations capital.

In an emotional story he revealed, When I got that security was looking for me I moved away from my house and stayed somewhere else after that I started trekking until I reached the over the Manyu River where I took a canoe to Nigeria, went to Enugu, Lagos then put some money together and later found myself here. The situation back in Cameroon is very bad, I mean well planned and carefully executed. They will arrest people in Bamenda which has courts but they will be taken to Yaounde without being accounted for, I confronted the Governor and Attorney General and they told me they had no idea. A magistrate told me that they had reports that as soldiers moved in the night and see a civilian they will say 'donne Lui une balle' , give him a bullet and he will be shot on the thigh. They will carry huge sums of money to bribe people. Some came to me and said I should name my price that they know I am the leader and I should just say schools should reopen and lawyers should go back to courts.

The runaway Lawyer cum activist has vowed to knock on every single door to tell the story of the people of former West Cameroon whom he says are marginalized by Octogenarian leader who has been ruling for over three decades now.



He has also said he will be filing suits against the British government for being a silent accomplice.



By Wilson MUSA
| BY Lynchy |

The Woolshed Company, Melbournes widely publicized The Viral Experiment has taken out Best of Show  Digital-Online at the 46th International Mobius Awards.

The company was both entrant and advertiser. Woolsheds two-year social experiment examined the impact of viral videos through the release of fake videos that drew 205 million views across more than 180 countries. Managing Director Dave Christison helped lead the effort, which included the tagline How much of the news can we believe?

The 46th Mobius Awards attracted entries from 22 countries. Sixty-nine awards were given, including 29 First Place Mobius Award Golden Statuettes, 35 Second Place Certificates for Outstanding Creativity and five Student Awards.

United Kingdom agencies won three of the eight Best of Show 2016 statuettes awarded.

In Brochure/Book, Here Design, London, won for Curiocity: In Pursuit of London, a 450-page London guidebook done for Particular Books, London. Curiocity, which was an entry in Craft/Technique: Graphic Design, was led by Caz Hildebrand, Creative Partner; Venetia Throneycroft, Designer, and Josh Shires, Project Manager. The book captures the range of life in London and includes an original hand-drawn map in each of its 26 chapters. Artists Chris Riddell, Isabel Greenberg and Steven Appleby were the illustrators.

Arthur Steen Horne Adamson, Cheltenham, won in Direct for The Stations-Response Pack, done in partnership with Home for Good, London. The entry in Charitable/Non-Profit Organizations was intended to increase awareness of refugee issues through a variety of images and a wristband and to draw contributions to Home for Good, London. Marksteen Adamson led the effort, with the help of Justin Brierley, Lou Dawson, Oliver Ralfe, Julia Tomlin and Prudence Bond.

JDO Brand & Design, Tunbridge Wells, was both entrant and advertiser for it Best of Show-Package Design with JDO Launches Beau Nash. JDOs objective was to create a custom ale brand with a bottle that displayed the design teams knowledge of the beer sector. The agency partnered with microbrewery Moodleys in Kent to produce the Kentish ale.

Also winning Best of Show in Package Design was Bullet Inc., Tokyo, for its KOI sake bottle. The advertisers were Imayotsukasa Sake Brewery Co. Ltd., Niigata, Japan. The handmade design is named after Japans most famous ornamental fish, a carp with admirable figure, markings and colors. Art direction and design was by Aya Codama. Calligrapher was Kasetsu; Project Director was Masayuki Habuki and Project Manager was Yosuke Tanaka.

The Branded Identity winner was Hornall Anderson, Seattle, Wash., USA, for Alaska Airlines Rebrand, done for Alaska Airlines, Seattle. The rebrand made several subtle changes to the livery of Alaska Airlines aircraft and print materials, but retained the iconic Eskimo face on the planes vertical tail section and increased the use of color. David Bates, whose father was director of advertising and marketing at the airline in the 1970s, led the effort as Creative Director.

Unit Image, Paris, was Best of Show in Commercials for Tom Clancys The Division-Yesterday Trailer done for Ubisoft, Montreuil, France. The entry category was Animation, CGI & Motion Graphics. The director team of Maxime Luere, Dominique Boidin, Remi Kozyra and Leon Berelle at Unit Image led the Post Production and Visual Special Effects. Special Credits go to Composer Mathieu Lamboley, Ultra Schmooze and Santa Julia, music editor, and Ultra Schmooze for sound design. BETC Paris was the agency for the project; RITA, Paris, was the Production Company.

Leo Burnett Germany, Frankfurt, received Best of Show in Print for Hate Going Twice, done for Fiat Professional, Turin, Italy. Leo Burnetts win came in the Craft/Technique: Photography. The campaign promoted the load-bearing capacity of Fiats Ducato van in three black-and-white photo ads showing how far people will go to avoid making a second trip. Chief Creative Officer was Andreas Pauli, and Photographer was Miro Minarovich.
And you and the people who think like you are prime examples of this.



You get your ideas about the effectiveness of torture from shows like "24". Radical Muslims hurt us on 9/11 and you want to hurt them back. You don't care if the methods you are suggesting are effective you are simply reacting with emotion. They hurt us you want to hurt them.



Trump is a textbook example of "emotional thinking". He has no self control when it comes to perceived slights. He lashes out on Twitter whenever his feelings gets hurt or when someone dares to disagree with his perception of reality.



You claim that the real enemies are the ones who make political decisions based on emotion and I agree. The problem is that you don't recognize who those people are. Trump is a man who, because of his emotional instability, can't be trusted on Twitter and we've given him access to nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?
It's Friday night and I'm being out-performed in the yoga studio by an eight-week-old kitten named Fleur. As I watch her twist effortlessly into Weaving Cat (where honestly I think she has something of an advantage), I feel the distinct touch of whiskers on my foot. Charlie is getting sick of his sister showing off. He wiggles up between my calves.
The giant Department of Human Services, which runs the agency, pledged to have a new system up and running by mid-2016, but despite being given $104 million to spend on the replacement, cannot say when the job will be done or how much of the money has been spent.
Following earlier reports from the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Bloomberg is now saying that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam has approached Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, which controls Charter.

All reports cite people familiar with the matter, but name no names, and Verizon, Charter and Liberty are no commenting on the reports. Reuters said that no formal proposal has yet been made for a tie-up, citing sources on Thursday.

Charter last year became the second biggest cable operator in the US after taking over Time Warner Cable for $78 billion and Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion.

Earlier this year John Malone, chairman of Liberty, talked of a combination of cable operators buying T-Mobile US from Deutsche Telekom. He also said: One could contemplate in a Trump administration Comcast and Charter could merge.

According to JP Morgan, quoted by Reuters, Charter has a network potentially reaching 49 million US homes, including areas in California, Texas and Florida where Verizon sold its fixed-line business to Frontier Communications. Reuters also quotes McAdam telling Wall Street analysts last year that a Verizon-Charter deal would make industrial sense.

Bloomberg said that Verizon has looked at more than 10 other options aside from Charter, including large media companies, network and cable operators and fibre-optic service providers.

The financial news service also said that Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Matthew Kanterman and Joshua Yatskowitz believe that Verizon would need an additional $16.9 billion of pre-tax synergies for the deal just to break even.

Verizon

Market cap $203 billion

Bought AOL

Bidding for Yahoo, but deal in doubt because of Yahoos security breaches

111 million mobile customers

4.6 million TV customers (via FiOS fibre)

7 million internet customers

Charter Communications
Telia has been looking to offload assets beyond its core European business, last year marking its Eurasia operation as a discontinued line.

In September, it reached an agreement to sell its 60% stake in Tcells parent company, but this is currently tied up in a tax dispute with Tajikistans authorities.

Speaking following Telia Companys latest financial results, Dennelind said he was confident it would offload the assets this year, but said the timeframe was difficult to predict.

I also want to direct a special thank you to our employees in Eurasia for keeping focus and turning trends during exceptionally difficult environments and circumstances, he said.

When it comes to the disposal of Fintur Holdings, we have seen an increased interest in our assets following the decision to explore a joint divestment of Fintur Holdings together with Turkcell. We see it as highly probable that the Eurasian assets will be disposed during 2017. As we already explained last quarter, the timing of the sale of Ucell asset is the most difficult to predict.

We continue to have a constructive dialogue with the US, Dutch and Swedish authorities in their respective investigations and have an active dialogue regarding the proposed settlement of $1.45 billion, recorded in our books in quarter three. Our ambition is to close this in a responsible way and in the best interest of our shareholders.

Ucell is Telias Uzbekistani arm that was caught up in a poltical and legal scandal due to how it entered the market.

The Uzbekistan scandal dates back to what was then TeliaSoneras acquisition of Uzbekistan operator Coscom  later rebranded as Ucell  in July 2007. TeliaSonera "did not conduct a sufficiently in-depth analysis into the identity of our local partner in Uzbekistan before we invested in the country or into how this partner came to own the assets that were later obtained by TeliaSonera", said then

CEO Lars Nyberg in his 2013 resignation statement.

In its fourth-quarter results, Telia Company posted net sales of SEK 21 billion ($2.3 billion), down 6.7% on Q4 2015. EBITDA declined 2.7% to SEK 6.3 billion ($712 million).
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 ...
When Linn County Roadmaster Darrin Lane talks about backlogged bridge maintenance issues, its much like the old algebra equation of two trains leaving distant cities, each traveling at different speeds.

The question: How long will it take before the trains meet?

As things stand, Lane and county operations manager Wayne Mink say it could take 50 years before the countys 335 bridges are at an all-is-well stage in terms of maintenance and condition.

But, with increased funding, that curve could possibly be shifted to 15 to 20 years, the two engineers agree.

The county is currently spending about $3 million to $5 million per year on bridge work. But the officials say, if that were increased to about $15 million to $18 million, they could get the bridge inventory in shape much quicker.

"The state of Oregon receives federal money to inspect designated bridges every two years, Lane said. All bridges within the state of Oregon that are over 20 feet in length are included in the National Bridge Inventory System, or NBIS, and are inspected at least every two years. These bridges are inspected by third party consultant groups specifically trained for the purpose. Bridge inspection reports are generated and then made available to the state and to the county.

Some 298 of Linn Countys bridges are on the National Bridge Inventory  the others are less than 20 feet long or arent open to the public.

Eighteen bridges are functionally obsolete, Lane said, which means they are no longer designated to carry modern traffic loads. By definition, functionally obsolete bridges do not meet primary geometric standards such as lane widths, shoulder widths, vertical clearance, or design loading.

Another 18 bridges have weight restrictions.

Ninety-one bridges are rated structurally deficient," but Lane said that rating is a bit misleading.

Even after we complete temporary fixes, which make the bridge perfectly safe to use, it remains on the structurally deficient list because there is some deterioration, Lane said. We have bridges with high sufficiency ratings that are still considered structurally deficient.

Linn County has its own six-person bridge crew that is responsible for maintenance, construction and rebuilding of bridges, Lane said.

Lane said Linn Countys issues stem from a bridge-building boom in the 1960s and 1970s.

We were building 10 to 15 bridges per year for at least two decades, Lane said. The problem is that they used wooden pilings and they didnt always keep detailed pile driving records. Many of these pilings have developed areas of rot and without detailed pile driving records, on some structures, we dont have sufficient data to develop accurate ratings, and seismic evaluations.

Coupled with heavier vehicles, including semi-trucks and farm equipment  which now have multiple drop axles because of increasing loads  and more traffic, Lane said closing bridges temporarily and creating workable detour routes, has become increasingly difficult.

Vehicles such as garbage trucks and fire trucks are also getting bigger and heavier, said Mink, the county operations manager.

Mink is a civil engineer who started working for Linn County in 1999. He joined the bridge crew in 2012 and became operations manager in 2016.

Of our 335 bridges, the majority are in good shape, Mink said. We have 109 that show deficiency in some manner.

He said the county has relied on grants to repair and replace the larger bridges, although the last completely refurbished bridge in the county (not counting covered bridges) was completed by county forces on Fayetteville Drive in 2012.

We currently have federal funding to replace four bridges and rehab two covered bridges, Mink said.

No Linn County bridges are closed at this time, although 18 have weight restrictions that vary by bridge. The county also issues temporary weight permits as needed.

Lane and Mink say they are waiting to see if the Oregon Legislature passes a significant transportation funding package this session.

If we could get another $3 million to $5 million in road funds per year, we would like to dedicate that money to surface maintenance projects that would include roads and bridges, Lane said. It would be ideal if we could replace eight to 10 bridges per year.

Lane said the countys bridge crew is highly efficient in refurbishing bridges.

They can pull the decks, replace the wooden pilings with steel or concrete and slip the decks back in place very efficiently, Lane said.

Lane said the Road Department has 67 employees, down from 81 when he became roadmaster in 1999.

We hire temporary help in the summer, but they arent necessarily technical folks, Lane said. We sometimes borrow folks from our road maintenance crews to help with bridges.

The bridge crew also has to work within the confines of natural events. Most of their work has to be completed in the summer or fall months when water levels are low.

Mink said the county is running out of Popsicle sticks and duct tape on some structures. The next level has to be replacement. Fortunately, we have very capable and trained staff members that are working hard to keep them safe.
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.

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You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Linn and Benton counties maintain more than 400 bridges throughout the mid-valley.

These spans  ranging from historic covered bridges to modern concrete and steel structures  are a vital part of the regional transportation network, connecting rural residents with population centers and linking lonely county roads to state highways and Interstate 5.

But many of these bridges are showing their age. According to the most recent summary from the Federal Highway Administration, 13 bridges in Benton County are in poor condition, tying it for the fourth-largest total among Oregons 36 counties. Linn County, with 96 bridges rated poor, has the highest number by far.

Looked at another way, 58 percent of Benton Countys locally maintained bridges are in fair to poor condition. The number for Linn County is 66 percent. (Most local bridges are county-maintained, with a small minority under city jurisdiction.)

That doesnt mean these bridges are unsafe. In Oregon, all bridges are inspected by the state every two years. Those that can no longer support the loads they were designed to carry are given weight restrictions limiting the size of vehicles that can use them. In the worst cases, the bridges are closed until they can be repaired or replaced.

The biggest source of funding for rehabilitating local bridges is federal highway money administered by the states through programs such as Oregons Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP. But those funds are not keeping up with the need.

For instance, cities and counties submitted 105 bridge projects valued at $315 million to the Oregon Department of Transportation for consideration in the 2019-21 STIP funding cycle. But with a total of $80.9 million available, only 37 of those grant proposals were funded  leaving 68 projects worth a total of $243 million to go begging.

Despite the challenges they face, officials in both Linn and Benton counties say theres plenty they can do to extend the useful lives of their aging bridge inventory  but they also warn that more bridge closures and weight restrictions may be in store in the coming years unless additional resources can be found.

In todays newspaper, we take a county-by-county look at the state of locally maintained bridges in the mid-valley.
Sources close to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles say that the company is working on opening an additional 400 dealerships in the United States.



AutoNews reports that FCAs decision to expand its existing ~2,500 U.S. dealership network comes in an attempt to capture a larger share of the huge local car market.

Among the cities benefiting from additional Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram dealerships is Houston, with three new locations currently in the works, adding to the 14 dealers the automotive conglomerate already has in the Texas city.

However, not all existing dealerships are happy with FCAs plans saying that new dealers will be opened within just a few miles of existing locations. Additionally, one unnamed dealer said They probably did need to add more stores, but theyre about five years too late. The market is really tough and getting tougher.

In the final quarter of 2016, FCA sales fell by 11.3 per cent compared to the previous year, contributing to a 1.5 per cent market share loss.

PHOTO GALLERY
This year marks the 25th anniversary since the birth of the McLaren F1 and the British supercar maker reminds us how this mythical piece of kit managed to set new standards back in 1998.



McLaren released a video with Andy Wallace, Le Mans winner and the man behind the wheel of the record-breaking F1, to talk about his experience during the top speed run.

Back then, McLaren took the F1 to the Ehra-Lessien proving ground in Germany to find out just how fast the F1 can go.

Andy Wallace drove the XP5 prototype which managed a two-way average of 240.1mph (386.4km/h) and a peak top speed of 243mph (391km/h), with the rev-limiter being raised to 8,300rpm.

Its top speed record managed to stay unbeaten up until 2007, when the Bugatti Veyron managed a 253.81mph (408.47km/h) at the same venue. Even by todays supercar standards though, the McLaren F1 remains one mighty fast machine, with 0-60mph taking just 3.2 seconds and 0-124mph (0-200km/h) in 9.4 seconds.

Its BMW-sourced 6.1-litre V12 makes 627hp and 480lb-ft (651Nm) which combined with a curb weight of 2,509lbs (1,138kg) gave the McLaren F1 a power-to-weight ratio of 550hp/tonne. To this day it remains the fastest naturally aspirated car in the planet and one of the most sought-after classics in the market, with prices at the moment being around the $10 million mark.

VIDEO
The formalities are pretty much out of the way, and so the members of the Oregon Legislature will gather this week in Salem to begin the 2017 legislative session.

They gather amid warnings that this session will be particularly challenging, and certainly all indications point in that direction: Legislators must figure out ways to plug a $1.8 billion budget shortfall for the next two years, and that gap could grow considerably depending on what happens on the federal level with the Affordable Care Act and other initiatives.

The list of woes facing the state seems daunting: Legislators seem half-hearted, at best, about finding ways to tame the growing costs associated with the Public Employees Retirement System. New ballot measures approved by voters in November that didn't come with ways to pay for them have added $357 million or so to the budget hole. It's not clear where the money will come from to pay for a badly needed package of improvements to Oregon's transportation infrastructure. An early draft of a proposed state budget (one that assumes that no additional revenue will be identified) raised the possibility of cuts to K-12 education, higher education, health care, human services, public safety and other areas.

And, although there's no way to measure this scientifically, the amount of presession partisan sniping seems unusually high.

None of this includes all the other nonfinancial items on the legislative agenda that threaten to erupt into bitter fights, such as programs aimed to protect renters and new proposals regarding gun control.

So no wonder that veteran legislators have expressed worries that they will not be able to get the job done by the July 10 deadline and will need to book additional time in Salem this summer for special sessions. (It is true that many of those concerns have been cited by Senate President Peter Courtney, a man so given to gloomy pronouncements that a colleague last week said Courtney isn't even a "glass-half-empty" proponent  instead, the colleague said, Courtney is a "no-glass" man.)

But Courtney's worry isn't without historical precedent: Something similar happened in the fight over the state's 2001-03 budget, when legislators convened in five special sessions to work through a budget with a $2 billion gap.

That's starting to sound familiar.

Into that whirlwind, beginning this week, Oregon hurls 90 citizen legislators  many of whom set aside their business and family lives for the duration of the session. It is true that all 90 of them asked to serve in Legislature, although it can be increasingly difficult to see why. Some of them certainly have political ambitions, but many of them do not. Most of them, we would venture, are stepping into the halls of the state Capitol because they think that they can help Oregon solve at least some of those pressing issues.

And, despite the inevitable political sniping  these are, after all, Democrats and Republicans  they pride themselves on their abilities to work with colleagues across the aisle. They have not (yet) allowed partisanship to paralyze them, the way it has created gridlock in Washington, D.C. in years past.

That willingness to work toward bipartisan solutions will be sorely tempted this year, but it may well be the essential ingredient: Democrats have a majority in the Legislature, but are a few votes shy in both the House and the Senate of the three-fifths majorities required to raise revenue.

Ginny Burdick, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate (and someone who's worked frequently with legislative Republicans like the mid-valley's now-retired Frank Morse) had some wise words last week to say about how compromise might be critical this session: "What I see as harmful is people going to their corners and saying it's all or nothing."

That sort of "all-or-nothing" attitude might lead to an unusually long and hot summer in Salem. Let's hope cooler heads carry the day. (mm)
As outrageous as the Huracan and Aventador are, the concepts, one-offs, and limited-edition supercars coming out of Lamborghinis low-volume production facility are some of the most extreme out there. Were talking about cars like the Veneno, Sesto Elemento, Egoista, and Aventador J  bonkers creations alongside which this concept would look right at home thirteen years from now.



Its called the Bandido, and its product of a joint effort between graduate design students Fernando Pastre Fertonani (who did the exterior) and Yangznan Kang (who focused on the cockpit). The two completed the project  with input, no less, from Lamborghinis own design department  while undertaking their Masters in Transportation and Car Design at the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan.

The design brief calls for a hypercar for the year 2030, and adopts a single-seat cockpit with a central seating position  not unlike the aforementioned Egoista, only open like an F1 racer. It also envisions individual hub motors in each wheel, with the bodywork designed to reflect that. Fortunately there still appears to be plenty of room in the back for a V10 or V12 internal combustion engine as well, which we cant see the engineers in SantAgata Bolognese giving up in the next dozen years (if they can help it).

That edgy bodywork, incidently, is designed to fit on top of a carbon-fiber chassis  not a passenger cell, mind you, like in the Aventador, but a fuselage running the full length of the vehicle, to which the aerodynamic appendages and rolling stock are mounted. Best of all, its aggressive enough in its styling that we could actually see the Raging Bull marque produce just such a vehicle, however fantastical it may seem, even if itd take until 2030 to make it happen.

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The 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards were held this evening at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.

Zootopia and its producer Clark Spencer won the award for outstanding producer of an animated theatrical motion picture. It marks the 9th time in 11 years that a Walt Disney Company-produced animated feature has won the award.

The Producers Guild has a detailed guide that explains the role of an animation producer, but when it comes to judging how well a producer performed their role, the group almost always rewards Disney producers over producers at other studios.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A new bus service between Smithers and the First Nations village of Moricetown in northwestern B.C. will only take about 30 minutes, but the ride along the so-called Highway of Tears has been years in the making.

The service that starts Monday is along a small section of Highway 16, the route that stretches between Prince George and Prince Rupert where 18 women have disappeared or been murdered since the 1970s.

John Rustad, B.C.'s minister of aboriginal relations and reconciliation, says part of the service plan involves working with First Nations communities to train bus drivers and operate transit services between their villages and major communities along the highway.

First Nations, social-service agencies and women's groups have been calling for a shuttle bus service in the area for several years to provide safe transportation for people who live in communities along the 750-kilometre route.

Moricetown Band Chief Duane Mitchell says the community is excited about the opportunity for safe and reliable transportation for their membership.

The federal and provincial governments announced a $5 million transportation plan last year that aims to improve travel and safety options along the highway and to the many remote First Nations communities in the area.

Rustad, who was in Smithers for the bus announcement on Friday, says the transit plan was a long time in coming.

He says further bus route expansion announcements are planned for the coming months.
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U.S District Judge Ann Donnelly has issued an emergency ruling, a stay, temporarily defying President Donald Trumps executive orders and delaying those with refugee status among other visa types to remain in the country.

The judge has stated it prevents those caught up in the aftermath from being deported.

In related events, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a legal case to challenge Trumps executive orders on Saturday. The ACLU estimates that around 200 people have been detained at airports and in transit.

Across America, thousands have been protesting against the order which was signed on Friday.

Trumps Executive Order

Donald Trumps executive order has temporarily stopped the U.S refugee programme. It has also put in place a 90 day travel ban for nationals from Libya Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

The executive order was enacted with immediate effect. It detained those who were in flight to the U.S even if they held valid visas and travel documents.

The judges ruling allowed people with valid visas and other travel documents to enter the U.S. The emergency ruling also said there was a substantial and irreparable injury to those affected by the executive order.

Immigrants Rights Projects deputy legal director, Lee Gelernt, argued the case in court and emerging from the court he was greeted by cheering crowds.

He said, The judge, in a nutshell, saw through what the government was doing and gave us what we wanted, which was to block the Trump order and not allow the government to remove anybody who has come and is caught up in the order, nationwide.

Temporary Stay

Although for now the refugees and others trapped at airports at the moment cannot be sent to their home countries, they are still not legally entitled to enter the U.S. Judge Ann Donnellys decision does not question the constitutionality of Trumps executive order.

For now the refugees and others are going to be held in temporary detention until a hearing which will be held next month decides their fate.
In 2012 Henry Waxman had served nearly 4 decades in the House. A Republican billionaire, Bill Bloomfield, rebranded himself as an independent and ran a slash and burn campaign against Waxman, spending $7,567,080 of his own money (and another $400,000 from his wealthy friends) to pulverize the iconic progressive congressman. Waxman still won 171,860 (54%) to 146,660 (46%), but it was uncomfortably close and he was in no mood for that kind of fight again. So he didn't run in 2014. Ted Lieu, who is an even stronger and more hard-hitting champion of progressive causes than Waxman, ran instead. Elan Carr, a right-wing lunatic with no principles who sometimes runs as a Republican and sometimes pretends he's an independent, ran against Lieu with Adelson backing. He spent $1,575,540 to Ted's $2,173,521 but at the last moment, two Adelson-funded SuperPAC orchestrated a vicious smear campaign against Lieu costing $750,000. Lieu went to the DCCC for help. According to a confidant of mine who worked there at the time, Steve Israel told him to go pound sand. The DCCC informant called me just weeks before the election and told me Lieu was in trouble and Israel refused to help. He asked if Blue America could do anything. Fortunately we had enough money in our account to take out full page ads in the L.A. Times and a local newspaper to respond to Adelson's lies. Despite the onslaught of Adelson-directed money, Ted kicked his ass-- 108,331 (59%) to 74,700 (41%). This past November, the GOP didn't even try, putting up a weak unknown, under-financed candidate who Ted eviscerated 66.3- 33.7%.





His colleagues in the House recognized his potential right away; he was elected the 114th Congress' Democratic freshman class president. His constituents have gotten to understand they now have one of the best Members of Congress representing them. What does "best" mean? It kicked in for me one day when a friend of mine, Matt Stoller I think, asked Ted, an Air Force colonel and a hugely successful state legislator, why he wanted to go live in the hellhole that is congressional life in Washington, DC. Ted explained to us that there were many policies he felt needed to be addressed thoughtfully and aggressively and then talked about Climate Change in great depth and said his reasons for wanting to be in Congress were tied up with his two very young sons. More and more people have been referring to him as Southern California's Jedi Knight. He's looking to save the planet for Brennan and Austin-- as well as for his other constituents.









Los Angeles Magazine-- which directly covers an area represented by two dozen members of Congress. Writer Julia Herbst correctly pegged him as "a real leader of the resistance," pointing out that Thursday,-- which directly covers an area represented by two dozen members of Congress. Writer Julia Herbst correctly pegged him as "a real leader of the resistance," pointing out that his twitter account is a beacon of light in the post-election darkness . She wrote that "if youre looking for a ray of sunshine in the alternative fact-riddled hellscape that is our life now (were looking at you, EPA social media ban, Betsy DeVos and friends, executive order about the Affordable Care Act, advancement of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, and revival of the Reagan-era Mexico City Policy), look no further than Congressman Ted Lieus Twitter. Because the dude is killing it." And she thinks his twitter style is a laugh fest. She concluded with: "Many have (rightfully) expressed concern that Trumps election might bring out the worst in people. But its also bringing out the best-- and most hilarious-- in others. Never stop being you, Representative Lieu."




Collin Peterson-- not a real Democrat, a Dreck Democrat



needs members like this to achieve majority status. I disagree. The other day, I mentioned on twitter that 3 House Democrats -- all extremely reactionary, odious Blue Dogs-- had voted with the Republicans to make it more difficult for women to exercise their constitutional right to Choice: Henry Cuellar (TX), Dan Lipinski (IL) and Collin Peterson (MN). Several "I'm Pro-Choice But" buttheads on my twitter feed chimed in that Peterson is in a very red district where Hillary only took 31% of the vote and that the Democratic Partymembers like this to achieve majority status. I disagree.





Let me start by acknowledging Peterson's western Minnesota district, MN-07, is prohibitively Republican. It's a largely rural district and there are no large population centers. The county that contributes the most votes, OtterTail is over 97% white, mostly people of German and Norwegian ancestry. It hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1932. It's two state Reps are also Republicans and so is its state senator. However, in 2012, OtterTail went 17,257 (56%) to 12,278 (40%) for Peterson. That same day, the county went 60-39% for Romney. Oh, but wait-- pro-Choice U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar was reelected there 16,542 (54%) to 12,931 (42%). MN-07 has an R+6 PVI. It's the reddest district in the country with a Democratic congressman. Obama took just 47% of the vote in 2008 and 44% in 2012. Hillary did much worse. The district has more in common with its neighbors in North and South Dakota than with people who live in the Twin Cities area or even in the Duluth area. (Hillary won huge victories in Hennepin and Ramsey counties and took Dakota county in the Twin Cities area and won in St. Louis and Lake counties in the Duluth area. But she didn't win any of the 38 counties that make up MN-07. Obama had won 8 of them in 2012. Klobuchar won all of them. And while Hillary lost all 38 counties, Peterson won 26-- though not OtterTail).





OK, Peterson won the most backward and reactionary part of Minnesota. And he votes his district-- backward and reactionary. Let me just add before I forget, that Lipinski's Chicagoland district (IL-03) has a PVI of D+5 and gave Obama a 56-43% win over Romney and gave Hillary a 55.2-39.9% win over Trump. And Henry Cuellar's South Texas district (TX-28) has a PVI of D+7 and gave Obama a 60-39% win over Romney and gave Hillary a 58.3-38.5% win over Senor Trumpanzee.





Now about how much the House Democrats need Peterson. Although there are 3 very right-wing Democratic freshman-- Charlie Crist (FL), Stephanie Murphy (FL) and Josh Gottheimer (NJ)-- who have already served notice with their votes that Paul Ryan can always count on them and who have worse "lifetime" voting records, the 6 worst non-freshmen ProgressivePunch crucial vote scores are held by (from bad to worse):

 Cheri Bustos (IL)- 48.06

 Sean Patrick Maloney (NY)- 45.01

 Jim Costa (CA)- 43.49

 Collin Peterson (MN)- 39.75

 Henry Cuellar (TX)- 39.04

 Kyrsten Sinema (AZ)- 36.32

As of now there are 9 Democrats with ZERO crucial vote scores for 2017: Sinema, Cuellar, Peterson, Costa, Ami Bera (New Dem-CA), Jim Cooper (Blue Dog-TN), Lipinski, Tim Walz (MN), and John Delaney (New Dem-MD). Ryan and McCarthy can count on them to back the GOP agenda-- more so than 11 Republicans. 11? Yep... so far 11 Republicans have better vote scores than those fake Democrats. Justin Amash (MI) has a 40.0. Walter Jones (NC) has a 25.0. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Dog LaMalfa (CA), Mike McCaul (TX) and Johnny Duncan (TN) and several others each has a 20.0 score for the current session. 20 isn't great, but it's better than Collin Peterson's ZERO.





This past cycle the Republicans didn't challenge Peterson. Republican Dave Hughes wasn't a plausible candidate and he only raised $19,511 compared to Peterson's $1,192,730. Thankfully, the DCCC didn't have to spend any money on the race. Two years earlier, however, the GOP put up a competitive candidate and the DCCC was forced to save Peterson's neck with $3,611,284 in independent expenditures, while Pelosi's House Majority PAC threw in another $332,439. That's $4 million to reelect an anti-Choice corporate whore who votes overwhelmingly with the Republicans. That $4 million could have-- and should have-- been used to elect actual Democrats in much bluer districts, Democrats who wouldn't feel pressured on every roll call to follow the lead of Ryan and McCarthy. Collin Peterson-- as well as Cuellar, Lipinski and Sinema-- have one key function in Congress: allowing Paul Ryan to claim his destructive, extremist agenda is "bipartisan," something the empty talking heads on TV repeat, with gusto, nightly.





Friday, Al Franken announced that all the Democrats on the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP)-- besides Franken, Patty Murray. Bernie Sanders, Robert Casey, Michael Bennet, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tammy Baldwin, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine and Maggie Hassan-- will vote NO on confirming Trump's nightmarish, dystopian nominee for Secretary of Education, dangerous sociopathic billionaire Betsy DeVos. So next week, the nomination will go to the Senate floor without a bipartisan recommendation for confirmation. But will DeVos get any Democratic votes on the floor? Half a dozen Senate Dems haven't said whether or not they would vote for her, including right-wing Democrats who tend to vote with the GOP on close issues, like Joe Manchin (WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (ND). This was Elizabeth Warren's statement to Massachusetts voters about why she is voting against confirming DeVos:

I will vote against Betsy DeVos's nomination to serve as Secretary of Education because her nomination is not in the best interests of the young people of America. She has repeatedly demonstrated her contempt for public education, she plans to maintain financial ties that could create conflicts of interest, and she is unwilling to commit to be a cop on the beat with for-profit colleges that break the law and cheat students.



Mrs. DeVos has no record in higher education, but I gave her the opportunity to prove to the American people that she is serious about standing up for students. During her confirmation hearing, I asked Mrs. DeVos basic, straightforward questions about her commitment to protecting students and taxpayers from fraud committed by shady for-profit colleges. But she was unwilling to commit to using the Department's many tools and resources to keep students from getting cheated.



Mrs. DeVos's record on K-12 education has been focused on using her vast fortune to push her own ideology on hardworking families that are just trying to get their kids a decent education in public schools. Not only are her ideas completely uninformed by experience with public schools, but the evidence is clear that her privatization theories are bad for students.



I've heard from thousands of teachers, parents, and education leaders in Massachusetts raising deep concerns about Mrs. DeVos. I hear their concerns, and I share their concerns. This includes a letter sent to me from the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association about Mrs. DeVos's devastating record of promoting for-profit and online charter schools with virtually no accountability or oversight for how well these schools actually serve students and families. Unlike the successful, thoughtful, and innovative education policies we have implemented in Massachusetts with regard to public charter schools, the policies Mrs. DeVos has bankrolled have drained valuable taxpayer dollars out of the public education system in Michigan and left kids worse off.



It is hard to imagine a less qualified or more dangerous person to be entrusted both with our country's education policy and with a trillion-dollar student loan program. Congress should reject Mrs. DeVos's nomination.

The anti-education forces, however, are countering this with a group other own, paid shills of the charter school industry called "Democrats For DeVos." They sent me a press release Friday about all the Democrats clamoring for her to be confirmed. "Today, Democratic leaders from across the country," they wrote, "some representing some of the nation's most troubled schools, have come together to announce their support for Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education." The release offers statements from notorious shills for the charter school industry, almost all of whom are on the payroll and almost none of whom ought call themselves Democrats in the real world. Like failed DC mayoral candidate Kevin Chavrous who helped devise Bobby Jindal's school voucher program in Louisiana and is on the board of DeVos' two anti-education groups, American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice. "I have worked with Betsy DeVos for years," he admitted, "and she will work tirelessly to help every child in our country access a quality education. Throughout her career, she has championed much needed reform to our nations education system so it can give low-income and minority families the same opportunities for success that families with means already have. As Secretary of Education, Betsy will put parents and children first, which is who the system should truly serve." Other charter school Dems backing DeVos included Eva Moskowitz, who said she believes DeVos "has the talent, commitment and leadership capacity," former DC Mayor Anthony Williams, who said "Betsy makes the education establishment nervous because she shakes up the status quo," Georgia state Senator Curt Thompson, former Louisiana state Senator Ann Duplessis, former Louisiana State Senator, former Oklahoma state Senator Jabar Shumate, Tennessee state Rep. John DeBerry, Georgia state Rep. Valencia Stovall and Shanelle Jackson, a former Michigan State Rep. Who needs Republicans when you have "Democrats" like these, Democrats who may even eventually grow up to become the next Collin Peterson.
President Donald Trump's executive order barring entry for visa-holders from Iran and six other countries will be felt at this year's Oscars.



Acclaimed Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose film "The Salesman" is nominated for best foreign film, announced he won't be at the Academy Awards -- even if he were granted a travel exemption.



In a statement first printed by the New York Times, Farhadi explained he had planned to attend the February ceremony, particularly since many in the film industry stand "opposed to the fanaticism and extremism which are today taking place more than ever."



But, Farhadi wrote, "it now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip."

In a statement on Saturday, an Academy spokesperson said "as supporters of filmmakers -- and the human rights of all people -- around the globe, we find it extremely troubling" that Farhadi, and his cast and crew, could be barred from entering the United States.





Tribune critic Michael Phillips recommends Asghar Farhadi's "The Salesman" as his Chicago International Film Festival pick for Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. (Brandon Howard / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

Last week, "The Salesman" actress Taraneh Alidoosti announced she wouldn't come to this year's Academy Awards, referring to the restriction on travel as "racist."



Despite the critical praise Iranian cinema has long received, no Iranian film had ever won an Oscar until Farhadi's 2011 movie, "A Separation." That year, he was also nominated in a non-foreign language category, for best screenplay.



During his 2012 Oscars acceptance speech, Farhadi dedicated his award to the Iranian people.



"At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy," he said in the much-talked about speech. "They are happy not just because of an important award or a film or filmmaker, but because at the time when talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country Iran is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics."



That same year, Time magazine named Farhadi one of its top 100 most influential people, with film critic Richard Corliss writing that the director "became a de facto spokesman for a besieged people, and his movie the face of a complex modern society."



On Sunday, Farhadi echoed his history of using the Oscars and cinema as a platform to convey a deeper message by explaining what he would have said to the press had he been able to travel to the United States:



"Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way," he said. "In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an 'us and them' mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of 'them' and inflict fear in the people of their own countries."



Here's the rest of the statement, per the New York Times:



"This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same. For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears. Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.



"However, I believe that the similarities among the human beings on this earth and its various lands, and among its cultures and its faiths, far outweigh their differences. I believe that the root cause of many of the hostilities among nations in the world today must be searched for in their reciprocal humiliation carried out in its past and no doubt the current humiliation of other nations are the seeds of tomorrow's hostilities. To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity. I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations.



"Asghar Farhadi, Iran"






After an eight-year absence, the highly anticipated return of Batsheva Dance Company of Israel and esteemed artistic director and choreographer Ohad Naharin resulted in sold-out houses at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance for the Chicago premiere of Naharin's 2015 "Last Work" on Friday and Saturday.

The curtain opened on a redheaded woman in a long blue frock. She faces stage right, running toward the wings but going nowhere on an unseen treadmill built into the floor. She runs for a full hour, the entirety of "Last Work." On occasion I forgot she was there, but from time to time the sound score  a haunting mix of monotonous electronica and Romanian lullabies  dropped away, or the dancers stopped moving, and there she was, running a brisk but emotionless pace, thump, thump, thumping on that treadmill.

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She was a burst of bright color in an otherwise muted world. The rest of the cast, 16 dancers in all, meandered in and out of rigid gray walls set in the wings, exploring their space in slow-going groupings. The dancers connected effortlessly with a movement vocabulary that asked a lot, and should have looked harder than it did.

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The intensity of "Last Work" builds gradually, sometimes achingly so, but finally climaxes with a raucous burst of confetti and four men appearing near the stage's back wall. Their job, it seems, is to create clamorous dissonance. One plays an enormous ratchet noisemaker, another waves a massive white flag. The third screams into a microphone while stretching brown packing tape across, over, and around everything and everyone onstage, and the fourth faces backward, his body quivering, pulsing, maybe sobbing. He turns around to reveal a machine gun between his feet, coordinating with gunshots in the sound score. Amid this cacophony, that runner in the blue dress just keeps going, and is handed the white surrender flag while her castmates writhe slowly on the floor, wrapped in a web of packing tape. The lights abruptly click off, and my first thought was  huh?

In Friday's post-show conversation, Naharin said he wants people to get it  that his success as a choreographer is partially determined by his ability to communicate his point. But Naharin's MO is to create what he calls "new codes," seeking to break long-standing movement conventions, thus rewriting cultural norms.

The result can be jarring, and that's probably the point. Typical dance patrons don't expect or wish to see two dancers gyrating onstage with grins ear to ear, or pageant-style hand-to-heel leg extensions, or a dancer doing head rolls while bouncing in and out of the splits. Whether these moments are just tongue-in-cheek, or the purpose is to upset or offend, the goal is to do something unexpected and bend the rules.

Gaga, Naharin's signature movement style, has been so influential in the dance world that it's hard to find a contemporary company that hasn't adopted a bit of his aesthetic. But while everyone's busy emulating Gaga, Naharin reinvents it every day. In other words, "Last Work" shares little in common with the pivotal Naharin works that have shaped contemporary dance in Chicago and elsewhere. Sure, there's a mandatory low center of gravity and a super-bendy, amoebalike quality that, in another context, could look like popping-and-locking. Toward the end of "Last Work," there's a glorious, but fleeting, phrase of unison dancing that harks back to Naharin's most famous works  such as "Minus 16" (1999) or "Decadance," a compilation piece first created in 2000.

Perhaps what makes "Last Work" so different is a shift in the balance between order and disorder. Surrender can be a construct of obedience; there is freedom and catharsis in repeating something over and over. This is perhaps the purpose of the runner in this case, and a prominent quality in some of Naharin's earlier works. Throughout the hour, "Last Work's" more organized moments are the most palatable: like that previously mentioned phrase of full-out dancing, an orderly clump of dancers poking at the sky as they shuffle downstage, or a breathtaking series of seated meditations at the end. These sections demonstrate that little bit of restraint needed to rein in an otherwise chaotic experience. But Naharin's goal isn't to make restrained, palatable dances, so even in its softest moments, "Last Work" staunchly disregards today's choreographic conventions, some of which he made up. In a work that doesn't otherwise provide much of a through line, that feeling of watching a dance that doesn't follow any of the rules is exactly what Naharin's after. Job well done.

Lauren Warnecke is a freelance critic.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com







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)
Ryan Donner, Abdul Kanjo, Rama Kanjo and Hailey Donner in Pomona. The Kanjo children came to Southern California with their parents in August, sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Pomona. (Adam Donner)

Mohammed Rawi fielded death threats and live gunfire while helping American reporters cover the war in Iraq.

Seven years ago, he was granted asylum in the United States. He found a county government job and settled in Long Beach with his wife and children.

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This weekend, Rawi's 69-year-old father, a retired civil engineer who lives in Baghdad, was scheduled to arrive for a long-awaited visit. But those plans were abruptly upended Friday when President Trump on Friday suspended admissions from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq  throwing countless Muslim families into turmoil, and setting off a sleepless night for Rawi.

"This is unbelievable. I don't know how this is possible," said Rawi, who worked in The Times' Baghdad bureau during some of the most violent years of the Iraq war. "What's next? Is it going to be internment camps like World War II where they put all the Japanese in one camp? They'll do the same for us? This is not what this country is all about."

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The executive order signed Friday suspends all refugee entries for 120 days, blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars for 90 days the entry of citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

A federal judge in New York late Saturday stayed parts of the order as it applies to those currently waiting at U.S. airports for admission. For others, there remained nothing but uncertainty.

Around the world, students and workers caught outside the U.S. were suddenly uncertain when they would be allowed to return. Refugees expecting safe resettlement in the U.S. were detained at airports. And families whose loved ones were stranded abroad were left in a state of crippling anxiety.

"I don't understand the logic," said Moustafa Kanjo, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Pomona in September 2015. "Why would we be a security risk here? Our ultimate goal is to run away from violence."

For Rawi, the chaos began less than two hours after Trump signed the order on Friday. About 6 p.m., he received a jarring message on WhatsApp.

It was from his father.

Hed been set to board a plane in Doha, Qatar, when an airline employee took his passport somewhere and returned with a U.S. Embassy representative.

He could not get on the plane, the man said. His visa  which allowed for multiple visits to the U.S. over the course of a year  was no longer valid: It was canceled by the president, he said.

Rawi's father was ushered to a room where he waited for several hours with about 30 other people.

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Eventually, he was sent back to Baghdad. He returned home empty-handed; when he arrived, he found out his luggage was lost.

The younger Rawi had to find a way to tell his children that their grandfather wouldn't be coming after all. The youngest, 3-year-old Layla, had been so excited over his impending visit that she slept in the dress she had chosen to greet him. Her older brother had been too excited to sleep at all.

"It's shocking," Rawi said. "It's not just about the inconvenience, it's not only about us being disappointedbut it's about how this was all done."

It's frustrating, most of all. Makes me sad for my in-laws and family, but mostly Im really scared.  Bahareh Aslani, 34, Iranian American

Ali Abdi, a 30-year-old student from Iran, has been studying for his PhD in anthropology at Yale University, and had left the U.S. last week for the United Arab Emirates on his way to a research trip in Afghanistan.

Now Abdi, who has been living in the U.S. for the last four years, is unsure what to do. He cannot return to Iran, where he faces potential imprisonment for his political activism. His visa for the UAE won't allow him to stay there for long, nor does he have permission for an extended stay in Afghanistan.

Most seriously, under Trump's new order, he can no longer return to the U.S. to finish his studies.

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Abdi is trying to be philosophical. "I'm not worried about anything... From an anthropological perspective I can write a lot," he said in a telephone interview. "What has happened is very illuminating. The main problem is the lives of thousands of others who are torn apart by what happened."

Many were scanning their social media feeds or watching television, trying to make sense of the new policy and understand what happens next.

Bahareh Aslani, a 34-year-old Iranian American, has been planning to have a formal wedding ceremony in Baltimore in April to celebrate her marriage to her husband, Mostapha Roudsari, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

Roudsari's parents, who live in Iran, went to Dubai in December and applied for a visa to enter the U.S., waiting 2  months for an appointment at the U.S. embassy. The couple was told that the mother's visa had been approved and that the father's visa had been approved, pending additional documents.

Now, both are barred from entry and will not be able to attend the wedding and are devastated, Aslani said.

"It's frustrating, most of all," Aslani said. "Makes me sad for my in-laws and family, but mostly I'm really scared, because is this the beginning? Are they going to come after me?"

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Even those refugees safely settled in the U.S. were fearful that they would be unable to see family members in the future. News of Trump's order distressed Kanjo, who was expecting an uncle and cousins to arrive in a few months.

Kanjo and his family came to California from the Syrian city of Homs, sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Pomona.

Members of the church, assisted by others in the community, met the family at the airport and provided them with an apartment and help to navigate the school and social services systems.

"The most significant thing we did was be friends with them," Pastor Adam Donner said.

With the help of Google translate, the Kanjos and church members have spent hours in conversation.

"They would all gladly go home to Syria if they had a home to go to," Donner said. "They are here because they are trying to find a safe place for their family to grow up."

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Nobar Elmi Golhar, 36, lives in Brooklyn and has never been to Iran, but worries about whether her family in Iran will be able to continue to visit. Her aunt and uncle, both green card holders who have children in the United States, were in the U.S. when the executive order was signed, and now both are uncertain whether it's wise to go back home to Iran  they may not be allowed to return.

"They are here and want to return to Iran, but now they are very worried if they can come back," Golhar said. "They are trying to better understand what is going on and watch the news and ask what they should expect."

What they are feeling, she said, is panic.

"It's a real mix of emotions," Golhar said. "First, it's disbelief: Is this seriously happening? And then, it's the anger... How could we have allowed this to happen?"

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

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melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Twitter: @melissaetehad

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

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Confusion and consternation as new 'extreme vetting' policy blocks Middle East immigration

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Iran says it will retaliate for U.S. moves to suspend visas for citizens of Iran and six other mainly Muslim countries

Immigration attorneys seeking to help airport travelers in Los Angeles blocked by visa ban

Thousands at JFK airport in New York protest new visa and refugee suspensions

UPDATES:

7:30 p.m.: The story was updated with news of a court order staying parts of the new immigration order and additional stories from those affected by the visa suspensions.

This story was originally published at 4:25 p.m.
I recently booked a flight through American Airlines' website for my son to fly from Los Angeles to Madrid. Within 24 hours, I canceled the flight. My son spoke to American on the phone, and was told that the refund would be credited to my credit card "soon."

It's been more than a month. My credit-card payment is due in three days, and the charge still shows as "pending review." Can you help?

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 Sampath Radhakrishna, Cupertino, Calif.

A: Your son's reservation fell under the "24-hour rule," which says that if you cancel an airline ticket within a day of making the reservation, you're entitled to a full and prompt refund. (Certain restrictions apply for last-minute tickets.)

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How prompt? Well, that's the problem. When a refund is due, the airline must forward a credit to your card company within seven business days after receiving a complete refund application, according to the Department of Transportation. But the credit may take a month or two to appear on your statement.

Your son was at about the one-month mark. He'd been left with the impression that the refund would be issued "soon," and had interpreted that as "less than a month." In fact, American would have been well within its rights to wait two months before returning the money.

Let's pause for a moment to consider the absurdity of this situation. An airline is allowed to keep your money for two months  can you say "interest-free loan"?  while the rest of us must pay our bills promptly. Oh, and how long does it take American to withdraw the money from your account? Seconds.

Something just isn't right with this. American should have returned the money  in seconds.

This isn't an American Airlines problem, or even an airline problem. Corporate America creates rules in its favor that allow it to benefit from holding on to your money for a few extra weeks. I've asked executives about the sluggish refund process, and they've told me, with a straight face, that the problem is exacerbated by credit-card billing cycles and overly cautious accounting processes. I think that's nonsense. If they benefited from speedy refunds, they would have figured out a way to send you the money instantly. But they have no motive, so here we are.

A brief, polite email to one of American's customer-service executives might have shaken a check loose from the accounting department. I list their names, numbers and emails on my consumer-advocacy site: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/American.

I contacted American, and it informed me that your refund has been processed  hopefully in time for you to avoid paying a big credit-card bill.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of "How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler." You can read more travel tips on his blog, www.elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org.

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Amir Heydari, a Crystal Lake doctor who is from Iran and has an American passport, was held for extra questioning at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Jan. 29, 2017. Heydari speaks with attorneys after being released followingquestioning. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

Even if Dr. Amir Heydari had been held longer at O'Hare International Airport on his way home to Crystal Lake from Iran on Sunday, he knew he'd be OK.

He's a bariatric surgeon with a large network of colleagues, patients and friends; he's married to an American woman and together they're the parents of three American-born children; and above all, he himself has dual citizenship in Iran and the United States and he has lived in the Chicago area for nearly four decades.

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Despite that, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday putting at least a temporary hold on immigration from seven Middle Eastern countries, including the one where he was visiting his 88-year-old mother, a clamant anxiety started building up.

"It's not me that I'm worried about," he said after landing at O'Hare and being stopped and questioned by customs officers. "I'm blessed that I'm older and that I'm in the position that I am where I have a lot of support. People would stand up for me. But I worry about the people who don't have the privilege that I do, the people who are me 36 years ago  not who I am now."

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Back then, Heydari was leaving his homeland as a 17-year-old who was in part looking to get the best medical education possible, but also to preserve his freedom. He left Iran on Jan. 20, 1981 - the day Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the United States and what's considered the end of the Iran hostage crisis.

Dr. Amir Heydari of Crystal Lake was detained at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after returning from visiting his 88-year-old mother in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Heydari is a surgeon who has both U.S. and Iranian citizenship. He has lived in the U.S. since 1981. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)

He wasn't admitted to the country until April of that year because there was a moritorium on providing visas to Iranian tourists and students at that time, too, he said. He was told he was given the very first student visa once the ban was lifted.

Heydari didn't travel back to Iran for more than 25 years, but has enjoyed about a trip a year for the past six or seven years to see his mother.

"I wanted to become a physician, of course, but I also wanted to live somewhere that celebrated freedom  freedom of speech, freedom of religion, all of these kinds of things," he said. "That's what everyone in the world thinks about the U.S.A., and unfortunately, when these types of actions are taken, the image is not the same anymore."

Heydari said at the end of each trip, he's always been greeted by friendly and respectful customs agents at O'Hare.

"It's really nice getting to the U.S., because when you come through the U.S., you know what they tell you? They just look at your passport and they say, 'Welcome home, sir.'"

Something was different this time.

"Typically (customs agents) are just wonderful in Chicago and I'm very proud of that," Heydari said. "They were still extremely nice and I felt they were even somewhat apologetic. That they did not feel comfortable asking these questions but they had to because the order comes from above."

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Heydari said he was one of three people on his connecting flight from Frankfurt who were pulled from the line and taken to a room for questioning. He was most concerned for a woman in her 20s who told him she has a visa but still worried she would somehow be denied entrance to her home. He waited for her after he was released but he didn't see her again.

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Through the recent visits to Iran this past decade, Heydari said he's noticed how much life has improved for average Iranians. It was a surreal feeling speaking to his taxi driver, for example, about how freedoms are expanding in Iran but being taken away in the United States.

"Things like this happened slowly there as well, little rights were taken away in the name of security. I'm worried this is just the beginning here," he said. "It does not surprise me that this happens in countries that have no human rights, like North Korea. It just surprises me that it's happened in the United States."

Heydari said he doesn't practice any religion and questioned whether the seven countries were selected simply because they are majority Muslim, and questioned why a country such as Saudi Arabia would be left off the list if this is strictly for safety's sake, since many of the terrorists in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were from Saudi Arabia.

"I understand when they say it's about security, of course, but it's hard when it happens to you. How do they know what religion I am? They don't. So what will they get wrong about you and what price will you have to pay for it?"

He said it might be easy for people who don't have any family living outside of the country to think this is not their problem, or that it's not even a problem. He warned that once liberties are infringed upon for certain groups, it's much easier to begin siphoning off the freedoms of others.

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"The United States is the greatest country in the world with regards to many things  particularly our freedoms  and if we have started enacting such oppressive laws in this country, how will we be viewed by other countries?" Heydari asked. "You can't have the greatest country in the world go down this path."

Tribune photojournalist Nancy Stone contributed.
Protesters block cars from passing at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 28, 2017, after more than a dozen travelerswere detained, including green card holders, following President Donald Trump's immigration and refugeeorder. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago-area Democratic politicians sharply criticized the Trump administration Saturday after more than a dozen travelers were taken into custody at O'Hare International Airport to enforce the president's executive order on immigration related to seven majority-Muslim countries.

Late Saturday, a federal judge in New York barred deportations nationwide, and lawyers aiding the O'Hare travelers said all of them had been set free.

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In a statement, Mayor Rahm Emanuel sharply challenged President Donald Trump's order.

"Today's actions have tarnished America's standing as a beacon of hope for the free world, and there has been scant credible and confirmed information available throughout the day about the impact of the president's executive order or those detained," the Emanuel statement said.

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U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, of Evanston, reached by phone Saturday night, said she was nearly in a state of "disbelief," seeing what was happening at airports across the country.

"I have never in my life imagined that in the United States of America that we would see this," she said, speaking of "perfectly legal'' residents of the country being questioned and held at airports.

Trump's executive order, signed late Friday afternoon, suspends entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, bars Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocks entry for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



The Department of Homeland Security said the order also bars green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States. White House officials said Saturday that green card holders from the seven affected countries would need a case-by-case waiver to return to the U.S.

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"I think it's un-American. I just can't stand it," Schakowsky said. "It's painful to me. You know he (President Trump) signed the executive order on Holocaust Remembrance Day, and one of the things we're supposed to remember is that the United States actually turned back people that went to their deaths."

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago also sent a statement denouncing Trump's executive order.

"President Trump's executive order creating a Muslim ban undermines the foundational ideals of the United States, a nation founded by immigrants. I call on the administration to immediately rescind this shameful order, which will have very real and dangerous consequences," Quigley said.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of the west and northwest suburbs, arrived at O'Hare on Saturday evening to speak with immigration officials but was told that he would have to return during normal office hours to speak with anyone.

"We're trying to see what we can do," Krishnamoorthi said. "It's absolutely appalling that someone would be detained when they're already a U.S. resident."

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Chicago Tribune's Stacy St. Clair contributed.

rsobol@chicagotribune.com
Shortly after lunch Saturday, attorney Julia Schlozman received an email calling for lawyers to help people being held at O'Hare International Airport in the wake of President Donald Trump's immigration order.

Schlozman, who had only signed up to volunteer with the International Refugee Assistance Project a few hours earlier, quickly read the message and walked out the door. She hopped on a CTA bus, then transferred to the Blue Line to take her to the airport.

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An attorney who specializes in criminal justice reform, Schlozman has never practiced immigration law. But she went anyway, believing her research skills, brainstorming ability and enthusiasm could somehow help.

"I wanted to contribute in any way I could," she said. "I just felt like I had to do something."

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She wasn't the only Chicago-area lawyer with that feeling.

About 150 attorneys rushed to O'Hare Saturday to help secure the release of more than a dozen travelers held as part of Trump's crackdown on immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. They threw their weekend plans away, postponing family outings, ignoring household chores and canceling restaurant reservations to assist clients they had never met nor would ever bill.

Immigration attorney Maria Baldini-Potermin was catching up on work at her office when she received the email. Wearing yoga pants and a Girl Scouts T-shirt, she headed straight to the airport.

"The Chicago Bar is responding to the challenge," she said. "It's inspiring to see."

Armed with laptops and iPads, the attorneys looked like "The Paper Chase" cavalry as they commandeered the dining area directly across from the McDonald's kiosk in the international terminal. The initial call-to-action email quickly made its way to social media, leading to an overflow legal crowd in the O'Hare food court by 6 p.m.

Nearly all had come expecting to assist refugees enter the country. They were stunned to discover that every traveler held at O'Hare on Saturday already had some kind of legal status in the United States.

The travelers were not formally detained, which prevented the attorneys from speaking with them. Instead, the lawyers gleaned as much information as they could from the travelers' family members who were waiting anxiously at O'Hare. They shared that information with local congressional offices in the hopes that the elected officials could persuade the Department of Homeland Security to release them.

While some attorneys lobbied Congress, others teamed up to work on legal briefs, do research or walk through the terminal with signs offering legal assistance.

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"We had to be creative to make it known that we are here, and we can help," Chicago immigration attorney Gretchen Ekerdt said. "I think it made a difference."

All the held travelers were released by 10 p.m. Saturday, following a ruling from a federal judge in New York that blocked the U.S. from sending people out of the country under Trump's order.

Before leaving the airport, most travelers and their families stopped to thank the attorneys. Because they were not allowed to use cellphones while being held, the travelers had no idea there were dozens of lawyers fighting on their behalf.

"This is the America I know," said 67-year-old Abdulsalam Mused, a legal U.S. resident who was held for six hours because he was born in Yemen.

A photo of the attorneys' makeshift law office went viral on social media, prompting supporters to show their appreciation by having pizzas, doughnuts and water delivered to the terminal. Several passers-by stopped to buy coffee for those working at the cramped tables, while one person made a care package of Visine and cough drops.

U.S. Reps. Brad Schneider and Raja Krishnamoorthi, both suburban Democrats, also came to thank them for their efforts.

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"It feels like I'm in law school again, with the late-night hours and all the caffeine," said Fiona McEntee, an immigration attorney who helped organize the effort. "Everyone has so much passion, it's energizing. Everyone here feels like they had a duty to speak out for the most vulnerable in our society."

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The duty, it seemed, fell regardless of legal specialty. While most of Saturday's volunteers were immigration attorneys, the ranks included criminal defense lawyers, corporate litigators and law school professors.

Emily Benfer, a law professor and director of the Health Justice Project at Loyola University, worked on her first-ever habeas corpus brief  a legal document demanding a person be brought before a judge  at the airport.

"It's incredibly inspiring," she said of the lawyers gathered. "It shows that when we stand up together  instead of tearing each other apart  positive things can happen."

sstclair@chicagotribune.com

gwong@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @gracewong630
Angeline Minniefield, 43, is accused of shooting a relative early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, during a family gathering in the 1400 block of South Avers Avenue, police said. (Cook County sheriff's photo)

A Lawndale woman is accused of shooting a relative early Saturday during a family gathering in the 1400 block of South Avers Avenue, police said.

Angeline Minniefield, who lives on the same block where the shooting took place, faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Minniefield held in lieu of $1 million bail in a hearing midday Sunday, according to records.

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About 12:45 a.m. Saturday, Minniefield, 43, and a 21-year-old man got into an argument during the family gathering in an apartment.

She is accused of pulling out a handgun and shooting her relative in the neck, Chicago police said. The 21-year-old man was taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Police are investigating the death of a man who was found dead Sunday inside a portable bathroom in the city's Rogers Park neighborhood.

Just after 6 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to the 1400 block of West Jonquil Terrace for a call of a person down. They found a man inside a portable bathroom in a nearby alley.

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He was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The death remains under investigation, though police said there weren't any visible signs of injury.
U.S. authorities took more than a dozen travelers into custody Saturday at O'Hare International Airport in response to President Donald Trump's immigration order  but lawyers who came to their aid said all were set free after a federal judge temporarily barred deportations.



The Trump crackdown on immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries set off a tumultuous day at O'Hare as frantic relatives, hundreds of protesters and the volunteer lawyers gathered at the airport.



Even before a federal judge in New York ruled to block the U.S. from sending people out of the country under Trump's order, a few of those being held at O'Hare had already been released after hours of questioning. They included Hessan Noorian, a Park Ridge resident returning with his family from Iran.

Protesters rallied at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 28, 2017, after travelers were held, including those with green cards and visas, following President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Noorian has a green card, as well as British and Iranian citizenship, and his wife, Zehra Amirisefat, is a U.S. citizen. Their son, Ryan, was born six months ago in suburban Chicago. They had been visiting Tehran to introduce their child to their family.



When they landed at O'Hare around noon Saturday, immigration officers told them Noorian could not enter the country without answering some questions, Amirisefat said. They waved her and the baby through, but, despite her husband's urging her to go home, she refused to leave without him.



"I was scared," she said. "I didn't know what was going to happen to him, if they would send him back. I wasn't going to leave him to go through that alone."



The couple, who said they work at Oakton Community College, then texted Amirisefat's brother and submitted to five hours of on-and-off questioning. The treatment during his time in custody was neither abusive nor exemplary, she said. She was allowed to nurse her son in a private room after making several requests, and her husband was given juice when he felt his blood sugar levels drop.

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The couple  jet-lagged from their 20-hour trip home from Iran  looked tired and confused as they exited customs around 5:30 p.m. Noorian carried the names of about a dozen people he said were still being held and phone numbers for their relatives.



Noorian's brother-in-law, Mohammad Amirisefat, said before Noorian's release: "This is insulting. This is insane, this is truly insane." After the release, Noorian's wife said: "I can't believe something like this can happen to someone with a green card."



Trump's executive order, signed late Friday afternoon, suspends entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, bars Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocks entry for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



The Department of Homeland Security said the order also bars green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States. White House officials said Saturday that green card holders from the seven affected countries would need a case-by-case waiver to return to the United States.

Abdulsalam Mused, 66, at his Oak Lawn home on Jan. 29, 2017, was detained at O'Hare International Airport over the weekend after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Hundreds of people protested inside and outside O'Hare's international terminal Saturday night, chanting, "The whole world is watching." As the crowds swelled, police shut down vehicle access to the terminal.



"It's horrifying," protester Rachel Shinville, 24, said of the ban. "It's inhumane and I'm pretty sure it's illegal. It takes a lot of people to allow something like this to happen."



About 150 lawyers summoned by the International Refugee Assistance Project gathered near McDonald's at O'Hare to represent those being held. The lawyers paced through the arrivals terminal, making their presence known to people waiting for travelers.



Heidi Walczak, 40, of Arlington Heights, bought coffee for the lawyers at O'Hare. Another person bought pizzas. Cheers erupted. "We just wanted to help out and come and show our support," Walczak said. "I'm not a lawyer, so I can't do any of the legal stuff."



Members of the lawyers group said 17 people were taken into custody, and shortly after 10 p.m. they confirmed that all had been let go. None of them held refugee status, said Hannah Garst, a Chicago lawyer.

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Another Chicago-area resident temporarily caught in the federal net was Iranian Kasra Noohi, 70, of Chicago's South Loop neighborhood.



His sons, Ayden, 37, and Bardia, 32, waited for hours at O'Hare for their father, who they said had a U.S. green card. According to the sons, Noohi was on his plane, traveling from the United Arab Emirates, when Trump signed his order.



"Part of me is angry, part of me is scared," Bardia Noohi said. "I feel like this is just the beginning."



Ayden Noohi said this incident made him think of when people of Japanese descent were put into internment camps during World War II. "Is history going to repeat itself?" he said. "Are we going to go down this path of racism?"



After a long wait for their father to emerge, they found out that he had been freed earlier, had not seen them in the confusing, protester-filled crowd, and had simply taken a cab home to the South Loop.

Mohammad Amirisefat of Chicago waits for news about relatives at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 28, 2017. His sister, Zehra Amirisefat, 30, a U.S. citizen, landed at O'Hare with her 6-month-old child on a return trip from Iran and her husband, a green card holder, was detained. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

"The protesters are great, but if I can't see my dad coming out, then it's kind of missing the point," Bardia Noohi said.



As protesters marched through the arrivals gate, the Noohi brothers took video of them.



Another person held, Abdulsalam Mused, 67, of Oak Lawn, was freed after more than six hours of questioning, and he stopped to shake hands with the volunteer attorneys and protesters. He said authorities repeatedly asked him whether he was carrying weapons and whether he had visited his native Yemen while on his trip to Saudi Arabia for his son's wedding.



He said he was treated nicely, but the experience still left him shaken.



"I received political asylum in the United States because I stood up to terrorists in Yemen," said Mused, who has lived in the U.S. for 18 years. "This is the first time in my life that I was made to feel like a terrorist."



Wearing a pinstripe suit and tie, Mused encouraged the president to rescind his order. "This is not what America is about," he said. "America is about freedom of expression and freedom of religion. It's a country of immigrants. It's not this."

His son Nasser Mused, 36, also of Oak Lawn, said his father was looking forward to seeking citizenship this May.



"He did everything right," Nasser Mused said. "He feels safe here because you have freedom of speech and freedom to be who you want to be. This is our country. He would do anything to serve this country."



Nour Ulayyet, 40, of Valparaiso, Ind., told The Associated Press that her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving at O'Hare from Riyadh and told she couldn't enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.



"My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that she's having," Ulayyet said.

gwong@chicagotribune.com

sstclair@chicagotribune.com
Father Hassan Assali, daughter Sarah Assali, 19, and son Matthew Assali, 17, in front of a Christmas tree. Six relatives of a Lehigh Valley man, including the ones in the Christmas photo, were briefly detained in Philadelphia before getting put on a flight back to Doha, Qatar. (APRIL BARTHOLOMEW / THE MORNING CALL)

ALLENTOWN  After months of work, the house on Second Street in Allentown was ready Saturday for Ghassan Assali's two brothers and their families.

Assali and his wife, Sarmad, remodeled it and furnished it and were prepared to hand over the keys to the Syrian relatives upon their long-awaited arrival Saturday morning in Philadelphia.

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But on his way to Philadelphia International Airport, Assali received a phone call from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official. Don't bother coming, the official told him. Your relatives have been sent back.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday barring non-American citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the country for 90 days. The Assalis' six relatives were briefly detained in Philadelphia before getting put on a flight back to Doha, Qatar.

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Trump said the ban was needed to keep out "radical Islamic terrorists." A federal judge on Saturday night issued an emergency stay that temporarily allows people who landed in the United States with a valid visa to remain.

By then, the Assalis' relatives were already gone.

According to Sarah Assali, Ghassan and Sarmad's daughter, their six Syrian relatives  the youngest is 17 and the oldest is 61  are Christians from Damascus. They are immigrants, not refugees, she said, with approved visas and paperwork for green cards.

The families were given a choice, Sarah Assali said: Leave today or risk losing your visas entirely.

"They felt afraid, so they turned around," Sarah said Saturday afternoon. "Now they're on an 18-hour flight right back to Doha."

Countless other refugees, their families and aid workers scrambled Saturday as travelers from the predominantly Muslim countries were turned back on arrival at U.S. airports. Others were blocked from boarding flights to the United States.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-15th District, said he called the White House on Saturday after speaking to the Assalis, who live in Allentown.

"It appears this order has been rushed through without full consideration of the many nuances of immigration policy that can be life or death for vulnerable people across the world," said Dent, who represents much of the Lehigh Valley.

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"This is not an acceptable situation, and I certainly urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more deliberate policy can be instated," he added. "I think that's really the issue right now."

Muslim Association organizer Nagi Latefa talks about "meet your Muslim Neighbors" event Saturday attended by more than 1,000 people. (Matt Assad/The Morning Call)

The president's order bars all refugees from entering the United states for four months and indefinitely bars Syrian refugees, 12,000 of which resettled in the United States last year after fleeing war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice.

The visa process for the Assalis' relatives started in 2003 and they were approved in December, Sarah Assali said. But the families decided to spend one last Christmas in Damascus with relatives who would not be joining them in the United States.

Damascus has not experienced the worst of of the ongoing war, but life has not been easy for the families, Sarmad Assali said. They recently had to bathe with bottled water after the city's water supply was allegedly contaminated.

"It keeps getting harder and harder to live there," she said. "The economy is shot, no one is buying anything, and people keep fleeing."

In America, her relatives hoped to get jobs and send their children to college, just as Ghassan and Sarmad did. Sarah is a third-year medical student in Ohio, and Joseph Assali is a third-year undergraduate in Philadelphia. Both graduated from Parkland High School.

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The Assalis are trying to start a new life here like generations of immigrants before them, Sarah Assali said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 32 People march during a protest against an executive order on immigration from President Trump at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (Neil Blake / AP)

"This ban is completely unethical, completely un-American and completely unconstitutional," she added.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

After signing the documents, Trump said: "It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."

Dent said Saturday that the refugee vetting process that the country has been using is "actually fairly thorough" and "fairly robust."

"We can make it better and we should make it better, but I'm concerned this order needs to be more fully considered," he said.

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"We have already called the White House trying to get them to revisit this issue," Dent added. "On an executive order like this, I hope the Justice Department was consulted, as with the State Department, as well as Homeland Security and Defense."

The Department of Homeland Security and White House officials were not available for comment Saturday afternoon.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11th District, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, applauded Trump's order Saturday.

"I am in full support of President Trump's actions, which I believe are only prudent, while we work on a system that allows us to verify the identity and background of applicants," he said in a statement Saturday.

A federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press the order has an exemption for foreigners whose entry is in the U.S. national interest. It was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, tweeted Saturday evening that his office has contacted Homeland Security "to get to the bottom of the situation," regarding the Assalis.

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The Assalis said their relatives were relieved just to make their first flight out of Beirut, where heavy snow fell this weekend. They never expected that the Trump executive order would apply to them.

Sarmad had planned a big dinner and celebration Saturday night. Instead, they waited for word from Qatar  and wondered what will happen next.

"Mr. President, what do I do now?" Sarmad asked. "What should I do? I have no idea."

awagaman@mcall.com

Twitter @andrewwagaman

610-820-6764

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Dayna Dorencz-Cuervo, 3, plays at her Morgan Park neighborhood home on Jan. 25, 2017. Dayna has spina bifida and other health issues that require special care. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley, Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

SPRINGFIELD  Kimberly Dorencz-Cuervo walks a financial tightrope when it comes to taking care of her 3-year-old daughter Dayna, who has a severe form of spina bifida.

The Morgan Park mom wants to ensure Dayna is taken care of day to day, and the family's Medicaid benefits help cover that. But Dorencz-Cuervo also wants to save for a new, more accessible home so her daughter has the freedom to move around as she pleases.

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Some fine print in benefit programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income means the family can only squirrel away so much money. The programs limit recipients' personal assets to $2,000, and benefits are suspended if families exceed the cap.

"It's really hard for us to put any money aside right now for that fear," Dorencz-Cuervo said.

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On Monday, state Treasurer Michael Frerichs will announce a new program that aims to help families like Dorencz-Cuervo's save for the future. Illinois is forming a coalition with 13 other states to allow people with a disability or blindness and their families to open tax-deferred investment accounts to save money.

Dubbed Achieving a Better Life Experience, the accounts are similar to the 529 college savings plan. That means earnings are not taxed when spent on approved disability expenses, which include education, housing and medical costs.

"I think especially when we've gone nearly two years without any budget certainty and social service providers are closing their doors, it's important we use our office to help give families tools they need to invest in themselves to give their kids a brighter future," Frerichs said.

The accounts are designed to give people the flexibility to save money without jeopardizing state and federal benefits that are limited by income. According to Frerichs' office, an ABLE account can grow to up to $100,000 before Social Security benefits are suspended. The amount of money in the funds will have no impact on Medicaid eligibility, according to the treasurer.

Per federal law, total contributions toward the account can't surpass $14,000 annually. And under Illinois law, account deposits are limited to $350,000. Beneficiaries and third parties can put money into the account.

"It's a fabulous way to be able to save for things that Dayna will need without hurting our economic status," Dorencz-Cuervo said.

To qualify for an ABLE account, a beneficiary must have developed his or her disability before age 26. From there, anyone who is eligible for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability benefits can open one. People with disabilities who don't collect benefits because they're working can still apply for ABLE, but a doctor must certify their eligibility for the program.

Benjamin Rubin, a Chicago-area attorney who specializes in estate planning for children and adults with special needs, said the specialized accounts have two major advantages: They allow higher-functioning individuals to be in control of their money, and people don't need to go through the process of hiring attorneys like they do for a special needs trust.

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"The cost of setting up an ABLE account is virtually nothing  up front there's virtually no cost," Rubin said. "It's based on fees."

In Illinois, the minimum amount required to open an account is $25. The treasurer's office said the typical account fee will be 34 cents to 38 cents for every $100 invested. If more states sign up for the program, Frerichs said the fees could go lower.

Skokie native James Fuller is one Illinois resident who stands to benefit from such an account. The 22-year-old was born with spina bifida and uses leg braces to help him walk. He currently works full time at Advocate Medical Group's call center and doesn't receive benefits, but said an ABLE account could serve as a safety net for unforeseen expenses.

"Being a person with a disability, sometimes certain health problems are semi-inevitable," Fuller said.

Fuller said he wants to do more research before committing to an account, but he said he thinks it's a concept that will benefit the disability community.

"The reality is health care is very expensive, and without great insurance that would cover a lot of that, it's definitely important to be able to have something to fall back on other than just personal life savings that you wouldn't want to wipe out as a result of that," he said.

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Experts say the savings program isn't a cure-all, pointing to some weaknesses in it.

Samantha Crane, legal director and director of public policy at the Washington, D.C.-based Autistic Self Advocacy Network, criticized the federal age cutoff, saying the program should apply to those beyond 26 years old.

"Unfortunately, the age cutoff is not based on who really needs this or who can really benefit from it," Crane said.

Another controversial aspect of the ABLE program is a provision that allows states to, upon the death of a beneficiary, act as a creditor and recoup the Medicaid dollars they paid out while the account was open. The specific amount, according to Rubin, is either the remaining balance of the ABLE account or the cost of the Medicaid services  whichever is less.

With that in mind, Rubin encourages clients to limit the money they deposit to Social Security funds, small inheritances or small settlements from lawsuits. He suggested relatives not contribute, instead suggesting they donate to a third-party special needs trust.

"When it's third parties  grandma, aunts or uncles, parents putting money in there  it doesn't really feel fair that they should have a payback on it, but that is how it was passed," Rubin said.

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The state can opt out of the payback provision, but so far only Pennsylvania has chosen to do that. Frerichs spokesman Greg Rivara said the treasurer wants to pursue that option for Illinois, but does not plan to bring it to the General Assembly in this session.

Eligible Illinois residents can begin applying for ABLE accounts Monday at savewithable.com.

Once the family's account is up and running, Dorencz-Cuervo said her family will begin to set money aside for a new home, along with future expenses for Dayna's education.

"Eventually, if everything goes as planned, Dayna will be on her own one day, and she's going to need money, too," Dorencz-Cuervo said.

hbemiller@chicagotribune.com
WASHINGTON  A crowd of teachers, parents and children gathered near the U.S. Capitol on Sunday to protest Betsy DeVos's nomination to be education secretary, calling the Michigan billionaire a threat to public education and urging the Senate to reject her.

Using drums and noisemakers, the group of protesters chanted "Toss DeVos!" "Betsy is a threat-sy" and "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, Betsy DeVos is not for me."

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Similar protests took place over the weekend in Portland, Nashville and Holland, Michigan, DeVos' hometown.

The protests came ahead of the Senate education committee's vote on DeVos' confirmation, which is scheduled for Tuesday morning. DeVos has spent most of the past three decades using her wealth to advocate for the expansion of taxpayer-funded voucher programs and charter schools and has characterized public schools as a "dead end," and she has drawn a passionate opposition from teachers' unions and public school advocates.

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DeVos has become one of President Donald Trump's most controversial cabinet picks, in large part because of her stumbles on basic education policy during her Jan. 17 confirmation hearing.

Under questioning from Democratic senators, DeVos declined to say that she wouldn't privatize public schools, declined to commit to aggressively pursuing sexual assault cases at colleges, appeared confused about federal law protecting students with disabilities and said she opposes a ban on guns in schools, citing an example of a rural school that might need a gun to protect against "potential grizzlies" - a comment that has elicited scorn and late-night television show ridicule.

Some protesters on Sunday, including Caitlin Davies, a 30-year-old special education teacher in Arlington, Virginia, attended to stand up for the rights of public school students who need special services. She said such students need strong advocacy.

"I don't think we are going to be getting that from Betsy," Davies said, noting that it was "terrifying" to hear DeVos fumble through questions about federal special education resources. "She had no understanding and has no business making decisions about education."

DeVos' supporters - including Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the education committee and a former education secretary - say that she is a bold reformer who is willing to take on unions and the education establishment to give more children, especially those from low-income households, access to good schools. They say her views on vouchers and charters align with the mainstream and that her desire for local control over education matches what Congress did with the recent federal education law.

Two kindergarten teachers from Alexandria, Althea Goldberg and Katie Keier, organized the protest in Washington on Sunday. They said they met on Tuesday to review their students' academic progress, but spent much of their time lamenting that DeVos could soon be the nation's top education official.

"I remember disliking certain nominations, but never have I felt the fear that I feel about DeVos," Keier said. "I know it's probable that she will be confirmed, but let's have our voices heard."

Keier, who has taught for 25 years, said she especially wants the voices of her kindergartners to be represented. During school last week she asked them what message they want to send the person who might be the next education secretary.

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The kindergartners wrote their words down on posters that she brought with her to the protest. One, in red marker read: "Care about teachers and kids!" Another wrote "Let us play," and drew what appeared to be a person playing with a toy car.

Goldberg, who is in her fifth year of teaching, said she has many concerns about DeVos' fitness for the job.

"She has no experience in public education. Her children never went to public school. She has no experience with student loans," Goldberg said. "Everything about her concerns me."

Jocelyn Nieva's son Ben - who is now 24 and in college - spent his entire time in public school needing special education services, but Nieva said she had to fight to get him the right resources. When Nieva heard DeVos say that federal protections for special education students should be left up to the states, she was outraged.

"She is either ignorant or dismissing federal mandates," Nieva, of D.C., said Sunday during the protest. "I have no senator and this is an issue I am passionate about. "I have to speak with my body and my sign."

Though Jennifer Zwelling, 48 of Bladensburg, Maryland, is an art teacher at a private school - the National Cathedral School - she is opposed to DeVos' support for vouchers that would let students take public money to pay tuition and private or parochial schools.

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"Vouchers are wrong because they take money from the public education system and put it in private schools. The systems need to be separate," Zwelling said. "Our public schools desperately need the funding."

Zwelling and others said they believe DeVos likely will be confirmed, but they wanted to have a public voice on the matter ahead of the vote.

"I still felt the need to be here, and I will continue to support public education," Zwelling said.

The Washington Post
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell leaves the conference room during the Congress of Tomorrow, Republican Member Retreat, at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on January 26, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Sunday cautioned that the United States does not have a religious test for entry into the country but stopped short of rejecting President Donald Trump's order to halt the admission of refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

McConnell said that Muslims, both in the United States and abroad, are key allies in the fight against terrorism and urged caution in regard to Trump's plan to implement "extreme vetting" for refugees from countries where a majority of the citizens are Muslim.

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"I don't want to criticize them for improving vetting," McConnell said on ABC's "This Week." "I think we need to be careful. We don't have religious tests in this country."

The comments come after a day of silence from McConnell on the issue. He did not offer any reaction in the early hours when the order caused mass chaos and outrage as Muslims were turned away at airports across the country. Republican leaders are facing intense criticism for backing the measure, which has been interpreted by some Democrats, human rights leaders and activists as effectively a ban on Muslims.

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McConnell is one of a growing number of Republicans who have urged caution in implementing the order to block citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya from entering the country for at least 90 days. He refused Sunday to reject Trump's order in its entirety and left it to the courts to decide its legality.

"Ultimately it is going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far," McConnell said.

McConnell is among those who strongly opposed the concept of a Muslim ban when Trump touted the idea during the campaign. His decision to back the order, at least in part, is generally in line with that of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., who announced his support on Friday.

Ryan said that while he supports the refugee resettlement program, he thinks it is time to "re-evaluate and strengthen the visa vetting process."

"President Trump is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country," the speaker said in a statement.

A growing number of other prominent Republicans have raised serious concerns about the decision to ban people traveling from the seven countries listed in the order.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, also stopped short of criticizing the order, but he suggested that the action wasn't fully thought through by the Trump administration.

"You have an extreme vetting proposal that didn't get the vetting it should have," Portman said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

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Portman said that he supports the rulings by several federal judges staying the part of the order that affects legal permanent residents and visa holders and prevents them from entering the country.

"I think that's appropriate," Portman said of the judicial orders. "And let's allow those people who have come here legally in this country to get out of detention - allow them to go to the Cleveland Clinic, for instance, as this doctor was banned from doing so."

Concerns that the order was not properly reviewed were shared by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who called the process "confused."

"The good news is that its only got to do with a pause," McCain said on CBS's "Face the Nation. "The bad news is obviously this process and these conclusions were not vetted."

McCain said he worries that the order could bar Iraqi soldiers who are working with the United States from entering the country and that the chaos could become part of marketing efforts for ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

"I think the effect will probably in some areas give ISIS some more propaganda,"McCain said, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State. "I'm very concerned about our effect on the Iraqis right now."

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McConnell, McCain and Portman joined several other Senate Republicans who expressed concerns on Saturday.

Sen Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., voiced some of the most vociferous objections to the order in a Saturday evening post on the blogging site Medium. Flake, a longtime opponent of the Muslim ban proposed by Trump, said the administration is right to be concerned about national security but said the measure too broadly blocks those who have already been vetted.

"It's unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry," Flake said in his post. "Enhancing long-term national security requires that we have a clear-eyed view of radical Islamic terrorism without ascribing radical Islamic terrorist views to all Muslims."

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., also supported Trump's focus on protecting the country's borders and backed connecting "jihadi terrorism" with Islam and particular countries. However, he said, the order is "too broad."

"If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse said in a statement released Saturday. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he has "technical" questions about how the order will be implemented but supports its purpose.

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Others, including Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., announced tepid support and concerns on Twitter.

"We should value freedom & not surrender security. We can protect the homeland while upholding #religiousfreedom & refuge for the persecuted," Lankford tweeted.

The Washington Post
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
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses dignitaries during a visit to the airport city in Manchester, Britain, Oct. 23, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua]

Property experts in Manchester are hoping that the Chinese New Year and Spring Golden Week will bring them a boom in business.

That's according to specialist publication opp.today, who report that flight bookings from China to Manchester have increased by nearly ten percent over the period.

Many of those visitors may be investors from China, interested in acquiring property in the area.

The relatively low value of the British pound, combined with a huge demand for property in the UK and a restricted supply have led to a very attractive prospect for foreign investors.

In Manchester, property prices have not yet risen to the astronomical levels seen in London.

However, it's a city with extremely good financial prospects and a positive international reputation, which might further fuel demand for property.

In 2016, London alone received a record ?4 billion in property investments from China over the course of the year.

That was according to analysts at CBRE Group, who also believed that the decline in the value of the British currency, along with the continued buoyant state of London's property market, had been very attractive to investors.

Manchester looks set to follow suit.
Rachel (1st L) from Britain performs the Monkey King with young volunteers during a break at the East Railway Station of Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 23, 2017. Five foreign volunteers worked at the railway station to offer help to passengers who rush home for family reunion during the Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Wang Dingchang)

This Spring Festival, a group of foreigners volunteered to give something back to China as a gesture of thanks for what China has done for them.

Yu Zhongyan, was among about 80,000 passengers that will use Wuhan railway station each day during the Spring Festival travel rush, or Chunyun, this year.

She was deeply touched when the volunteers offered to help her with her bags.

"They made our holiday special this year," said the granny with her grandson in arms.

Wuhan, the capital city of the central province of Hubei, is one of the country's busiest railway hubs. This year 28 foreign students from 15 countries, wearing yellow hats and orange vests, were on hand to help passengers.

Thursday is Bassim Mohammed Dahash Aljizani's last day in Wuhan. He earned his doctorate at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Together with his wife and three sons, the man had five suitcases and a buggy. Sadi Makangila Patrick from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Agil Mubariz from Azerbaijan hurried to help.

Aljizani told Xinhua that he will take the train to Guangzhou, before flying back to Baghdad. "I have been in Wuhan for four years and I really don't want to leave, but my country needs me," he said.

"It is great experience to see people off at the station," said Areen Muhammed, a student from Iraq. "The work is tiring. But when I see the smiles, I feel so happy."

"China's government provides us scholarship for our study here," said another volunteer from Sri Lanka. "China helped me, and in return, I would like to do something for the people here." [ Yuan Gaoping, an official with Wuhan railway bureau, said that by working in the station, the volunteers could experience Chunyun, and experience Chinese culture and the development of its railway firsthand.

Yu Zhongyan asked Patrick to pose for a photo together, before bidding farewell to the foreign "uncle." "Thank you," said the boy, while Yu waved, "Happy New Year."
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Rescue operation continued on Saturday for 14 miners who were trapped after a gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northeastern region of Geita, authorities said.

On Thursday, 14 people, including a Chinese national, were trapped inside the mine when its walls collapsed.

The Chinese-invested mine is in a remote area near Nyarugusu area on the western shores of Lake Victoria in Geita region.

Medard Kalemani, Tanzania's deputy minister for Energy and Minerals, suspended all mining activities for other mines which are close to the collapsed mine so that miners can team up in the rescue operations.

"We want all stakeholders in the mining sector in Geita to work as one team so that our colleagues who are trapped inside are rescued," the official said when he visited the affected mine site.

According to Kalemani, the rescue team involved experts from the nearby mines, including Geita Gold Mine (GGM).

"The rescue team now struggles to find a better way of providing the victims with food and water," he stressed.

"There is a big hope that all the trapped people were alive, that's why we're looking on better strategies that will make them get food for them to survive," the minister said.

Elias Kyunga, Geita Regional Commissioner, was optimistic that the trapped miners will be rescued. However, he declined to say the exact date when the operation will be successful.
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The Egyptian military said on Saturday that at least four Egyptian soldiers and 20 militants were killed during five-day anti-terror military raids in restive North Sinai Province bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The raids launched in North Sinai and central Sinai also wounded seven militants, arrested 36 suspected terrorists, detonated five explosive devices and destroyed 28 hiding houses, eight vehicles, four warehouses of explosives and ammunition and two relevant workshops, military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay said in a statement.

Anti-government terror attacks have been growing in Egypt since the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests.

Later crackdown on Morsi's supporters left about 1,000 of them killed and thousands more in custody.

Since early January, at least 21 police and military personnel have been killed in blasts and confrontations in North Sinai and New Valley province, about 500 km south of the capital Cairo.

Most of the terrorist attacks were claimed by a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State.

Security campaigns in Sinai killed over 1,300 militants and arrested a similar number of suspects over the past couple of years as part of the country's anti-terror war declared by former army chief and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's ouster.
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Three people suspected to be elephant poachers have been arrested near western Tanzania's Katavi National park, police said Saturday.

Damas Nyanda, Katavi Regional Police Commander confirmed the incident, saying the suspected poachers are believed to be Ugandan nationals.

He said that the suspects were found in possession of military arsenals, which they have been using in poaching activities in the Tanzania's third largest national park after Ruaha and Serengeti.

According to Nyanda, police managed to bring down the suspected poachers in collaboration with rangers of the Katavi National Park.

He said the suspects were found in a bus christened SBS, heading to Mlele District, which is close to the 43-year-old sanctuary.

"What I can tell you, the arrested people have been notorious when it comes to poaching in the park and they were on the way to do poaching in Mlele District on the other side of the park," the regional police chief said.

He added that the suspects were arrested with a submachine gun, which was hidden inside a bag.

They were being assisted by local people in Mpanda Municipality.

Reports said that a few days ago rangers from the Tanzania National Park (Tanapa) found an elephant killed, though poachers were yet to remove the tusks.

Police were still interrogating the suspects and they will be taken to court so that the law takes its course.

Poachers in the park, in most cases, target large mammals such as elephants, rhino for ivory trade and other wild animals including buffaloes and leopards.
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Five Indian troopers, who went missing in snow Saturday were rescued alive by the search teams near Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, officials said.

The troopers were trapped and lost communication with their base camp after a snowbound track they were walking on caved in at Machil sector of frontier Kupwara district, about 165 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"All the five soldiers were successfully rescued and are presently under treatment," an army official said.

The troopers were part of a routine patrol in the area.

Indian army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia told Xinhua following the incident, rescue teams immediately launched searches to trace trapped troopers.

On Wednesday 15 troopers were killed after avalanches hit them at three different places in Gurez and Sonamarg.

It took two days for army rescue teams to retrieve bodies from the snow mounds in Gurez.

LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.

Kashmir has a rugged terrain. Landslides and avalanches are often triggered from its mountains during frequent rains and heavy snowfal.
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Sudan expressed regret on Saturday over a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to restrict the access of the Sudanese into the United States.

"The Foreign Ministry expresses its regret over the executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Jan. 27, regarding the restriction of entry procedures of citizens of some countries, including the Sudanese citizens, into the United States of America," said Sudan's foreign ministry in a statement.

"It is really unfortunate that the decision coincided with the two countries' accomplishment of an important and historical step of lifting the U.S. economic and trade sanctions on Sudan," it noted.

The decision came after Sudan and the U.S. had started a discussion about investment and developing commercial projects to use their huge natural, human and economic resources to benefit the people of the two countries, according to the ministry.

It also pointed to Sudan's firm stance on combating terrorism and reiterated the country's commitment to the constructive engagement and cooperation with the United States, saying "Sudan calls for immediate lifting of its name from the U.S. list of countries sponsoring terrorism."

On Jan. 13, former U.S. President Barack Obama issued a decision to cancel two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.

The United States has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and putting it on its list of countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.

Since then, Washington has been renewing its sanctions on Sudan due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions in addition to a number of outstanding issues with South Sudan, such as the territorial dispute over the oil-rich Abyei area.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 10 in Washington, the White House said Saturday.

Trump spoke with Abe on the phone Saturday to discuss the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance and cooperation on regional and global issues, the White House said in a statement, adding that Trump affirmed the "ironclad" U.S. commitment to ensuring the security of Japan.

The two leaders also committed to deepen the bilateral trade and investment relationship and agreed to consult and cooperate on the threat posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, according to the statement.

Soon after Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election in November, Abe held unofficial talks with the then U.S. president-elect in New York.
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday said U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to curb refugees flows are worrying.

At a joint press conference with his visiting German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, Ayrault said Trump's decision to halt immigration and refugees from some Muslim-majority countries "can only worry us".

"We have international commitments that we have signed. Welcoming refugees fleeing the war, oppression is part of our duties," Ayrault added.

Ayrault and Sigmar Gabriel discussed in Paris "what (they) are going to do" to face Trump administration uncertainty in handling major international issues such as Iran nuclear deal, Russia sanctions, Middle East conflict and peace accord in Syria.

Trump signed an executive order Friday enacting a vetting process for refugees coming into the United States, in the name of guarding against terrorist threats.

The White House released no details of the document. But U.S. media reports suggested that the order may include an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees and a four-month ban on all refugees as the U.S. government assesses the level of risks in each country.

Reports have also suggested that the United States would refrain from giving visas to citizens of Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq.
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Protesters took to San Francisco International Airport on Saturday afternoon to denounce U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The rally was staged as some immigrants have reportedly been held at the airport, known as SFO, since Saturday morning.

"What we're not clear about is who or what type of families are being held, whether they're from Syria or Iran or other countries, we don't know for certain," Lara Kiswani, an organizer with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, was quoted by a local TV channel as saying.

"We have lawyers currently at SFO," she added.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the international terminal of SFO, which said via its Twitter account that "lower level roadway to the (airport's) International Terminal is now closed."

SFO is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is one of the most diversified regions in terms of ethnicity across the United States and harbors the highest density of high-tech businesses. Google and Apple, among other tech giants, have expressed serious concerns.

Confusion and chaos have erupted since Trump signed the executive order on Friday, which targeted citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and is widely described as a "Muslim ban."

Similar protests have also taken place at airports in New York, Washington D.C., Denver and some other U.S. cities.
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed his desire to strengthen U.S.-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially on counterterrorism and security.

In a telephone conversation with French President Francois Hollande, Trump reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO and stressed the importance of all NATO allies sharing the burden on defense spending, the White House said in a statement.

Trump and Hollande also discussed military and defense cooperation both within bilateral frameworks and through NATO.

In a recent interview, Trump said NATO was "obsolete because it was not taking care of terror," and he complained that various members of the bloc were not paying their dues, which was "very unfair to the United States."

At a joint press conference with Trump in Washington on Friday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.S. president confirmed that he is "100 percent" behind NATO.
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File photo of the missing boat. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

A missing boat carrying Chinese tourists has been found sunken off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo, and multiple survivors were reported drifting at sea waiting for rescue, China's consulate general's office in Kota Kinabalu said Sunday.

The boat went missing on Saturday after sailing from Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island some 60 km to the west. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the boat was carrying 31 people, including 28 tourists from China.

China's consulate office, citing reports from Malaysian authorities, said the boat has sunk in waters near Pulau Mengalum. The skipper and one of the crew left to look for help, while the passengers and the remaining crew member stayed together to wait for rescue.

The consulate office said the search and rescue operation was still ongoing. Malaysian authorities said earlier the joint rescue effort by the maritime enforcement agency, navy and airforce was hampered by bad weather.
A boy is seen taken away by a woman in this surveillance video. [Photo/Weibo]

A three-year-old boy was rescued by police just 15 hours after he was kidnapped by a woman on Thursday, two days before the Spring Festival.

A Shenzhen resident surnamed Zhao reported shortly after 17:00 on Thursday that his son had gone missing while playing near home. The family searched for him for over an hour but could not find him.

The local police found via surveillance video that shortly after 15:40 the boy was taken away in a taxi by a middle-aged woman, whom the family did not know.

The police identified the woman as 34-year-old migrant worker from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. She was unemployed and lived in a hotel in Shenzhen. When the police arrived at her hotel, they found that the woman surnamed Wei took the boy to the hotel but had checked out and left.

Police found that Wei appeared at the Luohu Railway Station in Shenzhen shortly after 17:00 and they concluded that she had left Shenzhen by train. With help from railway police, they found that Wei boarded a train with the boy to Wuchang, Huhan province, at 18:00.

Wei was spotted on the train. When the train arrived in Wuchang shortly after 6 am Friday, the police arrested the woman and rescued the boy.

Wei said she took the boy to fake as her own son to repair the relationship with her former boyfriend. Wei gave birth to a boy in 2015 in Shenzhen, who died shortly after. Wei broke up with her boyfriend soon after the birth however the boyfriend was unaware of the babys death. This year she wanted to meet her ex-boyfriend in Hubei for Spring Festival.
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Passengers wait for their train on a platform at Hefei South High-speed Train Station on Jan 13, 2017. [WU FANG/CHINA DAILY]

Anyone who has spent the Spring Festival holiday in China and braved the traveling masses will certainly have a story to share, and since I have been in China for over eight years certainly I have a story to share about my Chinese Spring Festival traveling experience. All these years, I was lucky enough to experience the Chinese New Year. The build-up was very exciting as everywhere was decorated red, as this is seen as a color of good luck and prosperity.

Although I did not travel this year because I just came to Jinhua, I am still trying to explore my new home away from home; however, my previous traveling experiences have been something to write home about. Travel during this period is quite an adventure  several individuals journey home to reunite with their families and everywhere is very busy. It has been coined the "largest annual human migration in the world" without reason.

One thing I noticed during this period is that, whether traveling by car, train, driving or flying; expect challenges, but persevere. The best case scenario would be to book your tickets months in advance at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, this has never been a realistic option for me since my many years in China. If you are luckier than me, you can conveniently book tickets online, with no pre-sale limitations. However, if you are not willing to cough up the money, taking the train is the next best option. Although traveling by train is increasingly convenient, because the high-speed trains have made rail travel in China more convenient than ever.

There are some cases where it might be difficult to find tickets. I found myself in this very situation last two years. With no train tickets available and flights incredibly expensive, there was no other option than to "hitch a ride"; well there was the sleeper bus alternative. I must confess that the highways and traffic jams were a sight to behold. A journey that should have taken about 10 hours took more like 20 hours because of the traveling rush. As you can imagine, traffic was backed up, often coming to a halt with people getting out of their cars and buses to stretch and snack; which, in turn, resulted in the massive amount of litter scattered everywhere.

Being in China during the Spring Festival was a great experience but also a little lonely  it makes me realize how special it is to spend holidays with family. I can definitely empathize with how people living outside their countries feel at Christmas if they do not have loved ones around them. The Chinese Spring Festival made me realized how important it is to get together with loved ones to celebrate special events in one's country. This has changed my perception and given me a new sense of reasoning. The world needs this kind of migration of reunion. Most migration we witness in the world today does not create reunion but chaos and conflict. Whatever and however you choose to spend the Chinese New Year, I will leave you with a common Spring Festival greeting  best wishes for a prosperous year ( gong xi fa cai).

Michael Omoruyi is a researcher from Institute of African Stuties Zhejiang Normal University.
[Photo provided to China Daily]

Rooster is pronounced "ji" in Chinese, similar to the sound of the character meaning good luck. Hence rooster has been seen as an auspicious creature in the Chinese culture.

To usher in the upcoming Year of the Rooster, Beijing's National Museum of China is hosting an exhibition, titled A Crow at the Arrival of New Year, which features some 118 artworks and artifacts in its collection that portray the animal. It is ongoing until Feb 19.

Highlights include a piece of embroidery on silk showing a cock under a tree. It is dated to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and a fine example of Gu Xiu, a distinguished embroidery technique that originated from a family surname Gu in Shanghai.

Also on show are two pairs of doucai chicken cups, each of which were produced to the order of Qing Emperor Kangxi and his son Emperor Yongzheng. The cups were modeled after stem cups that feature roosters and were produced during the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, on Dec 23, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump agreed to stabilize and deepen bilateral cooperation during a phone conversation on Saturday, the Kremlin said.

"The two sides expressed willingness to work actively together to stabilize and develop Russian-American cooperation on a constructive basis, as equals, and to mutual benefit," the Kremlin said in a statement issued after their first phone conversation since Trump's inauguration last week.

Putin and Trump highlighted the priority of joint efforts in the fight against the main threat of international terrorism during the call, which was widely scrutinized to see if there will be a thaw in the soured relations during the Obama administration.

"The Presidents called for establishing a real coordination of US and Russian actions to defeat the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Syria," the statement read.

They also stressed the importance of restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business communities of the two countries, which could further boost development of bilateral relations.

Russian and American people see each other positively, said the two leaders, who agreed to maintain regular personal contacts. Both sides are working to set possible date and venue for a Putin-Trump meeting.

The presidents discussed and agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, the Korean Peninsula issue and the Ukrainian crisis.

"The conversation took place in a positive and businesslike manner," said the Kremlin statement.

Russian ties with the United States and other NATO members experienced a record low during the Obama administration, mainly due to the Crimea issue, the Ukrainian crisis and the hacking accusations.

In the last weeks of Obama's presidency, the United States expelled Russian diplomats and expanded economic sanctions.

Putin was among the first leaders of major powers to send congratulations to Trump after the result of the US presidential election was announced in November.

During a call in mid-November, Putin and the then US president-elect agreed that the current ties between Russian and the United States "could not get worse" and vowed to help "stimulate a return to pragmatic, mutually beneficial cooperation."
KUALA LUMPUR - A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, has lost contact with the authorities since it sailed out from Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said on Sunday.

A statement from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the boat, with three crewmembers on board, sailed out at 9:00 am local time on Saturday from Tanjung Aru to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night, and then sent out rescue ships and helicopters to the site for rescue.

A report from the New Strait Times quoted a Sabah MMEA communications officer as saying that "the search area covers 400 nautical square miles and involves waters between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum."

It is not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat, but an official from the Chinese consulate said there were stormy waves at the waters on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump waves upon his arrival at the White House from Philadelphia, in Washington DC, the United States, on Jan 26, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

NEW YORK - A US federal judge issued an emergency stay on Saturday that bars the US government from deporting some of those subject to President Donald Trump's newly-imposed "Muslim ban," local media reported.

The ruling presented the first legal challenge against the executive order Trump signed Friday on slapping a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and a four-month suspension of the US refugee program.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that citizens of those seven countries -- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen -- who have already arrived in the United States, who are in transit and who hold valid visas cannot be removed from the United States, according to US broadcaster CNN.

The executive order, widely described as a "Muslim ban," has triggered confusion and chaos across the country and drawn concern and criticism from across the world. Protests have erupted at airports in many cities.
This undated photo shows a port in Kota Kinabalu, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. [Photo/Xinhua]



BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded all-out search and rescue efforts for the 28 Chinese nationals on a boat that sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo on Saturday evening.

According to an official release issued on Sunday, Xi asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia to maintain close contact and cooperation with authorities of Malaysia, and China's transport and tourism authorities to activate emergency measures immediately to assist the rescue.

Premier Li Keqiang also urged the search and rescue efforts to ensure that not a single Chinese national will be left unaccounted for.

Chinese Consulate General's Office based in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, said in the latest briefing that 25 Chinese have been rescued so far.

The office said the survivors were rescued by several vessels and will be sent to the nearby Labuan island for medical check-up.

The boat carrying 31 people, including 28 tourists from China, went missing on Saturday after sailing from Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island, some 60 km west to Kota Kinabalu.

Given a surging number of tourists and travellers during the ongoing Spring Festival holiday, security and emergency response measures must be increased and safety awareness must be enhanced among the public, Xi said.

Premier Li pledged measures to guarantee rights and interests of the Chinese citizens and inform their families about the progress in the rescue.

Related: China launches emergency measures over missing tourist boat in Malaysia

The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) on Sunday activated emergency measures aftera boat carrying mainly Chinese tourists was reported to have gone missingin Malaysia.



An emergency team led by a deputy chief of the administration has been set up to deal with the incident, according to a CNTA statement.



The administration is checking the information of the tourists, and the staff in its Singapore office are preparing to search the area where the boat went missing, the statement said.



A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, lost contact with marine authorities after it left a port in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK, on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said Sunday.



It is not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat, but an official from the Chinese consulate said there was unfavorable weather condition Saturday.

Bad weather hampers search effort

Bad weather has hampered search effort for the boat carrying mostly Chinese tourists that went missing off Malaysia's Sabah state, authorities said Sunday.

Senior official of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Rahim Ramli said the rescue personnel faced strong winds and choppy waters, according to the local Star newspaper.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the boat was carrying 31 people, include 28 tourists from China. It sailed out at 9:00 am local time on Saturday from Sabah's state capital of Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km to the west.

The Chinese Consulate General's office has confirmed at least some 20 passengers are Chinese citizens.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night and a search and rescue operation was launched to cover an area of 400 square nautical miles. The operation was jointly conducted by MMEA, the Malaysian Navy and Air Force.


This undated photo shows a port in Kota Kinabalu, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. [Photo/Xinhua]

Twenty-five people, mostly Chinese tourists have been rescued after their boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo, officials said Sunday.

Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, told a press conference that 23 people were rescued by tug boats and fishermen.

The skipper and a crew member were rescued earlier on Sunday.

The boat went missing on Saturday when travelling from Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island, 60 km west to Kota Kinabalu. A total of 31 people were on board, including 28 tourists from China and three crew members.

The Consulate General's Office of China based in Kota Kinabalu said the newly rescued survivors would be brought to the nearby Labuan island for medical check-up.

Shahidan said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, maritime police as well as Malaysian navy and airforce have joined the search efforts.

Xi demands all-out efforts to rescue Chinese tourists in Malaysia

Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded all-out search and rescue efforts for the 28 Chinese nationals on a boat that sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo on Saturday evening.

According to an official release issued on Sunday, Xi asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia to maintain close contact and cooperation with authorities of Malaysia, and China's transport and tourism authorities to activate emergency measures immediately to assist the rescue.

Premier Li Keqiang also urged the search and rescue efforts to ensure that not a single Chinese national will be left unaccounted for.

Given a surging number of tourists and travellers during the ongoing Spring Festival holiday, security and emergency response measures must be increased and safety awareness must be enhanced among the public, Xi said.

Premier Li pledged measures to guarantee rights and interests of the Chinese citizens and inform their families about the progress in the rescue.

China launches emergency measures over missing tourist boat in Malaysia

The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) on Sunday activated emergency measures after a boat carrying mainly Chinese tourists was reported to have gone missing in Malaysia.



An emergency team led by a deputy chief of the administration has been set up to deal with the incident, according to a CNTA statement.



The administration is checking the information of the tourists, and the staff in its Singapore office are preparing to search the area where the boat went missing, the statement said.



A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, lost contact with marine authorities after it left a port in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK, on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said Sunday.



It is not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat, but an official from the Chinese consulate said there was unfavorable weather condition Saturday.

Bad weather hampers search effort

Bad weather has hampered search effort for the boat carrying mostly Chinese tourists that went missing off Malaysia's Sabah state, authorities said Sunday.

Senior official of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Rahim Ramli said the rescue personnel faced strong winds and choppy waters, according to the local Star newspaper.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the boat was carrying 31 people, include 28 tourists from China. It sailed out at 9:00 am local time on Saturday from Sabah's state capital of Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km to the west.

The Chinese Consulate General's office has confirmed at least some 20 passengers are Chinese citizens.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night and a search and rescue operation was launched to cover an area of 400 square nautical miles. The operation was jointly conducted by MMEA, the Malaysian Navy and Air Force.






US President Donald Trump in Washington, January 29, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

President Donald Trump, trying to quell a backlash over his "extreme vetting" order, said the United States would resume issuing visas to all countries once secure policies are put in place over the next 90 days.

Under an order he signed on Friday, immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were barred from entering the United States. The decision has drawn large protests at many US airports, where some travelers from those countries have been stranded.

"To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," Trump said. "This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.

"We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days," he said.
China employee non-compete agreements and provisions are an often-litigated area. Many employers (wrongly) assume that they cannot prevail in such a dispute because employees usually win. This belief is not only wrong, but also risky. It is wrong because Chinese courts do not automatically side with the employee; those rare employers that have done things the right way actually usually win. It is also risky because employers with this attitude and approach tend to do an even poorer job of making sure they have a well-crafted contract, complying with the law and preserving good evidence, which are keys to employer success in any employee dispute.

Lets look at a fairly recent case in Guangdong. The employee was hired as a brand manager and was then promoted to project manager. The employees monthly base salary was low: he started at RMB 3000 per month and it was then raised to RMB 4000 per month, plus commission. The employee signed a three year employment contract and he also executed a confidentiality agreement stating that if he violated any term of the agreement, such as competing with his employer in any way, he would be liable for contract damages of twice his total income during the preceding 12 months before termination. There was no agreement on any non-compete compensation. A few months before the employee left his employment, he formed his own company with essentially the same business scope as his employer, and in the same city. The employee was the legal representative of that new company. A few months later, the employer eventually fired the employee and he then sued his former employer, demanding unpaid salary and commissions and double severance for wrongful termination.

The procedural history is somewhat messy (with multiple labor arbitrations and lawsuits), but essentially the employee lost in the lower court and then appealed and lost again. The employee then petitioned to the Guangdong Province High Peoples Court for retrial and lost again.

The primary arguments set forth by the employee were as follows: (1) He was not paid any compensation for not competing, so the non-compete should not be upheld. (2) He was a low-paid ordinary employee with no access to confidential information so the non-compete was never valid in the first place. (3) The contract damages in the confidentiality agreement were grossly disproportionate to his salary, so requiring him to pay such a large amount would be greatly unfair.

The court decided against the employee on all counts, finding that: (1) The employee had a duty not to compete with his employer during his term of employment and the employer was not required to pay employee any compensation for preforming the non-compete obligations during such period. (2) The employee signed a confidentiality agreement binding him not to disclose his employers confidential information and not to compete with his employer. (3) The employee failed to present any evidence proving the contract damages were so high as to be unfair.

The employee was ordered to pay around 130,000 RMB to his previous employer per the agreed contract damages provision, an amount nearly 33 times his monthly base salary.

There is much to be learned from this case about China employee non-competes, including the following:
(Photo : Oregon State University) New research has revealed the ways aerosol droplets can form to transport pollutants long distances, even across oceans.

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Air-polluting chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are carcinogenic, are spread worldwide by aerosol droplets that can disperse these pollutants over long distances, even across oceans.



New research has revealed the ways that aerosol droplets can form to transport pollutants these vast distances. This new method of looking at how pollutants ride through the atmosphere has quadrupled the estimate of global lung cancer risk from PAHs, to a level that is now double the allowable limit recommended by the World Health Organization.



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A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online showed that tiny floating particles can grow semi-solid around pollutants, allowing pollutants to last longer and travel much farther than what previous global climate models predicted.



Scientists said the new estimates more closely match actual measurements of the pollutants from more than 300 urban and rural settings.



The study was conducted by scientists at Oregon State University, the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Peking University.



Pollutants from fossil fuel burning, forest fires and biofuel consumption include PAHs. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has identified several PAHs as cancer-causing agents.



PAHs have been difficult to represent in past climate models, however. Simulations of their degradation process fail to match the amount of PAH actually measured in the environment.



To look more closely at how far PAHs can travel while riding shielded on a viscous aerosol, researchers compared the new model's numbers to PAH concentrations actually measured by Oregon State University scientists at the top of Mount Bachelor in the central Oregon Cascade Range.



"Our team found that the predictions with the new shielded models of PAHs came in at concentrations similar to what we measured on the mountain," said Staci Simonich, a toxicologist and chemist in the College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Science at OSU, and international expert on the transport of PAHs.



"The level of PAHs we measured on Mount Bachelor was four times higher than previous models had predicted, and there's evidence the aerosols came all the way from the other side of the Pacific Ocean."



These tiny airborne particles form clouds, cause precipitation and reduce air quality, yet they are the most poorly understood aspect of the climate system.



A smidge of soot at their core, aerosols are tiny balls of gases, pollutants, and other molecules that coalesce around the core.



Many of the molecules that coat the core are what's known as "organics." They arise from living matter such as vegetation -- leaves and branches, for example, or even the molecule responsible for the pine smell that wafts from forests.



Other molecules such as pollutant PAHs also stick to the aerosol. Researchers long thought that PAHs could move freely within the organic coating of an aerosol.



This ease of movement allowed the PAH to travel to the surface where ozone -- a common chemical in the atmosphere -- can break it down.



"We developed and implemented new modeling approaches based on laboratory measurements to include shielding of toxics by organic aerosols, in a global climate model that resulted in large improvements of model predictions," said PNNL climate scientist and lead author Manish Shrivastava.



"This work brings together theory, lab experiments and field observations to show how viscous organic aerosols can largely elevate global human exposure to toxic particles, by shielding them from chemical degradation in the atmosphere."



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Tagspolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, air-polluting chemicals, air pollution, Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Peking University, viscous aerosol, aerosols
(Photo : Getty Images) The Philippines government has said that it continues to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea "diplomatically."

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Following a recent survey that showed 84 percent of Filipinos want Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to assert his country's rights over its territories in the South China Sea, a high-ranking official has said that Manila continues to pursue the diplomatic route to assert its claims in the disputed maritime region.



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Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said on Friday that Manila has been supporting its claims to the strategic waterway through negotiations with China since the arbitration court ruling on July 12 last year, favoring the Philippines and invalidating China's massive claims in the contested areas.



"The president is asserting our rights in the South China Sea, but this is being done in a diplomatic manner," he said in a media briefing at the Malacanang Palace.



Pulse Asia Survey



A recent Pulse Asia Survey showed that eight out of 10 Filipinos want the government to enforce the July 12 international arbitration court ruling, but did not specify how it should be pursued.



Abella cited the international clamor for the Philippines to enforce the ruling "forcefully" after the verdict was handed down, but he said Manila opted to conduct bilateral talks with China instead, saying it would produce "better results."



"When the ruling was handed down in July 12, a lot of countries made a clamor for Manila to enforce the ruling forcefully. But the Duterte government chose diplomacy, bilateral talks, with Beijing which gave us some advantage," he pointed out.



PCA



On July 12, 2016, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that China had no legal basis to its nine-dash line claims in the South China Sea. The court further stated that Beijing's actions had violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).



The court stated that Beijing violated the Philippines' rights to explore resources within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, China rejected the ruling, saying it was "illegal" and "null and void."



Since assuming the presidency in June last year, Duterte has been mending ties with China. The relationship between Manila and Beijing has been strained for years after Manila's filed a case against China over its territorial claims to the strategic waterway in 2013.



EEZ



Abella said that Duterte would continue to pursue Manila's claims in the EEZ despite China's reclamation of three more islands in the area and its occupation of the Scarborough Shoal.



According to the public opinion polling group, Pulse Asia, 84 percent of their 1,200 respondents said the government should uphold the PCA's decision that China's entire claim of the South China Sea, as well as its man-made islands, are illegal.



The survey was conducted between December 6 to 11 last year, two months after Duterte's visit to China. However, the results were published only last Friday.



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TagsSouth China Sea, Sino-Philippine relations, bilateral talks, PCA, unclos, President Rodrigo Duterte, President Xi Jinping, china, Philippines
(Photo : Strategic Missile Troops ) Sarmat ICBM.

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Russia plans the first flight test of its newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) -- the RS-28 Sarmat -- in February or March, that is, if technical glitches and money problems don't slow it down, which it probably will.



The silo-launched RS-28 Sarmat (NATO reporting name, Satan-2) was to have undergone pop-up tests in December 2016, which it apparently didn't. This has led to speculation flight testing might not take place during the first three months of 2017 as originally planned.



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Russia did, however, reveal the first photos of Satan-2 in October following a successful first stage test in August.



In late 2016, Russia optimistically announced an initial deployment of Sarmat by 2018, two years ahead of schedule despite reports to the contrary from western sources. Western military analysts, however, said the more realistic deployment date is 2020 considering production of the missile is confirmed as behind schedule.



The Strategic Missile Troops or Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation is responsible for the Sarmat. It described this missile as a heavy ICBM being developed by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau.



Sarmat will have a liftoff mass of 100 metric tons, including a 10 metric ton payload consisting of nuclear warheads or decoys. It will replace the R-36 (NATO reporting name, SS-18 Satan) that Russia claims is today's most powerful ICBM in the world.



R-36 can carry up to 10 independently targetable re-entry vehicles, each having a yield of 750 kilotons



Sarmat has a far smaller liftoff mass but a greater range of flight compared to Satan. It can reach out to 17,000 kilometers compared to Satan's 11,000 km.



This longer range will allow Sarmat to attack targets along flight paths crossing the South Pole, from where they are least-expected and where no missile shields are being deployed by the United States.



Russia says each Sarmat can deploy 15 nuclear warheads, with yields ranging from 150 kilotons to 300 kilotons. It said these warheads will streak towards their targets at Mach 17 (20,000 km/h).



Sarmat can also deploy Russia's new hypersonic glide vehicle warhead, the Yu-71, which is still under development.



Some Russian analysts believe Sarmat will comprise 100% of Russia's silo-based ICBM force.



Russia has 521 operational ICBMs and submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with 1,735 warheads while the United States has 741 ICBMs and SLBMs and 1,481 nuclear warheads.



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TagsRussia, RS-28 Sarmat, SATAN 2, Strategic Missile Troops, R-36, SS-18 Satan, Yu-71
(Photo : Getty Images) Bromance: Duterte and Trump.

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The Philippines' irrational leader, Rodrigo Duterte, now seems to be warming to the United States and its equally irrational president, Donald Trump, by quietly indicating he tacitly supports a planned U.S. Navy blockade of Philippine islets in the South China Sea illegally seized by China.



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And in another pro-U.S. decision, Manila decided to allow the U.S. to upgrade its bases in the Philippines in compliance with a military cooperation agreement signed in 2014.



The blockade option was triggered by comments made on Jan. 11 by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. His statements are the first time a U.S. administration has indicated its readiness to use military force to stop China's relentless "sea grab" in the South China Sea.



"We're going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops, and second, your access to those islands also not going to be allowed," he said.



Tillerson also saw China's activity in the South China Sea as "extremely worrisome."



He compared China's territorial claims over the South China Sea to Russia's military annexation of the Crimea, which belongs to Ukraine, in March 2014.



"Building islands and then putting military assets on those islands is akin to Russia's taking of Crimea. It's taking of territory that others lay claim to," Tillerson pointed out.



While the Philippines has been silent on Tillerson's comments, it has, however, suggested support for a blockade.



"They (the Trump administration) said that they would prevent China from doing or undertaking these kind(s) of activity," said the Philippines' pro-China Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay.



"If it wants to do that, they have the force to do so, let them do it."



Some western analysts say the Philippines has every right to support the naval blockade since China's seizure of Philippine islands within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone was an act of war against the Philippines.



The Philippines' claim to the islands seized by China in this act of war was upheld on July 12, 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which also declared illegal China's claim to own most of the South China Sea based on patently unlawful "historic rights."



The pro-communist Duterte, however, cozied up to China to spite former U.S. President Barack Obama who urged Duterte to rein in his murderous anti-drug campaign. This brazen campaign has seen the executions and murders -- mostly by Philippine police and their henchmen -- of more than 7,000 Filipinos. Most of these people are poverty stricken and destitute individuals.



Duterte claims Trump supports his murderous campaign, hence the beginning of a budding bromance between two leaders infamous for their childish antics and infantile temper tantrums.



The U.S. will upgrade and expand its facilities on Philippine military bases this year, and the Philippines will honor plans for the U.S. to build military barracks, warehouses and runways in at least three locations, said Delfin Lorenzana, the Philippines' Secretary of Defense late last week.



The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed in 2014 allows the U.S. to deploy ships, aircraft and troops at these bases and to store equipment for humanitarian and military operations.



Lorenzana said Duterte promised to honor all existing agreements with the U.S.



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TagsRodrigo Duterte, donald trump, blockade, South China Sea, rex tillerson, Perfecto Yasay, Permanent Court of Arbitration, act of war, china, enhanced defense cooperation agreement
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.
Chaos And Anger As Trump Ban For Muslim Countries Begins

President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger on Saturday after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports.

In his most sweeping decision since taking office a week ago, Trump, a Republican, put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries.

Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed to fight the order.

Capping a day of confusion and chaos and protests in several airports across the country, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed detained travelers to stay in the United States.

Supporters outside the Brooklyn courtroom and at protests at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York and elsewhere cheered the decision, but a bigger fight lay ahead.

The court action does not reverse Trump's order, which was criticized by some of America's closest allies.

Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk.

He told reporters in the White House's Oval Office on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump said.

Along with Syria, the ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding.

The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students.

Pegah Rahmani, 25, waited at Washington's Dulles airport for several hours for her grandparents, both Iranian citizens with U.S. green cards. "They weren't treating them very well," she said.

Rahmani's grandfather is 88 and legally blind. Her grandmother is 83 and recently had a stroke. They were released to loud cheers and cries.

Several Democratic governors said they were examining whether they could launch legal challenges, and other groups eyed a constitutional challenge claiming religious discrimination.

"I don't think anyone is going to take this lying down," said Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold. "This is the tip of the spear and more litigation is coming."

The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Senior officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told reporters the government would implement any appropriate orders.

However, Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, called such lawsuits "last ditch efforts" that would only apply to a few individuals, and he said a broader constitutional argument would be hard to win.

"The first amendment doesn't apply to foreigners living abroad. The law explicitly says the president can exclude any person or class of people he wants," Krikorian said.

Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American.

"This ban will impact many innocent people," said Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc UBER.UL, who said he would raise the issue at a White House meeting on Friday.

Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa said the order was humiliating and discriminatory. Iran vowed to retaliate.

Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban.

Iraq's former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told Reuters that Trump's ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of terror attacks, and could backfire.

"We have a strong partnership with U.S., more so in the urgent fight against terrorism. This ban move will not help, and people will start questioning the bond of this partnership, Faily said.

Allies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany were critical. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a photo of himself welcoming Syrian refugees.

Confusion abounded at airports as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules. Some legal residents with green cards who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival.

However, senior administration officials said it would have been "reckless" to broadcast details of the order in advance.

Other officials said green card holders from the affected countries would require extra screening and would be cleared on a case-by-case basis.

Airlines were blindsided and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country.

Travelers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers advised clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, said Houston immigration lawyer Mana Yegani.

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, brothers Bardia and Ayden Noohi waited for four hours for their father Kasra Noohi - who has an Iranian passport and a U.S. green card - to be allowed through.

They knew Trump had pledged tougher rules but did not expect the problems. "I didn't think he'd actually do it," Bardia Noohi, 32, said. "A lot of politicians just talk."

Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week.

Trump's order indefinitely bans refugees from Syria. In a television interview, he said he would seek to prioritize Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the action and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public.

At the State Department, a senior official said lawyers were working to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the "national interest."

However, a federal law enforcement official said: "It's unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is."
T2: Trainspotting Review  Is There Any Hope On Life's Bottom Rung?

The original Trainspotting was one of Cool Britannia's brightest stars. It captured a perfect snapshot of the darker end of youth culture in 1996, launched the now-stellar careers of Danny Boyle and Ewan MacGregor, and gave a massive shot in the arm to the British film industry. While a sequel has long been mooted, the idea has always been viewed with caution among fans. Can you really go back and revisit the past without ultimately disappointing results?

Arriving now with relatively little hype or fanfare, T2: Trainspotting is here to answer that question. Picking up the story of the first film 20 years later, it finds Trainspotting's original band of anti-heroes scattered, and in most cases no closer to escaping the social underclass in which we found them two decades earlier. Spud (Ewen Bremner) is still hooked on heroin (a much smaller theme in T2), Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is in prison, Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) is ensconced in a world of prostitution and small-time extortion. Only Renton (Ewan MacGregor) appears to have escaped to some level of 'normal' life  and only because he stole from the others and fled the country at the end of the last film.

As T2 opens, Renton returns to his Edinburgh home after 20 years in Amsterdam (the joke being that there, he managed to stay drug-free). To some degree he is repentant; returning to right his past betrayal, but perhaps more than that he's simply coming home to explore that same nostalgic question: can you ever go back?

Just like the original, this is a film about life on the very bottom rungs, and how desperate people will do anything when an opportunity presents itself - even if it means betraying their friends. The central cast all do a great job of reprising their characters; older, in some cases wiser, but each of them an utterly believable progression of their two-decades-earlier selves. And while the gruelling sense of prevailing darkness in Trainspotting's background is somewhat lightened in T2, there are still moments where we're plunged back into the abyss of social desperation. Both films are at their best when they force us to feel what it's like to be right at the end of your rope.

To be honest, it's a strange sort of a film, more of a whatever-happened-to update, an extended appendix to the first movie, than a totally new story. There are almost too many nostalgic nods to the original, to the point that we start to wonder if this story isn't strong enough to stand on its own two feet.

At moments though, it dazzles with its brilliance; Danny Boyle is one of the great directors working today, and at times the story rises to meet his ambitions. There's a set piece involving a retro nightclub; a truly heartbreaking moment as old friends Renton and Spud are reunited; a comic sequence including possibly the most culturally-offensive song ever committed to film (Boyle will burn up an awful lot of goodwill in this moment). The way he reprises the Choose Life speech from the original involves some quite majestic work from MacGregor and writer John Hodge  a moment where old meets new, and nostalgia is used to triumphant effect.

The language in the film is appallingly bad. I can't underline this enough; to those who abhor bad language even in context, T2 is off-the-scale awful. If you're sensitive to this, don't even attempt T2. But if you can get past that, I think the film has some interesting things to say, and helps us to consider subject matter with which large areas of the Church are now awkwardly unfamiliar.

T2 challenges us to ask what hope our society really offers for people who find themselves at the very bottom of the ladder. Is crime and betrayal really the only way out of the plughole (or, in the film's recurrent theme, the toilet), or could friendship offer an alternative route? There really are men like the malevolent Begbie, who believes that life offers him nothing except the things he can take with his fists; or Spud, who finds himself caught in a closed loop of poverty, addiction and failed attempts at self-help. If the Church has nothing to say to these people, then what does it really have to say to anyone? The characters in T2 are precisely the sorts of people who Jesus would have hung out with.

Perhaps more than anything though, the film is about nostalgia; how we fondly remember things less broken than they were, and how frustrated we feel when reality doesn't measure up. T2 is constantly self-referential, and nostalgic for the era in which the original emerged, yet self-aware enough to know that you can never quite go back and revisit history without feeling the eroding effects of time. Carlyle is quoted as saying - "you are going to be thinking... what have I done with my life?"

The original Trainspotting was a masterpiece, and as such impossible to repeat. In T2, Danny Boyle has created a piece of work which will satisfy fans, and entertain anyone with a passing knowledge of the first film. For the Church though, it repeats the same question of the first film: if things are really this desperate for millions of real people, what exactly are we doing to truly help them to Choose Life?

Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. Follow him on Twitter @martinsaunders
The Pope And The Knights Of Malta: High Profile Catholic Feud Explained

On the afternoon of Jan. 24, a black BMW pulled out of a 16th century palace in Rome, crossed the Tiber River and headed for the Vatican, a short trip to end a brazen challenge to the authority of Pope Francis.

Inside the car was 67-year-old Englishman Matthew Festing, the head of an ancient Catholic order of knights which is now a worldwide charity with a unique diplomatic status.

Festing was about to resign, the first leader in several centuries of the Order of Malta, which was founded in 1048 to provide medical aid for pilgrims in the Holy Land, to step down instead of ruling for life.

The move was aimed at ending a highly-public spat between Festing and the reformist pope over the running of the chivalric institution. The weeks-long conflict had become one of the biggest internal challenges yet to Francis' efforts to modernize the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church.

At issue was the Order's reaction to the discovery that condoms had been distributed by one of its aid projects in Myanmar. The Order had fired its Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, whom it held responsible for the condom distribution. Von Boeselager declined to comment for this article.

Though condom use goes against Catholic teaching, the Vatican had ordered an investigation into the firing of von Boeselager. It subsequently publicly castigated Festing, who had refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Backing down, Festing -- a former Sotheby's art auctioneer -- gave a hand-written resignation letter to Francis in the pope's private residence, according to a senior Vatican source. Festing, who has the title of prince, declined an interview request.

Instead of quelling the conflict, however, Festing's resignation was followed by yet another challenge to Francis' authority -- led by vocal pope critic American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, according to Vatican and Knights sources.

In particular: Burke tried to convince Festing to withdraw his resignation and keep fighting the pope, these sources say. On Saturday, the Knight's Sovereign Council accepted Festing's resignation and re-instated von Boselager, a clear defeat for Burke.

Burke declined to comment for this article.

The tussle suggested Francis is still battling to consolidate his power over the Church almost four years into his tenure, Vatican insiders say.

Beyond a fight over condoms, the clash pointed to lingering divisions between the Church's conservatives and more progressive factions who support the pope's reformist agenda, they add.

Francis is trying to make the Church less dogmatic and more welcoming to whose who have felt excluded, such as homosexuals and the divorced.

"While this whole saga was an internal matter that probably should have stayed that way, it metamorphosed into a clash that showed the divide between conservatives and progressives," said Andrea Tornielli, author of several books on Pope Francis.

The Vatican declined to comment on the clash and on Pope Francis' efforts to consolidate his power.

It directed Reuters to two public statements. One, on Dec. 22, relates to the Vatican order to investigate the firing of von Boeselager. The second, on Jan. 17, followed a pledge by Festing on the Knights' web page not to cooperate with the Vatican. It decried his resistance and ordered members of the order to cooperate.

A German aristocrat whose father participated in a failed plot to kill Hitler in World War Two, von Boeselager was fired by Festing in December, and accused of having allowed the use of condoms while he was head of the Knights' global humanitarian projects.

Festing fired him in Burke's presence, arguing that the German had hidden the condom use from the order's leaders when he was named Grand Chancellor, according to Knights and Vatican sources.

Immediately, the firing set off the conflict between the Knights' hierarchy and the Vatican.

Von Boeselager , a devout Catholic, said in a statement on Dec. 23 that he was fully behind Church teachings. He closed two projects in the developing world when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running in Myanmar for a while because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people.

The Church does not allow condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.

In the same statement, von Boeselager said Festing and Burke told him the Vatican wanted him to resign and that there would be "severe consequences" for the Order if he did not.

The Vatican denied, in a letter from its secretary of state to the Order and seen by Reuters, that it had mandated the resignation, saying it had told the Knights the pope wanted a solution through dialogue.

The German said his sacking was against the Knights' constitution and appealed to the pope, who ordered the investigation.

Festing refused to cooperate, issuing a series of increasingly strident public statements. In one, he called the papal commission that was investigating the firing "legally irrelevant".

In a Jan. 14 confidential letter to the top echelons of the order and seen by Reuters, Festing wrote: "In refusing to acknowledge this group of people's jurisdiction, I am trying to protect the order's sovereignty".

The institution has the status of a sovereign entity, maintaining diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union and permanent observer status at the United Nations.

The pope was irritated by Festing's defiant stand, a senior Vatican source said, and the Vatican shot back with a public statement ordering the Knights to obey.

After that public order, Festing changed his tune and resigned in the pope's residence a week later.

Festing's resignation came as a shock for many inside the Knights: some of them told Reuters it was akin to the resignation of Pope Benedict in 2013.

Four sources said that for many others in the order, it came as a relief. They feared the clash was damaging the image of the institution whose 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and 20,000 paid medical staff help the neediest around the world.

The day after Festing handed his resignation to the pope, Cardinal Burke drove to the order's headquarters from his apartment near the Vatican and sought to persuade Festing to withdraw his resignation, a source from the Vatican and one from the Knights said.

Burke declined to comment on his meeting with Festing.

Burke has long been leading challenges against the pope. Pope Francis demoted him from a top Vatican job in 2014 with no official explanation and assigned him to be the "patron" of the Order of Malta.

Such "patron" positions are usually given to older cardinals after they retire at 75. Burke was only 66 then and the demotion was widely seen as a sign of the pope's irritation with the cardinal's constant sniping over Francis' reforms.

In particular, Burke has contested moves by the pope that would allow Catholics who have divorced and re-married outside the Church without an annulment to return to the sacrament of communion. Burke declined to comment on his demotion.

Since the demotion, Burke has become even more of a rallying point for conservatives, flying around the world to give lectures to conservative groups and often giving interviews criticizing the pope's decisions.

In November, he led a rare public challenge to the pope with three other cardinals who accused the pontiff of sowing confusion on important moral issues such as that of communion for the divorced.

Burke later said in an interview that if the pope did not respond to their letter, the cardinals might need to "correct" the pope themselves for the good of the Church.

The Vatican did not comment on the uprising at the time but many of the pope's supporters publicly criticized the four cardinals.

The pope will now appoint a "pontifical delegate" to help run the order, at least until elections can be held for a new Grand Master.

In a personal letter to the Sovereign Council on Jan. 27 and seen by Reuters, Francis made clear that the Vatican did not want to interfere with the Order's sovereignty but said his delegate would seek to "renew the spirituality of the Order, specifically of those members who take vows."
Charles LeMaistre, who served as former president of MD Anderson and as a University of Texas System chancellor, died Saturday, according to the hospital president.

Ronald DePinho, the current president of MD Anderson, said in a statement that LeMaistre pioneered cancer prevention and described the 92-year-old doctor as "one of the giants of cancer medicine."
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Once again, Uber is in the news for not-so-popular reasons.

The most recent reason why people are having an issue with the ride-share company is thanks to President Donald Trump's executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority Middle East countries from entering into America, even legally.

Amid the protests breaking out all over the country following Trump's ban on Friday, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance announced they would not be driving for one hour at JFK out of solidarity.

TRENDING HOUSTON: Uber adds new drivers before Super Bowl weekend

"Drivers stand in solidarity with refugees coming to America in search of peace and safety and with those who are simply trying to return to heir homes here in America after traveling abroad," the alliance wrote on its Facebook page. "we stand in solidarity with all of our peace-loving neighbors against this inhumane, cruel and unconsitutional act of pure bigotry."

But Uber had a different approach to the protests at airports, which many critics view as a way to capitalize on the taxi strike.

"Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient," Uber tweeted Saturday evening.

Critics quickly jumped on the booming business, including numerous celebrities.

The primary critic was journalist Dan O'Sullivan, who urged his followers and beyond to boycott the company with the hashtag #deleteUber. Hundreds began tweeting screenshots of their deleted Uber accounts.

RIDE-SHARE: Lyft won't make return trip to Houston with current regulations

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick released a statement about the trending campaign saying that the company will work with legal immigrants during this trying time, but will also partner with the government to ensure American businesses and people are safe at all times.

And in case you were wondering what Uber competitor Lyft is doing:

To see the numerous protests that have sparked across the country thanks to Trump's recent executive order, click through the gallery above.

AIRPORT TENSION: Protests planned against immigrant ban across Houston Sunday
NEW YORKAn Iraqi refugee bound for Houston was released on Saturday night after being detained for 22 hours at JFK Airport. He was one of the first people prevented from entering the U.S. under President Donald Trump's executive orders restricting immigration and is central to a lawsuit challenging the order.

A temporary stay was granted by a federal judge in the case late Saturday that allows detainees with visas at airports to stay in the country temporarily.

Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi was on his way to live with his wife and 7-year-old son, who had previously come to Houston as refugees. "I'm very happy," he told a small group of reporters at the Terminal 4 arrivals hall through an interpreter. He wore a black jacket and gray shirt and had a full face of stubble. "I'm very tired, but I'm very happy," he said.

Alshawi had received a visa on Jan. 11 to join his wife, who had worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq. When they lived in Iraq, the family was a victim of a kidnapping attempt and car bombing because of their connection to America, his lawyers said.

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His latest ordeal started when he arrived in New York last night on a Norwegian Air flight from Stockholm, where he lived for the last year and a half. Right away, he said, a customs agent told him he would have to "go back to Iraq." He said he was asked "every question" imaginable by a series of officials, and was only allowed to call his family once.

Alshawi was one of two Iraqi refugees named as plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit on Saturday morning against the Trump administration, alleging that the executive orders violated the Fifth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The other plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a former interpreter for the U.S. Army, was released from JFK after 17 hours of detention and an intervention from two members of Congress.

The ACLU lawyer handling the case, Andre Segura, said he hadn't been allowed to meet with Alshawi at all before his release. It's not clear exactly who made the decision to let Alshawi go free Segura said about 30 minutes before Alshawi was released, a Customs and Border Protection official told him the order had come "from the top."

Alshawi is staying in New York Saturday and flying to Houston to meet his family Sunday. "I'm going to hug them for a very long time," he said.

As Alshawi waited for customs officials to decide whether he would be allowed into the country, several thousand pro-refugee protesters demonstrated outside the terminal where he was being held. Chants of "let them in!" and "racists out, refugees in" could be heard inside the terminal. Similar protests took place at airports around the U.S.

"Without this pressure from everyone outside, I think I would have had to return to Iraq," Alshawi said.

The tightly-packed protest grew as the day went on, with New Yorkers braving cold temperatures and scattered flurries of snow. Some demonstrators waved handmade signs, while others shouted from the airport parking garage. At least one demonstrator made a sign with Alshawi's name on it.

Lisa Sbranna said she felt like she had to be there because "this country is founded on immigrant rights."

"If people like [Alshawi] can be detained, we're all one step away from having it happen to us," she said.

"This is not the America I know," said Somia Hassan, who wore a sequined gray hijab. She said her mother had just canceled a trip to see family in Yemen because she was worried she wouldn't be allowed back into the U.S.  even though she has a green card.

Hassan said she was scared of what's in store for immigrants in Trump's America, but inspired by the passionate protest she saw. "I cried when I first saw this," she said.

The lawsuit, filed Saturday by team of lawyers led by a Yale Law School professor, states that Alshawi's wife worked for two years as an accountant for a U.S. military contractor, where her brother also worked. Neighbors said the family would be targeted by insurgents for collaborating with the occupying forces.

In 2010, insurgents tried to kidnap the wife's brother, according to the lawsuit. A month later a targeted car bombing killed a different relative. The family left Baghdad for another city.

Under a program that let former employees of U.S. and coalition contractors move to the U.S. after a long vetting process, the wife and child arrived in Houston in January 2014, the lawsuit states. The region resettles more refugees than almost any other metropolitan area in the country, according to U.S. State Department data.

Harris County alone welcomes about 30 of every 1,000 refugees that the United Nations resettles anywhere in the world - more than any other American city, and more than most other nations. If Houston were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for refugee resettlement.

READ MORE: Why Houston became a magnet for refugee resettlement (Subscribers Only)

Once his wife gained status as a legal permanent resident, she asked permission for her husband to join her, a permit called a "Follow to Join" visa, which was approved Oct. 9, 2014 by the U.S.

On Jan. 11 of this year, her husband was issued a visa to come to the United States. He flew from Sweden on Friday and arrived about 8:30 p.m. local time to Kennedy Airport, where he was detained without access to a lawyer.

Another Iraqi refugee detained at the same airport, a former U.S. Army interpreter, was released Saturday, the New York Times reported.

Casey Tolan reported from New York. Andrew Kragie reported from Houston.
Mikiko Kasahara threw what everyone expected to be a celebration of the end of the semester at Texas Lutheran University.

The Japanese exchange student held a party at her apartment in Seguin 15 years ago on Dec. 14 2002. Before the next day, the 21-year-old Kasahara was dead and her apartment would be set ablaze.
We scramble down a steep, snowy slope, slipping and sliding to a stop. Thankfully, we stopped short of the Humboldt River. Ice frames its edge and more ice float past, where they grind against the shore ice. Ali Helmig crouches beside a sagebrush that has orange flagging and reflective tape on its branches. She picks up a metal live trap and shakes off its snow covering.

The trap is tripped, its door is closed, and she announces this trap contains a mouse, based on the traps weight. Ali Helmig is a wildlife monitoring specialist for the Great Basin Institute, working in a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Department of Wildlife.

This cold work is a search for shrews. If you are as puzzled as I was concerning shrews, let me describe one. This tiny mammal looks like a mouse but a shrew has a long, pointed nose and is much smaller. A deer mouse is generally 5 to 8 inches long and weighs 10 to 20 grams. A water shrew is a little smaller but weighs in at no more than 8 to 18 grams, about the weight of two nickels.

As if searching for this tiny mammal is not enough of a challenge, of particular interest is the Prebles shrew, the only local shrew listed as a sensitive species. A Prebles shrew is a mere 2 to 3 inches long and weighs no more than 3 grams, about the weight of a penny.

Ali has previously placed 120 traps beside the river, using cat food as bait since shrews are insectivores, unlike mice that eat seeds. She placed a wad of cotton batting in the trap to keep any trapped animal warm. Traps are checked twice each day at dawn and dusk. Shrews have incredibly fast metabolism and must eat 80 to 90 percent of their own body weight in food daily. The Internet says shrews cannot go without food for any more than three hours, but then any trapped shrews will feast on cat food. One difficulty of this research is maintaining live traps sensitive enough to trip with the added weight of a single penny, and yet continue to work in this winters cold and snow.

Today we caught no shrews, only three deer mice. They were removed, tagged with a black marker so Ali could see if they repeat their trap tripping, and then released. (Two days later, Ali caught 18 mice and is not sure what draws them into the traps.)

During the cold snap of December, Ali trapped five shrews next to Maggie Creek, of which two may have been Prebles shrew. This time, the trapping will continue for about two weeks, depending on results. Its goal is to see if shrews and specifically Prebles shrews, frequent the Humboldt River.

In the past, shrew species identification depended on killing the shrew and measuring its skull. Now, a caught shrew loses a mere 3 millimeters of its tail before the animal is released. The tail end goes to the University of Idaho lab where genetics studies are being developed to identify shrews. This test will show if Ali caught Prebles shrews on Maggie Creek.

All the traps are checked and reset. Ali will be back this evening to check them again, a cold way to spend winter mornings and evenings. I will be home with the pellet stove roaring, but I will be thinking about her on the icy shores of the Humboldt River.

As if searching for this tiny mammal is not enough of a challenge, of particular interest is the Prebles shrew, the only local shrew listed as a sensitive species. A Prebles shrew is a mere 2 to 3 inches long and weighs no more than 3 grams, about the weight of a penny.
Whoever snatched 17-year-old Carla Walker from a bowling alley parking lot in Fort Worth in February 1974 had access to an unusual drug - morphine.

The use of that heavy sedative on Walker has been a truly bizarre part of the puzzle about what happened to Walker in the three days between when she vanished and her body was found in Texas.
People around the world celebrated the beginning of the Chinese new year.

Also known as the Spring festival or the Lunar New Year, the celebrations last for about 15 days and is one of the most anticipated holidays for the Chinese culture.
The photos are haunting - family members standing in an unattended room or holding a picture of a loved one.

Photographer Nuria Lopez Torres is telling the stories of the families of those kidnapped in Mexico through pictures. She's compiled the pictures in an online gallery called "Stolen."
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.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An internal medicine resident at the Cleveland Clinic who is a citizen of Sudan said Saturday that she was detained in New York when she was trying to return to Ohio after a trip to Saudi Arabia and was put on a plane back to the Middle East.

Dr. Suha Abushamma, who has worked at the Clinic since July on a work visa, left the U.S. one day after an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The executive order included a crackdown on immigration from refugees and citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries.

Abushamma, 26, of Cleveland Heights, lived in Saudi Arabia before being hired at the Clinic. She is a Muslim woman and a citizen of Sudan.

She said in phone interviews from New York and later on a plane that she was supposed to be in the Middle East for three weeks but cut the trip short after hearing of Trump's then-proposed executive order. The order signed Friday, includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Trump said the order was to protect the United States from terrorist attacks, many of which have originated or have had connections to groups who profess to carry out the attacks in the name of Islam. The order has been criticized by many religious and immigration rights groups.

She said she got her work visa renewed at a U.S. Embassy this week and took a flight to the U.S. early Saturday. After she arrived in New York, while waiting in line with her passport, she was taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to a room with a couple dozen others.

She said immigration authorities did not interview her and she was held for about 10 hours in a room. She said there was a drinking fountain but she was not able to eat. She said she was forbidden from using her cellphone but was able to hide it in her bag.

By about 8:30 p.m., she said she was put on a plane back to Saudi Arabia. In an interview on the plane, she said she was feeling OK.

"I had a good long cry when I went on the plane," Abushamma said. "It's the first time I cried all day."

An attorney for Abushamma filed a petition late Saturday to challenge the decision by immigration officials. She said in the telephone interview that she was unsure whether she would or could return, though she said she would be trying to obtain another work visa.

"I still have two more weeks of my vacation anyway, so I'll just use that," she said while detailing her plans to visit with her family.

Abushamma's case was one of several reported in airports across the country in the wake of Trump's executive order. A federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Trump's executive order covered legal permanent residents, or green card holders of the U.S., and those with visas who were out of the United States after Friday.

Shortly after Abushamma was placed on a plane to Saudi Arabia, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an order barring U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from the seven countries listed in the executive order. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

Abushamma's friends and co-workers spent much of Saturday trying to find out information and seeing whether they could help.

Dr. Adeel Khan, a third-year internal medicine resident at the Clinic, said Abushamma is a sweet, friendly woman and a great advocate for her patients. He described the removal issues of many Middle Easterners as "good people being put in bad situations."

Dr. Faris El-Khider, a gastroenterology fellow at the Clinic, said he had known Abushamma from Saudi Arabia. He said his Muslim faith has never caused a problem when he lived in Cleveland.

"Everybody lives happy with everybody else. It's not an issue, especially in the Clinic," El-Khider said. "The environment is very diverse."

Abushamma said she feels the same way.

"Cleveland really feels like home to me," she said.

Abushamma said she understands Trump's motives in his executive order, but wishes it was not as sweeping.

"We all know (the Islamic State) is not a part of Islam. That's radical Islam. So I understand what he's doing. I just wish he wouldn't exclude certain people," Abushamma said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article was update to reflect the correct country where Abushamma was born.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND,Ohio -- Thursday on Air Force One, the Trump administration floated the idea of imposing a 20% tax on all Mexican imports to pay for the border wall, estimated to cost $20 billion. The proposal went down as well as a Corona topped with a brick, instead of a lime.

Press secretary Sean Spicer said that by imposing the 20% tariff, "we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone. That's really going to provide the funding. It clearly provides the funding and does so in a way that the American taxpayer is wholly respected."

The turbulence the comment created was so great that hours later, Spicer and Reince Priebus were walking it back. Spicer said the plan was just "one idea." Priebus said the administration was considering "a buffet of options."

Contrary to Spicer's claim that the "American taxpayer is wholly respected" by such a plan, the American taxpayer would be paying the price for a 20% tax on all Mexican imports, not Mexico. The cost of the tariff would be passed on to US consumers, manufacturers, exporters and importers.

Mexico is our third largest trading partner with nearly $300 billion worth of Mexican imports coming into the US in 2015. A six-pack of Corona, and all other Mexican imports Americans consume, would cost at least 20% more.

In addition to consumer goods, Mexico is a major supplier for US manufacturing. The wall tariff would increase the cost of American manufactured goods.

On top of Mexico being the third largest source of US imports, Mexico is the second largest purchaser of US exports. A 20% tariff would almost certainly result in a trade war, with Mexico imposing retaliatory tariff increases on US exports.

Not only would the 20% tariff hurt American consumers and manufacturing, the tariff would be a blatant violation of World Trade Organization rules and presidential authority.

The wall tax was announced after Trump signed a Presidential Order to begin construction of the wall, insisting Mexico would pay for it.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto responded by declaring once again that Mexico would not pay for Trump's wall, and canceling his previously scheduled meeting with Trump.

Illegal border crossings are now actually at their lowest levels. This is in part due to improved job opportunities in Mexico.

The biggest problem between the US and Mexico is not border security, it's the drug trade fueled by US drug demand.

Speaking of US drug consumption, any Trump supporter who really believed Trump's claim that Mexico would pay for his wall, is either high or has been drinking way too much Trump Kool-Aid. Instead, I'd recommend drinking a Corona while you still can without paying $15 for a six pack.

"Simply put, any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila,or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad."

--Lindsey Graham tweet (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 26,2017
RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, Ohio - Conservation activists concerned about the future of the Geauga Park District caucused on Saturday, outlining the issues and fielding questions from supporters.

The group, calling itself Protect Geauga Parks, said the meeting at Old Russell Town Hall was necessary because the board of park commissioners has made attending board meetings difficult and speaking at the public meetings impossible. About 20 people attended.

The issues are compounded by instability in the park board and administration.

Ed Buckles, a member of the group, said the park district began around 1960 and had no more than eight different commissioners on its three-person board during the first 50 years.

"In the past two years they have also had eight," Buckles said.

Kathy Hanratty, president of the group, said the current board wants to defund the park district and "is already bringing in activities that disrupt natural habitat," including snowmobiling.

She said the district faces the same problems as the national parks, because both are under siege by conservative elements who think parks are burdens for taxpayers and that land belongs in private hands.

Geauga County and the park district are of great ecological importance, group members said.

"Geauga County has highest density of large intact wetlands in the entire state," Hanratty said.

Buckles added that the county also has the headwaters of three rivers that are vital to the region: the Cuyahoga, the Grand and the Chagrin.

Dave Partington said his job is dealing with legal issues for the group, and any court actions are going to be expensive.

He said the group failed in an attempt to get the state legislature to remove Geauga County Probate and Juvenile Court Judge Tim Grendell, who has the power to appoint the park board.

He chuckled when he said that Grendell, a former legislator, wrote each state lawmaker, "calling us political terrorists."

Efforts to reach the judge and park board president Jackie Dottore for comment were not successful.
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The tax breaks you receive in your retirement accounts don't come for free. When you hit age 70 , you generally have to start withdrawing money from those accounts, even if you don't want to. These required minimum distributions, outlined by the IRS, can be a drag for the unprepared and can cost you as much as a 50 percent penalty if you fail to take them. Fortunately, you have plenty of options that can provide you with some tax advantages, offer you a lifetime stream of income or help you leave a legacy to future generations.

1. Longevity insurance

You may not need your retirement money now, but you can use it later with a qualified longevity annuity contract, or QLAC. In July 2014, the IRS and Treasury Department ruled that QLACs, a type of deferred income annuity, could be included in IRAs or other retirement accounts. Under current rules, investors are allowed to put up to $125,000 from a traditional IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), into a longevity annuity that pays out at a much later date, anywhere from age 70  to age 85, with payments increasing the longer you wait. "It helps you place a hedge on your longevity, so enjoy the present," said Robert Steen, advice director for retirement and complex planning at USAA.

2. Municipal bonds

The 30-year-plus bull market in bonds may be over. However, municipal bonds are attractive today, said Andrew Altfest, a certified financial planner and managing director at Altfest Personal Wealth Management in New York City. "Following the election, [bond] investors got spooked when rates went up and by President Trump's promise to reduce taxes, and municipal bonds sold off," Altfest said. "Municipal bonds now stand as a relative value and are attractive even for individuals not in the highest tax brackets." Muni bonds are appealing, particularly to wealthy investors, because income earned on the bonds is exempt from federal income taxes. In most states, interest income received from munis within the state are also exempt from state and local taxes. However, many people worry that potential tax cuts under Trump would make the exemption less of a draw if yields on the bonds rise.



3. College plan contributions

A retirement account distribution can go straight into your grandkid's college fund. You can contribute up to $14,000 annually ($28,000 if you're married) in 2017 without triggering the federal gift tax to a 529 college savings plan. Investment earnings in a 529 plan are not subject to federal capital gains tax and generally not taxed by federal and state governments when used for the qualified education expenses, such as tuition, fees and books, as well as room and board, of the designated beneficiary. You can also bundle up to five years of gifts into a one-time 529 plan contribution of up to $70,000 for single filers and $140,000 for married couples. Plus, 33 states and the District of Columbia sweeten the deal by giving residents a tax break if they invest in their state-sponsored plan. Six states  Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Montana and Pennsylvania  offer a state income tax deduction to residents for any 529 plan contributions.

4. Charitible giving
The international arrivals terminal is viewed at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Getty Images

Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the impact was already resonating at airports around the world.

There was confusion Saturday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport where a dozen people were detained and some separated from family members, according to lawmakers and attorneys scrambling to get them released and struggling to interpret the new rules. Two of the 12 are Iraqi refugees, and one of them  identified as Hameed Khalid Darweesh  was released Saturday afternoon following his detention, said New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler. "I am very, very thankful to all the people who can support," Darweesh told reporters as he was surrounded by dozens of protesters carrying signs that read "Refugees welcome" and "No ban, no wall." "America is the greatest nation," Darweesh added. "America is the greatest people in the world." More from NBC News:

Republican Party retreat sidetracked by Trump 'distractions'

Did Obama defeat ISIS in Libya?

Britain's 'Mad King' Letters: 'America is lost!'



Nadler said it was unclear why Darweesh was released while the other 11 remained held at the airport Saturday afternoon. They could be transferred to an immigration detention center in New Jersey to meet with immigration lawyers, Nadler added. "This should not be happening in America," he told reporters. "The executive order is a gross violation of our standards, our norms and the spirit of our Constitution." A senior Trump administration official told reporters that the two Iraqi men, which included Darweesh, were getting waivers allowing them to stay in the United States. The men were mentioned in a New York Times report Saturday, and it was unclear whether the remaining people detained at Kennedy airport would also receive such waivers. Human rights attorneys could not immediately say which additional affected countries  Syria, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen or Libya  the others at Kennedy airport come from.

The international arrivals terminal is viewed at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Getty Images

Darweesh, the Iraqi refugee, was an interpreter working on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq from 2003 to 2013 and had received a special Iraqi immigrant visa to relocate to America last week with his family, attorneys said. Although Darweesh was detained upon arrival into the United States, his family was not  showing how the executive order is being enforced so "arbitrarily," said Mark Doss, a supervising attorney at the nonprofit International Refugee Assistance Project. The organization is part of a group attempting to secure the release of the two Iraqi refugees. The men, who were identified in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union as Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, whose wife and child are lawful permanent residents of Houston. Alshawi is on a "follow to join" visa, according to the ACLU. The two Iraqi men arrived on different flights and were held after the executive orders came into effect at midnight. The American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) also said it was receiving reports that "green card holders and other visa holders have been denied boarding and admission into the United States" at airports. NBC News was unable to immediately verify the ADC's claims, and calls requesting further information went unanswered. Mohammed Al Rawi, a Los Angeles County employee, said his 69-year-old Iraqi father was turned away from his connecting flight in Qatar before he could leave for Los Angeles. His passport was taken before he was sent back to Baghdad, he told NBC News. "He's a senior. Why would anyone feel threatened by someone like him?" Al Rawi asked. "This actually makes us as a country look bad. ... I am generally concerned about all US citizens in the Middle East. Targeting Muslims this way puts people in horrible situations."

'Harmful and hasty

In Cairo, Egypt, two sources close to airport security told NBC News that an Iraqi family of five from the city of Erbil had been prevented from boarding a flight to New York. NBC News was unable to immediately confirm whether this was related to the travel restrictions. A United Nations refugee agency spokesperson referred questions on the Iraqi family to U.S. authorities. Trump's executive order suspended admission of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days. It also indefinitely bans refugees from Syria and restricts entry to the country for people from six other predominantly-Muslim nations for 90 days.

In signing the order, Trump pledged to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America." The State Department and Customs and Border Patrol on Saturday were still devising the formal rules for who is eligible for waivers  such rules were not written up before the executive order was implemented. The Trump administration also has yet to issue guidance to airports and airlines on how to implement the executive order. "Nobody has any idea what is going on," a senior Homeland Security official told NBC News. In addition, the order applies to both refugees who are still "in transit" and U.S. green card holders from the affected Muslim-majority countries currently overseas, a senior administration official said. Those people would also need to apply for a waiver if they want to return to America, the official added. The official said it would have been "reckless and irresponsible" to issue guidelines before the executive order was signed because of security reasons. The International Rescue Committee called the decision to halt the U.S. refugee resettlement program a "harmful and hasty" decision. Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency and International Organization for Migration called on the Trump administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, saying its resettlement program was vital. In Paris on Saturday, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault said Trump's orders "can only worry us." "Welcoming refugees who flee war and oppression is part of our duty," Ayrault said in comments carried by Reuters. Qatar Airways issued a statement on its website that said nationals from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya may only travel to the U.S. if they are in possession of a resident green card or specific visas usually granted to government employees, individuals traveling to the United Nations or employees of international organizations.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is sizing up locations for its second US headquarters. Among the criteria: convenient access to mass transit and an international airport, a highly educated labor pool, a strong university system and a diverse population.

Amazon.com said on Sunday the company would support employees and their families affected by President Donald Trump's order to restrict migration from several countries linked to terrorism.

The company advised its employees who are citizens of the seven countries in the executive order to stay where they are, whether in the U.S. or outside, according to an internal email seen by CNBC.

"From the very beginning, Amazon has been committed to equal rights, tolerance and diversity  and we always will be," Beth Galetti, vice president of human resources at Amazon, said in a Sunday memo.

"We are committed to supporting all of our employees and anyone in their immediate family who may be impacted by this order, including assistance with legal counsel and support, and will continue to monitor any developments," Galetti said.

The Trump administration said late Friday that it would temporarily prevent refugees from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the U.S. due to terrorism concerns. The government also plans to impose "extreme vetting" on those it does allow to enter the country.

Major tech company executives from Microsoft to Y Combinator spoke out against Trump's order Saturday.

A federal judge granted an emergency stay Saturday to temporarily allow people with valid visas who landed in the U.S. to stay in the country.



 CNBC's Sally Shin contributed reporting to this article.


German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized a new U.S. travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, the online site of German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday.

"She is convinced that even the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion," Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told the magazine.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily banned travelers from Syria and six other predominantly-Muslim countries.

In a follow-up statement, the German government said it regrets the U.S. travel ban and will review the consequences for German citizens with dual nationalities.

"The chancellor regrets the U.S. entry ban against refugees and citizens from several countries," Steffen Seibert said, adding that Merkel had expressed her concerns to U.S. President Donald Trump during a telephone call on Saturday.

She also reminded him that the Geneva Conventions require the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, Seibert said.

He said the German government would now review the consequences of the ban for German citizens with dual nationalities and would "represent their interests, if needed, vis a vis our U.S. partners."

France's foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, also criticized the U.S.'s travel ban, saying Trump's order "can only worry us." "We have signed international obligations, so welcoming refugees fleeing war and oppression forms part of our duties," Ayrault said.

Ayrault, along with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, said they would like to meet with State Secretary nominee Rex Tillerson once he is officially appointed. "There are many other issues that worry us," said Ayrault.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The National Foundation for American Policy found that immigrants have started more than half of the U.S.'s billion-dollar start-up companies. One example is Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union.

When asked for comment by The Verge, Brin said he was attending "in a personal capacity" and would not be giving comment. But Forbes's Ryan Mac did catch Brin elaborating slightly  reportedly saying "I'm here because I'm a refugee."

Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and president of Alphabet, joined protesters at San Francisco International Airport Saturday night as demonstrators assembled at airports across the country in opposition to President Trump's immigration order.

More from The Verge:

Brin's family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1979 to escape Jewish persecution. Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, is also an immigrant. "We're upset about the impact of this order," Pichai wrote in an company-wide email today. "We've always made our views on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."



Many technology companies, including Google, commented on Trump's executive order on Saturday. Reactions ranged from mild disapproval to forceful dissent.

The strongest words came from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who called the action "un-American." Protests and condemnation of the executive order intensified throughout the day, with opposition culminating in a temporary suspension of the order by a federal judge.


Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham on Sunday denounced President Donald Trump's executive order on travel from several Muslim-majority countries, calling it "hasty" and warning that it could prove counterproductive in the fight against terrorism.

McCain, Arizona's senior senator and the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee, and Graham, a South Carolina politician who also competed briefly for the 2016 nomination, are both considered hawkish on national security. However, they frequently buck their party on key issues, which in the past has drawn the ire of grassroots conservatives.



They join several of their GOP Senate colleagues, including Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio, in criticizing the measure. The White House has defended the order, arguing it is necessary to properly vet people coming into the U.S. from nations with terrorism concerns.

Late Friday, Trump signed the order, which indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the country. It also suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country for 90 days.

The move sparked confusion and protests at airports nationwide, as some lawful visa holders from those countries were detained, including an Iraqi who helped American military efforts.

The Department of Homeland Security said the order remains in place despite a court order late Saturday ordering a stay on the deportation of visa holders.

"It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump's executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security," said the two centrist Republicans in a joint statement.



McCain and Graham said that "such a hasty process risks harmful results," criticizing the order for causing detentions of legal permanent residents and refugees who were already vetted by the government.



The senators said that they fear it will become a "self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."

"This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security," McCain and Graham said.


Few of the terrorist plots against the U.S. from 2001 onward were attempted or enacted by suspects from the seven countries President Donald Trump slapped with a travel ban late last week, according to analysis published Sunday by The Wall Street Journal.

The findings were based on the newspaper's review of numerous law enforcement and other findings compiled by the New America Foundation, the publication reported on Sunday.



The newspaper said of 180 people charged with jihadist terrorism-related crimes, or who died before being charged, 11 were identified as hailing from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Sudan or Somalia. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order banning citizens of those countries from entering the U.S. for at least 90 days, while indefinitely suspending entry for refugees from Syria.

Yet none them came directly from those countries, nor were any involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks or other major U.S. plots that killed Americans, the Journal said. The 19 attackers on Sept. 11 were from Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emiratesall of which are not affected by Trump's ban.

About 85 percent of all suspects who made attempts towards terror-related acts in the U.S. were U.S. citizens or legal residents, and about half were born as citizens in the U.S., the Journal said, citing New America Foundation's findings.



Read the full story in The Wall Street Journal here.
My Walk to Equality will be launched in Port Moresby on International Womens Day (IWD) and in Brisbane eight days later. The Moresby launch  by invitation only  will feature Dame Carol Kidu and Tanya Zeriga-Alone, two fighters for womens rights in PNG. Rashmii Amoah Bell will be the star attraction in Brisbane. I will be at both events.

And as the Oil Search Foundation, Allens Legal, Paga Hill Development Company, the Sir Brian Bell Foundation and other PNG organisations rally to the cause of this highly praised book, its clear that the call is understood and is gaining momentum.

THE theme for International Womens Day to be celebrated on Wednesday 8 March is for women to #BeBoldForChange  and, through contributions to the anthology, My Walk to Equality, nearly 50 Papua New Guinean women writers proved they already had taken this idea to heart.

IWD global organisers see International Women's Day as a vehicle for change to help forge a better, more gender inclusive world.

And change is urgently needed. The World Economic Forum predicts that at the present rate the gender gap won't close until 2186 - 170 years. This is too long to wait, say IWD organisers in what strikes me as classic understatement.

Last year, organisations and individuals around the world supported the #PledgeForParity campaign which committed to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, challenge bias, advocate gender-balanced leadership, value women and men's contributions equally and create inclusive cultures.

But what if the world truly stepped up to take bold action? the global organisers ask now.

Will you #BeBoldForChange on International Women's Day 2017 and beyond by taking ground-breaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women?

Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential offered to economies the world over.

This was precisely Rashmii Amoah Bells intent and message as she initiated a unique project to get PNG women to write about gender issues in a positive and constructive way and to have the book ready for International Womens Day 2017.

It has happened and it is a great achievement, recognised and supported by all those organisations in PNG which do not breathe gender equality as a cliche but which show they will enact it.

You can support the women of PNG in their boldness for change by buying a copy  or more  of My Walk to Equality.

You still need to buy it from Amazon Books here as it is not available for sale in PNG. Time for some of those big retailers to step up and be bold and stock it in their outlets.
"Free tuition" seems like an unfulfilled campaign promise, one that was once championed by two former Democratic presidential candidates, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Yet just this month, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) pushed that idea a step closer to reality, launching a new plan that would pay college tuition costs for in-state students at both 2 year and 4 year state universities. This week, legislators began debating the cost of a plan Cuomo says will cost $163 million.



The governor's office estimates that while one million families will be eligible, the number of students receiving free tuition by 2019 will be about 200,000.



Currently, only two states, Tennessee and Oregon now offer free tuition, but their programs are only for two-year community colleges, rather than four year institutions.

If it passes, the "Excelsior Scholarship" could start this fall. Initially, students with family income below $100,000 would be eligible. That number would increase to $110,000 next year, and $125,000 in 2019.



In an interview with CNBC's "On The Money", Sara Goldrick-Rab, an education and sociology professor at Temple University, said this program could help make college more affordable for students across income levels.



"I do think this plan will help and one reason certainly is that the middle class would finally would get some financial assistance they so desperately need," Goldrick-Rab added.
"We didn't overrule the Department of Homeland Security, as far as green card holders moving forward, it doesn't affect them," Priebus first said. But when pressed by host Chuck Todd on whether it impacts green card holders, Priebus reversed himself, saying, "Well, of course it does. If you're traveling back and forth, you're going to be subjected to further screening."

In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Priebus was asked about reports that the executive order affected green card holders, contrary to recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus muddied the waters on President Donald Trump 's new executive order barring immigration from select countries, saying Sunday it "doesn't include green card holders going forward" but adding that anyone traveling back and forth from the countries in question will be subject to further screening, including U.S. citizens.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, delivers a speech as Republican president-elect Donald Trump looks on during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City.

Asked whether the executive order would affect U.S. citizens, he again indicated it would, suggesting it was up to the "discretionary authority" of a Customs and Border Patrol agent whether to question citizens coming from the countries in question.

"I would suspect that if you're an American citizen traveling back and forth to Libya you're likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport," he said. He also suggested the executive order could come to encompass more than the current seven countries included in the ban, and that the order focused on people coming from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen because those were identified by Congress as "being the seven most-watched countries in regard to harboring terrorists."



"Perhaps other countries needed to be added to an executive order going forward  but in order to do this in a way that was expeditious, in a way that would pass muster quickly, we used the 7 countries" already identified by Congress, he said.

Priebus added that the order was rolled out quickly because "this is all done for the protection of Americans, and waiting another three days, waiting another three weeks is something that we don't want to get wrong."

"President Trump is not willing to get this wrong which is why he wants to move forward quickly and protect Americans," Priebus added.



A federal judge issued an emergency stay on parts of the executive order Saturday evening, but the DHS and the White House responded early Sunday, saying that the order continues to remain in force.

Priebus also doubled down on the White House's controversial decision not to reference Jews specifically in their statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying while he understands the significance of the day, "I don't regret the words."



"I recognize, in fact, obviously that that was what the Holocaust was about," Priebus said when pressed on the fact the Holocaust was a genocide of millions of Jews. "It's a horrible event. And obviously a miserable time in history that we remember here at the White House and certainly will never forget the Jewish people that suffered in World War II."



Priebus insisted the statement "isn't whitewashing anything," despite the fact it made no mention of the millions of Jews exterminated in the Holocaust.



Priebus noted that President Trump "has dear family members that are Jewish," a reference to his son-in-law and daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism.



"And there was no harm or ill-will or offense intended by any of that," Priebus said, but added, "I don't regret the words" of the statement  and went on to echo those words, declaring "everyone's suffering" in the Holocaust was sad.



"Everyone's suffering in the Holocaust including, obviously, all of the Jewish people affected and the miserable genocide that occurred is something that we consider to be extraordinarily sad and something that can never be forgotten and something that if we could wipe it off of the history books we could. But we can't," he said.



Speaking shortly after Priebus on "Meet the Press," Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, slammed the White House for the statement.



"This is what Holocaust denial is," Kaine said.



He also charged that it was "not a coincidence" that the statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day came the same day as Trump's executive order, which he described as a "religious test," chalking both up to the influence of top White House strategist Steve Bannon.



"I think all of these things are happening together, when you have the chief political adviser in the White House, Steve Bannon, who is connected with a news organization that traffics in white supremacy and anti-Semitism, and they put out a Holocaust statement that omits any mention of Jews," he said.



Kaine continued: "The fact that they [issued the statement] and imposed this religious test against Muslims in the executive orders on the same day, this is not a coincidence."
President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May in the East Room of the White House January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

World leaders reacted harshly Saturday to President Trump's executive order suspending immigration and visas for citizens from certain countries with majority Muslim populations. Iran, one of the targeted nations, suggested it would limit issuing visas to American tourists. Trump on Friday suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely pending a security review meant to ensure terrorists cannot slip through vetting. Trump also issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria. The official IRNA news agency Saturday carried a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry that says Iran will resort to "counteraction" to Trump's executive order. "Iran, to defend the dignity of the great Iranian nation, will implement the principle of reciprocity until the removal of the insulting restriction against Iranian nationals," the statement reads. "It will apply corresponding legal, consular and political actions."

The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since 1979 when militants stormed the U.S. embassy. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif issued a series of tweets in response to President Trump's order, saying the move would be "a great gift to extremists and their supporters." He explained that statement further, tweeting: "Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."

A follow-up tweet promised a reciprocal response: "While respecting Americans & differentiating between them & hostile U.S. policies, Iran will take reciprocal measures to protect citizens."



Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, retweeted Trudeau, seconding his invitation: "#WelcometoScotland too."


Hours after a federal judge issued a stay on President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily restricting entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a senior White House adviser issued robust responses, emphasizing that the order remains in force. In a statement issued in the early hours of Sunday, the Department said: "President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place  prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety." It added that the department will "continue to enforce all of President Trump's Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people." In addition, Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, told the Associated Press that nothing in the judge's order "in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."

Protesters outside Terminal 5 of O'Hare International Airport demand that travelers detained inside due to President Trump's order to ban people from seven predominantly Muslim countries are released on January 28, 2017. Max Herman | NurPhoto | Getty Images

The responses came just hours after federal Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York granted an emergency stay on parts of the order late Saturday. Her ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of two Iraqi refugees who had been detained at New York's John F. Kennedy airport. The stay will prevent the government from deporting citizens from the affected countries that had already arrived in the U.S.The ACLU estimated that around 200 people would be affected by the ruling. For travelers outside of the U.S. however, even those with valid visas, the ruling will not change the restrictions imposed on them by the order.

Who is affected by Trump's executive order?
Theresa May has been forced to make a hasty U-turn over Donald Trump's ban on refugees from Muslim majority countries, issuing a midnight statement saying she did not agree with the policy. The British prime minister said she would appeal to the US if the ban affected British citizens. "We do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking," she said. The US president signed an executive order on Friday banning the entry of refugees and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. It has caused confusion and panic among travelers, with some turned back from US-bound flights. The row over the issue threatens to overshadow what had been widely seen as a successful visit by Mrs May to Washington last week, where she sought to find common ground on foreign policy with the new US president.

watch now

On Saturday, pressed by British journalists during a press conference in Ankara  on her way back from the US  she had refused to condemn Mr Trump's refugee ban. Apparently reluctant to damage her relationship with Mr Trump, the prime minister declined to answer a question on the subject three times. After being heckled by British journalists to answer the question, Mrs May eventually said: "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees." More from the Financial Times:

May delivers message of support to Turkish president

Hollande calls on Europe to stand up to Trump

Trump seeks UK alliance 'even better' than Thatcher/Reagan

This elicited a wave a criticism from other politicians including Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, who said the prime minister had demonstrated a "weak failure" by refusing to criticise the US president. "President Trump's executive order against refugees and Muslims should shock and appal us all." "Theresa May should have stood up for Britain and our values by condemning his actions. It should sadden our country that she chose not to," he said. "After Trump's hideous actions and May's weak failure to condemn them, it's more important than ever for us to say to refugees seeking a place of safety, that they will always be welcome in Britain."

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks as President Donald Trump looks on in a joint press conference at the East Room of the White House January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Getty Images
China is preparing for a potential military clash with the United States, according to an article on the Chinese army's website.



"The possibility of war increases" as tensions around North Korea and the South China Sea heat up, Liu Guoshun, a member of the national defense mobilization unit of China's Central Military Commission, wrote on Jan. 20the same day as President Donald Trump's inauguration.

"'A war within the president's term', 'war breaking out tonight' are not just slogans, but the reality," Liu said in the Chinese commentary piece.

The commentary was first reported by South China Morning Post on Friday, and comes amid concerns about a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment from CNBC.

Ian Bremmer, president and founder of global political risk consultancy, Eurasia Group, said the article from the People's Liberation Army was more a warning rather than a show of strength.

"The Chinese government is quite concerned about the potential for direct confrontation with the Trump administration," Bremmer said in an email to CNBC.

Previously, Beijing was more cautious in reacting to Trump's anti-China rhetoric, Bremmer said, but now, "Chinese officials are preparing for the worst, and they expect to retaliate decisively in response to any U.S. policies they perceive as against their interests."
MU Ukrainian students have trouble reaching family in homeland

Vlad Sazhen and Alina Rohulia talk about the power outages in Ukraine caused by Russian strikes, leading to difficulty in keeping touch.
A British citizen who was naturalised can be identified as such from his passport. It is on that basis that immigration lawyers have advised Nadhim Zahawi, who was born in Iraq, that Donald Trumps effective ban on Muslims from seven countries entering America applies to him. ConservativeHome spoke to our columnist our earlier this morning, and he said that the most important point about the bar is not the distress caused to him and his wife, but that it will blight the struggle against ISIS and Islamist extremism (however much it may please parts of the Presidents core vote).

It will be countered that the ban is unconstitutional, is already being struck down by judges  and, furthermore, is only a temporary measure, put in place for three months or so until a new and more strenuous vetting procedure can be put in place. Nor, it will be argued, does it specifically bar Muslims. For these reasons (the argument runs on), it is all a typical Trump-style storm in a tea cup, and is in any event none of our business.

This view does not hold. That the ban is surely unconstitutional, and is already being obviated by judges, has not stopped the President trying to implement it. And that it is a holding device does not stop it harming the very cause  the fight against ISIS  that it claims to help. It feeds rather than drains the swamp in which support for Islamist extremism festers. (And you are far more likely to be shot by another American than by a foreign jihadi.)

It also damages those who are helping to do the draining. No One Left Behind, a charity that seeks to bring to the United States Afghanis and Iraqis who worked with the American military, says that the ban has caused their programme to be suspended. These include people who have been placed on death lists by the Taliban and ISIS the work they did with the US military. We had the same issue with Afghan interpreters.

Nor can the claim that the bar is nothing to with us be sustained. Zahawi aside, there are some 250,000 people who have dual British nationality and were born in Iraq, Iran or Somalia. Trump has put his guest of last week in an impossible position. On the one hand, Theresa May needs him for that trade deal and for help with Brexit. On the other, she cannot stick to a say nothing script when British citizens can be affected by what he does. Her attempt to do so yesterday lasted only a few hours. The visit of the President to Britain later this year, and his proposed meeting with the Queen, is shaping up to be the mother of all diplomatic headaches.
Close

Hanne Gaby Odiele opened up about her gender, wherein she openly confessed that she is intersex. The fashion model drew inspiration among young people as she opened up about her sexuality.

Hanne Gaby admittedly stated that she was born with testicles. She then added that the doctors decided to have it removed by the time she reached 10 as it can potentially cause cancer. BBC covered her story stating that Odiele decided to break the taboo in regards to intersex individuals.

In a statistic released by the United Nations, there is only 1.7 percent of intersex individuals worldwide. These are the people born with both male and female characteristics.

The Belgian model was born with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), where an individual is born genetically as a male but is resistant to male hormones. Individuals with AIS have physical traits of a woman, but they have a genetic make-up of a man.

Hanne Gaby Odiele then stated that she wished she openly talked about her condition when she was younger. Though she was fully aware that there must be something working with her, she didn't entirely understand what she was going through.

"It is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo," Odiele told USA Today. "At this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this. I knew at one point after the surgery. I could not have kids, I was not having my period. I knew something was wrong with me."

Odiele stated that she decided to break the stigma stating that intersex individuals should be informed of their condition as early as possible. She then stated that her keeping her condition from her when she was younger caused scars and trauma.

"It's not that big of a deal being intersex," Odiele added. "If they were just honest from the beginning... It became a trauma because of what they did."

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
How free are we in the shadow of monopoly?

I had planned to write a column about the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, and how Connecticut should not wait around for Washington to act. President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to waive, defer, grant exceptions from or delay any part of the health care law that imposes financial or regulatory burdens on anyone subject to it.

But lets set that aside for a moment, as Republicans seeking compromise with Democrats appear ready to introduce legislation that looks like Obamacare (though appearances can be deceiving). Instead, let's talk about another problem, one thats so obvious we can't see it anymore.

Insurance companies are too big.

On Monday, a federal judge blocked on antitrust grounds a planned $37 billion merger between Hartfords Aetna and Kentuckys Humana. In siding with the U.S. Justice Department and eight states, Judge John D. Bates ruled the merger would limit competition and cause hardship for consumers. The insurance companies have said they are considering an appeal. The Justice Department, under a new Republican president, could decide against pressing its case. If the ruling stands, Aetna will owe Humana a $1 billion kill fee.

But the impact on competition and consumers was only one reason Bates blocked the deal. The other was Aetna is trying to leverage its participation in the exchanges for favorable treatment from DOJ regarding the proposed merger. In other words, Aetna used its power to game the system, and in doing so exposed the irony of our free market system.

It's not that free. And neither are we.

Last summer, Aetna announced it was leaving a dozen states where it had been providing Obamacare. The reason was business, it said. It was losing too much money. Leading Republicans seized on the news as evidence of Obamacares death spiral and as a rationale for repealing it.

But Judge Bates saw something different. Aetna had not pulled out for business reasons. It was profiting in Georgia and Florida. It pulled out to kneecap the government. Antitrust lawyers identified 17 counties in which the merger with Humana would dilute competition and harm consumers. So Aetna left those counties to undermine their case.

Aetna was playing politics. Thats not what you want from a company thats so vital to the health of real people.

Bates said Aetna threatened to leave before the merger case got underway. When the case proceeded, Aetna made good on its threat. That, Bates said, is close to malfeasance.

Its more than that.

When a corporation wields so much political power that it affects public health policy, so much that real people would die real deaths as a result, thats a crisis of democracy.

We the people are supposed to be sovereign. Power is supposed to be distributed widely to protect that sovereignty. But when power is concentrated, the constitutional protections of life, liberty, and property are in jeopardy.

What can be done? Back when people cared about these things, progressives called this tyranny, and they fought to break up monopolies that controlled too much market share. They passed antitrust laws, state and federal, that would protect individual liberty, but also a truly free market. When companies compete, consumers benefit. When they dont, they leverage their power to move policy and make money.

These laws still exist, but they are narrowly interpreted by prosecutors to focus on prices, not power. In any case, challenging Aetna would be politically dicey. Connecticut has a stake in the company and its 6,000 high-income jobs.

But if we were serious about protecting rights and promoting free enterprise, Connecticut would address a deeper question. How free are we in the shadow of monopoly?

John Stoehr is a lecturer in political science at Yale. He can be reached at johnastoehr@gmail.com.
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BRIDGEPORT  A prominent member of the downtown YMCAs management board said that group is committed to providing some programs for adults in the future.

Were trying here, said the Rev. Sara Smith of the United Congregational Church, located across Park Avenue from the Y, following the boards meeting Tuesday morning. Thats the truth.

Leaders of the over-arching Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, which includes 13 locations including Bridgeport, made the sudden and controversial decision in early January to cancel adult memberships in the city. It impacted around 800 Y members, who had the option of transferring to neighboring suburban locations.

Meanwhile, a state legislator from Bridgeport  Rep. Ezequiel Santiago  said he is frustrated that Central Coast Y administrators twice canceled scheduled meetings to figure out a way forward with him and other community leaders. State Sen. Ed Gomes had also planned to attend.

Its leaving us hanging, the same way they left us hanging at the beginning of this whole process, Santiago said. All the Ys in the state, why focus on Bridgeport being the one that has to shut down?

Theyve canceled a couple of times, Gomes confirmed. Were going to try to see what the hells happening.

Y administrators shocked many in the community, including local management board members like Smith, when they announced that adult memberships would not longer be honored at the Bridgeport location, starting Jan. 7.

The policy change was blamed on extraordinary expenses  cuts to state aid and rising operating costs like minimum wage hikes.

Debt in Bridgeport

David Stevenson, president of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, provided more details Thursday in an interview. He said the Central Coast system was just over $1 million in the red, and a half a million of that debt was at the Bridgeport location.

One of the challenges we see in Ys in America is that the old, large downtown model just does not work anymore, Stevenson said. He noted that compared to surrounding communities, many adult members of Bridgeports Y were subsidized by the organization.

Even though were so proud to serve adults in the Bridgeport area, those Ys that continue usually have a strong residential and business community where a majority of adults that come are paying the full membership rate, he said.

Stevenson said that although Bridgeports Y was the only one to lose adult programming, a staff pay freeze and other cost-saving measures were implemented at all the Ys to help spread the pain.

We all operate as a family, Stevenson said.

As to why some local board members like Smith seemed to be out of the loop, Stevenson said each Y has a management board, but the Central Coast organization is overseen by a board of directors and a finance committee which includes representatives from each site. He said those latter two boards ultimately bear the fiduciary responsibility and have the final say, but Stevenson insisted staff at the Bridgeport Y was part of the decision.

Were always going to be about kids first, and they agreed to that, he said.

Stevenson and other decision makers have come under fire for the suddenness of the policy change.

For example, Bridgeport Town Clerk Don Clemons, a former state representative, said he has been a member of the Bridgeport Y for 50 years and used the gym, pool and other amenities. Clemons said many members paid their January dues, only to learn the next day they were no longer welcome as of Jan. 7.

We had three notifications of reduced funding in one month alone; it came fast at the end of the year, Stevenson said. We did not want to move this fast, but felt we had to do something to make sure the (Bridgeport) Ys sustainable.

Contrasting accounts

Clemons said YMCA members and community leaders should have been given more warning so they could look for alternatives to address the budget crisis.

Its just another example of Bridgeport losing out, Clemons said. This goes to the health of the community  people in need of the amenities the Y has.

Community activist Kate Rivera tried twice to schedule meetings between area lawmakers and Stevenson. Emails Rivera exchanged with Stevenson show he grew uncomfortable with the idea when she sought to increase the number of invitees and include the media.

They (the Y management) need to be held accountable, Rivera said. That just makes me feel like were definitely not getting the whole story.

Stevenson said Thursday, I think were doing a fantastic job meeting with people, talking to them. Were finding the best way to go about this is either one-on-one or in a small group. ... Im more than glad to talk to anybody.

Smith, who was initially critical of the decision to no longer serve adults in Bridgeport, is trying to stay positive. Smith said the local board at its latest meeting Tuesday morning made it clear it wants to find a way to at least partially reverse course.

The board is proactively trying to look at how we can figure out some sort of adult programing (or) get creative about what we can do thats different, she said. Everybody was eager to do that.

Stevenson said it is absolutely possible to eventually restore adult services.

We see the need, he said. We very much want that. But we have to understand, the Y has to be sustainable.
Still Standing: Four the Moments legacy honoured at Nova Scotia Music Week

When a quartet of Halifax women began singing together a cappella in the name of social justice in 1982, there was little in the way of a music industry at play in Atlantic Canada. And even if there had been, its likely that Four the Moment would ...
28 Ocak 2017 Cumartesi, 17:34

It has been a full ninety days. Prosecutor Murat Inam, one of the accused in a FETO membership trial in which the indictment was drafted within one hour, has still not drafted the indictment against our papers ten columnists and managers whose remand he sought a full ninety days ago. This wait has turned into aggravated remand in the full sense in prison. Our columnists and managers, who have been deprived of the right to letters and have been cut off from the outside world, are relieved of their longing for their families in open visits without being separated by a glass panel once every two months.

Within the operation to silence our paper, first ten of our columnists and mangers were remanded in November 2016, followed by our papers reporter Ahmet Sk on 30 December 2016. Lawyers are going to and fro between our ten columnists and managers, who were remanded on flight risk grounds by Istanbul Penal Bench judge Mustafa Cakar, and the judicial complex, and the writers and managers have been several times to the Press Prosecution to make statements. With it emerging that prosecutor Murat Inam was one of the accused in a FETO membership trial, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag concluded that this situation was unfortunate, and said, It would be more correct for this not to have happened. If only such a duty had not been assigned, it would have been better. In spite of the unfortunate situation, prosecutor Inam is still conducting the investigation and has yet to draft the indictment despite the passage of ninety days. The wait for the indictment has been turned into a de-facto punishment.

Subjective detention

Our ten columnists and managers were asked about reports and opinion pieces over which charges have been dropped or proceedings are pending at their prosecution interrogation at police headquarters. Cited as the basis for the accusations are an experts report by an unknown person, witness statements made the day after the raid and opinion pieces by one of our papers former managers, Alev Coskun, and columnists of the Aydnlk newspaper, CHP MP Mustafa Balbays tweet: At Cumhuriyet everything from FETOism to Kurdism goes, but it is forbidden to write as a CHP MP and Oray Egins column published on 22 November 2015 in the Sozcu newspaper. All of the material cited in support of the ninety-day detention takes the form of subjective pronouncements rather than concrete evidence.

Report that is withheld like a secret

The prosecution made known during the interrogation that there was an experts report in the file and the accusations were based on this report. However, the report itself has neither been furnished, nor has it been shown in printed form. Information about this report is restricted to quotes made at the time our ten columnists and managers statements were taken at police headquarters. The report was requested when statements were taken, but this request was denied, with it said that there was a confidentiality order over the file. The report was also requested in a petition following remand. However, prosecutor Murat Inam denied this request citing as grounds the Decree with the Force of Law number 668 and Article 153 of the Code of Penal Procedure (CPP). However, there is no provision in the decree with the force of law and Article 153 of the CPP that includes the confidentiality of experts reports. In fact, Article 153 of the CPP provides that experts reports may not be subject to confidentiality and may not be withheld from the defence. No answer has even been forthcoming in the proceedings to the question who the report was drafted by. It thus remains unknown if the report was drafted by persons who bear a grudge against our columnists and managers. From what appears in the statement records, the report includes the wording, We see that Cumhuriyet newspaper carried reports that, by concealing the truth and acting in keeping with the aims of terrorist organisations (FETO), aimed at inciting domestic insurrection and making the country ungovernable. This allegation, however, is based purely on comments having the character of gossip by a number of journalists who are expressing a reaction to our paper and whose names are not even known. In fact, the statement records that extend to 30-40 pages consist mostly of direct quotes from these articles.

Who is the expert?

Situations requiring an experts report are governed in Article 66 of the CPP. The statutory article indicates that expert examination may be requested regarding questions whose reply requires expertise or special or technical knowledge. In view of the subjective assessment made in the report, what kind of technical knowledge in relation to the reports on which the accusations are based did the prosecution make recourse to? Did the prosecution ask the expert, How is FETOism conducted through media channels? Does there exist a specialised branch of expertise as to how FETOism is conducted? If so, who is this expert? None of these questions have been answered in ninety days.

Applications for release, particularly objections to remand, have been made a total of three times to the penal benches of the peace, which, on the closure of the courts with special powers, have been granted wide powers of apprehension, arrest, search-seizure and remand. Even if the individual penal benches of the peace have varied, they have denied these applications in rulings that are copies of one another. Istanbul Penal Bench of the Peace No 7, which conducted the first review of the remand of the nine people detained in the first wave of the operation, issued a duplicate ruling in which it listed the reports under investigation, as in the remand order. Istanbul Penal Bench of the Peace No 12, which conducted the second review of remand, asserting that the evidence had not yet been gathered, listed stock reasons such as flight risk, the seriousness of the charges and the inadequacy of bail conditions. The same reasons were listed in the monthly review of the remand of our papers Executive Board Chair, Akn Atalay, who was remanded on flight risk grounds following his voluntary return to the country, and it was alleged that there was concrete evidence to suggest there was a flight risk.

Visiting restricted

A whole host of restrictions are applied during visits by lawyers to our columnists and managers at Silivri Prison where they are being held. Our managers and columnists lawyers initially objected to this order on 25 November 2016 on the grounds that the restrictions do not even comply with the Decree with the Force of Law number 667 on which they are based. In the Decree with the Force of Law, enumeration is made of the crimes cited as grounds for remand that warrant restrictions of this kind. However, the crimes of which our remanded columnists and managers are accused do not number among these crimes. Hence, the ongoing restrictions do not comply with the Decree with the Force of Law. In fact, the latest objections made to these restrictions are still being examined by the bench applying them.

Eyes are on the Constitutional Court

Individual applications have also been made to the Constitutional Court on behalf of our remanded columnists and managers. It is pointed out in the applications that through the remand order there has been violation of the rights to personal security and freedom and freedom of thought and publication and of the limitation on use of restrictions on rights stipulated in Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there are 65,000 files before the Constitutional Court that postdate the proclamation of the state of emergency alone, and the seven-person commission established under the Decree with the Force of Law number 685 will examine these65,000 files.

Aggravated remand

Our eleven colleagues at Silivri have been sentenced to aggravated remand in the full sense. This means that they may receive visits from their lawyers on one day for one hour a week and by a total of three lawyers. These visits take place in the company of prison staff and discussions in the course of visits are recorded and documents between them and their lawyers are also seized. Apart from visits on one day for one hour per week by family members, on the proclamation of the state of emergency, open visitation rights by family members one day per month have been reduced to once every two months. Visitation rights by three non-family members they themselves nominate have been removed and telephone call rights have been restricted to once every fifteen days and limited to ten minutes. Just as they are unable to receive letters from the outside, the letters they write are not delivered to friends and family on the outside, either. They are also denied access to books, magazines and opposition television stations in prison.

90 gundur tutukluyuz
We must rethink the U.S. response to infectious disease. Here's why.
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the
Spring Festival is the most important festival in China, and while the event centers around time spent with the family, this is not the case for everyone.

LONELY FESTIVAL

Xiao Liang, 13, was inconsolable when he was told that his parents would not be spending Chinese New Year with the boy and his grandparents, in Wenxi County, Shanxi Province.

The decision by his parents, who work in factories in east China's Jiangsu Province, was not taken lightly, as they knew how sad it would make their son. Last year, he traveled to Jiangsu, but they only had a few days off this year and the journey would have been long and arduous for the boy.

"Two days ago, I dreamed of my father and mother returning home and together going to visit my aunt," he said.

Luckily for him, even though his parents will not be around, he has plenty of friends and things to do at the local Children's Center, which was set up to care for left-behind children just like him.

Another event for left-behind children was a party in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where the children attended activities and were presented with gifts.

In China, it is common for migrant workers who go to cities to leave their children in the care of grandparents. Spring Festival is one of the few opportunities that families can be together.

BUSY WORKERS

It is the busiest season for railway staff given how many people travel during Spring Festival.

"I feel guilty when I think of my family," said Liu Tiejun, 28, a dispatcher at southwest China's Chongqing city North Railway Station. His wife and one-year-old son live in Shandong Province.

Due to his work commitments, he has not spent the last four Spring Festivals with his family. "But I feel happy to be helping others to go home," he said.

Many delivery workers also cannot go back home for the festival.

After a busy and tiring day, Yan Yong, a courier in Beijing, submerged his freezing hands in a basin of hot water.

This was the sixth Spring Festival that he has been away from his family, who live in Sichuan.

"My company encourages us to invite our family to Beijing for the festival. But my wife has to care for my parents, so I am alone," he said.

HAPPY NEW HOME

In a village in Xigaze, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Wangdron, prepared "gutu," doughy meat porridge, for a special dinner to celebrate the local New Year, which coincides with Spring Festival.

"We had a joyful New Year and will work hard to ensure a more prosperous life," said the Tibetan woman, who is head of the village.

The villagers moved here in 2003 as part of a poverty reduction program. Last year, 14 out of 21 underprivileged households in the village shook off poverty thanks to job opportunities brought by construction projects.

"Our lives are much better than before," said Wangdron, who has plans for a Tibetan handicraft factory and green houses. She was confident that the remaining seven families will be lifted out of poverty this year.

NEW LIFE FOR OLD FOLK ART

As Chinese enjoy a modern and prosperous life, folk art is seeing a resurgence.

"This year, we sold 10,000 desk calendars with double roosters and thousands of paper-cuts," said Zhang Duotang, a master of the traditional paper-cutting art in Guangling, Shanxi.

The art has been handed down over generations in Guangling.

"This year is the Year of the Rooster, or 'ji' in Chinese. Ji is a homonym of another Chinese character meaning 'auspicious'," said Zhang.

He designed dozens of rooster paper-cuts with the help of the Internet. "They are very popular among the younger generation," he added.

Chinese Lunar New Year, which this year is the Year of the Rooster, began Saturday.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg paid the price for the Corporations new-found parsimony while accompanying Theresa May on her flight to the US last week.

BBC political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, was forced to sit in the cheap seats while her rivals sat in business-class on her flight accompanying Theresa May to the US last week

While her rivals Robert Peston, from ITV, and Skys Faisal Islam reclined on business-class beds in Therese-Air  the Prime Ministers version of Air Force One  poor Laura was shooting daggers at them from the cheap seats at the rear.

Theresa May wielded the knife brutally when deciding which aides should have the honour of joining her on the trip to the US.

First to be kicked off the list was official Downing Street spokesman Helen Bower. Why? Because Bower is about to jump ship to work for Boris Johnson at the Foreign Office and was seen as a spy in the camp.

With Theresa, once you are out, you are really out.

After Mrs Mays foot-stomping reception at a Republican gathering in Philadelphia on Thursday, No 10 hopes that Donald Trump will return the compliment by doing a turn at the Tory conference in Manchester in October.

It promises to be the most surreal cameo since Bill Clinton visited the 2002 Labour conference in Blackpool and queued for a Big Mac with film star pal Kevin Spacey.

Is Lord 'Pig-Gate' rejoining the herd?

Lord Ashcroft was seen mouthing to Nigel Farage 'It's Theresa' when his phone rang

Is Lord Ashcroft working as a secret double agent for Theresa May?

The Tory peer who fell in with the Ukip crowd after his unsavoury pig-gate feud with David Cameron, was celebrating Trumps victory with Nigel Farage at a Washington party last weekend when his phone rang.

As he took the call, Ashcroft mouthed to Farage: Its Theresa.

Time to come back into the fold?

No Labour MP abhorred the Thatcher-Reagan love-in more than eccentric Tam Dalyell, who has died aged 84.

Daft Tam used to arrive at the Commons with an old wireless dangling from his neck by a piece of string, tuned in to the World Service.

But there was method in his madness. He made the shortest, most effective Commons speech ever: Why?

Brexit was put on hold on Thursday while Mrs May took off for the US  because her customised RAF plane has just one creaky old phone connection to Whitehall, with a decidedly patchy service.

It meant that for several hours, the PM couldnt reach the team putting the last-minute touches to the Article 50 EU exit bill.

Trump wouldnt put up with that on Air Force One.

The Donalds surprisingly kid-glove treatment of feisty British hacks at the White House press conference was in stark contrast to George W. Bushs memorable cover your bald head swipe at Nick Robinson in 2007, as the ex-BBC political editor mopped his follically challenged pate.

Robinson, who had previously angered Dubya by asking if he was in denial about the Iraq War, replied: I didnt know you cared.

Bush retorted: I dont.
The Prime Minister has done far better in Washington than she could have hoped. There was a great risk that she might have been dangerously upstaged, rudely brushed aside or simply embarrassed by President Trump.

As it was, her very presence at the White House seems to have had a powerful beneficial effect on the American leader.

In public he acted like a mature statesman, humorously missing the chance to bite the head off a BBC reporter who sought and failed to provoke him into one of his snarling, merciless retorts.

The Prime Minister has done far better in Washington than she could have hoped. There was a great risk that she might have been dangerously upstaged, rudely brushed aside or simply embarrassed by President Trump

In public Trump acted like a mature statesman, humorously missing the chance to bite the head off a BBC reporter who sought and failed to provoke him into one of his snarling, merciless retorts

In private talks he graciously gave way on Nato and torture, abandoning his raucous dissent from the establishment view.

Not merely did Theresa May get everything she wanted, plus several superb status-enhancing photo opportunities.

She made it look easy and must have caused other world statesmen to wish they had got there first.

As she returns from meeting that even more worrying figure, Turkeys President Erdogan, she must feel something of a glow. But she should be careful not to be complacent.

Foreign successes such as this do not protect Premiers against the dangers they face at home. David Camerons equally successful encounter with Barack Obama was swiftly followed by the Omnishambles Budget. Tony Blair spent so much time wooing Bill Clinton and George W. Bush that he lost the respect of voters.

As she returns from meeting that even more worrying figure, Turkeys President Erdogan, she must feel something of a glow. But she should be careful not to be complacent

Mrs May still faces many unsolved difficulties back in London, and is not short of enemies in her own party ready to take advantage of any stumbles she makes.

For British politicians, the temptation to shine on the world stage is always strong. Its glamour and flattery are tempting.

And it is important. But those who become too preoccupied with statesmanship sometimes forget that they still need to be politicians.

The Prime Minister should get straight back to her domestic cares, before the shine has come off her American journey.

The NHS made ludicrous overpayments for painkillers that could be bought for a fraction of the price at discount supermarkets

Ill effect of NHS praise

Too much praise may be bad for the National Health Service.

Everyone who uses it knows that, for all its virtues, it is very far from perfect.

But political and media choruses, proclaiming it to be the envy of the world, make it harder for sensible change to take place.

The Mail on Sunday uncovers a powerful example of NHS complacency today; ludicrous overpayments for painkillers that could be bought for a fraction of the price at discount supermarkets.

The services sheer size gives it huge power over all its suppliers if it wants to use it. Yet it has not and does not.

As a result more than 50 million leaks pointlessly down the drain each year.

Perhaps if there were less complacent talk about the wonderful NHS, these flaws could and would be fixed.

A warning from 1984

George Orwell warned in 1984 of a language called Newspeak in which it would be impossible to say what the authorities did not want us to say. It is necessary from time to time to point out that Orwell was writing a warning, not a manual.

The transgender campaigners who want us to stop referring to expectant mothers and instead speak of expectant people  because this upsets their ideas about sexual politics  should realise they are doing what Orwell feared a future tyranny would do.

They are of course entitled to their opinions. But they are not entitled to force them on others in this way.
It's the explosive social experiment that sees as many as 20 hopefuls sign up in the pursuit of finding love.

And this year looks set to be no less dramatic, with upcoming contestants and identical twin sisters, Michelle and Sharon Marsh, from Perth, revealing that previously one of Michelle's ex-boyfriends tried to date Sharon.

'When I was 18 years old I was dating this guy for maybe two months, and it was Christmas time,' 31-year-old Michelle Marsh told The Fix.

I do times two! Identical twin sisters, Michelle and Sharon Marsh (pictured), from Perth, revealed that previously one of Michelle's ex-boyfriends tried to date Sharon

Double trouble: The 31-year-old sisters (pictured) are set to star in the upcoming series of Married At First Sight Australia

'For Christmas, he not only got myself a bracelet, he got my sister a bracelet as well, which was really cute.

'It had this little chain with "Michelle" written on it, and this gold chain with "Sharon" written on it. I was like, "Wow, this is really, really sweet".

'But when we broke up, his friend told me that he bought Sharon a bracelet in case it didn't work out with me. He'd already started the wooing process with my sister.'

Girl code: After Michelle and Sharon (pictured) both received bracelets from Michelle's ex boyfriend, they found out that 'he bought Sharon a bracelet in case it didn't work out with me'

Sisters: 'He'd already started the wooing process with my sister,' Michelle Marsh revealed

Looking for love: The twins, who live in Perth and grew up in the country, are just two of 20 contestants who have signed up for the experiment in 2017

While Sharon Marsh didn't give the ex the time of day, the twins added that they have no interest in each other's men.

'It's the same with this process  as soon as we walked down the aisle, and there's one for Sharon and one for me, automatically [her] guy is in my brother zone,' Michelle said.

The twins, who live in Perth and grew up in the country, are just two of 20 contestants who have signed up for the experiment in 2017.

Girl power: Sharon runs her own commercial cleaning business, and Michelle- who has just returned from living in London - works with her

Loved up: The Marsh twins will have a double wedding on the fourth season of the show, in which they meet their respective grooms together as they walk down the aisle arm in arm

Sharon runs her own commercial cleaning business, and Michelle- who has just returned from living in London - works with her.

'We're very similar, we look the same initially, but once you get to know us, it's not hard to tell us apart,' they said.

The Marsh twins will have a double wedding on the fourth season of the show, in which they meet their respective grooms together as they walk down the aisle arm in arm.

Married At First Sight premieres on Monday, January 30, at 7.30pm on Nine.
New research has found that playing with Barbie dolls just once can make young girls think they need to be thin.

The study, published in the journal Body Image, found that the dolls made girls as young as five see having a skinny body as ideal.

Researchers interviewed 160 Australian girls aged five to eight to get the findings.

New studies have said that young girls who play with Barbie (pictured) think that being thin is ideal

The research came from interviews with 160 Australian girls aged five to eight

The study concluded that the girls only had to play with the dolls, or look at images of Barbie, to think that they needed to be thin.

International body image expert, Marika Tiggemann, told the Herald Sun that parents shouldn't give their daughters the dolls.

Children should 'not to be given Barbies when they are young,' she said.

'If girls already have Barbies then parents should encourage them to do more than just make them look pretty.'

It found that just playing with Barbie once made girls think about being thin

Body image expert Professor Marika Tiggermann said that parents shouldn't give their children Barbies

Professor Tiggermann also said that this leads to girls believing that appearance, especially the appearance of being thin, was very important.

'Exposure to Barbie promoted internalisation of the thin ideal in this sample of girls,' she explained.

'This means they think appearance is important and in particular being skinny is good. If fat is bad, then thin is good, and thinner is better.'

Mattel rejected the research and said that they have recently released curvy Barbies (pictured plus-sized model Ashley Graham with the new Curvy Barbie)

Professor Tiggerman said that having a curvy Barbie was a good start

However, toy company Mattel rejected the research findings, saying that it 'failed to accurately represent...realistic play experiences.'

Mattel has recently released a range of Barbies with different body shapes, including a 'curvy' Barbie.

Professor Tiggerman said that she thought the curvy Barbie was a good start, but that more could be done.
Bouncing on their mothers lap, little Annabelle and Imogen Weir are the picture of contentment.

Yet this happy, smiling pair faced a battle for survival when they were born at only 23 weeks and four days  making them among the youngest twins ever recorded in Britain.

Annabelle weighed just under a pound. Imogen was just over  and their lives hung in the balance when they came into the world unexpectedly last April.

Imogen Weir was born just 1lb and 1/2oz at 12.58am unexpectedly last April

Spending their first four months in hospital, the identical twin sisters  born three days under the 24-week legal limit for abortion  endured multiple blood transfusions and emergency surgery.

They couldnt even wear clothes for fear their delicate skin might tear.

However, they are now home in Paisley with their parents James and Claire  and still amazing doctors with their progress.

Mrs Weir, 31, admitted there were times that she felt guilty for keeping them alive.

But watching the ten-month-olds grin and kick with excitement at the sight of their favourite cuddly toy, and holding hands when they nap, she knows she made the right choice.

The twins still weigh only 11 and 12lb and have to wear 0-3 month baby clothes.

Annabelle was born 15.5 oz at 12.48am, April 3, 2016 and faced a battle for survival

Mrs Weir  who was also a premature baby, born at 28 weeks  told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: Id never heard of twins so small surviving. It didnt seem possible for one, let alone two. I felt really guilty at first. If they didnt survive, all they would have known was pain.

She added: They are the youngest and smallest surviving twins to be born in Scotland.

The consultant told us that if the girls had been born just two years ago they wouldnt have survived  thats how fast medical technology is advancing. They have surprised everyone. They will always be our little miracles.

Mr and Mrs Weir, who met at university in Dundee nine years ago and married in 2013, were delighted when they found out they were expecting in late 2015  but hadnt even considered twins.

Parents James and Claire Weir didn't think their babies Annabelle and Imogen would survive

After some bleeding at seven weeks, Mrs Weir was given an early scan and the couple were told that there were two strong heartbeats.

Town planner Mr Weir said: We dont have a history of twins as a family, so it was a shock.

We were over the moon and pretty overwhelmed. Claire had to go back for regular scans because she had some other bleeds but each time we were told the babies were OK.

Mrs Weirs 20-week scan showed that the twins were growing well  but just a fortnight later, at 22-and-a-half weeks, her waters broke.

I was just trying to keep the babies inside me for as long as possible. It was a really horrible time, filled with worry. I just tried not to move too much  I was even worried to go to the toilet

She said: I went straight to hospital and they admitted me.

'At first it looked like there was still enough fluid for the babies but then they discovered that I was 2cm dilated.

I was told the babies could be born soon, which was a huge shock. At that stage it was under the threshold for saving them.

Doctors at The Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley warned the couple that they would not able to provide resuscitation for the infants if they were born under 28 weeks, so Mrs Weir was transferred to the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow.

She said: They said it was up to us what we wanted to do. Some parents of such premature babies decide not to have them resuscitated and instead spend time with them straight after the birth. But we wanted to give our children a chance. We knew we had to try.

While other mothers on the maternity ward were eager for their babies to arrive, Mrs Weir was desperate to prolong her pregnancy.

Annabelle was born first but has always been the smaller of the two girls

She said: I was just trying to keep the babies inside me for as long as possible. It was a really horrible time, filled with worry. I just tried not to move too much  I was even worried to go to the toilet.

After 23 weeks they would at least have a chance of resuscitation so I hoped they would stick in there. I was thinking in days and hours. Each day brought more hope.

I got to more than 23 weeks but then I got very ill with a sepsis infection and they had to induce me. The fact that they were twins that I had an infection and they were so premature all lowered their chance of survival. I didnt have a lot of hope.

Mr Weir, 31, said: We said goodbye to the girls when they were still inside Claire by reading them a story  Dr Seusss Green Eggs and Ham. We thought it might be the only time but we read it to them each night in hospital after they were born.

In the early hours of April 3 last year, Annabelle was born first, weighing only 15.5oz. Ten minutes later Imogen arrived weighing 1lb and half an ounce.

They were in an extremely fragile state but their little hearts were beating.

Mrs Weir said: They were whisked away to intensive care. I had to have an operation because I had a retained placenta and I was ill with sepsis so didnt get to see them that day.

I got to hold Imogen after about six days but Annabelle was smaller and more vulnerable, so I didnt get to hold her for a few weeks.

They were so tiny they fitted in one hand. Annabelles foot was about the size of Jamess thumbnail. I was petrified when I first held them. They didnt open their eyes or cry for a few weeks. They couldnt wear clothes for 100 days, just a nappy and hat. Their skin was too delicate.

I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do to keep them alive, it was up to the machines. The one thing I could do was express breast milk to feed them through a tube in their noses.

The babies spent six weeks in incubators linked to a hi-tech positive pressure ventilator, which delivers air in gentle breaths. They also received caffeine to stimulate their breathing.

Imogen is a more rowdy and bossy than her sister and likes to be heard but is also shy

Both of them still receive oxygen through a nasal tube but doctors expect them to come off it soon.

Mr Weir said: Annabelle had stomach issues and used to stop breathing, which was awful. Imogen had to have emergency eye surgery but they have both progressed well.

Mrs Weir added: We got Imogen home first, a couple of weeks before Annabelle, and it was really tough. I dont think I slept for about three days. I just watched her constantly to make sure she was breathing. I drove myself almost to distraction.

James has been such an amazing husband and father  I couldnt have done it without him. When Annabelle came home, after 138 days in hospital, we were more prepared.

It was a terrifying experience but wonderful to be at home as a family. Now we are experiencing all the normal struggles new parents have but we have loved every minute. We know how lucky we are.

It almost feels like the girls are different babies to those born last April. Its like that period of our lives has been closed and we are moving forward with new hope.

For a long time they would lie and look past each other but now they interact and it is just so cute. They will touch hands and try to catch each others attention and smile.

The couple were so grateful for the incredible care that they have raised more than 1,700 for the Princess Royal Maternity Baby Fund.

A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: We are delighted to hear Imogen and Annabelle are doing so well.
(Xinhua) 09:15, January 29, 2017

The Syrian draft constitution put forward by Russia is seen by many analysts as a reminder of the Paul Bremer constitution for Iraq following the 2003 invasion by the United States.

Russian circulated a draft resolution to the Syrian delegations who were attending the Russia-Turkey sponsored negotiations in Astana, Kazakhstan, last week.

The draft constitution wasn't made public during the negotiations, but Russian media outlets leaked parts of it.

Russia Today (RT) said the draft constitution highlights territorial integrity, separation of political powers as well as respect for minority's rights and international treaties.

It said the constitution envisions that the word "Arab" be omitted from the country's official title, in an apparent way to ease the fears of the Kurdish minority in Syria.

Speaking of the Kurds, the proposed constitution says that "state bodies and organizations of the Kurdish cultural autonomy are using Kurdish and Arabic languages equally" and that the status of the Kurdish autonomy "is defined by law."

As for the president's full executives, the draft constitution indicates that the executive branch of power in the country is represented by the president and his government.

The president is elected by a public vote and can serve a maximum of two terms with seven years each, said RT, adding that the People's Assembly serves as a parliament, passing laws which later should be forwarded for approval to the Assembly of Territories and then to the president.

It says the country's leader can be stripped of his powers by the Assembly of Territories in case the People's Assembly formally accuses the leader of committing "treason" or any other "severe crime."

The highest part of the Judiciary is the Constitutional Court, which among others oversees the legality of laws, decrees and other forms of legislation. The proposed Russian draft notes that all judges are "independent."

In short, the proposed constitution gives more executive power to the parliament and secures a Kurdish autonomy.

When asked in Astana by Kurdish reporters about the Kurdish autonomy in Syria, the head of the Syrian delegation, Bashar Jaafary, said the subject is rejected, as establishing an autonomy cannot be the choice of the group which wants to have the autonomy, but all Syrians.

Russia defended its draft resolution as based on what it heard from the Syrian government, and the opposition and from the countries of the region over the past few years.

Lavrov said during a recent meeting with representatives of the Syrian opposition that the document sums up constitutional proposals of both the Syrian government and opposition groups.

He stressed that Russia is imposing its draft on no one and the talk is about the proposals called upon to stimulate a discussion on this issue in Syrian talks in Geneva next month.

Still, Syrians, mainly opposition, and Arab observers didn't spare the new move the criticism.

The main criticism is having a foreign country writing a constitution for Syria and removing the word "Arab" from the title of the country Syrian Arab Republic, among others.

Faisal Qassem, a Qatar-based Syrian journalist opposing the Syrian government, said in a recent post on Twitter that the new draft constitution is similar to the constitution put forward in Iraq by Paul Bremer, the leader of the U.S. occupation authority of Iraq during the 2003 U.S. invasion of the country.

He said both constitutions aimed at "abolishing the Arab identity in the region."

Abdul-Bari Atwan, a London-based Palestinian journalist, said in a recent report that the "Russians are repeating the experience of Paul Bremer in Iraq, which sown sectarian seeds in the country and divided it into regions in the form of federalization, and paved the way for a self rule to the Kurds that constituted the bases of independence (for the Kurds) and later a (possible) separation."

He added that choosing the Astana talks to circulate the draft resolution in the Arabic language to the Syrian delegations indicates that Russia was serious in putting it forth, as it will be the spine of the settlement and the feature of the "new Syria" and its political system.

Atwan said the draft could receive some changes, noting that such amendments would be "marginal."

For his part, Yahia al-Aridi, a Turkey-based Syrian opposition figure and the spokesman of the opposition delegation to Astana, said in a recent interview that maybe Russia was aiming at activating the political atmosphere by presenting this draft resolution, "but for us, any country no matter how big..., when it put a constitution, it's the perfect recipe for sabotaging our country."

"We are witnessing what's happening in Iraq today," he said.

While the opposition made a clear stance toward the proposed constitution, the Syrian government made no comments on the draft presented by its powerful ally, Russia.

Still, some pro-government analysts made some remarks about the draft, largely related to the pride of not having another country proposing a constitution for Syria.

Bassam Abu Abdallah, an international law professor at the Damascus University, said he cannot speak on behalf of the government, but said he personally, as a Syrian citizen, thinks that "It's not the right of any country, even if it's an ally, to write a draft constitution for the Syrian Arab Republic."

Still, Abdallah cited the Russian remarks that the draft constitution comes in the framework of "ideas for negotiations."

He said that the constitution should be discussed among the Syrians, adding that all Syrians reject to have their constitution written by another country.

Isam Takruri, a law professor in Damascus university, said he thinks the Russian Foreign Ministry wasn't right about the terms, "they should have used suggestion, instead of a draft constitution because the suggestion could be proposed by different parties, or countries, but the draft constitution can only be written inside Syria by constituent authority."

"The draft constitution is a sovereign matter, where people in Syria elect a constituent authority and its tasked by the people to put forth a draft constitution and afterwards, this draft resolution would be put for national referendum," he said.
She faced an enormous public backlash after her label used fox fur in their designs last year.

But just two months after Kym Ellery pledged she would stop using real fur in her label's collections, the high-profile Australian designer has come under fire again.

This week, Ellery's Instagram page posted a photo of the label's 2017 collection, which features an AUD $7,855 mixed houndstooth long coat.

The coat features extensive fur trimmings, and '100 per cent fox fur; imported from Finland'.

Australian label, Ellery, faced an enormous public backlash after her label used real fur in their designs last year (Pictured: Ellery SS17 at Paris Fashion Week)

But just two months after Kym Ellery pledged to stop using fur, the lalbe features it again - both in this 2017 fox-fur-trimmed coat (left) and an oversized sweater with lamb shearling (right)

This isn't the only item featuring real fur, however.

Ellery's latest collection also features a Wrap Fur Coat made from 100 per cent raccoon fur, as well as an Oversized Sweater made from 100 per cent lamb shearling.

The high-end label previously said that Ellery would stop incorporating furs into their designs by June 2017.

'Ellery has promised to stop selling fur by June this year, a time which cant come soon enough for the for the foxes, racoons and other animals who have been tortured and slaughtered for her collection,' PETA spokesperson, Laura Weyman-Jones, told Daily Mail Australia.

The high-end label, and its head designer, Kym Ellery (pictured), previously said Ellery would stop incorporating furs into their designs in 2017

'Investigations into fur farms in Finland - the source of Ellerys pelts - show animals crammed into cages alongside rotting corpses, foxes with missing legs and ears and pups cannibalising each other.

'The sooner Ellery joins PETA's list of more than 100 compassionate Australian designers such as Wayne Cooper, Nicola Finetti and One Teaspoon, who refuse to sell cruel fur, the better for the animals and shoppers - most of whom would rather go naked than wear Ellery's new collection,' she said.

Last year, as many as 60,000 animal rights protestors and PETA criticised Ellery for its use of real fur.

Ellery's pledge to stop came after some 60,000 animal rights protesters and PETA, criticised Ellery for its use of real fur (pictured left: new fur coat with raccoon, and right: fox fur stole)

The Ellery Facebook page was shut down after it was littered with messages urging the designer to reconsider her stance on fox and rabbit fur.

The label also reportedly received as many as 11,000 emails on the subject.

Daily Mail Australia approached Ellery for comment.

The fashion house replied and said: 'Australian fashion brand, Ellery has announced its plans to stop using fur from mid-2017.

'Ellery has withdrawn garments containing fur from its retail and online stores.

'Ellery is proud of its ethical supply chain and sourced fur from Finnish-based, SAGA Furs.'
A New Zealand woman gave birth to a tiny miracle after just 25 weeks of pregnancy.

Olivia Agnew weighed only 630g when she was born last October.

Since then, she has grown to almost 3kg, and is now beginning to breastfeed, her mother Amy Agnew told the New Zealand Herald.

'It's the little things, like when we are alone together and breastfeeding, it is really quite amazing, that was a pretty special moment doing that for the first time last week,' Ms Agnew said.

Olivia Agnew weighed only 630g when she was born last October. She is pictured with her mother Amy

Olivia Agnew's father holds her tiny hand at Auckland City Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care unit

'Every day I notice little features coming through, little dimples on her chin, eyelashes, hair growth and the little grimaces that she has.'

Olivia, who was born almost precisely a year after her brother Ollie passed away in utero, battled health problems after her premature birth.

At three weeks old, her parents were told she needed emergency surgery and that might not survive the procedure.

'That was a really tough day, as you know our story with Ollie, to be told we may lose Olivia as well was pretty tough to hear,' her mother said.

But Olivia pulled through and is making good progress, her mother said.

It will be a few more weeks before Olivia can leave Auckland City Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care unit, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The Queen brought a splash of colour to a grey January day when she attended church in a vibrant red coat and hat.

The monarch, 90, was joined by Prince Philip and Princess Anne for the service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate, Norfolk, this morning.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were pictured arriving by car while Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, made the journey on foot.

Vibrant: The Queen and Prince Philip arrived for church in Sandringham, Norfolk, this morning

Fresh air: Princess Anne, right, and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, walked to church

The Princess Royal looked elegant in a emerald green coat and hat, which she paired with long black suede boots and black leather gloves.

Sir Timothy Laurence looked smart in a suit and red scarf.

They both looked in good spirits as they strolled along the country lane, taking in the fresh morning air.

The Queen has now made a handful of public appearances since recovering from a heavy cold that forced her to stay indoors over the festive period.

Most recently she visited the Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, in nearby Norfolk.

Morning stroll: The Princess Royal looked elegant in her emerald green coat and matching hat

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were in high spirits after attending the morning church service at St Mary Magdalene Church

The Queen looked radiant in red as she left the morning service

The monarch, 90, was joined by Prince Philip and Princess Anne for the service

Crowds of well-wishers gathered to welcome the monarch, cheering and taking photos as she made her way into the building.

The Queen flashed a smile as she was greeted outside by topless Fijian warriors.

The exhibition presents both Fijian artworks and a European response to them - paintings, drawings and historic photographs of the 19th and 20th century.

Honoured: The Queen was greeted by two Fijian warriors outside an exhibition on Friday

Welcome: A group of schoolchildren looked on as the Queen was greeted outside the centre
She just celebrated her baby girl's second birthday.

So it's little wonder Sonia Kruger was surprised to find out she should already have enrolled little Maggie in school.

The Today Extra host wrote a piece for Honey Nine, where she asked: 'when did it get so complicated?'

Scroll down for video

Sonia Kruger asked when it call got so complicated after people questioned whether her daughter, two-year-old Maggie, was enrolled in school

'I was too busy learning how to keep my child alive than to think about where she would commence her education,' Sonia wrote. Maggie is pictured on her second birthday

'Apparently I should have booked her in to school at birth? What the actual?' she wrote.

'I was too busy learning how to keep my child alive than to think about where she would commence her education.

'I'm not even sure what age Maggie is supposed to go to kindy, or pre school, or prep, or early learning or whatever it's called this week? Note to self: Google that later.'

'Apparently I should have booked her in to school at birth? What the actual?' she wrote

Sonia said people were asking with increasing concern her school arrangements for little Maggie

The realisation came after Sonia, 51, said people were expressing concern at the fact little Maggie was not yet enrolled.

She said while she did call the local school to request enrollment papers, she had since misplaced them.

She also asked just when things had become so complicated, as when she was a child she was simply enrolled in the local school when she turned six.

It comes after the 51-year-old said '50 is the new 40' and a lot of people were reaching professional goals and starting families later in life

The piece comes days after Sonia told the Daily Telegraph '50 is the new 40'

'I think being 50 today is a very different proposition than in our parents' era,' Sonia told the publication.

'In their era, you had hit middle age at 50 and were starting to think about retirement.

'Now, a lot of people are only just hitting their professional straps at that age and are leaving it later to have families; we are doing everything a little bit later.'
At The Mail on Sunday we take great pride in the quality of our journalism. All our journalists are required to observe the Editors Code of Practice and The Mail on Sunday is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the new regulatory body for the Press set up in response to the Leveson Inquiry. We aim to correct any errors as promptly as possible.

A news story said about 250,000 people die in Britain each year from pulmonary embolism. In fact the figure, in 2012, was 2,300.

If you wish to report an inaccuracy, please email corrections@mailonsunday.co.uk. To make a formal complaint under IPSO rules please go to www.mailonsunday.co.uk/readerseditor where you will find an easy-to-use complaints form.

You can also write to Readers Editor, The Mail on Sunday, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT.
Theyre both gorgeous, glamorous and adored by royal brothers, but how does glossy good girl the Duchess of Cambridge measure up against sassy Suits star Meghan Markle? Lucy Lawrence pits the princes partners against each other

GIRL POWER

Kate has never had a real job, having spent her 20s waiting for her prince. The strategy worked, but would you suggest to your own daughter that she take such a route to her happy ever after?

Meghan's 'made it moment' came when she was cast in Suits as the smart and sexy lawyer Rachel Zane, pictured

Meghans made it moment was never going to be walking down the aisle in a tiara  it was being cast as smart, sexy paralegal Rachel Zane in cult US TV series Suits.

Meghan has said that girls need to focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings.

Harry loves an ambitious woman, and Meghan strikes us as the kind of gal who could manage both slippers and ceilings.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The Duchess of Cambridge is rarely seen with a mobile phone but her photographs of Prince George and Princess Charlotte can be found on the Kensington Palace Instagram account

Kate The DoC has never been seen with a mobile phone, although one can always find her photos of George and Charlotte on the carefully directed @KensingtonRoyal Instagram account.

We hope that, like Harry, she has a secret account that she trawls while lying awake in bed.

Meghan It was those glimpses of her and Hazzas matching beaded bracelets on her Instagram account that ultimately broke their cover, but apart from some spooning bananas (cheeky), this gal isnt giving much away.

She has clocked up 1.4 million followers  40 per cent more prying eyes than in her pre-Harry days  but still trounced by @KensingtonRoyals 1.7 million.

CANINE COMPANIONS

Kate's dog Lupo, pictured with the Duchess, has won the hearts of the nation as one of Prince George's best friends

Kate Photogenic Lupo has won the hearts of a nation, not least for taking on the role of Prince Georges best friend.

Meghan Bogart and Guy are rescue dogs who, were guessing, wouldnt say no to a pootle around Green Park with the royal corgis. Meghans Adopt Dont Shop policy is just another reason why were falling for her as hard as Harry did.

FAMILY

Kate's Ibiza-dwelling Uncle Gary, pictured, has made the Middleton family 'seem more real'

Kate Thank God for Uncle Gary (above), the naughty, Ibiza-dwelling brother of mum Carole who, far from causing scandal, simply made the picture-perfect Middletons seem more real.

You could argue that sister Pippas book on how to be a party host caused more embarrassment.

Meghans half-sister Samantha sold a story accusing Meghan of abandoning her family upon finding fame and fortune, while half-brother Thomas  who refuted Samanthas claims  was recently arrested on gun charges in the US.

STYLE

Kate keeps a conservative style in Preen, left, while actress Meghan, right, can afford to be more daring

Kate has an unfathomable habit of dressing herself old. We know the future queen is not going to parade around in Topshop Daisy Dukes, but weve always felt that Kate is far more fun than her clothes are letting on. There were some signs of sartorial sunshine in 2016  notably a lipstick-red Preen dress (above) and an off-the-shoulder Barbara Casasola number. With Meghan nipping at her heels, were hoping for more.

Meghan is clearly a fan of the shorts suit/killer heel combo, which says I mean business and Im gonna spice things up. She recently launched a clothing line for Canadian store Reitmans, featuring Rachel Zane-inspired tight leather skirts and knits. We imagine such collaborations would be ruled out were she to become an HRH, but we do hope the shorts suits will stay.

ARM CANDY

Kate always carries a clutch bag and takes little more than tissues and Tic Tacs with her in them

Kate has never been seen with large bags of stuff because she favours clutches designed to accommodate little else than tissues and Tic Tacs. Like the Queen and her trusty Launers, Kates LK Bennett clutches (occasionally upgraded to a Jimmy Choo or Anya Hindmarch) are a non-negotiable part of any outfit.

Meghan Ms Markle has been spotted with Mulberrys new Zipped Bayswater bag. Although we fancy her upping the fashion stakes with a JW Anderson Pierce bag, the Mulberry is a safe choice  it will carry all the stuff she needs while flitting across the Atlantic and look as good in BAs first-class lounge as it will in a Norfolk gastropub.

THE MEN

Prince William, left, with Kate, is hard to get too excited about but Meghan's man Harry, right, has the glamour and goodwill to outdo his brother

Kate Its hard to dislike Prince William but even harder to get excited by him.

Yes hes the future king and thus lumbered with the role of Goody Two Shoes, but after that fairy-tale wedding why did it all have to get so middle-aged?

Its easy to see why Kate and Wills have been dubbed Duke and Duchess Dowdy, but were sure its nothing the arrival of an American TV star wont fix.

Meghan Sources claim that Harrys had his eye on Meghan since glimpsing her in an episode of Suits.

When they met he got more than just his pin-up and she got more than a prince charming: they share the same charitable passions and they both love Africa.

Shes an advocate for the UN and World Vision and his Sentebale charity just celebrated ten years. Combined, they have the glamour and goodwill that could out-watt the Cambridges.

THE RESULT? Harrys girl is the queen of cool, but Kate will get the king
Hearty and warming, this is such a great dish to serve a crowd. Virtually a meal in itself, it needs just a green vegetable to go with it. When cut, the dumpling mixture forms lovely spiral shapes in cross-section that make this classic dish just that little bit different.

SERVES 8

COOK TIME 2-3 hours

FOR THE STEW

2-3 tbsp oil

1kg (2lb 3oz) braising beef, diced (see tip)

250g (9oz) small shallots, peeled and halved

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

200g (7oz) button mushrooms

50g (2oz) plain flour

500ml (18fl oz) ale

150ml (5fl oz) beef stock

2-3 tbsp onion marmalade or caramelised onion chutney

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

a dash of gravy browning (optional)

3 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

175g (6oz) self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

75g (3oz) shredded suet (beef or vegetable)

3-4 tbsp hot horseradish sauce

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 You will need a 4-litre (7-pint) deep flameproof and ovenproof casserole dish with a lid. Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the casserole dish, add the beef and brown all over on a high heat  you will need to do this in batches, removing the meat with a slotted spoon as it is cooked and setting aside.

3 Pour in a little more oil if needed and add the shallots with the carrots and mushrooms. Stir-fry over a high heat for 4-5 minutes.

4 Measure the flour into a bowl and gradually whisk in the ale, slowly at first to make a smooth paste, before adding the rest.

5 Return the meat to the casserole dish, then pour in the flour mixture and the stock. Stir over a high heat until the liquid is thickened and bubbling. Add the onion marmalade/chutney, Worcestershire sauce, gravy browning (if using) and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, then stir as you bring back up to the boil and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes. Cover with the lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 2-2 hours or until the meat is tender.

6 To make the dumplings, measure the flour and suet into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Gradually stir in 125ml-150ml (4fl oz-5fl oz) of water to make a soft, sticky dough (see tip). Transfer to a floured work surface and gently knead until smooth.

7 Sprinkle flour on to a sheet of baking paper, sit the dough on top and roll into a rectangle about 15cm x 25cm (6in x 10in). Spread the top with the horseradish sauce and scatter with the parsley. Roll up the dough into a Swiss roll, working from the long side and using the baking paper to help. Chill in the fridge for 45 minutes and slice into eight using a serrated knife (see tip).

8 When the meat is tender, remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Remove the lid from the casserole and arrange the dumplings, spiral-side up and spaced apart, on top of the stew. Return to the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until the dumplings are golden and puffed up.

9 Remove the bay leaves and serve piping hot with buttered cabbage.

PREPARE AHEAD

The stew can be made up to a day ahead and reheated with the freshly made dumplings on top. Bring to the boil on the hob before putting into the hot oven.

FREEZE

Freezes well without the dumplings.

The raw dumpling roulade can be frozen. Defrost, then slice as in step 7 and place on top when reheating the stew.

MARYS EVERYDAY TIPS

Cut up the beef into pieces that are all the same size so they cook at the same rate.

A wetter dough is better as it will be less tough when cooked.
If your children have a sweet tooth, it's time to re-teach them an age old lesson: Don't take candy from strangers, or even schoolmates.

Precaution is paramount as Strawberry Quick has made a comeback to the Capital.

The drugs look like pop rocks - a type of sweet that fizzles in the mouth, according to reports.

Parents are warned as Strawberry Quick has made a comeback to the Capital

The strawberry-flavoured methamphetamine, or meth, is targeted at youngsters.

Several city schools have warned parents about this new drug trend and the vulnerability of their kids.

The information has also been pasted on notice boards. The issue has become a hot topic among parents and is being widely discussed on WhatsApp groups and other social networking sites.

The tasty candy with a wicked coating had emerged as a grim challenge for city schools

The tasty candy with a wicked coating had emerged as a grim challenge for city schools and cops less than a decade ago, but had then apparently fizzled out over the years.

'I was unaware about the candy drug, but after receiving three similar messages on different WhatsApp groups, I took it seriously and instructed my son to be cautious about it,' said Rakesh Malhotra, a businessman who lives in south Delhi's Greater Kailash area.

His son studies in a prominent city school. Methamphetamine is an extremely addictive stimulant drug that takes the form of a white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder.

It can be taken orally, smoked, snorted, or dissolved in water or alcohol and injected.

Smoking or injecting the drug delivers it very quickly to the brain, where it produces an immediate, intense euphoria.

Because the pleasure also fades quickly, users often take repeated doses, in a 'binge and crash' pattern.

Drug peddlers who are targeting children, have come up with several other flavours such as chocolate, hazelnut cocoa and peanut butter.

A school's notice board carries a message for the parents to inform their children about the deadly candy

Speaking to Mail Today, a top official in the narcotics department said the agency is aware about the comeback of candy drugs in schools and traps are being laid to nab the peddlers.

Bitter sweet

'Also, after learning about the arrival of Strawberry quick, we are planning to issue an advisory to schools to beware of such activities near their premises,' he said.

'Apart from Strawberry Quick, Halloween candy drugs have also entered the schools.'

'These basically contain ecstasy and can kill kids through overdoses.'

Police have in the recent past seized coloured versions of crystal meth that resemble candy.

Peddlers buy raw methamphetamine and mephedrone to manufacture flavourful candies that appeal to children.

In 2015, Narcotics Control Bureau seized 3.05 kg of mephedrone and 370 gm of methamphetamine in Delhi.

Data about the seizures in 2016 have not been compiled yet.

After learning about the drug candies, schools have been instructing parents to advise their children, their friends and other students not to accept candy from strangers as this could be an attempt to draw children into drug use.

They need to be cautious in accepting candy even from friends who may be unaware of the dangers.

Meenakshi Sinha, whose child studies in a posh Delhi school said: 'Children's education has become a headache for them as well as parents nowadays.'

'Parents are already depressed because of various threats and security issues. Now the arrival of candy drugs has increased the worries tenfold.'

Experts say parents should take notice and act if a child's grades drop, he loses interest in the activities he once loved, if he changes friends, or if he starts to have trouble at school.
Pankaj Sinha is a powerful lawyer, who fights for differently-abled and is waiting for Supreme Court ruling on leprosy patients

Advocates and litigants in the courtroom sympathize as he is led up the aisle to the desk by an assistant.

But the moment he begins to make the submissions running his fingers over bulky notes prepared in braille, it becomes clear that 35-year-old lawyer Pankaj Sinha cannot to be taken lightly and is on par with any leading lawyer.

At his age, when most lawyers struggle to establish themselves in the profession, Sinha has already brought light to the life of thousands of visually impaired and differently-abled.

He has hit headlines, after securing an Court verdict which allows the hearing impaired to drive.

He also got the Delhi University to ensure that the study material for all the courses, is made accessible to the visually-impaired students, before introduction of the four-year undergraduate programme.

Pankaj has also successfully challenged the central postal life insurance in which a disabled person is charged more premium and given less money.

He forced the Centre to introduce unique identity cards to enable differently- abled book railway tickets on the internet and avail concessions.

He now awaits a landmark order from the Supreme Court in a PIL he filed in 2014, taking up the cause of leprosy-affected people.

India has 62 % of the world's leprosy population with 1.25 lakh people affected by the disease annually.

India has 62 % of the world's leprosy population with 1.25 lakh people affected by the disease annually.

'I was disturbed by the ostracization of leprosy-affected people. These people are segregated in separate colonies due to fear of the disease spreading though modern science has taught us that leprosy is curable,' Sinha says.

In response to his PIL, the Supreme Court prodded the Centre to take steps in this regard, following which the Centre filed an affidavit in 2015 saying that diagnosis and treatment of leprosy was being integrated into the general health care system for the first time.

'This is done so that the treatment of leprosy patients is more accessible, and systematically followed up, and the social stigma is reduced considerably.'

The judgement will encourage and facilitate more leprosy patients to seek health care,' the Centre said.

Asking the government to be more aggressive in its efforts to eradicate leprosy, the Supreme Court had expressed concern that people were still suffering from the disease.

The court pointed out that despite the availability of multi-drug therapy (MDT) in the country since 1981.

'This is a case which should have been taken up on a priority basis. Leprosy, as of today, is curable and because of apathy shown by the authorities, and it still remains a stigma,' the court had said.

Sinha sought the court's direction to make MDT available at primary health centres across the country
Gone are the days when a solver would sit in the place of an examinee to cheat in an entrance exam; the new-age cheats have found a crack code for online exams by taking computers of exam centre on remote access.

Police claimed that fraudsters are now compromising the computers during the pan-India exams and cheating by deploying solvers to fill the online question papers from a distant location in an organised manner.

These online entrance exams are usually conducted on Sundays and due to lack of infrastructure (computer and internet), private college, institutes and schools are roped in as the venues.

The revelation came into picture when Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force had recently arrested 10 people in Kanpur, who were rigging online competitive exams.

It is here where the problem starts as these gangs in nexus with these exam centres compromise the computers by installing remote-access software and at the time of an exam, a solver either sitting in a hotel or a garage completes the paper on behalf of the applicant, without coming under the police scanner.

The revelation came into picture when Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force had recently arrested 10 people in Kanpur, who were rigging online competitive exams.

On investigation, they found that the same modus operandi was being used by all the cheating gangs at across India.

'This examination season, we will keep an eye on all the online examination as cheating through remote access is an increasing phenomenon,' said UP STF's additional superintendent Triveni Singh.

He claimed that the crack for online examination is flourishing due to collusion between management of private institutes and members of the gang.

'All the online exams are done in partnership with leading IT companies which further delegate the work to local and private examination centres where these criminals find loophole and compromise the system by paying handsome money.

Seating arrangement and computers of candidates are also identified in advance.

All they need to do is hire expert solvers, who would enter the correct options on behalf of candidates from a distance location.

'In return, the gang charges Rs 5-10 lakh on selection depending on the exam,' Singh explained.

Police claims that the magnitude of scam runs in several crores.

However, despite such loophole coming to light, IT companies - which conduct the exams - and the examining body never audit of the computers involved.

'It is about the future of thousands of aspirants but no audit of computers is done before engaging them for such exams.'

'As flying squad inspects admit cards and carries surprise inspection of centres, they must also check computers and centres conducting the test,' Singh explained.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 17, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday agreed to hold their first summit meeting in Washington on Feb.10, said Abe here after telephone talks with Trump on Saturday.

The two leaders made the agreement during their 42-minute long telephone conversation starting from 11:05 p.m. (1405 GMT) on Saturday, the first such talks since Trump sworn in as 45th U.S. president last week.

Both sides affirmed the importance of Japan-U.S. alliance and exchanged views in economic and security fields, Abe told reporters here after the call.

As for the two leaders' summit talks next month, Abe said he hoped to meaningfully and frankly exchange views with Trump in the fields including bilateral economic and security ties.

The Japanese Prime Minister also said he hope Japan will play its due role as U.S. alliance.

Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hagiuda Koichi said after the call that Abe, in Saturday's telephone talk, also explained contribution of Japan's automobile industry to the United States.

The leaders think that the Japan-U.S. economic relationship is important, said Koichi.

However, the two leaders didn't get into any detailed conversations on issues such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA), said the deputy chief cabinet secretary.

During the telephone talk, Trump stressed that Japan-U.S. alliance is important and Japan is important partner for the United States, said Koichi.

Japan has been eager to repair relations with Trump, as the nation has largely bet its support on Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Presidential election and Trump's win has caught it off guard.

Soon after Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, Abe held unofficial talks with the U.S. president-elect in New York in November last year.

Trump on Monday signed an executive order to officially withdraw U.S. from the TPP trade deal as part of his efforts to protect American jobs.

The TPP, which Abe has backed enthusiastically, is a free trade pact between 12 Asia-Pacific countries and was formally signed by ministers from these 12 countries in last February after more than five years' negotiation.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he is not the BJP's chief minister candidate in Goa, but refused to rule out a return to the state even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed his work at the Centre during his rally in Panaji on Saturday.

Speaking to Mail Today, Parrikar said that he would obey the decisions taken by the BJP leadership.

BJP president Amit Shah's remark at a rally in Vasco had set the ball rolling as he said that 'wherever Parrikar may be working, the Goa government will function under his leadership.'

Parrikar says that he would obey the decisions taken by the BJP leadership

The minister, however, was more assertive when it came to his party's chances in the state despite the anti-incumbency factor.

He said that the Aam Aadmi Party is only restricted to Delhi and will be a non-factor in Goa and Congress will be the only main opponent.

'The main contest in Goa for BJP is with Congress and in some places, candidates of the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party will also give fight but AAP is nowhere here.

'People here vote as if they are buying gold So, how will they vote for an outsider party,' he said.

BJP president Amit Shah's remark at a rally in Vasco had set the ball rolling as he said that 'wherever Parrikar may be working, the Goa government will function under his leadership.'

On AAP's active campaign in the state, Parrikar said the AAP is not doing any work in Delhi and therefore, all their leaders come down to Goa.

'Both me and the party have worked quite hard here in the last many years. We have created a family atmosphere here in the state and its people. Last time also people had voted for us and this time as well, they are going to choose us for our good work,' the minister said.

Asked whether demonetization is going to have any effect on the polls in Goa, Parrikar said there has only been a positive impact of the scheme in the state and, therefore, any effect should also be positive.

'People feel we have taken a positive step through demonetisation and BJP has done something to put an end to the black money menace.'

'People have not suffered any problems due to this,' the minister said.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted by members of Rajpur Karni Sena in Rajasthan

Five persons, who were detained for creating nuisance on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmavati, were released by the local police on Saturday.

These protesters were allegedly involved in creating nuisance during the shooting of the film in Jaigarh in Rajasthan on Friday.

SHO Amer police station Narendra Kumar said that the protesters belong to Rajput community and had allegedly assaulted Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

The protesters are said to be members of Rajput Karni Sena, which forced stoppage of shooting of movie Padmavati by vandalising the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was distorting historical facts.

Deepika Padukone plays Rani Padmavati in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next (File picture)

Lokendra Singh Kalvi, founder of Karni Sena, said: 'We came to know about Alauddin Khilji's 'dream sequence of a love scene with Rani Padmavati' through Ranveer Singh's interview.

The protesters allegedly got incorrect information about the film from Ranveer Singh (pictured) interview

'We asked Bhansali not to go ahead with the dream scene,' says Rajpur Karni Sena

Whatever bonding Ranveer and Deepika share in their personal life should not be picturised in the film, claimed the members of Karni Sena.

'We asked Bhansali not to go ahead with the dream scene.'

'Distortion of historic facts will not be tolerated at any cost, which was well communicated to Bhansali five-six months back in Mumbai.'

The ruckus took place when the 'scene' of the film was being shot at the historic fort, eyewitnesses said.

After the incident, Bhansali decided not to go ahead with the shooting in the state.
Two maintenance workers killed by an Amtrak train near Philadelphia last year were on drugs, test results show.

Supervisor Peter John Adamovich of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania and Joseph Carter, Jr., 61, of Wilmington, Delaware died when the Palmetto train 89 from New York City to Savannah, Georgia, crashed into a backhoe on April 3, 2016.

Toxicology reports released Thursday by federal safety investigators show backhoe operator Carter tested positive for cocaine while Adamovich, who heroically ran onto the tracks to warn his colleague about the approaching train had morphine, codeine and oxycodone in his system.

Tests on train engineer Alexander Hunter, who was injured in the crash, showed evidence of marijuana use.

Backhoe operator Joseph Carter, Jr., 61, (pictured) of Wilmington, Delaware had been carrying out maintenance on the tracks when he was hit by a train. Toxicology reports released Thursday show he tested positive for cocaine

Wreckage: The two construction workers died after an Amtrak train collided with a backhoe on the tracks near Philadelphia last April

But reports suggest that the drugs do not appear to have factored into safety lapses and miscommunication being blamed for their deaths.

Documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board pinned blame on a lax safety culture that put Carter, 61, and Adamovich, 59, in harm's way as they performed maintenance on an active track in April.

'Although the materials do not reflect that drug use was the cause of this incident, any positive drug test result is completely unacceptable,' Amtrak President and CEO Charles 'Wick' Moorman wrote in a letter to employees.

Among the other documents released Thursday was a report posted in error  and later removed  in which investigators criticized Amtrak managers for allowing the track maintenance work to go on without a detailed plan identifying safety hazards.

NTSB investigators wrote that the railroad's assertion that a plan wasn't needed amounted to 'a post-accident circling of the wagons.'

Scattered debris is shown inside an Amtrak train following the deadly crash

Passengers carrying their belongings leave the Amtrak train following the accident

Amtrak investigators survey the scene following this morning's crash, which killed two and left around 30 hurt

Investigators said they determined that the track where Carter and Adamovich were struck was closed to trains until about 20 minutes before the crash, and that a foreman who took charge after a shift change never called to have it closed again.

Adamovich had tried to warn backhoe operator Carter, who was working on the tracks, of the oncoming danger when the train hit.

Lead investigator Ryan Frigo said the train driver had slammed on the emergency breaks five seconds before it hit the engineers.

Hunter, 47, blew the horn and hit the brakes once he saw equipment on an adjacent track and then on his own track, about five seconds before impact. The train slowed from 106 mph to 100 mph and only came to a complete stop about a mile down the track.

'The supervisor went running over to the location to get the guy out of there,' a source familiar with the crash and both men told the Wall Street Journal.

'That's when the train came and killed the both of them. He was trying to get Joe the hell out of there, and he was killed in the process.'

They added that miscommunication may have been responsible for the crash which occurred less than an hour after a new foreman took charge of the maintenance work in the track area. A new dispatcher, responsible for directing trains in the area, had also just started.

'There was some type of communication breakdown in there,' they said.

Supervisor Peter John Adamovich of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania had ran into the tracks to warn backhoe operator Joseph Carter, Jr., 61, (pictured) of Wilmington, Delaware of the approaching train when they were killed

Reports suggest that the drugs do not appear to have factored into safety lapses and miscommunication being blamed for their deaths (Carter is pictured)

Lawyers for Carter's family said his positive drug test was irrelevant to the systematic failures the investigative report described at Amtrak.

'Had the appropriate systems been in place and human error by the tower and locomotive engineer not occurred, Mr. Carter would be alive today,' lawyer Tom Kline said.

Carter, Adamovich and Hunter had all passed previous drug tests given as part of their employment, according to the investigative reports. No drugs were detected in post-crash tests given to surviving maintenance workers, the train's conductor and two assistant conductors.

Federal regulators say they've seen an uptick in drug use by rail workers in recent years. Starting in April, workers who perform track maintenance will be subject to the same random drug and alcohol testing as train crew members.

In a statement, the Federal Railroad Administration urged railroads to be vigilant in substance testing and 'do all they can to ensure employees are not operating or working under the influence.'

There were 341 passengers and seven crew members on board as the train approached Chester, Delaware County, at 7.53am on April 3. At least 35 were injured in the crash.

One of those was Mariam Akhtar, from Washington, DC, who told ABC 6 of the panic on board the train in the moments after the collision.

National Transportation Safety Board Investigators Ryan Frigo and Jim Southworth address the media about the crash of Amtrak Palmetto Train 89

Debris: The front carriage of the train from New York to Savannah, Georgia, derailed after crashing into the crane early this morning

'It felt like the train hit something and there were like three or four really big bangs and it kind of threw us off the seats we were sitting in,' she said. 'There was a lot of smoke and everybody was yelling.

'The train kind of stopped and later on, everybody was running to the front. Then the people were in the front started walking toward the back.'

Linton Holmes, from Wilson, North Carolina, said he heard an 'explosion' as the train derailed.

'The train was rumbling. We got off track, I guess. It was just a bunch of dust. There was dust everywhere,' he said. 'Then the train conductor came up and told us there was a fatality and wanted to see if anyone else was injured.

'It was an explosion. We got off track and then there was like a big explosion. Then there was a fire and windows burst out. Some people were cut up, but it was just minor injuries.'

Another passenger, Stephanie Burroughs, told Fox News that a conductor said one of the deaths involved someone who was 'on the tracks'.

She added that passengers had 'some injuries', but the worst she had heard about was a broken arm.

Safety procedures require that a track is 'fouled' whenever maintenance work is carried out.

This means that a foreman directs dispatch to activate a digital blocking device which prevents a train from traveling down the track.

As a back-up safety measure, a 'supplemental shunting device' should also be put on the tracks where the work is being carried out which shows a red signal light to the driver alerting them to stop the train.

It is not yet clear whether a shunting device was being used at the time of the crash.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined Silicon Valley's response to President Trump's immigration ban.

He told staff that the company 'wouldn't exist' without immigration and insisted the firm does not support the policy.

In an email to workers, obtained by Recode, he wrote: 'Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined Silicon Valley's response to President Trump's immigration ban. He told staff that the company 'wouldn't exist' without immigration and insisted the firm does not support the policy. He is pictured at Trump Tower during a meeting of tech CEOs

'I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support.'

He then quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in the note to employees: 'In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, 'We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.'

He spoke out as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai lead the outcry from business leaders.

Trump signed an order on Friday banning immigrants from seven countries from entering the United States, even if they have already been approved.

But the ban was temporarily overturned on Saturday after the ACLU won a stay in federal court, meaning those affected cannot be deported and sent back to their home countries.

Mark Zuckerberg broke his silence about President Trump's restrictive immigration policies in a heartfelt Facebook post on Saturday evening

On his social media platform, the business mogul wrote of his vehement disagreement with Trump's immigration policies

Zuckerberg broke his silence about President Trump's restrictive immigration policies in a heartfelt Facebook post on Friday evening.

The billionaire wrote of his vehement disagreement with Trump's promise to build a wall at the Mexican border, and his signing of an executive order banning Syrian refugees and preventing immigrants from selected countries from entering the United States.

Zuckerberg, who is married to a first generation immigrant, wrote about his own European nationality and his hope that the nation can come together as one.

He wrote: 'My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.

'Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.'

Zuckerberg's wife Priscilla, left, is the child of refugees from China and Vietnam

On Wednesday, Donald Trump kept to his promise to 'build the wall' - signing executive orders that will employ 5,000 new border control officers, 10,000 deportation agents, and remove government funding for sanctuary cities.

Zuckerberg continued: 'We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat.

'Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.'

'We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today.'

On Friday, Trump signed a second executive order that went into immediate effect, banning Syrian refugees from entering the country.

Since 2011, an estimated 11 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes for survival after civil war broke out, according to the EU website.

For 120 days, no Syrians will be permitted to enter the United States, and for 90 days, residents of the 'terror-prone' countries of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia are also banned, CNN said.

This posed an issue for immigrants who were already en route to the country, leading to mass arrests at airports across the nation.

On Friday, Trump signed a second executive order that went into immediate effect, banning Syrian refugees from entering the country

The New York Times reported that a number of legal complaints have since been filed, and when one refugee asked whom he should speak with about the issue, a customs agent told him to 'call Mr Trump'.

Zuckerberg continued: 'That said, I was glad to hear President Trump say he's going to 'work something out' for Dreamers - immigrants who were brought to this country at a young age by their parents.

'Right now, 750,000 Dreamers benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows them to live and work legally in the US. I hope the President and his team keep these protections in place, and over the next few weeks I'll be working with our team at FWD.us to find ways we can help.

'I'm also glad the President believes our country should continue to benefit from 'people of great talent coming into the country.''

Zuckerberg should know the importance of having highly skilled immigrants in the workforce. Facebook, as with many other companies, employs engineers from around the world to program their technology.

Many Facebook users were quick to respond to the billionaire's message, with a clear divide between those supporting and criticizing his statements.

Many Facebook users were quick to respond to the billionaire's message, with a clear divide between those supporting and criticizing his statements

Zuckerberg wrote that he was glad Trump agreed to 'work something out' for 'Dreamers' protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program

Zuckerberg spoke of his European heritage and his hope that we can all come together as Americans

Though the responses were generally positive, many criticized Zuckerberg for his 'hypocritical' statements about Trump's wall, given the fact that he recently constructed a wall around his $100 million home in Hawaii.

Many also argued that Trump is not opposing, immigration, but just wants to promote legal immigration.

One user wrote: 'Our families came into this country and went through the process to become citizens and or at the very least documented.'

Though the responses were generally positive, many criticized Zuckerberg for his 'hypocritical' statements about Trump's wall

Many also argued that Trump is not opposing, immigration, but just wants to promote legal immigration

One user wrote: 'Our families came into this country and went through the process to become citizens and or at the very least documented'

The CEO finished his emotive letter, stating: 'These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too.

'We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here.

'I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone.'

Meanwhile, Google is urgently calling back employees from overseas.

CEO Sundar Pichai said Trump's move affects at least 187 members of the company's staff.

Bloomberg News obtained a copy of Pichai's memo to employees, which read: 'It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues.

'We've always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.'

'We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.,' Google, part of Alphabet Inc, said in a statement. 'We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere.'

One Google employee of Iranian nationality with legal U.S. residency made it back to the United States just hours before the order took effect, the executive said.

Microsoft said in a statement: 'We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we're actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance.'

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Trump's move affects at least 187 members of staff

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella wrote on LinedIn: 'As an immigrant and as a CEO, I've both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic.'

A lengthy email to Microsoft employees on Saturday included the lines: 'We're aware of 76 Microsoft employees who are citizens of these countries and have a U.S. visa and are therefore affected by this new Order.

'We've already contacted everyone in this group. But there may be other employees from these countries who have U.S. green cards rather than a visa who may be affected, and there may be family members from these countries that we haven't yet reached.'

Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick sent an email to employees, which he then posted on Facebook. It reads: 'Our People Ops team has already reached out to the dozen or so employees who we know are affected: for example, those who live and work in the U.S., are legal residents but not naturalized citizens will not be able to get back into the country if they are traveling outside of the U.S. now or anytime in the next 90 days.

'This order has far broader implications as it also affects thousands of drivers who use Uber and come from the listed countries, many of whom take long breaks to go back home to see their extended family.

'These drivers currently outside of the U.S. will not be able to get back into the country for 90 days. That means they will not be able to earn a living and support their familiesand of course they will be separated from their loved ones during that time.

'We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table.'

Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, tweeted: 'Open doors brings all of US together. Closing doors further divides US. Let's all find ways to connect people, not separate them.'

Rideshare company, Lyft, issued a statement to Buzzfeed through its CEO, Logan Green. It read: 'Throughout our history, Lyft has worked hard to create an inclusive, diverse and conscientious community where all of our drivers and passengers feel welcome and respected.

'Banning people of a particular religion from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values.'
A Texas mosque has been ravaged by a fire just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting migration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2am on Saturday, and the fire department spent more than four hours battling the blaze.

Photos of the mosque show the dome toppled, and and the center's president Shahid said: 'It looks completely destroyed.'

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria in Texas (pictured) at around 2am on Saturday and called the fire department

Firefighters spent more than four hours battling the blaze. The mosque was broken into just last week

The imam was awake and checked the mosque's online surveillance, only to find the alarm was inactive and the doors were unlocked. Firefighters were already on the scene when he arrived

The imam was awake in the early morning hours and checked the mosque's online surveillance, only to find the alarm was inactive and the doors were unlocked, the Islamic center's president Shahid Hashmi said.

Just last week, someone broke into the mosque and stole a number of electronics, including laptops.

'He was worried about it and drove over there,' Hashmi said. 'By that time, fire engines were already there pouring water on the fire.'

'It's sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge,' Hashmi said.

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshal's Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze.

Authorities said it was too early to speculate, and Hashmi said: 'We don't have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened.

'So I'm sure it's going to be a few days, they told us, before they can come up with any answers for us.'

No injuries were reported.

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshal's Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze

Photos of the mosque show the dome topped, and and the center's president Shahid said: 'It looks completely destroyed.'

Hashmi, who's lived in Victoria for 32 years, said: 'When 9/11 happened, Muslims and non-Muslims, we all got together. Of course, we will rebuild.'

The mosque was built in 2000, and has enjoyed support from the city of about 115 miles southwest of Houston.

Hasmi has already has received offers of temporary quarters for the congregation to worship and a GoFundMe page has collected $165,677 in donations.

In addition to the break-in last week, the mosque was subject to vandalism in July 2013, after a man painted 'H8' or 'hate' outside the building.

The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would monitor the investigation of the Victoria fire.

A GoFundMe page has collected $165,677 in donations to help the congregation rebuild

'Because of growing anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation, and because of the recent spike in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and individuals, we urge investigators to keep the possibility of a bias motive for this fire in mind,' CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said.

Trump signed an executive order, barring a ny non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the United States.

That includes legal permanent residents - green card holders - and visa-holders from those seven countries. They cannot return to the U.S. for 90 days.

There's an exemption for immigrants and legal permanent residents whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, but it's unclear how that exemption will be applied.

Visa and green card holders already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay.

A federal judge in Brooklyn issued a nationwide, emergency stay on Saturday night to allow people with a valid visa to remain once they've landed in the US.

The decision did not strike down the executive order, and is only temporary.
A 20-year-old city councilman who was one of the youngest people ever elected in Idaho, has died after being involved in a car accident.

Wilder City Councilman Ismael Fernandez died Friday in a collision in Canyon County, Idaho, according to the Idaho Press-Tribune.

Fernandez was a 19-year-old freshman at the College of Idaho when he was elected in 2015 to the four-member Wilder City Council.

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Fernandez smiles in this 2015 photo. He helped pass a state anti-bullying law

The scene of the fatal crash outside of Wilder, Idaho

He decided to run for the council just three days before the election, and his win made national headlines and placed him on the state's first all-Latino city council.

The crash that killed Fernandez occurred on a highway outside of Wilder, a town of about 1,500 located in southwestern Idaho, near the Oregon border.

Fernandez was traveling west on Highway 19 when he crossed the center line and crashed into a truck, the Idaho State Police said.

The truck, driven by Richard Norris, 71, was a semi-tractor hauling two trailers loaded with beets, police said.

Fernandez was ejected from his car despite wearing a seat belt and died a short time later at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

Norris was not injured.

Fernandez, whose father died when he was only six months old, got support from other family members when he launched his city council run.

Fernandez is shown with an unidentified woman in this photo dated November 2012. He was one of the youngest people ever elected to public office in Idaho

Fernandez, whose father died when he was only six months old, got support from other family members when he launched his city council run.

During his campaign, he went door-to-door with his grandmother, plugging his youth as an asset.

'The lack of a youth voice leads to cynicism in politics,' Fernandez said at the time.

'When you don't have that open-mindedness, that's what gets people disengaged with politics.'

Fernandez plays house speaker in a 2013 skit from his time as a state legislature page

Fernandez got a start in politics as a teenager with a seat on the Juvenile Justice Commission.

He worked as a page in the 2013 Idaho state legislature.

Fernandez, who recalled being bullied for years as a child, helped lobby for a state anti-bullying law signed in April 2015.

'If the Capitol building could have been his home, it would have been,' his sister Mariza Fernandez, 22, told the Idaho Press-Tribune.

'I'm sure if he would have kept going he could have been the first Hispanic president,' said Wilder Mayor Alicia Mora Almazon, who is also Fernandez's cousin.
Police say drivers overdosing on heroin have caused three crashes in a North Carolina city in the past week.

High Point Police Captain Michael Kirk told media outlets that no one was seriously injured in the crashes in High Point, but two of the vehicles had children inside.

Kirk said that in one crash, officers found two people passed out in the front seat of the wrecked vehicle and two children uninjured in the back seat.

Leigh Ann Snipes and Justin Earl Faw were found unresponsive in a vehicle Snipes had been driving that crashed into a tractor-trailer on Tuesday. The crash was allegedly caused by a heroin overdose

Leigh Ann Snipes and Justin Earl Faw were found unresponsive in a vehicle Snipes had been driving that crashed into a tractor-trailer on Tuesday, CBS North Carolina reported.

David Presnell II, 23, crossed the centerline of a road, went across an exit ramp and crashed down an embankment while his 14-month-old son was in the backseat. This crash was also allegedly caused by a heroin overdose

Snipes and Faw were charged with misdemeanor child abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia while Snipes was additionally charged with driving while intoxicated, driving with a revoked license, child restraint and a safe movement violation.

The children are now in the care of a family member.

In a Monday crash, 23-year-old David Presnell II crossed the centerline of a road, went across an exit ramp and crashed down an embankment.

His 14-month-old son was in the backseat, was injured and was taken to hospital.

Kirk said that High Point has a serious heroin problem, citing a statistic that there were more than twice as many overdoses from the drug in 2016 than the year before.

High Point is home to about 110,000 people.

Kirk said many of the wrecks happen when people leave their homes to use drugs and then try to drive back.

In both cases, the children did not sustain major injuries though Presnell's son was taken to hospital. Pictured: The scene of one of the three High Point crashes
California Governor Jerry Brown will undergo further radiation treatment for prostate cancer first treated in 2012, his office announced Saturday.

Brown's oncologist, Doctor Eric Small of the University of California, San Francisco, said the cancer is not extensive and can be treated with 'a short course of radiotherapy.'

'The prognosis for Governor Brown is excellent,' Small added in a brief statement released by Brown's office.

He said the 78-year-old governor is not expected to experience any significant side effects.

Jerry Brown's office said that he will undergo further radiation treatment for prostate cancer in late February

Brown's oncologist said the prognosis for Brown is 'excellent' and that he doesn't expect any significant side effects

Brown will continue his full work schedule through treatment, which is planned to occur between late February and early March.

The three-term governor was first treated for early stage prostate cancer in January 2012 and stayed on the job throughout his nearly four-week treatment.

In April 2011, he underwent minor surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his nose.

He was put under local anesthetic and doctors removed basal cell carcinoma, a common, slow-growing form of skin cancer, from the right side of his nose.

For that cancer, Brown underwent micrographic surgery, in which a doctor can tell even before the wound is closed that all the cancerous cells have been removed.

The governor's office did not say how the prostate cancer was first detected. Cases are typically found through a PSA blood test or a physical exam.

Brown is the son of former two-term governor Edmund G. Brown and has spent a lifetime in politics, including terms as the secretary of state, attorney general and mayor of Oakland.
Saturday was a busy day for President Trump, he issued three executive orders, including one calling for joint chiefs of staff to give him a plan in 30 days for defeating the Islamic State.

Additionally, the president restructured the National Security Council so that it would include his top political adviser, Steve Bannon.

He also talked at length with Russian President Vladimir Putin in their first official phone call about how to fight terrorism in Syria and elsewhere. ,

To that theme one of the three executive orders signed is likely to see the Pentagon revisiting options for a more aggressive use of firepower and American troops.

Pictured: President Trump has issued an executive order calling for joint chiefs of staff to give him a plan in 30 days for defeating the Islamic State

This signals a potential shift in the US-Russian relations that have been marked by high tension in the recent years, reported the Washington Post.

But US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, doubt the country's military will advocate fundamentally changing a key strategy refined during the Obama administration: relying on local forces to do most of the fighting, and dying, in Syria and Iraq.

Defeating the Islamic State was one of the key themes of President Trump's campaign, and the order fulfills many of his campaign promises. However, in the time leading up to the election he avoided talking about specifics of any plan to combat the radical group.

Additionally, the president restructured the National Security council so that it would include his top political adviser, Steve Bannon (pictured)

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for several attacks on American soil and is frustrating US military operations across the Middle East.

Any shifts by the US military would have broad repercussions for American relationships throughout the Middle East, which were strained by former President Barack Obama's effort throughout his administration to limit US military involvement in Iraq and Syria.

Trump's Defense Secretary James Mattis has also advocated a more forceful approach against ISIS, but how he will pursue that remains unclear.

Trump's Defense Secretary James Mattis (pictured on Friday as he was sworn in) has also advocated a more forceful approach against ISIS, but how he will pursue that remains unclear

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will play a significant role in counseling the president. In a separate memo, Trump gave Bannon a regular seat on the principals committee of the National Security council. This will let him sit on and influence meetings of the most senior national security officials, including secretaries of defense and state, according to the Post.

This also comes with the change that the director of national intelligence and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff iwll sit on the principals committee only when issues discussed directly pertain to their 'responsibilities and expertise', reported the Post. Previously, they were both regular attendees.

The President believes these changes will make the NSC safer and more adaptive to modern threats.

Regarding Syria, military officials have long acknowledged that the United States could more quickly defeat Islamic State by using its own forces, instead of local fighters, on the battlefield.

But victory, many officials have argued, would come at the expense of more American lives lost and ultimately do little to create a lasting solution to conflicts fueled by bitter ethnic, religious and political divides in nations with fierce anti-American sentiment.

David Barno, a retired lieutenant general who once led US forces in Afghanistan, said it would be a major escalation if Trump's administration opted to rely on American troops by putting them into a direct combat role and effectively substitute them for local forces.

'We've been down that road, and I don't think the American people are excited about that idea,' said Barno, who now teaches at American University in Washington, DC.

Experts said the Pentagon could still request additional forces, beyond the less than 6,000 American troops deployed to both Iraq and Syria today, helping the US military to go further and do more in the fight.

But they also said the Pentagon may focus on smaller-scale options like increasing the number of attack helicopters and air strikes as well as bringing in more artillery. The military may also seek more authority to make battlefield decisions.

Defeating the Islamic State was one of the key themes of President Trump's campaign, and the order fulfills many of his campaign promises

Pictured: The order, which was one of three signed Saturday afternoon, is likely to see the Pentagon revisiting options for a more aggressive use of firepower and American troops

Obama's administration found itself for years battling accusations of micromanaging the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

'I do think the Pentagon will argue for, and get a lot more authority, to put advisers and special operators closer into the fight,' Barno said.

Trump, who pledged in his inaugural address to eradicate Islamic State and like-minded groups 'from the face of the earth,' met military chiefs at the Pentagon for about an hour on Friday.

A defense official, speaking to reporters after the talks, said they discussed ways to accelerate the defeat of Islamic State, among other hot-button issues, including the threat from North Korea, but offered no details.

'The chiefs did most of the talking,' the official said.

In Syria, the big step for the American-backed forces will be finally taking control of the Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa.

In his Senate confirmation hearing, Mattis said he believed the United States already had a strategy that would allow the American military to regain control of Raqqa. But he said that strategy needed to be reviewed and 'perhaps energized on a more aggressive timeline.'

One key decision awaiting the Trump administration is whether to directly provide weapons to Kurdish fighters in Syria as they push toward Raqqa, despite fierce objections from NATO ally Turkey.

Trump, who pledged in his inaugural address to eradicate Islamic State and like-minded groups 'from the face of the earth,' met military chiefs at the Pentagon for about an hour on Friday

The United States views the Kurdish fighters as its most reliable ally in Syria but Ankara sees them as an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, which include the Kurdish fighters, launched a multi-stage operation in Raqqa province in November aimed ultimately at capturing the city from ISIS.

Across the border in Iraq, local forces backed by US-led coalition airstrikes and advisers on the ground have secured a major part of the Islamic State's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.
Donald Trump's plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border has at least one international supporter - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.



Netanyahu cited his own country's wall on the border Egypt, which he says was a 'great idea,' as evidence that such Medieval-style borders are successful.

On Saturday, he tweeted: 'President Trump is right.'

He added: 'I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea.'

Benjamin Netanyahu supports Donald Trump's plan to build a wall along the United States border with Mexico

Netanyahu tweeted his support of Trump's plan. He cited his own barrier along Israel's border with Egypt as a success story for such Medieval-style borders

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in response: 'The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahu's message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall.

'Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister.'

Netanyahu, in a statement to newspaper Haaretz, said he was not trying to comment on US-Mexico relations.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the Prime Minister's office later issued a statement saying Netanyahu was not trying to voice an opinion on U.S.-Mexican relations.

Trump signed executive orders on Wednesday to start building a continuous wall along the United States border with Mexico - though who might pay for the $8bn to $20bn apparatus remains mired in controversy, Fox News reported.

Trump's executive order would also, if approved by Congress and then followed through, add 5,000 border patrol agents and 10,000 immigration officers.

This move would make it more difficult for people to illegally enter the United States from Central America.

Though with the harsh terrain, fences along many of the heavily-trafficked sections of the border and the general difficulty of uprooting oneself, it is already quite difficult to cross the border.

Already existent: A section of the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, shows that some of the border is already walled-off. Trump plans to build a continuous wall that could cost up to $20bn

Trump's executive order would also, if approved by Congress and then followed through, add 5,000 border patrol agents and 10,000 immigration officers. Pictured: The US-Mexico border near its western terminus at the Pacific Ocean

Throughout his campaign, Trump insisted that Mexico would pay for the wall but did not offer evidence of how the country would be coerced in to doing so.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Wednesday that Mexico would not pay for the wall and cancelled a planned meeting with Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump appeared to support a 20-percent import tax to help fund the wall on Thursday but his press secretary backtracked following backlash, the New York Times reported.

Yesterday, the world leaders agreed not to discuss the matter publicly, while Trump said he was working on building 'a fair relationship and a good relationship' with Mexico, Fusion reported.

The roughly 245-mile-long barrier separating Israel and Egypt was originally built to stymie the flow of migrants from African countries. Pictured: An Egyptian border policeman praying in 2008. The wall has since been upgraded

The roughly 245-mile-long barrier separating Israel and Egypt was originally built to stymie the flow of migrants from African countries such as Sudan, Eritrea and Nigeria - people fleeing economic dislocation or trying to find asylum.

Following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, Israel further increased security along the border due to fears over potential insurgencies.

Netanyahu previously said: 'I took the decision to close Israel's southern border to infiltrators and terrorists.

'This is a strategic decision to secure Israel's Jewish and democratic character,' the BBC reported.
The Port of Hamburg - Germany's biggest seaport. [File photo: china.org.cn]

China has overtaken the United States to become Germany's top trading market in 2016 for the first time, according to data collected by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).

The U.S. has fallen to become Germany's third largest trading partner in 2016.

France continues to hold the position as Germany's second largest trading partner in 2016, according to data from DIHK.

DIHK's foreign business chief Volker Treier said the volume of goods exported to China from Germany grew rapidly in the latter part of 2016, Chinanews.com reported.

The total foreign trade volume between China and Germany reached 999.1 billion yuan (USD about 145.3 billion) in 2016, with a year-on-year growth of 2.6 percent, according to statistics released by China's General Administration of Customs.

Before becoming Germany's top trading partner, China was Germany's largest trading market in Asia.

Germany has been China's top trading partner in the European Union for the last 2 years.

DIHK is the central organisation for 79 Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Germany.
The state of New York has asked surveillance companies to install a system using facial recognition technology to scan and identify people who drive in and out of New York City.

A memo, obtained by Vocativ, calls for private companies to submit plans for the installation of these cameras.

The plan is a part of Governor Cuomo's major infrastructure package, introduced in October, which also included plans to renovate airports and improve public transportation in New York.

The state of New York has asked surveillance companies to install a system using facial recognition technology to scan and identify people who drive in and out of New York City (stock image of the Holland Tunnel, one of those most used to get in and out of the city from New Jersey)

The small detail about camera installation to 'test emerging facial recognition software and equipment' went unnoticed by many New Yorkers.

A memo from the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Bridges and Tunnels division, obtained by Vocativ, shows that the MTA put out a call to a group of private vendors of surveillance equipment.

The system would scan drivers as they came into the city through bridges and tunnels at high speeds, and would also capture and pair those faces to their license plates.

A memo from the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Bridges and Tunnels division, obtained by Vocativ, shows that the MTA put out a call to a group of private vendors of surveillance equipment

Clair Garvie, an associate at Georgetown University's Center for Privacy and Technology told Vocativ: 'The biggest risk that comes with a system like this is the ability to track people, by location, by their face. So what needs to be put in place is a prohibition on the use of those cameras and the technology as a location tracking tool.'

All seven of the MTA's bridges and both tunnels were named in the Governor's proposal.

New York City won't be the first city with a facial recognition system. Moscow is currently home to the most prominent system, which attempts to pair hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras with advanced facial recognition software. The technology allows the Russian government to find people that are caught on camera by using a FaceFind program to find their social media accounts, according to Vocativ.

The system that the MTA has called for is likely still years away.

The plan is a part of Governor Cuomo's major infrastructure package, introduced in October, which also included plans to renovate airports and improve public transportation in New York

However, facial recognition is already widely used by law enforcement in the United States.

Researchers at Georgetown University published an investigation last year that shows that in at least 26 states, just having a state-issued driver's license or photo ID allows police to remotely search for and identify an individual's face from photos taken with surveillance cameras, or even posted to social media.

This can be done without a warrant or court supervision, reported Vocativ.

Additionally, sixteen states make their residents' ID photos available to the FBI, who have a facial recognition database with more than 411million photos of faces.

All seven of the MTA's bridges and both tunnels were named in the Governor's proposal

Unlike other methods of biometric identification, such as fingerprinting or DNA registries, the majority of faces belong to innocent individuals instead of criminal suspects.

These programs were imposed under the Bush administration after 9/11, and expanded under the Obama administration, allowing President Trump to inherit the most powerful surveillance machine ever built.

Additionally, Trump's transition team includes many people with a financial interest in making pervasive face recognition a reality, according to Vocativ.

Sixteen states make their residents' ID photos available to the FBI, who have a facial recognition database with more than 411million photos of faces

For example, Michael Dougherty is serving on the committee of Homeland Security/ His most recent professional role was as the CEO of the Security Identity & Biometrict Association. The association is a lobbyist group representing the companies that develop face recognition technologies.

Another member of the President's team is John Sanders, who used to be TSA's Chief Technology Officer, and now is on the board of Evolv - a company that uses face recognition to provide threat 'detection and prevention'.

For those individual already weary of trusting the Trump administration, these conflicts of interest present a large concern regarding the right to privacy.
Sir Mo Farah has taken aim at Donald Trump's immigration crackdown over fears it would ban him from returning home to his wife and daughters who live in the US.

The President signed an executive order on Friday which prevents any citizen of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days.

One of those countries is Somalia, the birthplace of Britain's most successful athlete who won double Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016. Currently training in Ethiopia, he lives with his family in Oregon.

But the Foreign Office confirmed tonight that Britons with dual nationalities will not be stopped from entering the US unless they travel directly from one of the seven countries.

A spokesman for Sir Mo said he was 'relieved' that he will be able to return to his family.

It came as the President was defiant in the face of widespread criticism and reiterated his belief that America needs to strengthen its borders, despite protests being held against the ban across the US.

Taking to Twitter earlier today he said Christians 'had been executed in the Middle East in large numbers' and added the immigration situation in Europe 'was a horrible mess'.

Mo and his wife along with their four children, are based in Oregon and he shared this picture after their family holiday in Hawaii

Mo Farah tweeted about his training from Ethiopia a week ago. He has now criticised the ban that he feared could prevent him from returning home

Following the clarification, a spokeswoman for Sir Mo said: 'We understand from the statement released this evening by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office that the executive order will not apply to Mo, and we are grateful to the FCO for urgently clarifying the situation.

'Mo is relieved that he will be able to return to his family once his current training camp concludes.

'However, as he said in his earlier statement, he still fundamentally disagrees with this incredibly divisive and discriminatory policy.'

Earlier Sir Mo wrote on Facebook: 'On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.

'I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years - working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home.

'Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome. It's deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that Daddy might not be able to come home - to explain why the President has introduced a policy that comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice.'

'I was welcomed into Britain from Somalia at eight years old and given the chance to succeed and realise my dreams. I have been proud to represent my country, win medals for the British people and receive the greatest honour of a knighthood.

'My story is an example of what can happen when you follow polices of compassion and understanding, not hate and isolation.'

But President Trump, pictured in the White House, has remained defiant in the face of widespread criticism

Taking to Twitter earlier today, he claimed Christians were 'being executed' in the Middle East

The President reiterated a 'need for strong borders' and said the immigration situation in Europe 'was a horrible mess'

At the time of the post, Sir Mo said he did not know if the ban applied to him because even though he was born in Somalia, he now only holds a British passport.

Due to return home in a few weeks, he was seeking to clarify the situation with the US authorities before the Foreign Office confirmed its position.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has spent the day speaking to the President's senior adviser Jared Kushner and chief strategist Stephen Bannon about the implications of immigration curbs.

His officials later issued guidance about what the border clampdown means for the UK.

The statement said:

The ban only applies to individuals travelling from one of the seven named countries - Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Travellers to the US from anywhere other than one of those countries will experience no extra checks regardless of nationality or place of birth.

UK nationals travelling from one of those countries are not included in the ban even if they were born in one of the affected states.

Dual citizens from one of the seven countries travelling to the US from outside those countries are not affected.

Dual nationals might have extra checks if they travel directly from one of the seven countries.

The sudden ban affected dozens of other British residents, many of whom were trapped in transit, initially unable to fly to the US.

Airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering refunds to customers whose travel plans have been ruined.

With protests being set up in states across the US, more have been planned for the UK tomorrow, including one outside Downing Street at 6pm on Monday.

Others are planned for Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge and Birmingham.

World Bank economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi (left) is banned from the US and Iranian-born physics student Naz Jahanshahi (right) fears she'll have to cancel her holiday there

Iranian-born physics student Naz Jahanshahi (pictured on a previous holiday in the US) was devastated to learn that she may have to cancel a trip to the US with her boyfriend

One woman affected was Hamaseh Tayari, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, who was stranded in Costa Rica after being denied access to a flight home to Glasgow because it was due to stop-over in New York.

The distraught vet, who was on holiday with her boyfriend, said: 'This has shocked me. We just discovered [what Trump did] at the airport when we went to check in.

'I want people to know this isn't just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and have a PhD. It has happened to a person who is working and pays tax.'

Ms Tayari has found a different route home and will shortly return to Glasgow.

She said: 'We had been saving for months for this holiday and it will cost me a month's salary just to get home'.

Ms Tayari has since thanked those who raised thousands of pounds for her to get a flight back to Scotland.

More than 6,000 has been raised through a crowdfunding page set up by Kathleen Caskie from the Women for Independence organisation to cover the cost of alternative flights via Madrid.

Women For Independence said the 2,600 needed had been passed to Ms Tayari, with the remainder of donations going to the Scottish Refugee Council.

On Twitter, the organisation said: 'Hamaseh has sent this message; I would like to say thanks somehow to all of you and the people that contributed! Thanks to get us back at home. Safe and sound and in peace!'

Ms Tayari, who grew up in Italy, is a postgraduate veterinary student at the University of Glasgow.

It is hoped she will be able to return to Scotland on Tuesday.

Hamaseh Tayari (left and right), a UK resident with an Iranian passport, is banned from the US

The vet's university helped her get back to the UK using a different route

A spokesman for the university said: 'We were extremely concerned at the difficulties which one of our postgraduate students encountered on trying to return to the UK via the United States after holidaying in Costa Rica.

'We have been in touch with Hamaseh, who has made arrangements to get back to Glasgow via an alternative route. The university will do all that we can to support her.'

A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'The Scottish Government is closely monitoring the situation and we have made contact with the UK Government to raise the case.

'We stand ready to offer whatever assistance we can to Ms Tayari or her family at this difficult time.'

Iranian-born physics student Naz Jahanshahi, from Manchester, said she was devastated at the possibility of cancelling a trip to the US with her boyfriend.

Nina Davidson who has lived in Britain for 33 years feared her family had to cancel a 'holiday of a lifetime' in Florida because she was born in Iran

The 21-year-old wrote on Facebook: 'Words cannot describe how angry, upset and shocked I am right now. After Trump's recent ban on people from 'Muslim' countries it's turned out that because I am classified as a British Citizen and travelled to Iran 3 years ago to see family, that I am denied entry into the US.

'This means that the trip me and Matt were planning to see the total solar eclipse in America may have to be cancelled.'

She told MailOnline: 'It's just upsetting that in today's world this level of discrimination is happening.

'My situation is nothing compared to those that are being detained or stuck abroad unable to go home but the reality of it is that people are being judged for where they were born'.

Another Briton affected was World Bank economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi.

He wrote on Facebook: 'I am an Economist at the World Bank (based in Jakarta), and will not apparently be able to join my fellow colleagues at our MFM training week in Washington DC in March.

Iraqi born MP Nadhim Zahawi told the BBC today that Mrs May must stand up to President Trump and not 'look away'

'Why? Because, I'm a dual British-Iraqi national and hence President Trump's recent executive order bans me from flying to the US. Allegedly, I am a threat to US national security.'

He savaged Trump's policy because it assumes that 'if you are linked to "a list of Muslim-majority" countries, you are presumed guilty, until proven otherwise.'

And Nina Davidson, who has lived in Britain for 33 years, feared her family would have to cancel a 'holiday of a lifetime' in Florida because she was born in Iran.

Mr Davidson, 46, said: 'Were all British citizens, weve all got British passports, it just so happens that my wife was born in Iran.

We didnt sleep last night trying to keep up with the news. My only thought was, how do I break it to my kids in the morning? '

Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon, also believed he would be banned from the US.

MO FARAH'S CAREER Born in war-torn Somalia on March 23, 1983, Farah spent most of his early life in Djibouti and came to London when he was eight to join his father, speaking barely any English. He was originally based in London and ran for Newham and Essex Beagles athletics club, training at St Mary's University College, Twickenham from 2001 to 2011. Sir Mo is the European record holder for the 1500m, 10,000m, half marathon and two miles, the British record holder for the 5000m, the European indoor record holder for 5000 m, the British indoor record in the 3000m and the current indoor world record holder for the two miles. The star, who received a CBE in 2013, dedicated his latest medal to son, Hussein, one, saying he now has one for each of his four children. He dedicated his golds from London to twin daughters Aisha and Amani and his 10,000m gold in Rio to stepdaughter Rhianna. Club : Newham and Essex Beagles Olympic Medals: 5,000m Gold (London 2012 and Rio 2016) 10,000m Gold (London 2012 and Rio 2016) 5,000m PB: 12:53.16s 10,000m PB: 26:46.57s Advertisement

He told the BBC: 'I don't think I have felt discriminated since little school when the kids were very cruel, as a young boy coming from Iraq of Kurdish origin.'

'For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against, it's demeaning, it's sad.'

Until the Foreign Office clarified the situation, he feared it meant he could not visit his sons who are studying at Princeton University in New Jersey.

He last year travelled there to visit one affected by a life-threatening illness but is now unable to make the trip.

He said: 'One of my sons had a life-threatening illness last year, spent time in a hospital in Princeton, wonderful healthcare in Princeton University hospital but we couldn't have travelled if we were going through the same thing now.

'There are many other human stories  the community in the UK. There are hundreds of thousands of people who were born in Iraq who are now British citizens. I always thought we were equal.

'I'm proud Stratford upon Avon, 98 per cent white, voted in Nadhim Zahawi, the son of immigrants, an immigrant to this country as a member of parliament. I hope he'll reconsider this.'

Mr Zahawi urged action from Theresa May, saying 'I don't think we should look away when President Trump makes a mistake.'

BBC World Service reporter Ali Hamedani has been tweeting after arriving by plane in Chicago, and said he had been taken to a waiting room while his 'passport was taken away'.

He said he was in the room with an Iranian woman who has both an Iranian passport and a green card.

Iranian-born Mr Hamedani wrote on Twitter: 'The border offices has not mentioned anything just invited me to a waiting room and took away my passport. Waiting...'

In an update two hours later he tweeted he was 'let in' after immigration officers interviewed him, checked his bag and looked at his laptop.

He added he was told to 'come back anytime'.

British basketball star Luol Deng, who was born in Sudan and holds both passports, also faced being affected by the ban.

BBC World Service reporter Ali Hamedani tweeted from an airport in Chicago that he had been taken to a waiting room and had his passport taken away

The ban may also have affected British basketball star Luol Deng, who was born in Sudan and holds both passports

The Los Angeles Lakers forward was not stranded out of the US as he managed to fly back after playing the Toronto Raptors in Canada before the ban kicked in.

Latest figures show that more than 250,000 people who were born in Iraq, Iran and Somalia have dual British nationality.

No figures are available for those born in Syria, Libya, Sudan or Yemen.

The order has brought scathing criticism from a host of British MPs, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who called it 'divisive and wrong.'

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked Theresa May for not doing enough to criticise Trump and said he wanted the US leader banned from addressing Parliament when he visits Britain in the summer.

He tweeted a picture of May and Trump, writing 'hand in hand with the man who banned Mo Farah & Tory MP. Yet she remains silent.'

After an appearance on ITV's Peston on Sunday he said: 'Donald Trump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with his shameful Muslim ban and attacks on refugees' and women's rights.

'Theresa May would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trump's actions in the clearest terms. That's what Britain expects and deserves.'

No10 insists the state visit will go ahead as planned while Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he would boycott the event.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured on ITV's Peston On Sunday) attacked Theresa May for not doing enough to criticise Trump

Corbyn tweeted a picture of May and Trump, writing 'hand in hand with the man who banned Mo Farah & Tory MP. Yet she remains silent.'

Even a Tory MP, Sarah Wollaston, agreed with Jeremy Corbyn when she said Mr Trump should be barred from making the usual address to Parliament.

Theresa May was forced to make a dramatic U-turn to condemn Mr Trump's ban after she refused three times to criticise the move on Saturday.

Downing Street issued a statement saying Mrs May does 'not agree' with the ban.

The Muslim Council of Britain has issued a statement condemning Mr Trump's policy.

Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: 'This ban on Muslims is not only an inconvenience, it is downright dangerous to our values of equality and non-discrimination. And yet, our Prime Minister has found it hard to express these values when representing us on the world stage.'

Iraqi born MP Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on Avon, revealed the ban applies to him

In a sign of the anger against and Tory MP Heidi Allen tweeted directly at Mrs May saying: 'Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of'

'We are told that British values include the rule of law and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.'

Thousands of demonstrators are planning to protest against the ban outside Downing Street and across the country on Monday from 6pm.

Protests are listed to take place in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge and Birmingham.

A march organised by a coalition of groups, including Stand Up to Racism and the Muslim Council of Britain, is due to begin at the US embassy next Saturday, ending at Downing Street.

And the Iraqi government is said to be considering a reciprocal ban on US citizens entering Iraq.

Trump also took aim at the New York Times today, which featured a story about the protests against Trump at airports across the country.

'Somebody with aptitude and conviction should buy the FAKE NEWS and failing @nytimes and either run it correctly or let it fold with dignity!'

Mr Trump's 90-day visa moratorium extends beyond just citizens of Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen.

It also applies to people who originally hail from those countries but are traveling on a passport issued by any other nation.

This means Iraqis seeking to enter the U.S. on a British passport, for instance, will be barred. British citizens don't normally require a visa to enter the U.S.

Sir Mo is originally from Somalia, one of the countries on Donald Trump's list. People originally from the banned countries cannot enter even if they are travelling on another passport

A State Department statement read: 'Travelers who have nationality or dual nationality of one of these countries will not be permitted for 90 days to enter the United States or be issued an immigrant or non-immigrant visa,' the statement said.

'Those nationals or dual nationals holding valid immigrant or non-immigrant visas will not be permitted to enter the United States during this period. Visa interviews will generally not be scheduled for nationals of these countries during this period.'

AIRLINES TO REFUND THE BANNED British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering refunds to customers affected by Donald Trump's controversial Muslim ban. Customers who have flights booked with either airline will be able to re-book or get a refund on their tickets if they are no longer able to fly to the US. Dubai-based Emirates said a small number of its passengers were affected Saturday, and it was helping them rebook. Delta Air Lines said it was also offering refunds. Several airlines, including Qatar Airways, posted travel alerts on their websites warning customers about the changes. British Airways said: 'We always meet our obligations under international immigration agreements. 'We are offering affected customers a refund for their travel to the US, or the opportunity to rebook their flight.' Advertisement

Donald Trump defended his tough new immigration policy, and denied that his executive order was a Muslim ban.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!'

Mr Trump was backed by former Ukip leader Nigel Farage who said he supports the travel ban and calls for the UK to do something similar.

He said: 'In this country I would like to see extreme vetting ... This is what Trumps supporters want him to do.'

Meanwhile, an Iranian-born actress who stars in Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman vowed to boycott the Oscars over Trump's immigration bans.

Taraneh Alidoosti, the 33-year-old known as the Natalie Portman of Iran, took to Twitter with a message for fans on Thursday.

'Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest,' she tweeted.

Iraqi-born Farhadi won an Oscar in 2012 for his film A Separation but fears he may not be able to attend this year's ceremony where he could win again.

Mo Farah with his wife Tania, their twin daughters and his older daughter in 2014. They now live in Oregon but it is thought he is in Ethiopia at the moment

Award-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who is nominated for an Oscar for his film The Salesman, won't be able to attend after Donald Trump introduced tough new immigration bans

On Saturday seven refugees bound for the U.S. were stopped from boarding a plane in Cairo and 12 migrants were detained in New York overnight because they arrived just after the executive order was signed.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, one of the Iraqi refugees who was detained for 14 hours at New York, was released on Saturday afternoon.

The 53-year-old had arrived in America on a flight from Istanbul on Friday night, just hours after Trump implemented the immigration ban.

He had worked for the US government in Iraq for 10 years as a translator, engineer and contractor and had a valid special immigration visa to relocate to America.

WHAT WILL TRUMP'S ANTI-IMMIGRATION ORDER DO? Ban refugee entries from all countries for 120 days. Refugees can be accepted on case-by-case basis, including if they are a religious minority facing religious persecution Block refugee entries from Syria indefinitely. Cap refugee intake at 50,000 per year. Ban visa and immigration entries for 90 days from Muslim-majority countries on banned list, including Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Suspend visa issuance to countries of particular concern. Advertisement

The dual-citizenship ban doesn't apply to US citizens who are also citizens of the seven nations singled out by Mr. Trump.

The State Department statement also said such restrictions don't apply to people from those countries traveling on diplomatic visas.

The official said that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. consulate in Erbil have stopped accepting visa applications from Iraqi nationals until further notice, except for certain diplomatic exceptions.

The urgent steps come as State Department officials try to sort out how to implement Mr Trump's broadly-worded executive order. Officials said they received little information about the ban before it took effect from the Trump team.

One described how a draft of the order was brought in unofficially to the State Department earlier this week to review before it took effect.

At a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Theresa May repeatedly refused to criticise President Trump's executive order.

She said in Ankara: 'The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees.

'And our policy on refugees is to have a number of voluntary schemes to bring Syrian refugees into the country, particularly those who are most vulnerable but also to provide significant financial contributions to support refugees in countries surrounding Syria.'

On Saturday evening, a Downing St spokesman said Theresa May does 'not agree' with Donald Trump's refugee ban and will make representations if it hits Britons.

Mrs May met with Donald Trump at the White House and the pair were snapped holding hands as they walked the colonnade

She then went to Turkey where she batted away questions about Trump's order, even though her Turkish counterpart criticised him

TRUMP HOTELS TWEET MOCKED A harmless tweet from Trump hotels in 2011 received a few replies when it was originally posted. But now hundreds are responding with witty and angry replies in light of the President's travel ban. The tweet read: 'Tell us your favorite travel memory  was it a picture, a souvenir, a sunset? Wed love to hear it!' Here are some of the replies: John Epler: 'My grandmother's travel to England, after being freed from Auschwitz' Susan Kandel: 'Mine is my mother's story of fleeing Nazi Germany by train for Brussels where she lived in hiding until she could escape to US as a refugee' A user with the handle JHD: 'Being abroad when Obama was elected and seeing how happy everybody was for both America and the world' Kaj-Erik Eriksen: 'Mine is staying at the Four Seasons when I travel! impeccable service. Trump hotels are the Motel 6's of fancy hotels. Sad!' Advertisement

However just yards away from her, Prime Minister Yildirim was putting the boot in, saying building walls would not help the refugee crisis.

He said: 'We cannot solve this refugee problem by putting up walls.

'We opened our doors, and if they come again, we would take them again.

'Regional problems cannot be solved by sweeping them under the carpet.'

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: 'British citizens banned from the US and our government has nothing to say? Disgrace.'

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: 'Not only is this shocking even by her standards, it cannot be allowed to stand. The President's actions have horrified the world, and this is a moment when she has to show what side she is on.

'At the press conference she contrived to make the Turkish government look liberal.

'They said it was wrong to build walls. Rather than fighting to build a world that is open, tolerant and united, Theresa May is dividing the world in a very dangerous way.'

Trump's order declares that U.S. policy is 'to protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks in the United States; and to prevent the admission of foreign nationals who intend to exploit United States immigration laws for malevolent purposes.'

It also gives Homeland Security 60 days to begin providing the president with the names of other countries to add to the list.

The nation will limit the total refugee resettlement numbers to 50,000 per year, according to the order.
The son of the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is launching a fresh appeal to clear his father's name and has declared: 'The world will know he is innocent.'

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was found guilty in 2001 of planting the bomb which destroyed a Pan-Am jumbo jet over southern Scotland in 1988  killing 270 people in the worst act of mass murder ever carried out on British soil.

Now his son Ali, backed by his family and the British relatives of those who died in the atrocity, is to ask Scottish authorities to declare his father's conviction a miscarriage of justice.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi (pictured left) was found guilty in 2001 of planting the bomb which destroyed a Pan-Am jumbo jet over southern Scotland in 1988. Now his son Ali (right) is to ask Scottish authorities to declare his father's conviction a miscarriage of justice

Within weeks, the son of the man who came to be known as the Lockerbie Bomber, will present a dossier of documents and new evidence to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC).

He said: 'We believe as a family that my father is innocent. My father knew he would die one day, so he gave us all the evidence for his case and it is with me right now.

'Injustice is there to see, because there is new evidence that has never been handed to the court of Scotland or any other place.

'I want the opening of the case again, and we are ready to give all the new evidence from start to finish and the world will know that my father is innocent.

The bomb killed 270 people and is the worst act of mass murder ever carried out on British soil

The freed Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al Megrahi is surrounded by his sons and grandsons and hugged by his mother and daughter at home in Tripol. The new appeal is backed by Mr Al Megrahi's family and the British relatives of those who died in the atrocity

I want to tell the victims of the massacre and the people living in Lockerbie: 'I want you to give him a chance so that you will know the truth.'

The evidence that will be put forward to the court will show the innocence of my father.

Megrahi's son added that the case would be re-opened 'pretty soon'.

After being found guilty of the bombing, Megrahi served his sentence in a Scottish jail.

New evidence will cast doubt on a fragment of circuit board (pictured) said to be part of a timing device sold only to Libya by arms manufacturers

From prison he referred his case to the SCCRC  which ruled in 2007 that there were several grounds for considering there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

But despite the apparent vindication he had received from the SCCRC, Megrahi  who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer  dropped his appeal. Soon afterwards he was controversially freed from jail on compassionate grounds and flown back to his native Libya, where he died in May 2012.

Campaigners including Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was among the passengers killed when the Pan-Am flight was blown out of the sky, tried to persuade the SCCRC to re-open the case in a bid to overturn Megrahi's conviction posthumously.

But the SCCRC ruled it could only look at the case again if Megrahi's family formally became part of the appeal process  which is now happening, the Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal.

In November, Scottish lawyer Aamer Anwar flew to Zurich with Dr Swire to meet Megrahi's son Ali and widow Aisha to collect documents relating to the appeal and to Megrahi's estate.

Last night Mr Anwar declined to discuss the case, saying only that it was at 'a sensitive stage'.

Remains of Pan Am 103. For three years Police Scotland has also been running an Operation Sandwood investigation into claims that Crown officials, police officers and expert witnesses acted illegally to secure Megrahi's conviction

But Dr Swire confirmed the case is progressing. He said: 'I'm starting to believe that by the 30th anniversary in December 2018, we must have progress. With Baset's family now able to prove it is on board, I really believe the justice system has nowhere to hide.

'The commission cannot go back on its findings of a decade ago that there may have been a miscarriage of justice, and there is an absolute avalanche of fresh forensic information that will destroy a case already picked apart ten years ago.'

Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauccis (pictured) claim that Megrahi bought clothes packed in the suitcase around the bomb has since been discredited

Megrahi's oldest son, Khaled, said: 'I know that one day the truth must go out. The last words my dad said were that one day God will show the truth.'

Pan Am 103 blew up over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988 killing all 259 on board and 11 people in the town.

At first suspicion fell on Palestinian terrorists, possibly acting for Iran as retaliation for the shooting down of an Iranian Airbus by the US.

But the focus of investigators later switched to Libya  in particular former intelligence agent Megrahi and his colleague at Libyan Arab Airlines, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah.

In 1999, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi handed the pair over for trial under Scots Law in a special court in the Netherlands on the former US base at Camp Zeist.

In January 2001, three judges, sitting without a jury, cleared Fhimah but found Megrahi guilty of mass murder.

For the past three years Police Scotland has also been running an Operation Sandwood investigation into claims that Crown officials, police officers and expert witnesses acted illegally to secure Megrahi's conviction.

Yesterday the SCCRC said: 'We do not currently have an application in this case.' The Crown Office said that as papers had not yet been lodged it had nothing to say.

'We believe as a family my father is innocent. The justice system has nowhere to hide'
Donald Trump was famously critical of the way Barack Obama wielded power.

He blasted the stream of 12 executive orders and presidential memorandums Obama signed within his first seven days of office.

But the president has signed 14 executive actions in his busy first week, beating his predecessor.

Scroll down for video

Donald Trump signs Executive Orders in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense

Donald Trump criticized how Obama handled signing executive orders. In Trump's first week as president he signed executive orders and presidential memorandums and Obama signed 12

The new commander in chief complained Obama was abusing executive power in a flurry of tweets starting in 2012.

Before the 2012 election, Trump tweeted: 'Why is @BarackObama constantly issuing executive orders that are major power grabs of authority?'

Trump's first executive order was issued the day of his inauguration to 'minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens' of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare.

Ironically, in 2014 Trump criticized Obama's use of executive actions in regards to Obamacare. Trump tweeted: 'Obama can sign an illegal action anytime for ObamaCare but he cant fix the illegal loophole.'

Trump's first week was full of making good on campaign promises.

On Wednesday he signed an executive order for the Department of Homeland Security to: 'take all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border.'

Mexico has said they will not pay for the wall. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto reiterated after Trump signed the order: 'I am dismayed by and condemn the decision made by the United States to continue building a wall that for many years, far from uniting us, has divided us.'

'Mexico does not believe in walls. I have said it again and again: Mexico will not pay for any wall.'

The president has said Mexico will reimburse the US government for the wall. Mexico has still denied this.

Trump is using his new power to undo Obama's actions. In 2014 he tweeted: 'If we do not protect the rule of law then we can expect even more illegals to cross the border. Obamas executive amnesty is dangerous.'

Yesterday Trump signed a action which bars refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US. He denies this is a a Muslim ban which he proposed during his campaign.

His comments denying this is a 'ban' came as seven refugees bound for the US were stopped from boarding a plane in Cairo on Saturday. Also, 12 migrants were detained in New York overnight because they arrived just after the executive order was signed.

Donald Trump criticized Barack Obama for the way he wielded his executive power

Trump tried to point out how Obama over-used executive actions before the 2012 election

Trump would pass more executive actions in his first week than Obama did in his first week

Additional reports of dozens of people being stopped from entering the US or booted off airplanes have been pouring in.

This string of executive actions has been criticized by legislators on both sides of the aisle.

Representative Nancy Pelosi told the New York Times: 'Congressional Republicans hypocritical acquiescence to President Trumps executive orders is an abdication of their responsibility to govern, especially in light of their vocal opposition to even the most restrained use of executive authority by President Obama.'

Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is concerned the actions will kill a program allows younger illegal immigrants to remain in the United States. She said: 'We need to go back to being the legislative branch. We didnt like this when Obama was doing it, so why should we accept it now?'

Obama issued 277 executive orders during his eight years in office according to Pew Research. This is fewer orders per year issued since President Grover Cleveland.
The woman who acted as the mother of the orphaned twin girls from Malawi who Madonna wants to adopt would be horrified to know they may be taken to the US, says her sister.

Four-year-old twins Esther and Stellas mother died in childbirth and at one day old they were taken to an orphanage.

Estelina Kalumpha plays with the orphaned twins who regarded her as their birth mother

They were cared for by Estelina Kalumpha, who they grew up believing to be their birth mother. But in a devastating second tragedy, she died in August last year from fever.

Last night, her sister Gladys told The Mail on Sunday: She cared for them from the minute they arrived at the orphanage.

If she knew a foreigner was taking them away, she would be very unhappy.

They are lovely girls, so alike even I cant always tell them apart. I dont know what is going to happen to them, or where they will go. I fear I may never see them again.

Madonna with her Malawian adopted children, David (front left) and Mercy (middle left), during a trip to the country in 2013

The girls father had taken them to the Home Of Hope orphanage after their mothers death when he found himself unable to care for them at the village where he lived in poverty.

Madonna, 58, has been a visitor to the orphanage for several years. She adopted David James in Malawi in 2006 and then controversially adopted Mercy, from the Home Of Hope orphanage, six years ago, after a lengthy legal fight.

The girls grandfather Saxon Maunde later complained he had been tricked into giving consent and had been led to believe Mercy would be educated abroad and then returned to her family.

A court is now deciding if Madonna, 58, can adopt Esther and Stella and take them to the US.

The pop star last week denied she was seeking to adopt further children from Malawi.

However, Malawis Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare confirmed she had submitted paperwork and her application was being considered.

The Vogue singer was pictured at Lilogwe High Court after a hearing last Wednesday

She was photographed leaving the High Court in Lilongwe by a rear entrance, surrounded by bodyguards.

A court official said Madonna would not be able to take the children from Malawi until an adoption decision had been made.

A judge will study the vetting procedure and decide in three weeks whether their adoption can go through.

The girls are staying at an unknown location until the courts decision.
A Trident II, or D-5 missile, is launched from an Ohio-class submarine

Trident suffered navigation problems 'years' before one of its missiles malfunctioned and veered off course in a test that was covered up by Number 10, it has emerged.

United States defence department documents show more than 1.4billion has been spent repairing faults and modernising the guidance system in the missiles in the last six years.

And a source has revealed a cover-up of a test in 2011 where a Trident missile fired by the US Navy may have failed.

Last week it was a revealed a news blackout had been enforced when a missile test had failed in June last year, just as MPs were going to vote on renewing Britain's deterrent.

According to the Sunday Times, the Trident II D5 has had consistent problems with its gyro guidance system apparently caused by a chemical reaction within its ageing components.

An extra 215million was diverted to fund the unexpected work.

A senior naval source told the Sunday paper the British test had failed when the missile veered off course, possibly toward the American mainland.

Theresa May was repeatedly asked on Andrew Marr's show whether she knew about the failure when she spoke to the Commons about renewing Trident

In a statement on Saturday, the MoD said: 'We have absolute confidence in our independent nuclear deterrent.'

Michael Clarke, former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute told the Sunday Times the documents were a clear indication that the US navy is determined to drive down production costs of the missiles.

On January 23, US officials confirmed an 'anomaly' did lead to the failure of a British Trident missile test despite the refusal of the Defence Secretary to give MPs details.

Sir Michael Fallon branded reports of the missile failure 'speculation' and insisted HMS Vengeance was successfully recertified and back on operational duty.

A US defence official with 'direct knowledge' of the incident said the anomaly triggered self destruct procedures that involved crashing the Trident missile into the sea off Florida, CNN said.

Prime Minister Theresa May refused four times in an interview to say if she was aware of the major malfunction before she led July's Trident debate.

US defence documents show there were problems in 2011 that were also covered up

The Trident II D5 missile is believed to have veered off course during a test near the coast of Florida last June.

But Mrs May did not mention the failed test when the Commons voted in July to spend 31billion on four new Trident submarines.

The former head of the Royal Navy blasted No10 over its 'bizarre and stupid' decision to 'cover up' a major malfunction in the UK's Trident nuclear missile deterrent and said it made Britain look like North Korea.

Admiral Lord West, who led the Navy from 2002-2006 and later served as a security minister, said the decision not to admit the failed test was 'extraordinary'.

He said the cover-up was probably the work of some 'silly' special adviser [Spad] trying to be 'clever'.

'The whole point of testing and firing things is to see that they work. What I am shocked by is why the Government didn't come clean about it,' he told the BBC.

'If a firing goes wrong, you should say that it's gone wrong unless you think there's something that means so fundamentally wrong that the whole system is no longer viable.

'And from what the Government says that there was a minor glitch with the missile and they're quite happy with the system still, in which case go ahead and let people know.'

Mrs May was repeatedly pressed on her knowledge of the failed test on the Andrew Marr Show.

But she dodged the questions, saying: 'When I made that speech in the House of Commons, what we were talking about was whether or not we should renew our Trident, whether or not we should have Trident missiles, an independent nuclear deterrent in the future.

'I think we should defend our country, I think we should play our role in Nato with an independent nuclear deterrent.'




Former Grand National winner Many Clouds collapsed and died yesterday moments after triumphing in a close-run contest.

The ten-year-old champion racehorse collapsed yards after crossing the finish line following a thrilling but ultimately tragic race at Cheltenham.

Many Clouds, ridden by Leighton Aspell, had just beaten Thistlecrack after dramatically overhauling him in the last 50 yards. Elation quickly turned to despair for the horses trainer Oliver Sherwood and fans as screens were erected around the 2015 National winner.

Oliver Sherwood's former Grand National hero had won the race for a second time

The crowd favourite received treatment from vets but his death, apparently from exhaustion, was confirmed soon after. He gave his all and has left us doing what he loved doing, said Mr Sherwood. Horses like that dont come along very often.

Animal rights campaigners last night called for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to be investigated amid claims Many Clouds had longstanding health problems.

Many Clouds (right) tragically collapsed and died after the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham

It was reported last year the Grand National winner had suffered from wobbles due to exhaustion after races. Dene Stansall, of Animal Aid, said: This horse should not have been allowed to race. Nothing but greed meant he was forced to keep racing despite concerns over his health. It is immoral.

A spokesman for the BHA said: It is simply not possible to say with any certainty at this stage what happened to Many Clouds.

It would be irresponsible to jump to conclusions.




A Virginia teenager shot dead what was potentially the largest-ever feral hog - 545 pounds, six feet and 10 inches long - in the state.

Jacob Breeden, 17, noticed the giant male swine tearing through his yard last week in Lignum, 70 miles southwest of Washington DC.

Breeden snatched up his rifle and went outside to face the vandal, which he then says 'charged him.'

Virginia teenager Jacob Breeden, 17, shot dead a giant male swine that was tearing through his yard in Lignum, near Washington

He told the Roanoke Times: 'When he came up to me the way he did, I had no choice but to shoot him.'

The shooter said he was scared for himself and his nieces and nephews in the house.

State wildlife officials said the hog is being tested to determine if it was domesticated or feral - and potentially fattened up for recreational hunting.

Breedon said: 'When he came up to me the way he did, I had no choice but to shoot him.' The hog weighed 545 pounds. Pictured: Breeden with a deer

Breeden said he was scared for himself and his nieces and nephews in the house

If tests do confirm that he was a feral hog, it would be the largest recorded in Virginia.

The average in Virginia generally weighs 200 pounds.

Biologist Mike Dye told the Times: 'If it was a feral hog, it was being fed a lot.'

He added: 'They typically do not have the resources to get that big in nature.'

Feral hogs are considered a nuisance in Virginia because they can destroy agricultural and environmental resources.

This means that it is acceptable to kill or trap them with no bag limit.

Feral pigs are generally thinner and have thicker hides than domesticated pigs.
A British Army officer is to face a court martial for allegedly raping a United States Air Force officer at a formal dinner.

Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Tomkins, 48, who has commanded hundreds of troops in Afghanistan, is said to have gone to the womans room and pounced on her while she was intoxicated by drink.

At a preliminary hearing in Colchester last week, a prosecution barrister told the court the alleged victim was too drunk to give her consent for sex and Lt Col Tomkins acted without reasonably believing she wanted to have sex with him.

Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Tomkins, 48, faces a court martial at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, pictured, accused of raping a female US Air Force officer

Britains most senior military judge, Advocate General Jeff Blackett, pictured, will preside over proceedings

He has pleaded not guilty to rape.

Now, in an unprecedented move, the court martial is to be moved to the US to enable the woman to give evidence.

The trial will take place at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Proceedings will be conducted by Britains most senior military judge, Advocate General Jeff Blackett, while the jury will be made up of UK military personnel.
Shameless council officials spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers cash on frivolous items during a 105 million credit card splurge, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday can reveal today.

Fancy dress wigs, hand-painted bongos and even clothes from a lingerie website are among the astonishing items bought using Government Procurement Cards, which are supposed to enable key members of staff to purchase essential items.

Using Freedom of Information requests to hundreds of councils we uncovered how suncream for traffic wardens, a robot that speaks Dutch and hat cleaning services were part of a catalogue of waste.

Government Procurement Cards are supposed to enable key members of staff to purchase essential items

Lambeth Council spent 2,192 at the trendy Electric Social nightclub (pictured). A spokesman said: The cards are only authorised for use on legitimate spending related to council business, which includes limited catering for events'

The spending has been condemned as unforgivable and comes as councils inflict savage cuts on public services.

One authority spent more than 2,000 on a night out at a night club, while another splurged more than 6,300 on fast food.

Last night Conservative MP Nigel Mills, a member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: Many local councils are forever complaining that they dont have enough money  and I think their council tax payers will be very angry to hear money has been lavished on unnecessary expenditure.

Birmingham City Council recently insisted it was being forced to slash 500,000 from arts funding. Despite this, its European and International Team has been using procurement cards to spend freely on costly trips abroad.

In September last year a delegation went to Hong Kong, clocking up 1,498 on their cards  not including travel or accommodation.

One night they enjoyed a meal at the Motorino pizzeria in the Soho district of Hong Kong  which tempts customers with a Brussels Sprout pizza for 17  and ran up substantial bills at the five star Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Angela Probert, Birminghams strategic director for change and support, defended the trip saying: Birmingham has an international profile, so councillors and officers are sometimes required to travel overseas to build on the citys global reputation.

Slough Council procurement cards were used to purchase 75 of items from designer lingerie website Figleaves for dance academy students

Another Midlands local authority, Warwickshire, is facing budget cuts totalling 67million. But in November last year staff blew 1,415 on Halloween supplies for schools which included spooky lollies and an animatronic cocooned man. It also spent 50 on wigs  believed to be for school performances.

Slough Council procurement cards were used to purchase 75 of items from designer lingerie website Figleaves for dance academy students  as well as 54 on hat cleaning and shoe repairs.

Aylesbury Vale Council rewarded its longest-serving staff with 250 of jewellery from Italian jewellers Biagio, and 123.75 from Hester Clarke, which sells beautiful statement pieces.

West Lindsey Council treated a departing colleague with over 200 of John Lewis vouchers, with another receiving an 88 piece of jewellery from Barnes.

Northumberland splurged 103 on an educational Ohbot robot that can speak Dutch (pictured left). Warwickshire, is facing budget cuts totalling 67million. But in November last year staff blew 1,415 on Halloween supplies (right)

Alan Robinson, strategic lead for democracy and business support said: West Lindsey District Council values the contribution of all its employees and wishes to reward them by issuing them with a gift on their retirement.

Lambeth Council spent 2,192 at the trendy Electric Social nightclub. A spokesman said: The cards are only authorised for use on legitimate spending related to council business, which includes limited catering for events.

Mid-Sussex Council coughed up 26 on suncream for traffic officers to ensure cars park safely and traffic flows smoothly.

The council chairman took his wife to enjoy An Evening with Jack Higgins  a famous thriller writer holding an event in aid of the ABF The Soldiers Charity  and he claimed back the 51 cost of the tickets.

Portsmouth Council spent 6,381 on fast food at McDonalds, Burger King and Subway, and 2,105 at bakeries

Portsmouth Council spent 6,381 on fast food at McDonalds, Burger King and Subway, and 2,105 at bakeries. It admitted the treats from Greggs are regularly doled out at training sessions, their canteens, and at meetings with youngsters in their care.

Northumberland splurged 103 on an educational Ohbot robot that can speak Dutch, sing songs, and change its eye colour. Ceredigion Council bought 17 hand-painted bongo drums made from goatskin for a single secondary school.

John OConnell, of the TaxPayers Alliance described our findings as unforgiveable. He said: This reinforces the idea that many councils have not taken the task of cutting out waste seriously enough while being too quick to slash front- line services.




(Photo/Sina Weibo of CCTV)

The 2017 CCTV (China Central Television) Spring Festival Gala, an annual extravaganza featuring singing, dancing, comedic skits and other performances, reached a top online audience of 140 million by 10:30 pm on Chinese New Years Eve on Friday night.

The gala has also stayed top of the most-searched and talked-about topics on Chinas social media platforms since Friday morning.

Starting in 1983, the gala was previously regarded as a must-watch for many in China on the Eve of Chinese New Year, but has suffered from a decline of viewership and popularity in recent years. Although CCTV has not yet released the TV viewing figures, the general consensus on this years spectacular was that it was better than last years, with fewer critical comments and reviews, part of which might be credited to efforts of its production team to aim for more innovations this year.

In an earlier interview with CCTV on Monday, Yang Dongsheng, director of this years gala, said weve made innovations to the galas structure and its acts, including the comedy skits and all the songs and dances.

Local flavors

The 2017 gala featured more stage sets from showcasing different parts of the nation. Apart from the main stage set in Beijing, this years gala also had four other stages set in Shanghai, Harbin in Northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province, Guilin in Southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, which allowed for performances that highlighted the nations diversity.

There was an ice dance on the Harbin stage against the amazing background of local ice sculptures and lanterns, and a bonfire party was held on the stage set in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. On the main stage, a set by Uyghur comedians was definitely a refreshing departure from the regular comedy skits.

Best-looking gala ever

Featuring fresh stars such as Lu Han and the popular boy band TFboys, as well as some of the hottest Chinese mainland youth actors and actresses including Hu Ge and Liu Tao, this years gala has been dubbed the best-looking Spring Festival Gala ever by netizens. Discussions about their performances received floods of likes and sparked numerous discussions on social media platforms, thanks to their amazingly huge fan bases.

A post about the kick-off show featuring TFboys on the galas Sina Weibo account was reposted more than 10,000 times and garnered over 6,000 likes within hours. A rehearsal video featuring Lu and William Chan released earlier on Monday by the account was reposted 120,000 times by Tuesday morning.

During the live broadcast, tens of thousands of comments from fans like my honey is on the stage! were left under posts on Sina Weibo with pictures and videos featuring these stars and the number keeps growing.

Saluting heroes

This year, the gala also paid tribute to Chinas national heroes, bringing in veterans of the Long March, Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou space program and soldiers from Peoples Liberation Army. Their speeches and performances also received tens of thousands of reposts and comments of respect and love from viewers on social media platforms.

Comedy fail

But judging from the reviews and comments online, the comedy acts and xiangsheng, or crosstalk, in this years gala seem to have failed the expectations of many. Even though the acts this year avoided voicing prejudiced opinions against accents of dialects and groups such as left-over women as shown in the past years, and as always, brought in hot-button social issues like blind-dating or familial topics such as caring for the elderly, they were generally considered by netizens as not so funny.
Police chiefs are threatening to defy the Government over tough new penalties for drivers caught using their mobile phones behind the wheel.

Under rules due to come into effect in March, drivers making a call or texting should be hit with a 200 fine and six penalty points on their licence, up from the present 100 and three points.

From March, motorists caught using their phones at the wheel face a 200 fine and six points

The move follows public outrage at the growing number of innocent people killed or maimed by motorists distracted by using their phones or tablet devices.

But in a shock move, police chiefs have told Ministers they want to retain the right to spare some motorists the harsh penalties  and allow them to choose road safety courses instead.

Darrell Martin, whose brother Lee was killed by a texting van driver, said last night: I think they should get six points  thats a clear signal not to use your phone in the car. Its a massive distraction.

If they let people do courses, its not a clear message. They need to say: Youre not allowed to use them.

But in a shock move, police chiefs have told Ministers they want to retain the right to spare some motorists harsh penalties - and offer courses instead - to the anger of campaign groups

Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, national lead for roads policing, told a conference last week that police had to be proportionate in their response if, for instance, a driver was using a phone while in a traffic jam.

But Roger Lawson, campaign director for the Association of British Drivers, told The Mail on Sunday: Im astonished the police are ignoring the Government on this. They seem to think they are a law unto themselves. They claim they only cover their administration costs, but they are making money out of these courses.

Last year, the Department for Transport said it would double the penalty amid growing concern at the scale of the problem. In one horrendous case in 2016, a mother and three children died when a lorry driver who was scrolling through music on his mobile hit their stationary car at 50mph.

Chief Constable Suzette Davenport (pictured), national lead for roads policing, told a conference last week that police had to be proportionate in their response

Ms Davenport, Gloucestershires Chief Constable, said: I had a letter from the Secretary of State whose strong view is we should not offer courses that people using a mobile phone should go on.

I wrote back and said I do have some sympathy with that view but you have to be proportionate.

For example, if you are stationary in a traffic jam and arent moving anywhere, I dont think it is appropriate to be given six points. However, chief constables will make the decision about how they enforce it, but the default should be fines and points rather than drivers being put on a course.

Drivers avoid receiving fines or penalty points, but must pay up to 100 to take a course. Forces get about 40 and the provider the rest.

The courses are just one part of a highly profitable industry, known as the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme. Latest figures show two million people attended awareness lessons between April 2014 and September 2015, most for speeding but some for being distracted or not wearing seatbelts.

Drivers caught using phones were among the 100,000 who took a four-hour course called Whats Driving Us?, which is aimed at those who knew they were committing an offence.

Offenders are only meant to be able go on the courses once every three years. Until recently, a database was operated by a private firm, NDORS Ltd, run by former chief constable Meredydd Hughes.Accounts show its turnover was 80 million in the past 18 months.

Last night, Whitehall sources played down suggestions of a row, saying operational decisions were up to police chiefs rather than Ministers.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: We are sending a clear and simple message  do not use your phone while driving.

The default position for all police who catch someone using a mobile phone is to issue a fine and penalty points, which will double to 200 and six points from March 1.
The 3.5million engagement ring is the only thing still in tact, the gangster behind the Paris heist has told police

The only piece of jewellery left after the multi-million pound jewel heist from Kim Kardashian's Paris hotel is her engagement ring, the gangster arrested for the crime has said.

Aomar Ait Khedache, a 60-year-old nicknamed 'Omar le Vieux' (Old Omar) told police his gang had melted down and sold most of the stolen goods but still have the 3.5 million engagement ring given to her by Kanye West.

A transcript of his testimony given to police after his arrest earlier this month in connection with the October robbery was leaked to Le Monde newspaper.

Khedache said his team stayed in Paris for a short time after the heist before they went to the Belgian town of Antwerp, a diamond trading centre, to sell the stolen goods which the US star said were worth around 9 million (8.7m).

'So that the jewels wouldn't be recognised, we took a joint decision to melt them down,' Mr Khedache told police.

'One of us took care of that. He came back with bars Altogether there must have been a bit more than 800 grammes,' said the suspect, whose DNA was found at the crime scene at the luxury Paris apartment where Kardashian was staying.

He said they had sold off the transformed jewels but did not say how much they obtained for them.

The scene outside the hotel in Paris where Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint and had 9million worth of jewellery stolen

Criminals often have stolen jewellery melted down and the metal is then transformed into bars and the stones altered to remove any identifying marks.

Mr Khedache said they had not sold off the engagement ring worth 3.5million that the 36-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star had shown off in a social media the day before she was robbed.

He told police that 'somebody has it' without giving any names and said 'we're all afraid to sell it because it is a stone that's very easy to identify.'

Kardashian made a statement to police shortly after the robbery and told them that the robbers had threatened her with a gun after they tied up the concierge and burst into her apartment.

But Mr Khedache said that his gang treated their victim with respect and 'with gentleness.'

Kardashian was blamed by the French police chief for 'flaunting her jewellery on social media' in the aftermath of the crime

'We didn't take our weapons out in front of a woman,' he said in his testimony. 'The person with me tied her up on the bed I placed her in the bath.'

Kardashian's constant posting on social media made it easy to plan the heist, said Khedache.

'The jewels were shown on the internet, and (she said) that she didn't wear fakes the time she would arrive in France, you just had to look at the internet and you knew everything, absolutely everything,' he said.

He said his gang had 'very precise information' about the movements of the star during her fateful Paris trip last October which they got from 'someone who was very close to her.'

A total of 10 have now been charged including five accused of a direct role in the robbery, during which Kardashian was bound and gagged, then robbed at gunpoint of jewellery worth almost 9 million.

A total of 10 have now been charged including five accused of a direct role in the robbery. The mastermind is thought to be Aomar Ait Khedache, nicknamed Old Omar

The robbers made off with the reality TV star's 20-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring worth 3.5million and a case of jewellery with a value of 5.24million.

The heist on October 3 was France's biggest jewellery theft involving a private citizen in more than two decades.

Five suspects were identified by their surname initials as Aomar A., 60; Pierre B., 72; Francois D., 54; Harminy A. 29; and Christiane G., the 70-year-old woman.

A sixth, who was named in full, was Didier Dubreucq, 61 and a convicted drug runner nicknamed Blue Eyes.

Reality star Kim, 36, was woken at 2.35am on October 3 as she slept in her luxury Paris apartment

Among those arrested previously was Gary Madar, 40, brother of Ms Kardashians limousine driver, Michael Madar, who has been released without charge.

Gary Madar and an accomplice called Florus H, 44, are is alleged to have informed the robbers of Ms Kardashians schedule while she was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week.

The fourth man charged is Marceau B, 64, who allegedly travelled to Antwerp, Europes diamond capital, to dispose of the jewels.

He has been indicted for concealment of stolen goods in an organised gang, and criminal association.

Marceau B. is also a career criminal, with more than 10 convictions behind him, including one in 1998 for possession and transport of counterfeit money, and one for aggravated theft.

He was released from prison at the end of 2011 and charged six months later in a forgery case, but was finally acquitted last summer.
A teenage girl fell to her death from a cliff in Tasmania.

The 17-year-old girl was with a number of people when she fell shortly before midnight Sunday, police said.

The incident happened near Blowhole Road at Blackman's Bay.

The 17-year-old girl was with a number of people when she fell shortly before midnight Sunday, police said. The incident happened near Blowhole Road at Blackman's Bay (pictured)

Police have informed the girl's family but would not release her name.

Officers are speaking with people who were present in order to 'piece together events leading up to her death,' police wrote in a news release.

'The group appear to have travelled to Blowhole Road from a nearby social party in Summerleas Rd [in Kingston] and are now assisting investigators compile statements,' Inspector Craig Joel told the Mercury newspaper.

Emergency officials who responded to the scene were unable to revive the girl, police wrote in the release.

'Our thoughts are with her family, friends and loved ones at this sad time,' police wrote.
Lawyers who cream millions of pounds off the NHS are to have their legal fees capped  in a victory for The Mail on Sunday.

The Health Secretary is to bring in stringent controls so law firms can no longer claim exorbitant fees for clinical-negligence cases that result in only modest compensation.

Law firms will no loner be able to claim for extortionate fees for clinical-negligence cases that only result in modest compensation

Jeremy Hunts announcement, made exclusively to this paper, comes after we revealed the staggering fees the NHS has to pay former patients lawyers. It gave 418million to legal teams last year  up 43 per cent on 2015.

In one case, a firm tried to bill more than 73,000 after their client was awarded 1,500 over a missed viral infection.

In another, lawyers claimed 83,000 for a case where the patient received a mere 1,000. But under the Governments proposed scheme, solicitors bills will be capped in cases when the clients compensation is less than 25,000  around 60 per cent of cases.

The Department of Health estimates the move will save the English NHS 45 million a year. Though this is a fraction of the 1.5 billion annual bill for compensation and legal fees, it is enough to pay for 2,000 nurses.

Plans announce by Jeremy Hunt (pictured) are expected to save the English NHS 45 million a year

Mr Hunt said it was important patients had open dialogue with hospitals when significant mistakes happened, and legal action could be part of this process.

But he said: What we often see in lower cost claims is a deeply unfair system where unscrupulous law firms cream off excessive legal costs that dwarf the actual damages recovered. We believe this creates an adversarial culture of litigation, which is inflating insurance premiums and drawing away resource from the NHS.

A 12-week public consultation begins tomorrow and, a Government source said, Mr Hunt wants the cap to come into force by autumn.

Lawyers have delayed the so-called fixed costs by more than a year  the consultation had been due to begin in 2015.

They also appear to have watered down the project, with the cap limit originally set at 100,000.

Philippa Luscombe, of solicitors Penningtons Manches, said fixed costs risked denying justice to parents who had lost babies and those whose elderly relatives died due to appalling care, as such claims tended to result in low compensation.

But Emma Hallinan, of the Medical Protection Society, which indemnifies doctors, said she was pleased the Government is tackling this important issue.
Police believe a father killed his wife and their teenage son before taking his own life at their home in McClean, Virginia.

Father Hong Chen, mother Shirley Zhou and their 16-year-old son James Wenjie Chen were found shot dead in their $1.2million property on Friday.

Fairfax County police believe Chen, 52, gunned down Zhou, 48 before killing their son who was a sophomore in high school.

The couple had a daughter who attends the University of Virginia according to WUSA9.

Shirley Zhou (left) was found dead in her home with her son James Wenjie Chen (right)

In a statement on Facebook, Fairfax police wrote: 'Detectives believe this to be a domestic-related incident and that there is no threat to the community.'

The family was found in the wealthy neighborhood where their house is worth approximately $1.2million.

The three were discovered dead inside their home in an affluent suburb of Washington DC, and police are calling the deaths 'suspicious.'

The bodies were found on a property in the 1300 block of Windy Hill Road in McClean, Virginia, which is home to many high-ranking government officials, members of the US Congress and prominent businessmen.

In a press briefing held near the scene of the incident, officer Meghan Hawkins, with the Fairfax County Police Department, said that officers were sent to the home at around 12.30pm after a family member came by to check on the residents, having been unable to reach them by phone.

Hong Chen, Shirley Zhou and James Wenjie Chen were found dead inside their home in McLean

Shocking find: A family member stopped by the home on Windy Hill Road to check on some relatives and glimpsed a body through a window

The family was found in the wealthy neighborhood. Their neighbors' homes on the street are listed for $2-3million.

The murder-suicide allegedly happened at 1300 block of Windy Hill Road

Officers who responded to the scene discovered three unresponsive victims

The person saw what appeared to be a body through a window and called 911, reported WJLA.

Officers who responded to the scene entered the sprawling home with wood siding and discovered inside three unresponsive victims.

Neighbors tell the Washington Post a family with children had lived in the home for about four years, including an elementary school-aged child and an older sibling who attended high school.

James Wenjie Chen was a sophomore at Langley High School. He reportedly has an older sister
A man died on Saturday night at the Rainbow Serpent music festival in country Victoria.

Police and paramedics were called to the festival in Lexton in the state's north on Saturday night, but were unable to save the man who died at 10.15pm.

He is the second person to die at Rainbow Serpent in five years and last year the event was marred by drug arrests, fights and alleged sexual assaults.

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A man died on Saturday night at the notorious Rainbow Serpent music festival in country Victoria

The festival started on Friday and still has two days to run, ending on Monday

The festival started on Friday and still has two days to run, ending on Monday.

The psychadelic-oriented event featured a wide array of funky outfits from tie-dyed shirts to elaborate costumes - or just going shirtless to beat the heat.

Dozens of acts perform over four stages, and the festival also includes art galleries, cultural performances, food stall, markets, workshops and speeches.

A woman running a clothing stall is dressed as a kitten and poses for a photo in that persona

A man appears very worse for wear and is looked after by other festival-goers. The photo on social media was captioned 'this was not good!'

About 16,000 people are attending the event over four days and all camp on site

Stalls offered to artistically cover people in glitter to complement their elaborate costumes

A woman flaunts her toned abs below her fluffy costume as she prepares for the event

Two women dress for the hot weather, putting on leggy displays but bringing a fashionable umbrella

These revellers look excited to have finally arrived at the remote location

Asian-inspired umbrella were a popular choice to keep the sun off in hot weather

Police said last year it was 'a miracle no one was killed' after 40 drivers tested positive for drugs at stops outside the venue.

There were reports of four sexual assaults, three thefts and a drink driver, and two security staff were allegedly assaulted.

Four men were also arrested for drug trafficking at the four day event attended by 16,000 people.

Attendees were not afraid to show off plenty of skin as they rocked interesting outfits

The view from the first day as partygoers set up their tents for the weekend

Two friends with facepaint and costumes posed with a cardboard cutout of a celebrity

Many attendees opted for psychedelic-style clothes features a lot of tie-dye

As the festival filled up the dacefloors got crowded and more people wore glitter

A group poses near one of the big stages while one of them holds a trippy sign

This man went all out with the glitter wearing for his sparkly costume

Festival goer Daniel Buccianti, 34, died in 2012 after taking acid.

Festival director Tim Harvey on Sunday offered condolences to family and friends of the unidentified man.

'Rainbow Serpent considers the safety of patrons a priority and we will continue to cooperate with authorities to determine exactly what happened in this situation,' he said.

Police said the death was not considered suspicious and a report would be prepared for the coroner.

A masked woman performs a yoga routine under a tree while another uses a typewriter

Crowds did their best to keep cool under the oppressive sun

Police and paramedics were called to the festival in Lexton in the state's north on Saturday night, but were unable to save the man who died at 10.15pm

Dozens of acts perform over four stages, and the festival also includes art galleries, cultural performances, food stall, markets, workshops and speeches
Qantas says it will refund tickets for passengers who are unable to board US-bound flights after President Donald Trump's immigration freeze on seven Muslim-majority nations

And home-sharing company Airbnb has also joined the airline by offering free accommodation to refugees and travellers barred from the US.

The airline said on Sunday it will change its processes and booking systems following advice from the US government regarding tighter entry conditions.

'Passengers booked on Qantas for travel to the United States who use a passport from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Libya have a number of options, including a change to their destination or a refund,' Qantas said in a statement.

Qantas will offer refunds to any passengers caught up in US President Donald Trump's immigration freeze on seven Muslim-majority nations

Mr Trump has signed as executive order stopping immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations and placed a temporary suspension on refugees

Airbnb's cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky wrote on Facebook that his company would find a place to stay for those effected.

'We have 3M homes, so we can definitely find people a place to stay,' he wrote.

Virgin Australia said none of its crew or passengers were so far affected by the ban.

'Virgin Australia always advises its guests travelling internationally to ensure they hold the relevant documentation for entry into that particular country,' the company wrote in a statement supplied to Daily Mail Australia.

The news came shortly after a US court partially struck down the president's plan, granting an emergency stay blocking the deportation of migrants detained at airports around the United States.

The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued the stay Saturday evening after only two of 12 refugees held at JFK airport were released, after 14 and 24 hours respectively.

The ACLU had filed a petition on their behalf, but the stay is effective nationwide. Under the stay, none of the travelers held at airports across the nation can be sent back. However, the measure doesn't mean they have to be allowed into the country - leaving them in a grey area.

The massive demonstration carried on through Saturday evening as 11 out of 12 refugees remained held at JFK airport

Earlier on Saturday, Donald Trump defended his new immigration measures, which prompted outrage as migrants were barred from entering the United States, including families of refugees, legal permanent residents and Ivy League students.

The president denied that his executive order was a Muslim ban.

He maintained that the ban was 'working very nicely' while chaos broke out in airports as migrants were stopped and some non-American citizens realized they were now barred from the country where they were studying or had lived, perhaps for years.
Trump acted to ban officials from lobbying the US on behalf of foreign government after he'd previously hired Ukraine lobbyist Paul Manafort to chair his campaign

Donald Trump acted Saturday to fulfill a key portion of his pledge to 'drain the swamp' in Washington, banning administration officials from ever lobbying the US on behalf of a foreign government and imposing a separate five-year ban on other lobbying.

Trump has said individuals who want to aid him in his 'quest' to 'Make America Great Again' should focus on the jobs they will be doing to help the American people, not thinking ahead to the future income they could rake in by peddling their influence after serving in government.

'Most of the people standing behind me will not be able to go to work,' Trump joked, referring to an array of White House officials who lined up behind him as he sat at his Oval Office desk.

Trump hopes to 'drain the swamp' in Washington in part by banning administration officials from every lobbying the US on behalf of a foreign government and imposing a separate 5-year ban on other lobbying

His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigned on August 18 in the wake of campaign shake-up and revelations about his work in Ukraine

The officials included Vice President Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior strategist Steve Bannon and counselor Kellyanne Conway.

He added: 'So you have one last chance to get out.'

Trump said he talked about the ban a lot during the campaign and 'we're now putting it into effect.'

But Trump's efforts to 'drain the swamp' sometimes meant his corrupt campaign staff had to be drained.

His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigned on August 18 in the wake of campaign shake-up and revelations about his work in Ukraine.

Manafort's resignation in August came a day after The Associated Press reported that confidential emails from Manafort's firm contradicted his claims that he had never lobbied on behalf of Ukrainian political figures in the US.

Emails between Manafort's deputy, Rick Gates, also a top Trump adviser, and the lobbying firm Mercury LLC had shown that Manafort's firm, DMP International LLC, directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine's then-ruling political party.

Manafort's resignation came after the revelation of confidential emails that showed he'd lobbied on behalf of Ukrainian political figures in the US

The effort included not just legislative outreach but also attempts to sway American public opinion and gather political intelligence on competing lobbying efforts in the U.S.

The emails obtained by the Associated Press did not describe details about the role of Manafort, Gates' boss at the firm.

But current and former employees at Mercury and a second lobbying firm, the Podesta Group, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they are subject to non-disclosure agreements said that Manafort oversaw the lobbying efforts and spoke by phone about them.

Manafort and Gates never registered as foreign agents for their work as required under federal law.

The usual suspects: Steven Bannon and Kellyanne Conway were with Trump when he signed the order

Trump said those who want to 'Make America Great Again' should focus on the jobs they will be doing to help the Americans, not thinking ahead to their future paychecks

In a pair of separate actions, Trump took steps to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

He also gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president's top military advisers, 30 days to come up with a plan defeat the Islamic State group.

Scores of people have been killed in terrorist acts that IS has carried out overseas or has inspired on US soil.

Under an executive order that Trump signed in the presence of the news media, every political appointee joining the executive branch on or after January 20 - the day Trump took office - must agree to the lobbying bans.

That includes avoiding, for five years after leaving, lobbying the agency they worked for.

Another provision sets a two-year period during which appointees must avoid working on issues involving former employers or clients.

Trump is allowed to waive any of the restrictions.

In a pair of separate actions, Trump took steps to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council

He also gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president's top military advisers, 30 days to come up with a plan defeat the Islamic State group. Pictured: Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon

Questions had been raised about how the bans would be enforced.

The order says they are 'solely enforceable' by the US government 'by any legally available means,' including debarment proceeding within any affected executive branch agency, or civil court proceedings.

Former appointees who are found to have violated the ban may also be barred from lobbying their former agency for up to five years, on top of the five-year period covered by the pledge, the executive order states.

Trump said the order supersedes one that President Barack Obama signed on January 21, 2009, that banned anyone from lobbying the government for a period of two years after leaving.

Trump said Obama's order was 'full of loopholes.'

The president signed the order and a pair of presidential memoranda near the end of an intense day of telephone diplomacy during which he discussed a range of issues with the leaders of Japan, Germany, Russia, France and Australia.

All are leaders Trump needs to build relationships with.

Trump had released the plan for a lobbying ban a few weeks before the November election, one of several promised policies aimed at curbing corruption and the influence of lobbyists in Washington.

Trump also made promises about transparency and ethics.

Some have argued that the ban could make it difficult for Trump to fill thousands of jobs throughout the administration by causing some candidates to become squeamish about limiting their ability to make money after they leave government employment.

Others say the prohibitions on lobbying are too insignificant to be effective.
The leader of the defunct Agape doomsday cult is raising funds through a Swiss bingo scheme to fund operations in Fiji, it has been revealed.

Cult leader Rocco Leo fled to Fiji after authorities raided his South Australia compound in 2010.

All of his assets were frozen after the raid - including eight properties and a fleet of 13 vehicles spanning two states, with millions of dollars in 10 different bank accounts - but the self-described healer and doomsday prophet has reportedly found a new source of income.

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Cult leader Rocco Leo fled to Fiji after authorities raided his South Australia compound in 2010. It has been revealed he is running a charity in Fiji with funds made in Switzerland

The self-described healer and doomsday prophet Rocco Leo was exiled in Fiji after his doomsday cult was broken up by Australian feds

Leo's ties to the Swiss charity bingo scene were uncovered by a joint investigation between the Sunday Mail and the Italian newspaper 20 Minuti Ticino.

The investigation found Leo co-founded a charity, South Pacific Charity, with a Ticino, Switzerland-based entrepreneur and former parishioner.

The organisation is one of the 'biggest groups involved' in Ticino's $198,000 charity bingo industry, the investigation found.

The Italian-speaking region of Ticino is the southernmost canton, or member state, of the Swiss Confederation.

Charity bingo, or 'tombola,' is legal in the canton and regulated by police, but records of what individual charities raise are not made public.

The Agape doomsday cult was based in this South Australia compound prior to 2010

Family of Agave members said Leo told his followers he had bought an island in Vanuatu and told them to hand over money  in some cases as much as $1 million  to fund their new life

South Pacific Charity operates a website, Whitehorse Ministries and Charity, which features pictures of a mustachioed Leo posing in hospitals, as well as tales of the pastor's supposed healing powers being used to treat local Fijians.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to the charity through its website, but has not received a response.

Leo's former doomsday cult, Agape, warned followers of a 2012 apocalypse, claiming that everyone on Earth would be implanted with microchips and those who refused would be killed by the government.

A person whose family members were members said the group was stockpiling weapons and all cult members had been given firearms training

All of Leo's assets were frozen after the 2010 raid - including eight properties and a fleet of 13 vehicles spanning two states, with millions of dollars in 10 different bank accounts

Leo reportedly promised to save cult members by taking them a place called 'The Island' in the South Pacific if they handed over their life savings.

Family of Agave members said Leo told his followers he had bought an island in Vanuatu and convinced them to hand over money  in some cases as much as $1 million  to fund their new life.

In 2010 Leslie Baligod, whose son and two granddaughters were members of the cult, said the young girls aged six and eight had been promised in marriage to adult cult members and issued a public plea for their safety.

She said the group was stockpiling weapons and all cult members had been given firearms training.

Last year, a bank account linked to Leo holding $6.7 million was discovered by tax authorities.

The Australian Tax Office has demanded the untouched millions go towards paying the Adelaide cult's unpaid debt.

It claimed in the SA Supreme Court in September that the defunct religious organisation's tax bill had ballooned from $3 million to $10 million.
A friend of Bali Nine smuggler Myuran Sukumaran has revealed prison guards only spoke in Indonesian leaving inmates who did not speak the language not knowing their fate.

Ben Quilty, an artist and Archibald winner, spent time with the convicted drug smuggler in the infamous 'execution island' prison in Kerobokan.

More than a year after Sukumaran faced the firing squad, Quilty has revealed his executed friend was aggrieved that non-Indonesian speaking prisoners had no idea what was going on.

'Myuran was very angry about this,' Quilty told News Corp.

Myuran Sukumaran's (pictured) friend Ben Quilty has revealed the executed drug smuggler was aggrieved that non-Indonesian speaking prisoners had no idea what was going on inside the infamous 'execution island' prison in Kerobokan

Quilty (pictured), an artist and Archibald winner, said: 'Myuran was very angry about this' (stock image)

'The guards spoke a bit of broken English but all of the directions were given in Indonesian, and they [prisoners] relied on those people having a translator.'

Quilty said Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, another executed member of the Bali Nine, became well respected because of the care they showed when new prisoners entered the formidable prison and became lost in translation.

'Myuran and Andrew were translating Indonesian into English to try to help them understand what was going on.'

Quilty was introduced to Sukumaran in 2012 after the imprisoned man expressed a desire to paint.

Sukumaran talks to his lawyer from a hold cell before a court appearance at Denpasar Court in Bali in 2005

Sukumaran (left) and Andrew Chan (right) were executed together in 2015

Fellow Bali Nine member Andrew Chan is pictured at the Denpasar District Court in Bali in 2010

After visiting the jail when Sukumaran's lawyer contacted him and showed him his art studio, the pair struck up a friendship.

'Rest in peace Myu, with a brush in your hand my friend,' Quilty wrote in a Facebook post on the one-year anniversary of his death.

'One year today. Seems a little like it was all just a really bad dream, like when you're a kid with a temperature and the nightmares rollick through your tiny brain.

'Myu was the bravest man I've met. Next year you will prove again to the world the outcome of rehabilitation, the profound importance of forgiveness and compassion and most importantly of all the power of art.'

Sukumaran and Chan were were executed in April 2015 - 10 years after being found guilty of smuggling 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia.

Sukumaran and Chan (pictured) were were executed in April 2015 - 10 years after being found guilty of smuggling 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia
While protesters gathered at airports around the country and decried the president's Muslim ban, First Daughter Ivanka Trump shared a 'tone deaf' photo of her and husband Jared Kushner on social media.

The couple, who were headed to the annual Alfalfa Club dinner on Saturday night, drew a sharp rebuke as critics pointed to those affected by the president's executive order. Her father opted not to attend the event.

Kushner wore a tuxedo, while Ivanka defaulted to a $4,990 silver jacquard gown by Carolina Herrera - and Twitter users mercilessly mocked her for looking like a baked potato.

While protesters gathered at airports around the country and decried the president's Muslim ban, First Daughter Ivanka Trump was shared a 'tone deaf' photo of her and her husband

Trump signed an executive order on Friday barring any non-U.S. citizen traveling from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days.

The move, which also included legal permanent residents and visa-holders from those seven countries, sparked an outrage, although the ACLU won a temporary legal battle preventing detainees from being deported.

Thousands of protesters gathered in airports across the country, while Ivanka and Kushner dressed up to attend the black tie event.

Social media erupted in outrage over the image, which Ivanka shared on her Instagram and Twitter accounts without a caption.

Some were quick to insult Ivanka's style while others eviscerated the the couple for being 'out of touch' and seemingly callous.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country

Protesters rallied in Brooklyn outside of the federal courthouse, where the ACLU won a temporary legal battle preventing detainees from being deported

Najah Alshamieh (right), from Syria, was detained at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport and tearfully reunited with family after she was released

Mehdi Radgoudarzi (center with his wife and daughter) was detained for five hours upon his arrival from Tehran, Iran at San Francisco's SFO International Airport

Christopher Ellers tweeted: '@IvankaTrump Oh, good, the world is burning and families are being torn apart, but you're decked out in tin foil. Cool. #MuslimBan'

User @dbvalentine wrote: '@IvankaTrump More unashamed displays of obscene wealth representing a complete detachment from reality #sad'

Another critic shared a photo of a refugee girl who crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece with an emergency blanket draped over her shoulders and wrote: 'She wore it better'.

Cher, another Twitter user, chimed in, writing: '@IvankaTrump Your father is responsible for two senior citizens with green cards being illegally detained at O'Hare for 10 hours. Have fun!'

Kelly Oxford simply shared the photo, adding 'Let them eat cake' - a quote often attributed to Marie Antoinette as the French starved during the revolution.

Others spotted Kushner's hand reflected in the mirror, and user @Arkansas_72701 tweeted: 'No! No! No! You don't grab her butt, you're supposed to grab her pu**y! Didn't her dad teach you anything?'

The Alfafa Club dinner is known for attracting members of the Washington elite from senior staff to heavyweight donors.

Every president since Ronald Reagan has attended, but Donald Trump, who spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for an hour on Saturday - is said to have skipped out.

Another critic shared a photo of a refugee girl who crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece with an emergency blanket draped over her shoulders and wrote: 'She wore it better'

Some were quick to insult Ivanka's style while others eviscerated the the couple for being 'out of touch' and seemingly callous




A federal court on Saturday granted an emergency stay of execution temporarily blocking Donald Trump's immigration ban.

The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued the measure in the evening, while about 375 people were either denied entry to the US or barred from their planes.

Under the stay, none of the travelers who got detained due to Trump's executive order banning refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries can be deported back to their home countries. Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that sending them back would expose them to irreparable harm.

The emergency measure, however, doesn't mean authorities have to let the detained travelers into the US. It was unclear, immediately after the stay was granted, what would happen to those still held in airports.

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Demonstrators rallied outside the courthouse Saturday night as a judge granted the emergency stay protecting the detained travelers from deportation

A federal court on Saturday granted an emergency stay of execution temporarily blocking Donald Trump's immigration ban

A petition filed Saturday on behalf of two Iraqi detainees led to the state of execution Saturday evening.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, one of the Iraqi refugees, was detained for 14 hours in New York and released on Saturday afternoon. The second detainee, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was released around 7 pm on Saturday after 24 hours.

The Amercian Civil Liberties Union filed for the two men, but the stay is effective nationwide. Attorneys who handled the case have also filed a motion for class certification, which means other people affected by the order will be able to benefit from the stay as part of a class action.

The stay is not a ruling on Donald Trump's executive order enforcing the immigration ban. It is a temporary measure that blocks the order pending a permanent ruling. A court date has been set for February.

'This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off US soil, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project Lee Gelernt, who argued the case, said.

Judge Donnelly also ordered the government to give a list of people detained due to Trump's order.

A senior Homeland Security official told Reuters that roughly 375 travelers affected by the order. Out of the 375, 109 were in transit to the US and denied entry into the country. Another 173 people were stopped by airlines from boarding an aircraft to the US.

An additional 81 travelers with green cards or special immigrant visas received waivers.

'No ban': Demonstrators at the massive rally in Brooklyn voiced their disagreement with Trump's executive order

Trump's executive orders imposes a four-month ban on all refugees and bars Syrian refugees from entering the country indefinitely. It also bars entry to citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, all predominantly Muslim countries, for 90 days.

Crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse let out cheers when news of the temporary stay broke.

'I hope Trump enjoys losing. He's going to lose so much we're going to get sick and tired of his losing,' ACLU national political director Faiz Shakir told Yahoo News.

The ACLU said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports after Trump signed the order late on Friday.
Footy Show star Billy Brownless celebrated his 50th birthday in style on Friday night, surrounded by sporting celebrities, close friends and family.

Brownless was joined by daughters Lucy and Ruby, 20 and 19, son Max, 11, along with co-hosts Shane Crawford, Sam Newman and Rebecca Maddern.

Missing from the party at The Pier in Geelong were ex-wife Nicky and 'good friend' Lexi McNeil - who was spotted courtside with him at the Australian Open last week.

It's been a rough year for Brownless, who made headlines in March when he opened up about the secret affair between Nicky and his best friend Garry Lyon.

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Footy Show star Billy Brownless celebrated his 50th birthday in style on Friday night (pictured with daughters Lucy, 20, and Ruby, 19)

Brownless posed for a photograph with Footy Show co-host Rebecca Maddern

Brownless is pictured posing with his two daughters, and youngest son Oscar. His other son Max, 17, is not pictured

Photographs uploaded to social media showed a cake shaped as a pile of doughnuts and plenty of beers - or 'froffies' as Brownless famously calls them.

Brownless backed it up the next day on his actual birthday, appearing with more friends and family at Cremorne Hotel in Melbourne wearing a Geelong Cats jersey.

The famous footy player cheerfully posed with an empty keg of beer above his head, jokingly writing 'there's another one down, two more to go' on Instagram.

Speaking on the Footy Show in March, Billy revealed that being lied to hurt the most during the affair, having asked both Gary and Nicky what was going on early on.

'I couldn't believe it. I found out three or four months ago. I asked Garry and Nicky earlier on what is going on and they said they were just good friends.

'That's what hurts the most. By law it's legal. Morally its wrong. We all know our rights and wrong. You don't touch a man's wallet, you don't touch his wife.'

The raging 50th party was held at The Pier in Geelong. He is pictured with former AFL star Shane Crawford

The day after his 50th party, Brownless headed down to the Cremorne Hotel in Melbourne

Garry and Billy are both former AFL players and had been close friends for more than 15 years and colleagues on the AFL Footy Show.

Billy and Nicky share four children together before their marriage broke down almost three years ago.

Brownless is set to appear on the Footy Show this year, while Lyon will make his return to television screens as co-host of Footy Classified on Channel Nine.

Brownless (left) made headlines in March when he opened up about the secret affair between ex-wife Nicky (second left) and his best friend Garry Lyon (second right, seen in 2012)
Suns out, bums out seems to be the order of the day for these free-spirited folks.

Australians have answered the call of nature and stripped down to their birthday suits to celebrate body pride, with many of these exposures documented for the Instagram page getnakedaustralia.

The page is the creation of health professional Brendan Jones, 26, who was surprised to find a picture he posted of himself in the nude was well received.

Sunny side up: Exhibitionists like this woman are featured on Brendan Jones's Instagram creation

Suns out, bums out seems to be the order of the day for these free spirited folks on Get Naked Australia's Instagram

Australians have answered the call of nature and stripped down to their birthday suits to celebrate body pride

'No one thought it was weird, it was well received and encouraged,' he told the Illawarra Mercury.

'My friends and I then started to get some cool group shots, including one with the harbour bridge and Opera House in the background, and I thought it would be cool to start a page for all our photos.'

Since the creation of the page in June 2016, hundreds of Australians have answered the call and submitted pictures of themselves completely naked in front of iconic locations around the world.

They included snow fields, picturesque canyons, waterfalls, Sydney Harbour, Uluru, mountains, beaches, forests, a volcano, and even underwater and skydiving.

Participants either had their back turned or strategically protected their modesty with their hair, flowers, beer bottles or even Christmas tinsel.

'People shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed to go skinny dipping or go to a nude beach,' Mr Jones said.

'In a world of such body shaming I believe that being naked in nature is way for people to overcome their image problems. Once someone experiences being naked in nature it does wonders for their confidence and we have had many testimonials of people expressing that.'

One with nature: Mr Jones believes the strong Instagram following is because the page promotes nudity as a shameless and natural state

'In a world of such body shaming I believe that being naked in nature is way for people to overcome their image problems,' Mr Jones said

The cheeky Instagram page is the creation of health professional Brendan Jones, 26, who was surprised to find a picture he posted of himself in the nude was well received

Nude image include snow fields, picturesque canyons, waterfalls, Sydney Harbour, Uluru, mountains, beaches, forests, a volcano, and even underwater and skydiving

It's a full moon: This quartet of nudists leave nothing to the imagination as the jump into the waters of Sydney Harbour

What a view! One woman goes natural as she greest the stunning mountain vistas

Most photos featured on the site are solo, but others feature couples gripping each others' derriere or groups bonding in their natural state

Friends who strip together, stay together: What better way to bond than a dose of nudism with friends?

You can leave your hat on: One man greets the red desert of Australia's outback in nothing but a hat

Very cheeky! Two friends wade into a lagoon, feeling the sun and water on their bare skin

Most photos featured on the site are solo, but others feature couples gripping each others' derriere, groups bonding in their natural state, and even some performing gymnastics.

The cheeky Instagram page has more than 39,000 followers, with adding about 2,000 new ones a week, and has been posting submissions since May 29 last year.

'Promoting body positivity through fun, healthy outdoor nudity from all over the world,' its description reads.

Taking the plunge: The cheeky Instagram page has more than 39,000 followers, with adding about 2,000 new ones a week

A very strategically placed harness: Participants either have their back turned or strategically protected their modesty with hair, flowers, beer bottles or in this case, a sky diving harness
Donald Trump will honour the refugee deal with Australia despite his hard-line stance on immigration.

Mr Trump's decision was reported by multiple media sources after the US president spoke with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the phone on Sunday.

The 25-minute conversation was their first since the billionaire's inauguration last weekend.

Donald Trump will honour the refugee deal with Australia despite his hard-line stance on immigration. He is pictured speaking with Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday

Mr Trump's decision was reported by multiple media sources after the US president spoke with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the phone on Sunday

Mr Turnbull struck a 'one-off' deal with former US president Barack Obama to resettle refugees detained on Manus and Nauru in the US. Pictured, asylum seekers on Manus Island, 2014

It came just days after Mr Trump's decision to put a four-month block on refugees entering the US.

Mr Turnbull struck a 'one-off' deal with former US president Barack Obama in November to resettle refugees detained on Manus and Nauru in the US.

Mr Trump confirmed his administration would continue to honour the 2016 refugee resettlement arrangement while acknowledging a common interest in preventing irregular and illegal migration.

The two committed to making the long-standing relationship between the two countries even stronger and sharing the ongoing objective to defeat Islamic State.

They will continue to work together to improve global instability, including in the Asia-Pacific.

The call to Mr Turnbull was made in the presence of the president's chief strategist Stephen Bannon, far right, and national security adviser Mike Flynn

Mr Trump confirmed his administration would continue to honour the 2016 refugee resettlement arrangement while acknowledging a common interest in preventing irregular and illegal migration

'Both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship that is critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally,' the White House said in a statement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Mr Turnbull was 'pleased with the outcome' of his discussion.

Speaking to reporters at the G'day USA gala in Hollywood, Ms Bishop said Mr Turnbull would travel to the US for a yet to be scheduled meeting with the president.

Mr Trump has come under fire after signing an executive order putting a temporary stop to refugees and people from certain countries entering the US, but he said that the step was 'not a Muslim ban'.

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said every country had the right to do strong background checks on people that they were considering for permanent residency or citizenship.

'But those background checks shouldn't be based on assumptions based on a person's country of origin, ethnicity or religion,' she told reporters in Sydney.

Donald Trump will honour the refugee deal with Australia despite his hard-line stance on immigration. Pictured, an offshore processing facility in Nauru

Asylum seekers are seen walking at the Australian government's offshore detention centre in Nauru

'For 40 years Australia has had a non-discriminatory immigration policy, and our Australian government needs to be crystal clear that that will continue in Australia.'

Greens Leader Richard Di Natale said Mr Turnbull must take a stand against Mr Trump's immigration decision.

'We have got to make a choice, we are either a lap dog to the US and fall in behind them no matter what they do ... or we take a stand and we recognise there has to be a line drawn around what are moral issues,' Senator Di Natale told Sky News.

The call to Mr Turnbull, in the presence of the president's chief strategist Stephen Bannon and national security adviser Mike Flynn, was the last of a series of calls from the Oval Office to world leaders.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr Trump are reported to have agreed on the fundamental importance of the NATO alliance and that all NATO members must pay a fair share for their collective security.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US president also want to co-operate in Syria to defeat Islamic State.

But French President Francois Hollande warned Mr Trump against taking a protectionist approach, saying it would have economic and political consequences.
Maria Angel Dejesus Rios, 33, was arrested for allegedly starting fires that destroyed five cars and damaged others in Fullerton, CA

A California woman who allegedly set a series of fires that destroyed five cars couldn't 'handle the heat', the police department said

Maria Angel Dejesus Rios, 33, was arrested in Buena Park for setting the vehicles alight outside a Fullerton apartment complex on Friday.

Fullerton police had some fun with their arrest announcement Saturday, hashtagging: #ThankYouTipsters #CantHideFromUs #YouCantHandleTheHeat #ArsonSucks #TakingYouToJail.

The fire wreaked havoc on a parking lot and caused partial damage to the apartment complex.

An accelerant, or a tool used to help spread fire, was found at the scene, ABC7 reported.

Witness Michael Broussard told the network: 'It was intense. I was out here. I could see the smoke coming off my car.'

Neighbors said Rios set the fires after fighting with her boyfriend, KTLA reported.

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Fullerton police had some fun with their arrest announcement Saturday, hashtagging that Rios couldn't 'handle the heat' and that 'arson sucks'

The fire wreaked havoc on a parking lot and caused partial damage to the apartment complex

An accelerant, or a tool used to help spread fire, was found at the scene
A rogue woman lived like a Washington elite for a day by using counterfeit credentials to impersonate a congressman's wife during a Republican retreat in which President Donald Trump spoke.

The anonymous woman snuck into the GOP Retreat in Philadelphia on January 26 where President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and British Prime Minister Theresa May met with lawmakers.

The shocking security breach was announced by the president of the Congressional Institute, Mark Strand according to CNN.

During the Congress of Tomorrow Republican Member Retreat, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Loews Hotel.

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President Donald Trump speaks during a luncheon at the Congress of Tomorrow Republican Member Retreat

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the Congress of Tomorrow Republican Member Retreat at Loews Philadelphia Hotel

The GOP retreat was held at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia on January 26

Since she was masquerading as a spouse, the trespasser would not have been invited to policy sessions. It is not known if she weaseled her way in anyway.

But she may have had the chance to have lunch with President Trump or meet with Vice President Pence.

Strand said in a letter: 'The Congressional Institute is continuing to investigate this breach in order to fully understand how it happened and to ensure it does not happen again.'

The woman may have responsible for the leaking of a private meeting about GOP members discussing stripping down the Affordable Care Act.

Protesters gathered outside the GOP retreat where a female intruder snuck into Thursday

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) (L) and Senator Lindsey Graham attended the retreat the woman snuck past security to attend

People in the sessions were reportedly concerned about the market in response to the fallout from dismantling the health policy.

The audio, obtained by the Washington Post, features members of the GOP questioning how to replace the Affordable Care Act without disrupting the health insurance market or increasing the financial burden on middle-class families.

Some warned against settling for a 'quick fix' and worried about having to carry the new law's legacy. 'That's going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel,' Representative Tom McClintock said.

One senator also told his fellow GOP lawmakers they should not use the new healthcare law to defund Planned Parenthood, warning it would amount to 'walking into a gigantic political trap'.

The recording, sent from an anonymous email address, came from a closed-door meeting during this week's Republican congressional retreat in Philadelphia. All lawmakers quoted by the Washington Post confirmed their remarks to the newspaper either themselves or through their offices.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican Representative from Washington and the chair of the House GOP conference that hosts the event, told CNN in a statement, 'leaks from internal member discussions are unacceptable.'

She continued by saying the Congressional Institute is working with Capitol Police to find the culprit.

Members of Capitol Police were in the room to make sure press did not roam where they were not welcome. A small group was escorted by security to listen to Trump's speeches.
The former girlfriend of Australian paedophile Peter Scully has been arrested after a year-long investigation.

Liezyl Margallo, 23, was arrested on Wednesday on the beach of Malapascua Island in the Philippines after evidence emerged she allegedly appeared masked and naked in a video where an 18-month-old baby girl was sexually tortured.

'Daisy's Destruction' was allegedly directed by the 52-year-old former Melbourne businessman and featured footage so shocking that a police chief labelled it 'the worst we have encountered in our years campaigning against child pornography'.

The 23-year-old is now expected to testify against her former partner, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

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Liezyl Margallo, 23, the former girlfriend of Australian pedophile Peter Scully has been arrested after a year long manhunt

Scully is accused of being the is the mastermind of a worldwide network selling videos depicting child sex and torture

Evidence emerged the 23-year-old allegedly appeared masked and naked in a video where an 18-month-old baby girl was sexually tortured

Margallo reportedly led authorities to the body of a 12-year-old girl buried in a shallow grave under a house rented by Scully.

It is alleged the girl had been repeatedly sexually abused by Scully and then strangled.

Margallo allegedly recruited the girl, a former city scavenger, with promises of food and schooling, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Margallo, a former prostitute, had been allowed to go free at the time of Scully's arrest as there had not been enough evidence against her.

Scully was arrested in February 2015 and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse, cyber sex, torture, rape, human trafficking and murder.

Margallo reportedly led authorities to the body of a 12-year-old girl buried in a shallow grave under a house rented by Scully

'Daisy's Destruction' was allegedly directed by the 52-year-old former Melbourne businessman

The video featured footage so shocking that a police chief labelled it 'the worst we have encountered in our years campaigning against child pornography'

It is alleged the girl, whose body was found underneath a house rented by Scully, had been repeatedly sexually abused by him and then strangled

Scully has pleaded not guilty to 75 charges in a court in the city of Cagayan de Oro, forcing at least 10 of his alleged victims to testify against him

The 52-year-old arrived in the Philippines in 2011 after fleeing fraud and deception charges in Melbourne

Scully was arrested in February 2015 and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse, cyber sex, torture, rape, human trafficking and murder (pictured here handcuffed to another inmate)

The 52-year-old arrived in the Philippines in 2011 after fleeing fraud and deception charges in Melbourne.

He is accused of establishing a lucrative international business live-streaming videos in a 'pay for view' online child pornography business.

Police allege Scully would undertake acts in response to requests from his clients from across the globe, who paid to live-stream videos of children being tortured and sexually abused.

Scully has pleaded not guilty to 75 charges in a court in the city of Cagayan de Oro, forcing at least 10 of his alleged victims to testify against him.

If convicted, Margallo could face charges including human trafficking and child abuse.

Scully is accused of establishing a lucrative international business live-streaming videos in a 'pay for view' online child pornography business

Police allege Scully would undertake acts in response to requests from his clients from across the globe, who paid to live-stream videos of children being tortured and sexually abused
It's a thought that's crossed the minds of all home owners in Sydney and Melbourne.

Why stay in two of the world's most expensive cities when there's a more affordable (and sunnier) metro centre just a few hours up the coast?

With cheaper houses and rent prices, moving to the Gold Coast is quickly becoming not just a dream but a necessity for people looking to get ahead in property.

And leading the way is the Styles family, who after a decade in Sydney ditched their small apartment for a shift north - moving into a $660,000 four-bedroom home that feels like a palace in comparison, realestate.com.au reports.

Home owners in Sydney (pictured) and Melbourne are being forced to consider a move to the Gold Coast if they want to enter the property market

'We talked about buying for years in Sydney and actively looked, but it's too difficult, especially when you have four children,' Derek Styles said.

In 2004, when Mr Styles and his wife Marie made the move to Australia from the UK, the couple planned to enter the housing market.

But upon arriving in the Harbour city the pair were left shocked by the price of living, and were left with no choice but to begin renting.

For the next 11-and-a-half years the Styles family lived in a small apartment, hoping it would allow them to save enough to one day purchase a place of their own.

But when a three-bedroom home next to their apartment sold for $1.6 million, the couple realised that dream was unlikely to ever become a reality.

That was until Mr Styles' work opened a new office on the Gold Coast.

Home prices in Australia's two biggest cities have constantly soared over recent years to the point that Sydney and Melbourne are now both in the world's Top 10 least affordable cities

Knowing they could wait around for years and still never see the Sydney 'bubble' burst, the couple saw a new horizon in the city best known for its theme parks.

'We had already realised the market (in Sydney) was way over what we could afford, but when my company announced the Gold Coast office, I was given a push,' Mr Styles said.

'There were initial concerns from my wife about how the kids were going to cope and about the day-to-day stuff, such as finding a new local dentist, school drop-offs, etc.'

In November the family made a trip north to assess their potential new home and soon realised it made sense on a number of levels.

Today, in their new Robina home, the Styles are just 10 minutes from Mermaid Beach and enjoy an incredible sub-tropical lifestyle.

But something far more important also happened when they left Sydney behind.

'We are setting ourselves up financially,' Mr Styles said.
Sergeant Blackman (pictured) has received widespread support from former Royal Marines and now from the SAS too

Several ex-SAS war heroes have spoken out in support of Sergeant Alexander Blackman and said they killed badly wounded Argentinian soldiers in the Falklands to 'end their suffering'.

Sgt Blackman, 42, has been granted leave to appeal against a life sentence after being convicted of murdering a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2011.

A huge campaign was launched last year by fellow and former Royal Marines after Blackman, who was known as Marine A, was jailed by a court martial.

Last week liberal journalist Neal Ascherson gave his support to Sergeant Blackman and said he had shot dead two wounded communist insurgents while serving as a second lieutenant with 42 Commando in Malaya in the 1950s.

On September 15, 2011, a Taliban attack on a British base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, was repulsed when an Apache helicopter strafed the insurgents with cannon fire, mortally wounding one.

Acting Colour Sergeant Alexander Blackman, a veteran of five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a man described as a 'superb soldier' by his superiors, killed the wounded Taliban fighter with a bullet to the chest.

The incident was captured on video by one of Blackman's men. The video subsequently fell into the hands of the British police and Blackman was arrested.

In December 2013, Sgt Blackman was convicted at court martial of murder and jailed for life with a minimum of ten years and dismissed with disgrace from the British armed forces.

But several former SAS men told the Sunday Express today they had taken actions similar to Sgt Blackman during the 1982 Falklands war and in Iraq during the 2003 conflict.

One officer, speaking anonymously, said that on 30 May 1982, after 1,000 Argentine soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Italo Piaggi surrendered at Goose Green, some ammunition exploded.

'An Argentinian prisoner went up in flames. There was no chance to save him. He was on fire. You couldn't get near him,' he said.

He said he saw a British sergeant pick up his rifle and fire four shots, killing the prisoner.

Argentine prisoners wait to be processed and sent home after being captured during the 1982 conflict in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. But SAS officers say at least one wounded Argentine was shot dead by British soldiers

Another former SAS man told the Express: 'I know of two occasions  both in Iraq  when wounded insurgents were killed.'

An appeal against Sgt Blackman's conviction in May 2014 served only to reduce the minimum tariff to eight years.

He remains in HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire while he awaits his appeal.

Sgt Blackman, pictured, was caught on video shooting a mortally wounded Taliban fighter

Journalist Neal Ascherson, now 85, said he personally finished off wounded communist insurgents while serving with British forces in Malaya in the 1950s STOCK PHOTO

In December 2016, the CCRC decided that there were no fewer than three grounds upon which the Blackman case was potentially unsafe and should be referred back to the Court of Appeal.

The first is that new psychiatric evidence shows Blackman was suffering from an 'adjustment disorder' which would have sufficed to reduce his crime from murder to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Second, the conduct of Blackman's defence prior to trial was deficient to the extent that it led to identifiable errors which rendered the trial process unfair.

Third, the Judge Advocate General who sat at the court martial had wrongly failed to leave 'unlawful act manslaughter' as an optional verdict for the panel, who were simply asked to decide whether Blackman was innocent or guilty of murder.

Sgt Blackman, pictured, was convicted of murder, dismissed with disgrace from the military and ordered to serve a minimum of ten years in prison, later reduced to eight
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

By Anakhanum Hidayatova  Trend:

Azerbaijani cultural monuments and cemeteries are being destroyed as a result of the Armenian occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is a cradle of Azerbaijani culture, Sevinj Fataliyeva, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, said.

Fataliyeva, who is also a chairperson of the Sub-Committee on the European Social Charter of the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, made the remarks within the framework of free debates in the PACE.

She said that as a result of acts of vandalism by Armenian occupants, Azerbaijans cultural heritage in the occupied territories is under the threat of complete destruction.

Fataliyeva added that only international dialogue is the key to win the fight against extremism and violence.

Azerbaijani public figure, MP Rafael Huseynov also made a speech at the event, and spoke about the atrocities committed by the Armenians in Azerbaijans Khojaly.

The MP said that the Khojaly genocide was recognized by many countries, international organizations and a number of the US states.

Huseynov added that if the mankind is aware of these events, it will be able to resist such crimes in the future.

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.

On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan 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.

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Swimmers formed a human chain to help lifeguards rescuing three people from drowning off a beach in Argentina.

A video shot by a witness on the beach shows lifeguards dashing into the breakers, floats in hand, as they spot the three swimmers in difficulty at Monte Hermoso, 200 miles south of the capital, Buenos Aires.

The lifeguards start to bring the struggling people back to shore but are hampered by huge waves.

Swimmers rush into the sea to help the lifeguards rescue three people

In the film, which was shot over eight minutes, the camerawoman is heard to say: 'The sea is very strong, they are having problems getting them out of there.'

So swimmers on the beach for a wade out and create a human chain to help bring the lifeguards and the rescued people back to dry land.

The woman ends the recording, saying: 'Everything is fine now. They have managed to get them and they are touching the sand under the water.'

When the bathers were finally brought out of the sea the crowd burst into applause

When everyone is out of the water the crowd applauds while the lifeguards check the rescued swimmers are safe and the group exchanges hugs and kisses.

Lifeguard Carolina Uriarte posted the rescue online and wrote: 'In a dangerous sea, three people were trapped in an undercurrent.

Lifeguard Carolina Uriarte (pictured) posted the film online and said: 'Thanks colleagues and congratulations for your good job'

'After eight minutes and with the participation of some lifeguards we got them out of there safely. Thanks colleagues and congratulations for your good job.'

The video of the rescue has been seen more than 104,000 times.

Social media user Gisela Ivana Salazari commented: 'Excellent work, congratulations.'

Another viewer, Veronica Susanai, offered advice: 'There are a lot of people who do not respect the sea, and when it is dangerous we cannot challenge it. There are a lot of undercurrents that drag you in.'

Monte Hermoso is a popular beach resort near the city of Bahia Blanca and January is the height of the Argentinian summer, when thousands head to the seaside.
An assault rifle used by the Metropolitan Police has been recalled after it was found to fire without anyone pulling the trigger.

US weapons firm SIG has warned police forces and security firms around the world to return their SIG Sauer MCX after problems with 'unintended discharge' were discovered.

However, SIG has assured the issue was not discovered in 'the field' but through 'extensive factory testing'.

US weapons firm SIG has warned police forces to return their SIG Sauer MCX after problems with 'unintended discharge' were discovered (pictured, a Met Officer holding a SIG Sauer MCX)

It is now carrying out mass replacement of the gun's carriage assembly.

The company has ordered the automatic rifle to be returned immediately to its factory in New Hampshire, with the problem having potentially fatal consequences, reports the Times.

In statement to the Times, a spokesman said: 'Failure to follow the loading procedures and basic rules of safe firearms handling outlined in the user's manual has the potential to cause serious bodily harm or death.'

In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, with left 130 dead, in November 2015, Scotland Yard increased its anti-terror squad to reassure the public.

Pictured: Officers from the Met's anti-terror squad carrying the SIG Sauer MCX while on patrol outside Wembley Stadium in November 2015

Officers from the 130-strong unit were seen carrying the SIG Sauer MCX while on patrol during England's match against France at Wembley Stadium in north London, less than a week after the attack in the French capital.

Police, decked out in military fatigues, were nicknamed 'robocops' after they arrived at the stadium in armoured vehicles with one expert describing them as effectively SAS officers in police uniform.

SIG SAUER MCX Semi automatic Weight: 6Ib Range: Up to 300 yards Ammunition: 30 rounds in a magazine Cost: 1,400 Advertisement

The SIG Sauer MCX allowed officers to respond to armed threats with increased accuracy while also enabling them to move in confined spaces.

Commenting on their weapons just after the match, firearms expert Mike Yardley said: I have not seen these on the streets of London before. It is a carbine [light] version of a military assault rifle.

'It could be used to engage targets up to 100 metres away and is highly accurate. It is an ideal weapon for the Met.

Another expert added: These officers work hand in glove with special forces, training with them week in, week out.

The goal is for them to work side by side, sharing weapons, ammunition and tactics to defeat our most dangerous threats.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller may be forced to leave the UK by vicious deaths threats.

Police are investigating 22 cases of intimidation of the former model, 51, who successfully challenged the authority of the government to invoke Article 50.

One vile thug offered 5,000 to anyone who killed her, she said.

Scared: Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller may be forced to leave the UK by vicious deaths threats

Talking about the trolls, Mrs Miller told the Sunday Mirror: 'We've had graphic letters where they've taken the time to cut and paste images of me being shot, beheaded, gang raped.

'They send very long messages on email or through LinkedIn. One person put a 5,000 bounty on my head for me to be run over.

'They have this idea that Im not human  I should be beheaded, or I should "go back to slavery".

The Guyanese-born businesswoman said that people scream and shout at her on the phone and follow her to work in the morning.

She said she doesn't want to leave the UK, where she has lived since she was 10, but admitted that she might have to for the safety of her children.

Police are investigating 22 cases of intimidation of the former model, 51, who successfully challenged the authority of the British Government to invoke Article 50

One vile thug offered 5,000 to anyone who killed the lead claimant in the Article 50 case

Mrs Miller said that she's had to install a panic button in her home and hire a private security team to protect her.

She also revealed that she's too scared to use public transport and her two young children are living in fear that something may happen to 'mummy'.

So far the Metropolitan Police has issued eight cease and desist letters and made two arrests.

The threats come after the Supreme court ruled on Tuesday not to overturn the decision of the High Court that the government cannot begin Brexit by invoking Article 50 without a vote in Parliament.

Mrs Miller was the lead claimant in the legal case after she privately engaged the City law firm Mishcon de Reya to challenge the government's authority.

In December p olice arrested a 55-year-old man suspected of making online racist threats against Mrs Miller.

The man was apprehended at an address in Swindon and taken to a police station in Wiltshire.

He was later released on bail and a file is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service.
Chat show host Jeremy Kyle has started dating his children's former nanny after splitting up with his cheating wife.

The 51-year-old rose to fame after publicly grilling Brits on ITV's The Jeremy Kyle Show which sees him discuss people's relationship dilemmas.

He often has to deal with people involved in divorces or cheating scandals and gives them advice in front of a live audience.

And it has now been revealed that he is in a relationship with Vicky Burton, 35, who used to be a nanny for his three children, according to the Sunday Mirror.

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Jeremy Kyle (right) was pictured on a beach in Barbados in 2013 with his former nanny Vicky Burton (far left) and his ex-wife Carla Germaine (second left)

The pair have been dating each other for the past two months after Miss Burton spent years working for Kyle and his ex-wife Carla Germaine.

A friend told Emma Pryer and Janine Yaqoob at the paper: 'It's early days but he's happy.

'The relationship is just starting out so who knows what the future will hold?'

Kyle, who has been hosting the show for 13 seasons - consisting of 2,670 episodes - since 2005, announced that he and wife were splitting in 2015.

News of their break-up came after Kyle made a frank admission about the couple's sex life during his self-titled show in June 2015, while interrogating a woman about whether she'd cheated on her partner.

The presenter and his wife were married for 13 years but they 'grew apart' and it was reported that Carla was caught having an affair with England polo player James Carr, 25.

Kyle and his former wife Carla were photographed together at the National Television Awards in 2015

The friend added that Miss Burton is 'loved by all the family' and that is 'no animosity' after Kyle informed his ex-wife about his new girlfriend.

They said: 'He's been single for a long time and deserves a bit of happiness.'

Miss Burton - who stopped being their nanny nine months ago - was photographed with Kyle, his ex-wife and two of their children on a family holiday in Barbados in 2013.

Kyle, who has been married twice, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2012 and publicly spoke about his troubles with gambling.

The 51-year-old rose to fame after publicly grilling Brits on ITV's The Jeremy Kyle Show which sees him discuss people's relationship dilemmas

He has four children - a 26-year-old daughter from a previous marriage and three with Carla - Alice, 12, Ava, 11 and seven-year-old Henry.

His first marriage to Kirsty Rowley ended in 1990 after a year together and the pair have a daughter called Harriet.

MailOnline has contacted Kyle's agent for comment.
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They had never seen a film before, let alone been asked to act in one - but now a cast of tribesmen who have eschewed the conveniences of modern life are a step closer to winning Australia's first-ever Oscar for a foreign language film.

Tanna, set in the tiny South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, depicts the true story of a couple who decided to marry for love, rather than obey their parents' wishes.

For directors Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, their film's evolution from a tiny production on an archipelago 2,300 miles from the north-east coast of Australia,to an Oscar contender for best foreign film, is as thrilling as it is inconceivable.

Tanna, which uses an amateur cast selected from the tiny nation of Vanuatu, could win Australia's first Oscar for a foreign film

Their project was shot in the indigenous Nauvhal language, one of the 110 languages spoken on Vanuatu, with an amateur cast of villagers.

'It was just fabulous news and a little bit hard to believe,' Dean said in an interview earlier this week, shortly after receiving word of the film's Oscar nod. 'Given how it all started, I think it makes it a bit more improbable.'

The film's roots began 10 years ago, when Butler sent Dean to Tanna to work on a documentary. Dean fell in love with Tanna's lush landscape and rich culture and vowed to find a way to return.

A few years ago, he and Butler decided to approach the people living in the tiny village of Yakel to see if they would be interested in collaborating on a feature film.

The idea was certainly novel to the tribe, who had never even seen a film. Though aware of the outside world, the community chooses to live like their ancestors, hunting with bows and arrows and eschewing modern conveniences like electricity.

The tribesmen of Vanuatu, a tiny nation located in the South Pacific, live like their ancestors and hunt with bows and arrows

The directors showed the villagers a couple of movies on a laptop to give them an idea of what they wanted to create. The tribe loved the idea and quickly agreed to the project.

Dean wanted the film to be a collaborative effort in which the Yakel people could tell their own story. And so in 2014, he moved to the community with his wife and two young children and lived there for seven months, absorbing everything he could about their history and culture.

The experience was particularly exciting for his kids, who learned to hunt with bows and arrows and got to run around the surrounding mountain valleys with the village children.

Traditions: Although aware of the modern world, the people of Vanuatu continue their age-long practices and customs

'They loved it,' Dean said. 'Our 2-year-old was given a machete on arrival.'

The villagers told Dean the true story of two lovers who, years before, found themselves caught in a tribal war over a traditional arranged marriage that threatened to split them apart. That story became the plot for 'Tanna.'

The tribe speaks Nauvhal  a language spoken by only a few thousand people worldwide. Luckily, a man from a neighboring village who had learned English while attending school on another island agreed to serve as a translator.

Family life: Director Bentley Dean has spoken of how his own two children enjoyed getting to know the village youngsters

The community, young and old, agreed to take part in the project and collaborate on an original feature film set on their island

Though none of the villagers had ever acted before, they managed to turn out performances so genuine they stunned the filmmakers.

'Trained actors have said to us that they're envious of the performances that they see,' Dean said. 'They're so truthful.'

The directors promised the tribe they would be the first in the world to see the completed film. But shortly before the planned first screening, a cyclone tore across Vanuatu, flattening all the houses in Yakel and ruining the crops. The filmmakers suggested they postpone the premiere, but the villagers insisted they come anyway.

And so Dean and Butler traveled back to Yakel, where the tribe had constructed a viewing screen by stringing a couple of sheets up to a giant banyan tree that had survived the storm. Dean set up a projector and everyone gathered to watch the story unfold.

Co-director Dean moved to the island for seven months to absorb village life and better understand the culture of Vanuatu

The villagers loved it so much, Dean said, the chiefs delivered a formal speech praising the film for reflecting the tribe's truth.

While the directors had come to them with the idea for the film, the chiefs said, the tribe now considered 'Tanna' their own.

'It just doesn't get any better,' Dean said of the villagers' praise.

The fact that 'Tanna' is the first Australian movie to be nominated for an Oscar in the foreign language category makes it even more special, Dean said.

'I think it's the most exciting category to have a film in,' he said. 'It's a real celebration of cinema, no matter who you are, where you come from.'

And while the film's Oscar nomination and other accolades are thrilling, the best part of the experience for Dean was the connection he and his family made to a culture so different from their own.

'There's a saying there  the chiefs  that when you connect with an outsider, you build a road between one another,' Dean said. 'And there's a definite road between us now that will go on indefinitely.'
David Ramsey, 48, came close to death after collapsing from a bout of pneumonia while holidaying with his wife Liz in Barbados (pictured, the pair together)

A father of four is facing a 19,000 medical bill after his dream Caribbean cruise ended with him fighting for his life in hospital.

David Ramsey, 48, came close to death after collapsing from a bout of pneumonia while holidaying with his wife Liz in Barbados.

Such was the severity of his conditions that doctors warned his wife that she may have to prepare herself for the worse.

However, thankfully, Mr Ramsey recovered and after 10 days in 'disgusting' wards where he was tied to the bed by nurses, he returned to Britain.

He is now receiving treatment, but the financial cost of his holiday nightmare has left the couple reeling.

Liz, 51, from Blyth in Northumberland, said: 'I was absolutely terrified seeing David get worse and worse. It was like he was in a prison.

'The beds were all dirty and the hospital looked run down. It was just filthy. I've never been so scared.'

The couple headed for the Caribbean Islands on November 4 last year, having saved for more than 18 months to go on holiday.

But as their trip was drawing to a close, Mr Ramsey started to feel lightheaded and collapsed.

He was treated by medics on the ship before he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Bricklayer Mr Ramsey was immediately rushed to intensive care after doctors discovered he was suffering from double pneumonia.

Mr Ramsey spent 10 days enduring 'disgusting' hospital conditions after being struck down by pneumonia in Barbados

His wife said: 'It was then the doctors came out and told me that my husband was going to die and to get any family members over.

'It was horrible as I was on my own. Three days later they said they were going to try and take him off the ventilation.

'They said that if he didn't start breathing on his own then they were going to have to let him go.'

After a couple of days, he showed signs of recovery and was transferred to another ward at the hospital.

Mr Ramsey (left) developed awful sores (right) on his body while in the hospital and was tied to the bed with bandages by nurses there

Liz said: 'The nurses tied him to the bed for three days with bandages because they said he was at risk of falling out.

'He then started getting cuts on his hand and the nurse said he was allergic to the plasters but that never happens in England.

'He was covered in bed sores and I was seeing him get worse. The level of care at the hospital was disgusting.'

Mr Ramsey was released on November 30 and flew back to the UK four days later.

However, he is currently receiving treatment and physiotherapy at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary up to three times a week to treat his injuries.

Mrs Ramsey, who works in health and social care, said her husband has been referred to a plastic surgeon who is considering doing a skin graft.

Mr and Mrs Ramsey were left outraged after being told they must pay 19,000 for the treatment David received at the Barbados hospital and aboard their cruise ship

The couple were then left outraged after being told they must pay 19,000 for the treatment David received at the Barbados hospital and aboard the ship.

Liz said: 'Our insurance company is dealing with it but we have come home and have nothing.

'Neither of us can work while David is ill and because we both work for agencies we are having to rely on benefits.

'David is still having nightmares of being in that hospital. We just don't know where to turn.'

Both the hospital and the insurance company were contacted for a comment.
A funeral director used his hearse to return a 'dead' fridge freezer to Argos after a long running dispute over the phone provided few solutions.

Rafael Learmonth, along with three colleagues from his funeral directors, calmly wheeled the broken appliance, on a coffin trolley, draped in a velvet sheet into the chain's Maidstone, Kent store.

He walked ahead of the 'procession' and approached a shocked Argos worker to complain as Ashley Sutton, Stuart Lee and James Bushan from Angels Funerals looked on.

Procession: The undertakers prepare to unload the 'dead' fridge and wheel it into the Argos store

Mr Learmonth has been involved in a row with Argos since 2015 on behalf of his 79-year-old mother who had witnessed the Indesit fridge fail multiple times, losing three loads of frozen food in the process.

Speaking after the filmed confronation the 53-year-old said: 'The first fridge freezer was faulty when she bought it but instead of giving her a new one they sent an engineer out to fix it. Six weeks later it had the same fault.'

He added that his mother had received three new fridges but all turned out to be faulty.

Approach: Mr Learmonth said his team did everything as though it was a real funeral

Mr Learmonth told Kent Online: 'She was given the last one in August last year. When that one failed as well I told them to give mum her money back and come and collect the fridge freezer but I was told they didn't have the right lorry or something.

'The woman I was speaking to said something like 'you wouldn't deliver it in your hearse would you?''

The undertaker said he did everything 'we would for a funeral' for the stunt after uploading the video to his Facebook page on Saturday.

'The staff were trying to work out what was happening. The customers thought it was hilarious. We went to the pub afterwards and one guy bought me a pint.

'Mum doesn't actually know I've done it yet, she just wanted it out of her living room.

'Now it's back in the store they should give her a refund. I might even send them an invoice for the delivery charge.'

Mr Learmonth said his mother had received a 100 Argos voucher and bouquet of flowers following the protest.

An Argos spokesman said: 'We understand that this is a difficult time for Mrs Learmonth and have a full refund waiting at the Chatham store for her.'

Learmonth said after the stunt: 'The staff were trying to work out what was happening. The customers thought it was hilarious. We went to the pub afterwards and one guy bought me a pint'
A woman who died in a plane crash on Australia Day shared her haunting last moments on social media.

Endah Cakrawati, 30, was killed alongside her partner Peter Lynch, 52, when the plane he was piloting plummeted into Perth's Swan River on Thursday.

Ms Cakrawati posted a video on Instagram from inside the cockpit just moments before the tragedy.

'Wish me luck,' she could be heard saying.

Endah Cakrawati, 30, posted a video on Instagram from inside the cockpit just moments before she was killed alongside her partner Peter Lynch, 52, when the plane he was piloting plummeted into Perth's Swan River on Thursday

Before wishing her followers a happy Australia Day, Ms Cakrawati could be heard saying: 'Wish me luck'

The couple died shortly after when the seaplane nosedived into the famous Perth river in front of around 60,000 spectators

The footage shows the joyful 30-year-old as she and her boyfriend prepared to take part in an Australia Day airshow.

'We're in Perth and we are ready to go for Skyworks today. Happy Australia Day,' she says.

The couple died shortly after when the seaplane nosedived into the famous Perth river in front of around 60,000 spectators.

The wreckage of the plane was recovered on Saturday.

Mr Lynch had three children and recently separated from his geologist wife, Laura.

Ms Cakrawati worked with Mr Lynch as investor relations manager at Cokal, a mining company that Mr Lynch founded in 2009, for the past three years.

The wreckage of the plane was recovered on Saturday. It is believed the couple died on impact

Recovery teams work to lift the wreckage of the light plane on Saturday

The wreckage is pictured being lifted from a barge following the recovery in the Swan River

The 30-year-old worked out of its Indonesian office in Jakarta, as the company has a mine site in Borneo along with operations in Tanzania and Mozambique.

She also appeared to also work as a model, starring in TV ads in Indonesia.

'I have a great life, great friends, and great LOVE... Just perfect,' she wrote on Facebook in June.

Ms Cakrawati worked with Mr Lynch as investor relations manager at Cokal

Mr Lynch had three children and recently separated from his wife Laura, who is a geologist

The 30-year-old appeared to also work as a model, starring in TV ads in Indonesia
Dr Jesper Sorensen is the founder of the Sorensen Clinic in Kensington, west London

Parenting website Mumsnet has been ordered to reveal the real identities of people who criticised a top cosmetic surgeon on its online forum.

Dr Jesper Sorensen is a specialist in facial reconstruction, eyelid reconstruction and facial nerve surgery and is the founder of the Sorensen Clinic in Kensington, west London.

People began posting and commenting on the website after one of the threads on its forum referred to an 11,000 operation, known as fat-transfer surgery.

The operation sees the doctor remove fat from the patient's body to revolumise hollowed areas under the eyes.

But after reading comments which criticised him, the specialist issued a High Court claim against the website, reports Richard Gittins at the Sunday Times.

He reportedly wanted to take legal action against two individuals who posted using the names Blackfairy7 and Skohl.

Three messages posted by Skohl on one thread in September and November last year have since been deleted by the website.

They had commented on a thread entitled 'Fat transfer for undereye hollows/tear troughs?'

It received 32 posts with people asking about the surgery and whether they had any information about Dr Sorensen's work.

Many comments were positive and praised the surgery, with one person writing that they 'cannot recommend him highly enough'.

The second thread focused specifically on the doctor after it was called 'Cosmetic surgery with Jesper Sorensen' - but it has since been deleted by moderators.

And after presenting his case to the High Court, they ordered the website - set up in 2000 - to reveal the true identities.

They also have to hand over the copies of messages between Blackfairy7 and Skohl.

Dr Sorensen, who qualified in Medicine from the University of Copenhagen in 1992, claimed in 2010 that his surgeries do not leave visible or obvious scars.

Dr Sorensen set up his clinic which is based in the upmarket area of Kensington in west London (pictured)

On his website it says: 'Dr Sorensen has a special interest in aesthetic surgeries, including natural-looking facial rejuvenation, facelifts, endoscopic brow lifts, eyelid/oculoplastic surgeries, fat grafting, facial implants and a complete range of breast enhancement procedures.

'Throughout his career Dr Sorensen has received numerous honours and awards, including two National Scientist Fellowships and a National Research Council Fellowship, as well as professional recognition for excellence in surgery.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: 'I hide the scars of a facelift up inside the hair or inside the ear, or in the natural lines in the face, in the folds and creases. I hope nobody can see my work.

'I'm Scandinavian and so is my work. Less is more, is the idea: simplicity, being natural and healthy. It should never be overdone.

'We restore and enhance, but we don't really change people. My finest job is actually when my work is not recognised. My women patients are complimented on their hairstyles, but not their faces.'

Justine Roberts, chief executive of Mumsnet told the Sunday Times: 'Initially we refused to hand over the information and said we would only comply if we were required to do so by a court order.'

The Sorensen Clinic and Mumsnet have been contacted for comment.
Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who was finally ousted by a US invasion in 1989, has been released from prison in order to have a brain tumour removed.

Noriega, who was nicknamed Old Pineapple Face because of his pock-marked complexion, ruled Panama between 1983 and 1989 but was deposed by President George H W Bush.

The Reagan and Bush administrations had supported General Noriega, as a bastion against communism, for years but finally ran out of patience with him after he was exposed as being behind the smuggling of massive consignments of drugs to the US and money laundering in Panama.

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General Manuel Noriega (pictured, left) was nicknamed Pineapple Face because of his pock-marked complexion. But he ruled Panama brutally in the 1980s. Now (right) he is an old man who has been released from prison in order to have life-saving surgery

Noriega's brutal rule included the torture and murder of any political dissidents. In 1985 Hugo Spadafora, a prominent opponent, was seized by one of Noriega's death squads. His decapitated body was found, showing signs of extreme torture, wrapped in a US mail bag.

When US troops invaded in December 1989 Noriega, who was played by Bob Hoskins in the 2000 film God's Favourite, famously sought sanctuary in the Vatican mission and only surrendered when the Americans played loud rock music for days on end.

Noriega was extradited to the US and spent nearly 20 years in prison in Florida after being convicted on drug trafficking charges.

He was then sent back to Panama, via France, and has spent the last six years in El Renacer prison near Panama City, for crimes including murder committed under his regime.

Noriega is now 82 but he was heavily guarded as he left El Renacer prison on the outskirts of Panama City and was taken to his daughter's house (pictured)

Between 1983 and 1989 Noriega (pictured) ruled Panama as a dictator and allowed drug syndicates to fly narcotics to the US via the country, creaming off the profits

In December 1989 President George H W Bush ordered Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama (pictured), which led to the deaths of hundreds of Panamanians and 26 US soldiers

Noriega left the prison yesterday under heavy police guard and was taken to his daughter's apartment in a wealthy suburb of the capital.

He will undergo surgery on February 15 and has been told he must undergo an assessment on April 28.

His lawyer, Ezra Angel, said he may be allowed more time to recover or be sent back to serve the rest of his 60-year prison sentence on charges ranging from murder to environmental crimes.

In 2014 Noriega reportedly sued the makers of the computer game Call Of Duty after they named a treacherous character Manuel Noriega and also referred to him as Old Pineapple Face.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 11 times violated the ceasefire in various directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend Jan. 29.

The Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns while shelling Azerbaijani positions.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Kamarli village of the Gazakh district, the Kohnagishlag village of the Aghstafa district and the Alibayli village of the Tovuz district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in the Dovekh village of the Noyemberyan district, the Paravakar village of the Ijevan district and the Aygepar village of the Berd district.

The Azerbaijani army positions were also shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Horadiz village of the Fuzuli district, as well as on nameless heights of the Goranboy and Fuzuli districts of Azerbaijan.

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.
Theresa May, pictured attending church in her Berkshire constituency today, instructed Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd to speak to their US counterparts about Trump's ban

British ministers are tonight frantically demanding British citizens be exempted from Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Theresa May ordered Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd to raise concerns with their US counterparts about the President's highly controversial executive order preventing anyone from entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days.

The ban has triggered travel chaos for British citizens holding dual nationality with the countries on the list, including Somalian-born Olympic hero Sir Mo Farah.

No10 and Buckingham Palace are now facing calls to cancel their invitation of a state visit for President Trump and the First Lady unless he lifts his travel ban.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson united with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and more than 450,000 signed a petition to call for the trip to be cancelled.

The Prime Minister held a conference call with the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary this morning instructing them to work with their US counterparts to lift the ban on British dual nationals.

Mr Johnson is speaking to two of President Trump's closest advisers - Steve Bannon, his chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, his senior adviser and son-in-law.

Earlier he lashed out at President Trump, saying it was 'divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality' while Sajid Javid, Britain's first male Muslim Cabinet minister, said the ban contravenes British values.

Mr Johnson promised to 'protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad' after the US ban triggered travel chaos for British travellers.

Foreign Office officials spoke to their American counterparts overnight and throughout today as they sought to clarify the new rules for British travellers.

On a dramatic day:

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson joined Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in calling for President Trump's state visit to the UK to be cancelled

More than 430,000 sign petition calling for Mr Trump to be uninvited to avoid embarrassing the Queen

Travel ban triggers chaos for British citizens across, with one left stranded in Costa Rica and families facing cancelled holidays

Somalian-born Olympic hero Sir Mo Farah lashes out at Trump amid fears he will be unable to return home to his wife and daughters who live in Oregon

Canadian citizens were given an exemption from Trump's travel ban, raising questions why Britons haven't been given the same assurances

Iraqi-born Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi reveals he is banned from the US and in an emotional interview, he says: ' For the first time in my life since then, last night I felt discriminated against'

Mrs May's more active approach is the latest No10 adjustment to President Trump's controversial travel ban. Just 24 hours ago Mrs May refused three times to condemn the highly controversial move.

Her initial refusal to rebuke President Trump triggered a furious backlash, including from senior members of her party - one of whom revealed the ban applies to him.

Theresa May ordered Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd to raise concerns with their US counterparts about the President's highly controversial executive order preventing anyone from entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days

Donald Trump's planned state visit to the UK later this year must be cancelled in response to his hardline immigration crackdown, Jeremy Corbyn, pictured on ITV's Peston on Sunday, sai

No 10 sources insisted Mrs May was taking the issue extremely seriously and was 'absolutely determined' to respond to the fears of Britons about the ban, which she does 'not agree' with.

But there are now doubts over whether President Trump's planned state visit to the UK can go ahead later this year.

CANADIAN CITIZENS GET EXEMPTION, SO WHY CAN'T BRITONS? Canadian citizens were given an exemption from President Trump's controversial travel ban, raising questions why Britons haven't been given the same assurances. The travel ban applies to all travellers holding dual nationality of seven Muslim majority countries. British ministers are demanding British nationals with dual citizenship are exempt. They are likely to point to guarantees given to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, whose office said last night: 'We have been assured that Canadian citizens travelling on Canadian passport will be dealt with in the usual process.' Advertisement

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on his invitation to be cancelled in response to his controversial executive order.

He was joined by Ms Davidson, who said a state visit 'could not possibly occur' while 'a cruel and divisive policy which discriminates against citizens of the host nation is in place'.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said his visit would be 'placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith'.

London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan said President Trump should only be invited for a state visit when he lifts his 'shameful' travel ban.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was alone in defending the immigration crackdown and even suggested Britain should follow the President's lead and introduce 'extreme vetting' of incomers.

Mr Javid, the Business Secretary, responded directly at Mr Farage, tweeting: 'Farage is wrong to try and defend US immigration ban. These are not British values.'

Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi revealed he is now barred from the US because he holds dual-Iraqi nationality.

He said he needs to travel to the US regularly in order to visit his two sons who are studying at Princeton University.

Now Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has hit out at President Trump, saying it was 'divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality'

In a remarkable public dig at her brother, Mr Johnson's sister, Rachel, replied to his tweet saying Britain should 'protect the rights of everyone, not just UK nationals'

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, pictured, said a state visit 'could not possibly occur' while 'a cruel and divisive policy which discriminates against citizens of the host nation is in place'

The Stratford-on-Avon MP urged the PM to raise the concerns with President Trump directly, telling the Andrew Marr Show: 'I don't think we should look away when President Trump makes a mistake.

'I think as his closest allies, Theresa May made it very clear when she talked about us going after the ideology of Daesh, not just on the battlefield. This plays into their ideology: it is counterproductive.'

Mr Zahawi added: 'I don't think I've felt discriminated against probably since little school, as a boy from Iraq of Kurdish origin, when young kids were very cruel.

'For the first time in my life since then, last night I felt discriminated against. It's demeaning, it's sad.'

TRUMP'S MUSLIM BAN TRIGGERS TRAVEL CHAOS FOR BRITONS Hamaseh Tayari, pictured, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, was stranded in Costa Rica because of Trump's travel ban British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering refunds for travellers affected by Donald Trump's Muslim ban. His executive order preventing anyone entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days has triggered chaos at airports across the world as travellers were caught out in transit. Customers who have bought flights to the US will be given the choice of a refund or the chance to re-book. One woman affected was Hamaseh Tayari, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, who is stranded in Costa Rica after being denied boarding a flight home to Glasgow because her return flight was due to stop-over in New York. Ms Tayari was due to fly home to Glasgow via New York after holidaying in Costa Rica but her US transit visa was revoked as Mr Trump's immigration crackdown took effect immediately. She is now trying to work out an alternative route home but she said it is likely to cost her a month's salary to get home. 'This has really shocked me. We just discovered [what Trump did] at the airport when we went to check-in, Ms Tayari told the Guardian. 'I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a Phd. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax.' Advertisement

The Muslim Council of Britain said the details of the executive order exposed that it was not designed to tackle terrorism but to appeal to right-wing supporters of President Trump.

'Those countries whose citizens were found to be involved in terrorism in the United States are not on Mr Trump's list, he said.'

Terror hot-spots such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are not on the travel ban list.

Theresa May, pictured with husband Philip attending church in her Berkshire constituency this morning, flew back into a storm over her response to Donald Trump's controversial ban on people entering the US from seven majority-Muslim countries

Yesterday the PM refused three times to condemn President Trump's immigration crackdown a day after the pair met for the first time in Washington. Pictured, Donald Trump shakes Theresa May's hand after unveiling the bust of Sir Winston Churchill back in the Oval Office

London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan, pictured on Sky News today, said President Trump should only be invited for a state visit when he lifts his 'shameful' travel ban

More than 400,000 people have already signed a petition on the Government's website demanding President Trump be prevented from making a state visit.

It must now be considered for a debate in the Commons. The petition says 'he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen'.

Yesterday the PM refused three times to condemn President Trump's immigration crackdown.

But amid a growing backlash, Downing Street hastily issued a midnight statement saying Mrs May dos 'not agree' with his executive order.

Her spokesperson said: 'Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.'

'But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals.'

More than 2800,000 people signed a petition demanding Donald Trump's state visit to the UK be cancelled in the wake of his Muslim travel ban

Tim Farron, pictured on the Andrew Marr Show today, called for Mr Trump's state visit to the UK to be cancelled, saying it would be 'placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith'

During her visit to the White House Mrs May announced President Trump had accepted an invitation from the Queen to visit the UK later this year.

But Mr Corbyn said it is not right to host the US President while the 'awful attacks on Muslims' are going on.

He told ITV's Peston On Sunday: 'Is it really right to endorse somebody who has used this awful misogynistic language throughout the election campaign, awful attacks on Muslims, and then of course this absurd idea of building a wall between themselves and their nearest neighbour?'

He added: 'I think we should make it very clear we are extremely upset about it, and I think it would be totally wrong for him to be coming here while that situation is going on. I think he has to be challenged on this.

'I am not happy with him coming here until that ban is lifted, quite honestly.

'Look at what's happening with those countries, how many more is it going to be and what is going to be the long term effect of this on the rest of the world?'

Last night Tory MP for Stratford Nadhim Zahawi revealed he is now banned from the US

Attacking Mrs May's slow response to the executive order, Mr Corbyn said: 'The fact that she felt unable to raise the issue of his treatment of refugees, his treatment of Muslims, of the building of the wall with Mexico seems to me shocking and it wasn't until midnight that she got round to readjusting her position she should have adopted from the very beginning.'

He said it was 'right to have a relationship with the US' but said she's 'got to be very open with them'.

London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan described Mr Trump's ban on incomers from seven Muslim majority countries 'shameful'.

He wrote on his Facebook post: 'President Trump's ban on refugees and immigrants from certain countries is shameful and cruel.

'The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President can't just turn his back on this global crisis - all countries need to play their part.

'While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.'

The sudden ban has triggered chaos at airports across the world as travellers were caught out in transit.

Heidi Allen, MP for South Cambridgeshire, said despite Britain's 'special relationship' with the US, 'some lines just shouldn't be crossed'

In a sign of the anger against and Tory MP Heidi Allen tweeted directly at Mrs May saying: 'Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of'

Britain should follow Donald Trump's lead and introduce 'extreme vetting' at the borders, Nigel Farage, pictured on BBC's Sunday Politics, said today

Mr Javid, the Business Secretary, responded directly at Mr Farage, tweeting: 'Farage is wrong to try and defend US immigration ban. These are not British values.'

One woman affected was Hamaseh Tayari, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, who is stranded in Costa Rica after being denied boarding a flight home to Glasgow because her return flight was due to stop-over in New York.

Ms Tayari was due to fly home to Glasgow via New York after holidaying in Costa Rica but her US transit visa was revoked as Mr Trump's immigration crackdown took effect immediately.

She is now trying to work out an alternative route home but she said it is likely to cost her a month's salary to get home.

'This has really shocked me. We just discovered [what Trump did] at the airport when we went to check-in, Ms Tayari told the Guardian.

'I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a Phd. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax.'
Tragic discovery: Bernard 'Butch' Gore, 71, had dementia and was without his medication. His body was found in a stairwell on Friday morning

Dementia sufferer Bernard 'Butch' Gore, 71, who was found dead in a stairwell at a shopping centre in Sydney's Bondi Junction, had been there for three weeks.

Mr Gore was seen 'lost and confused' inside a Chanel store on January 6 before he was found on Friday.

He went missing after setting out on foot from Woollahra to meet his wife and daughter at the shopping centre.

That day a Chanel employee believes they saw him looking frail and 'pacing up and down' outside the store before wandering in.

'He said he couldn't find the carpark or people he was supposed to be meeting. I asked if he needed help and he shook his head and wandered off,' the unnamed staff member told the Daily Telegraph.

'We were so worried my colleague called security and one of the guards told us they could check CCTV footage to locate him.'

The much loved man went missing on January 6 after setting out on foot from Woollahra to meet his wife and daughter at a shopping centre in Sydney's Bondi Junction

Police seen outside the fire stairwell at Bondi Junction where Bernard 'Butch' Gore's body was discovered on Friday morning

Mr Gore's body was found in a badly decomposed state in the stairwell about 8.30am on Friday morning.

'The thought that he might be the man in the stairwell and has been there ever since makes me feel so sad,' the Chanel worker said.

'Why has it taken so long to find the body?'

Mr Gore had dementia and was without his medication at the time of his disappearance, worrying loved ones.

He was originally from Tasmania and had been staying with his daughter at Ocean Street in Woollahra in the weeks before his disappearance.

Mr Gore's son Mark confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the family had been notified of reports his body had been found.

The dementia sufferer was believed to have been seen 'lost and confused', inside a Chanel store on level four of the Bondi Junction Westfield (pictured)

The police rescue unit worked with local cops, officers on horseback and police helicopters to scour Centennial Park for the missing Mr Gore - but unfortunately he was not found

Police officers swarmed the Westfield complex in Sydney's east on Friday after the shocking discovery in the fire stairwell

On Friday, the body was found in the fire escape near the level three access close to luxury stores such as Scotch and Soda, Chanel, Jimmy Choo and Leona Edmiston.

A maintenance worker was the first to locate the body, reports said.

The body is understood to have been there for a number of days and was decomposed.

His death is not being treated as suspicious.

Police will investigate the death and prepare a report for the Coroner.

A spokeswoman for Westfield's parent company, Scentre Group, offered their 'deepest condolences to the family of the man found today at Westfield Bondi Junction.'

'Investigations are still underway to determine exactly how these sad and tragic circumstances could have occurred, and Scentre Group will continue to work with police in their investigations,' she said.

Detectives (left, right) are seen here huddling outside the fire escape where Mr Gore's body was found on Friday morning

Police blocked off the fire escape as shocked shoppers arrived at Westfield Bondi Junction early on Friday

Mr Gore's family and police had pleaded for information leading to his safe return in recent weeks.

'My father would not want to bother anyone if he was lost, and I think it's unlikely he'd approach a stranger for help,' Mark said at a press conference on January 10.

'I hope someone will notice him alone and ask if he needed help; he'd probably say he was fine but people need to contact police if they think it is him.'

Police told reporters he had limited money for food or water at the time he went missing.

He had successfully made the journey between home and the shopping centre several times before.

A NSW police spokeswoman said a crime scene was established about 8.30am. Police will investigate the death and compile a report for the Coroner




April Oliver (pictured with Corrie McKeague) has revealed her 'unbearable pain'

The pregnant girlfriend of missing RAF gunner Corrie McKeague has revealed her 'unbearable pain' in a series of heartbreaking posts on social media.

April Oliver, 21, took to her Instagram page after the 23-year-old vanished during a night out eight miles from his base at RAF Honington in Suffolk last September.

She wrote that she 'hurts every day' and cries 'every morning and night' after he went missing, reports the Sunday Mirror.

It comes as it was revealed detectives hunting for Mr McKeague have so far spent more than 300,000 in their search to find him.

Despite the enormous cost to the public purse, his family have also raised more than 50,000 to draft in private investigators to help with the search.

Miss Oliver, a personal trainer, revealed last month that she is expecting his baby later this year.

She wrote online: 'I hurt every day. I cry every morning and night. I've never missed anyone so bad. The pain is unbearable.

'No one understands the pain or hurt of missing the person you love every second of the day and night.'

She added: 'I don't care what has happened, I just want you home. You're my best friend and I need you.

'You promised you would never leave me. I love you Corrie please come back to me. Xxxx'.

Mr McKeague disappeared while out drinking in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, at 3.25am on September 24, 2016.

Last month, April Oliver (left) revealed she is pregnant. Her boyfriend (right) went missing in Bury St Edmunds last year

CCTV footage showed him walk through the centre of the market town after going to a takeaway outlet.

He then fell asleep in a doorway and a search of his phone picked up a signal 13 miles away at a nearby landfill site.

His mother Nicola Urquhart, who is a police officer in Scotland, led her own unofficial search along with 100 volunteers, drones and dogs.

Speaking today, his mother said: 'I've never criticised any of the work that the police have done, I've been delighted with the efforts they've made.

'With myself, it's just looking for particular things that have been done in the enquiry that I've been asking for. They've clearly spent a massive amount.

'The police are doing everything that we are asking them to do.'

His mother Nicola Urquhart (pictured), who is a police officer in Scotland, said the search in Suffolk has been insufficient

According to the Freedom on Information request, the 300,000 bill has been made up of staffing, overtime, travel and forensics.

The sum has been split between Suffolk and Norfolk Constabularies.

Ms Urquhart was critical of the police in December last year, claiming her faith in their ability to help find Corrie was 'utterly destroyed'.

And last week, she admitted the chances of finding him alive are diminishing.

A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said: 'As long as we still have lines of enquiry to follow, as we do now, this will remain an active and continuing investigation.

'Police still have work to carry out around a number of aspects of the investigation and we continue to treat finding Corrie as a priority for the constabulary.'

Anyone with information over Corrie's disappearance should call Suffolk police's incident room on 01473 782019.
Convicted rapist Brett Gordon, 44, has been jailed for four years after he tried to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex

A double rapist is back behind bars after being snared by paedophile hunters as he tried to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex.

Brett Gordon, 44, from Hitchin, was only released in 2013 after serving six years for raping two girls aged 18 and 19.

But he has been jailed for four years after he sent explicit text messages to a man he thought was a young girl called 'Demi' before offering to buy her a child's train ticket so she could meet him.

Despite 'Demi' telling him she was 12, he told her: 'You are a woman to me. You are my woman and we will have lots of fun together.'

However when he turned up to meet the girl down an alleyway near his home, he was confronted by four members of a vigilante group.

When he was arrested, Gordon broke down and said: 'I have really f****d myself. My life is done.

'I am going back to prison. I went on social media, downloaded an app and started talking, I did not know.'

Gordon, formerly known as Brett Kaminski, was previously jailed in 2007 for raping two girls, aged 18 and 19, within six weeks of each other.

He was released in 2013 and changed his name by deed poll in May 2014.

In October last year Gordon used the social media dating app 'Waplog' to contact someone he thought was a young girl called 'Demi', from London.

However she didn't exist and Gordon spent months 'grooming' members of the vigilante group The Hunted One.

In his first message, he introduced himself by saying: 'Hi beautiful, I'm Brad from Hitchin, what are you looking for?'

In October last year Gordon used the social media dating app 'Waplog' to contact someone he thought was a young girl called 'Demi', from London

Gordon told the 12-year-old girl she was 'my woman' and 'we will have lots of fun together'

Gordon told the 12-year-old girl she would have to take her clothes off to have sex with him

Gordon, 44, was given a four year jail sentence after trying to meet 'Demi' for sex

When told she was looking for friends, he replied: 'I am looking for really good female friends to come stay with me at my place.'

He added: 'We can do lots of dirty things, Hitchin is only 25 minutes on the train from King's Cross (railway station).'

He added how he would 'show her what men and women do in bed to each other.'

He then tried to convince the 12-year-old girl to meet him and said: 'Come to mine this weekend and we can do some sexual things in my bed.'

He asked for her number and for her to add him on Facebook, before asking: 'Have you got a picture of your body for me?'

Gordon told the 12-year-old girl how he was 'really looking' to having sex with her - the convicted rapist has now been jailed for four years

Gordon boasted how the would be 'snuggled in bed' with the 12-year-old girl when she met him

Gordon told the girl they 'couldn't tell anyone' about the meeting as he arranged to see her

When 'Demi' came to meet him in Hitchin on October 22, he reassured her when she became 'really scared'

After they agreed to meet, 'Demi' told Gordon she was worried about getting the train alone but he reassured her and told her she could stay with him, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

He asked her to tell her parents she was staying at her friend's house and not speak to anyone about their relationship because they 'wouldn't approve'.

The girl then asked Gordon if she was too young for him.

The convicted rapist replied: 'You are a woman to me. You are my woman and we will have lots of fun together'.

When she asked 'you do not mind that I am 12?' He replied 'no', before insisting she come to visit him.

He messaged the girl saying he would purchase her a child's ticket for 7.85 and told her he would give her the money when she arrived.

The court heard Gordon also lied about his age and said he was 35 when he was actually 44.

When 'Demi' came to meet him in Hitchin on October 22, he reassured her when she became 'really scared'.

When the train arrived at the town around 6pm he directed her towards an alleyway next to a Tesco store close to his home.

But he was spotted by four members of The Hunted One and they called the police who arrested him a short time later.

When he was arrested, Gordon broke down and said: 'I have really f****d myself. My life is done'

Prosecuting Charles Falk told the court Gordon raped an 18-year-old girl at his flat in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, on October 2, 2006.

While on police bail for the rape, Gordon dragged a 19-year-old girl into an alleyway next to an alleyway in Cheshunt and raped her on November 20, 2006.

He was handed an eight year jail sentence in 2007 after he was found guilty of both atacks.

Defending him on Friday, Will Noble said his client was only judged a 'medium' risk by the probation service.

When he tried to meet the girl, Gordon was spotted by four members of The Hunted One and they called the police who arrested him a short time later

Judge Jonathan Cooper sentenced him to four years imprisonment, with a six year extended licence period.

He will serve at least two thirds of his sentence before he can apply for parole.

Jailing Gordon, the judge told him: 'You are dangerous. There is a significant risk to members of the public to serious harm by the commission of further offences by you.

'After six years of custody for serious offences committed within a short space of time you offended in this calculated and persistent way to a victim who you believed was even younger than your previous victims.'

Gordon was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life and will be subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further notice.
The brother of accused Bourke Street rampage killer Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas has penned an emotional message to the victims of the tragedy.

Angelo Gargasoulas took to Facebook on Sunday to express his sympathy for the families of the deceased.

Angelo was allegedly stabbed by his older brother only hours before he was accused of driving down the central Melbourne mall and killing five people.

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Angelo Gargasoulas (above) the brother of the accused Bourke Street rampage killer Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas penned an emotional message to the victims of the tragedy

'To all the families of the victims involved in last Friday's tragedy, my heart goes out to you and for all those still fighting in hospital, my thoughts are with you and your recovery,' Angelo wrote.

'No one could've predicted what Jimmy did or that he'd do that, that morning.

'I'm fortunate enough to still have my life and the support I have received is unheard of.

'I thank everyone involved in making this an easier time for everyone else involved, and my family.

'As for me, I still got some recovery time to do, and it's all looking good.

'Still in disbelief, the realism of it all has yet to fully sink in, stay strong Melbourne!

Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas, 26, was charged with five counts of murder

Five people lost their lives in the shocking tragedy while 17 people still remain in hospital.

Among the dead are 10-year-old Thalia Hakin who was out walking with her mother and eight-year-old sister Maggie when all three were hit by the car.

Maggie was left with a broken leg and she attended her sister's funeral earlier this week with it still in plaster, while her mother was too gravely injured to see her own daughter laid to rest.

Three-month-old baby Zachary (right) was killed. His two-year-old sister Zara was injured but is in a stable condition

Jess Mudie, 22, is one of the five people to have been killed in the Melbourne massacre

10-year-old girl Thalia Hakin was killed in the rampage Her mother and sister were also hospitalised with serious injuries

Father and husband Matthew Si, 33, was also killed in the tragedy

Three-month-old Zachary Bryant was also killed during the attack.

His sister Zara, two, was badly injured but is now in stable condition.

Matthew Si, 33, Jess Mudie, 22, and a 25-year-old Japanese man were also killed during the frenzied rampage.

There are still 17 people in hospital following the attack, two of whom are still in critical condition, more than a week on.

Gargasoulas has been charged with five counts of murder and has been remanded in custody to appear again in December while lawyers compile the extensive evidence to be used against him.

Police allege the vehicle was being driven by 26-year-old Dimitrious Gargasoulas, who they believe is also connected to a stabbing earlier that day

In total five people were killed after being hit by the vehicle, while more than 30 ended up in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical

This is the moment the car involved in the Bourke Street rampage in Melbourne mounted the pavement before accelerating towards packed crowds of shoppers
President Donald Trump on Sunday mourned the loss of the first U.S. service member killed in the line of duty since he took office nine days ago.

The soldier's death, he said in a statement, 'will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world.'

But 'Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism.'

One soldier was killed and three others wounded during a raid in Yemen that targeted a regional affiliate of the al-Qaeda terror network.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that another service member was injured in a 'hard landing' in a nearby location. The Pentagon department said the aircraft was unable to fly afterward and 'was then intentionally destroyed in place.'

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President Donald Trump, shown speaking with Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, praised a 'heroic service member' who died 'in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism'

One U.S. soldier was killed and three others were wounded during a raid in Yemen targeting a local al-Qaeda affiliate; pictured is an Apache helicopter like those used in the dawn raid

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Sunday morning on 'Meet the Press' that the unusual step was taken in order to keep enemy fighters from capturing any of the helicopter's high-tech hardware.

Officials revealed 14 al-Qaeda fighters were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members captured 'information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots'.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault in central al-Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaeda leaders.

The dawn attack killed Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims.

The al-Dhahab family is considered an ally of al-Qaeda, which security forces say is concentrated in al-Bayda.

The deadly U.S. raid took place in the al-Bayda province, in southwestern Yemen, at dawn on Sunday

A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed years ago in a family feud.

The fighting reportedly lasted around 45 minutes; American troops killed or wounded some two dozen men, including Saudis present at the site.

An al-Qaeda-linked news service in Yemen confirmed the killings, likening the attack as a 'massacre against Muslims' and saying that women and children had been killed. It provided no evidence to support that claim.

SUNDAY'S STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT TRUMP 'In a successful raid against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) headquarters, brave U.S. forces were instrumental in killing an estimated 14 AQAP members and capturing important intelligence that will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world. 'Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism. The sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, and the families they leave behind, are the backbone of the liberty we hold so dear as Americans, united in our pursuit of a safer nation and a freer world. My deepest thoughts and humblest prayers are with the family of this fallen service member. I also pray for a quick and complete recovery for the brave service members who sustained injuries.' Advertisement

The terrorist press organ said Apache attack helicopters struck the area from the air before dropping commandos in for the raid, which took place near Yakla village in Radaa district. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaeda operatives in Bayda province in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the US presidency.

The tribal officials said the Americans were looking for al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi, adding that they captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

Separately, Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the country's southern city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.
Emirates airline has had to change flight attendant and pilot rosters on services to the United States following the sudden U.S. travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, an airline spokeswoman said Sunday.

'The recent change to the U.S. entry requirements for nationals of 7 countries applies to all travelers and flight operations crew,' the spokeswoman said in emailed comments.

'We have made the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements.'

Based in Dubai, Emirates flies daily into 11 U.S. cities including New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

Emirates airline flight attendants wait for passengers in this file photo. The airline had to change its flight crew rosters on US flights after Trump's order barred entry for some crew.

Emirates airline flight attendants serve passengers in this file photo. Based in Dubai, Emirates flies into 11 US cities including New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles

A separate spokeswoman later said the impact of the roster changes on the airline would be minimal due to its diverse workforce.

Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, employs over 23,000 flight attendants and around 4,000 pilots from around the world including from the U.S., Europe and Middle East, the spokeswoman said.

The airline is owned by the government of Dubai, part of a Muslim-majority confederation, and U.S. ally, the United Arab Emirates.

Etihad Airways, based in the UAE's Abu Dhabi, did not immediately comment on the impact of the ban on its flight crew.

A flight attendant in the business class lounge aboard an Emirates airline flight (file photo). Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from seven countries

A Qatar Airways spokeswoman directed questions to a statement on its website that said passengers would need a green card or diplomatic visa to enter the U.S. Emirates and Etihad have a similar statement on their websites.

President Donald Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

The ban caught the airline industry off guard, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Airlines also stand to lose business: for instance, around 35,000 travelers from Iran visited the United States in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

On Saturday, Emirates said that a 'very small number' of its passengers travelling had been affected by the ban.

Emirates 'continues to comply with the guidance provided to us by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection' and U.S. flights are operating to schedule, the airline said on Sunday.
More than 900,000 people have signed a petition demandingDonald Trump's state visit to the UK be cancelled in the wake of his Muslim travel ban.

The enormous response easily passed the 100,000 target needed for MPs to consider holding a debate on the motion in the House of Commons this morning, with more and more people flocking to sign it.

It is currently rising at an average of more than 1,000 signatures per minute and is already the third most popular petition in Parliament's history.

Plans for a state visit for President Trump were only announced 48 hours ago when Theresa May revealed he had accepted an invitation from the Queen.

But the call for action is still a long way off the largest Parliamentary petition in history when more than 4million people demanded a second referendum over EU membership.

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed a petition today demanding President Trump's state visit to the UK is cancelled

Within hours of being set up it attracted the necessary 100,000 for the motion to be considered for debate in the Commons

The high-profile visit was scheduled for later this year and was set to feature the usual full pomp and ceremony.

But it had already hit a snag after it emerged the US President wants to avoid Prince Charles because of their dispute over global warming.

Today's online petition, backed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, says the US President should no longer be invited to avoid embarrassing the Queen.

The motion states: 'Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.

A heat map shows that most people who are signing the petition to cancel Mr Trump's state visit are in London or student towns. The darker the colour, the more people have signed it

The US President's shock executive order prevents anyone entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days

Speaking alongside President Trump at the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Theresa May revealed that he and the First Lady had accepted an invitation from the Queen to make a state visit to the UK later this year with full pomp and ceremony

'Donald Trump's well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales.

'Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit.'

Mr Corbyn said he is 'not happy with him coming here until that ban is lifted,' while Mr Farron said his visit would be 'placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith'.

Within hours of being set up it attracted the necessary 100,000 for the motion to be considered for debate in the Commons.

And it is on course to beat the record one million signatures in support of Jeremy Clarkson returning as Top Gear presenter.

Most people signing the petition are in London or student towns, according to a heat map.

TRUMP'S MUSLIM BAN TRIGGERS TRAVEL CHAOS FOR BRITONS Hamaseh Tayari, pictured, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, was stranded in Costa Rica after being denied boarding a flight home to Glasgow because her flight was due to stop-over in New York British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering refunds for travellers affected by Donald Trump's Muslim ban. His executive order preventing anyone entering the US from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days has triggered chaos at airports across the world as travellers were caught out in transit. Customers who have bought flights to the US will be given the choice of a refund or the chance to re-book. One woman affected was Hamaseh Tayari, a UK resident with an Iranian passport, who is stranded in Costa Rica after being denied boarding a flight home to Glasgow because her return flight was due to stop-over in New York. Ms Tayari was due to fly home to Glasgow via New York after holidaying in Costa Rica but her US transit visa was revoked as Mr Trump's immigration crackdown took effect immediately. She is now trying to work out an alternative route home but she said it is likely to cost her a month's salary to get home. 'This has really shocked me. We just discovered [what Trump did] at the airport when we went to check-in, Ms Tayari told the Guardian. 'I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a Phd. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax.' Advertisement

Any petition that receives more than 100,000 signatures within six months must be considered for debate by MPs in Parliament.

Petitions that attract more than 10,000 in the time period requires a response from the Government.

Yesterday's petition eclipsed the target within a few hours and by 3pm it had surpassed 280,000 signatures.

It will now be up to the Commons Petition's Committee to decide whether a parliamentary debate on the matter would be appropriate, but its popularity is likely to lead to a debate in the Commons, which could be highly embarrassing for the US President.

David Cameron introduced the e-petition initiative when he entered Downing Street in 2010 in a bid to boost democracy and transparency.

London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan also said President Trump should only be invited for a state visit once he lifts his 'shameful' travel ban.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was alone in defending the immigration crackdown and even suggested Britain should follow the President's lead and introduce 'extreme vetting' of incomers.

Mr Javid, the Business Secretary, responded directly at Mr Farage, tweeting: 'Farage is wrong to try and defend US immigration ban. These are not British values.'

Announcing on Friday that the Queen had invited President Trump to make an official state visit to the UK, Mrs May said: 'In a further sign of the importance of that [special] relationship I have today been able to convey Her Majesty the Queen's hope that President Trump and the First Lady would pay a state visit to the United Kingdom later this year and I'm delighted that the President has accepted that invitation.'

Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators are planning to protest against the ban outside Downing Street and across the country on Monday from 6pm.

Protests are listed to take place in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge and Birmingham.

A march organised by a coalition of groups, including Stand Up to Racism and the Muslim Council of Britain, is due to begin at the US embassy next Saturday, ending at Downing Street.

Graham Guest, who started the petition in November, told the Press Association he feared Mr Trump would use the state visit and the accompanying photo opportunities with the Queen to bolster his image.

He said: 'A state visit legitimises his presidency and he will use the photo opportunities and being seen with the Queen to get re-elected.

'The wording in the petition is quite precise as I actually say that he should come here as the head of government to do government to government business.

'At the end of the day he is still the President and we've just got to live with that. But there's no reason why he should get all the pomp and publicity of a state visit.'

Asked why he had launched the petition, Mr Guest, from Leeds, said: 'Anything to make his life more uncomfortable.

'I think a debate in Parliament to ban a state visit would be great as people will have had the chance to air their views on him.

'The petition is really just to make as much noise as possible and put the spotlight on him and what an awful person he is.'

A No 10 spokesman said: 'An invitation was extended and has been accepted.'

The storm over Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban comes just two days after he and Theresa May were spotted holding hands at one point as they walked around the White House grounds
This is wrong.

Whichever way President Trump tries to justify his executive order on banning immigrants and refugees from seven war-ravaged countries, it makes no sense.

The facts, alternate or otherwise, speak for themselves:

Nobody from any of those predominantly Muslim countries  Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen - has committed a terror attack on US mainland.

The perpetrators of the two major Islamic extremist terror attacks in New York on 9/11 and more recently in San Bernadino, came from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon and Pakistan.

Yet, perversely, none of these countries are on the banned list.

Whichever way President Trump (pictured signing an order on Friday) tries to justify his executive order on banning immigrants and refugees from seven war-ravaged countries, it makes no sense

As always with the often absurdly exaggerated anti-Trump hysteria that greets everything he does, its important to offer some clarification and perspective.

Trumps not throwing all Muslims out of America, nor is he banning all Muslims from coming in as he once, shockingly, threatened to do.

Hes putting a temporary ban on any people from seven countries where Islamic terror is rife, until much tighter VISA systems and extreme vetting is put in place.

This is exactly what he repeatedly said hed do in the latter stages of his campaign, its therefore one of the reasons he won the election, and it will be applauded by many millions of Americans who voted for him.

I also genuinely believe Donald Trump is doing this because he wants to stop Americans being attacked again by Islamic extremists, not because he just hates Muslims.

Hes seen whats happened in Paris, Nice and Brussels and blames lax border controls for the ease with which nihilist terrorists can now infiltrate civilian life, some by posing as refugees, and kill mass numbers of people.

There is undeniably a very good argument to further strengthen immigration rules to prevent people with nefarious intent from entering the US.

Indeed, Barack Obama took several significant steps to do just that in the last year.

There is no good reason why people with perfectly valid permanent resident green cards have been rounded up at airports, handcuffed, and threatened with deportation. Pictured: Demonstrators gathered at JFK Airport

So lets not pretend that everything Donald Trumps doing here is outrageous and unacceptable just because hes Donald Trump.

But nor can we pretend that some of what hes doing is not outrageous and unacceptable  because it is.

There is no good reason why people with perfectly valid permanent resident green cards have been rounded up at airports, handcuffed, and threatened with deportation.

Slashing the number of genuine refugees America will accept going forward, and taking none from Syria indefinitely, is utterly reprehensible, too.

These people are fleeing the very Middle East battlefields sparked by the illegal, immoral and disastrous war on Iraq.

A war that America, with its equally culpable allies like Britain, started with Saddam Hussein as twisted, illogical revenge for a terror attack committed by somebody else.

The wrong guy was targeted then, just as this executive order picks on many of the wrong guys now.

We have a moral duty to help those innocent people whose lives have been ruined by our unjustified warfare. To now subject them to even more oppression, heartache and despair seems cruel.

The perpetrators of the two major Islamic extremist terror attacks in New York on 9/11 and more recently in San Bernadino (Syed Rizwan Farook, left, and Tashfeen Malik, right), came from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon and Pakistan

Even worse, it may imperil their lives if they are forced to return to places where they may be killed.

It cannot be right that they are now being victimized for something they havent done.

There is also a massive delusion to the myth that Muslim terrorists are the biggest violent threat to American lives.

Since Donald Trumps inauguration nine days ago, more than 750 people have been killed by guns in America, through murder, accident and suicide.

This is the horrific daily toll on American life from firearms.

Today, another 85 people will be shot dead.

And the same tomorrow.

The situation is so appalling that in 2016, more Americans were killed by TODDLERS with guns than by terrorists.

Yet there has been no executive order to try to stop this carnage, and nor is there likely to be.

President Trump was vociferously backed by the NRA in his election campaign and he is a fervent supporter of the 2nd Amendment.

This raises a massive flaw in the logic of his determination to protect Americans and make the country safer.

Its also grotesquely unfair because it punishes many decent, law-abiding people who have every right to be in the country. Pictured: Homa Homaei, a US citizen from Iran, is pictured receiving a hug from a lawyer working to help her Iranian family members at Los Angeles International Airport

How can you ban people from countries that have so far committed zero terror attacks on US mainland to keep America safe, but do nothing about the domestic deadly gun-related terror being waged on the streets every day by Americans of all color and creed?

I am all for President Trump wielding the big stick of American military power when it comes to destroying ISIS.

They are a despicable group of medieval barbarians intent on destroying our way of life.

But this overly-draconian executive order will simply serve to empower ISIS, act as the best recruitment agent they could possibly wish for, and fuel their conspiracy theory that Americas waging war on Islam, not just Islamic terrorists.

Its also grotesquely unfair because it punishes many decent, law-abiding people who have every right to be in the country.

Olympic Gold medal champion runner Sir Mo Farah has a dual UK/Somali citizenship so is technically now banned from America where he does much of his training.

An Iraqi-born British member of Parliament, Nadhim Zahawi, whose children are at Princeton University, cant come in.

Hameed Darweesh, a hero US military translator for 10 years, was detained at JFK airport and only freed after mass protests.

As for the indefinite ban on Syrian refugees, consider this: Apple creator Steve Jobs father was a Syrian refugee to the US.

Hameed Darweesh (pictured), a hero US military translator for 10 years, was detained at JFK airport and only freed after mass protests

Under this new order, he would have been banned entry, and Americas most successful ever company would never have happened.

How can any of this be right?

We dont want them here, President Trump said yesterday, referring to Islamic terrorists. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people.

Every sensible person would agree with this sentiment.

But a lot of those directly and instantly targeted by this crackdown DO support America and DO love the people deeply.

Hence the furious response.

This executive order is not making America great.

Its making America hate.

Think again, Mr President.
A black mother who gave birth to a million-to-one, white, blue-eyed baby boy has stunned doctors by having a second white child.

Financial analyst Catherine Howarth, 35, who is of Nigerian heritage, believed the rare recessive white gene that resulted in son Jonah, three, being completely white would not strike a second time.

So she was stunned when the midwife handed her daughter Sophia and she was as white as her big brother.

Catherine Howarth, who is of Nigerian hertiage, is believed to be the only black woman in the world to give birth to two white, blue-eyed children, the odds of which are millions-to-one

The mum from Milton Keynes, Bucks, believes she is the only black mother in the world to have given birth to two white, blue-eyed children.

She said said: 'When Jonah was born, a genetic specialist said he was a one-in-a-million baby. He said it was extraordinary with my African background that I'd had a child with blue eyes and pale skin.

'He calculated the possibility of it happening again was less than one in a million.

'So when Sophia was born with white skin and blue eyes I was more than taken back with shock. It seems the odds of it happening twice are millions-to-one. No-one has heard of a black mum having two white babies one after the other.'

While husband Richard, 37, an engineer, is completely white, the couple from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire thought their second child would be much darker than their first.

Blue-eyed wonders: Son Jonah (right) is now three, while daughter Sophia was born last March

Catherine said: 'When I had Jonah he was so white both Richard and I thought the midwife had given us the wrong child. But if anything, having Sophia has been even more of a shock because we were sure it couldn't happen twice.

'I was stunned when I saw her blue eyes and light skin.'

Doctors were equally amazed when Sophia was born last March.

She adds: 'Each time doctors and midwives have all commented on our babies' amazing colouring. People often get confused when they meet me with the children for the first time.

'You can see them doing a double take, wondering if I am their mum. I do get tired of being stopped in the street by people asking if I'm the nanny. People seem to find it hard to understand how I could give birth twice to white children.

'Happy and healthy is all that matters': Catherine and Richard Howarth, pictured with Jonah

'But when people get to know us more, they often say despite their blue eyes and white skin, they can also see a lot of my characteristics.'

Catherine is of Nigerian decent with no white genes in her family.

'My parents were from Nigeria and as far back as anyone can recall my family have all been black.

'The only explanation seems to be there must have been a white gene in my family that has remained dormant for years until now. And now it seems to be very dominant.'

Despite the initial shock, the couple are delighted with their miracle children.

When Jonah was born, his stunning looks attracted the attention of five modelling agencies.

His little sister, ten months, is now set to follow in his footsteps as she has already been signed up to talent agencies. At just three weeks she landed her first modelling job.

Jonah and Sophia's distinctive looks have attracted the interest of various modelling agenices

Dad Richard said: 'While it is interesting how the genes have aligned themselves, it doesn't matter to us what colour our children's skin is. We just feel incredibly lucky to have a beautiful son and daughter. Having healthy and happy kids is all that matters.'

Colleen Lynch, a Molecular Geneticist at Care Fertility said: 'While you might imagine this couple would have babies who are a mixture of both their skin tones, there are so many genes involved that it is a million-to-one chance they have had white babies.

'It is likely there is a a white gene somewhere in the woman's remote ancestry and due to an evolutionary throwback - known as atavism - this trait has suddenly reappeared.'

Meanwhile, Prof Ian Jackson from the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh said if the couple go on to have more children they could also be white.

'Once such a couple get together, the chances of any of their children having pale skin would be one in four or even one in two.'
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is ready to support Azerbaijan in transition to non-oil-based economy, Sayed Aqa, IDB vice-president, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"Azerbaijan is in the global economic system which, unfortunately, is not quite positive at the moment for political reasons, trade issues and commodity prices. So all of our member countries, including Azerbaijan, are affected in one way or another," he said.

He noted that the Azerbaijani government has taken steps to switch to an economic model which will not depend on oil.

"We discussed [in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture] how we can support the agriculture sector not only in terms of agriculture improvements, but also how we can help with value addition for the products to be able to come for domestic market and also for export," Sayed Aqa added.

He noted that the IDB is ready to take part in financing of a number of the government initiatives and bring the experience of other IDB member countries that have gone through the similar transformation and transition to the non-oil-based economy.

Azerbaijan joined the Islamic Development Bank in 1992. To date, the bank has invested more than $1.3 billion to Azerbaijan for implementation of various projects.
An Iranian PhD graduate who has been living in the US for nearly seven years was pulled off a plane headed to the U.S. following Trump's immigrant ban.

Nazanin Zinouri, from Tehran, Iran, was escorted off her flight by two officers at a Dubai airport on Saturday after President Donald Trump severely restricted immigration from seven countries.

The PhD graduate from Clemson University has lived in the United States for nearly seven years and shared her emotional story on Facebook which said 'everything I worked for all these years doesn't matter.'

Scroll down for video

Nazanin Zinouri, from Tehran, Iran, was escorted off her flight by two officers at a Dubai airport hours on Saturday after President Donald Trump imposed a ban on immigrants

The PhD graduate from Clemson University has lived in the United States for nearly seven years and said that 'everything I worked for all these years doesn't matter'. She shared her story with this picture of a plane on Facebook on Saturday

Zinouri, a data scientist, left to visit her family in Iran on Friday, January 20, and said in a Facebook post that she only gets to see her relatives around once a year, due to the 28-hour journey.

She said when rumors began swirling last week about looming immigration restrictions, she booked a ticket back to South Carolina.

Only hours before boarding her flight, Trump signed an order that blocked immigrants from seven 'Muslim' countries from entering the US.

Zinouri made it as far as Dubai before she said she was questioned for 40 minutes and eventually pulled off her flight headed to Washington.

Zinouri, a data scientist, left to visit her family in Iran on Friday, January 20, and said in a Facebook post that she only gets to see her relatives around once a year. She left behind her dog (pictured) who is reportedly being watched by friends in South Carolina

She said in a Facebook post about her experience: 'After almost 7 years of living the the United States, I got deported!!!'

She said in a Facebook post about her experience: 'After almost 7 years of living the the United States, I got deported!!!

'No one warned me when I was leaving, no one cared what will happen to my dog or my job or my life there.

'No one told me what I should do with my car that is still parked at the airport parking. Or what to do with my house and all my belongings.

'They didn't say it with words but with their actions, that my life doesn't matter. Everything I worked for all these years doesn't matter.'

President Donald Trump (pictured Saturday) signed an executive order on Friday afternoon providing for 'extreme vetting' of immigrants and visa holders

It follows reports that Muslim-majority countries with ties to Trump's business empire have been excluded from the order

WHO IS BANNED FROM THE U.S? Any non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen is now barred from entering the United States. That covers legal permanent residents - green card holders - and visa-holders from those seven countries who were out of the United States after Friday, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order with the temporary ban. They cannot return to the U.S. for 90 days. There's an exemption for immigrants and legal permanent residents whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, but it's unclear how that exemption will be applied. Visa and green card holders already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay. Customs and Border Protection is notifying airlines about passengers whose visas have been canceled or legal residents scheduled to fly back to the U.S. Airlines are being told to keep them off those flights. Source: Associated Press Advertisement

Zinouri left behind her dog who is reportedly being watched by friends in South Carolina.

Her story has been shared more than 120,000 times and liked more than 100,000 times since she posted it on Facebook.

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday afternoon providing for 'extreme vetting' of immigrants and visa holders.

Any non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen is now barred from entering the United States for at least 90 days.

The swift order was met by public outrage on social media and people flocked to airports to protest against the decision.

The president denied that his executive order was a Muslim ban.

The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued a stay Saturday evening blocking the deportation of migrants detained at airports around the US due to Trump's immigration ban.

Zinouri is one of approximately 375 travelers that were affected by the order, according to a Homeland Security official.

'This is illegal': Demonstrators gathered outside JFK airport in New York on Saturday for a long protest after 12 refugees were detained inside
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire (pictured) said the inquiries were 'not working'

A minister has admitted the probe into murders committed in Northern Ireland during The Troubles is targeting British soldiers instead of IRA killers.

The Northern Ireland Secretary has said investigations into the killings are 'disproportionately' focusing on members of the police and Army.

James Brokenshire, 49, said inquiries were 'not working' and backed the 'vast majority' of soldiers and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) as having served with 'distinction'.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland's Legacy Investigation Branch is investigating more than 3,200 killings in the province between 1969 and 2004.

Numerous former soldiers are facing prosecution for killings, including Dennis Hutchings, 75, from Cornwall, who has been charged with the attempted murder of a man with learning difficulties in 1974.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Brokenshire said: 'I am clear the current system is not working and we are in danger of seeing the past rewritten.

'It is also clear the current focus is disproportionately on those who worked for the state - former members of the Armed Forces and the RUC, the vast majority of whom served in Northern Ireland with great courage, professionalism and distinction.'

Dennis Hutchings, (pictured) has been charged with the attempted murder of a man with learning difficulties in 1974

His comments regarding the investigation comes as around 1,000 veterans marched on Downing Street on Saturday.

They believe that troops who served in Northern Ireland are being 'hounded' so decided to protest in London.

Mr Hutchings told the newspaper: 'There are a few MPs who have had the guts to highlight the gross abuse and witch hunts of servicemen and women of this country.

'However, the majority of MPs in this and previous governments  and I include those buggers in the Ministry of Defence who have spent millions on inquiries in Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan  have done absolutely bloody nothing for us.'

Approximately 1,000 veterans marched on Downing Street on Saturday to protest about being 'hounded'

His daughter Dawn Hadley said her father was 'innocent' along with all of the other veterans who were serving their country'.

The rally in the capital yesterday was organised by the Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans group.

They arranged for a protest letter to be handed to Prime Minister Theresa May.
A woman whose great grandparents were murdered in Auschwitz has made an emotional plea to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to stand up to US President Donald Trump about his Muslim immigration ban.

Sydney writer Mireille Juchau took to Twitter on Sunday to make the plea after President Trump signed an executive order on Friday making major changes to America's policies on refugees and immigration.

Ms Juchau said her great grandparents were denied asylum in Australia in 1939 and because of this became casualties of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

Ms Juchau took to Twitter on Sunday posting a picture showing the refusal letter (pictured) that her grandparents received denying their application for entry into Australia

Sydney writer Mireille Juchau (above) whose great grandparents were murdered in Auschwitz has made an emotional plea to Malcolm Turnbull to stand up to the United States Muslim ban

She posted a picture under her tweet showing the refusal letter her grandparents received from the government denying their application for entry into Australia.

Ms Jushau elaborated even further on her Facebook saying the ban had similarities to the Holocaust and even quoted Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig.

'Australia denied my great grandparents entry in 1939. Five years later they were murdered in Auschwitz,' she wrote.

'I've been wary of the comparisons up till now but Trump's horrific Muslim ban makes the similarities impossible to ignore. That this racist ban was enacted on Holocaust Remembrance Day makes it all the more despicable.

'I am waiting in vain to hear our Australian leaders speak out against Trump's latest actions. The silence is unsurprising but fills me with despair. If they have, and I have missed it, please let me know.'

On Friday United states President Donald Trump (pictured) made major changes to America's policies on refugees and immigration

Trump's order bars any non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the United States.

That includes legal permanent residents - green card holders - and visa-holders from those seven countries. They cannot return to the U.S. for 90 days.

There's an exemption for immigrants and legal permanent residents whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, but it's unclear how that exemption will be applied.

Visa and green card holders already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay.

A federal judge in Brooklyn issued a nationwide, emergency stay on Saturday night to allow people with a valid visa to remain once they've landed in the US.

The decision did not strike down the executive order, and is only temporary.

Australians who hold passports from one of the seven Muslim-majority nations implicated by the Trump administration immigration ban may be affected by the controversial order.

A spokewoman for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says officials are in talks with US counterparts to get clarity on how the temporary ban on those from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen may affect dual nationals.

Ms Juchau (pictured) said her great grandparents were denied asylum in Australia in 1939

Ms Juchau pleaded with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) to 'speak out' against the Muslim ban

Trump's order bars any non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the United States

'The Australian embassy in Washington is engaging with US officials on the potential implications of the suspension for Australian travellers, including dual nationals,' a spokeswoman told AAP in a statement.

All travellers are being warned that rules could change at short notice.

'Travellers should contact the nearest embassy or consulate of the United States for the most current information,' the spokeswoman added.

In February 2016 the US Department of Homeland Security added Libya, Somalia and Yemen to its existing list of Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria, limiting the visa waiver program travel for those who'd travelled there.

The government's Smarttraveller website says Australians who have travelled to any of the seven nations since March 2011 are not allowed to apply for a mandatory security check needed for entry to the United States.

Australians who are dual citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria are not allowed to apply for the standard electronic travel authorisation - ETSA - which travellers must complete before heading to the US.

The ESTA is an online application that determines entry eligibility based on security or police risks.

All those affected will have to apply for a non-immigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate.
Traffic police were called to clear a canoe parked in the fast lane of the M1 this morning.

The 'unusual debris' was discovered on the southbound carriageway of the motorway between junctions 29a and 30 in Derbyshire on Sunday morning.

Highways England said traffic was held briefly while the red canoe was taken off the road.

It tweeted: 'M1 southbound J30 - J29A. Unusual debris this morning...take care in the area. Our TrafficOfficers are heading to the scene to clear...

'1 canoe now cleared from outside lane after short hold of traffic...safe onward journey.'

Highways England said traffic was held briefly while the red canoe was taken off the road

The canoe was cleared by traffic officers after being found in the fast lane of the M1

Sightings of the canoe was met with bemusement on social media.

Anthony Temperton tweeted: 'Anyone lost a canoe?! Last seen overtaking everyone on M1 j30 this morning.'

Glynn M said: 'It's not been wet enough to canoe on the fast lane of the M1.'

Jeannette Morgan tweeted: 'It's not every day you see a canoe in the middle of the M1!'
A treasure hunter plans to land 1billion by bringing a 250-year-old British ship back to the surface.

Ruben Collado, from Argentina, hopes to resurrect the Lord Clive, which sunk in 1763 off the coast of Uruguay.

He believes there is 1billion of gold bullion on board the sunken ship, which was named after Clive of India, and will begin his treasure hunt next month.

He believes there is 1billion of gold bullion on board the sunken ship, which was named after Clive of India, and will begin his treasure hunt next month

He discovered the wreck in 2004 and is leading an operation to raise it.

He told The Times: 'The imperial vessel could contain 1,200m in gold coins.

'And that is without considering goods such as rum, opium and silk stored in lead pipes.

'The important thing is to get these ships because they will give us the true magnitude of the story,' said Collado. 'This is the history of Latin America and the Spanish.'

The 64-gun vessel, which was built in Hull, sailed to South America for the East India Company to bring funds and personnel for British military campaigns.

But it was sunk by cannon fire during the Seven Years' War in an attempt to retake Colonia del Sacramento, a former colony of Britain's ally Portugal, which had been seized by the Spanish.

The sunken ship was named after Major General Robert Clive of India, who died in 1811

When the ship's captain Robert McNamara launched an attack, they were hit by a constant assault from the shore.

The wreck is just 16ft down and 380 yards off the coast, but the Spanish covered it in rocks to prevent it floating to the top.

A team of 80 divers and support men will be sent to recover the ship at the cost of 4million.
Con artists bought 3,000 of duty free goods with maxed-out credit cards because aircrew couldn't check them mid-air.

Peter Jackson and Geoffrey Dunn exploited a loophole and stocked up on various items, during flights from England to Europe.

The pair realised that payment could not be verified until a flight had landed, which allowed them to make off with hundreds of pounds worth of goods each time.

Peter Jackson and Geoffrey Dunn exploited a loophole and stocked up on various items, during flights from England to Europe

Newcastle Crown Court heard crew aboard a series of flights were unable to check how much credit was available while they were in the air, meaning all transactions were authorised automatically.

Judge Tim Gittins, at Newcastle Crown Court, told them: 'What you did was to use the loophole, knowing that such transactions on flights would not be processed until the flights had landed because of the difficulties with internet connection at the time.

'I suspect that since the offences that position has changed and it is less likely someone will be able to get away with that sort of dishonesty.

'You obtained duty free goods in large amounts compared to what people would normally purchase on such flights, knowing full well your cards were full to the limit.'

The court heard the two men, each using various names, caught cheap flights from Newcastle to the continent to carry out the scam.

They splashed out on 1,500 worth of duty free goods during two round trips between Newcastle, London and Geneva on Easy Jet flights in January and February 2015.

A few weeks previously Jackson had spent around 1,750 euros in Aer Lingus trips in an identical fraud on flights between Manchester and Dublin.

The pair splashed out on 1,500 worth of duty free goods during two round trips between Newcastle, London and Geneva on Easy Jet flights in January and February 2015

Johnny Walker, prosecuting, said: 'In essence, the defendants realised there was a system whereby deploying maxed out credit cards and debit cards while in flight would allow goods to be taken, effectively, purportedly paid for.

'The relevant companies in question were unable to realise that fact until the electronic device that had been used to take payment was married up to a world wide web-orientated device at the eventual destination.'

Jackson, 54, from Stockton in County Durham, admitted seven fraud charges. Hewas sentenced to five months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with a three-month night-time curfew.

Dunn, 59, from Saltburn-by-the-sea in North Yorkshire, admitted four fraud charges. He was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with a two-month night-time curfew.

Both Jackson and Dunn admitted fraud offences and were handed suspended sentences at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured)

The court heard Jackson has previous convictions for evading duty on cigarettes and exceeding the duty free limit allowed.

Dunn has a previous conviction for evading duty on cigarettes by purchasing a cheap flight to Jersey, stocking up at the airport duty free and then leaving without boarding the flight.

Anne Marie Hutton, for Jackson, said a 'loophole was manipulated', but the cards used by the men were easily traced back to them.

Miss Hutton said Jackson got involved in the scam after he fell into debt with loan sharks.

David Comb, for Dunn, said the offences were not sophisticated. He added that Dunn has enormous personal responsibilities due to the ill health of family members.
Britons were exempted from Donald Trumps travel ban last night following talks brokered by Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

The White House agreed to ease the blanket exclusion of dual nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries on its blacklist.

The diplomatic breakthrough followed a chaotic day in which Olympic star Mo Farah and Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi warned they could be among those prevented from seeing their families in America.

Sir Mo, who was born in Somalia, a country on the list, said the ban made him feel like an alien. He later spoke of his relief at the climbdown.

Boris Johnson's Foreign Office has confirmed no dual nationality Brits will be affected by the US 'Muslim ban'

Hamaseh Tayari (left), a UK resident with an Iranian passport, is banned from the US. So is British-Iraqi economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi (right)

Mrs May was initially criticised for her cautious response to Mr Trumps presidential decree.

Amid growing uproar she ordered Mr Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to demand an exemption for 250,000 British citizens who have dual nationality with one of the seven countries.

That clarification arrived late last night. The dual nationals might still face extra checks if they travel to the US directly from a country on the list.

Mr Johnson, who spent yesterday talking to Mr Trumps top aides, is expected to update MPs today. The Foreign Secretarys intervention came as:

700,000 people signed a petition demanding Mr Trumps planned state visit be cancelled;

Senior Tories joined Labour and the Liberal Democrats in urging Mrs May to withdraw the state invitation to the American President;

The travel ban sparked chaos at US airports as judges halted deportations;

Iran and Iraq threatened tit-for-tat bans on US citizens;

US Republicans said the ban would prove counter-productive in the war on terror;

Nigel Farage suggested similar travel bans should be imposed by the UK.

Mr Trumps decree applies to citizens from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and will last for at least 90 days.

A US State Department official initially said citizens from other countries holding dual nationality with the banned states would also be affected.

The move was designed as a first step toward the Presidents controversial election pledge to ban all Muslims from entering the US in a bid to counter terrorism.

Mr Trumps executive order, which was signed just hours after Mrs Mays visit to the White House last week, also imposed a total ban on refugees for 120 days, and an indefinite ban on those travelling from Syria.

Mr Trump was unrepentant last night, saying on Twitter that the US needed extreme vetting to protect itself from terrorism and that he didnt want the US to end in a mess like Europe.

Mrs May faced criticism on Saturday night after she refused three times to condemn the ban during a press conference in the Turkish capital Ankara.

But in the early hours of yesterday morning No 10 issued a statement saying she disagreed with the policy.

She held an emergency conference call with Mr Johnson and Miss Rudd to discuss a response.

Iranian-born physics student Naz Jahanshahi, from Manchester, was devastated to learn that she may have to cancel a trip to the US with her boyfriend

They were told to pass on forthright demands for UK citizens to be exempted.

Sources indicated Mrs May had been prepared to ring Mr Trump personally if the US refused to give way.

After hours of negotiations, the Foreign Office confirmed an easing of the ban shortly after 8pm.

Canada also won an exemption for its citizens who hold dual nationality with the affected states.

Mr Johnson held talks on the issue with Mr Trumps chief strategist Steve Bannon and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Foreign Office sources last night played down the idea of a special deal, saying the UK had got clarification that the ban would not apply to dual nationals.

But the initial State Department guidance at the weekend clearly stated that dual nationals would be affected  suggesting the White House had backed down.

There was then confusion when the Presidents chief of staff, Reince Priebus, contradicted State Department advice by saying migrants with green card residency permits would not be affected.

Iraqi born MP Nadhim Zahawi told the BBC today that Mrs May must stand up to President Trump and not 'look away'

Sir Mo is originally from Somalia, one of the countries on Donald Trump's list. People originally from the banned countries cannot enter even if they are travelling on another passport

The Foreign Office said travellers to the US from anywhere other than one of the seven countries involved would experience no extra checks  regardless of nationality or place of birth.

And it said that dual citizens from one of the seven countries travelling to the US from outside those countries would not be affected.

They said, however, that dual nationals might have extra checks if they travelled directly from one of the seven countries.

In a statement last night, the Foreign Office said: The US has reaffirmed strong commitment to the expeditious processing of all travellers from the United Kingdom.

Mr Johnson had said: We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality.

The Foreign Secretary was publicly criticised by his sister, the journalist Rachel Johnson, who told him on Twitter: We should protect the rights of everyone, not just UK nationals.

Only those travelling directly from a banned country, for example a British-Libyan citizen travelling directly to the US from Libya, may be subjected to extra checks, the Foreign Office said.

Mr Trump issued a statement insisting he had not imposed a Muslim ban. He said: My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months.
An 11-year-old boy began abusing his mother after witnessing his parents' volatile relationship.

Up until six months ago, Australian single mother-of-three Stacey Dvorak was being physically and emotionally abused by her now 16-year-old son, Jack.

Speaking to Channel Nine's 60 Minutes program on Sunday, the teenager said he began lashing out at his mother because he thought it was 'normal'.

'I could hear mum yell everyday - my dad yell. Just always fighting. Which I thought normal relationships were,' he told the program.

After leaving her partner when Jack started school, Ms Dvorak said she could see her son had been deeply affected by her volatile relationship.

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Stacey Dvorak was being physically and emotionally abused by her now 16-year-old son, Jack (pictured), who said he though it was 'normal' after witnessing his parents' volatile relationship

Ms Dvorak said her son was deeply affected by her relationship with his father

'It's a shameful thing to live with. Because I lived it with his dad, I could see where this was going to end... I was in a cycle,' she said.

Ms Dvorak said her son began physically abusing her and his younger siblings.

'He'd be amazing and then one second out of nowhere I would be abused, the walls would be belted, my car was smashed, he'd hurt the little kids,' Ms Dvorak said.

Things reached boiling point last year when Jack was sent into a fit of rage and threatened to kill his mother.

Things reached boiling point last year when Jack was sent into a fit of rage and threatened to kill his mother

Ms Dvorak was a single mother-of-two when she met Jack's father

Ms Dvorak said her son began physically abusing her and his younger siblings

'I remember mum yelling at me and then I yelled at her and I said: ''I'll slit your throat and put a bullet to your brain'',' Jack said.

Ms Dvorak called the police and the teenager was arrested.

She said: 'You get to a point where enough is enough. And I just thought he was going to do this to me.'

After two months away from home, Jack began seeing a counsellor, left school and began an apprenticeship.

Ms Dvorak says her son has changed drastically: 'He's the best I've ever seen him. I feel like I have a different son.'

Jack, who wants to tell his story to help other troubled teenagers, said he is now anger-free.

'It's horrible, because I used to think that was normal. But it's not how you treat your mum.'

Ms Dvorak says her son has changed drastically: 'He's the best I've ever seen him. I feel like I have a different son'
President Trump's executive order banning migrants and refugees from seven countries not only resulted in widespread confusion at airports on Saturday, but led to miscommunication in the White House as well.

Trump finalized the travel ban on Friday, but White House officials, including the Department of Homeland Security did not see the details or run legal analysis on the order until after it was signed, CNN reported.

Advisers reportedly avoided traditional interagency processes that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide guidance on the orders, officials said.

President Donald Trump on Saturday defended his executive order barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country

President's advisers Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon overruled legal advice allowing in green card holders and said they could enter on case by case basis

Sources also said White House officials did not seek legal advice from the Office of Legal Counsel before Trump signed the order.

Officials and airport personnel were confused on how to handle the new ban as the list of countries was only created on Friday night, hours after Trump had signed the new order.

The policy, which banned migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, resulted in multiple people being detained at airports, leading hundreds of people to protest.

Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Saturday afternoon that the ban was 'working very nicely'.

At least ten people were detained in JFK airport yesterday.

According to reports, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and department heads saw the final details of the order before it was finalized, but legal analysis was not made until after.

Although the Department of Homeland Security concluded the ban did not apply to legal residents or green card holders, Trump's advisers Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon overruled the legal advice, CNN said.

They also reported Miller and Bannon decided green card holders will be allowed to enter the US on a 'case by case basis and would pass a secondary screening.

The decision was passed down to airlines on Friday night and continued to be enforced by Customs and Border Protection on Saturday afternoon.

But White House officials have defended the order and said the people involved in the process were briefed ahead of time.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 29

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The European Union (EU) has supported the project "Support to the introduction of Sustainable Development policies and rational use of natural resources in the energy-environment sectors in Turkmenistan" as part of the technical cooperation, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported.

A report on this issue was read out during the meeting of the countrys Cabinet of Ministers.

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov drew attention to the further strengthening of constructive cooperation with European partners.

According to BP, Turkmenistans recoverable reserves are estimated at 17.5 trillion cubic meters of gas or nine percent of total global reserves, which puts Turkmenistan on the fourth position in this field after Iran, Russia and Qatar.

Negotiations on delivering the Turkmen gas to Europe have been conducted since 2011. The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which includes the Trans-Caspian project, is a priority for the European Union.

In May 2015, Ashgabat declaration on energy was signed by energy ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan and European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic.

The project of laying a 300-kilometer gas pipeline through the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan, as the interested parties said earlier, is optimal for the delivery of Turkmen resources to the European market. The Turkmen fuel can further reach Turkey, which borders with European countries.
Grant Shapps, who left Department for International Development only 14 months ago, slammed its 'profoundly worrying' tendency to 'shovel cash out of the door'

Foreign aid spending is 'out of control' and the department responsible for it should be scrapped, a former minister who helped run it declared today.

Grant Shapps, who left the Department for International Development (Dfid) only 14 months ago, slammed its 'profoundly worrying' tendency to 'shovel cash out of the door'.

The senior Tory said it should be merged back with Boris Johnson's Foreign Office in order to ensure aid money goes to the world's poorest.

In an unprecedented attack, he said Dfid saw its remit as being to 'spend the cash, regardless of Britain's other national objectives'.

Mr Shapps, who also worked as a Foreign Office minister, claimed officials believed that promoting democratic values through the aid budget was 'almost dirty'.

He also revealed how he refused to sign off on the Ethiopian Spice Girls 5.2million project because it was 'so obviously open to utter ridicule'.

His comments came after the Daily Mail exposed how millions of pounds was poured in to the five-strong girl band despite warnings it may be a waste of money.

Writing in the Sunday Times, he said he 'agonised' for more than a year about going public with the way he felt about Britain's aid spending.

He praised the 'immense and immeasurable good' done by much of the aid budget and supported the controversial target to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on it.

However he said not all the money was being 'spent wisely', adding: 'The spending was unstoppable, even out of control.'

He described how he had a unique view of how projects were ran as he served simultaneously with both Dfid and the Foreign Office.

Grant Shapps also revealed how he refused to sign off on a 5.2m project to fund 'Yegna' - a girl band dubbed the Ethiopian Spice Girls - because it was 'so obviously open to utter ridicule'

Dfid sometimes 'contradicted, competed with and even unwittingly undermined Britain's national objectives as pursued by the Foreign Office', he said.

In the Foreign Office, Mr Shapps would protest to African dictators about their 'denial of human rights and democratic values'.

Then, in his Dfid role, he would 'rifle through my red box (of ministerial papers) to find cheques for hundreds of millions of pounds payable to the same countries'.

He said foreign governments concluded they 'did not really mind' about 'minor' abuses of human rights, adding: 'Why else did all this British cash continue to pour in?'

Mr Shapps wanted to use aid as a lever to bring about reform, but 'culturally, Dfid saw tying in such objectives as almost dirty'.

'It was perhaps regarded as a badge of honour not to promote British interests or broader ethical concerns through the aid budget', he said.

Spending 0.7 per cent was also a 'moving target' which could never be known in advance.

Grant Shapps' comments came after the Daily Mail exposed how millions of pounds was poured in to the five-strong Yegna girl band despite warnings it may be a waste of money

Meetings occurred in which frantic officials had to explain how the UK economy had grown faster than expected and an extra 20million had to be spent.

Mr Shapps said the department ignored concerns about money being wasted because it needed to be spent.

He said that the department needs to rejoin the work of Dfid to that of the Foreign Office, either through joint ministers or by the departments coming back together.

'Otherwise, I fear that a broad and growing reaction against aid could leave the world's poorest without the help they still badly need from Britain.'

Sources said the departments would not be brought back together.

A Dfid spokesman said: 'There is no task more urgent than defeating poverty.

'Helping the poorest with UK Aid is the right thing to do, making the world safer, healthier and more prosperous.

'British leadership on the international stage is in our interest and is the only way to tackle global challenges that do not respect borders, such as conflict, mass migration and disease.'
The mother of a six-year-old girl, who is unable stand up due to a condition which has given her lopsided legs, is raising 65,000 to send her to the US for life-changing surgery.

Freya Bailey, from Ruthin, North Wales, falls over at least 15 times a day and is unable to walk more than a few steps without a frame. She has to concentrate while standing or she loses her balance and topples to the ground.

She has tense muscles and stiffness caused by diplegic cerebral palsy, which means her lower limbs tilt inwards and her feet are deformed.

Freya Baily (pictured) was diagnosed with the condition just before she turned four

Freya's mum, Beth Woolford (left), said: 'She gets upset because all her friends are running around and she can't catch up with them'

What is diplegic cerebral palsy? Diplegic Cerebral Palsy is sometimes referred to as Spastic Diplegia, or Little's Disease. It is marked by tense muscles and spasms, especially in the legs. As time goes by the leg muscles become extremely tight, causing joints to stiffen, reducing the range of motion. It is most commonly caused when the baby is deprived of oxygen during the delivery process It is usually only noticed around the age of two or three when the child is not walking as he or she should be. Massaging helps to relieve pain and physiotherapy can strengthen muscles but the only cure can come from full orthopaedic surgery, like the selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) operation. Advertisement

The bubbly youngster was diagnosed with the condition just before her fourth birthday after failing to hit child development milestones.

Although she is as bright as a button mentally, Freya is unable to dress herself because of her condition and she also suffers painful leg spasms.

Her mum, Beth Woolford, 29, has launched an appeal called Freya's Freedom in a bid to give her daughter the gift of independence and has raised 45,000 towards the 65,000 target.

The money will pay for Freya to fly to St Louis, Missouri for a selective dorsal rhizotomy operation, which is not readily available in Britain.

It severs certain nerve roots to improve muscle stiffness and experts say it would allow Freya to walk unaided and stand up without falling over.

Ms Woolford, a shop assistant, said: 'Freya can take a few independent steps and then she will fall over.

'Her balance is dreadful and her coordination is awful, so she falls over when she's standing still and can't dress her bottom half by herself.

Freya (pictured) uses frames to walk. If she tries to walk unaided she has to concentrate and can fall over if distracted by the slightest thing

'She has to work hard to just keep herself upright. The slightest thing can make her lose it and fall over.

'It can be something as simple as me calling her name which will distract her, and once she's stopped concentrating on her balance she'll fall over.

'Freya falls around 10 to 15 times in a day. Sometimes less or more depending on how tired she is. She has even sprained her ankle from falling before now.

'As she gets older, especially with things in school, she is having to have help with things but she wants to be independent.

'She never complains, she just gets on with it and she works really hard. She goes to physio every week and she puts in 110 percent.

'She's made brilliant progress but now it seems to have halted. She gets upset because all her friends are running around and she can't catch up with them.'

Ms Woolford, who also has a three-year-old son, Max (right), said of Freya: 'She goes to physio every week and she puts in 110 percent'

Ms Woolford, who also has a three-year-old son, Max, said 'I just want the best for Freya and to see her suffering is heartbreaking.

'She just wants to be like everybody else, but without help there is absolutely no way we could afford it.'

The money will pay for the operation, flights, accommodation and therapy for three weeks afterwards.

Ms Woolford said if any money was left over it would be donated to the Tree of Hope charity to help other poorly children.
The British woman who hopes to become First Lady of France was in tears today as she appeared in public for the first time since fraud allegations were levelled against her.

Wales-born Penelope Fillon, 62, faces the prospect of prison after prosecutors launched a corruption investigation into embezzlement, abuse of public funds, and concealment.

She is accused of helping herself to more than 500,000 (430,000) worth of taxpayers' cash while pretending to be a parliamentary assistant to her husband, would-be President of France Francois Fillon, also 62.

Francois Fillon (right) was with his wife Penelope (left) as the pair attended a political rally in Paris on Sunday

But today the couple tried to put on at a defiant face as they took part in a Republican Party election rally in eastern Paris.

'Leave my wife alone!' Mr Fillon shouted from the stage of the Villette conference hall, saying they had 'nothing to hide'.

As the faithful chanted 'Penelope! Penelope!' he accused dark forces of trying to use Penelope 'to destroy me'.

'From the beginning Penelope was at my side, with discretion, with devotion. I built my career with her,' he said of his wife of 37 years.

Mr Fillon added: 'In front of my friends I want to say to Penelope that I love her, and that I will never forgive those who want to throw us to the wolves.'

In turn, Mrs Fillon remained silent, but was visibly moved as she began crying. After his speech, Mr Fillon took her hand and led her through the crowd of around 10,000.

His Welsh-born wife put on a brave face after allegations claim she was paid for carrying out fake jobs

Despite the show of unity, accusations of criminality continue to mount up  threatening Mr Fillon's election hopes.

It is alleged that Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, a billionaire friend of Mr Fillon's, also paid Mrs Fillon 100,000 (85,000) through his upmarket cultural magazine, The Two Worlds Review (Revue des deux mondes)

Judicial police officers swooped on the publication's Paris offices last Thursday.

It followed revelations that Mrs Fillon, a self-styled 'housewife', was technically a salaried employee of the magazine, earning a monthly income for 20 months up until December 2013.

Michel Crepu, the magazine's editor, was quizzed by police on Friday, and said he had never seen her in the office.

Mr Crepu added: 'I never dealt with her, neither physically, nor on the phone, nor even by e-mail'.

Mrs Fillon was photographed holding flowers as she sat next to her husband at the rally on Sunday

Instead he said: 'One afternoon, Marc Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere called me and said Penelope Fillon is bored. Can she do some book reviews?'

In all, Mrs Fillon produced two short pieces, using the pen name 'Pauline Camille'. Instead of receiving estimated journalistic fees of some 35 (30) each, she received 5000 (4300) every month.

Mr Fillon had also admitted putting to of their children on the parliamentary payroll, before they had even qualified as lawyers.

And the politician is said to have benefitted from a slush fund in the French senate  using money that was meant for advisors for himself.

When the scandal first broke last Wednesday, Mrs Fillon had retreated to the couple's rambling family estate in south-west France, refusing to offer evidence of her work to anyone apart from prosecutors.

Francois Fillon, 62, (pictured) served as the prime minister of France between 2007 and 2012

In interviews with the British media over the past decade she has always presented herself as a devoted mother-of-five who is happiest when with her family and horses in the countryside.

It was just three months ago in Dijon, the mustard capital of France, that Mrs Fillon told reporters that she has 'never been involved in the political life of my husband.'

As the time, even Mr Fillon told a TV interviewer that his wife did nothing except for attend functions with him, and hand out leaflets.

Mrs Fillon, who is a devout Roman Catholic, was born and brought up near Abergavenny in south Wales.

Her husband, who has been fiercely critical of the Brexit vote in Britain, has in turn always presented himself as an ethical politician devoted to public service.

One of Mr Fillon's flagship policies if elected in the Spring will be to cut some 500,000 civil servant jobs, in an effort to slash public spending.

Supporters project him as a Margaret Thatcher-style radical who will carry out essential reforms to revive the French economy.

Mr Fillon was at one stage the favourite to take over from Socialist president Francois Hollande, but now his approval rating is tumbling.
Sophie Tancos, 32, was left screaming for help when a Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked her dog Rio, while on a walk in Crystal Palace Park, south London

A six-month-old Chihuahua puppy was mauled to death in front of a horrified mother and her nine-year-old boy.

Sophie Tancos, 32, was left screaming for help when a Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked her dog Rio, while on a walk in Crystal Palace Park, south London.

Ms Tancos was enjoying a family day out with her pet and son Abrish when she said a man on a bike with two Staffs, off their leads, approached her.

She allowed Rio off the lead and let him play with the dogs after the owner, who Ms Tancos claimed was smoking a 'joint', said they were good with smaller dogs.

However, as soon as Rio trotted over, one of the Staffs viciously grabbed him by the neck and locked on.

Ms Tancos said: 'As soon as Rio was off the lead two of them came from two different directions, Rio got scared and gave out a little noise.

'The reaction to that noise was to attack him in the neck, I got my hand into his mouth [the Staff] and the man was trying to drag his dog from behind.

'But the dog was so strong he had a locked jaw with my dog in his mouth and he ran away from us, he was running in circles.

'I was hysterical, I was on the floor screaming, I didn't know where my son was.

'Rio was crying when he was bit in the neck, but then the screaming stopped and his head was down. My son witnessed the whole thing.

'When my dog was dropped his eye were closed and his tongue was out. I was screaming 'how can this be happening?'.

When my dog was dropped his eye were closed and his tongue was out. I was screaming 'how can this be happening?

Ms Tancos claimed the dog's owner tried to flee the scene as members of the public remonstrated with him.

She said: 'People came to see if Rio was breathing, one person was trying to call an emergency vet, some called the police.

'The owner looked at me with a really evil face, he was sticking up for his dog, saying I shouldn't have let him off the lead.

'He got on his bike and rushed off.'

Ms Tanco's friend, Lindsay Scigliano, has helped her try and track down the Staffs' owner.

She explained: 'The man was arguing it wasn't his responsibility, the police have two photos of him, there have been 1,500 retweets by the community.

'This is such a big issue. It is the responsibility of owners to control their dogs, something has to be done.

'We are having a really hard time with the police, we have given them two clear pictures of his face, but nothing has happened, we've had to do a lot of it ourselves.

Ms Tancos was enjoying a family day out at the park (pictured) with her pet and son Abrish when a Staff locked on to Rios neck and mauled the Chihuahua to death

'We are all devastated for Sophie and her son for having to witness such a tragedy and for the loss they are suffering.

'We're trying to track down the owner so that his dogs can't hurt anybody else.'

Ms Tancos was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease six months ago and got Rio to cheer herself up.

She added: 'He helped me get through a very hard time when I was first diagnosed.

'I could have been holding him when that attack happened, what if my son was holding him, anything could have happened.

'My son is traumatised, he has refused to leave his room on his own, he's sleeping in my bed and is scared an attack will happen again.'

A Met Police spokesman said: 'Police were called shortly after 3pm on Saturday, January 21, to reports of a dog having attacked another dog in Crystal Palace Park.

'Officers attended and have since been informed that the dog has died.

'There have been no arrests and inquiries continue.'
The Trump administration put on a full-court press Sunday morning to defend Friday's executive order that temporarily closed the U.S. borders to people from seven terror-prone countries.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, press secretary Sean Spicer and chief counselor Kellyanne Conway all emphasized on political talk shows the tiny sliver of arriving passengers who were caught in the administration's first 'extreme vetting' dragnet.

'Yesterday, what people need to understand is that 325,000 foreign travelers came into the United States' on Saturday, Priebus said on the CBS 'Face the Nation' program.

'About 109 of those people were detained for further questioning because they came from the identified seven countries that the Obama administration and both houses of Congress have identified as being countries that harbor and train terrorists. They were asked questions,' he said.

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White House chief of staff Reince Priebus revealed Sunday that only 1/30 of 1 per cent of international arrivals to the U.S. the day before were detained for questioning in the wake of President Donald Trump's 'extreme vetting' executive order

Senior counselor Kellyanne Conway compared the plight of children whose parents were caught in Saturday's dragnet to those whose mothers and fathers were killed on 9/11

'The vast majority of all those people were released. About a couple dozen people remained for further questioning. And my suspicion is those people will move on as long as they're not dangerous. And perhaps a couple of them will be further detained because it's determined that they're dangerous for this country.'

Protests broke out at major U.S. international airports on Saturday after a few incoming refugees were detained. Federal judges ruled quickly that those who had already been cleared to enter the U.S. before Trump signed his executive order could be allowed to stay.

Trump defended his program Sunday morning on Twitter, writing that '[o]ur country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!'

Kellyanne Conway told 'Fox News Sunday' that the overall number of people affected  including those who were prevented from boarding airplanes bound for the U.S., still doesn't reach 1/10 of 1 per cent of the total.

'You're talking about 300 and some who have been detained or are prevented from gaining access to an aircraft in their home countries and must stay for now,' she said, calling it 'a small price to pay' for protecting the American public from would-be terrorists.

'It's a screening process that they'll go through,' Conway protested. 'If they're not dangerous, if they are not a threat, then ... their situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.'

'You know, I was stopped many times  weren't you?  after 9/11. I didn't resemble, or share a name with, or be part of any kind of terrorist conspiracy, but this is what we do to keep the nation safe.'

'This Week' host Martha Raddatz declared that the 109 people who were detained were 'probably Muslims'

Press secretary Sean Spicer said there are 46 Muslim-majority countries that Trump's order didn't address, responding to Raddatz

Many protesters on Saturday told reporters that families were being split apart as incoming travelers were detained by Customs and Border Protection officers.

'This whole idea that they're being separated and ripped from their families, it's temporary,' Conway protested.

She contrasted their situations with 'the over 3,000 children who will be forever more separated from the parents who perished on 9/11.'

Spicer, too, insisted that 'there's 325,000 people from foreign countries that traveled into the united states yesterday. There were 109 people that this actually addressed.'

He appeared with ABC anchor Martha Raddatz on 'This Week.'

'This really comes down to 109 people who are all being processed through the system to make sure that when they've gone out of the country  gone somewhere that is one of those seven countries  and coming back, that they've done so and not tried to go there and do anything that would cause our nation harm,' Spicer explained.

A pained Raddatz retorted: '109 people, probably Muslims.'

But Spicer responded that 'there are 46 other countries with muslim populations that are not part of this. And I think that's an important thing to note.'

Looking at his notes, Spicer rattled off Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates as examples.
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Temperatures across the country will turn milder this week although there will be heavy downpours and gale-force winds.

Thick fog and icy conditions brought chaos to Britain's road this month and hundreds of flights were also cancelled.

While balmy weather is forecast for next week, conditions will remain unsettled with strong winds and torrential downpours.

Snow covered parts of Cumbria this morning but the freezing conditions will turn milder this week, with heavy rain forecast

Residents awoke to picture postcard scenes in Cumbria this morning, following the final flurries of January snow

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: 'There's quite a big change ahead and it's turning more unsettled over the next few days. We will see more rain at times and temperatures warming up. It will also turn windy later in the week.

'It has been quite nice in the north of England and Scotland today and there has been plenty of sunshine, with rainy spells in southern areas.

'There will be a similar split tonight, with it staying milder in the south west and very cold in parts of Scotland. There will be a 20 degree difference, with temperatures of 9 or 10 degrees in Plymouth, compared to -8 or -10 in the Scottish mountains.'

But he warned to expect heavy showers later in the week, saying: 'On Monday, there will be quite a lot of cloud around but rain from the south-west will start to sweep across during the day.

'It will be around 5 or 6 degrees in the north east, and elsewhere in England it could be around 12 degrees, so above average for this time of the year.

'From Tuesday onwards, we will see rain that could turn heavy. There will also be severe gales towards the end of the week.'

The sun rises over the Great River Ouse near Chittering, in Cambridgeshire, today - unsettled weather is forecast next week

Heavy downpours and gale-force winds are forecast for later this week as the weather turns increasingly mild

Temperatures are due to rise to 12C in London on Tuesday. Surfers were out in force on Brighton Beach yesterday despite the chilly conditions

Elsewhere today, a woman died after her car skidded on ice and crashed into a tree.

Lancashire Police said they were called to the incident in Tarleton village at about 5.30am this morning.

The woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries but later died.

The force were called out to deal with a number of collisions resulting from icy conditions this morning, including five crashes on the M6 and an incident in which a man was seriously injured in the village of Hesketh Bank.
A Syrian Orthodox Christian family was turned away at a Pennsylvania airport after they tried for nearly 15 years to enter the United States, following Trump's immigration ban.

Six family members were traveling to be reunited with relatives when their journey was cut short by customs at Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday.

The two brothers, their wives and children were turned away at the border after Trump signed an executive order that banned people from Syria and six other countries from entering the United States on Friday.

Despite waiting nearly 15 years to move to Pennsylvania to be with family members Sarmad and Sarah Assali, they were sent back on an 18-hour flight to Doha, Qatar.

The six family members of Sarmad (right) and Sarah (left) Assali were sent back back to Doha, Qatar on an 18-hour flight. The mother and daughter only learned they were denied entry after they had been sent back

A Syrian Orthodox Christian family was turned away at Philadelphia International Airport (pictured) on Saturday, due to President Trump's imagination ban that bars seven countries, including Syria, from entering the United States

The Assalis of Allentown, Pennsylvania, were some of the family's relatives awaiting their arrival, CNN reported.

The mother and daughter did not wish to reveal the names of the six family members for their protection, due to their Orthodox Christian religion, a heavily persecuted group in Syria.

Sarmad said her Damascus-based relatives were coming to the country on a F-4 visa for siblings of US citizens, and she had secured a house for them prior to their arrival.

She said to CNN: 'We bought them a house, we furnished it for them, to help them start a new life.'

Trump's executive order signed on Friday allows for 'extreme vetting' of foreign visitors and sparked protests. Pictured: A woman protests the new policy at Philadelphia International Airport

The family had started the immigration process nearly 15 years ago. Sarah Assali, 25, (pictured) said: 'To suddenly be told, "no, you no longer qualify to enter the country," it kind of comes as a slap in the face'

The Assalis were only alerted that the two families were denied entry after they were already on a flight back to Doha.

Sarah, 25, said to Newsworks: 'We weren't expecting this because we paid everything.

'The green cards have been paid for, the visas have been paid for, everything has been approved.

'To suddenly be told, "no, you no longer qualify to enter the country," it kind of comes as a slap in the face.'

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has spoke out against Trump's ban, which has sparked protests at the city's airport and across the country.

He said in a statement: 'Banning immigrants and refugees is not only unjustifiably cruel, it also puts Americans at home and serving abroad at great risk.

Sarmad (right) and Sarah (left) were awaiting for the arrival of their family members when they received a call from customs. Sarmad said her Damascus-based relatives were coming to the country on a F-4 visa for siblings of US citizens and she had secured a house for them prior to their arrival

Trump's order affected roughly 375 travelers, according to a Homeland Security official

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has spoken out against Trump's ban, which has sparked protests at the city's airport and across the country. Pictured: Protesters at Philadelphia International Airport

'The Trump administration very well may have just given these families a death sentence.'

Trump's executive order includes 'extreme vetting' of immigrants and it outright banned people from seven countries from entering the US.

The decision was met with waves of protests at airports in the country where people were being detained for hours on end.

Trump said that Syrian Christians will be given priority when it comes to applying for refugee status in the United States, on Friday.

Sarah told Newsworks that the family began the process of applying for a visa before the civil war broke out in Syria, something that she thought would be an advantage.

She said to the news outlet: 'We thought we lucked out.

'We didn't have to apply for asylum, or refugee status, we already have the paperwork in the works.'
Have you noticed? There has been more outrage from the left over Trumps so-called Muslim ban, than over terror itself.

More gnashing of gums and loud wailing, more placards decrying the plight of a few tourists and travellers, than over the bodies blown apart by Islamic extremists at Brussels airport in March last year.

So much collective outrage, in fact, I wonder how on earth a ban imposed by 16 countries on Israeli citizens has remained in place for quite so long with such quiet acceptance.

Have you noticed? There has been more outrage from the left over Donald Trumps so-called Muslim ban, than over terror itself

Curious, isn't it? What liberals will and won't accept.

What is also strange that when I speak to Muslims and ask why they feel the need to flee persecution or seek refuge, I am told it is because Islam is suffering and is incredibly divided. Because the tensions between Sunni and Shia are simply overwhelming.

What stumps me is why non-Muslim countries are expected to welcome such a divided religion with open arms. And if we think about the problems facing Syrian, Iran, Somalia and Yemen and the rest in the context of the US presidents inaugural address, why would America want to keep allowing such division to its shores?

Whether Muslims want to acknowledge it or not, extremists commit atrocities in the name of Allah. They do it according to and in observance of their interpretation of their faith.

What has led us to this latest executive order is not only Islamic extremists knifing, shooting, stabbing and exploding peaceful citizens in the West, but also the abject failure of the wider Muslim community to denounce these vile acts.

It is troubling to many that after each terrorist act there is largely silence from the families and communities that raised the terrorists and from the mosques that they frequented. Imams seldom condemn terror. And in their silence, in the void, acceptance, encouragement even, is assumed.

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The typical response in Western Europe is a hashtag, a tea light and a leader, saying their people will not be cowed in the face of terror.

Except, they no longer speak for us. We are sick of their platitudes.

The response from the US president is far more reassuring: a ban on travellers from seven Muslim countries and a total ban on refugees and asylum seekers from Syria. Finally, a politician taking action.

Some have questioned why Saudi Arabia has been left off the list. They quote statistics: 15 of the terrorists involved in 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia.

There has been more placards decrying the plight of a few tourists and travellers, than over the bodies blown apart by Islamic extremists at Brussels airport in March last year

When I ask if they would like Saudi added to the list of banned countries, they say no, appalled at the idea of a ban at all. At which point their argument dies on the spot. Doesn't matter if your country has terror or no terror, they don't agree with a ban. The Saudi argument is a distraction.

They lamely argue for more stringent checks to sift out jihadis. I offer the attacks on Western Europe by Islamic extremists as proof that we are not sophisticated enough to work out who is a jihadi and who is not.

In fact, we have allowed those who travelled to Syria to fight for ISIS to return to our country.

And even when we do know who would wish to hurt our people, the jihadis right to privacy and freedom trumps our right to safety or life.

Pictured: Protesters gather at San Francisco International Airport as they campaign against President Trump's ban on travellers from certain Muslim countries

In its wild lament, the left has missed the point entirely. Trump is sending out a message.

His 90-day ban on seven Muslim countries is in place to achieve one thing and one thing only: Trump wants you to understand America has borders, and from now on its going to protect them.

He is going to build a wall with Mexico. He is going to reinforce Homeland Security. He is pouring funds into the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement services.

And thanks to the outrage, the placard-waving protests, the Clinton News Network and the Biased Broadcasting Corporation, you all know about it.

So everyone is now clear. Perfect.

President Trump's 90-day ban on seven Muslim countries is in place to achieve one thing: he wants you to understand America has borders, and from now on its going to protect them

All those desperate to get into the country, to get back to work or to their brothers or sisters in America originally from Iran, their daughter who has dual US-Yemeni nationality, or their American-Somali mother based in California  they now have 90 days to reflect.

To think about how lucky they are to have a home in the land of the free. How fortunate they are to live in a country where democracy works and laws are made by the will of the people, not religion.

Trump said, 'We only want to admit those who will support our country and love deeply our people.'

Think of it less as a Muslim ban, and more as an American invitation. If you support America and will put America first, you will be welcome.

If you cannot bring yourself to condemn the actions of those who commit terror in the name of your god, probably best stay in what's left of your home.
Hillary Clinton's vice presidential running mate said on Sunday that President Donald Trump's proclamation for Holocaust Remembrance Day  a statement that didn't mention Jews specifically as victims  is an example of 'Holocaust denial.'

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Saturday that Trump meant to be 'inclusive' of other groups that suffered and perished under Adolf Hitler's regime.

About 5 million non-Jews died in the Nazi purges, including 1 million Roma Gypsies, 2 million Polish gentiles, and countless gays, Catholic priests, blacks, communists, Jehovah's witnesses, trade unionists, and the physically and mentally disabled.

But Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat insisted on NBC's 'Meet the Press' program that it was 'not a coincidence' Trump's broad statement about the Nazi genocides came on the same day as his executive order limiting visas and immigration benefits to people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Hillary Clinton running mate Sen. Tim Kaine said Sunday morning that the Trump White House is suffering from 'Holocaust denial' betrayed by its Holocaust Remembrance Day statement

Trump's team defended his statement against complaints that it did not mention Jews  saying it was an intentional move to avoid leaving out other Nazi victims

More than 11 million people died in Nazi genocides, including 6 million Jews  but also millions of Polish gentiles, Roma gypsies, gays, Jehovahs Witnesses, blacks and communists

'The final solution was about the slaughter of Jews. We have to remember this. This is what Holocaust denial is,' Kaine said. 'It's either to deny that it happened or many Holocaust deniers acknowledge, "Oh yeah people were killed. But it was a lot of innocent people. Jews weren't targeted".'

'The fact that they did that and imposed this religious test against Muslims in the executive orders on the same day, this is not a coincidence.'

Kaine blamed White House chief strategist Steve Bannon for the Holocaust statement, claiming he is 'connected with a news organization that traffics in white supremacy and anti-Semitism.'

That was likely a reference to Breitbart.com, which liberal partisans often call anti-Semitic on the basis of opinion columns not written by its reporters.

Bannon himself is a Zionist who White House sources have told DailyMail.com often meets with Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, and was the driving force behind Trump's advocacy for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Kaine (right) also painted Trump as a bigot, saying it was no coincidence that the Holocaust statement came on the same day the Trump administration unveiled its 'extreme vetting' plan that targets people from 7 of the world's 53 Muslim-majority nations

Kaine blamed White House senior strategist Steve Bannon for both the Holocaust statement and the 'extreme vetting' policy, suggesting his former perch at Breitbart News indicates that he's an anti-Semite; he did not provide examples

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told CNN that the 'inclusive' White House was not slighting Jews but equally mourning non-Jewish Nazi victims

Trump's statement Friday said '[i]t is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.'

'Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.'

'In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world,' Trump's statement concluded.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that the administration wasn't 'white-washing anything' with the statement.

'I think you know that President Trump has dear family members that are Jewish. And there was no harm or ill-will or offense intended by any of that,' he said, adding that 'I don't regret the words.'

'I mean, everyone's suffering in the Holocaust including, obviously, all of the Jewish people affected; and the miserable genocide that occurred is something that we consider to be extraordinarily sad and something that can never be forgotten, and something that if we could wipe it off of the history books we could.'

'But we can't,' Priebus continued. 'And it's terrible. I mean, I don't know what more to tell you.'

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that he had 'no regrets' over the statement's language

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt blasted Trump for leaving Jews out of his statement Friday ...

... but the ADL's tweeted messages left out Jews in favor of the more generic 'victims of the Holocaust,' util later in the day after the organization was critical of the White House

The White House's choice of words  'innocent people' and 'the perished'  immediately drew fire from Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

The statement 'misses that it was six million Jews who perished, not just 'innocent people,' Greenblatt tweeted, calling it 'puzzling and troubling' that Trump didn't follow the lead of past presidents and mention Jews specifically.

Initially, however, the ADL's tweeted message marking Holocaust Remembrance Day made the same omission.

Over a tableau of 17 people holding signs  some Jews, some gentiles  that message read: 'Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorated on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As we pause to remember the victims of the Holocaust, let us be reminded of our responsibility to one another.'

Later in the day, the organization tweeted a second graphic that read: 'On #HolocaustMemorialDay, we remember the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Nazi Holocaust.'

The World Jewish Congress took issue with the characterization of Trump's message as pointedly anti-Semitic.

Critics slammed the administration for not mentioning Jews or anti-Semitism in its statement; among them was Susan Rice, former president Barack Obama's National Security Advisor

Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed around the world on January 27. Above, wreaths are l aid at the Monument of the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw, Poland

'It does no honor to the millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust to play politics with their memory," WJC president Ronald Lauder said in a statement.

'Any fair reading of the White House statement today on the International Holocaust Memorial Day will see it appropriately commemorates the suffering and the heroism that mark that dark chapter in modern history.'

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks hit the same note, telling CNN that 'despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered.'

Obama-era National Security Advisor Susan Rice accused Trump's team of 'sickness' for not mentioning Jews or anti-Semitism on Friday.

'What sickness enables a statement on holocaust memorial day that ignores 6 million Jews! Just imagine the response if Pres Obama did that,' she wrote.

In his 2015 statement, Obama said: 'Today, with heavy hearts, we remember the six million Jews and the millions of other victims of Nazi brutality who were murdered during the Holocaust.'

President George W. Bush did not mention Jews specifically but did pay tribute to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, in a 2008 speech.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 29

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

The CIS observation mission, which arrived at the invitation of Turkmenistan due to the presidential election to be held Feb. 12 in the country, has started its work, the Turkmen government said in a message.

The mission was headed by First Deputy Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Viktor Guminsky.

The CIS observation mission will work on the basis of the generally accepted international standards, without interfering in the internal affairs of Turkmenistan, according to the message.

The task of the mission is to promote holding of free and democratic election, Guminsky said.

The Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan reported that the necessary conditions were created for the international observers to monitor the election campaign, as well as to meet the trustees of the presidential candidates in the country.

It was earlier reported that observers from the European countries, a number of international organizations, including the SCO and the OSCE were also invited, and they will have the opportunity to observe the electoral campaign and the voting on the election day in Turkmenistan.

Nine presidential candidates were officially registered in Turkmenistan.

The Democratic Party nominated the incumbent head of state Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan nominated chairman of the Commercial Bank Rysgal, Bekmyrat Atalyev, and the Agrarian Party nominated chairman of the Mary province committee Durdygylych Orazov.

Deputy Chairman of Turkmen state association of food industry Maksat Annanepesov, Deputy Head of the Mary province of Turkmenistan Jumanazar Annayev; Director of Seydi oil refinery, MP Ramazan Durdyyev; Deputy Head of Dashoguz district Meretdurdy Gurbanov; Head of the Economic Department of Akhal province Serdar Jelilov; Director General of Garabogazsulfat association Suleymannepes Nurnepesov and are among the candidates nominated by initiative groups of Turkmen citizens.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has been elected twice as the countrys president. During the presidential election in 2012, 97.4 percent of voters cast their ballots for Berdimuhamedov.

Turkmen president is elected for a period of seven years, according to new amendments to the countrys Constitution.
Pupils at a 30,000-a-year private school face drug tests over fears of the 'party scene' and the 'wide availability of drugs within society'.

Trent College in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, has informed parents it is clamping down on illegal substances.

The college, an independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 3-18, will be randomly testing pupils aged 15 and over if suspected of using drugs.

Trent College will be randomly testing pupils aged 15 and over if suspected of using drugs

This week it sent letters to parents about its new policy and invited them to an 'information evening' about drugs awareness, the Nottingham Post reported.

The letter referred to concerns about the 'party scene' and the 'increasing problem of hard drugs in universities.'

It said the session related to 'current concerns regarding smoking and drugs' and that it would be 'introducing random drugs testing for pupils in Years 10 and above'.

Trent College did not elaborate which drugs would be tested for, or the consequences for pupils with a positive result.

But it stated that parents would have to give permission prior to their children being tested.

It is legal for schools to randomly test their pupils for drugs, and many employers test their workers for drugs as part of standard procedure.

Magnus Cowie, deputy head of pastoral at Trent College, told the Nottingham Post: 'The welfare of our students is of the utmost importance to us at Trent, as it is to our pupils' parents.

'We have no evidence of drug-taking at Trent College. However, like all schools, we would be naive to believe that our students don't come into contact with tobacco, alcohol and drugs given their wide availability within society.

'The drug awareness sessions for parents are designed to inform parents of the drugs scene in a wider social sense, using evidence from across the UK.

Christopher Corbett, leader of Erewash Borough Council, said he backed the drugs testing.

'I should think any large school will end up doing it', he added.

Staff at 37,350-a-year Harrow School in North West London were forced to call for paramedics after the three boys complained of feeling unwell

Human rights and childrens' campaigners have warned that forcing pupils to undergo drugs testing is an infringement of their privacy.

Others say drug abuse among youngsters is a huge cause of concern, and welcome the measure.

It comes as three pupils from the prestigious 37,000 per-year Harrow school were treated by paramedics after taking a suspected 'bad batch' of Ecstasy pills.

The teenagers are believed to have purchased 20 Ecstasy tablets from a drug dealer in the nearby town centre before heading back to their house where they later took the pills before collapsing at around midnight.

The sixth-form students, all aged about 17, have now been suspended from the school following the incident last Wednesday.

It is understood one of the pupils has now left the prestigious school.
A Pennsylvania man is facing murder charges after admitting to killing his pregnant wife and their unborn child with a sword, according to police.

Arrested is John Daniel Ziegler III, 31, of York County, Pennsylvania, who faces charges of criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child.

On Friday at 4.12pm, police say Ziegler called 911 and confessed to killing his wife, 25-year-old Diana Meredith Ziegler, reported the York Daily Record.

Diana was 24 weeks pregnant when she died.

Church records show that John Ziegler married Diana (nee Heilner) in August of 2014, just three months after the couple had a baby boy.

Scroll down for video

Shown is the 2014 wedding of John and Diana Ziegler. Police say Ziegler murdered his wife on Friday at their home in York County, Pennsylvania

The Zieglers had a son together in May of 2014, three months before their wedding

John and Diana Ziegler are shown with their son, age two, in a photo dated November 2016

After receiving the 911 call, police rushed to the Ziegler's suburban home on a cul-de-sac in Jackson Township, a town of 7,500.

The first officer on the scene found Ziegler in front of the residence, a neat white townhouse with kelly green trim.

Police said Ziegler surrendered immediately and without incident.

With the man, police found a two-year-old child, who was placed in protective custody uninjured.

In the backyard was a scene of horror.

Pictured is the Zieglers' suburban townhouse in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. The residence sits on cul-de-sac across the street from a children's playground

John Ziegler surrendered to the police without incident when they arrived at his home

On the home's back deck, police found Diana Ziegler lying dead with wounds to her head and neck. A coroner's report said the young woman 'appeared to have suffered multiple blows' resulting in 'certain' death.

Next to the body was a black, scimitar-style sword with a blade four inches wide and covered in blood, police said.

The husband was taken into custody and interviewed by police at around 9pm that evening.

But exactly what motivated the brutal slaying remains a mystery.

Diana Ziegler was found brutally slain on the back deck of her suburban home

A stock photo showing a typical scimitar, the type of sword police found at the murder scene

'What led to it and what occurred during it, that's still under investigation,' Lt. David Lash of the Northern York County Regional Police Department told reporters outside the Ziegler home late Friday.

The murder stunned residents of the normally quiet neighborhood, where the Ziegler family lived right across the street from a small park with a gazebo and children's playground.

'Things like this don't happen very often at all in our jurisdiction, so this was not only abnormal for this neighborhood, but it's also abnormal for this entire area,' said Lash.

Ziegler is in custody awaiting arraignment on murder charges. Judges in York County typically do not set bail in homicides.

Interview with Police Lt. David Lash at the crime scene Friday night
New York City's mayor clobbered President Donald Trump on Sunday for what he called an 'un-American' approach to terrorism prevention.

Bill de Blasio rendered judgment after a day of controlled chaos at American international airport's including New York City's JFK, as protesters loudly objected to the temporary detention of just over 100 people arriving from seven terror-prone countries.

He said it's unclear if anyone at JFK Airport is still being questioned, even after a federal judge issued a stay Saturday that was expected to force the Trump administration into at least temporary submission.

'We are trying to get a clear picture of that,' de Blasio told CNN on the 'State of the Union' program. 'There certainly do still appear to be people detained.'

'Even though Judge Donnelly's action  her decision last night was quite clear that the action by the president was stayed and people should not be detained  we're still not clear that the Trump administration has honored that decision by a federal judge.'

But 'President Trump's executive order is simply un-American,' he declared.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned President Donald Trump's new 'extreme vetting' system for foreign arrivals in the U.S., saying Sunday morning that it's 'simply un-American'

A sea of protesters gathered outside of Terminal 4 of JFK after people from Muslim-majority countries  those identified as high-risk by the Obama administration and codified in the new executive order by Trump  were detained at border control

Preident Donald Trump has refused to back down and reiterated his belief that America needs to strengthen its borders. He is seen speaking on the phone with the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud

'It is suggesting that people's civil liberties can be taken away, even if they are green card holders, even if they're permanent residents on the pathway to citizenship.'

Trump's order, signed amid fanfare Friday at the Pentagon, demanded a temporary shutdown of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and made seven nations' citizens and visitors subject to what the president called 'extreme vetting' while he was running for the White House.

Civil libertarians and immigrants' rights activists immediately objected, saying the Customs and Border Protection agency doesn't have the power to hold people when they arrive on U.S. soil if they had valid visas when their planes took off.

'I have read this executive order,' de Blasio said. 'It makes no distinction if someone has a green card and is already recognized on the pathway to citizenship. It makes no distinction if you have served in the U.S. military previously. You still can be detained.'

'In this country the notion of detention without due process, without probable cause or a charge against you violates our constitutional norms. ... Anyone who considers themselves a libertarian should be deeply concerned to see our government detaining people for no apparent reason and denying them their rights.'

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus insisted on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that 'the executive order doesn't affect green card holders moving forward.'

But Priebus did say repeated back-and-forth travel to countries where terrorism breeds and grows was already sufficient cause for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to examine a traveler more carefully.

Trump tweeted Sunday morning about the 'need' for 'strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW.' The message came after massive protests on Saturday

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday on NBC that the reason Friday's executive order mad no mention of green card holders is that Customs and Border Protection already had the authority to question them if they came into the U.S. from terror-prone nations

De Blasio insisted that he had read Trump's order and 'it makes no distinction if someone has a green card and is already recognized on the pathway to citizenship'

'If they have a person that's traveling back and forth to Libya or Somalia or Yemen, I would suspect within their discretion, they might ask a few more questions at JFK or some other airport when someone's coming back and forth within their discretionary authority as a customs and border patrol agent,' he said.

'And what I'm saying is I would suspect that most Americans would agree that that might be a good thing to do.'

'At every level in an airport a customs and border patrol agent has the authority to use their discretion to ask questions,' Priebus added. 'That's all we're talking about.'

Confusion reigned over the weekend as Trump's order caught federal agencies by surprise, including overseas consular offices that hadn't been warned the new policy was coming.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on ABC's 'This Week' that 'the people that needed to know knew.'

'What we couldn't do was telegraph our position ahead of time to ensure that people flooded in before that happened, before it went into place,' Spicer added in his circuitous speaking style.

'So the appropriate leadership was notified and cables were being sent out through the state Department as we speak.'

One of the people detained on Saturday was an 88-year-old blind man, who was held for hours and had his medication taken from him at Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C.

'When you get down to the TSA level and some of the customs and border officials who are on the front lines, we had to do it in a way that ensured the safety of America was preserved. And if we had telegraphed that ahead of time, then that would have been a massive security problem,' he insisted.

De Blasio told CNN that 'there was no guidance' given to the port authority or other airport authorities.

'And, obviously, there was not even clear guidance to federal officials around the country. And that's why there is so much confusion here.'

Nine days into the new administration, De Blasio has already become a vocal cheerleader for anti-Trump Democrats. He objected loudly on Wednesday when the White House issued an order denying federal funding to cities that refused to hand over illegal immigrants to federal immigration officials.

'We're not going to stand for that,' he said on Sunday.

New York is, functionally, on of those self-declared 'sanctuary cities'  although a 2014 city law dictate that the feds can take custody of serious felons who are in the country illegally and are jailed in the Big Apple.

De Blasio acknowledged, though, that grand larceny and drunk driving don't fall in that category.

'Why shouldn't the city of New York comply with federal law in this area?' CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked him. 'If you're are a drunk driver and you're an undocumented immigrant, why should there be a place for you in this country?'

People protested across the country on Saturday, including in New York where a massive demonstration carried on through Saturday evening at JFK airport

The mayor said only that his city cooperates with federal authorities when an illegal immigrant commits a 'serious and violent crime.'

'Anyone who is violent, anyone who is a serious threat to society, we agree we will work with the federal partners and they get deported,' he said.

But de Blasio warned that with a half-million illegals in New York City, 'we are not going to see families torn apart over a very minor offense.'

'Our police department has felt for decades that it must have a working relationship with those folks,' he insisted.

De Blasio pledged to fight the order legally, suing the federal government, if necessary.

'Rule one, we're going at this,' he said. 'If there is an attempt to implement  and, of course, there's not been an attempt to implement yet  we will go to court to have it stayed, just like this more recent executive order was stayed.'

Florida's populous Miami-Dade County announced Thursday that it would 'fully cooperate' with the Department of Homeland Security rather than forgo millions of dollars from the federal government.

Republican Mayor Carlo Gimenez told the Miami Herald that in 2016 it would have cost $52,000 for his jails to hold the roughly 100 inmates that the federal government wanted.

But by complying with federal law, the county stands to reap a $355 million windfall, about 5 per cent of its $7 billion operating budget.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked the United States on Sunday not to store weapons in local camps under a defense pact, saying his country may get entangled if fighting erupts between China and the U.S.

Duterte said in a news conference that he would consider abrogating a 2014 defense pact that allows U.S. forces to temporarily station in designated Philippine camps if the Americans build weapon depots in those encampments.

'They're unloading arms in the Philippines now,' Duterte said, identifying three areas where U.S. forces were supposedly bringing in their armaments, including the western Philippine province of Palawan, which faces the disputed South China Sea.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (above on Sunday) asked the United States on Sunday not to store weapons in local camps under a defense pact, saying his country may get entangled if fighting erupts between China and the U.S.

Duterte (left) said in a news conference that he would consider abrogating a 2014 defense pact that allows U.S. forces to temporarily station in designated Philippine camps if the Americans build weapon depots in those encampments

'I'm serving notice to the armed forces of the United States, do not do it, I will not allow it,' Duterte said in the televised news conference after meeting top military and police officials.

U.S. officials did not immediately comment on Duterte's remarks.

The brash-talking Philippine leader, who took office in June, has been antagonistic to the administration of former President Barack Obama for raising concerns over Duterte's bloody crackdown on illegal drugs which has left thousands of mostly suspected drug users and small-time dealers dead.

Duterte, who has moved to rebuild once-frosty relations with China, has repeatedly threatened to scale back military exercises with American troops and stop agreements that allow U.S. forces to visit.

Duterte (above) said: 'I'm serving notice to the armed forces of the United States, do not do it, I will not allow it'

The agreements include the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was signed by the treaty allies in 2014. But he has walked back many of those threats.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday that the Pentagon plans to start constructing facilities inside designated Philippine military camps as early as this year.

Lorenzana mentioned at least three Philippine camps where the Americans plan to start constructions of buildings for their troops and equipment, including an air base in Palawan province.

The U.S. military construction plans were delayed due to petitions to the Supreme Court that questioned EDCA's legality.
A major investigation has been launched after a man was found critically injured in a spot notorious for 'dogging' in a London forest.

Hollow Ponds, in Snaresbrook, east London was taped off on Thursday afternoon after a 45-year-old man was found in a critical condition in the forest.

On Saturday morning police told Mirror Online that the man was in a central London hospital and his condition was 'critical' but refused to reveal the nature of his injuries.

Police have cordoned off Hollow Ponds, a part of Epping Forest in East London, which is a popular place for doggers to meet, after a 45-year-old man was found in a critical condition

The man was found unconscious, in the woods before midday on Thursday.

Police officers accompanied by paramedics arrived at a car park on Snaresbrook Road following reports of the collapsed man, just after midday yesterday, according to the East London & West Essex Guardian.

The man was rushed to an east London hospital.

Detectives have launched a major investigation but are keeping an 'open mind' about the circumstances.

Hollow Ponds is an area of Epping Forest (pictured) in east London. Hollow Ponds has long been a notorious area for dogging

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'At this early stage detectives retain an open mind as to the circumstances which led to the man being found unresponsive.'

'They are keen to hear from anyone who was in the area prior to the man being located.'

The woods were still taped off on Saturday morning.

The area has long been notorious as a location for 'doggers' with people who meet there often leaving used condoms and rubbish.

In 2009 residents reported the Hollow Ponds had become a 'no-go' zone because of men meeting there for sex.

Anyone with any information about the 45-year-old should contact detectives at Waltham Forest CID on 101 or via Twitter @MetCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: 'We sent an ambulance crew and a single responder in a car to the scene.

'We treated a patient at the scene and took them as a priority to a hospital in east London.'

The park is maintained by the City of London Corporation.

No arrests have been made.
Harriet Harman angrily denied she invented claims that a 'repulsive' university lecturer offered bump up her marks if she slept with him.

The former deputy Labour leader hit back at the lecturer's ex-wife, who dismissed her allegation, which was revealed in her memoir - A Woman's Work, published this week.

She said Professor T. V. Sathyamurthy, her course tutor at York University who died in 1998, told her she was a borderline candidate and would get an upper or lower second  a 2:1 or 2:2 - in her politics degree.

He said her grade was likely to suffer if she did not sleep with him. Ms Harman, now 66, said she rejected his proposal.

Challenged today over claims from Prof Sathyamurthy's ex-wife Carole Satyamurti, 77, that the allegations were untrue, Ms Harman told the BBC: 'I'm telling you  it happened. The idea that somehow I would invent it  why would I?'

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Harriet Harman, pictured on the Andrew Marr Show today, angrily denied claims she invented claims that a 'repulsive' university lecturer offered bump up her marks if she slept with him

Harriet Harman, pictured in the 1980s, said harassment from a former University lecturer was the reason she became a feminist

The Labour MP said the incident was one of the reasons she became a feminist and decided to speak out about it now to help today's students feel they can complain if they are pestered for sex.

'I haven't said anything about out till now because it was horrible and I was risking [my degree]  I'd earned that level of mark  why should I be downgraded?' she said.

'It was a threat and it did actually happen and I said it happened now, having not said anything about it before, because I think we need to look at how we make sure those people, who are put in that position, feel able to complain... and those people who do that are held to account.'

She also called for more action to help female students who face similar harassment.

'It's also quite wrong to believe that things like this only happened in those days. It still goes on today,' she said.

'Surveys have shown a very large number of women are subjected to this kind of behaviour now. Thankfully, it is easier for them to complain but we need to give them more help.'

Harriet Harman, pictured wearing the 'This is what a feiminist looks like' T-shirt, said the incident was one of the reasons she became a feminist and decided to speak out about it now to help today's students feel they can complain if they are pestered for sex

Ms Harman graduated from York in 1972 at the age of 21, and has said she obtained a 2:1 despite rejecting the professors offer.

Hitting out at suggestions she was 'making a fuss' because she's a feminist, she said: 'It was worse than that, he threatened to lower my marks if I didn't sleep with him,' she said.

'The idea put about by some that I am making a fuss about it now because I am a feminist is completely ridiculous. It's things like this that make women like me feminists.'

Speaking from her north London home, Mrs Satyamurti, who spells her name slightly differently from her ex-husbands, said she could not believe the allegation was true.

The retired poet and sociology lecturer, said: Thats horrible. I find this very hard to believe. The story sounds very dubious to me. He was very brilliant and full of jokes but very respectful of women. Im sure he wouldnt have done that.

They married in 1963 but separated around the time of their daughters birth in 1972.

Ms Harman, 66, once said women's rights were at the heart of her decision to enter politics. 'I am in the Labour Party because I am a feminist  because I believe in equality.'
Andrew Halls, headmaster of the 20,000-a-year King's College School

A head teacher at one of Britain's most prestigious private schools has urged police to investigate his own pupils for sexting.

Andrew Halls, headmaster of the 20,000-a-year King's College School in southwest London, said that children are in the grip of a sexting 'epidemic'.

He warned that even primary school pupils are engaged in the practice of exchanging explicit images of themselves online, the Sunday Times reported.

Mr Halls called for teenagers to face investigation for sexting, calling on the home secretary to urgently review police guidance not to investigate the crime if committed by 'consenting' youngsters.

The guidance was issued last year in an effort to avoid criminalising thousands of teenagers, despite the fact that possessing or sending indecent images electronically is illegal.

Mr Halls warned that failing to investigate children for any kind of sexting 'blurred boundaries' and risked leaving some children, especially girls, at risk of humiliation and intimidation.

'I am deeply concerned by the idea that adults appear to be saying, 'It's OK to send a picture of your genitals to that girl you like in the other class',' he told the Sunday Times.

'The idea that the state is legitimising the sending of naked images of children is unsettling partly because it makes it very hard for parents to say, 'For God's sake, do not do that, it will get you a criminal record'.'

The headmaster added that the problem of youngsters sexting and viewing pornography was at 'epidemic levels'.

He said that even children who were willing to talk about their drug or mental health problems were too ashamed to tell teachers they were addicted to porn.

In November, health secretary Jeremy Hunt called on social media firms to step in to stop the country's children 'sexting', by blocking under-18s from sending explicit messages.

He called for a crackdown on cyberbullying and sexting, which have a detrimental effect on children's mental health.

Mr Hunt was one of several MPs to pile pressure on mobile phone companies and social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook, saying they should allow parents to put blocks on their child's account.

The rules that children should be criminalised for sexting were relaxed in November, following concerns that the current system was too draconian and risked the life-changing criminalisation of millions of teenagers for innocent and consensual behaviour.

Mr Halls warned that failing to investigate children for any kind of sexting 'blurred boundaries' and risked leaving some children, especially girls, at risk of humiliation and intimidation (King's College School pictured)

Under the previous system, any child aged under 18 caught 'sexting' could have been hauled to court and labelled a sex offender, harming their chances of landing a job because potential employers might learn of the incident if they conducted a criminal record check.

In 2015, a 14-year-old boy was added to a police intelligence database after he sent a naked picture of himself to a female friend.

Now, officers must still record each case as an offence but will not have to respond with a full criminal investigation.

Research by the NSPCC has found that 3 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds have taken naked pictures of themselves, and a smaller proportion shared the image with others.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would welcome refugees as scores were turned away by the US under President Donald Trump's travel ban on Sunday.

'To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength,' Trudeau said in a tweet as chaos unfolded at airports across America.

Dozens of people travelling from a handful of Muslim-majority countries have been detained over the weekend.

Trudeau added the hashtag 'WelcomeToCanada' and later tweeted under it to share a photograph of him welcoming a Syrian refugee to the country last year.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on Sunday that he would welcome refugees regardless of their faith as President Trump imposed a travel ban against citizens from Muslim-majority countries

The Canadian Prime Minister plans to share his country's positive experience with President Trump when they meet soon, an aide said

He also plans to share his views on the subject at a meeting with President Trump in the near future, a spokesman said.

'The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak,' spokeswoman Kate Purchase said.

Protests erupted at airports across the US on Saturday as passengers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen were detained despite flying in to the country with legitimate visas or green cards.

It is part of a 90-day travel ban from Muslim-majority countries to the US that was implemented by President Trump on Friday.

The ban has so far displaced 375 people; 109 were detained as they arrived in America and 173 were stopped from boarding flights to the US overseas.

Eighty-one people from the specified countries who hold visas or green cards were granted waivers and allowed to enter as normal.

Prime Minister Trudeau also shared this image of him welcoming a Syrian refugee to Canada last year

Thousands of people erupted in protest at airports across the country on Saturday as news spread that citizens from Muslim-majority countries were being detained

The sudden and drastic ban sparked widespread protests at airports where immigrants are being held.

New York's John F. Kennedy Airport saw some of the largest crowds.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus revealed on Sunday morning that green card holders would not be subject to the ban 'going forward'.

President Trump, defiant in his refusal to back down, took to Twitter to insist the country had to strengthen its borders.

'Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!'

'Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!' he said.

A temporary stay blocking the deportation of immigrants under the affected countries was granted by a federal judge on Saturday night.

President Trump signed the executive order on Friday and the ban was immediately put in place

He stood by it on Sunday morning despite widespread outcry, taking to Twitter defiantly

A temporary stay was granted by a judge blocking the deportation of immigrants from the US but Homeland Security said the ban would remain in place. Armed police formed a line at JFK Terminal 4 on Saturday night

More than 100 people were detained upon arrival in the US and more were stopped from boarding flights overseas including Fuad Sharef Suleman who was banned from travelling from his native Iraq (pictured at Erbil International Airport in Iraq on Sunday)

The Department of Homeland Security however said it would do nothing to weaken the ban.

'President Trumps Executive Orders remain in place - prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety,' it said in a statement.

It urged citizens of the seven Muslim-majority countries not to ban travel to the US.

'If you are a citizen of one of these countries, please do not schedule a visa appointment or pay any visa fees at this time.

'If you already have an appointment scheduled, please DO NOT ATTEND. You will not be permitted entry to the Embassy/Consulate.'

Thousands of donations have poured into the American Civil Liberties Union which is fighting on behalf of those being detained.

The international community has been outraged by the sudden ban. Celebrities and politicians in the UK are calling for Prime Minister Theresa May to take a stand against Trump's ban.
Lyft has pledged to donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union in the wake of widespread protests against Donald Trump's controversial immigration executive order.

The ride-sharing company released a statement announcing the massive donation on Sunday morning. The letter was signed by the company's founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer.

'We created Lyft to be a model for the type of community we want our world to be: diverse, inclusive, and safe,' it read.

'This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin.

Lyft founders John Zimmer (left) and Logan Green (right) have pledged to donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union in the wake of widespread protests against Donald Trump's controversial immigration executive order

'Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the US is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community.

'We know this directly impacts many of our community members, their families, and friends.

'We stand with you, and are donating $1,000,000 over the next four years to the ACLU to defend our constitution. We ask that you continue to be there for each other - and together, continue proving the power of community.'

The donation comes after Lyft's rival, Uber, came under fire for its actions in New York during the protests.

This statement was released by the founders on Sunday, in response to massive protests against Trump's executive order

Logan Green announced the donation in a series of tweets on Saturday. An official statement was then released Sunday

Users turned on the app after it turned off surge pricing in the area, which some said broke a taxi strike at JFK in response to Trump's ban.

By continuing to go to the airport, Uber's drivers reduced the impact a strike would have - which upset many across the city.

People on Twitter announced they would be boycotting Uber while urging others to delete the app from their phones.

The NYTWA tweeted: 'BREAKING: NYTWA drivers call for one hour work stoppage @ JFK airport today 6 PM to 7 PM to protest #muslimban! #nobannowall.'

'NO PICKUPS @ JFK Airport 6 PM to 7 PM today. Drivers stand in solidarity with thousands protesting inhumane & unconstitutional #MuslimBan.'

Many accused Uber of 'colluding with Trump' by advertising their business and 'undermining' the NYTWA boycott

After the New York Taxi Workers Alliance announced an hour-long boycott of JFK Airport, Uber tweeted surge pricing had been turned off at the airport - prompting a swift backlash

After Uber announced surge pricing had been turned off at JFK, Nina Illingworth wrote: 'Folks; Uber responded to the NY cabbies show of solidarity with persecuted Americans by ADVERTISING that they were open for business.'

Julieanne Smolinski tweeted: 'I've used .@uber for years. No more. Their CEO is colluding with Trump and has chosen not to decry the ban. I'm deleting. Please join me.'

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was also attacked personally, after he decided to join Trump's economic advisory board.

But the CEO released a statement on Saturday saying the company will compensate its drivers who may be barred from entering the US as a result of the executive order.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said the ride sharing app will compensate its drivers who may be barred from entering the US as a result of Donald Trump's executive order

Kalanick said the company would compensate affected drivers 'to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table'

Kalanick released an email he sent to Uber employees on Saturday, stating the company would compensate affected drivers 'to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table'.

Kalanick shared the email he wrote to his employees, which included the subject line 'Standing up for what's right'.

In it, he acknowledged the 'dozen or so employees' that were affected and wrote: 'This order has far broader implications as it also affects thousands of drivers who use Uber and come from the listed countries, many of whom take long breaks to go back home to see their extended family...

'That means they will not be able to earn a living and support their families  and of course they will be separated from their loved ones during that time.'

President Donald Trump on Saturday defended his executive order barring people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country

A sea of protesters gathered outside of Terminal 4 of JFK after people from Muslim countries were detained at border control

'We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table.'

Kalanick said: 'We will have more details on this in the coming days.'

He also vowed to talk to Trump during a business advisory group meeting on Friday about how his policies would affect innocent people.

The CEO has come under fire for agreeing to join the group, and told employees just earlier this week that the company would be cooperating with the new administration.

According to Business Insider, he said: 'We'll partner with anyone in the world as long they're about making transportation in cities better, creating job opportunities, making it easier to get around, getting pollution out of the air and traffic off the streets.'
Anthony Mundine will not stand for the Australian national anthem ahead of his rematch against Danny Green because he says it is racist.

The Indigenous boxer, and former rugby league star, said Jessica Mauboy was chosen to sing the anthem in Adelaide on Friday 'because she is black'.

'It's a racist anthem and doesn't represent our people. It's disrespectful to our people,' Mundine told Daily Telegraph.

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Anthony Mundine says he will not stand for the national anthem on Friday night ahead of his rematch against Danny Green (Mundine is pictured in September last year at his Redfern gym)

'They are just using her because she is black,' Mundine said of Jessica Mauboy (pictured singing carols at The Domain in December last year)

He called on Mauboy to not go ahead with singing the anthem at the Friday match in Adelaide because 'it's not for our people'.

'They are just using her because she is black.'

Mundine said he was not trying to divide Australians but his people are not 'young and free'.

Event organisers and Foxtel are now reportedly in talks to find a resolution and it's possible the anthem will be performed before opponents enter the ring.

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he did not agree with Mundine.

'Our national anthem unites all Australians, I don't agree with him.

'From our First Australians, to the newest baby in the arms of a migrant mother.'

Boxer Danny Green is seen at the Crown in Melbourne in August last year

Mauboy is pictured at The Star in Sydney in December last year

In September, Mundine encouraged NRL and AFL players to boycott the anthem at the grand finals in a Facebook post

In September, Mundine encouraged NRL and AFL players to boycott the anthem at the grand finals.

'The anthem was written in late 1700s where blackfullas were considered fauna (animals). Advance Australia Fair as in white not fair as in fair go,' Mundine wrote on Facebook.

'All players aboriginal & non aboriginal should boycott the anthem & start changing Australia's ignorant mentality... lets move forward together yo.'

Former league players Larry Corowa and Joe Williams joined in the call for players to boycott the anthem.

Mr Turnbull criticised the boycott in September, and Today Show host Karl Stefanovic called it 'ridiculous'.

Mundine and Green last competed in 2006, more than 10 years ago.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Foxtel, Danny Green and Jessica Mauboy teams for comment.
Tehran, Iran, Jan. 29

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Firefighters have fought for four hours to put off a fire that had erupted at a tanker at Tehrans Tondgooyan Refinery, no lives were lost, IRNA news agency reported Jan. 29.

A 500,000-liter tanker at the refinery caught fire at 00:19 (GMT +3:30). One hundred and twenty firefighters were dispatched to the spot, according to the news agency.

Local authorities said the cause of the conflagration has not been identified. The heat melted the tanker. The refinery suffered great financial loss, the report said.

Last October reports said a series of suspicious fires at Irans oil, gas, and petrochemical facilities had cost the country some 100,000 liters of condensates.

Some news outlets have said the serial fires indicate the possibility of cyberattacks.

The most recent such fire hit Piroozi Oil and Gas Refinery in Shahrud, Semnan Province early morning on Oct. 7 and was put out only after five hours of 40-man firefighting. Local authorities said four people had been injured. The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

From April to October last year, a similar incident had happened in Iran every 12 days on average.
Iranian-born Vahideh Rasekhi was put on a deportation flight after arriving in the US on Saturday once President Trump's ban was in place

A Stony Brook PHD student of Iranian descent was pulled off a deportation flight from JFK at the last minute on Saturday night by lawyers fighting Trump's Muslim travel ban.

Vahideh Rasekhi has lived in the US for ten years and works and studies in the linguistics department of the New York university.

She had already left Tehran, Iran, after visiting family on Friday when Trump signed an executive order banning its citizens from entering the US.

After connecting to another flight in Kiev, Ukraine, she arrived at JFK Airport on Saturday but was told she wouldn't be allowed back in to the country.

Officials placed her on an 11.40pm flight bound for Kiev via Istanbul and it was about to take off when lawyers acting on her behalf were able to halt it because of a temporary stay order issued by a federal judge blocking deportations in New York.

Vahideh was taken off the plane but still faced hours more questioning in the airport. She was eventually allowed to leave shortly before 3pm on Sunday and told gathered press waiting for her how she was 'so scared' would be sent back.

'I am so tired, I haven't slept for more than 48 hours. I was scared. I was so scared I was going back,' she said.

Unaware of the weekend's news, Vahideh said she had 'no idea' how her case had come to light.

'I don't know what's happening, I honestly have no idea how the word got out, I don't know who you are but I'm happy.

After being hauled off the deportation flight, she was detained for a further 14 hours before being freed (above) at JFK

Vahideh has been in the US for 10 years studying and working. She was only allowed one phone call after being initially detained, said friends

'It was just in the office. They asked me regular, simple visa questions. Your name, your school, where have you traveled etc.

'They gave us food, anytime someone wanted water they gave us that.'

Friends earlier told how she was only given one phone call after landing in JFK and had limited access to lawyers.

The university urged other students from the affected countries not to travel in case they were blocked from re-entering.

'Stony Brook University is experiencing the full effect of this order firsthand, as the President of our Graduate Student Organization, Vahideh Rasekhi, pursuing a PhD in Linguistics, was detained at JFK Airport after arriving from a layover flight in Ukraine enroute from visiting her family in Iran

Protesters descended on the New York airport on Saturday as scores of immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were detained

'The order apparently went into effect after her travels began. Fortunately, Vahideh was not forced to leave and she has been released,' Stony Brook University president Samuel L. Stanley.

'Even after the 90-day period is complete, we are not sure how the visa or port of entry requirements may change and we are urging caution.'

New York Senator Charles Schumer said there were six people still being held at JFK on Sunday morning.

Dozens more across the country are still being detained.
The chilling details of a Christmas Day fire that took the lives of three young girls and their grandparents have been revealed in a new court deposition.

Mother Madonna Badger miraculously survived the blaze in 2011, but her three daughters Grace, Sarah, and Lily, and her mother and father were killed when they were engulfed in a fireball at the renovated Victorian home.

Her former boyfriend and lawyer Michael Borcina is representing Madonna in her suit against the city of Stamford, Connecticut, which alleges that the water hydrants surrounding the house had been disconnected for four months while the family lived there.

A 'fireball' engulfed three young girls and their grandparents on Christmas day in their Victorian era home in Stamford, Connecticut

Mother Madonna Badger miraculously survived the blaze in 2011, but her three daughters Grace, Sarah, and Lily, and her mother and father were killed

The electrical fire was reportedly caused by 'improperly discarded fireplace ashes', according to NY Daily News.

It caused flames and smoke to tear through the family home and trapped the girls in their bedrooms on Christmas morning.

Lucy was aged nine at the time, and twins Sarah and Lily were eleven.

To make matters worse, the firefighters on the scene failed to turn off the gas power to the home, which caused the victims to be engulfed in a 'fireball'.

'Everybody stood there running around, tripping over friggin' hoses, wondering what to do,' Borcina said.

The fire was made worse by the aged wood in the home, which was built over 100 years ago, and had caught fire like 'kindling'.

Borcina said: 'You take an old piece of wood and you throw it in a fire, in an existing fire, it's going to catch right away and it's going to burn really quickly.'

The electrical fire was reportedly caused by 'improperly discarded fireplace ashes', according to NY Daily News

It caused flames and smoke to tear through the family home and trapped the girls in their bedrooms on Christmas morning

To make matters worse, the firefighters on the scene failed to turn off the gas power to the home, which caused the victims to be engulfed in a 'fireball'

Borcina continued: 'God bless them, they showed up, [but] it was way beyond anything that they were capable of handling.'

Madonna said she grieves every day for the loss of her parents and children.

During the eulogy at her daughter's funeral, she said: 'When I used to hear about people losing a child, I would say I could never, ever, ever live through losing my babies.'
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Protesters across the country rallied Sunday, as people took to the streets to demonstrate against Donald Trump's immigration executive order.

Events took place across the nation, including in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington DC throughout the day. Many of the events were documented on social media with the hashtag, '#NoBanNoWall' - showing they were also protesting Trump's plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

Overhead shots from the protest in Boston, held in Copley Square, showed the area overflowing with people. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was seen in a video late Saturday night urging people to attend the demonstration, telling the crowd: 'Make sure you join us. Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters.'

Senator Elizabeth Warren also took part in the Boston demonstration. The Massachusetts politician had also been part of protests at Boston's airport on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, some of those held at New York City's John F Kennedy airport were seen celebrating as they left Terminal 4 following more than 30 hours of detention.

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People kept marching in support of immigrants and refugees even after the sun had set Sunday in Seattle, Washington

A woman is pictured with 'No Wall, No Ban' painted on her face while marching against Trump's immigration ban in Seattle

'Let them in!' A crowd of demonstrators cheered during a rally to oppose Trump's executive order in downtown Seattle

The Statue of Liberty could be seen pictured on a sign as people marched in support of immigrants and refugees in Seattle

People in Seattle listened during a protest held in response to Trump's travel ban in Seattle after the sun set on Sunday night

Seattle City Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez addressed the crowd during a protest held in response to Trump's travel ban

Demonstrators kept protesting Trump's executive immigration ban at Chicago O'Hare International Airport Sunday evening

A crowd of demonstrators remained at Chicago O'Hare after the sun set as protesters rallied against the immigration ban

Demonstrators looked down as protesters gather outside Terminal 5 of O'Hare International Airport during Sunday's rallies

Protesters converged outside Terminal 5 of O'Hare International Airport as part of demonstrations across the nation

Protestors at one point shut down the lower level loop at LAX during a protest against the travel ban imposed by Trump

Demonstrators gathered during a candlelit vigil near the Naval Observatory on Sunday night in Washington, DC

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the roadway during a protest against Trump's executive order at Los Angeles International Airport

Demonstrators shut down the lower level loop at LAX during a protest. Airport officials eventually allowed protesters to block one level at a time for 15-minute periods

Protesters are pictured shutting down the lower level loop at LAX during a protest against the travel ban imposed by Trump

Anna Yaggi, a 15-year-old high school student from Madison, held a candle in front of Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University in New Haven. Hundreds turned out for the vigil in support of refugees

Hundreds of people gathered outside of Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut Sunday

Demonstrators gathered and held candles during a vigil near the Naval Observatory on Sunday night in Washington DC

Demonstrators also protested against Trump's immigration order during a rally at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas

Activists also gathered at Portland International Airport to protest against Trump's executive action setting up the travel ban

Riot police pushed activists gathered at Portland International Airport to protest against Trump's executive action travel ban

Another day of protest is underway across the country, as people take to the streets to demonstrate against Donald Trump's controversial immigration executive order. Pictured are people near the White House

Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, speaks to people gathered at Copley Square January 29, 2017 in Boston as protesters gathered to fight Trump's ban 90-day travel ban enacted against seven predominantly Muslim countries

US Senator Charles Schumer (center) is pictured among protesters gathered in New York City's Battery Park on Sunday

Senator Schumer is pictured standing with recently resettled refugees, to push for an overturn of Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigration to the US for refugees during a press conference Sunday

Maya Kurahakish, a Syrian refugee, wiped aways tears as Senator Schumer, D-NY, spoke during Sunday's press conference

Senator Cory Booker (center) was also seen marching with the protesters at Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey

Booker also addressed the massive crowd who gathered in New York City's Battery Park for a protest Sunday afternoon

Meanwhile, Trump defended his sweeping order on immigration Sunday afternoon and and said he would find other ways to help those suffering from Syria's bloody civil war.

The president says in a statement that 'America is a proud nation of immigrants' that'will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression,' but 'while protecting our own citizens and border'.

He denied once again that his executive order, which bans visitors from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, seven predominantly Muslim countries, was a ban aimed at Muslim people.

'This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe,' he said. 'There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.'

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly declared the entry of lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders, to be of national interest on Sunday evening.

'In applying the provisions of the president's executive order, I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest,' he said in a statement.

'Accordingly, absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations.'

Demonstrators in Washington DC marched on the White House, where Trump was inside making calls to world leaders - including the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud.

There were a number of protests scheduled across New York, with a huge crowd already seen gathered at Battery Park - which provided a clear view of the Statue of Liberty out in the water.

The Manhattan event was organized by Make the Road New York - with demonstrators set to march from Battery Park to the Customs and Border Patrol offices.

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration

Protesters are seen with signs during the rally in New York's Battery Park on Sunday afternoon against Trump's executive order

'No ban, no wall': Demonstrators and immigrants' rights' advocates rallied in opposition to Trump's immigration order as it sowed more chaos and outrage across the country

Protesters gathered in Battery Park Sunday afternoon and marched to the offices of Customs and Border Patrol in Manhattan

People attend an afternoon rally in Battery Park to protest President Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban' on Sunday afternoon

A huge crowd of people is seen in Boston's Copley Square on Sunday during protests against the new immigration policy put forward by Trump this week

'No Muslim ban': People are pictured gathering at Boston's Copley Square Sunday to protest against the immigration bans

A sea of protesters took to Copley Square on Sunday, holding signs reading messages such as: 'Refugees welcome'

Models Bella and Gigi Hadid joined in the protest against President Trump's immigration ban on the streets of New York City

Bella is seen holding up a sign that reads 'We are all humans' while Gigi joined in on the chanting with her fellow protesters

Charles Schumer addressed the crowd, saying, 'We are gonna win this fight everybody!' Senator Cory Booker was also seen speaking to protesters in Manhattan's Battery Park and marching with the crowd at Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey.

Schumer urged Trump to overturn his 'awful' executive orders.

'These orders go against what America has always been about,' Schumer told the crowd in Battery Park according to the New York Daily News. 'The orders make us less humanitarian, less safe, less American and when it comes to making us less safe people forget this, that's why so many of our military, intelligence, security, and law enforcement leaders are opposed to this order and all those like it.'

WHAT ARE PROTESTERS ACROSS THE US CHANTING AT TRUMP? Say it loud, say it clear, Muslims are welcome here When black and brown bodies are under attack, what do we do? Fight back He can't build a wall, his hands are too small No wall no ban that s** is un-American Get up, get down New York is an immigrant town F*** Trump, F*** Pence, this country's built on immigrants No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here Advertisement

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Trump's presidential rival, Hillary, tweeted a picture from the rally. It was captioned: 'Yes. We will keep standing up for a country that matches our values and ideals for all. #NewYork #NoBanNoWall.'

There are also protests planned in Brooklyn and Queens. In Dallas, people gathered to pray together in the baggage claim at Dallas Fort Worth Airport to protest Trump.

About 200 people also held signs and chanted 'Let them go!' as they awaited word Sunday on what state representatives for the Council on American-Islamic Relations say are nine people detained at the airport.

Another demonstration in suburban Chicago was organized by Jewish groups to show support for Muslims, while there were more at Miami International Airport, and LAX.

The Los Angeles protests came as it was revealed Democratic lawyers in both California and New York state are among states discussing whether to legally challenge Trump's ban.

Protesters at Los Angeles International Airport managed to block traffic next to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the LA Times reported.

Thousands had gathered at LAX and some sat down, blocking the road until all those detained had been released. Police in riot gear were present but made no arrests.

Airport officials eventually struck a deal with protesters to regulate traffic on the upper and lower levels of the roadway, according to a statement related by ABC 7 reporter Leanne Suter. Protesters could block one level at a time for 15 minutes, allowing the other level to remain unblocked for 30 minutes.

Democrat attorneys general are expected to be a source of fierce resistance to Trump, much as Republican attorneys general opposed former President Barack Obama's policies.

A lawsuit brought by states would heighten the legal stakes surrounding the president's executive order, signed late Friday, as courtroom challenges to the ban have so far mostly been filed by individuals.

Trump put a 120-day hold on Friday on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Activists gathered outside the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC on Sunday to protest Trump's executive actions

Demonstrators took their protest to the steps of the Capitol on Sunday, where Trump took the oath of office just nine days ago

A huge crowd was seen across Washington DC on Sunday marching to the US Capitol to protest against the executive actions

One of the demonstrators outside the White House held a sign dedicated to his immigrant grandfather, saying America was 'a better place because of him'

A crowd of activists also gathered outside the White House on Sunday as part of nationwide protests against Trump's ban

'Not this time!' Demonstrators in Washington DC came to the Trump International Hotel to express their disagreement

Protesters are pictured marching against President Trump's immigration ban on the streets of New York City Sunday

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Trump's defeated presidential rival, Hillary, tweeted a picture from the rally

Clinton shared the pictures on social media from inside the crowd at Battery Park in downtown Manhattan on Sunday

A New Yorker holds a sign reading, 'We are here to stay,' during the demonstration against the president's policy

People of all ages are seen in New York's Battery Park, many carrying signs, during Sunday's demonstration

Thousands attended an afternoon rally to protest President Trump's new immigration policies in lower Manhattan

Zabihollah Zarepisheh of Iran celebrated after being released from JFK's Terminal 4 for after more than 30 hours' detention

Iman Alknfushe gave a thumbs up to protesters and media as she exited John F Kennedy International airport Sunday

Alknfushe (center) is pictured getting out of JFK with her daughters Elaf (right) and Anfal Hussain (left) Sunday. Attorneys advocating on her behalf said Alknfushe was coming from Iraq and had been detained at the airport for more than 30 hours

Zabihollah Zarepisheh of Iran is pictured celebrating after being released from JFK's Terminal 4 for more than 30 hours

Attorneys advocating on Zarepisheh's behalf said he had been held for more than 30 hours at the airport before being released (he is pictured leaving JFK Sunday)

Demonstrators chanted inside Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, where protests continued on Sunday

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the lower roadway outside Tom Bradley International Terminal on Sunday at LAX

'I fought next to Muslims': A veteran was seen among the crowd of demonstrators who gathered at Los Angeles International

'Immigrants are vetted': Demonstrators at Philadelphia International Airport protested against Trump's executive order

A crowd of demonstrators were seen marching at Philadelphia International Airport as part of Sunday's massive protests

'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness': Demonstrators at Philadelphia International Airport gathered under walls bearing an excerpt from the Constitution

Demonstrators marched and blocked traffic during protests outside Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday

'I [heart] sanctuary cities': A protester paid tribute to cities who protect undocumented immigrants during a rally at Philadelphia International Airport

Protesters also gathered across the road from the arrival area at Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport

A woman arriving at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport for a flight waved to protesters across the road from her

Expressing support: A woman dropping someone off for a flight waved back at demonstrators chanting across the road at Minneapolis-St Paul Airport

Protesters crowded the sidewalks at HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport to denounce Trump's executive order

A crowd of demonstrators gathered and held signs during a protest at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

A woman dressed as the Statue Of Liberty was among the crowd of demonstrators at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

US Democratic Congressman from Georgia John Lewis (center) was greeted by people during a protest at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

A young girl danced with an American flag in baggage claim while women prayed behind her during a protest against the travel ban imposed by Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

More than 600 people gathered at Idaho's Boise Airport on Sunday to protest Trump's travel bans. One protester highlighted a 2015 tweet by Vice-President Mike Pence saying banning Muslims from the US is 'offensive and unconstitutional'

Protesters gathered at Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina to protest Trump's executive actions on Sunday

A crowd of people of all ages also marched during a Muslim Community Center rally on Sunday in Morton Grove, Illinois

Demonstrators braved the cold in Bloomington, Indiana to rally at the Monroe County Courthouse in response to Trump's ban

An international traveler gave high fives to protesters as she walked past at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Sunday

People chanted and held signs as they protested against the ban at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport's international arrivals gate

People gather to pray in baggage claim at Dallas International Airport during a protest against Donald Trump's travel ban

A police officer watches on in Dallas as people gathered to pray together in the baggage claim at Dallas Fort Worth Airport to protest Trump on Sunday

'The Trump executive order should not stand and must be confronted as a constitutional overreach,' said a statement from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. 'It tramples on centuries of American tradition.'

California and New York joined Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaii in evaluating what specific claims could be filed, and in which court.

The states could decide not to file lawsuits, and it was unclear how many states would ultimately sign on for such an effort.

'There certainly are conversations underway,' said Joe Grace, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

People attend an afternoon rally in Battery Park to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's new immigration policies on Sunday

People gather in Copley Square to protest the Muslim immigration ban enacted by President Trump, including one man who is giving the peace symbol

A woman who identified herself as a Jewish Holocaust survivor holds a sign saying she is willing to register as a Muslim in protest to Trump's ban

People are seen chanting in Boston's Copley Square during a second day of protests against Trump's Muslim immigration policy

It comes after large protests erupted at airports throughout the country where travelers were being held, a day after Trump signed the divisive order.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

No green card holders had ultimately been prevented from entering the US as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent long hours in detention before being allowed in.

Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt.

'I'm so happy he's finally out. He says he's very tired,' said his daughter Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears and speaking Farsi with her father.

Tristan Houghton protests against President Trump's refugee ban at Miami International Airport on Sunday

Protesters rally against President Trump's Muslim immigration policy and refugee ban on Sunday at Miami International Airport

'Our grandkids will wonder why you stayed silent': A protester at Miami International Airport urged others to speak out

A man wearing a Stars And Stripes shirt joined the protest at Miami International Airport while holding a sign that read: 'Fight ignorance not migrants'

Police officers stood by as protesters gathered outside Miami International Airport to voice their disagreement on Sunday

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the lower roadway outside Tom Bradley International Terminal as protests continued at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday

Muslim men prayed Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport during a demonstration against Trumimmigration ban

Attorney Sabra Gandhi holds up a sign while travelers pass by as protests against President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries continue at Los Angeles International Airport

The group of protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday are seen on the second day of demonstrations

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the US military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at Kennedy Airport.

He walked free after his lawyers, two members of Congress and as many as 2,000 demonstrators went to the airport to seek his release.

'This is the soul of America,' Darweesh told reporters after gaining his freedom, adding that the US was home to 'the greatest people in the world.'

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the US from summarily deporting people who arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights.

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration on Sunday

Franklyn Saumell protests against President Trump's refugee ban at Miami International Airport on Sunday

Protesters rally against President Trump's refugee ban at Miami International Airport in the second day of demonstrations on Sunday

Another group of protesters is seen outside Miami International Airport on Sunday. There have been protests across the country against Trump's immigration policy

An activist holds a sign outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban' and changes to refuge policy

Staff at US agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the situation.

They girded for wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the US Donnelly's order did nothing to help those people gain entry.

Several staff members who spoke to The Associated Press burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

'It's complete chaos,' said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the US State Department.

People are seen outside the White House in Washington on Sunday amid ongoing protests against president Trump and his immigration policy

A man is seen rallying the crowd in Washington DC on Sunday while holding an American flag in the air

Thousands of people protest President Trump's immigration ban on citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries outside the White House

Protesters rally against President Trump's refugee ban at Miami International Airport on Sunday

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the US, said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service.

More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the US are settled by religious groups, which organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.
A teenager is trying to track down the off-duty doctor who saved her life after hitting her in his car so that she can 'give him a huge hug'.

Morgan Maclean, 16, suffered a bleed on the brain and a broken pelvis after stepping into the path of a Volvo while distracted by her mobile phone as she walked with friends in Inverness.

She fell into a coma but paramedics say the driver - an off-duty doctor - saved her life by keeping her airways clear so she could breathe until they arrived.

Teenager Morgan Maclean, pictured with her mother Tricia, is desperate to trace the off-duty doctor who crashed into her - then saved her life

Now Morgan and mother Tricia are issuing an appeal for the Good Samaritan to get in touch so they can thank him and give him a huge hug.

Morgan said: 'I firmly believe I would not be alive today if this doctor had not cleared my airways and kept me alive.'

Mother-of-three Tricia, 36, said: 'I was told by paramedics that the driver was a doctor and his quick-thinking treatment saved Morgan.

'If he hadn't been there we may have lost our beautiful daughter. I will be eternally grateful to him.'

Morgan was rushed to the city's Raigmore Hospital after the accident, in September 2016 but doctors told Tricia they could not say whether she would make it.

She stepped into the path of his Volvo, distracted by her mobile phone, as she crossed a road with friends in Inverness and fell into a coma

Officers locally said the driver 'was a doctor who made a world of difference to the girl's survival'.

Tricia said: 'We know nothing about him but want him to know how much his quick action means to me. We would love to meet and thank him.

'We are not angry with him we only want to express our huge gratitude.

Miss Maclean, pictured in hospital, suffered a bleed on the brain and a broken pelvis

'I managed to pass on a message to him through the police. We wanted him to know what agony he has spared us. Losing Morgan would have been so painful.'

Tricia said: 'I only found out that Morgan had been hit by a car when I tried to call her on her mobile.

'I didn't get an answer twice and then a police officer picked it up and said "your daughter has been hit by a car. You had better get to hospital". I felt a wave of panic.'

At the hospital she was taken into a side room and feared the worst.

Tricia added: 'When I asked the doctors what her chances were they said they couldn't guarantee it.

'Her best chance of survival was to be flown to paediatric specialists at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.

'They explained Morgan would be transferred there by air ambulance helicopter.

'But the air paramedics had to fly there at a lower than normal altitude because of the bleed in her brain. We were living through a nightmare.'

The popular schoolgirl and huge Rangers fan was out with friends when she was knocked down.

Now Morgan and mother Tricia are issuing an appeal for the Good Samaritan to get in touch so they can thank him and give him a huge hug

'I think she was distracted and did not see the car coming,' Tricia added.

'It was just one of those things that can happen to anyone.

'But throughout it all, I felt we were living from minute to minute and I was scared I was going to lose one of my children.

'We sat for three days at her bedside watching for the slightest movement or sign she would waken out of the coma.

'Then when she did wake I felt a huge wave of relief.

'It was then we knew she would make it.'

Now back at Inverness High School, Morgan has amazed teachers with her progress.

'Watching her wonderful recovery has been incredible,' Tricia added.

Police Scotland said: 'No-one has been charged in relation to a road traffic collision which occurred on Sir Walter Scott Drive, Inverness, around 11pm on Friday September 23 last year.'
Zarah Coombs (pictured) is facing manslaughter charges for beating her four-year-old son and leaving him for dead in a plastic tub filled with water

The Brooklyn woman who allegedly confessed to beating her four-year-old son to death with a broomstick was once married to the boy's incarcerated father who was convicted of killing and decapitating his mother in 2013.

Tanya Byrd, 52, was killed and dismembered by her oldest son, Bahsid McLean, in February 2013 when he was married to Zarah Coombs, whose original name was Vera McLean at the time of his heinous crime that saw him convicted of murder in November 2016.

His aunt, Cassandra McLean-Smith, told the New York Daily News: 'A child kills his mother, and then a mother kills her child. Ridiculous. What are we coming to? Ain't this crazy?'

On Thursday, Coombs, was arrested for the horrific killing of her four-year-old son Zamair, who she allegedly beat to death and left for dead in a plastic storage bin filled with water.

The toddler became the target of her anger when he accidentally dropped an egg on the floor, sources told the Daily News.

When Zamair was just three months old, his father Bahsid stabbed Byrd in the neck, after she told him he was a bad father.

He then dismembered her body with a Black & Decker electrical saw before taking a selfie with her decapitated head. Bahsid then stuffed her body parts into plastic bags that he scattered all over the Bronx.

During his trial for his mother's murder, his defense team tried to argue that jurors should acquit Bahsid by reason of mental defect or disease, claiming he was 'broken' and had voices in his head since he was a child.

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Bahsid McLean is pictured above posing for a selfie with the severed head of his mother Tanya Byrd in 2013. He was convicted of her murder last year, and is also the father of the four-year-old boy who was beat to death with a broomstick allegedly by his mother Zarah Coombs

Byrd (above) was killed and dismembered by her Bahsid, who is now serving 25 years to live in prison for the February 2013 crime he committed while married to Coombs. At the that time, Coombs original name was Vera McLean

But a jury disagreed and found him guilty of the crime; he was eventually sentenced last year to serve 25 years to life in prison for the horrific crime.

McLean-Smith told the Daily News her nephew and Coombs met in a group home and that her family was against her marrying him.

'We weren't against her, we were against Bahsid,' said McLean-Smith.

'My nephew was no good. He was a bully, he didn't work, he lived off his mother. We couldn't understand what she saw in him.'

She added that she had only found out about the fatal beating of the four-year-old boy on Saturday morning when she received a phone call about the tragedy.

McLean-Smith said that she had only seen Zamair once when he was less than a year old.

'I cried this morning,' said McLean-Smith. 'I did a lot of crying. How do you beat a child that bad?

'How do you beat a child to death with a broom? What made you so angry? He's 4 years old.'

During a jailhouse interview on Rikers Island, Coombs cried while discussing her son's death.

'He's gone and it's all my fault,' Coombs, who is on suicide watch, told the New York Post. 'My life is over.

'Nothing will ever be the same. My baby is gone,' she said of her son, who was the second eldest of her four children.

She is blaming her rage on post-partum depression and said that she can't remember hitting Zamair with the broomstick, as she claims the memory is 'blacked out.'

When Zamair was just three months old, his father Bahsid (above) stabbed Byrd in the neck, after she told him he was a bad father. He then dismembered her body with a Black & Decker electrical saw

Bahsid then stuffed her body parts into plastic bags that he scattered all over the Bronx (above)

Coombs added that all she recalls is a mix of noises from inside the family's basement apartment, including the TV blaring and cries from both her one-month-old and one-year-old boys.

She said that Zamair was trying to help her make lunch, as 'he loved food (and) wanted to be a chef.'

'He called you a meatball and a chicken nugget  that was his way of saying he loved you,' Coombs shared.

After 'blacking out', Coombs told the Post that she remembered the four-year-old boy still being alive.

'He was humming,' Coombs remembered. 'He looked at me, but he didn't say anything. 'I said, 'OK, baby. Let's get you in a warm bath.'

She added that she apologized and told the toddler she loved him before putting him in a storage bin for a bath.

Coombs said that she fell asleep while trying to breastfeed the one-month-old baby and was awoken by her boyfriend, 26-year-old Jamari Richardson, who came home from work to find Zamair unconscious in the bin around 9pm on Wednesday.

'He went under!' the boyfriend told her.

'And I said, 'What do you mean, under? There's barely any water. There's nothing to go under.'

The couple called 911, before the boyfriend tried to give Zamair CPR, she said.

Bahsid (above) and Coombs first met in a group home. They filed for divorce in April 25, 2016, and the case was settled on November 15, 2016

Coombs teared up during her first court appearance on Thursday for the death of her toddler son Zamair. She's pictured above being led by police officers in handcuffs

But the little boy died after doctors attempted to revive him three times at the hospital.

Of hitting the four-year-old, she told the Post: 'I lost it. That was a panic attack  if I could have banged my head any harder and banged it open [instead of striking Zamair] I would have done it.

'(Now), Every time I close my eyes, I see his face, hear his voice. I just talk to him all night.'

During her first court appearance, Coombs teared up on Thursday to face charges of manslaughter, acting in a manner injurious of a child and criminal possession of weapon after the mother-of-four was arrested Wednesday night

Richardson is the father of Coombs' youngest two children, but Zamair and her 9-year-old child have different dads, both of whom are incarcerated.

After her arrest, over the next several hours, Coombs story about what happened changed several times.

At first, she said that Zamair slipped on a wet towel and hit his head on the toilet when she wasn't looking.

But under police interrogation, Coombs copped to beating the boy with a broomstick after he started to annoy her while she was caring for his two younger siblings, as he dropped an egg on the floor.

Coombs' boyfriend Jamari Richardson came home Wednesday night to find four-year-old Zamair unconscious and submerged in the water-filled tub in their basement apartment

She grabbed a broomstick and beat him until he was silent, then went back to tending to the other kids while he slumped under the water in the plastic storage bin she had been using to bathe him.

Coombs' boyfriend was out buying marijuana and when he returned around 9pm he found Zamair unconscious in the bin. He called 911 immediately and paramedics found the boy unconscious, not breathing and foaming at the mouth.

A neighbor says Coombs looked oddly calm as paramedics tried to revive her son.

'She was just standing there like she just don't care,' neighbor Ray Moore said, according to the Daily News. 'I know if it was me, my mother would've been in the ambulance. That's when you know something wasn't right.'

Abrasions were found on the boy's neck and bruises covered other various parts of his body. The exact cause of death will be determined in an autopsy.

Michael Thomas, Coombs' sister, says he was called over to the house after paramedics arrived, and witnessed the scene unfold.

'They were pumping on his chest,' Thomas said. 'When I saw them inserting the breathing tube, you know that's bad. He was foaming at the mouth.'

He says he does not feel sorry for his sister's arrest, if the charges are true.

'Family or not she deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent,' he said. 'People argue, they fight, but this is unacceptable, intolerable for you to kill a 4-year-old. A sister or not, she has to be held accountable.'

Coombs' brother says he feels no sympathy for his sister if the accusations are true

Thomas says he had no idea about the abuse or else he would have alerted police himself.

However, he says that the Administration for Children's Services had stopped by the apartment several times before Zamair's death.

Sources tell the Daily News that ACS investigated a pair of unfounded allegations in 2015. The first was for failure to provide medical care, and the second - three months later - for inadequate supervision.

Coombs was also involved in three domestic incidents in 2002, 2006 and 2011. It's unclear what those domestic incidents involved, but neighbors said that Coombs and her boyfriend argued a lot.

In fact, police were called to the residence just the night before for a domestic dispute between Coombs and Richardson.

'They had a lot of issues. It was regular. She'd be cursing, saying 'F--k you,'' Moore said.

Coombs three other children - a 9-year-old, a one-year-old and a one-month-old - are now in the care of child services.
Margaret Mary Lore, 17, (pictured) died after she plunged to her death from a cliff

A 17-year-old girl has died after she plunged to her death from a cliff as friends watched on in horror.

Margaret Mary Lore, known as 'Maggie', and a group of friends walked up the cliff in Blackmans Bay, south of Hobart, after leaving a party on Saturday night.

The teenage girl, from Richmond, fell about 15 metres from the cliff near Blowhole Road after she slipped shortly before midnight.

She was unable to be revived.

Tasmania Police Inspector David Wiss described the incident as a 'tragic accident'.

'Some of her companions, it appeared, climbed over the fence,' Inspector Wiss said.

'She followed, lost her footing, and that's where the tragedy occurred.

'This is a mistake of youth. It's a terrible tragedy.'

The teenager, from Richmond, fell about 15 metres from the cliff in Blackmans Bay (pictured)

The teenage girl, from Richmond, fell about 15 metres from the cliff after leaving a party

Tributes have started flowing on social media for the young woman, with friends remembering a 'beautiful soul' who was 'always up for an adventure'.

'I appreciate the good times which we had together, I'm so thankful that I was able to spend your last day with you,' one friend wrote.

'You impacted so many people's lives for the good when you were with us. You're probably already having a blast up there in heaven, I LOVE YOU! And we will meet again one day.

'Fly high, heaven has just gained another beautiful angel.'

Another friend said: 'Darling, darling girl I love you so much you are an absolute beauty and I will truly miss you with all my heart fly high angel.'

Police say Maggie and some of her friends had gone to the area from a nearby party, with a number of revellers witnessing her fall.

The teenager has been remembered as a 'beautiful soul' who was 'always up for adventures'
Miss Colombia showed there no hard feelings after she hugged Steve Harvey, just over a year after his infamous gaffe when he incorrectly announced the winner of the Miss Universe 2015 pageant.

Ariadna Gutierrez, Miss Colombia 2015, was left in floods of tears after Harvey crowned her as Miss Universe - only to crown another contestant Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the winner moments later.

The excruciating moment was matched by millions and sparked an angry backlash against the host who swiftly took to Twitter to apologize.

But it appears that Harvey has now put all that behind him.

Miss Colombia showed there no hard feelings after she hugged Steve Harvey (left and right) during the dress rehearsals for the 65th Miss Universe, just over a year after his infamous gaffe

During the dress rehearsals for the 65th Miss Universe which will air live on ABS-CBN tomorrow, he shared a hug with the new Miss Universe Colombia 2016, Andrea Tovar.

'Steve, no more mistakes,' Tovar joked after their embrace at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday, ABS reports.

Harvey has described the moment he announced the wrong winner in December 2015, as 'four minutes of pure hell.'

Gutierrez was still blowing kisses and waving to her adoring fans when Harvey, who realized his terrible error, was forced to break the news.

'Folks, I have to apologize,' he told the crowd, the shame already evident on his face, 'The first runner-up is Colombia.

Miss Philippines stared wide-eyed at the audience, her lip quivering as Miss USA whispered into her ear and she realized what exactly those words meant.

Ariadna Gutierrez, Miss Colombia 2015, was left in floods of tears after Harvey crowned her as Miss Universe - only to crown another contestant Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the winner moments later

The crowd, and audience viewing the event on TV, watched in heartbreak and horror as the crown had to be removed from Gutierrez and placed on Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's head

'Miss Universe 2015,' Harvey then dramatically clarified, 'Is Miss Philippines.'

The crowd, and audience viewing the event on TV, watched in heartbreak and horror as the crown had to be removed from Gutierrez and placed on Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's head.

Harvey immediately tweeted after the show, spelling both women's countries wrong as he tweeted: 'I want to apologize emphatically to Miss Philippians and Miss Colombia.

He then deleted the tweet and re-wrote it, saying he felt terrible and apologized 'wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines' for his 'huge mistake'. 'Secondly, I'd like to apologize to the viewers at that I disappointed as well,' he wrote in a separate tweet. 'Again it was an honest mistake.'

'This was a terribly honest human mistake and I am so regretful.'

'I don't want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants. They were all amazing,' he continued to tweet, before once again 'emphatically' apologizing to Gutierrez and Wurtzbach.

Harvey, who was hugely apologetic, held up the card revealing the correct winners

Social media exploded with criticism for Harvey over the incident.

Even fellow celebrities took aim at the host's mistake.

Just a few weeks later, Jamie Foxx pretended to announce the wrong movie at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards in January 2016.

The 48-year-old jokingly named Straight Outta Compton as the winner for the category, Best Original Score for a motion picture, while presenting at the awards show on Sunday in Beverly Hills.

Before opening the envelope, the actor said: 'And the winner is...Straight Outta Compton,' even though the the film was not nominated.

His co-host and the audience burst out laughing at the nod to Harvey's infamous gaffe.

The 65th Miss Universe, presented by Harvey and model Ashley Graham, will air live tomorrow.
Katie Peralta is pictured with her husband Richard, who killed her in a murder-suicide

A Utah father grieving his daughters tragic murder at the hands of a violent husband is speaking up about the importance of recognizing warning signs of domestic violence.

Katie Peralta was 23 when, on December 29, her husband Richard Peralta shot her dead in the parking lot of her job in Salt Lake City, then killed himself, leaving their 15-month-old son orphaned.

Now, her father Carl Calaway reveals that she'd resolved to divorce her husband, 25, just weeks before the murder-suicide.

'Katie did share some things with us six weeks ago, but they still weren't [obvious signs],' Calaway told KSL in an emotional interview on Friday.

'I always believed, though, very strongly in staying out of marriage issues,' the father said.

Carl Calaway is seen giving an emotional interview about his daughter's death on Friday. Katie Peralta was 23 when she was fatally shot by her husband, 25-year-old Richard Peralta

Katie and Richard Peralta were married in 2011. Mr Peralta served in the US Navy

'I always believed, though, very strongly in staying out of marriage issues,' the father said.

Katie and Richard Peralta met in 2009 and were married in 2011, according to Gephardt Daily. Their son was born in the fall of 2015.

Calaway reveals that things were less than happy in the marriage, however.

Mr Peralta liked 'control' and wanted 'everything in his name,' Calaway's daughter divulged to him.

The father viewed his son-in-law, a native of Newark, New Jersey who served in the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school, as distant and controlling.

Late last year, Mrs Peralta resolved to divorce her husband and raise their son on her own, Calaway says. Court records show no formal divorce proceedings were filed.

'When she made up her mind [about the divorce], boy, she actually told us some things that concerned us, but we never pictured physical abuse,' says Calaway.

Whether there was physical abuse before December 29 is unknown.

But on that day, just a few days after the couple celebrated Christmas with their young son, Mr Peralta shot his wife multiple times in the parking lot of the University of Utah's ARUP Laboratories.

She died on the scene. He then shot himself and died soon after.

Police investigators gather in a parking lot outside of the University of Utah following the shooting of Mrs Peralta on December 29

The bereaved father believes that the murder, just days after Christmas, wasn't spontaneous, but planned and a symptom of the twisted relationship.

Still, Calaway says his goal in speaking out isn't to smear Mr Peralta's memory, but rather to warn others.

'When there is something going on people really do need to pay more attention, because I ask every day if there was something missing,' he says.

Calaway says that his orphaned grandson is his inspiration for wanting to help others.

'This little boy, every day, he waits for his mom to come home.'
President Donald Trump's (above) executive orders on refugees was wholeheartedly endorsed Sunday by the unions representing border patrol officers and immigration and customs officials.

President Donald Trump's executive orders on refugees was wholeheartedly endorsed Sunday by the unions representing border patrol officers and immigration and customs officials.

The National Border Patrol Council released a statement on its website Sunday praising the president's policies as 'swift and decisive action' that 'will make America safer and more prosperous.'

The statement, which was written on behalf of union members employed with the Border Patrol and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says that morale among officers and agents has lifted since Trump's three executive orders were signed in his first eight days in office.

'Morale amongst our agents and officers has increased exponentially since the signing of the orders,' the statement read.

'The men and women of ICE and Border Patrol will work tirelessly to keep criminals, terrorists, and public safety threats out of this country, which remains the number one target in the world  and President Trump's actions now empower us to fulfill this life saving mission, and it will indeed save thousands of lives and billions of dollars.'

Trump on Wednesday signed two executive orders that were aimed at beginning the process of constructing a wall along the border with Mexico and denying federal funding to so-called 'sanctuary cities' that declined to help the government prosecute undocumented aliens, according to ABC News.

The most controversial executive order signed by the president on Friday indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the US and suspended refugee admissions for 120 days.

The order also singled out citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, who are barred from entering the US for a period of 90 days, according to The New York Times.

Thousands of protesters (above) converged on Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday to condemn President Trump's travel restrictions as attorneys filed court papers on behalf of those who were detained at the airport

But the order appears to trigger widespread confusion among government agencies who began detaining green card holders and permanent residents from these countries even though they have been living here for years.

The detentions and deportations of a number of immigrants ignited anger and protests at airports and cities across the country over the weekend.

The traditionally apolitical NBPC took the unprecedented step of endorsing Trump for president during the campaign, according to The Washington Times.

That decision, however, was made by the union's leadership board that is comprised of 11 members. The union as a whole represents 16,500 agents, according to The Los Angeles Times.

'Morale amongst our agents and officers has increased exponentially since the signing of the orders,' the statement from the National Border Patrol Council read on Sunday. Above an agent patrols the border fence that divides the US and Mexico in the town of Nogales, Arizona

Trump issued his most substantial defense of his 'extreme vetting' executive order on Sunday afternoon, saying in a statement from the White House that he's not banning Muslims from entering the US  and laying much of the grief at former president Barack Obama's feet.

'My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months,' Trump said of his own order, which is slated to expire in 90 days.

And he said that the seven nations targeted by his executive order 'are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror.'
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh has denied that government owns the large part of the shares of the leading car manufacturers in the Islamic Republic.

Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said that the automotive sector is not a state-run industry in Iran and the government owns only 20 percent of the stocks of the Iranian carmakers, the Fars News Agency reported.

The minister further added that the government has 14.5 percent of the shares of Iran Khodro and 17.5 percent of the stocks of SAIPA.

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Iranian carmakers manufactured more than 946,000 vehicles over the first nine months of the current fiscal year (starting March 20, 2016), indicating a 38.7 percent growth year-on-year.

In the meantime, multinational companies have demonstrated a surge in interest in investment in Irans car sector following the implementation of the nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the world major powers in January 2016.
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It might just be one of India's best-kept secrets - a railway which winds its way 100 miles through the Himalayas and costs less than a second class British stamp.

The Kangra Valley Railway whisks passengers - albeit very slowly - from Pathankot in the north Indian state of Punjab, to Joginder Nagar in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

At a cost of only 35 rupees, equivalent to around 41p, the old-fashioned train rarely ferries tourists, despite boasting breathtaking views over the Dhauladhar mountain ranges for the whole duration.

The Kangra Valley Railway winds its way 100 miles through the Himalayas over lofty bridges from Pathankot in the north Indian state of Punjab, to Himachal Pradesh, pictured

The train - which reaches heights of nearly 4,000ft, and makes 33 scheduled stops - crosses a staggering 950 ornate bridges along its way.

The Kangra Valley route is hardly one you'd opt for if you're in a hurry, taking a total of around ten hours from start to finish. Driving the same journey takes under four hours.

And it's so little-known as far as tourists are concerned that it only has seven reviews on Trip Advisor spanning the last eight years.

One reads: 'This is one of the prettiest train rides you can ever take [...] catering to real people - housewives, farmers, students, tradesmen, shepherds, business people.

'It's not terribly clean, but who cares? Just stick your head out of the window and enjoy!'

Another, written just last month, states: 'This train ride would have never happened if not a friend of mine told me. It's the best way to explore a wonderful landscape.'

At a cost of only 35 rupees, equivalent to around 41p, the old-fashioned train rarely ferries tourists, despite boasting breathtaking views over the Dhauladhar mountain ranges, pictured, for the whole duration

The very definition of the 'scenic route', it takes a total of around ten hours from start to finish (driving takes less than four) and transports mostly locals, pictured here waiting at one of its 33 stops

Commissioned in 1929, the Kangra Valley railway is one of India's only five 'toy trains', otherwise known as narrow-gauge mountain railways. Better known is the KalkaShimla line, pictured, which also runs through the Himalayan foothills

According to Telegraph reporter Stephen McClarence, who recently explored the route, you can't buy tickets ahead of time - so getting a decent seat is a bit of a gamble.

It's charm, however, more than make up for this.

'Every few stations, men climb on with trays of snacks,' he describes. 'Chai-wallahs with great chrome teapots pass cups of tea through the windows. After a couple of hours, the uplands open out: dense forests, broad rivers, deep gorges, plateaux with grazing cattle.'

Commissioned in 1929, the Kangra Valley railway is one of India's only five 'toy trains', otherwise known as narrow-gauge mountain railways.

Better known is the KalkaShimla line, which also runs through the Himalayan foothills but attracts considerably more tourists.
This bizarre picture was taken while Boris Johnson was on a campaign trip to support council candidates in Cheltenham

Another day, another wacky snap of our irrepressible Foreign Secretary  this time standing in a bath.

This bizarre picture was taken while Boris Johnson was on a campaign trip to support council candidates in Cheltenham.

On his travels he popped into an interiors shop where, staff said, he decided to test the strength of a bath by climbing into it.

Boris sources tell me that hes not actually in the market for a new bathroom suite, but was simply curious about the baths resilience.

Hes not the first senior Tory to enjoy spending time in the bath, as Winston Churchill  who Boris wrote a biography of  was famous for dictating his speeches while enjoying a morning soak.

Unlike Sir Winston, thank goodness, Boris kept his clothes on!

No doubt keen to leave Notting Hill as soon as possible after stitching up his friend and near neighbour David Cameron over Brexit, Tory MP Michael Gove will be relieved his 1.4 million three-bedroom semi, on the market since October, is at last under offer.

Brexiteer Gove has seen his popularity plummet in the leafy Remainian area and he has apparently even been banned from his local cafe. Hes not invited to so many parties, says one local.

A comical mix-up almost led to the British media pack missing Theresas Mays press conference with President Trump last week.

The US Secret Service initially refused reporters security clearance because they didnt understand the format their birth dates were written in.

A White House press officer I gently teased fumed: Why is that funny? One person put their birthday as 01/08/1986, why would we be expected to know thats August 1?

Yanks, of course, put the month first.
The Bachelor's Kiki Morris has 'moved in' with her boyfriend Jeremy Banks on Saturday after revealing their relationship last October.

But that doesn't mean hopes the 29-year-old will appear on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! have been dashed.

The couple announced their move-in in an Instagram snap, before the blonde beauty made it appear increasingly likely she'll be travelling soon, after implying she was going on a vacation.

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Moved in! The Bachelor's Kiki Morris moved in with her boyfriend Jeremy Banks on Saturday, before fueling rumours she'll appear on I'm A Celebrity...Get Met Out Of Here!

Kiki and her short-term beau have become known for moving fast, previously being spotted packing on the PDA just days after announcing their relationship.

Saturday's move announcement comes less than three months after that now infamous steamy beach trip.

In the image on Jeremy's account, the buff brunette flaunted his pearly whites with a gleeful smile, as his reality-star girlfriend wrapped her arms around him.

The doting couple were both decked-out in all white, with the blonde beauty exposing generous cleavage in a skimpy bikini.

That was quick! The 29-year-old and her short-term beau have become known for moving fast, previously being spotted packing on the PDA just days after announcing their relationship in November

Hunky Jeremy left several of his buttons undone to flaunt his tanned, hairless chest.

His doubly tanned accomplish were her luscious blonde locks over her bust, giving fans a good look of her long fake nails and near-impossibly plump lips.

'She's moved on in.' The caption read, with Jeremy adding a door-key emoticon.

While the post left his Instagram fans heaping on their best wishes in the comments, a post on Kiki's account fueled speculation she may be about to compete in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

Hint? Later, post on Kiki's account fueled speculation she may be about to compete in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! when she captioned an image: 'Definitely In need of a vacation after packing all week!'

A fairly typical bikini picture that flaunted the star's ample assets was captioned with what appeared to be a big hint that she'll fly to Africa.

'Definitely In need of a vacation after packing all week!' She wrote.

The image - uploaded early Saturday morning - is still her most recent, and would seemingly give her time to make it to set before the live show airs Sunday.

This comes after Kiki shared what appeared to be another hint earlier this month.

Sharing an Instagram image adorned in a jungle-print bikini, the beauty captioned the post 'Welcome to the Jungle.'

More clues? This comes Kiki shared what appeared to be another hint earlier this month. Sharing an Instagram image adorned in a jungle-print bikini, the beauty captioned the post 'Welcome to the Jungle'

The popular Channel Ten series has been providing clues in recent weeks for the potential contestant, which Kiki may indeed fit.

One clue mentioned a 'blonde firecracker' reality star would be entering the jungle, who would be 'sure to fire up the camp.'

If Kiki did indeed leave for Africa Saturday, she'd be set for a potential three-months apart from her new beau.

The third season of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! will begin airing on Sunday January 29 from 7pm.
She's got three boys and one little girl.

And at the weekend, Rebecca Judd shared an adorable image of her lookalike daughter, Billie, two, holding her toy phone and a doll.

Taking to Instagram, 34-year-old Rebecca gushed about Billie, writing in part of her post: 'Little girls rule!'

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'Little girls rule': At the weekend, Rebecca Judd shared an adorable image of her lookalike daughter, Billie, two, holding her toy phone and a doll, before gushing about her

'This chick cracks me up,' Rebecca captioned part of her shot.

'She tells me 10 times a day "how lucky you got one girl mama"... she is so right. Little girls rule,' she added.

In the snap, Billie wears a blue dress with beads around her neck and appears to be trying to take a picture of her doll with a toy phone.

Doting: Rebecca has four children

Celebrations: The Postcards presenter has just celebrated her 34th birthday and shared a shot of herself on Instagram holding an enormous bunch of flowers she had received

Rebecca often shares cute snaps of her family - including sons Oscar, five, and twins Tom and Darcy, four months - who she shares with her retired AFL star husband, Chris Judd.

The Postcards presenter has just celebrated her 34th birthday and shared a shot of herself on Instagram holding an enormous bunch of flowers she had received.

'Thanks for the bday (sic) love peeps. 21 feels amazing!,' she joked.

Just last week, Rebecca debuted on radio, talking on KIIS' 3-4pm show with Yumi Stynes and Katie 'Monty' Diamond.

Family: Rebecca often shares cute snaps of her family - including sons Oscar, five, and twins Tom and Darcy, four months (seen)- who she shares with her retired AFL star husband, Chris Judd

In a statement, the TV presenter and blogger said how 'excited' she was for her new role.

'This will be my first foray into radio, I havent done anything like this before,' Rebecca said.

'I have the pleasure of being able to speak to so many different women through Rebecca Judd Loves so its going to be great to be able to engage with them alongside Monty and Yumi on so many topics each week,' she said, referring to her blog.

Two weeks ago, busy Bec celebrated her first day back on her other job as weather presenter for Channel Nine's The Today Show, marking the occasion with a selfie.

She captioned the image: 'First day back at work for 2017. Nothing but @kloraneau dry shampoo holding those waves in.'

Rebecca's fans will be interested in seeing how the glamour will cope with the greatly increased workload, after taking time off work since the birth of her twin boys Tom and Darcy in September.

Last year, the beauty admitted she had to employ the use of a part-time Nanny to cope with the workload.

In December, the young-mum even took a nanny on their family holiday to Noosa to help out.
It wasn't long ago that she had her hair cut into a blonde bobbed hairstyle.

But Katie Piper has rung the changes again, stepping out with a new purple hairdo as she hit 100 Wardour Street in London's Soho on Saturday night.

The 33-year-old activist showed off her lilac locks at a party to celebrate the success of her latest book: Confidence The Secret.

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Lilac locks: Katie Piper stepped out with a brand new hairstyle on Saturday night as she celebrated the success of her latest book at London's 100 Wardour Street in Soho

The star sported smoky eye-shadow and glossy lipstick with her new 'do while celebrating with her husband Richard Sutton.

She looked casual in a biscuit-coloured tight top, jeans and over-the-knee lace up boots which added a touch of glamour to the ensemble.

A black leather jacket and matching boxy clutch bag added to the look.

Low key: She looked casual in a biscuit-coloured tight top, jeans and over-the-knee lace up boots which added a touch of glamour to the ensemble

These boots are made for walking: The activist and model sported over-the-knee lace up boots for a touch of glamour

Clearly excited about her new hairstyle, she posted several videos and pictures on her Instagram account with one caption reading: 'Might as well, had every other colour!'

And in another snap showing herself and Richard cuddling up, she wrote: 'I'm sure he really loves me- he agreed to match his top to my new hair!'

The couple's outing came just a few days after they attended the National Television Awards at London's O2 Arena where Katie wore her hair in its more familiar blonde style.

The bright stuff: Katie's new style gives her a more eclectic look

He matched his shirt! Katie joked that her husband must love her as he wore a shirt to match her new hair colour

The star has written her latest book from personal experience - she suffered horrific and life-changing burns at the hands of her convicted ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch.

Daniel had organised an assailant - Stefan Sylvestre - to throw sulphuric acid in her face after a falling out in March 2008.

And she credited her husband with helping her feel more confidence after the attack.

'I always talk about my husband giving me confidence and it wasn't that I needed a man to feel good about myself,' she explained during an appearance on Loose Women last year. 'I always see men as a luxury not a necessity.

'I was confident without him but he enhanced my life and gave me certainty and stability.'
She's recently admitted she was too clumsy and daggy to be a called a 'hot beach babe'.

But that has not stopped Pia Miller flaunting her bikini body at the beach.

In a new Instagram post, the 33-year-old posed sitting cross-legged on the rocks of the northern end of Bondi Beach.

Beach babe: Pia Miller has flaunted her bikini body at the north rocks of Bondi Beach

The Home and Away actress looked content and showed off her trademark dimples in the photo.

She sported a red two piece bikini bandeau style with a V-shape detailing in the centre of the top by Coco Jane Swimwear.

Pia kept her look simple and natural with minimal makeup, while her beach-ready hair brunette locks swayed in the summer breeze.

Red hot: The mother-of-two sported a red two piece bikini showing off her toned figure

The buxom brunette said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that she regularly keeps fit and eats healthy, no doubt key attitudes for getting her bikini body.

Unlike her sultry posts, the mother-of-two said her family and friends know her for being clumsy and having a goofy laugh.

'I am the one that spills things and I say the wrong thing more often than not. And I have a really weird laugh,' she said.

Statuesque: The Chilean-born beauty said her family and friends know her for being clumsy and having a goofy laugh

'I would say that I am a bit goofy, not in a negative way, but I'm a bit of a dag,' she added.

But the Chilean-born beauty is it quite a fan of the beach, sharing plenty of snaps on her Instagram off her enviable figure.

Most recently she posted photos of herself at the beach during a luxury trip to Bali with her two sons Lennox, 10, and Isaiah, 13, and her hunky producer boyfriend Tyson Mullane.
While the ten celebrities taking part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! were landing in the South African jungle, Vince Colosimo was facing court.

The actor fronted up at a Melbourne court last Friday and pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a small amount of methamphetamine.

It was claimed the 50-year-old was pulled from the cast of the reality TV series after being arrested for drug possession - a claim Network Ten has refused to comment on directly.

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A different kind of jungle: While the ten celebrities taking part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! were landing in the South Arfrican jungle, Vince Colosimo was facing court

Vince was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction and fined $1000.

According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the actor may be wondering, 'What if' after his reported axing.

The paper alleges the Wog Boy star was seen as, 'a big name and a good get for the show' and had even filmed promos for the reality series before Christmas.

Vince was arrested in September last year after police found the small bag of methamphetamine on him.

New Season! The third season will debut on January 29, with the top-secret celebrity contestants yet to be revealed by Network Ten

We're here! The crew and co-hosts of I'm A Celebrity, including Bondi Vet's Dr Chris Brown (right) and comedian Julia Morris (left), have arrived in South Africa

Vince called his drug arrest devastating for his family and a 'wake up call'.

'I have two beautiful children, whom I love more than anything in the world, and I want to be a good role model to them,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

'They, and acting, are my two biggest loves. I want to settle the matter (in court) as soon as possible.

Pleading: The actor front up at a Melbourne court last Friday and plead guilty to a charge of possessing a small amount of methamphetamine

The AFI winner's acting resume has been a tad sparse in recent years however he's signed on to star in TV series The Warriors this year.

Meanwhile the I'm A Celebrity crew and co-hosts, Bondi Vet's Dr Chris Brown and comedian Julia Morris, have arrived in South Africa.

The third season will debut on January 29 on Network Ten.
It's been announced that Steve Price and Lisa Curry will be braving the South African jungle when I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here...kicks off on Sunday night.

But now the Aussie reality show will be getting a hint of Hollywood glamour as American Tom Arnold is likely to join the cast if his social media is any indication.

The 57-year-old posted two major hints, one to Twitter last week and another to Instagram a week ago.

He's not outta here: Tom Arnold is likely to join the cast if his social media is any indication. The 57-year-old posted two major hints, one to Twitter last week and another to Instagram

Is this him? Tom may be the 'sitcom star' slated to join the show, after rumors abounded that actor Charlie Sheen was a possibility

First, the actor posted an Instagram video that showed him playfully packing up a suitcase with his son and his wife wishing him a 'good trip'.

Three days later, he shared a Tweet which heavily implied he'd landed in Africa and was already struggling with the heat.

Hint: Tom shared a Tweet which heavily implied he'd landed in Africa and was already struggling with the heat

'When we were bailing hay back in Iowa we used to complain about it being "Africa Hot". Turns out we were p*****s,' he Tweeted on Wednesday.

Tom may be the 'sitcom star' slated to join the show, after rumors abounded that actor Charlie Sheen was a possibility.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Network Ten for comment.

If Tom's in, he's joining shock jock Steve Price, 62, who was confirmed on Sunday.

From Hollywood to Africa: Tom is now certainly considered a contender for the show

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the personality appeared keen to stir controversy.

'Being in a confined environment with nine people you probably don't know for up to six weeks, you've got to make it interesting, not just for the viewer, but for you in there,' the talkback host said.

Three-time Olympian Lisa Curry was announced as the first celebrity to join hosts Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown in Africa.

She could be in for a bumpy ride, admitting to The Daily Telegraph: 'I am a pussy cat. I am a crybaby. I am a bit of a walkover sometimes.'
They have just returned from an idyllic winter getaway in the Dubai and the UAE.

But Gary 'Gaz' Beadle and his stunning girlfriend Emma McVey looked happy to be back in the UK on Saturday, as they headed on another romantic date in Manchester.

The brunette beauty opted for a plunging black jumpsuit which gave a glimpse of her bust and golden tan, as she headed to the swanky Russo Restaurant hand-in-hand with her man, 29.

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No holiday blues: Gary 'Gaz' Beadle and his girlfriend Emma McVey looked happy to be back in the UK after their Dubai trip Saturday, as they headed on another romantic date in Manchester

The model certainly upped the glamour for their intimate night out in a sexy but chic jumpsuit, which cut daringly to her navel to flash her delicate cleavage to all.

Cinching in at her petite waist with a delicate ribbon tie, the black all-in-one then loosely skimmed her slender pins to the ankle - elongating her already leggy frame.

Emma effortlessly tied her look together with a pair of pointed court shoes and a matching nude bag on a gold chain, to keep the outfit co-ordinated and classic.

Bold and beautiful: The model certainly upped the glamour for their intimate night out in a sexy but chic jumpsuit, which cut daringly to her navel to flash her delicate cleavage to all

Pulling her tresses into a tight ponytail, the beauty showcased her naturally striking features, which she accentuated with a smoky eye and a sweeping of highlighter.

Meanwhile her boyfriend Gaz kept things more casual for their dinner in ripped jeans and a Kenzo sweater - perhaps to keep all attention on his gorgeous girl.

Adding a pair of bright white trainers, the Geordie Shore star looked comfortable as he led Emma to the venue by the hand.

Low-key: Meanwhile her boyfriend Gaz kept things more casual for their dinner in ripped jeans and a Kenzo sweater - perhaps to keep all attention on his gorgeous girl

The pair looked more loved-up than ever as they happily chatted on their way to the Italian eatery, after returning from their sun-soaked break in Dubai and the UAE.

Showing off her figure in an array of skimpy bikinis, Emma had been quick to share a number of selfies of the pair with her followers - proving they were still going strong after four months.

The couple's romantic holiday even came after Gaz admitted he'd happily settle down with Emma.

Getaway: The pair looked more loved-up than ever as they happily chatted on their way to the Italian eatery, after returning from their sun-soaked break in Dubai and the UAE (above)

He made the revelation during a series of drunken games with his co-stars for a Facebook Live chat with The Sun.

During a round of infamous party game Snog, Marry Avoid, Gaz surprised everyone by revealing he'd marry Emma, snog ex Charlotte Crosby and avoid another ex Lillie Lexie Gregg.

The couple have been inseperable ever since they first got together back in August.

Emma was previously in a relationship with TOWIE hunk Mario Falcone, while Gaz is known as the lothario of Geordie Shore - having bragged in the past of bedding thousands of women.

However his loved-up displays follow the final ending of his five year on/off romance with fellow MTV star Charlotte Crosby.

The pair's romance came to an end after the beauty, 26, suffered an ectopic pregnancy while Gaz was away filming Ex On The Beach - where it then emerged he had been unfaithful to her.
She travels to some of the most pristine beaches around the world.

And while in Fiji, Australian bikini blogger Natasha Oakley posted yet another shot of herself in a tiny two piece, showing off her incredible figure.

The 25-year-old blonde beauty too to Instagram to show off her shapely derriere and toned legs in a black costume, captioning one image: 'All about peace.'

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If you've got it! While in Fiji, Australian bikini blogger Natasha Oakley posted yet another shot of herself in a tiny two piece, showing off her incredible figure

Looking tanned, the beauty has her back to the camera and her long locks out and over her shoulders, in beachy waves.

Appearing to be makeup free, she shuts her eyes in the snap as she relaxes in the tropical paradise.

She also shared to Instagram a snap of herself in a plunging Seafolly play suit, writing: 'So happy to have beautiful Fiji as my office this week. Wearing @seafollyaustralia to work today.'

Life's a beach! She also shared to Instagram a snap of herself in a plunging Seafolly play suit

Beach babes: Natasha - who hails from Sydney's eastern beaches - is in Fiji with her best friend and business co-founder Devin Brugman

Natasha - who hails from Sydney's eastern beaches - is in Fiji with her best friend and business co-founder Devin Brugman.

Natasha recently shocked fans by revealing that she airbrushes her social media snaps, most of which picture the bronzed beach-bunny posing provocatively in barely-there swimwear.

'I think that everyone is doing that (retouching) because of what they see in the media,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

'Everyone is doing that': Natasha recently shocked fans by revealing that she airbrushes her social media snaps

'I think with the general population are just trying to follow exactly what they see with pictures being edited'.

She also admitted that she feels pressure to look good all the time but is adamant her aim to look good is more for herself than anyone else.

'I feel it - I'm a human and a natural curvy woman!'
Tehran, Iran, January 29

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Iran Khodro and PSA Peugeot have accomplished one fifth a 2016 deal by so far investing 100 million euros in a joint company in Iran, Iran Khodro CEO Hashem Yekke Zare said.

Each of the two companies has brought 50 million euros to launch the factory whose first product, Peugeot 2008 will be out by March, he told Fars news agency January 28.

The two companies from Iran and France signed a contract June 21 to launch a joint company in Iran to produce Peugeot cars.

Irans share of the parts that will be used will start at 40 percent, to grow to 70 or 80 percent in two years, Zare said during the signing ceremony back then.

"We will start the production with Peugeot 2008 and then move on to models 301 and 208," he said.
On Friday they were spotted at a Sydney airport looking tense and glum.

However it appears that Adriano Zumbo and his My Kitchen Rules girlfriend, Nelly Riggio, regained their fantastic moods by Saturday.

The loved up pair were all smiles as they went out for coffee in Melbourne, with Nelly donning a very risque leather skirt, an interesting choice for a hot day.

Hot date: The loved up pair were all smiles as they went out for coffee in Melbourne, with Nelly donning a very risque leather skirt, an interesting choice for a hot day

Legs eleven: With her hair up high in a neat bun, Nelly showed off her tanned legs in the skin tight leather mini, which was quite short, ending high up her shapely thighs

With her hair up high in a neat bun, Nelly showed off her tanned legs in the skin tight leather mini, which was quite short, ending high up her shapely thighs.

The punk inspired skirt had the added interest of a pair of zippers across the front through what appeared to be patches of suede.

A skimpy white singlet top with thin straps that clung to the brunette's cleavage completed the simply, chic yet sexy look.

Nelly accessorised with a pair of strappy sandals, a multi colored clutch purse and a dainty necklace with a blue stone.

Love up: Both the 35-year-old chef and his 26-year-old girlfriend looked bronzed and glowing from their recent holiday to the Maldives and were very affectionate with each other

Her man Zumbo matched his girlfriend's casual vibe with a fitted black shirt that showed off his muscles and a pair of denim shorts.

Both the 35-year-old chef and his 26-year-old girlfriend looked bronzed and glowing from their recent holiday to the Maldives and were very affectionate with each other.

They've also spent a few lazy days on a Gold Coast beach recently, catching rays.

Nelly and Zumbo recently returned from Nambucca in NSW, where they enjoyed Australia Day celebrations.

New loves: Nelly's relationship with Adriano comes after she broke up with former flame JP Hulliet, who she appeared on MKR with as the show's 'lovebirds'

Nelly's relationship with Adriano comes after she broke up with former flame JP Hulliet, who she appeared on MKR with as the show's 'lovebirds.'

JP recently broke his silence, saying that he wished the pair well.

He took to Instagram to write, 'Just so everyone knows I'm happy and healthy and wish nothing but the best for everyone involved.'
The Beverly Hilton Hotel played host to a glittering Hollywood crowd for the Producers Guild Of America Awards on Saturday.

Thandie Newton was a sight to see on the red carpet, baring a bit of cleavage in a glistening minidress with flared, robe-like sleeves.

The 44-year-old's one of the stars of the HBO series Westworld, which is nominated for the Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television - Drama.

Glistening: Thandie Newton was a showstopper on the red carpet at The Beverly Hilton Hotel for the Producers Guild Of America Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night

Her hair had been slicked back severely at the front, and then allowed to fan out behind her head over her sleek collar.

Patterns in blue, orange, purple, green and yellow were spattered across the silver field of her dress, which tightened about her svelte waist.

A sash matching the dress stretched down nearly to knee level, and she completed the look with a pair of silver ankle-strap stilettos.

Winner-to-be?: The 44-year-old's one of the stars of the HBO series Westworld, which is nominated for the Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television - Drama

Created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, Westworld's based on the eponymous 1973 film written and directed by Michael Chrichton, of Jurassic Park fame.

Newton's character, Maeve Millay, is a madam who realises she's merely a robot attraction in a theme park based on the American Wild West.

The first series aired its premiere on HBO on October 2 and went on for a total of 10 episodes before finishing up on December 4.

Who's who: Newton's character on the programme, Maeve Millay, is a madam who realises she's merely a robot attraction in a theme park based on the American Wild West

For her performance, Newton's also got a nod for the Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series.

By being in the cast, she could also be among the winners for Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series.

That ceremony will be held on Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and could also win Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Drama Series.

A day later: For her performance, Newton's also got a nod for the Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series
He's known around the world for his role as Mike Dundee in the 1986 hit comedy Crocodile Dundee.

And actor Paul Hogan was at it again promoting Australia and what it can offer to the US market.

The 77-year-old Aussie icon walked the red carpet of the G'day USA event at the Governors Ballroom At Hollywood And Highland in Los Angeles.

Dapper: Australian actor Paul Hogan lead the red carpet promoting Australia and what it can offer to the US market at the G'day USA event in Los Angeles

He donned a velvet black suit matched with a black and silver tie, and flashed his trademark cheeky grin to the adoring fans and photographers.

Last year at the AACTA awards night in Sydney, the Australian film and TV community paid tribute Paul and his contribution to the local industry.

The Seven Network will also honor the screen legend with the upcoming TV miniseries Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story.

Trademark grin: The Australian film and TV community paid tribute Paul and his contribution to the local industry at the 2016 AACTA awards

Paul was joined at the event by renowned Australian chef Curtis Stone who also calls the US home.

The 41-year-old chef and restaurateur looked charming in his black suit and tie.

Curtis has found success in American market, as one of the Food Networks biggest stars hosting Iron Chef America and hosting Fox Network's version of Australian competitive cooking show My Kitchen Rules.

He also opened up two restaurants in California, one in Beverly Hills and the other in Los Angeles.

Charming: Renowned Australian chef Curtis Stone was also at the G'day USA event in Los Angeles

Suited up: House Husbands star Hugh Sheridan cut a handsome figure in his black suit and bow tie

Actor Hugh Sheridan was also present on the red carpet.

The Packed To The Rafter star cut a handsome figure in his black suit and bow tie, accessorised with white pocket square.

The 31-year-old actor will star in the fifth season of House Husbands.

Smoulder: Luke Hemsworth, the middle brother of Chris and Luke, smouldered on the red carpet in a dark grey textured suit and tie

Success: The 36-year-old actor stars on the hit HBO sci-fi, thriller series Westworld

Meanwhile Luke Hemsworth, the middle brother of Chris and Liam, smouldered on the red carpet.

Luke, 36, has recently found his own success on the hit HBO sci-fi, thriller series Westworld.

He donned in a dark grey textured suit and tie.
The musical La La Land is now firm favorite to win big at the Oscars next month after it was named best film of the year by the Producers Guild Of America on Saturday night.

The movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone already won the golden Globe for best musical or comedy and is nominated for a record-tying 14 Academy Awards.

But musician John Legends, who also stars in the movie and who serves as one of its executive producers, used the occasion to slam President Donald Trump for his executive order on immigration that's widely regarded as a ban on Muslims.

John Legend, star and executive producer of La La Land that won best film at the Producers Guild Of America Awards Saturday night, used the occasion to slam Trump for his 'Muslim ban'

During the evening awards show, Legend introduced a clip from the Damien Chazelle-directed feature a jazz musician who falls in love with an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.

'Los Angeles is the home of so many immigrants, so many creative people, so many dreamers, and those of us who work in this business have the privilege of shaping how the rest of the world perceives this country we love,' Legend told the star-studded audience.

'We are the voice, we are the face of America. Our America is big, it is free, and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions.'

Platform: Legend, who was accompanied by wife Chrissy Teigen, said urged others at the event to use their power and influence for good and to 'stand together for what is right'

He went on: 'Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump. I want to specifically tonight reject his vision and affirm that America has to be better than that.'

Legend, who is married to model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen, then urged others at the ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to use their influence to fight back against the ban on refugees and on immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries entering the United States.

'Theres a lot of money and power in this room and I hope you all will use it for something good. Lets all continue to stand up together for what is right,' Legend said.

Oscar fave: With wins at the PGAs and Golden Globes, La La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is now the hot favorite to win best picture at the Academy Awards next month

Earlier in the day, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences had issued a statement in response to reports that Iranian director Asghar Farhadi may not be able to attend the Academy Awards where he is nominated in the best foreign film category for The Salesman.

Iran is one of the seven countries singled out by Trump in his executive order.

'The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences,' a spokesperson for the organization stated.

'As supporters of filmmakers - and the human rights of all people - around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi......could be barred from entering the country because of ...religion or country of origin.'

On Saturday night, as protesters gathered at major airports across the U.S. and lawyers worked to obtain the release of 'dozens' of detained people, the American Civil Liberties Union won a stay on the ban after obtaining a hearing with a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York.

On a roll: The musical feature about a jazz musician who falls for an aspiring actress has a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations
After deleting all her Instagram posts and taking a hiatus on January 8, Lindsay Lohan returned to the platform with a bang on Friday.

She'd met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and seven-year-old Syrian girl blogger Bana al-Abed in Ankara that day, the Turkish presidency said on its website.

In the first of Lohan's new Instagram photos, taken at the presidential palace, the smiling actress is stood beside Erdogan, who's embracing Bana as his wife Emine poses at his other side.

Insta-famous: Lindsay Lohan instagrammed her visit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his wife and 7-year-old blogger Bana al-Abed on Friday, in what was the star's return to the platform after she deleted all her posts January 8

'What a dream it is for Mr. President Erdogan and The First Lady to invite me to their home. Their efforts in helping Syrian Refugees is truly inspiring,' she wrote in her caption.

She added: '#peace starts now @a_boynukalin @hilalkaplanogut @rterdogan please for peace @therealdonaldtrump Alaikum Salam' and ultimately closed out: '#cleanslate2017 #theworldisbiggerthan5'

That day, Bana shared a short video on Twitter, in which Lohan says: 'We want to send to all of the people in Syria and Aleppo suffering, and to all the refugees, we are here supporting you and you can hang on and be strong. Just like Bana has.'

US actress Lindsay Lohan, left, shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, and his wife during a visit at the presidential palace on Friday

On Saturday, Lohan followed up with a photo of her sat with a group including President Erdogan and his wife in the president's lavish 1,150-room complex on the outskirts of Ankara.

'This. Now. This moment. A moment in time. Is to forever exist. #peace #2017 #theworldisbiggerthan5 hashtag yourself to help the Turkish people and what they do everyday. #theyearoflindsaylohan #sevenwonders @rterdogan #lohanclub is a form of making others happy,' she captioned.

Lohan had previously expressed support for Turkey's efforts to host nearly three million Syrians fleeing their nation's five-year war, the State-run Anadolu news agency said.

The US actress gave light-blue badges to Erdogan and his wife, bearing a quote from the Turkish leader: 'World is bigger than five,' according to Anadolu.

'This': On Saturday, Lohan followed up with a photo of her sat with a group including President Erdogan and his wife in the president's lavish 1,150-room complex on the outskirts of Ankara

The quote is a reference to the UN Security Council's five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Bana came to international attention with her tweets giving a tragic account of the war in Syria's flashpoint city Aleppo, whose rebel areas fell back into government control last month.

She was evacuated from the besieged city to Turkey in December, and later that month she and her family were given the rare honor of being hosted by Erdogan at the presidential palace.

The Turkish President's wife Emine Erdogan, left, welcomes Lindsay Lohan, right, to the presidential palace in Ankara with a bouquet of flowers

Sharing the picture on her Twitter account, Bana wrote: 'Meeting with my friends, Emine and to support the people of Syria.'

Lohan, a former child star who appeared in hit films 'The Parent Trap,' 'Freaky Friday' and 'Mean Girls', has struggled with drug addiction and has had numerous run-ins with the law.

The troubled actress was sentenced in 2013 to 240 hours of community service for reckless driving and lying to police following a 2012 car accident in Santa Monica, California.
He played the super-heroic and extremely combat capable Neo in the Matrix films.

But that doesn't mean Keanu Reeves didn't need some extra pointers when he was training for his latest actioner John Wick: Chapter 2.

A featurette posted on Thursday gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the talented actor prepared for the immensely physical role.

A lot of work: A featurette posted on Thursday gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at how Keanu Reeves, 52, prepared for the immensely physical role of John Wick: Chapter 2

Over some action scenes from the film, Keanu, 52, speaks about how 'the tone of the action is such a great part of John Wick,' adding that the series contains 'longer takes, complexity, footwork,' than many other action movies.

'So as I put the suit back on, I went back into training,' he says, over footage of him practicing fighting two men using mixed martial arts.

The video then cuts to Chad Stahelski, 48, who directed both John Wick and now the sequel.

'Whatever it is, he embraces it wholeheartedly,' gushes Chad about his star, 'he just goes full throttle the whole way.'

Clearly excited: Over some action scenes from the film, Keanu, 52, speaks about how 'the tone of the action is such a great part of John Wick,' adding that the series contains 'longer takes, complexity, footwork,' than many other action movies

Tough stuff: 'So as I put the suit back on, I went back into training,' he says, over footage of him practicing fighting two men using mixed martial arts

A little of everything: Keanu then cuts back in with, 'cars, guns, knives, just basic stuff,' when describing the skills he had to learn

Keanu then cuts back in with, 'cars, guns, knives, just basic stuff,' when describing the skills he had to learn.

Some candid shots of him practicing tactical maneuvers at a firing range follows, as does a montage of practicing different martial arts.

Chad then reveals that the particular mix of fighting styles amounts to a new type called 'gun fu,' which is of course a portmanteau of 'gun' and 'kung fu.'

Confident: 'Whatever it is, he embraces it wholeheartedly,' gushes Chad about his star, 'he just goes full throttle the whole way'

Fire! Some candid shots of him practicing tactical maneuvers at a firing range follows, as does a montage of practicing different martial arts

Right turn! He also practiced precision driving skills

He then confirms that realism was very important to the production: 'we wanted the audience to watch our lead cast, who actually went through the training to do the action itself.'

Later, rapper Common also chimes in, as he plays what looks to be a rival in the upcoming sequel.

'The stunt team is built on mastery,' he says, before clarifying 'they want A plus level work,' from the performers.

John Wick: Episode 2 is set for a February 10th release.

Special sauce: Chad then reveals that the particular mix of fighting styles amounts to a new type called 'gun fu,' which is of course a portmanteau of 'gun' and 'kung fu'




She's miraculously bounced back to her pre-baby figure over the past few weeks.

And just six weeks after welcoming her second child, Teresa Palmer, 30, once again showcased her fabulous frame in a figure-hugging gown as she attended the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, California on Sunday.

Posing on the red carpet, the Hacksaw ridge star smouldered in her unusual dress, which featured black patch-work beading, flared sleeve detailing and a layered tulle fishtail skirt.

Yummy mummy! Six weeks after welcoming her second child, Teresa Palmer, 30, once again showcased her fabulous frame in a figure-hugging gown as she attended the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, California on Sunday

She completed her look with a simple pair of nude patent heeled sandals and a slick of dark burgundy lipstick.

It was a night of celebration for Teresa thanks to Hacksaw Ridge taking out the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures award.

Teresa recently praised the film industry for helping her to return to work just weeks after giving birth to her second child, Forest Sage.

Wow: The beauty looked incredible as she hit the red carpet upon arrival

Razzle dazzle! Posing on the red carpet, the Hacksaw ridge star smouldered in her unusual dress, which featured black patch-work beading, flared sleeve detailing and a layered tulle fishtail skirt

In her recently six-week postpartum vlog for Your Zen Mama, Teresa recounted her experiences at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this month.

'I was breastfeeding [Forest] in the interviews,' she explained, adding that everyone was 'so accommodating,' after being nervous to return to work so soon.

'He [Forest] came to every interview, I was breastfeeding in the interviews, even the video interviews.'

She has reason to smile! It was a night of celebration for Teresa thanks to Hacksaw Ridge taking out the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures award

Punchy in pink! She completed her look with a slick of dark burgundy lipstick

Poser: Teresa appeared to be in good spirits as she posed for photgraphers

She added: 'They [the industry] were just so accommodating. I couldn't believe it. It made it so easy and it really was a positive experience ... I had been really nervous.'

Teresa shares children Bodhi Rain, two, and Forest Sage, with husband Mark Webber.

She is also a step-mother to Mark's son Isaac, eight, from a previous relationship

New film: Teresa stars opposite Andrew Garfield in the Australian blockbuster Hacksaw Ridge
Suki Waterhouse showed that even models aren't immune to the perils of hat hair as she left London's The Dorchester with gal pal Lily Donaldson on Saturday night.

Sitting comfortably in the back of a taxi, Suki, 25,removed her peaked leather cap to reveal flattened, messy tresses.

The pretty London-born star's blonde fringe covered her eyes, while her spotless pale complexion emanated a glow underneath.

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Hat hair, don't care! Suki Waterhouse, 25 showed that even models aren't immune to the perils of hat hair as she left London's The Dorchester with gal pal Lily Donaldson on Saturday night

She left the five-star hotel wearing a zipped-up black bomber jacket, baggy black trousers and matching shoes.

The actress and model cut a relaxed figure as she sauntered down the front steps with her hands in her pockets and her head down.

Lily, 30, rocked a trendy black shearling coat and skintight black jeans which showcased her lithe limbs.

Low-key: Suki left the five-star hotel wearing a zipped-up black bomber jacket, baggy black trousers and matching shoes

Suki has recently been stateside working on modelling projects and her burgeoning film career.

Her latest film is art house flick Sound of Sun which features a cameo appearance from Hollywood heavyweight Sean Penn.

Eva Dolezalova's film, which appears to draw influence from Derek Jarman's work, is the first film project for Suki following her stint in the Jim Carey led, The Bad Batch (2016).

Laidback: The actress and model cut a relaxed figure as she sauntered down the front steps with her hands in her pockets and her head down

Multi-talented Suki also launched her own accessory brand Pop & Suki last autumn with best friend Poppy Jamie.

She told Vogue: 'We aimed to juxtapose functionality with femininitywe wanted elegant pieces that could withstand the wear and tear of busy lives.

'We were adamant that our range would be customizable so that everyone can stamp their own identity on their pieces', Poppy added.
They share a famously tumultuous relationship.

Yet Stephanie Pratt's feelings towards her brother Spencer and his beloved wife Heidi appear to have truly warmed as she was spotted on a giddy night out with the couple in London on Saturday night.

The 30-year-old reality star could not stop laughing during the plush night at The Dorchester Hotel, although her giddy antics culminated in an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction as she flashed her nude bra through her skimpy dress.

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Oops! Stephanie Pratt's feelings towards her brother Spencer and his beloved wife Heidi appear to have truly warmed as she was spotted on a giddy night out with the couple in London on Saturday night

Stephanie soared to fame when she entered The Hills as a secondary cast member, embroiled in storylines involving central characters Heidi and Spencer.

Initially starting as bosom buddies with the happy couple, their relationship soon descended into misery as a feud sprung - culminating in screaming rows between the trio and producers allegedly urging Spencer to punch his sister.

Now however the family appear to have built bridges, with the Made In Chelsea star joining the couple in the capital, shortly after their eviction from the Celebrity Big Brother house earlier in the week.

As the trio, who were joined by fellow CBB stars Ola and James Jordan, larked around outside the plush hotel Stephanie's lilac dress slipped to expose her lingerie.

Oh dear... The 30-year-old reality star's giddy antics culminated in an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction as she flashed her nude bra through her skimpy dress (pictured with James and Ola Jordan)

Lost love: Stephanie soared to fame when she entered The Hills as a secondary cast member, embroiled in storylines involving central characters Heidi and Spencer

The stunning blonde looked incredible in her thigh-skimming mini, which made the most of her endless legs, yet the plunging neckline seemed to cause her some gripe as she flashed her nude bra from beneath the gown.

Ensuring she kept out the blistering cold, she layered her outfit beneath a stunning faux fur coat which injected a touch of glamour into the ensemble.

Clearly having a wonderful time on the night on the town, Stephanie took to Twitter to keep her followers up to speed on the events of the evening.

Beaming beauty: Initially starting as bosom buddies with the happy couple, their relationship soon descended into misery as a feud sprung culminating in screaming rows between the pair and producers allegedly urging Spencer to punch his sister

Reaching out to her 924,000 fans, she penned: 'Spencer doesn't like my perfume whatevs bffs!!!!!!!... Thanks for dinner Spencer, Heidi, James and Ola, what a perfect night of laughter!!!...

'I could watch James and Spencer chat all day long- I AM HOWLING!!!! Omg #bestnightever... Don't u forget that 5th wheel!!! I am so excited for this debrief!!!'

Not content with being accompanied by such a glamorous dinner companion, Heidi also oozed sexy sophistication in a chic embellished mini skirt paired with a polo neck.

Troubled: Back in 2011, Spencer revealed the depths of his relationship with Stephanie in an interview with the Daily Beast, as he described an incident where he claimed The Hills producer Sara Mast encouraged him to become violent with his sister

Stunner: Not content with being accompanied by such a glamorous dinner companion, Heidi also oozed sexy sophistication in a chic embellished mini skirt paired with a polo neck

She wore her tresses in loose waves while also opting for heavy make-up to help enhance her dazzling, pretty features.

Back in 2011, Spencer revealed the depths of his relationship with Stephanie in an interview with the Daily Beast, as he described an incident where he claimed The Hills producer Sara Mast encouraged him to become violent with his sister.

The famed TV executive allegedly referenced the infamous Jersey Shore incident in which Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi was punched by a male stranger in a bar.

Hey there! It was clear to see all parties involved on the evening were in a playful mood

'Thats when I snapped,' Spencer told The Daily Beast. 'To the point when I said - and this is when the producers got scared of me...

'"You want me to punch my sister in the face? Are you trying to get me to kill you?" I didnt say, "Im killing you." If I did, MTV would have had me arrested.'

On a recent episode of E4's Virtually Famous, protective Stephanie appeared to clash with outspoken Vicky Pattison when she branded Heidi 'a moron'.

Glam: Ola and James Jordan looked typically glamorous for the night out

Meeting the pals: Spencer and Heidi were happy to pose with fans

Vicky's awkward outburst left Made In Chelsea's Stephanie visibly aghast and ultimately speechless, in a clip released to MailOnline.

'Isn't she just a bit of a moron?' asked Vicky, cringing as soon as another co-panellist interjected, 'Hang on, that's her family?'

'"What? They're not married are they?" she asked to which an open-mouthed Stephanie exclaimed: "Yeah... for, like, 10 years."'
She became a household name following hit series Homeland.

And Claire Danes showed off her star quality as she attended the opening of Shun Lee Cafe for the Chinese New Year in New York on Saturday.

The American actress, 39, worked vampy glamour in a floor-length black dress and a statement lip.

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Turning heads: Claire Danes showed off her star quality as she attended the opening of Shun Lee Cafe for the Chinese New Year in New York on Saturday

Showing off her tall toned physique the mother-of-one's strappy dress featured pretty semi-sheer panelled edging.

Flashing a hint of leg through the knee-high slit, she added a pair of black classic pumps to elongate her stature.

And keeping her ensemble simple, the blonde beeauty accessorised with a long woven chain, working a deep purple lip and neutral eye make-up.

Turning heads: The American actress, 39, worked vampy glamour in a floor-length black dress and a statement lip

The actress mingled with choreographer Justin Peck, before enjoying a spot of dinner with husband Hugh Dancy.

Claire married English Hannibal actor Hugh, 41, in 2009 in France, after they met on the set of flick Evening and began dating.

In 2012 the couple, who are said to reside in the trendy Greenwich Village district of New York, welcomed son Cyrus.

On Saturday Claire spoke to the Daily Mail's Weekend Magazine about the upcoming series of Homeland.

'The whole series takes place just after the new President has been elected in November, but before the Inauguration in January, she said.

Catching up: The Homeland star mingled with choreographer Justin Peck

Thats always quite an anxious time in America, especially this year when the election has been so bonkers. In our story the new President-Elect, Elizabeth Keane [played by House Of Cards actress Elizabeth Marvel], is a sort of a composite of various people who were in the running, with definitely a bit of Bernie Sanders in that shes very anti-Establishment.

She revealed that the men in her life help keep her grounded after a stressful day's filming, explaining: Its good to have Cyrus take me out of all that turmoil, whatever darkness Ive had during the day. And it works the other way too. Homeland is a wonderfully reassuring thing in our home life.

'Dont forget that Hugh and I are both freelance artists, which can be very stressful. So Homeland is nice for us to work around  it provides a kind of security to know that every year its going to be here.

Loved up: Claire married English Hannibal actor Hugh Dancy (right), 41, in 2009 in France, after they met on the set of flick Evening and began dating
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has criticized the US President Donald Trumps executive order restricting entry for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries.

Under Donald Trumps recent executive order, Syrian refugees are banned from entry until further notice.

In the meantime, nationals of six further countries, including Iran and Iraq, will be banned from entering the US for 90 days.

The entire US refugee admissions programme is suspended for 120 days, and a lower cap on numbers introduced.
She soared to success as the frontwoman of alternative rock band, Hole, in the eighties.

And Courtney Love stayed true to her gothic roots as she stepped out for the UTA Artist Space: Jake and Dinos Chapman Opening at UTA Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The 52-year-old musician looked sensational in a midriff-cinching dress, which she teamed with matching all-black essentials.

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Edgy: Courtney Love, 52, stayed true to her gothic roots as she stepped out for the UTA Artist Space: Jake and Dinos Chapman Opening 2017 at UTA Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday

Courtney's ankle-grazing dress boasted subtle glittering detailing on the front, before drawing attention to her tiny midriff.

She wrapped up in a chic matching jacket as she stepped out in a pair of stylish boots for the art show.

The rocker showed off her eternal features with a barely-there slick of make-up, while her shoulder-length blonde locks were styled in glamorous waves.

The San Francisco born star seemed in high spirits as she cosied up to the man of the hour - artist Dinos.

Statement style: The Hole front-woman looked sensational in a midriff-cinching dress, which she teamed with matching all-black essentials

Stunning: The rocker showed off her eternal features with a barely-there slick of make-up, while her shoulder-length blonde locks were styled in glamorous waves

Pals: The San Francisco born star seemed in high spirits as she cosied up to the man of the hour - artist Dinos

Meanwhile, the legal battle over the late Kurt Cobain's guitar is still raging on between Courtney's daughter Frances Bean and her estranged husband Isaiah Silva.

According to TMZ, the 24-year-old heiress just filed documents asking a judge to order her 32-year-old ex to immediately return the 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric.

The Eeries rocker claims the grunge princess 'gifted' him the Nirvana frontman's lefty six-string, which he's had ever since their 21-month marriage ended March 23.

At war: The legal battle over the late Kurt Cobain's guitar is still raging on between his and Courtney's daughter Frances Bean and her estranged husband Isaiah Silva (pictured in 2014)

Give it back! According to TMZ, the 24-year-old heiress just filed documents asking a judge to order her 32-year-old ex to immediately return the 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric

But Frances insisted she'd never have given Isaiah such a 'priceless family heirloom,' which is estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

According to Page Six, Cobain - who's worth $100M - is currently paying Silva $15K of spousal support a month while the instrument issue is being resolved.

The raven-haired visual artist just landed a brand ambassadorship for Marc Jacobs' SS/17 campaign, which was shot by photographer David Sims.

Present? The Eeries rocker claims the grunge princess 'gifted' him the Nirvana frontman's lefty six-string, which he's had ever since their 21-month marriage ended March 23

MTV Unplugged 1993: But Frances insisted she'd never have given Isaiah such a 'priceless family heirloom,' which is estimated to be worth millions of dollars

Divorcing: According to Page Six, Cobain - who's worth $100M - is currently paying Silva $15K of spousal support a month while the instrument issue is being resolved

'100% outside my comfort zone': The raven-haired visual artist just landed a brand ambassadorship for Marc Jacobs' SS/17 campaign, which was shot by lensman David Sims

'Honored': The Emmy-nominated producer 'wouldn't have done it with anyone other than' the 53-year-old designer, whom she met when she was two years old

The Emmy-nominated producer 'wouldn't have done it with anyone other than' the 53-year-old designer, whom she met when she was two years old.

'I don't think I'll be modeling for anybody else for a very long time. This is 100 percent outside my comfort zone,' Frances told Vogue on Wednesday.

'I don't model unless I think the project is cool, and I don't put my name behind something that I don't genuinely believe in.'

Cobain - who protested at the D.C. Women's March - remains very close with her Golden Globe and four-time Grammy-nominated mother, Courtney.

When the 52-year-old rocker joked about 'alternative facts,' the dungeons and dragons enthusiast tweeted: 'HAHAHAHA my mom is cool #shesaysinthevoiceofbutthead.'

Formerly estranged: Frances - who protested at the D.C. Women's March - remains very close with her Golden Globe and four-time Grammy-nominated mother, Courtney
She was accused of being too 'loud' and 'hyper' during her first style segment on Lorraine earlier this week.

But Kelly Brook brushed off the criticism as she celebrated her restaurant Steam and Rye's third birthday party in London on Saturday night.

The 37-year-old model, who was joined by her beau Jeremy Parisi, flaunted her busty cleavage in a plunging skin-tight jumpsuit as she marked the festivities by cutting into a yummy, tiered cake.

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Glamour girl: Kelly Brook, 36, flaunted her cleavage in a plunging skin-tight jumpsuit as she celebrated her restaurant Steam and Rye's third birthday party in London on Saturday night

The perilously low-cut garment placed emphasis on her eye-popping assets and went on to cinch in her trim midriff with a thin gold belt.

The wide-leg element to the number skimmed her shapely pins and gave a sneak peak of her snakeskin-print shoes.

Kelly oozed glamour as her glossy brunette locks were styled immaculately down one side - framing her preened and polished make-up look.

She wrapped up warm with a faux-fur lined black cape and leopard-print leather gloves.

Let them eat cake! The model oozed sex appeal in the figure-flattering number as she marked the festivities by cutting into a yummy, tiered cake

Her man: The busty beauty was also joined at the celebratory night with beau Jeremy Parisi

Inside the venue, the Kent native was in high spirits as she cosied up with her pals to cut the scrumptious cake and handed slices to her guests.

Kelly also ensured to document the big night on Instagram to her 678,000 followers.

One snap saw her show off her ample assets as she prepared to unleash a party popper.

She captioned the snap with a number of emojis - including a birthday cake, train, balloon and champagne bottle.

Another image from the night saw her getting close with her hunky boyfriend Jeremy.

Partying in style: Kelly showed off her ample assets as she shared a snap of herself unleashing a party popper on Instagram to her 678,000 followers

'Date night': Another image from the night saw her getting close with her hunky boyfriend Jeremy

Kelly smouldered towards the camera as she lovingly placed her head against the matching-in-black Frenchman.

'Date night', she captioned the smitten image, alongside a heart-eyed emoji.

Meanwhile, Kelly looked absolutely sensational as she opted for a pop of colour in a teal bell-sleeved dress when she appeared on Lorraine on Friday morning to talk about the latest fashion trends.

However, the stunner sent Twitter wild when she was accused of being too 'loud' and 'hyper'...although some thought she was a breath of fresh air.

Regardless, the social media site was awash with comments, proving that she had certainly made an impact during her first style segment.

'She's given me a headache': Kelly was slammed on Twitter for being too 'loud and hyper' following her debut fashion segment on Lorraine on Friday

Mixed opinion: Twitter was awash with comments, proving that Kelly had certainly made an impact during her first style segment - she looked incredible wearing a teal bell-sleeved dress

The following posts appeared: '@ITVLorraine @IAMKELLYBROOK Kelly brook was very loud and over excited and irritating. Give me headache.'

'@ITVLorraine @IAMKELLYBROOK No need to shout when you have a microphone! #exhausting #scaredofgreen

'@IAMKELLYBROOK on @ITVLorraine Omg! Had to turn my TV down. #soloud Lorraine couldn't get a word in #exhausting.'

'Too much fake excitability this early in the morning @IAMKELLYBROOK I had to turn over stop trying too hard.'

'@IAMKELLYBROOK Blummin eck Kelly, you been on the smarties this morning? A tad hyper but looking gorgeous.'

Happy: The beautiful model was in great spirits on the show and super giggly

Too much? Some viewers felt like Kelly was too 'loud and hyper' on the show, but it may have all been down to nerves

Give it a go: Talking about trends for spring fashion, Kelly encouraged viewers to be brave and try wearing bold colours such as green

My how you've changed! Kelly has gone from showcasing hair-raising ensembles (left, at a film premiere in 2000) to red carpet siren (right, at a recent London awards ceremony)

Yet while her volume was a common factor in the posts, others wrote that she was refreshing and gave the show lots of energy:

'Kelly Brook is beautiful - til she opens her mouth. Calm down love it's not even 9.30 #lorraine.'

'@ITVLorraine Kelly Brook has got a fabulous figure but just needed to be a bit less hyper and loud this morning ...maybe nerves ?'

Divided: Yet other viewers loved seeing Kelly on their screens during the show

Kelly herself appeared to be trawling the site for feedback as she retweeted some of the more positive comments, choosing to ignore the rest.

They were as follows: '@IAMKELLYBROOK @ITVLorraine you do whatever i am with you, love u.'

'@ITVLorraine Blimey I'll have whatever @IAMKELLYBROOK has had this morning. That was a lively little segment. #kiddyasakipper bless her. X

The Brook of beauty: Kelly looked radiant as she posed for some snaps backstage

'@IAMKELLYBROOK Thoroughly enjoyed your appearance on @ITVLorraine.'

'Cheered us both up on a gloomy winters morning.'

'@IAMKELLYBROOK You looked amazing this morning.#@ITVLorraine you've got to make @IAMKELLYBROOK a regular fashion presenter! She brings so much energy and excitement to the show.'
Tensions were high as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal went head-to-head at the Australian Open on Sunday night.

And Australian actor Eric Bana, 48, and his wife Rebecca Gleeson, 46, were among the throng of spectators holding their breath in the grandstands.

The pair looked pensive as they gazed at the nail-biting match, which was eventually won by Roger Federer.

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Tense: Australian actor Eric Bana, 48, and his wife Rebecca Gleeson watched Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal going head-to-head at the Australian Open on Sunday night in Melbourne

Eric was dressed to the nines for the event, donning a slick black suit, a matching tie and a white business shirt.

He also donned a designer wrist watch in silver and his engagement ring.

His publicist wife donned a dark blue dress and gold hoop earrings, while leaving her brunette mane to hang loosely by her shoulders.

Tense: The pair looked pensive as they gazed at the nail-biting match, which was eventually won by Roger Federer

Eric, who has appeared in Hollywood films Chopper, Star Trek, and Steven Spielberg's Munich, recently spoke about balancing his career with being a father-of-two.

'Its the best job, the most rewarding job,' the handsome thesbian told Daily Telegraph.

'Its worth every bit of energy you put into it. Its the best thing.'

Chic: Eric was dressed to the nines for the event, donning a slick black suit, a matching tie and a white business shirt

Glamorous: His publicist wife donned a dark blue dress and gold hoop earrings, while leaving her brunette mane to hang loosely by her shoulders

The Australian superstar also said that his main goal in Hollywood is to 'stay employed' and have a 'long career.'

Eric married his wife, publicist Rebecca in 1997.

The happy couple have two children together; a son Klaus, and a daughter, Sophia.
She's firing back at Real Housewives star Brandi Glanville for calling her private parts 'smelly'.

But Joanna Krupa came up smelling like roses on Sunday morning, as she carried a bouquet out of a TV appearance in Warsaw following confirmation that she can dig into Brandi's personal finances in the suit.

Gorgeous model Joanna left the Lilou Boutique in her native Poland with a defiant look on her face, and clutching an enviable bouquet of roses.

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Petals for a pretty lady: Joanna Krupa was spotted at Lilou Boutique on Sunday following a television appearance in Warsaw, Poland

She looked bright and breezy in an orange top, which was worn with skinny-fit jeans and heels.

Over the top, Joanna layered on a long black coat, swinging a bag of shopping by her side.

Joanna was looking perfectly preened, thanks to her appearance on television that morning, and her hair was styled into loose waves with immaculate make-up.

Two days ago, it was revealed that Joanna had been given the green light to go on a fishing expedition into rival Brandi's financial records.

Glamazon: The stunning blonde wore her locks loose after hitting hair and make-up

It was a direct retaliation to the outcome from a Florida judge that ordered her to hand over years of her personal gynecological records in their legal battle.

Krupa is seeking $2 million in punitive damages over Glanville's comments she made about the model's 'smelly' lady parts and her alleged affair with Yolanda Foster's ex-husband, Mohamed Hadid.

According to court filings obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, the judge will review the records to determine if they are relevant to the case.

The battle has been ongoing for several months as the two parties participate in the 'discovery phase of the lawsuit', with both sides providing the court with documents to support their respective case.

Glanville insisted Krupa produce her Housewives of Miami contract, medical records, tax returns and other financial information.

Busy day: She had returned to her home of Poland for some television work

On January 25, a hearing was held in Miami Court where the judge sided with Glanville and ordered Krupa to hand over both her gynecological records from 2000 to 2005, and her Real Housewives of Miami contract.

She will also have to hand over all communications with Lisa Vanderpump, Mohamed Hadid and Andy Cohen as it relates to the case.

The women's legal battle first kicked off in January 2015 after comments Glanville made in a November 2013 interview on Andy Cohen's Bravo show, Watch What Happens Live.

Glanville told viewers that Krupa had an adulterous relationship with Yolanda Foster's then-husband, Mohamed Hadid, and also claimed her vagina smelled.

Krupa claimed that Glanville's comments caused her emotional distress and damaged her reputation by labeling her as someone who slept with a married man.
She was seen in floods of tears at Wednesday's National Television Awards - after a blazing row with boyfriend Pete Wicks.

Yet beaming Megan McKenna appeared determined to slap on a brave face on Sunday as she joined her TOWIE cohorts in preparing to jet to Tenerife to start filming.

The 24-year-old was ready to glam up as she contained her hair in rollers while strutting her stuff with the cast, with the trip coming just days after the star launched an impassioned rant aimed at cruel trolls.

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What fight? Megan McKenna appeared determined to slap on a brave face on Sunday as she joined her TOWIE cohorts in preparing to jet to Tenerife to start filming

Megan kept things low-key as she prepared to enjoy a TOWIE vacation, joined by a bevy of fellow reality stars including Tommy Mallet, Georgia Kousoulou, James Lock, Gemma Collins and Chloe Sims.

As she beamed while pushing her sizeable suitcases, the Barking-born beauty looked worlds away from the woes which left her hysterical just days before.

Clad in a tracksuit, Megan ensured she was totally comfortable for the trip while keeping out the icy cold with a stunning black padded jacket with a fur trim.

Never one to shy away from a label, the brunette beauty clutched a Louis Vuitton rucksack while also giving a flash of bling - in the form of the Rolex watch gifted to her by Pete last year - in a mark perhaps that all is not lost.

Devastated: She was seen in floods of tears at Wednesday's National Television Awards - after a blazing row with boyfriend Pete Wicks

Minimal: Megan kept things low-key as she prepared to enjoy a TOWIE vacation, joined by a bevy of fellow reality stars including Tommy Mallet, Georgia Kousoulou, Gemma Collins and Chloe Sims

Walking along... As she beamed while pushing her sizeable suitcases, the Barking-born beauty looked worlds away from the woes which left her hysterical just days before

Megan was arguably the most casual of her peers, with Chloe looking uncharacteristically refined in a chic camel coat with jeans and a T-shirt.

Gemma was extremely wrapped up in a black coat, while Georgia and her beau Tommy kept things low-key ahead of their flight.

The journey to filming comes just days after Megan's woes continued as she was forced to launch an impassioned rant at cruel trolls.

In a series of Twitter posts, she penned: 'Why do people on Instagram think it's OK to cyber bully me just because I'm in the public eye? What about the poor people that end up commuting suicide over being harassed and bullied online?!

'There the same as me. A normal person!? What's the difference? Older woman who probly have children think it's OK to abuse and threaten me? Imagine if someone was doing that to there daughter!? Surely this should be a crime to harass and cyber bully someone. In the public eye or not...

Blinged up: Never one to shy away from a label, the brunette beauty clutched a Louis Vuitton rucksack while also giving a flash of bling - in the form of the Rolex watch gifted to her by Pete last year - in a mark perhaps that all is not lost

'That's why I'm thankful for all my amazing fans who defend me without me even having to say anything! I'm sure I'm not the only person...

'I love every single person who follows and supports me! Without you guys I don't think I could do it!!!!.'

Away from her Internet troubles, Pete was nowhere to be seen during the airport trip as he took to Instagram the day before to reveal he was enjoying a mini break in Scotland.

At Wednesday's NTAs, Megan and Pete graced the red carpet earlier in the evening on the arm of her tuxedo-clad boyfriend, where she looked sensational in a stunning red two-piece.

Having a giggle: Megan proved all a girl needs is her girls

While pulling her famed pout for the vying photographers and revellers, all seemed well in the 'Pegan' camp although the night seemed to end in disaster when they were spotted in a blazing row - after which Megan was left hysterical.

After the festivities, the Essex native was seen with a fur coat draped over her shoulders as she fled the arena, sobbing, while a pal rushed to wrap her arms around the inconsolable beauty.

Her long-haired beau followed behind although maintained a more stoic pose while storming out and talking on his mobile - reportedly ignoring his girlfriend's cries of: 'Pete!'

Saddening: The couple's chequered romance spins a convoluted tale, with their love starting in March last year when she first joined the ITVBe show, following her stints on Ex On The Beach and Celebrity Big Brother

Forget your troubles: Pete was in Scotland while his co-stars got away

Abs-solutely fab! Georgia showed off her taut abs in a cropped hoodie

Doing the hellos! Megan met up with all her pals at the airport

The couple's chequered romance spins a convoluted tale, with their love starting in March last year when she first joined the ITVBe show, following her stints on Ex On The Beach and Celebrity Big Brother.

After blissfully bobbing along, Megan's world was rocked when Pete's former flame Jacqui Ryland came forward to reveal he had been sending her explicit messages while they were together.

Megan and Pete's relationship first hit the rocks when co-star Danielle Armstrong dropped a bombshell on the former EOTB star, in which she revealed the tattooed hunk's extra-curricular activities.

Here come the girls! Megan was joined by Georgia Kousoulou and new girl Amber Turn

Glam: Megan was arguably the most casual of her peers, with Chloe looking uncharacteristically refined in a chic camel coat with jeans and a T-shirt

Despite previously harking about Pete's ability to calm down her famously fiery temperament, the brunette beauty showed her boyfriend the entirety of her wrath as she screamed at him on a Marbella beach while filming the TOWIE summer special in September.

In shock at the discovery, the inked-up hunk made his way back to Essex where he was comforted by his best pal James Lock after he broke down over his behaviour and expressed huge regret over his actions.

Hurt and humiliated, Megan returned to her native county where she was comforted by her sister Millie before Pete arrived at her flat in an attempt at reconciliation.

Sad times: Despite previously harking about Pete's ability to calm down her famously fiery temperament, the brunette beauty showed her boyfriend the entirety of her wrath as she screamed at him on a Marbella beach while filming the TOWIE summer special in September

Warm: Gemma Collins wrapped up while she joined James Lock at the airport

Sad times... While the alleged philanderer appeared to be seeking forgiveness, Megan was only prepared to launch a furious tirade at her boyfriend who she screamed at during a sit down on her sofa

While the alleged philanderer appeared to be seeking forgiveness, Megan was only prepared to launch a furious tirade at her boyfriend who she screamed at during a sit down on her sofa.

When Megan discovered the news of the sexts she was seen shaking her Rolex birthday gift in the TV hunk's face, saying it had 'guilt written all over it'.

'I dont even want to f***ing hear your voice,' the television favourite shouted in her boyfriend's face. Pete made minimal attempts to explain himself as the raging brunette confronted him by the side of the pool.

'You've been telling this girl you want to be single - go and be f**king single then,' she said to him, after discovering that he had been in touch with ex-girlfriend Jacqui, 26.
They put on a very flirty display at a Paris nightclub on Tuesday night.

But just days later, A$AP Rocky left his rumoured flame Kendall Jenner behind to carry on the partying in London with a 10-strong entourage.

The 28-year-old rapper reportedly ordered 10,000 worth of champagne during the raucous night out at exclusive Soho club Paper, where he partied until 3am alongside scantily-clad dancers.

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Having fun? A$AP Rocky, 28, left his rumoured flame Kendall Jenner behind to carry on the partying in London with a 10-strong entourage at London club Paper on Saturday night

While Kendall left Paris after Fashion Week to return to Los Angeles, A$AP Rocky proved his jetsetter status as he went on to party in London.

The rapper, wearing a black T-shirt and gold chain necklaces, seemed to be having a whale of a time as he danced on the chairs.

Clearly feeling indulgent, he ordered several bottles of Cristal champagne at 500 each, Patron tequila and Belvedere vodka.

A$AP, who arrived via the back door of the club to avoid waiting paparazzi at around 1.30am, then stayed on till 3.30am when the club closed.

Where was Kendall? The pair put on a very flirty display at a Paris nightclub on Tuesday night, while the supermodel was in the French capital for Fashion Week

Living it up: The rapper, wearing a black T-shirt and gold chain necklaces, seemed to be having a whale of a time as he danced on the chairs

Feeling indulgent? He ordered several bottles of Cristal champagne at 500 each, Patron tequila and Belvedere vodka

He was entertained by the clubs raunchy dancers who were scantily dressed in red PVC lingerie and performed dances near his entourages roped off VIP area.

It comes after A$AP and Kendall set tongues wagging on Tuesday night as they cosied up at Heritage nightclub in the French capital.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians beauty, 21, was spotted leaning in close to the hip-hop star, whispering in his ear as they looked at something on his phone.

The pair kept close to one another's sides throughout the evening, finding a dark corner of the room to have a conversation in.

Racy: Revellers were treated to a show from dancers who performed against poles

Raucous: A$AP, who arrived via the back door of the club to avoid waiting paparazzi at around 1.30am then stayed on till 3.30am when the club closed

In great spirits: He was surrounded by pals who fully immersed themselves in the party spirit

Kendall and A$AP Rocky were also spotted making their way out onto the dancefloor, keeping a close hold on each other.

Romance rumours have been swirling regarding Kendall and A$AP for months - and they have been seen together a lot more recently.

Earlier this week, the duo were seen browsing the shops of Paris after the rapper flew out to join her.

Raunchy: He was entertained by the clubs raunchy dancers who were scantily dressed in red PVC lingerie

Avert your eyes! They performed dances near A$AP's entourages roped off VIP area

Seen something? A$AP left in the early hours of the morning

Bottoms up! He reportedly ordered 10,000 worth of champagne during the raucous night out at the exclusive Soho club

Neither has even confirmed if their dating with Kendall notoriously secretive about her relationships.

A$AP meanwhile was engaged to Chanel Iman but the couple split in 2014.

Kendall has been spotted out with the rapper on several occasions, with Us Weekly reporting in June that the pair were enjoying a 'fling'.

A source told the site: 'It's a fling. It's not serious.'

But the musician was said to very impressed with the sister of Kim, Khloe, Kourtney and Kylie, with the source adding: 'He thinks Kendall's hot as hell. He's just having fun.'

Ever the jetsetter: A$AP was in Paris to visit Kendall, and mingled with Bella Hadid and ASAP Ferg at a Christian Dior ball
She may have only visited Australia twice.

But Victoria's Secret model Karlie Kloss, 24, believes herself to be an honorary Australian.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph this week, the New York-based beauty confessed: 'Long before I even came to Australia I feel like I was an honorary Aussie.'

'Long before I even came to Australia I feel like I was an honorary Aussie': Victoria's Secret model Karlie Kloss, 24, believes herself to be an honorary Australian

'It's almost like there's an Australian family of sorts in New York. The first people I met there were Abbey Lee (Kershaw), Cat McNeil and Dion Lee.'

She added: 'They represent your country very well and I've always had a fond place in my heart for Australia.'

Taylor Swift's bestie was this month announced as the face of David Jones' autumn/winter 2017 campaign, and will walk the runway for the department store's collection launch.

Two peas in a pod! Karlie is known as the glamorous best friend of pop-star Taylor Swift

Modelling Down Under: Taylor Swift's bestie was this month announced as the face of David Jones' autumn/winter 2017 campaign, and will walk the runway for the department store's collection launch

She will strut her stuff alongside Australian models Bridget Malcolm, Jessica Gomes and Jesinta Campbell.

Meanwhile, multi-talented Karlie has been spending her downtime launching a scholarship for women to learn computer coding.

'Initially my interest in coding was that it was this very mysterious secret language that all these engineers and founders of tech companies knew,' she tells The Daily Telegraph.

Not just a pretty face! Meanwhile, multi-talented Karlie has been spending her downtime launching a scholarship for women to learn computer coding

While it feels more natural to see her on runways than banging away at computer keyboards like a seasoned hacker, Karlie is fascinated with the technological riddle.

The supermodel believes that code is the a way for businesses to create value and change.

Once the Chicago native nailed the tricky code for herself, she realised it's potential to help women build businesses and started the Kode with Klossy scholarship.
Nicole Kidman stepped out for the 2017 G'Day Black Tie Gala in Hollywood over the weekend.

While the beauty was accompanied by her husband Keith Urban, she decided to do her own thing for a while and mingled with some of the other A-list guests at the event.

Among them was Australia's Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop.

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Ladies' night! Nicole Kidman mingled with Julie Bishop at the 2017 G'Day Black Tie Gala in Hollywood over the weekend

Julie could barely contain her excitement at meeting the actress, beaming brightly as she gazed up at the statuesque beauty with adoration.

Nicole was also spotted catching up with John Travolta.

The Lion actress embraced the Grease legend, who seemed pleased to see her.

Excited? Julie could barely contain her excitement at meeting the actress, beaming brightly as she gazed up at the statuesque beauty with adoration

Star studded: Honoree David Hill, musician Keith Urban, Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Nicole Kidman, John Travolta and David Panton posed for a photo

Nicole was previously married to Tom Cruise, a devout Scientologist, for 11 years.

John is also a notable member of the Church of Scientology, which may explain his connection to Nicole.

Other celebrities at the event included Nicky Whelan and Ian Thorpe.

Nicole is currently promoting her latest film, Lion, for which she is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
She enjoyed a sun-soaked break with boyfriend Jamie Laing in Dubai over the festive period.

And clearly wracked with the travelling bug, Frankie Gaff headed off again to enjoy a weekend break with her Made In Chelsea beau, 28, at a luxury hotel in Kent.

The reality star, 22, shared a steamy snap from their romantic stay on Instagram, as she posed coquettishly in a white bathrobe that dangled off her shoulders to expose her back.

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What a tease: Frankie Gaff, 22, shared a steamy snap in a white bathrobe that dangled off her shoulders to expose her back during a weekend break in Kent

Looking away from the camera, she captioned the shot simply: 'Welcome to my room'.

But Frankie stull seemed to be pining for the warmer climes of Dubai as she also posted a wistful throwback snap to her enjoying an outdoor shower in a skimpy bikini.

Clad in a white bikini and skimpy black thong, the blonde beauty showcased her toned figure as she washed herself.

'Wishing on this outdoor shower': she told her 189,000 Instagram followers.

'Wishing on this outdoor shower': Clad in a white bikini and skimpy black thong, the blonde beauty showcased her toned figure as she washed herself in a Dubai throwback snap

Busty: Frankie Gaff, 22, slipped into a stylish black halter-neck bikini as she went for a dip with her attractive gal pals in an indoor swimming pool in Surrey

Continuing her flesh-baring streak, Frankie slipped into a stylish black halter-neck two-piece as she went for a dip with her attractive gal pals in an indoor swimming pool in Surrey.

She showed off her tanned, slender frame as she posed beside her friends waist deep in the water.

As her pals traded laughs, Frankie raised her hand to adjust her updo and gazed intently towards the camera.

The beauty then found herself a comfortable, multi-coloured lilo which she reclined on and floated across the water.

She let her blonde locks down, smiled and ran her fingers through the water as she drifted around the pool.

Drifter: The beauty then found herself comfortable, multi-coloured lilo which she reclined on and floated across the water

She spent the festive period topping up her tan in Dubai with boyfriend Jamie Laing.

And the reality star appeared to be missing the blazing sunshine on Friday, as she shared a sizzling throwback bikini photo on Instagram.

Frankie displayed her sensationally slender figure and ample cleavage as she posed in a barely-there bikini for the candid snap.

Beach babe: Frankie appeared to be missing the blazing sunshine of Dubai on Friday, as she shared a sizzling throwback bikini photo on her Instagram

Kneeling on the bed in their luxurious accommodation, Frankie's enviably flat stomach and womanly curves was clear to see as she cooled off from the sun.

Her skimpy black bikini top plunged deep at her tanned chest to leave her plentiful cleavage on show - which she further teased with a long necklace falling at her bust.

Pairing it with nothing but the matching bottoms, the Made in Chelsea star also displayed her toned and taut tum as she took a break from tanning.

Life's a beach: Frankie also uploaded several photos of her lounging on the sand in her bikini - leaving her long, lean legs and enviably toned tum on show

Sun worshipper: Frankie is clearly beginning to miss her sun-soaked getaway with boyfriend Jamie Laing - which she heavily documented on her social media pages (above)

Sweeping her blonde hair into a loose ponytail, Frankie drew attention to her enviably clear and glowing complexion as she went make-up free for the day.

However the star looked far from relaxed in the snap as she held her hands up in confusion - the cause of which she explained in the caption.

Writing in her usual witty style to fans, the TV star wrote beside the shot: 'Confuzzled, burnt and my bikini tops a little on the small side. Wear sun cream kids.'

Frankie is clearly beginning to miss her sun-soaked getaway with boyfriend Jamie Laing - which she heavily documented on her social media pages.

Bikini babe: Frankie previously showed off her top tan and perfect beach body on Thursday, as she sipped from a coconut

Looking trim in a pretty patterned bikini, the Made In Chelsea star had kicked off her trip sipping from coconuts and inducing serious envy among those with January blues.

She shared one sun-soaked snap where she knelt on a sunbed, showing off her incredible physique.

Later, she appeared to hint at where it came from as she put on energetic display on the beach.

Throwing her hands in the air, one picture showed Frankie pre-cartwheel, and a second cheeky snap caught her in full rotation with her bum turned to the camera.

Jump for joy: Frankie rotated into a cartwheel to show off her athleticism on the beach

Might as well jump! Frankie was caught pre-cartwheel, looking lean and excitable

It was perhaps thanks to obedient other half Jamie that Frankie had photo evidence of the fun moment.

The duo have certainly been enjoying a blissful break, catching some winter sun in-between seasons of their E4 reality show.

Yet more pictures taken of the break show Frankie getting extremely flirtatious with the camera on the couple's hotel bed.

She seemed keen to show off her sunbathing efforts in a colourful bikini, which showed off her glowing tan - and tan lines - against the white bed linen.

Cheeky! Made In Chelsea's Frankie Gaff, 22, paraded her peachy posterior in a cheeky belfie posted to Instagram on Tuesday

Posing on an unmade bed, the reality star threw her head back and smiled, with her tousled blonde hair cascading past her shoulders.

She captioned the snap: 'When you come back to the hotel room to air con and peanut butter M&Ms ... happy happy #dubai #bikini'.

In another shot, she lay on her back wearing shades and showing off her taut stomach as she stretched out on the white sheets.

Poking fun at herself, she wrote: 'I mean who wears sunglasses inside #lol #notme #dubai'.

Saucy: The Made In Chelsea star later displayed her tan lines as she flipped onto her front

Ready for her close up: She rocked shades as she soaked up the sun in Dubai

Jamie and Frankie have been doing everything to prove that their relationship is back on track, this week.

Their break comes just days after Jamie admitted that dating Frankie on Made In Chelsea is the 'hardest thing' he has ever done.

The 28-year-old told Digital Spy: 'Being on a show and having your relationship on it is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

'I've never really had a proper relationship on the show so yeah, it was pretty testing at times. But I'm hoping we can be okay for the future, for sure.'

Going strong: The 22-year-old reality star then cosied up to boyfriend Jamie Laing, 28, in a loved-up selfie, which she captioned: 'Jeeeebers it's been a year ... going into 2017 with J xxx'

Looking at 2016 from a rear view: MIC's Frankie Gaff left the past turbulent year 'behind' as she posted a semi-clad snap from Dubai

Pucker up: She showcased her plump pout with a rosy lipstick in one sexy snap

So happy: Frankie shared a snap after taking a room at her favourite hotel in Dubai

Splish Splash: Frankie was snapped having a whale of a time while taking a soak in the bath tub
Miranda Kerr took time off from her modeling schedule to have some fun in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

The 33-year-old cover girl was spotted heading into The Forum to catch a Kings Of Leon concert.

Also with the mother-of-one was her beau Evan Spiegel, 26, co-founder and CEO of the American multinational technology and social media company Snap Inc.

Beauty's night out: Miranda Kerr was spotted heading into The Forum in Los Angeles to catch a Kings Of Leon concert on Saturday evening

Classy: The Elle model went for a winter white look that stood out in the crowd

Kerr, who is the founder of Kora Organics, looked radiant for the concert that also saw Kendall Jenner there with Harry Styles, Kate Hudson, Lady Gaga and Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Miranda was made up nicely with a very strong red pout and her highlighted hair worn is soft waves.

The Elle model went for a winter white look that stood out in the crowd.

Styling: With a white wool coat over a cropped white mock turtleneck, the Australian born catwalker looked ready for a chilly night

Glam slam: Miranda was made up nicely with a very strong red painted pout and her highlighted hair worn is soft waves

With a white wool coat over a cropped white mock turtleneck, the Australian born catwalker looked ready for a chilly night.

She added black leather slacks that nicely fit her toned legs.

A black purse was worn cross-body style. Thick-heeled black boots looked comfortable.

Warm: She added black leather slacks that nicely fit her toned legs. A black purse was worn cross-body style. Thick-heeled black boots looked comfortable

Kerr, who has son Flynn with actor Orlando Bloom, has already had a busy 2017.

On Friday evening the beauty was named among Harper's Bazaar's 150 most fashionable women in the world.

The 33-year-old attended the publication's cocktail party event at the Sunset Tower Hotel celebrating the many different beauties who the magazine's editors selected as 'the best-dressed women in the world.'

A funky look: Kendall Jenner wore a hat and denim jacket to the concert

Her pal: Also at the event was Jenner's friend Harry Styles previously of One Direction

Miranda looked elegant in a figure hugging multi-colour striped dress, with a thick edging of black sequins above the bustline.

The dress even had a daring thigh high split that showed off her trim pins.

The Gunnedah beauty adopted a bold makeup look with strong brows and a vibrant red lip, combined with an understated subtle smoky eye shadow.

Another star: Kate Hudson wore a plunging black top with a blazer and jeans

She accessorised with black, strappy heels with a matching black clutch and sparkling diamond flower earrings.

Inside the event, the blue eyed beauty posed for a photo with Kendall who stunned in a sheer black gown with a thigh high split.

She later posted a different snap to Instagram of her standing with the television personality who rested a hand demurely on her shoulder.

They like the same events! On Friday evening the beauty was named among Harper's Bazaar's 150 most fashionable women in the world; here she is seen with Jenner

Miranda recently teamed up with denim brand Mother to style a 12-piece capsule collection of jeans, shirts, skirts, jumpsuits and T-Shirts.

'Denim has become part of my daily wardrobe. Its such a staple,' she said in an interview with Vogue.

'For some reason, Im wearing it more than ever before; I used to gravitate toward dresses because I guess it was easy when Id have to go to a photo shoot,' she added.
Tehran, Iran, January 29

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Tadamichi Yamamoto, the special representative for United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has met Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the ways to help stability in Afghanistan. The UN official urged Iran to continue its constructive role about its neighboring country, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reported January 29.

The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, said Iran welcomes Afghanistans national unity government, adding Tehran will cooperate with UN agencies to bring peace and stability to the neighboring country.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been hosting Afghan refugees for almost four decades.

"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," Sivanka Dhanapala, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Iran told Trend in December.
Looks like Patrick Schwarzenegger had a great night Saturday.

The son of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the town with girlfriend Abby Champion to catch a sold-out Kings Of Leon concert at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

The couple looked casual in sneakers and jeans for their rocking date.

On the town: Patrick Schwarzenegger and girlfriend Abby Champion snagged tickets to a sold out Kings of Leon concert for a Saturday night date

Hip young thing: The young actor looked low-key and hit in a cool motorcycle jacket and patterned kicks

The 23-year-old son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver looked hip, covering up with a motorcycle jacket up top.

The star carried on a phone call as he and his model girlfriend entered the sold out show at the Forum.

He added a stylish dash to his outfit with a cool denim cat and leopard patterned sneakers.

Calling: The 23-year-old talent finished up an important phone call before heading into the concert with his model girlfriend

Abby looked cute in an acid washed denim jacket with shearling lining.

She wore her golden locks down, complimenting her blonde tresses with a lovely chain necklace.

The Next Models repped beauty continued to keep things simple with a white tee shirt and clean black jeans finishing off the look.

Former flames: Kendall Jenner and former fling Harry Styles also attended the Saturday show. Here, you can see Harry sporting a stylish red coat

American classic: Miss Jenner wore a chic cowboy hat and a denim jacket to the rock concert

Also in attendance at the multi-platinum band's concert were celebs Kendall Jenner and Harry Styles.

The formerly linked duo didn't seem to mind being at the same show, as the two stars enjoyed the concert with their own separate crews.

Harry looked smoking in a striking red coat while Kendall kept things understated in a cowboy hat and denim jacket.
It really is hard to keep up with the Kardashians these days.

On Saturday the reality TV family went on a new adventure that took them into the friendly skies.

Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian as well as Kylie Jenner took to Snapchat to shares images from their helicopter ride in Costa Rica where the clan is vacationing.

The queen bee: Kim Kardashian was seen in a helicopter on Saturday in Costa Rica with niece Penelope by her side

She's got the look: Khloe flashed her sideboob in a black bathing suit top as she looked out a window

Before she took flight: Here the Revenge Body star is seen with a wing filter

Naughty gal: Kourtney took a clip of Khloe's cleavage

Khloe flashed her sideboob in a black bathing suit top as she looked out a window.

The ex of Lamar Odom had her hair in long pigtail braids and she shielded her eyes with oversized wraparound aviators.

Her sister Kylie was the one who took the portrait.

Not wearing much: Kylie Jenner had on a bathing suit top in bronze and brown

Nice view: The 19-year-old Lip Kit founder looked perfectly done up with flawless makeup

The 19-year-old Lip Kit founder looked perfectly done up with flawless makeup.

The girlfriend of Tyga had on a bronze top that looked like a swimsuit.

Also on board was Kim who wore her raven locks down.

Baby on board: Kourtney, dressed in a white net top, had her son Reign on her lap

Getting on the bird: Here Kourtney is seen climbing into the white, orange and green chopper

The family was also seen wearing helmets as they rode a bus.

Khloe and Kourtney were in front with Kylie and Tyga behind them.

In the last row was Kris Jenner and her beau Corey Gamble.

And behind them were members of the Keeping Up With The Kardashians film crew documenting their every comment.
She went public with their romance in May.

And Myleene Klass wasn't afraid to show how loved-up she is with boyfriend Simon Motson as they snuggled up to one another on Sunday.

Heading into the Royal Albert Hall to watch a Cirque Du Soleil performance, the pair made for a very handsome couple on their outing.

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Cute couple: Myleene Klass wasn't afraid to show how loved-up she is with boyfriend Simon Motson as they snuggled up to one another on Sunday

Looking effortlessly chic for the outing, Myleene, 38, concealed her lithe frame in a calf length camel coat.

Peeking out beneath were a pair of thigh high suede black boots, which complemented her small cross body bag.

She finished off the look by styling her honey hued locks in loose waves that framed her pretty face.

Perfect pair: Heading into the Royal Albert Hall to watch a Cirque Du Soleil performance, the pair made for a very handsome couple on their outing

Snuggling up: The pair wrapped their arms around each other as they headed inside

Two's company: The pair whose relationship was confirmed in May after they started dating in the autumn of 2015 - looked loved-up as they headed inside

Cute: Simon and Myleene only had eyes for each other on their cosy date

Simon - whose relationship with the classically-trained musician was confirmed in May after they started dating in the autumn of 2015 - looked dapper in a navy blazer and fitted shirt.

Myleene previously told the Daily Mirror of their romance: 'He is so hot. Its lovely. Im enjoying myself.'

It was previously reported Myleene made Simon wait nearly six months before agreeing to be seen with him in public, while he finalised a divorce from his ex-wife.

A touch of Klass! Looking effortlessly chic for the outing, Myleene, 38, concealed her lithe frame in a calf length camel coat

These boots were made for partying! Peeking out beneath were a pair of thigh high suede black boots, which complemented her small cross body bag

Myleene was previously married to bodyguard Graham Quinn, 41 - the father of her daughters Ava, nine, and Hero, five.

Graham ended their six-month marriage and decade-long relationship when he walked out on her on her 34th birthday in April 2012.

The couple were granted a divorce in April 2013.

Suave: Simon looked dapper in a navy blazer and fitted shirt and jeans on the outing

Sweet: The pair snuggled up to each other as they headed to the theatre

Chatting away: The duo seemed in good spirits on the outing

After their shock split, Myleene vowed to never speak to her ex-husband again.

Discussing her devastation, she admitted: 'I thought I'd never smile or trust anyone ever again'.

She added to Woman magazine: 'I felt so betrayed and so crushed. But I couldn't wallow in it. I said to my mum and dad, "I'm broken, but I will not sink."'
Despite being one of the best-selling boyband in the UK, Take That failed to crack America.

Yet it seemed the group were taking another stab at success across the pond as they were seen filming Carpool Karaoke with British expat James Corden in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The Rule The World hitmakers joined the Late Late Show host for the popular segment, which sees various celebrities sing along during a ride in James' car.

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Loving life: Take That were taking another stab at success across the pond as they were seen filming Carpool Karaoke with British expat James Corden in Los Angeles on Sunday

Take That stars Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen seemed in good spirits on the outing as they prepared to get inside the famous SUV.

The trio were all smiles as they joined James on the outing, and even stopped to hand out CD's to amused passers-by.

Ensuring they received maximum attention, James also carried a mini stereo with him on the outing.

Driving around: James Corden joined the Late Late Show host for the popular segment, which sees various celebrities sing along during a ride in James' car

Out and about: (L-R) Take That stars Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald seemed in good spirits on the outing as they prepared to get inside the famous SUV

Freebies: The trio were all smiles as they joined James on the outing, and even stopped to hand out CD's to amused passers-by

Ready to play a tune: Ensuring they received maximum attention, James also carried a mini stereo with him on the outing

The band - who have had 56 number one singles worldwide - are hoping to crack the American market.

And it seems their segment on Carpool Karaoke is just the start, as they'll reportedly be receiving a boost from their friend.

A source told The Sun: 'James has a deep-lying love of Take That which has only intensified since they became pals.'

Loving life: The group seemed in good spirits as they huddled up in Los Angeles

Green cross code: The group made sure they checked the road before stepping out

Follow the leader: James stepped out as the trio trailed behind them

Chirpy: The guys seemed in good spirits on the outing in the sunshine

Off they go: The strode out with purpose on the outing

Play that tune: James seemed to be blaring out the music on his speaker

'Now he has the power of The Late Late Show behind him, he can put a big US audience in front of them and help push their name.

'He is also genuinely happy to interview them and listen to their music as he's such a mega fan.'

Take That - which originally included Robbie Williams and Jason Orange - formed in 1990 and as of June 2012 placed 15th in the list of UK's best-selling music artists of all time.

Cruising along: Gary was seen in the front seat as James got behind the wheel

Off they go: The pair seemed in good spirits on the ride

Vroom vroom: The rest of the band hopped into the back of the SUV too

Cruise control: James looked at the cameras on his window as he drove along

Precious cargo: Gary looked in good spirits on the outing

Off they go: The duo laughed along as they drove around the city

The pop group have received eight Brit Awards and have had 37 number one albums worldwide.

Despite their phenomenal success in Britain, the band have yet to make an impression on the American market.

Frontman Gary Barlow confessed he'd thought he'd done just that following the release of his Broadway show, Finding Neverland, in 2015.

At the time, he said: 'I think I'm now on the brink of success in America. It's come to me, I haven't chased it. I haven't been lying in bed, thinking, "I've got to crack America."

'I did in the 90s, but I honestly haven't considered it since. It's fallen at my feet.'

Chatting away: The guys seemed in great spirits as they chatted with the crew

All smiles: The group beamed with delight on the outing

Funny face: Gary pulled some hilarious expressions on the outing

Facing off: Gary and James stared at each other intensely

Coffee break: Mark got his caffeine fix during the filming

Bottoms up: He appeared to be enjoying his hot drink

Robbie - who left the group in 1995 - has had better luck, and is the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America.

He rejoined Take That in 2010 and the group's subsequent album Progress, became the fastest-selling record of the century at the time.

In 2012 he left the band for a second time.

Jason Orange left the band in 2014 after stating he did not want to continue writing and making music.

Caught on camera: The group filmed some segments outside of the car

Ready for his close up: Gary looked amused on the outing

Feeling friendly: The band shook hands with the crew on the outing

Loving it: The group were all smiles on the outing

Cheers: The guys clapped and cheered as they waited to film
She broke up with Sasha Mielczarek, 32, after 18 months together.

But just three weeks into the new year, Sam Frost, 27, appears to have moved on from her heartbreak - with the former Bachelorette seen packing on the PDA with new man Dave Bashford.

Pictured in NW magazine, the loved up pair are seen enjoying an intimate get together at Sydney's Parsley Bay on Australia Day.

Moving on! Just three weeks into the new year, Sam Frost, 27, appears to have moved on from her heartbreak - with the former Bachelorette seen packing on the PDA with new man Dave Bashford

He's a catch! According to the publication a source revealed the couple 'were all over each other' and stayed out together until sunset. Dave pictured here

According to the publication a source revealed the couple 'were all over each other' and stayed out together until sunset.

They added: 'We have never seen her so happy.'

The couple have apparently been friends for years with Sam's former housemate Sarah-Mae Amey being a mutual connection.

Getting serious? In the last few weeks, the relationship has appeared to get more serious with for the pair with Sam secretly meeting up with Dave on holiday

Brave: The Bachelorette star was left heartbroken after confirming her split from Sasha Mielczarek last month

And in the last few weeks, the relationship has appeared to get more serious with for the pair with Sam secretly meeting up with Dave on holiday.

'Sam disappeared to Bali after her break-up to escape. She went away to heal her heart - and it looks like she did...with Dave!'

The publication also claims that friends insist Sam is 'excited about the future with her new guy.'

'Sam's been telling friends Dave's hilarious and a legend.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Sam's rep for comment who denied the claims that the couple are romantically linked and state 'Dave is Sam's mate.'

Is he the one? Friends insist Sam is 'excited about the future with her new guy.' 'Sam's being telling friends Dave's hilarious and a legend.'

Long term pals: The couple have apparently been friends for years with Sam's former housemate Sarah-Mae Amey(pictured left) being a mutual connection

Meanwhile Sam told her Instagram followers last week that she's 'feeling like me again.'

Sporting a new hairdo and a beaming smile, the radio personality posed for a selfie to show off the results of her hairdresser appointment and new makeover.

'I heart you @headcasehair,' she captioned the snap while tagging a Sydney salon.

'Feeling like me again xo.'

New hairdo: Sam Frost, 27, appears to have bounced back from heartbreak - with the former Bachelorette star telling her Instagram followers on Friday that she's 'feeling like me again'

Sam appeared to be in high spirits, weeks after the world around her began to crumble in a very public way.

Last month, the financial assistant- turned- radio personality confirmed her shock split from construction manager Sasha, just two days after Christmas.

'After 18 months together, Sam Frost and Sasha Mielczarek have come to a mutual decision to end their relationship,' a statement read, in part.

Happier times: The couple fell in love on the Bachelorette in 2015 and are seen during their Balinese getaway last year

'It is important to stress that there is no bitterness or scandal, they have just come to the realisation that the best way forward is to separate,' part of it read, adding that they remain friends.

In October, the pair, who battled breakup rumours for the latter part of 2016, denied a split.

Meanwhile, Sam appeared to have undergone a dramatic body transformation after being photographed late last year looking extremely slim.

Smiling through the pain: Sam and Sasha were constantly faced with breakup rumours, which no doubt added strain on their relationship

Sam made headlines at the time when she deleted her Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page, after denying New Idea's claims that they had separated.

Hitting back at the claims on Facebook - before deleting her account - Sam claimed her and her ex were 'stronger than ever' and 'prefer to keep social media out of our relationship.'

Sam and Sasha also unfollowed each other on Instagram, before she deleted her account.

Having a ball: Exes Sam and Sasha documented their romantic trip on social media last year

Days after last month's the split announcement, in January, it was announced that her and co-host Rove McManus' 2Day FM breakfast show was axed, just one year after its debut.

A statement released by Southern Cross Austero confirmed that Rove and Sam would move to the 7-8pm weekday time-slot from January 30 this year.

'The decision came after Rove & Sam along with SCA executives took some time off over the Summer and after review, decided that the best route forward for all was to move their show into another time slot,' it read.

Out: Sam and co-host Rove McManus' 2Day FM breakfast show was axed this month, just one year after its debut.

Ouch! Earlier this month, a statement released by Southern Cross Austereo confirmed that Rove and Sam would move to the 7-8pm weekday time-slot

The radio show axing news may not have come as a surprise to those who read last month's radio ratings, however.

KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O nabbed the top spot among the Sydney breakfast radio shows, finishing on a 10.5 per cent radio share despite dropping 0.3 per cent.

Rove and Sam suffered yet another blow, claiming just 3.8% audience share and slipping to 10th place overall, making it their lowest score in six months.

Declining listenership: The news may not have come as a surprise to those who read last month's radio ratings, however

In July, Sam revealed she had been having suicidal thoughts after bullying from cruel online trolls about her radio show, and had been undergoing therapy.

Two weeks ago, she enjoyed a relaxing trip to Bali in a bid to recharge despite having travelled there with Sasha for a romantic getaway months prior.
Her parents are both actors.

So it's no wonder little Seraphina was having fun with a prop when in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The eight-year-old daughter of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck was heading to church with her mother close behind.

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Ready for the stage: Her parents are both actors. So it's no wonder little Seraphina was having fun with a prop when in Los Angeles on Sunday

Mama bear: The daughter of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck was heading to church with her mother close behind

The child wore a very colorful outfit with rainbow colors.

Both her leggings and socks stood out. She also had on a Life Is Pretty Amazing white sweatshirt over a blue top.

And on her wrist was a pink watch.

Dandy: Both her leggings and socks stood out. She also had on a Life Is Pretty Amazing white sweatshirt over a blue top

Put together: Mama Garner of Alias and 13 Going On 30 fame looked nicely styled in a striped sweater and black slacks with loafers

Coffee please: The Dallas Buyers Club star also had a small cup of java in her hand

Busy mom: The star's latest movies is The Tribes Of Palos Verdes

Mama Garner of Alias and 13 Going On 30 fame looked nicely styled in a striped sweater and black slacks with loafers.

On Thursday Garner was seen carrying her Montcler padded jacket over one arm and a capacious black leather tote over the other as she opened a large bottle of water.

She was walking and talking on her phone, which she jammed between her head and her shoulder.

Walking and talking: Garner jammed her phone under her ear while opening a bottle of water and carrying a bag and her puffy jacket when she was spotted out in LA on Thursday

With her brunette tresses smoothed back, the Miracles From Heaven star teamed the look with skinny jeans and pink trainers.

Jennifer was seen earlier entering what appeared to be a gym in essentially the same outfit but swapping her jeans for black leggings.

It was a chilly morning by Los Angeles standards with the thermometer in the low 60sF despite the bright sunshine so she bundled up in her puffer jacket with a blue plaid scarf wrapped around her neck.

Getting her daily exercise: The 44-year-old was earlier seen in a similar outfit, swapping her jeans for leggings

The smiling star stepped out for a third time, possibly to collect her children from school, wearing white sneakers with her jeans and puffa jacket.

Jennifer shares Violet, 11, Seraphina, eight, and Samuel, four, with estranged husband Ben Affleck.

The couple announced their separation in the summer of 2015 but never filed for divorce.

Since their split, she and the 44-year-old Batman star have maintained a friendship for the sake of their children, even spending the holidays together.

Meanwhile, Jennifer recently wrapped shooting for her upcoming film. The Tribes Of Palos Verdes, which has yet to set a release date.

She stars alongside Elisabeth Rohm and Maika Monroe in the story of a teenage surfer girl whose mother and father are breaking up.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis went to brunch in Beverly Hills on Sunday.

With the actors were their two children: daughter Wyatt, aged two years, and newborn son Dmitri, aged two months.

This sighting comes just as the That 70s Show actor tweeted: 'My wife came to this country on a refugee visa in the middle of the Cold War. My blood is boiling right now!'.

Family outing: Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis enjoyed brunch with family in Beverly Hills on Sunday

Mad Ash: This sighting comes just as the That 70s Show actor tweeted: 'My wife came to this country on a refugee visa in the middle of the Cold War. My blood is boiling right now!'

Mila was born in the Ukraine in 1983. In 1991, at the age of seven, she moved from Soviet Ukraine to Los Angeles with her family.

Ashton is referring to President Donald Trump's immigration travel ban that was put into effect on Friday.

The tweet was the first of a series of politically charged tweets, as Ashton became more and more incensed by Trump's policy during the evening.

'If standing for the America that doesn't discriminate makes me a left wing actor who is out of touch. F*** it.

'I respect my President but I do not respect this policy!' Ashton came out fighting with a series of politically changed tweets

Blue jean babies: The Iowa born actor matched his wife in distressed denim

'As an American I respect my president but I do not respect this policy. I believe in protecting borders. I believe is enabling safety and security but we do so with honor. We are Americans.'

Earlier in the day he and Mila dressed down in matching denim while they escorted their daughter Wyatt and a friend to brunch. The private pair were sure to obscure their newborn son Dmitri, who was also there.

Mila looked cute as can be while she walked the little ladies towards their destination, making sure to spread out her arms wide in an effort to cover up the family's baby carrier.

Hands full: The That 70s Show actors carried son Dmitri along for the ride in a tiny car seat as Mama Mila held daughter Wyatt

The 33-year-old actress sported a pair of two-tone oxfords accompanied by distressed jeans during the morning jaunt.

Her long dark locks looked were styled in natural waves as the Bad Moms actress covered her top half with a semi-sheer black shirt.

Ashton looked fit as a fiddle while hitting the SoCal pavement in a pair of torn jeans that perfectly complimented his wife's deconstructed denim.

The 38-year-old talent cuffed his pants to show off sporty New Balance sneakers while keeping warm in a black quilted jacket.

As the couple left the restaurant, you could tell that the newest member of the Kutcher-Kunis family was definitely along for the ride.

Making his point: An impassioned Ashton Kutcher at the SAG Awards on Sunday night

While the That 70's Show alums walked to their car, Ashton could be seen carrying a baby-sized car seat with a little blue blanket.

It was almost certain that the two-month old Dmitri Portwood Kutcher was nestled safely inside.

In November the proud papa and his wife were overjoyed to welcome their second child to the world, weighing in at a healthy eight-pounds 15-ounces.

They also have their two-year old daughter Wyatt Isabelle.
My Kitchen Rules judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge were recently involved in a heated discussion that boiled over in public, according to Woman's Day.

The latest edition of the publication alleges that tensions were running high between the celebrity chefs in Brisbane last week, with the pair 'having it out' before attending an event.

The publication claims that both Colin and Manu have grown tired of each other.

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Feud: My Kitchen Rules judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge were recently involved in a heated discussion that boiled over in public, according to Woman's Day

An insider reportedly told the magazine: 'It's not like Manu to fight in public, but he's sick of egotistical Colin thinking he deserves more respect than him and treating the crew badly, when everyone knows that Manu is the lynchpin of the show and the viewers' favourite.'

The magazine alleges that Irish-born Colin 'thinks he's better than the others' - also implying a rift with MKR co-host Pete Evans.

They also report 'power struggles' that have left Pete 'incredibly jealous' of the profile and support offered to Manu by producers.

Heating up: The latest edition of Woman's Day alleges that tensions were running high between the celebrity chefs in Brisbane last week, with the pair 'having it out' before attending an event

Tired: The publication reports that the duo have grown tired of each other - although they looked happy in each other's company on a plane to Brisbane last week (pictured)

The source said: 'If Pete finds out Manu is doing some extra advertising or promo work he wasn't offered, he's furious.'

Season eight of the popular cooking show premieres on Channel Seven tonight, having garnered a huge following since its debut in 2010.

Pete and Manu are the original hosts of the show and have proved a successful combination, with Colin joining as a judge in 2013.

Envy: They also report 'power struggles' that have left Pete 'incredibly jealous' of the profile and support offered to Manu by producers

Battle: Competition from Married At First Sight and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here is expected to impact the show's strong ratings

Manu and Colin seemed happy in each other's company less than a week ago when the latter uploaded a selfie of the duo sat together as they traveled up to Brisbane.

Competition from Married At First Sight and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here is expected to put the show's strong ratings under threat.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment.
They're the Australian power couple who've been married for over a decade.

But Nicole Kidman's growing friendship with Lion director Garth Davis has apparently caused a new rift in her marriage to Keith Urban, according to New Idea.

The magazine has claimed insiders revealed Keith, 49, is 'furious with his wife' for her 'intense relationship' with the Australian director.

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Close: Nicole Kidman's growing friendship with Lion director Garth Davis has apparently caused a new rift in her marriage to Keith Urban

'Keith's nose is totally out of joint and he feels completely humiliated over Nicole's closeness to Garth,' the source reportedly told the magazine.

Lion was Garth's feature film directorial debut and Nicole has lavished him with praise for his Oscar-nominated effort.

He was singled out in a public statement she released when her Best Supporting Actress nod for the movie was announced.

Trouble: The magazine has claimed insiders revealed Keith, 49, is 'furious with his wife' for her 'intense relationship' with the Australian director

'And thanks to Garth Davis for putting his heart and soul into all of us,' she wrote.

The director has been equally as profuse in showering the actress with accolades.

He recently told New Idea the duo had gone to 'great places together' while they filmed Lion and described his leading lady as 'so connected'.

Bond: They're the Australian power couple who've been married for over a decade

According to the magazine's source, Keith is up in arms over the amount of contact Nicole has with Garth, 'because she's always on the phone or texting him'.

The Hollywood A-lister reportedly gushes over the director constantly and her husband is said to be doing his best to accommodate things.

'Keith understands the trust that goes on between a star and a director,' the insider relayed.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out Nicole and Keith's representation for comment.

Drama: According to the magazine's source, Keith is up in arms over the amount of contact Nicole has with Garth, 'because she's always on the phone or texting him'
She's been treating her Instagram followers to a steady stream of envy-inducing snapshots as she basks in the glorious Sydney sunshine.

And on Sunday, Chloe Lewis, 26, appeared eager to turn things up a notch, when she uploaded an image of herself running a thumb along the top of her pink bikini bottoms as she kneeled beside a glistening swimming pool.

'Pink to make the boys wink,' read part of the caption accompanying her picture, which also showed her wearing a white T-shirt - which she held up to show off her tanned and toned abs - over her pink bikini top.

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Pretty in pink! Chloe Lewis shared a shot of herself posing in a pink bikini during her sun-soaked trip to Sydney on Sunday

A few days earlier, she gave her followers more to salivate over as she shared an arty snapshot while soaking up the sun on Sydney's Red Leaf Beach.

The reality star left little to the imagination as flaunted her toned figure in a strappy swimsuit.

With her arms held aloft, the brunette beauty was clearly enjoying her time in the sun as she cooled off in the sea.

Bottoms up! Chloe Lewis flaunted her pert posterior in a barely-there swimsuit in yet another bikini-clad snapshot into her sun-soaked getaway in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday

Chloe made sure she flashed an eyeful of her killer curves, opting for a backless swimsuit, which cut high up at her rear to display her pert derriere to all.

The reality star - who is set to return to filming TOWIE next month - seems to have developed a new mantra since her holiday Down Under.

She captioned the black and white shot: 'I have found that if you love life, life will love you right back.'

Smiling through the pain! The TOWIE star, 26, ensured she turned heads as she posed up a storm in a very sexy swimsuit last week during her break Down Under

Chloe has been busy documenting her sun-soaked trip to Australia, posting another bikini-clad snap last week.

Showcasing her slender waist with the strappy cut-out panels, she flashed a glimpse of cleavage in the halterneck piece.

Tanned and toned, her lean legs were on full display as she knelt on the picturesque rocks surrounding Bondi Beach in Sydney.

'Always smiling... think my knees were hurting', she captioned the snap.

Beach babe: Chloe has made the most of her break from filming TOWIE over the past few weeks

With her brunette hair loose, she covered her face with shades, looking into the distance as she posed for the snap.

The TOWIE beauty - who has been enjoying a much deserved break on the Southern Hemisphere - took to Instagram to share her endless swimwear collection with her 814,000 followers on the photosharing site.

Showcasing her gym-honed physique, the ITVBe darling slipped into a nude Unique Avenue two-piece that featured eye-catching criss-cross detailing across her bust, teasing at her ample cleavage with its plunging neckline.

Proving fashion comes first and not tan lines, Chloe ramped up the sex appeal as she worked a pair of high-waisted bikini bottoms that mimicked the criss-cross detailing of her racy top.

The daring detail highlighted her slender hips and narrow waist whilst displaying her toned pins while she posed on a rock, with Milk Beach's idyllic coastline in the background.

Equipped with a chic panama hat and oversized circular shades, she captioned the snap: 'No place I'd rather be'.

Flaunt it! In another figure-flaunting shot from her trip, Chloe sported a tummy teasing bikini with crochet and pom pom detailing while she stopped for a steamy snap with a pal

In another figure-flaunting shot from her trip, Chloe sported a tummy teasing bikini with crochet and pom pom detailing while she stopped for a steamy snap with a pal.

The peach swimwear boasted high thigh cut bikini bottoms that paraded her perfect pins across the white sand.

She accessorised her beachy look with a gold plate neckline and same retro sunnies as she let her glossy chestnut locks cascade into a soft wave down her shoulder.

Chloe has been enjoying herself in Oz, documenting her every move on social media and even flaunting her figure in a fetching wetsuit.

Breath-taking: Chloe has been enjoying herself in Oz, documenting her every move

Suiting up! Chloe flaunted her figure in a fetching wetsuit as she snorkeled with friends in the picturesque Whitsunday Islands earlier this month

Meanwhile, Chloe appeared ready to move on from her break-up with Jake Hall, after celebrating her birthday with 'someone special', shortly before jetting away to Australia for a blissful break.

The reality star shared a stunning snap as she posed in a red swimsuit, which made the most of her incredible figure, in an image which no doubt thrilled her Instagram followers.

Chloe suffered a tumultuous break-up from Jake after a whopping seven years as a couple when they first arrived on the ITVBe show in 2015.

Yet after her ex-beau left the show, the brunette beauty became embroiled in many dramas yet never enjoyed a lengthy relationship.

'Oz life'! Chloe told her fans she had celebrated her birthday with 'someone special', shortly before jetting away to Australia for a blissful break

Now, the stunner has hinted that she may have found love once more, after she shared a snap from her birthday meal while adding the caption: 'Special birthday dinner, with a special someone'.

Chloe's birthday date came just days before she jetted to Australia and stole the moment to slip into swimwear almost instantly.

As she posed at the helm of a boat, she held her hands in the air in a joyous pose while also showing off her incredible figure.

The red swimsuit boasted a plethora of complicated straps extending across her taut abs while the plunging front gave a glimpse of her perky cleavage.

Moving on? The beauty suffered a painful and public break-up with her boyfriend of 10 years Jake Hall, who has since quit TOWIE

Proving her impeccable attention to high fashion, she wore a funky fedora above her hair which was tied into a low chignon at the nape of her neck.

Before jetting away on holiday, Chloe rang in her 26th birthday with a glamorous meal in which she dazzled in a Balmain-inspired black jacket.

She added a caption on the snap reading: 'Special birthday dinner, with a special someone' - seemingly alluding to a date night.

While Chloe appears to be moving on, Jake has firmly made the transition to his new relationship as he is loved up with Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Misse Beqiri, who looks strikingly similar to Chloe.
Tehran, Iran, Jan. 29

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

The Iranian police arrested 1,758 cultural heritage smugglers in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (which started March 20).

There are 253 cultural heritage protection police stations in Iran with 2,119 forces and 662 staff officers, Cultural Heritage Police chief Amir Rahmatollahi said, Mehr News Agency reported Jan. 29.

There are over 32,000 registered cultural heritage entries in Iran, attracting millions of tourists.
Trump vows better Russia ties, reassures NATO allies

President Donald Trump vowed to improve floundering ties with Russia, while also reassuring close US allies he supports NATO.

Trump faced a first legal defeat amid growing international alarm over his halt to refugees and travelers from certain Muslim majority countries, with a federal judge blocking part of the ban.

The temporary stay orders authorities to stop deporting dozens of refugees and other travelers who had been detained at US airports since Trump signed his measure Friday afternoon.

US President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin from the Oval Office of the White House on January 28, 2017 Mandel Ngan (AFP)

British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated she does "not agree" with the restrictions, and will intervene if they affect UK nationals.

French President Francois Hollande warned of the "economic and political consequences" of the American leader's protectionist stance.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that Trump's decision to ban arrivals was "a great gift to extremists".

"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.

"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."

Yemen's Huthi rebels also slammed the ban, saying any attempt to classify Yemen and its citizens as a probable source for terrorism "is illegal and illegitimate."

Trump's sweeping executive order suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.

The move sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators chanted "Let them in, let them in!"

- Better US-Russia ties? -

Trump's friendly stance toward Putin, whom France and Germany accuse of seeking to undermine Western unity, is being scrutinized since he won the US election in November.

The White House hailed the call with Putin as a "significant start" to better US-Russia ties, while the Kremlin said the pair agreed to develop relations "as equals" and to establish "real coordination" against the Islamic State group.

Trump took office last week with US-Russia relations at new Cold War-level lows amid accusations by American intelligence agencies that the Kremlin hacked Democratic Party emails as part of a pro-Trump campaign to influence November's election.

The president -- who has raised the prospect of easing sanctions imposed against Russia after its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 -- has cast doubt on whether Russia meddled in the election.

In a flurry of calls that began early in the morning and rounded out an already frantically paced week, Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin, Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The conversations gave the US president an early opportunity to explain new policies that have baffled and unnerved much of the rest of the world -- particularly his order to temporarily halt all refugee arrivals and those of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

European leaders are also concerned about Trump's virulent criticism of NATO -- he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" -- at a time when it stands as the main defense against Putin.

But in his call with Merkel, Trump agreed on NATO's "fundamental importance," the White House said.

The United States provides significant funding to NATO, and Trump has urged other member nations to step up their contributions.

- 'Extreme vetting' -

Trump's pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travelers from Islamic countries to "extreme vetting," which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists."

"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump insisted.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," he told reporters.

The new protocols specifically bar Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat.

The legal challenge, which won a first battle in US District Court in New York, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after two Iraqi men were detained late Friday at JFK.

- 'Greatest nation' -

One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked for the US government in Iraq for 10 years.

"America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world," Darweesh said after his release.

Mark Doss, a supervising attorney at the International Refugee Project at the Urban Justice Center, said Darweesh's detention and release showed the new policy was being implemented "with no guidance."

The ban has also triggered a political backlash.

"To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, tweeted late Friday.

His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada.

International groups and civil liberties organizations have roundly condemned Trump's orders.

"'Extreme vetting' is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims," said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero.

Romero said Trump's order breached the US constitution's ban on religious discrimination by choosing countries with Muslim majorities for tougher treatment.

Iran answered in kind by saying it would ban Americans from entering the country, calling Trump's action insulting.

But the US leader did get backing from Czech President Milos Zeman, who praised him for being "concerned with the safety of his citizens."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and French President Francois Hollande attend a joint press conference prior to talks in the chancellery in Berlin on January 27, 2017 Adam BERRY (AFP/File)

US President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel from the Oval Office of the White House on January 28, 2017 in Washington, DC Mandel Ngan (AFP)

Protesters gather at JFK International Airport against US President Donald Trump's executive order to ban travellers from certain Muslim-majority countries on January 28, 2017 in New York Bryan R. Smith (AFP)

Protesters gather at JFK International Airport against US President Donald Trump's executive order to ban travellers from certain Muslim-majority countries on January 28, 2017 in New York Bryan R. Smith (AFP)

Donald Trump, immigration and refugees Sophie RAMIS, Alain BOMMENEL (AFP/File)
Oscar buzz dead, China clips 'Hooligan Sparrow' wings

Ye Haiyan, one of China's most prominent women's rights activists, huddled in her unheated apartment on the outskirts of Beijing, waiting to learn if the documentary that propelled her to international fame would receive an Oscar nod.

Last month, "Hooligan Sparrow", a documentary following her activism on behalf of sexually abused children, made a short list for the Academy Awards. Last week, local authorities killed her gas, water, electricity and Internet.

When she learned the film was not included among the final five nominees announced Tuesday, she breathed a sigh of relief.

After a documentary on Ye Haiyan's work made the Oscar's short list, local authorities in China killed activist her gas, water, electricity and Internet STR (AFP/File)

"If many people started paying attention to me because of the film, I suspect I wouldn't be able to stay in China much longer," she said.

"I don't want to stand up and become an even more prominent dissident here."

Since 2012, Ye has gained a huge online following for shock-tactic human rights activism: working for free in a brothel to advocate for sex worker rights and making a tongue-in-cheek offer to sleep with a school principal who raped and pimped out his students in the southern island province of Hainan.

Her work drew the attention of internationally renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who posed nude with her in a controversial photograph.

But the spotlight also attracted the attention of the country's police, who ruthlessly persecuted the single mother for her role in organising protests over the school rape case.

- 'Big news in China' -

The director of "Hooligan Sparrow", New York-based Nanfu Wang, captured the drama of intimidation, detention and evictions Ye suffered in the summer of 2013, weaving the tense footage into a thriller-esque narrative.

The first-time director's documentary would have become one of only a handful of movies by a mainland Chinese filmmaker to ever be nominated for an Oscar.

Wang was disappointed the film was not included among the final five nominees.

"A nomination would have been big news in China - the kind of news that state censorship would struggle to manage," Wang said.

Greater exposure might mean greater protection for Ye from authorities bent on muzzling civil society, but it could also end in increased harassment, she said.

Wang has not returned to China since the film debuted, unsure of the consequences that might await her.

Since President Xi Jinping took power in late 2012, authorities have carried out a brutal crackdown on civil society, which has seen hundreds of lawyers, activists and academics detained and dozens jailed.

"It's difficult to know for sure how the government will behave," she said.

- 'Quite dangerous' -

Since the film's release, Ye has been forced to reevaluate her often sensationalistic tactics.

Things were "quite dangerous" for a while, she said, as the government upped its surveillance.

"After Hainan and Nanfu's film, I thought: 'My God, our country is so rotten. The authorities are capable of anything,'" she said.

"Before, I'd been so naive. I thought as long as I made noise, the government would hear me and change."

Living under constant scrutiny, she said, has forced her to find a balance between speaking out for her beliefs and keeping a low-enough profile to avoid becoming further entangled.

Her previous tactics, inspired by Western-style activism, fell on deaf ears in China, she said.

"People wouldn't listen to anything you said, thinking you'd been brainwashed by Western universal values," she said.

To change Chinese hearts and minds, she is going to "try to better understand people and find language that they can accept".

"I'm even willing to work with the Communist party," she added.

The government, however, does not seem interested in the offer: local officials have shut off her utilities in an attempt to drive her from her home, this time for posting an article about the party's founding father Mao Zedong.

After she criticised a small but vocal resurgence of praise for the leader whose failed policies killed tens of millions, government censors closed her social media accounts and local police threatened to lock her in her home if she did not leave.

"We might have to jump out the second-storey window," she said.

But while Ye may bend to the party's will, she refuses to break. She has turned her predicament into performance art, hanging a red lantern on her staircase for every day she goes without power.

"As long as they allow me a small space in this country to survive and speak, I won't leave or give up being a critic."
Boat with 28 Chinese tourists missing in Malaysia

The skipper and a crewman from a tourist boat that went missing off Malaysia were found alive Sunday but an air and sea search was continuing for some 28 Chinese passengers.

Strong winds and choppy seas were hampering the search for the catamaran, which went missing in poor weather off Borneo island on Saturday morning -- the first day of the Lunar New Year.

It had left Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia's Sabah state en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency is searching for 28 Chinese tourists and a crewman from a boat missing off Borneo MANAN VATSYAYANA (AFP/File)

"The owner of the boat reported it missing on Saturday evening and we have begun a search and rescue mission," said Awil Kamsari, a spokesman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The skipper and one of two crew members who had been aboard were found alive on Sunday afternoon in waters off a nearby island, the agency said.

Their condition was unknown and no further details were provided.

China's consulate general's office in Sabah, citing information from Malaysian authorities, said via a statement that the catamaran is suspected to have sunk after an accident near some islands.

It also claimed that multiple passengers were adrift awaiting rescue but provided no further details.

Malaysian authorities said they will hold a press conference in Sabah Sunday evening.

China's foreign ministry said "around 20" of its nationals were aboard. Its state news agency Xinhua said an emergency team, led by an official from the national tourism administration, had been set up to handle the incident.

An area of 400 nautical square miles is being searched with officers from the maritime agency, the police, the navy and the air force involved.

Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin tweeted that it was "so sad as it happened on CNY (Chinese New Year)" and said navy ships and a C130 aircraft were on site for the search.

"I, like all the relatives of those on board, am hoping for progress in the search and rescue operation," Sabah's tourism minister Masidi Manjun told AFP.

"Our forces are trying their best."

However bad weather was hampering the search, authorities said.

China's foreign ministry said its consulate-general in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged them to do everything they could to rescue the tourists.

"Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and it should have been a happy day. Unfortunately, such a bad thing happened," China's consul-general in Sabah, Chen Peijie, was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

The incident came about a week after a boat tragedy off the southern Malaysian state of Johor.
Hollande urges 'firm' European response to Trump

French President Francois Hollande urged Europe to form a united front and provide a "firm" response to US President Donald Trump, at a gathering Saturday of southern European Union leaders.

"We must conduct firm dialogue with the new American administration which has shown it has its own approach to the problems we all face," he said at the end of the gathering as he was flanked by the other leaders who took part.

Trump has rattled America's traditional European allies with a range of radical policy plans.

French President Francois Hollande said Europe must "engage in a firm dialogue" with the US with a goal towards solving global problems Adam BERRY (AFP/File)

He has called NATO "obsolete", announced he would rip up a planned transatlantic trade plan and supported Britain's move to leave the EU, praising the decision as "a wonderful thing" during a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Friday he also signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries.

During his first phone conversation with Trump late Saturday, Hollande stressed the "economic and political consequences of a protectionist approach", adding that the principle of "acceptance of refugees" should be respected.

"Faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response," Hollande was quoted as saying in an Elysee Palace statement.

Hollande had earlier told the gathering that "when he adopts protectionist measures, which could destabilise economies not just in Europe but the economies of the main countries of the world, we have to respond".

"And when he refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond."

- Ready to cooperate with Trump -

While officially the new administration in Washington was not on the agenda, the six other European leaders who took part in the summit also alluded to Trump.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe was "ready, interested and willing to cooperate" with the Trump administration.

"But we are Europe, and we cherish our values," he added.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended the EU project, saying it had helped transform Europe into the world region with the "highest level of progress, civil rights and well being".

Also meeting in Lisbon were the leaders of Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal.

The summit was a follow up to a first gathering in Athens in September 2016 as part of a push by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to create a strong southern "axis" to counter the influence of nations in northern Europe.

The group is often referred to -- sometimes dismissively -- as "Club Med", even though one of its members, Portugal, is not on the Mediterranean.

It includes some of the nations hardest hit by the financial crisis.

Portugal and Greece both needed international bailouts worth tens of billions of euros which came with demands for tough austerity measures and economic reforms.

- Boost investment -

As in the first meeting in Greece, the mostly centre-left leaders gathered in Portugal urged Brussels to do more to boost flagging growth in the bloc.

A joint declaration signed by the participating countries said the EU should boost funding for strategic investment.

"We share the urgency of promoting investment, growth, employment, with a special focus on youth employment," it read.

The Lisbon summit comes ahead of a February 3 meeting of EU leaders in Malta to look at the future of the bloc without Britain, its second-largest economy and its richest financial centre.

Rajoy said Madrid would host a third summit of southern EU nations in April.

"These countries meet informally and they have no other goal other than to work for the people of the entire European Union," he said.

The goal is not to create an "organisation" inside Europe but to act "in the service of the entire European Union," added Hollande.

The so-called Visegrad group -- made up of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland -- have also held their own meetings to present a united front.

In a flurry of calls US President Donald Trump spoke to several world leaders to explain new policies that have baffled and unnerved much of the rest of the world Mandel Ngan (AFP)

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe was "ready, interested and willing to cooperate" with the Trump administration PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA (AFP)
Villeneuve 'very disappointed' at Amy Adams Oscar snub

Oscar-nominated Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve spoke Saturday of his exasperation at the Academy overlooking Amy Adams's acclaimed performance in sci-fi thriller "Arrival."

The alien invasion drama, re-released in US theaters this week, has eight nominations for February's Oscars, including for best film and for Villeneuve's direction.

But Adams, widely expected to get a sixth Oscar nomination for "Arrival" -- and perhaps another for "Nocturnal Animals" -- was left off the list, leaving the trade press and many leading industry figures bewildered.

Director Denis Villeneuve and actor Jeremy Renner attend Amy Adams' star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Alberto E. Rodriguez (Getty/AFP/File)

"I was very disappointed, because she is the soul of the movie. She was my biggest ally. She gave everything, she gave a tremendous, very complex performance," Villeneuve, 49, told AFP at the Producers Guild Awards (PGAs) in Beverly Hills.

Taking its cue from classics such as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) and "Contact" (1997), "Arrival" was filmed in Villeneuve's native Quebec for a relatively small $50 million.

Adams, 42, was universally lauded for her portrayal of Louise Banks, a linguist enlisted by the army after alien pods pop up worldwide, to help figure out what their occupants want.

The picture pairs Adams with fellow "American Hustle" star Jeremy Renner, playing against type as a shy, soft-spoken mathematician.

The best actress Oscar nominations went to Emma Stone ("La La Land"), Natalie Portman ("Jackie"), Ruth Negga ("Loving"), Isabelle Huppert ("Elle") and Meryl Streep ("Florence Foster Jenkins").

Villeneuve told AFP he had spoken to Adams several times since the nominations and that she had been nothing but magnanimous.

"Amy Adams is the incarnation of grace," said the director, who made "Sicario" (2015) and has just finished filming the much-anticipated sequel to iconic sci-fi favorite "Blade Runner."

"She just said to me, 'Danny -- it's all right. The movie is nominated, you are nominated, it's all good. Don't think about it, please just celebrate.'"

"Arrival" was competing for best film at the PGAs alongside "Deadpool," "Fences," "Hacksaw Ridge," "Hell or High Water," "Hidden Figures," "La La Land," "Lion," "Manchester by the Sea" and "Moonlight."

"Blade Runner 2049" -- which comes out in October, some 35 years after the cult neo-noir original -- sees Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard, this time opposite Ryan Gosling.

"It was like the most powerful and intense cinematic experience of my life. It's tough to talk about it -- I'm still in it -- but it was a very powerful experience," Villeneuve told AFP.

Describing his 74-year-old star as his "childhood hero," he admitted to being in awe of Ford when filming began last summer in Budapest, Hungary.

"A good thing is that Harrison is a very humble, very funny, generous human being. He broke the ice," Villeneuve said.
Yemen rebels slam Trump travel ban

Yemen's Huthi rebels have slammed US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a temporary order restricting arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries including the Arabian Peninsula country.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the rebel-controlled foreign ministry called for the decision taken "under the pretext of fighting terrorism and Islamic radicalism" to be reversed.

"All attempts to classify Yemen and its citizens as a probable source for terrorism and extremism is illegal and illegitimate," said the statement carried by the rebel-run Saba news agency.

Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen in 2014, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee Mohammed HUWAIS (AFP/File)

The Iran-backed Shiite rebels seized the capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen in 2014, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee.

The government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, has not yet reacted to Trump's tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
A third Pakistani activist named only as Asim by his family for safety reasons who went missing earlier this month is safe, his family told AFP on Sunday.

The news comes a day after two of the other disappeared men were confirmed as secure.

The activist was among five who went missing more than two weeks ago, sparking fears of a government crackdown and resulting in protests.

Pakistani rights activists hold images of bloggers who have disappeared

'Asim contacted us by phone on Sunday morning and told us that he is well,' a relative requesting anonymity told AFP, saying the family had been receiving threats.

On Saturday, academic Salman Haider and another blogger whose family asked not to be named were reported safe by their families.

Two others remain unaccounted for.

The five men - who campaigned for human rights and religious freedom - went missing from various cities between January 4 and 7, triggering nationwide protests.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Missing rights activists, Waqas Goraya, Salman Haider, and Asim Saeed, during a demonstration to condemn the missing human rights activists, in Islamabad, Pakistan

But Human Rights Watch and other rights groups said their near simultaneous disappearances raised concerns of government involvement, which officials and intelligence sources have denied.

'These abductions bear all the hallmarks of the modus operandi of the Pakistan state,' Saroop Ijaz, representative of Human Rights Watch in Pakistan told AFP.

'The release, again which is coordinated. The onus lies on the state to either come clear about what has happened or to hold the perpetrators accountable,' Ijaz said.

The returned activists have not yet recounted what happened to them or where they have been the past few weeks.

Pakistan has had a history of enforced disappearances over the past decade, but this has mainly been confined to conflict zones near the Afghanistan border or to Balochistan province where separatists are battling for independence.

A virulent social media campaign painting the missing as blasphemers triggered a flood of threats despite denials from their worried families, with observers saying the claims could place them in danger.

Pakistani journalists and local residents gather out the home of Salman Haider, a university professor and rights activists, following news of his return

The charge, which can carry the death penalty, is hugely sensitive in deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan, where even unproven allegations have stirred mob lynchings and murder.

Rights groups say Pakistani activists and journalists often find themselves caught between the country's security establishment and militant groups including the Taliban.
Clashes on Yemen west coast kill more than 100: medics

Fierce battles between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels on the country's west coast have killed more than 100 fighters in the past 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.

The bodies of at least 90 Huthi rebels were taken to a hospital in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, which is controlled by the insurgents, while 19 dead soldiers were taken to the southern port city of Aden, the medical and military sources said.

Deadly clashes have shaken the area around the key Red Sea town of Mokha since the start of the year when loyalist fighters launched an offensive to oust the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies.

Yemeni armoured vehicles advance on the Red Sea port city of Mokha, on January 23, 2017 SALEH AL-OBEIDI (AFP)

Loyalists backed by the firepower of a Saudi-led Arab coalition advanced Saturday into the town after having captured its port on Monday, despite strong rebel resistance.

Clashes raged in the town on Sunday, a military official said.

Air strikes by coalition warplanes hit rebel supplies along the route between Mokha and Hodeida, the official said.

Huthi forces had controlled Mokha since they overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced on other regions aided by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Forces supporting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the coalition, launched a vast offensive on January 7 to retake the coastline overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Mokha was Yemen's main port serving as its export hub for coffee until it was overtaken by Aden and Hodeida in the 19th century.
Iran rights charter has no power over judiciary: official

Iran's new charter of rights outlining freedoms of speech, protest and fair trials does not apply to the detention of opposition leaders and dual nationals, the bill's architect says.

The Charter of Citizens' Rights, released last month by the office of President Hassan Rouhani, embodies freedoms including the right to trial in open court without arbitrary detention.

But Elham Aminzadeh, special assistant to Rouhani on citizens' rights, told AFP in an interview that the bill has no power over the judiciary or parliament and only covers the civil service and other parts of the executive.

Iran's Charter of Citizens' Rights, released last month by the office of President Hassan Rouhani, embodies freedoms including the right to trial in open court without arbitrary detention BEHROUZ MEHRI (AFP/File)

"I cannot put an article in this charter for the judiciary or legislative," said Aminzadeh, who spent three years compiling the document.

Asked about the continued house arrest without trial of opposition leaders since anti-government protests in 2009, she said: "It is not very related to the executive or administrative power. It is something else. I cannot answer to this."

On the trials of dual nationals, who have recently been jailed in closed-door courts, Aminzadeh said: "Security prisoners have a special process inside the judiciary. We cannot say anything about special security prisoners.

"We talk to the judiciary, but just talk and notifying -- nothing more," she added.

Recent months have seen several cases such as that of British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, sentenced to five years in prison for "sedition", and US-Iranian Siamak Namazi and his father, both given 10 years for espionage, which have caused outrage around the world.

Aminzadeh said she hoped the charter might one day be made into law by parliament and extended to all branches of government, but she indicated this was not a pressing concern.

"In comparing to other countries, I think (the human rights situation in Iran) is good, but it can be better," she said.

Aminzadeh denied the charter was just an attempt to win votes ahead of Rouhani's likely bid for re-election in May. It had been a key campaign promise in 2013.

"It's not a slogan... It is not just for the Rouhani government, it is for the next 100 years," she said.

- 'Double standards' -

Pressed on the detention of dissidents and journalists, and other allegations of rights violations, Aminzadeh said these were largely invented by the foreign media and NGOs.

"I don't know why of the many different human rights violations around the world, the foreign media is not keen on discussing them," she said, highlighting the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in the 1980s.

She accused Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of picking on Iran and ignoring rights abuses in countries like Bahrain and Yemen -- saying this was "double standards".

In the past five years, Human Rights Watch has written 14 long reports on Yemen and five on Bahrain, compared with four on Iran.

Reformist commentators in Iran have given a mixed response to the charter.

An editorial by the Association of the Reformists, published on social media network Telegram, said the charter was "good but not enough".

Rouhani "should form a committee with representatives of all branches of power and endeavour to execute this bill so it does not look like an election gesture to the public," it said.

But Mohammad Fazeli, an official with the Centre for Strategic Studies think tank, which comes under the president's office, said: "Words are not neutral".
Syrian army says retakes key rebel area near Damascus

The Syrian army said on Sunday that it had recaptured a flashpoint area from rebels near Damascus that supplies water to the capital.

Wadi Barada had been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between regime and rebel forces that tested a fragile nationwide truce and left millions in Damascus facing water shortages.

"Our armed forces... have accomplished their mission by restoring security and stability in the region of Wadi Barada", the army said in a statement carried by state television.

The Syrian army said on Sunday that it had recaptured a flashpoint area from rebels near Damascus that supplies the capital's water HO (SANA/AFP/File)

The announcement came a day after the army entered the water pumping station in Wadi Barada for the first time in four years.

Under a deal with the authorities, rebels can choose to stay in the area but hand over their weapons, or leave to the northern province of Idlib, last major bastion of the armed opposition.

Hundreds of rebels began to leave Wada Barada on Sunday for Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Around 5.5 million people in Damascus and its suburbs have been without water since fighting intensified in the Wadi Barada area in late December.

Government forces have battled to regain control of Wadi Barada and the water installation at Ain al-Fijeh since rebels overran the area before Christmas.

Damascus governor Alaa Ibrahim said Sunday that repair work had begun at the plant, adding that while damage to the facility was "significant", he hoped mains water would resume to the capital "soon".

Earlier in January, residents agreed a truce with Syrian authorities to allow maintenance teams into the area, but the deal was called off and violence flared after a chief mediator between the two sides was murdered.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011 with anti-government protests that were brutally repressed.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Turkey intends to expand cooperation in the customs sphere with Georgia, Deputy Minister of Customs and Trade of Turkey Fatih Ciftci said during his visit to Georgia, Turkish media outlets reported.

While discussing with his Georgian colleagues the issue of delays at the Red Bridge checkpoint on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border, Ciftci noted that Turkey hopes to solve the problem of congestion of trucks at this checkpoint.

The Red Bridge border checkpoint is located on the main route of export of the Turkish goods to Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
47 killed in Madagascar wedding crash: police

At least 47 people, including 10 children and a newly-wed couple, were killed when a truck carrying a wedding party and guests veered off the road and plunged into a river in Madagascar, police said Sunday.

Police said the accident occurred early Saturday outside the town of Anjozorobe, around 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the capital. The truck was transporting passengers who had attended a wedding the day before.

There were "a total of 47 deaths, including 10 children" and the newly-wedded couple, police spokesman Herilala Andrianatisaona told AFP. Twenty-two others were injured.

A Malagasy traffic policeman directs the traffic on the outskirts of Antananarivo on November 24, 2016 GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (AFP)

The police have blamed the driver for taking too many passengers on a truck meant to carry only goods.

"According to our hypothesis, the truck driver, cognisant of the offence he was committing, which was transporting too many passengers in a vehicle meant for carrying goods, drove fast to escape traffic police checks."

"The driver lost control of his vehicle after having negotiated a wrong turn and ended up in the Mananara river," said Andrianatisaona.
Controversial Trump aide Bannon elevated to WH security council

Donald Trump's controversial senior adviser Steve Bannon will have a permanent seat at White House National Security Council (NSC) meetings, solidifying his role as one of the most powerful members of the president's inner circle.

In an executive memorandum signed on Saturday, Trump elevated Bannon, while downgrading the status of the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the security council's principals committee.

The DNI and Joint Chiefs chairman now will only be present at meetings "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed," the memorandum said.

Steve Bannon is credited in large part with successfully orchestrating Donald Trump's upset presidential election victory Mandel Ngan (AFP/File)

Bannon, 63, credited in large part with successfully orchestrating the billionaire's upset presidential election victory, led the Breitbart News website described as a haven for the "alt-right" anti-mainstream movement.

The site ignited controversy during the presidential campaign because of its alleged alignment with white supremacists, white nationalists and anti-Semites.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in an interview Sunday with ABC television that Bannon was part of "an unbelievable group of folks that are part of the NSC."

"The president gets plenty of information from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and gets briefed and what they've done is modernize the National Security Council, so it's less bureaucratic and more focused on providing the president with the intelligence he needs," Spicer said, explaining the shuffle.

Bannon, "is a former naval officer with a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape we have now," he said.

Spicer added: "Having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings who has a significant military background to help make, guide what the president's final analysis will be, is crucial."

Bannon had a blue-collar upbringing, but he quickly became part of the very establishment he rails against.

He began his career as a Goldman Sachs banker, then became a producer in Hollywood before taking over the Breitbart news platform. Bannon is currently on leave from Breitbart while working for Trump.

Steve Bannon Iris Royer De Vericourt (AFP)
Syrian Christians denied entry at Philadelphia: official

Six Syrians including Christians were turned away from Philadelphia International Airport in the United States and sent back to Lebanon, an official at Beirut airport told AFP on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday prohibiting entry to the United States to all nationals of seven Muslim-majority states -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The ban also prohibits entry to all refugees, regardless of origin, for 120 days and indefinitely for refugees from Syria, which has been ravaged by a deadly war since 2011.

A Lebanese official said three children were among six Syrians turned away at Philadelphia International Airport Joshua LOTT (AFP/File)

"Six people, including Syrian Christians, were turned back at Philadelphia airport on Saturday and were back in Beirut on Sunday," the source in Lebanon said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

They then headed back to Syria.

The Lebanese official said three children were among those turned away at Philadelphia. Their journey had taken them via Doha in the absence of direct flights between Beirut and the United States since the 1980s, when Lebanon was in the middle of a civil war.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said he will not attend next month's Academy Awards Ceremony. He added hardliners in both Iran and the US acted with the same mentality

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said Sunday he will not attend next month's Academy Awards ceremony.

In a statement, he compared US President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries to the actions of hardliners in his own country.

Farhadi, nominated for best foreign language film for 'The Salesman,' said in a statement that while he had initially planned to attend the ceremony, he had been forced to change his mind.

Scroll down for video

Trump signed an executive order called 'Protection Of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States,' on Friday prohibiting entry to the United States to all nationals of seven Muslim-majority states: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Farhadi said he had planned to attend but was forced to change his mind. Pictured: Farhadi, center, congratulating Shahab Hosseini, left, who won best actor at Cannes for his performance in Farhadi's film 'The Salesman'

Trump signed an executive order on Friday prohibiting entry to the United States to all nationals of 7 Muslim-majority states - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen

Visas will not be issued to citizens of these countries for 90 days.

National Iranian-American Council president Trita Parsi told the Los Angeles Times that Farhadi, an Iranian national, would only be able to get out of the ban by applying to and receiving an artistic exception.

Farhadi, 45, said: 'I neither had the intention to not attend nor did I want to boycott the event as a show of objection, for I know that many in the American film industry and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are opposed to the fanaticism and extremism which are today taking place more than ever.'

He added: 'However, it now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip.'

He said hardliners in United States and Iran acted with the same mentality.

He elaborated: 'For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears.'

He added: 'Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.'

Asghar Farhadi's film 'The Salesman,' which was filmed in his native Iran, is nominated for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. His film A Separation won the award in 2012

A White House source told People that Farhadi could receive a waiver that would allow him entry to the US and attendance at the Oscars but did not elaborate.

Farhadi's lead actress, Taraneh Alidoosti, had already announced that she would boycott the annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles over Trump's 'racist' visa ban.

The 33-year-old actress wrote on Twitter: 'Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest.'

Responding to Alidootsi's planned boycott, 'Arrival' director Denis Villeneuve, from Canada, said he thought it 'was a bad idea.'

He told the Los Angeles Times: 'It's not about trying to boycott, it's the opposite.

'It's about building bridges between cultures. It's more powerful to come.

'It's time to talk, not to be silent.'

Taraneh Alidoosti, star of Farhadi's film 'The Salesman,' said she plans to boycott the Oscars. 'Arrival' director Denis Villeneuve said he thought this 'was a bad idea'

'Racist': Taraneh Alidootsi said she will not attend the Oscars in protest of Trump's visa ban on seven countries including Iran

Farhadi won the best foreign language Oscar in 2012 for his film 'A Separation.'

The subjects of 'The White Helmets,' an Oscar nominee for short subject documentary about the volunteers who rescue victims of attacks in Syria, will also be unable to attend, it emerged later Sunday.

Producer Joanna Matasegara said in a statement: 'We have always said that if we were to be nominated, we would bring Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets, who has spoken many times in Washington DC, and Khaled Khateeb, the young cinematographer who risked his life over and over again, as our guests.

'They've been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. These people are the bravest humanitarians on the planet, and the idea that they could not be able to come with us and enjoy that success is just abhorrent."

The White Helmets say on their website that their unarmed rescuers have saved more than 78,500 lives in Syria.

Raed Saleh, left, and Khaled Khateeb, right, are the subjects of documentary 'The White Helmets.' They were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last year for their work in saving Syrian lives. They would not be able to attend the Oscars under Trump's ban

The White Helmets is nominated for Best Documentary Short at this year's Academy Awards

Asghar Farhadi won Best Foreign Language film for 'A Separation' in 2012. He was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay

They were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last year, although the award went to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

A spokesperson for the Academy Awards said: 'The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences.

'As supporters of filmmakers, and the human rights of all people, around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this years Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.'
Egypt beat Morocco to end Renard dream, make Cup of Nations semis

Mahmoud Kahraba scrambled in the winner in the 88th minute as Egypt beat Herve Renard's Morocco 1-0 on Sunday to reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

A tense last-eight tie in Port-Gentil seemed destined for extra time until Kahraba, on as a substitute, stabbed the ball over the line after the Moroccan defence had failed to cut out a corner.

The Pharaohs, record seven-time winners of the trophy, now advance to a semi-final against Burkina Faso in Libreville on Wednesday after claiming a rare victory against their north African rivals.

Egypt's midfielder Mahmoud Kahraba (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final football match between Egypt and Morocco in Port-Gentil on January 29, 2017 Justin TALLIS (AFP)

The 1-0 scoreline also means Hector Cuper's side have still not conceded a goal in four games in Gabon.

"It was a very complicated match for both teams for 94 minutes. We both had chances but we were lucky to get the goal from a dead ball," said Argentine Cuper.

Defeat for Morocco means Renard, following previous triumphs with Zambia and the Ivory Coast, will not become the first man to win a third Cup of Nations title here with a third different country.

"Congratulations to Egypt and their coach," said Renard.

"They are a very, very strong team who on a difficult pitch managed to play football, so when they find themselves on a better pitch it will be difficult to beat them."

Given the identities of the two coaches, this tie always looked likely to be a close-fought tactical battle and so it proved on a dreadful pitch in Port-Gentil that the tournament can be glad to see the back of.

Renard opted to play with three centre-backs, Romain Saiss joining Manuel Da Costa and skipper Mehdi Benatia in the middle of the defence as they looked to suffocate the Egyptian attack.

It was a largely successful tactic but the first half was almost totally devoid of real incident.

Egypt did threaten once when Nabil Dirar failed to clear at the back post and Trezeguet's effort was saved by Munir Mohamedi.

At the other end, Saiss was unable to connect with Da Costa's ball across the face of goal but then headed against the top of the bar as the Egyptians struggled to clear.

Cuper had lost Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny to injury earlier in the day and he then saw Marwan Mohsen limp off late in the first half, the striker the latest of many victims of the pitch over the last two weeks.

A livelier start to the second period saw the Moroccan 'keeper produce a strong arm to block a Mohamed Salah effort before the pocket-sized midfielder M'bark Boussoufa struck the bar at the other end.

The bulk of the support in the stadium was for Morocco and the bulk of the chances were going their way too in their first knockout round appearance since 2004.

But striker Aziz Bouhaddouz, who scored in the group-stage win against Togo, somehow could not connect with Faycal Fajr's driven ball inside the six-yard box and then headed narrowly wide.

Salah was the danger man for the Egyptians and when Abdallah El Said chipped a free-kick over the wall and into his path, the Roma star's effort was spectacularly saved by Munir.

Extra time loomed but then Kahraba struck to spark wild Egyptian celebrations and break Moroccan hearts.

Egypt's midfielder Mahmoud Hassan (L) challenges Morocco's midfielder Nabil Dirar during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final football match between Egypt and Morocco in Port-Gentil on January 29, 2017 Justin TALLIS (AFP)
Miss Universe to be crowned in the Philippines

Eighty-six of the world's most beautiful women will be vying for the Miss Universe crown Monday as the Philippines -- last year's winner -- stages the beauty contest in a bid to boost tourism and investment.

Last year's host, Emmy Award winner Steve Harvey -- who shot to notoriety for initially announcing the wrong winner -- returns for this year's three-hour pageant that starts at 8:00 am (0000 GMT) in Manila.

Latin American beauties led by Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar and Miss Peru's Valeria Piazza were the odds-on favourites for the crown according to online betting sites.

Miss Universe contestant Le Hang (R) of Vietnam competes with other candidates during the preliminary competition of the Miss Universe pageant at the Mall of Asia arena in Manila TED ALJIBE (AFP)

Marina Jacoby, only the second black woman to be crowned Miss Brazil, is also touted as a possible winner.

The contestants also include Deshauna Barber of the US Army Reserve, the first active-duty soldier to win the Miss USA title.

Beauty contests are phenomenally popular in the Philippines, and the pageant will be broadcast live across the country.

But President Rodrigo Duterte's government rejected popular calls to declare a national holiday for the event.

Monday's show is to be headlined by US performers including Grammy award-winning rhythm and blues group Boyz II Men and rapper and Grammy award nominee Flo Rida.

Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines currently holds the crown, following a comical error in which host Harvey mistakenly awarded the title to Miss Colombia.

Harvey corrected the error minutes later, apologising on air to Wurtzbach and Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez.

The Philippine tourism ministry on Saturday reached out to the American actor-comedian, saying he has "millions of excited fans in the Philippines who look forward to having him".

Manila agreed to host the pageant as part of efforts to draw tourists and investors to the developing Asian nation's high-flying economy, now one of the fastest-growing in Asia.

"We... throw our support for the Miss Philippines candidate Maxine Medina who deserves all the moral boost she can get for working very hard and giving her best in a competition that promotes goodwill and friendship among nations," Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

Allowing Manila to host has proved controversial, with critics claiming the pageant would whitewash Duterte's brutal drug war, which has left more than 6,000 people dead.
Tech companies protest Trump immigration order

NEW YORK (AP)  Google, Apple and other tech giants expressed dismay over an executive order on immigration from President Donald Trump that bars nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

The U.S tech industry relies on foreign engineers and other technical experts for a sizeable percentage of its workforce. The order bars entry to the U.S. for anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

The move, ostensibly intended to prevent extremists from carrying out attacks in the U.S., could now also heighten tensions between the new Trump administration and one of the nation's most economically and culturally important industries. That's especially true if Trump goes on to revamp the industry's temporary worker permits known as H-1B visas, as some fear.

FILE - In this June 13, 2016 file photo, The Apple logo is shown on a screen at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, in San Francisco. Google, Apple and other tech giants expressed dismay over an executive order on immigration from President Donald Trump that bars nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The U.S tech industry relies on foreign engineers and other technical experts for a sizeable percentage of its workforce. The order bars entry to the U.S. for anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

BITING BACK

"I share your concerns" about Trump's immigration order, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a memo to employees obtained by The Associated Press. "It is not a policy we support."

"We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company," he added.

Cook didn't say how many Apple employees are directly affected by the order, but said the company's HR, legal and security teams are in contact to support them. "Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do," Cook wrote  an apparent reference not only to the company's foreign-born employees, but to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the son of a Syrian immigrant.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was forcefully blunt. "Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all," he wrote on Facebook . "Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe."

"It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity," he continued. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg criticized the order in similar, though more carefully couched, terms on Friday .

Technology investor Chris Sacca, an early backer of Uber and Instagram, said on Twitter that he would match ACLU donations up to $75,000 after the organization sued over the ban  and then decided to donate another $75,000 , for a total of $150,000. EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, the child of Iranians, complained that the order was "simple bigotry ."

Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has recently appeared to be cultivating a relationship with Trump, tweeted that "many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US" who don't "deserve to be rejected." Musk is an immigrant from South Africa.

GOOGLE GRUMBLES

Google told its employees from those countries to cancel any travel plans outside the U.S. and to consult with the company's human resources department if they're not currently in the U.S., according to a company-wide note described to The Associated Press. That memo was first reported by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in the note that at least 187 Google workers could be affected by Trump's order. It is not clear how many of those workers are currently traveling outside the U.S. "We've always made our views on immigration known publicly and will continue to do so," Pichai said in the memo.

Company representatives declined to discuss the memo or to answer questions about the affected employees. In an official statement, Google said: "We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S."

Microsoft also said it is providing legal advice and assistance to its employees from the banned countries, noting they are all working in the U.S. lawfully.

A BIGGER ISSUE

The tech industry may be bracing for further immigration-related hits. Leaks of draft executive orders, still unverified, suggest that Trump might also revamp the H1-B program that lets Silicon Valley bring foreigners with technical skills to the U.S. for three to six years.

While the tech industry insists the H1-B program is vital, it has drawn fire for allegedly disadvantaging American programmers and engineers, especially given that the visas are widely used by outsourcing firms. Trump's attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, is a long-time critic of the program.

Venky Ganesan, a managing director at venture capitalist firm Menlo Ventures, acknowledged that the program is "not perfect" and subject to some abuse, but noted that it provides an invaluable source of skilled workers and plays a "pivotal" role in the tech industry.

"If we want to buy American and hire American, we do that best by creating companies in America," he said. :Having the best and brightest from all over the world come and create companies in America is better than them creating companies in India, Israel or China."

___
Koch political network to spend $300M to $400M over 2 years

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP)  The conservative Koch network plans to spend between $300 million and $400 million to influence politics and public policy over the next two years, intensifying its nationwide efforts in the initial years of Donald Trump's presidency.

Network officials disclosed their rough spending plans Saturday as donors gathered at a luxury hotel in the California desert. The investment, backed by the organization's extensive nationwide network, positions the billionaire industrialist family to play a major role in the debate over several Trump priorities  even those they oppose.

"We're just getting started," billionaire industrialist Charles Koch said at the opening reception for the weekend conference, which attracted more than 550 donors, each willing to donate at least $100,000 each year to the various conservative political and policy groups backed by the Koch brothers.

Koch and many of his top donors refused to support Trump in the run-up to his election, raising questions about both his readiness for the job and his dedication to conservative principles. There were lingering signs of tensions as donors arrived on Saturday.

Trump's name was not mentioned by Koch  or the four other speakers  at the welcome reception. The group's primary benefactor ignored the new administration and noted instead that his network successfully helped preserve the Republican majority in the Senate.

"Use this as an opportunity to help us really move forward in advancing the country toward a brighter future now, while the opportunity is available. Because we may not have an opportunity again like we have today," Koch said without mentioning the presidency.

The network's spending plans going forward mark an increase from the amount spent in the two years before the 2016 election, which was roughly $250 million.

Spokesman James Davis said the network would spend between $300 million and $400 million ahead of the 2018 elections, much of it devoted to the organization's nationwide grassroots organization to help educate voters and hold elected officials accountable.

The Koch and their allies are particularly focused on re-shaping the federal health-care system and eliminating federal regulations  two priorities in alignment with the new president. They sharply oppose, however, efforts by the Trump administration to interfere with free trade.

"Based on opportunities, based on our partners' interest, if we can make a difference we'll try to do that on the policies we care about," network co-chair Mark Holden said.

Charles and his brother David Koch have hosted such gatherings of donors and politicians for years, but usually in private. Organizers report that this year's attendees include five senators  prominent Trump critic Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, among them  three governors and two congressmen. All are Republicans.
Boat with 31 mostly Chinese tourists missing in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  A boat carrying 31 people, including around 20 Chinese tourists, is missing after sailing out from an eastern Malaysian city, Chinese state media said Sunday.

The Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah said the boat lost contact after leaving Kota Kinabalu on Saturday morning, according to the official Xinhua News Agency said. It was bound for Pulau Mengalum, an island about 60 kilometers (38 miles) west of the city.

The report cited the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as saying there were 28 Chinese tourists on board. But the Chinese Consulate could only confirm the passport details of 18 Chinese citizens, Xinhua said.

Malaysia deployed search and rescue ships and helicopters after receiving a call Saturday night about the boat's disappearance, Xinhua reported.
3 people found dead inside Washington state home after fire

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP)  Three people were found dead inside a Kitsap County home that was engulfed in flames and authorities on Saturday searched for the homeowner, who was missing along with his truck, a sheriff's spokesman said.

The deaths of the two men and a woman were classified as homicides, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said Saturday in a phone interview from the scene.

Authorities asked the public to be on the lookout for the homeowner, 43-year-old John Derek Careaga, and to call 911 if he shows up.

He is believed to be driving a brown 2005 Ford F-150 truck with Washington state license plates CA9383B, Wilson said.

Careaga is considered a missing person at this point in the investigation, Wilson said.

A 16-year-old boy, Hunter Schaap-Jocsan, was found safe Saturday after at first being considered missing and endangered.

Wilson said he was not a suspect but declined to elaborate on how or where he was found.

The incident began with a 911 call at 11:28 p.m. Friday with a report of violence in the home.

Responding deputies found the house ablaze and firefighters quickly found the bodies, Wilson said.

The cause of death has not been determined.

Careaga was the head of a large blended family that included seven children ranging in age from teenagers to young adults, Wilson said.

Wilson didn't know if all the children were living at the house.

___
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Pentagon to submit a plan for the defeat of ISIS to him in the next 30 days, Sputnik reported.

The order, signed the afternoon of January 28, calls for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to present the new president with a plan to defeat the terrorist organization in 30 days.

Trump campaigned on promises to defeat Daesh "in a month" and repeatedly suggested that the reason the fight had dragged out so long was that US military capabilities were being somehow hamstrung. In his first visit as president to CIA headquarters, he reiterated that "Radical Islamic terrorism has to be eradicated. Just off the face of the Earth."

He has called ISIS "pure evil" on more than one occasion.

Trump has signed a raft of other executive orders in the past few days, including a controversial ban on refugees entering the US and a temporary ban on allowing individuals from seven mostly Middle Eastern nations, even some legal residents, to enter the US.
Pakistani court acquits suspects of burning Christian homes

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP)  A defense lawyer says a court has acquitted all 155 of his clients who were accused of torching homes in a Christian neighborhood.

Ghulam Murtaza said Sunday that anti-terrorism court judge Chaudhry Azam acquitted his clients due to a lack of eyewitness testimony against them.

An enraged mob torched dozens of houses in the Joseph Colony neighborhood in Lahore in March 2013. Prosecutor Waqar Bhatti said the government will appeal the verdict.

The mob torched the houses following allegations of blasphemy against a Christian man who was accused of insulting Islam's prophet at a barber shop.
Bahrain police officer killed in attack claimed by militants

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  A police officer in Bahrain has been shot dead in an attack claimed by a Shiite militant group.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said Sunday that 1st Lt. Hisham Hassan Mohammed al-Hamadi was killed in what it described as a "terrorist act."

The Ashtar Brigade, a Shiite militant group that has claimed a number of bombings and attacks in the tiny Gulf nation, claimed responsibility in a statement on social media. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the post, though it came in a forum often used by the group.
Fake leopard skins used in South Africa to save live cats

EBUHLENI, South Africa (AP)  At least 1,200 men in ceremonial attire danced at a mainly Zulu gathering in South Africa on Sunday, wearing a mix of hides of illegally hunted leopards and Chinese-made, spotted capes designed by conservationists to reduce demand for the real thing.

The phalanxes of dancers with shields, headgear of ostrich feathers and other regalia on Sunday evoked the proud traditions of one of South Africa's main ethnic groups, as well as the piety of the participants, whose Shembe religious movement blends Christian and indigenous beliefs.

The event in Ebuhleni, north of the coastal city of Durban, also testified to an openness to change because roughly half the men were wearing fake leopard skins rather than genuine pelts, symbols of power because of the predator's grace and lethality. In fact, leopards are vulnerable on a continent with a rapidly growing human population, their numbers diminished by habitat loss, illegal hunting for their skins and other factors.

A young boy joins members of the Shembe Church wearing leopard skins during their dance celebrations at eBuhleni, near Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Jan 29, 2017. At least 1,200 men in ceremonial attire have danced at a mainly Zulu gathering wearing a mix of hides of illegally hunted leopards and Chinese-made, spotted capes designed by conservationists to reduce demand for the real thing. (AP Photo/Khaya Ngwenya)

"It's like abusing the animals if they're hunted to get the real skin," said 67-year-old Msoleni Manqele, who collected a manufactured copy of a leopard hide from a Shembe distribution office, which had in turn received a batch of fake pelts from the Panthera conservation group.

The white-bearded Manqele spoke in awe of the leopard, describing it as a "king of the jungle" that fights with its claws, teeth and hind legs. He said he knows leopards "personally" because he lives near a wildlife park, but acknowledged with a laugh: "I'm also scared of them."

One dancer, Madoda Zungu, wore a real leopard skin but said he also had one of the fake samples, first handed out in large numbers by Panthera in 2013 after years of negotiations with Shembe leaders, some of whom were resistant to shaking up an old custom at the behest of outsiders.

"It's very important to know where we are coming from. This symbolizes our tradition," said Zungu, a municipal councilor. The leopard, he said, "is one of the animals that actually has got power in terms of the strength, in terms of thinking, in terms of doing and being a leader."

Another man, Kholwali Nxumalo, said he had settled for a fake fur, but still hoped to buy a real one despite the expense.

While the replica pelts, called "amambatha," have been distributed for free or a small levy, vendors near the dance site were selling real leopard skins for about $370, as well as the tails of monkeys, genets and serval cats worn by dancers, often around the waist. A few skins of cheetahs, another imperiled species, were also on display.

The imitation leopard skins, besides being a free or cheap alternative to the real item, are more durable in the rain. The mock versions generally look shinier and neater than their real counterparts, which need to be replaced after about a decade.

Learning about fashion was a challenge for Panthera's "Furs for Life" project, which modeled imitations on a haul seized from a poacher and used a complex weave technology that wasn't available in Africa.

"We took those skins, we photographed them, we then digitized them into the pixels that the machine needs and then we sent that into the factories to try and make it exactly as that original fur," said Tristan Dickerson, the project manager. Dickerson also navigated the Shembe movement's divisive politics, saying it was sometimes hard to tell "if you were speaking to the right faction."

A permit is required to own a leopard skin, but authorities don't crack down on Shembe dancers, mindful of cultural and religious sensitivities. Sunday's pageantry followed a pilgrimage to a nearby mountain and is one of the group's biggest occasions in the year, drawing followers from across South Africa, as well as neighboring Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

An estimated 1,500 and 2,500 leopards are killed annually in the region to meet Shembe demand for skins, and some 15,000 real pelts are currently circulating in the religious community, according to Panthera. There are fewer than 5,000 leopards in South Africa, a relative stronghold of the animal on the continent.

Conservationists hope to expand their fake skin campaign to other ethnic groups and African countries where the leopard is incorporated into ceremonial attire. The Cartier jewelry brand and the South Africa-based Peace Parks Foundation are major funders of the Panthera program.

Decades ago, only Zulu aristocracy wore real leopard skins, but more people took up the custom, partly because of growing affluence. Lizwi Ncwane, a Shembe leader, wants the prestige of a real pelt to once again be the exclusive right of royalty, with followers using the copies.

"We want to conserve the leopard," Ncwane said. "But at the very same time, we don't want to push people away from their culture and customary practices."

___

Follow Christopher Torchia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/torchiachris

Members of the Shembe Church wearing leopard skins during their dance celebrations at eBuhleni, near Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Jan 29, 2017. At least 1,200 men in ceremonial attire have danced at a mainly Zulu gathering wearing a mix of hides of illegally hunted leopards and Chinese-made, spotted capes designed by conservationists to reduce demand for the real thing. (AP Photo/Khaya Ngwenya)

A members of the Shembe Church wears fake leopard skins during their dance celebrations at eBuhleni, near Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Jan 29, 2017. At least 1,200 men in ceremonial attire have danced at a mainly Zulu gathering wearing a mix of hides of illegally hunted leopards and Chinese-made, spotted capes designed by conservationists to reduce demand for the real thing. (AP Photo/Khaya Ngwenya)

Members of the Shembe Church wearing leopard skins during their dance celebrations at eBuhleni, near Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Jan 29, 2017. At least 1,200 men in ceremonial attire have danced at a mainly Zulu gathering wearing a mix of hides of illegally hunted leopards and Chinese-made, spotted capes designed by conservationists to reduce demand for the real thing. (AP Photo/Khaya Ngwenya)

Members of the Shembe Church wearing leopard skins during their dance celebrations at eBuhleni, near Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Jan 29, 2017. At least 1,200 men in ceremonial attire have danced at a mainly Zulu gathering wearing a mix of hides of illegally hunted leopards and Chinese-made, spotted capes designed by conservationists to reduce demand for the real thing. (AP Photo/Khaya Ngwenya)
Gunman kills lawyer for Myanmar's ruling party at airport

YANGON, Myanmar (AP)  A gunman killed a legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy on Sunday, shooting the lawyer in the head at close range as he walked out of the Yangon airport, the government said.

The gunman was arrested after he killed Ko Ni, a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, and wounded a taxi driver who tried to stop him from fleeing, the Ministry of Information said in a video posted on state-run MRTV.

Ko Ni was the Supreme Court advocate for the NLD and a longstanding legal adviser to the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He had just arrived from a trip overseas.

In this Feb. 28, 2016, photo, Ko Ni, a legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy and a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, is photographed in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. A gunman killed a legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, shooting the lawyer in the head at close range as he walked out of the Yangon airport, the government said. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A friend of Ko Ni who witnessed the shooting said the suspected assassin also shot a taxi driver who tried to stop him from fleeing.

"As I stopped my car by the airport, that's where I saw Ko Ni's body lying on the walkway outside of the airport and I couldn't believe that just happened," said Thet Paing Soe, a friend and an NLD supporter. "Then as the shooter tried to run away, the police arrested him."

Thet Paing Soe said a taxi driver known as Nay Win stopped the fleeing assassin but was shot. The ministry's news statement said the driver was wounded.

The Ministry of Information identified the suspect as Kyi Linn from Mandalay. The motive was not known.

Kyee Myint, a former chairman of the Myanmar Lawyer Network who has a close relationship with Ko Ni, also confirmed his death.

"It is a big loss for us that Ko Ni, our beloved friend, has been killed. He is the face of the democracy in our country and this is a big loss for us," Kyee Myint added.

Calls to Suu Kyi's office were not answered, and other leaders of the NLD were not reachable Sunday evening.

Ko Ni was one of the country's most prominent Burmese Muslims. He criticized the NLD in 2015 for not putting up Muslim candidates in the general election. Myanmar is a mainly Buddhist country and anti-Muslim sentiments have increased in recent years following deadly communal violence concentrated in the western state of Rakhine that is home to many Rohingya Muslims.

Amnesty International urged an independent investigation and said the killing of Ko Ni had the hallmarks of a political assassination.

"His death will send shock waves across the human rights community in the country and beyond, and the authorities must send a clear message that such violence will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished," said the statement from Josef Benedict, Amnesty's regional deputy campaigns director.

The group called Ko Ni a tireless human rights campaigner and expressed condolences to his family.
Claims coal-fired plant polluted river: utility faces trial

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Environmental groups are taking the Tennessee Valley Authority to trial over waste ash from an aging coal-fired power plant northeast of Nashville, saying it polluted the Cumberland River in violation of the Clean Water Act.

In a bench trial starting Monday in federal court in Nashville, the Tennessee Clean Water Network and Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association say the pollution is due to the TVA's faulty storage of coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal for energy.

The nation's largest public utility, which powers 9 million customers in parts of seven Southern states, says it has abided by the law and hasn't sullied drinking water sources.

But the environmental groups contend coal ash storage ponds at the 1950s-era Gallatin Fossil Plant have been illegally seeping toxic pollutants into the groundwater and the Cumberland River for years. The groups also say in the lawsuit filed in 2015 that state regulators didn't require sufficient changes at the plant to safeguard against contamination, according to court documents.

TVA spokesman Scott Brooks said decades of data show the plant hasn't had any impact on potable water sources, adding the utility heeded all regulations and permits.

The plant sits on a bend of the river, which stretches almost 700 miles from eastern Kentucky headwaters through Tennessee to meet up with the Ohio River in western Kentucky. Nearby residents have private wells and the Cumberland River supplies drinking water to Nashville, about 40 miles away, among other areas.

In 2015, state environmental officials informed Albert Hudson, whose home is near the plant, that his well water met U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards. But they also said the water showed levels of the harmful chemical hexavalent chromium  typically resulting from an industrial process  were slightly above EPA risk levels.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the other environmental groups, cites test of two water wells  including Hudson's  in court documents along with results that found the chemical in the Cumberland River near where the plant takes in water.

Hudson is slated to testify for the environmental groups.

At certain levels, the chemical has been found to cause cancer in lab animals when they drink it in water, according to the National Institutes of Health and the EPA.

The environmental groups said numerous other materials in the coal ash ponds could also harm human health.

But Brooks said monitoring data show no impact on river water from plant operations.

Additionally, he said, the utility tested Hudson's well again and it met drinking water standards for Tennessee, save for unrelated fecal coliform. He also said there are other potential sources of the hexavalent chromium, including natural occurrences.

Trial is expected to last about a week.

The environmental groups say toxins are being spread to groundwater and the river via numerous area sinkholes. The TVA disputes that those are, in fact, sinkholes and continues to investigate the geology of the area.

The utility also says it's investing billions of dollars in safer ways to store coal ash and other waste from burning coal across its operations.

That includes converting all of its wet coal-ash storage to dry storage, a decision made after a 2008 coal ash disaster at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant. More than 5 million cubic yards of sludge from the plant spilled into the Emory and Clinch rivers that year, destroying homes in a nearby waterfront community.

"The Kingston failure happened in an instant," said Beth Alexander, a Nashville-based attorney of the Southern Environmental Law Center. "But the Gallatin failure has unfolded over years, out of sight."

TVA is awaiting the outcome of the state and federal cases before determining how to store the coal ash in the long term. One option the environmental groups prefer is excavating the site and sending ash to dry, lined landfills  a proposal TVA has said could be costly and not potentially any more environmentally friendly than storing ash onsite where the utility can monitor it.
Healthy and confident Nadal hoping for resurgent season

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)  Rafael Nadal has become used to making comebacks in an injury-ravaged career. This last one, though, may be the most unexpected  and satisfying.

Sidelined by a wrist injury for two long stretches last year, Nadal didn't believe he'd be playing at his top level and contending again for titles until later this spring, when the tour moves to his beloved clay.

Then he came to Melbourne and somehow kept grinding out win after win. He made it all the way to the Australian Open final, where he fell just short in his bid to win his 15th major by losing to long-time rival Roger Federer, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Spain's Rafael Nadal answers question at press conference following his loss to Switzerland's Roger Federer in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, early Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

It had been a lean couple of years for Nadal, but he believes he's back now and feeling confident he can pull out grueling five-set matches at majors again after struggling at times with self-doubt.

This is a good sign heading into his favorite major, the French Open, where Nadal can try to round off his trophy collection with an improbable No. 10.

"I believe that playing like this, good things can happen. Can happen here in this surface, but especially can happen on clay," he said. "On clay can be special."

Nadal has been searching for this kind of run since winning his last major at the French Open in 2014. Since then, his body has broken down time and again, perhaps most frustratingly at last year's French Open, where he was forced to withdraw before his third-round match against Marcel Granollers with a left wrist injury.

The injury flared up again at the end of the year and Nadal shut down his season early to rest and allow himself to fully heal.

It looks like a wise decision now.

Feeling refreshed and looking sharp, the Spaniard rallied twice to pull out five-set matches in Melbourne. He showed his superior fitness by outlasting a cramping Alexander Zverev to come back from a two-set-to-one deficit in the third round, and he narrowly edged Grigor Dimitrov in a five-hour thriller in the semifinals.

Given the fact he only had one fully day off to recover following the Dimitrov match, Nadal could have come out flat against Federer. But he showed the same fighting spirit from the first point to the last, saving an incredible nine of 11 break points in the fifth set before finally cracking under Federer's unrelenting pressure.

"I cannot say that I am sad. I wanted to win, yes, but I am not very sad. I did all the things that I could. I worked a lot during all these months," he said. "I enjoyed the competition. I won against the best players of the world, and I competed well against everybody."

And Nadal feels if he stays healthy, he could be on the verge of a resurgent season.

"The real thing is what makes me more happy, more than the titles, is go on the court and feel that I can enjoy the sport," he said.

"Today I am enjoying the sport."

Switzerland's Roger Federer, right, Spain's Rafael Nadal, left, and Rod Laver pose for photographers after Federer won the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
FA Cup to have 2 non-league teams in last 16

MANCHESTER, England (AP)  The FA Cup threw up its latest heartwarming story line on Sunday when Sutton United beat second-tier Leeds 1-0 to ensure there would be two non-league teams in the fifth round for the first time since the 19th century.

Adding a touch more magic on a historic day for the 146-year-old competition was the background of the scorer of the only goal at atmospheric Gander Green Lane.

Jamie Collins works as a builder in his full-time job and here he was getting mobbed by dozens of young Sutton fans in a joyful post-match pitch invasion, having converted a 53rd-minute penalty that saw off one of the grandest names in English soccer. Sutton, a tiny club from the southwest of London, advanced to the last 16 for the first time.

Sutton's fans run on the pitch to celebrate after the English FA Cup soccer match between Sutton United and Leeds United at Borough Sports Ground in London, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Sutton won the match 1-0. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The latest upset came a day after Lincoln, another team from outside England's four professional leagues, beat second-tier Brighton 3-1 to reach the fifth round for the first time since 1887. It's the first time since the foundation of the Football League in 1888 that two non-league teams have reached this stage of the FA Cup, according to sports data company Opta.

"We'd like one of the Premier League big boys now  Man United, Arsenal, someone like that, away," Collins said.

And he could yet get his wish in Monday's draw.

On a day of cup shocks that saw top-tier clubs Hull and Watford knocked out by lower-league opposition, United powered into the fifth round with a 4-0 win over second-tier Wigan at Old Trafford.

Bastian Schweinsteiger was one of United's scorers on a rare run-out for the former Germany captain.

___

SUTTON 1, LEEDS 0

Twenty-eight years after Sutton dumped top-tier Coventry out of the competition, the team achieved another memorable FA Cup feat by beating an opponent 83 places higher in English soccer's ladder.

Leeds, which is challenging for promotion to the Premier League as it looks to regain its old status, chose to make 10 changes to its lineup and manager Garry Monk's decision backfired spectacularly.

"I take responsibility for that, maybe it was one or two too many changes," Monk said. "There was no cohesiveness to our play so we got what we probably deserved."

A miserable afternoon for Leeds ended with Liam Cooper getting sent off in the 82nd.

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FULHAM 4, HULL 1

Hull striker Abel Hernandez had two penalties saved in the space of a minute in the closing stages, a final embarrassment for the Premier League team at Craven Cottage, four days after its elimination from the League Cup at the semifinal stage.

Hull was already heading out of the competition when Hernandez's first spot kick in the 87th minute was saved by Marcus Bettinelli, who then tripped Hernandez as the Uruguay international pounced on the rebound. Bettinelli went the right way to deny Hernandez off the second penalty attempt, too.

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MILLWALL 1, WATFORD 0

Steve Morison scored a close-range volley in the 85th minute for third-tier Millwall, eliminating a Premier League team for the second straight round after earlier beating Bournemouth.

Watford, a semifinalist last season, made seven changes in light of a league game at Arsenal on Tuesday.

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MAN UNITED 4, WIGAN 0

United ensured there would be eight Premier League teams in the draw for the last 16, although one of them  Leicester  faces a replay against Derby.

The titleholders used the aerial route to gain a 2-0 lead, with Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling scoring headers, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan finished off a flowing counterattack for the third.

Schweinsteiger marked his first start for United in 385 days by hooking home an acrobatic finish for a late fourth goal.

___

Steve Douglas is at twitter.com/sdouglas80

Sutton United's Jamie Collins scores a goal during the English FA Cup soccer match between Sutton United and Leeds United at Borough Sports Ground in London, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Manchester United's Bastin Schweinsteiger, centre, celebrates with Manchester United's Henrikh Mkhitaryan, right, after scoring during the English FA Cup Fourth Round soccer match between Manchester United and Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Hull City's Abel Hernandez wins a second penalty after being brought down by Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli during the English FA Cup, Fourth Round match, Fulham vs Hull City at Craven Cottage, London, Sunday Jan. 29, 2017. (Paul Harding/PA via AP)
Rebels begin to leave Syria's Barada Valley

BEIRUT (AP)  Syrian state-controlled TV says rebels have begun to evacuate Barada Valley as part of an agreement to surrender the capital region's primary water source to government control.

Al-Ikhbariya TV says four buses carrying 160 rebels and family members departed the Barada Valley on Sunday for the rebel-held Idlib province, where they will join thousands of other rebels and dissidents from the Damascus area.

The evacuation marks the end of a nearly six-week-long standoff between rebels and pro-government forces that led to severe water cuts to some 5 million people around Damascus.
Liberals trying to harness activist energy vs. Trump, GOP

Donald Trump's surprise win in November lit a fire under Carolyn Clow, a county purchasing agent in Madison, Wisconsin. On Saturday, she attended her first in a series of classes on how to run for office.

"If we learn anything as a liberal community, I'd hope that it's time to stop thinking 'I'd like to do something,' and time to take that action," said Clow, 43, who is running for the village board in her town outside of Madison in the April election with the help of an organization that recruits Democratic women candidates.

"It's fun and exciting to march and it's boring to go down to village hall to vote, but we have to learn to do both," she said.

In this photo taken Jan. 27, 2017, Carolyn Clow stands in front of the McFarland, Wis. Municipal Center in McFarland, Wis. Donald Trumps surprise win in November lit a fire under Clow, 43, a county purchasing agent in Madison, Wis., attended her first in a series of classes on how to run for office. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Trump's election has sparked what liberal groups say is unprecedented activism. The most visible manifestation of that were protest marches the day after Trump's inaugural, which drew millions to Washington, D.C., and other locations across the country and overseas. Those were followed by demonstrations at airports and in cities this weekend against Trump's executive order prohibiting entry into the U.S. by people from seven countries and also limiting refugees.

Much of the discussion since the marches has revolved around how to turn that energy into an effective movement, especially through electoral politics. Democrats have been decimated in elections at the state and local level during the past eight years, and have their best chance to stymie Trump if they can seize control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections.

The morning after the election, Ethan Todras-Whitehill embodied liberals' dilemma  in bright blue western Massachusetts no Republicans other than Trump were on the ballot to vote against. He began googling to find his nearest swing district and thought  why not create a tool to help others like him?

The day before Trump's inauguration, he and some friends debuted swingleft.org, which lets people find their nearest House swing district and register to help flip the House in 2018. Todras-Whitehill says 250,000 people have already signed up.

There's been grumbling from some liberal activists that the effort wasn't coordinated with Democratic party officials who are already trying to flip the House. "We can't be waiting around for someone else to do something," Todras-Whitehill said. "Everyone needs to be standing up and doing something on their own."

That scattershot approach has taken hold everywhere. While the organizers of last weekend's Women's Marches haven't announced future demonstrations, there are already plans in the works for scientists to march in protest of Trump, for nationwide protests on April 15 demanding the president release his tax returns.

In cities around the country, people are marching on congressional offices, joining liberal organizations and lobbying their local representatives.

"There's a battle raging on multiple fronts and you have the feeling of being surrounded," said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network. "The most important thing is to focus on whatever hill you have and hold your hill."

Newman's group focuses on immigrant rights and has been using a strategy honed in fights against former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose immigration crackdown in Arizona's largest county is a possible model for the Trump administration. The group has been co-hosting community meetings where nervous immigrants and eager, mobilized new volunteers can learn the basics of immigration law and how to protect their rights.

They've also been pushing state and local officials to step up protections for immigrants. "The pressure for action will be felt more sharply on the local level," Newman said. "There are increasing expectations for mayors and governors and state lawmakers."

Neil Aquino, 49, has high expectations for his local elected officials in Houston. Texas may be a solidly Republican state but its cities are increasingly Democratic and Aquino is writing all of Houston's elected Democrats demanding they step up and fight Trump. "I don't find the response from local Democrats is matching the anxiety people feel," said Aquino, an artist.

Liz Merriweather is also contacting her elected officials, though they are Republicans. As part of a Women's March follow-up project she's writing postcards to her congressional representatives from Tennessee. She's waiting for more direction  this is the 56-year-old therapist's first political activity.

"Over the past eight years, I've kind of gotten complacent and felt things are in good hands and I can trust officials," she said. "But people like me, your average citizen, have a duty to take action."

A progressive group that Emily Barnes helped launch in her quiet suburb in Orange County, California held a post-card writing party Sunday. The group started with six parents meeting in August hoping to increase multicultural education in the local schools. After the election its membership ballooned to more than 220.

"Every time we have an event, more and more people show up," Barnes, 41, said.

The Ladera Ranch Social Justice Committee doesn't sound like the vanguard of the resistance: It mainly hosts multicultural children's book readings. But it also funnels its members to more political events like the Women's March. Last week, some of its members attended a demonstration at the office of their local Republican congressman, Rep. Darrell Issa.

He's one of the most endangered Republican House members in 2018.

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This story has been corrected to include the correct first name of Emily Barnes.

In this photo taken Jan. 27, 2017, Carolyn Clow is seen inside the McFarland, Wis. Municipal Center in McFarland, Wis. Donald Trumps surprise win in November lit a fire under Clow, 43, a county purchasing agent in Madison, Wis., attended her first in a series of classes on how to run for office. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
White House defends immigration order in face of protests

WASHINGTON (AP)  The White House on Sunday vigorously defended President Donald Trump's immigration restrictions, as protests against the order spread throughout the country. Some Republicans in Congress publicly opposed the changes amid legal challenges to the order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, though top congressional Republicans remain largely behind the new president.

In a background call with reporters, a senior administration official declared the order's implementation "a massive success story," claiming it had been done "seamlessly and with extraordinary professionalism."

But there was confusion at airports around the world, and late Sunday the administration appeared to walk-back how the order would apply to certain groups, like legal permanent U.S. residents.

A demonstrator wears a Statue of Liberty hat and applauds during a rally against President Trump's order that restricts travel to the U.S., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Boston. Trump signed an executive order Friday that bans legal U.S. residents and visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. for 90 days and puts an indefinite hold on a program resettling Syrian refugees. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a statement Sunday saying that, absent information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, residency would be a "dispositive factor in our case-by-case determination." That means citizens of the seven countries who hold permanent U.S. "green cards" will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. Officials had previously said they would be barred from returning. It remains unclear what kind of additional screening they will now face.

Trump's order, which also suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely bars the processing of refugees from Syria, sparked widespread protests and denunciations from Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Many have accused the administration of rushing to implement the changes, resulting in panic and confusion at the nation's airports.

"You have an extreme vetting proposal that didn't get the vetting it should have had," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who urged the new president to "slow down" and work with lawmakers on how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.

"In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants," he said.

Several Democrats in Congress said they would introduce legislation to stop the ban.

During a round of Sunday show interviews, Trump's aides stressed that just a small portion of travelers had been affected by the order and emphasized its temporary nature.

"I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone traveling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States," Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said. "And that's all this is."

As of Sunday afternoon, one legal permanent resident had been denied entry to the country as a result of the order, according to a federal law enforcement official. The official was not permitted to discuss the order's impact publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said the changes were "a small price to pay" to keep the nation safe.

But it's unclear whether the order will accomplish that. It does not address homegrown extremists already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. And the list of countries in Trump's order doesn't include Saudi Arabia, where most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from.

Priebus said that other countries could be added to the list. Trump spoke by phone Sunday with leaders from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Neither country is among the seven specified in Trump's order.

The president, meanwhile, defended his actions, insisting it was "not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting."

"This is not about religion  this is about terror and keeping our country safe," he said.

Trump also said he has "tremendous feeling" for the people fleeing the bloody civil war in Syria and vowed to "find ways to help all those who are suffering." The White House said later that King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, had both agreed to support safe zones for refugees, but offered no further details.

The developments came a day after a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from the seven majority Muslim nations subject to Trump's 90-day travel ban.

The court barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order.

"President Trump's executive orders remain in place  prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the department said in a statement.

Top congressional Republicans, meanwhile, were backing Trump despite concerns raised Sunday from a handful of GOP lawmakers and condemnation from the Koch political network, which is among the most influential players in the conservative movement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he supports more stringent screening, though he cautioned that Muslims are some of the country's "best sources in the war against terror."

Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, expressed fear that the order could "become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."

"This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security," they wrote.

Trump fired back on Twitter, calling the pair "sadly weak on immigration."

Priebus was on NBC's "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation," Portman was on CNN's "State of the Union," while McConnell appeared on ABC's "This Week."

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Associated Press writers Alicia Caldwell in Washington and Steve Peoples in Palm Springs, California, contributed to this report.

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Follow Colvin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj

People opposed to President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries continue to demonstrate at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)

Protesters rally against President Trump's refugee ban at Miami International Airport on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017.President Donald Trumps immigration order sowed more confusion and outrage across the country Sunday, with travelers detained at airports, panicked families searching for relatives and protesters registering their opposition to the sweeping measure. (C.M. Guerrero/El Nuevo Herald via AP)
The White House stated that a phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was a "significant start" to improve the relations between the two countries, Sputnik reported.

A phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump was a "significant start" to improve the relations between the two countries, the White House said in a statement.

"The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair," the statement said on Saturday.

"Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today's call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern," the statement added.
Police stymied in search for twins missing 10 years

PITTSBURGH (AP)  Two weeks after child welfare workers removed four children from a woman's suburban Pittsburgh home in June for alleged neglect, they discovered an even bigger problem: The woman has two other children who are missing, and haven't been seen alive for more than a decade.

Since the summer, police investigators have cast a wide net for twins Ivon and Inisha, who would be about 18 now. A county detective has testified he believes the children are dead but can't prove it. A cadaver-sniffing dog came up empty during a search of another Pittsburgh area house in December.

Patricia Fowler was arrested in August on charges of concealing the whereabouts of her twins after police investigated following the removal of four of her other children. Fowler has claimed the children are safe and living out of state, but no information she's provided to police has panned out, authorities said. She's been free on bail.

These undated photo Illustrations provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children show artist conceptions of what Ivon Fowler, left, and Inisha Fowler, right, may look like currently. The two twin children of Patricia Fowler have not been seen for over ten years. The mother, who has been free on bail on charges of concealing the whereabouts of the twins, has claimed the children are safe and living out of state, but no information she provided has panned out. (Colin McNally/National Center for Missing & Exploited Children via AP)

As police try to solve the mystery, they have filed additional charges against Fowler, 47, accusing her of illegally collecting more than $50,000 in state food stamps, public assistance and medical benefits for the twins. As of Friday, she had not yet surrendered on the new counts, which include theft.

A criminal complaint filed Wednesday said she had been collecting benefits for the twins since June 2011, and continued doing so through the end of August  weeks after police charged her with concealing the twins' whereabouts. Her public defender would not comment, citing an office policy to not commenting on pending investigations.

Fowler has changed her story several times regarding the whereabouts of Ivon and Inisha. She's told police the two children are living with friends or relatives in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, only to have the names and addresses she's provided not check out, or have relatives tell police they've never heard of the twins. Police said one out-of-state address provided by Fowler turned out to be a vacant storefront, and one Georgia city she named didn't exist.

At one point, Fowler even told police she sold the children years ago for $2,000 each to a woman she didn't know in a deal brokered by a man she met in a bar. She reversed course and told police that was a lie.

Police have unsuccessfully checked with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, which in September released age-progressed images showing what the twins may look like now. Other databases in various states provide no evidence that the twins ever attended school.

"In my professional opinion, I believe they've met their demise," lead Allegheny County detective Michael Kuma testified at Fowler's preliminary hearing on the concealment charges in October.

The detective said this week he can't comment on the ongoing investigation.

Fowler's son, Datwon, 19, remains jailed on charges he conspired with his mother to hide his twin siblings from authorities.

Datwon texted police at his mother's behest back in August, pretending to be Ivon and saying that he and Inisha were safe and sound and living out of state, police said. But GPS tracked the phone to the home Datwon shares with his mother, and he confessed to the ruse.

Datwon's attorney, Richard McCague, said he believes the new charges are an effort to put Fowler behind bars like her son.

"They don't have a complaint about child abuse and they don't have a body indicating someone has died. They believe these children are dead but they can't prove it," McCague said. "Under those circumstances, what else can they charge mom with?"
Culinary schools struggle with enrollment decline

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)  With enrollment in culinary institutes in decline and programs across the country closing their doors, schools such as the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont, which graduated celebrity chef Alton Brown, and the Culinary Institute of Charleston, South Carolina, are committed to staying relevant and in demand.

"We're constantly looking for new ways and opportunities to grow our school," said Michael Carmel, head of culinary arts in Charleston. "It's not necessarily a numbers game, but a quality game. We need to stay current with trends and have to be able to offer our students opportunities."

The reasons for the challenges facing the industry are varied, Carmel and others say. Tuitions can be relatively expensive, while federal financial aid for these "career colleges" has tightened since 2014. Graduates with a high debt load often move into low-paying restaurant jobs.

In this Jan. 26, 2017 photo, students Allie Trojano, front, and Deron Noel, rear, work on dessert projects during a class at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt. Enrollment in culinary institutes across the country is in decline and some cooking schools have announced they are closing. NECI, which faces imminent sale, said it is committed to staying relevant and in demand. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

In addition, there is an abundance of restaurant positions that provide on-the-job training for those looking to get into the business without accruing debt. Carmel said younger students aren't necessarily seeking the high stress factor and long hours of restaurant work, instead placing a high value on a regular schedule, benefits and quality of life issues like time with family.

Despite the challenges, schools like the New England Culinary Institute, where enrollment has fallen from about 800 in 1999 to around 300 today, are consolidating, cutting expenses where possible and adjusting curriculum to attract students. The school is also expanding instruction about the business side of the industry.

"Even our founding chef has always said a chef is a businessman," said Philip Stevens, spokesman for the Institute.

New England's school, which co-founder and former president Fran Voigt recently announced was facing imminent sale but remains optimistic of remaining in Vermont, two years ago partnered with the United States Coast Guard and Sandals Resorts to teach new cooking techniques, another way to expand its reach.

Carmel's program is also taking steps to attract more students. The Culinary Institute of Charleston, which has seen enrollment fall by 25 percent over the past three years, has begun reaching into high schools to offer college-credit programs, and partnering with local restaurants and the Metro Chamber of Commerce to assist with student tuition.

He hopes those steps will halt the enrollment decline, adding: "We believe it will level out within the next few years."

Other schools have not been as fortunate, with many well respected culinary programs shutting their doors. Le Cordon Bleu was founded in the 1800s in Paris. With that school, which Julia Child attended, will remain open, the last of the 16 Cordon Bleu programs across the U.S. have ceased new enrollment and are closing.

In Minnesota alone, three of the five major culinary schools have announced they are shutting down. Southern New Hampshire University's culinary program announced earlier this month that the culinary program will likely be eliminated, noting that enrollments have dropped by more than a third and applications are down 29 percent over the last four years. A final decision is expected in February.

"This is not just an SNHU phenomenon, it is a national trend, and even better known culinary programs than ours are contracting," University President Paul LeBlanc said in a recent statement. SNHU's overall enrollments are strong and growing, he said, "but Culinary stands in stark contrast and in steep decline."

Rick Smilow, president and CEO of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, said students cannot get the same level of training in a timely manner when learning on the job. Culinary school, he said, provides a "breadth and depth of training that, while possible to get on the job, would typically take years."

While acknowledging the restaurant labor shortage, Smilow still sounded optimistic for the industry.

"The best restaurants are still looking for the level of commitment and curiosity that a young cook demonstrates by going to culinary school," he said.

The challenges don't appear to be discouraging culinary students like Sandra Curiel, 18, of Los Angeles, who was helped by a full tuition scholarship to attend New England Culinary Institute's certificate program.

"It's hard work but you know it's something that I love to do and I want to do that for the rest of my life," she said.

In this Jan. 26, 2017 photo, New England Culinary Institute instructor Chef Adrian Westrope, left, discusses a dessert project with student Kassie Jardine in Montpelier, Vt. Enrollment in culinary institutes across the country is in decline and some cooking schools have announced they are closing. NECI, which faces imminent sale, said it is committed to staying relevant and in demand. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
Police: Woman charged after throwing child on train tracks

BURLINGTON, N.J. (AP)  A woman who allegedly threw a 5-year-old girl onto the tracks as a train was approaching has been charged with attempted murder.

Police in Burlington, New Jersey, went to the light rail platform around 8:30 p.m. Friday after a New Jersey Transit bus driver reported a suspicious woman.

As officers waked onto the platform to approach 20-year-old Autumn Matacchiera, she allegedly grabbed the girl who had been standing with her mother and her mother's boyfriend. She then threw the child onto the tracks.

The boyfriend quickly got the girl to safety as police jumped in front of the train to signal it to stop.
Mexico president gets a bounce from clash with Trump

WASHINGTON (AP)  Just a few days ago, Enrique Pena Nieto was a pariah president, dogged by protests and cursed with the lowest approval rating for a Mexican leader in recent history.

No more, thanks to Donald Trump.

Months of Trump's insults to Mexican migrants, threats to build a vast border wall to keep out them out, deport those who've arrived and impose crippling taxes on Mexican exports were met with teeth-clenched restraint by Pena Nieto's government  infuriating many Mexicans.

In this Jan. 23, 2017 photo, Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto makes a pause during a press conference at the Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City. Mexico says President Enrique Pena Nieto has talked with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of planned meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

But when Trump repeatedly insisted Pena Nieto accept paying for the wall, Pena Nieto finally had enough and scrapped a planned Jan. 31 meeting with Trump in Washington.

Suddenly, the nation rallied around him.

"We have to support the president of Mexico, so he can defend the country's interests," said telecom magnate Carlos Slim, the world's fourth-richest man. "I would be very interested in seeing this unity last."

Even the government's most prominent critic, leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has called on Mexicans who three weeks ago were marching in the streets against the government's polices to support Pena Nieto.

Rising crime, a sluggish economy and a series of corruption scandals in his party had already sent the president's popularity reeling. Things got even worse when the government  which originally promised lower fuel prices  imposed a sudden 20-percent increase. Nationwide protests and widespread looting broke out and Pena Nieto's approval ratings collapsed to a historic low of 12 percent in mid-January.

Then came the mini-showdown with Trump.

"Under a national crisis people rally around a leader. Now he's got to keep leading, that's important," said Peter Schechter, senior vice president for strategic Initiatives at the Atlantic Council. "There has to be perception he continues to lead."

Former presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar saId the popularity bounce for Pena Nieto may be short-lived.

"There is a certain feeling of unity around the president," Aguilar said. "But it is very possible that this sentiment could evaporate."

While most Mexicans were flabbergasted that Pena Nieto chose to meet the Mexico-bashing Trump before the election, many economic and political analysts praised his cautious diplomacy, meant to avoid a potentially catastrophic rupture with a northern neighbor that that buys 80 percent of the country's exports.

But traditional cautious diplomacy may not always work in the Trump era.

"Being friendly, being courteous, now appears to be weak, and Mexico should not and cannot appear to be weak," Aguilar said.

Trump has endlessly repeated that he'll make Mexico pay for a border wall, and Mexican officials have endlessly ridiculed the idea.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the administration hasn't yet determined just how to make Mexico pay.

He said the "buffet of options" could include a tax on goods coming across the border, import and export taxes  even a tax on drug cartels or fines to people who come to the U.S. illegally.

Schechter noted that the spat could increase the popularity of Lopez Obrador, "who espouses weakening ties with the United States. It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world."

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor who advocates developing the country's internal economy, has already declared his intention to make a third run for the presidency in 2018. Lopez Obrador narrowly lost in his first two tries, but Mexico could be a different, angrier place in 2018 with a wall sealing it off from the United States, millions of deported migrants and a potential recession caused by scrapped trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Still, Lopez Obrador  a fiery, irascible and unyielding leftist  may suffer if Mexicans start seeing parallels with Trump's behavior.

"I don't see this as automatically implying more votes for Andres Manuel," Aguilar said. "It may instead prove damaging to him, if comparisons are made."

"If they are compared, the Mexican public could think, 'Gee, it's tough to vote for a messianic guy who's going to get into trouble with the United States.'"
Priebus: No regrets Holocaust statement didn't refer to Jews

WASHINGTON (AP)  White House chief of staff Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says there are no regrets a presidential statement on the Holocaust didn't include a clear reference to the 6 million Jews who were killed.

He says he doesn't regret the words and that "we'll never forget the Jewish people who suffered in World War II."

Trump's three-paragraph statement Friday on International Holocaust Remembrance Day drew criticism from the Anti-Defamation League after it failed to make any reference to Jews, in contrast with presidents from previous administrations.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia says a Holocaust remembrance must acknowledge the slaughter of Jews, otherwise it becomes "Holocaust denial."
Syrian musician in limbo after travel ban

BEIRUT (AP)  A Syrian musician who was allowed to legally immigrate to the United States on account of his "extraordinary" abilities, and who recently toured with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, is now wondering whether he can return to his Brooklyn home.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinet player who has called the U.S. home for 16 years, said Sunday he does not have a "plan B" if he is not allowed to return.

Azmeh, who flew to China three weeks ago to perform with Ma, was caught in travel limbo after President Donald Trump issued an order last Friday to refuse entry to citizens of Syria and six other Muslim-majority nations, including travelers holding valid visas and residency permits.

Kinan Azmeh, 40, a Syrian musician who is one of thousands of valid US green card holders who have found their immigration status in limbo after Trump's order Friday, gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Azmeh, who plays the clarinet, and is currently touring with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, said he is waiting to see whether he will be allowed to return to his New York home in the wake of President Donald Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim-majority nations. Azmeh, said he does not have a "plan B" if he is not allowed back into the United States on his scheduled return Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

He was granted a green card three years ago through an EB-1 visa, for applicants who can demonstrate "extraordinary ability" in science, business, or art.

The 40-year-old is currently in Beirut on the last leg of his tour before he will attempt to return home later this week. He also performed with Ma in Denmark.

"I have my apartment. You know, 16 years is not a short time, you accumulate lots of stuff," he said. "But what is not replaceable is all the friends who are incredibly supportive."

He said he was flooded with messages of support in the hours after the executive order, which is being challenged by civil rights attorneys in federal courts. Several judges have granted injunctions against the order, but lawyers say border control officers at several airports still have not granted them access to detained travelers. They say they are afraid the deportations will continue.

Azmeh said he was "positively surprised" by the support shown by demonstrators at U.S airports.

"I am holding onto the optimist in me," he said.

Confusion about cases such as Azmeh's remained, even though Trump's aides stressed during a round of Sunday show interviews that only a small portion of travelers had been affected by the order.

The aides said Sunday that citizens of the seven affected countries who hold permanent U.S. residency "green cards" will not be barred from re-entering the country, as officials had said the day before.

Azmeh grew up in Damascus, Syria, before coming to the U.S. to pursue his doctorate in music. He stayed in the U.S. for years on a student visa, before applying for permanent immigration status three years ago.

"It seemed like the natural step," he said. "New York is where I developed my musical skills, and where I grew as an artist."

He says he considers himself fortunate to be able to call two cities his home, the Syrian capital and New York, even though he has not been able to visit Damascus since Syria descended into war nearly six years ago. Neighbors in Damascus have told Azmeh that his apartment there has been looted twice.

Millions of Syrians are not so lucky. Half the country's population has been displaced, according to the U.N., and an estimated 400,000 have been killed.

"I think of my countrymen and women, people who were forced out of their homes, and have to repeat that again  that is the worst case scenario," he said.

Kinan Azmeh, 40, a Syrian musician who is one of thousands of valid US green card holders who have found their immigration status in limbo after Trump's order Friday, gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Azmeh, who plays the clarinet, and is currently touring with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, said he is waiting to see whether he will be allowed to return to his New York home in the wake of President Donald Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim-majority nations. Azmeh, said he does not have a "plan B" if he is not allowed back into the United States on his scheduled return Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
South Carolina tech worker visiting Iran can't return to US

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  A woman who left her South Carolina home to visit her family in Iran now worries if she will ever be allowed back.

Nazanin Zinouri said in a phone interview Sunday with The Associated Press that she left Jan. 20 for Tehran.

The 29-year-old Zinouri, who has a doctorate from Clemson University, is among those caught up in the chaos surrounding an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that temporarily bans the entry of citizens from seven countries, including Iran. She has a visa and works for a technology company in Clemson.

In an undated photo provided by Parastoo Amiri, Nazanin Zinouri poses for a photo with her PHD degree from Clemson University. Zinouri has a visa and has lived in the U.S. since August 2010. On Jan 20, 2017, Zinouri flew to Iran, expecting to have three weeks of family time with her mother, brother and sister. Instead, she was barely in Tehran before she began trying to get home to South Carolina. (Parastoo Amiri via AP)

Zinouri got as far as Dubai but was denied boarding on a flight to Washington, D.C.
Mexican president gets new invite to US -- from border state

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has a new diplomatic invitation to visit the United States after canceling a trip to Washington in response to President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall  this time from a trio of Democratic lawmakers in the heavily Hispanic state of New Mexico.

Democratic state Rep. Javier Martinez of Albuquerque said Sunday that Trump's insistence on making Mexico pay for a border wall extension is a threat to centuries-old economic and cultural ties between Mexico and the state of New Mexico, including recent investments by taxpayers in the Santa Teresa-San Jeronimo border crossing that have spurred trade.

Martinez, with state Reps. Bill McCamley of Mesilla Park and Angelica Rubio of Las Cruces, sent a letter Friday inviting Pena Nieto to address the New Mexico House Chamber during the current legislative session.

"If you look at the way Trump has spoken out against the Mexican president, the country of Mexico, his position to build this very expensive wall across the border and then his suggestions that it be paid for with a 20 percent tariff on imports  those are all statements and actions that can only be detrimental to the state of New Mexico," said Martinez, an attorney and El Paso native who spent part of his childhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

There's no word yet if Mexico's president will accept the invitation. The decision by Pena Nieto to scrap a planned Jan. 31 meeting with Trump in Washington has boosted the Mexican president's lagging popularity as he struggles to contain rising crime, a sluggish economy and a series of corruption scandals in his party.

Republican New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has avoided criticizing Trump on his executive action pushing a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A spokesman for Gov. Martinez said Friday that she "supports strengthening our border and giving the federal government a variety of tools" to protect residents, while declining to comment specifically on the border wall.

The second-term governor  of no relation to Javier Martinez  said last year that building fences could impact the U.S. economy and relationship with trading partners in Mexico and farther south.

Martinez was a vocal critic of Trump during the presidential campaign for his derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants and women.
The former secretary of Adolf Hitler's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels has died, aged 106.

Brunhilde Pomsel, who began working for Goebbels in 1942 as he stepped up his vile propaganda campaign against Jews, desensitising Germans at the height of the Holocaust.

After her boss died in Hitler's bunker - killing his six children and then committing suicide with his wife - at the end of the war Pomsel disappeared into obscurity.

Brunhilde Pomsel (pictured, left, last year) said that as a young woman (right): 'I was a stupid, politically uninterested little sausage of simple means'

It was only in 2011 that she re-emerged, when a German newspaper published an interview with her, prompting a flurry of interest in the last surviving members of the Nazi leadership's inner circle.

She died in her sleep in Munich on Friday and her death was confirmed last night by Christian Kroenes, the director and producer of a documentary about her, A German Life.

In the documentary Pomsel talked about her three years working for the man responsible for spreading Hitler's poisonous ideology in newspapers and across the airwaves.

She said: 'I wouldn't see myself as being guilty. Unless you end up blaming the entire German population for ultimately enabling that government to take control. That was all of us. Including me.'

Goebbels (right) with his wife and children and Hitler, who Pomsel described as 'The Boss'

She was inside the Fuhrer's bunker in Berlin in May 1945 when he shot himself as the Red Army closed in on his lair.

Pomsel described in the film how she was told to keep the Nazi top brass supplied with alcohol 'in order to retain the numbness' and stave off the reality of their imminent defeat by the hated Russians.

Born in 1911, she left school in 1926 and started an apprenticeship with a Jewish wholesale manufacturer.

But as the Great Depression hit Germany - leading to the rise of the Nazis - she became unemployed, before getting a job as a shorthand secretary for Jewish insurance broker Dr Hugo Goldberg.

Dr Goldberg, like many Jews, fled Germany after Hitler gained power in 1933 but Pomsel began working for author Wulf Bley, who was closely connected to the Nazi Party.

Pomsel was interviewed for the documentary, A German Life, last year

She used these connections to get a job with the German Broadcasting Station radio channel and joined the Nazi party herself.

Goebbels spent much of his time at the radio station, making manic speeches in his increasingly shrill voice, and her offered a job as his assistant.

Thrilled to be working with the second most important person in the Third Reich, she jumped at the opportunity.

But she insisted that she was not aware of the 'Final Solution' - the extermination of millions of Jews in death camps in Germany, Austria and German-occupied Poland - until after the war and said Goebbels must have kept correspondence about it away from her sight.

After the war Pomsel was captured by Soviet troops and jailed for five years.

Astonishingly, after being released from prison in 1950, she went back to working in broadcasting in democratic West Germany until her eventual retirement in 1971. She is not thought to have married or had children.

Mr Kroenes said he spoke to Pomsel on her birthday, January 11, when she had sounded perfectly lucid.
Donald Trump is expected to hold phone talks with the leaders of a number of countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea, Sputnik reported.

US President Donald Trump is expected to hold phone talks with the leaders of a number of countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South Korea on Sunday, the White House said in a statement.

"In the afternoon, the President will speak with the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud. The President will then speak with the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed," the statement said on Saturday.

The statement added that the US president would end his working day with a phone conversation with Acting President of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-ahn.
An Iraqi pleaded for his life to Donald Trump, a Syrian-born New Yorker wondered how he would get home and church groups stared in dismay at homes prepared for refugee families who may never arrive.

Despair and confusion set in among citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries who suddenly found themselves unable to enter the United States a day after President Trump signed an order he said was necessary to stop radical Islamic terrorists from coming to America.

Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee programme.

Travellers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights or detained at US airports after they landed, including tourists, foreign students and people trying to visit friends and family.

Protestors put up sign reading "we will love and protect each other" facing protest. Police immediately confiscate sign. #NoMuslimBanJFK pic.twitter.com/WKeXfqMtmh  Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (@JFREJNYC) January 28, 2017

Whats next? Whats going to happen next? said Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order barring the US from summarily deporting people who had arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, but the ruling affected only a portion of Mr Trumps order.

Protests broke out at several US airports where travellers were being held, including a gathering of several hundred people outside San Franciscos main airport and a raucous demonstration of at least 2,000 people at New Yorks Kennedy International Airport.

Protesters stage a sit-in in the arrivals terminal at San Francisco Airport (Protesters stage a sit-in in the arrivals terminal at San Francisco International Airport (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the US military in Iraq for 10 years, now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at Kennedy Airport on Friday and Saturday.

He was released after his lawyers and two members of the US Congress went to the airport to try to gain his release.

One of the refugees, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, has been released pic.twitter.com/U1XHr4DaTt  Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) January 28, 2017

This is the soul of America, Mr Darweesh told demonstrators and reporters, adding that the US was home to the greatest people in the world.

Others were not so lucky. Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana, said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicagos OHare International Airport on Saturday and told she could not enter the US to help care for their sick mother. Ms Ulayyet said some airport officials were apologising to her sister, who had a valid visa.

Nour Ulayyet comforts her sick mother in hospital after her sister was sent back from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (Paul Beaty/AP)

The order also caused confusion for long-time, legal US residents travelling abroad.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the US for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, but does not know if he will be able to return.

It (New York City) is home as much as Damascus, he said by phone from Lebanon.

Before Mr Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the government to enter the US, said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service.
Justin Rose lost his lead of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines after a tough third round.

The Olympic champion was the leader after the opening two rounds, but he carded a one-over-par 73 to slip back to seven under, two shots off joint leaders Patrick Rodgers and Brandt Snedeker.

Highlights from Round 3 in San Diego. pic.twitter.com/sTHDm8dQR3  PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 29, 2017

Rodgers, who is searching for a first PGA Tour win, fired five birdies in his 67, the joint-best round of the day, to propel himself into contention, while defending champion Snedeker compiled a 70.

Justin Rose

Rodgers said on pgatour.com: The conditions were awesome, thats why we come to San Diego, the sun was out and there was no wind, so it was fun to make a few birdies.

Tony Finau also shot 67 to move up to eight under with Cheng Tsung Pan.

Third round 73 +1 (-7 total T5) pic.twitter.com/GU5NXZ8Y8Y  Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) January 28, 2017

Rose is one of eight men on seven under.
A Conservative MP has told how he feels demeaned and discriminated against after learning he will be hit by Donald Trumps travel ban.

Nadhim Zahawi, who was born Baghdad in Iraq, has been advised by lawyers that he will be barred from the United States under the border clampdown on travellers from seven Muslim nations and all refugees.

I'm a British citizen & so proud to have been welcomed to this country. Sad to hear ill be banned from the USA based on my country of birth  Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 28, 2017

But he stopped short of attacking Prime Minister Theresa Mays response to the ban.

Nadhim Zahawi (PA)

He told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show: I dont think I have felt discriminated since little school when the kids were very cruel, as a young boy coming from Iraq of Kurdish origin.
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane could be set for a place in the squad for Tuesdays visit of Premier League leaders Chelsea after Senegals exit from the African Nations Cup.

Press Association Sport understands the club have scheduled a private jet to fly home the player after his country was knocked out by Cameroon in the quarter-finals.

Mane was distraught on Saturday night after missing the critical penalty in a 5-4 shootout defeat and it remains to be seen whether Jurgen Klopp will throw him straight back in.

Sadio Mane (Dave Howarth/PA)

Commiserations to Sadio Mane, who bows out of #AFCON2017 with Senegal. pic.twitter.com/UzitmsXj9R  Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 28, 2017

The 24-year-old would have to at least train on Monday afternoon to stand a chance of making the bench at Anfield the following evening.

His absence has coincided with the worst run of results since Klopp took over.
Nigel Farage has suggested Britain should follow the lead of Donald Trump and introduce extreme vetting to her borders.

The former Ukip leader defended Mr Trumps controversial travel ban, saying the US president is entitled to introduce the measures in a bid to crack down on any would-be jihadis entering the country.

And he blamed the ban - which has been condemned by leaders around the world - on Germanys open-door policy towards those fleeing conflict in the Middle East.

Nigel Farage holds his UK passport (Paul Faith/PA)

.@realDonaldTrump was elected to protect America from ISIS terrorists. pic.twitter.com/ys5rcz3bhV  Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) January 29, 2017

Speaking on BBC1s Sunday Politics, Mr Farage said: He was elected to get tough, he was elected to say he will do everything within his power to protect America from infiltration by Isis terrorists.

Now there are seven countries on that list, he is entitled to do this, he was voted in on this.

Mr Farage, who has previously called for Syrian refugees to be allowed into Britain, said he now agrees with Mr Trumps policy.

And he suggested German Chancellor Angela Merkels open-door refugee policy has left Europe vulnerable to terrorism: I mean frankly since I made those comments we had the Merkel madness, and I think Trumps policy in many ways has been shaped by what Mrs Merkel did.
Sir Mo Farah is relieved to be exempt from US travel restrictions and that he can return to his family but still fundamentally disagrees with this incredibly divisive and discriminatory policy, a spokeswoman said.

The Somalia-born four-time Olympic champion was concerned President Donald Trumps travel ban would force him to be separated from his wife and four children.

But a clarification of the policy has now made it clear the exclusion will not apply to the athlete, who lives and trains in Portland, Oregon.

Mo Farah celebrates with the union flag (Ian Rutherford/PA)

A spokeswoman for Sir Mo said: We understand from the statement released this evening by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office that the executive order will not apply to Mo, and we are grateful to the FCO for urgently clarifying the situation.

Mo is relieved that he will be able to return to his family once his current training camp concludes. However, as he said in his earlier statement, he still fundamentally disagrees with this incredibly divisive and discriminatory policy.

Statement on what the Presidential exec order on inbound migration to US means to Brit nationals/dual nationals. https://t.co/1vpjcXbZBg  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 29, 2017

Sir Mo, currently training in Ethiopia, is a British citizen but his status with regard to returning to his family in America had been left unclear after Somalia, his place of birth, was placed under a temporary travel ban to the US alongside six other mainly Muslim countries and all refugees.

However, irrespective of birthplace, British nationals are exempt from Fridays order, according to the Foreign Office, and will be allowed to enter the States, even if they are travelling from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen  the seven countries placed under travel restrictions.

Therefore, Sir Mo will be able to reunite with his family in Portland, Oregon  where they have been based for the last six years  once he has finished his training camp.

Sir Mo earlier in the day highlighted the situation many nationals born in one of the seven banned countries were facing. He condemned the order, fearing it applied to him, as making him feel like an alien.

On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump... Posted by Mo Farah on Sunday, January 29, 2017

After moving to the UK from Somalia, Sir Mo, who does not have dual nationality or hold a Somalian passport, lived in west London and his athletic prowess was first spotted by a PE teacher.

Mad week in Ethiopia....!! Don't dream of winning train for it...!! #RoadToLondon pic.twitter.com/ygEJ61n3QU  Sir Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) January 20, 2017
Danny Welbeck has admitted the carrot of scoring goals kept him sane during his 20 months battling two consecutive knee problems.

Arsenals England forward fired a brace for his first goals since April as the Gunners thumped sorry Southampton 5-0 at St Marys on Saturday.

Arsene Wengers men cruised into the FA Cups fifth round, with Theo Walcott also stealing a hat-trick on the south coast.

Arsenal's Danny Welbeck celebrates scoring his side's second goal at Southampton

Welbeck claimed his first goals on his fourth appearance since a second bout of knee surgery inside two years, then admitted he had to keep dreaming of that moment during painstaking rehabilitation.

Asked if the hunger for goals kept him focused in recovery, Welbeck replied: Yeah, definitely. I think because I had this experience before, coming back from an injury, I kind of knew what to expect even though its a tough time. It was obviously good to be back out on the pitch after such a long time out, its been a tough few months.

Dat Guy is back - and back in style pic.twitter.com/QVv7hAvVP6  Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 29, 2017

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was left purring over Welbecks showing, with the 26-year-old chipping home smartly for the opener before sliding in a neat second.

Wenger admitted he had not expected Welbeck to be so sharp so soon, leaving the Gunners boss to consider the former Manchester United man ready for sterner challenges ahead.

Welbeck told Arsenals official club website: The end game is to be back out on the pitch and playing in the first team and I got that opportunity. Im certainly looking forward to doing it many more times.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain tucked into a central midfield role with youngsters Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Ainsley Maitland-Niles for company.

England star Oxlade-Chamberlain laid on Welbecks second goal with a fine raking pass, then later paid tribute to his two young midfield colleagues.

Maitland-Niles especially impressed at the base of Arsenals midfield, the 19-year-old a constant outlet for team-mates.

Obviously the midfielders were shuffled up a lot and we had a big responsibility, Oxlade-Chamberlain told Arsenals official club website.

Southampton are always strong in there so I thought the two young boys, Ainsley and Jeff, did really well beside me.

We set the pace from the start and we controlled it at times. And when they controlled it in midfield, I thought we sat back, we were compact and we kept a good shape and we saw them out until half-time and then we pushed on from there. So Im really happy with it.
More than half a million people have signed a petition to cancel Donald Trumps state visit to the UK amid a growing backlash against his travel ban on refugees and people from several mainly-Muslim countries.

The number of signatories soared from only 60 on Saturday afternoon to 500,000 by 6.20pm on Sunday.

A petition calling for Mr Trump to be prevented from making a state visit to the UK hit 100,000 signatures at about 12.30pm on Sunday  meaning it could now be selected for debate by MPs.

It reached the 100,000 needed to be considered for debate by MPs just after midday.

Watching the Trump petition rise by about 1,000 signatures a minute on the Parliament website. It's almost hypnotichttps://t.co/wRUcjG0SE5  Alistair Coleman (@alistaircoleman) January 29, 2017

Numbers then steadily rose throughout the afternoon as the controversial ban continued to spark anger across the world, with the petition averaging more than 1,000 signatures per minute.

The US president accepted an invitation to visit Britain later this year, where he is due to be hosted by the Queen and would be treated to all the pomp and ceremony accorded to a state visit.

.@realDonaldTrump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with shameful #MuslimBan & attacks on refugees & women  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 29, 2017

Well said @mo_farah - our values are of compassion and understanding. @theresa_may must stand up to Trump's hate. pic.twitter.com/XK7zgUmOvK  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 29, 2017

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and SNP foreign affairs spokesman Alex Salmond all called for the trip to be cancelled.

.@TimFarron says that the offer of a state visit to the UK to @POTUS should be withdrawn #Ridge https://t.co/guqPfN9gNu  Sophy Ridge on Sunday & The Take (@RidgeOnSunday) January 29, 2017

The Labour party leader said: Donald Trump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with his shameful Muslim ban and attacks on refugees and womens rights.

Theresa May would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trumps actions in the clearest terms. Thats what Britain expects and deserves.

Am I alone in finding it impossible to bear that in pursuit of her deeply wrong-headed policies our PM is now forcing THAT MAN on our Queen?  Paddy Ashdown (@paddyashdown) January 29, 2017

For those asking my view on US State visit: would be wrong for it to go ahead while bans on refugees & citizens of some countries in place.  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 29, 2017

Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators are planning to protest against the ban outside Downing Street and across the country on Monday from 6pm.

Protests are listed to take place in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge and Birmingham.

A march organised by a coalition of groups, including Stand Up to Racism and the Muslim Council of Britain, is due to begin at the US embassy next Saturday, ending at Downing Street.

.@AlexSalmond says that a bad Brexit deal for Scotland makes a second Scottish referendum "very likely" #Ridge https://t.co/JjquzgMhvg  Sophy Ridge on Sunday & The Take (@RidgeOnSunday) January 29, 2017

Graham Guest, who started the petition in November, told the Press Association he feared Mr Trump would use the state visit and the accompanying photo opportunities with the Queen to bolster his image.

He said: A state visit legitimises his presidency and he will use the photo opportunities and being seen with the Queen to get re-elected.

The wording in the petition is quite precise as I actually say that he should come here as the head of government to do government to government business.

At the end of the day he is still the President and weve just got to live with that. But theres no reason why he should get all the pomp and publicity of a state visit.

The petition as it stood at 6.30pm on Sunday (Screengrab/PA)

Asked why he had launched the petition, Mr Guest, from Leeds, said: Anything to make his life more uncomfortable.

I think a debate in Parliament to ban a state visit would be great as people will have had the chance to air their views on him.

The petition is really just to make as much noise as possible and put the spotlight on him and what an awful person he is.
Colombia and FARC rebels to wage joint fight against coca cultivation

BOGOTA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Colombia's government and Marxist FARC rebels announced a plan on Friday to substitute illegal crops and eradicate vast tracts of coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine, over the next year as part of a peace deal to end a half-century conflict.

Colombia, which according to the United Nations has more than 96,000 hectares (237,000 acres) sown with coca, manually destroyed 17,642 hectares last year and seized a record 378 tons of cocaine.

Planting of coca was up 39 percent in 2015 after the government halted aerial fumigation with the chemical glyphosate, which was a key part of its U.S.-backed counternarcotics strategy. Colombia and neighboring Peru are the world's leading producers of cocaine.

"The goal is to replace approximately 50,000 hectares of illicit crops during the first year of implementation in more than 40 municipalities in the most affected departments," the government and the rebels said in a joint statement.

The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was considered one of the biggest players in Colombia's drug business.

President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leadership agreed on the crop substitution program as part of last year's peace agreement.

Post-Conflict Commissioner Rafael Pardo said the government would invest $340 million in the substitution program, which he said would benefit 50,000 families.

Cacao and fruit trees are among crops that will be planted instead of coca, depending on soil characteristics.

Colombia's conflict, pitting leftist rebels against right-wing paramilitaries and the military, has lasted almost 53 years and taken more 220,000 lives.

The FARC initially "taxed" coca production by farmers in rural areas under its control but it went on to dominate trafficking in those same areas.
France's Hollande warns Trump against protectionism

PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday warned U.S. President Donald Trump against taking a protectionist approach, which he said would have economic and political consequences.

"In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead-end," Hollande told Trump in their first official telephone conversation, according to a statement from the president's office.

The French president told Trump, who has expressed skepticism about international organisations, that France was committed to the United Nations, that the NATO military alliance was indispensable and the European Union should be reinforced.

Hollande, now just four months before the end of his term, said sanctions against Russia should be lifted only when the situation in eastern Ukraine was resolved.

Trump said on Friday he was only in the early stages of considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia, but insisted he wanted to follow through on his campaign pledge to pursue better relations with Russia.

The president also told Trump democracies could be defended only if founding democratic principles were respected, including welcoming refugees.

Earlier on Saturday, France and Germany voiced disquiet over Trump's decision to limit immigration and refugees from some Muslim countries.

Hollande also told southern European leaders meeting in Lisbon the new U.S. government was encouraging "populism and even extremism" and that Europe should stick together.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday that she did not agree with the recent developments in the US migration policy creating difficulties for Muslims and refugees arriving in the United States and would respond if the rights of Britons affected by the ban, Sputnik reported.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump ordered to block all refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days and suspended the entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia for 90 days.

"We do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals," May was quoted as saying by her spokesperson, as quoted by The Guardian newspaper.

May added that if the entry ban had a negative impact on the UK nationals, London would "make representations" to Washington on the issue.

The decision of Trump's administration has already been criticized by different rights groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and countries, such as Iran and lawsuits have already been filed against US authorities.

On Saturday, the federal court for the Eastern District of New York made a decision to issue an emergency stay for people from the countries mentioned in Trump's order, who have arrived in the United States with valid visas of the country.
Trump, Merkel agree NATO members must pay fair share

BERLIN/WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump underscored the importance of the NATO alliance and vowed to work more closely together to combat terrorism and militancy, the two leaders said in a joint statement on Saturday.

Merkel and Trump spoke by telephone on Saturday about NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, their ties to Russia and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, according to a statement approved by both countries.

"The leaders recognised that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defence requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," Merkel and Trump said in the statement.

Trump accepted Merkel's invitation to attend a summit of G20 industrialised countries in Hamburg in July, and said he looked forward to welcoming Merkel to Washington soon. Germany is chairing the G20 group this year.

The statement made no mention of Trump's executive order limiting immigration or his moves to cancel free trade deals, issues that have drawn criticism from German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and other German officials in recent days.

Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande, whose office said he warned the U.S. leader about the economic and political consequences of protectionism.

The joint German-U.S. statement, by contrast, highlighted areas of common interest and stressed the importance of ties between the United States and Europe's largest economy.

The language on NATO came after Trump called the alliance "obsolete", but it highlighted the need for reforms and updates.

Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO members such as Germany that do not spend 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on their militaries.

Merkel has said Germany will work to increase its defence spending - now at 1.19 percent of GDP - but also warned that it would take time to achieve the goal.

Trump has also said Merkel made a "catastrophic mistake" by allowing more than a million refugees, mostly Muslims fleeing war in the Middle East, to come to Germany.

For her part, the German leader, who is seeking a fourth term in office, has refrained from being too critical of Trump, although she pointedly offered to work closely with him on the basis of "democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for human dignity, regardless of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political inclination".

Earlier this week she said that openness, not populism, polarisation or isolation, was the answer to the world's challenges of globalisation and digitalisation.
Iraq parliament panel asks government to 'reciprocate' to U.S. travel curbs

BAGHDAD, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Iraq's foreign affairs committee on Sunday said the U.S. travel curbs imposed on Iraqis were "unfair," and asked the government in Baghdad to "reciprocate" to the American decision.

The committee made its call after a meeting in Baghdad.

"We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the U.S administration," said the committee in a statement read to Reuters by one its members, Hassan Shwerid.
Trump order dashes dreams of Iraqi family bound for United States

By Arwa Gaballa and Eric Knecht

CAIRO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Fuad Sharef and his family waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organisations.

But Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo airport on Saturday. They were sudden victims of U.S. President Donald Trump's new travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Their passports confiscated, the distraught family was detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning.

"We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport.

"I feel very guilty towards my wife and kids. I feel like I'm the reason behind their dismay."

In the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. He said this would help safeguard the United States from terrorists.

The travel curbs took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries. Sharef and his family were among the first victims.

Sharef said he was employed by a pharmaceutical company before leaving Iraq, but had worked on projects funded by U.S. organisations such as USAID in the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The family applied for a U.S. visa in September 2014 as security conditions in Iraq deteriorated, with Islamic State insurgents seizing swathes of the country and carrying out brutal killings.

Sharef's work with the United States made him particularly vulnerable to attack by militants who view him as a traitor.

"I applied for immigration for several reasons. Firstly, I worked with Americans, which puts me at risk of threats from terrorist organizations. Secondly, I was interested in this (SIV) programme and my children's interest to continue their education in the United States," he said.

AFTER RISKING THEIR LIVES

Sharef applied to emigrate via a programme known as Special Immigrant Visa, which was created by U.S. lawmakers to help the tens of thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping Americans after the 2003 invasion.

At least 7,000 Iraqis, many of them interpreters for the U.S. military, have settled in the United States under SIV auspices since 2008, while some 500 more are being processed, State Department figures show.

Another 58,000 Iraqis have been awaiting interviews under the Direct Access Program for U.S.-affiliated Iraqis, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project.

Sharef's friend, Mona Fetouh, said she had worked with him on a USAID-funded local governance and civil society project in 2004. Fetouh, a U.S. resident, said she gave Sharef a recommendation for his SIV application.

Originally due to fly on Feb. 1, the family decided to travel earlier after news leaked of Trump's plan to issue new immigration restrictions. But they were too late.

"The SIV process took two years and they were finally granted their visas and due to fly this week - bad timing," Fetouh told Reuters. "They sold their home and possessions and quit their jobs and school in preparation for this move and are really devastated by this."

Sharef, father to two girls and a boy, said the family was still in shock and did not know what steps to take next. They would be staying temporarily with Sharef's brother in Erbil.

"I don't know. Maybe I will send an email to the American embassy in Baghdad asking for an explanation," he said.

Asked if he feared for his life returning to Iraq, he said, referring to the northern Iraqi city from which Islamic State is being gradually dislodged by an Iraqi army offensive:
Schulz vows to shake up German elections with fight for more equality

By Holger Hansen and Andrea Shalal

BERLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Former European Parliament President Martin Schulz vowed on Sunday to shake up German elections and unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel with a campaign aimed at overcoming "deep divisions" that he said had fueled populism in Germany in recent years.

Schulz, nominated to lead the Social Democratic Party (SPD), told over 1,000 people at its Berlin headquarters he would fight for fairer tax rules, better education and to ensure that people in rural areas had the same benefits as in big cities.

But Schulz will be hard pressed in this year's elections to unseat Merkel, who has led Germany since 2005 and is Europe's most powerful head of government. She also remains very popular despite discontent over her immigration policies.

"A jolt is going through the SPD. We want to build on this momentum," Schulz, 61, said after the party's executive committee voted unanimously for him to become the party's top candidate in the September election. Party members will vote to formalise the decision in Berlin on March 19.

Schulz called for greater solidarity in Europe on the migrant issue and described the actions of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has resisted attempts by the EU to coordinate migration, as an affont to European unity.

SURPRISE MOVE

He criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for what he called "outrageous and dangerous" attacks on women, religious minorities, people with disabilities and others.

And he took aim at the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and its support for France's far-right National Front party, saying Germans had experienced during the Nazi era where "blind nationalism" would lead.

The centre-left party in a surprise move on Tuesday had announced it would nominate Schulz to replace current party leader Sigmar Gabriel, who said he was standing aside to enhance the party's chances in the Sept. 24 election.

Gabriel said the SPD was serious about ending its role as a junior partner to Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats in the "grand coalition" that has ruled since 2013.

"Germany needs a new start that cannot happen with the (conservative Christian Democratic) Union," he said. "We've come to the end of what we can achieve with a divided conservatives."

German news magazine Der Spiegel portrayed Schulz as the party's saviour on Sunday, carrying a photo on its front cover of a beaming Schulz with the headline "Saint Martin".

A poll carried out last week showed Merkel's Christian Democrats would get 34 percent of the vote if the election were held today, while the SPD would win 23 percent.

The AfD would become the third largest party in parliament with 13 percent of the vote, the poll conducted by Ipsos showed.

The Greens would win 11 percent, with the Left party seen winning 10 percent, a slight increase from previous polls.

The SPD wants to form a coalition with smaller parties on the left, but most analysts still think another right-left coalition is the most likely outcome of September's election.

Merkel's conservatives have been bleeding support to the AfD since the chancellor's decision in August 2015 to keep Germany's borders open to refugees, a policy that has seen more than a million migrants enter Germany over the past two years.
Iran summons Swiss envoy to protest U.S. visa ban

DUBAI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran on Sunday to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban against people from Iran and six other Muslim nations, state news agency IRNA reported.

A note handed to the envoy, who represents U.S. interests in Iran because Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic ties, said Trump's executive order "was based on false and discriminatory pretexts and (went) against human rights conventions", IRNA said.
Iraq to oppose U.S. travel curbs, keen to preserve cooperation against Islamic State

By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Iraq plans to lobby against new restrictions on travel to the United States by Iraqis, arguing the two countries need to preserve their alliance against Islamic State (IS), two members of the Iraqi parliament close to the government said on Sunday.

Dependent on U.S. military aid against IS, the Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days {nL1N1FH1XY].

The order stirred angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against IS insurgents.

Some members of parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States.

"Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism (...) and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," parliament's foreign affairs committee said in a statement.

"We call on the Iraqi government to retaliate for the decision taken by the U.S. administration," it added after a session on Sunday in Baghdad.

Baghdad plans to lobby Washington to review the decision, according to two lawmakers who declined to be identified.

One of them told Reuters that the government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to apply similar treatment, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation", in the conflict with IS.

Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight Islamic State, urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government to expel U.S. nationals.

Influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Sunday American citizens should leave Iraq. "It would be arrogance for you (Americans) to enter Iraq and other countries freely while barring them entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website.

CRITICAL U.S. SUPPORT FOR CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE

The U.S.-led coalition is providing critical air and ground support to Iraqi forces in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from Islamic State.

Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recaptured all of Mosul east of the Tigris River that cleaves through the city, and were girding for an onslaught on the jihadists on the western bank.

An Iraqi who worked four years as a translator for U.S. forces in the hope of obtaining a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) felt betrayed by the Trump administration's decision and said he now feared for his life.

The man said he was hired by U.S. forces after tipping them off about a house where insurgents were making car bombs in Mosul. He said that while employed by the Americans he had saved the life of a serviceman by pulling him to safety after U.S. troops came under militant attack in Mosul.

"My life is (now) in danger," said the translator, who spoke in an eastern district of Mosul under the condition he was neither identified nor photographed.

He told Reuters that he used to consider the Americans to be "brothers but I don't trust those guys anymore".

He added that bureaucratic and personal problems delayed his applications to the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa program designed for those employed by the U.S. military and U.S. civilian agencies until their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.
Myanmar ruling party lawyer shot dead at Yangon airport

By Wa Lone, Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Simon Lewis

YANGON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy was shot dead outside the country's busiest airport on Sunday, in a rare outbreak of what appeared to be political violence in the commercial capital, Yangon.

Police arrested a lone gunman, but a motive was unknown in the killing of 65-year-old Ko Ni, a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority.

The apparent assassination comes amid heightened tensions in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under pressure over a heavy-handed security operation in an area of the country's northwest that is populated mostly by Muslims.

A gunman shot the lawyer in front of the main terminal of Yangon International Airport at about 5 p.m., according to San Naing, Ko Ni's assistant.

Images posted on social media show a man in a pink shirt, shorts and sandals aiming a pistol at the back of Ko Ni's head as he cradles a toddler. A family member said Ko Ni was holding his grandson when he was killed.

A taxi driver who tried to stop the gunman was also killed, according to Zaw Htay, spokesman for President Htin Kyaw.

"We have detained and are questioning the gunman to find out why he killed him, and who is behind it or paid him to do it," Zaw Htay told Reuters.

A police official told Reuters the suspect was a 53-year-old Myanmar citizen from the central city of Mandalay.

Ko Ni had just embraced his young grandson as he stepped out of the airport terminal on his return from Jakarta, said the lawyer's daughter Yin Nwe Khine.

"My father was talking to his grandson. Then I heard a gunshot. At first I thought it was a car tyre blowing out, then I saw my father lying on the ground," she said.

Ko Ni, an expert in constitutional law, had spoken out about the powerful role the military retains in governing Myanmar, despite handing over power to Suu Kyi's civilian administration in April.

"My father was often threatened and we were warned to be careful, but my father didn't accept that easily. He always did what he thought was right," said Yin Nwe Khine.

"A lot of people hate us because we have different religious beliefs, so I think that might be why it happened to him, but I don't know the reason."

Ko Ni had joined Information Minister Pe Myint on the visit to Muslim-majority Indonesia - billed as an opportunity to share experiences of national reconciliation. The delegation included several Myanmar Muslim leaders, some belonging to the mostly stateless Rohingya minority.

The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, met with Ko Ni on a visit to the country this month.

The independent expert said on Sunday evening that Suu Kyi "must get to the bottom" of Ko Ni's death.
Iranian academics scared and stranded by Trump travel ban

By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Duke University professor and Iranian dissident Mohsen Kadivar left his home in North Carolina 10 days ago to attend a fellowship programme in Germany.

Now, stranded in Berlin as a result of new U.S. immigration rules, the longstanding critic of Iran's ruling clerical establishment does not know whether or when he can rejoin his wife and two children in the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily banned travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries. He said the move would help protect Americans from terrorism.

The ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, including those with dual nationality that includes one of those countries, and extends on a case-by-case basis to "green card" holders who are authorised to live and work in the United States.

Kadivar, once an active participant in Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution who later fell foul of its leaders, told Reuters from Berlin he was concerned about his family and career in America.

"I have a fellowship in Germany until July ... but what happens after that is not clear. I am concerned about my future. I don't know whether I will be able to return to the United States as a green card holder Iranian national," he said.

There are an estimated 1 million Iranian-Americans in the United States, including those with U.S. citizenship, dual nationality and green card holders, so Trump's executive order could create myriad travel complications.

"My two children and wife live in the United States ... My wife was planning to join me in Berlin, where I arrived on July 18 and was supposed to stay until July ... But we were advised by the university's immigration lawyers to cancel her trip to Berlin," Kadivar said.

Kadivar, a research professor of Islamic studies at Duke University in North Carolina since 2009, is an outspoken critic of Iran's hardline clerical leadership.

The 58-year-old, who was jailed for a year in Iran in 1999 for "disseminating lies and disturbing public opinion", has called for more autonomy from religion in political life and has been a staunch critic of Iran's most powerful authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In 2001, he travelled to the United States with an invitation from the Islamic Law Program of Harvard Law School for research and teaching. He was awarded the Hellman-Hammett Prize for writers deemed to be at risk from political persecution.

Kadivar said Trump's travel ban was "humiliating and discriminatory".

"I have received so many emails from my colleagues, who regretted the ban ... Iranians have never been involved in any terrorist act in the United States."

'TURNING IRANIANS HOSTILE'

The United States and its allies in the Middle East accuse Iran of supporting terrorism and interfering in the affairs of regional states, including Syria, Yemen and Iraq - charges denied by Tehran.

Hardline allies of Khamenei, worried about losing their grip on power since a nuclear deal was reached with the United States and other world powers in 2015, have continued to denounce Washington publicly.

However, pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani has sought to reduce tensions with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a Rouhani ally, tweeted on Sunday that the travel ban was "a great gift to extremists".

The Tehran government on Saturday vowed to retaliate by banning the entry of Americans, but Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas could enter Iran.

"Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he said.

Despite differences in tone from factions, political analysts said the U.S. measures would unite Iran's political establishment to some extent, at least for a short while.

It would also turn public opinion firmly against the United States, they added.

"Besides tearing apart many families, this ban is materialising an objective that the leadership in Tehran has not been able to achieve for decades since the revolution," said Ali Vaez from the International Crisis Group conflict research group.

"That is turning Iranians hostile towards the United States. The top-down enmity towards the U.S. risks becoming bottom-up."

'NOT MY AMERICAN DREAM'

Iranian author Azar Nafisi, a professor of English literature who has lived in the United States since 1997 and became a U.S. citizen nine years later, said the ban was contrary to American values.

"We came to the United States because we believed it is a country of freedom, a country friendly to immigrants. People like me should raise their voice and express their concerns. This is not a political issue," said Nafisi.

Another Iranian-born academic, Mohammad, said he was returning to his home in the United States after attending his father's funeral in Tehran, when the ban came into effect.

Turkish Airlines refused to allow him to board his connecting flight to New York from Istanbul, he said.

Mohammad, 42, who refused to give his family name because he said he was concerned about administrative steps being taken against his U.S.-based family, said the ban was "certainly going to make things harder for mostly well-educated Iranian immigrants.

"I have a green card and have been living in the U.S. for years. My two little daughters are awaiting for me. What can my wife tell them?" he said.
Philippines to disband police anti-drugs units, but war goes on

MANILA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Philippines police will disband anti-drugs units following the killing of a South Korean businessmen by rogue officers, but the country's president vowed on Sunday to forge ahead with his war on drugs until the last day of his term.

President Rodrigo Duterte said he was embarrassed that anti-drugs officers had abused their power to engage in kidnapping, leading to the death by strangulation of Jee Ick-joo, on the grounds of the national police headquarters.

Duterte said other suspects were still at large and gave them 48 hours to turn themselves in, or have a dead-or-alive bounty on their heads of 5 million pesos ($100,000), for which he would prefer them dead.

His police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, said the breakup of anti-drugs units was necessary to rebuild them, but it could disrupt the progress of the campaign.

"We will dissolve all anti-drugs units in the police," he told a joint news conference with Duterte, when asked if he would overhaul the police.

"I will do my job to the best of my ability I hope I will not fail the president and the Filipino people."

More than 7,000 people have been killed since Duterte, nicknamed "the punisher", unleashed his bloody crackdown seven months ago, some 2,250 in police operations and the rest still mostly under investigation.

His six-year term ends in 2022.

Police say many of those so far unsolved could be the work of vigilantes or inter-gang drugs violence.

The campaign has caused alarm in the West and rights groups accuse Duterte of turning a blind eye to a wave of extrajudicial killings by police, mostly of low-level peddlers. Police deny that and say the killings are in self-defence.

Duterte said police who had been subject of internal investigations should be reassigned to work in conflict zones.

Fighting drugs and crime was the key platform of Duterte's election campaign, during which he promised to eradicate illicit drugs within six months.

He said he underestimated the depth of problem, and on Sunday promised the crackdown would continue to the end of his six-year presidency, and criticism would not stop him.
In a recent article in the Daily mirror of January 5, 2017, titled Lets make Sampanthans New Year wish come true, the writer refers to the fact that the Opposition Leader has pinned his hopes for a peaceful and prosperous country in 2017 on a resolution of the National Question. The writer poses the question, What is the National Question. He takes the view that it boils down to, what the grievances are of the Tamil people, which he says should be spelt out.

In this article, I am attempting to list out some of the grievances, and would like to quote from the LLRC report which states as follows. The Commission takes the view that the root cause of the ethnic conflict lies in the failure of successive governments to address the genuine grievances of the Tamil people-Chapter 9 para 184. This is the conclusion of a very eminent panel after an exhaustive examination of the subject, and has to be treated with due respect. The Commissions statement hardly fits into the writers notion of tired ethnocentric narratives typical of Tamil nationalists.

If the leader of the Opposition wish is to come true, a prerequisite is that the citizens of the country belonging to all communities feel that they are equal and that the State provides services to all equally. This would require;



1. That the official languages policy is implemented in full, and this includes the Central ministries, and that Tamil-speaking citizens (and Sinhala-speaking citizens living in North and East) are able to communicate with and receive communications from the State in their language in any part of the country. Although the Tamil language has been one of the official languages of the country from 1987, and this is set out in the Constitution, this provision is still to be implemented fully. This fact is mentioned in the LLRC report as a grievance

to be rectified.



2. That all citizens must have equal access to services and opportunities, and this includes employment in the government services. As of now, the number of Tamil persons in the Central ministries, armed forces police etc is very low. Colombo the capital city which is 52% Tamil-speaking, is a telling example where there are very few public officials (example Grama Niladaris or police officers able to speak and provide services to the Tamil-speaking public in Tamil. The long wait for a solitary Tamil-speaking officer who is expected to double up as a translator is a familiar experience of most Tamil-speaking public who cannot communicate in Sinhala or are unable to take someone with them to interpret.



3. That justice is administered to all citizens equally, and that all citizens are equally subject to the law. At present the public perception is that certain categories of persons, are given immunity. It is an obligation of the State to investigate and take action on complaints made. In this context I refer to the crime of enforced disappearance which is one of the most heinous crimes. Although numerous Commissions have been set up to hear such complaints there is little in the way of action taken.

The Paranagama Commission which was the last such Commission, heard and recorded 23 thousand complainants the large majority of whom were Tamil civilians who had been caught up in the armed conflict in the northern and eastern provinces. Many of the complainants while repeating their sad stories were also able to give specific details of to whom and where they had handed over their loved ones, or who the persons were who took them away (being public officers of the armed forces, the police or the STF as well as Tamil para military groups associated with the armed forces). However, no meaningful action has been taken apart from and I here quote from an article by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene, in the Sunday Times on January 8, 2017, A stuttering Office of Missing Persons and a victim-protection system which includes members accused with good reason of terrorizing witnesses in the previous regime. The LLRC Report Chapter 9.146 states The government is duty bound to direct the law enforcement officers to take immediate steps to ensure that these allegations are properly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. It will be recalled that this report came out quite a few years ago, but evidently these recommendations have fallen on deaf ears.



4. Furthermore a justice system requires that indictments should be duly filed in respect of those held in detention whether they be ex combatants, terrorist suspects or ordinary criminals and they be tried for their crimes, and depending on the verdict either released, rehabilitated or further imprisoned. However so many years after the end of the armed conflict many ex-combatant and terrorist suspects remain in limbo without being brought to trial. Although the numbers of such persons have reduced the proper administration of justice and not the numbers affected is still the issue, and the perception of discrimination is still to be erased.



5. Transitional justice requires that citizens adversely affected by war and ethnic conflict as in the case of those whose properties have been destroyed, or who have been disabled or have lost the support of their family members should in the aftermath of the war be given some form of reparations by the State. In the aftermath of the armed conflict there are in the Northern Province approximately 50,000 women who have been widowed and who are now the breadwinners of their families, i.e. women-headed households. Similarly in the Eastern Province. These persons need livelihood support, as also psychosocial support and counselling for the trauma hey have undergone. Government resources are not being adequately allocated towards alleviating the hardships of these people. As these women are subjected to exploitation and sexual harassment the observation made in the LLRC report that the women need to live in a safe environment is a pertinent one. This requires the provision of more police stations and Tamil- speaking policewomen. The absence of sufficient and adequately-staffed police stations in the North is also allowing free reign for criminals and gangsters.



6. That the State returns to the rightful owners lands and properties taken over for the military or other purposes. Security concerns can be met by setting up such establishments in state land and releasing the peoples property. Although this process is taking place it remains extremely slow and there are still IDP camps across from Army camps or farms run by the Army, where the original owners can see others making use of their property to which they themselves have no access? 7. Ever since independence, there has been little State-sponsored economic development of the northern and eastern provinces.

"If the leader of the Opposition wish is to come true, a prerequisite is that the citizens of the country belonging to all communities feel that they are equal and that the State provides services to all equally"

The exceptions such as the cement factory at KKS, Paranthan Chemical Factory, Kanthalai and Hingurana sugar factories and the paper factory in Valaichennai (all now defunct) set up in the D.S. Senanayake era. Among a few garment factories and the Trinco port are the only evidence of any State sponsored development, and even these need to be revived. There have similarly been no major irrigation schemes for the development of agriculture in the northern province. In the eastern province such schemes have been largely with a view to aiding colonization by persons from outside the province rather than looking to the interests of the farmers of the province. Similarly there has been no development of the fisheries sector in comparison with the rest of the country. Today the northern fisherman are struggling to make a livelihood, the farmers are doing likewise as so many small tanks destroyed during the war have still to be repaired. Development in the north has remained confined to a few sectors especially the service sector, hotels and promoting tourism in which the military and wealthy businesses from outside the province have the major share. This does not bring benefits to the ordinary people who are crippled by debt and unable to move forward with their lives because of an absence of employment opportunities.

8. We now come to the issue of devolution. Non-implementation in full of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution especially in its spirit is probably the most obvious example of how the state has failed in its commitment to respond to the demand for greater and more meaningful devolution.



Can effective devolution resolve the grievances? We must recognize that the grievances though largely pertaining to the Tamil-speaking people are not confined to them or one part of the country. There are other provinces in the South too which have not seen much economic development. The manner in which justice is being administered and the culture of impunity are also adversely affecting people in all parts of the country. Poor urban dwellers in Colombo and farmers in Monaragala and Hambantota find themselves being disposed, just as the IDPs in the North. Hence instead of confining the subject to an ethnic dimension the National Question could be viewed from a broader perspective. Will devolution be good for the country as a whole, and can the delivery of services be better provided by a decentralized system.

Some guidelines on this were given by Former President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2006, during his opening address to the Experts Committee which he had constituted to advise the APRC (All Party Representative Committee) on the resolution of the National Question, he said that people in their own localities should be able to guide their own destinies. True democracy functions where there is sharing of power and empowerment of the people. However devolution must be subject to two riders. Devolution must not be confined to the Provincial Councils alone.



It must also result in empowering the local government institutions to ensure greater peoples participation. Furthermore as pointed out in the LLRC Report the shortcomings in the functioning of the Provincial Council system must be taken into account in devising an appropriate system of devolution, which addresses the needs of the people. The LLRC Report states The effective functioning of the democratic system within the framework of devolution will also provide the answer to the grievances of the minorities.

However, I would submit that some of the grievances cannot be addressed only at the Provincial level and this calls for power sharing at the centre and the establishment of a second chamber comprising representatives from the provinces so that they too have a voice in the legislative decision making process. So, yes, a new Constitution which seeks to address these questions through greater sharing of power with citizens leading to a fairer distribution of resources and improved service provision will address not only the grievances of the Tamil-speaking people but of a large majority of people of all communities and thus address what is truly a national question.
US President Donald Trump reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to NATO in a phone talk with his French counterpart Francois Hollande and voiced the desire to enhance US-French security cooperation, Sputnik reported.

Earlier in the day, Trump held a number of phone conversations with world leaders, including Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe among others.

"The leaders discussed our military and defense cooperation both bilaterally and through NATO. President Trump reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO and noted the importance of all NATO Allies sharing the burden on defense spending," the statement said on Saturday.

The statement added that in the phone conversation Trump also voiced his desire to strengthen security cooperation, including in the sphere of counterterrorism.

According to the statement, the two presidents also appreciated the efforts made by both Washington and Paris to fight against the Islamic State terrorist group, which is outlawed in many countries, including the United States and Russia.

During the presidential race Trump repeatedly said that Washington should decrease the support of other NATO member states and protect only those members of the alliance, who "fulfill their obligations" to the United States.
research conducted by Britains Trade Union Congress (TUC) reveals that more than half the women say they have been sexually harassed at work and most admit to not reporting it.

A survey of 1,500 women saw 52% cite the problem and also found a third had been subjected to unwelcome jokes and a quarter experienced unwanted touching.

TUC head, Frances O Grady said it left women feeling ashamed and frightened.

Sexual harassment is one of the most common forms of violence against women. Sexual harassment is defined as receiving any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature including sexual comments, fondling, lewd gestures, jokes, emails, SMSs, pornographic pictures, coercion and more.



The Bangalore Mirror, on January 1, 2017, reported that its photojournalists witnessed A brazen mass molestation of women in the citys central business district. The news story was picked up by other media outlets across India. Eyewitness Parikshit Murria told CNN that he saw a horde of men molesting girls in every possible manner.

While a State minister confirmed that females were harassed, the allegations were denied by a Police Chief in Bangalore, who suggested that they were concocted by journalists.

Karnakata State Home Minister G. Parameshwara confirmed that the assaults took place, despite what the Police told CNN. However, in an interview with local press he (Minister) placed the blame on the victims, saying they try to copy the Westerners, not only in their mindset but even in the way they dress.... So, some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kinds of things do happen.



Come on, lets get real, in India, cows are held sacred a non-Hindu man was, less than a year ago, beaten to death by mob because they suspected he had consumed cow meat. What hypocrisy! A man is killed for consuming the flesh of a cow, but women can be groped and harassed because of the clothes they wear?

But what is most surprising is that some women tend to accept these charges made by male chauvinists. At a recent meeting of journalists, a majority of those in attendance seemed to agree that women and the clothes they wear, were responsible for the unwanted attention from men. In our part of the world we see men (farmers) clothed in an amude or loin cloth with nary any unwelcome attention drawn toward their almost naked bodies. But a woman in Western attire is deemed a temptress and fair target for lecherous men be they young or old.



We, the Asians refer to our countries as our motherland - our way of showing how highly we value women. But the sad reality is that we objectify women. Despite living in an era where women as our equals, the reality is many see women as objects. We do not accept the fact that a womans body is her own and not a luscious chunk of flesh for men to cast their lustful eyes on.

What is even sadder is when women themselves, do not recognize the fact that they are intelligent beings having the same rights as men to dress in a manner they wish without attracting unwanted attention of the opposite sex, who see their dress as an open license for sexual harassment.



A recent survey carried out in our own country reveals 15% of men surveyed in Sri Lanka admitted to having committed rape, 65% of them said they had committed rape more than once, with 40% committing the first rape before the age of 20, and horror of horrors their motivation, in the vast majority of cases was sexual entitlement. Most alarmingly, only 3.2% of those who admitted rape had been arrested and only 2.2% had been jailed. In other words, in 96.5% of rape cases, the rapists had experienced no legal consequences.

A UN survey on violence against women in Sri Lanka revealed 97% of rapists faced no legal consequences. While parliamentarian Rosy Senanayake revealed in Parliament that only 600 perpetrators of sexual abuse out of 300,000 cases (or 2%) had been remanded.

Media persons - the supposed watchdogs of the nation - have been equally complicit in crimes of harassing female colleagues. According to a survey carried out by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), almost 29% of Sri Lankan female journalists have experienced sexual harassment in their work places.



We, Sri Lankans, have a rich 2,500-year-old history and culture. But having an age old culture is as useless as a 3-cent coin if we cannot honour our women; treat them as our equals, recognize them as persons and stop treating them as objects and playthings.
Donald Trump was 12 years old when The Ugly American, a political novel by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick was published in 1958. Its doubtful if Trump has read it (if he has a library at home, it would be similar to the one Scott Fitzgeralds fictional hero had in The Great Gatsby). But the new US president unwittingly reminded people around the world about the ugly American in his very first day in office  and the world must endure more than another 1800 days, as Trump tries to remake the world according to his own misogynic vision.

One of Trumps first acts as president was to reinstate the global gag rule which means that every doctor and clinic in the world receiving American aid is prohibited even from talking to women about abortion, even if abortion is legal in their countries.

On the second day, he gave the go ahead to his much touted threat to build a wall along the border with Mexico which shows that nothing much has changed in the way some politicians view the outside world since the Great Wall of China was built. The Chinese at any rate faced a genuine threat of raids and invasions. Donald Trump is so insecure that he dreads an invasion of penniless Mexican immigrants.



Actually, the title of that book was vastly misunderstood. It became a synonym for globe-trotting Americans insensitive to other cultures. But the fictional ugly American in the book is actually a good man, one who works hard with his wife to improve the lot of the farmers of an imaginary Asian country called Sarkhan. If Trump takes the trouble to read the book, he might learn a thing or two from it. But he wont. Instead, we have the proverbial monkey with a razor, albeit in the White House.

This is Trumpism, or Trumpalism, or the realpolitik of Donald Trump. More nail-biting days ahead after these two but, as Audrey Hepburn chirped and shrieked so breathtakingly in My Fair Lady, And without much ado we can all/muddle through without you. But Her Trump right now is the most powerful man on earth. Therefore hes going to be an annoying presence in the lives of millions as we keep counting the days to the next US presidential election. In Sri Lanka, we have a penchant for imaginary spring rolls and one hundred days honeymoons after a new administration is sworn in. The Americans are too practical a people to hold their breath that way. But a safe guess is that, long before that magical, mystical 100, many of those who voted for Trump would end up singing along thus with Hepburn:



What a fool I was, what an addle pated fool

What a mutton-headed dolt was I.

Substitute contemporary American swears words for addle pated fool and mutton-headed dolt. Likewise, abortion clinics around the world will survive the Donald Trump years but millions of women, including some of those who voted from Trump, would be harassed and pushed around, or worse.

"Legal or otherwise, abortion is seen as a functional and health-related necessity all over the world. Trump thinks he can stop it, but hes mistaken."



Why should Donald Trump, a man who openly brags that he likes to grope attractive women, be so unremittingly against abortion? Thats a good one for a psychoanalyst with some free time. The Trumps have five children. American political dynasties dont need to visit abortion clinics, at least not for economic reasons. John F. Kennedy and his wife had five children (including one miscarriage). Robert Kennedy and wife Ethel had eleven at a time when family planning was seen as the panacea for all ills in the developing world.

Whatever motivates a woman to go in for an abortion, the choice belongs to her and, as the case may be, her partner. The president or prime minister of that country doesnt need to advise, meddle, lambast or assist. More countries in the world are pro-abortion now. The majority of those where it is illegal could be termed poor, such as Senegal, Kenya, and Uganda in Africa to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Mauritius in Asia (many might feel insulted if Sri Lanka is termed a poor country, so it is up to you) but it is illegal in Ireland and Malta, too; though most of the European Union, as well as almost all of the formerly communist Eastern bloc (excepting Poland) allow it under differing criteria.

Legal or otherwise, abortion is seen as a functional and health-related necessity all over the world. Trump thinks he can stop it, but hes mistaken. Hell be merely seen as a nuisance, though a dangerous one. But, to paraphrase Audrey Hepburn: Abortion clinics will survive despite you.
Two Police Constables attached to the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) had been arrested on charges of sexually abusing a Russian woman, who was bathing at the Mount Lavinia Beach last evening, the Police said.

A Police patrol on coastal duties at the Mount Lavinia Beach arrested the suspects after they received information stating that the Russian woman had been sexually abused, while she was bathing at the beach.

The Police said the suspects had also interrupted the Police duties and attempted to escape when they tried to arrest the suspects.

Police identified the arrested constables, who are aged 27 and 47, as residents of Mirihana and Kantale

They are expected to be produced in the Mount Lavinia Magistrates Court today. (Darshana Sanjeewa)

Video by Buddhi
German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the order of US President Donald Trump aimed at decreasing the flow of migrants into the United States, saying that security measures cannot justify the ban for people of certain origin, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Sunday, Sputnik reported.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order blocking all refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days and suspended the entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

"[Merkel] is convinced that even the necessary resolute struggle against terrorism does not justify placing people of a certain origin or belief under suspicion," Seibert said, as quoted by the Spiegel magazine.

On Saturday, Merkel and Trump held a telephone conversation, but the issue of the entry ban was not covered, according to the newspaper.
Emirates airline has changed pilot and flight attendant rosters on flights to the United States following the sudden U.S. travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, highlighting the challenges facing airlines to deal with the new rules, Reuters reported.

The world's largest long-haul carrier, which flies daily to 11 U.S. cities, has made "the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements," an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters by email on Sunday. She added U.S. flights continue to operate to schedule.

President Donald Trump on Friday temporarily suspended the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The decision caught airlines off guard, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 438,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 100,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,485 megawatts (MW), including 53 MW of solar capacity and 252 MV of wind capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,065,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 577,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 68,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 272,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 32,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 16,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 90,200 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 50,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada.
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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..

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Thousands are gathering in front of the White House to protest new US immigration restrictions, with more demonstrations planned around the country, Sputnik reported.

Thousands are expected at a demonstration in front of the White House to protest what many are calling US President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban."

On January 27, Trump signed an executive order suspending the nation's Syrian refugee resettlement program indefinitely, temporarily suspending all refugee entry programs for four months while vetting processes are tightened, and barring entry for nationals of seven mostly Muslim countries, even, perhaps, those with valid visas.

The midday protest is drawing what participants are calling thousands, bearing signs calling the travel bans "un-American" and "unconstitutional." Among those joining the protests are newly elected Senators Cortez Masto and Kamala Harris.

The affected countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
BlackRock, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks. It also provides global risk management and advisory services. The firm manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. It also launches and manages open-end and closed-end mutual funds, offshore funds, unit trusts, and alternative investment vehicles including structured funds. The firm launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and real estate mutual funds. It also launches equity, fixed income, balanced, currency, commodity, and multi-asset exchange traded funds. The firm also launches and manages hedge funds. It invests in the public equity, fixed income, real estate, currency, commodity, and alternative markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, SMID-cap, large-cap, and multi-cap companies. It also invests in dividend-paying equity securities. The firm invests in investment grade municipal securities, government securities including securities issued or guaranteed by a government or a government agency or instrumentality, corporate bonds, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on bottom-up and top-down approach to make its investments. The firm employs liquidity, asset allocation, balanced, real estate, and alternative strategies to make its investments. In real estate sector, it seeks to invest in Poland and Germany. The firm benchmarks the performance of its portfolios against various S&P, Russell, Barclays, MSCI, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch indices. BlackRock, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in New York City with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts; London, United Kingdom; Gurgaon, India; Hong Kong; Greenwich, Connecticut; Princeton, New Jersey; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, District of Columbia; Toronto, Canada; Wilmington, Delaware; and San Francisco, California.
Community Bank System, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits. It also provides loans, including consumer mortgages; general purpose commercial and industrial loans, and mortgages on commercial properties; paycheck protection program loans; installment loans that are originated through selected dealerships and are secured by automobiles, marine, and other recreational vehicles; personal installment loans and lines of credit for consumers; and home equity products. In addition, the company offers broker-dealer and investment advisory; cash management, investment, and treasury services; asset management; and employee benefit services, as well as operates as a full-service insurance agency that offers personal and commercial lines of insurance, and other risk management products and services. Further, it provides contribution plan administration, employee benefit trust, collective investment fund, retirement plan administration, fund administration, transfer agency, actuarial and benefit consulting, VEBA/HRA, and health and welfare consulting services. Additionally, the company offers wealth management, retirement planning, higher educational planning, fiduciary, risk management, trust, and personal financial planning services; and investment alternatives, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and advisory products, as well as master recordkeeping services. As of January 24, 2022, it operated approximately 215 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. Community Bank System, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in DeWitt, New York.
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. S.a r.l., Caterpillar (NI) Limited, Caterpillar (Newberry) LLC, Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Logistics Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar (U.K.) Limited, Caterpillar (Wujiang) Ltd., Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar Acquisition Holding Corp., Caterpillar Americas C.V., Caterpillar Americas Co., Caterpillar Americas Funding Inc., Caterpillar Americas Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Asia Limited, Caterpillar Asia Pacific L.P., Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Asset Intelligence LLC, Caterpillar Belgium S.A., Caterpillar Brasil Comercio de Maquinas e Pecas Ltda., Caterpillar Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Brazil LLC, Caterpillar Castings Kiel GmbH, Caterpillar Centro de Formacion S.L., Caterpillar China Limited, Caterpillar Commercial Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Commercial LLC, Caterpillar Commercial Northern Europe Limited, Caterpillar Commercial S.A., Caterpillar Commercial S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Commercial Services S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Communications LLC, Caterpillar Corporativo Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Cote DIvoire, Caterpillar Credito S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., Caterpillar DC Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Digital Services & Solutions SARL, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe B.V.B.A., Caterpillar East Real Estate Holding Ltd., Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Caterpillar Energy Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions S.A., Caterpillar Energy System Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Engine Systems Inc., Caterpillar Equipos Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar FS (QFC) LLC, Caterpillar Finance France S.A., Caterpillar Finance Kabushiki Kaisha, Caterpillar Financial Acquisition Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Aftermarket Solutions Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Australia Leasing Pty Limited, Caterpillar Financial Australia Limited, Caterpillar Financial Commercial Account Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Corporacion Financiera S.A. E.F.C., Caterpillar Financial Dealer Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Funding Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Caterpillar Financial Leasing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial New Zealand Limited, Caterpillar Financial Nordic Services AB, Caterpillar Financial Nova Scotia Corporation, Caterpillar Financial OOO, Caterpillar Financial Receivables Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Renting S.A., Caterpillar Financial SARL, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services (Ireland) plc, Caterpillar Financial Services (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Argentina S.A., Caterpillar Financial Services Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Financial Services CR s.r.o., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Services GmbH, Caterpillar Financial Services India Private Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Leasing ULC, Caterpillar Financial Services Limited Les Services Financiers Caterpillar Limitee, Caterpillar Financial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Caterpillar Financial Services Netherlands B.V., Caterpillar Financial Services Norway AS, Caterpillar Financial Services Philippines Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, Caterpillar Financial UK Acquisition Funding Partners, Caterpillar Financial Ukraine LLC, Caterpillar Fluid Systems S.r.l., Caterpillar Fomento Comercial Ltda., Caterpillar Forest Products Inc., Caterpillar France S.A.S., Caterpillar GB L.L.C., Caterpillar Global Investments S.a r.l., Caterpillar Global Mining America LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Equipamentos De Mineracao do Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Expanded Products Pty Ltd, Caterpillar Global Mining Germany Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong AFC Manufacturing Holding Co. Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Global Mining SARL, Caterpillar Global Mining U.S. Parts LLC, Caterpillar Global Services LLC, Caterpillar Group Services S.A., Caterpillar Holding (France) S.A.S., Caterpillar Holding Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Holdings Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Hungary Components Manufacturing Ltd., Caterpillar Hydraulics Italia S.r.l., Caterpillar IPX LLC, Caterpillar IRB LLC, Caterpillar Impact Products Limited, Caterpillar India Private Limited, Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Caterpillar Industrias Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Industries (Pty) Ltd, Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Insurance Company, Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Finance Designated Activity Company, Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg I S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg II S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Product SARL, Caterpillar International Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Services del Peru S.A., Caterpillar Investment Limited, Caterpillar Investment One SARL, Caterpillar Investment Two SARL, Caterpillar Investments, Caterpillar Japan LLC, Caterpillar Latin America Services S.R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Panama S. de R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Servicios de Chile Limitada, Caterpillar Latin America Support Services S. DE R.L., Caterpillar Leasing (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar Leasing Chile S.A., Caterpillar Leasing GmbH (Leipzig), Caterpillar Leasing Operativo Limitada, Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, Caterpillar Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Logistics (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., Caterpillar Logistics ML Services France S.A.S., Caterpillar Logistics Services China Limited, Caterpillar Luxembourg Group S.ar.l., Caterpillar Luxembourg LLC, Caterpillar Luxembourg S.a r.l., Caterpillar Machinery Nantong Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence, Caterpillar Marine Power UK Limited, Caterpillar Marine Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Maroc SARL, Caterpillar Materiels Routiers SAS, Caterpillar Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Mining Canada ULC, Caterpillar Mining Chile Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Motoren (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, Caterpillar Motoren Henstedt-Ulzburg GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Verwaltungs-GmbH, Caterpillar Netherlands Holding B.V., Caterpillar North America C.V., Caterpillar Operator Training Ltd., Caterpillar Overseas Credit Corporation SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Investment Holding SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Limited, Caterpillar Overseas SARL, Caterpillar Panama Services S.A., Caterpillar Paving Products Inc., Caterpillar Paving Products Xuzhou Ltd., Caterpillar Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Limited, Caterpillar Power Generation Systems L.L.C., Caterpillar Power Systems Inc., Caterpillar Power Ventures International Ltd., Caterpillar Precision Seals Korea, Caterpillar Prodotti Stradali S.r.l., Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, Caterpillar Propulsion AB, Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Italy S.R.L., Caterpillar Propulsion Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Singapore Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar R&D Center (China) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe LLC, Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe Servicios S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Reman Powertrain Indiana LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Drivetrain LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Renting France S.A.S., Caterpillar Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Services Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Servizi Italia Srl, Caterpillar Shrewsbury Limited, Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited, Caterpillar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., Caterpillar Special Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Switchgear Americas LLC, Caterpillar Switchgear Holding Inc., Caterpillar Tianjin Ltd., Caterpillar Torreon S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Tosno L.L.C., Caterpillar Transmissions France S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Holdings Ltd., Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, Caterpillar Tunnelling Europe Limited, Caterpillar UK Employee Trust Limited, Caterpillar UK Engines Company Limited, Caterpillar UK Group Limited, Caterpillar UK Holdings Limited, Caterpillar Undercarriage (Xuzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Used Equipment Services Inc., Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Caterpillar Work Tools B.V., Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., Caterpillar World Trading Corporation, Caterpillar Xuzhou, Caterpillar of Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar of Canada Corporation, Caterpillar of Delaware Inc., Centre de Distribution de Wallonie SPRL, CleanAir Systems, Downer Freight Rail, ECM Railway Evolution Romania s.r.l., ECM S.p.A., EDC European Excavator Design Center GmbH, EMC Holding Corp., EMD International Holdings Inc., ERA Information & Entertainment (BVI) Limited, ERA Mining Machinery Limited, Electro-Motive Diesel Limited, Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC, Electro-Motive Technical Consulting Co. (Beijing) Ltd., Energy Services International Limited, Equipos de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Eurenov S.A.S., F. G. Wilson (Proprietary) Limited, F. Perkins Limited, FG Wilson (Engineering) Limited, GB Holdco (China) Inc., GFCM Comercial Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., GFCM Servicios S.A. de C.V., Gremada Industries - Assets, Hong Kong Siwei Holdings Limited, Inmobiliaria Conek S.A. de C.V., JCS Co., Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., Leo Inc., Locomotive Demand Power Pty Ltd., Locomotoras Progress Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Lovat, M2M Data Corporation, MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios, MWM, MWM Austria GmbH, MWM Benelux B.V., MWM Energy Australia Pty Ltd, MWM France S.A.S, MWM Real Estate GmbH, MaK Americas Inc., MaK Americas Inc. (Canada), Magnum Power Products LLC, Marble, Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, Mec-Track S.r.l., Metalmark Financial Services Limited, Motoren Steffens GmbH, Nippon Caterpillar LLC, P. T. Solar Services Indonesia, PT Caterpillar Finance Indonesia, PT. Bucyrus Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia Batam, PT. Caterpillar Remanufacturing Indonesia, Perkins Engines, Perkins Engines (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Perkins Engines Group Limited, Perkins Engines Inc., Perkins Group Limited, Perkins Holdings Limited LLC, Perkins India Private Limited, Perkins International Inc., Perkins Japan LLC, Perkins Limited, Perkins Machinery (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Perkins Motores do Brasil Ltda., Perkins Power Systems Technology (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd..

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Calling America a "proud nation of immigrants," US President Donald Trump defended the immigration restrictions he ordered January 27 and said he would continue "protect our own citizens and border.", Sputnik reported.

"America has always been the land of the free and the home of the brave. We will keep it free and safe, as the media knows but refuses to say," Trump began his statement, taking aim at his favorite target, the US media.

He said while the country would continue to show "compassion to those fleeing oppression," it must do so while protecting itself, and that within 90 days, visas would begin being issued for "all countries."

The new president equated his ban on accepting Syrian refugees, his four-month suspension of taking refugees from any country, and his ban on admitting nationals of seven Muslim countries to what former President Barack Obama did in 2011, when for six months he stopped issuing visas for refugees from Iraq.

Trump also noted that the seven nations his ban affects  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  were identified by the Obama administration as "sources of terror."

"To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," Trump said. "This is not about religion  this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order."

"We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days," he said.

Trump also said he had "tremendous feeling" for those caught up in the "horrific humanitarian crisis" in Syria, but that his first priority is to American citizens.
BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
A total of 18 Daesh terrorists were "neutralized" in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of Turkish-backed Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish military said Sunday, Anadolu reported.

Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question were killed, captured, or surrounded.

The Turkish Armed Forces also hit 18 Daesh targets in northern Syria, said a Turkish General Staff statement on the 159th day of the operation.

Turkish jets destroyed three gun positions, four checkpoints, two underground tunnels and nine buildings.

Since the beginning of the operation 3,431 handmade explosives and 55 mines were neutralized under controlled conditions.

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to tighten border security, eliminate the terror threat along Turkish borders, and support opposition forces in Syria. The Free Syrian Army is backed by Turkish artillery and jets as a part of the operation.
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One soldier was martyred Sunday during clashes with Daesh terrorist organization during Operation Euphrates Shield near the town of Al-Ghuz in northern Syria, Anadolu reported.

The Turkish General Staff said in a written statement that the soldier was martyred around 10 a.m. local time and expressed condolences for the family of the soldier.

Al-Ghuz, a small town close to Al-Bab (the door in Arabic), is a strategic city for Daesh. As part of the Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish army is supporting Free Syrian Army fighters in their fight to liberate the city from the terrorist group.

The Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in late August to tighten border security, aims to eliminate the terror threat along Turkish borders, and supports the opposition forces in Syria.
125 Years of Progress takes you inside The Daily Progress' archives every day in celebration of our 125 years serving Charlottesville and the rest of Central Virginia. Sponsored by Hanckel-Citizens Insurance Charlottesville

More than 70 members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds filled two rail cars provided by the Southern Railway Company to visit Monticello on this date in 1917.

The trio was to inspect the property for potential purchase by the federal government as a showplace of the Nation and the shrine of Democracy the broad land over.

The Daily Progress described the motorcade from the train station to Monticello as a brave and cheering sight as the 25 or 30 machines strung out in a line nearly the whole length of Main Street. Upon arrival, the delegation was greeted by former Congressman Jefferson M. Levy, the owner of the property and the group gathered on the lawn to obtain a first view of the noble and greatly admired mansion and unsurpassed view.

The Daily Progress went on to describe the scene: The light was not lamps but the glorious sun-light that bathed the old Virginia hills and showed up their majesty and grandeur as seldom is seen in the dead of winter. No detail was left out in the description of the banquet served, the dress of the servants, the activities of the tour that included a visit to the cemetery to view the splendid granite monument which was erected over the grave of the great Virginian some 30 years ago, and a driving tour of the city that included a tour of the University and its classic shades and beautiful grounds.

In 1923, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation purchased the historic home and grounds "as a national memorial, so that it may be forever retained as a shrine, and reverently transmitted to future generations as a monument to the genius and patriotism of Thomas Jefferson, and a constant reminder of the principles inscribed in the Declaration of Independence. To foster and preserve the ideals of American liberty and the republican form of government; and to keep alive the name and memory of Thomas Jefferson, as the apostle of human freedom.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed his administration to "explore all legal options" to assist those who have been detained at New York airports following President Donald Trump's executive order that was issued Friday afternoon.

Trump signed the order that suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, bans all Syrian refugees indefinitely and prevents citizens of seven Muslim countries  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

The impact of the order has already been felt throughout the U.S. There have been reports of individuals being detained at airports, including an Iraqi man who had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that the order also applies to green card holders who are legal permanent U.S. residents, but are originally from one of the seven countries subject to the 90-day ban.

Trump's order has drawn criticism from Democrats and some members of his own party. U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, urged the president to "halt the enforcement" of his executive order.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said Trump's actions "fly in the face of our New York values and the foundation on which this country was built."

Cuomo echoed that sentiment in a statement released Saturday afternoon.

"I never thought I'd see the day when refugees, who have fled war-torn countries in search of a better life, would be turned away at our doorstep," Cuomo said. "We are a nation of bridges, not walls, and a great many of us still believe in the words 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses ...'

"This is not who we are, and not who we should be."

Cuomo said he's directed the Port Authority, the Department of State and his counsel's office to explore legal options for those who have been detained at New York airports and "ensure that their rights are protected."

"America is a nation of laws and those laws provide rights that must be respected and followed regardless of political ideology," he said.
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Left brain. Right brain. Sensible and functional or artistic and emotional? How often do objects or designs fall into one box or the other? Almost always. This is why absolutely nobody waxes poetic on the subject of minivans or plans flower arrangements for a Navy Seals training exercise.





Patterns shown above: Grain d'orge ("barleycorn") on main dial; panier alterne (inner chapter ring); soleil radiant (small seconds); lisere (outer chapter ring); panier (moon phase); filet (border number).

But if there is to be an exception that proves the rule, guilloche decoration is the perfect example. If a watch dial is a tableau upon which the watchmaker paints, is there a more radiant, refined, elegant expression of watchmaking art than a guilloche design? Scant historical probing is required to arrive at the firm conclusion that when Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced guilloche design to the dials of his watches more than two centuries ago, the first watchmaker to bring this art form to timepieces, aesthetics were certainly in the forefront of his thinking.

However, terminating the inquiry at this point is to perceive only a fraction of Breguets motivations in his adoption of the motif. Scholarly examination of his career plainly shows that Breguet never departed from his convictions of function in every element of watch design. Left brain. Right brain. For Breguet guilloche decoration was both beautiful and functional.





Pattern shown above: vagues ("waves") on main dial.

Decorative engraving as an art form dates back centuries before Breguets lifetime to ancient Greece. There is some uncertainty as to precisely when mechanical tech- niques to produce it were introduced. According to one school of thought it was a French engineer, Guillot, who invented the engine turning machine to engrave patterns on metal. An alternate account gives credit to a German, Hans Schwanhardt. Regardless of the origin of the machines to produce the designs, it seems that Breguet encountered guilloche engraving on a trip to London where this form of decoration was widely adopted to adorn wooden furniture.





Pattern shown above: flinque alterne on main dial.

Inspired by what he observed in London, Breguet returned to Paris and began experimenting with the technique for watch dials. What is clear, however, is that he perceived important functional benefits that could be achieved with this fine form of engraving. First, placing the fine guilloche pattern behind the hands greatly improved visibility of the hands and, thus, the readability of the watch. At the time, baroque was the prevalent aesthetic for hand design. Large and ornate, baroque hands, of course, would stand out against any background. Guilloche opened up the way for a far more refined hand aesthetic. With a fine contrasting texture beneath them, the now classic blued steel pomme handsor in what is now universally accepted watch parlance, Breguet handsbecame a possibility.





Patterns shown above: clou de Paris (main dial), lisere (border chapter ring), filet (border number)

A second functional purpose emerged from Breguets early experiments. By varying the pattern of the fine engraving on the surface of the dial, Breguet found that he could delineate, highlight and define different zones on the dial within which to locate individual complications and indications. Thus, almost from the outset, pattern variety was a fixture in Breguets implementation of guilloche decoration as his a single dial could incorporate multiple pat- terns for each of its different zones.





Pattern shown above: panier circulaire (cadran principal), lisere (bordure du tour d'heures)

The same artistic and functional purposes which led Breguet to adopt guilloche decoration for his watches leaving the workshops at 39 Quai de lHorloge are respected today, 200 years later. There have been, however, two respects in which the designs have evolved in the intervening two centuries. First, Breguet himself did not plate his guilloche dials. Fashioned out of either gold or silver Breguet used boththe dials would bear the color of the material unaltered. Today, modern Breguet metal dials are either fashioned out of solid gold or, for some of the womens collection, out of mother of pearl. The gold dials are now given a subtle plating of silver, not done in Breguets time, to confer an even greater visual depth. Second, still engraved using the same general type of rose engine tool completely hand powered and controlled as it was in the pastnew patterns have been added to the repertoire offer- ing an ever richer visual diversity than ever before.





Patterns shown above: flinque alterne (inner chapter ring), drape moire (main dial), filet (border number)

Think of the photos in this story as paintings in an art exhibition. Each turn of the page will take you into a new display room in the Breguet guilloche gallery.
When Booton Boo Herndon died on March 29, 1995, the late Emily Couric said he was bigger than life.

Those fortunate enough to have known the prolific author and journalist might argue that his radiant smile was as big and bright as the life he led. If the Charlottesville native were alive today, hed probably be beaming.

The reason is that he was way ahead of the curve when it came to telling the story of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss. The courageous conscientious objector and member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is celebrated in the current movie Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson.

The blockbuster film has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. Because Doss didnt want his wartime exploits sensationalized or inaccurately portrayed, for years he turned down film and book offers.

Herndon got the first crack at telling Doss story, because he had something of an inside track. In the late 1950s, McGraw Hill Book Company commissioned him to write a history of the Seventh-day Adventists.

The Seventh Day: The Story of the Seventh-day Adventists was favorably received and enjoyed several printings.

With the church vouching for Herndons professionalism and insistence on facts and truth, Doss agreed to allow him to tell his story. The book was published in 1967 under the title The Unlikeliest Hero.

The book later would prove invaluable as research material. Doss not only sat for lengthy interviews with Herndon, he also introduced him to several of his buddies who served with him during World War II.

Herndon also might have gotten a foot-up in Doss eyes because he was a fellow Virginian. The war hero was born on Feb. 7, 1919, in Lynchburg.

Raised as a Seventh-day Adventist, Doss believed in nonviolence. This excluded him from carrying a weapon into combat and made the killing of an enemy soldier unthinkable.

This didnt mean Doss wasnt patriotic. When the U.S. entered World War II, he was working in a Newport News shipyard.

The position provided Doss with a deferment from military service. Although he never would have had to serve in uniform, he enlisted in the Army on April 1, 1942.

Because of his refusal to carry a firearm, Doss was trained as a medic and assigned to the 77th Infantry Division. In 1944, he earned a Bronze Star Medal for braving enemy fire in order to aid wounded soldiers during fighting on Guam and the Philippines.

The final stepping stone to mainland Japan was the island of Okinawa. American forces stormed ashore on April 1, 1945, and met practically no resistance.

The Japanese plan was to draw the Americans a few miles inland and then decimate them from well-fortified positions. This strategy resulted in the Battle of Okinawa becoming the bloodiest fight in the Pacific theater.

Doss heroic actions from April 29 to May 21 earned him the nations highest medal for valor. His selfless work on May 4, 1945, on the Maeda Escarpment, nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge, was particularly notable.

The craggy cliff rises 400 feet, and it presented a formidable obstacle for Doss and the American GIs given the task of taking it. Despite heavy casualties, a few hundred soldiers managed to fight their way to the summit.

As the Americans were trying to catch their breath, Japanese machine gun fire, as well as exploding artillery and mortar shells, began tearing them to pieces. Within seconds, 75 Americans were wounded, and the others were forced to retreat.

Doss held his ground, and, ignoring bullets and explosions, provided aid to the wounded. Then, one by one, he managed to drag all 75 casualties to the lip of the cliff and lower them down by a rope.

Doss stunning feats of bravery stray well into the superhuman range. During an enemy attack on the night of May 21, he crawled out to aid a wounded soldier and was seriously wounded in the legs by shrapnel from an exploding hand grenade.

Doss tended to his own wounds, and, for five hours, continued to administer aid to others. While being carried back to an aid station, he crawled off the litter to help a more seriously wounded man.

Doss then ordered the litter bearers to carry the critically wounded soldier to the aid station. While awaiting their return, a snipers bullet shattered his arm.

With Yankee ingenuity, the Virginian used a discarded rifle stock to splint his arm. He then somehow managed to crawl 300 yards over rocky terrain to the aid station.

Doss heroics didnt end with the war. For nearly six years, he suffered from tuberculosis that he contracted before the Battle of Okinawa.

The disease cost Doss a lung and five ribs  and delayed his discharge until August 1951. Although he never fully recovered, he still raised a family on a small farm in Rising Fawn, Georgia.

When Doss died on March 23, 2006, he was living in Piedmont, Alabama. He is buried in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Herndon wrote dozens of books and countless printed articles during his working career. His books include Rickenbacker, Ford: An Unconventional Biography of the Men and Their Times and Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Its likely that Herndon was particularly proud of the book he wrote about Doss. The man affectionately called Boo had served in an Army medical unit during World War IIs bloody Battle of the Bulge.
Standing on tip-toes and straining to hear, hundreds of people squeezed into The Haven on Saturday afternoon to muster defiance against the latest round of executive orders to come out of the White House.

The meeting  organized by Indivisible Charlottesville, a local group focused on resisting President Donald Trump and his administration  came on the heels of Trumps newest executive order on Friday night that halted the admittance of all refugees to the United States. The order also temporarily froze immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and Sudan. An emergency stay was granted late Saturday night.

Coming out strongly against such a ban, participants at the meeting discussed the best ways to make their voices heard by local politicians, including phoning local members of Congress, holding town hall-style meetings, writing letters and showing up in person at the offices of local representatives, according to activist Michael Payne.

As a group, we are laser-focused to applying pressure to Rep. Tom Garrett, R-5th, Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to oppose the radical, unpopular and dangerous agenda of Trump and the Republican Party, Payne said. Its about rallying the community to combat that and defend things like the Affordable Care Act and oppose unconstitutional bans on Muslims entering the country.

While it is difficult to fight such executive orders, Payne said members of Congress, like Garrett, have the power to project the voices of their constituents and sway their colleagues votes. Calling the recent immigration order unconstitutional, Payne said it was important for those opposed to come together and make their voices heard.

I think that executive order shows exactly why the Trump administration is so dangerous and why we need a movement to oppose what Trump is doing, Payne said. Our strategy is we believe we can be the most effective by applying pressure on the congressional level and pressuring our representatives who are more likely to listen to us.

With a Charlottesville fire marshal on hand, dozens of people stood outside of The Haven as the number of people inside of the meeting exceeded the maximum capacity. Leanne Fox, a media coordinator for Indivisible Charlottesville, said the turnout was overwhelming.

When we sent out the organizational meeting a couple of nights ago, we thought there would be 40 people, tops, Fox said following Saturdays meeting. And I was excited about that. But this was just so much more than we imagined.

We are constantly trying reaching out to members of the Charlottesville community to bring them in and be a part of this organization, she added. We want anyone who is worried or scared or dislikes the Trump agenda to join us. This is the first of many battles  and we think were going to win the war  but we need everybody fighting.

Concerned about the Trump administrations decisions, John Herrmann attended the meeting to gather with likeminded people and learn about strategies to fight back against the presidents agenda.

I think Trump is moving in a very dangerous and scary direction, Herrmann said. Hes been very divisive; he hasnt made any effort to reach across the aisle to find middle ground  to do anything to bring us together as a country.

With the swish of a pen Friday night, Trump halted all refugees from entering the United States, calling for extreme vetting of all new arrivals to the country. The order directs the U.S. State Department to stop issuing visas to Syrian nationals and, following the 120-day suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the order caps the number of refugees from other countries at 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year.

Were in total dismay, said Harriet Kuhr, director of the International Rescue Committee in Charlottesville. We already have about 60,000 refugees who have been through the security process to come to the U.S. Families are being split apart, husbands not able to join wives.

By slamming the door, all thats happening is were harming a lot of people who are very vulnerable, she said. We are not making ourselves safer. Its a huge departure from our shared values as Americans.

The IRC in Charlottesville helps refugees from all over the world escape persecution by assisting them through the application process and getting them settled into their new life once they reach the United States. Calling on people to reach out to their congressional representatives and make their voices heard, Kuhr said the majority of Americans support refugee resettlement.

There is no evidence that terrorists are entering the U.S. through the refugee program, Kuhr said. These people are running because they are the victims of terrorism; theyre not terrorists. This is not what America stands for, she said. We dont believe leaving people to suffer is going to make us safer.

Its hard for us to stand by and watch these innocent families being abandoned, said Kuhr. Its not who we are.
WASHINGTON  Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn granted a request from the ACLU to stay deportations of those detained on entry to the United States following President Donald Trump's executive order.

After a brief hearing in front of a small audience that filtered in from a crowd of hundreds outside, Donnelly determined that the risk of injury to those detained by being returned to their home countries necessitated the decision. She seemed to have little patience for the arguments presented by the government, which focused heavily on the fact that the two defendants named in the suit had already been released. At one point, she visibly lost patience with a government attorney who was participating by phone.

Donnelly noted that those detained were suffering mostly from the bad fortune of traveling while the ban went into effect. "Our own government presumably approved their entry to the country," she said at one point, noting that, had it been two days prior, those been detained would have been granted admission without question.

In the middle of the hearing ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt informed the court that he'd received word of an imminent deportation to Syria, scheduled within the hour. That prompted Donnelly to ask if the government could assure that the person would not suffer irreparable harm. Receiving no such assurance, she granted the stay to the broad group included in the ACLU's request.

After the decision was made, Donnelly asked the government if they could provide a list of those being detained to the ACLU. The government's attorneys indicated that they could not. "It is more difficult than it sounds," U.S attorney Susan Riley said.

The ACLU said it had won a stay in federal court preventing implementation of the executive order.

* * *

As President Donald Trump's order targeting citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries reverberated across the world on Saturday, it became increasingly clear that the controversial measure he had promised during his presidential campaign was casting a wider net than even his opponents had feared.

Confusion and concern among immigrant advocates mounted throughout the day as travelers from the Middle East were detained at U.S. airports or sent home. A middle-of-the-night lawsuit filed on behalf of two Iraqi men challenged Trump's executive action, which was signed Friday and initially cast as applying to refugees and migrants.

But as the day progressed, administration officials confirmed that the sweeping order also targeted U.S. legal residents from the named countries  green-card holders  who happened to be abroad when it was signed. Also subject to being barred entry into the United States are dual nationals, or people born in one of the seven countries who hold passports even from U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom.

The virtually unprecedented measures triggered harsh reactions from not only Democrats and others who typically advocate for immigrants but also key sectors of the U.S. business community. Leading technology companies recalled scores of overseas employees and sharply criticized the president. Legal experts forecast a wave of litigation over the order, calling it unconstitutional. Canada announced it would accept asylum applications from U.S. green-card holders.

Yet Trump, who centered his campaign in part on his vow to crack down on illegal immigrants and impose what became known as his "Muslim ban,'' was unbowed. As White House officials insisted that the measure strengthens national security, the president stood squarely behind it.

"It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely, and we're going to have a very, very strict ban, and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

Though several congressional Republicans denounced the order, the vast majority remained silent and a few voiced crucial support - including, most prominently, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who had rejected Trump's anti-Muslim proposals during the campaign. "This is not a religious test, and it is not a ban on people of any religion,'' Ryan said Saturday. "This order does not affect the vast majority of Muslims in the world."

The president's order, signed Friday, suspends admission to the United States of all refugees for 120 days and bars for 90 days the entry of any citizen from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. That list excludes several majority-Muslim nations - notably Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia - where the Trump Organization, now run by the president's sons, is active and which in some cases have also faced troublesome issues with terrorism.

According to the text of the order, the restriction applies to countries that have already been excluded from programs allowing people to travel to the United States without a visa because of terrorism concerns. Hewing closely to nations already named as terrorism concerns elsewhere in law might have allowed the White House to avoid angering powerful and wealthy majority-Muslim allies, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Amid widespread confusion on Saturday about how the order will be enforced, some administration officials acknowledged that its rollout had been chaotic. Officials tried to reassure travelers and their families, pointing out that green-card holders in the United States will not be affected and noting that the Department of Homeland Security is allowed to grant waivers to those individuals and others deemed to not pose a security threat. It can take years for someone to become a green-card holder, or lawful permanent resident authorized to permanently live and work in the country.

"If you've been living in the United States for 15 years and you own a business and your family is here, will you be granted a waiver? I'm assuming yes, but we are working that out,'' said one official, who could not be more specific because details remained so cloudy. A senior White House official later said that waivers will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and that green-card holders in the United States will have to meet with a consular officer before leaving the country.

But officials made clear that the federal officers detaining refugees and migrants with valid U.S. visas and restricting them from entering the country were following orders handed down by top DHS officials, at the White House's behest.

The order drew cries of outrage from a range of activist and advocates for Muslims, Arabs and immigrants. More than 4,000 academics from universities nationwide signed a statement of opposition and voiced concern the ban would become permanent. They described it as discriminatory and "inhumane, ineffective and un-American."

The executive action has caused "complete chaos" and torn apart families, said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

At Dulles International Airport, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) addressed more than 100 people protesting Trump's order.

"We want to know who is being detained and why they are being detained," McAuliffe said. "I remind everybody we are a land of immigrants. . . . Discriminatory tactics breed hatred.'' His remarks were cheered by demonstrators holding signs saying "Refugees welcome here" and "Stand with Muslims."

In New York City, lawyers for two Iraqi men detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport - one of whom served the U.S. military mission in Iraq - filed a federal lawsuit challenging the order as unconstitutional. They also are seeking class certification so they may represent all refugees and visa-holders who are being held at U.S. ports of entry.

One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released Saturday afternoon without explanation from federal officials. "This is the humanity, this is the soul of America,'' he told reporters. "This is what pushed me to move, to leave my country and come here. . . . America is the land of freedom - the land of freedom, the land of the right.''

While immigration advocates said at least one refugee family had been detained at San Francisco International Airport, there was no immediate count of how many refugees were being held at airports nationwide. Advocates said that ticketed passengers also had been barred from boarding U.S.-bound flights overseas, and they confirmed that green-card holders who left the United States have been unable to return.

In Cairo, airport officials said seven U.S.-bound migrants - six from Iraq and one from Yemen - were prevented Saturday from boarding an EgyptAir flight to JFK Airport, according to the Associated Press.

Other advocates promised further legal challenges. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the order and said it would file a lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional.

"There is no evidence that refugees - the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation - are a threat to national security," Lena Masri, CAIR's national litigation director, said in a statement. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

In a conference call with reporters, immigration lawyers and advocates said Trump's order violated the Constitution, along with U.S. and international laws that guarantee migrants the right to apply for asylum at the border and the Immigration and Nationality Act, which forbids discrimination in the issuance of visas based on race, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.

* * *

But Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, praised Trump for taking action to pause the refugee resettlement program and limit immigration from the seven countries.

"It's a prudent measure," he said. "It's not the end of the world. It's not the Statue of Liberty crying. The reaction has been hyperbolic."

The effects of Trump's order played out nationwide.

In Dallas, Behzad Honarjou, 43, was supposed to pick up his mother, 70-year-old Shahin Haffanpour, at the airport on Saturday. But when she arrived from Iran via Dubai, she was told that because of the executive order she would be sent back to Iran the next morning.

"I don't know what to do," Honarjou said. He said he was seeking an attorney to file an emergency habeas petition, but the courts were closed. Haffanpour has an immigrant's visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, last year.

In Philadelphia, Sarah Assali said six relatives from Syria - two uncles, their wives and two cousins - were detained after arriving at the airport there early Saturday. Although they are Christian immigrants with valid visas to join family in this country, they were put on a plane back to Doha, Qatar, three hours later, Assali said.

She said her family members were not allowed to call or contact their family in the United States before being removed. "We don't know what's going to happen next."
RICHMOND  At least 28 firearms belonging to people accused of domestic violence were surrendered to local police departments in Virginia under a new law that requires alleged abusers to sell or transfer their weapons within 24 hours, Virginias secretary of public safety says.

The measure, adopted last year as part of a bipartisan gun safety deal struck between Gov. Terry McAuliffe and state lawmakers, has resulted in at least 66 law enforcement agencies across the state agreeing to accept and store firearms from people subject to family abuse permanent protective orders, said Brian J. Moran, state secretary of public safety and homeland security, whose office has been tracking certain elements of the law.

From July 1, when the law took effect, until the end of October, 18 handguns and 10 rifles or shotguns were turned over to various police agencies, Moran said. And an undetermined number of firearms have been turned over to defendants relatives, which also is permitted.

The measure was designed to remove guns from domestic violence situations.

The law doesnt require police to accept and store the weapons, because some agencies dont have the available storage or have other concerns about keeping the weapons, Moran said.

However, 66 agencies in Virginia have volunteered to accept firearms.

Many [defendants] can give it to a family member, which is fine, as long as they have no record, Moran explained. But we would encourage law enforcement [to maintain the firearm] for its safe keeping.

In working with the Virginia Supreme Court, Moran said, the state added language to protective order forms that instructs defendants subject to the writs that they must surrender any guns they own or possess within 24 hours.

Judges presiding in the states juvenile and domestic relations district courts also have the option of verbally instructing defendants about firearm prohibition, Moran said.

Some judges do enter into a colloquy with the defendant, saying, Hey, you need to turn in your guns, Moran said. Others wont, or dont, because theyre not required by the Supreme Court or by law. You have to leave that up to the respective judges.

Federal law already prohibits people under restraining orders from owning or possessing guns, but Moran said the state measure enhances federal law, primarily by requiring those subject to protective orders to surrender their firearms within 24 hours.

The number of people who were denied the purchase of a gun in Virginia because they were under a protective order rose 15 percent in 2016, from 227 denials in 2015 to 261 last year, records show.

But it is impossible to discern whether the increase is due to the new state law or a reflection of the states record number of firearm transactions in 2016, which topped a half million and jumped 14 percent over 2015.
Space X news: Elon Musk is building a 'Star Wars-like' Hyperloop; can travel from San Franciso to L.A. in 30 min?

Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo : Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

Space X C.E.O Elon Musk is hosting a Hyperloop event at Space X this from Jan. 27 to Jan. 29, this weekend. His idea is to build a commercial Hyperloop which can shoot people from San Francisco to Los Angeles via a vacuum tube in only half an hour.



According to Venture Beat, Musk's space-bound firm, Space X, is challenging both students and independent engineers to pick up the pace in the development of a functional Hyperloop model. The C.E.O first mentioned plans to build a one-mile long prototype two years ago.



Advertisement

Musk took to Twitter to warm up the desires of those who have been wishing to see a real Hyperloop in action and to announce his plans to interested engineers and inventors. The prominent inventor had promised in 2016 that he would build one in future.



And we start digging the tunnel tonight https://t.co/UYSIU0qg34

 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2017

According to Space X's website, the knowledge gained during the Hyperloop event will remain to be open-sourced. The company also maintains that it has no affiliation with any Hyperloop companies and simply wants to accelerate the development of a working prototype.



Space X plans to build a test track next to its Hawthorne, California headquarters where teams will test their human-scale pods throughout the competition. Overwhelming enthusiasm and high-quality submissions already presented have even prompted the company to organize another competition named Hyperloop Pod Competition II. This one will happen in summer at the same test track.



Hyperloop Pod Competition II will focus on maximum speed and is already open to new student teams fascinated by the idea. Students who have their already-built pods and are intending to refine their designs are also welcomed.



Meanwhile, Space X will expand its operations in Seattle by building a large research facility in the area. The office is not far away from another facility of its own in Redmond, Washington.



In fact, it happens to be only 30 miles away from Blue Origin headquarters, Jeff Bezos's space flight company. By getting slower to Blue Origin, Space X has set a pace in the competition between the two companies.



Space X's new facility is expected to house research and development operations of the company's ambitious satellite internet project. Here is a clip of a concept Hyperloop prototype:








After a rocky first weekend as president, Donald Trump settled down last week to implementing his foreign policy agenda. Initially, his emphasis is on trade relations with the world; after that, hes expected to tackle the political/security issues involving Russia, China, Iran and NATO. Heres the opening salvo in his Inauguration Address in Washington on Jan. 20:

For many decades weve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, he declared. Weve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon. One by one the factories shuttered and left our shores with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind.

Trump pledged that from this day forward, its going to be only America first: Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.

One pundit called it Trumps manifesto in foreign policy. Skeptics wondered if he was still in campaign mode, or whether he really meant to turn these words into policy. That was answered on Jan. 23 when Trump announced that he was cancelling the Trans-Pacific-Partnership, which Barack Obama had spent years negotiating with 11 other Pacific trading nations, including Japan, South Korea, and Australia.

Trump announced that he would soon discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexicos President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But the Mexican presidents visit was cancelled. No new date was set. Trump didnt pledge, as he did during the campaign, to scrap NAFTA, but his intent is clear: U.S. companies that move jobs to Mexico would be taxed on their products imported into the U.S.

The president met last week with British Prime Minster Theresa May to discuss trade relations following Britains withdrawal from the European Union. They conferred about the future of NATO, which Britain strongly supports. May also hopes to re-establish the special relationship that London previously enjoyed with Washington.

The president gave few specifics in his speech regarding national security policy: We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first (emphasis added). We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example.

He pledged to reinforce old alliances and form new ones, and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.

What should we make of Mr. Trumps nationalist manifesto? Here are three conclusions:

 First, we should understand that its a fundamental challenge to U.S. trade policy pursued by every president since World War II.

Still, this is not similar to isolationist trade policies of the 1920s; instead, its a call to give highest priority to U.S. interests, not global ones that place world order interests ahead of economic ones to the detriment of American industries and workers.

In sum, Donald Trump is convinced that unless America puts its own economic house in order, it will lose its standing as the premier world power.

 A second conclusion is that his radical, nationalist policies will be reviewed and debated by Congress. Thats particularly so when his trade policies require congressional ratification, as illustrated by Congress failure to approve Obamas TPP agreement. Mr. Trumps negotiations with Mexico and Canada on NAFTA revision will be scrutinized by several congressional committees, and Republicans as well as Democrats will insist on having their inputs.

 Finally, the president has only a limited time to get his major policies approved by Congress, because the off-year elections of 2018 will evaluate his record of achievements. As a result, he will need to show significant progress on his pledge to bring American jobs back.

He also must demonstrate that America has increased its influence abroad after what he sees as its decline during recent years.

Whether the Trump brand of nationalism will endure is a large question mark.

Donald Nuechterlein is a political scientist who lives near Charlottesville. Email him at nuechtd@cstone.net.
Looming over Bill Howell, as speaker of the House of Delegates, is a sword, of sorts: a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that could overturn the redistricting plan on which the Republican majority  and the absolute power he derives from it  depend.

More than 2,000 years ago, Cicero, the Roman philosopher, wrote about a guy like Bill Howell.

His name was Damocles. Covetous of power, Damocles was lavishly entertained at a great feast by a scheming host, the king of Syracuse, a city-state on the island of Sicily. The king took the fun out of Damocles good time by positioning over his head a sharp sword that dangled by a single horse hair. The sword of Damocles became a metaphor for the perils that accompany power.

Looming over Howell, as speaker of the House of Delegates, is a sword, of sorts: a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that could overturn the redistricting plan on which Howells Republican majority  and the absolute power he derives from it  depend.

It is not clear when the high court will decide Democratic claims that the GOP map relies on illegal racial gerrymandering. Still, Republicans have reason to worry.

Justices were skeptical during oral arguments in late 2016. The issues on which the challenge rests were affirmed by the Supreme Court in upholding a trial court decision throwing out Virginia congressional boundaries as unfair to African-Americans. Also, the court  split 4-4 since the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia  is forcing North Carolinas similarly partisan Republicans to reset legislative boundaries.

In the 2017 General Assembly, the Boys and Girls of Winter are busying themselves with customary election-year matters. That includes dutifully accommodating their check-writing benefactors in Richmond rather than their voters back home. Senators killed a measure sparing Dominion Virginia Power and APCO until 2020 from making refunds to customers for overcharges.

Hanging over all, though, is the nagging, unfinished business of redistricting and the possibility that the Republican-controlled House will be required to reset lines at the same time members are seeking re-election  and it would have to do so with a Democratic governor and a federal court looking over its shoulder.

Its in the background, said Republican Mark Cole of Spotsylvania County, chairman of the House elections committee, when asked whether delegates are mindful of the redistricting wild card.

It would not be the first time that the House has redrawn district lines under duress.

In 1981, an election year, the House Democratic majority  having demonstrated a highhandedness matched two decades later by newly ascendant Republicans  was brought low by federal judges and the U.S. Justice Department, forced to adopt single-member districts favorable to African-Americans and the GOP.

No longer could Democrats represent shared, multimember districts that allowed them to amass a disproportionate number of House seats by fielding clusters of candidates to represent an amalgam of jurisdictions rather than specific sections of a county or city.

To protect incumbents, Democrats so badly mangled House boundaries that three elections were held in as many years. Delegates, who stand for two-year terms, faced a regularly scheduled election in 1981, a special election in 1982, and another regular election in 1983.

Should the Supreme Court junk the Republican House plan, lawmakers and operatives are betting Virginia will see a repeat of 2015, when a standoff between Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the GOP legislature tossed to a federal court responsibility for revising unconstitutional congressional boundaries.

Democrats, such as Del. Marcia S. Price, whose Newport News district is among 12 majority-black seats under scrutiny by the Supreme Court, make no secret of their view that they would fare better if judges are drawing lines. I maintain my hopefulness, she said.

Countered Cole, Democrats say they oppose gerrymandering, but they favor judicial-mandering.

In March, a state court is expected to hear testimony in the final legal challenge to partisan gerrymandering: a lawsuit by a redistricting reform group, OneVirginia 2021, that alleges House and Virginia Senate boundaries violate a state constitutional requirement that they be compact, contiguous and reflect common interests.

Republicans have a lopsided majority in the House  66 seats to 34 for Democrats. Thats roughly what Democrats had in the early 1980s. The GOP has a slender advantage in the state Senate  21 seats to 19 for Democrats. Three decades ago, Republicans held only eight Senate seats.

The states delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives currently has seven Republicans and four Democrats, with Democrats picking up a seat after boundaries were altered by federal judges. In the early 1980s, when Virginia had 10 seats, membership would shift slightly  seven Republicans, three Democrats or six Republicans, four Democrats.

And yet Democrats hold all statewide offices  governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and both U.S. Senate seats. Democrats have carried Virginia for the presidency in the past three elections. In 2016, 11 Republican-held House of Delegates districts, many in Northern Virginia, tipped to Hillary Clinton. These victories can be attributed to the Democrats strength in the increasingly diverse population centers of the cities and suburbs.

Because of the legislative majorities they achieved in the 1990s, Republicans  in league with Republican governors  have blunted the Democrats advantage through gerrymandering. Republicans got a big assist in cash and technology from their national party and, later, from a ruling by the Supreme Court that gutted the 1960s-era law that provided extra protection for minorities.

The Republican State Leadership Committee guided the push for GOP legislative control as the first step toward GOP congressional control. The party now holds 69 of 99 legislative chambers. That advantage, ahead of the 2020 census on which redistricting will be based, could preserve Republican hegemony at the state and federal level for 10 more years.

Gerrymandering  at least that nurtured by the RSLC  has a familiar face, says one of the candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor. In his last-minute campaign, Tom Perriello reminds voters that the RSLC was once led by Ed Gillespie, a Republican gubernatorial prospect who would probably encourage more creative political cartography.

This is part of a larger pattern that includes obstacles to the polls, such as a voter ID law that McAuliffe wants to roll back. A House elections subcommittee this month rejected a proposed repeal and 10 other bills that Democrats say would reverse Republican efforts to suppress turnout by Democrat-friendly minorities, seniors and the young.

It is Republican control of redistricting that is the fountainhead of these disputed policies. Even Republicans are beginning to concede, if only to answer election-year critics, that perhaps they overdo it now and then. Del. Steve Landes, R-Augusta, proposed a constitutional amendment banning an electoral district from being drawn to favor or disfavor a political party.

Howell is unlikely to consent to any measure that threatens his power. Which raises another question: Will he seek re-election this year, when it is possible  because of an adverse ruling by the Supreme Court  he and his caucus would be on the defensive? Youll be the last to know, Howell said Tuesday.

A big part of wielding power is being the center of attention. In 2019, Howell would get a lot of it. Thats when the General Assembly observes the 400th anniversary of representative government in Virginia  as well as the introduction of slavery. And it just wouldnt be a party without Bill Howell  Damocles, be damned.

Jeff E. Schapiro is a writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Contact him at (804) 649-6814.
The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. An interesting thought ...

A few months ago, I planned to leave Charlottesville mid-afternoon and arrive in time for an early dinner with my daughter-in-law in Alexandria.

Coming from New Orleans, the train moseyed into the Charlottesville station well over an hour late. I boarded one car, but it seemed full, so I headed to the next in line where I found a seat in the middle of a group of Amish people.

About an hour into the trip, the sky darkened and rain pelted the train so hard that I could barely see through the window. A few minutes later, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere  never a good sign. Next, a train official announced that five trees had fallen on the tracks. He said it would take a while to clear each one of them.

Immediately, my neighbors started speaking to each other in Pennsylvania Dutch. No one seemed interested in talking to me, so I become profoundly lonely.

Id thought the trip would last about two hours and hadnt bothered to bring a book. So, in addition to becoming lonely, I also became profoundly bored.

After a while, a train attendant announced that they had opened the restaurant car, which meant people could buy alcoholic beverages. People streamed forward through our to the refreshment car beyond. I saw a young woman with a baby swaddled on her chest walking back through. She carried a glass of wine in each hand. Yes, these are both for me, she said to someone next to her.

Soon after, a train attendant began handing out a snack pack that included Cheddar Cheese Guppies  not Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, but its off-brand twin. Possibly these were the snack fish that had been caught in the tuna nets.

I am not a snack snob, so I gobbled them down, off brand or not. Unfortunately, the man right behind me started eating, too, which seemed to set off burping/hiccoughing reaction. At first, I felt sympathetic, but after a couple of hours, not so much.

Finally, a train attendant announced the trees had been cleared. We cheered.

Our elation was short-lived. We stopped at the very next station  Burke, I think  but doors did not open and no announcement came from the PA system. Instead, a man rushed through our car followed by three train attendants. The man looked distraught. I heard only a little of what he said: should be thrown off of the train.

Then, we sat  and sat  and sat. No Wi-Fi, no phone service, no explanatory announcements from the PA system, only the incessant sound of gastronomical distress from the man behind me.

Oh, I experienced additional sensory input, too. I neglected to mention that I sat only two rows from the overflowing restrooms: the perfect storm of train hell.

At one point, I knew we had to be in desperate straits because a train official came through distributing real Oreo cookies, not a knock-off brand.

At around 11 p.m., I grabbed an attendant as she rushed past and asked, Whats happening?

Well, in that car behind us, the car I initially passed through, apparently a fight had broken out involving a drunken person or drunken people. She was fuzzy on the details. Regardless, all the train officials seemed to be in that car, trying to keep the peace as we all waited for the police and EMTs to arrive.

Ultimately, the police arrived and we were on our way. I reached the utterly empty Alexandria train station well after 1 in the morning; too late for dinner and too early for breakfast.

The moral of this story? When it comes to traveling, I have the luck of Jonah. You know Jonah. He is that guy in the Old Testament who thought he was making a simple journey to Tarshish. Much to his surprise, Jonah spent a three-day detour, stewing in the digestive juices in the belly of a whale. As for my trip, I wound up spending seven hours stewing in the smelly belly of a train.

So even though Lao Tzu is most assuredly smarter than I am, I disagree with him. This particular traveler enjoys life far more deeply when her fixed plans come to pass and she arrives on time.

Deborah M. Prum is a Charlottesville-based author of fiction and non-fiction. Her most recent work is First Kiss and Other Cautionary Tales, a collection of essays.
Ed Gillespie, the leading GOP candidate for governor, said Sunday that a temporary pause on refugee resettlement is "a rational step," but that it should accommodate people with green cards who pose no threat.

Gillespie weighed in Sunday afternoon on the executive order President Donald Trump issued Friday afternoon, suspending the admission of refugees to the United States.

"When you factor out all the misinformation and media hysteria, its clear that a temporary pause on refugee resettlement is a rational step to secure our homeland and keep Americans safe, but it should accommodate those Green Card holders who pose no security threat returning from travel outside the United States," Gillespie said in a written statement.

"As governor, I will work with the federal government to protect our homeland and the safety of Virginians. As the son of an immigrant, I know we can be a secure and welcoming nation at the same time."

On Friday, the president signed an order to suspend the admission of refugees for 120 days and increase the vetting of potential refugees from predominantly Muslim nations in order to screen out radical Islamic terrorists.

The order blocks Syrian refugees for an indefinite period. It blocks for 90 days entry into the U.S. by citizens hailing from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn halted the deportations of those detained on entry into the U.S. under the president's order. A federal judge in Alexandria then issued a temporary restraining order to halt for a week the removal of people with green cards who are being detained at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Rivals for governor in both major parties criticized Gillespie before he released his statement Sunday afternoon.

State Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, said in a Facebook post earlier Sunday that Gillespie was "hiding in the weeds," rather than taking a position.

"Putting your finger in the air to see the way the wind is blowing is not leadership, Ed," Wagner wrote. "Gillespie wasn't with President Trump on the campaign trail and he's not with him now. Not a surprise."

Wagner initially backed Ohio Gov. John Kasich for the GOP presidential nomination. He eventually became a co-chair of Trump's Virginia campaign.

Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, one of two Democrats seeking the party's nomination for governor, went after Gillespie on Twitter earlier Sunday.

"Let's get one thing clear: Ed Gillespie's silence is consenting with hate and xenophobia over the best interest of Virginia this weekend."

On Saturday, Northam and the four other Democrats who hold Virginia's statewide offices criticized the president's order, saying it is contrary to American values, as did former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, Northam's rival for the Democratic nomination.

Perriello joined protesters at Washington Dulles International Airport on Saturday night. Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring spoke against the order in a joint appearance at the airport earlier Saturday.

Wagner and Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, support Trump's move, saying the president's first priority is to keep Americans safe.

A fourth GOP candidate for governor, Republican Denver Riggleman, co-owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County, has not yet released his position on the president's order.
When people work together for a common goal, good things happen. When two artistic groups collaborate, great things happen.

The Friends of the Library is presenting Culpeper Tells, a Festival of Words for the fourth year. This storytelling festival is appropriate for adults and children. The festival changed venues last year to the Culpeper Center, which provided an intimate, elegant setting. One thing that was needed was a backdrop for the performers. Deborah Schupp, the president of the Friends of the Library, immediately offered to use her skills to make what was needed.

Schupp is an accomplished quilter and has her own business, Gumbo Design Studios, in Brandy Station. She recently had three work and educational meetings to make a quilted replica of the Culpeper Tells logo. Adults and children were invited to learn how to design a quilt and have some fun while doing it. When finished, the quilt will be about 8 feet by 8 feet. Hundreds of triangular pieces of cloth were used. Many people contributed different fabrics, assisted in the cutting of the cloth, and placed them in the appropriate area.

During this process, the group learned about color, fabric and value in the creation of art in general and, specifically, textile art to make a quilt. Schupp pieces the fabric together by machine which has taken many hours. The backdrop will be hanging behind the storytellers as they take the stage on Saturday, March 11. For more information about Schupp and quilting, email: qltqueen@gmail.com.

Culpeper Tells has grown to include storytelling presentations at several county public schools on Friday, March 10. There is no cost to the schools thanks to the generosity of festival sponsors. Professional storytellers Adam Booth and Donald Davis will be performing at Farmington, Emerald Hill and Yowell elementary schools. Geraldine Buckley, a British storyteller, will also be working with students in the drama departments of Culpeper County and Eastern View high schools.

The main event of Culpeper Tells, a Festival of Words will be presented on March 11 at noon at the Culpeper Center and Suites, at 137 S. Main Street, Culpeper. The professional storytellers are Booth, Buckley, Davis and Michael Reno Harrell. There will also be an opportunity for amateurs to entertain the audience and maybe win the Story Slam Contest. One of the partners from Culpeper Tells is the Virginia Storytelling Alliance, a state-wide organization supporting Virginia storytelling talent through workshops and seminars. They will also have public events in Culpeper throughout the weekend of March 10-12.

For more information about Culpeper Tells, to purchase tickets or to become a sponsor, please visit www.culpepertells.com.
Americans think of King George III as either a tyrant or a flake, says Karin Wulf, a history professor at the College of William & Mary.

And he was neither of those. He was a very intellectual guy.

With nice handwriting.

Wulf has an insight into King George and other monarchs gleaned from a private archive that is inaccessibly housed on the top floor of Windsor Castles Round Tower.

Today, a royal treasure trove of 33,000 documentsincluding some written in King Georges own hand about the American Revolutionis being released to the masses.

America is lost! George III wrote in one essay. Must we fall beneath the blow? Or have we resources that may repair the mischief?

The Georgian Papers Programme, launched nearly two years ago by Queen Elizabeth II, is making such archival material and enhanced digital versions available at no cost online at georgianpapers-us.wm.edu.

Its not just for scholars, said Wulf, director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture. Its for anybody, and thats kind of the point.

The documents, which date from 1714 to 1837, represent the first phase of a plan to digitize by 2020 more than 350,000 papers in the archive. Only 15 percent of the papers have been published previously, including the America is lost! essay.

The transatlantic partnership working on the massive undertaking includes William & Mary and the Omohundro Institute, an independent research organization housed at W&M. British partners are the Royal Archives, Royal Library and Kings College London.

In addition to essays by King George III, the release includes writings related to George I, II, IV and William IV, plus members of the royal family, politicians, courtiers and others.

W&M, which was chartered by King William III and Queen Mary II in 1693, has been involved in the project since the start.

Queen Elizabeth has twice visited the campus in Williamsburg and has William & Mary on her radar, said Wulf, who was present for the programs launch at Windsor Castle.

The archive there is not like any other scholars are used to working in, she said.

Its extraordinary, Wulf said. This is the queens private archive. It is the archival materials of her family.

The Round Tower was rewired to accommodate the scanning lab for the Georgian Papers project, with Kings College and W&M students working on transcription.

Students funded through W&M Libraries are transcribing the documents and tagging them with searchable and descriptive metadata.

They are working with a device that transcribes the documents through a program that learns to interpret the handwriting, which Wulf said actually is quite good.

Fellowships are available for scholars to conduct research at the archives at Windsor and share what they learn with librarians.

Its a bit of a treasure hunt every time someone goes into the material, Wulf said. We dont really know whats in there. Its not like another archive where all the material has been indexed and fully cataloged.

Among the treasures are writings that show that George IIIs wife, Queen Charlotte, and the ladies of her court had a deep interest in the literature and poetry of the day and in a trans-Atlantic exchange of ideas, she said.

The papers also show how attentive both Charlotte and George were to the education of their children, particularly their daughters.

George III was a prolific essay writer, and the archive contains thousands of pages that are his original compositions and pieces by others that he copied.

The America is lost! essay is one such example. The essay was mostly copied from the writings of British agricultural theorist Arthur Young sort of like we might copy extracts of a meaningful poem or song, Wulf said.

George IIIs essays were kind of remixed with other works for his use as an aid to reading. He read voraciously, she said.

Georges scientific pursuits have been well-documented, said Wulf, just back from London for a screening of a BBC documentary about the genius of the mad king.

But his papers show how that same eye for detail he had for his scientific instruments was trained also on the American Revolution, she said, right down to the detail of how many guns and how many uniform coats were needed.

The archival writings have relevance for people today, particularly in reminding us that the 18th century was such a deeply interconnected Atlantic world and in so many ways we have such strong ties and such mutual history, she said.

But the documents also reflect long periods of rethinking of what government should look like and who should be in charge in the years that preceded revolutions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Its not just England and America, and its not just at the level of presidents and kings, Wulf said. This is a whole era of people thinking about what government should look like. ... Maybe were in a period like that right now.
An leaked photo of the upcoming Blackberry Mercury. (Photo : YouTube/ Waqar Khan)

After the recent TCL ownership, BlackBerry has made an announcement on the release of its upcoming smartphone, dubbed as "Mercury," which should carry the company's signature physical QWERTY keyboard. The handset is expected to be unveiled on the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona.



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BlackBerry revealed its new handset through its official BlackBerry Mobile Twitter handle, indicating the device's Feb. 25 launch date, Indian Express reported. Furthermore, the said post previewed a GIF image that shows the physical design of the upcoming Mercury smartphone.



Together with the announcement, TCL President Steve Cistulli also joined the hype over the BlackBerry Mercury smartphone by releasing a teaser tweet for the MWC in February. Cistulli wrote, "Bringing something distinctly different to #MWC2017 #BlackBerryMobile."



Back at the CES 2017 trade show, BlackBerry has already treated the media with the first-hand look at the Mercury's physical design, while missing few details on the handset's price, availability, and hardware specs.



According to the 22-second showcasing of the Mercury smartphone, the phone will have an aluminum casing on the edges, alongside black antenna bands and a USB Type-C port located at the bottom. The two speaker modules sits at the bottom and the power button along with the volume rockers are placed on the right side of the device. The new design still follows BlackBerry's classic design and style.



Meanwhile, previous rumors on the BlackBerry Mercury suggest a 4.2-inch touchscreen placed on the phone's face, while retaining its physical QWERTY keyboard, allowing users to type out messages and emails, Express.co.uk has learned.



In terms of its hardware, the handset is rumored to feature an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC alongside 3GB of RAM. It will house a 3,200 mAh battery powered by USB-C and an 18-megapixel camera. On the software front, the Mercury will run Android 7.0 Nougat, with BlackBerry's own security suite and productivity tools.



To recall, TCL has signed a deal with BlackBerry that gave it the right to design, manufacture and distribute smartphones under the BlackBerry brand across the world. The new BlackBerry phone will serve as TCL's third handset co-manufactured with the Canadian company, following the previous DTEK50 and DTEK60 devices.






Miss Kenya Mary Esther Were, 27, will be the first representative from her country to win Miss Universe if she becomes Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's successor. Prior to the coronation night, the Nairobi-based model and CNBC Africa and Forbes Africa marketing administrator got tangled in a gown controversy in the Philippines.



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On Jan. 23, Were and 85 other Miss Universe 2016 candidates showcased the designs of 86 Filipino designers in the Miss Universe 2016 National Gift Auction charity event.at Conrad Manila. Miss Kenya was expected to wear a blue-woven gown by fashion designer Kristel Yulo but ended up with a gown by Mikee Andrei when she walked the runway during the event.



Yulo was later on informed that the dress she designed for Miss Kenya was too big and the event's point person sent her an apology. Still, the designer felt bad that the organizers knew Were would not be coming out on stage with her design but did not inform her immediately.



"They had enough time to change the name of the designer for her walk, so they should have had enough time to notify me," Yulo told Preview. "That would have been the decent thing to do at this point, instead of me having to watch her come out in a different gown in the company of my peers."



Whether or not the gown controversy brings bad luck to Were in her journey to becoming the first Miss Kenya to win Miss Universe has yet to be seen. On Jan. 30, Monday, Wurtzbach will crown her successor at the Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines.



The musical performers during the coronation night are Flo Rida and Boys II Men with Steve Harvey as the host and "America's Next Top Model" judge Ashley Graham as the backstage host. The judging panel includes Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres from Puerto Rico, Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen from India, Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes from Angola, TV and film producer Francine LeFrak, Paper Magazine editorial director Mickey Boardman and "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Cynthia Bailey.



On Jan. 18, Wurtzbach participated in a dinner program in Baguio City, Philippines, which was hosted by Miss Universe 2011 third runner-up Shamcey Supsup. Distinguished people of the city welcomed them along with Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart, Filipino tycoon Chavit Singson, a major sponsor, and some Miss Universe 2016 candidates including Were.



Before the dinner party, the candidates toured the city. Were was impressed by the portrait of Wurtzbach created by Baguio-based artist Jordan Mang-osan by burning the image on wooden board using a special magnifying glass.



"I've never seen anything like it," Inquirer quoted Were as saying. "Using the sunlight to draw is creative artistry."



Have a glimpse of the Miss Universe 2016 event in Baguio here:






iOS 10.2 beta version with new emojis running on a iPhone. (Photo : YouTube/EverythingApplePro)

The iOS 10.2 jailbreak from Luca Todesco, otherwise known as Yalu102, is unlikely to leave its beta status and there will be forthcoming support for the iPhone 7 series, a new report suggested, adding that the chance remains for Team Pangu to soon release a version of the incomplete jailbreak tool.



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Prior to the release of Yalu102 beta build, Todesco published the source code of his work, which according to Forbes, is a signal from the iOS security researcher that he welcomes anybody to pick up and improve on what has been started. The move, the report added, seems to indicate of Todesco's frustrations.



Or the hacker's jailbreak has hit a snag and there could be two possible scenarios to happen next. One is that the Yalu102 will not be finalized or will get stuck to beta status. And more likely, support for both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (and other 64-bit iOS devices, as promised by Todesco) is not happening - not soon or ever.



This was evident with the recent Twitter post by the independent Italian developer. "I will stop all public iOS research after I drop that 10.2 thing. The idiocy of the jailbreak community is too much to handle for me," Forbes quoted Todesco as saying.



What happens next is anybody's guess at the moment but the same Forbes report pointed to the likelihood that "others may take on Luca's challenge of finishing off the jailbreak he started for iOS 10.2." Or the Yalu102 will have a change of heart and finish what was started.



There is the possibility too of other jailbreak groups willing to take up on the challenge raised by Todesco. Two solid candidates would be TaiG and the Chinese hacking group Team Pangu.



But it is the latter that is more likely and more preferred. Forbes said rumors remain circulating that the China-based hacklers are still silently working on an iOS 10 crack, the talks mainly fed by the recent statement from Cydia creator Saurik that the group has an ongoing and credible work on an iOS 10 jailbreak.



If so, then a 10.2 jailbreak by Pangu will be the preferred release when it happens as the group got a vote of confidence from Forbes, which stated on its report that "Pangu's tools have usually, after a couple of days work, been much easier to use and more stable."



Now whether true or not, it wouldn't hurt to wait for Pangu's take on an iOS 10.2 jailbreak and while doing so, Redmond Pie recommends that the wise thing to do now is the preservation of the existing JB tool. The guide of which is found on this link.


Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun star in the tvN fantasy drama 'Goblin.' (Photo : YouTube/tvN Drama)

With the popularity of the tvN fantasy series "Goblin," two of its lead stars namely Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun topped the brand reputation chart for the month of January. Meanwhile, Park Bo Gum nabbed the third spot on the said list.



"Goblin," also known as "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," was one of the popular TV dramas for the month of January. With impressive TV ratings and a hit soundtrack, the successful 16-episode run of the said tvN production further increased the popularity of its cast members such as Gong and Kim.



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The two celebrities dominated the brand reputation chart for the month of January, according to data from the Korean Corporate Reputation Institute, as cited by OSEN. Tracking the brand data of South Korean stars, the said research organization measured and analyzed various data points such as media and social activities, communication and participation values, as well as consumer behavior.



For the period of Dec. 19, 2016 until January 20, Gong topped the said brand reputation list with a total reputation index level of nearly 7.2 million. The "Goblin" actor's co-star Kim landed at number two followed by "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" star Park with brand reputation index levels of 7.1 million and 4.5 million, respectively.



Other celebrities who made the said chart included "Running Man" cast member Yoo Jae Suk at fourth place, while "Descendants of the Star" actor Song Joong Ki nabbed the fifth spot. Completing the bottom five of the said list's top ten are Jun Ji Hyun, Baek Jong Won, Kim Tae Hee, Kang Dong Won and Lee Min Ho.



In other news, Gong and Park were also identified as two of the hottest actors for the second half of 2016, according to a Good Data Corporation survey, as cited by All Kpop. The "Reply 1988" actor landed at first place with a total of 130,005 votes while the "Train to Busan" actor took the second spot followed by Lee Jong Suk with 107,596 and 86,569 votes, respectively.



Gong's drama "Goblin" aired its final episode on Jan. 14, but will release a two-episode special on Feb. 3 and Feb. 5 on tvN. Watch a teaser clip below:






Trump Promises Great Rebuilding of the US Military even if it Boosts the Federal Deficit

A THAAD battery launches an ABM interceptor. (Photo : US Army)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 he hopes will lead to what he called "a great rebuilding" of United States Armed Forces, apparently without regard of the cost to the economy.



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The executive order calls for reviews of the military's readiness capabilities, and a review of the nuclear and missile defense capabilities that will lead to "developing a plan for new planes, new ships, new resources and new tools for our men and women in uniform, and I'm very proud to be doing that," said Trump.



"As we prepare our budget request of Congress, and I think Congress is going to be very happy to see it, our military strength will be questioned by no one, but neither will our dedication to peace. And we do want peace."



Trump praised the U.S. military as "the greatest force for justice and peace and goodness that have ever walked the face of this earth. Your legacy exists everywhere in the world today where people are more free, more prosperous, and more secure because of the United States of America."



Trump later told media that a strong military is "more important" than a balanced budget, in effect admitting a willingness to use deficit spending to fund this massive build-up of American military power.



Defending this position, Trump said "a balanced budget is fine. But sometimes, you have to fuel the well in order to really get the economy going. And we have to take care of our military. Our military is more important to me than a balanced budget because we'll get there with a balanced budget."



Trump repeated this stand later saying he eventually wanted to have a balanced budget eventually, but "I want to have a strong military. To me, that's much more important than anything."



Trump's executive order also directs the Pentagon to conduct a 30-day review of the U.S.-led effort to defeat ISIL.



But more important, the Pentagon will evaluate how prepared the American military is to deal with its near-peer competitors: Russia and China. It also instructed the Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop an emergency budget amendment to boost military spending this year within 90 days.



The executive order also directed Defense Secretary James Mattis to develop a new national security plan by January 2018. This new plan will include plans for modernizing The U.S. nuclear forces and developing new missile defense capabilities.


BlackBerry Mercury MWC 2017: Upcoming BlackBerry device to have the same Google Pixel, Pixel XL shooter but will not guarantee similar shooting quality

An leaked photo of the upcoming Blackberry Mercury. (Photo : YouTube/ Waqar Khan)

In a bid to resurrect a once leading smartphone brand, TCL company has been sharing snippets of its upcoming BlackBerry-branded handset codenamed "Mercury" for the past weeks. Recently, a known tipster has leaked one juicy rumor - that the upcoming device will be sporting the same shooter sensors of Google Pixel and Pixel XL.



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Well-known tech leaker Roland Quandt from WinFuture has recently announced on his twitter account that the Chinese technology firm will pack BlackBerry Mercury with the Sony IMX378 camera sensor, 9to5google reported.



The 12MP Sony IMX378 sensor can record 4K video and is well-known for its impeccable shooting performance. This is also the same specification of the highly praised cameras of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL from the California-based internet giant.



While sharing the same camera specs can be considered as TCL's effort in luring back BlackBerry's supporters, sporting the same sensor does not guarantee similar epic capturing and shooting quality showed by Google Pixel and Pixel XL, Phone Arena reported. It is believed that Google is actually using a special software as well as an "additional sensor hardware" for its handsets, which result to the considered one of the best cameras yet.



Meanwhile, Quandt, also said that the selfie camera of the upcoming BlackBerry Mercury will come with an 8MP shooter sensors, which can be made by Samsung or Omnivision. Either way, features of sensors from the two companies have the same 1.12m pixel size as well as 1080p/30FPS video shooting capability.



In terms of the forthcoming handsets' hardware, BlackBerry Mercury will reportedly flaunt a 4.5-inch screen with a 1080 x 1680 resolution. It will be powered by a quad-core CPU plus the Adreno 530 GPU backed with the Snapdragon 821 Soc.



The soon-to-be unveiled smartphone, dubbed as a security-centric device, will also have 4GB RAM and a 32GB built-in memory. Aside from its physical QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry Mercury will boast a long-lasting 3400 mAh battery and will work with a pre-installed Android 7.0.



Chinese company TCL has already let tech journalists and enthusiasts touch and feel its first-ever BlackBerry-branded device during the CES, but the final specs, official release date and the price of BlackBerry Mercury are expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Feb. 25.






John Cena (Photo : Getty Images for JCPenney/Jamie McCarthy)

The script for Wrestlemania 33 has reportedly been altered and affecting several stars. John Cena, initially believed to be facing the Undertaker, may be facing someone different with reports of a Samoa Joe pairing.



Samoa Joe is one of the speculated surprise entrants to the Royal Rumble 2017 though it remains unclear how he and John Cena will cross paths. Joes appearance was suggested by Forbes but Cenas participation is conspicuously absent. Regardless, Cena will be at the Alamodome in San Antonio to challenge AJ Styles for his WWE SmackDown heavyweight title.



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The first thing that has to be settled is the outcome of Cenas match against Styles. Seeing the Cenation leader has yet to win over the Phenomenal One , he could walk out of the Royal Rumble 2017 as the new heavyweight champion. This would make him a 16-time heavyweight champion, tying the record currently held by WWE legend Ric Flair.



If they dont cross paths at the Royal Rumble, Joe could surface at one of the WWE SmackDown shows. It could be via Cenas famous open challenge or maybe through a simple interruption of Cenas celebration of his accomplishments.



Seeing Styles is due to a rematch (if he loses), it may be a three-angled story at first. At some point, Styles will exit and the one-on-one involving Cena and Joe takes the spotlight.



Aside from the John Cena vs. Samoa Joe tiff, there could be more surprise matches at Wrestlemania 33. Big Show will face Shaquille ONeal and there is that anticipated Triple H vs. Seth Rollins match. The Undertaker will reportedly face Roman Reigns while a third meeting between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar remains sketchy, the Wrestling Observer reported.



There are a couple of pay-per-views where some of the matches may take place. For example, the Goldberg vs. Lesnar match may happen at WWE Fastlane, paving the way for a possible Lesnar vs. Strowman match.



Strowman is another interesting case. He has been tied to a possible feud with Roman Reigns and the Undertaker. A lot of this can be set straight once the Royal Rumble 2017 wraps up.



Check out the video below covering the alleged John Cena vs. Samoa Joe plans.






Jodhpur: The defence counsel representing Salman Khan in the infamous poaching case here, has claimed that he received a death threat from an international gangster for getting the film star acquitted in the case. H M Saraswat claimed two days ago, the caller, identifying himself as an international gangster, threatened him for getting Khan acquitted in the Arms Act case, saying he was not happy with it.

According to Saraswat, the caller asked him to be ready to face dire consequences and none could save him. Saraswat filed a complaint with the police and has been provided an armed policeman as security. We have provided him the armed policeman for his security and have started investigating the matter, Police Commissioner Ashok Rathore said. Saraswat claimed the same person had called Khan and demanded protection money which the actor refused.

Meanwhile, denying every report of their rift, long-time friends Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan are at it again. Salman recently dropped in to surprise Ajay and director Milan Luthria on the sets of the upcoming movie Baadshaho. Salman, who was in Jodhpur to record his statement for the black buck poaching case along with Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre and Tabu, took time off from the court proceedings and visited Ajay during the shoot. Director Milan Luthria took to twitter to share the picture of the duo, saying, Both the sultans on the sets of #BAADSHAHO @BeingSalmanKhan @ajaydevgn.

Reports of a fallout between Salman and Ajay started when Salman signed Akshay Kumar for a film and happened to borrow the same plot as Devgns Sons Of Sardaar. But Salmans latest trip on Ajays film set is putting water on the speculated fire.
Mumbai: After being beaten up on the sets of his upcoming magnum opus 'Padmavati' in Rajasthan by the Rajput Karni Sena over alleged distortion of historic facts, Bollywood had unanimously critiqued and voiced their umbrage over the bullying that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was subjected to.

The director's primary protagonists, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor had also come out and voiced their opinion on it.

However, Bhansali had chosen to remain mum on the issue.

His official spokesperson has finally released a statement on his behalf, in the wake of the widespread support from within the industry and outside, and the political party's refusal to apologise.

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to stop the shoot and leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'. SLB had directed the opera 'Padmavati' to packed houses in Paris and earned worldwide praise for it. He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story. We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film. In spite of this, the attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur. We are grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage on shoot. We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," reads the statement.

"We had warned the filmmaker against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested," district president of Karni Sena Narayan Singh had said.

"The incident that took place yesterday on the sets of Padmavati is shocking; Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a veteran with an acclaimed body of work. We stand by him and our film which is a celebration of the Rani and what she represented. We truly don't wish to hurt the sentiments of any person or community. We didnt expect this," said Ajit Andhare, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

'Padmavati' is set for a Diwali 2017 release.
Mumbai: Sanjay Leela Bhansali has received widespread support from within his fraternity, after he got manhandled by members of the Rajput Karni Sena, citing distortion of history on his upcoming film, 'Padmavati'.

Whiel the industry has been calling for unity, Sushant Singh Rajput has also reacted to the fiasco, in his own way.

The actor, a Rajput himself, has taken his surname off his Twitter profile, expressing solidarity with the wronged director.

Sushant also urged people to drop their obsession with caste discrimination.

Earlier, the director's team had sent out an official statement on his behalf.

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to stop the shoot and leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'. SLB had directed the opera 'Padmavati' to packed houses in Paris and earned worldwide praise for it. He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story. We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film. In spite of this, the attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur. We are grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage on shoot. We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," reads the statement.

"We had warned the filmmaker against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested," district president of Karni Sena Narayan Singh had said.

"The incident that took place yesterday on the sets of Padmavati is shocking; Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a veteran with an acclaimed body of work. We stand by him and our film which is a celebration of the Rani and what she represented. We truly don't wish to hurt the sentiments of any person or community. We didnt expect this," said Ajit Andhare, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

'Padmavati' is set for a Diwali 2017 release.
The seized cocaine was concealed in 82 capsules which the woman had swallowed, and was removed using medical procedure.

Chennai: Like a scene straight out of potboiler Surya-starrer Ayan, sleuths of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized more than one kg of cocaine, worth over Rs 5 crore, from a South African woman, who had swallowed capsules containing the contraband, when she arrived at the airport here.

According to a release, the arrested was identified as Princess Ntombifuthi Msomi (47), who landed in the city on Friday from Sao Paulo in Brazil via Abu Dhabi.

The arrest comes in the wake of her interception made by NCB sleuths, who acted on a specific tip-off. The arrest led to seizure of 1.075 kg cocaine from her possession.

The seized cocaine was concealed in 82 capsules which the woman had swallowed, and was removed using medical procedure. Terming the modus operandi to be followed by experts who could swallow around 200 capsules, which they could keep concealed in the stomach for up to 48 hours.

The seized contraband was worth around Rs 5 crore in the local illegal market. The quality of the contraband is in its purest form. The cocaine is suspected to have been sourced from the cocaine production belt in South America.

She came on a tourist visa and was planning to leave the country after delivering the consignment of cocaine, sleuths said. The woman was believed to be working at the behest of the South American cocaine cartel and a probe was on to unearth her links in Chennai.

A mid-2015 analysis by NCB based on its seizure and arrests had established that the city has nearly a 100 active cocaine users. The city witnessed its first seizure of cocaine in 2008 (15 grams) while this coke could have been doing its rounds even before that, since it was used only in close-knit consuming circles.

Numbers were crunched by poring over the clientele of two coke peddlers from the city, arrested earlier by NCB. Both of them were arrested in 2015 and they had around 15 buyers, who purchased between 10 and 20 grams every time for their parties, in regular intervals.
New Delhi: Over Rs 96 crore in cash, 14.27 lakh litre of liquor worth Rs 25.22 crore and more than 4,700 kg of narcotics valued at Rs 9.83 crore have been seized, with the maximum from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, by the Election Commission-appointed surveillance and expenditure monitoring teams in the five poll-bound states.

As per official data compiled since the announcement of polls till January 28, 2017, U.P. has witnessed the maximum seizure of cash at Rs 87.67 crore followed by Rs 6.60 crore from Punjab, Rs 1.27 crore in Goa, Rs 47.06 lakh in Uttarakhand and Rs 8.13 lakh in Manipur.

In other illegal inducements suspected to be used to lure voters in these States, a whopping 14.27 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 25.22 crore has been seized by Election Commission appointed police and excise teams in the respective States.

In U.P. these seizures were recorded at 8.01 lakh litre worth Rs 20.62 crore followed by over 5 lakh litre spirits worth Rs 2.69 crore seized in Punjab, over 36,000 litre liquor worth Rs 93.91 lakh in Uttarakhand, 71,000 litre worth Rs 81.80 lakh in Goa and beer and other hard spirits worth Rs 15.14 lakh in Goa.

In Punjabs Bathinda on Saturday, 1 lakh liquor bottles were seized by surveillance teams for which the valuation is being done.

Drug seizures by the anti-narcotics agencies and police teams was seen maximum in Punjab as the total haul has been recorded at 4,774 kg valued at Rs 19.83 crore, with Punjab accounting for 2,632 kg worth Rs 12.30 crore followed by 2,035 kg worth Rs 4.89 crore seized in U.P., over Rs 2 crore in Manipur, 6.85 kg of the same consignment worth Rs 34.22 lakh in Goa and about Rs 28.54 lakh worth contraband in Uttarakhand.

The total volume of drug seizures has doubled in a span of 10 days, the data revealed, adding the varieties include heroin, poppy husk, charas, Ganja and smack among others.

The EC has appointed about 200 election expenditure observers apart from other central observers to keep a check on black money and illegal inducements used to bribe voters at the hustings in these States.

The Assembly elections in these five States will be held between February 4 and March 8. Counting of votes for all States will take place on March 11.
For democratic protests, there are several places earmarked by the police.

Chennai: The city police, in a release on Friday, advised youth not to fall for the messages being circulated through social media to congregate in Marina this weekend to conduct agitations on various issues, citing that protests were totally banned in Marina beach for over a decade.

Marina is a place for recreation and relaxation and the entire stretch between Light House and Napier Bridge is earmarked only for this purpose.

For democratic protests, there are several places earmarked by the police. The aggrieved political outfits, organisation had to obtain permission from the cops to conduct protests in such places following due procedure.

It was observed that the city police had also banned processions on all the arterial roads in line with the directions issued by the Supreme Court.

The release further appealed to the Chennaites to abide by the restrictions already in place with regard to protests at the Marina Beach. It also warned of stringent legal action against illegal congregation, if any, at the Marina Beach.

The appeal was furthered to the youth and students in the City seeking to extend their cooperation in maintaining the City as peaceful as ever, without causing any inconvenience to the common people.

12 more get bail in jallikattu stir case

The Principal Sessions court, Chennai, on Friday granted conditional bail to 12 more persons accused of causing riot during jallikattu protest in Chennai.

When their bail petitions came up for hearing before principal judge M. Nazir Ahamed on Friday, the judge granted bail to accused Tamilmani, Karthi, Kannaiya, Joseph and directed them to appear before the police station until further orders.

On Wednesday, the court granted bail to 27 youth, including K. Iniyavanan, S. Rajarajan, 30, E. Arunkumar, 21, Tamilarasan, 20 and Kaboor Hussain, 41, who were arrested on charge of burning police vehicle during agitation near Marina beach.

Meanwhile, Madras high court has directed the authorities to provide proper treatment to eight persons, injured in the jallikattu violence in the city on January 23. When matter came up for hearing before Justice R. Mahadevan, the judge passed the order.

In the petition filed by I. Perumal, father of Tamilmani, submitted that his son along with 28 others was forcibly taken by police to Mylapore police station on the suspicion that they took part in the violence. He alleged that they were severely beaten by the police and cases were foisted on them.

He said eight petitioners immediately requires medical attention. Hence he approached the court to direct authorities and sought a compensation of Rs 25 lakh. He also sought action against the erring police officials. Justice R. Mahadevan directed the authorities to provide proper treatment to students and posted matter to Monday for further hearing.
The bulls from neighbouring areas including Salem and Namakkal took part in the event.

Namakkal: At least 39 youths were injured, some of them critically, in a jallikattu event organised at Namagiripettai near Namakkal on Saturday with 175 bulls in the fray.

The traditional Tamils sport held at Mullukurichi village today is in the wake of a series of jallikattu events that have taken off in the district in the past few days after the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a new legislation that enables the conduct of jallikattu to replace the ordinance for the same.

The jallikattu was flagged off by the AIADMK union secretary Ponnusamy and former MLA Ms. Kalavathi. The bulls from neighbouring areas including Salem and Namakkal took part in the event. About 200 bull-tamers participated and tried to tame the bulls.

However, some of the bulls were at their fiercest, badly injuring 39 youths in the process, police said. The injured youths were treated at the primary health centre in Mullukurichi and off them, eight persons were admitted to the Rasipuram government hospital. Of the latter, three youths in serious condition were referred to the Salem government hospital.

About 4,000 people from the villages of Mullukurichi and Thammapatti witnessed the jallikattu event and the Ayilpatti police had deployed sufficient police personnel for security.
Last week, Chennai's Marina Beach was crowded with thousands displaying their sentiments and emotions attached with the bull-taming festival. (Photo: File)

Karungulam: Amidst heavy security, the much awaited bull taming sport Jallikattu began in Tamil Nadu's Karungulam on Sunday.

Enthusiastic locals took part in the event and thousand others witnessed the festival as bulls made their entry into the sporting arena. The youth tried to hold on to the bull for a brief distance as the animals sped fast towards the exit.

Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, Trichy, said the animals are very well taken care of with their thorough assessment and are treated by an efficient team of doctors.

"The animals coming for Jallikattu are being registered in the first aid compartment and after that they are sent for examination. The team of doctors examines the animals for doping or any physical injuries. Only fit animals are allowed to participate in the sport. The injured animals are treated by the doctors while the injured ones are rejected," he added.

Jallikattu, a sport which was restricted to certain parts of the state, has now transformed into a symbol of Tamil pride provoking the people's angst against a perceived suppression of their cultural identity.

Last week, Chennai's Marina Beach was crowded with thousands displaying their sentiments and emotions attached with the bull-taming festival. They were fighting to keep their culture alive for the coming generations, displaying their collective strength.
Team of doctors from Gem Hospital with Sheeba who donated a part of her liver to her husband Balasubramaniam on Saturday in Coimbatore (Photo: DC)

Coimbatore: A rare and sensitive laparoscopic assisted liver donor hepatectomy, a surgical resection has been done successfully at the Gem Hospital here recently.

Claimed to be the first such in South India, Dr Palanivelu and Dr A. S. Soin, head of Gemedanta liver team (specialized liver department) of the hospital, performed the laparoscopic assisted live donor hepatic resection, in a unique procedure that involved a live liver donor transplant in the recipient, Balasubramaniam. His wife, Ms. Sheeba donated a part of her liver to her husband for the life-saving transplant.

Doctors said the patient had cirrhosis of the liver for more than a year and was recently diagnosed to have stage two liver cancer. Resection, removal of the cancerous part could not be done due to risk of liver failure. Liver transplantation was the only treatment to save his life. His wife agreed to donate liver and this was done successfully. She recovered in four days and the recipient is fit for discharge in ten days, said the doctors.

Doctors said the patient had cirrhosis of the liver for more than a year and was recently diagnosed to have stage two liver cancer. Resection, removal of the cancerous part could not be done due to risk of liver failure. Liver transplantation was the only treatment to save his life. His wife agreed to donate liver and this was done successfully. She recovered in four days and the recipient is fit for discharge in ten days, said the doctors.

Liver transplantation is a life saving procedure for the irrecoverable liver failure due to chronic diseases in adults such as Hepatitis C or B, or alcoholic or non-alcoholic liver disease, and diseases in children. It is also the only cure for liver cancer arising in a diseased liver, provided it has not spread to other organs. Liver transplant is also

life-saving in acute liver failure that suddenly develops over a few days.

To overcome the shortage of organs, close relatives of the liver failure patients donate a part of their liver, either a right lobe or left lobe. Liver has the capacity to re-grow within two months when a part of liver is removed also; the transplanted partial liver also has the same capacity to grow in the recipients, said the doctors on Saturday.
Rampur (UP): The decision to ally with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh is like choosing the "lesser evil" because of the need for secular forces to come together to take on the BJP, feels senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.

The UP Minister also took a dig at rival BSP, saying that giving 97 tickets to Muslim candidates is not enough and the Mayawati-led party should have given 403 seats to candidates from the community if it wants to woo it.

"In the laboratory of politics, there are experiments of political science...There was an experience in Bihar of a 'mahagathbandhan' (grand coalition). That experiment in Bihar had succeeded and there was a view among common people that there could be a coalition of like-minded secular people or people who are close to being secular or those who were once secular but because of political compulsions lost their way and again want to take that path, so those people should come together and contest elections," Khan told PTI.

He was asked about the Samajwadi Party's decision to contest the UP Assembly polls in coalition with Congress, a party which he has often criticised in the past and has accused of making false promises to the Muslim community.

Khan, who is the most prominent Muslim face of the SP, said the Muslim community has a long history of association with the Congress from the days of the freedom struggle and people including Maulana Azad, M A Jinnah and Allama Iqbal have been Presidents or prominent leaders of the party.

The Congress was even the champion of the freedom struggle and even 50 years after Independence, the Muslims stayed with Congress despite the fact that there some were big incidents, Khan said.

However, the Babri Masjid incident, the 'shilanyas' episode etc. did hurt and led to introspection as to whether the community had made a mistake by not going to Pakistan in 1947, he added.

"We are not giving (Congress) a clean chit. We are choosing the lesser evil," Khan said.

Asked to elaborate on his comment, the SP leader said it is lesser evil in a way that while he does not know what compulsions Congress may have had, but the "very agenda of BJP and RSS is against the weak, Dalits, backward and minorities."

Khan, however, added that this is not a time to discuss these issues and these questions could be answered better after the elections.
The people of Baguio City, the coldest city in the Philippines, gave the Miss Universe 2016 candidates a very warm welcome on Jan. 18. The candidates participated in a fluvial parade near Panagbenga Park in the morning and a dinner party in Baguio Country Club in the evening.



Miss Universe 2014 third runner-up Shamcey Supsup hosted the dinner event. She announced that Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach was sick and may not be able to participate but the latter showed in the latter part of the program.



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It was evident during the dinner event that the dominantly Filipino guests were rooting for different candidates. Here are the 10 crowd favorites during the program:



12. Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier



Both Baguio City and Pelissier's hometown Paort-au-Prince have experienced devastated earthquake. While this is not known to the guests during the evening, there was a strong connection when the quadrilingual Haitian beauty walked the runway and waved her hands to the crowd.



11. Miss Barbados Shannon Harris



It is predicted that Harris will make a history as the first Miss Barbados to place in Miss Universe. It appears that the guests that night feel this so they cheered for her generously.



10. Miss Universe Peru Valeria Piazza



With her fierceness, Piazza can be intimidating. But she is just so beautiful that her fans could not help but bother her with selfies although she was busy having her meal.



9. Miss Universe Australia Caris Tiivel



During the event, Tavel was spotted sitting beside Paula Shuggart and Chavit Singson. The latter is the franchisee churva.



8. Miss Universe Guam Muneka Joy Taisipic



Many guests could not help but notice that Miss Guam looked like a Filipino. Some even commented that she looked even more Filipino than Miss Philippines Maxine Medina.



7. Miss Universe Spain Noelia Freire



More than century ago, the ancestors of the Igorots, the locals of Baguio City and its neighboring areas, beheaded Spanish friars. Fast forward to 2017, Miss Universe Spain 2016 was warmly welcomed by Igorot millennials.



6. Miss Universe Japan Sari Nakazawa



A cute anime look does not seem to fit the fierce beauty requirement of Miss Universe. But apparently, Nakazawa is an exemption. Her piercing stare and Mona Lisa smile are just two of the qualities that she has that evidently made the Baguio guests adore her.



Interestingly enough, it is not difficult to find Japanese-looking Igorots in Baguio City. A study of the history of Kennon Road can help explain this.



5. Miss Universe Korea Jenny Kim



Guests during dinner party in Baguio Country Club did not hesitate to approach Miss Korea and have selfies with her. This is not a surprise as Filipinos are known as avid fans of Korean pop culture.



Before Sandara Park became a member of the K-Pop girl group 2NE1, she had visited Baguio City, which is home to several South Koreans taking an English as a Second Language course. Some South Koreans were spotted during the fluvial parade in the morning.



4. Miss Universe Kosovo Camila Barraza



It could not be denied that Miss Kosovo was one of the more popular candidates during the evening. She almost could not finish her meal as guests keep on approaching her to take selfies with her but she did not seem to mind.



At one point, Miss Kosovo was seen taking a photo with a little girl. Miss Kosovo took her sash off and let the girl wear it for their photograph.



3. Miss Universe Canada Siera Bearchell



If there was a selfie queen award that evening, it would have been given to Miss Canada. Aside from allowing guests to take selfies with her, she would even take the guests' cellphones and take the selfies by herself.



2. Miss Universe Colombia Andrea Tovar



Filipino fans of international beauty pageants do not hold a grudge after the infamous error committed by Miss Universe 2015 host Steve Harvey as he mistakenly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierez as the winner instead of Wurtzbach. This even caused an ugly exchange of insults between Filipino and Colombian fans.



But Miss Colombia was shown so much love during the dinner event. She also rocked the stage as if she were saying that she would accomplish what Gutierrez was not able to achieve.



1. Miss Universe New Zealand Tania Dawson



The other candidates had a reason to be jealous of Miss New Zealand that evening. She had the loudest cheer when the candidates were presented on stage for the last time before the program ended.



Apparently, Miss New Zealand won the hearts of the Filipino audience as she is a daughter of a Filipino woman from Pangasinan, a province near Baguio City. The mother also worked in Baguio City, where she met Dawson's father.



Have a glimpse of Dawson's visit in Baguio City here:






New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday yet again requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to enhance the cash withdrawal limit of the candidates contesting elections in the five-poll bound states of Punjab, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

Four days ago, the poll panel asked the central bank to enhance the cash withdrawal limit for candidates from Rs. 24,000 to two lakh rupees a week till the declaration of results on March 11.

Expressing serious concerns about the way the issue has been dealt with in its letter, the Election Commission manner said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not realised the gravity of the matter.

It is reiterated that it is the constitutional mandate of the ECI to conduct free and fair elections and to provide level playing field to all candidates," the letter read.

In the letter, the Election Commission has desired that current limit on cash withdrawal for candidates for the forthcoming elections may be enhanced in order to ensure that they are able to defray election expenditure up to the statutory limits.

The poll panel further requested the candidates to incur their election expenses by account payee cheque or RTGS/NEF'T for all exceeding Rs. 20,000 during the entire election process.
New Delhi: Taking umbrage to certain union ministries failing to seek its concurrence before taking decisions which can affect level playing field during Assembly polls in five states, the Election Commission has asked Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to ensure that its guidelines on the model code are adhered to strictly.

The Commission specifically mentioned that the Finance Ministry, Niti Aayog and the Defence Ministry "failed" to refer important matters to it during the model code period.

The code came into force on January 4 and will last till polls are over.

"The Commission has noted that in certain cases, the ministries/departments took decisions, which have effect of disturbing level playing field of poll-bound states, without referring the matter to the Commission, particularly by Niti Aayog, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance," the letter said.

Sources in the Commission said the reason behind the January 27 missive to the government was the decision of the Finance Ministry to fix Budget date without seeking its clearance when it was clear that as per the new date, the union budget will be presented when election process in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Punjab and Goa will be on.

The poll panel had on January 20 pulled up Niti Aayog for holding special gram sabhas in the five poll-bound states without seeking its permission and said such events can only be organised after the elections are over.

On the same day, it had allowed the Defence Ministry to hold Combined Commanders' Conference in Uttarakhand with a rider that the Prime Minister, who inaugurated it, would not combine the event with an election rally in the poll-bound state.

Congress had complained to the Commission that BJP may use the event to influence former and serving defence personnel to gain an upper hand in the five poll-bound states.
Members of Jat community sit on dharna demanding reservation in Faridabad on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)

Chandigarh: Seeking reservation in government jobs for the community, members of Jat organisations on Sunday started their agitation in most districts of Haryana.

The call for the fresh stir has been given by some Jat outfits, especially those owing allegiance to the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Yashpal Malik.

Members of the Jat community staged peaceful dharnas at Ramayan village near the Hisar-Bhiwani railway track, Jolilath village on Sonipat Gohana road, Jassia village on Rohtak Highway, Rasalwala Chowk in Jhajjar, Umrakheri village near Panipat-Shamli road, Bala village near Assandh road in Karnal, Malik told PTI.

"The agitation in Yamunanagar, Panchkula and Mewat districts of the state will begin from January 31," Malik said, adding "the dharnas are peaceful."

Violence in last year's Jat stir claimed 30 lives and caused huge damage to property in the state.

However, officials said Haryana this time has been put on maximum alert.

Section 144 has already been imposed in sensitive districts including Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar and at other places as a precautionary measure, they said.

The assembly of five or more people in about 500 meters from national and state highways as well as railway stations in the city has been banned, officials said, adding paramilitary forces and state police personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain strict vigil.

"We are fully geared up to deal with any situation. Although the leaders of various agitating organisations have promised to hold dharnas in a peaceful manner, yet the administration is fully geared up to maintain law and order," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said.

The Haryana government had sought 55 companies of paramilitary forces from the Centre besides deployment of 7,000 Home Guards in the state.

Some companies of paramilitary forces have already reached Haryana, Niwas said.

Rapid Action Force has been deployed at Munak canal, which was damaged by the protesters during the 2016 February stir, officials said, adding central forces are also conducting flag marches in some sensitive areas since Saturday.

Rohtak and some of its neighbouring districts including Sonipat and Jhajjar were the worst-hit in last year's violence, which had also affected Delhi as protesters had cut water supply to the national capital.

Deputy Commissioners (DC) and Superintendents of Police (SP) have been directed to ensure that highways and railway tracks are not obstructed and no damage is caused to property, they said.

Meanwhile, 'Khap' (council) leaders stated that their immediate demands include the release of Jat youths from jails, withdrawal of cases registered during last year's agitation and government jobs to kin of those killed during the stir.

The Haryana government has assured jobs to kin of those killed during in the 2016 agitation.

In Jhajjar, the administration has suspended mobile phone services like voice-call, SMS and internet in the district from 8 am to 6 pm on daily basis.

District Magistrate Ramesh Chander Bidhan has directed telecom service providers to ensure compliance of these orders, an official spokesman said, adding the decision was taken to "prevent disturbance of public peace and tranquillity".

Anyone found violating these orders will be punished under Section 188 of IPC, he said.

The magistrate has also ordered that all liquor shops within 5 km of Rasalwala chowk and Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh Road would remain closed till further orders, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Fatehabad SP O P Narwal suspended ASI's Naresh Singh and Suchha Singh and head constables Kuldeep, Surjeet and Subhash for dereliction of duty during a flag march, he said.

DC Faridabad Sameer Pal Srow said there is complete peace in the district.
Chennai: Over a dozen men suffered mild injuries as Jallikattu and Manjuvirattu (a variation of the bull-taming sport) were held on Sunday at Tiruchirappalli and

Sivaganga districts of Tamil Nadu respectively, in which hundreds of bulls were used, police said.

Hundreds participated in the events which were witnessed by thousands of spectators.

While Jallikattu was held at Karungulam, near Manapparai in Tiruchirappalli district, Manjuvirattu was held in two villages, including Siravayal, in Sivaganga district. Manjuvirattu was held in Krishnagiri district too.

Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan was present at a Manjuvirattu event in Sivaganga district.

Top officials of the district and police administrations, including the Collector and SP, were also present at the events.

Police said all precautionary measures, including mandatory medical tests for bulls and participants as laid down by the state government, were taken before the conduct of the bull-taming sports.

Over a dozen men suffered mild injuries in the Jallikattu and Manjuvirattu events, they added.
Chennai: Jallikattu supporter and actor Raghava Lawrence on Sunday spoke with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam about students being booked over the recent stir for the bull taming sport and said he has assured to look into the matter.

"It will be fair to take action against those who instigated and indulged in violence and not against students," he told reporters here after calling on Panneerselvam at his residence.

Along with other supporters of Jallikattu, he visited Panneerselvam and thanked him for amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 paving the way for holding the sport in Tamil Nadu.

Lawrence said students did not indulge in violence or any improper behaviour till the protests lasted at Marina Beach.

He said he appealed to Panneerselvam to release students "if they had been arrested over alleged participation in violent incidents and withdraw cases filed against them."

The actor, who actively supported the recent agitation, said the "Chief Minister assured that if cases had been filed against students, who did not indulge in violence, it will be looked into."

Asserting that students and general public were not involved in violence, he asked "Tell me, will students set fire to a police station?"

Section of protesters, who fought a pitched battle with police on January 23 after being asked to disperse from Marina, had set fire vehicles in front of the Ice House Police Station, damaging the front portion of the building also.

More than 200 persons had been arrested in connection with the violence.

Stating that students did not raise 'objectionable' slogans against either Panneerselvam or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the said several radical demands were made from other sections who had congregated in the Marina beach to join the protest seeking nod for jallikattu.

He also said the state government should bear the cost of medical treatment for students who were injured in the violence. "The CM has assured that it will be considered."

He said he also had sought a suitable date from the Chief Minister to celebrate the "victory of protests" held by students.
New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday termed as "highly objectionable" the manhandling of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and said one cannot take law into own hands.

"Manhandling of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and disturbing the shooting of film is highly objectionable.

"No one can take law into own hands. Spoke to Vasundhara Raje ji and asked her to take necessary action," he said.

Bhansali had to cancel the shooting of his film "Padmavati" in Jaipur after the set was vandalised by a Rajput group and he was assaulted.

The assault triggered outrage in the film industry and Bhansali termed it as "uncalled for" and extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city.

Members of the Rajput community group stopped the shooting by damaging the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was "distorting facts" in the movie which is about Alauddin Khilji's obsession with Rani Padmavati.

Refuting claims of the fringe group that the film will feature an intimate scene between Alauddin Khiji, played by Ranveer Singh, and Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone), Bhansali said there is no such sequence.
The high court said the lower court had rightly held that the woman cannot claim the status of a legally wedded wife of the man on the strength of the alleged marriage and its order cannot be termed illegal. (Photo: Representational Image)

New Delhi: Marriage under the Hindu law is"sacrament" and "not a contract" which can be entered into by executing a deed, Delhi High Court has observed while dismissing a plea by a woman who had challenged an order refusing to declare her as the legally-wedded wife.

The woman had approached the court seeking her appointment for job on compassionate ground after the death of her alleged husband, a former sanitation staff in a city government hospital, and a direction to the medical superintendent to release consequential benefits and allow her to join duties.

The high court noted in its judgement that the petitioner had contended that she had married the man by way of execution of a marriage deed in June 1990 without disputing the fact that he was living with his earlier wife, who had died in May 1994.

"Since inception, the contention of the appellant (woman) had been that her marriage with the man on June 2, 1990 was performed by way of execution of a marriage deed and an affidavit. It is not disputed by her that the man had a living spouse on June 2, 1990 and she expired on May 11, 1994.

"Under Hindu Law, marriage is a 'sacrament' (solemn pledge) and not a contract which can be entered into by execution of a marriage deed. On June 2, 1990 the man was having a living spouse," Justice Pratibha Rani said.

The high court said the lower court had rightly held that the woman cannot claim the status of a legally wedded wife of the man on the strength of the alleged marriage and its order cannot be termed illegal.

The woman had claimed she was the man's widow and after his death, she had applied for appointment on compassionate ground after which she was offered appointment as 'safai

karamchari' on temporary basis in the hospital.

Later, a show cause notice was served on her asking her to explain the legality and validity of her marriage with the man. She had replied that on the date of death of her husband in February 1997, she was his only wife.
New Delhi: Global warming, ecological changes and heavy shelling by Pakistani troops are triggering avalanches in places like Jammu and Kashmir, which had not reported such instances earlier, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Sunday.

"Ceasefire violations and use of heavy weapons by Pakistani troops are leading to loosening of soil, hereby creating danger of a landslide. Global warming is also leading to cracks in glaciers," he told reporters after paying homage to Major Amit Sagar, who lost his life in an avalanche on January 25, at Sonmarg.

The Army Chief lauded the contribution of Major Amit Sagar, officer of the Territorial Army, saying he had volunteered for the posting despite the hardships there.

As many as 21 persons, including 15 army men, have been killed since last week due to avalanches and snowfall-related deaths in Kashmir valley.

Rawat said the state has been witnessing heavy snowfall over the past 72 hours, and is likely to witness similar conditions for the next two-three days.

"Due to global warming, glaciers are witnessing cracks. There are avalanches in areas which had not reported such cases earlier. Avalanches have occurred in Dawar areas, Machil sectors. We have erected some posts for counter-infiltration. Some posts are very near to enemy posts.

"There has been a lot of ceasefire violations and heavy weapons too are being used. Many times it affects the soil and loosens it up. When there is a heavy snowfall on such a loose soil and if there is a slope, it triggers danger of an avalanche," Rawat said.

He said the Army withdraws troops from places where there is possibility of an avalanche. However, some posts are vulnerable to insurgency.

"Our soldiers are facing it (the danger). Their task is counter-infiltration and despite the hardships they are doing their duty. I wish to assure you (the soldiers). You have been doing your duty with dedication (but) we have to deal with infiltration," he said.

He said the Army has been taking help of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to map avalanche-prone areas.

Rawat also appealed to families of the jawans who lost their lives in the avalanche to bear with them as "weather is playing a spoilsport in bringing back the bodies of their dear ones."

"Because of the bad weather, some of our jawans lost their lives. (The bodies) are still in the Kashmir Valley and our priority is to bring them back and hand them over to their dear ones," the Army Chief added.
Chennai witnessed incidents of arson and stone-pelting by a section of protesters following police efforts to make them vacate the Marina beach. (Photo: AP)

Chennai: A day after making it clear that Marina beach was out of bounds for any kind of agitation, city police on Saturday clamped prohibitory orders in the surrounding starting midnight to last till February 12, saying despite its warning, the social media messages continued to do the rounds asking youth to congregate in Marina that had witnessed week-long pro-jallikkattu protests that ended in violence.

In the interest of preservation of peace and tranquility in Chennai and to curtail the nefarious design of anti-socials and anti-nationals attempting to disrupt public peace and order, a prohibitory order under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code has been promulgated in Marina, police said in a release.

Peaceful family visits and walkers on the beach will not be affected by the prohibitory order. Police recalled its Friday appeal asking public not to believe social media messages asking them to congregate at Marina, while warning those spreading such messages of strict action.

Despite the appeal and warning, messages continue to circulate in the social media requesting the youth and students to congregate in the Marina for various purposes, it said.

The prohibitory order will cover the areas under the police station limits of Marina, Mylapore, Ice House, Foreshore Estate, Triplicane and Anna Square, the release said.

The police also released a copy of the order issued by Commissioner S George, stating that all assemblies, processions, fasts, demonstrations, human chains, meetings and movement of groups were prohibited around Marina beach and surrounding areas. It warned that anyone violating the order will be prosecuted.

However, peaceful visit by families, children and walkers for recreation and relaxation will in no way be affected by this order, it said and sought the cooperation of the citizens of Chennai, and deeply regretted any inconvenience.

In the prohibitory order issued by him, George said that he had reason to believe that anti-social and anti-national elements had infiltrated the pro-jallikattu protests and despite the government fulfilling the demand to conduct the bull taming sport, such persons and miscreants are trying to spread rumours through the social media, inviting students and others to congregate at Marina.

They were doing so by spreading their ideologies against the interest of the nation and the state and may again incite or lead acts of violence, mischief and rioting, that would affect the safety, peace and tranquility of the citizens and would pave the way for damage to public property, he said.

Further, various forms of protests were not permitted at Marina and surrounding Foreshore Estate area for long, he said, adding, all assemblies, processions, fasts, demonstrations, human chain and meetings were prohibited.

Any person contravening this order shall be subjected to prosecution under the Indian Penal Code, he said. On Monday, police were restrained while dispersing the protesters from Marina even as many had left voluntarily following police appeal, he told reporters.

Even when police came under attack from miscreants, who pelted stones and hurled petrol filled bottles at them, the police personnel only used minimum force to disperse them, he said, adding that more policemen were injured as a result.
Chandigarh: As many as 101 candidates in Punjab are facing various criminal cases, including that of murder and attempt to murder, according to poll watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Furthermore, out of total 1,145 candidates in the fray, 428 are having assets of more than Rs 1 crore, with average assets per candidate being worked out at Rs 3.49 crore.

According to the analysis of candidates' affidavits by ADR, 101 out of 1,145 candidates have declared criminal cases against them.

Of them, 78 candidates are facing serious criminal charges including that of murder, attempt to murder and crime against women, said Jagdeep Chhokar, founding member of ADR.

Prominent among those who are facing criminal charges are Navjot Singh Sidhu, Captain Amarinder Singh, Simarjeet Singh Bains, he said.

53-year-old Sidhu, Congress candidate from Amritsar East, declared in his affidavit that on December 27, 1988 a case under section 302, 323, 34 of IPC was registered against him.

He was acquitted in the case by the Session Court Patiala on September 22, 1999.

But the Punjab and Haryana High Court convicted him on December 6, 2006 sentencing him to three years' rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs 1 lakh. However, the Supreme Court suspended the sentence on January 23, 2007.

Congress' chief ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh, who is contesting from Lambi and Patiala, is facing four cases, as per the report prepared by ADR.

Lok Insaf Party candidate Simarjeet Bains is facing case under relevant sections of IPC including 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (charges related to voluntary causing hurt to deter servant from his duty).

As per report prepared by ADR, 14 candidates of Congress, 12 of AAP, 10 of SAD and 2 of BJP and 20 out of 304 Independents were facing criminal charges, said Chhokar.

The report also said that a whopping 688 out of total 1,145 contestants, have declared their educational qualification between 5th standard and 12th standard while 41 candidates are illiterate.

Despite political parties stressing upon giving more nominations to women in polls, 81 (7 per cent) women out of 1,145 candidates are contesting Punjab Assembly polls, as per the report.
When Rob Otterstatter was a child, he'd walk through the Auburn Wegmans with his grandmother, retired fourth-grade teacher June Rose, and folks would recognize and greet her.

Decades later, Otterstatter and his brother were in Auburn for Thanksgiving last November and wanted to grab coffee. Finding nowhere else to go, they wound up in Wegmans.

There, Otterstatter talked with his brother about the loss of the community feeling he witnessed when he'd walk through that same store with his grandmother. They also talked about the lack of comforting, conversation-friendly places to grab a coffee in Auburn that led them there.

Those two beliefs gave birth to an idea: The Octane Social House.

Otterstatter, now a middle-school English teacher in Washington, D.C., and his wife, Joni, are in the planning stages of a coffeehouse-type business they plan to open in Auburn in October 2018. Motivated by that Thanksgiving meeting with his brother, Otterstatter and his wife want their business to bring the Auburn community together through coffee, craft beer, local food and more.

The name of the business touches on both of those goals, Otterstatter said Friday.

"The idea is something that dealt with the idea of providing fuel to nourish us, and a place to sit down and talk," he said.

With more than a year and a half before the Octane Social House opens, the Otterstatters have plunged into a planning process as thorough it is transparent. Their business plan stands at 56 pages, Rob said, and is based on research of the Auburn area's demographics, economic landscape and more.

He divulged the possible sites because of another part of the Otterstatters' business plan: transparency. In several posts to the "You Know You're From Auburn, N.Y." Facebook page, Rob has shared his and Joni's plan to open the Octane Social House and asked community members for feedback. It's been mostly positive, he said.

"Some people want to know why we're returning to a dying city," he said. "We say that the only way to keep Auburn from dying is to return and do good things there."

The positive feedback, along with Rob and Joni's visits to several D.C.-area coffeehouses, has yielded several points in their plan for the Octane Social House. It'll serve cold-brewed coffee on nitro taps, espresso-based drinks, sandwiches and baked goods sourced at least 70-percent locally, three or four taps of craft beer for glasses and growler fills, and wine.

Outside the menu, the Octane Social House will offer electrical outlets by every table so patrons can charge devices, live music on Saturdays and Sundays, workshops on topics like homebrewing and pairing wine with food, small business Saturdays and maybe even group motorcycle rides around the Finger Lakes, said Rob, who owns an Indian bike himself.

The business is tentatively set to staff 10 employees and be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, Rob said. He and Joni will are consulting on a floor plan and other details with Crimson Cup Coffee, of Ohio, as well as Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District Assistant Director Jesse Kline.

Also in the meantime, the Otterstatters are crowdfunding support of the Octane Social House through Kickstarter and GoFundMe. But if they have to take out a small business loan, Rob said, they're ready. After living in the D.C. area and commuting almost two hours to and from work each day, Rob is set on coming home to recharge both himself and his community in its resurgent downtown.

"We want to back in a way that we can help the community," he said. "What better way than over beverages and food?"
Egypt's civil aviation minister is set to visit Moscow to discuss his country's airports security measures to resume flights between both countries, according to Rosaviatsiya spokesman

Egypt and Russia are set to sign a joint intergovernmental agreement on airport security during the Egyptian civil aviation ministers visit to Moscow in February, Russian transport minister Maxim Sokolov announced on Friday, though he did not speak on the details of the agreement.

We are currently preparing for a meeting upon a request by the Egyptian side. I cant determine a specific date for this meeting, Sokolov said in statements to Russian news agency Sputnik.

Earlier last week, spokesman for the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) Sergei Izvolsky told Russian news agency TASS that Fathy will visit Moscow to participate in the National Civil Aviation Infrastructure Exhibition, which will be held under the auspices of Rosaviatsiya.

According to Izvolsky, Fathy will take part in the exhibitions plenary meeting and speak on the measures that Egyptian authorities have been taking to create conditions to resume air service between our countries.

Egypt has been implementing tighter security measures at its airports since a Russian passenger flight crashed shortly after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport in October 2015.

Russia suspended passenger flights to Egypt shortly after the crash.

Sokolov said on Friday that a delegation of Russian experts is set to visit Egypt in February for an inspection of Cairo International Airport, pointing out that this could be the final such visit before passenger flights are resumed between the two countries.

In mid January, a team of Russian experts arrived in Egypt for a security inspection of the Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada international airports.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for downing the Russian flight in 2015, which killed all 224 people on board. Egyptian investigations into the cause of the crash are still ongoing.

A number of European countries that suspended flights to Sharm El-Sheikh following the 2015 crash have recently reinstated direct flights to the South Sinai tourist hotspot.

On Tuesday, Germany lifted the last set of restrictions on direct flights from Germany to Sharm El-Sheikh.

Russia, which led European countries in sending tourists to Egypt prior to the crash, has conducted several inspections of Egyptian airport security measures in preparation for the resumption of flights.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in late December that flights would resume soon.

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New Delhi: Rajiv Gandhi allegedly showed the door to a minister to improve Indo-US ties, according to a series of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that were made available online recently.

According to a report in The Hindu, the memorandum referred to the major Cabinet reshuffle that Gandhi had ordered in May 1986, alleging that Gandhis move was to curb the drift in foreign and domestic affairs in India. It was Rajivs second such reshuffle in 16 months.

His (Gandhis) removal of Foreign Minister Bali Ram Bhagat, who criticised US actions against Libya, probably is intended in part to smooth relations with Washington, said the memo NESA/M/86-20075, dated May 22, 1986. The memo was referring to Tripoli incident in April 1986, where Bhagat had called the US a bully for its strikes on Libya.

Only one minister, B.R.Bhagat was dropped in the reshuffle, a mere five months after he had assumed the role. Most of the ministers were just shifted to other portfolios.

However, many believed that the move had more to do with the internal tussle that was happening in the Congress at that time, than Bhagats comments. Pranab Mukherjee had been expelled from Congress for a few days for anti-party activities just before the reshuffle. There was also a side that believed that the decision stemmed from a need for a more technologically and economically savvy candidate, with Bhagat being more old-school. Former Ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen was reported to have dismissed the memo, saying that it was often drafted by lower level executives who did not have a holistic view of the issue. Sen who was also part of Rajivs prime minster office in 1986, has said that Rajiv was never pro-US. According to the CIA reports, while the memos also framed Indira Gandhi as a close aide of USSR, Rajiv was perceived as an US ally for his desire of stronger technological ties with the US. The late prime minister was also allegedly in the good books of the US for his willingness to play a more active role in Afghanistan and wanting to calm border tensions with China. This too, according to Sen, was not entirely correct, said The Hindu report. Sen has been reported to have said that Indira had started the reorientation efforts with US with her 1982 trip to meet then US President Reagan.

These memos were part of the 9,30,000 documents made available online by the CIA after a legal clash with the Freedom of Information activists. Earlier, declassified documents were accessible only in person at the US National Archives Records Administration (NARA).
Panaji: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday heaped praises on Manohar Parrikar, saying he was thankful to Goa for giving 'such a strong' Defence Minister.

"I am thankful to Goa for giving such a strong Defence Minister to the country. Entire world is now discussing surgical strikes," Modi said addressing a BJP rally here.

Before moving to the Centre as a Defence Minister, Parrikar had served as Chief Minister of Goa, after the party secured a mandate in 2012 Assembly polls.

"Some people are still studying the surgical strikes. How did the jawans reach there? I said when I went to Lahore, I went during the day, but still the world was wondering how did I reach there. Agar Hindustan ek bar thaan leta hai to uske jawan parakram karke dikhate hai (If?India resolves, then its soldiers show bravery)," said the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Modi also said his government is for the poor and working to root out corruption.

"We have began campaign against corruption across the country. Common man is never involved in the corruption. Big people are involved in corruption. Now I am being harassed because they are facing inconvenience because of me," said the Prime Minister.

"Modi is removing everything which they have collected during last 70 years. This government is for the poor. We are taking firm steps to uplift the poor. Our steps would be strict but they would be for the welfare of the country and not for political benefits. We are making honest attempt to free the country from corruption," he said.

The Prime Minister further said there has been a fashion in the country to give speeches on eradicating poverty, corruption.

"But when you take any step to eradicate corruption, they are the ones to face the first attack," he quipped.

He pointed out that in Karnataka, new notes, black money and gold of more than Rs 150 crore was found at a Congress minister's house.

"Karnataka government was not even bothered about it.

They have not even asked that minister to resign. He has not even been issued the notice," added Modi.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday will address a joint conference following a road show before high stakes state assembly elections in the state.

The Congress is contesting 105 seats while the ruling Samajwadi Party is contesting 298 seats.

Uttar Pradesh will be voting for a new state assembly in a seven-phase election, voting for which begins on February 11 and concludes on March 8.

A joint poster with the slogan 'UP ko yeh saath pasand hai' having the pictures of both Rahul and Akhilesh and their respective party symbols will also be released on the occasion.

The alliance is believed to counter the rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) making the contest across the state triangular.

Soon after the alliance was struck, BSP supremo Mayawati got the support of mafia-turned MLA Mukhtar Ansari' party Quami Ekta Dal (QED) to consolidate its Muslim vote bank in some constituencies of eastern districts where the Ansari brothers have their strong influence.
Lucknow: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah has said that they will try to build Ram temple in Ayodhya according to the constitutional norms.

"The government under BJP rule will follow constitutional norms and build Ram Mandir in UP. By winning more than 300 seats in UP, the BJP would form the government," he said.

Shah asserted that there is no difference between building Ram Mandir and development.

Days after declaring that a "grand" temple will be built in Ayodhya if BJP gets majority, state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya sought on Friday to make amends, saying it would be built after Supreme Court's order but Uttar Pradesh will see 'Ram Rajya' if his party wrests power.

"Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya only after the order of the Supreme Court, but 'Ram Rajya' will soon prevail in the state with the party sweeping the UP assembly polls," Maurya said.

Shah today released the party's manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which will be held in seven phases from February 11.

While releasing the manifesto, called 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra' (Pledge for People's Welfare), the BJP president said the party will form government in Uttar Pradesh with a two-thirds majority.

As parties brace for assembly elections in seven states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat in 2017, the Supreme Court earlier ruled that "religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process" and that election of a candidate would be declared null and void if an appeal is made to seek votes on these considerations.
NEW DELHI: Long-suspected use of heavy caliber guns by Pakistan at the icy heights in Kashmir is causing killer avalanches that have taken a toll of Indian soldiers in recent days.

Alluding to the fact, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat said on Sunday: Ceasefire violations and use of heavy weapons by Pakistani troops are leading to loosening of soil. When there is a heavy snowfall on such a loose soil and if there is a slope, it triggers the danger of an avalanche.

Due to global warming, glaciers are witnessing cracks. There are avalanches in areas which had not reported such cases earlier. Avalanches have occurred in Dawar areas, Machil sectors. We have erected some posts for counter-infiltration. Some posts are very near to enemy posts, said Gen. Rawat. He was speaking to reporters after paying homage to Major Amit Sagar, who lost his life in an avalanche that took place at 5.45 am in Sonmarg.

Please bear with us: Gen Bipin Rawat to jawans family

Since last week, 21 people including 15 army men have lost their lives due to avalanches and snowfall-related deaths in Kashmir valley.

The state has been witnessing heavy snowfall over the past 72 hours, and is likely to witness similar conditions for the next two-three days.

Gen. Rawat said the army has been taking help of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, to map avalanche-prone areas.

Gen. Rawat also appealed to families of the jawans who lost their lives in the avalanche to bear with them as weather is playing a spoilsport in bringing back the bodies of their dear ones."

On February 3, 2016, 10 soldiers from the Madras Regiments 19 battalion went missing in Siachen after an avalanche. Lance Naik Hanumanthappa, 33, was dug out from 30 feet deep snow after he miraculously survived for five days although he later succumbed to his injuries in a Delhi hospital after being airlifted to the national capital.

In January 2016, four soldiers had their lost their lives after being hit by an avalanche in Siachen.

In one of the most devastating avalanches, about 135 Pakistani soldiers died after being buried under tons of snow after an avalanche hit them near Siachen on 7 April 2012.
As a sequel to leadership changes in UK and United States, these countries started implementing stringent visa regulations which will affect students and skilled workers from India whom forms major portion of immigrants. Recently UK Government approved Migration Advisory Committee recommendations (MACR) to further tighten visa regulations. MACR suggested salary thresholds for Tier 2 Visa holders and English language requirements for non European Union immigrants. In order work in UK under sponsored category, the experienced workers need to earn minimum salary of 25000 British Pound per annum which may be increased to 30000 pounds by April 2017. Previously these norms were applicable to nurses, radiographers and paramedical professionals only. But from 2016 November 24th onwards the salary criteria will be applicable to all categories of workers. UK curtailed student work visa from April 2011 onwards which seriously affected Indian students aspiring for UK education. As a sequel there is a decline of more than 60 percent of Indian students started evading UK for higher education.

United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore are emerging as the potential destinations for Indian students. Some of the EU countries like New Zealand, France, Germany and Ireland started implementing liberal post study work visa up to three years. As per the recent UK regulations, the minimum salary for a Tier 2 migrant should be 20800 pounds. This move will certainly affect Indian IT companies since 90 percent of IT professionals are working in UK under skilled worker category. More than 35 lakh Indian skilled graduate students are passing out per year and UK can accommodate thousands of graduates in their appropriate business ventures. English language requirements for sponsored candidates will also affect the families of UK immigrants from India.

ETS issue

Recent judgment of Court of Appeal in London reveals that immigrants from UK may be deported based on review of past, current and future cases. UK deported 4000 immigrants due to English language qualifications from during 2014 of which 70 percent were from India. Educational Testing Services (ETS) of United States have been conducting Test of English for International Communication since 2010 to assess the English proficiency of potential immigrants. But BBC Panorama investigation report revealed that there are evidences of fraud at ETS centre which motivated UK Home affairs office to act for deportation. The recent judgement came in to effect from 25th October 2016 but British home affairs Offices revealed this only on 24th November 2016 and implemented Migration Advisory Committee recommendations. Interestingly during the first week of November 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May visited New Delhi and participated in the India UK Technological summit and assured to make appropriate visa changes for the benefit of students and skilled workers from developing countries. At a time UK is trying for post Brexit trade relationship with Asian countries, recent visa changes will affect Indian students aspiring for education and career in UK.

Move to reduce H1B visa in United States

US President Donald Trump suggested for an enquiry in to visa abuses that affect the opportunities of American workers. He suggested that trade; energy, national security, regulation, immigration and ethics reforms are the areas he will focus initially to restore jobs for Americans and to bring back domestic jobs under the principle Putting America First. Visa changes in United States will affect skilled worker category and students from developing countries. There will be substantial changes in H-1B visas. Professionals from developing countries are working in US under skilled category under H1B visa. Annually United States used to issue 85000 H-1B visa under skilled worker category of which more than 70 percent were from India. Moreover lot of Indian IT companies are functioning in US and Indian professionals used to work in these companies.

Trans Pacific Agreement

Moreover US president elect suggested for withdrawing US from Trans Pacific partnership (TPP) with 12 Pacific Rim countries except China. United States joined TPP with the initiative of Barak Obama to get the benefit of global trade. Trump suggested that he will negotiate for fair bilateral trade without TPP. Trump is also trying to withdraw green visa from United States. Green visa facilitate Indian Entrepreneurs and industrialists to establish commercial ventures in United States. The decision of President Trump to curtail the entry of refugees and restrictions imposed on people from seven Islamic countries should be treated as an eye opener for developing countries.

(Dr.T.P.Sethumadhavan is the Educational and Career Consultant and Director of Entrepreneurship at Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, Wayanad. E mail-tpsethu2000@gmail.com).
Ferozepur: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday slammed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly staying in the house of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) commander Gurinder Singh in Moga.

Addressing a gathering in favour of party candidate Parkash Singh Bhatti here, the SAD president said by staying at the KCF Commander's house, Kejriwal had given a clear signal that he was ready to go to any extent to capture power in the state.

He said such patronisation of extreme elements by AAP would spoil the peaceful atmosphere in Punjab.

"We have been able to achieve peace and communal harmony after lot of difficultly. But it seems Kejriwal is bent on destroying both for his political interests," he added.

Speaking about a series of sacrilege incidents which had occurred in the State, he said the incidents started after the entry of AAP into the State.

He said the Punjab government had solved around 30 cases of sacrilege and only the incident at Behbal Kalan remained unsolved.

"I have requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ask the CBI to get the inquiry into the sacrilege case conducted quickly so that the guilty can be punished," he said.

He said this was not the first time that Kejriwal had consorted with radical elements.

Earlier, Badal said, Kejriwal had held a breakfast meeting with R P Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, which was a front organisation of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

Speaking about sacrilege incidents, the SAD president said the Congress had done the biggest sacrilege by sending tanks and artillery into the Darbar Sahab.

"Congress is also responsible for the massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi. He said AAP was no less. The AAP government bulldozed the historic piau at Gurdwara Sisganj. AAP also disrespected Sri Guru Granth Sahabji by comparing its election manifesto with the holy Granth," he said.
Allahabad: In an apparent damage control, BJP on Sunday clarified it had not denied tickets to Muslim candidates in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls "owing to their religion", while asserting that the mention of "triple talaq" in party manifesto underscored its "commitment to welfare of minority women".

Addressing a joint press conference here, party national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh and official spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, defended the party's position in safeguarding the interests of minorities in the poll-bound state.

"If a large number of people flee their homes out of fear, it must be a cause for concern for any responsible political party. Let us not view this problem through the prism of religious affiliations," he said referring to mass migration of Hindus from Muslim-dominated town of Kairana in the state.

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain had kicked up a row yesterday by stating that the party had not fielded any Muslim candidate in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as it did not find winnable candidates from the community.

"BJP has not given tickets to Muslim candidates from any of the assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh as the party could not find even a single candidate who could ensure a win," he had told reporters at Kota in Rajasthan.

He had also said that ticket distribution on the basis of caste during elections was "obligatory".

"When reservation can be given on the basis of caste, why can't the party tickets be distributed on the basis of caste?" he asked.

Hussain along with Singh, however, said at the joint press conference that the distribution of party tickets by BJP was solely based on merit.

"We do not believe in discriminating against people in the name of religion. That is the reason why we have been opposed to giving reservation in jobs on religious grounds.

Our party believes in working for betterment of all. We have demonstrated this approach in all the states where we are in power as well as at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"On the other hand, practitioners of the brand of politics, which makes an issue out of giving tickets to Muslims ought to be held accountable for their plight. We have given tickets only on merit," the leaders said.

On being asked about the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya, the BJP leaders said, "We have only reiterated our commitment to the issue. Construction of temple through the legislative route would require legislation both at the Centre and state levels." The BJP has so far announced its candidates for 370 out of 403 assembly segments in Uttar Pradesh, where voting will be held in seven phases beginning next month.

There have been speculations that the reported move of BJP to not give tickets to any Muslim candidate in the state, where the minority community has a sizeable presence, could be a subtle way of playing the Hindutva card.

BJP is hoping to make a comeback in the state, where it has been relegated to the position of a marginal player for nearly a decade. This is in contrast with the 1990s, where the saffron party was a major player, riding the wave triggered by the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

The party's hopes of revival in the politically crucial state were bolstered in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when it put up a stunning performance, winning 71 out of the 78 seats it had contested.

The BJP leaders also spoke at length on the party's vision for the development of Uttar Pradesh as elucidated in the party manifesto released yesterday by party chief Amit Shah.

They also claimed that "a wave in favour of our party is sweeping across the state and it has forced sworn enemies like Congress and Samajwadi Party into a tight embrace."

Terming the Congress-SP tie-up for the state Assembly polls a "sangam (confluence) of lawlessness and corruption", Hussain and Singh also ridiculed the coalition's catch line "UP ko ye saath pasand hai (UP likes this alliance)" launched by Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav earlier in the day.

"The slogan launched by Congress vice-president and UP Chief Minister sounds like an obvious parody of a Bollywood song. Such gimmicks would, however, not succeed in these two parties' attempts at brushing aside their failures, while in power at the Centre and in the state, under the carpet," they added.
Hyderabad: Former home Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday demanded of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to implement the promises which he made to the people of Telangana.

Participating in the Telangana PCCs extended state executive committee meeting here, he said the Congress has granted Telangana state, honouring its commitment and respecting the sentiment of people.

He said the then Central government thought bifurcating a largely populated united AP will pave way for the faster development of the state as it happened in smaller states like Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana.

However, he noted a disturbing trend in the way Mr Rao had engineered mass defection of legislators from Opposition parties, thereby causing breach of parliamentary democracy,

He has asked the Telangana Congress to strengthen its mass base, from the mandal level, so that the party would come to power sooner or later. He asked the top rung leaders to adopt few mandals and districts for strengthening the party.
Flights between the two countries have been halted since a deadly plane crash in Sinai in 2015

Russias Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that a possible resumption of Russian passenger flights to Egypt would start with Cairo International Airport first then followed by Red Sea resorts' airports, Russian news agency TASS reported on Saturday.

In statements to Russian reporters, Dvorkovich said the decision for an air flights resumption between Egypt and Russia will be taken soon.

"I am not telling the time, but I think the decision on Cairo is close," he told Russian reporters.

Dvorkovich refrained from giving time for resumed flights to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh, both major destinations for Russian holiday-makers.

The Russian official pointed at the possibility of a gradual resumption of flights through Cairo International Airport, then we shall continue working on the rest.

Dvorkovich also said that a meeting was not yet planned with the Head of Egypts Civil Aviation Authority, despite statements by Russian officials last week that Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy is set to visit Russia in February.

On Friday, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Egypt and Russia will sign a joint intergovernmental agreement on airport security during Fathys visit.

Sokolov said that a delegation of Russian experts is set to visit Egypt in February for an inspection of Cairo airport, pointing out that this could be the final such visit before passenger flights are resumed between the two countries.

Egypt has been implementing tighter security measures at its airports since a Russian passenger flight crashed shortly after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport in October 2015.

Russia suspended passenger flights to Egypt shortly after the crash, and since then it has dispatched its experts for several inspections of Egyptian airport security measures in preparation for the resumption of flights.

A number of European countries that suspended flights to Sharm El-Sheikh following the 2015 crash have recently reinstated direct flights to the South Sinai tourist hotspot.

Egyptian tourism, a pillar of the country's economy and a key source of hard currency, has taken a blow since the passenger plane crash. Sharm El-Sheikh's economy is believed to have suffered the most.

Egypts revenues from tourism dropped from $6.1 billion in 2015 to $3.4 billion in 2016, according to statements by the Central Bank of Egypts governor, Tarek Amer, last week.

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In a veiled attack on newcomer Reliance Jio, telecom major Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said free offers by telcos would hit all stakeholders, including lenders, and government revenue.

"In the short to medium term, free offers will impact all stakeholders including government levies and taxes, lender with debt exposure of over Rs. 400,000 crores to the industry," Bharti Airtel Global Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy said during company's earning call.

He alleged that "predatory pricing" by new operators has led to "unprecedented drop in the industry revenue table for the first time since its inception, jeopardising the financial health of poster child - the Indian telecom industry".

Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile services provider, has reported its lowest profit in four years in the third quarter of FY2016-17 as demonetisation and intense competition from Reliance Jio hit revenues.

Consolidated net profit in October-December fell 54 percent to Rs. 503.7 crores as against Rs. 1,108.1 crores in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement.

"To say that we are living in interesting time would be an understatement. In India, the continuation of free pricing by a new operator has led to tsunami of traffic to the network impacting overall data revenue and voice realisation," Roy said.

He said that the large number of incoming calls on Airtel's network have been due to anomaly in mobile termination charges.

Roy said that there have also been temporary impact of demonetisation along with larger impact of free offers.

Bharti Airtel's revenue fell 3 percent to Rs. 23,363.9 crores in the third quarter of FY2016-17. Mobile data revenue slowed to Rs. 4,049 crores due to "free voice and data offering by a new operator".

Data revenues at Rs. 3,087 crores de-grew by 3 percent. Mobile broadband customers increased by 22 percent. Mobile data revenues now contribute to 22.8 percent of the company's mobile revenues in India as compared to 23.1 percent in the corresponding quarter last year.

"We are also seeing slowdown in data indicator sequentially, more or less entirely, due to free offer by a new operator. for the first it has led to active decline in data customer base by 7.7 million and data usage down by 3.5 percent quarter and quarter and ARPU down 13 percent," Roy said.

He said that to combat free offers, Airtel has also come up with new plans giving high usage of voice and data to its customers.

Bharti Airtel MD and CEO for India & South Asia Gopal Vittal said there is lot of head room in the company's network to drive capacity utilisation.

"Remember that in this business, larger investment you make is in spectrum. It is smaller investment on capex. Once you have put that investment then the cost of producing an extra megabyte of data is nothing," Vittal said.

He said that the telecom market is moving towards game of average revenue from a user.

"In the conext of playing an ARPU game we believe that bundled packs make lot of sense to lock in ARPU, deliver value," Vittal said.

The Indian arm of Airtel reported 9.3 percent year-on- year increase in customer base to 26.58 crore, close to 14 percent increase in voice call minutes and 28.3 percent increase in data usage.

However, tariff war triggered by Jio, led to 10.4 percent decline in the average revenue per user on its network to Rs. 172 from Rs. 192 during the period under review.

The revenue realisation of Airtel India from a minute long voice call reduced by 12.8 percent on year-on-year basis and from per megabyte of data it reduced by almost one-fourth to 17.97 paise from 23.77 paise a year ago.

Shares of Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 311.55 a unit, down by 1.52 per cent compared to previous close, at BSE today.

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The robots are designed for delivering packages, groceries and food to consumers in a 2-3-mi (3-5-km) radius.

The robots of the future will be coming soon, rolling along at a lumbering pace with those goods you just ordered.

The six-wheeled, knee-high robots from startup Starship Technologies are part of a new wave of automated systems taking aim at the "last mile" delivery of goods to consumers.

Starship is launching a pilot project of robotic deliveries of parcels, groceries and prepared foods in early February in the US capital Washington, with a similar test taking place in Redwood City, California.

The startup, created by two of the founders of Skype, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, has already begun testing in several European cities as part of an effort to bring new efficiencies to local delivery.

The goal is to enable delivery within a radius of two miles (three kilometers) within 15-30 minutes of an order, for $1 or less, with the autonomous robots traveling on sidewalks and alerting consumers of their arrival via smartphone app.

Starship spokesman Henry Harris-Burland said the founders were looking to "disrupt" an industry which had seen little efficiency improvement from new technology.

"We're trying to solve real social and economic problems," Harris-Burland said during a demonstration of the delivery bots in Washington.

"This will take cars and vans off the road. We can also provide deliveries to the elderly and handicapped who have difficulty getting around."

The company, which has its business office in London, engineering in Estonia and some 90 employees, announced in January it had raised $17.2 million, led by Daimler AG with other investors as it moves to expand its testing and partnerships.

While the Starship robots roll at a modest pace of around four miles (six kilometers) per hour, Harris-Burland said they offer a more efficient and economical delivery model than drones, which are being tested by online retail giant Amazon and others.

The rolling robots are far less expensive to build and operate than drones and face fewer regulatory issues.

He said drones might be better-suited to remote and rural areas, while the Starship bots are designed for cities and suburbs, where they can roll along on sidewalks. We don't see these as competing with drones, we see it as complementary," Harris-Burland said.

The Starship robots, which look like high-tech plastic picnic coolers, can carry about 20 pounds (nine kilograms) of goods, suited to three to four grocery bags. They do not offer heating or chilled compartments because rapid deliveries would not need them, according to Harris-Burland.

They will not have the capacity to leave items on doorsteps, he said, because "customers will get delivery within 30 minutes, when they are home" and collect the goods at the door.

Mapping sidewalks

Starship has agreements for testing with the delivery firm Postmates in Washington and DoorDash in California, as it works toward a commercial model with other partners and retailers.

When the pilot begins in February, consumers will be able to order pizza, toothpaste, milk or eggs through the services which may use humans or robots.

Starship is not the only robotic delivery startup looking to disrupt the sector.

California-based startup Dispatch has raised $2 million in venture funding to begin testing of its rolling robots. Another California firm, Savioke, has agreed to provide delivery bots to hotels and apartment complexes.

Starship says one of its strong points is its "visual localization" technology that allows for real-time mapping using nine cameras on each robot to help navigate along sidewalks and circumvent obstacles, people and pets.

"We can see every crosswalk, every traffic light, every pothole," Harris-Burland said.

"A lot of companies have mapped roads but no one has mapped sidewalks."

The navigation is done by artificial intelligence, and the bots are "99 percent autonomous," according to the spokesman.

"We want a human being able to oversee the robot's journey and to intervene whenever there is a problem," he said.

Harris-Burland said the company's tests so far in Europe have shown the system works, with no problems related to theft or vandalism.

The lids of the devices are locked until the customer opens it with a smartphone. If anyone tries to steal it, an alarm will sound, and if it is hijacked the company can track it "to the nearest inch," he said.

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US President Donald Trumps controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries has caused many to criticise his latest move. Among them is Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey who took to Twitter on Saturday, 28th January to condemn Trumps upsetting decision.

The executive orders humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the US , Dorseys tweet read. Following this, he published another post that read, Eleven per cent of Syrian immigrants to the US are business owners, more than triple that of US-born business owners.

Twitters official account also tweeted that the company is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always, the tweet read.

Trumps recent order handed down on Friday bars Syrian refugees and further halts the resettlement of all refugees for four months as the administration reviews the vetting process. The admission will resume once vetting deems adequate by the secretary of State, the secretary of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence. His orders also further denies entry for 90 days for individuals from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq , Iran , Somalia , Sudan . Syria , Libya and Yemen .

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San Francisco: Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai on Saturday criticised US President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it will create "barriers" to bringing great talent to the US, as the Internet search giant ordered its travelling staff to return to America.

In an email to staff, Pichai said that the ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries will hit at least 187 Google employees.

"We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," the Wall Street Journal quoted Pichai as saying in the email.

"It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," he said.

Google has recalled around 100 of its affected staff from overseas, the BBC reported.

President Trump today ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.

The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn-in as the President, fulfills the vow Mr Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

In his message to employees, 44-year-old Pichai, who grew up in India, suggested that at least 187 employees hailed from countries included in the ban.

"Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected," he said. "If you're abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team."

"We wouldn't wish this fear and uncertainty on anyone-and especially not our fellow Googlers," Pichai wrote. "In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide."

Immigrants make up much of the workforce in Silicon Valley, including many executive roles, and the tech industry has long advocated for more open immigration laws in the US, saying they need more skilled foreigners to fill technical jobs.

The new restrictions will have a major impact on American technology companies that hire skilled staff from all over the world on special H1-B visas, mostly used by Indian IT firms.

"There have already been reports of green card holders, who are allowed to work in the US, being prevented from getting on flights. However, green cards are not specifically mentioned in the executive order," the WSJ said.

Microsoft has also warned its shareholders that curbs on immigration could have a material impact on its business.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also criticised Trump's decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

"Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.
Protesters block an intersection near Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, after earlier in the day two Iraqi refugees were detained while trying to enter the country. (Photo: AP)

Washington: An Iraqi pleaded for his life to President Donald Trump. A longtime New Yorker, born in Syria, wondered how he would get home from a trip abroad. Church groups, geared up to welcome refugee families, looked in dismay at homes prepared for families that may never arrive.

Despair and confusion set in Saturday among citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries who found themselves abruptly unable to enter the United States a day after Trump signed an executive order that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US.

Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee program.

An unknown number of travelers from those nations were detained at U.S. airports after their flights landed, including tourists, foreign students and people trying to visit friends and family.

"What's next? What's going to happen next?" asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. "Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?"

Refugee-rights groups and others immediately challenged the orders in court, and said the bans scapegoated Muslims and Arabs without making the United States safer.

Protests broke out at several US airports where travelers were being detained, including a gathering of several hundred people outside San Francisco's main airport and a raucous demonstration of at least 2,000 people at New York's Kennedy International Airport.

A big crowd of demonstrators also gathered outside a US courthouse in Brooklyn where lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union were trying to get a judge to issue an order blocking detentions.

Trump's order came down as Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the US military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was just minutes away from landing at Kennedy. He was among at least a dozen people detained after their arrivals Friday and Saturday.

After lawyers for refugee-rights organizations filed emergency petitions in federal court for their release, Darweesh walked free, to the applause of sign-waving demonstrators.

"This is the soul of America," Darweesh told the crowd and reporters, adding that the US was home to "the greatest people in the world."

Others were less lucky. Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, Iran, only to be detained and told she had to go home.

"She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates," said her husband Mohamad Zandian , 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University. He was hoping to get her out of the country on a late night flight to avoid her being jailed until Monday.

Staff at US agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the order and girded for the wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the U.S. Several staff burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

"It's complete chaos," said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the US State Department.

The International Refugee Assistance Project, which aids foreign nationals targeted for their work for the U.S. government as well as other refugees, was sending the same message to asylum-seekers, most of them who had been waiting for years.

Meathaq Alaunaibi, also a refugee from Iraq, was hoping to soon be reunited with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are in Baghdad. Alaunaibi, her husband, a son and another daughter were settled last August in Tennessee, as the twins completed their government review to enter the US. After Trump signed the order, she spoke by phone with her daughters.

"They are so worried and afraid because they're stuck there in Baghdad," Alaunaibi said Saturday. "They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them."

An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Islamic State group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now canceled, indefinitely.

"If you can write to Mr. Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please," the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his US lawyer by email.

The order also hit longtime, legal US residents traveling abroad.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the US for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Now, he doesn't know if he will be able to return home.

"I don't know what's going on," Azmeh said by phone, Saturday, from Lebanon. "It is home as much as Damascus," he said of New York City. "I really don't know how to react."

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the US, said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups, who organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been coordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a 1-year-old and 5-year-old who arrived Tuesday.

Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and it's unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group.

Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday and told she couldn't enter the US to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.

"My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that she's having," Ulayyet said.
Earlier yesterday, Trump said that the ban was working "very nicely" and should continue. (Photo: AP)

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his controversial executive orders on immigration, borders and extreme vetting of refugees, saying that the world is a "horrible mess" and America needs "strong borders".

"Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!" Trump said in an early morning tweet.

In his first week in office as US President, Trump has signed several executive orders that immediately stops entry of refugees and temporarily ban issuing of visas to people from seven Muslim-majority countries and extreme vetting for others.

The executive orders has resulted in outrage among the opposition Democratic leaders, human rights bodies and a large section of the American tech-industry, including from Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Terming it a "painful" decision, Pichai said the move will affect at least 187 Google employees.

Indian-American Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a note on LinkedIn, saying the company "will continue to advocate on this (immigration) important topic."

He said as an immigrant and the company's CEO he had "both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world."

"We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we're actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance," the company said in a statement.

Civil rights activists allege that this is in effect "Muslim ban" and against the values of the United States. Trump, however, argued that this is not a Muslim ban and that these steps have been taken to protect the country from radical Islamic terrorists.

Earlier yesterday, Trump said that the ban was working "very nicely" and should continue.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it in the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely," he said.

"We are going to have a very, very strict ban and we are going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years," Trump said.

Meanwhile, in another tweet, Trump attacked the press and slammed The New York Times for the second consecutive day.

"Somebody with aptitude and conviction should buy the FAKE NEWS and failing @nytimes, either run it correctly or let it fold with dignity!" Trump said.

Trump makes the best use of Twitter to express his views and communicate directly with his supporters.

He has 22.7 million followers on Twitter. However, Trump is not as prolific as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter, who shares most of the daily activities and breaking news with his 26.8 million followers on Twitter.
New York: Donald Trump originally dubbed his executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries a "Muslim ban," according to the US president's aide Rudy Giuliani.

"When he first announced it he said, 'Muslim ban,'" the former New York mayor told Fox News late Saturday when asked whether the ban was connected to religion.

"Show me the right way to do it legally," Giuliani -- who Trump has tapped as his cyber security guru -- said the US president told him.

The 72-year-old said he and a team of legal experts "focused on -- instead of religion -- danger!" when they drafted the immigration crackdown that has sparked a global outcry and mass protests.

Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and prohibits issuing visas for travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Giuliani said those predominantly Muslim countries were targeted because they are "the areas of the world that create danger for us."

"Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis," he said.

The crackdown on Muslim immigration has infuriated civil rights groups and activists.

A federal judge blocked Saturday part of Trump's ban, ordering authorities not to deport refugees and other travelers detained at US airports.
Protestors demonstrate against President Donald Trump's travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations entry into the U.S., at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Washington: A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court order would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and the court order affected a small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return.

"President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," according to the DHS statement. Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said: "Nothing in the Brooklyn judge's order in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

The judge's order addressed only a portion of Trump's executive action. As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the judge's order might affect people in detention, or whether it would allow others to resume flying. The White House said the court ruling affected a small number of people who had boarded planes before the White House order was issued.

Homeland Security said those travelers "were inconvenienced while enhanced security measures were implemented. These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders."

But the detention of the travelers caused a great deal of confusion.

"Realistically, we don't even know if people are going to be allowed onto the planes," said ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt. "This order would protect people who they allow to come here and reach U.S. soil."

Under Trump's order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trump's order had been prevented from entering the U.S.

Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

In her three-page order, Donnelly wrote that without the stay "there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders and other individuals from nations subject to the Jan. 27, 2017, executive order."

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the September 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns. He told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports, including New York's Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Fort Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read "Portland Coffee Is From Yemen" and chanting anti-Trump slogans. U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the move.

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military. Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trump's order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that don't provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trump's order.

"There is no evidence that refugees - the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation - are a threat to national security," said Lena F. Masri, the group's national litigation director. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didn't address America's "primary terrorism-related threat" - people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trump's order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

In 2016, the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000.
Elaine Goodman was accused of having sex with a minor and was charged with four-degree rape. (Photo: Smyrna Police Department)

Smyrna, Georgia: A Georgia woman has been arrested for raping her daughter's 13-year-old boyfriend in a car after he sneaked out of his home to meet her.

According to a report in the Mirror, Elaine Goodman was accused of having sex with a minor and was charged with four-degree rape.

She was also accused of exchanging text messages with a friend in which she wrote that the "boy is cute" as well as he had a nice a** body".

Investigators argued that the victim said that Goodman kissed and undressed him before the pair had sex.

She has been sentenced to two years in prison and will be expected to attend a sexual disorder counselling once she is out of jail. Goodman will also be put on sex offenders register for life.
Walesa, who co-founded the independent Solidarity union and then negotiated a bloodless end to communism in Poland in 1989, has repeatedly denied the authenticity of the documents and once again called the accusations a "lie" on Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Warsaw: Polish prosecutors will on Tuesday present what they believe is proof that Solidarity freedom hero Lech Walesa collaborated with the communist-era secret police, the national news agency PAP reported.

Citing unnamed sources close to the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which prosecutes crimes from the communist-era and from the Nazi occupation, the PAP said Sunday a team of forensic experts had come to that conclusion notably through handwriting analysis.

The 73-year-old former president and Nobel Peace laureate has been battling the allegations since last year, when the IPN seized previously unknown secret police files from the widow of a communist-era interior minister.

The IPN has said the files include a collaboration agreement signed with "Lech Walesa" and his alleged codename "Bolek".

Walesa, who co-founded the independent Solidarity union and then negotiated a bloodless end to communism in Poland in 1989, has repeatedly denied the authenticity of the documents and once again called the accusations a "lie" on Saturday.

He enigmatically admitted however last year to having "made a mistake" and in the past had said he signed "a paper" for the secret police during one of his many interrogations.

A book published by the IPN in 2008 alleged that while the regime registered Walesa as a secret agent in December 1970, he was cut loose in June 1976 due to his "unwillingness to cooperate".

Poles have mixed feelings about Walesa. His boldness in standing up to the communist regime is still widely respected, but the combative and divisive tone of his later presidency earned him scorn in many quarters.
Abu Ismail is currently serving a seven-year sentence for forging documents when applying to run in the 2012 presidential elections

An Egyptian court sentenced prominent Salafist and former presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to five years in prison on Sunday in charges related to violence outside a court in 2012.

Abu Ismail was convicted of inciting the besieging of Nasr City court and the use of violence against prosecutors, and preventing state employees from carrying out their duties.

The events occurred in December 2012, when Abu Ismail, a popular figure among hardline Salafists, marshalled his supporters to surround a court where some of his followers were being tried.

The court on Sunday sentenced 11 of the defendants to 10 years in prison and six others besides Abu Ismail to five years in prison.

Abu Ismail is currently serving a seven-year sentence which was finalised in 2014 on a conviction of forging the documents he submitted to run as a candidate in the 2012 presidential election.

The once-popular TV preacher and prominent supporter of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood was convicted of forging documents to conceal his late mother's US citizenship, an action that led to him being disqualified from the race.

Authorities arrested Abu Ismail days after the ouster of Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.





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Cairo: Fuad Sharef and his family waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with US organisations.

But Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo airport on Saturday. They were sudden victims of US President Donald Trumps new travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Their passports confiscated, the distraught family was detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning.

We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers, Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport.

I feel very guilty towards my wife and kids. I feel like Im the reason behind their dismay.

In the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. He said this would help safeguard the United States from terrorists.

The travel curbs took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries. Sharef and his family were among the first victims.

Sharef said he was employed by a pharmaceutical company before leaving Iraq, but had worked on projects funded by US organisations such as USAID in the years following the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The family applied for a US visa in September 2014 as security conditions in Iraq deteriorated, with Islamic State insurgents seizing swathes of the country and carrying out brutal killings.

Sharefs work with the United States made him particularly vulnerable to attack by militants who view him as a traitor.

I applied for immigration for several reasons. Firstly, I worked with Americans, which puts me at risk of threats from terrorist organisations. Secondly, I was interested in this (SIV) programme and my childrens interest to continue their education in the United States, he said.

After risking their lives

Sharef applied to emigrate via a programme known as Special Immigrant Visa, which was created by US lawmakers to help the tens of thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping Americans after the 2003 invasion.

At least 7,000 Iraqis, many of them interpreters for the US military, have settled in the United States under SIV auspices since 2008, while some 500 more are being processed, State Department figures show.

Another 58,000 Iraqis have been awaiting interviews under the Direct Access Program for US-affiliated Iraqis, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project.

Sharefs friend, Mona Fetouh, said she had worked with him on a USAID-funded local governance and civil society project in 2004. Fetouh, a US resident, said she gave Sharef a recommendation for his SIV application.

Originally due to fly on February 1, the family decided to travel earlier after news leaked of Trumps plan to issue new immigration restrictions. But they were too late.

The SIV process took two years and they were finally granted their visas and due to fly this week - bad timing, Fetouh told Reuters. They sold their home and possessions and quit their jobs and school in preparation for this move and are really devastated by this.

Sharef, father to two girls and a boy, said the family was still in shock and did not know what steps to take next. They would be staying temporarily with Sharefs brother in Erbil.

I dont know. Maybe I will send an email to the American embassy in Baghdad asking for an explanation, he said.

Asked if he feared for his life returning to Iraq, he said, referring to the northern Iraqi city from which Islamic State is being gradually dislodged by an Iraqi army offensive:

Maybe its less dangerous in light of the relative regression of Islamic State influence in Mosul, but during my years of work, my life and the lives of my family were constantly in danger and Im now at risk of being a threat at any moment. There are no guarantees.
London's Pakistan-origin mayor Sadiq Khan slammed US President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations as "shameful and cruel" and said the policy "flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance". (Photo: AP)

London: London's Pakistan-origin mayor Sadiq Khan slammed US President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations as "shameful and cruel" and said the policy "flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance".

Trump in an executive order on Friday suspended refugees from entering the US and barred visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out."

His controversial decision has led to chaos at home and around the world, with hundreds of thousands of people gathered at airports across the US in protest against the ban.

Khan released a statement responding to Trump's executive order, describing the ban on immigrants as "shameful and cruel". He said the policy "flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance", the Independent reported today.

The 46-year-old first Muslim mayor of London pointed out that many British citizens will be affected by the new rules and was pleased that UK Prime Minister Theresa May had also raised concerns.

"The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President can't just turn his back on this global crisis - all countries need to play their part," he said.

"While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.

"I'm pleased that the Prime Minister has now said she and the government do not agree with President Trump's policy, which will affect many British citizens who have dual nationality, including Londoners born in countries affected by the ban," he added.

Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, and the US President has a history of clashing and in the past the Mayor criticised many of Trump's campaign tactics.

During an interview with ITV Good Morning Trump responded to Khan's previous remarks and said they were "ignorant" and "very rude".
Mexico City: Mexicos government rebuked Israel on Saturday for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to applaud US President Donald Trumps plan to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

Netanyahu said on Twitter earlier on Saturday.

The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexicos foreign ministry.

The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahus message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall, the ministrys statement.

Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister, it said, noting that Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking Holocaust memorial day on Friday.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter Netanyahu had been referring to his countrys specific security experience and that Israel was not voicing an opinion on U.S.-Mexican relations.

Mexicos government and Trump have been locked in a bitter dispute over his election campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S. southern border that he says Mexico will pay for. Mexico has repeatedly said it will not pay for the wall.

The Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico issued a statement saying it forcefully rejected Netanyahus comment, while several prominent Mexicans of Jewish origin sharply criticized the Israeli leader on Twitter.

So you like walls @netanyahu? Here you have a couple of nice designs, said Mony de Swaan, a former head of the Mexican telecommunications regulator, posting images of walls commemorating Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp where diarist Anne Frank died, and the Warsaw Ghetto.

On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a visit to meet Trump next week after the American advised him to forgo the trip if he was not willing to pay for the wall.

The leaders pledged to work out their differences in a call on Friday morning, and the Mexican government said the two had agreed not to discuss the issue of payment for now.
Debris and smoke rise after an airstrike hit an army base, in Sanaa, Yemen. (Photo: AP)

Aden: A US raid in Yemen killed 41 suspected al-Qaeda militants and 16 civilians on Sunday, an official said, in what would be Americas first military action in the country under President Donald Trump.

Eight women and eight children were among those killed in the dawn raid on Yakla district, in the central province of Baida, said the provincial official, who did not want to be named, and tribal sources.

Sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to al-Qaeda, adding that an unspecified number of civilians were also killed.

But the provincial official said Apache helicopters also struck a school, mosque and a medical facility used by al-Qaeda militants.

Other sources spoke of US commandos taking part in the operation, but this was difficult to confirm with credible sources.

The three prominent tribal figures killed in the attack were identified as brothers Abdulraouf and Sultan al-Zahab and Saif Alawai al-Jawfi, the official and other sources said.

They were known for their strong links to al-Qaeda, the sources said.

The Zahab brothers have two other al-Qaeda brothers who were also killed in the past by drone strikes.

An al-Qaeda chief in the region, who was identified as foreigner Abu Barazan, was also killed in the attack, the official said.

The military operation is the first to be attributed to the United States against jihadists in Yemen since Trump took office on January 20.

Under Trumps predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected jihadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan.

The United States considers the extremist groups Yemen-based franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

But although it only sporadically reports on a long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to be operating drones over Yemen.

On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing a senior al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group have exploited a power vacuum created by the two-year-old conflict in Yemen between the government and Shiite Huthi rebels, especially in the countrys south and southeast.

Baida province is mostly controlled by the Huthis, but Yakla is ruled by the tribes, and has at least two training bases for al-Qaeda, local sources said.

Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have mounted offensives against jihadists in the south, but the militants remain active in several areas.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 7,400 people, since a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened to support Hadi in March 2015, according to the World Health Organization.

But UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said last week that as many as 10,000 civilians may have died.
Iran's foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.

Tehran: Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump's decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries was "a great gift to extremists".

"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.

"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."

Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and bar visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Iran's foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.

But Zarif added that its restrictions would not apply to Americans who already have a valid visa.

"Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he wrote.

With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the travel restrictions are expected to cause chaos for students, businessmen and families travelling between the two countries.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the measures were proof of America's "violent racist spirit".

The foreign ministry released a travel advisory, calling on all citizens travelling to the US to "make completely sure" before leaving that they will not face obstacles.

Travel agents in Tehran said Saturday they had been instructed by foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, not to sell US tickets and that Iranians holding American visas were not being allowed to board US-bound flights.
Baghdad: Iraq plans to lobby against new restrictions on travel to the United States by Iraqis, arguing the two countries need to preserve their alliance against ISIS, two members of the Iraqi parliament, who declined to be identified, said on Sunday.

The Iraqi government itself has so far declined to comment on an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Friday, which suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

The order caused angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 US troops are deployed, helping Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the war on ISIS.

Some members of the parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States.

"Iraq is in the frontline of the war on terrorism (...) and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," said the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the US administration," the committee said in a statement after a meeting on Sunday in Baghdad.

Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight ISIS, called on the Iraqi government to expel US nationals.

"The foreign ministry will be contacting the US administration to review their decision,'' said an MP who sits on the parliament's foreign relations committee.

The Iraqi government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to reciprocate, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation in the war" on Islamic State, a second lawmaker said.

The US-led coalition is critical in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from ISIS.

Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of ISIS, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces have taken over the part of Mosul on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which divides the city, and were preparing to attack the militants on the western bank.
Pakistani journalists and local residents gather out the home of Salman Haider. (Photo: AP)

Islamabad: Two of the five missing Pakistani activists, including a professor known for his critical views on fundamentalists and who had mysteriously vanished earlier in January from Islamabad, have safely returned home, police said on Saturday.

Salman Haider, a professor at the Fatima Jinnah University in Rawalpindi and a human rights activist, was among five activists and bloggers who had gone missing on January 6.

Police and family members of Haider confirmed he returned home on Friday night and was safe. Details about where he was after vanished was not immediately known.

Haider was the first to disappear, followed by bloggers Waqas Goraya, Aasim Saeed and Ahmed Raza Naseer and anti-extremism activist Samar Abbas within a week in the sensitive Muslim-majority nation.

Geo News quoted sources in Lahore police as saying that blogger Goraya has also returned home.

Some of them had been accused of promoting blasphemy, a criminal offense in Pakistan.

The fate of the other missing men is not known so far.

It is believed that Haider ran a popular group 'Bhensa' on Facebook on which messages and videos were shared against fundamentalist religious groups as well as the Pakistan Army.

On January 6 evening, Haider was in Bani Gala with his friends and called up his wife to tell her he would return by 8 pm. When he did not, his wife called him back but the call went unanswered, his brother Zeeshan Haider has said.

Haider's wife later received a text message from his phone that asked her to pick his car from Coral Chowk, Zeeshan said.

Police found the car from Coral Chowk but no information about him. A missing person's report for Haider was filed in Lohi Bher police station and an investigation was launched.

A United Nations human rights expert on January 12 called on the Pakistani authorities to make it a priority to locate and protect the disappeared human rights and social media campaigners, saying no government should tolerate attacks on its citizens.
Lahore: A Pakistani court on Sunday acquitted all 115 suspects accused of torching a number of houses and shops of Christians in Lahore in 2013 over a blasphemy issue, citing lack of evidence.

Lahore's anti-terrorism court judge Chaudhry Muhammad Azam accepted the arguments of defence and ordered acquittal of the suspects, observing that evidence presented by prosecution against the suspects was "insufficient" to convict them.

On March 8, 2013, thousands of protesters armed with sticks, clubs and stones ransacked Joseph Colony and set over 125 residential properties, shops as well as some motorcycles and rickshaws and a church on fire after a word was spread in the locality that a Christian had committed blasphemy.

A clash between police and the arsonists had also left a number of people injured but no casualty was reported.

During Sunday's hearing, Defence lawyer Ghulam Murtaza argued that the prosecution had failed to provide a "single evidence" to establish the charges against his clients.

He said the prosecution had lingered the case for more than three years but could not come up with any solid evidence against the suspects. He requested the court to acquit the suspects because of want for proof.

A prosecution lawyer argued the evidence provided by the prosecution team is enough to convict the suspects.

"This incident not only spread a wave of terrorism in Lahore but also brought a bad to name to Pakistan," he said.

The judge, however, termed the evidence "insufficient" and acquitted all the suspects.

Hundreds of Christians were displaced following the incident. Initially police had booked more than 1,000 Muslims, 80 of them were nominated. Later, it arrested 115 suspects who were acquitted on Sunday.

Police had also arrested a Christian, who was accused of blasphemy. A trial court had tried him under blasphemy charges and sentenced him to death in 2014.

Imran Shahid had accused Sawan Masih of making blasphemous remarks.

However, Dilawar Masih, who lost his house and shop in the attack, said, "Both Imran and Sawan are close friends and the former has made the allegation only to settle a personal score because they had quarrelled over some petty matter."
Pakistani human rights activists hold images of bloggers who have gone missing during a protest in Peshawar on January 10, 2017. Four bloggers who campaigned for human rights and religious freedom, went missing from various cities between January 4 and January 7 2017.(Photo: AFP)

Islamabad: Pakistani blogger Aasim Saeed who went missing earlier this month has been found but has quickly left the country fearing for his life, his family said on Sunday.

Saeeds father said his son was detained by state agencies while visiting Pakistan from Singapore, though he did not name which one.

Pakistans government and Federal Investigation Agency have denied holding any of five liberal activists who went missing this month.

The military and other state agencies have declined to officially comment. The armys media wing did not reply to questions and phone calls on Sunday.

Saeeds recovery comes a day after poet and activist Salman Haider, who disappeared from the capital Islamabad on Jan 6, was recovered, according to his family.

Five liberal activists, some of whom have posted blogs criticising the political influence of the military and speaking for the rights of religious minorities, had each gone missing separately since January 4.

Saeed, who is Singapore-based and works in the IT department of the German Merck Group, disappeared on January 4 while visiting the eastern city of Lahore.

It was no one other than the state agencies who took him, Aasim Saeeds father, Ghulam Haider, told Reuters, referring to Pakistans intelligence agencies.

He said Saeed was picked up over a social media post intelligence agencies deemed objectionable.

My son is not against any agency, he is not against the military or government and he is not against Islam, Haider said. The fact that he was set free means that he has been cleared of all charges.

The only instruction Aasim got from the agencies was that he could not give any media interviews, Haider added.

The militarys media wing did not return calls or text messages seeking comment.

Haider said Aasim returned to his house briefly on Saturday but then left quickly, and messaged the family on Sunday morning to inform them that he was safe and would call soon.

Haider said Saeed had either returned to Singapore or was in Germany.

It is not known how the five activists went missing, but some rights groups and newspapers have asked whether state or military agencies were in any way involved.

The Interior Ministry has repeatedly said it was doing all it could to recover the missing men.

Shortly after the activists disappearances, blasphemy allegations against them appeared on social media and in a complaint to police.

Friends, family and supporters of all five men deny they have blasphemed and have denounced the campaign to press that charge, which could endanger their lives were they to reappear.

In Pakistan, conviction under the blasphemy laws can carry a death sentence.
A day after BJP national president Amit Shah brokered peace between them, senior state unit leaders B S Yeddyurappa and K S Eshwarappa reached Bengaluru from New Delhi on Saturday on the same flight.





Speaking to reporters at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, the two leaders said they will drop all prestige issues and work together for the party.



The two leaders said they were ready to apologise to the party cadre for the confusion caused by the rift between them. Shah on Friday night worked out a peace formula to resolve the differences between the duo under which both the leaders will address rallies jointly to mobilise support of backward classes and Dalits.



Yeddyurappa said he will tour the state with Eshwarappa and work towards the agenda set by Shah to make Karnataka Congress free. He said former minister B J Puttaswamy will continue as the president of the OBC Morcha of the party, while Eshwarappa will be overall incharge of the forum. He agreed that there was some confusion in the appointment of presidents and office-bearers of the party in a few districts and it will be sorted out soon.



Eshwarappa said he will strive to make Yeddyurappa chief minister of the state. On Shahs instruction that he or any other BJP leader should not associate themselves with the Rayanna Brigade, Eshwarappa said the forum is apolitical.



Reacting to Fridays development, Brigade president K Virupakshappa said, I would not like to comment now. We will talk to Eshwarappa and decide on our next step.
Lack of access to official state documents leaves significant gaps in the understanding of Egypt's modern history, the 'Cairo Fire' of 26 January 1952 being a prominent example, says historian Khaled Fahmy

Some 65 years later, the true story of the Cairo Fire is still untold, and the mastermind and culprits behind one of the worst acts of arson to ever hit the capital remain unknown to the public.

On Saturday 26 January, 1952, almost 24 hours after the soldiers of the British occupation killed 50 Egyptian auxiliary policemen in Ismaliya, a serious wave of agitation took over the capital leading to a sudden outbreak of violence and the burning of hundreds of key buildings, including the exquisite Cairo Opera House and some of the capitals top restaurants, bars and stores.

In the last days of January 1952, many narratives were offered up on who really burned the city." One particularly prominent narrative suggested it was the palace, to further increase the political dilemma the British occupation was facing in the wake of its confrontation with police in Ismaliya.

Another narrative blamed angry students and demonstrators who had already protested the killing of the police officers in front Abdin Palace, adding that most of the burned and looted buildings were associated with the Western presence in Cairo.

A third narrative blamed the fire on political forces opposed to King Farouk and that wished to further complicate his already confused relation with the British occupation.

But we dont know and we cannot know, or rather start the path to know, before we start to put our hands on the documents related to whatever happened on that day. The Egyptian police must have conducted some form of investigation and there must have been some findings registered in official documents.

Accessing these documents is simply the first step to reveal the true story of this particularly significant political event that hit the country  not just the capital  65 years ago, says prominent historian Khaled Fahmy.

Speaking to Ahram Online, Fahmy, currently visiting professor at Harvard University, lamented the continued lack of access to documents that relate to significant moments in 20th century Egyptian history.

The Cairo Fire, Fahmy said, was a particularly significant moment in the sense that it revealed the structural problem that the regime of King Farouk was facing with an aggressive occupation, a barely functioning parliament, and an undermined opposition represented in Al-Wafd Party.

And this all happened only a few months before the 23 July 1952 when the Egyptian government was neither in an open confrontation with the occupation nor in direct negotiations to end the occupation.

According to Fahmy, in Ismailya, one day before the fire, British soldiers told the Egyptian police that they had to choose between the guerillas fighting the occupation and the British army in Egypt, and where the police decided to not to turn their backs on their compatriots, even though the government was not demanding an end to the British occupation.

This is why there are so many questions about what really happened on 26 January in Cairo and it is such a pity that 65 years later we remain unable to access the necessary documents to inform us  not just as concerned researchers but as a public  about what was happening there and then, Fahmy said.

Fahmy argued that this denial of access to basic information appears almost deliberate, because in the end the documents of state institutions might be incomplete or designed to fit with a particular line or another.

This is really a pattern, and I am sure that the relevant state institutions in Egypt keep documents and conduct necessary classification of information. But I am not sure whether they turn in these documents over to the National Archives, as they should, and whether the National Archives is willing to make these documents, if they have them, readily available to researchers, Fahmy lamented.

Any attempt to revisit a day as significant as that of the Cairo Fire, Fahmy relates, is thwarted by the state's style of withholding information, even when it should by law be made public, especially documents of the ministries of the interior and defence."

Whatever we have learned from the archives about the work of the police in Egypt, prior and after 1952, was essentially thorugh the archives of the Ministry of Justice, and this relates to criminal cases that the police referred to a court of law. But otherwise we are really mostly uninformed, Fahmy said.

Any attempt to revisit the Cairo Fire or any other significant moment in modern Egyptian history prompts the very serious question of access to information, Fahmy asserts.

Did we get to see the documents about the states take on the 18 days of the January 2011 Revolution? The answer is not really. We got to learn of a situation assessment that was put together by State Security and we got some glimpses of some information made available upon the subsequent break-in at the State Security headquarters after the ouster of the Hosni Mubarak regime, Fahmy said.

Fahmy was a member of a committee entrusted with documenting the 18 days of the January 2011 Revolution, and whose work remains largely inconclusive. Recently, when reading the memoires of an Australian medical examiner who headed forensic investigations in Egypt in the early decades of the 20th century, Fahmy came across information about the many bodies of protestors that were found around the city having been killed during the 1919 Revolution.

Now we know that there were also bodies that were found in the wake of the confrontations of 28 January 2011," he added, "but there again we dont have the official say on this matter. And we havent read substantial and free testimonies about 28 January 2011  at least not yet, Fahmy noted.

Acts of arson do happen during moments of political upheaval, and confrontations between the police and demonstrators end up with causalities, but it is important to know what really happened, not to vindicate but to understand, Fahmy said.

For example, there is no clear understanding of the way the shift happened in the responsibilities and mandate of the police following the establishment of three parallel intelligence systems under Nasser by Zakaria Moheiddine.

But it is important that we learn what happened there because it would help us decipher the power dynamics among state instutitons in charge of collecting information  and this is not a minor issue because these dynamics remain significant, as we saw during the January Revolution and beyond, Fahmy said.

Fahmy is worried not just about access to historical documents but also their preservation.

Following the fall of the regime of East Germany, the Stasi's documents were carefully kept intact as a significant testimony on the history of the country during the Cold War era. Access to these documents was allowed under certain constraints designed to protect society from the full consequences of the ugly truth whereby the secret police recruited one out of every six people to spy on friends, neighbours and family.

However, as Fahmy noted, even constrained access to these documents helped to have them properly classified and kept for present and future research by historians and sociologists. Short of this, Fahmy said, the truth would always be elusive to the public and often enough manipulated by the state to serve political purposes.

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The Cabinet on Saturday gave its approval for setting up a Rs 150-crore corpus fund for running the world-class School of Economics in Bengaluru, which will commence functioning from the next academic year (2017-18).





Briefing reporters after the meeting, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy said retired IAS officer Anup K Pujari had been appointed special officer for the institute, which will be named after the architect of the Indian constitution B R Ambedkar.



The government has already released Rs 107 crore as grants for the institute, coming up on 48 acres 38 guntas on the Bengaluru University campus in Jnanabharati. He said 50% of the corpus fund will be borne by the state government, while the balance will be mobilised through other sources. He said the School of Economics will function as an autonomous institution.



Law Minister T B Jayachandra said the Cabinet also gave its approval for extension of the term of the special investigation team constituted to probe cases referred to in the Karnataka Lokayukta report on illegal mining for a period of one year from January 24.



He said the SIT had so far filed charge sheets in 26 cases and B reports in 18 cases. The probe by the agency into 15 cases was pending and hence the extension, the minister said.



Jayachandra said the Cabinet gave its approval for the implementation of the Mathrupushtivardhini scheme of providing micro-nutrients to pregnant and lactating mothers in the most backward taluks at a cost of Rs 10.5 crore.


President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries today hit a roadblock as a US judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring authorities from deporting refugees and other visa holders who have been detained.





US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a petition on behalf of two Iraqi men detained at the John F Kennedy International Airport as the immigration ban took effect triggering protests at major airports across the country.



Judge Donnelly, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ordered that the government could not remove "individuals with refugee applications approved by US Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the US Refugee Admissions Programme, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen legally authorised to enter the United States."



The judge ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.



The judge said that sending those travellers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to "substantial and irreparable injury."



The order barred US border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the US with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.



President Trump yesterday ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.



The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn- in as the President, fulfills the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.



Welcoming the federal judge's ruling, ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project Deputy Director Lee Gelernt said, "This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off US soil."



"Judge issued stay on Muslim ban, said no one could be removed/sent back. But unclear what will happen to those detained," said ACLU executive director Anthony D Romero.



Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country, he said.



"Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court," he added.



"President Trump's war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project.



The executive order signed by Trump bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for the next 90 days and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days. There is exception for Christian refugees.



Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal hailed the judge's ruling, saying Trump's executive order is "inhumane and undermines core American values."



"It has created confusion across the country, and thrown into fear and limbo families who await their loved ones and those who travelled across oceans," Jayapal said.



"We have won a temporary victory...Now, we must keep fighting," Jayapal said.

Jorge Baron, executive director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, joined Jayapal in applauding the court orders.



"We appreciate that our political leaders in our state have stepped forward to stand on behalf of immigrants and refugees," said Baron.



"We are pleased that the work of many advocates has enabled us to temporarily put a halt to the harms of this executive order. And we commend the federal judiciary for responding quickly to redress the constitutional violations we were witnessing today," he said.



Indian-American Congressman from Illinois Raja Krishnamoorthi went to O'Hare International Airport to denounce Trump's executive order on immigration.



"Because of President Trump's executive order, American citizens, people living here legally, and their families, have been detained by the US government," he alleged.



"Many of those who have been detained today are those people have made their lives here," he said, adding that they have followed the law and played by the rules.



Most are green card holders and legal permanent US residents, he noted.



"They are employees and business owners whose detention has a severe economic impact. President Trumps executive order must not stand," Krishnamurti said.


A prominent Muslim lawyer and member of Myanmar's ruling party was shot dead along with a taxi driver outside Yangon's international airport today, officials said.





Ko Ni, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, was gunned down as he got into a taxi outside arrivals around 5pm (local time) by an assassin who also killed the driver.



"According to our initial information, Ko Ni and the taxi driver were killed," a security source at the airport told AFP, asking not to be named.



"An unknown man shot him in the head while he was hiring a taxi. He was later arrested," the source added.



Zaw Htay, a spokesman at the president's office, said Ko Ni had just returned from a government delegation trip to Indonesia.



"He (Ko Ni) was shot while he was waiting for a car outside the airport. Ko Ni died on the spot," he said.



There were no reports on possible motives behind the murder.

Myanmar's border regions have simmered for decades with ethnic minority insurgencies.



Yet it is rare for prominent political figures to be murdered in Yangon, the country's booming and largely safe commercial hub.



But in recent years Myanmar has witnessed a surge of anti-Muslim sentiment, fanned by hardline Buddhist nationalists.



Ko Ni, a long time member of the NLD and legal advisor to the party, often spoke out in favour of religious tolerance and pluralism.



In late 2015 Suu Kyi's NLD party won a landslide election victory, ending decades of military led rule.



But in what analysts widely saw as a sop to Buddhist hardliners the party fielded no Muslim candidates, despite boasting many prominent Muslim figures in its ranks.



Suu Kyi has also faced international censure for her failure to criticise an ongoing army crackdown against the Muslim Rohingya minority in western Rakhine state.



Since the launch of the crackdown in October at least 66,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh alleging security forces are carrying out a campaign of rape, torture and mass killings.



The treatment of the Rohingya, a stateless group denied citizenship in Myanmar, has galvanised anger across the Muslim world.



Many among Myanmar's Buddhist majority call them Bengalis -- shorthand for illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh -- even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Congress today said the resignation of former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna from the party was "unfortunate" while noting that he had a "dream run in the party".





"It is unfortunate. He was Chief Minister, then Governor and after that became External Affairs Minister. He had a dream run in the party," Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken told reporters here.



In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday, the veteran leader resigned from the primary membership of the party.



Referring to Krishna's faux pas at the UN in 2011, Maken took a dig at him and said "Congress and the government had to face a lot of flak for him as he mixed up his statement and read out a wrong one at the UN."



Krishna read out Portuguese foreign minister's statement at a UN meeting causing an embarrassment at a time when India was pitching for a permanent UNSC seat. He was stopped by the then India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Puri.



Taking potshots at Congress leadership a day after his exit from the party, Krishna today said it did not need "mass leaders" but only wanted "managers" as he complained of being sidelined due to his age.



"With pain and anguish, I have decided to quit Congress," he stated, adding that "self-respect" was important for him.



He, however, declined to spell out his next step, saying he would have to think about it.
Foot-tapping music and soulful classical renditions rent the air as Republic Day celebrations culminated with the Beating Retreat ceremony here where President Pranab Mukherjee rode the ceremonial buggy down the Raisina Hill today for the last time during his tenure.





The ceremonial event at the Vijay Chowk this year saw 16 military bands, 16 pipes and drums bands from regimental centres and battalions enthralling the crowd, with clear sky and relatively warmer weather adding to the august atmosphere.



Several performances by Army, Air Force and Naval bands, among other troupes, thrilled the audience with patriotic fervour, which cheered loudly in the backdrop of a delightful twilight.



The function began with President Mukherjee arriving at the venue in the ceremonial buggy, last time as the Head of State with his tenure ending this year.



He drew cheers from the audience as the wheels of the open gold-plated carriage rolled down the Raisina Hill, making its way past hundreds of spectators who gathered to witness the colourful event.



Mukherjee, the chief guest of the function and the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, reciprocated the greetings with his customary wave at the audience.



Vice President Hamid Ansari accompanied by his wife Salma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Gen (retd) V K Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan were present on the occasion.



Mukherjee assumed office in 2012 and during the 2014 Beating Retreat ceremony, the buggy was brought back, three decades after its discontinuation at public functions due to security reasons. However, in 2015 the President had arrived in his limousine.



'Beating Retreat' marks a centuries-old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered.



The event, hosted at Vijay Chowk, surrounded by architectural grandeur, assumes significance as it caps four-day Republic Day celebrations.



The combined pipes and drums bands mesmerised the gathering with soulful strains of 'Mony Musk', 'Jak Wilson', 'The Gael' while the tri-services military band with accompaniment of Indian instruments regaled with 'Yaman', 'Sky Lark' and other renditions.



The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.



The band members, in their red, olive green, orange and navy blue uniforms, played as the tunes blended into each other for an hour before the flag was lowered amid retreat by buglers.



As the North Block, South Block, Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan lit up in unison, the resplendent sight was greeted by a collective gasp from the audience.

The carriage, driven by six horses was used by the Viceroy during the British rule.



After the event, Prime Minister Modi took a walk around the Vijay Chowk and greeted crowd on the occasion, which reciprocated with loud cheers.



The State Police and Central Armed Police Forces band also regaled the crowd with their select renditions.



Amid the strains of 'Sare Jahan Se Achha' by the Buglers, the ceremony came to a dazzling end.


This photograph was taken in 1963 at the postgraduate department of zoology, at the Jayalakshmi Mansion Palace building, University of Mysore, where the postgraduate section of Mysore University was started. Only later, after several years, the present Manasa Gangothri campus was established, housing all the postgraduate departments of different faculties.





Coming from a nearby town, T Narasipura, after completing SSLC from Vidyodaya High School in Kannada medium, I finished intermediate from St Philominas College. Then I pursued BSc from Yuvarajas College. I secured a little above 60% in zoology, which was considered to be a very good grade in those days, and easily got admission to the MSc course in zoology.



We were just about 13 students (seven girls and six boys) and ours was the second batch of MSc at Mysore University. For reasons not known, during those two years, both the senior and junior MSc classes were combined and taught.



This photograph was taken after our seniors finished their final examinations and we had completed our first year. Venkata Subbaiah was a faculty member from Yuvarajas College, Dr Appaswamy Rao headed the embryology section and Dr Rajashekara Shetty was the head of the zoology department (and cytology section). At that time, only these two special subjects were offered as specialisations in our second year of MSc.



Dr Bolegowda used to teach us palaeontology in an interesting manner, beautifully comparing lord Vishnus Dasavathara to the stages of Darwins Theory of Evolution. These three professors were pioneers who started the postgraduate department of zoology at Mysore University after they were shifted from the Bangalore campus.

Dr Kanakaraj later joined the same department and became a professor, and subsequently served as the registrar of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences.



A few other classmates of mine  V Chandrashekar, Annapoornadevi and Mariyappa  are not in the picture and the three of them are also no more. In fact, V Chandrashekar was a close friend of mine. He went to the USA, did his doctorate and settled there. His wife is a medical doctor and his daughter, a PhD, is a teacher. Both of them are in the US.



I remember that when we were in college, there were two groups among girls. Vasantha, Sreedevi and Dildar were always together in one group while the others were in the second group.



After his doctorate, Siddaveere Gowda became a professor in the same department and later, he was a UGC and UPSC member before he passed away. Muniyappa was one of the faculty members of Yuvarajas College and Dildar joined Maharanis College in Bengaluru but I am not in touch with any of them now.



After my MSc, I joined Yuvarajas College for about six months and later joined the Central Sericulture Research Institute, working there for about 18 months before going to Copenhagen, Denmark, to pursue my PhD.



After finishing my doctorate, I wanted to settle down in Bengaluru. Hence, I opted to work at the Bangalore University zoology department as a scientific pool officer sponsored by CSIR. I had a memorable time there with dedicated teachers like Dr Kadam and Dr Parthasarthy. We used to share a common room.



I also happened to meet professors Dr Shakuntala Katre and Dr Ravichandra Reddy who were doing their PhD at that time.



The three of us became very close friends in those two years of my stay there. Dr Katre and Dr Reddy have also served as registrar of evaluation and served in NAAC for a brief period before their retirement. We had a wonderful time because my wife happens to be a junior colleague of Dr Katre.



We would get together at my house or at Dr Katres house, cook together, play cards and also go for late night movies. We are still very close friends and every time we meet, we reminisce about those good old days.



Later on, desiring a permanent job and at the same time losing interest in teaching, I left the field of zoology and became a businessman in 1973. I started a small medicine shop and ran it for about 25 years. Now after winding up the business, I have developed interest in the stock market and spend my time in trading and advisory.



Recently, four of us  Leela, Vasantha, Usha and myself  met after 50 years. We talked about our days as students and the lovely times we spent together. It is gratifying that the four of us are now in constant touch with each other.





(The author can be contacted at 23570248)


Karni Sena patron Lokendra Singh Kalvi has said he is hopeful about resolving issues with Sanjay Leela Bhansali after members of the Rajput group assaulted the filmmaker for allegedly presenting "distorted facts" in his upcoming movie "Padmavati". Bhansali was roughed up by members of Karni Sena who also stopped the shooting of Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone starrer at the Jaigarh fort here on Friday.



"The matter is being unnecessarily raked up despite the fact that both the sides have decided to let go of the incident, Kalvi told PTI. "Our protest is against filming inappropriate scenes between Rani Padmavati and Allaudin Khilji." Kalvi said his organisation has been in touch with the filmmaker over email and both are trying to reach a common ground.



"We are corresponding with the representatives of Bhansali over e-mail. We have to meet consensus on few words on the written agreement. We hope that the issues will be settled soon," he said. Kalvi said he along with other Sena members even met Bhansali in Mumbai six months ago regarding the script of "Padmavati".



"We met Bhansali in Mumbai six months back and told them that he will not present the history in distorted manner. But, still he came to shoot the movie. The incident on last Friday occurred because of his denial." Defending Karni Sena activists' action of vandalising the film's set, Kalvi said it was he and Sena members, who were first fired at by the director's bodyguard.



"We have evidence that security guards of Sanjay Leela Bhansali had fired on us but we did not lodge police complaint in the matter. "The incident which happened with Bhansali resulted from that. Why should I apologize to Bhansali. Suspecting that history related to Padmavati will be presented in a distorted form, we had moved a petition in Rajasthan High Court two months back," said Kalvi.



"We would not let history of Rajput community to be presented in a distorted form," he said. Kalvi clarified he had no objections to Bhansali shooting "Padmavati" here but he wants the director to remove the "wrong facts" from the movie.



"We hope that the issues will be resolved through dialogue. We are waiting for Bhansali's response. We will welcome him to shoot his movie in Rajasthan, if objectionable words are omitted," he said.


Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is set to meet on Monday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, MENA agency reported.

El-Sisi will participate in the AUs 28th General Assembly, themed Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investments in Youth, which kicked off in Addis Ababa on 22 January and will conclude on 31 January.

Last week the Egyptian president told attendees of a youth conference in Aswan that although Egyptians' concerns about the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam are legitimate, Egypt was dealing with the issue "in a good way" and in accordance with the agreements reached between Cairo and Addis Ababa.

He told the audience that Egypt takes the issue seriously, saying the issue of Egypt's water supply is a matter of "life and death."

He will also present a final report on the efforts conducted by Egypt during its two-year chairman of an African leaders; council on climate change, where he will then hand over the chairmanship to Gabon counterpart Ali Bongo Ondimba.

El-Sisi, who is expected to arrive to the Ethiopian capital on Sunday, will meet in Addis with his counterparts from Kenya and the Republic of the Congo to discuss methods of bolstering relations with the African countries in various fields, as well as other regional issues.

Speaking at last Julys presidential-level AU meeting, El-Sisi told his African counterparts that there was no substitute for adopting a model of regional integration in Africa.

Egyptian-Ethiopian relationship will witness 'major push'

In statements to Egyptian journalists in Addis Ababa on Sunday, Egypt's envoy to Ethiopia and the AU, Abu Bakr Hanafy, said that both countries were able to overcome the transient conflict in their relationship following accusations by Ethiopian officials that Egypt had supported anti-government demonstrations by the Oromo ethnic group in Ethiopia last summer.

Hanafy added that the trust built between the two countries since El-Sisi came into office helped to overcome this crisis through high level calls between the two countries away from the media.

Hanafy also discussed Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam, saying that the dam's consultancy operations were starting to comply with the technical aspects stipulated in the March 2015 declaration of principles which both countries, along with Sudan, have signed.

There were tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia in the last five years as the dam construction got underway, with Cairo expressing fears that the project could negatively affect Egypts water share. Addis Ababa maintains that the dam, which Ethiopia needs to generate electricity, will not harm downstream countries.

In 2015, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed a declarations of principles in Khartoum on the the dam project, in which the three nations resolved to take all measures to avoid causing damage to the others when using the Blue Nile, and to discuss compensation measures if such damages occur.

Last September in Khartoum, the three countries signed contract with the French engineering consultancy Artelia and BRL groups to study the impacts of the GERD on the downriver states

Hanafy said that Egypt has sensed positive consent from the Ethiopian side, adding that the issue of the dam has resolutions that fall under the framework of respecting Ethiopian sovereignty and Egypt's share of Nile water, respectively.

He predicted that Egyptian-Ethiopian relations will witness a major push in the upcoming period especially with Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal being non-permanent members representing the African continent on the UN's Security Council.

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Kim Menzer, a flute, saxophone and nadaswaram player from Denmark, has lost count of the number of times he has visited India; not as a tourist but as a performer. The 78-year-old musician and composer is best known for his

association with the Danish rock band Burnin Red Ivanhoe.





He plays a number of wind instruments like flute, alto, soprano saxophone, trombone and even a Didgeridoo. Kim, well-versed with Indian music, came for a workshop at Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts in the city and took time off to chat with Nina C George about how he developed an interest in Indian classical music and his long association with it.



How did you develop a liking for Indian classical music?

Once when I was walking through the streets of Copenhagen, I spotted a long playing record at one of the shops. My curiosity got the better of me and I instantly bought it. It turned out to be a record of Ravi Shankars songs. It was rhythmic and melodious and nothing like what I had ever heard before. Thus began my fascination for Indian classical music.



Your association with Dr L Subramaniam... I happened to meet Dr L Subramaniam at a concert in Denmark and he invited me to India; an invitation which I readily accepted. While I was here, I attended one of his concerts in Chennai, where he played along with a host of other esteemed Carnatic performers. This further deepened my ties with India. In Paris, I was also fortunate to work as a musician and composer with English director Peter Brook in the world-famous play

The Mahabharata .



Tell us about your experience of working on The Mahabharata?

I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of being a part of such a great play. Peter had collected the finest actors and musicians from across the world and so it was no wonder that the play was a huge success and won the hearts of many. It was a cultural potpourri of sorts.



How did you get drawn to learning the flute?

While saxophone is my main instrument, I was also drawn to the flute because the sound of it takes my mind to a higher realm. In India, you also find the idol of Lord Krishna always holding a flute. I also learnt how to play a bamboo flute and dabbled with some Carnatic notes on it. Though when I am in Denmark, I play Western notes.



Your thoughts on young Carnatic musicians in India...

The young generation of musicians here are extremely talented and dedicated to their craft. I really like the way they seat themselves during performances.

They sit straight and always wear a smile on their faces. You also feel a sense of

involvement in all their renditions.



What do you feel about India?

I would like to come here as often as I can. I am fascinated with India, its culture and the way of life here and I have begun reading more about the country.

I have studied Indian philosophy and converted to Buddism in the 70s. Frequent

performances and collaborations keep bringing me to this place. The last concert I did here was to raise funds for a group of underprivileged children. It was a delight to see the happiness and excitement on their faces. Small things like this give me joy.


One Billion Rising, a global movement in solidarity against exploitation of women, came to Bengaluru on Sunday. Organised by Swaraj Network, GATWU (Garment and Textile Workers Union), Amnesty International India, Alternative Law Forum, SICHREM, Samvada, #IWillGoOut (national network), Vimochana  Forum for Womens Rights, Sangama and several other groups, the event consisted of discussions on public spaces, women-related schemes, poetry readings, dance, music and other forms of artistic expression.



Some of the activities took place at Nayandahalli, Bhoo-pasandra and Halasuru before all the participants converged at Cubbon Park. The One Billion Rising campaign has been happening since 2012 across the globe, and this year, given the spirit of resistance that Bengalurus citizens have shown after the sexual assault that happened on New Years Eve, we felt it was important to go to different communities to discuss these issues. Today is about celebration and resistance, said Corinne Kumar, who is associated with Vimochana, one of the organisers of One Billion Rising.



The event drew people from different walks of life who expressed their solidarity and support for the cause. Besides womens exploitation, the campaign also spoke out against the ill treatment of farmers, the landless, Dalits, tribals, the disabled, the LGBTIQA community, women in unorganised sectors (sex workers, garment workers, domestic workers, construction workers, etc), ethnic and racial minorities and other marginalised groups.



Christy Raj, a transman and organiser from Sangama, said, We raised awareness on government schemes for women. I believe its important to be part of this movement against gender-based violence.


Governor Vajubhai Vala spoke about the need for peaceful coexistence among people of different religions, castes and races at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Peace Symposium 2017 here on Sunday.



People think that BJP members cannot be friends with Muslims and that they are always against each other. But my father was business partner with a Muslim and so was I, Vala said. He said that the peace process should begin at home, with men treating their wife and children with respect.



Today I read about US President Trumps speech in which he says that people from certain countries will not be allowed to enter the US. One good man is all it takes to uplift society but at the same time one man is all it takes to uproot society too, he said.



Leaders from various religious communities were present at the event. Father Victor Lobo of Bangalore Archdiocese, Prof Harjinder Singh Bhatia of Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha and Kasappa Mahathera, president of Maha Bodhi Society, were among those who attended the event.



Writer Baragur Ramachandrappa said, Muslims are often labelled as terrorists but it is wrong to stereotype an entire community in this manner. Terrorism does not have a religion.






Palaniyamma approached the tribunal and was awarded Rs 5 lakh as compensation in 2010. She moved the high court and got the compensation enhanced by Rs 4.29 lakh along with 6% interest. The TNSTC has paid only Rs 8 lakh. But the money is yet to reach her. Palaniyamma said no amount of money could give her arm back and the life that she had lost. I have to depend on my family for every chore. I cant wear clothes or take bath on my own. To this day, I have pain and take painkillers to suppress it, she said.



Her lawyer, Suresh M Latur, filed an appeal before the tribunal for execution of the compensation order. The tribunal directed the authorities to seize the bus and hand it over to Palaniyamma. She was 40 years old when she met with the accident, the family lost a working hand and that was one of the reasons the compensation was enhanced, Suresh said.



He said the next hearing was on Monday and if the TNSTC failed to pay up, Palaniyamma would be at liberty to sell the bus and redeem the compensation through the proceeds.



A 51-year-old woman, who lost her right arm in an accident caused by a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus 10 years ago, has been given custody of the same vehicle because she is yet to get compensation. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Bengaluru recently ordered attaching of the TNSTC bus and asked the accident victim, Palaniyamma, to keep it in her possession until she gets full compensation.Palaniyamma, a resident of Chamarajpet, had met with an accident while returning from Tamil Nadu in 2007. The driver lost control of the TNSTC bus while trying to overtake a private bus and crashed into that vehicle. The rash and negligent driving inflicted crush injuries on her right arm which had to be eventually amputated. She took loans to foot the medical bill.


A section of Congress leaders fears that the party may face the backlash of the dominant Vokkaliga community with former chief minister S M Krishna quitting the party.





Krishna, who hails from Maddur in Mandya district, is one of the prominent Vokkaliga leaders and still holds considerable influence over the community in the old Mysuru region.



The party may face the wrath of the Vokkaliga community if appropriate steps are not taken to contain the damage, a senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity. Vokkaligas are already said to be upset with the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah for not giving much importance to the community.



Krishna, who held a press conference, however, refused to comment whether his decision will damage the party.



Excerpts of Krishnas interaction with the media:



Media: Will the Congress face the backlash of the Vokkaliga community after your exit from the party?

S M Krishna: I never claimed that I am a Vokkaliga leader. As a leader, I tried to represent all sections of society. It is incidental that I am born in the Vokkaliga community.



Are you upset with the party government in the state for not performing up to the mark?

It is irrelevant. I have no differences with anybody in the state.



It is speculated in the media circles that you are eying at the post of Vice President of India?

Do you think I am mad?



Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said you are welcome to the BJP? What is your reaction?

I have not taken any decision on my future plans.



Dont you think you are ditching the Congress when it is in a bad condition?

I am not ditching the party. I am only quitting.



Do you think you were sidelined after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took control of the party?

Being a senior leader I used to follow the party president and not the vice president or a secretary. I think generations can change but values do not.



From when do you think the party started disrespecting senior leaders?

Initially, Sonia Gandhi had maintained a good rapport with the party workers. Now,

I am inclined to feel that the party depends more on managers.

DH News Service
The state governments plan to revive lakes in Bengaluru seems to have hit stalemate. Forget removing existing encroachments on lakes, the district administrative machinery is not even cracking down on potential land-grabbers. Officials say they cant take action until the government decides on the yet-to-be-submitted report of the legislature committee on lake encroachments headed by Speaker K B Koliwad. The inertia could prove costly as lakes on deathbed could be revived if the government and its various arms act swiftly.



Eshwarappa, who is associated with Peoples Campaign for Right to Water, said there were several lakes that faced fresh encroachment as the government agencies had become indifferent. We are seeing fresh encroachments happening everywhere. I have personally seen new encroachments at Ele Mallapa Shetty lake on Hoskote Road near KR Puram, Horamavu Agara lake, Benniganahalli lake, Subramanyapura lake, Chikka Kallasandra lake and Sarakki lake. We gave several representations to various agencies but to no avail. The government is not keen on lake conservation, he said.



The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has drawn an action plan for revival of seven lakes, including Sarakki and Subramanyapura lakes. It received the governments approval and called tenders. The Palike intends to set up sewage treatment plants, lay sewage diversion pipes, de-silt lakes and beautify them.



The biggest hurdle, however, is encroachment on these lakes. BBMP chief engineer (lakes) S Somashekar said he wrote to the district authorities to clear encroachments but there was no response. I tried to make several phone calls to the officials concerned but no one returned them. We want the tahsildars to demarcate the boundary of each lake and remove encroachments on it. But this is not happening, he said.



When contacted, Bengaluru South Tahsildar S M Shivakumar said, The legislature committee headed by Speaker K B Koliwad was constituted to look into lake encroachments. We are waiting for the government to take a decision once the report is submitted.



Koliwad maintained that there are no restrictions on the district authorities to crack down on lake encroachments. The survey has been conducted and encroachments have been identified. It is the duty of the executive (bureaucrats) to clear the encroachments. Nobody has stopped them. In fact, nobody had ever stopped them. We can only submit our report, which we will do in due course, he said.



Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar, who resigned from the committee last December in protest against Koliwad continuing to head the panel despite being elected Speaker, echoed him. These are just lame excuses. Nobody can stop the authorities from stopping fresh lake encroachments. They are empowered enough to act. He conceded that a majority of lakes were in a pathetic state but could be revived.


As messages started spreading on social media that youth and students were planning to congregate at Marina Beach, which witnessed massive pro-Jallikattu protests, the Tamil Nadu Police has imposed Section 144 CrPC in and around the beach area from Sunday.



Despite repeated warnings, messages continue to circulate on social media, asking people to gather at Marina Beach for various purposes. In the interest of the preservation of peace and tranquility in Chennai and to curtail the nefarious design of anti-socials and anti-nationals... a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC has been promulgated in Marina and the foreshore areas, a police statement read.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said his government was committed to the uplift of the Reddy community and would make efforts to include the community under 2A category of other backward classes (OBC).





Speaking after inaugurating the Reddy community convention organised at Palace Grounds here, Siddaramaiah said: To provide reservation to the community in education and employment, we will request the Centre to add them to the 2A category. A decision to instal the statue of Kyasamballi Chengalaraya Reddy, the first chief minister of Karnataka (then Mysore state), in front of Vidhana Soudha would be taken up after discussion with legal experts as the matter was in court.



Earlier, members from the community handed over a memorandum to the chief minister listing out several demands, including celebration of Hemareddy Mallamma Jayanti and Mahayogi Vemana Jayanti by the government, setting up of universities named after Mallamma and Vemana and inclusion of the community in 2A category.



Siddaramaiah promised the members of the community that the government would strive to meet their demands at the earliest. He said he would take a decision on including the Reddy community under 2A category, after receiving the report from the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission.



State BJP president

Yeddyurappa said his party would pressure the state and central governments to include the Reddy community under the 2A category.


Both donned the olive green with pride, had keen interest in mountaineering, were sharpshooters and even fought Pakistan in war. But in Patiala, former army captain Amarinder Singh and retired army chief Gen J J Singh will fight each other. The twist, however, is that Aam Aadmi Party candidate Dr Balbir Singh, an eye surgeon, has made the contest triangular, a tough one for Amarinder, whose wife and former Union minister Preneet Kaur is holding the bastion as he tours the state.



Just when the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) thought it could tie down J J Singhs opponent in Patiala, Amarinder raised the stake by announcing his candidature against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on the latters home turf in Lambi, besides J J Singh in Patiala. If seniority counts, Amarinder, who took premature retirement as a captain, is a year senior to Gen J J Singh.



A former Arunachal Pradesh Governor, it is J J Singhs debut election, but he has crafted many wins in the past, including the one in Kargil in 1999, where he played a major role as a strategist.



The veteran soldier is banking on some of his former colleagues in the war room. But its not just back end strategies that he is counting on. He sets off each morning meeting people and walking miles exchanging notes, interacting with people, shaking hands and seeking votes.



However, there is resentment among a section of SAD leaders over the generals fauji style of communication. The former army chief says he is out there to win. He takes a dig at Amarinder calling him a Maharaja who does not step out of his palace.



J J Singh discounts Amarinders military credentials saying he only held comfortable position of an aide-de-camp in the army. Amarinder, on the other hand, retorts that J J Singh became the army chief due to his seniority and not because of his calibre. Many claim for Amarinder, J J Singh is no match and that AAP candidate Dr Singh is a more formidable opponent.
Prosecutors have concluded questioning Egyptian MP and film director Khaled Youssef after he was stopped on Sunday from boarding a flight at Cairo International Airport for possessing 100 Xanax pills without a prescription, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

Youssef, who has been released on his own recognisance, was stopped from boarding a flight at Cairo International Airport for possessing 100 Xanax pills without a prescription, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

Security officials say that Youssef, who was set to board an EgyptAir flight to Paris, was stopped after the pills were discovered in his suitcase during security screening.

Youssef, who has been referred to the prosecution, says that he obtained the drug legally to give to his wife, who resides in Paris.

Youssef's doctor told prosecutors that the amount Youssef was carrying is the standard number of pills found in a large pack, which is not indicative of trafficking or addiction.

Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety, panic disorders and depression, is a schedule B controlled substance in Egypt and cannot be legally purchased without a doctors prescription.

Youssef won a seat in Qalyubia governorate's Kafr Shukr constituency in the second stage of the 2015parliamentary elections.

He is a member of parliament's left-leaning 25-30 bloc and an outspoken supporter of the 25 January Revolution that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

In December 2015, prominent TV host Ahmed Moussa aired images allegedly showing Youssef in sexual situations with a naked woman.

Youssef said at the time that the images are 100 percent fabricated.

Following the incident, dozens of Egyptian journalists endorsed a campaign demanding legal action be taken by the Journalists Syndicate against Moussa, a strong opponent of the January 25 Revolution.

Moussa later apologised for airing personal images of the director.

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Citing concerns on the national security front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a weak and callous government in Punjab will plunge the entire nation into a crisis given the vulnerability of Punjabs borders to terror from Pakistan. Modi said this at a rally seeking votes for the SAD-BJP alliance ahead of Assembly elections on February 4. The prime minister said Pakistan waits for an opportunity to use Punjab soil to destabilise India.



In an oblique reference to the AAP he said, If we form a bahari (outsider) government or an aaram pasand (easygoing) government here, it will not only damage Punjab but will push the entire nation into crisis.



In an attempt to dilute the anti-incumbency against the ruling Akali-BJP combine, Modi said the Congress-led Manmohan Singh government at the Centre did not let the Badal government function properly for eight years.



I thought that with a Sardar PM and a Sardar CM, Punjab would get everything, but for eight years the Congress created hurdles for the Badal government to function, he said.



The prime minister accused the Congress of labelling Sikhs and Punjabis first as terrorists during the dark days of militancy and later as drug addicts.






Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday held a joint roadshow in the walled areas of the state capital. The roadshow that started from the GPO Park, after the two leaders garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, passed through the old city areas of Kaiserbagh, Aminabad, Maulviganj, Rakabganj, Nakkhas and Chowk before culminating at a public meeting in Ghantaghar.



Huge support

People showered flower petals on the duo, who waived to the crowd atop their specially designed Vijay Rath (victory chariot). A large number of SP and Congress workers carrying their party flags accompanied Rahul and Akhilesh during their 12-km long roadshow.



Sources in the two parties said that the route of the roadshow had been prepared keeping in view the Muslim population in the state capital. The old city areas had a large Muslim population. Muslim men and women turned out in large numbers to greet the two leaders.



The duo launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and appealed to the people to support the Congress-SP alliance. Rahul referred to demonetisation and said that almost the entire banned currency had returned to the Reserve Bank of India making a mockery of the whole exercise.



Demonetisation was meant to help the rich industrialists, he said. The Congress leader praised the chief minister and said that he was not like Modi. Modiji always expressed his Mann ki Baat but Akhilesh listens to the Mann ki Baat of the people, he remarked.




A federal judge in Brooklyn came to the aid of scores of refugees and others who were trapped at airports across the United States on Saturday after an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which sought to keep many foreigners from entering the country, led to chaotic scenes across the globe.



The judges ruling blocked part of the presidents actions, preventing the government from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by Trumps order. But it stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trumps actions.



The high-stakes case played out on Saturday amid global turmoil, as the executive order signed by the president on Friday afternoon slammed shut the US borders for an Iranian scientist headed to a lab in Massachusetts, a Syrian refugee family headed to a new life in Ohio and countless others across the world.



The presidents order, enacted with the stroke of a pen at 4.42 pm on Friday, suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocked entry into the US for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



The Department of Homeland Security said the order barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States. In a briefing for reporters, White House officials said green card holders from the seven affected countries who were outside the United States would need case-by-case waivers to return.



Trump  in office just a week  found himself accused of constitutional and legal overreach by two Iraqi immigrants, defended by the American Civil Liberties Union. Meanwhile, large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce Trumps ban on the entry of refugees.



Lawyers who sued the government to block the White House order said the judges decision could affect an estimated 100 to 200 people who were detained upon arrival at American airports.



Judge Ann M Donnelly of the US District Court in Brooklyn, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, ruled just before 9 pm that implementing Trumps order by sending the travellers home could cause them irreparable harm. She said the government was enjoined and restrained from, in any manner and by any means, removing individuals who had arrived in the United States with valid visas or refugee status.



The ruling does not appear to force the administration to let in people otherwise blocked by Trumps order who have not yet travelled to the United States. The judges one-page ruling came swiftly after lawyers for the ACLU testified in her courtroom that one of the people detained at an airport was being put on a plane to be deported back to Syria at that very moment. A government lawyer, Gisela A Westwater, who spoke to the court by phone from Washington, said she simply did not know.


By Niv Sultan

24 January 2017 (Center or Responsive Politics)  Scott Pruitts confirmation hearing last week involved some pointed visual props. Making the case that Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who is President Trumps nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is cozy with the energy sector, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) held up a chart full of boxes and arrows. All the organizations listed on the top half of the chart had contributed to Pruitts electoral efforts. At one point, Whitehouse asked Pruitt if the donors had also given to Pruitts Oklahoma Strong Leadership PAC. Pruitts response: Im not sure about that, senator. Luckily for Pruitt, we at OpenSecrets Blog can help him out. In the 2016 election cycle, among the organizations on the chart that have PACs, none used them to contribute to Pruitts Oklahoma Strong. Individually, J. Larry Nichols, a co-founder and the chairman emeritus of Devon Energy, gave the leadership PAC $5,000 in 2015. Other PACs filled in where the groups on Whitehouses poster fell short, providing Oklahoma Strong with $40,000 in 2015-2016  40 percent of which came from organizations with connections to the energy sector. Alliance Coal kicked in $5,000, for example, and $1,000 came from Cozen OConnor, a law firm that has an energy, environmental and public utilities practice. [more]
A US raid in Yemen killed 41 suspected Al-Qaeda militants and 16 civilians on Sunday, an official said, in what would be America's first military action in the country under President Donald Trump.

Eight women and eight children were among those killed in the dawn raid in Yakla district, in the central province of Baida, said the provincial official, who did not want to be named, and tribal sources.

Sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to Al-Qaeda.

The provincial official said Apache helicopters also struck a school, a mosque and a medical facility which were all used by Al-Qaeda militants.

Other sources spoke of US commandos taking part in the operation, but it was not possible to verify the information.

The three prominent tribal figures killed in the attack were identified as brothers Abdulraouf and Sultan al-Zahab and Saif Alawai al-Jawfi, the official and other sources said.

They were known for their strong links to Al-Qaeda, the sources said.

The Zahab brothers have two other Al-Qaeda brothers who were also killed in the past by drone strikes.

An Al-Qaeda chief in the region, who was identified as foreigner Abu Barazan, was also killed in the attack, the official said.

The military operation is the first to be attributed to the United States against militants in Yemen since Trump took office on January 20.

Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected militants in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan.

The United States considers the extremist group's Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

Although it only sporadically reports on a long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to be operating drones over Yemen.

On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing of a senior Al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State militants group have exploited a power vacuum created by the two-year-old conflict in Yemen between the government and Shiite Huthi rebels, especially in the country's south and southeast.

Baida province is mostly controlled by the Houthis, but Yakla is ruled by the tribes, and has at least two training bases for Al-Qaeda, local sources said.

Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have mounted offensives against jihadists in the south, but the militants remain active in several areas.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 7,400 people since a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened to support Hadi in March 2015, according to the World Health Organization.

But UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said last week that as many as 10,000 civilians may have died.

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Spent time this week studying famous birthdays and events on Jan. 31.

For example, on Jan. 31,

1851 -- Gail Borden announced development of condensed milk;

1865 -- The 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery) to the U.S. Constitution became law;

1905 -- A. G. McDonald became the first driver to exceed 100 mph at Daytona Beach, Fla.;

1928 -- Scotch Tape entered the marketplace;

1944 -- Operation Overlord was postponed until June (6th as D-Day turned out);

1964 -- A report linking smoking to lung cancer was published; and

1999 -- Denver beat Atlanta, 34-19, in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami.

While the above landmarks continue impacting many of us, theres one omitted event thats touched more lives than anyone can count.

On Monday, Jan. 31, 1927, Seroba (Bowdoin) Marsh was born, without a clue that beginning in 1947, shed teach school younguns for 69 years.

After teaching at City School several years, the lady so many still call Miss Marsh opened the (aptly-colored) Gingerbread House Kindergarten in a block building behind her Park Avenue Home.

Gingerbread House likely opened Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1955, when 30 of us arrived for Miss Marsh to teach us what every kindergartner should know.

Thirty younguns were too many for the building to hold, so we were divided into morning and afternoon classes, and we were off and running toward the rest of our lives.

That first day was most memorable because your scribe met children who quickly became life-long friends.

Bill Brunson, Harold Stanley, Sally Grimes, Fran Forehand, Paula Donaldson, Martha McCreary, Jeff Persse, Kris Holzapfel, Charlotte Thorpe and the late Hazel Henderson - folks who didnt go to First Methodist Church - almost instantly became friends a little fellow and the man he became always missed seeing even for a weekend.

Other students in the inaugural class were Mary Rollins, Burns Whittaker, Joe Bynum, Neal and Nita Griswold, Jim Hildreth, and Terry Jones, First Methodist friends, who saw each other six of every seven days until the first Gingerbread House Commencement Exercises were held Wednesday, May 16, 1956, at Hillcrest Elementary School.

Its impossible to recall every lesson we learned from Miss Marsh, but an N on our report card meant Needs Improvement, and the dreaded N appeared on your scribes record under the heading Works well with others, and some other places.

If Coloring within the lines was on the card, no doubt an N showed up there, too.

One of the coolest parts of attending Gingerbread House was living within 100 yards of it and walking  and running when it rained  along a self-made, meandering trail through a field of briars, brambles and honeysuckle vines.

Today, having never lived more than three miles from Miss Marsh has meant refresher courses on topics she taught us have always been readily available.

In addition to being our first teacher, Miss Marsh was also your scribes first employer.

The job occurred one brutally sultry, summer day, circa 1959, when she paid her former student 50 cents for a small chore: removing a bloated, dead cat from under her house.

Even that was more than OK since Miss Marsh needed it done.

Happy birthday Miss Marsh and thank you for 62 personal years of learning and love!
By KIM COOK  Associated Press

While comfortable clothes and the right teacher are important, a cool mat can make yoga more enticing and enjoyable.

Forget that plain, boring slab of rubber; yoga mats now come in a variety of designs. You can stretch on a faux sand beach or rippling lake, or do your cobra on a faux Persian carpet.

Here's a roundup of some of the most stylish mats (choosing a favorite may be harder than aligning your chakras):

___

Yoga Design Lab's Horizon mat features a photo print of a sunset over gently lapping waves. The Tribeca Sand mat has a prismatic pattern in warm jewel hues. (www.yogadesignlab.com)

Scenic vistas are also brought to you by Yogamatic, where waterfalls, beaches and deserts are depicted in vibrant digital prints. One mat with a hypnotic image of swimming carp is by Los Angeles photographer Jennifer Cawley. Or her sepia-toned image of Edward, a teddy bear plopped on a comfy-looking bed, would help soothe a stressed-out stretcher. City dwellers might like the views of the Chicago or Manhattan skylines. A portion of sales of a mat printed with luscious orange slices goes to New York's Food Bank. (www.yogamatic.com)

Designer Sophie Lenninger of Oakland, California, creates eye-catching mats, including one referencing Uzbek Suzani patterns in a palette of pink, green and aqua. Aztec motifs of rain clouds and cactus flowers enliven her El Nino mat. And she's got a range of mats for children too, in happy Hawaiian, Southwest and Provencal prints. (www.magiccarpetym.com)

Surfboard artist Drew Brophy has illustrated some kids mats with hip 60s-style prints of suns, rainbows, turtles and waves. (www.spiritualrevolutionyoga.com)

Brooklynite Kyle deWoody, founder and creative director of gallery and art shop Grey Area, commissioned work from seven artists for a collection of yoga mats. Among them are Daniel Arsham's haunting tonal image of the moon in inky outer space, and Eric Cahan's sunset over East Hampton, which creates a meditative mood. (www.thegreyarea.com)

Yoloha Yoga's cork mats, with simple, laser-engraved dream catcher and wildflower designs, can be personalized. (www.yolohayoga.com)

You can store your rolled-up mat in a neat bag, like the one from Brogamats that looks like a log. Or channel your inner Hunger Games character by toting your mat in a bag that looks like a leather quiver. (www.brogamats.com)

Some pretty mat bags and yoga ball covers are made by the Thai and Nepali women artisans of Global Groove, a fair trade organization. There are ikat, peacock and geometric prints in low-key color palettes, all made of 100-percent cotton. (www.alternativesglobalmarketplace.com)
Klondyke Gospel Music Center, located between Newton and Ozark at 3885 Highway 123 S., will host: The Cokers from Nashville, Tennessee, Feb. 3; Crimson City Quartet from Mobile, Feb. 4; Straight & Narrow Bluegrass from Black, Feb. 11; Heartline Trio from Prattville, Feb. 18; Jordans River from Rockledge, Georgia, Feb. 25. Music starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, contact Ron Jeffers, president and concert coordinator, at 334-797-9862.

The Hoppers will be in concert on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. in the wellness center at the Baptist College of Florida in Graceville. Over the years, The Hoppers have received numerous accolades and have also been popular guest performers on the Gaither Homecoming Tour. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and tickets for the evening can be purchased for $12 in the colleges business office by calling 850- 263-3261 ext. 418 or by visiting www.baptistcollege.edu. All seating will be general admission.

Burdeshaw Street Church will host appreciation services for the churchs pastor, Wilbert Dawsey, and his wife, Alice Dawsey, on Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. with Pastor Larry Butler of Friendship Freewill Church in Dothan and at 2:30 p.m. with Pastor Jackson Glover of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Pinckard.

St. Paul Baptist Church, 5058 County Road 46, Abbeville, will celebrate Family & Friends Day on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 11 a.m. The Rev. James C. Turner is the pastor and will deliver the Family & Friends Day message.

Maple Avenue Baptist Church will host the next 39ers C.L.U.B. luncheon meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 11 a.m. The church is at 1009 W. Maple Ave. in Geneva. The acrostic means Christians Living Under the Blood! The non-denominational 39ers C.L.U.B. is open to anyone and is held once a month on the second Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. until noon. The cost for the luncheon is $5 per person. If you have been involved in the 39ers C.L.U.B., contact your table hostess by Tuesday, Feb. 7, to make or cancel your reservation. If you would like to be a part of the 39ers C.L.U.B. and have never been before, call the church office at 334-684-9617 by Tuesday, Feb. 7. The February meeting will be a musical program presented by Kim Tate, a member of Carmel Assembly of God Church of Bonifay, Florida.

Rhonda G. Berrys stage play "I Know Where I Have Been; Now, I Know Where I Am Going" will be performed on Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. Lively Stones Ministries Worship Center, located at 2622 U.S. 231 S. in Ozark. The play will feature local soloists, actors/actresses, loads of laughter, wisdom deposits, heart-jerking moments and spiritual-filled dialogues. Free admission.

Glory To Him Church, 6193 Andrews Ave., Ozark, will host motivational speaker Reggie Dabbs on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m. Reggie Dabbs is a widely sought-after speaker who helps people of all ages and backgrounds meet their problems head-on and overcome them by sharing his own story of tragedy, redemption and hope through Jesus. This event is open to the public and everyone is welcome. For more information, call 334-774-7677 or visit www.reggiedabbsonline.com or www.gthchurch.com.

Aglow International Meeting will be held Saturday, Feb. 18, at 10 a.m. at Po Folks in Enterprise. Guest speaker will be Rose Stephens from Dothan. For more information, call 334-406-9683.

Cloverdale United Methodist Church at 102 Rollins Ave. in Dothan will celebrate their 63rd Homecoming on Feb. 19. The special speaker will be the Rev. Mark Lilly. Services will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a covered dish lunch following the morning worship service.

Balkum Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 10014 County Road 53, Headland, will hold a 10th Appreciation service for Pastor James E. and Charlo Melton on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2:30 p.m. Guest speaker will be the Rev. Wilbert Dawsey, pastor of Burdeshaw Street Missionary Baptist Church in Dothan. All pastors and their churches are invited. Dinner will be served in the fellowship hall.

Glory To Him Church, 6193 Andrews Ave., Ozark, will be celebrating its 30th Church Anniversary on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. with a special service featuring guest speaker, Dr. Jesse Duplantis. Known throughout the world as the Apostle of Joy, Jesse Duplantis has been sharing a memorable mix of strong, biblical preaching and hilarious life lessons every week on television for years. His unique way of ministering the Gospel and making Jesus real to all generations has made him one of the most loved ministers today. This event is open to the public and everyone is welcome. For more information, call 334-774-7677 or visit www.jdm.org or www.gthchurch.com.

Pleasant Shade Missionary Baptist Church will host the Iron Sharpening Iron Conference on Feb. 22 and Feb. 24-25. The conference begins Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. and continues on Friday, Feb. 24, from 6-8 p.m., and culminates on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The Revs. Kevin Griffin, Trevor Woolridge and E. Steven Richardson are collaborating to offer teaching that is biblical and relevant to the changing of lives through an abundant relationship with Christ.

Shady Grove Baptist Church in Dothan will hold a Church Anniversary service on Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m. The church is at 1547 Lucy Grade Road. Guest pastor will be Christopher Scott, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, and music will be provided by Antioch Choir. All churches invited. Lunch served from 1-2 p.m.
As Houston County Commission chairman, Robert Crowder focused on changing the commissions image.

It was more than a board that looked after the countys roads, current chairman Mark Culver said. Crowder helped make it a governing body on equal footing with other organizations.

Culver said both he and Crowder were elected to the commission in 1986, Culver as a commissioner and Crowder as chairman. Although its membership changed, Culver said Crowder was able to keep the commission pointed in the right direction.

Crowder died at his home in Taylor under hospice care on Friday. He was 67.

Culver was appointed chairman in 1997 when Crowder left the commission to become executive director of the Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging.

Vickie Murphy, who served as Crowders secretary at SARCOA for almost 20 years, described him as a giving man who planned things through.

Our program grew tremendously because of Robert Crowders vision, Murphy said.

Under his watch the program evolved and moved from downtown Dothan to a new facility on Brannon Stand Road.

Murphy said Crowder was a strong advocate for seniors in the seven counties SARCOA serves and changed the direction of aging programs in Alabama.

He made contributions to programs across the state and nation through various boards on which he served, including the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging and the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Crowder believed that it was important to understand the aging environment at the regional and national level in order to advance SARCOAs mission.

Culver said Crowder helped start the senior center in Taylor when he was mayor and was active in working with and helping seniors when he became commission chairman and later the head of SARCOA.

It wasnt just a job to him, Culver said. He did it because he loved them and he had a great reputation around the state for being a leader for senior rights.

Murphy said Crowder was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and retired from SARCOA on Aug. 31, 2016.

Crowders father served in the military and he moved around the country with his family while growing up. They settled in the Dothan area and Crowder graduated from Dothan High School and Auburn University.

After terms as mayor and county commission chairman, he worked with SARCOA to support causes for seniors.

According to information from SARCOA:

Crowder fought to secure Tobacco Settlement money for Alabamas elderly via the Frail Elderly and Disabled Medicaid Waiver program.

He was instrumental in promoting legislation to establish and fund the Senior Citizens Trust Fund to ensure sufficient funds for the needs of the ever-increasing senior population.

He helped to re-establish the Alabama Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Crowder served on the Governors Long-Term Care Task Force and served as past President of the Alabama Gerontological Society (AGS).

He was inducted into the Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in 2009.

Locally, senior centers in Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties have exercise equipment, computers and Internet access due to Crowders vision and persistence.

Crowder was instrumental in securing additional local funding for the senior centers and achieved a funded grant for the Enhanced In-Home Service program, which provided homebound participants with additional food via the Brown Bag program and also provided additional transportation for medical appointments.

Through his leadership, the Hungry to Help Program was established giving sponsors the vehicle through which to provide nutritious meals to an elderly neighbor, a senior friend, or a disabled loved one.

Because of Crowders vision the Wiregrass Senior Resource Center was established.

Crowder worked directly with numerous senior citizen groups, service delivery agencies, city and county political entities and numerous other resource groups to meet the needs of seniors.

The SARCOA staff grew from 10 employees to 70 during Crowders tenure.

The family will receive friends at Ward-Wilson Funeral Home from 5-7 p.m. Sunday.

The funeral will be 2 p.m. Monday at Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Taylor. Burial will follow in Memory Hill Cemetery.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds was taken prisoner by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

In January 1945, when he heard the Germans announce that all Jewish prisoners of war in Stalag IXA were to report the following morning, he issued an order.

Edmonds, the highest ranking soldier in the American section of the camp, ordered all of his more than 1,000 men  Jews and non-Jews alike  to report that morning.

When the camp commander saw that all the prisoners were standing in front of their barracks, he turned to Edmonds and said They cannot all be Jews! Edmonds replied, We are all Jews.

Edmonds was threatened at gunpoint but did not waver.

According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank and serial number, Edmonds told the German officer. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes.

The German commander backed down and around 200 Jewish soldiers stayed in captivity with the others until they were liberated shortly afterward.

Edmonds son Chris, the pastor at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., said he found out about his fathers courageous act in 2009 while searching his fathers name on the Internet.

He found an article from the New York Times written in 2008 about former President Nixons search for a home in New York in the late 1970s, several years after he announced his resignation.

It mentioned Lester Tanner, one of the prisoners held at the Ziegenhain stalag who told the story of Edmonds defying the camp commander.

Because of his actions, Edmonds father was the first American serviceman to be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.

When Edmonds was recognized posthumously in late 2015, more than 26,000 individuals and only four other Americans had received the title that recognizes non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Edmonds shared his fathers story as guest speaker at the Holocaust Remembrance Day service at Temple Emanu-El in Dothan Saturday night. He is scheduled to speak at Trinity Baptist Church in Headland at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Edmonds said his father entered the service at age 21 and became a master sergeant in a little over a year.

These men Ive talked to said they really respected him, Edmonds said. They said he really was a great leader for them, but also that he cared about them.

His father was 24 years old when the camp confrontation happened.

He cared about his men and wanted to protect them, Edmonds said. He took his responsibility with the Army pretty seriously.

Tanner told Yad Vashem that they were aware that Germans were murdering Jews and that the order to separate the Jews from the other POWs meant that the Jews were in great danger.

The U.S. Armys standing command to its ranking officers in POW camps is that you resist the enemy and care for the safety of your men to the greatest extent possible, Tanner said. Master Sergeant Edmonds, at the risk of his immediate death, defied the Germans with the unexpected consequences that the Jewish prisoners were saved.

Edmonds said his father, who died in 1985, never told his family about the incident at the stalag.

My dad was a very humble guy, Edmonds said. The only person he ever bragged on was God.
US President Donald Trump will speak by phone with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, amid an uproar over his travel ban for some Muslim majority countries.

Trump also will talk to the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, the White House said Saturday in a brief statement.

The new Republican president, who took office on January 20, first will speak with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the afternoon.

The next call will be with the crown prince of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE are among the seven Muslim majority countries affected by Trump's sweeping executive order Friday barring visas for 90 days to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The migrant crackdown, which also included a 120-day suspension of the US refugee resettlement program, sparked protests across the United States on Saturday.

A federal judge late Saturday blocked part of the temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

Trump's planned phone call with South Korea's acting president comes as North Korea steps up its nuclear and missile capabilities. Pyongyang's missile program and its pursuit of nuclear arms have drawn repeated sanctions from the UN Security Council.

Regime leader Kim Jong-Un said in a New Year speech that the country was in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Such an ICBM could theoretically target the United States.

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Jordan's King Abdullah II is to begin a working visit to Washington on Monday, three days after President Donald Trump temporarily banned entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries and suspended the refugee resettlement program.

State media have said the king would meet with administration officials and members of Congress, but did not mention a White House visit.

Pro-Western Jordan isn't among the countries slapped with the 90-day travel ban, imposed over security concerns, but views refugee resettlement to the U.S. and other countries as a way of easing its own burden; Jordan hosts more than 650,000 displaced Syrians.

Analyst Fahed Khitan said Sunday that a possible U.S. shift in the military campaign against Islamic State extremists will likely be an issue. Jordan belongs to a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition.

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In his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing two weeks ago, Trumps pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that:

The risk of climate change does exist, and the consequences could be serious enough that action should be taken.

While still head of the oil-giant ExxonMobil a few short weeks ago, the same Rex TIllerson told a crowd gathered in London that:

We [ExxonMobil] have long supported a carbon tax as the best policy of those being considered. Replacing the hodge-podge of current, largely ineffective regulations with a revenue-neutral carbon tax would ensure a uniform and predictable cost of carbon across the economy.

Given ExxonMobils shady past when it comes to climate change, Tillersons words are likely seen as empty rhetoric by many political observers. And considering Trumps recent executive orders to restart the process of constructing the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, it seems highly probable that is the case.

Despite what Tillersons intentions may or may not be, I guarantee the Secretary of States words sent a chill down the spine of Trump transition team members like Myron Ebell , who see a tax on carbon pollution as the devil incarnate, and outright deny that climate change is even a problem.

Late last year Ebell was elevated in stature after being appointed by then President-elect Trump to head his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team. Ebell, whose views on climate change and environmental regulations are considered far-right even amongst the right-wing, has not enjoyed this much attention in years.

When the world started to wake up to the realities of climate change and world leaders of all political persuasions began taking the issue seriously, Ebell and the rest of the climate deniers were relegated to the fringe of the fringe, where their proof of the big climate hoax only found traction amongst a small audience of conspiracy theorists and white grumpy old men.

One can assume that Donald Trump, who stated in 2015 that he doesnt believe in climate change, was seen as a Messiah to those running in Ebells climate denier circles.

Unfortunately for Ebell, things just arent going the way he envisioned. In an Ebell world, Trump and his top appointees would be out on the hustings pushing the climate denier talking points about how it was warmer in the Medieval warming period and that the United Nations is using climate change to take over the world.

Last week there were rumors that the Trump Administration had ordered the EPA to remove all mentions of climate change from the departments website. But by the afternoon on the same day that plan was suspended until further notice. Weve been told to stand down, an EPA employee told E&E News. It wouldnt be a stretch to suppose that this was a direct order from Ebell that was hastily reversed by some higher-ups.

Ouch.

Besides Tillerson, other top Trumpites (copyright pending) are softening their stance on the issue of climate change.

Trumps Energy Secretary pick Rick Perry, stated in his Senate nomination hearing the other week that:

I believe the climate is changing. I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is also caused by man-made activity. The question is how do we address it in a thoughtful way that doesnt compromise economic growth, the affordability of energy, or American jobs.

Not the most ringing endorsement for action on climate change, but like Rex Tillersons statements on the issue, a far cry from where Ebell and the alt-right environmental extremists want this new administration to be.

And nobody knows it more than Myron Ebell himself, that when it comes to the politics of climate change, words really do matter.

Myron Ebell is the product of a far-right think tank called the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) who for many years enjoyed a solid stream of funding from big oil companies like ExxonMobil and the notorious Koch Brothers.

Back in the day under the George W. Bush Administration, Ebell and the crew at CEI were right in the mix as the U.S. government and big corporations were looking for ways to weasel out of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol (an earlier rendition of the Paris climate agreement).

In 2003 for instance, Ebell claimed that:

Kyoto is dead and has been dead, but that doesnt mean that it hasnt done some real damage and wont continue to do some real damage, If global warming turns out to be a problem, which I doubt, it wont be solved by making ourselves poorer through energy rationing.

In 2007, Ebell headed a group called the Cooler Heads Foundation whose funding came from a network of supportive alt-right organizations, many of whom were recipients of big money from fossil fuel companies. Cooler Heads stated purpose was to dispel the myths of global warming by exposing flawed economic, scientific, and risk analysis.

The impact of the work by climate deniers, the think tanks they worked for and the companies like ExxonMobil that funded them has been pretty devastating. These climate denial spin doctors had a major impact on the pace at which countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and China moved to take action on climate change.

But as superpowers like the U.S. and China finally started taking the issue of climate change seriously, the conspiratory stances of groups like CEI and Myron Ebell started to fall out of fashion. The microscope under which companies found themselves when it came to their carbon pollution outputs was intensifying. In 2006, ExxonMobil publicly announced that they had pulled their funding from CEI.

Down but not out, Ebell continued his climate denial crusade for the next decade.

Heres an absolutely devastating takedown of Ebell in 2006 by BBC host Jeremy Paxman, which I wrote about at the time and viewed as an epoch in the climate denial movement. The media was slowly but surely starting to wake up to the fact that people like Ebell had no actual qualifications in the science of climate change and were nothing more than spin doctors working at the behest of their big oil funders.

After enduring a decade on the fringe, Ebell is now in the spotlight again with his endorsement from Trump. But that spotlight seems to fading quickly by the looks of things. And while I am in no way optimistic that Trump and his team will do anything meaningful on the issue of climate change, it is a teeny-tiny victory that at the very least major players on team Trump like Rick Perry and Rex Tillerson are acknowledging that the problem exists.

But this tiny little glimmer of hope for people like me whove worked on the issue of climate change for more than a decade, is a serious body blow to someone like Myron Ebell who appears to be quickly being pushed under the rug by the Trump Administration, back to the alt-right fringe where he belongs.
AURELIUS  Cayuga County school district superintendents, board of education members and other education leaders met with state representatives Saturday to express their budget concerns.

The educators advocated for legislators to alter elements of the state's 2007-2008 Foundation Aid formula to bring additional funds to their respective school districts, at a meeting with state Sen. John DeFrancisco, state Sen. Pam Helming, state Assemblyman Gary Finch and state Assemblyman Bob Oaks.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2017-18 executive budget announced earlier this month includes a proposed $1 billion increase in education aid, including a moderate bump to Cayuga County districts.

For example, the Auburn Enlarged City School District would be given a 2.3 percent increase from the 2016-2017 foundation aid total with $29,179,205 for this year, but the budget has not been finalized.

Dr. Rick Timbs, executive director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium, gave a presentation regarding the state's foundation aid formula and other issues.

Among different things Timbs discussed regarding the formula, Timbs said funds among school districts should be given out more equitably, based on accurate data regarding the poverty level and fiscal capacity of the districts and the necessity of a reasonable financial plan, and making state aid for each school district more predictable.

He also said the state owes the school districts $340 million in prior years' state aid claims.

Auburn superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo said during the question-and-answer session with the legislators that the district currently has a $4 million deficit.

Pirozzolo has previously said that the district is planning on using $1.6 million from reserves to mend some of the deficit, plus cutting some equipment lines like vans and tractors and a budget freeze could help the district gain another $400,000.

As Pirozzolo noted at the meeting, the district would still be left with a $2 million deficit, which may cause the district to cut some employees.

Port Byron Central School District Superintendent Neil O'Brien said the data from the state's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates does not match up with data from other sources saying the district has a higher poverty level than is characterized by SAIPE.

"The truth of the matter is the fact Port Byron is adversely impacted by the unfairness of the state aid formulas by being incorrectly classified," O'Brien said in an email.

In her remarks, Helming invoked her time as a Canandaigua Town Supervisor, saying she has experience dealing with the state government.

"I know first-hand what it's like to be challenged by the state, not knowing what you're going to get year to year," Helming said.

Helming expressed hope in finding a balance to the aid formula that makes sense for everyone.

DeFrancisco said Cuomo was announcing new projects while ignoring old projects

"The point is, you've got to be able to afford it first," DeFrancisco said after the forum.

During the meeting, DeFrancisco said it was important to cooperate with the governor and not "poke him in the eye," in his words, over the foundation aid issues.

DeFrancisco said that while some steps have been made, the foundation aid still requires some tweaks.

At the end of the forum, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES District Superintendent Denise Dzikowski said she felt the districts don't have enough resources to properly educate the children, adding that the young learners are the future of the state.

"If we're not preparing them, not educating them, what will the state's future look like?," she said.
Airlines operating at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport have begun implementing measures in compliance with U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, airport sources said on Sunday.

The measures would include denying U.S.-bound travel for nationals from those countries - Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen - who were not U.S. green card holders, the sources said.

U.S.-bound journeys from Beirut typically involve transfers in Europe, Turkey or Gulf Arab countries.

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Considered to be the Ten Best UFO Photos Ever Taken I am sure that we could add more pictures to this list but these are considered ten o...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for US President Donald Trump to make good on his campaign pledge to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Departing from a long-standing US position, Trump promised he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the American mission there, a pledge that drew a fierce rebuke from Palestinian officials and concern from the European Union.

"The US embassy must move here to Jerusalem," Netanyahu said after his weekly cabinet meeting.

"Jerusalem is Israel's capital and it would be good if the American embassy wasn't the only one to move here... I think that with time the majority of embassies will move to Jerusalem," he was quoted as saying by his office.

The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.

The city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

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An Arab League official said Sunday the organisation hopes US President Donald Trump will retract his campaign pledge to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"The position expressed by President Trump while campaigning needs to be more cautious," Assistant Secretary General for Palestinian Affairs Said Abu Ali told reporters in Cairo.

Departing from Washington's long-standing position, Trump promised to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the American mission there, a vow that drew a fierce rebuke from Palestinian officials and concern from the European Union.

The city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967, later annexing east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

"We look to the new US administration to reconsider its position so it can better act as an objective sponsor of the peace process," Abu Ali said.

Earlier Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Trump to keep his campaign pledge.

"Jerusalem is Israel's capital and it would be good if the American embassy wasn't the only one to move here... I think that with time the majority of embassies will move to Jerusalem," he was quoted as saying by his office.

The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.

"Transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem would be aggression against the rights of the Palestinian people in their eternal capital east Jerusalem," Abu Ali said.

He said it would violate UN Security Council resolutions and be "a retreat from the historical American position" on the city's status.

Two days after Trump's inauguration, the White House appeared to play down suggestions that such a move was imminent, however.

"We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," press secretary Sean Spicer told AFP.

Trump's pick for the new US ambassador to Israel, hardliner David Friedman, is a staunchly pro-Israel lawyer who opposes the two-state solution.

Trump has said "there's nobody more pro-Israeli than I am", and Friedman has said he looks forward to working from "Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem".

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Washington faced a growing backlash in Baghdad on Sunday to its decision to bar citizens of Iraq, a key partner in the war against jihadists, from entering the United States.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering the US for at least 90 days, a move he billed as an effort to make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists".

The move has sparked anger in Iraq, whose forces have been fighting against the Islamic State group with American assistance for more than two years, and led to calls for a reciprocal ban on US citizens.

"We clearly demanded that the Iraqi government deal reciprocally in all issues... with the United States of America," Hassan Shwairid, the deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee, told AFP.

Because of its role in fighting IS, Iraq is worthy of special treatment rather than restrictions, Shwairid said.

"It is not possible for Iraq to fight (IS) today on behalf of all countries of the world (and) be dealt with like other countries," the lawmaker said.

Shwairid said that the call did not apply to the thousands of American military personnel in the country as part of the US-led coalition against IS.

It "is not related to the soldiers because they are present in the framework of the forces of the international coalition", he said.

A foreign ministry official said that meetings were ongoing to determine Iraq's response.

"Intensive meetings are taking place now and a crisis cell was formed in the foreign ministry to discuss the stance of the American administration," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Sunday, the Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful paramilitary umbrella organisation that includes Iran-backed Shiite militias that fought against American forces in past years, called for US citizens to be banned from the country.

"After the decision of the American president to prohibit the entry of Iraqi citizens to the United States of America, we demand Americans be prevented from entering Iraq, and the removal of those of them who are present," the Hashed said in a statement.

The statement did not specify if the call applied to American military personnel in Iraq, and the Hashed al-Shaabi's spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment.

Both units from the Hashed and American troops are deployed in the Mosul area as part of the operation to retake the city from IS, and heightened anti-US sentiment among militiamen could increase the danger to Washington's forces.

The Hashed al-Shaabi has played a significant role in halting IS's sweeping 2014 offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, and later in pushing the jihadists back.

But it has also faced repeated accusations of abuses including summary executions, kidnappings and destruction of property in the course of the war against IS.

Trump's travel restrictions also drew condemnation from populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, America's bete noir for much of its 2003-2011 war in Iraq.

"You enter Iraq and other countries with all freedom and prevent their entry into your country," Sadr, the scion of a powerful clerical family who rose to widespread fame due to his condemnation of and violent resistance to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, said in a statement.

Sadr condemned this as "arrogance" and told the US to "get your nationals out before removing expatriates".

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Dragon Ball Super will be brought to new heights (by Toei Animation) in next few days thanks to its upcoming 'Universal Survival' saga. As the anime ended its explosive 'Future Trunks' arc, fans were curious about how the shonen series would step up its game.

So, the people behind Dragon Ball Super have decided that a life-or-death martial arts tournament was the way to go. However, instead of just one life being at risk, warriors will find themselves fighting in order to protect their universes.

Naturally, Goku is the one behind the whole ordeal. Thanks to a new synopsis for Dragon Ball Super's 77th episode, fans can have a peek and find out how the 'Universal Survival' arc begins - and it all gets started because of the clueless Saiyan.

The episode's synopsis

Goku trains with Whis so he can be back in shape and remembers that the Omni-King said he'd hold a martial arts tournament involving every universe. He immediately uses the button he got from Omni-King to go discuss it with him.

The Universe's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin. Goku's totally unafraid of Omni-King, and that makes Beerus and co. biting their fingernails.

Beerus, Clearly, and Whis know something that Goku doesn't when it comes to Zen-Oh. Even though Goku knows all about Omni-King's limitless powers thanks to his participation in the 'Future Trunks' saga, very few things can shake the hero from his goals when fighting is involved.

Dragon Ball Super story arc is set to start with the 'Universal Survival' saga next month. The Omni-Kings' "Tournament of Power" martial arts tournament between universes now starts, at Goku's request. However, this also turns out to be the beginning of universal destruction.

What the victors of this tournament can expect? And what about the defeated? How will these intense team fights between the elites of each universe end?
Prince Charles is busy at work to improve his public image and tone down some negativity. The future King of England is attempting a more "hands-on approach" even as he is trying for the transition that he wants.

Through his public appearances and royal engagements, he is building up his reputation as the "future king of England." He is attempting to communicate with his fans and attempting to defuse a "stiff, out-of-touch royal" image who is not in touch with the British public.

To many observers, he seemed to be in a good mood and spirits as he strolled around the multi-faceted Narborough Street. There were a number of people from diverse nationalities that he talked to, and he also got a bit of baklava at a Turkish restaurant.

Prince Charles also went inside a business in Leicester and talked to store owners, strolling and speaking to community groups before he ambled on to Narborough Road in Leicester. He shook everyone's hands, and seemed humble and approachable.

The scene shows Prince Charles' approachability. Nowadays, he seems to be quite vocal about a number of subjects. He has spoken a lot about climate change. In fact, US President Donald Trump is reported to be reluctant to meet Prince Charles, while visiting the UK later this year.

A source said, according to Royal Central, "Trump's people are worried about an awkward moment, with Prince Charles saying 'Why don't you believe in climate change?" They do not want the President put in an awkward position where he's being lectured. They want horses down the Mall, tea with William & Kate. They want all that pomp and for it to go seamlessly, and one of the risk factors is Charles."

Prince Charleshas also expressed concern at a Lambeth House reception regarding religious persecution of Christians in the Middle East. It seems to have been totally overtaken by UK's obsession with Brexit, rather than any other issue, according to Daily Mail.

Departing from his mother, Queen Elizabeth's behaviour, he included politics in his Christmas speech, and essayed it as part of the BBC's Thought of the Day program. He spoke a lot about existing problems in the Middle East and the need for more tolerance.

Of course, it still isn't time for Prince Charles to take over the reins. Queen Elizabeth does not seem to be ready retire anytime soon.

YouTube/Aid to the Church in Need
For a twist on Chinas capital control theme, it will be interesting to watch the progress of Chinese IPOs in Hong Kong this year. The broker Guotai Junan Securities will present an interesting litmus test.

China has clamped down on capital outflows, most obviously in outbound M&A, but has been increasing the volume and the speed of domestic share sale approvals. But how about listings outside China? Just as China is promoting offshore bond issuance, it also seems to be sanguine about listings in Hong Kong. It appears that raising funds outside the motherland is fine; sending funds outside the motherland is not.

The most closely watched in the near term will be Guotai Junan, which enjoyed a spectacular domestic debut in Shanghai in June, rising 44% on its first day of trading (the maximum permitted). A draft prospectus filed in Hong Kong on January 19 confirmed Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Guotai Junan Capital and SPDB International for a likely $2 billion H-share listing in the first half of 2017.

Pipeline

Guotai Junan follows a number of Chinese banks and securities firms into Hong Kong, most recently Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank, which raised HK$3 billion ($386 million) on January 6 (with Guotai Junan International as sole sponsor). Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank is also in line for an IPO and lodged a prospectus in Hong Kong in January. Others in the pipeline may include China United Insurance and Ping An Securities.

Continued fervour for H-shares is, on the face of it, good news for international banks. The presence of BAML and Goldman on Guotai Junans H-share listing is in contrast to the A-share in June, where China Galaxy Securities, Huarong Securities, Ping An Securities, Huatai United Securities and Southwest Securities were the underwriters. Fees in the draft prospectus remain redacted, but generally a Hong Kong IPO still pays pretty well.

But even in Hong Kong it is not a certainty that internationals get on to the big deals. For Guangzhou Rurals IPO, which could raise as much as $1.5 billion, the joint sponsors are not Goldman or JPMorgan or Morgan Stanley but CICC, China Merchant Securities, CCB International and ABC International.

It used to be a rallying cry at Goldman that, no matter that Citic Securities had stolen its traditional spot in the upper tiers of investment banking fees, Goldman could still say it was on every billion dollar-plus IPO out of China; not this one, it would appear. At least Goldman is on Guotai Junan.

In any event, the main game this year will not be pure-play financials but Chinese fintechs. Ant Financial, if it comes, could be a record deal; if it does not, or if it goes to New York, the biggest Hong Kong IPO of the year is likely to be Lufax, Chinas peer-to-peer lending platform, backed by Ping An.

Reported bookrunners on that one, expected to raise up to $5 billion, are Citic Securities, Citi, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. Here, at least, the internationals still have a role to play.


The haters won. In the recent presidential election at least. Our country was invaded from within and now we have to watch, powerless, as they give their fears and biases the strength of law in our once-great nation.

The only defense  at the moment  is to object, to loudly state the truth, declare the wrongness of this, and reaffirm our abused American values. President Donald Trump signed a brazenly-bigoted executive order Friday barring all refugees from the United States for four months, barring Syrian refugees indefinitely, and barring immigrants from seven Muslim countries: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

Chaos ensued worldwide. And while, yes, protesters gathered spontaneously at airports and pushed back and a federal judge stayed the order, whether over the long term the courts will be respected any more than the media or any other pillar of American democracy that Trump is kicking at is doubtful.

The pretext was to avoid terror. But this comes from the dynamic of welding terrorist acts committed by Muslims to their faith, while writing off non-Islamic acts of terror as being due to something else. This bias was shown when Trump said he would encourage the entry of Christians, who are also persecuted abroad, though nowhere near the numbers or severity of people in countries like Syria.

This shameful prejudice will cost the lives of people who could have become upstanding American citizens, draw justifiable scorn upon our country, and make the United States less, not more, secure. The only comfortcold comfortis the knowledge we are not alone in this prejudice, nor is it anything new, as this column from 2009 reminds us. I think this explains why Donald Trump was elected as much as anything can. It was written back when the column contained subheadings, and I've left those in.



OPENING SHOT . . .



Two weeks ago, the people of Switzerland voted to ban new construction of minarets, the towers associated with mosques.

Which raises the obvious question: How many minarets are already in Switzerland? There must be a whole lot, to provoke this extraordinary ban.

How many? Guess. Ten? Fifty? A hundred?

Four. There are exactly four minarets in Switzerland. And now that's all there will ever be.

Italy is considering a similar ban  odd, since, traditionally, Germany usually took the lead in this sort of thing. You'd think, in Europe, they'd be a little reluctant to go down the step-on-the-scary-minority route. They've been there before.



Don't block the coconut shrimp!



The Swiss ban is based on fear, which, sadly, the Swiss do not have a monopoly on, as this e-mail illustrates:

Neil,

I was in Costco in Niles yesterday around 5 p.m. The store was packed. I was going in to buy cat food. The pet food section is on the far wall, at the corner. As I approached the cat food, I saw three women in full on burkas. Completely cloaked except for their eyes.

They were kneeling and praying to Mecca. In a COSTCO. In the USA. I gotta tell you, I was totally freaked out and totally enraged. At that moment I wanted to attack them, physically. Really. I couldn't believe it, and I thought it was totally wrong. If you have to pray to Mecca, don't go to Costco. I got my cat food, and walked past them and I just said, loudly, "This is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."

What could I have done? I wanted to complain to the management, but by the time I got through the line to pay I just wanted to get the hell out of the store. That experience totally made me sympathize with the woman who pulled the headscarf off the Muslim woman on the South Side. I am not a religious person at all, but I was enraged. What is going on? What do you think about that? . . . I had a cell phone with a camera, and I wanted to film them but I couldn't do it.

Thanks!

Here she gives her full name and place of employment -- which I, a kind soul, will withhold.

I wrote her back:

While I appreciate your candor, you should realize that this is one of those times when a complaint says a lot more about the complainer than it does the thing being complained about. A few questionsWhat is it about a Costco that makes it less appropriate a location than anyplace else for those women to pray? Had they been a trio of elderly women doing the rosary at the coffee shop in a Borders bookstore, would you also have been "enraged"? If the answer is no, then it isn't an issue of people praying in commercial public spaces, but how they pray and what kind of space they pray in. Is Costco somehow especially sacred to you? I mean, I know they hand out that coconut shrimp, but still . . .

And what does "This is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" mean to you? I thought it meant that this is exactly the sort of place where a woman, however she dresses, could feel safe from being attacked by strangers enraged by her attire, as opposed to, say, Saudi Arabia, where she might be attacked for wearing a short dress. Is the Saudi way actually the American way?

Frankly, if you're sending this to me, then you haven't quite grasped what I've been writing, lo these many years. As the saying goes: Hating other people is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die. Had you viewed this calmly, an argument could be made that if we allow religions to start using our discount stores as places of worship, then the aisles will be clogged and we won't be able to get to our cat food.

That is reasonable, and I would agree. But it is also a long way from rage. Would you feel the same if a group of Christmas carolers were blocking your way to the cat food? If Islam is so offensive, then why were you the one who was "enraged" in Niles, while the Muslim women were the ones praying to God?

My older son's junior high school math teacher wears a full burka with a face veil, something I was surprised to discover at parent- teacher conferences. When I later asked my son why he hadn't mentioned that beforeit seemed interesting, the sort of thing one might toss out in casual conversationhe said, and I quote: "You know, Dad, you taught us that kind of thing doesn't matter." I'm proud of that. Turns out she's a good, enthusiastic math teacher, a fact that would have been lost to me had I worked myself into a knot over her outfit. As it was, it took me maybe 30 seconds to get used to talking with a woman wearing a veil, a path I heartily recommend.

It's still a person under there.

Thanks for writing. I don't usually argue with readers, one-on-one, at least not at such length. But yours is, alas, a common attitude that most people don't have the lack of inhibition to actually come out and say, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try to set you straight.



Best,

Neil Steinberg

Originally published in the Sun-Times, Dec. 13, 2009
A Turkish business delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday, the first such visit since 2013, upon an invitation by the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce to discuss the possibility of economic cooperation, said federation chairman Ahmed El-Wakil.

The delegation is expected to meet on Monday with the Egyptian minister of industry and commerce, Egyptian businessmen, and representatives from the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, El-Wakil told Ahram Online.

The delegation consists of Turkish businessmen representing companies in the fields of fabrics, the food industry, energy and tourism, according to El-Wakil.

We [the federation] hope this visit will politically influence relations between the two countries, especially as Egypts presidency knows about the invitation and agrees to having economic ties between Egypt and Turkey, El-Wakil said.

Turkey is of particular importance to Egypt logistically, especially since it is an access point to the former Soviet states, El-Wakil said.

Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been strained since the 2013 ouster of Egypts Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP government.

Cairo has repeatedly accused Ankara of interference in its domestic affairs and providing a safe haven for leading members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, while Erdogan's government has been an outspoken critic of Morsi's ouster and of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

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The new American President Donald Trump has been ruffling feathers during his first few days in office and there have been concerns that his policies could lead to more Americans deciding to move abroad.But it will be what Trump does with taxes that could be the deciding factors for potential expats, many of whom dream of living a more cost effective life abroad.  Recent research suggests that while 1,380 Americans gave up their citizenship in three months leading up to the US election, a 172% increase on the previous quarter, more are set to do so.Indeed, Americans are abandoning their citizenship at the second fastest rate in history. Every three months the US Government publishes the names of all Americans who give up their citizenship. The latest list, published days after the presidential election, had 63 times more names on it than the one issued as Barack Obama won his first term in the White House in 2008.Waiting time for US expats wanting to surrender their passports at the American Embassy in London has risen from one to six months and what Trump has said on taxes is credited with making more people think not only of moving abroad but taking citizenship if their adopted country.According to Bambridge Accountants, which specialises in handling the tax affairs of US citizens living in Britain, it has seen a spike in demand from Americans keen to renounce their citizenship. During the first nine months of 2016, it typically received just one such enquiry a week. But in October that increased to one a day and rose again when Trump won.While the UK is home to an estimated 200,000 US expats, the trend is a global one. In the third quarter of 2016 some 1,380 Americans around the world renounced their US citizenship, a 172% increase on the preceding three months.Americans tend to be patriotic people, for whom cutting ties with their homeland is a drastic and often highly emotional step. So the surge in US expats renouncing their citizenship speaks volumes about how strongly many of them feel about two things; Trump and taxes, said Alistair Bambridge, a senior partner at the London based firm.Donald Trumps election accelerated an existing trend of Americans renouncing their citizenship to avoid intrusive new tax rules. The reach of Uncle Sam is famously long, and US citizens must complete a US tax return every year wherever they are in the world as well as declaring any money they, their spouse or their children hold in a foreign bank account. Failure to do so can result in a $10,000 fine, he pointed out.Such draconian rules were introduced to stop tax evasion, but for Americans who have made their home overseas they have become an expensive and unpleasant burden. Surrendering their coveted blue passports was once all but unthinkable, but for increasing numbers of US expats this has become the least painful option, he added.
I wouldn't say that actually. IF you intend to sponsor your husband, i.e. you're a teacher and you can sponsor him, then NO he's not allowed to work under your sponsorship and he'll have to work for a company that will employ him and sponsor him.



The answer to your question depends on the situation and relevant professions.
Depends on a lot of things, where are your schools (if you have kids), where is your office, what is more important for you (gardens, playground, malls, etc ..)

Take a look at dubizzle.com
M.C.A. said: The other issue is power outages, I like to be positive but this sounds important so here's a current article on that. Palawan suffers daily power interruptions | ABS-CBN News and what about a major storm the power could be out for weeks if not months or on rolling black outs. Click to expand...

Hey M.C.A. My little experience with Palawan was 5 years ago and while only for a week we had a Smart dongle and it worked, slow but worked, emails etc; streaming no. Puerto Princesa yes, El Nido intermittent but hey when I was up there, there were no ATM's, no credit card etc. Things may have changed but I know whole heartedly when I move there, unless to Manila I will have slower internet and when the power goes down I will be more concerned with the fridge/freezer and water pump than the internet, I will read a book or get stuck into my garden.I lived through the power outages and fickle internet in Cam Sur and Cagayan and socialised, was a great time in my life and why I am moving there. It's more fun in the Philippines"Hope you find your answers.BTW if you want reliable internet and power, from experience, that will only be found with in a big city with lots of pollution etc.Cheers, Steve.
Maher Daoud's current exhibition is being held at Cairo's Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek

In his new solo exhibition Rebirth of the Rebirth, Egyptian artist Maher Daoud creates connections between art and architecture while also creating a strong pact with antiquity.

The exhibition opened on 17 January at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek, and continues until 31 January.

In his creative explorations Daoud dazzles his audience with new, fascinating works that fuse history and art and architecture.

Daoud revisits the architecture of the European Renaissance as well as finding inspiration in Roman columns and other artistic elements.

"From the ancient ages to the classical Greek and Roman, and until now, the correlation between art and architecture is deemed as an inseparable symbiotic relationship," Daoud writes in his artistic statement.

Inspired by classical columns, Daoud discusses the idea of perfect order, an architectural grammar practiced by artists for centuries. He describes the shape, proportions and arrangement of the perfect order as an artistic paradise.

The exhibition continues until 31 January at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Ismail Mohamed Street.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Jobs in Texas oil and gas industry rose at the end of 2016 for the first time in more than two years, another sign that the long-awaited recovery in the states energy sector is gaining traction.

Texas added an estimated 3,000 oil and gas jobs in November and December, after shedding more than 100,000 during the industry downturn that began in mid-2014, said Karr Ingham, an economist who studies the states oil and gas sector.

For the first time in three years, Ingham said, theres optimism.

The job gains are the latest indicator that the oil and gas industry is rebounding after an extended bust. Oil prices have doubled since hitting a low of $26 a barrel last February, settling in New York at $53.17 Friday. Drillers have returned about 140 rigs to operation in Texas oil and gas fields since May, when the rig count hit bottom. Companies are flocking to the productive and lucrative Permian Basin in West Texas, spending billions to acquire land and drilling rights.

But Ingham, in his analysis for the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, cautioned that the industry shouldnt expect to see a boom anytime soon. Despite recent gains, both the rig count and drilling permits are down about two-thirds from their peak in 2014, when prices were above $100 a barrel. The state, for example, issued more than 3,000 drilling permits in both September and October 2014; in December, the state issued just over 1,000.

Oil production still is down from a year ago. And it could take years for the state to recover the jobs lost in the bust.

Essentially, all weve done is stop bleeding at this point, Ingham said, but at least we arent continuing to bleed.

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 outlook for the energy industry has improved since OPEC and other major producers, such as Russia, agreed to cut crude oil production by about 1.8 million barrels a day, pushing prices above $50 a barrel and restarting drilling activity,

Ingham said he expects conditions to improve this year, but only modestly. He expects prices to hover between $50 and $60, which will keep many oil companies struggling.

Oil and gas services have really taken a beating, and everyone needs $60 per barrel of oil to make a difference, said Ingham, who doesnt expect prices to reach that level this year.

While oil continues to make a sluggish recovery, natural gas prices are on the rise, possibly indicating a shift in the focus of Texas production, Ingham added. After a year of the lowest natural gas prices in nearly 20 years, those prices are expected to rise in 2017 to their highest level in three years.
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An unusual wave of violent gun-related incidents at malls and shopping centers in the San Antonio area  three of which were fatal  may shake shopping behavior temporarily, retail analysts say, but likely wont affect foot traffic to those shopping hubs in the long term.

Shoppers tend to stay away from retail establishments that gain a reputation for being high-crime areas after a long series of prominent incidents, retail analyst Jan Kniffen said. But one-time incidents, no matter how violent, dont tend to keep consumers away for long.

The police close them down, and then they open them back up, Kniffen said. The traffic comes back slowly for a day or two, then zip! Theyre right back to where they were, and you wouldve never thought there was an event.

U.S. malls and shopping centers have been the sites of horrific violence. In September, a 20-year-old gunman allegedly shot and killed five people with a rifle in a Macys at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington.

In January 2014, two people died when a 19-year-old man shot them in a Zumiez store at The Mall in Columbia, Maryland. He injured five others before killing himself.

And in 2007, another 19-year-old man fatally shot eight people, wounded four others and killed himself at the Von Maur department store at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska.

In each instance, the malls and stores where the killings took place shuttered temporarily but reopened  and are still in business now.

Its been amazing how that has not been a problem for brick-and-mortar retail, Kniffen said.

Malls typically dont see a decline in visits after violent episodes in part because mall security takes extra steps to secure the property, said Stephanie Cegielski, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Mall security works very hard to keep the malls safe for their community so that they can continue to serve as a community hub, Cegielski said in an email.

In some instances, incidents may drive shoppers to retail hubs to come together to show a united front, she said.

Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at retail consulting firm RSR Research, invoked former President George W. Bushs remarks after 9/11 encouraging Americans to continue shopping and going about their daily lives.

Everyone made terrible fun of him for it, but he actually wasnt wrong, Rosenblum said. What he was trying to say was, Continue with your way of life because if you start hiding, they win.

Rosenblum added, We (Americans) are not known for cringing and hiding in corners.

That makes it unlikely that San Antonio shopping hubs that have seen violent incidents within the past two weeks would see a drop-off in visitors, Kniffen said.

Jonathan Murphy, 42, died from a gunshot wound Jan. 22 resulting from what police described as a botched robbery at Kay Jewelers at Rolling Oaks Mall. Three others, including one of two suspects, were shot and wounded.

That followed a Jan. 20 incident at South Park Mall in which three men, two of whom were armed, held up Exotic Diamonds Jewelry Store. One man held employees at gunpoint as the other suspects hopped the counter, smashed a display case and grabbed several pieces of jewelry.

On Tuesday, two men reportedly pulled their green SUV next to two women outside Ingram Park Mall on the Northwest Side, exited the vehicle and threatened them. One of the men reportedly said, Im going to kill you!

Witnesses told police they heard two or three gunshots before the men fled.

Police believe a fatal shooting reported Tuesday at Northwoods Shopping Center, near Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 on the North Side, was a suicide.

In San Marcos, a man died during a police standoff Wednesday after shooting himself in the Logans Roadhouse in the Springtown shopping center along Interstate 35.

Local mall managers have been mum about whether theyve implemented new security measures or seen decreased traffic in light of the incidents.

South Park Mall General Manager Brian Peters declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation by San Antonio police. Ingram Park Mall General Manager Tim Hill did not return requests for comment.

A representative for Rolling Oaks Mall declined to comment.

Dustin Christensen, general manager at Rolling Oaks Mall, said last week that the malls collaboration with local police is crucial as we strive to provide the best possible shopping experience.

Our top priority is the safety of our shoppers, retailers and employees, Christensen said in a statement. We work closely with and applaud the San Antonio Police Department for their efforts to keep our community safe.

In a statement, Signet Jewelers spokeswoman Kimberly Kanary said Kay Jewelers is shocked and saddened by the tragic events at Rolling Oaks Mall. Signet is the parent of Kay.

We extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected, Kanary said. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and team members and their ability to shop and work in a safe environment. We are taking all necessary steps in cooperating with local law enforcement. We will continue to do everything possible to support those impacted by this tragic situation.

But malls arent in the clear: Reports of crime incidents may give shoppers the incentive to resort to a more prominent threat to brick-and-mortar retail, Kniffen said: shopping online.

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Malls have seen fewer visitors as large department stores that anchor the property such as Macys and JCPenney close locations amid declining sales and rising numbers for online retail.

Macys recently announced that it was eliminating 10,000 jobs and shuttering 100 stores nationwide. This month, Sears announced that it would close 150 stores and sell the Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker. JCPenney CEO Marvin Ellison told a Dallas conference this month that the Texas-based retailer was looking at closing some of its 1,000-plus stores.

Overall, U.S. retailers saw a lucrative 2016 shopping season, with $658.3 billion in sales, up 4 percent from the $632.8 billion made last year, according to the National Retail Federation, exceeding the federations predictions.

But sales at department stores and physical stores selling electronics, appliances, general merchandise and sporting goods fell, according to National Retail Federation data. Online and other nonstore sales, meanwhile, jumped almost 13 percent year-over-year.

U.S. holiday shoppers spent $91.7 billion with online retailers, according to a separate study by Adobe Digital Insights, an 11 percent increase over last years online sales.

Though crime at brick-and-mortar retail may not be a huge factor in driving away shoppers, any inconveniencing factor, including inclement weather, gives consumers another reason to shop online, Kniffen said.

If its something that makes going to the mall harder, more aggravating, scarier, anything you want to call it, theres an alternative now, Kniffen said. There didnt use to be.

jfechter@express-news.net

Twitter: @JFreports
In the 1940s, 50s and possibly the 60s, there was an ice factory/ice house on South New Braunfels Avenue about one block north of Porter Street, across from Poe Junior High School. The Bandera Electric Co-Op magazine had an article written by Gene Fowler (an Austin writer who specializes in Texas history) titled The Iceman Came to San Antonio. Andrew Muhl (1831-1892) was the iceman who came to San Antonio. I would be very interested in the history of the ice factory and wonder if Muhl had anything to do with it. Was Mr. Muhls device used at the former ice factory?

 Bernard Adcock

Picture your refrigerator. Now imagine that its outside your home  maybe not on the same street or even in your own neighborhood.

Before refrigeration technology was developed during the late 19th century, people didnt have many options to keep food from spoiling. If you were lucky enough to live near a spring or creek, you might have a spring house  a small structure built over the water to store food at cooler-than-outside temperatures that excluded animals and debris. If not, you could put a container of milk in a bucket and send it down the well on a rope.

Larger foodstuffs could pose a challenge. Consider this advertorial about Southdowns, sheep bred for meat, in the San Antonio Express, May 7, 1876: With a small flock of these sheep, you can at any time supply yourself with fresh mutton.  If you have no ice house or spring house where the meat can be kept, no doubt there is some neighbor who would be glad to share with you. If not, you and your family could try to eat most of the animal in a single day: Chops for breakfast, roasts warm for dinner and sliced cold for supper.

Hospitality businesses and Army quartermasters depots might have a larger ice house where blocks of ice were stored for food preservation. This was natural ice, harvested from northern rivers and ponds, packed in sawdust and shipped southward. From Gulf Coast ports, it was loaded on wagons and brought to other Texas cities. When it ran out, ice was over until the next freeze-cut-ship cycle.

The frozen-water trade, as it was known, was suspended during the Civil War, which made Southerners receptive to alternative means of cooling, such as the chemical and mechanical processes and machines invented by Europeans and refined here. After the war, Texas became a leader in pioneering the production of artificial ice, says Gene Fowler in the June 2016 issue of Texas Co-op Power. The trend took hold in San Antonio with innovators who exported their cool technologies to other Texas cities.

The commercial ice trade got a big boost in the late 1850s when Ferdinand Carre of France invented a cooling machine that used ammonia and water as a refrigerant. Patented in the U.S. in 1860, his Ammonia Vapor Absorption Cycle Ice Manufacturing Machine first was brought to Mexico, then made its way to Texas. Daniel Livingston Holden, a native of Kentucky, probably was the first to bring artificial ice-making to San Antonio. In the fall of 1865, he installed a Carre machine in San Antonio and made several improvements to it, says the Refrigeration entry in the Handbook of Texas. Using distilled water, Holden was able to produce clear ice, without natural debris or visible chemical residue.

Andrew Muhl, also from France, had manufactured ice and ice cream there before immigrating to this country, where he lived in a succession of cities with steamy summer climates: Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New Orleans and finally San Antonio. A college-trained mechanic, he may have worked with a Carre machine in his home country; here, he developed and applied for a patent on his own Ether Ice Making Machine, first installed a couple of years after Holdens version. Muhl partnered with prominent local business people and soon installed a second machine at a plant powered by a water wheel on the San Antonio River.

The city went ice-happy, and in 1867, when the U.S. Census listed six ice (factories), three of them were in San Antonio, says Muhls nomination as a Pioneer of Refrigeration of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers). Muhl also set up ice-making operations in Austin, Victoria and Waco. Compared with the cost of natural ice, then $1 per 100 pounds, artificial ice at 8 cents for the same amount had a revolutionary effect on some important industries, especially cattle and food and beverage manufacturing and service. Beef shipped under refrigeration could be sold to farther-flung markets, a greater variety of prepared and fresh food could be preserved safely, ice cream could be made in greater quantities and beer could be served cold all year long.

Instead of relying on the neighbors spring house, people could buy ice when they needed it or have it delivered regularly to their own homes. From the 1870s into the 1880s, the San Antonio Ice House at 211 Losoya St. was the best-known retailer. The Crystal Ice and Manufacturing Co. built a large ice house during the winter of 1888 and advertised in 1889 that it could make 50 tons a day of pure ice, delivered anywhere in the city. By the next year, Crystal had shipped about 350 tons by rail and (was) constantly increasing (its) out-of-town trade, says the Express, April 2, 1889. Those who wish to be sure of getting ice every day (of) the coming summer would do well to contract now for their ice.

Typically, blocks of ice were delivered by wagon; customers would put up a sign that indicated the number of pounds they needed. The ice man would wrangle the blocks into the home, where they would be deposited into an ice box (insulated cabinet) with a drip pan below to catch the melting runoff. Some manufacturers of ice started chains of smaller, satellite stores that sold ice and more  the first convenience stores. Ice plants also offered cold storage  space to chill or freeze large items that wouldnt fit in a home ice box.

The building you remember seems to have been a full-service ice plant that included a retail store. A permit to build an ice house at 1302 S. New Braunfels Ave. was issued Oct. 7, 1930, to Harry Surtees. According to research by San Antonio Conservation Society library volunteers, this building first appears in the 1931 city directory as the Sunset Ice and Cold Storage Co. The name changes to Lone Star Ice Co. in 1946, and it became Lone Star Ice Station No. 12. Its sometimes identified as a Lone Star Ice and Food store, the later name of the company that operated a chain of convenience stores here for more than 75 years.

As home refrigerators became more affordable and popular, the term ice house migrated from manufacturing plants to retail outlets that sold ice, beer, soda, snacks and essentials. At the same address as Sunset Ice and Cold Storage, a business called Modern Ice Refrigeration Inc. sold Coolerator refrigerators for home use, according to an ad in the San Antonio Light, May 28, 1931. These electric air-conditioned models  no blocks of ice needed  were said to keep food fresher and to produce ice cubes, crystal clear and taste free, in five minutes; one filling lasts four to seven days. With a freezer on top and larger refrigerator compartment below, the Coolerator sold for as low as $44.25 ... as much as $100 less than other home refrigerators. Customers were urged to Ask your ice service man about the Coolerator.

If he endorsed the purchase, he was putting himself out of a job. By 1950, according to census figures, 80 percent of American homes had an electric refrigerator; in cities, the figure was 90 percent. Home refrigerators melted away traditional ice house business, says a story in the August 2000 issue of Texas Highways. So ice manufacturers zeroed in on the booming recreational market and began selling cubed and crushed ice for water coolers, parties, picnics and sporting events. The reimagined ice houses became community commonplaces, and the mom-and-pop variety gave way to regional chains.

An ad in the Express, Nov. 7, 1963, lists Lone Star Ice No. 12 at 103 Lanark Drive; the South New Braunfels address does not appear among the chains local stores. The current building at 1302 S. New Braunfels Ave. has been used as a carwash.

historycolumn@yahoo.com

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KERRVILLE  With more than four decades in the priesthood, including 24 years of service in Kerr County, Monsignor Michael Joseph Boulette understands the importance of not circulating information shared in confidence.

But even Father Mike, as hes known to congregants, had a tough time keeping mum about significant news this month that didnt concern a parishioner or a church event, but rather himself and Pope Francis.

Boulette learned that the pontiff had appointed him auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in a Jan. 15 phone call from Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the popes apostolic nuncio, or ambassador, to the U.S.

But it would be more than a week before the public announcement.

I did tell my 96-year-old mother, but I couldnt tell anyone else, said Boulette, 66, whod been in charge of St. Peter Upon the Water, a retreat center in Ingram, since ending his second stint leading Notre Dame Catholic Church in Kerrville.

Eight days after he accepted the appointment, Pat Boulette was on hand for the news conference Monday where Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller announced that her son was filling the auxiliary bishops post that had been vacant four years.

One of the greatest joys that I have today is that she lived this long to see this day, Boulette said in introducing his mother, who still lives in Fredericksburg, where the family moved in 1959 from upstate New York. She has never been jealous of Gods call on my life and has always directed me to his presence and love.

The archdiocese said Boulette will be ordained a bishop at 2 p.m. March 20 at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in San Antonio.

News of his selection generated elation among former co-workers and parishioners in the Hill Country.

Im pleased for him, but Im really pleased for the people of the archdiocese because now theyll be able to experience how he leads  as Jesus modeled for us, said Dorothy Cass, director of liturgy and music at Notre Dame parish in Kerrville.

Boulette was pastor there from 1993 to 2004, when he left to lead St. Peter Upon the Water: A Center for Spiritual Direction and Formation. He returned to Notre Dame as administrator pro tem in 2010 and served until this past June.

Joy is infused in all that he does, and his love of the liturgy of the church is just beyond words, said Cass, whose tenure there eclipsed Boulettes. Before he pursued anything, he taught us you always start with prayer, just as Jesus did, and his actions come out of that.

Boulette has an uncanny ability to connect with a congregation, said Bob Reeves, a Kerr County commissioner who sometimes attends services at Notre Dame.

Hes very personable, and you always leave Mass feeling like he was talking directly to you, Reeves said. Its great for the archbishop, but were going to miss him.

Father David Wagner, who assumed the pulpit at Notre Dame in July, said the transition was easy because Boulette had assembled a top-notch staff and was always available with advice or support, if needed.

Hes a gentle, caring man. He just expresses the love and mercy of Christ, Wagner said. Hes well-loved and highly respected, and everyone here was just overjoyed at him becoming a bishop.

He said the church, which serves more than 2,000 families, plans to hold a reception and send-off for the new auxiliary bishop but that no date has been set.

Boulette is an avid player of bridge, the card game, and has a healthy sense of humor, noted parishioner Jimmy Reno, who said the priest replied to his congratulatory text message Monday with, Pray God forgives Gustavo and the pope.

Hes very, very intellegent, Reno said. I would challenge anyone against Father Mikes (knowledge of) theology.

During the media briefing, Boulette, speaking alternately in Spanish and English, was moved to tears by the prospect of working beside Garcia-Siller in the archdiocese.

The two men, clearly friends, engaged in playful ribbing at the lectern, repeatedly generating laughs from the audience.

Saying Boulette would bring a spirituality of joy and simplicity to his new role, the archbishop added, We are extremely grateful to the Holy Father for his gift to the church in South Texas.

He will be a compassionate bishop and a living shepherd to the priests and the people of the archdiocese, Garcia-Siller said. He is well-known in the archdiocese for leading parish missions and retreats, preaching about the love and mercy of God.

Boulette thanked the parishes that hed served during his career  for you have taught me how to be a priest  as well as fellow priests and retreat employees hed worked beside.

Our journey is not over, he said, adding, No matter what preparations are set in front of us, let us never stop washing feet, according to the example of Christ.
About 30 minutes into Thursdays UTSA forum, Diego Bernal cut to the core of the sanctuary cities debate.

Bernal, a Democratic state representative from San Antonio, was talking about a controversial bill (SB4) authored by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, that would, among other things, force police departments to allow their officers to ask people for proof of citizenship.

Beyond the fact that it opens the door for local cops to become de facto immigration agents, Perrys bill is problematic because it dictates how police chiefs must run their departments. Given that Perrys fellow Republicans tend to gush about how much they back the blue, theres an uncomfortable contradiction at play here.

Ive been disturbed in my short time in the Legislature at how it seems that politicians believe they know policing better than police, Bernal said. Police were against campus carry; we did it anyway. Police were against open carry; we did it anyway. Police now are against this, and were going to do it anyway.

To be sure, Police Chief William McManus  who sat next to Bernal on the panel  couldnt have been clearer about how much he dislikes the notion of SAPD being dragged into the role of federal immigration enforcement.

McManus said Senate Bill 4 is very damaging to police departments, adding, We dont have the capacity or the time to enforce immigration laws.

Even if SAPD had the capacity or the time, McManus would want to steer clear of immigration enforcement, because it would create a climate of distrust between police officers and the community they rely on for information. Also, it would invite police officers to engage in profiling.

McManus asked: What do you base that on? Do you base it on the color of their skin? Do you base it on the fact that they have an accent?

Perrys bill got reinforcement from a Jan. 25 executive order from President Donald Trump, threatening to deny federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions that willfully violate federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States.

That definition most definitely does not apply to San Antonio. While SAPD officers dont engage in immigration enforcement, if they happen to arrest someone, that persons information goes to a federal database which is accessed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If ICE asks for a 48-hour detainer on a suspected undocumented immigrant, the Bexar County jail usually complies.

But the idiocy of the immigration debate has reached such epic proportions that the label of sanctuary city has become more important than the policy its meant to define.

For example, at the UTSA forum, conservative advocate Jeff Judson said he hoped the forum would answer the question of whether San Antonio qualifies as a sanctuary city, adding, If it is, then that is indeed a problem.

Judsons statement suggests that local policy on immigration has been something of a mystery that needed to be unlocked. Its no such thing.

McManus SAPD policy on immigration is crystal clear and the same goes for the countys approach to ICE detainer requests. Either you agree with these policies or you dont. The label that people choose to apply is pointless.

Because of the confusion about the sanctuary cities label, however, it wasnt always clear whether Judson agreed or disagreed with SAPD policy.

This is not about going up to people and saying, Show me your papers, said Judson, who emphasized that his priority was catching criminals who happen to be undocumented. Its just a matter of cooperating (with ICE).

McManus responded: We do exactly what youre talking about.

Problem solved, right?

Well, no, because theres another perspective, laid out at the forum by Bexar County Republican Party Chairman Robert Stovall, that police officers should be able to ask people for their papers. Theres also the opposite view, articulated by Bernal, that holding someone at the county jail for ICE  on sketchy information, such as a matching name  is a violation of the 4th Amendments prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures.

Ultimately, the most valid point was this one from Bernal: When considering the problems plaguing this city, the state rep said, The presence of people who are undocumented is not in the top 20.

Try telling that to Charles Perry or Donald Trump.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
The Iranian star of Oscar-nominated film "The Salesman" Taraneh Allidousti said Thursday she would boycott the awards in protest at President Donald Trump's "racist" ban on Muslim immigrants.

"Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest," tweeted Alidoosti, the film's 33-year-old lead actress.

Trump is reportedly poised to stop visas for travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iran, for 30 days.

He told ABC News on Wednesday that his plan was not a "Muslim ban", but targeted countries that "have tremendous terror.

"The Salesman", directed by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi is nominated for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards, which take place next month.

Farhadi won an Oscar in 2012 for his film "A Separation".

Visa applications from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen are all expected to be stopped for a month under a draft executive order published in the Washington Post and New York Times.

The draft order also seeks to suspend the US refugee programme for four months as officials draw up a list of low risk countries.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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The play will be staged for 10 nights between at Gerhart Theatre.

The play by award winning playwright David Mamet, American Buffalo, will be staged at Gerhart Theatre starting 8 February.

The play is produced by Theatre X, a non-profit professional theatre company supporting the educational mission of the American University in Cairo Theatre Programme, according to their Facebook page.

American Buffalo is a 1975 play that centers on three men in a run-down junk shop, who plan a heist to retrieve a Buffalo Nickel (an American five-cent coin that was circulating between 1913 to 1938) which they think is worth more than the price it was sold with.

This fast paced drama is all aggression and testosterone, with the characters using their words like weapons to intimidate, persuade, and manipulate one another. The outcomes are comedic, strong, and touching in a play that is regarded as a modern masterpiece, Theatre X writes in the description on Facebook.

Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director born in 1947. He is a Pulitzer prize winner, and has received Tony nominations for hi splays Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988).

He was nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay based on material from another medium for his films The Verdict (1982) and Wag The Dog (1997).

His work on-screen has won awards at major festivals such as Venice Film festival, and was also nominated for the Golden Globes, BAFTA, Cannes, and Emmy awards among others.

His work is known for being cynical and street-smart, a style that is so distinctive it became dubbed as Mamet Speak.

American Buffalo will be performed by Jason Will, Waleed Hammad and Pola Kamel.

For ticket reservations call: 01067847109

Programme:

The play runs daily between 8 and 18 February, except for 11 February, at 7pm.

Gerhart Theatre, American University in Cairo, Road 90, Fifth Settlement, New Cairo



For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Hugh Jackman used an experience of being poisoned by eating canned tuna as inspiration for his new movie 'Logan'.

Hugh Jackman

The 48-year-old actor will portray Wolverine for the final time in new movie 'Logan' and revealed the tale will see the mutant slowly dying as his powers are fading and wounds not healing, thanks to the poisonous adamantium in his bones.

And the storyline was inspired by both comic book history and the Australian star's own experiences.

He said: "I had high mercury levels from eating tins of tuna. My doctor said, 'You're meant to be five,' whatever that number means, and I was at 37.'

"The adamantium will eventually kill him. The effect of metal poisoning, on what for Logan would be a massive level, would be depression, tiredness, massive joint pain. I loved the metaphor of his weapon being the thing that's killing him, on every level."

Hugh also got into difficulties while shooting the film in the desert as the altitude made him faint during a scene where he had to run up a hill past various obstacles, at 9,000 ft above sea level.

After repeatedly falling over during shooting the scene, he recalled: "The second-unit director said, 'Man I think we should call it a day.' I said, 'Naaaah mate, I just tripped.'

"And he goes, 'You tripped on the take before. You fainted on this one.' "

Following eight outings as Wolverine/Logan, Hugh decided the new movie would be the right time to call it a day following a chat with legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld at the comic's birthday party in 2014.

He told Empire magazine: "He doesn't particularly like parties and I'm the same, so we always end up in a corner chatting.

"I started asking about 'Seinfeld' and he said, 'I always had a belief that creatively you should leave on a high.'

"Not just for legacy, though I'm sure that was a part of it.

"But he said that if you're tapped out, it's Herculean to work out what the next thing is.

"If you leave something in the tank creatively, then you just spark into the next thing. I went home from that dinner and I just knew. This was it."
French actor Alain Delon has defended his friend Roman Polanski over the Cesar Awards controversy.

Roman Polanski

The 83-year-old film director was set to give the opening speech at the Cesar Awards on February 24 in Paris after being named president of the 2017 awards, the equivalent of the French Oscars, but pulled out after protests.

A women's rights group threatened to boycott the ceremony because of his statutory rape admission nearly 40 years ago, a charge he is still wanted by authorities in the US for and Alain insisted he would not accept the role of president if he was offered it because of his loyalty to his friend.

He told Le Figaro: "If they asked me to preside over the Cesars, I wouldn't do it in solidarity with Roman Polanski. Every time he crosses the street, are we going to talk to him about 1970?

"I'm not going. And if I'm putting my foot in it, so be it."

Polanski's lawyer Herve Temime told France 24 in a statement: "The controversy ... deeply saddened Roman Polanski and affected his family. However, in order not to disturb the Cesars ceremonies, which should focus on the cinema and not on the appointment of the (event's) president, Roman Polanski has decided not accept the invitation ... and will not preside over the next Cesars ceremonies."

On 11 March 1977, Polanksi - who is best known for his movies 'The Pianist', 'Chinatown' and 'Rosemary's Baby' - was arrested at Jack Nicholson's home after being accused by 13-year-old model Samantha Gailey or raping her.

He later pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor but managed to strike a plea deal which allowed him to serve 42 days in detention while undergoing psychiatric tests.

He then fled to France in 1978 after he thought a judge was going to drop the deal and hit him with a hefty prison sentence, and he has remained in Europe ever sense.

He has also lived in his native Poland and the American authorities have spent many years trying to extradite him from the European nation.

Last month, Polanski defeated an attempt by the US to extradite him from Poland, and afterwards he said: "I'll finally be able to feel safe in my own country."
Drake took to the stage in Amsterdam for the first night of his postponed European tour this weekend, performing at the Ziggo Dome and debuting a new track from upcoming project More Life, which you can see above.

Citing production setbacks as the reason for his multiple postponements on this tour, the show finally came to European shores and is noticeably different to the show he took around America in 2016.

The rapper will be returning to the UK later this year for a string of dates, performing in London, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and Glasgow.

Those tour dates follow the chart-topping release of most-recent album Views, which peaked at Number One in the UK, the USA and seven other countries.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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FightHype.com was on hand at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada where Leo Santa Cruz got his revenge, defeating former world champion Carl Frampton via majority decision and capturing the WBA featherweight title. Just like their first fight, Santa Cruz and Frampton put on another Fight of the Year performance, exchanging heavy leather in non-stop action over the course of 12 rounds. It was Santa Cruz, however, who was able to make the necessary adjustments in the rematch, attacking Frampton with a more tactical approach as opposed to relying on the constant pressure that he's known for.



Although many of the early rounds were close, it was clear that Santa Cruz was beginning to take over the fight, landing more punches during their many exchanges. In the end, one judge scored it a draw, but he was overruled by the other two judges, who both scored it 115-113 in favor of Santa Cruz. Also on the card, Mikey Garcia kept his undefeated record intact, viciously knocking out former world champion Dejan Zlaticanin in the 3rd round to capture the WBC lightweight title.



CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE IN-DEPTH RESULTS AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS
The Bigg Offer

Like every year, Bigg Boss offered Rs 10 lakh to the finalists this year too. Manu chose to opt for the deal. He took the hefty sum offered to him and left the show.

Manu received The Least Number of Votes

His decision shocked his fans. However, it came as a blessing in disguise for him, as he had received the least number of votes. So, he would have been evicted, even if had not accept the money.

Manus Girlfriend Unhappy

Manu's girlfriend Priya Saini is unhappy with his decision of leaving the show right before the finale.

Priyas Comments

Priya went on to say that she is not all convinced with his decision. It was quite evident that she was unhappy.

Salmans Revelations

Salman revealed to her that Manu was in the fourth place according to the votes and he took a right decision to walk away with the money.

Kishwer Merchant

It has to be recalled that Bigg Boss 9 contestant Kishwer Merchant, also chose to accept the offer given by the Bigg Boss and walked away with Rs. 15 lakh before the finale.
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The move is aimed at combatting obesity.

Related Sodas linked to increased heart failure risk

Offering free refills from self-service soda fountains has been uncommon in France, but now the practice is illegal.

A governmental decree prohibiting restaurants, hotels and catering facilities from allowing customers to top up their drinks for free went into effect on Friday. The move is aimed at combatting obesity.

The ban on free refills is part of a sweeping public health law passed a year ago. At the time, Health Minister Marisol Touraine explained she wanted to prevent the free-refill policies common in other countries from spreading to France.

The ban applies to all sweetened soft drinks.

France has some of the lowest obesity and overweight rates among developed countries, but statistics from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show the numbers increasing.

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NEW DELHI (dpa-AFX) - The top Indian IT companies that have announced their quarterly numbers so far have one thing in common. They're all worried and upset over the H-1B visa process change under Donald Trump's presidency.



Trump has been pro-India but industry experts fear that his 'America first' message as well as 'buy American and hire American' policy could spell doom for the $150-billion Indian IT industry, which has been at the receiving end of criticism from labor activists in the U.S. for over a decade.



While delivering its Q3 results earlier this month, Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest IT firm by revenue, said that the allegations of systematic visa fraud and abuse of immigration processes were 'completely untrue' and 'unfair' and the company was prepared to continue to operate its business with far fewer visas than before.



'Many of the estimates of differentiation in salaries are exaggerated, probably influenced by propaganda depicting non-migrant visa (holders) as cheap, underpaid laborers,' Rajesh Gopinathan, the new chief executive officer of the company, said.



Infosys is also bracing to deal with the changing circumstances, but said there is no noticeable discernible pattern in clients' behavior. The company believes that it has to become much more local and locally-oriented in its strategy in the market and globally to deal with the changing circumstances.



Industry veteran Abidali Z Neemuchwala, who is also the CEO of Wipro, expressed optimism that the Indian IT sector will successfully push through uncertainties around Trump's foreign policies. HCL Technologies is looking at stepping up campus and entry-level hiring in the U.S. to gear up for likely H1B visa rule change.



After imposing a pause on the U.S. refugee program, suspending the visa waiver program and barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, Trump is expected to soon take similar action on H-1B and L-1 visa programs for foreign workers.



This would be bad news for India's IT industry but at the same time pushes up costs of the American enterprises which rely on Indian companies.



How would Trump deal with India? No one really knows that as there are many areas of converging interests between the two countries. The employee cost of Indian IT firms will increase significantly if the U.S. government clears the H1B visa reform Bill.



While most in the industry prepare themselves for potential changes in the visa regime, some people actually think that Trump could proceed on this more carefully and seek to find the middle ground, given his desire to maintain good relations with India.



In addition to the imminent threat from protectionism, the Indian IT industry is also facing other global headwinds related to Brexit, currency volatility and the rise of disruptive technologies.



Currently, India accounts for 56 percent of the global outsourcing market with seven percent market share of the world's software and IT services. More than 60 percent of the Indian IT industry's export revenue comes from the U.S.



Last week, industry body Nasscom said that it would take a delegation to the U.S. in February in an attempt to reach out to the new administration. According to R. Chandrasekhar, president of Nasscom, the U.S. lacks high-skilled workers needed for work in the software and services segment.



'If the agenda of creation of jobs needs to be pursued, we feel that current windows will need to be kept open to get the requisite skilled workers,' he said.



Trump's actions on immigration during his first week in office are sending shock waves through the technology community, with many prominent companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft speaking out against the changes to U.S. immigration policies that restrain the flow of technical and professional talent.



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Bollywood has always been a soft target and over the past few years, filmmakers have become used to random protests around the time of their films release. A director once told me that if there was no loony fringe organisation protesting around the time of release, it meant that the film hadnt generated enough interest. Having been at the receiving end of multiple protests over the years, the directors shrug and smile revealed more than his words.

On Friday afternoon, members of the Rajput Karni Sena assaulted Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The attack occurred on the sets of Bhansalis period drama Padmavati in Jaipurs Jaigarh Fort. Scores of Rajput Karni Sena protestors breached the private security of the set before proceeding to assault the director and vandalise the films set.

The attack was a triggered by rumours that Padmavati has a love sequence between Padmavati, the Queen of Chittor and Alauddin Khilji, the Delhi Sultan. This is an outrageous distortion of Rajasthan's history as Rani Ji self-immolated herself along with other women of the fort when they heard that Khilji is marching ahead to take over the fort," said Mahipal Makrana, state president of Karni Seena.

What makes this attack different from the ones in the past is not just that a highly respected member of Bollywood was physically manhandled but also that the film is still being shot. Few outside the industry have even seen the films script but it doesnt take much for religious and caste sentiments to be hurt.

We seemed to have progressed from seemingly innocuous effigy burnings to all out physical attacks. Bollywood is partially to blame for this. Every single time a film or actor has been attacked, the industry has either cowed down or stayed quiet.

In the 1990s, it was only the Shiv Sena that terrorised the industry. Mani Ratnam's Bombay was 'censored' by Bal Thackeray before it was released. Shiv Sena ransacked theatres showing Deepa Mehta's Fire because it was 'polluting Indian culture'. Bollywood has given into bullying by political and religious groups film after film.

The problem now is that bullies have sprouted up all over the country. Ajay Devgn had to get approval from the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee before releasing Son of Sardar. Iron rod-wielding activists from Bajrang Dal vandalised movie theatres screening PK in Ahmedabad. There were protests against the Rajkumar Hirani film in different parts of the country because the film had hurt religious sentiments of Hindus by making fun of their gods and devotees.

Just six months ago, Karan Johar, who tweeted in support of Bhansali on Saturday, put out a video promising to never work with Pakistani artists again. To ensure a smooth release of Raees, Shah Rukh met Raj Thackeray last month. The films makers didnt include Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in any promotional activity.

Fridays attack on Bollywood wasnt the first and wont be the last unless the industry unites. Its time for Bollywood as a collective to say enough is enough. Celebrities have to do better than just condemning the attack or tweeting their support. The only way to stand up to bullies is to go on the offensive and the industry must come together to put pressure on the government. Its time to take that target off your back, Bollywood.
By Nikita Agarwal

A friend of mine tells me that when she was out on a sleepover with her friends from school, they had once sat on the floor in a dark room with EL James 50 Shades of Grey in front of them. Each of the girls then took turns to pick up the book, open it to a random page, and read from it under the light of a torch. It would almost always be a sex scene, and they had to read it aloud in a way that made it seem sexy. Most of the time theyd just giggle their way through the reading, but this was the first time my friend wondered about BDSM.

This same friend tells me some years later, that when she discovered Literotica (an erotica website), she first went to the BDSM section. She didnt actively think shed like anything there, but she was curious. Most of the stories introduced her to a world that made her uncomfortable  although, as she says, this was probably because, back then, she had learnt to associate the half-hushed, half-giggly way everyone talked about BDSM, with pain. That was until she realised from the stories on Literotica that she liked the idea of being tied up during sex.

Unsurprisingly, she is irritated when I make her watch the trailer of Vikram Bhatts new BDSM web series Maaya because of how stereotypical it is. Maaya is the first Indian web series to focus on the BDSM subculture. Bhatt, of course, is the film director (whos apparently going to be trying his hand at writing erotica) who brought us films such as Dangerous Ishq and Raaz. Since it was announced, everyones been calling Maaya an Indian 50 Shades of Grey (much to Bhatts irritation), while others, sounding completely bored, have called it a serialised B-grade movie in the comments section of the trailer on YouTube.

In the first episode of the series, we see Sonia having a breakdown when she hears that Rahul (we dont know yet who he is) has been arrested for the murder of some man called Salim. Soon after, her husband Abhishek finds her standing under the shower, fully clothed, before she passes out in his hands. We find out that Sonia has retrograde amnesia. While Abhishek becomes determined to find out what Sonia was hiding from him, we see Rahul, an architect, telling his lawyer that he was framed for murder.

Imagine a world full of desires, begins Bhatts trailer. Of course, the first shot we see is of glinting handcuffs being held up in front of Maaya (Shama Sikander). We only see her open lips, most clearly against what look like red walls and black satin sheets. The supposedly steamy sex scene (which is neither steamy nor a sex scene) has the deep voice of a man explaining to us just what BDSM is: Bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism; the need for one person to control and the other to surrender. While you wonder about the weird, perhaps supposed to be tantalising way in which the man says all this, we see Maaya bound, gagged, and being spanked with a riding crop.

Youll remember similar scenes from the 50 Shades of Grey movie  a woman, who looks like shes nearing an orgasm, her mouth half-open and her eyes closed, riding crop coming down on her as she grabs at the sheets and closes her eyes tighter. But my horrified friend tells me that in Bhatts show, hearing the man announce, I am a dominant and you are a submissive, to a woman on her knees on the floor with her hands tied behind her back, made BDSM seem like an excuse for the man to get what he wanted. There was no sense of desire or pleasure for both of them: It was as though the man was just controlling the woman. It reminded me of what Jaya Sharma, the founder of Kinky Collective, a group that seeks to raise awareness about BDSM, wrote in this piece for Mint, In BDSM, consent is sacrosanct. There are a range of mechanisms to ensure that consent is given and taken proactively and enthusiastically. A feeling that wasnt made clear in the script.

The first two episodes of Maaya, which released on 27 January, are as bad as the shows trailer. The trailer gets hijacked by the drama of Sonia (whose online, BDSM-loving persona is Maaya) conveniently getting retrograde amnesia, and her husband finding out her secret only to decide that he will cheat on her because he wants er revenge. Similarly, the shows first two episodes also throw in a murder, just in case all that drama wasnt enough.

In the first episode, we also get introduced to a terrified Sonia waking up in hospital from a strange dream-like state. In the dream, we see her hypnotically following a masked man who tells her that he likes that shes afraid, before using a pair of scissors to cut off her hospital gown, running them along her collar bone, and cutting off her bra straps before he disappears. All the while he murmurs, You like pain, dont you? You want me to hurt you? Beg me, followed by more stereotypical lines that weve come to associate with BDSM.

I suspect that my friends worry  that the show is really just about male dominance and a mans pleasure, rather than BDSM  is becoming true by the second episode. Here we see Rahul (the man in the trailer who tells us what BDSM is while Sonia kneels) working on his laptop in his office late at night. He says he writes BDSM erotica under a womans name, and this seems fine  until we hear him write the story from the womans perspective.

Rahul makes the woman in his story strip in a dark empty office and kneel with her right cheek touching the floor and her hands behind her back as a man circles her. It makes me uncomfortable that Bhatt chooses to have a man telling the story of a womans pleasure. Theres no sense of consent or desire from her part in the story he imagines, only his. We cant even be sure shes enjoying this a little bit. It reminds me of what Sharma says about pleasure in BDSM: Most importantly, these ways of understanding and giving consent are in sync with the nature of human desire and with our need to explore, give up or take control, and importantly, our need to pursue pleasure, and not only protect ourselves from harm. Bhatt conveniently forgets that a womans pleasure is part of this too.

None of the women in Bhatts show are working women except for Sonias doctor, and she doesnt do much either. Sonia doesnt have a job and neither do her friends (perhaps Bhatt thought there was enough drama in Sonias life, with her being a married woman who must feel guilty about her affair and the amnesia and what not). In the scene where we are introduced to Rahuls wife, she says shes had such a hectic day, only to go on to describe her Italian lunch with her girlfriends, and lots of shopping. Perhaps it isnt at all a surprise that Bhatts BDSM series only confirms for us that he doesnt really know how to write about women. Or sex.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine
By Jonathan Allen and Ned Parker

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK Iraqis who say their lives are in danger because they worked with the U.S. government in Iraq fear their chances of finding refuge in the United States may vanish under a new order signed on Friday by President Donald Trump.The order temporarily suspends the United States' main refugee program and halts visas being issued to citizens of several predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq. It is expected to affect two programs U.S. lawmakers created a few years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq to help the tens of thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping Americans.Trump says the order is necessary to prevent Islamist militants from coming to the United States posing as refugees, but refugee advocacy groups say the lengthy screening of applicants by multiple U.S. agencies makes this fear unfounded.Iraqis coming to the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa program for Iraqis, which stopped accepting new applications in 2014, or the ongoing Direct Access Program for U.S.-Affiliated Iraqis are losing hope of ever getting out. "Mr. Trump, the new president, killed our dreams," said one Baghdad man whose wife worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a bookkeeper."I don't have any hope to go to the United States," he said in a telephone interview, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution by Iraq's Sunni and Shia militant groups and also of unfavorable treatment by the Trump administration.More than 7,000 Iraqis, many of them interpreters for the U.S. military, have resettled in the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa program since 2008, while another 500 or so are still being processed, according to State Department figures. Another 58,000 Iraqis were awaiting interviews under the Direct Access program, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project. Tens of thousands have already arrived under the second program, but no recent total was available. "A lot of translators were trying to get the hell out of there because they had a mark on their head for working with U.S. forces," Allen Vaught, a former U.S. Army captain who went to Fallujah in western Iraq in 2003, said in a telephone interview. "They're viewed as collaborators."

He fears the order would endanger American troops by making it harder to recruit local support in war zones, a belief echoed by several advocacy groups working on behalf of America's Iraqi employees. While in Iraq, Vaught employed five local interpreters who initially earned $5 a week traveling with troops, sometimes without weapons or armor. He helped two of the interpreters come to the United States as refugees with their families, putting them up initially in his home in Dallas, Texas. Another two were executed by militia groups, he said. The fifth was still mired in the refugee screening process, which can last months or years even after the initial interview. Vaught had expected to also welcome him into his home this year before he had seen a draft of Trump's order."This executive order is based on ignorance and fear," he said. "And you do not lead a country with ignorance and fear."

IRAQIS STRANDED

In Baghdad, the Iraqi man waiting for a visa recalled U.S, soldiers had laughed at his concerns, telling him the United States is too big a democracy to be changed on "the decision of one person like Trump," he said. But he now wonders if the soldiers were right.In 2013, a USAID official encouraged his family to apply as refugees under the Direct Access program. He checked in every week or so, but is still waiting word on an appointment at the U.S. consulate for the necessary interview.

The same year he filed his application, he was shot in the head while driving to work, hospitalizing him for a month and leaving him deaf in one ear. He connected that to the threats that had often flashed as text messages on his cellphone, sent by Islamist militants angered by his wife's work for USAID.Others in Iraq remained hopeful they would eventually get out. An Iraqi man who worked for a U.S. defense contractor and later alongside U.S. troops as a mid-ranking Iraqi Army officer, recalled his excitement at getting the phone call a few weeks ago telling him that his family had an interview appointment at the U.S. consulate after two years and four applications. He was hopeful it would still take place in mid-February, believing that American officials would be concerned about the threats to his family. He was unaware that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday temporarily halted trips by staff to interview applicants. [L1N1FH05E] "I believe this is politics, things you hear on the news," he told Reuters by phone from Baghad on condition of anonymity. "I don't think they would prevent Iraqis coming to America." (Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Dina Kyriakidou and Mary Milliken)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Chandigarh: With bitter memories of large-scale violence fresh in the minds of people, Haryana was on high alert on Sunday as a section of the Jat community started fresh protests in some districts. Paramilitary forces and Haryana Police were monitoring the situation in Jat-dominated districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat and others.

The call to resume the protests has been given by the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Jat leader Yashpal Malik in 19 districts.

The Jats are demanding fulfillment of demands like release of youths arrested during the Jat agitation last year, jobs to kin of Jats killed in the agitation and action against officials responsible for firing on Jat agitationists.

"Security agencies are keeping a close watch on some Jat leaders, especially those owing allegiance to the AIJASS," a senior police officer said here on Sunday.

The Haryana government has requisitioned 55 companies of central police forces and ordered the deployment of 7,000 Home Guards, besides the Haryana Police personnel, in districts where trouble was expected.

Central forces and Haryana police carried out flag marches in Rohtak and some other places on Saturday to instill confidence among people.

The Jat agitation in February last year left 30 people dead and over 200 injured.

Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar and some other districts were the worst affected during the Jat agitation.

Government and private property worth hundreds of crores was damaged and set on fire. Large-scale looting of commercial and business premises and even motorists was reported from the 10 worst affected districts.

In a communication to senior officers in districts, the Haryana government last week directed that security of all major critical points like drinking water supply to Delhi in Karnal and Sonipat, traffic movement on the G.T. road (National Highway No 1) and roadways depots should be secured.

Haryana Director General of Police KP Singh said earlier that if anyone was found indulging in any illegal activity or causing loss to public property, action would be initiated against him.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said people should refrain from participating in any agitation. He said the government will strictly deal with the situation if it gets out of hand.
Why do some traditions continue over centuries, while others wither away over time? How do the rituals we engage in define our lives, our communities? What power does belief hold over our actions, prompting generation after generation to engage in certain practices?

The recent protests over the ban on the bull-taming sport of jallikattu in Tamil Nadu turned the spotlight on these questions; as has the Karnataka government's decision to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960) to pave the way for kambala, the traditional buffalo race held in the coastal districts. But the line of inquiry is one that has informed Bengaluru-based photographer Pradeep KS' work for a while now.

(Note to readers: Some of the images that follow are of a graphic nature.)

For over five years now, Pradeep has been carefully documenting the practice of ritual animal sacrifice in parts of Karnataka. This has taken the form of five photo series, titled: Tonsure, In The Name Of God, Rain, Rites Of Passage and Unfounded Belief. Through his images, Pradeep offers a view of how animal sacrifice is a part of the rituals, desires and emotions that are attendant to human life, and death.

A word of caution: these are not 'easy' images to see. Pradeep does not shy away from showcasing the violence that is inherent in the act of taking a life, but he does so as an impartial observer, one who doesn't offer judgment or even commentary, merely recording a practice in all its aspects so the viewer can form his/her own impressions. You see fowl being offered up to the gods so that the devotee's prayers are answered, sheep being sacrificed so the heavens will favour a village with rain, a buffalo slaughtered to appease a ghost that resides in a tree. The images go beyond the act of the sacrifice itself, to its role in the community  the 'social' aspect as it were, bringing an entire village together, for the feast after the rituals are fulfilled.

"Why ritual sacrifice, as a subject, caught my eye was because this is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years...perhaps even more," explains Pradeep. "The beauty of this subject is how strongly certain practices seemed to have weathered the (all-pervasive) rapid development and urbanisation, especially in Karnataka where we celebrate (Bengaluru) being crowned the most dynamic city. I started working on this series as a means to understand (this dichotomy), talking to people across age groups to get their ideas and attachment to the practice."

Another reason why the subject of ritual sacrifice has held his interest for so many years is the chance to examine the relation between all the 'elements' involved in the practice  "be it the relationship between an animal and people, or the very idea of tradition," says Pradeep.

Among all his images, there's particular one that stands out; it is from the Unfounded Belief series and depicts the sacrifice of a buffalo to appease the ghost that is believed to live in a tree in the village. The photos depict how the buffalo is led from home to home in the village, anointed with vermilion, offered oil and coconut, bathed, revered. Then, after prayers are offered to the deity (and an offering in the form of clay pots filled with toddy) the village 'godman' chooses who will get to perform the sacrifice. The buffalo is then killed, and its head taken around the outskirts of the village, in a procession. In Pradeep's photo, the animal's severed head holds a serene expression  belying the violence that has been done to its body. It is powerful, and moving.

The 'contrasts' that this series captures is just what Pradeep finds fascinating about the practice of ritual sacrifice. "What surprised me was how things co-exist," he says. "I can quote several examples  the animal to be 'offered' is given the utmost respect and care, but then finally it is sacrificed. Here we can see two different acts, followed by (the animal) actually being offered to God, but being consumed by the people. This is seen as a prayer to communicate with God... at a time when technology is sending messages to outer space and attempting to communicate with extra-terrestrials. There's belief and disbelief. The relation between a certain practice and rationale clearly speaks of the beauty of coexistence, held together by a ritual or traditional practice."

Pradeep adds that his experience while working on these series speaks about how well and strongly certain beliefs and practices are followed, irrespective of the place or time. "(The ritual sacrifice) is more of large social gathering where people feed each other for a noble cause  be it for rains to come, or to keep an evil spirit away," he says. "When looked at from a macro perspective, you can see this mesmerising collage of belief, people, and place strongly knit by our age-old practice and tradition."
With five poll-bound states and their checkered political landscape, BJP president Amit Shah once again has the task of taking BJP to the finishing line. In an interview with Network 18 Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah talks about Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and why he is confident that the BJP will get a two-third majority.

Though development remains high on the BJP agenda, the party has also focused on the state of law and order in UP under the Samajwadi Party government. While stressing that there is no room for dynasty politics in the BJP, Shah says the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance cannot divert attention of the voters from issues like law and order, land grab and cow slaughter.

The BJP president says though UP polls would not be a referendum on demonetisation, he is confident that the people are with the Narendra Modi government. He also said that three months are not enough to assess the full impact of demonetisation on black money.

Terming surgical strikes a decision made of political will, Shah says peace with our neighbours will be always be a priority, however, Indias attitude will depend on Pakistans behaviour.

Shah also talks about the BJPs stand on the contentious Ram Mandir issue and the partys poll strategy in Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand. Though Shah will soon turn focus on Gujarat, he shares his vision for 2019: My first objective is that BJP wins 2019 with a bigger margin than 2014.

Here is the full transcript:

Welcome, and thanks for speaking to Network18. Lets begin with the state Assembly elections. You just released BJP's manifesto in Uttar Pradesh. What does it have that others don't?

The preamble of our manifesto says that over the last 15 years Samajwadi Party and BSP have taken Uttar Pradesh backwards. A comparison with other states in the last 15 years will show UP, despite its huge potential, has seen very little development. This is true if you look from the perspective of governance, administration, law & order, and most all in the farm and industry sectors. Take employment, there has been little work done, all of this has held back UPs progress. So we have tried to give a platform to build a stronger structure so that in five years the BJP government can leap over the 15 years of developmental backwardness. We will take UP to the level of other developed states in the country.

Your manifesto talks of waiving farmer loans, offers zero-interest loans, free laptops and promises schemes for education and health. You have laid emphasis on law & order, which is one of the biggest issues...

Well, I would say you have to look beyond loan waivers and zero interest loans. Weve also promised to set up a system to buy crops from farmers, start computerised e-mandis so that the farmer gets a good price for their produce. We will also try to give soil health cards to all farmers in three years. The farmers can assess the fertility of their land, get information on what kind of fertiliser and seed to use etc. Based on all this information, the farmer can increase his yield to help UP make up for all the lost years. Many states have implemented zero interest loans. The farmers are desperate, we want to give a platform to do much better.

You have also talked of Ram Mandir, Kairana exodus and stopping cattle theft and slaughter. You have also promised helicopter services but only to Hindu religious spots. Is this a return to soft Hindutva?

Please don't see ban on slaughterhouses from that point of view. In all of UP  whether it is western UP, Awadh, Rohailkhand or Purvanchal  you will see that due to slaughterhouses, cows that give milk are finished. If there is a drought or flood, farmers fall back on cows for sustenance. UP has unlimited potential for milk production. I come from Gujarat where the availability of water is much less than in UP. But dairies have record production there. In UP, we want to prevent cattle smuggling and slaughter. Today even FIRs are not registered in UP in such cases. We have planned to set up dairies so that farmers will get good prices. This will also help them add value, and improve livelihoods.

We'll return to some of these issues, but my first key question. How many seats to do you give to BJP in Uttar Pradesh?

It is too soon to speak of entire UP, but I strongly believe that in the first and second phases, we will win 90 of the 135 seats.

So you are looking at a 2/3rds majority?

Definitely. We will get a 2/3rd majority.

So who is your fight with: The SP-Congress alliance or Mayawati's BSP?

With the alliance between Samajwadi Party and Congress.

Don't you think Muslim, Yadav, some upper caste votes will stand behind the alliance and give the BJP a tough challenge?

It is easy to talk theory. Look at the law and order situation in UP, every girl whether she is Yadav or from any other community, is harassed. Poor and backward suffer the worst... Urban law and order too is worse. That's why there is exodus, everyone is affected. If mothers and daughters are raped on highways like it happened in Bulandshahr... if this is the kind of government we have, then it's everybody's problem. In the heart of Mathura, in Jawaharbagh, a gang led by Ram Vriksh Yadav occupies government land for three years and kills policemen who go there. No law abiding UP citizen can tolerate this situation. The election will be on this issue (of law & order). Akhilesh Yadav is wrong if he thinks he can fool people with his family drama and an alliance. That is not going to happen. Law and order is an issue today. Exodus in west UP is an issue. Cow smuggling and slaughter is an issue. Women's security is an issue. Land grab is an issue. Whatever you do, you will have to answer it all.

It is said that these Assembly polls will be a referendum on demonetisation. Do you think so?

It wont be correct to say the UP polls would be a referendum on note ban. Because in UP, there are so many anti-incumbency issues. The mining mafia is running free; if it takes Rs 18 crore per km for constructing a road, tenders are given out for Rs 31 crores, people want to know where the Rs 13 crore gone. But even then if the Opposition wants a referendum on note ban, we are open to it. In the issue of note ban, the people of UP are with BJP. And they will vote on the lotus symbol.

So you believe note ban will help BJP in UP Polls?

Yes, definitely.

Do you think the note ban has helped curb black money?

I would say if someone wants to analyse the impact of such a historic decision looking at just three months, it would be a tad too fast. This is part of a big strategy. Right from the day the BJP government was sworn in at the Centre, we declared war against black money. The first resolution of the first Cabinet meeting was to implement the Supreme Court order to set up a special investigation team on black money. Till then up to demonetisation we have taken around 29 steps in this direction. But if within three months of note ban someone expects black money to be extinguished, then that person needs to understand the principles of economics better.

A lot of the demonetised money has come back to the system. So people believe big capitalists have gotten away. In the near future will you be taking these people to task through steps like IT raids?

People are spreading this canard that all the money that has come back to the banks have automatically become white. Anyone who has deposited more than Rs 2.5 lakh in banks after demonetisation, there is a list of them, and agencies are working on that. And the government has brought in a tough legislation. The money that has come back to the system will be used for the betterment of the living conditions of the poor. Those who dont have food, those who dont have shelter, those who dont have toilets, those who dont have electricity or drinking water, this money will be used for their upliftment. Up until now, this money was locked up in the coffers of politicians and industrialists. Now it is back in the system.

So will you make sure this money reaches the poor?

There are schemes in place, more schemes are being chalked out. The Cabinet is working on these decisions.

The surgical strikes against Pakistan was another big decision by the Modi government. Will your stand on Pakistan harden in the coming months?

Indias attitude towards Pakistan will depend on Pakistans behaviour. We want good relations with all. Peace with our neighbours is a priority. But if this is seen as our weakness, then that is a mistake. This government is led by Narendra Modi. Putting our soldiers and borders at risk will not be tolerated anymore. Surgical strikes were a decision made of political will. The bravery of the Army ensured it has changed the way the world looks at India today. In the coming days, it will only benefit India.

And do you think it will it benefit you in the Assembly elections?

People of the entire nation, except some political leaders, are with us. You would have read Rahul Gandhi's statement of 'khoon ki dalali'. I am yet to understand what he wanted to say.

You already rule the Centre, now if you come to power in UP too, will you build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya?

We have a very clear stand on Ram Mandir, that we will explore ways of building a temple within the Constitutional framework. This can be done in two ways: Either through dialogue or through a court order.

So your government is committed to the issue?

Yes, we are committed. Within the Constitutional structure, we will find ways to build a temple.

In 2014, when BJP got 71 seats in UP, people attributed it to the Modi wave and your Midas touch. Do you think this will work this time as well?

In 2014, the entire nation wanted a strong leader and the BJP had made the right decision by announcing Narendra Modi as the party's PM candidate, and we fought under his leadership. There was a wave across the nation and UP was no different. I am indebted to the crores of BJP workers who worked tirelessly to convert that wave into votes and scale it up to a tsunami. As a result, NDA got 73 out of 80 seats in UP. It's because of that decision by the people of UP that we are running a government with full majority at the Centre. This time around people are tired of the misrule of this alternating governments of SP and BSP. There has been no development in 15 years. Corruption is rampant, law and order has totally collapsed. Youth are leaving the state for jobs in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru leaving behind parents and wives. UP has everything. There's water below 50 feet; there is level, fertile lands for kilometres on; there is abundant water thanks to the blessing of Ganga and Yamuna. And there is talented, hardworking youth. But there is no development because the system has collapsed.

But you faced crushing defeats in Delhi and Bihar despite Modi's popularity. Have you learnt any lessons from those mistakes, which you wouldn't like to repeat this time?

Our party had set up a committee to examine these two defeats. It won't be proper to discuss that in public, but I would like to clarify that both states had peculiar political environments. And we won Assam, all local polls, by-polls, made progress in states like Kerala, Bengal. Approval for Modi has come from across the country.

This time BJP's strategy has been breaking and making alliances. You have aggressively drawn key Opposition leaders into BJP. How will you gain from this?

It is not right to say these leaders are leaving their parties. This is political migration. Fed up with dynastic and caste-based politics and naked corruption practiced by parties like BSP, many leaders are leaving their parties and migrating to BJP. I believe that the society will gain from the consolidation of such good leaders. If that consolidation happens towards BJP, it will be good for the country, good for UP. Because India cannot dream of double digit growth without UP growing at double digits.

You just spoke of dynasty politics. But BJP had to distribute a lot of tickets to kith and kin of senior leaders despite Modis appeal not to ask for tickets for family members.

Let me clarify our position here. Dynasty politics is when Akhilesh Yadav becomes the chief minister of UP sidelining all other party leaders. Or when Omar Abdullah becomes the chief minister after Farooq Abdullah. Jawaharlal Nehru followed by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia ruling through Manmohan Singh, and now Rahul That is dynasty politics.

In BJP, family members of leaders are free to work hard for the party, run for elections and become MLAs. But whether they will become chief minister or not depends solely on their merit. So lets not have simplistic definitions on dynasty politics. If Rahul Gandhi has a child, there is no confusion then who will be the next Congress president. But can you guess who will be the next BJP president? No you cannot. This is the difference between the BJP and all other parties. The greatness of BJP is that a man from a poor household can rise up to become the PM... A booth worker like me who used to do wall paintings for the party can become the national president. In this party there can never be any dynasty politics.

As elections approach some politicians have started making communal statements, trying to polarise the electorate. How will you deal with such leaders? The PM has warned them in the past.

Please do not link this with the BJP. UP presents a peculiar condition. There's anger among the general public. People are reflecting the public mood against the politics of appeasement and vote bank. If someone speaks up against the politics of appeasement and vote bank, he is only articulating the public mood. But I agree there should be no communal agenda in polls. If we appeal to end mechanised slaughterhouses, then it cannot be called communal, we are doing it for the farmers. A task force against exodus in western UP cant be termed communal, it is a constitutional right of the people. In UP, people have stopped sending their daughters to colleges because the girls get harassed. We have promised that BJP will form an Anti-Romeo Squad to save these girls. This is not communal. It is the right of every girl to study in her own city or village. That is why it would not be correct to paint everything as communal.

Western UP is very important for you. Who do you consider responsible for the exodus there?

Without doubt this is a result of BSP and SP's vote bank and appeasement politics. This would have never happened if the police did its work within the framework of constitution. This only happened because police was used to strengthen vote bank politics. Which constitution mandates that FIRs be registered on the basis of caste and religion? This needs to be stopped.

What steps will you take in this direction if you form the government?

We raised these issues earlier also. When Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh were heading the government we took steps then and these activities did stop. We have 12 state governments in the country. There's no exodus happening anywhere. It is the police's job to maintain law and order within the framework of the Constitution.

Pending payments for sugarcane farmers is a big, perennial issue in western UP. How do you plan to address this?

No one cared for the sugarcane farmers for a long, long time. But now the Modi government has started working to protect the interest of cane farmers. We increased ethanol consumption so that cane farmers get their due. We stopped import so that farmers get the right price for their produce. Export subsidies have meant they get a good price for their produce. Cane farmers did not get their payments in time. We fixed that too. We have said two things in our manifesto. We will deliver the Rs 6,000 crores due to cane farmers within 120 days of coming to power. We will engage the bank and collectors to this effect within 120 days. We will set up a system where they will get a 14-day postdated cheque from the day he offloads cane in the mill. I think this will be a huge step. No one has taken a step like this in 70 years. We will be extending this assistance to all the sugarcane farmers upon assuming office.

Any specific plans to fix road transport and infrastructure in UP?

We have promised an East, West, North & South corridor to the people of UP. We have promised to connect every village to tehsil office by bus. Along with this, we have also said we will improve medical facilities.

Just before the Bihar Assembly polls, RSS Sarsangchalak Mohan Bhagwat had raised some concerns on reservations. BJP suffered the consequences. Last week, RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said something similar. We want to know what is your position as far as reservation is concerned.

Neither Mohan Bhagwat said any such thing then, nor has Manmohan Vaidya said any such thing now. Manmohan Vaidya was asked a question on religion-based reservation. But someone took away the question and showed just the reply. This caused the controversy. He clarified the next day. The question very clearly was about his view on the Sachar panel suggestion on religion-based reservation. The Sangh has always said that the present situation needs the existing system of reservation. BJPs position is also clear. Constitutionally mandated provisions of reservation in India, with the cap prescribed by the Supreme Court must continue. This includes SC, ST & OBC. We have miles to go.

But now that you have asked this question, I want to ask a question to SP, Congress and BSP. They talk about reservations for minorities. Where will they get it from? The highest court has put a cap of 50 percent. So you cannot go beyond that. Many states have reached 50 percent already within the existing SC, ST & OBC reservations. If they want to give reservation to minorities, then who will they take it away from? SC, ST or OBC? So it is not us who are opposing reservation for Dalits, OBCs and tribals. They are. It is they who talk about giving reservation on religious grounds. They must clarify to the people of UP on whether they want religion-based quotas or not. And if they want it, then they must specify who will they take it away from? We have clarified, now the SP, Congress and BSP should clarify. Grounds of reservation must not be religion. The Constitution does not mandate this. So we must all maintain the existing system.

You fought many state elections without any CM face. There was a CM face in Assam and it helped. Why is there no CM face in Uttar Pradesh?

This is always the decision of the parliamentary board. We had no face in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. We won elections in these states. We've had no chief minister face in most of the elections we won. And, whoever will be our CM face (in UP) will surely be better than theirs. That's certain. People have seen through these faces.

The PM opposed triple talaq. Your manifesto also mentions it. What's your take?

We believe that the Constitution mandates every woman should get her rights, and that includes Muslim women. Triple talaq curtails the rights of Muslim women.

Moving away from UP, what are the realistic chances of you winning in Uttarakhand?

We will certainly form a government in Uttarakhand by a good margin.

A lot of Congress leaders in Uttarakhand have joined BJP. You think that will help you?

See, this is a process. One party is breaking up. And the good people are drifting towards ours. Don't look at this process as defection. This process has happened before elections and not after elections. This is not aaya ram-gaya ram politics.

It is said that Goa is a close fight for you this time. It is also said that you had to prop up Manohar Parrikar as your face in Goa just before this difficult election. Do you agree?

No, the party hasn't taken any such decision as of now that Manohar Parrikar will go back to Goa. We have said that if the people of Goa and elected MLAs feel this way, then both options are open. A decision will be taken by parliamentary board based on legislative party's opinion. We are in a strong position in Goa. For the first time, the state is seeing a government complete its full term. Congress had 12 chief ministers in the first 10 years. Goa's growth had come to a standstill.

You also had two CMs

We had two because one had to move to the Centre. Parrikar didnt have to leave because of any infighting. One chief minister became the Defence Minister, that's why we had another one. Had Parrikar not come to the Centre, he would have completed his five-year term as chief minister.

Will Parrikar go back if required?

As I said, we have kept that open ended.

What is your assessment of Punjab. It is said that AAP and Congress have a lead?

It is a triangular contest in Punjab. BJP-SAD is in the fray with full force. A tremendously talented man like Parkash Singh Badal is leading the charge there. There are very a few leaders like Badal sahab in this country today.

The Shiv Sena seems upset with you. They are fighting the corporation and zilla parishad elections on their own. Will this affect your relationship in the state and the Centre?

This is not our decision but that of the Shiv Sena. We have an open mind and they are our trusted ally. We are with them in the Centre and the state governments. Whats happening is a friendly match. It is for the people to decide.

So these are just differences and not a long-term fight?

There are no differences. It is just that both parties have different internal calculations. Both parties believe in their position of strength. We have left it for the people to decide. But I don't agree that this is going to cause damage to our alliance.

The next big election after this will be Gujarat. What according to you will happen there?

We have swept all municipal elections and by-polls in Gujarat. We are in a very strong position. We haven't lost a single election since '90.

So you feel your new team is going to win again?

Most certainly we will form the government. And that too with two third majority.

What is your assessment of 2019 elections?

A survey in one of the papers says if elections are held now, then NDA will get 370 seats. And BJP will get absolute majority. But we are not in 2019 yet. We will emerge stronger then. There will be more development, progress and safety by then. We will emerge stronger by raising the standard of living of the poorest of the poor. I am confident that this Jan Kalyan Yajna will make the BJP emerge stronger. We have empowered the poor of this country. Only a poor woman would know the joy of having cooking gas as opposed to a smoke-filled hut. Only a poor woman would know the shame and pain of defecating in the open at 2 am for want of a toilet. It is our endeavour to have a toilet in each house. No government so far had thought of toilets, gas and even a small bulb to light up the house of poor. Even after 70 years of Independence, 60 crore people did not have a bank account. We got these people connected to the mainstream by opening these bank accounts. I believe that the results will surely be positive. And we have honestly worked towards the upliftment of Dalits and backward communities to raise their living standards.

Some big economists feel that demonetisation will lead to slow growth

It is possible that a quarter or two may reflect this. As of now it doesn't. As of now nothing has gone down. Neither the revenue nor income. But even if we assume it does get reflected in a few quarters, just imagine what Rs 8 lakh crores in excess entering the system actually means. Rs 8 lakh crore that wasn't of much use to the country's growth! Money that was lying in coffers and chests has now come back into the system. I believe that this is going to create a massive difference.

I have interviewed you on a number of occasions in the past. You always appear relaxed.

I am quite relaxed today also.

Any secret to this?

We consider elections as a festival to celebrate democracy. We enter the electoral fray with our ideology, agenda, manifesto and the strength of the cadre. Winning and losing isn't important for us. We do not believe in caste-based politics. Neither do we believe in dynasty politics. We believe in the politics of performance. And we have started this type of politics.

What is the next step for Amit Shah? Will you enter electoral politics in the Centre in 2019? Will you join the government, or go back to Gujarat ?

There is no question of me returning to Gujarat. And I am in central politics only.

Will you join the government?

This is no time to think of that. My first objective is that BJP wins 2019 with a bigger margin than 2014.
Muslims aspiring for BJP tickets in the upcoming Manipur Assembly elections have been left out in the cold. The BJP has given the go ahead to just 1 of the 17 Muslim candidates who sought party tickets for five assembly seats in upcoming polls on 4 and 8 March thereported.

The BJP, while announcing their first list of candidates for 31 out of 60 seats, approved candidates from the Meitei community even in areas which have large Muslim populations such as Keirao, Wabgai and Wangkhem.

Md Anwar Hussain, the sole Muslim candidate approved by the party, will contest from Lilong  a constituency with the largest Muslim population in the state.The next list is expected over the next couple of days. Md Salam Khan and Md Habibur Rehman, the BJP state unit president and vice president of Minority Morcha were also denied tickets. Rehman has now joined the JD(U) and will contest from Wagbai,reported.

Khan, who joined BJP in 2014 after being member of the Congress for over 10 years, had sought to contest from Keirao seat. He lost out to L Rameshwor Meitei. Khan, expressing disappointment with the way the BJP has distributed tickets, lamented the fact that the ticket had been given to an individual who joined the BJP just two months ago. Khan said that while he would remain with the BJP, the manner in which the tickets were distributed made it more difficult for him to explain the BJP's intentions in the state to the Muslim community.

He also said this move made it more difficult to counter the Congress' propaganda that BJP wanted a minority-less government in Manipur. He said out of a total of 60 seats in Manipur there are 18 constituencies, where Muslim votes are swing factors, which BJP will now find it difficult to garner. "When you give ticket to Muslim for just one seat, that too for a constituency where the community is majority what is the message being sent out to the rest of population in the state?" he wondered.

MI Khan, who joined BJP six months ago after giving up the post of vice president of the state Trinamool Congress unit, said he was lured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ideology and principles, DNA reported . "When you see the pattern of ticket allotments, when deserving Muslim candidates are denied tickets you realise that the BJP isn't for the minority community," Khan said.

Khan, who has decided to contest on an NCP ticket from the Keirao constituency said they would expose the fact that the BJP didn't stand for the minority. "There are 18 constituencies in Manipur where Muslim votes do play a key factor and we will ensure that the community doesn't endorse the communal party. Initially we believed in Narendra Modi sabka saath sabka vikas slogan but after the tickets are distributed there is a question mark raised on the intent of BJP. Its actions are showing to be Hindu-oriented."

While Muslims account for 6 percent of Manipurs population, which is around 26 lakh, the Meitei community form the Hindu, ethnic majority. In Manipur, the relationship between Meitei and the Muslims has long been a fraught and complicated one. In 1993, one hundred people were killed after riots broke out between the two communities.
In a desperate bid to salvage their grip over the state, the Manipur government has given final touches to have the United Naga Council (UNC) declared an unlawful organisation. Congress spokesperson Khumkcham Joykishan recently said that the proposal to do so will be forwarded to the central government.

This comes in light of the of the tripartite meeting called by the Centre between the UNC and the state government, for the settlement of the economic blockade.

"The UNC had imposed the indefinite economic blockade along the highways from 1 November protesting against the government plan to create two districts. During the protest, it had ambushed and killed two personnel and wounded several others," Joykishan said.

"The Manipur government move is in the larger interest of the people who are floundering in this humanitarian crisis. In order to appease the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) the Centre has not intervened. Since the UNC is the frontal organisation of the NSCN(IM) the blockade could have been lifted as India is holding peace talks with this outfit", he added.

Taking a dig at the BJP party, Joykishan added, "The state unit BJP should urge the national leaders to do the needful in public interest. For 88 days people have been facing shortages of all sorts."

The UNC wields influence in the hilly areas of Manipur because of their close affinity with the Naga tribes. The UNC has consistently reaffirmed that their aim is to give Nagas the rights they deserve. They have delcared that they will intensify the blockade and the ban on the construction of national projects and picketing of government offices in Naga areas.

Congress trades barbs with BJP over the economic blockade

Attacking Assam's BJP minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who said that if Okram Ibobi Singh makes room, BJP could lift the blockade in two days, Joykishan said Sarma's announcement is unclear.

He wanted to know whether the BJP is planning a rollback of the creation of the seven districts once there is a President's rule interregnum. "The Congress ministry is ready to resign if it will benefit the people", Joykishan added.

He said, "As long as there is a Congress government, Manipur's territory shall be intact. Even though all Congressmen are bloodied, the integrity shall be protected. Sarma and other BJP leaders should come out with a clear cut statement since many things are incomprehensible on the basic stand of the BJP."

Congress and the BJP have been trading barbs and trying to gain political mileage out of the blockade with an eye towards the upcoming elections. Manipur accuses the Centre of not sending enough paramilitary forces with the result that the NH 2 that passes through Nagaland is still impassable.

Recently the Naga students in Nagaland had banned Manipur's vehicles in the state. The state government has been bringing about 300 trucks and oil tankers twice in a week. Taking undue advantage of the inadequate security cover, militants have been carrying out ambushes on the convoy.

UNC, Govt invited for tripartite talk

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has invited the UNC and Ibobi's government to hold 'tripartite meeting' on the prevailing economic blockade on 3 February in New Delhi.

The UNC is not yet declared whether they will attend the meeting.

The Manipur government had not attended the earlier tripartite meeting called by the Centre. Hence, experts believe that the economic blockade will continue through the Manipur Assembly election to be held on 4 and 8 March.

With inputs from agencies
Jammu: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday alleged that the Mehbooba Mufti government was following the "doctrine of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval" not the Agenda of Alliance.

"I want to tell you that you (Mehbooba) are not running the government as per the Agenda of Alliance (AOA) but you are running it as per Ajit Doval's doctrine. It is the truth. Please accept this," he said in the Legislative Assembly in Jammu.

The National Conference chief said, "Please go to the YouTube and see the lecture of Doval which has 5 or 6 parts and it is 2010's lecture not a new one2010 October 10. His lecture is based on the analysis of 2010 unrest and how to deal about it and the relation between India and Pakistan."

"What Doval sahib has said in 2010 and the way you are dealing Jammu and Kashmir, there is no difference. There is no iota of difference."

The NC MLA went on to "It deals with how to ignore the political, ideological and philosophical side of Jammu and Kashmir. Nowhere should it be mentioned that Jammu and Kashmir is a political issue and it should be dealt politically and how we should deal with the Pakistan and how we should marginalise Hurriyat Conference - all such things are recordedin these lecture."

"I want to tell you either run the state as per the Agenda of the Alliance in which you have talked about the high degree of visiondialogue, peace process, unity and lot more or follow the footprints on which you are moving forward as both of them are contradictory," Omar told Mehbooba in the House.

"Either you can run the Agenda of Alliance or Ajit Doval's doctrine because there is no common linkage between the two. It is you and your colleagues who have to decide which way to follow and which roadmap you want to bring in to the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

"Please take this House into the confidence and tell us that there is only one doctrine that is Agenda of Alliance. Everybody wants peace and normalcy in the state," he added.

On the government's performance, he said, "Nearly two years have been completed by your government but what you have been given to the people of the state, what have we achieved."

Questioning the formation of SITs to probe deaths during the unrest, Omar said, "This House discussed the 2016 Kashmir unrest. When you say there is no need of judicial probe as the government has set up Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe the deaths in Kashmir unrest. These SITs suit you only. Where have the previous probe report of SITs gone."

"During my time you had no faith in such probe panels. When more than 100 people have lost their lives and police is a party in it how can you hand over the probe to SITs. If you are convinced that there is no need of judicial probe panel you convince us we will live it."

"For the death of one person during his tenure, you demanded judicial probe and now when such a large number of people have lost their lives you are giving the charge of the probe to police only. Please tell me how justified is this," Omar said.

On the issue of Agenda of Alliance, he said, "There is no difference between your speech in last year with this year. You have been always justifying why we have done this on the plea that it accommodates every aspects of Jammu and Kashmir."

"There is no objection to your Agenda of Alliance. Nobody in this house has raised any objection on this. We have never raised any objection on its contents but we have raised question on its delivery."

Omar said, "We have said that you have shown the people your Agenda of Alliance but failed to deliver it on the ground. We don't want to go into details where from you have brought which point of its agenda."

"When you entered into the alliance with BJP and you said that we have entered into the alliance to get Rs 40,000 crores relief for flood affected people, where is that relief I want to question you? You have yourself accepted in Assembly and Council that you have failed to provide relief to flood affected people," he added.

"Naturally questions would be raised on Agenda of Alliance. Tell me which point of these agendas would you implemented on the ground during last two years," he said.

"As per my information, there is nothing such aspect seen on the ground. You are not running the government as per the Agenda of Alliance. If you would have been running the state as per the Agenda of Alliance there would have not a situation erupted like six months long unrest," the NC chief said.

Taking a dig on the Deputy Chief Minister's remarks about Burhan's killing, he said, "You are creating a confusion in the security forces particularly police force."

On the issue of Mehbooba called soft to separatists, Omar said, "Before you took over the Chief Minister you have been doubted as soft to separatists by some quarters and soft to militants as well. But you proved them wrong by hundred per cent".

"The number of militants killed by security forces in 2016 has been hardly eliminated in such a large number in previous years since 2008," he added.

Omar said "It is impossible that you are inclined to be soft to separatists. If you would have been soft to separatists and militants, it was impossible that such a large number of militants would have been killed in 2016".
By Yeganeh Torbati and Doina Chiacu

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the United States and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries caused confusion and panic among travelers on Saturday, with some turned back from U.S.-bound flights.Immigration lawyers in New York sued to block the order, saying numerous people have already been unlawfully detained. The new Republican president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. He said the moves would protect Americans from terrorism, in a swift and stern delivery on a campaign promise.The bans affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The action prompted fury from Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa who said it was humiliating and discriminatory. It drew widespread criticism from U.S. Western allies including France and Germany, Arab-American groups and human rights organizations.Iran condemned the order as an "open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation" and vowed to retaliate. Of the seven countries targeted, Iran sends the most visitors to the United States each year - around 35,000 in 2015, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The ban extends to green card holders who are authorized to live and work in the United States, according to Gillian Christensen, a Homeland Security spokeswoman.It was unclear how many green card holders would be affected, but exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.LEGAL RESIDENTS STUNNED

Legal residents of the United States were plunged into despair at the prospect of being unable to return to the United States or being separated from family members trapped abroad. Immigration lawyers worked through the night to help stranded travelers and enforcement at entry points was uneven.

"I never thought something like this would happen in America," said Mohammad Hossein Ziya, 33, who came to the United States in 2011 after being forced to leave Iran for his political activities.Ziya, who lives in Virginia, has a green card and planned to travel to Dubai next week to see his elderly father. "I can't go back to Iran, and it's possible I won't be able to return here, a place that is like my second country," he said.Saleh Taghvaeian, 36, teaches agricultural water management at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, said he feared his wife will not be able to return from Iran after a visit."In Iran they're not being allowed to get on the airplane," he said. In Cairo, five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York on Saturday, sources at Cairo airport said. Dutch airline KLM [AIRF.PA] said on Saturday it had refused carriage to the United States to seven passengers from predominately Muslim countries.At least three lawyers from the International Refugee Assistance Project were at the arrivals lounge at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4, buried in their laptops and conference calls, photocopies of individuals' U.S. visas on hand.

'IT'S SCARY'

"Just because Trump signed something at 6 p.m. yesterday, things are coming to a crashing halt," said Mana Yegani, an immigration lawyer in Houston. "It's scary."She and fellow lawyers worked all night fielding calls from travelers with student and worker visas who were being denied entry into the United States and ordered on flights back to the Muslim-majority countries.Enforcement of the order was spotty and disorganized.Travelers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers were advising clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, said Yegani, who works with the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The order seeks to prioritize refugees fleeing religious persecution. In a television interview, Trump said the measure was aimed at helping Christians in Syria. Some legal experts said that carve-out showed the order was unconstitutional, as it would violate the U.S. right to freedom of religion. But others said the president and U.S. Congress have latitude to choose who receives asylum.Lawyers from numerous immigration organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal court in Brooklyn on behalf of two Iraqi men, one a former U.S. government worker and the other the husband of a former U.S. security contractor. The two men had visas to enter the United States but were detained on Friday night at Kennedy airport, hours after Trump's executive order, the lawsuit said.Green card holders were also being stopped and questioned for several hours. Officials also denied travelers with dual Canadian and Iranian citizenship from boarding planes in Canada that were headed to the United States, Yegani said. "These are people that are coming in legally. They have jobs here and they have vehicles here," Yegani said. Those with visas from Muslim-majority countries have gone through background checks with U.S. authorities, Yegani noted. Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway reaffirmed the president's decision in a Twitter post on Saturday."@POTUS is a man of action and impact. Promises made, promises kept. Shock to the system. And he's just getting started," she tweeted. (Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen and David Ingram in New York and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Mary Milliken)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Ahmedabad: Union minister Prakash Javadekar, on Sunday, dubbed a "new political drama" the Congress and SP's slogan of "three Ps" for Uttar Pradesh elections, saying it actually stands for "parivar, propaganda and power" and not progress and peace as was stated at the first joint presser of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.

He said people of Uttar Pradesh will choose the BJP over the Congress and SP which are "rejected parties".

"In UP, a new political drama has started today. In a joint press conference, Congress and SP leaders gave a slogan of 3 Ps, that is progress, prosperity and peace. But, the real slogan should be 'parivar (family), propaganda and power'. That is the real reason why they came together," he said.

The senior BJP leader's remarks came hours after Congress and SP held their first joint press conference in Lucknow after stitching the tie-up for the high-stakes Assembly elections, slated next month.

At the event, the Congress vice-president said the alliance was for three Ps (progress, prosperity and peace) while SP president and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav added the last P (people).

The Gandhi and Yadav scions gave a call for crushing BJP's divisive politics of anger for the progress, prosperity, peace and people of Uttar Pradesh in the polls.

"SP has been in power since five years in UP. The party was also with Congress for 10 years in the central government. What stopped them from bringing peace, prosperity and progress at that time? You can not hide your sins now by changing your outer appearance," Javadekar said.

He was speaking with media persons after addressing a 'Digi-Dhan Mela', organised in Bodakdev area here by district administration to spread awareness about digital transactions using mobile phones.

Javadekar said the Congress and SP do not stand a chance to win as people are well aware about their previous track record.

"Two rejected parties cannot become a decisive force by forming an alliance. People know how UP was looted and what is the state of law and order today. A new slogan cannot change this situation. It is very clear that people are with BJP and you will see it when the poll results will be out in March," Javadekar added.

Congress is contesting on 105 seats and SP on 298 seats in the polls.
Washington: Resistance to US President Donald Trump's crackdown on Muslim immigration mounted quickly, with protests spreading across the country and the first legal challenge filed to an order branded as blatantly discriminatory.

Around 2,000 angry protesters flocked to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after a dozen travelers were detained there, including two Iraqi men late Friday, shortly after Trump signed the travel ban.

Large protests also took place at the main airports for Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas, where USA Today said about 50 people were detained.

"We knew that was coming -- we were prepared," said Camille Mackler, a lawyer who heads legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that quickly mounted the demonstration there.

"But we didn't know when, and we couldn't believe it would be immediate, that there'd be people in an airplane the moment the order was taking effect." The List Project, which helps Iraqis whose personal safety is threatened because they have worked for the United States, expressed outraged over the move, warning it put American lives at risk too.

"I can't say this in blunt-enough terms: you can't screw over the people that risked their lives and bled for this country without consequences," wrote the project's founder and director Kirk Johnson. "But here is President Trump, in his first week, suspending the refugee program through an executive order that creates no exceptions for the tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans who worked alongside our Marines, soldiers, diplomats and aid workers."

He noted that of the approximately 800,000 refugees who have come to the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks, none have been charged with domestic terror attacks. The first lawsuit against Trump's order was filed in a federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after the two Iraqi men were detained.

The filing seeks class-action status in order to represent all refugees and travelers held up because of the presidential action. An emergency hearing took place late Saturday in Brooklyn.
Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has welcomed Canadian immigrants in a sunny Twitter message written in stark contrast to Donald Trump's order temporarily banning all refugees and many Muslims from traveling to the United States.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau posted on Twitter on Saturday.

The message comes one day after Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and impose tough new controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Since then, travelers from those countries have been stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests and detentions at airports.

Some who were already in the air when Trump signed the executive order were detained on arrival, The New York Times reported.

On Saturday, Canadian airline WestJet said it would reimburse passengers prevented from traveling to the United States under the new policy.

"WestJet will comply with this executive order," the company said in a statement.

"In the event there are foreign nationals from these countries on WestJet who are denied entry, we will be providing them with a full refund."

The airliner has already had to refuse one passenger transport to the United States, a spokeswoman said, without specifying the passenger's origin.

According to the latest Canadian census, from 2011, one out of five people in the country are foreign-born.

Canada has welcomed more than 39,670 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and the beginning of this January, according to government figures.
Silicon Valley heads have slammed US President Donald Trump's temporary ban on refugees and many Muslims from entering the United States, fearing it could prevent them from accessing a global reservoir of talent.

The sweeping immigration crackdown moved many tech bosses to criticise measures that could impact sector employees.

"Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do," said Tim Cook in a memo to staff obtained by AFP.

The company's founder Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian immigrant.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called the president's first week in office "very sad," saying in a Facebook post that "Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all."

"It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Nearly 200 Google employees are directly impacted by the measures, according to an internal memo from CEO Sundar Pichai.

"We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," said the head of the internet giant.

Trump's hardline executive order, signed on Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days, and for the next three months bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

'Best and the brightest'

Immigration law specialist Ava Benach  who told AFP she has been flooded with calls from clients  said those already in the US should stay put, and those abroad risk being blocked from boarding aircraft.

"I would advise against leaving the US because I don't believe that they will be able to return," she said.

As resistance to the temporary immigration restrictions mount, a US federal judge on Saturday ordered authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly's decision to issue a temporary stay  which stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's order came after dozens of people were detained at US airports following Trump's actions.

"As an immigrant and as a CEO, I've both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, for the world" said Microsoft head Satya Nadella, who is of Indian descent.

The company had warned on Thursday that immigration restrictions could impact its ability to fill research and development positions.

Globalisation has been a boon for Silicon Valley, which employs a significant population of foreign engineers. Some 250,000 Muslims live in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Internet companies in particular thrive in the US because the best and the brightest are able to create innovative products and services right here in America," said Michael Beckerman, the head of a leading industry lobby group.

Trump met last month with a handful of America's most powerful tech executives  a bid to mend fences with a largely pro-Democrat industry.

No announcements were made following the summit, however.

In the short term, many tech companies are offering legal assistance to staffers impacted by the executive order.

"We are assessing the impact on our workforce and determining how best to protect our people and their families from any adverse effects," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP.

Chris Sacca, a major financial backer of the sector, vowed to donate $150,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union, an organisation that has hit the executive order with legal challenges.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick vowed to raise the issue at a meeting next week of Trump's business advisory council, which the executive is a part of.
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump and will intervene if they affect UK nationals, Downing Street said on Sunday.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman said.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

May had sparked controversy in Britain on Saturday after refusing to condemn the order by Trump to suspend refugee arrivals, saying Washington was responsible for its own immigration policy.

"The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May said at a news conference during a trip to Ankara.

Meanwhile, an MP from May's Conservative Party on Saturday revealed he would be barred from entering the US under Trump's clampdown.

Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he had had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports.

"A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added.

The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed with the new president the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU.

Shortly after their meeting on Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

The implications for British citizens led to increasingly loud calls from lawmakers that she denounce the policy.

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" and demanded that he not be allowed to address both of Britain's Houses of Parliament when he makes a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that May's refusal to condemn Trump "shames Britain".
British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump and will intervene if they affect UK nationals, Downing Street said Sunday.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman said.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

May had sparked controversy in Britain on Saturday after refusing to condemn the order by Trump to suspend refugee arrivals, saying Washington was responsible for its own immigration policy.

"The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May said at a news conference during a trip to Ankara.

Meanwhile, an MP from May's Conservative Party on Saturday revealed he would be barred from entering the US under Trump's clampdown.

Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he had had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports.

"A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added.

I'm a British citizen & so proud to have been welcomed to this country. Sad to hear ill be banned from the USA based on my country of birth  Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 28, 2017

Zahawi, who has two sons at Princeton University, told BBC's Andrew Marr show on Sunday that "I don't think I've felt discriminated against since little school, It's demeaning."

He called on Trump to reconsider the policy, saying it was "counterproductive" in the fight against terrorism but added he was "reassured by my prime minister's statement on this" and that he understood her "cautious" response.

'Too late, too weak'

Double-double Olympic champion runner Mo Farah, born in Somalia, was another British citizen potentially affected by the ban, with reports that he would may not be able to return to his base in Oregon, where his family live.

Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted a picture of May and Trump, writing "hand in hand with the man who banned Mo Farah & Tory MP. Yet she remains silent."

The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed with the new president the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU.

Shortly after their meeting on Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

As resistance to the temporary immigration restrictions mount, a US federal judge on Saturday ordered authorities to suspended the deportation of refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

The implications of the restrictions for British citizens led to increasingly loud calls from lawmakers that May denounce the policy.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband called May's response "far too late and far too weak" while First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "The PM should have said this the first time she was asked, not hours later and only under pressure."

PM's refusal to condemn Trump Muslim ban is shocking, wrong and cannot stand. It flies in the face of the values of people across Britain.  Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) January 28, 2017

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" and demanded that he not be allowed to address both of Britain's Houses of Parliament when he makes a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Colleague Heidi Allen tweeted that "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong" while Opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that May's refusal to condemn Trump "shames Britain".
SKANEATELES  What started as a friendly conversation centering around how to give back to the community at a New Year's Eve party has since grown to become the highlight of the Skaneateles Winterfest.

The annual Polar Bear Plunge drew a large crowd Saturday despite the freezing winds and snowfall as more than 50 people dressed in their traditional costumes took the plunge into the waters of Skaneateles Lake beside the pier at Clift Park.

"It's been a great success," said co-founder of the Skaneateles Polar Bear Club, Todd Marshall. "We started with 18 people nine years ago at our first plunge and have since grown to more than 100 each year."

It takes an entire team  including the Polar Bear Club, members of the Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department, the Skaneateles Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services and the Skaneateles Education Foundation  to organize the event that takes less than a minute for participants to complete.

"The whole process takes less than 30 seconds, said co-founder of the event, Andy Ramsgard. "We are in and right back out. But with the water being much warmer than the air it's not as dangerous as it sounds."

To date the Polar Bear Plunge has raised more than $50,000 and is split equally and donated to the three local organizations the Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department, the Skaneateles Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services and the Skaneateles Education Foundation that help with the event.

Skaneateles Sunrise Rotary Club organizes Winterfest as a community event to celebrate winter. Winterfest is the sole fundraiser by the club to support its numerous community and international activities.
Lisbon: French President Francois Hollande urged Europe to form a united front and provide a "firm" response to US President Donald Trump, at a gathering of southern European Union leaders.

"We must conduct firm dialogue with the new American administration which has shown it has its own approach to the problems we all face," he said at the end of the gathering as he was flanked by the other leaders who took part.

Trump has rattled America's traditional European allies with a range of radical policy plans.

He has called Nato "obsolete", announced he would rip up a planned transatlantic trade plan and supported Britain's move to leave the EU, praising the decision as "a wonderful thing" during a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Friday, he also signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries.

During his first phone conversation with Trump late on Saturday, Hollande stressed the "economic and political consequences of a protectionist approach", adding that the principle of "acceptance of refugees" should be respected.

"Faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response," Hollande was quoted as saying in an Elysee Palace statement.

Hollande had earlier told the gathering that "when he adopts protectionist measures, which could destabilise economies not just in Europe but the economies of the main countries of the world, we have to respond".

"And when he refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond."

While officially the new administration in Washington was not on the agenda, the six other European leaders who took part in the summit also alluded to Trump.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe was "ready, interested and willing to cooperate" with the Trump administration.

"But we are Europe, and we cherish our values," he added.

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy defended the EU project, saying it had helped transform Europe into the world region with the "highest level of progress, civil rights and well being".
By Maher Chmaytelli and Lin Noueihed

| BAGHDAD/CAIRO

BAGHDAD/CAIRO A global backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration curbs gathered pace on Sunday as several countries including long-standing American allies criticised the measures as discriminatory and divisive.Governments from London and Berlin to Jakarta and Tehran spoke out against Trump's order to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily ban travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would help protect Americans from terrorism. In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said.She expressed her concerns to Trump during a phone call and reminded him that the Geneva Conventions require the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, the spokesman added.Merkel's sentiments were echoed in Paris and London; "Terrorism knows no nationality. Discrimination is no response," said French Foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, while his British counterpart Boris Johnson tweeted: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality." Along with Syria, the U.S. ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.Trump said his order, which indefinitely bans refugees from Syria, was "not a Muslim ban", though he added he would seek to prioritise Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country. Washington's Arab allies, including the Gulf states and Egypt, were mostly silent. The government in Iraq, which is allied with Washington in the battle against ultra-hardline Islamist group Islamic State and hosts over 5,000 U.S. troops, also did not comment on the executive order.

But some members of the parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States.In Baghdad, influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said American nationals should leave Iraq, in retaliation for the travel curbs."It would be arrogance for you to enter freely Iraq and other countries while barring to them the entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. There was no immediate reaction to the curbs from Islamic State, although in the past it has used U.S. monitoring of Muslim foreigners to stoke Muslim anger against Washington.

IRAN VOWS TO RESPOND

Trump's executive order on Friday took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries and plunging America's immigration system into chaos. U.S. civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians vowed to fight the order. The Tehran government vowed to respond in kind to the U.S. ban on visitors from Iran, but on Sunday Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas can enter the country."Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," Zarif said.Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about militant attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed high risk.

He said on Saturday of his order: "It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."The travel curbs, however, also drew criticism from several other countries around the globe. In Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the Muslim-majority nation deeply regretted Trump's plans for "extreme vetting" of people from some Muslim countries.The Danish, Swedish and Norwegian governments all registered their opposition, with Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen tweeting: "The U.S. decision not to allow entry of people from certain countries is NOT fair." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country welcomed those fleeing war and persecution, even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back U.S.-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries."To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," he tweeted. (Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Pravin Char)

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By Parisa Hafezi

| ANKARA

ANKARA Duke University professor and Iranian dissident Mohsen Kadivar left his home in North Carolina 10 days ago to attend a fellowship programme in Germany. Now, stranded in Berlin as a result of new U.S. immigration rules, the longstanding critic of Iran's ruling clerical establishment does not know whether or when he can rejoin his wife and two children in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily banned travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries. He said the move would help protect Americans from terrorism. The ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, including those with dual nationality that includes one of those countries, and extends on a case-by-case basis to "green card" holders who are authorised to live and work in the United States. Kadivar, once an active participant in Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution who later fell foul of its leaders, told Reuters from Berlin he was concerned about his family and career in America. "I have a fellowship in Germany until July ... but what happens after that is not clear. I am concerned about my future. I don't know whether I will be able to return to the United States as a green card holder Iranian national," he said.There are an estimated 1 million Iranian-Americans in the United States, including those with U.S. citizenship, dual nationality and green card holders, so Trump's executive order could create myriad travel complications."My two children and wife live in the United States ... My wife was planning to join me in Berlin, where I arrived on July 18 and was supposed to stay until July ... But we were advised by the university's immigration lawyers to cancel her trip to Berlin," Kadivar said. Kadivar, a research professor of Islamic studies at Duke University in North Carolina since 2009, is an outspoken critic of Iran's hardline clerical leadership. The 58-year-old, who was jailed for a year in Iran in 1999 for "disseminating lies and disturbing public opinion", has called for more autonomy from religion in political life and has been a staunch critic of Iran's most powerful authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In 2001, he travelled to the United States with an invitation from the Islamic Law Program of Harvard Law School for research and teaching. He was awarded the Hellman-Hammett Prize for writers deemed to be at risk from political persecution. Kadivar said Trump's travel ban was "humiliating and discriminatory".

"I have received so many emails from my colleagues, who regretted the ban ... Iranians have never been involved in any terrorist act in the United States." 'TURNING IRANIANS HOSTILE'

The United States and its allies in the Middle East accuse Iran of supporting terrorism and interfering in the affairs of regional states, including Syria, Yemen and Iraq - charges denied by Tehran. Hardline allies of Khamenei, worried about losing their grip on power since a nuclear deal was reached with the United States and other world powers in 2015, have continued to denounce Washington publicly.However, pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani has sought to reduce tensions with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a Rouhani ally, tweeted on Sunday that the travel ban was "a great gift to extremists".

The Tehran government on Saturday vowed to retaliate by banning the entry of Americans, but Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas could enter Iran."Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he said. Despite differences in tone from factions, political analysts said the U.S. measures would unite Iran's political establishment to some extent, at least for a short while. It would also turn public opinion firmly against the United States, they added."Besides tearing apart many families, this ban is materialising an objective that the leadership in Tehran has not been able to achieve for decades since the revolution," said Ali Vaez from the International Crisis Group conflict research group. "That is turning Iranians hostile towards the United States. The top-down enmity towards the U.S. risks becoming bottom-up."

'NOT MY AMERICAN DREAM'

Iranian author Azar Nafisi, a professor of English literature who has lived in the United States since 1997 and became a U.S. citizen nine years later, said the ban was contrary to American values. "We came to the United States because we believed it is a country of freedom, a country friendly to immigrants. People like me should raise their voice and express their concerns. This is not a political issue," said Nafisi. Another Iranian-born academic, Mohammad, said he was returning to his home in the United States after attending his father's funeral in Tehran, when the ban came into effect. Turkish Airlines refused to allow him to board his connecting flight to New York from Istanbul, he said. Mohammad, 42, who refused to give his family name because he said he was concerned about administrative steps being taken against his U.S.-based family, said the ban was "certainly going to make things harder for mostly well-educated Iranian immigrants."I have a green card and have been living in the U.S. for years. My two little daughters are awaiting for me. What can my wife tell them?" he said. "This is not what I dreamed about America." (Editing by William Maclean and Pravin Char)

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By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Ahmed Rasheed

| BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq

BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq Iraq will lobby against new travel limits to the United States by Iraqis, arguing both countries need to uphold their fight against Islamic State (IS), Iraqi parliamentarians said on Sunday.The Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days {nL1N1FH1XY].The order stirred angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against IS insurgents. Some members of parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States."Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism ... and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," parliament's foreign affairs committee said in a statement."We call on the Iraqi government to retaliate for the decision taken by the U.S. administration," it added after a session on Sunday in Baghdad.Baghdad plans to lobby Washington to review the decision, according to two lawmakers who declined to be identified. One of them told Reuters that the government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to apply similar treatment, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation", in the conflict with IS.Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight Islamic State, urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government to expel U.S. nationals.

Influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Sunday American citizens should leave Iraq. "It would be arrogance for you (Americans) to enter Iraq and other countries freely while barring them entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. CRITICAL U.S. SUPPORT AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE

The U.S.-led coalition is providing critical air and ground support to Iraqi forces in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from Islamic State.

Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recaptured all of Mosul east of the Tigris River that splits the city, and were girding for an onslaught on the jihadists on the western bank.Meanwhile, an Iraqi who worked four years as a translator for U.S. forces in the hope of obtaining a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) felt betrayed by the Trump administration's decision and said he now feared for his life.The man said he was hired by U.S. forces after he tipped them off about a house where insurgents were making car bombs in Mosul. He said that while employed by the Americans, he saved the life of a serviceman after U.S. troops came under militant attack in Mosul. "My life is (now) in danger," said the translator, who spoke in eastern Mosul and asked not to be identified or photographed. He told Reuters he used to consider the Americans to be "brothers but I don't trust those guys anymore.

He added that bureaucratic and personal problems delayed his applications to the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa program designed for those employed by the U.S. military and U.S. civilian agencies until their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. "Please, please, please get me out of this country," he said."There are currently fewer than 500 Iraqis in the SIV pipeline," said a State Department official. Overall, "more than 20,000 Iraqis have received immigrations benefits" from this program, he added. Among the Iraqis barred from traveling to the U.S. over the past 48 hours was Fuad Sharef's family, who embarked on the trip after selling their home and quitting their jobs and their school.The parents and their three children were barred on Saturday from boarding a connecting flight in Cairo to New York.Speaking by phone from Cairo airport, Sharef said the family was still in shock for having been detained there, their passports confiscated and being forced to go back to Iraq. (With assistance by Arwa Gaballa and Eric Knecht in Cairo; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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By Holger Hansen and Andrea Shalal

| BERLIN

BERLIN Former European Parliament President Martin Schulz vowed on Sunday to shake up German elections and unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel with a campaign aimed at overcoming "deep divisions" that he said had fueled populism in Germany in recent years.Schulz, nominated to lead the Social Democratic Party (SPD), told over 1,000 people at its Berlin headquarters he would fight for fairer tax rules, better education and to ensure that people in rural areas had the same benefits as in big cities.But Schulz will be hard pressed in this year's elections to unseat Merkel, who has led Germany since 2005 and is Europe's most powerful head of government. She also remains very popular despite discontent over her immigration policies."A jolt is going through the SPD. We want to build on this momentum," Schulz, 61, said after the party's executive committee voted unanimously for him to become the party's top candidate in the September election. Party members will vote to formalise the decision in Berlin on March 19.Schulz called for greater solidarity in Europe on the migrant issue and described the actions of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has resisted attempts by the EU to coordinate migration, as an affont to European unity. SURPRISE MOVE

He criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for what he called "outrageous and dangerous" attacks on women, religious minorities, people with disabilities and others.And he took aim at the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and its support for France's far-right National Front party, saying Germans had experienced during the Nazi era where "blind nationalism" would lead.The centre-left party in a surprise move on Tuesday had announced it would nominate Schulz to replace current party leader Sigmar Gabriel, who said he was standing aside to enhance the party's chances in the Sept. 24 election. Gabriel said the SPD was serious about ending its role as a junior partner to Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats in the "grand coalition" that has ruled since 2013.

"Germany needs a new start that cannot happen with the (conservative Christian Democratic) Union," he said. "We've come to the end of what we can achieve with a divided conservatives."German news magazine Der Spiegel portrayed Schulz as the party's saviour on Sunday, carrying a photo on its front cover of a beaming Schulz with the headline "Saint Martin".A poll carried out last week showed Merkel's Christian Democrats would get 34 percent of the vote if the election were held today, while the SPD would win 23 percent.

The AfD would become the third largest party in parliament with 13 percent of the vote, the poll conducted by Ipsos showed.The Greens would win 11 percent, with the Left party seen winning 10 percent, a slight increase from previous polls.The SPD wants to form a coalition with smaller parties on the left, but most analysts still think another right-left coalition is the most likely outcome of September's election.Merkel's conservatives have been bleeding support to the AfD since the chancellor's decision in August 2015 to keep Germany's borders open to refugees, a policy that has seen more than a million migrants enter Germany over the past two years. (Reporting by Holger Hansen and Andrea Shalal; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

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Houston: Unfazed by growing criticism, US President Donald Trump has asserted that his "very strict ban" on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries was working "very nicely" and should continue.

Trump has ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it in the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely," Trump told reporters yesterday. "We are going to have a very, very strict ban and we are going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years," Trump said.

He, however, denied that barring refugees from several predominantly Muslim nations amounted to a ban on Muslims. "It's not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared," Trump said.

The controversial move signed a week after he was sworn-in as the president includes countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The order, which bars Syrian refugees and halts the

country's refugee resettlement programme for four months has triggered widespread criticism, including from Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Terming it a "painful" decision, Pichai said the move will affect at least 187 Google employees. Indian-American Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a note on LinkedIn, saying the company "will continue to advocate on this important topic."

He said as an immigrant and the company's CEO he had "both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world." "We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we're actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance," the company said in a statement.

The company said it was aware of 76 employees who belonged to the seven banned countries mentioned in the order. Zuckerberg has also criticised the decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

"Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.
By Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle

| LONDON

LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration after coming under criticism from lawmakers in her own party for not condemning his executive order when initially questioned.On a visit to Turkey on Saturday, she was asked three times to comment on Trump's move to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and to temporarily bar travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would protect Americans from violent Islamists.May - who had flown to Turkey from the United States where she was the first foreign leader to meet the new U.S. president for talks she called successful - replied that Washington was responsible for its policy on refugees. But after the prime minister flew back to a political storm in London late on Saturday, coming under fire from within her own party, her spokesman said Britain disagreed with Trump's ban. "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," he said. "But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals."Britain's disapproval sharpened on Sunday when Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a tweet: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality". "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad," Johnson added.

Government minister David Gauke earlier defended May's initial refusal to voice any criticise, saying she was not a "shoot from the hip" politician and wanted to take a considered view. "The important thing is we are saying that we disagree with it and we think it's wrong," he told BBC TV on Sunday.Britain will make representations to the United States on behalf of any British nationals affected by the policy, he said. OUTCRY

Trump's executive order plunged America's immigration system into chaos, with legal U.S. residents being turned away at airports, and drew criticism from Western allies including France and Germany.The U.S. ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. According to State Department guidance, travellers with dual nationality will also be affected.May had been enjoying a positive response at home for revitalising the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, which could be a vital trading partner after Britain exits the European Union.But her response while in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan triggered criticism from her party.

"Trump really is a sickening piece of work," tweeted lawmaker Sarah Wollaston, a member of the ruling Conservative Party. She said Trump should be snubbed by parliament when he comes to Britain for a planned state visit this year."I don't care how special the relationship is, some lines just shouldn't be crossed," Conservative MP Heidi Allen tweeted. "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of."Another Conservative lawmaker, Nadhim Zahawi, said he would be banned from the United States as a British citizen of Iraqi origin. "A sad sad day to feel like a second-class citizen," he tweeted. "Sad day for the USA."Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said it should sadden Britain that May chose not to stand up to Trump.He reiterated his total opposition to the ban and said Trump's planned state visit should be put on hold. "We need to find out exactly what his intentions are in the long run and how much the U.S. parliamentary system is going to protect fundamentals of rights and freedom," he told ITV television. (Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Pravin Char/Mark Heinrich)

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President Donald Trump recently signed executive orders aimed at restarting stalled oil pipeline projects, including a request that TransCanada (TRP 1.99%) reapply for approval of its controversial Keystone XL pipeline. While the president's invitation has the Canadian oil pipeline giant reevaluating the project, it does not guarantee the project will move forward. That's why investors shouldn't jump into TransCanada's stock just because of this project. Instead, there are plenty of other good reasons to buy TransCanada's stock.

Not a slam-dunk

When former President Obama rejected the original Keystone XL pipeline because of environmental concerns, it effectively killed that project. As a result, TransCanada needs to start from scratch, including signing up enough shippers to fill the pipeline's proposed capacity. That could be easier said than done given what has happened in the oil market over the past few years.

First of all, oil production in Canada is not growing as fast as it once was. That's because oil companies significantly slowed the pace of new projects well before oil prices collapsed due to high costs, including deferring the $11 billion Joslyn mine, where Suncor Energy (SU 2.44%) is a partner, and the Corner and Pierre River projects. Deferrals have since accelerated thanks to the collapse of oil prices. According to an analysis by Wood Mackenzie, in 2015, energy companies deferred $200 billion of investments worldwide, 30% of which were new oil sands projects. Among the projects delayed that year were Suncor Energy's MacKay River 2 expansion and Canadian Natural Resources' (CNQ 1.93%) Kirby North project. The Suncor Energy project was initially expected to add 20,000 to 25,000 barrels per day to the oil market this year, but the company has yet to sanction the project. Meanwhile, Canadian Natural Resources just authorized its 40,000 barrel per day project, but it will not deliver any oil until 2020.

Not only are fewer oil projects under development in Canada, which will lead to lower production than anticipated, but several pipeline projects have cut in line ahead of Keystone XL. For example, Kinder Morgan (KMI 0.72%) recently won approval for its Trans Mountain expansion, while Enbridge (ENB 3.05%) got the go-ahead for its Line 3 replacement. Further, TransCanada has already moved on by proposing the Energy East project, which would move oil from western Canada to its east coast. As the chart at the top of the below slide shows, there does not appear to be any need for the Keystone XL pipeline at the moment, unless TransCanada chooses to defer Energy East:

Finally, the cost of the project will likely rise well above the current $6.1 billion estimate. One of the potential cost drivers is the Trump administration's requirement that TransCanada use American-made steel and pipes, which are more expensive than Chinese steel, for example. Depending on the final cost, the project could be uneconomic, especially if too many shippers balk at the shipping rate.

Visible growth without Keystone XL

What investors need to realize about TransCanada is that it can thrive even if it does not build the Keystone XL pipeline. That's because the company has 26 billion Canadian dollars of near-term capital projects under development. These projects include several new natural gas pipeline projects across North America, as well as new oil pipelines and power projects. That backlog alone supports TransCanada's view that it can grow the dividend by 8% to 10% per year through 2020, which is an acceleration of the 7% compound annual growth rate it has delivered since 2000.

Further, the company has plenty of growth beyond that backlog. Overall, TransCanada has another CA$45 billion of commercially secured long-term projects, though Keystone XL does represent CA$8 billion of that amount. However, it is one of four transformational projects in the company's long-term project portfolio, the largest of which is the CA$15.7 billion Energy East project. In other words, while bringing back Keystone XL enhances TransCanada's growth potential, it is by no means crucial to its future success.

Investor takeaway

The revival of the Keystone XL project will likely keep TransCanada in the news for quite some time. However, investors need to realize that this project is not what defines TransCanada, because it will deliver exceptional growth with or without this project. Investors should buy the stock because of its clearly visible growth, not just because it might finally get to build Keystone XL.
Wells Fargo (WFC 2.63%) found itself in an unusual position over the past few months, going from golden child of the bank industry to its fallen angel thanks to a scandal and a series of regulatory missteps. But the tide has already begun to turn for the nation's third largest bank by assets, thanks in no small part to the new presidential administration.

The regulatory rollback has begun

Earlier this week, the U.S. Labor Department removed a website it had created to log complaints from Wells Fargo employees who claimed to have been retaliated against by supervisors for blowing the whistle on a massive fake-account scandal that look place at the bank from at least 2011 through 2015. Click on the link today, and it reads "Page not found."

The removal was noted by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in a letter to acting Labor Secretary Edward Hugler. "Taking down this website enables Wells Fargo to escape full responsibility for its fraudulent actions and the department to shirk its outstanding obligations to American workers," she wrote.

This move is consistent with other ones that the Trump administration has taken to begin rolling back regulations in the financial services industry and others. But it comes at an especially important time for Wells Fargo.

A series of unfortunate events

The California-based bank has had a number of run-ins with regulators over the past five months. It all started in September, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revealed that thousands of Wells Fargo employees had opened millions of accounts for customers, without customer approval to do so, in order to meet aggressive sales quotas. Wells Fargo was fined $185 million for the malfeasance and was ordered to conduct a review of its sales practices.

At first glance, it appeared as if Wells Fargo would suffer only minimal damage from the scandal. While the fine was big, it nevertheless amounted to less than 4% of Wells Fargo's quarterly earnings. On top of that, there was little reason for the bank to be concerned that its customers would abandon it, given how inconvenient it is to change banks.

But any thought that Wells Fargo could simply close the book on the scandal was shot down when its chairman and CEO at the time, John Stumpf, was publicly harangued by members of congress in hearings later that month. His belated response to the crisis combined with a disappointing performance in front of Congress led to his resignation two weeks later.

Things continued to deteriorate from there. In November, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency began requiring Wells Fargo to seek regulatory approval for changes to its executive officers or board of directors. And then in December, after failing a critical regulatory test, the Federal Reserve limited its ability to make acquisitions or expand internationally.

The good news was that the scandal didn't have a debilitating impact on Wells Fargo's fourth-quarter earnings. It translated into higher costs and has certainly caused considerable damage to its reputation, but the bank still emerged from the three-month stretch with $4.9 billion worth of earnings, down from $5.2 billion in the year-ago period.

The bad news, however, is that it will almost certainly result in lower long-term growth, a point its new CEO Tim Sloan has acknowledged. You can get a sense for this from the 40% year-over-year decline in checking account openings at the bank in December, as well as the 43% drop in credit card applications. Both figures fell after Wells Fargo eliminated sales quotas in its bank branches in the wake of the scandal.

Suffice it to say, then, Wells Fargo is undoubtedly ecstatic with the latest turn of events. Beyond the Labor Department's decision to take down the whistleblower website, the Trump administration has promised to dramatically deregulate the bank industry and defang the very same regulatory bodies that have made life so difficult for Wells Fargo over the past few months.
Tax season has come around, and many of us have begun the thrilling task of gathering year-end statements from banks and brokerages. Opinions are often divided over which taxes and tax rates are reasonable, but there are some state tax laws that most people would view as weird -- or at least surprising. Some can offer lessons for us all, too.

Here are seven weird state tax laws that should at least have you raising your eyebrows:

Alabama: A Confederate veterans tax

The last veteran of World War I, which ended in 1918, died back in 2011, but in Alabama, taxpayers are still paying a Confederate veterans tax -- tied to the Civil War. The war ended in 1865, and its last surviving veterans died decades ago. What's going on, then? Well, this tax is a reminder of how persistent taxes can be. Once a tax is set in place and its revenue is expected and planned for, many won't want it to be curtailed. This tax used to support needy veterans at the Alabama Confederate Soldiers' Home (which closed nearly 80 years ago), and is now used to maintain the Confederate Memorial Park in the town of Mountain Creek. With the tax reportedly generating around $400,000 annually, the park is one of the best maintained in the state.

New Hampshire: No income tax and no sales tax

Most states in the U.S. levy an income tax and a sales tax. Some sales taxes are very low, if income taxes or other taxes are relatively high -- and vice versa. New Hampshire thus seems an oddity for charging neither. So what gives? Well, it does tax interest and dividends to a modest degree. More importantly, it charges hefty property taxes -- recently the third highest in the nation. That's a good reminder that towns and states unavoidably require lots of dollars to run their governments and towns and that the money has to come from somewhere. If you're attracted to a certain state because of low property taxes or low sales taxes or low income taxes, dig deeper to see how it's generating its income.

Missouri: A bachelor tax

If you're an unmarried man between 21 and 50 in Missouri, get ready to bear a higher tax burden than your married neighbor. Missouri taxes such guys $1 per year -- costing some long-term Show-Me-State-dwellers about $30, in total. The law dates all the way back to 1820, when the value of that dollar was equal to about $20 today. Similar taxes have existed in many countries and times, often for the purpose of encouraging marriage.

South Carolina: A tax deduction for charity meat

You're probably aware that tax deductions are available for qualified donations you make to charities. Writing a check to a tax-exempt non-profit, for example, can shrink your tax bill, as can donating a pile of used clothing to Goodwill (as long as you have a receipt and claim fair market values for the items). It doesn't end there, though. In South Carolina, licensed meat processors can enjoy a $50 tax deduction if they process a deer carcass and donate it to charity. That's $50 per carcass if the tax law's rules are followed. This is a good reminder of the value of tax deductions. If you were able to process and donate 20 carcasses and deducted $1,000, you'd avoid paying $250 if you were in the 25% tax bracket.

South Carolina: A pre-marriage counseling tax credit

Tax credits are even better than tax deductions. There are big ones and small ones and each one can reduce your tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis. In South Carolina, one of the odder tax credits available is for $50 if a couple getting married goes through at least six hours of qualified pre-marital counseling before doing so and then files a joint tax return. It's well worth looking into what credits you may be eligible to take. The Lifetime Learning Credit, for example, is worth up to $2,000 per eligible student and might lop off a whopping $2,000 from your taxes.

Hawaii: The "exceptional tree" deduction

The state of Hawaii is known for its great natural beauty and a little detail in its tax code reflects this: A deduction of up to $3,000 for qualified expenses incurred maintaining an "exceptional tree." What, exactly, is an "exceptional tree"? It's "a tree or stand or grove of trees with historic or cultural value, or which by reason of its age, rarity, location, size, esthetic quality, or endemic status has been designated by the county committee as worthy of preservation."

New Mexico: A centenarian reprieve

Living a very long time offers many benefits, such as the opportunity to see history unfold much more than you expected to and, perhaps, the chance to see your great grandchildren grow up. If you live in New Mexico, there's one more benefit to look forward to: the exemption from having to pay state income tax once you hit the big 1-0-0. That tax break isn't likely to benefit too many people, but it's worth noting that the number of centenarians in America has been rising over time -- with some meaningful consequences. For example, living a life that's above-average in length can require a retirement nest egg that's above-average in size. You don't want to run out of money too soon, after all. You can prepare yourself for the possibility of living a very long time by buying a deferred fixed annuity that will start paying a fixed sum once you reach a certain agreed-upon age. You might also consider some savvy Social Security strategies, such as delaying when you start collecting or coordinating with your spouse.

The weird tax laws above are just a few of many that exist. Take some time to look up more, if you're so inclined. Or, spend that time looking into tax deductions and credits you might qualify for.
It may not get the same recognition as Social Security, which puts income in the pockets of retired workers on a monthly basis, but Medicare's importance is rapidly growing for the roughly 56 million people who are eligible to receive Medicare. Of these eligible people, approximately five in six are seniors aged 65 and up.

Medicare's importance is growing

According to a report published by the Urban Institute in September 2015, a male with average lifetime earnings who turns 65 in 2015 will receive an estimated $195,000 in lifetime benefits from Medicare, net of premiums. By comparison, the same individual is expected to receive $294,000 in lifetime benefits from Social Security. However, based on Urban Institute's far-looking projections, by 2055 the average-earning male turning 65 will receive a larger lifetime benefit from Medicare ($501,000) than from Social Security ($496,000). Medicare is growing in importance for seniors, and in just a few generations, it could prove more important than Social Security.

Unfortunately, Medicare shares the same issue as its peer program, Social Security: Its spare cash will soon be depleted.

According to the Medicare Trustees Report for 2016, the Hospital Insurance Trust is expected to exhaust its spare cash by the year 2028. Should this excess cash be depleted, reimbursements to hospitals and physicians could drop by 13% as Medicare essentially becomes a budget-neutral program that pays out only what it receives in revenue. It's a terrifying forecast for a program that's become so vital to the financial and physical well-being of senior citizens.

But before we can even think about fixing Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust budgetary shortfall, we should understand how the program is funded in the first place, so let's take a closer look.

How Medicare is funded

To understand how Medicare is funded, we first have to recognize how its three working parts obtain their annual revenue. Medicare's three critical components are Part A (hospital insurance and long-term skilled nursing care), Part B (outpatient services), and Part D (prescription drug plans). In 2014, Medicare revenue totaled just shy of $600 billion, with $261 billion being spent on Part A, $260 billion spent on Part B, and $78 billion on Part D.

Part A

Here's the funding breakdown for Part A, with data courtesy of the Kaiser Family Foundation:

Payroll taxes: 87%

Taxation of Social Security benefits: 7%

Interest: 3%

Premiums: 1%

General revenue: 1%

Other: 1%

As you can see, payroll taxes provide the vast majority of funding for Part A. The Medicare portion of taxation involves a flat 1.45% tax on all earned income for working Americans, assuming they're employed by someone else. If they're self-employed, workers are responsible for the entire 2.9% Medicare tax to fund the Hospital Insurance Trust.

However, as part of the Affordable Care Act, there's also a Medicare surcharge tax of 0.9% that applies to employees who earn more than $200,000 in income. This 2.35% Medicare tax rate kicks in once an individual's income crosses the $200,000 barrier. Prior to that point, they would owe 1.45% on earned income like everyone else.

Note also that just 1% of funding comes from Part A premiums. The reason is that anyone who's earned 40 lifetime work credits qualifies to receive Part A with no monthly premium. Only people who've not earned 40 lifetime work credits are typically required to pay a Part A premium.

Part B

Next, we'll take a look at the funding breakdown for Part B, which covers various outpatient services:

General revenue: 73%

Premiums: 25%

Interest: 1%

Other: 1%

You'll quickly see that Part B is funded very differently than Part A. General revenue, which is money that's primarily derived from federal income taxes, makes up nearly three-quarters of the funding for Part B. The remainder is made up almost entirely of Part B premiums, which all enrolled members pay.

However, there can be quite a bifurcation in monthly Part B premiums costs. For instance, longtime Medicare enrollees who are also enrolled in Social Security have their monthly Medicare premiums automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits. This group of individuals, which makes up about 70% of Medicare beneficiaries, is also protected by a clause known as "hold harmless." The hold harmless clause ensures that Part B premiums don't rise at a quicker rate than Social Security's cost-of-living adjustments. With no COLA in 2016 and just 0.3% in 2017, many seniors will be paying just a fraction more for their Part B premiums in 2017.

On the other hand, new enrollees to Medicare, persons who aren't enrolled in Social Security, and those who choose to be billed directly are set to face a monthly Part B premium that's risen about 15% year over year. This remaining 30% of Medicare enrollees often faces the bulk of annual price increases in Part B.

It's also worth noting that members with high incomes -- in excess of $85,000 for individual filers and $170,000 for joint filers -- pay a surcharge on their Part B premiums.

Part D

Finally, Part D, the prescription drug plan, relies on a somewhat similar breakdown as Part B for its revenue:

General revenue: 74%

Premiums: 15%

State payments for dual eligible people: 11%

A majority of Part D's funding comes from federal revenue, while a slightly smaller portion than Part B is derived from the premiums consumers pay. Also like Part B, high-income taxpayers with more than $85,000 in annual income, or $170,000 in joint-filing income, owe a Part D premium surcharge.

The big difference in Part D is the 11% of funding that comes from a small percentage of the population that qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid (aka the "dual eligibles"). State Medicaid agencies have an obligation to pay Medicare cost sharing for most dual eligibles, and in most cases providers are prohibited from charging dual-eligible consumers for prescription drug costs.

Tying it all together

Here's what all three components of Medicare look like when they're melded together (figures don't add to 100% due to rounding):

General revenue: 41%

Payroll taxes: 38%

Premiums: 13%

Taxation of Social Security benefits: 3%

Interest: 2%

State payments from dual-eligible people: 1%

Other: 1%

As you can see, federal income tax revenue is the most critical component of Medicare funding, but the Medicare tax working Americans pay into the system is a very close second. Furthermore, it's worth pointing out that whereas Social Security derived 10% of its annual income from interest in 2015, Medicare generated only 2% of its annual revenue from interest in 2014.

With Medicare set to burn through its excess cash by 2028, the most effective way to tackle its impending budgetary shortfall could be to raise payroll taxes. According to the Medicare Board of Trustees report, the long-term actuarial deficit in the program is 0.73%. In layman's terms, it means the 2.9% cumulative tax in Medicare would need to be raised to 3.63% to eliminate any shortfall. Since this total is often split down the middle between employers and employees, we're talking about a 0.365% tax increase to the average working American.

While President Donald Trump has stated his unwillingness to alter Social Security or Medicare, change will more than likely be coming to the program at some point over the next decade.
One is known as one of the first online brokers, and the other is famous for pioneering index funds, but they both help millions of people save for retirement with IRAs. In this article, we'll compare E*Trade's and Vanguard'sIRA accounts, based on factors like commissions, account fees, and investment selection.

Commission prices

Though cost plays an important role in investing, it isn't everything. Vanguard and E*Trade both make trading inexpensive, pricing most trades at less than $10 each.

Brokerage Stocks and ETFs Stock Options Mutual Funds E*Trade $9.99 per trade $9.99 + $0.75 per contract $19.99 per purchase Vanguard $7.00 per trade $20.00 + $1.00 per contract $35.00 per purchase

Data sources: Company websites.

You'll be pleased to learn that both brokers have ways to shave even more from commission costs. E*Trade slashes commissions for active traders (150 trades per quarter), while Vanguard cuts prices for higher balances (discounts start at $50,000 in assets). In addition, both companies offer fee-free fund choices, as well as special offers for IRA accounts that can add up to thousands of dollars in benefits. In other words, many investors pay less than the stated commission price.

Mutual fund selection and commission-free choices

If you'd prefer to invest in funds rather than individual stocks, E*Trade and Vanguard have something for you. Both brokers allow their clients to invest in thousands of mutual funds, many of which are free of any and all commissions, loads, or transaction fees.

Brokerage Total Mutual Funds No-Load, No-Transaction-Fee (NTF) Funds Commission-Free ETFs E*Trade More than 8,000 More than 2,600 More than 100 (WisdomTree, Global X, Deutsche Bank, and more) Vanguard More than 7,500 More than 1,300 70 (Vanguard ETFs)

Data sources: Company websites and representatives.

Depending on how you invest, fee-free mutual funds could be a big win for your portfolio. Both brokers have a compelling line-up of commission-free ETFs, too. Vanguard customers can trade its branded ETFs for free, a list that primarily includes traditional index tracking funds. E*Trade's list includes niche ETFs that generally focus on individual sectors, strategies (hedged and dividend-focused funds), and geographies.

Minimum deposit requirement for IRAs

You won't have to break into your piggy bank; neither E*Trade nor Vanguard requires a certain minimum deposit to open an IRA. Of course, some mutual funds have their own investment requirements, and stocks and ETFs are traded in whole shares. But you won't find any financial barriers standing in the way of opening an account.

You can start a Roth or Traditional IRA (or both) with no minimum initial deposit. Image source: Getty Images.

International stocks and ADR investments

Most tend to agree that a diversified portfolio includes international investments, but not all brokers offer the same access to global investments. Some brokers, like E*Trade, allow you to invest in foreign companies so long as they have a ticker on a domestic exchange. Others, like Vanguard, enable you to send trades to exchanges all around the world.

Type of Investment E*Trade Vanguard American depositary receipts (ADRs) Yes Yes Stocks traded on international stock markets No Yes (Vanguard Brokerage Block Desk) Mutual funds and ETFs of foreign stocks Yes Yes

Data sources: Company websites.

Ultimately, the ability to trade on international exchanges may not be all that important to you if you prefer to invest overseas by way of ADRs, mutual funds, or ETFs. As a general rule, investors pay higher commissions (Vanguard tacks on a $50 processing fee) to send trades to international stock exchanges.

Mobile app

Mobile apps for phones and tablets enable you to trade from anywhere you have an internet connection. Here's how each broker's users and customers rated their capabilities (as of Jan. 24, 2017).

Brokerage Apple App Store Google Play E*Trade 3.5 stars 4.0 stars Vanguard 2.5 stars 4.0 stars

Data sources: Relevant app stores.

IRA fees: maintenance and inactivity fees

Some brokers charge you fees just for having an account, a charge you'd likely prefer to avoid if possible. E*Trade clients need not worry, as it doesn't charge maintenance fees just to keep an account open, or inactivity fees for making too few trades.

Some Vanguard accounts are charged a $20 annual account service fee, but it is 100% avoidable. Vanguard waives the fee if you opt-in for electronic document delivery (no more snail mail), or if you keep at least $10,000 invested in Vanguard's ETFs or mutual funds.

Research and retirement planning tools

We tend to think that research and retirement planning tools can be an excellent perk of having a brokerage account. E*Trade has a long list of third-party research providers that includes S&P, Moody's, Morningstar, and Thomson Reuters, just to name a few well-known names. Vanguard offers up S&P, First Call, and Thomson Reuters reports on its back-end, too.

When it comes to portfolio-level analysis, both brokers have their own proprietary tools. E*Trade's My Virtual Advisor provides advice on how to allocate your portfolio based on your age, retirement date, risk tolerance, income, and other factors.

Vanguard's Portfolio Analysis tool offers something different, giving investors a look into their portfolio from the top down to understand how they are allocated by sector, geography, and company size. It can also evaluate certain investments for expense and tax efficiency, which can be beneficial for determining which investments are best placed in an IRA or left in a taxable account.

Best pick for IRAs: E*Trade vs. Vanguard

Truthfully, the best broker for an IRA depends on your personal investment strategy. E*Trade offers more choices in mutual funds, but it doesn't offer the same level of international investment access as Vanguard. On the other hand, Vanguard offers access to its popular line of mutual funds and ETFs, but its commission and fee schedule caters most to those with large account balances, as you'll need more than $50,000 to qualify for the first break in commission prices.

To be clear: The Motley Fool does not endorse any particular brokerage, but we can help you find one that is a good fit for you. Visit Fool.com's IRA Center to see how several leading brokerages compare on key features all on one page!

10 stocks we like better thanWal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and TomGardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter theyhave run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tomjust revealed what they believe are theten best stocksfor investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- theythink these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click hereto learn about these picks!

*StockAdvisor returns as of December 12, 2016The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.

Jordan Wathen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Moody's. The Motley Fool recommends WisdomTree Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image source: Getty Images.

In July 2003, Time ran a story titled "Why U.S. Is Running Out of Gas" that detailed America's growing shortage of natural gas. That shortfall was sending gas prices skyrocketing, causing the country to scramble for solutions. Among the potential answers were turning coal into a synthetic gas and reopening mothballed natural gas import facilities.

However, the energy landscape in America has dramatically changed over the past several years. Advances in energy extraction technology have enabled oil and gas companies to access a vast supply of energy resources that had been locked away in tight rock formations for eons. It is a stunning shift that is having a positive impact in so many ways.

America has 93 years of gas reserves

According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, America currently has 2,474 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas resources. At the nation's current consumption rate of 26.6 Tcf per year, that's enough gas to last the country 93 years.

One of the crucial drivers of the dramatic upward revision of America's natural gas resources is the emergence of theMarcellus and Utica Shale plays underneath the Appalachian region. Leading developersEQT (NYSE: EQT) and Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) have uncovered breathtaking quantities of gas in these fields. In EQT's case, it estimates that there's 78 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) of total resource potential underneath its acreage position in Appalachia, which is enough gas to supply the country's entire needs for roughly three years. Meanwhile, Range Resources thinks it has between 54 and 71 Tcfe of resource potential underneath its Appalachia acreage. Those resources will keep drillers busy for decades to come.

Image source: Getty Images.

Natural gas hit its lowest average price in nearly two decades

The discovery of these remarkable supply sources fueled a natural gas drilling boom in this country, leading producers to unleash a torrent of new gas production. America's shale plays have turned out to be so prolific that the country has had an overabundance of gas in recent years, exacerbated by warmer-than-normal weather the past few winters. These factors pushed natural gas down to its lowest average price since 1999:

Image source: Energy Information Administration.

Natural gas now supplies 34% of the nation's electricity

Natural gas has an interesting history as a power source in this country. The energy crises of the '60s and '70s led Congress to enact the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act, which banned the use of natural gas to generate electricity by 1990. However, the Regan administration led the repeal of that moratorium in 1987, which fueled a revival in natural gas as a fuel for power plants. While natural gas' share of the electricity market has ebbed and flowed over the years, it recently overtook coal as the country's top electricity generating fuel at 34% versus 30% for coal. Fueling that rise was the combination of low natural gas prices, an increase in natural gas generation capacity, and the continued retirement of coal-fired power plants.

Natural gas will become an even more significant fuel source for the power industry in the years ahead. As the following map shows, several additional natural gas power plants came on in 2016, with more poised to enter service over the next two years:

Image source: Energy Information Administration.

Energy research firm Wood Mackenzie, meanwhile, sees natural gas demand by the power industry rising 15% by 2025 as the country continues building additional gas-fired plants.

Energy-related carbon emissions are down 12%

The switch from coal to natural gas is having a dramatic impact on the country's greenhouse gas emissions because coal's carbon intensity is 82% higher than natural gas'. Because of this, natural gas power plants produce 37% to 54% fewer emissions than a coal power plant, depending on age and efficiently. As a result, the country's energy-related carbon emissions fell 12% from 2005 to 2015 even as natural gas consumption surged 81%.

In November America became a net exporter of natural gas for the first time since 1957

Most of the natural gas consumed in America comes from domestic sources, though the country does import some gas from Canada while also exporting some as well, with 87% of it going to Mexico. That said, on a net basis, the country imported more than it exported until last November. That is when the country became a net exporter for the first time in nearly 60 years, thanks in part to the start-up of Cheniere Energy's (NYSEMKT: LNG) Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, which was formerly an import facility. The Cheniere Energy plant commissioned its first LNG cargo last February, shipping the gas to Brazil, and has steadily increased its output ever since. Overall, the company is in the process of commissioning three natural gas liquefaction trains with three more under construction and another three under development.

As these and other export facilities ramp up, America will emerge as a major player in the gas export market. According to Wood Mackenzie, the country could export 10.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by 2025 via LNG and another 6.3 Bcf/d to Mexico, which would be nearly 17% of projected domestic production.

Investor takeaway

In a little more than a decade, Americawent from having a natural gas shortage to an overabundance. That pushed its price down, fueling the rise of new gas power plants and LNG export facilities while driving down greenhouse gas emissions. It is a remarkable transformation that's showing no signs of slowing down.

10 stocks we like better than Cheniere Energy 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 Cheniere Energy wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017

Matt DiLallo has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
While La La Land is the toast of Hollywood, with a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations, theres an internal war over the casting of

the hit musical at power agency CAA, reports the New York Post.

Miles Teller and Emma Watson  both repped by CAA  were originally tapped as leads in the movie, but Hollywood insiders said both lost the roles for being too demanding.

One movie insider said, Miles was offered $4 million to star in La La Land, but he said he wanted $6 million. Watson was offered the lead female role, but she initially wouldnt commit. Then she began making all these crazy demands, like rehearsals for the film must be done in London  for a film called La La Land! They jumped through hoops to make it work with her, but she just didnt feel the film was right for her.

Producers finally cast Emma Stone  and once she was on board, Ryan Gosling jumped at the chance to work with her again.

The source added, Now both Miles and Emma Watson are raising hell with their agents for not securing the roles for them  even though it was the actors fault for being too demanding. British actress Watson  best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films  began her negotiations when she was represented by rival agency WME, but signed with CAA in December. Other sources insist she stepped away to do Disneys live-action Beauty and the Beast film.

Another insider added that Watson and Teller are both furious that they were not cast in the critically acclaimed film and are looking for others to blame.

In 2015, Teller told GQ that his agent said director Damien Chazelle dropped him from the movie:  Damien . . . no longer thinks youre creatively right for the project. Hes moving on

without you.  Teller then sent Chazelle a text saying, What the fk, bro? Chazelle later confirmed that there was a moment where [Watson and Teller] were doing it. And neither of those casting things wound up lasting or working out.

Reps for Teller, Watson and CAA didnt comment.

Click here for more in the New York Post.
Kim and Khloe Kardashian took a break from their Costa Rica vacation pics on Saturday night to speak out against President Donald Trump's controversial immigration ban.

Khloe wrote, "All of this in the news today breaks my heart." The "Revenge Body" host also retweeted the ACLU's official account, which posted a photo saying, "ACLU blocks Trump's unconstitutional Muslim ban."

WATCH: Sophia Bush, Miley Cyrus, Sia and More Respond to President Donald Trump's Immigration Ban

Kim shared a list of "Statistics," which she sourced from the CDC and a site called New America about the number of Americans killed annually by immigrants compared to those who have been killed by fellow Americans.

The mother of two also retweeted actor Kal Penn, who shared a screengrab of someone who trolled him online, writing, "To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name."

Prior to speaking out against the immigration ban, the reality stars shared several photos and videos from their exotic vacation. Khloe and Kim worked out together over the weekend, sharing clips on Snapchat.

"I never Snapchat my workouts, just because I don't know why -- I'm just not Kourtney and Khloe," Kim told fans afterwards. "But it's like, if I don't Snap it, then it's as if it never happened. But I work out every single day for over an hour."

The "Keeping Up With Kardashians" stars aren't the only celebs to speak out against the recent immigration ban.

WATCH: Kim Kardashian Works Out 'Every Single Day for Over an Hour'

Miley Cyrus, Sia, Sophia Bush, Rihanna, Michael Moore, Alyssa Milano, Seth Rogen, Chrissy Teigen, America Ferrera, Mark Ruffalo, and many more all stood up against the executive order.


For all of his anti-establishment rhetoric, President Trumps stance toward immigrants and Muslims is more of the same. Orientalism and Manifest Destiny have long animated American foreign policy and domestic treatment of its racial and religious minorities.

Trumps executive orders on Friday, effectively barring immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries, harks back to an era when holy wars were the currency for mass mobilization by the ruler.

In the eleventh century, for example, Pope Urban II called on his people to defend the Byzantine Empire from encroaching Muslim armies. What became known as the First Crusade in European history books solidified the image of Muslims as fanatical followers of a false religion and a threat to Christendom. Medieval romances and legends of battles between Christian and Muslim warriors nurtured the perception of a dangerous and violent Islam.

Over time, the stereotype of the Muslim savage animated the Wests domination, restructuring, and deculturalization of the Middle East.

Orientalism and Manifest Destiny have long animated American foreign policy and domestic treatment of its racial and religious minorities.

So-called Middle East experts produced knowledge that situated the West as eternally superior to the East; and imagined the East as anti-democratic and uncivilized. Islam was portrayed as backward and violent; thereby making Muslims savages who should be either converted or conquered. But its impact stretched beyond Europes borders.

British colonists brought with them Orientalism, which coupled with the ideology of Manifest Destiny, was used to justify the conversion or termination of Native Americans, enslavement of Africans, and exploitation of the Chinese. As nonwhite and non-Christian, these groups were deemed biologically inferior. As such, it was the white mans burden to teach, civilize, and save them from their savage nature.

Over time, the various offshoots of Orientalism animated our immigration policies in general and treatment of Muslims in particular. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was grounded in the Orientalist construction of the Buddhist Asian as heathen. The Immigration Act of 1924 imposed a quota system with the intent to reduce immigration from non-European countries. With the number of immigrants from a country limited to two percent of people from that country in the U.S. in 1890 (thirty years before passage of the law), the percentage of immigrants from Western and Northern Europe soared. This explicit race-based immigration system purposely aimed to keep America predominantly white and Christian.

With passage of the Nationality Act of 1965, America effectively opened immigration from Asia, which included persons from Muslim majority countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Like the White Nativism that gripped America in the early 1900s after millions of Southern and Eastern Europeans (deemed inferior whites) immigrated to the United States, the increase in non-European immigration triggered a new wave of xenophobia. And just as the Chinese and Japanese had experienced in decades prior, post-1965 immigrants were collectively blamed for international crisis between their country of origin and the United States.

The oil crisis with Saudi Arabia in the 1970s triggered a wave of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim discrimination. The Iranian revolution triggered a wave of anti-Iranian discrimination by both the state and the public. The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis perpetuated tropes of the Palestinian terrorist in the American media. And most recently, the rise of transnational terrorist groups such Al Qaeda and ISIS have led to the collective punishment of Muslims in America through mass surveillance, selective anti-terrorism enforcement, and private acts of discrimination.

Harking back to the Crusades and European Orientalism, American policy makers now invoke terms like radical Islamic terrorism to reify the centuries-long trope of the Muslim savage and barbarian whose very existence threatens the Christian West. That only a handful of Muslims in America, out of 6 million, have committed acts of terror is irrelevant because Orientalism is an ideology rooted in white supremacy and a clash of civilizations.

So when Trump signed his executive order allowing only Christian refugees and barring radical Islamic terrorists from America, he was no different than other U.S. presidents before him. His War on Terror is merely the latest version of Christian holy wars that use fear to manipulate the public into cowering to their rulers mandates.

In that regard, Trumps neo-Orientalism is the establishment.
Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced trip to Somalia Tuesday in a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat Al Qaeda-allied militants and end decades of war in the African country. He is first top U.S. diplomat ever to visit Somalia.

Kerry arrived at Mogadishu's airport around noon local time (5 a.m. ET) and immediately entered a series of planned meetings that include Somalia's president, prime minister and regional leaders, and civil society groups.

The trip was made under tight security conditions. Somalia's government only found out a day ago that Kerry would join the State Department's top Africa official, Linda Greenfield-Thomas, on the voyage. And the fact that he was only dipping his toe in Somalia, and not venturing past the airport, highlighted just how dangerous and instable the country remains.

Top of the agenda is the fight against al-Shabab. African forces and U.S. drone strikes have crippled the organization's leadership in recent years and left the extremists without much of the territory they once controlled or the cash flows needed to reverse their losses.

But as al-Shabab has decentralized, the militants in some ways have become even more dangerous, expanding their activities in Kenya and other neighboring countries. Last month's massacre at Kenya's Garissa University College killed 148 people, mostly students, and underscored the group's capacity to carry out relatively unsophisticated but extremely deadly terrorist attacks far from its bases of operations.

Kerry's presence in Somalia "will send a strong signal to al-Shabab that we are not turning our backs on the Somali people," said a senior State Department official, explaining the purpose of the visit. "We will continue to engage with Somalia until we bring al-Shabab's terror to an end," added the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the trip and demanded anonymity.

Somalia has been without a truly functioning government for two-and-a-half decades. After warlords ousted dictator Siad Barre from power in 1991, they quickly turned on one another and plunged the country into anarchy. Militias, Islamist extremist groups and Somalia's nominally national military all vied for power before the tide turned against al-Shabab earlier this decade. Piracy also has been a major problem.

Yet even as a relative calm has settled over parts of the country, including Mogadishu, Somalia remains fraught with a painful history for the United States.

American troops were sent there in 1992 on a peacekeeping mission to help stave off a national famine. They left two years later in humiliation after the "Black Hawk Down" debacle when Somali militiamen shot down two U.S. helicopters. Eighteen servicemen were killed in the crash and subsequent rescue attempt, the indelible memory being the images of American bodies dragged through Somalia's streets.

The Obama administration is banking on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government to turn a new page toward democracy and economic development. The U.S. has provided hundreds of millions in military support to build up and professionalize the army, and is working with Mohamud to try to usher in a broader, more representative government over the next 18 months.

If that effort is successful and stability expands, officials say the U.S. could re-establish an American embassy in the capital before President Barack Obama leaves office. For now, the president has nominated a career diplomat, Katherine Dhanani, to serve as the first U.S. ambassador to the country since 1991, with the idea that she would operate out of Nairobi and make regular trips into Somalia.

Britain, Italy and several other countries already have embassies in Mogadishu.

Kerry's brief foray comes a day after extensive counterterrorism and refugee talks with Kenya's government, much of it deeply tied to the situation north of the border. For the Kenyans, stability in Somalia can't come soon enough. They are scrambling to combat al-Shabab and even have threatened to begin emptying the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp, the world's largest with some 350,000 Somali inhabitants.

Kerry said he received assurances from President Uhuru Kenyatta that no unilateral action would take place to close Dadaab as the U.S. and others try to make Somalia safe enough to accommodate large-scale refugee returns.

Their discussions came as the region's refugee crisis becomes increasingly complex, with war in nearby Yemen creating conditions so dire that some people are even fleeing to Somalia.

Aid agencies are undertaking contingency planning for a prolonged conflict in Yemen that could prompt 100,000 people to escape across the Gulf of Aden to Somalia and 30,000 to Djibouti this year. It's unclear how Somalia, in particular, would be able to handle such an influx given its persistently high levels of violence.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Sunday defended President Trumps order to temporarily ban immigration from seven mostly-Muslim nations -- and deflected criticism over countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan not being included in the ban.

These are countries that have a history of training, harboring, exporting terrorists, Conway, counselor to the president, told Fox News Sunday. We cant keep pretending and looking the other way.

Conway said the Obama administration and Congress essentially came up with the list of seven, citing the Terrorist Prevention Act of 2015.

A federal judge on Saturday evening issued an emergency order temporarily barring the administration from deporting people from those countries.

Conway argued Sunday that the Brooklyn judge who issued the order is a President Obama appointee and that the judges order doesn't impact the thrust of Trumps executive order -- preventing dangerous people from coming into the country, not detaining them.

The upside (is) greater protection of our borders, our people. Thats a small price to pay, said Conway, arguing the ban impacts just roughly 1 percent of such travelers.

In the wide-ranging interview 10 days into the Trump administration, Conway also attempted to explain why such countries as Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were not included in the ban.

She said Trump is privy to intelligence reports that critics and others have not seen and suggested the list could change.

They cant have it both ways on Trump, she said. The president and Congress will always have information we do not."

Conway again on Sunday criticized the media for what she suggested is unfair coverage of the administration. And she questioned why news organizations havent fired the pundits, columnists, pollsters and others who failed to foresee Trumps victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"Its a colossal failure that nobody wants to talk about, she said.

On her back-and-forth with reporters over such issues, Conway said, I ripped them a new one.

Conway said Trumps controversial plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border will not spark a destructive trade war between nations.

She declined to say whether Trumps nominee to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat will attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade, the high courts landmark case on abortion.

That will come up in a persons [confirmation] hearings, said Conway, acknowledging that Trump is a pro-life president. They will be asked about Roe v. Wade obsessively.
New York state Sen. Jose Peralta bolted from the Democratic Party because he needed a raise, sources told The Post.

The Corona lawmaker announced Wednesday he would join the Independent Democratic Conference, which is aligned with the GOP to control the Senate.

He didnt publicize that hes been making child support and college tuition payments for his children, and had between $30,000 and $90,000 in credit-card and loan debt, according to sources and public disclosures.

Thats a double whammy, said one source close to Peralta. Hes going through a lot and the lack of a raise was devastating. Gov. Cuomo nixed a $30,500 raise for state lawmakers in December.

Peraltas debt has risen in the past three years, according to his 2015 state ethics filings. He owes between $20,000 and $50,000 on Citibank and AT&T cards, between $5,000 and $20,000 on a car loan for a Mercedes, and his wife owes another $5,000 to $20,000 on a Discover card, records show.

By switching his political loyalties to the IDC, he is now in line to get a new leadership position  and a stipend of up to $27,500 that comes with it. A state senators base pay is $79,500 per year.

Click to read the story in the New York Post
Demonstrators gathered at the White House and numerous airports around the country Sunday to protest President Trumps executive order placing temporary travel restrictions on people coming from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the acceptance of refugees.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the executive order a reckless, unconstitutional, unsavory, un-American effort. He also questioned why some predominantly Muslim countries were listed but others were not.

If this order was really about trying to make America the safest country it can be, then why were some countries left off the order? Most notably Saudi Arabia? Jeffries said during a news conference at JFK. ...Is it because the Trump organization exists in Saudi Arabia?

BOOKER ALLEGES EXECUTIVE ORDER IS A MUSLIM BAN



Jeffries was one of several members of Congress who descended upon American airports to join protesters in registering their displeasure with Trumps actions. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., earlier Sunday spoke to demonstrators at Dulles International Airport and said he would also go to Newark Airport. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., held a press conference with some of those who had been temporarily detained at JFK Airport in New York.

The entire executive order is a farce, Jeffries said. Its a smokescreen. It has nothing to do with trying to keep this country safe.

Outside the White House a large crowd gathered chanting No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here and no wall, no ban. Some estimates placed the crowd size at at least 1,000 people.

In California, the San Francisco International Airport itself released a statement expressing concerns over Trumps executive action.

We share these concerns deeply, as our highest obligation is to the millions of people from around the world whom we serve, the statement said. We are also making supplies available to travelers affected by this Executive Order, as well as to the members of the public who have so bravely taken a stand against this action by speaking publicly in our facilities.

Other protests Sunday were occurring in Battery Park in Manhattan, in Boston and in Raleigh, N.C. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said on Twitter she would join the Battery Park protests.
President Donald Trump's travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations entry into the U.S. has sparked protests around the country.



A federal judge in New York Saturday night issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people who arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application. But Trump's immigration ban caused chaos earlier in the day.

Lawyers and advocates working at the airport said they didn't have a hard count on the number of people taken into custody after getting off their flights.

Many took to Twitter to express their frustrations with the ban, including former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Clinton said she stands with those across the nation, adding, This is not who we are.

Today's actions have tarnished Americas standing as a beacon of hope for the free world, and there has been scant credible and confirmed information available throughout the day about the impact of the president's executive order or those detained. Chicagos Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. He added, I am calling on the federal government to immediately produce a list of the names of anyone currently being detained at O'Hare or Midway Airports, and calling on those unjustly affected to immediately be released and allowed to access legal counsel.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Two members of Congress, New York Democrats Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez, joined several hundred protesters who spent part of the day at Kennedy airport trying to win the release of about a dozen people they said had been detained.

Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) announced the number of refugees held at the airport. This should not happen in America. We shouldnt have to demand the release of refugees one by one, the two members of Congress said in a statement.

Protests around the country, ranged from a few dozen people to thousands of demonstrators.

At Los Angeles International Airport, lawyer Talia Inlender said an Iranian woman was detained after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam with her 1-year-old American son. Inlender said she had been approved to become an American citizen and was scheduled to take her naturalization oath in February.

Trump said the goal of the temporary travel restriction was to keep out potential terrorists.

Hundreds of protesters blocked the street outside at San Francisco International Airport's international terminal to express their opposition to the barring of some people from Muslim-majority nations.

People in the crowd at Kennedy airport chanted "Let them in." Celebrities including "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon joined the demonstration.

The detainees in New York included two Iraqis who had previously been given permission to come to the U.S. because of their ties to the U.S. military.

One of them, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army after it invaded Iraq in 2003, emerged from custody to cheers from the crowd in the mid-afternoon.

He pronounced the U.S. "the land of freedom" home to "the greatest people in the world" upon his release, but also expressed dismay about having been initially held.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said he had directed state lawyers and the agency that controls Kennedy to "explore all legal options" to assist anyone detained at New York airports.

"I never thought I'd see the day when refugees, who have fled war-torn countries in search of a better life, would be turned away at our doorstep," Cuomo said. "This is not who we are, and not who we should be."

Demonstrators outside San Diego International Airport also protesting the ban chanted "No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Senate Democrats on Sunday attacked President Trumps recently imposed ban on immigration from several mostly-Muslim countries -- calling the order unconstitutional and seizing on some refugees and green card holders being detained this weekend at U.S. airports to fuel their political outrage.

He has established a target of refugees, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senates second-ranking Democrat, told Fox News Sunday.

Trump on Friday issued an executive order that includes a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program and a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Durbin spoke after a hectic Saturday at New Yorks John. F. Kennedy International Airport and other airports across the country -- where dozens of refugees or people with green cards were detained or stopped for additional vetting.

They just sprung this on us, Durbin said about the executive order. Refugees are the most carefully vetted visitors who come into this country.

Durbin also thanked a Brooklyn judge (the first of several federal judges across the country) who late Saturday issued emergency orders to temporarily bar the administration from deporting people from the seven countries.

Top White House officials late Saturday and early Sunday rushed to defend the program and pointed out that President Obama identified the seven countries from which immigration has been banned.

These are countries that have a history of training, harboring, exporting terrorists, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said twice on Fox News Sunday.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on NBCs Meet the Press that 75 to 80 percent of Americans agree with the policy change, amid terror attacks in the United States and elsewhere around the world in which the perpetrators have been linked to such countries.

We don't want people that are traveling back and forth to one of these seven countries that harbor terrorists to be traveling freely back and forth between the United States and those countries, Priebus said.

Hours after Durbin spoke, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, at a press conference, vowed to fight the executive order with every fiber of my being.

The New York lawmaker also argued that Trumps order was unconstitutional and vowed Senate Democrats would try, in the GOP-controlled Congress, to reverse the order.

Mr. President, Im here to tell you that I will fight this, said Schumer, who sniffled back tears as he stood alongside several children and adult immigrants impacted by the ban.

Trump also faces public opposition from at least a handful of congressional Republicans including Sens. Jeff Flake, of Arizona; Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, and Rob Portman, of Ohio.

"This was an extreme vetting program that wasn't properly vetted," Portman said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
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The Somali-born teenager who was arrested in a sting operation while trying to blow up a van he believed was loaded with explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Ore., e-mailed an alleged terrorist last year, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton released federal court documents to The Associated Press and the Oregonian newspaper that show the sting operation began in June after an undercover agent learned that 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud had been in regular e-mail contact with an "unindicted associate" in Pakistan's northwest, a frontier region where Al Qaeda and Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents are strong.

An FBI document reveals that Mohamud had contact with the suspected terrorist in Aug. 2009. In Dec. 2009, Mohamud discussed the possibility of traveling to Pakistan to engage in violent jihad.

Mohamud was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him. The bomb was an elaborate fake supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Yelling "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great!" -- Mohamud tried to kick agents and police after he was taken into custody, according to prosecutors.

"The threat was very real," said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale,"

A law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that federal agents began investigating the suspect after receiving a tip from someone who was concerned about the teenager.

The FBI affidavit that outlined the investigation alleges that Mohamud planned the attack for months, at one point mailing bomb components to FBI operatives, whom he believed were assembling the device.

According to the official, Mohamud hatched the plan on his own and without any instruction from a foreign terrorist organization, and he planned the details, including where to park the van for the maximum number of casualties.

The affidavit said Mohamud was warned several times about the seriousness of his plan, that women and children could be killed, and that he could back out, but he told agents: "Since I was 15 I thought about all this;" and "It's gonna be a fireworks show ... a spectacular show."

Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Corvallis, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A court appearance was set for Monday. Few details were available about him late Friday.

Authorities allowed the plot to proceed in order to build up enough evidence to charge the suspect with attempt.

Officials didn't say if the suspect had any ties to other Americans recently accused of trying to carry out attacks on U.S. soil, including alleged efforts in May by a Pakistan-born man to set off a car bomb near Times Square or another Pakistan-born Virginia resident accused last month in a bomb plot to kill commuters.

The two used coded language in which the FBI believes Mohamud discussed traveling to Pakistan to prepare for "violent jihad," the documents said.

In June an FBI agent contacted Mohamud "under the guise of being affiliated with" the suspected terrorist. But the documents did not say how federal officials first became aware of Mohamud.

An undercover agent met with him a month later in Portland, where they "discussed violent jihad," according to the court documents.

As a trial run, Mohamud and agents detonated a bomb in Lincoln City, Ore., earlier this month.

"This defendant's chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people -- even here in Oregon -- who are determined to kill Americans," Holton said.

Friday, an agent and Mohamud drove to downtown Portland in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, but all of them were inert, the complaint states.

They left the van near the downtown ceremony site and went to a train station where Mohamud was given a cell phone that he thought would blow up the vehicle, according to the complaint. There was no detonation when he dialed, and when he tried again federal agents and police made their move.

Omar Jamal, first secretary to the Somali mission to the United Nations, condemned the plot and urged Somalis to cooperate with police and the FBI.

"Talk to them and tell them what you know so we can all be safe," Jamal said.

Somalia Foreign Minister Mohamed Abullahi Omaar said his government is "ready and willing" to offer the U.S. any assistance it may need to prevent similar attempts. He said the attempt in Portland was a tragedy for Mohamud's family and the "people he tried to harm."

"Mohamud's attempt is neither representative nor an example of Somalis. Somalis are peace loving people," said Omaar, whose government is holed up in a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, while much of the country's southern and central regions are ruled by Islamist insurgents.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have resettled in the United States since their country plunged into lawlessness in 1991, and the U.S. has boosted aid to the country.

In August, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment naming 14 people accused of being a deadly pipeline routing money and fighters from the U.S. to al-Shabab, an Al Qaeda affiliated group in Mohamud's native Somalia,

At the time, Attorney General Eric Holder said the indictments reflect a disturbing trend of recruitment efforts targeting U.S. residents to become terrorists.

Officials have been working with Muslim community leaders across the United States, particularly in Somali diasporas in Minnesota, trying to combat the radicalization.

The alleged plot in Portland follows a string of terrorist attack planning by U.S. citizens or residents.

In the Times Square plot, Faisal Shahzad allegedly tried to set off a car bomb at a bustling street corner. U.S. authorities had no intelligence about Shahzad's plot until the smoking car turned up in Manhattan.

Late last month, Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Virginia was arrested and accused of casing Washington-area subway stations in what he thought was an al-Qaida plot to bomb and kill commuters. Similar to the Portland sting, the bombing plot was a ruse conducted over the past six months by federal officials.

A year ago in another federal sting, 19-year-old Jordanian Hosam Smadi was arrested on charges he intended to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper. Federal officials said he placed what he believed was a car bomb outside the building but was instead a decoy device given him by an undercover FBI agent.

"I think we've been extremely lucky so far in the United States that many of the incidents have been amateur," said Bruce Hoffman, terrorism expert at Georgetown University. "But even if their skill level is not enough that they can pull off a successful attack, what is clear that the intention or motivation to cause mass homicide or destruction is certainly genuine."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York issued an emergency stay Saturday night that temporarily blocks the U.S. government from sending people out of the country after they have landed at a U.S. airport with valid visas.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application. The Department of Homeland Security said that more than 170 people were denied entry to the U.S. as of Saturday night, according to Reuters.

The ruling by Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Courtfor the Eastern District of New York came during a hearing called after President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking people from seven Muslim-majority from entering the United States and putting a temporary halt to refugee admissions

Twelve refugees were detained at JFK Airport within hours of Trump's order restricting immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations -- but two were released later in the day -- as hundreds of protesters continued to amass at the busy airport throughout the day and into the evening.

One of the Iraqis, Hameed Jhalid Darweesh, 53, was released by midday Saturday. I suffered to move here, to get my family here . I cant go back, Darweesh said shortly after his release, according to the New York Post. Asked if hed be killed in Iraq, he answered: Yes, yes.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an Army interpreter in Iraq, had been stopped as he traveled with his wife and three kids when agents pulled him aside, according to the New York Times.

What's happening at JFK is shameful. @NYCImmigrants Affairs Commissioner Nisha Agarwal is on the ground now working to help.  Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 28, 2017

The other Iraqi detainee, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, was released at about 6:30 p.m. It was unclear how quickly the judge's order might affect people in detention.

Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) announced the number of refugees held at the airport. This should not happen in America. We shouldnt have to demand the release of refugees one by one, the two members of Congress said in a statement.

"They have been detained illegally. I am begging you to go and revisit this. It's ill-advised, it's mean spirited," said Velazquez, during a press conference.

Meanwhile, the National Immigration Law Center and other civil liberties organizations have filed a suit in federal court in New York on behalf of the two Iraqi men that seeks to certify the case as a class-action on behalf of other who organizers claim have been detained illegally. Karen Tumlin, legal director at the NILC, issued the following statement:

Trumps order keeps some of the worlds most vulnerable people in life threatening danger. ... Many refugees like our client risked their lives to help the United States government. The fact that the government has now decided to turn its back on those who served and protected us isnt just unconscionable. Its unconstitutional.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) held an afternoon press conference in response to Trump's actions to say that we "cannot tolerate this type of activity."

British Prime Minister Theresa May has also criticized Trump's ban, her official spokesman said Sunday that May does "not agree" with the order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.

The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey the decision was a matter solely for the U.S.

The White House moved Saturday to defend the presidents refugee order, saying Muslims are not being targeted.

The notion that this is a Muslim ban is ludicrous, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News.

In an interview with Fox News Justice with Judge Jeanine, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended the ban saying it was perfectly legal, perfectly sensible. Giuliani added that the ban is not based on religion. It's based on places where there's substantial evidence that people are sending terrorists into our country.

Other travelers were being stopped from boarding U.S.-bound flights at overseas airports as the Trump refugee ban went into effect Friday night.

Protest grows at terminal 4 at JFK over at least 11 detained under Trump's executive order banning those from 7 Muslim nations pic.twitter.com/9t8lI0tlOZ  Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) January 28, 2017

Trump on Friday suspended refugee admissions for four months and indefinitely banned those from war-torn Syria, pending program changes that are to ensure refugees won't harm national security.

A U.S. federal law enforcement official says any non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen is now barred from entering the United States.

That covers legal permanent residents -- green card holders -- and visa-holders from those seven countries who are out of the United States after Friday, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order with the temporary ban. They cannot return to the U.S. for 90 days.

The official says there's an exemption for immigrants and legal permanent residents whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, but it's unclear how that exemption will be applied.

The official says visa and green card holders already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay. The official wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order is being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Customs and Border Protection is notifying airlines about passengers whose visas had been canceled or legal residents scheduled to fly back to the U.S., and the airlines are being told to keep them off those flights.

The order also imposes a temporary ban on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.

The lawyers said custom agents wouldnt let them meet with their clients who they said had valid visas to enter the U.S.

Who is the person we need to talk to? asked Mark Doss, a lawyer with the International Refugee Assistance Project.

Mr. President, the paper quoted a customs agent as responding. Call Mr. Trump.

President Trump's war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue, the group's Omar Jadwat said.

In Cairo, airport officials prevented seven U.S.-bound migrants -- six from Iraq and one from Yemen -- from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York.

The officials said the seven migrants, escorted by officials from the U.N. refugee agency, were stopped from boarding the plane after authorities at Cairo airport contacted their counterparts at JFK.

Qatar Airways told passengers bound for the U.S. from the seven newly banned majority Muslim countries that they need to have either a U.S. green card or diplomatic visa to travel.

A statement on the company's website says: "Nationals of the following countries: Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen ... may travel to the U.S. only if they are in possession of a permanent resident card (Green card) or any of the below visas."

It listed foreign government, United Nations, international organization and NATO visas.

Late Friday, the International Rescue Committee called Trump's suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program a "harmful and hasty" decision.

The groups president David Miliband said, "America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope."

He said the U.S. vetting process for prospective refugees is already robust -- involving biometric screening and up to 36 months of vetting by "12 to 15 government agencies."

This is no time for America to turn its back on people ready to become patriotic Americans, he said.

The Associated Press and Fox News' Wes Barrett contributed to this report.
The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):

7 p.m.

President Donald Trump has reaffirmed to France the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance, including that all members share the burden on defense spending.

Speaking by telephone with French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH' oh-LAWND'), the White House says Trump also expressed his desire to work with France on a range of issues, especially counterterrorism and security.

During the presidential campaign, Trump had dismissed NATO as "obsolete" and suggested the U.S. might not aid members who hadn't paid their share of military defense costs.

The White House says Trump and Hollande also praised joint efforts by their countries to eliminate the Islamic State group from Iraq and Syria.

Trump offered condolences for the loss of life in terrorists attacks carried out across France during the past two years.

___

6:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are stressing the "enduring strength and closeness" of relations between their countries.

The White House says both leaders agree that the relationship is critical for peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. The White House says in a brief, two-sentence statement that the conversation lasted 25 minutes.

Turnbull was the fifth foreign leader Trump spoke with by telephone on Saturday.

The president also had conversations with the leaders of Japan, Russia, Germany and France.

___

6:15 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin discussed a range of topics from defeating the Islamic State group to ways "to achieve more peace."

A statement Saturday said the phone conversation between the two leaders lasted one hour and "was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair."

The statement focused exclusively on security-related matters.

However, an earlier statement released by the Kremlin said Trump and Putin addressed "restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries."

___

3:55 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agree on "fundamental importance" of NATO to trans-Atlantic relations.

The leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, relations with Russia and the Ukraine crisis during what was described as an "extensive telephone conversation."

In previous remarks Trump has dismissed NATO as "obsolete." But British Prime Minister Theresa May, who met with Trump on Friday, said the president assured her he was "100 percent" behind the organization.

Trump and Merkel agreed to deepen German-US relations, and increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

The White House says Trump accepted Merkel's invitation to the Group of 20 economic summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July. He also said he looked forward to welcoming her to Washington soon.

A statement from Merkel's spokesman mirrored the White House description of the call.

___

3:50 p.m.

A spokesman for Angela Merkel says the German Chancellor and U.S. President Donald Trump agree on the "fundamental importance that the NATO alliance has for trans-Atlantic relations" and the need for all members to pay their fair share.

Steffen Seibert says the two leaders had an "extensive phone conversation" Saturday in which they discussed NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, relations with Russia and the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Seibert said in a statement that Merkel and Trump stressed their intention "to further deepen the already excellent bilateral relations in the coming years."

He said that Trump accepted Merkel's invitation to attend the G-20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in July. Seibert said Trump also said he looked forward to welcoming Merkel in Washington "soon."

___

3:10 p.m.

The Kremlin says Russia's Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) and President Donald Trump have agreed to work closely together and boost ties between the powers.

That's the message after the leaders spoke by telephone on Saturday. It's their first official contact since Trump took office.

A Kremlin statement says "both sides showed their readiness for active, joint work to stabilize and develop Russian-American cooperation."

There is no immediate comment from the White House.

The Kremlin says Putin and Trump will maintain "regular personal contact" and begin preparations for a face-to-face meeting.

The Kremlin has applauded Trump's promises to rebuild U.S.-Russian relations. They've been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections.

___

12:15 p.m.

The presidents are on the phone.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has tweeted that the scheduled call between President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin is underway.

It's the first time the leaders have spoken since Trump took office on Jan. 20.

Trump has said he's open to cooperating with Russia if it helps further American interests abroad.

Before the call, Trump was noncommittal about whether he was considering lifting economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by the Obama administration.

___

11:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump has invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) to a meeting in Washington on Feb. 10.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer says on Twitter that Trump extended the invitation during a telephone conversation with Abe on Saturday.

The White House says in a statement that Trump affirmed the "ironclad U.S. commitment" to Japan's security. The leaders pledged to consult and cooperate on the threat posed by a nuclear-ambitious North Korea.

They also discussed Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' upcoming visit to the region, including Japan.

It was the first several conversations Trump planned with world leaders on Saturday. The president is also expected to speak with the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Australia.

Abe was the first world leader to meet with Trump after the election.

___

6 a.m.

Russia's security chief says he has high hopes for Saturday's scheduled telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump.

Nikolai Patrushev  secretary of Russia's Security Council  is quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying, "Everything will be positive."

The leaders' call will be their first official contact since Trump was sworn in as president.

The Kremlin has welcomed Trump's promises to mend ties with Moscow. Those ties have been strained by the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. elections.

Trump has been noncommittal about the fate of U.S. economic penalties against Russia.
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President Donald Trump had an hourlong discussion Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin  the first since Trump assumed office last week  raising questions over the fate of U.S. sanctions against Moscow and whether the two will look to enhance military cooperation against the Islamic State group.

The White House provided a thin readout on the call between the two leaders, saying it was "a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair."

The two leaders discussed "a range in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria," the White House statement said, using an acronym for the militant group.

Contrary to the statement from the White House, the Kremlin emphasized that the two leaders addressed the importance of "restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries," hinting that the two men discussed the sanctions, implemented by the Obama administration as a consequence of Russia's actions in Ukraine.

The Kremlin also said that Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran's nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has applauded Trump's promises to rebuild U.S.-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on the plan to defeat the Islamic State group Saturday, including in it the possibility of teaming up with "new coalition partners," suggesting that pairing up with Russia on counterterrorism issues isn't off the table.

Trump was noncommittal about whether he was considering lifting the economic sanctions ahead of the call, telling reporters Friday: "We'll see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether sanctions were discussed on the call.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, drawing widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States.

In response, sanctions were implemented against sectors of Russia's economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defense. The Obama administration also sanctioned people in Putin's inner circle.

Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama also ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds in the United States and expelled 35 diplomats that he said were really spies. These sanctions followed an assessment by U.S. intelligence that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump become president.

Trump's tempered approach to U.S.-Russia relations has already raised concern among several European allies who believe keeping Russia in check is essential to regional security.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose country  as part of the European Union  also has punished Russia for its provocations in Ukraine, voiced the view of many in Europe, telling reporters in Washington on Friday: "We believe the sanctions should continue."

Vice President Mike Pence and other senior advisers joined Trump for the call with Putin, including his national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior strategist Steve Bannon. Trump also spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Japan, Germany, France and Australia.

Two Republican senators  Arizona's John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Ohio's Rob Portman, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee  warned the White House about easing any punishments on Moscow and they pledged to turn the sanctions into law.

"I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course," McCain said in a statement. "If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law."

Portman said lifting the sanctions "for any reason other than a change in the behavior that led to those sanctions in the first place would send a dangerous message to a world already questioning the value of American leadership and the credibility of our commitments after eight years of Obama administration policies."

McCain has emerged as a frequent critic of Trump among Capitol Hill Republicans. He takes a dim view of trying to reset relations with Moscow and says Trump should remember that Putin is "a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn."

"For our commander in chief to think otherwise would be naive and dangerous," McCain said.

McCain and Portman are part of a bipartisan group of senators who have introduced legislation designed to go beyond the punishments against Russia already levied by Obama and to demonstrate to Trump that forcefully responding to Moscow's meddling isn't a partisan issue.

The bill would impose mandatory visa bans and freeze the financial assets of anyone who carries out cyberattacks against public or private computer systems and democratic institutions.

The legislation also mandates sanctions in Russia's all-important energy sector and on investments in the development of civil nuclear projects to rebuke Moscow for its provocations in eastern Ukraine and military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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Associated Press writer Howard Amos in Moscow contributed to this report.
On Feb. 1, 1957, Miami-bound Northeast Airlines Flight 823 took off from New Yorks La Guardia Airport in near-blizzard conditions. Less than a minute later, its twisted wreckage lay engulfed in flames in a jail yard in a wreck that killed 20 and remains one of the most enigmatic crashes in aviation history.

In retrospect, the flight seemed doomed from the beginning: Its pilot had already been involved in two prior crashes, takeoff was delayed more than three hours and the weather was fierce. But what followed, after the plane dived into the grounds of the Rikers Island jail, added to the grim mystique that still surrounds the incident to this day.

It was my first flight and my last flight; I never flew again, Phyllis Naylor, 91, a crash survivor, told Fox News from her home in Langhorne, Pa. My husband Charles had heard that the back of the plane was safer, so thats where we were.

Flight 823, a Douglas DC-6A, was scheduled to leave La Guardia at 2:45 p.m. but wasnt clear for takeoff until 6:01 p.m. Crash investigators would later determine it reached an altitude of just 200 feet before going down.

CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE FLIGHT 823 CRASH

The takeoff seemed fine, Naylor noted. "But then I saw this 'oh-my-God look' on my husband's face; in an instant, the plane listed, the left wing was cut off and our side of the plane was tipped up real high."

Seconds later, the plane was on the ground. As survivors among the flights 101 passengers and crew stumbled from the wreckage and into the snow, their flesh burning and their cries piercing the evening air, Rikers Assistant Deputy Warden James Harrison made the unprecedented decision to release prisoners to aid in the rescue. It may have saved lives: The citys own first-responders were delayed getting to the scene by bad weather and a remote location.

Naylor and her husband, who were going to Miami to celebrate his new gig as piano soloist in the Fred Waring Band, managed to get out of the plane, and jumped into a pile of snow. Naylor remembers that Charles and another passenger rolled her around in the snow and hers and Charles' hands and face were dripping. "We realized eventually that it was our burning skin sliding off."

"The night was silent, except for the screams," Naylor said.

Phyllis and Charles Naylor were taken to the prison chapel, and by the time they were transferred to Albert Einstein Hospital, "my hands looked like toasted marshmallows," Naylor said. "It was the worst pain of my life."

Angel Gorbea, who witnessed the crash from his cell at Rikers Island before racing to the scene, told The Associated Press at the time: The whole sky, even through the snow, was lighted. We, the prisoners, stood at the windows. We saw people tumbling out of that ship -- they were all lighted, too, by the flames. We saw them and their shadows.

Tugboats maneuvered to the scene, slogging through the East River to reach the victims.

When we got there, people were falling out of the wings of the plane and the fuselage, tugboat Capt. Earl Jensen told WNYC reporter Monroe Benton.

The Naylors spent two months in the hospital, and Charles' hands were so damaged that he was unable to resume his career as a pianist. Charles, who died in 1994, put his energy into composing music, unable to stretch his hands in the way required to perform classical pieces. Phyllis was a high school English and drama teacher.

The pilot, Capt. Alva Marsh, later told investigators he believed the plane struck a pole, causing it to dip sharply left and sending it downward. Upon impact, the planes left wing was sheared off and its outboard engine ripped from its mounting as it burst into flames.

Marsh had been in the cockpit during crashes in 1952 and 1953. In each of those accidents, no one died. This time, the dead included a child.

Inside the jail, Harrison gave the order to release more than 50 inmates known as trusties -- prisoners whose good behavior had earned the guards trust. They raced to the scene to help stunned passengers and crew. Every single inmate returned to their cell later that night.

One stewardess who worked the flight, Doris Ostermann, suffered catastrophic injuries shepherding passengers to safety.

"She was terribly deformed; her nose and ears were burned away," Paula Aubee, Ostermanns niece, told Fox News.

"It was shocking as a child to see those physical traits," recalled Aubee, who was 8 at the time of the crash. "But my aunt was always fun-loving. She never lost that."

Ostermann, who was Doris Steele at the time of the crash, had aided in two historic airlifts during the 1940s: She led Jewish refugees from China to Israel and participated in the Berlin Airlift.

"She loved every minute of being a stewardess and was outrageously in love with flying," Aubee said. As Ostermann healed, Aubee remembered how her aunt said she couldn't wait to get back on a plane, although her injuries kept her from a career as a stewardess. "She couldn't pick things up."

"She was an adventurer. She was this fairy godmother to us," said Linda Nilsson, another niece of Ostermann, "bringing us things from all around the world."

Ostermann died in 2010 of a stroke at the age of 87.

For their part in the rescue, 30 of the 57 inmates who ran to help were released and another 16 had their sentences reduced by the New York City Parole Board. Mayor Robert Wagner bestowed on Harrison the Correction Departments highest award: the Medal of Honor.

The Civil Aeronautics Board investigators determined that Marshs inability to properly interpret the planes flight instruments was the probable cause of the crash. Marsh never again flew an airliner. He was reassigned to a desk job at Northeast Airlines. He died in Florida in 1985 at the age of 78.

CLICK TO READ THE CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD REPORT

The crash shows that "life is uncertain and men are frail and make mistakes," Alvin Moscow, who wrote about the Flight 823 crash in his book "Tiger on a Leash," told Fox News. "This is one crash where everything that could go wrong with a plane did go wrong."

For Phyllis Naylor, the crash was, in some odd way, "a blessing."

"You remember the kindness -- of an African-American inmate who gave me a cloth to wrap my hands, of the doctor who treated my burns. Truth is, we had a wonderful life; it has made me appreciate everything."
Michigan police want to know who killed two men whose bodies were found in a Walmart parking lot.

The bodies were in a white SUV, WNEM-TV reports. Police told the station a passerby made the discovery Friday evening. The SUV didn't look right to the person, who then got closer and saw the bodies.

"Dispatch advised there was a call here at this location. Sergeants from the MSP showed up to investigate, found two individuals deceased in the vehicle, State Police Lt. Paul Pummill told WNEM.

Police arent saying how Joseph Carson, 31, and Anthony Hammond, 39, were killed.

The victims were from Flint. The Walmart is about 20 miles away near Owosso.
A murder suspect has an unlikely ally in his fight against being tried for capital murder: The man hes accused of killing.

A Declaration of Life document written by Rev. Rene Robert before his April 2016 murder is being cited by church officials and Steven Murray, 28, as the two sides battle to spare Murray from a possible death sentence in Georgia.

Its not necessary. We dont need to be as violent as he was, Bishop Filipe Esteves of the Diocese of St. Augustine told WJBF.

ACCUSED KILLER ON FBI'S MOST WANTED LIST SURRENDERS AT TEXAS BORDER



A group of bishops and other clergy are set to hold a news conference Tuesday on the courthouse steps in Richmond County asking authorities to reconsider seeking the death penalty in light of the discovery of the 71-year-old Roberts Declaration, which was signed, witnessed and notarized.

I believe that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves on the purpose of revenge, Robert wrote in a background point that was published by The St. Augustine Record.

Therefore, I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered.

Murray is believed to have met Robert when Murray was released from Duval County Jail on April 6. Robert, a retired priest, had a ministry specifically seeking to help those who were serving or had served time in prison.

But by April 12, Robert was reported missing, and later that night Murray became the prime suspect in the disappearance after leading police on a car chase  using Roberts car. Murray got away, but was taken into custody on April 14.

Soon after his arrest, Murray led police to a set of remains; however, due to the bodys condition, officials needed dental records to positively ID Robert. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. Murray told reporters that he had mental problems and I lost control of myself and I apologize.

Im very sorry and, if anybody really loves Father Rene, they will forgive me, because he was a man of God and forgiveness is forgiveness, Murray said, according to The St. Augustine Record.

Esteves said he opposed the death penalty because no act would bring Robert back to life.

You never know what is going through the heart and mind of the person doing a violent act, Esteves told WJBF. Justice needs to be joined by mercy.
Two weeks after child welfare workers removed four children from a woman's suburban Pittsburgh home in June for alleged neglect, they discovered an even bigger problem: The woman has two other children who are missing, and haven't been seen alive for more than a decade.

Since the summer, police investigators have cast a wide net for twins Ivon and Inisha, who would be about 18 now. A county detective has testified he believes the children are dead but can't prove it. A cadaver-sniffing dog came up empty during a search of another Pittsburgh area house in December.

Patricia Fowler was arrested in August on charges of concealing the whereabouts of her twins after police investigated following the removal of four of her other children. Fowler has claimed the children are safe and living out of state, but no information she's provided to police has panned out, authorities said. She's been free on bail.

As police try to solve the mystery, they have filed additional charges against Fowler, 47, accusing her of illegally collecting more than $50,000 in state food stamps, public assistance and medical benefits for the twins. As of Friday, she had not yet surrendered on the new counts, which include theft.

A criminal complaint filed Wednesday said she had been collecting benefits for the twins since June 2011, and continued doing so through the end of August  weeks after police charged her with concealing the twins' whereabouts. Her public defender would not comment, citing an office policy to not commenting on pending investigations.

Fowler has changed her story several times regarding the whereabouts of Ivon and Inisha. She's told police the two children are living with friends or relatives in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, only to have the names and addresses she's provided not check out, or have relatives tell police they've never heard of the twins. Police said one out-of-state address provided by Fowler turned out to be a vacant storefront, and one Georgia city she named didn't exist.

At one point, Fowler even told police she sold the children years ago for $2,000 each to a woman she didn't know in a deal brokered by a man she met in a bar. She reversed course and told police that was a lie.

Police have unsuccessfully checked with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, which in September released age-progressed images showing what the twins may look like now. Other databases in various states provide no evidence that the twins ever attended school.

"In my professional opinion, I believe they've met their demise," lead Allegheny County detective Michael Kuma testified at Fowler's preliminary hearing on the concealment charges in October.

The detective said this week he can't comment on the ongoing investigation.

Fowler's son, Datwon, 19, remains jailed on charges he conspired with his mother to hide his twin siblings from authorities.

Datwon texted police at his mother's behest back in August, pretending to be Ivon and saying that he and Inisha were safe and sound and living out of state, police said. But GPS tracked the phone to the home Datwon shares with his mother, and he confessed to the ruse.

Datwon's attorney, Richard McCague, said he believes the new charges are an effort to put Fowler behind bars like her son.

"They don't have a complaint about child abuse and they don't have a body indicating someone has died. They believe these children are dead but they can't prove it," McCague said. "Under those circumstances, what else can they charge mom with?"
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President Donald Trump's travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations entry into the U.S. has sparked protests around the country.

A look at what is happening:

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NEW YORK

Cries of "Let them in!" rose up from a crowd of more than 2,000 people protesting at John F. Kennedy Airport, where 12 refugees were detained Saturday. Celebrities including "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon joined the demonstration. "What Donald Trump did in the last 24 hours is disgusting, disgraceful and completely un-American and I'm here in protest," said protester Pamela French. The agency that runs the airport tried to restore order by shutting down the train that runs to airport terminals. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, reversed that decision, saying people had a right to protest. "The people of New York will have their voices heard," he said in a statement.

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

More than 120 people clutching signs denouncing the Trump immigration orders gathered at Newark Liberty International Airport. NorthJersey.com reports that they joined lawyers who'd rushed to the airport to defend the rights of refugees and immigrants who were being detained and denied entry.

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FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Dozens of protesters inside Washington Dulles International Airport chanted "Love, Not Hate, Makes America Great" and "Say It Loud, Say it Clear, Muslims Are Welcome Here," as travelers walked through a terminal to a baggage claim area to collect luggage and greet their loved ones. There was a heavy police presence during the peaceful protest. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said during a press conference at Dulles that he has asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to look into "all legal remedies" available to help individuals who may be detained in Virginia.

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DENVER

Dozens of people converged on Denver International to show their support for refugees. Standing in the main terminal Saturday, they sang "Refugees are welcome here." Some held signs declaring their identity, such as Jew or Christian, and the phrase "I come in peace." Denver has some direct international flights but it wasn't clear whether anyone has been detained under the president's executive order.

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CHICAGO

A crowd of demonstrators held a rally at O'Hare International Airport. The Chicago Sun-Times reports protesters blocked vehicle traffic to O'Hare's international terminal for a time. The newspaper says some arriving travelers joined the protest, while others were upset by the demonstrations.

Lawyers working with the International Refugee Assistance Project tell the Chicago Tribune that 17 people who had been detained at O'Hare all released by late Saturday.

Among those released before the federal judge's order was Hessan Noorian, a suburban Park Ridge resident returning with his family from Iran, the Tribune reported.

Noorian, who is of British and Iranian citizenship and has a green card, was detained at O'Hare after he and his wife, Zahra Amirisefat, a U.S. citizen, arrived from Tehran, the newspaper said.

The couple, who told the Tribune that they work at a community college in the Chicago area, said they were questioned for five hours.

After Noorian was released, his wife told the Tribune: "I can't believe something like this can happen to someone with a green card."

__

DALLAS

Protesters who gathered at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Saturday evening voiced their displeasure with Trump's executive order. The crowd of a few dozen ballooned into hundreds of demonstrators who frequently chanted "Set them free!" At times, cheers erupted from the crowd as those who were detained got released.

Among those still held at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at midnight Saturday was a 70-year-old Iranian widow, Shahin Hassanpour, whose son said she suffers from high blood pressure and had breast cancer surgery four years ago. She obtained an immigrant visa in November on her son's petition.

Bahzad Honarjou, a 43-year-old network engineer, said he spoke twice to his mother by phone after her 9 a.m. arrival, but that they hadn't talked since courts stayed the executive order, meaning she should have been released.

Hundreds of protesters stood in the waiting area and chanted "This is what democracy looks like."

Immigration agents were not being very communicative, Honarjou said.

"They were like a machine when I talked to them today," he said. His mother only speaks a few words of English and a fellow passenger was translating for her from her native Farsi as no immigration agents spoke the language, he said.

Hassanpour was originally going to be deported on a Sunday flight, she informed her son the first time they spoke.

"She was about to cry," he said. "She is not able to take (tolerate) a 20-hour flight back to Iran."

Honarjou said he is a U.S. citizen, obtained entry in a lottery, and has been in the country for seven years. Why did he come?

"To have a better life and to make more money," he said. "And, you know, for the freedom."

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SEATTLE

About 1,000 protesters gathered at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, sitting down in the concourse with a large American flag reading "We are America." Aayah Khalaf, a Muslim American, was sitting at home watching the protest on television when she and her friend studying from Egypt decided to join the rally. It was her second time joining a protest. The first one was the Women's March. "It's not just against Muslims. It against environmental rights and human rights overall. I think everybody has to stand up against this," said Khalaf, 29.

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PORTLAND, OREGON

A protest by several dozen people in and around Portland International Airport briefly disrupted light rail service at the airport. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the demonstrators carried signs and chanted "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "No ban no wall America is for us all."

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LOS ANGELES

About 300 people expressed their displeasure with the ban at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night. Protesters entered the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal after holding a candlelight vigil.

Avriel Epps held a candle and a large photo a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy who washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015 and became a haunting symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis.

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SAN FRANCISCO

Hundreds of protesters blocked the street outside at San Francisco International Airport's international terminal to express their opposition to the barring of some people from Muslim-majority nations.

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SAN DIEGO

As motorists honked their support, demonstrators outside San Diego International Airport chanted "No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here."
The city said that bus never made it to its next bus stop because one of its riders started acting strange and then attacked the woman driving the bus.

A senior citizen stepped in and began hitting the bus driver's assailant with his cane.

Surveillance footage shows the attack happening near 35th and Troost. The attacker can be seen approaching the bus driver and harassing her.

Then he takes it to the next level.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

He grabs her from behind, wrapping his arms around neck while she screams for him to stop.

"Get your hands off of me!" she can be heard saying in the video. "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

Suddenly, a man sitting on the bus springs into action. He rushes to the front of the bus and starts to beat the attacker off the woman with his cane.

When the attacker tried to get back on the bus, the Good Samaritan had a strong message for him.

"Come on! I got something else for you! Come on! Get over here!" the man calls out the attacker.

The attacker stayed off the bus. Eventually, police arrived on the scene and arrested him.

That Good Samaritan broke his cane in half in the scuffle. Now the city wants to buy him a new one as a way to thank him.

Click for more from FOX4KC.com.
The White House on Sunday said the addition of President Donald Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to regular meetings of the country's top national security officials was essential to the commander in chief's decision-making process.

Trump took steps Saturday to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council, adding the senior adviser to the principals committee, which includes the secretaries of state and defense. At the same time, Trump said his director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would attend "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed."

Bannon served in the Navy before attending Harvard Business School, working at Goldman Sachs, starting his own media-focused boutique investment banking firm and later heading the ultraconservative outlet Breitbart News.

"He is a former naval officer. He's got a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape that we have now," White House press secretary Sean Spicer told ABC's "This Week."

Spicer said "having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings who has a significant military background to help make  guide what the president's final analysis is going to be is crucial."

But to Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the NSC "sadly has some really questionable people on it," he told NBC's "Meet the Press," citing Bannon among them.

Breitbart has been condemned for featuring racist, sexist and anti-Semitic content.
On March 13th, in a blatant act of censorship, the Argentine government ordered a live TV program hosted by journalist Marcelo Longobardi off the air. The incident took place as Nestor Kirchner's former Chief of Staff, Alberto Fernandez, harshly criticized Cristina Kirchner for her attempt to amend the governing charter of the Central Bank.

Minutes after the program was cut off, CNN's former host, Alberto Padilla, took to his Twitter account saying: "Gentlemen: I was an eyewitness to the repression against the press in Argentina. Longobardi was removed from the air by order of President Kirchner. Also through Twitter, Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer said: "The worst part of the censure to Longobardi in Argentina is that if Alberto Padilla was not there, perhaps no one would have complained"

Far from being President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's first attack against the free press, this action is part of a policy intended to silence anyone who tries to expose the country's reality.

In late 2009, Cristina Kirchner pushed a new law that regulates private media, designed exclusively to concentrate every piece of information in the government's hands. Among other things, the law required certain media conglomerates to divide their shares in a very short period of time, violating all kinds of contracts and property rights.

In December 2011, immediately after being reelected, Cristina Kirchner ordered Congress to approve a bill that gives the government full control over the newsprinting paper producing company. The Inter-American Press Association immediately condemned the law.

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In December of last year, the Argentine National Gendarmerie invaded the offices of the Cablevision (a cable provider company owned by the media conglomerate Grupo Clarin), without a court order, causing panic among the company's employees -- a criminal action that was also condemned by the international press.

These aren't the only attacks. The Fernandez de Kirchner administration only doles out government advertising to certain media outlets with sympathetic editorial lines. Following Hugo Chavez's example in Venezuela, the public television channel devotes itself exclusively to disqualify any member of the political opposition. The administration uses the tax revenue agency as a mechanism to persecute media outlets, as happened with the newspaper La Nacion.

In this context, the saddest thing of all, as Oppenheimer said, is that if Alberto Padilla was not in the studio when the program was cut off, nobody would have heard about this case. Perhaps because of fear of retaliation -- or fear of losing the income from government advertising -- many of the most important media outlets scarcely mentioned the story.

It is important to note that C5N's owner mentioned a day after the incident occurred that the program was cut off the air because the time of transmission was over. Interestingly, there was another guest waiting to enter to the studio after Fernandez, and the show was not re-transmitted after midnight, as usually happens.

These events in Argentina are part of a trend followed by countries such as Ecuador and Venezuela, where governments are constantly trying to censor anyone who dares to expose reality. In Venezuela, Chavez shut a TV station years ago and continues to censor newspapers and other TV stations; in Ecuador, Correa personally sued journalists and a newspaper because they exposed the truth; in Argentina, the government has used a combination of these elements. The ultimate goal is the same: hide reality and concentrate power.

Ezequiel Vazquez Ger is an associate at Otto Reich Associates LLC, collaborates with the non-profit organization The Americas Forum / Twitter: @ezequielvazquez

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Syria has a long and tumultuous history of meddling into Lebanese affairs. For much of the past 30 years, the seven-times-smaller Lebanon has lived under Syrian military and political domination. Damascus has often stirred tensions within Lebanon's explosive sectarian mix of Christians and Muslims to advance its regional interests, including during the country's 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Syria's powerful allies in Lebanon include the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Important milestones affecting the Syria-Lebanon relationship:

SYRIA'S CIVIL WAR: Since the uprising against President Bashar Assad began in February 2011, Lebanon has been steadily drawn into the unrest  a troubling sign for the country with political parties rooted in various Christian and Muslim sects, many of which are armed. While Syria's revolt has intensified between predominantly Sunni rebels and Assad's regime  dominated by Alawites, an offshoot Shiite group  Lebanon has seen a steady flow of refugees from Syria, with frequent street clashes along its northern border. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who heads a government dominated by Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian groups, has led a policy of "disassociation" from its influential neighbor. Damascus has accused Sunni groups in Lebanon of supporting rebels by trying to establish a supply line to anti-regime fighters across Lebanon's northern border.

Tensions between Beirut and Damascus deepened in August, after an arrest of former Lebanese Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Syria's most loyal allies in Lebanon. A senior Lebanese police official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said Samaha confessed to having personally transported explosives in his car from Syria to Lebanon to kill Lebanese. A military court indicted Samaha; Syrian Brig. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, a close aide of Assad, was indicted in absentia on charges of furnishing the explosives.

___

POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS: Political assassinations in Lebanon have occurred with impunity for decades, and Syria has been blamed for many of the killings. In 2005, Syria was widely accused of involvement in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a wealthy businessman and an influential Sunni politician. Hariri was hailed in Lebanon for rebuilding Beirut after the 15-year civil war. Following his death in a car bomb explosion, Damascus was forced to withdraw its troops and Syria's grip in Lebanon began to slip. The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has indicted four Hezbollah members as suspects in the Hariri assassination. Hezbollah denies involvement in Hariri's killing and has refused to extradite the suspects.

Many Lebanese residents accused Assad's regime of being behind Friday's assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, a Sunni, who headed the intelligence division of Lebanon's domestic security forces that has been probing the assassination plot against Hariri. Al-Hassan and his agents have been credited with identifying Samaha, the former information minister, as Syria's link to Lebanon. Damascus has condemned the bombing.

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HEZBOLLAH: The Iran-backed Hezbollah has been Syria's most powerful ally in Lebanon, particularly since Damascus ended its military presence in Lebanon seven years ago. The Shiite militant group has dominated Lebanese politics for more than a decade and is now in control of the government. In 2006, Hezbollah gained support from Sunnis and Christians during a 34-day war with Israel, although Lebanon's southern villages and towns and the predominantly Shiite suburbs of Beirut sustained heavy damage.

Opponents of Assad's regime say Syria's embattled president has maintained his influence in Lebanon through allies such as Hezbollah.

Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, Hezbollah has sought to distance itself from the turmoil in Syria, although there have been allegations that the group has sent fighters to help Assad's regime fight rebels. Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has not publicly sanctioned any operations in support of Assad, and warned the mayhem in the neighboring country was out of the group's control.

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TROOPS ON THE GROUND: Lebanon's 15-year civil war ended in 1990 with Syrian forces defeating opponents, controlling large parts of the country and installing allied governments in Beirut. Syrian forces moved into Lebanon in 1976 as peacekeepers after the country got engulfed in civil war between Christian and Muslim militias.

Syrians were drawn into the conflict, and clashed with the Israeli troops after the 1982 invasion aimed at driving out Palestinian guerrillas. In 2000, Bashar Assad became president of Syria, succeeding his late father, Hafez Assad. Israel withdrew from South Lebanon, increasing pressure on Syria to leave. Syrian troops pulled out five years later, after sweeping street protests following Hariri's assassination. Many in Lebanon and its Western-backers blamed Syria for the killing. Damascus has denied involvement.
Ocitti "David" Okech was just 17 when rebels invaded his tiny village in northern Uganda, beating his father to death as he watched, taking away the rest of his family and forcing him to become one of thousands of soldiers in the army of wanted warlord Joseph Kony.

It was 2003, and Okech still vividly recalls his involuntary induction into a world of unfathomable brutality, back-breaking labor and hopeless misery. Rebels serving in Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, a violent cult that mixes a warped Christian fundamentalism with African mysticism and violence, swarmed the rural village of Pabbo. They rounded up the young -- some no more than 10 years old -- and started to break them down.

They asked me what I valued most, Okech told FoxNews.com. "They then killed him in front of me.

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Okech recalled that a rebel then asked him what else he valued, and he said his mother. The rebels then hauled her away.

That is how the LRA works," he said. "They destroy everything valuable to you so you have no option. I was by myself. I felt alone. That is a powerful brainwashing for any child.

The LRA terrorized northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic and what is now South Sudan in the 1990s and well into the last decade, initially forming during a bloody civil war for control of Uganda. Members believe Kony, one of the world's most-wanted men, is a prophet. Its influence has dwindled in recent years, with Kony in hiding, or, some believe, dead. But even as the LRA's power wanes, its legacy of a generation of thousands of mainly Ugandan children initiated into a twisted world of violence that includes rape and murder in the name of spirituality and nationalism.

For the next six months, Okech, whose two brothers were also abducted that night, traveled through the rugged jungles of Uganda, hauling cargo on his back as the rebels duplicated the horror they'd visited upon Pabbo. Okech witnessed many of his fellow captives and people from other villages murdered by the LRA.

You didnt know if you would make it to the next day or not, Okech said. Seeing people killedit hit me the most every time I saw someone die."

Half a year into his ordeal, Okech witnessed an act so brutal he decided to risk his life to escape.

A [captive] womans baby was crying," he recalled. "She was about to feed him and they grabbed the baby and slammed the child against the tree.

I just lost my mind at that point, he added. If a young baby can be killed for no reason, what chance did we have?

Okech rallied a handful of fellow captives, young men at the very crossroads of survival, being forced closer and closer to becoming full-fledged LRA rebels.

I said to them, What about us? We have to do something, he recalled.

As their LRA caravan plodded through the jungle, Okech and the others made their move, running from the path as their captors shouted in alarm and sent bullets whizzing overhead. Two of Okech's friends were left behind, mortally wounded. Alone in the jungle, they continued to move, not knowing if they were being pursued.

I thought I was going to die when I got out because I had no one," Okech said. "I had no home, he said. It keeps haunting me every day.

Okech eventually made it back to Pabbo, but found himself ostracized by villagers who no longer understood or trusted him. Unable to depend on the community for protection, Okech again went on the move, traveling to various save havens and many times narrowly avoiding recapture. He was reunited with his mother but still has not found the rest of his family.

As the LRA's bloody grip on Uganda loosened, Okech went to Gulu University in northern Uganda, where, aided by a scholarship from a charity benefiting international refugees, he graduated last year with a degree. Over the last year, Okech has been working with several organizations, mentoring and counseling other youths who survived the horrors of Kony's army.

Okech is currently in the U.S. working with the advocacy group Invisible Children, which shined a light last year on the atrocities of the LRA with the viral Kony 2012 campaign. Okech has been travelling across the U.S. with the activist group as part of their #zeroLRA campaign, speaking to students in an attempt to build even more awareness about Kony and his LRA group.

A recent report claims that attacks by the LRA have dropped by more than half since 2012, and another report from August suggests that many of the LRA combatants are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Kony due to his failure to maintain contact among the fragmented group. But Okech cautions that the LRA is still at work, and children are still being forced into murderous slavery.

The war is still going on," he said. "Children are still being abducted and killed.
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Libya marks two years since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday, but instead of the freedom and development Libyans had hoped for, the country has fallen deeper into anarchy. Rival Islamist and Western-backed factions are melding with the country's dizzying array of militias, turning political feuds into armed conflict.

Militias that include Islamic extremists are lining up with Islamist politicians in parliament, who have been trying to remove Western-backed Prime Minister Ali Zidan and bring stricter Islamic rule. Other armed groups support Zidan's non-Islamist allies. The result is a fractured system where political rivalries have the potential to erupt into civil war.

In recent months, the militia chaos has only escalated.

Zidan was briefly kidnapped by militiamen this month. Over the summer, eastern militias seized control of oil exporting terminals, sending production plunging from 1.4 million barrels a day to around 600,000, robbing the country of its main revenue source. Other militias in the south cut off water supplies to the capital for days.

Zidan's office manager, the defense minister's son and several judges have been kidnapped. Activists and clerics who speak out against militias have been gunned down, as have at least 100 security or military officers.

At the same time, al-Qaida-inspired militias are spreading. The group Ansar al-Shariah, which is believed to be behind last year's attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi that killed the ambassador and three other Americans, is increasing its strength not only in Benghazi, but in cities further west like Sirte and Ajdabiya.

"We are not a state by the normal definition of the word," Zidan acknowledged to reporters in Tripoli on Sunday. "The government is rowing against the current, and this is very hard."

Since Gadhafi's fall, hundreds of militias have run rampant. They originated in the rebel bands that fought against the longtime dictator in the 8-month war that toppled him. Originally locally based, drawing their loyalties from a particular city, neighborhood or tribe, they have since mushroomed in size.

Too weak to disarm the militias, the military, police and government have tried to co-opt them, paying them to play security roles like guarding districts, facilities, even polling stations during elections. But the policy has backfired, empowering the militias without controlling them.

"This is a disaster," said Husni Bey, a prominent businessman. Investors are fleeing the country, he said, blaming the government for "stuffing the mouths of militias."

The tight interweaving of militias and politics has escalated since Libya held its first post-Gadhafi elections just over a year ago. A non-Islamist bloc won a plurality in parliament, a defeat for hard-liners who have ridden elections to power in other Arab countries since the Arab Spring revolts of 2011.

Since the election, the democratic transition has gone nowhere. Efforts by parliament to create a body to draw up a new constitution have foundered. The non-Islamist bloc in parliament has fragmented and Islamist lawmakers have grown more aggressive in trying to unseat Zidan  even as both sides collect militia allies.

"In Libya now, there is an armed wing for each politician," said Abdel-Hakim al-Balazi, spokesman for the Anti-Crime Department, a militia umbrella group that includes Islamic radicals. Al-Balazi himself has been accused by Zidan of involvement in his abduction and was placed at one point under house arrest.

"I am afraid that if there is no wisdom, the war will be unstoppable," al-Balazi said.

Nothing illustrates the mingling of militias and politics better than Zidan's Oct. 10 abduction, following a U.S. special forces raid that snatched an al-Qaida suspect from Tripoli, enflaming divisions between Islamists and Zidan, who was accused of allowing the operation.

Dozens of gunmen swarmed into the Tripoli hotel where Zidan lives and dragged him off to a detention facility for seven hours until he was rescued by other militias. Zidan has depicted the abduction as the work of his Islamist opponents in parliament, accusing two ultraconservative lawmakers of plotting it. The two denied any role.

The group implicated in the abduction is the Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room, a collection of militias headed by hard-line Islamist commanders  and tied closely to Islamists in parliament. It was created by parliament president Nouri Abu Sahmein, an ultraconservative, and given the official task of keeping security in Tripoli.

A day before Zidan's abduction, a leader was appointed for the Operations Room  Shabaan Massoud Hadiya, a jihadi preacher who lived in Yemen for years until returning home in 2011 to join the fight against Gadhafi.

The drama illustrates the dangerous geographical dimension of Libya's factionalism.

The militias of Benghazi, Misrata and Zawiya, Libya's second-, third- and fifth-largest cities, back the Islamist parliament bloc. Hadiya and many members of the Operations Room hail from Zawiya.

They are counterbalanced by powerful local militias backing Zidan's camp. The most prominent are the al-Qaqaa and Saaqa militias, with commanders from the western mountain region of Zintan; others hail from neighborhoods of Tripoli.

The Saaqa and Tripoli militias converged on the building where Zidan was being held, forcing his release. Other militiamen were on standby, ready to drive to the capital to fight for his release if need be, said Hashim Bishr, commander of the Supreme Security Committee, another umbrella group of militias.

Zidan's quick release shows the rival lineups of militias have kept a balance of terror that has prevented the political situation from exploding.

Wary of sparking an outright confrontation, Zidan has blamed members of the Operations Room and the Anti-Crime Department for abducting him but has underlined that parliament president Abu Sahmein  the Operations Room's top commander  was not involved.

There are signs of an emerging coalition against Zidan made up of Islamist militia commanders, former jihadi fighters and politicians.

In parliament, the main anti-Zidan force is a grouping of Islamist lawmakers known as the "Loyalty to the Martyrs" bloc that includes Abu Sahmein, as well as Abdel-Wahhab al-Qaid, the brother of senior al-Qaida figure Abu-Yahia al-Libi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in 2012. The two lawmakers Zidan accused of plotting his kidnapping also belong to it.

The bloc works closely with lawmakers from the Muslim Brotherhood, together making up about half of the 200-member parliament. So far, that is not enough to vote out Zidan. Days before Zidan's abduction, lawmakers tried but failed to pass a no-confidence motion against him.

On the ground, Islamist-leaning militias have also been pressing for Zidan's removal.

Last summer, a group of militias known as the Supreme Council of Libya's Revolutionaries besieged government ministries and parliament with pickup trucks mounted with heavy machine guns demanding Zidan's resignation and the passage of sweeping legislation that would ban a broad swath of Gadhafi-era officials from politics.

The law was passed at gunpoint, forcing a number of non-Islamist lawmakers out of parliament, as well as the then-president, Mohammed el-Megarif. He was replaced by Abu Sahmein, who then repackaged the militias of the Supreme Council of Libya's Revolutionaries into the Revolutionaries' Operation Room under Hadiya.

"Libya now is passing through a complete defragmentation on the political and security level," said Hassan al-Amin, a leading rights advocate who fled abroad after receiving death threats for speaking against the militias. "The thing is, there is not a single force on the ground that can deal the decisive blow."

Al-Amin, like others in Libya, says he's even open to a new NATO intervention involving airstrikes against militias  "before we lose our country."
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The artist market just north of Angola's capital sells paintings, hand-carved wooden animals and newly woven baskets. It is also sells more than 10,000 pieces of ivory, making it the largest market in southern Africa to openly sell elephant tusks, an illegal trade.

Across the African continent, in Kenya, two of the country's biggest tuskers, as the continent's biggest bulls are called, were slaughtered by poachers. The phenomena are interconnected.

The international ivory trade is threatening to wipe out Africa's elephants. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed for their ivory tusks each year continentwide. And while experts say there has been a decline in elephant poaching, they say more needs to be done, as the deaths of the beloved pachyderms in Kenya show.

At the Benfica Market near Luanda, Angola, two animal researchers recently counted 10,026 pieces of ivory for sale  necklaces, bracelets, carved figurines and whole tusks. And that huge count didn't include backup inventory the sellers kept nearby.

"I was flabbergasted because it was so big," said Esmond Martin, one of two researches publishing a paper in an upcoming issue of TRAFFIC Bulletin, a wildlife trade journal. "It's completely illegal."

Tthe huge demand for ivory in China and the riches a relatively impoverished Kenyan or Tanzanian man, for instance, can make by shooting an elephant and selling its tusks are leading to the slaughter.

Kenya this month mourned the poaching deaths of Mountain Bull, the patriarch elephant of the Mt. Kenya region, and Satao, a 45-year-old bull some experts believe was the largest on earth. Poachers killed him with a poison arrow.

"A great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantelpiece," the Tsavo Trust said in announcing Satao's death.

Achim Steiner, the head of the Kenya-based United Nations Environmental Program, said Thursday that such killings fill him with deep frustration.

"I think it's both a tragedy and a travesty that in this day and age we are not able to contain and manage what ultimately is an act of irresponsibility that can lead to the extinction of species forever," the official whose agency is charged with protecting the world's flora and fauna, told The Associated Press.

Earlier this month customs officials in Hong Kong discovered 790 kilograms (1,740 pounds) of ivory in 32 suitcases. The flight had originated in Angola, the South China Morning Post reported.

Martin and Lucy Vigne have documented ivory markets in Nigeria, Sudan and Egypt and at times had to flee angry, threatening sellers worried the pair's research would harm their livelihood.

In Angola, though, no one seemed to care. They were able to count all of the ivory, take dozens of photos and ask sellers prices and how the pieces were carved. Chinese buyers appear in many of their photos.

"Obviously it was a totally open trade. No pressure to keep it under cover, and obviously all designed with the Chinese market," said Vigne, whose trip with Martin was funded by the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo Conservation Fund and the U.K.-based Aspinall Foundation.

The two think Angola hosts such a large market because more than a quarter million Chinese laborers live there. The ivory  straight and translucent  appeared to have come from forest elephants in Congo, they said.

The Luanda markets offer low prices compared to what buyers pay in China, Martin said, based on his and Vigne's trip to Chinese ivory markets in 2011.

A beaded ivory necklace that was priced at $30 in Angola sells for about $450 in China. A medium size $100 bangle in Angola costs $850 in China. A $500 human figurine in Angola costs five times that in China.

Transnational organized crime, with vast financial resources to buy their way past police and border guards, is behind the ivory trade, said Steiner. Efforts are being made in Asia to raise consumer awareness that buying ivory leads to the deaths of elephants. Many Chinese consumers simply aren't aware, Steiner said.

A sliver of hope is emerging, Steiner said, because governments are taking steps to fight poaching, such as deploying new technologies, passing tougher laws, and adding military personnel to the anti-poaching efforts. CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, said this month that some 20,000 elephants were killed in 2013, a lower number than in 2012 and 2011.

"We are seeing in many African countries the first signs of a turning of the curve and the beginnings of reduced number of poached elephants," he said. "And that is perhaps the second important personal reaction: Don't just despair. It can be changed, it is changing. And we need everyone on board."
The gunman killed by Copenhagen police after two deadly shootings had a background in criminal gangs, authorities said Sunday.

Copenhagen police said the 22-year-old man was born in Denmark and had a criminal record, including violence and weapons offenses. They didn't release his name.

A Danish radio station said the gunman was let out of prison two weeks before the attack, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Police said they had found an automatic weapon that may have been the one the gunman used in an attack on a cultural center hosting a free speech event.

Danish police killed the man early Sunday, who is suspected of carrying out attacks at the free speech event and at a Copenhagen synagogue that left two men dead and five police officers wounded.

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Officials said it is possible he was imitating the terror attacks that took place in Paris last month carried out by Islamic radicals at the Charlie Hebdo newsroom and at a kosher grocery store that left 17 dead.

"Denmark has been hit by terror," Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said Sunday. "We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator's actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech."

Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman was inspired by Islamic radicalism.

"PET is working on a theory that the perpetrator could have been inspired by the events in Paris. He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others," Madsen said.

At a news conference Madsen also said the gunman had been on the agency's "radar."

Later Sunday, at least two people with handcuffs were taken out by police from an Internet cafe in Copenhagen, Danish media reported. Police spokesman Steen Hansen told The Associated Press that "the action was part of the police investigation" but declined to give further details.

Denmarks Jewish Community identified the victim of the attack at the synagogue as 37-year-old Jewish man Dan Uzan. He was guarding the building during a bar mitzvah when he was shot in the head. He later died from the injuries sustained in the attack.

The first shooting occurred Saturday evening at 4 p.m. Police said a gunman used an automatic weapon and shot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural center during a discussion on freedom of expression which featured controversial Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. Vilks had been threatened previously about his caricatures featuring the Prophet Muhammad.

Three officers were injured in the attack, but a 55-year-old man died from the injuries he sustained, authorities said.

The Danish Film Institute said Sunday the man killed was documentary filmmaker Finn Noergaard.

The institute's chief Henrik Bo Nielsen says he was shocked and angry to find out Noergaard was gunned down while attending a discussion on art and free speech.

Noergaard directed and produced documentaries for Danish television, including the 2004 "Boomerang boy" about an Australian boy's dreams to become a world boomerang champion and the 2008 "Le Le" about Vietnamese immigrants in Denmark.

Minutes after midnight Sunday, Uzan was killed and two officers were wounded in the second shooting outside the synagogue.

Investigator Joergen Skov said the shooter was confronted by police as he returned to an address that authorities were keeping under surveillance. A blurred image was released of his face earlier Saturday.

Vilks, a 68-year-old artist who has faced numerous death threats for depicting Muhammad as a dog in 2007, told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the first shooting, which happened at a panel discussion titled "Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression."

"What other motive could there be? It's possible it was inspired by Charlie Hebdo," he said, referring to the Jan. 7 attack by Islamic extremists on the French newspaper that had angered Muslims by lampooning Muhammad.

Leaders across Europe condemned the violence and expressed support for Denmark. Swedens security service said it was sharing information with its Danish counterpart, while U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said U.S. officials were ready to help with the investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu decried the attack and is planning to encourage a massive immigration of Jews from Europe.

"Again, Jews were murdered on European soil just because they were Jews," Netanyahu said at the start of his Cabinet meeting Sunday. "This wave of attacks is expected to continue, as well as murderous anti-Semitic attacks. Jews deserve security in every country, but we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home."

EU President Donald Tusk predicted the latest acts of violence would only strengthen Europeans' resolve to fight all kinds of extremism and terrorism.

"We will press forward with our new agreed priorities in the fight against terrorism," Tusk said in a statement late Saturday. "We will face this threat together."

The EU's law enforcement agency, Europol, said Sunday it was in contact with Danish authorities and proposing its help to find out as much as possible about the Copenhagen gunman and whether he was acting alone or in concert with others.

"We are offering our expertise and capabilities from our anti-terrorist unit including access to our databases," said Europol spokesman Soren Pedersen.

Vilks has faced numerous death threats and attempted attacks on his life. He depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007. A Pennsylvania woman received a 10-year prison sentence last year for planning to kill Vilks.

The depiction of the prophet is deemed insulting to many followers of Islam. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad -- even a respectful one -- is considered blasphemous.

While many Muslims have expressed disgust at the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo employees, many were also deeply offended by its cartoons lampooning Muhammad.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Roger Federer has won his 18th Grand Slam title and put some extra distance on the all-time list between himself and Rafael Nadal, the man he beat 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in a vintage Australian Open final on Sunday.

It was the 35-year-old Federer's fifth Australian title, his first at a major since Wimbledon in 2012, and it reversed the status quo against his nemesis, Nadal.

Federer had lost six of the previous eight Grand Slam finals he'd played against Nadal, and had only previously beaten the left-handed Spaniard in 11 of their 34 matches.

Both players were returning from extended layoffs for injuries  Federer the left knee; Nadal the left wrist  and were seeded 17th and ninth respectively.

Nadal remains equal second with Pete Sampras on the all-time list, with the last of his 14 majors coming at Roland Garros in 2014.
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France and Germany formed a united front on Saturday following the announcement of President Donald Trump's travel ban.

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German leader believes the Trumps travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong.

After meeting on Saturday, the foreign ministers of both nations, Jean-Marc Ayrault and Germany's Sigmar Gabriel, said they hope to meet with the Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson.

Ayrault said Trump's order on Friday that banning refugees "can only worry us."

"We have signed international obligations, so welcoming refugees fleeing war and oppression forms part of our duties," the French minister said.

"There are many other issues that worry us," he added. "That is why Sigmar and I also discussed what we are going to do. When our colleague, Tillerson, is officially appointed, we will both contact him."

Gabriel said offering refuge to the persecuted are western values that Europe and the United States share.

"Love thy neighbor is part of this tradition, the act of helping others," he said. "This unites us, we Westerners. And I think that this remains a common foundation that we share with the United States, one we aim to promote."

Trump said the ban was necessary in preventing "radical Islamic terrorists" from entering the U.S.

Merkel and Trump spoke on Saturday for the first time since his inauguration. No mention of the travel ban or refugees was mentioned in their joint U.S.-German statement following the call.

Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that "she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


A suspected Indonesian militant was killed and one of Southeast Asias top terror suspects was seriously wounded as the Philippines launched airstrikes using South Korean-made jet fighters for the first time in combat, officials said Sunday.

Philippine military Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said the body of the suspected Indonesian militantknown by his nom de guerre Mohisenwas recovered by troops, along with three dead Filipino followers of militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was seriously wounded in the assault on the hilly outskirts of Butig town in Lanao del Sur province.

Eleven other militants were reportedly killed, Gen. Ano said, citing intelligence, but added their bodies haven't been found.

Mr. Hapilon was wounded in the arm and was losing blood after military aircraft, including FA-50 supersonic jet fighters, unleashed six 500-pound bombs Wednesday night and Thursday on a militant encampment as part of a continuing offensive, Gen. Ano and another air force official said. It was the first time the FA-50s, which were acquired from South Korea in late 2015 as the militarys only jet fighters, were deployed in a combat mission.

Four FA-50s have been delivered and eight more are to be delivered by July, air force officials said. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has criticized the FA-50s as being inadequate for counterinsurgency and good only as flyby aircraft for ceremonies.

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Jordan's King Abdullah II is to begin a working visit to Washington on Monday, three days after President Donald Trump temporarily banned entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries and suspended the refugee resettlement program.

State media have said the king would meet with administration officials and members of Congress, but did not mention a White House visit.

Pro-Western Jordan isn't among the countries slapped with the 90-day travel ban, imposed over security concerns, but views refugee resettlement to the U.S. and other countries as a way of easing its own burden; Jordan hosts more than 650,000 displaced Syrians.

Analyst Fahed Khitan said Sunday that a possible U.S. shift in the military campaign against Islamic State extremists will likely be an issue. Jordan belongs to a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition.
Malaysian rescue ships and helicopters were encountering strong winds and choppy waters Sunday while searching for 31 people, including around 20 Chinese tourists, whose boat went missing near an eastern Malaysian city, media reported.

The Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah said the boat lost contact after leaving Kota Kinabalu on Saturday morning, according to the official Xinhua News Agency said. It was bound for Pulau Mengalum, an island about 38 miles west of the city.

The report cited the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as saying there were 28 Chinese tourists on board. But the Chinese Consulate could only confirm the passport details of 18 Chinese citizens, Xinhua said.

Malaysia deployed search and rescue ships and helicopters after receiving a call Saturday night about the boat's disappearance, Xinhua reported. Calls to the Chinese Consulate rang unanswered Sunday.

Authorities are searching a section of the South China Sea of about 400 square nautical miles, according to The Star daily in Malaysia. They are contending with strong winds and choppy waters.

Arwin Musbir, the captain of another boat that left for Pulau Mengalum at the same time, told the New Straits Times newspaper that he was following the missing boat but lost sight of it shortly after they left. He said he realized it had gone missing only after he arrived at the island.
A member of U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six was killed and three others were wounded in a raid against a group of senior Al Qaeda leaders in central Yemen, officials said.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that another service member was injured in a "hard landing" in a nearby location. An MV-22 Osprey aircraft used in the raid was unable to fly afterward and "was then intentionally destroyed in place."

"Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," President Trump said in a statement. "The sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, and the families they leave behind, are the backbone of the liberty we hold so dear as Americans, united in our pursuit of a safer nation and a freer world."

A total of 14 fighters from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the assault, and U.S. service members captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots," according to the military.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite servicemembers, Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Joseph Votel said in a statement. The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe.

The raid on Al Qaeda headquarters was the first counterterrorism offensive under President Trump aimed at gathering intelligence about the militant group, a U.S. official told Fox News. It was also first combat death under the new administration.

A U.S. official told Fox News planing for the operation began before Trump assumed office, but had not been given the green light.

American elite forces did not seize any militants or take any prisoners off-site after the raid, the official said.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault in central Bayda province killed three senior Al Qaeda leaders.

The surprise dawn attack killed Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims, Yemeni officials told the Associated Press. The al-Dhahab family is considered an ally of Al Qaeda, which security forces say is concentrated in Bayda province. A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed in a previous U.S. drone strike years ago. It was not immediately clear whether the family members were actual members of Al Qaeda.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged Al Qaeda operatives in Bayda province in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

The Yemen branch was responsible for sending a 23-year old Nigerian on Christmas Day in 2009, known as the "underwear bomber," to try and blow up a US airline flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.

An American cleric associated with the group became the first U.S. citizen to be killed in a drone strike overseas on the order of President Obama. Anwar al-Awlaki's 16 year-old-son was killed two weeks later in a separate drone strike.

Awkaki had communicated with the Ft Hood shooter, Maj Nidal Hasan, before Hasan carried out the rampage on the US Army base killing 13 and wounding dozens more a month prior to the attempted bombing of the American airliner by the underwater bomber in 2009.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that Canada will welcome refugees rejected by President Donald Trump.

Trudeau also plans to discuss the success of Canada's refugee policy with Trump.

Trudeau reacted to Trump's visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting, "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. #WelcomeToCanada."

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

Trump signed an executive order on Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. A 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program was also issued.

Trudeau posted a picture on Twitter where he is greeting a Syrian child back in 2015 at the Toronto airport.

Trudeau oversaw the arrival of over 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

"The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak," spokeswoman for Trudeau, Kate Purchase said.

Toronto Mayor John Tory weighed in, calling the city the most diverse in the world. "We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality," Tory said in a statement.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

"We have been assured that Canadian citizens traveling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process," Purchase said.

Earlier the U.S. State Department said that Canadians with dual citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya would be denied entry for the next three months.

Trudeau also posted a statement on Twitter with the hashtag, "ACanadianIsACanadian."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Turkey is urging Germany to reject the asylum requests of 40 former Turkish soldiers who allegedly took part in an unsuccessful coup.

Turkey's Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Sunday that the soldiers applied for asylum in Germany after being dismissed from the military.

The state-run Anadolu Agency quoted him urging German authorities to carefully assess the applications and reject them.

Isik says: "Our expectation from Germany is that they will never accept the asylum requests."

The minister is warning that bilateral relations would suffer if asylum were granted to any of the soldiers.

Greece's Supreme Court this week ruled against extraditing eight Turkish servicemen who fled their country after the failed July coup.

That decision infuriated Ankara, which threatened to cancel a bilateral agreement with Greece to curb illegal migration.
Ajmal is a Middle Eastern house that never fails when delivering oriental style fragrances of power and unashamed sillage. The brand's offer is generally divided into 2 styles: one is more European and the other is purely based on traditional tastes of the territory it comes from: the United Arab Emirates. And this is the line I admire most in Ajmal, with perfumes that I crave for, but also suffer with because of it being so hard to buy from where I live, Portugal. So, when I meet the Ajmal representatives in perfume expos I always ask for some samples of the new orientals they launch every year. This time I want to tell you about the great Tanaasuq, a perfume I have been wearing since the Cannes TFWA event, last October.

As I was told, it seems that the Ajmal consumer lost a bit of interest in attars and perfume oils lately. Sales have been stronger in the eau de parfum range, and so the novelties for 2016 and 2017 are alcohol-based fragrances. Tanaasuq comes to satisfy this trend.

What I like in oils (attars, mukhallats) is the richness and opulence they have. The dense quality of them and an almost tangible presence. What they often lack is projection. Oil-based perfumes tend to last longer but they also behave in a shy manner. Even if they are sillage bombs in the first half hour they tend to calm down quickly and turn into an intimate cloud, a skin scent in some cases. Alcohol-based perfumes are much more diffusive in general. But in an Arabian perfume what I look for is that extravagant opulence. And I've found some examples of it in eau de parfum, like the amazing oud Dahn Oud Al Shams.

Tanaasuq brings to us the best of these worlds. The complexity and richness of a true Arabian perfume and the diffusive power of an alcohol formulation. First of all, as usual in Ajmal, the packaging and bottle are luxuriously flawless. After that there is the scent, which I absolutely love and recommend. What I can smell here is a purely traditional Arabian mukhallat (meaning a mix of notes, a fragrant composition) of amber and spices, all of it drenched in the thickness of honey, all golden and syrupy. When you spray it, you think it is one of their mukhallats diluted in alcohol. Well, not really....

What happens is that there is a clear fruity pineapple jam-like quality in the beginning of Tanaasuq that unites with spices (mainly saffron), rose and amber with a touch of smoke. But the fruits gradually vanish and the animalics come through. Namely ambergris. This is a very strong ambergris note, all sweet and salty, sultry and ambery. It makes a transition from fruity to animalic in a seamless evolution that is a little unexpected when you first spray it.

An amorous blend of Rose, Jasmine and Saffron, cleverly infused with spicy fruity notes of Clary Sage and Pineapple. Oudh, Musk and Amber form the heady base of this Eau de Parfum which makes it an irresistible catch. - Ajmal

The drydown of Tanaasuq reminds me a bit of what I love in Paco Rabanne's Ultraviolet but amped up to maximum levels. It lasts an eternity, sometimes to the point of being annoying if you are like me and get easily tired of smelling one perfume. So do yourself a favor and spray with moderation. More than 3 or 4 sprays and it becomes overwhelming. Another interesting feature is that, besides being strong, it works well both in cold and hot weather, especially for a sexy encounter for it is very sensual and enveloping.
The holidays were hard for Ruby Alsop. When the turkey came out of the oven on Thanksgiving and when tinsel went up on the Christmas tree, her heart fell a little bit knowing each milestone brought her a little closer to eviction from the only home she has ever known.

Alsop is one of more than 50 residents of the Fredericksburg Trailer Park off U.S. 1 across from Cowan Crossing who will soon be evicted. Last summer, the parks former owner declared bankruptcy and the Silver Cos. purchased the property for $1.45 million. The developer plans to turn the park property into a commercial center.

The routine business transaction has been devastating for residents like Alsop, who has battled a myriad of health problems that date back to 2008. She had to have her legs amputated last year and was coping with that diagnosis when she received her eviction notice.

I thought I had a stroke, she said. To be told I cant stay in my home by no fault of my own. I had no part in why we have to leave. I paid my bills. Theres just no affordable housing out there.

Shes not bitter, but the park was an ideal location for her, near the bus line and with sidewalks so she could ride her motorized wheelchair to the grocery store. Shes looking for a new place to live, but she wants to take her constant companion and guardian angela Chihuahua named Momo along with her roommate and first cousin, Albert Corey.

I dont know who I can trust, but I know I can trust Albert, Alsop said. and Momo is my everything.

Every place she has contacted so far has a waiting list or a minimum income requirement.

I wake up and think this is all a dream, but its real life, she said. I know God dont give me more than I can bear. But its hard all of these tests and trials. He must have something marvelous planned for me.

help with transition

Jud Honaker, president of commercial development for the Silver Cos., said theres no firm date for residents to leave yet. He said the company is trying to give the residents as much time as possible.

Its tough, he said. The trailers have been there a long time and many dont meet current codes. From a safety standpoint its probably best for residents to leave.

He said that by April or May, he should be in a position to put forth a development plan.

While that buys time for residents, its also a practical consideration. The property is tricky to develop: it has easements, streams, wetlands and a road bisects it.

Cowan East, the working name of the development, will most likely be a commercial hub much like Cowan Crossing, which Silver has developed in the last few years.

Fredericksburg City Manager Tim Baroody said the tenants needed good information so he organized a resource information session, which was held in October at the park.

The Central Virginia Housing Coalition, DisAbility Resource Center, Fredericksburg Department of Social Services, Legal Aid Works and the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging as well as Planning Department staff and several City Council members attended.

The citys comprehensive land-use plan addresses affordable housing, saying, All persons who live and work in Fredericksburg should have the opportunity to rent or purchase safe, decent and accessible housing within their means.

I believe that the issue of affordable housing will continue to be an important topic near term for the city, Baroody said.

He said the city will work with the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors this year on a housing study to gather better data about housing stock and trends.

Local nonprofits already recognize there is a lack of affordable housing, especially rental housing, in a city that has among the highest rental rates in Virginia.

Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity executive director Tom Carlson said he is unfortunately not in a position to help. Habitat has financial requirements for assistance.

A lot of people think we just give out homes but we dont, he said. We offer low interest loans, help with construction and require recipients to take financial courses.

He said the region in general has little help for those needing rental assistance.

Debe Fults, executive director of the DisAbility Resource Center, said she, too, has limited resources. She is able to help secure grants to make apartments workable for those with disabilities, but has no housing or rental assistance to offer.

Her group helps some of the parks residents with disability care, but she said she doesnt know where they should turn with no Section 8 housing available.

Burg is not alone

Jonathan Knopf is a researcher at HDAdvisors, which provides data collection and analysis for affordable housing nonprofits across Virginia.

This is not an isolated issue, Knopf said.

He is talking with advocates for Manassas East End Mobile Home Park, another Virginia community facing eviction. About 60 families there are being evicted from the park that was bought by the city government on condition that the land be emptied of people and trailers.

Like the Fredericksburg park, most residents fall into the low-income category and most have lived there for years.

Nonprofits are forming the Manufactured Home Community Coalition of Virginia to look for ways to preserve trailer parks, which often are the only affordable housing available in a community.

A 2016 HDAdvisors report says 53 percent of manufactured home households receive government assistance, and that while trailers are an affordable path to home ownership, owners are often burdened by high interest loans and other financial barriers that make wealth building difficult.

Unlike most mobile home parks, the Fredericksburg Trailer Park is in an urban environment, near public transportation and groceries.

Mobile home parks in urban areas have been in decline for decades as few new parks are permitted and existing parks are gradually being replaced as rising land costs support denser development, the report said. Negative perceptions of parks by urban planners and policy makers have fueled this trend.

Still, manufactured homes remains the largest subsidized form of affordable housing in the country, the report said.

park Residents banding together

Fredericksburg Trailer Park resident Kelly Sullivan wasnt impressed with the October meeting organized by the city.

Not a lot came out of it, she said.

She and her partner, Lois Truelove, watch over the parks residents from their longtime home. Sullivan, who grew up there, is a mother to two children she and Lois are guardians for and a caretaker to the elderly. She also takes care of stray animals.

The couple bought property and a house in Caroline County, the only place nearby that they could afford. They are working now to expand the home or find other nearby properties so the elderly park residents can live near them.

Last week, Truelove cooked roast beef and vegetables for the residents in their care. They cook multiple meals a week and on weekends they dish out big bowls of chili for those who have a hard time affording much more than their monthly bills.

While delivering food to George Dickman, they also dropped off some new slippers.

Dickman moved to the park in 2007 when his rent went up downtown. He has two dogs, Ruby and Baby Girl, and a cat named Trouble.

He plans to move with Sullivan to Caroline County so he can keep his pets.

But he is worried about being far from amenities.

Well, they sold it and we cant be here much longer, he said. It doesnt matter that I dont like it. I gotta be OK with moving.

Sullivan said theres obviously a demand for affordable housing for people on fixed incomes, but also for young people starting out.

Fredericksburg should be on the forefront of housing trends like the tiny house movement, which Sullivan said would be one solution to the problem.

But with no solution in sight, many of the residents remain in disbelief.

One day theyre happy, the theyre next scared, Sullivan said. They are enjoying the warm days until they realize it means one step closer to eviction.

It was especially hard for her to watch Alsop crumble over the holidays.

Alsop brought out all her decorations to make the last Christmas there special. And on Christmas Eve, she hosted a big supper with a ham, turkey, fixings and her familys recipe for stuffed celery.

Just because we are in a trailer park, a lot of people have this stigma, Alsop said. Were not trailer trash. We are a community that pulls together to help each other when someones in need. But now all of our hands are tied.
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The room is still as Dr. Aparna Ranjan enters, and the man lying in the hospital bed does not open his eyes.

Ranjan touches his arm. His face is pale, his voice and body are thin, and she has to put her ear next to his mouth to hear how he responds to her questions. Then, she leans back and listens to his chest with a stethoscope.

Im a little worried about you, she says, but he does not respond.

She explains why she will not be discharging him today.

Youre in a good place right now, she says, and puts her hand on his. He does not respond.

Ranjan, the medical director of the Bon Secours Community Hospice House in Chesterfield County, cares for people as they approach death, which is the point of hospice care: to ensure that the dying are free from pain, both emotionally and physically.

We try to make the journey easy and comfortable, she said.

As Ranjan leaves the room of the unresponsive man, she shakes her head.

Hes very close to dying, she says. He had what we call a death smell.

This is what its like to help people die.

Many doctors are not trained to help people accept that they are dying, Ranjan said. Most physicians are taught to reach always for some treatment or optioneven if there is little chance of success.

Sometimes, patients will enter Ranjans care without knowing theyre close to dying, because their previous physicians were trained only to help people live and rarely broach the topic of death.

A few days before Christmas, Ranjan planned to start her morning by debriefing with the nurses on duty before visiting a new patient who arrived overnight.

But on her way, the facilitys social worker stops her in the hall to tell her that Steven White, one of the nurses on duty, thinks that another patienta man who was due to be sent home that afternoonhas gotten worse.

Ranjan listens and nods, then says, Im not surprised by that.

She has known the patient for several months and has grown fond of him, as have some of the nurses. White calls the patient his buddy.

He has been at the hospice house for a few days, and Ranjan had noticed the beginning of his decline.

Hes such a sweet man, she says.

The 16-bed Bon Secours Community Hospice House is a freestanding inpatient hospice facility.

Other hospices typically send providers to patients homes. Although the hospice house tries to stabilize patients so they can be discharged, the facility is built for those whose conditions are too severe to be at home.

But many patients, including the new one Ranjan is about to meet, want very much to go home anyway.

Once Ranjan reaches the nurses station, White tells her about the new patient.

The patient, a woman, is unhappy and confused. White proceeds to empty a bag filled with dozens of prescription medications onto the counter, and he and Ranjan sort through them to get a better understanding of what the patient has been prescribed, a task they do frequently.

They discuss the hospice care she has received previously, and Ranjan mentions bringing in the patients nurse from another hospice program, also a typical task for a hospice provider. Their days not only involve caring for patients but coordinating with families and outside services, as well.

Often, Ranjan must work through the labyrinth of symptoms, drugs and family members to understand the patients situation. Is she stable enough to go home? Are the drugs she is taking helping or hurting?

Once Ranjan has a baseline understanding of the patients situation, she and White walk into her room.

Ranjan is a petite woman with dark hair, a light Indian accent and a straightforward demeanor. When meeting with patients for the first time, she is honest about their situation but laces her words with kindness.

Though she is the medical director of the facility, she spends as much time listening to the patients, their families and her nurses as she does giving instructions.

She listens to the new patient. Then Ranjan asks the question she does of every patient.

Do you understand why youre under hospice care?

ENTERING HOSPICE

Patients enter hospice care for various reasons.

Sometimes, they choose hospice because they do not want to go through harsh treatment. In that case, Ranjan said, the patients choose a higher quality of life through hospice care versus living a longer amount of time.

We have some patients who have tried everything, and theyre just not getting better, she said. They have more sick days than good days.

Other patients have no treatment options left.

Often, Ranjan said, cancer patients have an easier time accepting the news that they are out of treatment options than those with other chronic illnesses.

Between 40 and 50 percent of the patients she sees are dying from something other than cancer.

That may be because, as people live longer, other issues are more likely to develop, such as congestive heart failure or neurological diseases, including dementia.

On Dec. 18, Nancy Hardings husband, Wayne, was transferred from Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville to the hospice house. He turned 81 on Dec. 23.

He was admitted to hospice care because of his Parkinsons disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare disease that affects movement and cognition.

At one point after he was admitted to the hospice house, Nancy Harding asked her husband how he was feeling.

He said, relaxed, and he never uses that word, but I think its the atmosphere here, she said. Its so peaceful and just kind of tucked back [from the main road] so youre not seeing the traffic and hustle and bustle and noise.

It just made me feel good to hear him say, Im relaxed. I dont know if hes getting to the point that he realizes, I just cant keep fighting this. But it just makes me feel good, and my family feels good.

Wayne Harding died Jan. 7. In his obituary, his family asked that contributions be made in his memory to the Hospice House.LIFE IN HOSPICE CARE

Dot Eckles put on a brave face during the day.

The 86-year-old would play cards, watch movies and spend time with her little dog, Scampy, who was permitted to visit the hospice house when Eckles resided there from June to Oct. 8.

It was at night, after her family had gone home, that Eckles would dissolve.

She knew that she couldnt get better, and she didnt understand why she was taking so long to die, said daughter Dee Majette.

So at night, one of the hospice house nurses would lie down next to Eckles in bed and listen to her, Majette said.

Once, my mom was crying, and said she couldnt understand why she was still here, Majette said. The nurse said, Well, probably its because you have something still to teach me.

Hospice care does not necessarily mean immediate death, Ranjan said, and patients can live for six months to a year while receiving the care.

But they can still have trouble accepting the idea of being near death. Ranjan said she sees many patients deal with terminal agitation, which is characterized as general restlessness before death.

Sometimes, patients are waiting for something, she said.

Their families may not have given them permission, telling them, Were OK, well be OK, we love you,  she said. Once they hear that, the patient can pass. Weve seen that.

DEALING WITH DEATH

Ranjan has been working in hospice care for more than 15 years. That is why she has come to recognize signs, she said, such as the smell of people close to death.

After she recognizes that smell, the patients typically have 48 to 72 hours left.

Ranjan attributes her career choice to a variety of factors. Growing up in India, she lived with several extended family members and would help her parents care for her grandparents.

We all lived in the same home and we saw people fading away, and we had to step in and help out as I was growing up, she said.

Lynda Marroletti, director of the hospice house, said many of the staff members at the facility do their work because of a personal experience they have, such as caring for an elderly relative.

Bon Secours offers support groups and bereavement programs that are available to staff members as well as families. White said he and the other nurses become close to the patients, especially those who stay at the hospice house for extended periods.

Another nurse with the facility, Norma Rowe, uses her faith to help her deal with patients death.

We know where theyre going, she said of the patients who die.

For Ranjan, dealing with the death of a patient with whom she has grown close is as simple as letting herself feel and process the emotions.

Sometimes after a death, if she gets especially tearful, she will go into her office, put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and sit quietly. Sometimes, she said, she will cry.

She usually recites one prayer she knows by heart:

Lord, I pray for you to give me strength, wisdom and courage to help the dying live and when their life is over and on I will go, comfort my aching heart so to others the same care I can show.
Some days are tougher than others for Andrew Grider, the principal of Rodney Thompson Middle School in Stafford County.

But last week, most days were among the easier ones as the school celebrated him and his assistant principals in what Grider called the best principal appreciation that he has had in 18 years as an administrator.

Grider and other principals in the area were celebrated after Gov. Terry McAuliffe proclaimed Jan. 2229 as Principals Appreciation Week in Virginia, and local school boards followed suit.

Virginia School Principals Appreciation Week is an opportunity to recognize the hard work of Virginia school principals and to recognize the importance of principals in ensuring that every child has access to a quality education, the governors proclamation said.

Central office staff from Stafford and Fredericksburg submitted photos and descriptions of some of their districts activities, ranging from gifts and crafts to assemblies, stories and songs.

Area school boards also read their own proclamations and recognized staff at board meetings in January.
It was the biggest policy fight in Virginia last year, but nearly halfway through the General Assembly session, nobodys really talking about it.

Gov. Terry McAuliffes push for a sweeping expansion of voting rights for more than 200,000 felons, which drew blasts of criticism from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and a successful Republican legal challenge in the Supreme Court of Virginia, seemed to tee up a big issue for lawmakers in the 2017 legislative session.

McAuliffe and other Democrats railed against the disenfranchisement policy in the state constitution as a relic from Virginias racist past that should be eliminated.

Republicans accused the governor of stretching his power beyond its legal limits and said theyd look at constitutional reforms to restore order to a system that can be as forgiving or restrictive as the executive branch wants.

But many observers think theres a good chance lawmakers will leave town in a month without advancing any major reforms, leaving in place a policy  one of the toughest of its kind in the nation  that strips all felons voting rights for life unless a governor acts to restore them.

I am totally perplexed, Charles Satchell, of Richmond, said at a House of Delegates hearing last week after he told lawmakers he spent 30 years behind bars and was released in 2006. What does it benefit the citizens of Virginia for me not to have my rights?

Republicans have floated several felon voting proposals in the GOP-controlled legislature, but the chances of a bipartisan consensus emerging in a gubernatorial election year appear slim.

We just havent heard very much about this, said House Minority Leader David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville.

***

The GOP-backed amendment with perhaps the best chance of passing could fizzle out Monday, when a House subcommittee selects the top issues it wants to put in front of voters on the 2018 ballot.

With nearly 30 proposed amendments to consider, including a closely watched Republican proposal to ban political considerations in the electoral redistricting process, the subcommittee will approve only a few to avoid overwhelming voters with ballot questions.

I believe that it probably wont make the threshold of the top two or three issues, said Del. Gregory D. Habeeb, R-Salem, who is advocating for a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights automatically to nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences and supervised release and paid all fines, court fees and restitution.

Habeebs proposal would allow the governor to restore rights to violent felons after two years and an individual review and would give the General Assembly power to define which offenses are considered violent.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, has softened his rights-restoration proposal, which in its original form stripped the governor of his clemency powers and left out violent felons entirely.

Norment spokesman Jeff Ryer said the modified text, scheduled for a committee hearing Tuesday, would closely resemble a return to the policies of then-Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican who simplified the rights-restoration process but retained the violent/nonviolent distinction and required repayment of debts.

Senator Norment believes that his bill is the right way forward and strikes the right balance, Ryer said. What we do not know as of yet is what kind of support it would enjoy from the other side of the aisle.

Habeeb said many Republicans want to see reform, but theres little consensus on the best way to do it.

Democrats, he said, dont actually want to fix it because they think McAuliffe will restore rights for as many people as he can as he prepares to leave office and tries to secure a Democratic victory in the governors race.

Its a political issue that they want to keep alive, Habeeb said.

McAuliffe mentioned his rights-restoration efforts in his opening speech to the legislature, recalling his executive order last year restoring rights to more than 200,000 ex-offenders. But the governor has not thrown his weight behind any specific proposal to amend the constitution.

McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said the governor opposes any amendment that would limit the executive branchs discretion on rights restoration or move backward from McAuliffes policy.

His take is Virginians should factor this in to how they choose their next governor, Coy said.

***

The ACLU of Virginia, which has a long history of fighting felon disenfranchisement in Virginia, is opposed to both GOP bills after taking the position that no one should lose the right to vote for any crime.

Our bottom line now is the right to vote is the right to vote, said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia. Its time to stop thinking about that as something that somebody gives you. It is yours.

At the House hearing, Habeeb took exception to the ACLUs use of the term poll tax, a throwback to Jim Crow-era laws to restrict African-American voting, to describe the requirement that felons pay the courts and their victims before regaining their civil rights.

Four years ago, Habeeb said, prominent African-American state senators, including now-U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-4th, voted for a bill with the same requirement. So did Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam and Attorney General Mark R. Herring, both leading Democrats running for statewide office again this year.

Its frustrating to see it get politicized in a racially charged way, Habeeb said.

Gastanaga stood by the poll tax characterization and said the ACLU prefers letting the governor set the standards rather than enshrining more limits and definitions through the constitution.

If we cant get something out of the legislature thats better than the status quo, then Id prefer to see nothing come out, Gastanaga said.

Democrats have proposed amendments to end the felon voting ban entirely, but no Republicans seem open to the idea of letting criminals vote from prison.

When that proposal came up in the House subcommittee, Del. Jason S. Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, asked incredulously if it would give political rights to someone who heinously assaulted and molested a child.

I appreciate the gentlemans effort to try and turn this into a pro-child molester bill, replied Del. Marcus B. Simon, D-Fairfax, the amendments sponsor. Thats not what this is.

Some Republicans think no change is needed.

Del. Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania, chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, said the current process works well.

Lawmakers time would be spent better, he said, looking at full-on expungement of criminal convictions because thats what many ex-offenders are really after.

Habeebs bill tries to split the baby, Cole said. Im not sure that it even has much Democrat support.

The frenzy over felon voting died down after the state Supreme Court in September denied a Republican effort to have McAuliffe held in contempt.

Though the court previously had overturned McAuliffes mass executive order, the second ruling allowed the governor to continue restoring rights under a revised process that includes some case-by-case review.

Since taking office, McAuliffe has restored the rights of more than 128,000 Virginians and hopes to have a backlog close to zero when he leaves office, Coy said.

What happens after that will be up to the next governor, Coy said, but McAuliffe has shown that democracy has not crumbled by letting more people vote.

I hope the lack of heat on this issue is Republicans coming around to the fact that, despite their concerns, the world spins on even as were giving people the right to vote, Coy said.

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A proposal favored by General Assembly budget leaders could boost Virginia State Police from one of the lowest-paid law enforcement agencies in the region to the highest.

It also would leave Richmonds officers as the lowest paid among larger departments including Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties.

Law enforcement is a calling, said Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. You dont do it just for the money. The problems arise when the job that you love doesnt pay you enough for the family that you love.

State troopers are hired at a starting salary of $36,207. That total would jump to $44,290, or 22.3 percent, with a $7,000 salary bump for all troopers and a 3 percent raise for all state employees under the budget proposal, which will be presented to lawmakers Feb. 5.

Without the raise, state police remains behind Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover in starting salary, making it hard to entice newcomers to join their ranks; and it ranks ahead of only Richmond in average salary, making it hard to keep them.

Recruiting and retention are among the biggest issues driving the salary debate, said Wayne Huggins, former state police superintendent and now executive director of the Virginia State Police Association.

There are 230 vacancies in the field, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. Thats more than 10 percent of the agencys manpower.

When it was announced last August that the assembly would cancel a pay raise for state employees because of a revenue shortfall, the flood gates opened, Huggins said. Morale was terrible.

During the past few years, the agency averaged six departures a month. In 2016, it climbed to more than 13 sworn personnel leaving per month, according to figures Geller provided.

In the first 20 days of 2017, 22 troopers quit.

Its a difficult environment that we work in today, Huggins said. And when you exacerbate the situation with low pay and benefits, its really the perfect story of negativity.

The announcement that both state Senate and House leaders are pushing for the same plan should be encouraging for troopers, he said. Plus, its not tied to revenue projections, meaning it should avoid the chopping block.

It gives people hope that this is really going to happen, Huggins said. I think it will delay some decisions for those who might have been intending to leave.

***

State authorities are not alone in their issues to recruit and keep talent.

Richmond is suffering from staffing shortage  the department is authorized for 750 sworn officers but has only about 650.

The city has 36 recruits in its academy, 17 of whom graduated Thursday. An additional 27 officers are unable to work for reasons including injury or military service.

Because of the shortage, Richmond officers are forced to work longer hours, sometimes picking up mandatory overtime shifts. Some officers, though, chose to work overtime to make ends meet, said Tony Paciello, president of Richmond Coalition of Police.

The issue for most officers in Richmond isnt their starting salary, Paciello said  its the fact that their salaries have been frozen for years and dont measure up to the scale they were promised when initially hired.

State police are solving the compression issue by giving every trooper the $7,000 raise.

(Morales) swung toward the low side, Paciello said citing the issues of pay and staff shortages. But I dont think it will take much to swing it back the other way.

Paciello said the union has been meeting with Police Chief Alfred Durham and Mayor Levar Stoney, as well as representatives from the firefighters association. He said the talks are positive.

He applauded Durham, who he said has gone before City Council pleading the case for his officers, a departure from past chiefs who just accepted what the council offered. Thats what the officers want to hear, Paciello said.

The city has taken a Band-Aid approach, he said.

The council has tried to fill the vacancies with new recruits  the City Council in November approved $1.8 million to fund a new class of 20 recruits and another $1.8 million in December for 40 more  but more officers are leaving in the time it takes to train them.

On average, it takes $100,000 and a year to get a recruit trained and on the street, said Schrad, head of the police chiefs association.

Its costly for departments to invest so much on recruits who may not stay long term, she said. Some departments have moved to hiring only pre-certified officers, meaning they already have gone through an academy and have on-the-job experience.

Paciello said both needs are dire: filling vacancies and restoring the salary scale. If the city can find a way to do both in the coming budget year, Paciello said, he thinks the community will see the impact.

Last year was Richmonds deadliest in a decade, and violent crime rose 17 percent after reaching a 40-year low the previous year.

Weve done a good job with building the community, so if we get this pay right and fill those vacancies, the community will get a push in the right direction, he said.

***

Durham, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has said his officers have been reduced to only answering 911 calls, leaving no time for proactive details and other measures they attribute to lower crime in years past. Response times have crept up as well.

Robyn McDougle, a criminal justice professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, recommends that her students apply to multiple departments. But when they get multiple offers, its natural for most to take the higher-paying post.

Henrico tops the pay scale locally with a starting salary of $43,893; Chesterfield is next at $42,800; then Hanover, $41,719; followed by Richmond at $41,000.

(Richmond police) are really last among their peers, she said, adding it wasnt long ago that the city used to top the regional pay scale.

VCU police earn less than their counterparts in the city, with a starting salary of $38,826 and average pay just under $43,000. But, McDougle said, its a different kind of operation, so its not a great parallel.

In the greater Richmond region, only Petersburg lags the state polices current initial salary at $36,500. But thats after a citywide 10 percent pay cut necessitated this summer after officials discovered its budget deficit, originally believed to be $7.5 million, had actually soared to $17 million.

Petersburg Chief William C. Rohde said city officials have promised to restore the 10 percent  bringing police officers starting pay back to its former total of $40,600  in April.

McDougle said across-the-board cuts like that are dangerous to law enforcement, because unlike some other city departments, law enforcement agencies still have to operate at a certain threshold.

They still have to meet the same demand, she said. When you put added pressure to meet that demand, youre creating a safety issue not only for the officers, but also for the community.

Even Hopewell, the regions smallest police force with just 64 officers, starts officers at $41,017  more than Richmond.

In Richmond, City Councilwoman Reva Trammell said the General Assembly proposal to boost state police pay has put added pressure on the city to address its compensation issues.

We demand a lot from our police officers, she said, acknowledging that they are among the lowest paid in region. Its not right for what they have to go through. We have not treated them fairly.

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Yearly estimates from the state Department of Labor show the number of workers in the tourism and hospitality industry in Cayuga County have gone up over the course of the last 10 years.

The preliminary annual average number of leisure and hospitality industry jobs filled by local employers reached a record 2,600, a figure that was up 13 percent from the 2,300 level reported in 2006. Total nonfarm jobs reached a preliminary average of 26,500 jobs, up 4 percent from a decade ago.

The 2015 tourism industry job county for the county reached 2,500.

Karen Knapik-Scalzo, a labor market analyst for the department who looks at job data and trends in central New York, said the 2016 annual numbers have not been finalized. But the trend of a growing tourism industry in Cayuga County is clear.

The earlier industry statistics available on the labor department's website reported an average 2,100 of Cayuga County jobs in the leisure and hospitality industries. Knapik-Scalzo said the difference of 400 hospitality workers from 1990 to 2015 is nothing to sneeze at.

"That's a large jump for an industry that size," she said. "It's a sizable industry."

The analyst noted the landscape of the current U.S. job market is a different beast than it was more than two decades ago, which contributes to these differences.

The annual tourism averages from 2013 to 2015 all managed to stay steady at 2,500 workers.

Tracy Verrier, executive director for the Cayuga Economic Development Agency, a nonprofit that works with city of Auburn and county government on job creation efforts, said the leisure industry has long been able to hold its own.

"It has been for the last 10 years one of the top five industries for the community," Verrier said.

Verrier said tourism adds to the health of the county's economy, as the tourism dollars are wealth from outside of the local area. Therefore, additional money enters the county, as opposed to just people within the county spending in the area, re-circulating money within the territory.

"It really provides strong economic development factors (for) our community," Verrier said.

According to the Cayuga County Office of Tourism, the total amount of direct sales made by Cayuga County's tourism industry in 2015 added up to $97.23 million. The office's data for that year also split into six categories: Retail and service stations, recreation, lodging, second homes, food and beverage and transportation. Of that grouping, the lodging business raked in the most money out of all the listed tourism-related ventures within the county, with $29.31 million.

That sales number was down from the over $100 million spent on tourism in 2014, however.

Annual visitor spending from Cayuga County outpaced that of the Finger Lakes region overall from 2010-2015, as the county saw a 17.2 percent boost within those years, while the tourism spending in the entire region went up by 14 percent. A 3-percent spending decrease also occurred from 2014-2015.

Knapik-Scalzo said that while spending does help leisure or hospitality businesses, it doesn't necessarily automatically translate into jobs. If a restaurant or hotel experiences increased sales, it could potentially lead to additional positions, but it largely depends on the business and the amount of spending.
Preparing for the Womens March last week, I was perplexed about what few words could be put on a banner that would be encouraging, instructive, and peaceable. Words that could flip the switch in our hearts, as one Buddhist teacher has expressed it.

What we need are wisdom words that help us acknowledge all that we have in common and guide us in a way that is dynamic, realistic, and not the simplistic us vs. them. We dont need more trite slogans that provoke argument and entrench us into fixed oppositions.

Our dilemma is how to move past such formulations, past divisiveness in our politics, and move us toward more heart. Can we move from being corporate citizens to being a compassionate citizen community of the heart? What would this mean? We always have the choice to take the larger and more loving perspective in our actions. A politics of spirit suffuses the public complexities to which we must respond with thoughtfulness and careful consideration. What words would be suitable and function for us in this way? What helps us move on together?

Im not sure. But in the words of Martin Luther King, I dont want to be mesmerized by uncertainty. We are all called on to act. But what will guide us?

Keeping in mind spiritual precepts helps us stay grounded in the ethic of caring, cooperation and inclusion. Spiritual precepts are not absolutes; they steer us. For instance, consider the Buddhist precept to refrain from killing and to cherish all life. This is no easy precept to keep, but reminds us to approach all aspects of life with care. I am not separate from all that is and must conduct myself accordingly in relation to the living environment  plants, animals, and other human beings, whether they agree with my opinions or not. How far does this precept reach?

Or what about the precept not to steal, but to abstain from taking what is not given. This encourages us to be modest in what we desire, and wakes us from the societal spell of unending desire for more, the blinding greed of me and mine. More stuff or more power; they both require taking what is not given. Bullying, taking someones self-respect, someones dignity  these are all ways that we may violate this precept if were serving the corporate rather than the spirit of life.

Another of the precepts is to refrain from false speech. This refers not only to outright lies, but also to the tendency to exaggerate, to fudge, to spin the truth to serve our own purposes, to use empty media-speak, or to spread rumors that we dont know to be true. Truth-telling is a rigorous spiritual practice. And we can and should hold those who act on our behalf to the same standard, and to refrain from self-serving speech and simplistic pronouncements that stoke the fires of reactivity. This precept gets at the heart of one of the more disturbing themes in public life in this political season  casting doubt and distrust far and wide, further eroding the social contract.

All of this brought me back to my question: what words to put on a banner for the Womens March that would encompass a caring and responsible message? What did I carry? "Buddhas Responding. Fierce Compassion."
Frauhofer Project Monica : Guardian angel to support large events in the region

Bonn/Sankt Augustin Noise complaints, large crowds, mass panic and the threat of terrorism  there is a long list of issues and real dangers connected with large events in Bonn and the region.

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The international research project Monica will help to support large public events. Through a variety of innovative methods, the project aims to improve security and comfort for all those directly or indirectly involved in large events.

The city of Bonn is taking part in the project along with partners in Leeds, Turin, Copenhagen, Lyon and Hamburg. The project, which will run for three years, is being coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Technology (FIT) in Sankt Augustin and financed by the EU with 15 million Euros. 28 participants from cities and businesses were involved in the first week of the project, which resulted yesterday in a presentation of the first possible areas of its application.

The name Monica stands for Management of Networked IoT Wearables  Very Large Scale Demonstration of Cultural & Security Applications. Despite its complex sounding name, the concept is quite simple: Monica aims to be a customised guardian angel, adapted to suit the individual conditions of a variety of outdoor events.

Well-known technologies used

Well-known technologies will be used in different combinations to create a new system. One function could be to issue all visitors with electronic armbands (wearables) which can send out signals and allow new information to be collected about the flow of visitors, danger zones and even terror suspects (based on their abnormal movement profiles). Security forces and event organisers will be able to react to critical situations using camera and drone recordings in real time. We want to find out how we can make different machines and sensors communicate effectively with each other says Markus Eisenhauser, FIT Project Coordinator.

Eisenhauer acknowledges that not all visitors to public events like the Bonn Christmas markets or the Putzchens fairground would agree to wearing such an armband. We must find a concept which is fun for all, we want to involve everyone so that we can constantly improve the system. If the idea of armbands does not go down well with visitors, then we will have to be creative and find another solution. Data protection must also be considered.

First test on 6th May

The first test for Monica will be the Rhine in Flames event in Bonn on 6th May. This test will focus on noise protection which is also part of the concept. Model calculations will be used to lower the sound in certain areas through counter-noise. Base tones can be lowered to reduce the disturbance to nearby residents. In addition, technology will be used to create quiet islands for treating injured people, for example.

We want to improve audience experience and reduce the disruption for local residents says Hans Jurgen Hartmann, Advisor for City Development in Bonn. He sees great potential for the project, for which Bonn has received an EU grant of 450,000 Euro.
New Year Wishes 2017 from Brazil

Source:english.eastday.com Date:2017-01-26

Hand-written New Year wishes from Ms Ana Candida Perez, Consul-General of Brazil in Shanghai.

Photo of the staff of the Consulate General of Brazil in Shanghai

"We have only one Planet Earth, and our health, well-being and happiness depend on how we treat our Earth. So we should take care of our Earth so that we all will have good health and well-being.

This year there will be another summit of BRICS countries,(Brazil is one member of BRICS, of course), and China will be hosting the BRICS Summit. So it is a very important event. We also expect several Brazilian delegations, both private businesses and officials of the government to come to China. There is an event organized by the government of Brazil for investors in May, because we want many important Chinese investors to be partners in the development of Brazil.

The Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC) is a very valuable partner in cultural and educational initiatives of the Consulate-General of Brazil. We wish to continue having their support for the development of cultural relations between Brazil and China".
New Year Wishes 2017 from Cuba

Source:english.eastday.com Date:2017-01-26

Hand-written New Year Wishes from Lisbet Quesada Luna, Consul-General of Cuba in Shanghai

Mrs. Lisbet Quesada Luna

HAPPY AND HEALTHLY ROOSTER YEAR FOR ALL EASTDAY READERS AND FOR ALL SHANGHAINESE!



For me as Consul General and a foreigner living in Shanghai, the last 10 years that I have lived here has been an extraordinary experience with wonderful memories. China and Shanghai have opened their hearts to my family and I. For us, as Cuban citizens living in Shanghai, the city impresses us and enters our lives every day because of its bright culture and its position as an international city.

During 2016, Shanghai started the XIII Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plan, thus initiating a higher phase in deepening its reform, opening up, internationalization and adopting important policies toward transforming Shanghai into a Center for Innovation, Science and Technology by 2020."I would like to congratulate Shanghai's government on the work that it has carried out; during the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion last November, where the General Secretariat of WHO, Ms. Margaret Chan, and Premier Li Keqiang, as well as high-level delegations from all over the world were participants." When it comes to bilateral relations, 2016 has been a year of strengthening the friendship and cooperation between not only Cuba and China, but also Cuba and Shanghai. This has been highlighted by the successful visit carried out by Premier Li to Cuba, last September, which was the first official visit by a Chinese Premier since the establishment of diplomatic relations 56 years ago. During the official visit of the Political Bureau Member of the CCPCC, he and the Minister of the Cuban Public Health Ministry, Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda, participated in the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion and during the official visit, a productive bilateral agenda was a priority.

The year 2016 was an important year of celebrations between Cuba and Shanghai. Shanghai and Santiago de Cuba celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Sister Cities with visits by high-level delegations. Also, in 2016 the Shanghai Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries celebrated its 60th anniversary. SPAFFC is a relevant bridge that unites people from different countries through culture, friendship and solidarity. We hope to continue fortifying our friendship and cooperation in the future years to come.

During the Year of the Rooster, Cuba and China will celebrate the 170th Anniversary of the arrival of the first Chinese in Cuba in 1847. This was the first moment of a Chinese presence in our culture forming part of the national identity. The Consulate General of Cuba in Shanghai hopes that during this important year of celebrations, Cuba and the government of Shanghai can strengthen our bilateral cooperation through cultural, educational, and tourism events in Shanghai.

Mrs. Lisbet Quesada Luna

Consul General of Cuba in Shanghai
Nokia's plan for MWC 2017: Everything you should know News oi -Sneha Range of Nokia phones launching at MWC 2017.

After launching the most awaited Nokia 6 smartphone at the CES 2017, Nokia is all prepping up for the upcoming MWC 2017, to be held in Barcelona next month. The smartphone pioneer will be launching a wide range of smartphones, rumors suggest. However, Nokia or HMD none have confirmed on any of it as of yet.

Soon after the launch of the Nokia 6 device, there has been a range of rumors about the upcoming Android smartphones that HMD is planning to launch at the MWC 2017 all across the web. Let's take a quick at Nokia's plan for the MWC and how the smartphone vendor would set a benchmark with its announcements.

Rumors are such that the Finnish based tech giant is prepped up to announce the talked about Nokia 5 smartphone. Well, neither Nokia nor HMD has confirmed the launch date as of yet. If the rumors are to be trusted upon, the rumored Nokia 5 might come in a much affordable price tag as compared to the Nokia 6 Android smartphone launched early this month.

Alongside Nokia 5, HMD might also unveil a smartphone with codename Nokia "Heart". We had earlier reported about the same after the information about the same was spotted at the Geekbench a few days ago. As per the features, the rumored Nokia Heart will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset, along with a 5.2 inch HD display, 16GB storage space and 2GB of RAM. In terms of the optics, the upcoming rumored Nokia Heart will sport a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing selfie shooter.

Expected to run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box, there has been no clear information on the specs, price or the design that the Nokia Heart phone might sport. Well, to get the complete insight on the smartphone, we surely need to hold our patience until MWC 2017.

Other than the Nokia 5 and Nokia Heart, rumors are also such that Nokia-HMD together can also unveil two new flagships namely Nokia 8 and the Nokia P1 as well. Nokia P1 is expected to be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chipset coupled with 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage space.

The rumored Nokia P1 is also expected to come with water and dust resistance certification, along with a 5.3-inch Full HD display, with an additional fingerprint scanner. These features are expected to be backed by a 3,500mAh battery which comes along with Quick Charging technology. As per the pricing details are concerned, the smartphone is expected to come priced at USD 800 which is roughly around Rs. 54,539 for the 128GB variant, while for the 256GB variant it will be around USD 950, being roughly calculated to be around Rs. 64,765.

Moving ahead, as reported earlier, Nokia is also planning to launch a smartphone with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor as well. However, there's still no information available on the upcoming Nokia device as of yet.

To get more updates on Nokia's plan for the Mobile World Conference 2017, stay tuned to GizBot.

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Counter-ISIL Strikes Hit Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 27, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 12 strikes consisting of 18 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil pumpjack.

-- Near Raqqa, nine strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 10 oil refinement stills, five oil storage tanks, three oil pumpjacks, an ISIL-held building and two oil tanker trucks.

-- Near Tanf, a strike damaged an ISIL supply route.

Strikes in Iraq

Artillery as well as attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes consisting of 24 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Haditha, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicles, a rocket system and a vehicle-borne improvised bomb.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an unmanned-aerial-vehicle launch site and an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed two ISIL headquarters, two vehicle-borne improvised bomb-making facilities, two barges, a fighting position, a tactical vehicle, a vehicle-borne improvised bomb, and an anti-air artillery system; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a command-and-control node and an unmanned aerial vehicle.

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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Trump Swears in Mattis, Signs Executive Actions at Pentagon Ceremony

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2017  President Donald J. Trump signed two executive actions and watched as Vice President Mike Pence ceremonially swore in Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes here today.

Mattis once again swore "to support and defend the Constitution of the United States" just as he did as a young Marine reservist in 1969. Mattis retired as a four-star general in 2013.

The defense secretary welcomed the president to the headquarters of the military "where America's awesome determination to defend itself is always on display. I would just tell you that you have made clear, Mr. President, your commitment to a strong national defense and the Americans honored in this hall remind us of our strength as a nation of patriots."

The president reemphasized his "total confidence" in Mattis, calling him "a man of honor, a man of devotion and a man of total action."

The secretary has been in place since he was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 20. He reported to the Pentagon for work the next day.

Military America's Backbone

Trump said the men and women in the military are the backbone of the United States. "You are the spirit of this nation in every sense," he said. "The men and women of the United States military are the greatest force for justice and peace and good that have ever walked the face of this Earth."

The president pledged to support service members and their families.

While at the Pentagon, Trump signed two executive actions to ensure "the sacrifices of our military are supported by the actions of our government."

The first action initiates "a great rebuilding" of the armed services. It calls for developing a plan for new planes, new ships, new tools and new resources for the services. "As we prepare our budget request for Congress -- and I think Congress is going to be very happy to see it -- our military strength will be questioned by no one, but neither will our dedication to peace," he said.

The second action establishes new vetting measures "to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America -- we don't want them here," the president said. "We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats that our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit into our country those who will support our country and love, deeply, our people."

Trump promised to service members that his administration will "always have your back, we will always be with you."

Before the ceremony, Trump and Pence met with defense leaders in the "Tank" -- the meeting room of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mattis Orders Program Reviews

Earlier in the day, Mattis directed reviews of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said the purpose of the reviews is "to inform programmatic and budgetary decisions, recognizing the critical importance of each of these acquisition programs."

He called it a prudent step in anticipation of the budget process, which will help inform the secretary's recommendations to the president regarding critical military capabilities.

"This action is also consistent with the president's guidance to provide the strongest and most efficient military possible for our nation's defense," Davis said, "and it aligns with the secretary's priority to increase military readiness while gaining full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on defense."

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Mattis Confers With Israeli, German, French Defense Ministers

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2017  In separate calls yesterday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis spoke with his counterparts from Israel, Germany and France, according to readouts of the calls provided by Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.

Mattis spoke by phone with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to underscore his unwavering commitment to Israel's security, Davis said. The secretary called his Israeli counterpart during his first week, the captain said, to emphasize his intent to advance the U.S.-Israeli defense relationship and to protect Israel's qualitative military edge.

Mattis and Lieberman also discussed regional security challenges in the Middle East and the need to create common approaches to challenges facing the region, the spokesman said. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S.-Israeli defense relationship, and look forward to meeting in person in the future, Davis said.

NATO Partners

In his phone conversation with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, Mattis introduced himself and exchanged perspectives on defense security issues with one of America's closest allies, Davis said. The two leaders, he said, discussed the importance of the alliance between the United States and Germany, both bilaterally and as members of NATO.

Davis said Mattis assured the German defense minister of the United States' enduring commitment to the NATO alliance. Mattis thanked von der Leyen for her country's leadership in NATO activities on the eastern flank and in Afghanistan, and acknowledged the role that Germany plays in fighting terrorism, specifically in the counter-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant coalition, Davis said.

Mattis also cited the strategic importance of Germany as the host to 35,000 U.S. personnel, the largest U.S. force presence in Europe, Davis said. Both leaders, he said, pledged to consult in the months to come and look forward to working together at the Munich Security Conference in February.

Fighting Terrorism

In his phone conversation with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Mattis introduced himself and discussed the long-time allies' security cooperation, which is stronger than ever as both countries engage side by side in the fight against terrorism, Davis said.

Both leaders agreed to use the joint statement of intent signed in November as a framework to continue this strong relationship, the captain said.

Mattis also discussed the importance of the NATO alliance and counter-ISIL operations, and thanked Le Drian for his country's continued commitment to both, the captain said.

The two leaders pledged to work closely and they look forward to meeting at the upcoming NATO defense ministerial in February, Davis said.

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Boeing Awarded $2.1B for Third KC-46A Tanker Production Lot

EVERETT, Wash., Jan. 27, 2017 -- The U.S. Air Force today awarded Boeing [NYSE: BA] $2.1 billion for 15 KC-46A tanker aircraft, spare engines and wing air refueling pod kits.

This order is the third low-rate initial production lot for Boeing. The first two came in August 2016 and included seven and 12 planes, respectively, as well as spare parts.

Boeing plans to build 179 of the 767-based refueling aircraft for the Air Force to replace its legacy tanker fleet. Tanker deliveries will begin later this year.

"This award is great news for the joint Boeing-Air Force team and reinforces the need for this highly efficient and capable tanker aircraft," said Mike Gibbons, Boeing KC-46A tanker vice president and program manager. "Our Boeing industry team is hard at work building and testing KC-46 aircraft, and we look forward to first delivery."

"Placing an order for another 15 aircraft is another important milestone for the KC-46 program," said Col. John Newberry, Air Force KC-46 System program manager. "I know the warfighter is excited about bringing this next generation capability into the inventory."

Boeing received an initial contract in 2011 to design and develop the Air Force's next-generation tanker aircraft. As part of that contract, Boeing built four test aircraft  two configured as 767-2Cs and two as KC-46A tankers. Those test aircraft, along with the first production plane, have completed nearly 1,500 flight hours to date.

The KC-46A is a multirole tanker that can refuel all allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures and can carry passengers, cargo and patients.

Boeing is assembling KC-46 aircraft at its Everett, Wash., facility.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release may be "forward-looking" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "anticipates," and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements relating to our future plans, business prospects, financial condition and operating results, as well as any other statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. As a result, these statements speak only as of the date they are made and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by federal securities laws. Specific factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the effect of economic conditions in the United States and globally, general industry conditions as they may impact us or our customers, and our reliance on our commercial customers, our U.S. government customers, our suppliers and the worldwide market, as well as the other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

# # #

Contact:

Charles Ramey

KC-46 Tanker Program

Mobile: +1 206-851-4147

charles.b.ramey@boeing.com

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Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 28, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted six strikes consisting of seven engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed four oil tanker trucks.

-- Near Raqqah, four strikes destroyed three oil pump jacks, an ISIL-held building, a tank and an oil inlet manifold; damaged six supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted three strikes consisting of nine engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL training camp and destroyed four bunkers and a supply cache.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a supply cache and a tunnel.

-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, a heavy machine gun; damaged a supply route.

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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Gambia's Barrow vows reforms in security apparatus

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 4:20PM

The Gambia's new president has vowed that he would carry out drastic reforms in the country's much-feared security and intelligence apparatus.

Adama Barrow said Saturday that an overhaul would be underway in the Gambia's security services, a notorious system previously known for hash treatment of the dissent under longtime dictator Yahya Jammeh.

Barrow returned to the Gambia on Thursday after Jammeh was forced from the country he ruled for 22 years. The new president had to take his oath of office in neighboring Senegal after Jammeh refused to accept Barrow's victory in December elections. Jammeh and associates then fled to Equatorial Guinea fearing a military action by a bloc of Western Africa nations.

The new president also said that he plans to rename the Gambia's National Intelligence Agency, a department which was blamed for harsh interrogations and alleged torture of detainees. Barrow said the agency would continue to function but under a different name.

"It's an institution that has to continue, but the name will change," Borrow told reporters in his first news conference since the dramatic homecoming.

He added that those members of security forces, including the cadres of the army, have to be retrained, adding that foreign countries would contribute to the mission.

"In the army we need technical aid, and we need countries that are willing to help us in the security realm," Borrow said, adding that the overhaul in the security services would be part of his broad plans for rebuilding the Gambia after years of dictatorship.

Barrow's announcement comes against the backdrop of regional and international calls for reforms in the Gambia's judicial and security system. The United Nations has urged the immediate release of political prisoners, saying many political opponents and journalists have been put behind bars over the years just for opposing Jammeh.

Reports on Friday said authorities in Senegal had managed to arrest one of the influential aides to Jammeh who had a record in suppressing the dissent. Borra Colley, who served as the director of the notorious Mile Two prison, was reportedly detained on Wednesday while he was escaping to Guinea-Bissau. It was not clear why Colley, who had also led Jammeh's personal military known as Jungulars, had not joined the escaped president.

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Saudi airstrike kills 14 civilians in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 9:51AM

Saudi warplanes have targeted a civilian vehicle carrying 14 passengers in Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz, killing all of its occupants.

The charred bodies of the victims were discovered after the Saudi airstrike late on Friday.

Saudi airstrikes against civilian targets and urban infrastructure on Friday overall claimed the lives of 30 people and injured 10 others in Ta'izz, Sana'a, and Mareb provinces.

In response, Yemeni army forces launched missile and mortar attacks against the positions of Saudi mercenaries in the town of Maqbaneh in Ta'izz Province.

On Thursday, Yemeni army forces, backed by Ansarullah fighters, gained control over five military bases run by Saudi mercenaries in the al-Wazi'iyah District of Ta'izz Province and killed several Saudi-backed militants.

The Saudi war on Yemen, which local sources say has killed at least 11,400 people, was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate a former government allied to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the country's facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools and factories.

Stephen O'Brien, the United Nations (UN)'s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, on Thursday warned of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen in the wake of the nearly two-year-old Saudi war in the impoverished Arab country. He said Yemen could face famine this year.

Saudi jets also bombarded the Salif district in Hudaydah Province, killing three civilians and injuring three others.

Elsewhere, in the northern province of Jawf, several Saudi mercenaries were killed and injured on Saturday in an attempted operation to infiltrate into Maton district.

Meanwhile, the media affiliated to Saudi mercenaries in Yemen have reported that their ground and naval forces have parachuted down to the southwestern port city of Mokha.

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Serbia to Get 8 MiG-29 Fighters, 2 Buk Missile Systems From Belarus

Sputnik News

07:58 28.01.2017(updated 12:38 28.01.2017)

Serbia will get eight Mikoyan MiG-29 twin-engine fighters and two Buk missile systems as a gift from Belarus, Serbian Defense Minister Zoran Dordevic told the Politika Serbian daily newspaper.

BELGRADE (Sputnik)  The deliveries, provided on a no-pay basis under the condition that Serbia cover repair and modernization expenses, are expected to be completed in 2018, Dordevic said.

"We will also negotiate the purchase of the famous S-300 [long range surface-to-air missile] systems with Belarus," Dordevic told Politika, specifying that he was talking about the S-300P and S-300V versions that Belarus has.

According to the Serbian defense minister, the details of Serbia-Belarus cooperation in the sphere will be discussed starting from May 2017.

Serbian Prime Minister Alexander Vucic headed a government delegation that visited Belarus on January 26-27. One of the documents signed during the visit was an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation.

The MiG-29 fighter jets, developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, are currently used in over two dozen countries. The Buk missile system was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

 Sputnik

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Trump, Putin Agree to Cooperate on Fighting Terrorism

By Mary Alice Salinas January 28, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had lengthy talks by telephone Saturday, and spokesmen in both capitals said they agreed to cooperate on efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and to work together for peace in Syria and throughout the world.

The two presidents were speaking directly for the first time since Trump's inauguration on January 20. The White House said their hourlong conversation was "positive," and that it was "a significant start to improving the relationship" between Washington and Moscow, which has been badly strained in recent months.

"Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful," White House officials said, "that after today's call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and important issues of mutual concern."

News bulletins from the Kremlin closely echoed the White House message.

Trump also spoke by telephone Saturday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

American officials said they hoped the Trump-Putin talks would help improve the relationship between the United States and Russia, which "is in need of repair." Neither side mentioned U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia, or their possible relaxation  a notion that had figured prominently in analysts' speculation before the talks took place.

Sanctions

Trump had said Friday, during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, that it was "quite early" to consider easing sanctions against Moscow. A series of financial controls, an embargo on technology transfers and travel restrictions on Russian officials were imposed by former President Barack Obama following Russia's annexation of Crimea, which had been Ukrainian territory.

Trump spoke with Putin from a phone at his desk in the Oval Office, with an array of senior officials on hand  Vice President Mike Pence, national security adviser Michael Flynn, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and press secretary Sean Spicer.

Reporters were allowed to look into the Oval Office briefly from the outdoor colonnade that passes by the president's office. Michael Schmidt of The New York Times, who was in that group, said Flynn and Pence were seated in front of Trump's desk, Priebus and Spicer were standing off to the side and Bannon was pacing in the background.

A Kremlin statement issued before the White House summary of the two presidents' conversation said they "thoroughly discussed" international issues, "including the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the sphere of strategic stability and nonproliferation, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program and the Korean Peninsula."

Ukraine crisis

The talks also "touched upon ... the main aspects of the crisis in Ukraine," Moscow's statement said, adding: "It was agreed to establish a partnership on all these and other areas."

Before his talks with Putin, Trump spoke by phone with Germany's Merkel about NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, Russia and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In a joint statement approved by both governments, Merkel and Trump underscored the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance and vowed to work more closely together to combat terrorism and militancy.

"The leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st-century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the statement by Merkel and Trump said.

The U.S. president accepted Merkel's invitation to attend a summit of G-20 industrialized countries during July in Hamburg, Germany, and said he looked forward to welcoming Merkel to Washington soon.

The statement made no mention of Trump's executive order limiting immigration or his moves to cancel free-trade deals.

Strained relations

Ties between Moscow and Washington have been strained in recent years by Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine. U.S. intelligence agencies have also accused Russia of hacking into Democratic National Committee computers and have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, in Trump's favor.

Shortly after his talks with Putin, Trump spoke with France's Hollande, who stressed to the new U.S. leader the importance of international pacts such as NATO and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

In the past, Trump has dismissed NATO as "obsolete." He has at times dismissed as "a hoax" the specter of catastrophic global consequences arising from climate change and the steady climb in temperatures worldwide.

'Protectionist' approach

The White House said Trump and Hollande discussed military and defense cooperation, both bilaterally and through NATO, and the U.S. president expressed "his desire to strengthen U.S.-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially counterterrorism and security.

Hollande's office released a statement that was considerably cooler, saying the French president had warned Trump the U.S. would face economic and political consequences if the new administration adopted a "protectionist" attitude toward the rest of the world, whether on trade, immigration or security issues.

"In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead-end," Hollande told Trump in their first official telephone conversation, according to a statement from the Elysee Palace. The French president is said to have told Trump, who has expressed skepticism about international organizations, that France is committed to the United Nations, that the NATO military alliance is indispensable and that the European Union should be reinforced.

The French leader, who is about four months from the end of his term in office, said sanctions against Russia should be lifted only when the crisis in eastern Ukraine is resolved.

Trump's talks with Putin and the other world leaders followed his controversial executive order, issued the day before, to stop issuing visas to refugees from Syria and some other Muslim-majority countries, to cut back on other types of travel from those areas and even to closely screen permanent U.S. residents returning from abroad, if they were born in those Muslim-majority nations.

At a news conference Saturday in Paris, the German and French foreign ministers voiced concern about the new U.S. policy on immigration. Germany has taken in more than 1 million refugees and migrants, primarily from the Middle East, since 2015.

Conversation with Abe

Trump's first conversation with a world leader Saturday was with Japan's Abe. White House officials said the two men agreed that the U.S. and Japan were committed to seeking a new bilateral trade agreement to replace the broader Trans-Pacific Partnership that Trump abandoned earlier this week.

U.S. officials said Trump intended to pursue a deeper investment relationship with Japan, and that he promised an "ironclad commitment" to Japan's security.

Trump has said he prefers bilateral trade agreements to multinational pacts, and Abe, who is expected to visit the United States in about two weeks, said Thursday that he would consider negotiating a trade deal directly with Washington.

Trump wound up his lengthy day of telephone diplomacy Saturday with a 25-minute conversation with Australia's Turnbull.

"Both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the U.S.-Australia relationship," the White House said, and agreed the ties between Canberra and Washington were "critical for peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally."

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US, Mexican Presidents Try to Mend Fences Over Wall

By Carol Guensburg January 27, 2017

After Mexico's leader canceled a Washington visit over U.S. President Donald Trump's authorization this week to extend a border wall that he said would come at the southern neighbor's expense, the two heads of state are trying to mend fences.

Trump reported Friday that he and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto spoke by phone for about an hour in the morning. "We had a very good call," Trump told reporters at an afternoon White House briefing with visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May.

A statement from the Mexican president's office concurred, citing a "constructive and productive conversation about the bilateral relationship between the two countries." The talk touched on the U.S. trade deficit and the need for collaboration to halt drug trafficking and the illegal flow of arms.

But the statement also noted "both presidents acknowledged their clear and very public differences" over the border wall, calling it a "sensitive issue." It said that they agreed to resolve those differences through comprehensive discussion on all aspects of the bilateral relationship  and that related talks between their respective administrations would be private, not public, for now.

Pena, under political pressure to reject Trump's bidding, announced Thursday that he would not come for a scheduled visit Tuesday at the White House. The U.S. leader responded by tweeting that, unless Pena was prepared to talk money, he wasn't welcome.

Mexicans were furious over Trump's insistence that extending the wall, which many don't want, would come at their expense  whether in new tariffs on goods imported from Mexico or some other form. They saw it as continued hostility from Trump, who as a candidate characterized some Mexican immigrants as "rapists" or people "bringing drugs" and crime.

Mexican newspapers Friday reflected broad national indignation.

"Mexico is sick and tired of Trump's insults," read a headline in Guadalajara's Milenio newspaper.

"Unacceptable!" Mexico City's La Prenza said in a banner headline.

Mexico City's La Razon indicated newfound support for the country's president, whose approval rating had sunk to a record-low 12 percent in a recent Reforma poll because of fuel prices, among other things.

"The country closes ranks with Pena Nieto against Trump," La Razon wrote in a Friday headline.

Trump also drew the ire of Vicente Fox, who led Mexico from late 2000 through most of 2006. Interviewed Friday on the cable channel MSNBC, Fox called the new American president a "child."

A Twitter feed attributed to Vicente Fox Quesada included a Friday tweet with a twist on Trump's campaign slogan: "Amigos in the world, let's make twitter [sic] great again with #to2unidos for Mexico."

A tweet earlier Friday from Trump may have predated his call with Mexico's president. The U.S. president had tweeted: "Mexico has taken advantage of the U.S. for long enough. Massive trade deficits & little help on the very weak border must change, NOW!"

VOA Spanish service's Alejandro Escalona contributed to this report.

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US president inks order for visa ban

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- US president Donald Trump on Friday inked an executive order which blocks the entry of any immigrants from certain countries.

According to the the executive order tilteld, "Protection of the nation from foreign terrorists entry into the United States," the refugee program will be suspended for 120 days, while visas for the countries of concern would be suspended for 90 days.

Dispatches released a leaked document last week that the draft executive order would block the entry of any immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran.

The leaked document said that Trump would ink a draft executive order which would block the entry of refugees from war-torn Syria and suspend the entry of any immigrants from Muslim-majority Middle Eastern and African countries Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen while permanent rules are studied.

US media and those from other world countries have warned about the consequences of signing an order by Trump banning visa on immigrants.

Anyway, the plan for banning visa for immigrants has stirred reaction of the US human rights activists who believe that immigration is a significant part of the culture dominating the country and regard such an approach in contradiction with the US values.

The plan has also made some US lawmakers and political analysts show reaction.

It seems that these orders are desperate efforts by the unpopular US president a few days after his inauguration to demonstrate how serious he is in fulfilling the promises he made during his presidential campaign.

9191**1771

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Trump Temporarily Bans U.S. Visits By Muslims From Seven Countries

RFE/RL January 28, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued orders indefinitely barring Syrian refugees from the United States and suspending visits from a wide swathe of other Muslim countries.

Vowing to protect the country from "foreign terrorists," Trump on January 27 ordered the suspension of all immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days until a rigorous new "extreme vetting" process is put in place.

The White House said the countries targeted are Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The ban does not apply to non-Muslims from those countries.

Trump said on January 28 that his executive order was not a ban against Muslims, and that provisions to limit the influx of refugees to the United States were "working out very nicely."

He also said that the United States should impose the "extreme vetting" process for many years.

A U.S. Homeland Security spokesman said on January 28 that the temporary ban applied to citizens of the seven targeted countries even if they are U.S. green-card holders -- that is, Muslims working toward becoming naturalized U.S. citizens who effectively hold permanent U.S. residency papers.

Later on January 28, a senior U.S. administration official said green-card holders from the seven targeted countries must be cleared to enter the United States on a case-by-case basis.

The order had immediate impact on civilian passenger flights to the United States, with the Dutch airline KLM announcing that it refused to allow onto its flights to the United States seven passengers who were from the targeted countries.

Ali Abdi, an Iranian citizen with permanent residency in the United States, told Britain's The Guardian newspaper that Trump's executive order had left him stuck in limbo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Abdi, a doctoral student of anthropology in the United States, said he left New York on January 22 to carry out ethnographic research in Afghanistan.

But he said Trump's order left it unclear whether the Afghan Consulate in Dubai will issue the entry visa he needs to do his field work there.

He said he couldn't go to Iran because he has been outspoken about Tehran's human rights violations, he can't return to the United States, and he cannot stay longer in Dubai because his visa there will soon run out.

Trump also decreed a four-month suspension of the U.S. refugee program for countries other than Syria -- an order affecting refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. And he cut in half to 50,000 the number of refugees the United States will accept from around the world during 2017.

A major exception to the refugee bans was for Syrian Christians, who Trump said were persecuted in their homeland.

"I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. Don't want them here," Trump said as he unveiled the orders at the Pentagon.

"We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people."

Civil rights groups condemned the measures as discriminatory and unconstitutional for targeting a specific religion.

They said the moves, which Trump had promised during his campaign, would strand refugees in dangerous places and backfire by feeding hatred toward the United States in the Muslim world and tarnishing its reputation as a land welcoming of immigrants and the world's "poor and huddled masses."

"'Extreme vetting' is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said his group would fight the orders "tooth and nail" in court.

"It is targeting people based on their faith and national origin, and not on their character or their criminality," he told AFP.

Immigration attorneys said the orders were having an immediate chaotic impact on people planning to visit the United States or arranging for relatives in one of the targeted countries to join them in America.

Democrats condemned the move as un-American, saying it would damage the reputation of the United States.

"Today's executive order from President Trump is more about extreme xenophobia than extreme vetting," Democratic Senator Edward Markey said in a statement.

Some Republicans praised the decision, including Representative Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, who said the extremist group Islamic State had threatened to use the U.S. immigration system.

"I am pleased that President Trump is using the tools granted to him by Congress and the power granted by the constitution to help keep America safe and ensure we know who is entering the United States," Goodlatte said in a statement.

Even before Trump's announcement, prominent people from the targeted regions said they would boycott travel to the United States in protest. An Iranian actress in a film nominated for an Academy Award this year said she would boycott the Los Angeles awards ceremony.

An Iraqi-Kurdish filmmaker, Hussein Hassan, also scrapped plans to attend the U.S. premiere of his critically acclaimed film on Iraq's embattled Yazidi minority, The Dark Wind, scheduled for March.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, told AP that the orders are "wrongheaded and dangerous in terms of the Middle East."

Iranian-Americans point out that not a single terrorist incident in the United States has involved Iranians, while many of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington were from Saudi Arabia, which is not on the list of targeted countries.

Moreover, Iran, like the United States and Iraq, has sent troops to battle Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria, the group that has inspired the most recent attacks by its followers in the United States.

In Tehran, the government said it would respond to Trump's order by issuing a similar ban that prevents U.S. citizens from entering Iran.

France, Germany, and other U.S. allies also expressed concern about Trump's decision to limit immigration and refugees from some Muslim countries.

French President Francois Hollande said on January 28 that Trump's administration was encouraging "populism and even extremism."

Hollande told other Southern European leaders who were meeting in Lisbon that they must "stand together in Europe" to face an increasingly uncertain world, saying that "what is at stake is populism" and that "the kind of discourse now coming from the United States encourages populism and even extremism."

In Ankara, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the refugee crisis was a "global issue" and that all countries must do their part to solve the problem.

Abbas al-Bayati, an Iraqi member of parliament, said the curbs were sending the wrong message to Iraqis at a time when Washington is counting on Iraqi forces to battle IS militants in their stronghold of Mosul.

Fellow Iraqi lawmaker Majid Chenkali was less diplomatic, saying Iraq should respond in kind and not allow Americans into Iraq.

"It should be an eye for an eye," he told AP.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and The Guardian

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/28264371.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Order Limiting Immigration

By VOA News January 28, 2017

President Donald Trump's executive order limiting immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries led to widespread confusion as refugees, green-card holders, students and workers holdings visas were detained at U.S. airports or barred from getting on international flights on Saturday.

By Saturday night, a federal judge in New York had temporarily blocked the Trump administration order from deporting people after landing in the U.S. with valid visas.

Trump said earlier Saturday that his new ban on people from certain countries entering the U.S. was "working out very, very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."

However, hours after the executive order was signed, protesters began gathering at airports and attorneys said their clients were trapped outside the United States or detained at U.S. airports.

The ban went into place Friday night, sparking fear and confusion as officials worked out how to enforce it.

Trump added, "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

By "extreme vetting," Trump was referring to his plans to carefully examine Muslims and other people deemed as possible threats to the United States before allowing them to enter the country.

Meanwhile, the ban faced its first lawsuit, a legal challenge brought by two men detained at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City. The American Civil Liberties Union is heading up the legal challenge, backed by other advocacy groups.

By late Saturday, thousands of protesters had gathered at airports in major cities to protest the executive order, adding to the confusion.

U.S. lawmakers are speaking out both for and against the ban.

Defended ban

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican like Trump, defended the ban in a statement delivered by an aide on Friday.

"This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion," Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, credited Trump's order for focusing on protecting the country's borders, but added the order is "too broad."

The Washington Post reported Saturday that its calls and emails to more than a dozen other top Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, went unanswered in the first day of the ban's implementation.

But some Republicans spoke out against the ban.

Representative Charlie Dent, a Republican from Pennsylvania, counts a sizable Syrian population among his constituents in the metropolitan area of Allentown.

'Ridiculous'

Dent told the Washington Post he was contacted Saturday morning by a constituent who said six family members who had visas and had recently purchased a home in Pennsylvania were turned away at Philadelphia International Airport, just hours after arriving in the country on a Qatar Airways flight.

"This is ridiculous," Dent said. "I guess I understand what his [Trump's] intention is, but unfortunately the order appears to have been rushed through without full consideration."

"This family was sent home despite having all their paperwork in order," Dent added. "It's unacceptable, and I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be reinstated."

"Shame. Shame. Shame," said Republican Senator Brian Schwartz of Hawaii in a tweet. "I feel sick."

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, told a reporter the ban is "an unbelievable action. It's one thing to see that an individual is properly vetted. It's an entirely different matter to say that because someone comes from a particular country or is a member of a particular faith that he or she has no access to this country."

Other travelers have been thwarted in their attempts to enter the country as well, adding fuel to the protests that have erupted at airports, including in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Portland, Oregon.

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that at least 10 to 15 attorneys have gathered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), one of the nation's largest airports, to help travelers who have been detained. The paper said most of the detainees are from Iraq or Iran.

Federal officials have not been allowing family members or lawyers any contact with detainees, so details are sketchy.

One immigration attorney, Jordan Cunnings, told the paper one of the detained travelers was a young Iranian mother who has held a U.S. "green card," or legal work permit, for five years and is due to take her oath of citizenship in two weeks. Cunnings said the woman is traveling with her 11-month-old baby, an American citizen.

"People don't have phone access or communication access to the people waiting for them, or their attorneys," Cunnings said.

Cunnings also told the paper that without information, legal aid workers are scanning the crowds for people who might be looking for someone who has not shown up. "We're literally walking around asking people, are you waiting for someone who has been detained?"

Somali refugees who have been waiting resettlement in the United States for years told VOA's Somali service that their flights to the United States were canceled by the order.

"We come from Dadaab [refugee camp] and have been in the U.N. complex in Nairobi [Kenya] for days, for the preparation of our flights to the U.S. on January 31," said Farah Mahad Bille to VOA Saturday. "We are told this morning that we are going back to Dada because of the U.S. president's order. It's an absolutely devastating loss of hope to us."

Somali-American

And Farhan Sulub, a Somali-American father who lived in the United States for the past 10 years, told VOA his wife was turned away from entering the United States at Washington, D.C.'S Dulles Airport Saturday, although Sulub's children were allowed to enter the country.

"The immigration officers in the airport called me as I was waiting for my wife and children," he said. "They told me that my wife is not allowed to enter the U.S. because of her Somali nationality, but my children can go with me if I needed."

Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Immigrants have joined the growing numbers of advocacy groups criticizing U.S. actions.

"The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater, and the U.S. resettlement program is one of the most important in the world," reads a joint statement by the two groups. Saying the U.S. policy of welcoming refugees has enriched both the lives of the refugees and their new, U.S. societies, the statement urges U.S. officials to reconsider the new policy.

"Resettlement places provided by every country are vital," it says. "NCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and ION, the International Organization for Migration, hope that the U.S. will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution."

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Moscow's Missile Defense System to Receive Upgrade in 2-3 Years

Sputnik News

14:28 28.01.2017

In two or three years the Moscow's missile defense system will be fully upgraded, according to the Russian Defense Ministry's department of combat programs Ilgar Tagiev.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow's missile defense system will be fully upgraded in two or three years, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's department of combat programs Ilgar Tagiev said on Saturday.

"Currently we are improving the technical characteristics of the missile defense system. In two or three years the system will be fully upgraded," Tagiev told the Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio station.

At the same, the work on the next-generation missile interceptors is underway, which will allow for the creation of a third generation of the missile defense system with new characteristics and capabilities, Tagiev added.

 Sputnik

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President Rouhani: No time to raise walls between nations

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- Today is the day of reconciliation and coexistence, not a day to erect walls between nations, says President Hassan Rouhani.

"Apparently, they are unmindful of the fall of the Berlin Wall years ago," President Rouhani said on Saturday, addressing the 17th International Convention of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA).

The Iranian president said even if there are any walls between nations, they should be demolished.

We need today, more than ever, to get closer to each other, engage with each other and promote unity, he said.

Tourism is like a bridge, connecting people together, the Iranian President added.

"Today is the day of friendship between neighbors and we are global neighbors becasue our cultural, scientific and civilizational ties as well as our technology-based relations that have been increasingly bringing us together prescribe," Rouhani said.

"Today no one can stand against globalization," he said.

President Rouhani said that the global business and trade have promoted proximity between countries and by annulling trade agreements we are not going to serve neither the global economy and development nor the international trade.

"We should foster more engagement between nations if we are looking for creating peace, satiability and security,' said the president.

2044**1771

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French FM heads to Iran to declare support for JCPOA

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- France's foreign minister travels to Iran on Monday, to reaffirm Europe's commitment to the nuclear deal, media reports said.

According to Reuters, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told a daily briefing on Friday that 'French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is going to underline the importance that all sides which backed the deal strictly respect their commitments,'

France has been quick to restore trade ties with Iran after implementation of nuclear deal.

Plane maker Airbus, oil major Total and automobile manufacturers Peugeot and Renault have all signed deals.

Some 50 French firms will take part in a Franco-Iranian economic forum in Tehran on Tuesday at which more contracts will be signed.

Although US President Donald Trump used a lot of rhetoric during the presidential campaigns against nuclear agreement with Iran, EU says it is in full agreement with China and Russia over the need to keep the nuclear deal alive.

9191**1771

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FM: US travel ban blatant insult to Muslims, Iranians

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry on Saturday issued a statement to call the decision made by US administration to pose travel ban to the country as 'blatant insult' to world Muslims as well as the Iranian nation.

The full text of the statement reads as follows:

'In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

'Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic of Iran

'The decision of the Government of the United States to impose restrictions on the travel of Muslims to the United States  though temporarily for three months  is a clear insult to the Islamic world, and especially the great nation of Iran; and despite claims of being made to combat terrorism and protecting the people of the United States, it will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.

'While the international community needs dialogue and cooperation to address the roots of violence and extremism in a comprehensive and inclusive manner, and at a time when the United Nations General Assembly approved by consensus the proposal of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for a World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE), the imprudent decision of the US Government to apply collective discrimination against citizens of Muslim countries will only serve to provide a fertile ground for more terrorist recruitment by deepening the ruptures and fault-lines which have been exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks with disenfranchised and marginalized youth, and further promote their campaign of hatred, violence and extremism. Moreover, with this decision, the reports of U.S. intelligence and security organs and past statements of current US officials which emphasized on the role of the United States and its regional allies in fomenting and expanding extremist groups, including Da'esh (ISIL), appear to have been conveniently forgotten.

'The decision of the Government of the United States to target the people of Iran and clearly insult all sections of this great nation has put on clear display the baselessness of the US claims of friendship with the Iranian people while only having issues with the Government of Iran. It also shows the rancor and enmity of some in the US government and influential circles both within the United States and abroad towards all Iranians around the world: The Iranian nation who, benefiting from an ancient and rich civilization and religious beliefs founded on humanitarian values, has always promoted the message of constructive engagement, not only resisted domination but also the temptations to dominate others, and fought extremism and violence; a resilient nation which has stood firm in the face of extremist terrorists and which was among the first victims of organized terrorism; a great people which has had no presence in any extremist terrorist operation, but instead in all societies in which it has traveled or resided as scientists, students, entrepreneurs, tourists or immigrants, has been known as one of the most law abiding, cultured, educated and successful communities, thus representing its Iranian and Islamic culture and civilization in the most dignified and peace-loving manner.

'To ensure respect for the dignity of all members of the great Iranian nation at home and abroad, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will engage in a careful assessment of the short and medium-term impact of the decision of the US. Government on Iranian nationals, and will take proportionate legal, consular and political action and -- while respecting the American people and differentiating between them and the hostile policies of the US Government  will take reciprocal measures in order to safeguard the rights of its citizens until the time of the removal of the insulting restrictions of the Government of the United States against Iranian nationals.

'In order to monitor the implementation of this decision and adopt appropriate measures commensurate with national interest in specific cases, a mechanism is established in the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the participation of relevant organizations.

'Meanwhile, all diplomatic and consular missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been instructed to prioritize the provision of consular facilities to all Iranian nationals who due to the illegal step of the Government of the United States have been prevented from returning to their places of residence, work and education.

'The decision of the Government of the United States incorporates certain requests that are illegal, illogical and contrary to international law. Considering the absence of relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, those requests are not applicable to and cannot be accommodated by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Any abuse by the United States of this situation to prolong the discriminatory measures and cause any further inconvenience for Iranian nationals is not only illegal but against common sense.

'The Islamic Republic of Iran will carefully examine and legally pursue any negligence or violation of the international obligations of the United States under bilateral agreements and multilateral arrangements and reserves the right to respond as deemed necessary.'

1430**1420

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France's Hollande warns Trump to respect Iran nuclear deal

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 9:21PM

French President Francois Hollande says he has warned US President Donald Trump to respect Iran's historic nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries.

This is the first official telephone conversation between the two since Trump took office, said a statement released by the French presidential office on Saturday.

During his election campaign, Trump threatened had that he would "tear up" the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or try to renegotiate its terms if elected president. He has also referred to the nuclear agreement as "the worst deal ever negotiated."

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- plus Germany started implementing the JCPOA on January 16, 2016.

Hollande also warned Trump against taking a protectionist approach, which he noted may have a negative economic and political outcome. "In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead-end," he said.

He also reaffirmed France's commitment to the UN and the NATO military alliance, both of which Trump has voiced skepticism over.

The French president also stressed that anti-Russia sanctions should only be removed after the conflict in Ukraine is ended.

The United States, the European Union and some other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over accusations that Moscow has been involved in the crisis in Ukraine, which has killed nearly 10,000 people to date. The Kremlin strongly rejects the allegations.

On Friday, Trump said that he was in the early stages of considering the removal of the anti-Russia sanctions as part of his campaign pledge towards bettering ties with Russia.

Hollande also told Trump that protecting democratic principles required observance with "the principles on which it is founded, in particular the acceptance of refugees".

Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

They also agreed to "continue with their discussions on essential issues."

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Iran Navy to hold large-scale drill in north of Indian Ocean

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 2:1PM

Iranian naval forces plan to stage a large-scale drill to boost and put on display the country's military prowess.

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told reporters on Saturday that the country's biggest naval military maneuver, code-named Velayat 95, would be held in the north of the Indian Ocean in February.

"This maneuver will show the Islamic Republic of Iran's power in the international scene," he said.

He added that Iran's Navy attached special importance to defense missions and presence in the high seas, including the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb, to protect commercial vessels and tankers.

In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden and the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait to safeguard maritime routes used by the country's vessels and oil tankers. Iran's Navy has managed to foil several attacks by pirates on both Iranian and foreign vessels during its missions in international waters.

The Iranian commander said that the country's naval fleets had so far traveled to all littoral states of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, adding that they plan to sail into the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean in the near future.

Sayyari also announced Iranian Navy's plans to manufacture state-of-the-art military equipment and attain self-sufficiency in this regard soon.

"A Fateh-class submarine, Sahand destroyer and another missile-equipped warship will join the Navy  in the near future," the commander said.

Iran's Navy staged Velayat 94 military maneuvers in January 2016 across a large swath of territorial waters and high seas in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Indian Ocean.

During the drills, various types of Ghadir-class and Tareq-class submarines detected and tracked the mock enemy's mobile targets and destroyed them by firing advanced and overhauled torpedoes.

Iran's domestically-built Jamaran destroyer and other vessels also fired different torpedoes. The Iranian Army's naval forces also fired surface-to-surface Nasr missiles which successfully hit targets.

Iranian naval forces also successfully test fired Nour (Light) surface-to-surface cruise missile which has a range of 150 kilometers. Nour cruise missile has an accurate impact precision, good velocity, high detection power and powerful warhead. It could be launched both from sea and surface.

In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and hardware.

Iran has also conducted major military drills to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art army equipment.

The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

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Today, no time of building walls between nations: President Rouhani

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:54AM

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran says today is not the age of building walls between countries.

"Today is not the time of wall-raising between nations. Have they forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed years ago?" President Rouhani said in an apparent reference to US government officials, who have been planning to build a wall on the Mexican border.

"[Even] if there is a wall between nations, it has to be removed," the Iranian chief executive said.

He was speaking during the 17th World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations Convention in the capital, Tehran, on Saturday. Figures from some 40 countries have gathered for the conference.

"Today's world is not a world where one can create distances between the nations and peoples of different territories. Today is a day of neighborhood. We have become neighbors in cultural, scientific, and civilizational terms, and also, the world of communications and communications technology have shrunk distances," President Rouhani said. "No one can fight globalization today."

'A country of peace'

The Iranian president said Iran has never invaded other countries over the past centuries and the Iranian people have never been known for racism.

"In our country," the president said, "different religions, ethnicities, and cultures have had peaceful coexistence."

Referring to the scourge of terrorism in the region, Rouhani said it was doing irreversible damage to both humanity and the relics of ancient civilization.

He said Iran provided assistance to Iraq and Syria to help them eradicate terrorism and would support whichever nation that asked for its assistance in the face of the scourge.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president also said that Iran has witnessed a big rise in the number of the tourists visiting it since historic diplomatic efforts led to the conclusion of a nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and world powers in 2015.

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Iran Starts Tests of IR-8 Uranium Enrichment Centrifuges of New Generation

Sputnik News

23:19 28.01.2017

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that Iran launched tests of IR-8 uranium centrifuges of new generation as part of developing its civil nuclear program.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Iran launched tests of IR-8 uranium centrifuges of new generation as part of developing its civil nuclear program, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on Saturday in a statement.

"On the threshold of the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution and in line with the further continuation of nuclear peaceful program, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched an important stage of studying and developing IR-8 centrifuges of new through loading [them] with UF6 gas," the statement said.

It added that the tests were ordered by the Iranian government in line with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On July 14, 2015, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries comprising Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Germany signed the JCPOA to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program. Under this agreement, Iran stated that it would not further seek to develop or acquire nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of sanctions imposed against Iran.

 Sputnik

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Iraqi government forces discover chemical warfare agent in Mosul

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 3:31PM

Iraqi government soldiers have found a cytotoxic and vesicant chemical agent in Mosul in addition to a cache of surface-to-surface missiles that could be used to weaponize the warfare agent.

Brigadier General Haider Fadhil of Iraq's special forces said on Saturday that French experts had tested samples of the chemical agent, and confirmed it was sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, which could form large blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs.

Fadhil went on to say that the discovery was made in the eastern quarter of Mosul, located some 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad, and said he suspected that Daesh terrorists were developing a way to use the chemical agent in the Russian-built projectiles.

The Daesh terrorist group has so far launched several chemical attacks in Iraq.

In November 2016, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Daesh terrorists had staged chemical attacks in Mosul in the face of advancing Iraqi troops trying to expel the Takfiris out of their last urban stronghold in the country.

As Daesh terrorists flee, "they have been repeatedly attacking and endangering the civilians they left behind, increasing concerns for residents of Mosul and other contested areas," said Lama Fakih, the HRW deputy Middle East director.

According to the New York-based group, Daesh launched at least three chemical attacks on the town of Qayyarah, located about 60 kilometers south of Mosul, in September and October last year after the town came under Iraqi government's control in August.

Also on Saturday, Iraqi security forces lobbed a barrage of artillery shells against the last remaining pockets of Daesh Takfiris in eastern Mosul as the extremists were trying to sneak into the western side of the city.

A local source, requesting anonymity, said security forces continued to fortify their positions near the Tigris River bank, noting that life appears to have returned to normal in the liberated areas.

An official with Iraqi Red Crescent Society said on Friday that more than 5,000 people had returned to their homes in the eastern side of Mosul within the past two days.

"Some 5,200 people have departed the al-Khazir and Hassan Sham camps [east of Mosul] and returned to the city's liberated eastern neighborhoods," Iyad Rafid said.

The return of internally displaced people to eastern Mosul comes as Iraqi army soldiers and allied forces are preparing for a fresh round of army operations to wrest control over western Mosul and recapture the area from Daesh.

Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic word, Hashd al-Sha'abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation on October 17, 2016 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

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60 Daesh terrorists killed in clashes with Iraqi forces

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:36AM

Sixty Takfiri Daesh terrorists have been killed during clashes with Iraqi forces in two Iraqi provinces.

According to Abdulamir Rashid Yarallah, the commander of the liberation operation for the city of Mosul, Iraqi airstrikes killed 42 Daesh terrorists, who were waiting in ambush in the villages of Kheybarat and A'alabyeh as well as in the al-Mahlabyeh district in western Mosul, in Iraqi Nineveh Province.

Fierce clashes between Iraqi forces and Daesh terrorists in the eastern areas of Salahuddin Province also killed 18 Takfiris and injured 21 others.

Meanwhile, a US-led coalition airstrike against a Daesh camp in the town of Qa'em in western Anbar Province reportedly killed 16 terrorists and destroyed the camp.

Life is gradually returning to normal in the liberated parts of the strategic city of Mosul. Overrun by Daesh in June 2014, the city has been the target of Iraqi military operations since late last year to dislodge the terrorists.

After retaking the al-Milayeen and al-Binaa al-Jahiz areas, the Iraqi army announced in a statement on Sunday that all districts of eastern Mosul had been cleared of Daesh militants.

Meanwhile, almost 5,200 people have returned to their homes in the eastern parts of Mosul over the past two days, an Iraqi relief worker said Friday.

"Some 5,200 people have departed the Al-Khazir and Hassan Sham camps [east of Mosul] and returned to the city's liberated eastern neighborhoods," International Red Crescent (IRC) official Iyad Rafid told Anadolu.

Relief workers have stepped up humanitarian efforts inside Mosul's liberated east.

Zaki Yakoub, the director of the IRC's branch in Nineveh Province, said, "IRC teams have distributed more than 800 food packages among residents of Mosul's eastern al-Mithaq district."

According to Iraq's minister of displacement and migration, Jassim al-Jaff, between 200,000 and 250,000 people are expected to flee western Mosul as clashes intensify between the Iraqi forces and Daesh. The United Nations estimates that some 750,000 civilians are trapped in the area.

Iraqi army soldiers and allied fighters are gearing up for a phase of operations against Daesh in western Mosul.

In another development, the explosion of an improvised explosive device 40 kilometers north of Salahuddin Province on Saturday killed three Iraqi civilians and injured six others, according to an Iraqi security source.

Moreover, Daesh mortar attacks against residential areas in western Mosul claimed the lives of seven civilians and wounded 21 others, including security forces.

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Trump in Phone Conversation With Abe Reaffirms Commitment to Japan's Security

Sputnik News

19:19 28.01.2017(updated 19:40 28.01.2017)

White House press office said that Donald Trump in a phone conversation with Shinzo Abe reinstated Washington's commitment to ensuring Japan's security and the two agreed to cooperate on North Korean nuclear threat response.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  US President Donald Trump in a phone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reinstated Washington's commitment to ensuring Japan's security and the two agreed to cooperate on North Korean nuclear threat response, the White House press office said Saturday in a statement.

"President Trump affirmed the ironclad US commitment to ensuring the security of Japan. The two leaders discussed the significance of Secretary of Defense [James] Mattis's upcoming visit to the region, including Japan. President Trump and Prime Minister Abe said they would consult and cooperate on the threat posed by North Korea," the statement read.

US President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe invited him to visit the White House on February 10, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Saturday.

"During call with Japanese Prime Minister Abe @POTUS invited him to a meeting at White House on February 10th," Spicer wrote on Twitter.

 Sputnik

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Putin, Trump agree on 'real coordination' against Daesh in Syria

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 9:2PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump have held their first phone call since Trump's inauguration.

"The Presidents have spoken in favor of establishing a real coordination between the US and Russian actions in order to defeat Daesh and other terrorist organizations in Syria," read a statement released by the Kremlin on Saturday.

In the past, Trump has on multiple occasions stressed that he would welcome Moscow's further involvement in the battle against Daesh.

The statement also noted that Putin and Trump had also agreed to "maintain regular personal contacts" and "work out possible dates and venue of their personal meeting."

"The two sides expressed a willingness to work actively together to stabilize and develop Russian-American cooperation on a constructive basis, as equals, and to mutual benefit," added the statement.

Last week, the Kremlin said that Putin is "ready" to meet Trump but the preparations for such a meeting will take some time.

According to the Saturday statement, the two leaders also discussed several other issues including the situation in the Middle East, Palestine, and Iran's historic nuclear deal, which Trump has threatened to "tear up" in the past. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- plus Germany started implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on January 16, 2016.

"Major aspects of the Ukrainian crisis have been also touched upon," Kremlin announced.

The ties between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated over the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the crisis in Syria. The United States, the European Union and some other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over accusations that Moscow has been involved in the crisis in Ukraine, which has killed nearly 10,000 people to date. The Kremlin strongly rejects the allegations.

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Republicans to Trump: Don't lift sanctions on Russia

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 3:3PM

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan have warned Donald Trump against easing economic sanctions on Russia, ahead of the US president's first official communication with President Vladimir Putin of Russia since Trump's inauguration last week.

Trump and Putin are scheduled to talk on phone on Saturday amid speculations that the US president might propose a plan to relax harsh sanctions the Obama administration imposed against Russia, accusing the country of intervening in Ukraine and the 2016 US presidential election.

"I'm against lifting any sanctions on the Russians. These sanctions were imposed because of their behavior in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now we know they've been messing around in our elections as well," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview with POLITICO on Friday.

"If there's any country in the world that doesn't deserve sanctions relief, it's Russia."

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the US president, said that the two leaders could discuss lifting of sanctions against Russia when they speak on Saturday.

'Very early to talk about removal of sanctions'

Trump, though, indicated at a joint news conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday that he was not yet ready to ease sanctions, saying it is "very early to be talking about that."

However, Trump previously expressed willingness to remove sanctions against Russia if it cooperates with the United States in efforts such as counterterrorism, and agrees to reduce its nuclear weapons.

On her part, May insisted that Western sanctions against Russia should continue, playing down talks of a possible thaw in the West's relations with Moscow under the Trump administration.

Sanctions against Russia are 'overdue'

When asked about the issue on Friday, Speaker Ryan said he believes sanctions against Russia are "overdue."

"I think Obama was late in putting them in place," he said. "I think they should stay."

Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned on Friday that any decision by Trump to lift sanctions would face stiff resistance in Congress.

"President Donald Trump's call with Vladimir Putin is scheduled to take place amid widespread speculation that the White House is considering lifting sanctions against Russia," he said in a statement.

"For the sake of America's national security and that of our allies, I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course," he said.

Reports about lifting sanctions also worrying Portman

Republican Senator Rob Portman also said that he is "deeply concerned" by reports Russia sanctions could be removed.

"I believe the U.S. Senate should take pro-active steps to codify the sanctions against Russia into law to ensure we live up to our commitments to our allies and uphold longstanding American values and ideals," Portman said.

"To lift the sanctions on Russia for any reason other than a change in the behavior that led to those sanctions in the first place would send a dangerous message."

'Russia sanctions should stay for some time at least'

Days before his inauguration on January 20, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he plans to keep Russia sanctions "at least for a period of time."

But then Trump added that sanctions would not be required if Moscow helped Washington in other ways.

"If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?" he asked.

Last month, the Obama administration announced a series of economic sanctions against Russia, as well as expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, over allegations that it interfered in the US election through cyberattacks.

Later on, the Obama administration imposed more sanctions on Russia, targeting five prominent Russians, including a close aide to Putin.

Sanctions related to Ukraine crisis

Since 2014, the US and some other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over accusations that Moscow has been involved in a deadly crisis in Ukraine, which broke out when Kiev launched military operations to crack down on pro-Russia forces in the east.

The sanctions target the Russian energy, banking and military sectors. Moscow has also imposed tit-for-tat sanctions against the EU.

In December last year, the US blacklisted several more Russian companies and individuals over their alleged connection to the Ukrainian crisis and the 2014 reunification of the Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland.

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17, 2014, and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum in which 96.8 percent of participants voted in favor of the secession.

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White House, Kremlin Say Trump, Putin Agree To Work Together Closely

RFE/RL January 28, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- their first official contact since Trump's inauguration on January 20.

The White House said the January 28 call was "positive" and "was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair."

"Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today's call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern," it said in a short statement released after the call.

The Kremlin said the phone conversation showed there is "a mood for restoring and improving" cooperation between the United States and Russia.

It said that "both sides showed their readiness for active, joint work to stabilize and develop Russian-American cooperation."

The Kremlin said Putin and Trump both favored the idea of coordinating Russian and U.S. actions in Syria aimed at defeating Islamic State (IS) militants and what the Kremlin called "other terrorist groups."

It said Putin and Trump stressed the importance of "restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties" between their two countries.

However, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax that Trump and Putin did not discuss the issue of easing U.S. sanctions that have been imposed against Russia over its illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and Moscow's support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin statement said Putin and Trump did discuss the situation in Ukraine.

It said the two leaders agreed to establish "partner-like cooperation" on international issues, including "the crisis in Ukraine," the situation in the Middle East, strategic stability, and the fight against terrorism.

It said they also discussed Iran's nuclear program and developments on the Korean peninsula, and that the two agreed to work out a time and a place for a future meeting.

A photo released on Twitter by White House press secretary Sean Spicer showed Trump in the Oval office during the call with Vice President Michael Pence, U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and Trump senior adviser Steve Bannon.

Spicer said Trump spoke by telephone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for 45 minutes on January 28 before his call with Putin.

Germany and France on January 28 both expressed concern about reports from the United States suggesting the Trump administration was considering the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia.

Berlin and Paris both insist that European Union sanctions against Russia should not be lifted without progress by Moscow on implementing the Minsk peace accords, which are aimed at bringing an end to the war in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv's government forces and Russia-backed separatists.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, AFP, Interfax, and TASS

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/trump-putin-talk-by-phone- sanctions-take-center-stage-/28264369.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Hollande: Lifting Russian Sanctions Possible After Minsk Accords Implementation

Sputnik News

23:16 28.01.2017(updated 23:36 28.01.2017)

Hollande has told Trump in a phone call that sanctions against Russia may be lifted only after implementation of Minsk agreements.

French President Francois Hollande has told the President of the United States Donald Trump in a phone call that sanctions against Russia may be lifted only after implementation of Minsk agreements, Elysee Palace reported.

Hollande has also expressed intention to develop dialogue with Russia on all issues.

"In terms of Russia, the [French] leader reaffirmed his willingness to pursue and strengthen the dialogue on all issues. He insisted that the sanctions imposed in relation to the situation in Ukraine could not be lifted until the situation in the east of the country is resolved through the complete implementation of Minsk accords," the statement read.

 Sputnik

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'Syria forces retake spring near Damascus'

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 10:21AM

Government forces have reportedly entered a key village in the Syrian capital's countryside, retaking control of a spring and water storage facilities that used to supply Damascus' water.

On Saturday, the forces moved into the Ayn al-Figeh Village, which is located in the strategic Wadi Barada area in the suburbs of the capital, sources associated with the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah reported.

Wadi Barada is home to Damascus' main river, Barada, as well as springs used as sources of water for the capital. Al-Figeh houses one of those springs.

The armed opposition's al-Hadath television channel, however, denied reports that the army had seized the village.

Since late December 2016, government forces have been fighting in Wadi Barada against the militants who have damaged the water processing facilities there and cut the water flow to some five million people in the city.

In mid-January, the militants assassinated a representative of the Syrian government who would coordinate reconciliation talks between Damascus and the armed outfits in Wadi Barada.

According to Syria's government, the militants fighting in Badi Warada belong to the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terror group. The terrorists were formerly known as al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, but renamed themselves and alleged breaking away from the Egyptian outfit.

An all-Syria ceasefire, which has been brokered by Russia and Turkey, forbids fighting across the Arab country's territory. However, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and its fellow Takfiri terror group of Daesh have been excluded from the agreement due to the barbarity of their actions and their refusal to fall into step with any pacification efforts.

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Syrian Army Regains Control of Key Water Source for Damascus

By VOA News January 28, 2017

Syrian media and a key monitoring group say government forces outside Damascus have regained control of a fresh-water spring that supplies the capital, after reaching a deal that allows rebel fighters dug in at the site to withdraw.

The state-controlled SANA news agency quoted a local governor Saturday as saying the evacuation of rebel fighters was delayed for several hours by bad weather. Ala'a Ibrahim also said maintenance and repairs at the crippled water facility would begin as soon as the military declares the area secure.

The government advance sets the stage for an end to a nearly six-week standoff at the supply village northwest of Damascus that began with a December 22 explosion at a key processing plant.

The blast sent diesel fuel spewing into the Barada River, contaminating supplies and creating severe water shortages that upended daily life for most of the capital's 5.5 million residents.

The government blamed rebels for the blast, while opposition leaders attributed the the explosion and the resulting contamination to government airstrikes.

The United Nations said the equipment "was deliberately targeted" but did not fix blame for the blast.

On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has monitored the water crisis, confirmed the rebel pullback and said government forces entered the contested area with ambulances to evacuate wounded rebel fighters. A statement also confirmed that a Syrian flag had been raised at the site.

However, Observatory chief Rami Abdurrahman said rebel fighters remained in nearby villages in the Barada Valley, and that the remaining militants included extremist fighters with links to al-Qaida.

Abdurrahman said the withdrawal deal calls for rebels who are not from the immediate area to relocate to Idlib province, a rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria.

Local rebels also would be allowed to depart, he said, but they also would be offered the option of switching sides in the civil war and fighting alongside government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

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40 Turkish NATO military personnel in Germany request asylum: Media

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 3:11PM

Some 40 Turkish military service personnel, mostly high-ranking ones, who were stationed at the facilities of NATO in Germany have applied for asylum in the European country, German media report.

According to reports by the German public TV chain ARD and the Der Spiegel weekly news magazine on Saturday, citing unnamed sources, the military servicemen had been relieved from their duties earlier by Ankara on suspicions of having alleged roles in the mid-July failed military coup back in their home country against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Der Spiegel quoted some unnamed officials from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior as saying that the case was treated as all others.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Stephan Mayer, a senior member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) political party and spokesman for Home Affairs of CSU and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentary group, said that it was no doubt that Berlin could not extradite these soldiers since "they would land in jail immediately" upon their arrival in Turkey.

Furthermore, legislator Norbert Rottgen, a top CDU member and the chairman of the Bundestag's Committee on Foreign Affairs, also strongly asserted that political considerations should not play any role in the asylum procedure.

This is reportedly the second time a group of Turkish troops request asylum in Germany. Back in November, some four months after the botched putsch, several other Turkish military personnel, who worked at the NATO headquarters in the Palatinate of Ramstein, asked for asylum. NATO at the time did not specify the exact number of the Turkish servicemen.

In both incidents NATO officials declined to comment on the asylum cases.

A day after the attempted coup, Greek authorities reported that eight Turkish military personnel had landed in northeastern Greece by a military chopper, requesting asylum. Ankara later strongly urged Athens, for a number of times, to send the soldiers back to Turkey, alleging that they were involved in the coup and should face prosecution upon their return to their country.

On Thursday, however, the Greek Supreme Court rejected the Turkish government's extradition request for the eight servicemen, including two commanders, four captains and two sergeants, a move that further angered Ankara over the issue.

Turkey has arrested over 37,000 people and dismissed or suspended more than 100,000 others in the civil service, judiciary, police, military and elsewhere since the abortive putsch.

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'Dozens' of Turkish Soldiers Go AWOL in Germany

Sputnik News

00:48 29.01.2017(updated 00:52 29.01.2017)

Dozens of Turkish soldiers have fled to Germany and are seeking asylum in connection with the failed coup attempt in Turkey last year  though most claim to have had nothing to do with plotting the coup.

The dozens of Turkish soldiers who have arrived in Germany refuse to return to their homeland for fear of being persecuted by the government, they say, according to reports by Der Spiegel and German public broadcaster ARD. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Turkey in a week.

"If I go back to Turkey, I risk being arrested or even tortured," one of the officers reportedly said in an interview.

About 150 Turkish NATO soldiers have recently been recalled back to Turkey, but about 40 decided to disobey the order and go AWOL.

The soldiers claim they have nothing to do with the coup.

"Believe me, I have no sympathy for those involved in the coup," one of soldiers said. "Those people need to be punished; they have destroyed our lives as well."

The failed coup attempt in July sparked a massive overhaul of Turkey's military by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish government claims the coup was organized by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish national currently living in the United States.

In an attempt to justify their disobedience, the AWOL soldiers claim the Turkish government will seek to persecute them because they are "successful" and "pro-western," German media report.

"The soldiers targeted by the purges have something in common  we are successful, pro-western, and support secularism."

Merkel will depart for Turkey on a diplomatic visit to meet with Erdogan next week.

On Thursday, the Greek Supreme Court ruled that Greece will not extradite Turkish soldiers who have fled to Greece. In response, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Turkey will consider cancelling its migration deal with Greece on a bilateral basis. This claim even caused EU spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud to react and express hope that the deal will remain in place.

German authorities have refrained from giving an official response to the soldiers.

"The asylum process is a purely judicial matter," said Norbert Rottgen, a senior German lawmaker. "Political expectations cannot and will not play a role."

 Sputnik

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2 Ukrainian troops killed in fresh scuffles with pro-Russia forces

Iran Press TV

Sat Jan 28, 2017 5:36AM

The latest outburst of fighting with pro-Russia forces has claimed the lives of two Ukrainian servicemen in the country's volatile eastern area.

Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said the soldiers were killed on Friday amid renewed clashes along the frontline with the territory held by the pro-Russians.

The deaths were the first Ukrainian losses for nearly two weeks.

Meanwhile, monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed an upsurge of violence around the city of Lugansk, the administrative center of a region with the same name, over the past two weeks.

The monitors further said that they were "saddened to see how little had changed" since December 2016, when the warring sides to the Ukraine conflict agreed to an "indefinite" ceasefire.

"We have confirmed at least five civilian fatalities compared to 19 for all of 2016," said Alexander Hug, the OSCE deputy mission head.

Ukraine's Donbass region - the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk - has witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since in April 2014, when Kiev launched military operations to crush pro-Moscow protests there.

The crisis has left almost 10,000 people dead on both sides.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine and the March 2014 reintegration of the Black Sea Crimean Peninsula into the Russian Federation have pushed relations between Moscow and the West to their lowest level since the Cold War as the latter supports Kiev.

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A little more than a year since Danville Public Schools made significant changes to help combat discipline problems at George Washington High School, school officials say huge improvements have been made in keeping students in class, engaged and out of trouble.

The best way to avoid discipline issues is to engage students in high quality instruction, said Danville Superintendent Stanley Jones.

Director of Safety and Security Dave Cochran said discipline data was the best way to show how much the school had improved.

Data is cumulative, he said.

Discipline referrals in December declined 84 percent compared to 2015, from 282 to 44 referrals. Referrals also were down significantly in every other month during the first semester of the school year. Year-to-date out of school suspensions are down 61 percent, from 466 to 180 suspensions.

Cochran said one of the major factors driving down numbers was a year of experience at the school for GW Principal Randall Stokes.

One thing is Mr. Stokes now has a full year under his belt and has a better understanding of the schools culture and climate, he said.

By school culture, Cochran said he was referring to all the interpersonal relationships going on during a complete school day.

All of those things play into student discipline: how well the students relate to the teachers; how well the teachers relate to the students; what level of trust do the teachers have with the administrators, Cochran said. All of those things take time to develop.

On Nov. 17, 2015, GW senior Jazzmyne Humphries wrote a letter to the editor describing chaos in her classes  incidents such as thrown soda bottles, students walking across the desks and students talking on cellphones or straightening their hair in class.

Shortly after the letter, the Danville School Board approved several initiatives to help the school, including professional development for teachers, more school security officers and school principals hearing long-term discipline appeals rather than the school board.

Cochran said the extra security officers returned to their normal posts after the school year ended, meaning more long-term solutions were working at GW.

These reductions have taken place without that, Cochran said.

Another big factor contributing to the discipline reductions were the new block schedules at GW, Cochran said. The schedule system was a decision made by teachers and administrators in the spring of 2016.

One of the statistically demonstrated effects of the block scheduling is a reduction in discipline referrals because you have fewer transitions, Cochran said. Thats fewer times during the day when students are out interacting in the hallways changing classes.

Cochran said feuds and conflicts between students often erupt in the hallways during periods of less teacher supervision.

The biggest challenge going forward is to create engaging curriculums that are standardized across all schools, as well as focus on material appearing on Standards of Learning tests, Cochran said. Jones agreed, saying the best learning had a positive effect on school discipline as well.

The teacher who impacted you the most was the one whose class you did the best in, he said.
Washington state's attorney general says he is suing President Donald Trump over an executive order that suspended immigration from seven countries with majority-Muslim populations and sparked nationwide protests.
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Members of the Supreme Courts conservative majority are questioning the continued use of affirmative action in higher education. In lengthy arguments Monday, the justices wrestled with persistent, difficult questions of race. The justices heard from six different lawyers in challenges to policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard. Those policies consider race among many factors in evaluating applications for admission. One conservative justice likened affirmative action to giving some college applicants a head start in a footrace. But a liberal justice said universities are the pipelines to leadership in our society and suggested that without affirmative action minority enrollment will drop.
Anyone who thought last weekends international Womens March was a one-off needs to look no further than our own fair city.

On Thursday night, an estimated 500 people marched in downtown Greensboro in support of immigrants and refugees. At roughly the same time, less than 3 miles away, about 350 more gathered to learn about nonpartisan redistricting.

At a state meeting of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina this week, chapters across the state reported a surge in new memberships.

And two local women who, disappointed with the election outcome wanted to get off the sidelines and take action, have seen their group, Onward Greensboro, grow from 15 people to 370 in about two months time.

There is no shortage of battles to fight. In just one week, President Donald Trump has taken or vowed executive actions that threaten women, immigrants, the environment and voting rights.

All of these actions will need vocal and visible opposition.

But if you want to change whats going on in Washington, there is no better place to start than Raleigh.

To change Washington, we have to change the people we send to represent us.

The problem is that a lot of North Carolinians dont really have a choice anymore. In Greensboro, which is solidly Democratic, we have no Democratic representative in Congress, thanks to congressional district lines that slice the city in half to dilute Democratic voters with large swaths of Republican voters in rural areas.

Thats called gerrymandering, and it has a long history of being practiced by both parties to the detriment of democracy. Not only does it rob one party of fair representation, but it promotes further polarization, because candidates are only accountable to members of their own parties.

Heres how much difference gerrymandering can make. Thirty percent of North Carolinas state Senate districts and 48 percent of its state House districts had only one candidate on the ballot in 2016. A whopping 92 percent of all House and Senate district races were not even close, decided by a margin of 10 percentage points or more. By contrast, 83 percent of statewide races  which cant be gerrymandered  were decided by a margin of 10 percentage points or fewer. Fifty-eight percent were decided by a margin of 5 percentage points or fewer.

We are at the point where our political system is so broken that if were not prepared to stand up and fight for our democracy and for whats right, that we could lose it, Tom Ross, the former president of the UNC system and a former Superior Court judge, told an audience at UNC-Greensboro on Thursday.

Ross led a bipartisan panel of former judges who showed how nonpartisan redistricting could be accomplished by using straightforward criteria absent political considerations in drawing new congressional districts. The result was more-competitive districts and a balanced delegation that more closely reflects the actual makeup of the states registered voters.

The problem is that no party wants to give up the power to draw advantageous districts when it has it. Democrats resisted nonpartisan redistricting when they held a majority in the state legislature, just as some of the most powerful Republicans in the General Assembly are resisting it now.

Somehow, we have to help everybody understand that just going back and forth, doing it the wrong way, is not whats right for North Carolina, Ross said.

State Rep. Jon Hardister, a Greensboro Republican who has been pushing for independent redistricting since 2015, garnered 63 co-sponsors from both parties for his nonpartisan redistricting bill in 2015, but a bipartisan redistricting bill has passed the N.C House only once, in 2011. None has been considered by the N.C. Senate.

Although the courts long have acted to prevent racial gerrymandering, they traditionally have steered clear of partisan gerrymandering. That changed last year, when a federal court in Wisconsin became the first to strike down partisan gerrymandering as unconstitutional. That three-judge panel rightly recognized that states electoral map was so one-sided that it denied voters of one party a voice in state government.

North Carolinas congressional map faces three racial gerrymandering lawsuits, now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as two federal lawsuits filed by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters on the basis of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering.

Polls show that a majority of voters in both parties support nonpartisan redistricting. But its going to take a public movement to get that message across to the General Assembly, Ross said.

I dont spend my time on things that I dont think matter, or where I dont think we can make a difference, Ross said. I cant make a difference, but the people of North Carolina could if they emphasize why its important to our future.

On March 1, the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform will hold a Citizens Lobby Day to End Gerrymandering at the General Assembly.

If you want to change Washington, let them hear you in Raleigh.
In the first few weeks of 2017, elected officials in Albany have put forth what appear to be bold proposals for dealing with clean water challenges around the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is touting a clean water infrastructure bill that would authorize spending up to $2 billion over the next five years to address issues in municipalities around the state.

The state Senate has come out with its own proposal, a $5 billion clean water bond act to deal with similar issues outlined in the governor's bill. Because it's a state bond act, the Senate's measure would require voter approval in the November general election.

It's not clear if the proposal from the Senate, controlled by Republicans, is meant as an alternative to the Democratic governor's proposal. The Senate officially unveiled its measure after Cuomo announced his, but the Senate's was driven by a task force that conducted hearings last year and issued a report at the start of this year.

Our hope is that both of these plans can be moved forward and put into law, a position that's significantly influenced by the major scare involving blue-green algae in the treated drinking water for more than half of the Cayuga County population last year. Our community experienced an unfortunate reminder of just how precious clean water is to daily life, and as the algae threat promises to grow here and places all around the globe, we need elected leaders to commit substantial resources to tackling the problem.

That brings us back to these two proposals. Together, they'd amount to $7 billion to take on clean water issues in this state. That sounds like a lot of money but consider this troubling statistic: The state Department of Health has pegged the estimated cost of fixing or replacing faulty drinking water infrastrucutre in New York state at $38.7 billion, along with another $36.2 billion for wastewater systems. And those estimates were made in 2008, when blue-green algae in public drinking water systems wasn't on the radar.

In other words, we have a huge challenge in this state when it comes to clean water. We're encouraged to see the executive branch and the Senate come forward with a much-needed funding plan, and we'd encourage the state Assembly to also get on board.

Ultimately, these billions of dollars can help prevent even far greater costs in the future if we allow our drinking water to be compromised.
The signs of break-in was found early on Saturday morning.
The Community Theatre of Greensboro really focuses on the community portion of its name with the production of The Laramie Project that opened Friday night at the Starr Theatre on Elm Street in downtown Greensboro.

The play features a large cast of excellent community actors. They portray both a community of theatrical explorers and members of a real community in Wyoming. Both groups are looking for answers and understanding after a horrific crime occurs in the community of Laramie. It also makes one realize that Laramie is really a microcosm of the country as a whole. It could be almost any community in America that is being represented on stage.

The play is a unique form of theater. Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six visits to Laramie, Wyo., over a year and a half after the October 1998 murder of gay university student Matthew Shepard. The play is a collaboration from a team of writers who use interviews with Laramie residents, their own journal entries and journalistic accounts to explore the effect of the murder on the town of Laramie and its residents.

The resulting play premiered in Denver, then Off Broadway in New York in 2000, before being performed in Laramie in 2002. It is much more than a journalistic exercise. It is an absorbing evening of theater. The Laramie Project explores the way the people of Laramie struggle to understand the crime that happened in their town as well as their own thoughts and feelings about gay people and religion. The play also explores the impacts of social class and educational levels on how different people view the events. This exploration occurs while the glare of the international media shines brightly on their formerly quiet town.

This CTG production is excellent. Michael Kamtman beautifully directs the play. He uses the stage and aisles of the intimate Starr Theatre in such a way that it almost becomes an immersive experience for the audience. The entire cast, all of whom play multiple characters, are more than equal to the challenges of the play. I hesitate to call attention to any particular cast member as so many are so good. Many of the actors have special moments along the way. The simplicity of the set and the effective lighting also serve the play well.

As I went into the theater, I wondered how the play would hold up today. I saw the original production in New York in 2000 when the world was a very different place. However, The Laramie Project seems as timely as ever. So many of the same issues the play raises remain current issues. Hate still exists. The dialogues in the play need to continue.

I hope this and other productions of the play may continue to encourage more people to talk, to think, to question and, most importantly, to listen. And maybe it can help us avoid another Matthew Shepard tragedy and the need for another Laramie Project.
GREENSBORO  Demonstrators gathered outside Crown Nissan on West Wendover Avenue on Saturday afternoon to protest conditions at the automakers Canton, Miss., plant.

Workers rights are civil rights, Joyce Johnson, a co-founder of the Beloved Community Center and a member of the North Carolina NAACPs executive board, said in a prepared statement. Were asking Nissan to do better by its hard-working employees, and were asking Nissans dealers and customers to join us to put an end to this unacceptable behavior by the company.

The Beloved Community Center, North Carolina NAACP, Raise Up for $15 and North Carolinas public employees union took part in the protest, along with the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan.

Workers allege that Nissan has created an unsafe working environment, intimidated workers to prevent them from unionizing and treated them unfairly by hiring lower-paid temporary employees instead of full-time workers.

About 80 percent of the Canton plants workers are African American.

In response to a similar protest Thursday in Tennessee, Nissan told The Tennessean newspaper in a statement that the companys history shows it values its employees and respects their right to be represented.

The allegations being made by the union against Nissan are completely unfounded, the automaker said.
The National Weather Service in Raleigh stated in a news release that winds on Monday will be brisk form the west-northwest, sustained at 15-20 mph, with frequent gusts from 20-25 mph.
GREENSBORO  Margot Lee Shetterly, author of the book-now-movie Hidden Figures, drew out-of-state fans and local ones, including two actors who appear in the movie, to her Sunday book signing at Scuppernong Books downtown.

Tre Stokes, of Greensboro, who plays the son of one of the protagonists, prompted applause when he arrived with his mom.

Wow, I just met the author of the movie I was in! the boy grinned after Shetterly signed his book.

When asked what message he believes the movie delivers, the Northern Elementary student replied, African American women are much smarter than you think.

Ann Hudgson, a stay-at-home mom in Jamestown, plays one of the cadre of black female mathematicians in the movie. But she has yet to see herself on screen, so it was the author who informed her that her speaking part made it into the released cut.

I recognized her face immediately, Shetterly said, smiling at Hudgson, and repeated the line Hudgson delivers in the movie.

The budding actress slapped her hands to her cheeks and squealed, wide-eyed, at the news: I didnt know that! Oh my gosh!

The movie has earned Academy Award nominations for best picture, best supporting actress and best adapted screenplay.

Shetterly, slender, elegant and composed, sat for 2 hours at a round table decorated with New Yorker magazine covers and signed nearly 200 books  water and cookies untouched.

Her husband, Aran Shetterly, chatted at the coffee bar. Hes working on a book that has something to do with Greensboro, but wont divulge more.

Touch base with me in June, he suggested.

The Shetterly affection for Greensboro began with Robert Shetterly, Arans father. Robert spoke in September 2015 at UNC-Greensboro about his collection of paintings and narratives that highlight citizens who courageously address issues of social, environmental and economic fairness.

The collection is visible at americanswhotellthe-truth.org

Aran and his wife of 11 years were in town for the talk, and knew they would return.

We came to Scuppernong on that trip and thought, what a wonderful place,  he said.

The Shetterlys call last week asking for a book signing incited delight and a bit of panic in the stores four owners.

Weve been pushing hard to get as many (copies) as we can from the distributor, said David White, the stores co-owner.

All 120 copies were sold just 30 minutes into the event.

Janice H. Degraffinreid left Spartanburg, S.C., around 9 a.m. to be third in line. Degraffinreid oversees the black history department at the new Prospect Baptist Church in Cross Anchor, S.C., so when she heard about the book and the signing from DeAnna Pruitt, a student at N.C. A&T, she couldnt miss this opportunity.

I didnt know about Hidden Figures, she said. I didnt know that this happened, and I read a lot about black history.

She now has the book, has seen the movie, and has the book on her Kindle.

It encourages our young girls to do better, she said.

Stephanie Luster-Teasley, chairwoman of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at A&T, brought previously purchased books to the signing. She took 20 of her female students to see the movie last week and found the movies plot includes the use of Eulers Method, a topic Luster-Teasley had just covered in class.

They actually talk about it, thats how (one of the computers) figures out the location for the landing, she said.

Alyssa Farrell brought her daughter Grace Farrell, 7, and her niece, Eloise Alexander, 6.

I think its important for them to see work that highlights strong females, Farrell said. And I told (the girls) that these women were posthumously told thank you for the work they did.

The line of fans still wrapped around the corner of Washington and Elm streets at 2:30 p.m.

It certainly livened up our Sunday afternoon, White said around 4 p.m., when the occupancy had dropped from around 100 to maybe a dozen customers.

It was thoughtful generosity for her to swing by.
The morning after the presidential election, I felt Id been punched in the stomach. I felt overwhelmed by fear and anxiety  not to mention anger, confusion, and tinges of despair. I felt powerless.

For a week or so, I fell prey to these feelings. Then, I drove west with my wife, Mary; my son, Elijah; and a friend and her two boys to South Dakota, to Standing Rock. I wanted to regain a sense of power, to regain a modicum of agency in a world where the reality was exactly the opposite.

After nearly three days, we finally found ourselves at the gates of the Oceti Sakowin camp, otherwise known as Standing Rock. I think we were all bruised from the trip that had taken far longer than we expected, and I felt anxious about what I would find at the camp.

At the gate was a checkpoint manned by a handful of young men, all Native American. They were brusque but respectful. They asked us who we were and checked out the six occupants of the minivan. Signs festooned the guard post: No Guns. No Drugs. No Alcohol.

From the very beginning of our stay, the seriousness of the camp, its energy, its mission pervaded the atmosphere. At first I only glimpsed this because I simply could not take in what I was seeing.

The camp was large and extensive. As we drove to find a campsite for our tent, I saw RVs, teepees, cars of all shapes and sizes, huts, tents inhabiting a space bordered by the road and the river. Flags fluttered in the wind, and signs offering slogans, directions, identifications peppered every surface. People of all shapes, sizes, races wandered about, some with purpose, others seemingly without, taking no notice of our vehicle. As I came to understand, people arrived and left constantly. We were just one group among many groups of supporters.

We already knew that this was not a vacation and that we would need to contribute to the camp. What I did not see at the beginning was the nature of this contribution. I could not understand how this thing worked but, putting aside my confusion, I set out to find a place for myself. I found myself in a kitchen but not quite like any kitchen where I had ever worked. This was an old military mess tent  reminding me of those from M*A*S*H.  maybe 24 feet long by 10 feet wide. Lit by a series of bare bulbs, it was dim and enclosed. The floors were covered with layers of straw and cardboard, slowly decomposing into the South Dakota soil. Everywhere I looked, I saw shelves and tables loaded with miscellaneous bags and boxes of donated food.

A young woman was running the kitchen, and I asked her if there was anything I could do. She handed me a knife and told me to cut up a box of apples that they would then roast and use in a soup. For the next couple of hours, I contributed to the camp, cutting apples and butternut squash for that nights meal. This was how I could contribute: a small task that helped feed some people who would then contribute their own efforts. I was beginning to see how Oceti Sakowin worked.

The next day, we gathered in another Army surplus tent to listen to the orientation. None of us knew how long we would be there or what form this orientation would take. But there must have been close to 80 people crowded into the tent facing two young women who, in no uncertain terms, laid out the ground rules for us all. It wasnt that we were bombarded with rules but rather that a whole philosophy was laid out for us.

We were told that we were part of something bigger than ourselves and that we needed to be humble in the face of this. No pictures, no appropriation or New Age embrace of Native American culture. The seven Lakota values  prayer, respect, compassion, honesty, humility and wisdom  were our guiding principles. These I could stand by.

Our orientation facilitators stepped aside to introduce a young Native American from New Mexico named Graham. It was through his words that I really began to grasp the true nature of what I had become involved in. The tent began to grow stuffy. Most of us were standing in a semi-circle. I could feel the fatigue in my legs. I could feel the fatigue of us all. And yet, this young man offered us words that somehow energized us. He spoke of an unprecedented and historic coming together of Native American tribes, of how we should not try to be Indian but should embrace who and what we were  our own heritage and traditions  in the service of this larger struggle. He spoke of a struggle that had been going on for centuries in which Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline were just one more battle. He spoke of respect for the sacred traditions of all indigenous peoples no matter where on the globe they might live.

It was not just his words but his whole demeanor. Idealistic but firmly grounded. Energetic but disciplined. I was to see this same powerful presence the next night.

Looking for warm drinks for our company, we had entered a mess tent offering tea, coffee and hot chocolate. As we entered, a pre-meal prayer ceremony began. The focus of the ceremony was another young Native American man, this time from Northern California. He spoke of the history that lay behind Standing Rock. He spoke too of the 400 years of struggle, saying that, whatever the outcome, struggle would go on.

Behind his words, I heard a message that our actions were merely a part of a much greater struggle of which we were just a small part and that, in essence, that victory was inevitable. We had only to do our part. And he asked us to see that whatever choices we had made in the past, whatever had happened to us, whatever roads we had traveled to get to Standing Rock, they had led us to this moment, this place, and that this was good.

The morning before we left the camp, all of us took part in a direct action. It was to be a peaceful response to the violence that had taken place the previous week. It was an odd sight. In the middle of nowhere, at least 30 cars parked along a two-lane road and perhaps a couple of hundred activists got out. At a junction stood two handfuls of deputies dressed all in black riot gear. We stood in a circle. Prayers were spoken, some short speeches were made  anyone who wished was free to talk  and a strong discipline was exerted to maintain our peaceful tone.

As the U.S. Border Patrol SUVs pulled up, we all walked peacefully back to our cars and left. No more than 30 minutes had passed, but I thought that we had somehow made a point and that our actions were just another part of a long series of actions that tried to move us all forward.

We left that afternoon, and three days later, we were home. It took some days to really process what we had seen and done. But I did discover something through my familys trip out West. No matter what obscenity rolls out of Washington in the next few years, Im ready. I am not sure about how I will now direct my efforts nor do I know what form my actions will take. But I no longer feel powerless.

Standing Rock helped me understand that.
Protesters gather on the National Mall for the Womens March on Washington during the first full day of Donald Trumps presidency Jan. 21 in Washington.

The day after the election, an inquiry appeared on Facebook asking if there were women willing to participate in a march in Washington immediately following the 2017 presidential inauguration. I was one of the 10,000 women who replied overnight in the affirmative.

On Saturday, Jan. 21, I walked with a half-million women and men who were young, old, able, disabled, black, white, Asian and Hispanic, straight and LGBT.

The spirit was kind and exuberant, concerned yet determined, and peaceful; not one arrest was made. Similar walks took place around the country and around the world.

Why did I attend the Womens March in Washington? I went because there is a history of unfinished marches in this magnificent country. Marches made by people who preceded us and took seriously the words of our Declaration of Independence that all people are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Movements led by people who put their feet on the ground to make their voices heard.

I marched to continue the work of Susan B. Anthony and the suffragettes for full equality for women, for equal pay and for control of our own bodies.

I marched to defy any public sentiment, from our president or anyone else, that any abuse of women is acceptable.

I marched because we have not yet elected a woman as president, even though a woman received more votes for the presidency in the recent election than the man who was inaugurated.

I marched to continue the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others at the 1963 demonstration who had a dream for equality for people of color.

I marched for the black men and women and children killed over the last several years on our countrys streets.

I marched on behalf of safety and racial understanding that is long overdue.

I marched because a presidential candidate can still get away with mocking an individual with disabilities, even though my parents and others devoted their lives to ensure otherwise.

I marched for my brother with disabilities. I marched for my lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends who now feel that their marriages and safety could be compromised.

I marched for immigrants who have streamed into this country, believing that we welcome the tired and the poor.

I marched to carry forward the work of the United Church of Christ and other Christian denominations to do justice, seek peace, and effect change for a better world. I marched for accessible health care for all of our citizens.

I marched with more than 3 million of my sisters and brothers across the country to keep America kind. I marched for my daughters and my future grandchildren. I marched because I must.

I marched because, as Martin Luther King said, The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

I marched toward justice.
EDEN  Aspiring scientists from elementary to high school showed their grit on Jan. 24 as they competed in the Rockingham County Schools 2017 District Science Fair.

One by one, the young chemists, physicists and sociologists pitched their projects at Osborne Baptist Church to the community judges, explaining their data on poster board or performing experiments live.

They get better every year, said William Toth, third time judge. I am especially impressed with Rockingham County elementary teachers, because when I was in Alamance County, the level of knowledge was nowhere near what it is here. They obviously prepared these kids. They knew their stuff and theyre pushing science investigation.

This year, Toth was joined by judges Mary Doggett, Jim Ivie, Cindy Sarwi, Alyssa Slater, Val Pyrtle, Laura Rodgers, Michelle Casto, Cathy DeMason, Kimberly Thompson-Hairston, Joan Weisenback and Bob Wyatt.

Together, the panel reviewed the 60 elementary, 13 middle and 11 high school entries.

Projects ranged from third grader Reid Raifords classic volcano eruption to fifth grader Emily Bolden analysis of what liquid causes the most significant gummy bear expansion to tenth graders Amanda Powell and Hannah Matthews experiment to see if less time means more stress for test takers.

This is the part that I love about my job, to be able to see the wonderful things that are happening in our schools, said Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Rodney Shotwell during the awards ceremony.  Its always interesting, the last several years when I sign these certificates, to see some of the same names that are just getting older and moving up.

All participants received commemorate certificates of participate, yet only three elementary students and the first place winners of each middle and high school category will move on to the Region 5 Science Fair at Greensboros Triad Math and Science Academy on Feb. 11.

In all, 14 Rockingham County students will proceed.
To the editor,

President Donald Trump is carrying through on his campaign promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. I lived in El Paso, Texas, for many years and would like to offer my perspective.

El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are two separate cities in two separate countries, but together they form one large metropolis that is economically interdependent. If you were to stand at one of the border crossings in El Paso you would see Mexican citizens crossing legally into El Paso to visit family, shop, attend the University of Texas at El Paso, conduct business and attend cultural events.

American citizens cross into Juarez to visit family, shop, work as supervisors and administrators of maquiladora plants and some go for affordable medical and dental care. Trucks cross bringing goods from Mexico into the United States every day.

At a large shopping mall in El Paso many cars in the parking lot have Mexican plates. They belong to Mexican citizens who come legally to shop in El Paso. They come to buy big ticket items such as cars, refrigerators, washing machines, computers, clothing, household items, etc. They contribute a great deal to the El Paso economy. When currency fluctuations make it too expensive for them to shop, El Paso merchants lament the loss of their good Mexican customers.

I think that most border cities would welcome increased security, but I am not sure that they want it to take the form of a border wall. There has been no discussion of how a wall could affect the interdependent economies of border cities.

Ann Blumensaadt

Greenwich
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For a second week in a row, the Nokia 6 occupies the second spot on the top ten chart and will likely keep hovering there for the foreseeable future.

Also for a second week now, Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4 continues to reign supreme, with its mix of decent hardware and rock-bottom price. This is the original MediaTek Helio X20 version, we are talking about. After an impressive flying start last week, instantly snatching up the 6th place, the new Snapdragon 625 Redmi Note 4 has now dropped a couple of places to the eight spot. Perhaps the allure of the power-efficient Qualcomm chip simply isn't enough.

There aren't really many other observations to be made on the chart, with the entire top five, virtually unchanged from a week ago. The Oppo F1s seems to be on a second wind, possibly due to Oppo boosting its marketing expenses. Last, but not least, this week the Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime is out of the race, allowing the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) to inch its way on the the tenth spot.




Haiti - Elections : Opening of polling stations





Opening of the polling stations

This morning at 6:00 am the polling stations opened, to elect 8 senators, 1 deputies and 5,536 local authorities (ASEC, CASEC and city delegate) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19927-haiti-news-zapping-politics.html on just over 31,000 candidates https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19785-haiti-news-zapping-politics.html . A quiet opening and little crowd have been reported. Several voters and representatives of political parties have already exercised their civic duty.



The voting centers are secured by the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the peacekeepers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).



Message from the Mayor of Les Cayes

Jean Gabriel Fortune, the Mayor of Les Cayes has appealed to all "[...] to go to vote, go to fulfill your civil duty, the future of the country, the communes and the communal sections depend on yours. Vote en masse, vote for people who will fight in the interest of the department. Good Sunday."



Emergency number in case of irregularities

The Provisional Electoral Council announced the availability of the short number 8838 which will allow to reach its emergency cell, this number will be available this Sunday, January 29 from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm "Voters, observers and staff can call to report an irregularity or a fact that could undermine the integrity of the voting process during and after the elections," indicates the CEP, that underlines that a team is responsible for taking the situation reports and providing an effective response.



How to find your Voting Centers and polling station

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-19886-haiti-flash-j-7-comment-trouver-votre-centre-et-bureau-de-vote.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19936-haiti-flash-2nd-round-senators-voting-intentions-brides-poll.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19927-haiti-news-zapping-politics.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Social : The toll of the sinking in the Turks and Caicos increases





Tuesday, following the sinking of a boat loaded with clandestine Haitian migrants, 10 dead bodies had been discovered on the northwest point of the island of Providenciales (Turks and Caicos Islands) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19900-haiti-social-10-clandestine-haitians-found-dead-in-the-tci.html .



Wednesday in search of survivors, 5 new bodies were found, bringing to 15 the provisional toll of the number of victims drowned in this sinking.



A Haitian survivor was arrested, said Kevin Clarke, Spokesman for the Turks and Caicos Police Force, allowing to know that 69 people were aboard the boat (50 men and 19 women).



The survivor said he had swum to the shore when the boat began to sink after hitting a rock in a rough sea and several of his compatriots had also managed to reach the mainland, without being able to say how exactly.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19900-haiti-social-10-clandestine-haitians-found-dead-in-the-tci.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Elections : Second tear gas bomb and sporadic shooting





Second tear bomb and sporadic shootings

This morning after an individual threw a tear gas canister at the voting center at Mirebalais High School, causing a panic https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19945-haiti-elections-tear-gas-on-a-voting-center.html the police intervened and regained control of the voting center, electoral operations continue. We have been informed that a second tear gas canister was thrown at the voting center of Mirebalais High School, and that sporadic gunfire, of unidentified origin were heard in the area.



Privert wishes peace and serenity

The de facto President Jocelrme Privert the State reminds all actors of the need to maintain a climate of peace and serenity in order to facilitate the smooth running of the electoral process throughout the country.



Jovenel Moise calls to vote

Jovenel Moise, the elected President of Haiti, shortly before noon said "I am on the plane in the direction of Pilet, Trou du Nord, with my wife to fulfill my civic duty. You also, fulfill your civic duty !"



CASEC/ASEC ballots, CEP specifies

The Executive Director of the Provisional Electoral Council informs the general public and voters in particular that the presence of ballots for candidates for the positions of CASEC, ASEC in urban voting centers is not an anomaly. This is due to the fact that some portions of the cities have expanded in the Communal Sections. In these cases, the voters concerned may exercise their right to vote.



Consequently, all the voting centers concerned are provided with bulletins of local and regional authorities, at the behest of the Departmental, (BED) and communal electoral offices, (BEC). Formal instructions were given to all temporary staff in order to anticipate any confusion.



France alongside the OAS

Providing support to the electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States (OAS), France had placed an observer team at its disposal in the election of 20 November. These observers are again deployed alongside their OAS colleagues to observe the partial and local elections that are taking place today.



How to find your Centre and polling station

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-19886-haiti-flash-j-7-comment-trouver-votre-centre-et-bureau-de-vote.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Elections : 10 arrests, 3 weapons seized (Provisional)





Leopold Berlanger satisfied...

Leopold Berlanger, President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), who at approximately 1 p.m. exercised his civic duty by going to the polls, said in a press conference this afternoon to be "generally satisfied with the conduct of the election day" which we recall it ends at 4:00 p.m.



10 arrests, 3 weapons seized

In a press conference this afternoon, in a provisional report the PNH reported 10 people arrested and 3 weapons seized.



Destruction of ballots

Electoral Adviser Jean Simon Saint-Hubert, Representative of the Human Rights Sector, announced the arrest of an individual suspected of tearing up ballots.



Electoral vagueness

According to candidates, of ballots would have been sent in the wrong voting centers, this would have been the case at the voting center of the National school of Petion-ville. In the municipality of Hinche ballots, which should be used in the 3rd constituency (Aguahedionde, rive gauche), were sent to the 4th constituency (Aguahedionde, rive droite, including the neighborhood Los Palis). Always at Hinche of voters are unable to vote, having not found their names posted on some voters lists.



Lack of electoral fever

Pierre Esperance, the Executive Director of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), noted a lack of electoral fever, of awareness campaigns and education campaigns at the level of the government, of CEP and the political parties.



They voted

The de facto President Jocelerme Privert, accompanied by his wife Ginette, fulfilled their civic duty at the voting center of the Petit-Trou High School in Nippes, his hometown.



Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles went to Chansolme, his native commune, to fulfill his duty as a citizen. The Head of Government took advantage of this civic act to invite all his compatriots to do the same.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2017/01/29 | Source

Sumi Jo tweets on Tuesday about the cancellation of her tour in China.

Korean soprano Sumi Jo's tour of three Chinese cities that had been scheduled to start on Feb. 19 has been canceled without explanation.

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The cancelation comes amid growing signs of petty retaliation in China for Korea's decision to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. here.

"I'd like to tell you that my tour in China has been cancelled", Jo tweeted Tuesday. "At their invitation, I have prepared for the concerts for two years but they did not even give me a reason for it. It saddens me to witness the current situation where conflicts between the two countries are affecting even the pure cultural and arts sectors".

She put up a link to a New York Times article on the cancelation. "The cancellations have heightened suspicions that South Korean classical musicians are the latest casualties of political tensions with China that go back to July, when the government in Seoul announced that it would deploy [the battery] on its soil", the paper said.

Jo's tour was supposed to be a tribute on the 40th anniversary of the death of legendary soprano Maria Callas this year. Askonas Holt of the U.K. was organizing the tour, and she was to sing with the Beijing China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, and Guangzhou Symphony orchestras in those cities.

But the invitation letters from the Chinese orchestras that were required for her visa application never arrived, and instead they told Jo on Sunday that the tour was canceled.

Chung Min, the son of maestro Chung Myung-whun, was supposed to conduct them, but both he and Jo have been replaced by Chinese musicians.

Jo is much loved in China, where she performed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Chinese and gives concerts every year.

Earlier, Korean pianist Paik Kun-woo's performance with the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra on March 18 was also abruptly cancelled.

British music critic Norman Lebrecht wrote on his website last week, "The cancellation is significant. In September 2000, [Paik] was the first Korean artist to be invited to perform in China. Amid rising regional tensions, Beijing has banned all Korean performers since November 2016".

Paik's agent said, "The orchestra printed out posters and programs, but we heard that the Chinese government did not approve the visa".

Paik was replaced by Chinese pianist Sa Chen.
Published on 2017/01/29 | Source

A child looks at imported eggs from the United States in a store in Seoul on Sunday. /Yonhap

The government will have some 22 million more eggs supplied this week to ease a shortage amid the nation's worst-ever bird flu outbreak.

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The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday that a total of 22.36 million eggs will hit store shelves before the Lunar New Year holiday this weekend.

They include the first batch of 750,000 out of 4.5 million eggs the government itself will import for the first time through the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation.

The government has already lifted tariffs on egg imports for private retailers, which started to put U.S. eggs on store shelves on Sunday.

But the number to be supplied this week falls far short of the earlier promise of 70 million eggs.

"Imports by private retailers were lower than expected, so the supply was reduced", a ministry official said.
Published on 2017/01/28

KoBiz's latest infographic shows directors who have returned after a lengthy hiatus, the Korean press select "The Wailing" as the best film of 2016, Na Hong-jin's latest to be adapted by Scott Free Productions, and Movie Pilot has ten films to introduce you to Korean cinema.

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"We've Waited a Long Time"

Some directors are prolific, their next feature is always just on the horizon, but others put years between their films. Bae Jong, for example, made his debut with "Welcome to Dongmakgol" back in 2005, but his next film, "Fabricated City", only came out over a decade later! In this infographic by KoBiz, you'll discover directors like Bae Jong who took their time making their next film. But were their comebacks any good, or better? You decide...

...READ ON KOBIZ

"'The Wailing' named best film by Korean film reporters"

There were a lot of great contenders but an association of South Korean journalists recently announced that Na Hong-jin's third film  "The Wailing" (starring Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Jun Kunimura and Chun Woo-hee)  was their pick for country's best film of 2016. "The Handmaiden", "Train to Busan", and "The Age of Shadows" were some of the other top films up for consideration. Did your favourite make the grade? Let us know what film stood out for you last year...

...READ ON THE KOREA HERALD

"Scott Free Productions in Talks to Remake South Korean Film 'The Wailing'"

Na Hong-jin's critically acclaimed mystery drama "The Wailing" has caught Scott Free Productions' eye and is being considered by Fox as their first Korean production. According to Kim Ho-sung, head of Fox International Productions for Korea, "Scott Free Production has reached out to us for a remake of The Wailing and we are in the early stages of discussing the project". Watch this space!

...READ ON THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"10 Films To Get You Into Korean Cinema"

If you're new to Korean cinema, well, where have you been the past decade? Modern South Korean cinema is one of the world's most vibrant and thriving cinema industries in the world today, but where to start? Nicolas Mogolion, writing for Movie Pilot, has you covered with this great list of ten Korean films to track down and enjoy: "The films are bold, disturbing and tap into a level of darkness that is genuinely affecting". What Korean films would you recommend to someone who is just starting their adventure into Korean cinema? Let us know in the comment section below...

...READ ON MOVIE PILOT
Peek-A-Boo! I See Your Tax Return

by Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii

Recently, some lawmakers proposed a bill that would require presidential candidates to release their five most recent tax returns to the public as a condition of being allowed on the ballot.

The measure apparently is in response to President Donald Trumps refusal to release his tax returns.

Its a reasonable step since every modern president has released their tax returns and put their assets into a blind trust to make sure the only interest they have is the interest of our country and its people, the Star-Advertiser quoted one lawmaker as saying.

Similar proposals are circulating in California, Massachusetts, and New Mexico.

In most states, including ours, tax returns and tax return information are confidential. The reason for the confidentiality is that it is generally believed that people will be more honest with the government about their finances if the people wont have to worry about collateral consequences from other folks peeking. What might happen if a nosy neighbor wants to peek? Or a business competitor? Or an opposition candidate if you are trying to run for public office? The interest in confidentiality is strong enough so that in civil litigation where parties are suing each other, parties are usually able to demand that the other side disclose any information designed to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, but arent allowed to demand tax returns unless the judge thinks that there is a special need for them.

Even in Hawaii, people dont like to cough up tax returns or other sensitive financial records. Back in 2014, when a law (Act 240, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014) required that sensitive financial disclosures of many state volunteer boards and commissions be made public, Hawaii News Now reported that at least sixteen board or commission members resigned rather than allow their financial disclosures to be released to the public. The state Land Use Commission lost five of its nine members (56%), the board of the Agribusiness Development Corporation lost four of 11 (45%), the University of Hawaii Board of Regents lost four of its 15 (27%), and the board of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation lost two of eight (25%).

We need to ask ourselves what price is necessary to have a participatory role in government. If we want to have those with relevant experience and backgrounds to serve the public interest, do we need to have them bare all their financial information? In this digital age, potential office holders may well ask what consequences they or their family will suffer at the hands of those who may have a different political agenda once this information is irrevocably exposed. Some wont want to take the heat and will get out of the proverbial water, leaving our country to be run by whoever is left.

Even here at the Tax Foundation, where we often sing the praises of transparency in government, we have concerns about going too far. If the processes by which government decisions are made is open and honest, do we really need to thumb through every share of stock owned and scrutinize every deduction and credit claimed by each decision maker before we can restore some measure of trust in government?

Maybe the supporters of this legislation think the answer is yes. If thats the case, then why stop at presidential candidates? Maybe we should start in our own back yard. Would the proponents of this bill be willing to demonstrate their endorsement of that policy by producing their own tax returns for all to see?
Two teenage girls from Bristol, Virginia, were escorted to the second floor of a Johnson City, Tennessee, motel, where they were introduced to two construction workers. The three accompanying adults expected the girls and workers to party.

Before arriving on June 21, 2013, Tracy Lynn Marziani, 30, also of Bristol, instructed the two girls about the specifics of prostitution, activities and rates to charge, and explained that their driver, Jerry Franklin Johnson, 53, of Johnson City, was a pimp, states a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation featured the case in a statewide report on human trafficking, a crime that authorities say is increasing globally.

A 2016 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reveals that the number of human trafficking victims and convictions has increased every year since 2010 in the United States. The number of cases has also increased in Tennessee and Virginia.

Over the last couple of years, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Margie Quin, who focuses on human trafficking, said law enforcement officers have received better training on the difficult and clandestine subject. As a result, authorities are more likely these days to recognize human trafficking during investigations, she added.

Marziani, who is now serving six years in a federal prison, met with the construction workers three days before taking the Bristol girls to the Johnson City motel. She promised to provide some girls to party at the former Motel 6 near Interstate 26. The plea agreement explained that party is code for engaging in sexual activities, including prostitution.

Marziani and Johnson met with one of the girls at her apartment in Bristol before meeting a second girl at a nearby fast-food restaurant. Johnson then drove the two girls, who were under the age of 18, and Marziani to the home of Mellisa Roper, the agreement says.

Roper, who lives in Johnson City, then went with them to the motel, where the three adults went to meet the construction workers. They returned to the car and escorted the girls  identified and described only as Female No. 1 and Female No. 2  to the room.

The agreement says Marziani then arranged for one of the two girls to perform oral sex on one of the construction workers, who paid $100. Marziani received a portion of the $100.

Officers with the Johnson City Police Department, who received a complaint about possible human trafficking at the motel, arrived after midnight and arrested Marziani. Johnson and Roper were also arrested.

In court, Marziani pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to transport minors in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution and received a six-year prison sentence. After being released from the Federal Correctional Institute Hazelton in West Virginia, she will serve 10 years of probation. Last fall, Marziani asked for a more lenient sentence, which a federal judge denied in November.

Johnson also pleaded guilty and received a 97-month prison sentence. Hes currently at the Butner Low Federal Correctional Institute in North Carolina.

The case against Roper went to trial, but the jury announced a mistrial after two days of deliberations. Before the case returned to court for trial, Roper pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of concealing a felony. Prosecutors said she failed to report the crime. She was sentenced to 27 months in prison and has since been released, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Human trafficking as its defined by statute in both state and federal law is when a person over the age of 18 engages in a commercial sex act by means of force, fraud, or coercion, Quin said during an interview with the Bristol Herald Courier. Under 18, a commercial sex act occurs period. There does not need to be force, fraud, coercion, just that a commercial sex act occurred and the person who is engaging in sex is under the age of 18.

If anything of value, including money, food and shelter, is exchanged for sex it is a commercial sex act.

Local investigations

We have seen sort of a more urban version of trafficking, where you have the more traditional pimp-type figure who is trafficking a juvenile or an adult, Quin said. We also see familial trafficking, so we see trafficking that occurs within families, some mothers, or fathers, or uncles traffic kids.

There have been other local cases. Last June, a Johnson City man, who sold his three daughters to someone who raped and used them in child pornography, was sentenced to life in prison.

U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer called it one of the most horrible crimes hes seen when he sentenced the 63-year-old father, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office in Greeneville. Both parents were involved with the abuse and exploitation of the children and were indicted in 2013. The girls were ages 12, 14 and 16 when police discovered what happened, federal prosecutors said.

The mother, who is now 41, was sentenced in February to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to production of child pornography by a parent.

While we cannot reclaim the childrens lost childhoods or innocence, we will hold people who sexually victimize children accountable for their conduct," said prosecutor Nancy Stallard Harr.

There are also cases in Southwest Virginia. In November, a Russell County grand jury indicted a mother on a number of charges, including sex trafficking of her child. A co-defendant, from Knoxville, Tennessee, was also indicted in the case, which is pending in Russell County Circuit Court.

Russell County Commonwealths Attorney Brian Patton said the crime was committed via the internet, and both co-defendants were also indicted on various child porn charges, including soliciting, producing and distributing.

Patton would not provide additional information about the case.

Organized trafficking that is conducted or perpetrated by gangs and organized crime groups is also seen in Tennessee and Virginia.

Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, is a gang known to deal with human sex trafficking. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Central Americans and is active in urban and suburban areas around the country. It has a heavy presence in Northern Virginia, especially in Fairfax County. A number of MS-13 members have been sentenced on federal charges of committing sex trafficking.

MS-13 sees juvenile prostitution as an easy way to earn a lot of money, and their victims are paying the price with their young bodies, said Neil MacBride, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

MS-13 gang activity has also been documented in the Mountain Empire, according to a Virginia State Police report.

In one case in Northern Virginia against MS-13 member Rances Amaya, MacBride said the man exploited vulnerable teen girls for sex and profit. Hes being held in a prison in Arizona, where hell serve until 2055, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Another gang member, Roger Ernest McClain Jr., 26, of the Gangster Disciple gang in Knoxville, is serving 10 years in prison on a state charge of trafficking for commercial sex.

Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen said officers responded to an aggravated robbery at a hotel, where the victim said she had been pimped out by McClain for the past year.

Investigators determined that McClain used a website to organize a human trafficking ring in Knoxville. He collected the money exchanged for encounters between customers and the victim, and if she refused, he physically assaulted her, according to Allen.

The victim told investigators it was not unusual for her to engage in intercourse with individuals patronizing prostitution up to 25 times a day.

Human trafficking victims are manipulated in so many ways that they feel they have no choice but to comply with the demands of their trafficker, Allen said. McClain will no longer be able to manipulate this victim.

Quin said that as gangs move into more rural areas, including the Mountain Empire, gang-related human trafficking will follow.

On the local level, Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus said there have been a few human trafficking cases in Sullivan County. The county has also assisted federal agents on cases, he added.

In other cases, the county has charged individuals with state charges, rather than the human trafficking statute. Staubus said the state charges carry stiffer sentences.

I think theres more human trafficking in Sullivan County, said Staubus, who believes the crime has increased locally, but law enforcement officers are also becoming more informed about the crime.

I think it existed before, but more people are aware of human trafficking, Staubus said.

Last year, the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office arrested a Johnson City man accused of transporting a child to a motel for sex.

Bristol Tennessee Police Department Investigator Jason McCready said the agency rarely investigates human trafficking cases.

Because of jurisdictional issues, cases like these would normally be referred to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, McCready said.

In Virginia, Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman said he has not seen a problem with human trafficking, but deputies receive training.

Most likely, if a deputy encountered this type of incident, they would request assistance from other personnel within our agency or another agency, Newman said.

In Wise County, Commonwealths Attorney Chuck Slemp said he is aware of one case in the past three years. That case went to the federal level.

I havent seen any cases since I took office in January, Slemp said.

It has to stop

Over the last year, the TBI has conducted a number of publicized human trafficking operations, including in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Morristown and Nashville, resulting in dozens of arrests. One operation in Morristown resulted in a Blountville mans arrest.

The TBI also launched It Has to Stop, a public awareness campaign, which includes a website, billboards, which recently went up in the area, and other programs.

We are trying to educate the public about what human trafficking is, how and why it occurs in the United States and in the state of Tennessee, what they can look out for, who to call if they see something they think is suspicious, and what they can do in their community to aid a victim or prevent future victims, Quin said.

Authorities say human trafficking exists because there is a demand. Quin believes the demand outweighs the supply so much that it is difficult for law enforcement to keep up.

Understand, there is money to be made, lots of money to be made, Quin said. Globally, this is a $32 billion industry. Its not too difficult to understand why individuals get into this type of criminal activity.

Children get lured into human trafficking in several different ways.

One, it starts in the family.

If youre abused or sexually molested from a very early age, then it becomes all you know, Quin said.

There are also many runaways who become involved.

A lot of these kids start running away at 11, 12 and 13 years old and it doesnt take very long to run into somebody that will exploit them, Quin said.

Many of the children are also drug-addicted. Quin said shes seen a number of 12-, 13- and 14-year-old children who are heavily addicted to both methamphetamine and opiates.

Usually, what makes them vulnerable is early childhood sexual abuse, runaway incidents, repeated exposure to domestic violence, and drug-addicted parents, Quin said.

Some of the most impoverished counties in Tennessee and Virginia also see higher rates of sex trafficking, which may be a result of poverty, Quin said.

We are recognizing cases in some of our more rural counties, Quin said. They are trafficked throughout Upper East Tennessee and the Tri-Cities area. They are trafficked because there is a demand for them.

Although human trafficking in Tennessee has primarily focused on sex, Quin said she believes labor trafficking also exists.

I do believe there is labor trafficking in this state, Quin said. Im not sure we have a really good handle on it or where it is.

Quin could only recall one criminal case involving labor trafficking.

Signs of human trafficking

There are a number of signs that people can watch for when they suspect someone may be a victim. Poverty, drug addiction and significant changes in behavior are key.

With children, watch for runaway incidents, truancy and drug use.

There are also physical signs. For example, if a girls hair, makeup and nails are done, with no obvious means of financial support, she may be a victim. If children have several cell phones, hotel keys or cards, if they dont know what city they are in or who they are with, they may be victims.

Those who believe someone may be a human trafficking victim should call 911 or a human trafficking hotline. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline can be reached at 1-888-373-7888.

Quin said that those who want to help should actually do something.

I think that the public awareness campaign is raising the issue, she said. It may not inform the public of everything they need to know, but they are learning. I just ask civilians to go do something. Praying is not going to answer the problem. Volunteer your time, money or expertise. Praying and doing something can help.

But many people find it difficult to cope with the problem.

Its terrible what happens to these kids, Quin said. Its almost too much to get your head around. I think typically, people just kind of shy away from it. This is tough. It is not for the faint of heart. These kids need everything we got. They deserve every resource we can give them.

Most people understand that human trafficking exists, not just overseas, but in the U.S., Quin said.

One issue that Quin finds is that people tend to put themselves into the victims shoes.

They say I would never do that, said Quin, noting that the victims usually dont have a choice. It doesnt matter what you or I would have done. What matters is that we have a victim population here that we need to address. They are our children. The stakes are our kids.
Washington County football: Wildcats, Warriors open playoffs with victories

Williamsport and Boonsboro will play in the second round of the Class 2A-1A West playoffs after victories Friday night.
A quest for creativity



Vietnams hottest buzzword for 2016 must have been startups, as never before have millions of young Vietnamese been so warmly encouraged to innovate and start their own business. To show its commitment to young entrepreneurs, the Vietnamese government named 2016 as the year of startups.



Under the spotlight, the passion young Vietnamese have for innovation is more evident than ever. In just a few years, these ambitious minds have come up with creative solutions for various industries within Vietnam, and brought some fresh ideas to seemingly boring sectors.



Take financial technology (fintech) as an example. According to the World Bank, 70 per cent of the Vietnamese population remains unbanked, while the rising middle-class has more sophisticated financial needs than ever before. Vietnam Banking Forum also estimates that 38 per cent of the Vietnamese population owns a smartphone.



Young entrepreneurs have immediately identified opportunities regarding these trends, and 30 fintech startups have been launched within the last four years. Unlike banks, which tend to be conservative and formal, fintech startups are user-friendly and trendy in design.



Among them is MoMo, which implements the novel idea of making cashless payments via point-of-sale terminals in urban and rural areas. Via mobile technology, the startup aims to make e-payments easier, even for those living in remote areas without a bank account.



To gain customers trust, MoMo has built a two-level security system for e-wallet users. We launched fingerprint identification and acquired the PCI DSS security certificate. 2016 has been a wildly successful year for us, as we currently have 4.5 million users, 2.5 million of whom have registered for the e-wallet, MoMo deputy chairman Nguyen Ba Diep told VIR.



Besides fintech, Vietnamese entrepreneurs have used their creativity to tap into other traditional sectors such as agriculture and medical care, although returns may take longer. For example, Le Anh Duc, the owner of Lee Farm, beamed with excitement when talking about his 10,000sq.m organic farm in Binh Phuoc province.



I realised that as Vietnamese customers become more health-conscious, the demand for organic produce will surpass supply. As a fruit and vegetable lover myself, Ive seized this opportunity by adopting a Thai-based greenhouse farming module and a drip irrigation system from Israel. This combination for organic farming is the first of its kind in Vietnam, Duc said. In 2017, he plans to double the size of his farm and apply for a business licence.



In medical care technology, eDoctor is a mobile app that allows people to access healthcare information and connect with doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies via smartphones. And it all started with a simple observation: the founders noted that people in the countryside have to travel long distances to get medical care in the city, which is costly and time-consuming.



Using eDoctor, people can find and connect with their doctors through calls and in-app messages. If they need to see a specialist, they can even use the app to book a visit to the closest clinic. People are also able to save and track their own health records, as well as records of family members and dependents, said the firms CEO Vu Thanh Long. As of December 2016, eDoctor had reached 210,000 users. A target of one million users is set for the end of 2017.



The legal roadblock



With the wide range of examples above, it is not hard to see that Vietnamese entrepreneurs are bursting with creativity. However, just like a young bird that is excited to fly, Vietnamese startups still need more assistance to reach the distant horizon.



One of the major issues is Vietnams legal system, which lags behind the fast-changing world of startups, and creates confusion that frustrates entrepreneurs. In July 2016, controversy broke out over Article 292 of the revised Criminal Law, which stated that all businesses must acquire permission before offering online services.



As processing paperwork in Vietnam can take longer than in countries like Singapore, many startups have called on the government to install more progressive rules. In response to the uproar, last October lawmakers proposed to eliminate Article 292 and assured that it would not hurt startups activities.



Diep of MoMo hoped that the legal framework would be more responsive to new services and products made by startups. For instance, the State Bank of Vietnam has released guidelines on intermediary payment but not peer-to-peer lending or crowdfunding.



The government has paid due attention to creating a startup ecosystem on a national scale, to attract investors as well as entrepreneurs. The legal procedures, however, are somehow much more complicated than in neighbouring places like Singapore or Hong Kong, posing a major hurdle for investors who want to reach out to local startups, said CEO of Liti Florist Krystine Nguyen.



Meanwhile, Long of eDoctor acknowledged recent efforts made by the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee to promote entrepreneurship, but called for more detailed rules on preferential taxes and bank credits for startups. He also feels a stronger startup ecosystem in Vietnam is necessary.



Vu Tuan Anh, head of the Community Startup Division at Hoa Sen Group and founder of Vietnam Institute of Management, suggested that the government dedicates a certain amount of seed money for startups and provide training for entrepreneurs  essentially acting as an angel investor. He called this a startup value chain that can groom young students into business-savvy entrepreneurs within five years.



Helping from outside and in



The government is indeed listening to the suggestions of startups as part of its master plan to turn Vietnam into a startup nation. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, during a meeting with university students in Hanoi last November, remarked on his belief that Vietnam must do everything it can to push the entrepreneurial spirit in young people.



The young generation in Vietnam is very creative, and yet among 90 million Vietnamese, there are only 600,000 businesses. I request relevant ministries, the Youth Association and universities to help young entrepreneurs create new value for society and move the country forward, he said.



In response to the prime ministers request, the authorities have rolled out various programmes to assist startups. Last month, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology commenced Speedup 2017, under which entrepreneurs can receive up to VND2 billion ($88,500) in capital from the department and participating investors. Startups will receive training and networking opportunities as well.



The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee has also launched a Business Startup Support Centre as an incubator for startups to raise capital, learn management skills, and network. Similarly, the Hanoi Peoples Committee established an incubator for IT startups last November.



Besides clarifying the issue with Article 292 of the revised Criminal Law, lawmakers are pushing the entrepreneurship agenda in their meetings. The National Assembly has added startups into the proposed Law on Supporting Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises, which will be up for further debate in 2017.



Various companies such as FPT Corporation, Hoa Sen Group, Lotte Group, and AIA have announced plans to support Vietnamese startups, in the form of capital or knowledge sharing.



However, it is vital that startups themselves have enough confidence, drive, and talent to serve their community. In his meeting with university students, the prime minister reminded aspiring entrepreneurs that their innovations do not have to be grand or exotic  it can begin with a need to solve a common, everyday problem.



Sometimes new ideas arent accepted by the market yet, but thats fine  young startups should not let failures block their way to success, Phuc said.



Please remember that as long as you follow your dream, youre contributing to the future of Vietnam. I suggest that you focus on your studies, participate in community activities, and intern at companies to understand what Vietnamese society needs and build your product offerings around that.



Similarly, CEO of FPT Corporation Truong Gia Binh advised young entrepreneurs to start small and focus on serving the needs of their community. Binh himself built FPT Corporation in 1988 to give Vietnamese people access to technological breakthroughs, such as internet, TV, and computer software.



When we started FPT Corporation we struggled a lot. Its true that nine out of 10 startups will fail, but it also means one chance of success  and I think young entrepreneurs should go for that. I believe this is a great time to start a business in Vietnam as the country is growing, the majority of the population is young, and the average income level is rising, said Binh at a recent startup event in Ho Chi Minh City.



Anh from Hoa Sen Group noted that new startups should also reach out to a wider variety of sectors, such as education, tourism, niche e-commerce, or the overseas export of Vietnamese traditional specialities.



Of course, as Vietnam is new to the startup landscape, more debates will follow. For now however, Vietnam will enjoy a young generation full of innovative ideas, a drive to succeed, and a national campaign to push them forward. And hopefully, this spirit will bring on a new chapter for Vietnam.



VIR






The Caldwell County Schools Finance Department has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada and the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Association of School Business Officials International.

Both awards represent the highest forms of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting and reflect a significant accomplishment by the government agency and its management. This is the 14th consecutive year that the Caldwell County School System Finance Department has been awarded.

Financial awards of this caliber indicate that sound, responsible fiscal management is practiced throughout the Caldwell County Schools, said Superintendent Steve Stone.

The awards are judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including the demonstration of the spirit of full disclosure to clearly communicate an organizations financial story.

The Financial Department is honored to be recognized for its efforts to always work towards operational excellence, said Finance Officer David Johnson. These awards provide credible assurance that the financial transactions of the school system are conducted at the highest level of performance. The staff, from school bookkeepers to Education Center specialists, strive to practice efficiency and fiscal responsibility at every level throughout the district.

The Caldwell County Schools Finance Department is supervised by Johnson and includes Donna Robbins Anderson, accountant; Bonnie Caudle, accounting specialist; Naomi Gilbert, payroll specialist; Linda Young, payroll/benefits specialist; Michelle Brittain, purchasing specialist; Sara Smith, accounts payable specialist; and Melinda Mullis, accounts payable specialist.
Mindy Makant, assistant professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University, was consecrated to the ministry of Word and Service at a special worship service held in Grace Chapel on Jan. 25. She will now serve as a deacon to the church and North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Church of America (ELCA). Presiding over the service was the Rev. Timothy Smith, bishop of the NC Synod, who was joined by rostered ministers from throughout the region.

Makant serves as an assistant professor of religious studies and director of Youth and Family Ministry in Lenoir-Rhynes College of Theology. She is also co-chair of the universitys Quality Enhancement Plan Committee. She remains actively involved with the NC Synod of the ELCA and is serving on the planning committee for commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. She also serves the ELCA on a national level, sitting on the steering committee for the Association of Teaching Theologians and regularly contributing to the practice discipleship curriculum.

Makant holds four degrees including a Doctor of Theology in Theology and Ethics from Duke Divinity School in Durham, a Master of Education in Theology from Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, a Master of Education from the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, and a Bachelor of Arts from Mercer University in Macon, Ga.

In 2015, Makant authored her first book, The Practice of Story: Suffering and the Possibilities of Redemption. She has also published several articles on topics such as consumerism as a vain pursuit of happiness, theology of childhood, and the practice of anointing in response to trauma. In January 2016, she wrote an article on gender, violence, and eschatology (the theological study of the end times and return of Christ) which was published in Theology Today. Makant is at work on a second book that focuses on the relationship between imagination and spiritual formation.

Makant lives in Hildebran with her husband, an ELCA pastor. They have two children, a daughter and a son, who are students at LRU.
HICKORY Students at Lenoir-Rhyne University welcomed North Carolina Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson for the inaugural event of the LRU Community Poetry Series on Friday morning.

The event came from collaboration between Poetry Hickory and LRU Visiting Writers Series, Scott Owens, a poetry teacher at LRU, said as he welcomed Stephenson to the school.

The Community Poetry series is open to the public as well as students, and offers two events with the visiting poets, a poetry reading at Taste Full Beans Coffee in downtown and a panel-style event the following day at LRU.

The series is a way to give students the opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts with significant poets from around the world, Owens said.

The North Carolina poet laureate advocates for the power of poetry and the written word to illuminate, educate, entertain and transform the minds and hearts of people of all ages and from all walks of life, according to ncarts.org.

Students and Owens joined Stephenson for coffee and a question and answer session where Stephenson spoke on topics ranging from his childhood to how many babies a mother possum can carry.

The series offers students and residents a unique opportunity to interact with notable poets on a personal level.

Stephenson grew up in Southeastern North Carolina and did not intend on becoming a poet when he was younger.

His poetry embraces his past and his heritage, growing up in a plank house on a farm.

Stephenson brought along his guitar and played for the audience to end the event.
GRANITE FALLS  According to the U.S. Census, there is only a 0.9 percent chance of living to be 100 years old for people who were born between 1910-1920, but two local ladies are beating the odds.

We have been blessed to have Rachel and Blanche in our congregation, the Rev. Jay Bissett, of Ebenezer United Methodist Church, said.

Rachel Poe and Blanche Kohnle of Granite Falls, who have been members of Ebenezer Methodist Church for more than 70 years, will be celebrating their 100th birthdays just three days apart Saturday and Tuesday.

Both of these ladies are still very sharp, gracious and funny, Bissett said. Although they both face physical challenges, they still try to attend church regularly.

Having similar childhoods, Poe and Kohnle have lived 100 years where they have seen too many changes to count.

Blanche Kohnle

Kohnle was born in Caldwell County and then moved with her family to Watauga County when she was 1 year old.

I come from a big family and Ive been thankful for the loving parents I had, Kohnle said. I grew up in the mountains and ended up getting married when I was 14.

Kohnle and her late husband lived in the Valle Crucis area for 13 years and had six children before moving to Catawba County where they planted their roots.

When we moved here back in August of 1949, my husband grew tobacco, beans, cabbage and we had cattle, Kohnle said. We also had lots of fruit and everything was so good.

When they first moved to the area, local neighbors welcomed them into the small community.

The first time we went to Ebenezer Church, we marched in with six of our children, filled up a bench and we didnt have time to sit down, because people were shaking our hands and hugging us, Kohnle said.

Once settled into the area, Kohnle had two more children, making her a mother of eight.

Everyone in the community had opened their arms to me and my children when we came here, which made it so nice and easy, Kohnle said.

Kohnles family lived close to the local store, Ebenezer church and Dudley Shoals school, where her children attended school.

Living that close to everything was very convenient for all of us, Kohnle said.

In 1961, Kohnles husband passed away at the young age of 49.

After their father died, my children never gave me any trouble, Kohnle said. Im very thankful that I didnt have any problems out of any of them.

After the passing of her husband, Kohnle had no way of raising her children and running the family farm.

I did lots of cooking for my family, so I went to work at the school in the cafeteria, Kohnle said. I worked there for 24 years after my husband passed.

During that time, Kohnle impacted many childrens lives by providing them with home-cooked meals for lunch.

Some of the kids still come by around Christmas every year to stop in and see me, Kohnle said. They have never forgot my cooking.

One child stands out in Kohnles memory.

He would always say, Mrs. Kohnle, Im going to marry you one day. Ill never forget him saying that to me, Kohnle said.

As Kohnle looked back on her life, it is easy to see that she is grateful for her time in Catawba County.

We have had ups and downs, sad things and good things, but weve enjoyed living down here and weve made many friends over the years, Kohnle said.

The advice Kohnle gives to living a good, long life is this:

Love the Lord. The Lord has blessed me so much throughout my life.

Rachel Poe

Poe is originally from Caldwell County and can attest to the many changes to the area over her lifetime.

I was raised around (Petra Mills) and our land joined the Alexander County line, Poe said.

Even though Poes family ran a farm, her and her siblings were able to attend school.

My older brothers and sisters went to a one room school, Poe said. I went to school at Dudley Shoals and Oak Hill High.

Graduated in 1936, this year will be her 80th class reunion.

Im the only one still living out of my graduating class and my three boys take me every year to celebrate, Poe said.

Poes family has been members of Ebenezer Methodist Church since before she was born.

We used to take a horse and wagon to church when I was little, Poe said. My daddy didnt buy his first car until 1920 and it was a Maxwell.

Baptized at age 12, Poe not only had a strong faith at an early age, but she also had a great work ethic.

We always worked hard, hoeing corn and tobacco, Poe said. Daddy had close to 100 acres of land, but some of that was a pasture.

Like most people during that time, Poes family grew their own food and even sold milk from their cows to the local milk company in Hickory.

We would have corn-shuckings, where all of our neighbors would come and help shuck corn and then wed all go to another farm and do it again, Poe said. It really turned into a party, with a big meal and people playing music.

Poe was able to recall stories of growing up on the farm as a child.

Daddy took me fishing when I was about 6 or 7 years old when I caught my first fish, Poe said. We walked down to the river and he fixed my pole and he said, Now, when that stopper bobs in the water, jerk it out, and I did and it went up in the tree with a fish on it. I never will forget it.

Even though Poes family did not have the luxuries that have become necessities today, she still fondly reminisces about her childhood.

Those were the good days, but we didnt think about it then, Poe said.

Poe and her late husband met here in the area and were able to connect through similar childhoods.

He was from this area, he had a big family like mine and he worked just as hard as I did, Poe said.

After Poe was married and had three sons, the family moved to Newport News, Va.

My husband wasnt able to join the army during WWII, because he couldnt hear, Poe said. So, we moved to Virginia to work in the shipyards for the war.

Once the war was over, Poes family moved back to Caldwell County.

Before we had left, I had a job at Shuford Mills, so when we moved back I was able to work there again, Poe said.

Having worked at Shuford Mills for around 50 years, Poe had proof of her work.

I had knots on my hands for years after I had stopped working there, Poe said. That was hard work.

Having lived through the horse and wagon days to present day, Poe has seen many changes to the area.

My mother used to hoe corn where the mill sits, Poe said. There was no bridge there, just a dam and when they built the mill, thats when they built the bridge.

The life advice Poe gives is:

Live your life the way you want to, but the right way. And work hard and always be honest.

Being members of the same church also has allowed Poe and Kohnle to grow close to one another.

Were good friends and Rachel is a wonderful person, Kohnle said.

Weve known each other for a long time and been friends all the while, Poe said.

In celebration of this special event, Ebenezer Church will celebrate their 100th birthdays Sunday during a special church service.

They have certainly seen a lot and lived through a lot, Bissett said. I dont know what the odds are for this to happen in such a small group, but it has to be pretty small.
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Last week, I couldnt help voicing concerns about the nature in which Jallikattu was restrained by the centre, even as I advocated for kindness to animals. In the meantime, across various states, including Tamil Nadu, the cry for being allowed to exert a regional identity is getting stronger. The protestors mostly want to assert this identity by unrestrained celebration of traditions.

But heres the thing. Jallikattu, (hopefully modified by public assent to be much kinder to the bulls), is not the only widespread tradition we should be discussing. Tamil Nadu has been sustained by the brilliant system of irrigation tanks, prevalent right from at least the 10th century- i.e., 11 centuries ago!

Read | Not just Jallikattu: Trouble brews when culture clashes with the law

Called eris, these tanks, many of which were river-fed, sustained agriculture and hence, prosperity for that state for centuries. Not anymore. According to the India Water Portal, quoting the agriculture ministry, in the 1970s, the three southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, tanks contributed about 92% of the total irrigation. Two decades later, it was about 53%. In 2001, the total contribution of tank irrigation across India was just around 5.18%. Meanwhile, precious groundwater exploitation has increased.

Given the severe water crisis India is facing-and one that will only get exacerbated with climate change - is it too much to also consider how these traditions can be upheld and re-vitalized with the same pride as for Jallikattu?

I believe that if such tanks were revived on a large scale, it would be a great learning from Tamil Nadus ancient culture for the rest of India.

(The writer is director, Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group)

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Despite their rhetoric of promoting people with a clean track record, major parties have fielded candidates facing serious criminal cases in the Punjab assembly polls.

Out of the total 1,145 candidates in the fray in Punjab, 101 have criminal cases against them. Of them, 78 have cases of serious nature  murder, assault, loss of exchequer, offences under Section 8 of Representation of the People Act and all the non-bailable offences with maximum punishment of five or more years.

As per the figures released on Sunday by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), onethird (27) of these candidates are from major political parties.

The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have nine candidates each with serious criminal cases registered against them, followed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which has eight such nominees. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also fielded one candidate with criminal record.

The ADR said four candidates have murder cases registered against them, 11 attempt to murder cases and six are booked in cases related to crime against women. The remaining 23 candidates have cases against them which are not serious in nature.

The trend, though, has seen a downward slide. In 2012 assembly polls, the Congress had fielded 20% candidates with criminal record, SAD 19% and BJP 9%. The figures have now come down to the Congress 8%, SAD 9% and BJP 4%.

The AAP, a new entrant in the state assembly polls, has been positioning itself as champion of clean politics, but it too couldnt find clean candidates.

Prof Jagdeep Chokkar, founder member of ADR, said, the criminalisation in politics was on the rise, but parties are now trying to field fewer candidates with criminal background.

AAPs coalition partner Lok Insaaf Party is contesting on a total of five constituencies, but has three candidates with criminal background.

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Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Monday said the upcoming assembly election in Uttar Pradesh would not be a referendum on demonetisation policy, but if the opposition wanted to play it that way, then the BJP was game for it.

There are so many anti-incumbency issues in UP. Still, if the opposition wants to do a referendum on demonetisation, we are ready for it. People of UP are with BJP on the issue of demonetisation, Shah said in an interview to CNN-Network 18 Group and claimed his party would come to power in the state with a two-thirds majority.

He also accused the ruling Samajwadi Party and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of playing up their family feud so as to brush under the carpet the serious issues of law and order collapse and rampant corruption.

Amit Shah also played down recent comments made by RSS spokesperson Manohan Vaidya on reservations, saying the remarks were taken out of context. Both BJP and RSS have made it amply clear that in the prevailing situation the current system of reservation must continue. There is no question of revisiting the issue, he said.

Vaidya was answering a query on reservation based on religion, which BJP is also against, he said.

Asked why the Ram Temple issue suddenly cropped up in the BJP poll manifesto even when the party has clarified it is fighting the polls on developmental issues, Amit Shah said BJP was very clear about building the Ram temple.

It can only be done under the constitutional provisions, either through dialogue or through court order. Yes, we are definitely committed to building a Ram temple, but within the Constitutional provisions, he said.

The BJP chief took strong exception to allegations that his party was practicing the politics of polarisation.

There is a lot of anger in UP. If a leader questions the politics of appeasement and casteism being practiced in UP, you cant call that polarisation, he said.

He made it clear that BJP campaign in UP will veer around the collapse of law and order under the Akhilesh Yadav government, and issues like womens security and increasing migration.

He also stressed that his party will win Uttarakhand easily, while in Punjab, it was a triangular fight.

About triple talaq, Shah said his party was of the firm view that it is an assault on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Muslim women.

Read| UP election: Violence-hit Dadri sees first-ever Muslim woman candidate
UP 2017 is a difficult election to read because there is no hawa, a uniquely Indian political term that does not lend itself to an easy translation.

At the end of December and the first three weeks of January, it appeared that Akhilesh Yadav was extraordinarily popular and would be able to generate a hawa in his favour.

People saw in him a young doer, a man willing to take on his father for his political values, a leader transcending identity and introducing a new secular political vocabulary of development in a state craving for change.

But in an election, goodwill and support is one element. Transforming it into a hawa is another. And translating the goodwill and hawa into votes is an entirely different challenge.

As Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi jointly launch the alliance campaign in Lucknow on Sunday, the SP-Congress biggest test is whether they will be able to transfer the support for Akhilesh into electoral dividends.

Understanding hawa

Before an election, what every politician wants is a hawa in his favour.

This can variously mean a buzz, a surge in support, a sense among the electorate that the victory of a particular candidate is inevitable - and this perception of inevitability of victory leads to votes his way. A hawa suggests that a politician has succeeded in setting the agenda and controlling the narrative, and opponents are left scrambling for responses. In north and west India, there was a Modi hawa in 2014.

A caveat is essential here. A hawa, even if it exists, is not always easy to pick. One of Indias most experienced politicians, a statesman who now occupies a constitutional position and thus cannot be named, told this writer, You can only understand an election after it is over. When you are in the middle of a wave, sometimes you dont even recognise it. Do you think Mrs Gandhi knew she would win so overwhelmingly in 1971? No she did not. You cannot know in a place as complex and diverse as India.

But what is crucial here is that there may be nascent goodwill, there may be support for a candidate. But it dissipates without a strong campaign. The hawa, and the votes on polling day, do not happen on their own.

Modi won in 2014 because he was the most hardworking PM candidate India has seen in decades - he addressed multiple rallies every day, innovated with campaign instruments, learnt how to use social media and strategically used mainstream media platforms. He had a solid research team which was giving him ideas for his speeches, a parallel machinery that was breaking down constituency demographics and telling leaders where to campaign and how, the Sangh machinery investing its energy like never before in the election and he had organisational infrastructure to support a personalised campaign. And Modi had time - from the middle of 2013 to May 2014, he could phase his campaign systematically.

All of it came together to move the goodwill that Modi enjoyed in parts of the country into a buzz, then into a hawa, and finally into votes.

The campaign gap

The problem for the SP-Congress alliance is simple  they have no time left.

Even as the BSP formalised its candidate list (which it had narrowed down two years ago) and BJP finished one round of mass contact with its Parivartan Yatras and PMs rallies, the SP was still fighting an internal battle.

This battle itself became a part of the campaign  in the sense that it boosted Akhileshs image. But precious time was lost. It also meant that the CM was stuck in Lucknow, managing party dynamics and could not launch his campaign.

The uncertainty and delay over the alliance also took a toll. Candidates - both of the SP and the Congress - did not know if they would be fighting alone or separately or even if they would get tickets. For the first phase of elections on February 11, candidates from the alliance barely got a fortnight to prepare. This is not adequate time to even visit all the villages of a constituency with over 300,000 voters. In west UP, an SP candidate agreed and ruminated, Akhileshji will have do six rallies a day. We should also maybe get some Bollywood stars. We need to do something which brings attention.

This confusion in SP ranks, the bruising battle, the delay in alliance, the haphazard ticket distribution and the absence of a campaign have all meant that the goodwill and momentum that Akhilesh had been able to generate was not immediately tapped. And this is what the opposition is banking on. As a BSP candidate told HT, Akhilesh is well liked. He will come back to power sooner or later. But not this time. It is too late.

The unsuitable calendar

The other problem for the alliance is that elections are starting from the area where they are weakest.

West UP has traditionally been SPs weakest area. One of the reasons for this is that its core constituency of Yadavs is not present here in large numbers. This has meant that Muslims - its other base vote - have had to look for other alternatives to keep out the BJP. They have opted for RLD; they have also sometimes veered towards BSP; and a section came to SP.

The electoral dynamic of the region changed drastically in 2014 when it became the most communally polarised region in the entire country. Caste identities dissolved to a large extent, and BJP got the Hindu vote, including that of Jats who left their old party, RLD.

Read | Modi and a tricky caste arithmetic: BJPs one-and-a-half dishes on offer in UP

This election may well be different. BSP has put up a majority of its Muslim candidates in this belt, hoping to stitch a Dalit-Muslim coalition. BJP is still relying on the communal card. There are reports of divisions among Jats, with a section returning to RLD - with which the SP-Congress were in talks but did not ally finally.

Recent electoral trends have shown that the first few phases end up having disproportionate influence over the electoral mood. In Bihar, as the buzz grew that the Mahagatbandhan had done very well in the first two phases, the momentum shifted to Nitish and Lalu. In 2014 too, elections had moved from west to east in UP - and the sense that BJP had done well in the first phase helped generate enthusiasm for the party.

There is little the SP-Congress can do about the election calendar, except hoping that they fare reasonably enough to keep the motivation of the party machinery up. But if he wants to win UP again, Akhilesh has to make up with an unprecedented, energetic campaign. Otherwise, he may well be seen as the good guy who deserves a chance - but next time.

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Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi are addressing their first joint conference after the announcement of the Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance.

After days of wrangling over seat sharing, Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party and Rahul-led Congress struck a deal on January 22 to contest the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections together, with the former contesting 298 seats and the latter fighting 105.

Catch the live updates here:

2:18pm: We are compares to Ganga and Yamuna rivers. Just like you cant tell where the rivers meet, this alliance will also be that seamless: Rahul

2:13pm: Nobody can say the Samajwadi has done no work. UP people have faith that we will work: Akhilesh

2:08pm: If we dont take care of our youth, along with our farmers, what will become of the future: Akhilesh

2:05pm: Our alliance is not opportunistic, we will fight the BJP together: Rahul

2:03pm: There is one non-negotiable in the alliance -- whichever govt comes to power, farmers need to profit: Rahul

2pm: In a negotiation, there is posturing. The media takes this very seriously. Now that we have agreement, there will be a compromise: Rahul

1:58pm: Mayawatis ideology doesnt divide the country, unlike the BJPs that pits Indians against each other. Do not compare the two: Rahul

1:56pm: I personally respect Mayawati, just as I respect Kanshi Ram. There is a huge difference between Mayawati and BJP: Rahul

1:55pm: If I tell you everything now, what will you have to report later: Akhilesh responds to question on campaign details

1:54pm: Whether we will form an alliance in Lok Sabha or not is open to discussion: Rahul

1:53pm: We will show the BJP you cannot trample over this country and rule it: Rahul

1:50pm: In the coming 5 years, we will together govern the state well: Akhilesh

1:49pm: Will not reveal campaign strategy, but it is up to my sister Priyanka to decide whether she wants to campaign (for Congress) in UP. Priyanka has been of tremendous help to me and I have been so to her; she is an asset: Rahul

1:46pm: This is a historic alliance. Our gaol is to defeat fascist forces, defeat RSS and BJP ideology: Rahul

1:44pm: UPs DNA has brotherhood, love unlike the RSS and BJPs politics of anger: Rahul

1:42pm: Mann ki baat manoge, to phas jaoge (If you listen to Mann ki baat, you will be in trouble): Akhilesh

1:41pm: We want to give the youth another option. The Cong and SP have similarities; this is an alliance based on these similarities: Rahul

1:40pm: We want to stop the politics of anger. It destroys the nation. Our alliance is for the youth: Rahul

1:38pm: Akhilesh is a good person but wasnt allowed to work: Rahul

1:36pm: In the coming time, Rahul and I will take UP forward: Akhilesh

1:35pm: The cycle will be with the hand: Akhilesh

1:34pm: Akhilesh reiterates Rahul, says their alliance is an answer for the people who had to stand in line

1:30pm: This is an alliance for peace, progress and prosperity: Akhilesh

1:25pm: I have a personal friendship with Akhilesh Yadav: Rahul Gandhi

1:24pm: Our alliance is an answer to the people: Rahul Gandhi

Press conference begins.

For Akhilesh, who comes out of scathing family feud and faces anti-incumbency, the tie-up could boost the fight against the formidable BJP and BSP, especially by consolidating the Muslim vote, which forms a significant 19% of the electorate.

Lucknow: CM Akhilesh Yadav & Cong VP Rahul Gandhi to hold joint press conference shortly pic.twitter.com/MznvWNvnDf  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 29, 2017

The alliance has given the grand old party a glimmer of hope after hitting an abyss, although it risks being sidelined as a supporting cast  as in Bihar where it played second fiddle to Nitish-Lalu coalitionwhile regional parties grow larger.

A victory for BJP in Uttar Pradesh can leave Congress red-faced, putting a question mark on the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Against Prime Minister Narendra Modis towering image, the coalition will face a humongous task, but if it wins, the alliance will redefine politics in the Hindi heartland.
Will Messrs Sidhu and Sidhu pull it off against Arvind Kejriwal and Associates in Punjab? Before you look askance, let it be known that Captain Amarinder Singh, like Navjot, is a Sidhu from Patiala, their common Malwa home-base.

That theyre now together in the same party has lent the Congresss bid for power a gravitas it direly needed. Navjot fuels the Captains charge with the horsepower Bhagwant Mann, another Malwa man, lends to Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party.

In the final leg of the bitterly-fought campaign, the winner will be the one who is perceived as better-placed to dislodge the hugely unpopular Badal & Badal enterprise. In my travel across Majha and parts of Malwa, I heard no loud expression of support for the Akali Dal the Badals are accused of having converted to a tightly-held family company.

But itll be a gross misjudgment to assume the Dal that has had deep roots in the state, is about to vanish without trace. The partys prospects are dreary as its traditional backers are at once despondent, diffident and alienated.

The urge to fight back has dissipated among the Akali cadres even as Sukhbir Badal goes around seeking support from influential Deras with following across the state: Sirsas Ram Rahim, the Rada Soamis, the Ramdasiyas.

The irony is that Sukhbir and his brother-in-law, Bikram Majithia, are faces that evoke anger; their names associated with the repression, the highhandedness of the decade-long Akali rule. The retribution the people seek against them is as tangible in Gurdaspur as it is in the adjoining Amritsar district.

In fact, the slogan at Majitha, where Bikram is fighting Sukhjinder Laali (Congress) and Himmat Singh Shergill (AAP), is symptomatic of the public mood: Jhandi (flag) Akali di, vote Laali di. The AAP man isnt doing too badly. But hes branded, like Arvind Kejriwal, an outsider. They insist that every Majithia is a Shergill but not all Shergills are Majithias. Clans matter in Punjab like castes do in Uttar Pradesh.

Akali flag flutters atop most houses even in Gurdaspur. But of its seven assembly segments, the Congress is projected to win five, even six. The Akali candidates there face three adversaries: anti-incumbency and their two main political rivals!

The AAPs presence in the area is minimal despite its state convener Gurpreet Ghuggi in the fray for the Batala seat. In acceptance perhaps of his partys dim prospects, Kejriwal hitherto hasnt invested much time in Gurdaspur, where Navjot Sidhu addressed a big gathering recently. The turnout was more from rural areas than from the city.

That Messrs Sidhu and Sidhu are better mobilisers of public opinion than Ghuggi -- who has lately started flaunting his Warraich clan name -- was evident from Navjots crowd-connect. The audience cheered as he attacked the Badals, recalled a local journalist. The adulation, he said, is no less for Amarinder in the border belt.

Navjot is actually the Congresss force multiplier in Majhas four districts, including Tarn Taran and the BJP belt of Pathankot, where the Congress has good prospects in two of the three seats. His carpet-bombing style compliments the political sniper thats Amarinder.

As electioneering climaxes, the Captain will spend more time in Malwa where Kejriwal and Associates growing presence has come to daunt the Congress. The big question remains whether Messrs Sidhu and Sidhu can push back the AAP tide in their dominion?

The stakes there are way higher for Amarinder to keep his captaincy. The Lambi and the Patiala seats hes contesting are on the western and eastern tips of Malwa that houses more than half of legislative Punjab.
The Congress is rushing reinforcements from the national capital to Punjabs Malwa to check the surge of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a region crucial to any party seeking to form the states next government.

The move comes in the wake of its internal assessment that the AAP is doing extremely well in the region and ripple effects might be felt in Majha and Doaba areas when the state votes for a new assembly on February 4.

Our main focus is on Malwa now. We are going to warn the people of Punjab about the consequences of electing an AAP government and tell them how Arvind Kejriwal has failed the people of Delhi after a thumping victory in the 2015 elections, a Congress leader said.

The assessment by All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers suggest that the AAP is leading in 40-45 seats in Malwa, but trailing in Majha and Doaba. However, if the Malwa surge continues there are chances that Delhi chief minister Kejriwals party could form the next government in Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief and Punjab deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, too had conceded that the AAP is posing a considerable challenge in Malwa.

The fight is not triangular in the entire state. There is no presence of AAP in Majha, not even in Doaba. In Malwa, they are in the reckoning on around 20-21 seats. But there is no point in voting for the party as it cannot form a government with these limited seats, he said.

Malwa sends 69 members to the 117-strong assembly, making it crucial for any party to do well in the region if it hopes to gain power in the state. Equally important are Majha and Doaba regions, which have 25 seats and 23 assembly constituencies.

Majha covers an area between Beas and Ravi rivers and comprises Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran districts. The area between Sutlej and Beas is Doaba and includes Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr (Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) and parts of Ropar district.

The region towards the left bank of the Sutlej is called Malwa. It comprises of Firozpur, Faridkot, Muktsar, Barnala, Bathinda, Mansa, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali and parts of Ropar district.

As part of its strategy to counter the AAP, the Congress is now deputing party workers and leaders from New Delhi to Malwa to undertake door-to-door campaigns in the next few days and highlight the failure of the AAP government in the Capital.

The Congress has identified 15-20 constituencies where it is in a neck-and-neck fight with the AAP, which is making its Punjab assembly polls debut.

A last-minute push could change fortunes of the Congress that is desperately seeking to regain power from the Akali-BJP combine after 10 years.

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I spent early years in Uttarakhand and I have nice memories about state. I see a lot of unrealised potential on the canvas called Uttarakhand. But there should have been more colours into it. I see our people had to travel inside and outside country not necessarily for doing best jobs. They are struggling for making two ends meet. This is migration just for survival. Migration though is not always bad. Some states have prospered from remittance and the standards of living have gone up.

In case of Uttarakhand, basic education facilities are lacking and the system fails to meet the expectations of the youngsters. There are sectors where one can feel that development has taken place. New buildings, new roads are visible. Tele communications connectivity is fairly good. But beneficiaries are few; the standard of living has not gone up, considerably. The common people of Uttarakhand are living the similar life which I had seen many years back say early 80s.

Read | In race to win Dalit votes, BJP walks the extra mile

In Mumbai I hear people saying Uttarakhandis are sweet but they cant take care of themselves. Just because highlanders hail from a small state and are not aggressive? It really hurts! People in Uttarakhand have high integrity and they deserve more. Agreed we are comparatively a younger state and are forced to deal with several teething problems. I am not saying that successive governments have not done enough but yes I expect that we deserve more.

We should understand that our biggest strength is our human resources.

Uttarakhand is lucky in a way that it hardly faces a situation unlike many states where implementing an idea becomes a big challenge owing to difference among various groups. In our state people are sensible and you can align them easily for a cause. Take a case of women; they are powerful decision makers, lead families from front. People are hopeful for good times ahead; they are looking positively and therefore the coming government should make an effort to galvanize locals and channelize their energy.

Tourism is one sector that needs a big and focused push. See, I dont want to have unregulated tourism in my state. At present the model of tourism in state is abusive  there is no check on type of activities being carried in the name of promoting tourism.

I would neither like to see the empty packets of chips around alpine meadows nor tourists posting pictures with a bottle of wine, on top of a mountain.

Read | At Cong office, protest against ticket to party chief, immolation bid

The state needs to adopt a model for the guests who care about mother nature, serenity and local culture. Besides, the state should promote an environment-friendly industry.

I am not an expert on the subject but I feel employment generation for young ones is very important. The state can take a cue from many small European nations, which have similar geographic conditions like Uttarakhand has.

Prasoon Joshi is a lyricist, poet and ad guru. He heads McCann World group Asia Pacific

(As told to Anupam Trivedi)
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput dropped his surname on social media platform Twitter as a mark of protest against activists of Rajput organisation Shree Rajput Karni Sena, who misbehaved with the crew of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis upcoming film Padmavati and vandalised the set.

On being reached for a comment, Sushant explained why he dropped his surname from his Twitter account.

He said: I did it to show that the unfortunate action is not what everyone with that surname endorses. They do not represent the entire Rajputs. There are ways to express your ideas, but violence is never an answer, and that too just on a mere speculation.

The incident on the Padmavati set occured on Friday in Jaipur. The Karni Sena activists damaged some cameras and other equipment as they opposed what they called distortion of historical facts in the film, which is about Alauddin Khilji, the medieval-era Delhi ruler, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati.

While the film fraternity has strongly condemned the act, Sushant had his own way to express his sentiment. He tweeted:

We would suffer till the time we're obsessed with our surnames.

If you're that courageous,give us your first name to acknowledge.#padmavati  Sushant (@itsSSR) January 27, 2017

He followed it up with another tweet:

People quote history to search for their relevance in future,

not knowing that their names surely will be forgotten forever.#selfmusing  Sushant (@itsSSR) January 28, 2017

I have the balls to stand up for the future, so just shut up you joker. https://t.co/ixzyhjflLu  Sushant (@itsSSR) January 28, 2017

On Sunday, he tweeted:

There is no religion or cast bigger than humanity

and Love & compassion makes us human.

Any other division is done for selfish gains.  Sushant (@itsSSR) January 29, 2017

He even replied to Twitter users:

I've not changed my surname idiot. I'm probably 10 times more Rajput than u are if you're implying courage.I'm against the cowardly action. https://t.co/ZXdv183Bxr  Sushant (@itsSSR) January 29, 2017

Violence is not bravery .

You react on a speculation because of fear .

There are ways to put up your point but that requires intelligence. https://t.co/sOyhiM8zgQ  Sushant (@itsSSR) January 29, 2017

Padmavati features actors Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor in the lead. The films shooting has stopped for now.

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Many films have a habit of remaining with you, no matter how long ago you saw them. But some movies sometimes go on to become the stuff of legends, with their dialogues and performances soaking into the popular consciousness and becoming an irreplaceable part of peoples lives. One such movie, Deewaar (1975)  written by Salim-Javed and directed by Yash Chopra  stands tall among Hindi cinemas most iconic films. And you wouldnt believe it, but the film recently turned 42 years old. So, HT Cafe sat down with Amitabh Bachchan and Javed Akhtar at the formers office, Janak, to hear first-hand the story behind the film that cemented Bachchans standing in the industry as a star and his image as the Angry Young Man.

A poster of Deewaar

The two meet with a warmth that can only be developed through years of friendship, and slip into conversation with ease  sometimes even completing each others sentences. Peppered with many laughs, jokes and praises for each other, the conversation turns and twists as Akhtar and Bachchan stroll down memory lane.

What made Deewar so special for you in your career and personal life?

Javed Akhtar: It is difficult to remain modest and answer this question. People say that the film had one of the most perfect screenplays. Amitabhji played the angry young man in Zanjeer (1973), but it was Deewaar that established him. One had seen angry young men in Mother India (1957) and Ganga Jamuna (1961), but those characters were diluted, as the films had romance, drama and songs too. With Amitabhji, the angry young man flourished, as it was undiluted. That was the impact that people have yet to get over.

Javed Akhtar says today, people look at the film and see the socio-political and socio-economic elements in the film. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Bachchan: For me, it was another job. Fortunately, post Zanjeer, every time, Salim saab and Javed saab wrote a script, they thought of me. Deewaar was accidental, as I was working on another film with (the late) Yashji, but when one day they [Salim and Javed] came to my house and narrated this script, I called Yashji and told him about it. Whenever they narrated a script, [Salim and Javed] had immense confidence in their story, its feasibility and its success ratio. I remember, after four or five scenes, Javed saab would say, yeh aapke 15 hafte ho gaye (here are your fifteen weeks), and after another few scenes, hed say, yeh aapke 25 hafte ho gaye (here are your twenty-five weeks), and count up to 100 hafte (weeks).

Akhtar: We narrated a storyline to Yashji, who was a bit skeptical, as [he thought] it could look or sound like some other film. Today, people look at the film and see the socio-political and socio-economic elements in the film. People wrote their theses on the film, focusing on the sublime messages, symbolism, how Vijay was relevant and people were anti-establishment, etc. We were blissfully unaware of all that (laughs). We had seen Amitabhjis not-so-successful films, but we also saw his talent, which most makers didnt. He was exceptional, a genius actor who was in films that werent good. A good actor adds his experience and his take away to his performances, and his contribution has been immense in his films, as much as the writers [sometimes]. No one else could have played Vijay.

Amitabh Bachchan says the dialogues were so impactful that, even today, people appreciate lines, like aaj khush toh bahut hoge tum. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Bachchan: All Salim-Javed scripts are so meticulously written, and all the credit goes to them, as no one had a bound script back then. Nothing was changed in the script afterwards, which helped actors like me. In fact, the one scene that stayed with me when I heard the script was Salim saab saying, after Vijay is shot, he goes to the temple and stumbles, hanging on to the bells in the temple. That appealed to me. Peculiar things appeal to actors sometimes. It was the perfect script and there were no flaws. It was dynamic. The dialogues were so impactful that, even today, people appreciate those lines, like aaj khush toh bahut hoge tum. At the premiere, people laughed when I said that dialogue, but later, there was a stunned silence in the theatre. The words were gems. You dont find that kind of writing anymore.

Akhtar: Back then, the writers, directors and actors worked closely, and we were like a team. When we were shooting Deewaar, he was a star and after Deewaar, he was the undisputed number one star. During the temple scene, we had a long talk with Amitabhji and Yashji, discussing if the scene should start on a high note or not. Vijay wasnt an atheist, but he was upset with God. He wasnt on talking terms with God.

Amitabh Bachchan says Javed saab gave me pointers for the death scene, as he said he didnt know what a dying person says. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Bachchan: The temple scene was to be shot in the morning, and we ended up shooting at midnight. It was a complex scene, as Vijay, who never believed in God, felt forced to go to the temple due to his love for his mother. I didnt know how to approach the scene. Javed saab gave me pointers for the death scene, as he said he didnt know what a dying person says. We didnt dub for the scenes, as that would have been tough. You can hear the trolley in one scene  during the death scene, a clock chimed and people thought it was a brilliant sound effect, but an actual clock went off on its own, symbolising that Vijays time was over.

Why do you think worked for this film?

Akhtar: It was a well-written, well-performed film with great emotions and scenes. Back then, there was dissatisfaction and anger in the people, and they were looking for a vigilante. A hero is the personification of the morality and aspiration that Vijay had.

Bachchan: Amidst other kind of stories, this one was a breath of fresh air. It was a unique topic with strong characters. I dont know if people clap today when they hear great dialogues (laughs), but every line was impactful. To be a bit immodest, you find many reflections of moments of Deewaar [in other movies].

Javed Akhtar says many others, in trying to emulate him, came across as arrogant and rude. You need a good actor to take care of your lines. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Akhtar: Yes. But the other films failed, as they didnt star him. There is a difference between anger and arrogance. Vijay was hurt and angry, but many others, in trying to emulate him, came across as arrogant and rude. You need a good actor to take care of your lines.

Bachchan: I want to take credit for one scene in the film. When Vijay lights his fathers funeral pyre, instead of my right hand, I told Yashji, let me do it with my left hand, because my sleeve will ride up and show off the tattoo Mera baap chor hai. It was symbolic.

Akhtar: I felt the confrontation scene between the two brothers, Ravi (played by Shashi Kapoor) and Vijay, which ends with the dialogue mere paas maa hai, was dramatic.

Amitabh Bachchan says there were many symbolic and powerful moments in Deewaar without harping on any religion. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Bachchan: People read a lot into the scenes now. That scene was shot under the bridge, which people felt signified that a bridge had formed between the brothers. There was a subtle atmosphere of secularism in the film, with the Billa no 786, when Rahim chacha casually tells Vijay that the number is scared in his religion (Islam). Religion isnt forced in the film. When he gets shot, he kisses the billa, and when he loses it during the final chase scene, the audiences know that something is going to go wrong. These were such symbolic and powerful moments without harping on any religion.

Apparently, Rajesh Khanna was the original choice for the film with, Navin Nischol and Vyjantimala as co-stars.

Akhtar: We were so enamoured by Amitabhji that we wanted him in all our films. When we spoke to Yashji about Deewaar, he asked, does Amitabh pay you a commission that you want him in all your films? (laughs). Producer Gulshanji (Rai) had signed Rajesh Khanna, who was a successful actor, but we felt only he (Bachchan) could do justice to Vijays role. We insisted and, thankfully, we prevailed.

Javed Akhtar says Salim Khan and he were enamoured by Amitabh Bachchan and wanted him in all their films. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Bachchan: We had a discussion once about how Yashji would make this hard-hitting film. In some of the serious shots, he would end up panning the camera to a flower (laughs).

Why do you think Vijay became a champion of the masses and was loved so much?

Bachchan: A grey character is admired a lot. The character has been subjected to so much oppression yet is fighting against it. His fight was legitimate, even if his methods were not always right. There were many factors that we were riding on along with the character. After the stigma of the tattoo, whatever he does is looked upon as right due to the injustice done to him. He is so tough, yet he breaks down when his mother is unwell. There is only one action scene in Deewaar, but it is called an action film. The positioning of the fight was very powerful, and that has never been replicated.

Parveen Babis character was a modern woman who felt no guilt or shame in having pre-martial sex, drinking or smoking, unlike conventional heroines.

Akhtar: The mother was more of a heroine than the heroines, Parveen and Neetu Singh, in the film. It was an experiment and it worked. It was novel and revolutionary for people. Today, it might not be.

Bachchan: But there was a lot of dignity in [Babis] character, who was doing something as a professional, but in her heart, wanted marriage. And when Vijay is sympathetic towards her, the audience is too.

Amitabh Bachchan says there is only one action scene in Deewaar, but it is called an action film. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

What was the atmosphere post release?

Bachchan: Soon after the film was released, I was shooting in Kolkata. A huge crowd gathered at the hotel where I was put up. It was unbelievable. I couldnt get into the hotel. Someone got a little violent too. One man shook my hand, and I later realised he had a blade and had cut my palm. After that, wherever we shot outdoors, it was impossible to shoot due to the crowds. That reflected the interest people had in the film, characters and story. Those were the days.

Akhtar: Yeh silsila aaj bhi jaari hai (thats the same story now).

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Actor Rana Daggubati will be seen doing some serious underwater action scenes in his next film The Ghazi Attac) and instead of using a body double, the actor did most of the sequences on his own. The film is based on the true events of the mysterious sinking of Pakistans submarine called PNS Ghazi during the India-Pakistan war in 1971.

Talking about his decision to do the stunts on his own, the actor says, I am a certified deep sea diver with a professional diving license, but it has been a while since I did my last dive and I so wanted to try my skills. I had to do a few rehearsal rounds before I started the shoot, but it was not so simple because we didnt know what we would encounter. We had to look out for sudden water currents and for pieces of metal. To shoot such scenes one has to be trained specially.

The film will also star actor Taapsee Pannu in a crucial role. The actor talks about the labour that went behind while shooting the extensive sequences. The film has some underwater action sequences that we were doing for the first time. These stunts were shot over 12 days with all necessary precautions. While one part was shot in an Olympic size swimming pool,other underwater stunts was shot in the oceans off the coast of vizag, he shares.

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The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna (AIIMS-P), could replicate the hospital supply system for patients at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow.

Dr PK Singh, professor and head, department of anaesthesiology, SGPGI, Lucknow, who was recently named the new director of the AIIMS-Patna, said he would explore implementing the option after joining the institute in mid-February.

Dr PK Singh (File photo)

The SGPGI supplies consumables, including drugs, to its patients and charges for them in their bill. In making bulk purchases, we make sure that patients get 40%-400% discount on branded drugs and their attendants are not harried in buying drugs, said Dr Singh while talking to this reporter over phone from Lucknow.

As a matter of rule, we do not allow any chemist shop on the SGPGI campus and supply all consumables to patients through the hospital supply system, he added.

I want the institute to focus on academics, patient care and research. The focus in all these disciplines will be on quality, he added.

Dr Singh hinted at the need to change the attitude of individuals and also to create conducive environment for research at the institute.

Dr Singh is credited with initiating a one-year post-doctoral certificate course (PDCC) in anaesthesiology at the SGPGI, Lucknow, in the 1990s. The PDCC is essentially a one-year training programme in super-specialty courses.

The MCI later recognised the PDCC in 2010. As on date, the SGPGI runs 30-40 such courses. The Banaras Hindu University also replicated our PDCC model and it is now an accepted course in many other medical colleges, he added.

Dr Singh has over 100 research papers to his credit. Last year, an NGO had named him UP health icon and the governor there had presented him the award.

Dr Singh is a JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) fellow, having done a one-year fellowship in Japan in 1993-94. He also did a one-month fellowship from Kings College, London.

Dr Singh was a governing council member of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiology (ISA). He was also the former president of the UP chapter of the ISA.

He did his MBBS in 1978 and masters programme in 1982 from the Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. He did his senior residency from the Rohak Medical College and then went to Bandar Abbas in Iran for three years. He joined the GB Pant Hospital, New Delhi, in 1987 and then moved on to the SGPGI, Lucknow, as a faculty member in 1988.

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The four-day long Republic day celebrations came to an end after the bands of the armed forces and paramilitary staged their beating the retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk on Sunday.

From the moment President Pranab Mukherjee arrived in a horse drawn carriage to when bagpipe yielding, moon walking and drumming military bands took centre stage, to when Prime Minister Narendra Modi created a furore by walking into the arena to greet and wave at people; the retreat, a military tradition, never had a dull moment.

For five-year-old Apoorva, the highlight of the day was when the President came down in a horse drawn carriage, and was surrounded by horse riding military personnel, much like some of her favourite fairytales. Her brother, six-year-old Kanishk, however, was a fan of the bands.

Read more: Republic Day Parade: Pomp and pageantry as India displays its best

After the arrival of the dignitaries, the hoisting of the national flag and the playing of the national anthem, the festivities of the day were kicked off by a fanfare by buglers, who announced the entry of massed bands.

Bagpipe-playing bands from the regimental centres and battalions, tri-service band, who had personnels from the Air Force, Army and the Navy, and played fusion pieces which involved Indian instruments like the Sitar and tabla along with the traditional marching band instruments, and personnel from Delhi police, Border Security Forces (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) came in next.

This was followed by the Air force military band, which got the viewers emotional with their rendition of the Victory Dhun, which ended with tunes from Saare Jahan se Acha.

Read more: Republic Day: Delhi govts education tableau, students performances steal the show

The Naval military band impressed most in the crowds, with their choreography. Navy personnels were seen channelling their inner Michael Jacksons, and even rendered a slow moonwalk.

They were the best. They were so good, that I even recorded them, so that I could share it with friends later, said Jyoti Kochhar, a visitor at the event.

Watch: Indias 68th Republic Day parade

The Army military band was the next favourite, who got the audiences pumped up with their Drummers Call. The army band was definitely my favourite. Their drummers call piece was so upbeat, and inspiring; I could keep listening to them, said Sarika.

However, the loudest rounds of applause and cheers were reserved for when Modi chose to take a lap of the arena and wave and greet people. The crowd that had been well disciplined and civil until then, all rose to their feets, and climbed chairs and clamoured to the edges for a closer and better view.

The beating retreat is supposed to mark the official end of Republic Day festivities in the country, draws on ancient military tradition when soldiers would disengage from battle at sunset when the bugles blew. Soldiers at the sound of the retreat would withdraw from the battlegrounds.

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A common sight in Delhi not so long ago, the iconic black-and-yellow taxis now appear to be at the fag end of a glorious journey  hit hard by modern cab hailing services and the drivers left with no clue how to revive the business.

At most of Delhis 500-odd taxi stands, aged drivers have no work and pass time, recalling the good ol days.

I eat, sleep and work here, says Avtar Singh, 60, at a stand at Sham Nath Marg in Civil Lines.

From roughly 10,000 a decade ago, the city now has an estimated 6,500 of these taxis  popularly known as the kaalipeelis  but not enough drivers who have switched to working for taxi aggregators such as Ola and Uber.

Today people feel travelling in the kaali-peeli taxi will lower their status, Singh adds.

But Dinesh Kumar, 50, his fellow driver, thinks the reason lies elsewhere. We just cannot figure out how these new car companies are able to offer such low fares.

Avtar spends many of his days reclining on a cot inside a hut, reading a newspaper, his hands shivering in the biting January cold. The hut, which serves as a taxi stand at Sham Nath Matg in north Delhis Civil Lines, has been his home for 30 years.

I eat, sleep and work here, he says, taking his eyes off the newspaper. But these days there is no work. I have not got any call for the past three days, he says, pointing to a landline phone on an iron stool at the entrance.

The hut has over half-a-dozen iron trunks that contain clothes of drivers; two fans, a tube light and a bulb hanging from a wooden log. About half-a-dozen black and yellow taxis are parked outside. I think it is the end of the road for kaali-peelis in Delhi, says Singh, who came to Delhi from Punjab 35 years ago to drive a taxi.

Read: Should the World Book Fair evolve into Delhis JLF?

Most neighbourhood taxi stands in Delhithere are about 500 of them -- once home to black and yellow taxis and thousands of drivers from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are now out of business.

While the city still has about 6,600 black and yellow taxis down from about 10,000 a decade ago there are not enough drivers. Most young drivers who used to work here have joined online cab hailing services. Most of those still driving the black and yellow taxis are in their 50s and 60s.

Driven to despair by lack of work, they say they have no place in the citys new cab culture dominated by cab aggregators.

These days we are lucky if we get one trip a day. There was a time when we did at least six trips a day. Now, only the old-timers who have known us for years call us for station and airport drops. Our business is down by 80 per cent, says Singh.

Today people feel travelling in the kaali-peeli taxi will lower their status; they want to travel in a cab that looks like their private car and a driver who looks like their chauffeur, says Singh.

Mohinder Singh, 69, sits at a taxi stand near Hotel Ashok. He says black and yellow Ambassadors have defined the citys cab culture, they are the real taxis. (Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times)

But Dinesh Kumar, a fellow driver at the 50-year-old stand, differs. It is all about the fares. We just cannot figure out how these new car companies are able to offer such low fares, almost half of what we offer. We have tried but failed to understand their business model, says Kumar, who like Singh is waiting for that elusive call from a customer.

The situation is no better at other taxi stands. At the sprawling Ashoka Hotel taxi stand , one of the biggest and the oldest in the city, about 30 black and yellow cabs - most of them Maruti Eeco -- are parked under towering peepal and neem trees. But there are just a few drivers.

This place once was crowded with drivers, cleaners and helpers. We have about 33 taxis here but not enough drivers to run them, says Kanwaljit Singh. I once owned three taxis, now I have one and have to drive it myself. We would have starved had this taxi stand not been attached to the hotel.

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A lot of his customers, he says, are foreigners who stay in the hotel. Thankfully, they believe only the black and yellow is the real taxi. They are very fond of Ambassadors but only a few of them are left, says Kanwaljit.

Until a few years back, most taxi stands used to have black and yellow Ambassadors but now they only have Maruti Eeco  which many drivers say they are forced to buy. We get permits only for Maruti Eeco. Old people and women find it difficult to sit in this vehicle, which is more of a cargo car, says Jasbir Singh, a taxi driver -- a sense of anger in his voice. A transport official denied the charge.

Black and yellow Ambassadors have defined the citys cab culture, it is the real taxi. But unfortunately, it has become a thing of the past, says Mohinder Singh, 69, who has been driving taxis in the city for 40 years.

Until a few years back, most taxi stands used to have black and yellow Ambassadors but now they only have Maruti Eeco. (Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times)

He is not exaggerating. The black and yellow Ambassador taxi was not just a means of getting around in the city, but an integral part of the citys social history and its mythology much like the yellow cabs in New York City and black cabs in London.

Delhis taxi stands and its Ambassador taxis have featured in several books, including William Dalrymples City Of Djinns and, most recently, Louise Khurshids Travails With Chachi: Conversations With a DLY Taxi Driver, a book that paints a portrait of Delhi seen through the eyes of the Ambassador taxi driver.

One of the few stands in Delhi where one can still see Ambassadors is the Hotel Shangari La taxi stand on Janpath. About a dozen ambassadors are parked here. Unlike other taxi stands, there is no hut and most drivers wait for a call on the loudspeaker from the hotel. Some of them play cards to spend time while others sip tea at a tea shop  a makeshift arrangement with a cot and tarpaulin serving as a roof. Many drivers are sleeping in the back seats of their cars.

Read: Delhi slum turns lab for urban planners, architects, filmmakers testing projects

Everyone has developed an allergy towards the yellow and black taxi. We are not allowed into offices, apartment or government buildings, though radio taxies and cars belonging to cab hailing companies move in and out with ease. We have suddenly become untouchables, says Balwinder Singh, a taxi driver who is waiting for a call at the Janpath stand.

Most taxi stands operate on a turn-byturn basis. Our turn comes only once in 24 hours, sometimes, even in two days, says Balwinder.

Sharing the plight of drivers of yellow and black taxis, his fellow driver Balibir Singh says that with the dwindling business, most drivers had to move out of their rented accommodation because they could not afford them, sent their families home and now sleep in the cars.

Now no one wants to be a driver in Punjab, most new drivers in the city are from UP and Bihar. I plan to move back to Punjab with my Ambassador taxi, Baliwinder.

In a nutshell There are about 500 taxi stands and 6,600 black and yellow taxisa majority of them Maruti-Eeco There were about 10,000 black and yellow until 2005. About 300 Ambassadors taxis are left in the city Black and Yellow cab got a first jolt in 2006 when radio taxis arrived App-based taxi companies arrived in 2014, putting black and yellow taxis out of business

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Unidentified gunmen shot dead the 74-year-old father of gangster Manjeet Mahal outside his home in west Delhi on Sunday, a murder that police fear could trigger a gang war.

Shri Kishan was out to buy vegetables in the morning in Najafgarhs Mitron village when a group of at least five men in a Scorpio fired around 20 shots at him. Multiple bullets hit the elderly mans head and chest, killing him instantly.

The incident was caught on half-a-dozen surveillance cameras installed at the entry gate and front wall of the house, which is rigged with modern home security systems.

A senior police officer expressed confidence that the footage will lead investigators to the assailants.

Mahal is in Tihar jail after Delhi Police arrested him on December 8 for allegedly masterminding the murder of former Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) legislator Bharat Singh in March 2015.

He was on the run for almost two years. The fugitive eluded the police net despite more than a hundred raids to capture him.

The needle of suspicion, according to police, in Sundays murder point to Bharat Singhs elder brother Krishan Pehalwan and a gang led by Suraj Bhan, whose friend Sunil alias Doctor was allegedly killed by Mahal a year ago.

Yes, their role is being investigated, deputy commissioner of police Rishi Pal acknowledged.

There are fears that Mahals associates could seek revenge. Mitron village is known for its long history of gang wars that have left more than 50 people dead. The killings had subsided a bit after the legislators murder.

Pehalwan, a gangster-turned-politician, denied having any role in Sundays incident.

I was home with my police security and heard the news from others. The person who died is neither my enemy nor do I consider him to be one. I am busy with the municipal elections. I am available if police want to interrogate me. There is nothing to hide, he said.

Pehalwan, who is an INLD councillor with the municipal corporation, was arrested last March for the murder of two private security officers at his Najafgarh farmhouse. He allegedly told his aides to lock the farmhouse, get rid of the bodies and destroy evidence.

Mahals father has no criminal background or case against him.

He opened the iron gates of his home and steeped out after hearing the door bell around 11am.

It was a vegetable vendor, who brings his cart every few days. We have no reason to suspect him, said the slain mans younger brother, Dalbir Singh.

As soon as the vendor walked away with his cart after Kishan bought his veggies, a white Scorpio came near and two men got down. They immediately starting firing and drove away unchallenged after their target slumped to the ground.

We rushed out when we heard several rounds of gunshots and found Kishanji bleeding and motionless. The killers had sped away, so we focused on shifting him to a hospital, Singh said.
An explosion at a scrap dealers shop in Uttar Pradeshs Agra, less than 250 kilometres from Delhi, claimed life of his two sons and left his wife critically injured in April 2013.

Sobaran Singhs sons were trying to remove brass out of three mortar shells by hitting them with hammers, when they exploded and killed them on the spot. Singh later told police that he had bought the shells from rag pickers at throwaway rates, but did not know that the shells were explosives.

On Saturday morning, a similar unexploded mortar shell was found lying on a footpath close to a residential complex and a public park frequented by morning walkers. However, the locals were lucky as their alertness in calling the police has averted a re-run of the Agra explosion in their locality, which has become unsafe due to presence of drug addicts and unemployed youths.

The mortar shell was discovered on time. Had it been found by any drug addict or miscreant, they would have attempted to remove the brass metal out for selling it to scrap dealers for money. Such attempts could have easily exploded the shell, said a senior police officer.

Delhi: Five years later, Mayapuri is still as unsafe as ever

Delhi police registered a case under Section 4 of The Explosive Substances Act after bomb disposal experts from the National Security Guard (NSG) confirmed that it was an unexploded mortar shell that, despite being corroded, was potent enough to cause explosion if handled carelessly. A special team has been formed to find out the source through which the corroded mortar shell reached the residential locality.

Highlights August, 2016: An IED was found in DRDO Bhawan complex. July, 2015: Nine 51 mm mortar shells were found along the tracks between Dhola Majra and Shahbad railway stations on Delhi-Ambala route. June, 2011: Army destroyed around 3,500 artillery and mortar shells, rockets and grenades that were lying sandbagged at the Inland Container Depot at Tughlakabad in south Delhi for over six years.

Some senior police officers, who have earlier investigated cases related to recovery of similar explosives in Delhi, said that such materials are imported as heavy metal scrap from war-torn countries like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The scrap materials are shipped in big containers that reach ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The corroded explosives sail undetected through ports, customs and other depots as metal scrap and eventually reach scrap dealers. Small scrap dealers generally remain unaware of the danger lurking in such explosive materials. When they try to remove the brass metal attached to it by hitting it with hammers, it explodes, said a senior officer from Special Cell, anti-terror squad of Delhi police.

Read: Manish Sisodia questions Centres social media campaigns in letter to PM office

The officer claimed that there were a couple of similar explosions at scrap shops in west Delhi in early 2000s, when he was posted as an ACP in that district.

Around 3,500 artillery and mortar shells, rocket and grenades that were lying sandbagged at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Tughlakabad in south Delhi for over six years were destroyed by the Army in 2011.

Another officer said that India import a large amount of scrap from across the world, unwittingly making its people vulnerable to dangerous accidents.

The danger the scrap explosive materials carried was primarily exposed in 2003-04, when 10 people died in an explosion at the Bhushan Steel Company in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The police probe revealed that the scrap contained live rockets and missiles that exploded while being offloaded by workers.

Shaken by the deaths, the Union Home Ministry ordered the police across the country to comb big, medium and small iron and steel companies and manufacturing units that use imported iron scrap.

On inspection of scrap of such companies and units, over 2,000 items, including 700 live rockets and missiles and 1,000 cartridges were found in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal in the next few days, the officer recalled.

Read: Amid Republic Day security, snatchers have a free run in Delhis Daryaganj, rob Romanian
Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhis memorial, has got a makeover after almost 15 years.The project was carried out by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) along with Rajghat Samadhi Samiti and Delhi Urban Arts Commission.

Some of Mahatmas quotes will now greet visitors at the entrance of the memorial site. A brief profile of the Father of the Nation has also been inscribed on the granite gates at the entrance, as part of the facelift.

Read: Rajghat gets a facelift: Bapu quotes can be read on entrances

Besides thirty famous quotes of Gandhi, we have also engraved his trademark signature and famous spectacles on the granite stone pedestals for inspiring the visitors to Rajghat, said a CPWD official.

At least six messages have been displayed at each place for visitors to read as they enter Rajghat. Additionally, there are also plans to construct a guest house and install a solar power system and LED lights at the memorial complex.

For more than 10,000 domestic and foreign visitors who visit Mahatma Gandhijis Samadhi at Rajghat in the national capital every day, there is nothing much to engage the visitors about his life and thoughts other than the black stone platform that marks the spot where Gandhiji was cremated, a UD ministry release said.

Read: Central Delhis parks, roundabouts to be venue for dance performances, art exhibitions

To address this deficiency and to enhance the engaging experience of the visitors, the Rajghat Samadhi Samiti, under the ministry of urban development (UD) has undertaken several initiatives during the last two years, the release said.

Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the facelifted site on Monday, on the occasion of Gandhis 69th death anniversary.

All the existing conventional lights at Rajghat complex have also been replaced by energy efficient and environment friendly LED lights. Solar panels have been installed above roof tops and the cycle shed in the parking area of Rajghat that will generate 52 KW of energy.

Read: How Delhis roads kick up a dust storm and make matters worse

Besides, the security paraphernalia at Rajghat has also been bolstered. For better monitoring of visitors, 27 CCTV cameras have been installed.
One look at the office of the state women and child development department suggests clear that a government body, which should have the best interests of homeless, under privileged children at heart, isnt, perhaps, best equipped for women and child care as it operates out of an old, dingy building, which earlier housed the sales tax department.

Just entering this office gives one an eerie feeling and even the employees of the department say that their office needs to be refurbished to ensure proper working conditions.

Located just close to the mini-secretariat, it takes quite an effort to reach this building as the approach road remains congested most of the time. Compounding matters further is the fact that campus on which this building stands is also used as a parking space by visitors to numerous government offices and the court complex nearby. There are no guards posted at the gates to check unauthorised parking on the compound.

Read I Gurgaon: CWC gets funds for counsellors, translators

We have repeatedly asked the administration to crack down on unauthorised parking on the approach road and inside the campus. But nothing has been done, Shakuntala Dhull, chairperson of Child Welfare committee, said.

More unexpected scenes greet visitors to the complex as the glass windows in most of the offices are cracked or broken and spiders could be spotted dotting the walls and ceilings and casting their web. The staffers also claimed the lack of basic hygiene and said the walls and ceilings are dotted with spiders. They said the curtains are unwashed and even the floors are not swept clean.

The entire building has just one toilet that is used by both men and women staffers. The water tank, at most times, run dry as the motor to pump water into it has been in a state of disrepair over the last eight months,  Nisha Saini, legal and probation officer, district child protection unit(DCPU), said.

Read I Gurgaon: CWC claims lack of support from state govt

While the lack of basic amenities sticks out like a sore thumb, inadequate number of workers, too, hampers services. There are not enough people to cater to the needs of the staff. The biggest problem is the lack of a sweeper to clean the toilets and rooms. We dont use the toilet here and if at all we have to use one, we go to neighbouring buildings or office premises or even a private hotel. How can one expect women to work here without the provision of a separate toilet for them? Ritu Rani, district child protection officer, said.

The women and child development department operates out of just four rooms, with the counselling room, DCPU room, CWCs chairmans room, staff room and accountants room cramped into one. While the CWC officials have asked for a minimum of eight rooms to function as a proper unit, the state government has been dragging its foot and has shown no inclination to pay heed to their demand.

The CWC, on an average, handles cases of 30-40 children every month and 10-15 of them are under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso Act). Due to the lack of infrastructure and support staff, work at the department is often badly hit. Recently, the district administration made some extra provisions to enable the department to handle the workload. However, given the rising number of cases, a lot more needs to be done to ensure effective delivery of services.

It often gets difficult to accommodate all the staff in just two rooms. The rise in the number of cases under Pocso Act cases has got us new staffers to deal with them, But the lack of enough rooms, toilets, and even water continues to hamper our services, Dhull said.

To add to their woes, the staffers havent been getting their salaries on time and this has affected their morale and has led to a sense of disaffection among them.

I havent received my salary for the last eight months and it is difficult to get by. Even the data operator and peon have not received their salaries for three months, Dhull said.

The department also doesnt have a vehicle of its own and the officials have make official visits in their own cars.

The government must take urgent measures to resolve the problems being faced by the department and the staffers. The number of cases related to women and children is on the rise. There is a need to augment the infrastructure and boost staff strength. We have been getting some support from the state government, but more needs to be done, Dhull said.

The CWC is responsible for catering to childrens homes are government-funded institutions that provide temporary shelter, food, and clothing to children in need of care and protection. The CWC also has the power to hold people accountable for such offences as child labour. Those employing children are fined or made to compensate them by cash.

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In a bid to prevent children from smoking or using other tobacco products, the Haryana government issued 2,302 challans across Gurgaon over the last eight months for violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.

The state government took the challan route to make children swear off tobacco at a time as many as 116 of them were picking up the habit every day. The figure was quoted by the ministry of health and family welfare at the time.

The figures released by the ministry also revealed that more than 43 lakh people consume tobacco in some form or the other in Haryana and the state records 14,800 deaths every year due to tobacco-related diseases. The data also mentioned that 23.7% of the state population are into tobacco consumption. Of this, 3.8% takes it in the form of cigarettes, 15.4% smoke bidi and 6.4% take tobacco in smokeless form. The data said 34% of the Indian population take tobacco in some form or the other.

During a recent drive, the Gurgaon police department visited various parts of the city in a bid to enforce COPTA. The city police has launched a joint campaign with Sambandh Health Foundation, an NGO, and Fortis Memorial Research Institute to ban smoking at all public places in Gurgaon.

Police said a total of 2,302 challans were issued under COPTA since June 2016 and the states first case under Section 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act was registered on January 4 against a store owner. In the case filed at the Sadar police station, the store owner was charged with allegedly aiding a minor in selling tobacco products and cigarettes roadside, the police said.

We are taking proactive steps in curbing the use of tobacco by minors. The situation is alarming here as, the initiation age of children for tobacco in Haryana is 10-12 , whereas the national average is 14. We are sensitising our team and spreading awareness about the campaign in the city, Sandeep Khirwar, police commissioner, Gurgaon, said at a press conference on Sunday.

He said, We are taking all precautions to reduce the initiation of tobacco by children. Under the JJ Act, anyone who gives tobacco to a minor will have to pay a fine of upto R 1 lakh and serve seven years of imprisonment. Haryana recently became the second state in India to fie a case under JJ Act for tobacco use.

Speaking to mediapersons, director oncology and VoTV member from Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Dr Vedant Kabra said, Intake of tobacco affects all organs of the human body. Only strong implementation of COTPA can reduce the number of children who takes up smoking.

Members of the awareness camp also said that they will be visiting 21,000 schools across the state to spread the word on the impact of tobacco on human body.

Facts in figures

Challans issued in public places under COTPA since June 2016

Police station ----------------- Challans issued

Sector 29 ----------------------227

Sushant Lok ----------------140

DLF Phase-I ------------------68

DLF Phase-II ----------------112

Sector-56 ---------------190

Sector 40 -----------------96

Sadar Bazar -------------142

Sector-5 -------------- 69

Palam Vihar --------------110

Rajendra Park ---------------36

Udhyog Vihar --------------94

Sector 17/18 ------------- 128

Sector 10A --------------- 168

City Police Station ----------26

Civil Lines ------------------66

Bilaspur --------------------26

Manesar ------------------75

Badshahpur ---------------50

Bhondsi -----------------15

Sohna --------------------31

Farukhnagar ----------12

Pataudi ---------------22

Kherki Daula -------------69

Metro -------------122

Railway Station ---------208

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Giving new impetus to their push for reservation and other demands, the Jat community held a peaceful project adjacent to the Atul Kataria Chowk on Sunday. The demonstration from 10 am to 12 pm remained violence-free and there was no disruption of traffic either.

More than 50 members of the community assembled in a tent at a market-area next to Atul Kataria Chowk, and raised anti-government slogans holding placards, demanding justice against police and government inaction.

As many as 30 police personnel and four police control room vehicles were present at the spot to ensure that law and order is maintained. Roads leading to the chowk also had police presence. However, roads remained barricade-free.

On Saturday, leaders of the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti had assured that Gurgaon, Mewat and Panchkula would remain violence-free owing to their urban character.

Following the conclusion of the protest, senior Jat leaders visited deputy commissioner Hardeep Singh and police commissioner Sandeep Khirwars office, and submitted a memorandum.

As many as 30 police personnel and four police control room vehicles were present at the spot to ensure that law and order is maintained. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The memorandum included a list of demands such as a government job for at least one family member of a person who died in last years protest, medical expenses of the injured be incurred by the state government, compensation be given to the injured besides a government job, withdrawal of cases filed against agitators, skilled lawyers be appointed and paid for by the government to challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Courts stay order of reservation to the Jat community and fulfilment of reservation promised by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The memorandum also opposed the Supreme Courts ruling against the inclusion of Bharatpur and Dholpur Jats of Rajasthan in the Central OBC list and seclusion of Jats from nine other states in the Central OBC list.

The government needs to accede to the communitys demands at the earliest and give the rightful reservation it promised. The reservation is important for the communitys economic and social enhancement and contribution to the country, RS Dahiya, general secretary, Jat Sangharsh Samiti, said.

Unlike the rest of Haryana, Gurgaon did not witness any violence during last years protest. Agitators had protested in the city by blocking roads and intersections.

The deputy commissioner said the memorandum has been forwarded to the divisional commissioner for adequate action. The district administration is incompetent in intervening in the demands listed by the Jat community members. The matter needs the state and Central governments approval, and requisite action, Hardeep Singh said.

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Raipur Activist and researcher Bela Bhatia lodged a complaint with local police on Sunday against the hooligans who threatened her on last Monday.

She claimed the accused tried to forcefully evict her from her house. The police have started the investigation into the matter. Bhatia in her complaint cited that the majority of offenders were from local the Agni group, which wassupported by police.

Parpa police confirmed that they received the complaint, but said they hadnt lodged an FIR.

Bela also mentioned that the attackers were the same people who had earlier taken out a demonstration Lalkar Rally against human right defenders .

In her four-page written complaint, Bhatia alleged that there is strong nexus between the police and Agni. She also mentioned that posters were circulated in the village branding her as middleman of Naxals. They were trying to defame me and paint me as a Naxal agent, Bhatia said.

The activist complained that she had been to police station several times to lodge a case against the vigilante group members but her efforts were in vain.

Meanwhile, Anand Mohan Mishra, founder of AGNI, told HT, We have no role in the attack. We are against Naxalism and people who support Naxalism.

Bhatia had been residing in a rented house at Parpa village since December 2015.

On Monday, a group of criminals threatened to set her house ablaze if she did not vacate it. The activist later called the collector for help who sent police to control the crowd.

The activist, who has been working for tribal rights for over a decade, had faced similar intimidation in 2015 when she had raised the issue of rape of tribal women by security personnel.

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Next generation satellite INSAT-3DR has opened new frontiers in Indias weather forecasting and is set to equip the country with the ability to detect farm fires -- which intensify air pollution in the northern region seasonally, leaving Delhi gasping for breath.

A team of the satellite meteorology division of India Meteorological Department (IMD), housed in New Delhis Mausam Bhawan, has amassed a huge tranche of data relayed by it over the past few months, at an average rate of 142GB per day.

Read: Delhi haze: When farm fires poison the capitals air

Launched in September last year, INSAT-3DR works in tandem with INSAT-3D, operational since 2014, in sending raw data and high-resolution images, zoomed up to 1 kilometre near the earths surface, every 15 minutes.

Dr Sunil Peshin, who heads the division, said while storing and archiving data was itself a challenge, the IMD shares information relayed by these satellites with international agencies like the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Peshin said with the operationalising of INSAT-3DR, night-time monitoring of atmospheric phenomenon like cloud cover, fog, haze and snow among others had become possible.

Within the next few months, we hope to equip ourselves with the ability to detect farm fires as well which the NASA does currently. It is just a matter of developing the right tools and algorithm which will take a little time, he said.

Also read: Pollution: High court tells Delhis neighbours to stop stubble burning

This assumes importance against the backdrop of the Delhi government blaming seasonal agro-residue burning in the fields of Haryana and Punjab and the subsequent emission of smoke for the citys foul air, especially during October, November.
Haryana has gone on maximum alert as a fresh round of quota agitation called by a section of Jats began on Sunday.

Apart from the state police and over 7,000 home guards, 37 companies of central forces have been deployed across the state around sensitive locations including National Highway 1 (popularly known as GT road), state highways, railways tracks and Munak canal that takes Yamuna river water to New Delhi. Authorities have also clamped prohibitory orders in these areas banning assembly of four or more people.

A similar agitation last year had left 30 dead and caused widespread destruction of property. Sonepat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Hisar, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Fatehabad, Dadri and Jind saw large-scale violence, arson and rioting during the February 2016 protests.

Haryana home secretary Ram Niwas told Hindustan Times that Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed across different points of Munak canal which was breached during the agitation last year.

No one would be allowed to disrupt law and order situation or traffic movement at any cost, he said.

While several Jat fora have already distanced themselves from the stir, members of All India Jat Arkshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) decided to start dharnas across the state from Sunday. They are demanding quota for Jats in central government jobs, withdrawal of cases against all accused in last years stir, government job for kin of those killed and action against BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini for his remarks against quota for Jats.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar who met about 80 leaders of different Khaps as well as representatives of Jat fora in Chandigarh Friday evening had assured them a government job for a kin of all the 30 deceased in the Jat stir last year.

The AIJASS claims the agitation will be peaceful this time.

But authorities are taking no chances.

Mobile internet services around a 5-km radius of Rashwala Mod, where the Jat group has announced to begin its agitation from, have also been shut down.

The administration has also barred sale of alcohol in the same radius.

The police and administration in other districts are also constantly monitoring social media to check rumour mongering and provocative messages. They have held meetings with network providers, instructing them to shut internet services within 15 minutes of an order if the situation requires such action.

Also read | Caste bias, cowardice all to fore as Jat protest spun out of control
A 59-year-old man lives in small first-floor room of a century-old building along Kolkatas Central Avenue, in the citys heart. He is a cardiac patient.

He surfs local news channels through the day on a small television gifted by a friend till 3am. He keeps checking his cellphone frequently, which is never switched off.

Bipin Ganatras heart may be weak, but it is very much there where he wants it to be. He is a fire chaser by passion, the only one perhaps in the country of 1.2 billion people who volunteers his body and soul to douse any blaze in Kolkata.

The self-styled firefighter reaches a blaze site in no time after catching the news on TV or through his phone, and helps the fire brigade save property and lives.

Over the past four decades, this bespectacled and frail man has fought more than 100 fires. His relentless spirit has been acknowledged in the form of a Padma Shri, the countrys fourth highest civilian award, this year.

You never know when a fire breaks out. It could be a news item, or an SMS alert from the fire department. I am constantly on the lookout for such accidents, said Ganatra, sitting on a mattress on the floor where he sleeps.

He is not too delighted with the award, worried that the honour has increased his responsibility.

More than my own satisfaction, I have to now ensure that a Padma Shri never gets tarnished by my lack of efforts, he said.

The youngest son of a small-time shares trader, Ganatra was around 12 when his elder brother Narendra was killed in a fire on a Diwali night in Howrah. It changed his life; he dropped out of school and started chasing fires since then.

Every time I saw the red beacon on a fire truck or heard its clanging bells, I chased them. I joined the firemen as soon as I reached the spot. Initially they didnt allow me to douse the flames, and I helped them with odd jobs such as carrying hosepipes.

Today he is considered part of the firefighting force.

Ironically, he lives in a house that doesnt have any fire safety measures. A mesh of electric wires dangle from the ceiling in each floor, illegal godowns stacked with plywood and chemicals occupy the ground floor.

His room has the bare minimum to sustain his austere bachelor life. On a wall hangs a firefighting uniform gifted to him in 1994 by the fire services. He never uses it, but wore it to pose for HT.

Another wall is adorned with medals, badges, trophies, photographs and certificates that he has received over the years.

Ganatra serves society in the truest sense of the term. We are all proud of him and happy that his efforts for four decades have been finally acknowledged, said GP Ghosh, director of the state fire department.

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Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju on Sunday ruled out a probe into the alleged inappropriate behaviour of V Shanmuganathan, who was forced to resign as the governor of Meghalaya.

As of now, there is nothing in the form of documentary evidence against the former Governor to investigate the allegations. Nothing is in our hands (central government), he told IANS on the sidelines of the first North East Investment Summit here.

However, he described the resignation of Shanmuganathan, who was also the Governor in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh, was done on moral grounds.

I cannot comment on whether the government will institute an inquiry into the allegations. It is too premature for me to do so, the minister said.

Earlier, Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma said that he was communicating with the central government on the controversy.

Shanmuganathan resigned on January 26 after nearly 100 employees of Raj Bhavan in Shillong sent a five-page letter to the Prime Ministers Office and Rashtrapati Bhavan, demanding that the Governor be recalled for what they alleged was turning Raj Bhavan into a Young Ladies Club.

From the time Shanmuganathan took office, the employees alleged, they were going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture.

The protest letter by the Raj Bhavan staff came after an English daily report quoted a woman accusing Shanmuganathan of making advances by hugging and kissing me.

The woman was one of the seven candidates selected for an interview for the post of a public relations officer at Raj Bhavan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the 28th edition of his monthly address to the nation -- Mann ki Baat -- on Sunday.

PM Modi guided the students preparing for the Class X and XII Board examinations, which will commence from March 9, a day after the last vote is cast in the assembly polls.

In his address on the eve of Martyrs Day, he also remembered the people who laid their lives in Indian freedom movement, and also the soldiers who have died protecting the borders.

The Election Commission had given a go-ahead to the broadcast of the programme with a condition that nothing be said to influence voters in the five poll-bound states.

Here are the live updates from the Mann ki Baat on Jan 29:

# Akashwani has started broadcasting Mann ki Baat in regional languages since my last address. I thank and congratulate Prasar Bharati for their voluntary initiative, for which we have received thousands of letters from listeners in regional languages, PM Modi.

# The Indian Coast Guard will turn 40 this February 1. I thank all the fellow personnel and jawans of Coast Guard who have been dedicated towards the safety of the coasts of India, especially in such times of much needed marine safety, PM Modi in Mann ki Baat.

# It is a misconception that playing and too many breaks during preparations for exams breaks the flow of studies. Go out. Play for a while. Exercise and then the relaxation of the body also helps the mind relax. Deep breathing also helps. And take full sleep. These all steps help in improving focus and concentration, PM Modi tells students preparing for exams.

P for prepared, P for play. The person who plays shines

# PM Modi gets a call from a citizen who regrets cheating in exams. He says: Cheating is an easy way out to a difficulty. To cheat is too cheap. Do not cheat.

# I request parents also not to stress over the studies of their children. Failure, low marks are all part of the process. Let the children study to their will and make an environment helpful for their studies: PM Modi tells parents of students going to exams next month.

# A caller, Srishti, sought help to make conducive environment for studies ahead of exams. PM Modi says, Dont run for marks, it will make you find the shortest way and you will skip what all you have studied. Keep calm and focus on what have you studied. Competition with others will not help to go forward. Compete with yourself.

Stress will not help you gain good marks. Remember, A happy mind is the secret to a good marksheet.

# I also request you to observe two minutes of silence in memory of all those who laid their lives for the freedom of India: PM Modi

# This Martyrs Day, I request the youth to share stories of our brave heroes felicitated on Republic Day on the social media. It will not only be an inspiration, but also will motivate our soldiers: PM Modi

# Our nation will progress only if we follow the tracks of rights and responsibilities together, PM Modi says, starting Mann ki Baat.
Notwithstanding the growing clamour for the removal of home minister HDR Lyngdoh, Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma refused to sack him saying the law did not require that.

Lyngdoh came into the limelight after a 14-year-old girl, who was trafficked, was raped repeatedly in a guest house owned by his son. Sixteen people, including Independent MLA Julius K Dorphang, have been arrested till date for their involvement in the case.

As of now, no. The law doesnt demand so, Sangma told newspersons in Shillong on Saturday on being asked whether he would remove Lyngdoh from the cabinet.

Read: Heat on Meghalaya CM to sack home minister after arrest of rape-accused MLA

Sangmas statement comes two days after Meghalaya governor V Shanmuganathans resignation on Thursday following allegations of sexual misconduct and demands from Raj Bhawan employees for his ouster.

What wrong have I done? Investigation is on and agencies are carrying out their duties without interference, Lyngdoh told reporters on Saturday.

Demand for Lyngdohs resignation arose last month following the arrest of an employee of the guest house, which is owned by his son Nathaniel O Rymmai, on charges for pimping the minor victim.

Four people, including MLA Dorphang, had raped the girl on separate occasions at Rymmais Marvelene Inn. The victim was also taken to other guest houses and a government-owned resort and sexually exploited before she was rescued last month.

Read: Shillong takes to the streets against rape after minor victim identifies MLA

The Congress government in Meghalaya has come under flak from NGOs and opposition parties for failing to remove Lyngdoh.

Since the home minister is in charge of the police department, there are fears that he can influence the probe.

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formally charged a woman, Yasmeen Mohammed Zahid, who was caught trying to leave India for Afghanistan to join the Islamic State (IS) .

She was the second woman in India to be arrested for alleged links with the IS.

The first one was alleged IS recruiter Afsha Jabeen who was arrested by the Hyderabad police in September, 2015 after being deported from the UAE. She was allegedly posing as a British national named Nicky alias Nicole Joseph on social media to lure youth into joining the IS. The Hyderabad police is yet to chargesheet her.

Second woman to be arrested on the charges of alleged links with the IS was Yasmeen.

She was intercepted at the New Delhi International Airport on July 30 last year while she was trying to board a flight for Kabul along with her minor child.

The NIA said she was going to Kabul to join a co-accused Abdul Rashid who was in the territory under the control of IS in Afghanistan.

Investigation has established that Abdul Rashid had raised funds for the IS and transferred such funds to Yasmeen, who utilised it for her activities with the intention of supporting the terrorist organisation, said the NIA in a statement.

The charge sheet against Yasmeen and Rashid was filed in Kerala for criminal conspiracy and waging war against an Asiatic power in alliance with India. The agency also invoked Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the duo.

Rashid is from Kasaragod district of Kerala and Yasmeen, originally a resident of Bihars Sitamarhi district, was living in Delhis Batla House area at the time of her arrest.

The investigation agency said the case against Yasmeen and Rashid originated from the conspiracy under which 14 men and women left India to join the IS in Afghanistan. They were also from Kasaragod district.

Rashid had conducted classes at Kasaragod and other places in support of the IS and its ideology of violent jihad, the NIA statement added.

There have been over half a dozen cases earlier , in Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi, where young women got lured towards the IS and even planned to join or joined the outfit.

But in all these cases, the young women were not arrested but counselled and allowed to stay with their families.

Investigators suspect that there might be around half a dozen more Indian women who are living in the IS-held territories in Syria and Afghanistan.

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A 25-year-old woman engineer working with software major Infosys was found murdered at her workstation in the Hinjewadi IT Park near Pune late on Sunday evening, police said. The woman, identified as Rasila Raju OP, a native of Kerala, was lying on the floor near her chair.

The police said she had been strangled using wire from the computer at her workplace, which is on the ninth floor of Infosys facility in phase II of the Hinjewadi IT park near Pune.

The police said Infosys officials told them Raseela had the day off on Sunday, but had come in to work on a project, on which some people in Infosys Bangalore, too, were working and she was in touch with them. When her supervisor in Bangalore could not get in touch with her late on Sunday, someone in the Hinjewadi office was asked to check on her.

In the evening when her team manager called her up on the mobile phone, there was no response. After sometime, he asked others at Infosys to find out why she was not responding to calls. When her colleagues came to her workstation, they found her lying on the floor with a computer wire around her neck, said assistant police commissioner, Vaishali Jadhav.

Her body has been sent for post-mortem. The official said the police have been working on some leads.

According to senior police officials, Raju had come to office at around 3pm. Around 10pm, we received call from Infosys about her body lying on the floor near her work station, said Jadhav.

Officials said they were in the process of gathering the CCTV footage from the workplace and the campus of the IT major.

This is the second murder of a woman techie in Pune in the last two months. In December, Antara Das, 23-year-old techie from Kolkata working with Capgemini near Pune, was stabbed to death while returning from work late in the evening.

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Police arrested Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) leaders among others following outbreak of violence in Ausgram in Burdwan district, in a bid to prevent a Bhangar-like situation.

Till reports last came in, 11 persons were arrested in police raids, which started late Saturday night.

Raids are continuing in the area to nab the people who ransacked police station on Saturday. Lawless will not be allowed, said a senior police officer from Burdwan.

On Saturday, a mob of around 2000 villagers ransacked the Ausgram police station and set parts of it on fire. The villagers had been agitating against an illegal construction close to the local boys school.

Police arrested Guskara municipality TMC councilor, Chanchal Gorai, on Saturday and next morning the CPI(M) zonal committee secretary of Guskara , Suren Hembram, was also arrested.

Even as the state administration was busy containing the land agitation at Bhangar in the South Parganas, violence erupted at Ausgram in Burdwan district (about 80 km from Kolkata) on Saturday.

Several villagers and policemen were injured in Burdwan on Saturday. The mob destroyed police vehicles, computers, documents and set the barrack on fire. Outnumbered and panicked, the policemen ran for cover. A sub-inspector was seen sobbing in fear even while talking to a local TV channel hours after the rampage.

This was the second instance in recent times that a police station was attacked and set on fire in Bengal. In January 2016, the police station at Kaliachak in Malda district was destroyed by a mob that apparently had a dispute with the Border Security Police over checking of vehicles along the Bangladesh border.
This Republic Day, Tripura rolled out its tableau featuring Hojagiri, a Reang tribal dance, to depict the vibrancy of its culture, but thousands of kilometres away in the northeastern state the younger generation of the tribe can barely identify the national anthem.

A team from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in New Delhi was recently taken by surprise when none of the 4,000 children, aged up to 10 years, at temporary shelters for Reang refugees in Tripuras Kanchanpur were able to identify the national anthem. The children were also unable to sing Jana Gana Mana even after being prompted.

More than 35,000 Reang tribespeople, who moved from Mizoram to Tripura in October 1997 after atrocities were committed against them allegedly by Mizos, have been living in makeshift camps in Kanchanpur sub-division, 170 km from state capital Agartala, for the past two decades.

Tripura rolled out its tableau featuring Hojagiri, a Reang tribal dance, on Republic Day to depict the vibrancy of its culture on January 26. (Mohd Zakir/HT PHOTO)

While a political solution to their problems is in not in sight, the refugees regularly battle for even basic documents such as birth and caste certificates.

A deputy director of the state education department and other officials, who had accompanied us, tried their best to make the children sing at least two lines of the national anthem but all their efforts were unsuccessful, NCPCR member Priyank Kanoongo told Hindustan Times.

The team, including Kanoongo and Yashwant Jain, visited the camps between January 11 and 14 and inspected the Non-Residential Special Training Centres (NRSTCs) for Reang refugees at Naisingh Para, Asha Para, Heza Chera and other nearby areas.

They were surprised to find these centres had never celebrated Republic Day or Independence Day since they were established more than a decade ago.

Sixteen NRSTCs, run under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, are meant for child labourers and displaced children, aged between six and 14 years, who have never been to school or have dropped out for more than six months.

There are 16 Non-Residential Special Training Centres, run under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, in Tripuras Kanchanpur sub-division for 4,000 Reang refugee children. (NCPCR)

The standard of education is really poor...The contractual teachers who teach the children are only teaching them Bru or Reang languages, Kanoongo said.

For the first time this year, the Tripura government organised Republic Day functions at the NRSTCs after being pulled up, said Kanoongo.

The commission recommended that the Mizoram government should depute at least 60 officers, including teachers, at the NRSTCs to meet children to understand their problems.

The central government disburses crores of rupees every year to these centres, where only a total of 50 to 60 contractual teachers are posted. Shunned by both the Tripura and Mizoram governments, students graduating from the centres have scant scope for further studies in the absence of better facilities and caste certificates.

The condition of the Reang refugees is really bad. Only recently the Tripura government has started identifying the refugees. So far it has identified 500 refugees for repatriation, said Purushottam Roy Barman, a senior advocate and chairman of the Agartala-based NGO Tripura Human Rights Organisation.

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Despite a fracture in her femur bone, nonagenarian Dr Bhakti Yadav, the first woman doctor from Indore, welcomes you with a pure and innocent smile that lights up her creased face.

Never let the smile leave your face, I tell all my patients, says the good doctor, who was chosen for the Padma Shri award this year, of course, with a smile.

Bedridden for the past two months due to the fracture, Dr Bhakti, or Mum as she is fondly called in Indores mill areas, has worked tirelessly as a gynaecologist for over 65 years taking little or no money at all from her mostly poor patients.

Read: Doctor Dadi, sportsmen with disabilities: The unsung heroes in Padma Shri list

I am very happy at the honour (Padma Shri). I am glad that the spirit of selfless service has been honoured by the country, she said.

The only female student in the first batch of Indores Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College in 1948, she could have chosen to work at the government-run Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Hospital (MYH), the biggest state-run hospital in the state, but spurned the offer.

The mill areas needed a doctor so I started working at the Nandlal Bhandari Maternity Home that was run by the Nandlal Bhandari Mills authorities, Dr Bhakti said.

When the mill closed in 1978, she opened the modest Vatsalya Nursing home at Clerk Colony and continued her work. Her two doctor sons, Dr Chetan and his wife Dr Sunita Yadav and Dr Raman Yadav are now running the nursing home.

Her dedication ensured that her name spread not only in Indore, but neighbouring districts also.

There were very few female doctors in those days, and her sincerity won her near god-like devotion from her patients and common people of the area. Even now patients come and want her to bless them, said Dr Ulhas Mahajan, a former president of the state Indian Medical Association and has known the family for decades.

Dr Bhakti says she was inspired by her parents to serve the poor and received strong support from her late husband and batch-mate Dr Chandra Singh Yadav.

We had to choose a lab partner during our MBBS course, and he stepped forward when others were hesitant. My lab partner later became my life partner, Dr Bhakti says with a twinkle in her eye.

She was from a Maharashtrian family and there was opposition from both sides to the marriage. But Dr Bhakti was made of sterner stuff and overcame all opposition and got married in 1957.

Born in Mahidpur, then a small village, in Ujjain district, it was her determination that saw her parents sending her to nearby Garoth town where she studied till class 7. Then she studied at Ahilya Ashram School, the only school for girls in Indore and joined the Holkar Science College and topped the intermediate exam.

However, Dr Bhakti is a little pained by the attitude of doctors of the present generation. They are all running after money and many behave like robots while dealing with patients. I never bothered about my image, and often rode a bicycle to see patients, she says.
Nearly 30 vehicles rammed into each other causing a pile up on the Jaipur-Agra highway on Sunday morning, leaving one dead and 28 others injured.

The incident occurred due to poor visibility as heavy fog enveloped the highway. Of the injured, five are reportedly in critical condition.

The accident happened in the morning when almost 30 cars crashed into each other on Jaipur- Agra Highway due to fog, ANI quoted Jaipurs additional commissioner of police as saying.

The injured were taken to hospitals, police said, adding all steps were being taken to provide medical treatment to the victims.

Almost 30 vehicles rammed into each other on Jaipur- Agra Highway due to fog; 15 injured. pic.twitter.com/kwh136YIba  ANI (@ANI_news) January 29, 2017

Police are also trying to clear the highway.

This is the second major accident on the same highway in a week.

Last week, four persons were killed on the Jaipur- Agra highway when a bus carrying American tourists rammed into a tractor. Six others were injured in the accident.
Simply in awe of the beauty of Varanasi ghats, a French professor of architecture said some more concrete steps should be taken to conserve the unique heritage of the place that attracts a lot of tourists from across the globe.

Sexagenarian Pierre Bouche with a group of his pupils organised an Indo-French exhibition-cum-workshop on learning from Indian neighbourhood case study of living heritage of Banaras at Rajendra Prasad Ghat on Saturday. Banaras ghats are unique. It is a wonderful landscape that is perhaps nowhere else in the world. The Indian government should make more serious efforts to conserve it, Bouche shared with HT.

Prof Bouche along with a group of his students visited Varanasi about 10 years ago. He surveyed and studied architecture of around 30 buildings then. The team prepared a detailed report and went back to Paris. Bouche submitted the report to the UNESCO and discussed the importance of architectural heritage of Varanasi with its authorities.

In a decade, he visited Varanasi five times. Four times with his students at Ecole Nationale Superieure dArchitecture de Paris La Villette (National School of Architecture, Paris La Villette). Prof Bouches students of architecture visit the city of ghats to have an idea about architectural heritage of Banaras.

In Paris, government protects each building of architectural importance. Even empty buildings are conserved. The government authorities need to understand a bit more that tourists from around the globe visit Banaras to catch glimpses of the picturesque view of the ghats, Bouche said.

Each building of architectural heritage needs to be conserved and there should be no permission to turn any such building into a hotel, he opined. Asked if he would speak to Indian authorities over it, he said possibly in future.

Prof Bouche had also worked along with the government of Rajasthan, UNESCO and city of Udaipur a few years ago. He surveyed around 40 buildings of architectural importance and prepared a detailed report, suggesting the ways to conserve them.

He revealed that thereafter a foundation was constituted and the state government with the help of the UNESCO made serious efforts for conservation of the buildings.

To make people aware of the architectural importance of Banaras, Bouche has held two exhibitions at ghats in association with the Bharatiya Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai. The first exhibition was organised earlier this month soon after he arrived in India on January 13.

Hope, people and authorities will take care of the living architectural heritage of Banaras, Bouche said. His pupil Aurelian Vaux has so far surveyed 30 buildings of architectural importance and will stay here for couple of few more months and prepare a report.

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BJP president Amit Shah faced protests over ticket distribution on his arrival at the airport and the party office here on Saturday.

Three agitators also tried to immolate themselves.

Protests are a good sign for the party. It shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is winning UP assembly elections as everyone is demanding ticket, said Shah, while releasing partys manifesto at Indira Gandhi Pratisthan later in the day.

A large number of disgruntled BJP workers assembled outside the exit of the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport after getting information about Shahs arrival.

As the BJP chief came out of the terminal, agitators shouted slogans against him and demanded cancellation of tickets to turncoats.

The police had a tough time in getting Shahs cavalcade out of the airport. However, this was not the end of protests.

At the party office at Vidhan Sabha Marg, Shah was again greeted with protests by BJP workers who had come from all parts of the state to vent their ire over ticket distribution.

BJP workers Roshan Mishra, KK Pandey and Raghvendra Singh, along with others, had come all the way from Zahoorabad assembly constituency in Ghazipur to oppose partys alliance with the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) on eight assembly seats in eastern UP.

The agitators accused national president of SBSP Om Prakash Rajbhar of conniving with other parties to harm the BJP.

As the protest continued, Roshan Mishra, KK Pandey and Raghvendra Singh tried to immolate themselves by pouring kerosene.

However, the police deployed outside the party office foiled the attempt and managed to arrest Mishra. Pandey and Singh managed to escape.

The agitators demanded ticket for BJP worker Ram Pratap Singh Pintu from Zahoorabad assembly seat which has gone to SBSP under the alliance.

BJP workers from Manikpur assembly constituency in Chitrakoot also protested outside the BJP office to oppose the decision to give ticket to former BSP leader RK Patel, who joined the BJP just before assembly election. They demanded ticket for BJP worker Anand Shukla.

During his visit to Varanasi on Friday, state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya had to face the ire of workers who were agitated over the denial of ticket to sitting MLA Shyamdeo Roy Chaudhary, a seven-time MLA from Varanasi South assembly seat. Maurya had to visit Chaudharys house to pacify the agitators.

The BJP leadership has been grappling with massive protests from party workers across the state after it announced tickets for the assembly elections.

The BJP has fielded many leaders, who joined BJP just before the election, in various constituencies in the state.
Bandra residents have opposed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) ambitious Coastal Road project and feared that it will cause more problems, including irrevocable ecological damage, than provide solutions to the citys traffic woes.

Irked citizens alleged that the civic administration did not hold a single public meeting on the project.

Close to 50 residents  led by Darryl DMonte, president of the Bandra West Residents Association  were part of a two-hour meeting near Carter Road promenade on Sunday morning. DMonte termed the project expenditure wasteful and said it is a willful destruction of nature in the name of development.

In its bid to decongest arterial roads along the Western Express Highway, the civic body intends to construct the coastal road that will connect the western suburbs along the coast with undersea tunnels, roads on reclaimed land and elevated stretches.

Among other concerns, residents said the project will lead to an unimaginable spike in pollution levels with over 200,000 vehicles plying on the 29.2-km coastal road. The coastal road will have eight lanes, with two dedicated bus lanes for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS).

The project has been planned to be constructed in two phases.

In Phase-I of the Rs12,000 crore project, the BMC will construct the stretch from Marine Drive to Carter Road in Bandra. The north Mumbai phase is from Bandra to Kandivli. The road will also have a sea-link between Bandra and Versova, which will be built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

The sea which currently brings fresh air will emit toxic fumes from the coastal road. The project will destroy the thick mangrove cover. Mangroves are essential for a city like Mumbai, which is susceptible to inundation, said DMonte.

In less than half the cost, traffic can be eased out by implementing a comprehensive transportation policy, he said.

He added that a very small percentage of Mumbaiites use their own vehicles as opposed to more than 90% dependent on public transport for their daily commute. Only a small percentage of commuters, living along the west coast, will use the road, making it a false solution to traffic problems.

According to the civic body, the project will reclaim around 186 hectares of land, of which, 91 hectares will be developed as green space.

Specific measures are being taken to protect the environment. We have planned to build the elevated roads on stilts along creek areas to save mangroves, said a senior civic official.

While the BMC is expected to complete its tender process by March next year, the Union environment ministry is yet to clear the project.

Project will endanger mangroves and heritage

Mumbai is already choked by traffic and is heavily dependent on its mangrove cover which works as a buffer against inundation.

The Coastal Road will lead to severe environmental damages, said members of the Bandra West Residents Association.

In the Sunday meeting held by the association, they highlighted that historical monuments,  inlcuding Mahalaxmi temple and Bandra Fort  waterfronts and public places might be lost

The project can damage the livelihood of all coastal communities, they said

The construction of the coastal road can lead to soil erosion along the coastline, they feared

What are the alternatives?

While the project planners have failed to address our issues by not holding a single public hearing, infra projects such as the Metro II and Metro III or constructing Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) along the Eastern or Western Expressways can ease traffic congestion in the city, said Darryl DMonte, president, Bandra West Residents Association.

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The Navghar police have ruled out the role of Karthik, the estranged husband of the victim, in the twin murders of Dipika Sanghvi and her 8-year-old daughter Hetal in their Bhayander flat on Saturday.

We have ruled out Karthiks role in the murder, said Dr Mahesh Patil,DSP,Thane Rural.

The post mortem report revealed that both the victims were hit on their heads with a blunt object, said Dr Patil.

While my officers sat on the bed, making the panchnama for Dipika, they caught a stench from the bed cabinet and after lifting the mattress, found Hetals body wrapped in a bedsheet, he said.

The murder took place on January 25, according to the post mortem report and the two bodies were discovered only on Saturday in a rotten form.

The victims neighbours alerted us after getting the foul smell from the flat where Sanghvi stayed. We are going through CCTV footages installed in the building and are trying to zero in on the accused, who was possibly known to the family and we will arrest them shortly .The entry was not forced, said police.

The victim worked in a Mumbai call centre and was a single mother. She had separated from Karthik and was staying with her daughter for the past one year. Divorce proceedings were to begin shortly in the Thane court,said Dr Patil.

READ MORE

Mumbai: Rotting bodies of daughter, mom found in Bhayander flat
The Government Railway police (GRP) questioned at least 20 people in connection with the Diva railway incident where a major disaster was averted after the motorman of Madgoan-Dadar Jan Shatabdi Express spotted a seven-metre part of the of the track that had come loose and was mounted on the track below, on the fast line on January 24.

GRP officials are yet to zero in on the culprit. Suspecting the involvement of a terror outfit, a team from the Mumbai and Thane ATS visited the spot to conduct a parallel inquiry.

Soon after the Diva incident, the Uttar Pradesh ATS contacted the Mumbai GRP because five to six similar incidents have taken place in Uttar Pradesh as in last one year, where the fish plates on the tracks were removed. In 2015, a major train mishap was averted near Mohanlalganj near Lucknow after the motorman noticed a 50cm rail track missing. A senior ATS officer from Uttar Pradesh said that they had a discussion with the Mumbai GRP and ATS officers from Maharashtra. The official added if a common link came up, they would visit Mumbai soon.

We have been questioning people who take the route. So far, we have not identified any suspect, said a GRP official.

Several police teams have been formed in the GRP to probe the incident and the local police are also helping scan the area for suspects from outside the state who could live in the area.



As such an incident cannot be carried out with a few hours of planning, we suspect that the culprits had done their homework about the timings and the spot, added the official. The involvement of an organised group with an intention to execute a major disaster cannot be ruled out.

Anti-terrorism agencies have been roped in to probe the alleged role of ISI or any other terror outfit in the recent derailments that took place in north India. The police are probing the terror angle, particularly because they feel that it cannot be the handiwork of one person, as it would take more than one person to lift a part of the track that weighed 300kg. They are also looking into the careless attitude of railway authorities who failed to monitor the tracks properly despite it being a busy route.

The incident -

- The incident occurred around 10.40pm on January 24 and it was because the motorman was alert enough to avert a major tragedy.

- The motorman spotted the piece about few metres before Diva railway station and immediately notified the railway control authorities.

READ MORE

Mishap averted: Motorman spots metal piece on CST-Kalyan fast line
The students at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) are upset with the institutes online registration process. In a recent article posted on Insight, IIT-Bs in-house portal, the students complained that the registration process is marred with delay, slow website and incorrect entries on the registration portal.

At the start of every semester, IITians are required to apply for their course plan on the online portal.

The article reads that the registration starts after the delay of a few hours minimum to a whole day at times. It also complained that the registration is further prolonged due to a slow registration portal.

As per the article, due to continuously changing timetables, the students are forced to rethink their course plan. Incorrect, double, or missing timetable entries that throw up exceptions a student cannot deal with, leading to confusion and a lot of back and forth between said student and the Academic Section, it read.

The article suggests that problems are the result of bureaucratic lack of coordination between different stakeholders. The [IIT-B] academic section, Application Software Centre - which handles the website - and the departments work throughout the year, and when registration impinges on their schedule for a few days in the year, it just isnt on the top of their to-do-list, it adds.

Shreerang Javdekar, one of the student editors at Insight, said that they have made representations to the authorities and apprised them of the problem.

The students are hopeful that a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, aimed at streamlining all processes, will make the registration smoother. The other light is that the Academic Council is available to help liaise with students and the other stakeholders before, during, and after the registration process, reads the article.

Soumyo Mukherjee, dean, student affairs at IIT-B refused to comment on the issue. I have not read the article, he said.

Also read: IIT-Bombay likely to start BSc in Economics from this year
Eighteen-year-old female leopard Krishna, the oldest captive resident of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Borivli, died at 2am on Sunday.

Veterinarians from the park said that she had been suffering from chest congestion and had sores on her body for the past five days. SGNP regrets to inform that Krishna breathed her last and succumbed to old age. She had been undergoing treatment for local wounds, chest infection and had not been eating for the past two days, said Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian, SGNP. She was critical and was not responding positively to treatment.

This was the second death in over a month after the park lost 16-year-old male leopard, Ahmednagar, one of the oldest animals at the park, to old age. He too, had stopped eating for two days, following which his condition became critical.

Pathologists from the Bombay Veterinary College will conduct a post-mortem on Monday. Results will be disclosed on Wednesday.

The average lifespan of a leopard is 12 to 14 years.

After Krishnas death, there are 14 leopards  seven female and seven male  now at SGNPs leopard rescue centre, of which four  two male and two female  are over 15 years of age. Once we know the exact cause of Krishnas death, we will be conducting tests on other leopards that have come off age as a precautionary measure, added Pethe. However, they are currently fit, healthy and eating properly.

Krishna was a three-month-old cub when she was brought to the park in 1999. She had been abandoned by her mother at a sugarcane field at Pen in Raigad.

Park officials were deeply saddened by the incident as she had spent most of her life at SGNP. Krishna was very docile ever since we first brought her to the park. She never displayed any aggression to us (forest officers), animal keepers or even other leopards at the rescue centre. On the contrary, she could adjust very easily with other animals and we never had trouble feeding her, except during her last stages, said Shailesh Deore, range forest officer, SGNP. She has a special place in our hearts and will be terribly missed.

What is next

Krishnas body might be preserved through taxidermy

Forest officials are considering preserving Krishnas skin through taxidermy since it is intact and there are no marks. However, they will take a call only after the post-mortem.

In 2014, after male leopard Raja, Krishnas mate, died, she has been very lonely and nervous, said Shailesh Deore, range forest officer, SGNP. She had a few health issues then with constant loose motion. Over time, as new leopards were brought to the park, she made friends and moved on, said Deore. Rajas body was preserved through taxidermy and depending on the post mortem results, we might preserve Krishnas body too, next to Raja.

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National parks oldest captive leopard is critically ill

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Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Mumbai and other parts of the state have launched a special drive against the high-end imported vehicles, which are plying in Maharashtra but are registered in other states to save lakhs of rupees owing to high taxation here. The RTOs have started recovering the difference.

The transport department has till now initiated action against 200 high-end vehicles costing as high as Rs1 crore. Majority of the vehicles facing action are found in Mumbai with the highest number of such evasions from Borivli RTO, according to the sources from Motor Vehicle department.

In Maharashtra, vehicle tax for imported vehicles is above 20%, whereas in few other states likes Jharkhand, Nagaland and Union territories such as Pondicherry and Diu Daman, it is less than 10%. Car owners save in lakhs, if they register their high-end vehicles in states with lesser taxation. For instance, if a car costing around Rs1 crore is registered in Jharkhand, the amount of tax would be just Rs 5-7 lakh, as against more than Rs 20 lakh in Maharashtra. Vehicles owners thus opt to register their vehicles outside the state to save money.

Pradeep Shinde, deputy transport commissioner, said the special drive that began on January 18, will continue targeting locations like airport, pubs, five-star hotels and business districts, for some more days.

The department has also asked the people to inform them if they spot any such vehicles. RTO officials said generally they should confiscate such vehicles registered outside the state, but the department is just issuing them memo. The department does not have dedicated space to keep the seized vehicles which are too costly and need special care.

The vehicle owners, who faced RTO action for alleged tax evasion, are now facing another trouble because new VAHAN 4.0 system for vehicle registration does not have any provision for accepting the difference of tax evaded by such vehicles, said RTO sources.

Transport commissioner offices has directed RTOs to accept the tax manually. But the sources said it will be a trouble in future for the administration and the owners as the system would not allow the vehicle to be transferred in the state unless it is reflected in the system after having paid it.

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5 app-based buses seized in RTO crackdown

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With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena snapping ties for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party are keen to form an alliance. A tie-up is likely to be formed for about eight district councils and half the municipal corporations for which polls will be held on February 16 and February 21.

Leaders from both parties were keen to join hands, keeping in mind that the Congress and NCP will be stronger if the division of the secular votes is averted.

Though the parties have told their local units to take a call on the alliance, any developments are being closely monitored by the state-level leadership. We are in the last leg of alliance talks in most of the districts. We will make an announcement soon, said Ashok Chavan, state Congress president.

The parties are likely to tie up for the district council elections in Beed, Latur, Hingoli and Jalana and have agreed to form an alliance for civic body elections in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Thane and Akola.

The parties are trying to reach a consensus for the Osmanabad district council elections.

The NCP, which took a major hit in the municipal council elections late last year, was proactive in teaming up with the Congress this time.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar clarified that the party would not bail out the BJP just so the party could remain in power at the state.

In Mumbai, the two parties are unlikely to forge an alliance as the NCP has already announced three lists comprising 101 candidates. Nirupams arrogance is to blame for the parties split in Mumbai, said Sunil Tatkare, state NCP chief.

Read

Congress, NCP ally for legislative council elections

Congress, NCP to tie up for all civic bodies but Mumbai
Doctors from Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) on Sunday launched a new web-based service, Virtual Tumour Board (VTB), in which various cancer specialists, practising across India, can connect online to discuss a particular case.

The VTB was launched in the presence of the Union minister of health and family welfare, JP Nadda, on the last day of the three-day long conference organised by the Tata Memorial Centre to commemorate its 75th anniversary. The meet was organised at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research to discuss the issue of universal health coverage.

The VTB is the brainchild of doctors at TMH who realised the need for having comprehensive analysis of complex cancer cases by a team of specialists, as opposed to just one.

Data available suggests that when a multi-disciplinary team takes decisions on a particular cancer case, the survival rate and the outcome of treatment is better as compared to treatment decided by just one doctor, said Dr CS Pramesh, head of the department of surgical oncology, TMH.

After the specialists finish discussing a case on the VTB, a summary of comments made by them is collated and sent to the doctor treating the patient. The VTB is a part of the National Cancer Grid (NCG) that was started five years ago to link cancer centres across India. The NCG is funded by the centre through the department of atomic energy to provide uniform standards of care to cancer patients.

The VTB is a good step forward for India and I am convinced it will help us improve early screening, ensure right kind of treatment is given at the right time and boost the sharing of knowledge between experts. I congratulate Tata Memorial Centre for this initiative, said Nadda

Based on the discussions held at the conference, doctors issued a list of recommendations to the centre,Mumbai Declaration, to ensure universal and affordable health coverage.

There is a lot of hidden cost in healthcare, which is almost equivalent to the cost of treatment. We must get rid of it, said Dr Rajendra Badwe, director, TMH.

In the recommendations made, doctors have strongly urged to increase healthcare budget from 1.4% to 3%.

I pledge my support and commitment to this initiative and declare that the ministry will implement, in letter and in spirit, every suggestion of the Mumbai Declaration, Nadda said.

Recommendations made

Increase central government allocation of funds to healthcare, from 1.4% to 3% of GDP, along with a commensurate increase in the states contribution

Offer easy access to palliative care

Increase the number of qualified doctors, nurses, paramedical workers, and technicians by expanding medical and paramedical educational infrastructure.

Also read: India needs to prioritise its healthcare agenda to fast track countrys progress
A 25-year-old woman engineer working with software major Infosys was found murdered at her workstation in the Hinjewadi IT Park near Pune late on Sunday evening, police said. The woman, identified as K Raseela Raju, a native of Kerala, was lying on the floor near her chair.

The police said she had been strangled using wire from the computer at her workplace, which is on the ninth floor of Infosys facility in phase II of the Hinjewadi IT park near Pune.

The police said Infosys officials told them Raseela had the day off on Sunday, but had come in to work on a project, on which some people in Infosys Bangalore, too, were working and she was in touch with them. When her supervisor in Bangalore could not get in touch with her late on Sunday, someone in the Hinjewadi office was asked to check on

her. In the evening when her team manager called her up on the mobile phone, there was no response. After sometime, he asked others at Infosys to find out why she was not responding to calls. When her colleagues came to her workstation, they found her lying on the floor with a computer wire around her neck, said assistant

police commissioner, Vaishali Jadhav. Late in the evening the body was sent for post-mortem. The official said the police were working on some leads.

According to senior police officials, Raju had come to office around 3pm.

Around 10pm, we received a call from Infosys about her body lying on the floor near her workstation, said Jadhav.

At the time of going to press, officials said they were in the process of gathering the CCTV footage from the workplace and the campus of the IT major.

This is the second murder of a woman techie in Pune in the last two months. In December, Antara Das, 23-year-old techie from Kolkata working with Capgemini near Pune, was stabbed to death while returning from work late in the evening.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has identified the Sahibabad assembly segment as an expenditure-sensitive constituency, among 28 such assembly segments in Uttar Pradesh. These are the constituencies where it is suspected that the candidates may resort to unfair means to lure voters and may incur more expenses.

The state goes to polls for the legislative assembly in seven phases with polling scheduled in Ghaziabad in the first phase on February 11.

The Sahibabad seat is the biggest assembly seat of the five in the district, the other four being Loni, Murad Nagar, Ghaziabad and Modi Nagar. It is the only assembly segment that features in the list of expenditure-sensitive segments in western UP.

Under the constituency, there are more than 8.61 lakh voters  4.92 lakh men and 3.68 lakh women.

For Sahibabad, the ECI has directed for a dedicated observer for the segment, whereas one observer looks after two assembly segments in the district. Further, there are two assistant expenditure observers posted in Sahibabad while the other segments have only one, Nidhi Kesarwani, district election officer (DEO), said.

The ECI has set an expenditure cap of 28 lakh per candidate.

Besides comprising prime areas of Kaushambi, Indirapuram, Vasundhara and Vaishali, Sahibabad segment is also house to major sub-urban areas of Khoda, Makanpur and Maharajpur, among others.

For increased monitoring of the Sahibabad segment, we have deployed five teams each of flying squads and static surveillance teams. The other segments have only three each of the squads. The number of checkpoints has also been increased, especially in areas that border Delhi, the DEO said.

The district administration has also directed the candidates to register their list of expenses every three to four days.

For increased transparency, the ECI has also directed candidates and political parties not to accept donations, in excess of 20,000, in cash. Also, donations exceeding 20,000 should be made through an account payee cheque.

Eleven candidates are in the fray to secure the seat, including top contenders from Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress-SP alliance.

In 2012 assembly elections, the highest election expenditure in Sahibabad constituency was by Samajwadi Party candidate Prahlad Sharma, who registered an expenditure of 12,86,177. The Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Amarpal Sharma had stated an expenditure of 11,61,966. The lowest expenditure was 65,652, by Peace Party candidate Ravindra Kumar.

The other expenditure-sensitive assembly constituencies in the state include Hathras, Amethi, Mathura, Ghazipur and Aligarh, among others.

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Doctors have boycotted work in three districts of Kosi division in Bihar following a brutal attack on a government doctor allegedly by attendants of a patient who died in the Supaul district hospital early on Sunday.

Dr Sachidanand Rai was attacked by people who were with the patient, Neena Devi, who doctors claim was brought to the hospital in a critical condition and died immediately after her admission.

Immediately after the incident, doctors boycotted work and threatened to paralyse medical services in the three districts, Supaul, Madhepura and Saharsa, if culprits were not arrested in the next 72 hours.

Kosi division comprises of the three districts.

For now, we have spared the emergency services, but if action is not initiated against those responsible for the crime in next three days, doctors of the entire division would strike work completely for an indefinite period, said secretary of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kosi division, SN Yadav.

Defending Rai, Yadav said the patient had been brought to the hospital in a critical condition and she died immediately after her admission.

Dr Rai, who was on emergency duty, could not do much to save the patients life, who was already gasping for breath, said district unit secretary of the Bihar State Health services Association (BSHSA), CK Prasad.

After her death, infuriated attendants of the patient brutally thrashed Dr Rai, inflicting grievous injuries on him, said Prasad.

An FIR against Dilip Shah, husband of deceased and some unknown persons have been lodged, said SP Supaul, Kumar Akla.

We are keeping a close watch on the development and would hold an emergency meeting to chalk out our future course of action, said general secretary of BSHSA, Ranjit Kumar.

Besides demanding action against those guilty, doctors have also asked the state government to provide adequate security to them at their work places.

Kumar said the Supaul incident was not an isolated case. Cases of attack on doctors and threat calls for rangdari tax have been reported from different parts of the state, as members of the medical fraternity have become soft targets for criminals, he said.

Last year more than 160 terror stricken medical doctors in the state had applied for arm licence to protect themselves from criminals. The list included 41 doctors from Kosi division alone.

Kumar told HT that as per reports, no doctor had been granted licence to possess arms.

Taking serious cognizance of the incident in Supaul, Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadav on Sunday assured the agitated doctors that government would take action against those responsible for the crime.

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Tribals in Kharsawan block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district purified a martyrs column on Saturday after chief minister Raghubar Das supporters and security personnel allegedly stepped on the site with their shoes on January 1, this year.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislators in Kolhan division led the purification march.

Every year on January 1, tribals pay homage to tribal martyrs who sacrificed their lives in 1948 protesting against merger of Kharsawan princely state with then Odisha.

Several thousand women and men in traditional tribal outfits marched towards the Kharsawan Shaheed Sthal, led by Seraikela MLA Champai Soren, Kharsawan MLA Dashrath Gagrai and Manoharpur MLA Joba Manjhi. Tribals on fast, took got da (holy water) in earthen pots from Sona river and their respective villages. They marched around six kilometres and reached the Shahid Sthal. Diuries (tribal priests) performed jate parchi (purification) of the site and gave diri dul sunum (homage) to the martyrs, followed by general public

The Aadi Sanskriti evam Vigyan Sansthan had organised the purification programme to maintain the auspicious spirit of the Shaheed Sthal. They alleged that purity of the site was lost as people in shoes had stepped into the site on the Kharsawan martyrs day.

Several thousand tribals turned violent on January 1 when the CM was paying homage at the site. The CMs security was breached and tribals even threw shoes at Das. Taking action over the incident, the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police were transferred from the district.

Kharsawan MLA Dashrath Gagrai said, Local residents had announced boycott of the CM, if he tried to pay homage to the Kharsawan martyrs on January 1. The protest was called against state governments proposed amendment to the Chhotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act. However, the CM did not respect tribal sentiments, rather his supporters made the site impure while paying homage. By performing the purification programme, we made the site pure and auspicious again.

Even as Gagrai said the government was willing to suppress the voice of tribals at gunpoint, Champai Soren said the protest against the CM would continue till the CNT-SPT Act amendment bill and domicile bill were withdrawn.

Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Ho Samaj Mahasabha vice president Mukesh Birua said, Tribals say Raghubar Das is unacceptable in their life. The management of Kharsawan Shaheed Sthal should be handed over to the local tribals committee, he added.
Fresh strife has been sparked off between Jharkhand and Bihar with the former asking Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation Ltd (COMFED) to return the ownership of state properties - three dairy projects and a cattle feed plant - to the new state. But, COMFED and Bihar wont oblige, saying it is multi-state property.

COMFED operates three dairy plants at Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Bokaro with producing capacity of three lakh litres per day and a cattle feed plant at Ranchis Hotwar area.

COMFEDs Sudha brand is major packaged milk supplier to Jharkhand, which supplies around 3 lakh litres of milk per day in cities. On the other hand, Jharkhand Milk Federation sells merely 50,000 litres packaged milk under Medha brand from its four dairy plants-Hotwar in Ranchi, Koderma, Latehar and Deoghar.

Jharkhand has embarked on a mission to bring about a white revolution by increasing the number of dairy plants and proposed acquisition of milk plants operated by COMFED in the state.

The plants had been established by Bihar government before separation of the states and management of the plants had been given to COMFED. Ownership of the plants was with Bihar government. As per Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000, the plants should have been handed over to Jharkhand, said Mukul Prasad, assistant director Jharkhand dairy development department (DDD).

State officials at a high level meeting on Friday put their demand up before Bihar and COMFED, but were told that the milk plants were registered as a multi-state cooperative society and its properties could not be divided.

The three dairy plants and cattle feed plant in Jharkhand are not government property as they belong to a deemed multistate cooperative society that is COMFED. So, its property cannot be divided, said COMFED managing director Seema Tripathi.

However, Prasad argued that if COMFED claimed ownership on the properties, it should produce documents related to it. COMFED claims that Bihar government transferred the ownership to it in 2003. Bihar government cannot transfer Jharkhands property in 2003, as the state separated from Bihar in 2000, Prasad said.

Earlier, Jharkhand had a long fight for handing over cadastral maps numbering 82,119 pending with Bihar government since separation of the two states.

Finally, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on June 3 last year had ordered his officials to transfer cadastral maps of eastern districts that went to Jharkhand after states bifurcation.

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New Delhi

Highway sectors budgetary allocation for 2017-18 fiscal is likely to be increased only marginally even as the Narendra Modi government has set an ambitious target of building almost 40km of roads per day. Governments road-construction target was 20 km per day during UPA-II.

Sources said the highways ministry is likely to get Rs 58,000 crore, up from Rs 57, 976 crore it got in 2016-17. It had sought Rs 90,000 crore (approximately).

The marginal increase means the ministry will have to run a tight ship in the new fiscal, officials said.

This comes at a time when the ministry has unveiled an expansion programme of constructing 20,000 kilometres of national highways over the next three years. This includes the Bharat Mala project that envisages developing 6000 km roads along coastal and border areas, Char Dham project connecting four pilgrimage spots including Badrinath and Kedarnath and Sethu Bharatam involving building 350 bridges and rail over bridges in two years.

Highways ministry, however, maintains the not-so-generous allocation will not prove a stumbling block for the proposed projects as of now. The finance ministry has allowed us to raise approximately Rs 59,000 crore from the market. This along with the budgetary allocation will see us through in the new fiscal, said a ministry official.

But ministry officials caution if the present allocation trend continues in the next couple of years, it can hit the highway-expansion programmes. If the government wants the highways infrastructure to be a catalyst for economic progress, it will have to continue the current level of investment in the next 2-3 years, said Rohit Kumar Singh, member (finance), National Highways Authority of India.

The Modi government, like the previous NDA government under Atal Behari Vajpayee, has given top priority to the sector that had hit a rough patch since 2007.

The government realises that road construction is vital for creating jobs and raising incomes, infrastructure experts said. According to credit rating and research firm Crisil, the construction sector was the most labour-dependent among all non-agricultural sectors, requiring more than 12 people to produce R10 lakh of real output.

Infrastructure experts admit the sector has probably got one of the biggest boosts since 1998 when the then NDA government launched the National Highways Development Project, the largest government initiative to date to expand and upgrade the capacity of the Indias shambolic highway network.

If the government wants the highways infrastructure to be a catalyst for economic growth, it will have to continue the current level of investment in the next 2-3 years, Rohit Kumar Singh, member (finance),NHAI

Between 2014-15 and 2016-17, the overall allocation to the highways sector has increased by 73 % -- from Rs 1.3 lakh crore to Rs 2.25 lakh crore.

The one sector that will outperform is highways. The progress in the last two-and-a-half years is laudable. But the ministry has to be careful otherwise it might get affected by the high expectation syndrome. Apart from a quantum jump in terms of project allocation, the quality too needs to improve, said Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman of infrastructure consulting firm Feedback Ventures.

Chatterjee says the ground conditions are right for a higher allocation. But he concedes there are tough challenges that the government will have to address if the current pace of development has to continue. These range from land acquisition issues, stressed balance sheet of highway developers and banks, laden with NPAs, that are reluctant to lend, he said.

In the last two years, the government has taken a slew of policy initiatives to raise revenue and lure back the private sector to invest in highways sector. With the appetite for PPP (public private partnership) projects going down, the highways ministry decided to first move to the EPC (engineering procurement contract) model where the government funds the entire project.

ALLOCATION TO THE HIGHWAYS SECTOR IN LAST THREE YEARS Year Allocation (in Rs crore) 2014-15 34,345 2015-16 44,255 2016-17 57, 976 2017-18 58,000 (likely)

It also introduced a new model called hybrid annuity where the government gives 40 % of the construction cost while the developer invests the remaining 60 %. The new model will not result in reduced equity investments by developers, but will also reduce initial capital outflow for NHAI. Besides, the government also finalised the blueprint to auction completed public funded road projects to domestic and international players for operation and maintenance for a 15-20 year period.

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Fifteen-year-old Vividha is calm. She is standing in court number eight of the Supreme Court of India. Her parents are engaged in a custody battle over her. Lawyers engaged by her parents are embroiled in a heated argument over who should get her custody. Vividha raises her hand. She wants to speak. In clear words she paints in front of the court a memory from her growing-up years. It is a happy memory. Of a day spent at her maternal grandparents house with her mother. She is six, and she is just back from eating pao bhaaji with her mother. But thats where the memory stops being happy. Vividha remembers her mother asking her whether she wants to live with her father or her mother. She remembers her perplexity over how to answer the question. She remembers answering that she wants both. And she remembers her mother angry and upset at her answer. She remembers her storming out of the room, banging the door behind her. Who behaves like this with a six-year-old child, she asks. Her voice is heavy with remembered hurt. Her careful composure breaks, as does her voice. Tears fill her eyes.

Vividhas case is not just any custody batter. Vividhas mother, Sapna is a British citizen who has alleged that Vividhas father abducted the child and brought her to India in 2009. Sapna claims that the family was living in UK at the time and that Vividha was brought to India without her knowledge and permission. Sapna says that she has been fighting to take her daughter home since. But claims that in the years that her daughter has been away from her, her husband and his family has poisoned her daughters mind against her with the result that her daughter doesnt want to live with her anymore. Her fathers lawyer meanwhile is trying to convince the judge that Vividha is well settled with him and should be allowed to continue as such.

In 1980 the Hague Convention drew up a multilateral treaty on the civil aspects of international child abduction. The aim of the treaty was to protect children from abduction and where it takes place, to create a system for their easy and quick return. According to the treaty, a child will be said to have been wrongly removed when the move is in violation of the rights of custody attributed to someone by the authorities of the country where the child has been living. Though the treaty doesnt use the word parental child abduction, lawyer Anil Malhotra says it can be interpreted to be used in such cases. But only if both countries - the one of which the child was a resident and the one where he has been taken - have signed the treaty. Malhotra has over 30 years of experience in handling parental child abduction cases and has also written a book on the subject.

India has not signed the treaty. But with mounting international pressure, and faced with a growing number of such cases, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is scheduled to meet on February 3 to review its stand.

Gone for good?

US resident Rakesh Agarwal says his son was abducted by wife and brought to India in 2012. Since then he has educated himself about the subject. As of August 2016 there were more than 80 cases of parental child abduction from the US to India, he says. India has the second highest number of such children being taken out of the US. And the number is growing, he says. The year before India had the third highest number of such cases, says Agarwal. US is not the only country from where children are being brought to India by parents trying to break out of a marriage while keeping the children with them. India is among the top ten destinations where children are being taken to from UK, says Vicky Mayes, development and external communications liaison officer, Reunite International Child Abduction Centre. The organisation was started by a group of mothers 30 years ago to support each other in their fight with their spouses to bring their children home. According to a study by the British government in 2013, the number of parental child abduction cases have doubled between 2003 and 2013. Reunite gets about 500 to 600 such cases every year, says Mayes.

The fact of the matter India is among the top ten countries to which children abducted from UK are being taken by the abducting parent A 2013 report found that between 2003 and 2013 the number of parental child abduction cases have doubled in UK. India is number two on the list of countries to which children wrongfully removed from the US are being taken According to US government data, there were more than 80 cases of parental child abduction cases from the US to India The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return The Law Commission of India has said that India should become a signatory of the Convention

In the US, Agarwal is part of a similar group called Bring Our Kids Home. A two-and-a-half-year-old organisation , it spreads awareness about parental child abduction. It also acts as a pressure group to bring in policy changes to address the issue. Agarwal alleges that when his wife left with their three-year-old son,he didnt even hire a lawyer for six months. I didnt know about the Hague Convention. I didnt know a parent can abduct his or her child. I guess, I kept hoping that my wife will return with our son, he says.

Agarwal remembers dropping his wife and son off at the airport in US. His wifes sister was getting married and his wife and son were going to India for three weeks, he says. He was to join them in a week. They were standing in queue for the security check and my son kept running back to where I was standing to hug me, he says. Agarwal alleges that a few days before the family was to return to the US, his father got a call from his father-in-law informing him that Agarwals wife and son wouldnt be going back to the US. While Agarwal admits that the marriage was troubled, his voice turns indignant as he insists that he had had no idea that his wife was planning to not return. I tried to reason with her to return, or at least let me return to the US with my son, but she threatened me that I would be held responsible if anything happened to her, he recalls. Agarwal claims that he took that as a threat to her life, and was coerced to leave his son in India. I returned hoping that she would return once she cooled down. When she didnt do so even after six months, I was forced to seek legal help, says Agarwal.

Lawyers say that a family trip is often used as an excuse by parents to get the children out of the country of habitual residence. When marriages break down, children are the first to become collateral damage in the battle that almost always ensues over custody. When the battle spills beyond the borders of one country, it gets uglier and more complicated. As in every dispute there are, of course, two sides to the argument.

There is no rule of law. Decision is dependent completely on the discretion of the judge, and there are many stereotypes at work, says Deepti Khanna

There are many reasons for one parent to just take the child and disappear , instead of fighting a custody battle in the country of residence. One may do it when he or she fears that there is a stronger chance of the other parent getting custody of the child. Or when they are without the resources to fight a legal battle in the country of residence. They may feel they have a stronger support system in the country of origin and run away with the child to initiate legal proceedings there. Or , in case of a messy divorce, Malhotra says, the child is used by one parent against another to settle a score.

Malhotra handled his first parental child abduction case in 1986. The number of such cases in on the rise. With globalisation, as many more Indians move to live and work abroad, and marry outside the community , the number of such cases is on the rise. Malhotra estimates the growth to have been about three times in the last ten years. On an average I get about three such cases every month, he says. Since India is not a signatory of the Hague Convention, Malhotra says that parents who are trying to run away with their children feel India is safe haven for them. It has given the country a bad name internationally, he adds.

Not a custody battle

In the absence of proper laws a case of abduction by one parent, is treated as a case of custody battle in India, says Agarwal. If a country has signed the treaty, a court in the country where the child had been residing passes an order that a child be returned. The court in the country where the child has been brought to passes a mirror order. This is not an order of custody. It just means that the child be taken back to the country of habitual residence where both parents may then file for custody, explains Malhotra.

India is not only not a signatory of the Convention, but also does not yet recognise removal of child by a parent as an offence. Thus the only legal route open to the left-behind parent is to initiate legal proceedings in the country of habitual residence and then armed with the order from that court, come to India and file a case of Habeas Corpus in India. Once the child is produced in court, the case turns into a custody battle. It is a long and slow process in India. Further there are very few lawyers in India who are aware of the law and who have the expertise to take on such cases. The cost to the left behind parent are sometimes prohibitive and they simply cant afford to do so, says Anne-Marie Hutchinson, a specialist in family law in the UK ,and an expert on the Hague Convention.

The in-between years

Time is crucial because of how it impacts the children. Anita Rastogis son was abducted by her husband as a toddler. She managed to get him back only after a search of four years. But it affected her relationship with him. When he came back to me, he couldnt accept my new partner and daughter, says Rastogi. They underwent counselling and family therapy. But Rastogi rues, that though her son is a grown man now, her relationship with him continues to be strained. Left-behind parents allege that the year that the child spends away from them also gives time to the other parent to manipulate the childs feelings against them.

Since India does not recognise parental child abduction as an offence, it becomes a custody battle in courts here, says Rakesh Agarwal

Indias original reason for not signing the treaty, say some, was because the government felt that most cases of child removal are committed by women trying to escape a bad or abusive marriage in another country. Criminalising the act and forcing her to return to the country of habitual residence would therefore add to her problems. Mayes agrees that in 70% of cases, even today, it is the mother who removes the child. But I dont believe that it is a good argument anymore to not sign the treaty, says Malhotra. Unlike in the eighties and nineties when a woman marrying outside the country was financially dependent on her spouse and had little access to resources, Malhotra says, today most women are employed, have access to the laws and are aware of their rights. To be a signatory to the Hague Convention, a country needs to have a domestic law on wrongful removal and retention of a child. In 2016 the Ministry of Women and Child Development drafted a Bill against parental child abduction. The Bill is available on the departments website. But it is yet to be passed. The Law Commission of India has also advised that India become a signatory of the Hague Convention.

Steeped in stereotypes

In the absence of a law, Deepti Khanna, a US resident who alleges that her husband abducted their daughter in 2014, feels that the decision in favour of or against the left-behind parent is dependent on the discretion of the judge. There is no rule of law. here are various kinds of stereotypes at work. Where the child has been removed by the mother, often the judge decides in her favour because the mother is believed to be the better caregiver. However, when the child has been removed by the father, there is often pressure on the mother to return to India for the sake of the family and stay with the child here. If you are reluctant to return, it is a count against you, she says.

Her words might have been a summation of the battle being fought between Vividhas parents. The problem we are faced with is that you are in UK, and the child doesnt want to go there. Cant you return to India for a while, the judge asks Vividhas mother. Her mother pleads that they be allowed to return to UK, since the couples younger daughter is undergoing medical treatment in UK. The judge appears to be at a loss. Unlike In such cases we have to also take into consideration the emotions of the various parties. I wonder whether I am even the right person to decide this, he questions.

( Names of parents and children have been changed to protect identities)

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A US raid in Yemen killed 41 suspected al Qaeda militants and 16 civilians on Sunday, an official said, in what would be Americas first military action in the country under President Donald Trump.

Eight women and eight children were among those killed in the dawn raid on Yakla district, in the central province of Baida, said the provincial official, who did not want to be named, and tribal sources.

Sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to Al-Qaeda, adding that an unspecified number of civilians were also killed.

But the provincial official said Apache helicopters also struck a school, mosque and a medical facility used by Al-Qaeda militants.

Other sources spoke of US commandos taking part in the operation, but this was difficult to confirm with credible sources.

The three prominent tribal figures killed in the attack were identified as brothers Abdulraouf and Sultan al-Zahab and Saif Alawai al-Jawfi, the official and other sources said.

They were known for their strong links to Al-Qaeda, the sources said.

The Zahab brothers have two other Al-Qaeda brothers who were also killed in the past by drone strikes.

An Al-Qaeda chief in the region, who was identified as foreigner Abu Barazan, was also killed in the attack, the official said.

The military operation is the first to be attributed to the United States against jihadists in Yemen since Trump took office on January 20.

Under Trumps predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected jihadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan.

The United States considers the extremist groups Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

But although it only sporadically reports on a long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to be operating drones over Yemen.

On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing a senior Al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group have exploited a power vacuum created by the two-year-old conflict in Yemen between the government and Shiite Huthi rebels, especially in the countrys south and southeast.

Baida province is mostly controlled by the Huthis, but Yakla is ruled by the tribes, and has at least two training bases for Al-Qaeda, local sources said.

Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have mounted offensives against jihadists in the south, but the militants remain active in several areas.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 7,400 people, since a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened to support Hadi in March 2015, according to the World Health Organization.

But UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said last week that as many as 10,000 civilians may have died.
President Donald Trumps order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger on Saturday after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports.

In his most sweeping decision since taking office a week ago, Trump, a Republican, put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries.

Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed to fight the order.

Capping a day of confusion and chaos and protests in several airports across the country, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed detained travelers to stay in the United States.

Supporters outside the Brooklyn courtroom and at protests at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York and elsewhere cheered the decision, but a bigger fight lay ahead.

In pics: US airports become scene of anguish after Trumps Muslim travel ban

The court action does not reverse Trumps order, which was criticised by some of Americas closest allies.

Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called extreme vetting of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the US Congress deemed to be high risk.

He told reporters in the White Houses Oval Office on Saturday that his order was not a Muslim ban and said the measures were long overdue. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over, Trump said.

Along with Syria, the ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The department of homeland security said about 375 travellers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding.

More than 1,000 people gather at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to protest against President Donald Trump's order which restricts immigration to the US. (AP photo)

The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students.

Pegah Rahmani, 25, waited at Washingtons Dulles airport for several hours for her grandparents, both Iranian citizens with US green cards. They werent treating them very well, she said.

Rahmanis grandfather is 88 and legally blind. Her grandmother is 83 and recently had a stroke. They were released to loud cheers and cries.

TIP OF THE SPEAR

Several Democratic governors said they were examining whether they could launch legal challenges, and other groups eyed a constitutional challenge claiming religious discrimination.

I dont think anyone is going to take this lying down, said Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold. This is the tip of the spear and more litigation is coming.

The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Senior officials at the US department of homeland security said the government will implement any appropriate orders.

However, Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, called such lawsuits last ditch efforts that will only apply to a few individuals, and he said a broader constitutional argument would be hard to win.

Read: US judge stops deportation of Iraqi refugees detained under Trumps Muslim ban

The first amendment doesnt apply to foreigners living abroad. The law explicitly says the president can exclude any person or class of people he wants, Krikorian said.

Some leaders from the US technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American.

This ban will impact many innocent people, said Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc UBER UL, who said he will raise the issue at a White House meeting on Friday.

Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa said the order was humiliating and discriminatory. Iran vowed to retaliate.

Sudan called the action very unfortunate after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban.

Iraqs former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told Reuters that Trumps ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of terror attacks, and could backfire.

Activists hold placards outside the US Courthouse where a federal judge issued an emergency stay which temporarily blocks the US government from sending people out of the country after they have landed at a US airport with valid visas, in Brooklyn, New York. (Reuters photo)

We have a strong partnership with US, more so in the urgent fight against terrorism. This ban move will not help, and people will start questioning the bond of this partnership, Faily said.

Allies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany were critical. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a photo of himself welcoming Syrian refugees.

GREEN CARD CONFUSION

Confusion abounded at airports as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules. Some legal residents with green cards who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival.

However, senior administration officials said it will have been reckless to broadcast details of the order in advance.

Other officials said green card holders from the affected countries will require extra screening and will be cleared on a case-by-case basis.

Airlines were blindsided and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country.

Travellers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers advised clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, said Houston immigration lawyer Mana Yegani.

At Chicago OHare International Airport, brothers Bardia and Ayden Noohi waited for four hours for their father Kasra Noohi - who has an Iranian passport and a US green card - to be allowed through.

They knew Trump had pledged tougher rules but did not expect the problems. I didnt think hed actually do it, Bardia Noohi, 32, said. A lot of politicians just talk.

Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week.

Trumps order indefinitely bans refugees from Syria. In a television interview, he said he would seek to prioritize Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the action and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public.

At the state department, a senior official said lawyers were working to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the national interest.

However, a federal law enforcement official said: Its unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is.
US airports braced for fresh protests Sunday against Donald Trumps temporary immigration ban, which a federal judge partially blocked by ordering authorities not to deport refugees and other travellers detained at US borders.

The ruling coincided with a wave of anger and concern abroad, including among US allies, and rallies at major airports across the United States.

Victory!!!!!! the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had sued the government, tweeted after US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued an emergency stay.

Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders, the ACLU said.

But the ruling, which did not touch on the constitutionality of Trumps order, did not quiet protestors at New Yorks John F Kennedy Airport, where thousands had gathered.

People are prepared to stand against this said David Gaddis.

Its not surprising that people are mobilizing, the 43-year-old said. Every day hes in office, its a national emergency.

Mass protests also broke out at major airports, including Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.

Trumps executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travellers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.

The exact number of those affected is unclear, but Donnelly ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.

Sending those travellers back to their home countries following Trumps order exposes them to substantial and irreparable injury, she wrote in her decision.

A second federal judge in Virginia also issued a temporary order restricting immigration authorities for seven days from deporting legal permanent residents detained at Dulles Airport just outside Washington.

We were prepared

The ACLUs legal challenge sought the release of two Iraqi men on grounds of unlawful detention.

One of them -- Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who has worked as interpreter and in other roles for the US in Iraq -- was released on Saturday after being detained the day before.

The List Project, which helps Iraqis whose personal safety is threatened because they have worked for the US, was outraged over Darweeshs detention, warning it put American lives at risk too.

I cant say this in blunt-enough terms: you cant screw over the people that risked their lives and bled for this country without consequences, wrote the projects founder and director Kirk Johnson.

Trumps order follows through on one of his most controversial campaign promises, to subject travelers from Muslim-majority countries to extreme vetting -- which he declared would make America safe from radical Islamic terrorists.

The targeted countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

We knew that was coming -- we were prepared, said Camille Mackler, a lawyer who heads legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that quickly mounted the demonstration there.

But we didnt know when, and we couldnt believe it would be immediate, that thered be people in an airplane the moment the order was taking effect.

Muslim ban

According to Trump aide Rudy Giuliani, the president originally dubbed his executive order a Muslim ban, and asked the former New York mayor to show him the right way to do it legally.

When he first announced it, he said, Muslim ban, Giuliani told Fox News Saturday, adding that the seven countries were targeted because they are the areas of the world that create danger for us.

The State Department has said that people from the seven countries under the 90-day travel ban will be prohibited entry no matter their visa status. Only those holding a dual citizenship with the US will be allowed to enter.

The plan triggered a fierce political backlash at home and abroad, including from Trumps fellow Republicans.

Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the US Senate, spoke of Americas legal and moral obligations to help the innocent victims of these terrible conflicts.

Trumps Democratic campaign rival Hillary Clinton chimed in on Twitter: this is not who we are.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, wrote, to my colleagues: dont ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today.

His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syrias brutal war to join relatives in Canada.

The rapid mobilization against the order suggests a protracted battle is shaping up between migrant advocates and Trump and his administration.

The battle could end up in the US Supreme Court, which has not ruled on this type of immigration issue since the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Anger abroad

In Europe, French President Francois Hollande lashed the refusal of refugees, and called out to fellow EU members: We have to respond.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel likewise condemned the restrictions, saying that however hard the fight against terrorism was, it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion, her spokesman said.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is seeking to strike up a friendship with Trump, said US immigration policy was a matter for the government of the United States... but we do not agree with this kind of approach.

On Sunday Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called Trumps ban a great gift to extremists.

#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters, Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.
The leaders of Britain and Germany joined other American allies Sunday in criticising President Donald Trumps US entry ban for people from some Muslim-majority countries, even as far-right politicians on the continent celebrated the move.

British Prime Minister Theresa May does not agree with Trumps order and will challenge the US government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals, a spokesman said. The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey that the decision was a matter solely for the US.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also regrets the travel ban.

She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesnt justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Read | Donald Trumps Muslim ban takes effect but faces lawsuits around the world

Merkel raised the issue during a phone call with Trump on Saturday, citing the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention that calls on signatories to take in people fleeing war, Seibert said.

The German government will now examine what consequences the US governments measures have for German citizens with dual citizenship and, if necessary, represent their interests toward our American partners, he said.

An initial joint US-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans.

Among the first leaders to voice criticism was French President Francois Hollande, who said Saturday that when (Trump) rejects the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we should respond to him.

Meanwhile, nationalist and far-right groups in Europe applauded the US travel restrictions.

The Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders said in a tweet:

Well done @POTUS it's the only way to stay safe + free. I would do the same. Hope you'll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon. https://t.co/wR7omIx7Fv  Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) January 28, 2017

Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is polling strongly before the countrys March 15 election, later tweeted: No more immigration from any Islamic country is exactly what we need. Also in The Netherlands. For Islam and freedom are incompatible.

The far-right National Democratic Party in Germany celebrated what it described as the massive restriction on the entry of pseudo-refugees and Muslims to the USA.

For the first time ever one can say from a nationalist perspective: keep going, USA, the party wrote on its official Facebook page.

Read | Googles Sundar Pichai slams Trumps Muslim ban, recalls employees back to US

In Italy, the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party expressed admiration for Trumps entry ban.

What Trumps doing on the other side of the ocean, Id like it done also here, Matteo Salvini told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. Referring to the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers and economic migrants brought to Italy in the last few years after being rescued in the Mediterranean, Salvini said there is an invasion underway which needs to be blocked.

Salvini is pressing for early elections and courting other far-right leaders for a possible campaign coalition.
French President Francois Hollande on Saturday warned US President Donald Trump against taking a protectionist approach, which he said would have economic and political consequences.

In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead-end, Hollande told Trump in their first official telephone conversation, according to a statement from the presidents office.

The French president told Trump, who has expressed skepticism about international organisations, that France was committed to the United Nations, that the NATO military alliance was indispensable and the European Union should be reinforced.

Hollande, now just four months before the end of his term, said sanctions against Russia should be lifted only when the situation in eastern Ukraine was resolved.

Trump said on Friday he was only in the early stages of considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia, but insisted he wanted to follow through on his campaign pledge to pursue better relations with Russia.

The president also told Trump democracies could be defended only if founding democratic principles were respected, including welcoming refugees.

Earlier on Saturday, France and Germany voiced disquiet over Trumps decision to limit immigration and refugees from some Muslim countries.

Hollande also told southern European leaders meeting in Lisbon the new U.S. government was encouraging populism and even extremism and that Europe should stick together.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesperson said

The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries, Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion.

The German government will now examine the consequences of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

A federal judge on Saturday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Merkels condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.

The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, he said.

The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterdays phone call with the US president.

In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a catastrophic mistake in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.

More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the countrys doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution, although the influx has slowed in recent months.
Donald Trumps immigration ban targeting some Muslims and refugees entering the US does not apply to green cards holders, a top White House aide said Sunday, amid ongoing confusion and anger over the controversial crackdown.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that the temporary ban doesnt include green card holders going forward, Priebus told NBCs Meet the Press program.

He added however that anyone travelling back and forth from the countries in question -- including US citizens -- would be subjected to further screening.

Priebus was asked about reports that Trumps executive order issued on Friday affected green card holders, contrary to recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security.

A green card, a document issued by the Department of Homeland Security allowing a person born outside the country to reside and work in the United States, serves as proof that its holder is a permanent resident and often is a step en route to obtaining US citizenship.

We didnt overrule the Department of Homeland Security, as far as green card holders moving forward, it doesnt affect them, Priebus told NBC.

Regarding the impact of Trumps executive order on US citizens, he added: I would suspect that if youre an American citizen traveling back and forth to Libya youre likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport, he said.

Priebus also suggested that the current ban -- affecting travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- could be expanded eventually.

Perhaps other countries needed to be added to an executive order going forward - but in order to do this in a way that was expeditious, in a way that would pass muster quickly, we used the seven countries already targeted.

A federal judge late Saturday issued an emergency stay on parts of Trumps executive order, but the Department of Homeland Security and the White House on Sunday insisted that the order remains in force.
Leaders of Labour and Liberal Democrats joined growing demands in Britain that the forthcoming state visit of US President Donald Trump be put on hold until he withdraws controversial orders banning refugees and people from some countries entering the United States.

The demand grew as Prime Minister Theresa May finally declared that she "did not agree" with the orders, after initially refusing to take a stand on them after meeting Trump earlier this week. Her response came as it became evident that many British citizens with dual nationalities would also be affected.

Responding to Trump's orders, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Donald Trump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with his shameful Muslim ban and attacks on refugees' and women's rights. Theresa May would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trump's actions in the clearest terms. That's what Britain expects and deserves".

His call was soon followed by Tim Farron, leader of Liberal Democrats: Any visit by President Trump to Britain should be on hold until his disgraceful ban comes to an end. Otherwise Theresa May would be placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith".

An online petition to stop Trump's visit to Britain had a few hundred signatories until this morning, but jumped to 16,000 plus on Sunday morning.

Mays meeting with Trump earlier this week met with some criticism at home, but there was more when she refused to take a stand on Trump's orders during her visit to Turkey, saying it was for the US to determine which policy to follow on immigration and refugees.

The prime ministers spokesperson said on Saturday night after Mays return to London that Number 10 was studying Trump's executive order and would "make representations" to the US government if any UK nationals were affected.

The spokesperson said: "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government. But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking."

Many Britons hold dual citizenship with one of the seven countries named by Trump in his order, banning them from entering the US. These include Iraq-born Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, who called the order cruel on Sunday.

He told BBC: "I don't think I have felt discriminated against, probably, since little school," and added that the ban would stop him and his wife visiting their twin sons, who are at Princeton University in the US.

Zahawi said the UK should not " look the other way when President Trump makes a mistake" but added: "I'm reassured by Theresa May's statement because she quite clearly says she disagrees with this."

Mo Farah, iconic British runner who trains in the US but was born in Somalia, is likely to be affected by Trumps order, since Somalia is one of the seven countries identified. Farah, winner of several Olympic medals, was knighted recently by Queen Elizabeth.

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New York Citys Kennedy airport became a scene of anguish and desperation Saturday for the families of people detained after arriving in the US from nations subject to President Donald Trumps travel ban.

Many flights to the U.S. already were in the air Friday when the presidents order barred entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations.

The scene at JFK right now: "No hate, no fear; Muslims are welcome here!" pic.twitter.com/d5LuG0Yxll  Azmat Khan (@AzmatZahra) January 29, 2017

Lawyers and advocates working at the airport said they didnt have a hard count on the number of people taken into custody after getting off their flights.

Two members of congress, Democrats Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez, joined several hundred protesters who spent part of the day at the airport trying to win the release of about a dozen people they said had been detained.

People in the crowd chanted Let them in. Celebrities including Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon joined the demonstration.

The detainees in New York included two Iraqis who had previously been given permission to come to the U.S. because of their ties to the U.S. military.

Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against a ban on Muslim immigration at San Francisco International Airport on January 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (AFP Photo)

People protest Donald Trump's travel ban from Muslim majority countries at the International terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 28, 2017. (REUTERS Photo)

People protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, U.S. January 28, 2017. (REUTERS Photo)

People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at O'Hare airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. January 28, 2017. (REUTERS Photo)

Protesters gather at the international arrivals area of Dulles International Airport on January 28, 2017, in Sterling, Virginia. (AFP Photo)

A young girl joins hundreds of people opposed to President Donald Trump's executive order barring entry to the U.S. by Muslims from certain countries as they demonstrate at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (AP Photo)

Protesters gather at O'Hare International Airport after more than a dozen were detained, including green card holders, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo)
Fuad Sharef and his family waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with US organisations.

But Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo airport on Saturday. They were sudden victims of US President Donald Trumps new travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Their passports confiscated, the distraught family was detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning.

We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers, Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport.

I feel very guilty towards my wife and kids. I feel like Im the reason behind their dismay.

Rosalie Gurna, 9, holds a sign in support of Muslim family members as people protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on Muslim majority countries at the International terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. (Reuters)

In the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. He said this would help safeguard the United States from terrorists.

The travel curbs took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries. Sharef and his family were among the first victims.

Sharef said he was employed by a pharmaceutical company before leaving Iraq, but had worked on projects funded by US organisations such as USAID in the years following the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The family applied for a US visa in September 2014 as security conditions in Iraq deteriorated, with Islamic State insurgents seizing swathes of the country and carrying out brutal killings.

Sharefs work with the United States made him particularly vulnerable to attack by militants who view him as a traitor.

I applied for immigration for several reasons. Firstly, I worked with Americans, which puts me at risk of threats from terrorist organisations. Secondly, I was interested in this (SIV) programme and my childrens interest to continue their education in the United States, he said.

After risking their lives

Sharef applied to emigrate via a programme known as Special Immigrant Visa, which was created by US lawmakers to help the tens of thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping Americans after the 2003 invasion.

At least 7,000 Iraqis, many of them interpreters for the US military, have settled in the United States under SIV auspices since 2008, while some 500 more are being processed, State Department figures show.

Another 58,000 Iraqis have been awaiting interviews under the Direct Access Program for US-affiliated Iraqis, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project.

Sharefs friend, Mona Fetouh, said she had worked with him on a USAID-funded local governance and civil society project in 2004. Fetouh, a US resident, said she gave Sharef a recommendation for his SIV application.

Originally due to fly on February 1, the family decided to travel earlier after news leaked of Trumps plan to issue new immigration restrictions. But they were too late.

The SIV process took two years and they were finally granted their visas and due to fly this week - bad timing, Fetouh told Reuters. They sold their home and possessions and quit their jobs and school in preparation for this move and are really devastated by this.

Sharef, father to two girls and a boy, said the family was still in shock and did not know what steps to take next. They would be staying temporarily with Sharefs brother in Erbil.

I dont know. Maybe I will send an email to the American embassy in Baghdad asking for an explanation, he said.

Asked if he feared for his life returning to Iraq, he said, referring to the northern Iraqi city from which Islamic State is being gradually dislodged by an Iraqi army offensive:

Maybe its less dangerous in light of the relative regression of Islamic State influence in Mosul, but during my years of work, my life and the lives of my family were constantly in danger and Im now at risk of being a threat at any moment. There are no guarantees.
Mexicos government rebuked Israel on Saturday for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to applaud US President Donald Trumps plan to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

Netanyahu said on Twitter earlier on Saturday.

President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea   Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 28, 2017

The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexicos foreign ministry.

The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahus message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall, the ministrys statement.

Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister, it said, noting that Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking Holocaust memorial day on Friday.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter Netanyahu had been referring to his countrys specific security experience and that Israel was not voicing an opinion on U.S.-Mexican relations.

Mexicos government and Trump have been locked in a bitter dispute over his election campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S. southern border that he says Mexico will pay for. Mexico has repeatedly said it will not pay for the wall.

The Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico issued a statement saying it forcefully rejected Netanyahus comment, while several prominent Mexicans of Jewish origin sharply criticized the Israeli leader on Twitter.

So you like walls @netanyahu? Here you have a couple of nice designs, said Mony de Swaan, a former head of the Mexican telecommunications regulator, posting images of walls commemorating Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp where diarist Anne Frank died, and the Warsaw Ghetto.

On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a visit to meet Trump next week after the American advised him to forgo the trip if he was not willing to pay for the wall.

The leaders pledged to work out their differences in a call on Friday morning, and the Mexican government said the two had agreed not to discuss the issue of payment for now.
A federal judge in New York on Saturday stayed deportations under President Donald Trumps order barring refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations who reached the US within hours of the controversial directive going into effect.

A short while later, a judge in Virginia state stayed the deportation of green-card holders being detained under the same order.

The New York order came against a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of two Iraqi refugees who were detained at JFK airport on arrival after the order went into effect.

Though they were released after some hours, Judge Ann Donnelly of the US district court in Brooklyn stayed their deportation arguing they could be physically harmed if they were forced to return to the country they were fleeing.

There was no count available of how many people were either detained here in the US or left stranded at airports around the world on their way to the US, organizations dealing with refugees have said they have received reports of people being detained at airports all around the country.

Trumps order blocking refugees from anywhere in the world for 120 days  indefinitely for those from Syria  and citizens from Muslim-majority nations Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya went into effect Friday.

The directive, which has been called a Muslim ban by critics, has caused outrage in the US and around the world but the president seemed unfazed. Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared, he told reporters in the Oval office at the singing of more executive orders. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over.

The White House clarified that the order impacts Green Card holders from the seven Muslim-majority countries as well. If they are out of the country, their return will be determined on a case-by-case basis, an official said. And if they planned to travel out of the US, they must see a consular officer before leaving.

As the president, the administration pushed back on the order being called a Muslim ban, citing many many predominantly Muslim countries not on the list. And argued that the Friday order would impact a very small number of people.

Were dealing with a relatively small universe of people, the official told reporters on background, adding, Its important to keep in mind that no person living or residing overseas has a right to entry to the US.

That universe may have seemed small from the White House but probably not for Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshaw, one of the two Iraqis detained at JFK Friday night. He was to coming to join his wife and son who have been here as permanent residents. He hadnt seen them for three years.

The second man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked for the US government from 2003 to 2010. Brandon Friedman, a former Obama administration official who commanded a platoon during the invasion of Iraq, wrote on Twitter, Darweesh had worked with him as an interpreter and had spent years keeping US soldiers alive in combat in Iraq.
There is a possibility in the future of including Pakistan in the list of countries from where immigration has been banned, a top White House official indicated on Sunday, acknowledging for the first time that Pakistan was under consideration to be put in that category.

The reason we chose those seven countries was, those were the seven countries that both the Congress and the Obama administration identified as being the seven countries that were most identifiable with dangerous terrorism taking place in their country, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, told CBS News.

Trump has issued a controversial executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Somalia.

Now, you can point to other countries that have similar problems, like Pakistan and others. Perhaps we need to take it further. But for now, immediate steps, pulling the Band-Aid off, is to do further vetting for people traveling in and out of those countries, Priebus said.

This is for the first time that the Trump Administration has publicly acknowledged about considering putting Pakistan into that list.

Currently as per the executive order, visitors from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan are subject to extreme vetting.

Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F Kennedy International Airport. (AFP Photo)

Priebus said the executive orders were signed after a lot of planning.

Were not going to advertise to the world that were going to put a stop or at least a further vetting on travel in and out of our country from these seven places, he said.

Some people have suggested, that, well, maybe we should have given everyone a three-day warning. But that would just mean that a terrorist would just move up their travel plans by three days. Identifying too many people in these countries and giving them a heads-up in these countries would only potentially flag the executive order for bad order, Priebus said.

The President has a call with leadership in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and other countries around world. And Im sure this topic may come up, he said.

Priebus asserted that Americans have to be protected first.

These are countries that harbour and train terrorists. These are countries that we want to know who is coming and going in and out of to prevent calamities from happening in this country, he said.

Were not willing to be wrong on this subject. President Trump is not willing to take chances on this subject. He was elected president in many respects because people knew that he was going to be tough on immigration from countries that harbour terrorists, Priebus said.

I cant imagine too many people out there watching this right now think its unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone traveling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States. And thats all this is, he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pushed back against the temporary ban on Syrian refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations imposed through an executive order by American President Donald Trump.

While not mentioning the newly instituted American policy, Trudeau tweeted: To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

Using the hashtag #WelcomeToCanada along with an image of Trudeau greeting a refugee family from Syria, Trudeau sent out the message even as Canadian officials were scrambling to deal with the fallout of the American announcement. Canada has resettled nearly 40,000 refugees from Syria since the Trudeau government assumed office in November 2015

Read | Donald Trumps Muslim ban takes effect but faces lawsuits around the world

The number of persons in Canada who hold dual citizenship of one of the seven countries in the executive order and the number of residents from the nations together total nearly 75,000.

Trudeau instructed Canadian National Security Advisor Daniel Jean to contact his American counterpart, Gen (Retd.) Michael Flynn to seek further clarification of this matter. In a tweeted statement, Trudeau said that Flynn confirmed that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens will not be affected by the ban.

Read | Googles Sundar Pichai slams Trumps ban on Muslims from 7 nations, recalls employees back to US

Canadian transport minister Marc Garneau was also in touch with his American counterpart as well as with officials from the department of homeland security.

Meanwhile, the countrys minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Ahmed Hussen, appointed in a cabinet reshuffle recently, is a refugee who was born in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, one of the nations that figures on Trumps list.

Read | Iran says will respond in kind to Trumps insulting ban

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The case is being called Darweesh v Trump.

And when a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled in favour of Darweesh, an Iraqi refugee detained for deportation at JFK airport in New York, he instantly became the face of opposition to President Donald Trumps Muslim Ban.

America is the land of freedom, said Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who had worked as an interpreter with the US military, without rancour or regret. This is what took me to come here. And, he told reporters, he liked Trump.

Darweesh, 53, was among the first refugees detained and marked for deportation under Trumps Friday order barring all refugees from entering the US for 120 days  indefinitely for Syrians  and all citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.

There were no estimates available of those impacted by the order here in the United States or abroad. But the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said it believes the number of those stranded at US airports could be between 100 and 200.

As the shock and outrage grew, protests broke out across the country. Virginias Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe joined protestors at Dulles International Airport, which serves the national capital, Washington DC. This executive order is antithetical to the values that make America great, and it will make our country less safe, he said in a statement.

Protestors at JFK airport in New York carried signs saying, No ban, no wall. The wall was a reference to Trumps contentious order to contruct a wall along the US border with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

Others carried signs saying, We are all immigrants.

Protests were also reported outside airports in Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas and New Jersey.

New York judge Anne Donnellys order staying Darweeshs deportation  and that of Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshaw, another Iraqi refugee, came as a major relief on Saturday afternoon and crowds gathered outside the Brooklyn courthouse and at airports around the US broke into cheers and applause.

The ACLU which had filed a lawsuit challenging their detention, declared victory. In President Trumps First Week, ACLU Hands Him First Stinging Rebuke, ran a headline on a blog on its website.

More civil rights bodies and Muslims organisations, such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), are planning to challenge the order in courts, test its constitutionality and get it overturned as outrage mounted against it here and abroad.

Seven migrants being brought to the United States by officials of the US refugee agency were prevented from boarding an EgyptAir flight from Cairo on Friday night because of the same order barring refugees from entering the US.
Pakistani blogger Aasim Saeed who went missing earlier this month has been found but has quickly left the country fearing for his life, his family said on Sunday.

Saeeds father said his son was detained by state agencies while visiting Pakistan from Singapore, though he did not name which one.

Pakistans government and Federal Investigation Agency have denied holding any of five liberal activists who went missing this month.

The military and other state agencies have declined to officially comment. The armys media wing did not reply to questions and phone calls on Sunday.

Saeeds recovery comes a day after poet and activist Salman Haider, who disappeared from the capital Islamabad on Jan 6, was recovered, according to his family.

Five liberal activists, some of whom have posted blogs criticising the political influence of the military and speaking for the rights of religious minorities, had each gone missing separately since January 4.

Saeed, who is Singapore-based and works in the IT department of the German Merck Group, disappeared on January 4 while visiting the eastern city of Lahore.

It was no one other than the state agencies who took him, Aasim Saeeds father, Ghulam Haider, told Reuters, referring to Pakistans intelligence agencies.

He said Saeed was picked up over a social media post intelligence agencies deemed objectionable.

My son is not against any agency, he is not against the military or government and he is not against Islam, Haider said. The fact that he was set free means that he has been cleared of all charges.

The only instruction Aasim got from the agencies was that he could not give any media interviews, Haider added.

The militarys media wing did not return calls or text messages seeking comment.

Haider said Aasim returned to his house briefly on Saturday but then left quickly, and messaged the family on Sunday morning to inform them that he was safe and would call soon.

Haider said Saeed had either returned to Singapore or was in Germany.

It is not known how the five activists went missing, but some rights groups and newspapers have asked whether state or military agencies were in any way involved.

The Interior Ministry has repeatedly said it was doing all it could to recover the missing men.

Shortly after the activists disappearances, blasphemy allegations against them appeared on social media and in a complaint to police.

Friends, family and supporters of all five men deny they have blasphemed and have denounced the campaign to press that charge, which could endanger their lives were they to reappear.

In Pakistan, conviction under the blasphemy laws can carry a death sentence.
Family reunions were blocked, refugees from war-torn countries were turned away and border agents detained scores of unsuspecting travelers at airports as the U.S. began a chaotic implantation of President Donald Trumps plan to fight terrorism by temporarily stopping citizens of seven nations from entering the country.

By Saturday night, a federal judge in New York had issued an order temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trumps travel ban took effect. But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out of the country in the coming weeks.

Among those caught in limbo: Iraqis who had been promised a life in America because of their service to the U.S. military, frail and elderly travelers from Iran and Yemen, and longtime U.S. residents traveling abroad who dont know if they will be allowed to return home.

Whats next? Whats going to happen next? asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?

Large protests erupted at airports throughout the country where travelers were being held, a day after Trump signed an order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. Trump also suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days.

Thousands of sign-waving people chanted and demanded that refugees be made welcome in the United States as lawyers and representatives of aid groups tried to assist people.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

No green-card holders had been ultimately been prevented from entering the U.S. as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent long hours in detention before being allowed in. Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt.

Im so happy hes finally out. He says hes very tired, said his daughter Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears and speaking Farsi with her father.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the U.S. military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at New Yorks Kennedy airport their arrivals Friday and Saturday.

He walked free midday Friday after his lawyers, two members of congress and as many as 2,000 demonstrators went to the airport to try and gain his release.

This is the soul of America, Darweesh told reporters after gaining his freedom, adding that the U.S. was home to the greatest people in the world.

Others were less lucky. Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, Iran, to visit her husband, only to be detained and told she had to go home.

She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates, said her husband Mohamad Zandian , 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University. He was hoping to get her out of the country on a late night flight to avoid her being jailed until Monday.

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the U.S. from summarily deporting people who had arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights.

Staff at U.S. agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the situation. They girded for wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the U.S. Donnellys order did nothing to help those people gain entry.

Several staff who spoke to The Associated Press burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

Its complete chaos, said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the U.S. State Department.

Meathaq Alaunaibi, a refugee from Iraq who was settled with her husband, a son and a daughter last August in Tennessee, was had been hoping to be reunited soon with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are still in Baghdad. Now, shes unsure whether they will be able to come.

They are so worried and afraid because theyre stuck there in Baghdad, Alaunaibi said Saturday. They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them.

An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Islamic State group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now canceled, indefinitely.

If you can write to Mr. Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please, the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his U.S. lawyer by email.

The order also caused confusion for longtime, legal U.S. residents traveling abroad.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the U.S. for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Now, he doesnt know if he will be able to return home.

I dont know whats going on, Azmeh told The Associated Press by phone Saturday from Lebanon. It is home as much as Damascus, he said of New York City. I really dont know how to react.

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the U.S., said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups, who organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been coordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a 1-year-old and 5-year-old who arrived Tuesday.

Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and its unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group.

Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicagos OHare International Airport on Saturday and told she couldnt enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.

My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that shes having, Ulayyet said.
President Donald Trump had an hour-long discussion on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin  the first since Trump assumed office last week  raising questions over the fate of US sanctions against Moscow and whether the two will look to enhance military cooperation against the Islamic State group.

The White House provided a thin readout on the call between the two leaders, saying it was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair.

The two leaders discussed a range in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria, the White House statement said, using an acronym for the militant group.

A White House official later said sanctions did not come up in Saturdays call between Trump and Putin. The official said Putin brought up several times that Islamic terrorism was a common foe for the US and Russia. The official was not authorised to disclose details of the call by name and insisted on anonymity.

Contrary to statements from the White House, the Kremlin said that the two leaders addressed the importance of restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries.

The Kremlin also said that Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Irans nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has applauded Trumps promises to rebuild US-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in US elections. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on the plan to defeat the Islamic State group on Saturday, including in it the possibility of teaming up with new coalition partners, suggesting that pairing up with Russia on counterterrorism issues isnt off the table.

Trump was non-committal about whether he was considering lifting the economic sanctions ahead of the call, telling reporters on Friday: Well see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraines Crimea region and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, drawing widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States.

In response, sanctions were implemented against sectors of Russias economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defense. The Obama administration also sanctioned people in Putins inner circle.

Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama also ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds in the United States and expelled 35 diplomats that he said were really spies. These sanctions followed an assessment by US intelligence that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump become president.

Trumps tempered approach to US-Russia relations has already raised concern among several European allies who believe keeping Russia in check is essential to regional security.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose country  as part of the European Union  also has punished Russia for its provocations in Ukraine, voiced the view of many in Europe, telling reporters in Washington on Friday: We believe the sanctions should continue.

Vice-president Mike Pence and other senior advisers joined Trump for the call with Putin, including his national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior strategist Steve Bannon. Trump also spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Japan, Germany, France and Australia.

Two Republican senators  Arizonas John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Ohios Rob Portman, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee  warned the White House about easing any punishments on Moscow and they pledged to turn the sanctions into law.

I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course, McCain said in a statement. If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law.

Portman said lifting the sanctions for any reason other than a change in the behaviour that led to those sanctions in the first place would send a dangerous message to a world already questioning the value of American leadership and the credibility of our commitments after eight years of Obama administration policies.

McCain has emerged as a frequent critic of Trump among Capitol Hill Republicans. He takes a dim view of trying to reset relations with Moscow and says Trump should remember that Putin is a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn.

For our commander-in-chief to think otherwise would be naive and dangerous, McCain said.

McCain and Portman are part of a bipartisan group of senators who have introduced legislation designed to go beyond the punishments against Russia already levied by Obama and to demonstrate to Trump that forcefully responding to Moscows meddling isnt a partisan issue.

The bill would impose mandatory visa bans and freeze the financial assets of anyone who carries out cyberattacks against public or private computer systems and democratic institutions.

The legislation also mandates sanctions in Russias all-important energy sector and on investments in the development of civil nuclear projects to rebuke Moscow for its provocations in eastern Ukraine and military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Officials say the thorny matter of US-imposed sanctions on Russia did not come up during US President Donald Trumps first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which suggests that the more difficult obstacles to warmer relations between their nations can wait.

Statements from the White House and the Kremlin described the conversation on Saturday in positive terms, the same tone used in White House accounts of other calls Trump made to world leaders. Only later did a White House official, responding to a question, acknowledge that sanctions were not among the topics the two leaders discussed.

Read: Trump dials Putin; talks trade, security in significant start to better ties

In the first week of his presidency, Trump has been non-committal on lifting sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in response to U.S. findings of interference by Russia in the election. Sanctions by the US and its allies were in response to Russias annexation of Crimea and other actions in the Baltic region.

Both descriptions of the call focused on the positive aspects of a new American leader engaging with the Russian president. In a brief statement, the White House said the discussion was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair.

The two leaders discussed a range in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria, the White House statement said, using an acronym for the militant group.

The White House official, who spoke after the statement was issued, said Putin brought up several times that Islamic terrorism was a common foe for the US and Russia. The official was not authorised to disclose details of the call by name and insisted on anonymity.

Addressing topics not mentioned in the White House statement, the Kremlin said the two leaders discussed the importance of restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries.

Read: Trump suggests he may do away with Russia sanctions if Moscow is helpful

The Kremlin also said Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Irans nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has applauded Trumps promises to rebuild US-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in US elections.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum on the plan to defeat the Islamic State group on Saturday, including in it the possibility of teaming up with new coalition partners, suggesting that pairing up with Russia on counterterrorism issues wasnt off the table.

When asked by reporters about sanctions on Friday, Trump responded: Well see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraines Crimea region and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, drawing widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States. In response, sanctions were implemented against sectors of Russias economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defence. The Obama administration also sanctioned people in Putins inner circle.

Shortly before leaving office, Obama also ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds in the United States and expelled 35 diplomats that he said were really spies. These sanctions followed an assessment by US intelligence that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump.

Trumps tempered approach to US-Russia relations has already raised concern among several European allies who believe keeping Russia in check is essential to regional security. Domestically, some Republican lawmakers have warned against easing sanctions and pledged to put them into law.

Trump also placed calls on Saturday to French President Francois Hollande, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
US President Donald Trump will dial the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, amid an uproar over his travel ban for some Muslim majority countries.

Trump also will talk to the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, the White House said on Saturday in a brief statement.

The new Republican president, who took office on January 20, first will speak with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the afternoon. The next call will be with the crown prince of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE are among the seven Muslim majority countries affected by Trumps sweeping executive order Friday barring visas for 90 days to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The migrant crackdown, which also included a 120-day suspension of the US refugee resettlement program, sparked protests across the United States on Saturday.

A federal judge late Saturday blocked part of the temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Trumps planned phone call with South Koreas acting president comes as North Korea steps up its nuclear and missile capabilities. Pyongyangs missile program and its pursuit of nuclear arms have drawn repeated sanctions from the UN Security Council.

Regime leader Kim Jong-Un said in a New Year speech that the country was in the final stages of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. Such an ICBM could theoretically target the United States.
US President Donald Trump boasted Saturday that his very strict crackdown on Muslim immigration was working very nicely, amid mounting resistance to the order which has been branded by many as blatantly discriminatory.

In an executive order signed Friday, Trump halted the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and imposed tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over, Trump told reporters, after travellers from those countries were stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests.

Read | Donald Trumps Muslim ban takes effect but faces lawsuits around the world

Were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting which we should have had in this country for many years.

His comments came as the order faced its first lawsuit, signaling a tough battle ahead in US courts.

The legal challenge was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after two Iraqi men were detained Friday night at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

Several US airports were rocked by protests and arrests after the ban.

It was not immediately clear how many travellers got caught up in Trumps crackdown, which he says is necessary to prevent radical Islamic terrorists from entering the United States.

The ban has also triggered a political backlash.

Read | Trumps immigration ban: Muslims barred from boarding NY-bound flight in Cairo

To my colleagues: dont ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, tweeted late Friday.

His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syrias brutal war to join relatives in Canada.
An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago.

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m. and called the fire department.

Its sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge, Shahid Hashmi, the Islamic centers president, said. It looks completely destroyed.

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshals Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze. Hashmi said authorities have told him it was too early to speculate.

Read | Donald Trumps Muslim ban takes effect but faces lawsuits around the world

None whatsoever right now, the center director said. We dont have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened. So Im sure its going to be a few days, they told us, before they can come up with any answers for us.

The congregations pastor, known as an imam, was awake in the early morning hours and checked online surveillance of the mosque and found no alarm active and the doors unlocked, Hashmi said. On Jan. 21, someone broke in and stole some electronics, including laptops.

He was worried about it and drove over there, Hashmi said. By that time, fire engines were already there pouring water on the fire.

The structure was built in 2000.

No injuries were reported. It took about four hours to extinguish the blaze.

Hashmi, whos lived in Victoria 32 years, said the congregation of about 140 has had few other problems and has enjoyed support from the city of about 115 miles southwest of Houston. He already has received offers of temporary quarters for the congregation to worship.

When 9/11 happened, Muslims and non-Muslims, we all got together, he said. Of course, we will rebuild.

The Victoria Advocate on Saturday reported that in July 2013, a man admitted to painting H8, a computer shorthand for hate, on the outside of the building.

On Jan. 7, a mosque under construction near Lake Travis in Austin was burned to the ground.

The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said like that blaze, it would monitor the investigation of the Victoria fire.

Read | Googles Sundar Pichai slams Trumps ban on Muslims from 7 nations, recalls employees back to US

Because of growing anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation, and because of the recent spike in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and individuals, we urge investigators to keep the possibility of a bias motive for this fire in mind, CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said.

Theres been no determination yet for the Austin blaze, Diane Kanawati, with CAIR-Austin, said Saturday.

In December, a man was sentenced to four years in prison for setting fire to a Houston mosque where he worshipped. Gary Nathaniel Moore pleaded guilty to arson and using a fire as a deadly weapon in a Dec. 25, 2015, blaze that caused significant damage at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston mosque.

Read | Googles Sundar Pichai slams Trumps ban on Muslims from 7 nations, recalls employees back to US
US President Donald Trump said on Friday his administration wants more rigorous screening of refugees and visitors from certain countries to prevent terrorist attacks.

Here is what Trumps order on extreme vetting  denounced by civil rights groups as discriminatory  includes.

Temporary suspension of visas for certain countries

The order bars the entry of foreign nationals from certain countries for 90 days. While no countries are specifically named in the order, it refers to a statute that would apply to seven Muslim-majority nations: Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq. There is an exception for certain types of visas, including for diplomats and the United Nations.

The temporary halt is aimed at giving the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the Director of National Intelligence time to determine what information is needed from each country to ensure that visas are not issued to individuals posing a national security threat.

Changes to screening for immigration programs

The order calls for a review to create a single process for screening people entering the country, which could include holding more in-person interviews, searches of an expanded database of identity documents or longer application forms.

Under the current system, some visa applications require interviews but others do not. The government already has extensive databases but some believe they need to be expanded.

The order suspends the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which allows consular officers to exempt some applicants from face-to-face interviews if they are seeking to renew their temporary visas within a year of expiration.

Immigration attorneys say the changes will make even routine applications much more complicated and time consuming and could mean that more people will need assistance to get through the visa process. In an attempt to ensure wait times for interviews are not unduly affected, the order calls for the hiring of more consular fellows to work in US embassies abroad.

Restricting refugees

The order calls for the temporary halt of all refugee admissions for four months so the government can study the process and determine if additional checks are necessary, although there will be case-by-case exceptions.

The order also implemented a blanket ban of all Syrian refugees until sufficient changes have been made to the refugee program, without giving more details.

After the suspension is lifted, the government will give priority to applicants that are suffering religious-based prosecution, but only if they are minorities in their country.

Trump said in a television interview that the move would protect Christians. It could also protect ethnic minorities like the Yazidis in the Middle East. This could potentially open the door to legal challenges claiming religious discrimination, some experts say.

Once refugee admissions resume, fewer will be allowed. The 2017 cap was set at 50,000 people, compared to 85,000 designated by President Barack Obama for 2016.

In a nod to certain states and cities that have objected to refugee resettlement, the order also seeks to give state and local jurisdictions a role in deciding whether or not to allow people to live there.

Completing the biometric entry-exit tracking system

The system is aimed at tracking foreign visitors arrival and departure using information like finger prints. Former President Barack Obamas administration had aimed to start implementing biometric exit checks at the countrys largest airports by 2018.

Some experts have said that for the system to work properly, it would need to cover all land, air, and sea ports of entry, which is a major undertaking. According to a 2014 report from the Bipartisan Policy Center the system would be expensive to implement and would offer mixed value for enforcement objectives.
Brian Palm, artist and harmonica player with the Mary Stokes Band, pays tribute to the legendary actor, John Hurt, who died this week.

I am glad to say that I enjoyed the privilege of counting the distinguished actor, John Hurt, among my friends and acquaintances. With the exception of my beloved wife Mary Stokes and that of my late father E. Charles Palm, he is with out doubt the finest conversationalist that I have ever known.

This is not to say that the discussions we shared have been the deepest or most heartfelt Ive ever experienced, but rather that John Hurt was just so incredibly good at conversation that it was genuinely exhilarating to be in his company. The alluring combination of his richly textured voice, soul-piercing eyes and effortless familiarity with language had an almost irresistibly hypnotic effect. More than once, I caught myself quietly absorbing the expertly crafted tone of his voice, only to become suddenly aware that a reply to what hed been saying was expected.

I found John Hurt to be not only frighteningly intelligent, but also disarmingly warm and humorous. He was infinitely interesting and entertaining. John was such a skilled listener that he instantly knew when hed lost you; by maintaining deep, unwavering eye contact, he generously and patiently brought you back.

Although he was truly fascinating, constant vigilance was required when he was speaking to prevent becoming intellectually adrift; he was not one to waste words on the desert air. I have seen his withering look crumble an obnoxious person unfortunate enough to interrupt him, and I have been privy to private moments when our eyes locked, and he smiled silently in pleasure at a shared idea, feeling or observation.

John Hurt and Mary Stokes were very fond of one another, sharing the complex understanding of what it is to be in the spotlight on centre stage with no one to hide behind. To hear the music of their voices together in conversation was a rare treat.

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John moved away from Ireland because the only thing anyone talks about here now is the price of real estate.

I remember the occasion we shared a bottle of champagne, in celebration of his buying a large Georgian country house that morning in County Wicklow. We were on a break during our gig in Bruxelles Bar and we were invited to join John, his then-girlfriend Sarah Owens, vampire slayer David Boreanaz and a few other American TV actors at his table outside. John was in excellent form; he looked tanned and effortlessly at ease, exuding sprezzatura as we sat quaffing bubbly together in the sunshine.

He was, however, already openly bored and unimpressed with congratulations concerning his new acquisition. I honestly dont see what all the fuss is about. I didnt actually build the house with my own two hands, you know, he said to us quietly.

We discussed Dublin and Irelands social state, local and international politics, food, drink, art, music, and the nature of the creative process. Eventually the talk turned to acting and John was asked what role he thought was his best. Oh, I dont think that its for me to say, he replied evenly, surely it is up to you to each person to decide for himself.

Immediately the table erupted in animated debate. Everyone talked at once, shouting out their personal favourites of his many characterizations using terms such as definitive, sublime and extraordinary. His portrayal of Bird ODonnell from The Field was deemed his best. He fixed his eyes directly on me and just smiled as if we shared a private joke. Various opinions and observations about the masterful portrayal of Bird were expressed and excitedly argued over, as the champagne flowed.

Choosing my moment to speak, I posed the question whether playing Billy from Ciminos infamous masterpiece Heavens Gate had been a challenge, as Billys character was deeply flawed and cowardly, yet ultimately likeable and tragic. I found myself saying: He was portrayed with such insight, emotion and tenderness that although despicable, and on the wrong side, he somehow managed to evoke sympathy. There was no satisfaction in watching him die.

I became aware that the table full of people had fallen silent and were looking at us. John Hurt smiled at me and said nothing.

Something told me to leave it at that, but instead I added that although the film was a flop, and it destroyed Paramount Pictures, I appreciated the movies unpopular honesty and integrity all the more, as it was based on actual true events.

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John Hurt all but exploded with indignation. True?! he bellowed with Shakespearian intensity while sitting bolt upright. True?! Dont talk to me about the truth! Who is to say what is and what is not true!? Just because some person or book or movie or newspaper claims that they represent the truth, dont expect me to accept their word for it! What is truth to one person is absolute rubbish to another. Truth indeed! Truth my arse!

Quickly recovering my composure, I was greatly relieved to catch a fleeting twinkle in his eye. In an instant he expertly scanned his horrified audience with imperceptible peripheral vision, all the while maintaining intense eye contact with me. The slightest trace of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he immediately stifled it. Realising that I had happened upon a favourite subject, I felt encouraged to feed his performance.

Well, factual documents exist which prove that a range war did indeed take place in Wyoming in 1890, that there genuinely was a death list, and that the people whose names were on it were killed by The Cattle Growers Association simply for being immigrants.

Factual documents!? Factual? Have you not heard a word Ive said? Whos facts? Documented by whom? When and where and for what purpose? To what end?! Are you really so gullible? His face was deadpan beneath his angry mask, and his cultured voice rose and trembled with feigned fury.

But John, surely there are death certificates and names carved on headstones which prove

Which prove nothing! Absolutely nothing! Certified by whom? Carved by whom? Were you there? The only truth we can depend on is that which we carry inside.

At this point Sarah Owens intervened and politely reminded John that they had previous plans to go antique-ing for their new home. It would be unfair of me to describe the subtle transformation of his features as we sat looking at each other knowingly, the spell of the performance well and truly broken.

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John Hurt turned to Mary Stokes and took her by the hand, begging her indulgence as he requested her to sing an Irish song for him before he left, and we went back on stage. Mary obliged and began a heart-rending version Fil A Run O, a lament from the penal times sung in the Irish language. John held her hand firmly as she sang, his eyes closed in concentration. Towards the end of the song, he clearly had shed a few tears.

Only when Mary had finished singing did he open his eyes and profusely thank and compliment her. Turning to me, he gently laid his hand on my shoulder and whispered Now, thats the truth.
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When was the last time a play was so intensely quotable?

In "Dry Powder," Sarah Burgess' slick satire on Wall Street playing at the Alley Theatre through Feb. 12, zingers are spit out with the speed and punch of an Aaron Sorkin screenplay, and the dialogue is so bitingly ironic that bits of it rival that of classics lines like "Coffee is for closers" from "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Greed is good" from the film "Wall Street."

Most of these lines are shot out from the mouth of Elizabeth Bunch, who has a sardonic yet magnetic take on a private equity manager named Jenny. Jenny is a caricature of the 1 percent whose ruthless elitism nevertheless rings true in the post-Occupy Wall Street era - a woman so ridiculous in her competitive nature that she must be fiction, yet you feel like you know people exactly like her.

And you probably do. She's that person: grew up white and upper-middle class, graduated from Harvard Business School, rose quickly at Goldman Sachs, now works at least 80 hours a week and scoffs at such things as labor unions, "second-tier Ivys" like Yale and human empathy.

In a draft for a lecture she plans to give to a finance class at New York University, she says poor people are just jealous of her success and that a system that rewards the rich "isn't racist. It isn't sexist. It's beautiful."

More Information 'Dry Powder' When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, through Feb. 12 Where: Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Tickets: $26-$98; 713-220-5700, alleytheatre.org See More Collapse

Jenny believes in meritocracy and in neoliberalism so earnestly, she often convinces the people around her.

She's competing to be the No. 2 person at a top New York firm owned by the gruff, growling Rick, played impeccably by the sturdy John Feltch. Rick's firm is prestigious and powerful but faces protests after the company masterminded massive layoffs at a grocery chain and, that same week, was photographed throwing a million-dollar party with an elephant. But just one elephant, he reminds us.

Jenny's rival is Seth, played by Jay Sullivan, who squeals and whines but can play suave when he needs to. Seth is as cutthroat as she, but the impending birth of his daughter, not to mention a lingering belief in the American dream, makes him consider the human cost of capitalism after Jenny suggests that the firm buy out a California-based luggage company, lay off its entire workforce, relocate it to Bangladesh and sell the products to China.

But Seth's dilemma isn't clear-cut because "Dry Powder" is too smart to be a "Christmas Carol"-esque morality play, in which characters face a decision between a righteous, humanitarian choice and the one that serves the bottom line.

It's not that Seth wants to do the right thing and follow the path of social justice over greed. His argument for not backstabbing his partner in the buyout deal, Jeff (Chris Hutchison), is rooted in public relations: If your company has a reputation for evil, well, that's just bad business.

This is a knowing portrait of a world that stresses individual achievement yet operates with a hive mind, an industry that prides itself on its intellectual superiority over the rest of humanity yet engages in myopic, number-squeezing practices that can only end in catastrophe (see the years 2008 and 2009).

Burgess exposes hypocrisy without speechifying, lampooning the finance world by offering us the delightfully brazen, deviously charming Jenny, whom we hate and love, ridicule and fear all at once.

Burgess' first play to be professionally produced is, like Rob Askins' "Hand to God," which graced the Alley Theatre stage last fall, the mark of a writer who can create larger-than-life personalities and tackle big, important issues while retaining a sense of intimacy and distinctiveness in her characters.

Its first production at the Public Theater in New York starred Claire Danes, John Krasinski and Hank Azaria, but here at the Alley, Bunch, Sullivan, Feltch and Hutchison fill their roles with as much flair as any cast.

The taut pacing by director Taibi Magar ("Underground Railroad Game"), the stormy, guttural techno soundtrack by Broken Chord and the scenic design by Kevin Rigdon, which evokes a grimy nightclub in the Meatpacking District, contribute to Burgess' exceptional new play.

As the second theater to produce "Dry Powder" and throw its weight behind Burgess, the Alley has landed itself a winning investment.


If the media industry needed proof that it moved too quickly to devalue its print products on the way to chasing digital audiences, the book industry has been making a convincing case in the last few years.

The rise of print book sales and decline in ebooks in 2015 was no accident. Last year, the trend continued, and self-publishing in electronic form no longer seemed as good a bet as in previous years. In 2016, the unit sales of printed books in the U.S. increased by 3.3 percent. That's not unusual, except this year, the publishing industry didn't produce any runaway bestsellers like 2015's "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins, and only a handful of books, mostly from previous years, sold more than 1 million copies.

The industry made up that deficiency by selling more nonfiction books. That's an indication of book publishers' overall health: They are flexible and versatile.

In dollar terms, hardback and paperback books were both headed for solid growth in the first eight months of last year, while ebooks appeared destined for an even bigger decline than the 14-percent drop registered in 2015, according to the most recent data released by the Association of American Publishers.

If traditional book publishers accepted that the digital revolution meant a total overhaul of their business -- the way the music and media industries have largely done -- they would be locked in the same race to the bottom that those two industries have faced. The ease of digital self-publishing and readers' sense that digital books should be cheaper than paper ones have resulted in growing unit sales but falling revenues -- much like the audiences of major news media have snowballed since the turn of the century without a concurrent growth in revenue. On the digital side of book publishing, this "death spiral" is not only evident in the U.S. but also in more traditional markets, such as Germany.

Book publishers also learned to be cutthroat competitors, as stand-alone authors are beginning to find out. Publishers can try to prop up ebook prices by driving a hard bargain with electronic retailers, primarily Amazon. And they may have also succeeded in pushing the digital retail giant to shift the attention of its users from from self-published books to those produced by professional publishers.

They cannot, however, explain to readers why an ebook -- which is clearly cheaper to produce and, let's face it, not as pleasant to read -- should cost about as much as a paper one.

Even in the U.S., the most mature ebook market in the world, printed books are far more popular than ebooks. Last fall, Pew Research found that 65 percent of Americans had read a paper book in the previous 12 months, while only 28 percent read an ebook. The popularity of both formats has been steady since 2014, thanks to older consumers who refuse to leave print behind and younger consumers who seek a more analog lifestyle. Reading a paper book -- or listening to vinyl records, whose remarkable comeback continued last year -- is a statement, a human being's answer to being increasingly surrounded, and now even threatened, by machines.

Book publishers have kept their paper-based operations and helped their physical distribution networks to stay alive by charging low wholesale prices. They have also maintained a time gap between the paper and digital releases of important books. People seeking a traditional experience have always been able to find it, and they were rewarded for it by being the first to read the industry's best offerings. The printed book ecosystem survived the tech revolution, and it no longer appears to be in danger from it.

Much of the news business fell victim to the tech hype that it helped create. News publishers got sucked into the death spiral and tricked into offering their product free of charge, something they are still in the painful process of overcoming. They bought into the idea that anyone could produce what their customers were paying for when they should have held out the way book publishers did. After all, self-published authors haven't killed off Random House and other big industry players, and bloggers and free websites wouldn't have killed old media companies. Publishers just needed to more persistent and inventive about selling them.

Of course, the news media had an advertising revenue dependence that cheaper digital ads couldn't feed. Book publishers didn't have that problem. But it's the media's own fault for not trusting readers to pay for good content. Now, the best of them are correcting this mistake.

And, amazingly, some media outlets did hold out.

In the last couple of days, the French press has been feeding on a scandal involving center-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon, who apparently paid out about $534,000 (500,000 euros) in salary to his wife while he was a legislator. French parliament members are allowed to hire their family members, but the satirical and investigative publication that broke the story, Le Canard Enchaine, also reported that Fillon's wife Penelope had not done anything to earn the payments. There is now an official investigation into the arrangement.

The Fillon story is not on Le Canard Enchaine's website. In fact, there's nothing much on it at all, apart from a brief message to the readers who would like to read the publication online. "Our trade is to inform and entertain our readers using newsprint and ink," it goes. "It's a beautiful trade that's enough to occupy our team."

It's a beautiful sentiment, and, as developments on the book market show, an exceedingly modern one.

- Bershidsky is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.

For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view.
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For 40 years, Frederick Elmes has taken jobs that might strike other cinematographers as needlessly complicated.

Case in point is filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's new "Paterson," which opens Friday and is about a poet. Though poetry may possess some cinematic qualities, writing poetry doesn't often find its way to the local multiplex.

"You know, Jim actually didn't lead with that, the poetry," Elmes said. "He just said, 'I'm making a picture about a bus driver in Paterson.' Which is right up Jim's alley. He likes stories about the everyday person, the working man whose life isn't dramatic."

Elmes has worked with Jarmusch since 1991, so he was on board, knowing the process would be as rewarding as it was challenging.

So they filmed the story of a poet named Paterson, played by Adam Driver, who drives a bus in the city of Paterson, N.J.

An independent cinematic auteur, Jarmusch's work often involves repetitions and subtle variations on themes, giving it a quality similar to minimalist music. "Paterson" may be the best representation of that style thus far in his filmography. Paterson, the poet, is a creature of habit.

"He's a person whose life is driven by routine," Elmes said. "He drives the same bus every day, the same schedule, the same walk home. It allows him to free his mind to think about the things he can write poetry about."

So Elmes helped Jarmusch find the barely perceptible differences in that routine. Paterson spends his lunch eating by the same waterfall.

"It's a different waterfall every day," Elmes said. "There are these factors that make it look different. The amount of sunlight, the clouds. The falls look very different on a cloudy day than they do on a sunny day. That was the wonderful part of photographing the film for me. Every day, there is something slightly different there that would inspire him that wasn't there yesterday. Finding those little triggers that allowed him to write was a challenge but a rewarding one."

Elmes, 70, was born in New Jersey and initially wanted to be a still photographer. But he frequently found himself trying to assemble narratives out of his photographs. Film became a natural next step.

At the American Film Institute, he met an aspiring filmmaker, who enlisted him to shoot an experimental film called "Eraserhead." Though savaged on its initial release, David Lynch's film became a cult classic.

Elmes was in Houston in November at the Cinema Arts Festival for a 40th-anniversary screening of the film. He worked on subsequent Lynch films including "Blue Velvet" and "Wild at Heart." Following "Wild at Heart," he joined Jarmusch for "Night on Earth," released in 1991.

Their partnership has endured since, despite plenty of logistical difficulties presented by Jarmusch's peculiar visions for his films.

"Jim said, 'This is gonna be great because I got two actors in a very small space: a car! And they can't move, so I have control,' " Elmes recalled. "Of course, he'd never shot inside cars before, so it proved to be challenging."

Elmes took the "Paterson" job and immediately spent a day on a bus viewing the city, which has a rich history as a hub for America's industrial revolution.

The shoot provided greater complications for the two to overcome than "Night on Earth" did.

"A bus is just about the ultimate in difficulty," Elmes said. "First, you have to find a route around the city that shows the things outside the windows that you want to see. But traveling north you get one view, but traveling south tends to put things in shadows. Another thing we learned is city buses have notoriously horrible suspension systems."

Jarmusch and Elmes decided to have two camera crews shooting at once to minimize the number of times the bus had to follow a particular route.

But buses are rich with reflective surfaces.

"We learned quickly it's easy to shoot the reflection of a camera crew huddled behind an actor," he said. "So that was another thing we had to overcome. The shoot became a series of solving little problems. That made it more manageable."

Elmes views those challenges as part of the sum of what makes each film an interesting project.

"Each film, the chemistry is different," he said. "Some directors are more interested in the story and not at all in the actors. Some are obsessed by the cinematography and the quality of the lights. You end up with a group of artisans and actors that will never be replicated. That's interesting to me."

Ideally, he'll avoid bus shoots for a while. And maybe shooting on water, too.

"I've been fortunate to never have shot at sea," he said. "A lake is bad enough. But the sea you have so little control. You really realize how small you are in the universe."
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Centuries before European settlement, the Caddo Indians established farming villages in what would become East Texas, where they no doubt welcomed the annual return of purple martins.

Imagine a Caddo Indian standing in a village along the Red River and watching the late January skies to spot a sleek swallow with blue-black hues glistening a deep purple in sunlight. Seeing one would signal the coming of martin colonies over the next two months.

Purple martins would protect the village not only from spring's profusion of flying insects but also chase away crows and vultures that plundered vital food supplies. That's why American Indians across North America hung hollow gourds from tree limbs around their villages, to provide nesting homes for martins.

Ready-made abodes gave martins quick access to nesting spots with a bounty of insects while living among villagers provided nest protection from predatory mammals. It was a symbiotic relationship between people and birds.

European settlers continued that relationship by also hanging hollow gourds and handcrafted martin houses around their towns and farmsteads. The beautiful, graceful martins not only gobbled up insects but gave settlers a pleasant memory of Old World swallows.

Purple martins became so accustomed to human-made nesting homes that they virtually abandoned historic nesting sites in tree cavities. As a result, martin breeding colonies continue the ancient symbiotic relationship with people who joyfully welcome them to backyards with multi-unit nest boxes atop high poles.

More Information Purple martins Purple martins east of the Rockies nest almost entirely in human-made boxes or gourds but will nest in cavities of traffic lights or lamp poles. Birds breeding west of the Rockies nest in natural tree cavities but are increasingly adapting to human-made nest boxes. Generations of martins may breed in the same human-made nest box year after year. Martins make swift aerial maneuvers to capture flying insects, such as beetles, flies, wasps, butterflies, moths, dragonflies and damselflies. The martin diet is only 3 percent or less of mosquitoes because martins eat larger flying insects. More information Purple Martin Conservation Association at purplemartin.org See More Collapse

As a landlord of a martin house, I have been watching the skies these January days just as a Caddo Indian villager might have done in anticipation of spotting a purple martin sweeping overhead and hopefully keying in on the abode I'm offering to a nesting colony.

Martins arrive from winter homes in Brazil and other parts of South America east of the Andes. Most traverse the Gulf of Mexico and others follow the landmass through Mexico, all moving at incredible speeds, with reports of birds traveling more that 300-miles a day.

Older adult males depart South America by late December or early January and begin arriving in Texas by mid to late January.

Females and young birds begin arriving in February, with females choosing male mates. Breeding colonies raise their chicks in apartment-style wooden or aluminum houses in neighborhood yards or along lakes and in fields.

Yet many people still hang artificial hollow gourds from a pole, recalling the first human-made martin dwellings deployed centuries ago by American Indians.
Charles LeMaistre, who served as president of MD Anderson and as a University of Texas System chancellor, died Saturday, leaving a legacy that defined progress in cancer treatment and modern medicine. He was 92.

Ronald DePinho, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement that LeMaistre pioneered cancer prevention and described the doctor as "one of the giants of cancer medicine."

"Mickey was one of the great icons of 20th century medicine who pushed boundaries, drove innovation and positioned MD Anderson to be the world's most impactful cancer center," DePinho said. "His excellence is reflected to this day in the halls of our institution and in the countless lives saved around the globe."

LeMaistre's career concentrated on educating others on the dangers of smoking, serving on the first U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health as a young physician. The committee issued a report in 1964 that identified cigarettes as a health hazard.

While he served as national president of the American Cancer Society in 1986, he made discussing smoking control a part of his cancer prevention message.

The medical pioneer also chaired two national conferences that dealt with how smoking affects health in the 1980s.

LeMaistre served as the hospital's second full-time president for 18 years and implemented the cancer prevention program, which became "an international model of research" and "advanced the science and application of cancer prevention and population sciences," according to a statement from MD Anderson.

He revolutionized the hospital by recruiting countless scientists and clinicians and establishing outpatient services.

He was named a life member of MD Anderson's board of visitors after retiring in 1996.

Dr. Al Yung first met LeMaistre in New York City in 1981, when the doctor recruited him to work at MD Anderson as an assistant professor for the internal medicine department.

"He was kind enough, just for an assistant professor position to have a cup of coffee with me in New York City and show me that MD Anderson was the place to come for my career," Yung said. "I'm very grateful."

Yung described LeMaistre as a visionary and said under his leadership the hospital was pushed into the modern era and became more efficient and competitive.

"Mickey's passing causes us to pause and remember his tremendous contributions to the growth and scope of MD Anderson," said Dr. John Mendelsohn, MD Anderson's third full-time president and director of the Khalifa Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy. "MD Anderson experienced happy and productive years under Mickey's leadership."

LeMaistre retired in 1996, but returned to the hospital a decade later as a part-time professor of behavioral science for the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, which he founded.

He continued writing about tobacco issues for the next two years, discussing how public policies have changed concerning tobacco control.

A book is set to be released by him later this year.

LeMaistre is survived by his wife, Andreae, and four children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
VICTORIA - An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago.

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m.

"It's sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge," Shahid Hashmi, the Islamic center's president, said. "It looks completely destroyed."

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshal's Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze.

No injuries were reported. It took about four hours to extinguish the blaze.

On Jan. 7, a mosque under construction near Lake Travis in Austin was burned to the ground. The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said like that blaze, it would monitor the investigation of the Victoria fire.

"Because of growing anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation, and because of the recent spike in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and individuals, we urge investigators to keep the possibility of a bias motive for this fire in mind," CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said.

There's been no determination yet for the Austin blaze, Diane Kanawati, with CAIR-Austin, said Saturday.

In December, a man was sentenced to four years in prison for setting fire to a Houston mosque where he worshipped. Gary Nathaniel Moore pleaded guilty to arson and using a fire as a deadly weapon in a Dec. 25, 2015, blaze that caused significant damage at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston mosque.
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President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration quickly reverberated through the United States and across the globe Saturday, slamming the border shut for an Iranian scientist on his way to a lab in Boston, a Syrian refugee family set to start a new life in Ohio and an Iraqi refugee headed to Houston to reunite with his wife and child, among countless others.

Protesters - who had demonstrated at airports in Houston, New York, San Francisco and other cities - celebrated late Saturday when a federal judge in New York issued a temporary injunction that blocks the deportation of people with visas stranded at U.S. airports under the immigration ban.

"Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said. "Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court."

Judge Ann M. Donnelly of U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, ruled that sending travelers home could cause them irreparable harm. She stopped short of letting other refugees into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's actions.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and it affected a relatively small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return.

One of the lead plaintiffs in the case is Houston-bound Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who was detained for 22 hours at Kennedy International Airport in New York before being released Saturday night. He had received a visa Jan. 11 to join his wife but became one of the first detained under Trump's order.

"I'm very tired, but I'm very happy," said Alshawi, who is expected to arrive in Houston on Sunday.

His wife was a former U.S. contractor in Iraq, where the family was a victim of a kidnapping attempt and car bombing because of their connection to America, his lawyers said.

Trump's order, enacted with the stroke of a pen Friday afternoon, suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The White House said the restrictions would protect "the United States from foreign nationals entering from countries compromised by terrorism" and ensure "a more rigorous vetting process."

But critics condemned Trump over the immediate collateral damage imposed on people who, by all accounts, had no sinister intentions in trying to come to the United States.

An official message to all U.S. diplomatic posts around the world provided instructions about how to treat people from the countries affected: "Effective immediately, halt interviewing and cease issuance and printing" of visas to the United States.

Around the nation, security officers at major international gateways had new rules to follow. Humanitarian organizations scrambled to cancel long-planned programs, delivering the bad news to families who were about to travel. Refugees who were airborne on flights when the order was signed were detained at airports.

Confusion turned to panic at airports around the world, as travelers found themselves unable to board flights bound for the United States. In Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Istanbul, airport and immigration officials turned passengers away at boarding gates and, in at least one case, ejected a family from a flight they had boarded.

Scared but inspired

As Alshawi waited for customs officials to decide whether he would be allowed into the country, several thousand pro-refugee protesters demonstrated outside the terminal in New York where he was being held. Chants of "let them in" and "racists out, refugees in" could be heard inside the terminal. Similar protests took place at airports around the U.S., including Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport, where about 150 demonstrated.

"Without this pressure from everyone outside, I think I would have had to return to Iraq," Alshawi said.

Some demonstrators at JFK waved handmade signs, while others shouted from the airport parking garage. At least one demonstrator made a sign with Alshawi's name on it.

Lisa Sbranna said she felt like she had to be at the airport demonstration because "this country is founded on immigrant rights."

"If people like (Alshawi) can be detained, we're all one step away from having it happen to us," she said.

Somia Hassan, another protester in New York, said she's scared of what's in store for immigrants in Trump's America but inspired by the passionate protest she saw.

"I cried when I first saw this," she said.

She said her mother had just canceled a trip to see family in Yemen because she was worried she wouldn't be allowed back into the U.S. - even though she has a green card.

"This is not the America I know," said Hassan, who wore a sequined gray hijab.

More protests are planned for Sunday, including one at noon at IAH. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, also plans to speak out against the ban Sunday.

"This order has no evidence it will keep America secure," said Jackson Lee, a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.

Travelers in Houston noticed delays on Saturday, and ACLU officials had reports of some detainments here but did not have specifics.

When Maribel, a 31-year-old woman from Mexico, landed Saturday in Houston, she said immigration officials held her and other passengers for at least 20 minutes before allowing them to exit to the terminal.

"It was weird," she said, as she waited for a friend to arrive on a flight from New York. Officials finally let the passengers go, but Maribel was confused by the holdup. She said it was the first time anything like that has happened in her frequent travels back and forth to Houston.

She speculated that immigration officials were trying to figure out how to handle the new rule.

Dania Albaba, a 22-year-old Houston native whose parents emigrated from Syria in the 1980s to complete medical and dental studies, said her aunt and uncle were scheduled to arrive to Houston on Saturday but were removed from a plane shortly before their U.S.-bound flight departed from Dubai.

Albaba, a UT medical student in Galveston, said the Syrian regime has killed several dozen members of her extended family, causing dozens more to flee President Bashar Assad's repression and the gruesome violence of the Islamic State terrorist group.

"For them, leaving the country wasn't exactly a choice. Our name is blacklisted with the Syrian government," she said. "They've all been really afraid. They can't return."

Her grandparents fled the capital, Damascus, came to Houston and earned legal permanent residency but worry whether they would be allowed to return if they went abroad to see family members.

Albaba's cousin, who was tortured by government forces, was granted asylum here two or three years ago. His mother is a refugee in Jordan and had hoped to see her son in the United States.

"I took Donald Trump's words very literally when he said he was going to ban people from Muslim-majority countries," she said, referring to the president's campaign rhetoric. "So I'm not surprised, but I'm disappointed. I know how much this will hurt people."

Rebuke from Texans

Mana Yegani, an immigration lawyer in Houston, said her client arrived from a stopover in Frankfurt after visiting his father in Iran. She said the Chevron engineer, whose first name is Majid, was detained and questioned for 21/2 hours upon his return. Customs agents were profiling incoming passengers based on their passports, rather than on whether they had a criminal record or some other concern in their history.

"It's crazy. It's absolutely a violation of their due process rights," she said.

She said the agents checked his Facebook contacts and reviewed his posts. They took his driver's license and checked the address.

"They asked him, 'Do you support the president of the United States?' What can you say at that point when you're held in detainment and your life's on the line? Of course you say yes," she said.

The ban on refugees drew a sharp rebuke from Texas civil rights organizations and Houston activists who are working to end discrimination against Muslims.

Terri Burke, director of the American Civil Rights Union in Texas, said the organization has sent representatives to airports both in Houston and Dallas to offer legal help to immigrants who may have been detained there.

"Obviously we are concerned; this is just blatant discrimination and it's lacking in compassion," Burke said. "I want to believe someone is just not thinking here, the way the order was written and the way officials are responding. But these people are being caught in a 'Twilight Zone.' "

Helped U.S. Army

It was unclear how many refugees and other immigrants were being held nationwide in relation to the executive order.

Seyed Soheil Saeedi Saravi, a leading young scientist in Iran, had been set to travel in the coming days to Boston, where he had been awarded a fellowship to study cardiovascular medicine at Harvard, said Thomas Michel, the professor who was to supervise the research fellowship. But Michel said the visas for the student and his wife had been indefinitely suspended.

The other plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a former interpreter for the U.S. Army, was released after 17 hours of detention at JFK and an intervention from two members of Congress.

According to court filing, Darweesh was granted a special immigrant visa on Jan. 20, the same day Trump was sworn in as president. Darweesh worked with the Americans in Iraq in a variety of jobs - as an interpreter, an engineer and a contractor.

He worked as an interpreter for the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Baghdad and Mosul starting shortly after the invasion of Iraq on April 1, 2003. The filing said he had been directly targeted twice for his work with the U.S. military.

A husband and father of three, he arrived at Kennedy with his family. His wife and children made it through passport control and customs, but agents of Customs and Border Protection detained him.

Arriving on a separate flight to JFK, Alshawi was supposed to continue on to be reunited with his wife in Houston. She wiped away tears as she waited in her sister's house early Saturday in a Houston suburb.

"He gave his package and his passport to an airport officer, and they didn't talk to him; they just put him in a room," his wife told the New York Times. "He told me that they forced him to get back to Iraq. He asked for his lawyer and to apply for an asylum case. And they told him: 'You can't do that. You need to go back to your country.' "

The ACLU lawyer handling the case, Andre Segura, said it's not clear exactly who made the decision to let Alshawi go free. He said about 30 minutes before Alshawi was released, a Customs and Border Protection official told him the order had come "from the top."

Alshawi is staying in New York tonight and flying to Houston to meet his family tomorrow.

"I'm going to hug them for a very long time," he said.

Casey Tolan contributed to this report from New York. Staff writers Andrew Kragie, James Pinkerton, Gabrielle Banks and Brooke A. Lewis contributed from Houston.
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Sheriff's deputies appear to have violated internal policy in the moments leading up to the October fatal shooting of Harris County inmate Ricky Lynn Hall at Ben Taub Hospital.

The Harris County sheriff's hospital transport policy requires that inmates on outside medical trips not be left unattended for any reason - a policy that in the past has meant officers were stationed round-the-clock when inmates were hospitalized.

But somehow, on Oct. 6, Hall - who has lengthy criminal history and a record of mental health problems - was left alone long enough to take a medical student hostage.

The deputy who intervened and shot the 46-year-old inmate was working security for the entire floor and was not assigned specifically to Hall, officials said at the time.

For Hall's grieving family and some criminal justice experts, the apparent slip-up raises new and troubling questions.

"Somebody has to be with the prisoner 24 hours a day until they're back in custody," said Bernie Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who also oversaw the notorious Rikers Island jails.

The Chronicle obtained a copy of the policy through Texas public records request after initially being denied answers to general policy questions by then-Sheriff Ron Hickman's office. But the Harris County Sheriff's Office has not provided clarification on the policy, or answered questions about why a guard was not outside Hall's hospital room.

The Houston Police Department, meanwhile, has completed its investigation of the shooting and turned its findings over to the Harris County District Attorney's office. The DA's office is reviewing the case and will present it to a grand jury, as is standard for any police-involved shooting.

The sheriff's office under newly elected Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has indicated it would conduct its own internal review after the police investigation wrapped up, but officials could not be reached to comment about whether that investigation is now underway.

Best practices?

The sheriff's hospital transport policy states that inmates transported outside the jail to a medical facility be escorted by a deputy or deputies, with one or both expected to monitor the inmate at all times.

"A certified deputy shall be assigned to accompany the inmate," the policy says.

High-risk prisoners may require two guards on duty, the policy notes, and escort deputies are instructed to "maintain a position of tactical advantage" and "not leave the prisoner unattended for any reason."

The policy notes that if an inmate is admitted to the hospital, additional arrangements should be made through the sheriff's office for providing relief to the escorting deputy.

Former Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who served before Hickman, said his office interpreted the policy to mean that each inmate should be guarded individually, in large part because there is no locked jail ward at Ben Taub.

"That being said, it's a detached process because the hospital is not across from the jail, so if a deputy has to step away to use the restroom, that's part of the challenge they have to deal with," he said.

Only in special circumstances - such as surgery or medical tests - should an inmate be left unattended, the policy states.

"These exceptions will normally be limited to surgical procedures or those medical tests of events where a deputy's presence is strictly prohibited by the attending physician," according to the policy.

There are no indications that Hall was in surgery immediately before he grabbed the hostage and the sheriff's office has not said whether he was undergoing any medical testing. He was slated for release back to the jail later that day.

Threatened hostage

Hall - who struggled for years with bipolar disorder and substance abuse - had been arrested about a week earlier on a parole violation and a trio of new charges. On Oct. 1, he was hospitalized for seizures.

Five days later, he snatched a metal object - possibly the band from a pair of headphones - and pressed them to the medical student's neck. The responding deputy heard the woman's screams and came running. Hall repeatedly threatened to kill his hostage unless the deputy shot him.

The struggle moved out into the hallway and eventually the deputy fired off two shots, striking Hall in the right arm and torso. Hall lingered on life support for a few weeks until his mother disconnected the machinery on Oct. 17.

Taking precautions

Even if the county had adhered to its policy, however, it still may not have not measured up to the standards considered best for policing, according to some legal experts.

Kerik said that a jail should ideally have two guards handling any outside hospital transport each time.

"Routine in 80 percent of departments around the county is that this would be a two-man detail - and that's any time you take a prisoner to a hospital," he told the Chronicle.

Best practices would typically include shackling the inmate in a way that could have prevented the incident altogether, he said.

"Normally what happens is they're restrained to the bed unless there's some medical condition where the doctors say you can't have the inmate restrained and that medical condition outweighs the security concern," he said.

Sheriff's officials have not said whether Hall was restrained or shackled at the hospital, but Hall's family said keeping him shackled might have kept him alive.

"If Ricky was restrained, this may have never happened," said his uncle, Ben Hogan. "Every one of us agreed that he should have been restrained."

Family at a loss

Richard Van Wickler, the superintendent of Cheshire County jail in New Hampshire who also works with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, said that sometimes his facility leaves inmates entirely on their own - but not with parole violators such as Hall.

The jail sometimes furloughs inmates accused of misdemeanors, allowing them to go to outside medical appointments on their own. But parole violators have already demonstrated they have an inability to adhere to release guidelines and have "difficulty following rules," he said.

"At no time would the offender be out of view of a correctional officer, even during a medical procedure," he said. "He should not have been left alone."

In the meantime, Hall's family is still struggling to piece together what happened.

After months of battling red tape, Hall's family finally had a funeral service in early December. Two weeks later, they came back to pick up the ashes.

On the way out of the South Houston funeral home, Hall's uncle, Ben Hogan, held up the small dark box and felt its weight.

""It's his whole life in a bag," he said. "It's a heck of a way to end the year, ain't it?"
Ten candidates for Democratic National Committee chair brought their messages to Houston Saturday during a traveling forum designed to help the party rebuild by focusing on states like Texas.

The Bayou City is the second stop in the DNC Future Forum series, which hits Phoenix, Detroit and Baltimore before party elections in February in Atlanta. The party is refreshing its efforts to recover from the blistering loss of about 1,000 seats since 2009 from statehouses to Congress and the White House.

The programs aim to redirect the party for a future that firmly includes Texas and other states where progressives see opportunity.

Brazile moderates

Moderated by former CNN commentator Donna Brazile, now interim DNC chair, the all-day meeting featured a presentation about attracting Hispanic voters as well as panels with candidates for the top party positions.

Tom Perez, U.S. Labor secretary during the second term of President Barack Obama's administration, and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, are considered leading candidates for chair. They received the loudest applause and appeared to have the most support among Houston attendees.

Perez, the son of Dominican immigrants, alternated between English and Spanish to make his point about the party embracing more people - particularly in states like Texas - and needing a "turnaround specialist" at its helm.

"We don't need to burn the house down, but we need to take a sober look at where we are and what we did and what we didn't do," he said. "We didn't make house calls. It's not an engagement strategy to show up at a church every fourth October."

Ellison pointed to lack of turnout and poor party investment in local organizing as causes of Democratic losses in the presidential election.

"We have got to talk to everybody all over this country and that means sending resources from D.C. to Texas," he said. "We've got to turn on in an off year."

Candidate Vincent Tolliver of Georgia claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lost because she chose the wrong running mate. He said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker would have been winners over Clinton's pick of Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.

South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg said the party has "under-reacted" to the election of President Donald Trump.

Jaime Harrison, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said the DNC needs "deal with the electoral college" as a priority and end redundant efforts.

"Hillary Clinton had 3 million more votes than Donald Trump. In what other competition or occasion can you have 3 million more of anything and still lose?" he asked. "People have lost faith and they have lost trust."

No more politicians

Former Fox News commentator Jehmu Greene said a party "mired in an old-school approach" contributed to Democratic losses, as did failing to connect with millennials and people of color.

"Put an organizer at the head of the DNC," she said. "Don't put another politician up here."

Other candidates for chair on the panel included U.S Air Force reservist Sam Ronan, Wisconsin attorney Peter Peckarsky, New Hampshire Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley and Sally Boynton Brown, the executive director of Idaho's Democratic Party.

Speaking to party activists and other attendees, several leaders emphasized that Harris County became firmly Democratic in the 2016 election and the party has reduced its statewide presidential election loss margin from 16 points in 2012 to nine last year.

Maria Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino - a national organization that seeks to elevate Latino political leadership and voting power - said the Lone Star State's growing Hispanic population presents a new chance to build the party.

"The future is here in Texas," she said, rattling off national statistics throughout her presentation. "Sixty percent of Latinos are under the age of 33. That's opportunity.  One in five millennials is Latino.  Sixty percent of all U.S. Latinos are U.S. born. Opportunity."

Kumar said the key to boosting Democratic votes is linking the similar concerns of urban and rural voters on jobs, education, access to health care, drug abuse issues, the digital divide and food deserts. She added that the opportunity to register new voters is optimal in Texas.
RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina's governor insists there are enough votes to kill the state's "bathroom bill." But a survey by The Associated Press and eight North Carolina newspapers shows less than a third of lawmakers are willing to publicly commit to that stance.

A closely watched deal to repeal the law fell apart during a December special session amid distrust between Democrats and Republicans. The law known as House Bill 2 sparked backlash from businesses and LGBT advocates who say it's discriminatory because it requires transgender people to use restrooms in many public buildings that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates. It also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from statewide antidiscrimination protections.

Only 12 of 50 state senators and 40 of 118 current House members said they support abolishing the law, nearly all of them Democrats. On the other side, 13 representatives and six senators said firmly that they want the law to remain.

But the survey doesn't give a clear answer about the likelihood of undoing the law. In both chambers, those giving a "yes" or "no" were outnumbered by those on the fence or declining to participate.

"It's going to be a heavy lift. I hesitate to comment one way or another without seeing a specific proposal," said Republican Rep. Josh Dobson, who represents mountain counties.

About 10 Republicans in each chamber said they were open to finding a solution but would have to see what's included in a repeal bill. The survey was conducted in the opening days of this legislative session.

Many Republican lawmakers are likely keeping their views private to discourage public squabbling, said Republican Mike Hager, who served as House Majority Leader before leaving the legislature last year. The House Republican Caucus has been divided over repeal legislation.

Hager also said many GOP legislators from rural, socially conservative areas are torn between concerns about HB2 hampering economic activity and the desire to protect bathroom privacy and respect religious views.

"People have deep-seated feelings about family norms," Hager said. "You've got to have someone brave enough and offer a compromise, because that is what it's going to take."

The survey, sent Jan. 19 by email, asked legislators if they would "vote to repeal House Bill 2 in its entirety" if such legislation were introduced. Reporters also contacted lawmakers by phone or in person over the following week.
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To hear him tell it, Sylvester Turner's by-the-bootstraps optimism was born in northwest Houston's Acres Homes.

The mayor returns to his low-income, predominantly African-American neighborhood in speech after speech, recalling his 11-member family's two-bedroom house, his parents' commitment to education and the upheaval he experienced when forced busing took him away for high school.

Turner typically concludes with his academic and professional accomplishments - a personal illustration of his political mantra: "If you can dream it, you can do it."

His mayoral wish now fulfilled, Turner's achievements appear to have informed a politically popular but legally vexing affordable housing philosophy: prioritize revitalizing underserved neighborhoods like Acres Homes, where he still lives, over building in affluent areas devoid of low-income housing.

This approach earned fierce rebuke earlier this month from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which said Houston's housing procedures perpetuate segregation and violate the Civil Rights Act. Specifically, HUD took aim at Turner's recent rejection of a subsidized housing project in the wealthy Galleria area, determining it was based in part on "racially motivated opposition."

Turner cited "costs and other concerns" in blocking the 233-unit, $53 million project at 2640 Fountain View last August, but City Hall sources framed the mayor's decision as heavily influenced by his ideological opposition to what the development represents.

"I categorically reject the notion that in order for poor children - those who come from lower socioeconomic families - in order for them to participate in the American dream, that I have to move them from where they are and place them someplace else," Turner said at a Martin Luther King Day breakfast this month.

"I grew up in one of those communities," he continued. "I still live in one of those communities. The answer is not to just move them over there. The answer is to invest in the communities where they are."

That perspective is consistent with the desires of many members of Turner's minority base who would prefer to see government investment in low-income neighborhoods, Texas Southern University political scientist Michael Adams said.

It also appeases wealthy white residents against subsidized housing in their communities.

It clashes, however, with the federal and state mandates to remedy decades of residential segregation by building in so-called "high-opportunity" neighborhoods, which research shows give children a better chance of upward mobility.

That leaves Turner, the black Democratic mayor of what is by some measures the most diverse city in the nation, in the odd position of defending against a federal accusation of racism.

Turner keyed in on the bizarre optics earlier this month.

"I've been mayor for one year, and I'm segregating Houston?" he asked residents, incredulous. "Hell, Houston was segregated before I got to be mayor."

Housing demand unmet

Breakneck development has accelerated the need for subsidized housing in Houston, a city of 2.3 million where demand far outstrips the roughly 78,000 subsidized units.

Most of those apartments are located in poor, minority neighborhoods, reflecting decades of residential segregation.

Take tax credit developments, the primary form of new affordable housing.

Between 2012 and early last year, 85 percent of the tax credit proposals the city's housing department recommended for approval were for sites located in majority-minority census tracts, according to HUD. More than two-thirds of the sites are in areas where at least 80 percent of residents are minority.

"Choices are significantly limited when all of the subsidized housing or public housing development tends to be located in lower-income areas," said Jeffrey Lowe, a TSU associate professor of urban planning.

Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court two years ago increased pressure on housing officials nationally to build affordable homes in well-off neighborhoods, holding that policies with a "disparate impact" on minorities violate the Fair Housing Act, even if the effect is unintentional.

The solution is straightforward in theory: incentivize the development of affordable housing in affluent, mostly white areas while also allowing for targeted revitalization.

Implementation has been far trickier.

Development costs and the ability of cities and state representatives to essentially veto many projects have hampered construction in wealthy neighborhoods, as new regulations have made it more difficult for low-income communities to secure housing dollars.

Turner on Friday said he worries about the consequences of shifting investment away from poor, minority neighborhoods.

"When you no longer build affordable housing in these low-income communities, then you are participating in the closing and consolidation of these schools, which impacts communities. You don't get that growth and that development with the people there, maintaining that history, that culture, that personality of those neighborhoods, and so you force people out," he said. "Developers circle, come right back in, and they end up building homes and housing for other people ... and I am not going to participate in gentrifying another minority neighborhood."

'She knows everybody'

Despite studies showing the benefits of growing up in higher-income areas with better jobs and schools, poor residents can be reluctant to move away from family and institutional support structures.

As part of a Hurricane Ike recovery program, for example, Houston's housing department offered 259 low- and moderate-income families the option of having their storm-damaged homes rebuilt in place or elsewhere in the city.

Just seven chose to move. Only two families moved outside what the U.S. Census defines as poverty areas, where the poverty rate is 20 percent or higher.

For Lucille Scott, 83 and a longtime Independence Heights resident, the decision to stay in an impoverished neighborhood came down to familiarity.

"She knows the people in this area. If I took her somewhere else, man, she might walk out of the house and get lost," said Lucille's son Eddie Scott.

"She knows everybody. ... Everybody knows her."

Lucille Scott's children are grown, but for younger families, research shows such a choice could affect children's upward mobility.

"Children's opportunities for economic mobility are shaped by the neighborhoods in which they grow up," Stanford economist Raj Chetty and Harvard economist Nathaniel Hendren wrote last year. "Every extra year a child spends growing up in an area where permanent residents' outcomes are higher increases his or her earnings."

Turner acknowledges the importance of housing choice.

"I want people to be able to live anywhere," he told students at the University of Houston two weeks ago. "And I know in this city we need housing and affordable housing everywhere."

Two years ago, however, then-state Rep. Turner came out against the Houston Housing Authority's proposal to acquire a high-opportunity tract in his northwest Houston district, formerly home to the Pinemont Park and Ride.

"If you can't convince the homeowner associations and the civic clubs and the management district that this is right for the community, then I will not support it," Turner told The Leader, a community newspaper, at the time. "This doesn't mean anybody is racist. Nobody is saying, 'Not in my back yard.'

Not backing down

Fountain View was similarly unpopular among community members.

Galleria-area residents cited worries of school overcrowding, increased traffic and decreased property values. Local representatives also lined up in opposition.

"This project will be of great detriment to the hardworking families" living near 2640 Fountain View, Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman wrote to former Housing Authority Chairman Lance Gilliam last February.

Huffman, who is carrying the city's landmark pension reform bill this legislative session, was joined by City Councilman Greg Travis, state Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, and U.S. Congressman John Culberson, R-Houston, who sits on the House appropriations committee.

Fountain View would have been mixed-income, with 70 percent reserved for families earning 60 percent of the area median income or below; 10 percent would be set aside for those earning 30 percent or below; 20 percent would be rented at market rates.

The area median income for a family of four is $69,200.

At roughly $240,000 per unit, Fountain View also was more expensive than most tax credit developments proposed locally, driven in part by high land costs and regulatory requirements private developers don't face.

The mayor eventually pulled the plug in a public statement last August, saying he would not bring the project to a City Council vote and asking the housing authority for alternative proposals. He also requested Gilliam resign.

That effectively denied the Galleria-area project tax credits, a critical piece of its funding package.

HUD this month disputed the mayor's financial justification for rejecting the Fountain View project, pointing in part to the city's November approval of a $226,000-per-unit tax credit proposal in majority-minority Independence Heights, where HUD says the poverty rate is 39 percent, compared with 7 percent near the Galleria.

Asked about his opposition to both of the housing authority's recent high-opportunity initiatives, Turner, a 26-year state legislator, said, "I'm sure in my time I've supported housing everywhere."

In conjunction with its conclusion that Houston is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act - which prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating based on race, color or national origin - the federal housing agency is requiring the city to implement a series of corrective actions.

Those include developing a policy to ensure the placement of tax credit housing does not maintain segregation, and submitting all HUD-funded multi-family projects for federal review.

Failure by the city to reach a resolution with the agency could result in sanctions - including the loss of federal funding - or a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nearly six months after Turner blocked Fountain View, the Houston Housing Authority has yet to find an alternative site, though the mayor said Friday that his administration was working on a multi-family proposal in the same council district.

Separately, Turner said he is planning to help up to 350 families with housing vouchers move into neighborhoods with high-performing schools.

This initiative, which the mayor has yet to officially unveil, would improve access to subsidized housing in affluent neighborhoods but would not increase the city's supply of affordable units.

Otherwise, the mayor said he intends to "utilize all available avenues" to have that (HUD) letter withdrawn.

"I am categorically opposed to what they wrote," he said. "Why would I negotiate with something that goes fundamentally contrary to my beliefs?"
Sound strategy

Regarding "Trump's barrier" (Page A14, Friday), when has any politician, engineer or public figure discussed seriously the idea that a wall be built from the shores of California to the Gulf of Mexico? Never.

The wall, as recently discussed by a Border Patrol executive, is intended to funnel the crossings to specific locations so that the Border Patrol and ICE, currently understaffed, could marshal their resources in strategic locations. In the military we would term these actions "blocking forces" or "sea denial" in the Navy.

Rather, your editorial board correlates it to the Berlin Wall.

There is no such credible analogy.

Kenneth Breaux, Houston

Details please

In reference to the physical wall advocated by President Trump, I'm trying to visualize the thing. The entire border of Texas with Mexico is defined by the Rio Grande River with two reservoirs along its course. Is the wall going to be in the middle of the river? Mexico will not have it on their side. Then, is the wall going to be on our side? How will the natural beauty of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park be preserved? Maybe advocates don't care. How high is the wall going to be? Warriors have known since ancient times how to scale tall walls. Wall advocates need to think through what they are asking to have in our state.

John T. James, Houston

Flawed project

Regarding "Import tax proposal widens U.S.-Mexico rift," (Page A1, Friday), the $25 billion boondoggle proposed by the current president will go down in United States history as the biggest waste of taxpayers' dollars ever if enacted. There are a myriad of reasons why not to attempt this massive undertaking: eminent domain, encroachment of ancestral lands, ecological issues, and the sheer magnitude of building a wall through some of the roughest terrain in America.

The wall will not accomplish its much ballyhooed and xenophobic objective, which is to keep out illegal immigrants. Do we not know that ladders will be used to scale the wall? Do we not know that tunnels will be dug?

Make no mistake about this proposal. The Trump Wall will be financed by taxpayers. The so-called 20 percent import tax will also be paid by the taxpayers, especially those in Texas who rely upon produce from Mexico. In another words, taxpayers in Texas will pay double for this ill-conceived and flawed project.

Melissa Daggett, Houston

Making it work

Good fences make good neighbors. The wall can be paid for by diverting the foreign aid we send to Mexico and Central America and a tax on cash remittances sent to same.

Robert Anderson, The Woodlands
With the weight of crisis after crisis bearing down, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's tenure and his Institutional Revolutionary Party's moral authority in Mexico have been unraveling at a steady clip. But help has arrived, and from the last person any right-thinking Mexican could have expected: U.S. President Donald Trump.

With last week's executive actions on border security and immigration enforcement, Trump forced Pena Nieto to do the unimaginable: cancel his scheduled visit this week to the White House. The push-back was a setback in bilateral diplomacy, to be sure. Gone, apparently, are the sunnier days of Mexican presidents gifting cowboy boots to their U.S. counterparts, as Vicente Fox famously did for George W. Bush when Bush made a state visit to Mexico in 2001.

But Pena Nieto's canceled trip gave Mexico - and, importantly, Mexicans - a shred of dignity that will allow them to engage strongly in the trade war that suddenly has materialized. And to get what's best for Mexico -and, indeed, what's likely best for the North American economy - the nation will need a firm hand and a loud voice. Whatever the two discussed Friday when they reportedly spoke by phone, Pena Nieto has no incentive to back down. Mexico's presidential elections are just around the corner in 2018. His party needs him to stand his ground.

In the short term, Mexico would suffer the most in a trade war, as would Texas, which has an $8 billion trade surplus with our southern neighbor. Further deterioration in bilateral relations likely could mean not only the loss of trade, but also the loss of economic and military aid, all of which would put Mexico's economy in a very unstable position.

Here at home, you and I also are going to suffer the consequences of a trade war. As Pena Nieto is sure to remind the Trump administration, Mexico happens to be the second-largest supplier of agricultural goods to the U.S. So imposing a 20 percent tax on Mexican imports to pay for the border wall (should Congress go along with this misguided plan) will directly affect U.S. consumers. Regardless of who you supported in November, if you shop at just about any retail outlet in the U.S., you're going to feel this one in the pocketbook.

It also is going to hurt the state's economy, as almost half of Texas exports go directly to Mexico. The business opportunities that Houston-based companies could have in Mexico's energy sector - a newly liberalized industry that was just opening up to foreign investment - could simply evaporate.

If Trump's push comes to shove, the opportunity - and negotiating position - for Mexico lies in its free-trade agreements with other countries. Europe is a large market that Mexico has not fully penetrated, and vice versa; the trans-Pacific countries also offer invaluable commercial opportunities - opportunities Trump dashed for the U.S. right out of the chute in his administration's first days when he pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership. And of course there is China, which has pledged $500 billion in trade and $250 billion in direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Having China as Mexico's new commercial partner and so close to the United States certainly will produce a lot of headaches for the Trump administration.

Mexico has another, and very important, bargaining chip: intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation. Mexico can very well decide to stop altogether or limit its intelligence sharing with U.S. agencies, not to mention drug-interdiction efforts. Here's why either would have devastating effects in the U.S.:

Even with U.S. aid under the Merida Initiative, surging U.S. demand for illicit drugs has fueled increasing opium cultivation and heroin production in Mexico, according to a new report compiled by the Congressional Research Service.

According to that same report, delivered on Jan. 18, U.S. technology and personnel support Mexican intelligence-gathering and information-sharing efforts in northern and southern Mexico.

A $13 million telecommunications system for cities along the U.S.-Mexican border that was funded by the Merida Initiative is facilitating cross-border information-sharing among law enforcement in that region, the CRS reported.

If someone can keep the U.S. president away from his Twitter account, the relationship stands a chance. But make no mistake: Mexico most certainly has tools it can wield to make things difficult for this nascent U.S. presidency, not to mention the rest of us. Trump should not underestimate our neighbor. Whether it's a trade war, or even just a war of words, it's not a war we should want.

Cortina (@jcortina) is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston.
Anyone who hoped that 2017 might bring a change in the tone of our political discourse has by now been thoroughly disappointed. The remarkable degree of contempt that characterized the 2016 election has shown no sign of abating in President Donald Trump's first days in office.

Contemptuous political discourse is not new, of course. What is new is the extent to which contempt has managed to slither into our daily experience of political conversation. Gone are the days when contempt for political rivals and their supporters was mostly communicated behind closed doors, in low tones not meant to be overheard. Whatever veneer of unseemliness we associated with contemptuous public speech has been stripped away. We are left with everyone's raw feelings, on all sides of the political spectrum, exposed and expressed in contexts ranging from social media and public protests to confrontational signage and clothing.

B B B

Immanuel Kant once remarked that "no man in his true senses  is candid." It wasn't that Kant didn't value truthfulness and sincerity in our interactions with others; he did. He realized, however, that the stability and progress of moral and political community depends on our being able to restrain ourselves from expressing publicly whatever we happen to be thinking or feeling. This is especially pressing when our inner thoughts and attitudes reflect contempt for our fellow human beings. Contempt, Kant recognized, is a very dangerous thing. The danger lies in contempt's peculiar ability to dehumanize its target. Widespread public contempt has the potential to undermine the moral basis of all human relationships and, indeed, of human community itself.

A fundamental feature of contempt is that it is globalist, meaning that it is directed at the entire person, rather than just some aspect of that person. It is thus unlike other negative attitudes, like anger. If I express anger toward you, I am engaging with you. If I express contempt toward you, I am dismissing you. The distinction is crucial.

In his essay, "Freedom and Resentment," P.F. Strawson described it as the difference between a participant attitude and an objective attitude. When we view others with a participant attitude, we regard them as fellow moral agents, accountable for what they say and do. When we view them with an objective attitude, we see them not as agents, but as objects to be managed or perhaps obstacles to be overcome. Contempt functions by shifting the targeted person from a participant relationship to an objective relationship. It aims to alter someone's status by diminishing their agency. This is how contempt accomplishes its dehumanizing work - by marking its target as unworthy of engagement and thus not a full member of the human community.

B B B

Contempt is frequently overt, but it also can be very subtle. Sometimes it hides itself under superficially polite language and behavior, with the real meaning recognizable only to its targets. Often it is put forward as merely good-natured fun or, in the parlance of 2016, "locker room" talk. It is troublingly easy for contempt to cover its tracks. It is also troublingly easy for listeners to take up another's contempt without realizing it. This is particularly true when contempt is expressed as mockery.

When Trump mocked the physical appearance of the New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, even his most fervent supporters struggled to come up with plausible defense of their candidate. Finding themselves unable to defend imitating a person's disability, they were reduced to attempting to argue that Trump was not actually imitating Kovaleski at all. The public was largely unconvinced. We know contempt when we see it.

Trump and his supporters are responsible for much of our current glut of contempt, but they are hardly the only perpetrators of it. Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comment qualifies as contempt, although her subsequent expression of regret undid some of its effects. Opponents of Trump have also directed plenty of contempt at both Trump himself - as we saw in some of the signs brandished at the marches held Jan. 21 across the country - and at the people who voted for him, particularly rural voters without much education. Contempt has been injected into our public space from all sides.

B B B

Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to conclude that all expressions of contempt are equally bad. Contempt occurs in the context of social relationships that are themselves characterized by power differences. Those power differences have a profound effect on the shape of contempt and its effectiveness in diminishing the agency of its target. A contemptuous protest sign directed at the president is not on par with a contemptuous remark made by that president.

As every adolescent knows, certain people wield much greater social power than others. The source of that power in middle school may be mysterious, but the effects of it are obvious enough. A suitably socially positioned 12-year-old has the power to make a classmate persona non grata.

Adult relationships are less obviously, but equally, characterized by social power differentials, and we ignore these at our peril. Some people are well situated to dehumanize others; some people are more vulnerable to dehumanization than others. This means that not all contempt is the same. Contempt expressed by the socially powerful toward the socially vulnerable is a much greater moral danger than contempt that flows in the opposite direction. As president, Trump occupies a position of exceptional social power. Contempt bolstered by such power becomes far more effective and hence, far more threatening to our grounding democratic values.

Trump is broad-minded about the targets of his contempt; just about anyone who criticizes him seems to be fair game. Nevertheless, his tendency to treat members of much less powerful social groups with contempt is particularly troubling. Trump's imitation of Kovaleski reinforced a specific social inequality that most people now recognize as morally abhorrent: namely, the marginalization of people with disabilities. In characterizing Mexicans as rapists and women as objects of sexual gratification, he has engaged in the same kind of marginalization.

Trump's standard method of responding to critics includes denigrating their appearance, denying their intelligence and calling them total failures. He thus treats them as objects to be scorned and dismissed, rather than as fellow human beings worthy of basic respect. This is what makes it contempt and not merely colorfully expressed criticism.

It may seem as though the best response to Trump's contempt is to return it in kind, treating him the same way he treats others. The trouble, though, is that contempt toward Trump does not function in the same way that his contempt toward others functions. Even if we grant that Trump deserves contempt for his attitudes and behaviors, his powerful social position insulates him from the worst of contempt's effects. It is simply not possible to disregard or diminish the agency of the president of the United States. This means that contempt is not a particularly useful weapon in the battle against bigotry or misogyny. The socially vulnerable cannot wield it effectively precisely because of their social vulnerability.

B B B

The better strategy for those who are already disempowered is to reject contempt on its face. Returning contempt for contempt legitimizes its presence in the public sphere. The only ones who benefit from this legitimacy are the people powerful enough to use contempt to draw the boundaries of the political community as they see fit. Socially vulnerable people cannot win the battle for respect by using contempt as a way to demand it. In an environment where contempt is an acceptable language of communication, those who already lack social power stand to lose the most by being its targets. The only real defense against contempt is the consistent, strong and loud insistence that each one of us be regarded as a full participant in our shared political life, entitled to hold all others accountable for how we are treated.

Privately expressed contempt may be cathartic. Publicly expressed contempt, however, is perilous. As Kant recognized, it threatens the foundations of our political community by denying the central moral idea on which that community is based - that everyone has a right to basic respect as a human being. Contemptuous political discourse, with its pernicious effects on mutual respect, should never have become mainstream. For the good of our country, we must make every effort to push it back into the shadows where it belongs. Let us hope that our new president will cooperate.

Stohr is an associate professor of philosophy at Georgetown University and a senior research scholar at Georgetown's Kennedy Institute of Ethics. She is the author of "On Manners." 2017 New York Times
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PAIVAN TIMANTTI :

Tuli olo, etta ma olen vanha ja huono  Uransa lopettava Chisu kertoo, miksi ei enaa halua olla poptahti
NEW YORK  Late Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn temporarily halted parts of President Donald Trumps sweeping executive order that aimed to block the entry of Syrian refugees and impose a de facto ban on travelers coming from several Muslim-majority countries.

The American Civil Liberties Union, immigrants rights groups and refugee relief organizations had filed the action in federal court Saturday morning on behalf of two Iraqi nationals who were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, asking for a declaration that the order is unconstitutional and requesting an injunction to prevent its implementation against other travelers who may be equally harmed.

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The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioners and others similarly situated violates the rights to Due Process and Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York wrote in her order.

The legal action named Trump in his official capacity as president, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and other high-ranking officials. Although temporary and subject to appeal, it represents the first major constitutional setback faced by the new administration.

Signed judge's order. No refugees are going to be immediately deported pic.twitter.com/sbfaG7DBt0  ACLU National (@ACLU) January 29, 2017

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This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil, said Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer who was in court Saturday arguing the case, in a statement.

The immediate reading of Donnellys order left several interpretations, but the nationwide stay specifically forbids the federal government from deporting refugees who have been cleared by immigration authorities to enter the country. It also protects holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, [who are] legally authorized to enter the United States.

Because the Constitution only applies territorially, that would mean the ruling covers those travelers detained and stranded at airports and other ports of entry, and possibly those who were stranded mid-travel but have authorization to be in the United States.

The initial ambiguity of Saturdays ruling underscores the crazed process by which Trumps executive order was implemented and litigated  all within a span of a day. And it portends even more high-pitched court battles ahead, including a likely trip to the Supreme Court, which is presently short one member.

Protesters cheer as laywers emerge from a Brooklyn court after a judge blocks the Trump immigration order https://t.co/djFvNiHjhjpic.twitter.com/zRYX8ZtNUc  NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) January 29, 2017

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Earlier on Saturday, Trump told reporters at the White House that his executive order was working out very nicely.

You see it at the airports, you see it all over, he said.

But hours after the courts ruling, the Trump administration had yet to comment or tweet about it. The White House has been under mounting scrutiny over how Trumps slapdash travel ban  which has sown chaos and sparked protests at airports across the country  came to be.

One CNN report indicated that the White House didnt consult with the Office of Legal Counsel, the Department of Justice component that advises the executive branch on policy, prior to Trumps signing of the order on Friday. And two of Trumps closest advisers, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, reportedly overruled Department of Homeland Security officials who had concluded that the executive order shouldnt bar legal permanent residents from the affected countries from entering the U.S.

One of the two Iraqis at the center of the legal action against the travel ban, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released shortly after noon on Saturday. The other man, Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was released moments after the court ruling.

Judges across the U.S. follow suit

In related developments Saturday evening, federal judges in Virginia and Seattle issued orders temporarily barring the deportation of travelers stranded in their jurisdictions.

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In Virginia, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema allowed between 50 and 60 legal permanent residents detained at Washington Dulles International Airport to contact lawyers and family members, and halted their deportations for seven days. Federal authorities detained the travelers upon arrival because they are citizens of the seven countries listed in Trumps travel ban.

And in Seattle, U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly halted the deportation of two travelers who had sought a declaration that their detentions were illegal. The judge set a hearing for next week to determine the next steps in the case.

Read the full ruling blocking parts of Trumps executive order below:

Also on HuffPost

Trump Immigration Ban Sparks Protests See Gallery
Former Tory immigration minister Jason Kenney took to Twitter Saturday to urge Canada's government to welcome those stranded by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order.

On Friday, Trump banned refugees and anyone with a passport from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The order left border officers confused and travellers stranded at airports around the country.

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Kenney wrote that Canada should offer temporary permits to welcome those stranded by the executive order, a move he called a "brutal, ham-fisted act of demagogic political theatre."

The Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership candidate also shared a clip of his last words in the House of Commons as an MP, where he praised the role of immigrants and refugees in shaping Canada.

In light of the Executive Order, posting my last words in the House of Commons, where I talked about the refugees who helped to build Canada https://t.co/2t3lMhF5PV  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

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Canada's current minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship has said the government will offer temporary residence permits to any travellers affected by the ban.

"Canada will continue to be a government that welcomes immigrants," said Minister Ahmed Hussen in a press conference on Sunday. Hussen came to Canada as a refugee from Somalia  one of the seven countries banned by Trump's executive order.

The federal government also assured citizens that the U.S. has said Canadians with dual citizenship will not be impacted by the ban.

Read Kenney's full string of tweets below:

1/ Just spoke to a former staffer of mine who was raised in Iran. Immigrated to Canada at 14, he ran as a Conservative for Parliament at 19.  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

2/ He is so Canadian he has a maple leaf tattoo. He despises the Iranian dictatorship & would be thrown in jail if he returned there. He has  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

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3/ renounced Iranian citizenship, & is one of the most hawkish people I know on national security & integration. He is running a successful  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

4/ startup in the USA. As a result of yesterday's Executive Order, he is now barred from entering USA, where he has created dozens of jobs.  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

5/ Yazidi refugees from Daesh's genocide, US military officers of Iranian origin & countless others join him in being inadmissible to the US  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

6/ Meanwhile, Wahabi militants from Saudi Arabia are unaffected by this EO. This is not about national security. It is a brutal, ham-fisted  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

7/ act of demagogic political theatre. Now we are hopelessly polarized between the false choice of open-border naivete and xenophobia.  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

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8/ The Government of Canada should immediately facilitate temporary residency for bona fide travellers stranded by the EO, e.g. by issuing  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

9/ministerial instructions to visa officers for issuance of Temporary Residence Permits under Sec 25 of Immigration & Refugee Protection Act  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

10/ Republicans in Congress who (rightly) challenged President Obama for making law through EOs should now challenge President Trump's EO.  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017

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Iraq vet w/ 4 Purple Hearts, drove two hours to Dulles w/ his son.

Nobody called him. He just came. Why?

"Not what I fought for." pic.twitter.com/pAe50ugtlI

 Mike Breen (@M_Breen) January 28, 2017
More than 150 leaders in the tech community have signed a letter calling on the federal Liberal government to grant temporary resident status to people stranded by President Donald Trumps executive orders on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

The CEOs of Shopify and OMERS Ventures, as well as senior execs at Facebook, Google, and tech incubators like DMZ, MaRS and Communitech have signed a letter calling on the federal government to immediately issue targeted visas providing those currently displaced by the U.S. executive order with temporary residency in Canada.

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This visa would allow these residents to live and work in Canada with access to benefits until such time as they can complete the application process for permanent residency if they so choose, the letter states.

Trumps executive orders on immigrants and refugees and his rapid moves to implement a protectionist economic agenda have sent shockwaves through the world, but some in Canadas business community see a silver lining.

I think its really sad and horrible from a political landscape perspective, but very selfishly its an incredible opportunity, Dennis Pilaros, founder of software startup Buddybuild, told the Globe and Mail. Its a chance to welcome incredibly talented engineers who might not have otherwise considered roles in Canada.

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Canada is on track to create 218,000 tech jobs between 2016 and 2020, but lacks the people to fill them, a study from the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) estimated last year. Canada would need to graduate around 43,000 IT students every year to keep up with demand, but graduates fewer than 30,000 at present.

If Trumps policies push IT professionals to move north, or U.S. companies to open Canadian offices, it could represent a much-needed injection of talent for Canadas tech industry.

Trumps executive order banning entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries has had an immediate impact on the U.S.s largest tech companies. Google ordered all its staff traveling abroad to return to the U.S. immediately. At least 100 of its employees are affected by Trumps order, Bloomberg reports.

Were aware of 76 Microsoft employees who are citizens of these countries and have a U.S. visa and are therefore affected by this new order, Microsoft stated in a letter to staff on Friday, adding there may be more.

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Our thoughts on yesterday's U.S. Executive Order on Immigration https://t.co/XaVk2z1sQj on @LinkedIn  Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) January 28, 2017

Oilsands' new hope

Meanwhile, Canadas oil industry sees new reason to hope in Trumps public dispute this week with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto over which country should pay for Trump's planned border wall.

After Nieto rejected the idea his country would pay, the White House suggested a 20-per-cent tariff on Mexican imports could cover the cost.

That would attract more Canadian crude because it would be cheaper, Bart Melek, head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities, told Bloomberg. It just makes Mexican oil more expensive by 20 percent, so it gives Canada a comparative advantage.

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Canada ships more oil to the U.S. than Mexico (about 3.24 million barrels per day, compared to Mexicos 550,000 barrels) but Mexican crude commands a higher price than Canadian oilsands product because of easy access by water to the U.S.s Gulf coast refineries.

Auto industry worried

Not every industry stands to benefit from Trumps closed-door policies.

If the Trump administration were to place a tariff on Canadian imports, or agree to a congressional Republican proposal for a border adjustment tax, hard times could be ahead for Canadas auto industry  as well as the U.S.s.

The two countries auto industries have been totally integrated since the signing of an auto pact in 1965, Dennis ResRosiers, a prominent auto industry consultant, said earlier this month.

Industry reports have pointed out that some auto parts cross the Canadian-U.S. border eight times during the production process.

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"To undo that would cause all kinds of inefficiencies, potentially a market collapse," DesRosiers said. "How do you unravel 50 years of integration, how do you unravel duty-free shipment of thousands of components that it takes to build a vehicle?"

"Mexico is in a terrible, terrible position. We are not."  Unnamed Canadian government official, quoted by Reuters

It may be challenges like this that prompted White House officials last week to suggest that the Trump administrations planned renegotiation of NAFTA wont be too hard on Canada.

That had some diplomats optimistic that Canada could come out relatively unscathed by Trumps protectionist measures.

Following talks with U.S. officials at the sidelines of a federal Liberal cabinet retreat this week, Canadian officials sounded optimistic.

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"Our negotiating positions are totally different. Mexico is being hung out of a skyscraper window by its feet," said an unnamed government source quoted by Reuters.

"Mexico is in a terrible, terrible position. We are not," said another unnamed source.

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Arman Zhenikeyev - professional photographer from Kazakhstan via Getty Images

I'm not sleeping until I've done my best to communicate the fact that a petition asking for the UK government to help fund international NGOs threatened with funding cuts if they offer abortion services had fewer than 20 signatures when I came across it after two days of existing. Such a policy affects the rest of the world and so is deserving of a global response. The UK has not done its part.

Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States of America on Friday 20 January, 2017. By Monday 23 January, 2017 he had already issued multiple executive orders. One of them was the global gag rule.

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Much has happened since, of an equally shocking nature. But by playing by the rules of the short news cycle of the 21st Century we are losing our ability to create positive change.

The global gag rule means that international NGOs who offer abortion services (or indeed simply provide information about abortions) will be cut off from US funding. These services are invaluable to the 21.6million who experience unsafe abortions every single year (according to WHO). And already these services aren't enough because 47,000 women died in 2008 alone from complications arising from unsafe abortions.

As a rich man in a rich company, unsafe abortions are something Trump battles with routinely and knows the absolute moral agony individuals go through when making these decision, and physical danger they subject themselves to. Others - who must clearly know far less - have decried this move. The Guardian reported that the International Planned Parenthood Federation will not abide by the rule. As a consequence, it will lose up to $100m.

As I write, a .gov petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from visiting the UK on a State visit is going viral. It has signatures that number in the hundreds of thousands. Whilst I applaud this gesture of defiance, blocking Trump from visiting is going to do very little.

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In today's political climate, those who care about causes must aim for small attainable objectives that build on one each other. In this case, people's energies are better directed to taking meaningful steps to combatting the actual physical harm and death this man will cause around the world. Of course, many people who dislike Trump, object to abortion. I entirely understand the validity of this position. My point is that it is neither here nor there. In withdrawing this funding, death rates amongst woman who will have abortions will increase.

It is for this reason that I am not sleeping and am emailing, messaging, and tweeting this link to a petition calling for the UK to set up an international fund to support the black hole left by Trump's policies: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/178369.

Too often we get caught up in following a craze. Follow this one so that the UK too can stand alongside the Netherlands - who have already pledged to try and work with countries around the world to block the harm - in protecting those most affected but least able to defend themselves.
We shouldn't need historical contexts or counterparts for Donald Trump's illegal and immoral Executive Orders on immigration and refugees to protest and resist these horrific steps. The countless unfolding, frustrating, tragic stories in the present--of the Iraqi translator who worked alongside US troops in his country but has now been denied a reunion with his wife and children; of the Syrian refugee family who had waited more than two years in a refugee camp and were less than a week away from resettling in Ohio when the orders went into effect; of permanent residents, holders of green cards, from affected nations still denied reentry into the United States--offer plenty of rationale for opposing these actions.

If we do look to the past, whether recent and directly relevant or more historic yet clearly parallel, we find no shortage of additional examples. For the former, there's the striking fact that none of the Lost Boys of Sudan, those child refugees whose stories of loss and trauma, and then resettlement and success comprise, one of the most inspiring American communities of the last few decades, would be permitted into the United States under Trump's order. Two of the Lost Boys--now men working to better their community and our nation--visited my older son's 5th grade class this year, and left the kind of impression only genuine courage and heroism can inspire. If Trump had his way they'd never have been there, or here.

For the more historic yet clearly parallel kind of example, there's the case of the St. Louis, the ship carrying German Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis that was denied entry to the United States in June 1939. As that hyperlinked Twitter account has highlighted at potent and painful length, 254 of those refugees were later killed in the Holocaust, resulting in a list of precise, tangible, unnecessary tragedies and losses that lays bare the effects of such anti-refugee policies. In either a cruel coincidence or a sign of true malevolence, Trump signed his Executive Orders on Holocaust Remembrance Day, forcing an even more unavoidable reflection on this shameful moment in America's history and how easily we might echo it if we're not careful.

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Those and many other historical contexts can inform and deepen our understanding of the present and its dangers. But I would point to one particularly under-remembered American figure and history, the inspiring yet tragic story of Yung Wing (1828-1912). At every stage, Yung's 19th century Chinese American life featured pioneering cross-cultural achievements: becoming the first Chinese American college graduate when he completed Yale in 1854; working to end so-called "coolie" slave labor throughout the Western Hemisphere; volunteering for the Union Army during the Civil War; and founding the Chinese Educational Mission, a Hartford (CT) institution devoted to bringing Chinese young men to the United States and furthering this cross-cultural community.

Yung's personal life and identity were similarly pioneering and cross-cultural: he became a naturalized US citizen in the 1850s, one of the first documented Chinese or Asian American citizens; and two decades later married Avon (CT)'s Mary Kellogg, with whom he had two sons, Morrison and Bartlett. But it was these personal triumphs that were threatened and destroyed most fully by the Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1882 law that both culminated decades of anti-Chinese fears and violence and represented the first step in a subsequent century of evolving, discriminatory immigration laws and policies.

Just as Trump's Executive Orders affect not only new arrivals but current American residents and communities, so too was the Chinese Exclusion Act overtly designed to impact and even destroy the existing Chinese American community. Yung's citizenship was stripped, and when he traveled back to China to continue his work as a diplomat, he was denied readmission into the United States under the law's bigoted pretenses. In a painfully blunt letter relying this decision to diplomat Charles Denby, Secretary of State John Sherman admitted that the exclusion "would on its face seem unjust and without warrant. ... Nevertheless, ... the department does not feel that it can properly recognize him as a citizen of the United States."

This denial of Yung's citizenship, and indeed of the fundamental truths of his half-century of inspiring and influential American life and work, profoundly affected his family and final decades of life. Deeply traumatized by their extended separation and by fears for Yung's life, Mary passed away, leaving Morrison and Bartlett to be fostered out to family friends in New England. Yung officially returned to the United States only once, for Bartlett's graduation from Yale; a brief moment of reunion and happiness after which he was required to leave the country once more. I've argued elsewhere that Yung did find a way to stay in the United States for at least some of the time before his 1912 death (the New York Times obituary noted that he died "at his home in Hartford"), but even if so he did so as an illegal immigrant, an outcast in the land he had made his home--and made much better and stronger--for nearly 60 years.

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Senator Scott Wiener kicked off The 2017 Gender Equality Challenge Forum this past Friday at the Gap Inc HQ in San Francisco. The Department on the Status of Women celebrated 10 private companies for their diversity initiatives to create equal opportunity for all genders and income levels. Gap executive David Hayer welcomed the attendees, and shared their own founding story.

Husband and wife Dawn and Doris Fisher started the first Gap store in 1969 on the principle of equal investment and equal earnings. They each invested $1,500 to open the first store on Ocean Avenue in San Fracisco, and stayed equal partners as they scaled their business to operating 5 brands and over 3,000 stores around the world. Four of these five brands, namely Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and Intermix, are lead by women, and Gap became the first of the Fortune 500 companies to announce equal pay for equal work, in 2014. Last year, their commitment to diversity was acknowledged by the prestigious Catalyst award.

"Three of four working women are in the private sector. It is necessary for us to partner with private companies to truly create gender equality in the workplace", noted Emily Murase, who heads the Department on the Status of Women, and organized the conference along with the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and the City & County of San Francisco.

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Dawn Lyon, VP of Corporate Affairs at Glassdoor, Inc.

Glassdoor conducted their first Annual Employee Pay Analysis in 2016, and pledged to transparently keep doing so to prevent unintended bias in its compensations programs. "Women are 11% less likely to negotiate their salaries when starting a job than men, and when they do, the outcomes are more favorable for men. Three of five employees don't want to work at companies where they don't get paid their worth. We are helping companies to do their internal pay analyses.", announced Dawn Lyon, VP Corporate Affairs at Glassdoor.

For the last 30 years, American colleges have graduated more women than men. Roughly half of the entering workforce has consisted of women for the last three decades, yet only 4.4% of CEO's in the US are women. To give you a frame of reference, 44% of CEO's in Iceland are women.

Prologis, Bank of America, Target and and Moss Adams focused their initiatives on mentoring female employees to give them access to sponsorship and leadership positions that qualified women have been long denied due to conscious as well unconscious biases in the workplace. Target's CEO Brian Cornell has, in fact, partnered with PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi to form a Future Fund to achieve 50/50 gender parity in the retail industry at all seniority levels.

Micah Weinberg, President of Bay Area Council Economic Institute, shared that "I have to affirmatively remember to mentor the women on my team. It is very easy and comfortable to bring under my wing someone who is a dude with brown hair and beard like myself." Only 30% of male mentors are mentoring women, whereas 73% of female mentors are providing support to develop women. Mr Weinberg works with 300 largest employers in Bay Area, and he added that "85% of millennial women care about their employer's diversity and inclusion initiatives, and only 71% of them believe that opportunities are not offered to all equally."

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Weinberg emphasized the need for extending paid parental leave to enable Americans to work as well as raise a family regardless of their income brackets.. "Only 12% of private sector employees in the US are offered paid parental leave by their employer. 43% of highly qualified women leave their jobs permanently or for extended periods of time to raise their children."

Morgan Stanley's Return to Work program earned the spotlight at the forum on Friday. The 12 week long internship program is in its third year, and has already resulted in 10 full-time hires. "90% of the women who leave the workforce want to return. Only 40% of them are able to successfully do so. It was a no-brainer business case for us, and I am very proud of this program for creating meaningful opportunities for this untapped talent pool", Susan Reid, Morgan Stanley's Managing Director and Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, shared with us.

Similarly, PWC empowers their employees to take a leave of absence of 16 consecutive weeks for parental or other reasons, and the transition back without affecting their performance ratings and career advancement within PWC.

The forum brought together about a hundred diversity leaders from across the country to share their actionable and measurable programs to create gender equality in the workplace. The highlights were the need for mentoring women at scale and monitoring the measurable outcomes of diversity initiatives.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (R) look on at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Co-Authored by Maclen Zilber, Democratic Strategist and Campaign Consultant based in Hollywood, CA



Under the less than ten day old Trump presidency, it seems that every day there's a new war.

A war against the facts. A war against the president of Mexico. A war against the media. A war against the environment. A war against NATO. A war against muslims. A war against our election system. A war against Hollywood celebrities. A war against women's rights. A war against China. A war against presidential etiquette. A war against refugees.

Barack Obama's presidency is just a few days into the rear view mirror, and already questions are being raised about whether or not these wars that Trump has incited, will ever end.

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The sitting president's continued flame-throwing and open hostility towards the world, both domestically and internationally, is increasingly raising tensions inside the United States and abroad, while sowing the seeds of conflict, chaos and instability across the planet.

Trump's actions are even raising questions about whether his dangerous and divisive moves are putting Americans, and all of Earth's human inhabitants, on a collision course destined for global war.

We sincerely hope not, as this question is downright scary to imagine or even to conceptualize.

At the heart of what makes the Trump presidency so dangerous is his overt willingness to look the American people in the eye-- and flat out lie to them.

Trump first did it through his press secretary, Sean Spicer, regarding the crowd size of his inauguration. Then he did it himself the following day at CIA headquarters, conveying the same falsehood as Spicer. At the same event, Trump misrepresented the facts about his relationship with the intelligence community, saying the media created the illusion that he had a poor relationship with the apparatus, when just days before his inauguration it was Trump who callously compared it to "Nazi Germany."

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The next day, and the third day of Trump's presidency, his senior advisor, Kellyanne Conway, refused to dispute Trump's lies, instead branding them as "alternative facts," on NBC's show Meet the Press.

Even worse, on day four, after being sworn in as America's 45th commander-in-chief, Trump lied to Congressional leaders, saying there was widespread voter fraud to the tune of 3-5 million votes in the November 2016 election. The false claim essentially undermined both the legitimacy of his election as President of the United States, as well as the entire fabric that holds our representative democracy together.

These lies likely only scratch the surface of what's to come from Trump in the years ahead, and unfortunately, his tyrannical, schizophrenic and erratic behavior is increasingly putting every American's security at risk.

Think about it. If Trump is willing to advance a reckless and delusional lie about his own election after voter fraud allegations have been widely debunked, or about the size of his inauguration crowd due to his obsession with being best and with his inferiority complex, what will stop him from lying about a world conflict that could put our nation into harms way? Such a move could lead to war, bloodshed and even the loss of American lives - and we would never even know if we could believe the pretenses behind said war.

Beyond his boldfaced lies, Trump's simplistic stroke of the pen through executive orders or his alienating tweets to other world leaders are establishing unease and severe volatility across the globe-- and it doesn't seem to bother him or his quisling advisors one bit.

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All of these dynamics at play point to the fact that with every day that goes by, instability is brewing across the land and a sickness is growing inside of America that's spearheaded by our nation's demagogue of a leader, Donald Trump.

Understandably, President Obama noted that he would extend to Donald Trump the same traditional courtesy that so many presidents before him did by remaining silent and letting the new president lead without interference from their predecessor.

That said, desperate times call for desperate measures, and after an unprecedented and unorthodox election, perhaps that in this new world order we live in, old traditions don't apply any more.

Given his far-reaching popularity with Americans and people abroad, it's far past time for President Obama to break tradition and his silence.

Now, at our darkest hour, we need our nation's greatest communicator to dust off his sneakers and get back into the fray. The man who once inspired a nation to believe that we were not red states or blue states. The skinny kid with the funny name, who once made us believe in hope and change.

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The only thing that can defeat fear is hope. President Obama, we know you have given everything you have for us, and we don't have any right to ask you to sacrifice a moment longer. But the American people need your talents, we need your voice, we need your quill, and we need your moral authority.

You said last fall that you would defeat Donald Trump if you went toe-to-toe against him.
I once worked as a speechwriter, so sometimes I get speeches in my head. Like tonight, after two federal judges dealt a setback to Donald Trump's Muslim immigration ban. If you're speaking at a protest this week, and you need material, feel free to borrow.

King Donald, you're right -- you do have tremendous energy! Tremendous. One week and you're already the worst president in US history. It's unbelievable.

You delivered an inaugural speech that was divisive and hateful.

You reaffirmed that you're a size queen -- you lied about the size of your crowd and of your vote, just like you lie about the size of of your small hand.

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You already broke your promise to working people by appointing lobbyists, billionaires, anti-worker CEOs, and Goldman Sachs bankers to your government.

You refused to do what every reputable expert urged you to do: divest from your businesses. Instead your business lieutenants are aggressively touting your new power in order to sell your hotel rooms and club memberships. Maybe next they'll be restarting your predatory Trump University.

You've turned our American democracy into American kleptocracy.

As you and your cronies get richer, Americans get poorer.

You started tearing up the health care system that protects so many people, with no plan to replace it.

You chose an uninformed enemy of public schools, Betsy DeVos, to be Secretary of Education.

You declared that taxpayers' money will be spent instead on a pointless wall, nothing more than a symbol of your fear and bigotry, and you took a break from tweeting at Meryl Streep, SNL, and Hamilton, to resume hurling insults at an entire nation, our neighbor Mexico.

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You continued your bizarre love affair with the Russian dictator Putin. And you picked his business partner Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State.

You abandoned America's urgent work to slow the undeniable danger of climate change, and you picked the polluters' best friend Scott Pruitt to trash the EPA.

You picked an enemy of civil rights, Jeff Sessions, to be our attorney general, just as you attacked our great civil rights hero John Lewis.

You've stocked your White House with angry anti-muslim bigots like Flynn and Bannon.

You told the nation that torture works, so you're for it. King Donald, if you decided that the police shooting suspects on the street, instead of arresting them, "works," would you endorse that? King Donald, torture is against the law.

And you capped off your first week with an illegal, anti-Muslim immigrant ban -- not based on facts, not focused on the threats to our people, but based on fear and prejudice.

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It's a ban that punished honest people fleeing unspeakable violence. It's a ban that locked up courageous people who risked their lives helping our government.

But on Saturday night, King Donald, not one but two judges blocked your Muslim ban -- they said it was illegal.

They made you a loser.

There's a long, long way to go, but King Donald, your downfall began Saturday night. You're gonna start losing, big league.

People of good will are gonna fight this arrogant, childish, bigoted tyrant. People who voted for Trump are turning away, wishing they hadn't.

We're gonna fight, and we're gonna win. And we're gonna get King Donald out of the White House.

And we will have jobs with good wages, and health care. And we will have a clean environment.

And we will have racial justice, and safe communities, and the right to vote.

And we will defend and preserve a free press that tells the truth instead of spreading lies, like you do, King Donald.

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And we will make our country safe, protecting ourselves without resorting to torture, without Guantanamo and secret prisons, and all the other things you support that would actually weaken America.

King Donald, you are a loser. King Donald you will lose.

King Donald, we will defeat you.
I've often questioned if every single country on Earth requires its own national flag carrier. Some have flown into the history books, such as Sabena (Belgium, 1923-2001), CSA Czech Airlines (1923-1995), and Malev (Hungary, 1946-2012). Many others have been grounded around the world as well.

TAP Portugal, that country's flag carrier, looked like it would follow suit, but instead new owners have committed to keeping it flying and now it's in pretty good shape.

Atlantic Gateway Consortium, led by David Neeleman, owner of Azul, a Brazil-based carrier, and founder of JetBlue, bought 40 percent of TAP (Transportes Aereos Portugueses) last November and has big plans for the revived carrier (most of the rest is still owned by the Portuguese government).

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You may have noticed that it has some of the lowest airfares from the eastern U.S. to Europe among traditional airlines ($500 round-trip including tax from the New York and Boston to Spain for example), especially in business class (some of the airline's A330 and all of its A340 aircraft have fully horizontal seats) where on most routes it can't be beat. TAP flies from Boston, Newark, New York and Miami to Lisbon, its main hub, and beyond to Europe and Africa. Last minute (72 hours or less) upgrades to premium economy costs $65 per direction, another decided bargain.

New Airbus A321LR (for long-range) are on order (14 will be delivered by 2019).

Their airfare booking website is one of the best in the world and the simplest to use for flexible destination searches and set price parameters. Tell them what you want to spend and where you're flying from and you'll see the lowest prices offered on a flexible travel date itinerary.

And they have the best stopover program if you're flying through Lisbon to someplace else (60 percent of passengers are indeed flying someplace else with the rest having Portugal as their final destination, a country named Travel+Leisure's 2016 Destination of the Year the capital of which landed at 8 out of 17 on Conde Nast Traveler's Destinations of the Year 2017, not least because Portugal is a secret surfer's paradise and has a temperate climate year round). If you're leaving from JFK, TAP has the last European departure of the day (11:55 p.m.), which means you get a full day in New York and are pretty certain to doze off on the ride over.

So while TAP might not be on your search radar, perhaps it should be.
As far as the comprehension of religion goes, this omission kept me from a fuller understanding of the phenomenon of religion.



Would there be a similar omission in the study of political science? Could a student pace through ten years of formal study and only hear about and read about one side of the political spectrum and never about the other side, even though the other side produced equally eloquent defenses and critiques? No, such a lacuna is unthinkable for political science.



Then why such an oversight in the study of religion? Part of the answer has to do with religion itself. Religion in the academic setting never quite quit its long history of advocacy outside the university, and so academic religion embraced its mission as sponsorship of religion, offering 'religion appreciation' classes similar to art appreciation classes. In lectures, professors bragged on the religion under review, especially if the religion under review was not the professor's religion! (Unclasp that psychological buckle!)



Whatever the reasons irreligious writings are not in the religious studies curricula of universities, someone needs to rectify this gap in the education of young students majoring in religious studies and young scholars pursuing advanced degrees. Religious studies departments (and theology departments) need professional scholars of irreligion. And young scholars need to go into this field.



It's not as if ancient, renaissance, and early modern to nineteenth-century irreligious writings were composed by lesser minds with inferior literary gifts. I have read scores of irreligious authors by now. Their writings are often exquisitely tooled and aphoristically jolting. Many of the authors are high in the pantheon of Western intellectualism, and some are famous. Even the lesser lights, the unknowns, are talented.



Someone needs to do the difficult Ph.D. labor of researching all this literature, and someone needs to expose the stacks and stacks of irreligious articles published in scores of irreligious magazines and journals from the 19th century that probably next to no one has gazed upon in a hundred years. These articles are in select libraries--in London, at Oxford's Bodleian, in Pasadena's Huntington, and in the Library of Congress, among others. Bringing these writings to a larger readership will require hours of work, perfect labor for a Ph.D. candidate.



University courses about a single religion, as, say, a class on Judaism, need not add irreligious books to the class syllabus. But courses on world religions or Western religion should include a book or a short reading and a couple lectures on irreligion as 'part of the story' of religion in the West.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller answers questions at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

Signing on to a joint statement with 15 other state attorney generals that President Trump's executive order on travel bans is "unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful," Iowa attorney general Tom Miller took a step toward reclaiming the heartland's historical legacy on refugees on Sunday.

For more than 150 years, Iowa has been one of the leaders in the nation as a model host state for refugees.

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Floundering in silence or pandering to the Trump administration's draconian executive order to bar entry of Syrians and other refugees, other lawmakers in Iowa could learn a fine history lesson at a town marker 50 miles to the southeast of the state capital in Des Moines.

Fleeing religious persecution in 1847, Dutch immigrants founded Pella, Iowa in the name of an ancient Jordanian city: Pella, the City of Refuge. In the northeast part of the state, the town of Elkader was established in 1846, in the name of Algerian Islamic resistance fighter Abd el-Kader, who earned international acclaim for his role in defending Christian refugees in Syria in 1860. In Iowa City, the Bohumil Shimek Elementary School is named after a son of Czech refugees, who not only became one of the nation's leading ecologists, but played a role in his family's native homeland. Syrians and other immigrants founded the oldest standing Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids in 1934.

Miller's action today reminds us of the lack of moral and political leadership in Iowa grounded in this legacy, and once exemplified by former Republican Gov. Robert Ray, who led the effort to make Iowa the first state to offer refuge to 1,500 Tai Dam refugees from Laos and Vietnam in the 1970s, despite the fact that a Des Moines Register poll showed 51% against resettlement of refugees in Iowa. The Hmong from Laos followed.

"I didn't think we could just sit here idly and say, 'Let those people die,'" Ray said. "We wouldn't want the rest of the world to say that about us if we were in the same situation...Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you."

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A CBS news report on the arrival of refugees from Vietnam in 1979 heralded Iowa's leading role:

Iowans have continued this legacy of inclusion and refuge, as the ranks of immigrants and New Iowans play an increasingly important role in shaping and enlivening communities across state, from areas of business, agriculture and technology, to local food movements, arts and education.

In Iowa poet laureate Mary Swander's acclaimed play, "Vang," four immigrant farm families recount their journeys to Iowa, including Sudanese refugee Joseph Malual, who would eventually earn a PhD in Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

"We have to lead the world in showing that we are willing to go to any length to be able to make things right," State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad told KCCI-TV in Des Moines this weekend.

Over a 1,000 refugees relocated to Iowa in 2016, including the first Syrian family in search of a "peaceful life."

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"Religious liberty has been, and always will be, a bedrock principle of our country and no president can change that truth," the attorney general's joint statement said today.
The Ardbeg distillery complex and the south shore of Islay.

The Ardbeg whisky distillery sits on the south shore of Islay, along a stretch of coastline named the Kildalton coast. The name Kildalton is a tribute to the island's 1200-year-old Kildalton Cross. The distillery's name is derived from Scotch Gaelic, Ard Beag, for "small headland." Along with its neighbors, Lagavulin and Laphroaig, it produces a range of intensely peated Scotch whiskies that are for many the quintessential expression of the Islay whisky style.

Officially the Ardbeg distillery started in 1815. Like most of its Islay brethren, however, it's likely that whisky distillation had been occurring on that site for some time. For the Ardbeg site, whisky production goes back to at least 1798, and perhaps even earlier.

Its location was ideal to produce whisky, both illegal and legal. It was perched on a sheltered and isolated cove, which offered good protection from both the weather and prying taxmen. The hills above the cove offered an ample supply of pure, soft water, and the cove offered an opportunity to ship, or smuggle, the whisky out by sea.

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The distillery has had a checkered history, closed repeatedly over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, on several occasions due to bankruptcy. John McDougall founded the original distillery, although it's likely that he simply bought an existing illicit distillery and obtained a license to operate it legally.

The distillery would slip in and out of the McDougall family's hands over the following two centuries. It went into bankruptcy in 1838, and was bought by a spirits wholesaler from Glasgow named Thomas Buchanan. He leased it back to the McDougalls, however, and they continued to operate it.

During the 1850s, Alexander's two sisters, Margaret and Flora, ran the distillery--the first women to run a Scotch whisky distillery. From 1853 through 1922, the distillery was owned by the Ramsay family and leased out to the McDougalls and various other operators. During this period the Ramsays also owned Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Ardenistiel distilleries, and their associated farms.

The distillery was repurchased by the McDougall family in 1922, but went bankrupt in 1929, and was closed from 1932 through 1935. Ardbeg reopened again in 1935, and was again run by the McDougall family until the distillery was liquidated and the assets purchased by a newly organized company, Ardbeg Distillery Ltd., in 1959.

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During this period, like most distillers, the bulk of the production was sold to blenders. In 1959, John Dewar and Sons, then owned by DCL, and Hiram Walker both acquired an interest in the distillery's parent company.

Hiram Walker, the Canadians spirits giant, purchased Ardbeg outright in 1979, and operated it until 1981. It was closed from 1981 through 1989. In the interim, Hiram Walker had been acquired by Allied Lyon and became part of Allied Distillers Ltd. From 1989 through 1996, Ardbeg operated for roughly two months out of each year producing whisky, until its parent, now Allied Domecq, following the merger of Allied Lyon and Domecq, shut it down again.

The next year, the distillery was purchased by Glenmorangie PLC, which already owned the Glenmorangie and Glen Moray distilleries, beginning the modern period of Ardbeg's renaissance. An extensive renovation of the distillery was immediately launched with new equipment, including a new still being ordered. Glenmorangie was in turn acquired by the French fashion conglomerate LVMH, through its wine and spirits subsidiary Moet Hennessey. The Glen Moray distillery was subsequently sold.

Currently the distillery has a production capacity of 1.1 million liters of pure alcohol, about 12,000 gallons of whisky a week. That's a far cry from its 500-gallon a week output in 1835, or even the 5,000-gallon a week output of whisky it produced at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Kildalton Cross on Islay's South Shore

Historically, the distillery operated its own floor maltings. Since 1974, it has purchased its malt from the Port Ellen Maltings, conveniently just a few miles away. Typically, the malt is peated to a range of 50-65 parts per million (ppm) phenol using peat that is obtained from a marsh just above the distillery.

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This is the peating level used for the distillery's three core offerings: Ardbeg 10 YO, Ardbeg Uigedail and Ardbeg Corryvreckan. Other expressions, like the Ardbeg Super Nova, are peated to 100 ppm phenol, while the Kildalton expression, now discontinued, was only lightly peated.

There are four particular features of whisky production at Ardbeg that are responsible for its signature style: the peating level, the milling of the barley, the fermentation length and the distillation itself. Typically, peated whiskies are classified by the level of phenol in parts per million. The measure is based on the amount of phenol that is absorbed by the malt while it is being dried.

Per the distillery, the average peating level of the malt is around 55 ppm, while the peating level of the new make whisky is around 25 ppm. The ppm concentration will decline, however, as the new make spirit ages. An initial concentration of 25 ppm will decline to about 10 ppm in a 15-year-old Scotch and to 6 ppm in a 30 year old. Hence listing the ppm phenol of the malt, the practice of most Scottish distillers, is not particularly instructive.

There are additional shortcomings with this approach. First of all, there are over 100 different identifiable chemical compounds in peat smoke. Peat from different parts of Scotland, and from different depths, will exhibit different concentrations of these chemicals. The temperature at which peat is combusted also affects the chemical composition of the smoke.

Islay peat, for example, tends to be rich in lignin derivatives compared to peats from eastern Scotland. Moreover, Islay peats are rich in nitrogen compounds and aromatic hydrocarbons. When burned they tend to produce more plastic-like aromas. Hence a general measure of ppm phenol at malting tells us little about the type of peat or the chemical composition of its smoke.

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Secondly, roughly half of the peat reek absorbed by the malt is in the husk. The distilleries treatment of the husks, therefore, has a significant impact on the amount of peat infused barley that ends up in the wort. Typically, the grain is ground to 70 to 78 percent fine grits or "middles," husks or course material at 14 to 20 percent and flour or fines is eight to ten percent by weight.

The more husks are included in the mash the better the drainage, but the lower the conversion of alcohol. Moreover, because the husks are a lot lighter than the grist, the process of grinding the grain often results in a significant number of the husk fragments being vacuumed up by dust suppression filters. Ardbeg grist is 70 percent middles, 20 percent husks and 10 percent flour. That's at the high end for the proportion of husks in the grist.

The fermentation process at Ardbeg averages about 60 to 65 hours versus a more typical 45-hour ferment in Speyside distilleries. Phenolic malts need longer to ferment because the phenol suppresses the fermentation. That's why phenol, in the form of carbolic acid, was used as a disinfectant in the 19th century. A benefit of longer fermentations is that more fruity and floral esters are produced.

Islay's major whisky distilleries

The distilling process itself also has a significant impact, both on the overall level of chemicals in the peat smoke that make it into the final whisky, as well as their individual concentrations. As a general rule, approximately one-third of the overall phenol concentration will be lost in the distillation process.



Distillation temperatures, the amount of wash that the still is charged with, the cut points at which the new make spirit is collected, are all among the factors that determine the amount of phenol in new make whisky. Of particular import, however, is the amount of reflux produced during the distillation. Reflux refers to the vapor that condenses before it can reach the condensers and therefore falls back into the pot to be redistilled.

Reflux affects the wash in several ways. First, it prolongs the contact with the copper in the still giving it more time to absorb the harsher and heavier compounds in the spirit. Secondly, the repeated distillations of the spirit breakdown some of the chemically larger aromatic compounds and alcohols into lighter compounds. The higher the reflux the lower the concentration of phenol in the resulting spirit. Finally, depending on how the reflux is achieved, some of the heavier weight compounds will simply not be able to escape from the pot into the new make spirit.

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The length of the neck of the still has a major bearing on the amount of reflux produced. Tall necks, like the ones at Glenmorangie, at 16 feet 10.25 inches, the tallest in Scotland, will produce a lot of reflux and create a lighter style of whisky, with pronounced floral and fruity aromas. The esters that produce these aromas have a low molecular weight--hence will be disproportionally selected in the distillation process. Ardbeg's still necks are about 10 feet in height compared to the short, squat necks of Lagavulin, which produce very little reflux.

The angle of the lyne arm also has a bearing. An upward pointing lyne arm functions as an extension of the neck and produces more reflux than a downward pointing one. At Ardbeg, the lyne arms point upward, as they also do at Laphroaig and at Bowmore (spirit still only), while Lagavulin's lyne arm points sharply down.

The use of a condenser, or purifier, in the neck has a similar effect as a tall neck, but has the advantage of allowing the distiller more flexibility. By cooling the vapor before it travels into the lyne arm, purifiers will increase the amount of reflux that falls back into the pot. Ardbeg's stills both have purifiers.

Additionally, the necks also have a constriction, lamp glass style, where they join the pot, which also creates more reflux. The net effect of all this reflux is that the wash at Ardbeg gets a particularly long and repeated distillation. At the distillery, this is referred to as a two-and-a-half-time distillation. The retention of a large proportion of husks, an extended fermentation, heavy peating and an extended distillation cycle from a lot of reflux, produces a distinctive and signature Ardbeg style.

One of the more interesting experiments conducted at the Ardbeg distillery was on the impact of weightlessness on whisky maturation. The distillery sent a sample of whisky, consisting of several vials of new make spirit with oak chips in them, to the International Space Station in October 2011. The experiment was to see how weightlessness affected terpenes, organic molecules that are the building blocks of aromas and flavors in wines and spirits. An identical set of vials was kept at the distillery to act as a control sample.

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The Ardbeg Distillery

According to Dr. Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg's Director of distilling and whisky creation, the samples that had undergone maturation in space were "noticeably different" from the control samples retained by the distillery. The space samples exhibited a greater degree of complexity than the earth bound sample. Lumsden found that "when I tasted the space samples ... Ardbeg's smoky, phenolic character shone through-to reveal a different set of smoky flavours which I had not encountered here on earth before."

Lumsden went on to add, "The taste was very focused, with smoked fruits such as prunes, raisins, sugared plums and cherries, earthy peat smoke, peppermint, aniseed, cinnamon and smoked bacon or hickory-smoked ham. The aftertaste is intense and long, with hints of wood, antiseptic lozenges and rubbery smoke."

Of course, maturing new make spirit in a plastic vial with oak ships is not quit the same as traditional barrel maturation. The whisky spent three years in space, meeting the minimum maturation requirement required by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). It could not, however, be called Scotch since it did not age exclusively in Scotland. If space maturation catches on, the SWA may need to make an exception to its "maturation in Scotland rule." It has plenty of time to decide. There are little prospects of barrels of whisky being rocketed into space for aging anytime soon.

The core Ardbeg expressions are the TEN, Uigedail and Corryvreckan. The TEN is named after its age. Uigeadail was named after the Loch Uigeadail, a freshwater lake not far from the distillery. The Corryvreckan is named for a famous vortex produced by tidal action in the seas between the Isle of Jura and the Isle of Scarba. While all three expressions are different from one another, they share a common foundational character. These whiskies tend initially to be light and crisp and exhibit a lot of dry smoke with a bit of char in the background, like whiffs of smoke from a cold campfire.

There is a very slight sweetish note, typical of whiskies with a lot of reflux, although Uigedail's 10 percent sherry cask finished component adds more noticeable sweetness. There is the expected pronounced note of phenol, which at times seems to be plastic-like, but while distinctive, it is drier, lighter, almost like the residue of an old medicine bottle. As the whisky opens up, the char gives way to more of an asphalt/tar like aroma, while pronounced cereal notes also emerge. A curious combination of hot tar and cold oatmeal.

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The plastic-like aromas are not surprising. Phenol is still widely used in the production of phenol-methanal plastics. These plastics have high heat and electrical resistance, and are used for everything from electrical insulators to printed circuit boards to plastic veneers to plywood adhesives. If that phenolic-plastic-like smell seems vaguely familiar, it is because you are probably surrounded by products that contain it.

There is some creaminess, the heavy mouth weight, the oily, vaguely fishy aromas that are reminiscent of cold-smoked mussels or kippers that you sometimes find in Ardbeg's neighbor, Lagavulin, but they are less pronounced. There is a bit of iodine, maybe even a bit of seaweed at low tide, but it stops short of the pronounced marine and seaweed/kelp notes sometimes found in Laphroaig.

There is the characteristic pepperiness associated with heavy peating (think Octomore), an almost tingling-like sensation at the back of the mouth after you swallow the whisky that gradually gives way to a slight bitter note; similar also to Talisker, but more pronounced.

Ardbeg is the most extreme expression of the current trend toward producing a heavily peated whisky that is very smoky. but is otherwise light and dry. It's a style Ardbeg shares with its Hebridian neighbors, Laphroaig and Talisker, although it lacks their pronounced marine character. It's a feature that is found in many of the Octomore expressions. Caol Ila has a similar, although sweeter, style. Campbeltown's newest distillery, Kilkerran, also has a bit of this character, although it stops well short of Ardbeg's intensity.

Feel like some cold smoke on the rocks with a distinctive medicinal chaser--then Ardbeg is the malt for you.

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Ardbeg Ten, Ardbeg Uigeadail and Ardbeg Corryvreckan



Tasting Notes

Ardbeg, Islay Single Malt Scotch whisky, 10 YO, 46% ABV, 750 ml

The whisky is a pale gold color. On the nose, there are pronounced phenolic aromas framed by peat smoke, with hints of cooked cereal and slight floral elements. The cooked cereal notes get progressively stronger as the whisky opens up.

On the palate, the whisky is dry, with a pronounced pepperiness that steadily builds to produce a distinctive tingling on the tongue. There are elements of smoke and char balanced by a slightly oily sweetness, followed by aromas of smoked kippers, some spices, especially cinnamon, with notes of espresso in the background.

The finish is long, dry with a distinctive smoky and cooked cereal character. This is an excellent entry-level Islay whisky, with the characteristic aroma and taste of its island brethren.

Appearance 7/10, Nose 25/30, Palate 26/30, Finish 27/30. Final Score: 85/100

Ardbeg, Uigeadail, no age statement, 54.2% ABV, 750 ml

The whisky is a medium gold color. On the nose there are distinctive phenolic notes, but they are less pronounced than in the 10 YO, and more plastic than disinfectant-like. There are the cereal and floral notes typical of Ardbeg, followed by hints of dried fruit with elements of raisin and candied citrus.

On the palate, the whisky is initially dry but gets progressively sweeter. The raisin and dried fruit sweetness is distinctive and is framed by cooked cereal and digestive biscuit notes and a hint of caramel. There is smoke in the background, but it is less pronounced than in the 10 YO, more like a cold campfire than a smoldering one. There is a notable creamy sweetness that is typical of sherry butt aged whiskies. The bottling is at cask strength, and consists of a mix of bourbon barrel and sherry butt matured whiskies.

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The finish is long with a creamy, sweet note and elements of cooked cereal, and a hint of iodine on the end.

Appearance 8/10, Nose 26/30, Palate 27/30, Finish 28/30 Final Score: 89/100

Ardbeg, Corryvreckan, no age statement, 57.1% ABV, 750 ml

This whisky has a medium gold color. On the nose, there are the predictable phenolic aromas, but these are lighter than in the 10 Y0 and are framed against noticeable marine elements. There are hints of sea spray, some iodine and a briny/savory character. There are the usual floral aromas and cooked cereal notes, with hints of dried fruit sweetness and furniture wax along with vanilla notes. The background features a noticeable cold smoke aroma.

On the palate, the whisky has a pronounced viscous, almost chewy, character. There is the distinctive pepperiness. Like Uigeadail, the whisky starts on a dry note, but develops a sweetish note that steadily builds and frames the pepperiness nicely. There is a savory character, like the dried residue of a dirty martini, followed by cooked cereal notes with hints of caramel sweetness and licorice, smoke and just a bit of char and smoked fish elements. This bottling is also at cask strength and shows a pronounced spirit note.

The finish is very log with a distinctive sweetish note, pronounced cooked cereal notes, and a slight burnt, bitter espresso coffee element.

This is a powerful, complex whisky that combines a range of tastes and aroma with a powerful backbone of smoke, char, sweetness and cooked cereal notes.

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Appearance 8/10, Nose 27/30, Palate 28/30, Finish 29/30 Final Score: 92/100
Egyptian protesters during demonstrations in Cairo, January 2011

On December 17, 2010, a street vendor in Tunis, named Mohammed Bouazizi, immolated himself in protest of the arbitrary seizing of his vegetable stand by a local government official. That act triggered the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and a wave of public unrest throughout the Middle East that came to be called the "Arab Spring."

Six years later, little remains of the hopes that the West saw in the Arab Spring. Instead, that spring has given way to a winter of economic stagnation and political violence that has plunged Syria, Libya and Yemen into bloody civil war, has led to widespread unrest in Egypt, Iraq and Bahrain, and threatens to destabilize Arab governments from Morocco to Saudi Arabia. What went wrong? Should the United States have moved more forcefully to support the various Arab Spring movements or did Washington fail to understand the true nature of the popular revolts? Simply put, should we have done more or done less?

The Western media was quick to characterize the uprisings as popular democratic revolts against corrupt dictatorial regimes. As the noted international affairs commentator George Friedman has pointed out, "For the Western media, anyone under the age of 30 with an iPhone is by definition a liberal democrat." Add to that the use of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for social mobilization and the presumption of political modernity appears validated.

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That presumption was also reinforced by the fact that the "spokespeople" invariably identified and interviewed by Western media tend to be individuals who are fluent in English, typically have ties to the West and often were educated in the U.S. or Europe. They come across as moderate, reasonable supporters of secular democratic government. The problem is that such spokesmen are rarely indicative of the nature or aims of these popular revolts.

The reality is that the Arab Spring was never the popular democratic revolt that Western governments or the media made it out to be. In fact, the Arab Spring had little to do with democracy; although it certainly included some liberal-democratic groups. It was instead a reactionary movement led primarily by conservative, religious and Islamist elements against secular Arab regimes.

Purple: government overthrown multiple times. Black: government overthrown. Burgundy: civil war. Green: protests and governmental changes. Red: major protests. Pink: minor protests. Dark Grey: other protests and militant action outside the Arab world.

The Arab Spring represented a rejection of the secular, socialist, pan-Arabism, nationalist, military regimes that had come to power in the period from the 1950s through the 1970s, and which have since devolved into little more that corrupt, crony governments ruling by brute force and a pervasive security apparatus.

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The modern borders of the Middle East are largely the legacy of the post-World War I European dissection of the Ottoman Empire. A series of treaties, beginning with the infamous Sykes-Picot agreement, divided up the Middle East with little regard to ethnicity, religion, culture or historical association. Indeed, many of those borders were determined by a scramble for the region's oil wealth and a colonial policy of ruling by pitting various ethnic and religious groups against each other.

The post-World War II Pan-Arab movement sought legitimacy by appealing to a broader Arab cultural unity in the context of a nationalist, secular, socialist, modernist ideology. Spurred by military revolutions, inspired by the original military-led, secular Ataturk revolution in Turkey following WW I, these regimes sought to create the same modern, secular regimes in the Arab world.

That ideology failed to improve the livelihood of the average citizen. Instead, many of those military-led governments became increasingly corrupt, brutal and dictatorial. Often, they adopted the religious symbolism of the region's Islamic past in their search for popular legitimacy, while at the same time hanging onto their secular ideologies. A policy that brought them little political legitimacy, but encouraged the growth of Islamist, often time conservative and Salafist inspired, religious movements.

In Libya, Syria and Yemen, the popular revolts would lead eventually to bloody civil wars that continue to rage and that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, perhaps even more than a million, although no one can really be sure, and more than seven million refugees. In Iraq, the Arab Spring led to widespread anti-government demonstrations in the Sunni triangle, which contributed, although it was not the only cause, to civil war there.

The Beginning of the Arab Spring, demonstrators in Tunis, Tunisia January 14, 2011

In Tunisia, the existing governments was replaced, but what appeared to be a more democratic government was largely made up of retreads from the previous government of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ruling in conjunction with the Islamist Ennahda party. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown. Subsequent popular elections brought the Muslim Brotherhood inspired government of Mohamed Morsi El Ayat to power. Morsi's de facto Islamist coup prompted a new outbreak of popular demonstrations and led the military, under Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, to overthrow Morsi and assume control.

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In Bahrain, Shiite demonstrators, with political and financial support from Iran, demonstrated against the minority Sunni government of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The demonstrations prompted the intervention of a Saudi and Emirate military force to put down the demonstrations. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the Arab Spring sparked popular demonstrations and unrest, but had little lasting consequence.

Celebrations in Tahir Square following the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Febuary 11, 2011 Photo courtesy James Rashid

What is the legacy of the Arab Spring? The most immediate consequence is three civil wars that have spawned horrendous human costs, destabilized the regions around them, and proven to be training grounds for large numbers of jihadists. These conflicts have resulted in the spread of illicit arms throughout these regions and the spread of jihadist movements that will be destabilizing to surrounding governments.

Libya has become a vortex of radical jihadism and political violence that is both drawing in a broad area of North Africa from Morocco to Somalia, while at the same time spewing unrest throughout the region. Syria has become a source of refugees that is swamping Europe and raising serious security concerns there. While Yemen, even more so than Syria, has become a bitter proxy contest between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The second consequence is widespread economic stagnation throughout the Middle East. In part this is the result of the political chaos that accompanied the Arab Spring. The spread of jihadist groups has also impacted economic growth. Tourism, a major industry in Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan, has been singled out by jihadist groups resulting in significant declines in the number of visitors. Overall, tourism revenues in Egypt and Tunisia are down by around 40 percent over the last several years. The decline in the price of oil has constrained the finances of Saudi Arabia and the other petro-states, further dampening economic growth and aid programs in the region; resulting in high rates of unemployment and human misery.

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The political instability that has accompanied the Arab Spring, has created spaces where jihadist groups can flourish, resulting not only in the spread of such groups but also in the emergence of multinational jihadist organizations that have established franchises in multiple countries.

Arab Spring supporters in Sitra, Bahrain February 15, 2016

Moreover, in those countries where there are significant Sunni or Shia populations that do not hold political power, as in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain, popular discontent with ruling governments is being subsumed into a broader Iranian-Saudi/Shia-Sunni rivalry. In these cases, such conflicts can turn into proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies on the one hand and Iran and its allies on the other. Consequently, what began as domestic disputes can quickly morph into broader, Middle East wide conflicts that could also draw in the U.S. and Russia.

In retrospect, little good came from the Arab Spring. In those countries where the U.S. and its allies intervened, Libya and Syria, and to a lesser extent Yemen, brutal regimes were either replaced by even more brutal regimes, or existing regimes became even harsher or gave way to complete political chaos. Those countries that avoided political chaos did so by and large by making cosmetic changes while clamping down even harder on popular unrest. Ultimately, the Arab Spring did not solve the crisis of governmental legitimacy that plagues the Middle East, it simply resulted in just enough additional repression to defer the inevitable explosion to a later date.
People are demonstrating at congressional offices all across the country, and not just showing up once -- organizations and grassroots activists are planning to show up every single week, similar to the Moral Mondays Movement in North Carolina which set the stage for Democrat Roy Cooper's victory in the Governor's race last year. And plans are being hatched to have another day of protests on Tax Day, April 15th, to protest Trump's refusal to disclose his taxes and the Republicans ' terribly regressive tax policies, which would massively cut taxes for the wealthy and big business while adding massively to the tax burden of poor and middle income folks. Hopefully, Democrats in D.C., who so far have seemed mostly disconnected from this outpouring of energy and passion, are getting the message that we need them to show the same fire in resisting Trump as their constituents have. It is time for them to start making some noise and showing some defiance. Insider strategies are great if they result in stopping things, but if Democrats are going to lose on every nomination fight anyway, they should make things as messy and painful for the Republicans ramming through all these terrible Cabinet picks as they can. And they need to make a huge deal, an official red alert, five-alarm fire kind of BFD, over the reprehensible Muslim ban Trump has instituted. It is horrible in and of itself, but it is also clear evidence that the fascist tendencies Trump exhibited in the campaign will be turned into policy. I see evidence in my recent discussions with Senators that they are listening to the grassroots and starting to get the message. Statements from Democrats about the Muslim ban yesterday showed real passion, thank goodness. And upcoming confirmation battles on many of Trump's Cabinet appointments will be a lot tougher in the days to come. Senate rules allow for Democrats to slow things down in a major way , and I hope we will see exactly that kind of action. If the progressive grassroots and the Democrats on the Hill equally engage the big battles all-out, we can win some and cause Trump and the Republicans an enormous amount of damage, even on the ones we don't have the votes to win.

The challenge is that we will have to fight an enormous number of those battles, as the Trump/Republican Congress agenda is broadly evil -- yes, evil. This is going to be a war fought on a hundred fronts at the same time, and we have to be ready for that prospect. And we have to understand that with Trump following through on the worst of his campaign promises like the Muslim ban, we are entering a world of darkness unseen in this country at least since the days when Nixon was plotting to break into and even bomb the offices of his political enemies. During the campaign, Trump said his role model was Nixon, and he might turn out to be worse.



In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter last year, Trump's Chief Strategist Steve Bannon said that "darkness is good" and spoke admirably of Lucifer and Darth Vader, saying in awe, "that's power". And Trump himself has praised dictators around the world while being BFF with Russian autocrat and war criminal Vladimir Putin. So make no mistake, we are going to have fight the darkness with everything we have.



The way I am thinking about these times is to amend that wonderful old saying "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." I think in this case, we have no choice but to curse the darkness, or at least stand up to it and speak against it. But we do also need to light our own candle, to show people what America can be that would be the opposite of Trumpism. Maybe the revised saying needs to be "Fight the darkness. And light your candle very bright."



The profoundly wonderful thing about the Women's March,an idea that arose entirely through local grassroots activists online, was that even while they standing up to Trump's agenda, they were lighting their own candle by showing a better way. The marches all over the country were peaceful, positive expressions of determination and hope that we could build a better world.



We need to resist in very way we can think of, and with everything we've got. We need to show grit and creativity in figuring out how to slow Trump and his sycophants in the Republican party from enacting their evil agenda. But let's also show the American people what the opposite of Trumpism will be. We want an America where freedom of religion and respectfulness to Americans of all religious (or non-religious) beliefs are held sacred. We want an America that understands our country's history is one of being a nation of immigrants and refugees, and that welcoming them strengthens us instead of weakening us. We want to go back to the sacred vision of this nation as being a land of,by, and for the people instead of a country ruled and rigged by billionaires, big business, and their buddies. We want to be a nation where we lift each other up rather than pushing each other down so that a few can make it while everyone else fights among themselves.



In addition to resistance and rhetoric, let's show the country what believe in instead. Instead of a Muslim ban, we want to welcome Muslims to this country and show them friendship so that the radical extremism which Trump is always talking about never has a chance to grow. Instead of insulting hard working immigrants and obsessing about kicking them out of our country, let's welcome them as permanent citizens and help them in starting businesses and getting them jobs and good education, which lifts us all up. Instead of slashing health care coverage and Social Security, let's make sure seniors and all our citizens have good health coverage and a decent income, which helps us all live in a healthier economy and healthier society. Instead of a radical plan to lower taxes for the wealthy and big business and giving them even more power and wealth than they already have, let's have a fair tax system and rising wages for all workers. Instead of Wall Street banks being able to run roughshod over the American economy like they did a decade ago, let's break up the Too Big To Fail banks and create more opportunities for community banks and credit unions to flourish. Instead of stripping away funding for public education, let's invest in our public schools so that our entire society benefits from a better educated citizenry.



Trumpism is an ugly ideology, and we have to fight it in the streets, at the airports, and in the halls of Congress. The good news is that Americans will turn away from it quickly if we can given them a vision and an agenda they can embrace. Let's resist at full tilt, and light our candle to show people the way forward.
I have this whole experience myself all my whole life. I grew up in Africa, I grew up in France, I grew up in Brooklyn, I grew up in Germany. So with that you always have a way to measure where you really stand in your life and where the people in those different places stand in the history of the world. So, you always have a measuring stick. You don't just totally immerse in a reality, you're immersed at the same time you can look at it from another perspective and that's very valuable, very important. You need that distance. Each time I spend a long time here, when I watch TV, whether it is "Real Housewives of Atlanta" or CNN, if you watch for two straight hours you have no distance anymore because they are so convincing that it's reality. At some point after two, three months of that you have no distance, so how can you resist that? So with a documentary, with what every artist tries to do, we create the necessary distance from a very personal, intimate point of view but also to try to take out the essential of what really is and bring it back in a very artistic way, emotional way. That's what as an artist you always try to do. To try to be a sharper mind than the average person.
The UN is anxious and apprehensive about the new US president, his secretary of state, and his UN envoy, not just in terms of the relationship with the UN general secretariat under Antonio Guterres, but also in terms of the impact of bilateral US-Russian and US-Chinese relations on regional issues being examined by the international organization. The reactions, based on interviews with a number of ambassadors of key states who asked not to be named, underscore the divisions among them regarding the new US president, and divisions within the blocs that had been aligned together during the Cold War era. UN envoys and the general secretariat's observations focus on a new pattern in the relationship between the US, China, and Russia, the key poles of the coming era, which will undergo a sea change amid untraditional modes of alliance and divergence, respectively.

"One feels sorry for the United States, because it is its loss," remarked the ambassador of one key Asian state. It will be the US global influence and leadership that will be lost, he added, as the price of policies such as the ones planned for China, and it will be the US that will pay the main economic cost. "US isolationism does not harm us, because the world can cope with that. It will primarily harm America, which will lose rather than win." The ambassador of the Asian nation, which is heavily impacted by Chinese policies, argued that America's retreat would fuel China's ascendancy, saying Beijing is ready to fill the vacuum. "However, our biggest fear is for US economic woes, as a result of foolish policies by Trump, to worsen prompting him to believe he needs a war somewhere to offset the loss."

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The ambassador of a key Arab state, meanwhile, predicted that Trump's relationship with the UN would be "stormy". His statements, he remarked, indicate that Trump gives no importance to the international organization whatsoever, expecting that the UN would be easy prey for the American president to achieve some "victories", including on the issues of the UN budget and Israel. The veteran diplomat added that the difficult relationship in this present turbulent time "constitutes a major challenge for the new secretary general," but everyone is betting on the personality of Antonio Guterres to contain the storm, he emphasized.

Nevertheless, the Arab ambassador expects a positive development in American attitudes on Palestine, Yemen, and Syria, in the context of a shift in Iranian-American relations. Palestine could see a positive development because it is an attractive issue for making a historical achievement, the diplomat said, "and there is a direct interest by President Trump in the issue," while his secretary of state is well familiar with the region, and he has tasked his own son-in-law to lead efforts on his behalf. Furthermore, always according to the ambassador, Trump is not beholden to the pro-Israel lobby, and has a bigger ability to take firm decisions and actions compared to his predecessor. The ambassador said the Obama administration had laid down the groundwork for such actions with the recent UN Security Council resolution, and judged the rhetoric from Trump and his candidates on the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem as "presidential posturing" while actual policy at the decision time would change, as he said.

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Another ambassador interested in the repercussions of US policies on Jerusalem expected that the Trump administration would make some kind of move towards Israel on this issue, because he could not fully backtrack from his pledge to relocate the embassy, but said this could take a form that distinguishes between West Jerusalem and Arab East Jerusalem, suggesting that "we should wait and see".

The Gulf diplomat expects relations between the US and Washington to improve, both on the personal and diplomatic levels. This can have an impact on Yemen, Syria, and general relations with the Gulf nations. The diplomat explained that the view Trump and his team have of Iran's role in the region is closer to that of the GCC, and this will impact Yemen primarily.

The ambassador continued: "The Trump administration will adopt different positions from those of the Obama administration, because it has a different view towards Iran and relations with Saudi Arabia are friendlier." The Obama administration, he added, has put huge pressure to pass John Kerry's roadmap via international envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, while finding excuses for Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis, leading to further intransigence on their part, but this will change under Trump, always according to this diplomat.

On the Syrian issue, the diplomat argues that the improvement in American-Russian relations puts Russia in a more comfortable place following its victories in Syria, and thus makes it more able to show flexibility vis-a-vis the US. "Russia is keen to stop the bloodletting in Syria," he stressed. Regarding the talks in Astana and their link to the Security Council, he said: "The recent Security Council resolution affirmed the primacy of the Geneva [outcomes] and placed Astana under the umbrella of the UN. They are tantamount to a prelude to negotiations in Geneva under the supervision of the international envoy on February 8."

The optimism of this Gulf diplomat does not blind him to the negativities that could come from the Trump administration. "Given that it has no track record that could help predict its actions, the unknowns are more than the knowns, and more uncalculated moves could occur." He concluded: "This is a jump into the unknown, which could cause more tension and anxiety."

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Interestingly, European diplomats are more concerned about the Trump-Putin rapprochement than their Gulf counterparts. Britain decided to scramble to build a good relationship with the Trump administration after Brexit. However, one of the calculations behind this has to do with its concern that Vladimir Putin would replace the British prime minister as the other counterpart in the 'Special Relationship'. France for its part has sent a message to Washington to the effect of: We want you to return to global leadership, and we offer our loyal friendship and advice, as well as our counterpoint, if that is seen to be in the common interest. This is the gist one comes out with after meeting with British and French diplomats at the UN.

Other European diplomats also spoke and stressed the following issues of concern: One, their concern of an emerging axis comprising two strongmen, Trump and Putin, that would disregard humanitarian law and humanitarian considerations, and focus on the battle with ISIS in Syria. The world, they say, needs an America that defends international law and stands up to Russia if it breaks it. The world also needs a strong America that can stand up to Russian violations in Syria and Ukraine.

Two, Europe is worried about the lack of engagement between the EU and Donald Trump, and concerned about his remarks on NATO, in which he suggested the military alliance is futile and obsolete. This, they say, serves Russia's goal of dismantling the alliance directly.

Thirdly, one European ambassador, addressing the Americans, said: "Beware! If you decide to withdraw from the UN, then China is willing to fill the vacuum and ready for the job. Beijing is taking practical measures in preparation for a softer approach than Russia, but it is pursuing similar actions. In Africa, China has been buying loyalties for a while, and it is willing to do the same at the UN by increasing its contributions to replace the United States if it chooses to stop its contributions."

This week, in the wake of the Astana meetings, the Syrian issue will return to Security Council, and so will the Yemeni issue. It might be too early to assume any change in US policy under Donald Trump. However, the ambassadors at the UN are in a state of apprehension. Jumping into the unknown is a very scary prospect for them.

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The Security Council has proven its abject failure and moral bankruptcy on Syria. The main cause has been the Russian-Chinese veto against five resolutions, according to Western diplomats. However, this is not enough to explain what happened. There is admission that Europe has done nothing beyond rhetoric, and that the US under Obama has helped Russia and China through its passivity to disrupt the work of the Security Council.
The commander in chief of the United States, the 45th President Donald Trump, has launched since his inauguration last week a flurry of executive orders to fulfill some of his campaign promises. However, some of his measures portend to turn him into an isolationist in chief who will push the US into further retreat and loss of prestige and influence on the global arena. This is exactly what the Russian leadership had been dreaming of when it espoused Trump's candidacy, hoping that he would turn out to be America's Yeltsin, the former Russian president whom America used to dismantle the Soviet empire, the event Moscow believes happened and wants to avenge. China too is gearing up to benefit from the Trump's tenure, as he is unwittingly pursuing a course of action that will fuel China's ascendancy, to the point that it may well replace the US as leader of the world. However, the US establishment may not allow the president, no matter who he is, to precipitate these two radical developments, and perhaps this explains the increasing talk about the possibility of impeaching Trump. However, there is a lot of distrust and confusion over how President Trump intends to fulfill Candidate Trump's often-fantastic promises. The man had challenged all traditional politics, and captured the US presidency against the will of the political elite and senior Republicans, catching pollsters, pundits, think-tanks, intelligence agencies, and the media off guard with his surreal plans. President Trump has not reneged on the pledges of Candidate Trump as soon as he entered the White House; quite the contrary, he has delivered already on some promises since his inauguration. He has disappointed those who had dreamt the post would change the man, and stuck to his confidence that it will be the other way around, that the man will change the post of the president of the world's pre-eminent power.

Everything is in flux. Everyone is watching as he signs executive order after order, while seeming to enjoy that unique power. The European allies are splitting to the tune of Trumpism, especially in light of his mockery and dismissal of the European Union and NATO. Trump has also ignored German Chancellor Angela Merkel, currently the most powerful leader in Europe, even though he has already spoken to the leaders of Canada, Mexico, Israel, Egypt, and India, and met with the British prime minister on Friday night.

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The US president is also preparing to move against the UN, possibly by blocking US financial contributions, radically impacting things like peacekeeping operations. But first and foremost, he is trying to blow up the world order built on this and other institutions. So what is behind Trump's coup and who is it directed against? Can he overturn American democracy and institutions? And why does Trump want to turn the US into an isolationist, exclusionist power in the world, and a deeply divided nation at risk of civil war at home?

Completely different questions are on the mind of Donald Trump and his supporters. He wants to be the dealmaker-in-chief, to put America on top of all other countries. Trump and his supporters speak about making America great again, but to them this could mean making others less great, economically, politically, and militarily, and force them to submit to US 'greatness'.

The most important weapon in Trump's arsenal to execute his ideology are the men who resemble him, including America's billionaire businessmen. Wall Street has rallied to his banner, even in the midst of his battle with the media, intelligence community, women, Native Americans, Mexicans, Muslims he needs for his war on ISIS, and China.

Meanwhile, the most potent weapon against trump is America's women, backed by women around the world. The huge march attended by millions around the world following Trump's inauguration is testament to the intent to challenge him and not remain silent about his abuses, particularly of basic rights and liberties. Congress will not sit idly by either; some Republicans are angry against the new president's actions, which will make Democratic opposition in both houses more potent.

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The media is also fighting an unprecedented public war with the president, Donald Trump. Civil rights advocates and proponents of international commitments are feeling a sense of panic, as the president speaks of things like the viability of torture of terror suspects.

Meanwhile, the men and women the president has nominated to key cabinet posts, including the State Dept., the Department of Defense, National Security Council, the Justice Department, the UN ambassadorship, and other cabinet and diplomatic posts, are not all on the same page as the president on several issues: From the relationship with Russia, the nuclear deal with Iran, the wall with Mexico, to abolishing trade deals, challenging the One China Policy, and the ban on Muslim immigration.

The restrictions that President Trump has imposed on immigrants from Iraq, Syria, and other countries, have caused concern among US military officials and not just defenders of refugees and immigrants. It is a message to those fighting ISIS and its ilk in Iraq and Syria, in line with Trump's priority, that the US does not appreciate their sacrifices, has no wish to host them or welcome them, only because they are Muslims in areas affected by the war on terror. This has caused concertation among the top brass, who fear the enthusiasm of Muslim anti-ISIS fighters could take a hit as a result of the ban.

The measures ordered by President Trump on undocumented immigrants in the United States, who number nearly 11 million, threatens to cause huge grudges in the American melting pot. His rush to approve the construction of pipelines that his predecessor had red-lighted, Keystone XL and North Dakota, threatens to antagonize Native Americans through whose territories the pipelines. In addition, Donald Trump is challenging the major cities he accuses of 'harboring illegal immigrants', and threatening to send the Feds in. All these issues are causing major concerns and risk setting off sedition and even civil war.

Donald Trump, who has antagonized much of the American public and the world, is nevertheless confident that he is strong with his combination of populism and billionaire-elitism. It is a new combination in the American landscape, and will be surely tested. It is a new language in the American lexicon, based on the "art of the deal" by the "man of the deal". Perhaps this will succeed in restoring America's absolute power and leadership of the world, and take the globe into a new era. Or perhaps it will end American influence in the world, and pave the way for China's supreme ascendancy, while Russia consolidates its position in this configuration, finally taking revenge against America.

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Donald Trump is not just an unprecedented phenomenon in US history. He is challenging America and the world to reinvent themselves, and gambling the house on this: either build something new and fantastic, or terrifyingly shred the US and the world order without an alternative except chaos, war, and loss.


Ralph Towner My Foolish Heart ECM 2517

If ever there was a guitar player who captures the gorgeous nuance, the magic that a nylon string classical guitar can emote in the right hands it is Ralph Towner. His principal instrument was the piano, which he studied as classical conservatory student until he decided to take up guitar in his senior year of college at the University of Oregon. The Washington State born musician has certainly charted his own unique path since then. He became a member of saxophonist and world music pioneer Paul Winter's Consort in the late sixties. It is there he met fellow musicians Paul McCandless, Colin Walcott and Glen Moore. These four would leave Winter to form their own ground-breaking group Oregon, where they skillfully wove, folk music, Indian raga, jazz improvisational techniques and world music influences into a musical tapestry that would itself become the Holy Grail to scores of musicians that followed in their footsteps.

Along the way, Towner has lent his considerable skills as a gifted player in countless musical settings.He fronted a powerful group of European improvisers including the saxophonist Jan Gabarek, the bassist Eberhard Weber and the drummer Jon Christenson on his brilliant Solstice from 1974. In 1975 he released Matchbook, a duo outing with vibraphonist Gary Burton. He has worked with impressionistic guitarist John Abercrombie, first on their dual guitar album Sargasso Sea from 1976 and later on Five Year Later from 1982. Over the years, Towner has collaborated with other notable jazz musicians including the trumpet players Kenny Wheeler and Pablo Frescu; repeat performances with bassists Gary Peacock and Eddie Gomez; and legendary drummers Peter Erskine, Jack DeJohnette and Bill Bruford. But fundamentally it is his solo guitar work that seems to be the most personal and direct means toward the fulfillment of his inner most expression.

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On his latest release My Foolish Heart, in the Spartan liner notes, Towner says this Victor Young composition "...had immeasurable impact on my musical life..." "The seminal version of this song played by Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian set me on a course to try to attain the magic of this trio..." In talking about this his latest recording, he says "So many years later, I've decided to include it among a variety of my own pieces. I hope I've continued to use the inspiration I gained from that first encounter in all the music that I play."

Inspired is perhaps the most meaningful word to describe Towner's guitar work. It floats in the mist somewhere between classical and jazz, in a nether land that Towner has singlehandedly staked out as his own personal territory; a musical mode of rare beauty and singular expression. The seminal guitar work of the great Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell comes to mind when listening to Towner.

Eleven of the of the twelve songs on this album are Towner's own compositions. Two of which, "Shard" and "Rewind" he surprisingly revisits from his days with Oregon. In looking over Towner's discography you rarely, if ever, find him repeating himself; re-recording songs that he has already recorded. Despite the obvious Evans connection-unlike Evans, who made it almost a sacred mission to take a song and reconstruct it over and over, extracting every possible nuance-Towner seems to prefer to constantly create new, often miniature, vehicles of expression.

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"Pligrim" has a beautifully repeating melody over which the guitarist spins a minstrel-like magic. "I'll Sing to You" is a love song of delicate, filigreed beauty. "Saunter" is a marvelously light, energetic piece that does indeed saunter with Towner's fleet fingering. The song has a feel of familiarity that leaves you with a sense of Deja vu.

On the title song, Victor Young's "My Foolish Heart," the slight resonance of his strings, the sounds of his fingers creaking as they make contact with the tightly mic'd fretboard and the breathy intake of air that you hear from him as he begins to engage into the depths of this beautiful composition is quite poignant. There is a tenderness in his playing, an homage to Evans light, introspective touch on piano. Towner has masterfully translated this touch to the fretboard of his guitar. Simply gorgeous.

Now living in Rome, steeped in the culture, Towner's "Dolimiti Dance" has the folk-like sound of a traditional Italian dance with its playful repeating lines and its rhythmically chicanery. On "Clarion Call" he picks up his twelve-string acoustic guitar to create an aurally mysterious composition. His fingering and percussive dancing on the strings belies a myriad of techniques that are all Towner creations. "Two Poets" is a brief two-minute beauty that finds Towner working on a simple melodic idea that is the springboard for further exploration. There is always a sense that you are discovering the path of the journey at the same time as he is. "Shard" is a brief fifty-four seconds. One of the few tunes that Towner has resurrected, revisited as it were from his Oregon days.



"Ubi Stut" is another short repeating melodic phrase that Towner plays with a Baroque sound, delicately dancing his notes over a pedal point line that he skillfully weaves into the piece. "Biding Time" again has Towner on his full bodied twelve-string guitar.

"Blue as in Bley" is a tribute to the pianist Paul Bley who died a month before Towner went into the studio to record this session. The composition has a suspended quality to it that finds the guitarist offering some of his most inspired playing. There is a sense of that Towner is channeling some of Bley's complex harmonic ideas within the confines of his own structured composition.

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The best and the worst of the United States is on display street by street, airport by airport, in our legislatures, courts and the White House itself as we contend over the #MuslimBan and the future of our democracy.

I want to very clear. I do not believe this is a fight over opposing principles, or a disagreement on "how to keep America safe." It is part of a strategy to take down our democracy. It is that stark.

The very soul of this nation is in peril.

Countries, like individuals, can have souls. The soul is not, in my view, a "ghost in the machine" but rather the way in which actions and values match or do not match. That's why we can say, "he sold his soul" when someone chooses greed over principle.

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Now, of course, the "soul" of the United States has always been at best aspirational; it is very frayed and worn from the awful conflict between freedom and slavery, equality for all and extremes of wealth and poverty, and "inalienable rights" versus discrimination. Very often, the aspirations have not matched the actions at all.

Nevertheless, what we are seeing played out in in this country today is a profound struggle for this nation's soul against those who would sell it for financial and political profit.

The protests are the best of America standing up against the worst, people holding fast to the ideal of freedom of religion, of the very words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, "Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me." Will we make that a lie?

We see organizations dedicated to the defense of the Constitution, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, going to court and winning a partial victory against the poorly conceived Executive Order on the Establishment Clause ("no religious establishment") in the First Amendment.

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That's the soul of America. It's bedrock.

I believe with all my heart that this is a profound struggle is between the principles of democracy and an effort to shake the fundamental institutions of this country to allow run-away greed to dominate.

Nothing does that better than constant shocks to the indispensable institutions of a democracy. In a rapid-fire series of Executive Orders in the first few days of the Trump Administration, shocks to the system have been systematically applied. Not to change it. To bring it to its knees.

Why? As Naomi Klein explains so well in her book Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism "shocks" are applied to a democratic system to destabilize it, or shocks such as environmental catastrophe are exploited (think Hurricane Katrina), in order to allow predatory, unregulated capitalism to make as much money as possible.

A very telling quotation from Stephen Bannon, Trump's senior advisor who now alarmingly has been appointed to the National Security Council, illustrates why these Executive Orders have nothing to do with 'keeping America safe' and everything to do with destroying democratic institutions.

Proclaiming himself a Leninist he went on to explain:

"Lenin," he answered, "wanted to destroy the state, and that's my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment."

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Since bringing "everything crashing down" helped create the conditions for today's Vladimir Putin in Russia, this statement should be greeted with alarm and unified resistance.

We cannot exchange the soul of this country for the nearly unlimited wealth of a few and the poverty of many. We cannot exchange our national aspirations of religious, cultural and racial diversity for the ugly re-branded ("alt-right") white supremacism of a Stephen Bannon and his minions.

The legend of Faust is highly suggestive. Faust was a scholar dissatisfied with his life who made a pact with the Devil to sell his soul for unlimited power.

The terrors of that fable are what we really need to fear today, not Muslims and immigrants.

Don't let America's soul be sold so a few can indulge in greed and tyrannical power.
The All-White House. This afternoon, "president" Trump signed an executive order instructing the National Park Service immediately to begin work to replace the torch in the raised right hand of the Statue of Liberty with a hand that has a raised middle finger.

Counselor to the "president" Kellyanne Conway explained that it is a completely logical change. "It will merely make the greeting to foreigners approaching the United States a more accurate depiction of President Trump's attitude towards the rest of the world, refugees, the tired and poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Following a pause, Conway added, "We sure don't want any wretched refuse in this country!"

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that Mr. Trump's executive order contains more, but the rest wouldn't fit in a tweet and the "president" didn't know of another way to communicate it. Spicer said, "The President has also ordered that the words of the poem on the Statue be changed to:

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"Give me your oil tycoons, your rich,

Your women (10s only and under 35) yearning to be groped,

The oligarchs who surround Putin.

Send these, those with multiple mansions, to me,

I lift my middle finger beside the golden door of Trump Tower!"

"People are saying this is the greatest idea in the history of America--no, the world," said Spicer, relaying Trump's words.
In the second portion of a two-part conversation, the American musician Willie Nelson tells Robert Scheer why, in spite of prevailing political conditions, he is optimistic about the future of the United States. Nelson also discussed his start in the music industry as a DJ and promoter and his love of Texas and Texans, and explained why he's not afraid of getting older.

Why do Texans keep voting for "assholes," Scheer asks Nelson. "Because assholes keep running," Nelson replies.

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When Scheer points out that many liberals do not understand why millions of their fellow citizens voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, Nelson says: "I recorded a song called 'Living in the Promiseland.' ... It's about welcoming everyone: 'Living in the promiseland, our dreams are made of steel. The prayer of every man is to know how freedom feels. Bring us your foreign songs, we will sing along. ...' Come on. Come on, America. We love you. We'll help you. We'll find a spot for you."

Scheer asks, "So you're still optimistic?" Nelson replies: "I'm still optimistic that all the people are coming in and it will be as great tomorrow as it is today."

"So you're not for building walls?" Scheer asks. "Fuck no," says Nelson.

Listen to the first part of the conversation here.
BROOKLYN - JANUARY 28: A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Donald Trump's executive ban on immigration from several Muslim countries, on January 28, 2017 in Brooklyn. The judge issued an emergency stay on part of Trump's executive order, ruling that sending refugees stopped at U.S. airports back to their countries would be harmful. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

Why does January 28, 2017 mark a day that requires a crack-down on refugees and people asking for asylum from seven predominant Muslim nations? Why is it that neither George W. Bush and Barack Obama who were facing far worse times involving terrorism than Donald Trump is facing today never felt the need to institute such draconian measures at our borders and at U.S. airports as regards these seven countries over the past 16 years?

Is there something different in the world on January 28th than there has been in the last decade and one-half that necessitates such action?

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No, there is nothing new going on. There is no fresh threat of terrorist attacks.

As the story plays out, it is now increasingly evident that the Trump Administration never consulted either its own State Department over potential assaults on our soil or spoke to those officials in the government handling refugees over the issue of admission of such peoples.

They would have found out: First, we are already prepared to ward off all menaces to our population; and, second, contrary to Trump's claim that no full background investigations were completed on these foreigners, that all of the individuals seeking entry into the U.S. from these seven states had gone through extreme vetting before being allowed into our country.

The FBI, the CIA, U.S. embassies and other intelligence agencies have had to review each person asking for the right to stay in the U.S. Further they would have found that none of the earlier persons who gained entry into the U.S. under Bush and Obama were ever involved in any terrorist activity of any nature. And, in any case, it is clear that Trump's executive order is aimed at Muslims despite his cover story that it is targeting terrorists. The real terrorists involved in 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia -- a nation which is not even being banned under Trump's executive order. No, the true reason that Trump is acting in this manner is to try to demonstrate that he is "tough" on Muslims while his predecessors -- Obama and Bush -- were weak.

He holds to his false assertion that only he, as America's new leader, knows how to handle ISIS and Al Qaeda. But he is actually the timid chief executive in this drama. He is so insecure about America's strength and about his own resolve to deal with any sudden unforeseen strikes that he feels he must demonstrate a faux command at our borders or otherwise, he believes, he will be seen as a failure. In fact, he displays little grip on reality -- just the opposite, he indulges in a fantasy about enemies that don't exist at this time.

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Hohmann said his reporting stood in contrast to the reporting of local media, which "chose to get their so-called 'facts' from corrupt local officials, who were either intimidated or in the pocket of Obama officials like Idaho U.S. attorney Wendy Olson."

"As if it weren't derelict enough for a newspaper to rely on the word of public officials, these so-called 'journalists' in Idaho and in nearby Spokane, Washington, had the audacity to go a step further and attack those of us who were doing our journalistic jobs and questioning the authorities, calling our reporting 'conspiracy theories,'" he said.

"It seems clear to me, when looking back, that the establishment media in Idaho and Washington were the ones engaged in conspiracy reporting by their reckless disregard for the truth and their callous treatment of the victim and her family. They chose to bow to the pressure of bullies like the Obama-appointed Wendy Olson," he said.

"It was Olson who issued a threat to prosecute anyone who made statements about the perpetrators that she considered false or inflammatory. She later walked back from that statement after some powerful condemnations from First Amendment advocates."
Kansas Athletics Board of Directors addresses NCAA case and more

What did Travis Goff have to say about the NCAA case concerning Kansas mens basketball team. That takeaway, and more, here:
Attorney Raymond Miyares said there is a lot of uncertainty in the legal language of the recreational marijuana law.

Attorney Offers Overview of Marijuana Law for Municipalities



The implementation of the new law is drawn out over a number of years. LENOX, Mass.  Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level so income raised from sales of pot cannot legally be placed in federally regulated banks.

So, what are towns supposed to do with the money raised from a local option tax now that marijuana sales will be legal on the state level?

That's one of the questions yet to be answered after Massachusetts voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize the use, sale, and taxation of marijuana.

Attorney Raymond Miyares of Miyares & Harrington LLP of Wellesley provided a presentation on the law, aimed particularly for local officials, on Thursday night.

His message was clear: the law is anything but clear.

"The law that was adopted by the voters was more popular with voters than it was clear. There are lots of things in the new law that are not as clear as we would like to be," Miyares said.

The veteran attorney, with a specialty in environmental law and town counsel for seven towns including Stockbridge, provided his interpretation or "best guesses" on the law but cautioned that the Legislature is likely going to make changes to the ballot initiative.

"We don't really know how much tampering the Legislature will do," he said.

Further, the issue is in a precarious position because marijuana is still federally regulated and he doesn't know how the next U.S. attorney general will handle it. The nominee, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, is a vocal opponent against marijuana.

Miyares started with the basics. The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act as passed by the voters allows adults to possess and cultivate marijuana in limited amounts, creates a Cannabis Control Commission, through the treasurer's office, to act as the licensing authority, sets a 4.75 percent excise on top of the 6.25 regular sales tax, and allows municipalities the option to add 2 percent more.

The state will oversee the law through a Cannabis Control Commission, made up of three members appointed by the treasurer. The commission will serve as the authority to issue all licenses and must of regulations in place by March 1, 2018. A second Cannabis Advisory Board will consist of 15 members appointed by the governor. That board will perform studies and make recommendations and is supposed to be in place by August of this year.

"The county was unanimous. Every town voted yes," Miyares said of the vote totals on the question.

But, he isn't convinced that the majority of the voters got past the question of whether marijuana should be legal or not. While proponents say the vote was for the entire regulatory package, he doesn't think most voters had delved into the specifics of it.

The timeline of implementation started on Dec.15, 2016, when it became legal for individuals over the age of 21 to possess and cultivate marijuana. A person can cultivate six plants or a household can cultivate 12 plants. A person can possess up to an ounce. Public consumption is still illegal.

"As we sit here today, adults may possess and cultivate marijuana in limited quantities," Miyares said.

Most people know that. But, what most people don't know is that somebody looking to open an establishment can pull building permits already.

"As we sit here today someone can walk into town hall and get a building permit for a retail establishment. There is no prohibition against retail establishments right now," he said.

The commission's regulations are supposed to be adopted by March 1, 2018, but Miyares says 13 months is very fast when it comes to making state regulations and he expects that timeline to be push back yet again.

"That gives them 13 months to adopt regulations. If the medical marijuana regulations are any indication then that is tight," Miyares said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see this get extended again."

Licenses are expected to begin being issued by April 1, 2018. Miyares said there is a new category for licenses than have been available in the past and those are for testing facilities. He said "experienced operators" can apply then.

But, he says, the law isn't clear on what "experienced operators mean." From the audience, someone asked if the owner of an organic greenhouse be considered an "experienced operator" for a cultivation license.

"The statute doesn't tell us what experienced means," Miyares said.

Miyares says experienced operators could be considered medical marijuana treatment facilities in good standing. But right now, there are none in the Berkshires.

Or, it can mean a medical marijuana business can reorganize and become one for recreational use. Under the medical marijuana laws, the license holders had to be non-profits and affiliated with medical. But, now there is the option to become commercial.

Turning commercial requires two-thirds vote of the company's board of directors, to have had a provisional license by Dec. 15, 2016, and notifying the Department of Public Health.

"DPH did us all a favor of issuing a good amount of provisional licenses just before the deadline," Miyares said.

There are five provisional licenses in the Berkshires right now  three in Pittsfield, one in Lee, and one in Great Barrington. All of those have the ability to reorganize and get the first crack at a recreational license.

If the Cannabis Control Commission fails to adopt regulations by July 1, 2018, then medical marijuana facilities can begin to cultivate, process or sell for recreational use with the license they currently have.

"That is a pretty good incentive for the state to get its act together," Miyares said.

The forum was put on by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, so many in the audience were municipal planners and particularly interested in land-use regulations. Miyares said cities and towns do have the ability to limit the number of licenses and to regulate where in a municipality retailers and growers can operate.

If a town is limiting the number of licenses before July 1, 2018, then experienced operators have the ability to seek a license first. Then, it will go to a lottery system. After July 1, 2018, all applicants are to be considered through a lottery.

The licensing process starts with an application to the Cannabis Control Commission, which then notifies the town. The town has 90 days to respond to the application saying whether or not there are any local bylaws the proposal is breaking. But no response means the state can go ahead and issue the license. Right now it isn't clear how towns will be notified.

"The state has an unhappy history of not recognizing that municipalities have different governments," Miyares said.

The requirements for a license are compliance with the yet unwritten regulations, compliance with MGL Chapter 94G, which is the new law, and local restrictions. The applicant must pay a fee, felons are not able to receive a license, and one can't operate within 500 feet of a school.

Miyares reminded the audience that marijuana sales are considered retail and not a separate use. That means anywhere in a town that allows retail by zoning, a pot shop can open without special requirements. The same goes for manufacturing in industrial zones. Testing facilities are brand new, so most towns don't have zoning regulations to restrict them.

Cultivation facilities, however, are a different story. When lawmakers extended the timeline of the law in December, they also ruled that marijuana cultivation is not considered an agricultural use.

"It seemed to be a concern of the Legislature that marijuana cultivation should be cut out of the definition of agriculture. What they didn't do, is since it is not agriculture, then what is it? They didn't tell us what it is," Miyares said.

As for what towns can do locally, that is the "biggest mystery of all" in the law, he said.

The law allows the prohibition of one or all types of establishments. A town can limit the number of marijuana retailers to fewer than 20 percent of the number of package store licenses. Or it can limit the number of marijuana establishments to fewer than the number of medical marijuana facilities.

But all of those needs a "vote of the voters."

"It requires you to do something they neglected to define and that is you must have a vote of the voters. My best guess of what a vote of the voters means, I believe towns that have open town meetings, a town meeting is a vote of the people," Miyares said.

Those prohibitions or restrictions needing a vote have to pass with a two-thirds majority, the same way any zoning bylaw needs to be approved.

But some of his colleagues disagree with the interpretation that a town meeting can approve it and believe a ballot initiative is needed. And then the legal language to adopt those provisions is even more debated.

Towns can also adopt a zoning moratorium, which does not need a vote. He said the state attorney general's office has approved one in West Bridgewater already.

"You get the advantage of waiting until after the state has promulgated some regulations," he said.

A moratorium must be for a specified period of time. Miyares suggests 15 months, which starts when town meeting adopts the moratorium, gives a year to develop local regulations, approval of those regulations at the following town meeting, and then 90 days to get the bylaws in place.



Every town in Berkshire County voted in favor of legalizing marijuana, some by a larger margin than the state average. Miyares said, however, that the state will be doing the majority of the regulating so towns will need to keep an eye on those regulations and craft bylaws above and beyond them.

"The facilities, because of the fact that the licensing takes place at the state, you don't have to regulate every aspect of it. You only have to worry about what additional things you'd want to regulate," he said.

For towns that are envisioning a boom in economics from it, Miyares said marijuana cafes are not authorized. But, a referendum vote during a state election could allow them.

That requires a petition of 10 percent of voters. Marijuana cafes, however, are likely to only be used for edibles and not smoking because smoking laws supersede the cafes, Miyares said.

"It does not acknowledge that in most circumstances that a ballot question can be put on a warrant by a board of selectmen or a city council," he said.

As for the 2 percent local option tax, Miyares said that, too, isn't clear and he suggests it be a bylaw or ordinance. He suspects those would be adopted in the same manner as the rooms and meals taxes.

The presentation led to a number of questions from the audience, though there were few answers.

Someone from Egremont asked about sales to people out of state; Miyares responded that "sales are sales, it doesn't matter to whom you sell it." So people from New York can drive over the border and buy the product, but could face trouble for possessing it in New York.

Miyares responded to another question saying that towns can pass zoning bylaws that restrict retail operations in certain zones, the same way adult video stores or tattoo shops can be singled out of certain retail districts.

The federal restrictions prompted other question such as banking and financing. Federally regulated banks are not legally allowed to loan money to help start up marijuana companies. The profits are not allowed to be placed in a bank  so where is the money supposed to be kept? And for that matter, where are the towns supposed to keep the revenue from the local option tax?

Miyares says he believes towns will be able to put the tax money into a bank but he said he has absolutely no basis for making that assumption.

The federal restrictiona limit interstate commerce, so where are the seeds coming from? Other states have adopted legal cultivation but how will those seeds legally be transported to startup companies in Massachusetts? Miyares responded, tongue in cheek, that he has to assume the seeds will "spontaneously arrive."

Miyares said he expects the biggest issue with the rollout will be controlling the black market. He said if the state doesn't crack down on the black market, then the licenses it issues will lose value.

The overview was sponsored by BRPC as informational and not as professional legal counsel. The goal was to keep towns aware of the new law and what options each one has either to support or restrict pot operations.

"We serve as a technical resource to the cities and towns in Berkshire County and providing information about current topics is one of the more important roles that we take," BRPC Assistant Director Thomas Matuszko said.

"We just want to provide some information to allow communities to make good decisions."




iciHaiti - Education : Michel Martelly, lecturer to Claflin University





On Thursday 2 February, former President of Haiti Michel Martelly (14 May 2011 - 7 February 2016), accompanied by his wife Sophia, will make a historic visit to the Claflin University as part of the university's Visionary Leader in Residence program, to discuss issues in Haiti as well as opportunities for faculty, staff and student engagement.



Martelly will give a lecture at 11 a.m. to a group of sophomore students in the William V. Middleton Fine Arts Center. He will also participate in two separate roundtable discussions at the Arthur Rose Museum. The first will begin at 2 p.m. with faculty and staff, and at 3:15 p.m., Martelly will hold a roundtable discussion with students.



The Columbia World Affairs Council and Congressman James Clyburn will co-host a reception for the Martellys at 5:30 p.m. at the Columbia Marriott Hotel.



IH/ iciHaiti


















We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
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The organisers of the Oscars have responded to reports President Donald Trumps extremely troubling Muslim ban will keep the Iranian director of a nominated film from attending the awards ceremony.

Asghar Farhadi, director of The Salesman, will no longer be able to attend the LA Ceremony following Trumps decision to ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

A spokesperson for The Academy said: As supporters of film-makers  and the human rights of all people  around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this years Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.

The Academy added they celebrate film-making which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Farhadis film is nominated in the Foreign Language category alongside Land of Mine (Denmark), Toni Erdmann (Germany), A Man Called Ove (Sweden) and Tanna (Australia).

The film follows a high school teacher (Shahab Hosseini) who seeks revenge against the perpetrator who attacked his wife (Taraneh Alidoosti) in their apartment. The director made awards history in 2012 when his film A Separation became the first Iranian film to win an Oscar.

 Protests erupt outside JFK Airport after President Trump's immigration ban

Thousands of people joined demonstrations at airports across America to protest over Trumps immigration ban on Muslims following the ban being signed, while a judge has ordered a stay for people who have arrived with valid visas.
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Bill Maher may be an outspoken Donald Trump detractor, but that doesnt mean he wont speak out against others who oppose the President.

During Friday nights Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, the political commentator spoke at length about how liberal cultures preoccupation with language helped put Trump in the White House.

Democrats have gone from the party that protects people to the party that protects feelings. From, Ask not what your country can do for you, to, You owe me an apology,' Maher told the audience.

The host explains how, while Republicans have won the majority of elections in the US, liberals spent their time harassing actor Steve Martin about his tribute to Carrie Fisher.

When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well, Martin wrote in the now-deleted message.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

How could you Steve? We thought we knew you, but this? You noted her appearance first, and then that she was witty and bright. Youre a monster, Maher said.

Liberals do this all the time: they get offended for people who themselves would not be offended. You know that whole controversy about the name Washington Redskins? They did a survey: nine out of 10 actual Indians dont give a s**t.

He then brought Hilary Duff, Chris Hemsworth and Justin Timberlake as examples of cultural appropriation.

What matters is that while you self-involved fools were policing language at the Kids Choice Awards, a madman talked his way into the White House, Maher concludes. Watch the monologue below.

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Meanwhile, Trump has caused controversy with his recent ban on Muslims from seven selected countries entering the country. It is believed an Iranian director will not be able to attend this years Oscars ceremony despite being nominated for an award.
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The Government is facing legal action over its failure to come up with a plan to dramatically reduce the use of fossil fuels in order to meet the UKs international commitments in the fight against climate change.

Britain has agreed to cut emissions by 57 per cent by 2032 but is currently nowhere near meeting that goal.

The latest expert report predicted the target would be missed by 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide  the equivalent of all the greenhouse gases currently produced by industry.

 Ed Miliband: PM must discuss climate change with President Trump

The Governments Emissions Reduction Plan was supposed to have been ready at the end of last year but the publication date was first put off until February and then again to the end of March.

The Independent can now reveal the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which is responsible for climate change after Theresa May abolished the dedicated department, is no longer standing by this latest deadline.

Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the Government has a legal duty to come up with ways to meet its carbon reduction targets.

Environmental legal activists at ClientEarth had already put Theresa May on notice that it was considering legal action over the Governments lack of progress on the issue, telling the Financial Times it had been breaking the law for several years.

And climate lawyer Jonathan Church said if the March deadline was missed this could prompt them to go to court.

Weve made it clear that under our analysis, the UK Government is already in breach of the Climate Change Act because its plans dont deliver the emissions reductions the Act demands, he told The Independent.

If that remains the case come April, after many months of delay, that may be the moment to bring a legal challenge.

ClientEarth has already successfully sued the Government for failing to come up with a plan to cut air pollution to within legally allowed standards.

Barry Gardiner, shadow climate change minister, said he believed the Government was now breaking the law.

The 2008 Climate Change Act demands that the Government must produce an Emissions Reduction Plan as soon as is reasonably practicable, he said, adding: They are clearly in breach of the statute.

He criticised climate change minister Nick Hurd, who had assured him that the March deadline would be met.

Mr Gardiner confronted Mr Hurd about a potential delay to the plan in the House of Commons on 23 January when the Governments Industrial Strategy report was published. It said the emissions plan would be published in 2017, rather than early 2017 as previously stated.

 'Dangerous' climate change could arrive as early as 2050

But Mr Gardiner said Mr Hurd had told him: No, no Barry, its still our intention to publish by the end of March. Thats just loose wording on the part of the officials.

I said, Can I quote you on that? and he said, Oh yes, Mr Gardiner said.

What it means is neither the officials nor the minister know when this is going to come out or how they are going to meet the targets.

He said he believed Mr Hurd, known to be a strong supporter of action to address climate change, would like to have it out as soon as possible, but his officials simply cannot get it together.

In order to do this properly, you need cooperation between Transport, Communities and Local Government, the Cabinet Office, Defra as well as BEIS at least five departments, Mr Gardiner said.

Because the key areas we are failing on are not actually energy, power production and renewables. Its actually energy efficiency and the transport sector. Housing and transport are key elements of this strategy.

My view is nobody in those departments is prepared to play ball with them. Nick Hurd is the minister in charge of the brief. He should be damn well making sure that it happens  its his job to drive it.

He said he did not want to call for Mr Hurds resignation at this stage because the Government had not actually said it would miss the March deadline.

And he added if Mr Hurd did quit it would probably mean you ended up with somebody worse who didnt even want to reach the March deadline.

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 ongoing delay is potentially serious because it means industry and investors will have less time to plan for the changes that would be required, increasing the cost of making them.

Environmentalists and the car industry, a key source of carbon emissions, found themselves united in calling for the Government to get a move on.

Tamzen Isacsson, of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: The Governments Emissions Reduction Plan promises to build on its commitment to accelerating take-up of ultra-low emission vehicles, so we welcome its publication as soon as possible.

Plug-in electric, hybrid and hydrogen cars will deliver even greater improvements in emissions, but this market is still small  meaningful growth will require continued support through infrastructure development, incentives and a tax regime that will stimulate consumer demand.

And Gareth Redmond-King, of conservation charity WWF-UK, said: We need a plan that gives certainty to the renewables industry, to house-builders, to electric car manufacturers  to all the companies that will invest in the technologies and infrastructure that will not only tackle climate change, but will bring jobs and growth the UK as a result.

The longer the Government leaves to publish that plan, the harder it becomes to cut emissions in time; any slippage beyond expected publication in March should give us serious cause for concern.

When The Independent asked a BEIS spokesperson to confirm the March deadline would still be met, she refused to answer and insisted a question be emailed so it could receive a formal response.

Asked if the Emissions Reduction Plan was still on course to be published by the end of March, BEIS said: Our emissions reduction plan will set out how we will reduce emissions through the 2020s and send an important signal to the markets, businesses and investors.

We are investing the time now to undertake critical preparatory work to ensure we get this right. This includes engaging across businesses, industry and other stakeholders on the shared challenge of moving to a low-carbon economy.

It is understood the Government is working to get the report published as soon as possible.

 CIA director nominee Mike Pompeo refuses to accept Nasa's findings on climate change

But Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment, echoed remarks made by Mr Hurd at a BEIS committee hearing earlier this month that it was important to get the plan right, rather than rushing publication.

And he said one major factor was likely to be the amount of time civil servants are having to devote to the prospect of leaving the European Union.

If it doesnt come out in March, it will be unfortunate, he said.

But most important of all, its got to be credible.

I suspect the delay is a combination of: its going to be a challenge to come up with the right policies and theres a drag effect from having to worry about Brexit.
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The main group advocating climate change scepticism in the UK has seen its income from members slump by more than 60 per cent in just five years, according to figures submitted to Companies House.

The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF)  set up by former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson  has persistently disputed scientific research into climate change, describing the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as alarmist and calling for the Government to abandon targets to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

The figures, unearthed by Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in London, show that the income from membership fees in the 12 months until September 2016 was 5,409, down by 62 per cent on the figure in 2011, when the group received 14,300.

On its website, the GWPF asks members to donate at least 100 [a year] to help fund its activities, which suggests a paying membership of less than 55, although the foundation told The Independent it had about 300 members, of whom approximately 100 made payments of some kind.

However Mr Ward, in an article for The Independent, said that the figures show there may have been a slump in the membership of the UKs main club for climate change sceptics, as it... hosts a press conference for an architect of President Donald Trumps assault on environmental regulations.

On Monday, Myron Ebell  who led Mr Trumps transition team at the Environment Protection Agency, and is now head of the Centre for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think tank which opposes global-warming alarmism  will hold a briefing for the press at an event held by the GWPF.

Mr Ward said that the group had been dogged by controversy.

In September 2014, the Charity Commission ruled that the Foundation had breached its guidelines by promoting climate change denial, Mr Ward said.

The foundation has also continued to distribute propaganda that misrepresents the work of climate change researchers.

The GWPF has recently adopted a lukewarmist stance towards the issue, with Lord Lawson recently admitting that greenhouse gases had caused temperatures to increase. But he also said it would be crazy for the UK to attempt to reduce its emissions because they account for only two per cent of the global total.

The vast majority of scientists agree there is concrete evidence that climate change has already happened. The head of the worlds largest scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has compared denying this to disputing the theory of gravity.

Benny Peiser, director of the GWPF, told The Independent that the fall in membership fees did not represent a fall in actual members  mainly because they are not required to pay.

Our membership has always been roughly between 200 and 300 and it hasnt really changed over the last few years. Its still roughly 300, he said.

Were not as strict that if a member doesnt pay up his full amount that we then decide hes no longer a member.

There hasnt been a decline in membership, quite the opposite. Its more a decline in individual members paying up.

He stressed charitable donations had increased by about 50,000 last year and the GWPFs future for at least the next two years was secure as it had total funds of more than 688,000.

I don't know the exact number, but I estimate that we had individual donations from around 70 supporters totalling 257,044. These individual donors too are members of the GWPF, said Mr Peiser, who was previously a social anthropologist at Liverpool John Moores University.

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 last three years have set successive records for the planets highest average temperature since measurements began in the 1880s.

However climate sceptics have undoubtedly received a boost from the election of Mr Trump, who has described the scientific consensus as a hoax perpetrated by China.

Mr Trump has appointed known climate science deniers to key positions in his administration.
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Squatters have occupied a 15 million mansion owned by a Russian billionaire in one of the most expensive parts of London.

The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (Anal) say they have been in the Grade II listed building in Eaton Square since Wednesday. They intend to use it as a homeless shelter and community centre, open to any group that would disgust the wealthy.

The property, which was built in the early 1820s and had been used as a language school, is believed to have been empty since Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko bought it in 2014.

Mr Goncharenko also purchased three other properties in London in a three year period, including one of the UK's most expensive homes, Hanover Lodge in Regent's Park, which cost him 120 million.

Anal, who briefly opened a squat in Admiralty Arch opposite Buckingham Palace in 2015, announced the occupation on Facebook.

They said in a post: We're back. We've opened our first squat in Belgravia. We intend to erect an [antisocial]\[discommunity] centre open to all individual groups who wish to unite under one roof.

If it would disgust the wealthy, you're welcome here.

The Evening Standard claimed alleged computer hacker Lauri Love, 32, who faces up to 99 years in prison if extradited to the US, was staying in the squat.

However, one of the group at the house said he was no longer at the property and had only been visiting.

Mr Love, who has Asperger syndrome, is accused of stealing data from US agencies including the FBI and Nasa. He is currently preparing to appeal against his extradition to the US, which was signed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd in November.

 Squatters allowed at hotel

Members of Anal said on Friday most of the group had gone out to run errands.

A doorman for a neighbouring townhouse told the Telegraph he believed a notice had been tapped to the front door by a bailiff firm. He said one of the squatters had removed it.

A member of the group said: With this building you can see it's empty and it's falling apart in places and there's dust on the windows.

The reason we have done this is because it's cold and we have a lot of homeless people in the Victoria area that need shelter.

Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m Show all 6 1 /6 Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m The dining room The layout and design of the formal dining room and interlinking study on the ground floor has been reinstated exactly as Baroness Thatcher had it during her 22 years at the property, providing an impressive link to the propertys historical significance. Savills Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m The '73' plaque Several features from Baroness Thatchers time at the property remain, beginning at its entrance; the inlaid 73 plaque in the doorstep was installed by her in 1991 Savills Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m The study "If only the walls could talk, one could almost imagine Ronald Reagan and other heads of state sitting with Baroness Thatcher in her dining room, Richard Gutteridge, Head of Savills Sloane Street office said. Savills Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m Hallway Leconfield chose Hopton stone flooring for the entrance hall, the same used in the Houses of Parliament. The front door is steel-lined ensuring it is bombproof. Savills Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m Exterior Chester Square is one of Londons most prestigious and desirable addresses. Plaques on the other side of the square commemorate Matthew Arnold, the poet, and Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein Savills Margaret Thatcher's Belgravia home yours for 30m The drawing room The entire first floor of the property is dedicated to the drawing room and library, with views of Chester Square and 3.5 metre ceiling heights. It was often said to be Baroness Thatchers favourite room of the house. The relaxed yet luxurious space now also features a pair of original Louis XVI fireplaces and parquet flooring, selected to match the houses original floor. Savills

We researched the building before we took it and saw it was owned by this Russian oligarch so we figured the damage caused to him compared to the gains for the homeless community is nothing.

This is nothing to him but for these homeless people it could stop them from dying, especially with snow on the way apparently.

On Facebook, the group criticised this capitalistic greed-based way of living, saying, innocent people are dying every day for no reason other than our common ignorance.
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Joking about death, disease, deformity, or warfare is a sign of a person's intelligence, a study has found.

Research led by Ulrike Willinger at the Medical University of Vienna and published in the the journal Cognitive Processing, aimed to demonstrate the links between black humour, intelligence and a person's levels of aggression.

The study asked 156 adults to rate 12 black humour cartoons from Das Schwarze Buch [The Black Book] by German cartoonist Uli Stein and researchers assessed their comprehension and reactions to the illustrated jokes.

Participants were half women and half men and were 33-years-old on average, all with a variety of education backgrounds.

They were asked to rate the cartoons considering a range of criteria, including the difficulty to understand the joke, its vulgarity, how surprising its punch line was and how interesting the topic was.

One example is a cartoon which shows a general practitioner explaining results of a medical test to a couple with the woman being pregnant. To begin with, here is the good news: Your child will always find a parking space, says the doctor.

The researchers described humour as a two-stage problem-solving process and argued that processing a joke is dependent on intelligence.

The results showed that those who enjoyed black humour jokes were more intelligent, had a higher education level and were less aggressive.

On the other hand, those who were least inclined to like the dark cartoons presented the lowest level of intelligence and were more likely to have mood changes and display higher levels of aggression.

Three distinctive groups also emerged from the study.

First were people who did not like black humour and did not understand the jokes very well. They were found to have an average intelligence and an average aggression score.

Second, the group of participants who had an average understanding of sick jokes but appreciated them the least were found to have an average IQ score but the highest marks for negative thoughts and aggression.

Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh Show all 11 1 /11 Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A boy holds a snake as he poses for a photograph in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A snake charmer holds a cobra, which was caught in a house in a near-by village, in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A daughter of a snake charmer holds snakes as she eats her breakfast in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A snake charmer plays a gourd flute in front of cobras after the morning prayer at a temple in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh Children of a snake charmer prepare dinner outside their home in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A cobra is seen in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A snake charmer sits on a road with his belongings after returning home from a month-long trip in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh Snakes are seen inside a pot in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh Children of snake charmers sit next to a fire on a cold winter evening in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh Binu Nath poses for a photograph with a snake in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Snake charmers of Uttar Pradesh A wife of a snake charmer stands outside her house in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters

The third group liked and understood black humour cartoons the best and were found to be the most intelligent and least aggressive.

The team said their findings were surprising since they contradicted previous studies, which established a relationship between appreciating sick jokes and being prone to aggression.

In 1905, Freud argued that humour allowed for a temporary release of repressed sexual and aggressive urges.

Whilst a positive association between black humour processing and intelligence can be shown, aggressiveness and bad mood apparently lead to decreased levels of pleasure when dealing with black humour, the study noted.

Researchers concluded processing black humour is seemingly a complex information-processing task that depends on cognitive and emotional aspects.
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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has broken his pledge to travel to the United States if whistleblower Chelsea Manning was pardoned.

He said would only go only if he receives assurances from the US Department of Justice about what  if any  charges he would face.

The Australian computer programmer took sanctuary in Londons Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he has been questioned on allegations of rape.

Julian Assange will leave London's Ecuadorean embassy

He fears the Scandinavian country would then extradite him to the US on what he calls politically motivated espionage charges.

After Wikileaks released material leaked by former soldier Ms Manning  which included documents related to the Iraq war  US authorities began investigating Mr Assange.

Mr Assange said last September that he would surrender to US authorities if Ms Manning was pardoned by Barack Obama  something the former President effectively granted in his final days in office by commuting the sentence from 35 years to just over seven years, the majority of which Manning had already served.

Mr Assange said his lawyers had contacted the US Department of Justice to see if a deal could be done when he was asked about the matter on ITVs The Peston Show.

He said: We have approached the Department of Justice. We havent heard back from them. The ball is in their court. If settling the matter involves going to the US when my rights are protected, then that is something we can discuss.

Questioned about the role that the whistleblowing website played in the outcome of the US election after it released thousands of Hillary Clintons emails, Mr Assange said that Wikileaks had merely published the authentic words of the Democratic presidential candidate and her campaign staff.

He said: People read what she had said and didnt like it. They didnt like how she had rigged the election in the primaries against Bernie Sanders.

Put to him that he had helped propel Mr Trump into the White House, Mr Assange said that Wikileaks had not told people how to interpret the emails or how to vote.

This was a matter for the American people. If the American people decided they prefer Donald Trump then that is up to them, he said.

He denied Russian hacking played any part in obtaining the Clinton emails.

We use a variety of sources. I am one hundred per cent certain this is not material obtained by Russia, he said.

In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Julian-Assange.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange2.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' assange1.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' assange.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' westwood-assange.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' assange.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange3.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange3_1.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange-AP.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange5.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange6.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange-AP.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange-REUT.jpg In pictures: Julian Assange's 'arbitrary detention' Assange-Still-Vimeo.jpg

He added that Wikileaks had called for Mr Trump to publish his tax returns three times during the election and twice again after.

Mr Assange disputed the suggestion that Mr Trump wanted to shut down journalism following his repeated outbursts attacking fake news.

He said: Trump has not been hostile to news organisations, he has been hostile to their accuracy. We understand the partisan nature of journalism is coming to the fore.
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The governments chief trade negotiator will earn almost 10,000 more than the prime minister when they are installed in the role.

The new appointment will be charged with negotiating deals around the world after Brexit.

Critics have said the high wage  almost 10,000 more than the just over 150,000 earned by the prime minister  reveals the tough nature of the job ahead and the lack of talent available for it.

The UK will be unable to secure trade with other countries until Britain until it has left the European Union, which is likely to happen in 2019 at the earliest.

 Donald Trump calls Brexit a 'fantastic thing'

The high-paying role was posted on an internal civil service website, The Guardian reported. The advert said even more money may be available for an exceptional candidate.

Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox, with whom the successful candidate will work closely, earns around 142,500.

Candidates will be selected in March, around the time Theresa May plans to trigger Article 50.

Angus MacNeil, chair of the House of Commons international trade select committee, told the newspaper the large sum was indicative of the fact the UK is desperately thinking What now? What next? that it is paying top dollar.

He added: People complained about a Brussels bureaucracy, but this is probably going to end up being doubled in a Westminster and Whitehall bureaucracy just to replicate that work.

Tim Farron, the stridently anti-Brexit leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: Appointing a trade envoy on 160,000, who will be paid more than the prime minister, who cannot actually do their job for two years, shows how frankly stupid this government is being over Brexit.

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

The Department for International Trade did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment, but told The Guardian: The new expert chief trade negotiation adviser will lead and support the establishment of a world-class trade negotiation function as the UK moves towards leaving the EU.

This role is part of our ongoing recruitment, enabling us to build a team from the widest pool of talent in the civil service and externally, across a range of policy expertise and international experience.
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Donald Trumps cruel ban on people born in certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the US will prevent a British Conservative MP from visiting his children, he has revealed.

Nadhim Zahawi, a British citizen who is now banned from entering the US simply because he was born in Iraq, said the hugely discriminatory ban was demeaning and sad.

He revealed that the ban means he now cannot visit his sons who are studying at Princeton University in the US state of New Jersey, who he previously saw quite a bit.

 Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries

Last year Mr Zahawi travelled to Princeton to care for one of his children who he said had a life-threatening illness. He said this would now be impossible under Mr Trumps new anti-Muslim laws.

The first day of the discriminatory ban has been marked by reports of refugees being turned away at US airports, including people who worked as translators for the US military fighting against Isis.

Theresa May was criticised last night for refusing to condemn the policy, despite British citizens being affected. In the early hours of this morning Downing Street rushed out a U-turn statement saying that she did in fact oppose it, although she has yet to personally criticise it.

The row came just 24 hours after the Prime Minister stood side by side with Mr Trump and hailed a new era of cooperation with the US regime.

Mr Zahawi said that Britain should not turn a blind eye to the policy, which he predicted would fuel support for Isis in Iraq and other countries affected by it.

I dont think we should look away when President Trump makes a mistake, the MP told the BBCs The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

I think as his closest allies, Theresa May made it very clear when she talked about us going after the ideology of Daesh, not just on the battlefield. This plays into their ideology: it is counterproductive.

Speaking of his own personal circumstances, he added: Our two sons are at Princeton University, so we need to travel to America quite a bit.

I dont think Ive felt discriminated against probably since little school, as a boy from Iraq of Kurdish origin, when young kids were very cruel. For the first time in my life since then, last night I felt discriminated against. Its demeaning, its sad.

One of my sons had a life-threatening illness last year, and spent time in a hospital in Princeton. He had wonderful healthcare in Princeton University hospital, but we couldnt have travelled if we were going through the same thing now.

Protesters gather to denounce President Donald Trumps executive order that bans certain immigration, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas (G. Morty Ortega/Getty) (G. Morty Ortega/Getty Images)

There are many other human stories  the community in the UK. There are hundreds of thousands of people who were born in Iraq who are now British citizens. I always thought we were equal.

 May refuses to condemn Muslim ban

Im proud Stratford-upon-Avon, 98 per cent white, voted in Nadhim Zahawi, the son of immigrants, an immigrant to this country, as a member of parliament. I hope hell reconsider this.

Labours Harriet Harman, speaking on the same programme, said Ms May had suggested Mr Trumps ban was nothing to do with us. It is to do with us. I understand she has to be careful but she also has to be strong. Im very disappointed in the Prime Minister.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: President Trump's executive order against refugees and Muslims should shock and appal us all.

Theresa May should have stood up for Britain and our values by condemning his actions. It should sadden our country that she chose not to.

After Trumps hideous actions and Mays weak failure to condemn them, its more important than ever for us to say to refugees, seeking a place of safety, that they will always be welcome in Britain.
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Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland, has joined calls to cancel Donald Trump's planned state visit until he repeals his ban on immigration from some Muslim countries.

Issuing a statement, Ms Davidson said the President should not be welcomed to Britain "while a cruel and divisive policy which discriminates against citizens of the host nation".

Ms Davidson said: "State visits are designed for both the host, and the head of state who is being hosted, to celebrate and entrench the friendships and shared values between their respective countries".

"A state visit from the current President of the United States could not possibly occur in the best traditions of the entreprise while a cruel and divisive policy which discriminates against citizens of the host nation is in place".

She said she hoped Mr Trump "immediately reconsiders his Muslim ban".

The MSP follows a growing list of Tories who have called on Theresa May to block Mr Trump's visit to the UK, which was scheduled for later this year, following the signing of an executive order banning all citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US  including those who already have green cards, visas and dual citizenship with other countries.

Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, said he and his wife would be unable to visit their children who are studying in the US because they were born in Iraq  despite only holding British citizenship.

The politician, who fled Iraq as a Kurdish refugee with his parents in the 1970s, said the order made him feel like a "second-class citizen".

Recommended Theresa May and the Government need to stand up to Donald Trump

When Ms May was challenged to condemn the order during a joint-press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan she initially said that "United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees" but later attempted to backtrack by saying she did not support the order.

She has now ordered Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to call their counterparts in the US to "make representations" about the Muslim ban.

Meanwhile, a Government source told The Independent Mr Johnson and his team were also in contact with Mr Trump's top adviser Steve Bannon and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

Nearly 400,000 people have signed a petition on the Government's e-petitions website calling for Ms May to scrap the state visit  meaning Parliament must consider it for debate.

In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump acknowledges guests as he arrives on the platform at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump shakes hands with Justice John Roberts after taking the oath at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump raises his fists after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama before Trump is inaugurated during ceremonies on the Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump resident-elect Donald Trump arrives on the platform of the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump US President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump waves with wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A woman holds a sign before the start of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Anti-Trump protesters prepare banners for a protest against the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, in Berlin REUTERS In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators shout slogans against US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators march, block foot traffic and clash with U.S. Capitol Police at the entry checkpoints for the Inauguration of Donald Trump Alamy Live News In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators display a banner as people arrive for US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A man displays a placard as people lineup to get into the National Mall for the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump raise their hands as they are surrounded by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Donald Trump protests outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush arrive for the Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden share an umbrella as President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address at the inauguration in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Advisors to President-elect Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon depart from services at St. John's Church during the Presidential Inauguration in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump take cover as they are hit by pepper spray by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump An activist demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump is helped after being hit by pepper spray on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer tries to tackle a protester demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters/Adrees Latif In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Police arrest and detain a protester in the street in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer falls to the ground as another shoots pepper spray at protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters

Ms May announced the visit in the hours before the executive order was signed on Friday during a visit to Washington in the hopes of negotiating a trade deal after Britain leaves the EU.

The visit is set to include Mr Trump being granted an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace and an opportunity to address both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall.

But outspoken Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said Mr Trump should not be allowed to speak in Westminster Hall, which is the oldest chamber in Parliament and has been the site of addresses from revered world leaders such as Nelson Mandela, saying it had "great significance and should be reserved for leaders who have made an outstanding positive difference in the world".

She added that those who wish to "fawn" on him could do but not in Parliament.
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Labour will move to summon Boris Johnson to Parliament to account for the British citizens affected by Donald Trumps Muslim ban.

The Independent understands that shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry will table an urgent question on Monday morning with the aim of getting answers out of the Foreign Secretary.

Subject to approval by the Speaker, Mr Johnson will be asked to attend Parliament to answer questions on the Governments response to the ban, which has been criticised across the political spectrum.

 Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries

Recommended Corbyn calls for Trump UK ban until Muslim ban is lifted

Theresa May on Saturday refused to criticise Donald Trumps policy when questioned by reporters  despite it affecting hundreds of thousands of British citizens born in other countries on the list.

One of Ms Mays own Conservative MPs, Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, says he has been told he is affected by the ban, which singles out citizens from a number of Muslim majority countries.

Other high-profile people affected are understood to include Somali-born British Olympian Sir Mo Farah.

Jeremy Corbyn today said Ms May should cancel Donald Trumps state visit to the UK until the ban is lifted.

The Prime Minister invited Mr Trump on her visit to Washington DC this week, where she pledged a closed alliance with the US Presidents new regime.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Mr Johnson tweeted at lunchtime: We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality.

After a period of sustained criticism on Saturday, Downing Street released a statement criticising the plans in the early hours of Sunday morning. It said: Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.

But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking.
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The Mayor of London has described Donald Trumps ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries as shameful and cruel.

Sadiq Khan has released a statement responding to Mr Trumps executive order and said the policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance.

The order bans immigration from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 120 days under measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out.

 Sadiq Khan: Donald Trump's negative rhetoric about Muslims is helping Isis

It has received wide condemnation from the international community and some have questioned its legality.

Mr Khan pointed out many British citizens will be affected by the new rules and was pleased Theresa May had also raised concerns.

The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President can't just turn his back on this global crisis - all countries need to play their part, the Mayor of London said.

While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.

I'm pleased that the Prime Minister has now said she and the government do not agree with President Trump's policy, which will affect many British citizens who have dual nationality, including Londoners born in countries affected by the ban, he added.

Mr Khan and the President have a history of clashing and in the past the Mayor criticised many of Mr Trumps campaign tactics.

During an interview with ITV Good Morning Mr Trump responded to Mr Khans previous remarks and said they were ignorant and very rude.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The full statement:

President Trump's ban on refugees and immigrants from certain countries is shameful and cruel.

The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President can't just turn his back on this global crisis - all countries need to play their part.

While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.

I'm pleased that the Prime Minister has now said she and the government do not agree with President Trump's policy, which will affect many British citizens who have dual nationality, including Londoners born in countries affected by the ban.

I will work with the government on behalf of Londoners affected.

As a nation that, like the USA, values tolerance, diversity and freedom, we cannot just shrug our shoulders and say: 'It's not our problem'.
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Donald Trump offered Theresa May his hand as they walked down a ramp in a chivalrous gesture, Downing Street has said.

Footage of the two world leaders walking along the White House colonnade hand-in-hand quickly spread around the world.

The apparent closeness between the two leaders also helped Mr Trump show that he is not a pariah on the world stage, particularly following his offensive remarks about women.

Theresa May was the first world leader to visit Donald Trump

It also could help Ms May as a strong alliance between the UK and US could be useful in the forthcoming talks with the European Union about Brexit.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "If you watch the video, theyre walking along and there is an unseen ramp.

He offered his hand, which she took as they stepped down the ramp."

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

She agreed that it was a "chivalrous gesture" on Mr Trumps part, putting to bed rumours that the US President had needed help down the ramp.

One outlandish rumour even suggested he was afraid of ramps and stairs.

Mr Trump and Ms May agreed over lunch that the two countries would hold immediate talks about a trade deal that would come into effect after Brexit, which will also add to the Prime Ministers hand when talks with the EU begin.
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Inquiries into killings during The Troubles are unfairly targeting police officers and soldiers, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has claimed.

James Brokenshire, who was appointed to the role in July of last year, made the allegations in a column for The Sunday Telegraph.

Police in Northern Ireland are currently re-investigating all deaths from the Troubles, known as historical inquiries. More than 3,000 people died in the ethno-political conflict, which spanned several decades before ending due to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Among the deaths, a number of those being investigated relate to allegations of brutality and misconduct by police and the British Army.

The army was stationed in Northern Ireland throughout much of the conflict.

Their presence had been controversial amid concerns that an army should not have been deployed to residential areas and this placed locals at considerable risk.

While the army was initially welcomed by nationalists, who saw them as a protective neutral force against police brutality, they soon lost support and came to be perceived as antagonists in the conflict also.

One of the most infamous instances of army action was the killing of 14 people in Derry city, also known as Londonderry, in 1972 when soldiers opened fire on a peaceful civil rights protest by nationalists. Those responsible claimed they were acting in self-defence and that those who died had been armed terrorists. In 2010 an inquiry found the victims were innocent and unarmed, instead finding the army to be responsible.

In particular the police force, then called the Royal Ulster Constabulary or RUC, was widely acknowledged to be a sectarian organisation which enacted biased policing and often violence against nationalist or Catholic communities. It was disbanded as part of the peace process and replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

A number of former soldiers are now facing prosecution for alleged murder.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images 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

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Brokenshire states: It is clear the current focus is disproportionately on those who worked for the state  former members of the Armed Forces and the RUC.

He added that the vast majority of service personnel had conducted themselves with great, courage, professionalism and distinction.

London law firm Devonshire has said they believe there could be as many as 1,000 former soldiers facing prosecution as part of historic inquiries connected to the conflict.
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Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of betrayal of his socialist values for refusing to stand in the way of Brexit.

Almost 2,000 Labour activists signed an open letter published on Saturday night criticising Mr Corbyns stance on the triggering of Article 50.

The intervention appears to indicate a significant disillusionment among part of Mr Corbyns core support, with around half of the signatories understood to have previously backed him for leader.

Labour is enforcing a three-line whip against its MPs at the second reading of the Governments Article 50 bill, with a number of frontbenchers and whips stepping down so they can vote against it.

The party has put forward a number of amendments to the Bill and says it may not whip its MPs at future readings if they are not accepted. However, it says it will not whip against triggering Article 50.

The stance appears to be calibrated to prevent the Conservatives from claiming that Labour is blocking the referendum result  but also give its MPs in Remain-supporting areas flexibility to back their constituents.

The party faces a difficult balancing act over Brexit, with around two thirds of Labour voters having backed Remain but around two thirds of Labour constituencies having backed Leave.

Some MPs have already publicly refused to back Labours stance at the second reading: shadow education minister Tulip Siddiq and at least two whips, Thangam Debbonaire and Jeff Smith, have said they will not vote for the bill.

The letter, published by The Observer, says: We are the grassroots that you have always been keen to represent.

All of us share core Labour values of equality and opportunity for all, and we share a belief in fighting for social justice.

And while we may differ in our beliefs and feelings with regards to your leadership, we are nevertheless united in our belief that you and your leadership team have made the wrong call on the partys policy on Brexit.

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

It continues: You identify yourself as a democratic socialist. As the noun here is socialist, this means that a socialist is what you are first and foremost.

However, supporting Brexit is a betrayal of your socialist values, because you know that the people who will be hurt the most by it are the people you have spent your entire life seeking to represent and support.
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Theresa May has asked the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary to contact senior figures in Donald Trump's team in the wake of the new President's 'Muslim ban' executive order.

The Prime Minister held a conference call with Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd on Sunday morning in which the instruction was given to make the calls, following uproar over Mr Trump's plan to temporarily ban travellers coming in to the US from several Muslim-majority countries.

Downing Street sources said the aim of the calls is to make representations, with the goal of protecting the rights of British nationals. But it follows anger from Labour, Tory and Lib Dem MPs alike after Ms May's initial refusal to condemn the policy in the wake of her trip to see Mr Trump.

Calls were said to be made to both the State Department and Department of Homeland Security. However, another Government source told The Independent Mr Johnson and his team were additionally in contact with Trump's top adviser Steve Bannon and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

According to the source the early indications were that the Trump administration are sympathetic and "understand" the UK's difficulty with the controversial policy.

After Mr Trump made the order, Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said the President should not be allowed to address either House of Parliament on his pending state visit. She was backed by other Tory MPs including Heidi Allen and ex-foreign minister Alistair Burt.

Ms May repeatedly refused to comment on the policy at a press conference in Turkey on Saturday, leading to accusations that she is putting good relations with Mr Trump and the hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal ahead of the interests of British nationals. Following a backlash Downing Street eventually put out a statement saying she "does not agree" with the policy.

Another of her own MPs, Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, spoke out on the matter saying it was "sad" that he might now be banned from the States, where his children are studying.

 Theresa May congratulates Donald Trump on 'stunning election victory'

British Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah who lives and trains in Portland, Oregon, also attacked the ban, calling it "deeply troubling". The Somali-born runner argued that the Presidents executive order had made him feel like an alien.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Sir Mo wrote: "On 1 January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27 January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien."

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for the Mr Trump's state visit to be postponed until the Muslim country ban is lifted.
Being a publicist or a press secretary is no easy job, by any stretch of the imagination.

It requires an in-depth knowledge of the media, an understanding of the complexities of both maintaining morale and support, working with journalists, and knowing who they work for and what their publication is about.

The Onion, for those who don't know, is a satirical website / publication that's been running since 1988. They're primarily known for creating clearly outlandish news stories that satirise those in power in both the US and around the world.

Sean Spicer, who we've talked about before, retweeted a video from the Onion yesterday - thinking that it was a pro-Trump article and not, y'know, a pisstake of him and everything he stands for.

Here's the original video in question.

.@SeanSpicer's role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation. pic.twitter.com/IlRkZPbDZl  The Onion (@TheOnion) January 29, 2017

And here's Spicer's tweet, with his approval of it.

And here's a screenshot, in case Spicer recognises his mistake and decides to delete the tweet. In other news, satire is officially dead so there's that.

Via Twitter
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Nicola Sturgeon has warned the Prime Minister to heed the voice of Scotland before time runs out, ahead of key Brexit talks.

Scotland's First Minister urged Theresa May to take proposals from the devolved administrations seriously when she chairs this weeks crucial meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) in Cardiff.

On the agenda will be a Scottish Government paper setting out options to keep Scotland in the European single market even if the UK leaves, reflecting the majority Remain vote north of the border.

Ms Sturgeons statement echoed a committee of Scottish politicians who said that it was crucial for Brexit minister David Davis to appear at Holyrood before EU withdrawal negotiations begin.

Joan McAlpine MSP, convener of the Scottish Parliaments European Committee, said it is essential that the committee hears from a senior member of the UK Government to highlight the many concerns of the Scottish people.

She said the committee also wants to gain clarity on the UK Governments position in relation to Scotland.

Proposals to remain in the single market have also been put forward by Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones and Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood.

A UK Government spokesman insisted that the proposals from the devolved administrations were being studied carefully.

Speaking before the meeting, Ms Sturgeon said it was one of the most important since the result of the EU referendum seven months ago.

It comes at a crucial juncture, with the clock ticking down to the triggering of Article 50 and with, so far, no sign whatsoever that the UK Government is taking Scotlands position remotely seriously, she said. The JMC meeting in Cardiff is another chance for the Prime Minister to heed the voice of Scotland and those of the other devolved governments  and she must take the opportunity to do so.

Ms Sturgeon added the hard Brexit proposed by Ms May could be economically disastrous for the UK and catastrophic for jobs, investment and living standards in Scotland.

She said: The Prime Minister has also warned that it could herald a new economic model, which leaves the UK as a low-wage, deregulated country where job insecurity is high and where workers rights and social protections are stripped away.

That is the stark reality of the Tories vision for the country, and it is one that will fill most people in Scotland with dread. We have compromised by publishing detailed proposals to keep Scotland in the European single market even if the rest of the UK leaves. Those compromise proposals are formally on the agenda for this meeting, and so the Prime Minister tomorrow has a chance to show she is serious about her pledge to properly consider those proposals.

The Tories words on respecting Scotlands voice had amounted to nothing more than empty rhetoric, she said.

Ms Sturgeon also warned that Ms Mays plans to take the UK out of the single market undoubtedly makes a second referendum on Scottish independence more likely.

Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Show all 13 1 /13 Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Supreme Court Brexit Challenge People wait to enter the public gallery outside the Supreme Court ahead of the challenge against a court ruling that Theresa May's government requires parliamentary approval to start the process of leaving the European Union, in Parliament Square, central London Reuters Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Gina Miller, co-founder of investment fund SCM Private arrives at the Supreme court in London on the first day of a four-day hearing Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge A man waves the EU flag in front of the Supreme Court Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Satirical artist Kaya Mar poses with two of his paintings in front of the Supreme Court Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Pro-Europe protestors dressed as Supreme Court Justices stand outside the Supreme Court ahead of the first day of a hearing into whether Parliament's consent is required before the Brexit process can begin. The eleven Supreme Court Justices will hear the government's appeal, following the High Court's recent decision that only Parliament can trigger Article 50 Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge The eleven Supreme Court Justices will hear the government's appeal, following the High Court's recent decision that only Parliament can trigger Article 50 Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Businesswoman Gina Miller arrives at the Supreme Court ahead of the first day of a hearing into whether Parliament's consent is required before the Brexit process can begin Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Attorney General Jeremy Wright arrives at the Supreme Court in London EPA Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Protesters outside the Supreme Court in London, where the Government is appealing against a ruling that the Prime Minister must seek MPs' approval to trigger the process of taking Britain out of the European Union PA wire Supreme Court Brexit Challenge A protesters wearing a judge's wigs and robes stands outside the Supreme Court ahead of the challenge against a court ruling that Theresa May's government requires parliamentary approval to start the process of leaving the European Union, in Parliament Square, central London Reuters Supreme Court Brexit Challenge A protester holds up a placard outside the Supreme Court ahead of the challenge against a court ruling that Theresa May's government requires parliamentary approval to start the process of leaving the European Union, in Parliament Square, central London Reuters Supreme Court Brexit Challenge Pro-Europe protestors dressed as Supreme Court Justices stand outside the Supreme Court Getty Supreme Court Brexit Challenge A man waiting to enter the public gallery waves a European Union flag outside the Supreme Court ahead of the challenge against a court ruling that Theresa May's government requires parliamentary approval to start the process of leaving the European Union, in Parliament Square, central London Reuters

A spokesman for the UK Government said: We have been determined from the start that the devolved administrations should be fully engaged as we form the UKs negotiating position for leaving the EU. The JMC process gives Scottish Government ministers direct access to the UK Government as we plan our EU exit.

All proposals from the devolved administrations are being studied carefully. We are focused on getting the right deal for Scotland and the UK as a whole. That means the best possible access to the EU market for British businesses. It also means ensuring a strong future for our United Kingdom, which the Scottish Governments own export figures show is worth four times more to Scotlands economy than the EU single market.
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More than 500,000 people have signed a petition calling for the US President to be prevented from making a state visit to the United Kingdom, in just a few hours.

The UK government responds to all petitions that receive more than 10,000 signatures, and at 100,000 signatures it must consider them for debate in Parliament.

Citing Mr Trumps well documented misogyny and vulgarity, the petition calls for Mr Trump to be allowed into the country, but not invited to meet the Queen.

 Petition to ban Trump: 12 minutes of signatures in 30 seconds

At the time of writing on Sunday afternoon, approximately 1,000 people were adding their name to the petition every minute.

Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, the petition reads, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.

It continues: Donald Trumps well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales. Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit.

The petition met the criteria for consideration by 12.45pm on Sunday, just a few hours after exceeding 10,000 signatures. At one point it was signed over 56,000 times in an hour.

Petition data shows most of the signatures came from north, south, and central London, with other hotspots scattered across the UK, including in the cities of Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester.

Theresa May visited Donald Trump in Washington on Friday (Getty Images)

The Prime Minister first announced last week, during her visit to Washington, that Mr Trump had accepted an invitation from the Queen to visit the UK later this year.

Theresa May refused three times during her trip to condemn Mr Trumps controversial immigration policy, which bans people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

One of Ms Mays own MPs, Nadhim Zahawi, said the ban would stop him entering the country. He said he felt demeaned by the policy, adding: For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against.

In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters

The petition was launched as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Mr Trumps state visit to be put on hold for as long as the immigration ban is in place.

Just before midnight on Saturday, under considerable pressure from the public, a spokesperson for Ms May released a statement opposing the ban, saying: Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.

But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals.

Campaigners are currently calling on social media for London to stage the biggest protest ever against Mr Trump, if his visit to the UK does take place.
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Theresa May "does not agree" with a contentious ban on immigration implemented by Donald Trump, Downing Street has said.

In a statement released late on Saturday evening, and responding to mounting anger from within her own party, the Prime Minister passed judgment on the President's executive order on immigration, which bars entry to the US for citizens from seven countries in the Middle East and Africa

A spokesman said: "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.

 May refuses to condemn Muslim ban

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking."

It came after a Conservative MP revealed he was subject to the ban.

Ms May and the President in the Oval Office of the White House (PA)

Arriving back in the UK after a three-day visit to the US and Turkey, the No 10 spokesman added that British officials would be studying Mr Trumps ban to assess the impact for British citizens.

The statement added: "We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals.

"If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

 Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries

Travel restrictions affect those with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen entering the US.

Ms May has been sharply criticised around the world for her refusal to condemn the blanket ban on citizens of those countries entering America. The policy also applies to those holding dual-citizenship and those with a green card, which affords permanent residency status.

Some of the fiercest criticism came from within her own party, after it emerged Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi was banned from travelling to the US because he was born in Baghdad.

"I'm a British citizen & so proud to have been welcomed to this country. Sad to hear ill be banned from the USA based on my country of birth," he wrote.

Recommended Theresa May repeatedly refuses to condemn Donald Trump immigration ban

Tory MP for South Cambridgeshire Heidi Allen tweeted directly to the PM: "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of @theresa_may."

David Warburton, the MP for Somerton and Frome, said: "When you do something astonishingly dumb, your closest friends need to tell you. That's what special relationships are for."

Earlier on Saturday, during a press conference in Ankara with the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yldrm, Ms May failed on three occasions to condemn the travel ban in force for the seven Muslim-majority countries.

Asked whether she viewed the executive order as an action of the leader of the free world, the Prime Minister replied that she was very pleased to have met Mr Trump, before evading the question by hailing Turkeys reception of millions of refugees.
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A Conservative MP has revealed that he faces being banned from the US under Donald Trumps executive order, as he was born in Baghdad.

Nadhim Zahawi, who fled Iraq as a Kurdish refugee with his parents in the 1970s, confirmed he had been told by a US immigration lawyer that he and his wife would be barred from entering the US under the new order which temporarily halts all immigration from seven Muslim-dominated countries.

The order, which was signed by Mr Trump on Friday, blocks entry to people who were born or have citizenship of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen even if they have citizenship of another country, such as Britain, or have a green card entitling them to work and live in the US.

 May refuses to condemn Muslim ban

The order also bans the acceptance of refugees from Syria indefinitely  though the White House has indicated it will consider applications from Syrian Christians.

This means the Stratford-upon-Avon MP, who has lived in the UK since he was nine and is a British citizen, will not be able to go to the US while the order is in place, despite not holding Iraqi citizenship.

The order also applies to Mr Zahawis wife who was born in Iraq.

In a series of tweets he said it was a sad day for the USA and he felt like a second class citizen.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

He wrote: Im a British citizen and so proud to have been welcomed to this country.

Sad to hear Ill be banned from the USA based on the country of my birth.

It comes as Prime Minister Theresa May is under increasing pressure to denounce the executive order after she visited Washington the day it was signed.

When asked about the issue at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, she repeatedly refused to criticise the policy, saying: The United States is responsible for the United States policy on refugees, the United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdoms policy on refugees.

Several leading Labour figures, including current leader Jeremy Corbyn and former leader Ed Miliband, have condemned the order and Ms Mays own party are showing disquiet over the order.

Sarah Wollaston, an influential Tory backbencher, called for Mr Trump not to be allowed to deliver a speech inside Westminster Hall  where many foreign dignitaries - such as Nelson Mandela - have addressed both Houses of Parliament  because the hall has great significance and should be reserved for leaders who have made an outstanding positive difference in the world.

She then made a pointed jibe at Ms May, saying those who wish to fawn over him should feel free to do so.

She also called the new president a sickening piece of work.

Her disdain for Ms Mays comments was also shared by several other Tory MPs.

Heidi Allen said if Ms May wanted to be considered a strong leadership, she should not be afraid to tell someone powerful when theyre wrong.
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Tory MPs are reportedly considering a rebellion over Theresa Mays refusal to publish a Brexit plan before the vote to trigger Article 50.

Several MPs have told the Government they will need to publish a White Paper on their intentions for the negotiations so it can be questioned about its priorities.

The legislation to invoke Article 50 is set to be debated in the House of Commons this week and a rebellion could potentially derail the Governments plans.

Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, said it was of the utmost importance that a plan is put forward within a couple of weeks.

I remain of the view that it is of the utmost importance that Parliament should have a White Paper, certainly before it debates committee stage of the Article 50 Bill, Mr Grieve told The Telegraph. I believe that such a White Paper will be very helpful to the Government in getting parliamentary support.

A second Tory MP added: Clearly we want to see the White Paper as early as possible in the Article 50 Bill debates so we can comment on behalf of our constituents on the Governments objectives. We're pretty sure ministers get that link.

Although Downing Street has agreed to publish a White Paper it has not yet named a date for when this will be released. Some have argued publishing information about the plans would give EU countries an advantage during the negotiations.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images 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 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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, 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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. 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The debate on invoking Article 50 will commence this week and an initial vote will take place on Wednesday. A final binding vote will occur the following week and both Labour and the Tories have ordered their MPs to vote in favour of the legislation.

Nevertheless a total of 18 rebel Labour backbenchers have endorsed a motion to throw out the bill before it reaches its second hearing.

The motion argues the Government has not safeguarded British interests in the single market.

The Independent has approached The Conservative Party for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.
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Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose film The Salesman is nominated for an Oscar in the best foreign-language film category, has no plans to attend next months Academy Awards ceremonyeven if hes given an exemption to President Trumps visa ban.

The president signed his executive order Friday, implementing a 90 day ban for citizens in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It also suspended all refugees from entering the country for 120 days while Syrian refugees are barred indefinitely.

After planning to attend the February 23 ceremony in Los Angeles, Farhadi issued a statement to the New York Times on Sunday calling President Trumps executive actions in no way acceptable" to him "even if exceptions were to be made for my trip.

I would therefore like to convey via this statement what I would have expressed to the press were I to travel to the United States. Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way, he explained. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an us and them mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of them and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.

This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same, he continued. For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears. Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.

Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Show all 20 1 /20 Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-1 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-2 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-3 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-4 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 28: Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against a ban on Muslim immigration at San Francisco International Airport on January 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspends the entries of all Syrian refugees, as well as barring entries from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. Stephen Lam/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-5 A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Donald Trump's executive ban on immigration from several Muslim countries, on January 28, 2017 in Brooklyn. The judge issued an emergency stay on part of Trump's executive order, ruling that sending refugees stopped at U.S. airports back to their countries would be harmful. Yana Paskova/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-6 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-7 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-8 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-9 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-10 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-11 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-12 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-13 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-14 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-15 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-16 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-17 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-18 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-19 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-20 Passengers wait in line to check in at the American Airlines terminal at JFK International Airport August 10, 2006 in the Queens borough of New York City. British authorities arrested 21 people and halted a anallegedly terrorist plot to use liquid explosives concealed in carry-on luggage to blow up airliners traveling between Britain and the U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said that the plot appeared to be directed at U.S. carriers flying out of Heathrow. such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines. Stephen Chernin/Getty

Still, he said he believes there are similarities among people and their cultures across the globe and those similarities far outweigh the differences.

I believe that the root cause of many of the hostilities among nations in the world today must be searched for in their reciprocal humiliation carried out in its past and no doubt the current humiliation of other nations are the seeds of tomorrows hostilities. To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity, he explained. I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations.

Taraneh Alidoosti, the star of The Salesman, spoke out against Trumps proposal by announcing her own boycott on Twitter. Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist, she wrote. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest.
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Donald Trump has ordered his generals and security advisors to deliver him within a month a plan on how to defeat Isis.

In the latest three executive orders to be signed by Mr Trump, the president said that within 30 days he needed proposals for taking the fight to the Islamic extremists.

He also signed a order to impose a five-year lobbying ban for administration officials, and one that reorganised the National Security Councils structure.

 Donald Trump open to working with Moscow to fight Isis in Syria

The action regarding the NSC will outline new procedures and organisational structure of the organisation to better adapt to the threats, reports said.

The NSC is led by retired Lt Gen Michael Flynn, who spent much of Saturday in the Oval Office as Mr Trump had scheduled phone calls with world leaders.

Administration officials also said the lobbying ban would include a lifetime prohibition on lobbying on behalf of foreign governments.

Of the lobbying ban, he said: This was something, the five year ban, that I have been taking a lot about on the campaign trail.

Mr Trump signed a flurry of executive actions into effect in his first full week in office. Some, such as actions directing agencies to begin dismantling Obamacare, struck at President Barack Obamas legacy.

So far, Mr Trump has delivered on campaign promises with actions directing the construction of a wall on the US.-Mexico border and limiting immigration into the United State from several countries.
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Justin Trudeau has responded to Donald Trumps immigration ban by saying Canada welcomes refugees who have been rejected from the US.

The Canadian Prime Minister also said he intends on talking to Mr Trump about the success of the refugee and immigration policy in Canada.

Mr Trudeau made the heart felt plea on social media and also uploaded an image of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto airport.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada, he tweeted.

The tweet has received over 369,000 retweets so far and Welcome to Canada began trending in the country.

The Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, echoed Mr Trudeau's sentiments saying: We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality, CBS News reported.

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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. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. 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Mr Trumps executive order bans immigration from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 120 days under measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out.

It has been widely condemned by the international community and some have questioned its legality.
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New York Citys mayor has condemned Donald Trumps ban on citizens from certain Muslim dominated countries calling it simply un-American.

Bill de Blasio, who has been an outspoken critic of the new president, said the executive order which introduced ban on all immigration from seven Middle Eastern countries  including those with green cards, visas and dual citizenship of other countries  sent out a horrible message to people around the world

In the early hours of the morning a New York judge, Ann Donnelly, ruled the bans on refugees and people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen was unconstitutional and temporarily halted the order  allowing people who already had visas into the US.

Mr de Blasio then tweeted that the temporary stay was just the beginning of peoples fight against the order.

The order has meant several people were detained at JFK in New York and other airports around the country for hours at a time.

The detentions attracted mass protests with demonstrators flooding into JFKs Terminal 4 demanding the release of two Iraqis who had come to the US on valid visas.

Despite the judges order Homeland Security has said it will continue to enforce the travel ban in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people.
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Airbnb will offer free housing to refugees affected by Donald Trumps travel ban, the business CEO has announced.

The company is doing so to express solidarity with those who face homelessness under the controversial new ban, citing concerns that the policy is not right.

Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of the sharing economy accommodation company, announced the new policy on Twitter.

He wrote: Open doors brings all of US together. Closing doors further divides US. Lets all find ways to connect people not separate them.

Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected. Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stay tuned for more, contact me if in urgent need for housing.

The gesture comes amid growing backlash to President Trumps decision to sign an executive order banning all refugees, as well as immigrants from seven majority Muslim countries, seeking to enter the US.

 Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries

As reports emerged of dozens of individuals and families being refused entry at airports in the US, protesters gathered at JFK Airport in New York. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance joined the protest by refusing to pick up travellers from the airport for an hour. In a statement, it described the ban as inhumane.

A federal judge stayed the deportation of travellers, effectively resulting in a temporary stall on Trumps travel ban, amid concerns it may be unconstitutional.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Brooklyn federal district court judge Ann Donnelly made the ruling, and said: I think the government hasnt had a full chance to think about this.

Mr Trump expressed interest in banning Muslim immigrants from the US during the election campaign trail, when he first proposed the policy. However, he did not outline specific policy proposals, resulting in confusion about whether it would be enacted upon his election.

A week after his inauguration, Mr Trump announced he was signing an executive order to that effect.

Critics have expressed concern that the policy represents growing nationalism and far-right politics in the US.
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Donald Trumps executive order barring immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries is illegal, according to a policy expert.

The US president suspended refugee admissions to the country for 120 days under measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out.

However immigration policy analyst David Bier argued the order was unconstitutional due to a law implemented by Congress more than 50 years ago.

The expert from the Cato Institutes Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity cited the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 in an op-ed piece for the New York Times, which forbids all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin.

Mr Trumps order, titled 'Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States', banned Syrian refugees indefinitely until significant changes are made, and put a temporary block on visitors from countries of particular concern, including Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Mr. Trump asserts that he still has the power to discriminate, pointing to a 1952 law that allows the president the ability to 'suspend the entry' of 'any class of aliens' that he finds are detrimental to the interest of the United States, he wrote in the New York Times. But the president ignores the fact that Congress then restricted this power in 1965, stating plainly that no person could be 'discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the persons race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence'."

He also said the 1965 law was designed to give Americans the freedom to sponsor family members or marry a foreign-born spouse.

If Mr Trump can legally ban an entire region of the world, he would render Congresss vision of unbiased legal immigration a dead letter, he wrote.

An appeals court stopped President Barack Obamas executive actions to spare millions of undocumented immigrants from deportations for the similar reason that he was circumventing Congress. Some discretion? Sure. Discretion to rewrite the law? Not in Americas constitutional system.

It followed reports that green card and visa holders were being blocked from boarding US-bound flights within hours of Mr Trump issuing the order.

US airports were also said to have ordered some passengers who had managed to board flights to return to their point of origin, according to the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

Dutch airline KLM confirmed it had refused carriage to seven passengers on Saturday.

"Worldwide, we had seven passengers whom we had to inform that there was no point in us taking them to the US," spokesperson Manel Vrijenhoek said.

"There is still some lack of clarity about whom this ban affects."
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A Syrian widow who is the subject of an Oscar-nominated film has been barred from travelling to the US ahead of the awards ceremony next month, after Donald Trump implemented a travel ban on some US-bound travellers.

Watani: My Homeland, which tells the true story of a Syrian family forced to flee Aleppo for sanctuary in Germany, is nominated in the Documentary Short Subject category.

But the films protagonist, Hala Kamil, who has previously visited the US as a guest of the United Nations, will not be allowed to enter the country after Mr Trump signed an executive order barring migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria.

Filmed between 2013 and 2016, the documentary tells the family's harrowing story after the father Abu Ali  a commander in the Free Syrian Army  was captured by Islamic State.

Donald Trump speaks in the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia (Olivier Douliery/EPA)

His wife Hala and their four children were the only family left living in a derelict part of the city and managed to escape the fighting to start a new life in a small town in Germany.

Director Marcel Mettelsiefen, who made more than 25 trips to Syria to make the film, said the US Presidents immigration crackdown was a devastating blow to refugees who have already suffered so much.

Hala, who holds both a Syrian and German refugee passport, was due to fly to Washington DC on 14 February in the run-up to the ceremony, but Mr Mettelsiefen said she had been informed she would no longer be allowed to travel.

He said she had a visa and recently returned from a trip to New York, but given the ban on all Syrian nationals  including those holding a green card, which proves the right to permanent residency in the US  she was told not to travel.

This ban is just one thing that comes on top of all the struggles she has been going through, said Mr Mettelsiefen in a phone interview with The Independent.

The international community was not able to respond to what is happening in her country. She is very grateful for how she has been treated in Germany, she knows at least her children are safe, but she also realises how Muslims are perceived around the world, and she is very much aware and afraid.

 When May met Trump - five key points from the leaders' press conference

However, the German-born filmmaker, who was speaking to The Independent from his home in Barcelona, said boycotting the Oscars was not the right thing to do.

If you want to do a political statement, do it on stage, he said. People in Hollywood have been very outspoken. I think we should support and unite with them.

The times are very scary right now, and we are in a crucial moment, but if you want to approach it from the positive side, all this is creating a movement. Society is awakening, especially in the US.

In a separate statement the producer-director added: As Trump seeks to demonise refugees and Muslim people in general, films such as Watani: My Homeland, which tell the human story of refugees become ever more important.

We must reconnect with the common humanity of the refugee experience and we must all remember that the founding story of America is dependent upon people who have fled war, hunger and poverty in search of a better life.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Hala, the courageous mother in Watani, has been to the US as a guest of the UN but now she is rejected from this country on the cruelest basis.

I wanted to make a film that - in these times of hate and division - showed the other side of persecution. It shows life as a refugee through the humanising eyes of children.

These kids are the innocent, unpolitical victims of a turbulent civil war."

Reports on Saturday suggested potentially dozens of travellers from Middle Eastern and African nations caught up in the ban had been stopped at airports around the world.

Some had made it as far as the US before border officials refused them entry.
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Donald Trumps travel bans will continue to be enforced by the The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), despite a New York judge placing a temporary stay on it being executed.

Judge Ann Donnelly ruled the bans on refugees and people from seven majority-Muslim countries, were unconstitutional.

But the DHS said it would continue to enforce all of President Trumps Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people.

 Protests erupt outside JFK Airport after President Trump's immigration ban

It said:President Trumps Executive Orders remain in place - prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the US government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety.

White House officials also insisted there was nothing in the court order which impeded the executive order and it remained in full effect.

Regardless of their legal status in the US, citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen have now been barred from entering the country even if they have the correct documentation.

Islam is the predominant religion in those countries and the order has been widely regarded as an implementation of the ban on Muslims which Mr Trump called for during his electoral campaign, although the President denied this.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The DHS said that the travel ban, passed by the new President by way of executive order, only affected minor portion of international travellers.

But even green card holders - legal permanent US residents who may have lived in the country for years - will need additional screening before they are allowed back into America if they were away at the time of the ban.

Re-entry was not guaranteed but was pending on vetting.

Senior Trump administration officials Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon overruled an initial DHS interpretation that green card holders would be exempt from the order, according to US broadcaster CNN.

The DHS also said the Executive Orders were a first step towards re-establishing control over America's borders and national security.

Later in its statement, the department attempted to strike a conciliatory tone, saying that less than one per cent of an estimated 325,000 air travellers were inconvenienced because of enhanced security measures.

These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders, the statement said. No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States or to demand immigration benefits in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security will comply with judicial orders; faithfully enforce our immigration laws, and implement President Trumps Executive Orders to ensure that those entering the United States do not pose a threat to our country or the American people.
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While green card and visa holders were detained in airports across America and distressed relatives waited to see if loved ones would be released, Ivanka Trump was attending to more pressing matters.

President Donald Trumps daughter, who is said to be his favourite child, shared a photo of her date night with husband Jared Kushner.

She immediately drew heavy criticism for sharing the photo while humanitarian chaos swept across airports around the world. People accused her of extreme insensitivity and labelled the photo wildly offensive, inappropriate and tone deaf.

The post spawned a number of memes juxtaposing the glamorous photo of her silver metallic dress with an image of a refugee in a foil survival bag.

In the shot, the so-called power couple are standing directly in front of a mirrored wall, which shows the hand of Kushner, a property developer who is a senior advisor to Mr Trump, resting on his wife's posterior.

Ivanka, who is a former executive of The Trump Organisation, shared the photo on Instagram and Twitter after attending the Alfalfa Club dinner on Saturday night. Marking a significant break with decades of tradition, her father is reported not to have attended the annual gathering of the most powerful and influential figures in Washington.

Immediately after she shared the photo, people rushed to condemn her, arguing it was clueless to post the image while refugees were detained across America or blocked from boarding US-bound flights. Some poked fun at her choice of dress, suggesting she looked like a baked potato.

It also triggered a torrent of Let them eat cake memes - a reference to the phrase apparently said by a great princess after learning peasants had no bread.

 SAG Awards get political as actors turn on Trump

Strangely tone-deaf to show off this sparkly, tin-foil evening wear given current humanitarian crisis. Seems clueless, wrote Josh Morgerman on Twitter.

Oh, good, the world is burning and families are being torn apart, but you're decked out in tin foil. Cool. #MuslimBan, said Christopher Ehlers.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Mr Trumps ban on refugees entering the US has unleashed chaos and outrage across the world. Protests have swept across American airports and lawyers declared the Presidents actions unconstitutional. Last week, Mr Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning travellers from seven majority-Muslim nations.

This is not the first time Mr Trumps daughter has come under fire. In November, her jewellery company used an interview appearance to promote a $10,800 diamond bracelet from her fashion line. The company later apologised for promoting the jewellery.

A representative for Ivanka did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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Malala Yousafzai has said she is heartbroken about Donald Trumps refugee ban and urged the President to scrap the executive order.

Last week, Mr Trump signed an order suspending the entire US refugee admissions system for 120 days, halting the Syrian refugee programme indefinitely, and banning entry for people from seven majority-Muslim countries such as Syria, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Somalia for 90 days. The billionaire property developer said he would prioritise Christian refugees over those of other religions.

The Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace laureate condemned the President for discriminating against those fleeing war-torn countries.

"I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war," the 19-year-old said in a statement released via The Malala Fund.

"I am heartbroken that America is turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants - the people who helped build your country, ready to work hard in exchange for a fair chance at a new life."

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled-out for discrimination.

Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in an attempt to stop her campaigning for girls education in 2012, referred to a friend named Zaynab, who escaped wars in Somalia, Yemen and Egypt before turning 17. She explained that Zaynab received a visa to go to the US two years ago, where she learned English, graduated from secondary school and is now studying to be a human rights lawyer at university.

Zaynab was separated from her little sister when she fled unrest in Egypt, Yousafzai, who has become a globally renowned campaigner for girls' education and children's rights, said.

"Today her hope of being reunited with her precious sister dims. In this time of uncertainty and unrest around the world, I ask President Trump not to turn his back on the worlds most defenseless children and families.

Mr Trumps ban on refugees entering the US has unleashed chaos and outrage across the world. Protests have swept across American airports and US lawyers have declared the Presidents actions unconstitutional.
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Malia Obama has been spotted at a protest against the Dakota Access pipeline held at the Sundance Film Festival.

The 18-year-old, who is the eldest daughter of former President Barack Obama, was seen at the Standing Rock solidarity event in Park City in Utah on Monday. She is reported to have left her familys Caribbean holiday to attend the largest independent film festival in the US.

Fellow protester and actress, Shailene Woodley, applauded Malia and said it was amazing to see her at the demonstration.

 What is the Dakota Access Pipeline?

To witness a human being and a woman coming in to her own outside of her family and outside of the attachments that this country has on her, but someone whos willing to participate in democracy because she chooses to, Woodley, who has been a key part of the protests, told Democracy Now.

Because she recognises, regardless of her last name, that if she doesnt participate in democracy, there will be no world for her future children.

Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Show all 15 1 /15 Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota A person pours a pepper spray antidote into a protester's eyes during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People swim across a river to where the police officers are standing guard during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota A man holds up a ceremonial object while police officers look down from a hill during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota November Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Two people stand in the water of a river while police officers guard the shore during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota A man stands on a makeshift bridge over a river while police officers stand on the opposite shore during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper sprayed by police after swimming across a creek with other protesters hoping to build a new camp to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, near Cannon Ball, Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Dakota Access Pipeline protesters stand in the foreground and in the waist-deep water of the Cantapeta Creek, northeast of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer. Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Dakota Access Pipeline protesters stand in the foreground and in the waist-deep water of the Cantapeta Creek, northeast of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer. Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People who were tear gassed return to the shore during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People yell at police officers standing on the opposite shore of a river during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance the construction of the $3.8bn (3bn) Dakota Access Pipeline. Last November the US Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit to build the 1,100-mile pipeline. Protesters fear the pipeline could damage drinking water and desecrate sacred grounds.

 Obama pays emotional tribute to his daughters - but Sasha wasn't allowed to attend

While Malia has not spoken out about the election of Donald Trump, her father said her and younger sister, Sasha, were disappointed about his victory. Nevertheless, the former President was insistent that they would remain positive and not mope.

After the billionaire property developers win and the defeat of the first female presidential candidate, Mr Obama had a hopeful message for his daughters. He reminded them to remain positive and fight for people, encouraging them not to worry about an apocalypse but focus on moving forward.

Malia, who left the White House just over a week ago, will start Harvard University in September. She is currently on a gap year, having graduated from Sidwell Friends, last summer. Sidwell Friends is a private school in Washington which was attended by Chelsea Clinton, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Archibald Roosevelt.
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New York taxi drivers are going on strike to protest Donald Trumps ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a non-profit group which links cab drivers in the city, announced a one hour strike in solidarity with those who were being turned away under the controversial new ban.

The group announced their members and supporters would be ceasing work between 6pm and 7pm local time at the JFK airport, where many of those affected were being turned away.

In a social media post, the group said: We cannot be silent. We got to work to welcome people to a land that once welcomed us. We will not be divided.

The Alliance later posted a photo of the taxi ranks at JFK Airport standing vacant.

In a further statement, the Alliance said that the group decided upon the action as it has a membership [which] is largely Muslim, a workforce thats almost universally immigrant and a working-class movement that is rooted in the defense of the oppressed.

They added: We say no to this inhumane and unconstitutional ban.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

President Trump signed an executive order banning all refugees for four months, as well as suspending entry for travellers from seven countries which have a Muslim majority.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside JFK Airport after it emerged dozens of individuals and families had been refused entry. Further actions, protests and demonstrations are anticipated in the coming days.

A federal judge granted a stay on deportations, meaning in effect the executive order has been partially blocked, while the judiciary considers whether it is constitutional. Judge Ann Donnelly, who made the decision at a federal district court in Brooklyn, said: I think the government hasnt had a full chance to think about this.

President Trump had discussed during his election campaign that he wished to ban Muslim people from entering the US, citing security concerns. The move appears to be a core policy in his new administration which is increasingly overt in its nationalism.

During his inauguration speech, the politician told crowds From now on, it will be America first! America first! The announcement was criticised internationally, amid concerns the rhetoric evokes far-right nationalist sentiment and exclusionary government.
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The chief legal advisers to several US states are considering a court challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order, which restricts people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

State attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Hawaii said they were evaluating what specific claims could be filed, and in which court.

A lawsuit brought by states would mark a serious strengthening of the opposition to Mr Trump's controversial order, which has sparked protests across the country since it was signed last week.

We do believe the executive order is unconstitutional, said Hawaii's attorney general Douglas Chin. declining to give any more detail.

There certainly are conversations underway, added Joe Grace, a spokesman for Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro.

Democrat attorneys general have long been expected to lead a fierce resistance against Mr Trump, in the same way Republican legal chiefs opposed former President Barack Obama.

But it remains unclear how many states would join an effort to have the executive order ruled unconstitutional and he three states who have so far expressed intent might also ultimately decide not to file a lawsuit.

Mr Trump has insisted that the order was not a Muslim ban and said the measures were long overdue.

Protesters have surrounded airports in the United States where people with valid visas or refugee status have been detained since Mr Trump signed the order.

In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters

A federal judge in New York ordered a stay on Mr Trump's deportation order, and said stranded travellers could remain in the country.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the emergency court order, said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports after Mr Trump signed the order.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it would comply with judicial orders but that Mr Trump's immigration restrictions remained in effect.
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The White House has defended its decision not to mention Jews or anti-Semitism in its Holocaust Remembrance Day statement after receiving widespread criticism.

On International Holocaust Day on Friday, President Donald Trump failed to explicitly mention Nazi Germanys mass murder of six million Jews.

Critics argued the omission served to generalise the genocide. The head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jonathan Greenblatt, said the exclusion of the word Jews  the main victims of the Holocaust  was puzzling and troubling.

The Trump administration failed to respond to questions about the statement until Saturday, when spokeswoman Hope Hicks sent CNN a link to a Huffington Post story about the millions of people who were killed by the Nazis for their ethnicities, disabilities, religious beliefs, political views or sexual orientation.

Despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered, Hicks insisted.

The aide refused to answer a question about whether Mr Trump did not mention Jews because he did not want to offend other Holocaust victims, saying only: It was our honour to issue a statement in remembrance of this important day.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Hicks initially referred the news network to a statement from Ronald Lauder of the World Jewish Congress which appeared to criticise Greenblatt and the ADL.

It does no honour to the millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust to play politics with their memory, the Lauder statement read. Any fair reading of the White House statement today on the International Holocaust Memorial Day will see it appropriately commemorates the suffering and the heroism that mark that dark chapter in modern history.

Instead of mentioning Jews in Fridays controversial statement, the White House only referred to innocent people targeted by the Nazis.

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It is with a heavy heart and sombre mind that we remember and honour the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust, the statement read. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror. Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.

"In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.

 Pope meets Rabbis and warns about dangers of anti-Semitism

The billionaire property developers Holocaust Day statement is very different to those issued by former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, who all explicitly mentioned the plight of Jewish people.

Mr Trump drew heavy criticism for his statement, with Reza Aslan, an Iranian-American author, saying: This is not an accidental omission. He is generalising the Holocaust the way the Iranian government or Neo-Nazis do. Theres a purpose behind it.

The White Houses statement follows several disturbing anti-Jewish incidents across America, including two waves of bomb threats at Jewish community centres, and a group of neo-Nazis that planned to march against the Jewish residents of a small town in Montana.
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A Thai welder has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for insulting the royal family in a series of online posts.

Burin Intin was charged with lese majeste  insulting the Monarchy  after posting a defamatory comment on Facebook and in a private message. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison in Thailand.

The 28-year-old was also convicted under the Computer Crime Act which prohibits putting false data on a computer, raising fears the state was monitoring his private correspondence.

Burin was originally sentenced to 22 years, eight months, however his guilty plea meant his sentence was halved to 11 years, four months.

The activist was arrested in April 2016 while attending a protest against other activists arrests with pro-democracy group Resistant Citizens.

He was accused of sending a message that defamed the monarchy to the mother of a pro-democracy activist, Patnaree Chankij.

Patnaree was also charged with lese majeste in May for not denouncing Burin and will be tried in a military court in March, according to local media.

Critics have long accused the government of using the law to intimidate critics.

In 2015, a man was arrested after he made a sarcastic comment online insulting the Kings dog. In 2013, an editor of a Thai magazine was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defaming Thailands monarchy.
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Unaccompanied refugee children as young as 12 who have been rejected by the UK government are being neglected in French accommodation centres after being evicted from the Calais Jungle, it has been claimed.

Child assessments seen by The Independent allege several of the 64 makeshift accommodation centres where unaccompanied minors were sent following the closure of the camp, which the British Government said would supply specialist care, are not providing basic needs such as suitable food, security provisions and emotional support.

The documents, drawn up by UK-based organisation Social Workers Without Borders, which is tracking and assessing 37 child refugees in France, claim some of the centres fail to provide adequate support for the deteriorating mental wellbeing of most of the youngsters, including a 14-year-old boy who has attempted suicide multiple times.

When contacted by The Independent, French organisations running two of the centres allegedly failing to meet needs confirmed they were not providing the children with necessities such as emotional support and suitable food. But they said it was a complicated situation due to the lack of time they had to prepare for their arrival. An international organisation in charge of a third centre denied the allegations.

It comes more than a month after it emerged the Home Office stopped transfers of child refugees from France to the UK, and shortly afterwards issued new guidelines stating children were only eligible if they were Sudanese or Syrian, under the age of 13 or deemed at high risk of sexual exploitation.

A reported 750 of the estimated 1,900 unaccompanied minors formerly living in the Jungle with hopes of coming to the UK have been accepted by the Home Office and transferred to Britain, most of them through family ties. The remaining hundreds have allegedly been told with little or no explanation that their applications have been rejected.

One of the assessments seen by The Independent claims that a centre in the south-western town of Luchon, which is currently housing 30 unaccompanied minors, is unable to provide safe care. It states that children are often out during the night, with only one member of staff in the accommodation overnight to supervise them, and that the children have no spare clothes and no access to emotional support.

Elaine Ortiz, founder of the Hummingbird Project, a charity that has been working with children from the Jungle, has visited the centre in Luchon several times to assess the needs of a child living there whose mental health has deteriorated in recent months.

She told The Independent: He had no suitable clothing. He didnt have a jacket, he had no change of clothes. So even when he washes, he has to just put his duvet cover around him until his clothes are dry. He shares a room with four other boys.

The food isnt suitable. The centre has done their best for him, but theyre just not staffed adequately. Theres no support for their psychological needs, bearing in mind that a lot of the children have post-traumatic stress.

When contacted by The Independent Ms Tourett, the head of the ANRAS organisation that runs the centre, confirmed there was only one member of staff on duty during the night, and that the children had been known to walk around at night time. She added that their mental health needs were not being met, and that the staff felt helpless at their reported inability to provide it.

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Ms Tourret said: We do have just one member of staff on duty at night. The children have walked around outside during the night, but that was mainly at the beginning of their time here. Now its very cold, so they dont go out.

Little by little, weve provided them with spare clothing. Their primary needs have been satisfied. They have appropriate food. They might not eat, but thats not because the food isnt appropriate. They have bedrooms.

One need we havent been able to meet is the presence of a psychologist. The children we accommodate have severe mental suffering, and theres a lack of psychological support.

Its not a question of finances. Its because there's a lack of psychologists in the area and its very difficult to mobilise a professional to come here at short notice. We feel helpless faced with this lack of support.

Ms Tourret added that it had been complicated because ANRAS was given just a weeks notice before the children arrived, meaning there wasnt time to prepare. She added that of the 52 unaccompanied children who arrived at the centre following the Jungle eviction, just seven have been accepted by the Home Office and 12 have already fled from the centre, saying they were going back to Calais.

According to a second assessment seen by The Independent, a centre in Le Havre, which accommodates 48 children and is run by the Salvation Army, provides no bedding, no soap and not enough food. It suggests the childrens health needs are not being met, with one doctor visiting the site only occasionally, and that there is no emotional support or access to formal education.

The assessment report also raises concerns about the childrens safety in the centre in Le Havre  from which 44 children, some as young as 12, reportedly attempted to run away in November  after one child was allegedly assaulted by a member of staff.

The Salvation Army has vigorously denied the allegations, stating that while accommodating the children was a huge responsibility, it had been able to provide the children with adequate meals and the centre is sufficiently staffed. The organisation also denied that there was an assault by a staff member against a child.

Sue Clayton, a professor at Goldsmiths University, who visited the centre in Le Havre as part of research for a film into what is happening to Calais refugee children, described the conditions in the shelter as an absolute scandal, and provided The Independent with undercover footage showing a child in the centre describing poor conditions.

It was worse than the worst kids home Ive seen in the UK by a million miles. They said they couldnt even play out because they hadnt had any protein for five weeks, Ms Clayton said.

 Child refugees in France neglected by authorities following Home Office rejections

If that is specialist, my God. I was able to just walk in. Theres no one there overnight, there were random volunteers from the Salvation Army.

The only food theyre given is a quarter of baguette for breakfast, a quarter for lunch and the other half for the evening meal with some ketchup. Theyre calling that care for underage kids. Some of them are as young as 11. Its an absolute scandal.

Lucy Kirkland, social worker with Social Workers Without Borders who wrote the assessment, claimed to The Independent there was a lack of supervision. She said: I just walked in. There were no staff on the desk.

Its not clean. Its grotty. Its got this smell. They havent got any soap so the boys are only able to wash in water. Theyre not getting their clothes cleaned.

In the bedroom I saw there was a mattress wrapped in plastic with no sheet on it, and the child had made a pillow out of some rolled up clothes and sheets. When I saw a member of staff with them there was no emotional warmth or compassion.

The Salvation Armys head of communications and fundraising in France, David Germain, rejected all of the allegations. He told The Independent: We have a partnership with a company that brings food every day, and the children are happy. We only had liquid soap at the beginning and they were unfamiliar with it, which is why they complained about that.

We have also provided psychological support from social workers and other institutions in Le Havre. Each minor had a complete medical check on his arrival, and two to three medical appointments a day are reserved for our residents at Le Havres hospital.

We have 10 staff on duty at any one time in the centre. Two house hostesses and night watchmen are in charge of cleaning the common portions. Each unaccompanied minor is in charge of the cleaning of his own room. They may be helped by social workers if needed. None of the members of staff have been violent towards a child. Children are never left alone with one member of staff.

This is a huge responsibility. There are always people who think the young people should get more attention, better conditions and so on. But it doesnt mean the existing conditions are not good.

In a third centre, located in Annemasse, a French town near the Swiss border, minors are sleeping in what appears to be an underground warehouse. A 15-year-old boy living in the centre along with 24 other child refugees told The Independent they were living like donkeys and provided footage of their sleeping space, which showed a large room with a metal ceiling and makeshift dividing walls.

 Video shows poor standard of living for refugees in France

The teenager, who was recently informed he and most of his friends had been rejected by the Home Office, said: They promised us they would take us to the UK but said we had to be patient. At this centre they treat us like donkeys.

We are living in a factory and we are eating expired bread. We have waited in these factories without eating properly and now they are saying we cant go. It means we must go back to Calais.

When contacted by The Independent, Aries, the French organisation that runs the centre in Annemasse, confirmed the children were sleeping in little cells that arent completely closed off and that the organisation had so far provided them with no psychological support, but that they were under pressure due to the little notice given before the children arrived.

The head of the organisation, Mr Chauffat, said: They have a floor of a building in which we put dividing walls up. They can sleep in their own little cell, which isnt completely closed off. But they have space. They have new bedding. Its not perfect. It would be better to have a bedroom each.

We dont have any psychologists for them yet. We have organised for one to come next week. We have had to organise a lot of other things before this. When you get such little notice, there are a lot of things to do.

The food is perhaps the most delicate issue we have at the moment. They dont want to eat meat that isnt halal. Weve had difficulties with that.

We were told the children were coming just three or four days before they arrived. There are many things we have had to work on and adapt, but weve done the best we can.

The reports contradict claims by the UK Government that children seeking asylum in the UK were being housed safely in specialist centres while the Home Office carries out the assessment process. A confidential letter to an MP from Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill in November, leaked to The Independent, states: Any children not transferred to the UK will remain safely accommodated in the care of the French authorities.

(screen grab)

A confidential letter from Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill to an MP in November, leaked to The Independent, stated that children seeking asylum in the UK were being housed safely in specialist centres

Ms Ortiz said: What were seeing is neglect on a huge scale. If you look at the definition of neglect used by the NSPCC, its everything within that.

Its a failure to meet the childs basic needs. Its a form of abuse if the child is left hungry, dirty, without adequate clothing, shelter, provision, medical care and health care, if theyre put in danger because theyre not protected and not given care. This fits every criteria for neglect.

France is meant to be a first-world country with sophisticated child protection and safeguarding legislation. Weve not seen any of that put in place for the young people who were working with, which makes you think, why dont we treat refugee children the same as every other child? They feel like theyve been abandoned.

Michael Bochenek, senior counsel for childrens rights at Human Rights Watch, visited several of the accommodation centres at the end of December and said there was a lack of resources and support in many of the establishments.

Many of the centres had staffing issues. Some were more efficiently staffed than others. There was a problem with translation availability across the board, and a real lack of recognition that translation was a necessary component of attending to these kids, Mr Bochenek told The Independent.

Most kids who arrive unaccompanied would in principle be sent through the regular child protection system in France set up to deal with kids, but because a short-term solution was needed, this has not happened. It is lacking a lot of the basics that we would expect to see.

Mr Bochenek said the blame fell on both the French and British governments for failing to move quickly on resettling the unaccompanied minors in the Jungle. He said the Home Office was failing to fulfil the Alf Dubs amendment, which passed through the House of Commons last April to offer thousands of unaccompanied minors across Europe safe refuge in the UK. It is so far reported to have seen fewer than 250 lone children brought to Britain from France.

The French havent moved as quickly as they should with giving kids the information and support they need. Britain may not have the same direct responsibility, but it knew that kids with UK-based relatives were in Calais and are in these facilities.

It articulated a humanitarian commitment to taking on unaccompanied kids even in the absence of family connections in the UK, but has failed to live up to these commitments.

Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Show all 9 1 /9 Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A coach carrying the first group of unaccompanied minors from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to be brought to Britain arrives at an immigration centre in Croydon, south London Reuters Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A Catholic priest chats to Muslim Imans as they wait for the arrival of the coach carrying the first group of unaccompanied minors from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to be brought to Britain arrives at an immigration centre in Croydon, south London Reuters Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Fourteen migrant children from the 'Jungle Camp' in Calais are due to arrive in the UK today to be reunited with relatives Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Young men are escorted after stepping off a coach at the Home Offices Lunar House Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A boy is escorted after stepping off a coach at the Home Offices Lunar House after arriving from the Calais 'Jungle Camp' Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK UK Border Force staff escort the first group of unaccompanied minors from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to be brought to Britain as they arrive at an immigration centre in Croydon, south London Reuters Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A young boy arrives on a coach at the Home Offices Lunar House after leaving the Calais 'Jungle Camp.' Fourteen migrant children from the 'Jungle Camp' in Calais are due to arrive in the UK today to be reunited with relatives Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK British former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, center, flanked by Bethany Gardiner-Smith, left, from the Citizens UK charity and Bishop of Croydon Jonathan Clark speaks to the media about the 14 migrant children who will be resettled in the UK, outside Croydon Minster church in Croydon, south London AP Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Asif Khan whose brother Aimal Khan was one of fourteen migrant children who arrived in the UK, speaks to the media outside Lunar House in Croydon, south London. The 25-year-old chef has been living in the UK for 11 years, having fled Afghanistan himself. His brother Aimal Khan, 14, also from Afghanistan, had been stranded in the Jungle for six months PA

The numbers are pathetically low in comparison to the expectations of thousands that were raised. As a consequence these kids are dispirited, many are expressing suicidal ideation and some have already left the centres to take things into their own hands.

The real risk is that kids without information and guidance on what their options might be in France, and now despondent about any legal route of getting to the UK, are just going to find their own solutions, and well end up with something like the Jungle again.

In response to the reports, Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, accused the British and French governments of playing a game of chicken with responsibility for the refugee children, most of whom still hope to come to the UK, in many cases because they have family ties there.

Ms Creasy told The Independent: Weve let these children down. We made them a promise to treat them fairly and to assess them properly and to do our bit, and were not doing our bit. They are losing hope when they have done things accordingly and its horrifying.

My worry is this is a game of chicken now about whos going to take these children, and no one is fighting for them. France needs to do their bit too. I hold both countries responsible. But as a British MP, I feel very strongly that we cant just forget these children.
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Angela Merkel has criticised Donald Trumps ban on some Muslim immigration, saying it is not justified to put people from a specific background or faith under general suspicion to combat terrorism.

A spokesman for Chancellor Merkel said the German leader believes the travel ban is wrong.

Spokesman Steffen Seibert said: The Chancellor regrets the US governments entry ban against refugees and citizens of certain countries.

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She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesnt justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion.

The Geneva Refugee Convention requires the international community to take in refugees from war on humanitarian grounds. All signatory states are expected to do so. The Chancellor explained this policy to the US President in their call yesterday.

The German government will now examine what consequences the measure of the US government will have for German citizens with double citizenship and will represent their interests, if necessary, before our American partners.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Trump spoke by phone on Saturday for the first time since his inauguration.

The President signed an executive order on Friday temporarily banning travellers from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entry into the US.

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In contrast, the German Chancellor has welcomed more than a million refugees into the country, many fleeing war torn Syria.

The policy has been praised by many, but Mr Trump referred to it as a catastrophic mistake.

It has also caused significant internal political difficulties, with right-wing populist parties such as Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) gaining ground in the last year.

A statement released after Saturdays call did not mention Mr Trumps immigration policy but highlighted areas of common interest and stressed the importance of ties between the United States and Europes largest economy.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Trump and Merkel discussed how Nato thrives with all allies contributing their fair share to our collective security, the White House said. The comment came after Trump called the alliance obsolete, but it highlighted the need for reforms and updates.

Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato members such as Germany that do not spend two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on their militaries.

Ms Merkel has said Germany will work to increase its defence spending  now at 1.19 per cent of GDP  but also warned that it would take time to achieve the goal.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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A flat-pack refugee shelter designed by Ikea has been crowned design of the year in the prestigious Beazley design competition.

The ready-to-assemble shelter was created by the Swedish furniture giant in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It beat the new Tate Modern Switch House and the artwork on the cover David Bowies last album.

It also swept the prize for 2016 architecture design of the year.

The Beazley Design Awards recognise the most original and exciting designs from around the world in six different categories, which include architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, products and transport.

The United Nations refugee agency and the not-for-profit Ikea Foundation joined forces to launch the Better Shelter Programme and created the structure in 2015 to improve the lives of persons displaced by armed conflicts and natural disasters.

That year, Better Shelter delivered 10,000 shelters for humanitarian operations worldwide.

Interim managing director of Better Shelter, Johan Karlsson, said he was incredibly proud to have won both awards.

We are above all pleased that this prize brings attention to our hard work, and as a result, the refugee situation as a whole," he said.

We accept this award with mixed emotions  while we are pleased that this kind of design is honoured, we are aware that it has been developed in response to the humanitarian needs that have arisen as the result of the refugee crisis."

Thousands of flat-pack shelters have been sent to humanitarian crisis points around the world as refugees faced freezing temperatures in Europe this winter.

The distinctive white structures have dramatically improved the living conditions of refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos.

The shelters arrive in cardboard boxes and can be assembled in a few hours without tools, with the help of an illustrated manual.

Intended to sleep five people, they have windows, ventilation, a locking door and solar panel linking to an LED light and mobile phone charger.

Each shelter costs $1,150 (773) and is intended to last for around three years.

Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Show all 6 1 /6 Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Better Shelter Assembly of Better Shelter prototype, Hilawyen Refugee camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia Better Shelter Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Better Shelter Assembly of Better Shelter prototype, Hilawyen Refugee camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia Better Shelter Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Better Shelter Riyad with sons, daughters and mother in law inside a Better Shelter prototype, Kawergosk refugee camp, Iraq Better Shelter Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Better Shelter Hussein with daughters and grand daughter, Kawergosk Refugee Camp, Erbil, Iraq Better Shelter Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Better Shelter Lukhman with daughter, Kawergosk Refugee Camp, Erbil, Iraq March 2015 Better Shelter Ikea's refugee shelter - in pictures Better Shelter Interior of a Better Shelter prototype in Kawergosk Refugee Camp, Erbil, Iraq. Better Shelter

Professor of Design at Kingston University, Daniel Charny, who nominated the project, hailed the flat-pack object as a ground-breaking example for putting values and benefit above profit.

Great design responds to needs, and there is no doubt that the refugee crisis is one of the biggest of our era. This social enterprise uses flat-pack technology to create more robust and appealing shelters for refugees, with a commitment to continuous improvement as the shelters are used across the world.

While it will not solve the crisis, it goes a long way to accelerate innovation, challenge unacceptable norms and communicate respect."
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Actor Kal Penn has turned a nasty comment about his origins into an inspiring cause as he raised more than $160,000 in a few hours for Syrian refugees.

The Harold and Kumar star who went on to become an associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, tweeted a picture of a vile comment on his Instagram account which read: You dont belong in this country you f***ing joke.

But Penn, who was born to Indian parents in the state of New Jersey, tweeted the picture with a link to a fundraising page, he created under the name donating to Syrian refugees in the name of the dude who said I dont belong in America.

We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don't belong in our own country, that America can't be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigotry, along with the President's, into love, he wrote on the crowdfunding page.

His post went viral on social media and only half an hour after the page was created, $5,000 (4,000) had already been donated.

Within a few hours, he smashed his $25,000 (20,000) target.

This is some serious love! Lets keep going, he tweeted.

He increased his goal to $50,000 (40,000) and less than a day after creating the page, he has raised $167,090 (133,000) and counting.

Now Mr Penn is hoping to hit $250,000 (200,000) within 24hours.

 Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries

The money will be donated to the International Rescue Committee, which supports refugees around the world.

Look how big your hearts are. Lets go huge! he tweeted.

Some of the donors came with inventive names to support the cause, including: Kumar Fights Racial Profiling, #Saynotobigotry, All We Need Is Love and Born In The USA.

TV writer Marc Guggenheim and his wife Tara Butters donated $500 to the cause.
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Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed Donald Trumps decision to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

The Prime Minister of Israel said Mr Trumps plan was a great idea and said his own wall building policy had been a great success.

Mr Netanyahu took to social media to offer his words of praise and show his support.

President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea, he tweeted.

Mr Trump signed an executive order calling for a "large physical barrier" between the US and Mexico. The order will jump-start the process of building the wall, which was one of the President's primary campaign promises.

In addition to the wall, Mr Trump signed an action to strip federal funding from "sanctuary cities that do not prosecute undocumented immigrants.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The President also signed executive orders to ban refugees from entering the US and to rebuild the military.

The order bans refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the US and sparked international condemnation from leading human rights groups.
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French socialist Benoit Hamon is expected to emerge as the French lefts presidential candidate as voters go to the polls amidst scandal on the right ahead of one of the countrys most unpredictable elections yet.

Party members voting in the second round of the Socialist Partys primaries are making a choice between former education minister Mr Hamon and outgoing prime minister Manuel Valls.

The French election, which will take place on 23 April, has taken a surprise turn in recent weeks as the presidential favourite has become embroiled in a scandal over payments to his wife.

Right-wing candidate Francois Fillon is facing controversy as new allegations by French investigative website Mediapart and the Journal du Dimanche claim the former senator pocketed about 25,000 between 2005 and 2007 from a pot of money which provides allowance for assistants.

This comes after it was revealed by satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine that his Welsh wife Penelope Fillon received payments of 500,000 for work the paper claims she has never done.

Ms Fillon earned the money for her job as her husbands assistant in parliament between May 2012 and December 2013 but the French newspaper found no traces or records of any of the work she carried out.

An investigation has now been opened by the French authorities over allegations of embezzlement of public money.

Three months ahead of the election, the scandal has damaged Mr Fillons campaign and raised questions over whether he should quit the presidential race.

The scandal has also opened the door for other candidates to prove their integrity ahead of the vote. French elections have rarely been so unpredictable.

An ultra-conservator and hard-liner, Mr Fillon has anti-abortion views, wants to axe corporation tax, deregulate the labour market and introduce tight immigration quotas.

But he has to deal with competition from the right in the form of the Front Nationals Marine Le Pen, whose popularity has continued to surge despite her campaign still not having properly kicked off.

Polls are showing Ms Le Pen as winner of the first round with 26 per cent of the votes  going head to head with Mr Fillon in the second round with 25 per cent.

But the scandal over Ms Fillions payments has cost her husband his popularity as the latest poll by Odaxa shows he is 16 points down.

In addition, independent candidate Emmanuel Macron is well-placed to cause a surprise result.

The 39-year-old, who resigned from the Socialist government in August last year to launch his own movement En Marche! is trailing Ms Le Pen and Mr Fillon in the polls. And the gap is narrowing.

He is appealing to young generations from right and left because he appears not to have a defined place on the political spectrum, has never stood for elected office before and appears different from the old political class.

On the left, Benoit Hamon has gathered momentum that has given the Socialist Party a fresh look.

Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Show all 20 1 /20 Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-1 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-2 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-3 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-4 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 28: Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against a ban on Muslim immigration at San Francisco International Airport on January 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspends the entries of all Syrian refugees, as well as barring entries from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. Stephen Lam/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-5 A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Donald Trump's executive ban on immigration from several Muslim countries, on January 28, 2017 in Brooklyn. The judge issued an emergency stay on part of Trump's executive order, ruling that sending refugees stopped at U.S. airports back to their countries would be harmful. Yana Paskova/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-6 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-7 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-8 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-9 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-10 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-11 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-12 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-13 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-14 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-15 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-16 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-17 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-18 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-19 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-20 Passengers wait in line to check in at the American Airlines terminal at JFK International Airport August 10, 2006 in the Queens borough of New York City. British authorities arrested 21 people and halted a anallegedly terrorist plot to use liquid explosives concealed in carry-on luggage to blow up airliners traveling between Britain and the U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said that the plot appeared to be directed at U.S. carriers flying out of Heathrow. such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines. Stephen Chernin/Getty

But the incumbent socialist President, Francois Hollande, remains deeply unpopular  with last years polls showing only 14 per cent of voters had a positive opinion of him  and this has badly affected peoples views of the left.

Mr Hamon resigned from his role as education minister in August 2014 because he believed Mr Hollande had abandoned his socialist agenda.

Mr Hamon, who has been compared to Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, has a manifesto including plans for a universal monthly income for all citizens, legalising cannabis and backing investment in renewable energy.

On the other hand, free-market supporter Mr Valls is burdened by the governments record.

Whether the payments scandal which stained Mr Fillons campaign will enable the left-wing candidate to win back enough votes to make it to the second round is unlikely, but not impossible.

Meanwhile, Mr Macrons candidacy has also made the battle much harder for the left and made the election more unpredictable than ever.
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The first real signs that Saudi Arabias ambitious five-year National Transformation Programme (NTP) is moving ahead came this January when the government narrowed down its renewable energy programme to 10 gigawatts over the next six years, all provided by the private sector. Since Mohammed bin Salman unveiled his transformation plan in June 2016, ministries, authorities and utility companies have scrambled to work out how to implement the new NTP.

The neoliberal blueprint aims to boost the role of private sector investment in Saudi Arabia and attract foreign direct investment. The ultimate goal is to diversify the Saudi economy, reduce its dependence on oil, and bring unemployment down from above 12 per cent. Mohammed bin Salman, the up-and-coming Deputy Crown Prince son of King Salman, is the architect of the reforms, outlined in Vision 2030. And he has staked his future on their success. This is crucial for him, says Dr Marc Valeri, a senior lecturer in Middle East political economy at the University of Exeter. Mohammed bin Salman is already weakened by the problems in Yemen, the way the Saudi intervention there is developing he is putting all his cards on the economy.

But the short-term result of the comprehensive shakeup was that for most of 2016, Riyadhs spending and decision-making ground to a halt. There is nothing happening, nothing is really being built, says one Saudi banker. The government is saying they arent going to award any contracts except public-private partnerships (PPPs).

New initiatives

Foreign consultants in the Arabian Gulf have been promoting PPPs for decades as a way to increase private sector investment. Last year, Saudi Arabia, followed by neighbours Oman and Qatar, decided that PPP was the best solution to invest their way out of the oil price slump. But as the UK has learned, with its private finance initiatives, it is very hard to get right, and very unpopular and expensive when it goes wrong.

PPP involves private developers offering a public service on behalf of the government, and making a solid profit for themselves and their financial backers. It also means government departments have to change their relationships with the private sector; from being the clients calling the shots, to long-term partners. There are doubts over whether the Saudi civil service has the expertise to manage these complicated deals, or can learn how fast enough.

Despite Saudi Arabia spending 45 per cent of its budget on public sector wages to employ the majority of the local workforce, the civil service simply may not be able to cope with this sea-change in how they operate. The privatisations and PPP plans coincide with public sector hiring freezes, bonus cuts and a huge government restructuring that created a super-ministry for all energy issues, including oil, gas and electricity, and merged a number of other ministries.

Low oil prices have halved Saudi Arabias government revenue since 2013 and ministries are having to adapt to much lower budgets, while the demand for electricity, water, schools and housing keeps on rising. The government has calculated it needs to build 1.5 million homes, double its power plant capacity and create jobs for millions of young people, but there is no longer a budget to simply build roads, schools and hospitals as Saudi Arabia did in the past. All spending must be approved by Mohammed bin Salman, and government bodies have been told to become essentially self-funding, several industry sources have indicated.

Ministers who used to have a certain level of budget autonomy have found themselves restricted. There has been a process of hyper-centralisation, where Mohammed bin Salman relies on a small number of people, and everybody else is considered unreliable, says Dr Valeri. The circle of people making all the decisions is unaccountable to the cabinet or Consultative Council, or even the rest of the ruling family.

Delays and confusion

The urgent needs of the population have pushed the government to try to attract private sector investment for every capital spending project, large or small. Consultants have advised a few pilot projects in simpler sectors, but so many different government bodies are planning projects with little coordination that confusion has reigned. A plan by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, for example, to privatise every single airport across the kingdom, is expected to struggle. Many regional airports with a few thousand passengers a year are simply not profitable enough to attract the private sector.

A PPP hospital programme is also delayed as the Ministry of Health decides whether the private sector should provide just buildings, or medical services too. The Ministry of Housing has also put their affordable housing PPP on hold while its plans are reconsidered. The inertia and lack of institutional capacity in the Saudi public sector is a challenge, but there could also be resistance to difficult reforms, especially from business families doing well under the current system, and senior government figures marginalised by the changes.

By late 2016, civil servants were grumbling about foreign consultants. The NTP essentially repackages neoliberal reform programmes followed across the Middle East with little success. But the complaints could also be interpreted as criticism of Mohammed Bin Salmans plans within the kingdom. I am sceptical about the impact, says Dr Valeri. These neoliberal recipes have been promoted and implemented in a number of countries such as Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan, and I dont see why the results would be any better.

But the population is unlikely to be able to have their say on the reforms, even if cuts cause a decline in their standard of living. The reforms are already creating discontent as normal people are unhappy with subsidy cuts, but it is very difficult to be more vocal, says Dr Valeri. The political control is so tough I cant see it translating into wider resistance.

The question of whether the neoliberal policies of privatisation and foreign direct investment will solve Saudi Arabias chronic unemployment problem and lack of diversification remains open. For the deputy crown prince, positive results are needed in the next few years or his credibility will be seriously damaged.
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Silicon Valley giants including Google, Facebook, Apple and Uber, have condemned Donald Trumps executive orders on immigration and said they are preparing to hit back.

Thousands of staff in the tech industry could be affected by Mr Trumps initiative, which bars refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

Some executives said the ban, which bars anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days, violated their personal and company principles.

 Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries

The tech industry relies on the talent of foreign workers from around the world and is concerned the US President could give the industrys temporary worker permits a - known as H-1B - a complete makeover.

Chief executives of the industrys major companies have strongly criticised the ban.

Google told its employees with passports from those countries to cancel any travel plans outside the US and to get in touch with the companys human resources department if they are not in the country.

The internet giant's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, said in a memo that at least 187 of its employees could be affected by the ban but it is unclear how many of them are currently outside the US.

"We've always made our views on immigration known publicly and will continue to do so," he said.

In an official statement, Google said: "We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US."

Apples CEO Tim Cook also hit back at Mr Trumps executive order and made representations to the White House about the negative effects it will have on the company.

In a memo to his employees, Mr Cook wrote: "I share your concerns" about Trump's immigration order. It is not a policy we support. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do. We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company.

Apple founder Steve Jobs was the biological son of a Syrian immigrant.

The company said its human resources department was in contact with those affected although numbers have not been confirmed.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also took to social media to share his concerns over the ban.

The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that, he wrote, adding his grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland and his wife Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented.

He added: They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here."

But some of the Silicon Valley's top leaders took a blunter stance on the ban.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote on Facebook that Mr Trump's "actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe."

EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, whose parents are Iranian, also slammed the order as "simple bigotry while Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that "many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US" who don't "deserve to be rejected."

Microsoft Chief Executive who was born in India, said the company will continue to be an advocate on the issue.

As an immigrant and as a CEO, Ive both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world, he wrote in an online post.

But the tech industry is bracing itself for more announcements on immigration regulation.

Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Show all 18 1 /18 Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters gather outside the White House at the finish of the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds attended the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters hold up signage near the Washington Monument during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Drew Angerer/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters gather during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters arrive at the Capital South Metro station for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters arrive on the platform at the Capital South Metro station for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators protest during the Women's March along Pennsylvania Avenue January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Protesters attend the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A marcher holds a sign during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A woman chants while attending the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters attend the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters march in Washington, DC, during the Women's March on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded US cities Saturday in a day of women's rights protests to mark President Donald Trump's first full day in office. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A protester gestures toward the White House on the Ellipse near the South Lawn of the White House during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Drew Angerer/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A protester, holding a Donald Trump doll wearing a pink cap, marches in Washington, DC, during the Womens March on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded US cities Saturday in a day of women's rights protests to mark President Donald Trump's first full day in office. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters take to the National Mall to demonstrate against the presidency of Donald Trump Washington, DC on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters march during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators gather on The Ellipse during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protester's signs are left near the White House during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama/Getty

A leaked draft of an executive order published in The New York Times suggests Mr Trumps next target might give the H1-B programme, which lets the Silicon Valley bring foreigners with technical skills to the US for three to six years.

The US grants visas to 85,000 foreign workers a year through a lottery system but Mr Trumps administration wants to revise the allocation process for the H-1B to ensure that beneficiaries of the program are the best and the brightest.
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Donald Trumps inauguration has been described as symbolising the end of the American Century. Historians may look back on 2016-17 as the years in which the two greatest forces sweeping the world  the anti-establishment backlash in the West, and the resurgence of Asia  combined to thrust China into a global leadership role. This was seen at Davos, in Beijings earlier foray into the worlds most contentious conflict  Israel-Palestine  and most recently in Theresa Mays statement that the US and UK will never again invade sovereign countries to remake the world in their own image. This suggests that it might not be just a century of American dominance thats ending, but half a millennia of Western pre-eminence.

President Xi Jinpings call for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital occurred exactly a year before Trump began early talks over moving Americas embassy in Israel to the disputed city. This is part of Chinas conversion of economic weight into diplomatic and geopolitical assertiveness in the Middle East over the last few years.

Chinas economic relations with the region are on a long-term upward trend. Beijing is the regions largest foreign business partner, now surpassing the US in oil purchases. In the five years leading up to 2009 trade tripled, reaching $115bn.

China has begun translating this into strategic influence. In 2008-2009, Beijing sent naval vessels to the region, an action referred to as its biggest naval expedition since the 15th century. China has embarked on strategic partnerships with traditional US allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In addition to Saudi Arabia traditionally being Chinas top source of oil, Beijing has convinced Riyadh to engage its One Belt, One Road initiative and attracted it to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. In 2016, the two countries unveiled a five-year plan for Saudi Arabia-China security cooperation. Riyadh also expressed interest in Chinese defence technology.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images 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 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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, 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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. 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Chinas growing footprint is in part possible due to some of the forces that brought President Trump and Prime Minister May to power. Firstly, Western publics are beyond fatigued by over a decade of war and intervention in the Middle East  much of which was supported by the same Republicans within Washingtons foreign policy establishment that had declared they wouldnt work with Trump, and the same Labour MPs who sought to overthrow Jeremy Corbyn. Despite Trumps tough-on-terror talk, the public gravitated to the same anti-regime change positions that were popular with Bernie Sanders supporters. May herself has observed this mood and adjusted her position accordingly. This is combined with a reduction of the US and Britains relative power in the region.

Additionally, Washington is less dependent on energy from the region. This is combined with Middle Eastern states themselves reaching out to diversify their strategic partnerships in an increasingly multipolar world. This includes US allies like the Gulf States, as well as those who feel threatened by the West, like Iran.

Beijing's Trump Cards

China has several advantages in the region. Firstly, Beijing mirrors Western public opinion by taking a non-interventionist approach to issues like democracy and human rights. This of course sits well with rulers in the Middle East. China has asserted its view that Middle Eastern countries and their people should be able to decide their own path to development in accordance with national conditions. In the past, President Xi has expressed Chinas support for Saudi Arabia choosing its own development path. In Qatar, Beijing differentiated itself from the West, pledging to support Doha on issues of national independence, sovereignty, stability, security and territorial integrity. This was received well during a visit to Beijing by Qatars Emir who reportedly voiced his appreciation for Chinas impartial stand on international affairs.

 Rex Tillerson calls China's actions in the South China Sea 'illegal'

Secondly, unlike the US, China is not bound by well-known and entrenched alliances and animosities. It is obvious who the US supports in the Middle East and who its rivals are. With Beijing there is more flexibility. Shrewd foreign policy advisors in Beijing will be advising President Xi to use Chinas burgeoning ties with the Gulf States and Israel to leverage relations with Iran and vice versa.

For instance, China has held positions on Syria and Libya inimical to those of its new partners in the Gulf. In addition to Damascus being a long-time buyer of weapons from China, Beijing has also made clear its support for Moscows intervention. China and Russia have consistently worked together to provide diplomatic protection to the Syrian government via vetoes at the UN. Some sources also reported Chinese military advisers being dispatched to Syria and Beijing providing training support to the Syrian army.

While maintaining its tendency to take a soft-spoken approach, Beijing hosted both senior Assad government and opposition figures. In a purposely symbolic move, during the China visit, the Syrian Foreign Minister confirmed the governments willingness to participate in the peace process. Beyond Middle Eastern states, Chinas position on Syria provides it negotiating power with both the West and Russia. Similarly, Beijings Palestine announcement allows it to extract more from Israel.

Chinas Interests

China primarily sees the region as a source of energy. It is also a continuation of the trade routes it seeks to secure from East Asia, through the Indian Ocean, to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The ability to influence the Middle East is also important to great/rising powers like America, China and India in order to disrupt and deny energy to potential adversaries. Greater Chinese involvement will give Beijing some potential leverage over the energy supplies of adversaries like Japan, and potential competitors like India. Beijings pursuit of closer ties with Middle Eastern states as part of its Maritime Silk Road initiative adds to Indias fears of encirclement by a Chinese string of pearls.

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Beijing also prioritises stability in the region more consistently than Washington. Recent conflicts cost China. The toppling of Gaddafi in Libya led to losses in energy investments, infrastructure and equipment, as well as evacuation costs. With regard to Syria, Beijing had to abandon its oil investments in 2013 due to the war.

As one of the main theatres for geopolitical competition between great powers, Chinas growing strategic role in the Middle East is another step toward what many in the country see as its own manifest destiny. This rising Asian power, free of colonial baggage in the region, adds a new ingredient that could help untangle seemingly intractable issues like Israel-Palestine. Furthermore, with its steadfast principle of respecting sovereignty, Chinas increasingly loud and distinctive voice in the Middle East may indeed be the final nail in the coffin of Western interventionism.

Dr Kadira Pethiyagoda is a visiting fellow with the Brookings Institution researching Asia-Middle East relations
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The only escape route from this horror, said the friend next to me on the sofa at noon today, is if this final set goes to 40,000-40,000. That way, we wont have to return to the real world until after the next US election.

In the event, this fantastical piece of sporting nostalgia ended in Roger Federers favour within minutes. But for the preceding three and a half hours, you could almost persuade yourself that youd slipped through a tear in space-time, and gone back eight years to the last time the Fed and Rafael Nadal duked it out over five sets for the Australian Open title.

The date of that one, won by Rafa, feels viciously poignant today. On 1 February, 2009, Barack Obama had been in the White House for under a fortnight, and the echo of his sublimely humane inauguration address had the world light-headed with hope.

Not even a fortnight after Donald Trump mistook his inauguration speech for a Mussolini tribute act, it would take the Hubble telescope on steroids to detect a slither of optimism. The banning of residents and passport holders from, not to mention people merely born in, almost every Muslim nation with which Trump has no business relationship creates a heavier, more broodingly dark atmosphere than anyone too young to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis will recall.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The stories of heartrending exclusions already stack up. You may have heard of Iraqi interpreters who for a decade worked in great danger for the US military, but whose long-awaited and heavily vetted visas were revoked on Saturday; of green card holders with a clear legal right to US residency denied re-entry after visiting sick relatives; of the Iranian director who cant attend the Oscars at which his film will be a nominee.

You wont be aware of a friends father who missed the Roger-Rafa classic because he was flying to the States. A British national with no other passport, he was once such a heroic critic of the Ayatollahs that, after he fled Tehran, they sent death squads to London to assassinate him.

When he arrived at Heathrow this morning, he had no idea whether, by dint of being born in Iran, he would be detained and sent home on suspicion of being a puppet of the regime which so assiduously tried to kill him.

So anyone unsure whether the mantle of office would diminish Trumps megalomaniacal brutishness has their answer. He told us what he would do, and lo, verily, it hath come to pass  albeit the reality is worse than feared. Who thought that a Muslim ban widely dismissed as no more than campaign histrionics would extend to green card holders? But Trump is the greatest limbo dancer in political history: however low he sets the expectations bar for himself, he finds the way to squeeze beneath it.

Evidently he is racing towards destructive war with those parts of the media that see no distinction between a whopper and an alternative fact, and also with the judiciary. The bans rejection by a federal judge, Ann Donnelly, can only be the prelude to a Supreme Court case. If the Supremes declare it unconstitutional, would that restrain his dictatorial instincts or inflame them? Would civil unrest on a scale unseen since the 1960s race riots temper his lunacy or exaggerate it? Is he capable of pragmatism, in other words, or does the seam of messianic self-regard run too deep to be penetrated by external pressures?

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While we shiver in wait for the answer, innocent lives are being destroyed by what the Somali-born Mo Farah called ignorance and prejudice. It does more than rend the heart. It fills it with an ominous bleakness the like of which few have experienced.

Although the pervasive gloom leaves little room for other emotions, I cant deny a pang of sympathy for Theresa May. Fair enough if you decline to share it after her wretched efforts to be silent about the Muslim ban. But try to imagine the agony, for a fundamentally moral human being, to find herself squeezed between the rock of Trumps wickedness and the hard place of needing his indulgence on the trade deal front.

One minute shes holding his weeny hand, and then shes ingratiating herself with Turkeys tyrannical President Erdogan  the next shell be kneeling before the Chinese. At this rate, shell be zigzagging between the nastier central Asian republics and Robert Mugabe before Roger and Rafa make their Centre Court returns in late June.

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May is neither callous nor stupid. She knows that for evil to triumph, all thats required is for good women to do nothing. She also knows how desperately economic growth will depend, post-Brexit, on trade relations with regimes that show a nauseating disregard for human rights. The tension between these competing bits of knowledge might be powerful enough to break a sensitive soul in two.

But there are stronger magnets for our pity than a PM who degraded herself by taking so long to criticise Trumps lurch towards paranoid fascism, and being so pusillanimous about it when she did. Some are separated indefinitely from loved ones, some have been rendered stateless like Tom Hanks in The Terminal and others may be at risk of torture and death in countries they had the requisite visas to flee. Since all were exhaustively vetted, only one character in this macabre tale poses a lethal threat to the United States. Thats the one hell bent on destroying the Constitution he took an oath to protect so recently that Andy Murray was favourite to win the Australian Open at the time.
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The condemnation by the UK Government of Donald Trumps crackdown on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries was, if belated, welcome nonetheless. The US Presidents latest executive order is the most worrying of those he has made thus far, as discriminatory as it is facile. There is little evidence that terrorists have been entering America as refugees from the countries on Mr Trumps list: as with so much of the Presidents first week in office, the symbolism matters to the man in the White House as much as practical effectiveness. Thats not to say his latest move was without consequences though  far from it, as several hundred individuals already travelling to the US soon found out.

Theresa May appears to have been caught on the hop by the presidential decree, initially declining to say on Saturday whether she disapproved of a policy which other leaders were quick to censure. For all those buoyed by the apparent success of the Prime Ministers visit to Washington on Friday, this should prove something of a wake-up call. First, it must be plain that Ms May was unaware that the Presidents pen was metaphorically hovering over such a monstrous order as the pair merrily discussed the special relationship. Second, her failure to object immediately to the travel ban shows just how desperate the British Government is to avoid upsetting the American administration. That suggests a weakness that is hardly likely to prove helpful in upcoming discussions over a US-UK trade deal.

Indeed, the Prime Minister spent much of last week reassuring both the British public and other world leaders that she was not about to become a poodle to Trumps rottweiler. Yet when faced with an unexpected test of her mettle, she declined to bark let alone bite. Instead, it was left to her spokesperson many hours later to confirm that Downing Street does not agree with this kind of approach. The Prime Minister may be renowned for thinking long and hard before committing herself to policy positions  but that is not always possible, and it should have been abundantly clear that refusing to offer a view on MrTrumps most recent executive order would not wash.

Boris Johnson, who as Foreign Secretary has been more liable to show up the Prime Minister by gaffes than good sense, rather highlighted his bosss mealy mouth by tweeting that it was divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality. Theresa Mays counterparts in other Western European countries were even more forthright, underscoring their anxiety that President Trump is not only bombastic and protectionist but may be on the verge of dismantling the liberal, democratic consensus which has been the cornerstone of Europes relationship with the US for decades.

Angela Merkels spokesman indicated that the Chancellor regretted the Presidents decision and had expressed her unease during a phone conversation with Mr Trump on Saturday. He went on: She is convinced that the necessary and determined fight against terrorism does not justify placing people of a certain origin or a certain religion under a generalised suspicion. The Prime Minister is no clone of Ms Merkel, nor does she need to be. But if she wants to ensure that Britain retains its influence in the post-Brexit world, it is vital that she stands up for the sense of fair play which this country is supposedly famous for.

Of course, the truth is that if last summers referendum to leave the European Union came as a shock, then it was as nothing compared to the thunderbolt which was Donald Trumps election win in November. And it has thrown Britains prospects for life outside the EU into entirely unexpected territory. After all, despite Fridays hand-holding and positive mood music, it remains to be seen whether America under a protectionist President will really be the marvellous trading partner envisaged by Downing Street.

Even worse, the UK Government seems set to find itself faced with the grim prospect of trying to do a trade deal with a President whose broader values are proving, against many expectations, to be as unpalatable in office as they were on the campaign trail. Previous administrations may not, it is true, have tackled terrorism in ways that were effective in the long run. But in this arena as in so many others, President Trump is not simply changing tactics: he is calling into question assumptions about the way government works in America, and he is challenging the very freedoms and ideals which have dominated the West for 70 years. The UK must not be complicit in his wanton arrogance.
We face more threats to the Irish economic model now than I can ever remember. To name a few: Brexit, the Trump Presidency and the hostility of the EU Commission to our success in attracting foreign investment as manifested in the attack on our corporate tax regime and our national reputation by its tax penalties on Apple in Ireland.

I approach this from the perspective of a 20-year-career in IDA-Ireland - 10 of them as managing director - at a time when the IDA was responsible for promoting foreign and indigenous industry.

I was there when the organisation's executives fanned out across the world in January 1973 to proclaim that Ireland was now a member of the then Common Market of some 250 million people.

I was there when Ireland surprised the EU Commission by finding an attractive successor to tax exemption on exports - which was contrary to the EU Treaty - by introducing from 1981 a 10pc tax on all manufacturing profits and which was compatible with the EU Treaty.

Membership of the EU and the low-tax regime have served Ireland well. There are now 200,000 directly employed by IDA-backed foreign companies in Ireland and another 140,000 in related employment - that is, a total of 340,000 employed today who depend on the foreign sector. These foreign companies account for the majority of exports of goods and services from Ireland.

Irish firms have benefited hugely from EU membership, including access to the UK market, and our low-tax regime which applies equally to them. More than 200,000 people are employed in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, with the main focus on export. This model faces its greatest challenges over the next four years.

Let me start with the Brexit threat, where public confusion exists between two separate processes: namely UK exit from the EU and negotiation of a new UK/EU trade agreement.

Article 50 of the Treaty is clinical in stating that once notified by a member state of its decision to withdraw, the negotiations are about the arrangements for withdrawal and have to be concluded within two years. Then, when the UK withdrawal arrangements come into force, the UK becomes "a third country" as far as the EU is concerned. It is only then, after formally exiting the EU, that a new trade agreement can be signed with the UK and come into effect.

So there is no specific provision built in for negotiating a new agreement post-Brexit. In the realpolitik world, there will presumably be a parallel set of negotiations on the new trading and economic relationship between the UK and the EU which is of such importance to Ireland.

Since Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on January 17, the nature of such a post-Brexit deal is much clearer. The UK will not be part of the Single Market with free movement of people, goods, capital and services.

The UK will not be part of the EU Customs Union with its common external tariffs. This was not explicitly stated but it is incompatible with the Customs Union for the UK to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with other countries. So, the UK will have to negotiate a new trade agreement with the EU and each of the remaining 27 member states will have to sign off on it. All trade agreements are tortuous, particularly on agricultural access and services including financial services.

Without it adopting a punitive attitude to these negotiations, it's hard to see the EU having such goodwill as to offer the UK the same free-trade access it has now. There may be sectors or products where there is an equivalence of benefits, but it's hard to imagine each member state agreeing to a deal which comes close to free trade.

The Irish negotiators face considerable dilemmas in these negotiations. Ireland will want as free as possible access to the UK for our industries, particularly for beef, dairy and food products. But how far will we want to go in pushing for a UK deal close to free trade with the EU market and so largely offsetting Ireland's comparative advantage as a full member of the EU with full trading access to its markets for foreign industries based here?

Will the UK be able to offer post-Brexit most of the advantages to FDI of access to the EU market - without the costs and restrictions of membership? I cannot see how it will be possible to negotiate a new EU trade agreement with the EU and have it signed off by member states and come into force with the exit of the UK.

The consequence would be the entry into force, as a default regime, of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariffs. The Department of Finance set out some of the possible consequences of a WTO regime to the Oireachtas Finance Committee recently. It's pretty scary: 30pc decline in Irish exports to the UK; 50pc tariff on meat; 25pc tariff on dairy and eggs and 35pc on processed meat.

If Brexit weren't enough, there is also the challenge of President Trump's America First policies. There are jitters in Ireland about his commitment to keeping jobs in America or bringing them home. He has specifically in recent days referred to US companies shifting jobs overseas and selling back into the US the products then made - he states he will impose a 35pc border tax on such products.

The US companies in Ireland are here for a different reason: to give a powerful base within the EU and capitalise on Irish skills. The Irish tax rate of 12.5pc helps them choose Ireland rather than other countries within the EU. I believe that rationale will supported by the new US administration. Even a reduction of US corporate taxes to 20pc or possibly 15pc would not undermine the rationale for US companies in Ireland.

Finally, it is possible to visualise a scenario in the next few years where, following the visit last Friday of Prime Minister May to President Trump, the UK wins a bilateral trade agreement on a fast-track with the USA, has a generous free-trade agreement with the EU, is not bound by any of the state aid restrictions of EU membership and can reduce its corporate tax to any rate it decides.

Ireland is a global competitor for FDI with Singapore. Will we then have a "new Singapore" on our doorstep in the UK positioned offshore the main EU markets and with highly favourable bilateral trade deals with both the EU and the USA?

Padraic White is the former managing director of IDA Ireland
'The European Students' Union expects student mobility between the UK and the rest of Europe to fall substantially because of higher UK tuition fees due to the fall in sterling and what it describes as "hostile visa regulations".' (Stock Image)

Despite its current economic difficulties, Nigeria is increasingly becoming recognised as a future consumer powerhouse, with a growing middle-class with aspirations rising hand-in-hand with incomes.

While the country has had a turbulent past, education has been culturally valued since before British colonisation in the mid-19th Century. Today, there is huge untapped potential for Ireland's education sector to generate millions of euro in business - and that may increase due to the UK's intention to exit the EU.

Education as a liberator and a route out of poverty is well recognised in Nigeria today. "The best legacy you can give to a child is education," a local saying goes. Young Nigerians are eager to acquire recognised qualifications; and graduates are a source of family and community pride.

Every year about 1.5 million Nigerian school leavers sit entrance exams for third-level institutions in the country but there are spaces for less than half that number. Hence some 50,000 travel abroad each year for undergraduate and post-graduate study. Over half the Nigerian population speak English and, unsurprisingly therefore, the most favoured study-abroad destinations are English-speaking countries.

According to a UNESCO report in 2012, South Africa, the US, and Canada are among the most popular destinations for Nigerian students. But they are dwarfed in popularity by the UK with nearly 18,000 Nigerian students annually.

The cultural and educational exchange organisation, the British Council, estimated that Nigerians would become the second biggest cohort of foreign students in the UK after Chinese in the coming years, with one MP estimating the number will reach 30,000. That was before the Brexit vote.

The number coming to Ireland was, by comparison, a puny 170 in 2015 - a mere third of one percent of the current potential market. It doesn't take a valedictorian to spot the opportunity when our nearest neighbour is so popular largely because of the big population of Nigerians already in the country. Ireland's official Nigerian populace is around 18,000 but that figure is likely to be higher when the final results of Census 2016 are published later this year. So the lure of familiarity also applies to Ireland.

And there is a lot more to recommend Ireland to Nigerian students as a consequence of the Brexit vote. The European Students' Union expects student mobility between the UK and the rest of Europe to fall substantially because of higher UK tuition fees due to the fall in sterling and what it describes as "hostile visa regulations". Already British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced restrictions on foreign students learning in the UK.

All this adds to the attraction of Ireland as a destination for Nigerian students. Next month, a delegation of Irish universities and institutes of technology will travel to Abuja and Lagos to show off what Ireland has to offer as a study-abroad destination.

Government, NGOs, private enterprise, and sometimes heads of family sponsor students to travel abroad and the revenue per student to Ireland is around 25,000 annually. Irish providers also have the advantage of a recognised role in educating Nigerians going back to the missionaries of the 19th Century. We have a well-regarded education system internationally and substantial support through the Education in Ireland brand. The current strategy for international education - 'Irish Educated, Globally Connected' - aims to increase annual revenue from the current 1.6bn to well over 2bn per annum by 2020.

The great American polymath Benjamin Franklin said: "An investment in knowledge always pays the highest return." In more ways than one, evidently.

Fred Klinkenberg is Enterprise Ireland country manager for South Africa
As the lunar celebrations begin, the Irish Government is hoping for its own fireworks and a very happy Chinese new year as it seeks to attract more Asian investment Photo: Reuters

Is the Wild Atlantic Way about to cede to the allure of the Far East? Last week Ireland Inc breathed a huge sigh of relief when the first ripple - not quite a wave - of Brexit fallout jobs were announced.

First up was Northern Ireland pharma company Almac which is to create up to 100 new jobs in Dundalk. Almac, which already has a miniscule presence in Athlone, employs almost 3,000 at its Craigavon HQ.

Almac is breaking for the Border as part of a broader global expansion scheme - and to maintain access to Europe's single market.

Within hours, it was reported that British bank Barclays had settled on Dublin as its new European HQ as part of its post-Brexit contingency plans.

Such a move will, if it proceeds, add about 150 staff to its existing 100-strong complement in the capital - and it will bolster the confidence of other banks and financial services who may now pivot to Ireland as the place to place more boots on the ground.

So far, so sustainable: no need to roll out the modular homes and school prefabs - not yet anyway.

The Central Bank's reticence aside (more of that anon), the drive by the State to win Brexit fallout business has been relentless.

It is no secret that the Government is targeting major banks and financial services firms in the City of London to tempt them to move all or part of their operations to Ireland.

In Davos, Taoiseach Enda Kenny eschewed celebrity handshakes and meaningful public debates about populism and pandemics in favour of an intensive round of private meetings with the ceos of some of the world's most influential companies.

There he met with Inga Beale, ceo of Lloyds of London as the insurer, along with AIG, sizes up Dublin for their potential post-Brexit European bases.

Kenny also held a series of corporate speed dates with Michael Rake, chairman of BT Group, Anne Finucane, vice-chairman of Bank of America, Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and chief executive of IBM, as well as Manuel Kohnstamm, senior vice-president of Liberty Global.

IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan, who has left no stone unturned in his bid to secure big FDI wins after Brexit, also rolled out the proverbial red carpet for big hitters such as chipmaker Qualcomm and Chinese tech giant Huawei who both dropped into the Irish night on the slopes of Davos.

Leave aside, for now, the London-based European Medicines Agency (900 staff) and European Banking Authority (200 jobs).

While we've pitched aggressively for that business, Europe's supervisory bodies tend to be located in the larger member states and the decision will be a political one for the remaining 27 in any event.

Ireland's efforts are concentrated not only on winning business from (predominantly) British and American firms in the City of London who need to secure unrestricted access to the single market.

But it has also capitalised on the fog of uncertainty that has descended on Blighty by courting the strong Asian presence in the UK. Indeed, it is Ireland's newfound 'Look East' policy that may yet yield some of the more lucrative Brexit wins.

More than 10 Asian banks and financial firms are being targeted by the State to relocate all or part of their businesses here.

They include major players such as the Bank of China (BOC) and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) who are in advanced talks about extending their reach here.

They also include smaller investment banks, asset management firms and specialised custodian banks, the likes of whom are already at home in the IFSC.

The romance of the East intensified after last June's Brexit poll and has been accompanied in recent times by a number of high-profile ministerial led trade delegations to Hong Kong and Beijing to promote Ireland's financial services industry.

And it was fortified last week when it emerged that Ireland has applied to become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). It's virtues were being extolled last Tuesday by AIIB president Jin Liqun and Qi Bin, executive vice president of the China Investment Corporation, who were both in Dublin for the European Financial Forum.

Ireland's reputation as the pre-eminent global centre for aviation finance and leasing - seven out of 10 of the world's leading aircraft lessors have operations here - has helped promote Ireland as an alternative to London in the wake of Brexit for other operations.

Here the Asians, who value Ireland's common law legal system and English-speaking schools, have quite strong form.

Six years ago the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Sumitomo Corporation (SC) acquired RBS Aviation Capital, as it was then, following the spectacular collapse of its owner, the Royal Bank of Scotland. Since then, the Dublin-based aircraft lessor (renamed SMBC Aviation Capital) has soared - its revenues surpassing the totemic $1bn mark last year alone.

Bank of China also has an aviation wing in Ireland, wholly owning an aircraft leasing firm in the capital. And New York listed Avolon was bought by China's Bohai Leasing before Avolon engineered a massive takeover of rival American aircraft lessor CIT last year.

Our Asian friends in London's financial services hub were at first rattled by a perceived hostility to any migration to Ireland in the wake of Brexit. This was in large part due to a Reuters report last November which claimed the Central Bank of Ireland was discouraging - subtly or actively - big investment banks from shifting large trading operations to Dublin.

The report grew wings and gave investors cause to take flight.

The Central Bank has, correctly, been clear that it won't tolerate brass-plate operations. It is insisting that any foreign bank or financial services firm that moves all or part of its operations in the wake of Brexit must have a substantive presence here.

Depending on whom you ask, it has been decidedly neutral bordering on discouraging towards some companies kicking the tyres around Ireland post-Brexit. However the Central Bank has held a number of pre-application meetings with Asian investors and the signs are fortuitous.

The scent of Eastern deals comes as China celebrates its New Year - last night saw the launch of the Year of the Rooster.

According to Chinese tradition, people born in the Year of the Rooster are hard-working, resourceful, confident and talented. The downside? They are often seen as vain and arrogant and have a tendency to brag about their achievements.

Ireland Inc will need to channel all the Rooster's strengths and weaknesses as the UK moves to pull the trigger on Article 50.

With any luck, we might be able to cash in on the Chinese festivities.

Forget Piers, real outrage is jobs snub

Last week Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan sparked outrage (it takes little for Morgan to spark outrage) when he told his guest Nicola Thorp that he expected a receptionist to wear heels and lipstick. Thorp, a former temporary receptionist at accountancy firm PwC, was infamously sent home from work last year after turning up in a pair of flat shoes - the dress code was an outsourcing firm's policy, not PwC's.

Ladies, if you really want to be outraged, pick up a copy of the latest survey from the Irish arm of the 30pc Club. Released last week, the survey found that despite women now holding 40pc of lowest level management positions in Irish companies, female representation decreases dramatically with seniority.

Only 17pc of companies surveyed - the survey was based on the views of over 140 Irish companies - have a female ceo.

A separate review found that four in 10 of all plc boards of Irish-listed companies have no women directors, and another 22pc have only one female representative.
Tourists and shoppers who want to purchase Guinness-branded merchandise such as T-shirts, mugs and key-rings in Irish gift stores may have to present ID to prove they are over 18 under draft proposals to curb alcohol advertising, industry experts have warned.

This is just one of unintended consequences of the Public Health Alcohol Bill (PHAB), said economist Ciaran Fitzgerald, the author of a new report on the impact of Brexit on the drinks industry.

Proposed restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship contained in the Bill mean "there's a reasonable prospect of this type of thing happening", he warned. "But hopefully sense will prevail."

The Bill, which has been delayed following heated debate in the Seanad, aims to ensure that alcohol is "no longer treated as just another ordinary commodity or grocery, but is regulated effectively to reduce alcohol harm in Ireland and improve public health", Fitzgerald said.

However, he said the Bill poses far-reaching consequences for Ireland's drinks industry.

He said the prospect of a hard Brexit, combined with the economic consequences of the Public Health Alcohol Bill means that Ireland is "shooting itself in the foot".

"Since the Brexit vote last June and the subsequent decline in the value of sterling, the food and drink sector in Ireland has faced enormous challenges in the short term, including a surge in cross-border shopping.

"In addition, measures proposed under the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill will exacerbate pressure on a sector that employs 200,000 directly and indirectly," he said.

Fitzgerald's report was commissioned by the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI), which represents brewers, distillers, brand owners and distributors.

"The UK is Ireland's biggest export market for food and drink, with exports of 4.5bn in 2015," said Fitzgerald.

"The result of the UK Brexit vote and subsequent sterling devaluation has led to a surge in cross-border shopping, increased prices of Irish products and has increased the cost of Ireland as a tourist destination."

The ABFI is calling on the Government to introduce a range of policy measures in the medium term to enable the sector to offset the risks posed by Brexit and the PHAB.

"The restrictions on alcohol advertising will be felt most harshly by new craft brewers and new distilleries," Fitzgerald said.

"There is more to this than just the anti-alcohol lobby giving a bloody nose to the drink industry."

The Bill's proposal to introduce "booze curtains" in retail outlets sparked fury both among politicians and businesses.

The Bill has now been referred to the attorney general, who is examining a number of legal difficulties.

Officials in the Department of Health are also examining how they can adjust section 20 of the Bill, which would require shops to erect barriers to shield alcohol from public
The former head of the IDA has said that Ireland's business model has never faced as serious a threat as it does now from pressures such as Brexit and the EU's "attack" on our tax regime.

Padraic White also said that Ireland could have the equivalent of a new Singapore' on its doorstep as Britain exits the EU. Singapore is currently Ireland's biggest rival for foreign direct investment (FDI) and he believes Britain will become equally attractive.

Writing in today's Sunday Independent, White said: "We face threats to our successful Irish economic model from more directions now than I can ever remember."

"To name a few: Brexit, the Trump Presidency in the USA and the hostility of the EU Commission to our success in attracting foreign investment as manifested in the attack on our corporate tax regime and our national reputation by its tax penalties on the Apple company in Ireland."

He said that the Irish negotiators on Brexit face considerable dilemmas.

"Ireland will want as free as possible access to the UK for our industries, particularly for our food - beef, dairy, food products," said White, who was managing director of IDA Ireland between 1980 and 1990, a time during which Intel chose to establish it European manufacturing facility here.

"But how far will we want to go in pushing for a UK deal close to 'free trade' with the EU market and so largely offsetting Ireland's comparative advantage as a full member of the EU with full trading access to its markets for foreign industries based here?"

He asked whether, after Brexit, the UK would be able to offer most of the advantages to FDI of access to the EU market without the costs and restrictions of membership.

He said that a Trump presidency was a concern to people in Ireland but that US companies are in Ireland to give them a base within the EU and capitalise on Irish skills.

But he added that "it is possible to visualise a scenario in the next few years where, following the visit on Friday of Prime Minister (Theresa)May to President Trump , the UK gets a bilateral trade agreement on a fast-track with the USA, has a generous free-trade agreement with the EU, is not bound by any of the State aid restrictions of EU membership, and can reduce its corporate tax below the current 19pc to any rate it decides."

"Will we then have a "new Singapore" on our doorstep in the UK, positioned offshore the main EU markets and with highly favourable bilateral trade deals with both the EU and the USA?" he said.
Michael Moriarty wants more apprenticeships in an attempt to increase the number of youngsters who are job ready Photo: Jason Clarke

Irish parents need to "get real" and "lose their fixation in insisting that their child has to go to college as a badge of honour" according to the head of the representative body for Education and Training Boards (ETBs).

Michael Moriarty, general secretary of Education and Training Boards Ireland, said policymakers should try to encourage parents to send children directly to industry via a traineeship or apprenticeship programme.

"We've had business education fora and businesses have said to us, 'please don't send us someone with a master's degree who wants to be managing director within two weeks, we cannot get the people with the right skills'" Moriarty told the Sunday Independent.

"We have a mismatch between education and training providers and the business community."

ETBs are statutory bodies with responsibility for education and training, youth work, functions. ETBs manage and operate a third of Ireland's second-level schools, and provide further education and training to over 200,000 adults a year.

Moriarty was speaking after Education Minister Richard Bruton announced plans to try and lift the number of people in apprenticeships or traineeships.

"The great thing about an apprenticeship or a traineeship is that the person is job ready," Moriarty said.

"The difference when somebody comes out of a university is they almost have to be reprogrammed into a working environment, and that's a challenge for a lot of employers. Employers want people at all levels with the correct skills," he said, adding that there was a "snob element" holding back people from taking on apprenticeships.

Bruton said: "Working with employers, we will strengthen apprenticeship and traineeship in Ireland, increasing the range of courses and increasing the number of student places to achieve the Government targets.

"Apprenticeship and traineeship is a very exciting option for many young people. Industrial leaders in many sectors place a very high value on a trained apprentice or trainee, with many moving into managerial positions.

"It is my ambition to develop apprenticeships and traineeships as high quality and attractive options for school leavers, other learners and crucially for the parents of Ireland who have such an influence into career choice."

Moriarty said education providers should teach students generic skills like critical thinking in order to equip them for the jobs of the future. "Society has an expectation that young people embrace change and those of us charged with their education must step up to the mark.

"Digital skills are increasingly a core requirement for work in sectors such as healthcare, architecture, engineering, accounting and its no longer about filling existing jobs but catering for new jobs that a single digital market [planned for the EU] will create," he added.
Iceland Foods, the British budget supermarket giant, is planning to open at least three new outlets in Ireland this year and hire an additional 75 employees even as the UK government gets ready to leave the European Union.

The three new stores, which will be opened this year in Tallaght, Galway and an undisclosed location, will take Iceland's number of outlets in Ireland to 15 and its overall workforce to more than 300.

"We are continuing with our plans," Ewan McMahon, international director at Iceland, told the Sunday Independent. "Right now, the outcome on Brexit is unclear. We are obviously planning for it in the right way and will try to do the very best job for our customers in Ireland, Northern Ireland and everywhere else we trade."

The budget chain, which is famed for its frozen curries and donor kebab pizzas, took back control of its Irish operations from a franchisee AIM Group in late 2013. The company, based in Deeside, North Wales, had set a target of having 50 stores in Ireland within five years but McMahon admits it has been difficult to find suitable locations as many sites are still under the control of banks and insolvency practitioners.

"It is our aspiration to have 50 stores in the Republic but getting property deals finalised in Ireland is not always as straightforward as you might think," said McMahon, who joined the company in November after 25 years with high-street rival Tesco.

"There's a lot of stuff still tied up in Nama [National Asset Management Agency], which isn't always easy to get released.

"We have tried to open more in the last couple of years but we haven't got as many opened as we would have liked. I don't want to over-promise and under-deliver for Irish customers. You have to get over a few hurdles to get a store open."

McMahon, who was in Dublin a fortnight ago, will be back in April for the opening of the Tallaght store, which is located under a new apartment block. The Galway outlet is due to open in May in a premises previously leased by Lidl.

Iceland said its Irish operation is "profitable" but they don't release financial data for it. Apart from bananas, McMahon said all produce sold by its Irish business is sourced in Ireland.

At Christmas, Iceland's operations in Northern Ireland benefited from an injection from shoppers piling over the Border from the south after sterling had weakened. "Over Christmas, we saw some movement in toys and general merchandise and while beers, wines and spirit saw a significant uptick," said McMahon.

"There was definitely some benefit in our stores in Newry, Banbridge and Enniskillen in November and December when the exchange rate was at its best for people coming over the Border," said McMahon.

To counter the currency volatility being caused by Brexit, McMahon said the company tries to hedge by buying most of its produce in advance.

"A lot of our deals are done in advance," he says. "We are looking for opportunities and what we can buy in Europe and supply within Europe, which would be better than buying in Europe and bringing back to the UK before re-exporting it."

In the UK, Iceland has a 2.1pc share of the food market with 870 stores employing over 25,000 people. The company is currently embroiled in a public row with the country of Iceland over its trademark.

Malcolm Walker, the charismatic founder of Iceland, has promised to adjust its range of frozen and fresh produce for the Irish palate."We can't just sell all our products with prices flashes in sterling, Walker said in 2014. We need to source as many Irish products as we can."
With a stable of beer brands that includes Heineken, Murphy's Irish Stout, Beamish, Orchard Thieves, Tiger, Coors Light and Desperados, Radina Shkutova may well have one of the best marketing jobs in Ireland.

Having recently taken over as marketing director of Heineken Ireland from Sharon Walsh, she joins the company at a time of increased competition from parvenu brewers in the craft sector and impending legislation aimed at curbing alcohol abuse in Ireland.

You are still relatively new to the Irish market, tell me a little about your background.

"My experience is both on the brand and agency side, having started my career in account management with Publicis MARC Advertising in Bulgaria. I joined Heineken Ireland from the Heineken Zagorka Brewery in Bulgaria, where I started in 2005 as junior brand manager on Heineken. Over the years, I had different roles within marketing, being responsible for Heineken, our international brands, as well as our local strategic brands.

"In 2013, I became the marketing director, responsible for the full brand portfolio. With my team, we delivered significant business growth, building a strong and diverse portfolio, driving outstanding innovations and achieving the leading position in the premium segment. This included shaping the cider category with the introduction of Strongbow in 2015, followed by the introduction of Apple Thief cider in 2016 (based on Heineken Orchard Thieves), achieving 25pc market share. We were also awarded 'Advertiser of the Year' in Bulgaria in both 2014 and 2016.

"I will bring my previous experience (to Ireland), as well as being open to learning a lot from my new colleagues. I am very excited to be working with such a talented team and our extended agency partners to drive innovative initiatives for the Heineken portfolio."

How different is the Irish market other European markets?

"I would say that Ireland is quite a different and unique market in Europe. The on-trade channel in Ireland is significant - unlike most other European countries, where the off-trade sector is the leading channel. Here, global and international brands such as Heineken are the big players in the market, while all over Europe the majority of the big players are local brands. This gives us significant freedom in terms of brand positioning and innovation. In addition, cider in Ireland is a big and well-established category, while in most markets cider has just started emerging as a category. "

How different is the regulatory regime to other markets?

"Ireland has one of the strictest self-regulatory codes in Europe and we have huge respect for the marketing codes and rules and have successfully managed to adapt global strategies to local markets and translate our brand communications respectfully.

"But we don't just abide by the code, we live by the spirit of the code and I was surprised at how far the draft Public Health (Alcohol) Bill appears to be going. It's too early to predict how this will play out, but given the importance that the role of advertising plays in new product development and innovation and the respect we have for existing codes, I hope that all parties will continue to work together to ensure that responsible drinking is at the forefront of consumers' minds."

Increasingly global brewers are having to innovate more. Why is this and where does innovation sit with Heineken?

"Innovation has always been core to what we are and what we stand for. Our Murphy's Brewery in Cork celebrated 160 years last year and without an innovation mind-set, such success would not have been possible. It is in our DNA. The constantly changing and evolving consumer needs, along with changes in lifestyle choices, drives us to increase the speed of our innovation by developing new and exciting brands such as Orchard Thieves and Cute Hoor. So, I think that the culture of innovation within Heineken Ireland plays a huge part of our company's consistent success in bringing new brands and experiences to our customers."

Orchard Thieves, in particular, has been a success - why is this?

"Within two years, Orchard Thieves has shaken up the category to thieve a considerable share of the market. The brand, and its success, represents everything about how Heineken behaves. For Orchard Thieves, our approach to marketing and innovation was fundamentally different to how we traditionally did things.

"The success of the brand since launch has liberated us to continue to use brave, bold, innovative, tech-focused, data-centric marketing strategies that influence how we will continue to drive it - and other brands in our portfolio. Orchard Thieves has significantly influenced the future of marketing and innovations across Heineken globally.

What does the rise of craft brewing tells us about consumers and their choices?

"It has been very good for the entire beer and cider category. It has increased people's interest in and knowledge of beer and cider. Craft trends are similar within Europe and the US - people are talking about and engaging with beer in a whole new way, which is great for the entire category. The opportunity, when this happens, is to deliver exceptional products and brand experiences that excite consumers."
'Facebook has announced that Germany is the next country where its programme of fact-checking, labelling, and curbing fake news will be rolled' File photo: PA

The Czech Republic has just set up a unit called the Centre Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats. Ironically, it's based in a former communist regime interrogation centre. But to distance itself from any Cold War overtones, the centre's website explains that it won't have a button for switching off the website and it "will not lock anyone up, interrogate anyone, or lead any proceedings with anyone".

Why has this centre been created? To combat fake news, that's why. Ahead of elections in October, Czech officials are wary of a host of websites which may have Russian backing and which seem designed to undermine the EU and the democratic system that's been in effect since the fall of communism in 1989.

And the Czechs are not alone in grappling with fake news ahead of elections. Many other governments, publishers and institutions are eying the recent US presidential election, and wondering how to avoid similar levels of misinformation and polarisation.

In Germany, a slew of websites like anonymousnews.ru and noch.info, which publish pro-Russia propaganda, refugee fear-mongering and bogus conspiracy theories have sprung up. "Stasi and KGB: Angela Merkel is the daughter of Adolf Hitler" and "CIA has had a heart attack gun since 1975" are the types of headlines you find on these sites. In response, sites like Hoaxmap.org have sprung up. Hoaxmap collates and scotches false rumours about migrants - the stories it exposes range from refugees desecrating graves to stealing and eating swans.

Facebook has announced that Germany is the next country where its programme of fact-checking, labelling, and curbing fake news will be rolled out. German Facebook users that share a story that's deemed iffy will be served a pop-up that says: "Before you share this story, you might want to know that independent fact-checkers disputed its accuracy." Who's checking the facts? Well, in America Facebook is working with a who's who of fact-checkers; the Associated Press, Snopes, Factcheck.org, ABC News, and PolitiFact. In Germany it will be working with a non-profit research centre, Correctiv.

However, Facebook may need to do more. The German Justice Minister has suggested that the social network should be treated as a media company. This would make it liable for fake news or hate speech, and extend legal responsibilities like the obligation to publish corrections, and the responsibility to develop pubic opinion, or 'Meinungsbildung' as the Germans call it. Yes, the Germans take their media very seriously, indeed.

France has elections in 2017 too. French publisher Le Monde, has created a database of hundreds of unreliable websites and is using this data to power a suite of fake news-scotching products. Le Monde's readers will be able to check whether URLs are reliable on lemonade.fr and via a chatbot in Facebook's messenger app, The publisher is also creating extensions for the Chrome and Firefox browsers which will alert users when they are reading false or unverified stories that come from questionable sources.

So there are a host of attempts being made to counteract fake news. But you could level an accusation that it's all very uncoordinated. The questions need to be asked, who should have ultimate responsibility for safeguarding the truth?

Chairman of the Italian Competition Authority Giovanni Pitruzzella thinks it should be the state, not media companies and certainly not the likes of Facebook and Google. In an interview with the Financial Times, he stated that each EU country should have its own independent body tasked with flagging fake news, removing it from circulation and imposing fines. These should operate like antitrust agencies, and be coordinated on a European level by Brussels.

Pitruzzella acknowledged that tech companies are working on new policies and tweaking algorithms to fight fake news but maintained they can't be relied on as the arbiters of truth. It's a fair point, these are primarily engineering and sales companies. They are international in nature and they are designed to increase shareholder value. But surely the creation of state agencies to police the news could lead to accusations of censorship at best, or an Orwellian-style Ministry of Truth at worst?

Legislators certainly have a role to play. But perhaps they shouldn't be empowering civil servants to check the facts. Perhaps governments need to rely on those who have the skills and pedigree to fight fake news. Who could that possibly be? The media, that's who! A stronger media, with a civic mandate to quash lies and contribute to public discourse, would go a long way to combatting the rise of fake news. Maybe European technocrats need to consider how they could strengthen and support the battered news industry across the continent, provided those news outlets are seen to contribute to the social good. Maybe the Germans are onto something with their idea of Meinungsbildung, after all.
OpenApp is now looking to double its workforce. Stock image

A Dublin-based software company has won a 5m contract with the EU to develop a health app to speed up the medical diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases across member states.

Using a technology platform developed by Irish firm OpenApp, thousands of experts, researchers and doctors working in 370 hospitals and 1,000 specialist centres of expertise will be able to work as "a virtual clinical team" on urgent patient cases.

OpenApp, which already employs 32 software developers and a helpdesk support team at its headquarters in Dublin's Parnell Street, is now looking to double its workforce. It will develop and manage the app over the next four years with support from Vitro Software, another Irish healthcare software business.

Founded in 2002, health analytics firm OpenApp specialises in open source applications. It partners with the likes of the HSE, the Ambulance Service and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to provide clinical data registries such as HealthAtlas.

With annual revenues of about 2m, managing director Mel McIntyre says the EU deal is "a game-changer" for OpenApp.

"It's a real digital single market success story. It's the first significant digital cross-border collaboration in healthcare that is supported by the EU," he said.

McIntyre says the EU wants to develop a European Reference Network for rare diseases that provides a common IT platform for health teams across all member states.

"The idea that we can contribute to improved diagnosis of patients with rare disorders is very exciting. We have been developing patient-centric information systems for a number of years in collaboration with Irish health services and we now get to use this knowledge and expertise on a European stage to promote shared cross-border healthcare."

In order to deliver a project of this scale, OpenApp is collaborating with other EU healthcare IT firms, including Cineca in Italy, Aridia in Scotland and Vu2Vu in Ireland.

OpenApp has received 200,000 grant aid from Enterprise Ireland to support its ongoing research and development in software technology.
If your tech start-up specialises in some aspect of cyber security and wants to work with, or investment from, the CIA or the US Air Force, Dubliner Alex O'Cinneide is the man you need to talk to. He is head of one of the world's leading cyber security venture capital funds, Paladin Europe which has 320m to invest - a few million of which is money he's made from merging his green energy investment firm Gore Street Capital with Paladin Capital's broader 1bn group of VC funds.

Working alongside the 45-year-old Trinity graduate, who is a native of Dun Laoghaire, are Irishwoman and cyber analytics professor Dr Mary Aiken and several former senior US government and US and UK intelligence agency staff.

The roll-call of heavyweights includes former deputy director of the US National Security Agency Chris Inglis; Richard A Clarke - a former special adviser to the President on cyber security; former GCHQ director and UK security and intelligence co-ordinator Sir David Ormand; and former CIA director James Woolsey.

To give an idea of the doors it can open, last August one of its investee firms, threat intelligence start-up Anomali was backed by In-Q-Tel, a strategic investment firm for US intelligence agencies and also signed a technology development agreement with it.

Another investee, Endgame an "endpoint security platform" signed an 18m-contract with the US Air Force "to safeguard networks for their elite cyber protection teams," who will use its platform to "better prevent, detect and hunt for advanced threats to critical infrastructure".

Being in this network of contacts must make for some interesting conversations given current events in the US.

"We're lucky to have such high-level thinkers. They're constantly looking at what the future cyber security threats could be, and where the gaps might be in thinking and ability in this sector, and that gives us a big advantage," said O'Cinneide.

''The interface with governments is crucial. They're a big customer for these products. Bridging that gap is an important part of what we do. We want to help bring European start-ups to the US, which is the largest market, so that they can grow. We understand the technology and the related R&D, the buyers, the governments and the financial side," he affirms.

The sector is big business. Investors poured over 6bn into it last year. The market is predicted to grow by at least 5pc a year according to research firm Gartner, which forecast that information and cyber security spending will exceed 250bn by 2020. The US government spent over 100bn on it over the past decade, with 13bn budgeted for last year alone.

Microsoft said this week that it will spend over 1bn every year on R&D in the years ahead and according to its data, 600,000 to 700,000 cyberattacks are conducted every week across the globe.

It recently emerged that Lloyds Bank in the UK saw its customers locked out of their online accounts by a cyber attack, and that the ECB is considering stress tests of banks' defences against them. News of them, featuring organisations from the likes of Sony to the US Democratic Party, is becoming increasingly regular.

However, the investment numbers suggest it has become a frothy sector as well. Bigger Silicon Valley VC funds have been chasing investments in it over the past four years in order to diversify. Most large firms have been active, with Accel Partners having backed 17 firms by last summer and Andreessen Horowitz and Intel Capital among the top-five investors.

How does Paladin compare? Last year, O'Cinneide revealed to this newspaper that the firm was running the rule over 20 Irish tech start-ups specialising in this area, but it didn't back any of them.

"That's not unusual, though. It's normal that we would evaluate hundreds of start-ups before investing," he says over coffee in Dublin's Merrion Hotel before he leaves for his London office, from where he manages the firm's investments.

What is he looking for in start-ups, and what are the most common reasons he doesn't back them? "They don't need to have the cleverest technology, but they need to be a clever fit either into the existing market, or else disrupting it completely. What they tend to get wrong is that a product or service might be fulfilling a gap in the market, but they overestimate the size of the market. Investors will see that. The other common pitfall is relying on just one customer as the validation of the business."

Paladin is focused on several aspects of cyber security, he says. "If you think about it, we've benefited enormously from the internet in a very short space of time, and as cyber security threats grow, we're only perhaps now realising the true cost of that. The Internet of Things brings a whole new set of security concerns, so that's one obvious area we're looking at. Blockchain - a system for permanently storing transaction records on networks of unrelated computers permanently and verifiably - is another area of interest, particularly for 'know your client' functions and how it may provide greater security for customers.

"Enterprise IT and its operation of secure transactions is another one. A key one is threat analysis - the use of data to understand what's going on that might threaten a company's IP and operations. It's about how data is analysed, used and protected; how do transactions take place, is it seamless and who is storing data. The final one is how secure information interfaces with genomic or gene sequencing in the diagnostics and therapeutics functions related to health.

"What we know for certain is that there's a constantly evolving set of threats against our personal data and that of corporates and governments. The reaction to that is a set of innovations, we want to invest in that innovation and the market is large and growing. The threat faced by businesses is often existential. This isn't just an IT problem, it's one of which a CEO is now constantly aware."

O'Cinneide and his colleagues look at 20 to 30 potential investments a month and have backed five cyber security start-ups to date, two of which are in Europe. They mainly scout for new investments in Germany, France and the UK, "but Luxembourg and Ireland are also very interesting too, with their large concentration of the finance sector and back office functions, together with a diverse range of tech giants and start-ups".

''Ireland should be marketing itself as a hub for cyber security start-ups,'' he says, but the idea needs to be championed a lot more. UCD's centre for cybersecurity and cybercrime investigation calls itself the leading one of its kind in Europe, but Belfast and London all make similar claims, with Queen's University in Belfast having achieved a high degree of recognition and Berlin rivalling all three,'' he adds.

"We need a joined-up strategy, with a focus on developing talent and skills, then money from investors should follow. You've got common stakeholders: tech giants, the universities, legal, finance and accountancy, with other input needed from the data protection commission. Insurer Zurich has a unit specialising in this in Dublin too. Right now every country in Europe wants to be a hub for it. I recently spoke about it at a conference in Krakow in Poland, and they were keen on the idea too.

"The universities here could do more research, and then it's all about an ongoing pool of maths, computer science and software engineering graduates."

This country has done it before, as we know from the success of the tech sectors in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Dublin's IFSC and more recently the emerging Green IFSC - where he has some experience - are other examples of where it's been done, he adds.

The son of a father who was a writer and publisher and a mother who also worked in publishing, perhaps fittingly enough O'Cinneide began working in start-ups after graduating with a history degree from Trinity College.

"The first was in educational software, at a firm called WBT Systems, I was a junior sales guy and did some tech support. At Kick, a web design firm, I was the boss, but I got to a stage where I decided I needed a bit more stability in my life and on my CV, so I took a job at KPMG," he recalls. "That took me to London and New York; it was an interesting time and I learned a lot working in the areas of strategy, technology and private equity advisory work."

A stint at a private equity firm and a Masters in Finance and another in Philosophy, which he took in London followed before a seven-year stint in Abu Dhabi, to where he moved with his wife and two young children. ''He had an amazing time," heading up Masdar Capital, the green investment arm of its sovereign wealth fund, growing the fund from $250m to $700m, which was invested in wind, solar and waste to energy.

Managing Paladin's renewable energy investments under the Gore Street moniker as well as wearing his cyber security hat, solar, wind and energy storage are its areas of focus. It's about to close an investment in a UK battery installation for peak power for the grid and is looking to invest in an Italian solar farm.

President Trump pulling out of climate change agreements is a huge threat to the sector globally, but it should be safe in the US because of all the jobs it's created, he notes.

Whatever else he and his intriguing colleagues may be saying about Trump we can but guess.
Interviewed on these pages last week, Emirates Airlines' Irish boss, Enda Corneille, who conceded "there's an edge" between it and UAE rival Etihad Airways. And the latter has the edge at Dublin Airport in one regard: lounges. Etihad's dedicated facility is a classy affair, with full meals on offer to business travellers.

Emirates, later into the Irish market operates out of the DAA lounge. "It's the one thing I wish we had - and there's no space," Corneille admits. "We've been in contact with the airport a lot of times to see if there's a way of doing it and it's still a very live issue.

"The lounge we have is obviously not our own lounge but it's fit for purpose. As the airport develops and expands who knows what opportunities might be there for us."

Etihad switched from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport during the week but the lounge remains unaffected as it's situated between the two terminals. Corneille, meanwhile, says that "we're happy at Terminal 2".

Speaking of lounges, Manchester Airport is to launch an adults-only facility in Terminal 3 this April. Although fast-track security is a perk, the lounge isn't cheap - 30 if booked in advance or 35 on the day. Given that the maximum stay is two hours you'll need to be a big wine tippler to make it economical.

Hard to believe, but flying on internal flights in the US may become even more grim. With great fanfare, American Airlines has followed United and Delta into the age of "basic economy" fares. Aimed at combating the threat from low-cost carriers, the big carriers are making economy slightly cheaper - and less attractive.

Stowing a carry-on bag overhead in the cabin is a thing of the past with American Airlines and United on a basic rate, but still allowed with Delta. Small carry-on items are OK, if they can fit under a seat.

It doesn't stop there. Complimentary seat selection is only at check-in and you'll also have to take a walk of shame as you'll be last to board the aircraft.

The move by American Airlines has already fallen foul of one US politician, with US senator Charles Schumer taking a pop at the large carriers. "You don't have to know how to read the tea leaves to see that when it comes to new airline fees, the future looks turbulent for consumers," Schumer said.

"Yet again, and as predicted, another major airline just made it harder for everyday consumers to fly by banning the free use of the overhead bin for some travellers."

American Airlines has countered; arguing that it's giving some customers what they want - cheaper fares. On the plus side, you do get the same in-flight meal, so those pretzels are safe, but it could be a grim enough trip, given that some coast-to-coast flights are as long as transatlantic journeys.

But could the ban-the-bin movement hit Irish transatlantic travellers? Not yet, but watch out. "At launch, they (basic economy fares) will be on domestic US routes only, with expansion to come later as demand indicates. We'll lay out more details on things like transfer policies if and when we do offer it internationally," an American Airlines spokesman told this column.

Now from the back of the plane in economy to the front. United Airlines has unveiled New Spirit of United, its first plane (777-300ER) with its much-hyped Polaris business class offering, pictured. And the big plus is that it gets around that big First World problem for business travellers - having to step over a fully-reclined, sleeping passenger next to you (a big problem on the otherwise excellent offering from British Airways). The bad news is that the full rollout of the new service could take years - and a spokesman for United told the Sunday Independent that there are no plans yet to deploy in on services from the US to Ireland.

Denver Airport has been ranked fastest for wifi in the US - with Atlanta limping along in last place in a new survey. Surprisingly, tech hub gateway San Francisco International also did badly in the Ookla test. Dublin Airport scored highly in 2015 in a global survey by another online tester, Rotten Wifi, but failed to make the cut last year. But the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is confident that its new online service, DUBstream, will prove a hit with travellers.

The service, to be updated fortnightly, will be available free on your phone, tablet or laptop throughout both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 and the four boarding gate piers.

It'll be interesting to see what foreign travellers make of highlights from The Late Late, Ray D'Arcy Show plus Bridget & Eamon and Damo & Ivor. Hellish layover viewing or hit? Watch this Twitter space.
The 'naked torso boy' giant poster outside the store in Dublin's College Green. Photo: Collins

Abercrombie & Fitch, facing sluggish shopping mall traffic and a shift to fast-fashion brands, is eliminating about 150 corporate jobs after years of struggling to turn around the chain.

The cutbacks are meant to "ensure we are structured appropriately for the current retail environment," the Ohio-based company said in a statement. The reductions would represent just 3pc of the 5,000 jobs Abercrombie had last year, though most of those positions are at stores, not the corporate level.

Abercrombie, once a hot destination for teen and 20-something shoppers, joins a parade of retailers making changes in the wake of a challenging Christmas season.

Macy's and Sears are closing stores, and The Limited - another former shopping-mall star - said this month it would shutter all its stores and file for bankruptcy.

Hollister, Abercrombie's more youth-focused division, is also revamping its Gilly Hicks brand in a bid to attract shoppers.

The intimate-apparel line, which includes bras, underwear, swimsuits and pyjamas, will be touted at in-store boutiques.

Abercrombie's shares plunged in November after earnings came in well short of analysts' estimates, a sign that efforts to recapture its allure haven't gained traction.

Another possible concern for investors is that the company still lacks a permanent chief executive, more than two years since longtime CEO Mike Jeffries stepped down in late 2014.

Abercrombie & Fitch stock declined 56pc in 2016.

Bloomberg
The Government has stepped up contact with immigration centres throughout the US amid mounting concern that 50,000 undocumented Irish risk deportation.

US President Donald Trump last week vowed to follow through on his election promise to crack down on illegal immigrants. His executive order introducing major changes to America's immigration laws has caused widespread unease among the thousands of undocumented Irish living in the US, many of whom have been there for decades.

Immigration centres which cater for the huge contingent of Irish in America are understood to have experienced a significant spike in contact from those fearful they could be thrown out of the country.

Trump's executive order could also punish "sanctuary cities", which currently offer a form of protection to undocumented residents. He could deny these designated urban areas hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants. Such cities include New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan confirmed the Irish embassy in Washington, as well as the six consulates in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin, were in "active and ongoing contact" with Irish immigration centres throughout the US.

"My department will continue to monitor developments in this area very closely," he added. Boston mayor Marty Walsh, an Irish-American, said he was "deeply disturbed" by Trump's actions, which could withdraw funding from the city.

Boston is home to approximately 10,000 undocumented Irish. "I will use all of my power within lawful means to protect all Boston residents," Walsh said.

Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, another sanctuary city, also hit out against Trump's orders.

He vowed to welcome people no matter where they are from.

"There is no stranger among us," he said. "We welcome people, whether you're from Poland or Pakistan, whether you're from Ireland or India or Israel and whether you're from Mexico or Moldova, where my grandfather came from, you are welcome in Chicago as you pursue the American dream."

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Dublin has confirmed that the 90-day ban on people from countries named in an executive order by US President Donald Trump is in operation at the US immigration pre-clearance facility in Dublin and Shannon airports.

Last Friday, Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend right of entry into the United States of refugees. The order imposed tough controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries.

It means entry to the country is being denied to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The embassy has also said that scheduled visa interviews with nationals from these countries will not be going ahead.
The Court of Appeal, with Ms Justice Mary Irvine presiding, has dismissed libel proceedings by communications consultant Monica Leech over an article published in the Sunday Independent 12 years ago.

The case related to a front page article of January 30, 2005 concerning a burglary at Ms Leech's home some months earlier.

Ms Leech's proceedings were taken against Independent Newspapers Ltd, publisher of the Sunday Independent. The newspaper denied libel and its defence included pleading qualified privilege.

The case was initiated in April 2005 but, after notices to proceed were served in 2008, little more happened until 2014 when Independent Newspapers applied to have the case dismissed and Ms Leech served a further notice of intention to proceed.

In November 2015, the High Court found "inordinate and inexcusable delay" by Ms Leech in advancing her action but also ruled the balance of justice favoured letting it proceed.

But the three judge Court of Appeal unanimously granted the appeal by Independent Newspapers against permitting the case to proceed. Cian Ferriter SC represented Independent Newspapers.

Ms Leech had not disputed the High Court finding of inordinate and inexcusable delay on her part but she argued the newspaper acquiesced in that delay while she pursued two other libel cases. She also alleged it was not prejudiced by the delay.

The issue for the appeal court to decide was whether the balance of justice favoured dismissing the case or allowing it go ahead.

Giving the appeal court's unanimous judgment, Ms Justice Mary Irvine held the High Court made legal errors in its assessment of where the balance of justice lay.

Ms Leech, the judge said, made a tactical decision to "park" this libel case, initiated in April 2005, while she pursued two other libel actions.

One of those cases, initiated in 2004 over articles in the Evening Herald published by Independent Newspapers, led to a 1.87m damages award in 2009, later reduced to 1.25m by the Supreme Court in 2014 on appeal. The second case, over a 2004 article in the Irish Independent, is subject to a retrial.

Ms Leech parked the third action [which was subject to Friday's ruling] and it was not disputed she did not communicate her decision to do so to the newspaper, the judge said.

A person who did that bears the risk of being penalised for her delay and the High Court had erred in finding Independent Newspapers acquiesced in the delay.

The High Court also erred in not giving appropriate consideration to the specific and general prejudice relied on by the defendant as a result of the delay, the judge held.

That prejudice included the death in January 2012 of Sunday Independent editor Aengus Fanning, with the effect he was not available to give evidence to support the newspaper's plea the article underwent proper editorial consideration and adversely impacted on the memory of the two journalists who wrote the article.

The High Court should also have considered the difficulties facing a jury seeking to fairly assess a public interest defence concerning an article published in 2004, the judge said.

A jury being asked to make decisions not just on the credibility of witnesses, but also what was or was not a matter of public interest 10 years on "is likely to lead to a precarious result", she said.
The Kinahan gang in Dublin and its associates have spared nothing in their lust for revenge over the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel a year ago next Sunday

Christy Kinahan and his mob are beginning to feel the "clawback" effect from basic police work stemming from investigations into his gang's 12 months of bloodletting after the Regency Hotel attack.

Inquiries into one of the 13 murders carried out by the Kinahan mob are believed to have led to the previously unknown figure at the centre of one of the gang's oldest and most important distribution and logistics operations in Dublin. It is under the direct control of a man who has evaded arrest despite being the key suspect in more than two dozen murders in west Dublin and its rural hinterland.

The Kinahan gang in Dublin and its associates have spared nothing in their lust for revenge over the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel a year ago next Sunday. One senior source told the Sunday Independent: "If the Hutches offer a hundred grand for a hit, the Kinahans double it. Money talks."

This has resulted in the "feud" tally of 12 murders by the Kinahans to one by the Hutch side. They may have beaten the Hutches into submission, but they are paying a price higher than the huge lumps of cash they are prepared to put up for assassinations.

Gardai will never admit it but someone in the Kinahan operation is talking. This happens in the legally nebulous area where guards catch someone and, facing charges, the caught person or a close relative or friend begin giving up information. Informing on the Kinahans is possibly one of the most dangerous things to do in Dublin.

But, it happens. Some people give gardai information for no reward, simply wishing to strike a blow at a mob which includes some of the most depraved sociopaths in society.

As the murder tally progressed through last year, so did the flow of information to the Garda.

One significant factor in the progress of the garda investigation in west Dublin was that gardai - though this won't be admitted - are reverting to old and proven methods of detective work.

The essence of detective work involves the trusted relationship between police officers and their information sources.

This was severely undermined 10 years ago when garda management, in response to the Judge Frederick Morris report into corruption in Donegal, stopped one-to-one relations between detectives and their sources.

Expand Close Christy Kinahan is the head of the Kinahan crime family, / Facebook

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Whatsapp Christy Kinahan is the head of the Kinahan crime family,

In 2006, all detectives were informed that all their criminal sources had to be handed over to central CHIS (covert human intelligence sources) officers who had no personal relationship with these informants. Criminal intelligence effectively broke down as a result.

Not only did this allow the mobs to grow in strength, it also emboldened them to carry out murder almost at will. The onslaught against the Hutches in the first two months after the Regency demonstrated this.

Senior sources now admit the whole CHIS idea was a massive mistake. Legal sources say Judge Morris did not intend that the vital personal relationships between detectives and their sources be done away with but that garda management somehow made this decision based on a flawed interpretation of his recommendations.

The CHIS teams, based in stations away from the tight-knit communities where the crime organisations are based, were unable to accurately assess the "intelligence" they were receiving.

Under the new cumbersome apparatus, CHIS officers, many with no criminal investigative experience, would collect pieces of intelligence and feed these upwards to the crime and security section in Garda Headquarters, which would then, as it suited, disburse reports back down to local stations - where much of this intelligence was found to be wrong, out of date or superfluous.

That changed in the past year in response to the massive negative publicity stemming from the Regency attack and its consequent massacre of the Hutch gang and anyone, innocent or otherwise, associated with it. Good ordinary uniformed gardai and detectives are again sourcing information locally and ensuring it is put to good effect, according to usually reliable sources.

To protect these sources and the gardai who are receiving the information, the force has set up an umbrella anti-organised crime unit, the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB).

This is claiming responsibility for almost all major arms, drugs and cash seizures, though clearly its limited numbers of officers are not capable of the round-the-clock activity that would be required to carry out all these operations.

The Garda Special Detective Unit, which never adopted the CHIS regulation, has played a very significant though unpublicised role in the operations against both sides.

Its interests in terrorist and subversive criminal activity have intersected with "ordinary crime" investigations as both the Hutches and Kinahans are linked to republican - and even loyalist - paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.

One man linked to the Kinahans was previously linked with John Gilligan and the Irish National Liberation Army.

This man still has affiliations with his old "republican" associates who have become key distributors for Kinahan-supplied drugs north of the Border.

The Rathcoole-based gangster, responsible for upwards of two dozen murders over the past two decades, has largely replicated Gilligan's operation.

His predecessor in the Gilligan gang was Russell Warren, the failed businessman who acted as accountant and bagman for Gilligan's money-laundering operations.

Warren agreed to testify against his old boss in return for a reduced sentence and a new life abroad under the witness protection scheme.

Expand Close Gerry Hutch. Picture: Steve Humphreys / Facebook

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The witness scheme, possibly the best single method of obtaining usable evidence in court against organised criminals, has fallen into disuse over the past decade alongside the degrading of the Garda's criminal intelligence-gathering operations.

Intelligence was clearly a factor leading to the discovery of cannabis in Dublin Port the previous week.

This 37m seizure, one of the biggest hauls of cannabis in many years, however, pales in relation to the industrial-scale importation and distribution of drugs needed for the Irish market.

Last October's discovery of a torpedo-type container washed up on Kilmacreehy beach, near Liscannor, Co Clare, was the biggest pointer to date of how the Kinahan mob uses Ireland's unprotected west coast as a major landing stage for cocaine and heroin.

The sealed metal container, bolted to the hull of a seagoing vessel under its waterline, was dropped off the coast and was to have been collected by a trawler or small inshore vessel and then transported across the country to Dublin, and maybe even to the UK market.

It contained 75kg of pure cocaine. Although a value of only 5m was placed on the contents by Customs, garda sources said that once cut with adulterants and sold on the open market, the drugs could have had a street value of 50m or more as most cocaine sold in Ireland is 15pc or less in actual cocaine purity levels.

Much of the adulterants used are dangerous and known generically in the drugs trade where the cocaine is mixed as "dirt".

The actual core of the Kinahan operation is entirely offshore and Ireland is now just a small part of this crime empire, which operates with global reach from the Far East to Africa and Central and South America.

It is diversified and increasingly involved in legitimate trading, following the example set by the much, much bigger Italian and Corsican mafias, who are now conglomerates involved in shipping and international trade. Like many other aspects of trade and industry, the illicit drugs trade has globalised.

One seasoned garda said seizures and arrests can have a cumulative effect but there is no indication that the Kinahans have been put out of business, or that the killing and mass intimidation that surrounds the organised drugs trade has been stopped.

In fact, the likelihood is that the mob will respond as it usually does to garda seizures and disruption of its trade, by seeking out and murdering anyone it regards as a "rat".

Large personal debts have also been incurred as a direct result of seizures and this also stokes the internal pressures that result in small and medium dealers in debt to the main distributors paying the price for garda successes in blood.
Members of the Gardai at the scene of a raid which resulted in the find of guns, ammunition and up to 30kgs of illegal drugs in Sallins Bridge in Co Kildare Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

Members of the Gardai at the scene of a raid which resulted in the find of Guns, ammunition and up to 30kgs of illegal drugs in Sallins Bridge in Co Kildare Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

Gardai have discovered a quantity of firearms and drugs in a search in the Sallins area of Co Kildare.

3m of suspected heroin and cocaine were recovered during the operation.

The weapons were discovered overnight and this morning by officers connected to the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

At least one AK47 assault rifle is believed to be among the items seized.

An amount of ammunition and drugs were found.

A senior source said it was a "significant" seizure.

The drugs, believed to be cocaine and heroin, were found concealed in furniture and other compartments around the house according to reports.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the raid showed that gardai were being "relentless and resourceful" in their crackdown on organised crime.

Gardai believe the find is linked to the Kinahan cartel and follows on from last week's massive success when more than 15 weapons were seized in an industrial unit in Baldonnell.

Gardai recovered 15 firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and almost half a million euro during searches on Tuesday and Wednesday

Three men have been charged in connection with the seizure of firearms and ammunition at Greenogue Industrial estate, Baldonnel, Co Dublin.
Gardai are to question the girlfriend of one of the main suspects in the Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe murder in Dundalk.

The woman, in her early twenties, fled Ireland to be with her partner in the aftermath of the murder four years ago this week.

It is understood she and her partner and his brother, also a suspect in the murder gang, were living in Massachusetts and New York.

The suspect brothers' relatives are millionaire fuel and cigarette smugglers closely linked to the Provisional IRA in the Cooley Peninsula area. They have been able to protect and finance the brothers, and are related on their mother's side to a well-known Irish Traveller family with business interests in New Jersey. The brothers are believed to have stayed there as well.

It was reported the brothers and the young woman attended lavish social gatherings.

However, all three were illegally in the US and when she was detained after a road accident in October the young woman went into the Federal deportation programme and arrived home last weekend.

She is staying with her parents, described by local people as an 'honest' couple with no criminal or paramilitary connections.

There were five members of the gang on the night of the murder in January 2013. The young man who is suspected of shooting is also believed to also have been on the run in the United States and was detained briefly in New York but released. It is believed he has travelled back and forth to the US on a number of occasions.

All the gang members have either family or criminal associations with the South Armagh IRA. One is a nephew of the man believed to be a violent Provo smuggler closely linked to another local Provo boss responsible for ordering the murder of innocent local man, Paul Quinn (21) in October 2007.

Garda sources say that while the gang, all in their late teens or early twenties, were involved in small-time armed robberies they were all working their way up the criminal ladder of the South Armagh Provo operations.

It is believed they were intending to raise a 30,000 'buy-in' to one of the Provo cigarette smuggling operations.

They escaped with 4,000 in cash during the robbery of the Lordship Credit Union in Dundalk and had carried out a series of similar robberies along the Border, including one on a fuel depot two months earlier in which an innocent Polish employee was shot in the thigh and was fortunate not to have bled to death.

It is believed the same shotgun that killed Det Garda Donohoe (41) was used in this robbery.

After the murder the gang drove a stolen VW Passatt into south Armagh and burned it near the village of Darkley. The gang had been living nearby in the Cullyhanna area, in the heart of the IRA's smuggling territory.

Two of the gang have remained in south Armagh, one frequently crossing the Border smuggling fuel and cigarettes for the IRA. Another moved temporarily to north Armagh but later returned. He, too, is linked by family to notorious Provo smugglers.

Last week Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan issued a statement praising the efforts of gardai who have been investigating the murder.

No charges have yet been brought but sources say they are still 'hopeful' of bringing charges. Commissioner O'Sullivan said: "Extensive inquiries continue to be carried out in this country and with our international partners, including the PSNI. This is a highly complex investigation and it is important that as with all such investigations that we make sure we have every single detail right."

Gardai suspect two of the gang involved in Det Garda Donohoe's murder were also involved in a cross-Border incident before last Christmas in which six PSNI officers and two gardai were injured when their cars were rammed by the gang. Police sources say the gang is now involved in cocaine smuggling.
Over the past five years, tourist arrivals in the capital have increased by one-third  but the available accommodation in the city has shrunk 6pc (Stock picture)

Following a record year for tourism in Ireland, a 'Gathering No.2' - targeting the Irish diaspora - is being considered by Government.

The Sunday Independent has learned Minister Shane Ross is currently drawing up a memo on hosting a second 'themed year'.

It will be brought to Cabinet in the next eight weeks.

The Irish tourism industry enjoyed one of its strongest ever 12-month periods in 2016.

A record number of overseas visitors - 8.8 million people - came here last year, spending 4.7bn. That was a 9pc increase, almost 600m more, than what was spent in 2015.

Now, the Department of Tourism has confirmed a second 'themed year' is being considered, to further boost one of the success stories of our economy.

Government officials have already consulted Ireland's two key bodies in this area - Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland - as part of a specially commissioned feasibility study now about to be completed. While sources suggest the staging of a 'Gathering No.2' style series of events would prove a massive tourism boost - particularly given the uncertainties posed by the Brexit fallout - a number of key developments which emerged last year will need to be carefully considered.

These include a chronic "capacity constraint" in suitable accommodation, as the imbalance between supply and demand in the hotel market, particularly in Dublin, continues.

Over the past five years, tourist arrivals in the capital have increased by one-third - but the available accommodation in the city has shrunk 6pc.

Experts warn this "capacity crunch" remains a serious concern, with close to 5,000 new hotel bedrooms needed to satisfy demand.

Another serious concern is the unknown consequences in the months ahead arising from Brexit.

According to a department spokesman, the fallout has "significantly altered" the tourism environment in the short term due to currency fluctuations, coupled with other uncertainties in the medium to longer term.

Officials are currently evaluating Brexit "benefits and risks" which are emerging at this point in time, before a report by Tourism Minister Shane Ross will be delivered to cabinet before the end of March.

Meanwhile, it has also emerged that the Government has now ditched plans to offer Irish-born pensioners living abroad - visiting this country - free travel for the period they spend in Ireland.

It had been proposed to extend the Free Travel Scheme to make trips home cheaper and easier for members of the diaspora. However, the Department of Social Protection has now concluded it would not be compatible with EU rules, because it would not apply to citizens from other member countries, when they travel to this jurisdiction. It has also been established that plans to hold a referendum on granting voting rights in Presidential elections to Irish citizens living outside the State hangs in the balance.

Last July, Minister for the Diaspora Joe McHugh announced a referendum on the matter might be held at some stage this year.

If passed, it would give those eligible to vote, including those living in Northern Ireland, a say in future elections. However, officials now believe such a proposal could throw up a number of legal and practical problems.

Sources suggest an interdepartmental review of the proposal has been "prioritised", and a final decision is expected in the coming months. Among the issues being considered is the range and scope of the proposed extension of voting rights - and whether it should be limited to a particular category.
The clampdown comes as the HSE faces a massive 350m payout  to compensate hospital consultants  for allegedly failing to honour a salary deal agreed eight years ago. (Stock picture)

Medical consultants stumped up more than 15m last year in unpaid taxes and penalties as part of a 'blitz' by Revenue on special schemes used to boost incomes.

And new figures secured by the Sunday Independent also show 54 highly paid medics each made a settlement of more than 100,000 in 2016.

Many of the doctors had set up 'controlled companies' which were later found to contain 'aggressive tax-planning' and other avoidance measures. The Revenue authorities are now challenging hundreds of cases which involve transactions they allege have "little or no commercial reality".

Latest data shows the authorities have 318 cases on their books - with a further round of investigations due to begin shortly. In total, some 54.1m has been recovered from 253 consultants and their "connected companies" in the past four years.

The clampdown comes as the HSE faces a massive 350m payout - to compensate hospital consultants - for allegedly failing to honour a salary deal agreed eight years ago.

A detailed breakdown of the figures shows the number of cases involved in this tax investigation into one of the country's highest paid professions have increased dramatically over the past four years.

In 2013, a total of 98 'interventions', which can include a 'profile interview', audit or full scale investigation, were carried by Revenue. Some 510,000 arising from eight cases was recovered by the authorities in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties. One medic made a settlement of more than 100,000.

By September 2016, however, settlements had risen to 15m - with 763 'interventions' launched.

This compares with some 16.9m recovered by Revenue in 2014, when 53 consultants made settlements in excess of 100,000. In 2015, a total of 21.6m was recouped by the tax authorities; 69 medics coughed up repayments exceeding 100,000.

Tax investigators have established that private companies set up by some consultants were used to cut their tax bills by deducting large expenses - which had little to do with direct business activities - and to improperly write off losses against capital gains and other taxes.

Other cases included excessive or incorrect tax deductions claimed in relation to the salaries and pensions of spouses and children.

It was also discovered that some doctors were deferring income to a later tax period, therefore delaying their liability.

It is believed that a number of consultants who were investigated by the Revenue Commissioners were clients of a Dublin accountancy firm, Houlihan Cushnahan.

Four prominent hospital consultants who were named as tax defaulters are suing the firm over the advice they allegedly received from the firm. An informed source said other hospital consultants were considering legal proceedings.

Houlihan Cushnahan did not respond to calls from the Sunday Independent this weekend.

The Revenue probe is believed to have wreaked financial havoc on those consultants who were targeted. One consultant, who declined to be named, told the Sunday Independent he at one point considered selling the family home after being presented with a six-figure tax bill.
The long-time love of John Hurt, Sarah Owens, has paid tribute to the legendary actor following his death last week.

Dublin-born writer Sarah dated the veteran star for seven years, while the pair lived in Luggala in the Wicklow Mountains.

Speaking this weekend, Sarah said: "I'm proud to have been one of a special group of women that shared his life, each of us part of a different story at a different time."

With "the heaviest of hearts" she described Hurt (77) as "a fighter" to the last.

Paying tribute to "his wife Anwen, his sons Sasha and Nick, brother Michael, his loyal close friends", she said she knew "the enormous void" his passing would leave in their lives.

She added: "John always laughed that he had the best calibre of fans in the world - this was so true. So they too are in my thoughts today, as are the family of the endless production crew he so dearly loved.''

In a poignant few words she mused how "perhaps, there is an irony, in this time of his passing, that Orwell's novel 1984 has had such a recent resurgence. Given the John that I knew and loved, I believe he would hope that we take its message seriously".

The classic book - detailing a dystopian future where critical thought is suppressed under a totalitarian regime - has seen a surge in sales this month, rising to the top of the Amazon best-seller list in the United States and leading its publisher to print tens of thousands of new copies.

Penguin USA has ordered 75,000 new copies of the book this week and is considering another reprint.

Its increase in popularity is said to be linked to US President Donald Trump's inauguration and an 'alternative facts' quote by his adviser Kellyanne Conway.

Hurt had most recently starred as Father Richard McSorley in Jackie, the biopic of President John F Kennedy's wife.

Despite receiving the all-clear from pancreatic cancer, he pulled out of Sir Kenneth Branagh's production of The Entertainer on the advice of his doctors last year.

He died at his home in Norfolk.
The Irish Times has been ordered to pay out to a woman who was paid less when she returned to work after maternity leave, according to reports.

The Sunday Times published a story about the dispute which was settled by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The Irish Times was found to be in breach of equality legislation and was ordered to pay the woman, who worked as a sub-editor, 9,000  which included a 2,500 payment for "personal distress and anxiety caused by the discrimination".

Before going on maternity leave the woman was paid 275 per shift and was a grade 2 employee, on a three-month rolling contract.

When she returned she claimed she was demoted to a 'grade 1 casual employee' and was paid 234 per shift, despite, she claimed, being told that she would remain on the same grade.

The newspaper denied that she had been told that she would return to work on the same grade.

In her absence a male employee was recruited and was "promoted over" her the woman said.

She also claimed that the newspaper was favouring male employees, or female employees without young children, over those with young families.

She resigned voluntarily after her return from maternity leave as a result of the dispute.

The adjudicating officer in the WRC noted that the woman did not give "lengthy consideration" to resolution suggestions. A meeting had been held between her, her representative and the company but no resolution was settled on.

During proceedings the newspaper said that its decision not to renew her original grade was due to "ongoing editorial digital and print reogranisation". It denied discrimination based on gender or family status.

The Irish Times declined to comment to The Sunday Times.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny's immediate future as Fine Gael leader is in jeopardy after he was forced to issue a humiliating statement yesterday insisting he would not go into government with Sinn Fein.

As fury intensified around Enda Kenny's handling of the embarrassing crisis, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin last night warned "internal Fine Gael angst" could collapse the Government.

But Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald came to the defence of the Taoiseach, insisting he had not suggested a change in Fine Gael policy but rather had commented on the changing nature of election results.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar welcomed Enda Kenny's statement. He said: "In politics you have to make compromises to get things done but if you don't have red lines, then you stand for nothing. This is a red line for me."

However, the Taoiseach's latest blunder has led to increased discussion around his leadership and he is likely to face demands early this week to set out his plans for departure when he faces his parliamentary party.

There was speculation in Fine Gael last night that Mr Kenny may be pressured to resign as leader by Easter.

A Cabinet minister last week also said he believed Mr Kenny would step down in the summer to allow a leadership campaign to take place during the Dail recess.

Ms Fitzgerald last night told the Sunday Independent that Mr Kenny had "made it absolutely clear that we do not see a future with a coalition with Sinn Fein and I don't see us in coalition with Sinn Fein".

However, the controversy has caused serious concern in Fine Gael ranks. Several senior politicians yesterday made contact with this newspaper to set out their deep unease with the Taoiseach's comments last week which led to his statement yesterday.

The Cabinet ministers and backbench TDs said they been inundated with calls from angry constituents who fear their support could see Sinn Fein put into power after Mr Kenny's expressed view.

There are real concerns that the Taoiseach's comments could see the party lose a significant amount of votes should an election be called.

One senior minister said Mr Kenny was "handing votes" to Fianna Fail by suggesting Fine Gael would work with Sinn Fein.

"Our message was always that Fianna Fail would go into government with Sinn Fein because there is a group of Fianna Fail TDs who have said they are interested in working with Sinn Fein," the minister said. "The Taoiseach's comments throw that out the window."

However, speaking to the Sunday Independent last night, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said Fine Gael should "focus less on politics and more on policies" as people are "fed up" hearing about the party's internal workings.

He added that he was committed to the confidence and supply agreement, but was concerned that "internal Fine Gael angst" would bring down the Government.

In an attempt to dampen the controversy, Mr Kenny was yesterday forced into making a statement. "The Fine Gael party position is, has been and will remain, not to enter into coalition government with Sinn Fein," he said.

It is understood the Government is eager to bring an end to the controversy around the Taoiseach's position ahead of a State visit by UK Prime Minister Theresa May who will arrive tomorrow.

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There is also growing frustration among Fine Gael TDs and senators over the failure of Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar and Housing Minister Simon Coveney to bring the leadership issue to a head.

Mr Kenny's official position is that he will step down as Fine Gael leader before the next general election in 2018. However, should the minority government fall before then Fine Gael may not be in a position to elect a new leader.

Sources close to Mr Varadkar said he would not be "goaded" into moving against the party leader.

Ms Fitzgerald said the Taoiseach was aware of the mood within the party surrounding his leadership.

"The general view in the party has been he is as tuned into the situation as anyone else, and he has made his priorities clear at the moment and he also has said he won't lead the party into the future. I have no doubt he will deal with that in the right way," she said.

At a monthly media briefing for political correspondents last week, Mr Kenny was asked on three separate occasions if he would enter into government with Sinn Fein and each time refused to give an answer.

The question arose after Mary Lou McDonald suggested Sinn Fein should change its position of going into government only if it is the majority party.

At the same press conference, Mr Kenny said he was in favour of a united Ireland and would use Brexit negotiations to ensure there continued to be an opportunity for a border poll after Britain leaves the EU. "I will be negotiating very strongly to see that Ireland's rights here are defended and I will say this to Prime Minister May and the language of the negotiated agreement should contain the opportunity that is now in the Good Friday Agreement, voted on by the people," he added. "If, at some future time, should people decide we should have a united Ireland then that's what they can have in that opportunity."

Meanwhile, Mr Martin branded Sinn Fein an "undemocratic organisation" after Michelle O'Neill was appointed as the party's most senior politician in the North without an internal party election.

"We saw last week how Michelle O'Neill was appointed, not elected as the leader of Sinn Fein in the North, by Gerry Adams and 'others' without even saying who the 'others' are. They are anonymous and hidden for some reason. This activity is not normal behaviour for any democratic Republican party," he told the Sunday Independent.

"Their decision to collapse the Northern institutions for party political reasons less than a year after an election shows just how cynical and unaccountable they can be.

"When the smoke clears, people will see that nothing has changed. It's only a year ago that an independent intelligence report found that the Provisional Army Council oversaw Sinn Fein strategy, retained an intelligence- gathering capability and still maintained weaponry.

"It's two months since Gerry Adams refused to provide evidence to the gardai for their investigation into the murder of Brian Stack. "His entire party, North and south, defended his decision and all those who stood against this hypocrisy were condemned as enemies of the peace process."
US President Donald Trumps order to ban travellers and refugees from seven Muslim countries gaining entry into the US will have far-reaching implications, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has warned.

It comes as the US Embassy in Dublin issued a notice informing nationals of the countries affected, including dual nationals, they will not granted visas.

Even people who have already scheduled a visa interview at the US Embassy in Ballsbridge have been told to not bother attending as we will not be able to proceed with the visa interview.

The countries affected are Syria Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The Embassy noted that US Customs and Border Protection has implemented Mr Trumps ban at its Pre-Clearance facilities, including at Dublin and Shannon airports.

Amid international outcry, Mr Flanagan today committed to raise the issue when he visits Washington next week for a series of meetings on Capitol Hill.

While US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities, it is clear that the most recent decisions could have far-reaching implications - both on humanitarian grounds and on relations between the US and the global Muslim community.

Accordingly, I share the concerns of other EU partners regarding this most recent development, Mr Flanagan said.

He noted that Ireland has a vibrant multinational community and is welcoming 80 asylum seekers every month from migration camps in Greece, as well as refugees from the Lebanon.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varakdar said today that the Taoiseach should go ahead with the annual St Patricks Day visit to the White House.

But he added: It cant just be about smiles and shamrocks.

Health Minister Simon Harris today described the US policy as deeply troubling, upsetting, unjust and discriminatory.
Counsellors who worked for disgraced Console boss Paul Kelly are still waiting to get paid after his financial misspending caused the suicide bereavement organisation to be wound up.

According to court documents filed last week, the liquidator who is winding up the charity is still trying to find money for counsellors "who were assisting the most vulnerable users of the service" but were not paid.

The liquidator, Tom Murray, was opposing a request from Kelly's sister that the charity should pick up the tab for her legal costs.

According to his affidavit to the High Court, Mr Murray is dropping legal proceedings against Joan Burke McKenna, who was listed as a director of the charity, because he is satisfied that she had "no hand, act or part" in running it. However, he suggested that Console simply didn't have the money to pay her legal fees.

Ms McKenna was registered as one of five directors of Console and was named in High Court proceedings taken by the liquidator and the interim chief executive, David Hall, to effectively freeze the charity's accounts.

She later said she had no involvement in the charity and produced a handwriting expert to confirm her signature had been forged on documents submitted to the Companies Registration Office.

In his affidavit, Mr Murray said Ms McKenna "engaged fully" with the liquidator, who made "absolutely no criticism of her in that regard. In that she has delivered two affidavits in support of her assertion that she had no hand, act or part in the running of the charity."

In contrast, he appears to have received little help from Kelly or his wife, Patricia, who "neither confirmed or denied Ms McKenna's involvement" in Console".

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The liquidator offered to drop the legal proceedings against Ms McKenna, with no order on costs, but she "refused the offer" and is seeking her costs from the charity.

Mr Murray said: "The charity is insolvent and I am currently working to try and pay creditors a dividend, including for the most part counsellors who were assisting the most vulnerable users of the service, who were not paid by the charity."

He said it was "rather unfortunate" that the running of the charity had led to this situation, "and as matters currently stand, I am working towards easing the fall-out in so far as I can".

Mr Murray pointed out that Mr Hall and others worked free to help protect the charity's services. The High Court is expected to decide on the costs on Tuesday.

The liquidator is expected to complete his report on winding up the charity and paying off creditors in the coming months. He has sold two company cars used by the Kellys and a property on the Navan Road in Dublin. However, it is not known whether he has recovered any other assets.

Before he stood down as interim chief executive, Mr Hall was investigating whether the Kellys used the charity's cash to buy a 40,000 show-jumping horse for their daughter. The horse and its horsebox were stolen from stables in Longford soon after the mis-spending scandal broke in June and remain missing.

The HSE audit into the charity's finances found evidence of lavish spending on Console credit cards held by Kelly, his wife and son. The audit showed spending of almost 465,000 on 11 of Console's 20 credit cards between 2012 and 2014. The purchases included foreign holidays, designer clothing and restaurant bills.

The HSE referred its audit findings to the Garda fraud bureau last February, while Mr Hall and Mr Murray made a statement on their findings to gardai in July. However, the only active investigation into the charity is being conducted by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement for alleged breaches of company law.

Mr Hall questioned why gardai were not investigating. "The alleged behaviour that I found and the HSE found is more than breaches of company law, it is a matter for the gardai," he said.

"The collateral damage here is the charitable sector. Every time these scandals erupt, there is a dramatic impact on the charitable sector."
CAREER OVER: Dr Mohammed Ahmed Khan, who used to run a practice in Dublin, outside his house in Clonee. Photo: Tony Gavin

A doctor is being investigated by gardai for continuing to prescribe drugs to patients after he was struck off by the Medical Council.

Dr Mohammed Ahmed Khan, who had a practice on Wicklow Street in Dublin city centre, is suspected of issuing the prescriptions under the name of another doctor after he lost his licence in 2015 for overprescribing sleeping pills.

The garda investigation is focusing on allegations that the GP prescribed medicines under another doctor's name. The inquiry has been under way for more than a year and it is believed that statements have been taken from more than 100 people, some of them Dr Khan's former patients. A file is expected to be passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the coming months.

This weekend, Dr Khan admitted that he continued to prescribe drugs for "one or two very important" patients after he was struck off, but he only did so while he was trying to wind up his practice.

Asked if he wrote the prescriptions under the name of another doctor, he replied: "Yes, the guy who used to do locum actually, you know, yes. Because the Medical Council, they would not give me a chance, so yes."

Dr Khan first came to the attention of the Medical Council in 2012. He was reported by a pharmacist who noticed high levels of benzodiazepines - highly addictive, psychoactive drugs used as tranquilisers - that he was prescribing to patients. Dr Khan was allowed to continue to practise but with conditions attached to his licence.

Three years later, in June 2015, he was struck off by the Medical Council for overprescribing sleeping pills to one of his patients. He faced 15 allegations of professional misconduct and was found guilty of 11, with his treatment of the patient condemned as "disgraceful" and "dishonourable".

Dr Khan's lawyer claimed that he had symptoms of depression and pleaded that cancelling his registration at the age of 65 would effectively end his career.

Six months later, in November 2015, a pharmacist complained that Dr Khan was apparently still practising and notified gardai and the Medical Council.

The regulatory body obtained a High Court injunction to stop him from practising and took the unusual step of issuing a public announcement warning the public to report him to gardai or the Medical Council if they encountered him practising medicine.

Inviting the Sunday Independent into his home on Friday, Dr Khan (66) said he didn't want to be involved in any more inquiries.

"I finished, I stopped, I am fully retired now," he said. He added that he was "fed up", that his business with the Medical Council was "finished" and that he had not heard from An Garda Siochana since last year.

Dr Khan said he practised as a GP in the UK before moving to Ireland more than 20 years ago.

He said he wasn't given the time to wind down his busy practice of "5,000 to 6,000 patients" and find another doctor to take over after he was struck off in June 2015.

"I can't leave the patient on the street actually - 5,000 to 6,000 patients - the Medical Council did not give me any chance. They just say your registration is cancelled and close the practice. How can you close it?" he said.

He said he told patients that he was closing, and that he issued prescriptions to "one or two" patients "in good faith".

"Some patients, some time one or two very important patients - I just can't leave them, heart patients, you know, or patient having chronic problems - I can't leave them like that. Maybe I issue prescription, very few."

Dr Khan said they were "normal" prescriptions for problems such as heart conditions, and not tranquilisers.

He said he closed his practice on October 27, 2015, and had not issued any prescriptions since then.

But he said gardai became involved in November of that year when a pharmacist made a complaint that "Dr Khan is still there". He said 10 to 20 gardai came to his house and searched it, and took his patient files, which meant he could not sell his practice.

"I am very unhappy with them. They behave like I was a drug smuggler, you know, or I was a gangster or a weapons supplier or something. So this is very bad actually.They bought 10 or 20 people here, searching in every corner, everything. They make a mess," he said.

Dr Khan criticised the Medical Council for its treatment of doctors who come before it, describing the process as humiliating and intimidating. He also criticised the procedures used to strike him off but said that he didn't have the money to challenge the case in the High Court.

"The doctors are really suffering by this Medical Council. Doctors pay for the Medical Council and the doctors are humiliated and unfairly and badly treated by the Medical Council," he said.

He said "people should know the facts", adding: "It is not only me, there are so many other doctors that are being badly treated by the Medical Council."

In a statement, the Medical Council said: "Dr Mohammed Ahmed Khan's registration was cancelled by the Medical Council's Fitness to Practise Committee, confirmed by the High Court on June 8, 2015.

"He subsequently continued to practise as a doctor and the Medical Council, on December 17, 2015, secured a High Court injunction restraining Dr Khan from practising medicine while unregistered."
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense on January 27, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. Trump signed two orders calling for the "great rebuilding" of the nation's military and the "extreme vetting" of visa seekers from terror-plagued countries. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

Calls are mounting for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to cancel his upcoming visit to the White House ahead of St Patrick's Day. Photo: Damien Eagers

A spokesperson for Enda Kenny has confirmed that the Taoiseach will travel to the US to meet with President Donald Trump for the annual St Patrick's Day visit, despite calls to cancel the trip.

Calls have been mounting for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to cancel his upcoming St Patrick's Day visit to the White House following President Donald Trump's "extreme vetting" order.

A spokesperson for Mr Kenny said that the Taoiseach will travel to the US "in order to maintain the historically strong links between the Irish and American peoples."

"In order to maintain the historically strong links between the Irish and American peoples it is important that the Taoiseach continues to engage with the US President and his administration in Washington around the events of St. Patrick's Day."

Expand Close U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense on January 27, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. Trump signed two orders calling for the "great rebuilding" of the nation's military and the "extreme vetting" of visa seekers from terror-plagued countries. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense on January 27, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. Trump signed two orders calling for the "great rebuilding" of the nation's military and the "extreme vetting" of visa seekers from terror-plagued countries. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

"Doing so allows the Taoiseach to outline, in person, his Governments views on a range of issues, including business and economic ties, immigration and other matters of common interest. He will continue to act in the interests of Irish people and to that end he will raise these matters again this year."

Labour Leader Brendan Howlin called on the Taoiseach on Saturday to confirm that he will not visit the White House on St Patricks Day as President Trump "does not share" Irish values.

"For decades, Irish Governments have been able to enjoy significant access to senior US politicians in the days around St Patricks Day. This has allowed us to raise issues that matter to Ireland, and to Irish people in the US," he said in a statement.

"President Trump does not share our values. Indeed, he is openly hostile to them. He and his team have made clear that he is unwilling to hear, or even listen to discordant voices."

Mr Howlin said that by visiting the White House, Mr Kenny would be presenting Ireland as a "supporter of Trumpism" and that "such a presentation would be humiliating to the vast majority of Irish people who stand opposed to the policies being implemented by President Trump."

"Put plainly, if the Muslim ban remains in place, Enda Kenny should not be boarding a plane to Washington in March. And our Government should be working might and mane to make sure that these policies are not enforced on Irish soil."

Speaking on RTE's The Week in Politics, Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar said that the Taoiseach should go ahead with the annual visit to the White House, but "it cant just be smiles and shamrocks."

Mr Varadkar said that its important for Ireland to "engage with the new administration."

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan warned today that Trumps order to ban travellers and refugees from seven Muslim countries gaining entry into the US will have "far-reaching implications."

"While US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities, it is clear that the most recent decisions could have far-reaching implications - both on humanitarian grounds and on relations between the US and the global Muslim community."

"Accordingly, I share the concerns of other EU partners regarding this most recent development," Mr Flanagan said.

He will travel to Washington to meet with officials there next week and has pledged to discuss immigration.

The Minister also defended Mr Kenny's decision to attend the White House in March.

"I believe it's very important that the Taoiseach's visit on St Patrick's Day goes ahead. He was specifically invited very soon after the election by president-elect Trump," he said.

"I believe in dialogue, I believe in discussion, walking away from an invitation, to my mind, is not the best way of dealing with international affairs and public issues. I strongly believe that the Taoiseach's visit should go ahead.

"There are matters of great importance between Ireland and America. The unique relationship over generations, it's important that continues and I look forward to the Taoiseach engaging in a very successful visit on St Patrick's Day.

"I have no doubt that the issues will be raised by the Taoiseach, there are many issues in relation to Irish-American affairs, I believe it will be a very important meeting and the Taoiseach will be fully engaged at that opportunity in March. I believe any postponement or any change in respect of those plans will in fact be detrimental to the great relationship between Ireland and America," he added.

An online petition set up to call on Mr Kenny to cancel the visit has received over 11,000 signatures within 24 hours.

The order, which has been denounced by civil rights groups as discriminatory, bars the entry of foreign nationals from certain countries for 90 days. While no countries are specifically named in the order, it refers to a statute that would apply to seven Muslim-majority nations: Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee programme.

Travellers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights or detained at US airports after they landed, including tourists, foreign students and people trying to visit friends and family.

Protests broke out at several US airports where travellers were being held, including a gathering of several hundred people outside San Francisco's main airport and a raucous demonstration of at least 2,000 people at New York's Kennedy International Airport.
A woman is in a serious condition in hospital following a two-vehicle collision in Dublin last night.

The incident happened at the Strawberry Beds near Lucan at 10.30pm.

The female driver of one car, aged in her mid 20s, was taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown with serious injuries.

The male driver of the second car was also treated in hospital but his injuries are said to be minor.

Gardai closed the road pending a technical examination by crash investigators this morning.

AA Roadwatch have said the Strawberry Beds road is closed between Lucan Village and the R121 junction due to a collision.

Diversions are in place.
Not for nothing was Barbara Bush known as 'The Enforcer'

Barbara Bush, tougher than her husband and known to her family as 'The Enforcer', is probably the most popular of all ex-US first ladies of recent times. Jackie Kennedy is remembered across the globe for elegance and tragedy, but she was not loved. Rosalynn Carter worked hard and was a noted campaigner on issues of mental health, but she has suffered in retrospect because of her bitterness at his defeat by Ronald Reagan, who is widely perceived to have been as great a success as Carter was a failure. The brittle Nancy Reagan was an essential support to her husband, but was thought to care little for anyone else. Hillary Clinton was loathed by those who thought her a careerist. The likeable Laura Bush did a lot of useful work but lacked her mother-in-law's commanding personality. And although Michelle Obama had rock-star status, that has diminished as she and her husband embrace luxury and celebrity. Betty Ford is probably the closest rival, having been far more effective and formidable than her husband Gerald, the 38th president, and still having a posthumous reputation for her prowess as a campaigner on addiction, not least because so many of the famous troop to the Betty Ford Clinic.
There are, said Lenin, decades when nothing happens, and then there are weeks in which decades happen. When Minister of State Eoghan Murphy reminded a gathering of global financiers in Dublin Castle about this last Tuesday, he was attempting to put the pivotal events of 2016 into perspective.

Little did he realise that at the same time, an act of political perestroika that may reshape our politics for decades to come was unfolding nearby, as Sinn Fein deputy leader, Mary Lou McDonald, unsentimentally ditched her movement's most cherished goal - a Sinn Fein majority government. The most immediate victim of this realpolitik is chief ideologue Eoin O Broin, leading advocate of the majority strategy and now likely to be airbrushed from the official version of history.

The majority strategy was always fanciful, but it has now been put to the sword by political reality. The pivot to participation in government as a minority partner is grounded in a hard-headed assessment of the party's prospects in the Republic. O Broin's vision was predicated on the emergence of a grand coalition between FF and FG after last year's inconclusive election, leaving the field clear for Gerry Adams as leader of the Opposition. Instead, with FF tacking to the left as the minority government's conscience and surrounded by a large group of far-left smaller parties and independents, the party is being squeezed on both flanks. Something had to give.

There is now an emerging openness within SF to coalition with FF after the next election. It cannot be seen to leave its voters standing at the altar once more. Of course, both sides will quibble and protest too much, but their common heritage, policy compatibility on tax and spending, and appeal to a similar demographic means there are more reasons to do a deal than not to - notwithstanding Micheal Martin's noble and patriotic stance against Adams's tainted legacy. However, substitute Mary Lou for Gerry and given the right numbers and a growing public dissatisfaction with the concept of minority government and there is in reality little that stands in the way of a deal.

Little, that is, unless Leo Varadkar can internalise and then seize the opportunity this political moment brings. As our old political certainties crumble and the likelihood of an FF/SF government looms into view, new dividing lines are opening up. FG with Varadkar as leader could redefine and reposition itself as the liberal, open and responsible counterweight to FF and SF's statist populism and in the process, fundamentally reshape our politics.

The conventional wisdom about last year's election is that it was a vote for 'fairness'. So, as is the way of our political system, it has attempted to provide this with the result that what voters are being served by the 'new politics' are competing versions of social democracy, which is no choice at all. As with single-crop farming, this political monoculture is increasingly vulnerable and dependent on artificial stimulants, mainly short-term wheezes to throw money at problems in an ad hoc manner.

As a result, no one is really speaking to the key 18-to-44 age demographic of swing voters with a socially liberal and economically centrist outlook, mainly working in the private sector. "The thing about these guys is that they just don't get aspiration," Tony Blair once said of his left-wing Labour critics. Based on the experience to date, you'd have to say that our 'new politics' doesn't get aspiration either.

Except perhaps for Varadkar. Polling that we in Ireland Thinks have carried out points to his electoral potency and in particular his ability to attract support from current FF voters, with almost a third shifting their allegiance to Fine Gael with Varadkar in charge. He connects in particular with the key aspirational demographic - young, urban, educated, and liberal in their outlook. With Fianna Fail support softer than has generally been appreciated, the prospect of an FF/SF coalition is likely to further increase the appeal of a Varadkar-led FG to these key swing voters.

The difficulty for Martin is that the advent of Varadkar as FG leader and the public concern about an FF/SF government after the next election boxes him in on both sides. Protest as he may that he will not enter government with SF, his party is clearly not united behind him on the issue and voters are wise enough to sense this and cut through the spin to see it for the real possibility that it is. In the same way that Ed Miliband could never credibly refute the prospect of Nicola Sturgeon's tail wagging the Labour dog during the last British general election, the prospect of coalition with SF is something that will eat away at FF. We await the inevitable attack ads with Micheal sitting in Mary Lou's pocket.

Equally, FF's highly personal attacks on Varadkar, that seek to portray him as a lightweight attention-seeker, have backfired given his clear appeal to many FF voters.

Of course, all of this is before we have really heard Varadkar set out his vision for the country. The irony is that even assuming that such a vision exists, we are unlikely to hear about it anytime soon, because as he has repeatedly said, every gesture of his is parsed for evidence of some leadership move. Even the innocent act of sitting on the toilet, we are told, gets linked to the leadership, bringing to mind Metternich's famous question on hearing of the death of Talleyrand, "I wonder what he meant by that?"

Calculated delay has long been an effective military strategy. However, none of this will fall into Leo Varadkar's lap. The year 2017 is the year that is likely to set the course of our politics for years to come. If he makes the right calls and speaks to Ireland's 'forgotten' aspirational voters then FG under his leadership can become the dominant party for the next decade.

Over to you, Minister.

Ed Brophy is practice leader with Accreate Search and co-founder of Ireland Thinks. He was previously Chief of Staff to Tanaiste Joan Burton
Galway is a difficult city to be sick in. We might be the Capital of Culture going forward but going backwards we are the patients on trolleys that the minister forgot

The Minister for Health will come to Galway. Well he might come to Galway. He will possibly come to Galway. There is a good chance that he will come to Galway. There is a fair to middling chance that he will come to Galway. There is a mediocre chance that he will come to Galway.

Some say, pigs will fly before he will come to Galway. Others say Donald Trump will perfect and recite a book of Haiku in Irish before the Minister for Health will come to Galway.

To be fair to him or as we say locally, in fairness, the Minister was going to come to Galway. He intended to come to Galway. His visit to University Hospital Galway was imminent. He polished his shoes for Galway. He read all the files about Galway.

He knows that patients' lives are in danger in Galway. He knows that the emergency department in Galway is a fire ball waiting to happen. He knows about the overcrowding in A&E. He knows that you may trip and break your neck on someone's belongings left beside a trolley; the same patients may now have squatters' rights they are there so long.

The lack of privacy is embarrassing, to say nothing of humiliating for all involved.

You are literally touching off the next trolley. The whole place has a Dark Ages feel about it.

Why should people be dehumanised in this way?

Galway is a difficult city to be sick in. We might be the Capital of Culture going forward but going backwards we are the patients on trolleys that the minister forgot. Forget us not minister we implore you. Because we know that when you see the substandard conditions and general state of the place you will close it down.

Dickens himself could not describe the drabness, the dankness, the overall hopelessness that floats in the atmosphere in the emergency department in Galway.

Yes we have a Minister for Health and he is coming to view the situation in Galway or so we are told. Someone might whisper in his ear (when he does come, if he does come) about the leaked report that states consultants have been accused of failing to take responsibility when things go wrong in the emergency department.

The place is being run by overworked nurses. They are not getting paid for all they do.

Dignity is not a word that would fit comfortably in any description pertaining to how the patient is being treated in Galway's not fit- for-purpose Accident and Emergency department. But lack of dignity is a term that will ring out at every turn.

******

The fruits of the new City Development Plan (aka) The Magna Carta of the Western World come into action about this time in the West. The food ban is hereby lifted and from henceforth you are more likely to get your glasses smashed by the bun of a leftover burger, or a slap from a flying rasher on the main street in Galway than you are from an altercation outside a fast food joint in Eyre Square at two in the morning. In geographical terms the lifted ban now incorporates the stretch from Liam Mellows's elbow across from Richardson's pub, right down to the Kings Head at the bend of High Street

The chief executive's heart rate would seem to go clickety-clack when he heard the councillors babble on about the inner meaning of the word 'take away' The chief executive who is himself a very cultured individual, does not want to see Galway becoming a Temple Bar or our main street looking like O'Connell Street after a dirty weekend. Not in the Ann Summers paraphernalia hanging from the light poles dirty, the other dirty.

He has the insight to see that Galway is a more suitable spot for higher order fashion, like Vera Wang, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Coco Chanel. He knows also that flying Rasher Avenue would never attract this type of haute couture. He further opined that all the take-away culture would give the future Capital of Culture a very jaded experience.

It wasn't all Dublin bashing however, one councillor (according to the City Tribune) said it would be wanton vandalism and open the floodgates and turn Galway into a Milton Keynes-type establishment.

Well the majority of the councillors voted for this food ban to be lifted so you may ask yourself WTF. I hope they get the two million to replace those wonky cobblestones on the main thoroughfare before the first Mars Bar gets deep fried.

******

I can take no more, let me out of here. Next weekend I'll be off ar nos na gaoithe. I'll be heading to Doolin for the 5th annual Doolin Writers' Weekend, held in Hotel Doolin from February 3-5. I could nearly walk it there but I'd be afraid I'd meet Michael Harding on the road and I'd be mesmerised by his sorcery. Sure we could chance a pattern around the Poll na mbron dolmen. It's megalithic and it literally means 'The hole of the sorrows'. I should be so lucky.

On the Friday night you can hear Mike McCormack, Sara Baum, Alan McMonagle and others read their work.

I've been looking forward to the publication of McMonagle's new novel Ithaca for ages.

I'll be sharing a platform at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party at 5pm on the Saturday with other mad hatters, like Sarah Clancy, Karl Parkinson, Dmitra Xidous and Alvy Carragher.

See doolinfestivals.ie for full programme.

I'd say the weekend will be great craic.
Oscar nominees Andrew Garfield, Dev Patel and Naomie Harris are among a host of British stars hoping for success at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

The star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles is seen as a key indicator of who will fare well at the Academy Awards next month.

Powerful drama Manchester By The Sea leads the way with four nominations, while musical La La Land - which earned a record equalling 14 Oscar nods - is up for two awards.

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown could make history by becoming the youngest ever SAG Award winner after she was nominated for best actress in a TV drama.

The 12-year-old, who plays a girl with psychokinetic abilities in the Netflix show, is up against fellow Britons Claire Foy and Thandie Newton and her Stranger Things co-star Winona Ryder.

Golden Globe winner Foy is nominated for her portrayal of the Queen in Netflix drama The Crown, while Newton has been recognised for her performance as a life-like robot in HBO show Westworld.

Garfield received a best actor nod for his role as real-life army medic Desmond Doss in Mel Gibson's Second World War drama Hacksaw Ridge.

James Bond star Harris is nominated for the best supporting actress award after playing a crack addict in coming-of-age drama Moonlight.

Patel earned a best supporting actor nomination for his performance in Lion, the true story of Saroo Brierley, a young Indian boy who was separated from his family and adopted in Australia.

The Slumdog Millionaire star will compete for the award with fellow Briton Hugh Grant, who is nominated for his role in comedy Florence Foster Jenkins.

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Grant's co-star Meryl Streep, who recently became the first star to be nominated for 20 Oscars, is up for the SAG award for best actress.

Other British nominees include Emily Blunt, who earned a best actress nod for her starring role in psychological thriller The Girl On The Train.

Meanwhile, Rogue One star Riz Ahmed is up for best actor in a television movie or limited series for his performance in crime drama The Night Of.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are nominated for acting awards for their performances in La La Land but the film missed out on a nod for best performance by a film cast.

Instead, Captain Fantastic, Fences, Hidden Figures, Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight will compete for the award.

Gosling will compete for the best actor award with Oscars favourite Casey Affleck, who is recognised for his performance in Manchester By The Sea. Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) and Denzel Washington (Fences) are also nominated in the category.

Blunt, Stone and Streep will battle for the best actress award with Amy Adams and Natalie Portman who were recognised for Arrival and Jackie respectively.

The casts of Downton Abbey, The Crown, Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld will compete for best ensemble in a TV drama series.

Actress Lily Tomlin will receive the SAG Life Achievement Award at the ceremony, which takes place at the Shrine Auditorium at 5pm local time (1am Monday GMT).
TALENT: Actress Saoirse Ronan, above, says Loving star Ruth Negga who has been nominated for an Oscar, deserves every success (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan has sent her best wishes to Ruth Negga ahead of this year's Oscar awards.

Ronan, who herself has been nominated twice for an Oscar - including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Atonement and a Best Actress nomination for Brooklyn - said the Limerick woman deserves every success after working so hard for so long.

Expand Close Actress Ruth Negga attends the Indie Contenders Reception hosted in the Audi Sky Lounge at AFI Fest 2016, presented by Audi at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on November 13, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Audi) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actress Ruth Negga attends the Indie Contenders Reception hosted in the Audi Sky Lounge at AFI Fest 2016, presented by Audi at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on November 13, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Audi)

Speaking about the Loving star, who has been hotly tipped to take the Oscar on the night, Ronan said: "Ruth has been around a long time and she is handling herself so well.

"She is smart and she seems like an actress who is in this for the right reasons, which is 'the work'. Once you have the security in knowing that you are in this for that reason, you will be fine."

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On Negga's nomination, Saoirse said she knows, "it's such a journey to get to that point".

She added: "I know how much work goes into campaigning after going through it at last year's [award ceremony]. She deserves it. She's one of our best exports, she has been working so hard for so long and for her to finally get the recognition she deserves is great. She's a lovely, lovely girl and she's very talented. It's a real success story."

Expand Close TALENT: Actress Saoirse Ronan, above, says Loving star Ruth Negga who has been nominated for an Oscar, deserves every success (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp TALENT: Actress Saoirse Ronan, above, says Loving star Ruth Negga who has been nominated for an Oscar, deserves every success (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Negga's personal rise to fame champions the importance of persistence when chasing your dreams.

The actress originally went to Hollywood to take up a much-hyped role, appearing in 12 Years a Slave, in which she was cast as the character of Celeste.

Celeste spent months hiding out in a forest after escaping from the plantation she worked on and Negga spent three full days shooting footage for the movie in crocodile- infested waters - only for it to end up on the cutting-room floor.

When asked if it was a disappointment not to end up in the movie, she replied: ''That's an understatement!''

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She explained how even during production she knew the film - which went on to win three Oscars including Best Picture - was going to be big.

But then, she said: ''I got a call from Steve [McQueen]and I knew as soon as the phone started ringing, I just knew.

''He let me down gently,'' she added.

However, in a dramatic turnaround of fortune, McQueen, the movie's director, recommended her to director Jeff Nichols, which led to her audition for Loving.

Now the toast of Hollywood, appearing in Vanity Fair magazine for its famous annual Oscar spread, the actress will find out if she has won the Best Actress award on Saturday, February 26.

The nomination hasn't been without controversy though - with at least one media outlet in the UK referring to her as British.

Asked about the faux pas, Saoirse, who has also been described as British by media outlets in previous years, replied: "I didn't even know anyone said that but I think everyone knows she is from here (Ireland) and that I'm Irish so I'm very proud of that."

Speaking about the advice she would give her younger self, if she were starting out again, Saoirse - who is set to play the lead role in On Chesil Beach, a new movie based on Ian McEwan's Booker Prize-nominated novel of the same name - said: "[I would tell my younger self that] it's a very unpredictable business and that you're going to have ups and downs and - as I said [about Ruth] - if you are very secure in how you feel about your work and your relationship with it then you'll be fine and that will carry you through."

This year's Oscars show more diversity than ever - a dramatic reversal of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that has rocked the industry for the past two years.

Negga represents the sole nod to Loving. No black actress has won this category since Halle Berry in 2001.
Actor Shia LeBeouf, left, stands in front of a livesteam camera with the words 'He will not divide us' on a wall outside New York's Museum of the Moving Image (AP Photo/Deepti Hajela)

Actor Shia LaBeouf has returned to the public art project where he was arrested after allegedly getting into an altercation with another man.

Police said the Hollywood star pulled the scarf of an unidentified 25-year-old outside the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City early on Thursday morning, scratching his face in the process.

They said he also pushed the man, who refused medical attention.

The 30-year-old actor has spent the first few days of Donald Trump's presidency chanting "He will not divide us" in front of a live camera outside the museum in Queens.

It was unclear whether the camera captured any of Thursday's confrontation, but it did show the aftermath, including LaBeouf being handcuffed and led off by police.

On Friday morning he returned to the livestream for around 20 minutes, where he continued the chant alongside a small group of supporters.

In the moments before being arrested, he reportedly issued a plea to the camera.

He said: "Hey, be nice. Everybody be nice down here, man. Just be nice. That's the only requirement. Be nice.

" That's all I ask. Be nice. Pro this, pro that. Cool. But be nice."

LaBeouf has said the livestream will run 24 hours a day for the next four years.

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He faces a misdemeanour assault charge and is due in court April 4, according to the Associated Press.
Style successes at the White House don't happen by accident or by osmosis. Presidential couture has to be carefully choreographed, and while Melania Trump did very well with her powder blue outfit by Ralph Lauren, if she wishes to emulate her predecessor and style icon she would do better to heed the advice that designer Oleg Cassini offered to Jackie Kennedy back in 1961.

Cassini designed the fawn/greige coat and dress with sable collar Jackie wore to JFK's 1961 inauguration, after which the French-American designer recommended that Jackie should stick to one designer, and wise woman that she was, she took that advice. Cassini was appointed her exclusive couturier, earning him the nickname "Secretary of Style".

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Several years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cassini (above) who, apart from creating over 300 outfits for Jackie Kennedy, was also secretly engaged to another enduring style icon - actress Grace Kelly. That romance evaporated when Grace met Prince Rainier. In Dublin to promote his fragrance, I quizzed Cassini about Jackie, the style icon who - from her big statement sunglasses, to her trademark tailored coats, like the one (above) she wore to the Irish Derby at the Curragh in 1967 - still influences so many women half a century later.

Like Jackie, Melania should get expert advice, work with colour, and not restrict her wardrobe to revolving around the colours of the American flag.

I think Melania looks sensational in cream. There were lots of cream outfits at the inauguration, from Hillary Clinton's Ralph Lauren pants suit, to Ivanka Trump's asymmetric suit by Oscar de la Renta.

Expand Close Theia coat by Caroline Kilkenny / Facebook

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Checking out the new SS17 collections arriving into stores this week, I was scanning for innovative creams when I spotted Caroline Kilkenny's stunning cream capelet with gold trim and matching dress with asymmetric neckline (above). The two-piece has just the right amount of formality and modern classicism that makes it ideal for upcoming special occasions. Caroline's collection is available to buy at Arnotts and Kilkenny stores. Her fabrics are stunning, with a slightly textured feel to the cream and blush pieces. And best of all, the subtle gold thread and trim means you don't even need to wear jewellery.

And for the little ones...

I'm a sucker for French-style, smocked dresses for little girls. I was so lucky that my mum would hand-make them with Liberty fabrics for my daughter and I'm delighted that classic childrenswear is getting lots of attention again, not least because of Kate Middleton's choices for George and Charlotte.

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Former childrenswear buyer Caroline Dunne started her own online company, Little Larks, after she was inspired from buying clothes on holidays for her daughters, Harriet and Holly. All garments are 100pc cotton, designed in Ireland and handmade by a family business in Madagascar. The dresses (above) are 60 and come both in prints and in needlecord. They are available in ages 2-8 and are ideal for family occasions. Caroline also does baby dresses with matching pants (55) for ages 6-12 months, while pinafores are 50 and blouses are 30. More details from littlelarksclothing.com

Calling all Turquoise lovers

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These Oscar de la Renta pieces from Loulerie stopped me in my tracks outside Louise Stokes' Chatham Street store. I'm such a magpie for colour, especially if it's turquoise. The carved Aqua sesin and crystal ring is 329, while the short beaded Aqua tassel earrings, below, are 225.

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The boat with Chinese tourists on board lost contact after leaving Kota Kinabalu

Twenty-two people wore life jackets and formed a human chain at sea for more than 10 hours before being rescued off Malaysia's coast after their boat sank on Sunday.

Authorities said three bodies were recovered and six other people were missing.

The boat left Kota Kinabalu in Sabah state at 9am on Saturday on its way to Pulau Mengalum, an island about 38 miles west, and was reported missing about 12 hours later.

The captain and a crew member were spotted by a military plane and rescued by another tourist boat on Sunday afternoon, according to government minister Shahidan Kassim and the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency.

Fishermen found 20 survivors and three people dead - two men and a woman - the agency said.

The survivors had huddled together in groups and were wearing life jackets.

The agency said they had been adrift for 10 hours but did not say when the boat sank or give other details of what happened during the other hours since the boat departed.

Mr Shahidan said search efforts were being intensified, including using surveillance planes which can see in the dark.

The search area is about 400 square nautical miles of the South China Sea.

Arwin Musbir, the captain of another boat that left for Pulau Mengalum at the same time, told the New Straits Times newspaper that he was following the missing boat but lost sight of it shortly after they left.

He said he realised it had gone missing only after he arrived at the island.

Twenty-eight of the 31 on board were Chinese, with three crew members.

Many Chinese travel abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday, which began Saturday.

AP
Days before Rajan Pegu was beaten to death, the villagers of Baspora had held a meeting. A string of unexplained deaths had occurred within weeks and the villagers believed dark magic was at play.

They asked Pegu, an elderly herdsman: "Old man, are you a witch?"

He told them: "No, no, I am not a witch."

Then they called his son Nurul to face the crowd and asked: "Is your father practising black magic?"

He replied: "No, no, my father is not a witch."

Four years after his father died in the tall grass, Nurul still does not know why the village turned against him. Sitting at his stall at the Jengrai fish market on the river island of Majuli, in the north-east Indian state of Assam, he recalls that horrific September week.

"He had gone to graze his cattle in Sapori [a nearby village]. Three days passed, but he did not return. On the third day, I went to the police to file a report. The police did a full investigation. They found the place where he was killed, and it was covered in blood. They found the sticks that were used to beat him hidden in his own hut. Then they found his body in the Brahmaputra river."

As he pulls out the case file in Jengrai, sub-inspector Bhoven Dehingi confirms Pegu's account. "Case number 38/11," he says. "Charge is 302 - murder."

The police report contains Nurul's testimony and the names of the four men who are facing trial, all relatives of the Pegus. In red ink, next to their names, there is a note in English: "Witch-hunting".

The tribal people of Majuli live in an idyllic setting, among wild bamboo and open paddy fields. But the scenery hides a brutal history of beheadings, abuse and torture related to witch-hunting. And observers fear that government policies - notably cuts in its health budgets, leading to a shortage of trained doctors - might be leading to a resurgence in the practice.

With little access to the mainland, an hour's ferry ride from the beach port, old beliefs in witches, known here as daayanis, have endured. In 2012, one village kept 35 of its own members under virtual house arrest, forcing police to dispatch 24-hour surveillance teams to ensure their safety. In the same year, five members of one family were killed after being accused of practising black magic and two others were hacked to death and their bodies thrown into the river.

Majuli is one of many places in India where such beliefs persist. The rise in incidents of witch-hunting nationwide, mostly in remote tribal areas, blights India's efforts to rebrand itself as a modern world power. According to the national crime records bureau's most recent data, 135 people were killed for practising witchcraft in 2015 - one every three days. But even this statistic may mask the full scale of the problem: with few witnesses willing to come forward, many of these crimes go unreported.

Labelling someone a witch is often a means to settle old scores or take over property. Victims of witch-hunting are often the most vulnerable in the village: unmarried women or elderly people. Seasons, too, could affect beliefs in the occult. Heavy monsoons or droughts have been linked to a surge in witch-hunting. Often, victims are ostracised; in the worst cases, they are beaten, beheaded or forced to undergo shaming rituals, such as being paraded naked in the village or eating human excrement.

Nurul is still trying to learn what drove his father's murderers. "The people who are charged are from our village, people from the family, people I have grown up with, who we have known our whole lives. There was a fight in the family, which had been going on for a while, but I don't know why they started pointing a finger at him," he says.

"What happens sometimes is there is some disease in the village, say smallpox," Dehingi says. "Or there is a bad harvest or a dry monsoon. Some believe this happens because of witchcraft, and then the whole village starts to believe that. All the bad things are blamed on that person," he says.

Decades of government-led education programmes have failed to rid villages of these centuries-old beliefs. Police chief Kuladhar Saikia, who led the anti-witch-hunting drives in Assam, says it could take years to eradicate them.

"These beliefs are thousands of years old, so you cannot just erase them in a day. In this particular type of crime, the entire community will take the decision and participate. There is such a strong bonding between these villagers that they commit the crime together. In some cases, we have found sons participating in the killings of their own fathers," he says.

The prevalence of witch- hunting, says Saikia, is linked to an absence of healthcare in rural districts. In some cases, "witches" are selected by travelling tantric healers or quacks, who make a living selling cures and conducting purification ceremonies.

"The number one thing I found was that there is a lack of awareness about the modern healthcare system. Sometimes there are no doctors nearby. The healers give out herbal medicines, which are opium-based, anaesthetic pills or painkillers which sometimes have hallucinatory effects. This is where the problem can start," he said.

But Saikia believes there is now greater willingness to report witch-hunting. "Earlier, people were not coming forward. In very interior villages, the people of the village themselves were the perpetrators, so who would inform police? Now they report it to the police, to the local press. Because people have come forward, the justice system starts working."

In May last year, Assam passed a law criminalising witch-hunting. "Nobody talks of daayanis now," says Ranapangi, from the Sikardi village. "Recently, a tantric man came to the village and accused someone of being a witch. The whole village got together and complained about him to the police. He was arrested."

But according to Nurul, little has changed since his father was killed. "Most of the village still believes in witchcraft, but I don't."

The men charged with Pegu's murder are out on bail. It could be years before a trial and in the meantime they still live in Baspora.

"I have moved on," Nurul says. "I have forgiven. My heart is happy now. We live together, we eat together, our children play together. To live happily, to live in peace, I have to forget the past. I want to keep living in the village with everyone - so I have to."

Observer
Iranian green card holder Shima Behgooy cries on the shoulder of her father-in-law Ahmad Behgooy, who is a naturalised US citizen, after being held at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (Dallas Morning News/AP)

President Donald Trump's senior aides have defended his sweeping US travel ban in the face of widespread protests.

During a round of Sunday show interviews, Mr Trump's advisers stressed that just a small proportion of travellers had been affected by the order, which temporarily bars the citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the country.

The aides also reversed course and said that citizens of those countries who hold permanent US residency "green cards" will not be barred from re-entering the country, as officials had previously said.

"I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone travelling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States," insisted Mr Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus. "And that's all this is."

The changes, said White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, are "a small price to pay" to keep the nation safe.

But others see the order as ill-conceived and rushed.

The order, which also suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely bars the processing of refugees from Syria, has sparked widespread protests and denunciations from Democrats and a handful of Republicans.

Many have accused the administration of rushing to implement the changes, resulting in panic and confusion at the nation's airports.

"You have an extreme vetting proposal that didn't get the vetting it should have had," said Republican Senator Rob Portman, who urged the President to "slow down" and work with lawmakers on how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.

"In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants," he said.

The comments came the morning after a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the US from deporting people from the seven majority-Muslim nations subject to Mr Trump's travel ban.

The judge said travellers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

The order barred US border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the US with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

But the Department of Homeland Security said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order.

"President Trump's executive orders remain in place - prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the US government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the department said in a statement.

Top congressional Republicans, meanwhile, were backing Mr Trump despite concerns raised by a handful of lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he supports more stringent screening mechanisms, though he cautioned that Muslims are some of the country's "best sources in the war against terror".

"I think it's a good idea to tighten the vetting process But I also think it's important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas," he said.

He also stressed the need "to be careful as we do this", and said it would be up to the courts to decide "whether or not this has gone too far".

Mr Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen.

But it is unclear the measures would prevent attacks on American soil.

The directive did not address homegrown extremists already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. And the list of countries in Mr Trump's order does not include Saudi Arabia, where most of the September 11 hijackers were from.

Mr Priebus, who is Mr Trump's chief of staff, said the ban could be expanded to more countries in the future.

AP
Undated CCTV still issued by the Metropolitan Police of a man wanted for questioning over a series of "despicable" sexual assaults on buses

Scotland Yard has said a man is wanted for questioning over a series of "despicable" sexual assaults on buses, including on a 13-year-old girl

Six young women have made complaints over a man matching the same description on buses in Lewisham and Southwark, south-east London, but officers warned many more could exist.

The Metropolitan Police said a string of attacks took place on January 27, starting with a girl, 17, boarding a 176 bus at 3.15pm.

The suspect sat opposite her and struck up a conversation before intentionally falling onto her and groping her, the force said.

Then, at around 5pm, a girl, 13, reported being sexually assaulted on a 363 bus.

Later another girl of the same age reported a man matching the same description made her feel uncomfortable by engaging in a conversation.

At 5.50pm a 15-year-old boarded a 171 bus at Catford train station. The suspect sat opposite her and touched her knee, the Met Police said.

Frightened, she got off the bus but the man pursued her and groped her before she managed to flee, officers added.

Scotland Yard said the first attacks were on two women, 22 and 17, on a number 12 bus in Dulwich at around 9.30pm on January 24.

The suspect is described as a black man in his 20s with short black hair and stubble. He wore blue baggy jeans and a black bomber jacket with a white fur trim on the hood.

Detective Constable Alex Price said: "We are keen to trace the suspect carrying out these despicable attacks on young girls and women in public.

"Five victims have been targeted by this man and we believe there could be many more victims who are yet to come forward."

Police warned anyone who sees the suspect not to approach him but to contact 999. Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Benoit Hamon casts his ballot as part of the second round of the primaries in Trappes (AP)

Benoit Hamon will be the Socialist Party candidate in France's presidential election after beating ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in a primary run-off vote.

Mr Hamon's win sends the divided Socialists, weakened by the unpopularity of outgoing President Francois Hollande, into a tough presidential battle behind a candidate with limited government experience and hard-left politics that could alienate some centre-left Socialist voters.

With ballots counted at 60% of polling stations, Mr Hamon had almost 59% of the vote to Mr Valls's 41%.

Mr Valls immediately conceded defeat in the face of the result that appeared like a clear condemnation of both his and Mr Hollande's polices.

With the ruling party having settled on its candidate, the race for the presidential Elysee Palace begins in earnest, although the outcome of the two-round general election vote in April and May looks increasingly uncertain.

Leading conservative candidate Francois Fillon, who also previously served as prime minister, was rocked during the past week by allegations that his wife, Penelope, held a fake but handsomely paid job as a parliamentary aide. Financial prosecutors are investigating.

At a campaign rally in Paris on Sunday - where a boisterous crowd gave Penelope Fillon a standing ovation and chanted her name, Mr Fillon said, "We have nothing to hide."

"Through Penelope they are trying to break me," he said. "I will never forgive those who chose to throw us to the wolves."

A priority for Mr Hamon, a 49-year-old former junior minister and, briefly, education minister, will be to rally the Socialists, split ideologically and wounded by Mr Hollande's five-year tenure as president.

The party is also squeezed by rivals on both flanks. Fiery far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and centrist Emmanuel Macron, Mr Hollande's former economics minister, are both making hay by appealing to disappointed Socialist voters.

Early polling has suggested the Socialist candidate will struggle to advance to the presidential run-off in May, where far-right leader Marine Le Pen could be waiting, campaigning on anti-Europe, anti-immigration and anti-Islam themes.

The turnout on Sunday, at around 2 million voters, was more robust than in the primary's first round of voting a week ago, but still suggested a lack of enthusiasm among the 44-million French electorate.

Mr Hamon was not as tainted as Mr Valls by Mr Hollande's unpopularity because he rebelled and quit the government in 2014.

Mr Valls served as Mr Hollande's prime minister for more than two years until last December, when it became clear the president could not win a second term. But having to defend the government's economic policies and labour reforms against Mr Hamon proved an uphill fight.

Mr Hamon's signature proposal for a 750 euro "universal income" that would be gradually granted to all adults also proved a campaign masterstroke.

It grabbed headlines and underpinned his surprise success in the primary's two rounds of voting, first against six opponents and then against Mr Valls in the run-off.

Sharply criticised by Mr Valls as unrealistic and ruinous, the no-strings-attached payments would cushion the French in an increasingly automated future, as machines take their jobs, according to Mr Hamon.

AP
DESPERATE SITUATION: Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan with his wife and the two youngest of their four children

Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan took his first step toward resettlement in the US three months ago, submitting to an initial round of security screenings.

His dreams of a better life were crushed when President Donald Trump issued an indefinite ban on displaced Syrians entering the US. He learned of the decision from TV news the night before.

"When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished," said Sawan (40).

The upholsterer, who supports his family with odd jobs in the Jordanian capital of Amman, said he was especially disappointed for his four children who he had hoped would get a good education in the US.

He and other Syrian refugees in Amman bristled at the idea that they posed a potential security threat, saying they were both shocked and saddened by Trump's ban.

"We tell the American people that we hope he [Trump] retracts this decision," said refugee Mayada Sheik (37). "We are not going out to harm people of other countries."

In an executive order last Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the US for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions programme. In a third step, he issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the US from countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria, Iraq and Libya.

Close to five million Syrians have fled their homeland since the conflict there erupted in 2011. Millions more are displaced within Syria.

Most refugees have settled in overburdened neighbouring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where the struggle for survival has become increasingly difficult. Savings have run out, jobs are scarce and poorly paid, while refugee children learn in crowded classrooms and have very limited access to higher education.

Many refugees say their first choice is to return home as soon as possible. But with the civil war dragging on, that's not an option and refugees increasingly pursue resettlement to the West because of tough conditions in regional host countries.

International aid agencies harshly criticised Trump's restrictions imposed on refugees. The International Rescue Committee said the suspension of the refugee resettlement programme was a "harmful and hasty" decision. "America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope," said IRC President David Miliband.

The group said the US vetting process for refugees is already robust - involving biometric screening and up to 36 months of vetting by 12 to 15 government agencies.

Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Trump's decision hurts innocents fleeing extremist violence in Syria.

"It will not make America safer," Egeland said. "It will make America smaller and meaner. It's a really sad rupture of a long and proud American bi-partisan tradition that America would be there for those fleeing from terror and for the weak and the vulnerable in the world, which are the refugees."

The NRC is a leading refugee aid agency, assisting more than one million Syrians.

Associated Press
Hard to believe it's only been a week. A dizzying swirl of executive orders on healthcare, Asian trade, oil pipelines, abortion and immigration. A visit scrapped by Mexico's president followed by a press conference with Britain's prime minister.

A call for a "major investigation" of millions of apparently non-existent fraudulent voters. Gag orders on federal employees. The jaw-dropping new term of art, "alternative facts", and a declaration that the "media, not the Democrats, are the opposition".

"I don't think journalists have ever seen anything like this," said David Ottalini, senior communications manager for the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

His grandfather's family worked in granite quarries near Milan but his mother's family name was O'Connor, "definitely Irish". Before he was a journalism teacher, David was a journalism professional as a producer with CNN for 20 years. He went to Cuba with Pope John Paul II. He covered the State Department, the Pentagon and, yes, the White House.

"It's not like we didn't see this during Donald Trump's election process," David said, "but it's a dangerous time now. What can you believe and what can't you believe? Even if he's talking to you face to face. How do we know?

"Having a sitting president telling obvious falsehoods and having his staff do it too tells journalists they need to do their jobs better. They need to ask better questions."

As the university's new term starts tomorrow, one of the journalism classes is on the Trump administration's first 100 days. "We're going to focus on how the media is covering Trump," David explained.

"But we are focusing on how to provide tools not only for our journalism school students but also for a wider group. We want to create a general education course to help critical thinking. To help all people use news better.

"Outreach beyond academia is important too. We're working to create speakers' bureaus on a state-by-state basis to have reporters not just talk to students about their jobs but to listen to what the kids may be asking. Making it a two-way street.

"Journalism is not dead. This may be the point in our history where it is reinvigorated; it's an opportunity for us to become more relevant. We can teach people to become better thinkers. How we reach across the US is crucial."

Across the US, and even the world, the Trump "opposition" stretches beyond the media.

So, as I write about it only being a week since President Trump took office, it's also hard to believe it's only been a week since every continent witnessed anti-Trump demonstrations under the "Women's March" banner.

Men took part too, of course. Alfre Woodard, who spoke at the Los Angeles march, enthused to me over the phone last Friday how, "The Edge played a song and everybody went nuts!"

Alfre is a four-time Emmy winner and Academy Award nominee. She currently has roles in not one, but two Netflix series: Luke Cage and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Her latest movies include Knucklehead and So B. It.

In addition to acting, she told me that growing up as a "young woman of colour in Oklahoma" made her an "activist" early on.

"I've always stood for progressive issues," she said. "What you're fighting for is the ability and the space to change the quality of people's lives. It's reaching forward for what is possible." She also told me her great-grandfather was an Irishman named Hugh Cooper, and added: "My Scottish husband spent the first five or six years of his life in Ireland. I have friends all over the island."

Alfre has a kind of friendship, too, with David, as she echoes his sentiments of reawakening. "This strange feeling that we're in a twilight zone nightmare on steroids with the new administration makes us fired up and energised," she said.

"It reignites our passion. We have to stand and deliver and be on the move."

"This fascist serpent is raising its head but I feel that we are going to be OK as long as the people are awake and are willing to stand up. We know the character of the nation as long as we can see active people stand up for each other."

Since the march, Alfre said the network stays connected through house parties and social media.

"We are going to do this two-pronged approach to stay informed and mobilize," she told me, after more than 4,000 people RSVP'd on Facebook to protest against the GOP retreat in Philadelphia.

"We are constantly in contact to know what is coming up and if, for instance, our issue is economic justice, we will show up anyway for climate change," she said.

"Because numbers matter. Especially for this president.

"The one great thing in all of this is it has reminded us we need to work in a way that connects us all. The marches were a mixed bag. We are a mixed bag. We have to stand together. When we take that away, there is no America.

"If you feel despair, that's when you need to get active. That's the power you have."

Gina London is an award-winning US journalist who is now living in Ireland.
Protesters gather outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport in opposition to U.S. president Donald Trump's proposed ban on immigration in Queens, New York City, U.S., January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang

Demonstrators opposed to President Donald Trump's executive orders barring entry to the U.S. of seven predominantly Muslim countries march through the ticketing area at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Nour Ulayyet left, comforts her mother Isaaf Jamal Eddin at Munster Community Hospital Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in Munster, Ind. Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Ind., said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia who had a valid visa, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday and told she couldn't enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother following President Donald Trump's executive order banning individuals from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Mahdi Radgoudarzi, right, of Sacramento, Calif., is hugged by his daughter Niloofar Radgoudarzi arrived from Tehran, Iran, at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in San Francisco. President Donald Trump's executive order bars citizens of seven predominantly Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Radgoudarzi was held for a few hours then eventually allowed to enter the country. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Police maintain walkways as people gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Police maintain walkways as people gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

A man leads a protest chant with a makeshift megaphone during a protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

President Donald Trump smiles after signing three executive actions in the Oval Office, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People protest Donald Trump's travel ban from Muslim majority countries at the International terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon

Airline crews watch as people march through the international terminal in protest of Donald Trump's travel ban from Muslim majority countries at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon

California state assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer speaks to people protesting Donald Trump's travel ban from Muslim majority countries at the International terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon

Demonstrators shout slogans during anti-Donald Trump immigration ban protests outside Terminal 4 at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, U.S., January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kate Munsch

Protesters gather outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport in opposition to U.S. president Donald Trump's proposed ban on immigration in Queens, New York City, U.S., January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang

U.S. President Donald Trump fought back on Sunday amid growing international criticism, outrage from civil rights activists and legal challenges over his abrupt order for a halt on arrivals of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

He and senior aides sought to defend the policy and play down the chaos sparked by Friday's order. But confusion persisted over details of implementation, in particular for green card holders who are legal residents of the United States.

In his most sweeping action since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump, a Republican, put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

"Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" added Trump, who has presented the policy as a way to protect Americans from the threat of Islamist militants.

Trump's comment could fuel charges that the new policy singles out Muslims. The militant Islamic State group has targeted minorities with brutal attacks and systematic oppression in Syria and Iraq, but it has also killed, tortured and punished both Shiite and Sunni Muslims in areas under its rule.

In an indication that the policy is evolving on the fly, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on NBC's "Meet the Press," that the order "doesn't affect green card holders moving forward." However, he added that such people would be subjected to extra questioning by Customs and Border Patrol agents when they tried to re-enter the United States.

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

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A senior administration official said green card holders will be subject to a rescreening but it had not been determined where and how those screenings would be carried out. Specific guidelines were being put together, the official said, adding "they could be screened in many different ways and in many different places."

Britain has secured assurances from the White House that the vast majority of UK citizens will be exempted from Donald Trump's immigration ban.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, has been told by some of Donald Trump's closest advisers that British citizens will be allowed to continue to travel from the UK to the US.

It has now emerged that Mr Johnson has been has been told by some of Mr Trump's closest advisers that the ban will only apply to those flying to the US directly from the seven nations.

Mr Johnson spoke directly to Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, in a bid to secure protections for British citizens.

The approach will exempt the majority of the hundreds of thousands of Britons with dual nationality from one of the seven countries from being hit by the ban.

High up overview of the massive protest crowd at JFK terminal 4 pic.twitter.com/iuMeoVNuO9  Danny Gold (@DGisSERIOUS) January 28, 2017

Stateside attorneys general from 16 US states, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning the orders.

"We are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created," the statement said.

Meanwhile, civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians have promised to fight Trump's order, which caused anguish for affected travelers and sparked protests at several U.S. airports throughout Saturday.

Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, said on Sunday his party would introduce legislation to overturn the policy.

Schumer said he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to express his concerns about the order and Kelly had told him that the executive order would not affect legal permanent residents.

"We need clarification. But it shows you, above the bad nature, the horrible nature of these (orders), the incompetence of this administration," Schumer told a news conference.

Several senior Republicans also voiced concern.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said on ABC's "This Week" program, that it was a good idea to tighten the vetting of immigrants, but "it's important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism, are Muslims, both in this country and overseas ... We need to be careful as we do this."

A Republican colleague in the Senate, John McCain, was more critical, saying the order had been a confused process and could give Islamic State propaganda material.

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"It wasn't chaos," Priebus told NBC. He added that of 325,000 people who arrived from foreign countries on Saturday, 109 people were detained for further questioning, and most of them were moved out, with just a "couple dozen more that remain" detained.

Such travelers were spared the threat of deportation by a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, who granted a temporary reprieve late on Saturday evening. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing two Iraqis caught by the order as they flew into the country, successfully argued for a temporary stay that prevented travelers denied entry to the United States from being deported.

Federal judges in three states followed the one in New York in barring authorities from deporting affected travelers in orders issued late on Saturday or early on Sunday.

Separately, Democratic attorneys general from California and New York were among states discussing whether to legally challenge the order, according to officials.

Suspicion

Condemnation of the order poured in from abroad, including from traditional allies of the United States.

In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said on Sunday.

Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about attacks by Islamist militants during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk.

He told reporters on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban," adding the measures were long overdue and were working out "very nicely."

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late on Saturday that about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. The department said it would comply with judicial orders but that the immigration restrictions remained in effect

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration was working to make sure its allies understood the purpose of the order, which affects Iraq, whose citizens and military work side by side with U.S. forces against Islamic State.

"We shouldn't let people just re-enter the country who are not citizens of the United States because they have gone to a place we have concerns about," he told ABC.

The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students.

Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American.

Reward

The new rules upended plans that had been long in the making for some people, such as Iraqi Fuad Sharef and his family. They waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organizations.

Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo on Saturday, detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning.

"We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport.

Iraq's former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, said Trump's ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of attacks, and could backfire.

Iran vowed to retaliate. Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban.

Britain's most successful track athlete, Olympic champion Mo Farah, slammed the policy in a statement.

"On 1st January this year, Her Majesty the Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien," said Farah, who was born in Somalia, came to Britain as a child and who currently lives with his wife and children in Oregon.

Immigration and customs officials at U.S. airports struggled to interpret the new rules on Saturday. Some green card holders who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival.

Airlines were caught by surprise and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country. Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, has had to change flight attendant and pilot rosters on services to the United States because of the ban, an airline spokeswoman said Sunday.

Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo.

Additional reporting by Telegraph reporters
WITH A STROKE OF A PEN: US President Donald Trump holds up an executive action on rebuilding the armed forces at the Pentagon this weekend as US Vice President Mike Pence (L) and US Defense Secretary James Mattis applaud. Photo: Mandel Ngan/Getty

Donald Trump is facing a fierce backlash at home and abroad after his decision to ban families fleeing violence in Syria from entering the US and to temporarily suspend immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.

There was chaos and confusion at airports around America, as customs officials sought to implement the executive order that prevents entry to Syrians indefinitely, all other refugees for four months and bans travellers from seven Middle Eastern countries.

"I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America," the US president said as he signed the order at the Pentagon. "Don't want them here."

Even as several foreign governments condemned the decision, Theresa May, the UK prime minister, who has sought to develop close ties with Trump, avoided criticising his actions.

After being asked three times if she condemned the decision to ban families fleeing slaughter in war zones, May said: "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees."

Lawyers and human rights groups took legal action yesterday, filing lawsuits which argued that the orders went against both the spirit of the US constitution and the letter of American law.

The order, which came into force as soon as Trump signed it on Friday afternoon, requires US border officials to turn away any person arriving from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for the next 90 days, whether or not they have a green card.

With only a few exceptions for diplomats and dual citizens, the order takes no account of whether travellers have already been issued with visas.

In announcing his "extreme vetting" plan, Trump invoked the September 11 attacks. But most of the 19 plane hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon - all countries not included on the ban list.

Within hours of the order being signed, chaos broke out at airports around the world as officials sought to understand and interpret the new policies. Mohammed Al Rawi, a graduate of California State University and former journalist with the LA Times, said his father had been hauled off a flight in Qatar as a direct result of Mr Trump's decision.

"My 71-year-old dad is in Qatar boarding a LAX flight to come visit us and he's being sent back to Iraq. Some US official told him Trump cancelled all visas," he wrote on Facebook hours after the order was signed.

Five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to New York on Saturday.

Some airlines have warned that all passengers whose journeys began in any of the seven countries may be affected, even if their own citizenship is not on the "banned" list.

Matt Zellar, an army captain who runs No One Left Behind, a charity that seeks to bring to the US Afghanis and Iraqis who worked with the American military in their countries, said the bans had caused their programmes to be suspended.

Mr Zellar works with people who have been placed on death lists by the Taliban, Isil, or other extremist organisations for the time they spent working with the US military. He said that the process of getting these men and their families into America had always been laborious, sometimes taking five years to obtain a visa. But the executive order was forcing him mostly to suspend the programme.

"Some have been waiting years, moving night by night and living away from their families to escape death squads," Mr Zellar said. "This closes out their last hope. Heroes and patriots who saved American lives are going to die for their service to us."

The executive order includes a potential loophole that says the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may, on a "case-by-case basis, and when in the national interest, issue visas or other immigration benefits to nationals of countries for which visas and benefits are otherwise blocked".

But Mr Zellar said repeated efforts to reach the White House to get permission to apply this to former US military employees had failed.

Refugee-rights groups and others immediately challenged the orders in court, and said the bans scapegoated Muslims and Arabs without making the US safer.

Trump's order came down as Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the US military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats over his US ties, was just minutes away from landing at JFK Airport in New York.

US officials detained Darweesh and another Iraqi whom the US government also had already approved for entry. After lawyers for refugee-rights organisations filed emergency petitions in federal court for their release, Darweesh walked free, to the applause of sign-waving demonstrators gathered at the airport to protest the ban.

"This is the soul of America," Darweesh told the crowd and reporters there, of those who had worked for his asylum and his release.

Asked what he thought of the US now, Darweesh pointed a finger in the air, and said emphatically, "America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world."

Meathaq Alaunaibi, also a refugee from Iraq, was hoping to soon be reunited with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are in Baghdad. Alaunaibi, her husband, a son and another daughter were settled last August in Tennessee, as the twins completed their government review to enter the US. After Trump signed the order, she spoke by phone with her daughters.

"They are so worried and afraid because they're stuck there in Baghdad," Alaunaibi said yesterday. "They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them."

Staff at US agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyse the order and girded themselves for the wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the US. Several staff who spoke to reporters burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

The International Refugee Assistance Project, which aids foreign nationals targeted for their work for the US government, was sending the same message to asylum-seekers, most of them who had been waiting for years.

"We have to reach out to hundreds of our clients and explain that their future has been taken away from them, and we don't know when they'll get it back," said the group's executive director.

An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Islamic State group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now canceled, indefinitely.

"If you can write to Mr Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please," the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his US lawyer by email.

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the US federal government to enter the US, said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the US are settled by religious groups, who organise synagogues, churches and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Services of MetroWest had been coordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a one-year-old and a five-year-old who arrived on Tuesday.

Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and it's unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group.

"I'm very worried," he said. "This executive order will have a profound impact."

The order also sparked concern in the business world. Google recalled all travelling staff members to the US following the order, and warned of the possible impact on recruiting abroad. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere," a Google spokesman said.

Iran last night said that it would stop US citizens entering their country in retaliation against Washington's visa ban, calling it an "open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation".

Trump last night said his crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries was "not a Muslim ban."

And he added that it's "working out very nicely."

Telegraph

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
A public memorial will be held for Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, their family has announced.

The event will be held at Forest Lawn Cemetery Hollywood Hills on March 25, where the actresses were laid to rest following their deaths just a day apart.

In a statement to fans, Reynolds' son Todd Fisher said: " We will be celebrating their lives with friends, family members, and the people who loved them, you.

"The service will begin at 1pm and immediately afterwards, those who want to walk to their final resting place are welcome to do so.

"There are a limited number of seats available, and it will be on a first come, first seated basis."

People unable to get inside the service will be able to watch on big screens outside the cemetery's Freedom Theatre, Mr Fisher added.

Reynolds and Fisher were buried together at Forest Lawn Cemetery on January 6, where the ashes of the Star Wars actress were carried in an urn shaped like a Prozac pill.

Fisher had spoken publicly about her battle with bipolar disorder and drug problems during her life.

Following the funeral, Mr Fisher promised a "bigger service down the road for the public and all their other friends".

Explaining the choice of urn for his sister's ashes, he added: "Carrie's favourite possession was a giant Prozac pill that she bought many years ago and she loved it and it was in her house. (Carrie's daughter) Billie and I felt it was where she would want to be.

"We couldn't find anything appropriate. Carrie would like that, it was her favourite thing."

Fisher, 60, who shot to fame as Princess Leia in Star Wars, died on December 27 after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles four days earlier.

Singin' In The Rain star Reynolds, 84, died following a suspected stroke, a day after her daughter's death.
Nour Ulayyet comforts her sick mother Isaaf Jamal Eddin in hospital after her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia with a valid visa, was sent back from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

An Iraqi pleaded for his life to Donald Trump, a Syrian-born New Yorker wondered how he would get home and church groups stared in dismay at homes prepared for refugee families who may never arrive.

Despair and confusion set in among citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries who suddenly found themselves unable to enter the United States a day after President Trump signed an order he said was necessary to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to America.

Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee programme.

Travellers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights or detained at US airports after they landed, including tourists, foreign students and people trying to visit friends and family.

"What's next? What's going to happen next?" said Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody.

"Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?"

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order barring the US from summarily deporting people who had arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, but the ruling affected only a portion of Mr Trump's order.

Protests broke out at several US airports where travellers were being held, including a gathering of several hundred people outside San Francisco's main airport and a raucous demonstration of at least 2,000 people at New York's Kennedy International Airport.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the US military in Iraq for 10 years, now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at Kennedy on Friday and Saturday.

He was released after his lawyers and two members of the US Congress went to the airport to try to gain his release.

"This is the soul of America," Mr Darweesh told demonstrators and reporters, adding that the US was home to "the greatest people in the world".

Others were less lucky - Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, in Iran, only to be detained and told she had to go home.

"She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates," said her husband Mohamad Zandian , 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University.

Staff at US agencies that resettle refugees, several in tears, were scrambling to analyse the order and prepared for the wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to thousands just days away from travelling to the US.

Meathaq Alaunaibi, a refugee from Iraq, was hoping to soon be reunited with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are in Baghdad and was "crying all the time".

She, her husband, a son and another daughter were settled in Tennessee last August, as the twins completed their government review to enter the US.

"They (her daughters) are so worried and afraid because they're stuck there in Baghdad," she said.

An Iraqi in Mosul, where the Islamic State terror group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now cancelled indefinitely.

"If you can write to Mr Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please," the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his US lawyer by email.

The order also caused confusion for longtime, legal US residents travelling abroad.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the US for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, but does not know if he will be able to return.

"It (New York City) is home as much as Damascus", he said by phone from Lebanon.

Before Mr Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the government to enter the US, said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service.

More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

Most refugees entering the US are settled by religious groups which liaise with churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been co-ordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families.

Now, two fully-outfitted apartments remain empty and it is unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, the group's chief executive.

Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana, said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday and told she could not enter the US to help care for their sick mother.

Ms Ulayyet said some airport officials were apologising to her sister, who had a valid visa.

AP
Donald Trump has acted to fulfil a key portion of his pledge to "drain the swamp" in Washington, banning administration officials from lobbying the US on behalf of a foreign government and imposing a separate five-year ban on other lobbying.

The US president has said individuals who want to aid him in his quest to "make America great again" should focus on the jobs they will be doing to help the American people, not thinking ahead to the future income they could rake in by peddling their influence after serving in government.

"Most of the people standing behind me will not be able to go to work," Mr Trump joked, referring to an array of White House officials who lined up behind him as he sat at his Oval Office desk.

"So you have one last chance to get out."

The officials included vice president Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior strategist Steve Bannon and counsellor Kellyanne Conway.

Mr Trump said he talked about the ban a lot during the campaign and "we're now putting it into effect".

In a pair of separate actions, Mr Trump took steps to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

He also gave defence secretary Jim Mattis and the joint chiefs of staff, the president's top military advisers, 30 days to come up with a plan defeat the Islamic State terror group.

Scores of people have been killed in terrorist acts that IS has carried out overseas or has inspired on US soil.

Under an executive order that Mr Trump signed in the presence of the media, every political appointee joining the executive branch on or after January 20 - the day he took office - must agree to the lobbying bans.

That includes avoiding, for five years after leaving, lobbying the agency they worked for.

Another provision sets a two-year period during which appointees must avoid working on issues involving former employers or clients.

Mr Trump is allowed to waive any of the restrictions.

Questions had been raised about how the bans would be enforced.

The order says they are "solely enforceable" by the US government "by any legally available means", including debarment proceeding within any affected executive branch agency, or civil court proceedings.

Former appointees who are found to have violated the ban may also be barred from lobbying their former agency for up to five years, on top of the five-year period covered by the pledge, the executive order states.

Mr Trump said the order supersedes one that Barack Obama signed on January 21 2009, that banned anyone from lobbying the government for a period of two years after leaving, saying that order was "full of loopholes".

The president signed the order and a pair of presidential memoranda near the end of an intense day of telephone diplomacy during which he discussed a range of issues with the leaders of Japan, Germany, Russia, France and Australia - with whom he needs to build relationships.

Mr Trump had released the plan for a lobbying ban a few weeks before the November election, one of several promised policies aimed at curbing corruption and the influence of lobbyists in Washington.

He also made promises about transparency and ethics.

Some have argued that the ban could make it difficult for him to fill thousands of jobs throughout the administration by causing some candidates to become squeamish about limiting their ability to make money after they leave government employment.

Others say the prohibitions on lobbying are too insignificant to be effective.

AP
A US soldier killed in an operation in Yemen is thought to be the first service personnel fatality of the Trump administration

A US soldier has been killed and three others injured in a raid in Yemen targeting its local al Qaida branch.

The fatality marks the first-known combat death of US service personnel under President Donald Trump's new administration.

US Central Command said a fourth service member was injured in a "hard landing" in a nearby location.

The aircraft - presumably a helicopter - was unable to fly afterwards and was "intentionally destroyed".

The Central Command statement said 14 militants from al Qaida's branch in Yemen, formally known as al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, were killed in the assault.

It added that US service members taking part in the raid captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots".

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault in Yemen's central Bayda province killed three senior al Qaida leaders.

The surprise dawn attack in Bayda province killed Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims, the officials said.

The al-Dhahab family is considered an ally of al Qaida, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda province.

A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed in a previous US drone strike several years ago. It was not immediately clear whether the family members were actual members of al Qaida.

The US troops killed or wounded some two dozen men, including some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials.

An official with al Qaida confirmed the killings, describing the attack as a "massacre" and saying that women and children had been killed as well, although he provided no evidence to back his claim.

He said Apache attack helicopters struck the area from the air before dropping commandos in for the raid, which took place near Yakla village in Radaa district.

Just over a week ago, suspected US drone strikes killed three other alleged al Qaida operatives in Bayda province in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Mt Trump assumed the presidency.

AP
WASHINGTON - President Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in hopes of cultivating "a great relationship," one in a series of telephone conversations with world leaders as he develops a personal rapport with the heads of several traditional U.S. allies.

Trump's call with Putin, which began about noon Eastern time, comes as the president faces pressure to maintain sanctions against Moscow. He is reaching out to repair the U.S.-Russian relationship, which has been badly strained by the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Putin ordered systematic hacking of Democratic emails to tip the presidential election in Trump's favor.

Trump spoke with Putin from behind his desk in the Oval Office, which was stacked high with papers and a glass of soda. The president was flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and press secretary Sean Spicer.

Trump began the day with a call to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss security and trade issues between the two countries and the mutual threat posed by North Korea.

"President Trump affirmed the iron-clad U.S. commitment to ensuring the security of Japan," a White House statement said. It continued, "President Trump and Prime Minister Abe said they would consult and cooperate on the threat posed by North Korea."

Trump and Abe also discussed an upcoming visit to Japan and other countries in the region by newly installed Defense Secretary James Mattis. Abe, who during Trump's transition phase became the first foreign leader to talk face-to-face with the president-elect, agreed to meet Trump during a visit to Washington on Feb. 10, according to the White House.

Trump then spoke by phone from with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. His outreach to Merkel comes after his repeated attacks on her during the campaign, during which he blasted the German policy on admitting Syrian refugees for allegedly putting German citizens in danger of terrorist attacks.

Trump is planning to speak later Saturday with French President Francois Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Ahead of Trump's call with Putin, leaders in Moscow expressed cautious hope that the new American leader could forge stronger ties than former president Barack Obama did.

On Saturday, Nikolai Patrushev, the influential head of the Russian Security Council, welcomed the first contact.

"We will await the results, but I believe everything will be positive," Patrushev said Saturday, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

From Moscow's point of view, lifting the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration for interference in the presidential election and Russia's intervention in Ukraine would be a good start, as would a reduction of NATO's military presence near Russia's borders.

Washington's European allies, meanwhile, have expressed concern over whether Trump's first moves with Russia will signal a reduction of the U.S. commitment to European security.

But Trump, speaking Friday at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, said that it is "very early" to discuss lifting sanctions on Russia. May also stated her commitment to keep the sanctions in place until the Minsk Agreement, a plan to end the conflict in Ukraine, has been implemented. And she added that she continues to argue that position "inside the European Union."

Trump's first contact with Putin as president comes after months of speculation over the Kremlin's role in the 2016 election - starting with Trump's frequent expressions of admiration for Putin and culminating in the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the campaign on Trump's behalf.

Trump has vehemently denied allegations that his positive view of Moscow stems from business ties or blackmail by Russian intelligence, and he has sought to portray his upbeat words about Putin as a positive.

He has consistently argued that Russia can be a strong ally instead of a strategic ally, saying the two countries could cooperate on counterterrorism in general and rolling back the Islamic State in particular, as well as countering nuclear weapon proliferation. Trump has suggested that Washington can work with Moscow on the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine and that he might be ready to negotiate down NATO's strong defensive posture on Russia's western border.

U.S. lawmakers from both parties, and others including Trump Cabinet picks, have raised alarms or at least questioned his softer approach to Russia.

But on Friday, the president expressed more tempered expectations.

"As far as, again, Putin and Russia, I don't say good, bad or indifferent," Trump said. "I don't know the gentleman. I hope we have a fantastic relationship. That's possible. And it's also possible we won't. We will see what happens. I will be representing the American people very, very strongly, very forcefully."

On a grander scale, the Kremlin seems to hope the Trump administration will relax what it sees as a policy of containment since the fall of the Soviet Union left the United States as the world's sole superpower. In the new world order outlined by Putin, Russia would have greater influence in world affairs and, from Moscow's point of view, feel more secure at home.

But Moscow has consistently cautioned about "excessive optimism" over what Trump's presidency will mean for Russia, and Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stayed on script Friday. "One can hardly expect substantive contacts on the entire range of affairs from this call," he told reporters. "Let us wait and see. Let us be patient."

Moscow's establishment has welcomed Trump as a pragmatist who will not try to enforce American values on the rest of the world.

"He is a businessman. He is a pragmatic person," Andrei Norkin, co-host of a popular Russian political talk show, said this week. "I hope that his attitude to foreign policy will be like to some sort of business deal. People who will work with him will be telling him 'Mr. President, we are taking a risk here,' and he will agree."
President Trump's executive order barring refugees and migrants from predominantly Muslim countries from entry into the United States rippled across the world on Saturday, causing widespread confusion, triggering outrage among immigrant advocates and leading to the detention at U.S. airports of people flying into the country.

In addition to blocking all entries from seven countries, including business people, students and others, the ban is also being applied to U.S. legal residents from those nations - so-called green card holders - who were traveling abroad at the time the order was signed, federal officials said Saturday.

Those familiar with the order, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they said its rollout had been chaotic, said green card holders currently in the United States will not be affected. They noted that the Department of Homeland Security is allowed to grant waivers to those individuals and others deemed to not pose a threat to national security.

"If you've been living in the United States for 15 years and you own a business and your family is here, will you be granted a waiver? I'm assuming yes, but we are working that out,'' said one official, who could not be more specific because details of the possible waivers remained cloudy, as did many other details of how the ban will be enforced.

But officials made clear that the federal officers detaining refugees and migrants holding valid U.S. visas and restricting them from entering the country were following orders handed down by top DHS officials. Those orders, the officials said, reflect the desires of Trump's White House.

The president's order, signed Friday, suspends admission to the United States of all refugees for 120 days and bars for 90 days the entry of any citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. Trump said that the goal is to screen out "radical Islamic terrorists" and that priority for admission would be given to Christians.

The executive action has caused "complete chaos" and torn apart families, said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "It's causing a negative and destructive impact on the Arab-American community," Ayoub said.

The White House on Saturday rushed to explain and defend its action, saying it strengthens national security and denying that it targeted Muslims. "The notion that this is a Muslim ban is ludicrous," one senior administration official said. A second official noted that many majority-Muslim countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey, were excluded from the measure.

And House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., who frequently clashed with Trump during the presidential campaign, strongly backed the president's executive order. "This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,'' he said. "This order does not affect the vast majority of Muslims in the world. It does not affect a large number of nations that are Muslim-majority.''

Lawyers for two Iraqi men detained at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, one of whom served the U.S. military mission in Iraq, filed a middle-of-the-night lawsuit in federal court challenging Trump's order as unconstitutional and seeking the release of their clients. They also are seeking class certification so they may represent all refugees and visa-holders who are being held at U.S. ports of entry.

One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released Saturday afternoon without explanation from federal officials, according to his lawyer, Mark Doss. "We are very grateful that Mr. Darweesh has been released," Doss told reporters outside JFK International Airport in an interview broadcast on CNN. But 11 others are still being detained at JFK, he said, and "people will stay here until they are released."

While immigration advocates said at least one refugee family had been detained at San Francisco International Airport, there was no immediate count of how many refugees were being held at airports nationwide. Advocates said that people have not only been held at the border but that ticketed passengers have been barred from boarding U.S.-bound aircraft overseas, and they confirmed that green-card holders who left the U.S. have been unable to return.

Cairo airport officials say seven U.S.-bound migrants - six from Iraq and one from Yemen - were prevented Saturday from boarding an EgyptAir flight to JFK airport, according to the Associated Press.

As outrage mounted, other advocates promised further legal challenges. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the order and said it would file a lawsuit next week challenging it as unconstitutional.

"There is no evidence that refugees - the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation - are a threat to national security," Lena F. Masri, CAIR's national litigation director, said in a statement. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

Both Iraqi men detained at JFK airport held valid U.S. visas and had been receiving pro-bono legal assistance for several months from the New York-based International Refugee Assistance Project. Betsy Fisher, the organization's policy director, said the men were in the air on separate flights when Trump signed the temporary refugee ban Friday. She called their detention "our worst-case scenario."

"In the coming weeks we will be advocating to show why this policy is bad for U.S. national security, why it goes against our humanitarian responsibilities, and why it is fundamentally un-American," Fisher said. "If there is one fundamentally American value, then it is welcoming those who are fleeing persecution. At our best, this is what we can do."

The International Refugee Assistance Project was among several prominent immigration-rights organizations that filed the lawsuit in New York, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center.

One of the Iraqi men detained at JFK is Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, who holds a visa that allowed him to join his wife and young child in Texas. His wife had worked for a U.S. government contractor and came to the United States as a refugee in 2014.

Darweesh, 53, had worked as a contractor for the U.S. government in Iraq for about a decade, including as an interpreter for the Army. He and his wife and three children had spent more than two years securing a special immigrant visa, granted to Iraqis who assisted U.S. military forces.

The Darweesh family landed in New York at approximately 6 p.m. Friday , and Hameed Darweesh was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is at risk of being returned to a country where he faces enormous personal danger due to his aid to the U.S. government, the complaint says.

Darweesh told reporters outside the airport on Saturday that he was thankful so many people came to his aid, leaving their families to help secure his release.

"This is the humanity, this is the soul of America. This is what pushed me to move, to leave my country and come here," Darweesh said. "America is the land of freedom, the land of freedom, the land of the right. . . . America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world."

Brandon Friedman worked with Darweesh in 2003, when he was an infantry officer with the Army's 101st Airborne Division. He said Darweesh, who was among the first Iraqis to sign up to serve the U.S. military, was "fearless" and saved countless U.S. lives.

"This is a guy who has done a lot more for this country than most people who were born here," Friedman said. He said he hopes Trump's executive order is rescinded quickly: "This is putting U.S. troops in danger because it is withdrawing the incentive that folks like Hameed have to work with us. And we depend on them to a great extent."

The detention of a man who served the U.S. military was particularly objectionable to Matt Zeller, founder of No One Left Behind, which aims to help Iraqi and Afghan people who worked for the U.S. military secure special immigrant visas.

He said America is breaking its promise to men and women who served the U.S. military at great personal risk to themselves - which is not only wrong, he said, but also undermines trust in the United States and endangers the lives of any future service member sent overseas.

"This is going to get future Americans killed in future wars. It comes down to that," he said. "We're never going to live down this shame if we let this go on."

Marielena Hincapie, executive director for the National Immigration Law Center, said immigration advocates first learned of immigrants being detained Friday evening after a report from a family detained in San Francisco. The advocates attempted to reach U.S. Customs and Border Protection but were unsuccessful.

"We were trying to find out if it was lack of communication or what was the plan?" she said in an interview Saturday morning.

The lawyers for those detained at JFK said they were told officials at the airport couldn't help them when they began to seek their clients' release.

"Who is the person to talk to?" the attorneys asked, according to the court complaint. The CBP agents responded: "Mr. President. Call Mr. Trump."
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Ever since Sanjay Leela Bhansalis slapgate, Bollywood filmmakers have been voicing their support on social media. From seeking PM Modis intervention to condemning the people of Jaipur, they are saying it all.

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According to reports, the Karni Sena of Jaipur vandalised the sets of Padmavati and broke expensive equipment. Someone even slapped director Sanjay Leela Bhansali amidst all the chaos. A video of the same surfaced on the internet and went viral.

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Now, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap are some of the many people who took to Twitter to strongly condemn the whole incident. Like we all know, its a two-way street. The duo obviously got attacked by various online trolls.

DNA

In a string of tweets, Anurag had said:

Hindu extremists have stepped out of twitter into the real world now.. and Hindu terrorism is not a myth anymore  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 27, 2017

In 2008 , this is what SLB said about how he looks at Padmavati..for those who assume what he is making without knowing the script are wrong pic.twitter.com/ksfBGe5MW0  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 28, 2017

Someone replied to the tweet by saying:

@anuragkashyap72 hey buddy let me give u free advice "stop sleeping with @karanjohar "  vikas pathak (@vkspathak) January 28, 2017

We all know that this kind of shit is very common on the micro-blogging website. However, Karan Johar did not stay mum this time. The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil maker got so offended by this tweet that he retaliated on the same very strongly. He said,

Let me give you some better advice!! Start sleeping with someone!!! You frustrated Fuck!!!! https://t.co/r58q0anCqy  Karan Johar (@karanjohar) January 28, 2017

As they say, you reap what you sow!
The film fraternity and cinema lovers got a rude awakening when filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali got assaulted in Jaipur for making Padmavati.

The National award-winning director was attacked in the Pink City by the members of a Rajput community group a couple of days back. Whats more, they even vandalized the sets at Jaigarh Fort alleging that the makers are distorting facts in the movie which is based on Alauddin Khiljis obsession with Rani Padamvati.

twitter

This shocking incident drove the makers to immediately halt the shoot. A statement issued by the makers read,

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to stop the shoot and leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'".

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Bhansalis tryst with the story of Padmavati is not new. In fact, he had earlier directed an opera on the courageous Queens life, which received an overwhelming response and a house full of audience in Paris. He then decided to come up with a full-fledged movie on the same.

Many people are outraging on the fact that it features an intimate scene between the notorious Khilji and Rani Padmavati played by Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone respectively. The director refuted all such claims. He said,

Indian Express

"We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film. In spite of this, the attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur."

In fact, the makers believe that people will be proud of their story.

"We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world."

BCCL

However, in the wake of the shocking incident, SLB and his crew unanimously decided to cancel the shooting of their film.

The shooting has been stopped by the filmmaker at Jaigarh Fort and they have vacated the place, SHO Amer police station Narendra Kumar said.

A source close to the production said, The makers have already clarified that there are no scenes between Padmavati and Allaudin Khiljis characters. Bhansali has shot his movies in Rajasthan in the past but he never faced any problem. What happened was unfortunate and the team is packing up.
Well, trust the psycho godman to keep his promise! Swami Om allegedly reached the Bigg Boss grand finale venue in Lonavala to create a ruckus, since he wasnt invited to the event!

apne.tv

Thankfully, he was arrested before he could do anything! The good news is that he will remain in police custody until the Grand Finale is over. Now thats something, isnt it?

The man hasnt learned anything even after getting thrown out of the show. He has been abused, humiliated and ultimately shown the door, but he still did not budge. The shameless man had threatened after his ouster that he will not let the Bigg Boss finale happen. And he kept his promise!

twitter

He had full intentions to ruin the event but thankfully the makers were prepared well in advance. This piece of news broke on the internet. According to a report carried by Bollywood life, the channel has refused to comment on the same and is apparently clueless about the self-proclaimed godmans whereabouts.

youtube

Swami Om has been talking shit nonstop ever since he was chucked out. From calling Salman an ISI Agent, claiming that he slapped Khan on the show to his Hollywood dreams, we have heard it all! Recently, he even claimed that he has a connection with the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon!

Colors

Now, if he has actually been arrested be prepared to hear a thousand stories because, well, old habits die hard, right?
On Friday, US President Donald Trump dropped a bomb when he indefinitely stopped all Syrian Refugees from entering the USA. He even suspended the entire refugee program temporarily. Even though the order does not mention Muslim or Islam, it does forbid people from Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Syria and Iraq to enter America for the next 3 months.

twitter

This decision has left the entire world in a fix including Hollywood. Celebrities and many other people took to Twitter to protest against the executive order and in no time #MuslimBan started trending.

Hailing from Pakistan, Silicon Valley actor Kumail Nanjiani posted a series of tweets that point out the damaging effects that the policy will have on Muslims both in and outside America.

As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

Hey @mike_pence @SenJohnMcCain @SpeakerRyan, you should be ashamed of yourselves. On your deathbeds you will know you made the world worse.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

You're saying to a billion people "You're all the same. You're all dangerous to us." Children hear this. You breed evil here & everywhere.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU  Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017

The day the music died...  Protestors gather at New York's JFK Airport over refugee detainmenthttps://t.co/h8eyFmbAOs  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 28, 2017

To our Muslim neighbors in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man.  Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 28, 2017

My best friend, Alaa Mohammad Khaled, is Muslim. His parents were Palestinian refugees. His brother is DJ Khaled. #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/qXOapgvvF7  Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 28, 2017

Donald Trump has no fucking clue. His desperate need for self aggrandizement is destroying US. Nothing will fill his black heart. #MuslimBan  Rob Reiner (@robreiner) January 28, 2017

Donald Trump is an unwell, evil human being. To the core.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 28, 2017

1. Trump's #MuslimBan is against the law. The 1965 Immigration & Naturalization Act eliminated national origins as a basis for immigration.  Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) January 28, 2017

The Deplorable States of America. #muslimban  Julie Plec (@julieplec) January 28, 2017

We've lost something very precious.

And traded it for a cowardly, foolish illusion of safety.

I'm ashamed.#MuslimBan  Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) January 28, 2017

I moved to America 32 years ago. Yesterday was the first day I felt ashamed to be part of this country.  Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) January 28, 2017

Stand up everyone ! https://t.co/nydnwvTIzy  Chloe Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) January 28, 2017

To All Trumpsters & BernieBros alike, who, with dripping contempt, called me a "Fearmonger" --Fck You. #Muslimban #wall  Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) January 28, 2017

LA Protest on #Muslimban TODAY 1-5 at Federal Immigration Office, 300 N. Los Angeles St. https://t.co/y2KOOJmqWx  Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 28, 2017

Disgusted! The news is devastating! America is being ruined right before our eyes! What an immoral pig you have to be to implement such BS!!  Rihanna (@rihanna) January 29, 2017
While the world reels over the executive orders passed by the new US President Donald Trump of banning the people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering US, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister has taken a stand on social media.

Reuters

In a slew of tweets, Trudeau reiterated his governments stand and commitment to bring in those fleeing persecution, terror and war. Post the executive orders which unleashed strong protest within US for deporting the immigrants from seven banned countries who landed in US prior to the passing of executive orders, Trudeaus tweets became sensation and shared more than 1.5 lakh times.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

The young Canadian PM Trudeau has been gaining popularity over his liberal approach towards refugee from war-torn countries like Syria seeking asylum in western countries.

Trudeau allowed entry of nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees to Canada over the past 13 months. He added a tweet where he greeting a young refugee at a Canadian airport in 2015.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending entry to the US from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen for 90 days.

The US's entire refugee admissions programme has also been suspended for 120 days.

The order created ruckus at airports around the world as immigration and customs officers failed to interpret the new rules. The Canadian government is also in contact with the US administration "to get more clarity" on how the executive orders will affect Canadians citizens travelling to the US, said federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau.
While the Chinese celebrated their Lunar New Year in style, their Capital Beijing on Saturday woke up with dense, choking smog which left the pollution levels of the city skyrocketing. The Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau (BMEPB) said that post the Lunar New Years celebrations, the harmful particulate matter in the air had hit the second-highest level in five years by Saturday morning, the state-owned China News Service reported.

Reuters

Beijing had initiated a "war against pollution" in 2014 as part of the governments promise to reverse the damage done by decades of breakneck growth which had some price to pay.Public health concerns over air pollution have grown and the government has found no source of pollution too small to ignore.

Reuters

"In setting off fireworks, be conscious of 'setting off the (pollution) index'," read an editorial on Saturday in the People's Daily newspaper, the Communist Party mouthpiece. Millions of people move to China to visit family and friends during the Lunar New Year which the government predicts up to 3 billion trips.

Though the government had made attempt to make people light lesser firecrackers with the help of fewer approvals for firework stalls and officials being warned to lead by example and abstain from the pyrotechnics.

Reuters

But the efforts didnt bear many fruits. Although state-owned Xinhua reported that purchases of fireworks fell 4.9 percent in Beijing this year, the measures weren't enough to avoid a spike in pollution from healthy to hazardous levels in a matter of hours.

Beijing's level of PM2.5, a measure of small particulate matter particularly damaging to health, peaked at 647 micrograms per cubic metre early on Saturday, the national Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement on its website.

Reuters

That was well beyond the upper limit of 500 on China's air quality index and double the threshold considered hazardous.

Dispersal of the pollution largely depends on weather conditions, with two cold air fronts likely to help reduce pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region through to Wednesday, the environmental ministry said, before conditions deteriorate again and potentially lead to another heavy bout of pollution.
In the biggest seizure of alcohol since the announcement of polls, the excise department on Saturday seized over one lakh liquor bottles in Bathinda district of Punjab, a week ahead of assembly elections. Besides, liquor distributions slips were also recovered in Jalandhar.

BCCL

A senior state election official said it was the biggest seizure made in Punjab after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect. Earlier, the seizure of 2,100 cartons of liquor from Pathankot was the biggest recovery.

The haul of illegal liquor was made after the Election Commission has ordered state-wide drive to check the distribution of liquor during high-stakes assembly polls in Punjab. Acting on a tip-off, the huge quantity of liquor was seized from two godowns located at Dabwali road in Bathinda, the official said.

"In one of the biggest hauls, we have seized 6,000 boxes of illegal liquor which were brought from multiple states including Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, stored in a godown at Dabwali road," Bathinda Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer Ghanshyam Thori said.

He said 3,500 cartons of liquor were also seized from another godown located on the same road.

BCCL

"If we sum up the two seizures, the total liquor bottles are worked out to over one lakh bottles," he added.

The area where the seizure took place falls under Bathinda Urban seat, where candidates including Manpreet Badal (Congress), sitting SAD legislator Sarup Chand Singla and Deepak Bansal (AAP) are in the fray. The official said 121 liquor distribution slips were recovered from a liquor vend near Sabji mandi in Jalandhar Cantt area.

Notably, liquor distribution slips were also recovered in Samrala, Ludhiana, a few days back. Official further informed that 1,000 cases of liquor were also seized in Hoshiarpur.

"The checking of liquor vends in Punjab is already going on the directions of the Election Commission," the official said.

Notably, in the past, various political parties had expressed concern over the misuse of drugs, liquor and cash to influence voters during Punjab assembly polls. The polling for 117 assembly seats in Punjab will take place on February 4.
The International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook painted a somewhat optimistic picture of the global economy while estimating a slower growth for India in the current fiscal, expecting the growth to jump back over the 7% mark during the next fiscal as consumption revives.

AFP

At the same time, the New Year has also seen the domestic economy starting to recover from the temporary disruption caused by the move to demonetise. However, despite a positive beginning, the year is not without its share of macro risks. Check out the emerging risks on the horizon:

Protectionist Trade Polices

The overall response by the governments to the slowdown in the growth in developed markets had been to adopt policies to protect their markets and labour. In 2016, the G20 countries have taken more trade restrictive measures than trade facilitating ones. Such protectionist trade policies create uncertainties as they are meant to provide immediate stimulus and therefore tend to be more variable and less consistent.

More protectionism could mean more pressure on exports for emerging market economies. For India, it could be a sort of a double whammy as a large share of our import basket is consumed by oil, which has on account of OPEC cuts seen a hardening in prices.

Reuters

Global Growth Faltering

Most multilateral agencies expect global growth to pick up in the current year. The higher level of growth is being premised on the back of a stable and higher growth in the US, stable growth in China and a rebound in growth in some emerging economies. A higher US growth is likely due to higher fiscal expenditure while some emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia are likely to see better numbers as commodity prices have risen.

China has been on a firmer footing of late as the central government returns to its old playbook of debt-fuelled growth facilitated by cheap credit. China achieved growth at 6.7% in 2016 and will likely slow further in 2017 to around 6.5%. But, given how the growth is being achieved, it seems that the Chinese authorities might be reaching limits of the current policy mix of fiscal and monetary stimulus. This has important ramifications for the Indian market as China could go in for some Yuan devaluation, which would mean some depreciation of the domestic currency to maintain competitiveness.

Brexit and its Implications

Britain's vote to exit the EU led to a fall in equity indices and a huge depreciation of the British pound as well as the Euro. Given the dynamics of the situation, there could be a case for 'Hard Brexit' wherein Britain leaves the single European market and looks for options like free trade deals. For companies with substantial interests in both UK and EU, this uncertainty may impact their investment and growth plans.
Imagine a lotus-leaf-like surface from which a water drop rolls off automatically and takes along with it any accumulated dust.

Nandini Bhandaru of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has helped turn this vision into reality, developing a water and oil repellent surface which presents a potential low-cost self-cleaning solution for solar cell panel street lights and glass facades in high-rise buildings.

askiitians.com

In the process, she has won Indian Science Congress Association's 'Young Scientist Award' in 'Engineering Science' category for 2017. Bhandaru, who led the research funded by the Centre's Department of Science and Technology along with industry bodies, told ET that these "nanostructures" can be fabricated on a large scale for less than Rs 100 while machine-made patterns cost Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the same area.

"This low-cost solution is a first of its kind," she said.

A nanoparticle is about a thousandth as wide as a human hair. Bhandaru's research is especially relevant in a country like India where dust and dirt often tend to be oily in nature and gets accumulated easily.

"Having nanostructure coatings can enormously help in keeping the surfaces clean and even help maintain high efficiency in case of solar cells," Bhandaru said.

Street lights are generally at such heights that it is inconvenient to clean them. The dust and deposits reduce the efficiency of the lights. By using this technology, the surface of street lights that gathers dust is altered, making it easier to clean. When water is poured, the dust and deposits effortlessly flow down.

BCCL

Besides, the presence of nanostructures can alter the property of the solar street lights by making them antireflective. The solar lights currently mostly reflect and absorb solar light, according to Bhandaru.

The Bhandaru led group is also engaged in developing oleophobic or oil repellent anti-fingerprint surfaces, which can be used widely in touchscreen devices. The key focus of its research is on developing solutions at nanoscale which find wide application in areas such as electronic devices, data storage media, optoelectronic devices and cancer therapeutics.

"The gravity is the most important force, but in the nano world, this has no role. Hence it is easier to change properties completely at the nanoscale," Bhandaru said.

Most of the products developed by the group have been patented and the group is now working to scale up the techniques for industrial collaborations and product manufacturing.
Following President Donald Trump's immigration order, the biggest firms of the Silicon Valley are breaking their silence and coming out in support of their employees that the ban affects. The response to the executive order is one of pain, fear, and frustration.

AP

Here's how some of the biggest CEOs of the Valley have reacted.

1. Tim Cook, Apple

In his memo to employees, Cook wrote,

"Team,

In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, I've made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration -- both to our company and to our nation's future. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.

I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support.

There are employees at Apple who are directly affected by yesterday's immigration order. Our HR, Legal and Security teams are in contact with them, and Apple will do everything we can to support them. Were providing resources on AppleWeb for anyone with questions or concerns about immigration policies. And we have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company.

Reuters

As I've said many times, diversity makes our team stronger. And if theres one thing I know about the people at Apple, its the depth of our empathy and support for one another. Its as important now as its ever been, and it will not weaken one bit. I know I can count on all of you to make sure everyone at Apple feels welcome, respected and valued.

Apple is open. Open to everyone, no matter where they come from, which language they speak, who they love or how they worship. Our employees represent the finest talent in the world, and our team hails from every corner of the globe.

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now."

2. Google, Sundar Pichai

In a memo to his staff, CEO Pichai said, "We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US. Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected. If youre abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team."

Reuters

Taking the fight to the ground, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has now joined the protest against immigration order at San Francisco airport.

Google cofounder Sergey Brin at SFO protest: "I'm here because I'm a refugee." (Photo from Matt Kang/Forbes) pic.twitter.com/GwhsSwDPLT  Ryan Mac (@RMac18) January 29, 2017

3. Tesla, Elon Musk

CEO Elon Musk - who joined Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative just yesterday - didn't think twice before strongly condemning the ban and said,

The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the countrys challenges  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2017

4. Microsoft, Satya Nadella

Microsoft's Chief Executive, Nadella also posted a memo from the company President and Chief Legal officer, Brad Smith, which read,

"As a company, Microsoft believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system. We also believe in broader immigration opportunities, like the protections for talented and law-abiding young people under the Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, often called "Dreamers". We believe that immigration laws can and should protect the public without sacrificing peoples freedom of expression or religion. And we believe in the importance of protecting legitimate and law-abiding refugees whose very lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings."

Reuters

Nadella added to this and wrote,

"As an immigrant and as a CEO, Ive both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic."

5. Twitter, Jack Dorsey

Twitter CEO posted his statement on Twitter, where he called Trump's order "real and upsetting",

The Executive Order's humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the U.S. https://t.co/HdwVGzIECt  jack (@jack) January 28, 2017

6. Uber, Travis Kalanick

The Uber CEO took to Facebook where he expressed his thoughts on the ban. He wrote,

"We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table. We will have more details on this in the coming days."

7. Netflix, CEO Reed Hastings

Calling it "a very sad week", Hastings wrote on Facebook,

"Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe.

netflix

A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

8. Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg voiced his opinion on Trump's decision in powerful words and said,

"Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.

We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.

FB

We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today."
Airbnb CEO, Brian Chesky said today that the company will provide free housing to refugees who have been hit by President Donald Trump's immigration ban.

AP

"We have 3M homes, so we can definitely find people a place to stay," wrote Chesky on his Facebook.

Airbnb has a "disaster response tool" that aids the company in providing free housing to people who have been displaced by events such as earthquakes and wildfires. The Muslim ban is no different as it threatens thousands of refugee families.

reuters

While Chesky came forward with a very tangible plan to help stranded refugees, several of Silicon Valley CEOs also broke their silence to condemn the Muslim ban imposed by Trump.
Soon after President Donald Trump's new executive order to ban refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries entry to the US, a series of rallies has spread across airports across America.

1. WASHINGTON D.C.

Here's the scene at the Washington DC Dulles Airport International Arrivals



"We're planning, as a show of solidarity, to be at the international arrivals door with signs of support," says Cayce Utley, an organizer with Standing Up For Racial Justice of Northern Virginia told the DCist.

Share as widely as you can: There is a Syrian ref

ugee arriving in Dulles Airport today on a J2 visa. Anyone know a DC lawyer who can help?  Jessica Goudeau (@jessica_goudeau) January 28, 2017

Crowds are gathered at Dulles, VA to welcome immigrant and refugee families #RefugeesWelcome #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/vIyZ10oxxj  Ameesha Sampat (@itsameesha) January 28, 2017

2. CALIFORNIA

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was among the protestors at the San Francisco International Airport "I'm here because I'm a refugee," he reportedly said.



Massive crowd of SFO protestors now inside the airport. Steady stream of new protestors still arriving, too. pic.twitter.com/JCyeCZohS1  Parker Higgins (@xor) January 29, 2017



A #MuslimBan Protest has been organised at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on MeetUp. "We will not allow for discrimination against people based solely on their religion or country of origin. This is racist. This is wrong. We will stand and protest!" they wrote.



A protestor said that 1,000 people were gathered at the airport.

3. NEW YORK



Hundreds of protestors made their way to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Starting descent into JFK. Captain announces demonstrations against Trump's immigration policies. Plane erupts in cheers and applause.  Andreas Gebhard (@agebhard) January 29, 2017

In New York's Cadman Plaza, hundreds met to protest the 'Wall', a Trump proposal to barricade US and Mexico. Organisers shared free pizza with protestors.



@lmatsakis free pizza being handed out by organizers pic.twitter.com/lquj5acSXh  Louise Matsakis (@lmatsakis) January 29, 2017

4. CHICAGO



Activists, attorneys and thousands of supporters gathered at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, shutting down traffic at the international terminal.



5. MASSACHUSETTS



Large crowds gathered at the Boston Logan Airport's Terminal E (international arrivals)

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren addressed a protest rally, the crowds chanting with her: "We will not turn away children, We will not turn away families...We will not turn away people who try to help Americans. We will not turn away anyone because of their religion."

See the entire list of major protests across America


As millions in China head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday with their families, 24-year-old Luoluo is busy answering messages on a mobile app from desperate men looking to hire an instant girlfriend whom they can present to mom and dad.

On visits home during the holiday, which kicks off on Friday, single people are often subjected to tough lectures from relatives keen on reinforcing the importance of marriage and securing the family blood line.

Reuters

Some singles resort to hiring fake girlfriends and boyfriends to appease their parents. But an explosion in smartphone use in recent years means one can now pay for such a date through a handful of mobile apps, with just a few clicks.

"Over 1,000 users on our platform have signed up as dates for hire for the New Year break," Cao Tiantian, founder of date-for-hire app Hire Me Plz, told Reuters.

Subscribers to the app pay from as little as 1 yuan ($0.15) to 1,999 yuan an hour for a dinner date, a chat, a game of mah-jong or even a foot massage. Prices surge around the time of Lunar New Year, with thousands of attractive twenty-somethings like Luoluo commanding fees of 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan a day.

"I'm still seeking people to fill my time slots," said the woman from the southwestern province of Sichuan, who has just two half-day slots left to fill over the next seven days.

"But only those who stay in the same province as me. I don't have time to waste on travel," she added.

Apart from Hire Me Plz, there are five major date-hiring apps in China, which make their money by taking a cut from hires, and also from subscription fees.

"Our business model is still new, though an increasing number of young people have accepted the idea of selling their time as commodity," said Beijing-based Cao, who expects date-rental to become a multi-billion dollar market in five years.

Reuters

Since its launch in 2015, Hire Me Plz has garnered a user base of 700,000 and 1.7 million followers on Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat, China's biggest mobile social media network. Date rentals - offline or online - have drawn criticism in recent years, with some netizens on social media and legal experts questioning the morality and legality of the business.

"There are no clear prohibitions in Chinese laws regarding date rentals. But risks exist among such deals, which may also violate the law to some extent," state-run China News Services this month cited Li Hongzhao, an official of the Beijing Lawyers Association Criminal Law Committee, as saying.

Li said it is sometimes hard to define the boundaries of appropriate intimacy and when an act of intimacy becomes sexual assault. Sex is not part of the services offered on any of the mobile apps. Prostitution is illegal in China.

Dating services are also offered by individuals on Baidu's (BIDU.O) Tieba classifieds and Tencent's QQ messaging service. But buyers beware - those services provide no identity authentication, unlike the mobile apps. Hire Me Plz's Cao said the initial aim of her app was to help overcome the problem of loneliness experienced by young people leaving home to work alone in big cities.

"I was seeking a more effective way to ask someone out. Who wants to chat for months via social networks and end up with nothing?"

Elsewhere in Asia, online date-for-hire services are mostly found on website-only platforms, such as Soulmate in South Korea and Pally Asia in Singapore. Pally Asia, which calls itself a "rent-a-friend" platform, plans to push out an app in the first half of this year.
Hundreds of people gathered spontaneously at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York and other airports around the country late on Saturday to protest US President Donald Trump's ban on Muslim refugees and immigrants, international media is reporting.

Reuters

Protests began at Terminal 4 of the New York airport after immigration authorities there detained as many as 11 refugees who were likely already in transit when Trump ordered a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the country, CBS News and Al Jazeera are reporting.

Starting descent into JFK. Captain announces demonstrations against Trumps immigration policies. Plane erupts in cheers and applause.  Andreas Gebhard (@agebhard) January 29, 2017

Even as the protests were underway, a Federal judge put on hold Trump's order to send people with valid visas out of the US.

Reuters

Congressmen are back. The girls' mother will not, for now, be sent home immediately.  Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) January 29, 2017

As per latest reports, the number of protesters at JFK's Terminal 4 - the arrivals gate - is growing by the minute. It is also being reported that not just at JFK, protesters are also gathered at Dulles airport in Washington DC.

In Sanf Francisco, Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and president of Alphabet, also joined protesters at the International Airport there, Verge reported. Brin told Verge he was attending "in a personal capacity" and would not be giving comment. However, Forbes's Ryan Mac heard Brin elaborate. "I'm here because I'm a refugee," he reportedly said.

"We Are All Immigrants," , "Let Them In," "Refugees Welcome," "Disobey" and "Resist" were on placards being carried by the protestors.

"Today, we saw in real human terms the damage and the absurdity of Trump's policies. The president's executive order is mean-spirited, ill-conceived and ill-advised," said Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Congressman Jerrold Nadler in a joint statement, the Observer reported.

"The showdown at JFK marks the first direct confrontation of Trump's infant administration, and the first attempt at obstructing the new commander-in-chief's implementation of his most controversial campaign promises via fiat." the Observer report said.

Going live again!! https://t.co/Qjgzu2arKr  Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) January 28, 2017

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a former translator for the U.S. military in Iraq, was held for hours before being released, CBS News said.

"They treat me as though I break the rules or did something wrong, I was surprised," Darweesh said.

This is the "damage in human terms" that the Congresspersons were talking about.

"The order almost banned a man from entering the country who has worked for the United States government for 10 years, who risked his life to help us and to help our troops, and who loves our country."

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he was pledging executive resources to aiding the detainees, the Observer reported. He alluded to the inscription on the Statue of Liberty.

Reuters

I'm being told there are roughly 50 to 60 volunteer lawyers signed up to help detainees & their families here at Dulles airport. #muslimban pic.twitter.com/w9eBeEviY9  Kay Angrum (@kayangrum) January 29, 2017

"I never thought I'd see the day when refugees, who have fled war-torn countries in search of a better life, would be turned away at our doorstep. We are a nation of bridges, not walls, and a great many of us still believe in the words 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses," he said in a statement. "This is not who we are, and not who we should be."

In the meanwhile, a still rattled Darweesh said: "America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world."
Google CEO, Sundar Pichai slammed President Donald Trump's immigration order in an email that he wrote to his employees late Friday and recognized it as a 'painful' decision. He said that as a result of Trump's ban on seven countries, at least 187 Google employees will be affected.

AFP

In his executive order, Trump banned people coming from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for at least 90 days. He also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees from the US and suspended the refugee programme in a bid to keep the "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the US.

Getty

In his email, Pichai wrote,

"We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US. Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected. If youre abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team."

Reuters

Acknowledging how Googlers and their families were affected by this grave situation, Pichai said that they were,

"Grappling with what this might mean for them and their families. Just as that discussion was happening, another Googler was rushing back from a trip to New Zealand to make it into the US before the order was signed."

Reuters

He added,

"We wouldnt wish this fear and uncertainty on anyoneand especially not our fellow Googlers. In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide."

Earlier on Friday, Mark Zuckerberg had also strongly condemned Trump's order. He had said, "We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat."
The world is developing a habit of waking up to the shocks of their lives every day. Yes, we are living in a time when a certain Donald Trump is the President of United States of America. If the twenty-first century brought the expectations of freedom and liberty to many parts of the world, here we are, with the most powerful country in the world being ruled by a xenophobic, homophobic, racist, male chauvinist and anti-immigrant soul in human flesh.

Reuters

Since taking the Oval Office at Washington D.C., Trump has made the world quite uncomfortable with his decisions regarding immigrants and the prospect of building a wall at the Mexican border and contempt for media in less than a week. His decision to ban people from some Arab countries and Afghanistan even affects the translation services in the US because it will bar the native speakers of languages from these countries. As the world wonders if Trump is the worst thing to have happened to the US since it became a democracy, the US President haughtily signs orders to Make America Great Again. Really? The great Abraham Lincoln must be twisting and turning in his grave to tell the world that Trump is nothing, but a bane.

Killing the American Dream

Everyone loves America. Most of us have the American dream because its a land of opportunities and success stories. People from across the world go there to study, work, do business and make it big. As President Trump has made his intentions clear to put a curb on the professionals from the other parts of the world, he is blocking the avenues for thousands of talented youths who aspire to share their success stories from the research labs in Silicon Valley, the terraces of skyscrapers in Manhattan and the stock exchanges of Wall Street.

Superepus

What Trump is not understanding, or probably does not care about, is the fact that greatness is not the monopoly of White US citizens, most of whom have been left embarrassed by his brazen racism. The US, as we see it now, is a product of combined and cumulative efforts of the people who were welcomed by the nation and its people over centuries. By raising slogans like, America first, Trump is only applying breaks to the progress that people are achieving by working together globally.

Turning Away Refugees

As soon as Trump decided to ban refugees - that too at a time when world is facing arguably the biggest refugee crisis in history - from the war-torn countries in the Middle-East, people were reminded of the Holocaust period, when in 1939, the US turned away a Jewish refugee ship called, St. Louis. The pain of the Jews facing annihilation at the hands of the Nazi forces in Europe was once again felt by the people who knew the story of forsaken Jews during the Holocaust. Refugees in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, among other six countries, are bearing the brunt of the violence between terrorists, militant groups and regime forces.

Reuters

They are leaving behind everything in a hope that they would begin their lives afresh in the US and Europe. However, their hopes are crushed by the harsh decision of Trump administration, leaving them with no choice but to stay amidst the bloodbath. The US, over centuries, has welcomed the refugees, who in return, have contributed a lot to the US society in terms of academics, technology, research and development, and other areas of excellence. What makes Trump turn a blind eye to these realities? Only Trump and his god, if any, knows.

Banning Victims Not Perpetrators

Another important aspect of the ban on the refugees is the fact that Trump has actually banned the victims, not the perpetrators of violence in the Middle East and North Africa. The people from all the six Muslim countries that he has banned have been the victims of violence.

Reuters

The perpetrators of violence, that is, the terrorist and the brutal regimes are proudly flaunting US-made weapons and use them to kill the innocent people. Saudi Arabia is killing innocent people in Yemen, Trump has not banned Saudis. Israel is killing Palestinians, he has not banned the Israelis. Qatar is known to have contributed to violence in Syria, no ban on them, and in every practical sense, the US itself is involved in most of the violent conflicts across the world, but for Trump it is correct to ban the victims. Hence proved, Mr President is very wise, and yes, not to forget, he is also a businessman.

Trump and Freedom of Speech

The first blow by Trump after becoming President was to a media person when he denied him a question during his first press conference. What followed was Trump's administration calling media the opposition party. Scaremongering is considered blasphemous in journalism, but one thing is for sure there is some tough time ahead for the journalists under Trump administration. A section of media in the US has taken on the President is highly inspiring, however, nobody knows what the future holds for them.

The Way Forward

Whenever they face injustice from the politicians, people instantly fall back to the judiciary. For now, the US federal judge has blocked part of Trump's executive order on immigration, ruling that travellers who have already landed in the US with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries, however, this is just the beginning. There seems to be a long legal battle ahead for the immigrants and the refugees in the US. The constitution of the US guarantees basic human rights to everyone and safeguards the integrity of an individual.

Reuters

Also, the UNHCR must act and ensure that no injustice is done to the refugees and they should be treated according to the unanimously agreed upon principles of the Universal Human Rights. We hope that some more sane voices will be raised in the US and the rest of the world to keep a check on the man who seems hell-bent on turning a democracy into an authoritarian regime.
A report by several Turkish-language media early Sunday afternoon that Turkey's military chief attempted to approach a pair of rock islets in the eastern Aegean was later partially confirmed by Greece's armed forces general staff Athens confirmed the presence of the vessels, without referring to the alleged high-ranking passengers.
Drivers at a Chinese tollbooth were confused when they found their path blocked by a camel abandoned by a man who argued with workers.

A video recorded Jan. 17 at a toll booth in Chongqing shows the camel blocking one of the tollbooths gates after being abandoned by its owner.

The owner had reportedly argued with toll workers about the cost of taking the camel through the booth and ended up going to eat at a restaurant, leaving the workers to deal with the traffic-blocking camel.

Police were summoned and ordered the owner to remove the camel and pay a fine.
Canadas Prime Minister has weighed in on the controversial 90-day ban on the nationals of seven countries by the United States government.

Justin Trudeau expressed support for those looking to flee persecution, terror and war via his Twitter while confirming that Canadian nationals will not be subject to any new policies by the U.S.
The Federal Government has approved $1.2 billion for the construction of the Kano-Kaduna standard gauge railway project.



The Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amechi, said in Kano on Saturday when he visited Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, that the Federal Government was negotiating with China EXIM Bank to finance the project.



We are negotiating with China EXIM bank and we are convince that this negotiation will end by June, he said.

The minister said that the Federal Government would provide about 100 locomotives for narrow gauge rail that would run through Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Funtua and Gombe to improve the economy.

Before the end of June Lagos-Kano narrow gauge rail would have more locomotives that would run through Lagos, Port Harcourt, Funtua, Kano and Gombe states in order to boost the economy, he said.



Amechi, however, thanked the governor for his efforts and the role he played during the last National Assembly election in Rivers where the party won one senatorial seat and four House of representative seats.

Responding, Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, expressed his happiness and commended the president for fulfilling campaign promise.



He said that Kano-Kaduna standard rail project would save the road from total collapse.



Ganduje said that the state government recently signed a $1.8 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm to construct light rail in the state capital.

He said that the light rail project would give a mega city outlook similar to other cities across the world
A bride dressed as a dinosaur to surprise the groom at their wedding photo shoot in North Carolina, USA and the moment was captured on video by their photographer.

Photographer Jon Murray posted a video to Facebook showing the moment groom Tom Gardner was supposed to have his first look at his soon-to-be-wife, Beth, in her wedding gown.

Beth had other plans, however, and Tom instead turned around to find his betrothed dressed as a Tyrannosaurus.

I was totally floored when I turned around and saw her in this, Tom wrote in a Facebook comment.

It just warms my heart to see that so many people got a giggle out of this too, Beth wrote.


Nigerian rapper Ruggedman aka Ruggedy Baba took to his Instagram page to react to the president being on vacation while some things are going awry. Read what he wrote below

Our president is on vacation.

* Nigerian illegal immigrants are allegedly being killed in Libya

OUR PRESIDENT IS ON VACATION!

* A bottle of kerosene that used to sell for N100 now sells for N550

OUR PRESIDENT IS ON VACATION!

* We still do not have light but.. OUR PRESIDENT IS ON VACATION! *Herdsmen are killing innocent people..

OUR PRESIDENT IS ON VACATION! * Schools are on strike 

OUR PRESIDENT IS ON VACATION! * Dollar is N490 now and 

#OURPRESIDENTISONVACATION


US President, Donald Trump has allegedly frowned at the news of a gay couple that wants to get married February, a US tabloid reports.

Recall several social issues disappeared from the WhiteHouse.gov site Friday, including a page dedicated to LGBT rights.

A report on the Labor Departments website on LGBT workers rights was also removed.

Advocates for the LGBT community have worried about what a Trump administration would mean for the progress made on equality issues under President Obama.

As a candidate, President Trump said he is opposed to same-sex marriage which is clearly spelt out in the Holy Book as evil.

Similarly, vice president Pence has taken strong anti-gay rights stances throughout his political career.

And while its standard for the new administration to update the White Houses official website with its agenda as part of the transition it is notable that the Trump administration did not choose to include anything about the LGBT community.

In a statement Friday afternoon, Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said, If President Trump truly believes in uniting the country, now is the time to make clear whether he will be an ally to the LGBTQ community in our struggle for full equality. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to protect our community and our progress.

otimestv.com
President Trumps temporary travel ban on citizens of seven countries is eliciting reactions from around the world. In the midst of all of the reactions, Hollywood has found itself smack in the middle of the new immigration policy with the Academy Awards coming up soon.

Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi, whose film The Salesman is nominated for best foreign-language film will be one of those affected by the travel ban as he will not be allowed into the country.

Farhadi won an Oscar in 2012 for his film A Separation and many of Hollywoods top shots have criticised the Trump administration for a policy which has been deemed by many as discriminatory.
The order which indefinitely bans the people of Syria from entering the country and temporarily suspends immigration from several other Muslim countries took effect yesterday.

I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war. I am heartbroken that America is turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants  the people who helped build your country, ready to work hard in exchange for a fair chance at a new life, Malala said in a statement.

I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled-out for discrimination.

I am heartbroken for girls like my friend Zaynab, who fled wars in three countries  Somalia, Yemen and Egypt  before she was even 17. Two years ago she received a visa to come to the United States. She learned English, graduated high school and is now in college studying to be a human rights lawyer.

Zaynab was separated from her little sister when she fled unrest in Egypt. Today her hope of being reunited with her precious sister dims.
A man from North Carolina, USA pleaded guilty to walking away from a blackjack table, robbing a bank, and returning to the casino to gamble his ill-gotten gains.

Kerry Johnson, 52, told a Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom in court Wednesday that he was under the influence of drugs when he left the Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro and robbed the City National Bank in Charleston Aug. 2.

I walked into the bank and I handed them a note. The bank that I had banked with for 40 years. I handed them a note and was given the money and it was less money than I had in my account, Johnson told the judge.

The note claimed Johnson was armed with a gun and a bomb. He left the bank with about $5,000, investigators said.

Johnson said most of the day was a blur and he didnt have clear memories of the incident, but he knew it was me when he viewed security camera footage from the bank.

Prosecutors said Johnson returned to the casino, where he lost about $500 of the stolen money at the blackjack table.

He was arrested at his home, where police found more of the stolen cash.

Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery as part of a deal to have prosecutors drop a felony robbery charge. He faces 5-18 years in prison at his March 2 sentencing.


A 35-year-old man, identified as Abiola Hamzat, was apprehended by the Operatives of Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly stealing 20 bags of cement from a brick-making company in the Agbado area of the state.

According to the Police, Hamzat, a graduate of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, was arrested alongside his accomplice, Adebayo Kazeem, 32, after stealing the items from their work place.

It was gathered that, the suspect, a father of three, allegedly committed the crime a day after he was promoted to the post of a supervisor with a financial reward of N215,000 per month.

The police said the suspect started work at the factory as a Contract Security from where he rose to become an operator.

However, he was formally promoted three days ago to the post of a Supervisor, when the companys management discovered that he was a university graduate, the police quoted a source as saying.

Messrs. Hamzat and Kazeem were arrested last Thursday after allegedly moving the 20 bags of cement out of the factory.

The police said Mr. Hamzat admitted to being the mastermind of the crime.

I masterminded the crime but I only co-opted Adebayo into the plan, Mr. Hamzat stated in his confessional statement at the RRS headquarters.

Initially, Adebayo discouraged me that it was not possible to steal cement at the company. After so much pressure, he told me to carry the gateman along in order to be successful which I eventually yielded to.

I had an accommodation problem with my family. I was desperately looking for funds to house them. That was what pushed me into it.

The police said Mr. Hamzats new salary as a supervisor is thrice what he earned as an operator.

While confirming the arrest, the spokesperson for Lagos State Police Command, Dolapo Badmus, advised companies operating in the state to be vigilant at all times.

The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department, SCID, Yaba for prosecution.
For a third week running, Runtown holds down the number one spot on the charts with Wizkids Daddy yo at number two. Runtowns Mad over you continues to run the charts at number one position according to Playdata charts.

Wizkids Daddy yo keeps up at number two spot as Seyi Shays Yolo Yolo remains at number 3 position on the chart.

The Playdata radio chart is based on measurements from impressions gathered from radio stations in Lagos and a couple of other cities across the country. The monitoring service puts together the most played songs on radio for the past week on its top 10 chart.

Source: Leadership
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, yesterday morning, the Irish jet transported a joint EU consular team including members of the Irish ECAT team into Tripoli airport.

It remained on the ground until after nightfall before evacuating the Europeans.

With most countries having withdrawn their teams at the airport yesterday, members of the Irish ECAT team led efforts to get the EU nationals safely through the terminal building to the outgoing flights in what remains a tense and chaotic environment, a department spokesman said. The aircraft and all members of the team have now returned safely to Malta. A number of additional evacuees were also onboard.

The teams and aircraft remain in place to be used as required as further evacuation flights are planned for tomorrow.

The spokesman said the Irish Embassies in Italy, Malta, Greece and Britain are all assisting Irish evacuees on arrival in those countries in obtaining accommodation and in making onward flight arrangements.

Several other Irish evacuees left Benghazi yesterday on a British naval ship.

They were expected to land in Malta overnight.

Six Irish yesterday arrived in Greece after an evacuation by sea two days ago. Two further groups of Irish nationals and their families who had been evacuated previously arrived back in Ireland yesterday.

Dozens of Irish people have now managed to land in a safe country after fleeing the north African state, either on EU flight evacuations, British warships or Greek ships.

The department said it is in contact with a very small number of Irish remaining in Libya and their families here.

It is thought that this may now amount to a couple of families around Tripoli and maybe about four people in the desert, where they had been working.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council unanimously imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his family and inner circle.

The resolution also calls for the immediate referral of the states crackdown on Libyan citizens to the International Criminal Court for investigation and possible prosecution of anyone responsible for killings civilians.

Meanwhile, a second operation involving British special forces rescued 150 civilians from the Libyan desert last night, Defence Secretary Liam Fox said.

British oil workers were among the evacuees brought out of remote locations in the east of the country to Malta on three RAF C130 Hercules aircraft.

Another 50 British nationals were among 200 people also headed to the Mediterranean island on board HMS Cumberland after its latest foray to the port city of Benghazi.

* Anybody with information on the presence of any Irish citizen who has not already contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs call 01-4180222.
News NLD Legal Advisor U Ko Ni Assassinated

NLD legal advisor U Ko Ni was murdered Sunday at Rangoon International Airport. / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Prominent NLD legal advisor U Ko Ni was gunned down in the car parking area at Rangoon International Airport as he returned Sunday afternoon from Indonesia. The shooter has been arrested, according to Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay.

The Information Ministrys Permanent Secretary U Myo Myint Maung told The Irrawaddy that U Ko Ni was part of a 21-member government delegation that had just completed a one-week study tour of Indonesia. Other officials in the travel group included Information Minister U Pe Myint, the Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, and the Home Affairs Minister for Arakan State.

U Ko Ni was a Muslim lawyer and an expert on the controversial 2008 Constitution. He was one of the key figures working within the NLD to prepare constitutional amendments long before the party came to power in 2016.

The gunman was identified as 53-year-old Kyi Lin from Mandalay, according to the police report. The assailant also shot a taxi driver with his 9mm pistol while attempting to escape, police said.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkey and Britain signed a deal to jointly build fighter jets during Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to Ankara on Saturday, even as the British leader called on Turkey's government to uphold democracy and abide by human rights standards.

Britain's BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace industries signed the 100 million-pound (nearly $125.5 million) agreement establishing a partnership for the development of Turkey's fighter jet program after May met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials about boosting trade between the countries once Britain leaves the European Union.

The two countries agreed to start preparatory work for a future free trade agreement and also talked about increasing cooperation in security and counterterrorism.

"This agreement underlines once again that Britain is a great, global, trading nation and that we are open for business," May said of the fighter jet deal, according to a statement. "It marks the start of a new and deeper trading relationship with Turkey and will potentially secure British and Turkish jobs and prosperity for decades to come."

May flew overnight to Ankara by RAF Voyager jet from the U.S., where she and U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday proclaimed a new chapter in the trans-Atlantic "special relationship."

The visit to Turkey, an important but complicated NATO ally, came amid pressure at home to condemn Turkey's clampdown on civil liberties since the government crushed a coup attempt in July.

"I am proud that the U.K. stood with you on the 15th of July last year in defense of your democracy," May said as she and Erdogan delivered brief statements to the media following their talks.

"And now it is important that Turkey sustains that democracy by maintaining the rule of law and upholding its international human rights obligations  as the government has undertaken to do," she said.

Story continues

Turkey has detained tens of thousands of people suspected of links to a movement led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accuses of orchestrating the failed coup attempt. More than 100,000 others have been dismissed from government jobs.

The crackdown extended to other government opponents. More than a hundred journalists and pro-Kurdish party leaders are in jail.

During a joint news conference with May, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim strongly criticized Trump's move to suspend the admission of refugees, saying "you cannot settle this issue by building walls."

"Nobody leaves their homes for nothing," said Yildirim, whose country has admitted some 3 million refugees. "They came here to save their lives and our doors were open. And if the same thing happened again, we would do it again."

Yildirim also complained of insufficient backing for Turkish efforts to support the refugees, saying the expression of "appreciation" to Turkey was "not enough."

May said of Trump's announcement on refugees: "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees."

May, who was paying her first visit to Turkey since becoming prime minister, arrived for talks with Erdogan to find her image dominating television screens in the presidential palace, which were showing footage of her visit to the White House.

May laughed when Erdogan said her trip to Washington "was well-covered in Turkey."

In his statement, the Turkish leader said the two countries would aim to increase their bilateral trade volume from the current $15.6 billion to some $20 billion.

Earlier, May laid a wreath in the red and white colors of the Turkish flag at the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish Republic, before meeting Erdogan at the vast presidential palace.

She said Britain and Turkey should "renew our efforts to fulfil Ataturk's vision of peace at home and peace in the world."

Turkey has suffered multiple deadly attacks in the past two years, carried out by the Islamic State group or by Kurdish militants, including an IS raid on a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations that killed 39 people.

Kate Allen, head of Amnesty International UK, said the visit was a "vital opportunity" for May to ask "probing questions" about allegations of the Turkish government's excessive use of force and ill-treatment of detainees.

May and Erdogan also discussed the conflict in Syria and efforts to reunite Cyprus.

Erdogan said Turkey was seeking a "different concept" in its cooperation with allies, including Britain, in its fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Turkey has criticized what it calls insufficient support from the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition in its military drive to liberate a key town in northern Syria from the extremists.

___

This version corrects title of Kate Allen to head of Amnesty International UK.
"Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues"

CEO Sundar Pichai ordered more than 100 employees currently traveling overseas to return to the United States after President Donald Trump signed an executive order limiting immigration Friday.

It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues, Pichai wrote in a company memo, which was obtained by Bloomberg News. We've always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.

Pichai said more than 100 Google employees were affected by Trumps order, which suspended the countrys refugee program and temporarily banned visas for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria and Iraq. Trump said the action was aimed at fighting terrorism, but critics immediately denounced it as discriminatory.

We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S., a Google spokeswoman said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also spoke out against Trumps immigration policies on Friday, calling on the U.S. to keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help.

See original article on Fortune.com

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A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
A federal judge granted an emergency stay Saturday to bar deportation of people with valid visas who landed in the U.S., following chaos and detentions after President Donald Trump 's executive order related to immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.



The American Civil Liberties Union estimates it will affect between 100 and 200 people detained at or in transit to U.S. airports, though they do not have to be released from detention. It did not, however, appear to cover Trump's full order, suspending visas from certain nations for 90 days.

The ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on Saturday, seeking to challenge the president's order, as acrimony widened over the policy and the number of detainees waylaid in transit appeared to swell. Demonstrations sprang up at airports around the country in response to the detentions.

"This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil," Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a statement.



A senior Homeland Security official said Saturday that the agency is monitoring the litigation and has not seen the stay, but will implement any appropriate orders accordingly. The officer said 109 travelers were denied entry into the U.S., while another 173 were stopped from boarding flights in the first 23 hours of the order.

Late Friday, the Trump administration announced that it would temporarily bar entry to refugees from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen due to terrorism concerns. The order seeks "extreme vetting" procedures for those it did allow to enter the U.S. In signing the order, Trump said he pledged to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America."

In a habeus corpus petition filed Saturday in a New York federal court on behalf of two Iraqis detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the ACLU called Trump's move "unlawful." They were later released.

Story continues

The case's two lead plaintiffs were held by authorities and threatened with deportation, the ACLU argued, even though both are authorized to enter the U.S. As a number of immigrants in transit were waylaid by the sudden shift in policy, spontaneous demonstrations erupted at JFK Airport on Saturday afternoon.

The ACLU's briefing called the ban a part of a "widespread pattern applied to many refugees and arriving aliens" in the wake of Trump's executive order. Critics have blasted it as a de facto ban on many Muslims entering the United States, though Trump denied that characterization Saturday.

"It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump said.







Protests erupt at JFK

In a statement, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman pledged to pull out all the stops to assist anyone detained as a result of Trump's "discriminatory and dangerous executive action." Schneiderman said he had directed his staff to assist refugees at JFK Airport.

"President Trump's executive action against war refugees represents a new low in modern American foreign policy and it is incumbent on us to fight back," Schneiderman added.

Trump's ban, issued barely a week after he took office, is the fulfillment of a campaign vow that briefly roiled his White House bid when he first floated as a candidate.

Yet, put into practice just before a weekend, the moratorium has sown confusion and stoked widespread anger , while leaving a number of immigrant travelers in limbo. The number of detainees at JFK Airport has risen to at least 12, according to a CNN report. Protesters flocked to one of the airport's terminals in a spontaneous protest.



Governments around the world, particularly in the Middle East, have reacted angrily to the moratorium on refugees, which has affected travelers at several international airports.

Gulf states have provided financial and logistical assistance to migrants seeking refuge from the Syrian conflict  where, according to the Migration Policy Centre, nearly 11 million have fled to other countries since 2011, mostly Turkey and Europe  but have not offered sanctuary to the displaced .



Last year, under former President Barack Obama , the U.S. took in about 10,000 Syrian refugees.

According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, some 86,000 Syrian immigrants resided in the United States as of 2014, which then accounted for 0.2 percent of America's 42.4 million immigrants. However, the majority of those Syrians arrive via family reunification rather than as asylum seekers or refugees, the organization said.



 Reuters contributed to this article.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the information about the 86,000 Syrian immigrants came from the Migration Policy Institute, and the information about the 11 million Syrian refugees came from the Migration Policy Centre.


Abby Donnelly, the founder of The Leadership and Legacy Group, has opened an office at 806 Green Valley Road, suite 201, Greensboro. LLG specializes in helping business owners and CEOs navigate leadership challenges that come with succession planning and exit strategy.

Michael Brown has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Crumley Roberts. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the law firm. Brown will also continue to manage the legal staff in Workers Compensation.

The Kimpton Cardinal Hotel has been named a Four Diamond hotel by AAA Carolinas for the first time. The Kimpton Cardinal opened last year in the former Reynolds Building in downtown Winston-Salem. Other area hotels and the number of years that they have been named a Four Diamond hotel are: Greensboro: Proximity Hotel, nine years; Grandover Resort and Conference Center, 18 years; and O. Henry Hotel, 18 years.

Cheryl S. Graeub, IIDA, LEED AP has been named a principal and director of interior design at Moser Mayer Phoenix Associates, PA. She has been with the firm since 2007. Graeub has a bachelor of science in Interior Design from Appalachian State University, and is certified as a LEED AP and a member the International Interior Design Association. Her experience includes higher education, industrial, medical, office, local government and private sector clients such as Guilford College, EcoLab and CIT.

Mark Rogers of Rogers Realty & Auction Company, Inc. in Mount Airy, has received his designation in Auction Marketing Management from the National Auctioneers Associations Education Institute. The program provided Rogers with three days of expert training from the industrys leading marketing technology specialists.

Michael Myers has joined Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton as counsel on the Real Estate Investment & Development Team in the firms Corporate, Finance & Real Estate Department. He earned his J.D. from Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, cum laude. Myers earned his B.A. in Political Science, with a minor in Business Administration, from the UNC Chapel Hill. He was named a 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 North Carolina Rising Star for Real Estate by Super Lawyers magazine. Myers was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for Banking and Finance Law in 2016 and 2017 and was also named one of 40 Leaders Under Forty in 2012 by Triad Business Journal.

Amy Guzik, M.D., Colin McDonald, M.D., and Amy Jones, R.N. have been named to the board of directors of the N.C. Stroke Association. Guzik is the associate director of the Wake Forest Telestroke Program and assistant professor in vascular neurology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. She also serves as the director of the Primary Stroke Center at Lexington Medical Center. McDonald is a vascular neurologist/neuro intensivist and leads the Inpatient Neurosciences and Comprehensive Stroke Program at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. He is a pioneer in the virtual delivery of stroke care to patients who are in the community hospital setting, and co-founded the national telemedicine provider, Specialists on Call. Jones is a stroke certified nurse and advanced stroke life support instructor at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. She serves as the centers neuro emergencies and telemedicine manager and oversees the Comprehensive Stroke Program as well as teleneurology services to partner facilities.

Richard E. Shore has joined Aladdin Travel as the controller. He comes to Aladdin after receiving his undergraduate degree and masters in accounting from the University of North Carolina. Shore sat for the CPA exam and passed all parts of the test on his first attempt.

Neal Tackabery of Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros has been named to the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers list. He practices in the area of estate planning and estate administration.

Lauren Millovitsch of Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros has been named to the 2017 North Carolina Rising Stars list. She practices in the area of estate planning and estate administration.

Daniel Vandergriff of Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros has been named to the 2017 North Carolina Rising Stars list. He practices in the area of renewable energy.

Denise M. Gunter of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has been name to the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers list. She practices in the area of antitrust litigation.

Mark A. Stafford of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has been named to the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers list. He practices in the area of business litigation.

Dora Moore, the town clerk for the Town of Rural Hall, has been named to the Western Piedmont Advisory Council of the Local Government Federal Credit Union. The council includes Stokes, Forsyth, and Davidson counties.
Galas big and small, Winston-Salemites love them all.

Friday night brought people out to numerous events across the city, including one in a gallery and another in a private club. Guests at each event came ready to support the hosting organizations, enjoying food, libations and a social culture that empowers artists of many genres.

Tranquility and Turbulence

Gateway Gallery was one of the earlier events, welcoming guests at 5:30 for the opening of Tranquility and Turbulence. A show with works by students from the Enrichment Center and guest artist, Bruce White, Tranquility and Turbulence is focused around ten large serenity stones painted by Enrichment Center artists with water-themed designs. The anchoring stones are complemented by original oil, watercolor and acrylic works of art, as well as photography inspired by each stone and the corresponding color palette.

I dont think people realize how talented these students are, said Carla Green, a program manager at the Enrichment Center attending with Megan Hatcher. You dont think about the pieces as something created by individuals with challenges; it is just art.

Executive Director Valerie Vizena introduced White and his wife, Wendy, to visitors attending the reception. The Enrichment Center Percussion Ensemble provided a musical backdrop and the culinary students at the school created the evenings refreshments.

White said he was thrilled to be part of the Tranquility and Turbulence show.

A while back, I received a call from folks here at the Enrichment Center asking me if I wanted to bring out my work, White said. I teach students and work with special needs individuals in Davie County, so it is a great fit.

Whites acrylic paintings feature idyllic landscapes and vibrant hues. The artist said that his work is indicative of how his career has evolved.

I used to work in an office, in cubicle land, but I traveled a lot, and I always loved my time outdoors, White said. So when I first took lessons at Forsyth Tech, the landscapes just started to click. Now I teach the process of creating as well, and the serenity is more about the process than the finished work.

Beth Bealle welcomed guests as well as the newest staff member at the Enrichment Center and joined Diane Spaugh in conversation with Jane Davidson, one of the original founding members. Madison Bergen and Gina Miller mingled with the attendees and the student artists, and Miller said that the serenity stones are the latest additions to work made possible by donations from Phillips Collection, a High Point-based furniture company.

The tables from Phillips Collection, as well as other items the company has provided in the past, really allow the students to blossom and create unique pieces, Miller said. And I think the finished products open us up to a world of art lovers who like to buy one-of-a-kind pieces.

One of the Enrichment Centers artists, Meredith Lamy, showed her father, Bobby Lamy, her painting on display in the gallery. The proud father said that the center is an invaluable resource to the city.

Id love to see the entire community appreciate this place as much as we do, Lamy said. The art here comes from the soul.

A Night at the Cabaret

Headbands, beaded dresses and feathers were the choice of attire for many ladies at the Old Town Club on Friday night; their male companions sporting dapper tuxedos. The occasion was A Night at the Cabaret, a gala celebrating the Piedmont Wind Symphony, and guests enjoyed chef-prepared delectibles, free-flowing wine and spirits and an impressive slate of live and silent auction items.

Veteran entertainers Matt Kendrick, Kevin Timmons and John Wilson paused from their musical duties long enough to join PWSs Music Director Matthew Troy for a photo at the beginning of the night. Throughout the evening, Cabaret girls circled through the gala offering vintage candy while, nearby, guests perused auction listings including a Dinner with the Legendary Maestros (Troy and Peter Perret), A Romantic Weekend in the City of the Arts (complete with transportation in a London cab with an outfitted London taxi driver), and An Evening in Argentina, hosted by Dr. Jaime and Ilene Trujillo and complete with live tango and Latin music performed by members of the Piedmont Wind Symphony.

This is our first event here at Old Town Club, and I think we have 125 or more coming, said Nancy Chapman, joined by her husband, Don. We really want people to be aware of what a treasure the Piedmont Wind Symphony is for our city.

Its always great music with creative programs, Don Chapman said. Matthew Troy does a wonderful job of coming up with something for everyone.

Diane and Ron Cook also had accolades for Troy, as well as for board president, Ilene Trujillo.

Matthew has really perfected the sound and the talent of the group, Ron Cook said. And Ilene has done a great job with the board in raising awareness of the symphony and musicians.

Matt Horvat and Genna Allen stopped for a photo, as did Prissy Armfield and Donna Torreyson. Andrea and Kevin Slusher were outfitted in the spirit of the evening and also keeping tabs on donations from Windsor Jewelers.

Becky Thomas joined Louise Olshall for the occasion. Board members Anthony Tang and Carol Chandler chatted for a few moments, as did Shon Gilmore and fellow board member, Amy Taylor North.

This is the first event of the night, North said. This is a more traditional evening occasion and then, later, well have the After Party at The Katherine downtown. The different approaches allow us to introduce Piedmont Wind Symphony to people who might not have experienced it before and really encourage new people to become part of our music community.
Jarman Jenkins running battle with the Department of Veterans Affairs started in 2005 in a Home Depot.

A Navy man and a Vietnam vet, Jenkins was about to pay for his purchases when a cashier casually informed him about a veterans discount. He carries a laminated copy of his discharge in his wallet but they told me I needed a card from the VA. I didnt know a thing about the VA.

He does now.

Jenkins says the first VA representative he reached told him he wasnt eligible for a VA card or services because his income was too high, which ticked him off. They didnt ask me how much I made when they sent me over there, he said.

But he let that one slide and didnt think much about the VA until after he was treated in 2011 for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He learned in 2012 that as a Vietnam veteran and presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange, he was eligible for VA disability benefits.

So he applied. When he did, Jenkins unwittingly wandered into a minefield of paperwork and inertia that might have caused a less determined man to give up.

What theyre really looking for is for me to die, he said. And Im determined not to do that.

Mountain of paperwork

Jenkins joined the Navy in 1964 after he finished at Wake Forest. He laughs when he says that he and a buddy got drunk when considering their options and decided to take an exam for officers candidate school.

Next thing he knew, Jenkins was a junior officer and on his way to Vietnam, where he served in the military sea transport service, which means he was all over the place moving ships. Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide since shown to cause cancer, was everywhere. We saw barrels of it all the time on those ships, he said. They had no idea in the world what it would do to you, but they used it.

The VAs own literature says that if a veteran served anywhere in the Republic of Vietnam from January 1962 to May 1975, exposure to Agent Orange is presumed.

Jenkins left the Navy in March 1968. He got busy raising a family and with a career in finance that brought him back to Winston-Salem. He was diagnosed in early 2011 with stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma and endured a long, painful treatment that included months of chemotherapy. He developed neuropathy in his feet and heart trouble as side effects.

It was only after hed regained some portion of his health in 2012 that he learned about his eligibility for VA disability pension benefits and decided to apply. He didnt do it for the money, though. It was the principle; hed volunteered for the service, gone to war and gotten exposed to a carcinogen known to cause the cancer he developed.

That first application is where the absurdities began.

In the VAs first denial, officials told him he was turned down because he didnt complain of cancer before he left Vietnam and furthermore, in their eyes, he had never been in Vietnam because he was in the Navy aboard ships. But they didnt even know about Agent Orange until 1972, he said.

Jenkins reapplied in 2014. This time, the response came back that he should have applied for benefits in 2011 and that he was being denied because his cancer was in remission. It (VA literature) doesnt say anything about remission or being cured, he said. Theres no cap or time limit on a benefit.

There were some signs of movement amid the dysfunction, however. Jenkins was seen by a physicians assistant for a physical and an assessment in 2015; he believes it was due to a tsunami of bad press in which the VA was swimming.

Even that had its moments. After what he says was a cursory exam, Jenkins was granted a small disability benefit for the neuropathy in his feet  a result of the cancer and treatment  but not for the cancer itself or the heart trouble. He uses a cane to help get around sometimes.

I have difficulty breathing sometimes, and I sound like a freight train if I walk for long, he said.

Letters and persistence

Because he is who he is, Jenkins persisted. He started writing to his representatives in Congress, Rep. Virginia Foxx and Sen. Thom Tillis. And he appealed once again.

An appeals board in Washington finally acknowledged in a letter dated Feb. 29, 2016, that his non-Hodgkins lymphoma was service connected and that it was presumed to have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange. And a separate claim that Jenkins said he didnt seek for melanoma was added to his file.

There was one problem, though. The appeals board remanded his case back to the regional office here for a rating determination about the cancer. A month later, in a letter dated March 31, 2016, he had his answer: a 0% disability rating for the cancer and no bump in his benefit.

His disability rating  a VA score used to determine the level of benefits afforded to a veteran  for neuropathy would remain at 40 percent, just over $600 a month. Its basic position seems to be that hes not disabled enough to merit the higher rating. And that ticks Jenkins off, too.

Im tired of being made out to be a liar and a malingerer, he said.

Kori Mabe, an assistant public affairs specialist in the Winston-Salem regional VA office, said Friday she couldnt comment specifically on Jenkins case without his signed authorization, which is now in the pipeline.

But she did call Jenkins Saturday morning to assure him that his file would be reviewed by a retired Air Force officer who works at the VA regional office straight away.

Nevertheless, Jenkins said that he will continue to press his case.

My whole thing is, I have to fight this because there are boys now (younger veterans of recent wars) who dont have the wherewithal to fight these decisions. I do.
When Salisbury resident Ada Fisher met Donald Trump years ago, she said, Mr. Trump, you ought to be president of the United States.

Finally seeing her wish come true, Fisher said she is encouraged by how much Trump was able to address in his first week in office.

I think Mr. Trump has done well on some of his promises, Fisher said. He is going to deal with the immigration issue and hes already done far more than I thought he could do for jobs.

Hes working really hard.

While she said she may be in the minority as a black Trump supporter, the president has proved he is a man of the people by connecting with people during his campaign.

Fisher also applauded Trump for his work toward remedying immigration, one of the gravest perils the country faces, she said.

Immigration just drives me crazy and hearing him during his campaign, I thought We are on to something here, Fisher said.

He was talking about the kinds of things we needed.

The overall tone of his first week in office has left her hopeful with only slight hesitations.

While she agrees with pipelines, impeding on Native American territory to do so is troubling.

She also said, while Obamacare needs to go, the administration needs to be ready with a viable solution.

Fisher, a retired physician, suffered a heart attack in 2007. Despite having insurance and money to pay for that care, she would like to see more focus on access to health care, she said.

I liked Mr. Trump and I still like Mr. Trump, but we need to focus on the issues and the solutions, she said.

I think well see some interesting things from him. Im very hopeful.
After President Donald Trumps first week, Kernersville resident Rachel Mabe is ready for a shift from petty issues to tackling the nations big threats, she said.

It has become a laughing stock with (Trump) kvetching about the crowd size, Mabe said. He berates the press about coverage, but he needs to focus on the issues.

While Mabe commended him for protecting his family and young son, Barron, she said his first week is troubling and reveals instability.

One of her chief fears is that Russias Vladimir Putin has Trump in his pocket, she said.

(Trump) does not want to recognize Vladimir Putin is a very bad dude, she said. Soon hell show his true colors and well all be in trouble. We better get used to a bumpy ride and learn to pray a lot.

Mabe said Trumps inaugural speech and campaign, harping Make America Great, were deeply reminiscent of presidents from the 1920s and 1930s.

Presidents like (Calvin) Coolidge and (Herbert) Hoover preached isolationism and America first, and that isolationist attitude factored into World War II, she said. Trump is following suit. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Hassiem Muhammad and his sisters are born and bred Americans.

But hes deeply troubled by President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown.

Muhammad, a junior at UNC School of the Arts, was one of at least 30 to express outrage at the presidents executive order at a rally Saturday for Muslim and immigration rights in Winston-Salem.

Chants of When immigrants are under attack, we stand and fight back broke out at a lot at the intersection of Silas Creek and Peters Creek parkways. Participants of various races and backgrounds shouldered signs and shared testimonies.

The rally was part of the fallout this weekend as legal permanent residents and visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries found they would not be able to return for 90 days after leaving the country.

The immigration crackdown sparked anger and fear, leaving some Americans stranded at airports around the world.

The executive order suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and bars all immigration for 90 days from countries with terrorism concerns: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It does not bar immigration from countries linked to funding terrorism, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

This is discrimination based on religion, said Muhammad, 21. If you dont stand up for what you believe in, how can you expect anything to ever get done?

Trumps order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, will be indefinitely blocked from coming to the U.S.

Muhammad said he has many friends overseas and had met Syrian refugees through his mosque. While at Saturdays rally, they received insults from people driving along the road.

Muhammad applauded countries that preach tolerance and acceptance, and said Trumps move will contribute more to hatred than fixing any problem.

In response to Trumps actions, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, issued a statement, saying: To those fleeing persecution and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.

Muhammad said Trumps actions make him fear for his mother and sisters in South Carolina, who are easily identified as Muslim since they cover their heads with scarves.

Our president is spewing hatred and discrimination against everyone whos not part of the white America, Muhammad said.

Trump said the halt in the refugee program was necessary to give agencies time to develop a stricter screening system. The U.S. may admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government will continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country.

Muhammad said he hopes the order will be ruled unconstitutional and that it will not foster a climate of hate in the meantime.

As a nation, we need to change our state of mind and figure out how to move forward with love, not hate, Muhammad said. Although Trump holds the pen its really the people who give him the power.
SANAA, Yemen  A U.S. military service member was killed Sunday during a raid against al-Qaida militants in central Yemen that also left nearly 30 others dead, including women and children. The loss of the service member is the first-known combat death of a member of the U.S. military under President Donald Trump.

"Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," Trump said in a statement.

The U.S. has been striking al-Qaida in Yemen from the air for more than 15 years, mostly using drones, and Sunday's surprise pre-dawn raid could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in the Arab world's poorest but strategically located country.

An al-Qaida official and an online news service linked to the terror group said the raid left about 30 people dead. Among the children killed was Anwar, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girl's grandfather.

Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Nora was visiting her mother when the raid took place. She was shot in the neck and bled for two hours before she died, he said.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that three service members were wounded in the raid and that a fourth one was injured in a "hard landing" in a nearby location. The aircraft was unable to fly afterward and was "intentionally destroyed, it added.

It said 14 militants from al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, formally known as "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula," were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members taking part in the raid captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots."

A U.S. defense official said the raid was approved by Trump. President Barack Obama had been briefed on it before he left office on Jan. 20, but for operational reasons it was not ready to be executed before he departed, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss details beyond those announced by the Pentagon and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the raid in Yemen's central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaida leaders: Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims.

The al-Dhahab family, who are the late al-Awlaki's in-laws, are considered an ally of al-Qaida, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda. A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was the leader of al-Qaida in Bayda but was reportedly killed in a family feud.

The news service linked to al-Qaida in Yemen likened the raid to a "massacre against Muslims" and said U.S. warplanes were first seen in the sky above the area at 9 p.m. Saturday and that the raid began at 2 a.m. on Sunday, with 16 missiles hitting three houses near Yakla village in Radaa district.

A two-hour gun battle ensued after American service members landed on the ground, it said. About 30 men, women and children were killed in the raid, it added.

The killed and wounded included some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

The al-Qaida official sent to the AP in Cairo photos purportedly showing the bloodied bodies of several children killed in the raid along with houses showing bullet holes. The official requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaida operatives in Bayda in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

The tribal officials said the Americans captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals Sundsay, but the U.S. official in Washington said no detainees were taken in the raid.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

Separately, Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the country's southern port city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.
SUZANNE CARROLL, Clemmons

Hope for the nation

On Jan. 20, our new president delivered his inaugural speech to our nation. He painted a bleak picture of struggling families and American carnage. Specifically he cited, Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation. He went on to talk of a failed education system, crime, violence and drugs.

On Jan. 21, my daughters and I, along with millions of people across the nation and the world, talked, too. Our voices were loud, forceful and peaceful. There were people of all races, ethnicities and gender. There were women, men, mothers, fathers, children and families. The landscape of our nation that we observed was one of inclusiveness and hope.

The weather was cloudy and gray on both days, yet somehow Saturday seemed to have more light. Maybe that light was hope  hope that our new president will truly unite our nation.

Time will tell. The nation is watching, starting right here, starting right now.

KENNY REDMOND, Winston-Salem

A day of pride

As most of my friends know, I am a fiscal conservative and social libertarian. I guess you can say I am a conservatarian. I believe this is the United States of America, and we are free to do what we want to do as long as it does not harm or impede anyone else, physically or mentally.

Having said that, and please do not get mad at me, I mean no insult, I can say that on Inauguration Day, for the first time in my life, I was proud of President Obama and his wife Michelle. They showed the whole world with class and dignity how great this country is and how rare a peaceful transfer of power is in the history of this mean world.

What a great country we live in!

******

JIMMIE MOORE, Rural Hall

A lie

Doesnt President Trump realize, when he lies to the CIA, its agents are trained to spot a lie?

******

JANE SIMMONS, Winston-Salem

Crude messages

I appreciate state Sen. Joyce Krawiecs apology for her crude tweet about the Womens March in Washington (Krawiec sorry for lard tweet, Jan. 25). When can we expect one from pop-star Madonna for saying she wanted to blow up the White House?

I realize she later said it was a metaphor and was taken out of context.

Madonna, meet Krawiec.

Ive also heard the intelligence and attractiveness (as if thats somehow relevant) of the Womens March protestors questioned. Really? One can make such sweeping claims about more than 2 million women worldwide? Thats just ridiculous.

Having said so, it does seem like an awful lot of conservative politicians, from U.S. Sen. Richard Burr to N.C. state insurance commissioner Mike Causey, are saying stupid things for which they later have to apologize. Do liberal politicians actually have more respect for people, or are they just better with Twitter?

We need to rediscover civility. Theres a way to make a political point, even impassioned, without being so crude. Its just going to divide us further.

I guess we might be able to tell whos really interested in healing the divisions among us by what they say about the other side.

******

DAVID TURCK, Clemmons

A better place

The world would be a better place if:

All posts to Twitter were kept in cyberspace for 24 hours, then returned to sender with the question, Did you really want this to go out with your signature?

Any time a telephone number were dialed, the caller were charged 1 cent, whether the call was completed or not. Think how this would stop junk and robo-calls.

Every election were held twice, two weeks apart. Then, if the results are unexpected, people could change their vote or others who were too complacent to vote the first time might be motivated to vote. (The second time counts.)

******

CHARLES CRAIG ROYAL, Lexington

Resigning ourselves

To those who say that we progressives ought to resign ourselves to President Trump and Trumpism specifically, and the recent ascendancy of conservatism generally, and with celerity engage them, I ask the questions posed in 2 Corinthians 6:14: What partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? What fellowship does light have with darkness?

As the poet William Blake is credited with noting about conservatism, Expect poison from the standing water.

***

BARBARA G. VANCE

A major investigation

President Trump tweeted on Jan. 25 that he would ask for a major investigation into voter fraud. He pretty much had to make the claim, after being called out for lying about the election results, claiming 3 million to 5 million illegal voters had cost him the popular vote.

This man just cant handle the truth, can he?

I expect him to have the same degree of success he had investigating former President Obamas birth certificate. In other words, hell put the issue to rest.

Either that or this will be the beginning of an attempt to push legislation to suppress the votes of people he doesnt want voting, like North Carolina Republicans did.

Which is more likely from our post-truth president?

***

R.E. STREED, Winston-Salem

A chance

Youre just a sore loser, Trump supporters keep telling me. I think we should give him a chance, say my moderate friends on both sides of the aisle. Hes the nominee/the president-elect/the president, like it or not. Things need changing. Lets wait and see what he does.

So hows it going, my wait and see friends? Have you waited long enough? Have you seen enough?

******

BRIAN P. MYERS, Winston-Salem

A serious matter

President Trump always has to have the last word. Not the last factual word; not the last accurate word; not the last well-conceived word; not the last intellectual word. Just the last word. While it is laughable, but actually pitiful, that this infantile behavior is over trivial, non-governing matters such as crowd size, hand size and the weather, it gets serious and dangerous when having to have the last word involves false claims of voter fraud and illegals on the scale of 3 to 5 million.

Trumps antics remind me of the old joke of the redneck whose last words before a fatal catastrophe were, Hey, watch this! We cannot afford any Hey, watch this moments. Our democracy, our world, and our peaceful survival are at stake.

******

CHRISTINE ONEILL, Winston-Salem

Civil discourse

Im sick and tired of so many elected officials walking back and making apologies for misunderstood statements. Whatever happened to Think before you speak (Tweet)?

State Sen. Joyce Krawiecs recent lard comment was among the many lately that have been deplorable; Hillary Clinton should not have used deplorables, either.

If officials want to be heard and respected, they should be practicing civil discourse, not relaying opinions via inappropriate and offensive tweets. That includes our new president.

DUNCAN MASON, Winston-Salem

The tea party

President Trump is creating so much carnage at one time its hard to keep up. But today Ill just look at this Jan. 24 tweet:

If Chicago doesnt fix the horrible carnage going on, I will send in the Feds!

Hes going to send federal troops to take control of an American city. Isnt this the kind of thing the tea party used to worry that President Obama was going to do? Whats next, FEMA re-education camps?

Trump is proving to be just the kind of dictator they claimed Obama was. Hes threatening to limit the freedom of the press. Hes violating the emoluments clause. Hes issuing executive orders left and right. Worried about fascists? Trump has placed a white nationalist, Steve Bannon, in the White House.

Remember how upset tea-party members got when people claimed they were racist? But weve not heard a peep from the tea party about Trumps constitutional excesses. I always knew they were full of nonsense.

******

NEIL LEACH, Mocksville

Nationalism

History makes plain that one destructive force has been consciously chosen by the citizens of countries on every continent. More than any other reason, nationalism has been a pivot for warfare, injustice and barbarity. Nationalism has been the excuse that presaged the events that made the 20th century the most murderous in history.

The flood of violence unleashed by nationalism in the 20th century lead to far more deaths than the total of all wars fought in the name of any ideology or religion in all history.

Now in Europe there are strong nationalist political movements in every major nation. Representatives of nationalist movements in France, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany met together for a celebration in Koblenz, Germany on Jan. 28. They had gathered to bask in the heat of a major endorsement of their strategies, the inauguration of President Trump.

I am grateful to the Journal for providing broad-based journalism to our area so that those who want to be aware of events can do so.

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* First Grand Master to step down in centuries

* Knights founded in 1048 to help pilgrims to the Holy Land

* Resignation followed clash with Vatican

* Incident mirrors conservative-progressive split in Church

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - On the afternoon of Jan. 24, a black BMW pulled out of a 16th century palace in Rome, crossed the Tiber River and headed for the Vatican, a short trip to end a brazen challenge to the authority of Pope Francis.

Inside the car was 67-year-old Englishman Matthew Festing, the head of an ancient Catholic order of knights which is now a worldwide charity with a unique diplomatic status.

Festing was about to resign, the first leader in several centuries of the Order of Malta, which was founded in 1048 to provide medical aid for pilgrims in the Holy Land, to step down instead of ruling for life.

The move was aimed at ending a highly-public spat between Festing and the reformist pope over the running of the chivalric institution. The weeks-long conflict had become one of the biggest internal challenges yet to Francis' efforts to modernize the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church.

At issue was the Order's reaction to the discovery that condoms had been distributed by one of its aid projects in Myanmar. The Order had fired its Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, whom it held responsible for the condom distribution. Von Boeselager declined to comment for this article.

Though condom use goes against Catholic teaching, the Vatican had ordered an investigation into the firing of von Boeselager. It subsequently publicly castigated Festing, who had refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Backing down, Festing -- a former Sotheby's art auctioneer -- gave a hand-written resignation letter to Francis in the pope's private residence, according to a senior Vatican source. Festing, who has the title of prince, declined an interview request.

Instead of quelling the conflict, however, Festing's resignation was followed by yet another challenge to Francis' authority -- led by vocal pope critic American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, according to Vatican and Knights sources.

Story continues

In particular: Burke tried to convince Festing to withdraw his resignation and keep fighting the pope, these sources say. On Saturday, the Knight's Sovereign Council accepted Festing's resignation and re-instated von Boselager, a clear defeat for Burke.

Burke declined to comment for this article.

The tussle suggested Francis is still battling to consolidate his power over the Church almost four years into his tenure, Vatican insiders say.

Beyond a fight over condoms, the clash pointed to lingering divisions between the Church's conservatives and more progressive factions who support the pope's reformist agenda, they add.

Francis is trying to make the Church less dogmatic and more welcoming to whose who have felt excluded, such as homosexuals and the divorced.

"While this whole saga was an internal matter that probably should have stayed that way, it metamorphosed into a clash that showed the divide between conservatives and progressives," said Andrea Tornielli, author of several books on Pope Francis.

The Vatican declined to comment on the clash and on Pope Francis' efforts to consolidate his power.

It directed Reuters to two public statements. One, on Dec. 22, relates to the Vatican order to investigate the firing of von Boeselager. The second, on Jan. 17, followed a pledge by Festing on the Knights' web page not to cooperate with the Vatican. It decried his resistance and ordered members of the order to cooperate.

GERMAN ARISTOCRAT

The all-male top leaders of the Knights of Malta are not clerics, but they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope.

A German aristocrat whose father participated in a failed plot to kill Hitler in World War Two, von Boeselager was fired by Festing in December, and accused of having allowed the use of condoms while he was head of the Knights' global humanitarian projects.

Festing fired him in Burke's presence, arguing that the German had hidden the condom use from the order's leaders when he was named Grand Chancellor, according to Knights and Vatican sources.

Immediately, the firing set off the conflict between the Knights' hierarchy and the Vatican.

Von Boeselager , a devout Catholic, said in a statement on Dec. 23 that he was fully behind Church teachings. He closed two projects in the developing world when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running in Myanmar for a while because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people.

The Church does not allow condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.

In the same statement, von Boeselager said Festing and Burke told him the Vatican wanted him to resign and that there would be "severe consequences" for the Order if he did not.

The Vatican denied, in a letter from its secretary of state to the Order and seen by Reuters, that it had mandated the resignation, saying it had told the Knights the pope wanted a solution through dialogue.

The German said his sacking was against the Knights' constitution and appealed to the pope, who ordered the investigation.

Festing refused to cooperate, issuing a series of increasingly strident public statements. In one, he called the papal commission that was investigating the firing "legally irrelevant".

In a Jan. 14 confidential letter to the top echelons of the order and seen by Reuters, Festing wrote: "In refusing to acknowledge this group of people's jurisdiction, I am trying to protect the order's sovereignty".

The institution has the status of a sovereign entity, maintaining diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union and permanent observer status at the United Nations.

The pope was irritated by Festing's defiant stand, a senior Vatican source said, and the Vatican shot back with a public statement ordering the Knights to obey.

After that public order, Festing changed his tune and resigned in the pope's residence a week later.

Festing's resignation came as a shock for many inside the Knights: some of them told Reuters it was akin to the resignation of Pope Benedict in 2013.

Four sources said that for many others in the order, it came as a relief. They feared the clash was damaging the image of the institution whose 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and 20,000 paid medical staff help the neediest around the world.

The day after Festing handed his resignation to the pope, Cardinal Burke drove to the order's headquarters from his apartment near the Vatican and sought to persuade Festing to withdraw his resignation, a source from the Vatican and one from the Knights said.

Burke declined to comment on his meeting with Festing.

Burke has long been leading challenges against the pope. Pope Francis demoted him from a top Vatican job in 2014 with no official explanation and assigned him to be the "patron" of the Order of Malta.

Such "patron" positions are usually given to older cardinals after they retire at 75. Burke was only 66 then and the demotion was widely seen as a sign of the pope's irritation with the cardinal's constant sniping over Francis' reforms.

In particular, Burke has contested moves by the pope that would allow Catholics who have divorced and re-married outside the Church without an annulment to return to the sacrament of communion. Burke declined to comment on his demotion.

Since the demotion, Burke has become even more of a rallying point for conservatives, flying around the world to give lectures to conservative groups and often giving interviews criticising the pope's decisions.

In November, he led a rare public challenge to the pope with three other cardinals who accused the pontiff of sowing confusion on important moral issues such as that of communion for the divorced.

Burke later said in an interview that if the pope did not respond to their letter, the cardinals might need to "correct" the pope themselves for the good of the Church.

The Vatican did not comment on the uprising at the time but many of the pope's supporters publicly criticised the four cardinals.

The pope will now appoint a "pontifical delegate" to help run the order, at least until elections can be held for a new Grand Master.

In a personal letter to the Sovereign Council on Jan. 27 and seen by Reuters, Francis made clear that the Vatican did not want to interfere with the Order's sovereignty but said his delegate would seek to "renew the spirituality of the Order, specifically of those members who take vows."

(Editing by Mark Bendeich, Philippa Fletcher and Alessandra Galloni)
Donald Trump may not be a big reader, but hes been a boon for sales of dystopian literature. Amid our thirst for adult coloring books and stories about missing girls and reincarnated puppies, some grim old classics are speaking to us with new urgency. Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451, Aldous Huxleys Brave New World and Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale have all risen up the latest paperback bestseller list.

But by far the greatest beneficiary of our newly piqued national anxiety is George Orwells 1984.

Soon after senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said that the administration was issuing alternative facts, Orwells classic novel spiked to No. 1 on Amazon. Like officials from the Ministry of Truth, Conway and Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, doubled down on Trumps fanciful contention that his inauguration drew the largest audience ever, despite a Web-full of photographic evidence to the contrary. The Twittersphere responded with allusions to 1984, and Penguin announced plans for a special 75,000-copy reprint, noting that since the inauguration, sales for the novel have increased by 9,500 percent.

Leaders have always tried to manipulate the truth, and modern politicians of all persuasions want to control the narrative, but theres something freshly audacious about the presidents assault on basic math, his effort to assemble from the substance of his vanity hundreds of thousands of fans on the Mall.

Almost 70 years after 1984 was first published, Orwell suddenly feels doubleplus relevant. Considering the New Trumpmatics, its impossible not to remember Winston Smith, the hero of 1984, who predicted, In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.

Orwell biographer Gordon Bowker is not at all surprised by the renewed interest. The continuing popularity of 1984 is a reminder, he said via email, of the threat to democracy posed by those with power who proclaim alternative facts and deny objective truths. Big Brothers pronouncements are treated as absolute truth by his acolytes, even when they defy rational thought  so Black is White, 2+2=5, War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.

Born in 1903, Orwell lived through two world wars and saw the rise of totalitarian regimes on an unpresidented scale. In a widely quoted letter written in 1944, he decried to the horrors of emotional nationalism and a tendency to disbelieve in the existence of objective truth. He went on to explain with rising alarm: Already history has in a sense ceased to exist, i.e., there is no such thing as a history of our own times which could be universally accepted, and the exact sciences are endangered. Now were being told that millions of illegal immigrants kept Trump from winning the popular vote, and that the science behind climate change is a Chinese hoax.

But Democrats shouldnt feel too smug about Trumps fluency in Newspeak. The Obama administration did its best to conceal that the National Security Agency is listening to our electronic communications, an eerie parallel to the surveillance described in 1984. And it was President Clinton who brought the country to a constitutional climax by claiming that the truth of his testimony regarding that woman depended on what the meaning of the word is is  an Orwellian clarification if there ever was one.

Besides, Orwell wasnt writing about a particular party. Although he was inspired by full-scale abuses in the Soviet Union, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, he was also borrowing from the methods of communication control he had witnessed in Britain. He was describing, in other words, the basic function of power, the tendency of leaders and governments  from Conservatives to Anarchists  to cement their authority by controlling our language and by extension our thought and behavior.

Like most people who still pick up a newspaper in their yard every morning, I first read 1984 in school, long before 1984. I can remember worrying about how much of what Orwell described might come true by that year. But as a teenager, what frightened me most was those horrible torture scenes, particularly the unspeakable threat of the rat mask that eventually breaks Winstons will. Only later did I start to appreciate the real profundity of Orwells insights, laid out so succinctly in his 1946 essay Politics and the English Language.

In that brilliant critique, Orwell casts the blame for political corruption widely, and he insists that we all bear a responsibility to resist it by thinking and especially by writing more clearly. One ought to recognize, he wrote, that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. Theres a patriotic challenge you wont hear coming from Washington no matter which party is in power.

Fortunately, were not living under the dystopian terror that Orwell described in 1984. Our new leader is not the manufactured icon of a supreme state. Hes a supernova of insecurities, tweeting out his insults and threats to increasingly perplexed citizens who still  for the moment, at least  enjoy the right to object in whatever language they choose.
Its a classic, true story: In 1880s Alabama, a young child loses her sight and hearing before age 2. It takes an extraordinary teacher to bring her out of the dark to live a life of achievements and fame.

Helen Keller wrote about her many experiences in the autobiography The Story of My Life. Her time with Annie Sullivan forms the core of a Playhouse 90 television show in 1957, a Tony Award-winning Broadway play in 1959 and a movie in 1962, all written by William Gibson.

When Twin City Stage opens The Miracle Worker on Friday night, for some, it will be a well-known tale that theyve encountered before. But if you havent seen previous productions, you will find a tale that shares some universal emotions.

Co-directed by Mike Burke and Jim McKeny, and stage managed by Becky Proie, The Miracle Worker features a cast of 17  many of them young actors  and a more sensory presentation than some versions of the same play.

John Sheas set offers a unique look into the Kellers home, said Edwin Martinat, artistic and education director at Twin City for the past eight months.

Were also using a lot more colors and textures in the show, he said. The idea is that we want the audience to see all the things that Helen cannot see, the things shes missing from her life.

Miracle Worker is a story that provides some universal truths that cross over race, gender, time, Burke said. It addresses the question, How do we bring light into this world?

Not only is it a story that is familiar to older audiences  though the most famous versions, Burke noted, are over 50 years old  it has certain common storytelling challenges when relating history on the stage.

As with any story set in the past, whether historical or fictional, were bringing a different world to life, Burke said. You have to bring the mechanics of the time to life.

In the 1880s in Alabama, people moved differently, used different words and phrases, and they had different mannerisms. We want those things to be accurate, Burke said, but at the same time the audience has to get it. That takes some time and practice.

At the center of The Miracle Worker are Helen (played by Kennedy Avree) and Annie (Erica Helmle). Its their battle of wills that gives the story its spirit and significance.

Avree, 12, who has been acting since she was 6, has done multiple shows on the Twin City Stage mainstage, including a recent performance in Yes, Virginia! Shes finding the role as a blind, deaf, mute young girl a challenge worth facing.

Playing Helen is so different from normal life, she said. She cant communicate and shes angry about it. Its fun, but its difficult, too.

Helen meets her match in Annie who, though only 20 at the time they met, already had a strong drive for teaching.

Helmle, 27, is a Winston-Salem newcomer from northern Kentucky. Shes also only recently returned to the stage after time away for law school and work. But she grew up in theater and studied opera at the University of Kentucky. A small role in Twin Citys Sense and Sensibility warmed her up for Annie.

I truly enjoy how this story revolves around two strong female characters in a post-Civil War world, Helmle said. Theyre feisty, they both want to get their way and they accomplish things, both during their time together and later.

Avree feels Miracle Worker has much to say to audience members.

This is a really great story that says, whatever your disability, you can achieve great things, she said. Helen was blind and deaf, and yet she learned to talk, communicate and graduate from college. Its inspirational.

Avree and Helmle will receive support from Heather Perino and David Bowen as Helens mother and father, along with Benedetta Agnoli, Cessily Evans, Brandon Lloyd Hicks, Isaiah Nelson, Ilia Sheran and Mark Walek. Madison Barrier, Anya Benfield, Mimi Emmerich, Meghan Heaney, Paiten Iselin, Caroline Petronzio and Anaijah Williams will play the blind girls. The blind girls are students of Annie Sullivan at the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston. They are introduced to the audience when Annie is departing to Tuscumbia, Ala., to teach Helen.

We have a wonderful cast thats full of fresh faces, Martinat said. Given some transitions, the dedication and flexibility of this cast has been highly professional. They are delivering the wonderment of revisiting this story with a different approach.
Today

A few showers this morning, becoming a steady light rain during the afternoon hours. High around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

Tonight

Rain. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.

Tomorrow

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
With decades of teaching experience in several capacities in Texas and over the past three years with The Flowertown Blossoms in Summerville, Anicia D. Brown is dead set on handing youngsters the tools to master stage acting and production, while also imparting impactful life lessons along t Read moreFlowertown Blossoms preaching the value of teamwork
About 200 bags of diapers, hygiene essentials and other related products will be available free-of-charge to expecting moms, who register for the "Shower for Life" event being held on Nov. 5, from 1-3 p.m., at St. Paul's Anglican Church, located at 316 W. Carolina Ave in Summerville. Read more'Shower for Life' calls all expecting mothers
01/29/2017





For its golden anniversary, the JSU nursing program is going red. The Jacksonville Association of Nursing Students will present a Go Red Masquerade Ball to honor the 50th year of nursing education at JSU while supporting the American Heart Association's Go Red For Womens Cardiac Health campaign.

The Go Red Masquerade Ball will take place on Saturday, Feb. 4, 6-10 p.m. at JSUs Leone Cole Auditorium. Masks will be provided at the door and festivities will include dancing, live music, food, door prizes and a charity raffle. Tickets are $35 a person or $65 per couple. Proceeds will support the Go Red campaign and nursing scholarships.

Contact Melissa Duckett at mduckett@jsu.edu for information.

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Earlier on Saturday, Netanyahu tweeted: President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israels southern border Great success. Great idea.

Mexicos government on Saturday rebuked Israel for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that applauded U.S. President Donald Trumps plan to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out undocumented migrants.

Earlier on Saturday, Netanyahu tweeted: President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israels southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea.

The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexicos foreign ministry.

The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahus message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall.

Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister, the ministry said, noting Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray had only on Friday expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking Holocaust memorial day.

Israels Haaretz newspaper reported that the Prime Ministers office later issued a statement saying Netanyahu was not trying to voice an opinion on U.S.-Mexican relations.

Mexicos government and Trump have been locked in a bitter dispute over his election campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S. southern border that he says Mexico will foot the bill for. Mexico has repeatedly said it will not pay for the wall.

The Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico issued a statement saying it forcefully rejected Netanyahus comment, while several prominent Mexicans of Jewish origin sharply criticized the Israeli leader on Twitter.

So you like walls @netanyahu? Here you have a couple of nice designs, said one, Mony de Swaan, a former head of the Mexican telecommunications regulator, posting images of walls commemorating Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp where diarist Anne Frank died, and the Warsaw Ghetto.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday canceled a visit to meet Trump next week after U.S. leader advised him to forgo the trip if he was not willing to pay for the wall.

In a call on Friday morning, the leaders pledged to work out their differences, and the Mexican government said the two had agreed not to discuss the issue of payment for now.

Via TeleSur

-

Related tweet added by Juan Cole:
By Brad K. Blitz | (OpenDemocracy.net) |  

We need to accept that for millions of refugees persecution is the principal reason for flight today as it was before, during and after the Holocaust.

The practice of making and granting claims of asylum based on persecution is one of the most concrete expressions of human rights. Yet after more than sixty years, the refugee regime is facing an existential threat. While Donald Trumps latest executive order[1] has delivered the greatest blow, European states have weakened the regime by refusing to receive and resettle refugees and through their use of discriminatory policies of selection. Regrettably even liberal minded voices are undermining the human rights architecture upon which the refugee regime is based.

The 1951 Refugee Convention does not define persecution. It is a curious but historical fact that neither Article 1, which introduces the definition of a refugee, nor the term persecution feature much in the initial analysis of the Travaux Preparatoires which detail the discussions that gave way to the Refugee Convention.[2] Rather, Paul Weiss celebrated analysis begins with Article 2 on the general obligations of refugees. In spite of this omission, legal scholars have held that persecution connotes injurious or oppressive action which is informed by human rights standards in the country from which the asylum seeker has fled.

It is specifically this linkage to human rights which underpins the way claims are evaluated and which is crucial for the preservation of asylum. That is why the decision by Greeces Supreme Court this week regarding the claims of eight Turkish officers accused of involvement in the failed Turkish coup is so very important.[3] Rather than bow to political pressure, for fear of upsetting a neighbouring NATO member state, the Court ruled that the defendants faced human rights violations if the request for extradition to Turkey was upheld. The Courts decision unequivocally affirmed the right to seek and receive political asylum. That is why the decision by Greeces Supreme Court this week regarding the claims of eight Turkish officers accused of involvement in the failed Turkish coup is so very important.

By contrast, Trumps draft executive order blatantly illustrates how geopolitical concerns may interfere with the protection of refugee rights. The draft, entitled, Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals, introduces a temporary ban on particular nationalities who are excluded from the US resettlement programme. This applies to refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The draft order caps refugee admissions at just 50,000 and also bars nationals from those states, even those holding visas, from entering the USA. It is not just that refugees from Syria, Iraq and Somalia make up more than half the worlds refugee population, the order is fundamentally discriminatory even against those fleeing IS, Al-Shabab, and other oppressive regimes.

Refugee support organisations based in the USA have already noted that in the absence of the US resettlement scheme, more refugees from those states will be pressed to take their chances crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe.[4] Yet, here too, European states have also cherry picked among those they wish to consider for refugee status. This is most clearly evidenced in Greece, a country which is now holding tens of thousands of people who have been denied the right to relocation offered only to nationals who have an average EU-wide asylum recognition rate equal to or higher than 75 per cent.[5] The scheme covers Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans but leaves out Afghans, Iranians, and Pakistanis. What is more, the scheme only covers those in Greece before 20 March 2016 when the EU-Turkey deal came into effect.

While Greece will be left to process claims for tens of thousands of non-privileged asylum-seekers, the emerging consensus is that by restricting the flow of refugees to developed states by offering incentives to lesser developed states to house them, refugees will be able to find protection elsewhere  increasingly in oppressive states like Turkey and Ethiopia. The fact that large groups of refugees are geographically contained has given rise to further security and development initiatives, most notably the expansion of mobility partnerships and common agendas. Although these arrangements differ from one state to another, and while full mobility partnerships offer some visa facilitation to generally highly skilled nationals on the premise of signed readmission agreements, they have no basis in EU law. The overarching focus is cooperation on matters of security and irregular migration in return for aid. In effect, these programmes deny refugees the right to freedom of movement and in so doing also close off safe and legal routes to seek asylum.

The EU-Turkey deal is perhaps the most egregious example of a mobility style partnership where, in exchange for blocking the flow of refugees to Europe, Turkey has received billions of euros in aid and Erdogans abuses have been tolerated. While most refugees have been unaffected by the post-coup clampdown, more than 800 people have been returned from the EU to Turkey, some sent to inhospitable detention centres, as reported by Human Rights Watch. Similarly, the partnership with Ethiopia has been welcomed even though it may be perceived as a fig leaf to a regime which has killed more than 500 peaceful protestors and is not stemming the flow of irregular migrants to the southern Mediterranean.

With large numbers of refugees contained in the Global South and Middle East, some scholars and development experts have militated for a new paradigm based on the creation of special economic zones. Most notably, Oxford University Professors Paul Collier and Alexander Betts have proposed that through such zones, jobs can be brought to refugees.[6] Yet, these can only function on the basis that mobility rights are effectively curtailed. The focus is pragmatic and overwhelmingly centres on livelihoods, not access to civil and eventually to political rights which is effected through the refugee route of asylum and integration.

Building upon this logic, Betts argued that diasporas could also play their role in helping to further transition in their countries of origin. In response, two Oxford University students challenged their professor, claiming that it is ethically wrong to see refugees as political resources and that this formulation may undermine individual agency.[7] It is also naive. As Paul Hockenos records in Homeland Calling[8], a book which describes how diasporas from the former Yugoslavia behaved during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, many diasporas house interfering chauvinists and even when they vote for democrats and appear to have the trappings of settled Americans, Canadians or Europeans, their views towards their countries of birth or sentimental attachment may be considerably less enlightened. Two Oxford University students challenged their professor, claiming that it is ethically wrong to see refugees as political resources. It is also naive.

Collier has also condemned the Refugee Convention as anachronistic and too focused on the protection of individual rights, rather than collective realities. Writing in the Financial Times in September 2016, he argued:

[Yet] todays refugees are overwhelmingly fleeing mass disorder rather than state persecution, and none of the countries that are havens to most of the worlds refugees are signatories to the convention. Meanwhile, a handful of specialist lawyers has tortured the meaning of words, resulting in an indefensibly inconsistent patchwork of international practices.

This is simply inaccurate. The reasons why many failed states have generated large numbers of refugees are often the result of political inequality which may manifest as societal discrimination and persecution by both state and non-state actors. Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and now South Sudan are emblematic of the contemporary refugee-producing state, where large numbers are expressly fleeing as a result of well-founded fear of persecution. Moreover, we return to the fact that the reasons why large numbers of refugees are concentrated in states which have not ratified the Refugee Convention is not only the failure of past development efforts but also a reflection of their lack of options and the absence of safe and legal routes out of these regions.

Rather than think of refugees as potential agents of terror, or as the condition for receiving aid, as tools for economic development or political reform, why not think of them as people in need of protection?

We need to stop downgrading refugee protection and accept that for millions of refugees persecution is the principal reason for flight today as it was before, during and after the Holocaust. In so doing, we would be affirming the importance of human rights and the rationale behind the refugee regime which remains more relevant than ever.

Brad K. Blitz is Professor of International Politics at Middlesex University and Senior Fellow at the Global Migration Centre, Geneva. He is the author of Migration and Freedom: Mobility, Citizenship, and Freedom, Edward Elgar Publishing. He is also Principal Investigator on the ESRC funded project EVI-MED: Constructing and Evidence Base of Contemporary Mediterranean Migrations and Coordinator of the European Commission funded project INFORM: Legal and Procedural Information for Asylum Seekers in the European Union.

Via Opendemocracy.net

[1] See Huffington Post, Read Draft Text Of Trumps Executive Order Limiting Muslim Entry To The U.S. (EXCLUSIVE), 25 January 2017.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

CNN: Bergen: Trumps big mistake on Syrian refugees
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By Marcelo Rochabrun | ProPublica |  

Update: A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told Reuters on Saturday morning that the Presidents executive order will, in fact, stop green card holders from seven countries from returning to the United States if they travel abroad. It will bar green card holders, the spokeswoman said.

When details leaked earlier this week about a spate of immigration-related executive orders from President Donald Trump, much public discussion focused on a 30-day ban on new visas for citizens from seven terror-prone countries.

But the order signed this afternoon by Trump is actually more severe, increasing the ban to 90 days. And its effects could extend well beyond preventing newcomers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, from entering the U.S., lawyers consulted by ProPublica said.

Are you from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya or Somalia and live in the United States either on a visa or a green card? We want to hear from you if President Trumps travel ban is impacting your life. You can email us at travelban@propublica.org, or text me an encrypted message using Signal to (609) 613-0526. Share your story.

Its also expected to have substantial effects on hundreds of thousands of people from these countries who already live in the U.S. under green cards or on temporary student or employee visas.

Since the orders travel ban applies to all aliens 2014 a term that encompasses anyone who isnt an American citizen 2014 it could bar those with current visas or even green cards from returning to the U.S. from trips abroad, said Stephen Legomsky, a former chief counsel to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Obama.

Its extraordinarily cruel, he said.

The order bans the entry of foreigners from those countries and specifically exempts from the ban those who hold certain diplomatic visas.

Not included in the exemption, however, are those who hold long-term temporary visas 2014 such as students or employees 2014 who have the right to live in the United States for years at a time, as well as to travel abroad and back as they please.

If applied literally, this provision would bar even those visitors who had made temporary trips abroad, for example a student who went home on winter break and is now returning, Legomsky said on Friday evening executive order.

Trump made extreme vetting of foreigners a cornerstone of his campaign, particularly those from countries that are predominantly Muslim and that he considers hostile to the U.S.

Im establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We dont want them here, Trump said this afternoon, describing the intention of the executive order. We want to ensure that we are not admitting to our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas.

Trump signed the directive just before 5 p.m. but it took the White House almost three hours to release the actual text.

About 25,000 citizens from the seven countries specified in Trumps ban have been issued student or employment visas in the past three years, according to Department of Homeland Security reports.

On top of that, almost 500,000 people from the seven countries have received green cards in the past decade, allowing them to live and work in the United States indefinitely. . .

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking for clarification on the meaning of the executive order.

Citizens of Iran and Iraq far outnumber those from the other five countries among green card and visa holders. In the past 10 years, Iranian and Iraqi citizens have received over 250,000 green cards.

Iran also has the 11th most students in the U.S. among foreign nations, according to the Institute of International Educations Open Doors report, which tracks the demographics of international students.

We are inundated with calls and questions of how this is going to affect people, said Jamal Abdi, policy director for the National Iranian American Council, an organization that advocates for better relations between Iranian and American people.

Abdi is concerned the temporary ban will become permanent. The order says the 90-day ban is meant to allow the U.S. and the seven targeted countries to discuss what information would need to be shared in order to start granting visas once again. But if no agreement is reached, citizens would remain blocked from entry.

My interpretation is that the Iranian government is not going to comply regarding sharing information, Abdi said, which would render this a permanent ban.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Dallas Morning News: Families reunited after 50 detained at DFW airport as Trump shuts borders
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Picking on immigrants and refugees is the act of a sadistic bully, since they are the one fairly large group of residents of the United States whose constitutional rights are disputed. The executive order Trump signed late on Friday suspending entrance to the United States for citizens of seven countries and cancelling the US refugee program for four months is probably illegal. The 1965 immigration law forbids discriminating against immigrants on the basis of nationality. But the courts are often deferential to presidential prerogatives on foreign policy, and in principle the designation of certain countries as security problems requiring extra care in the issuance of visas is probably within the purview of the White House.

The political goal of the order was to whip up anti-Muslim hatred. No immigrant from any of the seven countries Trump named has been guilty of terrorism on US soil in this century. Trump said he wanted to prioritize Christian immigration and refugee resettlement from e.g. Syria, implying that the decks have been stacked in favor of Muslims. Giving persons of a particular faith precedence in immigration is unconstitutional. This measure was his Orwellian two minutes hate against Muslims and immigrants. In an incident that may or may not be related, a mosque was burned down in Texas on Saturday.

A recent study of psychopaths, narcissists and sadists found that of the three personality types, Only sadists increased the intensity of their attack once they realized the person would not fight back . . . Even psychopaths and narcissists werent eager to pounce that way.

Iran immediately retaliated by banning US citizens from going to that country. Given that Iran has a GDP the size of Poland and is now open for business, Trump just cost US companies billions and billions of dollars inasmuch as European, Russian and Chinese firms will now get Irans new business. You even have to worry about the follow-through on already-concluded deals. Even the Iraqi legislature began debating whether to exclude Americans, including contractors.

One thing Trump did not count on was that there would be a spontaneous movement against the arrests of immigrants at JFK and other airports across the country, with some 2,000 flooding into JFK.

The executive orders signed this past week by Trump appear in the main to have been drafted by alt-Neo-Nazi Steve Bannon, the Rasputin of this administration. They were not passed by the departments they affected. In another in a series of coups, Trump on Saturday kicked the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff off of the principals committee of the National Security Council. They will attend only when their expertise is required. He then appointed Bannon to that key body, which advises the president on national security issues. Knowledgeable intelligence and military leaders will therefore often not be in a position to contradict Bannon on the NSC, giving him enormous unchecked and unelected power (NSC staffers also dont have to be confirmed by the Senate). NSC staffers have been known to ask the CIA to do illegal things like go after Americans on American soil, and I think we may expect a lot of that sort of thing in this administration. Bannon is the CEO of the far right extremist purveyor of fake news, Breitbart, todays equivalent of the Volkischer Beobachter, the newspaper of the national socialist workers party in 1930s Germany.

The way Bannon crafted the executive order on immigrants that the pliant Trump eagerly signed was guaranteed to be a disaster. It would have been easy enough to say that the provisions would come into effect one month hence. Instead, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was instructed to apply its provisions immediately. This step caused some over 100 passengers to be arrested on arrival and put in holding cells at the airport on Saturday, even though they had a valid visa or green card (permanent residency). Thousands of persons with valid visas or green cards (permanent residency, the last step before citizenship) who happened to be abroad on Friday were effectively locked out of the country. These included nearly 200 Google employees caught abroad on Saturday, whom the company was trying to get back into the country.

One of the first to be arrested, at JFK, was Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an Iraqi who had served as an interpreter for the US army in Iraq. Despite Darweeshs own patience with it all, that he was one of the first to be arrested gave the Trump-Bannon piece of fascism a further black eye. Darweeshs vital work put his own life in profound danger and he helped avoid casualties among our troops. For him to be humiliated and handcuffed and reduced to tears spoke volumes about the true nature of the executive order.

CNN: Detained Iraqi released from JFK airport

Trump and Bannon intended this outcome. They intended that immigrants should be treated arbitrarily and made abject. They wish to treat all Americans this way, and are just using Muslim-Americans for target practice. That is why they hate the press so much, since they know it shines a spotlight on their violation of peoples constitutional rights. Typical bullies, they are starting with the weakest residents in the country. Their victims included grandmothers who finally had the opportunity to come see relatives in America. And then they were clapped in jail on arrival.

This outcome was clearly contrary to the rule of law, since the individuals arrested had not committed any crime but rather had acted in good faith and had valid travel documents. The ACLU (give money!) swung into action and got a Federal judge in Brooklyn to hear an appeal against the detentions and the prospect that the detainees would be deported. US District Judge Ann Donnelly found that those arrested had a good chance of being vindicated if they could go before a court, and therefore must not be deported. Her ruling affected the entire country. In its aftermath, many of the 200 persons detained across the country appear to have been released.

The saga is not over, and opportunities for further Trump/ Bannon sadism breaking up families, stranding people doing nothing wrong, exposing individuals to isolation or big travel costs are all still to come. That is what sadism and fascism is all about.
Maine Governor Paul LePage [official website] on Friday signed the marijuana moratorium bill [text] into law, just three days before recreational marijuana becomes legal in Maine. The bill allows personal marijuana use but restricts retail sales for one year, at which time the governor and legislature will have had time to set out a proper regulatory structure for the drug. LePage, despite signing the bill, was displeased [WCSH report] with the legislatures failure to include two provisions: one providing for $1.6 million in funding for costs of creating rules and implementing law, and the other switching marijuana oversight from the state Department of Agriculture (ACF) to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO) [official websites]. As a result, LePage issued an executive order delegating oversight of Marijuana from ACF to BABLO. LePage also stated no rules will be promulgated until the Legislature allocates money to fund the rulemaking process. Though retail and commercial growing will not be allowed for another year, the bill provides that anyone over 21 may possess marijuana for personal use. The bill implicitly prohibits anyone under 21 from possessing marijuana and also provides that smoking marijuana while driving is illegal.

Marijuana legalization has been gaining momentum in the United States. In December, Massachusettss governor also signed a bill delaying [JURIST Report] portions of the states marijuana legalization initiative. In addition to Maine and Massachusetts, California and Nevada also voted [JURIST report] in November to legalize marijuana. In April Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a bill [JURIST report] legalizing medical marijuana. In February the Utah Senate voted to advance a bill [JURIST report] that would legalize the use of medical marijuana in various forms such as vapor or edible form. Last November New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed two bills [JURIST report] in order to expedite the distribution of medical marijuana to citizens with critical health conditions. Earlier that month New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed [JURIST report] a bill into law that would allow for the administering of edible medical marijuana to sick and disabled children on school grounds without triggering the arrests of parents or educators.
Ints Kalnins | Reuters. McCain and Graham said Trump's order "sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country."

Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham on Sunday denounced President Donald Trump 's executive order on travel from several Muslim-majority countries, calling it "hasty" and warning that it could prove counterproductive in the fight against terrorism.

McCain, Arizona's senior senator and the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee, and Graham, a South Carolina politician who also competed briefly for the 2016 nomination, are both considered hawkish on national security. However, they frequently buck their party on key issues, which in the past has drawn the ire of grassroots conservatives.



They join several of their GOP Senate colleagues, including Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio, in criticizing the measure. The White House has defended the order, arguing it is necessary to properly vet people coming into the U.S. from nations with terrorism concerns.

Late Friday, Trump signed the order, which indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the country. It also suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country for 90 days.

The move sparked confusion and protests at airports nationwide, as some lawful visa holders from those countries were detained, including an Iraqi who helped American military efforts.

The Department of Homeland Security said the order remains in place despite a court order late Saturday ordering a stay on the deportation of visa holders.

"It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump's executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security," said the two centrist Republicans in a joint statement.



McCain and Graham said that "such a hasty process risks harmful results," criticizing the order for causing detentions of legal permanent residents and refugees who were already vetted by the government.



Story continues

The senators said that they fear it will become a "self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."

"This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security," McCain and Graham said.







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OSWEGO, N.Y. (AP)  When the Nine Mile Point reactor first went online, Richard Nixon was president, the Beatles were still a band and Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima weren't yet bywords for the hazards of nuclear power.

Almost 50 years later, New York state is betting big on the future of Nine Mile Point, one of the nation's two oldest nuclear plants.

The state is putting up $7.6 billion in subsidies to ensure that the plant and two other upstate nuclear plants stay open, part of New York's strategy to lean on nuclear energy as it ramps up renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric.

But even as Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration embraces nuclear power upstate, it's moving to shutter the Indian Point nuclear plant some 30 miles north of New York City.

To critics, Cuomo is making a political calculation that favors jobs and energy upstate, and safety and the environment downstate.

"These things have an expiration date, and they're really pushing it," said Sue Matthews, who worked for contractors building Nine Mile Point's second reactor in the 1980s. She said her opposition to the plant makes her the "most hated" woman in town. "Everyone here depends on that place  the jobs, the property taxes. They can't afford to close it."

Nuclear plants around the nation are at a similar crossroads, with more closures likely as owners become reluctant to spend increasingly large sums operating aging plants.

Located on the shores of Lake Ontario, Nile Mile Point is a wonder of Cold War-era engineering, with miles of colored pipes and wires snaking through long corridors to a cathedral-sized turbine room. Anyone getting close to the reactor is fitted with a small dosimeter to monitor exposure, and must step inside a phone-booth sized radiation scanner before and after.

The plant's first reactor went online in 1969, sharing the nation's-oldest honor with the Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey.

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Immediately adjacent to Nine Mile Point is a second, 42-year-old nuclear plant, FitzPatrick, which was slated to close before Cuomo's nuclear bailout package was approved. A third, the 47-year-old Ginna nuclear power plant, is located just east of Rochester.

Closing the plants would devastate an upstate community that like most of upstate New York has struggled over the decades. Oswego County has one of the state's highest unemployment rates  6.7 percent last month, compared to 4.5 percent statewide. The two plants here employ 1,600 people and pay far above the area's average salary.

"These aren't just normal jobs," said Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow, a Republican. "These are high-paying jobs, the people who eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, who make our community what it is."

Reactor operator Donald Crisp II spoke to The Associated Press during a recent tour of Nine Mile Point, a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of America's tightly controlled nuclear facilities. Crisp, who learned his profession working for the U.S. Navy, closely watches the wall of lights, gauges and controls monitoring water pressure, temperature and power fluctuations to ensure the plant remains productive and safe.

"We train for the end-of-the-world scenarios," he said.

Nuclear plants are costly to operate, making it increasingly hard to compete with natural gas and other cheaper forms of energy. Both Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick faced the possibility of closure before the state agreed to the subsidies.

"If FitzPatrick closed, 615 families would be devastated. There would be 615 lost jobs  average wage $120,000  that would basically be irreplaceable in Oswego," Cuomo said last year when he announced the nuclear bailout deal. "This state cannot lose our supply of nuclear energy. I believe the state has a moral obligation, a financial obligation and a civic obligation to step in."

Electric consumers will pay on average about $2 more per month to raise the money. Cuomo argues that if the nuclear plants closed, they would be replaced by natural gas or even coal plants, which would make it harder to reach the state's goal of generating half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The administration isn't as concerned about making up for the power generation to be lost at Indian Point, however, even though the facility generates the equivalent of a quarter of the electricity used in New York City and suburban Westchester County.

More than 17 million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point, compared to just under 1 million for Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick.

Environmental groups critical of nuclear power don't like Cuomo's approach.

"The governor should take his own advice," said Alex Beauchamp, of the group Food & Water Watch. "And close the other nuclear plants upstate instead of propping up a costly and unsafe industry with $7.6 billion in New Yorkers' money."
Republican Junior Senator Ben Sasse issued a statement Saturday night criticizing President Donald Trump's immigration plan, stating that Trump's plan is "too broad" and could help recruit terrorists rather than deter them.

"The President is right to focus attention on the obvious fact that borders matter. At the same time, while not technically a Muslim ban, this order is too broad. There are two ways to lose our generational battle against jihadism by losing touch with reality. The first is to keep pretending that jihadi terrorism has no connection to Islam or to certain countries. Thats been a disaster. And here's the second way to fail: If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion. Both approaches are wrong, and both will make us less safe. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

Senator Sasse is the first GOP member to speak out against Trump's immigration plan.

Trump signed the immigration executive order Friday, which bans Syrian refugees indefinitely and prohibits citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya from entering the country for 90 days.

This policy makes the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," and ultimately makes us "less safe," Sasse said.

Sasse is one of several Republican lawmakers who spoke out against Trump's immigration plan over the weekend. Rep. Justin Amash said in a series of tweets Saturday that the order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system.

Rep. Amash urged Trump in his tweets to work with Congress to alter immigration law.

"Like Pres. Obama's executive actions on immigration, Pres. Trump's executive order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system," said Amash.

"It's not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality. If the president wants to change immigration law, he must work with Congress. The president's denial of entry to lawful permanent residents of the United States (green card holders) is particularly troubling," Amash said.

"Green card holders live in the United States as our neighbors and serve in our Armed Forces. They deserve better," he said.
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JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the American embassy in Israel should be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, injecting himself once again into a charged campaign trail promise of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu's comments at his weekly Cabinet meeting appeared aimed at countering reports that Israel was concerned about the fallout of such a move, which is vehemently opposed by the Palestinians and has sparked fears of a renewed outbreak of violence. It comes a day after Netanyahu unilaterally endorsed Trump's call to build a wall along the Mexican border, saying the Israeli model along its border with Egypt has proven successful.

"I would like to clarify unequivocally that our view has always been, and continues to be, that the United States' embassy should be here in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said. "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and it is appropriate that not only the American embassy will be here but that all embassies will move here and I believe that in due course most will come here, to Jerusalem."

Currently, nearly all foreign embassies are located in the coastal city of Tel Aviv because their countries have refrained from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital until its status is resolved in future peace talks. Israel has long called for the embassies to be relocated but hasn't pushed hard for it given the widespread international opposition.

But Trump's rise has emboldened Israel's nationalists. His campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of two decades of international diplomacy in the region, and he has signaled that he will be far more tolerant of Israeli settlement construction than his predecessors.

Both his designated ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, now a top aide and Mideast envoy, have deep ties to the settler movement. Friedman and Kushner's family foundation have both been generous contributors to the Beit El settlement, and a delegation of settler representatives was invited to Trump's inauguration.

Story continues

The Palestinians want the West Bank and east Jerusalem  areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war  for their hoped-for state. Former President Barack Obama, like the rest of the international community, considered the building of settlements an obstacle to peace and frequently criticized their construction. But Trump did not comment when Israel announced a major housing drive last week.

At the Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu also said his government planned to introduce a bill to legalize dozens of West Bank settlement outposts later this week.

There are about 100 outposts across the West Bank that Israel considers illegal but tolerates and often allows to flourish. The bill is being pushed by the pro-settler Jewish Home party, which has threatened to quit Netanyahu's coalition if it doesn't go through.

The bill was cited as one of the reasons the Obama administration allowed a United Nations Security Council resolution to pass that challenged the legality of the settlements.

U.S. officials said that after previously vetoing anti-Israel resolutions, they felt compelled to abstain because of continued Israeli settlement construction and efforts to retroactively legalize dozens of them in exchange for compensation for the original Palestinian landowners.

Also Sunday, Israeli troops killed an 18-year-old Palestinian and wounded five others after they came under attack in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

Palestinian police said a group hurled rocks at the Israeli troops, who responded with fire and fatally shot Mohammed Khalefeh. The Israeli military confirmed the account, saying that its forces were attacked with pipe bombs before they responded. Israeli forces routinely carry out arrest raids in the West Bank against wanted Palestinian militants.

Since 2015, Palestinian attackers have carried out numerous stabbings, shootings and vehicular assaults that killed 40 Israelis and two visiting Americans. Israeli forces killed 235 Palestinians in the same period, most identified by Israel as attackers.

Palestinians and rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force in some of the confrontations.

Israel says the violence is fueled by a Palestinian campaign of incitement compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks. Palestinians say it stems from frustration over decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim for a state.
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Burnout is a tragedy. It terminates careers, friendships, marriages and sometimes lives, prematurely. It threatens the well-being of individuals, families, patients, organizations and our society. The current media focus on the crisis of physician burnout is appropriate and timely, but the industry itself needs a reality check. While burnout is experienced by the individual, it is the manifestation of a dysfunctional environment that only we as physicians and leaders in health care can fix.

We cant fix something we dont understand. While many studies have focused on measuring the incidence of burnout among doctors themselves, there is little in the literature about the perspective of health care leaders.

Curious about the understanding of physician burnout at the level of senior leadership, I sent a survey to the CEOs, COOs and CMOs of health care organizations across the country. The findings were both reassuring and alarming. Reassuring, in that 80 to 90 percent of senior leadership reported recognition that physician burnout is a problem in their organization.

Alarming, in that only a little more than half reported having sufficient understanding of the causes and effects of physician burnout, only about 20 percent reported having measured burnout in their organizations and/or bringing in resources to address the problem, and only somewhere between 6 percent to 23 percent felt their organizations were doing enough to address the problem, depending on which type of officer was responding (23 percent of CEOs but only 6 percent of COOs). While this was just an informal survey, it provided a useful insight into the state of affairs and understanding at the highest level of leadership in health care.

According to this survey, the resources brought in by organizations to address the problem of physician burnout primarily focus on improving wellness. Teaching mindfulness and resiliency to health care workers is an excellent idea. Learning techniques to manage frustration, anger, and disappointment in this rapidly changing environment is valuable. Teaching people to be better swimmers may indeed prevent more drownings, but swimming in class IV rapids is hazardous to most, and changing the swimming environment itself would likely result in fewer drownings. Therein lies the problem. The environment of care delivery has become so complex and fraught with barriers to providing the excellent care we were trained to give, that it is overwhelming to imagine where to begin.

The physician engagement-burnout (or satisfaction-dissatisfaction) continuum is related to the ratio of work demands to the resources available to achieve success in that work. The demands of being a physician are many and varied. The nature of the work itself, that of caring for the sick and dying, can contribute to stress, emotional exhaustion, and eventual burnout. Care providers, from physicians to ICU nurses to hospice workers, must recognize the potential hazards of the essential nature of their work and ensure adequate personal resources are in place to support that work. This is where support through mindfulness, resilience, reflection, friends and family plays an important role. But this is nothing new, as the burden of dealing with human suffering has always been part and parcel of the physician experience and those that chose medicine as a career likely recognized that element at the outset.

More recently, a different type of job demand has emerged. Dealing with barriers to providing patient care, be it regulatory processes, electronic documentation or increasing paperwork, have changed the balance of the demand/resources ratio in a way that has tipped the physician experience toward the burnout /dissatisfaction end of the continuum. Ask a room full of frontline physicians what they see as contributing to their unhappiness with the practice of medicine and the list provided will likely fall into this category. The nature of the work has changed, but the nature of the people doing the work has not. Many feel that the fundamental work of the physician has been disrupted by these hindrances and that patient care is suffering because of them.

So what to do? We cant easily change the demands of being a doctor in the current evolving health care environment. For most physicians and leaders, the belief that the only way to improve the current state is to eliminate these barriers paralyzes and makes us feel powerless. The electronic medical record is here to stay. Increasing regulatory oversight is just that, increasing. How can organizations address the problem of physician dissatisfaction?

The answer is to understand and to focus on the resources required to meet the demands; the denominator of the demands/resources ratio. Research suggests that the general categories of work-life resources include the following: the quality of the relationships between people at work, the amount of control an individual can exert on how the day unfolds, the fairness, transparency and accountability of leadership, the rewards an individual experiences, and whether or not core values are honored in the work being done. These are high level and rather abstract concepts, but deficiencies in any of these areas result in a diminished resource denominator and a greater likelihood of work burnout/dissatisfaction.

On a more concrete level, improving the resources needed to meet the demands of modern day physician work requires leadership interest and inquiry as well as frontline physician involvement. Every organization, and likely every department within that organization, will have a different set of hindrance demands requiring specific resources to meet those demands. The role of senior leadership is to communicate to physicians that decreasing dissatisfaction is a priority, to assess the environment and inquire earnestly so as to identify the barriers then, with the help of physicians, to create specific and targeted interventions to remove those barriers and provide resources to meet the demands.

Easily said, not so easily done, but we have no choice. We must reject the us vs. them mentality; frontline physicians and leadership need to work together to address dissatisfaction and burnout.

Karen Weiner is a physician, chief medical officer and interim CEO, Oregon Medical Group, Eugene, OR.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Traditional music fans from Kilkenny and beyond will be flocking to the Home Rule Club for a rare opportunity to see fiddle legend Kevin Burke on this side of the Atlantic, as he plays one of only two Irish gigs at the H.R.C. on Friday, February 3.

Kevin Burkes fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music since the early 1970s. His work with such renowned performers as Arlo Guthrie, Christy Moore and the Bothy Band and the release of his far-reaching solo album, If the Cap Fits established him as a first class musician. During his long musical career Kevin has earned international acclaim in both Europe and America as a solo performer, a teacher and as a member of some of folk musics foremost groups including the exciting Celtic Fiddle Festival and Irelands long admired and respected Patrick Street.

Kevins contribution to music has been acknowledged formally on both sides of th on February 3rd e Atlantic. In 2016 he was named as Irelands Gradam Ceoil winner (Traditional Musician of the Year) and in 2002 he was the recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship, the USA's highest honor for excellence in the folk and traditional arts. (Previous National Heritage Fellows include B.B. King, Doc Watson, and Bill Monroe.)

In 2010 Kevin was inducted to the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and was very honored to receive such an accolade from his adopted home state.

In 1980 Kevin settled in the USA and was performing with Bothy Band colleague Micheal O Domhnaill. Their 2 albums, Promenade and Portland, became, and still are, very influential resources for many traditional musicians. In 1985 Kevin was a founding member of the group, Patrick Street, whose recordings and performances were greeted with great acclaim both in Europe and US.

Kevin spent much of the 90s recording and performing in a series of highly successful concert tours with Johnny Cunningham from Scotland and Christian Lemaitre from Brittany, a trio of fiddle players known as The Celtic Fiddle Festival and he also became a featured member of Grammy winner Tim OBriens wonderful crossover band, The Crossing.

Although Kevin has spent much of his life playing in a group context, he has never lost his love for solo fiddle music  the naked fiddle as he himself sometimes puts it. This is very evident in his live solo release, In Concert, a performance of mostly unaccompanied traditional pieces before an audience in his home town of Portland, Oregon.

In 2007 Kevin set up his own record label, Loftus Music, which has already developed a reputation for excellence in both its musical output and its somewhat unique and eco-friendly packaging design. The first release on his new label was the impressive Across the Black River, a duo recording with his good friend, composer/arranger Cal Scott. The CD garnered high praise from music critics on both sides of the Atlantic and was hailed by the New York Times as one of the top world music releases of the year. Suite was the labels major release of 2010 and features appearances from the members of Beoga, one of Irelands most exciting young bands. One of the highlights of this recording is The Irish Session Suite, ten traditional tunes arranged for String Quartet.

2016 also sees the release of 2 CDs greatly differing in style, yet again showing the breadth of Kevins musical appreciation - Storm in a Teapot from the Celtic Fiddle Festival, with the inclusion of fiddler Charlie McKerron, sees a return to the Scottish influences that played such a large part in the group until the untimely passing of founder member, Johnny Cunningham.

The Pound Ridge Sessions with electric guitarist, John Brennan, represents a new departure for Kevin, placing his acoustic fiddle in an electric context, alongside bass, drums, keyboards and featuring the vintage Rock sounds of John Brennans guitars. The CDs tracks include a most varied collection of music - Bach Minuets, Blues and Country tunes, a song co-written with Cal Scott, 2 tracks of Irish traditional music and a couple of 70s Rock Classics.

All through his career it has been evident that Kevin is not restricted by genre and has recently collaborated with notable musicians such as classical violinists Gilles Apap & Greg Ewer, Old Time favourites, The Foghorn String Band, and in March 2016 he was thrilled to re-establish his Sligo connections when he toured with Irelands wonderful band, Dervish.

This will be an intimate, acoustic solo gig in the upstairs room at the Home Rule, which is steadily establishing itself as a venue for traditional musicians of the highest calibre, having hosted Steve Cooney, Dermot Byrne, and Mary McNamara in recent months. The monthly First Friday Sessions at the Club provide a platform for local and guest musicians to enjoy a relaxed session in a unique atmosphere.

Whether solo or accompanied, on record or in concert, Burke is an immensely engaging performer.

Tickets are available from Rollercoaster Records, The Home Rule Club or 086 2430372.

Comments from the Press

The New York Times describes Kevin as a superior instrumentalist in any idiom......impressively virtuosic, The Washington Post writes of his lyrical style that is always emotionally electric, and the Irish Times says that Burkes fiddling is one of the high spots of the current Irish musical scene.
Yields drop on Egypt's three, nine-month T-bills in weekly auction



Jan 29 (Reuters) - Average yields on Egypt's three-month and nine-month Treasury bills dropped at an auction on Sunday, data from the central bank showed. Yields on the 91-day bills fell slightly to an average of 18.938 percent from 18.956 percent at the previous auction. Yields on the 266-day bills also fell, to 19.912 percent from 20.194 percent at the last similar auction.

(Reporting by Nadine Awadalla, editing by Larry King)

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.

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Gavin Fernando writes:

Over the weekend, Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich was widely condemned for joking that the Presidents youngest son would become a school shooter.

Barron will be this countrys first homeschool shooter, wrote Rich, in a now-deleted tweet.

The message was left up for about three hours before she deleted it.

Facing heavy criticism, she then made her Twitter account private, blocking public viewing of it.

Other social media users slammed Rich for targeting the child, with some calling her a piece of trash and others calling for a boycott of NBC, which airs SNL.

Twitter, of course, is a free-for-all. Its a bloodbath filled with oft-nameless trolls, and lets face it, Donald Trump has mastered the art of trolling.

As his fathers campaign gained prominence, Barron increasingly became a target of abuse  mostly, oddly enough, by people youd assume were against President Trump due to his bullying politics.
The Herald reports:

A political comeback is on the cards for Kim Dotcom who will probably apply for citizenship so he can stand in this years General Election.

German-born Dotcom, who founded the Internet Party in the 2014 election, has a poll on Twitter asking people to vote on his proposed application.

Im now eligible to apply for citizenship. And if I became a citizen I could run myself at the next election. Im interested to know how Kiwis would feel about that, Dotcom told the Herald on Sunday.

Citizenship applicants have to prove they have lived here and been a resident for five years, intend to remain, speak English and be of good character.

The latter includes the requirement to tell the Citizenship Office if they have been reviewed, investigated or had legal action taken against them by police, the Ministry of Justice, Immigration NZ, Customs Service, Transport Agency, Department of Internal Affairs, Inland Revenue, Passport Office or Work and Income.

Dotcom is on bail as he fights extradition to the US after being arrested in 2012 on US charges relating to his Megaupload business. Dotcom and his three co-defendents deny the charges.

By yesterday, nearly 6000 people had voted, with 80 per cent in favour of Dotcom becoming a New Zealand passport holder.

I see the comments [to the tweet] are split 50/50. What matters to me is the poll.
President Donald Trump's travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations entry into the U.S. has sparked protests around the country Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

A look at what is happening:

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SEATTLE

Individuals who were detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as a result of President Trump's executive order have been released by the Department of Homeland Security, a Port of Seattle spokeswoman said Sunday.

Kathy Roeder said DHS told port officials the individuals can continue their travels. She didn't know how many people had been released.

About 3,000 protesters holding signs and chanting "no hatred, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" and "let them in" gathered Saturday evening and continued demonstrating into early Sunday morning.

Roeder said the crowd dispersed shortly after midnight, but that about 30 to 35 were arrested during the demonstration and face various misdemeanor charges. She said there were no injuries or damage to the facilities.

The Port of Seattle Commissioners, which oversees the airport, issued a statement criticizing the executive order.

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NEW YORK

Cries of "Let them in!" rose up from a crowd of more than 2,000 people protesting at John F. Kennedy Airport, where 12 refugees were detained Saturday. Celebrities including "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon joined the demonstration. "What Donald Trump did in the last 24 hours is disgusting, disgraceful and completely un-American and I'm here in protest," said protester Pamela French. The agency that runs the airport tried to restore order by shutting down the train that runs to airport terminals. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, reversed that decision, saying people had a right to protest. "The people of New York will have their voices heard," he said in a statement.

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

More than 120 people clutching signs denouncing the Trump immigration orders gathered at Newark Liberty International Airport. NorthJersey.com reports that they joined lawyers who'd rushed to the airport to defend the rights of refugees and immigrants who were being detained and denied entry.

Story continues

___

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Dozens of protesters inside Washington Dulles International Airport chanted "Love, Not Hate, Makes America Great" and "Say It Loud, Say it Clear, Muslims Are Welcome Here," as travelers walked through a terminal to a baggage claim area to collect luggage and greet their loved ones. There was a heavy police presence during the peaceful protest. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said during a press conference at Dulles that he has asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to look into "all legal remedies" available to help individuals who may be detained in Virginia.

___

DENVER

Dozens of people converged on Denver International to show their support for refugees. Standing in the main terminal Saturday, they sang "Refugees are welcome here." Some held signs declaring their identity, such as Jew or Christian, and the phrase "I come in peace." Denver has some direct international flights but it wasn't clear whether anyone has been detained under the president's executive order.

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CHICAGO

A crowd of demonstrators held a rally at O'Hare International Airport. The Chicago Sun-Times reports protesters blocked vehicle traffic to O'Hare's international terminal for a time. The newspaper says some arriving travelers joined the protest, while others were upset by the demonstrations.

Lawyers working with the International Refugee Assistance Project tell the Chicago Tribune that 17 people who had been detained at O'Hare all released by late Saturday.

Among those released before the federal judge's order was Hessan Noorian, a suburban Park Ridge resident returning with his family from Iran, the Tribune reported.

Noorian, who is of British and Iranian citizenship and has a green card, was detained at O'Hare after he and his wife, Zahra Amirisefat, a U.S. citizen, arrived from Tehran, the newspaper said.

The couple, who told the Tribune that they work at a community college in the Chicago area, said they were questioned for five hours.

After Noorian was released, his wife told the Tribune: "I can't believe something like this can happen to someone with a green card."

__

DALLAS

Protesters who gathered at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Saturday evening voiced their displeasure with Trump's executive order. The crowd of a few dozen ballooned into hundreds of demonstrators who frequently chanted "Set them free!" At times, cheers erupted from the crowd as those who were detained got released.

Among those still held at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at midnight Saturday was a 70-year-old Iranian widow, Shahin Hassanpour, whose son said she suffers from high blood pressure and had breast cancer surgery four years ago. She obtained an immigrant visa in November on her son's petition.

Bahzad Honarjou, a 43-year-old network engineer, said he spoke twice to his mother by phone after her 9 a.m. arrival, but that they hadn't talked since courts stayed the executive order, meaning she should have been released.

Hundreds of protesters stood in the waiting area and chanted "This is what democracy looks like."

Immigration agents were not being very communicative, Honarjou said.

"They were like a machine when I talked to them today," he said. His mother only speaks a few words of English and a fellow passenger was translating for her from her native Farsi as no immigration agents spoke the language, he said.

Hassanpour was originally going to be deported on a Sunday flight, she informed her son the first time they spoke.

"She was about to cry," he said. "She is not able to take (tolerate) a 20-hour flight back to Iran."

Honarjou said he is a U.S. citizen, obtained entry in a lottery, and has been in the country for seven years. Why did he come?

"To have a better life and to make more money," he said. "And, you know, for the freedom."

___

PORTLAND, OREGON

A protest by several dozen people in and around Portland International Airport briefly disrupted light rail service at the airport. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the demonstrators carried signs and chanted "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "No ban no wall America is for us all."

___

LOS ANGELES

About 300 people expressed their displeasure with the ban at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night. Protesters entered the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal after holding a candlelight vigil.

Avriel Epps held a candle and a large photo a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy who washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015 and became a haunting symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis.

___

SAN FRANCISCO

Hundreds of protesters blocked the street outside at San Francisco International Airport's international terminal to express their opposition to the barring of some people from Muslim-majority nations.

___

SAN DIEGO

As motorists honked their support, demonstrators outside San Diego International Airport chanted "No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here."
The Herald reports:

This is one of several homes Niki Rauti has turned down.

Its brand new, fully insulated, never been lived in and just 650m down the road from the former state house shes being evicted from.

But, the 62-year-old doesnt want it because she says she cant cope with the stairs in a two-storey house.

I cant get up stairs, she said. I can get up one, two, three steps, but its hard because of my arthritis in my knee.

The new house, one of a block of new two-storey units, is in Bunkys Way, a new street off Sunnymead Rd in Glen Innes which runs parallel to Taniwha St where Rauti has lived for 21 years.

Rauti has been fighting the Tamaki Regeneration Company since last year when it took ownership of her state house in a plan to treble the current 2500 houses in the area, keeping about the same number of social housing units and selling the other new homes. 

She was first given notice to leave the house in 2014 when it was still owned by Housing NZ, but the company backed off then because it did not need to develop the land immediately.

She was given notice again late last year to leave by January 18.

The Tenancy Tribunal adjourned the latest application for a possession order after Rauti argued that she was not given proper notice, that the company applied for the order before it had the legal right to it, and that its action was retaliatory.

The company says it has offered her four other homes to move into in the Glen Innes area as well as the one in Bunkys Way.

We have not received feedback from Ms Rauti on any of these houses, said housing general manager Neil Porteous.

Rauti said she turned down the Bunkys Rd house and another one because they were two-storeyed, another house in Vienna Row because it was damp, and one in Tripoli Rd because it was an older house and likely to be demolished soon as part of the redevelopment of the area.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Rain and snow tapering off this morning. Clearing late in the day. High 54F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. About one inch of snow expected..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 39F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman, in a phone call on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump, agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, a White House statement said.

Trump, during his presidential campaign last year, had called for Gulf states to pay for establishing safe zones to protect Syrian refugees.

A statement after their phone call said the two leaders agreed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to fight the spread of Islamic State militants.

"The president requested and the King agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, as well as supporting other ideas to help the many refugees who are displaced by the ongoing conflicts," the statement said.

They also agreed on the need to address "Iran's destabilizing regional activities," the statement said.

It said the two also discussed what it called an invitation from the king for Trump "to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terrorism and to help build a new future, economically and socially," for Saudi Arabia and the region.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
U.S. Presidnet Donald Trump (left) and Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn



South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday morning for the first time since the latter took office earlier this month, officials here said.

Hwang and Trump were expected to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral alliance and exchange their views on a series of pending issues, such as North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile programs.

Observers said the two sides were also likely to discuss the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system to the Korean Peninsula, which China, along with local liberal politicians, has strenuously opposed.

Hwang has been serving as the acting president since President Park Geun-hye was impeached by parliament over corruption allegations on Dec. 9.

Trump already had a phone conversation with Park on Nov. 10 (Korea time), days after his election victory. During the conversation, the Republican leader said the United States will be "steadfast and strong" in defending against a provocative North Korea.

Alarmed by a series of campaign remarks by Trump that were skeptical of military alliances and trade deals with American allies and partners, Seoul has been trying to maintain close ties with Washington, its top security ally.

Out on the stump, Trump made a host of speeches that questioned the economic value of U.S. security partnerships with allies like South Korea and Japan, and disparaged the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement as a "job-killing" deal. (Yonhap)
By Park Si-soo



Confusion, worry and outrage are growing worldwide after U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) endorsed a sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the United States and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries.



The immediate fallout from Trump's order meant that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days -- despite holding permanent residency ''green cards'' or other visas, according to the Associated Press. Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed were being detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome, it reported.



The seven Muslim countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



Trump said the ban would protect Americans from terrorism. Included in the measure is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.



"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."



Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.



International backlash



The order drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe.



Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad."



"If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse was quoted as saying in reports. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."



The ban sparked widespread criticism in even U.S. Western allies including France and Germany, Arab American groups, human rights organizations.



"This is a stupid, terrible decision which will hurt the American people more than us or anybody else, because it shows that this President can't manage people, politics or global relationships," said Najeed Haidari, a Yemeni-American security manager for an oil company in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.



In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away.



Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith."



According to AP, the U.S. government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.



Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S.



Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000.




North Korea is aggressively seeking cooperation with Russia's maritime province, proposing cooperation between the two countries' ruling parties, a U.S. broadcaster reported, citing a local media.

According to PrimaMedia in the maritime province, Rim Chong-il, North Korean consul-general in Vladivostok, paid a call to Valentine Shumatov, a regional chairman of the Russian ruling party United Russia, on Jan. 11, Radio Free Asia said.

During the meeting, made at the request of the North, the two sides agreed on cooperation between the parties in the fields of culture, tourism, science medicine and education, the broadcaster said.

It's unusual that the North is targeting the Russian ruling party's regional chapter to advance its interests, although it has been endeavoring to send more laborers to Russia, the broadcaster said.

The move is analyzed as an intention to advance into the maritime province, one of Russia's economic hubs, it said. (Yonhap)
Another K-drama is bound to end and it's none other than the well-loved "Legend of the Blue Sea" which stars Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun. Despite ending soon, its 19th episode still led the viewership ratings.

According to an article written by Soompi, the 19th episode of the said SBS fantasy drama recorded a whopping 21 percent in nationwide ratings making it first among dramas shown in the Wednesday-Thursday timeslot. Its ratings in the Seoul area alone is more impressive with an enormous 22 percent.

The drama's competitors from other networks had a huge viewership gap. KBS' latest drama "The Naked Fireman" only recorded 5.2 percent while MBC's "Missing 9" only garnered 5.8 percent during the airing of the second to the last episode of "Legend of the Blue Sea".

OSEN also noted that what made the 19th episode well anticipated is the major turn out of events. It can be noted that in the earlier part of the episode, Sim Cheong sacrificed herself to be shot instead of Joon Jae. This incident somehow led to a better news where Kang Ji Hyun and Heo Chi Yeon were finally caught by the authorities after an entrapment mission.

Some of the episode's scenes also trended online. One of the remarkable scenes were when Cha Si Ah and Tae Oh had their sweet kiss. Another scene was when viewers finally had a sigh of relief after learning that Nam Doo was truly Joon Jae's best friend after showing his great loyalty despite the crisis.

On its last episode, "Legend of the Blue Sea" have more surprises in store for its avid viewers. It was also reported that romantic-comedy actress Kim Seulgi will also have a cameo appearance that would spice up the mood of the finale.

The final episode of "Legend of the Blue Sea" shall air on January 25 only on SBS.
Kmart

Sears is laying off Kmart workers in an apparent move to cut costs as the company struggles to stay afloat.

The layoffs, executed last week, targeted full-time workers, including assistant managers and department heads  or "leads" as Kmart calls them  across the country.

Full-time workers are salaried with benefits, which makes them more expensive to employ than part-time workers.

Sears, which owns Kmart, confirmed the layoffs to Business Insider.

"Eliminating positions is never an easy decision to make, and we dont take it lightly as we recognize the valuable contributions affected associates make to the company," Sears spokesman Howard Riefs said. "We are hopeful that associates affected by reduced staffing requirements apply for open positions at other Sears and Kmart locations."

Riefs declined to reveal how many workers were laid off in total. He said some stores wouldn't be affected by the cuts. "Some will have reductions or additions of full-time positions," he said.

According to information from two store workers who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity, the cuts affected most of Kmart's 800 stores.

Among the positions cut were assistant store managers, front-end leads (managers in charge of the customer-facing part of the store), backroom leads (managers in charge of unloading and organizing merchandise in the stock room), and pricing leads (managers in charge of pricing and store signage).

On message boards, employees claim the cuts are leaving stores with a skeletal staff. The company is pitching the cuts to employees as part of a strategy called "simple stores" that involves bypassing the stock room and moving all incoming merchandise right to the shelves.

At the Kmart store in Rochester, New Hampshire, the strategy has led to an accumulation of boxes on the store floor, according to photographs provided to Business Insider.

Kmart

Story continues

Thephotographs were taken on Thursday, and the store has looked like this for nearly two weeks, according to the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

Kmart

A sign on the boxes reads, "Pardon our dust! We are in the process of transitioning the sales floor to a new look."

Sears is running out of money

The layoffs come as Sears looks for ways to cut costs as its debt load balloons and sales continue to decline.

Same-store sales at Sears and Kmart stores fell by more than 12% during the all-important holiday season.

Sears CEO Eddie Lampert recently agreed to provide up to $1 billion in financing through his hedge fund, ESL Investments, to keep the company afloat in the near term.

But the credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings says Sears still may not have enough cash to make it through the upcoming fiscal year, which begins next week.

The company will likely burn through $1.8 billion in fiscal 2017, according to the Fitch note published Wednesday. To stay afloat, Sears will have to raise approximately $2 billion in liquidity.

Raising cash is getting increasingly harder for Sears, however, given the fact that it only has about 200 owned stores left to sell.

"Fitch believes restructuring risk for Sears remains high over the next 12 to 24 months given the significant cash burn and reduced sources of liquidity," the agency said.

A restructuring could mean a bankruptcy filing, as Phil Wahba at Fortune points out.

Sears has more levers to pull to raise cash  such as selling off its Kenmore brand and Home Services division  but time is running out for a turnaround, according to analysts.

Do you work at Sears or Kmart and have a story to tell? If so, get in touch with this reporter directly at hpeterson@businessinsider.com

NOW WATCH: Sears is closing 150 stores  here's where they will shut down





More From Business Insider


By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani blogger Aasim Saeed who went missing earlier this month has been found but has quickly left the country fearing for his life, his family said on Sunday. Saeed's father said his son was detained by "state agencies" while visiting Pakistan from Singapore, though he did not name which one. Pakistan's government and Federal Investigation Agency have denied holding any of five liberal activists who went missing this month. The military and other state agencies have declined to officially comment. The army's media wing did not reply to questions and phone calls on Sunday. Saeed's recovery comes a day after poet and activist Salman Haider, who disappeared from the capital Islamabad on Jan. 6, was recovered, according to his family. Five liberal activists, some of whom have posted blogs criticising the political influence of the military and speaking for the rights of religious minorities, had each gone missing separately since Jan. 4. Saeed, who is Singapore-based and works in the IT department of the German Merck Group, disappeared on Jan. 4 while visiting the eastern city of Lahore. "It was no one other than the state agencies who took him," Aasim Saeed's father, Ghulam Haider, told Reuters, referring to Pakistan's intelligence agencies. He said Saeed was picked up over a social media post intelligence agencies deemed "objectionable." "My son is not against any agency, he is not against the military or government and he is not against Islam," Haider said. "The fact that he was set free means that he has been cleared of all charges." "The only instruction Aasim got from the agencies was that he could not give any media interviews," Haider added. The military's media wing did not return calls or text messages seeking comment. Haider said Aasim returned to his house briefly on Saturday but then left quickly, and messaged the family on Sunday morning to inform them that he was safe and would call soon. Haider said Saeed had either returned to Singapore or was in Germany. It is not known how the five activists went missing, but some rights groups and newspapers have asked whether state or military agencies were in any way involved. The Interior Ministry has repeatedly said it was doing all it could to recover the missing men. Shortly after the activists' disappearances, blasphemy allegations against them appeared on social media and in a complaint to police. Friends, family and supporters of all five men deny they have blasphemed and have denounced the campaign to press that charge, which could endanger their lives were they to reappear. In Pakistan, conviction under the blasphemy laws can carry a death sentence. (Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Stephen Coates)
The Gambian President Adama Barrow said Saturday that every aspect of his tiny west African state would need an overhaul after ex-leader Yahya Jammehs 22-year rule, but that its dreaded secret police would remain.

Barrow faces an uphill task after taking over from Jammeh, who left behind a dysfunctional economy and allegedly emptied state coffers ahead of his departure.

Rights group blame the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) under his longtime control for forced disappearances and torture.



Barrow said the NIA was an institution that has to continue, but that its name would be changed and training would be given to its operatives.

The rule of the law, that will be the order of the day, he said.

Barrow also addressed one of Jammehs most controversial declarations, from 2015, that The Gambia was an Islamic republic.

Barrow, in contrast, insisted the country  whose population is 90 percent Muslim, with the rest Christian and animist  was a republic, not the Islamic republic.

Civil servants would likely return to a five-day work week, breaking with Jammehs rule that Friday was a day off in line with his Islamic republic rules.

My government is going to look at every avenue and there will be a complete overhaul of the system, Barrow said, speaking at his first press conference since arriving back from Senegal.

The president promised his cabinet would be named early next week so that he could get the ball rolling, adding he would receive the first comprehensive information about the state of the nations finances also on Monday or Tuesday.

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If she actually said all of that, then nkan be ni USA, US for show. Melania Trump did end up smiling in the arms of a man on inauguration day  but it wasnt thanks to her husband. The First Lady was seen looking happy and beaming away while in the arms of Puero Rican soldier Jose Medina at her husbands inauguration ball.

The Slovenia-born ex-model had earlier appeared to look glum and bored while dancing with her billionaire husband as he celebrated becoming leader of the free world.

Latin press has gleefully picked jumped on these other images, showing Melania smiling happily away with one Mexican newspaper saying: This is what happens when a Hispanic officer dances with Melania Trump .



It is not the first time Melania has seemed to have a face like thunder while in the company of her husband.

During The Donalds inauguration, cameras caught the moment the First Ladys smile dropped the second her husbands back was turned.

Speaking to Puerto Rican newspaper, Primera Hora, Iraq war veteran Mr Medina, 29, said: I found out before the New Year and I had like three weeks of nerves.

But I had a great time. It is such an honour to have had the privilege of dancing with the first lady. I had to steal the show and give her a twirl!

The soldier, who entered the army in 2008, revealed he was chosen by his superiors and that the pair danced for about two minutes.

He said: She asked me where I was from, if I had a family, kids, and if I was having a good time. I told her I was from Puerto Rico, and I asked her if she was having a good time.

She said it was unforgettable, and she was very happy because all her family was together.

Mr Medina also claimed that Melania revealed to him she would spend only the first night in the White House before reverting to life in New York until son Barron finishes his studies.

Mirror.co.uk

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In response to President Donald Trumps executive order restricting entry of travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran, the Iranian government has responded announcing it would also not allow Americans to enter its country.

On Saturday, Irans Foreign Ministry released a statement on state-run media saying:

While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive U.S. limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted. The restrictions against travel by Muslims to America are an open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation in particular and will be known as a great gift to extremists.



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned President Trumps actions in an address at a tourism conference in Tehran televised live on Saturday on state television.

Today is not the time to erect walls between nations. They have forgotten that the Berlin wall fell years ago.

To annul world trade accords does not help their economy and does not serve the development and blooming of the world economy. This is the day for the world to get closer through trade, he said.

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As federal officials across the nation and in foreign airports dealt with the impact of President Trumps order banning refugees and nationals of seven foreign nations from entering the United States, the message his communications team brought to the public on Sunday was a simple question: Whats the big deal?

Despite the large protests taking place at international airports across the country, where demonstrators demanded that officials allow legal permanent residents and refugees holding valid visas, Trumps closest advisers portrayed the detentions as minor inconveniences that were well worth the price of protecting Americans from terrorism.

Related: Trump Pratfalls Onto the World Stage Targeting Muslims, Mexico, and Iraqs Oil

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway insisted that the number of people affected by the ban was trivial in relation to the number who actually entered the country from foreign nations on Saturday.

With the upside being greater protection of our borders and our people, its a small price to pay, she said.

Television screens across the country have been full of images of children and elderly people detained at airports, and distraught men and women who learned that members of their families  some abroad visiting relatives, and others in possession of valid travel visas  wouldnt be allowed back into the United States.

Conway ridiculed the idea that there was any serious disruption taking place.

This whole idea that theyre being separated, and ripped from their families? Its temporary, she said. And its just circumstantial in terms of whether you were one of those three hundred and some that was already on an aircraft or trying to get on an aircraft as opposed to the more than 3,000 children who will be forevermore separated from their parents who perished on 9/11.

Related: Is This How Trump Plans to Take On China in Asia?

Other administration spokespersons toed a similar line. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer insisted that the detentions of travelers amounted to a minor inconvenience, and besides, he said, nobody should be surprised because President Trump is doing exactly what he told the American people he would do.

Story continues

Trump did spend his presidential campaign promising to impose extreme vetting on people entering the U.S. from foreign countries.

However, Spicer and other Trump spokespeople are consistently insisting that there was virtually no system in place to clear refugees coming from war-torn places like Syrian.

Spicer likened the current system to an open door to let people march right into our country.

This is utterly false, as multiple experts have testified. The United States refugee resettlement program involves intensive scrutiny of applicants that can take several years to complete. Yet its a line the administration is apparently sticking with, even as the plan comes under continued legal and public assault. Federal judges on Saturday issued stay orders preventing the deportation of people in the U.S. with valid visas and legal permanent residence status.

Related: Heres What the US Imports From Mexico  and Who Would Pay Trumps 20% Tax

Conway, in her appearance on Fox, suggested the ruling was politicized, and suggested that it somehow doesnt apply to the administrations action. [The] Obama appointee judge in Brooklyns stay order really doesnt affect the executive order at all, she insisted.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus further muddied the water regarding treatment of green card holders, saying at different points that the executive order both would and would not apply to them going forward.

While Republican lawmakers have been generally supportive of Trumps actions so far, some cracks were starting to appear Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he was against both a religious test for entry to the United States and against preventing people like Iraqi interpreters who had helped U.S. soldiers from entering the country.

Some of our best sources against radical Islamic terror are Muslims, he said in an interview on Fox. He added, It will be up to the courts to decide if this went too far.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
(Repeats to add reporter's name in tag line)

* Trump says sweeping new order "working out very nicely"

* Federal judge in Brooklyn grants temporary reprieve

* U.S. tech firms warn staff

* Arab travelers call ban humiliating and discriminatory

* Ban affects Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen

By Yeganeh Torbati, Jeff Mason and Mica Rosenberg

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger on Saturday after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports.

In his most sweeping decision since taking office a week ago, Trump, a Republican, put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries.

Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed to fight the order.

Capping a day of confusion and chaos and protests in several airports across the country, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed detained travelers to stay in the United States.

Supporters outside the Brooklyn courtroom and at protests at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York and elsewhere cheered the decision, but a bigger fight lay ahead.

The court action does not reverse Trump's order, which was criticized by some of America's closest allies.

Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk.

He told reporters in the White House's Oval Office on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump said.

Story continues

Along with Syria, the ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding.

The order "affects a minor portion of international travelers," the department said in a statement, saying the measures "inconvenienced" less than 1 percent of travelers.

The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students.

Pegah Rahmani, 25, waited at Washington's Dulles airport for several hours for her grandparents, both Iranian citizens with U.S. green cards. "They weren't treating them very well," she said.

Rahmani's grandfather is 88 and legally blind. Her grandmother is 83 and recently had a stroke. They were released to loud cheers and cries.

'TIP OF THE SPEAR'

Several Democratic governors said they were examining whether they could launch legal challenges, and other groups eyed a constitutional challenge claiming religious discrimination.

"I don't think anyone is going to take this lying down," said Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold. "This is the tip of the spear and more litigation is coming."

The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The Department of Homeland Security said the order would stay in place.

"No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States," the department statement said.

Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, called lawsuits challenging the order "last ditch efforts" that would only apply to a few individuals, and he said a broader constitutional argument would be hard to win.

"The first amendment doesn't apply to foreigners living abroad. The law explicitly says the president can exclude any person or class of people he wants," Krikorian said.

Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American.

"This ban will impact many innocent people," said Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc UBER.UL, who said he would raise the issue at a White House meeting on Friday.

Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa said the order was humiliating and discriminatory. Iran vowed to retaliate.

Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban.

Iraq's former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told Reuters that Trump's ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of terror attacks, and could backfire.

"We have a strong partnership with U.S., more so in the urgent fight against terrorism. This ban move will not help, and people will start questioning the bond of this partnership, Faily said.

Allies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany were critical. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a photo of himself welcoming Syrian refugees.

GREEN CARD CONFUSION

Confusion abounded at airports as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules. Some legal residents with green cards who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival.

However, senior administration officials said it would have been "reckless" to broadcast details of the order in advance.

Other officials said green card holders from the affected countries would require extra screening and would be cleared on a case-by-case basis.

Airlines were blindsided and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country.

Travelers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers advised clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, said Houston immigration lawyer Mana Yegani.

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, brothers Bardia and Ayden Noohi waited for four hours for their father Kasra Noohi - who has an Iranian passport and a U.S. green card - to be allowed through.

They knew Trump had pledged tougher rules but did not expect the problems. "I didn't think he'd actually do it," Bardia Noohi, 32, said. "A lot of politicians just talk."

Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week.

Trump's order indefinitely bans refugees from Syria. In a television interview, he said he would seek to prioritize Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the action and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public.

At the State Department, a senior official said lawyers were working to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the "national interest."

However, a federal law enforcement official said: "It's unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is." (Reporting by Yara Bayoumy, Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu, Lesley Wroughton, Yeganeh Torbati in Washington; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta and David Ingram in New York; Robert Chiarito in Chicago; Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Alissa Greenberg, Joseph Menn, Julia Love and Kristina Cook in San Francisco; Jeffrey Dastin in Redwood City, California; Alex Dobuzinskis and Daina Beth Solomon in Los Angeles; Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Grant Mary Milliken, Bill Rigby and Paul Tait)
By Yeganeh Torbati, Jeff Mason and Mica Rosenberg WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger on Saturday after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports. In his most sweeping decision since taking office a week ago, Trump, a Republican, put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other countries. Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed to fight the order. Capping a day of confusion and chaos and protests in several airports across the country, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed detained travellers to stay in the United States. Supporters outside the Brooklyn courtroom and at protests at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York and elsewhere cheered the decision, but a bigger fight lay ahead. The court action does not reverse Trump's order, which was criticized by some of America's closest allies. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk. He told reporters in the White House's Oval Office on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue. "It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump said. Along with Syria, the ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travellers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. The order "affects a minor portion of international travellers," the department said in a statement, saying the measures "inconvenienced" less than 1 percent of travellers. The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students. Pegah Rahmani, 25, waited at Washington's Dulles airport for several hours for her grandparents, both Iranian citizens with U.S. green cards. "They weren't treating them very well," she said. Rahmani's grandfather is 88 and legally blind. Her grandmother is 83 and recently had a stroke. They were released to loud cheers and cries. 'TIP OF THE SPEAR' Several Democratic governors said they were examining whether they could launch legal challenges, and other groups eyed a constitutional challenge claiming religious discrimination. "I don't think anyone is going to take this lying down," said Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold. "This is the tip of the spear and more litigation is coming." The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security said the order would stay in place. "No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States," the department statement said. Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, called lawsuits challenging the order "last ditch efforts" that would only apply to a few individuals, and he said a broader constitutional argument would be hard to win. "The first amendment doesn't apply to foreigners living abroad. The law explicitly says the president can exclude any person or class of people he wants," Krikorian said. Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American. "This ban will impact many innocent people," said Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc UBER.UL, who said he would raise the issue at a White House meeting on Friday. Arab travellers in the Middle East and North Africa said the order was humiliating and discriminatory. Iran vowed to retaliate. Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban. Iraq's former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told Reuters that Trump's ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of terror attacks, and could backfire. "We have a strong partnership with U.S., more so in the urgent fight against terrorism. This ban move will not help, and people will start questioning the bond of this partnership, Faily said. Allies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany were critical. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a photo of himself welcoming Syrian refugees. GREEN CARD CONFUSION Confusion abounded at airports as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules. Some legal residents with green cards who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival. However, senior administration officials said it would have been "reckless" to broadcast details of the order in advance. Other officials said green card holders from the affected countries would require extra screening and would be cleared on a case-by-case basis. Airlines were blindsided and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country. Travellers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers advised clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, said Houston immigration lawyer Mana Yegani. At Chicago OHare International Airport, brothers Bardia and Ayden Noohi waited for four hours for their father Kasra Noohi - who has an Iranian passport and a U.S. green card - to be allowed through. They knew Trump had pledged tougher rules but did not expect the problems. "I didnt think hed actually do it," Bardia Noohi, 32, said. "A lot of politicians just talk." Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week. Trump's order indefinitely bans refugees from Syria. In a television interview, he said he would seek to prioritize Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the action and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public. At the State Department, a senior official said lawyers were working to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the "national interest." However, a federal law enforcement official said: "It's unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is." (Reporting by Yara Bayoumy, Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu, Lesley Wroughton, Yeganeh Torbati in Washington; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta and David Ingram in New York; Robert Chiarito in Chicago; Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Alissa Greenberg, Joseph Menn, Julia Love and Kristina Cook in San Francisco; Jeffrey Dastin in Redwood City, California; Alex Dobuzinskis and Daina Beth Solomon in Los Angeles; Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Grant Mary Milliken, Bill Rigby and Paul Tait)
Hello! Im Mark Olsen, and welcome to another Sundance edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

The Sundance Film Festival announced its winners on Saturday night. The awards spread the love among titles and had a few surprises, capping this unusual year in Park City, Utah, with one more unpredictable moment. Macon Blairs grungy genre tale I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. Dan Sickles and Antonio Santinis Dina won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize.

Audience awards went to Matt Ruskins Crown Heights in the U.S. dramatic section, Jeff Orlowskis Chasing Coral in the U.S. documentary section and Justin Chons Gook in the Next section.

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Steve Zeitchik and I attended the awards ceremony and filed a fuller rundown of the evening.

For all of the Los Angeles Times Sundance coverage, go to latimes.com/sundance. Sporting their finest winter looks are Justin Chang, Amy Kaufman, Kenneth Turan, Jen Yamato and Steve Zeitchik (and me), along with photographers Jay Clendenin and Kent Nishimura and videographer Myung Chun.

You can find not just one but two separate photo galleries from our L.A. Times photo studio in Park City: traditional portraits and Polaroid-style instants.

As all those people were making their way through the photo studio, we grabbed a few for video interviews too, including Jim Strouse and Jessica Williams, Craig Johnson and Judy Greer, Roxanne Shante and Michael Larnell, Dee Rees, Brett Haley and Sam Elliott and plenty more.

Lakeith Stanfield, left, Jessica Williams, director Jim Strouse, Noel Wells and Chris ODowd of"The Incredible Jessica James at the Sundance Film Festival. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Steve and I ran down the list of the big sales at Sundance, including The Big Sick, Patti Cake$, Thoroughbred and Brigsby Bear, and gave some consideration as to what might make them all a success down off the mountain as well.

Amy Kaufman attended a luncheon populated by many notable women in Park City. What should have been a polite afternoon turned unexpectedly heated during an exchange on race and identity between Salma Hayek and Jessica Williams.

When I talk about feminism, sometimes I feel like being a black woman is cast aside, said Williams. I always feel like Im warring with my womanhood and wanting the world to be better, and with my blackness  which is the opposite of whiteness.

Jen Yamato wrote about Get Out, the festivals surprise title, the debut as writer-director from Jordan Peele and a horror film analogy on contemporary race relations.

After the screening, Peele said, This movie was meant to reveal that theres this monster of racism lurking underneath some of these seemingly innocent conversations and situations.

Justin Chang wrote about Luca Guadagninos Call Me by Your Name, starring Michael Stuhlbarg and Armie Hammer and by many accounts one of the real revelations of the festival.

As Justin wrote, Guadagnino isnt just one of the great sensualists of contemporary cinema; he has become a veritable deconstructionist of desire Lusciously beautiful surfaces and sexually suggestive foodstuffs are par for the course in Guadagninos work. Its the compassion and wry wisdom of Call Me by Your Name  beautifully articulated by Stuhlbarg as Elios erudite, progressive-minded father  that catch you off-guard.

Steve wrote about Crown Heights, directed by Matt Ruskin, based on the true story of Colin Warner, a young man wrongly jailed for 21 years, and his friend Carl King, who fought tirelessly to get him out. Lakeith Stanfield plays Warner and Nnamdi Asomugha plays King.

The real-life Warner said even he doesnt entirely know why King worked so long on his behalf. As he said, I tried to question Carl many times. I dont think he knows the answer.

Steve also spoke to the team behind the documentary The New Radical, directed by Adam Bhala Lough, including subject Cody Wilson, described as a techno-anarchist.

I dont ask anyone to be sympathetic to my position, Wilson said. I dont think Im a very sympathetic character.

Kenneth Turan dipped into the lineup of the concurrent Slamdance film festival to write about Strad Style, director Stefan Avalos portrait of Danny Houck, who makes exacting replicas of rare violins.

For a documentary filmmaker, Danny was a dream subject. He was quirky, intelligent, great on camera, the whole works, Avalos said.

And I spoke to Mike White and Miguel Arteta about their ongoing collaboration. They were at the festival this year with Beatriz at Dinner, which stars Salma Hayek and John Lithgow in a story of a dinner party gone wrong when a spiritual healer interacts with a fat-cat real estate mogul. (It goes about as smoothly as youd imagine.)

The movie feels like it was made for a post-Donald Trump world, even though it wasnt conceived as such. As White explained regarding how the movie has changed post-election, I think it would have been the same movie literally on the screen, but I do think that it has a different resonance because of the world were in. But everyone is going to have their opinion. Its going to be as polarizing as the world is.

Email me if you have questions, comments or suggestions, and follow me on Twitter @IndieFocus.
Hollywoods most powerful gathered Saturday night at the Producers Guild Awards, with one eye trained on Oscar gold and the other firmly on the actions of the countrys new president.

Inside the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, La La Land scored the top film honor, which helped seal its position as front-runner for this years best picture Oscar. Disneys Zootopia won the animated motion picture award and ESPNs OJ: Made in America took home the documentary feature film award.



For the record: An earlier version of this post said the ceremony was Sunday night. It was Saturday night.

In another possible precursor to the 89th Academy Awards, prominent Hollywood figures used the platform to voice shock and outrage against President Trump  a warm-up to the most visible televised awards show of the year.

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Nora Rothman, left, and Elizabeth Rothman speak at the 28th Producers Guild Awards, their pink hats a nod to the womens marches held around the world the day after Donald Trumps inauguration. (John Salangsang / Invision)

The guilds leadership set the tone in the opening address to the ballroom filled with film producers, studio executives and stars.

Freedom of religion was one of the founding principles of our democracy, said guild co-president Gary Lucchesi, condemning the executive order signed by Trump on Friday banning Syrian refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country  a ban that likely would have applied to Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who in response to the policy announced that he would not attend this months Academy Awards.

Standing by Lucchesi, co-president Lori McCreary invoked the poem that has welcomed immigrants to the United States for more than a century: Now, more than ever, we need to remember the words on the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to break free.

(Chris Delmas / AFP/Getty Images)

La La Land co-star John Legend, going off-script as a presenter, brought the protest against President Trumps travel ban most pointedly to an audience that included Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Amy Pascal, Sonys Tom Rothman, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Directors Guild President Paris Barclay, and Oscar nominees Casey Affleck, Mahershala Ali, Barry Jenkins, Nicole Kidman and Denzel Washington.

Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician and actor declared at the 28th Producers Guild Awards. I want to specifically tonight reject his vision and affirm that America has to be better than that.

The nontelevised awards dinner is one of the glitzier affairs in the lead-up to Oscars night. But although the big prize went to Damien Chazelles La La Land, an ode to Tinseltowns dreamers, the dreamers and power players in the room could not ignore the reality of the outside world.

If you remember Nazi Germany, we have to be very mindful of what our crazy, crazy president is doing right now.  Oscar-nominated Fences producer Todd Black

Fences producer Todd Black was keeping up with the mass protests across town at LAX, across the country at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport and at other airports in response to Trumps travel ban.

We have to use every tool we can to keep our country progressive and safe and better than what our presidents making it right now, he told The Times. As filmmakers, we have a greater responsibility than ever before. We have to save our country.

History was also on Blacks mind when he added, Im a Jew. If you remember Nazi Germany, we have to be very mindful of what our crazy, crazy president is doing right now. And you can quote me on that.

Accepting the award for La La Land, producer Marc Platt, sharing the accolade with Fred Berger and Jordan Horowitz, offered a nod to the global artistic community affected by Trumps executive order.

It is the power of cinema fueled by free artistic expression that cannot be denied, that has no borders and will never be banned from our hearts, our minds, and our souls, he said.

Nicole Kidman, presenting the award for long-form television to F/Xs The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, called for empathy at the start of the show.

There wasnt much of it in the room later in the evening for Apprentice reality TV producer Mark Burnett, who was greeted by a low cacophony of boos as he accepted the competition television award for NBCs The Voice.

Do I sense an air of hostility in the room as Mark Burnett accepts an award for The Voice? Yep. Boos, even. #PGAawards  Steve Pond (@stevepond) January 29, 2017

Earlier in the evening, the optimistic charge of last weekends womens marches made its way onstage when Sony Chairman Tom Rothmans two daughters took to the podium in gowns and pink pussy hats, roasting their dad before he received the organizations Milestone Award.

Before the ceremony, Rothman, who serves on the board of the National Endowment of the Arts as an Obama appointee, told The Times hes intensely monitoring Trumps policy changes and is determined not to let NEA funding be decimated under the new administration.

Theres a lot going on in the country that requires paying attention to, he said. Ive never injected politics into the movie-making process. I believe that movies need to have a social conscience but thats up to the individual artist, thats not up to the studio head.

His role as a studio chairman in a time of national crisis, he said, is to continue to support very individualistic voices. And if people in my position continue to back artists, truth will prevail.

Annapurna Pictures Megan Ellison, accepting the PGAs visionary award, took the opportunity to remind the gathered movers and shakers of their shared responsibility as members of Hollywoods privileged class.

Few if any in this room in our black ties and tuxedos may be affected, for example, by a ban on Muslim refugees, she said. But we are some of the ones with the power to share stories of meaning. And we need to share that power with those who will be most silenced and vulnerable.

In taking home the prize for feature documentary, O.J.: Made In America director Ezra Edelman acknowledged his own conflicted emotions over watching his fellow citizens put their protest into action while he was attending an awards show.

This is a tough day, he said. Being in the room tonight, as honored as we are, its been a strange experience were threatening to build walls and were closing our borders and Im standing here as a direct descendant of the Loving vs. Virginia decision, he said, referring to the Supreme Court decision that struck down a ban on interracial marriage and to the Jeff Nichols-directed Loving.

Movies like this can cause people to take a step back and think, Zootopia producer Clark Spencer told The Times before the Disney Oscar contender won the animation award. People are using fear to divide us; thats wrong. We really need to be celebrating diversity and unifying through that.

Lion producer Iain Canning saw acute parallels between the moving true story of Saroo Brierley, an Indian orphan raised by adoptive parents in Australia, and the Syrian refugee children who will be turned away from the U.S. under Trumps orders.

Our film is the story about a child in peril who was going to suffer in his circumstances, but found out there in the world there was support, love and kindness, he told The Times.

Like many others, he also decried the immigration bans impact on artists like Farhadi, citing the statement of support issued by the Academy on Saturday.

If an Iranian filmmaker cant come into the country to attend the Oscars where he is nominated, then thats a world where were not supporting the arts and not supporting diversity.

Many guests on the night echoed the sentiment that art can evoke change  although exactly how that change will be put into immediate action remains ambiguous. Few attendees volunteered themselves for a potential Oscar boycott in solidarity with Salesman actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who cancelled her plans to attend the February 26 event in protest of Trumps executive order.

Hacksaw Ridge producer David Permut is one filmmaker whos been mixing personal activism with his busy work schedule; he hit the PGAs fresh off the plane from the Sundance Film Festival, where he joined the Chelsea Handler-led Womens March on Main Street between watching films.

You have to hit rock bottom to rise from the ashes and become better, he told The Times. I think we all feel threatened in terms of whats happening politically. Being proactive is the most important thing.

But you know what? Im an optimist, he smiled. Im a producer.

jen.yamato@latimes.com

@jenyamato
A Sundance Film Festival that was colored, gripped and sometimes overshadowed by the early days of the Donald Trump administration saw a slew of feminist films win big at the gatherings awards. Multiple female filmmakers nabbed top prizes, while a tale of a woman reasserting control over her life scored the festivals highest honor.

Macon Blairs I Dont Feel At Home In This World Anymore, in which Melanie Lynskey plays an ordinary woman who becomes empowered as a detective-avenger after she is robbed, won the U.S. grand jury prize in the dramatic category. To its fans, the genre-tinged film, which Netflix will release next month, serves as a tonic to the perceived anti-female policies of the Trump administration.

And Eliza Hittmans gay-oriented coming-of-age story Beach Rats" won the directing award for the U.S. dramatic section  ensuring that a gathering that began with a march down this citys Main Street championing feminist values closed out with the same motif.

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Theres nothing more taboo in this country than a woman with ambition, Hittman said in her acceptance speech. Im going to work my way through a system thats completely discriminatory toward women. Hollywood, Im coming for you, she finished to loud cheers.

Hittman joined Steps Amanda Lipitz, Winnies Pascale Lamche and Novitiates Maggie Betts as female filmmakers receiving top honors Saturday night, among others.

Meanwhile, a pair of issue-oriented movies took the top two audience prizes in U.S. sections. Matt Ruskins tale of wrongful imprisonment, Crown Heights, about a real-life Trinidadian immigrant who fought for 20 years to exonerate his friend, took the audience award in the U.S. dramatic section, while Chasing Coral, Jeff Orlowskis environmentally oriented story about a disappearing natural resource, won for documentary.

Can we have a shout-out to science? Orlowski said, accepting the prize, adding, Climate change and science shouldnt be political.

Meanwhile in U.S. documentary, Dina, Dan Sickles and Antonio Santinis unconventional love story, won the grand jury prize. Joe Piscatella's Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, about a teenage dissident in Hong Kong, won the audience award in world documentary.

Sundance awards can bestow a kind of pixie dust on films; three years ago, Whiplash won both U.S. jury and audience awards and went on to break out in the awards season that followed.

But currency in Utah doesnt always translate outside the festival bubble. Last years double winner The Birth of a Nation and 2015s twofer title-holder Me and Earl and the Dying Girl both sputtered, for different reasons, when released commercially. This marked the first time in five years that jury and audience prizes did not go to the same film in the U.S. dramatic category.

President Trumps executive order banning many visitors from some Muslim-heavy countries also came up repeatedly at the ceremony Saturday night, held at an event space about five miles away from the festivals hub.

These girls show nothing is impossible when you surround yourself with a group of powerful women.  Amanda Lipitz, director of Step

At the podium, Sundance Institute chief Keri Putnam saluted the artists and subjects from Muslim-majority countries who joined us at this years festival.

She continued, to a standing ovation, Closing our borders to these and other international artists will stop the flow of ideas and inspiration that are so vital to the global community. We stand with you and we stand with all people risking their lives for our values or seeking refuge from persecution.

Winners also invoked the issue. The world documentary grand jury prize went to Firas Fayyad and Steen Johannessens Syria-themed Last Men in Aleppo; the former made a plea to people in the U.S. to help fight for the rights of Syrians, noting a need for freedom and justice.

Later, the grand jury prize for world cinema dramatic went to the Egypt-set The Nile Hilton Incident, a detective story set against the backdrop of the Arab Spring from director Tarik Saleh  who told a story about a security agent at Los Angeles International Airport who allowed him to board the plane to Sundance despite the director forgetting his passport at a hotel.

It wasnt the majority that voted for [Trump], Saleh said. I just want to say that.

Meanwhile, accepting a cinematographer prize for his documentary about a textile factory in India, Machines director Rahul Jain noted, The smell at the detention center at the airport. Its not fun. You feel like a rat. You feel like you smell for something you didnt do. Now many people are going to have to smell the smell of fear, he added.

Throughout much of the night, statements about the Muslim ban shared the spotlight with feminist issues.

Step, Lipitzs documentary examination of the senior class at an all-girls charter school in an African American section of Baltimore, won a special jury prize for inspirational filmmaking.

Being a young woman today isnt easy, Lipitz said. These girls show nothing is impossible when you surround yourself with a group of powerful women. So lets keep doing that."

Earlier, accepting the world documentary prize for director, Winnie helmer Lamche noted that for those who know, history is not made by great men. A story of unheralded women of a different sort is told in the period convent drama Novitiate, for which Betts won a special prize for breakthrough director in U.S. dramatic.

And the comedic performer Jessica Williams, who hosted the ceremony, paired Trump and feminism when she quipped, The audience award  when you think about the election, thats sort of the award that Hillary Clinton won.

Gook, Justin Chons story set against the backdrop of the 1992 L.A. riots, won the Next audience prize; he accepted by embracing concrete action on diversity. To me a lot of times its been just talk, he said. The most effective way I can make a difference is to create.

As many directors offered political statements, festival director John Cooper suggested a lesson for beyond the fest.

"Lets take this into the future as we head off the mountain, he said. Our strength is in our number and our power is in our ideas.

But the most stirring speech of the night came from Yance Ford, director of the criminal justice documentary Strong Island, which won a special jury prize for storytelling in U.S. documentary.

Ford, whose movie examines the killing of his brother and the injustice that followed, cited Elie Wiesels line that neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim, then said:

That moment is now. When we leave this place we must interfere, disrupt, document and prevent our nation from folding in upon itself, he told the film community, both inside the room and outside of it. Summon your courage. Gather your cameras.

Here is the complete list of winners:

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Grand Jury Prize: I Dont Feel At Home In This World Anymore.

Audience Award: Crown Heights

Directing: Eliza Hittman, Beach Rats

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith, Ingrid Goes West

Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance: Chante Adams, Roxanne Roxanne

Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director: Maggie Betts, Novitiate

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Daniel Landin, Yellow Birds

U.S. Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize: Dina

Directing: Peter Nicks, The Force

Orwell Award: Icarus

Audience Award: Chasing Coral

Special Jury Award for Editing: Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, Unrest

Special Jury Award for Storytelling: Yance Ford, Strong Island

Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking: Amanda Lipitz, Step

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Grand Jury Prize: The Nile Hilton Incident

Audience Award: I Dream in Another Language

Directing Award: Francis Lee, Gods Own Country

Screenwriting: Kirsten Tan, Pop Aye

Special Jury Award for Cinematic Visions: Jun Geng, Free and Easy

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Manu Dacosse, Axolotl Overkill

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize: Last Men in Aleppo

Audience Award: Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower

Directing Award: Pascale Lamche, Winnie

Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling: Catherine Bainbridge, Alfonso Maiorana, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World

Special Jury Award for Editing: Ramona S. Diaz, Motherland

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva, Machines

Other Awards

Next Audience Award: Gook

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: Marjorie Prime

1 / 193 John Lithgow and Salma Hayek from the film Beatriz at Dinner. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 193 Director and actress Michelle Morgan from the film L.A. Times. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 193 Director Dan Sickles, left, director Antonio Santini and director of photography Adam Uhl from the film Dina. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 193 Director of photography Adam Uhl from the film Dina. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 193 Director Danny Strong, left, actor Nicholas Hoult and actress Zoey Deutch from the film Rebel in the Rye. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 193 Actress Lois Smith from the film Marjorie Prime. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 193 Actor Jon Hamm from the film Marjorie Prime. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 193 Actor Mark Hamill from the film Brigsby Bear. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 193 Actor Nick Offerman from the film The Hero. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 193 Director Jovanka Vuckovic from the film, XX. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 193 Actress India Menuez from the Amazon series I Love Dick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 193 Actress Laura Prepon from the film The Hero. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 193 Actor Sam Elliott from the film The Hero. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 193 Director Annie Clark (also known as the musician, St. Vincent) from the film XX. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 193 Director Joshua Z. Weinstein, left, and Menashe Lustig from Menashe at the Sundance Film Festial in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 23. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 193 Actress Zoe Chao, left, co-director Celia Rowlson-Hall, co-director Mia Lidofsky and actress Meredith Hagne from the television movie Strangers. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 193 Actor Martin Donovan, left, actress Julia Ordmond, director Mark Palansky and actor Peter Dinklage from the film Rememory. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 193 Actress Madeline Weinstein from the film Beach Rats. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 193 Ryan Horrigan, left, Paul Raphael, Felix Jajeunesse and Sebastian Sylvan from the film Miyubi. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 193 Actor Harris Dickinson from the film Beach Rats. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 193 Director Eliza Hittman from Beach Rats. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 193 Actresses Nefessa Williams, left, Adriyan Rae, Steve Harris, Seryah and Imani Hakim from the film Burning Sands. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 193 Actor Jon Daly, left, director Janicza Bravo, actress Judy Greer, actress Shiri Appelby and actor Brett Gelman of Lemon. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 193 Director Julia Ducournau from the film Raw. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 193 Actress Anya Taylor-Joy, director Cory Finley and actress Olivia Cooke from the film Thoroughbred. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 193 Director Matt Heineman, second from right, and citizen journalists Mohamad Almusari, left, Hamoud Almousa and Abdalaziz from the documentary film City of Ghosts. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 193 Subjects Raj Majethia and Victoria Harrelson from the documentary film The Mars Generation. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 193 Subject Raj Majethia, left, director Michael Barnett and subject Victoria Harrelson from the documentary film The Mars Generation. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 193 Actor Adam Horowitz, left, actress Emily Browning, director Alex Ross Perry and actress Analeigh Tipton from the film Golden Exits. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 193 Director Wally Wolodarsky, left, actor Jack Black, actress Jenny Slate, director Maya Forbes, actress Jacki Weaver and actor Willie Garson from the film The Polka King. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 193 Director Rory Kennedy and surfer Laird Hamilton, from the documentary film Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 193 Actress Julia Jones from the film Wind River. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 193 Actress Kelsy Asbille from the film Wind River. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 193 Director Kogonada from the film Columbus. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 193 Actor Rory Culkin, left, actor John Cho, actress Michelle Forbes, actress Haley Lu Richardson and actor Parker Posey from the film, Columbus. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 193 Director Taylor Sheridan from the film Wind River. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 193 Actress Gigi Gorgeous and director Barbara Kopple from the film This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 193 Actress Gigi Gorgeous, from This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 193 Executive Producer Danny Glover, left, and director Yance Ford from the documentary film Strong Island. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 193 Actor Sam Elliott, left, actor Nick Offerman, director Brett Haley, actress Katharine Ross and actress Laura Prepon from the film The Hero. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 193 Co-Executive Producer Sarah Gubbins, left, actor Griffin Dunne, actress India Menuez (kneeling), actress Roberta Colindrez, actor Kevin Bacon, director Jill Soloway, actress Kathryn Hahn and Lily Mojekwu from the Amazon series I Love Dick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 193 Actress Kathryn Hahn, actress Roberta Colindrez and director Jill Soloway from the Amazon series I Love Dick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 193 Actor Jason Isaacs and Crash from the film Red Dog: True Blue. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 193 Actor Sasheer Zamata, director Sydney Freeland, actress Danielle Nicolet, actor David Sullivan, actress Rachel Crow and actress Ashleigh Murray, from the film Diedra and Laney Rob a Train. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 193 Actor Daniel Houck and director Stefan Avalos from the documentary film Strad Style. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 193 Actor Jeremy Renner from the film Wind River,. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 193 Director/actor Zoe Lister-Jones from the film Band Aid. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 193 Actress Chloe Sevigny from the film Golden Exits. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 193 Actor Jack Black from the film The Polka King. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 193 Surfer Laird Hamilton, subject of the documentary film Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 193 Actress Julia Jones from the film Wind River. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 193 Actress Kelsy Asbille from the film Wind River. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 193 Actress America Ferrera from the new Web series Gente-fied. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 193 Director Miguel Arteta from the film Beatriz at Dinner. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 193 Actress Connie Britton from the film Beatriz at Dinner. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 193 Actress Salma Hayek from the film Beatriz at Dinner. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 193 Actor Jay Duplass jumps behind writer-director Gillian Robespierre, actress Jenny Slate, actress Edie Falco and actress Abby Quinn from the film Landline. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 193 Actor Blake Jenner, actor Logan Lerman, actress Elle Fanning and actress Michelle Monaghan from the film Sidney Hall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 193 Actress Natalie Paul, left, actor Lakeith Stanfield, screenwriter Matt Ruskin and actor-producer Nnamdi Asomugha, from the film Crown Heights. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 193 Actress Judy Greer, left, actor Woody Harrelson and actress Laura Dein, from the film Wilson. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 193 Actress Isabella Amara, from the film Wilson. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 193 Actor Josh OConnor, left, director Francis Lee and actor Alec Secareanu, from the film Gods Own Country. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 193 Jaque Fragua, director Michelle Latimer, center, and Sarain Carson-Fox, from the documentary film Rise. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 193 Director Amir Bar-Lev, left, Steve Parrish and Trixie Garcia, from the documentary film Long Strange Trip. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 193 Actress Connie Britton, from the film Beatriz at Dinner. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 193 Actor-producer Nnamdi Asomugha, from the film Crown Heights. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 193 Director Andrew Dosunmu from the film Where Is Kyra. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 193 Actor John Lithgow, from the film Beatriz at Dinner. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 193 Director Shawn Christensen from the film Sidney Hall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 193 Actor Garrett Hedlund, director Dee Rees, actor Rob Morgan, musician Mary J. Blige, and actress Cary Mulligan from the film Mudbound. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 193 Geremy Jasper, director and writer of the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 193 Actress Danielle Macdonald from the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 193 Actress Laia Costa from the film Newness. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 193 Actor Mamoudou Athie from the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 75 / 193 Actor Nicholas Hoult from the film Newness. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 193 Actor Siddharth Dhananjay from the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 193 Actor Mamoudou Athie, left, actress Cathy Moriarty, actor Siddharth Dhananjay, director-writer Geremy Jasper, actress Bridget Everett and actress Danielle Macdonald from the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 193 Director Evgeny Afineevsky and subject Kholoud Helmi from the HBO documentary film Cries From Syria. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 79 / 193 Subject Marli Renfro and director Alexandre O. Philippe from the documentary film 78/52. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 80 / 193 Actress Cathy Moriarty from the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 81 / 193 Actress Bridget Everett from the film Patti Cake$. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 82 / 193 Actor Nicholas Hoult and director Drake Doremus from the film Newness. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 83 / 193 Ben York Jones, screenwriter of the film Newness. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 84 / 193 Actress Aisha Tyler, who participated in the Womens March through Park City. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 85 / 193 Rashida Jones, Jill Bauer, and Ronna Gradus of the film, Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 86 / 193 Co-writer Justin Lader, Director Charlie McDowell, and Alex Orlovsky of the film, The Discovery. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 87 / 193 Actor David So of the film, Gook. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 88 / 193 Actress Hania Amar of the film The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 89 / 193 Actor Fares Fares of the film The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 90 / 193 Director Tarik Saleh of the film, The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 91 / 193 Director Dee Rees of the film Mudbound. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 92 / 193 Director Jim Strouse of the film The Incredible Jessica James. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 93 / 193 Actor Tye Sheridan of the film, Yellow Birds. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 94 / 193 Actress Pom Klementieff of the film, Ingrid Goes West and Newness. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 95 / 193 Actor Jack Huston of the film, Yellow Birds. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 96 / 193 Director Matt Spicer of the film Ingrid Goes West. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 97 / 193 Directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott of the film, Bushwick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 98 / 193 Actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer and Director Helene Hegemann of the film Axolotl Overkil. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 99 / 193 Co-Director Sabbah Folyan, Kayla Reed, Tef Poe, Co-director Damon Davis of the documentary film, Whose Streets. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 100 / 193 Actress Elizabeth Arjok, actor Fares Fares, director Tarik Saleh, actress Hania Amar, and actress Mari Malek of the film, The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 101 / 193 Roxanne Shante, and actress Nia Long of the film Roxanne, Roxanne. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 102 / 193 Actor Michael Larnell, actress Chante Adams, Roxanne Shante, actor Elvis Nolasco, and actress Nia Long of the film Roxanne, Roxanne. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 103 / 193 Director Morgan Neville, Cristoph Neimann, Tinker Hatfield, and Scott Dadich of the Netflix series, Abstract: Art of Design. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 104 / 193 Cristoph Neimann of the Netflix series, Abstract: Art of Design. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 105 / 193 Director Morgan Neville of the Netflix series, Abstract: Art of Design. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 106 / 193 Scott Dadich of the Netflix series, Abstract: Art of Design. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 107 / 193 Actress Omono Okojie of the film Gook. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 108 / 193 Actor Curtiss Cook Jr., and actress Simone Baker of the film Gook. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 109 / 193 Actress Brittny Snow and actor Dave Bautista of the film, Bushwick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 110 / 193 Director Austin Peter of the documentary film Give Me Future. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 111 / 193 Actress Cary Mulligan of the film Mudbound. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 112 / 193 Director and actor Justin Chon of the film, Gook. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 113 / 193 Director Lone Scherfig of the film Their Finest. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 114 / 193 Actress Pom Klementieff of the film Ingrid Goes West. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 115 / 193 Director Alexandre Moors of the film, Yellow Birds. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 116 / 193 Actor OShea Jackson Jr., actress Aubrey Plaza, director Matt Spicer, and actress Pom Klementieff of the film Ingrid Goes West. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 117 / 193 Richard Vevers, Director Jeff Orlowski and Zackery Rago of he film, Chasing Coral. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 118 / 193 Actress Chelsea Handler. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 119 / 193 Director Austin Peters, musician Jillionare, and singer/songwriter Diplo, of the documentary film Give Me Future. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 120 / 193 Singer/songwriter Diplo, Thomas Wesley Pentz of the documentary film Give Me Future. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 121 / 193 Musician Jillionaire of the documentary film Give Me Future. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 122 / 193 Actor Lakeith Stanfield of the film The Incredible Jessica James. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 123 / 193 Actor Chris ODowd of the film The Incredible Jessica James. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 124 / 193 Actress Jessica Williams of the film The Incredible Jessica James. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 125 / 193 Actress Aubrey Plaza of the film, Ingrid Goes West. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 126 / 193 Actor OShea Jackson Jr. of the film Ingrid Goes West. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 127 / 193 Actress Jessica Williams of the film The Incredible Jessica James. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 128 / 193 Actress Mari Malek of the film The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 129 / 193 Actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer of the film Axolotl Overkil. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 130 / 193 Executive Producer Tim Robbins and his son, Director Jack Henry Robbins, from the short Hot Winter, A Film By Dick Pierre. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 131 / 193 Actor Michael Larnell of the film Roxanne, Roxanne. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 132 / 193 Actor Garrett Hedlund of the film Mudbound. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 133 / 193 Executive Producers Christopher Cohen, Sean Hayes, Mark Herzog (kneeling) and Todd Milliner of the CNN series, History of Comedy. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 134 / 193 Executive Producer Sean Hayes of the television series, History of Comedy. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 135 / 193 Actress Melanie Lynskey of the film, I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 136 / 193 Actress Nia Long of the film Roxanne, Roxanne. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 137 / 193 Actress Simone Baker of the film, Gook. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 138 / 193 Actress Elizabeth Arjok of the film, The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 139 / 193 Roxanne Shante of the film Roxanne, Roxanne. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 140 / 193 Actor Elvis Nolasco of the film Roxanne, Roxanne. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 141 / 193 Jack Henry Robbins, from the short, Hot Winter, A Film By Dick Pierre. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 142 / 193 Actress Mari Malek of the film The Nile Hilton Incident. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 143 / 193 Actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer of the film Axolotl Overkil. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 144 / 193 Actress Maya Stange, director Damien Power and actor Aaron Glenna from the film Killing Ground. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 145 / 193 Actress Tavi Gevinson with the film Person to Person. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 146 / 193 Dolores Huerta from the documentary Dolores. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 147 / 193 Director (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 148 / 193 Actor Jorma Taccone from the film L.A. Times. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 149 / 193 Actor Aaron Glenane from the film Killing Ground. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 150 / 193 Actress Kate Micucci with the film The Little Hours. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 151 / 193 Dree Hemingway with the film L.A. Times. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 152 / 193 Directors Andrew Smith and Alex Smith with the film Walking Out. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 153 / 193 Actress Molly Shannon from the film The Little Hours. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 154 / 193 Actor Jason Ritter with the film Bitch. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 155 / 193 Lauren Weedman, actor Jon Gabrus, actress Kate Micucci, director Jeff Baena, actress Alison Brie, actor Dave Franco, Adam Pally and actress Molly Shannon with the film The Little Hours. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 156 / 193 Actor Dave Franco with the film The Little Hours. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 157 / 193 Actress/director Michelle Morgan and actors Jorma Taccone and Dree Hemingway from the film L.A. Times. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 158 / 193 Director Marina Zenovich of the film Water and Power. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 159 / 193 Actress Abbi Jacobson with the film Person to Person. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 160 / 193 Actress Florence Pugh and director William Oldroyd from the film Lady MacBeth. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 161 / 193 Producer Ryland Aldrich, from the film L.A. Times. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 162 / 193 Actress Maya Stange with the film Killing Ground. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 163 / 193 Front: Actors Kingston Foster and Jason Maybaum; back: actors Rio Mangini Jason Ritter and Brighton Sharbino from the film Bitch. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 164 / 193 Actress Kingston Foster, director Marianna Palka, actress Brighton Sharbino, actor Rio Mangini, actor Jason Ritter, actor Jason Maybaum, actress Jaime King and actor Zac Clark with the film Bitch. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 165 / 193 Director Marianna Palka with the film Bitch. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 166 / 193 Actress Brighton Sharbino mingles with the rest of the cast of the film Bitch. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 167 / 193 Director Amanda Lipitz, center, and step team members, from left, Tayla Solomon, Cori Granger and Blessin Giraldo from the documentary Step. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 168 / 193 Directors Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen with the film Follow Up to An Inconvenient Truth. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 169 / 193 Producer Carlos Santana with the film Dolores. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 170 / 193 Team members, from left, Tayla Solomon, Cori Granger and Blessin Giraldo from the documentary Step. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 171 / 193 Director Kristen Stewart and actor Josh Kaye with the film Come Swim. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 172 / 193 Actress Zoe Kazan with the film The Big Sick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 173 / 193 Joshua Wong and director Joe Piscatella with the documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 174 / 193 From left, producer Barry Mendel, actress Holly Hunter, director Michael Showalter, actress Zoe Karan, writer Emily V. Gordon, writer Kumail Nanjiani, and producer Judd Apatow with the film The Big Sick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 175 / 193 Husband and wife co-writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon from The Big Sick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 176 / 193 Consulting Producer Benjamin Bratt of the film Dolores. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 177 / 193 Director Kristen Stewart of the film Come Swim. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 178 / 193 Actress Holly Hunter with the film The Big Sick. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 179 / 193 Actor Logan Miller, actress Cynthy Wu, director Ry-Russo Young and actresses Zoey Deutch, Elena Kampouris, Medalion Rahimi and Jennifer Beals, from the film Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 180 / 193 Actress Zoey Deutch, from the film Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 181 / 193 Actress Medalion Rahimi, from the film Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 182 / 193 Actress Elena Kampouris, from the film Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 183 / 193 Actress Jennifer Beals, from the film Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 184 / 193 Actress Cynthy Wu, from the film Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 185 / 193 Actor Logan Miller, from Before I Fall. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 186 / 193 Actor Miles Fischer, from the television show Playdates. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 187 / 193 Composer Dan Romer, from the films The Little Hours and Chasing Coral. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 188 / 193 Director Jamie Greenberg, whos at Sundance with the film Future 38. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 189 / 193 Directors Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau, with the documentary Trophy. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 190 / 193 Peter Nicks director of the documentary film The Force. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 191 / 193 Composer Dan Romer, attending Sundance with the films The Little Hours and Chasing Coral. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 192 / 193 Actors Paul Scheer and Carla Gallo, from the television show Playdates. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 193 / 193 Actors Paul Scheer, left, Carla Gallo and Miles Fisher, from the television show Playdates. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

FULL COVERAGE: Sundance 2017 

1 / 77 Gael Garcia Bernal speaks during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Awards at Basin Recreation Field House in Park City, Utah, on Saturday. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images) 2 / 77 Bryan Fogel, right, with cast and crew members, accepts the Orwell Award for his film Icarus. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images) 3 / 77 Director Michael Larnell, right, and Sean Kirkland accept the US Dramatic, Breakthrough Performance award on behalf of Chante Adams for the film Roxanne Roxanne. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images ) 4 / 77 Peter Dinklage presents the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 5 / 77 Larry Wilmore speaks during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Awards ceremony. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 6 / 77 Actors Kevin Bacon, left, and Kathryn Hahn at the premiere of I Love Dick at the MARC Theatre. (Arthur Mola / Invision / Associated Press) 7 / 77 Actor Peter Dinklage, left, and filmmaker Mark Palansky of Rememory attend The IMDb Studio featuring the Filmmaker Discovery Lounge. (Rich Polk / Getty Images for IMDb) 8 / 77 Analeigh Tipton and Jason Schwartzman attend the Creators League Studio. (Jonathan Leibson / Getty Images for Creators League) 9 / 77 Actor Mark Hamill attends the Brigsby Bear premiere at Eccles Center Theatre. (Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 77 Actors Anne Heche, Thomas Sadoski and AnnJewel Lee Dixon of The Last Word attend The IMDb Studio featuring the Filmmaker Discovery Lounge. (Rich Polk / Getty Images for IMDb) 11 / 77 Actors Zoey Deutch and Nicholas Hoult, director Danny Strong of Rebel in the Rye and Kevin Smith, top, attend the IMDb Studio featuring the Filmmaker Discovery Lounge. (Rich Polk / Getty Images ) 12 / 77 Actors Tim Robbins, Jon Hamm, Lois Smith and Geena Davis attend the Marjorie Prime premiere at Eccles Center Theatre. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 13 / 77 Brigsby Bear attends the Brigsby Bear premiere at Eccles Center Theatre. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 14 / 77 Actor Lakeith Stanfield, left, and the film subject he plays, Colin Warner, attend the Crown Heights premiere at Library Center Theater. (Sonia Recchia / Getty Images) 15 / 77 Actor Nicholas Hoult at the premiere of Rebel In The Rye. (Danny Moloshok / Invision / Associated Press) 16 / 77 Comedian Patton Oswalt speaks onstage at the Shorts Program Awards and party at Jupiter Bowl. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 17 / 77 Times reporter Amy Kaufman and Logan Lerman speak at the Cinema Cafe at Filmmaker Lodge. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 18 / 77 Actress AnnJewel Lee attends the The Last Word premiere at Eccles Center Theatre. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 19 / 77 Executive producer Harvey Weinstein and executive producer and rapper Shawn Jay-Z Carter attend the Time: The Kalief Browder Story Sundance world premiere at The Marc Theatre. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images for Spike TV) 20 / 77 Actress Sanaa Lathan attends the Shots Fired premiere. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 21 / 77 Marti Noxon attends the Feature Fillm Competition dinner. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 22 / 77 Director Mark Palansky, actor Martin Donovan, actress Katheryn Kirkpatrick, Matt Ellis, actress Julia Ormond and actor Peter Dinklage attend the Rememory premiere. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 23 / 77 Actors Logan Lerman, Blake Jenner, Elle Fanning, Michelle Monaghan and Margaret Qualley attend the Sidney Hall party at the Acura Studio at Sundance Film Festival 2017. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images for Acura) 24 / 77 Cast and crew speak onstage during the Shots Fired premiere. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 25 / 77 Actress Chloe Sevigny at the premiere of the film Beatriz at Dinner at the Eccles Theatre. (Arthur Mola / Invision/Associated Press) 26 / 77 Chef Cat Cora prepares entrees during a luncheon hosted by Glamour editor Cindi Leive and photographer Amanda de Cadenet. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images) 27 / 77 Actresses Alfre Woodard and Elle Fanning attend the Lunch Celebrating Films Powered by Women. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for Glamour) 28 / 77 Jon Hamm, left, and Tim Robbins of the Indiewire in Conversation panel. (Jack Dempsey / Invision / Associated Press) 29 / 77 Shirley MacLaine, left, Salma Hayek, Cindi Leive, and Dee Rees at the Lunch Celebrating Films Powered by Women event. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for Glamour) 30 / 77 Reginald Hudlin, left, Stephanie Allain, Gerard McMurray, Mel Jones and Jason Michael Berman at the premiere of director McMurrays Burning Sands. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images ) 31 / 77 Malia Obama strolls on Main Street at the Sundance Film Festival at Park City, Utah. (Danny Moloshok / Invision / Associated Press) 32 / 77 Producer Noshre Chkhaidze, left, director Simon Grob, actress Ia Shugliashvili and producer Jonas Katzenstein attend the My Happy Family premiere at Egyptian Theatre. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images) 33 / 77 Viewers take in Al Gores film Melting Ice on Condition Ones virtual-reality system at the Sundance VR release party. (Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images) 34 / 77 IMDb founder and Chief Executive Col Needham enjoys his 50th birthday party. (Rich Polk / Getty Images ) 35 / 77 Actress Connie Britton attends the Beatriz at Dinner premiere at Eccles Theatre. (Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images) 36 / 77 Marti Noxon, left, writer and director of To the Bone, poses with cast members Lily Collins, center, and Carrie Preston at the Jan. 22 premiere of the film in Park City Utah, during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. (Chris Pizzello / Invision /Associated Press) 37 / 77 Cartoonist Daniel Clowes, the screenwriter of Wilson, poses at the Jan. 22 premiere of the film in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) 38 / 77 Chante Adams, Roxanne Shante and actress Nia Long pose at the Jan. 22 premiere of the film Roxanne Roxanne in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival. (Arthur Mola / Invision / Associated Press) 39 / 77 From left, Jeff Skoll, Al Gore, Heather Rae and David Suzuki speak on stage Jan. 22 at the New Climate Lunch Roundtable during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images ) 40 / 77 David Suzuki speaks on stage Jan. 22 at the New Climate Lunch Roundtable during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 41 / 77 Strong Island executive producer Danny Glover relaxes Jan. 22 at the Indiewire Photo Studio at Chase Sapphire on Main during Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Jack Dempsey / Invision / Associated Press) 42 / 77 Actress Brittany Snow of Bushwick attends the Acura Studio on Jan. 22 during Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images ) 43 / 77 DJ Cool V and Biz Markie attend the Acura Studio Jan. 22 during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images) 44 / 77 Luca Guadagnino, Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg and Walter Fasano attend the Jan. 22 Call Me By Your Name premiere at Eccles Center Theatre during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images ) 45 / 77 Roxanne Shante performs onstage at the Jan. 22 Roxanne, Roxanne party in the Acura Festival Village during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images ) 46 / 77 Biz Markie performs onstage at the Jan. 22 Roxanne, Roxanne party in the Acura Festival Village during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images ) 47 / 77 Michaela Watkins, Jill Soloway, Jessica Williams and Stacey Wilson Hunt speak onstage Jan. 22 at an event hosted by the Bentonville Film Festival during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Joe Scarnici / Getty Images) 48 / 77 Roxanne Shante and Chante Adams attend the Jan. 22 Roxanne, Roxanne party during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images ) 49 / 77 Jon Daly, Brett Gelman, Nia Long, Judy Greer, Janicza Bravo and Shiri Appleby attend the Jan. 22 Lemon premiere at Library Center Theater during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 50 / 77 Jack Black attends the Jan. 22 premiere of The Polka King at the Eccles Center Theatre during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images ) 51 / 77 Willie Garson, Jason Schwartzman, Jack Black, Jacki Weaver and Jenny Slate pose at the Jan. 22 premiere of The Polka King during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Danny Moloshok / Invision / Associated Press) 52 / 77 Tim Robbins, center, shakes hands with Mary J. Blige, left, while introducing Blige to his son, Jack Robbins, at Sundance at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival. (Jud Burkett / Invision for The Music Lodge) 53 / 77 Actresses Elizabeth Olsen, left, and Aubrey Plaza from Ingrid Goes West during the Indiewire in Conversation panel at Chase Sapphire on Main. (Jack Dempsey / Invision for Chase Sapphire) 54 / 77 Executive producer John Legend poses at WGN Americas Underground Sundance red carpet screening. (Danny Moloshok / Invision / Associated Press) 55 / 77 Actors Aldis Hodge, left, and Jurnee Smollett-Bell at WGN Americas Underground Sundance red carpet screening during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. (Danny Moloshok / Invision / Associated Press) 56 / 77 People march down Main Street during the March on Main event during the Sundance Film Festival. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 77 Brett Haley, left, director of The Hero, poses with cast members Nick Offerman, Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross at the premiere of the film at the Library Center Theatre. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) 58 / 77 Laura Prepon, left, a cast member in The Hero, with her fiance, actor Ben Foster, at the premiere of the film at the Library Center Theatre. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) 59 / 77 Director Anthony Hemingway, left, producer John Legend, actors Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Aldis Hodge, and writer Misha Green speak at WGN Americas Underground panel at the Blackhouse Foundation. (Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images for WGN AMERICA) 60 / 77 Jason Mitchell, left, Dee Rees, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige and Garrett Hedlund attend the Mudbound premiere at Eccles Center Theatre. (Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images) 61 / 77 Actors Lily Mojekwu, left, Griffin Dunne, Kathryn Hahn and Kevin Bacon of I Love Dick attend The IMDb Studio featuring the Filmmaker Discovery Lounge. (Rich Polk / Getty Images for IMDb) 62 / 77 Harvey Weinstein attends the Wind River party at the Acura Studio at Sundance Film Festival. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images for Acura) 63 / 77 Actress Brittany Snow attends the Bushwick premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images) 64 / 77 A policeman with a bomb sniffing dog checks out a snow pile next to a Banksy artwork along Old Main Street on the first day of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (George Frey / EPA) 65 / 77 Omar Wasow, left, an assistant professor at Princeton in the department of politics, and director Jennifer Brea attend An Artist at the Table benefit during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival at DeJoria Center in Kamas, Utah. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 66 / 77 Former Vice President and cast member Al Gore speaks as he arrives for the premiere of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (George Frey / EPA) 67 / 77 Kristen Stewart, left, David Shapiro, Josh Kaye and Sydney Lopez attend the world premiere of director Kristen Stewarts Come Swim at Prospector Square Theatre. (Joe Scarnici / Getty Images for Refinery29) 68 / 77 Kristen Stewart attends the world premiere of Come Swim. (Joe Scarnici / Getty Images for Refinery29) 69 / 77 Actresses Molly Shannon, Alison Brie, Kate Micucci, and Aubrey Plaza attend The Little Hours premiere at Library Center Theater. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 70 / 77 Jon Gabrus, Dave Franco, Nick Offerman, Trevor Groth, Aubrey Plaza, Jeff Baena, Molly Shannon, Alison Brie, Jemima Kirke, Kate Micucci, Adam Pally and Lauren Weedman, from left, attend The Little Hours premiere. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 71 / 77 Former Vice President and cast member Al Gore, left, and Director of the Sundance Film Festival John Cooper arrive for the premiere of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. (George Frey / EPA) 72 / 77 Actors Nick Offerman, left, Molly Shannon, and Dave Franco attend The Little Hours premiere. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) 73 / 77 Executive director of the Sundance Institute Keri Putnman, left, founder and president of the Sundance Film Festival Robert Redford and director of the Sundance Film Festival John Cooper talk to the media to open the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (George Frey / EPA) 74 / 77 Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute, addresses the audience at the opening night premiere of the film An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, at the Eccles Theater. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) 75 / 77 People are bundled up as temperatures dropped below 20 degrees along Main Street in Park City, Utah, as the start of the Sundance Film Festival approached. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 77 A trolley rolls up Main Street in Park City, Utah, as the Sundance Film Festival approached. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 77 The Egyptian Theatre on Main Street, one of the major venues for the Sundance Film Festival, is lit up a few nights before the festivals opening in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT
After decades as a corporate operations executive, Julia Gosnell decided it was time to become her own boss.

Its now or never, she told me in the family room of her comfortable East Bay home as her Pomeranian, ChiChi, sat in her lap.

This is my last good decade of working, said Gosnell, 54.

She and a good friend had often joked about getting into the cannabis business. Shed been a medical cannabis patient for years, smoking pot for the anxiety she felt over the health of her youngest daughter, who has autism and epilepsy. I had a choice: take Valium every day or imbibe. I decided cannabis was the healthier route.

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Last March, she and her partner, Kary Radestock, a sales rep, launched Hippo Premium Packaging. They develop containers, logos, bags, labels, boxes and custom-printed jars. They have 10 employees and are about to hire three more.

So, a farm in Humboldt County calls and says, We are harvesting a crop in 30 days. We dont have containers, or a logo. Help! We helped them figure out how to brand themselves, Gosnell said. Its all very upscale.

And probably lucrative, eventually.

Gosnell and Radestock project they could gross about $3 million a year. Like most cannabis entrepreneurs, even ones who dont actually touch pot, their clients will pay them in cash. They will probably not be able to find a bank to take it.

Imagine having to be paid in cash, having to pay your employees and suppliers in cash, having to take care of your payroll, sales and income taxes in cash.

I was told by an accountant, who closed his door to tell me this, that you just keep your cash under the mattress, Gosnell said. Stash it somewhere and find a way to get a big deposit into your account. I said that doesnt sound legal, but I am told everyone operates this way.

::

This is the outrageous and untenable conflict imposed on legal businesses by the federal governments continuing obstinacy about cannabis.

The federal government regards marijuana as an illegal drug; it is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a controlled substance with no accepted medical use, on par with heroin. Banks are regulated by the feds; most will not touch cannabis cash. (Neither will most armored car companies.)

As a result, an estimated 70% of cannabis businesses have no bank accounts.

We are talking about an industry expected to come short of $7 billion beginning in 2018, with expected tax revenues of approximately $1 billion, California Treasurer John Chiang told me Friday. This is trouble waiting to happen.

Its already begun.

::

In 2012, an Orange County medical cannabis dispensary owner was kidnapped and sexually tortured by a quartet of thieves trying to find and steal his cash. Rife with gruesome details, that case drew worldwide attention.

But many cannabis growers have been ripped off in less spectacular fashion, or are afraid they will be.

Last month in Sacramento, Chiang heard some of these horror stories during testimony at the first meeting of his Cannabis Banking Working Group.

The goal is to come up with recommendations  including potential federal legislation  to open up banking to this new burgeoning and legal industry. The next meeting is in Los Angeles on Feb. 10.

Accounts of assault, battery, armed robbery and worse are prevalent in our industry, Khurshid Khoja, attorney for the California Cannabis Industry Assn., told Chiangs group last month. News headlines in recent years also include multiple accounts of armed robberies at dispensary sites, and gun battles in the streets of densely populated California cities.

And then there are legal terrors: One of the states most well-known cannabis manufacturers told me that a company accountant was stopped by officers in a small Southern California city while transporting about $30,000 to the companys headquarters. Despite showing police her paperwork, they confiscated the cash because, they said, they suspected money laundering. The company is working with an attorney to get it back.

Have you ever seen $250,000 in cash? Me, either. But apparently money takes up a lot of room.

Were close to a crisis when it comes to how to manage the situation in legal fashion, said Kathleen Van Osten, a consultant who represents a regulatory-minded San Jose cannabis manufacturer. Theyre running out of space to store cash.

Also, dealing with cash is not cheap.

Khoja said one of his clients has 60 employees, and an accounting team of four, plus a controller  nearly unheard of for a company that size. The firm pays $325,000 a year in salaries to people who deal only with cash handling, and estimates it loses $1 million a year to the various burdens cash imposes.

Casey ONeill, a cannabis and vegetable grower from Mendocino County, told Chiang that his company, Happy Day Farms, was on its third bank. He lost his last bank account because he is a spokesman for the California Growers Assn., one of the states largest cannabis trade groups. His bank told him, We saw you on TV, bud. Your account is gone.

And then he added, understandably, I want to put this out to the universe. Youre not going to see a lot of cash if you come to my house.

::

Detail of a vape pen box by Julia Gosnells Hippo Premium Packaging. (Robin Abcarian / Los Angeles Times)

Ten days ago, Gosnell and Radestock moderated a branding session at a High Times-sponsored marijuana summit in Los Angeles. They were deluged with inquiries from prospective clients. Theirs is the kind of enterprise that will be increasingly sought after as cannabis entrepreneurs jockey for shelf space during Californias post-legalization boom.

We have thirty grand coming in the next two weeks from clients in four different deposits, she said. And were about to move forward with a six-figure job. Its very scary. But its not the weed thats causing the problem.

Its the cash. And, of course, the federal government.

Get more of Robin Abcarians work and follow her on Twitter @AbcarianLAT

robin.abcarian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AbcarianLAT

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The decades-long battle over public use of the beach and sand dunes along the coast near Pismo Beach fractured into a new front this month, with one state agency accusing another of taking more than 30 years to accomplish a regulatory task that was supposed to take less than two.

California Coastal Commission staffers, in a Jan. 11 report, accused the California Department of Parks and Recreations Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division of being more than three decades behind schedule in meeting key requirements of a coastal development permit issued for the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area  the state beach where motor vehicles can crash through the surf.

Under the 1982 permit, state parks had 18 months to determine the number of vehicles the park can handle daily, and establish a permanent entrance to minimize damage to habitat for federally endangered steelhead trout and two species of birds: the Western snowy plover and the California least tern.

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But the agency never completed the process. The 1,500 acres of the park accessible to vehicles have been operating under an interim system with a limit of 4,300 vehicles a day and a main entrance that forces visitors to drive through trout habitat at the mouth of Arroyo Grande Creek to get to a staging area for unloading dune buggies and motorbikes. The commission report calls this a three-decade-old unresolved issue and a potential violation.

In addition to the threat to the areas plants and animals, environmentalists accuse the off-road enthusiasts of kicking up noxious dust that blows onto downwind communities.

This dispute is dispiriting and frustrating  Arlene Versaw, former San Luis Obispo County commissioner

The off-road area attracts nearly 2 million people a year and injects about $171 million into the San Luis Obispo County economy.

A passionate contingent of enthusiasts relish flying over the coastal dunes in customized sand rails, roaring over the wet sand on dirt bikes and kicking up roostertails on high-powered ATVs. Many have been coming to the dunes for generations, and they say the activity strengthens family bonds.

State parks officials say they had not anticipated the Coastal Commissions report.

Were surprised by these allegations, said Matthew Fuzie, acting deputy director of state parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division. Not once in more than 30 years has the commission challenged our existing operation, or taken action to finalize it.

The state agencies hope to resolve their differences at a meeting in September. That wont be easy.

Both agencies are in a tough position, said Noaki Schwartz, a spokesperson for the commission. The Coastal Act protects habitat and wildlife, and State Parks has to implement a legislative mandate for driving on the dunes. We cant predict what the outcome will be.

Partisans on both sides of the bitter fight said they find the inter-agency tension unfortunate.

This dispute is dispiriting and frustrating, said Arlene Versaw, 72, a former county commissioner who resides in nearby Nipomo Mesa, where particulate pollution routinely exceeds state standards. These agencies are supposed to be taking care of the environment and our health. she added, shaking her head wearily.

Craig Angello, 34, a spokesman for Friends of Oceano Dunes, a group off-road vehicle enthusiasts, and owner of an off-road vehicle rental business near the main entrance to the park, agreed: Its beyond sad that those guys arent getting along.

The dispute comes after a third state agency, the California Air Resources Board, plunged headlong into the fray by developing a three-dimensional atmospheric and terrain computer model of the seaside dunes and nearby housing tracts.

The model is expected to be used later this year to determine the location of potential airborne particulate concentrations under various emissions and meteorological scenarios, and then develop methods of reducing them.

Leaders of the off-road contingent have long challenged air-quality experts evidence that intensive vehicle use is largely responsible for an pollution problem in nearby downwind communities that are home to more than 20,000 people.

They also chafe at the fact that the area theyre now allowed to enjoy is only about 10% of the 15,000 acres they roamed a few decades back.

Moments after park staff opened the entrance gate on Thursday, off-roaders rumbled along the surfs edge like a nomadic caravan, their trucks and Jeeps loaded with rugged dirt bikes and sand rails. Flying American and Mexican flags, they splashed through the knee-deep creek en route to a staging area before rocketing off in all directions.

The forces that hope to stop them also keep gathering.

A group of homeowners from Nipomo Mesa has filed a lawsuit in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court against state parks, the county and its Board of Supervisors seeking a permanent injunction barring off-road activities in the park until the air pollution problem is mitigated.

I believe we will ultimately prevail against this threat to human health in the courts, said Versaw, the former commissioner and a plaintiff in this lawsuit. If we leave it up to our elected officials and regulatory agencies, itll drag on for another 35 years.

Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com

@LouisSahagun

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A single text message sent by a teenager set the deadly night in motion.

Within hours, the 19-year-old was dead, his skull pierced by a bullet.

The 2009 shooting garnered national attention and resulted in the first-degree murder convictions of two men who prosecutors say took offense to the text and killed the teen in an execution-style attack in a Sears parking lot in North Hollywood.

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But now those convictions have been thrown into doubt.

Two key eyewitnesses say they lied during the trial about what they saw the night of the killing, according to a Times review of court records and transcripts.

Attorneys for the convicted men argue that the new evidence shows that Mike Yepremyans death was an accident and that he was shot by his own gun during a struggle with one of the men. The lawyers are asking a judge to throw out the murder convictions.

Prosecutors say the guilty verdicts should stand and that the recantations cant be trusted. The witnesses backtracked from their new version of events when district attorneys investigators confronted them and surreptitiously recorded them, according to prosecutors.

Now a judge must weigh the conflicting and shifting stories about that night to decipher what really happened and decide whether the two men were rightfully convicted or if there might have been a terrible injustice.

::

The events of Nov. 18, 2009, began with a callow insult.

Yepremyan had gotten off work early and hoped to see his girlfriend. He was annoyed when she told him she was headed to a Burbank hookah lounge with her friend Kat Vardanian, whom he disliked.

In his text to his girlfriend, he made it known: Every time u hang out with that bitch u guys get hookah I dont understand it is there something cool bout her n hookah that u enjoy so much?

Vardanian saw the text almost immediately after it flashed up on her friends phone. Angry and offended, she said she was going to call her brother to beat him up.

The phone calls to Yepremyan came in soon after. Strangers pressed him on why he called Vardanian a bitch. A meeting was arranged at the Sears parking lot to resolve the dispute.

Yepremyan began recruiting friends for backup. Guys who were tough, who would understand that the talk could get ugly. Five people showed up to support him.

Soon, two men rolled up in a black BMW with tinted windows and no front license plate.

The confrontation began peacefully with handshakes and a conversation, but quickly turned physical. Punches were thrown. A gunshot went off. A bullet flew through the back of Yepremyans head, leaving him twitching on the asphalt in a pool of blood as the two men fled in the BMW.

Police found a 9-mm shell casing near the victim, but were never able to find the gun.

Vardanians cousin Vahagn Jurian and his friend Zareh Manjikian were charged with murder. At their trial, all five of the victims wingmen testified that they heard a loud bang during the fight in the lot. No one saw a gun.

The prosecutor argued that the weapon belonged to Manjikian, who witnesses said had been keeping his hands in his pockets before the fight and was throwing a punch when the gun was fired.

Theres a saying about alcohol, about liquid courage, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ed Nison said in his closing arguments. Well, having that 9-millimeter handgun gave Zareh Manjikian a different kind of courage, and thats why he wasnt afraid to push things.

Both men were convicted by a jury and sent to prison for life.

::

With the verdict, any dispute over what happened appeared settled. But a lawsuit filed by the victims family against the two convicted men led to fresh questions.

Days before the witnesses were scheduled to be deposed, the lawsuit was abruptly dismissed at the request of the Yepremyan family.

Michael Levin, an attorney representing Manjikian, said he was intrigued when one of his colleagues on the case told him he had received a notice of the dismissal from a plaintiffs lawyer who remarked that the depositions could be called off since the lawsuit was over.

I go, Wait a minute, somethings really funny here, Levin said.

He said the defense lawyers decided to press ahead anyway and ask witnesses if they wanted to give a voluntary interview under oath. Two of the men who had accompanied Yepremyan the night of his death agreed.

Transcripts filed in court detail what Gevorg Pashayan and Edgar Asaturyan told the lawyers under oath.

Pashayan, who was friends with the victim, said when he arrived at the parking lot that evening, Yepremyan lifted up his shirt and flashed a black pistol tucked in his waistband.

I got a nine just in case, he recalled Yepremyan saying, referring to the 9-millimeter gun.

Both witnesses said Yepremyan pulled the gun from his waistband. Manjikian then reached for it, prompting a struggle over the firearm, they said.

I should have told the truth a long time ago.  Gevorg Pashayan, a key witness, in a sworn interview

During the tussle, Asaturyan said, Manjikian took control of the pistol and was trying to use it to hit Yepremyan in the head when it accidentally went off.

It was an accident, said Asaturyan, who didnt know the victim but drove Pashayan to the lot that night. Not an act of murder.

Jurian and Manjikian drove off, leaving the gun behind, while two others there to support Yepremyan left in their dying friends car, Pashayan said.

Were going to go chase them, they told Pashayan.

Meanwhile, he said, he noticed the gun had vanished.

Too frozen to dial 911, Pashayan said he raced to Sears for help.

Pashayan said he felt guilty after testifying at trial and not mentioning the gun. He said he couldnt sleep at night. When hed show up to church, hed walk in and leave immediately.

I cant live like this knowing that two people got convicted for a crime that they basically didnt do, Pashayan said. I should have told the truth a long time ago.

::

Lawyers for the convicted men filed court papers seeking to toss out the convictions.

Prosecutors sent out investigators to secretly record interviews of the recanting witnesses. By then, more than two years had passed since their interviews under oath.

Two detectives grilled Pashayan on his new story, at one point telling him he was playing with fire and was on an ice float by himself, according to a transcript of the interview filed in court.

He was unequivocal  he saw a gun tucked in Yepremyans pants. But whether that was the gun that killed him, he couldnt say for sure.

Im not trying to sugarcoat the situation, Pashayan said. Im just trying to say what I know, what I didnt say, what I should have said and this is what it is.

Before he testified in the trial, he said, he told a prosecutor about the gun under Yepremyans shirt, but was told to keep quiet.

The prosecutor, Nison, told The Times that the allegation, as well as Pashayans new story, was a total fabrication.

For some reason, he has decided to come up with a new story that is not based on what happened, Nison said.

Meanwhile, Asaturyan backtracked when those same investigators asked him if Yepremyan had the gun.

The gun? No, Asaturyan replied, according to a transcript of the surreptitious recording.

You never saw him with a gun? an investigator asked.

No, he 

Did he ever show a gun to Gevorg?

I wouldnt even be there if there was a gun. Like seriously, Im starting  like I dont want to deal with people who have a gun, Asaturyan said.

Later in the interview, he said he assumed Yepremyan brought the gun and showed it to Pashayan in the parking lot. Ultimately, he couldnt definitively say who brought the gun.

I cant know for sure because we didnt, like, frisk them, he said.

Remembering what happened, he said, was more difficult than his SAT.

::

Prosecutors argue that the recantations are not backed up by any reliable evidence.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicole Flood said all of the witnesses were interviewed multiple times up to the trial and none ever mentioned that Yepremyan had a weapon.

The reality is nobody brought up any hint that the victim brought a gun that was struggled over, she said.

Lawyers for two men convicted of murder are asking Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gregory Dohi to throw out the convictions after two eyewitnesses changed their account of what happened. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Also, she said, other evidence pointed to the death being a murder. The gun barrel was pressed against Yepremyans skull when it was fired, suggesting he was shot point blank in the back of the head.

In a court filing, Flood cited evidence of a frantic phone call Abraham Jurian got from his son the morning after the shooting. The younger Jurian told his dad his friend took out a gun and struck the victim with it when it went off, but the shooting was an accident, according to the filing.

Pashayan and Asaturyan declined to be interviewed for this article.

At a recent evidentiary hearing, both appeared but would not testify after the district attorneys office refused to grant them immunity from prosecution for perjury.

Several witnesses did testify, including one absent during the trial who appears to have corroborated a key point in the pairs new story.

In the hours before Yepremyan was killed, Armond Aladadyan said he had gotten a phone call from one of Yepremyans closest friends asking for backup. Aladadyan said he was unavailable because he was driving back to Los Angeles from Palm Springs.

But in the background, Aladadyan said, he heard Yepremyan say something.

Ask him if he has a nine, Yepremyan said. I have one. We need more.

At the same evidentiary hearing, however, the friend who had called Aladadyan  Ohan Barsamian  said there was no conversation about firearms before the meeting.

To overturn that verdict, you have to truly have a miracle happen. Were hopeful something is going to happen.  Anna Jurian, the sister of one of the men convicted of murder

Meanwhile, another one of Yepremyans friends testified about an awkward phone call he got a few months after the shooting. It was from Aladadyan, who said he heard from his friend or cousin that Jurian didnt know about a gun that night or what was going to happen.

He wanted me to clear his name, Ali Hosseini said of the phone call, according to transcripts of the hearing. I told him that I cant do anything for him and he should contact the police if he knows anything about what happened that night.

Aladadyan denied contacting Hosseini or any other witnesses after the shooting.

At the evidentiary hearing, Barsamian and Hosseini repeated what they said at the trial  that their slain friend didnt bring a gun. But they did admit that another friend had brought a shotgun in the trunk of Yepremyans car  a fact that they had previously hidden but came clean about shortly before they testified at the trial.

On the last day of the hearing, Superior Court Judge Gregory Dohi said recantations should be viewed with skepticism.

But you dont rule em all out, he said, later noting that it could take him up to two months to reach a decision. I have a lot to think about.

While the judge considers the new evidence, Manjikians and Jurians families  who have long maintained the men are not murderers  see a glimmer of hope.

Once you have a jury verdict, its like a decision that God has made, Jurians sister Anna said, through tears. To overturn that verdict, you have to truly have a miracle happen. Were hopeful something is going to happen.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @AleneTchek

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Thousands took to the streets of Broadway in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday for a festival that celebrated the movie palaces, architecture and urban beat of the famed street.

The event  which stretched from 3rd Street down to Olympic Boulevard  included performances on 10 stages as well as a variety of other attractions.

Before the event, the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar estimated 60,000 would attend Night On Broadway 2017, though no official numbers were available (an LAPD captain on Twitter estimated the crowd at more than 40,000) .

Night on Broadway started as a way of drawing attention to the commercial district, which in downtown L.A.s heyday was home to many of the citys grandest movie houses and its top shopping destination.

Most of the theaters closed as demographic change swept downtown L.A. after World War II. But in recent years, Broadway has seen a revitalization that brought new restaurants and shops, notably the revival of Grand Central Market.

There are now plans to build a streetcar on Broadway.

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A second day of protests got underway at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday after a day of chaos, fear, protests and ultimately some relief over President Trumps travel bans.

Trumps executive order suspends all refugee entries for 120 days. It also indefinitely blocks Syrian refugees and bars entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

At least seven  and perhaps many more  people were caught in the new policy at LAX. They were detained for hours as an army of attorneys tried to free them. Attorneys created a makeshift office at Tom Bradley International Terminal to try to aid travelers who were being held by federal officials, setting up outside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office.

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Relatives of those being detained stood nervously throughout the terminal, desperate for any shred of information about the fate of their loved ones. On Saturday evening, Bayar Yousif had been trading text messages with his brother, Bessar, who had been detained since he landed at 4:30 p.m.

He doesnt know if they will release him or if they will deport him, Yousif said.

Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a green card, was detained and released at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

The brothers immigrated to the U.S. from Iraqi Kurdistan with their parents in 2014  five years after seeking refugee status  and settled in Fallbrook. All four of them have green cards, but Bessar had traveled to Kurdistan last week, where he got engaged.

Just after 8 pm, Bayars phone rang. It was his brother, though he didnt have an update on his status.

What can we do? Bayar said. We cant do anything.

1 / 62 Supporters of President Trump rally in favor of his immigration ban executive order Saturday at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 62 Protesters rallying against the first travel ban signed by President Trump march around Los Angeles International Airport in February. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 62 Trump supporters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 62 Muhaned El Hindi protests the immigration ban Saturday during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 62 Mathew Woods, a supporter of President Trump, voices support for an immigration ban during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 62 Passengers stand in the doorway of a baggage claim area to take pictures and video of marchers protesting the immigration ban of President Trump at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 62 Supporters of President Trumps travel ban stand across the street from the #NoBanNoWall protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 62 Cooper Chvotkin, 6, gets a turn to voice his opinion on the megaphone with other protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 62 Protesters march through the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX on Saturday to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 62 Abeer Abdelrahman, left, hugs her sister Areej Ali at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday after Ali, who has a green card, was able to come through the arrivals area with the help of an attorney after being detained and questioned. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 62 Noor Hindi, left, and Sham Najjar, right, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 62 Attorneys crowd a small table at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 62 Immigration Attorney Monica Glicken, left, listens to Mohamed, right, as she tries to find travelers to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 62 Hundreds of people protested President Trumps original travel ban at LAX in January. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 62 Protesters block traffic at LAX, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 62 Demonstrators take a pizza break while blocking traffic on the upper level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal while police monitor the rally. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 17 / 62 A pro-Trump supporter argues with protesters about the presidents travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 18 / 62 Hundreds sit in on the arrival level of LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal, blocking traffic to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 62 Airport police plead with protesters to get off the pavement in order to let stranded motorists exit. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 62 Protesters block traffic, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 62 Muslims pray as hundreds stand in support on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during a protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 62 Police position themselves as a man takes photos on the on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during protests to President Donald Trumps new immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 62 A police officer watches protesters at the lower deck of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 62 Assmaa Kalm, left, and Rosanna Sounbl, right, protest President Trumps travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 62 Police keep an eye on people who continue to protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 62 Hundreds take part in an impromptu sit-in at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 62 People hang a banner in support of immigrants on a parking structure across the street from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 62 Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a Shame sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Jan. 29, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 62 Attorney Lisa Smith joins people at LAX who continue to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 62 A lone supporter of President Trump and Vice President Pence is protected by police while a large group of people continue to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 62 Chella, from Sherman Oaks, holds the U.S. flag with words from the tablet on the Statue of Liberty. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 62 Hundreds of people gather at Los Angeles International Airport to continue protesting President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 62 Donald Trump supporters hold signs across the road from protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 62 Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support of immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trumps new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 62 A protester holds up sign at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 62 Hassan Al Garaawi, of San Diego, right, looks for his mother-in-law Gish Alsaeedi who has been detained at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Sunday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 43 / 62 Passengers arrive at LAX as protests continue Sunday over President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 44 / 62 Izzy Berdan, of Boston wears an American flag as he chants slogans with other demonstrators Sunday during a rally against President Trumps order that restricts travel to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations. (Steven Senne / Associated Press) 45 / 62 People gather in Bostons Copley Square to protest the travel ban enacted by President Trump. (Darren McCollester / Getty Images) 46 / 62 Demonstrators gather Sunday near the White House to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban. (Zach Gibson / Getty Images) 47 / 62 People continue to protest President Trumps travel ban on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 48 / 62 Attorney Dana Clausen waits on Sunday to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX as people continue to protest President Trumps executive order that led to travelers from several majority-Muslim countries being detained upon arrival. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 62 Kamryn Taghizadeh, 18, holds up a sign Saturday night as she waits for grandfather Reza Taghizadeh, 78, a minimalist painter who was detained as he arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal from Iran. The artist and green-card holder was later released. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 62 Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a U.S. green card, is released after being detained at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 62 Seattle police use pepper spray and push the last group of protesters out of a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal after giving a final dispersal order at about 2 a.m Sunday. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 52 / 62 Saffiya Hrahsheh, center, is helped away from police by Liz Bates, left, and others after being pepper sprayed by officers breaking up protests early Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 53 / 62 Siavosh Naji-Talakar greets his grandmother, Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, at LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal. She was detained upon arriving from Iran. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 62 People arrive and LAPD officers stand by at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX as the protest continues peacefully. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to oppose President Trumps refugee ban. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 62 Saudia Airlines flight attendants wait to pass through a securioty checkpoint at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 62 Protesters rally against Trumps refugee crackdown at at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to speak out against President Trumps refugee policy Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 62 Protesters march through Tom Bradley International Terminal to voice opposition to President Trumps refugee policy. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 62 Protesters rally against the new immigration order at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 62 Protesters hold signs during a protest against Trumps immigration executive order at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 62 / 62 Protesters assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqis were detained while trying to enter the country. (Craig Ruttle / Associated Press)

At about 10 p.m., 28-year-old Neda Daemi was released after being detained for 10 hours. The student, who holds a green card and had traveled to Iran five months ago, said she was held with approximately 40 other people, but praised federal authorities for treating them well.

Still, she was shocked to find immigration officials waiting for her when she landed at LAX.

When I got here and they told me you cant go in, I was like, Are you kidding me? she said.

Asked what she would say to President Trump, Daemi said she would implore him to Just think of your own children. Would you do the same to your children? Muslims are good people.

By Sunday morning, more detainees were being released after judges stayed Trumps order.

Among them was Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, who was greeted by her grandson, Siavosh Naji-Talakar. She had been detained since arriving from Iran on Saturday.

It remained unclear how many people had been detained. In addition to the seven detainees the ACLU said it was representing, the legal director of an Los Angeles-based immigrants rights group also told The Times as many as 50 Iranians had been detained on one flight. Representatives of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency did not respond to requests for comment or provide a full tally of those being detained at California airports on Saturday.

An Iranian woman whose citizenship swearing-in ceremony will take place in two weeks was among those detained at LAX on Saturday, according to Jordan Cummings, an immigration attorney. The woman has held a green card for five years, Cummings said.

Hundreds of people rallied at Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest the detentions, their chants echoing through the building as they waved candles and held signs denouncing Trumps decision.

No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here, they chanted.

Beverly Weise, 66, said she felt a moral obligation to protest on Saturday after she spent two weeks volunteering at Souda refugee camp in Greece, where 3,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia were sheltered.

Theyre running away from war, persecution  they cant understand why we are so hostile, she said. All they want is a peaceful life.

The protesters at LAX erupted in cheers when news broke of a federal court decision staying portions of Trumps order.

I think its wonderful, Mohi Khairandish, a 52-year-old who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1976 and still has relatives there, said of the stay. Im hoping that the ban is proven unconstitutional in general, if necessary, at the Supreme Court because I think its a very un-American ban.

Although the New York court decision may have marked a partial victory for opponents of the ban, the emergency stay came too late for some. Kristen Jackson, an attorney with Public Counsel, said attorneys tried to intervene after a 70-year-old Iranian man was held by federal authorities at LAX. His son is an American resident and the father was moving to the U.S., she said.

Jackson and other attorneys filed court papers to try to stop the mans removal, but he was put on an airplane back to Iran, she said.

Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights for the ACLU in California, said on Saturday that the advocacy group had filed habeas petitions on behalf of the seven people being detained. Four of those are Iranian, and all hold green cards or U.S. visas, she said.

Pasquarella said Trumps rush to enact the executive order has exposed countless people to potentially illegal detentions.

I would say it has been done without regard to the legality of it. Green-card holders are not only being detained, but theyre being turned around and deported to the country that they came from. It is unlawful, she said. Certainly the discriminatory nature of the executive order, we think, is unlawful.

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UPDATES:

11:40 a.m.: This story was updated with demonstrations on Sunday at LAX.

8:20 a.m.: This story was updated with additional comments and details from attorneys.

This article was first published at 7:50 a.m.
President Trump and top business leaders settled into an uneasy detente after his shock-victory in November. It began to fray Saturday, when a handful of tech executives spoke out against Trump's order banning U.S. entry to immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Dissent started trickling in from Silicon Valley chiefs as the extent of the ban, issued late Friday afternoon, became clear. With green card-holding employees left stranded abroad--and news reports dominated by reports of refugees from war zones getting detained in American airports--execs from , Facebook, , Lyft, and Uber voiced varying degrees of alarm.

A federal judge on Saturday issued an emergency ruling protecting refugees and other immigrants stuck in American airports from being sent back to their countries. But the judge did not grant them entry or address the constitutionality of Trumps directive.

"Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Google CEO Sunar Pichai wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The travel ban ensnared some 187 Googlers who hail from the countries it targets. "We've always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so," Pichai added.

Apple CEO Tim Cook weighed in, as well, writing in his own memo to his workforce that the company--founded by Steve Jobs, the son of immigrants from Syria, one of the impacted countries--"would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do." Writing from Washington, where Cook has been meeting with senior lawmakers and senior Trump hands, Apples CEO said some of the iPhone makers employees were "directly affected" by the ban. Apples human resources, legal, and security teams were doing what they could for them, Cook wrote, and the company has already reached out to the White House to register its objections.

Story continues

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his own platform Friday afternoon to opine that the U.S. should focus its security measures on "people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who dont pose a threat will live in fear of deportation." Zuckerberg noted his family and that of his wife, Priscilla, arrived here as refugees.

The criticism from tech leaders marked the first meaningful breach between corporate brass and Trump since his win quieted what had been seemingly near-uniform opposition to his candidacy from Silicon Valley and other business leaders. No Fortune 100 CEO endorsed Trump in the race, while others, including some who self-identify as Republicans, backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump's victory initiated a truce. A market rally unleashed by expectations of new infrastructure spending and regulatory rollbacks helped hold it together--as did fear in C-suites of being singled out by the new president, who's wielded his Twitter account to name and shame American companies he believes are underinvesting at home.

Fortune on Saturday reached out to most of the companies in the Fortune 100. Many didnt respond to requests for comment on the immigration ban. Others declined to comment or said they were still reviewing its impact.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
Thousands of protesters converged on Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday to condemn President Trumps travel restrictions as attorneys filed court papers on behalf of those who were detained at the airport.

Demonstrators shut down traffic in front of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and faced off with police in riot gear, chanting, Let them in! and Love, not hate, makes America great.

After protesters marched around the airport, disrupting traffic, police confined the crowd to the area in front of the Bradley terminal.

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Then dozens of protesters sat down, blocking the airports busy thoroughfare  World Way  and refused to leave until all detainees are released. Two lines of airport police officers with helmets and batons stood nearby.

At 10 p.m., two people were arrested for blocking the roadway, according to LAX police Officer Rob Pedregon. The two were cited and released.

Late Sunday, airport officials said police and demonstrators had brokered an agreement that allowed for upper and lower level roads to alternate being fully open for 30-minute periods. During each period, demonstrators could block one level for 15 minutes while the other level remained open.

Demonstrators dispersed and upper- and lower-level roadways were fully open, with traffic flowing normally, LAX officials said in a 12:30 a.m. statement.

Well be monitoring social media for any events that may come up, Pedregon said Monday morning.

Airport officials said the agreement protected protesters civil rights while allowing operations at one of the nations busiest airports to continue.

Motorist Rebekah Bergeron, 22, was sitting at the head of a line of cars blocked by the protesters. Though she said she didnt object to their demonstration, she also wanted to get home to Arizona.

I have no problem if they want to protest this, but I just missed my flight, she said. I just watched it take off.

Another driver, Launita Walker, 51, of Lancaster, said she also supported the protesters message but desperately needed to get to the home of her sick mother in the San Fernando Valley.

Im on their side all the way around but I need to get out of here, said a visibly exasperated Walker.

At one point, Assistant LAPD Chief Michel Moore used a megaphone to repeatedly ask the protesters to move to the sidewalk. He said he was not asking them to leave the airport but to simply clear the roadway in front of the Bradley terminal.

We do not want to arrest you, he said.

Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights for the ACLU in California, said her advocacy group had filed habeas petitions on behalf of seven people who were detained at LAX on Saturday. Those seven were later released.

The ACLU filed an amended petition on Sunday asking a federal judge to order that all detainees obtain access to lawyers as well as phones. A judge could hear the petition on Monday or Tuesday.

Also Sunday, a federal judge issued an order instructing federal officials to transport an Iranian man back to the U.S. after he was deported from LAX the day before. The judge cited the irreparable harm the man could face as well as the likelihood that his deportation violated the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Pasquarella also said federal immigration officials have been urging some detainees to waive their applications for admission to the U.S., an allegation echoed by ACLU officials in other cities.

It was not clear what detainees were being threatened with, but Pasquarella suggested officials could threaten to deport detained individuals, which could have a long-term effect on their ability to reenter the U.S. at a later date.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency did not respond to requests for comment.

1 / 62 Supporters of President Trump rally in favor of his immigration ban executive order Saturday at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 62 Protesters rallying against the first travel ban signed by President Trump march around Los Angeles International Airport in February. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 62 Trump supporters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 62 Muhaned El Hindi protests the immigration ban Saturday during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 62 Mathew Woods, a supporter of President Trump, voices support for an immigration ban during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 62 Passengers stand in the doorway of a baggage claim area to take pictures and video of marchers protesting the immigration ban of President Trump at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 62 Supporters of President Trumps travel ban stand across the street from the #NoBanNoWall protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 62 Cooper Chvotkin, 6, gets a turn to voice his opinion on the megaphone with other protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 62 Protesters march through the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX on Saturday to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 62 Abeer Abdelrahman, left, hugs her sister Areej Ali at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday after Ali, who has a green card, was able to come through the arrivals area with the help of an attorney after being detained and questioned. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 62 Noor Hindi, left, and Sham Najjar, right, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 62 Attorneys crowd a small table at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 62 Immigration Attorney Monica Glicken, left, listens to Mohamed, right, as she tries to find travelers to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 62 Hundreds of people protested President Trumps original travel ban at LAX in January. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 62 Protesters block traffic at LAX, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 62 Demonstrators take a pizza break while blocking traffic on the upper level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal while police monitor the rally. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 17 / 62 A pro-Trump supporter argues with protesters about the presidents travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 18 / 62 Hundreds sit in on the arrival level of LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal, blocking traffic to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 62 Airport police plead with protesters to get off the pavement in order to let stranded motorists exit. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 62 Protesters block traffic, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 62 Muslims pray as hundreds stand in support on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during a protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 62 Police position themselves as a man takes photos on the on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during protests to President Donald Trumps new immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 62 A police officer watches protesters at the lower deck of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 62 Assmaa Kalm, left, and Rosanna Sounbl, right, protest President Trumps travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 62 Police keep an eye on people who continue to protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 62 Hundreds take part in an impromptu sit-in at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 62 People hang a banner in support of immigrants on a parking structure across the street from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 62 Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a Shame sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Jan. 29, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 62 Attorney Lisa Smith joins people at LAX who continue to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 62 A lone supporter of President Trump and Vice President Pence is protected by police while a large group of people continue to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 62 Chella, from Sherman Oaks, holds the U.S. flag with words from the tablet on the Statue of Liberty. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 62 Hundreds of people gather at Los Angeles International Airport to continue protesting President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 62 Donald Trump supporters hold signs across the road from protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 62 Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support of immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trumps new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 62 A protester holds up sign at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 62 Hassan Al Garaawi, of San Diego, right, looks for his mother-in-law Gish Alsaeedi who has been detained at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Sunday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 43 / 62 Passengers arrive at LAX as protests continue Sunday over President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 44 / 62 Izzy Berdan, of Boston wears an American flag as he chants slogans with other demonstrators Sunday during a rally against President Trumps order that restricts travel to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations. (Steven Senne / Associated Press) 45 / 62 People gather in Bostons Copley Square to protest the travel ban enacted by President Trump. (Darren McCollester / Getty Images) 46 / 62 Demonstrators gather Sunday near the White House to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban. (Zach Gibson / Getty Images) 47 / 62 People continue to protest President Trumps travel ban on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 48 / 62 Attorney Dana Clausen waits on Sunday to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX as people continue to protest President Trumps executive order that led to travelers from several majority-Muslim countries being detained upon arrival. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 62 Kamryn Taghizadeh, 18, holds up a sign Saturday night as she waits for grandfather Reza Taghizadeh, 78, a minimalist painter who was detained as he arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal from Iran. The artist and green-card holder was later released. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 62 Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a U.S. green card, is released after being detained at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 62 Seattle police use pepper spray and push the last group of protesters out of a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal after giving a final dispersal order at about 2 a.m Sunday. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 52 / 62 Saffiya Hrahsheh, center, is helped away from police by Liz Bates, left, and others after being pepper sprayed by officers breaking up protests early Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 53 / 62 Siavosh Naji-Talakar greets his grandmother, Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, at LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal. She was detained upon arriving from Iran. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 62 People arrive and LAPD officers stand by at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX as the protest continues peacefully. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to oppose President Trumps refugee ban. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 62 Saudia Airlines flight attendants wait to pass through a securioty checkpoint at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 62 Protesters rally against Trumps refugee crackdown at at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to speak out against President Trumps refugee policy Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 62 Protesters march through Tom Bradley International Terminal to voice opposition to President Trumps refugee policy. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 62 Protesters rally against the new immigration order at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 62 Protesters hold signs during a protest against Trumps immigration executive order at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 62 / 62 Protesters assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqis were detained while trying to enter the country. (Craig Ruttle / Associated Press)

Lindsay Toczylowski, an attorney and the executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said employees with U.S. Customs and Border Protection are not answering questions from lawyers seeking to speak with detainees, including how many detainees there are at the airport.

One detainee relayed to the ACLU that at least 100 people were being held on Saturday evening, Pasquarella said. Other immigration attorneys have corroborated that information, but cautioned that it was extremely difficult to get a reliable estimate. A law enforcement source told The Times that 13 people had been detained at Terminal 2 on Saturday night, but each of them held a green card and was eventually released. The source could not provide detention figures for the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Jacob Kemper, a 35-year-old Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq, said he was infuriated to think soldiers he fought alongside might be denied entry to the country.

I really dont care about religion, but I really hate oppression, he said, holding a sign that read, I Fought Next to Muslims. Thats the way America is going.

Crowds of chanting protesters swelling into the hundreds at LAX Bradley International Terminal #TrumpBan @jpanzar pic.twitter.com/ZXZE9sDNLG  Brian van der Brug (@bvdbrug) January 29, 2017

Molly Logan of Seal Beach and Jamie Shoemaker of LA join the LAX protests. pic.twitter.com/2sfTXV6st2  Javier Panzar  (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017

Protesters at LAX are thanking lawyers who have shown up to offer assistance. pic.twitter.com/Bl0SLENfZX  Javier Panzar  (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017

Rana, an immigrant green card holder, is worried she will not be allowed back into the US as she waits to board @LAX pic.twitter.com/H4J7nuZsNA  Brian van der Brug (@bvdbrug) January 29, 2017

Lively LAX protests continues with sign chants and slogans "no fence no walls, you build it up we'll tear it down." pic.twitter.com/cNL6lwnX4A  Brian van der Brug (@bvdbrug) January 29, 2017

Nurse Jamie Shoemaker, 51, of Los Angeles stood at the entrance of the international terminal holding an American flag in one hand and carrying a sign that read, Muslims are welcome here, racists and fascists are not.

She called Trumps order un-American.

This is not the country I want, she said. This is not the country I grew up in.

Shay Soltani, a network engineer, fled the Iranian Revolution 40 years ago and still has family members in Iran. She doesnt know if she will be able to see them again.

As she and hundreds of others marched through the international terminal Sunday, she said she was horrified by Trumps order.

I am so hurt by this, she said. He is against freedom of speech and the Constitution and everything I believe in as an American.

She said if Trumps order stands and his wall is built, whats the difference between us and Syria or Iran or any oppressive government?

His actions, she said, erode the very ideals that attract refugees to the United States.

Otherwise why come here?

Trumps executive order suspended refugee arrivals and banned entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries. It indefinitely blocks Syrian refugees and bars entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

On Saturday, after mass demonstrations across the country, a federal judge in New York ordered a halt to deportations of travelers who arrived at airports with valid visas to enter the U.S., saying that sending them back to the affected countries could cause them irreparable harm. But she did not rule on the legality of the order.

Rulings from the federal bench appear to have come too late for some.

Marjan Vayghan of West Los Angeles said her uncle was deported from LAX on Saturday afternoon just before the American Civil Liberties Union arrived with paperwork to stop the deportations.

Ali Vayeghan arrived at 7:15 p.m. Friday from Tehran. He was going to stay with Marjan Vayghans parents, then go to Indiana to join his wife, who arrived in the U.S. four months ahead of him, and his son.

He hasnt seen his son in 12 years, Marjan Vayghan said.

But he never emerged from customs. She said he was put on a plane to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.

The ACLU was trying to prevent his deportation but arrived with paperwork 45 minutes too late.

The family spoke to him by phone after he landed in Dubai, where he was waiting to be put on a flight to Tehran.

We only have an hour and one minute, Marjan Vayghan said by cellphone Sunday afternoon. My family is just here staring at the clock.

Hes literally crying in the airport in Dubai, she said.

On Sunday afternoon, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered authorities to transport Vayeghan back to the U.S. and admit him under the terms of his visa, which is set to expire Feb. 14.

U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee said in her order that Vayeghan had demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in establishing that removal violates the Establishment Clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and his rights to Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

By the time the order came down, Vayeghan was on a plane bound for Tehran, and his family said they were uncertain what would happen next.

Anna Jaeal, 61, immigrated to the U.S. from Palestine 45 years ago. Wearing a sky blue hijab and holding a small sign that said, Dump Trump, she said she believed others deserved the same opportunity.

Injustice is growing in our country, said Jaeal, who lives in Anaheim. This is clearly targeting a specific group of people.

Holding a sign that read, Our Anne Frank Is a Syrian Child, Alexandra Noyes, 41, said her background as a Jewish woman made her decide to drive to the airport from Costa Mesa on Sunday morning.

As a Jewish kid you are relentlessly trained to stand up for people who are being oppressed in the way that the Jews have been in the past, she said. Around the time of the election, it became pretty clear that now is that time.

Roughly a dozen counter-protesters popped up on the street across from the Bradley terminal, holding signs that said, X-treme Vetting and Keep Refugees Out, saying they were tired of the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. that they believe jeopardizes the safety of American citizens.

Chanell Temple, 63, of Los Angeles said she was sick of watching immigrants in the country illegally steal benefits and services from American citizens, specifically veterans and homeless persons who need aid.

They are coming here and taking everything away, said Temple, a former bookkeeper who said she lost her job and healthcare after she was fired for an inability to speak Spanish.

Asked what she thought about reports of green card holders, who are legal residents of the U.S., being detained, she said those reports were lies.

Raul Rodriguez Jr., the coordinator of a group called America First Latinos, said he was concerned about what he believes is a surge in crimes committed against Americans by immigrants in the country illegally.

They are lawbreakers. They have violated federal law and they need to be deported.

Los Angeles police officers and airport officers have established two lines at the airport, seemingly controlling foot traffic and keeping people from entering the street in front of the international terminal.

A few officers could be seen wearing riot helmets, and most of the officers seemed to be situated near a group of pro-Trump demonstrators. The group had been surrounded by demonstrators protesting the detentions but police separated the groups.

Protesters have completely blocked the inner roadway on the lower level of the Bradley terminal, and smaller crowds have also popped up on the opposite side of the street as well as the adjacent parking structure and the roadway connecting the deck to the departure level.

There was an almost carnival atmosphere as some protesters marched around the lower level of LAX beating drums, blowing whistles and chanting, No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all.

Carl Calkins ran down the road giving high-fives to travelers waiting for buses and taxis. The 37-year-old construction worker from Los Angeles even led some of the members of a UCLA group in an eight-clap as they waited curbside.

The march was serious for Calkins. He said he came in place of two friends, green card holders from Somalia and Sudan who said they were afraid of protesting in the wake of Trumps ban.

Immigrants make this country great, he said.

Across the street from the terminal, a dozen or so men, women and children put their knees down on rolls of butcher paper for the Dhuhr prayer, the second of five daily prayers for Muslims.

Masih Fouladi, a lawyer and advocacy manager with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was heartened by the positive energy from the crowd.

It is great to see so many people out in solidarity, he said.

Arus Marukyan stood at the door of the international terminal wearing a U.S. national team soccer jersey and holding a sign that read, We are a nation of immigrants.

Marukyan, a graphic designer from Glendale, knows that personally. Her family came to the United States from Armenia when she was 3 years old.

She had a green card until she was 18.

When she arrived at the protest Sunday she overheard a family that had been detained by customs officials describing their ordeal.

I started to tear up, she said. That easily could have been me.

She was heartened by the large turnout. Nearby, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) was leading the crowd in a chant: No ban, no wall, you build it up well tear it down.

Ill be here tomorrow if I need to, Marukyan said.

james.queally@latimes.com | @jamesqueallyLAT

javier.panzar@latimes.com | @jpanzar

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UPDATES:

Jan. 30, 5:27 a.m.: This story was updated with details of demonstrators dispersing.

10:20 p.m.: This story was updated with information that two people were arrested.

10:45 p.m.: This story was updated with information on the agreement brokered between protesters and police.

9:55 p.m.: This story was updated with additional information from immigration attorneys.

9:00 p.m.: This post was updated with new information from police.

7:00 p.m.: This story was updated with new information from police regarding demonstrators.

6:10 p.m.: This story was updated with new information about protesters blocking traffic at LAX.

4:30 p.m.: This story has been updated with details on a federal judges ruling ordering a deported Iranian man back to the U.S.

4:08 p.m.: This story has been updated with more comments from protesters.

3:15 p.m.: This story has been updated with more information about detainees and security at LAX.

2:20 p.m.: This story has been updated with more comments from protesters.

1:35 p.m.: This story was updated with more information about demonstrators.

1:20 p.m.: This story was updated with information from the ACLU.

1 p.m.: This story was updated with more comments from demonstrators at LAX.

This story was originally published on Jan. 29 at 12:20 p.m.
Glitches in a new computer system at Los Angeles Countys child protection agency have caused hundreds of missed payments to foster care parents, group home managers and others receiving public assistance, according to county officials.

Those living paycheck to paycheck found themselves in dire straits. One young woman said she was kicked out of her apartment. Another had to wait in food lines to find something to eat. A group home manager said she had to borrow thousands of dollars from friends to make payroll.

The problem stems from a new digital case file system implemented by the Department of Children and Family Services late last year, a conversion that county officials said was required by state law. About 500,000 cases had to be moved to the new system, according to DCFS officials.

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The missed payments come at a particularly sensitive time for DCFS as officials face a critical shortage in foster care beds. Thousands of kids in recent years were moved to facilities not meant for long-term housing.

Department head Philip Browning downplayed the problem, saying it affected only about 700 payments out of some 46,000.

There were bound to be hiccups with such a massive digital conversion, Browning said.

Theres no single conversion or implementation Ive ever seen where everything worked 100% correctly, Browning said. I dont think that exists.

It took a toll on me mentally, worrying about how Im going to eat, worrying about how Im going to get to school, things people shouldnt have to worry about.  Myeisha Jackson, student

He said the county has expanded the hours of a hotline and dedicated more staff to resolving the problem.

I believe that all of those situations, for which a payment wasnt made, have been addressed, he said.

When the money finally came for 21-year-old Myeisha Jackson, it was a little too late.

Jackson was getting $883 a month under a DCFS program that helps ex-foster care youth like her transition to adulthood. Shes a full-time student at Pasadena College, and the county assistance has been her only income.

She said after several months of missed payments she finally received her money in December.

By the time it arrived, her landlord had already thrown her out of her apartment, she said. For months, she scrambled just to eat and find a place to live, at times staying with a friend and then finally her sister.

Getting DCFS to correct the problem was a difficult task, Jackson said. Social workers told her there was a hotline to call for young people in her program, but the number was almost always busy. She said she called dozens of times a day trying to get through to someone.

It took a toll on me mentally, worrying about how Im going to eat, worrying about how Im going to get to school, things people shouldnt have to worry about, Jackson said.

Trent Lee was also receiving assistance under the program. His checks stopped coming about three months ago. He wasnt eligible for food stamps because he had signed up for the DCFS money. When he didnt receive his monthly payments, he resorted to standing in the food lines at a local church to eat.

Its kind of humiliating, Lee said. Because you know you cant do this on your own.

Lee also said the countys hotline was busy when he called. One day he called right at 8 a.m. to try to beat everyone else calling. An automated system answered the phone, telling him he was No. 40 in line.

In the cases of Jackson and Lee, Browning at first disputed their stories, saying they had received all they were due and on time.

Jackson provided pay stubs to The Times that showed her payments were late, and included notations that said DCFS officials were unable to setup her checks through the countys case management system.

Lee also insisted that he hadnt been paid. After The Times inquiry, he said he received a call from a DCFS official acknowledging his missed payments and blaming it on the new system.

In a subsequent interview, Browning acknowledged he had been mistaken about their cases.

Browning and other child protection agency officials said the missed payments resulted from a combination of glitches within the system and information  such as addresses and ID numbers  being entered in ways the system didnt understand. The cause of a missed payment could be as simple as an errant hyphen, Browning said.

In 2012, the county approved a contract with Accenture, LLP worth $730 million to implement the new case management system across two county departments, one that administers a broad range of social services and the other focused on child protection. A company representative referred requests for comment to county officials.

Leslie Heimov, executive director of the Childrens Law Center of California, said her organization has been tracking more than 50 young people who have gone unpaid because of the system glitches. She said the county was slow to do anything until advocacy organizations such as hers got involved and started calling and emailing every day.

According to Heimov, many still havent been paid months after not receiving their checks. Her organization has also received reports of kids being ousted from their homes for missing rent and with their things thrown out. One had to drop out of college because he couldnt make tuition, she said.

To have the entity helping them to learn to be responsible dropping the ball, and dropping it hard, so these kids are left without being able to pay their rent, and late fees. it adds a whole other layer for why these kids leave the system so angry and frustrated, Heimov said.

Adam.Elmahrek@latimes.com

@adamelmahrek

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Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said he spent several hours at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night into Sunday morning, but was repeatedly denied access to federal detainees or an attorney who could discuss the situation with him.

My goals in going were to get information as to whether customs officials were complying with the federal order ... and to try and secure the release of the detainees, he said on Sunday morning.

Feuer said he was concerned that federal officials were not complying with an emergency stay granted by a federal judge on Saturday night that was meant to block detainees from being deported under President Trumps executive order.

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While he was at the airport, Feuer said he was approached by a woman who claimed her father, suffering from Parkinsons disease, was among the detainees.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer speaks to the press during the inaugural National Prosecutorial Summit, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014 in Atlanta. (Branden Camp / Associated Press)

It is those kind of real stories that are at stake because of this outrageous action by the feds, he said. It is time not only for officials in my position, but all Americans, should find this a breathtaking violation of rights.

Feuer was unable to get information on the number of people being detained at LAX. Federal officials have repeatedly ignored requests for a tally of the number of people being held at LAX.

A law enforcement source told The Times that 13 people had been detained at Terminal 2 on Saturday night, but each of them held a green card and was eventually let in. It was not clear how long they were detained, according to the source, who could not provide detention figures for the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which has been the center of protest activity.

The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation at the airport.

Federal officials have declined to discuss the LAX detentions or respond to Feuers criticisms.

An Iranian woman whose citizenship swearing-in ceremony will take place in two weeks was among those detained at LAX on Saturday, according to Jordan Cummings, an immigration attorney. The woman has held a green card for five years, Cummings said.

Hundreds of people rallied at Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest the detentions, their chants echoing through the building as they waved candles and held signs denouncing Trumps decision.

No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here, they chanted.

Beverly Weise, 66, said she felt a moral obligation to protest on Saturday after she spent two weeks volunteering at Souda refugee camp in Greece, where 3,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia were sheltered.

Theyre running away from war, persecution  they cant understand why we are so hostile, she said. All they want is a peaceful life.

The protesters at LAX erupted in cheers when news broke of a federal court decision staying portions of Trumps order.

I think its wonderful, Mohi Khairandish, a 52-year-old who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1976 and still has relatives there, said of the stay. Im hoping that the ban is proven unconstitutional in general, if necessary, at the Supreme Court because I think its a very un-American ban.

Although the New York court decision may have marked a partial victory for opponents of the ban, the emergency stay came too late for some. Kristen Jackson, an attorney with Public Counsel, said attorneys tried to intervene after a 70-year-old Iranian man was held by federal authorities at LAX. His son is an American resident and the father was moving to the U.S., she said.

Jackson and other attorneys filed court papers to try to stop the mans removal, but he was put on an airplane back to Iran, she said.

Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights for the ACLU in California, said on Saturday that the advocacy group had filed habeas petitions on behalf of the seven people being detained. Four of those are Iranian, and all hold green cards or U.S. visas, she said.

Pasquarella said Trumps rush to enact the executive order has exposed countless people to potentially illegal detentions.

I would say it has been done without regard to the legality of it. Green-card holders are not only being detained, but theyre being turned around and deported to the country that they came from. It is unlawful, she said. Certainly the discriminatory nature of the executive order, we think, is unlawful.

james.queally@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

12:15 p.m.: This post was updated with the federal government declining to discuss the detentions or comment on criticism leveled by City Atty. Mike Feuer.

This post originally published at 11:20 a.m.
Marzieh Moosavizadeh and her grandson follow a routine when she visits almost every year from Iran.

The 75-year-old, who travels in a wheelchair and speaks little English, struggles to find direct flights to Phoenix, where he and his family live. So they meet in Los Angeles and he escorts her on the last leg of her trip.

This time was different.

Moosavizadeh landed at Los Angeles International Airport a day after President Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, from entering the United States.

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Marzieh Moosavizadeh and her grandson Siavosh Naji-Talakar leave their hotel room in El Segundo after she was detained at LAX. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Moosavizadehs plans to catch her last flight were upended when she said she was held at LAX for nine hours with dozens of other passengers who, like her, had no idea whether they would be released or sent back to their native country.

Sitting there for eight hours, for somebody who has arthritis, is very, very hard, Moosavizadeh said while recounting her detention in an interview with The Times in Persian while her son translated by phone. Please, tell Mr. Trump when they make these kind of decisions, think it all the way through.

For Moosavizadeh, who her grandson said has held a green card since 1997, the anxiety set in when she landed shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Customs officers scanned her passport, held it up next to her head and told her to wait. Then, they ushered her to a room where she said a couple dozen passengers  Iranians, Africans and Asians  were being held.

She sat there for two hours before officers led her, along with a handful of others passengers from her flight, to another room filled with travelers from Iran. She spent the next several hours there.

Siavosh Naji-Talakar, left, helps his grandmother Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, pack at their hotel near LAX in El Segundo. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

At about 6 p.m., Moosavizadehs wheelchair attendant offered her a cellphone to call her grandson.

She told him to go eat and rest  she heard shed be held for a few more hours. He told her to stay calm, he wasnt going anywhere.

Every hour or so, Moosavizadeh said, officers would come by to escort passengers to the bathroom or drop off 8-ounce water bottles. The English-speakers implored them for answers.

Its out of our hands, the officers said. Their fate was up to their superiors.

Passengers were afraid to talk to one another, Moosavizadeh said. No one knew whether theyd be released or sent back to Iran.

Most of them, they thought they were going to get deported, she said, through her son.

A hand made sign in Siavosh Naji-Talakar, held this sign as his greeted his grandmother Marzieh Moosavizadeh at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

At one point, she was taken elsewhere for questioning. Customs officers asked her when she last visited the U.S., who she lives with in Iran and where she gets her income.

When she returned, she snacked on almonds shed packed in her purse.

Thank God I put them in my purse, otherwise I didnt have anything on me, she said.

Meanwhile, in Phoenix, her sons frantically refreshed news articles and peppered her grandson, Siavosh Naji-Talakar, with questions he couldnt answer. Huddled among throngs of boisterous protesters demanding the detainees be released, Naji-Talakar could do little but wait.

Over and over, they chanted, Let them in! They said they wouldnt leave otherwise.

Some offered Naji-Talakar food and a couch for the night, others money for a hotel room.

Nearby, the detainees heard the cries, faintly. They had no idea, though, if those who had gathered were there to support or decry them. A customs officer, Moosavizadeh said, told the group that it wasnt safe for them to let them go.

Eventually, officers began calling passengers one by one. Detainees were taken away, alone or in pairs, while those left behind wondered if they were being released or deported.

We all thought they were going to give us hard time first and then send us back, Moosavizadeh said.

She added that she wants Trump to know that Muslims condemn Islamic State.

They might be Muslim, but theyre not a part of us, she said. We are all brothers and sisters and we dont believe in their values  at all.

1 / 62 Supporters of President Trump rally in favor of his immigration ban executive order Saturday at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 62 Protesters rallying against the first travel ban signed by President Trump march around Los Angeles International Airport in February. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 62 Trump supporters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 62 Muhaned El Hindi protests the immigration ban Saturday during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 62 Mathew Woods, a supporter of President Trump, voices support for an immigration ban during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 62 Passengers stand in the doorway of a baggage claim area to take pictures and video of marchers protesting the immigration ban of President Trump at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 62 Supporters of President Trumps travel ban stand across the street from the #NoBanNoWall protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 62 Cooper Chvotkin, 6, gets a turn to voice his opinion on the megaphone with other protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 62 Protesters march through the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX on Saturday to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 62 Abeer Abdelrahman, left, hugs her sister Areej Ali at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday after Ali, who has a green card, was able to come through the arrivals area with the help of an attorney after being detained and questioned. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 62 Noor Hindi, left, and Sham Najjar, right, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 62 Attorneys crowd a small table at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 62 Immigration Attorney Monica Glicken, left, listens to Mohamed, right, as she tries to find travelers to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 62 Hundreds of people protested President Trumps original travel ban at LAX in January. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 62 Protesters block traffic at LAX, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 62 Demonstrators take a pizza break while blocking traffic on the upper level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal while police monitor the rally. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 17 / 62 A pro-Trump supporter argues with protesters about the presidents travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 18 / 62 Hundreds sit in on the arrival level of LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal, blocking traffic to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 62 Airport police plead with protesters to get off the pavement in order to let stranded motorists exit. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 62 Protesters block traffic, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 62 Muslims pray as hundreds stand in support on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during a protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 62 Police position themselves as a man takes photos on the on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during protests to President Donald Trumps new immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 62 A police officer watches protesters at the lower deck of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 62 Assmaa Kalm, left, and Rosanna Sounbl, right, protest President Trumps travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 62 Police keep an eye on people who continue to protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 62 Hundreds take part in an impromptu sit-in at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 62 People hang a banner in support of immigrants on a parking structure across the street from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 62 Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a Shame sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Jan. 29, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 62 Attorney Lisa Smith joins people at LAX who continue to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 62 A lone supporter of President Trump and Vice President Pence is protected by police while a large group of people continue to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 62 Chella, from Sherman Oaks, holds the U.S. flag with words from the tablet on the Statue of Liberty. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 62 Hundreds of people gather at Los Angeles International Airport to continue protesting President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 62 Donald Trump supporters hold signs across the road from protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 62 Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support of immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trumps new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 62 A protester holds up sign at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 62 Hassan Al Garaawi, of San Diego, right, looks for his mother-in-law Gish Alsaeedi who has been detained at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Sunday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 43 / 62 Passengers arrive at LAX as protests continue Sunday over President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 44 / 62 Izzy Berdan, of Boston wears an American flag as he chants slogans with other demonstrators Sunday during a rally against President Trumps order that restricts travel to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations. (Steven Senne / Associated Press) 45 / 62 People gather in Bostons Copley Square to protest the travel ban enacted by President Trump. (Darren McCollester / Getty Images) 46 / 62 Demonstrators gather Sunday near the White House to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban. (Zach Gibson / Getty Images) 47 / 62 People continue to protest President Trumps travel ban on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 48 / 62 Attorney Dana Clausen waits on Sunday to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX as people continue to protest President Trumps executive order that led to travelers from several majority-Muslim countries being detained upon arrival. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 62 Kamryn Taghizadeh, 18, holds up a sign Saturday night as she waits for grandfather Reza Taghizadeh, 78, a minimalist painter who was detained as he arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal from Iran. The artist and green-card holder was later released. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 62 Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a U.S. green card, is released after being detained at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 62 Seattle police use pepper spray and push the last group of protesters out of a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal after giving a final dispersal order at about 2 a.m Sunday. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 52 / 62 Saffiya Hrahsheh, center, is helped away from police by Liz Bates, left, and others after being pepper sprayed by officers breaking up protests early Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 53 / 62 Siavosh Naji-Talakar greets his grandmother, Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, at LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal. She was detained upon arriving from Iran. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 62 People arrive and LAPD officers stand by at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX as the protest continues peacefully. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to oppose President Trumps refugee ban. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 62 Saudia Airlines flight attendants wait to pass through a securioty checkpoint at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 62 Protesters rally against Trumps refugee crackdown at at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to speak out against President Trumps refugee policy Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 62 Protesters march through Tom Bradley International Terminal to voice opposition to President Trumps refugee policy. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 62 Protesters rally against the new immigration order at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 62 Protesters hold signs during a protest against Trumps immigration executive order at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 62 / 62 Protesters assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqis were detained while trying to enter the country. (Craig Ruttle / Associated Press)

Moosavizadehs name was among the last ones called, at about 1 a.m.

Finally, she said, she was released from prison.

When she spotted her grandson in the crowd, she felt like she was flying.

He saw her too, and bolted.

I pushed people out of the way, I was like, Get out of my way, Naji-Talakar said. I ran up to her and gave a big old hug.

Thats when the cheering and chanting started again.

Over and over, We got grandma!

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @alenetchek

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As the protest against President Trumps immigration order continued at LAX into early Sunday, some travelers from targeted nations were being released to the relief of family and friends.

Among them was Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, who was greeted by her grandson, Siavosh Naji-Talakar, after her detention upon arriving from Iran on Saturday.

Trumps order suspends all refugee entries for 120 days. It also blocks Syrian refugees and bars entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

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Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, was detained and released at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. pic.twitter.com/I6mjMp1aj3  Francine Orr/LATimes (@francineorr) January 29, 2017

Reza taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran with a green card was detained and released at Tom Bradley International Airport / LAX. pic.twitter.com/DtDR3YZOUz  Francine Orr/LATimes (@francineorr) January 29, 2017

Reza taghizadeh, 78, was detained when he arrived to Tom Bradley International Airport- LAX. He is an artist from Iran. pic.twitter.com/eat7eO6GS8  Francine Orr/LATimes (@francineorr) January 29, 2017

francine.orr@latimes.com

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At least seven people, all of whom either hold green cards or U.S. visas, were being detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night as a result of a controversial executive order signed by President Trump, and two people may have been deported.

As activists scrambled to fight for their release on Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators descended on LAX and San Francisco International Airport to rail against Trumps travel ban, which many argue unfairly targets Muslims.

Were a nation of immigrants, not of haters, Jan Popiden, a 65-year-old Westchester resident, said as she held a sign that read Stop Trumps Carnage at LAX.

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The presidents executive order, which suspends all refugee entries for 120 days and bars entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from seven Muslim-majority countries created a scene that was both frantic and somber at LAX.

As throngs of protesters marched through the airports Tom Bradley International Terminal, attorneys scrambled to provide aid.

Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights for the ACLU in California, said the advocacy group had filed habeas petitions on behalf of the seven people being detained. Four of those are Iranian, and all hold green cards or U.S. visas, she said.

A woman of Iranian descent who was among the seven was deported by federal officials late Saturday, Pasquarella said. The woman, who has lived in Austria for most of her life, was forced to withdraw her student visa and was deported to Copenhagen, according to Pasquarella. Earlier Saturday, an immigration attorney said a 70-year-old Iranian man was put on a plane out of the country after landing at LAX.

Relatives of those being detained stood nervously throughout the terminal, desperate for any shred of information about the fate of their loved ones. Bayar Yousif had been trading text messages with his brother, Bessar, who had been detained since he landed at 4:30 pm.

He doesnt know if they will release him or if they will deport him, Yousif said.

The brothers immigrated to the U.S. with their parents in 2014  five years after seeking refugee status  and settled in Fallbrook. All four of them have green cards, but Bessar had traveled to Kurdistan last week, where he got engaged.

Just after 8 pm, Bayars phone rang. It was his brother, though he didnt have an update on his status.

What can we do? Bayar said. We cant do anything.

Around 10 p.m., 28-year-old Neda Daemi was released after a detention that lasted ten hours. The student, who holds a green card and had traveled to Iran five months ago, said she was held with approximately 40 other people, but praised federal authorities for treating them well.

Still, she was shocked to find immigration officials waiting for her when she landed at LAX.

When I got here and they told me you cant go in I was like Are you kidding me? she said.

Asked what she would say to President Trump, Daemi said she would implore him to Just think of your own children. would you do the same to your children? Muslims are good people.

It remained unclear exactly how many people had been detained. In addition to the seven detainees the ACLU said it was representing, the legal director of an Los Angeles-based immigrants rights group also told The Times as many as 50 Iranians had been detained on one flight. Representatives of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency did not respond to requests for comment or provide a full tally of those being detained at California airports on Saturday.

Pasquarella said Trumps rush to enact the executive order has exposed countless people to potentially illegal detentions.

I would say it has been done without regard to the legality of it. Green-card holders are not only being detained, but theyre being turned around and deported to the country that they came form. It is unlawful, she said. Certainly the discriminatory nature of the executive order we think is unlawful.

An Iranian woman whose citizenship swearing-in ceremony will take place in two weeks was among those detained at LAX on Saturday, according to Jordan Cummings, an immigration attorney. The woman has held a green card for five years, Cummings said.

1 / 62 Supporters of President Trump rally in favor of his immigration ban executive order Saturday at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 62 Protesters rallying against the first travel ban signed by President Trump march around Los Angeles International Airport in February. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 62 Trump supporters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 62 Muhaned El Hindi protests the immigration ban Saturday during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 62 Mathew Woods, a supporter of President Trump, voices support for an immigration ban during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 62 Passengers stand in the doorway of a baggage claim area to take pictures and video of marchers protesting the immigration ban of President Trump at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 62 Supporters of President Trumps travel ban stand across the street from the #NoBanNoWall protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 62 Cooper Chvotkin, 6, gets a turn to voice his opinion on the megaphone with other protesters at LAX on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 62 Protesters march through the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX on Saturday to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 62 Abeer Abdelrahman, left, hugs her sister Areej Ali at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday after Ali, who has a green card, was able to come through the arrivals area with the help of an attorney after being detained and questioned. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 62 Noor Hindi, left, and Sham Najjar, right, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 62 Attorneys crowd a small table at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 62 Immigration Attorney Monica Glicken, left, listens to Mohamed, right, as she tries to find travelers to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trumps travel restrictions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 62 Hundreds of people protested President Trumps original travel ban at LAX in January. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 62 Protesters block traffic at LAX, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 62 Demonstrators take a pizza break while blocking traffic on the upper level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal while police monitor the rally. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 17 / 62 A pro-Trump supporter argues with protesters about the presidents travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 18 / 62 Hundreds sit in on the arrival level of LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal, blocking traffic to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 62 Airport police plead with protesters to get off the pavement in order to let stranded motorists exit. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 62 Protesters block traffic, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 62 Muslims pray as hundreds stand in support on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during a protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 62 Police position themselves as a man takes photos on the on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during protests to President Donald Trumps new immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest against President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 62 A police officer watches protesters at the lower deck of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 62 People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 62 Assmaa Kalm, left, and Rosanna Sounbl, right, protest President Trumps travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 62 Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trumps immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 62 Police keep an eye on people who continue to protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 62 Hundreds take part in an impromptu sit-in at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 62 People hang a banner in support of immigrants on a parking structure across the street from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 62 Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a Shame sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Jan. 29, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 62 Attorney Lisa Smith joins people at LAX who continue to protest President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 62 A lone supporter of President Trump and Vice President Pence is protected by police while a large group of people continue to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 62 Chella, from Sherman Oaks, holds the U.S. flag with words from the tablet on the Statue of Liberty. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 62 Hundreds of people gather at Los Angeles International Airport to continue protesting President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 62 Donald Trump supporters hold signs across the road from protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 62 Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support of immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trumps new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 62 A traveler tries to get by protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 62 A protester holds up sign at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 62 Hassan Al Garaawi, of San Diego, right, looks for his mother-in-law Gish Alsaeedi who has been detained at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Sunday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 43 / 62 Passengers arrive at LAX as protests continue Sunday over President Trumps travel ban. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 44 / 62 Izzy Berdan, of Boston wears an American flag as he chants slogans with other demonstrators Sunday during a rally against President Trumps order that restricts travel to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations. (Steven Senne / Associated Press) 45 / 62 People gather in Bostons Copley Square to protest the travel ban enacted by President Trump. (Darren McCollester / Getty Images) 46 / 62 Demonstrators gather Sunday near the White House to protest President Donald Trumps travel ban. (Zach Gibson / Getty Images) 47 / 62 People continue to protest President Trumps travel ban on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 48 / 62 Attorney Dana Clausen waits on Sunday to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX as people continue to protest President Trumps executive order that led to travelers from several majority-Muslim countries being detained upon arrival. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 62 Kamryn Taghizadeh, 18, holds up a sign Saturday night as she waits for grandfather Reza Taghizadeh, 78, a minimalist painter who was detained as he arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal from Iran. The artist and green-card holder was later released. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 62 Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a U.S. green card, is released after being detained at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 62 Seattle police use pepper spray and push the last group of protesters out of a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal after giving a final dispersal order at about 2 a.m Sunday. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 52 / 62 Saffiya Hrahsheh, center, is helped away from police by Liz Bates, left, and others after being pepper sprayed by officers breaking up protests early Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Genna Martin / Associated Press) 53 / 62 Siavosh Naji-Talakar greets his grandmother, Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, at LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal. She was detained upon arriving from Iran. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 62 People arrive and LAPD officers stand by at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX as the protest continues peacefully. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to oppose President Trumps refugee ban. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 62 Saudia Airlines flight attendants wait to pass through a securioty checkpoint at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 62 Protesters rally against Trumps refugee crackdown at at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 62 Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to speak out against President Trumps refugee policy Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 62 Protesters march through Tom Bradley International Terminal to voice opposition to President Trumps refugee policy. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 62 Protesters rally against the new immigration order at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 62 Protesters hold signs during a protest against Trumps immigration executive order at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 62 / 62 Protesters assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqis were detained while trying to enter the country. (Craig Ruttle / Associated Press)

A federal judge in New York granted an emergency stay of Trumps order late Saturday night, halting the deportations of any refugees or others who hold valid visas to enter the U.S. It was unclear how that would affect those being held at LAX, or if they would remain in detention while their cases were being considered.

Hundreds of people rallied at Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest the detentions, their chants echoing through the building as they waved candles and held signs denouncing Trumps decision.

No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here, they chanted.

Beverly Weise, 66, said she felt a moral obligation to protest on Saturday after she spent two weeks volunteering at Souda refugee camp in Greece, where 3,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia were housed.

Theyre running away from war, persecution  they cant understand why we are so hostile, she said. All they want is a peaceful life.

Off-duty airport employee Molly OLeary, 56, said she sees hundreds of immigrants pass through LAX every day.

I understand being careful, she said, holding a candle. I dont understand outright banning people, innocent people.

The protesters at LAX erupted in cheers when news broke of the federal court decision staying Trumps order.

I think its wonderful, Mohi Khairandish, a 52-year-old who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1976 and still has relatives there, said of the stay. Im hoping that the ban is proven unconstitutional in general, if necessary, at the Supreme Court because I think its a very un-American ban.

While the New York court decision may have marked a victory for opponents of the ban, the emergency stay came too late for some. Kristen Jackson, an attorney with Public Counsel, said attorneys tried to intervene after a 70-year-old Iranian man was held by federal authorities at LAX. His son is an American resident and the father was moving to the U.S., she said.

Jackson and other attorneys filed court papers to try to stop the mans removal, but he was put on an airplane back to Iran, she said.

Its been shocking and totally saddening to see this happening, she said. But also heartening to see how quickly people are banding together.

At least 100 people also turned up at San Francisco International Airport to protest the ban on Saturday, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ten to 15 immigration attorneys had gathered at the airport on Saturday to help detained travelers, many of whom flew in from Iran, Cummings said. Immigration officials were not allowing the detainees to contact their families or seek legal representation, creating a chaotic situation at the terminal, as advocates try to figure out who might need their aid.

Were literally walking around asking people, are you waiting for someone who has been detained? she said, describing a scene of worried family members who had arrived bearing flowers and welcome signs for their loved ones.

Attorneys also created a makeshift office at Bradley Terminal to try to aid travelers who were being held by federal officials. The group set up outside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office.

Ashley Rickards, star of the MTV comedy Awkward, was one of several dozen people holding lighted candles and signs in support of those being detained inside LAX on Saturday.

Its not American, Rickards said. Im not affected personally by what hes doing, but thats what makes me feel so much more strongly about fighting for everyone else.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released a statement Saturday in support of peaceful protest at the airport, skewering Trumps executive order while also urging demonstrators to remain calm.

Congress outlawed the banning of immigrants by nationality more than 50 years ago, because we have long known that it does not make us safer, Garcetti said in a statement. It only fans the flames of hatred that those who wish us harm seek to spread.

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Matt Pearce contributed to this report.

james.queally@latimes.com

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT , @AleneTchek and @dakotacdsmith for more California news.

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UPDATES:

10:20 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from a woman who was detained at LAX for ten hours.

9:30 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from the brother of one of the detainees.

8:05 p.m.: This story was updated with additional comments from an ACLU immigration attorney.

6:45 p.m.: This story was updated with additional comments from protesters and attorneys at LAX and news about a federal court decision regarding Trumps ban.

This story first published at 6:25 p.m.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin was among hundreds of protesters who converged on San Francisco International Airport on Saturday to speak out against President Trumps travel ban.

Brin declined to comment on CNN, saying he was there in a personal capacity. He told a Forbes reporter, I am here because I am a refugee.

The San Jose Mercury News placed the crowd total at the airport at about 700.

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Mozhgan Mostafavi waited inside SFO on Saturday for her 80-year-old father, who was traveling from Iran to have hip surgery and visit with family for his grandsons birthday. He has a green card and has been here many times, she said, but his plane landed at 1 p.m. and as evening fell he had not emerged.

I dont know any Iranians who have been in a terrorist attack, she said. Its so dehumanizing. Its so insulting. I grew up during the revolution in Iran and I feel that same suffocation. Its hard to breathe.

Late Saturday night, an exhausted Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt, Germany. Pushing a cart with several suitcases and a cane, Mostafavi slowly made his way out of an automatic door being guarded by at least five Customs and Border Protection agents. Four protesters holding signs that read All Are Welcome Here stood nearby, smiling. His 8-year-old grandson ran to hug him while his daughter and son-in-law brought him a wheelchair and gave him space.

Im so happy hes finally out. He says hes very tired, said Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears, and speaking Farsi with her father.

Five hours after their families landed in a flight from Istanbul, Turkey, relatives of four people from Iran and Syria sat on the airport floor, checking their phones and waiting for their parents to be released.

Stefan Shahen, 44, moved from Syria to California 11 years ago. He was waiting for his 62-year-old mother to be released. She also has a green card and lives in a village near Homs that was recently liberated from extremists by the Syrian government, allowing her to travel.

Im for securing the country but not in a stupid way, said Shahen, who lives in Chico, Calif. She has a legal permit to stay. She didnt do anything wrong. Its against the law to hold her, so why are they doing this?

San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee issued a statement Saturday night praising U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York for issuing an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trumps travel ban.

I commend the judge that granted the emergency stay today, allowing Muslim immigrants with valid visas to enter the United States. As the son of Chinese immigrants, I am disgusted by the presidents executive order to target the Muslim community and ban immigrants from entering the United States, Lee said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The morning after Donald Trump won the presidential election, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Amr Shady called his immigrationp lawyer in a panic.

My 10-year-old daughter asked me, Does this mean were going to get kicked out? said the 40-year-old founder of analytics start-up Reveel, who emigrated from Egypt to the Bay Area in 2015. I had to find out what Trump winning meant for my immigration status, but also what it meant for my chief data scientist.

His lawyer, Los Angeles immigration attorney Ayda Akalin, was inundated with calls from similarly nervous clients who were either already living and working in the U.S. on visas, or had visa applications pending.

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At the time, Akalin assured them that nothing had yet changed, and it was too soon to be worried. But after Trump signed an executive order Friday banning citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya from entering the U.S. for 90 days, Akalin had an update for her clients, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries: Stay inside the United States.

All of my Muslim clients are scared, even those from other countries, said Akalin, who herself is Iranian American, having immigrated to the U.S. when she was 5 years old.

The move blindsided the technology industry, which thought that its main battle on the immigration front was over the number of H-1B visas  granted to high-skilled foreign workers  that will be made available each year. The tech sector relies heavily on foreign-born software engineers to meet its staffing needs, and it has long lobbied for the government to lift the cap on the H-1B visa program to allow more foreign workers temporary employment with U.S. firms.

But H-1Bs took a backseat on Friday as tech workers and entrepreneurs already legally living and working in the U.S. worried about their own futures. Many were caught off guard by the orders reach, which extends to lawful permanent residents  or green card holders  too.

For those abroad, we are telling them to come back as soon as possible, and be prepared to face questioning and possible refusal, Akalin said.

The order also compelled several big tech companies to break their silence about the Trump administration. Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai slammed the order in a memo to employees.

Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues, Pichai wrote, according to Bloomberg News. Weve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.

Bloomberg reports that the memo urged employees traveling overseas who are affected by the order to seek help from the companys security and immigration teams. More than 100 employees are affected, Pichai said.

Were concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S., a Google spokesperson said. Well continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, also spoke out against Trumps action, although in a less direct way, taking to his personal Facebook page to remind his millions of followers that his wife, pediatrician and philanthropist Priscilla Chan, is the daughter of refugees.

My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscillas parents were refugees from China and Vietnam, Zuckerberg wrote. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.

The chief executives of Uber, Netflix, Microsoft and Lyft similarly issued statements or internal memos opposing the presidents directive. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said many drivers for the ride-hailing service are immigrants from the affected countries who often visit extended families abroad and might have trouble reentering the U.S. The company is considering compensating those drivers over the next three months to mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table.

The tech industry has in the past highlighted the value of immigrants to American culture and the economy: Steve Jobs was of Syrian descent, high-profile executives at Twitter, Yahoo, Google and eBay are of Iranian descent. Along with most of the worlds biggest technology companies, the Bay Area is home to some 250,000 Muslims, according to a study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, of which 60% are foreign-born.

Venture capital firms see Trumps move as a slap in the face, especially since it comes less than two weeks after the Department of Homeland Security passed a rule allowing eligible foreign entrepreneurs to work in the U.S. for up to five years. The rule change  which Silicon Valley saw as a boon, and is expected to take effect July 17  was proposed by President Obama last summer.

We felt that, finally, things were moving forward, said Zafer Younis, a partner at venture capital firm 500 Startups, which prides itself on its international investments, many of which are in countries that are predominantly Muslim. This new development really dampened it.

The executive order increases the uncertainty and risk of investing internationally, Younis said. And while 500 Startups will continue investing abroad, theres concern that other venture capital firms that were once eyeing international opportunities will now get cold feet.

It changes the risk profile all of a sudden, he said.

But for Younis, its personal, too. Originally from Jordan, Younis has lived in the Bay Area for the past two years on an EB-1 visa  a green card that is granted to those deemed to have extraordinary ability. Though Jordan is not on Trumps list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the U.S., it is a Muslim-majority nation, and it has given him pause.

My wife is here. I have upcoming business trips to Japan and Europe. Im not affected, yet I have to think twice  do I really need to travel or not? he said. Its a feeling I thought I left back in the Middle East. Its an anxiety, that things are beyond your control.

That anxiety is shared by other technologists and entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. Shady, the Egyptian entrepreneur, is also in the U.S. on an EB-1 visa. He and his children have Canadian citizenship, but his wife is an Egyptian citizen.

So what does that mean? he said. If Egypt is on the list three months from now, what does that mean for our family?

The American Civil Liberties Union on Saturday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of two men who were detained at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport while traveling back to the U.S. after Trumps immigration crackdown. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Chris Sacca tweeted that he would match donations to the ACLU up to $25,000.

Tech CEOs are slowly raising their voices. Immigration lawyers are advising their clients to stay put. And in a Silicon Valley mosque where Shady attended Friday prayers, the sheikh preached that everyone needs to stand against injustice toward all communities, even if their own is not directly affected.

This is the most important thing for me right now because, even though it doesnt affect me directly, its important for us to all understand what it means to stand against unfairness and the splitting of families, Shady said.

tracey.lien@latimes.com

Twitter: @traceylien
Mohammed Rawi fielded death threats and live gunfire while helping American reporters cover the war in Iraq.

Seven years ago, he was granted asylum in the United States. He found a county government job and settled in Long Beach with his wife and children.

This weekend, Rawis 69-year-old father, a retired civil engineer who lives in Baghdad, was scheduled to arrive for a long-awaited visit. But those plans were abruptly upended Friday when President Trump on Friday suspended admissions from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq  throwing countless Muslim families into turmoil, and setting off a sleepless night for Rawi.

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This is unbelievable. I dont know how this is possible, said Rawi, who worked in The Times Baghdad bureau during some of the most violent years of the Iraq war. Whats next? Is it going to be internment camps like World War II where they put all the Japanese in one camp? Theyll do the same for us? This is not what this country is all about.

The executive order signed Friday suspends all refugee entries for 120 days, blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars for 90 days the entry of citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

A federal judge in New York late Saturday stayed parts of the order as it applies to those currently waiting at U.S. airports for admission. For others, there remained nothing but uncertainty.

Around the world, students and workers caught outside the U.S. were suddenly uncertain when they would be allowed to return. Refugees expecting safe resettlement in the U.S. were detained at airports. And families whose loved ones were stranded abroad were left in a state of crippling anxiety.

I dont understand the logic, said Moustafa Kanjo, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Pomona in September 2015. Why would we be a security risk here? Our ultimate goal is to run away from violence.

For Rawi, the chaos began less than two hours after Trump signed the order on Friday. About 6 p.m., he received a jarring message on WhatsApp.

It was from his father.

Hed been set to board a plane in Doha, Qatar, when an airline employee took his passport somewhere and returned with a U.S. Embassy representative.

He could not get on the plane, the man said. His visa  which allowed for multiple visits to the U.S. over the course of a year  was no longer valid: It was canceled by the president, he said.

Rawis father was ushered to a room where he waited for several hours with about 30 other people.

Eventually, he was sent back to Baghdad. He returned home empty-handed; when he arrived, he found out his luggage was lost.

The younger Rawi had to find a way to tell his children that their grandfather wouldnt be coming after all. The youngest, 3-year-old Layla, had been so excited over his impending visit that she slept in the dress she had chosen to greet him. Her older brother had been too excited to sleep at all.

Its shocking, Rawi said. Its not just about the inconvenience, its not only about us being disappointedbut its about how this was all done.

Its frustrating, most of all. Makes me sad for my in-laws and family, but mostly Im really scared.  Bahareh Aslani, 34, Iranian American

Ali Abdi, a 30-year-old student from Iran, has been studying for his PhD in anthropology at Yale University, and had left the U.S. last week for the United Arab Emirates on his way to a research trip in Afghanistan.

Now Abdi, who has been living in the U.S. for the last four years, is unsure what to do. He cannot return to Iran, where he faces potential imprisonment for his political activism. His visa for the UAE wont allow him to stay there for long, nor does he have permission for an extended stay in Afghanistan.

Most seriously, under Trumps new order, he can no longer return to the U.S. to finish his studies.

Abdi is trying to be philosophical. Im not worried about anything... From an anthropological perspective I can write a lot, he said in a telephone interview. What has happened is very illuminating. The main problem is the lives of thousands of others who are torn apart by what happened.

Many were scanning their social media feeds or watching television, trying to make sense of the new policy and understand what happens next.

Bahareh Aslani, a 34-year-old Iranian American, has been planning to have a formal wedding ceremony in Baltimore in April to celebrate her marriage to her husband, Mostapha Roudsari, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

Roudsaris parents, who live in Iran, went to Dubai in December and applied for a visa to enter the U.S., waiting 2  months for an appointment at the U.S. embassy. The couple was told that the mothers visa had been approved and that the fathers visa had been approved, pending additional documents.

Now, both are barred from entry and will not be able to attend the wedding and are devastated, Aslani said.

Its frustrating, most of all, Aslani said. Makes me sad for my in-laws and family, but mostly Im really scared, because is this the beginning? Are they going to come after me?

Even those refugees safely settled in the U.S. were fearful that they would be unable to see family members in the future. News of Trumps order distressed Kanjo, who was expecting an uncle and cousins to arrive in a few months.

Kanjo and his family came to California from the Syrian city of Homs, sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Pomona.

Members of the church, assisted by others in the community, met the family at the airport and provided them with an apartment and help to navigate the school and social services systems.

The most significant thing we did was be friends with them, Pastor Adam Donner said.

With the help of Google translate, the Kanjos and church members have spent hours in conversation.

They would all gladly go home to Syria if they had a home to go to, Donner said. They are here because they are trying to find a safe place for their family to grow up.

Nobar Elmi Golhar, 36, lives in Brooklyn and has never been to Iran, but worries about whether her family in Iran will be able to continue to visit. Her aunt and uncle, both green card holders who have children in the United States, were in the U.S. when the executive order was signed, and now both are uncertain whether its wise to go back home to Iran  they may not be allowed to return.

They are here and want to return to Iran, but now they are very worried if they can come back, Golhar said. They are trying to better understand what is going on and watch the news and ask what they should expect.

What they are feeling, she said, is panic.

Its a real mix of emotions, Golhar said. First, its disbelief: Is this seriously happening? And then, its the anger... How could we have allowed this to happen?

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Twitter: @melissaetehad

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimesharriet

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UPDATES:

7:30 p.m.: The story was updated with news of a court order staying parts of the new immigration order and additional stories from those affected by the visa suspensions.

This story was originally published at 4:25 p.m.
Rachel Adrian is expecting her first child next month, and has been waiting for her husband, a citizen of Iraq, to join her in Missouri. The paperwork for his visa was completed; hed gone for medical exams and submitted tax forms. He was hoping to fly soon to the U.S.

Then came President Trumps order Friday suspending arrivals from a number of predominantly Muslim countriesamong them Iraq. The trip is off, and Adrian is facing the prospect of having to give birth without her husband present.

On Sunday, the couple talked by phone, devastated. Everything has been put on hold, said Adrian, 29.

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Were trying to do everything the legal way. We believe in the process. We believe people should get vetted and Americans should be safe, she said, People that say immigrants and refugees dont get vetted, they dont understand.

Adrian, a registered nurse, moved to Iraq five years ago to do relief work. She met her husband, Hoger Ameen, 29, a Sunni Muslim Kurd who works as a telecommunications specialist, at an interdenominational church in the northern city of Suleimaniya in 2013. They married the following year, settled there temporarily and started the process of applying for a spouse visa.

They spent $2,000 assembling tax forms, getting medical exams and finding a sponsor.

He had his interview in June, so we thought his visa would be done shortly after that, Adrian said.

Adrian got a job interview in Missouri, and moved back to her hometown of Saint Joseph July 19.

We wanted to move back to America to be able to spend our first few years [there] with our new son, said Adrian, 29.

They have already picked a name: Aland, a Kurdish name but it kind of sounds American.

Shes due Thursday.

On Saturday, her husband received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad notifying him of the executive order.

Visa issuance to aliens from the countries of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been suspended effective immediately until further notification, the email said. If you are a national, or dual national, of one of these countries, please do not schedule a visa appointment or pay any visa fees at this time. If you already have an appointment scheduled, please DO NOT ATTEND your appointment as we will not be able to proceed with your visa interview.

Adrian said that even if the order was lifted and her husbands visa approved, it would take two weeks to mail it to Iraq.

We kept thinking hes going to make it, Adrian said, but now, Theres no way.

After the legal dust settles, she said, will we have to start the process all over again? Will his papers have expired?

The bottom line: I have no idea when hell get to meet his son. And thats really sad.

Her husband said he is still coming to terms with what it will mean to miss the delivery and the start of his sons life.

Im really sad but I am trying to stay strong to encourage my wife, he said via email. I am afraid that when I do get to come my son wont know who I am. This is my first son and I feel sick that I wont get to hold him.

Adrian recalled driving through northern Iraq, being greeted by Kurdish peshmerga fighters at checkpoints who spoke little English, but who cheered for former President George W. Bush.

Adrian said the executive order is also affecting our relationship with the people over there.

I have felt nothing but warmth, acceptance and hospitality from them. Ive been invited into homes, and parties and so many things. Rarely have I met a person that is hostile to us. Its very sad as Americans that we dont understand: These are real people, she said. This order is just solidifying that we are dehumanizing these people, when we have a president that signs an order like this.

Ameen says he sees peoples attitudes changing in northern Iraq.

Many people were very thankful that the Americans are protecting Kurdistan but now really we are sad about Americas example to the world, he said.

He noted that the Kurdish region of northern Iraq has accepted millions of Arab refugees from the south displaced by fighting in recent years.

If we, people that have been persecuted by Arabs for decades, can help these refugees, then why cant Americans? he said. All of my friends are unhappy about this order. The refugees need someone to help them. There are so many kids that are starving and need help.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

@mollyhf
After a day of chaos at airports around the world, a federal judge in Brooklyn on Saturday night stayed deportations under President Trumps executive order barring citizens of some Muslim countries from entering the United States.

U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly ordered a halt to any removal of refugees or others who hold valid visas to enter the United States  meaning those who have arrived at U.S. airports from the seven predominantly Muslim countries named under the presidents executive order can remain, for now.

The judge did not rule on the legality of the executive order, nor did she say that others who have not yet arrived in the U.S. can be allowed to proceed.

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The ruling came in response to a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two Iraqis detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York: Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who was an interpreter for the U.S. military, and Haider Alshawi, who was on his way to join his wife, who had worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq.

ACLU attorneys argued that returning either petitioner could cause irreparable harm by exposing them and their families to retaliation from extremists.

The two lead plaintiffs were held by authorities and threatened with deportation, even though both assert a fear of returning to their countries, and if they are not admitted pursuant to their valid entry documents, [they] seek an opportunity to pursue asylum, the lawyers argued in the emergency petition.

This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, who argued the case.

The executive order Trump signed Friday suspends all refugee entries for 120 days, blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars for 90 days the entry of citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

While the court did not take on the legal merits of that action, the judges order said the Trump administration and its employees are enjoined and restrained from the commission of further acts of and misconduct in violation of the Constitution.

The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioner and others similarly situated violates their rights to Due Process and Equal Protection guaranteed under the United States Constitution, the court ruled.

Surrounded by a throng of cheering demonstrators, who had rushed from Kennedy airport to the Brooklyn courthouse, an exultant Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said, ``This was a remarkable day. What weve shown today is that the courts can work. They are a bulwark in our democracy when President Trump enacts laws or executive order that are unconstitutional and illegal.

In a separate case, a federal judge in Virginia ruled preliminarily in favor of three legal permanent residents and at least 60 others detained under Trumps executive order at Dulles International Airport.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema late Saturday issued an order barring immigration officials for at least a week from deporting lawful permanent residents detained at Dulles, outside Washington. She also ordered immigration officials to allow lawyers access to those detainees.

The New York order appears to affect the 100 to 200 people who have been detained in transit to the United States. While the order will prevent them from being sent home, it is less clear whether they will have to remain in detention while their asylum cases are being decided.

Darweesh was released earlier Saturday.

Thousands of New Yorkers had rushed to Kennedy airport, which is located in Queens within the courts jurisdiction, earlier in the day to protest the detention of the passengers.

Karen Tumlin, Los Angeles-based legal director of the National Immigration Law Center, said she was incredibly relieved by the stay.

She said lawyers were contacting federal immigration officials late Saturday to ensure the stay is enforced.

There are people on planes at different airports to be removed, so were trying to get the word out to Border Protection, Tumlin said, noting that the stay applies to everyone affected by the executive order. She said the judge specified from the bench that the stay is nationwide.

That doesnt mean they have the ability to move freely in the United States, Tumlin said of those detained, although she said her group plans to argue that they should.

While Tumlin said access to counsel for all those affected by the executive order is a concern going forward, my chief concern is that nobody is sent back where they can be harmed.

She said dozens were detained at JFK, at least 50 Iranians from one KLM flight were held at Los Angeles International Airport, and more than a dozen were held at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

I would hope that this means they will all be safe, she said. But we will have to be vigilant.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarbaraDemick

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With protesters chants echoing through arrival halls and beyond, confusion prevailed Sunday at airports across the United States amid seemingly contradictory signals from the Trump administration over a hotly contested executive order blocking U.S. entry to refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations.

Even as the White House defended the directives rollout as a success, advocacy groups and administration officials remained locked on an apparent collision course. Since its signing on Friday, the measure has led to the detention of more than 100 people landing at airports across the country with valid entry documents.

About twice as many others were denied permission to board flights to the United States, according to lawyers representing a consortium of groups that won a temporary nationwide stay Saturday night against the deportation of anyone who had arrived with a valid visa.

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On the ground, backlash to the ban grew. While major international airports were the locus of protests, thousands rallied in cities including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston.

Despite the air of gravity surrounding debate over the ban, the atmosphere at many airport rallies was raucous and cheerful. Whenever anyone was released from detention, he or she was greeted with cheers and applause from well-wishers.

At Los Angeles International Airport, thousands of protesters filled the lobby at the Tom Bradley International Terminal and spilled into the street outside, chanting, Let them in! and Love, not hate, makes America great.

Jacob Kemper, a 35-year-old Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq, said he was infuriated to think soldiers he fought alongside might be denied entry to the country.

I really dont care about religion, but I really hate oppression, he said, holding a sign that read, I Fought Next To Muslims.

Shay Soltani, a network engineer, fled the Iranian revolution 40 years ago and still has family members in Iran. She joined Sundays protest in Los Angeles, she said, because she doesnt know if she will be able to see them again, thanks to Trumps order.

I am so hurt by this, she said. He is against freedom of speech and the Constitution and everything I believe in as an American.

Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union said they would ultimately press to have Trumps order overturned as unconstitutional.

In the meantime, the emergency stay issued by a federal judge in Brooklyn on Saturday represented an absolute baseline prohibiting the removal of any of those who were halted upon arrival, said Lee Gelernt, the deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project.

But it remained essentially the luck of the draw in terms of who was halted upon arrival, who was released after questioning, and who had access to legal counsel if detained, the lawyers said.

Theres no method to this madness, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the groups that filed the legal challenge in New York.

For some, the directives second full day brought a reprise of anxiety and heartbreak from the day before. Hind Mohamed traveled to John F. Kennedy International Airport from New Jersey with her family, hoping to greet her mother, a green card holder traveling from Sudan.

Her mothers flight had been on the ground an hour, but there was no immediate sign of her. Im just nervous, Mohamed said, teary-eyed.

Her 16-year-old son, Awab Hassan, kept a close eye out for his grandmother; he offered a teens unvarnished take on the executive order, saying it lumped together terrorists and innocent people.

Thats not justice  to see this country devolve, Im not proud of that, he said. Wheres the feeling of taking people in, sharing the American dream?

Some turned-away arrivals eventually got through the net, with a combination of luck, ingenuity and a timely legal assist.

Vahideh Rasekhi, a 32-year-old Iranian linguist, was put aboard a flight in New York to head back to Tehran via Kiev, Ukraine. But because she was able to contact volunteer attorneys via smartphone even as the plane was taxiing toward takeoff a close call turned to triumph.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj 

As her friend, waiting at Kennedy airport, put it, We found a lawyer who found a lawyer who found a lawyer. Rasekhis plane turned back to the terminal, and the Fulbright scholar was released from detention Sunday afternoon.

Even as a trickle of freed detainees gathered pace, the vigils were nerve-racking. In a haze of cigarette smoke, two Iranian friends paced a curb outside a terminal at Kennedy airport. One of them, a green card holder from Iran, had just heard that his wife, also a permanent resident, would face up to five more hours of questioning after returning from a family visit. Inside, a Turkish woman waited for her brother, worried about his rudimentary English. A Sudanese man tried to console distraught family members by phone.

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer, who spent the early hours of Sunday at LAX, said a woman approached him to express fears for her elderly father, who was detained and suffered from Parkinsons disease.

It is those kinds of real stories that are at stake because of this outrageous action by the Trump administration, he said. It is time not only for officials in my position, but all Americans, should find this a breathtaking violation of rights.

Among immigration activists, exchanges pinged about where best to take ones chances. At Chicago, there was said to be greater leniency in releasing those initially detained. In Boston, where a judges order appeared to guarantee landing rights to anyone with a valid visa during the coming week, legal observers were watching for a potential increase in arrivals.

As anguish mounted among families uncertain of loved ones fate, the Trump administration insisted enforcement of the presidents directive would be unaffected by a flurry of court rulings temporarily forbidding deportation of those who arrived with valid visas.

Prohibited travel will remain prohibited, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, adding that the government retains the right to revoke visas on national-security grounds. The directive blocked all refugee arrivals for 120 days  refugees from Syria are blocked indefinitely  and suspended entry by people holding passports from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.

Theres no method to this madness.  Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project

Later, Homeland Security officials clarified that the green card holders from the affected countries would face additional checks when returning from trips abroad, but suggested they would not be denied entry unless a problem arose. That reversed indications a day earlier that the ban would include them.

Republicans, who initially lent tacit support to the directive, began distancing themselves on Sunday.

A day after House Speaker Paul D. Ryan was one of relatively few Republicans to voice an active defense, two Senate GOP heavyweights  Arizonas John McCain and South Carolinas Lindsey Graham  weighed in with a strongly worded joint statement warning against a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.

It is clear from the confusion at airports across our nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted, the statement said, in a pointed reference to Trumps repeated contention that despite a rigorous existing security process, arrivals until now have not been properly vetted.

Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation, they said.

Via Twitter, the president delivered an angry and somewhat puzzling riposte to the two senators, calling them sadly weak on immigration. He added that McCain and Graham should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.

Trump had earlier weighed in with a Sunday morning tweet saying the U.S. needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. The president also decried what he called a horrible mess regarding immigration in other parts of the world, including Europe.

Congressional Democrats, who had opposed the order from the start, ratcheted up the pressure, saying they planned to introduce legislation to overturn it. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, who tearfully recalled a forebears Ellis Island arrival, called the directive mean-spirited and un-American.

European leaders, for their part, have expressed shock and dismay over Trumps directive, and some U.S. allies were taken aback by the blocked entry of their own nationals with dual passports from one of the affected countries in the presidential order. British news reports said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had received White House assurances that the restrictions would apply only to dual-national British passport holders who were traveling from one of the countries on the list.

Immigration advocates and the Trump administration offered dramatically clashing narratives as to the first full days rollout of the executive directive. The Department of Homeland Security said fewer than 1% of international arriving travelers on Saturday had been inconvenienced by the presidents directive.

Lawyers countered that some enforcement went far beyond national security considerations, citing the blocked entry of a 2-year-old U.S. citizen with parents who held green cards; and an active-duty U.S. military officer whose arriving elderly mother was detained.

A lot of people are being handcuffed, and people who dont speak English well are being coerced into taking voluntary departure, said lawyer Heller.

Legal opposition to the directive expanded beyond the court system. Attorneys general from the District of Columbia and 15 states, including California, denounced the executive order as unconstitutional, declaring that no one should be targeted because of national origin or faith.

But some travel sagas ended in joy and relief.

Stella Ava of Cleveland, a Syrian-born green card holder, was visiting relatives in Turkey when the executive order took effect.

She feared being prevented from boarding her flight or detained upon arrival at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport, but told her waiting husband she had sailed through border controls after a few perfunctory-seeming questions.

Thank God, she said, and tightly hugged her children. I was so worried.

King reported from Washington, D.C., Demick from New York and Queally from Los Angeles. Special correspondent Matt Hansen in New York and staff writer Javier Panzar in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

laura.king@latimes.com

@laurakingLAT

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UPDATES:

3:45 p.m.: The article was updated with details of additional protests around the country.

2:05 p.m.: The article was updated with additional statements against the immigration executive order and also reaction from the United Kingdom.

11:55 a.m.: This article was updated with details of attempts to free those detained at airports in Los Angeles and New York.

This story was originally published at 10:45 a.m.
To hear police tell it, they are likely candidates for a Dumbest Criminals trophy  a trio of bungling burglars who kept dropping things, including a cell phone and a traceable welfare-benefits card left at crime scenes.

One member, who was out on parole, wore his GPS monitoring device to their heists.

Even so, the burglars were, in some respects, skilled and effective.

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They became known as the Rock Smash Crew for typically using stones to smash alarm systems, windows and sliding glass doors at 123 high-end Seattle-area homes in what police called one of the biggest burglary-ring cases in Northwest history. They were in and out of houses in just minutes.

It seemed we were always 2 or 3 minutes behind them, Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett said at a news conference announcing charges last week. They were very talented in their criminal enterprise.

The trio is accused of targeting the homes of millionaires, including the residence of Seattle Mariners Cy Young Award- winning pitcher Felix Hernandez, which was looted of jewelry and mementos including an inexpensive replica of a New York Yankees World Series ring owned by his son and a keepsake watch with King Felix engraved on it.

Police say one of the suspects was wearing the watch when arrested.

Still, the gang successfully evaded the cops for almost 10 months, with suspects arrested in just the last two weeks. Ultimately, they earned some grudging respect from a half-dozen police agencies who worked in tandem to break the case.

Investigators were impressed by the haul  more than $3 million in stolen property, they estimate  and the choice of targets, most of them homes worth more than $3 million. They also drove expensive cars in an attempt to blend in at the upscale neighborhoods they cased and hit, police said.

With their spoils, police say, the trio bought or leased five luxury vehicles, dined at fine restaurants and took vacations in Las Vegas, and blew some of the loot on strippers.

It seemed we were always 2 or 3 minutes behind them. They were very talented in their criminal enterprise.  Steve Mylett, Bellevue police chief

Wed been following them for quite a while, Mylett said.

Bellevue is a wealthy suburb across Lake Washington from Seattle, with residents including Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and other billionaires  none of them victims of the burglaries, though some of their neighbors were.

A big break in the case came in November on nearby Mercer Island. A homeowner discovered a cellphone in his backyard, and learned from a neighbor that several men had just passed through. The homeowner called police.

Police later learned the phone allegedly belonged to Alonzo Severson, 25, who is now charged with burglary and trespassing and is being held on $500,000 bail.

Police say Severson committed four burglaries in Seattle, Bellevue and the wealthy enclave of Medina in one night  New Years Eve. In Medina, a license plate reader  which snaps photos of all vehicles entering the town where Bill Gates and other megawealthy live  recorded Seversons BMW passing by that night, prosecutors said.

Bellevue police subsequently found an electronics benefit card in the name of the girlfriend of one of the two other suspects, dropped outside a home where a camera and a gold Tiffany watch had been taken in a burglary.

That helped lead to the arrest of two other suspects, Joseph Sims, 26, and Shon Shannell, 29. Prosecutors say they are still processing charges to be filed against them. Shannell is being held without bail and Sims is held on $250,000 bail.

In charging papers, Deputy King County Prosecutor Gavriel Jacobs alleges that Severson engaged in what can only be described as a crime spree. ... Furthermore, the defendant has a history of violent offenses, including assault and two arson convictions.

Severson was on parole and under GPS monitoring when at least some of the burglaries occurred, Jacobs said.

About $400,000 in loot has been recovered, police said, including a Hermes handbag valued at more than $200,000. But investigators have yet to search a number of safety-deposit boxes and storage facilities linked to the suspects.

Shannell was arrested and convicted in 2010 of being the Santa Claus burglar. He earned the moniker by stripping naked and trying to wriggle down the chimney of a Seattle home  then got stuck. He was freed by fire fighters after 45 minutes and claimed he was just trying to retrieve his backpack.

Shannell got a 17-month sentence from a judge who called his excuse unbelievable.

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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Heres everything you need to know about Trumps first week in office
By most mainstream accounts, President Trumps first week in office was chaotic, dominated by needless arguments over inauguration crowds, mythical millions of illegal voters and a Twitter fight with the president of Mexico. Thats how it looked to many of us, anyway.

But theres a counter-narrative out there, too, among Trump supporters and on conservative media outlets such as Fox News and Breitbart. To the Trump faithful, the real news is that the president is doing what they wanted: Hes keeping his campaign promises.

Consider this a list of alternative facts, if you want  except in this case, the facts are real.

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Trump jawboned U.S. companies to stop exporting jobs and persuaded some to promise new jobs at home. He formally withdrew from President Obamas 12-country trade deal with Asia, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He reaffirmed his intention to build a wall on the border with Mexico, banned refugee admissions from Syria and ordered extreme vetting for would-be refugees from other countries. He instructed federal agencies to minimize any effort to make Obamacare work. He removed obstacles to the Keystone XL and Dakota access pipelines, and ordered that they be built with American steel. And next week, he plans to nominate a new Supreme Court justice whose name, hes said, will thrill conservatives.

Not bad for five business days.

Only one week in, theres already evidence that Trump has deepened his support among Republican voters.

Other things went well, too, and got even less attention.

All Trumps Cabinet picks appear to be headed toward confirmation in the Senate, even though they suffered through rough hearings. Thats unusual; President Obama lost three nominees in his first months.

And at their policy summit in Philadelphia, the Republican leaders of Congress sang Trumps praises, even though many of them differ with him on important issues from trade agreements to reining in the federal deficit.

For the moment, the president is fully in charge of his own party.

Theres a practical reason for that.

He is more popular in most Republican districts than any other Republican, noted John Feehery, a Republican strategist. Republican leaders have no choice but to listen to their new president because their constituents demand it.

Indeed, only one week in, theres evidence that Trump has deepened his support among Republican voters.

A Quinnipiac Poll released Thursday found Trumps job approval among all Americans at an anemic 36%, a result far worse than any incoming president in modern history.

But inside the survey was a striking contradictory trend: Trumps rating has actually improved among Republicans since his inauguration.

Two weeks ago, the same poll found that 76% of Republicans approved of the job Trump was doing; now that number is at 81%. Among Democrats, his rating sank from 10% to a barely measurable 4%.

Now that hes in office, in other words, Trump is alienating yet more Democrats, but solidifying his hold on Republicans.

Over the short run, that may be all Trump and his strategists need. A strong base of Republican support will help the president keep GOP members of Congress in line.

But to succeed over the long run, Trump will have to appeal to a larger share of Americans. Trump won the presidential election mainly because he poached just enough Trump Democrats, working class white voters in states like Michigan and Wisconsin, to prevail in the electoral vote.

Henry Olsen, a conservative scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told me that Trump must find a way to add those voters more durably to his coalition.

Hes not talking to the voters who said, Im not sure about him, but I dont like Hillary, Olsen said. Hes still narrowcasting to the minority of true believers.

Of course, its far too early to judge how the Trump presidency will look four years from now.

Ultimately this is about governing, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told the New York Times. There are two things hes got to do between now and 2020: He has to keep America safe and create a lot of jobs. If he does those two things, everything else is noise.

Gingrich is right: Nothing succeeds like success. The furors over crowd sizes and phantom voters will soon be forgotten  unless, of course, Trump insists on keeping them alive. Trumps first week suggests that he may well manage, with the help of a pliant Congress, to implement much of his agenda.

But he will be operating with a handicap: a base thats deep but narrow. If he runs into trouble  from misjudgment or bad luck  he has no cushion of goodwill.

doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com

Twitter: @doylemcmanus

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

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This week, President Trump will exercise one of the presidents most important powers: nominating someone to fill an empty seat on the Supreme Court. Many conservatives made peace with Trump because he promised to appoint judges very much in the mold of Justice [Antonin] Scalia. But will he have the mettle to keep his word or will he be cowed by Democratic Majority Leader Charles E. Schumers vow to only approve a bipartisan or mainstream nominee?

Early signs give conservatives reason to cheer. White House leaks have identified three federal appellate judges in the lead for the nomination: Neil M. Gorsuch of the 10th Circuit Court in Colorado, Thomas Hardiman of the 3rd Circuit Court in Pennsylvania, and William H. Pryor Jr. of the 11th Circuit in Alabama. George W. Bush, who selected the most conservative judges of any Republican president in memory, appointed all three.

Each of these candidates is under the age of 55; any of them could leave a Trumpian imprint on the Supreme Court for a generation. Each hails from outside the Beltway and the elitist Northeast corridor. They are all likely to appreciate the need for state checks on federal power and, hopefully, be well equipped to resist the siren songs of the D.C. cocktail circuit and the New York media.

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The president should focus like a laser on judicial philosophy.

Pryor is probably the most conservative. He famously called Roe vs. Wade an abomination because it discovered a right to abortion in the 14th Amendments due process clause. A former Bush administration Department of Justice official, Gorsuch held that the free exercise clause in the 1st Amendment meant that the government couldnt force Catholic nuns and religious companies to include birth control in their insurance plans. Hardiman, a less prominent conservative, voted against New Jerseys tight limits on the open carry of firearms.

How should the president make his choice? It should have nothing to do with how a nominee fits in to Trumps coterie of friends, family or admirers. A Supreme Court seat is not a bauble to hand out to chums or aides in the manner of a monarch granting titles to faithful servants. Nor should the president care if he hits it off with a candidate. Presidents spend no time with members of the court. George W. Bush reportedly asked one of his potential nominees, J. Harvie Wilkinson III, about his exercise routine. That is simply irrelevant.

Instead, the president should focus like a laser on judicial philosophy. Trump must nominate a justice based on his view of the proper interpretation of the Constitution. The oath he swore  to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States  means that just as he wouldnt sign an unconstitutional bill, he must not nominate a judge who holds views at odds with the Constitution.

In giving advice and consent, senators should bring their constitutional judgment to bear as well. They are explicitly called on to serve as a check on the presidents views. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers: The possibility of rejection would be a strong motive to care in proposing.

In practical terms, Trump should reject nominees who pursue abstract concepts like justice and fairness, concepts that have been used by judges to smuggle their preferred policy preferences into the job of interpreting our founding document. The Constitutions grant of judicial power does not create a continuing constitutional convention with Supreme Court justices as the sole delegates, able to add amendments at their whim. Of course judges must strike down legislation that violates the Constitution. But the courts four reliable liberals, plus swing Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, often form a majority claiming that the Constitution enshrines a panoply of rights that, not coincidentally, mirror the policies favored by the left. Such decisions undercut our democracy.

The president should probe his candidates  and apply litmus tests. He and his aides should ask potential nominees to declare themselves on Roe vs. Wade, Citizens United (which struck down limits on campaign contributions as a violation of free speech) and McDonald vs.Chicago (which upheld an individual right to own firearms).

The answers will reveal the nominees theories of constitutional interpretation, their willingness to invent constitutional rights and their understanding of the judiciarys role in our government. To keep his campaign promises, Trump must demand that his judges interpret the Constitution in accordance with original meaning, its historical context and the logic of its structure.

Fear of a confirmation fight shouldnt steer the new president away from a constitutional conservative and toward a constitutional cipher. Otherwise he will have abandoned his duty to advance constitutional principles and surrendered to the status quo. That is no way to make America great again.

Saikrishna Prakash is a fellow at the Miller Center and law professor at the University of Virginia. John Yoo is a law professor at UC Berkeley and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

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In the 2018 governors race, Gavin Newsom leads the pack in fundraising Gavin Newsom, the first major candidate to jump into CA's 2018 governor's race, narrowly lead the pack in 2016 fundraising w/ $4.27 million  Phil Willon (@philwillon) February 1, 2017 Facebook

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Schwarzenegger: Were going through some difficult moments ... but I guarantee we will work our way out of this By Seema Mehta (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the United States had faced trying times and political crises before, and has always persevered. Yes, were going through some difficult moments right now, as we have in the past, but I guarantee we will work our way out of this, Schwarzenegger said, speaking at an electoral reform event at the University of Southern California. He recalled immigrating to the United States and seeing the violent protests at the Democratic National Convention in 1968, Watergate and the economic troubles during President Jimmy Carters tenure. One thing you can count on in America is even though it falls every so often  as we all do  it dusts itself off, gets up and gets going again, Schwarzenegger said. That is why  its the number one country in the world. Although Schwarzenegger did not mention President Donald Trump by name during his remarks, the comments appeared to be a reference to the turbulence since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. Tensions between Schwarzenegger, who replaced Trump as the host of Celebrity Apprentice, and the new president and fellow Republican have been escalating. On Monday, Schwarzenegger called the implementation of Trumps temporary ban on immigration from several Muslim-majority countries crazy. The previous week, Schwarzenegger slammed Trumps pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Atty. Gen. Scott Pruitt, as a hypocrite. Earlier in January, Trump mocked Schwarzenegger for the first ratings of Celebrity Apprentice after the former governor took over as the host. During the presidential campaign, Schwarzenegger repeatedly made clear his disdain for Trump, pointedly casting his ballot in the California primary for Ohio Gov. John Kasich after he had dropped out. On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger was headlining an event about redistricting reform at his namesake institute at USC. He did not respond to reporters questions after the event. While governor, Schwarzenegger championed electoral reform, including an ultimately successful effort to take the redrawing of congressional and legislative districts away from politicians and give them instead to an independent commission. Both political parties have long tried to use gerrymandering to create districts that favor their politicians. But David Daley, author of The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal Americas Democracy, argued that Republicans were able to make unprecedented changes in the 2010 redistricting that will have long-lasting effects on this nations politics because of a confluence of factors, including unprecedented technology such as mapping software, and a flood of anonymous money due to the Citizens United ruling. In 2010, gerrymandering enters its steroid era, Daley said. The end result, he said, was that while the nation remained relatively closely divided between the two parties, the GOP was able to exponentially expand its hold of statehouses, governors mansions and congressional seats. Speakers urged Californians to take the lessons they had learned through the states redistricting reform and try to help voters apply them in other states, through the initiative, or legislative or legal systems. We are the model for the rest of the nation and that is why we in California have to do everything we can to pull together all the things that happen successfully in California and nationwide, Schwarzenegger said. Because the rest of the states are waiting for us. Facebook

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Top Democratic donor Tom Steyer is planning a larger role opposing President Trump By Chris Megerian On Sunday, Tom Steyer was holding a cardboard sign saying not on my watch at San Franciscos airport, one of thousands protesting President Trumps order preventing visitors from several predominantly Muslim countries. I went out there to participate, but also to listen, he said. Like other liberal leaders, hes been hunting for the right approach to counter Trump. Now the deep-pocketed Democratic donor is launching a new effort that could expand the scope of NextGen Climate, the San Francisco-based organization he created and funded. Although Steyer expects to stay active on environmental issues  the onetime hedge fund manager is best known for advocating stronger steps to fight climate change and support clean energy  hes looking to play a more expansive role in opposing Trump. The number of issues that have to be addressed are broader, he said in an interview, pointing to Trumps statements on issues such as voting that he considers to be a broader attack on fundamental American rights. In a video posted on Tuesday night, Steyer says, I promise to do everything in my power to stand up to Trump and asks for the publics thoughts on what next steps should be taken. Steyer spent $74 million in the 2014 midterm election, and then millions more last year to support Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. Although results have been mixed  Republicans gained ground in both years  Steyer said the experiences have positioned NextGen to educate and mobilize voters across the country. There are very few people who are set up organizationally to do what were trying to do, he said. Steyer has already played a role in opposing Trumps nominees, running advertisements criticizing his choice for secretary of State, former Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson. Besides simply fighting Trump, Steyer also hopes to project an alternative view of the country  one that comes with a dose of California sunshine. America can pursue a much more optimistic, a much more prosperous, a much more equitable and a much healthier future, he said. Facebook

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Former aide is preparing to run for Rep. Grace Napolitanos seat if she retires By Javier Panzar Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk), who turned 80 last year, has not made plans to retire. But one San Gabriel Valley politician is raising funds to run in case Napolitano does decide to bow out after 10 terms in Congress. Mary Ann Lutz, the former mayor of Monrovia and a former aide to Napolitano, reported having $101,000 in the bank to run for Napolitanos 32nd Congressional District seat, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission. But Lutz says she will run only if Napolitano retires. I have enormous respect for my former boss, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, and would never run against her for any office, Lutz said in a statement. In the event that the 32nd Congressional District seat eventually opens up, I plan to run, and run aggressively. Napolitano suffered a minor stroke last February that affected her ability to write and slightly slowed her walk. She continued her reelection campaign and beat state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), who effectively ended his campaign in August after a judge granted his ex-wifes request for a domestic violence restraining order against him. During an interview with The Times a day before the November election, Napolitano said the health of her 90-year-old husband would be a key factor in her decision on whether to run for an 11th term in 2018. I would love to stay but it depends, she said. I will be ready to hang it up when I am ready. Lutz was elected in 2003 to the City Council in Monrovia, a city of 36,000 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, and was elected mayor in 2009. She lost her reelection bid in 2015 and went on to work for Napolitano as an advisor on water issues. Lutz raised $26,000 and loaned her campaign committee an additional $75,000. Napolitano has $144,692 in the bank if she wants to run again. Facebook

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State Senate committee votes in favor of funding legal aid for immigrants in California facing deportation By Jazmine Ulloa (John Moore / Getty Images) A state legislative bill seeking to expand legal services for immigrants in the U.S. illegally moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday on a 5-2 vote. The bill, introduced by state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), would create a legal defense program funded with state money that would provide lawyers for immigrants caught in deportation or removal proceedings. It comes roughly three years after the Unaccompanied Undocumented Minors program began providing state-funded legal services for young refugees fleeing gang violence in Central America. Hueso said the measure faced new urgency given President Trumps executive orders last week on immigration. This is a bill protecting Californians, protecting their families, but also protecting Californias economic prominence, Hueso said. I hope we can all stand united on this and say, Yes, we stand by our immigrant community in California. Members of the committee raised concerns about whether it whittled away at defense services available for detainees convicted of certain crimes  and over how the state would be able to afford it amid a looming deficit and budget cuts from the federal government. It is well-meaning, but it is a whole different agency that we are setting up in an expedited way, Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) said. Read More Facebook

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California assemblyman wants state to make cleaner purchases By Chris Megerian (Alexis Cuarezma / For The Times) A California lawmaker wants state officials to consider greenhouse gas emissions when making new purchases, a proposal that would add a new wrinkle to the bidding process for government contracts. Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) said the legislation (AB 262) would harness the states enormous buying power to support clean manufacturing. The measure, which includes state agencies and university systems, would affect the purchase of materials such as asphalt, cement, steel and glass for projects such as hospitals, dormitories and roads. Companies bidding on state contracts would be required to report greenhouse gas emissions generated by the manufacturing and transportation of supplies. Officials would then factor that information into their decision. Given Californias goal of slashing emissions, Bonta said he hopes that the legislation puts the states money where its values are. He doesnt expect the requirement to report more information would be a significant burden on companies seeking contracts. This will just be one more piece of information that will need to be added, he said. Facebook

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First of several immigrant protection bills clears state Senate Public Safety Committee By Jazmine Ulloa (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) As national debate and protests have taken place over President Donald Trumps executive actions on immigration and refugees, the state Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday passed the first of several bills aimed at protecting immigrants in California. Senate Bill 54, introduced by Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, detain, report or arrest persons for the purposes of immigration enforcement. The proposal, dubbed the California Values Act, also aims to protect immigrants personal data, requiring state agencies to review their confidentiality policies and to ensure that they are only collecting information necessary to their departments. It moved out of committee with a 5-2 vote. Long line of advocates, lawyers in support SB 54, prohibiting law enforcement agencies from using resources for immigrants enforcement. pic.twitter.com/G0IV9ihRjE  Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) January 31, 2017 The bill seeks to strengthen immigrant protections threatened under Trumps executive actions. In orders signed last week, the president pledged to cut federal dollars from so-called sanctuary cities, which have policies limiting the cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. At a committee hearing Tuesday, De Leon said the proposal builds on the California Trust Act, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed in October 2013. The state law prevents law enforcement agencies from detaining immigrants longer than necessary for minor crimes so that federal immigration authorities can take them into custody. A long line of immigrant advocates, lawyers and lobbyists rose in support of the bill, saying it would continue to help law enforcement officials build trust within immigrant communities and allow more victims and witnesses to report crime. Democratic members in the committee urged their Republican colleagues to vote for the legislation and move away from Trumps rhetoric, which they said stereotyped immigrants as criminals. They pointed to low crime rates in immigrant communities and stressed that many police chiefs do not want to enforce immigration laws. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), chair of the committee, said people across California were under economic stress that could be manipulated into fear. All of us want hardened criminals prosecuted under the law, she said. All of us. But what we are watching now is a pitting of people against each other, a targeting of immigrants. Opponents were not swayed. They said the bills language was too broad and could prevent communication among police agencies at different levels of government, allowing dangerous criminals to escape prosecution. Im concerned that you are basically making the state of California a de facto sanctuary state, Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) told De Leon. Facebook

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California lawmakers seek stricter enforcement, more transparency at state toxics control agency By Melanie Mason Jose Gomez, at his home on South Hicks Avenue in East Los Angeles, is among thousands whose yards have been tested for contamination from the former Exide plant. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Assembly Democrats unveiled a package of five bills Tuesday aimed at reforming the state agency tasked with regulating toxic substances. The Department of Toxic Substances Control has been roundly criticized for its flat-footed response in regulating and cleaning up pollution from the now-closed Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon. A Los Angeles Times review in 2015 found the department knew for years that the plant was violating environmental regulations but was slow to act on it. Too many communities, including communities I represent, have been harmed by toxic emissions that were released into their neighborhoods  emissions that could and should have been stopped, Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said in a statement. The goal of this legislative package is a more transparent, accountable, and responsive Department of Toxic Substances Control  and safer and healthier communities throughout California. The proposed legislation includes: AB 245 by Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), which would require hazardous waste facilities to comply with higher financial assurance requirements to make sure there are adequate funds for contamination cleanup.

AB 249 (Gomez), which would increase maximum penalties the department can assess to match what the federal government can assess in similar situations.

AB 248 by Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), which would require hazardous waste facilities to submit permit renewals two years prior to the current permits expiration to avoid lapses.

AB 246 by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), which would promote the use of fence line monitoring by facilities to better detect leaks.

AB 247 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), which would create a statewide task force focused on reducing lead poisoning in the state. Facebook

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she will vote no on Jeff Sessions nomination for U.S. attorney general By Sarah D. Wire California Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced this morning that she will vote no on the nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for U.S. attorney general. The statement comes after protestors visited Feinsteins home and office out of concern that she may vote in favor of the nomination. Protesters marched on her home and California offices last night. #CASen https://t.co/U0HhsJxwTB  Sarah D. Wire (@sarahdwire) January 31, 2017 JUST NOW: On Sessions attorney general nomination: I must vote no. pic.twitter.com/lfQnX5Khug  Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) January 31, 2017 It is very difficult to reconcile for me the independence and objectivity necessary for the position of attorney general with the partisanship this nominee has demonstrated, Feinstein said Tuesday. We are being asked to determine whether this nominees record demonstrates that he will have the objectivity to enforce the law for all Americans and be an independent attorney general and not an arm of the White House. Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which votes today on the confirmation of Sessions to be President Trumps attorney general. Feinstein pointed to former acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Sally Yates as an example of what she is looking for. Yates was fired Monday, just hours after she announced that the Justice Department would not defend Trumps controversial executive order banning refugees and travelers from certain countries. Yesterday, early in the evening, we clearly saw what a truly independent attorney general doesI have no confidence that Senator Sessions will do that, Feinstein said. Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated, and most loyal promoter in Congress of the Trump agenda, and has played a critical role as the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy to undergird the implementation of that agenda. Facebook

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Where do Californias members of Congress stand on President Trumps refugee order? By Sarah D. Wire Noor Hindi, left, and Shah Najjar, middle, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) President Trumps executive order Friday, which blocked U.S. entry to refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations, brought thousands of Americans to the nations airports in protest over the weekend. Several Democrats from Californias 54-member congressional delegation joined constituents at airports, and lobbied customs and Border Patrol officials to release the detained visa holders. Many of the states 14 Republican representatives were initially silent on the executive order. Several have since voiced their support, while others were critical of the orders rollout. Heres a look at what each member of the California congressional delegation has said about the executive order: Read More Facebook

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California state Senate passes resolution condemning President Trumps refugee ban By Jazmine Ulloa Protesters are held back by airport police on Sunday at LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) After nearly two hours of debate, the state Senate on Monday passed a resolution that condemned President Trumps executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries, calling it discriminatory overreach. Democrats introduced the resolution after the presidents order Friday spurred a weekend of protests and chaos at airports across the country. The resolution denounces Trumps actions and urges the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to comply with federal court orders permitting detainees to have timely access to counsel. It cleared the Senate floor with a 26-11 vote largely along party lines, reflecting the national rift over Trumps immigration order. Two Republican members abstained. On the Senate floor, Democrats called the executive order an affront on religious freedom that panders to fear and foments discrimination, and said it would not further public safety. Reaching to members across the aisle, they said the resolution was not about partisanship or opposing Trump, but about protecting American institutions. In a fiery speech, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) said the order is unconstitutional and violates fundamental rights. You see this is how we end up with fascism and totalitarianism, she said. Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said she did not want four more years of executive orders crafted in the cover of darkness. But Republican members said that President Obama had taken similar actions and that they had a duty to their constituents, who were worried about national security and a vetting process they said did not stop terrorists from entering the nations borders. Obama has rejected comparisons of his policy to Trumps. We do not welcome those who have come here to harm us, Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) said, urging a no vote. We cannot ignore contemporary reality. Our enemies do not reside beyond our shores. They are within. The resolution states that 134 million people are temporarily barred from entering or reentering the United States, including nationals with dual citizenship. Hundreds of thousands with visas are also blocked, it says. The resolution also denounces the manner in which the executive order was executed, saying it was not fully vetted by the departments tasked with protecting the nations national security interests. Facebook

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State attorneys general met in Florida to strategize on how to counter Trump, Becerra says By Patrick McGreevy California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra. ((Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) ) A joint statement by 15 attorneys general over the weekend condemning President Trumps refugee order grew out of a meeting in Florida between California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and some of his concerned counterparts, Becerra said Monday. Becerra gathered Thursday in Fort Lauderdale with other attorneys general, including Washington Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson, to strategize about responding to the Trump administration on various issues. The meeting took place at the annual winter conference of the Democratic Attorneys General Assn. Several of the AGs have been in communication, Becerra said in an interview with The Times. We made it very clear in our joint statement that we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the unlawful, unconstitutional executive orders by the Trump administration dont see the light of day. Officials who signed the joint statement included legal representatives from Washington, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia. On Monday, Ferguson announced he was suing Trump over the executive order that suspended refugee entries for 120 days and barred entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Becerra said that he had been in contact with Ferguson and that the option to pursue legal action is under consideration for California. Thats one of many avenues of how we are looking to approach this, Becerra said. As a result of the Florida meeting, Becerra said, the top lawyers from the 15 states are collaborating on how to address various Trump directives. Everyone is doing a little bit of something, he said. Everyones trying to figure out how best to address this. Florida Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, a Republican, did not attend the meeting, Becerra said. Facebook

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California warily watches President Trump while pushing forward on climate change By Chris Megerian (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Its been a decade since California set its first target for slashing greenhouse gas emissions, one of several policies that has made the state an international leader in the fight against global warming. So while President Trump suggests hes going to roll back the countrys environmental regulations, state leaders insist they wont be knocked off track here. This is when you do your best work, said John Laird, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. We cant worry about pulling back just to sink with everyone else who isnt moving at all. Read More Facebook

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Rep. Duncan Hunter urges Trump to make an executive order exemption for Iraqis who aided U.S. military By Sarah D. Wire Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) are asking President Trump to approve waivers to his executive order for Iraqis who helped the American military. Hunter and Kinzinger, who both served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in the letter to Trump that they supported a request from Defense Secretary James N. Mattis that visa reviews for some Iraqis be fast-tracked. For the safety of these courageous individuals and their families, and in the interest of our national security, its critical that we make this exception and do so swiftly, the congressmen said in a statement. The executive order Trump signed Friday bars all refugee entries for 120 days, blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars for 90 days the entry of citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. Some of the earliest stories of people caught up in the ban included military interpreters from Iraq who had visas. We respectfully ask that you take this action to ensure these individuals are not put in any further danger. Doing so would send a strong signal to those who show such immense courage to advance U.S. security interests at a risk to their own safety, as well as the many veterans and warfighters whove relied on the service of these individuals for their own protection and to accomplish their objectives, their letter states. Facebook

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Democrats in the California Legislature move to condemn President Trumps immigration orders Facebook

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Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes voices his misgivings about refugee order By Patrick McGreevy Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) speaks in the Capitol on Jan. 11. (Rich Pedroncelli / AP) Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley on Monday joined a number of GOP politicians who are voicing misgivings about President Trumps order temporarily barring refugees from some majority-Muslim countries from entering the country. Religious liberty is a core value of our nation. My ancestors immigrated to America to flee religious persecution, Mayes said in a statement. While bolstering our national security is important, when forced to decide between security and liberty, I will always side with liberty. He is concerned about them [the orders], said Matt Mahon, a spokesman for the assemblyman. Trumps directives suspended refugee entries for 120 days and barred entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Facebook

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Rep. Zoe Lofgren and other ranking Democrats demand emergency meeting on refugee ban By Sarah D. Wire After two days of protests across the country over President Trumps order Friday banning refugees from seven countries, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and the ranking Democrats of three committees that oversee immigration issues are demanding a meeting with President Trumps new Homeland Security secretary, John F. Kelly. The move by Trump prevented green card and visa holders from reentering the country, and led to the detention of more than a hundred people landing at U.S. airports with valid entry documents. Late Saturday, a federal judge in New York issued a temporary stay against the deportation of anyone who had arrived with a valid visa. The letter demanding the meeting, signed by Lofgren, Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.), calls for it be scheduled by the close of business Wednesday. The Democrats also ask for more information about how the order is being implemented, whether the stays placed by federal judges over the weekend are being followed and whether green card holders are affected. Only two days after the order was signed it is clear that it has already led to panic and disorder, not to mention protests, the letter states. This is apparently due in part to the lack of internal administration review prior to its issuance as well as a lack of clarity and guidance provided thereafter. Lofgren, a former immigration attorney and the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committees Immigration Subcommittee, also plans to file legislation today to rescind the executive order. Getting such legislation through the House could be difficult with Speaker Paul Ryan supporting the executive order. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is proposing similar legislation in the Senate. House and Senate Democrats plan to hold a rally against the order outside the Supreme Court Monday evening. Facebook

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As California Democrats blast Trumps refugee order, Republicans in the congressional delegation hold their fire By Sarah D. Wire Only a few of the states 14 Republican representatives have publicly commented on an executive order signed by President Trump on Friday that barred refugees and green card holders from seven countries from entering the U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) released a statement Sunday night saying some tweaks are needed, but his background as chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee leads him to support the executive order. In light of attempts by jihadist groups to infiltrate fighters into refugee flows to the West, along with Europes tragic experience coping with this problem, the Trump administrations executive order on refugees is a common-sense security measure to prevent terror attacks on the homeland. While accommodations should be made for green card holders and those whove assisted the U.S. armed forces, this is a useful temporary measure on seven nations of concern until we can verify who is entering the United States, he said. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) told the Washington Post that pausing the intake of refugees from terror hotspots is the right call to keep America safe, but he hopes the cases of people traveling on visas who were prevented from reentering the country are resolved quickly. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) said on Twitter on Sunday that the rollout has created confusion, and that executive orders arent the way to fix the countrys long-term problems. View Twitter post View Twitter post Several of Californias 38 Democratic congressional representatives and the states two senators were out in force over the weekend demanding the release of refugees and green card holders, and an end to the executive order. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced two pieces of legislation shell file in response. One would immediately rescind the presidents order. The second would limit executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent a president from unilaterally banning groups of immigrants. Its clear that the president gave little consideration to the chaos and heartbreak that would result from this order, she said in a statement. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) joined protesters outside the White House Sunday afternoon. We will fight against racism. We will fight against anti-Muslim rhetoric. We will fight against those who will marginalize who we are. pic.twitter.com/R54f3MDhvo  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2017 In Los Angeles, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) joined protesters at Los Angeles International Airport. On Saturday, Reps. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro) and Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) joined the initial protests at the airport, and worked to get some of those being held released. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) accompanied protesters at San Francisco International Airport Sunday. Congresswoman @MaxineWaters is here at LAX protest leading the crowd in the chant "no ban, no wall, you build it up we'll tear it down" pic.twitter.com/iNEmkVVkmW  Javier Panzar  (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017 2:31 p.m. Jan. 30: This post was updated to clarify Rep. Ed Royces statement about the executive order. It was originally published Jan. 29. Facebook

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State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra condemns Trumps refugee order and explores challenge By Patrick McGreevy Assyrian Christians, who fled unrest in Syria and Iraq, attend Mass at St. Georges Assyrian Church in Jdeideh, Lebanon. Trumps directive provides an exception for religious minorities. ( (AFP/Getty Images)) California state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Saturday condemned an executive order by President Donald Trump barring people from some Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and said he is consulting with legal advisors over a way to challenge the directive. Trump has suspended all refugee entries for 120 days and barred entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Justice in America doesnt live or die on the stroke of one mans pen regardless of how high his office, Becerra said in a statement late Saturday, less than a week after taking office. The Trump Administrations anti-religion, anti-refugee executive order is in so many ways unjust and anti-American He said the order discriminates against people based on their faith and denies entry to those with fears of death and persecution. I have conferred with my team, and we are reaching out to others as well, to find every avenue possible to defend our family members and those who live permanently in our communities who may be barred from re-entry into America, Becerra said. The Trump executive order should not stand and must be confronted as a constitutional overreach, he added. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: Reactions to President Trumps first week By John Myers Even before the weekend controversy and protests, Californias top elected officials spent much of the last week reacting to the first moves by President Donald Trump. On this weeks California Politics Podcast, we take a closer look at the sharp words offered by Gov. Jerry Brown in his State of the State speech when it comes to the new politics of Washington. We also focus much of this weeks discussion around three big topics that caught the attention of a number of California lawmakers: immigration moves by Trump; the rough week that was for the nations environmental protection enforcers; and rekindled but unproven allegations of widespread voter fraud. Im joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News and Anthony York of the Grizzly Bear Project. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown will undergo new round of treatment for prostate cancer, but wont miss any work By John Myers Gov. Jerry Brown, who first was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, will begin a new round of treatment for the disease, his office reported on Saturday. Brown, 78, will maintain his duties as governor during the treatment, according to his staff. No additional details were provided about how long the treatment will take, or what prompted its timing. Fortunately this is not extensive disease, can be readily treated with a short course of radiotherapy, and there are not expected to be any significant side effects, said Dr. Eric Small, a UC San Francisco oncologist, in an emailed statement provided to reporters. The prognosis for Gov. Brown is excellent. Brown initially learned he had prostate cancer in late 2012 and underwent similar treatment for several weeks. The governor has also been treated for basal cell carcinoma  a type of skin cancer  twice in the past nine years, with reconstructive surgery on the right side of his nose in 2011. With almost two years remaining on his final term in office, Brown is already the oldest governor in California history. He often made a point of pointing out his physical fitness in his return to the job in 2011, including a 2012 challenge to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of a 3-mile race, a push-up contest and a chin-up contest. Though hes been treated in San Francisco, the governor and First Lady Anne Gust Brown now live full-time in the historic governors mansion in Sacramento after moving out of Oakland last year. Facebook

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Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra takes a jab at the Trump administration when asked about the battles to come Facebook

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Proposed law would make penalties for using fake immigration papers the same as those for using fake drivers license By Jazmine Ulloa A proposed California law seeks to ensure that a person who uses false documents to conceal their citizenship status faces the same punishment as a person who uses a fake drivers license. The legislation by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) would amend the penal code to make both crimes wobblers,

meaning prosecutors would have the discretion to charge suspects in such cases with either felony offenses or lower-level misdemeanors. Under the proposal, the repercussions for defendants would be the same: If convicted of a misdemeanor, offenders would have to serve up to one year in county jail, while a felony conviction would mean up to 16 months in county jail, or two or three years in prison. A spokesman for Bocangera said the measure was introduced as a proactive response to President Trumps hard-line stance on immigration and would reverse part of Proposition 187, a controversial ballot measure to deny public services, such as education and healthcare, to immigrants in the country illegally. The proposition, approved by voters in 1994, requires any person who uses false immigration records to face felony charges. Bocangeras bill amending those provisions would need a two-thirds vote in the Assembly and the state Senate to pass. Today, if an underage college student uses a fake ID to purchase a six-pack of beer, he or she can be charged with a misdemeanor, Bocanegra said in a statement. However, if an immigrant is caught using that same fake ID, he or she is automatically charged with a felony and is subject to five years in prison. This is fundamentally unfair. Facebook

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Fearing catastrophe, Californias Gov. Jerry Brown wants the worlds leaders to stop goofing off By Chris Megerian Gov. Jerry Brown pointedly criticized world leaders for goofing off instead of addressing looming problems with climate change and nuclear weapons during a radio interview on Friday. Theyre really averting their gaze, he said. And that is dangerous, very dangerous. Brown has become increasingly outspoken about issues he describes as existential threats to humanity, and the election of Donald Trump has only made him more concerned. During the interview, he spoke in sweeping terms about the need to support scientific research in the face of political denial. Darkness cannot totally extinguish the light, Brown said while criticizing Republicans for refusing to accept the scientific consensus around climate change and the need for dramatic changes to confront global warming. @JerryBrownGov in our studio (in fact, in my chair!) as he chats w/ Ira Flatow on @scifri pic.twitter.com/kIyGBFQW9X  Beth Ruyak (@CapRadioRuyak) January 27, 2017 At another point, Brown mused that humans have accumulated vast power without a corresponding increase in wisdom. That creates a gap between the power to destroy and the wisdom to control those destructive forces. Brown reiterated his plan to push forward Californias policies on climate change even if Trump follows through on the federal governments plans. Were going to do everything we can to stay on track, he said. Facebook

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Some California lawmakers say its time to expand how the state defines violent crime By Jazmine Ulloa As California undergoes the largest overhaul of prison parole in a generation, some lawmakers and law enforcement officials say its time to revisit how the state legally defines a violent crime. Gov. Jerry Browns Proposition 57, which voters overwhelmingly approved in November, continues a statewide effort to increase rehabilitation services and decrease the prison population. Among its provisions, the initiative gives the state parole board greater latitude to consider the early release of prisoners who have served their primary sentences, and whose crimes are not designated as violent under the California penal code. But since the early days of the ballot measure campaign, debate has brewed over just who the law will benefit, with prosecutors saying that short and porous list excludes certain rape crimes and other dangerous offenses. This legislative session, the discussion moves to the Capitol. Read More Facebook

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Fearing deletion, Tom Steyer copies Environmental Protection Agency website on climate change By Chris Megerian (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) With President Trump in the White House, information about climate change has been disappearing from government websites. Some fear the same thing could happen with the Environmental Protection Agency. Now the advocacy organization run by environmentalist and political donor Tom Steyer is taking steps to preserve the information. We will not allow Trump and the oil corporations to push us towards an Orwellian world full of official lies and misinformation.  Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) January 27, 2017 NextGen Climate copied the website and made it available at SaveOurEPA.com. As Americans, we will not allow Donald Trump to erase the truth or rewrite history, Steyer said in a statement. This information belongs to the people, and the public has a right to know the truth. Trump has taken other steps that have alarmed environmentalists. For example, he greenlighted two oil pipelines that had been stopped by former President Obama. Facebook

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For California, a return to center stage in the 2020 presidential contest By Mark Z. Barabak (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) Kamala Harris hadnt even arrived in Washington to take up her job as Californias spanking-new U.S. senator when the chatter began: Kamala for president! Never mind her disavowals  Seriously?  or the fact that the first balloting of the 2020 race is, at a minimum, 1,000-plus days away. The soul-sapping election of Donald Trump has Democrats desperately looking far, far down the road. Usually the candidates start sending signals, said Jim Demers, a longtime party strategist in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary. This time Im hearing activists begging for the race to begin. With a wide-open contest (read: not a Clinton or Obama in sight), the list of would-be contenders, real and imagined, is lengthy, even by the prodigious standards of this early stage. Whats different in 2020 is that California  huge in population, mighty in economic power, desperate to matter in presidential politics  figures to be at the center of speculation in a way it hasnt for a generation. Read More Facebook

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Theres a major fight on the way over Trumps plans for sanctuary cities By Liam Dillon Immigrant workers marching in Los Angeles in 2014. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times) Cities in California are gearing up for a legal fight against President Trumps plans to take away federal dollars from so-called sanctuary cities. These cities typically are defined as those that dont cooperate with federal immigration officials for deportation purposes, and the new president wants to strip them of funding unless they start doing so. But the language in Trumps executive order on the issue is vague, and San Francisco officials believe their city is already exempt from the mandate. Read More Facebook

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Fighting Trumps border wall on environmental grounds probably wont win in court By Liam Dillon A pair of fences separates Mexico, left, and the U.S. south of San Diego. (Bill Wechter / AFP) California political leaders are seeking all sorts of strategies to fight President Trumps plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico. One strategy thats likely to fail is a lawsuit based on state and federal environmental laws, legal experts said. Congress already has given the federal government broad authority to waive environmental laws to build a border fence and the courts have upheld that power. Read More Facebook

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Calexit organizers can now start collecting signatures to get California secession on the ballot By Christine Mai-Duc Supporters of the campaign for California to secede from the United States can now begin collecting the hundreds of thousands of signatures they need to get a proposed Calexit initiative on the ballot. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla cleared the proposed initiative to begin collecting signatures on Thursday. If the measure gets on the ballot and gains approval by a majority of voters, it would repeal clauses in the California Constitution stating that the state is an inseparable part of the United States and that the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land, according to the title and summary prepared by the state attorney generals office. The measure would place another question on the ballot in 2019, asking whether California should become a separate country. If at least half of registered voters participate in that vote, with at least 55% of those voting to approve, the results would be treated as Californias declaration of independence. The current measures fiscal effect is dependent on various factors, writes the states nonpartisan legislative analyst, and if it succeeds would result in major, but unknown budgetary impacts. The proposals backers, known as Yes California, have argued that the state is culturally out of step with the rest of the U.S. and that California pays more money to the federal government than it receives in spending. The election of President Trump has only strengthened their argument, they say. California loses [by] being a part of America culturally and financially, said Marcus Ruiz Evans, one of the groups founders. It could be a nation all its own, everybody knows that. The only question is if they want to break off. Its unclear how the group will collect the required 585,407 valid signatures from registered voters over the next 180 days to qualify for the ballot. A campaign committee, Yes California Independence Committee, has raised no funds so far, according to records from the secretary of state. But Evans says that his group has more than 7,000 volunteers (significantly down from a 13,000 estimate in December) ready to gather signatures and that voters can expect to see signature gatherers on the streets in the next couple of days. Yes California says that even if the proposed initiative does land on the ballot and voters approve it, such an unprecedented move to secede would need to receive approval of at least a majority of the states in the union, among other legal hurdles. Evans says hes not fazed. America already hates California, and America votes on emotions, he said. I think wed have the votes today if we held it. UPDATE 7:01 p.m.: This post has been updated to clarify that the proposed initiative would place a future vote on Californias secession on the ballot in 2019. Facebook

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Rep. Ted Lieu is trolling Donald Trump, and he hopes youre watching By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Ted Lieu is now placing an asterisk next to President Trumps name in news releases. Its the Torrance Democrats way of drawing attention to his concerns about the new administration, he said. Sometimes the best way to respond to crazy is with satire, Lieu said. Never before have I had this feeling where our leader is potentially unhinged and has a problem with the truth, and that is highly disturbing for the leader of the free world. So Ive decided Im just going to point that out as much as I can. The asterisk leads readers to the bottom of the email, where a postscript says:  ***In addition to losing the popular vote, Trump  as of January 20, 2017  is in violation of the Emoluments Clause set forth in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution due to massive conflicts of interests and his refusal to put his global business holdings in blind trusts. Trump also benefitted from Vladimir Putin ordering a multifaceted and brazen Russian influence and cyber hacking campaign with the goals of undermining faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrating Secretary Clintons electability, and helping Trumps election chances. Trump and his press secretary also routinely make stuff up. The sophomore congressman said he initially planned to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, hoping his rhetoric was a campaign tactic and that he would pivot to uniting the country following the election. Then Lieu listened to the presidents inaugural speech. I was hoping he would govern different than how he campaigned, he said. I came to the conclusion that it would be worse for America to normalize him. Lieu followed the addition to his news releases with a Cloud of Illegitimacy Clock that counts the time since Trumps swearing-in, which is how long Lieu says Trump has been in violation of the Constitution by not divesting from his businesses or putting them in a blind trust. The Constitution bans government officials from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments. Next he posted a series of tweets mocking White House spokesman Sean Spicer for giving incorrect figures on how many people attended the inauguration, and top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway for using the term alternative facts. Was charged $2.99 for coffee listed at $2.59. That's why I have trust issues. Oh, and the fact that @seanspicer at #WhiteHouse makes shit up  Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 23, 2017 Ive decided that the administration using alternative facts is more profane than anything that I could say, he said. When the administration lies, they just need to be called out on that. If they are going to lie about stupid little things, like crowd size, imagine what theyre going to say when they roll out their healthcare plan, whenever that might be. Lieu has needled Trump in responses to several executive orders this week, including by saying he would bet a nice bottle of California wine that the Administration will be unable to find a credible witness to testify under oath to the allegation that 3-5 million people illegally cast votes in 2016, and by mentioning the inauguration crowd while talking about Trumps proposed border wall. Lieu said hes absolutely hoping Trump will respond. I think satire is an effective way to highlight issues, and I want the American people to see who this president really is, because in 22 months they get to vote again on every member of Congress, and that will be a referendum on Donald Trump, Lieu said. Facebook

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California Democrats propose adding third, nonbinary gender option for drivers licenses and other official documents By Melanie Mason View Twitter post California drivers licenses and birth certificates could have a third option for gender in addition to male or female under legislation unveiled Thursday by Democratic lawmakers. The bill by state Sens. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would establish a new nonbinary gender marker for official state documents. Lawmakers framed the measure as an expansion of rights for transgender, intersex and other people who do not identify as male or female. It will keep California at the forefront of LGBTQ civil rights, Atkins said at a Capitol news conference. The bill, SB 179, also would streamline the process for people to change their gender on such documents. It would remove the requirement that an individual obtain a sworn statement from a physician certifying medical treatment for gender transition. It also would create a process for people younger than 18 to apply for a change of gender on their birth certificate. Jo Michael, of Equality California, a gay rights advocacy group, said the bill had personal resonance. Michael identifies as transgender and nonbinary. For the first time, Californians like me could have accurate gender markers that truly reflect who we are, Michael said. Wiener said the proposal places California in stark relief to other states in the country, including North Carolina, where a high-profile law regulating transgender peoples use of public bathrooms roiled the state. As the LGBT community  but especially the trans community  is under assault in this country, California needs to go in the opposite direction and embrace the trans community and support the trans community and modernize these laws, he said. The legislation does not specify what the alternate gender marker would be, but other countries that have implemented such a policy, such as Australia and New Zealand, have used the letter X alongside M for male and F for female, according to Sasha Buchert of the Transgender Law Center. Atkins, who is a lesbian and a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, said this proposal marks an evolution for her in better understanding the concerns of the transgender and intersex community. She authored a law in 2014 that ensures death certificates reflect a persons gender identity, an experience she said made her more aware of the bureaucratic hurdles that transgender people often face. This years bill, she said, is moving us forward into a new world, where acceptance is ... letting people be who they tell you they are. Facebook

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Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder will visit Sacramento to meet with Democratic legislators next month By Melanie Mason (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) California lawmakers will have a chance to meet the Legislatures new outside counsel on Feb. 7, when former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. travels to the state to address Senate and Assembly Democrats. Holder, leading a team of attorneys from the firm Covington & Burling, has been hired by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) to serve as outside counsel as the state prepares a legal strategy to deal with the administration of President Trump. But Senate and Assembly staff officials said his invitation to meet with lawmakers was extended prior to the contract, which begins in February, and that Holder is making the trip on his own personal time. His travel and accommodations expenses will not be paid with state funds, and his appearances will not be part of his billable hours, they said. Holder will address Senate Democrats at their annual policy retreat, and will speak to the Assembly Democratic caucus. His visit comes soon after state Democratic leaders this week denounced Trumps executive orders on immigration and pledged to take his administration to court should other legislative means of resistance fail. Facebook

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A guide to the guessing game that is the 2018 California governors race By Phil Willon While the race to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown already has attracted a small cadre of well-known Democrats, the behind-the-scenes strategizing, cajoling and guessing games surrounding a handful of other potential contenders could create havoc in whats expected to be Californias biggest political showdown since 2010. Among those watching closely are the candidates already definitely in the running, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang. Delaine Eastin, who spent eight years as Californias top education official, announced she was running in November and officially launched her campaign  and fundraising operation  on Thursday. Read More Facebook

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This is not a monarchy: California Senate leader Kevin de Leon bashes Trumps immigration orders By Jazmine Ulloa (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) California Senate leader Kevin de Leon took another shot at President Trump and his executive orders on immigration Wednesday night, calling his threat to withhold federal dollars from so-called sanctuary cities political blackmail and political vengeance. In an interview on the MSNBC show The Last Word with Lawrence ODonnell, De Leon said California was working with former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. to study all of its legal options to oppose the directives. Under the 10th Amendment, the state Senate leader said, the federal government cannot commandeer and force local municipalities and police agencies from carrying out their work. The appearance came hours after Trump signed orders to temporarily halt the U.S. refugee program, cut funding for cities that offer immigrants protections and order federal officials to construct a U.S.-Mexico border wall. California will not become a cog in the Trump deportation machine, De Leon said. This is not a monarchy, and I know he fancies himself as a king, but this is a republic. Read More Facebook

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President Trumps voter fraud allegation is a lie, says Californias top elections officer By John Myers Secretary of State Alex Padilla. (Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press) With President Donald Trump rehashing last years accusation of widespread voter fraud in California and elsewhere, the states top elections official is also restating his take: Its not true. When the president says millions of illegal ballots are cast, thats simply not the case, said Secretary of State Alex Padilla in an interview on CNN Wednesday. Its a lie. As was the case when Trump made the accusation in November, theres no evidence of such a broad attempt to sway the outcome in California. The president lost the Golden State to Democrat Hillary Clinton by almost 4.3 million votes. Trumps announcement on Wednesday of a major investigation into voter fraud reignited the issue, even though there was also Republican skepticism in the wake of the new round of accusations. Is it a question of millions of people? Thats a pretty steep hill to climb, said Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach), the vice chairman of the Assemblys elections committee. Youd have to have a very strong coordinated effort across California to pull that off. Harper said he believes the better discussion is whether new, independent audit capabilities need to be in place to examine election results. Others, though, were sharply critical of the presidents motives. Allegations of widespread voter fraud are not just alternative facts, they are a calculated and sinister attempt at voter suppression that takes a page from this nations bleak history of segregation, said Laphonza Butler, president of the state council of the Service Employees International Union. In the CNN interview, Padilla said he worried the president was sowing doubt in an effort to legitimize efforts such as a purging of voter rolls. I hope that its not a sign of things to come, he said. Facebook

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Intelligence committee led by Californians investigating Russian influence in 2016 election By Sarah D. Wire The House Select Intelligence Committee is examining allegations that the Russian government tried to influence the 2016 election, Republican Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes and ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement Wednesday. The two Californians said the committee is looking at Russian cyber activity and other active measures directed against the U.S. It also will examine links between Russia and people working for political campaigns as well as the federal response to Russia, including leaks of classified assessments from the intelligence community. The statement does not specifically mention President Trump, the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia attempted to intervene in the presidential election to ensure he would win or news that Trumps national security advisor was in frequent contact with the Russian ambassador as President Obama was considering sanctions against Russia. This issue is not about party, but about country. The Committee will continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead, the statement said. The Senate Intelligence Committee, on which Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) serves, also is investigating Russian interference in the election, and the U.S. response. Two Republican senators have joined a number of House and Senate Democrats, including House Select Intelligence Committee member Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) in pushing for a nonpartisan independent commission to examine the issue. Nunes, who served on Trumps transition committee, has previously said he doesnt think an independent commission is necessary. The statement also asked the new, Trump-appointed heads of intelligence agencies to bring documents requested by the committee directly to committee members. It will not be adequate to review these documents, expected to be in the thousands of pages, at the agencies. They should be delivered to the House Intelligence Committee to provide members adequate time to examine their content, it states. Facebook

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No stamp, no problem: Lawmaker says postage-paid ballots should be available to all Californians By John Myers (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) California voters would no longer have to scrounge around in search of a stamp to mail in their ballot under new legislation introduced this week at the state Capitol. We want to make sure voters dont have any barriers, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), the bills author. Ballot envelopes sent by elections officials would be marked as prepaid postage and the postage costs would be paid for by individual counties. A key question will be the cost for mailing in as many as 10 million ballots statewide. Not all ballots will weigh the same, given the numerous city and county measures that also are considered in regularly scheduled elections. The initial language of Assembly Bill 216 doesnt offer specifics on reimbursing counties, though Gonzalez Fletcher said she expects the proposals ultimate cost could be under $2 million, if the law also makes clear that voters can still place a stamp on their ballot. Regardless, postage fees are likely to be deemed a mandated cost that state government must cover. Gonzalez Fletcher said the advent of email and online bill-paying services have meant that fewer voters have stamps readily available, with busy working Californians scrambling just to find the time to exercise their right to vote. It starts to feel like a very small poll tax, she said. The proposal is another example of the steady evolution of elections conducted less by the ballot box than the mailbox in California, as more than half of all registered voters now permanently receive absentee ballots. A number of the states most populous counties are expected to soon embrace a sweeping new law shifting elections away from neighborhood polling places and toward a substantial number of votes being cast by mail. This is welcome legislation, said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. Requiring voters to pay for ballot postage sends a message that the government is putting up obstacles to make it more difficult to vote. In many cases, ballots placed in the mail without proper postage are already being delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Some counties in California have offered prepaid postage in the past, but the vast majority have not. Facebook

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California improves grades from anti-smoking group with barrage of anti-tobacco laws By Patrick McGreevy California led other states in adopting a flurry of new laws restricting tobacco products last year, resulting in a big improvement in the states grades from the American Lung Assn. In a report released Wednesday, the health group boosted the states grade for the level of tobacco taxes from an F last year to a B, in recognition that California voters in November approved a $2-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax. The Legislature last year also adopted a half-dozen new laws, including an increase in the minimum age for smoking from 18 to 21 and an expansion of a smoking ban in public places, including restaurants and theaters, to also include use of electronic cigarettes. The states grade for smoke-free air policies rose from a B to an A, while California received a B for restricting tobacco to young people. The group gave the state an incomplete for funding of tobacco prevention programs because officials have not yet started collecting money from the tobacco tax increase in Proposition 56. In 2016, Californians fought back against Big Tobaccos grip on our state, said David Pogue, chairman of the American Lung Assn. in Californias governing board. Tobacco-related illnesses remain the single most preventable cause of disease and death in California, and were proud to reaffirm ourselves as a national leader in the effort to reduce smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke and to protect our children from a lifetime of addiction. The group cited the lack of significant new tobacco laws passed in Los Angeles for its decision to leave the citys C grade unchanged. El Monte and West Hollywood passed some new tobacco policies and raised their grades. Santa Ana earned a C, but was at top of the list in Orange County, where almost all the other cities received Fs, officials said. Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris pushes Trumps budget director pick on timely disaster relief By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) pushed President Trumps budget chief pick Tuesday on whether hed advise the new Republican leader to offer timely disaster relief, especially to states like California that face earthquakes, fires, floods and other natural disasters. Can you assure me that when natural disasters hit various parts of the country like California, that you will be willing to put the immediate interests of people in need as the first priority for you, or will you insist that the budget cuts be made before agreeing to provide critical assistance to those victims? Harris asked Rep. Mick Mulvaney during a confirmation hearing Tuesday. The South Carolina Republican asked for spending cuts to offset billions in relief funding after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. There is a proper federal role in dealing with natural disaster relief, Mulvaney said in response to Harris questioning. Sandy is a tremendous example of something so large, its simply too large for one state or local government to deal with, it is an appropriate function of the federal government. Harris pushed a second time, So can you assure me that if a natural disaster hits other states, like California for example, that you will not hold up relief for the state, waiting to determine whether there are going to be budget cuts or cuts in order to provide that relief? Or are you going to sit back and crunch the numbers while people are waiting for help? Mulvaney replied, No, I see my role in that particular circumstance as advising the president. Mr. President, heres what weve done it in the past, heres how it worked out, heres how I think we should proceed in this circumstance and heres why. And then whatever the president says to do, I will enforce. Harris is still weighing how to vote on Mulvaneys confirmation, her staff said. Facebook

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Trump is a hot topic in Californias race for governor, but not in a good way By Phil Willon Donald Trump at the California Republican Party convention in Burlingame in April. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) One of the most talked about politicians in Californias 2018 governors campaign isnt even running. Rarely does a day go by when Republican President Donald Trump isnt used as a political pinata by one of the top Democrats in the race. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom took some jabs Tuesday when he addressed the California Legislature before Gov. Jerry Browns annual State of the State speech. Newsom mocked the Trump administration for its reliance on alternative facts  a phrase used by a Trump senior advisor when defending inflated inauguration crowd figures  and took a subtle shot at the presidents comment about American carnage in the nations cities. The insecurity of this man is near incomprehensible. These lies damage our democracy & country's reputation-Shameful https://t.co/ib7i6DqfH8  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 24, 2017 On Monday, state Treasurer John Chiang criticized Trump for doubting the scientific evidence of climate change. President Trump may believe global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive, Chiang said. We Californians stand with the scientific community and the 195 nations that have declared climate change is an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet. When Antonio Villaraigosa announced his bid for governor right after the general election, the former Los Angeles mayor was sure to include a dig at Trump. Im running because I think the answer to the divisiveness we see in the country right now is unity, and the answer to fear is hope, he said. Last May, Villaraigosa compared Trump to segregationist George Wallace. Californias former superintendent of public instruction, Delaine Eastin, last week ripped Trump for nominating Betsy DeVos for Education secretary. Eastin said DeVos, a charter school advocate and Republican fundraiser from Michigan, was a threat to public education in the country. In speeches, in fundraising emails, in tweets and Facebook posts, the Democrats have liberally excoriated Trump while largely avoiding lobbing any criticism at one another. Its a safe and easy tactic that appeals to a sizeable majority of voters in left-leaning California. In the November election, Trump was trounced by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in California  losing to her by more than 4.2 million votes. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a Republican being urged to run by fellow party members, has also rebuked Trump in the past. In May, Faulconer said he rejected Trumps divisive rhetoric about women and immigrants. Faulconer was absent at Trumps inauguration and skipped a Trump campaign rally in San Diego last spring. For any Republican to have a legitimate shot in the governors race, or any statewide election, the more distance they put between themselves and Trump the better, said GOP political consultant Rob Stutzman. Its important that youre not on the record gushing about Trump, Stutzman said. 3:30 p.m.: This story was updated to correct the title of Delaine Eastin. She is a former state superintendent of public instruction. Facebook

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Californias House members vote along party lines on permanently banning federal funds for abortion By Sarah D. Wire Californias House delegation split along party lines Tuesday on a bill to permanently prohibit the use of certain federal funds for abortions. President Trump promised the anti-abortion community during the campaign that he would make the funding ban  commonly called the Hyde Amendment  permanent. It passed the House 238-183 and goes next to the Senate. The 52 members who represent California in the House split along party lines, with 36 Democrats against for it, and 14 Republicans voting for it. Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Jim Costa (D-Lieu) did not vote. Their staffs each said the member would have joined Democrats in voting against the measure. If passed by the Senate, it would permanently prohibit federal funding from being used to cover abortion costs except in cases of rape, incest or if the mothers life is in danger. It effects government employees health plans, Medicaid and health insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act. The amendment has been added to the annual appropriations bill for the past 40 years and the bill approved by the House Tuesday would make it permanent. During debate on the House floor Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) called the bill a womens health catastrophe that will keep poor women on Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act from having access to insurance. In effect it makes abortion only an option for the wealthy, she said. Previous versions of the bill twice passed the House but were not considered by the Senate while President Obama was in office. 11:09 a.m. Jan. 25: An earlier version of this article reported that Democrats voted for the bill and Republicans voted against the bill. It was the opposite. Facebook

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California lawmakers to weigh whether younger children should be allowed to testify in custody cases By Jazmine Ulloa California lawmakers will weigh whether family courts should allow children as young as 10 to testify before judges regarding parent custody or visitation rights. A bill filed by state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) would lower the current threshold from age 14 to enable more children to express their wishes in court, some of whom she said could find themselves in life-threatening situations. The legislation was co-sponsored by the California Protective Parents Assn. and the Center for Judicial Excellence. Neither current law nor the bill would require children to testify in family cases unless they choose to. In a statement, Levya called the proposal an important child safety measure. As a family court makes critical life decisions for children, it makes sense for them to be granted a greater voice in court proceedings since they can contribute essential information before final decisions are made, she said. Facebook

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Support for California secession is up, one poll says By Phil Willon Students from several high schools rally at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 14 after walking out of class to protest the election of Donald Trump. (Reed Saxon / Associated Press) Californians support for a breakaway California republic has increased, one poll has found. One-third of state residents support peacefully seceding from the United States, up from 20% since Californians were last asked the same question in 2014, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. The polls margin of error for the California answers was plus or minus 5 percentage points. Still, half of Californians opposed the idea of succession, though Democrats were more inclined to support it than Republicans. The survey found that 60% of Republicans gave the idea of peacefully seceding a thumbs down compared with 48% of Democrats and 50% of independents. Nationally, 22% of those polled supported having their state break away from the U.S., according to the survey. A Calexit campaign already is underway to make California an independent nation. The effort faces extremely long odds. The poll surveyed 14,000 adults nationwide, and 500 in California, from Dec. 6 to Jan. 19. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown defiantly tells lawmakers California is not turning back in face of Trump and GOP proposals By John Myers Gov. Jerry Brown used his State of the State speech on Tuesday to promise a forceful defense of Californias efforts on climate change, healthcare and assistance to those in the country illegally against new proposals by President Donald Trump and national Republican leadership. California is not turning back, Brown said to applause. Not now, not ever. The governors remarks, delivered in front of lawmakers and state elected officials in the Assembly chambers, came just four days after President Trumps forceful inaugural address that signaled a dramatic new course for the federal government. While he never mentioned the president by name during the 16-minute speech, Brown said there are disturbing signs as to whats on the horizon. We have seen the bald assertion of alternative facts, whatever those are, he said, a reference to top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conways weekend comments on NBCs Meet the Press. We have heard the blatant attacks on science. Familiar signposts of our democracy  truth, civility, working together  have been obscured or swept aside. The annual event in the chamber of the state Assembly was unusual from the outset. Just minutes before beginning his speech, Brown gave the oath of office to Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, the former Los Angeles congressman confirmed to the post on Monday afternoon by the state Senate. Legislators have had a decidedly unusual start to their new two-year session. After a raucous opening day in December that laid bare wounds from the presidential race, lawmakers were presented two weeks ago with Browns projection of a $1.6-billion budget deficit looming on the states fiscal horizon. But the sea change in national politics has been a persistent buzz in the state Capitol, and Brown promised a strong defense of Californias unique view on major policy issues. The governor made a special mention of the issue of illegal immigration, offering perhaps his strongest words to date. Let me be clear, the governor said, his voice rising. We will defend everybody  every man, woman and child who has come here for a better life and has contributed to the well-being of our state. Even with those critiques, the governor veered from his prepared remarks to praise Trumps call for a new focus on infrastructure projects. I say, Amen to that, man!  he said. And Brown urged members of the Legislature to reject the bitter partisan divisions of this moment in the nations history. Democrats are in the majority, but Republicans represent real Californians, too, he said to bipartisan applause. We have generally been civil to one another and avoided the rancor of Washington. I urge you to go even further and look for new ways to work beyond party and act as Californians first. Facebook

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Xavier Becerra takes oath of office, is first Latino to become California attorney general By Patrick McGreevy Xavier Becerra ((Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) ) Minutes after resigning his seat in Congress on Tuesday, Xavier Becerra took the oath of office as Californias new attorney general, and he immediately made plans for a sit-down with sheriffs from throughout the state to talk about law enforcement issues. Becerra, 58, was given the oath of office at the Capitol by Gov. Jerry Brown, who predicted earlier that Xavier will be a champion for all Californians. The ceremony was held before Brown was scheduled to deliver his annual State of the State address, and a day after Becerra received final confirmation by the state Senate. I will do my utmost to uphold your faith in me to serve as our great states next chief law enforcement officer and legal advocate, Becerra said in a letter to Brown on Tuesday, letting him know he had resigned from Congress. And while I leave Congress with mixed emotions, I am ready to begin my work as Attorney General. Californias hard-working families are counting on us, and we wont let them down, Becerra said. Becerra was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife, physician Carolina Reyes, two of his three daughters, and his parents, both immigrants from Mexico. Brown appointed Becerra to fill a vacancy after former Atty. Gen.l Kamala Harris won election to a seat in the U.S. Senate. Becerra has pledged to challenge any attempts by the new administration of President Trump to roll back state policies on immigration, civil rights and the environment. Brown noted his appointees background during his speech. Like so many others, he is the son of immigrants who saw California as a place where, through grit and determination, they could realize their dreams, Brown said. And they are not alone, millions of Californians have come here from Mexico and a hundred other countries, making our state what it is today: vibrant, even turbulent, and a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. The first Latino to become state attorney general in California spent the last two weeks meeting with dozens of legislators as he went through confirmation hearings in both houses. Governor Brown and state legislators have already shared valuable ideas on our path forward, Becerra said in a statement after his confirmation. And next week I hope to sit down with sheriffs from across our state to begin our work together keeping our families safe and enforcing our laws fairly. The first focus on local law enforcement was welcomed by Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, president of the California State Sheriffs Assn. He wants to start with law enforcement in the San Joaquin Valley, and I think thats a really positive step, Youngblood said. Im impressed with his credentials. Im impressed with his background, and I think hes going to be a good attorney general. Facebook

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Watch: Gov. Jerry Brown delivers his State of the State address Gov. Jerry Brown will deliver his State of the State address at 10 a.m. PST. Watch live here: Facebook

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Xavier Becerras resignation from Congress took effect at 9:15 a.m.; he calls serving a distinct honor Xavier Becerra has submitted letter of resignation from Congress ahead of swearing in for California attorney general today  Patrick McGreevy (@mcgreevy99) January 24, 2017 Facebook

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Californias senators split on CIA director confirmation By Sarah D. Wire Californias senators split Monday night on the confirmation of Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), President Trumps pick to lead the CIA. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who serves on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee and backed Pompeo, said in a statement that Pompeo gave straightforward answers to her questions, and that House colleagues called him smart, hardworking and devoted to protecting our country. Congressman Pompeo has committed to following the law regarding torture, promised to provide objective analysis of Irans compliance with the nuclear agreement and insisted that he would continue to keep the Senate Intelligence Committee fully informed of CIA activities, Feinstein said. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said in a statement that she appreciated that Pompeo was responsive, engaging, and has made a number of positive commitments during the confirmation process, but said she couldnt vote for him after looking at his entire record on issues such as torture, surveillance, and the collection and use of metadata. Pompeo was confirmed 66 to 32 Monday evening. Thirteen Democrats joined Feinstein in voting for him. While House members dont get to vote for confirmation, the leaders of the House Select Intelligence Committee, Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) and ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) joined Feinstein in congratulating Pompeo for his confirmation. Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris moves into some familiar digs on Capitol Hill By Sarah D. Wire (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and her staff can begin moving today into her official Senate office, the same space she interned in as a college student. Few offices can hold a staff as large as the ones allocated to the California members and as expected, Harris was assigned an office in the Hart Senate Office Building, the same space occupied by former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Harris can start moving in this morning, her staff said. Back home, Harris plans to have state offices in Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco, her staff said. It is a bit of a change from Boxer, who had additional offices in Oakland and Riverside, but did not have an office in San Francisco. The space in Washington should feel familiar. It was occupied by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) when Harris interned for him as a mailroom clerk for a summer when she was a Howard University student in the 1980s. Two floors up in the same building is Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Except for states where staff size is a consideration, Senate offices are assigned based on seniority and sitting senators have months to decide if they want to move offices. That means some new senators could spend months working out of temporary space. Facebook

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Assembly speaker taps former Obama spokesman for communications strategy By Melanie Mason Bill Burton (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) With Californias face-off against Washington, D.C., getting widespread attention, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon has turned to a veteran of national politics to help shape his public image: White House veteran Bill Burton. Burton, who once worked as deputy press secretary in the Obama administration, was hired this month by Rendon, a Democrat from Paramount, for communications strategy. Now a managing partner in the Los Angeles office for SKDKnickerbocker, a prominent liberal public affairs firm, Burton said he relished being involved in California politics, which he said sets a model for liberals nationwide. With President Trump and congressional Republicans controlling the national agenda, Speaker Rendon and his incredible staff are at the center of some of the most important progressive fights in the country and we couldnt be more excited to be helping any way we can, he said. Burton said his services, paid for out of Rendons campaign account, are meant to offer a more intentional approach to how hes been dealing with media  a recognition, he said, of Rendons and Californias elevated role in national politics. Rendon is not the only legislative Democrat to be represented by SKDKnickerbocker. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens also is a client. The firm also worked with Democratic Reps. Grace Napolitano and Linda Sanchez in their reelection bids, as well as freshman Rep. Nanette Barragan in her heated congressional race against fellow Democrat, former state Sen. Isadore Hall. Facebook

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State Senate votes for final confirmation of Xavier Becerra as state attorney general By Patrick McGreevy Gov. Jerry Brown, left, appointed Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) as state attorney general. ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The state Senate on Monday voted 26-9 in favor of final confirmation of Rep. Xavier Becerra as Californias attorney general, putting on watch a veteran politician who has promised to block efforts by President Trump to roll back state policies on immigration, civil rights and the environment. Becerra, a Los Angeles Democrat and 12-term congressman, is set to take the oath of office on Tuesday before Gov. Jerry Browns State of the State address. As Attorney General, Xavier will be a champion for all Californians, Brown said in a statement after the party-line vote. Brown appointed Becerra as the states first Latino attorney general to fill the vacancy left when former state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said Becerra will be an effective counter force to Trump, who has threatened mass deportations and the repeal of some environmental laws. Many of us know him personally and can attest to his character, to his integrity and to his qualifications, De Leon said of Becerra. He will be a strong partner for our state to help us work with the federal government when we can and to resist when we must. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) said Becerra understands the challenges ahead. He will indeed vigorously defend the values of our state by taking the fight to the federal government when necessary, said Jackson, who chairs the state Senate Judiciary Committee. Becerra, 58, said during two weeks of confirmation hearings that he would also fight any attempt to weaken environmental protections or adopt stop-and-frisk police policies that allow officers to search anyone on the street. All Republican senators voted against Becerra or withheld their vote. I think when you are the top cop you have to enforce the law to the fullest extent, said state Sen. Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) before he voted against Becerra. Opponents cited Becerras support for sanctuary cities that refuse to have their officers help enforce immigration laws. San Francisco prohibits local authorities from holding immigrants for immigration officials if they have no violent felonies on their records and do not currently face charges. Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) also opposed Becerra, saying he is worried that the antagonistic tone being set by Democratic lawmakers with Becerra could put at risk the $86 billion the state and its cities gets annually from the federal government. I dont want to jeopardize those funds, Moorlach said. Becerra said he was humbled by the vote and ready to get working.He plans to meet soon with county sheriffs to discuss local law enforcement issues. As I embark on this new journey, my compass will be the experiences of hard-working families like the one I grew up in, Becerra said. As the son of immigrants, I know how important it is to protect the rights and dreams of every aspiring American. I will make sure no headwinds from outside our state can knock us down. Facebook

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Attorney general nominee Becerra questioned on guns, death penalty and pot during confirmation hearings By Patrick McGreevy Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), shown at a gun violence event in June, was selected by Gov. Jerry Brown to be Californias next attorney general. ((Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) ) In two weeks of confirmation hearings, state attorney general nominee Xavier Becerra has been asked for his position on many issues, including new gun control laws, the states death penalty policy and the recent voter approval of an initiative that legalized recreational marijuana use. The 12-term congressman is up for a possible final confirmation vote Monday in the state Senate. Read More Facebook

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California attorney general nominee Xavier Becerra is warned against suing Trump early and often By Patrick McGreevy Rep. Xavier Becerra (Rich Pedroncelli / AP) With Xavier Becerra facing a final confirmation vote Monday for state attorney general, two former high-level officials in the office are warning against drowning President Trump in lawsuits. The pressure to sue Trump early and often is a trap, according to Michael Troncos, former chief counsel in the California attorney generals office, and Debbie Mesloh, a former senior advisor to the California attorney general, writing in an op-ed piece published by the Los Angeles Times. In this right-wing political moment, a major legal case on our climate change laws or our policies benefiting (young immigrant) Dreamers may well lead to a Trump White House victory, establishing precedents that far outlast this presidency, the two write. In fact, the cases Becerra chooses not to bring may be among his most important achievements. Courts cant rule on whats not before them. Troncos and Mesloh said California will be up against a U.S. Supreme Court remade in Trumps image, and that [a]sking a federal court to overturn federal immigration policies could be a fools errand. Read More Facebook

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California cities would have to make it easier to build houses under new legislation By Liam Dillon California cities that are falling behind on housing production goals set by the state would be forced to remove some of their development restrictions under legislation from a Bay Area state senator. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released new details in his bill, SB 35, Monday morning that would require cities to approve new housing in areas already zoned for high-density development provided developers set aside some units for low-income residents. The bills provisions would only apply in cities where growth isnt keeping pace with housing production targets developed by the state every eight years that are designed to ensure California has enough homes for its growing population to live affordably. Right now, thats not happening. The states median home price of $485,800 is more than 2 1/2 times the national average, with the states poorest residents the hardest hit. And in the most recent eight-year housing cycle ending in 2014, production was less than half of the state target. Wiener, a former San Francisco supervisor, said Californias affordability crisis requires the state to involve its
A split runs through the heart of the American presidency. Looked at one way, its a large, centralized bureaucracy designed to translate ideas into policy. From another angle, its a man  so far, always a man  sitting behind a desk as the worlds knottiest problems play on his quirks and insecurities.

Seldom has the dual nature of the office been more on display than in the first week of the presidency of Donald John Trump.

All week, the White House rolled out executive orders and presidential memorandums, most of which were strikingly normal  a word Trumps opponents hate to hear applied to him.

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The rhetoric may have been sweeping, the scheduling startlingly ad hoc and the pace unusually hectic. But few of the actions, with the major exception of the ban on refugees and restrictions on immigration announced Friday, would have surprised anyone had they been taken by other Republicans, from Jeb Bush to Ted Cruz.

Then there was the rest of it  the displays of presidential id, unfiltered by retainers.

In speeches, interviews and off-the-cuff remarks, Trump obsessed about the size of his inauguration crowds, nakedly declared that he favors torture  dispensing with George W. Bush-style euphemisms about enhanced interrogation  and sought to explain away his loss of the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by insisting on the falsehood that 3 million to 5 million illegal votes had been cast.

Republican elected officials spent the week trying to adjust to the new reality, hoping to focus attention on the normal parts, only to repeatedly be upstaged by an insistently non-normal president.

This is going to be an unconventional presidency, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters Thursday in Philadelphia, where Trump spoke at a GOP legislative retreat. Thats something were just all going to have to get used to.

What voters ultimately will make of all this remains unknown, although Trumps early standing in polls has been consistently poor. For all the attention the first week of a presidency gets, its seldom determinative, said veteran pollster Peter Hart.

What is clear is that for the rest of Trumps tenure, the White House will provide the stage for an ego-driven drama not seen since at least the days of Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson  daunting historical precedents for the new 45th president.

Trump is conventional in that he wants approval. People in politics seek admiration, said historian Robert Dallek, a biographer of Johnson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and other presidents.

In that sense hes a very conventional politician, but he does this in a very exaggerated way, Dallek said. Theres a personality flaw in the man, he added. He just cannot abide criticism.

The problem for Trump, said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution in Washington, who has advised presidents going back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, is that the presidency is constantly surrounded by criticism.

Its a tightrope that hes walking, Hess said. The question is when and if he really steps off the edge.

So far, nothing as dramatic as that has happened. But the uncensored side of Trump has interrupted his more sober side repeatedly through his first week, like an impish child running into a dining room to stick his tongue out at the adult guests. In the process, the president disrupted his own introduction of an unusually large number of policy initiatives.

The day after his inauguration, a rambling speech at the CIA in which he denounced the media for its reporting on the inaugural crowd count overshadowed Trumps initial executive orders. Monday went smoothly until evening, when in remarks to members of Congress at a reception, Trump veered into talking about illegal votes. Wednesday brought a televised interview with ABCs David Muir in which Trump returned to both themes.

I had a tremendous victory, one of the great victories ever, he said, adding, They say I had the biggest crowd in the history of inaugural speeches.

Trumps unconventional outbursts and the volume of major policy shifts deeply unsettled the sorts of voters who had opposed him all along, said Julia Azari, a political scientist at Marquette University who studies the presidency.

The campaign had a postmodern element that led many people to assume that most of this was just rhetoric, and now theyre surprised that it wasnt, she said. Some of the things that were written off as demagoguery that would go away, maybe wont.

On the flip side, many of Trumps supporters are clearly thrilled by what hes done so far, telling reporters about their renewed sense of optimism for the country.

As before, Trumps aides havent worried much about winning over opponents, instead focusing relentlessly on the issues of most importance to the supporters he already has: jobs, trade, Obamacare and immigration. Theyve done so in ways that allowed for bold rhetoric but mostly undefined action, giving the new president maximum room to maneuver in the weeks and months to come.

Trumps order on the Affordable Care Act, for example, which he issued within hours of taking the oath of office, opened the way for the administration to begin dismantling Obamacare, but did not change anyones coverage for now.

Wednesdays order directing the Department of Homeland Security to begin building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border did not commit to any particular type of barrier, or any specific amount of money. It directed the department to come up with a plan for operational control of the border. That could end up meaning a few dozen miles of new fencing or a few hundred, but most likely not a wall stretching the 2,000 miles from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific or new construction along the parts of the border that already have extensive fortification.

Similarly, a second order issued the same day on sanctuary cities allows the administration at its discretion to cut off an unspecified range of federal funds from certain cities that willfully refuse to comply with federal immigration law. That could sweep in a lot of localities or very few, depending on how big a confrontation the new president eventually decides he wants.

The exception so far  the one order that had major immediate consequences  was the temporary ban on granting entry visas to residents of seven majority-Muslim nations in the Mideast and North Africa, which stopped travelers at airports worldwide. That order, especially the favored status it provided to Christians and other non-Muslims, brought threats of lawsuits and outraged denunciations by Trumps opponents.

The lack of protest from all but a couple of congressional Republicans, however, reinforces what polling during the campaign season showed: Even a full ban on Muslim immigration, which would be more sweeping than Fridays order, has considerable support among Trumps voters.

In other areas, the administration has so far steered away from actions that would have carried big political risk.

Most notably, Trump has not ended President Obamas program to exempt from deportation young immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children.

Through the week, the administration continued to accept applications for the program, known as DACA, for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer repeatedly indicated that Trump has no immediate plans to act against the more than 740,000 so-called Dreamers who have the temporary right to live and work legally in the U.S. because of the program.

Trump also has taken no steps yet to end U.S. involvement in international efforts to combat climate change or to renounce Obamas nuclear deal with Iran. And his aides sought to distance him from a draft executive order aimed at reviving CIA secret interrogation sites overseas.

Trump, when asked Friday about his comments on torture, said at a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, I happen to believe it does work, but added that he would defer to his Defense secretary, retired Gen. James N. Mattis, who disagrees.

He will override, Trump said  a startling degree of deference by a president to a Cabinet official.

For now, much of what [Trumps] doing at this stage is symbolic, said Hart, who conducted extensive focus groups with Trump supporters during the campaign year.

Ultimately, however, while aides in every modern presidency spend huge amounts of time getting the symbols right, performance trumps theatrics, Hart said.

Because of that, Trump has a longer leash than some expect, he said.

Trumps actions in his first week in office may galvanize the opposition, Hart said, but the people who may be the swing voters wont be as quick to react, nor will they care as much about his outbursts or things that the establishment sees as unpresidential.

My sense, Hart said, is that theyve gotten used to Donald Trump.

Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.

david.lauter@latimes.com

For more on politics and policy, follow me on Twitter @DavidLauter.

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With cheese and shrimp cocktail piled on their plates, guests strolled the exhibit like patrons at an art gallery, sipping beer and pausing to ponder the displays that lined the room. But instead of paintings or sculptures, they were examining scientific charts about climate change at a state environmental agency.

At a time when President Trumps new administration is ordering federal government scientists to stop communicating with the public, the array of data depicting carbon sequestration, ocean acidification and water temperatures at a conference on climate change was for some a political act of defiance.

We just have to push even harder than before, said Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez, a UC Berkeley student who brought her research on the electricity grid. Regardless of what happens in the rest of the country, California is going to stick with clean energy. We can be our own little island.

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Its a stance that will be tested as California doubles down on its climate policies even as Trump steps back from the battle against global warming. And despite the bravado displayed last week at a conference on climate change hosted by state government officials, there was pervasive anxiety about the future as well.

Im worried, said a federal scientist at the exhibit who asked to withhold his name because he feared retaliation. Fearful that the Trump administration would strip climate information from government websites, he said he asked his team to start downloading information so they could continue their work.

California has always charted its own course on cleaning up the air, clamping down on tailpipe emissions decades ago to fight smog in Los Angeles before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was even created in 1970. But the gap between Sacramento and Washington was growing into a chasm only a week after Trump took the oath of office.

The president is greenlighting oil pipelines that were rejected by President Obama. He told car manufacturers that regulations are out of control, and Oklahoma Atty. Gen. Scott Pruitt, his nominee to lead the EPA, expressed doubts about the severity of climate change during his confirmation hearing.

Meanwhile, California is moving to dramatically slash its greenhouse gas emissions, and Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) recently floated the possibility of generating all of the states electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind. Major utilities have proposed a $1-billion investment in electrifying the transportation network, including more charging stations for cars.

Its created a sense of dissonance for Californians, who are hunkering down even as they keep a wary eye on whats happening on the opposite side of the country.

You turn on the TV at night, and you hear these terrible things that are happening, said Kip Lipper, who works on environmental legislation for the state Senate. I tell my daughter, its good to be cognizant of that, but this is the best place to be, in California.

An electric car charging station at the headquarters of San Diego Gas & Electric. (Rob Nikolewski / San Diego Union-Tribune)

California emits only 1% of the worlds greenhouse gases, but the state has tried to transform itself into an international model for fighting global warming. While Trump talks about withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, officials here continue seeking new partners for the states own, more ambitious international agreement.

Gov. Jerry Brown, in his State of the State speech Tuesday, said California wouldnt step back from its agenda no matter what happens in Washington, a message repeatedly emphasized by top state leaders at the climate conference.

This is when you do your best work, said John Laird, secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. We cant worry about pulling back just to sink with everyone else who isnt moving at all.

The conference was planned before Trump won the presidency, but the results of the election created a charged atmosphere among the hundreds of scientists, government officials and advocates who showed up. Attendees talked about being resolute in our values, or how theres a major threat before us, or how strong policies are needed now more than ever.

Theres a greater seriousness in the room, said Jonathan Parfrey, executive director of Climate Resolve, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helped organize the two-day event.

Californias climate agenda remains controversial, and some business interests believe the state is putting itself at a competitive disadvantage by ramping up regulations. The states premiere initiative  the cap-and-trade program, which requires companies to purchase permits to release greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere  is the target of an ongoing legal challenge.

But the weeks events were also a reminder of how much further the state has moved past the national conversation about climate change. Debates revolve around how global warming should be addressed, not whether it should be, or whether its even real at all.

Three consecutive state administrations have pushed the states policies forward. Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, approved the countrys first rules for regulating greenhouse gases from vehicle tailpipes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, signed legislation setting an overall goal for reducing emissions in the state. Last year Brown enacted another law setting a new, stiffer target.

A broad network of organizations  environmentalists, energy entrepreneurs and developers of carbon offset projects  has sprouted and expanded around these policies.

As further evidence, the conference hosted by state officials wasnt even the only event in Sacramento last week dedicated to Californias climate agenda. Another gathering across town drew visitors from as far away as Australia to discuss the future of the cap-and-trade program.

No one there expected the state to change course.

Theres a whole ecosystem built to reduce emissions, said Jon Costantino, an environmental policy advisor who previously worked at the California Air Resources Board. Theres investors, theres businesses, theres consultants.

He added, To pull the rug out from under that would have a dramatic impact.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Twitter: @chrismegerian

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Of the many tasks facing Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra in his new job, it was an unheralded duty that Republican legislators wanted to pin him down on during recent confirmation hearings in Sacramento: the vetting of ballot initiatives.

The attorney general is tasked under California law to write a brief title and summary of each measure that will end up on the state ballot.

What will you do to ensure that youre being descriptive and objective, and following the election code, when you write those ballot titles and summaries? asked Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton).

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To understand the question requires knowing a bit of California political history. Attorneys general have long had the duty to collect and then prepare proposed initiatives before the measures backers can begin collecting voter signatures.

But in the era of big money initiative campaigns  generally viewed as the years following the landmark 1978 property tax rollback, Proposition 13  critics have occasionally complained of partisan scheming, alleging that the title and summary of an initiative are sometimes crafted in a way that pleases the attorney generals political allies.

Political Road Map: Californians have a love-hate relationship with initiatives 

Opponents of Proposition 13 complained that former Atty. Gen. Evelle Younger, a Republican, wrote a summary that didnt reveal the law made it harder to pass tax increases in the Legislature. Gov. Jerry Brown, in his time as attorney general, took fire over the ballot summary for the 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8, and its emphasis on how the (now defunct) law would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Advocates of overhauling Californias public employee pension system have balked more than once over initiative titles and summaries written by Democrats serving as attorney general. In 2005, a proposed reform was summarized as removing death and disability benefits. The most recent attorney general, now Sen. Kamala Harris, also came under fire for her summaries of efforts to change pension benefits for government workers.

The evidence is largely circumstantial. And judges have generally given pretty wide latitude to the attorney general, whos simply instructed in state election law to summarize the chief purpose and points of an initiative.

But its also a potential game changer. Strategists and pollsters often believe an initiatives title and summary is a prescient predictor of the campaign ahead. And some California voters make snap decisions on ballot measures based on those easily accessible nuggets of information.

Given that Democrats have held the office of attorney general for 18 years, its hardly surprising that the loudest calls for change come from Republicans. But those efforts have been routinely rebuffed.

In 2015, legislation to impose new rules on the attorney general was quietly killed in the Assemblys appropriations committee. Earlier this month, newly elected Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-El Dorado Hills) decided to go one step further. His proposal would change the states constitution and transfer the responsibility for initiative titles and summaries to the independent Legislative Analysts Office, which currently writes a fiscal analysis of each measure.

As for Becerra, the Los Angeles Democrat told lawmakers in confirmation hearings this month that he believes in fairness when it comes to summarizing initiatives.

I know many of you will be reading over my shoulders, he told assemblymembers on Jan. 10. And I understand the importance of a word.

john.myers@latimes.com

Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast

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Neil Gorsuch could fall somewhere between his hero, Justice Scalia, and former boss, centrist Justice Kennedy By David Savage Judge Neil M. Gorsuch was resting midway down a Colorado ski slope last year when his cellphone rang with the news that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died. I immediately lost what breath I had left, Gorsuch recalled in an April speech, and I am not embarrassed to admit that I couldnt see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears. Now, as President Trumps pick to replace Scalia on the high court, Gorsuch is seen by many on the right as a fitting replacement for the iconic jurist that Gorsuch considered a lion of the law. Like Scalia, Gorsuch, 49, who serves on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, is a well-respected conservative who believes judges should decide cases based on the law as it was understood when passed, not on how they think it should be. Hes a clear, impassioned writer, albeit without Scalias flare for biting sarcasm. But Gorsuch also evokes the qualities of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch worked as a law clerk. (If confirmed, Gorsuch would join three justices who previously clerked on the high court, but he would be the first ever to serve alongside the justice he or she worked for.) Like Kennedy, 80, Gorsuch is a Westerner with a polite, congenial manner who at times has won praise from liberals. He may be more conservative than Kennedy when it comes to expanding individual rights, but he seems to lack Scalias fervor for overturning liberal precedents from decades past. Which way Gorsuch skews could be pivotal for the future of the court. Conservatives clearly hope hell be more like Scalia than Kennedy, a centrist swing vote who has often joined liberals on issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Some conservatives have even expressed hope that Gorsuchs personal history with Kennedy might enable him to draw the Reagan-appointee back toward the right. Read More Facebook

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Trump chooses Neil Gorsuch, a conservative seen as likely to be confirmed, for Supreme Court By Michael A. Memoli President Trump nominated federal Judge Neil M. Gorsuch on Tuesday to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia, choosing from his short list an appeals court judge from Denver seen as most likely to win Senate confirmation. Because Scalia was a stalwart conservative, Trumps choice is not likely to change the balance of the court. But it does set the stage for a bruising partisan fight over a man who could help determine law on gun rights, immigration, police use of force and transgender rights. Read More Facebook

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Trump administration is radicalizing Democratic voters, creating a challenge for the party, Rep. Adam Schiff says By Sarah D. Wire (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) As protests spread over policy announcements from the Trump administration, Democrats must work to encourage participation in politics, but face a danger of the party becoming too radicalized, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said Tuesday. The radical nature of this government is radicalizing Democrats, and thats going to pose a real challenge to the Democratic Party, which is to draw on the energy and the activism and the passion that is out there, but not let it turn us into what we despised about the tea party, Schiff said. During a meeting with reporters and editors in the Los Angeles Times Washington bureau, Schiff also discussed his role as the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Select Intelligence Committee under a Trump administration and how Democrats will manage in the minority. Ever since the election, party leaders have been debating: Did we lose because we were too far to the left and we had too small a tent, or did we lose because we are too mainstream and didnt energize the base? Schiff asked. We are obviously having that debate, but theres a whole new element, which is the reaction to the Trump administration that makes this different in kind, certainly different in intensity, than I think weve ever seen after an election, he said. The more radical the administration is, the more radicalized our base becomes, which just feeds the Breitbart crowd, and who knows where that ends. Democratic leaders have to channel public reaction to Trumps actions into progress, rather than deadlock, Schiff said. Reaction to Democrats seen as working with the Trump administration has been strong. Monday night, for example, protesters marched on Sen. Dianne Feinsteins home and office voicing fears she would back Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general. The senator from California announced Tuesday that she would oppose Sessions. Several groups calling themselves indivisible have popped up in cities across the country as focal points for efforts to organize. We have two of the most capable strategists as the head of our House and Senate Democrats, Schiff added, referring to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Senate Democratic leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York. If anybody can grapple with this, they can, but its going to be a challenging and moving target day to day. I just hope that we can channel that energy in a way where we can provide a check on this administration because Ive never been more worried about the countrys future than I am right now, he said. Schiff said part of his role as the ranking Democrat on the House Select Intelligence Committee will be pushing back when the Trump administration puts out inaccurate information about the intelligence community and its findings. Trump has repeatedly dismissed or sought to minimize the intelligence communitys findings that Russia sought to intervene in the 2016 election to benefit him. Schiff said hes concerned about what else the administration might be willing to dismiss. I think that will be kind of a new frontier, he said. How do we contradict a president making representations about what the intelligence community has to say when the information is classified? Facebook

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Trump administration signals that some temporary bans on entry into the U.S. could become permanent By Brian Bennett  Trumps orders put a greater emphasis on deporting those convicted of crimes and those in the country illegally who were charged with crimes not yet adjudicated The Trump administration doubled down Tuesday on its commitment to transforming the nations border law enforcement, signaling that some of the temporary bans on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries are likely to be made permanent and elevating a deportations official to run the top immigration enforcement agency. Administration officials, led by newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, moved to allay the havoc that marked the roll-out of the ban and another on refugees. They briefed reporters and planned to head to Capitol Hill later today in an apparent effort to smooth relations after reports that lawmakers and other stakeholders were left out of the crafting of the executive order on toughened vetting at border entry points. In a news conference, Kelly and other top Homeland Security officials conceded some problems, including poor communication. But they insisted that all court orders were followed over the weekend, rebutted reports that some legal residents were denied access to attorneys at airports and said they everyone detained by border agents was treated with dignity and respect. The vast majority of the 1.7 billion Muslims that live on this planet, the vast majority of them have, all other things being equal, have access to the United States, Kelly told reporters. And a relatively small number right now are being held up for a period of time until we can take a look at what their procedures are, he said, seeming to acknowledge that mostly Muslims have been affected by the ban. The moves signaled that the White House remained committed to remaking border law enforcement even in the face of widespread confusion and condemnation of President Trumps order. Kelly said for the first time that the some of the restrictions that caused confusion and sparked protests over the weekend could be extended well into the future. Some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon, he said. Trump also named a longtime deportation officer, Thomas D. Homan, as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homan, who will oversee the execution of Trumps immigration enforcement order, was most recently in charge of the agencys 5,000 deportation officers, a force Trump said he would triple to 15,000. Trumps orders put a greater emphasis on deporting not only those convicted of crimes, but also people in the country illegally who were charged with crimes not yet adjudicated, those who receive an improper welfare benefit and even those who have not been charged but are believed to have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense. Facebook

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White House tries to ban the word ban, hours after president uses it himself By Noah Bierman This is not a ban, spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters in a fiery news briefing. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) President Trump used the word ban in a tweet as recently as Monday to describe his new executive order suspending travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the refugee program for several months. But facing backlash from many directions, the White House adamantly insisted Tuesday that the word is verboten. This is not a ban, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in a fiery news briefing. When we use words like travel ban, he said later, that misrepresents what it is. Its seven countries previously identified by the Obama administration, where, frankly, we dont get the information that we need for people coming into this country. In fact, people from the seven banned countries  Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya  cannot enter the United States under the order. Spicer appeared to be making a renewed effort to distinguish the order from the all-out ban on Muslims entering the country that Trump proposed during the campaign. Many around the world see the newest policy as an outgrowth of that proposal. Trump himself conceded a religious connection when he said in an interview on Friday that he wanted to make it easier for Syrian Christians to enter the country. And former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News that the order sprang from a group he formed at Trumps request to create a legal framework that would accomplish the campaign goal of a Muslim ban. But amid confusion and worldwide criticism in recent days, the Trump administration has tried to temper some of the more incendiary rhetoric around the proposal. Even the words extreme vetting, a favorite Trump slogan, were called into question by Spicer on Tuesday. Calling for tougher vetting [of] individual travelers from seven nations is not extreme, he said. It is reasonable and necessary to protect our country. But changing the ban branding around the program at this point will be difficult. Heres Trumps tweet from Monday: If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 And Spicer himself used the term ban as recently as Sunday: Sean Spiceer today: This is not a Muslim ban. It is not a travel ban.



Sean Spicer in White House press release, Jan. 29: pic.twitter.com/axTM1m66nM  Dominic Holden (@dominicholden) January 31, 2017 Facebook

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Senate confirms Elaine Chao as secretary of Transportation By Associated Press Elaine Chao testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Jan. 11, 2017. (Zach Gibson / AP) The Senate has confirmed Elaine Chao to serve as Transportation secretary in the Trump administration. The vote was 93 to 6 on Tuesday. Chao is an experienced Washington hand. She was Labor secretary under President George W. Bush and is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Chao would be a lead actor in pursuing Trumps promise to invest $1 trillion to improve highways, rail service and other infrastructure projects. Facebook

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Speaker Paul Ryan defends Trumps immigrant and refugee ban, as Congress grumbles about being left out By Lisa Mascaro "What is happening is something we support... we need to make sure that the vetting standards are up to snuff," Paul Ryan says of travel ban pic.twitter.com/iX6YkOLkLl  CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2017 House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday stood by President Trumps temporary ban on refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations and indicated that he was confident the administration could fix the confusing rollout without action from Congress. What is happening is something we support, said Ryan, whose office was the target of a sit-in by protesters opposed to Trumps order. We need to pause and we need to make sure that the vetting standards are up to snuff so we can guarantee the safety and security of our country. Congress was blindsided by Trumps executive action -- Ryan learned about it as the public did when the White House announced it Friday afternoon. Many GOP lawmakers have raised concerns. During a private meeting in the Capitol basement Tuesday, Republican lawmakers were counseled on how to handle protesters and office sit-ins happening across the country. Its regrettable that there was some confusion on the rollout of this, Ryan said. No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this. Ryan also said he was concerned the ban could be used as propaganda by terrorist groups. The rhetoric surrounding this could be used as a recruiting tool, and I think thats dangerous, he said. Still, Republicans leaders as well as rank-and-file GOP lawmakers largely agreed with the presidents move to halt refugee admissions for 120 days, and to temporarily ban citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, unless they are Christians or other religious minorities. The president was well within his right to issue an executive order, said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), chairman of the House Rules Committee. Do I feel let out? I feel like everybody was left out, he said. I wish they communicated it. I wish they had gotten more information to people. I wish they had measured three times and sawed once. Lawmakers have shown little appetite for Congress to get involved, and suggested the chaos that erupted at airports over the weekend was just part of a learning curve at the White House. I support the thrust of the executive order, said Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), who nevertheless said the administration should have been better prepared and will need to get your act together. Last year, Ryan had strongly condemned Trumps campaign-trail call for a Muslim ban. In recent days, Ryan, like other congressional leaders, was forced to dial up the administration with his questions and concerns about the order, conferring Monday with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. I am very pleased and confident that he is, on a going-forward basis, going to make sure that things are done correctly, Ryan said. Pressed on whether Congress would have a role, Ryan did not indicate any immediate legislative action. Facebook

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Democrats boycott Senate committee votes on Price, Mnuchin By Jim Puzzanghera Senate Democrats speak with reporters after boycotting Finance Committee confirmation votes. (JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images) Senate Democrats on Tuesday boycotted a committee vote on two of President Trumps top Cabinet nominees -- Tom Price to lead Health and Human Services and Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary. Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) blasted the Democratic move as he sat in a hearing room with only Republicans on the dais. They ought to be embarrassed. Its the most pathetic treatment Ive seen in my 40 years in the United States Senate, Hatch said. I think they should stop posturing and acting like idiots, he said. At least one Democrat needs to be present for the committee to vote on the nominations, Hatch said. He recessed the hearing until further notice, saying he hoped a vote could take place later Tuesday. But asked mid-afternoon if he thought the committee would be able to meet Tuesday, Hatch said it doesnt look like it. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the committees top Democrat, said Price and Mnuchin have misled the public and held back important information about their backgrounds. Until questions are answered, Democrats believe the committee should not move forward with either nomination, Wyden said. This is about getting answers to questions, plain and simple, he said. Ethics laws are not optional, and nominees do not have a right to treat disclosure like a shell game. Today @SenateFinance Democrats refused to move forward with nominations of Mnuchin & Price.  Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 31, 2017 The litany of ethics revelations regarding @RepTomPrice are strong evidence that he cannot be allowed to have control of #Medicare.  Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 31, 2017 Mr. Mnuchin continued to fail to come clean on shady foreclosure practices that hurt Americans.  Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 31, 2017 Liberal groups cheered the boycott while Senate Republican leaders decried it as Democratic obstructionism. They are manufacturing issues on a daily basis to drag this process out, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) said of the confirmations of Trumps nominees. I dont see how they can explain to the American people how it is appropriate to prevent the administration from getting up and getting started, he said. Democrats have said Mnuchin, a wealthy Wall Street executive, misled the committee in his response to a written question about foreclosures at Pasadenas OneWest Bank while he ran it from 2009-15. Democrats pointed to a report Sunday by the Columbus Dispatch that Mnuchin denied that OneWest engaged in so-called robo-signing of mortgage documents. The paper said its analysis of nearly four dozen foreclosure cases in Ohios Franklin County in 2010 showed that the bank frequently used robo-signers. The Columbus Dispatch cited a foreclosure involving a mortgage signed by Erica Johnson-Seck, a OneWest vice president who said in a deposition in a 2009 Florida case that she signed an average of 750 documents a week. Barney Keller, a spokesman for Mnuchin, said Monday that several courts had dismissed cases involving allegations of robo-signing by Johnson-Seck. The media is picking on a hardworking bank employee whose reputation has been maligned but whose work has been upheld by numerous courts all around the country in the face of scurrilous and false allegations, Keller said. Democrats also have problems with Price, a six-term congressman and former orthopedic surgeon who has distinguished himself in conservative circles for his staunch opposition to the Affordable Care Act and his plans to slash federal healthcare spending. His nomination has become among Trumps most controversial, in part because of his hostility to government safety net programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. Democrats have also been increasingly critical of Prices extensive trading in healthcare stocks while he has been in Congress, and in some cases while he has pushed legislation that would benefit his portfolio. Price has denied any wrongdoing. Also drawing criticism is Prices purchase of discounted shares in an Australian biotech firm, Innate Immunotherapeutics, which he was offered through a private deal not available to general shareholders. Price also denied that this was improper, and Senate Republicans have rallied to his side, saying he did not violate any ethics rules. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he and the other Democrats on the committee want Mnuchin and Price to explain their lies either in person before the committee or in new written answers. I want them to disclose this information that they seem not to want to disclose, Brown said. 12:10 p.m.: This post was updated with additional comments from Hatch as well as from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Sherrod Brown. 8:00 a.m.: This post has been updated with additional information and background. 8:07 a.m.: This post has been updated with additional information. Facebook

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White House aides who wrote Trumps travel ban see it as just the start By Brian Bennett (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Even as confusion, internal dissent and widespread condemnation greeted President Trumps travel ban and crackdown on refugees this weekend, senior White House aides say they are only getting started. Trump and his aides justified Fridays executive order, which blocked travel from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days and halted refugees from around the world for 120, on security grounds  an issue that they say they take seriously. But their ultimate goal is far broader. Trumps top advisors on immigration, including chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior advisor Stephen Miller, see themselves as launching a radical experiment to fundamentally transform how the U.S. decides who is allowed into the country and to block a generation of people who, in their view, wont assimilate into American society. That project may live or die in the next three months, as the Trump administration reviews whether and how to expand the visa ban and alter vetting procedures. White House aides are considering new, onerous security checks that could effectively limit travel into the U.S. by people from majority-Muslim countries to a trickle. Read More Facebook

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Why corporations cant risk keeping silent about Trumps immigration ban By David Pierson Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz said the Seattle coffee company is developing plans to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years. (Richard Drew / Associated Press) Corporate America generally prefers to stay quiet about partisan politics. Pick one side of a hot-button issue, the thinking goes, and youll risk losing customers on the other side. But like so many norms before it, President Trump has turned this one on its head. A growing number of companies are deciding its a bigger risk to their investors and bottom line to stay quiet than it is to protest Trumps ban on refugees and travel from seven Muslim-majority nations, betting vocal opposition to the executive order scores them a moral and fiscal victory. While it was possible for companies to take a wait-and-see approach leading up to Trumps inauguration, many firms can no longer ignore the White Houses policy given the effect the order is already having on employees either stranded or fearful of traveling. Only a week ago it seemed foolish to speak out against a president who has admonished individual companies on social media such as Carrier, Boeing and General Motors. Now the pendulum has swung the other way. Companies, mostly in technology but increasingly in other sectors, have decided that its not enough just to speak out against the immigration order. They believe that they must also take headline-grabbing action. Read More Facebook

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Op-Ed: Trump is taking the Bannon Way, and it will end in disaster By Jonah Goldberg Bannon has said hes a Leninist' but hes really more of a Trotskyist because he fancies himself the leader of an international populist-nationalist right wing movement, exporting anti-'globalist' revolution. In that role, his status as an enabler of Trumps instinct to shoot  or tweet  from the hip seems especially ominous. The Bannon way might work on the campaign trail, but it doesnt translate into good governance. Its possible  and one must hope  that Trump can learn this fact on the job. But what if he doesnt? He could put the country in serious peril.  Jonah Goldberg Read More Facebook

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Trump will leave LGBTQ protections in place By Associated Press (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The White House says President Trump will leave intact a 2014 executive order that protects federal workers from anti-LGBTQ discrimination. In a statement released early Tuesday, the White House said Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community and that he continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The Trump administration has vowed to roll back much of President Obamas work from the last eight years and had been scrutinizing the 2014 order. The directive protects people from LGBTQ discrimination while working for federal contractors. The recent statement says the protections will remain intact at the direction of Trump. Here is the text of Obamas executive order, signed on July 21, 2014: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 40 U.S.C. 121, and in order to provide for a uniform policy for the Federal Government to prohibit discrimination and take further steps to promote economy and efficiency in Federal Government procurement by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Amending Executive Order 11478 . The first sentence of section 1 of Executive Order 11478 of August 8, 1969, as amended, is revised by substituting sexual orientation, gender identity for sexual orientation. Sec. 2. Amending Executive Order 11246 . Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows: (a) The first sentence of numbered paragraph (1) of section 202 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex, or national origin. (b) The second sentence of numbered paragraph (1) of section 202 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex or national origin. (c) Numbered paragraph (2) of section 202 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex or national origin. (d) Paragraph (d) of section 203 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex or national origin. Sec. 3. Regulations . Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Labor shall prepare regulations to implement the requirements of section 2 of this order. Sec. 4. General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an agency or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. Sec. 5. Effective Date . This order shall become effective immediately, and section 2 of this order shall apply to contracts entered into on or after the effective date of the rules promulgated by the Department of Labor under section 3 of this order. Update 6:45 a.m.: This article was updated with the text of the 2014 executive order. Facebook

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Trump fires Justice Departments top official after she refuses to defend his refugee ban By David Lauter Sally Yates. (J. David Ake / Associated Press) President Trump fired acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates on Monday, just hours after she announced that the department would not defend his controversial executive order banning refugees and travelers from certain countries. Yates has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States, the White House said in a statement. It is time to get serious about protecting our country. The move came after Yates sent a letter to Justice Department lawyers saying that she questioned the lawfulness of Trumps executive order. My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is after consideration of all the facts, Yates wrote. At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful, she wrote. Consequently, for as long as I am the acting attorney general, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the executive order unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so. Yates was a holdover from the Obama administration. But because Trumps nominee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, has not been confirmed and no other senior Justice Department officials have been appointed, firing her was expected to cause significant problems within the department. Among other issues, Yates is the only person in the department currently authorized to sign warrants for wiretapping in foreign espionage cases involving the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Trump replaced Yates with Dana J. Boente, a three-decade veteran of the Justice Department who was appointed in 2015 by former President Obama as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. 6:37 p.m.: The story was updated with Trumps decision to fire Yates. Read More Facebook

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U.S. service member killed in Yemen identified as Navy SEAL from Illinois By Jeanette Steele The Pentagon on Sunday confirmed the death of a U.S. servicemember in a raid in Yemen targeting al-Qaeda, marking the first American combat death under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. A Navy SEAL from the Virginia-based elite unit known as SEAL Team 6 was killed Sunday during an unusual nighttime raid that put U.S. troops on the ground against Al Qaeda leaders in the middle of war-torn Yemen. The fallen sailor was identified Monday as Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill.. Three other Americans were wounded in the raid and an MV-22 Osprey had to be destroyed after the aircraft suffered a hard landing and couldnt fly. Another U.S. service member was injured in that crash. The raid marked the first known counter-terrorism operation and first confirmed combat fatality under President Trump. Steele writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Facebook

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Protests against Trumps ban on certain immigrants continue across the country By Ann M. Simmons Protesters rally at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, demonstrating against the immigration ban imposed by President Trump. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) After a weekend of turmoil at many of the nations airports following President Trumps executive order to suspend the U.S. refugee program and temporarily prohibit entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations, federal officials said all people being detained on arrival to the U.S. had been released. But that hasnt put a stop to demands to lift the travel ban. Protests continued to be held and organized throughout the country  incluidng in New York, New Orleans, Colorado and Connecticut. According to Ground Game, an online platform for organizing, at least a dozen demonstrations were planned for this week in what the group described as a fight against Islamophobia and Fascism. Calls to rally, demonstrate and protest swept social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. In Louisville, Ky., a rally was planned for Monday evening at the Muhammad Ali Center, in what organizers said would be a gathering for American values and to voice support for our nation and our city, which was founded and is strengthened by immigrants. In Hattiesburg, Miss., there was call to join a peaceful vigil in solidarity with refugees, immigrants, and Muslims on the University of Southern Mississippi campus on Monday evening. Declaring that Jersey City stands with our Muslim and immigrant community, organizers in that New Jersey city called on people to come to a pedestrian mall on Monday to stand in solidarity and peace as we show our strength in diversity as one of the most diverse cities in the nation. Other demonstrations were planned for later in the week in cities nationwide, including Tuesday in Tuscon, where organizers encouraged people to stand in solidarity with Senator (John) McCains strong public statement opposing the executive order banning refugees and Legal Permanent Residents from Muslim countries! Similar actions were planned on Tuesday at the South Carolina State House in Columbia and at the Worchester City Hall and Common in Massachusetts, while organizers in San Francisco, under the banner #NoBanNoWallSF, urged residents to join the resistance against Donald Trumps racist and exclusionary Executive Orders on Saturday. We will not allow our country to be divided by hate and religious persecution, read a statement from #NoBanNoWallSF posted on Facebook. Facebook

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Obama carefully weighs in on refugee ban, says he is heartened by public response By Michael A. Memoli (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images) Former President Obama has offered his first public comment on the conduct of his successor, saying through a spokesman that he is heartened by public demonstrations against the Trump administrations controversial move to temporarily ban refugees and block all admissions from seven countries. President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country, Kevin Lewis, a spokesperson for the former president, said in a statement emailed to reporters Monday. In his final official speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizen and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy--not just during an election but every day. Citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake. Lewis also said in the statement that Obama fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion. Trump aides deny that his executive order, released Friday, involves religious discrimination. The order temporarily blocked travel to the U.S. by residents of seven predominantly Muslim nations, but left many of the Islamic worlds largest population centers unaffected, they note. The order also included an exception for believers of minority religions in those countries, a provision that Trump explicitly said would help Christians. Obamas statement is notable less for its content than for the fact that it was issued at all. It reflected the delicate balance he feels he must strike between showing a degree of deference to the new president and speaking out on issues he sees as critically important. The statement tiptoed around the content of the order, focusing more on the former presidents interest in citizen engagement. Obama said before leaving office that he expected to choose carefully when to comment on the actions of his successor and would focus less on normal functioning of politics and more on certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake, as he put it in his final news conference. Mondays statement did point, though, to comments Obama made at a news conference in November 2015, when he called the idea of a religious test for immigration policy shameful and not American. We dont have religious tests to our compassion, he said at the time. Facebook

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GOP-led Congress worries about its role in the Trump era By Lisa Mascaro Its what congressional Republicans had long dreamed about: a majority in both chambers to advance conservative policies and a president from the same party to sign them into law. But the Trump White House isnt turning out exactly the way they envisioned. The GOP establishment is experiencing whiplash after a week of President Trump bulldozing through the norms of policy and protocol  dashing off executive orders without warning, escalating a diplomatic crisis with the countrys closest southern neighbor, triggering global confusion with a new refugee policy and generally hijacking party leaders agenda and replacing it with his own. Rather than the hoped-for collaborative new relationship between the White House and Congress, GOP officials complain that Trump is brushing aside their advice, failing to fully engage on drafting tough legislative packages like tax reform and Obamacare, and bypassing Congress by relying on executive actions, something they frequently complained about under President Obama. At the same time, Trumps unilateral moves continue to blindside Republicans and direct the national focus toward topics many in the party would rather avoid, whether thats how to pay for building the border wall with Mexico, warming ties with Russia, investigating false claims about voter fraud or, most recently, implementing sweeping new policies on refugees and visas. In the name of party unity, many Republicans so far have refrained from publicly attacking the new president. But for some, the new refugee policy crossed the line, signaling the first major rift in their already fraught partnership. Read More Facebook

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Washington state sues Trump over immigration order By Mark Z. Barabak President Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends all immigration for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Opening a new legal front, lawyers for the state of Washington filed suit Monday seeking to block President Trumps executive order temporarily banning foreign refugees from entering the United States. No one is above the law, not even the president, Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson said in announcing the federal lawsuit. And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. Its the Constitution. Over the weekend, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an order curtailing portions of Trumps executive order, issued Friday, which temporary halts migration from seven predominantly Muslim countries for at least 90 days and also closed the nation to refugees for at least the next four months. Other challenges are pending. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle was the first taken by a state attorney general, and its provenance was no surprise. Washington state and others along the West Coast voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Hillary Clinton in November and have emerged as a hotbed of anti-Trump sentiment. We will not yield, said Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who joined Ferguson at a Seattle news conference. We will not be leveraged. We will not be threatened. We will not be intimidated. We will not be bullied by this. Trumps order, which has sparked demonstrations across the country, brought an outpouring of objection from Insleys Democratic colleagues around the country. President Trumps recent executive orders that divide and discriminate do not reflect the values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution or the principles we stand for as Oregonians, said Gov. Kate Brown. A single executive order does not define who we are as a country, said Connecticut Gov. Daniel P. Malloy. We are a nation of immigrants and must continue to fight for the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breath free. In Massachusetts, another state that voted overwhelmingly for Clinton, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker joined the chorus of Democratic criticism, saying the travel ban would undermine the international relations forged by the states business, academic and healthcare communities. The confusion for families is real. The unexpected disruption for law-abiding people is real, Baker said. Thankfully, the federal courts will have an opportunity to straighten this out and it is my hope they do so, and do so quickly. Facebook

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How a top conservative radio host took on Trump, lost his audience and faith, but gained a new perspective By Mark Z. Barabak Charlie Sykes, right, interviews Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) before Wisconsins 2016 primary (Morry Gash/Associated Press) For nearly 25 years, Charlie Sykes was one of the most powerful and influential voices in Wisconsin. He cheer-led policies that turned this historically progressive state into a model of conservative governance. He made and destroyed political careers, using his perch on Milwaukee talk radio to help vault figures such as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker to national prominence. But for the moment Sykes was speechless. He sank into the brown leather banquette of a suburban steakhouse. He stammered. He sighed. When youve devoted your whole life to certain beliefs and you think now they have been undermined and that you might have been deluded about things, he began. So. So. Um... In 2016 Sykes emerged as one of Donald Trumps most prominent critics, a stance that outraged listeners, strained longstanding friendships and left him questioning much of what he once held true. Read More Facebook

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Pentagon compiling a list of Iraqis who aided the U.S. military and wants them shielded from Trumps travel ban By W.J. Hennigan The Pentagon is compiling a list of Iraqi citizens who have worked with the U.S. military and is recommending that they be exempt from President Trumps temporary ban on entry to the U.S. by people from Iraq and six other predominantly Muslim countries, according to the U.S. military. The move could potentially shield tens of thousands of Iraqi interpreters, advisors, and others who have assisted the American military from the presidents controversial executive action that blocked visitors from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Monday that the list will include names of individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to helping the United States. Even people that are doing seemingly benign things in support of us  whether as a linguist, a driver, anything else  they often do that at great personal risk, he said. So people who take these risks are really making a tangible signal of support to the United States, and thats something that will, and should be, recognized. The list would not require any changes to the presidents order, but rather serve as guidance to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House in implementing the new policy. White House spokesman Sean Spicer later pushed back against blanket exemptions. We recognize that people have served this country, we should make sure that in those cases theyre helped out, he said. But that doesnt mean that we just give them a pass. Trump, who signed the order at the Pentagon on Friday, did not consult Defense Secretary James N. Mattis or Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the temporary suspensions of entry to visitors from the seven nations, according to U.S. officials. The executive action put the U.S. military in a difficult position because it works closely with the Iraqi government on a range of issues, including the fight against Islamic State, which necessitates travel between the two countries. For instance, Iraqi military pilots train to fly F-16 fighter jets at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Its not clear those pilots, who are active in the fight against Islamic State, could arrive in the U.S. for the training. 1:10 p.m.: This post was updated with White House response. Facebook

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Trump signs order on rulemaking: For every regulation added, agencies have to cut 2 others By Noah Bierman (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump signed an executive order Monday designed to fulfill his campaign pledge reduce red tape for businesses. The two-page order requires that when a federal agency proposes new regulations, it shall identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed. We want to make the life easier for small businesses and big business, Trump said Monday from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where he met with nine representatives of the small-business sector. Trump said he hoped to see up to 75% of federal regulations eliminated during his presidency. Regulation has been horrible for big business, but its been worse for small business, Trump said. He also reiterated his promise to gut the Dodd-Frank Act, the financial regulatory overhaul that was passed after the financial crisis. Dodd-Frank is a disaster, he said. Were going to be doing a big number on Dodd-Frank. Consumer advocates who backed the law say that eliminating it would help Wall Street and other players in the financial sector at the expense of consumers. Facebook

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U.S. diplomats to protest Trumps travel ban order By Tracy Wilkinson Protesters of President Trumps immigration order block traffic at LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) A number of U.S. diplomats are condemning President Trumps ban on some Muslim immigrants and visitors, saying the abrupt order does not make the U.S. safer and will only stoke anti-American fervor overseas. The complaint, being made through the State Departments so-called dissent channel, echoes criticism coming from human rights attorneys, legal experts and lawmakers from both political parties, as well as world leaders. It is significant because it represents the viewpoint of the men and women who must carry out Trumps unconventional and often provocative foreign policy. A policy which closes our doors to over 200-million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans ... will not achieve its aim of making our country safer, said a draft version of the memo that was circulating Monday and was reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. It was first reported by ABC News. Moreover, such a policy runs counter to core American values of non-discrimination, fair play and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants. The White House was quickly dismissive of the dissent and seemed to suggest the diplomats should quit if they disagree with a policy. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the diplomats raising of opposition does call into question whether or not they should continue to work in the State Department. It was not clear how many officials would sign the memo. Dissent channel memos are in theory not made public. The mechanism is designed to allow diplomats to offer an alternative policy without fear of retaliation. Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner confirmed the existence of the memo but declined to comment on its contents. The dissent channel is a longstanding official vehicle for State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues, he said. "... It allows State employees to express divergent policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership. The agency is still waiting for a boss. Trumps pick for secretary of State, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate this week. The last time a dissent-channel memo was reported publicly was last year, when about 50 diplomats protested Obama administration policy in Syria, which they described as inaction. 12:20 p.m.: This story was updated with White House comment. 8:40 a.m.: This story was updated with comment from a State Department spokesman. Facebook

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Trump to announce his Supreme Court choice Tuesday -- in prime time By Michael A. Memoli (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump will announce his first Supreme Court nomination in prime time on Tuesday, he tweeted this morning. I have made my decision on who I will nominate for The United States Supreme Court. It will be announced live on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. (W.H.)  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 The announcement was moved up two days amid the continued fallout from the executive action Trump signed temporarily banning refugee admissions from some countries. Trump had tweeted last week that he would announce his high-court decision Thursday. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday, Trump said his administration was doing some final vetting of his choice to replace the late Antonin Scalia, and that the pick would be from among the list of 20 names he issued during the election campaign. I think the person I pick will be big, big, he said. I think people are going to love it. I think evangelicals, Christians will love my pick. And will be represented very fairly. Times Supreme Court reporter David Savage profiled each of the leading contenders: Judge Thomas Hardiman of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge William H. Pryor Jr. from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The move could prompt a major clash with Senate Democrats, who have warned the president against a choice outside what they consider the mainstream. Some are threatening to block any choice in retaliation for Senate Republicans refusal to even hold hearings on President Obamas choice to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland. Democrats 2013 change to Senate rules that allowed most nominations to advance with a simple majority vote exempted Supreme Court nominations, meaning that Democrats could potentially filibuster the choice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to rule out any further rule change in an interview last week, though Trump urged him to consider doing so. Facebook

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As Hollywood gathered at the SAG Awards, some entertainers joined LAX protest Facebook

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This New York doctor went to visit family in Sudan, and now hes stuck By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Dr. Kamal Fadlalla (Dr. Kamal Fadlalla / For The Times) Dr. Kamal Fadlalla, a hospital resident who has been working in New York for the last 20 months, was stuck in Sudan on Sunday, having gone there to see his family earlier this month. He had left Jan. 13, was due to return Feb. 4 but tried to return on Friday after hearing about President Trumps executive order on immigration, which suspended entry for people from seven countries, including Sudan. He made it past passport control, all the way to the gate at the airport in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. One hour before departure they called my name, he said, and summoned him to the ticket counter, along with other New York-bound Sudanese passengers. When I got to the counter, they said there was a notice from Customs and Border Protection that ... they had to offload us from the flight. I was shocked. Fadlalla, 33, hoped for a reprieve as other passengers gathered, all stuck. One family, they came back from Dubai, she was a mother of three or four kids. She was waiting overnight at the Dubai airport. There were also two passengers turned back from New York, he said. It was a very tough night on me, He stayed for several hours, then returned to his mothers home in Madani, two hours south. Fadlalla is a second-year resident in internal medicine at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn. He is hoping to specialize in hematology and oncology. The Committee for Interns and Residents found an attorney to represent him, he said, but he had not received any news about how a New York federal judges ruling late Saturday, which halted the deportations of people who had arrived in the U.S. with valid visas, could affect him. I dont know what Im going to do. My vacation is going to end and I have to join the hospital next week. Its going to be tough on me, Fadlalla said. I dont know for how long Im going to stay here. I dont know what Im going to do. My visa is valid for three months. Im really stuck. I have my house there, my utilities, my work, my patients, my colleagues. It was my life for the past 20 months. And Im stuck here. Fadlalla is from northern Sudan, and describes himself as a moderate Muslim. He said the executive order wont make the U.S. safer by barring valid visa holders like him because, Ive been through the whole process of visa interviews. He had planned to take board exams next year, and if he misses them, his schooling will be delayed. He had wanted to stay and work in New York, too. All my life is there. Now Im stuck here. I dont know what to do, he said. Its going to really affect my life, my patients, my colleagues and their work schedule. He said the executive order has shocked others in Sudan, too. Theyre talking about human rights. Everybody knows the United States is about freedom, he said. Everybody knows America is a free country, a country of chances for everybody. Still, people have hope in those protesting at airports all over the United States and attorneys who have volunteered to help immigrants and refugees, he said. He said the order is especially worrying for aspiring Sudanese medical residents who have been preparing to match with a hospital in March to study in the United States. A lot of my colleagues who are preparing for exams are really, really worried about this, Fadlalla said. Im really worried about the future of these young people. They study a lot and spend a lot of money, a lot of effort to enter the United States. Im concerned about my future and my colleagues future. Facebook

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Californias congressional Republicans hold their fire on Trumps refugee order By Sarah D. Wire Only a few of the states 14 Republican representatives have publicly commented on an executive order signed by President Trump on Friday that barred refugees and green card holders from seven countries from entering the country. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) released a statement Sunday night saying that some tweaks are needed, but that his background as chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee leads him to support the executive order. In light of attempts by jihadist groups to infiltrate fighters into refugee flows to the West, along with Europes tragic experience coping with this problem, the Trump administrations executive order on refugees is a common-sense security measure to prevent terror attacks on the homeland, Nunes said. While accommodations should be made for green card holders and those whove assisted the U.S. armed forces, this is a useful temporary measure on seven nations of concern until we can verify who is entering the United States. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) told the Washington Post that the executive order is the right call to keep America safe, but he hopes the cases of people traveling on visas who were prevented from reentering the country are resolved quickly. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) said Sunday on Twitter that the rollout has created confusion, and that executive orders arent the way to fix the countrys long-term problems. View Twitter post View Twitter post Several of Californias 38 Democratic congressional representatives and the states two senators were out in force over the weekend demanding the release of refugees and green card holders as well as an end to the executive order. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced she would file two pieces of legislation in response. One would immediately rescind the presidents order. The second would limit executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent a president from unilaterally banning groups of immigrants. Its clear that the president gave little consideration to the chaos and heartbreak that would result from this order, she said in a statement. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) joined protesters outside the White House on Sunday afternoon. We will fight against racism. We will fight against anti-Muslim rhetoric. We will fight against those who will marginalize who we are. pic.twitter.com/R54f3MDhvo  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2017 In Los Angeles, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) joined protesters at Los Angeles International Airport. On Saturday, Reps. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro) and Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) joined the initial protests at the airport, and worked to get some of those being held released. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) accompanied protesters at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday. Congresswoman @MaxineWaters is here at LAX protest leading the crowd in the chant "no ban, no wall, you build it up we'll tear it down" pic.twitter.com/iNEmkVVkmW  Javier Panzar  (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017 Facebook

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Legal moves come too late for Iranian man who arrived at LAX after Trumps order By Matt Hamilton Ali Vayeghan arrived at 7:15 p.m. Friday from Tehran. He was going to stay with relatives, then go to Indiana, to join his wife, who arrived in the U.S. four months ahead of him, and his son. But he never emerged from customs. His niece said he was put on a plane to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. The ACLU was trying to prevent his deportation but arrived with paperwork 45 minutes too late. The family spoke to him by phone after he landed in Dubai, where he was waiting to be put on a flight to Tehran. Hes literally crying in the airport in Dubai, Ali Vayeghans niece, Marjan Vayghan, said. On Sunday afternoon, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered authorities to transport Vayeghan back to the U.S. and admit him under the terms of his visa, which is set to expire Feb. 14. U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee said in her order that Vayeghan had demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in establishing that removal violates the Establishment Clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and his rights to Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution. But by the time the order came down, Vayeghan was on a plane bound for Tehran. Federal judge in LA has issued order allowing Iranian man deported from LAX yesterday to be admitted to US pic.twitter.com/yPth0xEQpv  Matt Hamilton (@MattHjourno) January 29, 2017 Facebook

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The political climate is a hot topic at the Screen Actors Guild awards The Actor statue watches over the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium. (Matt Sayles / Invision / Associated Press) Stars on the red carpet and at the winners podium tonight in Los Angeles are not keeping their mouths shut on current affairs. The 23rd Screen Actors Guild awards are being held at the Shrine Auditorium. Heres what they have had to say so far: I want you all to know that I am the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France, and Im an American patriot, and I love this country, and because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes and this immigrant ban is a blemish and it is un-American.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus, accepting her award for her role in Veep We need to vote. Had we all voted, we wouldnt be here. You dont like it, you dont have nothing to say if you didnt vote. Get a clipboard, get organized and get in it. Dont sit back on the sidelines. Get in it. This is a fight for the country right now. Its worth fighting for.  Courtney B. Vance, nominated for his performance in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story For the first time ever in my lifetime, Ive been concerned about where its going to go. It doesnt seem to be that its going to go in a very positive direction.  Claire Foy, nominated for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the Netflix series The Crown Read More Facebook

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Green card holders will not be blocked by Trumps order, Homeland Security says By David Lauter (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times) The Trump administration backed away from one of the most controversial parts of its new executive order on immigration Sunday evening, saying that permanent U.S. residents in most cases will not be affected by the new rules. Since the president issued the order Friday, confusion has been rampant over the effects on permanent residents, noncitizens who hold so-called green cards that allow them to live and work legally in the U.S. Many were stopped and detained at airports for many hours on Friday and Saturday and, in some cases, reported that they had been threatened with being returned to their home countries. An undetermined number of other green card holders were stopped from boarding U.S.-bound planes. Late Sunday, however, the secretary of Homeland Security, retired Gen. John Kelly, issued a statement changing the policy. Statement By Secretary John Kelly On The Entry Of Lawful Permanent Residents Into The United States  https://t.co/Es1qivoR3J pic.twitter.com/hffMK2MOQC  Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 29, 2017 I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest, Kelly wrote. Green card holders from one of the seven countries covered by the 90-day ban will still need to request a waiver to gain reentry to the U.S. if they have traveled abroad. But unless officials have significant derogatory information about a green card holder that indicates a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in deciding the case, Kellys statement said. A White House official, briefing reporters about the change in policy, said that about 170 people have applied for a waiver to the ban so far, and all 170 have received a waiver and have been allowed to enter the U.S. The seven countries affected by the ban are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Facebook

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Uber fights immigration order -- and #DeleteUber hashtag -- with $3-million legal fund for drivers By Tracey Lien Hours after Lyfts co-founders announced a $1-million donation to the American Civil Liberties Union to defend the

Constitution, Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick pulled out his pocket book as well. Kalanick promised in a Facebook post that the company would create a $3-million legal defense fund to help drivers affected by the Trump administrations move to restrict immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. The fund will help drivers with immigration and translation services. Kalanick also said the San Francisco ride-hailing company will provide 24/7 legal support to drivers stuck outside the country and compensate them for lost earnings. Drivers eligible for assistance were directed to contact the company via an online form. Although the announcement was greeted with some support on Facebook and Twitter, many saw it as too little too late. The company had come under fire a day earlier for advertising on Twitter that it was operating at New Yorks Kennedy International Airport during a taxi strike protesting the executive order. That gaffe, coupled with Kalanicks involvement in a panel advising President Trump on economic issues, helped spawn the Twitter hashtag #DeleteUber, which encouraged customers to delete the app from their phones in protest. You are 20 hours too late, one person wrote in response to Kalanicks Facebook post. Still deleted my account today, wrote another. Though Kalanick issued a statement on Saturday opposing the executive order, it didnt stop thousands of Twitter users from adopting the trending the #DeleteUber hashtag to decry Ubers actions. They accused the company of attempting to profit from the strike and prioritizing business interests over a moral imperative. Celebrities also jumped on the bandwagon, with actor and activist George Takei on Sunday tweeting to his 2.9 million followers: Lyft donates $1mil to ACLU while Uber doubles down on its support for Trump. #DeleteUber. Facebook

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75-year-old grandmother from Iran tells the story of her detention at LAX By Alene Tchekmedyian Siavosh Naji-Talakar of Phoenix hugs his grandmother Marzieh Moosavizadeh after she was released from detention at LAX early Sunday morning. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Marzieh Moosavizadeh and her grandson follow a routine when she visits almost every year from Iran. The 75-year-old, who travels in a wheelchair and speaks little English, struggles to find direct flights to Phoenix, where he and his family live. So they meet in Los Angeles and he escorts her on the last leg of her trip. This time was different. Moosavizadeh landed at Los Angeles International Airport a day after President Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, from entering the United States. Read More Facebook

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GOP senators call executive order a self-inflicted wound. Trump calls them wrong and weak By Matt Ballinger McCain and Graham in 2013. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona released a statement Sunday saying that confusion at U.S. airports shows that President Trumps executive order on immigration was not properly vetted. Such a hasty process risks harmful results, the Republicans statement read. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation. It went on: Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. The president responded on Twitter: The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration. The two...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017 ...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017 Facebook

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At least 600 people wait to greet Syrians arriving in Phoenix By Nigel Duara Elijah Chavez and Brandi Hernandez protest in Phoenix (Nigel Duara/Los Angeles Times) A Phoenix-bound British Airways flight was scheduled to arrive from London at Sunday evening carrying several Syrians. A protest of about 600 people was waiting at a Phoenix international airport terminal for the flight to arrive. The outcome when these people arrive is uncertain at best, said Tanveer Shah, an Arizona attorney in private practice who volunteers with the ACLU. Shah said Syrians on board the flight would, in the best case, walk off the plane without a problem. But given the outcomes in other cities on Saturday and Sunday, Shah said it was incumbent on civil liberties attorneys to be there when the plane arrives. We have staff attorneys here ... who are prepared to file emergency pleadings, Shah said. Facebook

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When Muslims got blocked at American airports, U.S. veterans rushed to help By Matt Pearce (G. Morty Ortega / Getty Images) Jeffrey Buchalter was reflooring his foyer in Chesapeake Beach, Md., and listening to MSNBC over the weekend when he heard the news: An Iraqi who had worked with American forces as an interpreter had been stopped from entering the U.S. under a new executive order on immigration from President Trump. The story stopped him cold. Buchalter, an Army veteran who works as a law-enforcement instructor at the Department of Homeland Security, had served multiple tours of duty as a military policeman in Iraq, service that cost him dearly. He was decorated for injuries sustained from gunfire and improvised explosive devices. Exams revealed hed suffered herniated discs, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and he spent 2  years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center trying to get right. But he was still alive, and now the married father of two children. And he believes thats thanks in part to the work of Iraqi interpreters who acted as guides during his work in their country. So he told his younger daughter and son they were going to take a trip: a two-hour drive to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., where, for the first time in his life, Buchalter would join a protest. Read More Facebook

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Demonstrators against Trumps immigration limits  and a few who like them  surge through LAX By Javier Panzar The crowd at LAX is getting bigger and bigger. pic.twitter.com/dJ281TETXj  Javier Panzar  (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017 Thousands of people filled the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday afternoon to call for the release of an unknown number of people being detained by immigration authorities. Filling the arrivals section of the terminal and spilling into the street outside, the throng chanted, Let them in, and Love, not hate, makes America great. Jacob Kemper, a 35-year-old Army veteran who fought two tours in Iraq, said he was infuriated to think soldiers he fought alongside might be denied entry to the country. I really dont care about religion, but I really hate oppression, he said, holding a sign that read, I Fought Next To Muslims. Shay Soltani, a network engineer, fled the Iranian revolution 40 years ago and still has family members in Iran. She doesnt know if she will be able to see them again. As she and hundreds of others marched through the airport, she said she was horrified by Trumps order. I am so hurt by this, she said. He is against freedom of speech and the constitution and everything I believe in as an American. Meanwhile, about a dozen counter-protesters popped up on the other side of the street, holding signs that said X-treme vetting and Keep Refugees Out. They said they were tired of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally, which they said jeopardizes the safety of American citizens. Chanell Temple, 63, of Los Angeles said she was sick of watching immigrants here illegally steal benefits and services from American citizens, specifically veterans and homeless people who need aid. I worked out here for 40 years and they are coming here and taking everything away, said Temple, a former bookkeeper who said she lost her job and healthcare after she was fired for an inability to speak Spanish. Raul Rodriguez Jr., coordinator of a group called America First Latinos, said he was concerned about what he considers a surge in crimes committed against Americans by those who are in the country illegally. They are lawbreakers. They have violated federal law and they need to be deported, he said. Facebook

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Silicon Valley execs speak out against immigration ban By Tracey Lien Technology executives are speaking out against President Trumps executive order on immigration, highlighting how the ban hurts their businesses. Leaders of companies that include Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Dropbox and Twitter denounced it over the weekend. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do, said Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a memo to employees. In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, Ive made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration  both to our company and to our nations future. General Electric Co. chief executive Jeff Immelt said Sunday that businesses with global operations must balance working with the new administration while also supporting their workers and partners. We have many employees from the named countries and we do business all over the region, Immelt said in a statement. These employees and customers are critical to our success and they are our friends and partners. We stand with them and will work with the U.S. administration to strive to find the balance between the need for security and the movement of law abiding people. Facebook

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LAX protest grows as families wait Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a Shame sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

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L.A. city attorney barred from seeing detainees at LAX By James Queally Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said he was repeatedly denied access to federal detainees or an attorney who could discuss the situation with him at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Federal officials have declined to discuss the LAX detentions or respond to Feuers criticisms. While he was at the airport, Feuer said he was approached by a woman who claimed her father, suffering from Parkinsons disease, was among the detainees. It is those kind of real stories that are at stake because of this outrageous action by the feds. It is time not only for officials in my position, but all Americans, should find this a breathtaking violation of rights.  Mike Feuer Read More Facebook

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Democratic attorneys general from 15 states condemn Trump immigration order By Ann M. Simmons California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general from states across the country have condemned the Trump administrations executive order suspending acceptance of refugees and have vowed to oppose it to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created. In a communique Sunday, the group said: As the chief legal officers for over 130 million Americans and foreign residents of our states, we condemn President Trumps unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful Executive Order and will work together to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith. The executive order places an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and prohibits citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering as refugees for four months. It also places a suspension on admissions of other citizens of those countries. The legal officials represent 15 states. They include California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and his contemporaries in Washington, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. Religious liberty has been, and always will be, a bedrock principle of our country, and no president can change that truth, the attorneys general said in the statement. They praised the decision of multiple federal courts to order a stay on some aspects of the order. We are confident that the Executive Order will ultimately be struck down by the courts, the statement said. Facebook

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13 people who had been detained at LAX have been released, source says By James Queally Protesters at LAX on Sunday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Thirteen people who were detained Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airports Terminal 2 were eventually released, a law enforcement source told The Times. Each of them held green cards, which grant permanent residency in the U.S. The source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation at the airport, could not provide detention figures for the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which has been the center of protest activity. Thats where protesters were gathering Sunday. Nurse Jamie Shoemaker, 51, of Los Angeles held an American flag in one hand and carried a sign that read, Muslims are welcome here, racists and fascists are not. She called Trumps order un-American. This is not the country I want, she said. This is not the country I grew up in. Read More Facebook

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Democrats in Congress drafting legislation to repeal Trumps refugee ban, pressuring GOP for support By Lisa Mascaro Sen. Chuck Schumer becomes emotional speaking against Pres. Trump's immigration order, calling it "mean-spirited and un-American." pic.twitter.com/NkhUdpaNyV  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 29, 2017 Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Democrats will introduce legislation as soon as Monday to stop President Trumps actions temporarily banning refugees and arrivals from certain Muslim countries. House Democrats are taking similar legislative action, and lawmakers from both chambers will rally Monday evening at the Supreme Court to protest Trumps orders. This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American, said Schumer, the New York Democrat, choking up as he stood with immigrants and refugees at a press conference Sunday. It must be reversed immediately. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats are exploring legal options, including an amicus brief in support of the ACLU lawsuit against the actions. The chances of passing a bill through the Republican-controlled Congress are slim, as most GOP leaders and lawmakers have not objected to Trumps ban. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that while he was personally opposed to a religious test on admissions, it was best left to the courts to resolve the issue. Its hopefully going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far, McConnell said on ABCs This Week. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) expressed his support Friday for Trumps action. A handful of Republicans, though, are uneasy with Trumps orders, and have spoken against them. Schumer noted that just few more Republicans would be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold for advancing Senate legislation. Maybe we can pass something in Congress, Schumer said. Its up to Republicans. Facebook

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Emotional reunion at JFK airport after release of elderly Sudanese man from immigration detention By Barbara Demick Tears and hugs at JFK's international arrivals as a detainee is released, reuniting father with son. More families wait, cheering. pic.twitter.com/WrVpoocWjY  Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) January 29, 2017 For those immigrants temporarily detained under a new Trump administration executive order at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport, attorneys have put a priority on getting some of the older detainees released to their families. One small victory for the lawyers was the case of Yassin Abdelrhman, a 76-year-old green card holder from Sudan who had been detained after a trip home to visit family. He was released about noon on Sunday after being detained for 30 hours. Soon, he was reunited with his sons. He is a strong individual, but he has some health challenges, said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who had been working on their case. Facebook

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Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will not attend Oscars Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi after winning an Oscar in 2012. ((Allen J. Schaben/ Los Angeles Times) ) In a statement to the New York Times today, Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi said he no longer planned to attend this years ceremony. Farhadis film The Salesman is nominated in the foreign language film category. Farhadi had initially hoped to attend despite the prohibition on visitors from Iran. But he said he had decided the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip. Read More Facebook

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How an Iranian Fulbright scholar got into the U.S.: We found a lawyer who found a lawyer who found a lawyer By Barbara Demick Iranian students in front of a makeshift law office in JFKs Terminal 4. (Barbara Demick / Los Angeles Times) Perhaps nothing encapsulates the chaos emanating from President Trumps executive order better than what happened with Ukrainian Airlines Flight 232. The regularly scheduled flight to Kiev had to turn around on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy Airport early Sunday after a federal judge issued a stay of a deportation order of dozens of foreigners, including a 32-year-old Iranian linguist who is a doctoral candidate and former Fulbright scholar. With just minutes to spare, Vahideh Rasekhi -- helped by volunteer lawyers and her smart phone  managed to prevent the flight from taking off. She had arrived Saturday afternoon, but was blocked from entering the United States by the executive order barring arrivals of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Libya. Around midnight, she was put on the Ukrainian Air flight to return to Tehran, via Kiev. We found a lawyer who found a lawyer who found a lawyer, said Mehdi Namazi, 29, a friend who has been waiting for her at the airport. The lawyers were showing officials a copy of the order issued a few hours earlier by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn. It was all very confusing. They were arguing as the plane was taxiing, Namazi said. According to one lawyer, Melissa Trent, Rasekhi herself was walking up and down the aisles arguing for the plane not to take off. She knew that if the plane left she would never get back to the United States again, Trent said. Rasekhi spent most of Sunday in detention with other Iranians, but was released into the United States at around 3 p.m.. A dozen Iranian friends had been waiting inside the airports Terminal 4 amid a clutter of discarded coffee cups and half-eaten donuts in front of a diner that had been turned into a makeshift law office. Another Iranian student was waiting for her parents, who were taken into detention after arriving on another flight I havent seen them in 3-1/2 years. They dont speak English. But Im hopeful, said the student, who gave her name as Sahar. The students were both furious at the way their country had been targeted by Trumps order and touched by the outpouring of support from the volunteer lawyers. We see two different Americas here. There is this order banning us, and than there are all these people here who came to the airport. If it werent for these volunteers, she would have been deported, said Namazi. Im very depressed. We feel betrayed by this country that we invested so much energy and hope into. We are all graduate students, professors, PhDs, engineers. To say this is for national security, it doesnt add up, said Tahmineh Tabrizian, 33, another friend of Rasekhis. She said her own parents had planned to come to the United States and had spent $14,000 on tickets and visas and would now have to cancel their trip. Rasekhi, who has lived in the United States for a decade, was a Fulbright scholar at UC Santa Barbara and received a masters degree at Fresno State University, according to a resume supplied by one of her friends. She had been studying for a PhD at Stony Brook University on Long Island. She had gone to Tehran over the Christmas break to visit her parents and was on her way back to resume her studies when she was detained. Facebook

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Protests begin again at LAX on Sunday morning By Genaro Molina Facebook

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Protesters in Tel Aviv compare Trump immigration order to Israeli refugee policies By Joshua Mitnick Demonstrators in Tel Aviv protest U.S. President Trumps new immigration order. (Joshua Mitnick / Los Angeles Times) Holding signs reading Refugees Welcome and chanting No Ban, No Wall, Sanctuary for All, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on Sunday to join protests in the U.S. against President Trumps new immigration policy. Mia Zur Szpiro, a 36-year-old filmmaker, said she felt compelled to demonstrate because her parents survived the Holocaust. We are a country of immigrants, and to me it was astounding that this [order] was passed on Holocaust Memorial Day, she said. Its wrong to stereotype, and its wrong to send people who are in need back into the face of danger and the risk of death. Elliot Vaisbrub Glassenberg, a protest organizer and migrant rights activist, compared the new U.S. policy to Israeli policies toward tens of thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese migrants who crossed into the country illegally from Egypts Sinai desert. The policies that Trump has enacted are no worse than the policies that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has enacted for years here  such as not allowing any non-Jews to be given refugee status in Israel, except for a select few. Togod Omar, a native of Sudan who was at the protest, said he applied for political asylum in Israel three years ago, and is still waiting. He said Sudanese friends hoping to be resettled in the U.S. were upset by the new executive order. Trump doesnt understand whats going on in Sudan, Omar said. You cant punish the Sudanese people for what the Islamic government is doing. You cant banish someone because of their religion. Facebook

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President Trump hits majority disapproval in record time, Gallup finds By David Lauter Days until achieving MAJORITY disapproval from @Gallup



Reagan: 727

Bush I: 1336

Clinton: 573

Bush II: 1205

Obama: 936



Trump: 8. days. pic.twitter.com/kv2fy0Qsbp  Will Jordan (@williamjordann) January 29, 2017 President Trumps actions during his first week in office have appeared to be aimed at the voters who already supported him, not at reaching out to the rest, and thats taken a rapid toll on his support, which was already historically low. Gallup, which has measured job approval for presidents for decades, shows Trumps approval so far at 45%, with 48% disapproving. Thats an average of several days polling. The daily trend lines are not kind to the new administration. As of Saturday, 51% of Americans disapproved of Trumps performance. Thats a record for the speed of getting to majority disapproval. By comparison, President George W. Bush hit majority disapproval six months into his second term, in June 2005, and remained in negative territory for the rest of his tenure. President Obama did not hit 51% disapproval until August of 2011, during the crisis over the federal debt ceiling that summer. His approval rebounded later that year, but he had a second period of majority disapproval during late 2013 and much of 2014. He ended his term with widespread approval and 37% of Americans disapproving. Trump Job Approval: Approve 45% (-1); Disapprove 48% (+3). Get the full trend https://t.co/BjTUhf0NAM.  GallupNews (@GallupNews) January 27, 2017 Facebook

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Hundreds of travelers were caught in limbo over rushed visa ban By Brian Bennett (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Hundreds of travelers were blocked from entering the U.S. or prevented from boarding flights in the hours after President Trump signed his order banning arrivals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In the order, Trump temporarily suspended refugee admissions and banned travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Scores of people from those countries were aboard airplanes flying toward the U.S. when Trump signed his executive order on Friday afternoon, setting off waves of confusion among border officials and the traveling public. Upon landing at U.S. airports, 109 people from the listed countries were detained by immigration officials and prevented from entering the U.S., officials said. The department had approved 81 waivers to the new travel ban by Saturday afternoon, the official said, but at least some of the people detained on arrival were sent back to their countries of origin. Court orders issued Saturday evening required U.S. border officials to stop returning people who had already arrived with valid visas. It is unclear how many people were deported before the orders were issued. It is also unclear if the Trump administration has fully complied with those orders. In addition to the people who arrived in the U.S. and were detained, as of 3 p.m. on Saturday, an additional 173 travelers from the listed countries had been stopped from boarding flights to the U.S., a Homeland Security official said in a statement. The department did not make an official available to describe the actions and the agencys response. As many as 3,250 travelers may have been inconvenienced by the new visa restrictions, officials for the department said in a statement Sunday. Yesterday, less than 1% of the more than 325,000 international air travelers who arrive every day were inconvenienced while enhanced security measures were implemented, the statement read. The department will comply with court orders, the statement said. But no evidence was given to confirm this. Lawyers seeking to meet with detainees at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington and at San Francisco have said that they were blocked by officials on Sunday. The Department of Homeland Security will comply with judicial orders, faithfully enforce our immigration laws, and implement President Trumps executive orders to ensure that those entering the United States do not pose a threat to our country or the American people, according to the departments statement. All of the visa holders and travelers from the listed countries blocked from entering the U.S. since Friday already had gone through multiple steps of security screening that checked their biographical information and travel history against U.S. terrorism databases. Facebook

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White House seems to back down on part of new vetting policy By Christi Parsons The White House on Sunday appeared to back down on a key part of President Trumps tough new immigration order, signaling that travelers trying to enter the country from seven banned countries will be allowed in if they hold green cards. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that these legal permanent residents are exempt from the travel ban moving forward, even though over the weekend other administration officials said the rule did apply to them. The apparent reversal came amid a national controversy over the new Trump order that temporarily halts the entry of all refugees to the U.S. and any traveler from seven majority Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Federal judges across the country have blocked parts of the presidents executive actions since they came down on Friday, mostly preventing the deportation of some travelers who ran into the first wave of implementation over the weekend. The back-and-forth over the green-card holders reflected a generalized confusion about the new order, which also bars Syrian refugees from entering the United States indefinitely. Lawyers for some of the affected immigrants said border agents seemed uncertain about the new rules and were disagreeing with one another about which travelers were affected and which were not. Further complicating the picture was a statement from the Department of Homeland Security asserting that its agents would enforce all of Trumps orders while also complying with judicial orders. As some of the orders block deportation, that left individual officers to try to figure out which priorities to honor. Facebook

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Op-Ed: Trumps cruel, illegal refugee executive order By Erwin Chemerinsky Protesters demonstrate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Saturday. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) Barring individuals fleeing persecution from entering the United States is simply inhumane. Adding irony to injury, Trumps executive order was issued on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which should have been an occasion to atone for turning away refugees during the 1930ssome of whom then died in concentration camps. For example, in 1939, the United States turned away the St. Louis, a boat filled with refugees, many of them German Jews. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 254 passengers from the St. Louis died in the Holocaust.  Erwin Chemerinsky Read More Facebook

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Lyft pledges to donate $1 million to ACLU following Trumps immigration order By Tracey Lien (Richard Vogel / Associated Press) Tech executives had been mostly quiet for the first week of Donald Trumps presidency  but that changed after his controversial executive order restricting refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Executive after executive spent Saturday tweeting and posting messages to Facebook decrying the administrations actions. Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green went a step further: On Sunday, they announced they would donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft and our nations core values, the co-founders wrote in an email to Lyft customers. We stand firmly against the actions, and will no
In the whirlwind of activity punctuating the first week of the Trump administration, the sheer volume of new policies and pronouncements from the president and his staff made it difficult to focus on the larger picture. But by the end of the day Friday, when President Trump signed a ban on refugees entering the country, its embarrassingly chaotic rollout became the major story of the weekend.

As damaging as the ban might be to the United States standing in the Middle East and to Washingtons moral authority regarding the treatment of refugees, it masks the litany of executive orders issued by Trump this week that soured the relationship between this country and the rest of the world.

Related: Is This How Trump Plans to Take On China in Asia?

Thats not to say the disastrous executive order doesnt deserve the attention. Trumps plan not only bars all refugees from entering the country -- specifically singling out Syrians, who are undergoing one of the most horrific humanitarian disasters in recent memory -- but also blocks entry to the residents of seven entire countries, all majority Muslim.

And, in a move that seemed almost intended to promote the idea that the US is against Muslims in general, Trump also announced that one of the few exceptions to the refugee resettlement ban would be Christians living in majority Muslim countries.

By Saturday morning there were reports of legal permanent residents of the US -- some of them parents of children who are citizens -- being denied re-entry to the country they and their families call home. Refugees nearing the end of a clearance process that takes two years were sent back to the wretched camps where tens of thousands of them have lived for years.

By Saturday afternoon the retaliation began. Iran barred all US citizens from entering its country, meaning that Iranian Americans with family in the Islamic Republic will not be able to visit them.

Related: Heres What the US Imports From Mexico  and Who Would Pay Trumps 20% Tax

While that might seem like quite enough, the Trump administration did more than just antagonize half the Middle East in its first week in power. Trumps newly-confirmed United Nations ambassador, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, announced her arrival at the international body with all the subtlety of a hand grenade.

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Youre going to see a change in the way we do business, she said in brief remarks to the media. Our goal with the administration is to show value at the U.N., and the way well show value is to show our strength, show our voice, have the backs of our allies and make sure our allies have our back as well.

For those who dont have our back, she added ominously, were taking names; we will make points to respond to that accordingly.

Related: Trump Just Blew His Chance to Renegotiate NAFTA

Haley's warning followed the new presidents decision to start a Twitter fight with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto over the border wall that Trump insists he will build and force Mexico to pay for. Trump goaded Pena Nieto into canceling a meeting this week between the two men by claiming Mexico would pay for the wall.

Then Trump hit again. He sent his press secretary out to tell reporters he was planning to institute a 20 percent tariff on all goods imported from Mexico, sending the value of the countrys currency plunging.

In addition to threatening a trade war with the United States third-largest trading partner, Trump repeatedly insisted that he plans to reconsider US participation in a vast array of trade pacts, claiming it would be in the best interests of the US to negotiate bilaterally with every country in the world. His words left both markets and foreign leaders nervous about the future of global commerce.

Trump also hosted his first meeting with the leader of a major US ally when British Prime Minister Theresa May visited the White House. The Trump team misspelled Mays first name, conflating it with that of a British pornographic actress. During the joint press conference after they met, Trump again repeated his insistence that torture, which is outlawed by the US government and has been deemed ineffective by Trumps newly confirmed Defense Secretary, General James Mattis, is an effective and legitimate means of extracting information from captured enemies.

Related: Mass Departures at the State Department as Trump Era Begins

By Saturday, it was almost possible to forget that earlier in the week Trump had suggested that the United States might get another chance to invade Iraq and take the countrys oil, and his claim that people who point out that this would be a war crime are fools.

The great danger here is that while Americans, faced with a blizzard of Trump coverage, may lose track of all the countries the new president has threatened, insulted, and bullied, those countries and their leaders surely wont. And it will be at the top of their minds the next time an American diplomat asks for help or cooperation.

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The Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club has recruited many people, young and old, from Orange County and beyond, to fill a need for dental and other medical services.

In 2007, The Africa Project, an all-volunteer nonprofit based in Irvine, requested Newport Sunrises help in fighting HIV and AIDS in the Nkandla region of South Africa. Club President Steve Bender came up with the idea of building a medical clinic inside a 20-foot shipping container.

Bender turned to teacher Jerry Cates, who at that time headed the Building Industry Technology Academy (BITA) at Western High School in Anaheim. BITA is a multi-year high school technical program that teaches students carpentry and other construction skills.

Bender enlisted Cates and the BITA team not only to help design and build the clinic, but to aid the larger cause of serving the needy.

Our goal is to support medical, educational and housing for the underserved, said Bender, and to teach students and young adults philanthropy along the way.

In July 2013, Nkandla received its first Doc in a Box. The interior included an examination area, medical supplies, refrigeration, water filtration and space for record storage. Outside the box was a multimedia education center, where lessons in sex education, health issues, basic sanitation and safety could be offered.

The BITA students accomplishments extended well beyond building a structure.

Our students decided to make this a schoolwide project, running an awareness campaign and supplies drive, said Cates. We are learning about another culture, HIV/AIDS and donating our building skills to a worthy cause. Its a big deal.

Indeed, Cates and his team were so inspired by the experience that they formed Western Highs Interact Club, a Rotary youth club, to continue the students philanthropy.

Like the needs of the underserved, Benders work never ends. In 2011, fellow Rotarian Harris Done learned about Doc in a Box and approached Bender about creating a dental box. For decades, through the nonprofit AYUDA, Done and his University of Southern California dental students had been providing free dental care to children. Done believed Bender could help improve and expand those services.

Bender and Newport Sunrise were shocked to learn that Californias youth often lack dental care. At the time, they learned that 23% of elementary school students had never visited a dentist. More than 50% of Hispanic and African American children suffered tooth decay.

With Dones expertise, Steve partnered with Cates and Western Highs BITA to design and build a mobile dental trailer. Newport Sunrise committed $10,000 to the project.

The Dental Box clinics opened in 2014. That year, $1 million in free dental services were provided, primarily to children. The Dental Box visited Anaheim, Fullerton, Orange, Tustin and Laguna Niguel as well as Porterville, Mexico and Peru.

The services continue in 2015, and plans are underway for a second Dental Box for use in Pennsylvania and Kansas City.

As with Doc in the Box, creating the Dental Box was one goal. Another was to solicit additional support for the cause. Anaheim Rotary is now Newport Sunrises partner on all of the Dental Box clinics. Furthermore, for each Dental Box location, Newport Sunrise has recruited the financial support and service of the local Rotary Club. Each local club donates $3,000, and its members provide meals and support for the dental students.

Bender and Done continue to expand the staff of volunteer dental students. Fifty of the most active dental students formed the Newport Beach Community Rotaract Club, which is financially supported by Newport Sunrise. Rotaract clubs are divisions of Rotary for ages 18 through 30.

The Dental Box most recently visited Samueli Academy in Santa Ana on Oct. 10. The next visits will be Nov. 14 at Niguel Hills Middle School, sponsored by Rotary Club of Laguna Niguel, and Dec. 11 to 13 in Rosarito, Mexico, in partnership with Club Rotario Playas De Rosarito.

For more information about becoming involved with the Dental Box clinics or any of the other medical services provided by Newport Sunrise Rotary and its partners, contact Steve Bender at Steve.Bender@Bacchus-DocinaBox.org.

Soroptimist International of the Newport Harbor Area Celebrates its 60th Anniversary

On Sept. 20, Soroptimist International of the Newport Harbor Area (SINHA) celebrated its 60th anniversary at the home of President Dalia Badajos. SINHAs goal is to inspire, educate and empower women and girls, locally and globally.

SINHA was chartered in 1955 by a social group of 18 women, primarily entrepreneurs, interested in advancing womens causes. In its early years, SINHA was known for its great parties given to raise funds for projects. One of the first projects was to purchase the land for the Girls and Boys Club in Costa Mesa. This location is now the home of the highly successful Girls, Inc.

One of SINHAs primary objectives is the prevention of domestic violence and sex trafficking. Over 30 years ago, SINHA helped start, and has continually supported, Interval House, a nonprofit working for the safety of battered, abused and other at risk women.

SINHA is also dedicated to supporting young women locally. It chartered three groups for that purpose, including a Venture Club for post high school women, an S club at Costa Mesa High and, most recently, Mosaic for pre-teens. SINHAs mission for these groups is to offer mentoring and volunteer opportunities, and to build friendship and leadership skills while having fun.

SINHA has also supported women internationally. One SINHA project is to financially reward a female head of household who is improving her education and/or job training to benefit herself and her family. SINHA also has collaborated with Soroptimist Clubs around the world to support women and girls. Currently, SINHA is supporting the rebuilding of female educational programs in Nepal that were devastated by the recent earthquake

SINHA invites women interested in the mission to join them. If interested, contact Dawn Marie Lemonds at dawnmarie.lemonds14@gmail.com.

Harbor Mesa Lions is Spreading Cheer to the Elderly and Youth

Harbor Mesa Lions is trying to put smiles on the faces of the elderly and ailing patrons at Newport Subacute Healthcare Center in Costa Mesa.

Members create beautiful dining room centerpieces and deliver them to the facility. Each monthly arrangement features a different theme. September was fall flowers and foliage, October is cute ghosts and November will be Thanksgiving items.

Creating the centerpieces together is a fun project for our members, said Co-Chairwoman Carol Van Holt, and the little bit of cheer brought to the residents makes this project well worth the effort. Many of the beautiful centerpieces are designed by her co-chairwoman, Sandi Scheafer.

Lions is also supporting an event in Orange. Cars will park at a tree lot next to the Ronald McDonald House. The car trunks, decorated Halloween-style, will be open, and instead of trick-or-treating door to door, children will proceed from trunk to trunk. Children will also enjoy crafts, games, balloon artists, candy apples, a popcorn machine and more.

Lions will host two cars. The first is for trick-or-treating. The second will be decorated like a haunted house and will host a game of ghost bean bag toss. Children may win prizes for tossing bags into the cars windows. Lions is also supporting the event with funding and volunteers. Member Cathy Waters is Lions chairwoman for the event.

This event is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at 300 S. Batavia St. in Orange. Patients from Childrens Hospital of Orange County and local children are invited. If you are interested in donating or volunteering at the event, contact Harbor Mesa Lions through its website, nhcmlionsclub.com.
He is a radical left-winger often described as a Gallic Bernie Sanders, and was viewed as a complete political outsider just three weeks ago.

Benoit Hamon handily won Frances Socialist Party primary on Sunday, making him the partys best hope to maintain its grip on power in presidential elections this spring.

A clear majority of the more than 1.3 million voters in the primary cast ballots for Hamon, crushing the political hopes of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, an economic liberal who had been seen as the favorite heading into the election.

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Supporters of Benoit Hamon celebrate at a gathering in Paris after their candidate won the Socialist Party presidential nomination on Sunday. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

The Socialists have governed France under the increasingly unpopular President Francois Hollande for four years, and are given little chance in the presidential election this spring. But as Hamon has already demonstrated, political fortunes can change.

Hamon, 49, ran on an anti-capitalist and anti-globalization platform, pledging to introduce a monthly universal income for all citizens, to consult the French people in major legislation and to legalize marijuana.

Defeated Socialist Party candidate Manuel Valls greets supporters after delivering a speech in Paris on Jan. 29, 2017. (Eric Feferberg / AFP/Getty Images)

He topped seven other left-wing candidates in the first round of the Socialist Party primaries a week ago and defeated Valls in the second round on Sunday by 58% to 41%.

Hamon was education minister in Francois Hollandes Socialist administration but resigned after disagreeing with the governments broad social democrat economic policy.

He will now face the official opposition candidate Francois Fillon, of the center-right Republicans party, the far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen as well as independent candidates, including business-friendly former Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, in the presidential elections that take place in April and May this year.

Fillon, who is anti-abortion and conservative and has proposed major public sector job cuts, was widely considered a favorite but is currently embroiled in a scandal over employing his wife as a parliamentary aide. On Sunday, Fillon told supporters at a rally to leave my wife out of the political debate.

Le Pen, who is running on an anti-immigrant, anti-European Union platform, has pledged to put native French people first.

France has now four clear choices for its next leader: the left-wing Hamon; the centrist Macron; the traditional conservative Fillon; and the far-right Le Pen.

Willsher is a special correspondent

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The carcasses of goats and sheep litter the ground near the airstrip in this remote eastern region of Ethiopia, which is struggling to counter a new drought that authorities say has left 5.6 million people in urgent need of assistance.

U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen OBrien visited a camp for displaced persons on Saturday, saying that these people are really struggling to survive. He cautioned, however, against dramatizing by saying this may degenerate into famine.

Last years drought, exacerbated by the El Nino climate phenomenon that affected seasonal rains, left 10.2 million people hungry and killed several hundred thousand of the animals that the local sheep and cattle farmers depend on for their livelihood.

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All of us are hungry and are praying for the rains to come soon.  Sarah Aliso

Sarah Aliso came to the Garlogube displaced persons camp from a village 43 miles away three weeks ago after all 50 of her familys cattle perished.

I have nothing to eat, so I came here with my 40-day-old baby. All of us are hungry and are praying for the rains to come soon, she said, cleaning her childs face.

For this drought, Ethiopias government is appealing for $948 million from the international community. The countrys disaster prevention chief, Mitiku Kassa, said the government has had to combat this new drought with little outside support, allocating some $47 million for the response.

The charity Save the Children warns that malnourished refugees are arriving from neighboring Somalia as well, compounding the crisis.

Children are being hit particularly hard, the aid group said in a statement, adding that a number of disease outbreaks affecting livestock have been reported.

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The U.S. military said Sunday that one service member was killed and three others wounded in a raid in Yemen targeting the local Al Qaeda branch, marking the first-known combat death of a U.S. soldier under President Trumps administration.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that a fourth service member was injured in a hard landing in a nearby location. The aircraft  presumably a helicopter  was unable to fly afterward and was intentionally destroyed.

The Central Command statement said 14 militants from the Al Qaeda branch known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members taking part in the raid captured information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.

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Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault in Yemens central Bayda province killed three senior Al Qaeda leaders.

The surprise dawn attack in Bayda province killed Abdul-Raouf Dhahab, Sultan Dhahab and Seif Nims, the officials said.

The Dhahab family is considered an ally of Al Qaeda, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda province. A third family member, Tarek Dhahab, was killed in a previous U.S. drone strike several years ago. It was not immediately clear whether the family members were members of Al Qaeda.

The U.S. troops killed or wounded some two dozen men, including some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

An official with Al Qaeda confirmed the killings, describing the attack as a massacre and saying that women and children had been killed as well, although he provided no evidence. He said Apache attack helicopters struck the area before dropping commandos in for the raid, which took place near Yakla village in Radaa district. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged Al Qaeda operatives in Bayda province in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

The tribal officials said the Americans were looking for Al Qaeda leader Qassim Raimi, adding that they captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terrorist network, has exploited the chaos of Yemens civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sana. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

Separately, Yemens president, Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi, a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the countrys southern city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.

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Trumps refugee policy raises a question: How do you tell a Christian from a Muslim?
In President Trumps telling, the Middle East is a place where Christians run a daily gantlet of persecution, threatened at every corner by religious zealots eager to chop off their heads.

The U.S. government under previous administrations, he alleged, showed little pity.

If you were a Muslim, you could come to the U.S., he said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible.

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In an executive order he signed Friday, he suspended refugee resettlement from seven Muslim-majority countries for 120 days. (Late Saturday night, a federal judge in New York issued an order halting the removal of refugees or others who hold valid visas to enter the U.S. The order appears to affect up to 200 people who were detained in transit to the United States.)

The order notes, however, that the secretaries of State and Homeland Security may jointly decide to admit some refugees including when the person is a religious minority in his country of nationality facing religious persecution.

But in proposing what commentators have called a religious test, Trump has not yet answered one crucial question: Just how does one differentiate between Muslims and Christians?

As is always the case in the Middle East, the answer is complicated and can defy stereotypes. Also complicated is the status of Christians in the region, and how they have been treated historically and now.

All the countries falling under Trumps ban  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  have small but significant Christian minorities. Though some communities arose in separate enclaves, often Christians are integrated within larger urban centers.

Often they are physically indistinguishable from their non-Christian compatriots. Names are of little help; only some, like Mohammad, Ahmad and Mustafa (all names of the prophet Muhammad) clearly mark a person as a Muslim. Others give no clue.

And while they have been specifically targeted in a number of regions where they dominate, such as areas of Iraq and Syria, Christians often suffer the same fate as their Muslim neighbors who are the primary victims of the extremist groups rampaging in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

Trumps claims about the U.S. accepting refugees from the Middle East are not borne out by the numbers. According to the Pew Research Center, the United States had accepted an almost equal number of Christian and Muslim refugees in the 2016 fiscal year; 37,521 Christians and 38,901 Muslims.

In Syria and Iraq, Christians have joined the tsunami of refugees fleeing an internecine political and sectarian war that has ravaged wide swaths of the two countries. Areas with religious minorities that have fallen to Islamic State speak of horrors perpetrated by the extremists. Just last month Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bombing at St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo.

Trump alluded to Middle East violence in his Christian Broadcasting Network interview, noting atrocities committed by Islamic State in Syria, where extremists were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians.

In recent years, Christians homes and businesses have been confiscated by the jihadists, who daubed the letter N in Arabic (for Nasrani, a term meaning Christian, which some consider a pejorative) under a sign reading Property of Islamic State.

Some Christians were kidnapped by jihadists, who often used them as bargaining chips or as hostages to be used for ransom.

I know in general the [Nusra Front] believes the pope will buy Christian hostages out of captivity. They are quite certain about this, said Theo Padnos, an American journalist captured by Nusra in 2012 and imprisoned for two years.

In 2014, the BBC reported claims by Syrian rebels that the Gulf nation of Qatar, a major Syrian opposition supporter, had offered to pay $4 million for the release of 13 nuns kidnapped by the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front (now known as the Front for the Conquest of Syria). They were later released in a secret agreement.

Technically, under Islam, Christians are dhimmis, a protected person, who must pay a jizyah, or tax, and smother all signs of their religion or convert. Other non-Muslims dont have that choice of practicing their faith quietly.

Padnos said its common to not treat Christians as a protected class at all. They always say Christians are dhimmis. This is the official line, he continued in a Facebook chat on Saturday.

Yet they whacked me over the head with their sandals for not praying with the Muslims in my cell. I guess that was the unofficial policy, he said.

Before the Syrian government took back all of the northern city of Aleppo in December, Christians in the government-held part of the once-divided city lived in daily fear of the mortars and rockets launched by rebel factions (including some that had received Western support).

But before the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the turmoil of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, Christians had maintained generally amicable relations with other communities.

Though intermarriage was taboo, in several countries religious festivals were often celebrated together or declared national holidays for all.

There was also persecution  and not just against Christians.

In Iran, the largest non-Muslim religious minority is the Bahais, numbering about 300,000 out of a population of 80 million. Their faith is not officially recognized by the state. Irans rulers regard the Bahai as apostates and have banned members of the faith from holding public gatherings or worshiping in their homes.

The suspicion apparently stems from a belief among Iranian hard-liners that the Bahai are linked to Zionism because the faiths headquarters is in Haifa, Israel. In 2010, seven Bahai leaders in Iran were sentenced to 20-year prison terms on charges of spying for Israel, which international human rights groups described as baseless.

Those who practice the faith openly are barred from universities and government jobs, and a former United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion said that even in kindergarten, Bahai children were targeted for special surveillance.

Bulos is a special correspondent.

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The Greek Supreme Court ruled against the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece after what was supposed to be a failed coup attempt in Turkey. The decision angered Ankara and further strained relations between the neighboring countries.

Back in July, the eight Turkish officers landed a helicopter in northern Greece and sought for political asylum saying that they feared for their lives in Turkey. They also denied allegations of a coup attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara has been calling for their return but the soldiers have been kept in protective custody until final decisions on their asylum applications in Greece. On Thursday, the Greek court rejected the extradition request citing possible violations of human rights if they were sent home.

It was a big victory for the Turkish soldiers but many were not pleased with the ruling including the Turkish foreign ministry who said that Greece has failed to fulfill the basics of the fight against terrorism. Further, the ministry claimed that the court's ruling was politically motivated and that they will further reevaluate relations with Greece. Noteworthy, the soldiers had been accused in Turkey of attempting to abrogate the constitution, attempting to dissolve the parliament, seizing a helicopter using violence and for attempting to assassinate Erdogan. Following the Supreme Court's decision, the Turkish authorities had issued arrest warrants for the soldiers.

The extradition case has strained ties between neighbors and NATO allies Greece and Turkey, which remains at odds over war-divided Cyprus and boundaries in the Aegean Sea. The Greek court ruling came as negotiations to reunify Cyprus reached a critical point. Due to this, Greek officials have voiced out fears that Turkey might retaliate against the ruling of the soldier's extradition by relaxing border controls. Earlier, a deal has been introduced with the EU to remove the flow of refugees to Europe. This would mean an increase in the 62,000 refugees and migrants that Athens currently have in the country.
With the help of Leicester Citys Daniel Amartey, Ghana booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-1 victory over DR Congo on Sunday afternoon.

- Leicester City midfielder Daniel Amartey played 90 minutes in Ghanas Africa Cup of Nations Quarter-Final tie with DR Congo on Sunday afternoon

- The Black Stars won 2-1 to book their spot in the semi-finals of the competition

- Jordan Ayew and Andre Ayew were on target for Avram Grants outfit

- Amarteys men face Cameroon on Thursday 2 February in the last-four

With the help of Leicester Citys , Ghana booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-1 victory over DR Congo on Sunday afternoon.

Amartey played 90 minutes in a central defensive role at the Stade d'Oyem in Gabon, as goals from brothers Jordan Ayew and Andre Ayew sealed the win for the Black Stars.

It was not straight forward for Avram Grants men, who after taking the lead were pegged back by a brilliant effort from Congo attacker Paul-Jose M'Poku.

But Ghana found a winner from the spot with just 12 minutes to play, sealing a AFCON Semi-Final tie at Stade De Franceville with four-time tournament winners Cameroon, who beat a strong Senegal side on penalties in the last-eight on Saturday.

Amartey has featured in all four of his nations AFCON fixtures and will again hope to be involved against Cameroon on Thursday 2 February. Should Ghana progress, they would face either Burkina Faso, Egypt or Morocco in the final.

As always, you can keep up-to-date with Amarteys progress out in Gabon right here on LCFC.com.
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, trying to quell a backlash over his "extreme vetting" order, said the United States would resume issuing visas to all countries once secure policies are put in place over the next 90 days.

Under an order he signed on Friday, immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were barred from entering the United States. The decision has drawn large protests at many U.S. airports, where some travelers from those countries have been stranded.

"To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," Trump said. "This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.

"We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days," he said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
PHOENIX (AP) -- To build his highly touted deportation force, President Donald Trump is reviving a long-standing program that deputizes local officers to enforce federal immigration law.

The program received scant attention during a week in which Trump announced plans to build a border wall, hire thousands more federal agents and impose restrictions on refugees from Middle Eastern countries.

But the program could end up having a significant impact on immigration enforcement around the country, despite falling out of favor in recent years amid complaints that it promotes racial profiling.

More than 60 police and sheriff's agencies had the special authority as of 2009, applying for it as the nation's immigration debate was heating up. Since then, the number has been halved and the effort scaled back as federal agents ramped up other enforcement programs and amid complaints officers weren't focusing on the goal of catching violent offenders and instead arrested immigrants for minor violations, like driving with broken tail lights.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio used the program most aggressively in metro Phoenix, and he became arguably the nation's best-known immigration enforcer at the local level in large part because of the special authority. In a strange twist, he was thrown out of office in the same election that vaulted Trump to the presidency, mostly because of mounting frustration over legal issues and costs stemming from the patrols.

In his executive order this week, Trump said he wants to empower local law enforcement to act as immigration officers and help with the "investigation, apprehension, or detention" of immigrants in the country illegally.

The move comes at a time when the country is sharply divided over the treatment of immigrants. Cities such as Chicago and San Francisco have opposed police involvement in immigration while some counties in Massachusetts and Texas are now seeking to jump in.

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Proponents say police departments can help bolster immigration enforcement and prevent criminals from being released back into their neighborhoods, while critics argue that deputizing local officers will lead to racial profiling and erode community trust in police.

Cecillia Wang, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, said police bosses who want to get into immigration enforcement should consider what happened when 100 of Arpaio's deputies were given the federal arrest power.

The longtime sheriff used the authority to carry out traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. The patrols were later discredited in a lawsuit in which a federal judge concluded Arpaio's officers had racially profiled Latinos. The lawsuit so far cost county taxpayers $50 million.

"There are people like Joe Arpaio who have a certain political agenda who want to jump on the Trump bandwagon," Wang said, adding later that the Arizona sheriff was "most vocal and shameless offender" in the program.

When asked to comment on Trump's effort to revitalize the program, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said the executive orders would speak for themselves.

Traditionally, police stayed out of immigration enforcement and left those duties to federal authorities. But a 1996 federal law opened up the possibility for local agencies to participate in immigration enforcement on the streets and do citizenship checks of people in local jails.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement trained and certified roughly 1,600 officers to carry out these checks from 2006 to 2015.

The Obama administration phased out all the arrest power agreements in 2013, but still let agencies check whether people jailed in their jurisdiction were citizens. If they find that an inmate is in the country illegally, they typically notify federal authorities or hand them over to immigration officers. Today, more than 30 local agencies participate in the jail program.

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Alonzo Pena, a retired deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who once oversaw such agreements with police agencies, said some officers were using the authority in ways that didn't match the agency's enforcement priorities.

He said federal officials need to closely monitor participants to ensure their actions don't veer away from the goal of catching violent offenders and confronting national security threats. "It's hard to regulate to make sure it's followed," Pena said.

In California, three counties nixed the program after state legislation and a federal court ruling in nearby Oregon limited police collaboration with immigration enforcement. Orange County still makes the immigration checks inside its jail and flags inmates for deportation officers, but won't hold anyone on behalf of federal authorities out of legal concerns.

"The window has narrowed to a large extent," said Orange County sheriff's Lt. Mike McHenry.

With Trump in office, the program has new life.

Even before the change in administration, two Republican county sheriffs in Massachusetts said they were starting programs. In Texas, Jackson County sheriff A. J. "Andy" Louderback said two officers will get trained to run immigration jail checks this spring and nearby counties want to follow suit.

Louderback said teaming up with federal agents will cost his agency roughly $3,000  a small price to pay to cover for officers while they're on a four-week training course, especially in an area struggling with human smuggling. Once the program is underway, he said immigration agents will send a daily van to pick up anyone flagged for deportation from jail.

"It just seems like good law enforcement to partner with federal law enforcement in this area," he said. "It takes all of us to do this job."

Experts said Trump's outreach to local law enforcement will create an even bigger split between sanctuary cities that keep police out of immigration enforcement and those eager to help the new president bolster deportations.

"There is no question that in order to do the type of mass deportation that he promised, it will require him conscripting local law enforcement agencies," said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "It is going to balkanize things ... and we're going to see more of the extremes."

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Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California.

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Follow Jacques Billeaud on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud and Amy Taxin at www.twitter.com/ataxin
Jan 28, 2017, 1:59pm ET

Japanese government issues Mitsubishi $4.2 million fine for mileage scandal

The charge comes from the Consumer Affairs Agency.

After nine months of deliberation the Japanese government has issued Mitsubishi Motors a fine for its mileage scandal.

The magic number will be 480 million yen, or approximately US$4.2 million. The punishment comes from the Consumer Affairs Agency, a government group in charge of consumer protection and monitors for good business practices.

The transgression, in which Mitsubishi was discovered to have over-inflated tires on certain models in order to perform better on mileage tests, was categorized as false advertising since the fudged numbers appeared in brochures and on the company's website, reports Reuters.

The article quotes an excerpt from the Consumer Affairs Agency: "Mitsubishi Motors claimed that ... its products offered a performance which was markedly better than in reality to attract customers, inhibiting their ability to make purchasing decisions based on fact."

Reuters also reports that Mitsubishi has acknowledged receipt of the order, and will "respond appropriately after examination."

The scandal resulted in a plummeting of Mitsubishi Motors' stock prices, prompting Nissan to take a controlling stake in the company worth $2.2 billion.
If someone you don't know calls and asks, "Can you hear me?," police are urging folks not to answer the question and immediately hang up the phone.

In this latest phone scam, published reports say scammers get unsuspecting victims to say "Yes," and then record their voices as a way to authorize charges on phone, utility or credit card bills.

CBS News is reporting the scam has affected victims across Virginia and Pennsylvania.

"You say 'yes,' it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something," Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for the Consumer Federation of America, told CBS News. "I know that people think it's impolite to hang up, but it's a good strategy."

Officer Jo Ann Hughes with the Norfolk (Va.) Police Department told WTKR-TV often the scammer uses a familiar area code when calling.

In some cases, police say the scammer may have collected personal information about the victim already to allow them to access credit card or other utilities as a result of a data breach. When the victim disputes the charge, the scammer then uses that audio recording to prove "consent" of the unwanted charges on a credit card or other bill.

Those who are victimized are urged to report the crimes.

CBS News reports victims also can dispute unauthorized credit card charges by contacting the Federal Trade Commission. If the charge hits a phone bill, the Federal Communications Commission regulates phone bill "cramming."

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
* Federal judge blocks deportation of dozens from US

* Two Iraqis say connections to US forces make them targets

* Lawsuit highlights legal obstacles to Trump directive

* Directive banned refugees/travelers from 7 Muslim countries (Adds several state attorneys general plan legal action)

By Mica Rosenberg and David Ingram

NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A federal judge blocked the deportation on Saturday of dozens of travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations, stranded at U.S. airports under an order from President Donald Trump, after a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Iraqis with ties to U.S. security forces.

In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the two men challenged Trump's directive on constitutional grounds. The suit said their connections to U.S. forces made them targets in their home country and that the pair had valid visas to enter the United States.

The lawsuit highlights some of the legal obstacles facing Trump's new administration as it tries to carry out the directive, which the president signed late on Friday to impose a four-month ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries.

In an emergency ruling on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly ordered U.S. authorities to refrain from deporting previously approved refugees as well as "approved holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas and other individuals ... legally authorized to enter the United States" from the countries targeted in Trump's order.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the temporary stay, said it would help about 100 to 200 people who found themselves detained in transit or at U.S. airports after Trump signed the order.

"I am directing the government to stop removal if there is someone right now in danger of being removed," Donnelly said in the court hearing. "No one is to be removed in this class."

U.S. Department of Justice attorney Susan Riley during the hearing said, "This has unfolded with such speed that we haven't had an opportunity to address all the legal issues."

Story continues

Many of the people in a huge crowd that had gathered outside the Brooklyn courthouse broke out into cheers after word of the judge's ruling filtered out.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a statement hours later said only a small fraction of airline passengers arriving in the United States on Saturday were "inconvenienced while enhanced security measures were implemented."

"These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders," the statement said.

The department said Trump's executive order remained in place and that its officers would enforce it.

Separately, a group of state attorneys general were discussing whether to file their own court challenge against Trump's order, officials in three states told Reuters.

"TARGETED BY TERRORISTS"

The plight of one of the men who brought the lawsuit, a former U.S. Army interpreter who was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport, is especially compelling, said David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, who is not involved in the suit.

"Here is a guy who was a translator who worked for the U.S. military for years, who himself was targeted by terrorists," he said. "It is clear that if he is sent back, he is facing a direct threat to his life."

That man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released later on Saturday and told a crowd of reporters at JFK Airport that he did not have ill feelings about his detention.

"America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world," he said.

Darweesh, 53, worked for the U.S. Army and for a U.S. contractor in Iraq from 2003 to 2013 as an interpreter and engineer, the lawsuit said.

The second plaintiff, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, was also detained at JFK Airport but has since been released. He is the husband of an Iraqi woman who worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq. She already lives in Houston, the suit said.

Trump, a Republican, has said his order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

The lawsuit on behalf of the Iraqis challenges Trump's order on several grounds. It says the order violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of due process by taking away their ability to apply for asylum, and violates the guarantee of equal protection by discriminating against them on the basis of their country of origin without sufficient justification.

It also says the order violates procedural requirements of federal rulemaking.

The next hearing in the case was set for Feb. 10.

Supporters of the order say the president has wide authority to limit the entry of foreign nationals from specific countries when it is in the national interest.

"Even if they do and they win, my answer is so what?" said Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies.

"We are talking a few dozen people - that is just a last-ditch effort to get the last few people in. It doesn't really change the policy," he said.

Trump's order does not mention specific religions but Trump said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday he was acting to help Christians in Syria who were "horribly treated."

Comments like that could come back to haunt the president in litigation over his order, said Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration expert at UCLA School of Law.

"There were comments during the campaign that focused very much on religion as the target," Motomura said. "If the record showed that the origins of a particular measure were based on targeting a particular group, that could be challenged in court." (Reporting by David Ingram and Mica Rosenberg; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington and Jonathan Allen and Andrew Chung in New York, Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Franklin Paul, Nick Zieminski, Paul Tait and Susan Fenton)
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent hasn't been sold on President Donald Trump.

Said U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa.: "I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be reinstated." (lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Saturday provided more evidence of that, as the Republican Lehigh Valley congressman criticized the president's executive order blocking certain foreign citizens from entering the United States for at least 90 days.

Trump banned refugees from entering the U.S. for the next four months and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from coming here for at least three months.

In Philadelphia, six Syrian relatives of an Allentown family were detained and sent back to Qatar. By the time a federal judge Saturday night issued an emergency stay that temporarily allowed people with a valid visa to remain in the U.S., the Assali family's relatives had already been turned away back on an overseas flight.

"This is ridiculous," Dent, R-Pa., told The Washington Post. "I guess I understand what his intention is, but unfortunately the order appears to have been rushed through without full consideration. You know, there are many, many nuances of immigration policy that can be life or death for many innocent, vulnerable people around the world."

Dent urged the Trump administration to reverse his executive order.

The Assalis' relatives -- two brothers, their wives and two children -- were not refugees. They are reportedly Christian and had obtained visas and green cards months ago, with plans to obtain American citizenship. They planned to live in Allentown, which has a large Syrian population and has been a landing spot for refugees.

"This family was sent home despite having all their paperwork in order," said Dent, who didn't endorse Trump in last year's presidential election campaign. "So this 90-day ban could imperil the lives of this family and potentially others, and it's unacceptable, and I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be reinstated."

The president's order blocks for at least 90 days citizens from seven nations from entering the U.S.: Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

It also bans refugees worldwide for 120 days. The intent, Trump said, is to weed out "radical Islamic terrorists."

In Allentown, relatives of the family denied entry at Philadelphia International Airport were saddened and stunned.

"I'm beside myself. I'm thinking this is a prank, this is not real," Tawfik Assali told 6abc.com. Her parents and two siblings were among those sent back to Qatar, the TV news station reported.

"I'm sad. I've been waiting for them for three years. I woke up at 6 just to go there," said Tawfik Assali.

Said Dent in a statement: "This order appears to have been rushed through without full consideration to the wide-ranging impacts it will have. As a result, I fear that this order may imperil lives, divide families, and create uncertainty for many American businesses that operate internationally.



Dent and his office said they were working to assist the Assali family.

"This is unacceptable and I urge the administration to halt enforcement of the order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated," he said.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
prison-op-ed.jpg

Pennsylvania will be closing one state prison, SCI Pittsburgh, instead of two, but still has to focus on drug courts, better addiction programs for inmates, and sentencing reform.

(Getty Images file photo)

The announcement of the closing of SCI Pittsburgh -- Pennsylvania's oldest and most expensive-to-run state prison -- comes as a relief to four other towns that had been on the short list for shutdowns. Many counties depend on the presence of a state prison to support jobs and boost sagging economies.

Gov. Tom Wolf's decision to close one prison instead of two, as planned, no doubt reflected the intense lobbying effort by senators and representatives to keep jobs in their districts.

Viewed as the elimination of an antiquated prison, the Pittsburgh closing makes sense. The Department of Corrections says the facility cost $100.5 million a year to run and was facing $15 million in repairs. It will require the relocation of 2,500 inmates overall, although no net reduction in corrections jobs is expected, except for retirements. After the mothballing costs are paid, the state expects to save $81 million a year.

Wolf said budget pressures necessitated the move, noting that the state's $2 billion-a-year corrections tab "is threatening funding for programs that the people of Pennsylvania want: education, senior care and jobs and training programs."

However, the closing falls short on two counts -- it doesn't save enough to really dent the state's recurring structural budget deficits, and doesn't contribute much to prison reform.

The Legislature needs to address the latter by rethinking sentencing standards and altering the way nonviolent drug-dependent violators are handled. Some progress is being made through drug courts, but more needs to be done.

Last year the Legislature settled its budget differences with Wolf by tapping new revenues -- higher tobacco taxes, more legalized gambling, and other tax hikes. Still, the 2017-18 budget is expected to arrive with a $1.7 billion structural deficit. That figure is projected to rise to $3 billion in 2021 if the state keeps patching together stop-gap budgets.

Among the few increases in spending approved last year was something Wolf advocated -- $15 million to begin to address the state's opioid crisis. As part of that program, the state sent $1.5 million to 13 counties, including Northampton and Lehigh, to treat inmates with opioid addictions, to help them avoid relapse after they're paroled.

That's just a beginning. The state's prisons will remain above capacity, even with the closing of Pittsburgh. While crime rates have declined in recent years, the percentage of offenders entering jail with opioid problems has doubled in the last 10 years, from 6 percent to 12 percent.

Finding room in a stressed-out budget to address prison reform and opioid addiction has to be a top priority. Reducing the prison population through sentencing sanity and treatment of drug users -- and looking at other possibilities, such as decriminalizing and eventually legalizing marijuana -- can ease the pressure on prisons, on courts, on police, on families.

Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, working under two administrations, has managed to reverse a 20-year growth rate in incarceration. That's a strategy all states must embrace, with planning, common-sense drug/sentencing laws, and taxpayer investment.
A burglar carrying a screwdriver attacked a Slate Belt man when he went to check on his greenhouse, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Charged is Alan Edward Vest, 46, of Bangor.

Vest at 11:10 a.m. Friday allegedly attacked the 41-year-old victim from Upper Mount Bethlel Township when he entered the greenhouse off Shawnee Drive. State police at Belfast said the victim was knocked to the ground and scuffled with Vest.

Police said Vest ran south toward River Road. A state police aviation unit and a police dog canvassed the area unsuccessfully in search of Vest.

Vest eventually was arrested at 4 p.m. Friday on River Road -- about a half-mile south from Shawnee Drive.

Vest is charged with burglary, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.

Online records indicate he was taken to Northampton County Prison.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The funeral of Kathleen O'Brien last Saturday morning bore testament to her large role in many aspects of Portlaoise life, during the past few decades.

Her role in Tidy Towns, and the Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee was integral, and this is just to touch on some aspects of her many and varied work, interests and causes.

Many tributes have been paid to Kathleen since her death last week.

It's worth reiterating, however, her tireless rate of work and endeavour for her local community and how she gave of her time and energy selflessly and often without any consideration of herself.

Her ongoing battle with illness made this all the more remarkable.

In his sermon at the Funeral Mass on Saturday, Fr Paddy Byrne implored the public to continue the campaign for retention of services at Portlaoise Hospital in memory of her.

He noted her determination and steadfastness in going through with a public meeting on the hospital last summer, when many doubted it would be a success, and counselled against it.

The type of community activism as typified by Kathleen OBrien is something that every community should acknowledge.

We all know, and have known people like this, anchors and drivers of their own areas, who give of their time voluntarily and are, invariably, always generous with it.

They are the unsung heroes of towns and villages across the county and country, and many organisation and groups depend on them.

Many never seek any form of recognition for this, nor do they wish it.

They are quite happy to labour away in their own places, for the betterment of all.

There is a sense that this type of activism is disappearing and that it may be lost altogether with the passing of a generation.

In an age when communicaiton is often conducted at a remove from personal contact there is a risk of this.

It would be a shame if this were to happen.

The spirit of volunteerism is something that should always be cultivated and harnessed.

We all live in communities and the importance of working together should always be a priority.
The Leitrim Observer spoke a few auctioneers from around the county to get their views on the current and expected housing situation in Leitrim.

Current housing situation

Gordon Hughes Estate Agent in Ballinamore outlined that he is experiencing a record low in the supply of houses for sale or rent in the county.

He attributes the low housing stock due to a lack of new building and an influx of UK and East coast buyers.

He said there is a large number of holiday homes in the county but there are very little properties lying vacant that are not available to buy or sell.

He noted that Lakeside View in Keshcarrigan which had 20 houses is sold out and there are people waiting on phase three to be finished.

I need more stock he admitted.

All auctioneers said the issue at the moment is that it makes no economic sense to build a house.

Houses are 40 per cent cheaper to buy than to build, Hughes added.



James Spring from REA Peter Donohoe Auctioneers said he disagrees with Leitrim County Councils assessment of the housing stock in Leitrim. He said there are not as many empty houses as believed and those which are empty are not for sale as they have a story behind them - in receivership, bank issues, etc.

He said many empty houses are in limbo and are not available.

Mr Spring said he has many people looking for houses in the Carrigallen Ballinamore area. He said he doesnt know of any new building projects for the year. Mr Spring said while Carrigallen had a lot of houses, there are only a few that are available to be sold.



Joe Brady from REA Brady in Carrick-on-Shannon said at the moment supply is meeting demand for house sales in Carrick but it will not meet it in the future.

Mr Brady said over the last three years the majority of house sales have been from receivers or those under pressure from the banks, when these sales run out there will be a real shortfall.

The situation is similar in North Leitrim especially in Manorhamilton, Kinlough and Dromahair.

According to a source, many vacant houses are lying empty in North Leitrim due to legal issues and are not available to the public.



Rental supply

Mr Spring from REA Peter Donohoe said there are not enough houses for rent.

He said houses that went into receivership, pushed out tenants and doubled up demand. He said houses for rent dont even get to be advertised in the area as they are scooped up as soon as someone leaves.



In one example, Gordon Hughes said they had a house to rent in the region recently.

They held an open day and 30 interested people showed up to see it. Of that number, Mr Hughes said ten to twelve people were hoping to rent and commute from Dublin.

He said the rental market is probably set to get worse. He said people who want to live in Carrick-on-Shannon are pushing further and further out to Keshcarrigan and Ballinamore.



The rental market in Carrick-on-Shannon is tight and this has resulted in price increases in Carrick-on-Shannon.

However, Mr Brady said 500- 550 a month is still low rent compared to other regional towns in the North West.

Mr Brady said the majority of house sales are going to owner occupiers as rent is so cheap it does not make sense for landlords to rent.

Mr Brady went on to explain that tax on rent is very high.

The next 12 months

Mr Brady predicts 2018 will see housing shortages and an increase in prices.

He said while housing in Carrick-on-Shannon does not immediately have a problem, he estimates the area will need one hundred houses from next year on.

There are no building projects on the books for the town but he thinks by the end of this year planning applications will be submitted.



REA Peter Donohoe sees price increases and a major drop in stock over the next twelve months.



Gordon Hughes said the problem is going to get worse. He said many derelict houses are not being released for sale and the rental issue could turn into a crisis.

Renovation grants

The Government's plan to introduce renovation grants for townhouses in rural towns and village was met with a mixed reaction by local auctioneers.

James Spring and Gordon Hughes both said it was a great idea, but Joe Brady called the project weak.

It was recognised by all the auctioneers that young people do not traditionally buy townhouses as family homes and a major incentive is needed to rejuvenate the main streets of Leitrim's towns.



Joe Brady said the initiative as it currently stands is not aggressive enough. He said there needs to be more incentives to do up a house on Mohills Main Street.

Mr Brady said he is worried that local towns are falling into ruin, as small businesses are few and renovating townhouses is expensive.

Advice to buyers

Buy now was the advice across the board from local auctioneers.

Joe Brady revealed, every month you delay will cost you one per cent.

He said a rough house costing 80,000 needing a good bit of work could be worth 100,000 next year.



REA Peter Donohoe Estate Agents are advising people looking at buying a house to take the plunge. James Spring believes by the end of this year there will be a drop in the housing stock. He said he does not believe house prices will sky rocket but he believes they must increase.



Gordon Hughes' advice to is to buy this year. He predicts at least an 8% rise in housing prices because of a lack of supply. Likewise in North Leitrim, the housing stock is expected to decrease and house prices should increase.
I have been musing for a while that Tim Farron should boycott the forthcoming state visit by Donald Trump. I was exceptionally proud when Vince Cable as acting leader boycotted the visit of the Saudi King back in 2007.

The Saudi regime has always had an appalling human rights visit, but Trump is taking the US in a dangerous and deeply unpleasant direction and he needs to be told in no uncertain terms that this is not on. From support for torture to his nationalism and isolationism to his latest outrage in banning anyone who just happened to be born in certain places, he is trashing the values the US was founded on.

So Im glad to see that Tim told Skys Sophy Ridge this morning that the state visit invitation should be put on hold while the ban stays in place:

Downing Street has finally distanced itself from President Trumps appalling ban on Muslim people after Theresa May failed to do so. By then the damage to Britains reputation had been done. The British people were waiting for a Love Actually moment, instead they saw our Prime Minister behaving like Trumps poodle. Any visit by President Trump to Britain should be on hold until his disgraceful ban comes to an end. Otherwise Theresa May would be placing the Queen in an impossible position of welcoming a man who is banning British citizens purely on grounds of their faith. Still Boris Johnsons Foreign Office is dithering and has provided no travel advice to British citizens who could be caught up in the ban. When will Theresa Mays Conservative Brexit government stop costing up to unsavoury leaders and get a grip of this mounting crisis?

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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Tim Farron is fast becoming the grown-up in the room in British politics. He speaks for many, across the Remain/Leave divide and is the strongest voice of opposition to Theresa Mays government  and Jeremy Corbyns sorry excuse for an opposition. In fact, we should stop referring to Labour as the opposition while they enable the worst government in my lifetime to wreak havoc on our economy and future prosperity.

Tim has been doing the media rounds this morning. Hes been interviewed by Andrew Marr and Sophy Ridge.

Now is the time for him to be in the form of his life  and he was. He answered the questions clearly and put our point of view very well. It helps when he is actually in the room rather than down the line, even if we miss out on the gorgeous Cumbrian scenery. Here are some of the highlights courtesy of the various Twitter feeds. You can see the whole Marr interview here from around 50 minutes in and you can read the transcript of the Sophy Ridge interview here on the Sky media website.

"It's not insulting to stand up to somebody" behaving in "appalling" way  Lib Dem leader @timfarron https://t.co/dAJpUslgZV #Marr pic.twitter.com/m7yMV8mdFz  BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 29, 2017

"PM assumes 52% meant what @Nigel_Farage means, which is a massive insult to leave voters" says @timfarron #marr pic.twitter.com/3tXFHIQrY2  The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) January 29, 2017

"Don't go over there and just be supine and hold his hand" @timfarron says PM should be a good friend to US and "tell it how it is" #marr pic.twitter.com/Vho4TONUjN  The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) January 29, 2017

.@TimFarron says that the offer of a state visit to the UK to @POTUS should be withdrawn #Ridge https://t.co/guqPfN9gNu  SophyRidge On Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) January 29, 2017

Lib Dem leader @TimFarron says Theresa May's visit to Washington "betrayed the desperation she now finds herself in" https://t.co/KgI5gOxklM  SophyRidge On Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) January 29, 2017

His argument for a referendum on the deal is very clear and cogent.

Well I would say that democracy also does most definitely mean that you keep going, if you lose you keep fighting for what you believe in but Im going to be really pedantic and pull you up. Its not a second referendum, the referendum that we had in June gives the government a mandate to go and negotiate departure from the European Union, what Id argue is that at the end a deal will be arrived at by Theresa May and it is simply a question as to who signs it off, who gives the final stamp of approval  is it Theresa May herself, is it the government, is it parliament or is it the British people? And if you believe like us that it should be the British people then the only way to end this in a democratic way and to achieve closure is to allow there to be a referendum on the terms of the deal at the end. SR: You could argue that there were a lot of people in Richmond Park who didnt like the result of that by-election that the Lib Dems won, are they going to get another vote on that? TIM FARRON: Yes, its called democracy, theres a general election in three or four years time so yes, of course they are and the idea that you somehow go away and cower under a rock and have to pretend you dont think what you think just because you lost an election is a nonsense, is an affront to anybody who supports democracy but this is a specific issue. We are very clear that the referendum that narrowly gave a majority for leave in June absolutely gives Theresa May a mandate to go and negotiate departure from the European Union but what it doesnt do is give her a mandate to make the extreme choice that she has done. She seems to have assumed that the 52% of people who voted leave, many of whom I know, some of whom Im related to and who Ive got an awful lot of time for, she assumes that those 52% of people all agreed with Nigel Farage. That is an insult to the massive majority of those people, it is the theft of democracy.

He went on to highlight the confusing statements made by the Leave campaign on the single market. It wasnt so clear cut as some media make out. I am reading Tim Shipmans book on the referendum campaign and he highlights that it was a deliberate strategy by leave to obfuscate.

All in all, a very good mornings work by Tim.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
(Rewrites, adds Hastings, Cook, Kalanick comments)

By Joseph Menn and Kristina Cooke

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, hit back on Saturday at President Donald Trump's sudden executive order on immigration, with some leaders calling it immoral and un-American.

Trump's order temporarily bars citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States even if they hold valid visas or permanent residence permits, a move that caught many companies off-guard.

Netflix Inc Chief Executive Reed Hastings called it "a sad week" and added: "It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook sent a letter to employees saying Trump's order was "not a policy we support" and promised to help affected employees.

"We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company," Cook added.

Aaron Levie, the outspoken founder and CEO of online storage company Box Inc, said: "The executive order on immigration is immoral and antithetical to our values."

STRANDED

Friday's order could be a major headache for tech companies, potentially leaving employees stranded overseas and unable to return to the United States.

Alphabet Inc's Google urgently called back employees from overseas and told ones who might be affected by the ban not to leave the United States.

CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to staff that more than 100 Google employees were affected by the order, according to a Google executive.

One Google employee of Iranian nationality with legal U.S. residency made it back to the United States just hours before the order took effect, the executive said.

"We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," Google said in a statement.

Story continues

Microsoft Corp President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said in a company-wide email posted on LinkedIn that 76 company employees were citizens of the seven countries in question and held U.S. work visas, and thus were directly affected by the order.

He said the company had not determined how many people with green cards, or permanent residence status, might be affected.

"As a company, Microsoft believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system," Smith said in the email. "We also believe in broader immigration opportunities, like the protections for talented and law-abiding young people under the Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, often called "Dreamers."

Smith also said: "We believe in the importance of protecting legitimate and law-abiding refugees whose very lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings."

Uber Technologies Inc CEO Travis Kalanick, who has faced criticism from some employees for participating in President Trump's business advisory council, said in a statement on Saturday that the company would compensate drivers from the seven countries who might not be able to return to the United States for three months or more. He said the company knew of about a dozen employees who would be affected.

"This ban will impact many innocent people - an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trump's first business advisory group meeting," Kalanick said.

Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Friday that was "concerned" about the order and voiced support for immigrants.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn, Kristina Cook and Julia Love; Writing by Jonathan Weber; Editing by Alan Crosby and Bill Rigby)
THE speeches could barely be heard over the chitter-chatter of excited children at the launch of the RDS Primary Science Fair in Mary Immaculate College.

Mayor of Limerick City and County Council, Cllr Kieran OHanlon, joked that the mayor doesnt like to be overshadowed by anybody when trying to hush the crowd, but nevertheless, mini scientists carried on chirpily prepping and preening their stalls ahead of the biggest science fair in the region.

Nobody was too annoyed, mind you. Around 3,000 primary school children had been working on their projects since as far back as September ahead of their Limerick showing, first employing trial and error and finally fine-tuning their research.

This is actually very simple for a project that saves lives, Julianne OConnor from Killoughteen NS, in Newcastle West, explained.

Their homemade handheld fire extinguishers, a joint effort between the schools fifth and sixth classes and their teachers, are made using products you would easily find in the kitchen.

We all know that vinegar is an acid, and we all know that baking soda is a base, and bases and acids do not mix. It causes a chemical reaction,said fifth class girls Julianne, Lucy Hennessy, Aisling Sexton and Kate Foley.

The trials to find the optimum mixture of the two ingredients made for some explosive results, and the pupils learned how to take safety precautions when dealing with chemicals.

Nevertheless, the youngsters were provided with some science safety gear by nearby Desmond College.

The ingredients are actually very natural, so they wont do any harm. Its very like the volcano experiment, but it could save lives, the girls explained in an enthusiasm that is itself bubbling over.

Did they actually get to test it on a fire?

We used candles! they exclaimed.

A fire needs oxygen, so the carbon dioxide that comes out quenches it like a blanket. The reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda creates carbon dioxide. You have to make sure that no oxygen gets into the bottle!

A stroll across the hall, and Garrydoolis NS, Pallasgreen, are presenting their findings.

How can we attract more wildlife into our school environment? the class asked, and Caoimhe Butler, Grace Leaden, Claire Wolfe and Lillian Houlihan explain their novel approach.

The Bug Hotel, a structure made out of wooden pallets and furnished with leaves and grass, made a comfortable dwelling for critters.

So comfortable, in fact, that the pupils observed a huge increase in the numbers of woodlice and midges. They also noticed higher numbers of centipedes, ladybirds, butterflies, beetles, bees, ants, spiders and slugs.

Enough to make anyone squirm, but these nature-conscious students were delighted to see the creepy crawly wildlife thriving in their hotel. Handmade bird feeders also led to more birds stopping by.

Hearing the students of 5th and 6th class speaking about biodiversity convinces me that science in primary schools has come a long way, even in the last decade.

Students in 6th class at St Brigids NS, Singland, used themselves as guinea pigs in an experiment to see if breakfast is really necessary.

Weve been gathering the information since September  we did a fitness test after having and skipping breakfast, explained Emma Normoyle, Amie OBrien and Darragh Roche.

The majority of us did better with breakfast than without. It improved both physical and logical performance, they found.

The Singland students also tested the various breakfast cereals to determine which were healthiest, and they designed a food pyramid detailing the best and worst foods to have in the morning.

In general, they found that the off-brand cereals contained more fibre and were generally slightly healthier than the big brand names.

At the start, 89 percent of the class ate breakfast, and by the end 100 percent of the class were eating breakfast every day, the pupils said.

Meanwhile, 6th class at Our Lady of Lourdes NS in Rosbrien were studying the effects of exercise on memory.

Princess Daniel and Dylan Aherne instructed me to carry out a memory test on an iPad, and although I passed, their findings suggested that I should hop on the treadmill.

Exercise did improve memory for most people, but there was no change in some people who were already fit, said Princess.

The mayor praised the strong Limerick presence at the fair, which saw more than 120 schools from around the country flock to Mary I over the three-day event.

We cannot predict what the jobs of twenty or thirty years time will be, but we do know that the fundamental skills of scientific thinking will never go out of fashion, added Cllr OHanlon.

And its great to see that everyone can do with while having such fun.
US President's Donald Trump's executive order preventing the immigration of certain nationalities into America extends to Shannon Airport's pre-clearance, the US Embassy has said.

The 90 day ban on travellers and refugees from seven Muslim countries entering the US is in operation worldwide and from both Irish airports.

In a statement regarding President Trump's "Executive Order Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S", the US Embassy said: "The Executive Order suspends visa issuance and entry into the United States of nationals of countries of particular concern (Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen), including dual nationals of these countries

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection has implemented this provision at its Pre-Clearance facilities, including at Dublin and Shannon airports, as well as at Ports of Entry across the United States.

"Nationals of these countries, including dual nationals, who have already scheduled a visa interview at U.S. Embassy Dublin should not attend their appointment as we will not be able to proceed with the visa interview.

"We will announce any additional changes affecting travellers to the United States as soon as that information is available."

The order has been challenged by a court in the US, which has added to the confusion surrounding its implementation.

The Embassy has said that the majority of Irish people "won't be affected".

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone tweeted that she was "deeply concerned that discrimination maybe happening at US immigration in Irish airports and am seeking an urgent review.

"Solidarity with all demanding liberty and equality on the streets, at airports and in the courts of the US," she added.

I am deeply concerned that discrimination maybe happening at US immigration in Irish airports and am seeking an urgent review.  Katherine Zappone (@KZapponeTD) January 29, 2017

Solidarity with all demanding liberty and equality on the streets, at airports and in the courts of the US.  Katherine Zappone (@KZapponeTD) January 29, 2017

The Social Democrats called on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to "speak out in the face of the latest disturbing actions on immigration and refugees by President Trump.

"Shutting the doors to America in such a cruel and arbitrary way is not what is best about the US, which has for generations accepted and supported those fleeing persecution," said Social Democrat co-leaders Roisin Shortall TD and Catherine Murphy TD in a statement.

"The way in which we protect the most vulnerable is an indicator of our core values, of a healthy democracy and of our common humanity. We do not believe that the latest actions by President Trump and his administration are indicators of the core values of most American people, nor of Irish people.

"The fundamentals of democracy and the rule of law are being turned on their heads. All those now being blocked from entering the US were legal immigrants or have been through very strict US and UNHCR procedures before being accepted as refugees to the US.

"The shutdown impacts on us many ways in Ireland not least as we are now home to US immigration and it is on our soil that people are being turned away from their homes and their families."

The US pre-clearance at Shannon - enabling passengers to go through both US Immigration and Customs inspections before departing Ireland - first started in August 2009 and saw Shannon become the first European airport with pre-clearance for the US.

As recently as September, a new security system combining European and US pre-clearance checkpoints was being tested at the airport.
HER uncle, the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, famously sang David Bowies Space Oddity in space, and put images of Ireland on the map with his tweets as Gaeilge.

Now, he has lent his support to a medical collaboration between Limerick and northern Ghana through his niece Kelly, 27, who is from Canada and a student at the graduate entry medical school at the University of Limerick.

The former International Space Station commander has now become a regular visitor to Ireland, and has signed some large prints of his photographs taken from space, which are set to be auctioned at an upcoming musical event in Limerick to raise funds for their medical project in Ghana.

Uncle Chris has been a huge influence on me, and has been incredibly supportive and generous of the projects in Ghana, including this event in Limerick, though he wont be able to attend, she told the Limerick Leader.

He has enabled us to fundraise hundreds of thousands more dollars [for Ghana]. He took tens of thousands of photos from space, and we have picked out some beautiful ones to auction in Limerick, she added.

At the age of 21, Ms Hadfield set up Ghana Medical Health, after travelling to the region with a non-governmental organisation on a global health programme.

She became deeply affected by the death of a young boy called Moses, 12, whom she believes would not have died if basic medical equipment was in place in a district hospital.

There wasnt a single paediatric piece of equipment, and there was this enormous lack of front-line primary care. The staff were effectively handicapped in their response to patients, and there were so many preventable deaths. I became furious [after Moses died]. I knew he wouldnt have died in the most basic facility in Ireland or Canada, and I resolved to create a change, she explained.

Its primary focus was to get basic medical equipment to hospitals in Ghana, which had nothing to empower their staff through adequate basic care, and that moved on to supporting 14 hospitals and over two million people.

Staff attached to the UL Hospitals Group and the University of Limerick will travel to Ghana this June, to provide the further training of local health workers and ultimately reduce maternal and childhood mortality.

Ghana ranks at number 140 of 188 countries listed in the World Bank's Human Development Index; Ireland is ranked sixth, while per capita expenditure on health is 53 annually in Ghana, in Ireland it is 3,853.

Six staff members in Limerick will travel to Ghana, including Ms Hadfield and Professor Des Leddin, who specialises in gastroenterology, and works in Canada and UL.

We are sensitive to the needs of the Irish health system and that the needs at home are vast. Charity does indeed begin at home, but it does not need to stop there. The benefits to the Irish system of engaging abroad are huge, in terms of perspective, skills, experience and learning to adapt, said Prof Leddin.

All their work in Ghana is unpaid and voluntary, with no costs borne by the HSE.

Gig for Ghana will take place at the Strand Hotel on February 9, and its line-up includes Denis Ryan, Denis Allen, Denis Carey, Louise and Norman Morrissey, Manus McGuire, Louise Ryan and Brian McAuliffe. Tickets priced at 25 are available at Steamboat Music (061 311696)
Jan 29, 2017, 12 PM

A German stamp issued in January honors Martin Luthers translation of the Bible in German. In April, Germany will participate in a joint issue with Brazil to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Lithuania issued this stamp Jan. 7 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which started with Martin Luther nailing 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.

By Denise McCarty

Vatican City will be among the postal administrations commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The design for the Vatican stamp hasnt been revealed yet, but the subject is listed on its 2017 stamp program, along with stamps for Christmas, Easter, saints, and popes.

The Reformation began Oct. 31, 1517, when German scholar and monk Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

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This action eventually led not only to the rise of Protestantism but also to the excommunication of Luther from the Catholic Church in 1521.

In the spirit of ecumenism (promoting unity among Christian churches), the Reformation is being celebrated around the world, including the Vatican.

Pope Francis meets artist whose painting inspired a Vatican stamp: A photographer captured the philatelic moment at the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican.



The introduction to the 2013 document From Conflict to Communion prepared by the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity begins, In 2017, Lutheran and Catholic Christians will commemorate together the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. Lutherans and Catholics today enjoy a growth in mutual understanding, cooperation, and respect. They have come to acknowledge that more unites than divides them: above all, common faith in the Triune God and the revelation in Jesus Christ, as well as recognition of the basic truths of the doctrine of justification.

The website for the 500th anniversary echoed this: Of course, the anniversary of the Reformation could not be celebrated without continuing the rapprochement between the Protestant and Catholic Churches. Indeed, it is the first time that both confessions have celebrated the anniversary together. With the Pope having held a service together with Lutherans in October, a penance and reconciliation service will take place in Hildesheim in March.

In addition to Vatican City, other postal administrations will honor the 500th anniversary of the Reformation on stamps. Lithuania apparently was the first, issuing its commemorative stamp Jan. 7.

The 0.39 stamp includes a portrait of Luther in the foreground and the Wittenberg church in the background. The first-day cancel shows the nailing of the theses to the churchs door.

Germany will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation as part of an April 13 joint issue with Brazil.

In the meantime, a 2.60 stamp was issued Jan. 2 honoring Luthers German-language translation of the Bible. The design shows the printed work with Luthers handwritten notations.

The new-issue announcement for this German stamp also mentions the Reformation jubilee.

The aforementioned 500th anniversary website said of Luthers translation of the Bible: Alongside reforms in church, school and society issues, the translation of the Bible is seen as the main work of the German reformer. The printed all-German Bible of 1534 in Wittenberg influenced the German language like no other book and functioned as a stimulus for the translation of the Bible into many other European languages.

In addition to the stamp for the Protestant Reformation, Vatican Citys 2017 program includes stamps honoring the following anniversaries: 1,950th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul, 600th anniversary of the Diocese of Samogitia (a joint issue with Lithuania), 450th birth anniversary of St. Frances de Sales, 350th death anniversaries of Pope Alexander VII and architect Francesco Borromini, and the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute of the Marist School Brothers.

Also to be commemorated on 2017 stamps will be the centenaries of the apparitions at Fatima, Portugal; the birth of Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir; and the death of St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini, patroness of immigrants.

Also on the 2017 program are the 50th anniversaries of the encyclical letter Populorum Progressio by Pope Paul VI, and the death of priest and educator Lorenzo Milani.

Stamps will mark the 2017 pontificate of Pope Francis and his apostolic journeys in 2016. Another issue will celebrate the 90th birthday of Pope Benedict XVI.

Rounding out the Vaticans 2017 stamp program are stamps for Easter, Christmas (a joint issue with Monaco), and the Europa theme of castles.

The Vatican Citys stamp program for 2017 does not include issue dates.

The websites of the three philatelic bureaus can be found at the following links:

Vatican City | Germany | Lithuania
(Adds details, background)

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Republican-majority U.S. Senate Finance Committee will vote on Tuesday on the nomination of Representative Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services, the panel's chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch, said on Sunday.

Price, a Republican, is an orthopedic surgeon who if confirmed would be given the task of carrying out President Donald Trump's promise to gut former President Obama's Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. Price's trading in health company stocks while a lawmaker has been questioned by Democrats, but Price says his actions were legal and ethical.

Price made his name in Washington as an opponent of Obamacare. For years he has proposed legislation to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law, but his proposal has never been voted on in committee.

At a hearing last week before the finance committee, Price minimized the impact he would have on changing the healthcare insurance system if he is confirmed, saying it would be his task to carry out the will of Congress, expressed in legislation. Congress is in the process of working on a repeal of Obamacare and crafting a replacement.

Republicans have generally supported Price's nomination while Democrats have sharply criticized it. At last week's hearing, the top Democrat on the finance committee, Senator Ron Wyden, said that if Price is confirmed, he would "take America back to the dark days when healthcare was for the healthy and the wealthy." (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Susan Fenton and Jeffrey Benkoe)
travis kalanick uber

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, whose ties to Donald Trump have made the company a target of criticism, said on Saturday that he will talk to the US President about the recent immigration order.

Noting that Trump's order suspending immigration to the US from seven countries for 90 days will have "broad implications" on thousands of Uber drivers, Kalanick outlined steps the company would take to help affected drivers financially, including compensating "pro bono" any drivers who can't return home and work for the next three months. Kalanick promised more details of the financial assistance in the coming days.

Kalanick said that about a dozen Uber employees who are legal US residents will be affected if they travel outside the country (he didn't specify if any are currently traveling), a situation that other tech companies like Google are also facing.

And he promised to bring the issue up with Trump directly on Friday, when the Trump business advisory council that Kalanick is part of will meet:

"While every government has their own immigration controls, allowing people from all around the world to come here and make America their home has largely been the U.S.s policy since its founding. That means this ban will impact many innocent peoplean issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trumps first business advisory group meeting."

Kalanick also defended his role on Trump's business council, saying that he believes it's always better to have a "seat at the table" in order to be able to speak up and engage about policies that affect cities around the world and their residents.

Kalanick is among 19 executives including the CEOs of the Walt Disney Co and Pespico that are on the Trump business council. But the Uber CEO's role has become a lightning rod inside the company and outside. Protesters chained themselves to the front door of the company's headquarters earlier this month, and many employees have told Business Insider that they are upset by the companies ties to the Trump administration. As Business Insider reported this week, Uber's CTO even sent an internal email blasting the President (though that email was in response to Trump's victory and not related to Kalanick's role on the business advisory group).

Story continues

Here is Kalanick's full email to employees, which he reposted on his Facebook page on Saturday:

This afternoon I sent the email below to Uber employees:

Team,

Yesterday President Trump signed an executive order suspending entry of citizens from seven countriesIran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemento the United States for at least the next 90 days.

Our People Ops team has already reached out to the dozen or so employees who we know are affected: for example, those who live and work in the U.S., are legal residents but not naturalized citizens will not be able to get back into the country if they are traveling outside of the U.S. now or anytime in the next 90 days. Anyone who believes that this order could impact them should contact immigration@uber.com immediately.

This order has far broader implications as it also affects thousands of drivers who use Uber and come from the listed countries, many of whom take long breaks to go back home to see their extended family. These drivers currently outside of the U.S. will not be able to get back into the country for 90 days. That means they will not be able to earn a living and support their familiesand of course they will be separated from their loved ones during that time.

We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table. We will have more details on this in the coming days.

While every government has their own immigration controls, allowing people from all around the world to come here and make America their home has largely been the U.S.s policy since its founding. That means this ban will impact many innocent peoplean issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trumps first business advisory group meeting.

Ever since Ubers founding weve had to work with governments and politicians of all political persuasions across hundreds of cities and dozens of countries. Though we share common ground with many of them, we have had areas of disagreement with each of them. In some cases weve had to stand and fight to make progress, other times weve been able to effect change from within through persuasion and argument.

But whatever the city or countryfrom the U.S. and Mexico to China and Malaysiaweve taken the view that in order to serve cities you need to give their citizens a voice, a seat at the table. We partner around the world optimistically in the belief that by speaking up and engaging we can make a difference. Our experience is that not doing so shortchanges cities and the people who live in them. This is why I agreed in early December to join President Trumps economic advisory group along with Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla), Mary Barra (Chairwoman/CEO of General Motors), Indra Nooyi (Chairwoman/CEO of Pepsi), Ginni Rometty (Chairwoman/CEO of IBM), Bob Iger (Chairman/CEO of Disney), Jack Welch (former Chairman of GE) and a dozen other business leaders.

I understand that many people internally and externally may not agree with that decision, and thats OK. It's the magic of living in America that people are free to disagree. But whatever your view please know that Ive always believed in principled confrontation and just change; and have never shied away (maybe to my detriment) from fighting for whats right.

Thanks,

Travis Kalanick

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In recent weeks water levels of the Rio Grande have risen to well above normal height. Increased water volume strengthens the river current and puts anyone attempting to illegally cross in jeopardy.

At about 9 a.m. Wednesday, U.S. Border Patrol agents from Eagle Pass rescued seven children and one mother, all undocumented immigrants, who were stranded in the river.

Crossing into the United States has always been hazardous, stated Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak in response to the incident. With the river level being dangerously high, I have directed agents at the Del Rio Sector to remain vigilant and prioritize safety for all people in close proximity to the Rio Grande.

Shortly before the rescue, Eagle Pass agents had apprehended one undocumented immigrant on a ranch north of the city. He indicated that there were seven other people stuck on an island, where he had crossed, who were screaming for help. Eagle Pass ground agents, Border Patrol marine units, and Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue responded and located the stranded individuals. Unable to navigate the high water, the immigrants were pulled from the river and transported by Border Patrol boat to dry land.

In total, eight people were saved from the river; six unaccompanied children  ages 13 to 16  and a 24-year-old mother with her 1-year-old daughter. All were from Central American countries and were abandoned by their smuggler once they had reached the water. All were taken to the Eagle Pass South Station for processing, per CBP guidelines.

Over the last two weeks, multiple rescues and emergencies related to the abnormally high river level have occurred. On Jan. 23, a Honduran man apprehended in Eagle Pass reported that his 16-year-old son had been lost in the river while crossing from the Mexican side. Despite an exhaustive search, the child has yet to be located.

On Jan. 12, a stranded 11-year-old girl from Honduras was rescued by Eagle Pass marine units. On Jan. 24, a human smuggler was also pulled from the water after a failed attempt to swim back to the Mexican side.

Data from the International Boundary and Water Commission indicates that the current river volume may be nine times its normal. Measured in the rate of water that is released from the Lake Amistad Dam in Del Rio, the water is currently flowing at 220 cubic meters per second. The average output for 2016 was 23 cubic meters per second. The rate of water release is relative to local weather expectancy, reserve amounts, as well as electricity demand and increased flow rates are common in this time of year.

I encourage everyone to spread the word about the dangers of crossing the Rio Grande River, (A)CPA Hudak continued. Del Rio Sector will continue to steadfastly guard our borders at all times and work to prevent any senseless loss of life.
Purported image of the aftermath of the US raid in Al Baydah, Yemen. Released by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

An American soldier was killed and three more were injured during a raid in central Yemen that killed a senior Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader and 13 other fighters. A number of civilians may have also been killed or wounded in the fighting.

Details of the raid are still emerging. According to Reuters, US special operations forces targeted the home of senior AQAP leader Abdulrauf al Dhahab in the remote district of Yakla. The district is in the central province of Al Baydah, a focal point of US military operations over the past month. Officials told the wire service that warplanes struck Abdulraufs home, then US troops descended from helicopters and clashed with local fighters. American helicopters destroyed other homes as the fighting intensified and the troops withdrew.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the raid against an al Qaeda headquarters and said that 14 AQAP fighters and one US soldier were killed during the raid. Three more troops were wounded in the fighting, and another soldier was injured as a helicopter had to make a hard landing.

The reason for the helicopter crash was not disclosed. CENTCOM said that the aircraft was intentionally destroyed in place because it could not fly. AQAP claimed that the mujahideen shot down an American Apache, according to a statement obtained by the SITE Intelligence Group.

During the raid on Adbulraufs home, according to CENTCOM, American forces seized information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.

AQAP has vacillated on its reports of civilian casualties. The group first claimed: Only women and children were killed in the raid together with some tribal leaders who have no connections to Al-Qaedah. Then AQAP confirmed that Abdulrauf was killed in the raid and described him as a martyr and holy warrior, Reuters reported. Yemeni officials claimed civilians, including 10 women and three children, were among 30 people killed.

According to jihadi social media sites, the eight year-old daughter of Anwar al Awlaki, a radical cleric who was killed by the US in 2011, was among those killed. Jihadis affiliated with AQAP released a graphic photo set purportedly showing the bodies of multiple children and other civilians killed during the operation.

The raid in central Yemen is the first of its kind by US forces since 2014, when US special operations soldiers attempted to free hostages held by the terror group.

The US has stepped up its targeting of AQAP in Al Baydah province, which has become a hub for AQAP. All five American strikes that have been reported against AQAP in Yemen this year have taken place in the province. Seven of the last nine strikes reported since the end of Nov. 2016 have occurred in Al Baydah. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002  2017.]

Abdulrauf al Dhahabs family members have been key players in AQAP

Abdulrauf has been on the radar of US intelligence in the past. The US has targeted Abdulrauf, whose family has held key positions within AQAP, at least one time in the past five years. On Sept. 9, 2012, a US drone targeted him as he was traveling in a car near the town of Rada in Al Baydah. He survived the strike. [See Threat Matrix report, US drones targeted local AQAP leader in Yemen.]

Abdulraufs brothers  Tariq, Kaid, and Nabil  have all held key leadership positions within AQAP. The Dhahabs were brothers-in-law of Anwar al Awlaki, the US citizen who served as a senior al Qaeda operational commander and ideologue.

Tariq seized control of Rada in Jan. 2012. He released a videotape in which he swore allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri and al Qaeda, saying the Islamic Caliphate is coming. His fighters flew the terror groups banner over the towns citadel. In Feb. 2012, Tariq abdicated control of Rada to local tribal leaders, including his brother Hazam, after they threatened to launch an offensive to retake the town. Later that month, Hazam killed Tariq. Tariqs followers then retaliated and killed Hazam.

After Tariqs death, Kaid and Nabil took control of AQAPs operations in Al Baydah province. They were targeted by a US drone strike on May 28, 2012, but survived.

Kaid served as AQAPs emir for Al Baydah after the death of Tariq and established a training camp for the terror group. The US killed Kaid in a drone strike in Aug. 2013 in Al Baydah.

The US killed Nabil, who became the emir for Al Baydah after Kaids death, in a Nov. 2014 drone strike. The bombing also killed Shawki Ali Ahmed al Badani, an AQAP leader who was involved in the 2013 plot that forced the US to close more than one dozen diplomatic facilities across the world [See FDDs Long War Journal report, Wanted AQAP leader involved in embassies plot, provincial emir killed in US drone strike.]

The US military has justified strikes and raids against AQAP by stating that the group remains a significant threat to America and its allies. AQAP has plotted multiple attacks against the US, including sophisticated attempts to blow up airliners.

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.
Lifestyle / Gastronomy

Jan 29, 2017 | By AFP Relaxnews

Visiting Paris, London, Amsterdam and Edinburgh this year? Make a stop at these newly-opened restaurants and bars in Europe that specialises in crab, sausages, Westerosi (read: Game of Thrones) drinks, peanut butter recipes and avocado dishes:

Paris, France: Crabe Royal

The Kaspia group, which renovated chic Parisian haunts Caviar Kaspia and La Maison de la Truffe, starts 2017 on a saltier note with a restaurant entirely dedicated to king crab. Located in the French capitals Place de la Madeleine, the eatery celebrates the flavors of this king-sized crustacean, which can measure up to two meters across. Rather than the Norwegian species, it is the red king crab (also known as the Kamchatka king crab), fished off the coast of Alaska, that inspires the menu. Echoing the current trend for lobster hot dogs  now also embracing octopus  the giant sea creature will be served in a burger bun, wrapped in a spring roll or accompanied by noodles. Crab fans with more classic tastes can enjoy the legs grilled, caramelized or served in a gratin.

19, Place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris, France.

Paris, France: Saucette

Sausages such as Frances tripe-based andouillette and other specialties are back in vogue in the French capital. A new restaurant, opened at the beginning of January, hopes to bring a chic upmarket vibe to meaty treats in a menu where sausages take center stage. Saucette has sourced quality fare directly from regional producers to serve up a selection of proper sausages, with evocative names such as the Louboudin, a black pudding (boudin noir) sausage from Mortagne au Perche, and Socis Reding, a marinated beef and sesame seed concoction. Seasonal dishes can be enjoyed at the restaurant or to take away.

30 rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris, France.

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Blood and Wine Bar

In Scotland, the latest tribute to the hit TV series Game of Thrones takes the form of a bar where customers can sample wines, of course, or cocktails with evocative names such as Myrish Fire Wine. Everything here is reminiscent of Westeros, the world in which the historical fantasy series is set. The bar has the look of a tavern, adorned with shields, swords and the skins of various beasts. Fans may be disappointed to hear that this is only a temporary pop-up, open every Wednesday and Thursday in January and February. The team behind the project previously opened a Breaking Bad pop-up and could strike again with Harry Potter or The Walking Dead theme bars. Watch this space

26B Dublin Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

London, England, UK: Pip&Nut Toast Bar

Peanut butter brand Pip&Nut has opened an eatery dedicated to its star spread in a famous London department store. The pop-up, located in the Selfridges Foodhall, serves grilled toast-based concoctions featuring nut spreads. Open daily from 7:30am to 12:30pm until February 12, the bar serves recipes featured in the brands recent cookbook, such as toast with grated apple, peanut butter and maple syrup.

Selfridges Foodhall, 400 Oxford Street, Marylebone, London, UK

Amsterdam, Netherlands: The Avocado Show

Whether fried, in a burger or smashed, avocado will be served in all kinds of creative ways at this eagerly awaited bar, set to open in Amsterdam this February. Guacamole will obviously be on the menu, and the superfood will also be whizzed up into smoothies. Fans of the fruit can enjoy avocado-based delights from dawn to dusk, as the bar will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner until midnight.

Daniel Stalpertstraat 61, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Islamabad: Pakistani police said that the parents of the slain social media celebrity, Qandeel Baloch, changed their testimony to protect one of their sons in exchange for a bribe.

Baloch was strangled to death at her home in Multan and is a suspected case of honour killing. Her parents had testified against two of her brothers, but now they say that their eldest son, Aslam Shaheen, was not involved in the murder.

Baloch shot to fame by posting provocative selfies and videos in social media, and she had said in Facebook that she wanted to change the typical orthodox mindset of the Pakistani people. A staunch feminist, she reportedly turned to modeling after escaping an unhappy teen marriage and was said to support her family, including financially, more than her own brothers.
Le Pen, France - Sometimes Its Better To Be Lucky Than Good, Populist Edition

In 2015 there was no way the UK would vote to leave the European Union, so Prime Minister David Cameron promised to call a Brexit referendum as a cost-free sop to his partys right wing in the upcoming election. The Conservatives won big, and Cameron kept his promise to run the meaningless referendum. But against all odds and contrary to nearly every election-day poll, Brexit won, flushing Cameron out of politics, pulling the UK out of the EU, and handing a huge victory to a populist coalition led by the UK Independence Parys Nigel Farage.

In 2016 comedians and mainstream Democrats encouraged Donald Trump to run for president, convinced he would generate lots of good jokes and possibly damage the field of legitimate Republican presidential candidates. He did both, but to a far greater extent than his early boosters anticipated, placing the worlds most important government in the hands of a brand-new populist movement.

Also in 2016, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi convinced the legislature to shift some of its powers to the executive branch. But because he wanted a popular mandate for what might otherwise be perceived as executive overreach, Renzi called a referendum to ratify the changes and promised to quit if it failed. The referendum went down in flames, Renzi did indeed quit, and the populist Five Star Movement now has a real shot at taking power within the year.

These three events all have one thing in common: Catastrophically-overconfident establishments making (in retrospect) suicidal mistakes which opened the door for populist movements that would not otherwise have taken over the respective countries  at least not yet. Their self-inflicted wounds have changed the world.

Now we come to Frances Marine Le Pen, the anti-euro, anti-EU leader of the far-right National Front party. Shes popular, polling first among all presidential candidates heading into upcoming elections. But shes been given no chance of actually winning the run-off that pits the top two candidates against each other in May. The expectation was that the entire rest of the right-left spectrum would cooperate to elect a mainstream candidate.

That candidate was expected to be Francois Fillon, a Thatcherite conservative who would impose a little free market vigor on the sclerotic French economy without otherwise upsetting the mainstream internationalist applecart.

Then this happened:

Francois Fillon faces fresh allegations over misuse of public funds (Guardian)  The rightwing French presidential candidate Francois Fillon is facing fresh questions over alleged misuse of public funds, in the wake of claims that his wife was paid 500,000 over eight years for a fake job as a parliamentary assistant. The French investigative website Mediapart and the Journal du Dimanche claimed that between 2005 and 2007 Fillon had pocketed money from a kitty of funds earmarked for paying assistants in the French senate. Mediapart claimed he had siphoned off about 25,000 (21,000) from funds earmarked for assistants in the French upper house. Last week, state financial prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into possible misuse of public funds to determine whether Fillons wife, Penelope, was paid a very generous salary from public funds for a job she allegedly didnt carry out. Prosecutors are also investigating whether a high salary paid to her from a magazine owned by a billionaire friend of Fillon amounted to misuse of company assets. The issue is potentially so damaging because Fillons austerity plan for France hangs on his own carefully crafted reputation for righteousness. It will be much harder for Fillon to convince a cash-strapped electorate of his controversial plans to slash 500,000 public-sector jobs and make state workers put in more hours for less pay if questions persist about his familys privileged access to jobs paid for by their taxes.

Now the French election is up for grabs, with the real possibility of a runoff between Le Pen and a leftist who, well, here you go:

Meet the robot-taxing, marijuana-legalizing, Jeremy Corbyn of the French left (Politico)  French left-wingers are fed up with being in power. That appeared to be the message that 600,000 of them were sending Sunday when they made a little known former education minister the favorite to win the lefts presidential nomination. Benoit Hamon, who spent the past two years as a Socialist backbencher fighting his own government, has little to no chance of winning the presidency in May. Then again, neither does the runner-up in Sundays vote, former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, according to the latest Ipsos poll. Valls campaigned on a scrupulously realistic, some would say boring, platform of incremental change, always touting the possibility of a left-wing victory in May. By contrast, Hamon never suggested victory and drew accusations that he was deliberately campaigning not to win by pitching far-out ideas like taxing robots, legalizing marijuana and paying all French people a 750 living wage.

The upshot: Le Pen suddenly has a serious chance of running France in 2017 and beyond. The prospect of a Trump/Putin/Le Pen/Farage axis remaking the world is, um, intriguing. And it couldnt have happened without the Establishments wholehearted if unwitting cooperation.

By John Rubino

dollarcollapse.com

Copyright 2017  John Rubino - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Are Green Card Holders Safe From Trumps Muslim Immigration Ban?

His anti-Muslim order caused a firestorm of outrage nationwide, from relatives of affected individuals, activists, human rights groups, as well as state and local officials.



Appearing on NBCs Meet the Press, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Trumps order doesnt include green card holders going forward, then reversed himself, saying of course it does.

If youre traveling back and forth, youre going to be subjected to further screening. I would suspect that if youre an American citizen traveling back and forth to Libya, youre likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport.





He suggested Trumps order could include other predominantly Muslim countries besides ones so far designated - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



Asked why a grace period wasnt included in his order, Priebus responded dismissively, saying (i)f you talk to people at customs and border patrol, theyll say youve got to rip off the band aid and move forward.



(I)t wasn't chaos, he claimed, adding (p)erhaps some of these people should be detained further, and if they are folks who shouldnt be in this country, theyre going to be detained. So apologies for nothing here.



We were working with the agencies for a long time. This was not an executive order that was simply signed from the White House and suddenly transferred the the Department of Homeland Security.



They knew well what was going on, and they conducted themselves perfectly pursuant to the order.



A separate article explained Trumps order violates international and constitutional law. The Supreme Court may have final say. Predicting how it might rule is a mugs game, especially if the current uproar continues and numerous law suits follow.



Trumps order sparked protests at numerous airports nationwide - including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Portland, OR, Seattle, Washington, DC, Newark, Denver, and Atlanta.



On Saturday, his senior advisor Kellyanne Conway tweeted (g)et used to it. @POTUS is a man of action and impact.



Promises made, promises kept. Shock to the system. And hes just getting started.



On Fox News, she said I dont think Washington is accustomed to somebody who's just been a brilliant businessman, whos accustomed to delivering and producing results, whos accountable to, in this case, the people.



Some, by no means all, she didnt say, or explain Muslims are Americas enemy of choice, targeted for political expediency, not for any threat they pose.

By Stephen Lendman

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com

His new book as editor and contributor is titled Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

He lives in Chicago and can be reached in Chicago at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.



Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national topics. All programs are archived for easy listening.

 2017 Copyright Stephen Lendman - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




MARTINSVILLE  The calendar looks a little bit different on the other side of the world. In China, months, days and years are linked to astronomical phenomena, things like new moons or lunar eclipses. The first day of their New Year falls each time on the new moon that comes between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20. This year, it hit on Jan. 28 and a group of students from Shenzhen, China were on hand in Henry County to celebrate.

In an effort to expand its international reach, Carlisle School recently welcomed a group of 12 middle school students from Shenzhen, who will be staying for a few more weeks. While the private institution already hosts international pupils, some who have studied at Carlisle for a few years, the school hopes to open its doors to more overseas learners in the future.

The 12 middle school students have been in the United States for approximately two weeks. Since their arrival on January 15, theyve been bowling, watched the presidential inauguration, visited the Virginia Museum of Natural History and toured the campus of Duke University.

On Friday, the students participated in a special event at Carlisle. Celebrating Chinese New Year one day early, the entire student body got involved.

At 2:30 p.m., the international students, along with stateside learners, carried a red dragon through the halls of the Upper and Middle School. High school and middle school students watched, laughed and cheered as the dragon weaved its way through the facility.

As the large red creature made its way to the gazebo area on campus, firecrackers erupted.

Tina Wang, one of the exchange students, explained the symbolism behind the display.

"Theres a story where the year monster used to eat children. Fireworks scared the year monster," Wang said.

Other international students commented that fireworks are a big part of the Chinese New Year celebration. A social holiday, theres plenty of food to go around.

"Hot Pot is a kind of soup," Wang said. "You heat it, put the soup inside, meats, vegetables, tofu products. You put it in and wait for it to heat, then you eat it."

Wang enjoyed the delicacy with her host family, a family with Carlisle students who welcome exchange students into their home during the school year.

Carlisle junior Anica Basica and Wang have formed a special bond over the past two years  due in part to the fact that they live together. Basicas family hosts Wang during the spring, fall and winter.

While Wang goes home to China in the summer, its apparent she thinks of her "American family" while shes away.

"Whenever she comes back, she always brings us little gifts," Basica said.

One gift that the student cherishes is a Chinese fan.

"She brought back three of the most intricate fans," Basica said.

While Basica said she hasnt mastered Wangs native language, she does attempt to speak Chinese on occasion, mostly by trying to read Chinese words and phrases found inside fortune cookies. The honest attempts often amuse Wang.

"Ive tried to read it and it comes out all wrong," Basica said.

The city the students come from, Shenzhen, is huge. A total of 10.7 million people call it home and in some ways, its similar to Martinsvilles independent city status. Its referred to as a sub-provincial city. That means while technically its one step lower than a province and has to follow the rules laid down by the province, much like Virginia sets policies that Martinsville has to follow. Otherwise, for all economic transactions and laws, its independent.

Celebrating tradition

For the Chinese, the New Year festival is not just a turning of the clock, but a time where they celebrate their ancestors as well. Families gather from around the world for annual reunion dinners, while also taking the time to clean the house they all gather in. The idea is to sweep away any bad luck. Windows and doors during the celebration are decorated with red color paper. Each decoration has some sort of theme, either "good fortune" or "happiness," "wealth" or "longevity." In addition to dances and giving out money, the people also set off firecrackers as a way to celebrate. All total, there are 15 days to the Chinese New Year celebrations, which also involve the giving of small gifts between friends and family members, similar to what we do at Christmas.

There are also specific things that are banned from being given as gifts during this time. That includes clocks, watches or anything else that shows time is running out, as well as scissors, knives or other objects that symbolize cutting. Theyre also asked not to give shoes, sandals or boots. The idea is that footwear shows you want to walk away from a relationship. Finally, its taboo to give any handkerchiefs or towels, as those are more closely associated with funerals.

While Anne Parker Coleman doesnt host any exchange students, she has gotten to know several kids from different countries over the years. She enjoys learning about different countries through people who actually live there.

"From an American perspective, we have no idea about Chinese New Year and cultural holidays," Coleman said.

Experiencing the celebration for the first time, Coleman and Nick Foley enjoyed the festivities.

Leading the dragon, Foley immersed himself in the experience.

"I hadnt really known anything about it until today," Foley said. "Ive learned a lot from them about their culture."
MARTINSVILLE  The Martinsville Police Department recently restructured, putting community-oriented policing and community outreach under what is now the community resources unit, said police Sgt. Ben Peters.

That means instead of the bike patrol having a sergeant and a patrol officer, it now has two sergeants. The group can also call in more police personnel and resources as needed; and bike patrol personnel are doing crime analysis to target resources and personnel in high-crime spots based on service calls, according to Peters.

Peters and Sgt. Lane Clark are the two full-time personnel assigned to the bike patrol.

"We are a resource to the community. If you see us out and have an issue, come up and talk to us," Peters said. "We will try to get the resources you need."

"The best way to reduce crime is to work closely with the community in addressing problems," Peters said.

Peters and Clark typically talk to at least 200 people a day on their bike patrols  in neighborhoods and businesses.

"Without a (police) car barrier, I get a lot more contact with citizens," Peters said. "We want to be approachable."

Clark said one of the bike patrols focuses is talking with uptown business personnel. "The parking issue is one of the biggest issues," Clark said.

Peters said he and Clark also stop by other businesses in the city.

Officers on bikes can go where police cars cant go  such as alleys, back yards, paths and trails in the woods.

Clark said that when the weather warms, the bike patrol will monitor the Dick & Willie trail.

Depending on the weather, a typical day on the bike patrol involves riding a bike 12 to 15 miles, Peters said. However, he stressed the emphasis is not on the distance traveled, but on the people encountered.

"We want to work closely with the community," he said.

The bike patrol also is present at 5Ks and other community events, Peters said.

Offering programs for the public is also part of the work of the community resources unit, including programs for senior citizens, citizen and teen academies, and Coffee With a Cop, among other things, Peters said.

He said Officer Coretha Gravely "does a great job on community outreach."

Besides Peters, Clark and Gravely, other police personnel in the community resources unit include School Resource Officers Shane McPeek and J.C. White, and Animal Control Officer E.C. Stone, according to Peters.

For more information, call Peters directly at 403-5329 or the police department at 403-5300.
TODAY'S WORD is contumely (koh-too-muh-lee). Example: Deeply hurt by the contumely comments directed at her, Charlotte burst into tears and ran out of the room.

FRIDAY'S WORD was autarky (aw-tahr-kee). It means economic independence or self-sufficiency. Example: "Todays technologies make nations, including Iran, porous to outside influences; intellectual autarky is impossible."

Rotary Clubs meet

The Martinsville Rotary Clubs will meet this week. On Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., the Martinsville Rotary will meet at Hugos, 10 E. Church Street. On Thursday at 7:30 a.m., the UpTown Rotary Club will meet at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, 21 Starling Avenue.

TODAY IS: National Puzzle Day, National Corn Chip Day

Jodi Jill loved puzzles. There was just a challenge in finding all of the right pieces and putting them together. Pretty soon, she started making her own and over time, was picked up as a syndicated newspaper puzzle maker. In 2002, she took it a step farther, developing National Puzzle Day as a way to share her love of puzzles with the country.

The second one is a bit bizarre. The Stroller couldnt find any records of who came up with the concept of National Corn Chip Day, only that we can thank Isador J. Filler for creating the food. He had long been a fan of eating a tostada when traveling in Texas. But one day in 1932, he came up with the idea of making them in rectangles and marketing them as a chip. Months later, he patented the concept and the corn chip was born.

Looking for cooks

February brings with it warm winter stews and steaming pots of chili. What winter traditions are you cooking up in the kitchen? Or do you know someone in the neighborhood who has a unique cooking story? Holly would love to hear from you for her Cook of the Week segment by emailing holly.kozelsky@martinsvillebulletin.com or accent@martinsvillebulletin.com.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Its expensive to operate the U.S. military. In fact, if you took our countrys defense budget and compared it to other nations, it takes a few of them to equal what we spend. How many nations does it take to add up to our defense budget? The answer will be in Mondays Stroller.

TRIVIA ANSWER: This is National Chocolate Cake Day. But while theres no record of who came up with that idea, where did the chocolate cake itself come from? When was the first chocolate cake made? For that we head back in time to 1764. That was when Dr. James Baker figured out he could make chocolate by grinding cocoa beans. For the first few decades, however, it was an expensive item to pick up. In 1828, Conrad Van Houten came up with a mechanical process that made it easier to grind the chocolate into powder, meaning it could be used in recipes. Even so, up until 1900, chocolate was mainly used in drinks. Then came Duncan Hines, which released a chocolate cake mix in the years following World War II.
Boston federal court Moakley

John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse

(MassLive file photo)

Two federal judges in Boston have issued a temporary restraining order against President Donald J. Trump's executive order that blocked immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Iran from entering the United States.

Judge Allison Burroughs and Magistrate Judge Judith Dein signed a seven-day restraining order against the President's executive order. The order was signed early Sunday morning.

Any immigrants or refugees with valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas as well as lawful permanent residents cannot be detained or deported by federal authorities, the order states. The judges also ordered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to notify airlines that people on flights coming into Logan International Airport will not be detained or deported because of the Executive Order.

The ACLU of Massachusetts had filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of two teachers at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth who had been detained after reentering the United States Saturday.

Mazdak Pourabdollah Tootkaboni and Arghavan Louhghalam, who are both Muslim green card holders from Iran, landed at Logan International Airport around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and were detained for three hours, according to the ACLU. They are both associate professors at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth and had been out of the country attending an academic conference, the ACLU said.

The ACLU of Massachusetts filed the lawsuit just moments after a federal judge in New York granted a stay of removal on behalf of two Iraqi nationals and others "similarly situated."

"This is a huge victory for justice," said Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We told President Trump we would see him in court if he ordered this unconstitutional ban on Muslims. He tried, and federal courts in Boston and throughout the nation stopped it in its tracks."
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.jpg

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh spoke to reporters after his 2017 State of the City address.

(Gintautas Dumcius/MassLive.com)

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is taking a stand on the front lines in opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

On Twitter Sunday morning, Walsh invited followers to join him at a protest at Copley Square at 1 p.m., planned by The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The protest is in reaction to Trump's executive order blocking immigrants and refugees from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Iran from entering the U.S. Two federal judges in Boston have issued a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the order.

"We'll fight today, and we'll fight tomorrow," Walsh tweeted.

Well fight today, and well fight tomorrow. Join us at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Copley Square. pic.twitter.com/zrH3cd2eXl  Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) January 29, 2017

The demonstration comes one day after CNN published an op-ed piece by Walsh, "Why cities will protect immigrants."

In the op-ed, Walsh talks about his own experience as a child of Irish immigrants and the importance of the immigration population to Boston's economy and culture.

From Walsh's CNN piece:

If we are concerned about economic impacts, we have to recognize how much we depend on immigrants. In Boston, immigrants reflect a significant amount of medical and life science workers; more than one-third of all business owners; and 22% of our university students. Immigrants also contributed $3.5 billion to our city's economy in consumer spending alone.

In reaction to Trump's threat to pull federal funding from sanctuary cities, Walsh said opponents have the U.S. Constitution on their side.

"I will do everything lawful within my power to protect our immigrant neighbors, documented or not. If necessary, I will use City Hall itself to shelter and protect them from persecution," Walsh wrote.
Charlie Baker

En la foto el gobernador de Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, dirigiendo una audiencia el lunes 21 de noviembre de 2016, durante una ceremonia de juramentacion de la justicia Kimberly Budd, del Tribunal Supremo Judicial, en Faneuil Hall, en Boston. (Foto AP / Steven Senne)

(AP | Steven Senne)

Aids for Gov. Charlie Baker told The Boston Globe Saturday that President Donald Trump's ban on immigrants and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries will not make the U.S. safer.

"Instead, Gov. Baker believes the federal government should focus on improving the techniques and systems in place to stop dangerous people from entering the country, regardless of the nation they seek to strike from," Baker spokesman Brendan Moss told the Globe.

Baker is one of the few Republican governors across the U.S. who have vehemently spoken out against the president's executive order, which instituted the ban. Two federal judges in Boston have issued a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the order.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has been on the front lines speaking out against the president's immigration policies. On Twitter Sunday morning, Walsh invited followers to join him at a protest at Copley Square at 1 p.m., planned by The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"We will fight today, and we will fight tomorrow," Walsh tweeted.

Walsh penned an op-ed for CNN Saturday in which he described his own experience as the son of Irish immigrants and the importance -- both culturally and financially -- the the city of Boston and its economy.
HYANNISPORT A large-scale fentanyl sales ring was traced to the Shriver family estate on Atlantic Avenue in Hyannisport, police said. An estate caretaker has been arrested and charged in connection with the drug sales.

Barnstable police said a months-long investigation into the sales of opioids on and near Eugenia Fortes Beach in Hyannisport pointed police to the estate, not far away.

Kadi Kannally, 42, of South Yarmouth was arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws after police said they watched as she and a co-conspirator drive from the Shriver family home to the nearby beach and retrieve materials from the sand.

Investigators said the ring would bring large amounts of fentanyl from New Bedford to the Atlantic Avenue estate, break the loads down into smaller amounts for distribution for sale at nearby beaches and other areas along the south coast of Cape.Cod. Some of the drugs were hidden in the sand of the beach for later retrieval.

A search of a detached apartment on the estate found a small amount of fentanyl, along with packaging equipment and materials.

Kannally was arrested Thursday and arraigned in Barnstable District Court Friday. She was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.

Troy Monteiro, 29, of New Bedford and Trevor Gonsalvas-Rose, also 29, of East Providence, Rhode Island, were also arrested.

Police said the Shriver family has fired Kannally.

The Shriver family became forever linked to the Kennedy family when Sargeant Shriver married President John F. Kennedy's sister, Eunice. Shriver later purchased a home on the Hyannisport shore not far from the Kenney Compound.
Trump Protests Philadelphia

Thousands of demonstrators march in protest of President Donald Trump's visit Thursday Jan. 26, 2017, in Philadelphia. Trump traveled to Philadelphia to speak to House and Senate GOP lawmakers at their annual policy retreat. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)

(Jacqueline Larma)

Thousands are expected to head to Copley Square in Boston Sunday to attend a rally supporting Muslim Americans and immigrants.

The Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders begins at 1 p.m. at the Khalil Gibran plaque in Copley Square. The event is being planned by the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The organization's Facebook page shows 13,000 people are planning on attending the event.

CAIR said the protest was planned in response to President Donald Trump's executive order, which he signed Friday. The order placed a 90-day restriction on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. Syrian refugees were suspended under the order and the admission of refugees into the United States was banned for 120 days.

Since the order was signed, judges in New York and Boston have blocked Trump's order. The ACLU of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit after two University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth associate professors were detained for hours after landing at Logan International Airport Saturday.
CHICOPEE  Two people are facing criminal charges after an early morning incident in which a vehicle collided with a house in Chicopee.

18-year-old Jonathan Mendez, of Chicopee, is believed to have crashed a Honda utility vehicle into a house at 49 Montgomery Street, said Officer Mike Wilk of the Chicopee Police Department.

Mendez was allegedly driving the vehicle at approximately 3:35 a.m. on Saturday morning when it struck the structure, causing minor injuries to one of the house's residents.

Wilk said police believe Mendez and one of the vehicle's passengers--a male who has not been identified--fled the scene of the crash. A third occupant of the vehicle, a juvenile male, was detained near the scene of the incident.

Police arrived at the scene shortly after the crash and conducted a search for the suspects.

A short time later, Mendez and the other male were stopped while walking on McKinstry Avenue, and were determined to be the parties involved in the crash, Wilk said.

Mendez now faces charges of speeding, failure to use care in backing/starting/turning, possession of an open can of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and leaving the scene of a personal injury crash.

The juvenile male has been summonsed to court on a charge of being a minor in possession of a BB gun.

No details have been provided on the third occupant of the vehicle.
Squeezed between two pieces of diamond, hydrogen has been transformed into a metallic form believed to exist inside giant planets like Jupiter, scientists reported on Thursday.

"You can see it becomes a lustrous, shiny material, which is what you expect for a metal," said Isaac F. Silvera, a professor of physics at Harvard.

If some theoretical predictions turn out to be true, the new state of hydrogen could even be a solid metal that is metastable  remaining solid even after the crushing pressure is removed  and a superconductor, able to conduct electricity without resistance, Dr. Silvera said.

By KENNETH CHANG

Full Story: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/solid-metallic-hydrogen-harvard-physicists.html?hpw&rref=science&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-regionion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
After the hearing on House Bill 14, the Jobs in Montana Act, concluded this morning, Governor Steve Bullock issued a strong statement to the legislature to pass an infrastructure bill to build Montana communities and put Montanans to work.

"Building Montanas infrastructure is about the future of Montana, and our water and wastewater systems, public schools, roads, bridges, and impacted communities cannot be ignored for another two weeks, two months, or two years," said Governor Bullock. "Montanans cannot be ignored either, and holding up this bill means holding up thousands of good-paying jobs. Im urging the legislature to pass this bill out of committee and get it to my desk for signature as soon as possible."

Earlier this month, Governor Bullock called on legislators to work across the aisle to pass an infrastructure bill, putting Montana jobs ahead of Montana politics.

Full Story: http://governor.mt.gov/Newsroom/ArtMID/28487/ArticleID/5597
Nearly 65 percent of native-born Montanans with a college degree live outside of Montana. In part, Montanans leave to pursue opportunities and experiences not available in Montana. In part, they leave to find better paying jobs.

The natural question is what, if anything, can (or should) be done to address this? What might be done to create more opportunities for people in Missoula?

BRYCE WARD

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/business/building-missoula-s-entrepreneurial-ecosystem/article_fc38a44b-159b-5d1d-8db5-f5c9f9ff5f57.html

***

Midsize Cities Are Entrepreneurships Real Test http://www.matr.net/article-75400.html
In a welcome respite from our wintry weather, a group of Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra patrons gathered at the Museum of Northern Arizona this past Thursday afternoon for an opportunity to hear an informal talk by the second in the lineup of four candidates for the post of Musical Director for the Orchestra. Maestro Darko Butorac offered a glimpse of his vision and goals if he is selected for the position, as well as an outline of repertoire that he might propose for future seasons.

Butorac is quite familiar with the Flagstaff community and its musical resources, having served as director of NAU Orchestras from 2004 to 2008. Butorac strongly believes in the presentation of symphonic concert music not as simply an event, but as an experience with the potential to be a catalyst for community participation and benefit from that experience. As did the first candidate, Charles Latshaw, auditioned here last October, Butorac has excellent ideas for building on the already substantial strengths of the FSO, and for community involvement and building of audiences for serious concert music.

On Friday evening, Darko Butorac lifted the baton for the downbeat to Beethovens Egmont Overture, and it was immediately apparent that he had already established a strong bond and commanding presence with the large orchestral forces under his direction. The Egmont is a frequently performed warhorse in standard orchestral repertoire, and can sometimes be given a mundane reading. Here, the conductor utilized his imposing physical attributes (he is beyond six feet in height and long in limb) and his energetic yet graceful conducting style did not at all detract from the way he delineated each musical line and phrase, extracting the essence of the dramatic Beethoven work, a descriptive portrayal of individual freedom and yearning for liberty, themes of a novel by his Viennese contemporary Goethe. This was a strong start to what was to be a true experience in making music for what appeared to be a very receptive audience.

Coming to center stage from her customary position in the brass section of the orchestra, trumpeter Cindy Gould offered a brilliant and technically fluent reading of the Trumpet Concerto by Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian. This work is idiomatic in many ways, both in the utilization of Eastern European rhythmic and melodic patterns and in the exploitation of the extremes of trumpet range, complex fingering and tongue techniques, and breath control required by an instrument that is challenging to master. Following the concert, Gould said that it was also a challenge to play this work on a B-flat concert instrument, for which the concerto was written, as she feels more comfortable playing in the higher C and D range of her instrument. Nonetheless, she delivered a masterful and totally controlled performance, and received a well-deserved standing ovation at its conclusion.

Following intermission, the orchestra and its guest conductor turned to the meat of the evenings fare, the monumental Fifth Symphony of Soviet Russian composer Serge Prokofiev, one of the true giants of 20th century music. The Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra has developed and matured remarkably during the past few years in terms of flexibility and capability, and here was an example when it was given the opportunity to show what it can do when offered a work that is not frequently performed due to its complexity and difficulty. Maestro Butorac said that he took somewhat of a risk in programming this work, but was delighted to offer both orchestra and audience an opportunity to tackle this landmark in the history of 20th century music. Again, the conductors performance on the podium brought out the best in each section of the orchestra, from the rapid and scintillating passages for upper strings to the brilliant brass statements and more lyrical interjections by woodwinds, the rich and dark sonority of lower strings, the powerful underscoring by percussion, and finally and most importantly, the captivating and musically satisfying experience of hearing a piece written during one of the darkest times in recent history, which its composer conceived as a symphony on the greatness of the human soul.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 29, 2017

Three of the largest ad-tech companies have sent a warning to employees, investors and the industry about the uncertain future of technology and their respective businesses.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a letter Friday to employees traveling overseas telling them that more than 100 company staffers are affected by a recently signed immigration order by President Donald Trump, a company spokesperson confirmed to Search Marketing Daily on Saturday. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting entry by citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya for 120 days. The order would ban people from these countries from entering the U.S. until the U.S. government determines what information it needs to safely admit visitors.

advertisement advertisement

"We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," a Google spokesperson told Search Marketing Daily via email. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

Microsoft issued a statement last week in a 10K United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing cautioning investors that "changes to U.S. immigration policies that restrain the flow of technical and professional talent may inhibit our ability to adequately staff our research and development efforts."

Ad-tech companies depend on their ability to attract and retain employees with a background in programming and design to further research and development. The U.S. lacks college students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The shrinking future of the STEM workforce in the U.S. began years ago. The number of "U.S. citizens and permanent residents earning graduate degrees in science and engineering fell 5% in 2014 from its peak in 2008," yet during that time the number of students on temporary visas earning the same degrees soared by 3%," according to one report citing survey data collected by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

Also on Friday, Facebook Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg shared his view on immigration in a post, writing that ancestors of his and wife Priscilla came to the United States from Germany, Austria and Poland, as well as China and Vietnam, respectively.

"A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented," he wrote. "They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here."

The U.S. is a nation of immigrants, but some believe governments should require certain types of documentation both to enter and exit the country rather than just walk across the border.
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Psoriasis is a long-term inflammatory condition that results from a problem with the bodys immune system. Skin changes and other symptoms can occur. There are several types of psoriasis, but plaque psoriasis is the most common. The condition involves patches on the skin, which silvery scales cover. The patches, or plaques, can be itchy and painful. The plaques have a well-defined edge and can appear almost anywhere on the body, but they typically affect the scalp, knees, elbows, and lower back. The symptoms tend to come and go, worsening during times of flare and improving or disappearing during times of remission.

Causes and risk factors Share on Pinterest Bangmaha Art/EyeEm/Getty Images Scientists do not know what exactly causes psoriasis, but genetic and immune factors appear to play a role. Genetic factors People with psoriasis may have specific genetic features that predispose them to the disease. Psoriasis can run in families, but not everyone with these genetic features develops psoriasis. The relevant genetic features may increase a persons risk of developing symptoms in certain circumstances, however. An infection, for example, may trigger psoriasis in a person who has a genetic predisposition. Environmental triggers A person can have genetic features that make them susceptible to psoriasis but not develop the condition. Nevertheless, exposure to certain triggers can cause symptoms to appear. Possible triggers include: stress

smoking

injury to the skin

certain medications

infection, such as strep throat Some people also report that changes in the weather, allergies, and dietary factors affect their psoriasis. Some of these circumstances or factors can be triggers for the development of psoriasis and a flare when the condition becomes worse for a time.

Symptoms Plaque psoriasis features pink plaques of skin with well-defined edges. They may be uncomfortable and itchy and may bleed and crack. On black skin, the plaques may be darker in color rather than pink. Heavy white or silvery scales often cover the surface of the plaques. Psoriasis plaques can occur anywhere on the body but are most likely to appear on the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp. Skin plaques are the hallmark symptom of plaque psoriasis, but psoriasis does not only affect the skin. Other symptoms may vary between people, but they can include: pitting of the nails

other nail changes

joint pain Some people may also experience psoriatic arthritis, which involves pain and inflammation in the joints. A flare is when symptoms appear or worsen, and they can last for several weeks or months. Between flares, the symptoms may improve or disappear. This cycle tends to repeat itself. How does psoriasis affect black skin? Find out here. Comorbidities Psoriasis is a multisystem disease that can affect many aspects of a persons life and health. People with plaque and other types of psoriasis are also more likely to experience: other autoimmune disorders, including ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease

heart disease and high blood pressure

features of metabolic disorder, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes

depression Several other health issues also appear to be more common in people with psoriasis than in those without the disease. Experts do not yet know what exactly links many of these conditions with psoriasis. Current guidelines recommend people with psoriasis have regular screening for diabetes, lipid levels, and other health measures that may indicate cardiovascular or other health problems.

Conditions with similar symptoms Doctors sometimes misdiagnose plaque psoriasis because the symptoms may resemble those of other conditions, including: seborrheic dermatitis

pityriasis rosea

Mycosis fungoides (cutaneous T cell lymphoma)

lichen planus

ringworm, also known as tinea

eczema In the case of seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis, there is a disorder known as sebopsoriasis that overlaps with them both. Learn more here about conditions that have similar symptoms to plaque psoriasis.

Diagnosis A doctor can usually diagnose plaque psoriasis by looking at the skin and nails and examining someones medical history. Sometimes, a doctor will use a skin biopsy to confirm a diagnosis. They will take a small sample of skin to examine under a microscope. This procedure can help rule out other conditions.

When to see a doctor Anyone who notices unusual changes in their skin should see a doctor. Individuals with a diagnosis of psoriasis should follow their treatment plan and see their doctor if symptoms persist or worsen, or if treatment results in adverse effects.

Treatment There is currently no cure for plaque psoriasis, but many treatment options are available, depending on the individual and the severity of symptoms. Options include: topical treatments, including ointments, creams, and shampoos to relieve skin symptoms

light therapy to relieve skin symptoms and possibly prevent flares

laser therapy that targets specific skin patches

corticosteroid injections to reduce severe inflammation

systemic therapy

biologic drugs

lifestyle choices Most people with mild symptoms can treat their psoriasis at home with topical treatments. Topical treatments Topical treatments are often the first choice for managing plaque psoriasis. Ingredients in topical treatments include: corticosteroids

topical retinoids

synthetic vitamin D

salicylic acid

emollients Applying creams and ointments that contain one or more of these ingredients can: reduce inflammation

slow skin cell growth

soothe the skin

reduce dryness and cracking

improve itching Various topical treatments are available from a pharmacist or for purchase online, with or without a prescription. It is best to check first with a doctor or pharmacist before choosing a topical treatment, as some may suit an individual better than others. In certain cases, there may not be enough scientific evidence to confirm that they are safe to use or work. Systemic treatments Some oral or injected medications that affect the whole body may help treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Examples of these systemic medications include: cyclosporine

acitretin

methotrexate The impact of a systemic therapy will depend on what it is, but the effects are likely to include reducing inflammation and changing how the immune system works. A doctor will monitor for any adverse effects that may occur. Biologics These drugs affect the immune system and target the underlying cause of psoriasis. A range of biologics is available on prescription. A doctor may prescribe one of these drugs if a person has moderate to severe symptoms of plaque psoriasis. Phototherapy Phototherapy uses natural or artificial light to reduce symptoms. The treatment may include: controlled exposure to sunlight

exposure to UVB light in a light box

PUVA, which combines medication with UVA exposure Laser therapy aims to break up skin patches by targeting skin lesions directly. Learn more here about excimer Xtrac laser therapy for psoriasis.

Lifestyle and natural therapies Skin-care tips that may help include: Taking a short bath or shower every day in warm but not hot water.

Using coal tar or hypoallergenic products as a doctor or pharmacist recommends.

Washing gently with the hands rather than scrubbing with a sponge to avoid irritation.

Moisturizing with a thick hypoallergenic emollient within 5 minutes of bathing. Other lifestyle tips include: avoiding alcohol and tobacco

avoiding stress where possible

getting enough sleep People with psoriasis often have a vitamin D deficiency. While controlled sun exposure may improve symptoms, there is not enough evidence to support the use of vitamin D supplements for psoriasis. A 2018 study noted that there is some evidence that using the following complementary or alternative remedies may help: indigo naturalis

curcumin, present in turmeric

dietary changes

fish oil

meditation

acupuncture People should speak to their doctor first before trying any of these.
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The Mohalla Clinic is a flagship initiative of the Delhi government that aims to provide free primary healthcare to people in their neighbourhoods. As many as 1,000 Mohalla Clinics are to be set up by March 31."Once we build that number, wherever you may be in Delhi, you will have access to a Mohalla Clinic within 10 minutes (distance)."At least 107 Mohalla Clinics have already come up across the capital, in both middle class and urban poor neighbourhoods, where doctors and medicines are available and people enjoy facilities for tests -- all for free.Around two million people have so far availed themselves of the benefits of Mohalla Clinics, the minister said, adding that a sharp increase in the number of clinics will significantly reduce the burden on major hospitals in Delhi.Sisodia also said the Delhi government was committed to dramatically improving the quality of education. He said the number of schoolrooms built so far amounted to constructing some 200 new schools.In addition, 100 new schools would come up in Delhi in the coming years, he said. "It will be a good infrastructure for the next 20 years." Sisodia said some 100 principals of government schools in Delhi which, he said, were undergoing major transformation, had gone to Cambridge for exposure to high-quality education."Another 100 will be sent to Harvard. And teachers will also go to Singapore, Finland and Germany."Source: IANS
The finale of Bigg Boss 10 hasnt even aired yet and rumours are ripe that Manveer Gurjar has already won the show. Doesnt come as a surprise at all, given his popularity on the show and how evident it has been throughout that he really was the most loved man on Bigg Boss 10. From a nobody to the most loved man on Bigg Boss 10, Maveer Gurjar surely has come a long way. Here are 6 interesting facts you need to know about him!

1. Manveer Gurjar still lives with a joint family of 49 members!

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2. For what its done for the Gurjar community, Manveer Gurjar has pledged his alliance to Aam Aadmi Party.

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3. Proud of his roots, Manveer Gurjar is a dairy farm owner.

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4. He has a keen interest in wrestling and gymming. He believes in the importance of fitness and sports.

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5. Manveer Gurjars real name Manoj Kumar Baisoya.

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6. Without being on social media yet, Manveer Gurjar is already scooting ahead with the maximum number of votes on the show, thanks to his aggressive fan following in his community. Being a commoner pitted against popular celebrities like Bani J and Gaurav Chopra, its quite a big deal!

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Heres hoping the future holds a lot of surprises, luck and success for this man!
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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...
In a recent exchange on the social network RallyPoint, an airman searched for specific information to help with his permanent change of station move to an uncommon overseas post: RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom.

Other RallyPoint members, their rank and service affiliation clearly visible on their profiles, chimed in with helpful tips and anecdotes about their own assignments.

On another occasion several years ago, an Army veteran 90 applications into a frustrating job search found employment at telecommunications giant Time Warner Cable after only 72 hours on the site.

RallyPoint is young -- it was launched in 2012 -- but it's growing fast, passing the million-member mark in December.

And company executives say they hope they're becoming the go-to place for both kinds of conversations above: veterans and transitioning service members seeking a nexus to careers and opportunities in the civilian sphere, and active-duty troops looking to communicate and connect with other service members anywhere in the world.

"We're able to open up in a way that in a military network like this that we don't really do in other networks," Brandon Charters, director of accounts for RallyPoint, told Military.com. "So that has really been what we've seen has been answering the need ... a lot of service members and vets are looking for, that comfort of a dedicated network for them and by them."

Charters, a former Air Force officer, has been with RallyPoint since it started, connecting with founders Yinon Weiss and Aaron Kletzing as they were planning the site. Weiss and Kletzing, both former Army officers, met in Baghdad in 2008 during a deployment, then bumped into each other again at Harvard Business School years later.

Charters is fond of saying that the conversations that take place on RallyPoint couldn't happen anywhere else, and there are good reasons why that might be the case. There's no anonymity on the site, as members are identified by rank, dates of service, date of rank, current post and more. But unlike in the military hierarchy, any member can freely interact with any other, regardless of pay grade.

While trolls and fakers do sometimes join the discussion, Charters said the transparency of the format encourages self-policing by other members. For the most part, he said, discussions are respectful.

Initially, the site was reserved for active-duty troops only, but it's now open to members of the National Guard and Reserve, veterans, and anyone who self-identifies as a "civilian supporter," said Nick Petros, head of marketing for RallyPoint.

For a lot of veterans who have been out of uniform for a while, it's a chance to "wear their rank for a little bit, and feel like they're part of something bigger," Petros said. On the civilian side, the site is popular with job recruiters looking for highly skilled veterans in search of employment.

"Everyone knows who they're speaking to. You're able to engage cross-rank, cross-branch. And because of that, we've unleashed a torrent of conversation that just doesn't really exist anywhere else," Petros said. "It varies from professional and active-duty guys PCSing to humorous. It's kind of like the military's communication connection online."

Staff with the company are particularly excited to see cases in which a PCSing service member finds that many of the members of his or her new unit are already on RallyPoint, ready to connect. And that's happening more often, they said.

"We probably have the most complete organizational structure of the military in the country, outside of the Pentagon," Charters said.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
FILM REVIEW

'Gold'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPAA rating: R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Run time: 121 minutes

Matthew McConaughey doesn't just go big in "Gold." He goes enormous.

His character, Kenny Wells, is a capitalist dreamer, a prospector who hits bottom and takes a desperate gamble on a possible gold mine deep in the Indonesian jungle. For the role, McConaughey grew a beer-swollen paunch, capped his pearly whites with jagged falsies, and swept about 17 long hairs over a balding pate merging with a mass of greasy curls licking the top of his collar. His hands clutch a bottomless glass of Seagram's and an omnipresent Winston cigarette. When he drops his pants, his dingy whitie-tighties sag on his loins, and if I dare to anthropomorphize those undies, I'd say they're despairing, possibly suicidal.

And that's just the way he looks. Metaphysically, the performance is hyperbolic and testicular, in the sense that McConaughey seems to be summoning the character from deep within his id and gonads. It's all passion and impulse, sweat and slippery verve. Kenny is both a hustler and a straight-shooter, a hotheaded fast-talker who has a dream and will follow it to its wrought and ragged end. His instincts for the business are good, but he might be more trustworthy to the suits-and-ties he needs to invest in work if he toned it down a notch or six.

This is capital-A Acting, and it's pretty entertaining. Is it credible? I don't know. But it's fun to watch.

Directed by Stephen Gaghan ("Syriana"), "Gold" is loosely based on the 1993 Bre-X mining scandal - the industry's biggest fraud case ever - but the Kenny Wells character is a concoction coming this close to being a cartoon. It's Kenny's high-stakes story, set in the 1980s and involving dollar amounts in the billions. That's billions-with-a-B. The film hangs on McConaughey's charisma like an old, yellowing suit, but is a reasonably enjoyable blend of Martin Scorsese's wild "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo," even down to the record player spinning in the middle of a remote jungle.

Like Fitzcarraldo, Kenny bears the immense burden of his dreams, although it's more literal in his case. Kenny's mining company was founded by his grandfather, and made successful by his father. Now, in 1988, Kenny's barely keeping it afloat. The office space is gone, and he and his scrappy crew work the phones at a local bar, where his wife, Kay (Bryce Dallas Howard), waits on them. Although the company is saving on the overhead of leasing office space, does it pick up the bar tabs? The movie isn't big on such details. But the setup enables Kenny's alcoholism, keeping him right pickled at all times, and McConaughey on full tilt.

One night, blacked out after swilling a half-gallon of whiskey, Kenny envisions a massive strike in the South Pacific. He packs up the next day, hocks Kay's jewelry and flies to Indonesia, where he connects with Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez), a geologist with a hunch. They sketch a contract on a napkin. "I could feel it in my bones," goes McConaughey's voiceover.

After much fruitless effort, worker walkouts and Kenny's near-fatal bout with malaria, they strike. Big. So big, it almost justifies McConaughey's performance. The company gets its office back, but for a while, it's just a beer fridge, a fax machine and a phone. The latter rings, and it's Wall Street. He flies to New York City for meetings, to party, to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. He sits down with a group of investors who don't want to be investors.

"May I speak plainly?" asks the ominously named banker Brian Woolf (Corey Stoll).

"That's the only way to speak," Kenny retorts, his eyes widening.

Woolf and co. want to buy Kenny out, and remove his name from the product of his blood, tears and malaria- and booze-induced sweat. The scene provides McConaughey an opportunity to devour skyscrapers in Manhattan as Kenny turns down $300 million. The man has principles. And a problem, maybe. It's about stubborn pride and ego, and family legacy, not necessarily the money. And maybe it's about addiction, too.

Although the film's few narrative curveballs keep us compelled beyond McConaughey's eye- and gut-bulging performance, its subtext never really comes into focus. "Gold" coasts wholly on its star's charisma, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it seems like a missed opportunity to ruminate on greed, morality and ambition. It's more about winding up McConaughey and letting him go than any greater ideas.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- David Canter jokes that the only reminders he gets about his days with Pfizer Inc. are from journalists looking back on the biopharmaceutical company's exit from its Ann Arbor home in 2007.

The reason for Canter's forward-thinking mindset could have something to do with the strides the University of Michigan's North Campus Research Complex has made since taking occupancy of the campus in eight years since it was acquired from Pfizer for $108 million.

Renovations continue among the complex of 28 buildings, comprising 2.1 million square feet of office, research and manufacturing space. A $160 million renovation project will create an entirely new 139,000-square-foot home for most of Michigan Medicine's clinical pathology activities, while renovating another 47,000 square feet of existing space.

Another $78.5 million project is expected to create more than 50 modern research laboratories for faculty scientists and their teams in the UM Medical School inside the last two empty buildings on the site.

All told, the remaining 30 percent of unoccupied space within the NCRC is expected to be filled within the next couple of years, said Canter, who transitioned from Pfizer to become executive director of the NCRC. The 2,100 workers displaced by the Pfizer move have been replaced by 2,800 people, including 2,200 employees and approximately 600 students within the NCRC.

Canter expects that number to grow to 3,400 people in the next couple of years, creating a collaborative space where UM can broaden its horizons as a research institution while strengthening its ability to stimulate new business through partnerships with businesses in the private sector.

"It's a distant memory that I don't really think about, other than when I bump into my colleagues around town - many of whom are still working and have created livelihoods and businesses that have been successful," Canter said. "What I see here with the use of this facility is that a building, per se, is only a tool - a means to another end.

"Pfizer used it to discover drugs and tried to design buildings appropriately," he added. "The university took over the facility and really could have done many things with it, but chose to create this multidisciplinary, multi-school campus."

On any given afternoon, a walk around the endless hallways of the NCRC's sprawling 174 acres can result in collaborative research between eight different groups from 10 different schools and colleges at UM.

At the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, faculty from 17 different schools and colleges at UM continue to explore research topics including ongoing evaluation of the Healthy Michigan Plan -- the expansion of Medicaid to 600,000 Michigan adults.

At Mcity, a 32-acre connected and automated vehicle test site, researchers from both UM and the private sector work to implement a connected and automated mobility system on the streets of southeastern Michigan by 2021.

The key to this innovation, Canter says, is collaboration, with the NCRC serving as a melting pot for multiple schools to come together as the campus continues to serve as a hub from everything from startup businesses to performing DNA sequencing, genotyping and gene expression analysis.

"If you walk around the rest of the (UM) campus and point to a building, it's almost always a single school -- pharmacy, dentistry, engineering, the medical school," Canter said. "When you come to the NCRC, suddenly you can't do that. So the health system has taken responsibility for being the coordinator of this campus and yet we have a significant engineering presence here, we have a presence of pharmacy and dentistry faculty in labs."

Here is a look at three areas of research and innovation taking place at the NCRC a decade removed from Pfizer's announcement it was exiting:



Beyond biology

Research within the NCRC goes far beyond the stereotypical test tubes and microscope, as evidenced by the UM Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

Nearly 150 of the 500 members of the institute from across campus have offices within the research complex, with more than 400 research staff working with faculty members at the NCRC.

Dr. John Ayanian, director of the IHPI, said the sizable organization's mission is to improve the quality, safety, affordability and equity of healthcare. That mission is accomplished through the efforts of researchers from 17 different schools and colleges on campus, including the Medical School, School of Public Health, Nursing, Engineering, Business, Law, Public Policy and others.

In the NCRC, they work together to come up with solutions for improving everything from the Healthy Michigan Plan to working with surgeons to improve the safety of prescribing opioids for pain management.

"Having this new institute in this space enables us to have more effective collaboration across different disciplines within the university," Ayanian said. "That allows for more creative and influential research when we have faculty with different skills working together on new projects."

One of those new projects is an analysis looking at the impact of the Healthy Michigan Plan - the expansion of Medicaid -- which began in April 2014 and currently covers about 600,000 low-income Michiganders.

The study, which was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicated that in addition to the new enrollees, the plan has generated more than 30,000 jobs every year since being implemented. The jobs yielded about $2.3 billion more in personal spending power each year for Michigan residents, the study showed.

Ayanian and UM health economist Dr. Helen Levy conducted the study with Dr. Gabriel M. Ehrlich and Donald R. Grimes from the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, a UM economic modeling and forecasting unit. The team used the same economic model that this unit employs to advise the state for fiscal planning.

Studies in that area continue, Ayanian said.

"We just finished a survey of 4,000 enrollees in the Healthy Michigan Plan to understand how they're using health services and what affect it's having on their health," he said.

"We're trying to align what we're doing at the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation with larger initiatives across campus related to innovation in healthcare to improving the health of communities, and continuing to work with state and federal policymakers in regards to healthcare reform as that takes shape under the new administration and congress," he added.

The IHPI also recently launched the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan-OPEN), an initiative to develop a preventative approach to the opioid epidemic, Ayanian said.

The initiative aims to ensure appropriate acute pain care following surgery - when the vast majority of people who become dependent on prescription opioids receive their first dose.

"We are working with surgeons around the state to improve the use of opioids and other treatments for pain management at the time of surgery, injury or major procedures to try and reduce some of the risks of people becoming chronically addicted to opioids that may be present in the healthcare system now," Ayanian said. "That's part of the reason we're seeing so much overuse and overdoses and other complications of chronic opioid use."

Incubation innovation

From working with Fortune 500 companies to help solve their product issues to securing $1.5 million in grant funding from the U.S. Navy, Kausik Mukhopadhyay explained the work his start-up HygraTek has about any type of surface innovation you can think of coated and covered.

As one of the 13 start-ups currently in U-M's Venture Accelerator, HygraTek develops cost-effective and energy-efficient liquid separation solutions combined with a membrane technology that essentially strains oil from water.

In addition, it has developed coating technology that surpasses nature's ability to repel and attract various substances, Mukhopadhyay said, demonstrating how various types of fabric repelled liquids inside a Venture Accelerator laboratory.

The work HygraTek is doing, he said, could even prove to be the difference, should a disaster similar to the 2010 BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil spill happen again.

"These are very dynamic membranes and they are used for very niche applications like military applications or for things like the BP oil spill," Mukhopadhyay said. "That's how it started - how to have a membrane that can separate the oil and the water if there is a next spill, so that we don't lose the oil and we can also save the aquatic culture as well as aquatic species so that they don't die, because we can immediately get the fresh water separated."

The Venture Center serves as a business incubator focusing exclusively on commercializing UM research and intellectual property. Accelerator tenants have access to UM's Tech Transfer Venture Center to help them refine business models, attract investors, acquire gap funding and connect to talent that enhances the company's quality and sustainability. Accelerator tenants can also seek guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs in Tech Transfer's Mentors in Residence program.

Venture Accelerator Manager Diane Giannola said the incubator has had as many as 24 start-ups operating within the NCRC during her tenure, occupying 18,000 square feet within the facility.

UM startups sign flexible one-year leases for access to laboratory and office space, along with a suite of business services from the Venture Center. Most startups typically are in the accelerator for up to three years, but sometimes longer if they are in the middle of grant funding.

The accelerator offers flexibility start-ups need to expand and contract on short notice, Giannola said, making Venture a good first step before heading out into the business world.

"It's very flexible and that's what being in an incubator is all about," she said. "We're an accelerator in that they have a limited time frame here. With incubators, people can usually lease forever. Here, they have three years, maybe a fourth if they are in the middle of a grant. They're supposed to grow and move on to a space in the city."

Mukhopadhyay said HygraTek currently is developing six or seven different coating applications, including ice-phobicity, a single-step, spray-on coating that prevents ice adhesion on everything from aircraft engines to wind turbines.

The coatings work on a much smaller scale as well, Mukhopadhyay noted, from removing fingerprints from objects like tablets and smartphones to helping consumers get the most use possible out of products in yogurt and ketchup bottles.

"In some containers, there's still a lot at the bottom, so you keep losing (the product)," he said. "From the company or consumer point of view, you are losing the material. So how about if you can take it out completely without losing anything? It's a very slick coating, so everything slips out."

Collaboration brings results

Since moving into the NCRC in 2012, faculty from UM's Biointerfaces Institute have strived to translate new research findings into practical applications.

The research has led to the medical advances from a unique polymer surface that can grow reprogrammed adult stem cells to produce specific cell types in mice to the development of mechanisms by which "hairy nanoparticles" can selectively trap, at very low levels, toxins such as methylmercury.

A total of 25 research groups from UM's schools of Engineering, Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmacy are co-located in the Biointerfaces Institute, occupying 54,000 square feet of space. Collaboratively, they are advancing research in areas of nanotechnology, microfluidics and sensors, cell and tissue engineering and biomaterials and drug delivery.

Biointerfaces Institute Director Dr. Joerg Lahann echoed the sentiments of many within the NCRC who believe having the ability to collaborate with people of different types of expertise allows not only allows breakthroughs in research, but a chance to think outside the box in coming up with medical and technological innovations.

"We were based on a grassroots approach of faculty that thought there was an opportunity in Michigan to combine cutting edge research from engineering with the medical school -- to basically focus more on translational outcomes in our research," Lahann said.

"If you think about trying to have real impact on patients, you shouldn't have to think about what school or department someone is in," he added. "You should think about what type of skill sets the research group has and what do we need to be able to do that. That's exactly what we did with the institute. Ultimately now we have people from 11 different departments."

Lahann stressed that interdisciplinary research is critical for creating impact, which has made the Biointerfaces Institute a hub for reinventing the research process itself.

Through the institute, researchers are diving into crossroads between living cells and other surfaces in developing new technologies for diagnosing and treating disease, with a huge stress on cancer, translational oncology and stem cell research.

"Research-wise this has really changed the way my lab operates," he said. "We moved in here as an engineering lab with the intent of focusing on technologies. We just didn't have the immediate access to the medical (experts). The institute can really do that for us."

Walking through one of the laboratories of the institute, which intermingles students and research faculty, UM PhD. student Nathan Jones continues work on developing a product that can detect cavities in teeth early on through a starch-based, fluorescent nanoparticle that targets active cavities.

The nanoparticle, part of the Greenmark Biomedical startup Jones is a part of, is designed to help dentists differentiate between a cavity that is active or getting worse versus when it is healed or inactive.

Jones said the Biointerfaces Institute has been instrumental in the development of the technology, which has since developed into a startup to commercialize it.

"The idea is because it's starch, we have enzymes in our mouths that will break that down into simple sugar that washes away and degrades," Jones said. "So you can go to the dentist with these particles and make a cavity glow and it will wash away and you won't have to worry about glowing outside of the dentist office."

These types of innovation, which come through collaboration, are the heart of the NCRC's mission, Canter said, and are at the heart of the future for the research complex in the decades ahead.

"We've got a lot of opportunities in the next 10 to 20 years to put whatever we want here, but I'd like to believe we've started a permanent change in multi-school, multi-disciplinary research that will attract a certain type of faculty," Canter said. "Those we are recruiting will look at it and say 'I want to be here. This is exciting and interesting.' Not everyone wants to be in this environment, but by providing this type of space, I think that's what we will have."

For more information on what's happening at the NCRC, check out its annual report.
Trump Refugees

Protesters are surrounded by police officers and travelers as they pass through an exit of Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, after earlier in the day two Iraqi refugees were detained while trying to enter the country. On Friday, Jan. 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all immigration from countries with terrorism concerns for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, which are all Muslim-majority nations. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

(Craig Ruttle)

WASHINGTON - The federal judge whose emergency order temporarily barred the United States from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban is a University of Michigan graduate.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly is a 1981 graduate of UM. She said travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated, according to The Associated Press.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday, Jan. 29, that said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and it affected a relatively small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return, AP reported.

Donnelly issued the emergency order in New York Saturday night, Jan. 28, after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect, AP reported.

Donnelly's order addressed only a portion of Trump's executive action. As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

After graduating from UM, Donnelly, who was born in Royal Oak, earned a law degree from Ohio State University. Former President Barack Obama nominated Donnelly to fill the seat vacated by Sandra L. Townes in the U.S. District Court's Eastern District in January 2015. She was later confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 20, 2015 and received commission on Oct. 21, 2015.

Donnelly's order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the United States with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

On Saturday, UM President Mark Schlissel reiterated his support for international and undocumented immigrant students, noting the university does not share sensitive information like immigration status unless required by law.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29.

ANN ARBOR, MI - Concerned citizens and Ann Arbor residents gathered downtown on Sunday, Jan. 29 to protest President Donald Trump's recent executive order on immigration.

The order, signed Friday, indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the United States, and temporarily suspended refugee admissions and the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The measures are aimed at keeping out "radical Islamic terrorists," Trump said at the signing. The move has been criticized by a number of leaders, but supported by some Republican politicians and Trump supporters.

"No ban, no wall, U.S.A. is for all," protesters chanted at the protest at the Federal Building, 200 E. Liberty St., referencing another order calling for the construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

While the protest started off with just about 25 people about noon Sunday, the crowd had grown to more than 200 people by about 1:10 p.m.

The large gathering came as a surprise to organizer David Collins, 41, who was hesitant to even claim the title.

Collins said he and his wife, Karen, saw reports of protests to the so-called "Muslim ban" across the nation on Saturday, and hoped to find a local protest to take part in. When they couldn't find one, his wife created an event on Facebook for a protest of their own, thinking only a few family and friends might join.

Collins said he hoped to show support for those within the Ann Arbor community who may be affected by the ban, and protest the ban on its face - as he said he believes it may cause more harm to U.S. security by harming the nation's reputation.

"Even more than its offense to our values, it is, on its face, completely ineffective," he said. "It has little to no chance of improving U.S. safety."

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, who also attended the gathering, said protesting serves as a way to stand in solidarity with each other in the community and acts as a show of force on the issue, which he said is a matter of life and death for some.

"The fact that we can treat out fellow humans the way that we are - the way that Trump is - is unacceptable, inhumane and its unconstitutional and we are standing up against that," he said.

"I'm very proud to be an American, and I'm born and raised in America - an American citizen - and the actions of the Trump administration are un-American. That needs to be said very strongly," he said. "What he's doing is undemocratic and it's just wrong - just flat wrong."

Rabhi said he was pleased with the turnout Sunday, noting the crowd was diverse and included new faces he hadn't seen at previous protests.

Among the crowd was Flint resident Elizabeth Jordan, who said citizens need to stand up when their values as a country are being violated.

"Religious discrimination, hatred against various groups fall squarely against those values and beliefs," she said. "If I'm going to send my kid to a school where he recites the Pledge of Allegiance every single day and they end with "Indivisible, (with) liberty and justice for all" that has to mean something and were reclaiming that meaning today."

The Ann Arbor protest was one of several planned across the state Sunday and several protesters said they would be heading to the Detroit Metro Airport, for a protest planned Sunday afternoon.

Area leaders have also taken a stance against the order, with University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel issuing a statement in support of international and undocumented immigrant students and Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor taking to Facebook to say that Trump has polluted the honor of the United States with his recent executive orders.

Photojournalist Matt Weigand contributed to this story.
-7122fce8cae480ed.JPG

University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel reiterated his support for international and undocumented students in a letter sent out Saturday, Jan. 28, stating that the university complies with federal requirements associated with managing its international programs. Otherwise, the university does not share sensitive information like immigration status.

(The Ann Arbor News file photo)

ANN ARBOR, MI - In the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel reiterated his support for international and undocumented immigrant students on Saturday, Jan. 28, while noting the university does not share sensitive information like immigration status unless required by law.

Schlissel's statement was consistent with U-M's previous stance on undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status students, reinforcing that the university's campus police do not inquire about or record immigration status when performing their duties.

In accordance with federal law, the enforcement of immigration law rests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. Schlissel said campus police will not partner with federal, state or other local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law except when required to do so by law.

"The university maintains a strong commitment to the privacy of student records for all students, consistent with state and federal laws," Schlissel said in the statement. "We do not provide information on immigration status to anyone except when required by law. The university offers in-state tuition to undocumented students who meet certain conditions."

In the letter of support of international students, Schlissel stated that the university is focused on potential changes to immigration laws, policies and practices that could affect the status and safety of U-M students and personnel, particularly international students and those who may be undocumented. The university complies with federal requirements associated with managing its international programs, he said, but the university does not share sensitive information like immigration status.

"We are currently focused on potential changes to immigration laws, policies and practices that could affect the status and safety of U-M students and personnel, particularly international students and those who may be undocumented," Schlissel said in the statement. "This includes several programs and policies that affect international students and faculty. Additionally, we are working to understand the implications on our community of the 'extreme vetting' executive order blocking immigration from certain countries."

The university also supports legislation known as the BRIDGE Act that would allow individuals in the U.S. who arrived as children to stay in the country for another three years without the threat of deportation, while Congress addresses changes to the immigration system, Schlissel said. BRIDGE stands for Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy, and was introduced with bipartisan congressional support.

Schlissel also signed on to a "Statement of support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program and our undocumented immigrant students" drafted by Pomona College and endorsed by dozens of colleges and universities. The statement urges continued support and expansion of the DACA program.

Because the university doesn't ask for the immigration status of prospective students, U-M Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said he did not know how many undocumented students are enrolled. In 2013, U-M changed its guidelines for in-state tuition, creating a path for undocumented students to quality for in-state tuition.

According to the Rackham Graduate School website, in-state residency is determined by the Registrar's Office and may be granted if the student attended Michigan schools and graduated high school in the state of Michigan within the last 28 months, regardless of their citizenship status. Limited financial assistance, primarily stipends, also are available to undocumented students without DACA status.

The topic surrounding undocumented and DACA students continues to be a hot-button issue on campus. Petitions from both U-M students and faculty have been submitted to Schlissel and Provost Martha Pollack urging them to protect undocumented and DACA students.

The students' petition called for the restriction of campus police from inquiring about immigration status and collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Collecting more than 2,500 signatures from undergraduates, graduate students and faculty from across the university, the petition asked for university leaders to continue in-state resident tuition to DACA students who have qualified previously and provide confidential counseling services for undocumented students and DACA, among other requests.
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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas exhibits the innovation and technology that is changing the world and the way companies do business which happens every year. Business Insider has spoken with advertising and marketing executives from variety of industries during the recent CES 2017. That was to discuss challenges, victories and strategies they have to navigate current digital landscape.

Business Insider was able to discuss about why Lenovo, a Chinese multinational technology company, has entered the crowded smartphone market as they sat down with the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Lenovo, David Roman. Note that Lenovo has bought the Motorola Mobility business from Google in 2014 at a price of $2.91 billion. It used the CES show to promote the Moto Z Droid 2017, the company's flagship phone. The CES 2017 best of Innovation was given to the snap-on modules as it won for wireless handset devices.

Roman was apparently asked on how Lenovo plans to be heard in a very crowded smartphone market and why he would think this product will succeed indeed. Roman said that the company had no plans for beating out Apple or Samsung with their Moto Z models as Lenovo has been realistic about the Moto Z line. The executive said that if the three handsets, which were launched last summer, can get even a small fraction of the smartphone Lenovo would call it as a success.

"When you think about a market that that's big, where there are 1.5 billion phones sold in a year, even a niche of 2% of that market is a very big market in its own right," he said.

Meanwhile, according to reports, a brand new version of last year's Moto Z Droid, which is reportedly upgraded with the current Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, showed up in the GeekBench benchmark database, which carries a 4GB RAM and has Android 7.1.1 allegedly pre-installed.

 Copyright 2020 Mobile & Apps, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
craigslist: thailand jobs, apartments, for sale, services, community, and events

craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, services, local community, and events
business Budget 2017: Jaitley may announce roadmap on fiscal deficit range in Budget Finance minister could announce a new framework suggesting a fiscal deficit range from 2018-19 setting the stage for replacing the FRBM Act with a new law, giving the govt more flexibility on borrowing & spending; govt awaiting recommendations of NK Singh-panel that is expected to submit report today.
Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity
January 29, 2017

Outrage About Trump Exposes "Librul" Hypocrisy

The current "librul" outrage about Trump's announced policies is somewhat amusing. Yes, these policies are bad, very bad. Trump is bad. But so was Obama and so is Clinton. Protesting the policies of one while not protesting when the other implemented the same policies is insincere grandstanding.

Wherever you look, those Trump policies are building directly on, or simply repeat Obama policies. The now theatrically outraged people swallowed those without a word of protest.

A Trump order yesterday introduced a temporary ban on visa holders and visa issuing to citizens of seven Middle East countries. These countries are: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Those countries have one thing in common. No terrorist who killed on U.S. soil originated from them. The (few) terrorists who attacked within the U.S. came from the Middle Eastern countries not on the list. Following Trump's order, outcries on social media and in various papers ensued. People went to airports to protest. TV was there to spread the news.

But it is nothing new that the citizens of those countries are targeted with U.S. visa restrictions. It was Obama who introduced such in 2015 and 2016. The Trump order links directly to them. It does not name any country but refers to them as "countries designated in Division O, Title II, Section 203 of the 2016 consolidated appropriations act."

U.S animosities against these countries is even older. According to the former general Clark, plans were made to wage war against six of the now named seven countries back in 2001. Yemen was later added while Lebanon was (temporarily?) taken off the list. The administrations change, the selected "enemies" stay the same.

In 2011 Obama stopped processing Iraqi visa requests for six month. That move was quite similar to Trump's current one. Where was the outcry in 2001? In 2011, 2015 and 2016? Is it only bad when Trump restricts visits for certain people from certain countries?

Sure, Trump introduces his "outrageous" measures loud and abruptly where Obama sneaked them in. But that is just different marketing, not a different product.

It is the coin that is bad, not just one side of it.

This morning CNN headlines: White House discussing asking foreign visitors for social media info and cell phone contacts. HOW OUTRAGEOUS! How can Trump even think of such an invasion of privacy! Fake outrage - Obama had already signed off on this. The plans to collect social media accounts of traveling visitors and citizens were officially introduced in October 2016 and the implementation started in December 2016. The Trump White House is late in discussing the issue.

Yesterday Trump also issued a memorandum to structure his National Security Council. It says that the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Staff "shall attend" when it is pertinent to the issue in question. "Librul" outrage ensues. Trump excludes the DNI and CJCOS from the NSC! Obama's first Defense Secretary calls it a "huge mistake"! But a comparison of the text Trump issued with the text Obama issued when he came into office shows them to be mostly similar. Nothing really relevant has changed. The "shall attend" clause is exactly the same.

Yesterday people were protesting at airports against Trump's temporary immigration restrictions. Lots of outrage against Trump ensued on social media over this and the other issues. The hypocrisy here stinks to high heaven. Where were the protest when Obama did similar?

Where are the protests demanding the repeal of the Patriot Act? Where are the anti-war protests? These died as soon as Obama came into office. They never came back even as Obama pursued polices that were, at best, Republican light and far from any progressive ideal. Only fake liberals, aka "libruls", could agree with these. When Dick Cheney is your witness against Trump you have lost the plot.

Many of the people coming out now against Trump would likely have jubilated had Hilliary Clinton won the election and introduced the exactly same policies. Protest against the system that is incorporated in Trump, just as it is incorporated in Clinton, does not come to their mind. Do they expect to be taken serious?

There was no outrage today from any of the U.S. "libruls" and their media outlets about last nights failed U.S. military raid in Yemen. The rural home of a tribal leader's family, friendly with some Yemeni al-Qaeda members, was raided by a special operations commando. A U.S. tiltrotor military aircraft was shot down during the raid. One soldier was killed and several were wounded. The U.S. commandos responded with their usual panic. They killed anyone in sight and bombed the shit out of any nearby structure. According to Yemeni sources between 30 and 57 Yemenis were killed including eight women and eight children (graphic pics). The U.S. military claimed, as it always does, that no civilians were hurt in the raid.

One of the killed kids was the 8 year old daughter of al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki. (The targeted family is related to al-Awlaki's wife.) The girl was a U.S. citizen. Under Obama the CIA had already assassinated her father and her 16 year old brother. With Obama's active help the Gulf countries have been bombing and destroying Yemen for nearly two years. No U.S. demonstrations were held against this war.

Yemeni sources say that at least two men were abducted by the U.S. military. The Central Command press release only said that the raid had helped to acquire "intelligence" about possible future terror acts. That probably means that the prisoners will be tortured to unveil such "intelligence" even as they may not have any. The Obama administration had introduced new rules for the military on how to handle detainees. The UN judged that the application of some of these rules is torture. The "libruls" will of course be outraged should any of those rules, which Obama introduced, be used under a Trump administration.

The hypocritical outrage against Trump for things Obama already did is exactly what Trump wants and needs. He keeps chasing the media and the Clintonistas around the block. The impression he leaves, not only with his followers, is that of a man who works a lot. 25 outrages out of 25 headlines in just one week? "Impressive! That is way more than Obama achieved!"

Trump already filed for reelection. Who really wants to beat him will have to attack him on fundamental issues. That is a problem for the "libruls". Obama and Clinton stand for the same terrible policies Trump is pushing for. They are not as loud as Trump and paint their aims in softer colors. But the difference is only one of degree.

The U.S., like many other "western" countries, needs fundamentally different policies and politicians to become a more just and social society. The current "librul" outcries take energy away from achieving such.

Posted by b on January 29, 2017 at 20:13 UTC | Permalink

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One man was arrested after leading police on a car chase on Interstate 40 early Saturday morning.

Andrey Fedun, 30, of 26 Azure Way in Asheville, was charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest, driving while impaired, going 135 in a 65 mph zone and having an open container of wine, according to Trooper C. Hallyburton with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Around 12:30 a.m., Hallyburton was on stationary patrol near Exit 119 on I-40 in Hildebran when he clocked a vehicle going westbound at 108 mph, he said.

After pulling out safely into traffic, Hallyburton began to follow several cars and was able to pick out Fedun's vehicle.

He slowed down to 88 mph and I turned on my blue lights at the 116 mile marker," he said. "The vehicle kept tapping his brakes, but never slowed down below 65 miles per hour.

The vehicle was using his signals to pass cars and get back into the right lane and then looked as if he was going to pull over, he said.

He accelerated suddenly ... at the 114 mile marker and reached speeds up to 135 miles per hour, Hallyburton said.

Trooper A. Johnson with the NCHP was dispatched to release stop sticks at Exit 107, which deflated Feduns front tires, he said.

Fedun came to a rest on the off ramp of Exit 106, Hallyburton said.

Once Hallyburton came into contact with Fedun, he smelled an odor of alcohol coming from his breath. Police then took a sample of his blood and obtained a search warrant and found an open container of wine. Results of the blood test are still pending, he said.

Feduns 2003 Toyota Avalon was seized under the Run and Youre Done law, where the vehicle now belongs to the state and will be auctioned off with the money going to the North Carolina school system, said a previous News Herald article.

There were no injuries during the chase, he said.

He was placed under a $12,000 bond and has a court date set for Monday, Hallyburton said.

Responding agencies were North Carolina Highway Patrol, Burke County Sheriffs Department, Valdese Police Department and Morganton Department of Public Safety.

Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.
... you dumb fukks. :lol:Ralph Goodale to tell Trump administration: Canada doesn't support torturePublic Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says he intends to send a clear message when he talks to U.S. President Donald Trump's team: Canada doesn't condone torture."We need to be very clear on this point. Torture is contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it's contrary to the Canadian Constitution, it's a violation of the Criminal Code, it's inconsistent with virtually every international treaty Canada has ever signed, including the Geneva Convention(s), and most importantly, Canadians find it abhorrent and will never condone it. Period," he told CBC Radio's The House.In one of his first interviews after assuming office, Trump told ABC News he was willing to embrace torture as a way to "fight fire with fire.""I have spoken...with people at the highest level of intelligence. And I asked them the question, 'Does it work? Does torture work?' And the answer was, 'Yes, absolutely,'" Trump said.
Its official: Chick-fil-A will build a fourth location in Midland, this one on the northeast corner of Andrews Highway and Loop 250, an area with high traffic density that many worry will only get worse once the new restaurant is up and running.

Traffic engineer Mike Pacelli spoke recently with the Reporter-Telegram about how vehicles will flow in and out of the newest Chick-fil-A. Of utmost concern was fear of vehicles backing up onto the highway. The city addressed this in two major ways.

First, the sites two driveways will have right-turn deceleration lanes to allow for the free flow of traffic in the two primary lanes.

Second is the location of the Loop 250 driveway. In between Chick-fil-A and Tracker Boating Center is a separate lot that will have a driveway where the restaurant can be accessed. It will sit between the traffic lights and the on-ramp.

The purpose of the Loop 250 driveway location is to get it away from the intersection but to also allow for overflow for the restaurants two-lane drive-thru. Chick-fil-As other two standalone locations  on Loop 250 near Wal-Mart and on Andrews Highway near Midland Memorial Hospital  have drive-thru lanes that spiral around the building. Pacelli said this wont happen at the newest Chick-fil-A.

(The lanes dont) spiral around the building completely, but (Chick-fil-A) did make quite a few changes to the drive-thru, he said. It will have more storage than the other two locations by a long shot. Theyve got a different building design that has the drive-thru window at the far end to take advantage of the length of the building. Theyll have two lanes of stacking that runs much longer than the two lanes at the other locations. They have as much stacking that they possibly could.

Pacelli said that there isnt really a way to perfectly predict how many vehicles to store in a drive-thru line, so he told Chick-fil-A, as he does with other restaurants, to design the site so that overflow can be as safe as possible.

Water and utilities must be extended to the area before the restaurant can be built, and Pacelli said the city is working with The Village at Manor Park, which is also expanding in the area.

Pacelli said he first started working with Chick-fil-A on the site in October 2015, his first time working with the popular fast food chain. They probably involved us in the site planning earlier than for other less-complicated sites, he said.

We landed with the best possible outcome with the location and other issues with the interchange, Pacelli said.

The area of Loop 250 and State Highway 191 currently sits third on the Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organizations list of projects. The city in 2016 proposed several fixes to the interchange that could be completed in phases, such as a free-right turn on the south Loop 250 service road heading onto SH 191 and a braided ramp heading east toward Loop 250 that would lengthen the distance to the interchange.

Pacelli said the Texas Department of Transportation has begun to work on schematics so the projects can go ahead as funding becomes available.

Chick-fil-A is expected to open at 5120 Andrews Highway in the third quarter of this year, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram report.

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But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something

over there only because I am here . But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past

as past
"After I left the last treatment center, I knew what made me happy," Selena explains, "and it was a connection." But on the advice of her doctor, Selena's planned philanthropic visit to Kenya to see the schools she was helping to raise
New members inducted into Institute of ...
On Sunday, President Donald Trump issued a statement regarding his most recent executive order calling for "extreme vetting" of people traveling to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries.

White House: "This is not about religion - this is about terror"

Visa hold will last for 120 days, Trump says

Protests have erupted across the country, including in Florida

Here is the full text of President Trump's statement:

America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border.

America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say.

My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror.

To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.

We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.

I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering.

The order, which in addition to "extreme vetting" called for a suspension of admission of refugees into the country for 120 days, resulted in confusion as U.S. airports struggled to carry out the new directive. The detaining of two Iraqi nationals with ties to the U.S. military sparked a legal challenge from the ACLU Saturday that resulted in an emergency stay of the order, effective nationwide.

The order has also sparked protests in airports around the country, including in Tampa and Orlando.


On Saturday, thousands of people protested at airports across the U.S. following President Donald Trumps executive order on refugees and citizens from Muslim countries.

Rally at Orlando International Airport amid travel ban

President Trump signed order banning citizens from 7 countries

Rally from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Now, hundreds in Central Florida are rallying at Orlando International Airport.

Support Central Florida Muslim Community is hosting the Rally to Support Central Florida Muslims at the airport today.

Under Trumps executive order, which was signed Friday, citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen are banned from traveling to the United States for at least 90 days.

The order may also impact foreign-born U.S. citizens who were traveling at the time it was signed. Many may not be allowed to return until after the 90 days.

Orlando International Airport issued a statement Sunday about the rally on Twitter.

"Passengers traveling to MCO today may encounter demonstration activity. Every effort will be made to maintain normal operations and facilitate passenger traffic. We ask that you plan ahead and arrive early for your flight."

Airlines around the world have turned away passengers amid the immigration order.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic announced they would re-book or refund passengers who are no longer able to fly to the U.S. because of the ban.
Two people wanted in connection to a shooting at a Sanford Buffalo Wild Wings who police called "armed and dangerous" are in custody.

2 wanted in connection to Buffalo Wild Wings shooting in custody

Sanford Police said Jerome Lafortune, Destiny Cardozo turned selves in

Shooting happened in parking lot after an altercation, police investigators say



Warrants had been issued for Jerome Lafortune, 19, and Destiny Cardozo, 20. They turned themselves into the Seminole County Sheriff's Office overnight, Sanford Police said.



The shooting occurred in the afternoon at the restaurant at 1670 Rinehart Road on Saturday afternoon, according to investigators.

Police arrived and found Samuel Peay in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the head.

According to investigators, Lafortune and Cardozo arranged to meet Peay and his girlfriend to settle some longstanding family differences. During the meetup, they got into a verbal argument. When Lafortune and Cardozo left the parking lot, a shot was fired from their car, striking Peay, according to police.

Peay was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital in critical condition.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
MERIDEN  The force behind the flood control work recently completed in the citys downtown, a protector of the environment and a tireless community leader died peacefully in his home Friday (obituary on C2).



Phillip T. Ashton, 82, husband of Jane (Bishop) Ashton, was most recently vice-president of the Meriden Land Trust and in the midst of a deal to preserve Chauncey Peak.



Phil Ashton was an individual who truly helped shape the city and its history, said Mayor Kevin Scarpati. He dedicated much of his life to bettering Meriden. Hes been involved in so many things that have helped shape the city. You wont be able to look around and not see things hes touched. Hes touched so many lives.



Ashton was the president of Yankee Gas in 1992 when he waded through nearly four feet of water inside the Yankee Gas facility on Cooper Street after the flood that year. He contacted then-Mayor Joseph J. Marinan Jr. to offer an ultimatum: Either fix the problem or Yankee would move its headquarters and the Cooper Street facility out of the city. Ashton admitted later it was a bluff but it spurred action.



Marinan then made Ashton chairman of the Flood Control Implementation Agency.



Phil knew about flooding and the issues in downtown and had the energy and enthusiasm for the project, Marinan said in 2013. So I picked him against the counsel of others and he didnt disappoint me.



Ashton stayed on the job for 18 years before stepping down in 2013.



With the Boys & Girls Club of Meriden, he and Record-Journal Publisher Eliot White co-chaired the Building Committee that raised over $2 million for the addition to the clubs Lincoln Street headquarters. Ashton also was chairman of the investment committee and co-chair of the Cuno Camp expansion committee.



Phil is one of a kind, said Don Maleto in 2009, when Maleto was the clubs executive director. His generosity and spirit of giving are contagious to the community, staff and board members alike. Not only does he reach into his wallet to support the club, but he also gives of his time in committees and volunteer work. One minute Phil is leading a committee and the next he is staining our pavilions at camp or cleaning out the gutters at the Club House. The club is so fortunate that Phil Ashton decided 12 years ago to lend his generosity our way.



The Boys and Girls Club of Meriden is one of the best not-for-profit organizations I have ever come across, said Ashton when being inducted into the organizations Alumni Hall of Fame in 2009. It addresses some of the most basic needs of our society and makes Meriden a much nicer place to live. It is a pleasure to work with them.



Ashtons professional experience and community involvement were extensive. After a stint at Connecticut Light & Power, Ashton signed on with Northeast Utilities in 1966 as a senior engineer. He worked his way up to vice presidencies and, after a spinoff from Northeast Utilities in 1989, became president and chief executive of Yankee Energy System, Inc., a post he held until his retirement in 1995.



In the community, Ashton served in numerous organizations. He was director or chairman of the Greater Hartford chapter of the American Red Cross, the New England Council, Church Homes Inc., United Way of Meriden and Wallingford, and the Meriden Land Trust.



He was a founder or co-founder of the Connecticut Capital Region Growth Council, Community Vision Inc. and Community Foundation of Central Connecticut. In 1995, he was inducted into both the American Diabetes Association Hall of Fame and the Meriden Hall of Fame.



He served on Meridens Planning Commission, Library Building Committee, Community Development Action Committee and Flood Control Implementation Agency. He was treasurer of First United Methodist Church for more than 20 years.



He had become a good friend over the years, said Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Lawrence McGoldrick. In a lot of ways I looked to Phil as a model. He was successful in business and could have retired comfortably. But instead he focused on making his community better. He put his heart and soul and sweat into not only the Boys & Girls Club but other institutions and the community in general.



mgodin@record-journal.com (203) 317-2255 Twitter: @Cconnbiz














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Thousands of demonstrators outraged by President Trumps executive order denying refugees and foreign citizens from predominantly Muslim countries entry into the U.S. protested Saturday afternoon at San Francisco International Airport after hearing reports of travelers being detained there.

Trumps order instantly went into effect Friday night, closing borders for at least 90 days to travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Syrian refugees were barred indefinitely.

But by 6 p.m. Saturday, several organizations  notably the American Civil Liberties Union  obtained an emergency injunction from a federal judge in New York that halts enforcement of Trumps order against those with valid visas.

The horde of protesters had gathered at the International Terminal, waving signs reading, I Stand With Refugees and One Earth, One People, One Love.

The crowd erupted into cheers upon receiving the news of the emergency stay, which will stop detainees at U.S. airports from being immediately deported. But hundreds pledged to stay until all the travelers at SFO are released.

Among the protesters were local politicians, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, who held a sign reading, We are a sanctuary state! Let them in!

The group, many of which piled into BART trains to head to SFO, started its demonstration inside the International Terminal before spreading outside to the sidewalk. The crowd became so large it extended into the road in front of the terminal, forcing police to cordon off the area. Airport officials closed the lower level road at the International Terminal, forcing motorists to use the departure level or garages to pick up and drop off travelers.

Cody Wofsy, an attorney with the ACLU, said at least 30 immigration attorneys have been camped out in the international terminal, trying to see how they can help.

The problem is ... we cant get information from the government about who is being detained, he said.

Many protesters referenced the last time the U.S. turned away refugees  Jews during World War II  by wearing yellow stars and chanting, Never again.

Some shared their stories.

Bahareh Bakhtiari, 35, said her parents have traveled back and forth from Iran to her home in San Jose for years. They went through a rigorous vetting process to obtain their green cards, but now are stranded in Dubai.

They live here, she said, shaking her head. They own a business here.

Besides the emotional turmoil from the uncertainty, Bakhtiari said, having to figure out last-minute travel is costing her family a small fortune. Im very upset, she said. For lots of these people, this is thousands of dollars up in the air.

Jessica Blank, 37, of San Bruno said that as the descendant of Jewish ancestors, she would not be here if they had not been allowed to immigrate to the United States.

I stand here because I know Im next, she said. Im of Jewish descent, atheist, transgender. I am not going down quietly. Trump will not divide us.

As the constitutionality of the ban continues to be challenged, Trump has called the measure a way to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas.

Samin Nosrat, 37, of Berkeley reflected on her parents journey to America as she protested.

My parents came from Iran right before I was born, Nosrat said. I am the child of refugees. If they were not allowed to come here, I do not know what my life would look like. ... This is unacceptable.

Vivian Ho and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo, @JennaJourno
Hundreds of chanting anti-Trump protesters swarmed the Houston airport Sunday, packing Terminal E to capacity until police barred entry to non-ticket holders.

With less than a week left till the Super Bowl, a diverse swathe of Houstonians - including around 50 lawyers offering free legal help - voiced their opposition to President Donald Trump's recent executive action that banned citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the country and suspended the Syrian refugee resettlement program.

"There's a lot of fear in the community," said Arsalan Safiuallah, an attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations who attended the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. "I'm upset because I don't think this is constitutional."

The IAH protest kicked off at 5 p.m., and lawyers on scene quickly learned of an Iraqi man detained en route back to Houston from traveling abroad.

"Is it a crime to travel to visit your family?" asked his worried friend, 28-year-old Mohammed Jalil. "Only because he is Muslim."

SIDE EFFECTS: Trump's immigration ban could hit Texas Rangers pitcher

The delayed traveler's plane landed just before 2 p.m., but 5:30 p.m. he still hadn't been released from customs.

When 29-year-old former government employee Yehiya Aljuboory was finally released around 6 p.m., the enthusiastic protesters greeted him with raucous applause.

But even after Aljuboory walked free, the demonstrations continued.

In an apparent reference to a 2001 hip-hop song, protesters chanted, "Move Trump, get out the way, get out the way."

Sunday's civil unrest came on the heels of a wave of demonstrations nationwide in opposition to President's action.

The divisive order resonated deeply in Houston, where more than 20 percent of people were foreign-born in 2013, according to nonpartisan think tank the Migration Policy Institute.

"I don't think I've ever seen the city as galvanized as this," said Houston resident Bev Caplan, 39, one of about 1,000 to turn out at an earlier Discovery Green protest that kicked off around 1 p.m.

UNEXPECTED REACTION: Trump's immigration ban gives new life to 2011 tweet

There, several women wore hijab and one man blew a Shofar, a musical horn played over Jewish holidays. A few demonstrators danced in blocked-off protest space near the George R. Brown Convention Center, where crowds chanted "Say it loud, say it clear; Hate is not accepted here; Refugees are welcome here."

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, vowed Sunday to introduce legislation repealing Trump's executive order, to hold hearings on homeland security and the vetting process and to defund agencies implementing actions such as those mandated by Trump's order as the government reviews the system.

Jackson Lee called the executive order "thoughtless" and "non-deliberative," and said it had caused confusion among local customs officials.

"I'm unused to an idea of associating one faith with hate," Jackson Lee said. "Who knows who is next on the list?"

Roughly 40 people had been detained under the order in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, the congresswoman said.

In the aftermath of the President's controversial action, the ACLU filed a highly publicized suit against the order - and a federal judge Saturday granted a stay to immigrants already here on a visa.

One of the suit's plaintiffs - Haider Alshawi - finally made his way home to Houston on Sunday to reunite with his wife and their young son.

But Jackson Lee worried the order would hurt the country's intelligence-gathering abilities by sowing distrust, she said, noting that the order directed the Department of Homeland Security to more broadly review who is let into the country.

Although widespread protests in the city have at times taken law enforcement "by surprise," officials said they believed Houston is ready to host Super Bowl week festivities.

"I am not in any way concerned about the ability of this community to handle this," she said.

Executive assistant Chief of Police Matt Slinkard said "no large adjustment" of resources was needed to ensure safety of protesters or Super Bowl Live attendees Sunday.

Still, demonstrators in Houston said they planned to participate in future protests this week. The Super Bowl, they said, puts Houston protests in the national eye and gives more weight to their actions.

Afia Jalali, who has spent four decades in the U.S. after moving from Pakistan when she was 2 years old, said the Super Bowl was a "great platform" to show that "even in a place like Texas, Houston won't stand for this."

Jalali, wearing a Texans jersey, a U.S. flag headscarf and Houston Rockets earrings, said her four children have asked questions like, "Where are we going to go?" The protest, she said, was "uplifting."

"We're not in this alone," she said.
Two Democratic leaders were adamant in expressing their disapproval on Sunday of President Donald Trump's executive order that has temporarily banned the entrance of refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer fought back tears while standing with already relocated refugees, while the more measured Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not mention the president directly but said "this is the exact opposite of what I believe."

Schumer, during his regularly scheduled Sunday morning news conference, said he and other Democratic colleagues are demanding the president reverse the immigration order, which caused confusion Saturday as those with green cards and valid visas were also detained after arriving at U.S. airports. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that the executive order would no longer apply to those with legal standing to live in the United States  although there were a handful of travelers still being held at JFK International Airport Sunday fighting for their release.

The order signed Friday afternoon banned some travelers, including previously approved refugees who were arriving from Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The "extreme vetting" of refugees, which Trump said is to protect the U.S. from terrorists infiltrating the country, would be in place for 120 days  but exclusion of Syrian refugees is for an indefinite period of time.

Trump's order was "mean-spirited and un-American," Schumer said, pausing to regain his composure. "It was implemented in a way that created chaos and confusion across the country, and it will only serve to embolden and inspire those around the globe ... that will do us harm. It must be reversed immediately."

Meanwhile, Cuomo announced Sunday that he established a hot line at the Department of State for family members to call if their relatives were in transit Saturday and never made it to their U.S. destinations. While some people were detained by federal agents when they arrived at U.S. airports, others were not allowed to board their planes and remain overseas.

Cuomo's remarks came at a press conference announcing stiffer penalties for assaults on airport workers in the wake of a Muslim Delta worker who was assaulted by a traveler at JFK airport last week. The governor used the opportunity to comment on the executive order, parts of which were temporarily nullified by various federal judges over the weekend as the American Civil Liberties Union filed lawsuits on behalf of detainees who were in danger of being deported. Cuomo did not mention the president or the order directly, but when asked about it by a reporter said, "Is this what the country represents to me? No." "We're all immigrants. Unless you're Native American, you're an immigrant."

The New York Department of State hot line, a confidential toll-free number for New Yorkers to report family members, relatives, friends or colleagues who were believed to be passengers on U.S. flights is 1-888-769-7243.

The State University of New York put out a statement Sunday saying its officials are reviewing the immigration order to see how it might impact some 320 students who are from the seven countries that are part of the ban.

"SUNY is reviewing President Trump's Executive Order and surveying its campuses to determine the impact it may have on our students, faculty, and staff both abroad and at home on our 64 college and university campuses," the statement said.

SUNY officials said its leadership, as well as university police, will do what they can  within the law  to support students, faculty or staff who are affected by the order.

"In the meantime, we recommend suspending travel plans to the countries included, and urge individuals affected to keep in contact with their campus Office of International Student and Scholar Services," SUNY said.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman took a harsher tone Sunday, saying he joined 15 other state attorneys general in declaring the executive order unconstitutional.

"Yesterday, multiple federal courts ordered a stay of the administration's dangerous Executive Order. We applaud those decisions and will use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order and preserve our nation's national security and core values," Schneiderman's statement said. "We are confident that the Executive Order will ultimately be struck down by the courts. In the meantime, we are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created."

lstanforth@timesunion.com  518-454-5697
Connecticut lawmakers looking for more money to fund transportation projects are again considering border tolls.

Lawmakers have proposed several bills this session that would usher in electronic tolls. The General Assembly's Transportation Committee will meet Monday to decide whether to hold a hearing on those bills.

For the past few legislative sessions, legislators  mostly those from the center of the state  have been proposing border tolls to raise money for projects such as highway expansions and increased rail services. But Danbury-area lawmakers and others representing border communities have successfully fought the idea.

Its the proposal that never goes away, said state Rep. Robert Godfrey, a Democratic who represents Danbury. The usual suspects are out there on both sides. We could divide the Legislature into those who live in the middle of the state and want border tolls, to those who live on the states borders and want nothing to do with it.

A special panel last year recommended congestion tolling  a fee charged to drivers during peak travel times  to help pay for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's planned $100 million overhaul of transportation infrastructure.

Malloy told Fox 61 tolls could be part of a long-term solution, saying it could take four years to get a system up and running.

Proponents of border tolls, including state Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, have said the state needs the money to fix long-ignored infrastructure problems and out-of-state trucking companies should pay to use the states roadways.

State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton,who co-chairs the Legislatures transportation committee with Gurerrera, has been a strong opponent of border tolls. Several proposals for tolls have been presented before legislative committees but have yet to be voted on or the subject of public hearings.

We need to call this what this is  another tax, Boucher said. And our residents are already taxed enough as it is.

Boucher said the recently floated idea of congestion pricing, where drivers would have to pay more to use the highways during peak travel periods, is even more detrimental than border tolls.

Both Boucher and Godfrey agreed that congestion pricing proposals would unfairly burden those who can least afford it. State Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Democrat from Branford, floated the idea of congestion pricing earlier this month.

The chief executive officer of a company can go into work anytime he wants to, but a worker who has to be there from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be charged the most. Its essentially giving a lot of the hourly employees a pay cut, Boucher said.

She added that the Danbury areas economy would also suffer from toll proposals, particularly given that nearly 50 percent of those shopping at the Danbury Fair mall come from outside of Connecticut.

Danbury retailers have traditionally deposited more sales tax revenue into state coffers than most other cities in Connecticut, having sent more than $126 million to Hartford in 2012 base on $6.5 billion in retail sales, according to the state Department of Revenue Services.

Local business leaders, who have been vocal on their opposition to border tolls, believe it could negatively impact the regions economy by providing a disincentive for New Yorkers to do their shopping here.

Time and again my constituents have said they dont want tolls on Connecticut highways, but people in Hartford just dont seem to get the message, said state Sen. Michael McLachlan, a Republican from Danbury and a long time opponent of tolls. I hear you loud and clear and will fight this obvious money grab targeted at residents and workers on our states borders.

Godfrey said he is conducting some research on an alternative proposal to raise transportation dollars that would standardize car taxes throughout the state, with the revenue being used for infrastructure improvements.

Its a real dilemma, he said. Everyone wants the trains and the road and the airports but nobody knows how to pay for it all.

dperrefort@newstimes.com;
Carlisle  An elderly woman died and a man believed to be inside had not been located following a fire that broke out in a 19th-century farmhouse on Route 20 in Schoharie County late Saturday afternoon, fire officials said.

Traffic was diverted around the blaze, which firefighters from a half-dozen fire companies fought for more than three hours, fire officials said.
The State University of New York put out a statement Sunday saying its officials are reviewing President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration to see how it might impact some 320 students who are from the seven Muslim-majority countries that are part of the ban.

"SUNY is reviewing President Trump's Executive Order and surveying its campuses to determine the impact it may have on our students, faculty, and staff both abroad and at home on our 64 college and university campuses," the statement said.
Submitted

HOUSTON  Fourteen Spring ISD teachers representing elementary and middle schools throughout the district were honored Jan. 18 by the Houston Area Alliance of Black School Educators during the organization's 30th Annual Outstanding Teacher Awards and Recognition Ceremony at the George R. Brown Convention Center. All were recognized as HAABSE Campus Teachers of the Year, while Beneke Elementary School teacher Jocelyn Chapman was additionally named runner-up for the 2017 HAABSE Elementary Teacher of the Year Award.

"As there is an ongoing need for recognition of dedication to the educational process, HAABSE remains committed to ensuring that teachers gain recognition for outstanding achievements," said HAABSE President-Elect Dr. Tory Hill in announcing this year's honorees.
WESTPORT  Local residents can soon see their portraits reflected on the Westport Arts Centers gallery walls, claiming more to their identities beyond the categories they may routinely be sorted into.

As We Are, an exhibition featuring community members challenging labels and stereotyping, opened at the arts center Jan. 27. The show wraps up a series of MORE Than Words exhibitions and outside related programming put on since the early fall, all related to bullying and the power of words.

Artist Pamela Hovland, a Wilton resident, designed a black, white and red postcard, reading I am more than, with a space to answer the prompt. Gallerygoers have filled out more than 500 responses over the past few months. More than 100 portraits of responding community members were taken, some of which will anchor the upcoming installation.

My inspiration is in part whats going on in our country and feeling the need to participate in that discussion in a positive way, trying to effect some kind of positive thinking, positive change, Hovland said. She was also inspired by the work of the first two MORE Than Words installations and wanted to contribute to the discussion as a member of the local community.

Hovland is putting the exhibition together, a collaboration with community members who have offered responses and content. Along with 10 of the portraits lining the gallery walls, other texts will describe what those pictured have said they are, details they want people to know about themselves beyond the label they challenge. Hovland created a tabloid-sized, newspaper-style printout of pieces discussing identity, stereotyping and language that visitors can take away.

An small audiovisual room will play Tylers Suite, a nine-piece choral collection dedicated to the memory of Tyler Clementi, a college student whose 2010 suicide spurred national discourse about bullying. Projections that Hovland designed will accompany the music.

The various elements intend to make viewers think about how labels are often assigned easily  but inaccurately  to others based on surface-level assumptions. Hovland called the topic timely amid a recent national environment of harsh, critical, judgmental labeling and stereotyping.

Maybe its time we step back from that practice, those assumptions, and really think carefully about how we view each other and how we view ourselves, Hovland said. Its such a timely topic because the level of our discourse is so troubling at the moment.

Hovland considers herself an activist. She counts As We Are as a humanistic call to action, asking visitors to think more critically when they leave about questions of identity and the power in language. Getting closer to what is different from us and what we do not understand can dissolve fears and senses of difference, she explained, a theme she believes to be the main thread of the exhibition.

The theme has played out in Hovlands own experience. Among the portraits is a woman holding her postcard  I am more than a refugee  and smiling. Hovland met her six months ago, the first time she had met someone from Syria, and she learned about how she is a mother and creative, currently learning to sew.

There are so many overlaps between our lives, and Id never know that unless I was in close proximity, Hovland said. Shes this amazing person, and I benefit so much from building that relationship, that friendship with her now. It required me to get out of my comfort zone to do that. Thats what I hope comes through in this exhibition. It has for me, and Im so appreciative of that.

Another portrait in the exhibition depicts Imran Hyder holding his response: I am more than a conservative. From Texas, the junior at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford was photographed while at the arts center to see a friends work featured in the MORE Than Words exhibition. For Hyder, his chosen word relates to his Texas roots and attendance at a fairly liberal boarding school.

Alice Katz, a Fairfield resident, is photographed with her postcard reading, I am more than a senior.

I dont feel like a senior; I dont look like a senior, she said. I have tons of energy. I dont fit the stereotype at all. But attending exercise classes at Fairfields Bigelow Center for Senior Activities and on Medicare, she has been labeled that way.

In her own words, Katz is also an artist, an author, a psychotherapist, a leader, a teacher, a quiet rebel, a happy person, independent, healthy, a mother and a widow.

As We Are is on view through March 11.

lweiss@hearstmediact.com; @LauraEWeiss16
BOSTON (AP)  Two Iranian researchers heading to jobs in Boston have been turned back after President Donald Trump halted immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations including Iran.

Samira Asgari was recruited by Soumya Raychaudhuri, an associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, to conduct postdoctoral research on tuberculosis.
More than 1,000 protesters forced the temporary shutdown of security checkpoints at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, capping a weekend of demonstrations that packed airports around the country following President Trumps executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

The impassioned crowd packed shoulder to shoulder in the International Terminal at SFO, chanting, singing and banging drums with signs reading, No ban, no wall and Let our people in. Airport officials and police in riot gear closed the security checkpoints in the terminal and rerouted passengers through an alternate checkpoint.

Immigration attorneys fanned out through the demonstration seeking family members impacted by the order and offering free legal services. Were considering all legal avenues to ensure any detainment is prohibited, said Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, an attorney with the International Refugee Assistance Project.

More for you McConnell: We don't have religious tests in this country

Yemen citizen and Oakland resident Mustafa Abuzaid was one of those held at SFO Sunday. The local business owner, who has been in the United States for 28 years on a green card, said he was detained and questioned by federal agents for nearly five hours after returning from Malaysia, where he was visiting family.

That was the worst time I have been through customs since I have been in the United States, he said during an emotional reunion with his brother at the airport. I was nervous, but I am happy now that I am out.

On Saturday night, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly temporarily stopped the government from enforcing the ban on travelers who had arrived at airports with valid visas over the weekend. The New York judge did not, however, rule on the overall constitutionality of the executive action.

Trumps order, and the legal responses to it, ricocheted around the globe, causing chaos and confusion over how it will be enforced.

Along with SFO, protesters descended on more than 30 U.S. airports over the weekend, including those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston. Although international security checkpoints were closed at SFO from about 4 to 7 p.m., flight operations were not impacted by the protests, officials said.

Its a bit of a nuisance for travelers, but its freedom of speech, said Greg Martin, 39, who arrived at SFO four hours before his flight to New Zealand was scheduled to depart.

Hundreds also convened outside the White House on Sunday afternoon to protest Trumps executive order. Sixteen state attorneys general, including Xavier Becerra of California, have condemned the order.

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and other immigrants rights attorneys estimated that more than 100 people were detained in the U.S. over the weekend as Homeland Security officials scrambled to interpret and implement Trumps order, which was signed Friday.

The order suspends all refugees from entering the country for more than 120 days and bans citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days  including people with visas and permanent residents with green cards.

Department of Homeland Security officials said Sunday that they did not anticipate that any more people would be detained at domestic airports, since the agency is working with airlines to prevent barred travelers from boarding international flights into the United States.

Agency officials said they will continue to enforce Trumps order in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people.

What that means for travelers from the seven Muslim-majority countries and their families remains uncertain.

Were in the throes of it right now, Bauer-Kahan said. We dont know what the border patrol is doing. I dont know what their plan is or if they have one.

SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said airport officials offered food and water to demonstrators.

We appreciate all those who have so passionately expressed their concerns over the presidents executive order relating to immigration, Yakel said Sunday. We share these concerns deeply, as our highest obligation is to the millions of people from around the world whom we serve.

Evan Sernoffsky, Joaquin Palomino and Kurtis Alexander are San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, jpalomino@sfchronicle.com, kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @JoaquinPalomino, @KurtisAlexander
Paris

Hard-left Socialist rebel Benoit Hamon heads into France's left-wing presidential primary runoff as a surprising favorite to beat pro-business pragmatist Manuel Valls, in a vote that will realign France's unpredictable presidential campaign.

Hamon is the favorite in Sunday's vote after arriving in pole position in the first round with 36 percent of the votes.

He proposes a "determined and optimistic leftist alternative."

His most talked-about proposal is an $800 "universal income" that would be gradually granted to all adults.

He is now backed by another left-wing candidate, Arnaud Montebourg, eliminated from the race with 17.5 percent of the votes.

Valls, who arrived second with 31.4 percent, criticized Hamon's "unrealistic" promises.

A former junior minister and briefly education minister, Hamon left the government in 2014. He then led a group of rebel Socialist lawmakers who opposed the government's economic policies.

"Yesterday's failed solutions have no reason to become successes tomorrow," he said at a rally near Paris Thursday.

Ten French economists this week published an article to argue that the universal income can be "relevant and innovative."

"Properly conceived and detailed, the universal living income can be a key element for reshaping our social model," they wrote.

Valls has tried to make an asset from his experience as prime minister from 2014 to 2016  despite his association with unpopular President Francois Hollande.
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, whose vast West Texas district runs along the Mexican border for 800 miles, has ripped President Donald Trumps plan for a border wall that could cost up to $15 billion.

Congress will move legislation this year providing funds to build a wall along the Mexican boundary, Republican leaders said Thursday. But they would not say how they'd prevent the massive project from worsening federal deficits, and were meeting resistance from GOP lawmakers.
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The Conroe community soon will be able to get a glimpse of the World War II experience from the sky.

The vintage heavy bomber, known as the B-17 Flying Fortress Texas Raiders, is moving permanently to a hangar at General Aviation Services on the north side of Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport in early February.

A public ribbon-cutting ceremony with WWII veterans in attendance is scheduled for March with the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce. The first public event is expected to be in April, which will give people a chance to tour the cockpit and soar in the first B-17 to be restored as a "flying museum."

The Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing, which is a nonprofit organization that maintains and operates the Texas Raiders, asks for donations of $5 for children under the age of 12, $10 for adults and $20 up to a family of five to help support the aircraft as an educational tool to honor and remember those who served in WWII.

CAF Spokesperson Nancy Kwiecien said Texas Raiders, which is celebrating 50 years of service to the CAF this year, has resided in the greater Houston area since the early 1970s at Ellington Field Joint Reserve base and David Wayne Hooks Airport in Spring.

However, the CAF has been looking for a better facility for the plane, according to Kwiecien. She said a significant amount of space coincidentally became available at the Conroe airport, which provides better public access for people to see and experience the plane more easily.

Additionally, she said the airport is easier to operate the big bomber.

"The B-17 can't reside just anywhere," Kwiecien said.

The United States deployed 12,731 of the bombers by the end of WWII as "the largest armada the world had ever seen," according to information from the CAF. However, Kwiecien said only nine of those aircraft can still fly.

To put size into perspective, the popular Cessna-172 single engine airplane carries four people with a wingspan of 36 feet. The 20-foot-tall B-17 carried a crew of 10 and has a wingspan of 104 feet.

But, it had its flaws and eventually the aircraft evolved into the larger B-29 and then B-52 model. Yet, it remains an important part of American history.

"The B-17 wasn't even pressurized," she said. "The men who flew in them had to wear electric suits to keep warm and oxygen masks to breathe.  WWII ended and technology moved past this particular model of bomber. The B-17 was very much the airplane of its time in WWII."

In 2016, the Texas Raiders flew 230 hours as one of the last Boeing B-17's ever built. It was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Corporation in Long Beach, Calf., at the end of July 1945.

"She wasn't born here in Texas but she got here as quick as she could," Kwiecien said.

While WWII combat ended before Texas Raiders flew overseas, Kwiecien said the warplane did serve during the Korean War.

The aircraft's military career included scouting, search and rescue and weather reconnaissance. After the war, this B-17 went on to become a seismic survey aircraft and in 1967 was acquired by the CAF to be restored to her military configuration.

The bomber has been in continuous operation since she was manufactured with time out for three different major restorations in the last 70 years. It is currently being painted in Longview.

Harold Hutcheson, manager of the Conroe Visitor's Bureau is pleased to welcome Texas Raiders and the CAF to Conroe.

"She will be a great addition to our community and we look forward to working with her crew," he said in a statement.

The hangar at General Aviation Services will host a CAF twin-engine cargo plane from World War II, the Navy JRB-6. This year, both aircraft will appear at public events at Conroe airport, as well as other events across the country. For more information, visit www.B17TexasRaiders.org.

The CAF has more than 11,000 members and a fleet of 166 airplanes distributed throughout the country to 76 CAF units for their care and operation. For more information, visitwww.commemorativeairforce.org.
The number of arrests in 2016 for failing to register as a sex offender exceeded figures from previous years, according to data from the Midland Police Department and Midland County Sheriffs Office.

The MPD attributes its agency arrest numbers to diligence about tracking sex offenders, according to a city spokeswoman. People who work with sex offenders said those arrested might have not complied because of personal factors or state registration requirements.

Last year, 79 people were arrested for failing to register as sex offenders in Midland County, according to the sheriffs office. That number topped figures in 2015  when there were 53 arrests for the offense  and 2014, when there were 37 arrests.

Sara Bustilloz, spokeswoman for the city of Midland, said MPD has been diligent about holding sex offenders accountable for registration. She also said the department has recently reached out to other area offices for help.

Over the past years, instead of placing all the burden on ourselves, we can communicate, Bustilloz said. We talk to parole or probation officers if they hear something about a sex offender changing addresses. We interact with them to see if theyre moving.

Texas law requires sex offenders to register while on probation or parole. During this time period, a child safety zone perimeter prevents those registered from living within 500 or 1,000 feet of schools and parks. The city of Midland doesnt have an ordinance that restricts residency after probation or parole, Bustilloz said.

State law requires many sex offenders to provide updated personal information to law enforcement agencies for the rest of their lives. They also have to check in annually or quarterly, depending on the severity of their offenses. Failure to meet the registration requirements results in a felony charge.

Allen Bell, director of adult probation for Midland County, said his department reviews probation conditions with sex offenders. He said they face more than two dozen conditions that others on probation dont have.

We peel all that apart in excruciating detail, Bell said. We go over what that condition means and how were going to enforce that condition.

With sex offenders, the probation department focuses half of its efforts on enforcement while the other half goes to treatment.

We contract with a therapist to make sure they go there, Bell said. Theyre getting to the root of the problem to make sure they dont offend again.

Bill Magee, a psychotherapist who counsels convicted sex offenders in the area, said they have ways of justifying their actions and often struggle with responsibility. He said those factors could have influenced recent arrest numbers.

Its relative to several things, Magee said. The values, thoughts and beliefs individuals convey is the primary one. The second is the economy has gone down in 2015 and 2016. Things like that are becoming paramount in their minds, and they let their responsibilities slip.

The Texas Department of Public Safety informs residents about sex offenders living in the state through a registry that includes names, physical descriptions, birth dates and addresses. MPD has a liaison working with the DPS to update public information about sex offenders in the city, Bustilloz said.

Recently, sex offenders have been required to provide additional information to law enforcement officials. Mary Sue Molnar, executive director of the nonprofit Texas Voices for Reason and Justice, said the requirements constitute a burden that can lead to arrests throughout the state.

Laws have evolved so much throughout the years for people who are sex offenders, Molnar said. Its grueling. A lot of violations of these laws are technical offenses  they dont let them know seven days before they intend to move or seven days after they move. If they dont register a change in their vehicle or social media site, it can amount to a failure to comply.

As people move into the city, Bustilloz said the MPD has considered ways to track newcomers who should be registering as sex offenders.

The number of arrests for failing to register  its not necessarily due to an increase in the population, Bustilloz said. Obviously, we have more people needing to register if theyre moving to Midland from a different town. People moving to Midland need to register within seven days.

The countys population rose 17.7 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. On Friday, 451 people on the DPS registry lived in Midland County.

Magee has seen an uptick in clients over the years. When he started working in the area in 1994, he had 30 clients; now he has more than 150 clients, Magee said. He thinks the number of people on the registry in Midland-Odessa will keep growing.

Sex offenses continue to happen every year, Magee said. People come out of prison, and the numbers increase every year. Some people should go off of the paper, but they mess up. Some people who get out are truly changed and enter the treatment program and are truly successful.

Still, Magee said there are hurdles for people who have been convicted of sex offenses. He said some of his local clients experienced challenges with finding or maintaining employment or housing.

Statewide, Molnar thinks the failure to find hosing is most directly related to arrests. She said its often difficult for people on the registry to settle outside child safety zones during probation or parole periods. Even after that period, she said sex offenders have to fight negative public perceptions about them.

The majority of apartment complexes property management companies wont let anybody with a sex offense live there, Molnar said. If theyre renting from an individual, they do a background check. Whether theyre on parole or probation or not, housing is difficult.

To combat the issue, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice tries to convince state legislators that registration should end when sex offenders complete probation or parole.

One thing we focus on is we would like to see at some point a reduction in the public registry, Molnar said. Most require registry for life without removal from the registry. We would like to see it go down.
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About 200 have gathered near the front of San Fernando Cathedral in Main Plaza to protest a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump that temporarily bans people from several Muslim majority counties from entering the United States.

The protest was publicized locally over Facebook. According to the page San Antonio Students Speak Out: A Rally for Our Friends, about 330 people signed up to attend the protest.

As of 4 p.m., the crowd at Main Plaza was growing by the minute. Organizers later claimed more than 300 eventually filled the plaza at the protest's height.

Earlier at San Antonio International Airport, a few people showed up to welcome anyone to San Antonio who might be an immigrant and to show opposition to the president's order.

May Mzayek held a sign that read "In Syria I couldn't protest anything, as a proud Syrian-American I am protesting against discrimination."

She said she was protesting not just for herself, but also on behalf of her parents and sister she accompanied to America 16 years ago.

"I'm very proud to represent them," she said. "It means everything to me."

Mzayek, 26, became a United States citizen in August of 2015.

Mark Barrera, 64, learned about the protest Sunday morning from his daughter.

He he was upset with family and friends who back President Trump.

"I'm very disappointed with friends and family who gave tacit support," he said. "Tacit support is consent."

Barrera joined in chants that echoed across the plaza. "What do we do?" a speaker shouted. "Stand up and fight back!" the crowd yelled in response.

After an announcement from organizers about an earlier protest at San Antonio International airport, some began to break away from the crowd to head to the airport renew that protest.

A little more than two dozen protesters were later found at the airport where they chanted "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here." As well as other rhyming slogans about fascism and Trump.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Courtesy/Bexar County Sheriffs Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Google Maps Show More Show Less 3 of 3





SAN ANTONIO -- A shooting at the entrance to a gated community in the city's far Northwest Side left one man dead and one woman injured Saturday night. Authorities say the suspect later jumped to his death from an upper level overpass on Interstate 10.

Bexar County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Scenic Oaks subdivision off Hazy Hallow Drive around 7 p.m. after receiving a call for a shooting in progress.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department.

Thursday, Jan. 26

12:08 a.m.  A motorist was arrested at Dina and Wyllys streets for drunken driving.

1:20 a.m.  A motorist was arrested at West Sugnet and North Saginaw roads for drunken driving.

3:39 a.m.  Police investigated a case of harassing communications at East Freeland and South Patterson roads.

3:58 a.m.  A deputy was sent to Lincoln Township to investigate a report of a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was found down the road in a ditch. The owner did not wish to prosecute.

8:55 a.m.  Deputies assisted a Child Protective Services employee at an Edenville Township home.

9:27 p.m.  A motorist was arrested at East Hines and Ashman streets for driving without a valid license.
Gregg Phillips is the push behind President Donald Trump's unverified claims that between 3 million and 5 million people voted illegally in 2016.

Phillips, a conservative activist on the board of True the Vote, an offshoot of Houston-based King Street Patriots, has other issues besides his allegations of voter fraud, though.

Twitter

Phillips, 56, owes the IRS more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes and was once accused of lying about his qualifications, according to a report by The Guardian, a British newspaper.

OOPS: Trump's son-in-law registered to vote in 2 states

The paper cites a lien filed in Manatee County, Fla., in 2014 for $100,961 in unpaid income taxes with his wife.

Twitter

Phillips, an outspoken critic of government overspending, told the paper he disputes the lien and that the actual amount owed is less than $50,000.

STARTING POINT: Trump's voter fraud claim has Houston roots

Phillips was a loud backer of Trump during the election and, within days after Trump won, began making noise about voter fraud. In the three months since, though, Phillips has talked and tweeted a lot, but has offered no proof.

Twitter

When pressed for evidence by the fact-checking site Politifact, Phillips chose "not to release more information because he is still working on analyzing the data and verifying its accuracy."

And, for what it's worth, no one else has found anything to back his claims of millions of illegal voters in 2016.

>>>Click through the above gallery to see some of Donald Trump's many conspiracy theories.
The following sentence might save someones life: There are millions of Americans with a serious, life-threatening virus that can be cured, within roughly 12 weeks  if they simply get tested and find out they have it.

The virus is hepatitis C, or HCV, which chronically infects an estimated 2.3 million Americans. Its the leading cause of both cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, the most common type of primary liver cancer.

Overall, death due to hepatitis C is at an all-time high nationally. In fact, the death rate for HCV exceeds death rates from all other top-60 infectious diseases combined, including HIV and tuberculosis.

Yet infection typically only causes vague symptoms until it gets very advanced, which can take decades. Consequently, many people with the virus dont know it. In fact, only roughly half of the people who have the virus are aware of it.

Thats the bad news. The good news is that most serious complications from HCV infection can be averted once the infection is diagnosed. There are new, direct-acting, all-oral anti-HCV drugs that work extraordinarily well.

A 2015 study published in Clinical Liver Disease shows that these drugs can cure more than 90 percent of chronically HCV-infected people, on average, within three months. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Hepatology found that these medications increased the life expectancy of patients with HCV-caused cirrhosis to levels similar to that of the general population.

So theres excellent treatment. For that treatment to save as many lives as possible, however, we need to dramatically increase awareness. We need people to get a blood test to check for the infection.

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force has endorsed a one-time screening of all Americans born from 1945 to 1965 (baby boomers) for HCV because 75 percent of people living with HCV are in this age range. Although the prevalence of infection in all baby boomers is high, studies show African-Americans have an even higher risk of chronic HCV. Additionally, our own research, recently published in Hepatology, shows that Hispanics are more likely to have advanced HCV-related liver disease at diagnosis.

Most health insurers now cover HCV screening tests for baby boomers. Yet only about 10 percent of baby boomers have been tested, because most clinical practices have not developed the infrastructure to perform screening and linkage to care.

Here in Texas, we have been able to develop a continuum of screening and care, with funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that tested more than 90 percent of eligible baby boomers who were admitted to University Hospital in San Antonio. Of those 4,582 patients, we diagnosed 175 (4 percent) with chronic HCV and were able to link the majority to outpatient care.

We have also tested more than 15,000 baby boomers in over 15 primary care practices throughout the state through a team-based model of care that provides screening, followed by education and HCV care for people newly diagnosed with chronic HCV. Our group and others have found that primary care clinicians can successfully treat chronic HCV with training and support from specialists because the medications are well-tolerated and the treatment usually lasts only 12 weeks.

We would be delighted to share our materials and methods, and we encourage others to join us in the collective effort to reverse the significant health threats from HCV and HCC.

Its going to take time to integrate comprehensive HCV screening and referral into health care throughout the state, but it is achievable. The faster we do this, the more lives well save. Think of the fathers, mothers, relatives, friends and colleagues who are unaware if they have a potentially deadly infection but, once diagnosed, can be cured.

Barbara J. Turner, M.D., is the James D. and Ona I. Dye Professor of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio and is the director of its Center for Research to Advance Community Health. David L. Lakey, M.D., is associate vice chancellor for population health and chief medical officer for the University of Texas System. He is chair of the Texas Medical Association Council on Science and Public Health.
As you likely have heard, San Antonio College, St. Philips College and Northwest Vista College of the Alamo Colleges District received warning notices during their reaffirmation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or SACSCOC.

While discouraging, I assure you that the situation is resolvable. Please know that the Alamo Colleges District board of trustees, the administration and the colleges deliberately and assertively are addressing the issues cited by SACSCOC.

Despite misinformation, our colleges remain accredited. The provision of federal financial aid to students and the transferability of college credits earned remain unaffected during this review process.

The key facts on the SACSCOC findings are as follows:

The issues raised by SACSCOC did not center on items related to academic quality (student learning; student achievement; quality of instruction in courses or programs; quality of faculty or staff; or performance metrics of colleges);

The issues raised did not focus on any financial issues (budgets, audits, fund balance);

The findings of the special committee were really a surprise as other SACSCOC teams (over the past five years) never raised these issues during their reviews of our colleges;

Even though the issues raised are mechanical in nature, we are taking them very seriously, and plans and actions are already underway to address them by tweaking specific items, such as wording on transcripts and computation of grade-point averages;

Our colleges will not be losing their accreditation as all these issues are resolvable, and we believe that acceptable solutions will be in place within two months (revamped policies, processes, etc.).

The board proactively has revised three policies.

Here is a detailed list of immediate, specific measures we have taken to address SACSCOCs citations:

A redesign of our colleges transcripts revising the intradistrict transcription of credits and the calculation of a college-specific (rather than district) GPA already has been developed. This solution will be placed into production in the very near future and will be retroactive so that the colleges will be able to produce transcripts for both current students and recent graduates who satisfy all SACSCOC standards.

Our board of trustees has made the requisite revisions to board policies, which were identified as problematic during the site visits of our three affected institutions. For example, the specific board policy related to curricular issues (Policy B.9.1), which was deemed as too prescriptive, has been adjusted to ensure that faculty maintains the primary responsibility for curricular content.

Branding and naming conventions, which will make clearer the distinction between the colleges and the district, are underway. Updating of the colleges websites, catalogs, handbooks, recruitment materials, policies, job descriptions and more has been substantially completed.

Human resources Offer Letters and Contracts of Employment have been revised as recommended, and these updated documents have been transmitted to all new hires (both faculty and staff) starting this month.

It is clear that the colleges are well down the path on these SACSCOC issues. We believe that these adjustments will further strengthen our very strong Alamo Colleges District. While we do not lead the state in enrollment, we do lead in the number of degrees conferred. This is a testament to the excellence that occurs every day as we strive to provide the best educational experiences to our students and communities.

As always, we appreciate your continued support of the Alamo Colleges District.

Yvonne Katz chairs the Alamo Colleges District board of trustees.
Texas School Choice Week was last week, and the support for school choice  true education freedom for students, parents and families  has never been higher. Well over 1,000 Texas schools and 28 Texas cities participated. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott himself issued a proclamation declaring Texas School Choice Week  and personally addressed a tremendous rally Tuesday at the Texas Capitol.

Support for school choice in the Lone Star State has never been stronger, from the highest office in the land to the humblest schoolhouse. Its an idea whose time has come.

Thats why the 85th Texas Legislature must make the dream of school choice a reality for Texas families  and they should do it by creating education savings accounts.

School choice already exists in Texas  but only if youre wealthy or lucky. Parents fortunate enough to afford private schools, and students fortunate enough to gain access to a charter school, have options for their education. For the rest of us  the overwhelming majority  there is no choice.

Thats a system that is neither comprehensive nor fair.

There are plenty of quality and varied educational options meeting the many different needs of Texas children, but Texas parents must have the option of accessing them. There are more than 800 private, accredited schools in Texas. A recent study conducted by the Texas Private Schools Association, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops and EdChoice found an estimated 30,000 open and available seats among these schools. Consider that 140,000 families are presently on a charter school waiting list, and ask yourself: Whats standing in the way of these students accessing these seats?

The education savings account would bridge that gap. By enabling parents to directly control the funds for educating their children, it would allow those children to attend the schools best for them  not in the eyes of an uncaring bureaucracy but in the eyes of the parents who know and love them best.

These funds would increase accountability for educational standards and achievement. They can only be used on approved educational expenses, such as tuition at an accredited private school, curriculum, educational tutoring and therapy. In addition to the accountability imposed by the state, a new and more significant level of accountability would be brought to bear: accountability to parents who can take their children to better schools if needed.

The end of the one-size-fits-all education model is the beginning of education tailored for your child  and mine. This is what education savings accounts accomplish: They provide children with education for them, and they hold that education accountable to us.

Who, after all, knows children better than their parents?

The best studies and data support what every parent already knows: that they, and not bureaucracies, are the best authorities on their own children. In places where school choice exists, it directly correlates with improved academic outcomes and increased parental satisfaction.

Last week, thousands of parents stood on the south lawn of the Texas Capitol with a resounding message for the 85th Texas Legislature: Its time for school choice in Texas. Thirty states now have some form of private school choice. There is no reason the Lone Star State cannot join them. Our parents, our schools and our children deserve no less.

Randan Steinhauser is the lead organizer of the Texas School Choice Rally and serves as an adviser to Texans for Education Opportunity, EdChoice and National School Choice Week. She previously worked for Betsy DeVos, nominee for U.S. secretary of education, at the American Federation for Children in Washington, D.C.
(Natural News) When children spend more time outside, they are less likely to develop nearsightedness later in life. These are the results of a new European study published in the Dec 1, 2016 issue of JAMA Ophthalmology.

Also known as myopia, nearsightedness is when a person struggles to see clearly at a distance. Objects farther away appear blurry. Researchers at Kings College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suspect that the suns ultraviolet B (UVB) rays may play a role in protecting against nearsightedness. UVB rays spur the body to produce vitamin D; however, the researchers couldnt correlate higher vitamin D levels with reduction in nearsightedness. Is there another property of sunlight that is responsible for protecting vision health? How does constant bombardment of artificial light from modern indoor settings weaken visual strength?

Detachment from sunlight, outdoor settings weakening our eyes

The further we detach from our natural surroundings, the weaker our senses become. The researchers confirmed this in a study involving 371 Europeans with nearsightedness and 2,797 without the condition. We found that higher annual lifetime UVB exposure, directly related to time outdoors and sunlight exposure was associated with reduced odds of myopia, the study authors wrote. Exposure to UVB between ages 14 and 29 years was associated with the highest reduction in odds of adult myopia, they concluded.

The association, although vague, does point out the importance of connecting with real sunlight and the natural environment. Nearsightedness could simply be the result of humans adjusting to modern day indoor environments full of artificial light. The condition of nearsightedness may not be a condition at all. It could simply be a learned adaptation.

When the eyes are free to take in full spectrum scenery and sunlight outdoors, they are naturally going to be better suited to see clearly at greater distances. With modern day school settings locking kids indoors for hours, forcing them to concentrate on close-up tasks, the childrens eyes could just be adjusting to the environment theyve grown accustomed to. In fact, in the study, the research found that nearsightedness is more common among educated people who spend more time indoors studying. People who have grown up outdoors in the country show less signs of nearsightedness.

Dr. Donald Mutti, a professor at the Ohio State University College of Optometry, says that real visible light affects the eyes in profound ways. Bright sunlight is known for stimulating the release of dopamine from the retina, which ultimately prevents problems like myopia. (RELATED: Read more news about the prevention of health problems at Prevention.news.)

Ian Morgan, a vision researcher and visiting fellow at Australian National University also notes, Increasing the amount of time outdoors in schools in Taiwan over the past five years has led to decreases in the prevalence of myopia for the first time in 40 years. Today in East Asia, myopia affects close to 80 percent of children. In Europe and the US, myopia affects 40 to 50 percent of kids. Nearsightedness could have everything to do with modern day separation from sunlight.

Find more news about living in harmony with the natural world at the Green Living News website.

Sources include:

Consumer.HealthDay.com

NEI.NIH.gov
Uber and Lyft, the two kings of the ride-hailing industry, are standing up to President Donald Trump's travel ban.

San Francisco-based Lyft pledged to donate $1 million to the ACLU over the next four years to combat the president's immigration executive order, which temporarily bars immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Noting that several Lyft employees and users could be impacted, the company also penned a message to its users condemning the decree.

"Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values," the statement read. "We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community."

Lyft's main competitor, Uber, also chipped in and offered assistance to employees and drivers hailing from the seven countries who might be turned away from passage into the United States and thus left without a job.

The San Francisco company is working out the kinks for a system that would pay drivers currently sitting outside of the United States pro bono over the next 90 days to help offset the costs that mount up when a flowing income has been halted, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote on Saturday in a Facebook post.

Kalanick remains committed to "standing up for what's right" in the meantime.

"But whatever the city or country  from the U.S. and Mexico to China and Malaysia  weve taken the view that in order to serve cities you need to give their citizens a voice, a seat at the table," he wrote. "We partner around the world optimistically in the belief that by speaking up and engaging we can make a difference. Our experience is that not doing so shortchanges cities and the people who live in them."

Despite the gesture, Uber was in a bit of hot water on Saturday after continuing service at JFK Airport when the New York City Taxi Worker's Alliance decided to freeze pickups, a move conducted in solidarity with airport protesters taking aim at the president's executive order. Some irritated people on social media coined the hashtag #DeleteUber while claiming that the ride-hailing service was disrupting ongoing protests and trying to profit from the taxi strike, according to media reports. Uber later cancelled surge pricing for JFK Airport rides.
A man suffering from severe injuries was found Sunday morning on a street in San Francisco before he later died, police said.

Someone standing near Mission Street and Excelsior Avenue around 9:15 a.m. flagged down police, and they told the arriving officers that there was someone with severe injuries on the ground.

The victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

It does not appear that the victim was shot, police said. A cause of death has yet to be reported.

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the death.
Some immigrants have reportedly been held at San Francisco International Airport since Saturday morning following President Donald Trump's recent executive order, banning entry to the U.S. from certain Muslim-majority countries.

That decree prompted flocks of protesters to converge on the airport's arrival area and the international terminal to voice frustration with the new statute. Those groans turned to some cheers later in the evening after word came down that a temporary stay would prevent people with valid visas being held at airports from being deported.

The protesters gathered at 3 p.m. at SFO after news broke Friday that Trump's order had taken effect immediately, with refugees and people from affected nations being stopped and detained at airports.

Police at first kept the protesters on the sidewalk, but as the crowd grew they spilled into the street blocking all traffic at the international arrivals terminal. They later swarmed into the terminal as immigration advocate attorneys tried to access people detained inside. The protesters chanted, "Let the families out, let the lawyers in."

Some immigrants have reportedly been held at San Francisco International Airport since Saturday morning following President Donald Trumps recent executive order, banning entry to the U.S. from certain Muslim-majority countries. Christie Smith reports.

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Saturday that it was taking legal action on behalf of two individuals detained in New York under the order. The ACLU said this evening that an emergency stay had been granted by a federal judge, blocking deportations from the order. The National Council for American Islamic Relations said it would be filing suit on behalf of 20 more individuals on Monday.

Trump's order bans citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country and blocks any refugees from entering for 120 days. Refugees from Syria are blocked indefinitely.

Lara Kiswani, an organizer with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said earlier Saturday, "We have lawyers currently at SFO. What we're not clear about is who or what type of families are being held, whether they're from Syria or Iran or other countries, we don't know for certain."

Attorney Susie Hwang said there were about a dozen attorneys who arrived at the airport's International Terminal in response to a call from the International Refugee Assistance Project asking attorneys to help immigrants being detained at airports across the country.

"I'm concerned about the abuse of law and the disregard for the constitution," Hwang said of Trump's order.

Hwang said several families have been at the airport waiting for several hours to hear word about whether their loved ones will be allowed to leave the airport or returned back to their countries.

According to Hwang, one woman had been waiting for hours for her 30-year-old son, who arrived at the airport from Iran early Saturday morning. The woman received asylum in the U.S. six years ago and is hoping her son will as well.

"Based on his religion, he is being persecuted and is in grave danger if he does go back," Hwang said.

Saturday evening, Hwang said customs officials released one woman from Iran with a green card after they held and questioned her.

Mozhgan Sorkhabi of Novato said her father, who lives in Iran and has a green card, was detained in San Francisco for six hours.

"We were really worried they were going to send back," Sorkhabi said. "He's not a strong man. He's 80 years old."

Palo Alto attorney Buzz Frahn was among several attorneys who volunteered their services to anyone who was stopped at the airport. Officials were not allowing attorneys to speak with any of the people who were reportedly being detained, he alleged.

Promising in an email to "[stand] up for what's right," Frahn said, "This blatantly unconstitutional [executive] order, discriminating on the basis of religion, is fundamentally wrong."

Outrage in the Bay Area reached a fevered pitch Saturday.

Determined to speak out against what they believe is outright unconstitutional, activists organized a #MuslimBan protest at 3 p.m. at the international arrivals section of San Francisco International Aiport. Protesters carried signs that read #NotInOurName, #NeverAgain, END the #MuslimBan and I STAND WITH MUSLIM TRAVELERs.

Witnesses estimated that hundreds of people showed up, forcing police to close the arrivals area.

"THIS BAN IS RACISM, PURE AND SIMPLE," organizers, who are known as #TheResistance, wrote on a MeetUp page. "Unadulterated, unapologetic xenophobia, completely unnecessary, Unconstitutional, and Unamerican."

They expressed dismay at the fact that travelers from largely Muslim countries are being stopped at airports, even if they are permanent residents of the United States.

That was the case with a Sudanese graduate student from Stanford University, who was stopped at JFK Airport despite being a green card holder, according to university spokeswoman Lisa Lapin.

Lapin said the woman is "still in the New York area getting some rest," after which she will return to the Palo Alto campus.

"Yes, it is true she was detained, and, yes, the university has offered her support," she confirmed.

Politicians with Bay Area ties also pledged their support to those affected by the executive order. California's Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, joined the protesters in San Francisco.

"People are happy to see me and theyre pretty pissed off because they want me to get in there and get those people out," he said regarding the situation involving people being detained at the airport. "Certain things I can do. Certain things I can't do."

Ed Lee, the current mayor of the city by the bay, condemned Trump's order while simultaneously applauding the ruling to block the president's immigration stance.

"As the son of Chinese immigrants, I am disgusted by the presidents executive order to target the Muslim community and ban immigrants from entering the United States," he said in a statement. "Our country was built by immigrants in search of religious freedom and a life free of persecution and violence. These actions are a direct betrayal of those American values. We cannot turn our backs on those looking for a better, safer life for themselves and their children."
A Sudanese graduate student from Stanford University was among those on Saturday held at JFK Airport in New York City following the implementation of President Donald Trump's executive immigration order, which temporarily banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country.

Nisrin Elamin, a PhD student at the Peninsula-based campus who is a legal U.S. resident and owns a green card, was recently conducting dissertation research in Sudan when she decided to make a beeline for the states after learning about Trump's intentions to sign the decree, a statute designed by the president to prevent extremists from entering the country and carrying out attacks on American soil.

Unfortunately for Elamin, she missed her original connecting flight from London to the United States. The next available flight landed her at JFK at 10 p.m. EST on Friday, just a matter of hours after the order went into effect.

The student made her way to customs control, but as she scanned her green card, an "X" flashed on the screen. Elamin said immigration officers seemed confused about how to exactly execute the executive order before deciding to ship her to a holding area. For the next six hours, Elamin said she was questioned about her involvement with Sudan, had her luggage and body thoroughly searched, and was once handcuffed while being shuttled between holding areas. She couldn't help but be overcome by emotion during the lengthy ordeal.

"I felt humiliated and scared," she said. "At that point, I thought I was probably going to either get deported or detained in some place. Why else would they put handcuffs on me? And I started crying."

Elamin has lived in the United States for over 20 years. Never did she see the day when she would be labeled as a threat.

"I've been living in the U.S. since 1993," she said. "I never expected to be treated this way upon my return home."

Elamin completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and received a master's degree from Columbia University. She is currently studying anthropology at Stanford.

Administrators with Elamin's current school penned a statement vowing to support the student and others like her.

"We are enormously concerned about the anguish this episode caused our student and her family, and what it may suggest for others in similar situations," the statement read.

One of the other travelers, who was detained in the East African country of Djibouti and turned away from an airplane, was trying to join her parents and siblings in the Central Valley city of Los Banos, according to Katherine Lewis, the family's attorney. The 12-year-old girl from Yemen has an approved immigrant visa to the United States.

Lewis added that Trump's stance on immigration is "extraordinarily overbroad."

"It's drawing lines based on national origin and religion," she said. "It's so sweeping that it's affecting people like a 12-year-old child who is simply trying to join her U.S. citizen family in the United States."

Trump's controversial decree, which ignited protests at airports across the country, was temporarily blocked on Saturday evening by a federal judge. The stay prevents any person in possession of a valid visa being held at airports from being booted out of the country. That ruling does not necessarily mean that detainees will be released, according to officials.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previously version of this story indicated that a 12-year-old girl was detained at JFK Airport. Katherine Lewis, the family's attorney, clarified and said the girl was detained in Djibouti.
A federal judge blocked the government from deporting immigrants being held due to President Donald Trump's executive immigration order.

Federal Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York Courthouse in Brooklyn granted an injunction in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other legal organizations on behalf of individuals subject to President Trump's immigration ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

The stay blocks anyone with a valid visa being held at airports from being deported.

The stay applies only to those currently within the U.S., but not to anyone who tries to come to the U.S. going forward. And it does not mean detainees will be released, only that they can't be deported, according to ACLU attorneys.

Federal Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York Courthouse in Brooklyn granted an injunction in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other legal organizations on behalf of individuals subject to President Trumps immigration ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

"Everyone now who came is safe, and that is absolutely critical. The courts worked the way they're supposed to work in our country," Lee Gelernt, Deputy Legal Director for the ACLU's Immigrants Rights Project, told MSNBC. "The president could not override the courts."

The ACLU said the judge ordered a list of detainees to be provided, and said it would go through the names and ensure they are released.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court order would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and that the court order affected a small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return.

"President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place. Prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the statement said.

Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said: "Nothing in the Brooklyn judge's order in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."

The judge's order was hailed as a victory for activists fighting the president's order, but some qualified it as a small one in a larger battle.

"We believe the executive order is unconstitutional," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero told MSNBC. "We believe it violates the Fifth Amendment. We believe it violates the First Amendment. We think it's illegal under existing immigration statues. So we will live to fight another day to make sure this executive order dies on the vine."

[NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told MSNBC that the executive action resulted in infringements on the constitutional rights of detained travelers.

"Some of the folks who have been detained are American citizens," she said. "This is not all refugees."

She called what happened to travelers Saturday "a dangerous thing."

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention, the Associated Press was reporting.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

The order signed by Trump on Friday puts in place a 120-day hold on entry of refugees to the U.S., and indefinitely suspends the admission of Syrian refugees until the president is satisfied that changes have been made.

It also suspends entry for 90 days from certain nations based on statute related to the Visa Waiver Program. The most recent version of that program lists Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

Critics blasted the order as "Muslim ban," which Trump has denied. Trump said the order was necessary to keep foreign terrorists out of the U.S. The president on the campaign trail and after taking office called for "extreme vetting" of some entering the country.

Under Trump's order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trump's order had been prevented from entering the U.S.

Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project, told MSNBC that the goal going forward now is to ensure there are no more widespread airport detentions as there were Saturday.

"We will continue to put pressure on the government to try to ensure that people are not detained, because again, these are people who have gone through the whole process," he said, referring to the vetting procedures already in place for refugees and others entering the country.

"Stay is granted," ACLU Voting Rights Project Director Dale Ho announced earlier on Twitter. "Stay is national."

The ACLU's Gelernt said in a statement:

This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil.

The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of two Iraqi refugees who were detained after arriving at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport following the order. They were later released, and a senior Trump administration official said waivers would be granted.

Protests erupted in multiple airports across the nation Saturday over the order.

On Sunday morning, Trump reiterated his support for "extreme vetting" in a tweet.

"Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!" he wrote.
President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration was being felt across the country on Saturday, including in Boston, where some were denied entry and and hundreds protested the ban.

At Boston's Logan International Airport, at least six people from Iran were detained Saturday after their flights landed in the U.S. A federal judge in New York issued a temporary stay late Saturday for all detainees affected by Trump's executive orders, which barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, and indefinitely halted any from Syria. Trump argued the ban is needed to keep out "radical Islamic terrorists."

A tweet by Samira Asgari, an Iranian doctor, stated that she was denied boarding when she arrived for her flight to the U.S. from Germany.

In a Skype interview from Switzerland, Asgari told us she had planned to come to the U.S. to start a study at Harvard Medical School analyzing tuberculosis.

I was pretty excited to join @soumya_boston lab but denied boarding due to my Iranian nationality. Feeling safer?  Samira Asgari (@samsam_86) January 28, 2017

"My view of America of course, doesn't change because of a decision a politician makes. My view of America changes because the land that used to be the land of those who want to be there, who want to do something good to the community and take something good from the community - that picture of America has changed for me," she said.

Several students at Massachusetts colleges also tweeted that they were being blocked from entering the country.

In a statement, MIT officials said they're "very troubled" that Trump's executive order is affecting the university's community and are exploring options for helping impacted students.

Northeastern University in a statement to their community offered support to their students, faculty and staff reminding them of "their commitment to each other."

Earlier in the day, two Iraqi men were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport when their flights landed separately.

NBC News reported that lawyers for the two refugees filed motions in the Eastern District of New York, seeking a write of habeas corpus in an effort to get their clients released. One man has since been released.

Meanwhile, about 300 people participated in a demonstration against Trump's executive orders on immigration at Boston Logan International Airport Saturday evening, joining protests at airports across the nation.

Bahar Bhamani, unable to reach her husband hours after he landed in Boston Logan said her life had "turned into hello in two days." She waited for hours before her husband, who was visiting Iran to see his father sick with cancer, was let out of the airport. Bhamani fears he may never be able to fly home to see him again.

Among those at the protest was U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who told the crowd they were there to make their voices against the Trump administration heard.

Mayor Marty Walsh was present at the Boston airport this evening, shortly after a federal judge granted a temporary stay for detainees affected by Trump's executive order.

The ACLU, who challenged the President's order, said there would be a Federal Court hearing later tonight. The time is still to be decided. The ACLU of Massachusetts and other civil rights groups are filing suit on behalf of the UMass professor detained at Logan today.

According to the ACLU of Massachusetts complaint, the professors "have a constitutional right to return home to the United States after a brief trip abroad, and cannot be deprived of their lawful permanent status without justification and due process protections."

Another protest against Trump's executive order is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Boston's Copley Square on Sunday.
Austria has shut its door to about 300 non-Muslim Iranians hoping to use the country as a way station before establishing new homes in the United States, The Associated Press has learned. The action is an early ripple effect of U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to clamp down on refugee admissions.

Under a 27-year-old program originally approved by Congress to help Jews in the former Soviet Union, Austria had been serving until recently as a conduit for Iranian Jews, Christians and Baha'i, who were at risk in their home country and eligible to resettle in the United States. Iran has banned the Baha'i religion, which was founded in 1844 by a Persian nobleman considered a prophet by followers.

U.S. officials had been interviewing the candidates in Austria because they cannot do so in Iran. But the United States suspended the so-called "Iranian Lautenberg Program" in recent days, according to Austrian officials, who in turn stopped Iranians from reaching their territory. It's unclear when the program might restart.

The episode isn't directly linked to an executive order Trump signed Friday that orders strict new screening for refugees to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the United States. But it reflects the knock-on effects already occurring from his tougher line on immigration and refugees. Similar to how tighter German migration rules had consequences across Europe, Trump's actions could lead other nations to take a harder look at people wishing to use their territories as transit points.

The net result could be even tougher conditions for people hoping to escape war and persecution for a better life abroad. There are more than 20 million refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations.

Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Thomas Schnoell said the Alpine country acted after "U.S. authorities told us that the onward trip for people to the U.S.A., who received visas from Austrian authorities as part of the program, would be put on hold for now."

A State Department email sent Tuesday said the Austrian government had "electronically canceled" its visas for applicants who hadn't yet reached Austria. If they try to reach Austria anyway, they will be permanently blocked from Austria, according to the email, which was obtained by AP.

Schnoell said the move affects about 300 Iranians with visas waiting to enter Austria. He said about 100 of them had been tracked down and informed that they can no longer do so. The search continues for the rest through airline ticket bookings and other means, Schnoell said.

Other officials said a small number of Iranians with such short-term visas already were in Austria. It wasn't immediately clear what would happen with them.

The end of the program, named for former Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, could have broad implications for religious minorities in Iran.

HIAS, a global Jewish nonprofit organization that works to protect refugees, says on its website that ending the U.S.-Austrian partnership "puts people seeking religious freedom in danger and sends the wrong message about the pervasive violations of religious freedom in Iran."

Trump is expected to pause the flow of all refugees to the U.S. and indefinitely bar those fleeing war-torn Syria. The president's upcoming order is also expected to suspend issuing visas for people from several predominantly Muslim countries  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  for at least 30 days, according to a draft executive order obtained by the AP.

Cancellation of the U.S. program could mean Iranians arriving in Austria with temporary visas would seek asylum in Austria. Immigration is a highly sensitive issue throughout Europe, which is struggling to deal with hundreds of thousands of people from Syria, North Africa and beyond.

Austria, a nation of fewer than 9 million people, is already strained by efforts to accommodate and integrate more than 100,000 migrants who have flowed in since 2015.
At least 1,000 people gathered for an "emergency rally" at OHare Airport on Saturday to protest President Trumps executive action barring refugees from entering the United States, an order that caused chaos and outrage as several travelers were detained in Chicago and at airports across the country.

Signed Friday, Trump's order halts all refugee resettlement into the U.S. for 120 days, imposes an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria, and suspends entry of immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen  all Muslim-majority nations  for 90 days.

The order also caps the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. at 50,000 people in the fiscal year 2017  less than half the 110,000 limit set by Barack Obama for 2016. [[412059543, C]]

The program suspended by the order resettled roughly 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice in the U.S. over the last year.

Saturday's rally at O'Hare was organized by several advocacy groups including the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, the Council on American-Islamic-Relations Chicago, the Arab American Action Network, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights.

The protest was planned for 6 p.m. in OHares International Terminal 5, according to a Facebook event, though dozens of people arrived at the airport hours earlier, including several volunteer attorneys who gathered to assist travelers entangled in the ban.

A total of 16 people were being held at O'Hare under the order on Saturday, according to the immigration lawyers, correcting reports that the number of detainees was as high as 18.

An attorney representing one family said in the early evening that a 10-month-old child was among those detained. [[412062843, C]]

Some of those detainees hold permanent residency "green cards," according to the attorneys, have lived in the U.S. for years and were attempting to return home after visiting family overseas.

All 16 people being held at O'Hare were released by 10:30 p.m., attorneys said, and were greeted by resounding cheers from crowds of activists gathered in protest. [[412082663, C]]

Trump signed the order to enact what he called "extreme vetting," to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the country.

However, several groups immediately announced plans to file legal challenges against the order, and on Saturday evening, a federal judge issued an emergency stay, blocking the government from deporting anyone with a valid visa being detained at U.S. airports under the order. [[412084413, C]]

The injunction was granted in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, issued as protests erupted at airports nationwide and Democratic elected officials in Chicago and across the U.S. condemned the measure.

"The actions by President Trump turn on the head upside down what we stand for," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a news conference held by CAIR-Chicago on Friday.

"This is not about vetting. This is about religious discrimination and codifying it into law, and as such we stand against it," CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed Rehab added. [[412059833, C]]

The rally at O'Hare Saturday was just one of several protests around the country, including at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, where 12 refugees were detained.

Among them was Hameed Jhalid Darweesh, who worked for the U.S. government in his home country of Iraq for more than a decade. Darweesh, who fulfilled a number of roles for the U.S., including as an interpreter for the Army, was released from custody after being held for about 18 hours.
More than a dozen travelers detained at O'Hare International Airport under President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration were released late Saturday, ending a chaotic day of protests in Chicago and across the country.

A total of 16 people, including an 18-month-old child, were detained at O'Hare, according to immigration lawyers who gathered at the airport to offer assistance to those impacted by the order.

Signed Friday, Trump's order halts all refugee resettlement into the U.S. for 120 days, imposes an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria, and suspends entry of immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen  all Muslim-majority nations  for 90 days.

Trump signed the executive action to enact what he called "extreme vetting" to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the country - a call he made repeatedly on the campaign trail. [[412059543, C]]

The order caused confusion and even chaos at several airports, as authorities detained travelers, including those with permanent residency green cards, as family members waited in fear.

That was the case for Nasser Mused, whose father was held at O'Hare. Like many impacted by the order, Mused's father is a green card holder who has lived in Chicago for seven years, and in the United States for 18.

"I can't even call him, I can't do anything," Mused said as he waited in the crowd at International Terminal 5.

"We followed all the process for an immigrant," he added. "So we've done that already. Why make it so difficult now?" [[412084413, C]]

That sentiment was echoed by the lawyers who volunteered their services to impacted travelers.

"We're just doing kind of a triage, like an intake," said attorney Fiona McEntee. "I mean, I feel like we're in a war zone doing this emergency triage with clients, trying to get some information."

"They don't even know what's going to happen," she said.

As the crowd of protesters grew throughout the evening, swelling to more than 1,000 people, detainees were periodically released to resounding cheers.

At least four people were released by 9 p.m., shortly before a federal judge blocked the government from deporting anyone with a valid visa that was being held under the order.

The judge granted the injunction in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The stay applies only to those currently in the U.S., not anyone who tries to enter the country going forward, and while it blocked deportations, it did not require authorities to release the detainees.

Nevertheless, all travelers held at O'Hare were released by 10:30 p.m., including a man seen carrying a small child through the terminal as activists cheered. [[412082663, C]]

Despite the release of those at O'Hare, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court order would not affect the implementation of the White House order.

"President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place. Prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the statement said.

"Nothing in the Brooklyn judge's order in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect," added senior adviser to the White House Stephen Miller.
As demonstrators protested President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration at Chicagos OHare Airport this weekend, NBC 5 confirmed that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has been in Palm Springs, California, for a three-day donor summit with Koch Industries.

The first-term Republican sees the event as a policy summit, a spokesperson said, calling it a chance to discuss criminal justice reform and the advancements they believe they've made in Illinois.

However, the seminar is also considered a chance for 2018 Republican candidates to meet potential donors. Led by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, the Koch network plans to spend up to $400 million on policy and political campaigns during the midterm cycle, according to several reports including from the Washington Post.

This weekend marks the largest gathering of potential donors for Koch Industries, with more than 500 people in attendance.

Only three governors joined the Palm Springs summit: Rauner, Wisconsin's Scott Walker and Arizonas Doug Ducey, along with five Republican U.S. senators.

Rauner's team added that he was also in southern California to recruit tech firms to Illinois, however, the trip was not part of his public schedule.

On Sunday evening, Rauner issued a statement on the executive order that halts refugee resettlement and imposes a travel ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations.

"Governor Rauner has always said we need to balance our tradition as a nation welcoming of immigrants and refugees with legitimate national security concerns to keep Americans safe from terrorism," a spokesperson told NBC 5 via email.

"The governor has been supportive of tightening the vetting process for Syrian refugees because of ISIS attempts to infiltrate refugee flows -- but he's opposed to immigration bans that target any specific religion," the statement continued.

"Serious concerns about the executive order have been raised. We urge swift resolution of these concerns through the courts to ensure we are a nation that is both secure and welcoming of immigrants and refugees."

This is not the first time the governor has directly addressed the resettlement of refugees. In Nov. 2015, Rauner announced that Illinois would join several other states in temporarily refusing to accept Syrian refugees following the attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.
Foreign leaders have been responding to President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order signed Friday that temporarily bars refugees and most citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

As demonstrators amassed at airports across the U.S. in protest of the order and its swift implementation, the leaders of allied countries and some countries affected by ban also began weighing in.

Britain

British Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokesman said May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.

The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey the decision was a matter solely for the United States.

But after returning to Britain from a whirlwind visit to Washingtonwhere she met Trump at the White Houseand Turkey, her spokesman said Britain did not approve of Trump's policy.

The citizens of the U.K. also expressed their disdain of Trump in an online petition that would ban him from making an official state visit to the U.K.

The petition states: "Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen."

More than 300,000 people had signed by Sunday morning.

[NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US

Germany

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said the German leader believes the Trump administration's travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong.

Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that "she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."

Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone Saturday for the first time since his inauguration. A joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans.

Iran

Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted a lengthy statement Saturday calling Trumps ban a great gift to extremists and their supporters.

Full statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the #MuslimBan. 6/7 pic.twitter.com/Y3gAxT0B8m  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 28, 2017

Iran announced a reciprocal visa ban, but Zarif noted in his statement that unlike the U.S. our decision is not retroactive. All [Americans] with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed.

Iraq

The Iraqi government said it understands the security motives behind President Donald Trump's decision to ban seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iraq, from entering the United States, but underlined that their "special relationship" should be taken into consideration.

Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said Iraqis are hoping that the new orders "will not affect the efforts of strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States."

Al-Hadithi told The Associated Press on Sunday the government hopes the "measures will be temporary and for regulatory reasons and not permanent at least for Iraq."

The order, signed Friday, included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. It also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months.
Hartford police have arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting three juvenile victims, police said Sunday.

Israel Nieves, 46, was charged with three counts of first-degree sex assault and three counts of risk of injury.

Police said they began investigating one sex assault case on Oct. 18, 2016. During that investigation Nieves was identified as a suspect and police also discovered there were additional victims. On Jan. 18 police secured three arrest warrants for Nieves.

Police said that on Thursday Nieves turned himself in to the Hartford Police Department. He is being held on a $1.3 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 10.

No other information was released.
A 15-year-old Rockville boy is in critical condition after he was shot in the head Saturday night, according to police.

Police said they received a 911 call at around 7:58 p.m. reporting a shooting at 102 Talcott Ave. and found the 15-year-old victim, police said.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was brought to Rockville Hospital by Vernon EMS and LifeStar later flew him to Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, where he had emergency surgery, according to police.

Investigators learned that several youths were using alcohol and marijuana at the time of the shooting, according to police.

Officials obtained a search warrant and recovered a firearm at the scene, police said.

According to police, officers found several people leaving the scene of the shooting, including 19-year-old Joey Maddox, of Rockville.

Officers arrested Maddox and charged him with assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm, risk of injury to a minor, possession of a weapon with an altered ID, unlawful discharge of a firearm and possession of marijuana, police said.

According to police, Maddox is being held at Vernon Police Department in lieu of a $400,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Monday.

No one else was injured, police said.

Vernon police detectives are investigating the shooting with assistance from the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crimes Unit and the Tolland States Attorneys Office, police said.

If you have any information related to this investigation, please contact Vernon police at 860-872-9126.
Hundreds of people turned out to a rally organized by the Council on American-Islamic-Connecticut, a Muslim civil rights groups, at Bradley International Airport Friday to protest President Donald Trumps executive order surrounding immigration, which barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, indefinitely halted any from Syria, and suspended nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days.

CAIR-CT referred to the presidents actions as a Muslim Ban Executive Orders and condemned the actions as a religious test for immigration into the US.

The order signed by the president on Friday put a 120-day hold on entry of refugees to the US, and indefinitely suspends the admission of Syrian refugees until the president is satisfied that changes have been made.

It also suspends entry for 90 days from certain nations based on a statute related to the Visa Waiver Program. Currently the countries on the list are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

The presidents actions drew protests at airports around the country over the weekend as some were barred from boarding US flights or detained upon their arrival to the US.

At Bradley, protesters chanted various slogans including "The ban is un-American" and "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here."

Organizers said they were surprised by the number of people who attended and glad to see the state's residents rally behind the cause.

We thought that this was executive order was discriminatory, was racist and we felt that we had to come out and join our fellow Americans in protesting it, said CAIR-CT Chairman Farhan Memon.

Memon said to his knowledge no one had been detained at Bradley, but the airport only provides international flights from two foreign countries - from Canada and from Ireland. He said they chose the location for its symbolic significance.

This is where immigrants come to America. In the past immigrants used to come through America through Ellis Island, now we come to America at airports. And immigration is the strength of America. We are stronger as a country because of immigrants from around the world, he said.

The executive order has seen pushback from many, including a federal judge, who blocked part of the order, granting an injunction requested by the ACLU and other legal organizations. The stay blocks anyone with a valid visa being held at airports from being deported.

Supports of the executive order said there are issues with the current immigration system and when someone new comes in it is normal to review the process.

Chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party JR Romano said Donald Trump is not the first president to issue a travel ban, and that the government is hitting the pause button to ensure the safety of the lives of American citizens and families.

He said there was a lot of incompetence in Barack Obamas refugee policy and raising the process to 90 days is not unreasonable to evaluate the system.

Romano also commented that todays protesters at Bradley were people who were upset that Donald Trump won the election.

They want to do everything that they can to make sure everyone does not unify, he said.
State police are investigating an officer-involved shooting in Montville that left a 53-year-old Norwich resident dead Sunday afternoon, police said.

State police said the Montville Police Department first responded to the Chesterfield Lodge near the corner of Route 85 and Grassy Hill Road around 2:30 p.m. for a report of an unwanted person on the property.

When officers arrived they asked the man to leave but the suspect engaged officers in a violent struggle, police said. On Tuesday, state police identified the man as Val Thomas.

According to police, Thomas grabbed a stun gun from one of the officers during the struggle and began beating an officer on the head with it. That officer drew a firearm and shot Thomas, according to police.

Thomas was taken to Backus Hospital and later died of his injuries.

The Montville officer was taken to L&M hospital and received multiple staples to close a cut on the head.

State Police Eastern District Major Crime and the Windham County State Attorneys Office is investigating.

Editor's note: Police initially said that there were two gunshot wounds but later corrected that to say there was just one. The story above has been corrected to reflect that information.
Saturday was a heartbreaking day for a father in Connecticut from Syria who was supposed to reunite with his wife and daughters who he hasnt seen in more than two years.

Before they could board their flight to the United States, they were turned away  part of the group not allowed entry to the country following orders from President Donald Trump.

Its the reaction of every father. Every father wants to see his kids, Fadi Kassar of Milford, said through a translator.

Kassars wife and daughters, ages 5 and 8, had been stranded at an airport in Kiev, Ukraine.

They are refugees originally from Syria. The three were moments from boarding a flight to the U.S. when they were turned away early Saturday morning.

Now they are back in Jordan. They dont have luggages. They dont have clothes to wear. They dont have anything, Kassar said.

President Trumps order blocked all refugees from coming to the U.S. for four months.

But the president suspended Syrian refugees indefinitely.

I want him to know that in America there are human rights and we are honest and nice people and we love America and we love the American people, Kassar said.

Kassar says his own journey to join family in the U.S. was difficult.

And hes spent years earning the money to fly his family here and go through the asylum process.

He hopes the president rethinks the ban.

Im not against him looking for things that will protect the United States. But these are innocent kids, innocent families, Kassar said.

The mother and girls are staying with neighbors in Jordan.

Theyre hoping to get an exception from the government to be able to come here.
Cutting off a dream. Thats the reaction from a Syrian man living in Connecticut to President Trumps actions on refugees.

Other refugees headed to the state are now in limbo.

Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services has helped more than 500 refugees, many from Syria, settle in the state in the last year. Today NBC Connecticut spoke to a man from Syria who is one of many affected by President Trumps swift moves yesterday.

Its a bad feeling. We cant understand why, said Mohamad Chaghlil of New Haven.

Chaghlil arrived in New Haven weeks ago after escaping war-torn Syria. His mother was supposed to follow but is now stuck in Jordan uncertain of when she can come to the US.

Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump enacted travel restrictions the effects are being felt across the world, including at Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services in New Haven.

We have a long list on our calendar of families that are supposed to arrive next week, the week after, the week after that, and they wont be coming, IRIS Executive Director Chris George said.

The president ordered a clamp down on refugee entry and a temporary restriction on travelers from seven predominately Muslim countries. President Trump argues his plan will help keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country. But several human rights groups have blasted the orders, calling them harmful.

The more you think about it, it was a dark day for America. Welcoming refugees to the United States is our oldest, most noble tradition, George said.

Refugee advocates hope the outcry will force the president to change his mind.

And for one refugee, he would like Americans to think about why people would flee their country and want to restart their lives elsewhere.

Its a very bad situation. Everybody has to think about the other side always, Chaghlil said.

The presidents executive order blocked refugees from coming to the US for four months. It indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and it restricts people from six other countries for three months.
Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the impact was already resonating at airports around the world.

The Trump administration had not yet issued guidance to airports and airlines on how to implement the executive order. "Nobody has any idea what is going on," a senior Homeland Security official told NBC News.

By Saturday night, a federal judge had issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trump's travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

[NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US

As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

Prior to the judge's ruling, demonstrators amassed at airports across the country in protest of the order. Hundreds gathered at John F. Kennedy Airport where 12 refugees were detained Saturday.

[[375690231, C]]

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said that a family was detained at Dulles International Airport, where demonstrators were also gathering.

Hillary Clinton took to Twitter to express her support for those who came out to protest.

I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values & our Constitution. This is not who we are.  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 29, 2017

More than 1,000 people RSVPd to a Facebook event for Saturdays rally at OHare International Airport in Chicago, which was organized by several advocacy groups.

The protest was planned for 6 p.m. CST in OHares International Terminal 5, though dozens arrived at the airport hours earlier, including several volunteer attorneys who gathered to assist travelers entangled in the ban.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a crowd of protesters grew into the hundreds as the night went on, and chants of "set them free" grew louder.

West coast activists hosted a #MuslimBan protest Saturday afternoon at the international arrivals section of San Francisco International Airport. Protesters were carrying signs reading #NotInOurName, #NeverAgain and END the #MuslimBan, according to an event page.

Holding up signs that read Give me your tired and huddled masses yearning to breathe free, Protect Immigrants and Build a wall  We will tear it down, demonstrators also gathered Saturday afternoon at San Diego International Airport.

Protesters including Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney gathered at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday, with another protest set to take place at the airport Sunday afternoon. An attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania told NBC10 that three adults from Qatar were being detained there, and two Syrian families were briefly detained there Saturday before being sent back on a return flight to the Middle East.

More than 120 people clutching signs denouncing the Trump immigration orders gathered at Newark Liberty International Airport. NorthJersey.com reported that they joined lawyers who'd rushed to the airport to defend the rights of refugees and immigrants who were being detained and denied entry.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Dozens of people converged on Denver International to show their support for refugees. Standing in the main terminal Saturday, they sang "Refugees are welcome here." Some held signs declaring their identity, such as Jew or Christian, and the phrase "I come in peace." Denver has some direct international flights but it wasn't clear whether anyone has been detained under the president's executive order.

A protest by several dozen people in and around Portland International Airport briefly disrupted light rail service at the airport. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the demonstrators carried signs and chanted "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "No ban no wall America is for us all."

About 300 people expressed their displeasure with the ban at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night. Protesters entered the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal after holding a candlelight vigil.

Demonstrators also took to the streets, rallying in cities like Boston, where protesters marched against policies organizers were calling "anti-immigrant and unconstitutional."
A conversation first sparked by the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters in July 2015 about homeowners in northeastern Connecticut dealing with crumbling foundations, continues now in 2017. Lawmakers and experts gathered in Vernon on Saturday to discuss proposed legislation to hopefully find a fix.

That was devastating, said Leo Vezina of Willington, who had to replace his foundation after severe cracks were found. My wife cried for two days and we didnt know what to do, he said.

The Governors office has said that more than 34,000 homes may be affected by crumbling foundations, with a total cost to fix the problems up to $1 billion.

Its sad. Its scary, said Sheila Cyr of Tolland. She said she received an estimate of $234,000 to replace her failing foundation. Our biggest concern is getting this taken care of, she said.

Hundreds of people gathered at Vernon Center Middle School discussing how crumbling foundations may affect health, pending litigation and more.

Its definitely more promising than last year and Im a little more impressed, said Cyr.

Members of the Public Safety committee, which was behind the meeting, had agreed to draft what is known as an omnibus bill. It could consolidate multiple bills on crumbling foundations into one. Homeowners would only need to testify at one public hearing.

Gov. Dannel Malloy recently announced plans for $5 million in state funding to go toward conducting foundation testing for homes in northeastern Connecticut.

A number of homes in the area have suffered from crumbling foundations - what a study concluded is the result of a mineral called pyrrhotite in the concrete that causes foundations to crack and crumble years after being poured.
North Texas lawmakers are weighing in on President Donald Trump's travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations from entry into the U.S. and the protests that followed.

"This is a bad policy," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told NBC 5 Monday morning. "But even if you're going to have the policy, you let people know before they get on the flight, as opposed to sending them to the United States and then going through this hell."

Officials say nine people were released after they were detained overnight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

"The CEO of the airport quickly called me and told me the situation," Rawlings said. "It was a long 36 hours. Everyone was treated the best they could be."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings blasted Donald Trumps executive order, questioning the move that had travelers going through this hell.

Rawlings, who sits alongside Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price on the DFW Board of Directors, said airport leaders will be given a "full accounting of the situation."

Mayor Price issued the following statement:

"In an effort to address the nation's concerns regarding border security, the most recent rollout of the executive order regarding illegal immigration has caused deep alarm for many whose families are affected by the visa/refugee process. I stand with those who desire to see that our nation can protect the safety of its citizens while remaining as a refuge for those who are persecuted by and seeking a better life through legal immigration."

"Additionally, I will work with our congressional delegation and have been in touch with the DFW airport staff on our response to those affected immediately and also any long-term implications for our city. My heart hurts for the families who are impacted by this sudden change. As a community, Fort Worth is committed to being compassionate in our approach to those fleeing troubled parts of the world and will continue to tangibly partner with refugee resettlement agencies across the city that meet those needs."

In a phone interview Monday morning, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins suggested President Trump's orders ran contrary to American beliefs.

"The executive order doesn't stand for American Values," Jenkins said. "We don't turn our back on refugees. The President's order is the law of the land, and the confusion at the airport will subside."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins welcomed people detained at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday.

"If there are more people who enter this country legally or are detained because of this order, we'll take care of them," Jenkins said.

Rep. Pete Sessions represents the 32nd Congressional District in Texas. He issued the following statement:

"This morning I spoke with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings about passengers detained at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport as a result of the Presidents executive order. We have confidence that officials from the Department of Homeland Security are working to comply with the executive order and any subsequent judicial action on this matter."

"I believe our first and foremost priority is to protect the American people and safeguard our homeland. Just as President Obama suspended the refugee program in 2011 for six months, the Trump Administration is working to protect national security by making adjustments in the refugee vetting process. It is critical that we address the threat of individuals who come to our country to create chaos and threaten our freedom."

Rep. Kay Granger, who represents the 12th Congressional District in Texas, supported President Trump in her statement:

I am convinced that President Trump made the decision because he believes it will make us safer, Granger said in a prepared statement. I cut funding that would increase the number of refugees coming from Syria when I was briefed that we could not adequately vet that population before granting them refugee status to the United States. The job of the president is to defend and protect our nation. We must also protect our well-earned position as a caring and humanitarian nation. I pray that we do both.

Rep. Roger Williams, who represents 25th Congressional District in Texas also supported the President's actions.

"The national security of the United States and its citizens is paramount to anything else. I firmly support a temporary travel ban on individuals from countries of concern- a designation given by the Obama Administration's Department of Homeland Security. During this time we must ensure our vetting process is completely foolproof."

NBC 5 News has asked the entire North Texas congressional delegation for comment. We will add their comments as we receive them.
Fear of being deported has immigrants in North Texas on edge.

The concern dates back to a promise President Trump made before he was elected to deport immigrants who came to the country illegally.

Now, advocates are vowing to fight back by empowering immigrants with information.



It was a standing-room only crowd at Kidd Springs Recreation Center in Dallas on Saturday for a DACA Summit and Immigration Town Hall meeting.



I have compassion for other people and I feel for them, said Gloria Bowden who drove from Waxahachie to attend.



Some came to support, but others are like Evelyn Vazquez and Sanjuana Cervantes who were brought to the United States from Mexico at a young age.

Vazquez and Cervantes are now Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients -- allowed to remain in the U.S., attend school and work  because of a policy adopted under President Obama.



Vazquez is less concerned about her future than she is about their parents, who are undocumented immigrants.



She relies on her parents support while she attends school and works. Shes worried they could face deportation because of President Trumps stance on immigration.



Its sad, breaking families apart. Its hard, said Vazquez, tearfully.

It's a sentiment shared by some but not all.

Silvio Canto is a Cuban immigrant and political blogger who voted for President Trump.

I never took him seriously about that honestly. I never really thought that was something he was really going to do. I think he was putting it on the table as part of a negotiation and thats not necessarily a bad idea from a negotiating stand point, Silvio said.

Canto says he doesn't see deportation at the top of President Trumps to-do list.

But countless undocumented families can't help but prepare.

I still want to continue my education regardless what's going on and I mean, I want to make here, the United States, a better place and help everybody else, said Cervantes.
A federal appeals court is allowing attorneys for a 44-year-old convicted killer to move forward with an appeal that questions whether he's eligible for the death penalty for the 2004 suffocation of retired college professor abducted in Fort Worth.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Edward Lee Busby may pursue arguments that he's mentally impaired, making him ineligible for execution, and that he's had deficient legal help at his trial and in earlier stages of his appeals.

Busby was convicted of the slaying of 77-year-old retired Texas Christian University professor Laura Lee Crane, who was abducted from a Fort Worth grocery store parking lot.

He was arrested in Oklahoma City driving Crane's car and led authorities to her body in Oklahoma just north of the Texas border.
Nine passengers were still detained Sunday after arriving at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday afternoon, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

A federal law enforcement official said legal permanent U.S. residents and visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries who are out of the country won't be allowed back for 90 days. The official said that's a result of the executive order signed yesterday by President Donald Trump.

The order also suspends all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and bans the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely. [[412060213, C]]

NBC 5's Chris Jose confirmed three people detained at D/FW Airport were eventually released -- two were from Iran, one was from Syria.

A woman originally from Syria, but who was last living in Egypt was reunited with her daughter.

"The ones with the visas are on the floor, they're tired, they're on the floor, and they're treating them really bad," said Miriam Yasin who was reunited with her mother. "She said I hope that you guys can go in there and see the situation, it's horrible."

At midnight, CAIR reported nine refugees were still being held.

A crowd of more than 50 protesters quickly became hundreds as the night went on and chants of "set them free" grew louder. [[412067553, C]]

Saturday night, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins was at the airport to help speed up the release of detainees. [[412068543, C]]

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings spoke to the media Saturday afternoon and said plans were being made to help those detained at the airport.

"In regards to sleeping conditions, they're bringing cots, blankets, food, water, any necessary supplies... that they need" he said.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings spoke Saturday afternoon about President Trumps executive action to suspend refugee entry from seven Muslim-majority countries for 120 days and the resulting detention of immigrants at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Rawlings said airport staff were aware of two flight with affected passengers, one Emirates flight and one Qatar flight that landed today. Rawlings said he expected the issue of travelers being detained to diminish in coming days.

Rawlings said Dallas has had no public safety concerns when it comes to refugees coming to his city.

"This notion that refugees are potential terrorists is, at best, an exaggeration, because we do not have, really, any evidence that this happens," said Rawlings. "Refugees have to go through extremely rigorous vetting."

"This is not just a political issue, it's a human issue. It's a human issue where families are being kept apart. People who have legal visas to get into the United States to be with their families, or to do business, are being kept from doing that," said Rawlings.

Rawlings called on his faith and the faith of North Texans to speak up to President Trump.

"I believe that on many, many fronts this is ill-thought out, it's bad policy, it's bad for business, it's bad for families, it's bad for cities and it's bad for the heart," Rawlings said. "We as people are defined not by how we treat ourselves, but how we treat the other. Today is a great failing of America in that regard."

Congressman Marc Veasey said he's on his way to D/FW Airport and that he's monitoring the situation that's "causing mass confusion" at international airports nationwide.

"The Trump Administration's refugee ban and their instruction to suspend entry from Muslim-majority countries is wholly un-American and challenges our countrys humanitarian leadership," said Veasey.

Saturday night, State Representative Rafael Anchia said via Twitter he would file a resolution in the Texas Legislature condemning President Trump's executive order.

On Monday, I will file this resolution in the #txlege condemning Trump's #MuslimBan & invite @TX_HDC & @TxHouseCaucus to sign on in support. pic.twitter.com/ciYV0GLb2v  Rafael Anchia (@RafaelAnchia) January 29, 2017

Hundreds protested at airports around the country after immigrants were detained after arriving in the U.S. from nations subject to President Donald Trumps travel ban.

Editor's Note: This is a developing story. Refresh this page and watch NBC 5 News at 10:00 p.m. for the latest.
In cities across the U.S., demonstrations formed for a second straight day to protest President Trump's executive order that temporarily restricts entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees from crossing into the country.

Trump issued a statement amid the protests, claiming his executive order is not a "Muslim ban" and blaming the media for portraying it as so.

"To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," the statement read. "This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe."

In New York, thousands of protesters streamed into the city's Battery Park to demand an end to the ban.

An elderly husband and wife died in an apparent murder-suicide in Washington state, and police say they found notes about the couple's struggles to afford needed medical care, NBC News reported. A 77-year-old man called 911 on Wednesday morning saying he planned to die by suicide, the Whatcom County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post. Deputies went to the home of the man in Ferndale, a town about 100 miles north of Seattle near the Canadian border, and set up outside. A crisis negotiator attempted to contact the couple in the home by phone and loudspeaker for about an hour, said the sheriff's office post on Wednesday night. They then found both the man and his wife, 76, dead inside. Authorities are investigating the case as a murder-suicide.

The big crowd gathered Sunday near the ferries that carry tourists to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the place where 12 million people entered the United States in the golden age of immigration.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer addressed the crowd, saying, "We are gonna win this fight everybody!"

People held signs with slogans including "America was built by refugees," and "Muslim ban is un-American."

The rally followed a night of big demonstrations at New York's Kennedy Airport, where thousands of people spontaneously gathered to demand the release of detained travelers.

South of New York in Philadelphia, protesters gathered at Philadelphia International Airport.

The protesters began waving signs and chanting "Let them in!" and other slogans Sunday afternoon. Protesters also gathered Saturday night at the airport.

[NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US

The American Civil Liberties union earlier said everyone detained at the airport was being released and no one else would be detained following a judge's order.

Deputy legal director Mary Catherine Roper of Pennsylvania ACLU said the decision cleared the way for three people detained overnight to continue to other U.S. destinations Sunday, while another person was allowed to leave Saturday night with relatives who are U.S. citizens.

In Washington, hundreds of demonstrators holding signs with slogans such as "No Ban, No Wall," and "We are all immigrants in America," gathered outside the White House.

Federal Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York Courthouse in Brooklyn granted an injunction in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other legal organizations on behalf of individuals subject to President Trumps immigration ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Vocal and expressive, the crowd was alternately solemn and warm in expressing peaceful solidarity with refugees affected by Trump's order.

Maryam Kanna, a 24-year-old Iraqi-American who lives in Arlington, Virginia, called the executive order "totally alienating." Kanna said she worries about her uncle, a British citizen, and her cousins in Canada, who may no longer be able to enter the U.S.

The crowd moved to the Trump International Hotel near the White House and chanted "the whole world is watching" from the street.

Crowds gathered in protest at Dulles International Airport's international terminal for the second day in a row, and Sunday protesters amassed at Baltimore-Washington International Airport as well.

Protests also formed in Dallas, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco.

Also on Sunday, attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia issued a statement condemning the order.

As the chief legal officers for over 130 million Americans and foreign residents of our states, we condemn President Trump's unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful Executive Order and will work together to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith," they wrote.

"We are confident that the Executive Order will ultimately be struck down by the courts. In the meantime, we are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created," the statement concluded.
For the first time in nearly a quarter century, the 12,000 minors who were fined and charged with being truant will be given amnesty on Friday by the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Its actually a really big deal, Santa Clara County spokesman Joe Macaluso said. The 12,000 cases date back to 1993, when the courts first started tracking truancy records. The practice actually goes back 40 years, he said.

Last year, there were 1,200 cases, and overall, the number averages out to 500 children annually. This new order, to be formally announced at the 2017 Beyond the Bench Conference in San Jose, now absolves anyone who was found truant and waives any current fines or charges.

Back then, it was thought to be innovative and helpful toward youth to have a separate court for them, shared with juvenile traffic cases, Macaluso said. That way, the truant students wouldnt have to go to jail. Per the education code, a truant is defined as a student who is absent from school without a valid excuse for three full days in one school year, or missing from class for more than a 30-minute period during the day without a valid excuse three times during the school year.

But over time, Macaluso said that judges realized the teens who were being fined and prevented from getting their drivers licenses were mostly young people of color and poor. Santa Clara County Supervising Juvenile Dependency Court Judge Katherine Lucero started questioning a few years back, Why are we doing this? Macaluso recounted.

"We value our youth enough to see what is underneath the school absence and what what we can to re-engage, rather than to impose a financial consequence or suspend a driver's license," Lucero said in a statement.

In Santa Clara County, the East Side Union District had a 53 percent highest truancy rate in 2014-2015, the highest in the county. The Campbell Union came in a close second with a 52 percent truancy rate, according to data from the California Department of Education. Cupertino Union, in a much more affluent part of the county, had a 12 percent truancy rate.

We realized it was counter-productive, Macaluso said. We had done it with the best intention, but we figured out there are better ways to do it. Specifically, young people who couldnt pay the fines couldnt get their drivers licenses, he said.

And so, in collaboration with the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office, the court system will no longer be seeing any truancy cases. If students are not in school, they will work with the DAs Office in mediation and mitigation programs, Macaluso said. Any juvenile with a traffic issue will now go to adult traffic court.

Santa Clara County is not unique with this truancy amnesty program. The county joins what most other jurisdictions do in the state.
Protesters rallied Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport to oppose President Trump's executive order temporarily halting immigration from selected Muslim-majority nations, despite news that a federal judge has blocked its enforcement.

The demonstrations came as protests rippled across the country.

Attorneys volunteering to help travelers and protest slept at LAX overnight. They told NBC4 they estimated 120-130 travelers had been detained in the past 24 hours.

LAX warned travelers of traffic delays due to the protests, which drew to a close early Monday.

Two people were arrested during the Sunday protests for blocking the roadway, said Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman Nancy Castles. Fifteen flights were reported delayed because flight crews and passengers had trouble reaching their terminals, including six international flights and nine domestic flights.

A major segment of the loop road at LAX was temporarily closed Sunday, as thousand of people protesting President Donald Trump's temporary immigration actions snarled traffic and confronted a smaller number of counter-protesters.

The protests come as the White House -- faced with chaotic confusion in customs checkpoints and protest at airports -- backed off significantly Sunday.

Neda Naemi, a refugee who has lived in United States for 16 years with a green card said she was detained at LAX for 10 hours.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Sunday morning stating less than 1 percent of travelers had been inconvenienced.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on the NBC broadcast "Meet The Press'' that all green card holders would not be prevented from entering the United States.

"As far as green card holders, moving forward, it doesn't affect them,'' Priebus said.

The LAX protests began at 11 a.m with more at 1 p.m. at the departures level of Tom Bradley International Terminal, according to Ester Lim of the Service Employees International Union.

At least 300 people protested the executive order at LAX Saturday afternoon, Maria Elena Jauregui of the SEIU said.

Observers said the protests began as word spread about dozens of people being detained or turned away as friends and relatives came to meet them.

The emergency stay made it "a remarkable day,'' according to American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony D. Romero. "The courts can work.''

"Awaiting info on the detained,'' immigration attorney Nicholas Mireles said in an email to City News Service. "Only LPRs ( Legal Permanent Residents) have been released. No visa holders unfortunately.''

The American Civil Liberties Union reported seven people were detained at LAX Saturday under the executive order, Lim said. The ACLU brought the class action lawsuit that led the federal court in New York to issue the emergency stay.

Another protest promoted on social media drew about 60 demonstrators to the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. today.

Protesters chanted: "No ban, no wall,'' "Say it loud, say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here.''

Signs read: "We are all immigrants,'' "Love Trumps hate. Don't discriminate,'' and "Muslim ban-un-American.''

A woman who would only identify herself as Hanna from Malibu said she decided to join the protest on the spur of the moment. One side of her handwritten sign was reminiscent of the character Donny in the iconic film "The Big Lebowski.'' It read: "Forget it Donny. You're out of your element,'' referring to President Trump.

"Everyone needs a laugh,'' she said.

"Los Angeles will always be a place of refuge, where the most vulnerable people fleeing war, or religious or political oppression, can find a safe and welcoming home,'' Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "Congress outlawed the banning of immigrants by nationality more than 50 years ago because we have long known it does not make us safer.''

Garcetti urged airport protesters to "remain calm and act lawfully and peacefully so LAX can continue to operate smoothly and our passengers stay safe.''

He promised "to do everything in my power to make certain that any travelers entering our city have the resources and support they need to feel secure and accepted in LA.''

Trump's order, signed Friday, suspends all refugee entries for 120 days, indefinitely blocks all Syrian refugees, and bars entry for 90 days to all immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The ban also applies to people with passports from more than one country including those not covered also those that are, green cards and student visas.

It does not apply to people from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Political observers say these are all countries where Trump has business interests, but officials say these countries are also prominent U.S. allies.

Following the backlash, the president released the following statement:

"America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days. I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering."
Protesters planned two candlelight vigils Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport to oppose President Trump's executive order temporarily halting immigration from certain Muslim-majority nations even after a federal judge blocked its enforcement.

The protests are scheduled for 11 a.m and 1 p.m. at the departures level of Tom Bradley International Terminal at 380 World Way, said Ester Lim of the Service Employees International Union.

At least 300 people protested the executive order at LAX Saturday afternoon, according to Maria Elena Jauregui of the SEIU.

The emergency stay made it "a remarkable day," according to American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony D. Romero. "The courts can work."

"Awaiting info on the detained," immigration attorney Nicholas Mireles said in an email to City News Service. "Only LPRs ( Legal Permanent Residents) have been released. No visa holders unfortunately."

The ACLU reported seven people were detained at LAX under the executive order, according to Lim. The ACLU brought the class action lawsuit that led the federal court in New York to issue the emergency stay.

Airport spokesman Don Pedregon said officials there were aware of planned events and would monitor the situation and make adjustments if necessary.

Another protest promoted on social media drew about 60 demonstrators to the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. Saturday.

Protesters chanted: "No ban, no wall," "Say it loud, say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here."

Signs read: "We are all immigrants," "Love Trumps hate. Don't discriminate," and "Muslim ban-un-American."

A woman who would only identify herself as Hanna from Malibu told City News Service she decided to join the protest on the spur of the moment. One side of her handwritten sign was reminiscent of the character Donny in the iconic film "The Great Lebowski." It read: "Forget it Donny. You're out of your element," referring to President Trump.

"Everyone needs a laugh," she said.

"Los Angeles will always be a place of refuge, where the most vulnerable people fleeing war, or religious or political oppression, can find a safe and welcoming home," said LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. "Congress outlawed the banning of immigrants by nationality more than 50 years ago because we have long known it does not make us safer."

Garcetti urged airport protesters to "remain calm and act lawfully and peacefully so LAX can continue to operate smoothly and our passengers stay safe."

He promised "to do everything in my power to make certain that any travelers entering our city have the resources and support they need to feel secure and accepted in LA."

Trump's order, signed Friday, suspends all refugee entries for 120 days, indefinitely blocks all Syrian refugees, and bars entry for 90 days to all immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
As another cold front makes its way through South Florida, local officials are offering a few cold weather safety tips to prepare for the chilly drop in temperatures.

Along with getting out their sweaters, scarves, and jackets, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is recommending residents follow this list of tips:

Follow the Four Ps

Protect People: Pay careful attention to children and the elderly. They are especially vulnerable to cold are and the least able to protect themselves. Dress in layers of loose-fitting warm clothing, and consider wearing a hat that covers your ears when you are outdoors.

Pay careful attention to children and the elderly. They are especially vulnerable to cold are and the least able to protect themselves. Dress in layers of loose-fitting warm clothing, and consider wearing a hat that covers your ears when you are outdoors. Protect Pets: Bring all pets indoors. Pets that must be left outside should have an enclosed shelter with the entrance facing away from the wind.

Bring all pets indoors. Pets that must be left outside should have an enclosed shelter with the entrance facing away from the wind. Protect Plants: Bring potted plants indoors. Keep outdoor plants and trees watered. Dry weather and wind create the perfect conditions for brush fires. If you live in or near heavily forested or undeveloped land, keep your property well-manicured and free of dry or dead vegetation.

Bring potted plants indoors. Keep outdoor plants and trees watered. Dry weather and wind create the perfect conditions for brush fires. If you live in or near heavily forested or undeveloped land, keep your property well-manicured and free of dry or dead vegetation. Protection against fires in the home: This is one of the most important winter considerations. Take the time to prepare and inspect heating equipment before using. According to the National Fire Protection Association, incorrect use of heating equipment is the leading cause of home fires.

More Tips

Choose electric space heaters and use only those that are UL approved. Look for models that include safety features such as an automatic shut-off when tipped over.

Avoid the use of extension cords with space heaters, but if you must use one, make sure it is the proper size and length. Never run cords under rugs or carpets.

Keep your heater at least three feet away from furniture, curtains and other flammable items.

Install recommended smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and replace batteries regularly.

Never use charcoal or other fuel-burning devices indoors, such as grills that produce carbon monoxide.

Make sure all equipment is clean and dust-free.

Keep a close eye on children and pets whenever a space heater is being used.

Always turn off heaters when leaving home.

This and other safety information is available to the public on the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department website.
An Iranian passenger on a cruise returning to Port Everglades from Mexico said that he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Sunday morning.

Maysam Sodagari, 32, said he left the port with legal status and has been posting updates of his detention on Facebook. He was released Sunday afternoon.

Sodagari said the vetting process was thorough and he had to provide background information about himself, family, and his past life in Iran.

"While I found the entire experience slightly disappointing, as I now have permanent legal status, I must say that I was treated fairly and with respect by CBP and would like to thank them for their professionalism," he said.

Sodagari was born in Iran and moved to the United States in 2008 on a student visa. He received his doctorate from the University of Akron and moved to San Francisco where he works as a researcher in bio-technology.

Sodagari said he received his green card in 2015 after a long vetting process.

On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order including a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

The immediate fallout from Trump's order originally meant that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days  despite holding permanent residency "green cards" or other visas.

But on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the executive order barring immigration from select countries will not extend to green card holders going forward.
President Donald Trump's immigration order is getting pushback from some Republicans in Congress, even as officials from Trump's administration insist it's a small price to pay to keep the nation safe.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., released a joint statement Sunday about the order, which went into effect Friday and temporarily banned refugees seeking asylum into the U.S. and those traveling with visas from seven Muslim-majority nations. As NBC News reports, the senators say the order was not "properly vetted" and was responsible for the disarray seen at airports across the country.

"Such a hasty process risks harmful results," the statement said. "We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children."

The order sends a "signal," the statement added, that the U.S. does not want to work with its one of its most important allies in the fight against ISIS  "the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred."

"Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism," the statement said.

Trump took to Twitter in direct response to the senators' statement, calling them "former presidential candidates" and criticizing their priorities.

"The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration," Trump tweeted. "The two Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Sunday that it would be best for the new president to "slow down" and work with lawmakers on how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.

Portman said everyone should "take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "'America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants." He said America is "this beacon of hope and opportunity for the rest of the world" and should remain that way.

The comments came the morning after a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from seven majority Muslim nations subject to Trump's travel ban. The judge said travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and it affected a relatively small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return. Trump's aides insist the judgment has little impact.

Trump's order, which also suspends the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and bars the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, has sparked major protests, including at several of the nation's international airports. It also puts Republicans who criticized Trump's initial campaign proposal to block foreign Muslims from entering the country in a tough spot.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he supports more stringent screening mechanisms, but cautioned that Muslims are some of the country's "best sources in the war against terror."

"I think it's a good idea to tighten the vetting process But I also think it's important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas," he said.

He stressed the need "to be careful as we do this," and said it would be up to the courts to decide "whether or not this has gone too far."

Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter to defend his actions, and his aides insisted the new measures were a small price to pay to keep the nation safe.

"Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW," Trump wrote. "Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!"

The emergency order was issued by U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York on Saturday night after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from the seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the judge's order might affect people in detention, or whether it would allow others to resume flying.

"Realistically, we don't even know if people are going to be allowed onto the planes," ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said. "This order would protect people who they allow to come here and reach U.S. soil."

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Trump is scheduled to speak Sunday with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Portman was on CNN's "State of the Union," while McConnell appeared on ABC's "This Week."
What to Know Thousands of people marched from the Statue of Liberty Viewpoint to the Customs and Border Patrol offices in lower Manhattan

New York Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer addressed the crowd.

President Trump denied Sunday that his order was a "Muslim ban" and pledged "to show compassion to those fleeing oppression."

Thousands of people gathered Sunday in lower Manhattan, within sight of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, to denounce the immigration ban enacted by President Donald Trump.

Picket signs with slogans including "America was built by refugees," and "Muslim ban is un-American" bobbed through the crowd. Demonstrators, bundled up in coats, hats and scarves, marched from the Statue of Liberty Viewpoint to the Customs and Border Patrol offices near Broadway and Worth Street in the Financial District.

For the second night, demonstrators clogged airports nationwide, including JFK, where several passengers remain detained. Ida Siegal reports

Im heading to Battery Park to protest these awful actions. See you there. #MuslimBan #BatteryPark #NoBanNoWall  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 29, 2017

"For President Trump to slam the door, to say no, that means we have to fight, we have to stand strong," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told the crowd. "We must not give in, we must never forget! Fight for what you believe in. Never stop fighting!"

Trump denied Sunday that his order was a "Muslim ban" and pledged "to show compassion to those fleeing oppression."

Trump's order places a 90-day travel restriction on immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen attempting to gain entry into the country. In addition, the decree indefinitely bans Syrian refugees from entering the U.S.

In Pictures: Thousands Protest in NYC Over Trump's Immigration and Travel Order

The crowd chanted: "Aqui estamos, y no nos vamos, y si nos echan, nos regresamos!" which in English translates to "We are here, and we're not leaving, and if you throw us out, we'll come back!"

The chant was followed by a roar of applause and cheers as Sen. Charles Schumer took the podium holding a red sign that said "New Yorkers for Justice!" above his head. He smiled as he shook the sign before leading a chorus.

Sen. Charles Schumer denounced President Donald Trumps executive orders, calling them bad for national security and decrying them as anti-American during an immigrant march at Battery Park Sunday.

"The people united, will never be defeated!" he chanted before thanking demonstrators for their presence. "We are gonna win this fight everybody!"

Crowds were so large that straphangers were unable to get out of the Whitehall-South Ferry subway station hours before the march began.

Police said that five people were arrested in Manhattan  four people for disorderly conduct and one person for some sort of fake identification.

People also protested for a second day at JFK Airport's Terminal 4. The airport warned travelers to plan extra time due to crowds.

At least a dozen people, including an Iraqi man who worked for the U.S. government as a translator for a decade, were detained by Customs and Border Patrol officials at JFK.

International Arrivals Hall is at capacity. @PhillyPolice Airport unit directing demonstrators to A bag claim.  PHLAirport (@PHLAirport) January 29, 2017

Six people remained detained there Sunday evening, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley said. He said all were expected to be released Sunday night.

Demonstrators also flooded the Philadelphia International Airport in protest Sunday afternoon. The international arrivals hall was so crowded with demonstrators that employees had to redirect them to baggage claim, officials tweeted from the airport's account.

Two Syrian families who had arrived from Doha, Qatar Saturday were questioned by CBP officials at Philadelphia International Airport before they were immediately sent on a return flight home.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez condemns the detainment of two heavily vetted Iraqi refugees at JFK airport, calling the action an affront to American values.

Permanent residency "green card" holders trying to get back into the U.S. were also detained at airports nationwide, despite White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus telling Chuck Todd the executive order "doesn't affect" green card holders on "Meet The Press" Sunday morning.

Seven detainees are still being processed at Terminal 4, and a legal permanent resident who is believed to be an Iranian national is in custody at Terminal 7, Jeffries said. He said he believes all detainees will be released.
One woman is a linguistics scholar at Stony Brook University. Another, the wife of a man in Ohio, who tearfully told him that they wouldn't be reunited after she returned from visiting her family in Iran.

The two women were among more than a dozen held at John F. Kennedy International Airport, caught up by President Donald Trump's restrictive executive order on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

Six people remained detained at JFK on Sunday evening, said U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley. He said all were expected to be released Sunday night.

In Pictures: Thousands Protest in NYC Over Trump's Immigration and Travel Order

Iman Alknfushe, who has a green card, was released Sunday afternoon where her family and crowds of supporters were waiting.

"We are very happy," her daughter said.

One of the detainees is Parisa Fasihianifard, a 24-year-old who was visiting family members in Iran before she returned to the U.S. Saturday to be with her husband, who lives in Ohio. The meeting never was  she called him saying she was detained because of the president's executive order.

Fasihianifard told her spouse she was interviewed in a small room for 14 hours. She managed to sleep in a chair, but she woke up to her fate hanging in the balance. Her husband tells News 4 she's now been detained for more than 24 hours.

Also detained was Vahideh Rasekhi, a Ph.D. candidate in her 30s studying linguistics at SUNY Stony Brook. Rasekhi arrived Saturday afternoon; her friends told News 4 she was interviewed for over 12 hours.

Before she was put on a plane at 1 a.m., officials told Rasekhi she was going back to Iran before she was told to disembark the plane.

Rasekhi was released shortly before noon, according to United Nations Correspondent for BBC's Persian Service Balman Kalbasi, who tweeted a photo of her after her release.
A mother who was last seen on her way to the Veterans Affairs hospital with her son has been found dead, police said Saturday.

The body of Joan Viau, 52, was found in a wooded area in Washington Heights near 187th Street and Chittenden Avenue, the NYPD said.

The medical examiner was determining her cause of death, police said. No one has been arrested.

Viau was reported missing by her boyfriend after she was last seen in front of her home on Carlisle Place in Olinville around 1 p.m. Monday, police said.

She was headed to the VA hospital with her son when she vanished. It's not clear why they were headed there.

"I think something happened, terrible. I think something happened. But I don't know what happened," Nelson Moreno, Viau's boyfriend of 15 years, said Friday.

Viau's son was being questioned by police on a charge unrelated to her disappearance.

"We have spoken to her son Josef Garcia, we have arrested him for grand larceny for using her credit card at a location," NYPD Chief Robert Boyce said.

Police wouldn't elaborate on why Garcia was using his mother's credit card.

Viau's car was found in the Bronx Wednesday with blood on a back seat, police say. That prompted crime scene detectives to search her home Thursday, and they were seen walking out with bags of evidence.

Viau's boyfriend and Garcia each has a long history of arrests, but no one has been named a suspect in her disappearance.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced a $100 million fundraising campaign for New York City's human services Sunday as he marked the 100th anniversary of Catholic Charities of New York.

The privately funded initiative will be put toward improvements in the city's human services for New Yorkers in need. Combined with additional private funding from the Catholic Charities of New York, the project will leverage over $4 billion over the next five years.

A cornerstone project will be a partnership between Catholic Charities, the city and the state to build affordable housing in the Bronx, Dolan said. He added that the parish will also work with the Bowery Residents Committee create a safe haven with the homeless in Harlem.

To fight opioid addiction, Catholic Charities will partner with the state and a recently constructed recovery center in Sullivan County to house HEART, the Heroin Epidemic Archiocese Response Team.

Notable city officials, including Sen. Charles Schumer, Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were in attendance.

Dolan took the stage to a round of applause and cracked jokes with the audience before diving into the history of Catholic Charities and its efforts to help vulnerable adults and children regardless of religious affiliation, including victims of Hurricane Sandy.

"Part of the genius of Catholic Charities, and certainly the wisdom of this city, community and country we cherish is the conviction that we are all in this together," he said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo proclaimed April 24 as Catholic Charities Day to honor the organization's continual efforts to help the city since 1917. He thanked the parish's commitment to social justice and the clergymen who helped uphold its mission.
An 8-year-old transgender boy has sued his local New Jersey Boy Scouts' Council for discrimination after he was kicked out of his Cub Scout troop.

The suit, filed by the boy and his mother Kristie Maldonado, claims the Boy Scouts of America Northern New Jersey Council violated the state's law against discrimination.

Joe Maldonado was accepted into Pack 87 in Secacus in October, but expelled in November following complantes from parents, according to The Record.

Boy Scouts of America Spokeswoman Effie Delimarkos has previously said in a statement to NBC New York that Joe doesn't meet the eligibility requirements to participate in the Cub Scout program. However, the organization did offer information on alternative program options.

"The BSA grants youth membership to Cub Scout to boys in the first through fifth grades, or 7 to 10 years of age," she said. "If needed we defer to the information provided for an individual's birth certificate and their biological sex."

She added that scouting "teaches its youth members and adult leaders to be respectful of other people and individual beliefs."

In a statement earlier this month, Delimarkos said the organization does not restrict members based on sexual orientation, but considers gender identity a separate issue, and that Cub Scout programs are for those identified as boys on their birth certificates.

Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts told The Associated Press that it would admit transgender children to its coeducational programs, but not to programs that are for boys only, like the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.
Airbnb, the company that advertises short-term housing rentals online, announced Saturday that it would give free quarter to travelers barred from boarding U.S. flights who are not in their city of residence.

The announcement was made the same day protests formed at U.S. airports over an executive order signed by President Trump that shuts U.S. borders to seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. The executive order also bans all refugees from entering the United States for four months, and indefinitely halted any from Syria.

The company's co-founder, Brian Chesky, announced the move on Facebook Sunday, calling the order "not right."

"Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected," he wrote.

"Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone else who needs it in the event they are denied the ability to board a US-bound flight and are not in your city/country of residence. We have 3M homes, so we can definitely find people a place to stay."

The post was "liked" on Facebook more than 28,000 times by Sunday morning, including by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will welcome you.

He says he also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada's refugee policy.

Trudeau reacted to Trump's visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting Saturday: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said he has a message for Trump.

"The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak," spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.

Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon.

The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. Canada wants to avoid becoming a target like Mexico has. More than 75 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S.

Brad Wall, the conservative premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, offered his support to Trudeau.

"Sask has welcomed approx 2000 refugees this past year," Wall posted on Twitter. "We stand ready to assist fed gov't re: anyone stranded by the US ban."

Toronto Mayor John Tory also weighed in, noting that the city is the most diverse in the world.

"We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality," Tory said in a statement.

Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

White House National Security adviser Michael Flynn told Canada's national security adviser that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban, Purchase said.

"We have been assured that Canadian citizens traveling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process," Purchase said.

Trudeau later posted the statement on Twitter with the hashtag "ACanadianIsACanadian."

Earlier the U.S. State Department said that Canadians with dual citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya would be denied entry for the next three months.

The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canada's election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada. Tima Kurdi, the aunt of the boy who became a symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis, called the U.S. ban on Syrian refugees inhumane and said she was proud of Canada.

Trudeau's tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. "Welcome to Canada" trended on social media in the country.
An exotic bird is back home in Delaware after a week-long rescue mission.

Freddy Mercury the Macaw escaped from his owner, Vic Rash, last week and got stuck at the top of some trees in Wilmington, Delaware. After days of rescue attempts, Freddie was finally captured by Police in West Goshen Township, Chester County on Sunday morning.

Freddy had never been outside before the escape and was faced with some challenges during his time in the trees- including cold temperatures and a brush with an angry hawk.

Rash said the bird did not know how to fly down, which is why he kept flying from treetop to treetop.

On Saturday, police posted on facebook that the bird was seen on a roof in Chester County then updated it later to say Freddy was back home with his owners.

[[412081983 , C]]

Were glad to hear Freddy is safe and back home!
Politicians from our area reacted to the news that two Syrian families who arrived at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday from Doha, Qatar were briefly detained and then sent back on a return 18-hour flight to the Middle East.

The families were detained and deported through an executive order signed Friday evening by President Donald Trump that immediately put restrictions on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily halted a refugee program for Syrian immigrants.

Since NBC10 put out the report, several politicians, including Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, have reacted to the news. Kenney and Wolf also joined other politicians and protesters at Philly International Airport Saturday night on behalf of at least five other immigrants who remain detained there.

You can view their responses below:

Mayor Jim Kenney

"I am sickened by reports that federal officials, without knowledge or cooperation of PHL Airport staff, detained and then turned away two Syrian families. By several accounts, these families waited months to obtain the proper documentation so they could come to our country legally. And still, they were sent back to a war-torn nation that has used chemical warfare against its own people. The Trump administration very well may have just given these families a death sentence.

Banning immigrants and refugees is not only unjustifiably cruel, it also puts Americans at home and serving abroad at great risk. By refusing to allow entry to any immigrants from these seven nations, even those who have helped American troops as interpreters and fixers, we are enabling anti-American radicalization and endangering the lives of many.

History has taught us that dark moments like this occur when we allow fear to silence our compassion and better judgment. Our city has welcomed approximately 260 refugees in recent years from these now-banned nations. We must speak out strongly against this executive order so that these new Philadelphians' friends and families can also find safe harbor in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.

Governor Tom Wolf

"On a human level, this is unconscionable to do this to these legal immigrants and their families. William Penn founded Pennsylvania as a safe place for vulnerable people fleeing oppression. This does not represent who we are."

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)

Very concerning. Our office has contacted DHS.

Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA)
Authorities have released the name of a man who was accidentally shot and killed while hunting in Ocean County.

Prosecutors say 26-year-old Richard Pereira, of Barnegat, was hunting deer with his father and two friends in a wooded area of Berkeley Township when the shooting occurred Saturday morning.

Pereira was shot by one of the friends, a 41-year-old Lacey Township man whose name was not released.

Pereira's father immediately tried to render aid to his son while another group member called 911. But Pereira was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

Authorities declined further comment Sunday on the shooting, saying the investigation was ongoing.
UPDATE: Mayor Kenney announced Sunday that all of the detainees were released.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Governor Tom Wolf, Senator Bob Casey (D - Pa.) and Representative Bob Brady (D - Pa. 1) arrived at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday night to intervene on behalf of immigrants who were detained under President Trump's recent executive action restricting access through America's borders.

"These are people who have gone through all the hurdles and they have chosen to come and live with us here in Pennsylvania," Wolf said. "And I say to them you are welcome here."

The four were joined by civil rights attorneys, more than 150 protesters holding signs and chanting, as well as City Councilwoman Helen Gym and federal lawmakers incised by the effects of the immigration ban.

"Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The Muslim ban has got to go," the demonstrators shouted.

An attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania told NBC10 at least five people were being detained under an executive order signed Friday evening by President Donald Trump that immediately put restrictions on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily halted a refugee program for Syrian immigrants. Three of the detainees are adults from Qatar, according to the ACLU.

City officials told NBC10's Aundrea Cline-Thomas that one of the men has worked as an interpreter for the U.S. government.

Protestors chant at the airport as officials and attys are trying to help people are who are being detained @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/e7Z8uUbDO8  Aundrea Cline-Thomas (@AClineThomas) January 29, 2017

Two Syrian families who arrived at Philly International Airport were also briefly detained Saturday and sent back on a return 18-hour flight to the Middle East.

The executive order appears to have also closed access for legal permanent residents, known as green card holders, according to reports from national civil rights groups.

Kenney told the demonstrators Rep. Brady and Sen. Casey were negotiating with customs officials to speak with the detainees.

"There is an emergency judge on tonight in federal court and there are lawyers drafting petitions...for them to be released, or at least, not to be detained," he said.

They were not allowed to see the detainees however. Neither were the civil rights lawyers.

"They already sent families back," Brady said. "Now they have people here right now that are staying overnight not knowing what they're going to be able to do."

Late Saturday night, after the protest began, a federal judge granted an injunction in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other legal organizations on behalf of individuals subject to President Trump's Muslim ban.

The stay blocks anyone with a valid visa being held at airports from being deported. However, the stay only applies to those currently within the U.S., but not to anyone who tries to come to the U.S. going forward. It also does not mean detainees will be released, only that they can't be deported, according to ACLU attorneys.

UPDATE from Mayor Kenney @PhillyMayor about detained individuals at the airport @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/hYPRV82zZq  Aundrea Cline-Thomas (@AClineThomas) January 29, 2017

Philadelphia's airport protest is one of several at major air hubs around the country. Throngs of people gathered outside John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City where 12 refugees were detained Saturday. Protests were also expected in Chicago, San Francisco and Virginia.

A second protest is scheduled to take place at Philly International Airport Sunday at 2 p.m.

[NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US
A man accused of scaring an elderly woman so much during an eastern Pennsylvania home-invasion robbery that she had a heart attack that night and died two months later has been sentenced to a life in prison without possibility of parole.

Jurors in Northampton County convicted Quadir Taylor two weeks ago of second-degree murder, robbery, burglary, criminal conspiracy and related offenses.

Taylor acknowledged helping others rob 76-year-old Carrie Smith in her Wilson home in January 2012. But his attorneys disputed a forensic pathologist's conclusion that the heart attack caused her eventual death, pointing instead to her failing constitution.

Authorities said Taylor and one of his co-defendants accosted the sleeping woman, grabbed her by the hair and made her open a safe from which they took $35,000 in cash and $18,000 in jewelry.

Defense attorney James Brose said Friday that he knew the life term was mandatory, but his client didn't deserve such a sentence. He said no weapon was used against Smith and cited a case last week in which defendants who bound and beat a robbery victim got 10- and 20-year minimum sentences.

"In fairness to Mr. Taylor, I believe they went in there without the intention of harming Ms. Smith,'' he said.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Mulqueen took strong exception to those remarks, saying Taylor and his co-defendants' actions set off a chain of events that sent Smith to an early grave.

"It's silly to say they went to rob an elderly woman in the dead of night, but I didn't mean to hurt her--`Super sorry she died,''' Mulqueen said.

Relatives said the robbery left Smith a broken woman, too frightened to return home, subject to frequent nightmares and needing help to shower or bathe.

Judge Paula Roscioli called the crime "absolutely horrendous.'' She told Taylor, who turns 30 Tuesday, that his victims included not only Smith and her grieving family but his own children, who would grow up without a father's guidance.

The victim's granddaughter, Rebecca Johnson, and her ex-boyfriend Rogel Suero were earlier sentenced to life terms after being convicted in 2013 of second-degree murder and other counts. A third co-defendant accused of acting as a getaway driver pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to one to two years.
The family members of six Syrians who were detained at Philadelphia International Airport and then sent back to the Middle East spoke out for the first time Sunday.

The families were detained and deported through an executive order signed Friday evening by President Donald Trump that immediately restricted travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily halted a refugee program for Syrian immigrants, according to family in the U.S.

"America is not America," Dr. Ghassan Assali told reporters Sunday. "Like ISIS now, they ask, 'Are you Christian? What do you believe?' And if they are not saying what they believe, they kick you out and they cut your head off. So America, same thing. They ask you are you Muslim? You've got to change your religion. Thank you."

Assali and his wife Sarmad Assali, both Allentown residents, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf addressed the media Sunday afternoon. The couple's six family members from Syria arrived at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday morning from Doha, Qatar and were briefly detained. They were then sent on a return 18-hour flight back to Doha, the family said.

Dr. Ghassan Assali, a family member of the Syrian immigrants who were detained at Philly International Airport and then sent back to the Middle East under Donald Trumps immigration ban spoke with Governor Tom Wolf Sunday afternoon and compared America to ISIS.

"This is not a place where people come to experience oppression and that's what their family members experienced," Gov. Wolf said Sunday. "I for one as an American, as a Pennsylvanian, I'm outraged."

The families, made of up two brothers, their wives and two children, were detained by Customs and Border Protection officials after disembarking a Qatar Airways flight at 7:25 a.m. Saturday, according to Assali's son, Joseph Assali.

Governor Tom Wolf spoke with the family of Syrian immigrants who were denied permission to enter Philadelphia under President Donald Trumps immigration ban.

Three hours later, the six were put back on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha, Joseph Assali said.

"This is like a nightmare come true," he said, adding that they had visas and green cards that were legally obtained months ago.

"They're all Christian citizens and the executive order was supposed to protect Christians fleeing persecution," he said.

The order suspended entry for 90 days from countries linked to a statute in the Visa Waiver Program. Those countries are: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Trump said in signing the order that he was pledging to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America." He did, however, declare that Christians in Syria and other restricted-status counties would be given preference. The American Civil Liberties Union and others have challenged the order as unconstitutional, and

Late Saturday night, hours after Assali's family left Philadelphia, a federal judge granted an injunction on the order in response to a request filed by the ACLU and other legal organizations on behalf of individuals subject to President Trump's ban.

Ghassan Assali and his wife said that one of their family members who was sent back was working toward an immigration visa since 2003.

"I would just like to say I've been here for many, many years," Sarmad Assali said. "I'm devastated, what happened to our family. We've done everything by the book."

"We've always lived by the rules. All our lives. I was saddened and I'm heartbroken they had to be sent back to the war zone."

The Assali family said Sunday that their relatives are back in Damascus and doing okay, though one family member is dealing with heart-related issues. They are currently working with the ACLU to help get them back to the United States.

Protesters held two demonstrations at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday and Sunday. Gov. Wolf, Mayor Jim Kenney, Rep. Bob Brady and Senator Bob Casey joined 150 protesters at the airport Saturday night to intervene on behalf of the detained immigrants.

"By several accounts, these families waited months to obtain the proper documentation so they could come to our country legally," Kenney said in a statement. "And still, they were sent back to a war-torn nation that has used chemical warfare against its own people. The Trump administration very well may have just given these families a death sentence."

An estimated 5,000 people gathered at Sunday's protest. Another member of the Assali family, Sarah Assali, attended the demonstration.

"Seeing this much support, it brings hope that our family will be able to come and be welcome," she said.

The Assali family also thanked everyone who protested on their behalf.

[NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US
A woman grabbed a young girl who was standing next to her mother at a NJ Transit station and then threw her on the railroad tracks as a train approached in Burlington, New Jersey, according to police.

On Friday around 8:30 p.m., a Burlington Police officer was stopped by a NJ Transit Bus driver who reported a woman involved in suspicious activity on High and Broad streets. When police arrived in the area they spotted the woman, later identified as Autumn Matacchiera, 20 , of Hainesport, New Jersey, on the NJ Transit Light Rail Platform at the Burlington Town Station.

As the officers approached her on the platform ramp, Matacchiera allegedly grabbed an unsuspecting 5-year-old girl who was standing next to her mother and threw her onto the railroad tracks as a train approached. Police say Matacchiera did not know the girl or her family.

Officers quickly jumped in front of the train and signaled for it to stop while the mothers boyfriend grabbed the girl and brought her to safety. Matacchiera was then arrested and taken into custody.

The young girl was taken to the Memorial Hospital of Burlington County and treated for a facial laceration and bruising. She was later released.

Matacchiera is charged with attempted murder. She was taken to the Lourdes Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation and is currently in police custody.




It's been described as the greatest burden any commander in chief must bear.

Just days into his young presidency, a U.S. service member has died in military action authorized by Donald Trump. It's the first known combat death of a member of the U.S. military since Trump took the oath of office on Jan. 20 and underscores the gravity of the decisions he now makes.

Three service members were also wounded Sunday during the firefight with militants from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's branch in Yemen. The raid left nearly 30 others dead, including an estimated 14 militants. A fourth U.S. service member was injured when a military aircraft assisting in the mission had a "hard landing" nearby, according to U.S. Central Command.

"Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," Trump said in a statement.

"My deepest thoughts and humblest prayers are with the family of this fallen service member," he said.

The names of the casualties were not released.

Planning for the clandestine counterterrorism raid begun before President Barack Obama left office on Jan. 20, but Trump authorized the raid, according to a U.S. defense official, who was not authorized to discuss details beyond those announced by the Pentagon and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. has been striking al-Qaida in Yemen from the air for more than 15 years, mostly using drones. Sunday's surprise pre-dawn raid could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in the Arab world's poorest but strategically located country.

The action provides an early window into how the new president will put his campaign rhetoric into action when it comes to foreign intervention.

Trump had promised an "America first" approach and an end to the "era of nation building" if he won the White House. Many interpreted his language as isolationist and expected Trump to be more cautious about where the U.S. intervened.

At the same time, Trump had broadcast a stronger posture on the world stage. He pledged to beef up the military and said he aimed to achieve "peace through strength."

Sunday's raid was not the first time that the United States had conducted a counterterrorism raid on the ground in Yemen, but it was not the usual approach of striking from the air, the defense official said.

The raid was planned as a clandestine operation and not intended to be made public, but the loss of a service member changed that, the official said, adding that no detainees were taken in the operation.

An al-Qaida official and an online news service linked to the terror group said the raid left about 30 people dead, including women and children. Among the children killed was Anwaar, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girl's grandfather.

Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Anwaar was visiting her mother when the raid took place. She was shot in the neck and bled for two hours before she died, he said.

In addition to killing the militants, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said U.S. forces "captured a whole host of information about future plots that's going to benefit this country and keep us safe."

The president "extends his condolences," he said on ABC's "'This Week." ''But more importantly, he understands the fight that our servicemen and women conduct on a daily basis to keep this country safe."

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaida operatives in Bayda in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.
Confusion, worry and outrage grew Saturday as President Donald Trump's crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries took effect. Airlines blocked people traveling to the United States, legal challenges were underway and doubts abounded about whether the order would make America safer.

The immediate fallout from Trump's order meant that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days  despite holding permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. And some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday were being detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe.

Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad."

"If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse said. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith."

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003. Later he worked as a contract engineer. He was allowed into the U.S. Saturday afternoon, hours after his attorney petitioned a federal court to let the two men go.

In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawai's wife had worked for a U.S. security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. military.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trump's order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that don't provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trump's order.

"There is no evidence that refugees  the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation  are a threat to national security," said Lena F. Masri, the group's national litigation director. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didn't address America's "primary terrorism-related threat"  people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trump's order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

"We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. "With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years."

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

No refugees were in the air when the travel ban was signed Friday, but about 350 people were in transit in Nairobi, Kenya, and were now stuck there, said Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy for HIAS, a refugee resettlement aid agency. She said several hundred more people who were booked on U.S.-bound flights in the next week were now stranded around the globe.

"This in effect could be a permanent ban," she said. "Many of these people may never be able to come."
President Donald Trumps administration has promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and now, a congressman in San Diego is proposing a new health care plan to Congress.

Congressman Darrell Issa is one of the first Republicans to propose a replacement plan. In an interview Saturday, he told NBC 7 he calls his plan The Access to Insurance for All Americans Act.

The plan would give people access to the federal employee health benefit plan that government employees use. It calls for no mandates on businesses and individuals.

Issas plan would keep a popular aspect of Obamacare: guaranteed coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions.

NBC 7 spoke with San Diegans Saturday about the proposal. In the North County, residents had mixed feelings about what people want in a national health coverage plan.

I think making sure that people have choices is important, one person said. I think also having our kids covered until theyre 26  thats important. I also think [coverage for] pre-existing conditions are important.

Now that we have the accessibility, now we need affordability, said local Eric Carlson.

I just think everyone is entitled to have health care, regardless of how we pay for it, one man told NBC 7. Were America; we should be able to take care of people, including our veterans.

Issa said his plan offers more choices.

The federal employees, the bureaucrats, if you will, who write the laws, over 11 million of them enjoy a health care system that has over 200 choices  [that] has national affordability, has no pre-existing conditions, has no age discrimination, Issa said.

The congressional budget office reports that tens of millions of people could lose insurance if there is no replacement for Obamacare.

In the coming week, more Republicans will likely present their own replacement plans.

Read Issas full proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act, here.
A 58-year-old motorcyclist was struck on North Torrey Pines Road when a car merged into his lane, San Diego police (SDPD) said.

The crash happened at approximately 7:18 a.m. Sunday and stalled traffic for those heading to the Farmers Insurance Open via North Torrey Pines Road.

A car trying to merge into the motorcyclist's lane hit him, police said. The motorcyclist collided with the left rear quarter panel of the car and fell onto the road.

The motorcyclist suffered a back injury, a partially collapsed lung, fractures to his lower left leg and a left femur fracture. He was taken to a nearby hospital.

No further information was available.
San Diego Congressman Scott Peters (D-52) condemned President Trumps executive action banning immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days, according to a statement from his office Saturday.

His statement reads:

President Trumps order to shut the door on families fleeing violence and oppression betrays our values as Americans.

So-called extreme-vetting has always been cover for policies based in fear and discrimination, particularly towards Muslims.

Our rigorous vetting processes, which often take years to complete even for women and children, are the reason we dont have to choose between security and being a haven for those seeking freedom and prosperity in America.

Refusing to accept refugees from Syria and blocking entry to interpreters who helped us in Iraq gives terrorist groups like ISIS exactly what they want, and will set us back in our efforts to bring peace and stability to the region.

Barring legal travel from Muslim nations does nothing to make us safer and is unbelievably cruel to the students, scientists, and families who are building lives here and contributing to the fabric of our nation. This provision, as well as the suspension of the Visa Interview Waiver Program, open us up to retaliation from other countries that will divide families and wreak havoc on businesses and universities.

Immigrants and refugees have made America into what it is today, and closing our doors to them diminishes our role as a global force for peace and robs us of talented individuals that make our nation stronger and more prosperous.

I have to believe that many of my Republican colleagues know how wrong this is and how it will hurt our national security and our economy. I call on them to do the right thing  the courageous thing  and work with us to unwind this disastrous order.

Along with the seven-country immigration ban, the order would also stop the admission of any refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspend refugee admissions from Syria and suspend the Visa Interview Waiver program, which allows citizens from European and Asian nations to obtain visas to travel to the United States without an interview.

By Saturday evening, a nationwide stay was granted in a legal challenge brought by the ACLU, blocking the government from deporting people detained in the U.S. due to the president's order.

NBC 7 reached out to Rep. Darrell Issa and Rep. Duncan Hunters offices, but have yet to hear back.
In a proud ceremony on Saturday morning, U.S. Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) honored 30 San Diego-area high school students on their way to United States service academies.

Peters nominated nine students to West Point, 10 to the Naval Academy, eight to the Air Force Academy and three to the Merchant Marine Academy. The students applied through the congressmans office and interviewed with an independent panel of academy graduates, service members, veterans, and academic leaders.

One of the most difficult parts about getting into Americas service academies is being nominated by a member of Congress.

Peters, one of five congressmen or woman in San Diego County welcomed his nominees Saturday at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCAS). Members of Congress have limited nominations, so Peters used a panel to make the process more transparent.

So, who are some of these young men and women?

Influenced by his Coronado roots and fueled by his desire to join the military, high school student Max Stangl told NBC 7 he was thrilled to receive his nomination for acceptance to the Air Force Academy.

Being able to save lives and also being in the Air Force is kind of something Ive always dreamed of doing, and really make a difference, Stangl explained.

Stangl said he wants to be a combat rescue officer.

You're out there saving lives in a combat environment or a civilian environment, at home or abroad, being able to save lives and being in the air force is something that always drove me to it," he added.

Fellow honoree Kate Asaro also shares the same determined spirit as she embarks on her own military career. She was one of the few young women in Peters group.

Last week, the Mount Carmel High School accepted her offer of admission to the Naval Academy. She looks forward to the rewarding, yet challenging years ahead.

Everyone has told me that they break you down just to build you back up, she told NBC 7. Im there to be built up, so if they have to break my down, thats what they got to do.

La Jolla High School senior Luke Stojic received his nomination for the Merchant Marine Academy.

"I was told by a lot of Naval Academy graduates and a lot of military personnel, it's a best kept secret in America; it's a great college for engineering, he told NBC 7.

During the ceremony, Peters described how these nominees not only met the requirements of the academies, but also embodied the values attributed to the men and women who serve our U.S. military.

Even though academic preparation is essential, there are many other qualities that make a great applicant -- character, leadership, motivation, passion, and service, he said.

Different backgrounds, talents and interests but, together, part of a promising group looking to represent America.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is denouncing President Donald Trump's decision to suspend the nation's refugee program for four months and indefinitely bar Syrians from entering the country.

The Democrat said during a press conference at Dulles International Airport on Saturday that he has asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to look into "all legal remedies" available to help individuals who may be detained in Virginia.

"We are a state that is opening and welcoming to everyone. I'm very concerned about the ramifications of this new executive order," McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe said a family has been detained at the airport but he did not provide further details. The governor's office said it could not provide additional information.

"I am very concerned about the family. I'm calling upon DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, as governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as governor where this airport is located, I want to know what families are here," McAuliffe said. "I want to know if any Virginia families have been impacted by this decision and we want answers to questions."

McAuliffe called Trump's action "discriminatory," saying it will "breed hatred toward Americans around the globe."

Trump also instituted a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Dozens, and later hundreds, of demonstrators who oppose Trump's executive order gathered in the arrival area at Dulles. They chanted, "No hate. No fear. Refugees are welcome here." and "No ban! No wall!" as travelers walked by.

"It's both for, you know, the show of solidarity, but it's also really to show - for families so that families know that we're here and we can help them get legal assistance if they have a loved one who's being detained right now," said one woman representing Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

"We're just here to mobilize and to empower the community," said an attorney for CASA de Maryland, a Latino and immigration advocacy organization.

One man holding a sign with the group said he came to the airport to pick up his brother, who was flying in from Pakistan.

"I'm very much concerned because there's now about two hours and he's still not here and I'm very much concerned," he said.

Just before 10 p.m. Saturday, a federal judge blocked the government from deporting immigrants being held due President Trump's executive order.

The stay blocks anyone with a valid visa being held at airports from being deported. The stay applies only to those currently within the U.S., but not to anyone who tries to come to the U.S. going forward. And it does not mean detainees will be released, only that they can't be deported, according to American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.

Demonstrators stayed at Dulles late into the night and demanded that any immigrants detained be allowed to see a lawyer. It is not known at this time how many people have been detained and if any of them have been released.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring released the following statement earlier in the day in response to the executive order:

"This order is in direct conflict with the most foundational principles of our country and our Commonwealth. For generations, the United States has been a beacon of hope and a safe harbor for those in need. President Trump is dimming that light and slamming the door in the face of vulnerable people fleeing unimaginable circumstances. He is also sending a terrible signal to minority communities that they too could be the target of his ire and telling Muslims in Virginia and around the country that they are inferior because of their faith. That is simply shameful.

"Along with Gov. McAuliffe, my team and I are closely examining this order, something President Trump and his administration apparently failed to do before issuing it, and exploring any options we may have to oppose this un-American, discriminatory, and misguided action."

Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for more updates.
Dozens of Montgomery County firefighters battled flames at an old middle school gym late Saturday night.

The fire at the old Farquhar Middle School is contained, but crews worked to put out some hot spots until early Sunday morning.

Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the fire in Olney, Maryland. Fire crews said there was a partial collapse of the building, but no one was hurt.

A newly revitalized and expanded middle school opened this school year.
A federal judge in Virginia issued a temporary restraining order that, for one week, will block green card holders arriving at Dulles International Airport from being removed from the country.

The order, issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, also said that anyone detained at the airport should have access to a lawyer.

The motion was filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center on behalf of more than 50 permanent residents detained at Dulles on Saturday.

The order came shortly after a judge in New York granted a temporary stay preventing refugees entering the United States from being deported.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and blocking entry by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) voiced their displeasure with the presidential executive order banning refugees, which sparked protests at several airports around the country.

Kaine appeared on NBCs "Meet The Press" Sunday morning and said the order puts at risk people who have helped the United States in countries included in the ban. He said the order is a religious test that poses a different burden on those who practice the Muslim faith than other faiths.

The irony is not lost on me that it was issued the same day as the White House issued their Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation that, unlike any previous administration, removed all reference to Jews, Kaine told MTP host Chuck Todd. You put a religious test on Muslims, and you try to scrub reference to Jews in the Holocaust Remembrance. This was horribly, horribly mishandled.

Kaine pointed to Steve Bannon, chief strategist and senior counselor to President Donald Trump, who served at the executive chair for Breitbart News, an organization that Kaine said traffics in white supremacy, anti-Semitism, as a key influencer in the structure and timing of the immigration order.

Cardin, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement on Sunday, calling for the president to rescind the executive order before it does any more damage to our national security, endangers the lives of Americans or our allies, and erodes further the moral reputation of the United States of America.

President Trump's potentially-unlawful order  sends a chilling message to anyone willing to assist United States forces overseas. In so doing, the president made the world more dangerous for America, Cardin said. This betrayal of our friends and those who stood with us - indeed of our deepest values as a nation - promises to make the U.S. less safe and places our courageous servicemen and women in even greater danger as they fight against terrorism.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe denounced the presidents order and asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to look into "all legal remedies" available to help individuals who may be detained in Virginia.

Trump's order, which also suspends the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and bars the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, has sparked major protests, including at several of the nation's international airports.

A federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from seven majority Muslim nations subject to Trump's travel ban. The judge said travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.
At least a dozen people were displaced on Sunday following a 3-alarm fire at an East Boston home.

Boston Fire responded to the blaze at 149 Lexington St. at about 11:30 a.m. where heavy smoke was showing from the attic of the two and half story house.

Authorities said no injuries were reported but 11 adults and one child were displaced as a result of the fire. The American Red Cross is assisting those residents.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage to the building is estimated at $600,000.
Thousands of activists turned out Sunday afternoon in Boston to protest President Donald Trump's actions on Muslim immigrants.

The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations started its rally at 1 p.m. on Boston's Copley Square.

CAIR-Massachusetts Executive Director John Robbins said Trump is playing on "religious bigotry and intolerance"' and will end up turning away men, women and children fleeing violence and persecution.

The president's order immediately suspended for four months a program that last year resettled in the U.S. roughly 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice. An immediate 90-day ban was put in place for all immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim majority nations.

Trump also indefinitely blocked Syrians, including those fleeing civil war.

The rally took place at the site of the Kahlil Gibran Memorial. Protesters quickly filled the area holding signs and chanting and singing songs like "America the Beautiful."

Senator Elizabeth Warren joined CAIR and the ACLU to speak against the temporary ban. He is even trying to shut the door on people who are here legally. On students, on faculty, on workers right here in Massachusetts who live here legally and we are here to fight back, said Warren

"Its a security test, we were the victims in our city of a bombing recently, said Joseph Coutlis who attended the rally. The brothers behind the bombings and their family were not from any of the 7 countries on the travel ban list, but Coutlis says he still supports President Trumps efforts.

Lilia Laitouti questions the treatment being meted out to her. I love this country as my second home, I pay my taxes and dont do anything wrong here and I dont see why I am different this is my question, why am I not welcome here? asks Laitouti.

Sunday marked the second day of protests in Boston and across the country. While there was a smaller demonstration Saturday afternoon in the city's Chinatown neighborhood, hundreds of activists gathered for an impromptu demonstration at Boston's Logan International Airport after there were reports of detainees, whom were eventually granted their release by a federal judge overnight Sunday.

MBTA Spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said for safety precautions, Copley Station would be closed beginning at 11:30 a.m. and would remain closed until the demonstration ended. Green Line customers were being asked to use Arlington and Hynes Stations instead.

Pesaturo also said that extra trains were being added on the Green Line in anticipation of extra customers.

Meanwhile Immigration lawyers kept busy at the Boston Logan airport. Nearly a day after a restaining order was placed on Trump's executive order, things have eased a little.

They said that they think the right thing to do is take 7 days and just stop. Stop the president's executive order to give time to hear the constitutional issues, for both sides to present their evidence and to make a decision on the constitutionality of president trump's executive order," says Jeff Goldman, an Immigration Attorney.

The president has singled out 7 countries in his 90-day immigration ban. Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.



White House officials say that US residents - those with green cards from these 7 countries are now exempt from the executive order.



"So if the permanent resident has documentation saying they're allowed to enter the United States, they should be let in," added Goldman.



That wasn't the case yesterday as two UMass Dartmouth professors who have green cards were detained for hours.

"Its one thing to ask questions. Its another thing to have someone head into secondary inspection, which is the side room and have to wait 4,5,6 hours," said Goldman.

Customs and Border Protection does have the ability to label a permanent resident as a possible threat to national security. Goldman says they should be given the right to have a hearing in front of a judge before being sent back on a plane.

Immigration lawyers have been asking clients to fly in to Logan since the restraining order was signed yesterday.
A man was killed Saturday night after being struck by a vehicle in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Chelmsford Police said officers were called to an area of Chelmsford Street, near the Lowell/Chelmsford line, at 11:30 p.m. for a report of a body in the roadway.

When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive 54-year-old man and immediately began administering first aid.

The victim was transported to an area hospital where he later died. The man's identity has not yet been released.

The exact cause of the crash is under investigation by the Chelmsford Police Department, along with the Middlesex District Attorneys Office and the Massachusetts State Police.

Police said the operator of the vehicle involved is cooperating with the investigation.
Massachusetts' Republican governor is weighing in on President Trump's refugee and immigration order.

In a statement Sunday, Gov. Charlie Baker said his administration is evaluating and monitoring the impact Trump's executive order has on his state, and that he supports federal courts getting involved in helping sort through the confusion the order has caused.

"Massachusetts is a global community. We all benefit from the shared experiences of our partners from around the world," Baker's statement read. "Our education, health care, business and public sector institutions rely on these relationships to deliver on their missions every single day."

Baker went on to say that the governments recent decision puts this at risk.

"I believe focusing on countries' predominant religions will not make the country safer as terrorists have showed they intend to strike from across the world. The confusion for families is real. The unexpected disruption for law abiding people is real. And the lack of guidance associated with such an abrupt and overwhelming decision is hugely problematic for all involved," he said.

He also said that the sooner federal courts can clarify Trump's executive order, the sooner those "who have done nothing but follow the rules can rest assured that they will be able to go on with their lives."

Trump's order on Friday has sparked massive demonstrations at airports and in cities across the U.S. While on NBC's "Meet the Press," White House Chief of Staff Reine Priebus said Trump's immigration order would not bar immigration for green card holders going forward from select Muslim-majority nations, which is a reversal in how the order was immplemented on Saturday.
A federal judge in Boston ruled early Sunday morning in favor of two plaintiffs in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump in regards to an immigration order barring them from re-entering the United States.

Lawyers for the Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union were able to temporarily stop Trump's executive order barring some travelers from seven different Muslim-majority nations.

On Saturday, two professors at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth who are Iranian nationals were unable to return to the U.S. because of the executive order. Immigration lawyers said one was held for 2-plus hours, and the other was held for 3-plus hours, including "extreme interrogation."

Similar situations happened at other airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"If this is the way the country is going to be run, it's going to be a long four years," said immigration lawyer Kerry Doyle of the law firm Graves and Doyle.

"President Trump's executive order doesn't even pass the laugh test," the ACLU's Matt Segal added.

The ACLU of Massachusetts and other civil rights groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of the professors who were detained.

According to the ACLU of Massachusetts complaint, the professors had a constitutional right to return home to the United States after a brief trip abroad, and cannot be deprived of their lawful permanent status without justification and due process protections.

Overnight, following a hearing that lasted more than two hours, a federal judge issued a stay of the President's executive order in Boston for the next seven days.

We received a restraining order that is local to Massachusetts, but significantly wider than the national restraining order, said Susan Church, chair of American Immigration Lawyers of New England. It has prohibited customs and border protection from violating the secondary inspection rule, against people who are using the executive order to interrogate them unnecessarily.

Doyle said airlines must be notified and that an amended complaint must be filed by the end of the day on Monday.

There will have to be an additional hearing on the amended complaint within the seven days, Doyle said.
The University of Vermont and an outdoor shopping mall in Burlington are working to raise funds for a bronze sculpture of the school's mascot.

The $100,000 sculpture of Rally the mascot will be located outside UVM's Catamount Store at the Church Street Marketplace. An Oregon artist has been tasked with making it.

Becky Cassidy, head of media relations and fundraising for the marketplace, says she began meeting with community members last week who might want to donate.

Organizers hope to have the statue completed by next year. They also hope the sculpture will inspire UVM fans to visit and post photos on social media.
New England's U.S. lawmakers are reacting to President Donald Trump's executive order barring all entry from seven Muslim-majority nations.

The executive order would also include an infinite ban on Syrian refugees, and would extend the time for other refugees to enter the country by 120 days.

MASSACHUSETTS

In a series of tweets, Sen. Elizabeth Warren blasted President Trump's executive order. She reflected on her visit to a Greek island that's a stop for many Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn homeland, and called the order "a betrayal of American values," and argued it "creates recruiting fodder" for terrorist organizations.

"Let's be clear: A Muslim ban by any other name is still a Muslim ban," the Democrat tweeted.

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey said the executive order is a product of "extreme xenophobia."

"Turning away immigrants based on their nationality and religion is un-American an in direct opposition to everything for which our Founding Fathers fought," he said. "President Trump may not call it a Muslim ban, but it is, and runs afoul of our morals and values."

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-2nd District) called Trump's order "un-American."

"The fact that President Trump chose Holocaust Remembrance Day to sign his Muslim ban shutting the door to thousands of refugees fleeing war is shameful," he said in a statement.

In a series of tweets, Rep. Michael Capuano said no refugees from any of the seven majority-Muslim countries on Trump's list have committed terror acts on U.S. soil, adding that Trump was playing on Americans' fears.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Granite State's newest senator vowed to work to override President Trump's executive order.

"We must always be working to strengthen the vetting process for all entryways into the U.S.," Sen. Maggie Hassan tweeted, "but discriminating against individuals on the basis of their religion will only harm our national interests."

In a statement, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said Trump's immigration order puts U.S. troops and diplomats in danger by undermining alliances and trust in these countries.

"This order is so ill-considered it even bars Iraqi civilians who risked their lives to help our troops," she said.

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter called on Trump to reverse his executive order.

I condemn President Trump's decision to reject fundamental American values. Our nation's founders built this nation on dreams of a better, more tolerant society, and now we must stand together and defend and preserve those ideals," she said.

MAINE

President Trump's executive order on immigration struck fear into the hearts of Maine's refugees and immigrants, according to Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-1st District).

"With these executive orders, President Trump has shown his lack of understanding for American history," she said in a statement.

VERMONT

Vermont's congressional delegation - Sens. Patrick Leahey and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch - released a joint statement lambasting Trump's executive order.

"By imposing a blanket ban on entire nationalities of men, women and children facing horrific violence and devastation, he has allowed fear to triumph over compassion and common sense," the statement read.

The lawmakers pointed out that Vermont communities, including Rutland, have welcomed Syrian and Iraqi refugees who arrive "sometimes with just the clothes on their backs."

CONNECTICUT

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said President Trump's actions shamed the U.S. on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying that the immigration executive order "imposing a religious test on refugee entry is constitutionally defective and morally destructive."

Sen. Chris Murphy went on a tweet storm decrying Trump's immigration action, but one tweet sufficiently summed up his view:

To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today. pic.twitter.com/XW7sjmCcXh  Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 28, 2017

Rep. John Larson (D-1st District) said having a rigourous vetting process is "absolutely necessary," but added that the U.S. is "capable of doing so in a way that honors our values and doesn't entirely halt our programs that serve some of the most vulnerable people in the world."

In a series of tweets, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd District) blasted Trump's executive order. Trump's "choice to turn away immigrants, including children fleeing violence in Middle East, speaks volumes about his character," she said.

Elizabeth Esty, a congresswoman from Connecticut's 5th District, called Trump's order an act of "cowardice."

"Turning away the world's most vulnerable does not make us safer. It makes us less human," she tweeted.

RHODE ISLAND

Sen. Jack Reed said Trump's order "runs counter to America's interests and values," while Rep. David Cicilline (D-1st District) said it's "an outright betrayal," adding that it allows "fear and hysteria to prevail over facts and reason."

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-2nd District) said as a member of the House's Committee on Homeland Security, he has seen the vetting process into refugees' backgrounds work, and that to bar immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries "is contrary to the very core principles of our democracy."
Taking to President Trumps favored communications platform, Twitter, a whos who of prominent technology and business leaders are speaking out against the new administrations ban on Muslims from certain countries entering the United States.

Mark Cuban, entrepreneur

Twitter

David Karp, Tumblr

Twitter

Mark Benioff, Salesforce.com

Twitter

Jack Dorsey, Twitter

Twitter

Elon Musk, entrepreneur

Twitter

Satya Nadella, Microsoft

Twitter

Here is Nadella's message.

Brian Chesky, Airbnb

Twitter

Aaron Levie, Box

Twitter

These are just a representative sample.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a memo to the staff said the ban is hurting 187 of the companys employees.

"Were concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," Google said in a statement. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed similar objections in a memo to that companys employees.
Roll out red carpet for Branston

A Hollywoof hopeful from Dogs Trust Newbury is seeks leading role in someones life

In line with this years Oscar winners, a four-legged red carpet candidate from Dogs Trust Newbury awaits his leading lady.

Five-year-old crossbreed Branston, who has spent a total of 150 days at the rehoming centre, is desperate to be a star of a new home. Branston was handed over to the charity due to his previous owners change of circumstances.

Unlike his famous two-legged friends, Branston is not accustomed to lights, camera, action and can be rather shy, initially, when he meets new people; however he is hoping that he lands a starring role in someones life.

Jenny Hopkins, assistant manager at Dogs Trust Newbury, said:

Our superstar Branston has so much love to give. As the Academy Awards ceremony approaches, were appealing to dog lovers around Berkshire to give this loveable chap the big break he deserves. Branston is a big softy and he adores curling up with his favourite *supporting actress (*canine carer) after a busy day in the rehoming centre  he just needs a leading lady (or man!) in his life. Although hes a little shy when he first meets new people, he will become your best friend once he gets to know you.

In contrast to the busyness of Beverley Hills, Branston would be best suited to a quiet, adult-only home where he is the only pet so that he can have his owners all to himself.

If you think you could roll out a red carpet for Branston, please contact the Dogs Trust Newbury rehoming centre directly on 0300 303 0292 or visit www.dogstrust.org.uk.

Dogs Trust is the UKs largest dog welfare charity, caring for nearly 17,000 stray or abandoned dogs every year through its network of 20 Rehoming Centres across the UK and one in Dublin.
Jonathan Ananda By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The textile sector nearly hit a standstill during the first few weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation. Many small garment units were unable to pay wages to workers and production, according to industry players, was affected by as much as half in some areas. However, with the situation improving steadily and the Union Budget coming up, the industry is optimistic about the year ahead. What Arun Jaitley announces on February 1 will determine whether the industrys optimism is warranted.

According to A Sakthivel, chairman, Federation of Indian Export Organisations and textile industry veteran, the industry does not expect too many sops from the Union Budget. There was a big `6,006 crore special package that was announced for the textiles sector in June last year. So we do not expect any major sops from the budget. The two key demands from the industry, submitted to the government, concerns the Goods and Services Tax (GST), he pointed out.

The industry is lobbying hard, say analysts, to get the government to exempt exporters from the tax. Another issue is that we transport a lot of products right through production. Something goes for printing outside of the primary factory, then comes back. We want this movement of goods to be exempt from the tax as well, pointed out Sakthivel.

Others however, have more specific suggestions on what the governments, and the budgets, thrust should be on. V D Zope, chairman of The Textile Association (India), stressed that more focus needs to be put on the garments segment in particular, to boost exports. The thrust should be on garments and we should also push for more polyester cotton consumption, he said.

But more important is what Jaitley is expected to give to exporters. According to Vope, it is the export section of the industry that focus needs to be on. We need to incentivise exports more. Our industry is primarily export driven and not on domestic consumption. We already have enough inventory here, he said.

Manickam Ramaswamy, chairman and managing director of Loyal Textiles, also pointed out that the sector needs the government to even out the playing field as far as exporters are concerned. This is not something that the Budget can address. But it is a pressing issue.

The Indian textile industry is burdened by customs duties we have to pay while exporting to most European markets. But our competitors, from everywhere in South and South East Asia, have negotiated for and got zero duty. The Commerce Ministry needs to address this issue. One or two sops from the budget will not help, he pointed out.

The FIEO, which has a significant percentage of textile industry representatives, has also submitted a wishlist to the government that includes a demand to increase the limit under Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS). CLCSS has helped the small scale sector to modernize and expand their production. The CLCSS limit was fixed at `1 Cr about a decade back and therefore, the limit under CLCSS may be enhanced from `1 crore to `5 rore, suggested the organisation.

The increase in the CLCSS limit would have a direct, positive impact on the sector, according to experts, since many textile units are small firms who are already beneficiaries. FIEO has also pointed out that countries across the world are supporting aggressive marketing to get limited orders available globally with the slowdown in global trade.

The Government, said the body, should create an Export Development Fund for aggressive marketing particularly for MSME by providing a corpus of about 0.5 per cent of previous year exports as the present support through marketing scheme is inadequate.

CHENNAI: The textile sector nearly hit a standstill during the first few weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation. Many small garment units were unable to pay wages to workers and production, according to industry players, was affected by as much as half in some areas. However, with the situation improving steadily and the Union Budget coming up, the industry is optimistic about the year ahead. What Arun Jaitley announces on February 1 will determine whether the industrys optimism is warranted. According to A Sakthivel, chairman, Federation of Indian Export Organisations and textile industry veteran, the industry does not expect too many sops from the Union Budget. There was a big `6,006 crore special package that was announced for the textiles sector in June last year. So we do not expect any major sops from the budget. The two key demands from the industry, submitted to the government, concerns the Goods and Services Tax (GST), he pointed out. The industry is lobbying hard, say analysts, to get the government to exempt exporters from the tax. Another issue is that we transport a lot of products right through production. Something goes for printing outside of the primary factory, then comes back. We want this movement of goods to be exempt from the tax as well, pointed out Sakthivel. Others however, have more specific suggestions on what the governments, and the budgets, thrust should be on. V D Zope, chairman of The Textile Association (India), stressed that more focus needs to be put on the garments segment in particular, to boost exports. The thrust should be on garments and we should also push for more polyester cotton consumption, he said. But more important is what Jaitley is expected to give to exporters. According to Vope, it is the export section of the industry that focus needs to be on. We need to incentivise exports more. Our industry is primarily export driven and not on domestic consumption. We already have enough inventory here, he said. Manickam Ramaswamy, chairman and managing director of Loyal Textiles, also pointed out that the sector needs the government to even out the playing field as far as exporters are concerned. This is not something that the Budget can address. But it is a pressing issue. The Indian textile industry is burdened by customs duties we have to pay while exporting to most European markets. But our competitors, from everywhere in South and South East Asia, have negotiated for and got zero duty. The Commerce Ministry needs to address this issue. One or two sops from the budget will not help, he pointed out. The FIEO, which has a significant percentage of textile industry representatives, has also submitted a wishlist to the government that includes a demand to increase the limit under Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS). CLCSS has helped the small scale sector to modernize and expand their production. The CLCSS limit was fixed at `1 Cr about a decade back and therefore, the limit under CLCSS may be enhanced from `1 crore to `5 rore, suggested the organisation. The increase in the CLCSS limit would have a direct, positive impact on the sector, according to experts, since many textile units are small firms who are already beneficiaries. FIEO has also pointed out that countries across the world are supporting aggressive marketing to get limited orders available globally with the slowdown in global trade. The Government, said the body, should create an Export Development Fund for aggressive marketing particularly for MSME by providing a corpus of about 0.5 per cent of previous year exports as the present support through marketing scheme is inadequate.
Akhila Damodaran By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Travel is without limit to this culturist Sundeep Bhutoria. Sundeep who has travelled to 50 countries, writes his foreign travel anecdotes in his book, My Life My Travels. The book has been written with wanderer-like anecdotes in a raw and disorderly fashion, just like his journeys.

He says, My visits were not always meticulously planned. For instance, when I went to Argentina for a conference, I decided to travel to Chile, Peru and Venezuela. The only preparation, I took was to get visa of these three countries also before leaving for Buenos Aires.

It took him a year to complete the book  from compilation to final printing  with rounds of editing in between. But he claims that he did not find the process challenging at all. I simply wrote what I had seen and narrated my experiences as they were without any further additions so it was simple.

Sundeep during his travels to London and New York

Sundeep, a Rajasthan-born- Kolkata-based social and cultural activist, says he is a complete Indian at heart. He has travelled to about 50 countries. He adds, I am always an Indian at heart and I carry my Indianness wherever I go. I keep a lookout for Indian restaurants wherever I go. Having roti and daal at least once a day is mandatory. I have also travelled more than 100 km just to have Indian food.

A couple of years ago, he recalls, he was surprised to find no Indian restaurant in one of the most popular cities in the world  Rio. There were no grocery stores where Indian items were available, he rues. I travel for adventure, and the best part of my travels is that I always try to connect with the non-resident Indian community overseas.

Whenever he goes to a new country or city, he tries to compare their lifestyle, civilisation, traditions, and discipline with those of our country. Even though he doesnt consume alcohol, he would visit pubs with his friends and acquaintances. I visit pubs all over the world with my friends and acquaintances. I started visiting them when I was living in England as British pubs have their own charm.

In one of the chapters in his book, he writes about his trip to Moscow and how it turned out to be a place he has never read or heard about and he writes What we call development in history destroys history itself.

He explains, Seeing the condition of Moscow airport I was shocked. What I expected to see in a powerful nation and what lay in front of my eyes... the difference was unbelievable. The once powerful nation had devastation and ruin written all over.

He recalls one of the bad experiences which gave grist for fun writing. He says, My ignorance about the British system landed me in a soup. Once when I was returning home late at night, I was walking along the park and got scared of the streetlights which seemed to be lighting up and going out with every step I took. I started running and the lights too kept up with my pace. I was so scared that I spent the night on a park bench. I later learned that these lights were automated (to switch on and off with a persons shadow).

Though there were a few such instances, he says he also got to learn about Indian history while on a trip to the UK. Seeing the Kohinoor and the British Parliament... both owe their origins to India,

he says.

CHENNAI: Travel is without limit to this culturist Sundeep Bhutoria. Sundeep who has travelled to 50 countries, writes his foreign travel anecdotes in his book, My Life My Travels. The book has been written with wanderer-like anecdotes in a raw and disorderly fashion, just like his journeys. He says, My visits were not always meticulously planned. For instance, when I went to Argentina for a conference, I decided to travel to Chile, Peru and Venezuela. The only preparation, I took was to get visa of these three countries also before leaving for Buenos Aires. It took him a year to complete the book  from compilation to final printing  with rounds of editing in between. But he claims that he did not find the process challenging at all. I simply wrote what I had seen and narrated my experiences as they were without any further additions so it was simple. Sundeep during his travels to London and New YorkSundeep, a Rajasthan-born- Kolkata-based social and cultural activist, says he is a complete Indian at heart. He has travelled to about 50 countries. He adds, I am always an Indian at heart and I carry my Indianness wherever I go. I keep a lookout for Indian restaurants wherever I go. Having roti and daal at least once a day is mandatory. I have also travelled more than 100 km just to have Indian food. A couple of years ago, he recalls, he was surprised to find no Indian restaurant in one of the most popular cities in the world  Rio. There were no grocery stores where Indian items were available, he rues. I travel for adventure, and the best part of my travels is that I always try to connect with the non-resident Indian community overseas. Whenever he goes to a new country or city, he tries to compare their lifestyle, civilisation, traditions, and discipline with those of our country. Even though he doesnt consume alcohol, he would visit pubs with his friends and acquaintances. I visit pubs all over the world with my friends and acquaintances. I started visiting them when I was living in England as British pubs have their own charm. In one of the chapters in his book, he writes about his trip to Moscow and how it turned out to be a place he has never read or heard about and he writes What we call development in history destroys history itself. He explains, Seeing the condition of Moscow airport I was shocked. What I expected to see in a powerful nation and what lay in front of my eyes... the difference was unbelievable. The once powerful nation had devastation and ruin written all over. He recalls one of the bad experiences which gave grist for fun writing. He says, My ignorance about the British system landed me in a soup. Once when I was returning home late at night, I was walking along the park and got scared of the streetlights which seemed to be lighting up and going out with every step I took. I started running and the lights too kept up with my pace. I was so scared that I spent the night on a park bench. I later learned that these lights were automated (to switch on and off with a persons shadow). Though there were a few such instances, he says he also got to learn about Indian history while on a trip to the UK. Seeing the Kohinoor and the British Parliament... both owe their origins to India, he says.
By Express News Service

KOCHI:Did you know that pesticides are endangering our butterfly varieties? Artist Rajeev Pallaths work Obsolescent which is on display at Lulu Mall focuses on how such animal varieties are facing the brunt of human exploitation.

There are rhinoceroses, hornbills, antelopes in Rajeevs work. My paintings have focused on animals, both in Kerala and outside, which are on the verge of extinction. For example, the rhinoceros is being killed by poachers for their horn. My point is to highlight the need to preserve these animal varieties, especially those those that are killed for business purposes, says Rajeev.

The Pangolins, commonly called the scaly anteaters, are killed for their outer skin and exported to China and Vietnam.

Other environmental factors have affected the Atlantic Salmon, which is from the species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae.

Through my work I want to raise awareness about existing issues as well as the need to protect endangered species, he adds. Rajeevs paintings have also included the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) listed birds and animals. The exhibition will conclude on Tuesday.

KOCHI:Did you know that pesticides are endangering our butterfly varieties? Artist Rajeev Pallaths work Obsolescent which is on display at Lulu Mall focuses on how such animal varieties are facing the brunt of human exploitation. There are rhinoceroses, hornbills, antelopes in Rajeevs work. My paintings have focused on animals, both in Kerala and outside, which are on the verge of extinction. For example, the rhinoceros is being killed by poachers for their horn. My point is to highlight the need to preserve these animal varieties, especially those those that are killed for business purposes, says Rajeev. The Pangolins, commonly called the scaly anteaters, are killed for their outer skin and exported to China and Vietnam. Other environmental factors have affected the Atlantic Salmon, which is from the species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. Through my work I want to raise awareness about existing issues as well as the need to protect endangered species, he adds. Rajeevs paintings have also included the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) listed birds and animals. The exhibition will conclude on Tuesday.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Veteran actors from the Malayalam and Hindi film industries experienced the magic and wonder of the ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) over the weekend.

Mollywood stars Maniyanpilla Raju and Kunchan visited Aspinwall House, the main venue for KMB 2016, on Saturday morning while Bollywood saw representation from well-known actors and theatre personalities Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak.

Rajat Kapoor

When I was in Portugal last month for a shoot, a man I spoke with in a restaurant told me about his visit to the Biennale. This made me feel somewhat small as I had never been to this internationally-renowned art exhibition despite it taking place in my homeland, Raju said.

Enthusiasm for the Biennale should be created among the local people for them to know more about the different visions and modes of creative expressions, he added.

For Kunchan, the visit was a homecoming of sorts. The comedian had spent his childhood in Fort Kochi. Each art work exhibited here is magical: a wonder made from an artists mind. They prompt us to ponder over a number of self-interrogative queries, said Kunjan, who had visited the last edition of the Biennale in 2014.

In Kochi, for a couple of stage productions inspired by Shakespeare, Kapoor and Pathak spared the time to take in a tour of Aspinwall House in the evening.

Just as a place, the Biennale is a stimulating experience. The artworks here are very experimental in nature, which provides multiple perspectives, said Kapoor, who is also a filmmaker and theatre director. He also lauded the efforts of KMB co-founders Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu in turning the Biennale into a internationally-renowned fixture on the art circuit.

It was their vision and persistent passion for art, which made this exhibition an important landmark in the art world in the short period of six years, Kapoor said.

KOCHI: Veteran actors from the Malayalam and Hindi film industries experienced the magic and wonder of the ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) over the weekend. Mollywood stars Maniyanpilla Raju and Kunchan visited Aspinwall House, the main venue for KMB 2016, on Saturday morning while Bollywood saw representation from well-known actors and theatre personalities Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak. Rajat KapoorWhen I was in Portugal last month for a shoot, a man I spoke with in a restaurant told me about his visit to the Biennale. This made me feel somewhat small as I had never been to this internationally-renowned art exhibition despite it taking place in my homeland, Raju said. Enthusiasm for the Biennale should be created among the local people for them to know more about the different visions and modes of creative expressions, he added. For Kunchan, the visit was a homecoming of sorts. The comedian had spent his childhood in Fort Kochi. Each art work exhibited here is magical: a wonder made from an artists mind. They prompt us to ponder over a number of self-interrogative queries, said Kunjan, who had visited the last edition of the Biennale in 2014. In Kochi, for a couple of stage productions inspired by Shakespeare, Kapoor and Pathak spared the time to take in a tour of Aspinwall House in the evening. Just as a place, the Biennale is a stimulating experience. The artworks here are very experimental in nature, which provides multiple perspectives, said Kapoor, who is also a filmmaker and theatre director. He also lauded the efforts of KMB co-founders Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu in turning the Biennale into a internationally-renowned fixture on the art circuit. It was their vision and persistent passion for art, which made this exhibition an important landmark in the art world in the short period of six years, Kapoor said.
By Express News Service

JAIPUR: Five persons, who were detained for creating the nuisance on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis film Padmavati, have been released, police said on Saturday. After the fracas on the sets on Friday, Bhansali decided to pull the shoot out of Rajasthan.

They were allegedly involved in creating a nuisance during the shooting of the film in Jaigarh on Friday, SHO Amer Police Station Narendra Kumar said.

They were detained and later released on Friday. Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was allegedly assaulted on Friday by activists of a Rajput community group who also forced stoppage the shooting of his movie Padmavati by vandalising the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was distorting facts.

Police said it had detained five persons for disturbing peace even though no complaint was received from Bhansalis side.

The ruckus took place when the film, in which Deepika Padukone is playing Padmavati and Ranveer Singh is playing Alauddin Khilji, was being shot at the historic fort, eyewitnesses said.

The activists of Karni Sena had gathered at the site and demanded stoppage of the shooting. They stormed the set and damaged some chairs and other objects, forcing stoppage of the shooting.

After the incident, the director decided not to go ahead with the shooting in the state.

We had warned the filmmakers against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested. Besides the Karni Sena activists, there were several other people who had gone there to watch the shooting. Someone from the mob slapped him and pulled his hair, district president of Karni Sena Narayan Singh had claimed.

There was a protest and the issue was settled after both the parties held talks, DPC North (Jaipur) Anshuman Bhomia had said. He had said that no FIR was lodged by anyone but five persons have been detained by the police for disturbing peace. Singh claimed that Bhansali is representing distorted facts.

JAIPUR: Five persons, who were detained for creating the nuisance on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis film Padmavati, have been released, police said on Saturday. After the fracas on the sets on Friday, Bhansali decided to pull the shoot out of Rajasthan. They were allegedly involved in creating a nuisance during the shooting of the film in Jaigarh on Friday, SHO Amer Police Station Narendra Kumar said. They were detained and later released on Friday. Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was allegedly assaulted on Friday by activists of a Rajput community group who also forced stoppage the shooting of his movie Padmavati by vandalising the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was distorting facts. Police said it had detained five persons for disturbing peace even though no complaint was received from Bhansalis side. The ruckus took place when the film, in which Deepika Padukone is playing Padmavati and Ranveer Singh is playing Alauddin Khilji, was being shot at the historic fort, eyewitnesses said. The activists of Karni Sena had gathered at the site and demanded stoppage of the shooting. They stormed the set and damaged some chairs and other objects, forcing stoppage of the shooting. After the incident, the director decided not to go ahead with the shooting in the state. We had warned the filmmakers against presenting wrong facts. When we came to know about the shooting, we gathered there and protested. Besides the Karni Sena activists, there were several other people who had gone there to watch the shooting. Someone from the mob slapped him and pulled his hair, district president of Karni Sena Narayan Singh had claimed. There was a protest and the issue was settled after both the parties held talks, DPC North (Jaipur) Anshuman Bhomia had said. He had said that no FIR was lodged by anyone but five persons have been detained by the police for disturbing peace. Singh claimed that Bhansali is representing distorted facts.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said constant and continuous ceasefire violations and heavy shelling by Pakistan near the Line of Control (LoC) was among other factors to blame for the avalanche. He added that efforts are underway with a snow and avalanche lab to map and identify avalanche prone areas and said the army was withdrawing troops from such areas but some of them were vulnerable to insurgency.

As many as 21 persons, including 15 army men, have been killed since last week due to avalanches and snowfall in Kashmir valley. Last year, on February 3, ten soldiers of 19 Madras Regiment were buried alive in a deadly avalanche in the Siachen glacier.

"Ceasefire violations and use of heavy weapons by Pakistani troops are leading to loosening of soil, hereby creating danger of a landslide. Global warming is also leading to cracks in glaciers," the Army chief said after paying homage to Major Amit Sagar, who was killed in an avalanche on January 25 at Sonmarg.

Rawat added that parts of Jammu and Kashmir have been witnessing heavy snowfall over the past 72 hours, and is likely to witness similar conditions for the next two-three days. Kashmir has witnessed record snowfall this year.

"Due to global warming, glaciers are witnessing cracks. There are avalanches in areas which had not reported such cases earlier. Avalanches have occurred in Dawar areas, Machil sectors. We have erected some posts for counter-infiltration. Some posts are very near to enemy posts, General Rawat added.

"There have been a lot of ceasefire violations and heavy weapons too are being used. Many times it affects the soil and loosens it up. When there is a heavy snowfall on such loose soil and if there is a slope, it triggers danger of an avalanche," General Rawat said.

Our soldiers are facing it (the danger). Their task is counter-infiltration and despite the hardships they are doing their duty. I wish to assure you (the soldiers). You have been doing your duty with dedication (but) we have to deal with infiltration, he said.

General Rawat also pointed out that the Army has been taking the help of a Chandigarh based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to map avalanche-prone areas.

Rawat also appealed to families of the jawans who were victims of the avalanche to bear with them as "weather is playing a spoilsport in bringing back the bodies of their dear ones."

Meanwhile army sources claimed that weather in Srinagar, Gurez and Machhal continue to remain packed and efforts are on by army aviation and Indian Air Force helicopters to evacute the five personnel rescued at Machhal and transport the mortal remains of the Gurez martyrs to Srinagar.

NEW DELHI: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said constant and continuous ceasefire violations and heavy shelling by Pakistan near the Line of Control (LoC) was among other factors to blame for the avalanche. He added that efforts are underway with a snow and avalanche lab to map and identify avalanche prone areas and said the army was withdrawing troops from such areas but some of them were vulnerable to insurgency. As many as 21 persons, including 15 army men, have been killed since last week due to avalanches and snowfall in Kashmir valley. Last year, on February 3, ten soldiers of 19 Madras Regiment were buried alive in a deadly avalanche in the Siachen glacier. "Ceasefire violations and use of heavy weapons by Pakistani troops are leading to loosening of soil, hereby creating danger of a landslide. Global warming is also leading to cracks in glaciers," the Army chief said after paying homage to Major Amit Sagar, who was killed in an avalanche on January 25 at Sonmarg. Rawat added that parts of Jammu and Kashmir have been witnessing heavy snowfall over the past 72 hours, and is likely to witness similar conditions for the next two-three days. Kashmir has witnessed record snowfall this year. "Due to global warming, glaciers are witnessing cracks. There are avalanches in areas which had not reported such cases earlier. Avalanches have occurred in Dawar areas, Machil sectors. We have erected some posts for counter-infiltration. Some posts are very near to enemy posts, General Rawat added. "There have been a lot of ceasefire violations and heavy weapons too are being used. Many times it affects the soil and loosens it up. When there is a heavy snowfall on such loose soil and if there is a slope, it triggers danger of an avalanche," General Rawat said. Our soldiers are facing it (the danger). Their task is counter-infiltration and despite the hardships they are doing their duty. I wish to assure you (the soldiers). You have been doing your duty with dedication (but) we have to deal with infiltration, he said. General Rawat also pointed out that the Army has been taking the help of a Chandigarh based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to map avalanche-prone areas. Rawat also appealed to families of the jawans who were victims of the avalanche to bear with them as "weather is playing a spoilsport in bringing back the bodies of their dear ones." Meanwhile army sources claimed that weather in Srinagar, Gurez and Machhal continue to remain packed and efforts are on by army aviation and Indian Air Force helicopters to evacute the five personnel rescued at Machhal and transport the mortal remains of the Gurez martyrs to Srinagar.
Ritu Sharma By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Government will be focusing on increasing the speed of the trains, especially on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes, by fencing the railway lines; and will be pumping in money to upgrade the Railways security infrastructure in the soon to be laid budget.

Railway officials indicated that the 2017-18 Railway budget, which has been merged with the General Budget will enlist the railways priorities and focus area for expenditure for the financial year.

The largest government employer, Indian Railways, will be undertaking the momentous task of fencing the railway lines on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes that will keep trespassers at bay and will also prevent cattle hampering the train movements. The project, estimated to cost about Rs. 45 lakh per km will help the trains in attaining the speed of 160 km per hour. The officials added the speed can later be increased to 200 km per hour.

With the Railways witnessing a series of derailment, the upgradation of infrastructure like track and signaling and doing away with unmanned crossing would also get considerable funds from the Centre. The Railways has demanded Rs. 21,000 crore for this. The government is also likely to constitute a special safety fund for the Indian Railways.

NEW DELHI: The Government will be focusing on increasing the speed of the trains, especially on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes, by fencing the railway lines; and will be pumping in money to upgrade the Railways security infrastructure in the soon to be laid budget. Railway officials indicated that the 2017-18 Railway budget, which has been merged with the General Budget will enlist the railways priorities and focus area for expenditure for the financial year. The largest government employer, Indian Railways, will be undertaking the momentous task of fencing the railway lines on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes that will keep trespassers at bay and will also prevent cattle hampering the train movements. The project, estimated to cost about Rs. 45 lakh per km will help the trains in attaining the speed of 160 km per hour. The officials added the speed can later be increased to 200 km per hour. With the Railways witnessing a series of derailment, the upgradation of infrastructure like track and signaling and doing away with unmanned crossing would also get considerable funds from the Centre. The Railways has demanded Rs. 21,000 crore for this. The government is also likely to constitute a special safety fund for the Indian Railways.
By Express News Service

KOTKAPURA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that a stable government in Punjab was necessary for the security of the country when a belligerent state like Pakistan is sharing border with Punjab.

Making a veiled reference to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party while addressing his second election rally here in the heartland of the malwa region in poll bound Punjab, Modi said, Pakistan is always alert to exploit the situation and eager to stoke trouble in India whenever there is a weak government in Punjab, so not only for Punjabs security but for the countrys need, SAD-BJP alliance government is necessary in the state. Dont rely on those who have aristocratic life style and the outsiders for state and countrys security.

If non-serious (dheeli-dhaali) government comes, government of outsiders is formed and government of those who lead luxurious lifestyle comes, then it is not that only the people of Punjab who will suffer, but the entire nation will have to face crisis,  he said.

Modi was highly critical of those using foul language when they threaten to send Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to jail. Such language is intolerable in a democracy. Until law takes its course, such threats are uncivilized, he said.

Modi alleged that first it was the Congress which defamed Sikhs as terrorists in the 1980s and now the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) defamed youth of this state as addicts. Shiromani Akali Dal President and Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal asked PM Modi to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to quickly inquire into the sacrilege incidents of Guru Granth Sahib in bahalbal kalan and expose and punish the guilty at the earliest.I request PM Sahaab to get quick inquiry conducted into this case, he added.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday hit out hard at his bete noire and former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh over stacking huge stocks of black money in Swiss Bank accounts. He said the money was illegally grabbed by Captain and his family members during the Congress's 2002-2007 regime in Punjab when Amarinder headed a corrupt government. Jaitley was addressing a rally in Amritsar in favour of the Shiromani Akali Dal- Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance.

Lok Sabha candidate Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina meanwhile gave a clean chit to SAD-BJP government's governance in last 10 years. He stated that the details regarding the Swiss bank accounts of Captain and his family had surfaced during the UPA regime in Centre but it was their government which made the illegal hoarding of the money public.

Modi government is committed to provide the clean governance but the previous UPA government was fountain head of corruption. The development is other priority of the government'', said Jaitley demanding votes for Modi and the alliance in the state as he predicted that SAD-BJP is set to form government in the state for the third time.

KOTKAPURA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that a stable government in Punjab was necessary for the security of the country when a belligerent state like Pakistan is sharing border with Punjab. Making a veiled reference to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party while addressing his second election rally here in the heartland of the malwa region in poll bound Punjab, Modi said, Pakistan is always alert to exploit the situation and eager to stoke trouble in India whenever there is a weak government in Punjab, so not only for Punjabs security but for the countrys need, SAD-BJP alliance government is necessary in the state. Dont rely on those who have aristocratic life style and the outsiders for state and countrys security. If non-serious (dheeli-dhaali) government comes, government of outsiders is formed and government of those who lead luxurious lifestyle comes, then it is not that only the people of Punjab who will suffer, but the entire nation will have to face crisis,  he said. Modi was highly critical of those using foul language when they threaten to send Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to jail. Such language is intolerable in a democracy. Until law takes its course, such threats are uncivilized, he said. Modi alleged that first it was the Congress which defamed Sikhs as terrorists in the 1980s and now the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) defamed youth of this state as addicts. Shiromani Akali Dal President and Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal asked PM Modi to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to quickly inquire into the sacrilege incidents of Guru Granth Sahib in bahalbal kalan and expose and punish the guilty at the earliest.I request PM Sahaab to get quick inquiry conducted into this case, he added. Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday hit out hard at his bete noire and former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh over stacking huge stocks of black money in Swiss Bank accounts. He said the money was illegally grabbed by Captain and his family members during the Congress's 2002-2007 regime in Punjab when Amarinder headed a corrupt government. Jaitley was addressing a rally in Amritsar in favour of the Shiromani Akali Dal- Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance. Lok Sabha candidate Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina meanwhile gave a clean chit to SAD-BJP government's governance in last 10 years. He stated that the details regarding the Swiss bank accounts of Captain and his family had surfaced during the UPA regime in Centre but it was their government which made the illegal hoarding of the money public. Modi government is committed to provide the clean governance but the previous UPA government was fountain head of corruption. The development is other priority of the government'', said Jaitley demanding votes for Modi and the alliance in the state as he predicted that SAD-BJP is set to form government in the state for the third time.
Namita bajpai By

Express News Service

DIBHAULI (ETAWAH) : Nearly 12 years after Nirbhay Gujjar, the last of the big brigands, was killed, the ravines of Chambal valley in Etawah district still resonate with stories of dread and Godfather-style admiration tinged with fear.

Till a decade ago, guns were a way of life here and the farmaans (diktats) of baaghis  local parlance for dacoits  were the law of the land in areas like Udi, Chakarpur and Dibhauli Ghat. The names and deeds of Maan Singh, Malkhan Singh, Phakkad, Lala Ram, Vikram Mallah, Phoolan Devi and Nirbhay Gujjar are still spoken in awe here, particularly at poll time. Sixty-nine-year-old Tribhuvan Singh Chauhan, former block pramukh of Dibholi Ghat who now runs a huge four-storey degree college in this ravine country, remembers, Their decree used to be the final world for the people and nobody had the courage to flout it.

An active politician-dacoit nexus existed in these ravines. It flourished till the last of the moustached men Nirbhay Gujjar was killed in an encounter in 2004. Until then, dacoits influenced poll results in a big way. Politicians approached them to secure favourable farmaans and the brigands advised them on what they want done in return.

Usually, they would support candidates belonging to their own caste, says Satendra Yadav, a village leader. While baaghis were dreaded figures since the Thugee days of William Sleeman in the mid 19th century, villagers held a heart out for them right into their last days. They were Robin Hood figures, especially if you were from their caste.

The Chambal ravines are known for infertile terrain, water scarcity and frequent droughts. Farming was almost impossible, especially for the poor and those on the lowest rung of the caste ladder.

The conditions were, however, fertile for dacoity, and gangs sprang up with even upper caste outlaw groups. Phoolan Devi, in fact, achieved Indiawide notoriety for the Behmai massacre of 22 people belonging to the Thakur community. Gajendra Singh, a villager of Dibhauli Ghat, says, The outlaws were better than the policemen of now. They extended support for girls marriage and treatment of the poor. Moreover, they would help release the lands of small farmers from the clutches of landlords.

With the passage of time, as infrastructure developed and towns expanded, gangs operating in Chambal valley stopped raiding villages in Sholay style. They metamorphosed into looting for survival and led to a culture of highway dacoity and then to the phenomenon of abductions for ransom, locally called the Pakad phenomenon. Pakad means captive. They would bring the Pakad from big cities like Delhi, Lucknow and even Bombay, says a police officer in Chambal valley. The Pakad would be held captive until the ransom was paid.

Interestingly, the Stockholm syndrome existed in the Chambal too. Sometimes the Pakad refused to go back and became a gang member instead. This happened in a number of cases, especially when the Salim Gujjar gang was active, says Gajendra Singh.

It was during the time of the Nirbhay Gujjar gang that kidnappings took the shape of organised crime and peaked with the active involvement of authorities who were given their cut.

Nirbhay was among the most feared dacoits with 205 criminal cases against him. At the fag end of Nirbhay Gujjars domination of the ravines, local elders tried to persuade him to surrender. He fantasised about flying around in a chopper and when he finally came round to the idea of surrendering, he insisted on doing so flying in a chopper, says Chauhan. Probably, he was driven by the way Phoolan Devi surrendered. The baaghi was killed in a police encounter before he could live his dream of flying.

DIBHAULI (ETAWAH) : Nearly 12 years after Nirbhay Gujjar, the last of the big brigands, was killed, the ravines of Chambal valley in Etawah district still resonate with stories of dread and Godfather-style admiration tinged with fear. Till a decade ago, guns were a way of life here and the farmaans (diktats) of baaghis  local parlance for dacoits  were the law of the land in areas like Udi, Chakarpur and Dibhauli Ghat. The names and deeds of Maan Singh, Malkhan Singh, Phakkad, Lala Ram, Vikram Mallah, Phoolan Devi and Nirbhay Gujjar are still spoken in awe here, particularly at poll time. Sixty-nine-year-old Tribhuvan Singh Chauhan, former block pramukh of Dibholi Ghat who now runs a huge four-storey degree college in this ravine country, remembers, Their decree used to be the final world for the people and nobody had the courage to flout it. An active politician-dacoit nexus existed in these ravines. It flourished till the last of the moustached men Nirbhay Gujjar was killed in an encounter in 2004. Until then, dacoits influenced poll results in a big way. Politicians approached them to secure favourable farmaans and the brigands advised them on what they want done in return. Usually, they would support candidates belonging to their own caste, says Satendra Yadav, a village leader. While baaghis were dreaded figures since the Thugee days of William Sleeman in the mid 19th century, villagers held a heart out for them right into their last days. They were Robin Hood figures, especially if you were from their caste. The Chambal ravines are known for infertile terrain, water scarcity and frequent droughts. Farming was almost impossible, especially for the poor and those on the lowest rung of the caste ladder. The conditions were, however, fertile for dacoity, and gangs sprang up with even upper caste outlaw groups. Phoolan Devi, in fact, achieved Indiawide notoriety for the Behmai massacre of 22 people belonging to the Thakur community. Gajendra Singh, a villager of Dibhauli Ghat, says, The outlaws were better than the policemen of now. They extended support for girls marriage and treatment of the poor. Moreover, they would help release the lands of small farmers from the clutches of landlords. With the passage of time, as infrastructure developed and towns expanded, gangs operating in Chambal valley stopped raiding villages in Sholay style. They metamorphosed into looting for survival and led to a culture of highway dacoity and then to the phenomenon of abductions for ransom, locally called the Pakad phenomenon. Pakad means captive. They would bring the Pakad from big cities like Delhi, Lucknow and even Bombay, says a police officer in Chambal valley. The Pakad would be held captive until the ransom was paid. Interestingly, the Stockholm syndrome existed in the Chambal too. Sometimes the Pakad refused to go back and became a gang member instead. This happened in a number of cases, especially when the Salim Gujjar gang was active, says Gajendra Singh. It was during the time of the Nirbhay Gujjar gang that kidnappings took the shape of organised crime and peaked with the active involvement of authorities who were given their cut. Nirbhay was among the most feared dacoits with 205 criminal cases against him. At the fag end of Nirbhay Gujjars domination of the ravines, local elders tried to persuade him to surrender. He fantasised about flying around in a chopper and when he finally came round to the idea of surrendering, he insisted on doing so flying in a chopper, says Chauhan. Probably, he was driven by the way Phoolan Devi surrendered. The baaghi was killed in a police encounter before he could live his dream of flying.
Ashutosh Kumar By

Express News Service

This Assembly election in Punjab is an exceptional one: the long-standing bipolar electoral system in the state is likely to end with the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the third winnable party. Irrespective of the seats it wins, it has clearly emerged as a game changer by forcing the Congress and Akali Dal to address critical issues like drugs, corruption, agrarian crisis and dynastic rule. Also, for the first time in Punjabs electoral history, a non-Punjabi speaking outsider is being compared with stalwarts like Badal and Amarinder Singh. The AAPs electoral career in Punjab commenced with the 2014 Lok Sabha election when it won 24.4 per cent of the vote and four out of the 13 constituencies, and finishing third in eight constituencies (34 of the 117 Assembly segments). That performance defied received electoral wisdom, as AAP did not have a recognizable leadership, organization, support base, electoral agenda or the winnability factor.

Arguably, that success may be attributed to the partys success in garnering the support of the youth. In Punjab, 53 per cent of voters fall in the age group of 18-39. More crucially, out of 1,99, 63,346 eligible voters, 9,68,128 fall in the age group of 18-19. In a CSDS-NES poll survey held after the 2014 election, 40 per cent of young respondents in the 18-35 age group reported voting for the AAP. The survey also revealed that youth credited AAP more than they credited any other party for raising their critical concerns like issues of drugs, mafia style corruption, unemployment, widespread use of coercion by men in power.

Learning their lessons, the older parties have this time taken note of the youth as a distinct voting category. Evidence of this is in their manifestos as well as their campaign strategies. The Congress manifesto promises at least one job to every household (55 lakh ) in the state, a stipend of Rs 2,500 for the jobless, an end to the drug menace within four weeks of coming to power, and one-lakh taxis/commercial vehicles every year for unemployed youth. The BJP and Akali Dal also promise 10 lakh jobs over five years, free laptops and free higher education for girls. To address the youth aversion for corruption, Akali Dal even pledges to appoint a Lokayukta if voted to the power for the third time. AAP, however, has again trumped its rivals by coming out with a separate youth manifesto. The party makes elaborate promises to the youth like 25 lakh new jobs in five years, entrepreneurial/skill centres, end to favouritism in public employment, improved schooling, special laws to give life terms for drug traffickers, end to corruption/crony capitalism and also appointment of a Jan Lokpal.

The campaigns of different parties also show a sense of urgency to connect to the youth. While all the three parties promise better internet connectivity, the Congress has taken the lead by promising 50 lakh smartphones to youth who participate in its Captain Smart Connect campaign. Amarinder Singh also launched Coffee (and not Lassi) with Captain mainly to connect with the urban youth in small gatherings across the state. The Congress high commands policy of one family one ticket is also aimed at the youth who abhor nepotism. Sukhbir Badal has launched a Youth for Punjab campaign to make them aware of the development work done by the government in the past decade. All the parties have used the social media to connect to the tech-savvy youth but here too the AAP has the edge.

What has facilitated the emergence of youth as a secular voting category is the decline of the identity-based electoral agenda in the post-Blue Star decades. Though populism reigns supreme, there is increased focus on development and governance. Militancy is not viewed by the youth as a factor in the flight of industry as the Congress and Akalis would have them believe. They blame it on corruption, crony capitalism, greed and highhandedness. Arguably, the youth of Punjab have been most affected by the endemic economic crisis and their sense of despair is evident in the clamour to move to the West even illegally. Here AAP as a new party appeals to them. What also endears them to AAP is the unequivocal support of the Punjabi diaspora who are seen as iconic figures by the youth. AAP putting up mostly candidates with no corruption or criminal charges or any political background is another plus point in the eyes of the youth.

Ashutosh Kumar is a professor in the Department of Political Science of Panjab University, Chandigarh

This Assembly election in Punjab is an exceptional one: the long-standing bipolar electoral system in the state is likely to end with the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the third winnable party. Irrespective of the seats it wins, it has clearly emerged as a game changer by forcing the Congress and Akali Dal to address critical issues like drugs, corruption, agrarian crisis and dynastic rule. Also, for the first time in Punjabs electoral history, a non-Punjabi speaking outsider is being compared with stalwarts like Badal and Amarinder Singh. The AAPs electoral career in Punjab commenced with the 2014 Lok Sabha election when it won 24.4 per cent of the vote and four out of the 13 constituencies, and finishing third in eight constituencies (34 of the 117 Assembly segments). That performance defied received electoral wisdom, as AAP did not have a recognizable leadership, organization, support base, electoral agenda or the winnability factor. Arguably, that success may be attributed to the partys success in garnering the support of the youth. In Punjab, 53 per cent of voters fall in the age group of 18-39. More crucially, out of 1,99, 63,346 eligible voters, 9,68,128 fall in the age group of 18-19. In a CSDS-NES poll survey held after the 2014 election, 40 per cent of young respondents in the 18-35 age group reported voting for the AAP. The survey also revealed that youth credited AAP more than they credited any other party for raising their critical concerns like issues of drugs, mafia style corruption, unemployment, widespread use of coercion by men in power. Learning their lessons, the older parties have this time taken note of the youth as a distinct voting category. Evidence of this is in their manifestos as well as their campaign strategies. The Congress manifesto promises at least one job to every household (55 lakh ) in the state, a stipend of Rs 2,500 for the jobless, an end to the drug menace within four weeks of coming to power, and one-lakh taxis/commercial vehicles every year for unemployed youth. The BJP and Akali Dal also promise 10 lakh jobs over five years, free laptops and free higher education for girls. To address the youth aversion for corruption, Akali Dal even pledges to appoint a Lokayukta if voted to the power for the third time. AAP, however, has again trumped its rivals by coming out with a separate youth manifesto. The party makes elaborate promises to the youth like 25 lakh new jobs in five years, entrepreneurial/skill centres, end to favouritism in public employment, improved schooling, special laws to give life terms for drug traffickers, end to corruption/crony capitalism and also appointment of a Jan Lokpal. The campaigns of different parties also show a sense of urgency to connect to the youth. While all the three parties promise better internet connectivity, the Congress has taken the lead by promising 50 lakh smartphones to youth who participate in its Captain Smart Connect campaign. Amarinder Singh also launched Coffee (and not Lassi) with Captain mainly to connect with the urban youth in small gatherings across the state. The Congress high commands policy of one family one ticket is also aimed at the youth who abhor nepotism. Sukhbir Badal has launched a Youth for Punjab campaign to make them aware of the development work done by the government in the past decade. All the parties have used the social media to connect to the tech-savvy youth but here too the AAP has the edge. What has facilitated the emergence of youth as a secular voting category is the decline of the identity-based electoral agenda in the post-Blue Star decades. Though populism reigns supreme, there is increased focus on development and governance. Militancy is not viewed by the youth as a factor in the flight of industry as the Congress and Akalis would have them believe. They blame it on corruption, crony capitalism, greed and highhandedness. Arguably, the youth of Punjab have been most affected by the endemic economic crisis and their sense of despair is evident in the clamour to move to the West even illegally. Here AAP as a new party appeals to them. What also endears them to AAP is the unequivocal support of the Punjabi diaspora who are seen as iconic figures by the youth. AAP putting up mostly candidates with no corruption or criminal charges or any political background is another plus point in the eyes of the youth. Ashutosh Kumar is a professor in the Department of Political Science of Panjab University, Chandigarh
The First Gulf War, which started in January 1991 after Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait five months earlier, was one-sided. However, two weeks after the US-led allies started pounding Iraqi troops from the air, Saddam still had enough strength to briefly seize a town inside Saudi Arabia on January 30, 1991

Invasion of Kuwait

On August 2, 1990, Saddam ordered the invasion of Kuwait. The aim was to acquire Kuwaits large oil reserves, cancelling a debt Iraq owed Kuwait, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. On August 3, the UN called for Iraq to withdraw and later imposed a worldwide ban on trade with Iraq, which responded by formally annexing Kuwait

34-nation coalition

Iraqs move prompted the US and its NATO allies to rush troops to Saudi Arabia to deter a possible attack. Then, Egypt and other Arab nations joined the coalition

Operation Desert Storm

On January 17, 1991, after Iraq ignored a UN resolution calling for it to withdraw, the US-led allies started a sustained aerial bombardmentcodenamed Operation Desert Storm. Iraq, in an attempt to provoke a ground battle, invaded Saudi Arabia and conquered the town of Al Khafij

A massive US-led ground offensive, was launched from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait and southern Iraq on February 24, with the US liberating Kuwait within a few days. The then US President George HW Bush declared a ceasefire on February 28. Later, his son and President George W Bush overthrew Saddam in the controversial 2003 Iraq war

The First Gulf War, which started in January 1991 after Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait five months earlier, was one-sided. However, two weeks after the US-led allies started pounding Iraqi troops from the air, Saddam still had enough strength to briefly seize a town inside Saudi Arabia on January 30, 1991 Invasion of Kuwait On August 2, 1990, Saddam ordered the invasion of Kuwait. The aim was to acquire Kuwaits large oil reserves, cancelling a debt Iraq owed Kuwait, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. On August 3, the UN called for Iraq to withdraw and later imposed a worldwide ban on trade with Iraq, which responded by formally annexing Kuwait 34-nation coalition Iraqs move prompted the US and its NATO allies to rush troops to Saudi Arabia to deter a possible attack. Then, Egypt and other Arab nations joined the coalition Operation Desert Storm On January 17, 1991, after Iraq ignored a UN resolution calling for it to withdraw, the US-led allies started a sustained aerial bombardmentcodenamed Operation Desert Storm. Iraq, in an attempt to provoke a ground battle, invaded Saudi Arabia and conquered the town of Al Khafij A massive US-led ground offensive, was launched from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait and southern Iraq on February 24, with the US liberating Kuwait within a few days. The then US President George HW Bush declared a ceasefire on February 28. Later, his son and President George W Bush overthrew Saddam in the controversial 2003 Iraq war
R Prithvi Raj By

Express News Service

It is now beyond any reasonable doubt that the police had overreacted to the call by netizens for protests at the RK Beach in Visakhapatnam on Republic Day for special category status to the State. Coming as it did on the heels of Tamil Nadus successful campaign for jallikattu, the protest call had the police, who feared a repeat of the same in AP, on their toes.



As the protest was called on the eve of the CII Partnership Summit, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took it as a prestige issue, and did not want students to play spoilsport. He did not want to leave anything to chance and let Visakhpatnams image be tarnished since it is the only city worth its name in Andhra Pradesh to talk about.

R Prithvi Raj



Vijayawada is still a fist-sized trading city where not much activity on any other front is ever seen. Though Naidu keeps saying that a Singapore-like city would come up in Amaravati, it is clear that he would have to travel thousands of miles before he could sleep.

In fact, Tirupati has better acceptability as a city since it is the abode of Lord Venkateswara and everyone in the country and outside keep visiting it. As Visakhapatnam is the only city that Chandbababu Naidu could showcase as the promised land for investors both in India and abroad, he did not want anything to go awry since it would be the beginning of the end of the dream of a throbbing Andhra Pradesh.



With clear instructions to the police to prevent students from taking the streets over, the guardians of law did feel that they had a carte blanche. As the coast was clear for them, they swooped on students who had never thought the police would react so fast. Within hours, the police imposed an unofficial curfew on the beach road, making it completely out of bounds for students as the venue of the Partnership Summit was also close by.



Finally, Naidu has achieved what he wanted - the protests were foiled even before they began and the Partnership Summit the next day went without any hitch. The delegates at the Summit gave a standing ovation to the Chief Minister for his presentation on what the future had in store for not only Andhra Pradesh but also for India and for his ability to sell the State as the ultimate destination for investment.

With Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too making it clear that AP would continue to be ahead of the national average in growth, there was no stopping for Naidu in showcasing AP as the safest place for investment.



But Naidu, unwittingly, also earned considerable disdain from those who disapproved of his methods in curbing a democratic movement - the protest called by the netizens. The only point that was in Naidus favour for curbing the movement was that it was Republic Day but his contention that such rallies should not be held ahead of investors summit did not appear to hold much water, with people citing protests even on the occasion of inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the US as the essence of democracy. A party in power naturally does not like protests and that is exactly the reason why protests should be allowed in the interests of democracy to act as check as there is a clear possibility that the ruling party might err.



A visibly upset Naidu had questioned why he should allow protests when the demonstrators intention was to set fire to Visakhapatnam, implying YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was not allowed even to step out of the Vizag airport. By directing the police to put Jagan back on a Hyderabad flight, Naidu proved that it was he who calls the shots.

As far as Jagan is concerned, Naidu seldom recognises him as Leader of Opposition, For him, he is his sworn enemy and not a political rival and therefore, he should not cede even a inch of ground on any issue, whether it is democratic or not.



Denial of permission for the protests has also opened a debate that it does not bode well for democracy and that it has even turned counter-productive to Naidu himself with his ally Pawan Kalyan and rival Jagan slamming him for arresting the youths who only wanted to organise a peaceful protest. Naidu knows that in politics, the best way to deal with a rival is to ignore him. But he did not because does not like Jagan to the point that he is ready even to risk political backlash.



Had Naidu allowed the protest, it would have gone unnoticed since the students were not as restive or as rebellious or as militant as their Tamil Nadu counterparts who staged a massive protest on Marina Beach for jallikattu. As if this were not enough, his colleague Union Minister Sujana Chowdary caused embarrassment to him by comparing the spirit of the students agitation to pig fights, evoking protests from the Opposition once again.

The contention of the police officials that the demonstrators could as well hold lighted candles in their houses instead of coming on to streets evoked a derisive criticism from a former Congress MP who said: Why should Naidu take up padayatra all over the State? He could have done it on a treadmill.

It is now beyond any reasonable doubt that the police had overreacted to the call by netizens for protests at the RK Beach in Visakhapatnam on Republic Day for special category status to the State. Coming as it did on the heels of Tamil Nadus successful campaign for jallikattu, the protest call had the police, who feared a repeat of the same in AP, on their toes. As the protest was called on the eve of the CII Partnership Summit, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took it as a prestige issue, and did not want students to play spoilsport. He did not want to leave anything to chance and let Visakhpatnams image be tarnished since it is the only city worth its name in Andhra Pradesh to talk about. R Prithvi Raj Vijayawada is still a fist-sized trading city where not much activity on any other front is ever seen. Though Naidu keeps saying that a Singapore-like city would come up in Amaravati, it is clear that he would have to travel thousands of miles before he could sleep. In fact, Tirupati has better acceptability as a city since it is the abode of Lord Venkateswara and everyone in the country and outside keep visiting it. As Visakhapatnam is the only city that Chandbababu Naidu could showcase as the promised land for investors both in India and abroad, he did not want anything to go awry since it would be the beginning of the end of the dream of a throbbing Andhra Pradesh. With clear instructions to the police to prevent students from taking the streets over, the guardians of law did feel that they had a carte blanche. As the coast was clear for them, they swooped on students who had never thought the police would react so fast. Within hours, the police imposed an unofficial curfew on the beach road, making it completely out of bounds for students as the venue of the Partnership Summit was also close by. Finally, Naidu has achieved what he wanted - the protests were foiled even before they began and the Partnership Summit the next day went without any hitch. The delegates at the Summit gave a standing ovation to the Chief Minister for his presentation on what the future had in store for not only Andhra Pradesh but also for India and for his ability to sell the State as the ultimate destination for investment. With Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too making it clear that AP would continue to be ahead of the national average in growth, there was no stopping for Naidu in showcasing AP as the safest place for investment. But Naidu, unwittingly, also earned considerable disdain from those who disapproved of his methods in curbing a democratic movement - the protest called by the netizens. The only point that was in Naidus favour for curbing the movement was that it was Republic Day but his contention that such rallies should not be held ahead of investors summit did not appear to hold much water, with people citing protests even on the occasion of inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the US as the essence of democracy. A party in power naturally does not like protests and that is exactly the reason why protests should be allowed in the interests of democracy to act as check as there is a clear possibility that the ruling party might err. A visibly upset Naidu had questioned why he should allow protests when the demonstrators intention was to set fire to Visakhapatnam, implying YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was not allowed even to step out of the Vizag airport. By directing the police to put Jagan back on a Hyderabad flight, Naidu proved that it was he who calls the shots. As far as Jagan is concerned, Naidu seldom recognises him as Leader of Opposition, For him, he is his sworn enemy and not a political rival and therefore, he should not cede even a inch of ground on any issue, whether it is democratic or not. Denial of permission for the protests has also opened a debate that it does not bode well for democracy and that it has even turned counter-productive to Naidu himself with his ally Pawan Kalyan and rival Jagan slamming him for arresting the youths who only wanted to organise a peaceful protest. Naidu knows that in politics, the best way to deal with a rival is to ignore him. But he did not because does not like Jagan to the point that he is ready even to risk political backlash. Had Naidu allowed the protest, it would have gone unnoticed since the students were not as restive or as rebellious or as militant as their Tamil Nadu counterparts who staged a massive protest on Marina Beach for jallikattu. As if this were not enough, his colleague Union Minister Sujana Chowdary caused embarrassment to him by comparing the spirit of the students agitation to pig fights, evoking protests from the Opposition once again. The contention of the police officials that the demonstrators could as well hold lighted candles in their houses instead of coming on to streets evoked a derisive criticism from a former Congress MP who said: Why should Naidu take up padayatra all over the State? He could have done it on a treadmill.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Lokayukta Special Court on Saturday granted bail to former Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao.

While allowing the bail plea of Justice Rao, Special Judge D T Devendran imposed certain conditions on the accused.

Justice Rao should execute a bond of `1 lakh and provide a personal surety. The accused should not influence the witnesses and destroy evidence, the judge said.

Justice Rao was in the know of the extortion racket run from his office by his son Y Ashwin but did nothing to stop it, according to the charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team.

Justice Rao was not present at the court citing poor health.

The SIT probing the racket made serious criminal charges against Rao (78), who had resigned from the post of Lokayukta after his sons arrest.

In its objection to the bail plea, the SIT contended that Rao defeated the purpose of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act and his act was a big blow to the anti-corruption movement in the state. However, Rao denied the allegations in his bail plea.

Rao is the first Lokayukta to face criminal charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He is arraigned as the seventh accused in the charge sheet, after prima facie evidence showed his involvement in the scam.

He was the former chief justice of Karnataka High Court.

BENGALURU: The Lokayukta Special Court on Saturday granted bail to former Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao. While allowing the bail plea of Justice Rao, Special Judge D T Devendran imposed certain conditions on the accused. Justice Rao should execute a bond of `1 lakh and provide a personal surety. The accused should not influence the witnesses and destroy evidence, the judge said. Justice Rao was in the know of the extortion racket run from his office by his son Y Ashwin but did nothing to stop it, according to the charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team. Justice Rao was not present at the court citing poor health. The SIT probing the racket made serious criminal charges against Rao (78), who had resigned from the post of Lokayukta after his sons arrest. In its objection to the bail plea, the SIT contended that Rao defeated the purpose of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act and his act was a big blow to the anti-corruption movement in the state. However, Rao denied the allegations in his bail plea. Rao is the first Lokayukta to face criminal charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He is arraigned as the seventh accused in the charge sheet, after prima facie evidence showed his involvement in the scam. He was the former chief justice of Karnataka High Court.
Shafeeq Alingal By

Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: Taking a cue from the stand taken by the Tamil Nadu Government and the Centre in favour of jallikkattu, the kaalapoottu lovers in Malabar are all set to revive their favourite sport. After having been impeded by the ban by the Supreme Court, the traditional bull race is expected to come back to the paddy fields.

What we demand is an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. But the ongoing protests have rekindled our hopes and we are planning to revive kaalapoottu, says Malabar Mekhala Karshika Vinoda Committee general secretary Kolakkadan Abdul Nasar.

Despite the ban, the organisers have decided to organise a kaalapoottu event in Malappuram. If things go as expected, Karekkad in the district will host an event on January 29. The bull race at Karekkad is expected to follow a series of this kind across Malabar.

Following the order by the Supreme Court on May 7, 2014, banning the use of bulls as performing animals, the number of events in Malabar has come down to six from 30 during a season.

In 2015, cases were registered against 27 persons in Kalikavu, Kondotty and Parappanangadi for organising kaalapoottu. The organisers are still scared of police intervention and legal problems. Only an amendment can bring back the sport in its full glory, says Nasar.

KOZHIKODE: Taking a cue from the stand taken by the Tamil Nadu Government and the Centre in favour of jallikkattu, the kaalapoottu lovers in Malabar are all set to revive their favourite sport. After having been impeded by the ban by the Supreme Court, the traditional bull race is expected to come back to the paddy fields. What we demand is an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. But the ongoing protests have rekindled our hopes and we are planning to revive kaalapoottu, says Malabar Mekhala Karshika Vinoda Committee general secretary Kolakkadan Abdul Nasar. Despite the ban, the organisers have decided to organise a kaalapoottu event in Malappuram. If things go as expected, Karekkad in the district will host an event on January 29. The bull race at Karekkad is expected to follow a series of this kind across Malabar. Following the order by the Supreme Court on May 7, 2014, banning the use of bulls as performing animals, the number of events in Malabar has come down to six from 30 during a season. In 2015, cases were registered against 27 persons in Kalikavu, Kondotty and Parappanangadi for organising kaalapoottu. The organisers are still scared of police intervention and legal problems. Only an amendment can bring back the sport in its full glory, says Nasar.
Dileep V Kumar By

Express News Service

KOLLAM: It was in October 2016 that the state was declared drought-hit. The gravity of drought is such that its the worst one to have hit the state in 115 years. As the drought starts to affect a range of sectors, the State Government is planning to kickstart a massive campaign on how to survive drought.

As part of it, starting February 1, the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister and the Chief Secretary will become the star campaigners of drought awareness programmes.

The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), which is chalking out the awareness campaign, is planning to use the voices of the three campaigners as they will address the public through various FM radio stations.

The two-point agenda of the campaign is Respect Water. Reduce Drought. The problem with the state is that we are yet to understand the need for conserving water. Considering the severity of the drought, it is high time that people are sensitised on drought and water conservation activities. As part of the campaign, we will reach out to the people through FM channels, cinema theatres, KSRTC buses, print and electronic media. For the purpose, we have already got an amount of Rs 83.58 lakh from the government, said Sekhar L Kuriakose, member secretary, SDMA.

According to him, the voices of the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister and the Chief Secretary will be used as jingles in the FM channels as they will stress the need for protecting water resources and using water judiciously.

Earlier, the SDMA had mooted a plan to document drought and the task was entrusted with Venu Nair, a documentary filmmaker. When asked about it, the SDMA member secretary said preliminary works in this regard have already been started and the filmmaker has been asked to submit the script of the documentary. A committee comprising of officials from the SDMA and the Public Relations Department will monitor the making of the documentary film, he said.

This kind of drought is a one-time phenomenon. Moreover, it is the worst one to hit the state in 115 years. Thus to document it is of great importance. We could use that docu in future. The focus will be on the lessons that we learn in the time of distress. The film will be more of an educative kind, Sekhar said.

KOLLAM: It was in October 2016 that the state was declared drought-hit. The gravity of drought is such that its the worst one to have hit the state in 115 years. As the drought starts to affect a range of sectors, the State Government is planning to kickstart a massive campaign on how to survive drought. As part of it, starting February 1, the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister and the Chief Secretary will become the star campaigners of drought awareness programmes. The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), which is chalking out the awareness campaign, is planning to use the voices of the three campaigners as they will address the public through various FM radio stations. The two-point agenda of the campaign is Respect Water. Reduce Drought. The problem with the state is that we are yet to understand the need for conserving water. Considering the severity of the drought, it is high time that people are sensitised on drought and water conservation activities. As part of the campaign, we will reach out to the people through FM channels, cinema theatres, KSRTC buses, print and electronic media. For the purpose, we have already got an amount of Rs 83.58 lakh from the government, said Sekhar L Kuriakose, member secretary, SDMA. According to him, the voices of the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister and the Chief Secretary will be used as jingles in the FM channels as they will stress the need for protecting water resources and using water judiciously. Earlier, the SDMA had mooted a plan to document drought and the task was entrusted with Venu Nair, a documentary filmmaker. When asked about it, the SDMA member secretary said preliminary works in this regard have already been started and the filmmaker has been asked to submit the script of the documentary. A committee comprising of officials from the SDMA and the Public Relations Department will monitor the making of the documentary film, he said. This kind of drought is a one-time phenomenon. Moreover, it is the worst one to hit the state in 115 years. Thus to document it is of great importance. We could use that docu in future. The focus will be on the lessons that we learn in the time of distress. The film will be more of an educative kind, Sekhar said.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: It was the grit and commitment of Odia woman, Sarita Pattnaik, which earned her the prestigious Mrs India USA title at New Jersey in December 2016.

Dedicated to the cause of underprivileged women and children, Sarita, fondly addressed as Rinki, wishes to make a noteworthy contribution to upgrade the quality of life of women.

Sarita Pattnaik



Saritas focus remains on her home State where a large number of women and children are still deprived of opportunities and access to basics for leading a standard and healthy life. She was in the city on Saturday during her first visit to India after being crowned as Mrs India USA.



A mother of two, Saritas husband Satya works for an IT firm in Atlanta and the couple moved to USA 15 years back. Born in Bhubaneswar and brought up in Rajgangpur, Saritas journey to success was no cakewalk. A qualified interior designer, Sarita said it was not easy for an Odia girl stepping out of the house and participating in beauty pageants in the western world.



Her moment of truth started with the Mrs India Georgia title and Sarita would now be representing the Indian community in the USA at the Mrs India Worldwide scheduled to be held in Malaysia in October this year.



Sarita is a Graduate in Political Science and holds a Masters Degree in Interior Designing from NIFT Kolkata. She also holds the title of Mrs Best Catwalk at the New Jersey event.

BHUBANESWAR: It was the grit and commitment of Odia woman, Sarita Pattnaik, which earned her the prestigious Mrs India USA title at New Jersey in December 2016. Dedicated to the cause of underprivileged women and children, Sarita, fondly addressed as Rinki, wishes to make a noteworthy contribution to upgrade the quality of life of women. Sarita Pattnaik Saritas focus remains on her home State where a large number of women and children are still deprived of opportunities and access to basics for leading a standard and healthy life. She was in the city on Saturday during her first visit to India after being crowned as Mrs India USA. A mother of two, Saritas husband Satya works for an IT firm in Atlanta and the couple moved to USA 15 years back. Born in Bhubaneswar and brought up in Rajgangpur, Saritas journey to success was no cakewalk. A qualified interior designer, Sarita said it was not easy for an Odia girl stepping out of the house and participating in beauty pageants in the western world. Her moment of truth started with the Mrs India Georgia title and Sarita would now be representing the Indian community in the USA at the Mrs India Worldwide scheduled to be held in Malaysia in October this year. Sarita is a Graduate in Political Science and holds a Masters Degree in Interior Designing from NIFT Kolkata. She also holds the title of Mrs Best Catwalk at the New Jersey event.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The torrent of videos in social media purportedly showing policemen indulging in arson during the fag-end of the Jallikattu protests was surely something that caused lot of embarrassment to

the Tamil Nadu police. The videos showing policemen casually setting fire to vehicles and damaging the bikes have raised eyebrows on how brazenly the men in uniform can indulge in arson in broad day light and still get away with it.



But now in a delayed damage limiting exercise, the police officers seem to be taking the same route of circulating videos in the social media to highlight their side of the story. The videos and photos

being circulated by the police machinery in recent days, particularly highlight the injuries policemen and the damages to police properties suffered during the violence in the last day of the Jallikattu

protests.



Perhaps, the best of their brain-child was a video composed with title "Ivanum Tamilan Than" (He is also a Tamilian) and being circulated by some of the top police officers in social media since Saturday. Beginning with an AR Rahman's number (originally scored for Kollywood movie 'Bombay'), the video, full of edited clips, repeatedly shows the policemen who suffered injuries in the violence.



"He who came unarmed with trust on the Tamilian, why was he maimed," read one of the captions in Tamil running in the videos. And another caption, with an image of a person pelting stone, read these are

"Cunning fox in the guise of a cow."



But the video seemed to suggest that the previously circulated video showing a policemen setting fire to an auto was authentic. With an edited clip of the same, the new video runs a caption in a lamenting tone, which read, "The entire milk was spoiled because of this single drop of poison."



The video ends with yet another Rahman classic (originally scored for his debut film 'Roja'). In the end an injured police constable sleeping in a hospital bed appeals the people to not indulge in violence. "I am not asking this as a policeman, but as a Tamilian," he says. The video ends with a caption "He bears all this and will always be your guarding deity."



The Chennai City Police released yet another video showing a policeman saving an elderly man during the violence.

With the press briefings by senior police officers becoming almost a daily affair since the violence, two possibilities have emerged on videos showing policemen indulging in arson. On the day the videos emerged, city police commissioner S George suggested those could be morphed videos, but said it would be investigated. Another theory reported in newspapers quoting police officers was that "miscreants had rented police uniforms and indulged in such acts to bring ill-name to us."



The Chennai city police Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ Chennai.Police/) was active since the violence mainly with posts of images and videos showing policemen/women injured in the violence. But going by the comments in the Facebook page, not many are impressed by the posts.

CHENNAI: The torrent of videos in social media purportedly showing policemen indulging in arson during the fag-end of the Jallikattu protests was surely something that caused lot of embarrassment to the Tamil Nadu police. The videos showing policemen casually setting fire to vehicles and damaging the bikes have raised eyebrows on how brazenly the men in uniform can indulge in arson in broad day light and still get away with it. But now in a delayed damage limiting exercise, the police officers seem to be taking the same route of circulating videos in the social media to highlight their side of the story. The videos and photos being circulated by the police machinery in recent days, particularly highlight the injuries policemen and the damages to police properties suffered during the violence in the last day of the Jallikattu protests. Perhaps, the best of their brain-child was a video composed with title "Ivanum Tamilan Than" (He is also a Tamilian) and being circulated by some of the top police officers in social media since Saturday. Beginning with an AR Rahman's number (originally scored for Kollywood movie 'Bombay'), the video, full of edited clips, repeatedly shows the policemen who suffered injuries in the violence. "He who came unarmed with trust on the Tamilian, why was he maimed," read one of the captions in Tamil running in the videos. And another caption, with an image of a person pelting stone, read these are "Cunning fox in the guise of a cow." But the video seemed to suggest that the previously circulated video showing a policemen setting fire to an auto was authentic. With an edited clip of the same, the new video runs a caption in a lamenting tone, which read, "The entire milk was spoiled because of this single drop of poison." The video ends with yet another Rahman classic (originally scored for his debut film 'Roja'). In the end an injured police constable sleeping in a hospital bed appeals the people to not indulge in violence. "I am not asking this as a policeman, but as a Tamilian," he says. The video ends with a caption "He bears all this and will always be your guarding deity." The Chennai City Police released yet another video showing a policeman saving an elderly man during the violence. With the press briefings by senior police officers becoming almost a daily affair since the violence, two possibilities have emerged on videos showing policemen indulging in arson. On the day the videos emerged, city police commissioner S George suggested those could be morphed videos, but said it would be investigated. Another theory reported in newspapers quoting police officers was that "miscreants had rented police uniforms and indulged in such acts to bring ill-name to us." The Chennai city police Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Chennai.Police/) was active since the violence mainly with posts of images and videos showing policemen/women injured in the violence. But going by the comments in the Facebook page, not many are impressed by the posts.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: One fine morning, Chitra (name changed), hardly 20 years old, under the pretext of going to college, went out in a car with her boyfriend to a temple.

Hours later, she was found lying naked in a forest in an unconscious condition. She had almost become a rubber toy. She had been dragged, pushed, thrown, twisted, kissed, molested, injured, bitten, hugged, squeezed and gang-raped by four men in front of her lover, who too was severely beaten up and tied to a tree.

This made a division bench of the Madras High Court bemoan that even after 69 years of Independence, we are not in a position to ensure the safety of the life and modesty of a young girl. Should we bow in shame for this incident that has happened in the land of Mahatma?, asked Justice S Nagamuthu, who wrote the judgment for the bench, the other judge being Justice N Authinathan, on January 25.

Let us all resolve to preach the words of Mahatma, who wanted to establish a society practising non-violence and Ahimsa. Let us inform the younger generation, the great teachings of Mahatma. Let us teach them the morals and ethics, out culture and tradition. This alone would wipe out these aberrations in the society, the judge added.

The bench was dismissing a criminal appeal from one of the accused Subramani, challenging the orders dated October 15, 2015, of the Sessions Judge, Fast Track Mahila Court in Krishnagiri awarding life term to all the four accused.

The judge also opined that the wound, scar, trauma, horror, depression and the pain suffered by the victim were not only physical but also emotional. It will take decades for her if at all possible, to come out of the same. Any amount of compensation, we do not believe, would rescue her from the trauma, soon. However, payment of compensation, in this case, is only an attempt to ease down her sufferings, the judge said and directed the government to pay Rs 8 lakh to the girl within two months.

The girl, studying final year in a college, went out with her lover on July 18, 2014. When the vehicle was nearing Royakottai over the bridge, the lover, who was driving, stopped the vehicle to enable her to answer calls of nature. She went into the woods. Four persons, one of which is the appellant, spotted her and abducted her. Hearing the screams, the boy ran to rescue her but was over-powered. The four raped the helpless girl one after another, several times for hours together. They also video-graphed the incident in their cell phones.

The crime came to light through a shepherd, who was a witness. The police arrested the four and the lower court awarded life term in October 2015. Challenging this, one accused preferred the appeal, which was dismissed by the bench.

CHENNAI: One fine morning, Chitra (name changed), hardly 20 years old, under the pretext of going to college, went out in a car with her boyfriend to a temple. Hours later, she was found lying naked in a forest in an unconscious condition. She had almost become a rubber toy. She had been dragged, pushed, thrown, twisted, kissed, molested, injured, bitten, hugged, squeezed and gang-raped by four men in front of her lover, who too was severely beaten up and tied to a tree. This made a division bench of the Madras High Court bemoan that even after 69 years of Independence, we are not in a position to ensure the safety of the life and modesty of a young girl. Should we bow in shame for this incident that has happened in the land of Mahatma?, asked Justice S Nagamuthu, who wrote the judgment for the bench, the other judge being Justice N Authinathan, on January 25. Let us all resolve to preach the words of Mahatma, who wanted to establish a society practising non-violence and Ahimsa. Let us inform the younger generation, the great teachings of Mahatma. Let us teach them the morals and ethics, out culture and tradition. This alone would wipe out these aberrations in the society, the judge added. The bench was dismissing a criminal appeal from one of the accused Subramani, challenging the orders dated October 15, 2015, of the Sessions Judge, Fast Track Mahila Court in Krishnagiri awarding life term to all the four accused. The judge also opined that the wound, scar, trauma, horror, depression and the pain suffered by the victim were not only physical but also emotional. It will take decades for her if at all possible, to come out of the same. Any amount of compensation, we do not believe, would rescue her from the trauma, soon. However, payment of compensation, in this case, is only an attempt to ease down her sufferings, the judge said and directed the government to pay Rs 8 lakh to the girl within two months. The girl, studying final year in a college, went out with her lover on July 18, 2014. When the vehicle was nearing Royakottai over the bridge, the lover, who was driving, stopped the vehicle to enable her to answer calls of nature. She went into the woods. Four persons, one of which is the appellant, spotted her and abducted her. Hearing the screams, the boy ran to rescue her but was over-powered. The four raped the helpless girl one after another, several times for hours together. They also video-graphed the incident in their cell phones. The crime came to light through a shepherd, who was a witness. The police arrested the four and the lower court awarded life term in October 2015. Challenging this, one accused preferred the appeal, which was dismissed by the bench.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The meeting scheduled this evening at the Marina Beach for the formation of a new political party did not happen with the Chennai police deploying nearly 2,000 cops along the beach and imposing section 144 of CrPC -- prohibiting assembly of people, other than for the recreational purposes.



Since Sunday morning, a large number of police personnel were deployed along the beach after a popular Facebook page had called for a public meeting for the formation of a new "Youth Party of Tamil Nadu." Nearly 43,000 people had shown interest in the event and 16,000 had said they are participating.



Initially, the police issued advisories asking people not to assemble in such large numbers and stated that such assemblies should be arranged only at certain designated places. On Saturday, a prohibitory order was issued by the Chennai city police commissioner S George under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.



The Facebook page, ''A change - Tamil Nadu 16th Assembly under students control with new system", that had scheduled a discussion meet for the "New Youth Party of Tamil Nadu" at the Marina on Sunday 3 PM. The event was inspired by the recent massive pro-Jallikattu protests that succeeded in bringing thousands of people to Marina Beach through social media and finally compelling the state government to bring a new law to enable Jallikattu events despite the Supreme Court's ban.



However, on Saturday, the administrators of the Facebook page posted saying the event has been cancelled citing security and safety of the participants. The group has also posted that their identities will be revealed at the right time and admitted that the group consists of students, IT professionals, businessmen, doctors and other youngsters.



When contacted, a senior police officer said the any such assemblies are generally banned in Marina. So far, we are not allowing any procession or public gathering at the stretch and we are keeping a track on the next place they are deciding on to conduct their meeting, he added.



A procession by RSS at the Marina Beach, scheduled at 4.15 PM later in the evening, has also been shifted to Rajarathinam Stadium at Egmore.

CHENNAI: The meeting scheduled this evening at the Marina Beach for the formation of a new political party did not happen with the Chennai police deploying nearly 2,000 cops along the beach and imposing section 144 of CrPC -- prohibiting assembly of people, other than for the recreational purposes. Since Sunday morning, a large number of police personnel were deployed along the beach after a popular Facebook page had called for a public meeting for the formation of a new "Youth Party of Tamil Nadu." Nearly 43,000 people had shown interest in the event and 16,000 had said they are participating. Initially, the police issued advisories asking people not to assemble in such large numbers and stated that such assemblies should be arranged only at certain designated places. On Saturday, a prohibitory order was issued by the Chennai city police commissioner S George under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Facebook page, ''A change - Tamil Nadu 16th Assembly under students control with new system", that had scheduled a discussion meet for the "New Youth Party of Tamil Nadu" at the Marina on Sunday 3 PM. The event was inspired by the recent massive pro-Jallikattu protests that succeeded in bringing thousands of people to Marina Beach through social media and finally compelling the state government to bring a new law to enable Jallikattu events despite the Supreme Court's ban. However, on Saturday, the administrators of the Facebook page posted saying the event has been cancelled citing security and safety of the participants. The group has also posted that their identities will be revealed at the right time and admitted that the group consists of students, IT professionals, businessmen, doctors and other youngsters. When contacted, a senior police officer said the any such assemblies are generally banned in Marina. So far, we are not allowing any procession or public gathering at the stretch and we are keeping a track on the next place they are deciding on to conduct their meeting, he added. A procession by RSS at the Marina Beach, scheduled at 4.15 PM later in the evening, has also been shifted to Rajarathinam Stadium at Egmore.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is considering measures to restrict foreign nationals who have a criminal record of child abuse from entering India. Recently, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi requested her cabinet colleague, Union External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to revise the Visa format to see that foreigners with child abuse records are barred from entering the country.



Maneka Gandhi, in her tweet on January 17, stated, "At present, foreign nationals do not have to declare their record of criminal prosecution for visas to travel to India. Have requested that Indian visa format should include a declaration of criminal record".



Maneka Gandhi also stressed on the need for setting up a national register of sex offenders. On Sunday, asked whether any development can be expected on this issue, Dr Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, secretary, Union Ministry of External Affairs, who is in the city said, "Measure is under consideration".



A few years ago, in 2009, an Australian national was arrested in Odisha for sexually abusing minor boys in an orphanage. He was working at the orphanage which had a branch in Andhra Pradesh where he was reportedly arrested as well on child abuse charges and had a record of sex offences.



Social activist and Padma Shri awardee Sunitha Krishnan also said there is a need to change visa regulations to ensure sex offenders convicted in other countries are monitored. "First they should not be allowed into India. If allowed, they should be tracked. If the offender has been convicted of paedophilia, there has to be no negotiation policy," she said.



She added that usually, sex offenders chose orphanages, homes for disabled, shelter homes where children stay.

"Need of the hour is to have a sex offenders register so that there is a mechanism to track convicted sex offenders in this country," Sunitha Krishnan said.

HYDERABAD: The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is considering measures to restrict foreign nationals who have a criminal record of child abuse from entering India. Recently, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi requested her cabinet colleague, Union External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to revise the Visa format to see that foreigners with child abuse records are barred from entering the country. Maneka Gandhi, in her tweet on January 17, stated, "At present, foreign nationals do not have to declare their record of criminal prosecution for visas to travel to India. Have requested that Indian visa format should include a declaration of criminal record". Maneka Gandhi also stressed on the need for setting up a national register of sex offenders. On Sunday, asked whether any development can be expected on this issue, Dr Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, secretary, Union Ministry of External Affairs, who is in the city said, "Measure is under consideration". A few years ago, in 2009, an Australian national was arrested in Odisha for sexually abusing minor boys in an orphanage. He was working at the orphanage which had a branch in Andhra Pradesh where he was reportedly arrested as well on child abuse charges and had a record of sex offences. Social activist and Padma Shri awardee Sunitha Krishnan also said there is a need to change visa regulations to ensure sex offenders convicted in other countries are monitored. "First they should not be allowed into India. If allowed, they should be tracked. If the offender has been convicted of paedophilia, there has to be no negotiation policy," she said. She added that usually, sex offenders chose orphanages, homes for disabled, shelter homes where children stay. "Need of the hour is to have a sex offenders register so that there is a mechanism to track convicted sex offenders in this country," Sunitha Krishnan said.
Express News Service By

NEW DELHI: For much of last week, top bureaucrats in North Block have been seeking the right recipe to make the next Commissioner of Policeor CP as he is commonly referred to. They believe a perfect mix of three basic ingredientsPopularity, Seniority and Sincerityis needed to pick the chief of one of the largest metropolitan police force in the world. After the current incumbent Alok Kumar Verma was picked up to head the CBI, finding his replacement has become a top priority for the government.



Verma relinquishes his position on January 31. Top contenders for his job are Dharmendra Kumar, Deepak Mishra (both belonging to the 1984 batch) and Amulya Patnaik (1985). Deep throat sources said that Patnaik, currently a Special Commissioner of Police (Administration), may be given temporary charge.



Meanwhile, the name of Rakesh Asthana (1984 batch, Gujarat cadre) is doing the rounds as a surprise choice. The capital citys unique and sensitive position, where the police report to the Home Ministry, requires the helmsman at Police HQ in IP Estate to work closely with the Centre.



Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is locked in a power struggle with the Union government over control of the force. Lobbying is in full force; if sources are to be believed, one of the officers was recently seen prowling around North Block, in an attempt to open the right door. A senior official on the Raisina battleground acknowledged that Kumar gets the seniority vote, with Mishra and Patnaik getting the popularity and sincerity thumbs-up.

The race for Delhis police chiefs seat is hotting up with three UT cadre IPS officers and a rank outsider picking up pace. Deepak Mishra, who served as Special CP, Law & Order in Delhi Police for three years was transferred to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as Additional Director General, on April 18 last year only. "In appointing Verma, the government followed seniority and overlooked the challenge from Mishra and Dharmender Kumar. But, it isnt necessary to follow the seniority rule and government can choose its pick by examining other dimensions, a Home Ministry official said.



If the Centre decides to follow the seniority rule, Kumar could be the top choice for CP. Kumar is currently Additional Director General of CISFthe paramilitary force responsible for the security of countrys vital installations.



Given the circumstances, the government may recall officers on Central deputation. So, for both Mishra and Kumar, it will not be a hindrance. Just an executive order will be enough, the official added.

There are many twists and turns in the tale from Delhi Police HQ that could form the plot of a pulp thriller. The narrative is that either Amulya Patnaik or Rakesh Asthana may overwhelm Mishra and Kumar by winning the endorsement of North Block.



Although, it has never been fully confirmed, sources said interim CBI chief Asthana recently visited police HQ, triggering speculations over a possible transfer to Delhi Police as Commissioner. Asthana, a 1984 batch, Gujarat cadre IPS officer was the top choice to head Indias premier investigative agency but a panel comprising the PM, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha ruled in favour of seniority and chose Verma.

Appointing the CP from outside the state has a precedent in Delhi: Ajai Raj Sharma, a UP-cadre IPS officer of 1966 batch was appointed as Commissioner in 1999 by the then Home Minister LK Advani. Sources said Patnaik, seen by many as the underdog, could be the top choice if seniority is not the criteria.



If Mishra or Kumar become the CP, other transfers will happen at the top level. However, if Patnaik gets the chair, no major changes are likely. There is a possibility of change if the new CP is from paramilitary forces, a top official said

NEW DELHI: For much of last week, top bureaucrats in North Block have been seeking the right recipe to make the next Commissioner of Policeor CP as he is commonly referred to. They believe a perfect mix of three basic ingredientsPopularity, Seniority and Sincerityis needed to pick the chief of one of the largest metropolitan police force in the world. After the current incumbent Alok Kumar Verma was picked up to head the CBI, finding his replacement has become a top priority for the government. Verma relinquishes his position on January 31. Top contenders for his job are Dharmendra Kumar, Deepak Mishra (both belonging to the 1984 batch) and Amulya Patnaik (1985). Deep throat sources said that Patnaik, currently a Special Commissioner of Police (Administration), may be given temporary charge. Meanwhile, the name of Rakesh Asthana (1984 batch, Gujarat cadre) is doing the rounds as a surprise choice. The capital citys unique and sensitive position, where the police report to the Home Ministry, requires the helmsman at Police HQ in IP Estate to work closely with the Centre. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is locked in a power struggle with the Union government over control of the force. Lobbying is in full force; if sources are to be believed, one of the officers was recently seen prowling around North Block, in an attempt to open the right door. A senior official on the Raisina battleground acknowledged that Kumar gets the seniority vote, with Mishra and Patnaik getting the popularity and sincerity thumbs-up. The race for Delhis police chiefs seat is hotting up with three UT cadre IPS officers and a rank outsider picking up pace. Deepak Mishra, who served as Special CP, Law & Order in Delhi Police for three years was transferred to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as Additional Director General, on April 18 last year only. "In appointing Verma, the government followed seniority and overlooked the challenge from Mishra and Dharmender Kumar. But, it isnt necessary to follow the seniority rule and government can choose its pick by examining other dimensions, a Home Ministry official said. If the Centre decides to follow the seniority rule, Kumar could be the top choice for CP. Kumar is currently Additional Director General of CISFthe paramilitary force responsible for the security of countrys vital installations. Given the circumstances, the government may recall officers on Central deputation. So, for both Mishra and Kumar, it will not be a hindrance. Just an executive order will be enough, the official added. There are many twists and turns in the tale from Delhi Police HQ that could form the plot of a pulp thriller. The narrative is that either Amulya Patnaik or Rakesh Asthana may overwhelm Mishra and Kumar by winning the endorsement of North Block. Although, it has never been fully confirmed, sources said interim CBI chief Asthana recently visited police HQ, triggering speculations over a possible transfer to Delhi Police as Commissioner. Asthana, a 1984 batch, Gujarat cadre IPS officer was the top choice to head Indias premier investigative agency but a panel comprising the PM, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha ruled in favour of seniority and chose Verma. Appointing the CP from outside the state has a precedent in Delhi: Ajai Raj Sharma, a UP-cadre IPS officer of 1966 batch was appointed as Commissioner in 1999 by the then Home Minister LK Advani. Sources said Patnaik, seen by many as the underdog, could be the top choice if seniority is not the criteria. If Mishra or Kumar become the CP, other transfers will happen at the top level. However, if Patnaik gets the chair, no major changes are likely. There is a possibility of change if the new CP is from paramilitary forces, a top official said
Manish Anand By

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will have Bharat on his mind when he unveils the 2017 Union Budget for India, on Wednesday, under the heavy shadow of demonetisation.

Multilateral agencies have lowered Indias GDP growth projections for the next financial year to about 6 per cent from 7.3 per cent.

The FM is likely to splurge on agriculture and rural India over the middle class.

Economists predict that agriculture will register over 4 per cent growth rate in 2017-18, as against the average 0.5 per cent in the first two years of the Narendra Modi government.

Farmers are likely to love Budget 2017. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is banking on last years Bharat Budget to show results. The top consideration within the government is to substantially enhance the existing Rs 9 lakh farm credit by lowering the rate of interest for farmers.

The current policy puts farm credit at four per cent. The Centre bear s the rest. Jaitley may further lower the rate to about two per cent, which will give maximum relief to debt-ridden farmers, a top government source said.



Modi has targeted doubling farm income by 2022. Of late, the reluctance of states to implement key reforms has clouded the governments plans with pessimism.



The government is considering at the highest level to compensate farmers for the loss of income due to various reasons by averaging three years prices for any specific crop. The Centre may compensate the difference in price if the farmers are forced to sell their produce low, said a senior official in the NITI Aayog.



In his budget, Jaitley may go selective with Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanians Universal Basic Income idea, by using the yardstick only for marginal farmers who own less than three acres by giving them `3,000 as dole. Substantial budgetary allocations for agricultural research in the form of setting up more Indian Agricultural research Institutes, Indian Agricultural University and Kisan Vikas Kendra could be part of the NDAs Bharat plan. Research in agriculture is top priority, as value addition and innovation are seen as ways to substantially lift the income of people in the rural areas, which in turn can boost economic growth to a higher trajectory by ensuring robust demand in the manufacturing sector, the official added.



Jaitley may bring cheer to the DeMo beleaguered middle class by enhancing the income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh. Though home buyers may benefit with a rise in home loan interest deduction to `2 lakh from Rs 1,5 lakh a year, the Modi government appears more keen to make Bharat shine.

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will have Bharat on his mind when he unveils the 2017 Union Budget for India, on Wednesday, under the heavy shadow of demonetisation. Multilateral agencies have lowered Indias GDP growth projections for the next financial year to about 6 per cent from 7.3 per cent. The FM is likely to splurge on agriculture and rural India over the middle class. Economists predict that agriculture will register over 4 per cent growth rate in 2017-18, as against the average 0.5 per cent in the first two years of the Narendra Modi government. Farmers are likely to love Budget 2017. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is banking on last years Bharat Budget to show results. The top consideration within the government is to substantially enhance the existing Rs 9 lakh farm credit by lowering the rate of interest for farmers. The current policy puts farm credit at four per cent. The Centre bears the rest. Jaitley may further lower the rate to about two per cent, which will give maximum relief to debt-ridden farmers, a top government source said. Modi has targeted doubling farm income by 2022. Of late, the reluctance of states to implement key reforms has clouded the governments plans with pessimism. The government is considering at the highest level to compensate farmers for the loss of income due to various reasons by averaging three years prices for any specific crop. The Centre may compensate the difference in price if the farmers are forced to sell their produce low, said a senior official in the NITI Aayog. In his budget, Jaitley may go selective with Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanians Universal Basic Income idea, by using the yardstick only for marginal farmers who own less than three acres by giving them `3,000 as dole. Substantial budgetary allocations for agricultural research in the form of setting up more Indian Agricultural research Institutes, Indian Agricultural University and Kisan Vikas Kendra could be part of the NDAs Bharat plan. Research in agriculture is top priority, as value addition and innovation are seen as ways to substantially lift the income of people in the rural areas, which in turn can boost economic growth to a higher trajectory by ensuring robust demand in the manufacturing sector, the official added. Jaitley may bring cheer to the DeMo beleaguered middle class by enhancing the income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh. Though home buyers may benefit with a rise in home loan interest deduction to `2 lakh from Rs 1,5 lakh a year, the Modi government appears more keen to make Bharat shine.
Rakesh K Singh By

Propaganda is most effective when it touches you emotionally. And with the Internet virtually free, its almost impossible to disconnect radical groups from spreading hate. A section of Indian maulanas (Muslim clerics) are now using this platform to radicalise gullible people overseas by imparting

takreer (religious sermons) on distorted versions of Islam.



According to security agencies, the clerics are targeting youths in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Philippines to spread hatred. Intel reports say over 100 such preachers have so far been identified.



Maulanas have not only found ways to evade the police in India, but they have also exploited loopholes of the law of countries being targeted by them. After being in the dark for many years, central probe agencies have now created a database of such radicals. The agencies are keeping tabs on the masterminds and their funding.



Videos of radical speeches are made abroad and contents are either uploaded online or CDs distributed among people in other countries. Even when they come under the scrutiny of agencies in India, they seek immunity on grounds of not having violated the countrys law, an Intelligence official said.

Many maulanas in the probe agencies database are from Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. These rich clerics go abroad to spread hate sermons thus making it impossible for the Intel agencies to take action.



Managers, who market the radical speeches and those who listen to such sermons, meet abroad for joint sessions. Agencies are now identifying those who act behind the scenes, sources said.



Use of the Internet and social networking sites has aggravated the situation. Fundamentalism and radicalisation can now be spread across the world without anybody having to physically cross the border. All you need to do is upload videos on the Web and access Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications such as Skype. It is much cheaper than video-conferencing. Through such means, radical sermons are encrypted and relayed to distant locations.



Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Arshad Madani admitted that social networking sites were being misused. Theres a need to inform people about the positives and negatives of social media, he said. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind is the largest body of Muslim clerics.



While the Deobandi stream of madrassas teaches students about the correct interpretation of Islam, a section has distorted it to serve their interests besides maligning the Muslims. Islam does not permit violence. It stresses peaceful existence. But some are misusing the religion for evil activities, Madani added.



Maulana Rahimuddin Qasmi of the All India Majlis Ulema said, Any action which has the potential to create trouble is against Islam. Without verification, religious sermons available online should not be followed. When Islam is even against wasteful expenditure of water, how can it permit violence? Loving the country is part of the faith, and anyone acting against the nation cannot be accepted.



Arshad Farooqui, Mufti of the Darool Uloom Zakaria, Deoband, told The Sunday Standard: Lack of education leads to radicalisation. Successive governments have failed to provide education to all. Deprivation also leads to a sense of alienation and some youths are tilted towards violence. Both the government and the Muslim community should take steps to check radicalisation among the youths.



If the governments education drive has not reached the Muslims, the Islamic clerics have also failed to impress upon the youth that online Islamic material is not the real religion and such information must be verified by a cleric before being followed.



On maulanas misinterpreting Islam, Farooqui said: Without verification, nothing should be preached and such contents should not be accepted. Everyone should try and evolve as good human beings.

Sources said a section of the maulanas related to controversial preacher Zakir Naik has held several radicalising sessions in the Terai region of Nepal during the last few weeks. They have been giving distorted presentations on the concept of god in major religions.



Qasmi said, A very small percentage of youths are drifting towards radical streams because of lack of knowledge of Islamic scriptures. Agents of foreign outfits and agencies are radicalising and misleading young people in India, especially in a few states. Radicalisation is a conspiracy to defame Islam as terrorism. Violence is unacceptable according to Quranic principles.



Blaming the media and social media for aiding radicalisation, Qasmi said concocted forms of Islam were being fed by foreign elements who want to disturb peace. Historically, even caliphates, the nonbelievers of Islam, were allowed to exist by paying jijiya (tax).



The tanzeems should train the youths and use social media to counter radicalisation and present the correct interpretation of Islam. Youths in India are affected by the atrocities in places such as

Palestine and Myanmar. Educational backwardness also impacts gullible minds and communication gap between the government and the public also adds to the problem, Qasmi said.



The government should seek support from the tanzeems for deradicalisation measures. Ulemas (Islamic scholars) alone cannot bring out the correct picture of Islam. The media should help in portraying the religion the right way, he added.



Dr S Aziz, a practicing physician and a social worker active in western Uttar Pradesh districts such as Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar, said: The government should take immediate steps to ban radical contents that are available online so that youths are not attracted to hardline streams. According to him, Islam does not permit terrorism; it teaches about living in peace and harmony and not dividing people. Islam gives rights even to non-Muslim neighbours. People connected to terrorism are not Muslims, he added.



A number of clerics in India say if one has to learn Islam, he should join a madrassa or at least verify online materials through a recognised cleric, said Maulana Abdullah Ibnul Qamar of Kul Hind Rabta-e-Masjid at Deoband.



Counter-terrorism expert Dr Rituraj Mate said despite all the tactics being adopted by jihadists to radicalise people by using social media, the governments focus is just on containing the availability of online materials. Containing contents has proved counterproductive.



The government should have a proactive counter-radicalisation initiative wherein liberal maulanas should snub distorted contents on Islam which is available online. Speeches of liberal maulanas should also be put online to counter jihadis agenda.



He said after the United States banned the Twitter handle of al Qaeda a few years ago, a number of similar accounts popped up within hours and the propagation of the radical contents increased thereafter.

In the present scenario where jihadi contents are available online, counter Hindu radical materials are also flooding networking sites, which again is counter-productive, Mate added.

Propaganda is most effective when it touches you emotionally. And with the Internet virtually free, its almost impossible to disconnect radical groups from spreading hate. A section of Indian maulanas (Muslim clerics) are now using this platform to radicalise gullible people overseas by imparting takreer (religious sermons) on distorted versions of Islam. According to security agencies, the clerics are targeting youths in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Philippines to spread hatred. Intel reports say over 100 such preachers have so far been identified. Maulanas have not only found ways to evade the police in India, but they have also exploited loopholes of the law of countries being targeted by them. After being in the dark for many years, central probe agencies have now created a database of such radicals. The agencies are keeping tabs on the masterminds and their funding. Videos of radical speeches are made abroad and contents are either uploaded online or CDs distributed among people in other countries. Even when they come under the scrutiny of agencies in India, they seek immunity on grounds of not having violated the countrys law, an Intelligence official said. Many maulanas in the probe agencies database are from Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. These rich clerics go abroad to spread hate sermons thus making it impossible for the Intel agencies to take action. Managers, who market the radical speeches and those who listen to such sermons, meet abroad for joint sessions. Agencies are now identifying those who act behind the scenes, sources said. Use of the Internet and social networking sites has aggravated the situation. Fundamentalism and radicalisation can now be spread across the world without anybody having to physically cross the border. All you need to do is upload videos on the Web and access Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications such as Skype. It is much cheaper than video-conferencing. Through such means, radical sermons are encrypted and relayed to distant locations. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Arshad Madani admitted that social networking sites were being misused. Theres a need to inform people about the positives and negatives of social media, he said. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind is the largest body of Muslim clerics. While the Deobandi stream of madrassas teaches students about the correct interpretation of Islam, a section has distorted it to serve their interests besides maligning the Muslims. Islam does not permit violence. It stresses peaceful existence. But some are misusing the religion for evil activities, Madani added. Maulana Rahimuddin Qasmi of the All India Majlis Ulema said, Any action which has the potential to create trouble is against Islam. Without verification, religious sermons available online should not be followed. When Islam is even against wasteful expenditure of water, how can it permit violence? Loving the country is part of the faith, and anyone acting against the nation cannot be accepted. Arshad Farooqui, Mufti of the Darool Uloom Zakaria, Deoband, told The Sunday Standard: Lack of education leads to radicalisation. Successive governments have failed to provide education to all. Deprivation also leads to a sense of alienation and some youths are tilted towards violence. Both the government and the Muslim community should take steps to check radicalisation among the youths. If the governments education drive has not reached the Muslims, the Islamic clerics have also failed to impress upon the youth that online Islamic material is not the real religion and such information must be verified by a cleric before being followed. On maulanas misinterpreting Islam, Farooqui said: Without verification, nothing should be preached and such contents should not be accepted. Everyone should try and evolve as good human beings. Sources said a section of the maulanas related to controversial preacher Zakir Naik has held several radicalising sessions in the Terai region of Nepal during the last few weeks. They have been giving distorted presentations on the concept of god in major religions. Qasmi said, A very small percentage of youths are drifting towards radical streams because of lack of knowledge of Islamic scriptures. Agents of foreign outfits and agencies are radicalising and misleading young people in India, especially in a few states. Radicalisation is a conspiracy to defame Islam as terrorism. Violence is unacceptable according to Quranic principles. Blaming the media and social media for aiding radicalisation, Qasmi said concocted forms of Islam were being fed by foreign elements who want to disturb peace. Historically, even caliphates, the nonbelievers of Islam, were allowed to exist by paying jijiya (tax). The tanzeems should train the youths and use social media to counter radicalisation and present the correct interpretation of Islam. Youths in India are affected by the atrocities in places such as Palestine and Myanmar. Educational backwardness also impacts gullible minds and communication gap between the government and the public also adds to the problem, Qasmi said. The government should seek support from the tanzeems for deradicalisation measures. Ulemas (Islamic scholars) alone cannot bring out the correct picture of Islam. The media should help in portraying the religion the right way, he added. Dr S Aziz, a practicing physician and a social worker active in western Uttar Pradesh districts such as Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar, said: The government should take immediate steps to ban radical contents that are available online so that youths are not attracted to hardline streams. According to him, Islam does not permit terrorism; it teaches about living in peace and harmony and not dividing people. Islam gives rights even to non-Muslim neighbours. People connected to terrorism are not Muslims, he added. A number of clerics in India say if one has to learn Islam, he should join a madrassa or at least verify online materials through a recognised cleric, said Maulana Abdullah Ibnul Qamar of Kul Hind Rabta-e-Masjid at Deoband. Counter-terrorism expert Dr Rituraj Mate said despite all the tactics being adopted by jihadists to radicalise people by using social media, the governments focus is just on containing the availability of online materials. Containing contents has proved counterproductive. The government should have a proactive counter-radicalisation initiative wherein liberal maulanas should snub distorted contents on Islam which is available online. Speeches of liberal maulanas should also be put online to counter jihadis agenda. He said after the United States banned the Twitter handle of al Qaeda a few years ago, a number of similar accounts popped up within hours and the propagation of the radical contents increased thereafter. In the present scenario where jihadi contents are available online, counter Hindu radical materials are also flooding networking sites, which again is counter-productive, Mate added.
Yatish Yadav By

NEW DELHI: Time is running out for bankers, hawala dealers and currency smugglers who planned gigantic currency thefts in the days of demonetisation.



Investigators are hot on the trail of culprits who substituted mammoth amounts of freshly minted notes with old ones in acts of daring, uncommon brilliance. In manoeuvres executed with mathematical precision, wristwatches were synchronised with flight timings as armoured trucks pulled out of airports to be met by getaway cars into which new money was loaded and the old whisked away to RBIs secure vaults.



Investigators have recently stumbled upon a ring, which was involved in converting old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for hefty commissions. In each op, the amounts of new currency were kept at minimum possible levels to avoid suspicion, with the connivance of certain officials, who are now under the scanner.



Sometime in mid-November, the RBI decided to airlift newly printed notes from issuing offices to feed starving banks and ATMs. According to sources, the airlifted money was moved from airports to 4,132 currency chests in armoured vehicles. The State Bank of India has 2,033 currency chests while its associated banks control 763 chests across the country.



We have specific information that new notes on its way from airports to currency chests were taken out in exchange for old notes and given to certain individuals, who are now being probed. Some bank officials then registered the illegal tender in their vaults by opening new accounts. In certain cases, we have even found repeat identities, which were used in multiple banks to legitimise the switched currency, said sources.



A Delhi-based hawala dealer is under the scanner for his role in shady highway deals. He alone is suspected to have piped at least Rs 400 crore into the legitimate financial system. He has evaded the dragnet so far. From the start of probe itself, it became clear to us that the ringleaders and foot soldiers were provided key intelligence about the movement of freshly minted currency, sources added.



Investigators, tasked with following every available lead, used Know Your Customer (KYC) forms and transaction details as crucial evidence to unearth the road coups. A senior official joked, The plot is worthy of a Hollywood movie. No guns were used. Only a few human mules to exchange cash, a getaway car to reach a pre-decided street were enough to carry off the loot.

Officers tried to stay a step ahead of the currency thieves. Their focus was on CCTV footage from banks and currency vaults after receiving reports of huge amounts of black money being exchanged in major cities for 30-40 per cent commission.

Banks were directed to preserve all footage. We never anticipated that such sizeable amounts of new currency would be intercepted and smuggled out even before they reached the SBIs currency chests. It was a large scale operation, said an investigator.



Although RBI governor Urjit Patel did not disclose the number of banned notes deposited in banks, it is estimated that around 97 per cent of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore of demonetised currency came back to the financial system by the December 30 deadline. The RBIs latest report shows that over Rs 8 lakh crore in new currency is now in circulation. However, officials are tight-lipped about the number of cases where vaults were compromised after armoured trucks left airports.



We have interrogated some people who were involved in exchanging old currency for new and charging commission. One operator accessed Rs 30-40 lakh in new currency daily. He has given us some leads. We are not seeing it is a failure of demonetisation even if the total currency in circulation has returned to the banks.

The outcome of out investigations will ensure that hoarders, who used illegitimate means to convert black money into white, will be caught and prosecuted as per the law, officials said.



NEW DELHI: Time is running out for bankers, hawala dealers and currency smugglers who planned gigantic currency thefts in the days of demonetisation. Investigators are hot on the trail of culprits who substituted mammoth amounts of freshly minted notes with old ones in acts of daring, uncommon brilliance. In manoeuvres executed with mathematical precision, wristwatches were synchronised with flight timings as armoured trucks pulled out of airports to be met by getaway cars into which new money was loaded and the old whisked away to RBIs secure vaults. Investigators have recently stumbled upon a ring, which was involved in converting old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for hefty commissions. In each op, the amounts of new currency were kept at minimum possible levels to avoid suspicion, with the connivance of certain officials, who are now under the scanner. Sometime in mid-November, the RBI decided to airlift newly printed notes from issuing offices to feed starving banks and ATMs. According to sources, the airlifted money was moved from airports to 4,132 currency chests in armoured vehicles. The State Bank of India has 2,033 currency chests while its associated banks control 763 chests across the country. We have specific information that new notes on its way from airports to currency chests were taken out in exchange for old notes and given to certain individuals, who are now being probed. Some bank officials then registered the illegal tender in their vaults by opening new accounts. In certain cases, we have even found repeat identities, which were used in multiple banks to legitimise the switched currency, said sources. A Delhi-based hawala dealer is under the scanner for his role in shady highway deals. He alone is suspected to have piped at least Rs 400 crore into the legitimate financial system. He has evaded the dragnet so far. From the start of probe itself, it became clear to us that the ringleaders and foot soldiers were provided key intelligence about the movement of freshly minted currency, sources added. Investigators, tasked with following every available lead, used Know Your Customer (KYC) forms and transaction details as crucial evidence to unearth the road coups. A senior official joked, The plot is worthy of a Hollywood movie. No guns were used. Only a few human mules to exchange cash, a getaway car to reach a pre-decided street were enough to carry off the loot. Officers tried to stay a step ahead of the currency thieves. Their focus was on CCTV footage from banks and currency vaults after receiving reports of huge amounts of black money being exchanged in major cities for 30-40 per cent commission. Banks were directed to preserve all footage. We never anticipated that such sizeable amounts of new currency would be intercepted and smuggled out even before they reached the SBIs currency chests. It was a large scale operation, said an investigator. Although RBI governor Urjit Patel did not disclose the number of banned notes deposited in banks, it is estimated that around 97 per cent of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore of demonetised currency came back to the financial system by the December 30 deadline. The RBIs latest report shows that over Rs 8 lakh crore in new currency is now in circulation. However, officials are tight-lipped about the number of cases where vaults were compromised after armoured trucks left airports. We have interrogated some people who were involved in exchanging old currency for new and charging commission. One operator accessed Rs 30-40 lakh in new currency daily. He has given us some leads. We are not seeing it is a failure of demonetisation even if the total currency in circulation has returned to the banks. The outcome of out investigations will ensure that hoarders, who used illegitimate means to convert black money into white, will be caught and prosecuted as per the law, officials said.
By ANI

ANTANANARIVO: At least 45 people, including newlyweds, were killed in Anjozorobe, a town 90 kilometres northeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital after a lorry fell from a bridge into the Mananara river.

"45, including 9 children, 27 women and 9 men, were killed on the spot while 24 others injured, during the accident," Xinhua quoted the mayor of Anjozorobe, Dr. Lova Andriamanantsoa as saying on Saturday.

"The victims were in wedding procession when a lorry which transported around 70 relatives of the newlyweds fell off a bridge and dropped directly into a river called Mananara. The newlyweds were also inside the lorry," Andriamanantsoa said.

Andriamanantsoa said the main reason of the accident is not yet known as the driver had also died. "Most of them were killed by suffocation in the water."

ANTANANARIVO: At least 45 people, including newlyweds, were killed in Anjozorobe, a town 90 kilometres northeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital after a lorry fell from a bridge into the Mananara river. "45, including 9 children, 27 women and 9 men, were killed on the spot while 24 others injured, during the accident," Xinhua quoted the mayor of Anjozorobe, Dr. Lova Andriamanantsoa as saying on Saturday. "The victims were in wedding procession when a lorry which transported around 70 relatives of the newlyweds fell off a bridge and dropped directly into a river called Mananara. The newlyweds were also inside the lorry," Andriamanantsoa said. Andriamanantsoa said the main reason of the accident is not yet known as the driver had also died. "Most of them were killed by suffocation in the water."
By AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: A boat carrying 31 people, including 28 Chinese tourists, has gone missing in the waters off Borneo, an official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency told AFP Sunday.

"The owner of the boat reported it missing on Saturday evening and we have begun a search and rescue mission," a spokesman from the agency said.

In addition to the tourists, a skipper and two crew members were also on board when the boat sailed out on Saturday morning, the spokesman said, adding that weather conditions were bad on the day.

They were on their way to an island some 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of eastern Sabah state.

"I, like all the relatives of those on board, am hoping for progress in the search and rescue operation," Sabah's tourism minister Masidi Manun told AFP.

"Our forces are trying their best."

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that its consulate general in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged the government to do all it could to rescue the tourists.

KUALA LUMPUR: A boat carrying 31 people, including 28 Chinese tourists, has gone missing in the waters off Borneo, an official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency told AFP Sunday. "The owner of the boat reported it missing on Saturday evening and we have begun a search and rescue mission," a spokesman from the agency said. In addition to the tourists, a skipper and two crew members were also on board when the boat sailed out on Saturday morning, the spokesman said, adding that weather conditions were bad on the day. They were on their way to an island some 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of eastern Sabah state. "I, like all the relatives of those on board, am hoping for progress in the search and rescue operation," Sabah's tourism minister Masidi Manun told AFP. "Our forces are trying their best." China's foreign ministry said in a statement that its consulate general in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged the government to do all it could to rescue the tourists.
By AFP

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump and will intervene if they affect UK nationals, Downing Street said Sunday.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman said.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

May had sparked controversy in Britain on Saturday after refusing to condemn the order by Trump to suspend refugee arrivals, saying Washington was responsible for its own immigration policy.

"The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May said at a news conference during a trip to Ankara.

Meanwhile an MP from May's Conservative Party on Saturday revealed he would be barred from entering the US under Trump's clampdown.

Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he had had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports.

"A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added.

The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed with the new president the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU.

Shortly after their meeting on Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

The implications for British citizens led to increasingly loud calls from lawmakers that she denounce the policy.

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" and demanded that he not be allowed to address both of Britain's Houses of Parliament when he makes a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that May's refusal to condemn Trump "shames Britain".

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump and will intervene if they affect UK nationals, Downing Street said Sunday. "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman said. "But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that." May had sparked controversy in Britain on Saturday after refusing to condemn the order by Trump to suspend refugee arrivals, saying Washington was responsible for its own immigration policy. "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May said at a news conference during a trip to Ankara. Meanwhile an MP from May's Conservative Party on Saturday revealed he would be barred from entering the US under Trump's clampdown. Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he had had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports. "A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added. The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed with the new president the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU. Shortly after their meeting on Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan. The implications for British citizens led to increasingly loud calls from lawmakers that she denounce the policy. Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" and demanded that he not be allowed to address both of Britain's Houses of Parliament when he makes a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. Opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that May's refusal to condemn Trump "shames Britain".
By Associated Press

NEW YORK: Family reunions were blocked, refugees from war-torn countries were turned away and border agents detained scores of unsuspecting travelers at airports as the U.S. began a chaotic implantation of President Donald Trump's plan to fight terrorism by temporarily stopping citizens of seven nations from entering the country.

By Saturday night, a federal judge in New York had issued an order temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump's travel ban took effect. But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out of the country in the coming weeks.

Among those caught in limbo: Iraqis who had been promised a life in America because of their service to the U.S. military, frail and elderly travelers from Iran and Yemen, and longtime U.S. residents traveling abroad who don't know if they will be allowed to return home.

"What's next? What's going to happen next?" asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. "Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?"

Large protests erupted at airports throughout the country where travelers were being held, a day after Trump signed an order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. Trump also suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days.

Google cofounder Sergey Brin at SFO protest: "I'm here because I'm a refugee." (Photo from Matt Kang/Forbes) pic.twitter.com/GwhsSwDPLT  Ryan Mac (@RMac18) January 29, 2017

Thousands of sign-waving people chanted and demanded that refugees be made welcome in the United States as lawyers and representatives of aid groups tried to assist people.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

No green-card holders had been ultimately been prevented from entering the U.S. as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent long hours in detention before being allowed in. Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt.

"I'm so happy he's finally out. He says he's very tired," said his daughter Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears and speaking Farsi with her father.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the U.S. military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at New York's Kennedy airport their arrivals Friday and Saturday.

He walked free midday Friday after his lawyers, two members of congress and as many as 2,000 demonstrators went to the airport to try and gain his release.

"This is the soul of America," Darweesh told reporters after gaining his freedom, adding that the U.S. was home to "the greatest people in the world."

Others were less lucky. Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, Iran, to visit her husband, only to be detained and told she had to go home.

"She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates," said her husband Mohamad Zandian , 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University. He was hoping to get her out of the country on a late night flight to avoid her being jailed until Monday.

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the U.S. from summarily deporting people who had arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights.

Staff at U.S. agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the situation. They girded for wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the U.S. Donnelly's order did nothing to help those people gain entry.

Several staff who spoke to The Associated Press burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

"It's complete chaos," said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the U.S. State Department.

Meathaq Alaunaibi, a refugee from Iraq who was settled with her husband, a son and a daughter last August in Tennessee, was had been hoping to be reunited soon with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are still in Baghdad. Now, she's unsure whether they will be able to come.

"They are so worried and afraid because they're stuck there in Baghdad," Alaunaibi said Saturday. "They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them."

An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Islamic State group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now canceled, indefinitely.

"If you can write to Mr. Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please," the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his U.S. lawyer by email.

The order also caused confusion for longtime, legal U.S. residents traveling abroad.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the U.S. for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Now, he doesn't know if he will be able to return home.

"I don't know what's going on," Azmeh told The Associated Press by phone Saturday from Lebanon. "It is home as much as Damascus," he said of New York City. "I really don't know how to react."

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the U.S., said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups, who organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been coordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a 1-year-old and 5-year-old who arrived Tuesday.

Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and it's unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group.

Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday and told she couldn't enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.

"My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that she's having," Ulayyet said.

NEW YORK: Family reunions were blocked, refugees from war-torn countries were turned away and border agents detained scores of unsuspecting travelers at airports as the U.S. began a chaotic implantation of President Donald Trump's plan to fight terrorism by temporarily stopping citizens of seven nations from entering the country. By Saturday night, a federal judge in New York had issued an order temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump's travel ban took effect. But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out of the country in the coming weeks. Among those caught in limbo: Iraqis who had been promised a life in America because of their service to the U.S. military, frail and elderly travelers from Iran and Yemen, and longtime U.S. residents traveling abroad who don't know if they will be allowed to return home. "What's next? What's going to happen next?" asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. "Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?" Large protests erupted at airports throughout the country where travelers were being held, a day after Trump signed an order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. Trump also suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days. Google cofounder Sergey Brin at SFO protest: "I'm here because I'm a refugee." (Photo from Matt Kang/Forbes) pic.twitter.com/GwhsSwDPLT  Ryan Mac (@RMac18) January 29, 2017 Thousands of sign-waving people chanted and demanded that refugees be made welcome in the United States as lawyers and representatives of aid groups tried to assist people. An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas. No green-card holders had been ultimately been prevented from entering the U.S. as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent long hours in detention before being allowed in. Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt. Incredible pic.twitter.com/ByffWe2KtV  Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) January 29, 2017 "I'm so happy he's finally out. He says he's very tired," said his daughter Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears and speaking Farsi with her father. Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the U.S. military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at New York's Kennedy airport their arrivals Friday and Saturday. He walked free midday Friday after his lawyers, two members of congress and as many as 2,000 demonstrators went to the airport to try and gain his release. "This is the soul of America," Darweesh told reporters after gaining his freedom, adding that the U.S. was home to "the greatest people in the world." Others were less lucky. Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, Iran, to visit her husband, only to be detained and told she had to go home. "She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates," said her husband Mohamad Zandian , 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University. He was hoping to get her out of the country on a late night flight to avoid her being jailed until Monday. After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the U.S. from summarily deporting people who had arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights. Staff at U.S. agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the situation. They girded for wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the U.S. Donnelly's order did nothing to help those people gain entry. Several staff who spoke to The Associated Press burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country. "It's complete chaos," said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the U.S. State Department. Meathaq Alaunaibi, a refugee from Iraq who was settled with her husband, a son and a daughter last August in Tennessee, was had been hoping to be reunited soon with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are still in Baghdad. Now, she's unsure whether they will be able to come. "They are so worried and afraid because they're stuck there in Baghdad," Alaunaibi said Saturday. "They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them." An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Islamic State group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now canceled, indefinitely. "If you can write to Mr. Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please," the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his U.S. lawyer by email. The order also caused confusion for longtime, legal U.S. residents traveling abroad. Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the U.S. for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Now, he doesn't know if he will be able to return home. "I don't know what's going on," Azmeh told The Associated Press by phone Saturday from Lebanon. "It is home as much as Damascus," he said of New York City. "I really don't know how to react." Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the U.S., said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda. The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups, who organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order. In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been coordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a 1-year-old and 5-year-old who arrived Tuesday. Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and it's unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group. Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday and told she couldn't enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa. "My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that she's having," Ulayyet said.
By Associated Press

BERLIN: The leaders of Britain and Germany joined other American allies Sunday in criticizing President Donald Trump's entry ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, even as some far-right politicians expressed hope the move would inspire similar measures in Europe.

British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals, a spokesman said. The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey that the decision was a matter solely for the U.S.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also regrets the travel ban.

"She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Merkel raised the issue during a phone call with Trump on Saturday, citing the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention that calls on signatories to take in people fleeing war, Seibert said.

"The German government will now examine what consequences the U.S. government's measures have for German citizens with dual citizenship and, if necessary, represent their interests toward our American partners," he said.

An initial joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans.

One of the first European leaders to express disapproval was French President Francois Hollande, who said Saturday that "when (Trump) rejects the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we should respond to him."

Meanwhile, nationalist and far-right groups on the continent applauded the U.S. travel restrictions.

The Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders said in a tweet: "Well done @POTUS it's the only way to stay safe + free. I would do the same. Hope you'll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon."

Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is polling strongly before the Netherlands' March 15 election, later tweeted: "No more immigration from any Islamic country is exactly what we need. Also in The Netherlands. For Islam and freedom are incompatible."

The far-right National Democratic Party in Germany celebrated what it described as "the massive restriction on the entry of pseudo-refugees and Muslims to the USA."

"For the first time ever one can say from a nationalist perspective: keep going, USA," the party wrote on its official Facebook page.

In Italy, the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party also expressed admiration.

"What Trump's doing on the other side of the ocean, I'd like it done also here," Matteo Salvini told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

Referring to the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers and economic migrants rescued while crossing the Mediterranean and brought to Italy in the last few years,

Salvini said there is "an invasion underway which needs to be blocked."

Salvini is pressing for early elections and courting other far-right leaders for a possible campaign coalition.

Italy Interior Minister Marco Minniti, who had held top security roles in recent governments, warned against "equating immigration and terrorism."

"Let's be careful," Minniti said in a speech Sunday to officials from the main government coalition party, the Democrats. "Dissatisfaction and marginalization becomes the culture terrain of terrorism."

BERLIN: The leaders of Britain and Germany joined other American allies Sunday in criticizing President Donald Trump's entry ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, even as some far-right politicians expressed hope the move would inspire similar measures in Europe. British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals, a spokesman said. The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey that the decision was a matter solely for the U.S. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also regrets the travel ban. "She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said. Merkel raised the issue during a phone call with Trump on Saturday, citing the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention that calls on signatories to take in people fleeing war, Seibert said. "The German government will now examine what consequences the U.S. government's measures have for German citizens with dual citizenship and, if necessary, represent their interests toward our American partners," he said. An initial joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans. One of the first European leaders to express disapproval was French President Francois Hollande, who said Saturday that "when (Trump) rejects the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we should respond to him." Meanwhile, nationalist and far-right groups on the continent applauded the U.S. travel restrictions. The Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders said in a tweet: "Well done @POTUS it's the only way to stay safe + free. I would do the same. Hope you'll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon." Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is polling strongly before the Netherlands' March 15 election, later tweeted: "No more immigration from any Islamic country is exactly what we need. Also in The Netherlands. For Islam and freedom are incompatible." The far-right National Democratic Party in Germany celebrated what it described as "the massive restriction on the entry of pseudo-refugees and Muslims to the USA." "For the first time ever one can say from a nationalist perspective: keep going, USA," the party wrote on its official Facebook page. In Italy, the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party also expressed admiration. "What Trump's doing on the other side of the ocean, I'd like it done also here," Matteo Salvini told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. Referring to the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers and economic migrants rescued while crossing the Mediterranean and brought to Italy in the last few years, Salvini said there is "an invasion underway which needs to be blocked." Salvini is pressing for early elections and courting other far-right leaders for a possible campaign coalition. Italy Interior Minister Marco Minniti, who had held top security roles in recent governments, warned against "equating immigration and terrorism." "Let's be careful," Minniti said in a speech Sunday to officials from the main government coalition party, the Democrats. "Dissatisfaction and marginalization becomes the culture terrain of terrorism."
By AFP

LISBON: French President Francois Hollande urged Europe to form a united front and provide a "firm" response to US President Donald Trump, at a gathering Saturday of southern European Union leaders.

"We must conduct firm dialogue with the new American administration which has shown it has its own approach to the problems we all face," he said at the end of the gathering as he was flanked by the other leaders who took part.

Trump has rattled America's traditional European allies with a range of radical policy plans.

He has called NATO "obsolete", announced he would rip up a planned transatlantic trade plan and supported Britain's move to leave the EU, praising the decision as "a wonderful thing" during a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Friday he also signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries.

During his first phone conversation with Trump late Saturday, Hollande stressed the "economic and political consequences of a protectionist approach", adding that the principle of "acceptance of refugees" should be respected.

"Faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response," Hollande was quoted as saying in an Elysee Palace statement.

Hollande had earlier told the gathering that "when he adopts protectionist measures, which could destabilise economies not just in Europe but the economies of the main countries of the world, we have to respond".

"And when he refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond."

Ready to cooperate with Trump

While officially the new administration in Washington was not on the agenda, the six other European leaders who took part in the summit also alluded to Trump.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe was "ready, interested and willing to cooperate" with the Trump administration.

"But we are Europe, and we cherish our values," he added.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended the EU project, saying it had helped transform Europe into the world region with the "highest level of progress, civil rights and well being".

Also meeting in Lisbon were the leaders of Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal.

The summit was a follow up to a first gathering in Athens in September 2016 as part of a push by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to create a strong southern "axis" to counter the influence of nations in northern Europe.

The group is often referred to -- sometimes dismissively -- as "Club Med", even though one of its members, Portugal, is not on the Mediterranean.

It includes some of the nations hardest hit by the financial crisis.

Portugal and Greece both needed international bailouts worth tens of billions of euros which came with demands for tough austerity measures and economic reforms.

Boost investment

As in the first meeting in Greece, the mostly centre-left leaders gathered in Portugal urged Brussels to do more to boost flagging growth in the bloc.

A joint declaration signed by the participating countries said the EU should boost funding for strategic investment.

"We share the urgency of promoting investment, growth, employment, with a special focus on youth employment," it read.

The Lisbon summit comes ahead of a February 3 meeting of EU leaders in Malta to look at the future of the bloc without Britain, its second-largest economy and its richest financial centre.

Rajoy said Madrid would host a third summit of southern EU nations in April.

"These countries meet informally and they have no other goal other than to work for the people of the entire European Union," he said.

The goal is not to create an "organisation" inside Europe but to act "in the service of the entire European Union," added Hollande.

The so-called Visegrad group -- made up of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland -- have also held their own meetings to present a united front.

LISBON: French President Francois Hollande urged Europe to form a united front and provide a "firm" response to US President Donald Trump, at a gathering Saturday of southern European Union leaders. "We must conduct firm dialogue with the new American administration which has shown it has its own approach to the problems we all face," he said at the end of the gathering as he was flanked by the other leaders who took part. Trump has rattled America's traditional European allies with a range of radical policy plans. He has called NATO "obsolete", announced he would rip up a planned transatlantic trade plan and supported Britain's move to leave the EU, praising the decision as "a wonderful thing" during a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May. On Friday he also signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries. During his first phone conversation with Trump late Saturday, Hollande stressed the "economic and political consequences of a protectionist approach", adding that the principle of "acceptance of refugees" should be respected. "Faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response," Hollande was quoted as saying in an Elysee Palace statement. Hollande had earlier told the gathering that "when he adopts protectionist measures, which could destabilise economies not just in Europe but the economies of the main countries of the world, we have to respond". "And when he refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond." Ready to cooperate with Trump While officially the new administration in Washington was not on the agenda, the six other European leaders who took part in the summit also alluded to Trump. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe was "ready, interested and willing to cooperate" with the Trump administration. "But we are Europe, and we cherish our values," he added. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended the EU project, saying it had helped transform Europe into the world region with the "highest level of progress, civil rights and well being". Also meeting in Lisbon were the leaders of Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. The summit was a follow up to a first gathering in Athens in September 2016 as part of a push by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to create a strong southern "axis" to counter the influence of nations in northern Europe. The group is often referred to -- sometimes dismissively -- as "Club Med", even though one of its members, Portugal, is not on the Mediterranean. It includes some of the nations hardest hit by the financial crisis. Portugal and Greece both needed international bailouts worth tens of billions of euros which came with demands for tough austerity measures and economic reforms. Boost investment As in the first meeting in Greece, the mostly centre-left leaders gathered in Portugal urged Brussels to do more to boost flagging growth in the bloc. A joint declaration signed by the participating countries said the EU should boost funding for strategic investment. "We share the urgency of promoting investment, growth, employment, with a special focus on youth employment," it read. The Lisbon summit comes ahead of a February 3 meeting of EU leaders in Malta to look at the future of the bloc without Britain, its second-largest economy and its richest financial centre. Rajoy said Madrid would host a third summit of southern EU nations in April. "These countries meet informally and they have no other goal other than to work for the people of the entire European Union," he said. The goal is not to create an "organisation" inside Europe but to act "in the service of the entire European Union," added Hollande. The so-called Visegrad group -- made up of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland -- have also held their own meetings to present a united front.
By AFP

NEW YORK: A federal judge blocked Saturday part of President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

The decision accompanied growing resistance to Trump's crackdown on Muslim immigration, with large protests spreading at major airports across the country.

"Victory!!!!!!" the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), whose lawyers sued the government, tweeted after US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued her decision.

"Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders."

Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.

The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators there chanted "Let them in, let them in!"

Large protests took place at the main airports for Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.

Donnelly's decision to issue a temporary stay -- which stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's order -- came after dozens of people were detained at US airports following Trump's actions.

The exact number of those affected is unclear, but the judge ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.

Sending those travelers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to "substantial and irreparable injury," wrote Donnelly, who was appointed by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

A second federal judge in Virginia also issued a temporary order restricting immigration authorities for seven days from deporting legal permanent residents detained at Dulles Airport just outside Washington, according to US media.

'We were prepared'

"We knew that was coming -- we were prepared," said Camille Mackler, a lawyer who heads legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that quickly mounted the demonstration there.

"But we didn't know when, and we couldn't believe it would be immediate, that there'd be people in an airplane the moment the order was taking effect."

The List Project, which helps Iraqis whose personal safety is threatened because they have worked for the United States, expressed outraged over the move, warning it put American lives at risk too.

"I can't say this in blunt-enough terms: you can't screw over the people that risked their lives and bled for this country without consequences," wrote the project's founder and director Kirk Johnson.

The ACLU's legal challenge sought the release of two Iraqi men on grounds of unlawful detention. One of them -- Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who has worked as interpreter and in other roles for the US in Iraq -- was in fact released on Saturday after being detained the day before.

'We must fight'

Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, who went to JFK to press for the release of those detained under Trump's measure, said "We must fight this executive order in the streets, in the courts, anywhere, anytime. We must resist. We must fight."

Trump's pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travelers from Islamic countries to "extreme vetting" -- which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists."

The targeted countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Donnelly's decision shows that "when President Trump enacts laws or executive orders that are unconstitutional, and illegal, the courts are there to defend everyone's rights," ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in leaving the emergency hearing.

The ban has triggered political backlash, including from Trump's fellow Republicans.

Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the US Senate, spoke of America's "legal and moral obligations to help the innocent victims of these terrible conflicts."

"I strongly urge the new administration to move quickly to tailor its policy on visa issuance as narrowly as possible, delivering on our security needs while reducing unnecessary burdens on the vast majority of visa-seekers that present a promise -- not a threat -- to our nation," he said in a statement.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, wrote: "To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today."

His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada.

A woman, left, who did not want to be identified reacts after hearing news that her mother may not be released from immigration. | AP

A long battle

The rapid mobilization against the order suggests a protracted battle is shaping up between migrant advocates and Trump and his administration.

"This is the opening salvo of a long battle that will go on in the courts," said Michael Kagan, a law professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who specializes in immigration issues.

He said the outcome of the legal battle is unclear because "we are in unchartered territory in modern America."

The battle could end up in the US Supreme Court, which has not ruled on this type of immigration issue since the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

A White House official said that holders of a green card -- which allows permanent residence in the US and often takes years to obtain -- who are abroad should first go to the US consulate to obtain a document allowing return to the US.

And green card holders in the US who want to travel abroad must obtain approval from a consulate official.

The State Department has said that people from the seven countries under the 90-day travel ban will be prohibited entry no matter their visa status. Only those holding a dual citizenship with the US will be allowed to enter.

NEW YORK: A federal judge blocked Saturday part of President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports. The decision accompanied growing resistance to Trump's crackdown on Muslim immigration, with large protests spreading at major airports across the country. "Victory!!!!!!" the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), whose lawyers sued the government, tweeted after US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued her decision. "Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders." Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months. The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators there chanted "Let them in, let them in!" Large protests took place at the main airports for Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas. Donnelly's decision to issue a temporary stay -- which stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's order -- came after dozens of people were detained at US airports following Trump's actions. The exact number of those affected is unclear, but the judge ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect. Sending those travelers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to "substantial and irreparable injury," wrote Donnelly, who was appointed by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. A second federal judge in Virginia also issued a temporary order restricting immigration authorities for seven days from deporting legal permanent residents detained at Dulles Airport just outside Washington, according to US media. 'We were prepared' "We knew that was coming -- we were prepared," said Camille Mackler, a lawyer who heads legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that quickly mounted the demonstration there. "But we didn't know when, and we couldn't believe it would be immediate, that there'd be people in an airplane the moment the order was taking effect." The List Project, which helps Iraqis whose personal safety is threatened because they have worked for the United States, expressed outraged over the move, warning it put American lives at risk too. "I can't say this in blunt-enough terms: you can't screw over the people that risked their lives and bled for this country without consequences," wrote the project's founder and director Kirk Johnson. The ACLU's legal challenge sought the release of two Iraqi men on grounds of unlawful detention. One of them -- Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who has worked as interpreter and in other roles for the US in Iraq -- was in fact released on Saturday after being detained the day before. 'We must fight' Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, who went to JFK to press for the release of those detained under Trump's measure, said "We must fight this executive order in the streets, in the courts, anywhere, anytime. We must resist. We must fight." Trump's pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travelers from Islamic countries to "extreme vetting" -- which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists." The targeted countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Donnelly's decision shows that "when President Trump enacts laws or executive orders that are unconstitutional, and illegal, the courts are there to defend everyone's rights," ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in leaving the emergency hearing. The ban has triggered political backlash, including from Trump's fellow Republicans. Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the US Senate, spoke of America's "legal and moral obligations to help the innocent victims of these terrible conflicts." "I strongly urge the new administration to move quickly to tailor its policy on visa issuance as narrowly as possible, delivering on our security needs while reducing unnecessary burdens on the vast majority of visa-seekers that present a promise -- not a threat -- to our nation," he said in a statement. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, wrote: "To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today." His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada. A woman, left, who did not want to be identified reacts after hearing news that her mother may not be released from immigration. | AP A long battle The rapid mobilization against the order suggests a protracted battle is shaping up between migrant advocates and Trump and his administration. "This is the opening salvo of a long battle that will go on in the courts," said Michael Kagan, a law professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who specializes in immigration issues. He said the outcome of the legal battle is unclear because "we are in unchartered territory in modern America." The battle could end up in the US Supreme Court, which has not ruled on this type of immigration issue since the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. A White House official said that holders of a green card -- which allows permanent residence in the US and often takes years to obtain -- who are abroad should first go to the US consulate to obtain a document allowing return to the US. And green card holders in the US who want to travel abroad must obtain approval from a consulate official. The State Department has said that people from the seven countries under the 90-day travel ban will be prohibited entry no matter their visa status. Only those holding a dual citizenship with the US will be allowed to enter.
By Associated Press

LONDON: Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah says U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy "seems to have made me an alien" and fears he may not be able to return to his U.S. home.

Farah is a British citizen who was born in Somalia, one of seven predominantly Muslim nations subject to the executive order signed by Trump that temporarily bans entry to the United States.

Farah currently is training in Ethiopia. His family is based in Portland, Oregon.

The 33-year-old says on his Facebook page that "it's deeply troubling" he will have to tell his children that he might not be able to come home.

Farah's agent told The Associated Press that they were trying to clarify the situation with U.S. authorities.

___

10:50 a.m.

The White House chief of staff says President Donald Trump acted early on in his term to impose a travel ban on refugees to block "people who want to do bad things to America."

Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says there's nothing to apologize for after Friday's executive order drew widespread protests. A court order has temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting certain people.

Trump is temporarily barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

Priebus tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the action "doesn't affect green card holders moving forward"  the subject of legal challenges.

Scores were detained Saturday upon arrival at U.S. airports, spurring the judge's order.

Priebus says officials were using "discretionary authority" to ask "a few more questions" at U.S. airports.

___

10:35 a.m.

A petition set up on a British government website calling for U.S. President Donald Trump to be barred from visiting the country has attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures, qualifying it for a parliamentary debate.

Trump has drawn widespread condemnation in Britain for his ban on refugees and people from selected Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Prime Minister Theresa May invited him to make a state visit to Britain this year during her trip to Washington last week.

The petition on the British parliament's website is titled: "Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom." It says his "well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received" by either Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles.

The website says parliament considers all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for debate.

___

10:05 a.m.

A top adviser to President Donald Trump says a federal judge's emergency order "really doesn't affect" his efforts to temporarily bar refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

Kellyanne Conway says on "Fox News Sunday" that a federal judge's late Saturday emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trump's travel ban "really doesn't affect the executive order at all."

Conway says Trump's order is about "preventing, not detaining" and says that only a very small percentage of travers have been impacted.

Conway says that it's a "small price to pay" to keep the American public safe.

___

9:45 a.m.

Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates' national airline, says a number of its passengers have been affected by the new U.S. immigration policies and it is working closely with American officials on the matter.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said Sunday it is offering affected passengers refunds or flight changes where possible. It did not say how many passengers were affected.

Etihad passengers flying to the U.S. are screened and have their passports stamped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stationed in the Emirati capital rather than on arrival. Etihad says it is working with officials there and in the U.S. to address the new immigration policies.

The airline says: "Our joint interest is on ensuring that compliance and the well-being of all passengers is maintained across our global network."

___

9:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump's immigration order is getting pushback in Congress.

Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio says "I think we should slow down" and that lawmakers "ought to be part" of the discussions about how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.

Portman tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he doesn't think Trump executive action was properly reviewed before he signed it Friday.

Portman is urging everyone "to take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants."

He says America is "this beacon of hope and opportunity for the rest of the world" and should remain that way.

___

9:15 a.m.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the Netherlands is convinced that refugees "deserve a safe shelter regardless of their origin or religion."

In a statement Sunday, Rutte added that he and Foreign Minister Bert Koenders regret the U.S. travel restrictions and reject them.

The condemnation from the Dutch government drew a swift rebuke from anti-Islam populist lawmaker Geert Wilders. Wilders tweeted in Dutch: "What a weakling."

Wilders advocates closing Dutch borders to immigrants from Islamic nations. He is polling strongly ahead of March 15 elections for the lower house of Dutch Parliament.

___

8:55 a.m.

Switzerland's foreign minister says U.S. President Donald Trump's order to freeze immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries goes "in the wrong direction."

Didier Burkhalter said in a statement Sunday that it was "up to the American authorities to decide the immigration conditions in their country."

But he said measures taken to prevent terrorism must "respect fundamental rights as well as international law" and suggested Trump's order fails to do so.

Burkhalter said that as far as the rules apply to refugees it would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions for the United States, a signatory, to impose a general ban on people coming from Syria.

He said Switzerland would monitor the situation closely and provide its citizens with support, if necessary.

___

8:45 a.m.

Iraqis say they are shocked and disappointed with U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning citizens from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Halima Khalaf, 72, has been living in Washington state with her sons, daughters and grandchildren for four years. She returned to Iraq earlier this month to attend her brother's funeral and now fears she may not be able to go back to the United States.

In an interview Sunday, she said "Iraqis are not terrorists, but friends to the American people."

Baghdad resident Sarmad Salih Ahmed, who has been trying to resettle in the United States since 2014, said he's "depressed" because of the order, which he says is against "humanity."

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

___

8:40 a.m.

Iran has summoned the Swiss envoy to Tehran over U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the entry of refugees and citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries.

The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying Sunday that the temporary travel ban is a "violation of mutual obligations, such as the 1955 treaty between the two countries."

Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979, when Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Switzerland looks after U.S. interests in Iran.

___

8:35 a.m.

The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party says the planned state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump should be postponed until he lifts his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Jeremy Corbyn on Sunday questioned the invitation for Trump to visit Britain later this year extended by British Prime Minister Theresa May during her visit to Washington last week.

He says he is "not happy" with Trump visiting "until that ban is lifted."

Referring to "awful attacks on Muslims," ''awful misogynist language" and the "absurd idea" of building a wall along the Mexican border, Corbyn says Britain should make it clear to the Trump administration "that we are extremely upset about it, and I think it would be totally wrong for him to be coming here while that situation is going on."

___

8:30 a.m.

Dubai Airports, the operator the world's busiest airport for international travel, said it is "monitoring the situation" after the United States imposed a temporary travel ban on seven countries.

It directed customers with questions on the new visa policies to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website or their booking agent.

The airport operator runs Dubai International Airport, which is the world's third busiest overall and handles more international passengers than any other. It is the hub for Emirates, the Middle East's biggest airline, which flies to 12 U.S. cities.

Emirates said in a written response to questions that "a very small number" of passengers were affected by the entry restrictions, without providing details. The state-owned airline said it helping those affected to rebook their flights or get refunds.

The carrier said none of its crew members, who are drawn from countries around the world, were affected by the change. Airline crew from the seven banned countries would also be subject to the ban if working on a U.S.-bound flight.

The airline says it has "made the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements. Emirates continues to operate flights to the US as scheduled."

The travel ban applies to Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan.

___

8:15 a.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to speak by phone with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.

The White House says they are expected to speak later Sunday.

Neither Saudi Arabia, a major oil exporter, nor the United Arab Emirates, home to the commercial hub of Dubai, are included in a new U.S. travel ban that applies to seven Muslim-majority countries.

Both countries are close U.S. allies and part of the coalition battling the Islamic State group.

___

5:55 a.m.

The Iraqi government says it understands the security motives behind President Donald Trump's decision to ban seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iraq, from entering the United States, but underlined that their "special relationship" should be taken into consideration.

Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi says Iraqis are hoping that the new orders "will not affect the efforts of strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States."

Al-Hadithi told The Associated Press on Sunday the government hopes the "measures will be temporary and for regulatory reasons and not permanent at least for Iraq."

The order, signed Friday, included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. It also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months.

___

5:45 a.m.

The impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and citizens of seven mostly-Muslim countries from entering the United States was felt immediately in Britain.

A British lawmaker who was born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad said on Sunday he feels discriminated against "for the first time in my life."

Nadhim Zahawi, a member of parliament since 2010, says lawyers advised him he will not be able to enter the U.S. under the ban introduced on Friday.

Zahawi describes the impact on him and his family as "demeaning." He told local television his sons studying in the U.S. would not be able to visit Britain without facing a 90-day delay in returning to their studies.

An Iranian woman living in Scotland, Hamaseh Tayari, was stranded in Costa Rica in the wake of the ban, unable to board her scheduled flight home because it stopped in New York. She was seeking an alternative route with help from funds raised by a crowdfunding campaign.

___

5:10 a.m.

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German leader believes the Trump administration's travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong.

Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that "she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."

Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone Saturday for the first time since his inauguration. A joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans.

___

4 a.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has criticized President Donald Trump's order temporarily banning refugees from entering the United States.

Her official spokesman said Sunday that May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the US government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.

The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey the decision was a matter solely for the United States.

After she returned to Britain from a whirlwind visit to Washington, where she met Trump at the White House, and Turkey, her spokesman said Britain did not approve of Trump's policy.

The British government is studying the order to gauge its impact on British nationals.

___

3 a.m.

The Homeland Security Department says a New York court order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban will not affect the overall implementation of the White House executive action.

The agency said the court order affected a relatively small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return.

The department's statement said: "President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," according to the DHS statement.

Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said that nothing in the judge's order "in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."

LONDON: Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah says U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy "seems to have made me an alien" and fears he may not be able to return to his U.S. home. Farah is a British citizen who was born in Somalia, one of seven predominantly Muslim nations subject to the executive order signed by Trump that temporarily bans entry to the United States. Farah currently is training in Ethiopia. His family is based in Portland, Oregon. The 33-year-old says on his Facebook page that "it's deeply troubling" he will have to tell his children that he might not be able to come home. Farah's agent told The Associated Press that they were trying to clarify the situation with U.S. authorities. ___ 10:50 a.m. The White House chief of staff says President Donald Trump acted early on in his term to impose a travel ban on refugees to block "people who want to do bad things to America." Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says there's nothing to apologize for after Friday's executive order drew widespread protests. A court order has temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting certain people. Trump is temporarily barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Priebus tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the action "doesn't affect green card holders moving forward"  the subject of legal challenges. Scores were detained Saturday upon arrival at U.S. airports, spurring the judge's order. Priebus says officials were using "discretionary authority" to ask "a few more questions" at U.S. airports. ___ 10:35 a.m. A petition set up on a British government website calling for U.S. President Donald Trump to be barred from visiting the country has attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures, qualifying it for a parliamentary debate. Trump has drawn widespread condemnation in Britain for his ban on refugees and people from selected Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Prime Minister Theresa May invited him to make a state visit to Britain this year during her trip to Washington last week. The petition on the British parliament's website is titled: "Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom." It says his "well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received" by either Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles. The website says parliament considers all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for debate. ___ 10:05 a.m. A top adviser to President Donald Trump says a federal judge's emergency order "really doesn't affect" his efforts to temporarily bar refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Kellyanne Conway says on "Fox News Sunday" that a federal judge's late Saturday emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trump's travel ban "really doesn't affect the executive order at all." Conway says Trump's order is about "preventing, not detaining" and says that only a very small percentage of travers have been impacted. Conway says that it's a "small price to pay" to keep the American public safe. ___ 9:45 a.m. Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates' national airline, says a number of its passengers have been affected by the new U.S. immigration policies and it is working closely with American officials on the matter. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said Sunday it is offering affected passengers refunds or flight changes where possible. It did not say how many passengers were affected. Etihad passengers flying to the U.S. are screened and have their passports stamped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stationed in the Emirati capital rather than on arrival. Etihad says it is working with officials there and in the U.S. to address the new immigration policies. The airline says: "Our joint interest is on ensuring that compliance and the well-being of all passengers is maintained across our global network." ___ 9:25 a.m. President Donald Trump's immigration order is getting pushback in Congress. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio says "I think we should slow down" and that lawmakers "ought to be part" of the discussions about how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States. Portman tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he doesn't think Trump executive action was properly reviewed before he signed it Friday. Portman is urging everyone "to take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants." He says America is "this beacon of hope and opportunity for the rest of the world" and should remain that way. ___ 9:15 a.m. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the Netherlands is convinced that refugees "deserve a safe shelter regardless of their origin or religion." In a statement Sunday, Rutte added that he and Foreign Minister Bert Koenders regret the U.S. travel restrictions and reject them. The condemnation from the Dutch government drew a swift rebuke from anti-Islam populist lawmaker Geert Wilders. Wilders tweeted in Dutch: "What a weakling." Wilders advocates closing Dutch borders to immigrants from Islamic nations. He is polling strongly ahead of March 15 elections for the lower house of Dutch Parliament. ___ 8:55 a.m. Switzerland's foreign minister says U.S. President Donald Trump's order to freeze immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries goes "in the wrong direction." Didier Burkhalter said in a statement Sunday that it was "up to the American authorities to decide the immigration conditions in their country." But he said measures taken to prevent terrorism must "respect fundamental rights as well as international law" and suggested Trump's order fails to do so. Burkhalter said that as far as the rules apply to refugees it would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions for the United States, a signatory, to impose a general ban on people coming from Syria. He said Switzerland would monitor the situation closely and provide its citizens with support, if necessary. ___ 8:45 a.m. Iraqis say they are shocked and disappointed with U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning citizens from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Halima Khalaf, 72, has been living in Washington state with her sons, daughters and grandchildren for four years. She returned to Iraq earlier this month to attend her brother's funeral and now fears she may not be able to go back to the United States. In an interview Sunday, she said "Iraqis are not terrorists, but friends to the American people." Baghdad resident Sarmad Salih Ahmed, who has been trying to resettle in the United States since 2014, said he's "depressed" because of the order, which he says is against "humanity." Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. ___ 8:40 a.m. Iran has summoned the Swiss envoy to Tehran over U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the entry of refugees and citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying Sunday that the temporary travel ban is a "violation of mutual obligations, such as the 1955 treaty between the two countries." Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979, when Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Switzerland looks after U.S. interests in Iran. ___ 8:35 a.m. The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party says the planned state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump should be postponed until he lifts his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. Jeremy Corbyn on Sunday questioned the invitation for Trump to visit Britain later this year extended by British Prime Minister Theresa May during her visit to Washington last week. He says he is "not happy" with Trump visiting "until that ban is lifted." Referring to "awful attacks on Muslims," ''awful misogynist language" and the "absurd idea" of building a wall along the Mexican border, Corbyn says Britain should make it clear to the Trump administration "that we are extremely upset about it, and I think it would be totally wrong for him to be coming here while that situation is going on." ___ 8:30 a.m. Dubai Airports, the operator the world's busiest airport for international travel, said it is "monitoring the situation" after the United States imposed a temporary travel ban on seven countries. It directed customers with questions on the new visa policies to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website or their booking agent. The airport operator runs Dubai International Airport, which is the world's third busiest overall and handles more international passengers than any other. It is the hub for Emirates, the Middle East's biggest airline, which flies to 12 U.S. cities. Emirates said in a written response to questions that "a very small number" of passengers were affected by the entry restrictions, without providing details. The state-owned airline said it helping those affected to rebook their flights or get refunds. The carrier said none of its crew members, who are drawn from countries around the world, were affected by the change. Airline crew from the seven banned countries would also be subject to the ban if working on a U.S.-bound flight. The airline says it has "made the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements. Emirates continues to operate flights to the US as scheduled." The travel ban applies to Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. ___ 8:15 a.m. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to speak by phone with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi. The White House says they are expected to speak later Sunday. Neither Saudi Arabia, a major oil exporter, nor the United Arab Emirates, home to the commercial hub of Dubai, are included in a new U.S. travel ban that applies to seven Muslim-majority countries. Both countries are close U.S. allies and part of the coalition battling the Islamic State group. ___ 5:55 a.m. The Iraqi government says it understands the security motives behind President Donald Trump's decision to ban seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iraq, from entering the United States, but underlined that their "special relationship" should be taken into consideration. Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi says Iraqis are hoping that the new orders "will not affect the efforts of strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States." Al-Hadithi told The Associated Press on Sunday the government hopes the "measures will be temporary and for regulatory reasons and not permanent at least for Iraq." The order, signed Friday, included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. It also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months. ___ 5:45 a.m. The impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and citizens of seven mostly-Muslim countries from entering the United States was felt immediately in Britain. A British lawmaker who was born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad said on Sunday he feels discriminated against "for the first time in my life." Nadhim Zahawi, a member of parliament since 2010, says lawyers advised him he will not be able to enter the U.S. under the ban introduced on Friday. Zahawi describes the impact on him and his family as "demeaning." He told local television his sons studying in the U.S. would not be able to visit Britain without facing a 90-day delay in returning to their studies. An Iranian woman living in Scotland, Hamaseh Tayari, was stranded in Costa Rica in the wake of the ban, unable to board her scheduled flight home because it stopped in New York. She was seeking an alternative route with help from funds raised by a crowdfunding campaign. ___ 5:10 a.m. A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German leader believes the Trump administration's travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong. Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that "she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion." Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone Saturday for the first time since his inauguration. A joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans. ___ 4 a.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May has criticized President Donald Trump's order temporarily banning refugees from entering the United States. Her official spokesman said Sunday that May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the US government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals. The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey the decision was a matter solely for the United States. After she returned to Britain from a whirlwind visit to Washington, where she met Trump at the White House, and Turkey, her spokesman said Britain did not approve of Trump's policy. The British government is studying the order to gauge its impact on British nationals. ___ 3 a.m. The Homeland Security Department says a New York court order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban will not affect the overall implementation of the White House executive action. The agency said the court order affected a relatively small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return. The department's statement said: "President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," according to the DHS statement. Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said that nothing in the judge's order "in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."
By PTI

WASHINGTON: There is a possibility in the future of including Pakistan in the list of countries from where immigration has been banned, a top White House official has indicated, acknowledging for the first time that Pakistan was under consideration to be put in that category of nations.

"The reason we chose those seven countries was, those were the seven countries that both the Congress and the Obama administration identified as being the seven countries that were most identifiable with dangerous terrorism taking place in their country," White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, told CBS News. Trump has issued a controversial executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Somalia.

"Now, you can point to other countries that have similar problems, like Pakistan and others. Perhaps we need to take it further. But for now, immediate steps, pulling the Band-Aid off, is to do further vetting for people traveling in and out of those countries," Priebus said. This is for the first time that the Trump Administration has publicly acknowledged about considering putting Pakistan into that list. Currently as per the executive order, visitors from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan are subject to extreme vetting. Priebus said the executive orders were signed after a lot of planning.

"We're not going to advertise to the world that we're going to put a stop or at least a further vetting on travel in and out of our country from these seven places," he said. "Some people have suggested, that, well, maybe we should have given everyone a three-day warning. But that would just mean that a terrorist would just move up their travel plans by three days. Identifying too many people in these countries and giving them a heads-up in these countries would only potentially flag the executive order for bad order," Priebus said.

"The President has a call with leadership in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and other countries around world. And I'm sure this topic may come up," he said. Priebus asserted that Americans have to be protected first. "These are countries that harbour and train terrorists. These are countries that we want to know who is coming and going in and out of to prevent calamities from happening in this country," he said. "We're not willing to be wrong on this subject.

President Trump is not willing to take chances on this subject. He was elected president in many respects because people knew that he was going to be tough on immigration from countries that harbour terrorists," Priebus said. "I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone traveling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States. And that's all this is," he said.

WASHINGTON: There is a possibility in the future of including Pakistan in the list of countries from where immigration has been banned, a top White House official has indicated, acknowledging for the first time that Pakistan was under consideration to be put in that category of nations. "The reason we chose those seven countries was, those were the seven countries that both the Congress and the Obama administration identified as being the seven countries that were most identifiable with dangerous terrorism taking place in their country," White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, told CBS News. Trump has issued a controversial executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Somalia. "Now, you can point to other countries that have similar problems, like Pakistan and others. Perhaps we need to take it further. But for now, immediate steps, pulling the Band-Aid off, is to do further vetting for people traveling in and out of those countries," Priebus said. This is for the first time that the Trump Administration has publicly acknowledged about considering putting Pakistan into that list. Currently as per the executive order, visitors from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan are subject to extreme vetting. Priebus said the executive orders were signed after a lot of planning. "We're not going to advertise to the world that we're going to put a stop or at least a further vetting on travel in and out of our country from these seven places," he said. "Some people have suggested, that, well, maybe we should have given everyone a three-day warning. But that would just mean that a terrorist would just move up their travel plans by three days. Identifying too many people in these countries and giving them a heads-up in these countries would only potentially flag the executive order for bad order," Priebus said. "The President has a call with leadership in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and other countries around world. And I'm sure this topic may come up," he said. Priebus asserted that Americans have to be protected first. "These are countries that harbour and train terrorists. These are countries that we want to know who is coming and going in and out of to prevent calamities from happening in this country," he said. "We're not willing to be wrong on this subject. President Trump is not willing to take chances on this subject. He was elected president in many respects because people knew that he was going to be tough on immigration from countries that harbour terrorists," Priebus said. "I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone traveling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States. And that's all this is," he said.
By PTI

MANILA: Philippine airstrikes have killed 15 Muslim militants linked to the Islamic State group, including a suspected Indonesian militant, while one of Southeast Asia's top terror suspects was seriously wounded in the country's south, the military chief said today.

Military Chief of Staff General Eduardo Ano said the body of the suspected Indonesian militant, known by his nom de guerre Mohisen, was recovered by troops along with three dead Filipino followers of militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was seriously wounded in the hilly outskirts of Butig town in Lanao del Sur province.

Eleven other militants were reportedly killed, Ano said, citing intelligence, but added their bodies have not been found. Hapilon was wounded in the arm and was losing blood after air force aircraft, including FA50 supersonic fighter jets, dropped six 225-kilogram bombs Wednesday night and Thursday on a militant encampment in an ongoing offensive, Ano and another air force official said. It was the first time that the FA50s, which were acquired from South Korea in late 2015 as the military's only fighter jets, were deployed in a combat mission.

Four FA50s have been delivered and the rest of 12 jets are to be delivered by July, air force officials said. President Rodrigo Duterte has criticized the FA50s as being inadequate for counterinsurgency operations and good only as fly-by aircraft for ceremonies. Hapilon was being moved around by his men on a makeshift stretcher but could not escape from Lanao, about 830 kilometers south of Manila, because artillery-backed troops have blocked possible exit points, Ano said. "We're making it very difficult for them to move around and survive," Ano told The Associated Press by telephone.

The military will ask Indonesian authorities for help in confirming the identity and background of Mohisen, who was not among the foreigners previously monitored as having joined Filipino militant groups in the south. Hapilon reportedly was designated to lead an Islamic State group branch in Southeast Asia and is on the US Department of Justice list of most-wanted terrorists worldwide with a reward of up to USD 5 million for his capture. He moved to Butig from his stronghold on southern Basilan island a month ago with about 30 fighters to look for a base, Ano said.

IS group commanders apparently wanted Hapilon to set up a base in Lanao, a vast region that offers more security than his mountain base on Basilan island, so foreign militants could have a springboard to expand their influence, he said. The ongoing offensive "is significant because it will derail their plan to expand the IS presence to mainland Mindanao," said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, referring to the southern Philippine region, the scene of decadeslong uprisings by minority Muslims.

MANILA: Philippine airstrikes have killed 15 Muslim militants linked to the Islamic State group, including a suspected Indonesian militant, while one of Southeast Asia's top terror suspects was seriously wounded in the country's south, the military chief said today. Military Chief of Staff General Eduardo Ano said the body of the suspected Indonesian militant, known by his nom de guerre Mohisen, was recovered by troops along with three dead Filipino followers of militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was seriously wounded in the hilly outskirts of Butig town in Lanao del Sur province. Eleven other militants were reportedly killed, Ano said, citing intelligence, but added their bodies have not been found. Hapilon was wounded in the arm and was losing blood after air force aircraft, including FA50 supersonic fighter jets, dropped six 225-kilogram bombs Wednesday night and Thursday on a militant encampment in an ongoing offensive, Ano and another air force official said. It was the first time that the FA50s, which were acquired from South Korea in late 2015 as the military's only fighter jets, were deployed in a combat mission. Four FA50s have been delivered and the rest of 12 jets are to be delivered by July, air force officials said. President Rodrigo Duterte has criticized the FA50s as being inadequate for counterinsurgency operations and good only as fly-by aircraft for ceremonies. Hapilon was being moved around by his men on a makeshift stretcher but could not escape from Lanao, about 830 kilometers south of Manila, because artillery-backed troops have blocked possible exit points, Ano said. "We're making it very difficult for them to move around and survive," Ano told The Associated Press by telephone. The military will ask Indonesian authorities for help in confirming the identity and background of Mohisen, who was not among the foreigners previously monitored as having joined Filipino militant groups in the south. Hapilon reportedly was designated to lead an Islamic State group branch in Southeast Asia and is on the US Department of Justice list of most-wanted terrorists worldwide with a reward of up to USD 5 million for his capture. He moved to Butig from his stronghold on southern Basilan island a month ago with about 30 fighters to look for a base, Ano said. IS group commanders apparently wanted Hapilon to set up a base in Lanao, a vast region that offers more security than his mountain base on Basilan island, so foreign militants could have a springboard to expand their influence, he said. The ongoing offensive "is significant because it will derail their plan to expand the IS presence to mainland Mindanao," said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, referring to the southern Philippine region, the scene of decadeslong uprisings by minority Muslims.
By Associated Press

TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you.

He also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada's refugee policy.

Trudeau reacted to Trump's ban of Muslims from certain countries by tweeting Saturday: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said Trudeau has a message for Trump.

"The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak," Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.

Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon.

The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. More than 75 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S.

Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canada's election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada.

Trudeau's tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. "Welcome to Canada" trended in Canada.

"Bravo to Canada and @JustinTrudeau for showing heart, as Trump dishonors the U.S.," New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof tweeted.

TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you. He also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada's refugee policy. Trudeau reacted to Trump's ban of Muslims from certain countries by tweeting Saturday: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada." Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected. A spokeswoman for Trudeau said Trudeau has a message for Trump. "The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak," Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press. Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon. The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. More than 75 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S. Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States. The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canada's election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada. Trudeau's tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. "Welcome to Canada" trended in Canada. "Bravo to Canada and @JustinTrudeau for showing heart, as Trump dishonors the U.S.," New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof tweeted.
By Associated Press

AMMAN: Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan took a first hopeful step toward moving to the United States last fall, submitting to an initial security screening.

His dream of a better life was abruptly crushed when President Donald Trump banned Syrian refugees from the U.S. until further notice.

Sawan learned of the entry ban while watching late night TV news with his wife in their small apartment in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

"When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished," the 40-year-old said Saturday, a day after Trump's executive order.

He and other Syrian refugees bristled at the idea that they pose a potential security threat, saying they are peaceful people fleeing persecution.

Some warned that the new U.S. policy will be seen as targeting Muslims and further inflame anti-American sentiment in the region.

"This decision made the U.S. loose its reputation in the world as the biggest economy, the biggest democracy," said refugee Nasser Sheik, 44, who was paralyzed by a stroke two years ago and lives with his family in Amman.

"We are not going out to harm people of other countries," added his wife Madaya, 37.

Trump on Friday suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely pending a security review meant to ensure terrorists cannot slip through vetting. Trump also issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria.

At the time of Trump's decision, more than 27,000 Syrian refugees from 11 Middle Eastern host countries were being considered for resettlement to the U.S. and were in various stages of the approval process, according to the International Organization for Migration.

During the last budget year, the U.S. accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 from Syria.

Close to 5 million Syrians have fled their country since an uprising against President Bashar Assad erupted in 2011 and escalated into civil war.

Most refugees have settled in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon where their struggle for survival gets tougher every day.

Savings have run out, jobs are poorly paid and refugee children learn in crowded classrooms. Many refugees prefer to return home, but that's not an option as long as the war continues. Eager to escape tough conditions in the host countries, resettlement to the West now seems the best alternative.

Ammar Sawan fled the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh in 2012, after he was roughed up by pro-Assad militiamen and feared eventual arrest.

His wife Sanaa, 35, and three sons followed him a year later, fleeing government shelling. The couple had a fourth child, a girl, in Jordan, last year.

The family struggles to cover rent, utilities and school transportation for the three oldest, especially during the winter when Sawan's income from his part-time work as an upholsterer drops.

Sawan worries about his children, including bullying in school. His oldest, 15-year-old Khaled, said Jordanian students sometimes pick fights with Syrians school mates.

Sawan said he underwent the first round of security vetting for possible resettlement to the U.S. in October.

With a new life in America suddenly in reach, he began to dream of a decent education for his children and a stable income for the family.

"My dream, even before the war in Syria, was to live in America," he said, as the family huddled around a gas heater in the living room.

Now he is disappointed in America. "We are not terrorists and we don't support terrorism," he said.

Refugee aid groups said Trump's ban is hurting innocent people.

"It will not make America safer," Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said by phone from Oslo. "It will make America smaller and meaner."

He said the new U.S. policy deals a blow to international responsibility for those fleeing persecution, an idea forged in the aftermath of the Holocaust when Jews and others seeking safe haven were often let down.

Others said U.S. security checks of refugees are already robust, involving biometric screening and up to three years of vetting.

The suspension of the refugee admissions allows for exceptions, including for members of minority faiths claiming persecution, such as Christians in Muslim-majority countries.

Feras Zahka, 35, a Syrian Christian who fled to Turkey, is in the final stages of vetting to immigrate to the U.S., but now fears he won't be able to go.

"I was going through security screenings before the (US) elections took place," he said by phone from Istanbul, where he works as a hotel receptionist. "I am scared my file will be scrapped."

Bashir al-Saadi, 67, a Christian in the town of Qamishli in northern Syria, said giving preferential treatment to Christians could raise tensions with their Muslim neighbors.

"Giving visas to Christians (only) will give the impression that the U.S. is a Christian state and is standing against Islam," said al-Saadi who has family in the U.S. "This will trigger resentment, might foment religious conflict and reflect badly on us."

Mohammed Hassan al-Homsi, who fled his hometown of Palmyra in Syria, said Trump's decision will serve as propaganda fodder for Islamic State, the extremist group that controls parts of Syria and Iraq.

The entry ban will encourage Islamic State supporters, al-Homsi wrote in text messages from Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib where he found refuge.

"This decision proves the militant group's theory that the West, led by the United States, is an enemy of Muslims," he wrote. "It's an unfortunate decision."

AMMAN: Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan took a first hopeful step toward moving to the United States last fall, submitting to an initial security screening. His dream of a better life was abruptly crushed when President Donald Trump banned Syrian refugees from the U.S. until further notice. Sawan learned of the entry ban while watching late night TV news with his wife in their small apartment in the Jordanian capital of Amman. "When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished," the 40-year-old said Saturday, a day after Trump's executive order. He and other Syrian refugees bristled at the idea that they pose a potential security threat, saying they are peaceful people fleeing persecution. Some warned that the new U.S. policy will be seen as targeting Muslims and further inflame anti-American sentiment in the region. "This decision made the U.S. loose its reputation in the world as the biggest economy, the biggest democracy," said refugee Nasser Sheik, 44, who was paralyzed by a stroke two years ago and lives with his family in Amman. "We are not going out to harm people of other countries," added his wife Madaya, 37. Trump on Friday suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely pending a security review meant to ensure terrorists cannot slip through vetting. Trump also issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria. At the time of Trump's decision, more than 27,000 Syrian refugees from 11 Middle Eastern host countries were being considered for resettlement to the U.S. and were in various stages of the approval process, according to the International Organization for Migration. During the last budget year, the U.S. accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 from Syria. Close to 5 million Syrians have fled their country since an uprising against President Bashar Assad erupted in 2011 and escalated into civil war. Most refugees have settled in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon where their struggle for survival gets tougher every day. Savings have run out, jobs are poorly paid and refugee children learn in crowded classrooms. Many refugees prefer to return home, but that's not an option as long as the war continues. Eager to escape tough conditions in the host countries, resettlement to the West now seems the best alternative. Ammar Sawan fled the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh in 2012, after he was roughed up by pro-Assad militiamen and feared eventual arrest. His wife Sanaa, 35, and three sons followed him a year later, fleeing government shelling. The couple had a fourth child, a girl, in Jordan, last year. The family struggles to cover rent, utilities and school transportation for the three oldest, especially during the winter when Sawan's income from his part-time work as an upholsterer drops. Sawan worries about his children, including bullying in school. His oldest, 15-year-old Khaled, said Jordanian students sometimes pick fights with Syrians school mates. Sawan said he underwent the first round of security vetting for possible resettlement to the U.S. in October. With a new life in America suddenly in reach, he began to dream of a decent education for his children and a stable income for the family. "My dream, even before the war in Syria, was to live in America," he said, as the family huddled around a gas heater in the living room. Now he is disappointed in America. "We are not terrorists and we don't support terrorism," he said. Refugee aid groups said Trump's ban is hurting innocent people. "It will not make America safer," Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said by phone from Oslo. "It will make America smaller and meaner." He said the new U.S. policy deals a blow to international responsibility for those fleeing persecution, an idea forged in the aftermath of the Holocaust when Jews and others seeking safe haven were often let down. Others said U.S. security checks of refugees are already robust, involving biometric screening and up to three years of vetting. The suspension of the refugee admissions allows for exceptions, including for members of minority faiths claiming persecution, such as Christians in Muslim-majority countries. Feras Zahka, 35, a Syrian Christian who fled to Turkey, is in the final stages of vetting to immigrate to the U.S., but now fears he won't be able to go. "I was going through security screenings before the (US) elections took place," he said by phone from Istanbul, where he works as a hotel receptionist. "I am scared my file will be scrapped." Bashir al-Saadi, 67, a Christian in the town of Qamishli in northern Syria, said giving preferential treatment to Christians could raise tensions with their Muslim neighbors. "Giving visas to Christians (only) will give the impression that the U.S. is a Christian state and is standing against Islam," said al-Saadi who has family in the U.S. "This will trigger resentment, might foment religious conflict and reflect badly on us." Mohammed Hassan al-Homsi, who fled his hometown of Palmyra in Syria, said Trump's decision will serve as propaganda fodder for Islamic State, the extremist group that controls parts of Syria and Iraq. The entry ban will encourage Islamic State supporters, al-Homsi wrote in text messages from Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib where he found refuge. "This decision proves the militant group's theory that the West, led by the United States, is an enemy of Muslims," he wrote. "It's an unfortunate decision."
By PTI

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's controversial senior adviser Steve Bannon will have a permanent seat at White House National Security Council (NSC) meetings, solidifying his role as one of the most powerful members of the president's inner circle. In an executive memorandum signed yesterday, Trump elevated Bannon, while downgrading the status of the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the security council's principals committee.

The DNI and Joint Chiefs chairman now will only be present at meetings "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed," the memorandum said. Bannon, 63, credited in large part with successfully orchestrating the billionaire's upset presidential election victory, led the Breitbart News website described as a haven for the "alt-right" anti-mainstream movement.

The site ignited controversy during the presidential campaign because of its alleged alignment with white supremacists, white nationalists and anti-Semites. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in an interview today with ABC television that Bannon was part of "an unbelievable group of folks that are part of the NSC." "The president gets plenty of information from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and gets briefed and what they've done is modernize the National Security Council, so it's less bureaucratic and more focused on providing the president with the intelligence he needs," Spicer said, explaining the shuffle.

Bannon, "is a former naval officer with a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape we have now," he said. Spicer added: "Having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings who has a significant military background to help make, guide what the president's final analysis will be, is crucial." Bannon had a blue-collar upbringing, but he quickly became part of the very establishment he rails against. He began his career as a Goldman Sachs banker, then became a producer in Hollywood before taking over the Breitbart news platform. Bannon is currently on leave from Breitbart while working for Trump.

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's controversial senior adviser Steve Bannon will have a permanent seat at White House National Security Council (NSC) meetings, solidifying his role as one of the most powerful members of the president's inner circle. In an executive memorandum signed yesterday, Trump elevated Bannon, while downgrading the status of the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the security council's principals committee. The DNI and Joint Chiefs chairman now will only be present at meetings "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed," the memorandum said. Bannon, 63, credited in large part with successfully orchestrating the billionaire's upset presidential election victory, led the Breitbart News website described as a haven for the "alt-right" anti-mainstream movement. The site ignited controversy during the presidential campaign because of its alleged alignment with white supremacists, white nationalists and anti-Semites. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in an interview today with ABC television that Bannon was part of "an unbelievable group of folks that are part of the NSC." "The president gets plenty of information from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and gets briefed and what they've done is modernize the National Security Council, so it's less bureaucratic and more focused on providing the president with the intelligence he needs," Spicer said, explaining the shuffle. Bannon, "is a former naval officer with a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape we have now," he said. Spicer added: "Having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings who has a significant military background to help make, guide what the president's final analysis will be, is crucial." Bannon had a blue-collar upbringing, but he quickly became part of the very establishment he rails against. He began his career as a Goldman Sachs banker, then became a producer in Hollywood before taking over the Breitbart news platform. Bannon is currently on leave from Breitbart while working for Trump.
By PTI

KUALA LUMPUR: Three Chinese passengers died and five are missing after a tourist boat sank in rough seas off eastern Malaysia, officials confirmed late today, with 22 people rescued following the shipwreck.

Twenty Chinese tourists and two of the vessel's three crew members were rescued and sent to a hospital in Kota Kinabalu after the boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, according to Malaysian officials.

The third crew member has not yet been found, bringing the total number of missing to six.

The sinking of the catamaran today, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, sparked a major air and sea search covering some 400 nautical square miles.

The mission was halted tonight due to bad weather, but will resume early Monday morning, an official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said.

The boat left yesterday morning from the Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites.

The boat owner reported it missing on Saturday evening.

The skipper and a crew member were found alive earlier Sunday off a nearby island, before the discovery of the other survivors.

"According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by waves and sank," Ahmad Puzi Kahar, head of the MMEA, said in a statement.

The search and rescue involved officers from the maritime agency, police, navy and air force.

Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin said naval ships and a C130 aircraft were used in the search.

Roughs seas and strong winds hampered rescue efforts on Saturday night and Sunday, authorities said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said he was closely monitoring developments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping "demanded all-out search and rescue efforts" by Malaysia, his country's official Xinhua news agency reported.

It added that an emergency team, led by an official from Beijing's national tourism administration, had been set up to handle the incident.

China's foreign ministry said its consulate in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged them to do everything they could to rescue the tourists.

"Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and it should have been a happy day.

Unfortunately, such a bad thing happened," China's consul-general in Sabah, Chen Peijie, was quoted as saying by Malaysia state news agency Bernama. An earlier disaster involving Chinese visitors to Malaysia

-- the unexplained disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane in March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing -- soured relations between the two nations.

Most of the 239 people on board were Chinese and Malaysian authorities were fiercely criticised for allegedly giving little or inaccurate information about the incident.

KUALA LUMPUR: Three Chinese passengers died and five are missing after a tourist boat sank in rough seas off eastern Malaysia, officials confirmed late today, with 22 people rescued following the shipwreck. Twenty Chinese tourists and two of the vessel's three crew members were rescued and sent to a hospital in Kota Kinabalu after the boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, according to Malaysian officials. The third crew member has not yet been found, bringing the total number of missing to six. The sinking of the catamaran today, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, sparked a major air and sea search covering some 400 nautical square miles. The mission was halted tonight due to bad weather, but will resume early Monday morning, an official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said. The boat left yesterday morning from the Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites. The boat owner reported it missing on Saturday evening. The skipper and a crew member were found alive earlier Sunday off a nearby island, before the discovery of the other survivors. "According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by waves and sank," Ahmad Puzi Kahar, head of the MMEA, said in a statement. The search and rescue involved officers from the maritime agency, police, navy and air force. Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin said naval ships and a C130 aircraft were used in the search. Roughs seas and strong winds hampered rescue efforts on Saturday night and Sunday, authorities said. Prime Minister Najib Razak said he was closely monitoring developments. Chinese President Xi Jinping "demanded all-out search and rescue efforts" by Malaysia, his country's official Xinhua news agency reported. It added that an emergency team, led by an official from Beijing's national tourism administration, had been set up to handle the incident. China's foreign ministry said its consulate in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged them to do everything they could to rescue the tourists. "Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and it should have been a happy day. Unfortunately, such a bad thing happened," China's consul-general in Sabah, Chen Peijie, was quoted as saying by Malaysia state news agency Bernama. An earlier disaster involving Chinese visitors to Malaysia -- the unexplained disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane in March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing -- soured relations between the two nations. Most of the 239 people on board were Chinese and Malaysian authorities were fiercely criticised for allegedly giving little or inaccurate information about the incident.
Bihar officials decide to teach schoolchildren for one hour every week

Patna, Jan 27 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): In a novel initiate, officials from Patna district of Bihar have decided to teach schoolchildren in government schools at least for one hour in every week for what they believe will improve quality of education.





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Under part of this idea, Patna district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal on Friday rushed to the Girls High School in Bankipur locality of the district and taught the schoolgirlsgiving them career counseling and teaching them about etiquette, dress sense, cleanliness, sanitation and extra curriculum activities.During his about one hour-long stay at the school, the DM not only informed the students about various issues concerning the career as well as society but also got to know about the problems gripping this school.The girls told the DM that the school doesnt have enough teachers and how they are forced to use dirty toilet. The DM assured to look into their problems.The move will not only ensure presence of students in the classes but will also improve both the quality of teaching and food stuffs being served to them in government schools, the DM told the media today.Agarwal who is the man behind the idea said he would bring a roster of officials and the schools where they have to take classes.The DM had taken this resolvethat the officials will teach students one hour in a weekon the eve of Republic Day on January 25, and the idea was formally launched from today with Agarwal himself teaching the students.http://thebiharpost.com
Vijay Bhatkar appointed new chancellor of Nalanda University

Patna, Jan 28 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): Eminent computer scientist Vijay Bhatkar has been appointed the new chancellor of the Nalanda University, a global project to revive an ancient seat of learning in India's Bihar state.





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His appointment was made by President Pranab Mukherjee, who also happens to be the Visitor of revived NU.Bhatkars tenure will be for a period of three years.Bhatkar, who currently happens to be the chancellor of India International Multiversity and national president of Vigyan Bhartia science body of the RSS is best known as an architect of Indias first super computer.He has been honoured with several awards, including Padma Shri.His appointment comes some six weeks after Singapores former foreign minister George Yeo resigned as the NU chancellor protesting against Indian government move to reconstitute the governing board without his consultation.George had resigned on Nov 25 last year.It is puzzling why I, as Chancellor, was not even given notice of it. When I was invited to take over the responsibility from Amartya Sen last year, I was repeatedly assured that the University would have autonomy. This appears not to be the case now, George had said in a statement.The revival of the NU was mooted by late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam during his address to both Houses of the Bihar legislature in 2006.In 2014, the University was inaugurated by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.(http://thebiharpost.com)










11-05 18:44
Nalin Kohli on Rahul Gandhi's negative remarks

New Delhi, [India], Jan 28 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday lashed out at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.





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Reacting to Gandhi's description of Modi as dual speaker, BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli said, "Everytime Rahul Gandhiji speaks the issue of corruption. He ends up focusing again on the biggest scams in the history of India which took place under the Government of Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi which is the UPA from 2004-2014. He must also provide answers on that."Kohli further said, "He just can't bring issues just for the sake of raising it in a political valley. What's important is the conviction; because if he had any conviction on corruption, he must have answers on all the biggest scams that took place in the history of India under the Congress", as told to ANI.Gandhi, who is on a three days visit to Punjab, addressed four rallies in Majitha, Bhatinda, Jalandhar and Sangrur. He used these events to target the centre and PM Modi.
Barnalas join SAD after being miffed by Congress

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], Jan. 28: The family of Punjab former chief minister Surjit Singh Barnala has joined Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD), after reports of being miffed by the absence of senior leaders of the grand old party at cremation and memorial service of the former.





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Barely 10 months after joining the Congress, the family quit the party on Thursday. Barnala family's close associate and former minister Baldev Singh Mann also resigned from the Congress with them.Barnala's wife Surjit Kaur and son Gaganjit Singh Barnala formally resigned from the Congress less than two weeks after the former Punjab chief minister had passed away. While their political adversary and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Sing Badal had attended the bhog ceremony of Barnala on Sunday and called him a 'statesman', no senior Congress attended the event.Barnala (91) had passed away on January 14, 2017, after a brief illness.
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Toronto: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne finds a better alternative to implement tolls on Toronto highways

Toronto, Jan 28 : The provincial government announced that it found a better alternative to implementing toll tax on Toronto highways.





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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced at a press conference in Richmond Hill, near Toronto this morning about her governments decision to double the provincial gas tax allotted to transit funding from two cents per litre to four cents per litre.Wynne pointed out that this increase will provide Toronto with approximately $170 million annually; but will not increase the amount Ontarians pay at the gas pumps.So while the share of the gas tax that goes to your local transit agencies will increase, the price that you pay for gasoline itself, will not increase with this investment, she said, CTVNews Toronto reports said.The province had already committed $334.5 million from the provincial gas tax to 99 municipalities across the province. The boost will bring that number to $401.3 million between 2019 and 2020 and will continue to increase to a projected $481.5 million between 2020 and 2021.The announcement was made a month after Toronto City Council voted 32-9 in favour of the right of province to introduce road tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway.But Torontos Mayor John Tory argued citys gain of $170 million will fail to meet the target.The money generated from the tolls would have paved the way for much-needed, but unfunded transit infrastructure, including SmartTrack, and the rerouting of the Gardiner Expressway.Wynnes decision to reject Torys proposal was based on the fact that Tory did not give better affordability options for the commuters and added that her plan would fetch the city the same amount of money that was put forward in Torys proposal.Tory told reporters at a news conference following Wynnes announcement that Wynnes plans were short-sighted and it will hurt the Ontario residents, especially some of the most vulnerable people that need transit and housing the most.City staff previously estimated that a $2 toll on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway would generate approximately $166 million annually. However they had also floated the idea of a higher toll, that would have generated more than that.Transit riders were also not thrilled about Wynnes announcement.Transit advocate Sarah Thomson told CP24 To turn around and say Oh we are going to mess things up because we talked to a few people outside the city that may have to pay the toll is not taking into account the long-term plan for the city and what the right thing to do is, she said. Tolls are inevitable. Every major city has tolls. We need the tolls and we need them dedicated to transit.On the other hand, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie told CTV News Toronto that she welcomed the announcement made by Wynne.Crombie said that the gas tax will require the City of Mississauga and the rest of the 905 to reinvest in transit projects and transit infrastructure but she figured out an additional $33 million worth of investment to upgrade the transit projects.Crombie argued that Torys advocacy for road tolls, would unfairly hit the 905 population, their businesses as well as the tourism industry.(Reported by Asha Bajaj, Image of Premier Kathleen Wynne: Wikipedia)
Narendra Modi to address Mann Ki Baat today

New Delhi, Jan 29 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will address his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat.





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Modi tweeted: Tune in to #MannKiBaat today at 11 AM. Will specially urge my young friends to join.Modi has urged students and teachers to share their exam experiences for the latest edition of Mann Ki Baat.Image: NarendraModi Twitter page
Lobby of separatists not by conviction, but by convenience: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi [India], Jan. 29 : Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Dr Jitendra Singh has taken a jibe at separatists and stated that their lobby is not by conviction but by convenience.





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"This so called lobby of separatists are not separatists by conviction but by convenience," he said.Addressing a round table conference on "Counter Terrorism", Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has taken decisive steps against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.He also said that military strike inside Pakistan territory gave a befitting response to Islamabad's mischief."What Pakistan is doing is very clear, the point is not what they are doing but what we are doing," added Singh.He also said that the section of citizens who tend to speak for Pakistan, don't have the courage to utter a word when human rights violation happen on the other side.On Pakistan, Singh said, "when your jawans get killed, they're hesitant to even pay homage. They're so much worked up at some Burhan Wani or someone else."He also said that remonetisation has drastically reduced terror-related transactions and Hawala funding."What Pakistan is doing is very clear. The point is not what they are doing but what we are doing," he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Afghanistan is experiencing a "large influx" of returning refugees that is severely testing the country's ability to absorb so many displaced people.

In a report issued this week, the IMF said more than 700,000 refugees returned to Afghanistan last year, mainly from Pakistan, but also from Iran, Europe, and elsewhere.

"This is seriously aggravating the government's capacity to absorb refugees in an already difficult environment of high unemployment and internally displaced people after decades of conflict," it said.

The organization urged the country to strengthen internal coordination and planning and said the international community needs to play a role in providing financing and humanitarian support to avert a crisis.

The IMF said that many of those coming from Pakistan are not coming "voluntarily."

It said analysts estimate that up to 2.5 million more will return over the next 18 months, representing almost 10 percent of the Afghan population.

Decades of war and instability have driven millions of Afghans from their homes and out of the country.

Millions of refugees returned to Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion of 2001 drove the Taliban from power, but security has deteriorated since 2014, when most NATO combat forces had withdrawn from the country.

The security situation now remains difficult in many areas of the country, with militant groups like the so-called Islamic State (IS) battling Afghan government forces and remaining U.S.-led forces.

"Many of the Afghans who lived abroad for decades are returning to a country facing conflict, insecurity, and widespread poverty," the IMF said.

"Given the difficult economic climate, prospects for returnees are generally poor," it added. 'While there are also wealthier returnees, a typical returning refugee has a high risk of falling into poverty.
Larsen and Toubro Q3 profit up 39 pct, cuts FY17 revenue growth guidance to 10 pct

New Delhi [India], Jan 29 : Construction major Larsen and Toubro on Saturday announced its consolidated profit in Q3, which has increased 39 percent year-on-year to Rs. 972.4 crore.





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The company announced a slash in its full year revenue growth guidance to 10 percent from 12-15 percent earlier due to challenging business conditions.It recorded consolidated revenue for the quarter at Rs. 26,286 crore, a growth of only 1.4 percent on yearly basis due to delay in execution of projects despite healthy order book. It was mainly impacted by infrastructure, power, heavy engineering, electrical and automation and developmental projects businesses.In its filing, the company reported that it aided cost optimization through supply chain efficiencies, productivity enhancement through digitalization and working capital reduction, and is hopeful of a satisfactory performance given the current business environment.The engineering major garnered fresh orders worth Rs. 34,885 crore in the quarter gone by, down 10 percent YoY amid subdued business environment but that was far better than analysts' expectations of Rs. 25,000-30,000 crore.Also, the company's order inflow includes international orders worth Rs. 11,865 crore. With this, total order inflow for nine months period stood at Rs. 95,706 crore.Now the company is required to report fresh orders worth Rs. 58,000 crore in Q4FY17 to meet its full year guidance of 15 percent growth over FY16."Delays in obtaining clearances and work slowdown, due to abrupt liquidity constraints of customers aggravated by demonetisation, impacted progress of jobs under execution especially in buildings and factories business," said L&T.Power business slipped 22.84 percent to Rs. 1,632.96 crore due to low order book, and its EBIT plunged sharply by 88.6 percent to Rs. 11.90 crore compared with year-ago period. Heavy engineering revenue declined 6.3 percent year-on-year to Rs. 870.33 crore but the segment turned profitable at EBIT level with income of Rs. 126.17 crore against loss of Rs. 11.82 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.The hydrocarbon business during the quarter rose by 13.4 percent to Rs. 2,402.28 crore and its EBIT stood at Rs. 148.42 crore against loss of Rs. 4.55 crore in year-ago period. On standalone basis, profit jumped 24.2 percent year-on-year to Rs. 954.17 crore and operating profit grew by 52 percent to Rs. 1,351 crore with margin expansion of 280 basis points but revenue increased only 0.5 percent to Rs. 15,946.20 crore in the quarter gone by.
Narendra Modi addresses students in Mann Ki Baat

New Delhi, Jan 29 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday is addressing his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat.





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Modi is dedicating the address to students and teachers.He has urged students not to run behind marks.PM Modi asked students to smile more to score more.
Mission with clear ambition is eventual way to success: PM Modi tells students

New Delhi, [India], Jan 29, : Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, while addressing his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', tried to relate sense of mission with ambition to encourage the students to score better in examinations.





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"Once you have a clear ambition with a mission to succeed it, you need not worry about the marks in the exams. You will automatically score better," Prime Minister Modi said while answering a student who asked whether scoring higher marks in exams was mandatory."No one cares to know with how much marks he got through the exam. People are more interested in the fact that he is a doctor and would certainly serve his patients with his knowledge, skills and expertise," he added.The Prime Minister further said restricting oneself to a limited amount of course or knowledge might harm one from achieving success.The Prime Minister also motivated students to compete with oneself instead of competing with others."Self competition would help students in improvising in every single aspect and step."He reiterated on the importance of self-introspection, which would lead to a better individual."Start comparing yourself with the way you used to be and the way you are now," he said."In that way changes in students can be easily found which otherwise would lead the way to betterment," he added.This motivational speech of Prime Minister Modi would definitely be a pathway to the students to accomplish the right amount of success and would surely eliminate the fear of scoring better marks in the examination.
BSP is hidden partner of Cong-SP alliance, mocks BJP

New Delhi [India], Jan. 29 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday alleged that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi praising former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati clearly indicates that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a hidden partner of the alliance.





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"The way Rahul ji was praising Mayawati, I feel that BSP is also a hidden partner of this alliance," Union Minister Kalraj Mishra told ANI.He said that the Congress and Samajwadi Party have joined hands as they are aware of the fact that their defeat is certain in the assembly elections."SP has realised that their defeat is definite in the upcoming elections. With this dampened spirit, they thought to ally with the Congress. Congress felt that their existence will fade from Uttar Pradesh and so they thought to join hands with the SP. Rahul Gandhi himself said that they are entering into an alliance to strengthen the party," he said.Holding both the parties responsible for ruining the country, Mishra said the people of Uttar Pradesh have rejected them."They have realised that one (Congress) destroyed the country and the other (SP) destroyed the state," he said.Addressing a joint press briefing with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh earlier this afternoon, Gandhi said that he has immense respect for Mayawati despite the fact that her government made some mistakes during its rule in the state , adding that her ideology was not dangerous unlike the BJP.Uttar Pradesh will be voting for a new state assembly in a seven-phase election between February 11 and March 8. Out of the 403 assembly seats, Congress will be contesting in 105 seats and the Samajwadi Party will field its candidates in rest of the 298 seats.
What a Dream It Is: Lindsay Lohan on meeting President of Turkey

London [UK], Jan. 29 : Lindsay Lohan, who kicked off the New Year by deleting all of her Instagram posts, has recently returned to the platform with a bang.





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The 30-year-old posted about a meeting she had with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey and described it as a 'dream'.'What a dream it is for Mr. President Erdogan and The First Lady to invite me to their home. Their efforts in helping Syrian Refugees is truly inspiring,' she wrote in her caption.She added: '#peace starts now @a_boynukalin @hilalkaplanogut @rterdogan please for peace @therealdonaldtrump Alaikum Salam' and ultimately closed out: '#cleanslate2017 #theworldisbiggerthan5'In another post, Lohan shared a photo of her sitting with a group including President Erdogan and his wife in the president's lavish 1,150-room complex.'This. Now. This moment. A moment in time. Is to forever exist. #peace #2017 #theworldisbiggerthan5 hashtag yourself to help the Turkish people and what they do everyday. #theyearoflindsaylohan #sevenwonders @rterdogan #lohanclub is a form of making others happy,' she captioned.Lohan had previously expressed support for Turkey's efforts to host nearly three million Syrians fleeing their nation's five-year war, the State-run Anadolu news agency said as reported by the Daily Mail.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy and windy with periods of rain this morning. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 50. Winds SSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low 42F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
I hadn't seen The Flying Saucer before. It's a 1950 low budget Indy film that stars Mikel Conrad and Pat Garrison. Mikel wrote the story that was turned into a script by Howard Irving Young. Mikel directed and produced the film but he was mostly an actor. I don't remember ever running across his name before but I see he was in several movies. I haven't seen most of them. Just before this movie he was in Abbott And Costello Meet The Killer Boris Karloff and after this he was in Francis The Talking Mule. His last film was Godzilla, King Of The Monsters. He only directed this one film.

Here's Pat and Mikel in Alaska. Mikel is a playboy that reluctantly takes on a job from a man in American Intelligence who wants Mikel to go to Alaska to investigate the sighting of a flying saucer. Pat is his nurse, their cover story is Mikel has had a nervous breakdown and he's returning home to Alaska with a nurse. They rent a cabin with a secret Soviet spy for a houseman. They set up investigating and eventually get some clues to the whereabouts of the saucer. It turns out a scientist, Roy Engel, has created the thing and Denver Pyle is his assistant. The Soviet spies are after the ship too and there's a bit of action when the American's and the Soviets come head to head.

It's not a great movie but I enjoyed enough of it to give it a 4 on the IMDb. It's currently scoring a 3.8 there and the largest number of votes, 21 percent, are a 4. There's some nice footage shot in Alaska but the story, and it's execution, are typical of a 1930s serial. You could see worse but so many are better. I found a copy on YouTube a while ago but it seems to have disappeared. You can see the trailer.

The Revenge Of The Teenage Vixens From Outer Space is a 1985 low budget comedy SF film directed by Jeff A Ferrell. He co-wrote the script with Michelle Lichter. It's Jeff's only movie, he was also the producer and cinematographer, his only interesting credit, at least to me, is he was the biker coordinator on the Twin Peaks pilot. Michelle played a scientist in the film and was also a producer, make up artist and editor. She has no other credits and neither does Lisa Schwedop who plays Karla. That's Lisa up by the crappy DVD cover. Too bad she never made another movie, she was OK in this.

Some alien teens come to California to breed with humans. They have no men on their planet, the aliens use plant mater for reproduction, but they like a bit of rumpy-pumpy once in a while. They aren't very nice, stealing the local girl's boyfriends by the hand full. Turns out the science teacher had mated with one of the alien women on a previous trip to Earth. His son is half alien but doesn't know it until the events of the movie unfold. He hooks up with Karla and they try to save the locals when the alien vixens start turning the human's into vegetables.

It's all pretty goofy and while it's not anything than about average I had a laugh or two. You can check it out on YouTube and maybe have a laugh too.
Columnist

Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich).
New Delhi: It is not feasible to extend alternative voting rights to 'domestic migrants' as of now on the lines of service voters or overseas Indians, the Election Commission has said.



A report prepared by a committee for the Commission on the issue said since it is difficult for it to track the movement of such migrants, extending them alternative voting rights such as e-ballot is not feasible at present, sources said quoting the document.



The Commission is of the view that 'domestic migrants' can register themselves as voters in the area they move for employment.



The rules, sources in the Commission said, are easy for anyone to register as a voter. As per rules, the day a person moves in at a new address, he or she is free to apply as a voter.



But such options can be explored when stronger and better data are available on such voters, sources said quoting the report.



The report has been submitted to the government as well as the Supreme Court which was hearing a case related to alternative voting rights, the sources said.



Section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, dealing with the definition of 'ordinary citizen' and Section 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, dealing with 'special procedure for voting by certain classes of persons', will have to be amended to grant alternative voting options.



In 2015, several Rajya Sabha members had slammed the government for ignoring migrant workers while looking to grant alternative voting facility to overseas Indians.



Following the demand, an inter-ministerial group was asked by the Prime Minister's Office to look into the feasibility of granting domestic migrant workers alternative voting facility.



The panel also looked into the feasibility of bringing a bill to extend such alternative rights to overseas Indians.



The service voters were later added as part of the terms of reference of the group.



The service voters have recently been allowed to receive their postal ballot through electronic means by changing electoral rules.



A draft bill to extend e-postal ballot and proxy voting facility to overseas Indian voters came up before Cabinet on January 24, but the matter was deferred.
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Jaipur: A teenager died while 45 others were injured after nearly 35 vehicles rammed into each other amid fog on the Jaipur-Agra National Highway on Sunday.



"The accident took place between Bassi and Kanota near Jaipur when one of the vehicle's driver applied brakes all of a sudden and hit a truck. Due to poor visibility, one after the other vehicles collided," SHO Kanota Police Station, Gauri Shankar Bohara told PTI.



A total of 35 vehicles were involved in the collision. He said the vehicles were coming from Bassi to Jaipur.



The deceased has been identified as Sahil (19) from Dausa district, police.



The accident disrupted traffic on the highway which remained jammed for nearly two hours.


New Delhi: Consider exams as pleasure not pressure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told students in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address on Sunday, adding that gaining knowledge was a more important goal than gaining marks.



"Expectations are the root cause of all sorts of problems Competing with others can make you unhappy and jealous. Compete with yourself and you will be energised and more determined to excel," he said.



"Concentrate on how to work hard and increase your knowledge bank. There are few who get good marks in exam but fail in real life," he said.



Modi also paid a tribute to soldiers who died in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir. "When we were happily celebrating Republic Day, soldiers were killed in an avalanche," he said. "I salute them."



In the beginning of the address, he appealed to the youth to observe two-minute silence in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, Martyrs' Day. He also asked them to share the story of this year's Ashok Chakra winner on social media.


Indore: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday awarded life-imprisonment to four including Zahida Parvez prime accused of RTI activist Shehla Masoods murder while clemency was offered to fifth accused Irfan who had turned government witness in the case.



The high-profile murder case had hit national headlines after names of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, a RSS functionary and several others figured in the probe.



A big crowd was witnessed in the court premises since the decision was to be delivered and after the accused were produced in the court, the court delivered the verdict handing life-imprisonment to Zahida, Saba Faruqui, Shaquib ad Tabish while Irfan was acquitted in the case as he turned approver.



On Aug 16, 2011, the event management executive turned RTI-activist Shehla had been found dead with bullet shot on the neck inside her car just outside her residence in Koh-e-Fiza area in Bhopal. Police dubbed it as suicide and after all around furore, the probe was handed over to CBI on August 19 and the apex investigation agency had on September 3, 2011 had registered a case and undertook the probe of this alleged murder.



After scanning lakhs of phone calls and quizzing hundreds of persons, the CBI had netted prime accused Zahida, Shehlas old acquaintance, her fried Saba and contract killers Irfan, and his aides Shaquib Danger and Tabish.



The prime accused Zahida after the verdict accused CBI of forging facts and evidences against her while talking to newsmen. We got this extreme verdict without any concrete evidence and witnesses, its nothing but CBI pressure which rules the roost in MP, she alleged.



Meanwhile, it took around five years and half, 137 hearings and 83 witnesses for CBI to bring the accused to book.



Evidences which the CBI compiled in the case suggested that Zahida had an affair with the then BJP legislator Dhruv Narayan Singh and as Shehla too came close to the MLA, Zahida out of jealousy hired contract killers and got her eliminated. The CBI had arrested Zahida, her friend Saba in Feb 2012 and Kanpur based sharp shooter Irfan and his aides in March 2012.



The matter had snowballed into major controversy as Shehla prior to her death was pursuing scores of corruption cases in Madhya Pradesh through her RTI queries.
Bengaluru: Indian IT, Biotech and pharma industries will not be impacted due to Donald Trump's policies as the US is expected to continue "the commerce-related attitude" towards the country, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers H N Ananth Kumar on Saturday said.



"Prime Minister has already had a telephonic conversation with the US President (Trump). As per the relations, we have been having with the US, I don't think there will be any change in the attitude of the US in terms of commerce-related issues. I also don't think, there will be any problem for the Indian IT, BT and pharmaceutical industries," Kumar said.



He was replying to a query on Trump's policy of protectionism at a news conference to announce the "Indian Pharma" and "India Medical Devices-2017" international conference scheduled to be held here from February 11 to 13.



Some of the key Indian companies have been sceptical about Trump's stress on protectionism, including the IT industry. IT industry body Nasscom has been wary about Trump's statement on visa-related issues.



Trump had said one of his first executive orders would be to order an investigation into all visa abuses, which industry watchers say could mean facing tough scrutiny under his administration by foreigner workers, including Indians.



Replying to a query, Kumar said a notification to fix prices of cardiac stents will be issued by the Central government in the next 10 to 15 days.



"We have issued a notification of price fixation for stents. I expect within next 15 days, the notification will come before the entire country and all the cardiac stents - steel or cobalt, their prices will be reduced in a great way and controlled as well," he said.



The health ministry had included stents last July in the National List of Essential Medicines, whereby the device came under the purview of price control of the government, Kumar said.



"The step was taken as it was felt that the margin for hospitals in terms of MRP of the stents was too high. The government based its decision on a sub-committee report that recommended putting all types of stents into the list," he said.



Asked about the action the government has taken against drugmaker Abbot India for alleged marketing malpractices, Kumar said, "Whenever a complaint comes to us in written format, we immediately take action on it."



Abbot India has been accused, in a report submitted by the British Medical Journal, of pushing its untested drug Surbex Star through free medical camps. The report also said the company s salespersons, or medical representatives, screened and tested patients who came to the camps.



Kumar said the government was contemplating making mandatory the Uniform Code for Pharma Marketing Practices which is voluntary till now. "We have come out with a code of conduct for marketing practices, but because the code of conduct was voluntary it was not adhered to properly. Therefore, after reviewing it, we are thinking of making this code of conduct mandatory."



Asked about his Ministry's Budget wishlist, Kumar said: "The proposal is that inverted taxes for both pharma and chemicals and petrochemicals industries should be rectified."



Under inverted tax structure, duties on finished goods are lower than the import duty on raw materials.



However, in the last two years, as many as 76 drugs and formulations suffering from inverted duties have been rationalised.



"This year too, wherever such a situation arose, I have brought to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's notice," Kumar said.




The Uttar Pradesh polls will not exactly be a referendum on the demonetisation drive of the Narendra Modi Government but if the Opposition wants to play it that way then the BJP is game for it, party national president Amit Shah told Network18 in an exclusive interview.There are so many anti-incumbency issues in UP. Still, if the Opposition wants to do a referendum on demonetisation, we are ready for it. People of UP are with BJP on the issue of demonetisation, Shah told Network 18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi.The BJP president claimed his party would capture power in the politically crucial state with a 2/3rd majority in the assembly polls slated to begin next month. He accused the ruling Samajwadi Party and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of playing up their family feud so as to brush under the carpet what he called serious issues of law and order collapse and rampant corruption.Shah also played down recent comments made by RSS spokesperson Manohan Vaidya on reservations and said the remarks were taken out of context. Both BJP and RSS have made it amply clear that in the prevailing situation the current system of reservation must continue. There is no question of revisiting the issue, he said. Vaidya was answering a query on reservation based on religion, which BJP is also against, he said.When asked why the Ram Temple issue suddenly cropped up in the BJP poll manifesto even when the party has clarified it is fighting the polls on developmental issues, Shah said BJP is very clear about building the Ram temple. It can only be done under the Constitutional provisions: either through dialogue or through court order. Yes, we are definitely committed to building a Ram temple, but within the Constitutional provisions, he said.The BJP chief took strong exception to allegations that his party was practicing the politics of polarization. There is a lot of anger in UP. If a leader questions the politics of appeasement and casteism being practised in UP, you cant call that polarization, he said. Shah also said his party was of the firm view that Triple Talaq curtails fundamental rights of women guaranteed by the Constitution.He made it evident that the BJP campaign in UP will veer around the collapse of law and order under the Akhilesh Yadav government, and stressed on issues like womens security and increasing migration.As for the other elections happening along with UP, Shah said his party will win Uttarakhand easily while in Punjab it was a triangular fight. As for sending Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar back to Goa as CM if the party comes back to power, Shah had this to say: The party has not yet decided to send Manohar Parrikar back to Goa as CM. What we have said is that if people of Goa and the elected MLAs want, both the options are open.
A photo posted by BiGBoss.10  (@bigboss.season.10) on Jan 29, 2017 at 5:57am PST

Follow  @mtv.roadiesrising Celebs dancing with salman A photo posted by BIGG BOSS (@colorstv.biggboss) on Jan 29, 2017 at 4:07am PST

We are just hours away from knowing the name of Bigg Boss 10 winner and as the big hour approaches, we can prepare ourselves for the fun planned for the finalist today. After an excruciating journey of 105 days, four finalists Manveer Gujjar, Bani Judge, Lopamudra Raut and Manu Punjabi are set to lift the winner's trophy tonight.Bigg Boss host Salman Khan will be joined by Kaabil actors Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam and the trio will have some fun with the finalists.Salman and Hrithik will also shake a leg together, imitating Roshan's popular steps.It's not just the hosts who will have all the fun. The finalists who have just gotten a makeover pre-Finale will be seen having a dance off.The finalists will also see some visitors inside the house for the last time.Bigg Boss 8 finalist Karishma Tanna and Naagin actor Mouni Roy will also dance with Salman.The fun quotient would be doubled when ex- Bigg Boss 10 housemates will grove along with the host and bat for their favourite to win the show.May the best woman/man wins the trophy, while we enjoy Salman Khan at his best.




Mumbai: The makers of Padmavati on Saturday clarified that there is no dream sequence or objectionable scene between the characters of Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji and said the attack on the film's director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was "uncalled for".



"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'," said an official statement issued on behalf of Bhansali.



"SLB had directed the opera 'Padmavati' to packed houses in Paris and earned worldwide praise for it. He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story.



"We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film... The attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur," the statement added.



The statement also mentioned that the entire crew of "Padmavati" is "grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage.



"We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," the statement read.



On Friday, the activists of a Rajput organisation, Karni Sena, entered the Jaigarh Fort and assaulted Bhansali, slapped him and tore up his shirt.



They even misbehaved with the crew and criticised the National Award-winning director for "distorting" history in the film about the medieval-era Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati.



They damaged cameras and other equipment, forcing Bhansali to stop shooting.



The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in leading roles.


The BJP will come to power with a 2/3rd majority in Uttar Pradesh, party national president Amit Shah told Network18 in an exclusive interview, adding that the voters were smart enough to see through Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadavs attempts to use the Samajwadi Party family drama to cover up his poor track record.The BJP is pitted against a formidable alliance that saw SP chief Akhilesh and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi sharing stage for the first time on Sunday. Talking to Network 18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, the BJP chief conceded his main rival was the SP-Congress combo, but he said Akhileshs failure to ensure rule of law will be his undoing.Massive cattle theft has robbed people of their livelihoods, families are being raped in highways, parents are afraid to send their girls to colleges, and people are migrating because of fear and joblessness... The election will be on this issue (of law & order). Akhilesh is wrong if he thinks he can fool people with his family drama and an alliance, Shah said.The UP assembly polls are crucial for both Amit Shah and Modi not the least because of the political significance of grabbing power Indias most populous state. Successive drubbings in Delhi and Bihar had put question marks on the high command structure of the BJP where the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo takes all crucial decisions. Besides, this would be the first major poll after the demonetisation drive announced by PM Modi last November, a defeat in UP will be interpreted by Opposition as a thumbs down to note ban.Talking to Network18, Shah said he believed demonetisation will help BJP in UP. However, he was reluctant to call the polls a referendum on the decision. It wont be correct to say the UP polls would be a referendum on note ban. Because in UP there are so many anti-incumbency issues. But if the Opposition wants a referendum on note ban, we are open to it. In the issue of not ban, the people of UP are with BJP. And they will vote on the lotus symbol, he said.Shah also sought to play down recent comments made by RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya on reservations and said the remarks were taken out of context. Both BJP and RSS have made it amply clear that in the prevailing situation the current system of reservation must continue. There is no question of revisiting the issue, he said.Shah made it amply clear that BJP would take on the alliance with law and order as the major focus. He also rubbished allegations that the partys emphasis on womens security, cattle theft and exodus was part of a strategy to keep the communal cauldron burning.UP presents a peculiar condition. There's anger among the general public. If someone speaks up against the politics of appeasement and vote bank, he is only articulating public mood. But I agree there should be no communal agenda in polls. If we appeal to shut mechanised slaughterhouses, then it cannot be called communal, we are doing it for the farmers. A taskforce against exodus in western UP cant be termed communal, it is a constitutional right of the people. In UP, people have stopped sending their daughters to colleges because the girls get harassed. We have promised that BJP will form an anti-Romeo Squad to save these girls. This is not communal, Shah said.When asked why the Ram Temple issue suddenly cropped up in the BJP poll manifesto even when the party has clarified it is fighting the polls on developmental issues, Shah said BJP is very clear about building the Ram temple. It can only be done under the Constitutional provisions: either through dialogue or through court order. Yes, we are definitely committed to building a Ram temple, but within the Constitutional provisions, he said.Shah also said his party was of the firm view that triple talaq curtails fundamental rights of women guaranteed by the Constitution.As for the other elections happening along with UP, Shah said his party will win Uttarakhand easily while in Punjab it was a triangular fight. As for sending Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar back to Goa as CM if the party comes back to power, Shah had this to say: The party has not yet decided to send Manohar Parrikar back to Goa as CM. What we have said is that if people of Goa and the elected MLAs want, both the options are open.Shah also dismissed charges that BJP was embracing dynasty politics by allotting tickets to the kith and kin of party leaders. In the interview, he sought to make a distinction between BJP and Congress on this matter.In BJP, family members of leaders are free to work hard for the party, run for elections and become MLAs. But whether they will become CM or not depends solely on their merit. So lets not have simplistic definitions on dynasty politics, he said.If Rahul Gandhi has a child, there is no confusion then who will be the next Congress president. But can you guess who will be the next BJP president? No you cannot. This is the difference between the BJP and all other parties, he said.Shah said he wanted the party to do better bin the 2019 general elections than it did in 2014. Ruling out any plans to return to his home state of Gujarat as chief minister, Shah said he had no time to think of such things because he was focused on the 2019 polls.
Krishna, who was the state Chief Minister from 1999 to 2004 and a former Maharashtra Governor, is reportedly miffed at being in the party, with which he has more than five-decades-old association.

Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and senior Congress leader SM Krishna resigned from Congress Working Committee and Congress Party. pic.twitter.com/Ge6c63EQPD  ANI (@ANI_news) January 28, 2017

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader SM Krishna has resigned from the primary membership of the party, sources close to him said.84-year old Krishna has written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi conveying his decision, a party inside said.Asked about it, the former Minister for External Affairs declined to react, saying, "tomorrow. tomorrow."Krishna has called a press conference on Sunday, where he is expected to give details about his decision and his future plan of action.He had returned to the state in 2012 but had been maintaining a low profile in the last two years.As the news broke out, apparently surprised state Congress leaders said they were not aware of the development and rushed to his residence to meet Krishna who was away at a function."I am not aware of it. If it is true, I can't even believe it. I do not want to react now," KPCC President and state Home Minister G Parameshwara told reporters."We had not sidelined him in any matter from any angle. He is one of the most likeable leaders of our party...the party had not sidelined him," he said.State Congress Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao also said he had no information."Without officially knowing I can't react. Krishna is a senior leader who has always played politics with dignity. He has always played positive politics," he said.The development has hit the Karnataka Congress at a time when a section of partymen are unhappy over the style of functioning of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is also facing an aggressive BJP which is hoping to stage a comeback to power in the 2018 Assembly polls.
WATCH: Mexican Conjoined Twins Open Up About How They Manage Romantic Relationships
Jind (Haryana): The fresh round of agitations over reservation called by a section of Jats on Sunday will continue until the Haryana government gives a written assurance, said Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti chief Jai Singh Fauji.



Fauji held a meeting with the community leaders in Narvana and decided to go ahead with a fresh round of quota agitation for which the state has been put on maximum alert.



"We will continue the agitation till the time the government does not give us an assurance in written about the reservation agreement," he told reporters after the meeting.



On a question about khaps not supporting the agitation, Fauji said that people who are making these comments are the ones who have been expelled from the khaps and people like these are no significance.



He said during the agitation in February, last year the state government set an SIT and booked them in cases when they did not even pluck a branch from a tree.



Meanwhile, Haryana has been put on maximum alert and as a precautionary measure, section 144 has been imposed in sensitive districts, including Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, and at other places in the state.



Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Ram Niwas said, "We are fully geared up to deal with the situation. Although the leaders of various agitating organisations have promised to hold dharnas in a peaceful manner, yet the administration is fully geared up to maintain law and order."



The Haryana government has sent a requisition for 55 companies (about 5,500 personnel) of Central paramilitary forces and has also issued call out notice to depute 7,000 Home Guards in the state.



Rapid Action Force personnel have been deputed at Munak canal, which was damaged by the protesters during last year's agitation for reservation.



All Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police have been directed to ensure that highways and railway tracks are not obstructed and properties are not damaged, they said.







In 2016, 30 deaths and widespread destruction of property were reported during a similar stir in Haryana.



(With PTI inputs)








New Delhi: Ending all speculation about his return to Gujarat politics anytime in the near future, BJP president Amit Shah has said he is here to stay in national politics.



In an exclusive interview to Network 18, Shah said that there is no question of me returning to Gujarat. And I am in central politics only.



Whats more, he has also indicated his willingness to shepherd the party in the next general elections in 2019.



This is no time to think of that. My first objective is that BJP win 2019 with a bigger margin than 2014,"Shah responded on being probed about his future plans, especially regarding joining government.



The first statement about continuing in national politics is definitive. The issue first came to the fore in the run up to the leadership change in Gujarat when Anandiben Patel was on her way out.



There were reports in a section of the media that Shah was one of the possible replacements. The question was whether Prime Minister could ask his trusted lieutenant to lead the state where BJP has not lost any elections in the last 25 years.



In a quick turn of events, Shah was able to install a close aide of his Vijay Rupani as the chief minister. But even that hasnt stamped out speculations within the party. Now people ask if Rupani is keeping the thrown ready if BJP were to win power in Gujarat again.



In this interview to Network 18, Shah it seems is attempting to put a lid to all such talks.



Moreover ahead of any state Assembly polls, political pundits link election results to its impact on the current dispensation in the BJP.



A defeat in Bihar resulted in the Margdarshak Mandal writing open letter seeking introspection. On the other hand, a victory in Assam consolidated both Modi and Shah within and outside the party.



But there are some in the BJP who feel the entire debate is misplaced and irrespective of the outcome in any state polls, Shah is here to stay at the helm of affairs.



Did anything affect Shahs political prospects after Bihar? So all this is mere conjecture and will remain that, says a BJP insider.



The second assertion by the BJP President, in the interview to Network 18, is interesting in the sense that it indicates who would head the organisation when party faces the electorate in the next general elections.



Shah would complete his first term as party president in January 2019. Modi government completes its five year term in May, 2019.



BJP constitution stipulates Party President can get maximum two three year terms in office.



It is important to clarify here that Shah first became BJP President after Rajnath Singh joined Modi government after 2014 election victory. So technically till January 2016, he was completing Rajnaths remaining tenure of three years, and consequently is entitled to another shot at the top post.



Moreover it is also quite unlikely BJP would want to disrupt the system put in place just ahead of the next general elections.






Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address an election rally on Sunday at Anaj Mandi in Kotakpura in Faridkot district of Punjab ahead of the Assembly polls in the state next on February 4.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley will also be touring Punjab for poll campaigning.

Meanwhile, ex-PM Manmohan Singh will also visit the Atam Nagar constituency in Ludhiana to address a political rally today.

Stay tuned for Live updates

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As the race for Uttar Pradesh enters the last lap, Amit Shah has gone back to the basics albeit with an improvisation of sorts.The larger theme for the BJP this election remains the performance of the Samajwadi Party government on the law and order front. But very subtly the BJP president is now attempting to dovetail it with issues that can potentially resurrect the communal cauldron.In his first big interview before the five-state elections, Amit Shah was asked by Network18 Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi if the party was pursuing a soft Hindutva line to mobilise votes in Uttar Pradesh.And this was Shahs response: Please don't see a ban on slaughterhouses from that point of view. In all of UP  whether it is western UP, Awadh, Rohailkhand, Purvanchal  you will see that due to slaughterhouses, cows that give milk are finished. We want to prevent cattle smuggling and slaughter. Today even FIRs are not registered in UP in such cases.Now sample this. On being asked to respond to rabble rousers in the party, Shah replies, Please do not link this with the BJP. UP presents a peculiar condition. There's anger among the general public. People are reflecting the public mood against the politics of appeasement and vote bank. If someone speaks up against the politics of appeasement and vote bank, he is only articulating public mood.The BJP was off the block quite early in its preparations for the high stake battle in UP. The blueprint was clear. Attack the SP government saddled with chachass et al on the prevailing law and order situation in the state. Mathura clash and Bulandshahr road rapes only underscored this narrative.But the fast-paced Yadav family soap opera overwhelmed just about any political discourse in the last four months. In between, BJP attempted to create its own distinct narrative spun around two surgical strikes: one across the border and the other on black money. Four months after the Army neutralised terror camps across Line of Control, is it really an election issue in UP? Or for that matter was the midnight demonetisation going to fetch votes anywhere?The party manifesto speaks for itself. Mechanical abattoirs, triple talaq, Ram Mandir, it has everything.Its a peek into what is going to be a high voltage campaign for a high-stake battle.
Bengaluru: Veteran Congress leader SM Krishna announced that he is retiring from active politics on Sunday.



"This is the most painful period of my lifefor the past 40 years I have served the party," the 84-year-old leader said at a press conference in Bengaluru.



Expressing belief that Congress is still a force in the country, he said, " Today I feel Congress is in a dilemma about whether they need leaders who have a connect with the people. I feel the party needs no mass leaders. They only need managers."



"My loyalty towards congress never wavered. They only need people who can tide over the crisis," he added.



Krishna has served as Karnataka chief minister, Maharashtra governor and speaker of the Karnataka Assembly. He has been credited with putting Bengaluru on the global map by steering the IT revolution in the state.



He is believed to have written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, informing her that he would no longer be able to play an active role in politics.



The Congress in Karnataka was caught unaware when the news about Krishna's decision broke on Saturday. Party men are also wondering if Krishna has been feeling a tad neglected, considering he hasn't been invited for any of the partys strategy meetings over issues such as demonetisation.
Rahul Joshi, Group Editor-in-Chief, Network18

The Uttar Pradesh polls will not exactly be a referendum on the demonetisation drive of the Narendra Modi government, but if the Opposition wants to play it that way then the BJP is game for it, BJP chief Amit Shah told Network18 in an exclusive interview.There are so many anti-incumbency issues in UP. Still, if the Opposition wants to do a referendum on demonetisation, we are ready for it, Shah toldThe preamble of our manifesto says that over the last 15 years, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have taken Uttar Pradesh backwards. A comparison with other states in the last 15 years will show UP, despite its huge potential, has seen very little development. This is true if you look from the perspective of governance, administration, law & order, and most of all in the farm and industry sectors. Take employment; there has been little work done. All of this has held back UPs progress. So we have tried to give a platform to build a stronger structure so that in five years the BJP government can leap over the 15 years of developmental backwardness. We will take UP to the level of other developed states in the country.Well, I would say you have to look beyond loan waivers and zero interest loans. Weve also promised to set up a system to buy crops from farmers, start computerised e-mandis so that farmers get a good price for their produce. We will also try to give soil health cards to all farmers in three years. The farmers can assess the fertility of their land, get information on what kind of fertiliser and seed to use etc. Based on all this information, the farmer can increase his yield to help UP make up for all the lost years. Many states have implemented zero-interest loans. The farmers are desperate, we want to give a platform to do much better.Please don't see ban on slaughterhouses from that point of view. In all of UP  whether it is western UP, Awadh, Rohailkhand or Purvanchal  you will see that due to slaughterhouses, cows that give milk are finished. If there is a drought or flood, farmers fall back on cows for sustenance. UP has unlimited potential for milk production. I come from Gujarat where the availability of water is much less than in UP. But dairies have record production there. In UP, we want to prevent cattle smuggling and slaughter. Today, even FIRs are not registered in UP in such cases. We have planned to set up dairies so that farmers will get good prices. This will also help them add value, and improve livelihoods.It is too soon to speak of entire UP, but I strongly believe that in the first and second phases, we will win 90 of the 135 seats.Definitely. We will get a 2/3rd majority.With the alliance between SP and CongressIt is easy to talk theory. Look at the law and order situation in UP. Every girl, whether she is Yadav or from any other community, is harassed. Poor and backward suffer the worst... Urban law and order, too, is worse. That's why there is exodus, everyone is affected. If mothers and daughters are raped on highways like it happened in Bulandshahr... if this is the kind of government we have, then it's everybody's problem. In the heart of Mathura, in Jawaharbagh, a gang led by Ram Vriksh Yadav occupies government land for three years and kills policemen who go there. No law abiding UP citizen can tolerate this situation. The election will be on this issue (of law & order). Akhilesh is wrong if he thinks he can fool people with his family drama and an alliance. That is not going to happen. Law and order is an issue today. Exodus in west UP is an issue. Cow smuggling and slaughter is an issue. Women's security is an issue. Land grab is an issue. Whatever you do, you will have to answer it all.It wont be correct to say the UP polls would be a referendum on note ban. Because in UP there are so many anti-incumbency issues. The mining mafia is running free; if it takes Rs 18 crore per km for constructing a road, tenders are given out for Rs 31 crore, people want to know where the Rs 13 crore have gone. But even then if the Opposition wants a referendum on note ban, we are open to it. In the issue of note ban, the people of UP are with BJP. And they will vote for the lotus symbol.Yes, definitely.I would say if someone wants to analyse the impact of such a historic decision looking at just three months, it would be a tad too fast. This is part of a big strategy. Right from the day the BJP government was sworn in at the Centre, we declared war on black money. The first resolution of the first cabinet meeting was to implement the Supreme Court order to set up a special investigation team on black money. Till then up to demonetisation we have taken around 29 steps in this direction. But if within three months of note ban someone expects black money to be extinguished, then that person needs to understand the principles of economics better.People are spreading this canard that all the money that has come back to the banks has automatically become white. Anyone who has deposited more than Rs 2.5 lakh in banks after demonetisation, there is a list of them, and agencies are working on that. And the government has brought in a tough legislation. The money that has come back to the system will be used for the betterment of the living conditions of the poor. Those who dont have food, those who dont have shelter, those who dont have toilets, those who dont have electricity or drinking water, this money will be used for their upliftment. Up until now, this money was locked up in the coffers of politicians and industrialists. Now it is back in the system.There are schemes in place, more schemes are being chalked out. The Cabinet is working on these decisions.Indias attitude towards Pakistan will depend on Pakistans behaviour. We want good relations with all. Peace with our neighbours is a priority. But if this is seen as our weakness, then that is a mistake. This government is led by Narendra Modi. Putting our soldiers and borders at risk will not be tolerated anymore. Surgical strikes were a decision made of political will. The bravery of the Army ensured it has changed the way the world looks at India today. In the coming days, it will only benefit India.People of the entire nation, except some political leaders, are with us. You would have read Rahul Gandhi's statement of 'khoon ki dalali'. I am yet to understand what he wanted to say.We have a very clear stand on Ram Mandir; that we will explore ways of building a temple within the Constitutional framework. This can be done in two ways: either through dialogue or through a court order.Yes, we are committed. Within the Constitutional structure, we will find ways to build a temple.In 2014, the entire nation wanted a strong leader and the BJP had made the right decision by announcing Narendra Modi as the party's PM candidate, and we fought under his leadership. There was a wave across the nation and UP was no different. I am indebted to the crores of BJP workers who worked tirelessly to convert that wave into votes and scale it up to a tsunami. As a result, NDA got 73 out of 80 seats in UP. It's because of that decision by the people of UP that we are running a government with full majority at Centre. This time around people are tired of the misrule of this alternating governments of SP and BSP. There has been no development in 15 years. Corruption is rampant, law and order has totally collapsed. Youth are leaving the state for jobs in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Bangalore; leaving behind parents and wives. UP has everything. There's water below 50 feet; there is level, fertile lands for kilometers on; there is abundant water, thanks to the blessing of Ganga and Yamuna. And there is the talented, hardworking youth. But there is no development because the system has collapsed.Our party had set up a committee to examine these two defeats. It won't be proper to discuss that in public, but I would like to clarify that both states had peculiar political environments. And we won Assam, all local polls, bypolls, made progress in states like Kerala and Bengal. Approval for Modi has come from across the country.It is not right to say these leaders are leaving their parties. This is political migration. Fed up with dynastic and caste-based politics and naked corruption practiced by parties like BSP, many leaders are leaving their parties and migrating to BJP. I believe that the society will gain from the consolidation of such good leaders. If that consolidation happens towards BJP, it will be good for the country, good for UP. Because India cannot dream of double digit growth without UP growing at double digits.Let me clarify our position here. Dynasty politics is when Akhilesh Yadav becomes CM of UP sidelining all other party leaders. Or when Omar Abdullah becomes CM after Farooq Abdullah. Jawaharlal Nehru followed by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia ruling through Manmohan Singh, and now Rahul That is dynasty politics. In BJP, family members of leaders are free to work hard for the party, run for elections and become MLAs. But whether they will become CM or not depends solely on their merit. So lets not have simplistic definitions on dynasty politics. If Rahul Gandhi has a child, there is no confusion who will be the next Congress president. But can you guess who will be the next BJP president? No, you cannot. This is the difference between the BJP and all other parties. The greatness of BJP is that a man from a poor household can rise up to become the PM... A booth worker like me who used to do wall paintings for the party can become the national president. In this party, there can never be any dynasty politics.Please do not link this with the BJP. UP presents a peculiar condition. There's anger among the general public. People are reflecting the public mood against the politics of appeasement and vote bank. If someone speaks up against the politics of appeasement and vote bank, he is only articulating public mood. But I agree there should be no communal agenda in polls. If we appeal to end mechanised slaughterhouses, then it cannot be called communal, we are doing it for the farmers. A taskforce against exodus in western UP cant be termed communal, it is a constitutional right of the people. In UP, people have stopped sending their daughters to colleges because the girls get harassed. We have promised that BJP will form an anti-Romeo Squad to save these girls. This is not communal. It is the right of every girl to study in her own city or village. That is why it would not be correct to paint everything as communal.Without doubt this is a result of BSP and SP's vote bank and appeasement politics. This would have never happened if the police did their work within the framework of the Constitution. This only happened because police were used to strengthen vote bank politics. Which Constitution mandates that FIRs be registered on the basis of caste and religion? This needs to be stopped.We raised these issues earlier also. When Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh were heading the government, we took steps then and these activities did stop. We have 12 state governments in the country. There's no exodus happening anywhere. It is the police's job to maintain law and order within the framework of the Constitution.No one cared for the sugarcane farmers for a long, long time. But now Modi government has started working to protect the interest of cane farmers. We increased ethanol consumption so that cane farmers get their due. We stopped import so that farmers get the right price for their produce. Export subsidies have meant they get a good price for their produce. Cane farmers did not get their payments in time. We fixed that too. We have said two things in our manifesto. We will deliver the Rs 6,000 crore due to cane farmers within 120 days of coming to power. We will engage the bank and collectors to this effect within 120 days. We will set up a system where they will get a 14-day postdated cheque from the day he offloads cane in the mill. I think this will be a huge step. No one has taken a step like this in 70 years. We will be extending this assistance to all the sugarcane farmers upon assuming office.We have promised an East, West, North & South corridor to the people of UP. We have promised to connect every village to tehsil office by bus. Along with this, we have also said we will improve medical facilities.Neither Mohan Bhagwat said any such thing then, nor has Manmohan Vaidya said any such thing now. Manmohan Vaidya was asked a question on religion-based reservation. But someone took away the question and showed just the reply. This caused the controversy. He clarified the next day. The question very clearly was about his view on the Sachar panel suggestion on religion-based reservation. The Sangh has always said that the present situation needs the existing system of reservation. BJPs position is also clear. Constitutionally mandated provisions of reservation in India, with the cap prescribed by the Supreme Court must continue. This includes SC, ST and OBC. We have miles to go.But now that you have asked this question, I want to ask a question to SP, Congress and BSP. They talk about reservations for minorities. Where will they get it from? The highest court has put a cap of 50 percent. So you cannot go beyond that. Many states have reached 50 percent already within the existing SC, ST and OBC reservations. If they want to give reservation to minorities, then who will they take it away from? SC, ST or OBC? So it is not us who are opposing reservation for Dalits, OBCs and tribals. They are. It is they who talk about giving reservation on religious grounds. They must clarify to the people of UP on whether they want religion-based quotas or not. And if they want it, then they must specify who will they take it away from? We have clarified, now the SP, Congress and BSP should clarify. Grounds of reservation must not be religion. The Constitution does not mandate this. So we must all maintain the existing system.This is always the decision of the parliamentary board. We had no face in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. We won elections in these states. We've had no CM face in most of the elections we won. And, whoever will be our CM face (in UP) will surely be better than theirs. That's certain. People have seen through these faces.We believe that the Constitution mandates every woman should get her rights, and that includes Muslim women. Triple talaq curtails the rights of Muslim women.We will certainly form a government in Uttarakhand by a good margin.See, this is a process. One party is breaking up. And the good people are drifting towards ours. Don't look at this process as defection. This process has happened before elections and not after elections. This is not aaya ram-gaya ram politics.No, the party hasn't taken any such decision as of now that Manohar Parrikar will go back to Goa. We have said that if the people of Goa and elected MLAs feel this way, then both options are open. A decision will be taken by parliamentary board based on legislative party's opinion. We are in a strong position in Goa. For the first time, the state is seeing a government complete its full term. Congress had 12 CMs in the first 10 years. Goa's growth had come to a standstill.We had two because one had to move to the Centre. Parrikar didnt have to leave because of any infighting. One CM became the Defence Minister, that's why we had another one. Had Parrikar not come to the Centre, he would have completed his five-year term as CM.As I said, we have kept that open ended.It is a triangular contest in Punjab. BJP-SAD is in the fray with full force. A tremendously talented man like Parkash Singh Badal is leading the charge there. There are very few leaders like Badal sahab in this country today.This is not our decision but that of the Shiv Sena. We have an open mind and they are our trusted ally. We are with them in the Centre and the state governments. Whats happening is a friendly match. It is for the people to decide.There are no differences. It is just that both parties have different internal calculations. Both parties believe in their position of strength. We have left it for the people to decide. But I don't agree that this is going to cause damage to our alliance.We have swept all municipal elections and bypolls in Gujarat. We are in a very strong position. We haven't lost a single election since 1990.Most certainly we will form the government. And that too with two-third majority.A survey in one of the papers says if elections are held now, then NDA will get 370 seats. And BJP will get absolute majority. But we are not in 2019 yet. We will emerge stronger then. There will be more development, progress and safety by then. We will emerge stronger by raising the standard of living of the poorest of the poor. I am confident that this jan kalyan yojna will make the BJP emerge stronger. We have empowered the poor of this country. Only a poor woman would know the joy of having cooking gas as opposed to a smoke-filled hut. Only a poor woman would know the shame and pain of defecating in the open at 2 am for want of a toilet. It is our endeavour to have a toilet in each house. No government so far had thought of toilets, gas and even a small bulb to light up the house of poor. Even after 70 years of Independence, 60 crore people did not have a bank account. We got these people connected to the mainstream by opening these bank accounts. I believe that the results will surely be positive. And we have honestly worked towards the upliftment of dalits and backward communities to raise their living standards.It is possible that a quarter or two may reflect this. As of now it doesn't. As of now nothing has gone down. Neither the revenue nor income. But even if we assume it does get reflected in a few quarters, just imagine what Rs 8 lakh crore in excess entering the system actually means. Rs 8 lakh crore that wasn't of much use to the country's growth! Money that was lying in coffers and chests has now come back into the system. I believe that this is going to create a massive difference.I am quite relaxed today also.We consider elections as a festival to celebrate democracy. We enter the electoral fray with our ideology, agenda, manifesto and the strength of the cadre. Winning and losing isn't important for us. We do not believe in caste-based politics. Neither do we believe in dynasty politics. We believe in the politics of performance. And we have started this type of politics.There is no question of me returning to Gujarat. And I am in central politics only.This is no time to think of that. My first objective is that BJP wins 2019 with a bigger margin than 2014.
: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesman said."The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries," Steffen Seibert said in a statement."She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion."The German government "will now examine the consequences" of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.A federal judge on Saturday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.Merkel's condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities."The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds," he said."The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterday's phone call with the US president."In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a "catastrophic mistake" in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the country's doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution, although the influx has slowed in recent months.
Syria: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday giving the US military 30 days to devise a plan to "defeat" the Islamic State group.



The plan makes good on a key campaign pledge of Trump, who mocked and criticized the slow pace of his predecessor Barack Obama's progress in the fight against the extremist fighters.



The text, which calls for a "comprehensive strategy and plans for the defeat of ISIS," is seen as meaning more US forces and military hardware moving into Iraq and Syria.



Pentagon chief James Mattis is also tasked with recommending changes to US rules of engagement and policy restrictions to eliminate those that "exceed the requirements of international law regarding the use of force against ISIS" under the order, which also seeks to cut the group's financial support.



Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to establish "real coordination" against the Islamic State group in Syria, according to the Kremlin.



Yet many in the US military are suspicious of Russia's role in Syria, with Moscow seen as seeking first and foremost to support and defend President Bashar al-Assad's regime.



"We have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice," Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast Thursday, using another acronym for the jihadist group.



"This is evil. This is a level of evil that we haven't seen."



Seeking 'quicker results'





Barack Obama took a longer-term view of the anti-IS fight, with a more cautious commitment of US forces and instead ramping up an air war against the violent extremists.



"President Trump might be looking for something with quicker results, that could put some more options on the table," retired lieutenant general David Barno, who led coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, told National Public Radio on Friday.



The United States currently has 5,000 troops in Iraq and 500 in Syria as "advisers" -- but also US artillery and aircraft to help in the fight.



They have provided substantial support to the assault led by Iraqi forces on Islamic State's hold on the key city of Mosul.



The slow, steady assault has driven IS fighters out of part of the city on the east bank of the Tigris River, and forces are now preparing an assault on IS-held Mosul neighborhoods on the river's west bank.



According to reports, an escalation of the US role could involve more US armour and helicopters engaging in the assaults on IS positions together with Iraqi, Turkish and Kurdish forces.



Trump "could elect to put American boots on the ground in larger numbers," Barno said.



"That all entails new uses of military power... and that opens the prospect of a deeper involvement with more casualties."
Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Friday his administration wants some more rigorous screening of refugees and visitors from certain countries to prevent terrorist attacks.



Here is what Trump's order on "extreme vetting"  denounced by civil rights groups as discriminatory - includes.



Countries that face temporary suspension of visas



- The statute applies to seven Muslim-majority nations  Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq

- The order bars entry of foreign nationals from these countries for 90 days. There is an exception for certain types of visas, including for diplomats and the United Nations



What changes will be made to immigration programs



- The order calls for a review to create a single process for screening people entering the country. It includes holding more in-person interviews and longer application forms. Under the current system, some visa applications require interviews but others do not.

- Order suspends the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which allows consular officers to exempt some applicants from face-to-face interviews

- Immigration attorneys say the changes will make even routine applications much more complicated and time-consuming. More people will need assistance to get through the visa process



Restricting refugees



- Order calls for temporary halt of all refugee admissions for four months so the government can study the process and determine if additional checks are necessary. There may be case-by-case exceptions

- Order also implements blanket ban on all Syrian refugees until "sufficient changes" have been made to the refugee program

- After the suspension is lifted, the government will give priority to applicants that are suffering religious-based prosecution, but only if they are minorities in their country. Trump says the move would protect Christians. It could also protect ethnic minorities like the Yazidis in the Middle East.

- Certain states and cities may get a role in deciding whether or not to allow people to live there.


The ruling by Judge Ann Donnelly of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York came during a hearing called after President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking people from seven Muslim-majority from entering the United States and putting a temporary halt to refugee admissions.

A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York issued an emergency stay on Saturday that temporarily blocks the U.S. government from sending people out of the country after they have landed at a U.S. airport with valid visas.The American Civil Liberties Union estimates the stay will affect 100 to 200 people detained at U.S. airports or in transit, but government lawyers could not confirm that number.On January 28, Trump has signed an executive order that will limit immigration and refugees from some Muslim-majority countries and he separately said he wanted the United States to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the civil war there.Trump had promised the measures, called "extreme vetting," during last year's election campaign, saying they would prevent militants from entering the United States from abroad. But civil rights groups have condemned the order as harmful and discriminatory.Republican Representative Michael McCaul, the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, had said that Trump's order would include a 30-day suspension of visa applications from seven countries designated as "high-threat areas" and a suspension of the refugee program.The move was immediately condemned by Democrats, civil rights groups and aid groups such as Oxfam and others, even before full details emerged.
The news comes after Trump imposed tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways said on Sunday they would enforce the new rules governing entry to the United States following President Donald Trump's temporary order restricting arrivals from seven Muslim countries.A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said it would only carry passengers to the US who had the correct documentation."We are enforcing the new rules," said the official."If travellers to the US don't have the proper documentation, we are not going to take them to the US."Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it will apply restrictions on its US routes "effective immediately".Citizens of the affected countries will need to have a valid US permanent residency card, known as the "Green Card" or a diplomatic visa to travel, an Etihad spokesperson said in a statement.Qatar Airways also posted a "travel alert" online today, listing the paperwork required by citizens of the seven countries.These included the "Green Card" and government and diplomatic visas.Both Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways fly off New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Dallas.The Qatari carrier also flies to nine other US destinations, including Atlanta.The newly inaugurated US president signed a sweeping executive order yesterday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travellers from the seven countries.
San Francisco: The US technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, hit back at President Donald Trump's sudden executive order on immigration, with some leaders calling it immoral and un-American.



Trump's order temporarily bars citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States even if they hold valid visas or permanent residence permits, a move that caught many companies off-guard.



Netflix Inc Chief Executive Reed Hastings called it "a sad week" and added: "It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."



Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook sent a letter to employees saying Trump's order was "not a policy we support" and promised to help affected employees.



"We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company," Cook added.



Elon Musk, the South African-born founder of Tesla and SpaceX who met recently with Trump, said on Twitter: "The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the countrys challenges."



Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said: "Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right and we must stand with those who are affected."



Airbnb will provide free housing to anyone not allowed into the United States, Chesky said.



Aaron Levie, the outspoken founder and CEO of online storage company Box Inc, said: "The executive order on immigration is immoral and antithetical to our values."



STRANDED



Friday's order could be a major headache for tech companies, potentially leaving employees stranded overseas and unable to return to the United States.



Alphabet Inc's Google urgently called back employees from overseas and told ones who might be affected by the ban not to leave the United States.



CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to staff that more than 100 Google employees were affected by the order, according to a Google executive.



One Google employee of Iranian nationality with legal U.S. residency made it back to the United States just hours before the order took effect, the executive said.



"We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," Google said in a statement.



Microsoft Corp President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said in a company-wide email posted on LinkedIn that 76 company employees were citizens of the seven countries in question and held U.S. work visas, and thus were directly affected by the order.



He said the company had not determined how many people with green cards, or permanent residence status, might be affected.



"As a company, Microsoft believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system," Smith said in the post. "We believe in the importance of protecting legitimate and law-abiding refugees whose very lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings."



Uber Technologies Inc CEO Travis Kalanick, who has faced criticism from some employees for participating in President Trump's business advisory council, said in a statement that the company would compensate drivers from the seven countries who might not be able to return to the United States for three months or more. He said the company knew of about a dozen affected employees.



"This ban will impact many innocent people - an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trumps first business advisory group meeting," Kalanick said.



Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Friday that was "concerned" about the order and voiced support for immigrants.
Kuala Lumpur: A boat carrying 31 persons aboard has lost contact with the authorities in Malaysia, an official said on Sunday.



It sailed from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah state on Saturday, and carried over 20 Chinese tourists, Xinhua news agency quoted the Consulate General of China as saying.



According to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the boat was enroute to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of Kota Kinabalu.



The agency has sent out ships and helicopters to the site for rescue operations.



A maritime communications officer in Sabah said: "The search area covers 400 nautical square miles and involves waters between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum."



It was not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat.
: Defending Donald Trump's order to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, the White House on Sunday said the US President was only delivering what he promised during his campaign, even as the decision invited backlash from some of his own Republican party members."This is nothing new. President Trump talked about this throughout the campaign and throughout the transition," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told ABC News."Protecting this nation and our people is the number one priority of this president and our government," Spicer said in a defence of the executive orders signed by Trump earlier this week which calls for temporary ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US.The order immediately suspends entry of Syrian refugees into the US and bans nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Somalia for at least 90 days.Spicer said the countries were first flagged as "countries of particular concern" by the previous administration of Barack Obama. "They should be asked certain questions. They should go through certain vetting," Spicer said.The White House also pushed back on the argument that the executive orders literally means a ban on Muslims."These seven countries, what about the 46 majority Muslim countries that are not included. Right there, it totally undercuts this nonsense that this is a Muslim ban," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News separately."This is a ban on prospective travel from countries, trying to prevent terrorists in this country, from countries that have a recent history of training and exporting and harboring terrorists," she said.However, three Republican Senators Ben Sasse, Susan Collins and Jeff Flake - joined the anti-Executive Order protest. "The president is right to focus attention on the obvious fact that borders matter. At the same time, while not technically a Muslim ban, this order is too broad," said Sasse.
George Orwell's 1984 novel about a dystopian future under an authoritarian regime is back as a bestseller and being reprinted decades after it was written as readers grapple with Donald Trump administration's defence of "alternative facts."The book, first published in 1949, features a devious "Big Brother" government that spies on its citizens and forces them into "doublethink," or simultaneously accepting contradictory versions of the truth.Sales spiked after a senior White House official, Kellyanne Conway, used the term "alternative facts" on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday during a discussion about the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration.Some commentators denounced her expression as "Orwellian."By Monday, the novel by the late British author hit Amazon's list of top 10 bestsellers, which is updated hourly. On Wednesday, it was No.1.Responding to the renewed interest, its publisher ordered a 75,000-copy reprint this week, Signet Classics said in a statement. A company spokesman told CNN late on Tuesday that was more than would normally be reprinted.The West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has vowed to "resist" the president's policies on immigration and other issues, said on Twitter it picked 1984 as the read of the month for its book club.Conway was responding to accusations that the Trump administration was fixated on the size of his inauguration crowds, saying: "We feel compelled to go out and clear the air and put alternative facts out there."Amid widespread criticism of the expression, even Merriam-Webster chimed in to challenge Trump's former campaign manager. "A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality," the dictionary publisher tweeted.
Islamabad: Two of the five missing Pakistani activists, including a professor known for his critical views on fundamentalists and who had mysteriously vanished earlier this month from Islamabad, have safely returned home, police said on.



Salman Haider, a professor at the Fatima Jinnah University in Rawalpindi and a human rights activist, was among five activists and bloggers who had gone missing on January 6.



Police and family members of Haider confirmed he returned home on Friday night and was safe. Details about where he was after vanished was not immediately known.



Haider was the first to disappear, followed by bloggers Waqas Goraya, Aasim Saeed and Ahmed Raza Naseer and anti-extremism activist Samar Abbas within a week in the sensitive Muslim-majority nation.



Geo News quoted sources in Lahore police as saying that blogger Goraya has also returned home.



Some of them had been accused of promoting blasphemy, a criminal offense in Pakistan.



The fate of the other missing men is not known so far. It is believed that Haider ran a popular group 'Bhensa' on Facebook on which messages and videos were shared against fundamentalist religious groups as well as the Pakistan Army.



On January 6 evening, Haider was in Bani Gala with his friends and called up his wife to tell her he would return by 8 pm. When he did not, his wife called him back but the call went unanswered, his brother Zeeshan Haider has said.



Haider's wife later received a text message from his phone that asked her to pick his car from Coral Chowk, Zeeshan said. Police found the car from Coral Chowk but no information about him. A missing person's report for Haider was filed in Lohi Bher police station and an investigation was launched.



A United Nations human rights expert on January 12 called on the Pakistani authorities to make it a priority to locate and protect the disappeared human rights and social media campaigners, saying no government should tolerate attacks on its citizens.
CONCORD  Donkeys usually are known for their stubbornness, but if you ask Kimberly Clark, they are cuddly animals just looking for a hug.

As the founder and CEO of the Concord-based Virginia Donkey Rescue, she has made it her full-time mission for the past year to rescue as many neglected, abused and unwanted donkeys from across the mid-Atlantic region as possible. She currently has about 50 donkeys on her 22-acre farm, and is working to find good homes for most of them.

Her love for donkeys began five years ago, when she rescued a sick donkey and nursed him back to health.

Donkeys are like big, cuddly dogs. When people ask me why donkeys, I say, Why not?

Although in the same family as horses, donkeys are their own distinct species and have vastly different needs from their equine relatives. Built stockier with tall ears and coarser fur than horses, donkeys are made to live in dry, desert conditions instead of lush plains, where horses thrive.

In arid climates, there isnt much to eat and anywhere to run, so these guys are designed to live on any stick, twig or dry piece of grass they can find, Clark said. They also have a reputation for being stubborn, but that comes from, in the desert, you dont have anywhere to run, so your best defense is freezing and staying put.

They really arent stubborn; theyre very smart and good at preserving themselves.

A majority of the donkeys she rescues come from people surrendering them. Donkeys are popular among cattle farmers, who adopt them because of a widely believed myth they make good guardians for livestock against predators like coyotes.

But according to Reynolds, this is not true. People frequently return the donkeys after learning they can be destructive. In the wild, donkeys pair up with other donkeys of the same gender to protect one another. While one donkey stands guard, the other sleeps.

When youve got a single donkey, it never gets its deep sleep, so its just like a human, where you end up with a grouchy and unpredictable animal, and its only source of outlet is attacking calves, she said. A lot of people turn them in because people think theyre a bad donkey, but theyre actually just being donkeys.

Donkeys also often are put with horses and cattle in rich pastures. The overabundance of rich grass is bad for the animals and causes them to be overweight and unhealthy.

Typically our pastures in Virginia are much too rich for them, Clark said. A lot of people will keep their donkeys in a dry lot, where theres nothing growing. The other option is to always keep hay out because thats more like what they would get in nature.

On the farm, Clark has the donkeys in a variety of pens and stalls depending on their needs. Some that require special medical attention live in a barn, but others live in dry pens where they have access to large piles of hay to graze on throughout the day.

Another problem with donkeys as livestock guardians is male donkeys  called jacks  get aggressive if they are not castrated.

When they get to full puberty, about 4 or 5 [years old], they start attacking the calves, she said. They will actually pick up a calf or a baby goat and shake it to death.

In order to care for incoming donkeys, Clark has each animal vaccinated, dewormed and micro-chipped, and its hooves trimmed by a farrier. All male donkeys are castrated to prevent aggressive behavior and mating.

According to Katrina Fleener, president of the American Donkey Association, donkey rescues are important organizations due to a decline of the donkey population worldwide. The drop in numbers of donkeys, she said,is due to the expanding illegal trade of donkey hides from Africa to Asia.

In the African countries, the donkey population is going down significantly  because the Chinese are importing donkey hides for use in traditional remedies, she said. Its important we maintain the population and make sure that doesnt start happening in the U.S. A lot of these animals, if they arent rescued, will go to the slaughterhouses.

Earlier this month, Virginia Donkey Rescue took in a herd of 12 donkeys from Tennessee after Clark learned of them through a private rescue.The herd had been living largely untended along the side of a cliff, she said. Clark typically only rescues donkeys within a days drive, but the herd needed care.

They were a little outside of our territory, but I felt bad for the man who owned them, she said. They didnt get the jacks fixed, and he just got too old and couldnt take care of them anymore. I felt like it was a good reason to go help them out.

In order to transport them from Tennessee, Clark and a volunteer used two large trailers to bring the donkeys to Virginia.

All 12 of the newly rescued donkeys will go to foster homes until they are adopted, so they can be more socialized with humans after limited contact with people. The nonprofit has between five and 10 foster locations but always is looking for more farms to take care of animals temporarily.

The great thing about fosters is that [the donkeys] get the individual attention, she said. Within a few weeks, these guys will be eating out of your hand and letting you hug and kiss on them.

As a 501(c)3, VDR is sustained solely by donations Clark has about five regular volunteers who help out on the farm and an extensive foster network, but vet bills and costs for hay mount up quickly. It costs $50 per month to take care of each donkey, including feed and vet costs. Castrations for jacks cost the rescue $300 each.

We were really lucky last year and had really great donors that stepped up, she said. Were really going to need some help to keep going this year.

To pick up all of those donkeys in Tennessee, Clark had help from Beth Reynolds, one of the groups four board members. A regular volunteer at the rescue and long-time friend of Clark, Reynolds has helped with the rescue since Clark began taking in donkeys five years ago.

[Clark] volunteered me to help, Reynolds said, laughing. I rescued a donkey and fell in love with them. Now I help out however I can.

In addition to being on the farm and the fundraising board for the rescue, she also donates 10 percent of the profits from her business Long Ears Herbs, where she grows fresh herbs and makes them into essential oils and beauty products.

In order to bring awareness to the rescue, Virginia Donkey Rescue held its first Donktober Fest at Bold Rock Hard Cider in Nelson County last October. The event had more than 1,000 attendees for a day of quality time with some of the organizations donkeys, live music and food and beverage vendors. Donktober Fest will return this year on Oct. 2, and the nonprofit also will hold the Donkey Dash 5K run on the first of October for the nonprofits two-legged supporters.

Additionally, the rescue hosts Hee-Haw Hikes beginning in the spring, where participants can go on a hike with donkeys.

Many people havent been around donkeys so they dont know how lovable they are, Clark said. We want people to know about our organization as well as donkeys themselves.
For those with visual or auditory disabilities, the internet can be a difficult place to navigate, even when aided by assistive technology.

To accommodate those users, Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, an amendment to the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, aims to eliminate barriers to information technology. However, school divisions can run afoul of Section 508 through ADA non-compliance.

No local school division website is fully ADA compliant, according to a News & Advance analysis conducted using the free online tools AI Inspector Sidebar for the Mozilla Firefox browser and the WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool powered by Webaim, an internet accessibility watchdog.

Locally, school divisions use similar tools or partner with vendors for compliance reviews.

For local school divisions, problems range from minor issues with web design features to a lack of closed captions for videos for the hearing impaired and e-reader technology for the visually disabled.

Its something that we should have been doing all along, said Keith David Reeves, chairman of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education, an advocacy group that promotes the use of existing and emerging technologies, and the senior instructional technology coordinator for Arlington Public Schools.

Reeves regularly speaks about ADA website compliance in his role with the Virginia Society for Technology in Education and has addressed the issue at various education conferences.

He noted when school divisions accept federal funding, they have to be able to provide services to all of their citizens, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities.

Despite the non-compliance, its an issue school divisions are aware of and are working to fix locally and nationwide.

For Lynchburg City Schools, the issue is elevated because of the type of content shared online.

"With divisions like us that offer more, it really penalizes us," said David Childress, LCS director of information technology.

Unlike other local school divisions, LCS posts videos of school board meetings online for public viewing. But to be in compliance with Section 508, the division, which has one webmaster that oversees content, must provide closed captions for those videos.

"We just don't have the manpower, at this point, to do what is required," Childress said,

Aware of Section 508 issues, Childress proposed adding funding for a compliance officer in the 2017-18 fiscal budget at the Dec. 15 school board budget workshop to ensure content posted to the LCS website meets federal requirements. The suggested position, which would cost the division $60,000 per year, was not adopted in the budget proposal advanced to the Lynchburg City Council for approval. Now Childress said the division is scrambling to meet Section 508 standards.

In lieu of the proposed compliance officer, LCS now is considering contracting online compliance services to outside vendors. Childress did not have a timeline available for when the division might be able to bring its website into full compliance with Section 508.

"My personal opinion is now we'll pay more for it, and we probably wont get the same quality and timeliness [as] if we did it in house," Childress said.

Joe Goldman, supervisor of technology for Amherst County Public Schools, said he was made aware the Office for Civil Rights was looking into ADA website non-compliance nationally, and the division began an effort several months ago to bring its website into Section 508 compliance.

Goldman said the division used free online compliance tools to check its website and partnered with a company that provided a free review, which turned up few Section 508 issues.

Goldman added the divisions website is based on software called Drupal, which has built in ADA compliance features to guide customers to comply with required Section 508 standards.

I feel like we've done as much as we can do without bringing in outside help, which is rarely free, Goldman wrote via email.

Similarly, Appomattox County Public Schools also became aware of ADA compliance needs a few months ago, according to April Johnson, information systems manager for the school division.

Im happy to report that we started our transition to a new website earlier this month that will meet the ADA requirements, Johnson told The News & Advance.

She added the division is working with Blackboard, its current web vendor, to reconcile ADA issues and reported there was no extra cost to bring the school system website into compliance.

Ryan Edwards, public information officer for Bedford County Schools, said the division already had been working on a more modern and up-to-date website, and ADA compliance was part of that. He added the redesign would have been free through School Messenger, the vendor BCPS contracts with, but the company was so backlogged with requests it cost $7,000 to prioritize the needs of the school division for a website redesign with built-in ADA compliance.

A timeline is hard to pin down because we are going at their pace and have a lot of working back and forth with them, but the latest we expect it to launch is the end of the school year, while hoping for much sooner, Edwards told The News & Advance about the website redesign effort.

Campbell County Public Schools has been working since the summer to meet ADA compliance standards, according to Rob Arnold, division assistant superintendent.

We are not fully compliant. We do not use videos on our website, so we are not working with the close-caption option, Arnold told The News & Advance via email.

For Campbell County, Arnold said the greatest challenge was recreating previously uploaded PDFs that were non-compliant due to requirements these files can be used with e-reader technology. He added bringing the website into compliance would require numerous man hours to complete.

Unfortunately, we do not have dedicated personnel responsible for the website and do not have the funds to add personnel. Therefore, our existing technology staff has added these responsibilities to their normal duties, Arnold stated.

According to Jeff Comer, superintendent of Nelson County Public Schools, the division is beginning the process of exploring cost options with various vendors to ensure our school and division websites are ADA compliant.

Comer noted the following statement is posted on each school website for the division: We are currently in the process of reviewing and updating our website to be ADA Compliant.

Comer noted the division is looking at web development pricing, and it may be possible for school and division webmasters to bring sites into compliance without vendor assistance.

However, if necessary, we are prepared to budget for website expenses in next year's budget, Comer added.

According to Reeves, challenges are common for small school divisions or those without personnel or resources dedicated to maintaining the website and monitoring issues such as ADA compliance.

He described bringing websites up to code as a gargantuan task for school divisions.

For school divisions with ADA concerns, Reeves suggested a tiered approach that begins with an audit, followed by the removal of everything that is non-compliant. Then comes a redesign of sites to meet compliance standards and the replacement of all materials previously removed with compliant versions.

School divisions that are Section 508 non-compliant can find themselves on the receiving end of a letter from the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights. From there, schools can be required to enter into an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights to rectify ADA non-compliance.

Such was the case for Virginia Beach Public Schools, which entered into an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights in February after a review found the division website ADA non-compliant.

Similarly, Powhatan County Public Schools was contacted by the Office for Civil Rights in December to notify the division of a complaint regarding alleged online ADA non-compliance.

Such ADA warnings and resolutions have been seen in school divisions across the U.S. as Section 508 complaints have surged in recent years.

Reeves noted even though school divisions seem spurred to action based on the legal issues that come with non-compliance, he feels this is an overall positive for equal access for all citizens.

It matters, if you are a school system, that every one of your parents, every one of your stakeholders has access, Reeves said. And how can you say you are giving those parents the same opportunities to be good partners in their childrens education if youre not taking into account their disability?
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Pioneer Theatre, the theater program at Heritage High School, hosted a Beauty and the Beast breakfast fundraiser Saturday morning at Applebees on Candlers Mountain Road.

The packed event had all the "belles" and whistles, with characters ranging from Lumiere to Lefou running around the restaurant singing, posing and greeting fans of all ages.

When it comes to kids, I just want to make that close connection, Julio Aleman, 16, who plays the Beast and Prince, said. I want to make people smile and thats why Im doing this.

Aleman said performing with the audience instead of in front of them helped to calm his nerves before the shows premiere on Feb. 3. Hes not the only one who had their worries quelled that morning.

These past few days Ive been worried because Im not necessarily  me, being how I am  I am not necessarily the stereotypical Belle that you see thats purchased when you buy the dolls, Crystal Haley, 16, who plays Belle, said.

I was very nervous that I was going to be a letdown to kids, Haley continued. Then I get here and its not at all like that. I get here and theyre just like oh my gosh, Belle this, Belle that, and my heart just burst. It felt good because it shows that princesses can come in all different shapes, colors and sizes.

Aleman, a Latino, said that he was nervous about not fitting the stereotype of what the Beast should be, but he sees that he shouldnt have to be.

I dont have to be 61 or strong to be the Beast, he said. I am who I am, and I want to show people that no matter who you are, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Aleman said that he thinks being a Latino is more of an obstacle to overcome instead of something to add to his role. Haley echoed that sentiment.

It got to the point where I almost felt ashamed of my race because I know how closed-minded some people can be, but at the same time, I forget that there are open-minded people in this world, Haley said. When I got this role, it made me happy on a different level than Oh, I just got the lead, it was like Im gonna make a difference. 

Benjamin Ben Cleaver, 16, who plays Lumiere, said that many people were confused when Crystal was cast as Belle. They asked why Belle was black, he said, but that shouldnt matter.

[The kids] saw their favorite Disney princess. I dont think they looked at the color or their race, but they enjoyed it for who [the characters] were  he said. Its a big step from where we were to where we want to be in 2017.

Dancing their way through the restaurant, down stairs and lead by a small little girl was the Silly Girls. Played by Eleanor Ellie Matthews, 15, Asia Christmas, 17, and Debora Chagas, 15, the trio was portraying the identical triplets in love with Gaston.

Were supposed to be triplets, Chagas, whos Brazilian, said. And were obviously not 

But we told them we were, Christmas, whos black, interjected.

Chagas laughed and continued, I honestly really, really like that we have 

Diversity, Matthews, whos white, chimed in.

Yeah, Chagas started. Our Belle is not what most people expect her to be, and honestly, I love that because its showing people that Belle doesnt have a specific skin tone. Like, princesses are not all white 

Theyre all different ethnicities, Christmas explained.  To see that people see Belle, the Beast and different cultures come together; its just amazing to me.

Matthews said her and Haley are close friends, and that she saw how her friend struggled with her race and role as Belle.

This opens so many doors because Lynchburg, were not an all white city, Matthews said. We have so many different colors and races  You dont have to be white to be a princess. Belles character you can see in so many different kinds of people.

And it teaches the kids too, Chagas began. Because later in life, maybe if they never came here, they would never have the thought that Belle didnt have to be white.

Christmas said that the communitys acceptance Saturday morning speaks volumes about the people who live in Lynchburg.

Tim Beatty, 41, the principal of Heritage High, said that his school is extremely diverse and that Larry Hart, the director of Pioneer Theatre, does a great job of encouraging diversity in his casting.

Hart said that tickets for the show were based on the movie version of Beauty and the Beast, and so portrayed a white Belle. Hart recalled that when Haley saw the tickets, she looked at the picture and said Thats not me. He recalled telling her, Yes that is you.

I think Heritage [High School] represents America very well, and this is America today, Hart said. This is who we are today  we respect people for who they are and the talents they bring and not for the color of their skin.

However, some families will be choosing what night theyll view the play based on which Belle will be in the show, as there is a white Belle and black Belle this year, Hart said. But not for a negative reason.

One person told me they want to take [their daughter] to see Crystal as a black Belle because the little girl is black. And [the mom] wants her to know that princesses can be black too, he said.

Maddie White, 6, and her mother, Heather White, 37, had traveled from Amherst to see Belle and the Prince.

When asked if Maddie White saw anything different between the Belle standing in front of her and the Belle in the movies, Maddie White turned to Haley and gave her a long, studious look.

No, she concluded.

However, she did notice that Belle was a good dancer.
RICHMOND  Arelia Langhorne said her vote used to mean something.

In the decade prior to statewide redistricting in 2011, one delegate represented all of Lynchburg in a district that included part of Amherst County.

After the decennial census in 2010, the General Assembly redrew the lines in a way Langhorne says gerrymandered her civic voice into irrelevance. Ward II, a majority black district generally supporting Democrats, and two Ward III precincts joined rural and reliably Republican House of Delegates District 22 along with a pieceof Campbell County, much of Bedford County and part of Franklin County.

Not only were we divorced from the city of Lynchburg but our votes had been put in the trash can because they wouldnt make any difference to Kathy Byrons district, said Langhorne, a former Lynchburg Electoral Board chairwoman and school board member.

Langhorne is one of several plaintiffs in a lawsuit backed by OneVirginia2021, a redistricting advocate bent on reshaping the way Virginia legislators draw their congressional and state legislative districts as constitutionally required every 10 years.

While preparing to challenge 11 House and Senate districts occupied by Republicans and Democrats as failing to meeting state constitutional standards in the Virginia Supreme Court, the nonprofit advocate tries to sway minds with satirical campaign commercials for the bumbling Del. Jerry Mandering, and change laws in the General Assembly.

On Monday, a seven-person subcommittee is scheduled to vote on proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution meant to ban politically targeted redistricting as well as form an independent commission.

Gerrymandering isnt the issue I care about most, but it is the issue I have to care about first, said Sam Davies, a Richmond resident and OneVirginia2021 volunteer who testified before the constitutional subcommittee last week.

After the decennial census, Virginias legislators divide the total population into districts with as close to an equal number of residents as possible. Gerrymandering is a term used to describe districts drawn in odd shapes to retain political power.

When legislators of any party draw their own districts, they pick their voters, neutralize specific challengers and drown out opposition views, reformers say. Statistically uncompetitive districts mean opposition parties dont field candidates or cannot win, which bestows outsized power on more extreme and active people in each partys base, reformers say.

Every Virginian should know that drawing out your political opponent because he or she either ran against you or might run against you or just because they dont believe the same thing you do, should be illegal, OneVirginia2021 Executive Director Brian Cannon said.

Of the 122 incumbents who ran for the 140 House of Delegates and Senate seats in November 2015, all of them won. The lack of challengers speaks to unwinnable races, Cannon said.

Geographic, municipal and legal realities, though, mean redistricting is not as simple as drawing them equal in competitiveness and size. Urban districts will be more compact than rural ones where people live farther apart. Drawing competitive districts in some areas, such in Southside or Northern Virginia, would require maps as strange as those drawn for political purposes because of the political concentration of either party. Legislators must abide by federal law, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure minority voters are fairly represented.

There are far more localities than districts, so some must be split. Choosing to keep Lynchburg whole, for example, would mean a value judgment to split up the counties that surround it instead, Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, said.

You cant just make a couple of concentric circles in the state of Virginia and come up with a map that is going to be in compliance, Garrett said.

The bills

Del. Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania, who chairs the Privileges and Elections Committee, says the time is wrong to make substantive changes to Virginia's redistricting process. The commonwealth, he said, should wait for any reform until court cases are settled. He is a member of the constitutional subcommittee scheduled to hear the redistricting amendments Monday.

Some congressional districts in Virginia were redrawn ahead of the November election after federal court rulings that the General Assembly illegally packed black voters into a district, thus diluting their influence in others. A similar federal lawsuit challenging 12 House of Delegates districts awaits a U.S. Supreme Court decision after a December argument.

The next redistricting will not occur until 2021, so there is no need to rush into approving legislation that we may end up having to repeal or change before redistricting is actually done, Cole said in an email. None of the proposed amendments would reduce political influence or add fairness and transparency, he said.

A constitutional amendment in Virginia must be passed by joint resolution two years in row before a referendum is placed on the statewide ballot. Any that pass this year and in the 2018 General Assembly would be on the ballot in November 2018, giving the legislature the 2019 and 2020 sessions to implement the amendment by statute before redistricting came up, said Del. R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta. A special session would likely be called in 2021 to draw new lines.

If youre going to do a constitutional amendment, you gotta do it this year, said Landes, a member of the House Privileges and Elections Committee.

After making a campaign promise during the 2015 election cycle, Landes proposed additional specific redistricting criteria to the 2016 General Assembly. The legislation died in committee. This year, Landes brought House Joint Resolution 763 to add a single sentence to the Virginia Constitution banning intentional political redistricting for any specific party, representative or person.

While Cannon said Landes bill, has the most legs in the House, the bills sponsor said it would take a heavy lift to pass it.

Alternate proposals in both houses call for independent commissions  either partisan or nonpartisan  and detailed criteria in addition to the existing constitutional requirement for contiguous and compact districts. A bill proposed by Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, and Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, takes the Landes language and adds specific redistricting criteria.

Were trying to give them every option we can to do the right thing, Cannon said.  Landes is the least they can do.

Ultimately, OneVirginia2021 wants an independent commission with nonpartisan criteria, removing temptation or a conflict of interest.

A commission would just elevate the politics to a different level, Cole said. Landes agreed.

I think you can find objective individuals, but youre giving them power. Any time you cede power to another group, theyre going to use that power, Landes said.

While redistricting reform has passed the full Senate in previous sessions, similar House bills have not survived committee. A slate of redistricting bills survived a Senate subcommittee vote last week and is heading to the full committee chaired by Vogel.

House Minority Leader David Toscano, a rules and procedure hawk, says theres another way.

In a letter Monday  OneVirginia2021s lobby day  the Charlottesville Democrat wrote to Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, urging that he employ a rarely used rule to send redistricting bills straight to the floor. Then, Toscano said, every members constituents will know where they stand.

Because as you know  people say certain things but until they vote, you really dont know what they truly think, Toscano said.

The redistricting resolutions will follow the normal legislative process, like all of the other 1,000 pieces of legislation introduced this year, speaker spokesman Christopher West said in an email to The News & Advance Saturday. The proposed legislation received a fair hearing in subcommittee last week and ample time has been allowed for individuals to weigh-in on the debate before the vote on Monday.

The map

Although Democrats hold all five statewide offices  most followed tight races  Republicans hold a super-majority in the House with 66 Republicans and 33 Democrats. The Senate is split 21 to 19 in favor of Republicans.

If we have a state that is essentially a 50-50 Democratic-Republican state, how can you have an assembly that is essentially two-thirds [to] one-third? Toscano said.

Less than two years before decennial redistricting, Garrett challenged incumbent Democrat Shannon Valentine in House District 23 and squeaked out a 209-vote victory. Prior to Valentines first win in a 2006 special election, Republican Preston Bryant held the seat that included the entire city of Lynchburg.

Scott Garrett still needed some votes from Ward II and they fixed his district by expanding his district to include part of Bedford to be more in line with what he could naturally get, Langhorne said, referring the the district prior to 2011.

In the 2012 and 2014 U.S. Senate races and 2013 statewide races, the district turned out more than 60 percent for Republicans, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Garrett said he doesnt believe districts were drawn intentionally to favor specific people or parties, but that they may have that practical effect.

If people just dont like their representatives, which is what this issue is, if they simply dont like their representative, there is a way of dealing with that, Garrett said.  You have an opportunity at the ballot box to change your representation.

In 2013, when Lynchburg Democratic Chairwoman Katie Webb Cyphert challenged Byron, the incumbent won the district with 66 percent, according to VPAP. Cyphert won 66 percent out of the six Lynchburg precincts in that district, according to VPAP.

Byron declined to comment on the shape and makeup of her district because of ongoing court cases. I was brought into a room after it was drawn, she said.

No incumbent is unbeatable, Garrett said. He pointed to Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, defeating then-House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Republican primary in 2014.

Toscano, though, gave the same election as evidence gerrymandered districts can only be challenged within a partys base, sending legislators who dont communicate well or negotiate with each other to Richmond.

One, because theyre coming from different places, Toscano said, but two because theyre always worried about their base and how their base is going to respond to any efforts to work together. Look whats happening in Congress.
Ed Gillespie, the leading GOP candidate for governor, said Sunday that a temporary pause on refugee resettlement is "a rational step," but that it should accommodate people with green cards who pose no threat.

Gillespie weighed in Sunday afternoon on the executive order President Donald Trump issued Friday afternoon, suspending the admission of refugees to the United States.

"When you factor out all the misinformation and media hysteria, its clear that a temporary pause on refugee resettlement is a rational step to secure our homeland and keep Americans safe, but it should accommodate those Green Card holders who pose no security threat returning from travel outside the United States," Gillespie said in a written statement.

"As governor, I will work with the federal government to protect our homeland and the safety of Virginians. As the son of an immigrant, I know we can be a secure and welcoming nation at the same time."

On Friday, the president signed an order to suspend the admission of refugees for 120 days and increase the vetting of potential refugees from predominantly Muslim nations in order to screen out radical Islamic terrorists.

The order blocks Syrian refugees for an indefinite period. It blocks for 90 days entry into the U.S. by citizens hailing from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn halted the deportations of those detained on entry into the U.S. under the president's order. A federal judge in Alexandria then issued a temporary restraining order to halt for a week the removal of people with green cards who are being detained at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Rivals for governor in both major parties criticized Gillespie before he released his statement Sunday afternoon.

State Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, said in a Facebook post earlier Sunday that Gillespie was "hiding in the weeds," rather than taking a position.

"Putting your finger in the air to see the way the wind is blowing is not leadership, Ed," Wagner wrote. "Gillespie wasn't with President Trump on the campaign trail and he's not with him now. Not a surprise."

Wagner initially backed Ohio Gov. John Kasich for the GOP presidential nomination. He eventually became a co-chair of Trump's Virginia campaign.

Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, one of two Democrats seeking the party's nomination for governor, went after Gillespie on Twitter earlier Sunday.

"Let's get one thing clear: Ed Gillespie's silence is consenting with hate and xenophobia over the best interest of Virginia this weekend."

On Saturday, Northam and the four other Democrats who hold Virginia's statewide offices criticized the president's order, saying it is contrary to American values, as did former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, Northam's rival for the Democratic nomination.

Perriello joined protesters at Washington Dulles International Airport on Saturday night. Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring spoke against the order in a joint appearance at the airport earlier Saturday.

Herring and attorneys general of 14 other states and the District of Columbia issued a joint statement on Sunday, condemning the president's order as unconstitutional and asserting they are confident it "it will ultimately be struck down."

McAuliffe said in a statement Sunday afternoon that his chief of staff, Paul Reagan, had sent a letter to the White House director of intergovernmental affairs seeking answers to questions about how the president's executive order is being implemented.

McAuliffe said he wants to know how many travelers who were bound for the U.S. remain detained at Dulles; whether the office can assure Virginians of the "health and general welfare" of those who have been detained and whether arrangements are being made for people with special medical needs.

McAuliffe said he wants assurances that those detained at Dulles have access to counsel in accordance with the order by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

He said he also wants to know the administration's plans for people whose status remains uncertain.

Wagner and Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, support Trump's move, saying the president's first priority is to keep Americans safe.

A fourth GOP candidate for governor, Republican Denver Riggleman, co-owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County, has not yet released his position on the president's order.
So youve gotten yourself into another mess.

A fine kettle of fish, as they say. A heaping load of trouble, up to your hiney in alligators, and youll pay for a long time. Your life right now is pure chaos although, as in the new novel Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey, creativity may solve your little crisis.

Florida was consumed with Lottery Fever.

Nobody had won the last few rounds and so the amount rolled over, and over again. Lines doubled back and snaked through parking lots, while convenience stores and grocery aisles filled with hopeful people holding their lucky numbers.

With his trusty sidekick, Coleman, riding shotgun in a silver Corvette, Serge Storms decided it was a good time for their next adventure: a remake, new-for-the-millennium, not-quite-updated version of Route 66, shot entirely in Florida. The possibilities were endless for a couple of guys wanting to travel the Sunshine State , grabbing new gigs each week. It was fail-safe. Itd be fun!

Worm grunting seemed like a road to riches; fishermen who longed to catch The Big One in Florida waters always needed nightcrawlers, so Serge used his skills to enhance old-time methods of capturing worms. Turns out, it wasnt quite as lucrative as he figured it would be, but grunting for worms was a nice way to hide a body  twice, in fact.

Being a Hostage Negotiator only required windbreakers, and the best part was that there really wasnt a hostage. There was a lot more to becoming a psychic  more than just having a Magic Eight-Ball, truthfully, but finding a hot babe was a nice perk to the job. And the next gig was just down the road because Florida was in the grip of Lottery Fever. It was chaotic and crazy. Everybody wanted a piece of the winnings, including police, drug dealers, cartels, and one very stoned lawyer in Hialeah

Normally speaking, to read a book by author Tim Dorsey is to take a wild, screaming ride down I-75 while standing on the back seat of a convertible. Fans, of course are used to it with Dorsey; heck, theyve come to expect it.

But Clownfish Blues is like that, only with sinkholes every ten feet: its just too much to stay upright.

Theres a huge overabundance of Serge-and-Coleman chaos in this book, starting with a Signature Dorsey only-in-Florida scenario and Serge-driven not-so-random travels up and down the state. Readers are re-acquainted with recurring characters from prior novels here, while other bit-players show up early and return only when youve mostly forgotten who they are. In between, Serges revenge tactics are fewer than normal, Coleman seems more clueless, and the bad guys dont seem quite as bad as usual.

If youre a fan, Im sure this review only whets your appetite and nobody can take your money fast enough. If youre new to the series, though, do not start with this book. Go find another, trust me. Fans will love this, but for others, Clownfish Blues is just a mess.
I am 510, speak French like a native and play the piano flawlessly. Oh, and Donald Trump just released his tax returns and resigned as president.

Not one of those facts is real. Theyre falsehoods, fibs, fantasy. OK, whoppers.

They would be lies  and I a liar  if I intended to deceive you. I dont. Like most Americans, I respect facts, evidence and truth, which is more than you can say for President Trump.

Trumps revolution showed its disdain for science by scrubbing the White House web site of all mention of climate change and gagging the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A president has every right to change policy, but stopping the free flow of facts is wrong. It goes against the grain of our history.

Long before the American Revolution, John Adams, later our second president, said in 1770: Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Americans have prized truth in our leaders, sometimes honored in the breach more than in the observance, since George Washington. The myth of the boy, his hatchet and the cherry tree  I cannot tell a lie  gave generations a role model.

In the 20th Century, Jimmy Carter won the White House promising: Ill never tell a lie. People rolled their eyes, but Carters earnestness was refreshing after the lyin Nixon years and Watergate scandal.

Politicians and presidents do lie, of course, but weve never had a president like Trump, who wields fake facts as emotional prods to rile up his followers.

Trump tried for years to prove the lie that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and said Hillary Clinton and her 2008 campaign started the rumor  claims that were repeatedly debunked and yet built him a following.

He backed off last September when the lie began to impede his path to the White House, still insisting that Clinton started it.

Trump won despite his loose affiliation with truth during the campaign. As president, he has turned to alternative facts.

Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts that the crowds at Trumps inauguration were the biggest ever, despite photo evidence to the contrary, Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump aide, said last Sunday on Meet the Press.

The phrase, alternative facts, was a chilling reminder of George Orwells 1984, a novel published in 1932 that envisions a dystopian future where the Ministry of Truth subverts facts and history. This week, 1984 jumped to No. 1 on Amazon.

The Amazon Top 20 included It Cant Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, about the election of an authoritarian president wonderfully named Buzz Windrip, and Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, also a dark view of the future where an authoritarian regime quashes thought.

If Trumps alternative facts were as benign as his wish for longer fingers or thicker hair, we could ignore them. But hes no longer a billionaire private citizen with kooky ideas or a candidate crying rigged election in case he loses.

Unable to let go of his baseless claim that he would have won the popular vote were it not for up to five million people illegally voting for Hillary Clinton, the president tweeted his call for a major investigation into voter fraud.

No matter that state election officials insist theres zero evidence of widespread fraud. Voter fraud is one of Trumps unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. Its a longstanding belief hes maintained, Sean Spicer, White House Press secretary, told reporters.

Its encouraging that some powerful Republicans in Congress want no part in investigating this particular longstanding belief of Trumps.

I dont see any evidence, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told reporters. But the president has 100,000 people at the Department of Justice, and if he wants to have an investigation, have at it.

Facts are stubborn things, and people want a president whose facts they can trust. Playing fast and loose with truth is no way to govern.

As someone who hates to lose, Trump should realize this gambit wont win.

Mercer writes from Washington. Email at marsha.mercer@yahoo.com. 2017 Marsha Mercers. All rights reserved.
Writer: Pro-woman means pro-life

Lets talk about the Womens March on Washington on Jan. 21.

Did it represent all womens groups? No, it specifically excluded pro-life groups. Why? Are they not considered women, too? As Kimberly Ross at Redstate.com said, Sorry, Womens March, you cant truly be pro-woman unless youre pro-life.

The march was all about my body and being able to have complete control over my body. Well, there is another body involved when a woman is pregnant  a little body inside her. What rights does that little body have? It is not her body, and maybe that little body is even an infant woman! Do they not care about the rights of all women? Or only about themselves? The marchers were advocating discrimination against those precious little bodies.

Sunday, Jan. 22 was the Sanctity of Life Sunday, the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which brought about legalized abortion in this nation. According to Lifenews.com there have been 56,662,169 abortions in the United States since 1973  that is 56,662,169 potential tax-paying Americans, of which approximately 50 percent would have been women.

JANET F. STASULLI

Forest

Trump inspired us

Like many of my fellow Americans, inspired by the ambitions of the presidency of Donald Trump, I traveled to Washington on Jan. 21 to participate in the Million Woman March. Although we were not quite one million, our group was large enough to be denied permission to march pass the White House.

On the evening news, we learned that we had been accompanied not only by fellow Trump-inspired Americans in all 50 states, but also by kindred spirits all over the world.

Bravo for Donald Trump! How many other U.S. presidents have been able to inspire and motivate so many to take to the streets both at home and abroad? And so early in his presidency! Let us hope that this is just the beginning of a great movement!

LINDA THOMAS

Lynchburg

Trumps insecurities

Multiple studies have been completed on voter fraud, and many elected officials have tried to prove fraud by examining their own state voter files. None have found any reason to believe that widespread voter fraud exists.

It is strange that Donald Trump will not investigate Russian interference in our election but does call for an investigation into claims of voter fraud. This attempt to undermine the very foundation of our democracy shows how insecure he is and undermines his presidency. This type of accusation, combined with attempts to silence federal agencies and their employees and questioning the validity of news agencies all resemble tactics used in the McCarthy era.

There are real problems in this country that need to be addressed. Spending taxpayer dollars to duplicate studies that already exist is not one of them.

GAYLE RICHARDSON

Forest

Missed opportunity

It was certainly disappointing, though not surprising, to read that our Lynchburg City School Board decided against utilizing available funds to expand the city school participation in the Central Virginia Governors School for Science and Technology.

The proposed additional funds would grow the citys slots from 42 to 60 students. Instead the School Board decided to create another administrator position and use the funds to pay for this. The Governors School is an outstanding program that we are lucky to have in Lynchburg. I am sure many of our largest employers and regional universities would attest to this. Expanding our relationship and student participation will further the goal of having our city schools attract the best available students and the best available teachers. There are certainly capable kids who would benefit from the growth of this program.

Independent high schools in Lynchburg are growing with some at capacity  these kind of decisions will further this trend. I would be very interested in viewing a chart comparing the teacher-to-administrator ratio over the past few decades. The decisions made and the behavior exhibited by our School Board have city schools trending in the wrong direction.

DAVID BYRNE

Lynchburg
Jahmoun Mendoza: Only You evokes emotion

Jahmoun told Sunday Newsday the song, Only You, was one that evoked emotions from listeners, and that it was a great way to let people see that he could do different types of music and actually sing.

Written by Mical Teja and produced by MadMen Productions, Only You is a song that can resonate with many. Only You can mean anything. If youre not feeling yourself lately, youre down or want to give up, only music, only your best friend, only God... can take you out of that mood. Its open for interpretation so it could mean different things to different people, he said.

Jahmoun added that the chorus stated that no one knows what tomorrow may bring so it encouraged everyone to jump up as if its their last time. The song is now getting popular because people are now listening to the song properly and understanding what it says. One person said he thought it was a gospel. It is an emotional song and people could connect to it because of things that happen to them in their lives, he said.

Jahmoun would be performing in position 11 in the semi finals of the 2017 International Soca Monarch competition to be held at the Arima Velodrome on February 5.

He said while he was excited about getting into the semis, it was not the same excitement he felt when he placed for the first time in 2011. Then, he even made it to the finals with his first soca song, and the first song he ever wrote, Digital Bumper.

This time, he said, the excitement was for the exposure, rather than the competition. He said he looked at it as a platform to get his name and his music out internationally, and a way for the world to see the talent in Trinidad and Tobago.

Jahmouns soca career began in 2011 after his good friend, Ronnie McIntosh, encouraged him to start singing.

Previously, the radio announcer from Cocorite would play around, singing the songs of other artistes while on the air. This led to a number of opportunities to sing soca music, but Jahmoun was not ready at the time.

It was in 2010, when McIntosh told Jahmoun it was time to get serious and to try his own thing. I actually took what he said to heart. I went home and started to write whatever came to my head, which ended up being Digital Bumper, he said.

Joel Feveck, aka Zan, helped him make some adjustments to the lyrics and Johann Seaton of MadMen Productions produced the song, which made it to the 2011 Soca Monarch finals.

He noted that, while Digital Bumper was successful, being in the radio business did not help his soca career. If youre working at a radio station and the song isnt good or it doesnt resonate with people, theyre not going to play it. Youre not going to get the love that you expect just because you are in the radio fraternity, he stressed.

However, Jamoun said he had the patience to wait for his next hit, which would come at the right time for him.

In the mean time, he would like to continue singing more meaningful, more melodious songs in addition to collaborating with others to write.
VENTURA -- The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is extending the muskrat trapping season on Ventura Marsh from Feb. 1 to April 1 to reduce the muskrat population and preserve the beneficial vegetation in the marsh. This extension is only for muskrats and only for Ventura Marsh.

Iowas trapping season for all furbearers except beaver closes statewide on Jan. 31.

Ventura Marsh covers about 500 acres, offers excellent habitat for marsh wildlife and serves as a natural filter removing nutrients from water before it enters Clear Lake.

Muskrats are the aquatic version of cottontail rabbits  their population runs in cycles. They have two to four litters per year and in the food chain serve as prey to mink, otters, hawks, owls and coyotes.

Muskrats primarily use emergent vegetation (plants that grow out of the water) to build their huts. The current population on Ventura Marsh is high and they require a lot of vegetation for hut building.

Muskrats are an important part of a healthy marsh, and this year we have a surplus here locally. We would like to lower the population by removing additional muskrats to preserve some of the beneficial vegetation, thereby keeping the marsh in a healthy balance, said Vince Evelsizer, furbearer biologist for the Iowa DNR.

This is an excellent opportunity for our trappers to extend their season and utilize the surplus of muskrats. We dont feel that the additional harvest will reduce the numbers to the point of over-harvest.

Evelsizer said trappers participating in this special extension will be allowed to place their traps directly into the muskrat dens, which is a change from the regular trapping season.

We are going to allow trappers to place their traps in the muskrat house (in-house trapping only) to reduce the chance for catching a non-targeted animal, Evelsizer said.

Parking lots surrounding Ventura Marsh will have signs alerting visitors to the special trapping season extension.
Trump: 'I'll Very, Very, Very

Probably Do It Again'
CRYSTAL LAKE | A North Iowa man sentenced to up to 10 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl had his prison sentence upheld Wednesday.

However, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled the lifetime supervision ordered for Zachary Scott Vulich, 26, Crystal Lake, after he is released from prison wasn't applicable in his case under Iowa law and said that portion of his sentence needs to be corrected by the district court.

A Hancock County jury found him guilty on one count of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of assault by penetration with an object.

Crystal Lake man gets 10-year sentence for sexual assault GARNER | A Crystal Lake man was sentenced Tuesday to up to 10 years in prison for the sexual

In November 2015, District Court Judge Colleen Weiland ordered Vulich to serve up to 10 years in prison and remain under lifetime supervision by the Iowa Department of Corrections after his release.

Vulich appealed his conviction and sentence, claiming the state had insufficient evidence to show his actions were against the girl's will.

The defense stated Vulich, the 16-year-old and her older sister were engaged in an "ice fight" when they visited his home in November 2013.

Vulich and the older sister were in the kitchen dropping ice down each other's shirts and pants, and the older sister called the younger one, who was in the living room, to come into the kitchen, the appeals court ruling stated.

The younger sister attempted to shove ice down Vulich's shirt, and Vulich then shoved ice down the front of her shirt and pants, touching her skin, according to the ruling.

Despite the girl's pleas for him to stop, Vulich allegedly pushed her to the floor, held her down, reached inside her underwear and molested her.

After a couple of minutes Vulich turned his attention to the older sister, but then allegedly shoved the younger girl to the floor and molested her a second time. The older sister reportedly assisted Vulich by holding her arms down.

After the girl struggled to breath and nearly blacked out, Vulich released her and she quickly left the house, according to the ruling.

The defense pointed to the testimony of the older sister, who said the incident was just joking around and she would not have participated if she thought her sister was bothered by it.

The appeals court ruling noted the younger sister testified she attempted to make it clear the contact was unwelcome by her resistance, pleas for help and screams.

The ruling also stated no one disputed her testimony that she struggled and told Vulich to stop.
People who can nod off in any situation may consider a move to Japan, where public napping, so long as one follows certain rules of etiquette, is basically seen as virtuous. So reports the New York Times, which calls such napping a "subtle sign of diligence." The word for this type of nap, "inemuri," means "sleeping while present," says Brigitte Steger of Cambridge, and it sends a message to those nearbybe it in a work meeting or on the subwaythat said napper has worked to exhaustion. It is generally more common and accepted among older, white-collar workers, but it's a tricky concept in a nation that also sees a strong work ethic as virtuous.

"On a certain level, inemuri is not considered sleep at all," Steger wrote for the BBC last year. "Not only is it seen as being different from night-time sleep in bed, it is also viewed differently from taking an afternoon nap or power nap." But there are rules: It's fine, even common, to indulge in a crowded subway car or elsewhere in publiclow crime rates helpprovided you don't take up too much space; another expert calls stretching out "violating spatial norms." Women, meanwhile, are frowned upon if they look immodest while asleep. In short, in a nation where people often sleep less than six hours a night, then work long hours, inemuri has become what Steger calls "an informal feature of Japanese social life" that is not just accepted but somewhat necessary. (The flip side of this "karoshi," which is literally killing people.)
An unusual clash about religious freedom is playing out in the small city of Auburn, Kentucky: It's all about horse diapers, reports the Wall Street Journal. Two local Amish men have filed a lawsuit against the city, its mayor, and its police chief, accusing them of violating their ability to exercise their religion. Back in 2014, the city passed an ordinance requiring that horses on city streets have a "properly fitting collection device." The city says it's simply a health and safety issue, reports the Democrat News Leader, and not just about sanitation: The mayor says a child slipped in manure while walking to school. The law isn't targeting anyone "based on his or her religious views," says an attorney for the defendants, a view that the lawsuit disputes.

The men who brought the suit belong to the Old Order Swartzentruber Amish, an especially conservative branch that shuns modern contraptions. They carry shovels to clean up manure, and argue that this should be sufficient, while the city's lawyer says stopping to shovel poop poses dangers of its own. Regardless, the Amish say they took a vote and decided to ignore the law, and they say that individual members would be "shunned" if they didn't comply with the vote, reports the Daily Beast. Another problem: These Amish aren't allowed to pay fines, which is why one of the plaintiffs spent 10 days in jail in 2015. (See why this Amish teen was pulled over while driving his buggy.)
The 911 calls started pouring in just after noon in the tiny Pennsylvania town of Brookville. The electrical meter is on fire. The house siding is burning. My power strip is smoking. The computer is fried. The carpeting is singed. Our light bulb exploded. A power company says a failed power line component was to blame for an electrical surge Jan. 20 in Brookville, population 4,000, the AP reports. When it was over, 500 to 1,000 residents were affected, said Tracy Zents, director of Jefferson County's Department of Emergency Services. "I've been doing this a little over 30 years, and this is definitely a first for me," Zents said. "We were fortunate that nobody was hurt." The volume of calls quickly overwhelmed the local volunteer fire department, which had to call three other departments for help, Zents said.

Even the police department wasn't spared. The surge tripped the department's main office radio, so the initial emergency calls were missed, said Chief Jason Brown. "Then all of a sudden I hear fire engines, so I turned on my handheld," Brown said. He quickly learned what happened, as fluorescent lights in the building next door started exploding in their sockets. He said he doesn't know anyone on the east side of town who wasn't affected. "You go down the street and you see all these blackened meters," he said. Scott Surgeoner, a rep for FirstEnergy, said the problem started with a failed insulator on a power line. That caused a flash that spread to a feeder line to Brookville, and about 475 customers lost power. It was restored by 5pm, he said. The cause isn't clear, but Surgeoner said it's not uncommon for insulators to fail after years of weather exposure. "It's similar to an alternator in a car. Why does it fail after a few years? Mine might last for 10 years, but yours might last for five." (Read more electricity stories.)
While President Trump's travel bans made headlines, the president himself spent the day on the phone with five world leaders, including Vladimir Putin, USA Today reports. While the White House didn't initially release any information about Trump's conversation with Putin, the Kremlin says the two agreed to "real coordination" to "crush ISIS" in Syria. Cooperation with Russia in Syria is against current policy and also opposed by some GOP leaders. According to CNN, the Kremlin says Putin and Trump also talked about trade, international terrorism, the situation in Korea, "major aspects of the Ukrainian crisis," and having "regular personal contact." The Kremlin says the possibility of the US lifting Russian sanctions wasn't addressed.

Trump's second biggest conversation of the day was with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who Trump has alternately accused of "ruining Germany" and called his favorite world leader, NBC News reports. According to the White House, Trump assured Merkel the US is committed to NATO, and they spoke about all member nations "contributing their fair share." They also addressed issues in Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East, and North Africa. On another call, French president Francois Hollande warned Trump that the US "turning inward" as a country would have ramifications, both political and economic. Trump also had phone conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
With chaos reigning and scores of travelers being held in the nation's airports in the wake of President Trump's executive order banning travelers from seven countries, a federal judge issued an injunction barring the government from deporting anyone, reports Politico. During an emergency hearing Saturday night in Brooklyn, US District Court Judge Ann Donnelly appeared to focus on the timing, and Politico notes that the scope of her ruling is limited, applying to people who were already in transit when the executive order was made. "If they had come in two days ago, we wouldn't be here, am I right? ... These are all people who have been through a vetting process," she said.

A federal judge in Alexandria, Va., also moved to block the deportation of green card holders being held at Dulles airport, as well as force the government to provide them with lawyers, while another judge in Seattle blocked the deportation of two immigrants being held until a hearing could take place. The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, said that green card holders from the affected nations were granted special exemption Saturday and allowed to enter the country, reports the AP. For his part, Trump had this to say: "Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over." (Read more President Trump stories.)
Amid President Trump's flurry of actions Saturday was some restructuring at the National Security Council. White House chief strategist Steve Bannon now has a permanent seat on the principals committee of the NSC, reports the Washington Post, which notes that "the changes affirm the ascent of Bannon" in giving a political adviser a seat at the military table. At the same time, Trump ordered that the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former members of the principals committee, would be invited only when "issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed."

The move is contrary to former President George W. Bush, reports CBS News, who banned Karl Rove from interactions with the NSC; former President Obama, however, occasionally sent David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs to NSC meetings. Bannon, however, "is a former naval officer. He's got a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape that we have now," says press secretary Sean Spicer, per the AP. Meanwhile, USA Today notes that the shakeup started #StopPresidentBannon trending. (Bannon had some succinct advice for the media on Saturday.)
A US military service member was killed Sunday during a raid against al-Qaeda militants in central Yemen that also left nearly 30 others dead, including women and children. The loss of the service member is the first-known combat death of a member of the US military under President Trump. The US has been striking al-Qaeda in Yemen from the air for more than 15 years, mostly using drones, but has rarely put boots on the ground, and Sunday's surprise pre-dawn raid could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in the Arab world's poorest but strategically located country. Among the children killed was Nora, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a US airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girl's grandfather. Nasser al-Awlaki told the AP that Nora was visiting her mother when the raid took place. She was shot in the neck and bled for two hours before she died, he said.

US Central Command said three service members were wounded in the raid and that a fourth was injured in a "hard landing" nearby. The aircraft was unable to fly and was "intentionally destroyed," it added. It said 14 militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed and that US service members captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots." A US defense official said the raid was approved by Trump. President Obama had been briefed on it before he left office, but for operational reasons it was not ready to be executed before he departed. Yemeni security and tribal officials said the raid killed three senior al-Qaeda leaders: Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims. Tribal officials said the Americans departed with at least two unidentified individuals, but the US official in Washington said no detainees were taken. (Read more Yemen stories.)
Uber finds itself persona non grata this weekend, after it kept giving ridesand turned off surge pricingat JFK Saturday as taxi drivers stopped work to protest President Trump's executive order on refugees and immigration. Its rival finds itself on the other end of the press stick: Lyft in a Sunday blog post calls Trump's move "antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values" and says that it "will not be silent." The ridesharing company is speaking with its wallet: The co-founders write that the company will donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years "to defend our Constitution."

Airbnb is taking a stand, too, with CEO Brian Chesky tweeting Saturday, "Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing." He elaborated in a statement picked up by CNBC: "Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone else who needs it in the event they are denied the ability to board a US-bound flight and are not in your city/country of residence. We have 3 million homes, so we can definitely find people a place to stay." (Read more Trump travel ban stories.)
Two weeks after child welfare workers removed four children from a woman's suburban Pittsburgh home in June for alleged neglect, they discovered an even bigger problem: The woman has two other children who are missing, and haven't been seen alive for more than a decade. Since the summer, police investigators have cast a wide net for twins Ivon and Inisha, who would be about 18 now. A county detective has testified he believes the children are dead but can't prove it. A cadaver-sniffing dog came up empty during a search of another Pittsburgh area house in December. Patricia Fowler was arrested in August on charges of concealing the whereabouts of her twins after police investigated following the removal of four of her other children.

Fowler has changed her story several times regarding the whereabouts of Ivon and Inisha. She's told police the two children are living with friends or relatives, only to have the names and addresses she's provided not check out, or have relatives tell police they've never heard of the twins. Police said one out-of-state address provided by Fowler turned out to be a vacant storefront, and one Georgia city she named didn't exist. As police try to solve the mystery, they on Wednesday filed additional charges against Fowler, 47, who has been free on bail, accusing her of illegally collecting more than $50,000 in state food stamps, public assistance, and medical benefits for the twins since June 2011. The AP has more on Fowler and her 19-year-old son, Datwon, who remains jailed on charges he conspired with his mother to hide his twin siblings from authorities. (Read more missing child stories.)
Good fences make good neighbors, so long as that fence isn't made of manure, apparently. A Canadian couple has been awarded $15,000 in damages, to be paid by neighbors who have also been banned by the judge's Jan. 19 decision from spreading manure within about 1,000 feet of David and Joan Gallant's property. The Calgary Herald reports the Gallants bought their place in rural New Brunswick in 2001; between then and November 2013, things went south with their Indian Mountain neighbors, Lee and Shirley Murray. The Gallants alleged that in that month, load upon load of "fresh, unseasoned, wet, raw manure" was dumped by the Murrays onto land adjacent to their own property. To get a sense of scale, there was enough of it that it was visible via a Google Earth photo.

The Gallants say nearly an entire year passed before they complained to the New Brunswick Farm Practices Review Board; a short time later, the manure pile was removed. But when the board in December 2014 determined the manure positioning was an "unacceptable farming practice," the Gallants alleged the Murrays retaliated in the form of a long scratch on their car. Early the next year, the Gallants sued, outlining a litany of other alleged transgressions, including rocks forced onto their land via a snowblower. The Murrays say they will appeal. America isn't free from its own manure-related debacles. WJAR reported in September on a tussle between Rhode Island neighbors. Gerald Zarrella had been hosting weddings on his Exeter property, and claimed his neighbors dumped chicken manure near it in retaliation; the neighbors were ordered to move the manure. (Horse manure is at the heart of a legal dispute over religious freedom.)
On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order aimed at restricting immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries. Last Friday, the same president took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

The First Amendment proscribes there shall be no establishment of a state religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion. In limiting immigration based on religious beliefs, we violate this value of our democracy.

ISIS is actively recruiting here. If they can't emigrate, they will expand recruitment, they will pose as legitimate businessmen with temporary visas or find other ways to achieve their aims. If they are determined to circumvent any restrictions, the only people hurt by the restrictions are the legitimate refugees in need of our assistance.

We have a proud history of opening our borders to refugees. During all migrations, there was a small opposition. Each one of them has challenged and changed who we are as a nation, and every immigrant has brought with them the infinitely minute threat that they may be a danger. But we knew these threats to be minute and accepted the risk because we knew that these people, this diversity, made us a better nation.

Keeping Muslims out doesn't save us from risk. Our own recent history has shown that the man buying fertilizer at the farm supply store may be Tim McVeigh, the owner of that cabin in the woods may be Ted Kaczynski, those teenagers at the skate park may be Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. We are incapable of safety because we have shown limitless willingness to inflict these horror upon ourselves.

We cannot accept that ignoring the cries of humanity fleeing a living hell in their homeland is the key to our safety. We owe it to our history to do better.

Eric Wolfe, Mason City
The Rev. Rene Robert devoted his life to helping society's most troubled, working with drug addicts and criminals and even signing a "Declaration of Life" that called for his hypothetical killer to be spared execution in the event of his murder. More than two decades after filing that document, his wish will be tested. Robert's bodyshot multiple timeswas found in the Georgia woods last year after the arrest of Steven Murray, a repeat offender Robert had been trying to help for months. Police say Murray asked the 71-year-old priest for a ride in Jacksonville, Florida, then kidnapped him and drove him across the state line. Days later, Murray led officers to the priest's body, police say. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Murray is convicted of murder, citing the slaying's aggravated nature, reports the AP.

But Catholic officials from Georgia and Florida plan to protest Tuesday on the courthouse steps in Augusta, citing Robert's own words opposing capital punishment. "I request that the person found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered," states the document Robert signed in 1995, notarized and witnessed by an attorney, that he insisted be kept in his personnel file. The choice ultimately is the prosecutor's, says Georgia State University law professor Lauren Sudeall Lucas, who lectures on capital punishment. Ultimately the district attorney represents the state, not the victim, she adds. (Read more execution stories.)
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Kolkata:

Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor on Saturday advocated creating two different time zones for the country at a literary meet in the City of Joy.

The heartthrob of the 70s-80s Hindi cinema, who was in Kolkata to attend Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet, was visibly displeased as dusk descended during a conversation on his autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored at the magnificent Victoria Memorial compound.

You have darkness descending even at 5:30 PM while sun light is very much there in Mumbai around this time. In the northeast dusk settles even before here in Kolkata. So much loss of man hours, he said.

In our country there must be two time zones to save working hours. Why we dont have it, I have been talking about this issue for a long time, the Kapoor & Sons actor said.

Recalling that he had heard Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had discounted such a proposal decades back on the ground our public was not so educated to be nuanced with the differences of latitude and longitude and get confused, Rishi said, Now since we are already in 2017 and moving into 2018, it was high time such a proposal was implemented.

Rishi, who also dwelt on his familys tryst with the city since 1927, complimented Kolkata for its pretty and clean look and said it was far better than Mumbai in that respect.

In five years time I see beautification of Kolkata. It is really pretty and clean. You guys are notches ahead of Mumbai right now, he said.

The 64-year-old actor said that of the 100 year old history of Indian cinema, the four generation of Kapoors have the contribution of 89-90 years to a thunderous applause from the audience.

He later signed autographs of his new title.

Later in the night, Rishi tweeted, Kolkata. Thank you for a good conversation and appreciating it. Khoob Bhalo!

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Miss Universe contest will be aired on Fox on January 29, 2017, Sunday. You will see 86 contestants competing for the crown.

Steve Harvey will host the show who had yesterday arrived in Philippines. The event of coronation is to take place at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Sushmita Sen will be one among the judges for the beauty paegent. Sushmita Sen has been winner in Miss Universe beauty pageant in the year 1994. It has been almost 17 years that there was any winner from India. The last time Lara Dutta won the title Miss Universe in 2000.

This time Roshmitha Harimurthy will be representing India in the contest that includes participants from across the continents.

Lara Dutta tweeted to seek votes for Roshmitha and said, This is a girl I believe in, now its time 4 u to make her win. Tweet #MissUniverse #India to vote! India, its time to stand united and vote.
Jammu:

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP on Sunday demanded setting up of a judicial commission to look into the alleged mass exodus of Hindus and Sikhs from Kashmir.



It has been demanded that judicial commission may be constituted to probe into the mass exodus of Hindus and Sikhs of Valley and to punish those who are responsible for mass massacre in different places of the Jammu and Kashmir, according to a resolution passed by the BJP (J&K) Kashmir Displaced District (KDD) in Jammu on Sunday.



At a working committee meeting, chaired by BJP state vice president Yudhvir Sethi and KDD president Chand Jee Bhat, the resolution was passed.



It was resolved reservation of seats in Assembly and Parliament should be announced for Kashmiri displaced people so that they can choose their candidate, the resolution said.



It was further resolved that a six-member committee, headed by a minister and a member from Kashmiri Displaced District, should be constituted to find out ways and means for mitigating problems being faced by the Kashmiri Displaced People.



Reservation for unemployed Kashmiri Displaced educated youth in Indian Railways, central government departments and banks, pending ex-gratia amount; ban on the sale of Hindu religions properties was also concern of the gathering in meeting, it said.



Yudhvir Sathi directed party workers to have people-to-people contact and explained importance of development schemes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressed media on upcoming Assembly election in state on Sunday.

After the joint press conference, both Akhilesh and Rahul will hold a joint roadshow in Lucknow.

The roadshow will be done to strengthen Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance in UP election.

Here are the live updates from the joint press conference:

# We support intention of Akhilesh Yadav, says Rahul Gandhi

# We have fulfilled all the things that we wrote in manifesto and we will do that again this time, says Akhilesh Yadav

# We would make BJP understand that all religions are one, says Rahul Gandhi

# We believe in politics of poor people, says Rahul Gandhi

# I respect the personality of Malawatiji, says Rahul Gandhi

# Modiji says I am number one and there is no number two: Rahul Gandhi

# To make country progress, people from all religions need to come together, says Rahul Gandhi

# BJP's ideology is a potential threat to nation, says Rahul Gandhi

# Priyanka has been of tremendous help to me and I have been so to her, if she campaigns or not is her choice; she is an asset to Congress: Rahul Gandhi

# We would show the spirit of this country to BJP, says Rahul Gandhi

# We are going to fight united and defeat BJP, says Rahul Gandhi

# Whether we will form an alliance in Lok Sabha or not is open to discussion: Rahul Gandhi

# We want to give direction to UP's youth, says Rahul Gandhi

# I will not reveal the campaigning startegy as of now, Rahul Gandhi on question whether Sonia Gandhi and Mulayam will campaign

# We like to fight with the RSS attempt to spread anger in society, says Rahul Gandhi

# The ideologies of Samajwadi Party and Congress are similar, Rahul Gandhi

# We would work towards stopping politics of hatred, says Rahul Gandhi

# We like to stop the politics of anger in the country, says Rahul Gandhi

# We are like two tyres of a vehicle, says Akhilesh Yadav on alliance with Congress

# In the coming times, me and Rahulji will usher country into progress, says Akhilesh Yadav

# People will answer to people who imposed demonetisation and made us stand in queues, says Akhilesh Yadav

# The alliance is like Ganga meeting Yamuna, says Rahul Gandhi

# The alliance promotes triple P which stands for progress, prosperity and peace, says Rahul Gandhi

# Song launched for SP-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh

# Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav reaches Taj Hotel

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the micro-blogging site in one scroll:

#11:26 PM

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu in hot water over praise of Trump's wall: Reuters India

#11:25 PM

Defence bases being constantly attacked under Manohar Parrikar's watch, soldiers' welfare not being taken care of: Sharad Pawar: PTI

#11:23 PM

Manveer and #Bani becomes top two finalists of Bigg Boss10

#11:20 PM

Live | Bigg Boss10 finale: Lopamudra Raut gets ELIMINATED



#10:34 PM

Don't know in what context exactly Mulayam said that, but one thing is for sure, that SP-Congress alliance will win: Ravidas Mehrotra, SP

#10:24 PM

SushmaSwaraj offers to help a 90-year-old PIO woman, who was reportedly sent back by her son to India from US, with visa issues: PTI

#10:06 PM

195 lower rung Maoists, including 24 women, surrender in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh: Police: PTI

#10:04 PM

Live | Bigg Boss10 finale: Manveer Gurjar deserves to win, says Yami Gautam

#10:00 PM

Though its their internal matter, I think people of UP are fed up of these gimmicks: Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister on Mulayam Singh Yadav

#9:56 PM

Live | Bigg Boss 10 finale: Hrithik Roshan promotes 'Kaabil'

#9:53 PM

Manu Punjabi receives the least number of votes on the show

#9:53 PM

Failure of rail staff the biggest cause for train accidents & derailments: #RailTaskForce on Safety: PTI

#9:52 PM

Seven Africans arrested in Mumbai for allegedly possessing contraband drugs worth Rs 4 lakh: Police: PTI

#9:50 PM

Understand & respect Netaji's feelings but SP with Congress is going to form Govt. We'll keep requesting Netaji to come&campaign:Juhi Singh, SP

#9:44 PM

Bigg Boss 10 winner to receive Rs 40 lakh and a trophy

#9:43 PM

UN experts warn Saudi-led coalition allies over war crimes in Yemen: AP

#9:36 PM

Philippine airstrikes kill 15 Muslim militants linked to the Islamic State group: AP

#9:35 PM

Bigg Boss house feels as homely as my own home: Lopa

#9:34 PM

I never thought I would come this far in the show says Lopamudra Raut

#9:33 PM

I feel blessed to be sitting amongst for the finalist of BB10, says Manu Punjabi

#9:32 PM

Manveer Gurjar states that Bigg Boss has changed him a lot

#9:31 PM

High danger avalanche warning for Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Budgam and Kargil districts of Kashmir for 24 hrs: PTI

#9:31 PM

Muzaffarnagar riots took place under the tacit guidance of State Govt. Law and order in tatters: Parminder Tomar, BJP leader: ANI

#9:25 PM

It was a misunderstanding which lead to 'accident'. People left because of fear: Paramjeet Malik (local activist)on 2013 Muzaffar nagar riots: ANI

#9:23 PM

Manveer Gurjar has won Bigg Boss10: The Bigg Boss Khabri



#9:07 PM

President Donald Trump plans to turn to local police for help in cracking down on illegal immigration: AP

#8:52 PM

Our leaders who haven't received tickets can't do anything now. They have lost their chance for 5 years: Mulayam Singh Yadav: ANI

#8:50 PM

I am against SP- Congress alliance: Mulayam Singh Yadav: ANI

#8:49 PM

I will not go anywhere to campaign for this(SP-Congress) alliance: Mulayam Singh Yadav: ANI

#8:47 PM

SP was capable enough to contest and win elections alone, there was no need for the alliance: Mulayam Singh Yadav: ANI

#8:34 PM

47 killed in road crash in Madagascar: police - AFP

#8:25 PM

Will make the temple on the same spot? But when?: Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena: ANI

# 8:21 PM

Iraq lawmakers call for reciprocal travel ban on US: MP: AFP

#8:10 PM

Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar says BJP did not encourage casinos in Goa: PTI

#8:08 PM

Chidambaram ridicules demonetisation, says Modi government must have consulted 'some RSS pracharak' before taking decision: PTI

#7:55 PM

J&K: Divisional Administration Kashmir issues fresh avalanche warning valid for next 24-hours: ANI

#7:52 PM

Filing of nomination for 4th phase of #UPPolls to begin on Monday: ANI



#7:51 PM

101 candidates in Punjab face criminal cases, including murder and attempt to murder: poll watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms: PTI

#7:51 PM

Air traffic resumes at #Srinagar Int'l Airport, extra flight operated to clear passenger backlog: PTI

#7:50 PM

Intense cold wave in most parts of #HimachalPradesh, high altitude areas of Lahaul & Spiti and Rohtang Pass see fresh snowfall: PTI

#7: 43 PM

UP polls 2017: Narad Rai has left SP to join BSP, will fight election from Ballia

#7:42 PM

Jat agitation for reservation begins in Haryana; demonstrations peaceful, CM Khattar appeals for talks: PTI

#7:41 PM

Princes William and Harry commission statue to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana: AP

#7:40 PM

At Punjab rally, PM Narendra Modi lists of initiatives for farmers, says his dream is to double their income by 2022: PTI

# 7:39 PM

FM Arun Jaitley hits out at Amarinder Singh for allegedly stashing #blackmoney in Swiss banks: PTI

#7:38 PM

Amit Shah rejects charges his party is working towards polarising UP voters by raising alleged Hindu migration & Triple Talaaq: PTI

#7:38 PM

AAP says bribery remarks of Arvind Kejriwal do not amount to any offence, will take legal remedy over EC move: PTI

#7:37 PM

Two Sri Lankan nationals held with foreign currency at Mumbai airport: ANI

#7:35 PM

I am not denying that we(Congress) also made some mistakes, but we atleast had a clear future vision and core principles- #PChidambaram:ANI

#7:34 PM

There are no jobs, no investment, farmers are in distress. Now even SC is asking why suicides are taking place- P Chidambaram,Congress: ANI

#6:41 PM

One US soldier dead, three injured in raid in #Yemen: US military - AFP

#6:40 PM

Delhi: IGI Airport Customs seized 1008 gms of gold coated with colour to resemble wires. Two people arrested: ANI

#6:27 PM

PV Sindhu wins Syed Modi International Badminton Championship Women's single title: ANI

#6:03 PM

Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav addressing a rally in Lucknow: ANI

#6:00 PM

Documentary on Ashok Chakra awardee Hangappan Dada (posthumous) takes Internet by storm with over 8 lakh views within 3 days of release: PTI



#5:42 PM

For the 1st time, govt to conduct comprehensive census on endangered Gangetic dolphins, ghariyals and turtles across entire Ganges: PTI

#5:41 PM

MCI to put in place biometric attendance facility in govt & pvt medical colleges to track attendance & eliminate "ghost" faculty members:PTI

#5:39 PM

Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah and Uddhav Thackeray to address poll rallies in Goa on Monday: PTI

#5:25 PM

Woman among two Naxals gunned down in Dantewada: PTI

#5:12 PM

25 missing Chinese in Malaysia boat sinking found alive: minister: AFP

#5:09 PM

RBI rejects EC's request to enhance weekly cash- withdrawal limit for candidates contesting Assembly polls in five states: PTI



#5:07 PM

Indian shuttler Sameer Verma wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold men's singles titleSameer Verma wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold men's singles title. PTI

#4:33 PM

Clashes on Yemen west coast kill more than 100: medics - AFP

#4:31 PM

Qazigund (J&K): Jammu-Srinagar national highway reopened: ANI

#4:29 PM

EC wrote to RBI Governor Urjit Patel on issue of cash withdrawal limits for candidates: ANI

#4:21 PM

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar says preparation is key for everyone, be it a student or a player: PTI

#4:20 PM

Sachin Tendulkar thanks PM Narendra Modi for citing him as example for students to compete with oneself & not with others: PTI

#4:14 PM

Panaji: Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis release BJP Manifesto: ANI

#4:08 PM

Hollywood producers name 'La La Land' the year's best film



#4:07 PM

They way Rahul Gandhi was praising Mayawati I feel that BSP is also a hidden partner of this alliance: Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister: ANI

#4:05 PM

Leaders of Britain, Germany criticize Trump's travel ban on citizens from 7 Muslim-majority countries: AP

#4:03 PM

Thailand considers building prison for LGBT inmates, expanding on policy of separating jailed sexual minorities: AP

#4:02 PM

Global warming, ecological changes and Pak shelling triggering avalanches in Jammu and Kashmir: Army Chief Bipin Rawat: PTI

#4:01 PM

Angela Merkel says Trump immigration ban 'not justified': spokesman - AFP

#3:59 PM

41 Al Qaeda terrorists, 16 civilians dead in US raid on Yemen:AFP

#3:58 PM

Jaunpur (UP): Police seized 1500 crates carrying 67500 bottles of alcohol from a truck during checking: ANI

#3:57 PM

Lucknow: CM Akhilesh Yadav and Congres VP Rahul Gandhi pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi: ANI

#3:56 PM

Claim that Kejriwal will put certain people behind bars if voted to power is dictator's language; we are voted to uphold law: PM Modi: PTI

#3:55 PM

AAP's attack on #EC for same day polls in Goa & Punjab is excuse for defeat, it will lose due to its antics in Delhi: PM Modi :PTI

#3:53 PM

Cricketer MS Dhoni says in Delhi HC that mobile firm still projecting him as brand ambassador despite agreement termination in Dec 2012: PTI

#3:00PM

From beginning of Jan 2017, AIU seized foreign currency worth Rs.80 lakh at Mumbai Airport being illegally smuggled out of the country - ANI

#2:55PM

During intervening night of 28/29 Jan, AIU intercepted 2 Sri Lankan nationals at Mumbai Airport carrying foreign currency worth Rs. 21 lakh - ANI

#2:50PM

Ethanol production plant will be set up soon in Punjab: PM Modi - ANI

#2:45PM

Want our farmers to prosper, hence have initiated several measures; We brought Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana for them: PM Modi - ANI

#2:40PM

J&K: Due to snow in the area efforts to transport mortal remains of Army personnel who lost their lives in Gurez to Srinagar, continue - ANI

#2:35pm

J&K: As Srinagar, Gurez & Machhil remain snow-packed, Army aviation & IAF's attempts to evacuate 5 personnel rescued in Machhil continue - ANI

#2:31PM

Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh): Police busted an illegal arms racket in Dhanari. 51 country-made pistols and 6 rifles recovered. 2 persons arrested - ANI

#2:16PM

How can I give them the place? She take so much place, the symbol of her party is Elephant: Akhilesh Yadav on if BSP would've been part of alliance

#2:15PM

This alliance isn't opportunistic, will explain to Modi Ji, BJP & RSS that UP and its people are one and we will not let them create divide: RG - ANI

#2:13PM

BJP makes one Indian fight with the other Indian, but there is no danger with Mayawati's ideology - ANI

#2:12PM

I respect personality of Mayawati ji, BSP has governed in UP and made some mistakes, but i still respect her: Rahul Gandhi

#2:01PM

Priyanka has been of tremendous help to me and I have been so to her, if she campaigns or not is her choice; she is an asset to Cong: RGandhi- ANI

#2:00PM

Whether we will form an alliance in Lok Sabha or not is open to discussion: Rahul Gandhi - ANI

#1:55PM

This alliance will answer those who made the nation stand in queues: Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow - ANI

#1:50PM

We are the wheels and we don't have much difference in age, we are the wheels of success and happiness: Akhilesh Yadav - ANI

#1:45PM

The alliance has made the personal and political relationship between Akhilesh and me better: Rahul Gandhi - ANI

#1:40PM

We were together in Lok Sabha, we know each other, and the good news is that we both have to work together: CM Akhilesh Yadav

#1:34PM

PM Modi ji this is 3ps, progress, prosperity aur peace: Rahul Gandhi - ANI

#1:33PM

This is like the Ganga- Yammuna meeting point and the progress of Saraswati will come out from here: Rahul Gandhi - ANI

#1:32PM

Our partnership is an answer: Rahul Gandhi at Congress-SP joint press conference - ANI

#1:30PM

Lucknow: Congress-SP joint press conference starts, Rahul Gandhi addresses first - ANI



#1:26PM

Chhattisgarh: 2 Naxals killed in an encounter with police in Dantewada; 303 rifle and 315 bore rifle recovered - ANI

#1:19PM

Cong VP Rahul Gandhi and UP CM Akhilesh Yadav's joint press conference in Lucknow to start shortly in Lucknow - ANI

#1:14pm

EC has stated that compliance report regarding legal action on Arvind Kejriwal should be sent to the Commission latest by 3.00 PM on 31 Jan - ANI

#1:12PM

EC directs necessary legal action be initiated by filing an FIR/complaint against Arvind Kejriwal for statements on & after 8 Jan in Goa - ANI



#12:42PM

India A and Under-19 trainer Rajesh Sawant passes away - ANI

#12:41PM

Age is a state of mind & it shouldn't be criteria for deciding what situation needs: SM Krishna - ANI

#12:19PM

Age is a state of mind & it shouldn't be criteria for deciding what situation needs: SM Krishna - ANI



#12:17PM

Congress doesn't need mass leaders these days, they only want managers, who can handle a situation: SM Krishna - ANI

#12:15PM

What pained me was how #Congress sidelined a loyal worker, cited my age for sidelining me: SM Krishna - ANI

#12:03PM

1 dead as almost 30 vehicles rammed into each other on Jaipur- Agra Highway due to fog; 28 injured out of which 3 are critical - ANI

#11:52AM

Almost 30 vehicles rammed into each other on Jaipur- Agra Highway due to fog; 15 injured - ANI

#11:49AM

Duo of Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal defeat Sania Mirza & Ivan Dodig in Australian Open Mixed Double's finals - ANI

#11:44AM

Delhi:Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat attends wreath laying ceremony of Major Sagar who lost his life in avalanche that struck J&K's Gurez sector - ANI



#11:43AM

Almost 30 cars crashed into each other on Jaipur- Agra Highway due to fog; 15 injured: Additional Commissioner of Police, Jaipur - ANI



#11:38AM

Be confident, do well. My best wishes are with you. Make the best of it: PM Modi to students - ANI

#11:37AM

Not many know that our Coast Guard has women personnel also and they work at par with their counterparts: PM Modi - ANI

#11:36AM

They not only look after coastal vigilance but also coastal cleanliness, as they under took a cleanliness drive last year: PM - ANI

#11:35AM

Indian Coast Guards completing 40 years on Feb 1, 2017; I thank all jawans and officials for serving the nation: PM -ANI

#11:34AM

1 Feb 2017 marks 40 years of Indian Coast Guard , I congratulate them for it. They are always vigilant: PM Modi - ANI

#11:34AM

Deep breathing is beneficial during exams, it'll keep you feeling fresh; Proper sleep will increase your concentration: PM Modi - ANI

#11:34PM

P for prepare and P for play, the person who plays, shines: PM Modi -ANI

#11:33AM

Take small breaks, return to books feeling fresh. Try deep breathing it is very relaxing: PM Modi

#11:32AM

Cheating is never beneficial, no one must resort to it. If you do it what will you tell your children? : PM Modi - ANI

#11:31AM

Parents' expectations are much heavier than the school bags of students: PM - ANI

#11:30AM

I urge parents to accept rather than expect; Our expectations from our children should not get heavy: PM - ANI



#11:30AM

Competing with others can make you unhappy&jealous. Compete with yourself&you will be energised & more determined to excel: PM - ANI



#11:29AM

Root of problems are expectations, it is acceptance that makes things easy: PM - ANI

#11:28AM

Competing with others can make you unhappy&jealous. Complete with yourself&you will be energised & more determined to excel: PM - ANI

#11:27AM

Look at life of Sachin Tendulkar; he kept challenging himself and bettered his own records, which is what is inspiring: PM Modi - ANI

#11:27AM

See the example of Sachin Tendulkar, for 20 years he kept breaking his own records hence getting better everytime: PM Modi - ANI



#11:25AM

Only studying for marks will lead to shortcuts and one will limit himself or herself; It's important to study for knowledge: PM - ANI



#11:24AM

You should compete with yourself to see how can tomorrow be made better than yesterday: PM Modi - ANI

#11:23AM

If your mission and ambition are in sync, marks will follow: PM Narendra Modi - ANI

#11:22AM

See exmp of Pres Kalam,he wasn't able to get into the forces,if he would've let it hamper him,we wouldn't have had a great man like him: PM - ANI



#11:21AM

We sometimes do not see exams in the right perspective; Exams are not a benchmark of your success in life: PM Modi - ANI



#11:20AM

The exams that you'll give are a test of this year not of a lifetime: PM Modi - ANI



#11:19AM

A happy mind is the secret of a good mark sheet: PM Narendra Modi - ANI

#11:18AM

When you are relaxed, the recall value will be more; Relaxation is the best tonic for memory: PM Modi - ANI

#11:17AM

During exams there should be an environment of festivity, it will turn P for pressure into P for pleasure: PM Modi - ANI

#11:17AM

I will tell all students smile more and score more: PM - ANI

#11:14AM

Do not think about exams as pressure; they should be celebrated as festivals: PM Modi - ANI

#11:13AM

Why should exam time be a time of stress or sadness? Want to talk about exams & what so many people have written to me: PM Modi - ANI

#11:12AM

30 Jan is the punya-tithi of our respected Baapu: PM - ANI

#11:10AM

In the light of recent Republic day celebrations I'd say the stress laid on rights must also be laid on duties: PM - ANI



#11:09AM

My condolence to the brave jawans who lost their lives due to avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir: PM Modi - ANI

#11:08AM

Congratulate families&personnel who won gallantry awards on R-Day. I urge youth to research on them by using internet&spread the word: PM - ANI

#11:07AM

Maan Ki Baat: We will observe a silence of 2 minutes on morning of 30 Jan to pay respect to martyrs who gave their lives for the nation: PM Modi - ANI

#11:04AM

PM Modi begins Maan Ki Baat, his monthly radio address to the nation -ANI

#9:12AM

Tamil Nadu: Preparations underway for Jalikattu in Karungulam village - ANI

#8:30AM

Jammu & Kashmir: CRPF conducted civic action program in Rajouri on Saturday and provided furniture, computers and toilet utilities to schools - ANI

#8:15AM

Jharkhand: Police recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition from Naxal hideout in Latehar, on Saturday - ANI

#8:10AM

West Bengal: Sachin Tendulkar flagged off Kolkata Full Marathon during early hours today - ANI

#7:59AM

Punjab Polls: I never fight an election that I don't win: Cong CM candidate Captain Amarinder Singh to ANI on being asked what if he loses - ANI

#7:57AM

4 weeks I want to break drug nexus. We know who does it, it is question of govt being willing to do it: Amarinder Singh - ANI

#7:55AM

Love using social media as I love 'thokoing' & arguing if someone says something I don't think is correct-Amarinder Singh - ANI

#7:52AM

Punjab Polls: Badal too old to understand & is busy doing his sangat darshan; giving step mother treatment to state: Amarinder Singh - ANI

#7:51AM

Punjab Polls: Akalis are total mismanagement, corruption, trade loss, farmers hanging themselves; it is a total collapse: Amarinder Singh - ANI

#7:50AM

There was resentment so ppl thought let's a new party(AAP).Kejriwal is very ambitious but that's not the ambition Punjab needs-ASingh to ANI

#7:40AM

Kejriwal is a sneaky little fellow but I'm little wary of him as we can't take him for granted considering 2014 polls:Amarinder Singh to ANI

#7:35AM

Punjab Polls: PM Narendra Modi to address election rally in Punjab's Faridkot - ANI

#7:30AM

Akhilesh Yadav & Rahul Gandhi to address joint press conference at 1 PM, followed by a joint road show at 2 PM in Lucknow

#7:26AM

PM Modi to hold his monthly address to the nation, MaanKiBaat at 11AM

#7:25AM

Delhi: 25 trains arriving late, 5 rescheduled, 1 cancelled due to fog/other operational reasons - ANI

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

A 53-year-old Indian has been taken into custody by police in the US state of North Dakota for allegedly making a bomb threat at an airport as he told a travel agent that there was an explosive in his bag.

The suspect identified as Paraman Radhakishan, from India, was taken into custody at the Grand Forks International Airport. He faces terrorism charges.

Police said Radhakishan was taken into custody after he told a travel agent at the Grand Forks International Airport around 5:14 AM yesterday that there was a bomb in his bag.

As a precautionary measure, operations were suspended.

The Grand Forks Regional Bomb Squad evaluated the validity of the threat, a statement said.

Airport operations were soon normalised. Radhakishan was on his way from Grand Forksthe third largest city in North Dakotato Minneapolis. Radhakishans motive is still under investigation, however, police said it is possible he became upset with airport staff. Police said whatever the reason, any threat of this kind is taken seriously.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Lambi:

Congress' Chief ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh stormed the citadel of CM Parkash Singh Badal at Lambi and launched a scathing attack on the ruling family, promising to "throw all their ministers and OSDs into the jail for destroying people's lives". Capt Amarinder lambasted Badal for the alleged growing incidents of sacrilege in the state, which he said was a clear attempt by the Akalis to divide Punjab on communal lines.

He also came down heavily on Badal for the "misdeeds of his ministers", pointing out that while Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was "openly trading in drugs", Agriculture Minister Tota Singh had "ruined" the state by "supplying fake seeds and pesticides". "How can Badal claim not to know about what's happening in his own backyard," Capt Amarinder said.

Addressing rallies in Panjwan and Sarawan Bodla, he promised to throw them all, along with Sukhbir Badal's OSDs(Officer on Sepcial Duty)- Dyal Singh Kolianwal (SGPC member), Satinderjee Singh Mantta, as well as his close aide Tejinder Singh Middhukhera, into jail for the atrocities committed onthe people of Punjab.

The PPCC chief also lashed out at AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal as a 'rank outsider' and a 'liar of the first order',with no interest in the welfare of Punjab or its people. With many of his own MLAs in Delhi in jail on various criminal charges, and he himself under probe in a corruptioncase along with his brother-in-law, Kejriwal's credentials had been blasted to smithereens, he said.

Asserting that he would give the Akalis a massive beating all over Punjab, where the Congress party's internal analysisis giving SAD no more than 14 seats, Amarinder said that he had been unable to come to Lambi after filing his nomination papers as he was going all over the state to ensure that the Badals are wiped out from Punjab for good.

Reacting to Sukhbir's promise of loan waiver for farmers, Capt Amarinder asked "was he sleeping the last 10 years?" Expressing concern over the suicides by farmers in Punjab, he reiterated his promise to waive off all their loans immediately after coming to power. Referring to the SYL issue, Capt Amarinder said construction of the canal, which the Akalis had failed to stop and which Arvind Kejriwal would allow in the interest of hisnative state of Haryana, would adversely affected 6 lakh families in southern Punjab.

"We cannot allow that to happen at any cost," he said. Capt Amarinder's remarks came even as, at Panjwan, theHaryana Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee extended itssupport to the Punjab Congress in the assembly polls. The PPCC president lamented the alleged injustice metedout to Punjab in water-sharing, which had enabled Haryana toget more water despite being a smaller state post reorganisation.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Berlin:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesman said.

The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries, Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion.

The German government will now examine the consequences of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

A federal judge yesterday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Merkels condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.

The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, he said.

The chancellor stressed this policy in Saturdays phone call with the US president.

In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a catastrophic mistake in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.

More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the countrys doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution, although the influx has slowed in recent months.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington :

Unfazed by growing criticism, US President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his controversial immigration order that bans travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, asserting that it is working very nicely even as he maintained that it is not a ban on Muslims.

Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over, Trump told reporters even as the sweeping immigration order caused chaos and confusion at airports across the country, triggering widespread protests.

He, however, denied that barring refugees from several predominantly Muslim nations amounted to a ban on Muslims.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared, Trump told reporters after he signed three more executive orders related to lobbying ban, plan to defeat ISIS and reorganisation of National Security Council.

Also read: Video | Trump's immigration executive orders: Over 100 people detained at US airports; Federal judge grants emergency stay for citizens in transit

President Trump yesterday ordered extreme vetting of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of America.

The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn-in as the President, fulfills the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

The immigration order, however, hit a roadblock when a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring authorities from deporting refugees and other visa holders who have been detained.

Also read: Iran to ban Americans from entering country after Trump's immigration orders

Earlier, a senior Administration official also pushed back on the notion that the controversial executive order was a Muslim ban.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official listed off several predominantly Muslim countries that the order does not apply to.

The official said the US still took in more foreigners than any other country in the history of civilisation and that the number of people impacted by the executive order was relatively small.

We?re dealing with a relatively small universe of people, the official said.

It?s important to keep in mind that no person living or residing overseas has a right to entry to the US, the official added.

Green Card holders from one of the seven affected countries who are currently outside the US will need a case by case waiver to return to America, according to the official.

Also read: Muslims with valid visas barred to board flights to the US, others detained

Those Green Card holders in the US will have to meet with a consular officer before leaving the country, the official said.

The official said the administration is still working to define what in transit means for the purposes of the hardship exemption for refugees who have been approved to enter the US but are currently in a third country.

The White House is aware of reports that Iran plans reciprocal steps in response to the executive order, the official said, adding if those measures are indeed reciprocal, it means that the Iranians will review each individual on a case by case basis.

Trump?s executive orders signed yesterday imposes a five-year lobbying ban on administration officials and a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for a foreign country.

The other executive action calls on military leaders to present a report to the president in 30 days that outlines a strategy for defeating ISIS.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Iran will ban Americans from entering the country in response to President Donald Trump's "insulting" order restricting arrivals from Iran and six other Muslim states, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran... has decided to respond in kind after the insulting decision of the United States concerning Iranian nationals" until the measure is lifted, the ministry said in a statement carried by state television.

President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered extreme vetting of people entering the US from certain Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of America.

Also Read: Donald Trump's visa ban to keep Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi from attending Oscars

I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We dont want them here, Trump said after signing an executive order at the Pentagon.

The executive order Protection of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States notes that the steps taken by the US in the aftermath of 9/11 has not been able to deter terrorists from entering the country.

Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the US after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the US refugee resettlement program, it said.

Also Read: Video | Trump's immigration executive orders: Over 100 people detained at US airports; Federal judge grants emergency stay for citizens in transit

The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, according to a White House official.

The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn-in as the President, fulfils the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

(With PTI Inputs)

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Tehran:

Families have split, parents are unable to reach there son's wedding and officials warning of a "gift to extremists" -- US President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries has triggered shock and confusion among those affected. "There is mass hysteria among the Iranian-American community -- that's no exaggeration," said Saam Borhani, an attorney in Los Angeles.

He said clients were bombarding him with questions since Trump passed an executive order on Friday, suspending refugee arrivals and imposing tough controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the restrictions have already caused chaos forstudents, businessmen and families.

"I have several clients impacted by the executive order-- married couples whose spousal visas have been stopped,causing them to be separated. A father living in Iran who is unable to come to his son's wedding in California," said Borhani, who was himself born in the US to Iranian parents. US State Department figures show Iran accounted for around a quarter of the 31,804 visas granted to citizens fromthe seven countries last year. Among thousands facing difficulties, an Iraqi family wasbarred in Cairo from taking their connecting flight to New York on Saturday.

"I had sold my house, my car, my furniture. I resignedfrom work and so did my wife. I took my children out ofschool," Fuad Sharef, 51, told AFP. "Donald Trump destroyed my life. My family's life. I used to think America was a state of institutions but it's asthough it's a dictatorship," he said. An Iranian woman blocked from boarding at Tehran airport on Sunday said she had waited 14 years for her green card. "Even during the hostage crisis at the US embassy (in1980), the US government didn't issue such an order. They say the US is the cradle of liberty. I don't see freedom in thatcountry," she said, asking not to be named.

The US embassy in Baghdad said on Facebook that dual nationals from the seven countries would be barred from entering the United States, excluding those with American passports. "Daeshi decision," Baghdad resident Nibal Athed wrote inresponse to the post, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. He asked why the list excluded Afghanistan, Pakistan,Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which he described as the "biggestsponsors of terrorism". Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that Trump's move "will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.

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Beirut:

Air strikes have killed 10 civilians including seven children in areas near a town held by the Islamic State group in north Syria, a monitor said.

The strikes came as regime forces had advanced to within seven kilometres (four miles) of the jihadist groups bastion of Al-Bab, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Saturday said.

The Observatory said regime airstrikes killed a child in Tanif on Saturday, while Turkish air raids left nine civilians dead including six children in Al-Uraima and Bezaa.

President Bashar al-Assads fighters have advanced towards Al-Bab from the southwest, seizing three villages since late Friday, the Observatory said.

Turkish forces, meanwhile, have gathered to the north of the town, the Britain-based monitor said.

Al-Bab has come under heavy assault in recent weeks, with Turkish, Russian and Syrian warplanes carrying out strikes in or around the town.

Turkish forces regularly carry out air strikes in support of a ground operation they launched in Syria last August targeting both IS and Kurdish fighters.

Several this month have been joint operations with Russia.

Turkish officials say the utmost is done to avoid causing civilian casualties, and have denied claims that civilians have been killed in previous raids.

The Observatory has also reported that 10 civilians were killed on Friday in Turkish air strikes and shelling in the area.

Turkeys state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday that the latest round of raids had killed 22 IS terrorists.

IS is not included in a fragile nationwide ceasefire in force since December 30 that led to peace talks jointly organised by Turkey, Russia and Iran in Kazakhstan this week.

Ankara has backed rebels since the conflict began with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in March 2011.

Moscow and Tehran have supported the government.

The Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria for its information, says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.

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Washington:

President Donald Trumps administration is drafting an executive order giving the US military 30 days to devise a new strategy for defeating the Islamic State group, the White House told on Saturday.

A senior administration official told reporters that Trump might sign the orderdesigned to fulfill one of his main campaign pledgesas early today.

The order is seen as meaning more US forces and military hardware moving into Iraq and Syria.

We have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice, Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast Thursday, using another acronym for the jihadist group.

This is evil. This is a level of evil that we havent seen.

Barack Obama took a longer term view of the anti-IS fight, with a more cautious commitment of US forces, instead ramping up an air war against the violent extremists.

President Trump might be looking for something with quicker results, that could put some more options on the table, retired lieutenant general David Barno, who led coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, told National Public Radio on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wants the Pentagon to come up with a new set of options for a tougher campaign against IS.

The United States currently has 5,000 troops in Iraq and 500 in Syria as advisorsbut also US artillery and aircraft to help in the fight.

They have provided substantial support to the assault led by Iraqi forces on Islamic States hold on the key city of Mosul.

The slow, steady assault has driven IS fighters out of part of the city on the east bank of the Tigris River, and forces are now preparing an assault on IS-held Mosul neighborhoods on the rivers west bank.

According to reports, an escalation of the US role could involve more US armor and helicopters engaging in the assaults on IS positions together with Iraqi, Turkish and Kurdish forces.

Trump could elect to put American boots on the ground on larger numbers, Barno said.

That all entails new uses of military power... and that opens the prospect of a deeper involvement with more casualties.

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Washington:

US President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Saturday with various world leaders, amid growing international alarm and a legal challenge over his moves to drastically limit Muslim immigration to the United States.

In a flurry of calls that started early in the morning and rounded out an already frantically paced week, Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He has calls planned for later in the day with French President Francois Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The conversations gave the US president an early opportunity to explain new policies that have baffled and unnerved much of the rest of the worldparticularly his order to temporarily halt all refugee arrivals and those of travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries including war-wracked Syria.

The calls also allow him to start developing ties with countries that have been close allies with the United States in recent history, as well as Russiaa perennial foe, but a country with which Trump has said he is keen to improve relations.

Trumps pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travellers from Islamic countries to extreme vetting, which he declared would make America safe from radical Islamic terrorists.

This is big stuff, the new US president declared at the Pentagon yesterday, after signing an executive order entitled Protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States.

The decree suspends the entire US refugee resettlement program for at least 120 days while tough vetting rules are established.

The new protocols ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States.

In addition, they specifically bar Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat.

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New Delhi:

After the President Donald Trumpas order of extreme vetting of people entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, protesters gathered at airports across the country. As per reports, over 100 people detained at US airports because of Trump's immigration executive orders will not be deported due to court ruling.

In the meantime, Federal judge grants emergency stay for citizens in transit from seven countries named in Trump's executive order. Protesters erupted in celebration at JFK Airport after district judge blocks deportation of those detained at US airports.

Federal judge grants emergency stay for citizens in transit from seven countries named in Trump's executive order. https://t.co/wvf4DLwIBZ a CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 29, 2017

People are protesting in huge numbers at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The crowds protested detention of two Iraqis who were later released.

BREAKING: Over 100 people detained at US airports because of Trump's immigration executive orders will not be deported due to court ruling a The Int'l Spectator (@spectatorindex) January 29, 2017

"Mr. President, look at us," this is America. What you have done is shameful. It's un-American," said US Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a New York Democrat.

The protesters gathered in Terminal 4 at JFK and showed signs reading, "We are all immigrants!" and "No ban! No wall!"

"What's happening at JFK is shameful. @NYCImmigrants Affairs Commissioner Nisha Agarwal is on the ground now working to help," tweeted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

BREAKING: Protesters erupt in celebration at JFK Airport after district judge blocks deportation of those detained at US airports a The Int'l Spectator (@spectatorindex) January 29, 2017

Protests also gathered at airports in Newark, New Jersey; Boston; San Francisco; Denver, Colorado; and Dallas to protest the immigration policy.

Protests are scheduled Sunday in Orlando, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington and Chicago, mostly at airports.

VIDEO: Large protests at JFK Airport protesting Trump's immigration executive orders



(Source: Jack Smith) pic.twitter.com/9SavnOVXCw a The Int'l Spectator (@spectatorindex) January 29, 2017

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RIDGEFIELDThe Board of Education didnt vote Thursday on how to reconfigure school assignments to deal with declining enrollment, but members seemed likely to take the two most controversial options off the table.

The discussion followed a Jan. 9 presentation by the consulting firm of Milone and MacBroom on three possible scenarios for restructuring Ridgefield public schools as part of the districts ongoing effort to address falling student population and make the best use of existing buildings.

The school boards discussion Thursday focused on two options: closing Scotland Elementary School and moving fifth-graders from elementary to middle schools, or pocket redistricting of some elementary students to better balance their distribution among the six schools. The third option - to revise how the elementaries feed into the two middle schools  was not mentioned.

After the discussion, Board Chair Frances Walton noted an emerging consensus against the two options under discussion, although the evenings agenda did not call for official action.

Board member Michael Taylor said any proposed change should meet two criteria: That it save money, or at least not cost more, and that it improve educational opportunities. By that test, he said, closing Scotland and moving fifth-graders to the middle school wouldnt work.

It seems like were failing on both points, he said. Im starting to hear that around the table as well.

Board member Sharon DOroso later used the same two-prong analysis to argue against pocket redistricting.

Parents opposing the two scenarios urged the board to consider what they have begun calling Option Four, which is to do nothing.

None of these options provide any benefit to our town or our people, said Stephany Sanderson of North Salem Road. Parents in this town are frustrated that we keep having this conversation over and over again. These are children, not numbers.

Board members reported receiving 57 emails since their last meeting about the reassignment options, in addition to the 15 parents that spoke against them on Thursday.

Many parents highlighted the emotional impact switching schools would have on their children, wondering whether it is worth the potential financial and logistical gains.

Yes, children are resilient, but do we want to go out of our way to test that resilience? asked Phil Rosengren, a parent of two. It will not improve the learning experience of the childrenand there appear to be no cost savings, so we ask, Why? 

Personnel savings for closing Scotland have been estimated at $190,000. The district also would expect to avoid paying $752,000 in planned improvements at the school over the next five years. Those savings would be partly offset by $40,000 to $50,000 in moving costs and the $55,000 annual cost of maintaining the empty building  not to mention the possible $4.5 million cost of reopening the school in 2028 if enrollment rebounded.

Closing the school and reassinging fifth-graders to middle schools would redistrict 25 to 30 percent of elementary students and 7 percent of middle-school students.

The board also reviewed proposed timelines for pocket redistricting, the quickest of which would take one year and move 4 percent of students. Other timelines attempted to avoid making students change schools twice in two years, as would occur to certain fourth-graders in the pocket plan.

Milone & MacBrooms research, which began in July, estimates that the district will lose about a tenth ofcurrent 5,000-student population by 2026-27.
First it spun. Then, it rolled. Finally, it hit the boards.

Since The Whos Tommy came out in 1969, it has drawn audiences in all its incarnations, including a best-selling album, a 1975 star-studded movie and a Tony award-winning musical in 1992.

The Who is just one of those bands that have had great longevity and success, and that is part of it, said Curtain Call executive director Lou Ursone, in explaining the popularity of the story itself. And the Broadway musical was really successful. It took an album from the late 1960s and gave it new life and more elaborate story-telling.

The Stamford theater company brings The Whos Tommy to audiences beginning tonight at the Kweskin Theatre. Born out of a rock opera idea by Pete Townshend, the lead guitarist for the popular British band, it is the story of Tommy, who becomes catatonic after witnessing a devastating event as a child. As a teen, he demonstrates an astounding proficiency at pinball, eventually breaking through his pain to become an international superstar.

The musical score, a collaboration between Townshend and Des McAnuff, features the hits Pinball Wizard, See Me, Touch Me and Im Free.

The 30-member cast, which has been rehearsing since November, fronts a set that features video projections and lighting effects that are more akin to a concert than a play. A recent upgrade to LED stage lights has given the theater a greater range for color. And, of course, there are also several pinball machines built by the set design crew.

More Information Curtain Call, Kweskin Theatre, 1349 Newfield Ave., Stamford. Thursday, Feb. 2, 9 and 16, 8 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 3, 10, 17, and Saturday, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 8 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 5, noon, 2 p.m. $32-$16. May not be appropriate for younger audiences. 203-461-6358, curtaincallinc.com See More Collapse

Im thrilled to have this fabulous show as part of our season, Ursone said in a release. I saw the original Broadway production twice and was amazed at how well the album translated to the stage, so Im really looking forward to letting area audiences enjoy the show as I did, he said.

This will be director Peter Greens first production for Curtain Call.

As a director, there are two ideas in The Whos Tommy that I find to be important, Green said in the release. The first is the idea that extreme circumstances  sickness, for example  can be the springboard to a wealth of perspective and extraordinary insight. For Tommy, the years of sensory deprivation give him the opportunity to experience the second important idea, that our connection to other people is what matters most.

chennessy@hearstmedia.com;

Twitter: @xtinahennessy
The house that I live in has five rooms in its center. That center, built in the mid-1800s, leaks heat the way an old wooden dam leaks water  all the time, in innumerable places.

But in mid-November, two workmen from HE-Energy Solutions came and calked hundreds of those leaks. They installed new weather-stripping on all my doors, wrapped pipes and replaced more than 20 of the light bulbs in the house with new LED bulbs that will use much less energy and last for years.

It took the two men about four hours to do all the work. It cost me $124, but all the weather-stripping, all the LED bulbs, all the calking and insulating wrapping on my pipes were included in the price.

The work should save me about $400 a year on heating oil and electricity, if I remember to keep the back door closed on cold days. (Do you think youre living in a barn? my parents used to ask rhetorically when I left the door open as a kid. I guess I still do think that.)

And its a very small, useful way of reducing the energy I use. The less energy, the less need for new transmission wires and natural gas generators and heating oil pumped out of the ground. I know its only a tiny fraction of everything, but its my tiny fraction.

And those fractions add up. The 2015 Report of the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Board estimates that in that year, all the energy efficiency programs in the state took nearly 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the air, equivalent to taking 786,694 cars off the road.

We should think of this as recycled energy, energy thats returned to the marketplace, said Diane Duva, director of energy demand at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Its like when we recycle aluminum. We get to use it again.

Each year, about 40,000 Connecticut homeowners avail themselves of the work I had done, through Energize CTs Home Energy Solutions program. To learn more, or to sign up, go to energizect.com or call 1-877-WISE-USE.

A few years ago, Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi had Home Energy Solutions stop up at least some of the energy leaks in his home, built in the 1890s. He figures it now saves him at least $75 a month in energy costs.

And, other being at home when the workmen arrived, it required no work on his part.

Its a very smart thing to do, Marconi said. Its good for the environment and it saves you money. Its a win-win situation.

While the state utilities help administer the Home Energy Solutions program, Connecticut residents pay for it, with a few pennies a month from every utility bill put aside for energy efficiency programs.

Its really something you can do right now, said Mitch Gross, spokesman for Eversource. It helps the state control energy costs and it makes your house more comfortable. It keeps the warm air in in the winter and the cool air in in the summer.

Gross also pointed out that the program installs equipment like aerators to faucets that can reduce water use in a home by as much as 1,000 gallons a year. That saves money on water bills and also helps the community at large.

The last time I checked, we were still in a drought, Gross said.

Another way of thinking of energy thats not used  and is therefore available to be used at a later date  is as alternative energy. Its like wind power without the turbines, solar power without the panels.

Its by far the cleanest source of energy we have and the cheapest, said energy consultant Joel Gordes.

It costs 4 cents a kilowatt hour to conserve energy and 17 cents an hour to purchase it.

Chris Phelps, executive director of Environment CT, said that Connecticut is a national leader in its energy efficiency programs.

What were now seeing is that while energy use overall in the state is leveling off, or even declining slightly, the state economy is growing, Phelps said. Weve been able to break the linkage between use of energy and economic growth.

A new study shows that nationwide, about 2.2 million people are employed in energy efficiency work, Phelps said. Thats more than in any other sector of the U.S. energy production.

Its not just about power plants anymore, he said.

Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com
Five finalist teams in the Google Lunar XPRIZE have been set, and they all have rocket launch contracts to go to the Moon in 2017.

$30 million in prizes is on the line, including the $20 million grand prize for whoever gets there first (and completes the competition goals), and these teams are employing a variety of technology to land first and claim the fame.

They hail from Japan, India, the United States, and Israel, with launches set to happen from places as far-flung as California, USA; Sriharikota, India; and Mahia, New Zealand. Heres a look at all five teams, and their technology thats set to make big space history.

* SpaceIL, Tel Aviv, Israel

SpaceIL signed a deal with SpaceX (through Spaceflight Services) to launch in late 2017. Using a hopper style of craft, where they will land on the lunar surface, fly 500m, and then touch down again to claim the prize

* Moon Express, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Famous for being the first private organization to get approval from their government to operate on the Moon (a necessary step for international space law), United States space start-up Moon Express are ready to bring the Moon back in a big way to Floridas Space Coast. Using their hopping Moon lander (see the test version above), Moon Express looks to open up a bright future for the eighth continent and bring a real business plan to space. Theyve signed up with New Zealands up-and-coming Rocket Lab to launch from Mahia, New Zealand in late 2017.

Synergy Moon, International

Why buy a ride when you can build one? Synergy Moon team member Interorbital Systems will serve as their launch provider, using a NEPTUNE 8 rocket to carry the team to the moon from an open-ocean location off the California coast during the second half of 2017

Team Indus, India

Hakuto, Japan

Japans popular space team Hakuto has scored some big partnerships, including au by KDDI, Suzuki, rock band Sakanaction, and a longterm Moon-resources-exploration plan with the Japanese space agency JAXA; and now theyre lined up to launch on Team Indus Moon lander. The Indian and Japanese teams will work together to win the Moon race, launching for the Moon on December 28th from Sriharikota, India
[January 28, 2017] Beware: Four Refugee Myth Busters

Recently I had a chance to take a whistle stop tour through three of five remote districts in Uganda hosting 967,054 refugees from six nations. Quietly and without fanfare, violence, or struggle 1,600 to 1,800 refugees are arriving at the transit sites from South Sudan every day - day after day. They line up quietly waiting for Medical Team International staff, working with translators, to poke at them and their children and determine their bill of health. They sit under trees or on benches for hours, barely talking, waiting for their kit of rudimentary supplies, so they can then be bused to some barren plot to build their own makeshift house and begin their lives as refugees in Uganda. A large percent of them are women and children, having left the men behind to try and farm, to defend their land, or to fight in the ugly civil war ravaging the country side. Uncomplaining staff from Medical Teams International, United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and many other non-profit organization partners work diligently for hour all clad in their branded t-shirts. There is no time to waste as every day, more refugees arrive and need to be registered, receive their supplies and health screening and get to their small plots of land all within 24 hours. The only hint of a security concern is that the transit site tells us they have sent the small number of Dinka arrivals to a separate and enclosed sleeping quarters - a remaining sign of the ethnic tension being fomented by President Salva Kiir in a desperate bid to stay in power.



The makeshift and temporary health centers are teeming with people, the pediatric wards full of wee ones on drips for malaria. One third of all patients seen have this dreaded disease but once over the border they are treated; I don't want to think about the ones on the other side without any health services or medicines to keep people from dying. At home in the U.S., this is a completely unknown tragedy. While we fret about Syrian refugees and immigration, the South Sudanese have no hope of jumping across the vast ocean separating our continents. Although far from U.S. shores, we must not ignore the burden that faces countries like Uganda, Lebanon, and Turkey as they take in thousands of extremely vulnerable people every day. In fact, in listening to our news, I'm afraid there are some pretty mistaken notions about refugees, international aid, and our borders, and it's time to bust these popular myths. To read more, please go here.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170128005020/en/

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A proposal for California to secede from the United States was submitted to the Secretary of States Office Thursday.

The proposed Calexit initiative - its name borrowed from the UK's "Brexit" departure from the EU - would ask voters to repeal part of the state constitution that declares California an inseparable part of the U.S.

A recent poll found that one in three California residents would support a possible secession from the U.S. due to their opposition to President Trump. No mention has been made of the president in the proposal.

If the proposal qualifies for the ballot and is approved by voters, it could be a step to a future vote on whether the state would break away from the rest of the nation.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the group behind the proposal, Yes California Independence Campaign, was cleared to begin attempting to collect nearly 600,000 voter signatures needed to place the plan on the ballot.

"In our view, the United States of America represents so many things that conflict with Californian values, and our continued statehood means California will continue subsidizing the other states to our own detriment, and to the detriment of our children," the Yes campaign's website says.

Similar attempts to establish California as a nation, or break it into multiple states, have failed.

The proposed constitutional amendment, titled California Nationhood, would also ask voters to repeal language that states the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law. If approved, it calls for scheduling a vote in 2019 to ask voters, "Should California become a free, sovereign and independent country?"

"America already hates California, and America votes on emotions," Marcus Evans, vice president of Yes California told the Los Angeles Times. "I think we'd have the votes today if we held it."

The campaign must submit the valid voter signatures by July 25 to qualify for the ballot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

I guess a bit of Chaos is coming to the US following Donald Trump's election to the highest seat in the country. The state of California wants to secede from the United States in a move that has been called 'Calexit', which if they succeed, would establish California as a separate country from the USA. This is the first time since 1861 that a state (South Carolina) would attempt to exit the US.One of the people pushing for the secession explained why California wants out of the US;"California is the most diverse place in the world. And we want to have more minorities, more immigrants, more international connections"Additional report from Fox News
A former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, on Saturday took a swipe at critics of President...

A former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, on Saturday took a swipe at critics of President Muhammadu Buhari over the controversy surrounding his vacation to the United Kingdom, where he was expected to undergo routine medical checkups.But an online report had alleged that the President had fallen ill and died in a London hospital where he was receiving treatment, a claim which the Presidency dismissed.However, Oshiomhole, who spoke to journalists at his hometown in Iyamho, Estako West Local Government Area, shortly after voting during the House of Representatives by-election for Etsako federal constituency, noted that the argument generate by Buharis vacation was unnecessary.According to him, the President, as a citizen, was entitled to a period of rest and medical checkups, which he said was not out of place.He explained, I think it is unnecessary. Let us be honest. As the governor of Edo State, we have had to sponsor, and the records are there, first, Nigerian medical doctors, who request for it in black and white that they had to be treated in India, the UK or US and they give me a variety of reasons why they need that foreign medical check.I have seen villagers approaching me that they had prostrate (cancer). They had gone to some local hospitals and they had challenges and they want support to go to India. I had used state funds to support very ordinary people and all kinds of people, including the media, politicians and farmers.I have had course to travel outside Nigeria for a comprehensive medical check, when I was in doubt. And the experience of Gani Fawehimi shows that if ordinary Nigerian labourers, medical doctors find course to go and do what we call routine physical check, why would anybody make it such a big issue that any Nigerian, including our president, should be denied the right for a thorough check.Oshiomhole stated that it was unfortunate that some Nigerians preferred to peddle negative speculation to the extreme, rather than wish the President well.He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be cautious of their utterances.
The Department of State Security Service (DSS) yesterday formally invited the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson...

The Department of State Security Service (DSS) yesterday formally invited the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman for interrogation, four days after its botched attempt to arrest him in Akure.Suleman indicated last night that he would honour the invitation.But he also dismissed insinuations that he was inciting one segment of the society against the other or that he hated Muslims and Fulanis.The DSS, in a letter to Suleman, whose church is based in Auchi, asked him to report at its headquarters in Abuja tomorrow for an interview by 10am over an inciting statement.An attempt by operatives of the agency to arrest Suleman in his hotel room in Ado-Ekiti was aborted by Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State who rushed to the hotel and took the pastor to the Government House.Suleman was in the state for a crusade.A top source said: The service decided to invite Apostle Suleman to interact with him on whether or not he delivered any hard sermon and what informed it. Such interaction can reveal the mindset of such a person.There is no way the security service can be silent on any act capable of breaching the nations security.After the interaction with him, we will determine the next step. It can be in form of caution, signing undertaking or whatever the law says. It will be preemptive to say anything on the invitation.When contacted, Apostle Sulemans Communications Adviser, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said: The General Overseer has received an invitation from DSS.Even though the invitation is ridiculous, as a law-abiding citizen, Apostle Johnson Suleiman will honour it.We also consider the invitation as an afterthought after the botched attempt to arrest Apostle Suleman.Suleman, in a statement yesterday, denied hating Muslims or Fulanis as being speculated in some quarters.He said he merely asked members of his church to kill herdsmen who move close to the churchs headquarters in Auchi, Edo State.Suleman said he was moved to make the call based on the mindless killings across the nation by Fulani herdsmen.He said his driver in Lagos and Chief Security Officer of the church in Auchi are Muslims in whom he has absolute confidence.Suleman also said some of his friends are Fulanis while a number of his family members are still Muslims, most of whom have benefitted from his philanthropic gestures.He said: I have friends as Fulanis. I have members as Fulanis in our northern churches.I have a driver who drives me whenever I am in Lagos, he is a Muslim. He has been driving me for years till date.I have bought him two cars as well. If I am not tolerant, a Muslim should not be driving me.I discovered that the Chief Security Officer (of our church) was also a Muslim. Yes, he was a Muslim supervising the security unit our church.Funny enough, majority of my callers on this issue have been Muslims; they have re-echoed what I said on the tape and do not hold contrary views about it.He said that killings by herdsmen must be tackled collectively to save the nation, saying many of them were carrying out too many nefarious activities.I do not have issues with the Fulani people; I have seen and read of some good people from there. I have also seen extremely nice Muslims.For example, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is a Fulani man and also a Muslim. There was a church that was destroyed in his province, he personally rebuilt it.The Fulani people who are very enlightened understand the intricacies in this matter and most of them have been speaking with me.Whereas the herdsmen who are the perpetrators of this evil are happy with these developments because it has become a religious problem and this is part of my anger, Suleman explained.He went on: There are still real Fulani herdsmen who are nomads and still taking care of their cattle everywhere.They carry sticks around. But these particular (killer) herdsmen carry guns, sophisticated weapons and the likes.I have made it clear that my anger is with the Fulani herdsmen and my point is; that no one should lay down to be killed by these people. Only cowards do that.And I stand my ground that the herdsmen who are killing should be dealt with.Earlier in a separate statement in Abuja on Wednesday, Shaibu said the church wondered why its General Overseer could be so harassed for merely expressing his opinion on the menace of Fulani herdsmen, when freedom of expression is one of the rights guaranteed by the nations Constitution.The Fulani militia, masquerading as herdsmen have stated that they are going to kill him.Everyone knows that they are armed with AK47 and have already killed over 7000 persons in Nigeria. Women have been raped and houses destroyed.Yet, not one of them has been caught or is being prosecuted by the DSS or Federal Government.Are we saying that the man should fold his arms and allow the same Fulani militia to kill him?Is he wrong to give his security aides orders that they should kill any of the so called herdsmen found near him or his church? Is there nothing like self defence in our law? he asked.Shaibu said that the firebrand pastors message which may have drawn the ire of the DSS and the Federal Government was directed at the Fulani militia, in the guise of herdsmen,that have openly declared intention to kill him.Shaibu said even if the comments made by Apostle Suleman were found to be inciting , as alleged by the SSS, a government that believes in robust debate as a means of strengthening democracy would simply have invited him for explanation , rather than attempting to kidnap him.We expected a more civilized conduct from a government that promised Change.What most people do not know is that Apostle Suleimans father was a Muslim. He was born into a Muslim family.He has brothers and sisters that are Muslims and enjoy very cordial relationship with them.So to brand him anti Islam or anti Muslim is being mischievous or taking apostles message out of context, he stated.
The Enugu State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress on Sunday rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjos suggestion that the South-East should produce the countrys President in 2019.Speaking when the leadership of the Ogun State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit, Obasanjo had said the South-East should have a shot at the Presidency in 2019.Irrespective of the thinking of the people ahead of 2019, I personally think that South-East should have a go at the Presidency too, the former President had said.But the APC in Enugu State has rejected Obasanjos suggestion.The Publicity Secretary of the party in Enugu State, Mrs. Kate Offor, who spoke to journalists while welcoming former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, and other new entrants in the South-East to the APC, said Igbos would wait for President Muhammadu Buhari to complete two terms of four years before having a shot at the Presidency.Offor said there was no need for the South-East to move for the office in 2019, when it was already the turn of the zone to produce the President in 2023, going by the zoning arrangement.In the political domain, there is the law with its legal teeth and the convention with its moral weight; the political convention today in Nigeria which the ex President is a prime beneficiary states that the office of the President should be rotated between the South  eight years  and the North  eight years.We stand by that convention.Since our entry into the Fourth Republic in 1999, we supported Obasanjo  the South-West by extension, and we supported Jonathan  South-South by extension.Now that the Igbos have resolved to support Buhari, we are hopeful of 2023, she said.Offor noted that the movement of some prominent South-East politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance to the APC shows that Igbos are now ready to play mainstream politics.For us the exodus of Igbos from the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance into the APC is testimony of the realisation that it is bad politics to put all our eggs in one basket.No one ethnic group can benefit in isolation.It is better for Igbos to play in the big league and mainstream of Nigeria.
The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay halting deportations under President Donald Trumps executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight, following widespread protests at airports around the country.The court order prevents the government from sending immigrants back to their home countries because it would cause them irreparable harm, but it is unclear if they will have to remain in detention until a substantive ruling on the constitutionality of the ban is delivered. If someone is not being released, I guess Ill just hear from you, Judge Ann Donnelly told the plaintiffs lawyers, according to the New York Times.People affected by the order with valid greencards and visas who were not in transit at the time are still likely stuck abroad, but theres now at least a time frame for a further ruling on the ban.The court ruled on a habeas corpus petition filed by the ACLU on behalf of Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who were denied entry to the US upon landing at JFK airport in New York City and detained indefinitely by Customs and Border Patrol. Darweesh spent a decade working for the United States military in Iraq as an interpreter and engineer and had been granted an entry visa after background checks; Alshawi had been granted a visa in order to join his wife and son who are already permanent residents of the US after similar interactions with the US military.Trumps executive order halts all immigration from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria. The ban was issued late on Friday, leading to widespread confusion about how it would be implemented and enforced, chaos as those decisions were made quickly and without a great deal of transparency, and controversy as the essential legality of a ban that effectively targets Muslims was called into question.
The federal government has approved 1.2 billion US dollars for the construction of the Kano-Kaduna standard gauge railway project.

The federal government has approved 1.2 billion US dollars for the construction of the Kano-Kaduna standard gauge railway project.Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amechi, disclosed this in Kano yesterday when he visited Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje at the Government House, Kano.He said that the federal government was negotiating with China EXIM bank to finance the project.We are negotiating with China EXIM bank and we are convinced that this negotiation will end by June, he said.The minister said that the federal government would provide about 100 locomotives for narrow gauge rail that would run through Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Funtua and Gombe to improve the economy.Before the end of June Lagos-Kano narrow gauge rail would have more locomotives that would run through Lagos, Port Harcourt, Funtua, Kano and Gombe states to boost the economy, he said.Ganduje expressed his happiness and commended the president for fulfilling campaign promise.He said that Kano-Kaduna standard rail project would save the road from total collapse.Ganduje said that the state government recently signed a $1.8 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm to construct light rail in the state capital.He said that the light rail project would give a mega city outlook similar to other cities across the world.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has said that the Federal Government was committed to putting in place measures to e...

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has said that the Federal Government was committed to putting in place measures to ensure that all employers of labour in the country comply with the new minimum wage for workers when it is eventually put in place.The minister also said that the government has put on hold the proposed agreement between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and Qatar in view of the wide report of unfair and slave labour practice in the country.Speaking when the Secretary General of the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), Sharon Baron, visited him in his office, the minister said, Minimum wage is good; we are already working on it. We have a technical working committee in place and the current administration is poised to ensure that employers at all levels comply with this law by ensuring that everybody is carried along through the composition of an all inclusive committee.The minister expressed the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the efforts of the International Labour Organisation at combating slave labour in Qatar.Speaking earlier, the Secretary General of the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), Sharon Baron, applauded the stance of the Federal Government of Nigeria in the promotion of decent work, requesting the support of Nigeria in the fight against slave labour in Qatar.She said Nigeria has always been a strong government in defence of decent work and we need your support in this fight against slave labour as the government of Qatar runs a system where the workers rights are determined by the employers and not by the government, even in the issues of minimum wage. We need your help to protect Nigerians in Qatar, she said.
France and Germany have formed a united front against President Donald Trump following the announcement of travel ban by his government.A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German leader believes the Trumps travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong.After meeting on Saturday, the foreign ministers of both nations, Jean-Marc Ayrault and Germanys Sigmar Gabriel, said they hope to meet with the Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson.Ayrault said Trumps order on Friday that banning refugees can only worry us.We have signed international obligations, so welcoming refugees fleeing war and oppression forms part of our duties, the French minister said.There are many other issues that worry us, he added. That is why Sigmar and I also discussed what we are going to do. When our colleague, Tillerson, is officially appointed, we will both contact him.Gabriel said offering refuge to the persecuted are western values that Europe and the United States share.Love thy neighbor is part of this tradition, the act of helping others, he said. This unites us, we Westerners.I think that this remains a common foundation that we share with the United States, one we aim to promote.Trump said the ban was necessary in preventing radical Islamic terrorists from entering the U.S.Merkel and Trump spoke on Saturday for the first time since his inauguration but there was no mention of the travel ban or refugees was mentioned in their joint U.S.-German statement following the call.Germanys dpa news agency quoted Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesnt justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion.
Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, Mr Ayodele Fayose has warned the Department of...

Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, Mr Ayodele Fayose has warned the Department of State Services (DSS) over the planned detention and trial of Apostle Johnson Suleiman of The Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide and the General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide International (Winners Chapel International), Bishop David Oyedepo, describing it as indirect invitation to religious crisis in the country.Governor Fayose alleged that; There is plan to charge Apostle Suleiman and Bishop Oyedepo for incitement and attempt to cause public disorder on Friday, and make sure that they are not granted so to get them remanded in Kuje Prison perpetually. He said this plan was to humiliate these men of God as well as silence them and create fear in other people that may want to speak against the heinous crime against humanity being committed daily while perpetrators are being shielded by the federal government.In a statement issued on Sunday by is Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said the DSS should tell Nigerians how many of the Fulani herdsmen that killed thousands of Nigerians across the country have been arrested before going after Nigerians who merely expressed their frustration over the to failure of the federal government to protect them. The governor said; Even though the DSS has allowed commonsense to prevail by properly inviting Apostle Suleiman as against the gestapo manner with which the service attempted to abduct him last week Wednesday, it is still questionable that the DSS is more interested in a man who threatened to defend himself against any attack by Fulani herdsmen rather than those herdsmen that murdered thousands of Nigerians.The governor said; it is sad and worrisome that after muzzling opposition politicians, judiciary and the press, the APC led federal government has taking its desperation to suppress dissenting voices in the country to the House of God. Governor Fayose maintained that; If the DSS had acted swiftly like it is doing on Apostle Suleiman so-called inciting comments when people were being killed by herdsmen across the country, so many lives would have been saved.He advised the government and the DSS not to go ahead with these plans as it will heat up the polity and threaten the peaceful coexistence of Nigerians, calling on well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the federal government to desist from acts capable of throwing the country into further crisis. Governor Fayose, who reiterated his call for the release of the head of Nigerias Islamic Movement (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been in detention since late 2015 despite that the court ruled that he should be released, affirmed that he will continue to stand for Nigeria and its people, not for any religion and it is my position that rights of all Nigerians must be respected and protected.The governor urged the APC led federal government to pay attention to the economy it destroyed, with the aim to revamping it and saving Nigerians from the hunger ravaging the land. Nigeria is already being ravaged by war of hunger, economic recession, job loss and lack of leadership direction.It will be disastrous for the country to be plunged into religious crisis. Apart from during the civil war, Nigerians have not been badly divided as a nation as we are under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Killings under this government in 18 months are more than what was witnessed in the last 20 years, the governor said.
Families split, a father unable to reach his sons wedding and officials warning of a gift to extremists  President Donald Trumps vi...

Families split, a father unable to reach his sons wedding and officials warning of a gift to extremists  President Donald Trumps visa ban on seven Muslim countries has triggered shock and confusion.There is mass hysteria among the Iranian-American community  thats no exaggeration, said Saam Borhani, an attorney in Los Angeles.He said clients were bombarding him with questions since Trump passed an executive order on Friday, suspending refugee arrivals and imposing tough controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the restrictions have already caused chaos for students, businessmen and families.Borhani, himself an Iranian-American, said he had heard from married couples stuck in separate countries and a father blocked from attending his sons wedding in California.US State Department figures show Iran accounted for around a quarter of the 31,804 visas granted to citizens from the seven countries last year.Among thousands facing difficulties, an Iraqi family was barred in Cairo from taking their connecting flight to New York on Saturday.I had sold my house, my car, my furniture. I resigned from work and so did my wife. I took my children out of school, Fuad Sharef, 51, told AFP.Donald Trump destroyed my life. My familys life. I used to think America was a state of institutions but its as though its a dictatorship, he said.An Iranian woman blocked from boarding at Tehran airport on Sunday said she had waited 14 years for her green card.Even during the hostage crisis at the US embassy (in 1980), the US government didnt issue such an order. They say the US is the cradle of liberty. I dont see freedom in that country, she said, asking not to be named.The Iraqi parliaments foreign affairs committee called for a reciprocal travel ban on Americans, though not the thousands of American military personnel in the country as part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group (IS).A Facebook message from the US embassy in Iraq generated plenty of vitriol.Daeshi decision, Baghdad resident Nibal Athed wrote, using the Arabic acronym for IS.He demanded to know why the list excluded Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which he described as the biggest sponsors of terrorism.Tehran responded with a ban on Americans entering the country.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Trumps move will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.Meanwhile, Yemens Huthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, released a statement, saying: All attempts to classify Yemen and its citizens as a probable source for terrorism and extremism is illegal and illegitimate.Yemenis made up the largest contingent  12,998  of immigrants to the US last year from the seven countries, many fleeing the US-backed bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia. (AFP)
Nigeria on Sunday signed the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation as part of the side line events at the ongoing 28th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.The Niamey Convention, which was adopted in 2014, is to promote Cross Border Cooperation at local, sub-regional and regional levels with the aim of ensuring peaceful resolution of border disputes.It is also to ensure effective and effective border management.The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Godfery Oyeama, who signed on behalf of the Federal Government, said the action was a demonstration of the countrys commitment to ensure peace on the continent.We do so by signing this agreement to join the list of countries that have appended their signatures to the convention.Hopefully we believe that as we appended our signature, the convention would soon come into force within shortest period as possible and all these in the interest of member states.On the part of the Nigeria Government, I will like to assure that we will do everything possible on our side to abide by the rule of this convention, he said.He noted with satisfaction that the convention would help member states to settle boundary disputes.He expressed belief that this would be done with manner of fraternity and without any recourse to force, adding that this will recall enforcing the spirit of brotherhood that will promote on this continent.This occasion also marks another mile stone in our efforts to reinforce, strengthen and support the African Union to move towards peace.As we say once we stand united Africa can achieve anything and when we are divided this is every chance that we will fall and will fail so we will continue as a country to work for the progress of peace and stability on the African continent, he said.Nigeria is the 11th country to sign the convention, which has been ratified by two countries so far.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to try to rebuild U.S-Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said, after the two men spoke for the first time since Trumps inauguration.U.S.-Russia relations hit a post-Cold War low under the Barack Obama administration and Trump has made clear he wants a rapprochement with Moscow if he can get along with Putin, who says he is also keen to mend ties.Both sides demonstrated a mood for active, joint work on stabilising and developing Russian-American cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that Putin and Trump had agreed to work on setting up their first meeting.The chat took place in a positive and business-like tone. Trumps stance on Russia has been under intense scrutiny from critics who say he was elected with help from Russian intelligence agencies, a charge he denies. His detractors have also accused him of being too eager to make an ally of Putin.For Putin, who faces possible re-election next year, an easing of U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis would be a major coup. But the Kremlin made no mention of the subject being discussed, referring only to the two underlining the importance of restoring mutually-beneficial trade and economic ties.Trump said on Friday he was only in the early stages of considering whether to lift the sanctions, as British Prime Minister Theresa May, other foreign officials and U.S. lawmakers cautioned that such a move would be premature.The most tangible outcome of the phone call, as the Kremlin described it, appeared to be what it said was an understanding that jointly fighting international terrorism was a priority and that the two nations should cooperate in Syria.
Two Iraqi Muslim refugees were detained overnight on Friday at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York as President Donald T...

Two Iraqi Muslim refugees were detained overnight on Friday at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York as President Donald Trumps ban on the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries took effect.Five other Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight from Cairo to New York yesterday on account of the ban.Two US traditional allies -Germany and France  and the United Nations refugee agency and International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed concern over the order as was Facebook (FB) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg who posted a status update slamming Trumps action.Zuckerberg in the emotional posting said: My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscillas parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.Scores of Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa denounced the order which they called humiliating and discriminatory.One of the Iraqis detained at Kennedy Airport, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq for 10 years.The other, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was coming to the United States to join his wife, who had worked for a U.S. contractor, and young son, his lawyers said.They said both men were detained at the airport Friday night after arriving on separate flights.The attorneys said they were not allowed to meet with their clients, and there were tense moments as they tried to reach them.They have now approached a US court to reverse the Trump executive order closing the nations borders to refugees.Their lawyers yesterday filed a writ of habeas corpus early yesterday in the Eastern District of New York seeking to have their clients released.Also filed by them was a motion for class certification which seeks to represent all refugees and immigrants who,according to them, are being unlawfully detained at ports of entry.The ban order suspends entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days and has now created a legal limbo for individuals on the way to the United States and panic for families who were awaiting their arrival.Seven countries -Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen- are specifically mentioned in the ban order.It was unclear yesterday how many refugees and immigrants were being held nationwide in the aftermath of the executive order.The six passengers who were barred yesterday from boarding EgyptAir Flight 985 at Cairo airport had valid immigration visas, sources said.The five Iraqis had arrived in transit from Erbil and were being held at the airport until they could be re-boarded on flights back to Iraq, whereas the Yemeni passenger had arrived at the airport from elsewhere in Cairo, they added.A report yesterday said green card holders and US permanent resident are not exempted from the ban order.A UK resident, Hamaseh Tayari,was denied entry yesterday onto a Costa Rica-New York-Glasgow flight because of her Iranian passport.Tayari, who had been holidaying in Costa Rica said: This has really shocked me. We just discovered (what Trump did) at the airport when we went to check in.I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a PhD. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax.Customs and border patrol agents at many airports were unaware of the executive order on Friday evening, said Mana Yegani, an immigration lawyer in Houston, who works with the American Immigration Lawyers Association.Yegani and her fellow lawyers worked through the night fielding calls from travelers with student and worker visas being denied entry into the United States and ordered on flights back to Muslim-majority countries on the list.Green card holders were also being stopped and questioned for several hours. Officials also denied travelers with dual Canadian and Iranian citizenship from boarding planes in Canada that were headed the United States, she said.These are people that are coming in legally. They have jobs here and they have vehicles here, Yegani said.At a joint news conference in Paris with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said many of Trumps decisions worried the two U.S. allies, including new immigration restrictions.This can only worry us, but there are many subjects that worry us, Ayrault said, adding that he would soon invite his future American counterpart Rex Tillerson to Paris to explain Europes interests, values and vision of the world.Welcoming refugees who flee war and oppression is part of our duty, Ayrault said.Germany has taken in more than one million refugees and migrants, mainly from the Middle East, since 2015.The United States is a country where Christian traditions have an important meaning. Loving your neighbor is a major Christian value, and that includes helping people, said Germanys Gabriel, who was on his first trip abroad since his nomination as foreign minister.I think that is what unites us in the West, and I think that is what we want to make clear to the Americans.The United Nations refugee agency and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) asked Mr. Trump to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, saying its resettlement program was vital.The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the U.S. resettlement program is one of the most important in the world, the two Geneva-based agencies said in a joint statement.IOM and UNHCR said that they remained committed to working with the U.S. administration towards a shared goal of ensuring safe and secure resettlement and immigration programmes, adding that refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race.Some 25,000 refugees were resettled in the United States between October and year-end under UNHCRs program for the most vulnerable, the agency said on Friday.Mark Zuckerberg, in his status update yesterday on the ban, said: We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat.Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who dont pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. Thats who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscillas family wouldnt be here today.That said, I was glad to hear President Trump say hes going to work something out for Dreamers  immigrants who were brought to this country at a young age by their parents.Right now, 750,000 Dreamers benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows them to live and work legally in the US.I hope the President and his team keep these protections in place, and over the next few weeks Ill be working with our team at FWD to find ways we can help.Im also glad the President believes our country should continue to benefit from people of great talent coming into the country.These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented.They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here.I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone.
-- In 2009, then Governor Jon Corzine told a crowd in Ridgefield that the project to extend light rail service into Bergen County

Despite a recent push to extend the light rail into Bergen, the service is still confined to Hudson County more than seven years after Corzine's promise, thanks in large part to one North Jersey municipality who fiercely opposed the project - Tenafly.

Fierce opposition in Tenafly sent NJ Transit back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan, a plan that ultimately ended service at Englewood Hospital.

"The plan proposed would have created havoc in Tenafly, our roads are already over capacity," said Mayor Peter Rustin, who vehemently opposed the project. "We certainly didn't expedite the project, it did delay it, but that wasn't our intent, our intent was to say the plan did not help our town."

In Dec. 2011, NJ Transit published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and began holding required public hearing along the route, steps in a federal process to approve the plan.

"In all of the meetings, the majority of those present were extremely angered, those who spoke in favor were derided and booed," said Jack May, former Vice President of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, who attended every meeting. "It was a situation I have never seen before, where they did not want to hear anyone who was in favor."

Even before the study was released, the borough rejected the plan 2,271 to 1,183 during a referendum vote.

"Those numbers are hard to argue with," said former council member Jon Warms. "We were reflecting views of residents."

Both Rustin and Warms recounted a number of concerns they say were never addressed by NJ Transit - five grade crossing, loss of ratables, and traffic and safety concerns. At the time, Rustin said the town would lose $8 million in commercial property.

Tenafly wasn't the only municipality to oppose the project, as residents in Leonia voiced concerns as well. But with the terminus proposed in Tenafly, there was a much more severe effect.

"When it comes to planning a new transit line, the location of the terminus, where the trains are to be stored and start their runs, is an important part of the planning," said Martin Robbins, of the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers. "If something happens to the location of the terminus, a tremendous amount of additional work needs to be done to revise the plan."

As a result of the opposition, NJ Transit eventually chose Englewood Hospital as the new terminus for the project.

NJ Transit said the additional costs to re-evaluate the alignment, new traffic counts and modeling/forecasting added up to an additional $2.2 million.

"The real reason it has never been built is financial," said Rustin, who still serves as Mayor. "Where is the money? They have no money in place."

Although the project has been plagued with funding issues since the beginning, Tenafly's approval could have been a boast.

"Had Tenafly been cooperative and stayed on track, maybe there would have been enough public pressure on the Transportation Trust Fund to push the project forward," said Robins. "The fact that Tenafly threw the monkey wrench in, delayed to some extent the argument that the project needed money to proceed."

May said even given the TTF funding problem and the Christie Administration's anti-transit approach, if Tenafly hadn't opposed the project, construction would have at least begun by now.

"I just felt that this project was a pretty good fit for most of the towns on the line but not Tenafly," said Rustin. "I never thought light rail was not a good idea but after trying to work with NJ transit for 5 years, I did not feel guilty that the people were opposed to it."

While the project was derailed, it isn't dead and should get back on track this year.

"Tenafly's objection really had a significant effect but not as bad as it could have been," said Robins. "It was a significant blow but just a temporary one."

Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
BURLINGTON CITY -- The City of Burlington Police Department is mourning the loss of a former "admired" officer and "pillar of our community," Roderick Kevin Johnson.

Burlington City police Officer Roderick Johnson, who died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017.

According to department officials, Johnson died shortly after attending funeral services on Jan. 28 for his colleague, retired Burlington Township police Lt. Tommie Bellamy.

Johnson's cause of death remains under investigation, Capt. John Fine said Sunday evening, however the death does not appear to be suspicious. He was 63.

Johnson began his career with Burlington City police in 1977 and retired in August 2002.

"During his 25-year career, Officer Johnson served our community with passion and to the highest level of integrity," Chief Alan Snow said Sunday. "Within the community, Kevin was revered for his sense of humor and enlightening presence to anyone around him. He was a pillar of our community that cannot be replaced and will be sadly missed by all."

According to the department, Johnson was also assigned to the Burlington County Narcotics Task Force, was a Federal Aviation Administration-licensed pilot and a charter member of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 63. Most recently, Johnson volunteered with the city's office of emergency management.

"The values and the genuine love for others that Kevin taught all of us will forever be shared and passed along to generations to come," Snow said.

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
BURLINGTON CITY -- The 20-year-old who allegedly threw a young girl onto train tracks here Friday has a years-long history of mental health issues -- but has "never hurt anybody," her mother says.

Autumn Matacchiera, 20, of Hainesport in Burlington County. (Photo provided)

Autumn Matacchiera, 20, of Hainesport, has been charged with attempted murder following the incident that saw a 5-year-old girl thrown from a light rail platform on West Broad Street as a train approached.

"We as parents are thankful she's okay," an emotional Laura Matacchiera told NJ Advance Media on Sunday morning of the young girl who sustained a cut to her face and some bruising.

According to police, a Burlington City officer was stopped by an NJ Transit bus driver who reported Matacchiera apparently acting suspiciously near High and Broad streets. As police responded to the train platform, Matacchiera allegedly grabbed the girl and threw her onto the tracks as a train was approaching.

Police said officers jumped in front of the train to signal it to stop and the boyfriend of 5-year-old's mother picked up the girl. Matacchiera, who was with her mother and her mother's boyfriend at the time, was subdued and placed in custody, police said.

"She is not a criminal," Laura Matacchiera said. "She has mental health issues. It's an ongoing problem," she said, adding that her daughter had resided in multiple mental health facilities -- but has been repeatedly released despite objections from family.

According to an August 2016 report, Autumn Matacchiera went to the Chamberlain International School in Massachusetts, which came under fire for alleged neglect of special needs students.

"If it wasn't for Chamberlain, I wouldn't know where my daughter would be," she told the Huffington Post.

According to the 20-year-old's Facebook page, she assisted in 2016 with therapeutic horsemanship lessons at Moorestown's Majoda Stables and left the Chamberlain school in 2012.

"I have been in the mental health system for many years and seen some things change, [some] things stay the same. I want to help other people who are in it," the woman wrote on Jan. 12 in a personal online blog documenting her situation.

Laura Matacchiera said her daughter, whose condition she did not specify, had been "in and out" of mental health institutions for the past six years.

Autumn Matacchiera remains at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, in Willingboro. According to previous reports, she was taken there following Friday's incident for a psychiatric evaluation.

"We as parents are not making light of this," Laura Matacchiera said.

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
CHERRY HILL TWP. -- Cherry Hill High School East's production of "Ragtime" will include use of the n-word slur, school officials said this past week after objections from some students and anti-censorship advocates.

The decision is a reversal of course after the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association and the NAACP supported the school's decision to remove the language from the play set in 1900s New York City. The play could not have been performed in an altered state, per the script's distributor.

"We believe we can educate using difficult subject matter presented in a safe, sensitive way," Superintendent Joseph Meloche wrote in a letter to the school community on Friday.

The show will be performed March 10-19.

Below is what some NJ.com readers had to say about the decision. What do you think? Vote in our unscientific poll and check back to see the results and join the conversation.

- Icantwithu: "Congrats to all of the groups on both sides of this fight. This publicity will certainly sell more tickets. Also, congrats to the script's distributor as well, as he didn't allow changes to the show. They would rather it not be done at all than to kowtow to the PC police."

- handsomechuck: "I've noticed that the people who complain about PC and special snowflakes are often the same ones who have an emotional crisis if someone doesn't stand for the anthem."

- orange_potato: "This was the time that this play took place. If anything, it will highlight the racial undertones that are still in our society today by bringing to the forefront how terrible African Americans were treated."

- Usaidwhat: "What have we become? The play was not derogatory towards blacks. It took place in an era where that talk was routine and "normal." Are black leaders really under the impression that the public and students are so stupid that they can't understand historical perspective or context? They still teach that, don't they? It shows how the NAACP has fallen in stature that controlling public speech is the best they can offer to advance blacks."

- Arclight73: "Big deal? It is like reading classic literature like Huckleberry Finn and being offended by him calling his friend "N*&&er Jim". It was written well over 100 years ago. You cannot censor or ban history -- it is small minded."

- The Blue Skirts: "Seriously, people: buy and keep as many uncensored books as you can because in the near future they will be illegal if this continues!"

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
asghar-farhadi-oscars-not-attend.jpg

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi at the Golden Globe Foreign Language Film Symposium in Hollywood this month. In the wake of President Trump's executive order banning all refugees from the United States for several months as well as citizens from several countries, including Iran, from entering the U.S. for 90 days, Farhadi has decided not to attempt to attend the Oscars in February. (Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)

An Oscar-nominated Iranian director has decided that he will not try to attend the Academy Awards after an executive order from President Donald Trump banned citizens of his country from traveling to the United States.

Asghar Farhadi, whose film "A Separation" won an Oscar in 2012, is nominated this year in the foreign language film category for "The Salesman," which he wrote and directed.

Under the executive order, issued on Friday, Farhadi is barred from entering the U.S. for a period of 90 days along with any citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Sudan and Somalia.

On Sunday, Farhadi, 44, said in a statement to The New York Times that while he originally planned to attend the Feb. 26 ceremony in Hollywood with his cinematographer, he would not be attending the awards show even if an exception was made for his visa. Trump's order also banned all refugees to the U.S. for four months and indefinitely banned Syrian refugees.

" ... It now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip," Farhadi said. "I would therefore like to convey via this statement what I would have expressed to the press were I to travel to the United States. Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an 'us and them' mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of 'them' and inflict fear in the people of their own countries."

On Saturday, as fans of the director and voices in the film community spoke out against Trump's order, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement saying it was "extremely troubling" that Farhadi or the cast of the film would be barred from entering the country. In his statement, the director said he condemned the "unjust conditions" created by the executive order.

After travelers from countries affected by the order were detained and refugees planning to come to the U.S. were barred from making their trips, a series of protests broke out at U.S. airports on Saturday including Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport. When the American Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit on behalf of two men detained at Kennedy Airport on Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency stay against the order that applies to the entire country and temporarily prevents people who have already come to the U.S. and have visas -- or were already coming to the country when the order was signed -- from being deported.

"This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same," Farhadi continued, in his statement. "For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears. Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals."

"The Salesman," now playing in New York and opening Friday in Montclair, is about a couple in Tehran who are hit with tragedy after they move into a new apartment.

Before Farhadi made his statement, actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who stars in the film, tweeted that she had decided not to attend the ceremony in order to boycott the order. Farhadi said his original plan was to attend the ceremony and not boycott the event because he knew that many people in the film industry and academy are opposed to "fanaticism and extremism."

Read Farhadi's entire statement here.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
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.
asghar-farhadi-oscars.jpg

Director Asghar Farhadi at the National Board of Review Gala in New York earlier this month. President Trump's travel ban would prevent Farhadi from attending the Oscars, where his film 'The Salesman' is nominated for best foreign film. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, an Iranian director whose film is nominated for an Oscar may be barred from traveling to the United States to attend the ceremony.

In 2012, Asghar Farhadi's film "A Separation" won the Oscar for best foreign language film. Farhadi's new film "The Salesman," which he wrote and directed, is nominated for best foreign language film at the 2017 Academy Awards. The movie opened Friday in the United States and is now playing in New York and opening Friday in Montclair.

Also on Friday, Trump signed an executive order that banned all refugees to the U.S. for four months, banned Syrian refugees indefinitely and suspended travel to the U.S. for citizens of Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Somalia -- countries with a Muslim majority -- for 90 days. The Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre on Feb. 26.

On Twitter Saturday, Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council, wrote that it was "confirmed" that Farhadi, 44, would not be let into the U.S. to attend the Oscars.

Parsi told CNN that the director hadn't yet decided if he should seek an exemption from the order, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement saying it was "extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year's Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin."

Fans of the Iranian director, Hollywood talents and the Tribeca Film Festival tweeted their support for Farhadi.

"This is heartbreaking and unacceptable," the festival account tweeted.

Director and writer Ava DuVernay shared Farhadi's speech from the 2012 Oscars.

"At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy," the director had said. "They are happy not just because of an important award or a film or filmmaker, but because at the time when talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country Iran is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment."

In light of Trump's ban, some suggested a boycott of the Oscars. Taraneh Alidoosti, star of "The Salesman," tweeted that she had decided not to attend the ceremony to boycott the ban.

At John F. Kennedy International Airport, crowds gathered at the arrivals section of a terminal to protest Trump's order after 12 refugees were detained. On Twitter, #MuslimBan trended worldwide.

[&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="//storify.com/NJentertainment/oscsar-nominated-director-asghar-farhadi-banned-fr" target="_blank"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;View the story "Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhadi banned from U.S. under executive order" on Storify&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;]&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;h1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhadi banned from U.S. under executive order&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/h1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;h2&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;President Donald Trump's order could mean that Farhadi won't make it to the ceremony&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/h2&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Storified by &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="https://storify.com/NJentertainment"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;NJ.com&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;middot; Sat, Jan 28 2017 22:15:07 &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Oscar nominee Asghar Farhadi has been banned from entry into the U.S. to attend the ceremony in Feb. This is heartbreaking and unacceptable. https://t.co/2PrwZWyBdwTribeca&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Cinema is a tool for breaching dangerous misunderstanding between cultures. If you've never seen an #AsgharFarhadi movie, today's the day.Lindsay Zoladz&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Standing with Iranian director Asghar Faradhi today. #AsgharFarhadi #Oscars2017 #DonaldTrump #racism #fascism https://t.co/28fW9Ujct6John Barnett&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Why would any self-respecting filmmaker attend the Oscars if one of its nominees, Asghar Farhadi, is banned from entering the country?Tom Reagan's Hat&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Amplifying words of one of my favorite filmmakers, Asghar Farhadi, who like too many others will be turned away from the Land of the Free. https://t.co/CcskcFueuoAva DuVernay&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Imagine being nominated for an Oscar and then not being able to attend #AsgharFarhadiKristy Luxford&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;There's more compassion and humanity in a single frame of Asghar Farhadi's films than Trump has displayed across his entire life.Jordan Raup&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Oscars are cancelled. If #AsgharFarhadi can't attend, then no actor should. #MuslimBanElisa Rodriguez-Vila&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
NEWARK

-- Protesters gathered Saturday at Newark Liberty International Airport against President Donald

, which barred entry to the United States from seven largely Muslim countries, halted the nation's refugee program and reportedly left people detained at airports.

Make the Road New Jersey, a group that says it works to bring to justice to immigrants in the state, posted on Twitter that demonstrators were gathered at Newark airport's international arrivals area.

Photos on social media showed people holding signs that read "No to a Muslim ban," and "Immigrants make America great."

Protests were also reported at airports across the country, including at John F. Kennedy International Airport where an Iraqi who worked for the U.S. military was initially detained by immigration officials.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) said he and his staff were addressing immigration cases Saturday.

"Everyone we had been concerned about was eventually processed and permitted to continue on their journey. While the Chief of Operations for CBP at Newark Liberty Airport told me no one being detained at that airport as of 11 p.m. tonight, I have received reports that residents from New Jersey remain detained at JFK Airport," Pascrell said in a statement.

Also on Saturday, a federal judge in Brooklyn temporarily blocked officials from deporting people from the countries in Trump's order.

"I am grateful that a federal court has issued a limited stay of this immoral order. But this bigoted and discriminatory policy remains in place and I am not going to ease my efforts for even one minute. Standing up for what is fair and right is going to take every inch of our democratic system - courts, legislators, and especially the people of this nation," he added.

Trump's executive order put in place a 90-day travel ban for citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The order also halted the U.S. refugee program for 120-days. Trump has said the ban was needed to safeguard America from "radical Islamic terrorists."

This Executive Order violates our values and assaults our moral standing as a nation. I will fight this, we must fight this. https://t.co/EWsMqZhzmy  Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 28, 2017

Not waiting on flights, but protesting @POTUS ban on immigration International arrivals Newark Airport @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/iCdFVvGkwt  Ranji Sinha (@RanjiKIRO7) January 28, 2017

Newark Airport. Refugees are welcome here! pic.twitter.com/i0B6hR1U3S  Leah (@settleprecious) January 29, 2017

NJ says: Say it loud say it clear refugees are welcome here! @EWRairport #NoMuslimBanEWR pic.twitter.com/4uSug1UOFa  MaketheRoadNewJersey (@MaketheRoadNJ) January 29, 2017

The Associated Press contributed to this report
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New Orleans police said they were investigating a shooting at Dryades and 7th streets on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017.
The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
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.
Elven and Jane Steenbock will be celebrating their 70th anniversary with a card

shower. They have 3 children: Greg and Lorna Steenbock, of Ida Grove, Rev. Timothy and Nancy Steenbock, of Oklahoma City, Okla., Tom and Susan Trede, of Treynor. They also have 11 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren.
The Atlantic Police Department has joined the growing number of law enforcement agencies in Iowa and around the nation that have equipped officers with body-worn cameras.

David Erickson, who took over as Atlantics police chief on Jan. 1 after serving as a lieutenant with the department since 2008, said the body cameras were issued to Atlantics 12 full-time officers on Jan. 12.

He said the department currently has one additional camera that can be utilized when a reserve officer is working, but he is in the process of trying to find funding to purchase body cameras for the departments nine reserve officers.

Erickson said the newly issued body cameras are synced with the in-car cameras in the departments patrol vehicles. Any time the cruisers top lights are activated, the body camera is automatically turned on. If an officer responds to a call for which the emergency lights are not activated, officers are required to manually turn the camera on any time they interact with the public.

Although the cameras were issued to officers just over two weeks ago, Erickson said feedback from officers has been positive.

Our officers realize this is a tool that will help keep them on their toes, he said.

Erickson said his department received assistance from police departments in Knoxville and Altoona in developing guidelines for officers use of the body cameras.

He said while his departments regulations call for officers to have the cameras on any time they interact with the public, there are exceptions. Erickson said officers are instructed to turn their cameras off any time there is an expectation of privacy.

Erickson said the cameras purchased for Atlantics officers have a battery life of 12 hours, more than enough to cover the officers eight-hour shifts. At the end of each shift, officers return to the station and place their camera in a docking station where the images are downloaded and the cameras battery is recharged.

Officers are encouraged to note the date and time of any incident recorded on the body camera that might be of training value for other officers. That information is passed along to one of the departments supervisors for review.

Erickson said the images downloaded to the departments computer system are not overridden for 120 days. The images can be downloaded to a DVD to save, but individual officers are not allowed to download images from their cameras.

He said the images recorded by the body cameras remain the sole property of the Atlantic Police Department while cases are under investigation. Any release of images to the public at any time will be at the discretion of the Cass County Attorney.

Knoxville Police Chief Daniel Losada said his department spent about six months developing regulations governing how officers use the departments body cameras. He said officers reaction to the cameras, which have been in use since March 2015, have been positive, and the county attorney loves em.

Unlike Atlantic, where the department budgeted for purchase of the body cameras, Knoxvilles 14 sworn officers share five cameras, four of which were donated by the public.

We had one body camera that we had purchased for testing. A retired officers son asked if we thought body cameras were a good deal, Losada said. When we told him we thought they were, he wrote us a check to buy three. When the media heard about it and reported the story, another community resident gave us a check for a fifth camera.

Altoona, located east of Des Moines in Polk County, currently has two body cameras that are being evaluated, Interim Chief Jason Ferguson said. But the departments budget for the coming fiscal year includes funding for the purchase of 32 cameras for the departments 26 sworn officers as well as reserve officers.

Ferguson said there are 11 law enforcement agencies in Polk County, and all are using body cameras to some degree.

Theres been no opposition to the cameras among our officers, Ferguson said. They like them. I think most people in the community expect us to have them.

He said images from the cameras worn by Altoona officers will be retained from 60 days to 360 days, depending on the classification assigned to the call recorded by the camera.

Closer to home, Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker said his department is currently replacing in-car cameras in 31 of the departments vehicles. Completion of the upgrade of in-car video cameras will pave the way for the purchase of 63 body cameras for deputies that will be synced to the in-car cameras.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office has developed a policy for use of the body cameras that is based on a model policy developed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 2014.

The IACP policy suggests:

 Officers will activate the camera to record all contacts with citizens in the performance of official duties.

 Whenever possible, officers should inform individuals that they are being recorded. In locations where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a residence, they may decline to be recorded unless the recording is being made pursuant to an arrest or search of the residence or the individual.

 If an officer fails to activate the camera, fails to record the entire contact or interrupts the recording, the officer shall document why a recording was not made, was interrupted or was terminated.

 Officers are not allowed to edit, alter, erase, duplicate, copy, share or distribute any camera recording.

While legislation to develop statewide regulations for body cameras has been introduced in the past, Iowa does not currently have state regulations regarding retention of or access to body camera data.

Kim Wadding, assistant director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, said the ILEA has not developed any policy recommendations dealing with body cameras.

Its a big topic, one with big privacy issues that have yet to be clarified, he said.
Prom is an important night for many students, but attending the popular school dance event can sometimes be a challenge for families.

Having to buy a new dress, go to the salon and dinner and even renting a limo can quickly add up, making prom an expensive rite of passage.

Students at Harlan Community High School want to change that and make prom a little more affordable for families. The schools student council will hold their second prom dress outlet  the Friendly Formal  open to any student attending a southwest Iowa school.

Student council member Laura Kaufmann developed the project so girls can go to prom for a fraction of the cost, she said.

The group is currently accepting dress donations for the outlet store.

It doesnt really matter what the dress looks like as long as its in working condition, Kaufmann said. Even if its from years ago  people see different things in different dresses that they like.

Dresses can be donated to the project by dropping the dress in a donation box in front of Harlan Community High School at 2102 Durant St. Donations will continue through Friday, Feb. 3, but if donations continue to come in past that date, the group will still accept them, Kaufmann said.

All dresses donated to the Friendly Formal will be sold for $35 and if you bring a friend with you, the price will be reduced to $30.

We try to make it as fun as possible, Kaufmann said. A ton of girls from student council come and we try to make it a little more personal than what youd get from a department store.

Students interested in purchasing a dress can do so on Sunday, Feb. 5 from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, March 5 from 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturday, April 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We want to give everyone an opportunity to go to dances, especially prom, Kaufmann said. Prom is suppose to be one of the best days of your life, but it can be expensive. I just want everyone to go to prom and experience that fun time in their lives.
Parents in the Crescent area are fighting to keep their school alive.

Late last week the Council Bluffs Community School District notified parents of Crescent Elementary School that the district has recommended the closure of Crescent Elementary at the end of the current school year.

A moveon.org petition started by Tristan Morris of Crescent, asking the Council Bluffs school board to keep the school open, had 425 signatures as of Saturday afternoon.

We want to have our voices heard and our opinions acknowledged, said Kaysha Hollinger, whose son, Jalen, is a fourth-grader and daughter, Marley, is a third-grader at the school.

Hopefully, well be heard, added Tracy Larson, whose daughter, Thea, is a third-grader at the school. Ideally, the whole point is wed like to see the school stay open.

The district will hold an informational meeting for Crescent Elementary parents at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Lewis and Clark, 1603 Grand Ave. The school board is scheduled to hear about the issue at its Feb. 14 meeting and vote on the matter at Feb. 28.

If approved, Crescent students would attend Lewis and Clark Elementary in Council Bluffs. Crescent teachers will move to Lewis and Clark as well, if they choose, and there will be roles for support staff as well.

The district cited declining enrollment as a major factor in its recommendation to close the school. The school currently has 85 students, with two classes that feature a combination of two grades  first- and second-graders and fourth- and fifth-graders share a classroom.

If we dont have 20 or so kids at first grade, but have eight and 12 in second grade  it makes sense from a practicality and efficiency standpoint to combine into one classroom, Council Bluffs district spokeswoman Diane Ostrowski said Tuesday. Teachers are skilled at meeting the needs of kids, but clearly this isnt ideal.

The district said Lewis and Clark will afford students the opportunity for more talented and gifted courses, additional counseling and academic intervention services.

Another factor is that many students in the Crescent area dont attend the school. Ostrowski noted that a total of 57 students who live in the Crescent Elementary boundary attend other schools, with 30 at Council Bluffs district elementary schools and 27 enrolled in other districts.

With those 57 students, the enrollment numbers would look a lot brighter.

Both Hollinger and Larsons children are among the 22 students that come to Crescent from within boundaries for other Council Bluffs district elementary schools.

The Hollingers went through the closing of Walnut Grove Elementary School in the 2013-2014 school year, and shifted their children to Rue Elementary. Kaysha Hollinger noted Jalen has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety and struggled at the larger elementary.

The family transferred both children to Crescent.

Crescent means the world to us. Its just a different vibe, Hollinger said. The small community and everything is just better for us.

The Larsons moved to Council Bluffs two years ago and Thea struggled with the size of Bloomer Elementary, Tracy Larson said. The family moved Thea to Crescent, where her mother says shes flourished.

Weve been beyond thrilled since weve been there, Larson said. Its a small-town community, and you get that feel in the school.

Both mothers used the word devastation when describing their childrens reaction to the potential closure.

She had the fear shed have to go back to a larger school, which she didnt want to do, Larson said of Thea. The idea of moving is overwhelming to her. Me too as a parent. I feel good about her going to Crescent every day. This is not a change we were expecting or want to go through.

The district said adding Crescent students to Lewis and Clark wont put an undue burden on the school. Lewis and Clark underwent extensive renovations in 2014 and 2015 to update the building and currently has 190 students.

Ostrowski said the class size at Lewis and Clark this year is between 15 to 32 students, with an average of 21. The Crescent students would change the range to 18 to 28, with an average of 22.

The projected range in the district next year is 18 to 30, with an average of 23.

Before tomorrows meeting, Larson said a group of parents planned to meet Saturday to come up with an action plan.

Our hope is the petition works and were all heard. We want to get the word out to Council Bluffs about our school, Hollinger said, hoping the school could attract parents similar to herself and Larson looking for a change. If we can get even 15 to 20 more students there, maybe we can keep the doors open.
Efforts to remove red-light cameras in Iowa cities, including Council Bluffs, may get a roadblock from area lawmakers.

Meanwhile, to raise the minimum wage may not be a simple matter, according to these lawmakers.

These were just two issues discussed at the years first Legislature Coffee, which brought out a standing-room only crowd at Wilson Middle School on Saturday morning.

On the issue of cameras, which includes those focusing on speeders, two bills are being discussed in the Legislature, one of which would seek a total ban, the other calling for some modifications.

That total ban wont fly with Dan Dawson.

I do support red-light cameras, said the new state senator for Council Bluffs and Carter Lake.

Its a smart use of technology to increase public safety.

Ticket revenues from red-light runners are decreasing for cities because these cameras are changing driving habits for the better, said Rep. Mary Ann Hanusa who represents central and south Council Bluffs.

I hear from my constituents telling me to preserve red light cameras because of safety issues, she said.

Hanusa added, though, shell seek a compromise  retaining red-light cameras and removing speed cameras  if thats what it takes to prevent a total ban.

Charles McConkey, representing Carter Lake and western Council Bluffs, also supports red-light cameras, but Greg Forristall, representing east Council Bluffs and most of Pottawattamie County, expressed concern on the high dollar amount red-light runners are being ticketed with. To have cameras all over the place is like Big Brother watching over people, he added.

On the minimum wage issue, theres apparently talk among lawmakers of setting a statewide wage, instead of individual communities doing it. McConkey said he supports a jump to $10.10 per hour over three years. Forristall, however, said the elimination of jobs is always a risk.

Its not an easy question to answer, he said.

State Sen. Tom Shipley of Nodaway added that low-wage families get government assistance to help make ends meet and a wage hike could eliminate that help.

Despite the risk of losing millions of federal dollars, the GOP-controlled Iowa Legislature has already taken steps toward eliminating state funding for Planned Parenthood, much to the dismay of McConkey. Planned Parenthood offers many health care needs for woman, besides abortion, that could be lost with this action, he said.

There is no state or federal money spent on abortions, he said. Well lose $3 million and pull resources away. It doesnt make any sense to me whatsoever.

Shipley, however, said that Planned Parenthood and the services it offers has moved away from areas where its needed the most.

They dont support my people, he said.
A proposed budget deal reached by Gov. Terry Branstad  who created the Iowa Public Information Board in 2013  and Republican leadership in the Iowa House and Senate would cut the groups funding by $75,000.

Over the course of a year, that figure represents a 21.6 percent cut from the boards annual budget of $348,000. But that cut constitutes more than half of its operating budget through the end of the fiscal year this June.

Such a move would be a disaster for all Iowans.

The IPIB has the power that is almost unique among the states to order compliance with open meetings and open records laws, the board in the vast majority of cases is able to resolve complaints informally, and without either side having to hire a lawyer or go to court.

But anyone who thinks that this is a minor agency that doesnt apply to them couldnt be further from the truth. Its three-person staff processed 875 cases in 2016 alone  a significant increase year over year and many times over more cases than anticipated when the board was formed.

In particular, many bodies in southwest Iowa have kept the board busy in recent years.

The most notable local case the board handled came from the Harrison County Board of Supervisors. Just last month, a state court upheld a lower courts ruling that held its three members personally liable for violating open meeting laws in 2013.

City councils in both Council Bluffs and Pacific Junction have reached mediation agreements with the board in recent years regarding allegations of violations  but the state board goes far beyond that.

Within the last three years, complaints centering around a hospital in Denison, the school board in Red Oak and the public library in Atlantic have all been funneled to the IPIB.

Some were dismissed; others spurred corrective action  but all cases involved the board striving to ensure Iowans had access to transparent, open government and other nonelected bodies.

Now, more than ever, access and transparency are vital cornerstones for democracy. Fake news and alternative facts have entered the lexicon and spread like wildfire online  but truth and openness remain the best weapon to inform and educate the public.

In short, the board meets a vital demand by Iowans  citizens, state and local government officials and members of the news media  for fast and cost-free resolution of questions and complaints about public access to records and meetings of state and local governments.

The people of Iowa have a right to know how their state and local tax dollars are spent and what is being done in their interest by the public officials they elect.

That right to know is a hollow promise without vigorous enforcement of Iowas public meetings and public records laws. But it would in fact be a hollow promise if the Legislature acts to cripple the Iowa Public Information Board.

Without question, our lawmakers must act to preserve funding for this critical agency.
Business

Here's how this free app turned amateurs into UAE's top professional stock market traders

Going into business without first having some basic knowledge of how the market works and the tools at our disposal increases your risk of getting into trouble. Simulators provide learning platforms for people who want to start learning how to invest.
The Pirate Book offers a broad view on media piracy as well as a variety of comparative perspectives on recent issues and historical facts regarding piracy. It contains a compilation of texts on grassroots situations whose stories describe strategies developed to share, distribute and experience cultural content outside of the confines of local economies, politics or laws.

These stories recount the experiences of individuals from India, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Mali and China. The book is structured in four parts and begins with a collection of stories on piracy dating back to the invention of the printing press and expanding to broader issues (historical and modern antipiracy technologies, geographically specific issues, as well as the rules of the Warez scene, its charters, structure and visual culture).

The Pirate Book. Nicolas Maigret and Maria Roszkowska, 2015. Picture: a code wheel, a type of copy protection used on older computer games.

Thanks to Melle Smets.
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.
Working together, the North Platte Public Library and the Lincoln County Historical Museum are bringing Nancy Gillis to present two programs on Thursday. The Legacy of Neihardt and Black Elk will be presented at noon in the librarys meeting room. This program is free but seat reservations are requested; please call 308-535-8036, ext. 3310.

This presentation explores the remarkable legacy of a unique personal and spiritual friendship begun in 1931 between the Lakota holy man Black Elk and poet John G. Neihardt. It includes brief biographies of each man, their meetings and their friendships impact on adding to the knowledge of Lakota culture, Native American philosophies, and the possibilities of cross-cultural recognition and respect.

Gillis is the former executive director of the John Neihardt State Historic Site and the Neihardt Foundations Institute for Vision and Learning. Gillis joined the Foundation as assistant director in May 1997 and retired in 2014, joining its Board of Directors, and speaks to schools and civic groups on Neihardts work and a variety of related topics. Since 1992, she has served as faculty at Wayne State College, Northeast Community College, Nebraska Indian Community College, and Little Priest Tribal College teaching Native American history and cultures, U.S. history, world history, anthropology and sociology.

Of Cherokee and Choctaw heritage, Gillis moved to Nebraska in 1987 to work with the Winnebago people for the Reformed Church in America and has served as their delegate to its Native American Council and the Commission for Race and Ethnicity.

The second program will be at 7 p.m. that evening at the Lincoln County Historical Museum. A Brief History of the Five Tribes of Nebraska: Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee, Santee and Winnebago will look at the origins, history and current state of these five tribes that are recognized as Native Nations in Nebraska.

These programs are brought to North Platte through the support of Humanities Nebraska, the Cultural Endowment of Nebraska, the library and museum and the Faith Fisher Memorial Fund.
It is one of the cycles of nature we see here each winter. Eagles follow waterfowl on their annual migration. When there are a lot of ducks and geese around, you will find eagles. The majority of these eagles are migrants, just like the ducks and geese. However, more eagles are making Nebraska their permanent home.

A new record number of bald eagle nests were documented in 2016 Nebraska by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) personnel. A total of 159 active nests were identified. This is the third year in a row that a record number of nests have been documented in the Cornhusker State. Eagles have gone from a nonexistent breeding species in the state to one that is relatively numerous in the last 25 years, according to Joel Jorgensen, NGPC nongame bird program manager.

Weve grown accustomed to bald eagle nests number breaking records year in and year out, but the spike in numbers in 2016 was a big surprise, Jorgensen said.

In the early 1980s, in conjunction with the federal restoration plans for eagles in the lower 48 states, Nebraska set a goal for having 10 breeding pairs by the end of the century. However, it wasnt until 2007 that the NGPC official recorded the first active and successful bald eagle nest in almost 100 years. In roughly a decade the number of active nests has grown to 159.

Right now is a great time to see eagles in western Nebraska. Eagles subsist on waterfowl, but they never miss a chance to take a fish. Eagles congregate along areas of open water for this reason. Lake Ogallala and below several of the Hydro stations we have in the region are good spots to see eagles.

Both bald eagles and golden eagles pass through Nebraska. A mature bald eagle is easy to identify with its white head and tail. Younger birds are more brown and mottled in appearance. They are often mistaken for golden eagles.

You can easily tell a golden eagle from an immature bald eagle by its leg plumage. A golden eagles legs are entirely covered with feathers; an immature bald eagles lower legs are bare. In flight, a juvenile golden eagle will have white patches at the base of the primary wing feathers and the tail is white with a distinct dark terminal band. It takes four years to acquire adult plumage.

The golden eagle is a member of the true eagles family. Golden eagles are more widely distributed than any other eagle on earth. They are also found in Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Bald eagles are found throughout much of North America, from Alaska and Canada to northern Mexico. About half of the worlds 70,000 bald eagles live in Alaska. Combined with British Columbias population of about 20,000, the northwest coast of North America is by far the greatest stronghold for bald eagles. They flourish there in part because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source for bald eagles.

Before European settlers first sailed to Americas shores, bald eagles may have numbered half a million. They existed along the Atlantic from Labrador to the tip of south Florida, and along the Pacific from Baja California to Alaska. They inhabited every large river and concentration of lakes within North America. They nested in forty-five of the lower forty-eight states. One researcher estimated an eagle nest for every mile of shoreline along Chesapeake Bay. They congregated on the lower Hudson, and were extremely abundant along the coast of Maine.

Bald eagles were officially declared an endangered species in 1967 in all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel, under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Until 1995, the bald eagle had been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 43 of the 48 lower states, and listed as threatened in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington and Oregon. In July of 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the status of bald eagles in the lower 48 states to threatened.

Due to bans of chemicals, like DDT, and the continuous conservation efforts of all state and the federal wildlife agencies, eagles made a remarkable comeback. On June 28, 2007 the Interior Department took the American bald eagle off the Endangered Species List.

Bald eagles are still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The Bald Eagle Protection Act prohibits the take, transport, sale, barter, trade, import and export, and possession of eagles, making it illegal for anyone to collect eagles and eagle parts, nests, or eggs. Native Americans are able to possess these items, with a special permit, as part of their traditional/cultural ceremonies.

Last Act

Former President Ob-ama did not go quietly when it came to his anti-gun agenda. While he didnt ban any particular type of gun, he did throw up a huge roadblock for hunters. On his last day in office, Obama issued an order to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to ban the use of traditional ammunition on USFWS controlled lands by 2022.

The USFWS Directors Order 219 requires all USFWS Regional Directors to work with state agencies to ban the use of traditional ammunition. It also ends the use of traditional ammunition on all federal lands. The new order also has wording that would ultimately restrict traditional ammunition for dove and upland bird hunting.

This order was issued without any consultation or response period from the shooting industry, state wildlife agencies, sportsmen or conservation organizations. Absolutely no scientific evidence is available to support such an order. This order should immediately be rescinded. The USFWS needs to initiate a policy that states no new regulations can be enacted unless supported by scientific evidence of population impacts, regardless of the species being discussed.

Im also concerned that traditional ammunition was not defined in the order. Does that mean all lead containing shot, does it include steel shot, or does it mean all projectiles containing lead or steel  shot and bullets. Wouldnt that create a mess for hunters?
Center may lose ability to properly classify inmates

The Lincoln County Detention Center is close to filling up.

Currently 128 inmates are housed in the 164-bed jail.

Even though we have 164 beds, were still full, said Sheriffs Chief Deputy Roland Kramer. Weve been at 130, and thats the magic number.

Typically, he said, jail staff classifies inmates for cell assignments by whether they act violent or could be hurt because of their vulnerabilities. They also consider crimes committed, mental illness, whether an inmate is suicidal and other health issues.

When the jail reaches 130 inmates, they lose the ability to properly classify, Kramer said. You only have so many cells that are differentiated.

The jail also houses inmates from Nebraska prisons through a program expected to end this summer, as well as inmates from surrounding counties that dont have a jail.

Detention Center Lt. Jeff Hedgecock said the jail currently has nine inmates from other counties and 17 from Nebraska prisons.

Kramer said the jail doesnt want to stop housing outside inmates because of the revenue it brings the county. Despite the numbers, he did not fear becoming too full to function.

Well handle it, he said, adding that if push comes to shove, staff would evaluate options.

Kramer said a spike in inmate populations is typical at the beginning of the year. Holiday spending can lead to bad checks and failure to pay fines, which increases the number of arrest warrants.

At the beginning of 2017, the Lincoln County Courthouse updated its time-pay policy, issuing warrants to arrest those who fail to pay court-ordered fines and costs. According of a copy of the policy from county court, people have 60 days to pay the fees. To obtain a one-time extension, they must pay 50 percent of the original cost five to seven days before the due date. When arrested, a person can either pay fines in full or sit out the cost in jail.

Hedgecock said two or three people a week have been arrested for time-pay since the policy was implemented, and one time-pay inmate was in jail as of Friday.

He said one day in jail counts for $60; someone would be in jail for a day and a half for a $110 fine.

They dont stay very long, he said.

Given the yearly spikes in inmate population and the countys hopes to continue housing outside inmates, Sheriff Jerome Kramer is open to expanding the jail eventually. He said an eventual $4-5 million jail expansion has been a given since it opened in 2011.

If the need arose, we would, he said.

Sheriff Kramer pointed to changes in both state and federal law that could lead to more Lincoln County incarcerations.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could lead to more deportations of undocumented immigrants. In 2015, a Nebraska law made it more likely that people convicted of low-level felonies would be sent to jail than to prison.

Sheriff Kramer, who was attending Nebraska Legislature sessions at the time of the interview, said the Legislature is discussing a bill that would allocate $5 million to continue housing prison inmates at county jails, primarily for work release.

Kramer could not speculate on when the jail might look at expanding, but he said, I can see theres a probability.
HAMMOND  Seven U.S. military veterans looking to get careers started learned to think a little more about themselves, shed some of their service lingo, and to sometimes even tamp down that can-do persona they took on while serving their nation.

Veterans have a hard time relating to self," said Jeff Platt on Friday at Hammond's WorkOne. "In the military the emphasis in on the team."

Platt is a VETS (Veterans Employment Transition Seminar) trainer and case manager with Operation: Job Ready Veterans. He had just spent the week helping one female veteran and six male veterans representing the four major branches of the U.S. military sharpen their job-hunting skills.

On Friday, the seven graduated from the one-week employment transition seminar in a room replete with flags from the four service branches, another for MIAs, and a U.S. and state flag.

We teach them to promote themselves, and we hone in on careers, not jobs, Platt said about the training that took place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is a transitional focus  veterans teaching veterans how to relate better to others. We stress a positive attitude and mindset.

Operation: Job Ready Veterans, an Indianapolis-based non-profit, has provided assistance for veterans, their spouses and military caretakers throughout the state in conjunction with Indiana's Department of Workforce Development since 2010.

Theres a growing need to help dislocated workers make connections to take them from serial unemployment to lasting careers, Platt said.

Zach Glasen, a veteran of the United State Marine Corps, said he began the training on Monday using a confident, outgoing style he learned as a Marine. Dressed in a suit complete with a bow tie for graduation, Glasen said he learned how to control that style.

I learned great ways to research jobs and salaries and refine my communication skills, said the 2016 Purdue University Calumet graduate who earned a bachelors degree with a concentration in marketing. I hope to meet some great employers.

Those participating in the seminar focused on such skills as advance resume preparation, research and networking and interview preparation.

As part of the training, each graduate wrote a short value proposition statement, often called an elevator talk, that stressed skills, experience in specific careers and plans for future career fields. Sarah Jackson of WorkOne read each of the statements as the individuals were introduced during the ceremony.

Glasens short statement included the phrase that he would be a refreshing addition to any company.

Sean Lewis, also a Marine Corps veteran, wrote that he wanted to put his HVAC experience to use in residential or commercial markets.

Sean will be a trusted and valuable member of any team, his elevator talk said.

Logistics skills learned while a member of the U.S. Air Force and his associate degree in logistics would qualify Jason Pierce for a position in a manufacturing company, he said in his statement.

Without a transitional program from the military to civilian life, many veterans start a job and leave it. That creates a spotty resume, and companies dont want to hire them, said Gene Anderson, CEO of Operation: Job Ready Veterans. However, Anderson said, veterans have skills learned in the military that can translate into civilian careers.

As part of her keynote address, Gwen Wilkerson, human resource partner with Geminus Corporate Center, distributed information about the services offered by the Regional Mental Health Center and Geminus Corporation. Another part of her talk focused on interview tips and techniques.

Those tips included dressing appropriately in business or business casual attire, maintaining eye contact, and presenting an error-free resume.

Be ready to talk about skills you have that are transferable to the position, Wilkerson said. Avoid using slang words like dude or my bad. Send a thank you for the interview within 24 hours.

Wilkerson represented one of four employers who distributed information about open positions.

Grace Horvath, regional manager of Discover Books at 430 Russell St., in Hammond, said she was seeking candidates to fill full-time entry level warehouse jobs. The pay begins at $8.75 per hour with medical and dental benefits, paid time off and holiday pay after the probation period.

We sell used books on the internet and ship internationally, Horvath said about the company, which also has facilities in Ohio and California. We handle 114,000 pounds of books each day.
When Armando Lucas Correa was a child in Havana, his grandma would say that "for the next 100 years Cuba would pay for what it did to the Jewish refugees."

She was referring to the case of the St. Louis, a transatlantic liner that arrived from Hamburg with more than 900 immigrants fleeing Nazi Germany, which Cuba rejected after letting in only 28 passengers. Also rejected by the United States, the ship was forced to go back to Europe, where 287 passengers were given asylum by Great Britain. From the rest, many died in concentration camps.

The story led Correa to write his acclaimed debut novel, "The German Girl."

"I grew up with that, arguing with my grandmother, blaming (Fulgencio) Batista, that was the chief of the army, discussing who was to blame, how did they not accept those Jews, saying that it was a disgrace," Correa said in a recent interview in New York, where he lives and works as editor-in-chief of People en Espanol.

Published by Atria Books in Spanish and English (with a translation by Nick Caistor), "The German Girl" follows Hannah, a young Berliner who arrives in Cuba with her family on the St. Louis, and Anna, a girl of the same age living in today's New York, whose paths intertwine. It is narrated in the first person by the two girls in alternate chapters that take them from Germany's capital to the Big Apple and a colorful Havana.

The first line of the novel captures the reader's attention: "I was almost twelve years old when I decided to kill my parents," Hannah says.

"The beginning started as a page, that page turned into three paragraphs, those three paragraphs into one until I got to that sole phrase," Correa said. "I wanted to get you inside of that world and see the level of desperation of a girl that can make such a drastic decision."

After a long and obsessive research process  Correa not only read all the books about the St. Louis, he also brought them along with many related artifacts  the author shaped his novel inspired by his own family's experiences and found the voice of his young Hannah at home: "All the time, while I was writing, I thought about my daughter. I felt like a father to those children," he said.

He recalled that when he started middle school in Cuba, he was taught Russian, not English, so his grandmother would send him to get English lessons from a grouchy German teacher that all the kids hated  they called him the Nazi.

"Then, when I went to college, I learned from a friend that that old man was actually a Jewish refugee that my grandmother was helping," Correa said.

Hannah, when growing up in Cuba, becomes an English teacher who's called "the Nazi" by the children. Her mother, Alma, says in her old age that Cuba will pay for what it had done for the next 100 years.

Correa has met with some of the St. Louis survivors. He plans to write two more books about their stories.
Attending Mass, or the celebration of the Eucharist, is not only a welcome obligation but an honor and a privilege for Catholics.

In the Catholic Church, Masses are celebrated every Sunday, but many churches also have daily Masses and special Masses for holy days of obligation. Various other occasions and events, such as anniversaries, funerals and graduations, can be celebrated with a Mass.

"We have Mass to worship and to receive God's grace, to unify with him and with other worshipers through the sacrament of the Eucharist," states the website aboutcatholics.com.

It's essential and the norm for the congregation to meet in a church for Mass but under various circumstances, Masses can also be said in other places  even a private home.

Maria Tellez, of Chicago's South Deering neighborhood, finds it a rewarding experience to participate in the Mass. She regularly attends St. Kevin Church in Chicago. But Tellez has also welcomed priests, friends and community residents into her home for a variety of special Masses and prayer services.

Tellez recently opened her home for a Mass in December to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (The feast day revolves around Mary's appearance in Mexico to a poor man named Juan Diego). Tellez said she annually celebrates that day with a Mass in her home and has been doing so for nearly two decades.

The first prayer services she hosted inspired her to inquire about celebrating the Our Lady of Guadalupe feast day with a special Mass in her home.

"Some of my friends and people from church would gather to say the rosary at my house and we would have special prayer and rosary services when (people) would bring the Our Lady of Fatima statue around," Tellez said. (The Our Lady of Fatima statue is a traveling pilgrimage statue which the devoted can host in their homes in conjunction with rosary and prayer services).

Last month's Mass in the Tellez home was celebrated by the Rev. Juan Pablo, a missionary from Mexico, who is a member of The Consecrates of the Most Holy Savior order.

Tellez said she contacted her parish to ask if a priest was available to say the Mass for the Guadalupe feast day and learned that although someone from St. Kevin Church wasn't available, another parish, not far from St. Kevin's, had a priest available. The Rev. Juan Pablo was a visiting priest at St. Francis De Sales Church in Chicago at that time.

The Rev. Martin Dobryzynski, director of the Office of Worship for the Catholic Diocese of Gary, said "home Masses are a rarity."

"It's totally up to the priest or the pastor," Dobryzynski said, adding that it's not encouraged or customary for a person to call a church about hosting a home mass.

"Generally, special home Masses are not something a person requests," he said. Dobrzyzynski said a pastor or priest from an individual church may perhaps come to celebrate a Mass for a person that has been a longtime member of the church congregation and is now homebound or for another special circumstance.

Dobryzynski said, at times, other situations may prompt a home Mass. He noted a time when a new church was being built in the diocese and there wasn't a physical place for people to gather. So, Masses were scheduled at various people's homes.

"Usually they're done for the sick or for special devotionals," he said.

Tellez's recent Mass, being a special devotional event in honor of Guadalupe, drew 12 people to her home. In the past, she's welcomed anywhere from 10 to more than 30 people for the Mass.

"I was happy to celebrate the Mass," Father Juan Pablo said, after the event in Tellez's home.

Dorothy Spencer, also a member of St. Kevin Church, said Mass is something important to her.

"It's very peaceful. And you feel really close to God," she said, about going to church.

Spencer added she's experienced home Masses a couple of times in the past and said there's a special quality about them, too.

"In a home, (being smaller), everyone is physically seated close together," she said, adding it's more of an intimate atmosphere.

Spencer said there's usually fellowship with refreshments after the home Masses, which allows for people to gather for a longer period of time and talk with one another about the experience.

After Tellez's December Mass, which was held at 10 a.m., the priest and attendees gathered around her table for an early lunch. Guests engaged in interesting conversation, learned more about Father Juan Pablo and further discussed the events surrounding the Our Lady of Guadalupe feast day and its miracles.
Dont miss the 10th installment of Fetching Market from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 10 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 11. Fetching Market No. 10 will take place at the Indiana Welcome Center off I-80/94 and Kennedy Avenue in Hammond. You will find outstanding artisans, one-of-a-kind items, live music, food and drink options as well as cocktails during your visit. Entry is $5/each day.Learn more online at www.fetchingmarket.com.

'My Way,' A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra

The Theatre at the Center in Munster will feature My Way A Musical Tribute to the one and only Frank Sinatra from Feb. 9 to March 19. Relive the career of Sinatra where actors share with the audience more than 50 of his beloved hits. Tickets are available at www.theatreatthecenter.com. Make it a dinner and theatre event on March 2 with a dinner at 5:30 p.m. and show at 7:30.

Leprechaun Fun Run

Take part of Crown Brewings 5K Run/Walk on March 11 by signing up today. The Leprechaun Fun Run is family and pet friendly and has a 9 a.m. start time. The $25 entry fee includes a breakfast buffet and Crown Brewing in Crown Point. Tickets are available at the brewery and www.brownpapertickets.com.

NWI Comic-Con

Chat with various artists, writers and publishers of your favorite comics at NWI Comic-Con on Feb. 25 at the Halls of St. George in Schererville. Admission is $8/adults and $2/children under 12 years old. Free parking is available. Call 219-669-1872 for more information.

Stargazing at National Lakeshore

Grab your winter gear and stargaze at the National Lakeshore Feb. 18 at Kemil Beach. The Chicago Astronomical Society will host stargazing the third Saturday of every month (excluding March and July.) Learn about constellation lore from the darkest site in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Visit www.nps.gov/indu for details.

Butterfly Workshop at Kankakee Sands

Join the Nature Conservancy at its free butterfly workshop from 10 a.m. to noon on Feb. 11 at the Cedar Lake Public Library. Learn about the many species of butterflies that fly over Kankakee Sands at this informative workshop. RSVPs are required by calling 219-866-1706.
MERRILLVILLE  According to records, a Lake County official is living in a tax delinquent home benefiting from what may be a questionable tax break.

County Councilman Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville, said last week his residence here began accumulating back taxes and penalties about three years ago after his 69-year-old father, Harold Washington, who owns it, nearly died.

"My father had an aneurysm. Then he was diagnosed for cancer. He fell behind in his bills," Jamal Washington said.

The back taxes and penalties on the house near 56th and Connecticut amounted to more than $6,700, and the house had been scheduled to be auctioned off at last year's treasurer's tax sale.

The Washington family prevented the sale by signing a plan, available to all delinquent taxpayers, to make up the delinquency in monthly payments scheduled through this year.

Homestead issues

Lake County Auditor John Petalas said last week his office is investigating whether that Washington property should be taxed higher, since there are questions about the validity of the homestead deductions it currently receives.

Jamal Washington, who has lived there for the better part of a decade, said he was surprised to learn of the deduction problem.

He has represented Gary's Miller and Glen Park neighborhoods, most of Merrillville and parts of Griffith, St. John Township and Schererville since 2014 on the County Council, which oversees county government spending.

Petalas said he will ask the owner, Harold Washington, whether he receives homestead deductions in both Illinois and Indiana, and whether the Merrillville house is a rental property.

Either of two conditions likely would disqualify the Merrillville house for future deductions.

States generally grant homeowners a single property tax break for their primary residence. Rental and recreational "second homes" generally cannot benefit from these homestead deductions, which in Indiana can reduce property taxes by as much as half.

County property records indicate there has been a homestead deduction on the Connecticut Street property at least since 2002 when Harold Washington purchased it.

Jamal Washington has claimed it as his residence since at least 2008, according to county voting records.

Jamal Washington said his father also owns a house in Dolton, Illinois, but has stayed at the Merrillville house, too. "He is an elderly man and stays here for me to take care of him."

The Cook County assessor's office said Illinois property records indicate a Harold Washington has been the owner of a house on Cottage Grove Avenue in Dolton, Illinois, since 1991 and has been receiving a homeowner exemption since 1993.

However, it is unclear whether he is the same Harold Washington who receives a homestead deduction on the Connecticut Street home, since the county has no identification records of the owner.

Petalas said the Connecticut Street property apparently slipped through the homestead verification program the state conducted between 2010 and 2012 to eliminate illegal homestead deductions.

Every Hoosier homeowner was required during those years to fill out a pink form providing the last five digits of their Social Security number or some other government-issued identification to create a database to find dual homestead deductions.

The program identified more than 300 homeowners in Lake County with ineligible homestead deductions and billed them for $1.3 million in back taxes and thousands of more suspicious tax breaks.

However, Petalas said the county either didn't receive such information from Harold Washington, or someone lost it, and the county's consultants, running the verification program, failed to alert the auditor of the failure.

Petalas said, "We are going to find out who it is. I'm going to send (Harold Washington) a letter telling him to remove the homestead in Indiana if he lives in Illinois. I'll remove it unless he sends me a letter saying he wants to keep the one in Indiana."

Jamal Washington also said he has been paying his father rent to live in the house for several years, "just to help him out."

Petalas said he has no evidence this is a case of homestead fraud. He said most ineligible deductions are the result of not understanding complex tax rules.
VALPARAISO  County officials spent several years resisting pressure to spend the $148 million in proceeds from the 2007 sale of the county hospital.

The determination paid off early last year when the county broke new ground in Indiana by taking advantage of a new opportunity to set up a foundation to protect the investment and give local leaders a more lucrative choice of investment options.

The Porter County Council and Board of Commissioners are now giving as much care to deciding how the interest money from their investment will be spent, and it appears the group will take care of in-house needs before making more of the money available to outside groups.

"This is a longtime deal," Porter County Commissioner President Jeff Good, R-Center, said, hoping to put the issue in perspective.

The foundation assures the money will remain safe long into the future, he said, which will allow time for county government to address its many overdue needs before taking requests from the outside entities.

"We have a lot of needs out there," Good said.

County government is already funding a few local nonprofits from the hospital proceeds, including Opportunity Enterprises, Family & Youth Services Bureau and Porter County Council on Aging, according to Porter County Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South.

The foundation is set up so that the first 5 percent of the interest earned will be used by the county, with any balance being reinvested, Porter County Councilman Dan Whitten, D-at-large, said at the group's meeting last week.

The investment earned a strong 2.9 percent return for its second fiscal quarter, bringing the total for the first two quarters to 4.4 percent, Amanda Black, director of client strategy at Capital Cities, told the council and commissioner members last month.

Porter County Council President Mike Jessen, R-4th, said he would like to see the priority placed on addressing the shortcomings in county government's general fund. These operational-type costs include a bill of more than $1 million for the Sheriff Department's pension fund.

He, however, does not want to see the foundation proceeds used for operational costs over the long run.

The second tier of in-house costs to be considered are capital projects, such as the various building needs, Jessen said.

"There are plenty of needs that need to be addressed," he said.

Only after all these in-house needs are taken care of should the county make the funding available to various community groups, Jessen said.

"There's a phenomenal number of wants throughout the county," he said.

Blaney said she agrees with the approach of taking care of the needs of county government before making the money available to additional community groups and/or cities and towns.

Good said county government has already used the hospital proceeds to help area cities and towns.

Former Porter County Treasurer Mike Bucko announced nearly four years ago he was using hospital sale proceeds to make low-interest loans to various municipalities around the Region. The move allowed the county to earn more interest on the money than was available through other investment options at the time, while saving the municipalities money over other loan options.

Good said a few of those loans are still active.

"The cities and towns have already benefited," he said.

County officials have been discussing the best ideas for the money since the funds became available with the opening of the new Porter Regional Hospital in August 2012. The county had been limited to investing in money markets, bonds and loans to other government entities.

The county gained access to potentially more lucrative investment options when a new state law paved the way for the creation of the foundation last year. The arrangement also protects the principal by requiring unanimous approval from the council and commissioners to make any changes.

The commissioners and council held back $10 million of the hospital sale money from being invested in the foundation to help fund the new animal shelter and for potential uses in buildings and for the new south county park.
CROWN POINT  A public meeting will be held Monday to discuss express commuter bus service between Crown Point and Chicago.

Leading the discussion will be Councilman Chris Retson, who made bus service the center of his campaign during his run for council in 2015.

"I promised a lot of people this when I campaigned and they've been calling me out on it," Retson said.

It would be the second such service in the Region, modeled after Valparaiso's ChicaGo Dash, which the Northwest Regional Development Authority helped launch in 2008. Retson said he's been working on the idea for a few years and has sought advice from Valparaiso officials.

"It's been a good success to them. It brings money home to their community," he said. "My proposal is to use their contract as a baseline to give everyone here an idea of what to expect. What it would cost for the city and what it would cost for tickets and how it will look and how it will operate."

Retson said he would look for grants for the project. A lot of what he discussed with Valparaiso officials was about the different grants they are getting from state, federal, local and environmental organizations.

"If we decide to go this route and I'm hoping we will, we'll of course try to reach out to all of those  tap all of those different grants that we can," he said.

Retson said he is proposing to have two Chicago-bound buses a day, initially, depart the Lake County Government Center for one to three stops downtown.

"I'm hoping I could keep the cost down by using existing infrastructure," he said. "We've got a lot of excess parking there and the county police headquarters are there and it's already insured."

Retson said he always thought Crown Point could use a bus service like this. The city is a bedroom community, he said, and part of his presentation Monday will be about its economic impact.

"The primary way which money comes into our community is by commuters," he said. "Back in the day it used to be tens of thousands of people employed at the steel mills. That's not the main source of money anymore. Now the source of money is commuters. Selling their services and bringing the money back into our community."

Retson said it would do a lot for real estate values and give people confidence to buy into the community but also improve the quality of life for senior citizens and others who feel intimidated by driving and parking in Chicago.

"The senior citizens I've spoken to about this are pretty excited about it," he said.

Retson would like to have the bus service as soon as possible.

"There's a lot going on in the city unfortunately right now with our sewer upgrades," he said. "We also have some water upgrades next on the table. And anything else that might come up. But I'm hoping we can get this done sometime this year or something."

Valparaiso City Planner Tyler Kent said the ChicaGo Dash has attracted people to move to Valpo, buy a home and work in Chicago. He said it's environmentally friendly by keeping vehicles off of highways and byways.

"It's easy and convenient for our commuters," he said. "It provides them an option of another market place to find a job."

Kent said the buses, which are equipped with Wi-Fi, satellite TV and restrooms, are also used by people who have medical appointments in Chicago and for special events like the auto show and most recently, the parade celebrating the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs.

It's also helped spur development and redevelopment around the parking lot area just west of downtown Valparaiso where the buses depart. The station has now outgrown that facility and received a grant from the RDA to move to a new space on the south side of the city.

"Hopefully that will spur additional development and redevelopment in that area," he said.

The Crown Point meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 101 N. East St.
More than 30 students from Porter County Career and Technical Center (PCCTC), traveled to Baker Colleges Owosso campus to learn about post-high school educational options at the Auto/Diesel Institute (ADI) of Michigan.

Baker Colleges ADI offers high quality programs in a state-of-the-art facility that are significantly different than a typical technical school, said Mike Wester, PCCTC auto services instructor who coordinated this years visit. The staff is excellent in helping students understand the need for secondary education and how to affordably obtain it. Several of our students have taken advantage of the education offered there.

This is the fourth year PCCTC students studying auto or diesel service technology have visited the campus.

Mike Konopacke, Baker College of Owosso vice president for admissions, said, Postsecondary credentials are nearly essential in all fields for those who want a productive career with a well-paying job. A strength of the ADI curricula is the opportunity to acquire extensive hands-on experience while being guided by experts in the field.

The 43,000-square-foot ADI facility has two fully equipped automotive labs, three diesel labs, four engine and transmission labs and three lecture classrooms.

ADI offers associate and certificate technology programs in diesel and automotive services, including the MOPAR College Automotive Program in partnership with Chrysler Group LLC, that are accredited by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF).

Diesel service technology is the only Michigan program that has earned NATEFs Master Accreditation.

PCCTC students come from high schools throughout Porter County, including Boone Grove, Chesterton, Hebron, Hobart, Kouts, Morgan Township, Portage, Wheeler, Valparaiso and Washington Township.
WASHINGTON  A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention.

Under Trump's order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trump's order had been prevented from entering the U.S.

Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports, including New York's Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Forth Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read "Portland Coffee Is From Yemen" and chanting anti-Trump slogans. Among the dozens showing support for refugees at Denver's airport were those who sang "refugees are welcome here."

U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the move. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad."

"If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse said. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith."

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.

Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003 and later worked as a contract engineer. In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawai's wife had worked for a U.S. security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. military.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trump's order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that don't provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trump's order.

"There is no evidence that refugees  the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation  are a threat to national security," said Lena F. Masri, the group's national litigation director. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didn't address America's "primary terrorism-related threat"  people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trump's order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

"We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. "With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years."

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

No refugees were in the air when the travel ban was signed Friday, but about 350 people were in transit in Nairobi, Kenya, and were now stuck there, said Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy for HIAS, a refugee resettlement aid agency. She said several hundred more people who were booked on U.S.-bound flights in the next week were now stranded around the globe.

"This in effect could be a permanent ban," she said. "Many of these people may never be able to come."

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker in Washington, Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco, Jeff Karoub in Detroit, and Rachel Zoll, Verena Dobnik and William Mathis in New York contributed to this report.
NEW YORK  President Donald Trump's immigration order sowed more chaos and outrage across the country Sunday, with travelers getting detained at airports, panicked families searching for relatives and protesters marching against the sweeping measure that was blocked by several federal courts.

Attorneys struggled to determine how many people had been affected so far by the rules, which Trump said Saturday were "working out very nicely."

But critics described widespread confusion and said an untold number of travelers were being held in legal limbo because of ill-defined procedures. Others were released. Lawyers manned tables at New York's Kennedy Airport to help families whose loved ones had been detained, and some 150 Chicago-area lawyers showed up at O'Hare Airport after getting an email seeking legal assistance for travelers.

"We just simply don't know how many people there are and where they are," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project.

Advocates for travelers say the chaos is likely to continue. The executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, Marielena Hincapie, said "this is just the beginning."

"We're really in a crisis mode, a constitutional crisis mode in our country, and we're going to need everyone," she said. "This is definitely one of those all-hands-on-deck moments."

On Sunday talk shows, White House officials defended Trump's actions.

"I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone traveling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States," White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway described the changes as "a small price to pay" to keep the nation safe.

By Sunday evening, officials said nearly all of those who had been detained were free or soon would be, but the status of some travelers was unclear. The released included nine people held at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings' office said.

The people affected included a woman who was sent back to Saudi Arabia after traveling to Indiana to care for her cancer-stricken mother; a family physician who has lived in the U.S. for two decades who was held for nine hours; and a Minneapolis woman about to become a U.S. citizen who was questioned for 12 hours.

Meanwhile, protests continued across the country Sunday, from smaller airports like Rapid City Regional Airport in South Dakota to one of the nation's busiest, Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Demonstrations first erupted Saturday, a day after Trump signed the order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. The president also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months.

In Washington D.C., hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the White House, some holding signs that read, "We are all immigrants in America." Demonstrations also unfolded at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, as well as in suburban Chicago, where a Jewish group organized a protest to support Muslims.

Lawyers in Chicago crowded into a food court Saturday at O'Hare, some walking around with signs offering legal help. One volunteer attorney, Julia Schlozman, was among those who jumped on a subway and headed to O'Hare.

"I just felt like I had to do something," she told the Chicago Tribune.

A federal judge in New York issued an order Saturday temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump's travel ban took effect. But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out. Federal courts in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington state took similar action.

A more decisive ruling on the legality of the Trump action by U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly will probably take at least several weeks. Opponents and government attorneys will get a chance to lay out their arguments in filings and possibly in oral arguments in court, Gelernt said. Activists said their goal was to have Trump's order overturned entirely.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, known for usually tempering his public comments, did not hold back in a statement Sunday about Trump's measures: "Their design and implementation have been rushed, chaotic, cruel and oblivious to the realities" of security. They had, he added, ushered in "a dark moment in U.S. history."

The president of the University of Notre Dame, Father John I. Jenkins, was also among the ban's sharp critics.

"If it stands, it will over time diminish the scope and strength of the educational and research efforts of American universities," he said Sunday in a statement. And he added: "We respectfully urge the president to rescind this order."

An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone on Saturday said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

No green-card holders were turned away from entering the U.S. as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent hours in detention before being allowed in.

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, Judge Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the U.S. from summarily deporting people who arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights.

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the U.S., said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.
I don't know that the country can survive four years of this guy.

I guess I should have shown proper respect and said President Donald Trump.

I will as soon as he quits spewing falsehoods and respects the American people.

I suspect he doesn't realize it, but his arrogance is embarrassing the country he says he wants to make great again  even though it never has fallen from the ranks of greatness.

His latest lie  and perhaps the worst in just a week of the presidency  is that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally.

His contention is that not one of those votes was cast for him  they all went to Hillary Clinton.

Because of his ego, Trump can't come to grips with the fact that although he won the electoral vote, Clinton received almost 3 million more popular votes.

Thus, there will forever be an asterisk beside Trump's name in election history. And he just can't stand it.

That's what an ego gone wild will do.

I knew that from the days I was covering the start of the casino industry in Northwest Indiana in 1996 and had many sit-down interviews with Trump.

Yeah, he was the biggest and best at everything he did back then, just as he has been boasting for the last year.

So Trump is calling for an investigation into why 3 million to 5 million illegal votes were cast.

He is doing so even though the Pew Institute, which Trump claims is the source of his contention, issued a report saying there was no evidence of voter fraud.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., put it best, saying, "He has no evidence. He's just trying to explain why he lost the popular vote."

And if you don't believe Waters, there are high-ranking Republicans, such as House Speaker Paul Ryan, who have said there is no evidence of vote fraud.

He had a different excuse early on.

Trump said he would have won the popular vote had he campaigned in the states that he didn't think he need to win the electoral vote.

There was no mention of illegal votes when he made the claim that he would have won the popular vote had he campaigned in places like California and New York.

So Trump is telling the American people there is widespread vote fraud and that the very foundation of democracy is crumbling. That, of course, is terribly disconcerting.

When his claim that he would have won the popular vote had he campaigned everywhere didn't seem to sell, he changed tunes and latched on to the illegal vote argument.

America is not going to buy that either.

When you lose the popular vote by almost 3 million, it's hard to claim that your election is a mandate to say and do whatever you want, even if it's not true. It's apparent that's eating at Trump.

Trump's problem, according to a national commentator, is that "he wants so badly to be loved, and he's figured out he can't."

Not too much has changed since the two of us sat and talked in his casino boat at Gary's Buffington Harbor some 20 years ago.

It could be an agonizing four years.
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

A field sobriety test of Lake County drunken driving prosecutions in 2016 shows Prosecutor Bernard Carter was genuine in his sober prediction of tougher litigation.

The bad news is  in at least one case  the policy appears to have lost its balance in favor of a former prosecutor's employee, who was granted a plea deal in apparent contradiction of this promise.

As they navigate prosecutions and plea bargains of future OWI cases, Carter and his deputies should be cautioned to stay within the lines of Carter's promise to avoid lesser misdemeanor reckless driving pleas to alleged drunken-driving offenses.

Times readers will be familiar with this issue.

Past Times investigations have revealed than only about 40 percent of drunken driving arrests led to operating while intoxicated (OWI) convictions in Lake County courts.

Those probes revealed about 60 percent of OWI cases were pleaded down to lesser charges, most of the time misdemeanor reckless driving.

This was clearly sending the wrong message to offenders who put public safety at risk through their actions.

The issue received renewed attention in July when Times columns, editorials and news stories revealed politically connected Region union official Randy Palmateer had just received his second reckless driving plea within a five-year period to charges that began as drunken driving allegations.

Following intense criticism, Carter vowed in late July to get tougher on OWI prosecutions, pursuing drunken driving  not lesser reckless driving  convictions in most cases.

A Times computer-assisted review of 2016 OWI prosecutions in Lake County courts shows he's taking that promise seriously.

As 2016 drew to a close, about 553 drunken driving cases had been completed while, 761 remained pending.

Prior to Carter's promise of tougher prosecutions, only 39 percent of 2016 OWI arrests resulted in OWI guilty pleas or convictions. About 54 percent ended with prosecutors offering defendants pleas to the lesser charge of reckless driving.

But then Carter made his promise in late July, and the trend changed dramatically.

Court records show that of the completed 2016 OWI cases following Carter's promise, 74 percent, or 225 cases, resulted in OWI convictions.

About 19 percent, or 56 cases, ended with a lesser reckless driving plea bargain.

Unfortunately, Carter's office continued to create questions about such prosecutions in 2016.

One of those reckless driving plea deals was granted to Crown Point lawyer Angelo Politakis.

Lake County payroll records show, and Carter confirmed, Politakis worked as a part-time law clerk for Carter's office during a period of about six years.

Neither Politakis nor his attorney returned calls seeking comment about the matter.

But Carter confirmed Politakis clerked for the prosecutor part-time while working his way through college and law school.

Indiana Bar Association records show Politakis became a Lake County attorney in May.

At 8:40 p.m. July 23, Politakis was driving his gray, four-door sedan near the intersection of 113th Avenue and Madison Street in Crown Point when he swerved into the curb, court records state.

The force of the swerve flattened both tires on the car's right side, and the vehicle caused gouging on the pavement for about 100 yards, Crown Point police noted.

Politakis eventually flagged down a passing Crown Point patrolman, who noted the suspect gave off a "moderate" odor of alcohol and was slurring his speech.

Politakis subsequently stumbled during walking and other sobriety tests but refused to take both a portable alcohol breath test at the scene and a certified breath test at the Crown Point Police Department, court records allege.

All the while, Politakis denied he had been drinking, police said.

Ultimately, Politakis was charged with OWI endangering a person.

The charge seems reasonable.

Politakis showed multiple signs of intoxication, according to the police report.

He denied drinking alcohol prior to the incident but also refused to clear the matter up by submitting to alcohol breath tests.

And veering one's car into the curb of a public roadway with enough force to puncture two tires is a clear sign of danger to the public.

So why was Politakis offered a plea deal to the lesser charge of misdemeanor reckless driving in October, about two months after the incident?

When I first asked Carter about this case last week, he offered a familiar response  one a I also heard when we questioned him about Palmateer's reckless driving pleas in July.

He said he didn't know anything about the case until I called him.

Carter then checked with one of his chief deputies, who acknowledged the plea deal had been offered to Politakis, a former employee.

Carter also acknowledged that the plea deal was offered following his promise to crack down on lesser plea deals in OWI cases.

He noted that because a police officer referred to a "moderate" and not a "strong" odor of alcohol, because Politakis had no prior arrests and because no one had been injured in the crash, Politakis was offered the deal.

Regardless of the reasoning, the case creates serious questions about a plea deal offered to Politakis but not most other OWI defendants.

It smacks of favoritism, and Carter knows it.

It's encouraging to see Carter following through on promises to seek drunken driving pleas or convictions in most cases.

But his plan will only stay between the lines if executed with fairness and consistency.
Wrongs can't be righted if people aren't willing to acknowledge the transgressions and push back.

That push-back has been happening in recent weeks in the case of convicted wife batterer and Lake County Councilman Jamal Washington.

Four Region leaders, one of whom is a state lawmaker, have taken a vocal lead against Washington's actions, his ability to hold public office, and other county government leaders who have elevated Washington to higher authority despite his recent guilty plea to misdemeanor battery against his wife.

Lake County Republican Party Treasurer Andy Qunell and Indiana House Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, deserve praise for, in some ways, crossing their respective party lines to stand up for what's right.

Lake County Council President Ted Bilski and Councilwoman Christine Cid deserve credit for initiating a push to strip Washington of his newly acquired council vice president status.

On Thursday, Brown issued a public letter to The Times, admonishing Washington to resign his County Council post.

Brown was right when he dubbed as "repulsive" Washington's battery plea and the councilman's subsequent elevation to the post of Lake County Council vice president a month after the guilty plea.

Beyond his duties as a lawmaker in the Indiana Statehouse, Brown also is a constituent of Washington's county council district. He has every right to criticize and verbally call for Washington's resignation.

We're glad Brown is lending his voice to this chorus. The Times Editorial Board has repeatedly called for Washington's resignation in past editorials, and we renew that call now.

Qunell also spoke publicly about Washington's battery case and subsequent election to vice president by the Lake County Council earlier this month on his Lake County GOP radio show.

Though he believes Washington should resign, Qunell also called for the resignation of one of his party members, Republican Lake County Councilman Eldon Strong.

Strong broke with party lines recently, essentially serving as the swing vote to elect Washington as the council's vice president.

Qunell rightly criticizes Strong for selling his vote to Washington in exchange for future favorable votes for south county road funding and possibly other endeavors.

Strong clearly traded political expediency for common decency, and it's refreshing that a member of his own party is publicly decrying the move.

On Friday, the chorus grew.

Lake County Council President Bilski, who voted against Washington's vice president nod, and Cid announced plans to revisit and strip Washington's vice president status.

Cid, who initially voted in favor of Washington's vice presidential status, had the courage to reconsider that move after further considering the domestic violence issues at stake.

Bilski said he believes there is enough support on the council to remove Washington from the vice president's post.

"We can't compel him to resign from the council, but we don't have to elevate him," Bilski said of Washington.

Bilski and Cid may not need to make the motion. Washington told The Times Friday he intends to step down from his vice presidential role  but not from his council seat.

He should do both.

These types of public stances prompting Washington to step aside should be supported by anyone whose stomach turns at the prospect of an elected official continuing to hold sway over government after admitting in court to battering his wife.

On social media, Washington has claimed hes being bullied in the calls for his resignation.

The only bullying that occurred in this matter was the battery Washington admitted to in court.

It's the sort of behavior decent people shouldn't tolerate of anyone, much less an elected official.
Tabitha Castaneda felt her baby son's heart take its last beat.

She had her hand on his chest, holding him, shortly after he was taken off life support in October 2012 at a northern Indiana hospital.

"When you have to sign papers to not resuscitate, you never expect it to be for a 3-month-old," Tabitha said. She used a nearby Kleenex box, wiping a steady stream of tears. "You shouldn't have to make that decision for a child."

Her son, Cesar Castaneda Jr., was one of 41 babies from East Chicago, Indiana, who died between 2010 and 2014. During the five-year period, that city's ZIP code had the highest infant death rate of any in the state.

Indiana as a whole has the eighth-highest infant mortality rate in the nation.

About 600 babies lose their lives in the state every year.

Many of those deaths are preventable.

"My son's death could have been prevented had steps been put into place to educate parents," Tabitha said.

*******

Tabitha Castaneda developed diabetes while she was pregnant. She didn't get any prenatal care until two months before her due date because she had trouble getting approved for Medicaid.

"It was my third pregnancy. I could tell something was wrong," she said. "But I did the best I could to eat well and take care of myself."

Cesar Castaneda Jr. was born July 1, 2012. Six hours later, he went into respiratory distress and had to be put on oxygen and moved to the neonatal intensive care unit. "The nurse came in, and he was struggling to breathe," his mom said. "There was no real explanation for it."

He came home four days later. He was a smiley, happy baby. His sister, who was 11 months older, doted on him constantly.

"Because they were so close in age I was worried she would be jealous, and it was the exact opposite," Tabitha said. "She was his mini-mom. If I took too long if he was crying and I didn't move fast enough to check on him, she was running ahead of me to make sure he was OK."

Tabitha's job didn't offer paid maternity leave, so she went back to work when Cesar Jr. was a month old. She said she would have returned sooner, but her doctor ordered her to take four weeks to recover from the difficult delivery. Her husband, Cesar Sr., who was out of work, stayed home to take care of their son.

At 2 1/2 months old, Cesar Jr. came down with a stomach infection.

A few weeks after that, Tabitha was at work when her husband called, frantic, saying Cesar Jr. was choking and gagging on his vomit.

"I got in my car and probably broke every speed limit on the way home," Tabitha said, "and by then he was already in the hospital."

*******

When she got to the facility, she found out Cesar Jr. had to be intubated because he couldn't breathe on his own. He had a collapsed lung and swelling in his brain. A doctor said he probably wouldn't make it through the night. The Castanedas decided to keep their son on life support.

Two days later, the state Department of Child Services ordered the hospital not to allow Cesar Sr. on the premises. The agency suspected he intentionally caused his son's injuries.

A few days later, the doctor diagnosed Cesar Jr. with a spinal injury. Even if his brain activity somehow returned, she said, he'd never be able to function on his own. She asked Tabitha if she wanted to remove life support.

Friends and family members came to say goodbye to the baby. Tabitha spent one final night with him. In the morning, the nurses let the doctor know her decision.

"I think that was probably the hardest part, when they brought me the paperwork to sign," Tabitha said. "When they came in later, they handed him to me. I just held him. I put my hand on his chest. And I felt his heart just stop."

*******

The next day, Tabitha started planning her son's funeral.

"I never thought about them making coffins that small or deciding whether you're going to cremate or bury your child," Tabitha said.

A court ordered Cesar Sr. not to have contact with his family, so he wasn't allowed to attend the funeral.

The county coroner's office performed an autopsy on Cesar Jr.'s body. A forensic pathologist ruled the death a homicide.

In February 2013, prosecutors charged Cesar Sr. with the 3-month-old's death. They alleged he shook his son because he was frustrated the baby was crying. The father argued he shook the infant to get him to stop choking on his vomit.

In October 2015, a jury found Cesar Sr. guilty of reckless homicide, battery resulting in death and neglect of a dependent. A judge sentenced him to 29 years and six months in prison.

Tabitha said she doesn't know whose version of events are true. Either way, she believes the 3-month-old's death was avoidable.

She wishes she would have gotten CPR training in the NICU. She also thinks hospitals and community organizations should offer more education about shaken baby syndrome.

Infants have weak neck muscles, she now knows, so shaking them causes their brains to bounce off their skulls. This can lead to permanent neurological damage or death.

"The biggest thing is patience and knowing you can walk away from a crying child," Tabitha said. "It's not neglectful to lay them down and walk away for a little while until you can pull yourself together."

In a series of phone interviews from the Correctional Industrial Facility in Pendleton, Indiana, Cesar Sr., 33, asserted that the situation could have been prevented had he been better educated on newborn care. "I wish I would have known CPR. I wish I would have known how to react better to my son fighting for breath," he said. "I wish they would have shown me stuff like that at the hospital."

Many hospitals offer voluntary infant CPR classes.

Cesar Sr. said that when he's released he plans to start a nonprofit organization dedicated to infant safety. "I want to go out there and make a positive (impact) on this tragedy and teach other parents," he said. Tabitha said she eventually hopes to do public speaking about newborn safety.

In 2014, Indiana's percentage of infant deaths caused by homicides and accidents (10.6 percent) was higher than the national average (6.1 percent).

Several states require hospitals and birthing centers to educate parents on shaken baby syndrome. Indiana does not.

*******

Cesar Sr. is appealing his conviction. "I lost my son nearly five years ago. I really haven't had time to grieve," he said, audibly crying and sniffling. The Castanedas are now divorced.

"When I was out there, the only way I was grieving was going to visit my son at the cemetery," he said. "I would sit there and visit him and talk to him, try to have a conversation with him even though I know he can't respond back. Here, I'm just so far away I can't even visit my son."

Tabitha, 33, doesn't think she'll ever get over her son's death. Some moms in her online infant loss support group are in their 60s and 70s.

"I think it's something that sticks with you forever. I don't think it's something you can just get over or just move on from," she said, tears pouring down her face. "You can continue with your life, but to this day it's hard to look at his pictures because it brings back a lot of pain."

She is bracing herself for the inevitable questions from her now 5-year-old daughter about how her younger brother died. Tabitha's oldest son, now 12, already struggles to grieve.

"A lot of times I just hug him and let him just cry and let him get out what he's supposed to get out," she said. "A lot of anger or sadness, being withdrawn, he goes through all of that. I give him whatever he needs whether it's space or a hug or the ability to just let out all of his anger."

She cracked open Cesar Jr.'s baby book.

"That's when he was first born," she said, pointing at the photographs. "That's when he was in the NICU and they had him on a lot of things hooked up to him, wires and things. I couldn't hold him right away.

"That's my daughter with him. And my oldest, the first time he got to hold him. Just a lot of pictures of him."

She smiled for the first time in the interview. Cesar Jr.'s big, dark, brown eyes shone from the photos.

"At the back of the book," she said, "I have pictures from his last day, the last night before they took him off life support, the memorial card from his funeral, cards from the flowers people sent."

She flipped through the remaining pages of the baby book. They were empty.
When Sonny and Cher recorded the song The Beat Goes On in the 1960s, its improbable that anyone then could even imagine the progress that medical science has made in cardiac health. Although todays statistics on heart-related deaths are staggering, there are many cardiac professionals in the Region who are keeping up with the latest trends in heart health and using cutting-edge technology to ensure your heart keeps on beating.

Cardiologists and their teams are faced with the daunting task of ensuring their patients dont become one of the statistics. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)a malfunction of the hearts electrical system caused by abnormal, or irregular, heart rhythms or arrhythmias that may result in deathand vascular diseases claim nearly 350,000 lives each year, more than those lost to all types of cancer combined. That means every 30 seconds in the U.S. someone dies or is adversely impacted by a heart condition.

Heart attack, or myocardial infarction, which may cause cardiac arrest and sudden death, is caused when the blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off completely by a blockage caused by a buildup of plaque. Though a heart attack indicates a death of heart muscle tissue due to the loss of blood supply, it does not necessarily result in death.

While proper nutrition, sleep, exercise, lowering alcohol consumption and smoking avoidance are necessary to lessen the chance of heart attack and other vascular diseases, lately there have been significant advancements in treatments and procedures.

Amazing Advancements

In the past year or so there has been an explosion in innovative structural heart procedures, according to Hussam Suradi, MD, FACC, FSCAI, ABVM, medical director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center of Community Healthcare System, which includes Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. Kevin Roesch, cardiac program director for Franciscan Alliance, agrees. The hottest topic in treatment for cardiac disease today is structural heart treatments, Roesch says. Abed Dehnee, MD, a cardiologist with Ingalls Health System, notes that there have been many new trials of these procedures this year.

Major advancements include the use of device therapies such as the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), Boston Scientifics WATCHMAN Implant for Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Stroke Risk, Abbotts MitraClip for leaky heart valves, and the introduction of absorbable stents. In addition, there are new drug therapies such as the expanded use of Novartis Entresto for Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and PCSK9 inhibitors for patients with high cholesterol.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

According to Heart.org, TAVR is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that repairs the valve without removing the old, damaged valve. Instead, it wedges a replacement valve into the aortic valves place. Dr. Dehnee says a catheter is inserted through the groin, which makes open heart surgery for valve replacement unnecessary. This is good for high-risk patients, or those who cant deal with surgery, he says. Roesch adds that studies completed this past year have made it possible to include those with intermediate risk and new studies are looking at whether it is an option for those with low risk. A team of cardiac specialists and cardiothoracic surgeons successfully performed the TAVR procedure on two patients on Jan. 11 at Community Hospital.

WATCHMAN Device

Dawn Nelson, WATCHMAN coordinator, and Terri Gingerich, director of cardiovascular services for Porter Regional Hospital, describe the WATCHMAN device as a mesh plug to contain a hole in the left atrial appendage to avoid a stroke for patients diagnosed with chronic AFib. Blood pools in the left atrium and the appendage is where blood clots hide. The clot then travels to the brain and causes a stroke, Nelson says. The WATCHMAN is an ideal alternative for those who cannot tolerate anti-coagulation medication, or blood thinners, used for AFib. Nelson notes that these anti-coagulation medications can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and intercranial bleeding, and those who fall frequently, such as the elderly, are at risk for bleeding.

Gingerich says that the WATCHMAN helps prevent 95 percent of strokes that are caused by blood pooling in the left atrial appendage. Forty-five days after the procedure we test for clots and if there are none, the patient can be off blood thinners for life, she explains. In fact, in our experience, 100 percent of our patients have gotten off the Coumadin (Warfarin) for good. Gingerich adds that Porter Regional Hospital performs the procedure with the team of Dr. Mark Dixon, electrophysiologist, Dr. Sandy Sehgal, cardiologist, and Dr. Jay Shah, cardiologist.

MitraClip

Roesch says the MitraClip, FDA approved in 2014, clips the tips, or leaflets, of the mitral valve together to decrease the amount of backward blood flow. Dr. Suradi says that it is the ideal way to repair a leaky mitral valve for patients considered high risk for open heart surgery. The clip is inserted on a catheter by a needle through the groin, which is less invasive than surgery because there is no incision, and the hospital stay is typically only one to two days. Suradi notes that the MitraClip is a relatively safe procedure and results overall have been successful. He adds that even if the procedure doesnt work, patients can still undergo surgery.

Stents

Dr. Dehnee says two new trials found that stents with specific medicine on their platform to decrease the chance of further artery blockage performed similarly to bypass surgery, for that population that had blockage in the left main artery. There are also new, FDA-approved stents that are absorbable and disappear within one to two years. Roesch cautions that it is too early to assess the impact of use in the U.S., although absorbable stents have been used in Europe for some time. Studying the outcomes on patients who had them generated mixed feelings, says Roesch. Currently, they may not be the best for all patients, as its a bigger stent, preparation is different for insertion and it is not as easy to place as other stents.

Entresto and PCSK9 Inhibitors

The new drug Entresto is touted by Roesch as a game changer. Dr. Dehnee labels it a blockbuster in the treatment of CHF. This combination complex drug helps lessen the stress on the walls of the arteries and on the heart. It is an enzyme inhibitor that lowers pressure and makes the heart easier to pump. Dr. Dehnee says Entresto has been shown in trials to decrease mortality and morbidity in patients with CHF with reduced ejection fraction. This means it helps patients cope with the disease and reduces symptoms significantly. Compared to the optimal available state-of-the-art therapy, Entresto allows patients to live longer with fewer symptoms.

Dr. Andre Artis, cardiologist and medical director of the Heart and Vascular Institute for Methodist Hospitals, says another breakthrough in drug therapy is PCSK9 inhibitors, which are used for patients with high cholesterol who either cant tolerate statins or who cant reach an ideal goal for lowering their cholesterol. Injections are given once every two weeks or once a month, and lower cholesterol significantly, Dr. Artis says. The principal side effect is irritation at the injection site.

New Technologies

So whats on the heart health horizon in the future?

Dr. Artis lauds the new leadless pacemaker, which can be inserted via a catheter through the groin and goes to the tip of the right ventricle. Again, since no incision is necessary for the patient, it is a less invasive procedure. Artis notes that currently these are being used only for a single heart chamber, but the hope is that in the future, the leadless pacemaker will be used for two chambers.

According to the group of professionals interviewed, other areas that are being investigated are new technologies for arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, more procedures to correct AFib, TAVR for the mitral valve, and better treatments for peripheral artery (such as in the legs) disease. Physicians are testing newer ways of doing bypass surgery, such as off pumpwhich is performed on a beating heartso no heart-lung machine is necessary. This decreases the complication rate and the recovery period.

In addition, the trend will continue in the U.S. to try to perform more cardiac catheterization and use stents inserted from the wrist into the heart. For example, coronary angioplasty performed through the wrist instead of the groin allows the patient to sit up almost immediately and reduces bleeding complications. There will be new emphasis on cardiac rehabilitation, with more government subsidy, so further heart episodes can be prevented, and the expanded use of digital devices to monitor peoples health.

Dr. Suradi points out that insertion of various heart-related devices through the groin is also the wave of the future and will allow people to have better quality of life as they age. We treat patients of all ages, he says. Our oldest patient who had valve replacement via TAVR was 98 years old.
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A New York federal judge on Saturday barred the U.S. from deporting travelers with valid visas, as protesters at JFK Airport and in downtown Brooklyn rallied against President Trump's executive order to bar U.S. entry by residents of seven Muslim-majority countries.

The protest at JFK lasted into the early-morning hours and was expected to resume on Sunday.

At least a dozen international travelers were detained upon their arrival in New York Saturday, following the order signed by Trump on Friday banning citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days.

Calling the order "unlawful," the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the order in a petition filed in a New York federal court Saturday on behalf of two Iraqis detained at JFK. On Saturday night the court issued a temporary stay that will prevent any detainees from being deported for the time being.

Signed judge's order. No refugees are going to be immediately deported pic.twitter.com/sbfaG7DBt0  ACLU National (@ACLU) January 29, 2017

"What we did tonight was not to ask the judge to resolve the whole case, but to issue a nationwide injunction to prevent the government from removing anybody until she could resolve the case," immigration rights attorney Lee Gelernt told NY1's Grace Rauh. "Otherwise we could have seen people sent back to their countries to danger, maybe death."

Social media posts showed a crowd of protesters at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza cheering when news of the stay was announced.

The stay, which covers the entire country, awaits further legal review.

Reports say there were at least a hundred detainees at airports across the United States as of Saturday night.

Trump's executive order also bans U.S. entry of those fleeing war-torn Syria indefinitely, and bans the admission of all refugees for the next four months. In signing the order, Trump pledged to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America."

The marchers at JFK were joined by protesters at numerous other international airports across the country.

Some New York City taxi drivers joined in the protest by refusing to pick up passengers at JFK.

At least a dozen refugees were being held at the airport as of Saturday evening, but one person was released earlier Saturday.

That man is Hameed Jhalid Darweesh, an Iraqi citizen with a visa who was in Iraq helping U.S. government employees with translation services.

"I have a special immigration visa in my passport, me and my family, because I work with the U.S. government," said Darweesh. "I support the U.S. government from the other side of the world. But when I came here they said nope. They take me as I break the rules or do something wrong. I'm surprised."

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Congressman Jerry Nadler, both Democrats, were able to meet with U.S. Customs officials and get him released.

"How many times do we have to come here to bring justice to an individual who provided assistance to the U.S. government," said Rep. Velazquez. "And that is the main argument against this mean-spirited, ill-conceived, ill-advised executive order."

In a joint statement, Velazquez and Nadler said they were demanding the release of the other refugees.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo also weighed in on social media.

What's happening at JFK is shameful. @NYCImmigrants Affairs Commissioner Nisha Agarwal is on the ground now working to help.  Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 28, 2017

We are a nation of bridges, not walls. This is not who we are. And not who we should be. pic.twitter.com/ipfjkJtDOk  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 28, 2017
Six people have been released from JFK Airport on Sunday, according to officials, after they were detained since Saturday due to President Trump's executive order banning entry to the U.S. by residents of seven Muslim-majority countries.

Around 1 p.m. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York said he learned from officials that four people have been released in the past hour.

One was a permanent resident of the United States, according to Jeffries, and the other three were travelling to the U.S.

About three hours later, Jeffries said two more people were released.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said before 4 p.m. that 17 people are still being detained JFK airport because of the ban, but that report conflicts with what other officials have said.

The executive director of the Port Authority, Pat Foye, said the federal government has put a chokehold on providing that kind of information.

Protests resumed for the second-straight night at JFK Airport, with 40 to 50 people, as of 4 p.m., calling for the detainees to be released.



One of those released from JFK on Sunday was a woman travelling from Tehran, who had been held at the airport for more than 20 hours.

"This is not good for any people," she said.

A federal judge in Brooklyn had issued a stay on the executive order Saturday, preventing deportations of those people if they have valid visas.

That judge's ruling, however, does not prevent people from still being detained.

"The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce all of the president's Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people," Homeland Security officials said in a statement early Sunday morning. "The presidents Executive Order affects a minor portion of international travelers, and is a first step towards reestablishing control over America's borders and national security."

Alina Das, an attorney and NYU law professor, said that is making it a bit complicated for the people detained at JFK Airport.

"The stay prevents the government from removing people who have valid status, but at the same time we're hearing reports might still be deported in violation of the stay, so there's a lot of concern that the law isn't being followed, and that's simply un-American," Das told NY1's Shannan Ferry on Sunday.

At least a dozen international travelers were detained upon their arrival in New York on Saturday, following the order signed by Trump on Friday banning citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days.

Trump said Christian refugees will be given priority over Muslims.

People from the countries with permanent residencies and other visas are also at risk of not being allowed in the country.

The White House said Sunday that green card holders will not be affected moving forward.

The seven nations are among the ones established in a 2016 law as "countries of concern." Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are among the Middle Eastern countries not named in the law established last year.

Sunday morning, NY1 saw one man who was detained at JFK Airport being released. He said he was coming from Iran and that he's been in the United States for nine years.



He said he was stuck at the airport for about a full day, and that he has proper documentation. He said he has advanced parole and is working to get a green card.

"I'm so disappointed. I'm really considering not living in the United States anymore," the man said. "I was thinking, 'America is great.' Now it's not great at all."



NY1 spoke with the lead attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which fought the case in court, and some people celebrating the victory.

"We filed this case to say we believe that the executive order is unlawful, and it can't be applied to these individuals, and they have to be allowed to come in," immigration rights attorney Lee Gelernt told NY1's Grace Rauh on Saturday.



"And what we did tonight is ask the judge not to resolve the whole case but to issue a nationwide injunction, preventing the government from removing anybody until she could resolve the case," Gelernt said.

"It's very, very unfair that we have a president who is expressing non-Democratic ideals," one protester said Saturday night. "I thought it was important to make sure that our voice  our collective voice  was heard."

"We need racists out, and we need the immigrants to come in," said another protester. "This country was built on immigrants."

The ACLU says it expects the case to return to court sometime next month, and that it is working on releasing the detainees.

Calling the order "unlawful," the ACLU challenged the order in a petition filed in a New York federal court on Saturday on behalf of two Iraqis detained at JFK.

Social media posts showed a crowd of protesters at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza cheering when news of the stay was announced.

The stay, which covers the entire country, awaits further legal review.

Reports say there were at least a hundred detainees at airports across the United States as of Saturday night.

Trump's executive order also bans U.S. entry of those fleeing war-torn Syria indefinitely, and bans the admission of all refugees for the next four months. In signing the order, Trump pledged to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America."

Earlier in the day, President Trump said the roll out of his travel ban is going well.

"It's not a Muslim ban, we were totally prepared. It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely," Trump said. "And, we're going to have a strict ban, and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should've had in this country for many years."



Trump responded to some of the criticism of his executive order on Twitter:



Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Hundreds of people rallied at JFK Airport on Saturday night for the release of the people detained.

They were joined by protesters at numerous other international airports across the country.

Some New York City taxi drivers participated by refusing to pick up passengers at JFK.

One person who was detained at JFK Airport on Saturday before he was released was Hameed Jhalid Darweesh, an Iraqi citizen with a visa who was in Iraq helping U.S. government employees with translation services.

"I have a special immigration visa in my passport, me and my family, because I work with the U.S. government," said Darweesh. "I support the U.S. government from the other side of the world. But when I came here they said nope. They take me as I break the rules or do something wrong. I'm surprised."

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Congressman Jerry Nadler, both Democrats, were able to meet with U.S. Customs officials and get him released.

"How many times do we have to come here to bring justice to an individual who provided assistance to the U.S. government," said Rep. Velazquez. "And that is the main argument against this mean-spirited, ill-conceived, ill-advised executive order."

In a joint statement, Velazquez and Nadler said they were demanding the release of the other refugees.



Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio also denounced Trump's order:



America is a nation of laws and those laws provide rights that must be respected and followed regardless of political ideology. pic.twitter.com/cY26tnyg3T  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 28, 2017

The stay blocking the president's shameful executive order tonight is a victory for American values, but our fight is just beginning.  Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 29, 2017

Cuomo said he is exploring legal options for helping the people being held at New York's airports.



Several world leaders have also denounced Trump's travel ban.

A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she believes his executive order is morally wrong and not necessary to fight terrorism.

Merkel spoke to Trump for first time by phone Saturday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who met with Trump at the White House on Friday, also criticized his decision.

Her spokesman said May does not agree with the ban and plans on challenging the U.S. if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.

And Trump's former campaign rival showed support for last night's protestors:
LOS ANGELES  Protesters plan two candlelight vigils Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport to oppose President Trumps executive order temporarily halting immigration from certain Muslim-majority nations, despite news that a federal judge has blocked its enforcement.

The protests are scheduled for 11 a.m and 1 p.m. at the departures level of Tom Bradley International Terminal at 380 World Way, according to Ester Lim of the Service Employees International Union.

At least 300 people protested the executive order at LAX Saturday afternoon, Maria Elena Jauregui of the SEIU said.

The emergency stay made it a remarkable day, according to American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony D. Romero. The courts can work.

Awaiting info on the detained, immigration attorney Nicholas Mireles said in an email Only LPRs ( Legal Permanent Residents) have been released. No visa holders unfortunately.

The American Civil Liberty Union reported seven people were detained at LAX under the executive order, Lim said. The ACLU brought the class action lawsuit that led the federal court in New York to issue the emergency stay.

Airport spokesman Don Pedregon said officials there were aware of planned events and would monitor the situation and make adjustments, if necessary.

Another protest promoted on social media drew about 60 demonstrators to the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. today.

Protesters chanted: No ban, no wall, Say it loud, say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here.

Signs read: We are all immigrants, Love Trumps hate. Dont discriminate, and Muslim ban-un-American.

Los Angeles will always be a place of refuge, where the most vulnerable people fleeing war, or religious or political oppression, can find a safe and welcoming home, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. Congress outlawed the banning of immigrants by nationality more than 50 years ago because we have long known it does not make us safer.

Garcetti urged airport protesters to remain calm and act lawfully and peacefully so LAX can continue to operate smoothly and our passengers stay safe.

He promised to do everything in my power to make certain that any travelers entering our city have the resources and support they need to feel secure and accepted in LA.

Trumps order, signed Friday, suspends all refugee entries for 120 days, indefinitely blocks all Syrian refugees, and bars entry for 90 days to all immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Fresh off a visit to the Association of Performing Arts Presenters annual conference in New York, a community outreach event in association with the Irvine Great Park Gallerys Balance exhibit, and a summer intensive audition for aspiring dancers, Orange County-based Backhausdance contemporary dance company has a lot going on.

This Friday, all of the companys behind-the-scenes buzz will translate to movement in artistic director Jennifer Backhaus newest piece, Hive. The piece is set to music by the Kronos Quartet that Backhaus said reminds her, in an abstract way, of bees buzzing in a circle. It explores the idea of dancers moving and working together in proximity.

I keep coming back to this music, Backhaus said. Ive loved it for 25 years, and it makes me think about all the different patterns that bring people closer together in space.

Backhausdances concert will include three other premieres, by guest choreographers Ido Tadmor, Yin Yue and Cal State Fullertons Dean of the College of the Arts Dale A. Merrill.

The works all fit into the contemporary dance genre, but each piece shows the respective choreographers point of view and varied movement vocabulary, said Backhaus.

I think its exciting for an audience to get four very different things on their plate, said Backhaus, adding that her company had recently presented more long-form choreographic works instead of a mixed repertory program of shorter pieces. I said to myself, Lets blow up what weve done in the past and do something totally different.

The show will open with a collaborative piece by Merrill and Backhaus called Live Life Backward, which Backhaus said uses humor to discuss gender bias In contrast to this lighthearted quartet, Israeli choreographer Tadmors Black Morning will illustrate the heaviness of mourning.

The final guest choreographer, Yue, will present Breach, which Backhaus describes as rhythmic and movement driven.

Backhaus is admittedly picky when it comes to who works with her company, but she said watching these three guest choreographers collaborate with her dancers was both exciting and invigorating.

As a choreographer I think you can get stuck in a rut, so its fun because it refreshes your palette and encourages you to look at the dancers differently, said Backhaus.

Since the company was founded in 2003, Backhaus has received numerous awards for choreography, design and performance. Backhausdance was also named one of seven emerging dance companies to watch by Joyce SoHo in New York City.

As the list of accolades grows along with the company, Backhaus hopes that people begin to recognize Southern California, and specifically Orange County, as a place for world class dance.

We have great training grounds here (in Orange County). We are a great generator of dancers, said Backhaus, referring to the many high-quality dance education institutions in the area. I hope that dancers know that there are opportunities here for them to go on and do this for real. To dance professionally and not have to travel far away if they dont want to.

As the company heads into its 15th year of presenting professional dance in Orange County, Backhaus invites the community to view her work from a variety of experience levels.

Whether its someones first time seeing dance, or they come to a performance more for the music or lighting design, she feels there is something for everyone.

I know people will find something to grab on to, she said. If nothing else, theres a special feeling that comes with connecting an audience and a dance company in live performance.

Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or kwright@scng.com
NEW YORK  The woman at the center of the trial of the men accused of killing Emmett Till has acknowledged that she falsely testified when she said he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book.

Historian Timothy B. Tyson told The Associated Press on Saturday that Carolyn Donham broke her long public silence in an interview with him in 2008. His book, The Blood of Emmett Till, comes out next week.

She told me that, Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him, said Tyson, a Duke University research scholar whose previous books include Blood Done Sign My Name and Radio Free Dixie.

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old black teen tortured and killed in 1955 in Mississippi after he was accused of whistling at a white woman, then known as Carolyn Bryant.

His murder became national news, was a galvanizing event in the civil rights movement and has been the subject of numerous books and movies. During the trial, Bryant said that he had grabbed her, and, in profane terms, bragged about his history with white woman. The jury was not present when she testified.

Donhams then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, were acquitted by the all-white jury. Both men, who later told Look magazine that they did murder Till, have since died. Milams widow, Juanita Milam, would later tell the FBI she believed that Carolyn Bryant had fabricated her story. Juanita Milam died in 2014. The Justice Department re-examined the case a decade ago, but no one was indicted as a murderer or an accomplice.

On Saturday, the maker of a documentary on Till said he had long been sure that Bryants story was false.

His mother had mentioned that Emmett had a speech impediment and that the things Bryant claimed he was saying he could not have said easily, said Keith Beauchamp, whose The Untold Story of Emmett Till came out in 2005.

Tyson said that he spoke with Donham after her daughter-in-law, Marsha Bryant, contacted him. Bryant had read Blood Done Sign My Name, about a racist murder during his childhood in Oxford, N.C., and invited Tyson to meet with her and Donham.

Tyson said he and Donham had two conversations, both lasting two to three hours, and that he planned at the time to place the material in the archives at the University of North Carolina. Asked why he waited so long to publicize his findings, he responded that historians think in different terms than do journalists.

Im more interested in what speaks to the ages than in what is the latest media thing, he said.

He added that he wasnt sure whether Donham knew about the book. He said he had fallen out of touch with the family and that when he last spoke with Bryant, a few years ago, she said Donham was in poor health.

Till was a teenager from Chicago visiting the Mississippi Delta and helping out on his great-uncle Mose Wrights farm. On Aug. 24, 1955, Till and some other kids drove to a local store, Bryants, for refreshments. At Bryants, some of the kids stayed on the porch, watching a game of checkers, while the others filed inside to buy bubble gum and sodas. Carolyn Bryant, the 21-year-old wife of proprietor Roy Bryant, was behind the counter.

Accounts of what happened next differ.

Mrs. Bryant claimed Emmett bragged about dating white women up north. She said he grabbed her and asked her, How about a date, baby? Simeon Wright, his cousin, heard none of this. But there is no doubt about what he heard when they left the store, he told the AP in 2005.

Standing on the front porch, Emmett let out a wolf whistle.

The Emmett Till Legacy Foundation has shared news reports about the book on Instagram and asked if Donham would have the decency and courage to speak with Tills relatives.
Throngs of passionate protesters marched, waved signs and staged a sit-in Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, demanding President Donald Trump lift his executive order affecting refugees as well as certain nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Chanting Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here and Let them in, the protesters gathered first at the Tom Bradley International Terminal but then marched around the lower Central Terminal Area, forcing rolling closures of some lanes of traffic.

Flight operations were unaffected and no arrests were made, airport officials said. However, traffic was gridlocked at times trying to get into and out of the airport.

Meanwhile, demonstrators turned out in force and on short notice at rallies across the country on Sunday to condemn the executive order restricting immigration.

Protesters amassed in large numbers in public spaces and at airports to oppose the order, which they assailed as un-American, even as the administration defended it as crucial to improving national security. The executive order, signed on Friday, stranded travelers around the world over the weekend and caused widespread confusion.

In Washington, protesters gathered by the thousands outside the front lawn of the White House to show their disgust with Trumps decision and their solidarity with Muslims.

Shame, they chanted, hoisting homemade signs toward the Executive Mansion, where Trump was scheduled to spend part of the day making telephone calls to foreign leaders and later hosting a private screening of Finding Dory.

Among the thousands of protesters at LAX was Matthew Pagoaga, 32, of Highland Park, who held a sign adorned with an image of the Star Wars character Yoda that read Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering.

Theres never been anything so atrocious in our political system, discriminating against whole groups of people based on religion, he said. We cant protect ourselves by hating other people.

Immigration rights attorneys were on hand  in several terminals  to advise the families of anyone detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

The executive order suspends resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely, suspends all other refugee resettlement for 120 days, and bans the entry of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen for a period of 90 days.

A stay issued by a federal judge on Saturday night barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone in the U.S. with a valid visa from those seven predominantly Muslim countries. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

However, the Department Homeland Security said Saturdays court order affected only a small number of travelers inconvenienced by security procedures.

The presidents executive order came while Ayoub Poyanejad, 68, and his wife were in the air on their way from Iran, his daughter said. When they landed at LAX at about 4 p.m. Saturday, they were immediately detained and given little information about what would happen to them, he said.

We were here 24 hours, (it was) the worst time in my  life, he said.

Poyanejad said he acted as a translator for others who were detained. He was allowed to call his family from an officials phone twice while he and his wife were detained, but were initially told not to speak Farsi during the calls, he said.

The first time they told us, You should speak English, we want to know what you are talking about,  he said.

For the past three months, Poyanejads granddaughter had been counting down the days until he arrived, he said. Now, on his second trip to the U.S., he plans to spend several months with his family in Orange County before returning home to Iran.

I was crying for my granddaughter, he said. I dont want to stay here. Im visiting  my family and I will go back home.

As the government started implementing the presidents executive order signed Friday, confusion and chaos erupted at airports across the country as Customs and Border Protection officials began to detain travelers.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, in a statement on Sunday, clarified the executive order for customs officers.

In applying the provisions of the presidents executive order, I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest, Kelly said.

Accordingly, absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations.

A large sit-in was held in front of the Customs and Border Protection office on the second floor of the Tom Bradley terminal, which was closed Sunday afternoon, with protesters demanding to know the names of all those who had been detained and calling for their release.

Noah Reich, an Encino resident, stood inside the terminal Sunday with his brother, Adam, holding a sign that read Two Jewish brothers standing with our Muslim brothers.

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized Trumps executive order as ill-considered, poorly written and violative of the principles that our nation was founded on: religious liberty.

I think this order didnt go through the usual vetting of the inter-agency process and the result was a mess, he said.

The fact that an Iraqi translator, who had worked for the U.S., was detained for a time in New York illustrates that we have to view people through the perspective of whether they individually pose any risk and not single out large groups of people for suspicion, he said.

He argued that focusing on the refugee population is not likely to improve the nations security since much terrorist violence in the U.S. has come from homegrown radicals rather than refugees.

Schiff contended that the executive order should be rescinded, and that the administration should work with Congress to explore whether there are additional safeguards that need to be put in place.

One of the protesters, Pepperdine University law student Sarah Husain, said she felt the effect of the executive order first hand as the daughter of Iranian immigrants.

We just had enough, she said. What Trump is doing is so unconstitutional on every level and we just couldnt stay quiet anymore. Im a U.S. citizen Im a Muslim Im also a lawyer, my parents have been immigrants and this affects my family, my friends, Husain said. We feel like this is just the beginning, it could get worse from here on and were here to tell Trump that well fight back, were not just going to take it.

The Associated Press and Staff Writer Alejandra Molina contributed to this report.
In often needlessly harsh ways, President Donald Trump is forcing Americans to face issues that have been festering for decades, but effectively swept under the rug by the ruling party duopoly. Nowhere is this more evident than with immigration, an issue that helped to spark Trumps quixotic, but ultimately successful, campaign.

Many Americans are clearly upset about an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, and many also fear the arrival of more refugees from Islamic countries. Perhaps no issue identified by Trump has been more divisive.

Not surprisingly, Trumps rhetoric has stirred bitter anger among the countrys polite establishment, right and left, as well as the progressive grievance industry. His call for a massive border wall has not only offended our neighbor, Mexico, but also created legitimate concern in Latino communities of massive raids. According to a 2012 study for the National Institutes for Health, the undocumented account for roughly one in five Mexicans and up to half of those from Central American countries.

The weakness of the open borders position

Anti-immigrant sentiment has a long, if somewhat nasty, history in America. It usually follows periods of great immigration, and ethnic change, as occurred in the mid-19th century and early 20th century, when immigration policies were dramatically tightened.

Today, economics dictates some change of direction. In a country where wages for the poorest have been dropping for decades, the notion of allowing large numbers of similarly situated people into the country seems to be more a burden than a balm. In California, among noncitizens, three in five are barely able to make ends meet, according to a recent United Way study.

In California, Gov. Jerry Brown has famously laid out a Welcome sign to both Mexican illegal and legal immigrants coming to the state. Many progressives consider concerns with nationality and cultural integration as vile attempts to have them Anglo-Saxonized. The open borders ideology has reached its apotheosis in sanctuary cities which extend legal protection from deportation even to criminal aliens who have committed felonies.

Trumps over-the-top response

Politically, the open borders rhetoric helps Trump. Even in California, three-quarters of the population, according to a recent UC Berkeley survey, oppose sanctuary cities. Overall, more Americans favor less immigration than more. Most, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, also want tougher border controls and increased deportations. They also want newcomers to come legally and adopt the prevailing cultural norms, including English.

But in his rants on immigration, Trump may be going too far. Only a minority favor Trumps famous wall, and the vast majority, including Republicans, oppose massive deportations of undocumented individuals with no criminal record. Limiting Muslim immigration does better, but appeals to only roughly half of Americans.

Trumps restrictionist choice for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, is also on record opposing more legal immigration. This could prove ruinous to the countrys long-term future. Like most high-income countries, the United States fertility rate is below that needed to replace the current generation. If the U.S. cuts off its flow of immigrants too dramatically, we will soon face the labor shortages, collapse of consumer demand and drops in innovation already seen in the European Union and much of East Asia.

An overly broad cutback in immigration would also deprive the country of the labor of millions of hard-working people, many of whom do difficult jobs few native-born Americans would do. The foreign-born, notes the Kaufmann Foundation, are also twice as likely to start a business as the native-born.

Seeking a third way

The response to the proposed Trump-Sessions immigration policies must be something other than no. Theres no need to keep up the silly posturing about resistance. The public has ambivalence on the issues, but generally does not welcome an unceasing slew of people, particularly undocumented, arriving without skills or meaningful prospect of supporting themselves.

You wont hear much of this on campuses, or in Corona Del Mar or Beverly Hills. But large numbers of undocumented immigrants have been linked to high rates of criminal activity, from drug running to street violence, preying largely on the very immigrants progressives say they want to protect. It also dampens the hope for higher wages among heavily minority service workers by continuing a supply of even hungrier new arrivals.

So, what kind of immigration is best for America? Some hints can be gleaned by examining the Canadian system, which puts premiums on marketable skills and language proficiency, rather than family reunification. Support for immigration is much higher in Canada than here in the U.S.

Such a need-based program would be a far better  and fairer  way of addressing skills shortages than the odious H-1B program, which allows temporary indentured tech workers to replace American citizens. Instead, talented newcomers would be welcomed as future citizens and given the right to negotiate their own labor rates and conditions.

Such a middle-of-the-road position, of course, will be difficult to push in an era of heightened polarization, highly organized advocacy and needlessly harsh rhetoric. Yet, two realities  a changing economic environment and sluggish demographics  suggest an urgent need to address immigration in a way that preserves its critical contribution to the nation without undermining our legal system, economic prosperity and cultural coherence.

Joel Kotkin is the R.C. Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange and executive director of the Houston-based Center for Opportunity Urbanism (www.opportunityurbanism.org).
It was a busy week for executive promotions and appointments at Orange County-based real estate firms. Here are the highlights:

Lewis C. Horne has been appointed president of CBRE Groups newly formed Southern California-Hawaii division. In this expanded role, Horne will have oversight for the San Diego and Hawaii markets, in addition to greater Los Angeles and Orange County. Horne, a longtime leader for CBRE in the Americas Region and division president for greater Los Angeles and Orange County since 2005, will oversee 16 regional offices, including downtown Los Angeles, L.A. North, Beverly Hills, South Bay, Newport Beach, Ontario, San Diego and Honolulu.

Chris Coyte has been named president and managing director of Lee & Associates-Newport Beach. Coyte, who has been with the firm since 1989, replaces Steve Jehorek, who stepped down as president after a 22-year tenure. Jehorek will remain with Lee & Associates as a senior vice president. Coyte is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton and a member of AIR Commercial Real Estate Association.

Also at Lee & Associates-Newport Beach, Robert Goodmanson has joined the team as a senior vice president and principal. Goodmanson spent 33 years with CBRE Newport Beach, where he left as a senior VP. His field of expertise is industrial and flex properties in Orange County. Brad Schneider, who worked with Goodmanson at CBRE, also joined the office as a senior associate.

Irvine-based Passco Cos. has promoted Alan Clifton to chief operating officer and Suzy Cottle to chief financial officer. Clifton will negotiate and secure financing for new acquisitions as well as maturing asset loans and oversee company operations, Passco Property Management and Passco Management Services. Cottle, who has been with Passco since 2004, will be responsible for overseeing all financial reporting, risk management and strategic banking relationships.

Peter Scott will join Irvine-based real estate investment HCP as executive vice president and CFO, effective Feb. 13. The firm specializes in real estate for the health care industry. Scott succeeds Tom Herzog, who was appointed chief executive in January. Scott joins HCP following a 15-year career in real estate investment banking. He will leave his role as a managing director in the Real Estate Banking group at Barclays, where he has spent the majority of his career.

Gary Gray has been named chief investment officer at Twenty Four Seven Hotels, a hotel management company in Newport Beach. Gray will oversee portfolio growth strategies across acquisitions, development and hotel management opportunities. Gray most recently served as senior vice president of portfolio business development at TPG Hotels & Resorts. Alison Sansone joins the firm as vice president of marketing and communications. Sansone has held various roles in the hospitality sector, working with global brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Embassy Suites and Motel 6.

Julian Freeman has been named partner by Cox, Castle & Nicholson in its Irvine location. Freeman is a real estate transactional attorney with experience in the acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of office, industrial and retail projects throughout the western U.S.

Transactions

Burnham USA Equities in Costa Mesa has negotiated a long-term lease for Charles Schwab at 16 Corporate Plaza in Newport Beach. CBREs Lori Janzen represented Charles Schwab in the transaction, working with Scott Burnham and his team to structure and finalize the deal. Schwab relocated its Newport Beach branch from its previous location at the Irvine Co.-owned 610 Newport Center to 16 Corporate Plaza.

BKM Capital Partners, an institutional fund manager in Irvine, has sold the first three multitenant industrial business parks in its debut fund. The three dispositions include a 223,009-square-foot multitenant industrial building, a 137,603-square-foot industrial complex in Las Vegas and a 98,516-square-foot business park in Portland, Ore.

Coming Up

Stanfield Real Estate of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach-based HOM Sothebys International Realty will host an apartment seller seminar from noon to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Ayres Hotel, 325 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. Topics include common pricing mistakes and 1031 Exchange solutions. The event is free. To register, call 714-442-0736.

Cal State Fullertons Real Estate and Land Use Institute will present its 2017 Commercial Real Estate Forum from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The program will be held at the Westin South Coast Plaza, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa. Cost for the program is $150 per person or $1,250 for a corporate table for 10. Register at business.fullerton.edu/RealEstate.

The briefs are compiled by contributing writer Karen Levin. Send related items to sgowen@scng.com
BANJUL, Gambia  Gambias new President Adama Barrow promised an overhaul of the countrys feared security forces Saturday as he works to rebuild a country that lived under authoritarian rule for more than 22 years.

In his first news conference since taking office, Barrow told reporters he also plans to rename the National Intelligence Agency, which was tasked with interrogating and sometimes torturing detainees.

Its an institution that has to continue, but the name will change, Barrow said.

Barrow returned to Gambia on Thursday in a dramatic homecoming where he was met by hundreds of thousands. He had taken the oath of office in neighboring Senegal, shortly before longtime dictator Yahya Jammeh was forced into exile.

Some of Jammehs top associates fled with him to Equatorial Guinea, another autocratic state led by Africas longest-serving ruler. Other security forces remain in the country and need to be retrained, ideally by partners, Barrow said.

In the army we need technical aid, and we need countries that are willing to help us in the security realm, he said.

Barrow is the first new president in Gambia in more than 22 years. His arrival is seen as a rebirth for the tiny country where political opponents, journalists and gays and lesbians were among those jailed and sometimes killed.

The United Nations has urged Gambias new government to release political prisoners as soon as possible.

Senegalese authorities announced Friday that one of the leading suspects in the abuses of Jammehs regime had been arrested.

Borra Colley, who had been director of the notorious Mile Two prison, was arrested Wednesday while trying to make his way to Guinea-Bissau.

He also had led the Jungulars, Jammehs personal military of some 50 officers who reportedly went into exile with him last weekend. It was not immediately known why Colley had not joined them.
We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White Children.

Thats the mission statement for Western Hammerskins, new Nazi group in Menifee.

It isnt Islamophobia when they really are trying to kill you!

Thats the message youll find at the website for Bare Naked Islam, based in Marina del Rey; the words appear over an image of a burning skull and a mosque.

Take our country back!

Its a slogan youll read at the site for Nation of Islam, a national group with chapters in Compton and Rialto.

These are just some of the 30 Southern California organizations listed on the latest edition of the Hate Map, an annual product of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The 2015 Hate Map (a new one is due next month) lists 892 groups nationally, including 68 in California, making our state No. 2, behind Texas, which tops the list with 84 hate groups. Nearly half of the California groups are based in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

Some groups arent, technically, groups; instead, they are entities that have just one member. Others are bigger, with hundreds of members and budgets that run into many millions of dollars.

All share the label of hate, which, like accused pedophile, can be tough to impossible to shake.

Theyre also part of a growth industry.

The 2015 Hate Map is nearly 14 percent bigger than the 2014 map. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been tracking the numbers since 1999, the year before the 2000 Census told the world that Caucasians would lose their majority status in the United States by 2040.

Hate Map data over the years have tracked the ebb and flow of these groups. The numbers spiked, for example, after that 2000 Census. They spiked again in 2009, after the United States elected its first African-American president.

By 2014, the Hate Map was at its lowest point in nearly 10 years.

Now, its growing again.

Who says so

Ryan Lenz is spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center and, as such, he speaks for a group that wields a heavy club.

We specifically look at organizations that attack, demonize and rob individuals of their right to equality for an immutable characteristic like race, religion, national origin or sexual orientation, Lenz said.

Such organizations may be nonprofits, informal groups or even clubs.

All, according to Lenz, are evaluated for what they do, not only for what they say or think.

If its a couple of guys getting lunch and talking about the Jewish problem, we dont count that, Lenz said. We only count groups of people that have a physical presence in the community.

The researchers make recommendations, and final decisions are made in the upper echelons of the (Southern Poverty Law Center), he added.

While the current Hate Map shows that parts of Texas and Florida are crowded with such groups, Southern California has a gamut of entities that are deemed hateful  white supremacists, black separatists, groups that deny or minimize the Holocaust, and those that are perceived as against Muslims or Islam, immigrants or the LGBT community.

A majority of these groups did not respond to emails or phone calls seeking comment. Those that did often said the label is unfair.

They simply list everyone who disagrees with them, said Evelyn Miller, treasurer of the Huntington Beach-based National Coalition for Immigration Reform (NCIR), which is listed as an anti-immigrant hate group on the 2015 Hate Map.

Still, Miller insists she doesnt care about being on the list and neither do the 200 or so paid members of her coalition.

She said her group is only opposed to illegal immigration, not legal immigration  though she also believes legal immigration should be curbed, saying the influx of immigrants at this time is too much.

We are opposed to birthright citizenship and, definitely, birth tourism, Miller said.

President Donald Trump, who was saluted by a hate group in Washington, D.C., shortly after his election and has been endorsed by well-known white supremacist David Duke, is jumping headfirst into the immigration issue.

Last week he signed executive orders that he hopes will lead to the construction of a wall along the southern border and make it tougher for most undocumented residents to stay in this country. He is said to be weighing the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an Obama-era executive order that, as of now, protects about 750,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

We enthusiastically support Donald Trump for his policies on immigration, Miller said.

The label

The Hate Map is both well regarded and widely controversial.

This kind of data is particularly crucial at a time when we are seeing significant spikes in hate crime in Los Angeles County and statewide, said Robin Toma, executive director of the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations.

Los Angeles saw a 24 percent spike in hate crimes in 2015. Similar increases were seen in Orange and Riverside counties.

Toma said the Southern Poverty Law Center provides valuable information about what types of organizations are out there and what kinds of  hate activity are happening.

But, he added, a lot of hate activity in this region is not connected to hate groups.

So, theres more to it.

Not everyone agrees with the Southern Poverty Law Centers methodology, including some who are pursuing similar goals.

It just isnt helpful, said Rabbi Peter Levi, spokesman for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Orange County. And thats because most extremists arent involved with groups, with the internet and social media being such big factors.

Also, he said, most hate groups dont have staying power. Being listed on the Hate Map can be beneficial to their marketing.

Members fight among themselves, and the group splinters or dissolves, Levi said.

Weve found that social media harassment, for example, of Jewish people by white supremacists, and trolling, has been far more horrific than what is happening on the ground.

Jewish harassment is a staple of American hate groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center defines Holocaust denial as either entirely denying the genocide of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in World War II or minimizing its extent.

Its not a distant issue. The Institute for Historical Review, with an office in Fountain Valley and a bookstore in Newport Beach, is listed on the Hate Map under the category Holocaust Denial.

The Southern Poverty Law Center website says: These groups (and individuals) often cloak themselves in the sober language of serious scholarship, call themselves historical revisionists instead of deniers, and accuse their critics of trying to squelch open-minded inquiries into historical truth.

The director of the Institute for Historical Review, Mark Weber, said his organization does not deny that the Holocaust took place and called the groups listing on the Hate Map unfair.

To be called a hate group is not a flattering thing, Weber said.

I dont like it either. How do you call anyone a hate group without an objective standard? And how do you prove that you are not a hater? Its impossible to defend yourself against such an accusation.

When an organization blacklists a group, it is essentially silencing voices of dissension, Weber said.

Part of the effectiveness of (the Southern Poverty Law Center) is they mix people for whom no one could have sympathy with others whose views merit being heard, he said.

There is also a real danger in judging the actions of people in the past by the prevailing standards of the present, because these standards keep changing.

For example, calling an organization a hate group because its members believe marriage should be between a man and a woman, is unfair, Weber said.

Setting up conflicts?

Laura Kanter, director of policy, advocacy and youth services at the LGBT Center OC in Santa Ana, noted that Traditional Values Coalition, listed as an anti-LGBT hate group, is in neighboring Anaheim.

I cant do anything about them, she said. They are going to continue to do what theyre going to do.

But knowledge is power. And its good to know we have these groups in our own backyard.

Kanter said LGBT activists in Orange County have tried to expose businesses that support organizations like Traditional Values Coalition, whose revenue dropped from $7.9 million in 2013 to $4.1 million in 2014, according to its tax filings.

About three years ago, we protested Chick-fil-A because they were donating to such organizations, she said. Its good to make people aware of the type of businesses they are supporting and where their money goes.

Several hate groups that target the LGBT community hide behind Christian names, or the idea of family values, and the Hate Map helps expose some of those organizations, Kanter said.

Our goal is going to be to find out where these groups are, what theyre doing, and how we can get in their way and make it harder for them to do what theyre doing, she said.

Erroll Southers, former FBI special agent and director of USCs Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies program, said the Hate Map and, generally, the Southern Poverty Law Center do a good job of reporting fluctuations in the number of hate groups.

That, to me, shows a certain degree of honesty in data collection, he said.

To some, the Hate Map is less shocking than it is a reminder of the need to work together.

We need to reach out to these hate groups, said Arbazz Mohammed of Sahaba Initiative, a San Bernardino-based group that works to build relationships among people of differing faiths throughout the Inland Empire.

They might be doing this because they are powerless, marginalized and are feeling ignored. We need to talk to one another, he said.

Mohammed added that the current polarization of Americans based on politics and culture isnt productive.

When we cut off ties with our neighbors or community members because they think or act differently, the vicious cycle of hate continues.

We need to stop that. And the only way is to stop screaming at one another and start building bridges.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@scng.com
IRVINE  1st Marine Lt. Ray Green watched as members of his battalion began dancing to a pop song blaring through speakers.

The Marines were helping volunteers from various National Charity League Orange County chapters make care packages for the military and their families as part of the 14th annual Operation Valentine.

Its a morale boost, Green said of the event. They (battalion members) do a lot of hard work and sometimes its a thankless job. But seeing that people care, it reminds us of why we do what we do.

By the end of the day, the 15 members of Combat Logistics Battalion 5 expected to assist about 800 mothers and daughters, volunteers from 13 local charity league chapters. Their goal was to assemble 900 care packages.

The event was held at the warehouse of the Second Harvest Food Bank. The charity league volunteers rotated stations, assembling goodie bags for children and doggie bags for service animals, sewing blankets and assembling toiletry bags for military members. They also created more than 1,000 Valentine cards.

Newport Beach resident Jennifer Brown and her daughter, Allison, 14, put together toiletry bags.

It makes me feel closer to the Navy when I do things for them, Allison said.

Allisons grandfather, Richard Brown, was a Vietnam War veteran with the Navy. Her uncle, Scott Brown, was a member of the Air Force Academy and was a Naval aviator.

After the first shift ended, the Browns stayed for the second shift and had a chance to speak with members of the battalion.

They lived it, said Jennifer Brown, 52. Seeing these guys and what they do is admirable.

Heidi Miles of Santa Ana helped make blankets with her 12-year old daughter, Mallory.

Heidis son, Jacob, has served with the Army for eight years and is currently a member of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C. She said she spoke with him before volunteering on Saturday.

She said Jacob, 30, was overcome with emotion when she mentioned she was volunteering.

He couldnt even express his appreciation, Heidi Miles said. As American citizens we need to be reminded about the rights that our military protect every day. They dont have the comforts of home when theyre overseas.

Operation Valentine originally started as a way to send Valentines Day cards to military veterans, said Darlynne Reinwald, a charity league organizer.

Now its branched out, she said. We wanted to reach as many people as we could because more people are affected by this than just those who serve.

Contact the writer: npercy@scng.com
I rode the peace train from Washington to Philadelphia last Saturday night. When my CNN program ended on Capitol Hill at 7 p.m., I ran to make the Northeast Regional, Amtrak train No. 182, which left Union Station on time at 7:20 bound for Boston. On board with me were 600 women who had just marched against President Trump.

There were no empty seats on the festive train. Many women wore hand-knitted, pink pussy hats and homemade signs dotted the overhead luggage compartment. An animated welcome on the PA from a conductor was greeted with applause, a first in my many trips aboard Amtrak.

Rachel Barany was my seatmate for two hours. She was headed home to New York City, having spent the day marching with her daughter, a junior at Johns Hopkins. Meanwhile, her older daughter was doing likewise with her husband in New York City. Barany told me she teaches history to fifth and sixth graders at Friends Seminary, a Quaker school near Union Square. She was tired from an exhilarating day spent with five mothers and daughters, one father and a son, and a wonderful ragtag group of Hopkins friends.

Our numbers continued to grow as more and more kids found each other at the march.  There were a good number of us on the mall, after the rally  that we couldnt hear, but no matter, she said.

Two big gifts, she told me, were getting to know the kids in this setting and hearing so much from passersby about their concerns and hopes for the country.

While I was en route to the cafe car on a beer run, it occurred to me that if there were 600 exuberant guys aboard, many having a drink after an emotion-filled day, it would have been a much different train. There would probably have been arguments and fights, even if they were united in purpose. After all, common desire for Eagles victories didnt eliminate the need for Judge Seamus McCaffery to preside for years at the Eagles Court in the basement at Veterans Stadium.

The following day, my observation was reinforced by countless news reports about the attendance at the more than 600 marches around the world and the absence of arrests. In Washington, there were 500,000 marchers and none were locked up. In Philadelphia, city officials estimate that 50,000 people participated, and the Police Department told me that none were arrested. The crowds were huge all over  20,000 in Houston, 60,000 in Oakland, 60,000 in Atlanta, 100,000 in L.A. and 120,000 in Boston. But according to CNN, police reported only four arrests in 21 American cities.

So I decided to share my wonderment with Steven Pinker, the Harvard psychologist who has published extensively on crime. He told me that the difference in violence is one of the most robust sex differences, and that on average (across societies) men are 11 times more likely to kill other men than women are to kill other women.

Fifteen minutes past Wilmington came the announcement: Next stop, Philadelphias 30th Street Station. Around me women gathered their belongings, many retrieving signs, including my favorite: March Like a Girl.

When the doors opened the platform quickly became a sea of pink. At the top of the escalator there were hugs and handshakes and people headed their separate ways. The station was busy for a Saturday night, but like the march, without incident. I headed for my car without looking over my shoulder.

This doesnt mean that a train full of drunken post-demonstration men would inevitably fight, but the odds would certainly be higher than in the train you rode on, Pinker told me.

But chances are, if Id been with 600 guys, the theme song wouldnt have been Peace Train. It would have been Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting.

Michael Smerconish can be heard 9 a.m. to noon on SiriusXMs POTUS Channel 124. He hosts Smerconish at 9 a.m. Saturdays on CNN.
WASHINGTON  A new president too deferential to Russia. An overzealous three-star general. Toxic levels of partisanship in the capital, coupled with Americans widespread fear of economic upheaval. Sound familiar?

That was the backdrop for Seven Days in May, a thriller written by two Washington newspapermen during the Kennedy administration and made into a motion picture starring Burt Lancaster, Fredric March and Kirk Douglas. The story depicts a futuristic coup attempt fomented within the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But life is sometimes stranger than fiction, isnt it? Welcome to 2017.

Donald Trump was elected president by defying most established norms of modern politics. He trafficked in personal insults, racially insensitive remarks and fact-challenged rhetorical flights of fancy. When called on it, he attacked his critics as biased journalists or ineffective political hacks. This approach had enough truth to it that it worked. So there he was on Inauguration Day, facing a huge throng of Americans, where he proved to be the exact same guy hed been in the campaign.

Should we have been surprised? I was. Id been thinking of previous U.S. presidents, particularly Harry Truman and Chester A. Arthur, who were thrust into a job they were unprepared for  and who rose to the occasion. But Donald J. Trump hasnt changed a bit.

Day One: President Trumps America First inaugural address eschewed the unifying language that might have sought to soothe the wounds of a particularly divisive campaign. Instead, continuing his campaign theme, he went full-on populist. We will follow two simple rules, he proclaimed: Buy American, and hire American.

It was a frontal assault on globalism. It polled well, too, though not nearly as well as the more traditional first inaugural addresses of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Day Two: The anti-Trump womens march was held on this day. The new president didnt like the medias fixation with the immensity of it  and unfavorable comparisons between the crowd size of his and Obamas 2009 inaugurations. He posted two tweets, the first of which contained three separate thoughts: 1) Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! 2) Celebs hurt cause badly. 3) Why didnt these people vote? The first two points were on the money, but the voting gibe was absurd. Those women voted; they were angry their candidate lost.

Trump also found time Saturday to dress down the acting head of the National Park Service for the agencys tweets about the crowd comparisons, and visited the CIA to mend fences. While there, he said the media had told a lie about the Obama crowd being bigger than his. We caught them in a beauty, he said. Meanwhile, new Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer went to the White House briefing room to say the same thing.

Day Three: In Seven Days in May, a pivotal plot point has the Pentagon conspirators launching their coup on the day of the Preakness Stakes. That race is run on the third Saturday in May, but the moviemakers needed it to be a Sunday. The solution? A script doctor had a character walk by a poster saying, First Ever Sunday Running of the Preakness.

In real life, we have Sunday talk shows, where, on Day Three of Trumps presidency, adviser Kellyanne Conway responded to Meet the Press host Chuck Todds questions about Spicers dubious crowd estimates with the memorable phrase alternative facts.

Day Four: Monday morning was President Trumps first workday in the Oval Office, where he signed three executive orders. One reinstated the so-called Mexico City Policy. First approved by President Reagan, it bans nongovernmental organizations receiving federal funds from performing or promoting abortion in other countries. New Republican presidents sign this; Democrats rescind it. Trump also froze federal hiring and withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Great thing for the American worker that we just did, Trump said as he signed the measure. Republican leaders were mostly mute, but Bernie Sanders wasnt. I am glad the Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead and gone, he crowed. If President Trump is serious about a new policy to help American workers, then I would be delighted to work with him.

Day Five: Trump signed a series of orders he vowed would jump-start business growth, including one to revive the Keystone XL pipeline project that the Obama administration had slow-walked to oblivion. Well see if we can get that pipeline built, he said. A lot of jobs, 28,000 jobs. Great construction jobs.

This event generated less media coverage than Trump had hoped  because he reiterated his odd claim that millions of noncitizens voted illegally for Hillary Clinton, and that if they hadnt hed have won the popular vote. Pressed on this obsession at his briefing, Spicer cited a few studies  that dont show what Trump claimed  while adding, Its a belief he maintains.

Day Six: Trump called, via Twitter, for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and even those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!

Trump took ABC anchorman David Muir on a White House tour. At one point, the president pointed to a photograph of his inauguration. I had a massive amount of people here, he said. Heres a picture of the event. Now, the audience was the biggest ever.  Look how far back it goes. The crowd was massive.

Day Seven: Rounding out his first week in office, Trump launched the shortest trade war in world history. Spicer floated, and later clarified, a plan that would slap a 20 percent duty on every import from Mexico. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers committed to appropriating up to $18 billion for a wall on the southern U.S. border.

So thats two possible sources of funding for Trumps big, beautiful wall. A third dried up when Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto called off a trip to Washington while stressing that, contrary to Trumps wishes, his country will not fund it. Although Pena Nieto kept his governments rhetoric diplomatic, former Mexican President Vicente Fox felt no similar compunction.

I never thought the American people would go for a president like this, Fox told The Washington Post. We dont want the ugly American, which Trump represents: that imperial gringo that used to invade our country.

The Ugly American was another Cold War novel, one John Kennedy read and liked  and used as a rationale for the Peace Corps. JFK liked Seven Days in May, too, and instructed aides to help facilitate filming around the White House.

In that movie, the president was the good guy, and the plotters were right-wingers. Although a liberal Democrat, Burt Lancaster initially balked at the role because he found the movie unfair to conservative Republicans. (Imagine a Hollywood activist having that concern today.) But Lancaster was assured by Kirk Douglas that his character was morally ambiguous, if misguided. Rod Serling, who wrote the script, teased out this theme. The real enemy, he wrote in lines uttered by the president, is not the scheming general. It is a post-nuclear world that happens to have killed mans faith in his ability to influence what happens to him.

Carl M. Cannon is executive editor and Washington Bureau chief of RealClearPolitics.
The American Civil Liberties Union charged Sunday that not only were some travelers arriving at U.S. airports being sent back to majority-Muslim home countries under President Donald Trumps new travel ban, but others were coerced to withdraw their visa applications or possibly surrender their green cards.

As the government started implementing the presidents executive order signed Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials began to detain people arriving at airports across the country from seven predominantly Muslim countries under the ban, said Jennie Pasquarella, the director of immigrants rights for the ACLU of California.

While in many cases these travelers were returned to either their home countries or the countries from which they had departed, in other cases, they were detaining them for long periods of time, during which time as the day wore on they began coercing people to withdraw their immigration applications or to in the case of green card holders  that they sign a form that would effectively revoke their permanent residency, said Pasquarella said.

She said immigration attorneys at Los Angeles International Airport heard this from relatives waiting for their family members, even hours after a federal judge in New York issued an emergency stay on enforcing part of the executive order. Some of the affected travelers at the airport were allowed to make phone calls to their families, she said.

While the ACLU is aware of cases in which people withdrew their visa applications, Pasquarella said she had not heard of any green card holders at LAX who had signed the form that would have revoked their permanent residency.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials did not immediately respond to these claims via an email request.

Protests are scheduled at LAX today in front of the Tom Bradley terminal at noon and 1 p.m. to demonstrate opposition to Trumps executive order, which suspends resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely, suspends all other refugee resettlement for 120 days, and bans the entry of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen for a period of 90 days.

The stay issued by a federal judge on Saturday night barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone in the U.S. with a valid visa from those seven predominantly Muslim countries. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

However, the Homeland Security Department said Sunday that Saturdays court order affected a small number of travelers inconvenienced by security procedures.

President Trumps Executive Orders remain in place  prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety, according to the DHS statement.

Pasquarella said a young Iranian woman coming to the U.S. to study, Sara Yarjani, who had been living in Austria, was forced to withdraw her student visa and was sent back to Copenhagen, Denmark, where her flight had originated, and that happened hours after the stay had been in place. Yarjani returned on a 7:40 p.m. flight Saturday from LAX, she said.

We dont know how many people signed that; we know a lot of them were asked, Pasquarella added.

Meanwhile, a 76-year-old Iranian woman, Khanon Mahindokht Azad, has been in detention at LAX for over 20 hours now, Pasquarella said Sunday morning. Shes an insulin-dependent diabetic who came to visit her son, a lawful permanent resident on a tourist visa.

Theyre trying to coerce her to sign something to withdraw her application for admission, to revoke her visa, Pasquarella said.

At some point, an ambulance had to be called for her as the elderly womans health worsened this weekend, but Azads condition has improved, Pasquarella said.

At least some green card holders who had been detained over the weekend have been released, Pasquarella added. Among them was Iranian native Fatema Farmad, who has been a legal permanent resident of the U.S. for about five years, and was carrying her infant son, according to a petition by the ACLU. She had applied for citizenship and her application had been granted, with her swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Feb. 13. She arrived at the airport about noon Saturday and wasnt released until early Sunday morning, Pasquarella said.

They were trying to get her to revoke her green card  she refused, Pasquarella said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized Trumps executive order as ill-considered, poorly written and violative of the principles that our nation was founded on: religious liberty.

I think this order didnt go through the usual vetting of the inter-agency process and the result was a mess, he said.

The fact that an Iraqi translator, who had worked for the U.S., was detained for a time in New York illustrates that we have to view people through the perspective of whether they individually pose any risk and not single out large groups of people for suspicion, he said.

He argued that focusing on the refugee population is not likely to improve the nations security since much terrorist violence in the U.S. has come from homegrown radicals rather than refugees.

People who work with troops serving as translators, like the man who was detained in New York, do so because they hope to bring their family to America or when their identities become known, theyre very much at risk and they need to find refuge, Schiff said. Its hard to secure the cooperation if they have the sense we dont have their back.

Schiff contended that the executive order should be rescinded, and that the administration should work with Congress to explore whether there are additional safeguards that need to be put in place  without taking action against an entire religious group or imposition of some religious test.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
FULLERTON A man was injured in a shooting in Orangethorpe School Park, police said.

The shooting was reported about 2 p.m. in the area of Pacific Drive and Roberta Avenue, said Fullerton Police Sgt. Tim Kandler.

It was not at the school, he said, referring to Orangethorpe Elementary School, which the park adjoins.

When police arrived at the scene, they found a man with a gunshot wound, Kandler said. He was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, he said.

No weapon was discovered, and there are no suspects in custody, Kandler said.

Police are still investigating the incident.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@scng.com
SANAA, Yemen  The U.S. military said Sunday that one service member was killed and three others wounded in a raid in Yemen targeting its local al-Qaida branch, marking the first-known combat death of a member of the U.S. military under President Donald Trump.

The raid left about 30 people dead, including women and children, according to an al-Qaida official and a news service linked to the terror group. One of the children killed was Nora, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girls grandfather.

Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Nora was visiting her mother when the surprise pre-dawn raid took place on Sunday.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that a fourth service member was injured in a hard landing in a nearby location. The aircraft was unable to fly afterward and was intentionally destroyed.

It said militants from al-Qaidas branch in Yemen, formally known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members taking part in the raid captured information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.

A U.S. defense official said the raid was approved by Trump. President Barack Obama had been briefed on it before he left office on Jan. 20, but for operational reasons it was not ready to be executed before he departed, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss details beyond those announced by the Pentagon and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the raid in Yemens central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaida leaders: Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims.

The al-Dhahab family, who are the late al-Awlakis in-laws, is considered an ally of al-Qaida, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda province. A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed in a U.S. drone strike several years ago. It was not immediately clear whether the family members were actual members of al-Qaida.

An online news serviced linked to al-Qaida in Yemen likened the raid to a massacre against Muslims and said U.S. warplanes were first seen in the sky above the area at 9 p.m. Saturday and that the raid began at 2 a.m. on Sunday, with 16 missiles hitting three houses near Yakla village in Radaa district.

A two-hour gunbattle ensued after American service members landed on the ground, it said. About 30 men, women and children were killed in the raid, it added.

The killed and wounded included some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

An al-Qaida official sent to the AP Cairo photos purportedly showing the bloodied bodies of several children killed in the raid along with houses showing bullet holes. The official requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaida operatives in Bayda in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

The tribal officials said the Americans captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals on Sunday, but the U.S. official in Washington said no detainees were taken in the raid,

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemens civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

Separately, Yemens president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the countrys southern port city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.

Michael reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
CHICAGO  On Friday afternoon, a group of suburban synagogue members clustered at Chicago OHare International Airport, waiting to greet one of the last Syrian refugee families to be accepted in the United States, to give them the warmest possible welcome to a country that no longer wanted their kind.

In Washington, the presidential limousine was already speeding toward the Pentagon, where President Donald Trump would sign a paper officially slamming the door shut on Syrian refugees. But here the volunteers had yellow roses, more warm coats than the newcomers would need and, a few miles away, an apartment ready with a doormat that said welcome in 17 languages.

Welcome to chicag Hope you make your selfs at home said a sign made by one of the youngest members of the group.

Whatever the new president said about the supposed dangers of Syrian refugees, the volunteers, who knew almost nothing about the family they were about to welcome, instantly identified with them anyway. They had already committed to helping guide and care for the newcomers for six months.

Some of the volunteers were children or grandchildren of refugees. Their synagogue, Am Shalom (Nation of Peace) in Glencoe, Illinois, displays a statue depicting members families who perished at the Nazis hands. The Syrian family, and the presidents orders, were coming on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, some of the volunteers noted with tears in their eyes. A hundred synagogue members had contributed in some way to helping resettle the Syrians: renting an apartment steps from a playground, assembling a vacuum cleaner, lining up juice boxes in the refrigerator.

Some of the synagogue members had signed on instinctually, so the Syrians would be helped the way their own parents or grandparents had been aided when they arrived in the United States. Others had joined as a way of countering Trump  just a few of the many Americans, of varied backgrounds, reacting with shock, outrage and concern to his curtailment of the countrys long-established refugee resettlement system.

The Statue of Liberty has always been our symbol of welcome, Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein, the groups leader, said at the airport. It feels like Trump turned off the light, he said.

At the Pentagon on Friday, the preparations for the presidents actions were orderly: High-level officials gathered in a room called the Hall of Heroes, and photographers assembled. But around the country, refugees, resettlement workers and volunteers expressed panic. Resettlement workers did not know if they would have jobs once Trumps refugee and immigration plans have been fully carried out. Volunteers wondered what they would do with furniture and money they had collected for refugees who were supposed to arrive soon.

Resettlement agencies said that volunteers had been swarming their offices and that even more had surfaced last week when Trumps specific plans became public. When the International Refugee Assistance Project put out a call for lawyers to help new arrivals in danger of being turned away, it received 3,000 volunteers in four hours, said Becca Heller, the organizations director.

People are desperate to help refugees as a way to counter these discriminatory policies, she said.

As the minutes passed at OHare, the volunteers checked the time again, tense with the knowledge that Trump was about to commit pen to paper. The family they were awaiting had flown into Washington the night before, meaning they had cleared immigration with less than a day to spare. But the volunteers said they would not be able to exhale until the newcomers landed in Chicago. The flight was delayed, they heard. They glanced at the time on their phones again.

As soon as the Syrian family of four stepped into the baggage claim area, the synagogue members surrounded them protectively, offering the flowers and signs, as a resettlement worker translated. Because they spoke no English, the newcomers wore tags around their necks, like Paddington Bear, so if they got lost, they could be identified.

In a moment, the two Syrian childrens arms were laden with gift bags of toys. The parents said they were too terrified to talk to a reporter, out of concern for family members  some still trapped in dangerous areas of Syria and others who had been cleared to travel to the United States but had not yet received plane tickets.

After hugs and snapshots and many professions of welcome and thanks, the group at the airport dispersed. The refugees headed to their new home with a few escorts, the synagogue members back to their far more stable lives. Just before they parted, Lowenstein gathered his congregants and gave them a charge.

If this is the last group of refugees to get in, we will show them the best of America, he said.

The family was driven to its new home, where a meal and a Syrian-style semolina cake were waiting. Members of the family said they had not checked the news since landing in the United States, and no one from the volunteer group told them what was about to happen. Moments before they arrived at the cozy, fully stocked apartment, Trump, wearing an American flag pin, signed the orders in front of an audience of his advisers and Pentagon officials. As he finished, the clapping in the room was loud.

Behind him hung an oversize medal depicting the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of welcome.
How does a watch guy keep traditional timepieces relevant in the age of smartphones and Apple Watches?

Paul Altieri, the owner of Bobs Watches, has been in the trade for 35 years. In recent years he pivoted from direct sales to the resale of luxury watches. Altieri bought Bobs Watches in 1999 and in 2009 transitioned it to a high-end watch exchange at bobswatches.com.

He wanted to create a place for owners of posh pieces to safely buy and sell their treasures.

Before we came along, people just didnt know what their watch was worth. We just felt there had to be a better way, he says.

Last year the Huntington Beach-based company transacted several thousand watches and brought in more than $20 million in revenue, bucking a trend in the luxury goods market.

Shares in global luxury goods makers have dropped 13 percent in the past year, according to Bloomberg. And a crackdown on corruption in China dropped sales of luxury Swiss watches by 10 percent, according to The Guardian.

Heres how it works at Bobs Watches: Customers have their watches evaluated by Bobs Watches, which then buys the watch, restores it and sells it. Prices online run from $2,500 to $25,000. Altieri said the site is unique because it lists the buy and sell price of each piece.

Altieri sat down with the Register to discuss his company, Apple Watches, marketing watches toward women, and the future of the industry. His answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q. A handful of watch stores have opened around the county lately. Why do you think there is so much interest in luxury watches right now?

A. The brands have done a really good job at marketing themselves. Do I think theres an oversupply of watchmakers today compared to 20 or 30 years ago? Maybe. There may be a shakeout coming soon, but there seems to be an appetite for all brands. Most of the watch brands out of Switzerland are all doing quite well. Rolex is still the king of the luxury watch world.

Q. How has the watch industry changed since you started the company?

A. Like any industry, more and more companies are adapting to the internet world. Its not a fad thats going away. Companies that learn how to utilize the internet and market online efficiently will bear the fruits of that effort. Im seeing more and more companies market more efficiently and its definitely more competitive today that it was five years ago. Markets in general have become more competitive.

Q. How did the recession affect your business?

A. Even right through 2008, 09 and 10, Rolex has such a strong foothold in the marketplace that we didnt see any letup in sales or volume activity as well. Rolex continued to increase its sales prices and its much more of a global marketplace today and that give us the ability to absorb different changes in the marketplace. We didnt feel much of the recession. The industry weathered the downturn pretty well.

But we were just starting out in 2009 and 10, so we didnt have enough volume to even see any effects. We would have a better indication now.

Q. The company brought in more than $20 million in revenue last year. What is making the company so successful?

A. Ive got a good team. Were delivering a good product, and its growing naturally and organically, which is pretty nice. We now have approximately 20 employees: five people in sales, three people in accounting, three people in watch evaluations, and the rest in marketing and miscellaneous.

Q. Are watches becoming more popular among women?

A. The majority of our customers are men, but were looking to expand and appeal more to women. Women are a lot more challenging to market to than men. Men are focused on sports, cars and watches. Women have makeup and friendship and family and kids and apparel and shoes and handbags and jewelry. Its a much more competitive landscape. Were still looking for the most effective way to reach out to women. The one big plus we have going for us is more and more women are wearing mens watches. Weve found that when a celebrity is seen wearing a mens watch, well see an immediate reflection of that in the market place. Men arent as impressionable with that.

Q. How have tech watches disrupted the industry?

A. The Apple Watch is one of the most talked about additions to the watch industry in the last couple years. Theres a lot of talk about, Is it going to hurt Rolex? Is it going to hurt the watch industry? Which companies will be most affected? Its going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

Id love to be able to say its a dud and is going to go away, but no one has made any substantial money betting against Apple. I think they are going to find a niche in the marketplace and are going to thrive. I dont think theyre going to expand the pie, but they are going to pull market shares away from somebody. Somebody is going to have to give, we just dont know who. It might be Omega or lower-priced brands.

Q. What do you see in Bobs Watches future?

A. I think theres an opportunity for us to expand internationally. We recently launched an invitation-only auction segment to the website. When we get an unusual watch that we feel will have widespread demand, rather than put it up on the site and list it normally, well run an auction and give everybody an equal opportunity to buy that watch.

Q. What are some of the priciest watches youve seen?

A. The market for vintage watches has really exploded and the prices have substantially increased in the last four or five years. Were starting to see more and more really interesting, rare, collectible watches come in. We just bought a really cool Rolex Submariner from the 50s that was owned by an army sergeant. Its a beautiful watch, and its all original. We also bought a older Rolex Daytona from 1971 thats a Paul Newman because its a dial configuration that Paul Newman wore in his racing days.

The most Ive sold a watch for is a Rolex Chronograph 6036, a Jean-Claude Killy model (a famous skier)  $223,000 at auction last fall.

Q. What are some of the popular watch brands right now and what makes each unique?

A. When youre talking about the luxury watch segment, Rolex is always at the top in terms of sales and units sold. Right under them are three or four other brands: Patek Philippe, Omega, Vacheron Constantin and Panerai, and lastly Cartier, too, still sells a lot of watches. Its a little bit more of a fashion watch but is still in the luxury segment.

Q. Do you have any personal favorite watches?

A. I love the new Rolex GMT Batman. I love wearing that watch. Its very comfortable, very stylish. I love the blue and black on it.

Today, Im wearing one of my first Rolex Submariners that I bought back in 1998. Its aged a little bit, so its taken on a cool patina to the dial and the bezel, which is supposed to be jet black, has turned to a blueish gray and it will do that overtime due to the sun, moisture and oxidation.

Q. Are most of your customers in Orange County or around the world?

A. We get a lot of customers in New York and California, which are our biggest marketplaces. We get a lot out of Texas and Florida as well. But we predominantly market only in the U.S. Were getting buyers from Asia and Europe and Canada and even Mexico.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
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I got to join this amazing community of Data Scientists in Nigeria. We are a mix of experts and beginners. Today, I created a tutorial for the beginners to see how to do a common task like frequency distribution plot in both Python and R, also decided to include my dearest Microsoft Excel as a control.





The sample data is a fictionalized data for Dominos Pizza Nigeria. One day sales data for their Lekki branch. You can download the practice along raw data file here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28140414/Dominos%20Pizza.csv









So the business question we want to tackle is: Is there a pattern in the quantities each customer buys? To be more specific, we want to examine the frequency distribution of the quantities purchased per sales transaction.





In Excel, it is extremely straightforward. Just plot a histogram on the quantity field.









Now let's head to doing same with R









First, I import the csv file into RStudio.









Though not necessary for what we want to do, but I like doing it for any data I bring into R, I run the summary command on the dataframe/table. > summary(Dominos_Pizza)

Again, not a required step. I check out the standard plot graph on the Quantity field. > plot(Dominos_Pizza$Quantity)





Finally, I do the histogram chart on the Quantity field. > hist(Dominos_Pizza$Quantity)





For now I don't bother customizing the graph elements (labels, color, title, etc.)





It is Python time.





I use Rodeo IDE and Anaconda.









I import Pandas and use it to read in the csv file.









And here is the plot graph, like we did in R.





Finally, I create the histogram.









I will try to follow up with more tutorials of complex tasks, and some that are best suited to R and others that are best suited to Python. As per Excel, it is in a completely different class. It is a spreadsheet application.





Got any particular task you will like me to create a tutorial around? Ask away!
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Technology and science go hand in hand, and bioengineering is a prime example of their symbiosis. I visited Montana State University last week to chat with Dr. Jeffery Heys, head of the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department. Though the majority of the department faculty works on applied problems from biofuels to health care, Heys specializes in developing computer models to understand the science behind the biological and chemical phenomenon.

The need for computational models became apparent early in his career when he was studying the effects of inhaled particles such as car exhaust and second-hand smoke. 50 to 100 years ago, (scientists) had people inhale radioactive particles to see where (the particles) go, said Heys. Though these experiments advanced science, they were absolutely unethical due to the harm inflicted upon the test subjects. There are so many cases where the experiment you want to do is unethical, impossible or really expensive, so we develop computer models to understand the physics and chemistry behind whats happening, said Heys.

One of the first major uses of computational modeling was by NASA during the 1960s. It would have been impossible to perform experiments on each facet of space travel with multiple life-size rockets. Every rocket costed a substantial amount of resources, and the scientists and engineers of the Apollo program had to make every attempt count. This economic limitation led to one of the first computational fluid dynamic codes used for a rockets reentry into the atmosphere.

Though computational models aid the development of new technologies, they are only simulations. Whenever a model is built, scientists make assumptions that need to be ascertained. This dynamic process is a back and forth see-saw between model validation through live experiments and utilizing the experimental data to improve the original model. With every iteration, the computational model, and the resulting real-life predictions, become more accurate.

Currently, Dr. Heys is working with a collaborator at Arizona State on gold nano-rods that absorb light very readily and convert that light into heat, said Heys. One application of this technology is to use antibodies to preferentially bind (gold nano-rods) to cancer cells, said Heys. Then, technicians could heat up the nano-rods and kill the bound cells.

In such applications, there are many factors to account for, such as what number of gold nano-rods to use, how long should we shine the light to, what intensity should we operate the laser at? There are a lot of different parameters to adjust, and do we really want to do thousands of experiments on animals or unethically on humans, said Heys. The dream for bioengineers is to create accurate computational models of all aspects of human health, said Heys.

Computational models will never replace physical experimentation, because we need real world data to confirm that our assumptions are correct; however, if a computer can eliminate 90 percent of experiments for a new product, thats a huge savings, said Heys.
When it was time, her husband and sons didnt debate the idea, or even ask Mindy many questions. They piled into the car on that day in 2015. Mindy buckled herself into the back seat.

They pulled out of their driveway on a suburban street just south of Shadow Lake Towne Center in Papillion. They all understood where they were going.

They turned south. They started to drive.

Where Mindy and her family were headed is a story that touches two continents and a war, a tale filled with ugly words, and lofty ones too: Repression. Immigration. Freedom.

So it is a big story, but it also is a small one. The Nguyen family was driving south to add a key chapter to the story of Mindy Nguyens life.

They were driving south to complete the lifelong hunt for the one person Mindy most needed to meet. Dad.

Here is what I knew, Mindy Nguyen says as she sits at her kitchen table. I knew his first name. John. I knew he was an engineer. I knew the name of a company. That was all I knew. That is where I started.

To understand this story, we have to quickly roll back nearly a half century, place ourselves in Saigon as the Vietnam War raged.

It was there, in 1968, that a baby was born. She was born, like so many others in that decade, to a Vietnamese mother and an American father stationed in Vietnam. She was born, like so many, to a difficult fate: Not Vietnamese enough for Vietnam, and not American enough to make it easily to America.

That baby was Mindy. By the time she turned 7, life had become bleak.

The Americans had left  including her father, the aforementioned John, who had dated her mother, Cuong Le, and unsuccessfully tried to persuade her to return with him to the United States.

The Viet Cong had taken power and begun brutally repressing South Vietnamese who had aligned themselves in any way with the Americans.

Mindys mother was sent for a time to a work camp, though she escaped and reunited with Mindy at My Tho, their familys hometown. But even in My Tho, Mindy herself was scorned.

Teachers shunned her. Classmates called her a slur that translates to child of the dust. At a family event, a relative got drunk, grabbed Mindy and held her underwater in a nearby stream, nearly drowning her.

I just wanted to be like the other kids, Mindy says. But they treated me like the enemy. I was the only thing left (in Vietnam) for them to have revenge.

Mindy wanted another thing too. She wanted to learn about her dad. From an early age she quizzed her mother. What was he like? (Nice. Smart.) What does he do? (Engineer for an American company, who often traveled between Saigon and Thailand.) What is his last name? (Im not sure.)

Mindy grew up in Vietnam, was denied entrance into college because of her American father, grew increasingly despondent. Then she and her mother learned of an immigration effort that was bringing the Vietnamese-born sons and daughters of American service members and related personnel  people like Mindy  to the United States. Mindy applied. Soon she found herself on a plane, first to a refugee camp to learn English, then to the home country of the father she had never known.

The day I left Vietnam, I felt like I was free, she says. The flight went up in there and I felt, like, This is my life now. Its beginning. 

Once in the United States, Mindy lived her version of the American Dream. First a job in housekeeping at a Washington, D.C., hotel, where she continued to teach herself English as she rode the elevator to and from the basement laundry room. Then a move to Lincoln, where she worked on the assembly line of an electrical parts manufacturer, and then a community college degree and a promotion. Then she married Thomas Nguyen, a fellow Vietnamese immigrant she met at the refugee camp, and together they bought several fast-food restaurants. Today they live in a Papillion-area home and have two sons enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Even as she moved up into the upper-middle class and got comfortable, the question still hung over Mindy in the early morning when she woke up and late at night when she stared at her laptop looking for clues.

Where was her father? Who was he?

Two years ago, clued in by a friend who showed her a news story about genetic testing, Mindy started to search for her father via a DNA testing website. She located a likely second cousin. Then she figured out her fathers likely last name, Millwee. Then she found a man that she figured was her uncle and wrote him a letter. Then she learned a little more.

She didnt even wait for a response from her potential uncle. She got into the car on that 2015 day with her husband and sons.

They drove south 12 hours straight, through Kansas, Oklahoma and into Texas. They barely stopped. Mindy wanted to keep going.

They drove to the tiny town of Jayton, Texas, population 534. This town suddenly was crucially important to the story of Mindys life  she had learned it was her dads probable hometown  and yet the family did not stop.

They drove through the tiny town. They drove to a little country cemetery. They got out of the car.

Then the family stood around a gravestone that read: Johnnie Scott Millwee, August 15, 1943 to October 27, 1974.

I needed to go, says Mindy, who had uncovered online evidence that her father was buried there. I just had to go there.

Her dad had died young, mere months after his last conversation with her mother. He had died from complications related to a motorcycle accident. The finality of that hit Mindy hard  the realization that she would never have a single conversation with her dad.

And then, one night, the phone rang.

Hello, the voice on the other end said. I think Im your uncle.

I started shaking and crying so hard that I had to tell him I would call him back in 10 minutes, Mindy says.

She didnt get the storybook ending she was looking for, but today Mindy has weekly phone calls with her dads brother and sister, both of whom were excited to meet the niece they never knew they had.

They have told her so much about her dad, a motivated wanderer who left home at 17, got his college degree in California, became an electrical engineer and, as the war started, found himself working in Thailand and then Saigon.

She has learned so much, and she has received a possession she prizes more than almost any other.

It is a photo of John Millwee, one proudly displayed inside the dining room of this pretty suburban house hidden inside a maze of cul-de-sacs.

Her sons have his ears. She has his ears. And she has a much better understanding of her own story now, a story that she will tell you when you walk through her front door.

She will tell you her story as long as you promise to deliver two messages.

Message 1: Treat Vietnamese immigrants, men and women like Mindy, with kindness. 30,000 immigrants is 30,000 stories, she says. Everyone has struggles with their old lives in Vietnam, and now they are here, and they have another struggle. They dont speak English at first. They sometimes feel unwelcome. Most Americans dont realize the struggles they have been through. Please be aware of that.

Message 2: There are thousands and thousands like her, children born to American men and Vietnamese women who have never tried to locate their American fathers. Do it, she says. Its worth it.

We are good people, she says of those wartime children. We dont need much of anything. We just need a chance to find our roots. To learn our whole story.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.  Taylor Houchin scored a career-high 39.300 to finish second in the all-around, but the No. 12 Nebraska womens gymnastics team lost 197.225-194.800 at No. 10 Michigan on Saturday.

Houchin finished just short of Michigans Nicole Artz (39.500), who tied for event titles on the uneven bars (9.925) and the floor exercise (9.90).

Although the Wolverines swept all four event titles, several Huskers set personal bests.

Houchin finished with a career-high 9.825 on the balance beam and tied her best mark with a 9.825 on the bars. Danielle Breen also scored a season-high 9.825 on both the bars and the beam.

Abbie Epperson matched her season-best 9.775 on the vault.
First came Martin Shkreli, the brash young pharmaceutical entrepreneur who raised the price for an AIDS treatment by 5,000 percent. Then, Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, who oversaw the price hike for its signature EpiPen to more than $600 for a twin-pack, though its active ingredient costs pennies by comparison.

Now a company in Richmond, Virginia, called Kaleo Pharma is joining their ranks. It makes an injector device that is suddenly in demand because of the nations epidemic use of opioids, a class of drugs that includes heavy painkillers and heroin.

Called Evzio, it is used to deliver naloxone, a life-saving antidote to overdoses of opioids. More than 33,000 people are said to have died from such overdoses in 2015. And as demand for Kaleos product has grown, the privately held firm has raised its twin-pack price to $4,500, from $690 in 2014.

Founded by twin brothers Eric and Evan Edwards, 36, the company first sought to develop an EpiPen competitor, thanks to their own food allergies. Now, theyve taken that model and marketed it for a major public health crisis. Its another auto-injector that delivers an inexpensive medicine.

One difference, though, is that Evzio talks users through the process as they inject naloxone. The company says the talking device is worth the price because it can guide anyone to jab an overdose victim correctly, leave the needle in for the right amount of time and potentially save his or her life.

According to Food and Drug Administration estimates, the Kaleo product, which won federal approval in 2014, accounted for nearly 20 percent of the naloxone dispensed through retail outlets between 2015 and 2016, and for nearly half of all naloxone products prescribed to patients between ages 40 and 64  the group that constitutes the bulk of naloxone users.

And the cost of generic, injectable naloxone  which has been on the market since 1971  has been climbing. A 10-milliliter vial sold by one of the dominant vendors costs close to $150, more than double its price from even a few years ago, and far beyond the production costs of the naloxone chemical, researchers say. The other common injectable, which comes in a smaller but more potent dose, costs closer to $40, still about double its 2009 cost.

Kaleo, which is trying to blunt the pricing backlash and turn Evzio into the trusted brand, is dispensing its device free  to cities, first responders and drug-treatment programs. Such donations were also essential to the EpiPens business strategy.
Austin Clark got hooked on nursing while working as a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home in his hometown of Blair, where he cared for several Alzheimers patients.

Working with them, being able to be that person who could bring that calm, meant a lot to me, he said.

But Clark, 22, also knows the opportunities nursing offers. His goal, after graduating from the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Nursing in May 2018, is to continue his studies and become a nurse anesthetist.

I can go anywhere in the world to work as a nurse, he said. Its just such a broad field.

Thats one lure nursing school administrators hope will continue to draw new nurses into the field. After a slight reprieve during the Great Recession, Nebraska and Iowa, like the rest of the nation, are back to a chronic shortage of nurses  registered nurses in particular.

We see severe need throughout Nebraska for registered nurses, said Juliann Sebastian, dean of UNMCs nursing college and chairwoman of the American Association of Colleges of Nursings board of directors.

During the economic downturn, older nurses delayed retirement and some part-time nurses added hours, Sebastian said. Now those older nurses are poised to begin retiring. At the same time, demand for health care  and nurses services  is increasing with expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Efforts to reduce costly hospitalizations also have shifted more care into community and home settings. Thats increased the need for nurses there and left sicker patients in hospitals, where they may need more intense oversight.

Local hospital expansions also are adding to the current and future demand. Among them: the new Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center set to open this spring, new Nebraska Medicine outpatient centers at Village Pointe and 41st and Leavenworth Streets, Creighton University Medical Centers upcoming relocation to an expanded Bergan Mercy Medical Center location, the newly opened Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Omaha and the new hospital tower planned for Childrens Hospital & Medical Center.

Nationally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor projects 1.09 million registered nurse job openings, through both growth and replacements, by 2024. The Nebraska Center for Nursing, which the Nebraska Legislature established in 2000 specifically to address nursing supply and demand, projects a shortage of nearly 4,000 nurses by 2020, based on a 2006 study, the latest available.

However, Sebastian noted that its easier to predict supply than demand, and theres no end in sight. No matter what happens with the Affordable Care Act, which the Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump have vowed to repeal and replace, changes in the health care system already are off and running, she said, with a focus on increasing efficiency, reducing costs and bolstering quality and safety. Part of that effort includes a growing focus on deploying health care professionals in communities to help people get healthy and stay healthy.

Catherine Todero, dean of Creighton Universitys College of Nursing, said cycles in supply and demand are not new in the nursing field. While nursing generally is considered recession-proof, the last downturn was so deep in some parts of the country that it did have an impact on nursing jobs. Graduates in some places had trouble finding jobs. Now the tide has turned again.

Were starting to see the numbers tick back up again, she said. The word is out: Nurses are getting jobs, theyre getting good jobs, theyre being recruited.

Aubray Orduna, dean of nursing at Clarkson College, said the schools graduates typically have quite a few job opportunities.

The Nebraska Hospital Associations 2016 workforce report noted a 10.6 percent vacancy rate for registered nurses at hospitals statewide in 2015, an uptick from 5 percent or less the preceding six years.

Sebastian said the shortage is particularly hard on rural areas. Of Nebraskas 93 counties, 71 have fewer than the national average of 9.2 registered nurses for each 1,000 people.

In the Omaha metropolitan area, registered nurse openings vary by organization. Nebraska Medicine had 300 openings for registered nurses in mid-December and CHI Health approximately 250, while Methodist Health System reported 60 nursing openings.

Kathy Bressler, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for CHI Health, said the 15-hospital system has had high retention in its rural hospitals, contrary to the difficulty some rural hospitals face.

Where the shortage hits the system hardest, she said, is in specialty areas such as critical care and the operating room that require more training than nurses typically have straight out of school.

CHIs goal is to avoid using traveling nurses from outside nursing services, which tend to be more costly. The hospitals instead provide incentives to fill holes in schedules from within, she said. CHI also has created an internal pool of staff members who agree to go to different locations each day, similar to the substitute teacher pools created by some school districts. Last week the system expanded the pool to cover hospitals as far west as Kearney.

Such efforts, however, dont appear to have slowed demand at Fusion Medical Staffing in Omaha. While the bulk of the companys placements are in Nebraska and Iowa, it fills openings in all 50 states.

Theres a huge demand no matter where you go, said Meghan Patton, nursing recruiter team lead. Established in 2009, the company has grown about 300 percent in the past two years, she said.

The company connects nurses  many of them younger nurses a few years out of school and empty nesters interested in travel  with hospitals and a few long-term-care facilities under short-term contracts. Though the nurses are provided at a premium, the hospitals dont have to pay benefits, Patton said. And the company makes sure the nurses are ready to go right to work without a lengthy orientation.

To help fill positions, most large hospitals and health systems in the area are offering referral bonuses for current employees who successfully recruit nurses who meet their criteria. Some also extend sign-on bonuses to new nurse hires. Childrens Hospital & Medical Center last year started paying up to $3,000 to employees who make referrals for most nursing positions; Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska Medicine and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals also offer referral bonuses. Methodist and CHI offer both types of bonuses, with CHI paying a $5,000 sign-on bonus over two years.

Several organizations have extended sign-on bonuses just for hard-to-fill positions. At Madonna, its the night shift. Childrens has used them for specialties such as pediatric and neonatal intensive care and home care.

Its definitely a tough market right now for getting RNs, said Jennifer Howard, director of nurse staffing and development for Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals. And its only going to get tougher.

Because of its growth, the market is more competitive in Omaha than in Lincoln, said Howard, who recruits in both. The shortage, however, hasnt slowed Madonnas efforts to scale up operations at its Omaha facility, which opened in October.

Though pay for nurses varies with experience, degrees earned and shifts worked, wages generally are good, said UNMCs Sebastian. Theyre similar across Nebraska and equivalent across the country, when adjusted for cost of living.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean wage for registered nurses in May 2015 was almost $59,000 in Nebraska and $55,000 in Iowa, compared with median pay of $67,490 nationally.

Hospital officials also have focused on keeping nurses once theyre hired. Many local organizations now offer nurse residency programs to support new graduates and nurses switching to new areas.

New graduates, no matter how well prepared, dont come out of nursing school 100 percent ready to practice independently, said CHIs Bressler. This helps them transition from a student role to a professional role, she said.

Suzanne Nocita, Childrens director of recruitment, workforce planning and employee health, said many nursing schools dont focus specifically on pediatric care.

Recent graduates participate in a two-year residency program, beginning with a structured seven-week rotation that ends with a match day. During the two-year program they also complete an evidence-based project.

The hospital has adopted many of the ideas it has developed, and some have been accepted for presentation at national conferences. Childrens also has a transition program to help experienced nurses coming from the adult world make the switch to pediatrics.

Most hospitals also offer professional development programs, including tuition reimbursement or scholarships for those who want to return to school.

And the field does have built-in appeal.

UNMC nursing student Renee Gernandt, 41, decided to change careers after 10 years as a corporate accountant. Shed eventually like to work in the neonatal intensive care unit. I would find it very rewarding to know I had helped a baby get to his first birthday, she said.

To help meet demand, nursing schools have significantly expanded their programs in recent years. The number of registered nurse graduates, according to a state report, increased about 40 percent, from 832 in 2002 to 1,167 in 2014, the most recent year for which figures were available.

The UNMC College of Nursing, which has five locations statewide, started a division in Norfolk in 2010 and has expanded its Kearney operations. Work began in December on a new building for the Lincoln division.

UNMCs Sebastian said schools also are working to address faculty shortages  one factor limiting further expansion  and help develop new care delivery methods such as telehealth systems that could help ease the crunch.

Todero, the Creighton dean, said the college has increased enrollment about 10 percent since she arrived a year and a half ago. Creighton also has boosted recruitment at its Hastings campus. Recently the college partnered with Hastings College to offer a dual degree program through which students can graduate in four years with two degrees, including a Bachelor of Nursing from Creighton.

The university also has received approval to set up a nursing program in Phoenix next January, part of an expansion of its ongoing affiliation with Dignity Health St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center.

Nebraska Methodist College has seen a 25 percent increase in interest in nursing over the past several years, said Linda Hughes, dean of nursing. The college added a clinical group this spring just to meet the demand.

Clarkson College, which doesnt have room to expand, is taking a number of steps to help more students get through to graduation and prepare them to stay in nursing, Orduna said. While the field is rewarding, burnout is a factor.

Clark, the UNMC student, hasnt found anything he hasnt liked so far.

To be honest, its the variety I enjoy the most, he said. I was genuinely surprised at the diversity and the tasks that you do every day.
The 2017 smartphone cycle is about to kick off, and there are some familiar names fighting to come back into the fold.

BlackBerry Mobile announced last week that a new phone  complete with a physical keyboard and dubbed the Mercury  will debut Feb. 25 at the annual Mobile World Congress trade show. That follows an announcement from Nokia, which teased the Chinese launch of its new Nokia 6 phone ahead of a larger Feb. 26 launch event.

Nokia? BlackBerry? It may all feel a bit 2002 seeing these phone brands come back into the spotlight, but heres the thing: These are not the phone brands that you think they are. Both of the new smartphones are made by different companies than the ones we knew and loved, as a result of complicated licensing agreements.

The company you know as BlackBerry  Canadian, security-conscious  is focusing its efforts on software to augment smartphones and its auto efforts via QNX, a part of the firm that makes smart dashboard software. While BlackBerry designed the Mercury in-house, it and all other BlackBerry phones will be made and sold by Chinese tech giant TCL.

And since Microsoft sold Nokia, the rights to make Nokia-branded phones belong to HMD, another Chinese tech company.

But if youre looking to rock a little retro this year, this could be one way to do it.
The title character of Becoming Warren Buffett told a quick joke and then ducked out the back door of the Scott Recital Hall after a special showing last week of the 90-minute biographical film about him.

Bedtime for the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.? Another important appointment? A phone call to set up a multimillion-dollar acquisition?

Not at all.

Buffett, with his daughter, Susie, and other friends, headed for the buffet tables nearby in the second-floor lobby of the Holland Center, stocked with Dairy Queen and Sees Candies treats as well as enough regular food for a balanced meal.

The Buffett group staked out a round table near the Street Railway Co. Dixieland band as the other 250 attendees crowded into the reception area.

Sure, it wasnt the Museum of Modern Art, where a New York crowd four days earlier was the first to see the HBO documentary, produced by Kunhardt Films. (It will be aired for the public on the cable channel Monday at 9 p.m. Central time.)

MOMA guests included Brian Roberts, Steve Burke, Ken Chenault, Richard Plepler, Billie Jean King, Gloria Steinem and Vince Gilligan, according to the New York Post. If youre from New York, you know who all those people are.

The Holland Center crowd had its own celebrities, on an Omaha scale.

There was Robert Dorr, retired World-Herald reporter who wrote the first account of Buffett and his investment techniques. The judge who married Buffett and Astrid Menks. A few Buffett grandchildren. Paul Hornings godson. Nebraska Furniture Mart execs. Friends of friends.

A steady stream of guests chatted with Buffett as the evening wore on, politely taking turns. By 9 p.m. the crowd was thinning. By 10 p.m. few were left, and the band was packing up.

Still, the Buffett table was hopping, with lively discussions underway. Buffett was enjoying the evening.

Ever careful of his time, the 86-year-old had agreed to the documentary project if it wouldnt require too much. In all, he said, the film crew spent about three hours interviewing him.

Three hours being interviewed for the movie. Four and a half hours at an Omaha party with friends.

Seems like just about the right work-life balance.

Pipe company a fitting buy

You might think the timing is perfect, buying a pipe company just as President Donald Trump signs executive orders to speed up completion of two international crude oil pipelines.

But Trumps signature wasnt a factor in the upcoming purchase of German piping company Wilhelm Schulz GmbH by Berkshires Precision Castparts division.

Rather, Precisions industrial customers include oil and gas companies that move energy-bearing materials via pipelines. The pipes, flanges and related products made and sold by the German company would seem to, as it were, fit.

Based in Krefeld, near Dusseldorf in western Germany, Schulz has its U.S. headquarters in Houston and seamless-pipe facility in Tunica, Mississippi, plus other manufacturing sites in Germany and South America.

Mechanical engineer Wilhelm Schulz started the company in 1945 to fabricate high-quality stainless steel pipe accessories for the chemical industry. Today Schulz has sales offices and warehouses on five continents and is credited with developing new pipe-making techniques.

Bloomberg reported that Schulz CEO Rainer Floeth confirmed the purchase agreement but declined to discuss terms. The German newspaper Handelsblatt first reported the sale.

Its the second acquisition of a German company by Berkshire, after the 2015 purchase of motorcycle accessory retailer Detlev Louis Motorradvertriebs.

Raikes to chair Stanford board

Nebraska native Jeff Raikes, former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will become chairman this summer of the 35-member Stanford University board of trustees.

Raikes, who grew up on a family farm near Ashland and is a Stanford alumnus, retired in 2008 as the No. 3 executive at Microsoft and then headed the Gates Foundation for five years before retiring again, this time to focus on his own foundation.

He has been a Stanford trustee since 2012 and, among other programs, personally supports the California universitys Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars and the Mindset Scholars Network.

His contributions to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln also support the Nebraska Food for Health Center and the Raikes School of Computer Science & Management.

He was on the search committee that hired Marc Tessier-Lavigne last year as Stanfords 11th president.

In a press release, outbound Chairman Steven Denning praised Raikes experience in business, technology and philanthropy. The Stanford trustees oversee the universitys $22.4 billion endowment and its property, among other duties.

Charter stock sees gains

You can mark Berkshires 2014 investment in Charter Communications, a cable TV and Internet company from Stamford, Connecticut, as a potential winner, partly because of a possible merger reportedly pending with Verizon Inc.

Berkshire has added to its Charter holdings since 2014, and the stock price has about doubled since the original purchase. Last week it gained another 6 percent after a Wall Street Journal story, attributed to anonymous sources, about a combination with Verizon.

Berkshires decision to invest in Charter has been attributed to Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, or both of them. The Buffett lieutenants handle a portion of Berkshires investments but rarely disclose who makes final decisions.

At the latest prices, Berkshire owns about $3.1 billion worth of Charter shares and, coincidentally, $775 million worth of Verizon shares.

Verizon is worth about $200 billion on the stock market, twice as much as Charter. Combining the two would boost Verizons value from 20th- to ninth-largest among publicly traded companies.

Charter Communications may not be a familiar name, but last May it acquired Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks for $65 billion, becoming the nations third-largest pay television company.

The Omaha World-Herald is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
LOS ANGELES  The company behind Snapchat has two offerings  that beloved, five-year-old app for messaging and video streaming, and Spectacles, a months-old, $130 pair of sunglasses that double as a camcorder.

The Los Angeles company has promised more gadgets will follow. But even with a significant increase, hardware sales in the near term probably would bring in 100 times less revenue than selling ads displayed on Snapchat.

Its that potentially massive, multibillion-dollar ad business that has investors most excited about Snap Inc., which is expected to open its stock to public trading in the coming weeks in one of the tech industrys highest-anticipated initial public offerings in years.

So why is Snap insisting its actually a camera company?

The label introduced last year raised questions about Snaps hardware ambitions. But more than signaling that Snap is the next Apple Inc., the distinction could be an attempt to help investors see the nuance between the goals of Snapchat and those of its most potent rival, Facebook.

Unlike Facebook, Snaps not out to connect everyone on the planet. Rather, its goal is to tinker with both the physical make of cameras and the code behind them, giving people new ways to chat with friends, have fun together and educate themselves about the world. Both companies rely on advertising revenue, but Snap, which declined to comment, appears to be suggesting its approach will be more focused.

They need to show they are not just Facebook for teens, said Gene Munster, who studied Apples finances for years and now co-manages investment firm Loup Ventures. Tech companies that enjoy the most sustained success have visions beyond whats visible to most today, and Snap is arranging itself to join that group.

Twenty years from now, the way we engage with the world will probably not be a phone, Munster said. Hardware changes are going to be happening, and this mission gives them a foothold and foundation to be prepared for this transition.

Though the camera, both in apps and in gadgets, will be central to that aim, investors and the financial analysts who advise them ascribe minimal value to Spectacles and other hardware. They insist Snaps real value is in the advertising business. If Snap wishes otherwise, it will have a long way to go before changing perceptions.

I would be hard-pressed to imagine them as a hardware company unless its possible to see a long-term commitment to that business, said Brian Wieser, who follows companies such as Facebook for Pivotal Research. So for now, its an ad tech company.

Still, Snap joins financial technology company Square Inc. as one of the first Internet companies with revenue coming from both hardware and software at the time of an initial public stock offering. That split helps diversify its business, but it means Snap also will have to justify to investors any hardware-related expenses.

Experimentation doesnt necessarily hurt share prices, said Scott Kessler, a financial analyst at CFRA. Amazon.com, Facebook and Google parent company Alphabet Inc. have gotten away with unrealized product goals as their core businesses continue to surge.

People want to see these companies innovating and trying new things, Kessler said.But troubles can arise. For one, hardware can reduce earnings.

Software is the way to go because thats a more profitable business, Kessler said. Manufacturing things, thats obviously more challenging from supply chain, cost perspective. Its a lot different than someone going somewhere and downloading software.

Still, companies often try to show investors before they go public that they are more than one-trick businesses. Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc. has ventured into self-driving delivery trucks. Short-term rental booking giant Airbnb is trying to help consumers with more aspects of travel planning. Both could go public this year or next.

But companies new to public markets must live up to those promises or risk seeing their value fall.
A record number of people traveled to and from the Helena Regional Airport in 2016.

More than 103,000 people departed from the airport that year, and a little more than 102,000 arrived. Together, arrivals and departures totaled 205,733, which eclipsed the 2011 record of 204,205, according to data compiled by Jeff Wadekamper, the airport's director.

The 2016 arrivals and departures also surpassed those from the previous year, when 199,376 travelers were tallied. And the number of travelers last year reflects a 22 percent increase over 2007.

Contributing to the 2016 increase is that Delta Air Lines is replacing its 50-seat regional jet aircraft with those capable of ferrying 65 and 76 passengers to meet peak demands, Wadekamper stated in a news release.

The move to larger aircraft expanded Delta Air Lines' seat capacity by 8.4 percent on its Helena service to Salt Lake City that fills, on average, 86 percent of the seats.

Delta Air Lines also provides service between Helena and Minneapolis and has used larger aircraft when demand for seats was greatest, Wadekamper noted.

United Airlines service from Helena to Denver, which began in 2008, also saw a 4.8 percent increase in travelers on those flights that typically had 89 percent of their seats filled.

United Airlines is also planning to switch from the 50-seat jets to those with a 76-seat capacity in a year or two, Wadekamper said.

And Alaska Airlines, which has reduced service between Seattle and Helena to only a single daily flight through most of 2016, saw 2.4 percent more seats filled compared to 2015, according to the airport directors data. Demand for seats filed 70 percent on average for the year.

Alaska Airlines also has plans to switch from the turboprop aircraft, with a 76-seat capacity, to jets of the same size in a couple of years, he added.

Expansion plans

The record-setting 2016 number of passengers and plans for airlines to serve Helena with larger jets give added reason for the airport to move ahead with expanding the passenger waiting area and food services on the terminals second floor.

Each morning, three flights leave from Helena with the Minneapolis-bound Delta Air Lines flight departing as early as 5:20 a.m. and its Salt Lake City flight set for 6:20 a.m. The United Airlines service to Denver is scheduled to leave at 7:10 a.m.

First thing in the morning, its pretty much a packed house right now, Wadekamper said.

Not everyone whos waiting for a flight has a place to sit, but the airport authority is moving ahead with an expansion that will begin this year on paper.

After architects and engineers design the airport terminals expansion, construction wont happen until 2018, according to the timetable offered by Wadekamper.

The roughly $3 million project -- Wadekamper calls that a rough estimate -- is expected to take a year and will be done in phases to keep the airport open during construction.

An additional 1,250 square feet would be added to the terminals first floor while an estimated 2,950 square feet would be added to the buildings second floor. A ground-floor boarding area would be retained for current and future use.

The ground-floor boarding, which serves the 76-seat Alaska turboprop aircraft, was designed for 40 passengers.

He sees the expansion as meeting the airports needs for five to 10 years and said, Weve got to keep it affordable.

Spending between $6 million to $8 million for this phase of the airports master plan and a second phase of it might be too much at this time, Wadekamper said.

So its a careful balance between capacity and demand, he added.

Funding for the project is anticipated to come primarily from federal funds the airport receives annually through the Airport Improvement Program. While this is expected to cover 90 percent of the project cost, a nationwide fee added on to airline tickets will pay for maybe 8 percent of the project.

The $4.50 passenger facility charge on each airline ticket applies to each of the first three segments of a travelers flight, if there are multiple stops before reaching a final destination.

Helena Regional Airport collects about $390,000 annually through this charge, Wadekamper said in October.

The remaining roughly 2 percent of the projects cost is expected to come from the airport. Federal funds wont cover improvements such as those for the airports restaurant, Wadekamper said.

The airport operates without any local taxes or mill levies, Wadekamper said, explaining that its revenue is divided roughly into thirds and funded by airlines, other aviation-related activities such as corporate air services and general aviation, and leasing parts of its 1,400 acres to several entities, including Boeing Co., Costco and Lee Enterprises.

Also contributing to the upcoming project could be the airlines that might want to upgrade customer services, Wadekamper noted.

Further driving the need for more passenger waiting areas is an anticipated move by Alaska Airlines to switch from turboprop to jet aircraft.

With this change, Alaska Airlines would move its passenger boarding area from the airport terminals ground floor, where people walk outside to board flights, to the second floor where the other airlines passengers are already crowded as they wait for their flights, Wadekamper has said.

In addition to providing more room on the terminals second floor for waiting passengers, the airport will need to install another jet bridge -- this is the enclosed walkway that links the terminal to arriving and departing flights -- to accommodate Alaska Airlines and perhaps another flight.

The two jet bridges currently serve the three daily Delta Air Lines and United Airlines flights.

The expansion, while meeting current needs, will be even more critical if the airport is successful in its bid to add new air service.

The airport authority was unsuccessful this year in obtaining funds through the U.S. Department of Transportations Small Community Air Service Development Program to use in enticing Alaska Airlines to restore its second flight to Seattle.

The federal grant and local funds would have helped guarantee the Alaska Airlines wouldnt lose money if it didnt sell enough seats on a second Seattle flight serving Helena.

Communities that proposed new routes were favored in the latest round of funding by the Small Community Air Service Development Program, Wadekamper said in August.

Since failing to receive the $500,000 Small Community Air Service Development Program grant, airport officials began looking at how to modify an application to make it more competitive.

Seeking an Alaska Airlines route to Portland, Oregon, which has become the second most popular destination for Helena travelers, with service to Seattle is seen as creating a more competitive grant application, Wadekamper noted previously.

A local fundraising effort is underway to raise $100,000 by March 1 to use in its application for a $500,000 federal air service grant.

The airport authority anticipates hearing in mid-summer if the application is successful, which would allow it to begin discussions with Alaska Airlines for service to Portland, Oregon.

Plans for the grant and moving ahead with an expansion of the terminal building come after a year of infrastructure improvements that include a $989,000 reconstruction of a taxiway that links facilities on the airports north side with the runway.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the number of travelers to and from Helena Regional Airport in 2016.
A two-vehicle crash early Sunday in South Omaha led to both drivers being arrested on suspicion of DUI and a passenger being treated for life-threatening injuries.

The crash at 30th and L Streets sent Marvin Gipson, 53, of Omaha to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition at 2:36 a.m., according to an Omaha Police Department report.

Gipson suffered a lacerated liver, fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.

Investigators determined that Gipson was a passenger in a westbound 2006 Toyota Scion that ran a red light while trying to turn south onto 30th Street from L Street. The Toyota collided with an eastbound 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer.

Roman Grant, 27, of Omaha, the driver of the Scion, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving causing serious injury and failure to yield the right of way, according to the Omaha Police Department.

The driver of the Trailblazer and two passengers ran from the scene.

The passengers were located at 22nd and M Streets and identified the 38-year-old driver of the Trailblazer.

Felipe Calderon-Correa was arrested at home on suspicion of drunken driving causing serious injury and leaving the scene of an injury accident, according to Omaha police.

The eastbound lanes of L Street were closed from 33rd to 30th Streets until 5 a.m.
A statement by UNL said behavior by fraternity members during the Womens March on Lincoln on Jan. 21 was not the focal point of the suspension, but comments made by Fiji members during the march were consistent with the pattern of sexually harassing conduct evident in multiple other incidents.
The University of Nebraskas Lincoln and Omaha campuses sent out advisories Saturday for international students affected by President Donald Trumps executive order limiting travel from seven countries.

Travel outside the U.S. is not recommended for students from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the universities said.

As you have learned from the news, President Trump has issued an executive order that will undoubtedly impact some of our international students and scholars, the UNO advisory said. UNO International Programs and Student Affairs want you to know that we are very concerned about this development.

Trumps executive order bans travel to the U.S. for at least 90 days by nationals from the countries listed and includes a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Two federal courts ruled late Saturday against parts of the executive order. A federal court in Brooklyn granted a nationwide stay preventing the government from deporting people who arrived with valid U.S. visas. A second judge, in Virginia, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the deportation of permanent U.S. residents who arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

If you are from one of the countries listed here, you can remain in the U.S. as long as you maintain your status, the UNO advisory said. However, travel outside the U.S. is not recommended at this time.

The UNL advisory said the school is grateful to count more than 3,000 students and scholars from around the world and about 100 from the seven nations identified in the executive order among its international community.

We write to express our unwavering commitment to all who may be affected by the measures stated in the executive order, the UNL advisory said. We strongly encourage you to not travel internationally in the immediate future, until we have additional information. If you are from any other country that is predominantly Muslim, you may want to follow the same precautions until more details are obtained.

UNL students were reminded that the International Student and Scholar Office is available to meet with them if they have questions or concerns. The office is on the second floor of Seaton Hall and can be reached by phone at 402-472-0324 or by email at isso@unl.edu.

UNO said students wishing to discuss their feelings can make appointments with the schools counseling and psychological services office inside the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building. Counseling is available to individuals or groups, and all information will be kept confidential.

This article includes material from the Associated Press.
The Pacific Life Foundation announced today that it has awarded more than $300,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations in the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas. Grants totaling $250,000 have been awarded to 27 local nonprofit organizations in the areas of arts and culture; civic, community, and environment; education; and health and human services. The 2017 Nebraska recipients include:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands  $10,000

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands  $5,000

City of Omaha, Public Library Foundation  $5,000

Completely KIDS  $5,000

DIBS for Kids  $5,000

Girls Incorporated of Omaha  $15,000

Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, Inc.  $10,000

Heartland Family Service  $15,000

HELP Adult Services  $7,500

Holy Name Housing Corporation  $10,000

MICAH House  $7,500

Nebraska Council on Economic Education  $5,000

NorthStar Foundation  $10,000

Ollie Webb Center Inc.  $5,000

Omaha Childrens Museum  $12,500

Omaha Community Playhouse  $7,500

Omaha Home for Boys  $10,000

Omaha Theater Company  $10,000

Omaha Zoo Foundation  $15,000

OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.  $15,000

Partnership For Our Kids  $10,000

Project Harmony  $10,000

Rebuilding Together Omaha  $7,500

Siena Francis House  $7,500

YMCA of Greater Omaha  $10,000

Youth Care & Beyond, Inc.  $10,000

Youth Emergency Services, Inc.  $10,000

The Foundations 3Ts of Education program has awarded a total of $53,500 in grants to local schools where concentrations of children and grandchildren of Pacific Life employees attend. A 3Ts of Education grant must be designated in one of the following areas: teacher training, textbooks or technology. The 16 Omaha area schools awarded a 2017 3Ts of Education grant are:

Bellevue West High, Beveridge Magnet Middle, Crestridge Magnet Elementary, Elkhorn Ridge Middle, Hoover Elementary, Millard North Middle, Millard West High, Omaha North High Magnet, Ronald Reagan Elementary, St. Albert Elementary, Thomas Jefferson High, Westside High, Westside Middle, Wheeler Elementary, Wilma Upchurch Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Middle.
A family from Afghanistan has been scheduled to land in Omaha on Tuesday through a refugee resettlement program, reuniting with other family members who arrived earlier.

But plans for a joyful reunion were up in the air Saturday in the wake of President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration and refugee resettlement. The order began to play out immediately after Trump signed it Friday, including the specter of previously approved refugees being detained upon arriving at U.S. airports.

There are people in various stages of the process, on different legs of travel coming into the United States, said Todd Reckling of Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, one of two agencies that assist refugees in Omaha. People are anxious to see how this plays out.

Refugee resettlement officials said they knew of no Nebraska-bound refugees who had been detained. However, Lutheran Family Services over the next week has three refugee families due in Omaha and six more coming to Lincoln, those refugees originating from Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Sudan and Ethiopia. The Refugee Empowerment Center in Omaha has families from Somalia and Burma set to arrive next week, and many more the week after that.

With Trumps order suspending refugee resettlement for 120 days, the refugee agencies are now left to wonder who will be coming and who wont.

Kathy Moore, interim director of the Refugee Empowerment Center, said the latest guidance her agency has received is that refugees set to arrive by Wednesday will likely come unless theyre from seven Muslim-majority countries specifically mentioned in Trumps order. Beginning Thursday, all refugee arrivals would be suspended, Moore said.

Court decisions also could have an impact on what happens in the days ahead, with a New York judge Saturday night barring deportation of those under the order who have valid visas.

Some refugees entered the United States just ahead of the order, including two families that arrived in Omaha on Thursday night and an Iranian family that touched down in Lincoln just two hours before Trump signed it. Officials with Lutheran Family Services knew the order was coming Friday and had been anxiously waiting to see whether the family would land first.

Theyre lucky ones. And they know theyre lucky ones, said Vanja Pejanovic, a resettlement coordinator in Lincoln.

In addition to the 120-day suspension of refugee resettlements, Trumps order required officials to come up with unspecified new screening procedures; cut the total number of refugees allowed during the current fiscal year from the previously planned 110,000 to 50,000; barred Syrian refugees indefinitely; and blocked any entry into the country for 90 days from seven Muslim-majority countries: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

Trump said the measure would ensure that radical Islamic terrorists would not enter the United States.

In Nebraska, more than half of all refugees who came last year were from countries subject to Trumps 90-day travel ban. That included 451 from Iraq, nearly all settling in Lincoln, and 163 from Syria, the vast majority settling in Omaha.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts praised the presidents call to strengthen screening. But U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Saturday the presidents order was too broad. While technically not a Muslim ban, he said, it will be portrayed as such and used by terrorists to tell recruits that America is against Muslims.

Our generational battle against jihadism requires wisdom, Sasse said.

Sunday, Omaha mayoral candidate Heath Mello responded to the order.

As a former South Omaha state senator who represented the neighborhoods that are the gateways to the 'American Dream' for immigrants and refugees, I strongly believe that President Trumps latest impulse to ban Muslim refugees is un-American and is everything our community is against."

And Brian Blackford, chairman of the Iowa-Nebraska chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, condemned the order in a statement Saturday, calling it contrary to American values. "These policies will do little to improve national security and will create enormous delays for people coming to the U.S."

Lutheran Family Services is helping organize a multifaith candlelight vigil in response to the order, set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Turner Park in Omaha. Another rally, organized by the Womens March on Omaha group, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today at Turner Park.

Even after the 120-day refugee suspension expires, it appears Trumps decision to slash refugee numbers to 50,000 this fiscal year will slow refugee traffic considerably between now and Sept. 30. Its believed at least 36,000 of those slots have already been used.

The Refugee Empowerment Center is also facing a potential cash crisis due to the order. Unlike Lutheran, it pays for nearly all its operations with federal resettlement funds, which figure to dry up for 120 days or more.

In addition to confusion, the order was also sparking fear among refugees already here.

Feroz Mohmand, who helps resettle refugees for Lutheran Family Services, had himself fled Afghanistan with his family in 2012. He said when his 7-year-old son heard about the presidents order, he began crying, believing it meant his family would be forced to leave.

Mohmand explained it wouldnt. But he said it could certainly dash his hopes that his mother will one day join his family here.

This morning when I called her, she was aware of the news, he said. She was having fear for me living here as a citizen.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.
Before they were auctioned off and carried out, the chairs and booths at the Bohemian Cafe were filled one final time.

To a crowd of several hundred bidders and nostalgic customers, co-owner Terry Kapoun stood at the hostess station-turned-auctioneer stand and blinked back tears.

Its a bittersweet day, he said. We hope you can enjoy your memories from whatever you can get here and take home with you.

The hand-painted wooden plates went first, many bringing more than $200. Then an elephant-shaped Jim Beam decanter made for a fundraiser for then-Vice President Spiro Agnew. With its signed letter, that brought $500. Then the laminated menus. One group of three went for $70.

The polka CDs, the kitchen clock, the beer steins and kegs, the rows and rows of decanters, even the childs booster seat each carried a piece of the cafes 66-year history, the auctioneer reminded bidders.

For Julie Ludlow, those items represented a piece of her familys history.

This feels like a home to us, Julie Ludlow said. Its a part of our heritage.

Her family celebrated birthdays and baptisms with meals at the Bohemian Cafe.

We brought five generations of our family here, she said from the spot where she remembers her grandfather once got a vat of liver dumpling soup dumped on him by accident.

We cried when it closed  it kind of felt like we lost a family member.

Her son Wes Ludlow won the $50 bid for a memo book with notes from the hostesses. Turned to the cafes last day, the final note reads, No reservations.

For her other son, she took home a hand-painted wooden plate as a wedding gift.

These are keepsakes from a place we loved, Julie said.

Cate Kratville bought some keepsakes of her own. She drove from Milwaukee just for the auction, hoping to get a last look at the place that served the sweet and sour cabbage she missed after she moved from Omaha two years ago. On Saturday she bought painted plates as a way to honor her great-grandfather, an artist who came to Nebraska from Bohemia.

Having this place gone is a huge cultural loss, she said. I wanted to drive those 500 miles to get a piece of it.

Kapouns mother, Mert, said she was told to expect a crowd Saturday, but she wasnt expecting hundreds. But thats just a testament to how her familys place became just that for so many others. She and her husband, Robert, took over the cafe from her mother and stepfather 50 years ago.

This meant a lot to a lot of people, Mert said.

For Mert Kapouns daughter, Marsha Bogatz, the hugs and stories from customers made Saturday a little easier.

This is our familys last time together here, the former cafe hostess said, her voice cracking. We saw each other every day here, and we wont have that anymore.

Before the auction, Bogatz picked out a plate and a photograph of the cafe.

It hasnt hit yet, she said. It wont until we cant come through the back door and see familiar faces.
A record 640 skaters participated Friday and Saturday in a skate-a-thon at the University of Nebraska Medical Center to raise money for Parkinsons disease research.

The seventh annual 24-hour event ended Saturday at 2 p.m. at the UNMC outdoor ice rink. It was the first time that more than 600 people had skated, a UNMC spokesman said.

About $11,000 was collected at a registration tent, an event coordinator said. Online proceeds, pledges for skaters and corporate sponsorships had not been tallied Saturday evening.

Proceeds are to fund Parkinsons research at UNMC and Parkinsons Nebraska, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable exercise classes, education and services for people with the motor system disorder.
SANAA, Yemen (AP)  A U.S. military service member was killed Sunday during a raid against al-Qaida militants in central Yemen that also left nearly 30 others dead, including women and children. The loss of the service member is the first known combat death of a member of the U.S. military under President Donald Trump.

Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism, Trump said in a statement.

The U.S. has been striking al-Qaida in Yemen from the air for more than 15 years, mostly using drones, and Sundays surprise pre-dawn raid could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in the Arab worlds poorest but strategically located country.

An al-Qaida official and an online news service linked to the terror group said the raid left about 30 people dead. Among the children killed was Anwaar, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girls grandfather.

Nasser al-Awlaki told the Associated Press that Anwaar was visiting her mother when the raid took place. She was shot in the neck and bled for two hours before she died, he said.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that three service members were wounded in the raid and that a fourth one was injured in a hard landing in a nearby location. The aircraft was unable to fly afterward and was intentionally destroyed, it added.

It said that 14 militants from al-Qaidas branch in Yemen, formally known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members taking part in the raid captured information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.

A U.S. defense official said the raid was approved by Trump. President Barack Obama had been briefed on it before he left office on Jan. 20, but for operational reasons it was not ready to be executed before he departed, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss details beyond those announced by the Pentagon and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the raid in Yemens central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaida leaders: Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab and Seif al-Nims.

The al-Dhahab family, who are the late al-Awlakis in-laws, are considered an ally of al-Qaida, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda. A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was the leader of al-Qaida in Bayda but was reportedly killed in a family feud.

The news service linked to al-Qaida in Yemen likened the raid to a massacre against Muslims. It said that U.S. warplanes were first seen in the sky above the area at 9 p.m. Saturday and that the raid began at 2 a.m. Sunday, with 16 missiles hitting three houses near Yakla village in Radaa district.

A two-hour gunbattle ensued after American service members landed on the ground, it said.

The killed and wounded included some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaida operatives in Bayda in what were the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Two federal courts ruled late Saturday against part of President Donald Trumps executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim nations from entering the United States.

A federal court in Brooklyn granted a nationwide stay preventing the government from deporting people who arrived with valid U.S. visas. Our own government presumably approved their entry to the country, said Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York.

A second judge, in Virginia, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the deportation of permanent U.S. residents who arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia also ruled that the detained passengers must be given access to attorneys.

Donnelly granted the stay after an emergency hearing in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two men who had been detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The men were later released.

The ACLU, other civil rights groups and hundreds of protesters at U.S. airports cheered the decision, though they cautioned that the reprieve is temporary and affects only visa holders who already had arrived in the United States and were being held at airports. While it prevents them from being deported, the ruling stops short of ordering their release, raising concerns among attorneys about an extended detention as the arrivals wait in limbo for a permanent decision in the case.

The ACLU estimates that between 100 and 200 people are being held in U.S. airports because of Trumps executive order, which upended thousands of lives overnight, including permanent U.S. residents who were denied entry or stranded abroad over the weekend.

Outraged families and advocacy groups publicized cases of visa holders and permanent residents, including some who have held green cards for decades, being detained at airports or barred from entering the United States, including at least 50 who were being held at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Angry, confused and frustrated family members who had been waiting for loved ones chanted This is what democracy looks like and held signs that read Release our Family! and Deport Trump!! in the international area of the Dallas airports Terminal D. Federal officials would not confirm the number of people being detained, and airport officials declined to comment.

Large crowds of protesters also gathered outside JFK airport in New York after word circulated that two Iraqis had been detained. Airports in San Francisco and a few other cities drew similar demonstrations.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention.

Under Trump's order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trump's order had been prevented from entering the U.S.

Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports, including New York's Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Forth Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read "Portland Coffee Is From Yemen" and chanting anti-Trump slogans. Among the dozens showing support for refugees at Denver's airport were those who sang "refugees are welcome here."

U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the move. U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad."

"If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse said. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith."

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.

Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003 and later worked as a contract engineer. In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawai's wife had worked for a U.S. security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. military.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trump's order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that don't provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trump's order.

"There is no evidence that refugees the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation are a threat to national security," said Lena F. Masri, the group's national litigation director. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didn't address America's "primary terrorism-related threat" people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trump's order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

"We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. "With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years."

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

No refugees were in the air when the travel ban was signed Friday, but about 350 people were in transit in Nairobi, Kenya, and were now stuck there, said Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy for HIAS, a refugee resettlement aid agency. She said several hundred more people who were booked on U.S.-bound flights in the next week were now stranded around the globe.

"This in effect could be a permanent ban," she said. "Many of these people may never be able to come."

This report includes material from the McClatchy Washington Bureau.
New analysis from the Congressional Budget Office says the federal debt is likely to grow by nearly $10 trillion over the next 10 years, up from $20 trillion currently.

Its imperative that our leaders in Washington get a handle on fiscal spending and promote policies that encourage private-sector growth.

Here are two of the main challenges the Trump administration faces on the budget front.

 Unified budget vision. President Donald Trump and his team need to develop a coherent, philosophically consistent budget strategy.

Trumps tax-cut goals and ambitious spending plans (including a $1 trillion infrastructure initiative and major increases on defense) raise difficulties in crafting a properly disciplined budget.

Trumps choice for budget director, U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., is a fiscal hawk who voted against raising the debt ceiling. But Mulvaneys approach doesnt line up completely with the presidents as stated on the campaign trail.

Mulvaney took heat in the House for saying the defense budget needs to be subject to significant spending constraints. Trump said on the campaign trail the military budget needs a major increase.

Mulvaney advocates raising the Social Security eligibility age, arguing the long-term cost trajectory for entitlements is unsustainable. Trump said he intends no changes in seniors entitlements.

Trump and his team have important discussions ahead to reconcile these differing perspectives into a focused budget strategy that meets public needs while promoting fiscal discipline.

 Political obstacles. Politics and interest-group demands raise complications on budgeting. Here are three examples.

Example No. 1: The Trump administration rightly aims to push far greater efficiency in military programs. But Congress regularly opposes base closures, a key tool for pursuing that goal.

Example No. 2: Republicans control the White House and Congress, but in the Senate, legislation to raise caps on defense spending will require 60 votes, even when deciding so-called budget reconciliation. That means the administration will need support from some Democrats. Democratic leaders oppose defense increases unless caps are lifted on nondefense spending, too.

Example No. 3: The Trump administration plans to adopt a large set of proposed budget cuts drawn up by the Heritage Foundation, the Hill newspaper reports. Many of those cuts likely will receive congressional support, but others are expected to run into a buzz saw of interest-group opposition.

As an example, the Hill article cited federal support to rural airports, an issue of interest in many parts of Nebraska. The Heritage Foundation calls for eliminating the funding, but Alaska lawmakers hotly oppose to such a move.

The Trump administration has an all-important duty to build a budget that holds back the red ink. It needs a unified vision to do that in a responsible way. Then it needs to build support in Congress to make it happen.
Chere Jiusto, a Helena resident, was one of six Montanans honored at the Governors Humanities Awards on Thursday.

She was introduced by Ken Egan, executive director of Humanities Montana, a statewide nonprofit providing grants and programs in the humanities.

She knows the past defines our future, Egan said. She does this work with grace.

Humanities Montana has honored people doing excellent work in the state since 1984. Jiusto has dedicated the majority of her life to preserving Montanas history.

She said the humanities keep people connected through the past in a difficult and confusing world.

In my work, that includes soaking in wisdom across the stillness of time, by listening to the lessons laid down by the people who walked this path before us, Jiusto wrote in a letter to Montana Humanities.

She studied ceramics at the University of Montana and accepted a resident position at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts.

She worked in the State Historic Preservation Office for 20 years, where she began as a cataloger and eventually became a curator. Shes been at the Montana Preservation Alliance for 15 years.

The Montana Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit to protect historic places, cultural heritage and traditional landscapes. As executive director, Jiusto, manages outreach and education programs, advocacy, documentation and training people to do restoration work.

With a background in both the arts and humanities, Jiusto said she has a unique insight.

It all came full circle, she said. Theres a human connection to beauty through arts and the humanities.

Despite spending her life protecting Montana traditions, heritage and historical places, Jiusto said she was surprised to hear she was nominated and would receive an award.

I started crying, she said. Im so deeply honored.

Gov. Steve Bullock presented Jiusto with her award and thanked all recipients for setting a strong example for the next generation. A statement of congratulations was also read on behalf of Sen. Jon Tester.

Jiusto will continue to share the knowledge shes acquired over the years and promote a love for the humanities in the community.

Give me the people who understand, when they feel the ancient stories running deep in the earth, that these places need protection because they are the essence of who we are, she said.

She is the author of "Montana Main Streets Guide to Historic Hamilton" and co-author of "Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana." She said she wants to continue to work with high school and graduate students to ensure the Montana Preservation Alliance legacy is passed on.
Put on your hard hats. The battle over the Keystone XL pipeline is on again.

With the backing of President Donald Trump, TransCanada has already submitted a new application for its 1,179-mile oil pipeline, 26 months after former President Barack Obama rejected a federal permit.

The application should proceed. This $8 billion infrastructure project would open up a supply of energy from a friendly neighbor, create U.S. construction jobs and provide tax revenues and other economic benefits to Nebraska.

The State Departments final report in 2014 concluded the pipeline posed no significant impact on climate change. A Pew poll in November 2015 found that 59 percent of the public supported the pipeline, with 31 percent opposed.

In addition to federal approval, the 275-mile Nebraska leg would also need approval from the states Public Service Commission.

Environmental groups including Bold Alliance, led by Nebraskan Jane Kleeb, vow to resurrect their opposition.

So the battle lines are drawn again. But this time, TransCanada has a powerful new ally in the White House.
Sullivan is president and CEO of the Nebraska Credit Union League. Yost is president and CEO of Nebraska Independent Community Bankers.

For many years, but most especially over the last decade, Nebraskas credit unions and community banks have been bombarded by an onslaught of rules and regulations originating from Washington, D.C.

Credit unions and community banks desire a sound regulatory environment that makes sense for consumers rather than one that penalizes them for the actions of a few bad actors in the marketplace.

The financial crisis of 2008 brought to light many of the egregious acts by Wall Street banks, which culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Although our local community financial institutions did not cause the crisis, they have been unfairly included in the solutions coming down from Washington.

The cost of these new regulations is far higher for small community financial institutions than for larger financial institutions because there are basic fixed costs associated with complying with regulations that larger institutions can spread over a larger asset base.

Consider this: Since the financial crisis in 2008, the Credit Union National Association has tracked 235 regulatory changes by 23 federal agencies, filling 7,643 pages, that greatly impact how our local community financial institutions can serve Nebraska consumers.

These regulations, however well intended, have a real and direct impact on all Nebraskans who seek a home loan, car loan, short-term loan and so on.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in 2010, and has promulgated many regulations that have placed a stranglehold on the ability of community banks and credit unions to serve their customers or members with services and products that they want and need.

Although Congress provided the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with the ability to exempt community financial institutions from their rules, it has yet to do so.

The recent election provides an opportunity for Congress and the Trump administration to turn back the tide of over-regulation and to reinstitute common sense in the regulatory environment that inhibits bad actors in the financial marketplace while ensuring that consumers have access to affordable financial products and services from the community financial institution that they know and trust.

We applaud our Nebraska congressional delegation for its steadfast support of our community financial institutions, and we urge Congress and the Trump administration to work with us to preserve our community-based financial institutions.
Pipelines pose too great a threat

Im outraged and deeply disheartened by the Trump administrations reversal of policy on the Keystone XL and Dakota pipelines (Pipeline fights reignited, Jan. 25 World-Herald).

Many Americans and members of our local community have taken grassroots political action to oppose these pipelines in the interest of the health and welfare of our country, our children and our planet.

The importance of the Ogallala Aquifer and Missouri River water sources cannot be overstated, and the risk of petrochemical pipelines running carcinogenic chemical agents over or under these priceless resources is not to be taken lightly, as illustrated by last weeks rupture of the Magellan pipeline in Iowa.

These technologies cannot possibly be made safe enough to take a chance with our drinking water, and fossil fuels will not bring about the sustainable energy future that America needs. Too bad more of our states representatives in Congress dont share this concern.

Aaron McLaughlin, Omaha

Think twice before ACA repeal

Nebraskas congressional delegation is on record supporting the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. But the Congressional Budget Office recently reported that at least 18 million people would become uninsured upon its repeal. A large percentage of people favor keeping key provisions of Obamacare.

I encourage our lawmakers in Washington to talk to their constituents who would be harmed by repeal, not just those who favor repeal. Then they will be able to understand the fears of those who will lose coverage.

After six years and 10 months of promises, no specific, detailed plan for replacement has been presented to the American people. Voting for repeal without seeing detailed replacement plans seems more motivated by political revenge than enacting thoughtful public policy.

Our federal delegation collectively represents all Nebraskans, not just those who are in favor of repeal. Repealing the Affordable Care Act in its entirety would fulfill campaign pledges but subject Nebraskans to financial risk and jeopardize their health. I urge our representatives to modify Obamacare, not repeal it entirely.

Tom Purcell, Omaha

A wall won't do it

I applaud President Trumps efforts to stop or at least impede illegal immigration, but a wall wont do it. All illegal immigrants have to do is board a boat as passengers, head for California and be let off in an isolated, unguarded area under cover of darkness, and voila, theyre here.

A better way might be to require all legal residents to get a citizenship card, which would be almost impossible to get if youre an illegal immigrant. Then require all financial institutions, including banks and credit card companies, and all employers and landlords to verify the possession of that card by the people they deal with.

This would make it extremely difficult and unprofitable for illegal immigrants to live in this country.

Fred Henninger, Omaha

Blurring of church-state line

Equality under the law is vital for any democracy, yet its wise to consider all the implications of bills such as Legislative Bill 62, which would eliminate a prohibition on teachers wearing religious garb (Jan. 24 World-Herald). Are public institutions the place where we should ignore the foresight of our nations founders concerning the separation of church and state?

Impressionable students, like all people, form psychological associations. Public schools should provide a respite from the constant symbolic promotion of religions, especially from influential authority figures such as teachers.

Both benevolent acts and heinous misdeeds are done in the name of religious gods  with almost every religion insisting their belief system is the truest and the best (and subsequently fighting over an argument that cant be won).

Religious institutions are the main designated places to influence students subconscious minds with symbolism and special clothing. This religious freedom is available in every corner of our great nation and should be utilized there, but not in K-12 public schools.

Keni Hanson, Ceresco, Neb.

Nothing funny about sexual assault

The Jan. 24 World-Herald article Retweet then retreat, but Kintner takes heat reminded us of the violent sexual assault perpetrated on a popular South Omaha waitress three decades ago. The assault occurred when she was walking home after getting off a bus. She was in her 70s at the time and never recovered from the emotional and physical trauma.

Those of us who knew her and know other victims of sexual assault, regardless of age, should not find the retweet amusing.

Thank you to the Nebraska legislators who applied pressure to force Bill Kinter to resign his seat.

Morgan and Walter Hecht, Omaha

Coxs data cap the wrong move

Well, Cox Communications is at it again, putting data caps on accounts (Cox customers who exceed data limit can expect extra charge, Jan. 25 World-Herald). The reasoning is that 95 percent of the users dont go over their data limit, and therefore no one should be concerned.

Isnt this the parable of the frog in boiling water?

First, the Internet is always on. There may be data congestion, but thats fixed with infrastructure, not caps.

And if Im going to be penalized for going over caps, I want a third party to verify the metering system is accurate.

Lastly, if Cox wants to meter our usage, lets do it like a real utility. If you use only 5 percent of your plan  like I do  I get 95 percent of my payment back. If I go over my plan, I pay over my plan.

Cox shouldnt expect to meter accounts only when it suits them.

Larry Brodahl, Omaha

Theyll find a way to blame Democrats

Republicans now control the House, the Senate and the White House. But rest assured  no matter what goes wrong, no matter what Donald Trump and Congress do or dont do  Fox News will blame Democrats and liberals.

Dividing the country has been a very successful business model for Fox, et al., and they are certainly not inclined to change the predetermined storyline now.

Bob Winkler, Omaha

Not all Nebraskans want wall

Nebraska is a state with values. We value community. We value our families. We value our friends, neighbors and coworkers no matter where they were born. For generations, weve welcomed people who have moved here from other countries and made numerous, positive contributions to our state.

Last week, President Trump signed a series of destructive executive orders. Among them was one to build a border wall.

We should not be spending taxpayer money to build a literal wall to separate us from a neighboring country. Our time and money should be used to strengthen and improve our immigration laws to protect all residents, keep families together and keep our communities strong and secure.

I urge Nebraska U.S. Sens. Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer to do everything in their power to challenge the building of this despicable wall.

Kendra Sayler, Omaha

We need to be more sympathetic

Over the last few years I have watched our country morph at warp speed into something I dont recognize. Where is all the anger, hatred, bitterness and violence coming from?

Remember when John F. Kennedy said: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?

Maybe what we should be asking is not what someone else can do for us, but what we can do for someone else. Do one kind act for someone whom you dont really like or agree with. Millions of one kind acts is what will get us where we want to be.

Our hearts have gotten too hard and too harsh. We all crave love, and it is hard not to love someone who is doing kind things for you. Our country can mend. We can be knitted back together. But really only through a softening of our hearts.

Becky Tometich, Omaha

Funny in any case

I am a bit confused by Jeff Koterbas Jan. 22 cartoon. Was it supposed to have taken place during the past eight years? Is the man shouting Not my president supposed to be Mitch McConnell? Or Donald Trump? Or does he represent every Republican member of Congress? I guess it doesnt matter because in any of those cases, its pretty funny.

Paul Ledwon, Omaha

A snapshot of our country

The editorial cartoon in the Jan. 22 World-Herald by Jeff Koterba was just fantastic. It hit the nail on the head.

Pat Huntsman, Red Oak, Iowa
As a record 2 million visitors flocked to Omahas Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in 2016 to see the $73 million African Grasslands exhibit, they could feel they were taking a mini-safari.

In addition to feeding giraffes, they could watch elephants, impalas and rhinos sharing a waterhole as they would in the wild, try to spot cheetahs hiding in trees and hike up a hill to observe lions sunning themselves on massive boulders.

Meanwhile, children splashed around in the new $14 million Alaskan Adventure featuring more than 75 water-spouting bronze sculptures including an 18-foot-high humpback whale.

The zoo ended the monumental year with a monumental celebration, 50 Days of Doc, honoring longtime executive director and current Zoo Foundation Chairman Dr. Lee Simmons for his role in creating this world-class attraction.

However, in a sense the zoo was also celebrating the work of all who have contributed to its status, including Executive Director Dennis Pate, top Omaha leaders and countless large and small donors.

In 50 years, the zoo has gone from being little more than a menagerie to Omahas top tourist attraction and a beloved civic institution that is noted worldwide for its animal conservation and research work.

Looking over the spotless grounds and spectacular buildings, its hard to envision the old Riverview Park Zoo with its handful of cages, pens and motley collection of animals. Only the old Caretakers House near the Desert Dome stands as a reminder of just how far the zoo has come since 1963, when Margaret Peggy Doorly, the widow of former Omaha World-Herald publisher Henry Doorly, donated $750,000 to create a real zoo.

When Simmons joined the zoo in 1966 as assistant director and veterinarian, the transformation had begun with the construction of bear grottos, gorilla and orangutan buildings and the Ak-Sar-Ben petting zoo. However, progress accelerated after he was named director in 1970 because of his skill in selling exciting ideas to major philanthropists.

Step by step, the modern zoo came into being.

When he was still assistant director, Simmons sold Peter Kiewit, Omahas top civic leader at the time, on the need to build sturdier housing for elephants because they regularly wrecked their existing quarters. Kiewit and fellow Ak-Sar-Ben governors persuaded Eugene Eppley to fund Pachyderm Hill.

More recently, Simmons raised funds for the Elephant Family Quarters, the largest elephant building in North America, that is part of the African Grasslands.

Union Pacific Railroad and its chief engineer at the time, zoo board member Robert Brown, played key roles in building and maintaining the Omaha Zoo Railroad and solving many engineering and construction problems.

Simmons developed wish lists of projects he could sell to donors, sometimes delaying his own priorities to accommodate their wishes.

For example, he wanted an animal hospital because sometimes he was forced to treat animals in restrooms. When a donor chose to fund an aviary instead of the hospital, he built the aviary. The animal hospital is included in Pates 10-year master plan.

Simmons also converted existing facilities into new exhibits.

He wanted to create a sea lion pool but money was tight. Then a Riverview Park employee told him about an old swimming pool that had been covered over. Zoo workers found the old pool, and Simmons persuaded zoo board member Edward F. Owen to fund the complicated project. Not only did the pool have to be dug out and reconstructed, but the lagoon that fed the pool had to be cleaned out and renovated.

In 1972, the zoo opened the Owen Sea Lion Pavilion. Now it, too, is scheduled for replacement in the zoos master plan.

The zoo opened new exhibits every year or so, many of which had been on Simmons wish list long before they were constructed.

Simmons spent years cultivating the Lied Foundation before obtaining funding for the Lied Jungle that opened in 1992 and put the Henry Doorly Zoo on the national map.

In 1994, Family Life Magazine cited the jungle as the single best zoo exhibit in the country.

My idea was that very few people from Omaha will ever get to a jungle or a tropical rainforest, Simmons said. We wanted to give them a total-immersion experience.

Similarly Simmons, who had grown up in Arizona, believed that many Midwesterners had little idea about the variety of animals and plants in deserts, so he built the Desert Dome that opened in 2002 to immerse them in this ecosystem.

Simmons was always open to ideas from donors, such as Suzanne Scotts request for penguins in the Walter and Suzanne Scott Kingdoms of the Sea Aquarium.

When the Scott Aquarium opened in 1995, it was so popular that zoo-goers had to schedule appointments to tour it, just as they did when the Lied Jungle opened. In 2012, the zoo showed off major renovations to the aquarium, another of the major projects funded under Pates master plan.

In addition to its major exhibits and displays, the zoo has won world recognition for its Center for Conservation Research, which includes a 20-member staff of veterinarians and scientists and has trained 2,284 students. Simmons helped initiate national work to preserve endangered species during the 1970s.

At the beginning, Omaha was ground zero for such work. Simmons hosted visiting scientists from the Smithsonian and other major institutions at his home and invited them to collect blood and other specimens from the zoos big cats.

After analyzing the data in their labs, the scientists repeatedly returned to Omaha to collect more specimens.

Todays research work includes studying plants (including orchids), animal reproduction and health problems, nutrition, identification of new species of lemurs in Madagascar, preservation of coral and many other subjects such as programs in Africa to combat game poaching.

Such work was a key reason that Pate accepted the job as executive director when Simmons retired in 2009. He had previously directed the zoo in Jacksonville, Florida.

I was attracted to Omaha because it was heavily involved in wildlife conservation. Here we have made a significant commitment to build on, he said. In addition to the work done by our own scientists, the zoo contributes to projects that help conserve animals in the wild. The zoo has increased its support annually to field conservation projects and has provided funds for over 50 projects in the last few years. It also has provided emergency funding for Okapi and Orang projects that were decimated by civil war or catastrophic fires.

The zoos master plan calls for continued overall growth.

The $27.5 million Childrens Adventure Trails exhibit that will open in 2017 will educate children about nature by letting them play in it. Exhibit components include a childrens play area, an amphitheater for bird shows and added classrooms that will allow Zoo Academy high school enrollment to grow by nearly one-third.

The next major exhibit to be built is the Asian Highlands exhibit, which will focus on animals that live in the foothills of the Himalayas and other forested areas in the Far East, including Siberian tigers, Amur leopards, red pandas, sloth bears and deer.

Eventually the zoo will build a South American exhibit, but not until it has replaced the cat complex and built a new sea lion pool, Pate said. Also planned is an Equatorial African exhibit featuring Central African forest dwellers such as okapi and red river hogs.

Pate said he is especially driven by his passion for educating zoo-goers about animals and conservation issues.

We want to use the zoo to compel people to care about the plight of animals in the wild, he said.

Eileen Wirth, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus of journalism at Creighton University. She currently does research and writing for Legacy Preservation and is the author of a book on the history of Omahas Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium that will be published this spring.

Community support beyond compare

Omahas Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has pioneered in many fields, including building massive community support. In the 1970s, it created its annual membership drive modeled on the old workplace-based Aksarben membership drives.

The zoos drive began when board member Ben Morris of Northwestern Bell suggested that the thousands of Omahans who bought memberships to attend Aksarben concerts would be willing to buy memberships for unlimited entry to the zoo. Colorful slogans such as Support Your Local Cat House and stunts such as hanging a massive inflated gorilla from the W. Dale Clark Library downtown helped turn the drives into civic events.

Today the zoo has the nations largest per capita zoo membership.

About the same time, it created Zoofari, its major fundraising event, which raises more than $2 million from its auction.

At the zoo, names of contributors appear everywhere. In addition to the names of top donors on buildings, there are names on colorful displays of butterflies, fish and other animals.

Pate credited public generosity and pride in the zoo with helping give Omaha the nations most active zoo construction program in recent years.
Omahas park and boulevard system was designed by Horace W.S. Cleveland, noted master planner of the Minneapolis Park and Parkway system. Hired by parks commissioner and Omaha Daily Herald co-founder George Miller, Cleveland conceptualized a linked greenway and park system extending from Miller Park to Riverview Park (now Henry Doorly Zoo).

Meanwhile, roads were being developed and improved as the citys population continued to expand west. Infrastructure, including sewer and water systems, also developed. Meanwhile, roads were being developed and improved as the citys population continued to expand west.

Despite this phenomenal investment in what we now think of as public works, its not clear that much coordinated planning was done. However, there were exceptions.

South Omaha originally was intended to be a model company town, but expediency took over and most of the residential areas were platted in a regular grid.

Bemis Park, platted in 1889, adapted the pioneering plan of Frederick Law Olmsteds Riverside, Illinois, with a challenging topography to create a development that remains a landmark in this century.

An interesting observation in residential development is the tendency for higher-end housing to be situated along ridgelines. In a way, this also determined development patterns.

Take a section of Omahas central corridor. The Gold Coast  38th Street, as an example  developed on the ridgeline rising out of the Missouri River valley. Before the Gold Coast, some mansions developed in the vicinity of 24th Street, also on an intermediate ridge.

Continuing west, we drop to the Saddle Creek drainageway. Its an exception to the rule, probably because the Belt Line Railroad ran along that corridor and generated heavy industries that wealthy people preferred not to live near.

In Happy Hollow, 57th Street generally follows a ridge, then we drop again to the Elmwood Creek drainageway and climb to Fairacres Road, consistent with the theory. Then we drop down to the Little Papio floodplain and climb back up to the 90th to 96th Street area, which again helps prove the point.

Other than the Missouri River, Omaha itself has few natural barriers to growth. While not flat, its topography is not troublesome. The Papillion Creek drainage system runs from northwest to southeast, and allows most wastewater to be treated at one location  the citys Papio Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sarpy County.

Nebraskas annexation statutes have been favorable to Omahas growth by allowing annexation of incorporated places with populations up to 10,000, subject to required public procedures. This allowed Omaha to annex much of the citys suburban growth, in contrast with cities like Des Moines, St. Louis and Kansas City. On the other hand, Omaha is the only city in the state that cannot annex across county lines. This has been a challenge for Omahas growth, but has had minimal effect on metropolitan area growth.

AN OMAHA TIMELINE

Omahas growth has been relatively steady on a decade-by-decade basis. These projects and events, among others, have affected the expansion of the city.

Country Club and Happy Hollow developments

The Great Depression

World War II

Maple Village (largest residential development to date  N.P. Dodge), The Center (first indoor shopping mall  John Wiebe), Crossroads (opened in 1960  Brandeis), Western Electric and Millard growth

West Center Road corridor and surrounding areas (Seldin Development), Regency platting (Mutual of Omaha), Westroads (John Wiebe)

Return to the river, the Central Park Mall (now Gene Leahy Mall)

One Pacific Place, riverfront, beginning of downtown housing programs, development in Zorinsky Lake area

Riverfront North planning and initial implementation, West Maple corridor

Midtown Crossing, Aksarben Village, acceleration of downtown and central city housing development, Western Electric site redevelopment, North Downtown

Remains to be seen!
Amarinder dubs AAP as 'dangerous combination of left,right ideologies'

India

oi-PTI

Barnala, Jan 29: AAP's 'dangerous combination of extreme left and extreme right ideologies' could once again plunge Punjab into the dark days of terrorism, state Congress chief Amarinder Singh warned on Sunday. He described both the Badal family and Arvind Kejriwal as 'big-time phonies out to sell Punjab's interests to inimical forces'.

Addressing a public rally in Barnala, Amarinder launched a scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal, saying 'he had the same mindset which had led Punjab into terrorism which killed over 35,000 people in the 1980s'. Caught between the extreme left and right philosophies, the AAP had absolutely no policies or programmes for the development of Punjab, and its leader Kejriwal only wanted to capture Punjab by making false promises, warned the PPCC president and the Congress' chief ministerial candidate.

Kejriwal has his eyes on Punjab's chief ministership, and eventually wants to become the Prime Minister, said Amarinder, adding that his 'kichchdi' party of two different ideological extremes would vitiate the atmosphere of the state.

Kejriwal is a complete outsider with no roots in Punjab, Amarinder pointed out, adding that "if, God forbid, he succeeds in his ambitions, the state of Punjab would once again end up in the grip of terrorist forces".

Referring to the Delhi chief minister's NGO, which was allegedly funded by the Ford Foundation, Amarinder said it had the backing of the CIA, the Khalistanis and a whole lot of other forces inimical to India.

Pointing to 'exorbitant' AAP spending on advertisements and publicity in Punjab, the PPCC chief questioned the sources of Kejriwal's funds and warned people that supporting him would be detrimental to Punjab's interests.

Amarinder also questioned Kejriwal's over two years of governance in Delhi, saying he had done nothing but make sham promises to the people of the national capital, just as he was doing now in Punjab. The former chief minister dubbed both Kejriwal and Parkash Singh Badal as "maha gappus" (liars who talk in the air), saying 'they could not be trusted an inch'.

While the Badals had been busy minting money at the cost of the interests of the people of Punjab, Kejriwal was now trying to grab whatever was left of the state to further his own interests, he added.

PTI
Modi not to raise internal matter like J&K during annual UNGA session next month

Compete with yourself, not with others, PM tells students in Mann ki Baat

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Jan 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the students to compete with yourself rather than with others and not to consider examinations as presuure.

Addressing the nations, Modi said examinations should be celebrated as festivals. He also urged people to focus on their responsibilities, not just their rights.

"People should focus both duties and rights in our discussions," he said in his 'Mann ki Baat" programme on Sunday. "We only think about our rights but forget our responsibilities. "I urge the citizens to focus on their duties towards the country and fellow citizens as much as they focus on their rights," he said.

Also, Modi paid tributes to soldiers who died in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir. "When we were happily celebrating Republic Day, soldiers were killed in an avalanche," Modi said in his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "I salute them."

At least 15 soldiers were killed after two avalanches hit a military post and a patrol along the Line of Control (LoC) last week.

Here are the live updates:

11:01am: We will observe a silence of 2 minutes on morning of 30 Jan to pay respect to martyrs who gave their lives for the nation.

11:05am: Congratulate families&personnel who won gallantry awards on R-Day. I urge youth to reserch on them by using internet&spread the word.

11:06am: My condolence to the brave jawans who lost their lives due to avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir.

11:07am: In the light of recent Republic day celebrations I'd say the stress laid on rights must also be laid on duties.

11:10am: Exams should be celebrated as festivals and that will bring out the best in you.

11:12am: When you are relaxed, the recall value will be more.

11:13am: A happy mind is the secret for a good mark sheet. When you are tensed, knowledge takes a back seat. Do not let that happen.

11:14am: Knowledge is what matters.

11:16am: If your mission and ambition are in sync, marks will follow.

11:17am: See exmp of President Kalam, he wasn't able to get into the forces, if he would've let it hamper him,we wouldn't have had a great man like him.

11:18am: Competing with others can make you unhappy and jealous. Complete with yourself and you will be energised & more determined to excel.

11:19am: Look at the life of Sachin Tendulkar. He kept challenging himself and bettered his own records.

11:20am: Root of problems are expectations, it is acceptance that makes things easy.

11:24am: I urge parents to accept rather than expect. Our expectations from our children should not get heavy.

11:26am: People have told you often but I am saying again- do not cheat. Even if no one caught you, you know that you have cheated in exams.

11:27am: If you form a habit of cheating, there will be no desire to learn. Trying to cheat requires time, creativity. Use it for better purposes.

11:28am: Take small breaks, return to books feeling fresh. Try deep breathing it is very relaxing.

11:29am: P for prepare and P for play, the person who plays, shines.

11:30am: 3 things are important in exams - proper rest, sufficient sleep & physical activity.

11:32am: 1 Feb 2017 marks 40 years of Indian Coast Guard , I congratulate them for it. They are always vigilant.

11:33am: Indian Coast Guards completing 40 years on Feb 1, 2017; I thank all jawans and officials for serving the nation.

11:34am: Not many know that our Coast Guard has women personnel also and they work at par with their counterparts.

11:35am: Be confident, do well. My best wishes are with you. Make the best of it: PM Modi to students.

OneIndia News
EC bans exit polls in poll-bound states

India

oi-PTI

Chandigarh, Jan 29: The Election Commission on Sunday banned exit polls between February 4 and March 8 in the five poll-bound states of country, including the Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll.

Citing provisions of section 126 A of Representations of the Peoples' Act, 1951, a spokesman of the EC said, "Exit polls cannot be conducted and publicised by means of print and electronic media or dissemination in any other manner starting from February 4, 2017 at 7 AM to March 8, 2017 at 5.30 PM."

Clarifying further, he said that display of any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey in any electronic media is prohibited during the period 48 hours, including the hour fixed for conclusion of voting in each of the phases in connection with the elections.

The assembly elections in Punjab and Goa are scheduled for February 8, while in Uttarakhand it is scheduled for February 15. Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held between February 11 to March 8 in seven phases. Assembly elections in Manipur will be held on 4 March and 8 March in two phases.

PTI
Election Commission orders FIR against Kejriwal for bribery remarks at Goa rally

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Jan 29: The Election Commission on Sunday has directed officials in Goa to take necessary legal action to be initiated by filing an FIR/complaint against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for statements on & after 8 Jan in Goa.

Also, EC has stated that compliance report regarding legal action on Arvind Kejriwal should be sent to the Commission latest by 3.00 PM on 31 Jan.

Earlier, the Election Commission had censured Arvind Kejriwal for his bribery remarks at a poll rally in Goa on January 8. In all his four speeches at various rallies in Goa last weekend, Kejriwal had said that people should not just accept Rs 5,000 but demand Rs 10,000 from politicians keen on offering money but vote for AAP.

Aam Aadmi Party chief while addressing an election rally in Benaulim constituency had told voters, "If Congress or BJP candidates offer money, do not refuse it. Accept it as it is your own money and there is nothing wrong in getting it back. If they do not offer money, go to their offices and ask for it. But, when it comes to voting, press the button against the name of the AAP candidate.

Goa goes to polls on February 4. The BJP had filed a complaint against Kejriwal following his comments, accusing him of violating the Model Code of Conduct.

OneIndia News
Mehbooba following Doval doctrine not Agenda of Alliance: Omar

India

oi-PTI

Jammu, Jan 28: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday alleged that the Mehbooba Mufti government was following the "doctrine of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval" not the Agenda of Alliance. "I want to tell you that you (Mehbooba) are not running the government as per the Agenda of Alliance (AOA) but you are running it as per Ajit Doval's doctrine. It is the truth. Please accept this," he said in the Legislative Assembly here.

The National Conference chief said, "Please go to the YouTube and see the lecture of Doval which has 5 or 6 parts and it is 2010's lecture not a new one2010 October 10. His lecture is based on the analysis of 2010 unrest and how to deal about it and the relation between India and Pakistan. "What Doval sahib has said in 2010 and the way you are dealing Jammu and Kashmir, there is no difference. There is no iota of difference." The NC MLA went on to "It deals with how to ignore the political, ideological and philosophical side of Jammu and Kashmir.

Nowhere should it be mentioned that Jammu and Kashmir is a political issue and it should be dealt politically and how we should deal with the Pakistan and how we should marginalise Hurriyat Conference - all such things are recorded in these lecture." "I want to tell you either run the state as per the Agenda of the Alliance in which you have talked about the high degree of visiondialogue, peace process, unity and lot more or follow the footprints on which you are moving forward as both of them are contradictory," Omar told Mehbooba in the House.

"Either you can run the Agenda of Alliance or Ajit Doval's doctrine because there is no common linkage between the two. It is you and your colleagues who have to decide which way to follow and which roadmap you want to bring in to the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

"Please take this House into the confidence and tell us that there is only one doctrine that is Agenda of Alliance. Everybody wants peace and normalcy in the state," he added.

On the government's performance, he said, "Nearly two years have been completed by your government but what you have been given to the people of the state, what have we achieved."

Questioning the formation of SITs to probe deaths during the unrest, Omar said, "This House discussed the 2016 Kashmir unrest. When you say there is no need of judicial probe as the government has set up Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe the deaths in Kashmir unrest. These SITs suit you only. Where have the previous probe report of SITs gone.

"During my time you had no faith in such probe panels. When more than 100 people have lost their lives and police is a party in it how can you hand over the probe to SITs. If you are convinced that there is no need of judicial probe panel you convince us we will live it."

PTI
With the Midterm Elections less than one week away: What do you consider the top issues that you will be voting on to be corrected by your better representation?

Education Crime Big Government getting Bigger Biden /Democrat controlled Spike in Energy Cost Inflation created by Legislation of Majority in Power Gender Reassignment Corrupted Bureaucratic /Service (DOJ, FBI, etc.) Institutions Abortion Discredited Legacy Media Ending the Corruption of Dishonest Politicians Corruptive Influence of Social Media Wide Open Southern Border
One dead, 36 injured after 30 cars collide on Jaipur-Agra highway

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Kanota, Jan 29: In a major accident, one person was killed and over 36 were injured after 30 cars crashed into each other on the Jaipur-Agra highway. The Jaipur police say that dense fog was the reason for the accident.

Almost 30 vehicles rammed into each other on Jaipur- Agra Highway due to fog; 15 injured. pic.twitter.com/kwh136YIba  ANI (@ANI_news) January 29, 2017

The police say that all steps are being taken to provide medical treatment to those injured in the accident. The injured have been taken to hospital and the police are at the spot in large numbers to clear the highway. Among the injured persons, five are in a critical condition.

This is the second major accident on the same highway in a week. Last week four persons were killed on the Jaipur- Agra highway when a bus carrying American tourists rammed into a tractor. Six others were injured in the accident.

OneIndia News
Why Punjab farmers burn stubble at this scale when others do not

Punjab: Sacrilege incident comes to light in Lambi

India

oi-PTI

Muktsar, Jan 29: In another sacrilege incident, a few torn pages of a religious book were found in front of a shop in Punjab Lambi region. Lambi is the assembly constituency where Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is contesting against Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh.

Though no arrest has been made yet, police said a case under relevant sections including 295 A of the IPC has been registered against unidentified men.

"Few pages of Gutka Sahib were found in front of a shop at Kattianwali village on Sunday in the morning by some locals," SSP Muktsar Dhruman H Nimbale said. Police said pages might have been thrown on Saturday night in front of a kirana shop. CCTV footage around the crime scene is being inspected by police to track the accused.

"We are also asking the help of villagers to identify in CCTV footage who could be behind this incident," said SSP.

Significantly, village Kattianwali falls in Lambi assembly constituency from where Badal, Congress leader and former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and AAP candidate Jarnail Singh are all contesting polls. Notably, sacrilege incidents have become a major issue in the high-stakes assembly polls with both AAP and Congress vowing to arrest the culprits, if voted to power.

Significantly, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the CBI to conduct inquiry into the sacrilege incident at Bahbal Kalan in Faridkot district.

PTI
UP elections 2014 & 2017: Looking at vote-shares of BJP and its opponents

SP to contest on 37 seats, BSP on 38 in Uttar Pradesh

SP-Congress alliance is like Ganga-Jamuna milan, says Rahul

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Lucknow, Jan 29: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday held their first joint show, the latter likening their alliance to "Ganga-Yamuna milan".

Campaign ki strategy toh main abhi aapko bataunga nahi: Rahul Gandhi on if Sonia Gandhi & Mulayam Singh will campaign pic.twitter.com/hI6CzVadkb  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 29, 2017

While addressing a conference, Rahul said that SP-Cong alliance is like a milan of Ganga-Jamuna. He further said that,''this alliance will give progress, peace and prosperity. I am personally happy that this alliance is happening. We have a personal relationship. Now our political and personal relationship is strengthening''.

Gandhi said the alliance would "fight fascist forces" such as the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh said that the Congress and SP will bring all the communities together. Cycle will be with hand and hand will be with cycle.

Launching their poll slogan 'UP ko ye saath padsand hai', the two young leaders said that they are confident of securing a majority in the Assembly.

On whether Priyanka will be campaigning, Rahul Gandhi said it's a decision that's up to her. He further said that Priyanka has been of tremendous help to me and I have been so to her.

Asked if Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav will campaign in the assembly polls starting on February 11, Gandhi said: "Campaign strategy will not be divulged now."

Rahul also hinted that his party is open to ally with the Samajwadi Party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Taking a dig at PM Narendra Modi, Akhilesh said that Ache din waalon ne ache din dikhaaye nai (Those who meant to show us the good days haven't shown us the good days).

Rahul Gandhi praises BSP's Mayawati in a joint press conference with Akhilesh Yadav. He said there is a difference between Mayawati's BSP and BJP. BJP believes in anger, revenge. But Mayawati's believes in harmony.

On the issue of whether Rahul Gandhi will be the PM candidate in 2019, Akhilesh says it is a question for the future.

Both leaders said their personal and political relations had got better after the alliance was forged to fight the Uttar Pradesh assembly election starting on February 11.

OneIndia News
India was not isolated before colliding with Eurasia: study

At least 34 killed in Madagascar bus crash

Meet the biggest bird to have walked on earth

Madagascar : 47 attending a wedding party killed in accident

International

oi-PTI

Antananarivo, Jan 29: At least 47 people, including 10 children and a newly-wed couple, were killed when a truck carrying a wedding party and guests veered off the road and plunged into a river in Madagascar, police said on Sunday.

Police said the accident occured on Saturday outside the town of Anjozorobe, around 90 kilometres from the capital.

The truck was transporting passengers who had attended a wedding the day before.

There were "a total of 47 deaths, including 10 children" and the newly-wedded couple, police spokesman Herilala Andrianatisaona told AFP. Twenty-two others were injured.

PTI
Qatar Airways, Etihad to enforce Donald Trump travel ban

International

oi-PTI

Doha, Jan 28: Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways said on Saturday they would enforce the new rules governing entry to the United States following President Donald Trump's temporary order restricting arrivals from seven Muslim countries.

A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said it would only carry passengers to the US who had the correct documentation. "We are enforcing the new rules," said the official. "If travellers to the US don't have the proper documentation, we are not going to take them to the US."

The news comes after Trump imposed tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it will apply restrictions on its US routes "effective immediately".

Citizens of the affected countries will need to have a valid US permanent residency card, known as the "Green Card" or a diplomatic visa to travel, an Etihad spokesperson said in a statement. Qatar Airways also posted a "travel alert" online today, listing the paperwork required by citizens of the seven countries.

These included the "Green Card" and government and diplomatic visas. Both Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways fly of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Dallas. The Qatari carrier also flies to nine other US destinations, including Atlanta.

The newly inaugurated US president signed a sweeping executive order yesterday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travellers from the seven countries.
Sudanese student handcuffed, detained post Trump's immigration order

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

A Sudanese student was briefly handcuffed and detained for about five hours after she landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday night following President Donald Trump's order restricting entry into the United States for people from seven Muslim-majority nations, said reports.

Nisrin Elamin, who is a Stanford PhD student, has a legal US residency and has been living in the country for since 1993.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals for at least 120 days, and to bar visas for three months for travellers from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan. The move was met with widespread protests across the country.

Sudanese student, who had been to Sudan for academic research, said she was questioned, patted down and handcuffed, said reports. The handcuffs were used to escort people between areas of the airport.

According to reports, green card holders from one of the seven affected countries who are currently outside the US will need a case by case waiver to return to America. Those Green Card holders in the US will have to meet with a consular officer before leaving the country.

['It's not a Muslim ban': Donald Trump defends immigration order]

The immigration order, however, hit a roadblock when a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring authorities from deporting refugees and other visa holders who have been detained.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, January 29, 2017, 19:15 [IST]
Yemen: Houthi rebels allow aid flights into Sanaa to resume

Yemen: US special forces kill 8 Al Qaeda militants

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Sanaa, Jan 29: Eight Al Qaeda militants and 12 civilians were killed on Sunday when the US Special Forces launched a pre-dawn security raid on a village in Yemen's al-Bayda province, the media reported.

A senior Al Qaeda leader, Abdul-Raoof Dhahab, his two brothers, and five other terrorists were killed in the operation, which was carried out in cooperation with local authorities, military officials told Xinhua news agency.

The 12 civilians included four women and three children.

Local residents said that "four military planes participated in the operation and kept hovering over the village for hours."

A source at Yemen's intelligence agency confirmed that helicopter-borne commandos raided houses held by the Al Qaeda militants.

Some American soldiers were injured in the raid on the ground, the intelligence source said.

IANS
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Public land advocates plan to rally on the state Capitol on Monday, pushing against federal land transfers and sales while encouraging land access and acquisition programs.

An estimated 400 to 500 opponents of federal land transfer packed the Capitol during the 2015 Legislature, listening to Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and speakers representing conservation groups and businesses denounce the transfer movement.

About a dozen transfer advocates held a counter rally, passing out literature and holding up signs.

Transfer opponents contend that states such as Montana would be unduly burdened by the financial impact of owning millions of additional acres of public lands, citing firefighting and other management costs. States would be forced to sell off the lands without a viable means of paying for management, putting public lands in private ownership.

Supporters have argued that federal policies closed roads while stifling timber and mineral industries. Under state control, the lands would be better managed and become an economic catalyst for rural communities.

Organizers of this sessions rally such as the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Montana Wilderness Association, Business for Montanas Outdoors and Montana Conservation Voters point to measures at both federal and state levels they believe put the security of public ownership of public lands at risk.

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz has introduced legislation instructing the Department of the Interior to sell 3.3 million federal acres in several western states, including Montana.

A rule change in the U.S. House of Representatives making land transfers easier by making transfer budget neutral also drew a strong response from conservation groups, many of them critical of Interior secretary nominee Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., for voting for the rules package.

At the state level, two resolutions requested by Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, have raised additional concerns from land transfer opponents. One joint resolution calls for studying federal land conveyance while the other requests conveyance of federal lands. Both draft bill requests are currently on hold.

Fielder has been an outspoken proponent of transferring federal lands to states, including last year becoming CEO of the Utah-based American Lands Council, the chief organization pushing for transfer across the West.

Federal land transfer is a huge deal and its good to get our partners together to hammer that home with the governor and recreation leaders, said Marne Hayes, director of Business for Montanas Outdoors.

While still focused on current legislation, rally organizers are also focused on measures to strengthen access programs and free up funding.

Two years ago we defeated a really awful agenda with the notion of large-scale transfers, said Nick Gevock, conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. Were pivoting to a more positive agenda to show just how much Montanans love their public lands.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks authority to purchase land was halted last session by lawmakers opposed to increasing state land ownership. Habitat Montana, a hunting-license funded program historically used for land acquisition and easements has continued to accumulate millions of dollars despite the no purchase restriction.

Bullock asked lawmakers to lift restrictions on Habitat Montana in his recent State of the State address and conservation groups have agreed on that as a priority.

The rally is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 30, at noon in the Capitol rotunda. Speakers include Bullock, mountaineer Conrad Ankder, CEO of Simms fishing company K.C. Walsh, and fly-fishing guide and Trout TV host Hilary Hutcheson.
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DECATUR  A 38-year-old parolee is being held without bond in jail, facing a Class X charge of armed robbery, for allegedly robbing an eastside video store by threatening a female employee with a knife.

A 240-pound man who was released from prison one year ago, Charles Overla allegedly entered the Family Video Store, 275 N. 22nd St., on Sunday, Jan. 22, and displayed a knife to the 25-year-old employee.

He demanded that the woman give him money and her car keys, said a probable cause affidavit by Decatur patrol officer Brent Morey.

After she gave him $343.42 and the keys to her car, he fled from the store.

When the employee described the robber to police, officers recognized that the description closely resembled that of Charles Overla, as he had previously been charged and convicted with aggravated robbery, for a 2011 Macon County conviction, Morey wrote in his statement.

The employee identified Overla from a photo lineup that included his image.

Overla was located the following day, arrested and booked into the Macon County Jail. He was arraigned Friday on the felony count, punishable by six to 30 years in prison. He is also facing a possible parole violation charge, which could return him to prison for the duration of his 10-year sentence for his previous conviction.

In that prior case, Overla walked into the CVS store, 570 N. Fairview Ave., shortly after midnight on Dec. 18, 2010. A 22-year-old female employee was waiting on customers when he entered the store.

After they exited the store, he approached her counter, asked for a pack of cigarettes, then put his hand inside his waistband.

I have a gun, I will shoot you, give me all the cash in the drawer, Overla reportedly told the cashier, according to a police affidavit.

She gave him $188 and he ran from the store. Officers later received a tip that Overla could have been the man who robbed the store. A mug shot of Overla matched surveillance video of the robbery.

He pleaded guilty one month later to aggravated robbery in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence, to be followed by a three-year parole term. Although the charge was Class 1 aggravated robbery, because there was no evidence that he actually possessed a weapon, his sentence guidelines in that case were Class X, six to 30 years, because of his prior criminal record.

Overla has served five other terms in the Illinois Department of Corrections since 1996, two for residential burglary, two for theft and one for forgery.

In his most recent case, Overla is due in court for his preliminary hearing on Feb. 15.
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From Strategic Culture

The war of words between China and the US flared again this week with warnings from Beijing that any move by Washington to implement a naval blockade in the South China Sea would trigger an armed conflict.

However, these tensions with China are just one of several global flashpoints that are testing the declared America First policy of President Donald Trump.

America First sounds like a laudable aspiration. But it would be naive to think that the US can simply reorient inwards and behave like a good global neighbor. Its economic power interests are dependent on foreign dominance, which in turn implies conflict and war with other nations. This is the harsh reality of US-led capitalism, regardless of what kind of president occupies the White House.

Trump campaigned on a platform of scaling back US military overseas interventions. In his inaugural speech on January 20, he again emphasized his America First pledge, whereby the focus of his presidency would be a nationalist-driven building of US economy and society. The overseas military adventurism of his predecessors, Barack Obama and George W Bush, and others before them, would be jettisoned in order to prioritize American interests at home.

Trump declared at his swearing-in on Capitol Hill that the US would seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world and not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but let it shine as an example for others to follow . The days of foreign militarism were over, he said, so that American infrastructure would not fall into disrepair and decay.

Nonetheless, within days of making those grand utterances, the Trump administration looks very much like any other predecessor in terms of willingness to continue getting embroiled in foreign conflicts.

Tensions with China this week featured prominently in the headlines. Is Trump ready for war in the South China Sea? asked the Washington Post. This followed a statement from the White House saying that it was prepared to block China's access to reclaimed islands in the disputed strategic sea. Such a naval blockade by the US would constitute an act of war. It goes way beyond what the Obama administration ever gambled on in its wrangling with China over the contested territory.

The provocative brinkmanship by the Trump administration over the South China Sea is, disturbingly, only the latest in a series of perceived insults to Beijing. Trump has repeated accusations against China of unfair trading practices, threatening to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese exports, and he has scoffed at Washington's long-held One China Policy, casting aspersions on Beijing's historical claims over Taiwan.

The gravity of the US-China standoff was underscored by news reports that Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles have been newly stationed in the country's northeast region, which are capable of targeting the US mainland. The move is bound to be seen as a response by Beijing to the Trump administration's bellicose rhetoric.

If this were not perplexing enough, China is only one of several other global flashpoints that the Trump presidency seems to be playing with fire. North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and the ongoing escalation of NATO forces on Russia's western borders are other major risks.

North Korea's leader Kim Jung Un earlier this month vowed that his country would continue developing ICBM technology to eventually reach the capability of striking the US. (Hundreds of American nuclear missiles are already capable of striking North Korea, but this asymmetry is somehow deemed acceptable.) In typical cryptic language, Trump hit back at Kim Jung Un through a twitter soundbite, saying: It's not going to happen! That curt message could be construed as meaning a pre-emptive American attack on the already isolated and heavily sanctioned Korean nation. Such veiled American threats will only incite further militarism.

If Trump were serious about taking care of domestic American business and society as a priority, he should be negotiating a draw-down of tens of thousands of US forces which have been on the Korean Peninsula for six decades since the Korean War ended in 1953. Not only troops, but also American warplanes, warships, missiles and punitive sanctions. Trump should be reviving multilateral regional talks with Pyongyang to establish a process of normalizing diplomatic relations. Instead Trump is continuing a failed and ticking time-bomb policy of militarism towards Pyongyang.

On Iran, Trump has again poured oil on troubled waters, rather than pursuing peaceful diplomacy. He has threatened to tear up the international nuclear accord, calling it the worst deal ever. This week, Iran said that the US was failing to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated last year between Tehran and six other parties, including Russia, China and the European Union. Iranian vexation is understandable considering that US obstructionism to the deal's implementation is costing Iran billions of dollars in lost trade opportunities.

Trump's appointment of General James "Mad Dog" Mattis as Defense Secretary bodes for a much more hostile stance towards Iran. While serving in Iraq as a Marine commander, Mattis was known for hawkish views on Iran over the latter's alleged support for Iraqi insurgents. The new Pentagon chief also wants to hit back with force over ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf between Iranian and American navy vessels. An explosive incident could happen any day and Trump's hot heads are itching to escalate.

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I haven't written anything for a while. I think Trump's presidency threw me off, but maybe that's just an excuse. Hillary's presidency would have also messed with my reality. I'm not a simple person. I don't even think Jesus could fix things at this point!



But I am back to dreaming -- remembering my dreams, and that is a very good sign. A start. Paying attention to my dreams brings a certain dimension of depth back into my life. They show me what my life looks like from the perspective of inside out. But when you are inside, that is, dreaming, you are in the dream and you are in your dream-body. The inside is the whole reality. When you wake up, if you remember the dream, the dream is a memory and you are back in your body-self, which likes to think it's in charge. You are back in your head.



Our waking life thrives on all of the attention we can spare it. We are committed to living our waking lives on many levels simultaneously. And that seems to suffice when the world is not in crisis, or at least when we perceive that the world is not in crisis, we can focus on our lives, our commitments. Trouble is, as a poetic soul, and a dreamer, in my life, there have been few contiguous years when I can say the world wasn't in crisis. I was a child of the 50s (post WW2). That was the beginning of the Cold War. And the nuclear threat. The battle for civil rights was heating up. In the 60s, our leaders were being assassinated, China was in revolution. Vietnam was escalating, the civil-rights movement was in full swing. The working class was being screwed. The living wage was frozen. The environment was going down the tubes.

The seventies were a time to catch my breath, I suppose, even though our government was morphing into a modern Roman Empire, I sat tight. I pretty much minded my own business, reading, filling notebooks with dreams and journaling, trying to grow up, trying to figure out who I was as a man of conscience. Gradually I got my life together. At the end of the seventies I lived in the streets in Santa Cruz. I wrote a journal I titled: Beggar, Pilgrim: One Eye Opened, One Eye Closed. I defined myself as an outsider, which is what the homeless are. In 1980, I wrote a post-apocalyptic book of poems, The Blue Man: Poems for the late Nuclear Age. I predicted a nuclear-plant meltdown, and assumed that when there was a meltdown, that fission as a way of producing energy would be abandoned and maybe even the arms race would slow down. It didn't turn out that way by a long shot. The best result of Chernobyl, for me, was that a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, located about 50 miles north of Baltimore, where I was living, shut down (ostensibly for "cleaning"). The truth is, the design of the Peach Bottom plant was the same as Chernobyl and its owners were worried. As soon as it dawned on me that many American nuclear plants were susceptible to containment breaches in the event of an accident, I moved to Vermont with my family. These were the Reagan years when the spirit of greed (both private and corporate) held sway. (I personified this spirit as the Blue Man, long before they formally designated corporations as people.) Capitalism and consumerism, together, became the new religion. It was monolithic. It was our Yahweh, our Allah.

The '90s for me were a time of solemnly watching the possibility of a healthy environment slip away. I wrote two books straddling the threshold of a new millennium. Both were hyperbolic, hand-wringing testaments of simmering dread as I envisioned the future we were creating for ourselves. I saw people digging in, looking down, forgetting what was important. It was a long dark night-of-the-soul. The US was becoming a defensive, cocky, trigger-happy Empire. I distanced myself from my own government. Sometimes I felt like a foreigner in my own land. Around then, I discovered shamanism. I communed with the forest. I started to heal. I started to get pieces of my soul back. I was a middle-aged father, trying to write poetry, fumbling in the dark for the reset button, doing vision quests, trying to remember my core values, and succeeding.



Going into the 21st century, my concerns were for the beleaguered environment. Shamanism was bringing nature alive for me. I saw that nature had a spirit or was a spirit, that even stones were alive in their own way. Gaia was revealing herself to me little by little. I started to undergo a shift. My brain was being rewired to synchronize with my heart.



Yes, the world has never not been in crisis during my 66 years, my country has never not been at war, fomenting war. This is hard for a pacifist. (If Obama was the peace-president I shiver to think what a hawkish-president might do.)



So, I want to sum things up now. I will just conclude by saying that Trump was inevitable. The liberals and progressives in the country were nowhere near organized enough or pissed enough or galvanized enough to make history. It took Standing Rock to wake us up from our trance and it took a Trump. Now will we be able to create and sustain real change?



I've been out of it for a few weeks. Not depressed. I've been processing, trying to figure things out. Trying to find that reset button. But, the thing is (and this sentiment comes from owning my elderhood), I'm here to tell you that much has been lost that will never come back -- not in my lifetime and not in my son's lifetime. Much, not everything ... yet. That is very, very sad. Even tragic. I mean bits of the human soul have been lost and places have been lost and the souls of places. I am weary and I am angry but I am "on". I'm ready. My heart is anxious for me to step up. Maybe yours is too?




California can require Monsanto to label its popular weed killer Roundup as a carcinogen, according to a ruling by a judge in Fresno, California, although the corporation predictably sings its weary mantra that maintains that the product is "harmless," now beginning to seem like a losing battle.

It is far beyond my powers of comprehension to understand how it is that Bayer want to take on this rat's nest of liability and cancer labels by buying Monsanto for $66 billion, not even a fire sale price!

California would be the first state to order this level of labeling if this decision by the California Carcinogen Identification Committee is sustained by further court action. . Monsanto previously sued the nation's foremost agricultural producing state by filing court motions to the effect that California's carcinogen committee acting under the powers given to it by Proposition 65, had illegally based their decision for mandatory required warnings on "erroneous" findings by an international health organization based in France.

What is Roundup and what is the problem with its chief ingredient, glyphosphate?

Environmentalists, consumer protectionists, and straightforward victims of glyphosphate-caused cancers and related poisoning object to Roundup's principle ingredient, the odorless and colorless glyphosate, which was patented by Monsanto then marketed as early as 1974 to kill weeds but leave crops (apparently) intact. In 2017, it is sold in more than 160 countries, and farmers in California use it on 250 types of crops.

Trenton Norris, Monsanto's lawyer, argued in court Friday that the labels would result in irreparable and immediate negative fiscal effect for Monsanto, because millions of consumers stop buying Roundup because of the labels.

After the hearing, Monsanto responded to the ruling by threatening to challenge the ruling, about all it can do, at this point. The EPA, to date, has never issued any warnings about this pesticide or glyphosphate, nor is it any more like to do so over the next four years, given the current state of the EPA, recently suffering from hiring freezes and budget cuts, and which maybe in the process of being entirely dismantled.

The EPA has only mentioned Roundup's "low toxicity," suggesting that agricultural workers stay out of fields for 12-16 hours after Roundup has been spread onto the crops.

However, the World Health Organization has taken an entirely different tack with its solid classification of Roundup as a "probable carcinogen," after its own International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France ruled it as such. In 2015, California moved toward such a mandatory label after hearings by the Carcinogen Identification Committee, the same committee that is presently considering this kind of label on aspartame-containing products, because of the presence of methanol or wood alcohol, which is already considered a carcinogen in California.

Jack McCall was an avocado and apple farmer with only 20 acres and he carried around a backpack with Roundup for 30 years, and then died of cancer in 2015. His widow, Terri, strongly believes that any kind of warning about carcinogenicity would have prevented his entirely avoidable death. "I just don't think my husband would have taken that risk if he had known," she stated. She is one of many who are suing Monsanto about Roundup for its having caused deaths of family members' cancer who then died.

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Kapetan has yet to issue a final formal decision, which she said would come soon.

Sam Delson, a spokesman for the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment said that his Office will await formal final rulings before moving forward with the warnings, and that if any chemical is added to long lists of probable carcinogens, the manufacturer still has a year before it must attach the label.

Attorneys for California consider the International Agency for Research on Cancer the "gold standard" for identifying carcinogens, and they rely on its findings along with several states, the federal government and other countries, court papers say.

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This is #4 in my ongoing series*, "Signs of Sisterhood".

My guest is Ann Medlock, founder of the Giraffe Heroes Project. Welcome back to OpEdNews, Ann. We haven't talked for a few years, since your big birthday and the project you initiated to celebrate the occasion: Help Giraffe Heroes' Ann Medlock Celebrate Her Birthday with Great Project . I understand that you participated in the Women's March on Saturday, January 21, the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated. Tell us about that, please.

When the march was announced and the great graphic appeared inviting people to make those silly pink hats, I started knitting. Haven't done that in years, but it was the perfect worry-bead thing to do with the freaking-out-energy I was experiencing over DT's victory. By march day, I'd made 18 hats, (all in the evenings, after work, of course). They showed up on friends and family in Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, and tiny Langley, here on Whidbey Island. I asked all the wearers to donate to nonprofits serving women, and I seem to have raised a lot of money. That's good because I really don't like pink and I hate hats so it's good to have more than the worry-bead benefit.

A clear win-win, Ann!

For myself as a marcher, I was kinda concerned about walking/standing for six hours in hilly Seattle, seeings as how I'm 83 and a desk jockey and I've got a little ticker issue. Bought one of those canes that turns into a seat and then left it home in the rush to make the ferry from the island. Really worried then, as well as mad at myself--the best laid plans" Heartened by the yuuuge posse of island women gathering on the ferry dock in our in-your-face hats. Four buses met us on the mainland--our island also exported a lot of carpools to Seattle and some of us flew to DC. The Force is strong with us.

So how'd it go?

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DECATUR  Amy Bliefnick starts work Monday as the third executive director of mri, also known as Macon Resources Inc.

Members of the board chose the Decatur native to work alongside Dreux Lewandowski until he retires in the next few weeks after nearly 13 years as the agency's exec.

Bliefnick, 59, was director of the Illinois State Fair in Springfield from 2004 to 2015 after serving as director of development for St. Teresa High School the previous nine years. She also previously served on the Special Olympics Illinois Board of Directors.

What really stuck out about Amy was her business experience and her exposure to special populations, said John Mickler, mri's board chairman. She has a passion and enthusiasm for our agency and our clients and was by far the strongest candidate for the job.

Bliefnick said Saturday the position fits her desire to go into nonprofit agency management and a love for helping people with special needs that began in the 1970s when her father, Darrell Beck, started Special Olympics in Central Illinois.

It's important to continue providing quality services for people with disabilities, especially in this tough economic time, she said.

Bliefnick has a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership at Greenville College and previously served on the board of Richland Community College. She and her husband Ray have three grown sons and four grandsons.

Mickler also had nothing but praise for Lewandowski's tenure at mri. He's grown the agency and leaves us in a strong position, he said.

His accomplishments include keeping the formerly all-volunteer Homeward Bound Pet Shelter operating 11 additional years until its closure in 2016; overseeing a successful merger with Independence Pointe, formerly known as Easter Seals Central Illinois on Jan. 1, 2015; and increasing the agency's income-generating businesses, culminating in a new contract to manufacture all new license plates in Illinois as part of a replacement program starting this year.

Mri serves about 850 people with developmental disabilities and their families and has about 230 employees.

Lewandowski, 66, said he's looking forward to having more time for Decatur Brew Works, a business he co-owns with three others, and seeing the five grown children he and his wife Peggy have between them, not to mention their seven grandchildren.

He once was a workshop foreman for Macon County Rehabilitation Facilities until he left to become a case coordinator at Progress Resources Center.

The two Decatur agencies merged in 1988 to form Macon Resources with Kay Scrogin as its first executive director. She retired a few weeks after Lewandowski was hired to replace her in 2004.

His job before coming to Macon Resources was overseeing 22 residential facilities for the developmentally disabled in Central Illinois for Community Living Options, based in Galesburg.

Lewandowski has a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Arizona State University.

I've been in disability services for 35 years, he said. The most painful will be to separate from all the people we worked with. That was the best part of my job.
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I have been listening to republicans bemoan the lack of patriotism by democrats because they won't give the new president a chance and support him. My first reaction was, "What? Like republicans supported Obama?". Although I expected the Republican news network (fox) to push this 'support our president' line, I have been surprised that several supposedly objective news sources also parrot this sort of logic. My problem is this line of 'reasoning' is calculated to try and "normalize" Donald Trump. A man who is anything but normal.



How do you "normalize" a pathological liar? A racist with a sociopathic worldview, couple that with being utterly self absorbed and the fact that he stunningly ignorant of world affairs and how government works and not interested in learning. He has been exposed as an insecure childish narcissist who is uniquely unsuited to be commander in chief. Many professionals in the area of mental health have pointed out these obvious flaws. My favorite is John D. Gartner, a practicing psychotherapist who teaches psychiatric residents at Johns Hopkins University Medical School... his professional assessment of Trump: "Donald Trump is dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president".



For me, the fact that Mr. Trump has already demonstrated so many fascist tendencies is enough to raise all kinds of red flags. He, in trying to cast the free press as "the worst liars in the world", he is trying to silence the media, exactly like every other fascist regime. His racist advisor Steve Bannon actually just told the media to "keep your mouth shut"! He insults and attacks any who disagree, even mocking the disabled and attacking gold star parents. Oh, and lest we forget, there is the unhealthy "bromance" with the murderous kleptocrat Putin, all as he insults allies and demeans the United Nations. No wonder Russia applauds his election.



To try and normalize this insecure, hate filled, lying kleptocrat is absurd. We must oppose and expose his every sick maneuver to ignore the Constitution, obstruct the law and avoid fairness. Donald Trump is a blight on decency and equality and we must have the guts to speak truth to his corruption. We must demand a complete investigation into his relationship with Putin and we must do it quickly. Before he has time to destroy our standing in the world and our economy. Before he incites hatred from people around the world and empowers hate groups like ISIS.



This is happening! The threat is dire. Time for action is now!

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Jihadists are praising Trump's ban on Muslims as a blessing so not only is it illegal it is profoundly stupid:

"Jihadist groups on Sunday celebrated the Trump administration's ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying the new policy validates their claim that the United States is at war with Islam.

Comments posted to pro-Islamic State social media accounts predicted that President Donald Trump's executive order would persuade American Muslims to side with the extremists. One posting hailed the U.S. president as "the best caller to Islam," while others predicted that Trump would soon launch a new war in the Middle East.

"[Islamic State leader Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi has the right to come out and inform Trump that banning Muslims from entering America is a 'blessed ban,' " said one posting to a pro-Islamic State channel on Telegram, a social-media platform. The writer compared the executive order to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which Islamic militant leaders at the time hailed as a "blessed invasion" that ignited anti-Western fervor across the Islamic world." nola.com

Jihadists praise Trump ban.................................

Our current ruler, who governs without consent, has violated the Geneva Accords, which according to the Constitution, are "the supreme law of the land," on two counts:

1. He has issued orders to turn back refugees from Central America who are fleeing violence

2. He has banned refugees from 7 war torn nations.

The Geneva Accords, which the US has ratified and which is, therefore, the law of the land, makes denying protection to those fleeing wars and violence on humanitarian grounds a grave crime.

The other US law Trump is violating is The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin. Trump claims a 1952 law is the legal foundation for his bans, but the US Code 1182, which defines inadmissable aliens, allows exclusion (other health smuggling and other factors) only on the basis of:

being "engaged in terrorist activities" and more specifically where "a consular officer, the Attorney General, or the Secretary of Homeland Security knows, or has reasonable ground to believe, is engaged in or is likely to engage after entry in any terrorist activity (as defined in clause (iv));"

The travel ban on people based on place of origin totally ignores the requirement of US officials knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe a person is guilty of terrorist activity. It is a total perversion of the law,, since it falls not those about whom the US has specific information and reasonable grounds, but anyone seeking entry. And if that entry is based on fleeing war, it is a violation of both US and international law.

No terrorists acts have been carried out by any of those seeking entry, who are now banned. If there were such information, the 1952 law would apply but it is being stretched to include not those about whom some evidence has been found but anyone simply on basis of national origin, a clear violation of the 1965 law.

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From WSWS



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It is one week since the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States, and the actions and orders of the new government make clear what the working class can expect from the next four years.

At the center of Trump's "America First" agenda is a massive escalation of military violence. At a swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon Friday for the new secretary of defense, retired general James Mattis, Trump signed an executive order to begin a major "rebuilding" of the military. The order directs Mattis to prepare a policy to upgrade the US nuclear arsenal and prepare for conflict with "near-peer competitors," a term that traditionally refers to China and Russia.

The action follows Trump press secretary Sean Spicer's reaffirmation of a statement by incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, that the US would seek to bar Chinese access to islets in the South China Sea, implying military actions that would amount to a declaration of war.

Trump has also pledged to establish "safe zones" in Syria, which will be coupled with a temporary ban on all immigration from a number of majority Muslim countries. While Democrats have denounced Trump for being "too soft" on Russia, during the elections the Clinton campaign called for the setting up of "safe" no-fly zones, policed by US military aircraft, as part of an effort to counter Russian backing of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. In a speech at CIA headquarters, Trump also said that the US should have "taken the oil" in Iraq, and pledged that the CIA would have another chance to do so.

On domestic policy, Trump signed a series of executive orders that freeze hiring on all federal workers, freeze all pending government regulations and remove all obstacles to the completion of the Keystone and Dakota Access oil pipelines. Early in the week, he held meetings with the CEOs of the largest US manufacturing companies and with US auto companies, promising to "cut regulations 75 percent" and shift the business climate from "truly inhospitable to extremely hospitable."

On Wednesday, Trump announced that his administration would proceed with the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border, while launching a crack-down targeting millions of immigrant workers for detention and deportation. The same day, he said that the White House would seek a "major investigation" into completely unfounded allegations that "voter fraud" by millions of people cost him the popular vote in November -- a claim aimed at creating the conditions for a further assault on the right to vote.

As part of a policy of extreme economic nationalism, early in the week Trump signed an executive order blocking US entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and pledged to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Many of the policies of the incoming administration were outlined in Trump's interview Wednesday night with ABC News anchor David Muir, during which Trump interspersed lying claims about his own popularity and the size of his inauguration with casual threats of war, torture and repression. The overall impression of Trump during the interview was that of a gangster in the Oval Office, the assumption of power by an underworld reflecting all that is corrupt and filthy in American capitalist society.

On torture, Trump proclaimed that if Mattis and incoming CIA Director Mike Pompeo "want to do [waterboarding], that's fine. If they do wanna do, then I will work toward that end." A draft memorandum is circulating in the White House that would reopen secret CIA prisons and torture centers overseas.

And this is only the first week. With the support of Democrats, Congress is moving rapidly to approve Trump's cabinet of billionaires, former generals and corporate CEOs, and it has already approved Mattis, Pompeo and the head of the Department of Homeland Security, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly. Trump's other cabinet picks are committed to a policy of destroying public education, eliminating basic social services and slashing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

There is no doubt that the election of Trump marks a watershed in American politics. However, when future historians examine this period, they will inevitably direct attention to what preceded it, to the conditions and climate out of which the Trump presidency arose. Many factors could be pointed to -- the extraordinary decay in the political culture of the United States, the domestic consequences of unending war and violence abroad, the extreme growth of social inequality and the rise of a parasitic financial oligarchy.

Rather than a complete break, the Trump presidency represents a transformation of quantity into quality. He is, in the final analysis, the product of the desperate crisis that afflicts American and world capitalism.

For four decades, the ruling class in the United States has been engaged in a campaign of social counter-revolution, systematically eliminating all the gains won by workers through bitter struggles in previous decades. The Obama administration accelerated these processes. Obama's White House continued and expanded the bank bailouts initiated under the Bush administration and helped funnel trillions of dollars to Wall Street through the Federal Reserve's "quantitative easing" programs, while working, as in the 2009 auto restructuring, to slash wages for the working class.

The results are expressed in the extraordinary growth of social inequality. According to a recent report by University of California Berkeley economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, between 1980 and 2014, the share of pre-tax national income going to the bottom 50 percent of the population fell from 20 percent to 12 percent, while the share going to the top 1 percent increased from 12 percent to 20 percent. The gains for the top .1 and .01 percent of the population are even more extreme.

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DECATUR  Though snow accumulation is expected to be less than an inch, drivers are encouraged to stay cautious as bridges and overpasses may be slick Sunday.

The National Weather Service at Lincoln said scattered snow showers would continue across Central Illinois today. Shortly before 5 a.m., the service issued a hazardous weather outlook for counties including Macon, Christian, DeWitt, McLean, Champaign, Sangamon, Effingham, Shelby, Moultrie and Piatt, warning of the potential for slick spots on roadways.

In Decatur, scattered snow showers are expected mainly before 4 p.m., turning to scattered flurries after 5 p.m. The expected high temperature is 31 degrees.

Warmer weather is expected early in the week, with a high of 38 degrees on Monday and 41 degrees on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON  Confusion, worry and outrage grew Saturday as President Donald Trump's crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries took effect. Airlines blocked people traveling to the United States, legal challenges were underway and doubts abounded about whether the order would make America safer.

The immediate fallout from Trump's order meant that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days  despite holding permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. And some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday were being detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports, including New York's Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Forth Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Ore., briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read "Portland Coffee Is From Yemen" and chanting anti-Trump slogans. Among the dozens showing support for refugees at Denver's airport were those who sang "refugees are welcome here."

A federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the order Saturday evening after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

Cheers broke out in a crowd of demonstrators outside a Brooklyn courthouse as the decision, effective nationwide, was announced.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention, however.

U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the president's ban. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad."

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith."

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.

Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003 and later worked as a contract engineer. In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawai's wife had worked for a U.S. security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. military.
Now that the campaign is over, Donald Trump is no longer willing to fake it. Last year, he insisted, "I love free trade. But I want to make great deals." In his inaugural address, he dropped the masquerade.

"We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs," he said. "Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength." His formula is simple: "Buy American and hire American." In his vision of the future, we may export but we will never import.

Trump is never more certain than when he is completely clueless. The truth is that protection against foreign trade leads away from prosperity and strength. A country that deprives itself of foreign goods is doing to itself what an enemy might try to do in wartime -- cut it off from outside commerce. It is volunteering to impoverish itself.

Countries don't "ravage" us when they make "our" products; they help us. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, the essence of trade -- foreign or domestic -- is that it makes both buyer and seller better off. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother.

But preventing such mutually agreeable transactions is Trump's dream. Already he has announced he will renegotiate NAFTA and walked away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation deal that Barack Obama signed but Congress had yet to approve.

Trump may promise "great deals," but he is likely to get -- and would probably be content with -- no deals. What foreign government will rush to sign an agreement stipulating that our companies will only "buy American and hire American"?

His belief that international commerce is bad for Americans and protection is good for us is not a theory but an ancient superstition. One of the most irrefutable insights of economics is that if a country can buy something abroad for less than the cost of making it at home, it's better off buying it. That transaction allows citizens to consume more for each dollar spent. It makes them richer.

The United States could grow all its fresh fruits and vegetables rather than buy some from Mexico -- just as Mexico could grow all the corn and soybeans it needs rather than purchase from us. But the costs would be higher on either side. Open trade allows people in each country to eat more and better.

It also allows each economy to produce more. Trump fantasizes that American companies and workers would be better off without foreign competition. But the steel that goes into American cars and the lumber that goes into American houses would be more expensive if it all had to be produced within our borders. In industries deprived of imported supplies, prices would rise, sales would decline and employment would shrink.

The U.S. auto industry has plants in Mexico that make cars sold in the U.S., to the horror of the new president. But if he guts NAFTA, those jobs won't all move here.

A study by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., said that American firms that ship car parts to Mexico could lose out to suppliers in other countries. Overall, scrapping the accord and setting high tariffs would destroy 31,000 jobs in the U.S. automotive sector.

Trump defends his protectionism by asserting that "every decision on trade" should "be made to benefit American workers and American families." But free trade does exactly that. It's the classic example of a policy that benefits the many while harming the few.

Only about 14,000 Americans are employed making footwear. About 324 million Americans, on the other hand, wear shoes. Putting up barriers to foreign-made shoes would injure far more American workers and families than it would help.

It would also be a drain on the economy. When Obama slapped heavy tariffs on Chinese tires, the Peterson Institute for International Economics found, he saved no more than 1,200 jobs -- at an annual cost to consumers of $900,000 per job.

Spending nearly a million dollars to save a job that typically pays $41,000 a year is not a recipe for prosperity. It's the equivalent of selling $20 bills for a dollar apiece. Trump's dream of "buy American and hire American" would work exactly the same way.

Trump, of course, is a business magnate whose companies have sold products made everywhere from China to Honduras. In this case, wisdom lies in following his example, not his advice.
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Anguish turned to hope for immigrant families Saturday night when a federal judge barred the government from enforcing President Trumps order preventing scores of people from Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Before the ruling, Saturday was a day of confusion and consternation at airports across the nation as families suddenly found themselves cut off from friends and relatives who were traveling outside the country when Trump signed the order Friday.

At San Francisco International Airport, one woman had waited six years to see her son, and the airport was supposed to be the scene of their reunion Saturday. They were going to rent a boat, tour the city, share a meal and plan his wedding in California.

But those plans went awry when customs officials notified her that her son, an Iranian who arrived in the U.S. with a visa, was being sent back to the Middle East because of Trumps ban.

She screamed. She cried. She stood in the airport, confused about what to do. They wouldnt let her see her son.

We told him once you are here, everything is nice  when you get here you will be free. Everything is totally different. He came here ... but he got stuck in a room, she said. She requested that her name not be disclosed because her son is in danger of religious persecution in Iran. The family is not Muslim.

This is going to kill me, she said. My heart is broken. I thought here was freedom.

Some families, workers and students who traveled to the U.S. Saturday were being detained and barred from leaving airports. Overseas, others were prevented from even boarding flights to the U.S.

But then late Saturday, a federal judge in New York issued the injunction stopping the government from enforcing Trumps order against people with valid visas. The news quickly reached a crowd of thousands of protesters who had gathered at the airport, bringing loud cheers and applause.

This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project.

The whipsaw turns marked a day of turmoil. Civil rights groups had filed the New York lawsuit challenging Trumps order, while lawyers were on standby in places such as San Francisco as immigrants from countries listed in the order flew into the country.

Susie Hwang, one of several attorneys at SFO attempting to help the woman and her son, said they were being denied access to him. By late afternoon, attorneys knew of a handful of others who had been detained at the airport.

Its really important they get the support they need, she said. We are not going to accept no for an answer.

Two Iranians who had green cards and had been detained were released later Saturday, according to Hwang.

Trumps executive order was met with sweeping condemnation from immigration advocates and public officials. By Saturday evening, mass protests had spread across the country and public officials, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., were at their local airports.

Make no mistake  this is a Muslim ban, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said in a statement Friday. Opening our doors to those fleeing war and oppression has been the policy of presidents of both parties for decades.

The order, which temporarily bans almost all immigration, apparently including people with H-1B visas, from Iran, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen and Libya, also suspends refugee admissions for months, while Syrian refugees are barred indefinitely.

The ban could affect hundreds of thousands of people, but confusion remained about exactly how the order was being implemented. A Department of Homeland Security official told Reuters that the ban applied even to green card holders from the seven countries. But a senior Trump administration official said green card holders will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas, Trump said Friday when he signed the order at the Pentagon. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people.

The confusion caused Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, to send a letter to the head of Homeland Security asking the department make available a full explanation of the order and its implications for travelers.

No immigrants from the countries cited in the order have committed lethal terrorist attacks in the U.S. in the past 15 years, said Albert Ford, a research assistant at New America, a nonpartisan think tank.

On Saturday, Trump told reporters that the order is not a Muslim ban.

We were totally prepared, he said. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over.

But a former Homeland Security official who had been in contact with former colleagues this weekend said immigration officials did not want to be enforcing this.

Theyre trying to figure out what theyre supposed to do. This is so far outside the norm, said the former official, who asked that his name not be used. Theyre really struggling in trying to figure it out.

Meanwhile, families from across California were fearing the worst.

Two months ago, Aidin was celebrating the birth of his son. On Saturday, he was in his Walnut Creek home, terrified that his wife, who has a green card but is currently in Iran, will not be able to return to her family.

Im broken, he said, crying.

Aidin, 32, is a software engineer who moved to the United States 10 years ago and is now a U.S. citizen. He requested that his last name not be disclosed.

He spent Friday night researching the order and writing letters to politicians when his wife called: I want to be there. I cant be like this, she told him as she wept.

His wife had gone for a short trip to Iran for surgery and to visit family. She had planned to come back Feb. 5.

Im a law-abiding citizen, Aidin said. I am a big fan of American values  I dont know why they are doing this to me.

Mozhgan Mostafavi, a 46-year-old Novato resident, had been at San Francisco International Airport, anxiously waiting for her 80-year-old Iranian father, who had landed Saturday afternoon but was held for almost six hours. By 8 p.m., he was released.

He is very quiet  kind of shaken, but he is fine, she said.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said it has received reports of green card holders and other visa holders being barred from flights to the U.S. and others being barred admission into the country from U.S. airports.

Its causing a destructive impact to the Arab and Muslim community and the Iranian community here in the U.S., said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director for the organization.

In Djibouti, a 12-year-old girl whose parents are U.S. citizens and who had obtained an immigrant visa Thursday attempted to board a flight with her father, but the airline did not allow her to travel. They were heading back to the Central Valley, where her family lives. The visa had finally come this week after years of effort.

Now, theyre stuck wondering what to do next.

Theyre just in shock  they tell me, But she got the visa, I dont understand, said Katherine Lewis, who represents the family and is an attorney at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP in San Francisco.

Shes 12  theres no reason to be concerned about a 12-year-old, she said.

Some tech companies, meanwhile, are trying to help overseas employees who may be affected by Trumps order.

Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

In a memo to workers obtained by The Chronicle, CEO Tim Cook said some of Apples employees are affected by the order, and staff members are attempting to help them. The company, he said, had reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company.

Ive heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, Cook said Saturday in the statement. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support.

Colleges across the country also sent out directives to students, warning of the potential impact of the ban. Stanford University recommended that students who are citizens of the countries listed not travel outside the U.S.

A gathering on the Palo Alto campus to discuss the fallout is planned for this week.

President Trumps war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue, said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project.

A Sudanese graduate student in the universitys anthropology department had been detained Friday night into Saturday at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport before being released. The student has a green card and has been a U.S. resident for years.

In Walnut Creek on Saturday morning, Aidin said he felt helpless as he attempted to buy his wife a ticket that would get her on a plane as soon as possible. Would he have to travel abroad for the next three months to see his wife in another country? Would he quit his job and go to Iran? The options are complicated by an infant son in Walnut Creek who does not yet have a passport.

Aidin chose to do something else  he wrote a letter to Trump.

I have always been proud of my heritage but even more proud to be a U.S. citizen. I admire American values and believe in the system that we have in here, he wrote. Ever since I migrated to U.S., I have been working non-stop as a software engineer, got my Masters degree from University of Southern California while working full time, and every year have been paying substantial amount of tax.

I was wondering if you could help me.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
During last week's hearings on President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, Senator Bernie Sanders asked her,That, of course, was an idea that he and Hillary Clinton supported in last year's presidential campaign-free tuition.She replied that the idea was "interesting," but quickly added this fact that so often eludes politicians:Sanders acknowledged that, then went on to say that it "takes us to another issue." (Video and text of the exchange is available here .)Too bad that DeVos didn't further enlighten Senator Sanders by pointing out that the federal government has no authority under the Constitution to make public colleges "free" or, for that matter, to control them in any way at all. Still, her answer made it clear that she doesn't fall for the collectivistic notion that people shouldn't have to pay for education.But Senator Sanders did recognize that the states can pursue "free" college policies if they choose and two governors recently announced their intention to do so: Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.On January 3, Governor Cuomo set forth a plan to make college at New York's public institutions free, but only for individuals or families with annual incomes of less than $125,000.In explaining the reason for his plan, Cuomo resorted to the conventional wisdom that a college education has become a necessity, declaring The governor's rationale neglects two crucial facts-that many people do in fact enjoy "economic mobility" even though they never earned any college credentials and that many others are not enjoying much economic mobility despite having college degrees.In short, college is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for success, but Governor Cuomo is eager to spend a lot of tax dollars (the program is estimated to cost about $163 million by 2019) to help more citizens obtain credentials at the state's colleges and universities.Bernie Sanders was present at Cuomo's announcement and voiced his support. he stated . The senator's mistake here is in thinking that "best educated" means "the most people holding college degrees" when what we should want is the optimally educated workforce, which we won't get through government subsidies for particular government institutions of higher education.In nearby Rhode Island, Governor Gina Raimondo stated on January 16 that she wants to make two years in the state's community college system tuition-free for students pursuing associate degrees. And for students who enroll in either Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island, the third and fourth years would be free. Unlike the New York system, there is no income limit on the free tuition benefit, but students would have to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to remain eligible.Quoted here , Governor Raimondo explained,That's the same logically-problematic rationale as Cuomo's and Sanders's: more years of formal education are now needed, so government must subsidize it more heavily.One of the objections to these plans is that free tuition at public colleges and universities would obviously make it more difficult for the private schools in New York and Rhode Island to survive.Private college associations hope to persuade state legislators to include their member schools in the new subsidy plans. Daniel Egan, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island told Inside Higher Ed that he supports Governor Raimondo's interest in college affordability, but argues that she should seek to help students in all types of institutions.Susan Scrimshaw, president of The Sage Colleges (three private colleges in Albany and Troy, NY) was quite pessimistic, telling the Albany Times-Union It is hard to see how free tuition at public colleges and universities wouldn't lead to some downsizing at competing private institutions and perhaps, as Scrimshaw suggests, the closure of at least a few. State taxpayers and the legislators who represent them should think about the trade-off that these "free college" plans entail, namely a shift of students away from schools that had been operating on their own and toward schools that subsist on tax dollars.They should be particularly worried about the possibility that "free tuition" plans will open the floodgates to spending that state higher education interest groups are clamoring for. Consider the statement issued by Barbara Bowen, president of the faculty union representing professors in the state colleges and universities:The union sees this as an opportunity to get "full funding"-or at least more funding. Taxpayers should worry that it will mean diverting more scarce resources into dubious college spending.But the greatest problem with these schemes and indeed all student subsidies is that they undermine the incentives to strive for education. That is, to get the most out of it because you are paying for it.Jordan Morgan, a student at the University of West Florida, explained the point in this piece There is evidence to support Morgan's common sense observation that students try harder when they have paid for their education.In a paper published in the American Sociological Review in 2013, Professor Laura Hamilton concluded,It follows that if the money to pay for college is coming from a far more remote source than their family (i.e., the state), students will feel even more inclined to enjoy the college experience and coast by with the minimum of effort.The most important investment in education is not the money spent on facilities, but the investment students feel in their education when they have a stake in it. Free tuition reduces if not entirely destroys the need for students to strive for the best possible results.
A fake news article was discovered by Trendolizer to be trending on Sunday January 29th 2017 which falsely claimed that Dubai had threatened to deport all US citizens in response to the recent executive action by president Donald Trump to temporarily suspend immigration for 90 days from 7 countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen).

The site spreading the fake news is currently offline, but a copy in Google's cache reads as follows:

The United Arab Emirates Is said to be reviewing Legislation To deport all US Citizens In The Wake Of Trumps Muslim Ban, Iran has already Said they will ban all US CITIZENS From Entering their Soil

That is literally the entire article. Also on the same page is following disclaimer:

This Article Is User Generated. The Views Shown Here are Not Neccasarily Those of TheExposer

In other words, an unsourced, unverified claim that has not been confirmed anywhere else (we checked). Yet so many people decided to share the news anyway that it made the server hosting 'The Exposer' go down as this Trendolizer-generated graph shows:
It is an honor to serve as your representative in the U.S. House.

With a new presidential administration coming into office, many Americans have been actively involved in the political process through phone calls, letters and emails to their members of Congress. Some have even traveled hundreds of miles to have their voice heard.

The passion of political debates and the opportunity to help others is what drew me to public service. In fact, I believe one of the most rewarding aspects of being your congressman is the opportunity to meet constituents throughout the district and hear their concerns on the issues facing our nation.

I have made it a personal priority to be available to my constituents. The Fourth District covers 15 counties that I serve from my offices in Midland and Cadillac. Because I believe it is my responsibility to be available to every constituent in every community, I hold listening sessions across the district. Already, this year, I have held three listening sessions in Stanton, St. Johns and Owosso.

Notifications for these listening sessions are sent to media outlets for publication and to the email addresses of more than 89,000 constituents. If you would like to receive notifications for future listening sessions, please sign up at moolenaar.house.gov/newsletter and you will receive my newsletter.

Respectful, civil and dignified discussion of the issues facing our country is a vital part of our republic. I will always engage in civil discourse and respect the policy differences between us on any issue.

Whether I am debating in Congress or discussing an issue with a constituent, I always presume that we are all working to make our country stronger.

Right now, public debate is overheated on many issues, with health care being the most prominent. I have already received online comments and calls to my office wishing for harm to come to me and my family. These comments have no place in public discourse.

As our country debates health care it is important that we all look at the issue honestly, without personal attacks that impugn the integrity and character of our fellow citizens.

We all want a personalized patient-centered system that provides care for Americans, without interfering in the sacred patient-doctor relationship. Already, committees in the House are working toward a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act that is expected to include coverage for preexisting conditions and allow dependents up to the age of 26 to stay on the plan of their guardian(s).

Health care is a serious issue that directly affects all of us, and I welcome your thoughts on it, as well as all other issues concerning the federal government.

To contact me, go online at moolenaar.house.gov/contact/email or call the office in Midland at (989) 631-2552. In Washington, you can reach me at (202) 225-3561. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at a listening session for civil and dignified discussion. Thank you.

Congressman John Moolenaar, R-Midland, represents Michigans Fourth Congressional District, which covers Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Osceola, Roscommon, Shiawassee, and Wexford counties, and parts of Montcalm and Saginaw counties.
Democracy Gets a Temporary Restraining Order Against Fascism as ACLU Lands Crucial Victory Against Muslim Ban

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | January 28, 2017 |

A federal court has ruled tonight that the executive order signed by Donald Trump last night effectively prohibiting Muslims from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the country does not apply to those in-transit or those currently detained.

This is a big symbolic victory for the ACLU, and more importantly a real victory for those who were in the air when the executive order was put into place. The executive order was cruel and unconscionable, but particularly so for those who were already en route to the United States. It also means that no one will be deported.

Broad and important nationwide stay granted! This means folks will not be deported. We will get you more information as we have it.  Nat'l Imm Law Center (@NILC_org) January 29, 2017

Those protesting in airports around the country were ecstatic.

Hundreds at Denver airport singing "This land is my land, this land is your land," led by Syrian American poet. pic.twitter.com/6RuPP4Ltv6  julieturkewitz (@julieturkewitz) January 29, 2017

As were the hundreds of people in Brooklyn surrounding the courthouse where the decision was made.

Jubilation in Brooklyn as the stay is announced and petitioners emerge victorious! #NoWallNoBan pic.twitter.com/nvwpaiRrMh  New York City DSA (@nycDSA) January 29, 2017

Its a temporary order, but even a temporary order would not be granted if there wasnt a likelihood of success on the merits when the the case is decided permanently by a judge.

Big picture: Its a crucial first step toward getting the Muslim ban completely tossed. It maintains the status quo at least until the courts can make a more determinative ruling on the ban as a whole. From a legal perspective, the executive order looks like horse-shit: A violation of the equal protection clause and the due process clause. Its also unconstitutionally broad.

The hope is that this is the way the courts see it (and they should) and that a ruling on the executive order quickly makes it up to the Supreme Court, where I think even Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Alito would look at the order and say, The fuck? if the ACLU can definitely demonstrate that a religious test is being used.

There will, however, be pushback, but from what I have seen  namely, that the executive order was crafted without the assistance of the State Department, or in consultation with any expert lawyers  the courts should eventually strike down the ban in full.

The ban is not "defeated." It's stayed. An important victory, but temporary and not complete. Expect the Administration to push back hard.  Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) January 29, 2017

If its any consolation, Republican Susan Collins from Maine  one of those moderate Republicans who Democrats will need if it hopes to defeat Trump on this particular issue  denounced the ban earlier tonight.

The worldwide refugee ban set forth in the executive order is overly broad and implementing it will be immediately problematic, said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican.

She said it could interfere with the immigration of Iraqis who worked for American forces in Iraq as translators and bodyguards  people who literally saved the lives of our troops and diplomats during the last decade and whose lives are at risk if they remain in Iraq.

More Republicans need to speak out.

In the meantime, donate to the ACLU. Theyre the folks doing the work in court to ensure that Trump doesnt continue to get away with violating civil rights of those in the country or those coming into the United 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.
IHOP will observe National Pancake Day on March 7, with customers receiving a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes in return for a donation to benefit local charities and hospitals.

The restaurant is located at 2109 E. Empire St., Bloomington.

IAA CREDIT UNION has donated $8,468 to the IAA Foundation to benefit the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) program.

The program helps teach students about agriculture.

BRYCE STARKEY has opened an Edward Jones office at The Magill House on the square in Clinton.

Its the first tenant for the building since it was placed on the National Historic Register in 2003. Magill House first opened in 1872.

PETE SMUDDE of Illinois State University has been named to the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America  Central Illinois chapter.

The board plans professional development, programming, educational and networking opportunities.

LONE STAR STEAKHOUSE, 903 IAA Drive, Bloomington, has closed, according to a sign posted on the door.
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.
Gov. Bruce Rauners annual State of the State speech Wednesday showed just how far apart lawmakers and the governor are, even as the states projected deficit tops $5.4 billion.

In his third address to legislators, the first-term governor repeated his pro-business, limited-government agenda, while touting administration achievements on school funding and calling for General Assembly term limits.

Lower in the address was the elephant in the Statehouse: the crippling state budget impasse that has dragged on for nearly two years. The standoff  the product of warring partisan factions and nemeses Republican Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago  has resulted in massive overdue bills and worrisome cuts to higher education and critical social services.

Both sides are dug in. Rauner isnt interested in talking unless Democrats look at various measures, including comprehensive workers compensation reform, that he says will help the economy and stabilize the states business community.

Democrats want to curb the deficit by reducing spending and increasing taxes. Their economic plan is far from sweeping, hinging on modest changes to corporate income taxes, increasing the minimum wage and returning to an old and tired Madigan effort to slap incomes of more than $1 million with a surcharge tax.

Recently, the Senate considered legislation that would freeze property taxes, limit payouts for workers comp claims and increase the personal income tax, but it was shelved.

"It's heartening to see the Senate coming together on a bipartisan basis to acknowledge these changes are needed," Rauner said during his speech. "Please don't give up. Please keep working. The people of Illinois need you to succeed."

Thats an understatement. We were looking for Rauner, who is preparing for a 2018 re-election effort, to use his address to send a strong signal that real leadership in both parties is needed to put real reforms in place. The closest we got Wednesday was the governor calling for bipartisan cooperation and saying that all lawmakers have a moral obligation to work together to bring change.

Thats also an understatement. In reality, if serious business reforms are not established, Illinois isnt going to have many businesses left. The state population already is rapidly decreasing  Illinois lost 37,508 people between July 1, 2015 and 2016, the most in the U.S.  and if the trend continues, we may surrender seats in Congress.

Simply put, this budget chaos makes it hard to attract businesses and is a roadblock to any growth.

We support Rauners continued efforts to run this state more like a business in order to get its financial house in order. To that end, we hope the governor is more forceful about the need for cooperation and compromise next month, when he presents his annual budget address.

And we hope the political winds in Springfield get behind an effort that can get us to a better place.
Tari Renner has shown how energetic and focused leadership can keep our city moving forward in a positive direction. Mayor Renner, committed to transparency in government, seeks open communication with citizens of Bloomington. Since 2013, he has hosted 100 mayor's open house events at city hall, opportunities for citizens share their concerns directly, one-to-one.

Online communication with city departments, staff and office holders is simple, direct and responsive.

Bloomington is positioned to have a balanced operating budget for at least the next three years, and the city's policy for funding police and firefighter pensions has received statewide recognition for its responsible and sound commitment.

Tari Renner demonstrates fierce pride in our city, love for our neighborhoods and for a vibrant downtown, and has shown tireless enthusiasm in encouraging the growth of current and new businesses. Tari Renner continues to be my choice for Bloomington mayor.

Susan Heiser, Bloomington
LiLo is back in the news and our hearts--she met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week to discuss the plight of Syrian refugees. Lindsay has volunteered multiple times in the country to help refugee children.



She met with Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan along with Syrian refugee Bana al-Abed, and documented it on Instagram.

"What a dream it is for Mr. President Erdogan and The First Lady to invite me to their home," Lohan wrote on Instagram. "Their efforts in helping Syrian Refugees is truly inspiring, #peace starts now."

Actually the following two pictures from her meeting with Turkish leaders are the only ones on her Instagram currently. It's unclear why.

All three adults can be seen wearing buttons for Lohan's cause "The World is Bigger Than 5," which echoes a statement from Erdogan. There are more countries than those that sit on the UN Security Council, and Lohan is trying to make it clear. She has hashtagged the statement multiple times in her social media posts and mentioned it a few times in her videos.

While some think she might be a secret spy for Erdogan, it's unclear why Lindsay is meeting with the dictator so publicly. I'm sure we'll hear all about it, though, in her upcoming book.





Header photo via Billy Farrell/BFA.com
MAJOR UPDATE: A federal court in the state of New York has granted a stay against the executive order calling for a ban of refugees and immigrants, reports the Verge. The executive order still stands, but those being detained are no longer allowed to be held.





Stay is granted

 Dale Ho (@dale_e_ho) January 29, 2017

4 factors have been met: Irreparable harm established, likelihood of success on merits, no harm to govt. Likelihood of class cert.

 Jackie Vimo (@JackieVimo) January 29, 2017





UPDATE: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has tweeted that Airbnb will provide free housing for those no longer allowed in the country.





Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing

 Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 29, 2017





UPDATE: ACLU has posted times for airport protests mounting around the country





Protest #MuslimBan:

JFK: 6pm

EWR: 6pm

Dulles: 5pm

SFO: 3pm

ATL: Tomorrow

PHL: Sunday 2pm

CHI: 6pm

LAX: 5pm

SEA: 5pm

BOS: 7pm

DEN: 5pm

 ACLU SoCal (@ACLU_SoCal) January 28, 2017









UPDATE: The protest at JFK has swelled and protesters are chanting "No registry, fuck white supremacy, no ban" in terminal 4. Photo below.





Ariel Hayes





Yesterday Trump signed an executive order to indefinitely ban incoming Syrian refugees and limit the flow of people coming from the Muslim majority countries of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. All would be subject to "extreme vetting," Trump said during the signing. Syrian refugees who had been promised a place in America have already been turned back.

Since the order went into effect, greencard holders and those with dual citizenship for these countries have been detained at airports by government agents. Today, hundreds of people are protesting outside major international airports for the release of those being detained.

At JFK:

At Dulles:





There are reports being made by social media users that agents are not only detaining greencard holders but also asking them about their social media posts and views on Trump.







I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump#MuslimBan

 Trita Parsi (@tparsi) January 28, 2017





Trump said Christian refugees would be allowed into the country, who he said are targeted above all others. This executive order has nothing to do with refugees, it's about targeting an entire religion. It should be noted that Trump left out the Muslim majority countries, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, he has close business connections to. This is a ban on Muslims without any basis and only cruel intention.

You can join the protest in most major cities. Many have pages on Facebook disseminating information, like this one for the current JFK protest.




Waiting. [ mensrightsactivia]





Pretty girl [ Pimpawan]





Sensual shoutout to rye chips [mensrightsactivia]





Meditate on this [ mensrightsactivia]





Actually meditate on this [ weirdwideweb]





Actually... meditate on this. [ weirdwideweb]









NOW WAKE THE HELL UP









Short story prompt [harinef]













Iconic. [nochillatall]









*ahem* [ mensrightsactivia]









It's a show about frenemies that keep running into each other. This might bring up some feelings. [OMGHI]





A good boy is hard to find [ weirdwideweb]





Looks to try [pettycentral]





where da hunks at? [killifishes]









That old lady at the supermarket is a real one [NormanFreeman]





Meanwhile, on Tumblr... [ mynameisdriftwood]









Where is the lie? [ weirdwideweb]





feel it [squeefz]





No further questions, your honor [ weirdwideweb]









There were a lot of good gifs this week. [ weirdwideweb]









Why does this clap so hard? [pettycentral]





I mean [remixgodsuede]





I MEAN [remixgodsuede]









Whoever decided that Scarface would make an appropriate elementary school play... thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. [nochillatall]





Mood





BYE [harinef]





Happy Sunday, and donate to the ACLU!
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is a widely prevalent medical condition in the United States and affects countless of children each year. Even though research has not been able to discover the cause of this disease yet, it has now surfaced that a child's date of birth can affect the probability of getting ADHD.

Experts disclosed that ADHD's risk factor could be related to the date when the child is born. A group of researchers from Curtin University, Australia, carried out a study among 311,384 school children to analyze the relation between birth date and the risk of getting ADHD. The results indicated that the youngest children in the class had higher chances of getting ADHD treatment than their older classmates.

If one gets into the specifics, then children born in June are twice as likely to receive medication than those born in previous July. The Telegraph reported that these recent findings have led scientists to draw the conclusion that ADHD is an overdiagnosed disorder.

ADHD is a brain disorder which interrupts the daily functioning in young children. The disease mainly includes hyperactivity, impulsiveness and inattention. It mostly affects children and teenagers from 4 to 17 years.

Until any confirmed reasons for this condition can be found, scientists have underscored the risk factors related to it, informed Medical News Today. Scientists have learned that males are twice as likely than females to develop ADHD, thus experts believe the disorder is much more common in boys.

Apart from gender, experts have also identified the risk factors to ADHD development. These include brain injuries, alcohol or tobacco consumption during pregnancy, low weight at birth and genetics.

Gestational exposure to a few environmental toxins is also another factor that can also increase the chance of being diagnosed with ADHD. This notion, however, is not as common as the other factors.
Earlier today Apple's CEO sent a message out to all Apple employees about the new U.S. immigration policy announced this week by President Donald Trump. Although Apple's CEO is trying to work with the new administration to create jobs in America and met with Ivanka Trump over dinner, when it comes to the new immigration policy Cook is standing with most major CEO's in disagreeing with it. MacRumors received a copy of the memo to staff as noted in full below.





Apple's Tim Cook joins Google and other Silicon Valley CEOs on this front. Google officially called staffers back to US earlier today in response to President Trump's executive order on immigration. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai sent a memo out to staffers saying that "It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues."





About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Gov. Scott Walker and Paul Ryan present President-elect Donald Trump a Packers jersey after he spoke to large crowd of supporters during a rally as part of his Thank You Tour on Dec. 13, 2016, in Milwaukee.
So last week the Administration did three things of note to the prolife Christian Trump supporters.

First, it made extremely clear that Trump is jonesing to turn America back into a Torture Regime with multiple appeals to his base for how cool torture is. And in his interview with Sean Hannity, the two made clear that its not just swarthy subhuman foreigners Good White Christians should delight in torturing, but fellow American citizens (whose prison population is also, by no coincidence, disproportionately swarthy as well). The example they used of a torture-worthy victim of the Regime is a suspect kidnapper. And it turns out kidnapping happens here too. But torture regimes find an expanding circle of reasons and victims for torture far beyond kidnapping.

In addition, the Regime also issued an Executive Order banning refugees from Muslim countries he is not doing business with (like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and the UAE, whose citizens killed 3000 of ours on 9/11). Well, they need to be vetted! say Good White Christian defenders of the regime. They have been. So you can stop defending that lie and focus on the fact that this wicked and stupid order could keep 500,000 legal residents from returning to their families in the US.

Second, the Dear Leader issued another order designed to do to immigrants what this policy did for another regime elected on the basis its racist rhetoric:

(Coincidentally, the Dear Leaders Holocaust Remembrance speech made no mention of anti-semitism.)

His purpose with that Executive Order is to strengthen in the minds of the American people the association Immigrant=criminal. Never mind that criminals are home grown by the thousands as well. The point is that the same bigots who cannot even concede that Black lives *matter* and insist on saying all lives matter to deny even so elementary a proposition as that, suddenly demand we say only immigrant crimes matter. And for the same reason: to deflect humanity away from the human from the minority group and direct hostility toward him. This is the antithesis of anything resembling the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death, particularly in a nation that is now the single greatest prison state on the entire planet, with a for-profit gulag larger than Stalins that is, vastly disproportionately, peopled by minorities.

Which brings us to our last Administration effort pertaining to the prolife movement: the appearance of Mike Pence and KellyAnne Conway at Respect Life March in DC.

Many were thrilled that the Administration noticed the Prolife March. My question is: what is the net effect? If the goal is to save innocent lives then my question is, Show me a life that was saved as a result? Answer: none. The net gain for the prolife movement is zero in that department.

If the goal was to give prolife people a thrill, like an unpopular girl at a high school prom being noticed by Biff Tannen, then mission accomplished. The prolife movement was noticed by the most narcissistic sociopath ever to occupy the White Houseand for absolutely selfish purposes, which are the only kind of purposes he has.

What purpose? Obviously, to get the support of the prolife movement for torture, slamming the door in the face of refugees, turning a blind eye to his business ties in the Mideast, and scapegoating immigrants. And given the silence and support for Trump emanating from the prolife Christian right for all that, it appears to be a hugely successful strategy. In short the net gain was *entirely* Trumps, not the unborns.

This is how it will go for four years. While the rest of the world looks on in horror and disbelief (including our children, who see and are leaving our Church in droves) the anti-abortion-but-not-prolife Christian Trump supporter will prostrate himself to defend every wicked and stupid thing this man does in the hope of finally getting a shot at power. He may even get that Scalia replacement and the illusion that progress has happened. But when Trump is gone, Roe will still be in place. And the prolife movement and the reputation of the gospel will be a heap of smoking ruins in the United States.

What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul. But for Trump?
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Large groups of protesters descended on California airports, blocking traffic and marching through an airline terminal to add their voices to the outrage over President Donald Trumps order that bars nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Hundreds marched through Bradley Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night after holding a candlelight vigil outside the airport. The diverse group of protesters expressed their opposition to Trumps executive order with chants such as Not Me!, indicating they have nothing to do with the order.

Some of those arriving at LAX were coming to visit the U.S., and others had lived here for years.

Dr. Yakdan Al Qaisi, a 62-year-old physician from Bakersfield, said his wife was detained for hours at the airport Saturday after she made a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. The pair are British citizens and have lived in the U.S. for more than two decades. Both have green cards.

I expect this to happen everywhere in the world  except this country, he said. But it looks like this country is no different from anywhere else.

Lawyer Talia Inlender said an Iranian woman scheduled to take her naturalization oath in February was detained after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam with her 1-year-old American son. She said U.S. authorities were not allowing lawyers access to the waiting room where travelers were held.

Meanwhile, hundreds more protesters blocked the street outside the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport to voice their opposition to Trumps order.

Mozhgan Mostafavi was waiting inside Saturday for her 80-year-old father, who was traveling from Iran to have hip surgery and visit with family for his grandsons birthday. He has a green card and has been here many times, she said, but his plane landed at 1 p.m. and as evening fell he had not emerged.

I dont know any Iranians who have been in a terrorist attack, she said. Its so dehumanizing. Its so insulting. I grew up during the Revolution in Iran and I feel that same suffocation. Its hard to breathe.

Several dozen protesters chanted outside the San Diego International Airport chanting no hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here. Motorists honked in support as they drove by.
A hiker who was injured on a trial in the Idyllwild area was rescued by chopper Saturday, Jan. 28, and later driven to a hospital.

The injured hiker was reported at 1:47 p.m. on a trail in Humber Park, 24300 Fern Valley Road, according to a news release from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Access issues required that a chopper hoist the victim to an awaiting ambulance. The hiker was brought to the hospital with moderate injuries.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trumps travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

Photos: U.S. judge bars deportations under Trump travel ban

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention.

Under Trumps order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency green cards or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trumps order had been prevented from entering the U.S.

Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop radical Islamic terrorists from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trumps order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement extreme vetting for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is not a Muslim ban.

Its working out very nicely, Trump said of the implementation of his order. Were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.

The order sparked protests at several of the nations international airports, including New Yorks Kennedy and Chicagos OHare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Forth Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read Portland Coffee Is From Yemen and chanting anti-Trump slogans. Among the dozens showing support for refugees at Denvers airport were those who sang refugees are welcome here.

U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the move. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is too broad.

If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion, Sasse said. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom.

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trumps ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldnt be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, regardless of your faith.

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New Yorks Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.

Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003 and later worked as a contract engineer. In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawais wife had worked for a U.S. security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. military.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trumps order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasnt authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trumps order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trumps order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that dont provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trumps order.

There is no evidence that refugees  the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation  are a threat to national security, said Lena F. Masri, the groups national litigation director. This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality.

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didnt address Americas primary terrorism-related threat  people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trumps order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years.

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trumps order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

No refugees were in the air when the travel ban was signed Friday, but about 350 people were in transit in Nairobi, Kenya, and were now stuck there, said Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy for HIAS, a refugee resettlement aid agency. She said several hundred more people who were booked on U.S.-bound flights in the next week were now stranded around the globe.

This in effect could be a permanent ban, she said. Many of these people may never be able to come.



Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker in Washington, Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco, Jeff Karoub in Detroit, and Rachel Zoll, Verena Dobnik and William Mathis in New York contributed to this report.
Throngs of passionate protesters marched, waved signs and staged a sit-in Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, demanding President Donald Trump lift his executive order affecting refugees as well as certain nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Chanting Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here and Let them in, the protesters gathered first at the Tom Bradley International Terminal but then marched around the lower Central Terminal Area, forcing rolling closures of some lanes of traffic.

Flight operations were unaffected and no arrests were made, airport officials said. However, traffic was gridlocked at times trying to get into and out of the airport.

RELATED:Protesters seeing injustice in Trumps travel ban speak out at Ontario airport

Among the thousands of protesters at the airport was Matthew Pagoaga, 32, of Highland Park, who held a sign adorned with an image of the Star Wars character Yoda that read Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering.

Theres never been anything so atrocious in our political system, discriminating against whole groups of people based on religion, he said. We cant protect ourselves by hating other people.

Immigration rights attorneys were on hand in several terminals to advise the families of anyone detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

The executive order suspends resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely, suspends all other refugee resettlement for 120 days, and bans the entry of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days.

A stay issued by a federal judge Saturday night barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone in the U.S. with a valid visa from those seven predominantly Muslim countries. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

However, the Department Homeland Security said Saturdays court order affected only a small number of travelers inconvenienced by security procedures. Trump, in a statement, said this is not about religion but about terror and keeping our country safe.

Iranian couple held

The presidents executive order came while Ayoub Poyanejad, 68, and his wife were in the air on their way from Iran, his daughter said. When they landed at LAX at about 4 p.m. Saturday, they were immediately detained and given little information about what would happen to them, he said.

We were here 24 hours; (it was) the worst time in my  life, he said.

VIDEO: LAX travel ban protestors

Poyanejad said he acted as a translator for others who were detained. He was allowed to call his family from an officials phone twice while he and his wife were detained but were initially told not to speak Farsi during the calls, he said.

The first time they told us, You should speak English; we want to know what you are talking about,  he said.

For the past three months, Poyanejads granddaughter had been counting down the days until he arrived, he said. Now, on his second trip to the U.S., he plans to spend several months with his family in Orange County before returning home to Iran.

I was crying for my granddaughter, he said. I dont want to stay here. Im visiting.  My family and I will go back home.

Where were you?

Fuji Whittenburg, an immigration attorney based in Woodland Hills, said her Iranian-born cousin, Arasto Abedi, who has held a green card since 2009, arrived sometime around 1:15 p.m. Saturday at LAX, was detained, questioned and finally released just before 10 p.m. After visiting Iran on the one-year anniversary of his grandmothers death, the 21-year-old returned to the U.S. after a layover in Qatar, Whittenburg said.

They questioned him for about 20 to 30 minutes about where were you?  and then questioned him a second time, she said. He waited in a room with about 10 other people. It was like five hours before anyone told them what was going on.

As the government started implementing the presidents executive order signed Friday, confusion and chaos erupted at airports across the country as Customs and Border Protection officials began to detain travelers.

Were travelers coerced?

In some cases, these travelers were returned to either their home countries or the countries from which they had departed, said Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrants rights for the ACLU of California. Strong-arm tactics were also used on at least some detainees, she said.

They were detaining them for long periods of time, during which time as the day wore on they began coercing people to withdraw their immigration applications or, in the case of green card holders,  that they sign a form that would effectively revoke their permanent residency, Pasquarella claimed.

She said immigration attorneys at LAX heard this from relatives waiting for their family members, even hours after a federal judge in New York issued the emergency stay. But Pasquarella said Sunday she had not heard of any green card holders here who actually signed a form that would have revoked their permanent residency.

Homeland security secretary intervenes

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, in a statement on Sunday, clarified the executive order for customs officers.

In applying the provisions of the presidents executive order, I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest, Kelly said. Accordingly, absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations.

Among the estimated 100 attorneys stationed at LAX to ensure that CBP officers comply with the federal order blocking the deportation of people with valid visas were Riverside-based Hadley Bajramovic and Nina Bonyak.

Bajramovic said attorneys were being spread out to different terminals where international flights were arriving.

The crowds are growing, amazing energy, Bajramovic said via email just after 1 p.m.

Pasquarella said a young Iranian woman coming to the U.S. to study, Sara Yarjani, who had been living in Austria, was forced to withdraw her student visa and was sent back to Copenhagen, Denmark, where her flight had originated, and that happened hours after the stay had been in place. Yarjani returned on a 7:40 p.m. flight Saturday from LAX, she said.

We dont know how many people signed that; we know a lot of them were asked, Pasquarella added.

Iranian native Fatema Farmad, who has been a legal permanent resident of the U.S. for about five years and was carrying her infant son, was among those detained over the weekend, according to the ACLU. She had applied for citizenship and her application had been granted, with her swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Feb. 13. She arrived at the airport at about noon Saturday and wasnt released until early Sunday morning, Pasquarella said.

They were trying to get her to revoke her green card  she refused, Pasquarella said.

Its a big mess

Mohammed Soovman, arriving at LAX from Iran, said he was held for several hours and questioned briefly before he was released.

The 45-year-old green card holder said some people with visas were not allowed to board the flight before it took off in Iran but others with green cards were allowed to travel.

Its a big mess. Im very confused  because we passed through a lot of processes for receiving our green card, he said. We didnt expect (that we would) have to wait some hours.&rdquo

The experience hasnt changed his plans now that hes in the United States, however. He still plans to open a martial arts studio somewhere in L.A., he said.

A large sit-in was held in front of the Customs and Border Protection office on the second floor of the Tom Bradley terminal, which was closed Sunday afternoon, with protesters demanding to know the names of all those who had been detained and calling for their release.

Noah Reich, an Encino resident, stood inside the terminal Sunday with his brother, Adam, holding a sign that read Two Jewish brothers standing with our Muslim brothers.

Reichs grandparents were liberated from a World War II concentration camp and immigrated to the U.S. shortly after, he said. And that family history compelled him to attend the protest Sunday, he said.

We know the loves that our grandparents and parents were able to have in the U.S. because America welcomed them with open arms, and we know the power of whats happening, he said.

Rep. Schiff wants order rescinded

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized Trumps executive order as ill-considered, poorly written and violative of the principles that our nation was founded on: religious liberty.

I think this order didnt go through the usual vetting of the inter-agency process and the result was a mess, he said.

The fact that an Iraqi translator, who had worked for the U.S., was detained for a time in New York illustrates that we have to view people through the perspective of whether they individually pose any risk and not single out large groups of people for suspicion, he said.

He argued that focusing on the refugee population is not likely to improve the nations security since much of the terrorist violence in the U.S. has come from homegrown radicals rather than refugees.

Schiff contended that the executive order should be rescinded and that the administration should work with Congress to explore whether there are additional safeguards that need to be put in place without taking action against an entire religious group or imposition of some religious test.

Well fight back

One of the protesters, Pepperdine University law student Sarah Husain, said she felt the effect of the executive order firsthand as the daughter of Iranian immigrants.

We just had enough, she said. What Trump is doing is so unconstitutional on every level, and we just couldnt stay quiet anymore. Im a U.S. citizen. Im a Muslim. Im also a lawyer. My parents have been immigrants and this affects my family, my friends, Husain said. We feel like this is just the beginning. It could get worse from here on, and were here to tell Trump that well fight back. Were not just going to take it.

Alia Delpassand, another Pepperdine law student and daughter of Iranian immigrants, said the order strikes a blow against families like hers that have built lives contributing to the U.S.

Were not the enemy, Dekpassand said. Were not here to cause destruction or inflict any sort of terror.

The Associated Press and staff writers Alejandra Molina and Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
The sandwich baggie brimming with buds is gradually becoming a thing of the past in California. In its place, an era of name-brand marijuana is emerging.

Celebrities  including actress Whoopi Goldberg, rapper Snoop Dogg, rocker Melissa Etheridge and the family of reggae legend Bob Marley  are branding their own herb. Law firms have sprouted to help marijuana sellers brand their goods. Pretty packages of cannabis-infused products bear labels like Highland Pantry (almond butter), Madame Munchie (cookies) and Sweet ReLeaf (skin cream).

Branded pot products gained footing in recent years as California sanctioned medical use of marijuana, and other states began permitting recreational use. In Long Beach, voters recently repealed a citywide ban on medical marijuana businesses, which officials will begin accepting applications for today.

And now that California voters have approved a ballot measure allowing all adults to use the drug, cannabis businesses want more authority to brand their products.

But officially trademarking marijuana is a tricky legal task. The federal government still considers it an illegal drug and wont grant patents or trademarks for pot or anything made from it. Cannabis brands fear they are at risk of being copied. So marijuana businesses in California  eyeing what could become a $6.4 billion industry  have turned to the state government for help.

Not being able to trademark your brand is a huge setback if youre trying to get capital investment, said Nate Bradley, who lobbies for marijuana sellers as the executive director of California Cannabis Industry Association. If youre not able to protect what youre asking people to invest in, youre not likely to get investments.

A bill recently introduced in the Legislature would create a state-level trademark for California cannabis products, providing marijuana businesses new legal protections and greater access to cash from investors as the state ushers in a sanctioned commercial marketplace.

The California secretary of state already has the power to register state-level trademarks, but only for items recognized by federal trademark law. Assembly Bill 64 would change that by allowing the secretary of state to register trademarks for cannabis goods and services.

Cannabis businesses are like other businesses, lawful and regulated. They should be able to protect their intellectual property, said bill author Assemblyman Rob Bonta, a Democrat from Alameda.

Trademarks will help bring marijuana vendors out of the shadows, he said, and also help consumers by assuring that youre going to get a certain quality or product when you purchase these goods.

The secretary of states office has not yet taken a position on the bill.

So far law enforcement groups, many of which opposed the ballot measure to legalize marijuana, are not speaking out against the move toward branding. Lauren Michaels, a lobbyist for the California Police Chiefs Association, said her group is focused on making sure that branded products arent advertised in a way that appeals to children.

Police chiefs are supporting Bontas bill because it would restrict marijuana billboards near freeways. (AB 64 also would speed up funding to establish standards for impaired driving and allow recreational marijuana to be sold through web-based delivery services  both contentious points in the initiative campaign.)

The bill already has some bipartisan support, including a Republican co-author. Still, some GOP lawmakers are wary. Senate Republican leader Jean Fuller of Bakersfield said she doesnt yet have a position on the bill but cautioned that its always precarious for a state to take on the federal government and make laws that are in conflict.

The policy is being considered in Sacramento as the nation prepares for a new federal government that could be more hostile to states that have permitted marijuana. U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who is Republican President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for attorney general, has criticized the Obama administration for its hands-off approach. In a confirmation hearing recently, Sessions stopped short of saying he would go after states that have regulated pot, leaving marijuana advocates and state officials unsure of his plans.

Asked how Sessions as U.S. attorney general could impact marijuana policy in California, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown said he had no idea.

Sometimes you take a step forward and then a step back, Brown said during a Capitol budget press conference this week. I think people will continue to be able to satisfy this particular need.

Colorado and Washington  two states that legalized recreational marijuana a few years ago  already offer state-level trademarks for pot products, said attorney Amanda Conley, a founder of the National Cannabis Bar Association. Her Brand and Branch law firm in Oakland helps cannabis businesses navigate legal issues related to branding and trademarks.

Without a state-level trademark in California, businesses that want to sell cannabis under a brand name here must find a legal hack around the federal ban on trademarking pot. Conley said she advises companies to seek a federal trademark for the federally lawful goods and services they offer that do not themselves include marijuana. For instance, an entrepreneur could seek to trademark an informative website about the medical uses of marijuana, or the rechargeable batteries used with vaping pipes.

Sleek cases holding such pipes and batteries were on display at a Sacramento dispensary, where bottles of Cannabis Quencher juices and packages of Heavenly Sweet cookies stood near aromatic jars of indica and sativa.

Most patients ask for products based on the desired effect  a sleep aid, or something to relieve pain  said Kimberly Cargile, who runs the dispensary called A Therapeutic Alternative. But, she said, theyre starting to more and more ask for brand names.

Cargile said she expects to see more of that as the shop prepares for newly required state packaging rules. Plastic Ziploc bags will be phased out.

In the future, she said, it will all be packaged and branded.

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit news venture focused on covering state policy and politics.
A couple of hundred protesters, charged up with anger, indignation and hope in the power of banding together for a common cause, gathered Sunday afternoon at Ontario International Airport to demonstrate against President Donald Trumps immigration order.

Enough! This is our America! We will not sit down and we will not go quietly, protester Julia Peacock of Corona said to applause.

The demonstration took place from 1 to 5 p.m., mostly in front of Terminal 2 but sometimes ranging east to a large grassy area. Police estimated the crowd grew as large as 225 people, who chanted, held signs and spoke out against Trumps actions.

Protesters have been assembling at airports nationwide where federal officials say more than 100 people had been detained because they are covered by the order and were in transit when Trump signed it Friday afternoon.

The order temporarily bars the citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations  Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen  from entering the U.S. It also temporarily suspends refugee admissions and indefinitely bars the processing of refugees from Syria.

RELATED: Thousands protest Trumps travel ban at LAX

No one has been detained at Ontario International Airport. Chief Marketing Officer Dan Adamus noted that any international arrivals to Ontario would be from Mexico. Anyone coming from a country affected by the travel ban would be cleared by U.S. Customs at another originating airport, he said.

The Ontario protest was organized by the Claremont chapter of Young Progressives Demanding Change and spearheaded by the groups Ian Schiffer, who frequently lead people in chanting slogans and made sure protesters followed the safety requests of police officers.

Some parents saw the Ontario protest as an opportunity to instill in their children a sense of civic responsibility.

Were starting them young, said Omar Ahmed of Claremont, a Muslim who brought his son Ibraheem, 5, and daughter Maryam, 3.

Its disheartening to see so much division and hate in our country, he said. We just want to show our kids we should be standing up for everybodys rights.

Ahmed was born in India and immigrated to the United States with his parent when he was 5. He said Americans are being pushed away from the characteristics of faith that are good for the country and its people.

Janet Nasirs husband, Omar Nasir, is a first-generation Pakistani-American. The Rancho Cucamonga couple attended the protest on behalf of their mixed-heritage sons and others.

Were here because we want justice for ourselves and our two children and the rest of the Muslim community, Janet Nasir said.

Shannon Cornwell of Orange County came to this protest charged up from last weekends Womens March in Washington, D.C.

Its more empowering to see my friends and neighbors just as charged up, she said.

Cornwell said Trumps actions have had a unifying affect  though not in a way people might have expected.

Hes unified them against his ideology, she said. It goes to show you we have more in common than we dont.

Nancy Hernandez, a senior studying environmental analysis at the Claremont colleges, said she came because of outrage at Trumps executive order and a need to express that in a positive way.

She hopes Sundays Ontario protest will make more people aware of whats going on.

Even if it doesnt affect their daily lives, its still happening and happening to other people.

There wasnt an obvious or large presence of people in disagreement with the protestors. Many cars honked as they passed by, though it was unclear whether they were honking in support or disagreement.

Nobody is hearing you, Tammy Brown of Portland, Oregon, said to a protestor who asked why she and another woman sitting on a bench across from Terminal 2 flipped them off.

I dont agree with everything Trump is doing or a lot of what he says  (but he) is our president. There is nothing we can do about it, Brown told a reporter.

The president, meanwhile, defended his actions Sunday, saying in a statement that America will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression while protecting its own citizens. And in appearances on news shows, Trumps aides stressed that just a small portion of travelers had been affected by the order.

Adamus, the airports chief marketing officer, said before the protest began that officials had been advised of the plans in advance and took precautionary measures to protect guests and protesters. He wouldnt describe those measures, saying the airport doesnt discuss details of its security protocols.

Afterward, Adamus, who watched the protest, described it as peaceful and mostly problem-free; one woman complied with a request not to stand on a wooden container, he said.
Dont push Trump

In my opinion, and in the opinion of the vast ocean of voters painted in red, any Californian, governor or mayor who defies federal directives to cooperate with federal officials in apprehending illegal immigrants are anti-American. Threatening to secede from the union would be the ultimate act of barbarism by these so-called liberal politicians and will bring down federal retaliation swiftly around their heads that they will never forget. I fear those who advocate sanctuary enclaves for illegal immigrations are playing with fire and a warning to them is in order. Get smart and shut your mouths now before its too late for you  unless you want to put an end to your futures.

 Gene Ryan, Wildomar

States days numbered

Re: Brown should concentrate on his own state [Opinion, Jan. 25]: Your editorial is spot on. Missing from Gov. Browns speech are needless expenditures for halting climate change, developing the bullet train to nowhere, embryonic stem cell research that has provided no cures to date and none in the foreseeable future, all the while totally ignoring the highest poverty rate and the greatest present and future indebtedness of all states in the country. Brown is indifferent to our plight as the most insolvent state in the country. Brown sees himself as todays King Canute, ordering the tides of the ocean not to rise  but additionally ordering that the Earths climate not change. The states golden days are numbered.

 Tulvio Durand, Anza

Paying for the wall

Come on! Taller walls mean taller ladders. Are we in the post-war era again? It took years of diplomacy to bring down the Berlin wall. Or maybe we should compare Mr. Trump to Qin Shi Huang (the 1st Emperor of China 220-210 BCE) who is famous for his wall, part of the Great Wall of China. It was to protect China from pirates and raiders. His wall is mostly gone. But some of the Great Wall of China has become a great tourist attraction. That must be what the president means when he talks about who will pay for the wall  the taxpayers now but in a few centuries our descendants can charge admission for tours of the Great Wall of Trump!

 Rick Raum, Banning

March sent a message of non-support to Trump

I am a resident of Redlands who attended the Womens March on Washingtons sister march in Riverside on Jan. 21. Marching with me were more than 20 Redlands branch members of the American Association of Universities, some with spouses, children and grandchildren in tow.

Those critical of the march have questioned its purpose and relevance, as well as the intent of the marchers, whom they see as not willing to give President Trump a chance.

I cannot presume to speak for others, but here is my answer:

President Donald Trump insulted, demeaned, lied to and embarrassed many of his fellow Americans during his candidacy and there has been no improvement in that regard post-election.

Having ridden his garbage flow of willfully misinformed and scapegoating rhetoric to an electoral college victory, he has yet to take any personal responsibility for his role in dividing our country, nor has he had the humility to acknowledge he lost the popular vote by a substantial margin and might therefore do well to attend to the voices of those who didnt vote for him.

My duty as a citizen did not stop when I cast my vote. Having tweeted and bragged incessantly during his candidacy about the fantastic, record high, humongous crowds coming to his rallies, I felt that the most effective way to reach him with my message of non-support for his behavior and stated agenda was to join up with some like-minded people and rally against him as part of a more fantastic, even bigger, even more humongous mass of humanity.

 Kathryn Brown, Redlands

No 210 Freeway?

Re: 6 Inland Empire road construction projects to watch for in 2017 [News, Jan. 3]: Brian Rokos enumerated six projects in his article but neglected to include The Inland Corridor  the 210 Freeway between Highland Avenue and Interstate 10 to Redlands, which I call the Bowling Alley (stacked up cars at the San Bernardino Avenue underpass onramp with the lone driver like a bowling ball aimed to crash into them).

I have followed this problem for over six years and Caltrans projected a remodel for completion in 2014. This never happened and the project was referred to the San Bernardino Associated Governments.

SanBAG held an informational meeting in Highland at Beatty Middle School showing details but neglected to include the Mountain Grove Shopping Center in the mix with more surface traffic.

To date, nothing has been done. I think Rokos should investigate this project like they do in Los Angeles on CBS with David Goldstein, then you can report to us the results for 2017.

I bypass this roadway when possible using Redlands Orange Street to Greenspot Road, bypassing the trouble spot. However, I find this a hazard to my health as it is difficult to drive past In-N-Out Burger!

 C. Arthur Anderson, Redlands

Stick to fighting fires

Have people forgotten about the city of San Bernardino going bankrupt, partly due to high salaries and pensions of city employees such as the fire department? This was the reason the city moved fire services to the county, to relieve the city of unaffordable costs.

Now county fire wants to expand and provide ambulance services. At what price tag? The service is already provided by American Medical Response, without salary and pension costs to taxpayers.

County fire is even trying to expand into paramedic home health care. Really? Send someone making $100,000 a year that retires at 50 with 90 percent of their pay to do blood pressure checks?

If you need something done other than fighting fires, using the most expensive workforce in the county is not the answer. Firefighters are essential for their true function of firefighting, but we dont need them spreading into anything else that will cost us drastically more than we need to spend as taxpayers.

 Vinh Duong, San Bernardino

DeVos doesnt pass test

Re: Voice for choice as secretary of education [Opinion, Jan. 18]: Incredibly, this paper supports Betsy DeVos as secretary of education based solely on her support of school choice and charter schools, as if this qualifies her to guide the nations public schools.

DeVos is unqualified for the position. Neither she nor her children have ever attended a public school. She has no credentials or academic background in education, nor has she worked or volunteered in any capacity for any public school.

To see what effect DeVos may have on public education, look at Michigan, and specifically Detroit, where she is a power player and has spent millions in support of charters and insulating them from any accountability.

Detroit has some of the lowest-performing public schools in the nation, but at the bottom of the bottom are the charter schools. And 38 percent of charter schools that received state academic rankings during the 2012-13 school year fell below the 25th percentile, compared to 23 percent of traditional public schools.

Anyone can open a charter school in Michigan, and 61 percent are for-profit with no regulations holding charter schools accountable fiscally or academically. In fact, DeVos spent $1.45 million this summer to defeat bipartisan legislation to hold Michigan charter schools accountable.

Rather than bash public education and teachers, as this paper frequently does, you should advise parents how to get the most out of their public school, including to get involved in their childs education  the single most influential action parents can take to help their child be successful in school.

 Paul Clement, Upland

The peoples government

Having Donald Trump as our president has finally made me proud to be an American yet embarrassed to be a Californian.

In his inaugural address, President Trump vowed to give back the government to the people, while in California we continue to give away our freedom, economy and intelligence to government employee unions, which have taken over the government itself and keep us subjugated to them.

Drain the swamp!

 Ray Moors, Chino
In spite of uncertainties about President Donald Trumps trade policy and a forecast of weak global trade, officials at the Port of Long Beach said they are looking to rebound from a rough year.

We saw mergers, changing alliances and even bankruptcies (last year), and now we face uncertain trade policy, Duane Kenagy, the interim chief executive of the port, said in his State of the Port address last week.

He warned 300 people in attendance, including terminal operators, shipping executives and others in the supply chain industry, that there may be more turbulence ahead, but that the local port  the second largest in the country  had positioned itself well for at least modest gains in the coming year.

The twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles ship cargo by truck and rail through the Inland area. Some of it is stored in area warehouses and distribution centers while more heads to points east. The flow of goods supplies thousands of jobs to Inland workers.

This year the port struggled with diminished cargo movement after Hanjin Shipping, which owned a majority stake in the local ports largest terminal, went bankrupt.

On Wednesday, Kenagy struck an optimistic tone, but he said there remains much to do.

We need to raise more cranes, strengthen our berths, deepen our water and upgrade our rail facility and highway access to make our terminals even more productive, he said.

But, after stepping down from the podium, he also said he will be keeping his eye on Trumps moves. In the coming months, port officials will be going to Washington, D.C., to ask legislators for federal dollars and to promote legislation favoring the port. The Long Beach port receives millions of dollars in grants, and much of its green port initiative is dependent on federal funding.

All of that is in flux as Trump takes trade and environmental policies in a new direction.

Nearly 40 percent of the nations imports come in through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, the bulk coming from Pacific nations.

Contact the writer: ruranga@scng.com or Twitter: @racheluranga
An investigator at the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) says the properties Akua Adubofour, mother of Ruby Adu-Gyamfi aka Nayele Ametefe, is claiming ownership of, after all belong to her daughter.



According to the NACOB investigator (name withheld) checks at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) do not name Adubofour as the owner of the two storey buildings situated at East Legon and Dzorwulu, both suburbs of Accra.



Madam Adubofour is before the Accra Financial and Economic Crimes Court challenging the state over the confiscated assets.



Led in evidence by Wendy Yeboah, lawyer at NACOB, the witness stated that after the arrest and subsequent conviction of Nayele, he was tasked to identify the assets of the convict.



He said he identified one property at East Legon and the other at Dzorwulu  which is a shop  adding that after that I requested for the property rate from AMA.



The NACOB undercover investigator indicated that he further requested from the AMA how names were placed on property rates and what goes into that.



The witness stated that AMA responded to the said request and got to know Akua Adubofour after NACOB had pasted seizure notices on the stated properties.



Per the checks done at the AMA in relation to the property rate, Akua Adubofours name is not listed as the owner of the property, he disclosed.



The trial judge, Justice Georgina Mensah-Datsa, adjourned hearing of the case for the cross-examination of the victim.



The state had filed a motion on notice for the confiscation of the purported illegal properties belonging to Nayele, who is currently serving a jail term in London for transporting 12.5kg of cocaine to Britain.



In Ghana, Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, the immediate past Attorney General (AG), through Ms Penelope Ann Mammattha, a Chief State Attorney, filed nolle prosequi to drop the charges against six other suspects who were before an Accra Circuit Court presided over by Francis Obiri, for their alleged complicity in the cocaine case.



The application, dated February 20, 2015 and signed by the AG, stated, Take notice that the state intends that the proceedings against the accused persons in the above-named case shall not continue.



The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and NACOB have so far confiscated all items in the Night Angels Enterprise, located along the Dzorwulu highway and six Fidelity Bank accounts, including one containing GH3.22p.



But Madam Adubofour is in court claiming that the two houses confiscated by the state as part of her daughters assets do not belong to her (daughter).



EOCO is also demanding that Kwesi Dadzie, lawyer representing Madam Adubofour, serves Ruby in prison with processes the mother has filed claiming ownership of the two properties.



However, Madam Adubofours lawyer insists there is no need to serve her daughter with the processes since the houses belong to her (Adubofour).

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Bharti Airtel, the mother company of Airtel Ghana has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries including Ghana within a year.



The affected countries include Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Chad, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

BloombergQuint quotes Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal as saying "the move would pare the size of operations in the continent and could be completed within a year....some of Bhartis businesses in 14 African nations would be affected."

This confirms earlier rumors that Airtel and Tigo will merge in Ghana this year and will be taken over by a French telecom giant, Orange.

A further confirmation was a hint by some local telecom executives who told this writer they have been approached by Orange with a job offer in Ghana, while some Airtel and Tigo vendors close to talks on the matter have also confirmed they have been approached to start preparing for the change.

A Tigo Ghana executive also confirmed in a conversation with some industry stakeholders that "the merger will happen".

Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldnt be exiting Africa.

But mobilityarena.com reports the sale of the 14 operations in Africa has become necessary because Bharti Airtel is faced with poor performance across those markets and that is shoring up it debt portfolio.

Bhartis African unit, for instance, lost $91 million in the quarter ended September 2016, compared with a $170 million loss same period in the previous year.

The Indian global telecoms giant is therefore looking for ways to pare net debt equivalent to about $12 billion by September this year.

In Ghana, Airtel recently instituted charges for services it used to offer for free, and made a failed attempt to take more money from its value added service partners, and the VAS folk suspended services in protest of a 80-20 per cent revenue share arrange in favour of Airtel.

Indeed, since MTN went 4G in Ghana last year, there have been moves by Tigo and Vodafone to join, but Airtel, which is part of the top four telcos in Ghana, is pretty much silent about 4G LTE.

In Nigeria, Airtel is the only one of the big four mobile operators that is yet to launch a 4G LTE network.

Back in Airtels home country, India, Reliance Jio is reported giving Airtel a big run for their money in a fierce price war that is reportedly depleting their gains.

As part of moves to reduce it debts, Bharti is also considering selling it 73.5 per cent stake in its tower unit, Bharti Infratel Ltd., but a decision is yet to be taken whether to sell minority or controlling shares.

In Ghana, Airtel is the fourth biggest operator out of six operators. Its subscriber base stands at 4.68 million, representing a market share of 12.54 per cent. It data subscriptions is a little over three million, representing some 15.71 per cent market share.

Airtel Ghana market value is estimated at some US$200 million.

Source: Peacefmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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After an intensive engagement for consensus building with members of the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) in parliament  who were very determined to torpedo the approval of Senior Minister-designate, Yaw Osafo-Maafo and Minister-designate for Energy, Boakye Agyarko  the two, together with others, were yesterday approved.



The two nominees were summoned to the house but their approval travelled late into the evening when the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and other members from his side, contributing to the debate on the motion to approve the nominees, strongly objected to the idea because of certain serious statements they were said to have made before the Appointments Committee.



The two were among five nominees who were to be approved yesterday. Eventually, they were let to go, leading to their swearing-in by President Akufo-Addo later in the evening.



The president swore in 12 ministers, except Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who was out of the country for official AU engagements in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.



The other three approved without any problems were Minister-designate for Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh; Minister-designate for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu and Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto.



The argument of the minority for opposing the approval of the two nominees was that Mr Osafo-Maafo did not tell the committee the truth with regard to the alleged ethnocentric comments that he made in the Eastern Region to the effect that only people from the five resource-rich regions should be made to become presidents.



In addition, the minority also argued that the CNCTI loan which he (Osafo-Maafo) said was abrogated under his tenure as Minister of Finance (during President Kufuors rule) was not a true reflection of things since according to the minority, their checks from records in parliament did not show that.



They also said that Minister-designate for Energy, Boakye Agyarko, had made a categorical statement before the committee that former President John Mahama was corrupt because he superintended over sole-sourcing of the Floating Storage and Re-Gasification Unit and was also said not to have provided the accurate figure on the debts of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).



In the course of the heated debate as to whether or not to approve the two nominees whose vetting had come under scrutiny, news starting spreading on the various media networks that a member of the Appointments Committee, Mahama Ayariga, had revealed to Radio Gold  a pro-NDC radio station in Accra  that the Minister-designate for Energy had attempted to bribe them with GH3,000 each but the chairman of the committee later told the House that it (committee) would respond appropriately to the allegation.



Chairman of the Committee, Joe Osei-Wusu, denied playing any role in the alleged bribery, vowing to take up the matter at the appropriate quarters.



Mahama Ayariga was said to have withdrawn the bribery allegation.



According to parliamentary sources, Ayariga said he made the claim to level the playing field because the nominee had impugned the reputation of former President John Mahama.



The Defence Minister-designate, Dominic Nitiwul, was very forceful in defending the two nominees, saying that those allegations against them were not accurate.



He said that the majority New Patriotic Party wanted a consensus building that was why the approval of the two was deferred to yesterday.



He said the majority has a huge numerical advantage and could have gone ahead and voted on the approval, but because parliament thrives on consensus building, they waited for more consultations and consensus building.



We have done all that we need to do in terms of consensus building and that if the minority wants to become impediment in forming our government then we can easily use our vast majority to approve the nominees, he said.



The majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, continued the path of consensus building and invited the leadership of both sides and also the leadership of the Appointments Committee to meet with the two nominees in the lobby of the speaker to resolve the issues amicably.



After reaching a consensus the leadership returned and Haruna Iddrisu told the House that after a lengthy consultation, the Minister-designate decided to withdraw his statement of corruption against the former president and also said that since he was a new person going into the ministry, figures given about the debt of ECG might not exactly be accurate and that he was aware that the total debt of ECG was GH2 billion instead of the GH800 million he mentioned to the committee.



The minority leader also said the Minister-designate for Energy agreed that the GH800 million debt was rather government indebtedness to ECG.



He also indicated that the Senior Minister-designate expressed regret over any such comment and that it was not his nature to stoke ethnocentrism in the country.



He said based on that the leadership of the minority accepted the explanations and therefore relaxed their stand for the two to be approved by parliament.



He expressed the hope that after being approved they would discharge their duties as true Ministers of State and not on partisan lines.



The speaker, Prof Mike Oquaye, thanked the leadership for showing such maturity.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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President Akufo-Addo has sworn into office the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway. He swore her in at a short ceremony held at Ghanas embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.



The president had earlier on Friday, sworn into office 12 out of 13 ministers whose nominations were approved by Parliament.



Madam Ayorkor Botcwey, who was outside the country at the time of the swearing-in ceremony had to be sworn in separately in Ethiopia where she was representing Ghana at a meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers in preparation for the AU summit from 29th to 31st of January, 2017.



According to a statement from the Presidency, Nana Akufo-Addo who arrived in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday [January 28] will prior to the commencement of the Ordinary Session of the Assembly on Monday, attend a retreat for the Heads of States on Sunday, January 29, 2017 immediately after a breakfast meeting with the new Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana on Wednesday, February 1, 2017.

Source: citifmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to US President Donald Trumps executive order halting the intake of refugees, saying that those fleeing persecution, terror and war are welcome in his country, regardless of their faith.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

Trudeau followed up this Tweet with another, showing an archive photo of him welcoming a young Syrian refugee to a Canadian airport in 2015.

Donald Trumps temporary ban, already in effect, has led to travellers being detained and turned back in America and abroad, and sparked a protest at New Yorks JFK International Airport.

The executive order means that visitors from seven predominantly-Muslim countries will be banned from entering the US for 90 days, meaning Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will likely be unable to attend this years ceremony.

While Justin Trudeau is standing behind refugees, Canadas airlines have no choice but to comply with the new US regulation about international travellers from Muslim-majority countries.

Per reports in Newsweek, a passenger was turned away from a WestJet Airlines flight from Canada to the US; the airline has not revealed the nationality of the passenger, but says it will give refunds to those affected by the ban.

We have approached major Australian airlines for comment as to how the new US security and immigration protocols are being implemented here, and whether any travellers have thus far been affected.

Source: Newsweek.

Photo: Vitaly Holovin / Stephanie Keith / Getty.
The new United States border policy restricting travel from Muslim-majority countries has caused confusion at US airports, with reports of dozens of travellers being detained, and crowds of protesters gathering in New York and Dallas.

A report from Dallas News claims that up to 50 people found themselves detained at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, including a Syrian couple who were travelling to the US to visit their sons, a Southern Methodist University student and graduate.

Protesters gathered at the airport in support of travellers caught up in the ban, which has seen some detained at the border in the US, and some in countries like Canada turned back before boarding flights.

Those in Dallas carried signs blasting Donald Trumps recently-signed executive order, bearing slogans like Refugees are welcome here! and We turned Jews back, now Muslims?

People protest at Terminal D at DFW. Their grandmother from Sudan is being held inside. @dallasnewsphoto @dallasnews pic.twitter.com/PJuspAwniB  Jae Lee (@pixjaelee) January 28, 2017

The Guardian report that, on the east coast, eleven travellers were detained at New Yorks John F Kennedy Airport, and that there are reports of similar situations in Atlanta, Houston and Detroit.

Protesters also gathered at JFK, and there are reports from the US that the New York Taxi Worker Alliance has halted pickups at the airport in protest of the new laws.

Becca Heller of the International Refugee Assistance Project told media: Weve gotten reports of people being detained all over the country  Theyre literally pouring in by the minute.

The rules for holders of US green card holders were initially unclear, and US officials have since clarified that residents from banned countries will need to check their status with US consulates.

At a news briefing on the new executive order, an official said that green card holders from these countries will have to be cleared on a case by case basis, and claimed that the process is working expeditiously.

Residents of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who hold US green cards and are travelling overseas will therefore need to seek consular assistance to find out if they can return.

Per reports in The Guardian, the US State Department says that those who have dual citizenship of a country on this list and any other non-US country are also subject to a 90-day travel ban. This presumably includes dual Australian citizens.

Current reports indicate that many of those detained, including the majority in Dallas, have since been released, and video shows a tearful reunion between members of a Syrian family at the Fort Worth airport.

Tearful reunion as Najah of #Syria reunites with daughter Miriam Yasin Dallas airport. Najah, 54, has a green card. Crowd cheers #MuslimMama pic.twitter.com/CjbNT4Za5m  Dianne Solis (@disolis) January 28, 2017

Source: CBS Local / Dallas News / The Guardian.

Photos: Stephanie Keith / Getty.
Two prominent Republican senators have issued a joint statement lashing out against Donald Trumps executive order which banned travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries for at least 90 days and suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days.

John McCain and Lindsey Graham  who have both pursued the presidency in the past  said in a statement released on McCains website that the ban was hasty and not properly vetted. They argue that it hits people who should never have been covered, like green card holders and refugees who have been thoroughly vetted.

EO sends signal, intended or not, that US doesnt want Muslims here- fear it may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve security  John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) January 29, 2017

They also claim that this will enable terrorist recruitment and energise ISIS into securing more support in the countries included.

The full statement is below:

Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.

It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security. Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children. Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.

McCain was the Republican presidential candidate against Barack Obama back in 2008, and Graham was one of the challengers decimated by Trump during the primaries last year. Graham is one of the few candidates who has remained against the extremes of Trumps program  most have fallen in line.

Both McCain and Graham have been advocates for immigration reform in the past, but not consistently. Though they have both backed bills which would support a path for citizenship, they have also backed efforts to build a Mexican border fence / wall and hasten deportations of those accused of being illegal immigrants.

Source: The Guardian.

Photo: Getty Images / Pool.
A federal judge in the United States has granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to stay the deportation of travellers detained on entry to the country under new immigration laws.

Judge Ann Donnellys ruling applies to those who landed at US airports with valid visas on the day that Donald Trumps executive order on travel came into effect, blocking residents of certain Muslim-majority countries from entering.

The executive order, which bars residents of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia from entering the US for 90 days left a number of travellers detained, with fear that they would be turned around at the border.

Judge Donnelly said that the U.S. government had presumably approved the entry of these travellers into the country prior to the executive order, and that had it been two days prior, none of them would have been detained.

Per reports in The Chicago Tribune, Judge Donnellys decision was made in part because an ACLU attorney informed the court of a refugees imminent deportation to Syria.

She asked U.S. attorneys if they could guarantee that this person would be safe from irreparable harm when he returned to Syria, and they could not grant such an assurance.

Celebrations break out at Brooklyn courthouse after judge grants stay temporarily blocking Pres. Trumps exec. order https://t.co/79a2DpjqmB  MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 29, 2017

Per reports in the Chicago Tribune, Judge Donnelly asked the U.S. government if they could provide a list of those who are currently in detention, but U.S. attorneys responded that this would be more difficult than it sounds.





The New York Times estimate that the order could affect upwards of 100 people detained on arrival at American airports.

At this stage, however, it would appear that detainees are still in limbo  while they will not be sent back to their home countries just now, they could remain in immigration detention until the matter is resolved.

LITERALLY on the ground. Volunteer lawyers work pro-bono on a Saturday night preparing habeus corpus petitions for detainees at JFK. A photo posted by NYC Mayors Office (@nycmayorsoffice) on Jan 28, 2017 at 6:23pm PST

Source: The New York Times / Chicago Tribune.

Photo: Stephanie Keith / Getty.
After finding out around 3 weeks ago that the group of men and women who robbed Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in Paris had been taken into custody by police, weve now heard the first statement by the man who was reportedly the mastermind of the incident.

60-year-old Aomar Ait KIhedache (AKA The Old Man) was allegedly the ringleader, and according to French media outlet Le Monde, he has told police all of Kardashians jewellery has been melted down and no longer exists  except her $4 million engagement ring from husband Kanye West.

He said that the vast majority of the jewellery was taken apart, melted down, and sold in Antwerp. In his testimony, he said:

For the jewellery never to be recognised, we made the decision to melt them. One of the people took care of it. He came back with bars. [] [All] in all, there had to be 800 and a few grams, which gave an amount of ah  25,000 or 28,000 [], something like that.

The process of melting down the stolen goods was chosen due to the fact that the jewellery is immediately recognisable, and the Kardashian robbery was extremely high-profile  something the group of career criminals were apparently not expecting.

Klhedache told police the group was completely unprepared for the story to go international, let alone viral, calling the plan a very simple affair.

They were also not expecting this  the robber told police that Kardashians aforementioned engagement ring has not actually been sold to anyone  people are far too afraid to buy it, seeing that its connected to such a high-profile case:

There is a person who has it  Everyone was afraid to sell, because its a stone thats very easily spotted.

As for why they chose to rob the reality star? Klhedache told police that it was indeed Kardashians photos and posts online that made robbing her irresistible.

He told police that her social media presence told them everything they needed to know in order to find and rob her:

She specified that she didnt wear fakes, the schedules when she came to France. It was enough to look on the internet to know everything, absolutely everything.

Looks like Kimmys 3-month long hiatus from social media (and careful curation ever since) was for good reason.

Source: Le Monde.

Photo: Instagram / @kimkardashian.
As has already been widely-reported, an executive order signed this week by US president Donald Trump has suspended Americas refugee program, and put a temporary ban on travel for citizens of predominantly-Muslim countries.

This ban means that visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will be barred from entering the US for 90 days, after which nobody is particularly sure what will happen.

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi is one of many caught up in the refugee ban, and with the current rules in place, he will not be able to attend this years Academy Awards, for which his film The Salesman is nominated.

Farhadis previous effort A Separation won Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy awards, and The Salesman, about a young couple staging a production of Arthur Millers Death Of A Salesman, is nominated in the same category.

Taraneh Alidooti, the Iranian star of The Salesman, was due to attend the February 26 Oscars ceremony in celebration of the film, but has now said that she will not attend, in protest over current US immigration policy.

Trumps visa ban for Iranians is racist, she wrote on social media. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I wont attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest.

Trumps visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not,I wont attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest pic.twitter.com/CW3EF6mupo  Taraneh Alidoosti (@t_alidoosti) January 26, 2017

Palestinian documentary maker Emad Burnat was detained and questioned with his family at LAX as they were en route to the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, but they were ultimately released and were able to attend.

Source: NY Times.

Photo: Frank Tapper / Getty.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body behind the Oscars, has released a statement concerning Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian filmmaker who may be barred from attending from this years event thanks to new US immigration restrictions.

As has been widely-reported, Donald Trumps executive order barring travellers from Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for the next 90 days means that Farhadi may be prevented from attending the Oscars, where his film The Salesman is nominated.

Earlier today, the Academy released a statement denouncing the travel ban, saying:

The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences. As supporters of filmmakers  and the human rights of all people  around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this years Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.

Celebrity news source People contacted the White House for clarification  theres a weird phase to try and parse  and were told that Farhadi may qualify for a waiver to allow him to enter the US.

The fact that this situation arose on day one of the new immigration rules means that perhaps the executive order banning travel was rushed and not overly well thought-out, but maybe that goes without saying.

Iraqi filmmaker Hussein Hassan was set to premiere his documentary A Dark Wind, about the battle between Kurdish people and ISIS, at the Miami Film Festival, but has withdrawn thank to the changes in immigration law.

The films producer Mehmet Aktas gave a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, expressing deep frustration that a friend an ally of the United States now finds himself barred from entering:

Hussein Hassan risked everything to present the true face of the war. Hassan is not a fighter at the front line. He fights with his artistic soul against terrorism and crimes. The U.S. are the closest and most important allies for Kurdistan. Now it seems to be impossible for a Kurdish artist to visit the U.S. to present his work  We as Kurdish filmmakers hope that Donald Trump will acknowledge the Kurdish people.

Source: The AV Club.

Photo: Greg Doherty / Getty.
Planned Parenthood supporters rally for womens access to reproductive health care on National Pink Out Day in October 2015 at Los Angeles City Hall.
Low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities on Wisconsins $9 billion Medicaid program could see more premiums, co-payments, eligibility requirements and efforts to reduce costs if President Donald Trump and Congress follow through on a pledge to give states more flexibility to manage the state-federal health program for the poor.

Changes to Medicaid could be included in Gov. Scott Walkers 2017-19 budget proposal to be released Feb. 8, though the state Legislature might not take up reform until late this year or early next year.

Medicaid services cover nearly 1.2 million people in Wisconsin, or roughly 1 in 5 residents, and account for 17 percent of the state budget  the second-largest expense after K-12 education. The federal government pays about 59 percent of the Medicaid budget and the state 41 percent.

With Republicans in control in Madison and Washington, the state is expected to have greater freedom to make Medicaid coverage more like private insurance. That could include more costs for participants and changes in eligibility criteria, such as requiring recipients to work.

The flexibility to implement such changes could come through federal block grants to states, which Trump and Congressional leaders support and Walker has requested, or from a greater willingness by the Trump administration to approve exemptions to federal Medicaid rules.

A Medicaid block grant will allow us to cover those who are truly in need while helping those who are able to transition from government dependence to true independence through hard work, Walker wrote this month to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Public assistance should be a trampoline, not a hammock, Walker said this month in a radio address.

Michael Heifetz, Wisconsins Medicaid director, said the state will soon ask the federal government for permission to charge childless adults premiums of $1 to $5 a month, limit their coverage to four years, require health risk assessments and subject enrollees to drug testing. People who dont engage in risky behaviors such as smoking would see lower premiums, and those who test positive for drug use would be referred for treatment.

Health care advocates expect similar proposals for others on Medicaid, despite an unexpected surplus of $312.5 million in state funds in the current Medicaid budget.

For ideological reasons, they will push for higher cost-sharing from recipients, perhaps including premiums and higher co-payments, said Jon Peacock, research director for the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. That could be difficult for people with the lowest incomes, who often dont have checking accounts or credit cards, Peacock said. I think its going to have some very negative, unintended consequences.

Donna Friedsam, health policy programs director at UW-Madisons Population Health Institute, said Medicaids relatively rosy budget situation this year could make reform even more likely.

When you have less budgetary pressure, that gives you a little more breathing room, perhaps, to try new things and not worry about being left holding a big financial burden at having failed at what you tried, Friedsam said.

Advocates for the disabled and the elderly, groups that make up about 25 percent of Medicaid recipients but account for 64 percent of the cost, dont expect the Walker administration to propose changes to Family Care and other long-term care programs that were in the last state budget.

The changes, which would have replaced managed care organizations with insurance companies, were dropped last year after significant opposition.

But the advocates fear block grants, which would give states a lump sum of federal money instead of tying federal amounts to how much states spend, could lead to cuts.

Any form of a reduced funding structure from the federal government means likely one of three things: cuts to programs, cuts to benefits or elimination of certain populations of people in Medicaid, said Lisa Pugh, state director of The Arc Wisconsin, which advocates for people with disabilities.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, of Janesville, has proposed stripping Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, which uses the money to provide nonabortion services, such as contraception and cancer screenings, to low-income people.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin receives about $11 million in Medicaid funding a year. Losing the money could make it difficult for 50,000 people in Wisconsin to get the services, said Tanya Atkinson, incoming president and CEO of the organization.

Its possible Walker and state lawmakers will hold off on revamping Medicaid until Congress and Trump adopt changes to the program, which might not happen until fall.

State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said at a WisPolitics.com event this month that the Legislature could revisit the two-year budget, which is typically approved by July 1, months later to address Medicaid.

By the time we come back for the fall floor period, or perhaps even the spring (of 2018), I hope that we have the ability to reshape how we deal with Medicaid, Vos said.

A history of tinkering

Medicaid was expanded by former governors Tommy Thompson and Jim Doyle and has been scaled back  yet partly broadened  by Walker.

Under Thompson, Wisconsin created BadgerCare, the states main Medicaid program, in 1999 by expanding coverage to children and parents who make up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $40,320 this year for a family of three.

Doyle, in 2008, extended eligibility for children and pregnant women to 300 percent of the poverty level, calling the new program BadgerCare Plus. The next year, about 65,000 childless adults with incomes up to twice the poverty level were allowed to sign up before an enrollment cap kicked in.

Walker, in 2012, required parents with incomes above 133 percent of the poverty level to pay premiums, which resulted in decreased enrollment.

In 2013, Walker and the Republican-controlled state Legislature decided not to participate in an expansion of Medicaid allowed under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The expansion would have provided full federal funding from 2014 through last year, and at least 90 percent federal funding in subsequent years, for enrolling people who make up to 133 percent of the poverty level.

Wisconsin opted instead to cover all adults under the poverty level, allowing some 130,000 childless adults to sign up but shifting roughly 63,000 parents off Medicaid, according to the state Department of Health Services.

Walker said the people losing Medicaid could use the health laws government subsidies, available to people at 100 percent to 400 percent of the poverty level, to buy private insurance on the laws exchange.

Of the 63,000 people who lost Medicaid, roughly 36,000 got private insurance on or off the exchange, or were able to re-enroll in Medicaid, the state health department said in September 2014. Some of the others likely became uninsured.

Among the 19 states that didnt pursue the health laws Medicaid expansion, Wisconsin is the only one to have no gap in coverage for low-income residents, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Medicaid programs in the other states, including Florida, Georgia and Texas, dont cover adults up to the poverty level.

Largely because of the exchange and its subsidies, which 85 percent of state enrollees use, the number of uninsured residents in Wisconsin dropped from 518,000 in 2013 to 323,000 in 2015  or 5.7 percent of the population, sixth lowest among states.

Premiums might expand

Clues to how Wisconsin and other states might remake Medicaid can be found in Indiana, where Vice President Mike Pence and consultant Seema Verma, whom Trump appointed to oversee Medicaid and Medicare, transformed the states Medicaid program.

They required many enrollees to pay monthly premiums to get full coverage, shut off coverage for six months to some who fail to pay and charged fees for inappropriate visits to the emergency room, among other changes.

In Wisconsin, premiums are currently required for three groups of Medicaid recipients: children whose families make at least double the poverty level, adults allowed to stay on Medicaid temporarily if their incomes go above the poverty level and people with disabilities who work and otherwise wouldnt qualify for Medicaid.

Adding premiums for other groups or changing eligibility could make it difficult for thousands of people to maintain coverage, in part because Medicaid is already complicated to apply for and stay on, said Bobby Peterson, executive director of ABC for Health, a nonprofit public interest law firm in Madison.

There are administrative hoops and hurdles that people just cant get through, Peterson said. If you dont know the rules well enough, youre going to get harmed by the system.

The state could also drop benefits considered optional under Medicaid, such as adult dental care, chiropractic services or eyeglasses.

Previous proposals to eliminate optional benefits havent gone far, however, because they could boost spending in other areas, Peacock said.

Lynn Breedlove, co-chairman of the Wisconsin Long-Term Care Coalition, said state officials have assured his group they wont reintroduce the controversial proposal to alter Family Care and a related program called IRIS.

But Heifetz, the Medicaid director, said at a Population Health Institute forum this month that care for the highest-cost recipients, most of whom are disabled or elderly, must be better coordinated to reduce costs.

That is a dilemma that ultimately this state is going to have to address, Heifetz said.

Breedlove said a block grant could encourage unwelcome changes, such as resuming waiting lists for long-term care or reducing services that keep people out of nursing homes.

We would start adding nursing homes beds and building new nursing homes, he said. Nursing homes cost a lot more than community care.
Here, there, everywhere  why car washes seem to be on every corner


Syria-Tartous. International navy in mediterranean sea



Sources: Submitted by SyrianPatriots; The real SyrianFreePress.NET work at: https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/russian-warships-tartus/

Russia and Syria late last week signed agreements to grant indefinitely Russia's control of the port facilities at Tartus on Syria's west coast on the Mediterranean Sea.

The agreement, as we understand it, allows Russia to dredge the port facility; to install floating berths and to carry out repair works to the existing facilities that shall then enable Russia to keep 11 warships stationed permanently there, several of which are nuclear powered and others which can carry nuclear weaponry.

The agreement initially grants Russia rights to the port for 49 years but and this is an important But the deal can be automatically extended for further 25-year periods if neither side objects. Almost certainly it will be extended.

The port is Russia's access to the Mediterranean and with Russia's airbase in Latakia about 55 miles to the north of Tartus Moscow now has a very real and almost certainly a permanent military presence in the Middle East. This should never have been allowed, but under the Obama Administration and with Obama's acquiescence it has been. There is little that the US can and will do now that it has been done. We warned our readers of this many years ago; it is now fact and the new Administration shall have to deal with this new, harsh and somewhat frightening reality



Dennis Gartman / The Gartman Letter / Jan 23, 2017
Yes, we can, they chanted in unison. To hear Barack Obama speak, or just to catch a glimpse of him, roughly 200,000 people had turned out that day, July 24, 2008, filling the broad, tree-lined avenue of Strasse des 17 Juni in Berlin's glorious Tiergarten Park. It was an audience three times the size of any crowd Obama had drawn back in the United States. The election was still months away.

It was like a rock concert. As Obama seemed to float towards the podium on a sky-blue walkway beneath the red granite and sandstone Victory Column, the Siegessaule, with the Brandenburg Gate looming in the far distance, the chanting in German-accented English grew louder. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

Obama had arrived in Germany in his campaign's Boeing 757, filled with handlers and journalists. That same week, when Republican candidate John McCain arrived at an airport in New Hampshire, a single reporter was there to greet him in the arrivals lobby. Seven bloody years had passed since the Al Qaida atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001. Americans desperately wanted to be loved by the world, and everyone in the world seemed to love Obama.

When Obama won the presidency that November it was close to a landslide. Democrats took control of both houses of Congress. Obama was going to change the world. It was all about hope and change.

Among the many millions of Obama's still-entranced votaries, disciples and admirers, all of whom are now quite sensibly aghast at the fresh hell looming in the imminent presidency of Donald Trump, you will not hear it said out loud. But the facts of it are unassailable. What was wrought by Obama's 2008 election was the beginning of the end of American power and prestige in the world. It was a good, long, 60-year run. It's over.

It wasn't George W. Bush's fault, no matter how desperately so many people have made themselves need to believe that to be so, and no matter how the facts of the Bush administration's many misadventures in Iraq are twisted and bent to make it appear to be so. It isn't Donald Trump's fault, either. Trump is just the loudest and ugliest piece of human detritus to tumble from the American wreckage.

Strictly speaking, it's not simply Obama's fault, either. But wreckage is not a word that puts too fine a point on what has become of the American republic, and of America's standing and stature in the streets of Kyiv, in the rubble of Aleppo, in the Kremlin, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and in not a few NATO capitals, besides.

Unlike his loathed and uncouth Texan predecessor, Obama was an eloquent, reed-thin, 47-year-old African-American, the son of a Kenyan immigrant father who began life as a goatherder, and a mother whose forebears were European settlers in Kansas. He was a Harvard law graduate. He'd spent some of his childhood years in Indonesia. His middle name was Hussein. He was really cool.

In his Sept. 23, 2009, inaugural speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Obama pledged he would not be like Bush, who acted unilaterally and without regard for the interests of others. Obama's speech was interrupted by applause, 12 times. Europe was so caught up in the excitement that the Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded Obama the Peace Prize two weeks later. Obama had created a new climate in the world, the Nobel committee explained, and he spoke so fondly of multilateral diplomacy, and nuclear disarmament, and dialogue, and was keen to reach out to something called the Muslim world, too.

In June, 2009, Obama had travelled to Cairo to do just that. I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, Obama declared, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam share common principles  principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. A new beginning, Obama promised.

Within weeks of his Cairo speech, Obama had already broken his promises to the courageous young democrats of the Muslim world, in Iran. They'd risen up in peaceful protest against the violence and treachery of the rigged system that resulted in the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, deemed by Supreme leader Ali Khamenei to have won legitimately owing to some sort of divine assessment.

But by then, Obama was already busy with diplomatic back channel favour-currying with the Iranian ayatollahs, and the Iranian uprising collapsed. Within two years, democratic revolts were shaking the foundations of several Arab police states, and Obama was at best indifferent. When it mattered most, in Libya, Obama only reluctantly agreed to join a NATO-led no fly zone, then walked away.

The deal Obama eventually struck with Tehran committed the ayatollahs to wait at least a few years before building a nuclear bomb, and in exchange Tehran would earn roughly $100 billion in sanctions relief. Just one of the collateral costs: Obama would ensure that NATO would not stand in the way of the campaign of mass murder the Iranian proxy Bashar al-Assad was waging against his own civilians, nearly 500,000 of whom have ended up dead, so far.

Another cost: roughly six million refugees, and mayhem sufficient to threaten the stability of the European Union. Another cost: after an almost total absence of 30 years, Russia has re-emerged as a ruthless war criminal in the Middle East  at Obama's invitation. Obama's public-relations specialists came up with a jingle about Syria becoming Russia's Vietnam. Instead, Russia is now the dominant global power between Istanbul and the Persian Gulf, and American credibility is shot, pretty well everywhere.

Obama's pivot to Asia, then. How'd that turn out?

Not even the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement survived. Obama formally gave up on it after Trump's electoral college win last November, but months earlier, even Hillary Clinton, the agreement's former champion, had thrown in the towel.

Beijing has more or less annexed the South China Sea, and to Japan's growing dismay, is now moving in on the East China Sea. The Philippines have absconded from the American sphere of influence into China's orbit. The Chinese regime is slowly tightening the noose around democratic Taiwan. After having only a bare-bones, drawing board nuclear program when Obama came into office, North Korea has since built up a stockpile of perhaps as many as 35 nuclear bombs.

In an assessment for the Centre for Policy Studies in London published this week, the Economist Magazine's veteran correspondent and analyst Edward Lucas writes that after 30 years of covering European security, he has never been gloomier about the future of the United States. We need to prepare for a post-American, post-NATO European security order. Our counterparts in Asia need to start making their own arrangements too, says Lucas.

It is going to be messy, costly and dangerous, and a large share of the blame rests with the man now packing up at the White House.

That's not the sort of thing a great many of Obama's American admirers and Trump's most intelligent and forceful American adversaries will be happy to acknowledge. But it's something Canadians, and just about everyone else in the world, will have to reckon with.

The American Epoch is over. It ended on Barack Obama's watch.

Terry Glavin is a Canadian author and journalist, a National Post columnist, has worked as a reporter, columnist and editor for a variety of newspapers. His assignments in recent years have taken him around the world hotspots. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.

Editor's Note: This commentary was originally published by National Post on Jan. 19, 2017. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers. Link to original article .

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Petroleumworld News 01/30/2017
Can you work 32 hours a week, asked a woman from Wisconsins unemployment office.

I told her I worked much more than that on calling and meeting with investors and potential advertisers to start my own broadcasting company. I was scrambling after getting laid off by Clear Channel in June of 2014.

But can you work 32 hours a week? she persisted.

My severance was running out, and I could have used at least one unemployment check before launching my new talk show. The grueling hours I spent starting a new business would not have counted toward the 80 hours a month Gov. Scott Walker says parents with children should work to get the full benefit of food stamps.

Exasperated, I said to the unemployment office staffer, What do people do if theyre trying to start a business?

She said I should take out a loan from the Small Business Administration. I said, Why do I want to go into debt?

I was selling shares to investors in my company instead. In fact, I found a lot more help from mostly Republican businessmen than from my state government. No unemployment check for me.

But the governor knows that most adults work more than 80 hours a month outside their homes for a boss. Walkers idol, Ronald Reagan, knew that too.

The former California governor was highly skilled at getting the working class to focus on welfare and food stamp fraud. As a candidate in 1976, Reagan told a crowd it wasnt fair for some strapping young buck to use the food stamp program to buy a T-bone steak.

By 1980, when he successfully ran for president, the term Reagan Democrat was born. Reagan delighted audiences on the stump with a story about a Chicago welfare queen with 80 names, 30 addresses and 12 Social Security cards who is collecting veterans benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands. Shes got Medicaid, is getting food stamps and she is collecting welfare under each of her names.

It was the politics of focusing on free loaders. It was winning politics.

Gov. Walker and his wife, Tonette, were married on Reagans birthday. The governor told Nancy Reagan he won his recall election in 2012 on the anniversary of Reagans death. He admires the way Reagan fired 11,000 air traffic controllers in 1981. During his presidential campaign, Walker spoke of how the Russians were impressed with Reagans resolve during that labor dispute.

It is easier to get the middle and working classes to look down than up. When George W. Bush advocated for the initial Chrysler and GM bailout in 2008, it was 3 percent of the cost of the bank bailout. But if you listened to conservative talk radio at the time, callers were far angrier about janitors being bailed out by taxpayers than rich bankers who received bonuses soon after Congress authorized more than $800 billion to save them. It is because average folk can relate to janitors more than they can to rich bankers.

Gov. Walker won big during Act 10 in Wisconsin. Do the math. There were 60,000 state employees at the time and 300,000 public employees out of about 5.5 million people. When the governor told businesswoman Diane Hendricks he would divide and conquer, he knew what he was doing.

After all, most people dont have Cadillac health insurance or retirement benefits, and they got angry when they watched the protesters on the news complaining about how bad they were going to get it.

Walkers latest proposal on food stamps, or Food Share, will likely get overwhelming support from Republicans as well as Reagan Democrats or Walker Democrats who work a lot more than 80 hours a month for a boss. I would just ask the governor to consider that it is possible to work more than 80 hours a month being productive in ways that are not counted by the state.

I learned that when I applied for one week of unemployment while hustling to start a business to survive doing what I like to do. If you struggle with transportation or have heavy responsibilities at home, the 80-hour-a-month work requirement can get complicated.

Free loaders are out there, and Im pretty sure we all know somebody who fits the bill. But let us remember that one size does not fit all.
The Delaware River Bridge was not one inspectors thought they had to worry about.

The steel-truss bridge was in fact undergoing a $61 million upgrade. Evaluated in 2014 on its three key components -- deck, substructure, and superstructure -- the 60-year-old bridge got passing marks in all three.

Yet last week a worker on a painting crew happened to spot, by chance, something so alarming, authorities rushed to close the bridge to the 42,000 cars that cross it each day: a beam beneath the bridge's deck split in two.

"It was absolutely amazing to see a crack like this," said Henry Berman, chief PennDot engineer for the district.

The 1.2-mile bridge remains closed and, if inspected today, would be labeled "structurally deficient," a designation that describes nearly one in five bridges in Pennsylvania, the second-worst ranking in the country.

What caused the crack in the bridge joining the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes and how it can be fixed remain open questions. The bridge has been closed to traffic indefinitely.

The sudden, unexpected fracture led PennDot to schedule new inspections on similar bridges as a precaution, state officials said. The bridge in our region closest in structure to the compromised span is the steel double-decker cantilever Girard Point Bridge, built in 1973 and last inspected in August 2015.

By now, the photo of the fractured truss shared by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission likely has been seen on the computer screens of nearly every bridge engineer in the country, said Joseph Yost, a Villanova University civil- engineering professor. Experts have identified within the seam evidence of plug welds, a method used at the time the bridge was built to fill excess holes in a steel beam. The welds can create weak points in the beam. While officials have not concluded what caused the fracture, they have not disputed experts' statements that plug welds were a factor.

The crack should prompt caution, engineers in the region said. But they emphasized that welds leading to failure in one beam likely does not indicate an endemic flaw hidden within the state's bridges.

"I think we would have, before now, seen a lot of instances of this," said Michael Chajes, professor of engineering at University of Delaware. "It tells me that while this may have occasionally happened, it's not a problem that will all of a sudden surface and become an epidemic of bridge fractures."

Even so, experts say inspections need to take place. "If in your structural systems you do have discontinuities and holes that were filled like this, then yes, you may want to investigate under more scrutiny the condition of those structures in the vicinity of those holes," Yost said.

If discovered, the likely solution would be to remove the plug and replace it with a bolt, PennDot officials said.

The welds alone likely didn't cause the beam to break, though, experts said. The break, rust-free, showing no signs of metal twisting or straining, likely happened quickly and recently, perhaps within the last month. Cold weather would have made the steel brittle, and an unusually heavy load on the outer westbound side of the bridge could have pushed the already compromised beam beyond its tolerances.

Such a sudden weight could have come from truck traffic, experts said, but the bridge has also been undergoing significant repairs. Inspectors plan to review permits that should have been issued to any vehicles with heavy loads crossing the bridge, said Carl DeFebo Jr., the turnpike commission spokesman.

Officials also stated the Delaware River Bridge and others like it were overdesigned, with redundancy built into it that ensures the bridge wouldn't collapse with the loss of a load-bearing beam.

States With the Most Problem Bridges One out of every five bridges in Pennsylvania were rated as structurally deficient, . the second-worst ratio in the country. A structurally deficient label doesnt mean a bridge is in imminent danger of collapse, but that at least one of its major components had seriously deteriorated. New Jersey's bridges ranked 22nd on this score. NOTE: Bridges of 20 feet or longer Staff Graphic

Pennsylvania has become infamous for its troubled bridges. It once had the most "structurally deficient" bridges of any state in the country. The "structurally deficient" label doesn't mean a bridge is in imminent danger of collapse, but that at least one of its three primary components, the deck, superstructure, and substructure, had seriously deteriorated. A more rigorous inspection schedule, once a year or once every six months, is a typical result, but problems can be significant enough to require weight restrictions on a bridge, or a closure.

Of the state's 31,893 state and locally owned bridges, 5,573 are rated "structurally deficient." In Philadelphia and its four neighboring counties, 741 out of 3,600 bridges are rated "structurally deficient."

Of the most heavily traveled bridges in the region, 30 are poorly rated as well as "structurally deficient," according to an Inquirer analysis of state data. This number is nearly half what it was 10 years ago.

Since Act 89, a major state transportation funding bill, passed in 2013, Pennsylvania has devoted $1 billion more to the statewide construction budget.

Brad Rudolph, a PennDot spokesman, said five of those 30 are scheduled for construction in 2017, part of a plan to upgrade scores of "structurally deficient" bridges across the state.

The sudden crack in the Delaware River Bridge isn't evidence that bridge inspections are insufficient, experts said.

"Bridges don't change very rapidly," Chajes said, noting fractures like the one in the Delaware River Bridge are rare and, "can really occur from a very undistinguishable crack to a brittle fracture that happens all at once. It probably was totally undetectable to the human eye."

Nationally, tiny Rhode Island, with only 750 bridges statewide, has the worst ranking in the U.S. for structurally deficient bridges. Philadelphia and its suburbs have nearly that many "structurally deficient" bridges alone.
A panel of judges ordered state leaders Friday to redraw the boundaries of Wisconsins legislative districts so that they no longer blatantly favor Republican candidates in key races.

Thats good news for all state voters  not just Democrats  because current Assembly and Senate voting district maps protect many incumbents of both political parties.

Wisconsin needs fair maps so the will of voters is respected in elections, and so citizens can hold their leaders accountable.

Calling the maps an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, a federal panel of judges ordered the Legislature to redraw legislative districts by November.

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimels office, which has been defending the rigged maps, appears eager to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is disappointing. Its unclear when or how the high court might act.

In the meantime, the best approach is to move forward with a fair, open and inexpensive process for redoing the maps. In other words, Wisconsin should adopt Iowas nonpartisan redistricting model.

Many Democrats and a Republican  Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville  last week proposed Senate Bill 13, which mirrors Iowas highly successful process. Iowa assigns the task of redrawing districts after every major census to a nonpartisan state office. Strict guidelines require Iowas neutral map makers to draw districts as contiguous as possible while following municipal lines and ignoring the impact on incumbents. The independent agency holds public hearings on its maps around the state.

Iowa Republicans and Democrats alike support and respect this process. They have approved the agencys maps by huge majorities. Voters benefit from more competitive races. Taxpayers hardly spend a dime.

Compare that to Wisconsins map-making process in 2011: Top Republican lawmakers and their staffs  working in secret at a private law firm  plugged voting data from past elections into computers to figure out the most advantageous boundaries for GOP candidates. The goal was to give conservative candidates an edge in swing seats. The drafters also packed Democratic-leaning communities into districts the GOP figured it wouldnt win anyway.

As a result, in 2012, the GOP won 60 of 99 seats in the state Assembly, even though Republicans captured only 48.6 percent of the vote statewide. In 2014, the Republicans collected 52 percent of the vote and won 63 Assembly seats. And in the last election, the GOP majority expanded to 64.

Some of the disparity for Democrats results from the high concentration of Democratic-leaning voters living in Madison and Milwaukee. But that doesnt explain the highly unconstitutional effect of Wisconsins Republican-drawn maps, the court determined. The maps have helped the party control the statehouse for most of this decade.

The court could have drawn new maps itself. Instead, it told state leaders to redo the maps in a more reasonable way. We understand the courts unwillingness to take over the process, given legal precedents and state constitutional language assigning the task to the Legislature.

But nothing prevents state leaders from creating a nonpartisan process this spring. In Iowa, for example, the Legislature and governor still approve the maps as their constitution requires. But they assign the task of shaping districts to others. And if the politicians dont like the final result, they can ask for another version.

Thats what Wisconsins Legislature should do by approving SB 13.

We urge Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, to do the right thing. If they draw another set of maps themselves, further legal challenges are likely, with millions of tax dollars going to high-priced attorneys and consultants.

Republican leaders already have spent more than $2 million of public money and six years of controversy on this issue. If they adopted the Iowa model instead, the process would enjoy bipartisan support at little expense or distraction.

Please choose the noble path, Speaker Vos and Sen. Fitzgerald, rather than doubling down on dishonest and unfair maps.
Panta rei, new icefall in Valbruna, Italy, climbed by Enrico Mosetti and Tine Cuder

Winter mountaineering: Enrico Mosetti reports about the first ascent of Panta rei, a new mixed climb in Valbruna (Julian Alps, Italy) first ascended on 24/01/2017 with Tine Cuder.

It all started a little by chance, after a day on the slopes at Tarvisio I decided to have a look at the icefalls in Valbruna that only rarely come into condition. I parked my van just outside the forest, the line I was after had formed well but what really got me interested were two hanging drips nearby. Despite wearing just my birkenstock sandals I walked to the base of the icicles, they werent dripping in the slightest and given the cold conditions, it was impossible that theyd continue to grow and touch the ground I called some locals and found out the line had never been climbed before, good.

The following day, January 12, after climbing an icefall nearby that was in excellent condition (WI5/5+, 60 meters) together with David Limongi, we scrambled up through the steep forest and reached the top of the drips. I placed a bolt and started to abseil, from above the drips seemed even more vertical and steep. Between the two drips we added a belay and another bolt just a bit higher up in order to protect the start of pitch two, before this leads onto the dagger.

Dade and I began to study the pitch and discovered that fortunately the rock provided a thin, diagonal crack from left to right, all the way from the ground to the first dagger. I really wouldnt have wanted to drill some holds. I bolted the pitch, not without difficulties, and begun working the moves; they seemed hard and complicated, the torques were pretty precarious... so I only managed two laps before it got dark.

I planned to return soon and even gave the line a name: Panta rei. This came about while discussing philosophy and mountaineering (?) after drinking several Campari with Fabio and Irene, the Rifugio Gilberti hut wardens at Sella Nevea.

In the days the that followed - and even as I write - winter conditions in the Julian Alps, across Italy and Slovenia, continued to be great and so Panta rei was put on hold. I wanted to go back quickly but, absurdly, finding partners in Tarvisio who want to climb ice of mixed terrain is extremely difficult, all the youngsters either train like devils in the gym, chase a ball or whizz past posts on the pistes. It's amazing how with the rich climbing tradition of these mountains, with the likes of Piussi, Lomasti, Benet, Meroi and Vuerich, no youngsters seem to have fallen in love with the noble art of mountaineering.

A few days ago, almost by chance, I happened to see some photos of Tine Cuder from Bovec, Slovenia, climbing an M8 in Valbruna, an old route bolted and then abandoned by legendary Mauro Bole Bubu and later freed by Luca Vuerich. I grabbed the opportunity and wrote to him, and we organized to meet up on Tuesday 24 January. Our somewhat unusual appointment for ice climbing was at midday, but at that time in Valbruna the temperature was almost -10C.

We were joined by Tina Korinsek and also by Eddie Gianelloni, who took some pictures. We added the quickdraws to the first pitch and set to work and even quickly found the right beta, but then a hold snapped and this slowed us down by now it was 15:30, Id managed to climb the first pitch clean on top rope but not lead it and my arms were beginning to get pumped.

Tine set off with the right level of aggression for a last attempt and managed to free the pitch. He reached the belay and I seconded it clean once again. It was now my turn to climb the hanging drip. Id never tried it, almost all of it was up ice, but drip was merely 20 cm wide where it touched the rock.

I started up through the rock and ice and, placing my ice axes as gently as possible, got established on the overhanging drip. Fifteen minutes later I finally reached the bolt Id placed two weeks earlier.

The line is dedicated to my grandmother, my biggest fan, who died almost exactly a year to the day when I first bolted the climb.



by Enrico Mosetti



Enrico thanks Ferrino, Revo

Tine thanks Alpstation Tarvisio





TOPO: Panta rei, Valbruna, Julian Alps
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By David Ingram and Mica Rosenberg

NEW YORK (Reuters)  An initial volley in a potential barrage of legal challenges to President Donald Trumps new restrictions on immigration came on Saturday on behalf of two Iraqis with ties to U.S. security forces who were detained at New Yorks JFK Airport.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the men are challenging the directive on constitutional grounds. The suit says that their connections to the American forces made them targets in their home country and the pair had valid visas to enter the United States.

The lawsuit, which seeks to block Trumps order on behalf of a class of visa-holders and asylum-seekers, highlights some of the legal obstacles facing the new administration as it tries to carry out the directive.

The plight of one of the men, a former U.S. Army interpreter, is especially compelling, said David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association who is not involved in the suit.

Here is a guy who was a translator who worked for the U.S. military for years who himself was targeted by terrorists, he said. It is clear that if he is sent back, he facing a direct threat to his life.

That man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released later on Saturday and told a crowd of reporters outside John F. Kennedy International Airport that he did not have ill feelings about his detention.

America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world, he said.

Darweesh, 53, worked for the U.S. Army and for a U.S. contractor in Iraq from 2003 to 2013 as an interpreter and engineer, the lawsuit said.

The second plaintiff, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, was still being held. He is the husband of an Iraqi woman who worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq, and she already lives in Houston, the suit said.

Ten other travelers not named in the suit were being detained at JFK Airport on Saturday afternoon, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, told reporters.

Trump, a Republican, on Friday signed a sweeping executive order that put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries. The order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks, the president said.

Representatives for the White House could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.

Supporters of the order say the president has wide authority to limit the entry of foreign nationals from specific countries when it is in the national interest.

If we decided to give green cards only to redheads who can play the spoons, we can do that, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies.

The lawsuit on behalf of the Iraqis challenges Trumps order on several grounds. It says the order violates the U.S. Constitutions guarantee of due process by taking away their ability to apply for asylum, and violates the guarantee of equal protection by discriminating against them on the basis of their country of origin without sufficient justification.

It also says the order violates procedural requirements of federal rulemaking.

Another legal challenge is expected on Monday, when the Council on American-Islamic Relations has said it plans to announce a lawsuit arguing that the order targets Muslims and violates the U.S. guarantee of religious freedom.

Trumps order does not mention specific religions, but in an interview on Friday with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump said he was acting to help Christians in Syria who were horribly treated.

Comments like that could come back to haunt the president in litigation over his order, said Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration expert at UCLA School of Law.

There were comments during the campaign that focused very much on religion as the target, Motomura said. If the record showed that the origins of a particular measure were based on targeting a particular group, that could be challenged in court.

Eric Rothschild, senior litigation counsel at religious liberties group Americans United For Separation of Church and State, said Trump has created a perverse situation for asylum-seekers.

People will be quizzed on their faith in order to gain access to the country, maybe motivating them to deny their faith, he said.

(Reporting by David Ingram and Mica Rosenberg; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington, and Jonathan Allen and Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby and Franklin Paul)
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When British Prime Minister Theresa May held a joint press conference with American President Donald Trump on Friday, The Guardian reported the meeting as demonstrating the lengths shell go to for Britain.

There is no way to describe this incident in glowing terms. The Guardian quipped that The bust of Churchill covered its eyes and begged to be sent back to Britain.

Harry Potter creator and frequent and prolific Trump critic J.K. Rowling offered a more scathing description of the meeting:

May making her "strong statement about the role of women" there, by standing simpering next to a powerful racist.  J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 28, 2017

Theresa May has certainly lacked the intestinal fortitude to bring up the Muslim ban, let alone condemn it in even the weakest of possible terms. In fact, when Europes SkyNews asked her about it, they reported that she tried to dodge the question.

She eventually told British reporters that,

The United States is responsible for the United States policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdoms policy on refugees.

Well, thats helpful. A stern nothing from the Prime Minister then. Acquiescence to evil is still evil. Sadly, undeterred by Nikki Haleys threat against Americas allies (or perhaps heeding it) Theresa May had declined to heed Rowlings warning of the day before:

As columnist Sathnam Sanghera put it,

Theresa May. [The] Politician who didnt believe in Brexit but is implementing it. Who doesnt really believe in Trumps racism but is aiding it.

For his part, Donald Trump was only a little less creepy than he was when he stood like a stalker over Hillary Clinton during the debates. They awkwardly held hands (she was probably terrified of being groped).

Unfortunately, where Trump foreign policy is concerned, this is probably its high point. He is unlikely to get such high or uncritical praise ever again.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

Some Americans have probably heard the saying that opinions are like assholes; everybody has one. It is, of course, true that every person alive gets to have an opinion, but those opinions better be founded on some kind of fact or expertise to have any validity; opinion writers know this all too well. One of the opinions that no small number of political commentators and pundits have proffered is that based on the actions and speech of Trump, he must be mentally ill; this column is certainly among that group.

However, opinion writers and political pundits are not real psychologists and psychotherapists, and that includes Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman who, earlier in the week, said Trump is obviously mentally ill. Those opinions about Trumps mental state and psychological defects are, although, on the mark, not psychological expert opinions and just informed perspective founded on observations of a stark raving lunatic who should not be living in the White House.

Now, though, a growing number of the nations leading psychologists and psychotherapists have bolstered the political punditrys mental defect diagnosis credentials by agreeing that Donald Trumps mental state is an honest-to-dog really severe psychological disorder that makes him a dangerous and serious threat to America and the world.

There have been many top America psychologists who have implied that they think Trump is mentally unstable and unfit to be president, but now there are many honest-to-dog psychological experts from different leading institutions who diagnosed Trump as a textbook narcissist. Trump is not the run-of-the-mill narcissist with an over-abundance of confidence, thinks theyre irresistible to the opposite sex, and possesses the drive to achieve something remarkable. No, he is one sick twisted malcontent and a clear and present danger to any and everyone within his sphere of influence. And now that he gets to live in the White House, that sphere includes the entire world and it is why world leaders, except Russias Vladimir Putin and Israels Benjamin Netanyahu, are growing very nervous about what that crazy American psycho is going to do next to threaten the world.

One top psychologist, Harvard professor and renowned research scientist Howard Gardner said that Trump is a textbook narcissist. Professor Gardners diagnosis is in complete agreement with many other noted clinical psychologists, including George Simon who told Vanity Fair that, Hes so classic that Im archiving video clips of him to use in workshops. According to the nations leading psychological experts, and in agreement with this column, Trumps narcissistic mental state puts him in the exact same category as a number of infamous tyrannical dictators like Muammar Gaddafi, Adolf Hitler, and Saddam Hussein just to name a few.

Trump suffers a plethora of pathologies and mental defects, but none more terrifying for Americas and the worlds fate than his severe narcissistic personality disorder. According to the Mayo Clinic, narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. If that definition needed a single image to accompany and sum up the text, it would be a picture of Donald Trump.

Prior to the election, psychologists posed a prescient question that Trump supporters never paid heed to and they should have. They asked that if elected president would Trump at least pretend to act on the behalf of the will of the people, or would he be a dictator and silence dissenting voices, refuse to compromise, and oppress groups that he doesnt like. The events of Trumps first week as White House occupant should put to rest any doubt that he is a dictatorial tyrant and intends on putting Americans under a fascist regime. He is not even acting like he cares about the will of the people or pretending to act on their behalf. He is, besides a raving lunatic, a typical Republican.

Another renowned registered psychotherapist from Johns Hopkins University Medical School, John D. Gartner, says that Trump is one with a serious problem. Dr. Gartner teaches psychiatric residents at Hopkins and took the extra-ordinary step of betraying the ethical code known as the Goldwater Rule to warn the American public about the dangerousness of its new commander-in-chiefs mental state.

The Goldwater Rule is typically defined as the informal term for part of the ethics code of the American Psychiatric Association saying it is wrong to provide a professional opinion of a public figure without examining that person and gaining consent to discuss the evaluation. It is noteworthy that for a growing number of psychological experts, violating that part of their ethical code has become more important than remaining silent simply because the fate of the nation, and the world, is at stake.

As Bobby Azarian at Raw Story wondered rhetorically exactly one year ago this week; Will we see the start of World War III because the [possible] leader of the most important nation in the world doesnt feel that others are kissing his ass as much as they should be? If Trumps raging attack on the press, protestors, other nations leaders, and political opponents are any indication, the answer to that rhetorical question then is the same as it is today as it was a year ago; definitely in the affirmative.

That fact was already borne out by Trump directing ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to threaten Americas allies just yesterday if Trump thinks they dont rush to support his plan to run roughshod over the rest of the world that wont bend to his will. The rest of the world should expect no less savagery from the Trump for not acknowledging his deity than the American people or media does.

As even average psychologists will note, narcissistic personality disorder is known and proven to have strong negative effects on relationships no matter where they occur, but that is generally a problem restricted to small interpersonal groups, not the entire world. It has only been a week and Trumps mental disorder has already negatively impacted and strained relationships with other nations as well as within Americas borders.

Trumps severe mental dysfunction and disorder affects the nation and his acolytes attitudes towards other Americans, and it is straining relationships with the rest of the world, including Americas allies. And because Trump has no ability or desire to be diplomatic or compromise on anything, it is crystal clear he is incapable of ever being an effective and responsible national or world leader. It is precisely why a growing chorus of real psychological experts diagnosis is that Donald Trump is mentally ill and a clear and present danger to America and the rest of the world; an opinion this column has proffered for months.

The above commentary is the sole opinion of its author and a few of the nations leading psychologists.
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By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters)  When President Donald Trump was elected last November, Republican lawmakers enthusiastically joined his call to rewrite the tax code and dismantle Obamacare in the first 100 days of his presidency.

But as congressional Republicans gathered for an annual policy retreat in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the 100-day goal morphed into 200 days. As the week wore on, leaders were saying it could take until the end of 2017  or possibly longer  for passage of final legislation.

Trump had a different idea when he spoke to lawmakers in Philadelphia, telling them: Enough talk. Time to deliver.

The divergent views on the timetable were among many indications of tensions that simmered just below the surface at the three-day Republican retreat.

Before the cameras, Trump and Republicans sought to convey an image of a happy, unified family, playing down differences over tax policy, whether to reinstate torture interrogation techniques and investigating 2016 election fraud.

And clearly there is none of the open warfare that has sometimes erupted among Republicans, such as when Senator Ted Cruz infuriated many of his colleagues by leading a standoff over Obamacare that partially shut down the government in 2013.

But barely visible in Philadelphia, there are potential flashpoints of disagreement within the Republican rank-and-file in Congress as well as between Republican lawmakers and the unorthodox new president.

These include how and when to replace Obamacare if Republicans succeed in their quest to repeal it; how to revamp the multi-layered tax code, whether to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and the nature of the U.S. relationship with Russia.

When it comes to tax reform, senior congressional aides said the spring of 2018 might be a more likely time than this year for the passage of legislation.

EXPENSIVE WISH LIST

Republican lawmakers lavished praise on Trump in public. In dozens of interviews, many said they felt he would be an energetic champion of issues they cared about. But some also voiced fears that his big agenda would drive up deficits and said they were still searching for details on his plans.

Several Republican lawmakers and aides said they were wary of the cost of his plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Republican leaders have said the wall proposal under discussion would cost $12 billion to $15 billion cost but some congressional aides say it could end up easily topping $20 billion.

Republican Representative Will Hurd, whose Texas district partially borders Mexico, went a step further, calling the wall an ineffective tool for stopping illegal immigration.

Others warned a border adjustment tax on foreign goods to pay for that wall could hurt U.S. companies profits, raise costs for American consumers and spark retaliation by foreign trading partners.

Some lawmakers also worry that some of their constituents could be at risk of losing healthcare coverage if the push to repeal Obamacare moves too quickly.

Republican Representative Tom Cole said rank-and-file lawmakers have an incentive to fall in line behind Trump.

You dont want to be the reason why we werent successful in getting these things done, he said.

Still, Cole said Republicans are taking stock of the potential cost of the biggest items on Trumps agenda such as the wall, infrastructure projects, tax cuts and beefing up military spending.

I think they worry about it, Cole said.

Following Trumps speech to the lawmakers on Thursday, Senator James Risch said that no decisions had been made on the replacement of Obamacare, a complex law that has expanded healthcare insurance to millions of Americans.

Its going to take a while to resolve it, Risch said. Asked by reporters whether Republicans had a clear idea of what Trump would like to replace Obamacare with, Risch responded, In detail, no.

(Reporting By Richard Cowan, David Morgan and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Caren Bohan and Alistair Bell)
I have learned the hard way not to put my personal life on the Internet. But suffice it to say that, God willing, things should be pretty much back to norm...

3 weeks ago
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By Julia Edwards Ainsley and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  Divisions have emerged among advisers to President Donald Trump over whether to rescind a signature policy of his predecessor, President Barack Obama, that shields young immigrants from deportation, according to congressional sources and Republicans close to the White House.

Even though Trump campaigned on a promise to roll back Obamas executive orders on immigration, the Republican has so far left intact an order safeguarding 750,000 people who were brought to the United States illegally as children, known as the dreamers.

The issue has become a flashpoint for White House advisers divided between a more moderate faction such as chief of staff Reince Priebus and immigration hardliners Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon, said a former congressional aide who has been involved with immigration issues in Washington.

Priebus has said publicly that Trump will work with Congress to get a long-term solution on the issue.

Meanwhile, Miller, said to have mastered the thinking of his former boss and anti-immigration advocate Jeff Sessions, Trumps nominee for U.S. Attorney General, as well as Bannon, former head of right-wing Breitbart News, have pushed Trump to take a harder approach and rescind the protections.

Two officials at the Department of Homeland Security expect Trump to simply stop renewing the authorizations that dreamers currently have to work, drive and obtain higher education. Under that plan, the most recently renewed authorizations would expire in two years.

But a senior House Republican aide said it was uncertain whether the administration had scrapped the idea of overturning Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, as the internal debate plays out.

Preserving DACA has also become somewhat of a bartering chip as Trump seeks congressional support for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and other early administration priorities.

The White House is acutely aware of the firestorm in the country and within Congress that could swamp the fledgling administration just as it plunges into negotiations over the wall, healthcare, tax reform and infrastructure investments, said the senior House Republican aide.

Another congressional aide described a Senate bill sponsored by Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Lindsey Graham to protect the dreamers as the sugar that would help the medicine of the wall go down.

The bill would likely face challenges winning enough votes to pass. Efforts to attach some tough conservative amendments could lose Democratic Party support and sink the whole effort.

Trump has kept his public comments on DACA vague.

In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Trump said his administration would be coming out with a policy to deal with dreamers over the next four weeks.

They shouldnt be very worried. They are here illegally. They shouldnt be very worried. I do have a big heart. Were going to take care of everybody. Were going to have a very strong border, Trump said in the interview with ABC.

Trump reportedly told Durbin during the inaugural luncheon at the Capitol on Jan. 20 that he did not have to worry about an executive action overturning Obamas order.

But there is scant trust among Democrats that Trump will keep his word. And immigration advocates said DACA recipients live in fear and uncertainty as the message from the White House and Republicans seems to shift by the day.

House Speaker Paul Ryan told a woman protected by DACA, at a townhall hosted by CNN Jan. 12, that there should be a solution for people like her to get right with the law and not be separated from their families.

Just two days prior, Sessions, a Senator, told a Senate panel considering his confirmation that it would certainly be constitutional to repeal DACA.

Sessions also attempted to force a vote to block DACA in the Senate in 2014.

Miller, Sessions former staffer, is now Trumps senior adviser for policy at the White House. Miller is known to be a staunch advocate for restricting immigration, even by workers who enter legally on visas.

Both Miller and Bannon, Trumps senior counselor and chief strategist, are seen as outsiders to the Republican establishment and unafraid to upset people like Ryan to stay true to Trump campaign promises.

Priebus, however, came to the White House after chairing the Republican National Committee and has spent years seeking to unify the party and cultivating relationships with career politicians.

(Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley and Richard Cowan; Editing by Caren Bohan and Grant McCool)
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The ACLU sued President Trump and won in court, as a judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Muslim immigrants who are currently stranded at US airports.

The judge wrote:



The order from the federal judge blocks the Trump administration from deporting all people stranded in U.S. airports under President Trumps new Muslim ban.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said, Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country. Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court.

The injunction is proof that the system is working and not tolerating President Trumps overreach with his executive orders. Trumps Muslim ban is clearly unconstitutional, and if the administration continues to pursue this path, they can count on suffering many more defeats likely up to and including the US Supreme Court.

The president is not a king, as is proven by the judicial reaction to Donald Trumps illegal Muslim ban.
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In yet another of his notorious tweets, Donald Trump threatened to send the feds into Chicago if the city leaders did not fix what he called the carnage (now one of his favorite words) going on in the city due to the rampant gun violence.

The same day, Trump declared in an interview with ABC News, that torture absolutely works and insisted the U.S. must fight fire with fire when it comes to dealing with ISIS and other terrorists.

Trump has also now signed a an executive order banning refugees from seven countries, including Syria, from entering the U.S., creating scenes of chaos at international airports in New York and elsewhere and a strong reaction from Iran.

What pattern or tendency of governing behavior can we identify in these three events? Simply put, what each of these events evidences, particularly when seen as a series, is Trumps reflexive penchant to address challenging situations with repressive measures more characteristic of authoritarian rule than a democratic polityand more characteristic of a simplistic and thoughtless approach to problem-solving than one grounded in detailed study and research, expert advice, careful and complex reasoning and thought rooted firmly in evidence.

In what has come to be called a post-fact era, in which Trump has been exposed repeatedly insisting to the American people that black is white and up is down on smaller matters such as the size of the crowd at his inauguration, it is important to recognize that his presidency, with its emphasis on law and order, is trying to sell us the idea that a repressive society is a free society. Effectively, making America great again means translating the ideal of freedom into one of repression. We cannot expose and underline the reality of this dynamic enough.

To add insult to the severe injury to democracy, these repressive measures designed to address the problem have been, for the most part, demonstrably proven to be ineffective. So, not only does Trump promise to make America a more repressive society, but his tendency to address social problems through repression promises to exacerbate and multiply the tears and convulsions in our social fabric and also in our global relationships.

Take the issue of torture. Trumps own nomination for Secretary of Defense James Mattis, an experienced military veteran, has famously asserted that he can do better with pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers than with waterboarding when it comes to interrogating and extracting information from terror suspects. The issue has been roundly litigated and settled not just in the court of public opinion but in the court of expert opinion. Trumps arrogance, of course, leads him to ignore experts and give credence to the inventions of his own ungrounded and self-adulating intellect.

Moreover, Trumps absurd position on torture, at odds with international law and conventions, has threatened an important intelligence partnership with the United Kingdom, as Prime Minister Theresa May might now withhold intelligence because of Trumps endorsement of torture.

When it comes to the banning of refugees from Syria and six other largely Muslim nations, with the aim of stopping terrorism, we can also find strong evidence that such a measure will do more to inflame and energize terrorist organizations such as ISIS rather than combat or weaken them, giving them grounds to paint the United States as anti-Muslim and thus fuel to recruit more members and grow their organizations.

Conversely, French journalist and author Nicolas Henin, who spent ten months as an ISIS hostage, has declared that the best way to take on terrorism is to be open to Muslim refugees rather than acting repressively to bar them. He explained in an interview with Democracy Now,

Welcoming refugees is not a terror threat to our countries; its like a vaccine to protect us from terrorism, because the more interactions we have between societies, between communities, the less there will be tensions.

He continues,

The Islamic State believes in a global confrontation. What they want eventually is civil war in our countries, or at least large unrest, and in the Middle East, a large-scale war. This is what they look for. This is what they struggle for. So we have to kill their narrative and actually to welcome refugees, totally destroy their narrative.

Choosing such a strategy would require that Trump actually want to address the problem and improve peoples lives at home and abroad as opposed to simply wanting to inflame peoples baser impulses by appealing to their fears and prejudices. And he would have to stop and think as opposed to reacting impulsively and arrogantly.

In the case of the real and serious gun violence in Chicago, Trump has simply repeated the mantras of gun lobbyists and politicians like Chris Christie who like to use the example of Chicago, a city with strict gun control laws, to argue that gun control laws breed rather than reduce crime. One doesnt have to be a genius, though, to understand that gun control laws enacted regionally are generally meaningless. It doesnt take but a few minutes to leave Chicago for another municipality or state, such as Indiana, to acquire a gun. Again, you dont have to be a rocket scientist to know common-sense gun regulations need to be federal in scope, not simply local.

Trump, of course, just wants to meet violence with violence. The United Nations has undertaken studies of human security that forward an evidenced perspective that securing a world requires providing economic justice and respecting human rights, in addition to other measures. Repression is not among those measures.

On the same day of this series of events, Finn Heinrich of the group Transparency International published an analysis of how populist politicians mislead people, promising an end to corruption but typically then installing an even more corrupt regime that exacerbates inequality. He largely focuses on Trump.

We have to look at his other promises to realize American ideals similarly, understanding that when he says freedom, he means repression.
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A large crowd has gathered outside of the eastern side of the White House and chanting, No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here to protest President Trumps Muslim ban.

Video of the protest:

Outside the eastern side of the White House. (Really bad bottleneck created by inauguration fencing.) pic.twitter.com/AEtBhYsOQP  Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) January 29, 2017

Pro-immigrant protest crowd growing at the White House pic.twitter.com/VKN4l6TGqn  Ben Kesling (@bkesling) January 29, 2017

Unlike how the White House tried to spin the Womens March on Washington, the White House protest is clearly a popular action against the Trump administrations Muslim ban.

More video of the protest from Our Revolution:

The majority of Americans have moved from resistance to a state of open protest and rebeillion against the Trump administration. The Trump administration appears to have successfully brought America together in a unified protest against the agenda of President Trump. The crowd is chanting, refugees stay, racists out, and, hey hey ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.

Trump may be president, but a majority of Americans are taking to the streets to reject the presidency of Donald Trump.

Watch the protest live:
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On Meet The Press, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus made the situation worse by expressing no regrets over the Trump administrations decision not to mention Jews in their Holocaust Remembrance Day statement.

Video:

WH stmt on Holocaust Remembrance Day didn't explicitly mention Jews.@Reince: "I don't regret the words, Chuck." pic.twitter.com/DylUuobHbl  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 29, 2017

Transcript via Meet The Press:



CHUCK TODD:

But you So you dont But you dont regret the statement. You dont regret the words that were chosen in the statement and the words

REINCE PRIEBUS:

I dont regret the words, Chuck.

CHUCK TODD:

that were not included?

REINCE PRIEBUS:

Im trying to clear it up for you. I mean, everyones suffering in the Holocaust including obviously all of the Jewish people affected and the miserable genocide that occurred is something that we consider to be extraordinarily sad and something that can never be forgotten and something that if we could wipe it off of the history books we could. But we cant. And its terrible. I mean, I dont know what more to tell you.

Priebus clarified the White House position that the Holocaust was really bad for a lot of people, including Jews, but the Trump administration doesnt regret leaving Jews out of their statement because you know, the Holocaust was sad and stuff.

The Chief of Staffs comments were an example of one of the fatal character flaws of the Trump administration. Instead of saying, we regret not being more specific with our words, or something similar, Priebus had to defend the statement from the White House and in the process, made the White House look even worse.

The Muslim ban has dominated the news, but we shouldnt forget that the aura of bigotry surfaced earlier in the day with the administrations Holocaust Remembrance Day statement.

Jewish-Americans arent likely to find much comfort in Priebuss answer, and his defense of omitting Jews from the statement raises more questions about motives and beliefs of those in the Trump administration.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) showed a stunning lack of political courage when he refused to criticize President Trumps Muslim ban during an interview on ABCs This Week.

Video:



ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

Transcript:



RADDATZ: Do you support president Trumps temporary immigration ban from these predominantly Muslim countries.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: Well, I think its a good idea to tighten the vetting process. But I also think its important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas. And we have had some difficulty in the past getting interpreters as you suggested in the earlier segment who are helpful to us treated properly.

So we need to be careful as we do this. Improving vetting, something

RADDATZ: And yet right now theyre being detained so  do you support this or not support this.

MCCONNELL: Its hopefully going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far. I dont what to criticize them for improving vetting. I think we need to be careful. We dont have religious tests in this country.

RADDATZ: In the past, youve called the Muslim ban completely and totally inconsistent with American values. The president says this is not an outright Muslim ban, even if this is temporary, how is this order consistent with American values?

MCCONNELL: Well, if theyre looking to tighten the vetting process, I mean who would be against that? But I am opposed to a religious tests. The courts are going to determine whether this is too broad.

RADDATZ: So it sounds to me like you are opposed to certain parts of this. If were detaining or holding back people who have helped Americans in the fight.

MCCONNELL: Well, obviously Im against that.

RADDATZ: A religious test then youre opposed to certain parts of this.

MCCONNELL: Look, the president has a lot of latitude to try to secure the country. And Im not going to make a blanket criticism of this effort. However, I think its important to remember, as I said, a lot of Muslims are our best sources in the war against terror.

When faced with the choice of standing up for the values embedded in our democracy, or backing Trump, Mitch McConnell chose to give the President, a lot of latitude. Republicans, like McConnell, refuse to say the words Muslim ban. Instead, they keep trying to make the term extreme vetting stick.

The congressional Republican leadership of Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell promised to check Donald Trump during the campaign, but in reality, they are the Presidents biggest enablers.

McConnells arguments against parts of the ban were the weak and timid moves of a man who is terrified of Trump.

The American people are going to have to save themselves because Ryan and McConnell have firmly anchored themselves to Donald Trump.

Note: If you are an international student or legal immigrant who has been impacted by Trumps executive order, please use the Contact Us form to share your story.
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During an interview on ABCs This Week, White House press secretary Sean Spicer tried to blame the Obama administration for the seven Muslim-majority countries that were listed in Trumps Muslim ban.

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Spicer was asked what this executive order says to Muslims in other countries.

The White House press secretary answered, What this says is we are going to protect our country and our people. There are forty-six other countries that are not part of this, and I think thats an important thing to note. Whether youre talking about Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, or the UAE. Theres forty-six Muslim-majority countries that are not in this set. These seven countries were identified by the Obama administration as needing further travel scrutiny.

Nine days into the Trump administration and the nation has been given its first blame Obama excuse from the White House. There is a big policy difference between suggesting nations needing more scrutiny and imposing a ban that is causing chaos across the country. President Trump made the decision to have this executive order drafted. Trump signed the executive order with pride in front of national television cameras.

There is no blame Obama here. This is all on Trump.

The Muslim ban has backfired on Trump, and the argument that it isnt so bad because all the Muslims arent banned revealed the weak footing that the administration is on with this issue.

Obama isnt occupying the White House anymore, so when bad decisions lead to bad policies, the responsibility belongs to President Trump.

As it relates to the Muslim ban, Trump signed it, so he owns it.

Note: If you are an international student or legal immigrant who has been impacted by Trumps executive order, please use the Contact Us form to share your story.
President-thinks-he's-wonderful has been exercising his new powers in the opening episodes of CNN's tragicomedy, Democracy It Is, America, a genre-bending, 24-hour scripted series that uses elements of comedy, drama, horror and mock-journalism to describe the processes of Republican democracy in the U.S. after the election of a fictional character as President.

Among many other hilarious and heartbreaking moments in this week's episode, the President censored a National Park for sharing climate change facts and triggered a protest march by the scientific community. He's previously claimed that climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese to hurt the U.S. economy, so this move by the character wasn't surprising.

However, the writers are asking their audience to believe that the elected leader of an entire country would disbelieve 99% of the scientific community and continue to doubt the existence of what is possibly the greatest threat our species currently faces. It's going to require more work on their part to make this character more believable and realistic.

It's worth noting some other things on which the great majority of the scientific community has agreed. Perhaps, for the purpose of consistency and plausibility, the writers should show the character doubting these other examples of scientific consensus.





Wikipedia

1. Evolution



Charles Darwin's 1859 book, On the Origin of Species, introduced the Theory of Evolution. The theory explains processes such as adaptation by heredity and the applications of the passing of traits from parent to offspring. Scientists believe the "last universal common ancestor," the single ancestor of all life on Earth, lived 3.5 to 4 billion years ago. Since then it's been the same system of parents and offspring in all organisms that has led to the planet's current biodiversity. Today, there are some scientists who do not believe this theory, for religious or other reasons. It would make perfect sense for the President to share their doubts.





Wikipedia

2. The Big Bang

The Big Bang theory (not the show, though someone will have to make that clear to the President) claims that the entire universe originated as a singularity, a single point where matter is infinitely dense. Then, it exploded and expanded to its current size over the last 14 billion years. It continues to expand in all directions for an unfathomable distance. The observable universeonly what we can seespans over 46 billion light years. Again, the Big Bang doesn't align with various religious beliefs but it remains the consensus position in the scientific community. A requirement of a scientific theory is that it predicts a specific outcome, and the Big Bang theory has predicted something that no other theory has. But that should not stop the President from citing his own scientific studies to counter the widely-supported theory.





Wikipedia

3. The Earth is round.

There is a movement called The Flat Earth Society, including so-called "fringe scientists" and others influenced by the vast archive of factual data found on YouTube. Their selfless objective is to free the global public from the grand conspiracy formed by governments and scientific agencies that the Earth is round. While a motive for this conspiracy is difficult to find (they don't blame it specifically on the Chinese), the Society believes strongly that all of science and the world's population have been tricked into believing a lie. They have evidence, mostly on YouTube and on their website, that the Earth is flat. Scientific agreement on the Earth's round shape has to be as close to 100% as it can get without being 100%, so the President would surely appreciate the bravery of those daring to challenge the established beliefs and present alternative facts.





Wikipedia

4. Vaccines

Before 2001, some vaccines included a chemical, thimerosal, that contained ethylmercury. Investigations ensued because mercury is well known to have the potential to cause brain damage, and some argued that vaccines were the cause of the increase in autism cases. But the results of many studies showed that, even before the chemical was removed from some vaccines, the levels were far too low to be considered toxic. Since autism rates have continued to rise, the science community's conclusion is that vaccines are unrelated and a different cause is responsible. Meanwhile, some celebrities still support the invalidated argument that vaccines are dangerous. The President seems especially likely to champion these celebrities' cause, probably having worked with some of them on his previous show.





Twitter

5. Sensodyne

Nine out of ten dentists recommend Sensodyne. "Since being introduced in 1961, Sensodyne has become the favorite toothpaste for sensitive teeth/pangingilo of dentists around the world," says the company's website. It's unclear, and will likely remain so, whether or not the President has pangingilo, brushes his teeth, or has any real teeth at all. With such little evidence, and no remaining basis for truth, it might prove difficult to reach a consensus on the topic of his teeth. But based on his past statements addressing science and his wont to censor any group or organization that disagrees with him, it makes sense that he would deny the recommendation of those nine dentists and personally choose nine other dentists who share his belief.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 81F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
Investment Committee

Programs Committee

Programs Committee (reconvened)

Finance Committee

Personnel/ Nominations Committee

Contact: Jenny Tinklepaugh

Jenny Tinklepaugh jtinklepaugh@goldenleaf.org

(ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., January 27, 2017) - The Golden LEAF Foundation, which assists tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and rural communities across North Carolina, will hold a meeting of its Board of Directors on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at the Hyatt Place Raleigh-Durham Airport Hotel in the RDU Airport Conference Room in Morrisville.Several committee meetings will be held in conjunction with the Board meeting. All meetings will be held at the Hyatt Place Raleigh-Durham Airport Hotel in the RDU Airport Conference Room, located at 200 Airgate Drive, Morrisville, NC 27560.The following committees will meet on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 starting at 1 p.m.:The following committees will meet on Thursday, February 2, 2017 starting at 8:30 a.m.:The Board of Directors meeting immediately follows the adjournment of the last committee meeting on Thursday.
I am Kerry Burgess. This is what I think.
The flurry of bold executive orders and of highly provocative Cabinet nominations (such as a secretary of education who actually believes in school choice) has been encouraging to conservative skeptics of Donald Trump. But it shouldn't erase the troubling memory of one major element of Trump's inaugural address.

The foreign policy section has received far less attention than so revolutionary a declaration deserved. It radically redefined the American national interest as understood since World War II.

Trump outlined a world in which foreign relations are collapsed into a zero-sum game. They gain, we lose. As in: "For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries" while depleting our own. And most provocatively this: "The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world."

JFK's inaugural pledged to support any friend and oppose any foe to assure the success of liberty. Note that Trump makes no distinction between friend and foe (and no reference to liberty). They're all out to use, exploit and surpass us.

No more, declared Trump: "From this day forward, it's going to be only America First."

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Imagine how this resonates abroad. "America First" was the name of the organization led by Charles Lindbergh that bitterly fought FDR before U.S. entry into World War II  right through the Battle of Britain  to keep America neutral between Churchill's Britain and Hitler's Reich.

Not that Trump was consciously imitating Lindbergh. I doubt he was even aware of the reference. He just liked the phrase. But I can assure you that in London and in every world capital they are aware of the antecedent and the intimations of a new American isolationism. Trump gave them good reason to think so, going on to note "the right of all nations to put their own interests first." America included.

Some claim that putting America first is a reassertion of American exceptionalism. On the contrary, it is the antithesis. It makes America no different from all the other countries that define themselves by a particularist blood-and-soil nationalism. What made America exceptional, unique in the world, was defining its own national interest beyond its narrow economic and security needs to encompass the safety and prosperity of a vast array of allies. A free world marked by open trade and mutual defense was President Truman's vision, shared by every president since.

Until now.

Some have argued that Trump is just dangling a bargaining chip to negotiate better terms of trade or alliance. Or that Trump's views are so changeable and unstable  telling European newspapers two weeks ago that NATO is obsolete and then saying "NATO is very important to me"  that this is just another unmoored entry on a ledger of confusion.

But both claims are demonstrably wrong. An inaugural address is no off-the-cuff riff. These words are the product of at least three weeks of deliberate crafting for an address that Trump said would express his philosophy. Moreover, to remove any ambiguity, Trump prefaced his "America first" proclamation with: "From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land."

Trump's vision misunderstands the logic underlying the far larger, far-reaching view of Truman. The Marshall Plan sure took wealth away from the American middle class and distributed it abroad. But for a reason. Altruism, in part. But mostly to stabilize Western Europe as a bulwark against an existential global enemy.

We carried many free riders throughout the Cold War. The burden was heavy. But this was not a mindless act of charity; it was an exercise in enlightened self-interest. After all, it was indeed better to subsidize foreign armies  German, South Korean, Turkish and dozens of others  and have them stand with us, rather than stationing even more American troops everywhere around the world at greater risk of both blood and treasure.

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We are embarking upon insularity and smallness. Nor is this just theory. Trump's long-promised but nonetheless abrupt withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the momentous first fruit of his foreign policy doctrine. Last year the prime minister of Singapore told John McCain that if we pulled out of TPP "you'll be finished in Asia." He knows the region.

For 70 years, we sustained an international system of open commerce and democratic alliances that has enabled America and the West to grow and thrive. Global leadership is what made America great. We abandon it at our peril.

Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for the Washington Post.
The first week of Donald Trumps presidency received wall-to-wall coverage from the mainstream media. His every word was fact-checked, after a fashion.

Nor was the sole concern what Trump said. It also mattered what wall he was standing near when he said it. By wall-to-wall, I mean wall-to-wall  from CIA headquarters to the border with Mexico.

But on the whole, the mainstream media seems to be missing or under-playing one significant angle on the nascent Trump administration. The president is keeping his campaign promises.

Personally, I think its ridiculous to demand that Mexico pay for a wall designed to advance U.S. interests. I have mixed feelings about coercing a U.S. company not to build a plant outside the U.S. Im okay with a 90 day suspension of entry for people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, but can understand why some find this problematic.

Each of these policies or practices, though, fulfills a campaign promise (or attempts to, in the case of the wall). President Trump is doing what candidate Trump said he would do.

It turns out that Donald Trump needed to be taken both seriously and literally.

Keeping campaign promises is a good thing. One can even argue that its a sine qua non of a properly functioning democracy.

To be sure, keeping campaign promises has become unfashionable. Breaking them is often viewed as a sign of growing in office or, in the case of Barack Obama, commendable political sophistication.

Obama received credit for being shrewd enough not to say, as a candidate, what he really thought/planned to do about gay marriage and immigration policy. In the medias view, his dissembling was a means to a desirable end, and thats all that mattered.

If one makes odious campaign promises, theres only so much that can be said for keeping them. But the mainstream media has no special expertise in assessing odiousness. By contrast, it has the ability to discern whether an action is consistent with a promise and to report whether it is.

Thus, theres no excuse for the under-reporting of a central fact and unifying theme of the Trump ascension to date  the fact that hes taking the steps he promised the American people he would take.
President Trump is taking a lot of political heat, and therefore expending a considerable amount of political capital, for an immigration order that doesnt go far enough to be meaningful. Trump has decreed a halt to travelimmigration and otherwisefrom seven Muslim-majority countries, for a mere 90 days. This is accompanied by a suspension of refugee admissions (with the exception of Syria) for only 120 days. The idea, supposedly, is to investigate, and try to improve, vetting procedures.

This is mostly pointless, for two reasons. First, there is no conceivable way to effectively vet immigrants and other travelers from the Middle East and Africa. It would require more resources than we can possibly assign to thoroughly investigate all such travelers. Second, and as to immigrants more important, there is no way to vet the immigrants descendants. This is one reason why the current liberal theme that relatively few terrorist attacks have been carried out by Islamic immigrants is so silly. Frequently, perhaps usually, the terrorist doesnt appear until the second generation, like Omar Mateen.

What will happen when the current travel ban runs out in just a few months? Most likely, the administration will announce some additional security measures and it will be back to business as usual. This will be seen as a defeat for President Trump, even though his order is, by its terms, time-limited. Little or nothing will be accomplished, at considerable political cost.

The problem goes much too deep to be addressed by this kind of stopgap measure. What we need is a wholesale revision of our immigration laws, commencing from the principle that immigrants should be admitted only if there is good reason to believe that their presence will be beneficial to existing American citizens.

As for refugees, there is no humanitarian case for admitting them at all: at enormous cost, we protect a tiny percentage of the refugee population, while subjecting them to an alien culture to which many will never adapt. It makes more humanitarian sense to devote those resources to protecting a far larger number of refugees where they live, or close to where they live, in a familiar culture.

Trump has the legal authority to suspend immigration indefinitely from any country or group of countries. That would be much better than the temporary order that has raised such a furor, especially if Trump issued an indefinite suspension with no pretense that vetting is the issue. But even that would not be an adequate substitute for a thorough revision of our immigration laws.
In significant respects the Muslim Brotherhood is the progenitor of the Islamic terrorism that hit us on 9/11. Lawrence Wright therefore began his account of al Qaeda and the road to 9/11 with Sayyid Qutb, the intellectual godfather of the Brotherhood.

The avowedly genocideal and terrorist group Hamas is an offshoot of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood itself is a little cagier, but it takes a case of willful blindness to miss the nature of this particular beast.

Senator Cruz urges designation of the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization under federal law. The text of Senator Cruzs 2015 bill sets forth the evidence in support of such a designation and is posted here. Andy McCarthy endorsed the bill here (additional helpful background is summarized here). The bill as reintroduced in the current session of Congress is posted here.

The purported civil rights organization CAIR resists Senator Cruzs proposed law through a campaign of disinformation. Adam Kredo calls foul on CAIR in the Washington Free Beacon story here.

In his invaluable book The Grand Jihad Andy devoted a chapter to the origins and purposes of CAIR, its roots in the Muslim Brotherhoods Hamas-support network, and its aim to silence critics of Islamic supremacism. NRO has posted a version of the chapter here.

CAIRs defense of the Muslim Brotherhood with its false disparagement of the Cruz bill makes out the point in its own way.

Lawfare editor in chief Benjamin Wittes argues that designating the Brotherhood as a whole a terrorist organization would be illegal. The linked post appears solely under Wittess name, but the text of the post refers to [o]ne of the present authors and elsewhere also seems to denote plural authorship (we would never argue). Either I am missing something or a co-author is missing from the byline.

As I say above, Senator Cruzs bill urges designation of the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. It should be noted, however, that Senator Cruzs bill calls for the Secretary of State, in consultation with the intelligence community, to submit a detailed report to the appropriate congressional committees that (1) indicates whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); and (2) if the Secretary of State determines that the Muslim Brotherhood does not meet the criteria referred, to include a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met.
SAAB were contracted some years ago to do a pre-feasibility study. In late 2015 SAAB, Airbus and BAEs were invited to tender for the 4 year preliminary design phase for a 5th generation LO air superiority platform (think F-22). It's likely to be a twin-engined aircraft, possibly with new co-developed engines; R-R UK have proposed a $500m co-development programme. About a year ago BAEs was selected for pre-contract negotiations; a contract was very close to being signed at Farnborough, but the Programme Directory, a Maj Gen Aksoy, was arrested on his return to Turkey, immediately following the coup attempt. Airbus tried to get another deal on the table last year but the Turks were happy to partner with the UK - as this proposal has massive cross-Government support. SAAB have now no involvement in the programme. Oh, and the contract is worth about $160M.



But the bottom line is that the Turkish Government want something that is exportable and have an eye on the global F-16 fleet. Should the PDC go well (and BAEs is heavily resourcing it), it's likely they will be kept on and there will be many other UK companies involved - along with the burgeoning hi-tech Turkish defence industry (much of it quasi-state-owned). I think we will see the RAF working closer with the TurAF on collaboration programmes, as they struggle to rebuild after the coup attempt (perhaps 30% of F-16 pilots were dismissed and/or arrested; including almost all of their FJ QFIs...apparently).



Outside of FCAS, this is the only forward looking programme on the BAEs books with real potential to produce the next generation of aerospace engineers.
TOMS RIVER  A 26-year-old Barnegat Township man died Saturday after being shot by a friend while hunting in Berkeley Township, authorities said.

The victim had been hunting in a group with his father, who tried to save him after the shooting, authorities said.

The victim, whose identity had not been released, and his father were hunting deer with two friends when one of the friends, a 41-year-old man from Forked River in Lacey Township, shot him, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutors office.

The father immediately attempted to render aid to his son while the group called 911 for help, but the victim was declared dead soon after the shooting, according to investigators.

Judge grants motion to dismiss in Pleasantville triple fatal MAYS LANDING  Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Wild dismissed three vehicul

Detectives from the prosecutors Major Crimes Unit and Berkeley police were investigating. The Ocean County Sheriffs Department had custody of the shotgun.

The officials said none of the parties involved would be publicly identified Saturday.

Shootings by hunters of other people are rare in New Jersey, but Saturdays incident was at least the second such shooting in Ocean County within six weeks.

On Dec. 17, a pheasant hunter in Jackson Township shot a 60-year-old father and his 34-year-old son who were hunting in the states Colliers Mill Wildlife Management Area. State law-enforcement officials said the wounded men had been about 20 yards from the other hunter as he tried to shoot a bird.

The father was hit by four birdshot pellets in the face, and the son was hit by three in the face and two in one hand. Both needed hospital treatment, according to officials with the states Division of Fish and Wildlife.

In 1998, state officials charged a 30-year-old man with shooting and killing a 17-year-old fellow hunter in Morris County as the boy was leaving a mountain after a day of hunting.

That same year, a Salem County man was shot in the head while deer hunting in Lower Alloways Creek Township.

At that point, Fish and Wildlife officials cited a statistic that out of 100,000 hunters who spent 1 million recreational days in the field ... the total number of hunting accidents averages less than 20 per year in New Jersey.

But in 2001, a Gloucester County man hunting with his 13-year-old son in Glassboro was shot and killed on the opening day of deer season, according to officials in that county.
ATLANTIC CITY  The Boardwalk is on its way back.

Work crews are busy rebuilding and protecting the long-suffering section of the wooden walk on the uptown side of the casino zone, running along the ocean and wrapping around to go beside Absecon Inlet.

That job is broken into two contracts, one of which runs from Rhode Island Avenue to Oriental Avenue. The deadline for finishing that section is late April, but the work has moved fast enough that the people involved expect to see walkers back on those boards well before that.

We should be ahead of schedule, barring any unforeseen weather, said Russell Cipolla, city engineer.

Cipolla emphasized the contractor, Walters Marine, legally has until April 25 to wrap up its work. But they anticipate being done sooner, he said.

On the Boardwalk this week, Bill Walters, president of the family-run company, agreed with that optimism. Still, he cautioned that while several blocks may look finished, he doesnt expect all the decking to be in place until the end of February.

The contract also includes installing safety railings and lights along the Boardwalk through the area.

That will take a few weeks, he said, so the contractor estimates his crew  the reason he gives for the job running ahead of schedule  should be finished by about mid-March.

Walters Marine started on the $4.8 million project last summer. Cipolla said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reimbursing the city for 90 percent of the cost. The first part of the job was getting rid of an existing section that was in miserable shape.

You couldnt bring anything on it, not even a pickup truck, Walters said.

From her vantage point, Jennie Williams is also enjoying the progress. Shes property manager at The Ocean, an apartment building that bends around with the boards from ocean to inlet. She knows theres lots of local interest.

We have people down here every day checking out how far theyre getting, Williams said.

She talks to some of the work crews sometimes, because the contractors rented office space in the building.

At one point, they were at a standstill, she said, waiting on a lumber delivery. But now, theyre really moving.

The other section of the current work is more complicated because it includes installing a rock seawall to protect the Boardwalk beside Absecon Inlet  and protect its Inlet neighborhood around it. That includes sections of the boards that were famously damaged in Hurricane Sandy, some of which had been shut down for years by earlier storms.

Cipolla said the deadline for that section is this summer, and he doesnt expect the $33 million job to finish early. The contract, which is being run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, calls for skipping about 2 blocks of the rock reinforcement because of a timber seawall thats there now, he said.

The Inlet project also includes demolishing the current Boardwalk remains and rebuilding a section to Grammercy Avenue, where it can then tie in with the citys Maine Avenue Promenade, the concrete walkway that runs along the water.

That job is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year, Cipolla said.

There also are plans for a seawall, including a walkway, to run from Caspian Avenue to Historic Gardners Basin, the citys bayfront park in the Northeast Inlet. Cipolla hopes to see that state-funded project go out for contractors bids by this spring, and that should be done, or very close to being done, by the end of the year, he said.

When it is, it will finish a pedestrian and bicycle route starting at the Margate border and going all the way to tourist-friendly Gardners Basin.
Breast-feeding is a very personal choice. However, the realities of breast-feeding and, later, returning to work as a pumping mother present a new set of very real challenges for a woman.

Workplaces that support a mother in her return to work by bringing her back with ease always win. Committed employers are not only supporting infant health, they are also establishing a powerful statement of collaboration, underscoring how much they value their employee. Although the repeal of the Affordable Care Act might mean organizations no longer legally have to provide the space or time for women to pump at work, many companies know that providing this is not only kind, but also a smart business move. Birch Box, for example, offers hospital grade pumps, snacks and a comprehensive booking system for its growing population of mothers in the workplace.

Lauren Pfeiffer was out for 12 weeks after the birth of her second daughter. When she returned to New Jersey-based Association Headquarters, she was greeted with brand new private mothers room that held comfortable seating, a sink, refrigerator, mirror and even a shared calendar for booking the space. The space made her return to work much more seamless, and the fact that her company set it up made her feel supported and grateful. The room was set up for quiet but also allowed for Pfeiffer to catch up on emails as she pumped breast milk for 20 minutes two to three times a day.

It is this piece of the puzzle that is my focus at the Its Working Project. Not only do we gather and share stories of how parents in the U.S. transition back to work, the project also partners with workplaces to help them establish easy-to-execute programs to support working families.

As was the case with Association Headquarters, not only was the pumping room a wise thing for her company to do, but its also the law.

Washington D.C. has recently passed legislation and joined 18 states to pass enhanced pregnancy and nursing protections that offer strong protections (and also serious penalties for offenders) for a wide range of workers and situations. Many of these state statutes, as well as D.C.s law, also clarify and strengthen the rights of nursing mothers.

Unfortunately, there is still a tremendous amount of confusion about the rights of pregnant workers, said Dina Baskt, co-president of A Better Balance, an organization that works with lawmakers to enact legislation to help pregnant and nursing workers. Thankfully, a growing number of states and localities, including D.C., have stepped in to guarantee pregnant workers a clear, statutory right to reasonable accommodations  the same standard in place for workers with disabilities. Many of these statutes also clarify and strengthen the rights of nursing mothers. Ensuring that pregnant workers and new mothers can avoid the impossible choice between a paycheck and a healthy pregnancy is undoubtedly a win-win for women, families and our economy, she said in testimony.

But smart businesses are many steps beyond just compliant. We know it can be a challenging for parents to transition back to work and want to do everything we can to make the transition as smooth as possible, said Annie Lavigne, human resources director at Edelman Inc. This is one of the reasons why we are committed to providing a pumping space for nursing mothers that is private, clean, and comfortable. The happier our employees are, the more likely they are to stay. We cant achieve our business objectives without retaining our talent, and our employees ability to manage family and work effectively is a key part of that equation.

So how do you get what you need at work?

Employees should emphasize the bottom-line benefits to employers of providing first-in-class benefits to nursing mothers, advises Baskt. These programs increase retention and productivity, while also demonstrating the companys commitment to working families.

It takes very little for an organization to move from simply compliant to best is class. And the effort results in a high level of return in the form of retention and continued commitment.
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Richard Pereira, 26, of Barnegat Township, was the man shot and killed while deer hunting Saturday morning in Berkeley Township, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office said Sunday.

The investigation continues, and further details will be released upon its completion, said spokesman Al Della Fave, who said it has not yet been determined whether the shooting was an accident.

The Prosecutors Office said the victim was shot by a friend while hunting in a wooded area near 100 Locker Street, and that the victims father was in the hunting party and tried to save him.

Pereira and his father were hunting deer with two friends when one of the friends, a 41-year-old man from Forked River in Lacey Township, shot him, Della Fave said Saturday.

The father immediately attempted to render aid to his son while the group called 911 for help, but the victim was declared dead soon after the shooting, at 9:08 a.m., according to State Police.

Detectives from the prosecutors Major Crimes Unit and Berkeley police are investigating. The Ocean County Sheriffs Department had custody of the shotgun.

Shootings by hunters of other people are rare in New Jersey, but Saturdays incident was at least the second such shooting in Ocean County within six weeks.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  As soon as Tom Duffy walked in the door at the Greek Winter Feast Saturday afternoon, he stopped dead. The smell coming out of the Community Hall at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church was so enticing, he and his two eating companions had to try to steady themselves before they went in.

But Duffy, Jodie Mangold and her daughter, Macie Mangold, didnt stop for long. A few minutes later, they were at a table and Duffy was enjoying the chicken gyro sandwich he picked out of the extensive menu being served by volunteers from the church.

After a brief break, he was back to try another sandwich.

Its not the first time Ive had this food, said Duffy, of Middle Township. Thats why I was so excited to come here.

And he wasnt the only one excited about all the gyros and roast leg of lamb and shish-kebab and spinach pie and mousaka and more served at the ninth annual winter edition of the feast at Holy Trinity. The church has held a bigger version of this event every June for more than 30 years.

We came up here from Washington, D.C., just for the Greek food, said Nels Larson, who made that trip with Anne Thompson.

And while its true they combined their eating odyssey with a visit to her mother, church member Mary Veronis Thompson, they admitted they timed the family visit strategically, so it coincided with the feast.

The church, on Ridge Avenue, has the two festivals per year as fundraisers.

The winter feast is scheduled to continue Sunday.

But Eugenia Kramvis, the outreach minister at Holy Trinity, said a big part of the point of the events is to keep Greek traditions alive.

Of course, you know the Greeks love the country, love the culture, love the language and love their faith, she said. And we love to share what we have, too.

The church offers free lessons in modern and biblical Greek, an essential for scholars of the Christian Bible, Kramvis said.

Saturday night, members were giving guided tours of the church, complete with explanations of the significance of the architecture and decorations.

But these festivals are what many locals know of this church, and the members expected their festival to get much more crowded Saturday night, when they tried the first Greek Taverna night at the Winter Feast.

We have music (by the Greek band Thalassa). Well have good dancers, said Maria Lianidis, of Linwood, who was helping her husband, Steve, run the feasts well-stocked bar, which included many Greek specialty drinks.

And of course, they had all that food, which is more than enough to draw some customers.
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.




NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) today announced that Hagerstown, Md., dealer Paul Ritchie will serve as its 2017 chairman. Ritchie, who is the president of Hagerstown Honda and Hagerstown Kia in Hagerstown, Md., and Altoona Honda in Altoona, Pa., took over the position during AIADA's 47th Annual Meeting and Luncheon, held today in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"My job for the next 12 months is to preserve the American dream for dealers and ensure that it is available for future generations who want to take a leap of faith," said Ritchie during AIADA's meeting. "Right now, that means working with everything we have in Washington, D.C. to promote dealer interests, protect global trade, and fight back against the devastating border adjustment tax."

Ritchie has been involved in the automotive industry since 1976, opening Hagerstown Honda in 1990 followed by Hagerstown Kia in 1997 and Altoona Honda in 2013. A member of AIADA's board of directors for several years, he is a recognized leader in the auto industry. In the past, he served as Chairman of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association (MADA) and was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award in 2009. In addition to running three successful dealerships, Ritchie also makes time for several community causes, including local educational programs, service organizations, and the local Chamber of Commerce.

Serving alongside Ritchie in leadership positions on the AIADA Board of Directors are Greg Kaminsky, Immediate Past Chairman (El Cajon, Calif.); Brad Strong, Chairman-Elect (Salt Lake City, Utah); Howard Hakes, Vice-Chairman (City of Industry, Calif.); and Steve Gates, Secretary/Treasurer (Richmond, Ky.).

Also during its Annual Meeting, AIADA presented Greensburg, Pa., dealer Jim Smail with the 2017 David F. Mungenast Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Smail is the president of the Smail Auto Group, a collection of ten dealerships that has been family-owned and operated for over 75 years.

For more about AIADA, visit AIADA.org.

SOURCE American International Automobile Dealers Association

Related Links

http://www.aiada.org


Dhaka, Jan 24 : Two Bangladesh nationals were arrested in Malaysia for suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, media reported on Tuesday.

Malaysian Special Branch's Counter-Terrorism Division held four persons, including the two Bangladesh citizens, in separate raids between January 13 and 19 in Kuala Lumpur and Sabah, the Daily Star reported.

The suspects included a 31-year-old Filipino and a 27-year-old Malaysian woman.

The Bangladesh men, aged 27 and 28, worked as salesmen, and were arrested last Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. They were suspected of having ties to suspected IS militants in Bangladesh and planning to join a terror cell led by Mahmud Ahmad, according to the report.

Mahmud Ahmad was a former lecturer at University Malaya who had joined IS militants based in the southern Philippines.

Malaysian police said the arrests meant that police had effectively destroyed a new IS cell which had planned to turn Sabah into a transit station for Southeast Asia and South Asia terrorists to join a Philippines-based IS group led by Mahmud and Isnilon Hapilon.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that the cell, led by Mahmud, had combined with an Abu Sayyaf group headed by Isnilon, which had pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakar Al Baghdadi," police said in a statement.

Malaysia is a major destination for Bangladeshi job-seekers. Around four lakh Bangladeshi nationals are now working in the country.
Kolkata, Jan 26 : Renowned author Ruskin Bond says he is not a big fan of demonetisation and does not know how to use plastic money. However, he feels others may get used to it.

"I'm not a great fan of demonetisation. I don't like standing in a queue outside the bank myself. And I don't know how to use all these digital (platforms) plastic money," Bond, author of a plethora of books mainly for children, told IANS on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet here.

"For some old fashioned foggy like me it would be difficult. But maybe other people will get used to it," the 82-year old Mussoorie-based writer said.

Asked to rate the Narendra Modi government, Bond said there is still time to put it under the scanner.

"It's hard to predict. Governments come and go. In my lifetime, in 82 years, 78 have been in India. I have lived through a number of Prime Ministers. There have been good ones, some not so memorable.

"We need more time to judge the present government."
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has lauded the Delhi government for providing free primary health care through Mohalla Clinics -- an initiative that is "consistent with the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goal" of the World Health Organization.

In a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Annan has termed the scheme "successful and impressive" and said, "...you have scaled up the provision of universal free health services, most notably in providing free primary healthcare services through your new Mohalla Clinics".

"We understand that this initiative is proving very successful and we commend you on this impressive achievement," said Annan, who heads "The Elders", an independent organisation promoting peace, justice and human rights worldwide.

"We are aware that your administration has implemented a series of health reforms consistent with the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goal," he said, referring to the WHO initiative that all people receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.

The Delhi government plans to build some 1,000 Mohalla Clinics across the city. At least 107 such clinics have already come up, in both middle class and urban poor neighbourhoods, where people enjoy the facilities of doctors, tests and medicines -- all for free.

When 1,000 Mohalla Clinics are built, Delhi will be a saturated model state for healthcare, he said.

"We believe you could further extend health coverage in Delhi and provide further important lessons for other Indian states embarking on their UHC journeys."

"From experience elsewhere, including in some of our own countries, the Elders believe that a bold move to advance UHC could bring tremendous health and economic benefits to the people of India. It would also, of course, be likely to prove extremely popular."

Kejriwal extended the deadline for setting up of 1,000 Mohalla clinics up to March 31, 2017.
Bangkok, Jan 28 : Chinese communities across Asia celebrated the first day of the Year of the Rooster on Saturday with traditional dances and prayers, the media reported.

While the main celebrations got underway in China, huge crowds gathered for events across the region to share their wishes for an auspicious start to the Lunar New Year, Efe news reported.

In Thailand, which boasts of hosting the biggest Lunar New Year celebrations outside of China, the Year of the Rooster was rung in on Friday night with a parade in the capital's Lumpini Park, which saw some participants dressed in traditional Chinese costumes.

"By putting in a touch of Thai-ness, we want to ensure that Thailand's celebrations to mark the Chinese New Year 2017 will be unique and memorable for local and international tourists," said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

In Malaysia, hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to watch a traditional Chinese Lion Dance being performed at Kuala Lumpur's Thean Hou temple.

New Year's revellers were also seen visiting the temple with their families for prayers and posing for photos with decorative lanterns.

Similar scenes were observed in the Philippines capital, where children from poor families donned makeshift dragon costumes as they performed dances in front of Chinese revellers in Manila's China Town.

Filipino-Chinese spectators offered money to the dancers to wish them good luck.

In Taiwan, huge crowds gathered at the capital's Longshan Temple, which was decorated with images of the rooster, where they burned incense and joined New Year prayers.

Scores of displaced people in South Korea whose home towns are in the North made their way to Imjingak, a park located near the Demilitarised Zone in the city of Paju, for an ancestor memorial service.

The annual holiday traditionally sees people in South Korea travel to their home towns to visit their families and pay homage to their ancestors.

Celebrations for the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, will officially end on February 2, while the year will continue until February 15, 2018.
Panaji, Jan 28 : Former RSS leader Subhash Velingkar-mentored Goa Suraksha Manch and the Shiv Sena, alliance partners of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party for the upcoming state assembly elections, have promised a ban on rave parties in their joint election manifesto which was released on Saturday.

"Rave parties and Electronic Dance Music (events) shall be banned," the manifesto, which was released by the Shiv Sena and GSM said.

Goa, over the last few years, has emerged as one of the most popular destinations for EDM festivals with top billing events like Sunburn and VH1 Supersonic being successfully organised here, which attracted hundreds of thousands of music lovers.

The manifesto also promises to cut all grants to government aided primary schools, where English is used as the medium of instruction.

Stopping of financial aid to English medium schools, most of them operated by the Diocesan Society of Education, was one of the main reasons for the conflict between Velingkar and the BJP in Goa.

While Velingkar has accused the BJP of pandering to the minority community, the BJP, which when in opposition was opposed to the grants too, now argues that grants to the minority institutions will continue at any cost.

The manifesto also promises a stricter regime which will crack down on drug proliferation in Goa and cutting down of security allocation for VIPs.
Washington, Jan 29 : The US government will not automatically allow green card holders who travelled to countries placed under a temporary travel ban by President Donald Trump, back into the US.

Instead, those travellers will have to apply for a waiver to the executive order that instituted the ban, informed sources told CNN on Saturday.

The countries targeted by US President Donald Trump's executive order include the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen.

Green card holders already overseas seeking to return to their homes in the US will be processed through a waiver authority that has already been established.

One official said there is a case-by-case admissions process and another said it is being done "expeditiously."

People from the seven countries who have green cards -- a government document granting permanent residence in the US -- should not leave the country because they may not be allowed back in the US, one source familiar with the matter said.

There's been significant confusion over the precise terms of Trump's executive order since he signed it on Friday, particularly over how it pertained to visa holders who are travelling and if any different treatment was afforded to green card holders.

Exemptions will be at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, and criteria for exemptions include refugee status for religious minorities facing persecution, if denying admission would cause undue hardship or if not doing so would not pose a risk to the security or welfare of the US.

Those travelling without a green card who landed in the United States after the order was signed would be detained and put back on a flight to their country of citizenship, an administration official told CNN.

Separately, Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledged people who were in the air would be detained upon arrival and put back on a plane to their home country.
Los Angeles, Jan 29 : Actress Drew Barrymore says she is not ready to date anyone.

"I'm not ready. I'm still in shock," the 41-year-old told Andy Cohen on "SiriusXM Town Hall", reports pagesix.com.

In April 2016, the actress separated from then-husband Will Kopelman. Their divorce got finalised in August last year.

When Cohen told her about giving dating apps like Raya or Tinder a chance, Barrymore said she wasn't into swiping.

"My girlfriends are on it so, it is fun for me to look over their shoulder," she said.

"My concern is, 'Am I going to be that person who classically meets a psycho and gets murdered that night?'"

Barrymore, who was married to Kopelman for three years, explained that she isn't too tech-savvy when it comes romance.

"I just feel like I remember when you were waiting for the phone to ring and then you were worried because you had missed their call, there's a part of me that still dates from kind of perspective," she said.

Despite their break-up, Kopelman and Barrymore have remained amicable for their two daughters.
Moscow, Jan 29 : US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin talked about stabilizing the relationship between the two countries, the Kremlin said.

A Kremlin summary of the phone also call also talked about the two leaders discussing several other subjects, CNN reported on Saturday.

Some of the other issues included restoring trade ties, international terrorism, the situations in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, and the coordination of military action against IS (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups in Syria.

The Kremlin call summary didn't specifically mention US sanctions against Russia. It said restoration of mutually beneficial economic ties "could further stimulate progressive and stable development of bilateral relations," according to a CNN translation of the Russian statement.

The White House called the one-hour chat a significant start to improving a relationship "in need of repair."

Both Trump and Putin said before the call that they would like to see warmer ties between their two nations.

However, relations between Trump and his team and Russia have been under scrutiny following allegations that Moscow meddled in the US election last year.

Speaking Friday at his first White House news conference, Trump indicated a willingness to work with Moscow.

However, he said it was "too early" to discuss removing sanctions that his predecessor, President Barack Obama, imposed on Russia.
Tehran, Jan 29 : Iran said it was blocking entry to US citizens in response to a move by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order temporarily barring most arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Iran said Trump's wide-ranging order, which was signed on Friday and, among other things, prevents most travellers from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen from entering the US, was insulting and that it would respond in kind while the restrictions are in place, Efe news reported on Saturday.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the measure would backfire and promote more violence and extremism.

"Despite its false claims of combating terrorism and ensuring the safety of the American people, (the executive order) will go down in history as a big gift to extremists and their supporters," it said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier had indirectly criticised another Trump executive order that assigns federal funds for the construction of a wall on the border separating the US and Mexico.

The current era is one of "reconciliation and coexistence and not of putting up walls between countries," he said.

A further deterioration in Iranian-US relations was expected with the coming to power of Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the nuclear deal signed in July 2015 between Iran and six major world powers.
Los Angeles, Jan 29 : Actor Idris Elba hopes that a channel will fund his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.

"To be a spaceman. If Discovery (channel) will pay for it, then I'll go into space," Elba told Closer magazine when asked what he wants to try next, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The 44-year-old star is currently filming "The Mountain Between Us" with Kate Winslet and thinks his fight training has inspired the Oscar-winning actress to push herself more.

He said: "I think my current co-star is quite impressed actually and has decided to take up pilates pretty heavily."

However, his "Thor: Ragnarok" co-stars Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth and "The Dark Tower" co-star Matthew McConaughey were not so impressed and felt he was putting himself at risk unnecessarily.

He said: "I think they thought I was a bit stupid for doing it because they were like, 'What if you hurt your face or break your arm?' They didn't think it was a smart move."
Washington, Jan 29 : US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed during a telephone conversation on the "fundamental importance" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for transatlantic relations.

Trump, who had called that organization "obsolete," and Merkel agreed on Saturday on "the NATO alliance's fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of our North Atlantic community," the White House said in a statement, Efe news reported.

"The leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all Allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the official note said.

Many times during last year's electoral campaign, Trump had called NATO "obsolete," and this month repeated that opinion in two interviews with European media.

The new US president also criticized America's NATO partners in Europe last year for not contributing a fair share of funds to the alliance, and suggested he might even reduce US support for the transatlantic bloc, while simultaneously talking about better relations with Russia.

Trump and Merkel also spoke Saturday about the "need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilize conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa."

The president and chancellor talked as well about Russia and the crisis in Ukraine, and the importance of close German-US cooperation for the peace and security of both countries.

Finally, Trump on Saturday accepted Merkel's invitation to attend the G20 Summit of developed and emerging countries in the German city of Hamburg next July.

The first official talks between Trump and Merkel since the magnate took office on January 20 lasted "45 minutes", White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Twitter.

That dialogue came on a day of telephone conversations Saturday between Trump and several other national leaders, including Francois Hollande of France, Japan's Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin of Russia.
Kuala Lumpur, Jan 29 : A boat carrying 31 persons aboard has lost contact with the authorities in Malaysia, an official said on Sunday.

It sailed from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah state on Saturday, and carried over 20 Chinese tourists, Xinhua news agency quoted the Consulate General of China as saying.

According to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the boat was enroute to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of Kota Kinabalu.

The agency has sent out ships and helicopters to the site for rescue operations.

A maritime communications officer in Sabah said: "The search area covers 400 nautical square miles and involves waters between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum."

It was not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat.
New York, Jan 29 : A court has issued an emergency stay halting deportation under President Donald Trump's executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

A federal court for the Eastern District in New York on Saturday issued the order preventing the government from sending immigrants back to their home countries as it would cause them "irreparable harm".

It is unclear yet if they would remain in detention until a substantive ruling on the constitutionality of the ban is delivered.

"If someone is not being released, I guess I'll just hear from you," The New York Times quoted Judge Ann Donnelly as saying.

The order comes as American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) early on Saturday filed a lawsuit in response to the "extreme vetting", BBC reported.

Trump's executive order halts all immigration from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

The ban led to widespread confusion about how it would be implemented and enforced.

According to the ACLU, 100 to 200 people are being detained at airports or in transit.

Hundreds of people protested at airports across the country over the new President's clampdown on immigration.

Lee Gelernt, deputy legal director of the Immigrants Rights Project, argued the case in court and was greeted by a cheering crowd outside.

He said some people had been threatened while being "put back on a plane" later on Saturday.

"This is a remarkable day," said the ACLU's executive director, Anthony Romero.

"On day one, after he signed the executive order, we took him to court... that it was unconstitutional, it was un-American, and it flew in the face of established statutes that we have long regarded in this country."
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The annual budget is two days away, but a kind of ennui has set in for the man on the street. Will this year's "big event" be any different from earlier ones? Will there be some relief in taxes, will it make amends for the increase in prices of essential commodities, or will it be another of the many exercises the government does as a matter of course?

"The tax slab should be increased. The government should do away with the numerous taxes that it imposes on consumers, including the surcharge and service tax and other various cess and taxes," Tushar Bhutani, a Senior Manager at India Mart, told IANS.

"Why should we pay so many taxes when we are already paying a part of our hard-earned income (as income tax)," Bhutani said, prefacing his comments with disdain for the yearly ritual, which he said is not going to affect him in any manner.

"I have so many expectations with respect to petrol, diesel, items of daily needs, etc. They should all be sold at cheaper rates. But will my expecting anything from the government have any bearing on how it thinks? I hardly think so," he said.

Another privately employed individual demanded a revision in prices of a host of daily necessities, but applied a caveat against his own wishes by saying that every person formulates his own micro-budget to counter the government budget.

In the end, hardships have to be faced by the people in one way or the other, he added.

"Moong dal prices have gone up by almost 100 per cent since last year. Price of milk is sky-rocketing and that of petrol increases every third month. On the other hand, we get a hike in our salary annually. Who is to explain this contradiction?

"The annual budget is very unlikely to affect me, speaking frankly, since we are too well adapted to the vagaries of government and markets," Sohan Butolia, a mid-level employee at a Honda car showroom in Noida, told IANS.

Another salaried individual voiced his expectations.

"I want the budget to reduce the cost of higher learning in private institutes -- the cost of complete education, as it's a matter of one's right. The prices of life-saving drugs and other crucial medicines should also come down, as that may spell the difference between life and death for some," Sunder Shyam, employed with the food catering unit of a navy base here, told IANS.

He then shifted the focus to the real vulnerable class.

"I will not be much affected as I have savings. But many, the labourers and daily-wage earners, are bound to be hit badly if the prices of everyday items keep shooting up," he added.

(Vishal Narayan can be reached at vishal.n@ians.in)
New Delhi : It seems ironically heartless, but somehow the best literary creativity is inspired by tragedy, especially those in conflict situations, and can reflect its nuances and effects better. "A Tale of Two Cities", "Dr Zhivago" and "Gone With the Wind" can tell us more about the situation of the French and Russian Revolutions or the American Civil War, respectively, than any standard history, no matter how magisterial. This is also true of the Spanish Civil War.

This conflict (1936-1939), the last and bloodiest of four civil wars in Spain since Napoleonic times, was the outcome of the ideological conflict threatening to upend its social order since the dawn of the 20th century -- the country had one of the strongest anarchist movements ever seen.

A precursor to the Second World War (and setting the stage for other geopolitical conflicts that have lasted well into our own times), with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supporting the Nationalists, Stalin's Russia the Republicans, while Western democracies ineffectually tried to impose an arms embargo, it also saw a large number of foreign participants on both sides.

While the conservative and somewhat fascist strains of the Nationalist side did enjoy some support from the outside world, the preponderance was on the side of the (mostly) liberal Republicans, and it is from their supporters we have some of the most enduring memories of the conflict. Let's examine half of the dozen, ranging from the iconic to the latest.

Among them, pride of place goes to Ernest Hemingway's novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940), the story of an American volunteer in the International Brigades attached to a Republican guerrilla unit and assigned to blow up a bridge during an attack on an enemy-held city.

Drawing on the experiences of Hemingway, who covered the conflict for American newspapers, it has several real-life characters like Spanish Republican heroine Dolores Ibarruri "La Pasionaria" (1895-1989), known for her famous slogan 'No Pasaran! ("They shall not pass") during the Battle for Madrid, while some authorities believe the hero, Robert Jordan, is based on Robert Hale Merriman (1908-38), leader of the American Volunteers in the International Brigades, who was also killed in action.

The book, better known from the 1943 film adaptation starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman, was nominated for the Pulitzer award in 1941 but the jury's recommendation was nixed by the then Columbia University president and no award in this category was made that year.

As searing but non-fictional is "Homage to Catalonia" (1938), George Orwell's personal account of his experiences (he himself was shot by a sniper on the frontline and nearly died) and observations during his volunteer service on the Republican side. A key motif is the lethal conflict between the anarchist militia he served in and the Stalinist Communist Party which might have led to his negative view of the Soviet Union later expressed in his "Nineteen Eighty-Four".

The war forms the backdrop in one of prolific British author Dennis Wheatley's Duke de Richleau series, a modern version of Alexander Dumas's "Three Musketeers" series. "The Golden Spaniard" (1938), mirrors the plot of Dumas' "Twenty Years After" (the second of "The Three Musketeers" series), in pitting two sets of the actually four Musketeers against each other.

De Richleau is approached by Lucretia-Jose ("The Golden Spaniard") to save a fortune in gold in her adopted father's Madrid bank from the Republicans. Convinced to undertake the task, he finds to his surprise that among his friends, banker Simon Aron and American businessman Rex Van Ryn are unwilling to accompany him, but Richard Eaton agrees.

They find the two others are also in Spain but on the other side, and there are plenty of cat and mouse games and close shaves before all four quit the country in disgust, expressing hope that the two sides would shoot each other and leave the world in peace.

For the relation of Lucretia-Jose to the Duke, read "Vendetta in Spain" (1961), which explores the Duke's first visit to Spain in the early 1900s and his fight against the Anarchists.

A recent work exploring the preliminary politics is Spanish author Eduardo Mendoza's "An Englishman in Madrid" (2015, translator Nick Caistor), about an English art historian invited to Spain to value an aristocrat's collection, and falling into a collection of misadventures after meeting Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of Falange, the Spanish version of the Fascists.

A more darker work is acclaimed literary espionage novelist Alan Furst's "Midnight in Europe" (2015) about the Republicans' efforts to get themselves weapons. Spanning hijacked arms in Poland, Gestapo raids in Berlin, a raid on a Soviet naval armoury in Odessa, and a tense sea battle off Italy, it shows the desperate lengths to which committed men can go for their cause.

And finally, if you prefer non-fiction, Pulitzer winner Richard Rhodes' "Hell and Good Company" (2016) tells its story from the viewpoint of the reporters, writers, artists, doctors and nurses involved.

(Vikas Datta is an Associate Editor at IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
Kolkata, Jan 29 : "I sometimes feel that the world is certainly not a better place." To hear renowned author Ruskin Bond -- who helps transport children to a surreal world in the lap of nature -- say this is painful.

Growing conflict, violence, environmental degradation -- all these worry the 82-year-old popular writer.

"I sometimes feel that the world is certainly not a better place. In spite of all the advances in science and medicine, there is more conflict. We have done our best to destroy the natural world around us. Trees are on their way out. To some extent all this (building of concrete for industry) is required, but it's overdone," Bond told IANS in a one-on-one on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Literary Meet here.

Talking of decadence in the modern world, the literary icon said while it was there during his formative years, individual violence has become more profound now.

"Decadence has always been there. Maybe violence has been there too, but of a different kind. When I was a boy I wasn't myself confronted with violence, but there were wars going on. World War II, the freedom movement in India, Quit India movement and one saw riots and disturbances, and partition happened. There was no shortage of violence. Now it's a case of individual violence," he said.

Born in Kasauli in 1934 and having spent most of his childhood amidst the serenity of the Himalayas, Bond's tales of childhood and love, people and trains, and hills and rains, still capture the imagination of the young.

Among his ocean of work, Bond's stellar creations include "The Room on the Roof" (1956), "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra" (1992), "The Blue Umbrella" (1974) and "A Flight of Pigeons" (2003).

He is "fed up" of violence in movies and television serials to which children are exposed to at a very early stage. "You see so much violence in our movies and television serials. There are horror films, aliens, torture scenes (laughs), I get fed up trying to find out something on TV that I can enjoy.

"I might get scared watching them. But they (modern-day children) enjoy it and don't seem to be bothered."

Bond does not use a mobile phone, nor does he know how to use a laptop, forget the social media. Quizzed on the reason for shunning what today is a must-have, the Mussoorie resident said he is unwilling to be a slave of technology.

"I don't bother and don't make that effort even. But I am very cunning, I may not use technology but since everybody in my household has got either mobile phones or laptops, I let them do it for me (laughs).

"I take advantage of the technology without becoming a slave to it. One day my grandson Gautam, who is 14, in my adopted family asked, 'Dada (grandfather) what is your favourite song'? I mentioned a song that I hadn't heard for 50 years or so, but a few minutes later he was playing it for me on his laptop. That made me very happy as a result of which I gave him some extra pocket money."

Bond walked on the same path when asked about the ill effects of social media on today's children.

"It's useful but it can be a deterrent too. Sometimes it's hard to get them to study even for an exam which requires the traditional way of studying. It can be a deterrent if you become a slave to it."

Has this also put a spanner in the reading habits of children?

"It does but sometimes you might want to read on screen. I meet kids who do read as well. But in a majority of cases it would take them away from books," said Bond, who received the Sahitya Academy award in 1992 for "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra".

Bond is not a fan of literary meets, opining that it has become more of fashion.

"It has become fashion. I wonder (how) so many writers turn up at all of them. So when do they get the time to write? I have come here as people in Calcutta save money to buy books which is not the case anywhere else. I feel more at home. I could do without them and will do without them."

Bond is working on his autobiography which, he said, won't tell the entire truth about himself as "a writer never reveals everything", but would give an insight into his life and illustrious career.

(Debayan Mukherjee can be contacted at debayan.m@ians.in)
New York, Jan 29 : A federal court here blocked part of US President Donald Trump's immigration order banning citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

The Brooklyn District Court came to the aid of scores of refugees and others who were trapped at airports across the US on Saturday after an "extreme vetting" by Trump which bans citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen from entering the country.

Judge Ann M. Donnelly on Saturday prevented the government from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by the executive order.

The order stopped short of letting the already arrived people into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's actions, the New York Times reported.

The judge nominated by former President Barack Obama ruled that sending back the travellers to their homelands would cause them "irreparable harm".

The case played out amid global turmoil as the order signed on Friday shut the borders of the US for an Iranian scientist headed to a lab in Massachusetts, a Syrian refugee family headed to a new life in Ohio and countless others across the world.

It also suspended entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.

The Department of Homeland Security said the order also barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the US.

The White House said green card holders from the seven affected countries who are outside the US would need a case-by-case waiver to return.

Trump has been accused of constitutional and legal overreach by two Iraqi immigrants, defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Meanwhile, large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce the new President's ban, The New York times reported.

According to lawyers for ACLU, who sued the government to block the order, about 100 to 200 people were detained upon arrival at American airports.

Hundreds of people waited outside of the courthouse chanting, "Set them free!" as lawyers made their case.

"We've gotten reports of people being detained all over the country," said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project. "They're literally pouring in by the minute."

Trump earlier on Saturday said: "It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared."

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."

There were numerous reports of students attending American universities who were blocked from returning to the US from visits abroad.

Legal residents who have a green card and are currently in the US should meet a consular officer before leaving the country, a White House official said.

A Stanford student, Nisrin Omer, a legal permanent resident, said she was held at the Kennedy International Airport here for about five hours but was eventually allowed to leave the airport.

Others who were detained appeared to be still in custody or sent back to their home countries, she said.
Chennai, Jan 29 : Last seen on screen in Tamil film "Achamindri", actress Vidya Pradeep is thrilled to foray into Kannada filmdom with "Bangara S/O Bangarada Manushya" which stars superstar Shivrajkumar in the lead.

Having completed shooting, Vidya told IANS: "The film is ready for release. I play a bubbly character which has extended screen time. I'm thrilled to be making my Kannada debut with an interesting project."

Directed by Yogi G Raj, the film also stars Vishal Hegde, Sadhu Kokila and Chikkanna.

While the project is said to be an ode to farmers and their problems, it has also been shot in exotic locations of Europe.

Talking about the experience of working in an alien language, she said: "I was quite nervous on the first day but luckily it didn't last long. Since I learnt Kannada before starting shooting, I can speak the language fluently."

In Tamil, Vidya has two projects - "Kalari" and "Othaikku Othai".
Chandigarh, Jan 29 : With bitter memories of large-scale violence fresh in the minds of people, Haryana was on high alert on Sunday as a section of the Jat community started fresh protests in some districts.

Paramilitary forces and Haryana Police were monitoring the situation in Jat-dominated districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat and others.

The call to resume the protests has been given by the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Jat leader Yashpal Malik in 19 districts.

The Jats are demanding fulfillment of demands like release of youths arrested during the Jat agitation last year, jobs to kin of Jats killed in the agitation and action against officials responsible for firing on Jat agitationists.

"Security agencies are keeping a close watch on some Jat leaders, especially those owing allegiance to the AIJASS," a senior police officer said here on Sunday.

The Haryana government has requisitioned 55 companies of central police forces and ordered the deployment of 7,000 Home Guards, besides the Haryana Police personnel, in districts where trouble was expected.

Central forces and Haryana police carried out flag marches in Rohtak and some other places on Saturday to instill confidence among people.

The Jat agitation in February last year left 30 people dead and over 200 injured.

Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar and some other districts were the worst affected during the Jat agitation.

Government and private property worth hundreds of crores was damaged and set on fire. Large-scale looting of commercial and business premises and even motorists was reported from the 10 worst affected districts.

In a communication to senior officers in districts, the Haryana government last week directed that security of all major critical points like drinking water supply to Delhi in Karnal and Sonipat, traffic movement on the G.T. road (National Highway No 1) and roadways depots should be secured.

Haryana Director General of Police K.P. Singh said earlier that if anyone was found indulging in any illegal activity or causing loss to public property, action would be initiated against him.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said people should refrain from participating in any agitation. He said the government will strictly deal with the situation if it gets out of hand.
Los Angeles, Jan 29 : Physician Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for his part in King of Pop Michael Jackson's 2009 death, reportedly wants to help Paris Jackson solve a mystery behind her father's alleged murder.

A source claims Murray wants to help 18-year-old Paris pursue her theory that her father was murdered, reports nydailynews.com.

Murray is hoping to reconnect with Paris and help her pursue that theory.

"Murray has made dozens of efforts to meet up with 18-year-old Paris over the years," said a source.

But Paris has shunned her dad's former physician away.

According to the source, Murray feels they still have a bond, and has been telling his friends he was "as close to a dad to Paris and Prince as Michael".

In an interview to Rolling Stone, Paris has suggested that Murray was a small player in a bigger conspiracy surrounding her father's death, saying that "it was a setup" and that "a lot of people" wanted him dead.

"Conrad thinks this is his way back into the children. He wants to meet Paris to tell her that he will back her in any plans she has to get justice for Michael. He still believes that the children see him as a family friend and surrogate dad," said the source.
Kotkapura (Punjab), Jan 29 : Invoking possible threats from Pakistan and the fear of revival of terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people in Punjab to vote for the Akali Dal-BJP alliance to provide a strong and stable government in the border state.

Without naming anyone, Modi warned people not to vote for parties who are eyeing to form the government for their vested interests. The veiled reference was to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"Punjab a border state. Pakistan always looks for opportunities to destabilise Punjab. If a weak government or a government of outsiders or a government of those indulging in luxuries comes, this will be bad for Punjab and the country," Modi said in this town of Punjab's agricultural Malwa belt, 225 km from Chandigarh.

"We have to ensure that we have a strong government. You should ensure that you vote properly."

Elections to 117 assembly seats in Punjab take place on February 4 with the main contest being among the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine, which has been in power in Punjab since 2007, Congress and the AAP.

Expressing apprehension that some people could revive terrorism in Punjab, Modi warned people against being misled by the Congress.

"Congress leaders painted all Punjab Sikh youth as terrorists. Now Congress has called all Punjab youths drug addicts. Save Punjab from people who will drag the state back to the dark days," Modi warned.

In an obvious reference to the Congress and the AAP, Modi lamented the declining standard of language being used during campaigning in Punjab.

"I am pained to hear what all sorts of things are being said for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal," Modi said.

"Very wrong words are being used for him (Badal). This is dictatorial language. Can democracy work like this? If democratic traditions are broken, it will be bad for the country. People who have done injustice to Anna Hazare, do you think that they will show regard for Badal?"

He said that in his political life he had held two leaders, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Parkash Singh Badal, in high regard as they never talked ill of anyone.

"We should learn from these leaders how to conduct in public life. We have also fought against the Congress. But we do not talk saying that we will send so and so to jail," he said.

He said the AAP leadership, instead of finding faults with the Election Commission and alleging that the EC was dancing to his (Modi's) tunes, should focus on its work.

"They (AAP leaders) will lose in Punjab and Goa because of their own 'kaarnamas'(deeds)," Modi said.

Lauding Badal for public service in the past seven decades, Modi said: "Badal only thinks and talks of Punjab and its people and farmers."

The Prime Minister dwelt at length on the new schemes and policies introduced by his government at the Centre for the benefit of farmers. These include micro-irrigation, crop insurance from natural calamities, modernising agriculture through technology and others.

Modi also assured that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will fully investigate the incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and bring the culprits to book.
Washington, Jan 29 : Thousands of demonstrators gathered at airports across the US against President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban".

The demonstrators came out on Saturday night to protest against the executive order of Friday that bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

According to the "extreme vetting", refugees from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen were banned from entering the US for 90 days, citizens from Syria were indefinitely banned and the application of all refugees to the US was suspended for 120 days.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered at the international terminal of Chicago's O'Hare airport on Saturday night to protest against the order.

Their number kept growing until over 1,000 of them blocked the driveway outside the terminal, Xinhua news agency reported.

The crowd chanted slogans like "Let them in" and "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here" and held placards "Do the right thing, let them in", "Stop profiling Muslims" and "Refugees Welcome".

Police and law enforcement members present at the scene did not intervene.

In New York, hundreds gathered at the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

They blocked Terminal 4 after immigration authorities detained 11 refugees, who were likely already in transit when Trump ordered the ban.

Hundreds gathered at Washington's Dulles Airport. The crowd got so big that the airport officials kept expanding the protest zone.

Chants of "Refugees welcome" and "No ban, no wall" echoed outside the airport.

About 300 protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport to demonstrate solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees detained under the ban.

Chanting "Trump has to go", "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascism in USA" and other slogans, the crowd called on people to defy the order.

At least seven foreign nationals have been detained at Los Angeles and told they were no longer welcome, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The protesters' demand was echoed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who tweeted: "Los Angels will always be a place of refuge."

In Denver, Colorado, dozens gathered outside the international airport to show support for refugees.

Demonstrations were also witnessed at San Francisco International Airport.

A rally was staged as some immigrants have reportedly been held at the airport.

Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and president of Alphabet, joined the protesters.

Brin said: "I am here because I am a refugee." He was attending the protest "in a personal capacity", The Verge reported.

Brin's family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the US in 1979 to escape Jewish persecution.

Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, also an immigrant, said: "We're upset about the impact of this order."

Lara Kiswani, an organiser with the Arab Resource and Organising Centre, said: "What we're not clear about is who or what type of families are being held, whether they're from Syria or Iran or other countries, we don't know for certain."

San Francisco harbours the highest density of high-tech businesses. Google and Apple, among other tech giants, have expressed serious concerns.

Earlier in the afternoon, several local groups called for an "emergency solidarity rally" in response to Trump's order.

The measure has triggered confusion and chaos across the country and drawn concern and criticism from across the world.
Chennai, Jan 29 : It was life as usual for joggers and morning walkers at the Marina beach here on Sunday although prohibitory orders banning assembly of people, processions, protests and hunger-strike came into force from Saturday night.

The police on Saturday issued the orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which are applicable in areas in and around the beach and also at the Foreshore Estate till February 12.

This decision was taken following reports in the social media about people planning to protest at Marina on Sunday.

The beach was the epicentre of protests for Jallikattu, Tamil Nadu's traditional bull-taming sport, between January 17-22.

A large number of police personnel have been deployed in the area.
New York, Jan 29 : Bone fragility, a serious condition affecting women as they age, should be identified as early as 30 years before they start fracturing, or during the phase of menopause, a study has suggested.

Current identification for bone fragility takes place when the patient is around 65 years of age and has lost appreciable bone mass and strength.

"Bone fragility has been considered a silent disease," says Karl Jepsen, Professor at the University of Michigan in the US.

"This study would give us an opportunity to identify those patients as early as 30 years before they fracture based on their bone traits. That means, we would have an opportunity to intervene before the fracture happens, instead of after the fact," Jepsen added.

The finding showed that some women appeared to have hip bones that were increasing in strength during the menopausal transition while others seemed to be losing strength.

"This study demonstrated for the first time that we can track bone changes happening individually in women during menopause," Jepsen said.

Over that time-frame, women experienced different changes in bone mineral content and bone area within the hip, but similar changes in areal bone mineral density.

In addition, women with narrow femoral necks showed smaller changes in bone mineral content, but greater increases in bone area compared to women with wide femoral necks who showed greater losses in bone mineral content, but did not appear to be experiencing compensatory increases in bone area.

"Bone is constantly remaking itself, but with age and menopause, considerable declines in bone strength can occur," Jepsen noted, adding the study helped us demonstrate how much that process can vary greatly among women.

For the study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, the team examined the bone traits of 198 midlife women transitioning through menopause.

The researchers analysed dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry images, which measure bone mineral density, of the hip over 14-year period to determine if changes were happening in each woman.
Kolkata, Jan 29 : As many as 11 people, including a leader of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, were arrested in connection with ransacking of a police station in the state's Burdwan district, police said on Sunday.

"We launched a search operation and it was conducted overnight. So far, we have arrested 11 people and about 17 people have been detained for the attack of Ausgram police station. Trinamool councillor of Guskara municipality, Chanchal Garai was arrested," police said.

Local Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Suren Hembram has also been detained, police added.

A large police contingent has been deployed at the police station and they conducted a route march in the area.

A mob on Saturday ransacked Ausgram police station, assaulted police personnel and damaged police vehicles. The incident came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state government would bring a bill in the next assembly session to prevent destruction of public as well as private property.

Police said the attack cane after they declined to accept memorandum opposing the construction of a stall beside the main gate of a local school.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anticipated visit to Israel this year, the Middle Eastern nation said on Sunday that to mark 25 years of its diplomatic relations with New Delhi, it is going to observe 2017 with "A Growing Partnership" as the motto.

"As we celebrate this historic day, we have chosen 'A Growing Partnership' as the motto for the entire year of 2017 to signify that our relations, and the celebration of these, are not bound to one specific point in time," Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon said in a statement.

"Our unique relations continue to grow as we speak, and our potential is endless," he said.

It was on January 29, 1992, that India established diplomatic relations with Israel -- 44 years after David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel.

"India and Israel are two ancient people, proud of their cultures and respective history, two vibrant democracies, whose peoples are curious and eager to grasp the future. I believe that together, we can shape a better future for Israel, India and the world," Carmon said.

A statement from the Israeli embassy here said: "From security to food security, water, education, technology and innovation, India and Israel are permanently looking for new areas of cooperation."

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, two Israeli Presidents, Ezer Weizmann and Reuven Rivlin, have visited India in in 1996 and 2016 respectively.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited India in 2003.

President Pranab Mukherjee visited Israel in October 2015 while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Middle Eastern nation in January last year.

According to the External Affairs Ministry, from $200 million in 1992, bilateral merchandise trade reached $5.19 billion in 2011.

Though trade in diamonds constitutes more than half of bilateral trade, trade has diversified in recent years to include sectors such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture and information technology.

Major exports from India include diamonds and metals, chemical products and textiles.

Imports from Israel include diamonds and metals, chemicals, and machinery and transport equipment.

In its statement on Sunday, the Israeli embassy said that its government was in the process of finalising an initiative which would promote and fund programmes that would ensure the continued enhancement and expansion of mutual cooperation.
Yangon, Jan 29 : Legal advisor of Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party U Ko Ni was shot dead on Sunday, the media reported.

According to U Zaw Htay, spokesperson of the President's Office, the advisor who was also a prominent lawyer and patron of the recently formed Myanmar Muslim Lawyers Association, was shot in the head outside the Yangon International Airport, the Myanmar Times reported.

U Ko Ni was returning from Indonesia where he was part of a delegation attending a senior leadership meeting in Jakarta.

"It is a very sorrowful thing for Myanmar, and a very big loss for the country, I have to say," U Win Htein, an NLD member, told the Myanmar Times.

According to a police report, the suspected shooter is a 53-year-old man from Mandalay. The suspect has been arrested and is being questioned by the police. The motive for the killing has not been established yet.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : With the government set to present the Union Budget 2017-18 on February 1 despite protests, the opposition parties say they will have their eyes set on the budget, indicating that any sops for election-bound states may lead to disruptions.

While the government is hoping for a peaceful budget session, with around 24 new and pending bills on its agenda, the opposition parties have said that they will raise demonetisation issue again.

Demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year, led to almost wash-out of the entire winter session of Parliament.

Opposition leaders, which had sought that the budget be postponed in view of the polls to five state assemblies, express apprehensions sops may be announced for the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur even though the Election Commission has barred the government from announcing any new schemes.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS that the government has 24 new as well as pending bills, including the bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST), which it hopes to get passed.

"I am confident that Parliament will run smoothly and there will be debate and discussion. The government is prepared to discuss all issues raised by the opposition as per rules and with the permission of the chair," Naqvi told IANS.

The budget session starts on January 31 with President's address to a joint sitting of both Houses.

The budget, which will have the railway budget merged in it, will be presented on February 1.

The government also decided to advance the date of budget presentation so as to complete the entire process of its passage before the end of fiscal year. This has been done to allow ministries to make better use of their budget allocations and start spending those from the beginning of upcoming fiscal year, government sources said.

The opposition parties, which had approached the Election Commission over the government move to present the budget on February 1, ahead of polling for the state assemblies, said they have their eyes fixed on the budget.

Asked about the session, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said much will depend on the budget.

"We will analyse the budget and then decide as to what will be our strategy. We do not know how the budget is going to be," Sibal said.

Sibal also said that demonetisation will also be one of the major issues in Parliament.

"Demonetisation certainly is a money bill, but if this government believes in any element of accountability of transparency, they should allow it to be discussed in the Rajya Sabha and voted upon. The reason why they will not allow that to happen is because they know that it will be defeated," he said.

Communist Party of India leader D. Raja wondered how the government is going ahead with the budget presentation despite assembly polls.

"We are waiting for the all-party meeting, because most of the opposition parties had demanded postponing the budget, but the government did not relent," he said.

"While the Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the Union Budget presentation, the Election Commission has said that the government cannot announce anything for the five states where polls are being held," Raja said.

"I don't know how the budget can be presented in such circumstances. At the all-party meeting, we will discuss about this and how can they go ahead with the exercise," he said.

The Left leader also underlined that demonetisation continues to be a major issue.

"Budget is a financial exercise, so demonetisation has to be an important issue," he said.

Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Sultan Ahmed also spoke on similar lines.

"Demonetisation is the most important issue, both inside and outside parliament. We will definitely raise this issue," he said, adding that a final call will be taken by party chief Mamta Banerjee on Monday.

The Budget Session starts from January 31 and will go into a break on February 9. The session will be reconvened on March 9 and continue up to April 12.
Kolkata, Jan 29 : Bollywood director and screenwriter Sujoy Ghosh, whose 14-minute short film "Ahalya" created a stir on the internet, feels the increased usage of internet and smartphones has brought about the new wave of making short films.

Talking on the emergence of short films in India, Ghosh said the internet has provided the short film makers with a perfect platform which was not there earlier.

"At the moment, when we make a short film, the internet is our only medium. The number of short films have significantly increased now as there is a medium to put it up for viewing. Earlier, if you made a short film, where would you put it up except for limited screenings at those little specialised film clubs?" Ghosh said at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet on Sunday.

The famed director of the 2012 hit film "Kahaani", said internet would continue to be the main medium for short films as going to multiplex for a 15-minute film "would not be economical".

"For you to have a coffee and watch a short film in a multiplex, they would charge you a ticket and that ticket would not generally make sense for a 15-minute pleasure. So, the economics part of the matter would not make much sense," he said.

Lauding the fact that internet has no censorship, he said the short film makers should be given a certain amount of creative freedom to experiment, so that it strikes the viewers within the short span.

"With a short film, you have to give the maker a certain amount of creative freedom. If you don't do something interesting or out-of-the-box, then people are not going to talk about it. If they don't talk about it, you are dead. Then there is no point in making a short film," Ghosh said.

Bollywood actor Tisca Chopra, who produced "Chutney" and was a co-panelist in the talk show, said she finds short films to be more free and liberating where the maker can do away with the cliched requirements of popular cinema.

"Because the short films are sponsored in a way by somebody, the normal criteria of a film -- like having a star -- goes out of the window. The content tells you which person to cast or what music to put. There is more scope for experimentation," she said.

She also said micro-contents like short films are going to be the key in the future as the audience of today would pick and choose the time and content of what they want to see.

"I think micro content has a great future. People want to watch things at their own time and in their own pace. So growth of individualism is happening. Viewers are now deciding what they want to watch and when they want to watch it. That is what is so liberating about the internet," Chopra said.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : In a strange incident, unidentified robbers broke into an ATM here and stole Rs 8.62 lakh from it while leaving the rest of the money in the machine "untouched", police said on Sunday.

The incident was reported on Saturday night after the HDFC Bank learnt about the missing amount from one of its ATMs installed on Vikas Marg in east Delhi.

"A case under charges of stealing has been registered. We suspect over the role of bank employees and other connected people behind the incident as the missing amount was taken out of the ATM without damaging the machine," Deputy Commissioner of Police Omvir Singh told IANS.

As some nuts and bolts of the machine were found loose during investigation, it gives a clear indication towards staff members of the bank, the officer said.

"Without knowing password or other internal information about the machine, no one can manage to open it easily. There are various ways to rob any ATM machine," he said.

The criminals also changed the position of the CCTV camera to avoid any recording, said the officer, hoping to solve the case very soon.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : Rajghat will showcase a new look on the 69th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Monday as it has got a facelift after 15 years.

The memorial to the Father of the Nation last got a facelift in 1999-2000 under then Urban Development Minister Jagmohan and his successor Ananth Kumar.

For the first time, a 157 word brief profile of Mahatma Gandhi and a 131 word description of his 'Samadhi' will be put on display, both in Hindi and English, at all the three gates of Rajghat, the Ministry of Urban Development said in a statement on Sunday.

It said 30 'Amrit Vachans' (thoughts of Gandhi) have been engraved on marble and displayed on granite stone pedestals, each illuminated by LED light atop aesthetically designed light post, for inspiring the visitors to Rajghat, it saidm adding the LED lights will result in energy saving of 60,000 KWH annually.

"Solar panels have been installed above roof tops and cycle shed at the parking area of Rajghat that will generate 52 KW of energy," it said.

For enhanced security and better monitoring of visitors, 27 CCTVs have been installed with a central control room for monitoring at Rajghat.

"More than 10,000 domestic and foreign visitors visit Mahatma Gandhiji's Samadhi at Rajghat every day, (but) there was nothing much to engage them about his life and and thoughts other than the black stone platform that marks the spot where he was cremated.

"To enhance the engaging experience of the visitors, the Rajghat Samadhi Samiti undertook several initiatives during the last two years and they will be inaugurated tomorrow (Monday) on the occasion of the 69th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," the statement said.

Besides inaugurating these new initiatives on Monday, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will also release a special edition of Rajghat Samadhi Patrika, commemorating the 100th year of Champaran Satyagraha launched by Gandhiji.

Other major initiatives taken up include setting up of Kasturba Gandhi souvenir store in the parking area, landscaping, improvement of water bodies and plantation.

Laying of cobbled stone road between parking area and the Samadhi itself to regulate speed of vehicles, setting up of Central Industrial Security Force control rooms, modern security gadgets like door frame metal detector and X-ray machines near the main gates were among the other measures undertaken.
London, Jan 29 : British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Sunday described US President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban on people from seven Muslim nations as "divisive and wrong".

Johnson, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in a tweet, slammed the US President's decision to "stigmatise" people according to their nationality, and stressed the British government will protect the rights and freedoms of British nationals, many of whom hold double nationalities, EFE news reported.

President Trump provoked an outrage after signing a temporary ban on the entry of refugees and immigrants from seven nations with a Muslim majority: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

"We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality," Johnson wrote on Twitter.

Johnson made his remarks after a British government spokesman said that "immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States" but that "we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking".

Prime Minister Theresa May was also criticised on Saturday for not publicly denouncing Trump's Muslim ban as she held a press conference in Turkey.
Hyderabad, Jan 29 : Actor Akkineni Nagarjuna on Sunday ran out of words to express his happiness over his elder son Naga Chaitanya's engagement to southern actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

Chaitanya and Samantha, who have been in a relationship for nearly three years, officially got engaged here on Sunday in a close-knit ceremony.

"Can't express my happiness in words. It's official now. My mother is my daughter now. Couldn't be happier," Nagarjuna tweeted.

Nagarjuna also shared a family picture featuring the entire Akkineni clan, including his second soon-to-be daughter-in-law Shriya Bhupal, who will marry his younger son Akhil.

On the special occasion, while Samantha wore a specially designed sari by Kresha Bajaj, Chaitanya was suited up.

Chaitanya and Samantha first met on the sets of Gautham Vasudev Menon's Telugu romantic-drama "Ye Maaya Chesave", and went on to work together in films such as "Autonagar Surya" and "Manam".
Breaking and Entering, Larceny of a Firearm Suspect Arrested

On December 17, 2016 The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office received a report that a Registered Sex Offender moved from his current residence on Old Blounts Creek Road and failed to register his change of address within the time required by the State.



On January 1, 2017 The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office learned the same Sex Offender who registered at another address on Whichard's Beach Road, never actually moved to that address. The Sheriff's Office opened an investigation and learned that Michael Gene Paschall, age 33 of Chocowinity, stayed at a residence between January 1 and January 6, 2017 on Ann Street in Chocowinity and never registered at that address. While staying at the Ann Street residence Paschall was suspected of stealing a firearm. After the investigation into those offenses Paschall was charged with three counts of Failure to Notify Change of Address, as required by law to the Sheriff's Office with jurisdiction and one count each of Larceny of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.



Also in early January of 2017 a breaking, entering and the larceny of a firearm was reported to the Sheriff's Office by a resident of Old Blounts Creek Rd. in Chocowinity NC. Michael Gene Paschall was developed as a suspect in that case and charged with one count each of Breaking and Entering, Larceny of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.



After receiving a Crime Stoppers Tip Paschall was arrested on January 17, 2017 in Pitt County and transported to Beaufort County Detention Center. Paschall was ordered held by a Magistrate on a 25,000.00 secured bond.



On January 25, 2017 Paschall was served with another charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon after investigators learned he conducted the private sale of a gun to a citizen of Beaufort County in June of 2016. Another $15,000.00 was added to his bond.



Paschall is suspected of numerous Breaking and Enterings and likely faces more criminal charges after the investigation is completed. moved from his current residence on Old Blounts Creek Road and failed to register his change of address within the time required by the State.



On January 1, 2017 The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office learned the same Sex Offender who registered at another address on Whichard's Beach Road, never actually moved to that address. The Sheriff's Office opened an investigation and learned that Michael Gene Paschall, age 33 of Chocowinity, stayed at a residence between January 1 and January 6, 2017 on Ann Street in Chocowinity and never registered at that address. While staying at the Ann Street residence Paschall was suspected of stealing a firearm. After the investigation into those offenses Paschall was charged with three counts of Failure to Notify Change of Address, as required by law to the Sheriff's Office with jurisdiction and one count each of Larceny of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.



Also in early January of 2017 a breaking, entering and the larceny of a firearm was reported to the Sheriff's Office by a resident of Old Blounts Creek Rd. in Chocowinity NC. Michael Gene Paschall was developed as a suspect in that case and charged with one count each of Breaking and Entering, Larceny of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.



After receiving a Crime Stoppers Tip Paschall was arrested on January 17, 2017 in Pitt County and transported to Beaufort County Detention Center. Paschall was ordered held by a Magistrate on a 25,000.00 secured bond.



On January 25, 2017 Paschall was served with another charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon after investigators learned he conducted the private sale of a gun to a citizen of Beaufort County in June of 2016. Another $15,000.00 was added to his bond.



Paschall is suspected of numerous Breaking and Enterings and likely faces more criminal charges after the investigation is completed.


New York, Jan 29 : US President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has opened the possibility of the administration extending to Pakistan the temporary visa ban and "extreme vetting" of travellers imposed on seven countries.

Speaking on Sunday during "Face the Nation" programme on CBS, he said in the passing that Pakistan may be among countries considered for adding to the enhanced temporary restrictions on travel to the US because of terrorism risks.

The temporary ban covers only Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Later in the programme, "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson pointed out that the woman involved in the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack came to the US from Pakistan on a visa given to fiances.

He tried to pin down Priebus and get a more definitive answer by asking if the country she came from was among the seven covered by the four-month ban and "extreme vetting" of visa applicants because of the terrorism risks cited by the Trump administration.

Priebus would not directly answer the question, but only hinted at the possibility that the restrictions could be extended to Pakistan, saying: "May be we can expand the programme."

The Trump administration has been treating Pakistan with care because it is a nuclear-armed nation that can impact the future of Afghanistan and the war on terrorism. Moreover, the number of Pakistani Americans and Pakistani permanent residents number into hundreds of thousands.

The San Bernardino attack that killed 22 people was carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook, a US-born Pakistani American, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, a Pakistani who came to the US on a fiance visa and married him.
London, Jan 30 : British Labour Party leader called for the cancellation of the US president's visit to Britain later this year, until the US leader backs down from his new immigration policy.

Jeremy Corbyn on Sunday said he did not agree with welcoming Donald Trump while pursuing a campaign of "awful attacks on Muslims", Efe news reported.

Trump has issued a temporal US immigration ban focused on seven Muslim majority countries: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

British Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump last Friday to visit Britain and meet Queen Elizabeth II.

The opposition leader, who is married to a Mexican woman, wondered aloud "is it really right to endorse somebody who has (...) this absurd idea of building a wall with their nearest neighbor?"

On the other hand, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim Mayor of London, also wrote his mind on his Twitter account "President Trump's ban on refugees and immigrants from certain countries is shameful and cruel."
Washington, Jan 30 : The Department of Homeland Security insisted that it will continue to implement President Donald Trump's controversial executive order to temporarily bar US entry to refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, although it will comply with judicial rulings against the measure.

"The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce all of President Trump's Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people," Efe news quoted a statement by the DHS on Sunday.

Trump's decree, the DHS statement emphasized, "affects a minor portion of international travelers, and is a first step towards re-establishing control over America's borders and national security."

The magnate sparked enormous controversy and confusion on Friday by signing the executive order designed to combat jihadist terrorism.

The order suspends for 120 days the entry of all refugees and the issuing of visas for 90 days for citizens from seven countries -- Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran -- until new mechanisms can be put in place to screen them more effectively.

The temporary ban on Saturday created chaos and outrage around the world, while numerous travelers found their access to US territory blocked and protests were staged at several US airports.

Federal judge Ann M. Donnelly blocked part of the controversial ban in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Trump's executive order that called its constitutionality into question.

After the judge's ruling, federal judges in Virginia, Seattle and Boston issued similar rulings.
Algorithm of central Ohio is partnering Acumatica, a cloud-based ERP, for reselling and implementation opportunities.

Algorithm is proud to announce their new, premier partnership with Acumatica ERP. Acumatica is a leading global provider of flexible, easily-deployed business management software for small to mid-sized companies. Their focus is on scalability and cost effectiveness.

The fully integrated business management suite encompasses financials, distribution, CRM, manufacturing, field service, contract and project accounting and much more.

We are always focused on introducing top of the line manufacturing and distribution solutions to our clients, Algorithm owner, Mike Oswalt, said. Acumatica has been on a blistering growth curve and brings features previously only available to systems used by large companies. We believe this offers our customers amazing functional capabilities while still retaining its simplicity. And our customers are telling us now the time is right to adopt a cloud strategy.

Acumatica is unique in that it can be deployed in a public or private cloud as well as on premise. It has a 100% browser based interface and runs on any device, anywhere, anytime. For customers with unique requirements, Acumatica has a robust development platform Cloud xRP. This technology will allow Algorithm to extend the product to meet those business needs in days, not weeks.

Acumatica is 100% a partner channeled business, said Dawn Jaeger, Acumatica Director of Partner Recruiting. We understand the importance of securing a strong network worldwide, and are excited to add Algorithm to our partner community. They are proven implementation leaders and will have significant success reselling and implementing our Cloud ERP product.

Acumatica has gained great notoriety recently, as it was named a leader in the ERP Technology Value Matrix by Nucleus Research. Algorithm will be charged with the responsibilities of evaluation, implementation, training and ongoing support of Acumatica ERP.

This move was predicated first on acquiring a product that will allow us to meet the needs of our customers now and into the future as they grow and evolve. But secondly we looked at the go-to-market strategy of the various product vendors. Oswalt said. Acumaticas partner only strategy sealed it for us. We wanted a partner that invested in their channel and did not compete with it. This is best in the long run for the customer and the entire eco-system.

Acumaticas enablement and certification programs will empower our team to reach a high level of expertise, rapidly, said Algorithms VP of Professional Services Mimi Bertram. This will allow us to deliver services and value to our customers immediately. Their business model should be the blueprint for the entire industry.

For twenty-three years, Dublin, OH based Algorithm has provided long-term solutions, services, and support to hundreds of small-to-medium sized business nationwide. The company prides themselves in helping customers make informed business solution and software recommendations in order to streamline operations, improve company visibility and support growth for years to come.
In early 2016 lifestyle brand, Free People, officially unveiled a travel and wellness retreat company titled FP Escapes. Unique, value driven bespoke wellness retreats curated by Free People featuring leading experts in wellness, travel, and creativity. Crafted to restore like a yoga retreat and enlighten like an exotic getaway, these unique vacation packages offer a departure from daily demands on mind and body with a group of like-minded women. Explore breathtaking landscapes amidst off-the-beaten-path destinations around the globe and partake in learning from expert guides and world-class instructors. Satisfy your travel dreams with unique retreats ranging from coastline to countryside. With inspired itineraries spanning a spectrum of creative activities, like meditative yoga, culinary classes, and wellness workshops, every vacation package is tailored to pique a new and unique perspective.

The lifestyle brands latest venture, FP Gather is a natural expansion of our brand as a lifestyle. Gather is rooted in the belief that vitality begins with what we eat. We believe that meals should be nourishing to the body and beautiful to the eye. We develop recipes using local, seasonal, organic fruits and vegetables, and nutrient rich grains. We focus on the nutritional properties of each ingredient and create pure, simple, and inspiring dishes. FP Escapes will now feature all different and unique dishes that fall under the FP Gather guideline.

FP Escapes vacation packages are bundled to balance the best of each locales offerings. Retreats include accommodations, daily yoga, influential guides, a daily menu of customized healthy meals, and up to $250 worth of Free People product. Booking for each vacation package will be available at Super Early Bird, Early Bird, and Regular rates, excluding airfare. Check back often for announcements of upcoming FP Escapes retreats and recaps of recent adventures.

In 2017, the brand will be traveling to new exciting destinations. The first escape of the year will be in Todos Santos, Mexico from January 22nd-28th.

Additional retreats to Nicaragua, Palm Springs, sailing the Mediterranean, and Glacier National Park have also been unveiled. These trips feature a handful of cult-favorite partners including The Sailing Collective, Maderas Village, Chloe Kernaghan of Sky Ting Yoga, and more. Additional destinations are expected to launch throughout the year, and fans can now sign-up and receive early access to book before trips are announced to the public here: https://www.freepeople.com/fpescapes/.

Abby Morgan, Free Peoples Director of Marketing states, We are really excited to launch this next year of trips allowing our customers to connect with other like-minded women while immersing themselves completely in the Free People lifestyle. With the addition of a chef on each retreat and wellness thought leaders these trips give us a platform to connect our customers to new wellness trends, activities and ideas that we see surface as well as each other in undiscovered locations around the globe.

For more information, images, to request an interview, or to discuss a TV opportunity, please call Katerina Patouhas at 215-454-3871 or email kpatouhas(at)freepeople.com

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About Free People

Free People is a specialty clothing brand featuring the latest trends and vintage collections for women who live free through fashion, art, music, and travel. The eclectic look consists of quality apparel, shoes, and accessories that invoke attributes of femininity, spirit, and creativity with its design. Free People is distributed globally via direct channels including the Free People Global site, the Free People UK site, and the Free People China site as well as specialty boutiques, top department stores, and the brands free standing retail locations in the U.S. and Canada.
CSU Dominguez Hills chemistry students study Zebrafish for medical uses.

California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has been ranked 4th among all California colleges and 18th nationally out of 2,137 colleges in the Overall Mobility Index of students category in a comprehensive report released Jan. 18 by The Equity of Opportunity Project.

This category reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CSUDH would move up two or more income quintiles. The university was also ranked 8th out of 369 selective public colleges nationally in the category, and 2nd in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system behind CSU Los Angeles.

The report and all its categories were made easily searchable online by the New York Times. The report was also featured by Times columnist David Leonhardt in his piece Americas Great Working-Class Colleges.

This New York Times article is a welcome validation for the great work all of you [CSUDH campus community] are involved in every day, said university President Willie J. Hagan, who quoted the column. You should all be very proud to count yourselves among the deeply impressive institutions that continue to push many Americans into the middle class and beyondmany more, in fact, than elite colleges that receive far more attention.

The mobility rates were defined as the percentage of its students who come from a family in the bottom fifth of the income distribution, and end up in the top fifth of the income distribution. The report found that some universities, such as CSUDH, with a much larger percentage of students from low-income families, have very high mobility rates, and high earnings outcomes that are closely comparable to students at highly selective colleges.

The Equity of Opportunity Projects findings were derived from 30 million college students. The data was compiled from statistics on students earnings and their parents incomes for each college in the United States.

About CSU Dominguez Hills -- With a student population of nearly 15,000, many who are first in their families to attend college, CSU Dominguez Hills provides high quality academic programs to students who aspire to succeed and thrive in a complex, global society. A leader in fostering a college-focused culture in the urban communities it serves, the university offers a proven path to opportunity and social equity and is a national laboratory and model for student access and success. For more information, visit http://www.csudh.edu.
To meet demand and high-quality customer service, Quartz Master will have representatives throughout the state, who will supply showrooms, interior designers, and fabricators with samples and customer service.

Quartz Master is a quartz surfaces manufacturer, headquartered in Bayonne, New Jersey. The company produces the highest quality and largest quartz slabs in the industry. It distributes through many select locations in US and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. And is now expanding in California.

The demand for Quartz Masters Marble Collection prompted the company to open its first distribution center in California. In June 2016, Quartz Master opened its new 6500 square foot warehouse in Los Angeles to serve Los Angeles County. But within a couple of months, the distribution center was making deliveries to fabricators from as far south as San Diego to as far north as San Francisco.

When it opened, the warehouse was stocked with a modest number of slabs, but within weeks it had to be restocked to meet demands. It now has millions in inventory. On January 2nd, they opened an office in San Diego, and on February 1st, an additional warehouse will open in San Francisco on Mariposa Avenue in Mountain View.

Quartz Master is recognized for its Marble Collection. In 2011, after 12 months of laborious engineering, Quartz Master introduced the worlds first marble design to Quartz. And in 2014, they perfected the art of book matching. Today, most all of their marble designs are book matched. Homeowners and interior designers appreciate the low maintenance, durability and unmatched stain resistance of quartz. And they love that they can design a kitchen that has the beauty of natural stone without the expense and hassle.

To meet demand and high-quality customer service, Quartz Master will have representatives throughout the state, who will supply showrooms, interior designers, and fabricators with samples and customer service.

About Quartz Master

Quartz Master is a worlds experts of quartz surfaces. Quartz Masters slabs are made of 93% natural quartz and 7% resin, making it the hardest, most durable and non-precious stone in the market. Quartz Master produces the largest quartz slabs, 120 x 64. Quartz Master is determined to continue to push boundaries in color, design, and manufacturing.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College culinary arts student Ty Mills in the kitchen at the school's Culinary and Allied Health Building. The teachers and chefs here are all great, Mills said. Their affirmations mean a lot. I really believe that if you work as hard as you possibly can, things will fall into place.

Kalamazoo Valley Community Colleges newest culinary classroom, the 418 restaurant, is now open to the public. This student-run restaurant offers a unique learning opportunity, said John Korycki, director of culinary education for the college. Our chefs-in-training are serving American cuisine that theyve crafted with foods from local farms and our own campus.

Both the 418 restaurant and the Havirmill Cafe are run by students in Kalamazoo Valleys culinary arts program and are housed in the Culinary/ Allied Health Building, located at 418 E. Walnut Street in downtown Kalamazoo.

Korycki explained that Kalamazoo Valleys culinary arts program reflects a belief in the transformative power of education to improve the health and well-being of area citizens and to sustain the community. Students learn in real production kitchens and food service environments, on a working sustainable farm, in a fully-functioning brewery, and in an active food production and distribution facility.

The colleges Menus that Matter curriculum is grounded at the intersection of food production, social justice, environmental sustainability, nutrition, and health.

Student Ty Mills, a 2015 Portage Northern graduate, considered going to Robert Morris University in Chicago to study, but is pleased that he chose Kalamazoo Valley instead. This worked out perfectly, he said. Its been a huge blessing. Mills is going to school part time while working at local restaurant, Bravo. His mother and grandmother are both exceptional bakers and hes following in their footsteps. Even though he grew up in the kitchen and has plenty of restaurant work experience, he continues to learn. My chocolate chip cookies that I learned to make in baking class are exceptional, he said. I love my chocolate chip cookies.

He said he considers any time in the kitchen an opportunity to perfect his craft. In one of his classes, he learned to flip an omelet by practicing with a tortilla. Roasted fennel also turned out to be a delicious surprise.

The teachers and chefs here are all great, Mills said. Their affirmations mean a lot. I really believe that if you work as hard as you possibly can, things will fall into place. He hopes to study in Italy one day. I know wherever I go, Ill be cooking food and talking to people, Mills said.

The 418 restaurant is open for dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday from January 26 to February 24 and reopening in mid-March until April 21. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling 269.548.3200.

The winter dinner menu includes appetizers of kale salad with sweet potato, apple, walnut and cider dressing; warm white cheddar dip with pickled vegetables and chips; and stuffed sweet peppers with parmesan, cauliflower and arugula. Entree choices include crispy chicken with coleslaw, smoky beans and greens; braised Carlson Farms beef stew with root vegetables and mashed potato; fish en papillote with wild rice, leek, carrot, herbs and lemon butter; and roasted squash ravioli with sage butter and toasted almond. The dessert selections are dark chocolate cake with chocolate cream and sangria sauce; and vanilla ice cream with pear compote and brown sugar crumble.

The Havirmill Cafe offers ready-made items and a small menu of made-to-order foods and is open Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through February 24.

For menu and scheduling updates, look for KV Culinary on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KVculinarydining/.

For More Information Contact

John Korycki, Director of Culinary Education

269.548.3215
If Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay, whose collection of short stories, Difficult Women is just out, was tired when she gave the early morning opening keynote of Winter Institute 12 (being held Jan. 27-30) at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis, it wasnt evident from the tenor of her tone or message.

Gay's address came just days after she created headlines and more industry introspection when she pulled her up coming book, How to Be Heard, from Simon & Schuster in protest of the signing of a book by controversial Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos by S&S imprint Threshold Editions.

Gay did not mention her decision to pull the book in her remarks. Rather, in a speech that made ample use of the F-bomb, Gay spoke about how she knew she would be asked to talk about diversity, something black people are asked to talk about to offer good white people absolution. She thought, wrote, tossed out, and wrote again, she said as she explained why she dislikes the word diversity, which is imprecise and overused.

Its a problem seemingly without solution, and here we are talking about it yet again. Im so tried of talking about diversity, Gay said. She pointed to the number of people of color who write, but get rejection letters, which theyve forwarded to her that say theres already a Roxane Gay. We are many, she added, but somehow publishing cant seem to find us.

Publishers cant seem to find enough people of color to work in their offices either, nor can bookstores find people of color. [People] dont really want to do what it takes, to invest money, Gay said.

From a very young age, Gays mother took her to bookstores: the Little Professor in Omaha, Neb., B. Dalton, Walden, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million. Throughout my life, books have been my best friend, she said. As a child she found sanctuary in reading. In this rising age of disgrace, she added, that now shes trying to offer sanctuary with her writing and activism.

After the election, she thought about language. The election proved that love does not Trump hate. Language matters, and sometimes, like diversity, it becomes an empty container. We need to get uncomfortable, said Gay, describing herself as a black bisexual woman, a Haitian-American, a Libra.

The day after the election, Gay was in an independent bookstore. While bookstores have always been community spaces, she said that it is even more important now for bookstores to be community spaces and to be inclusive.

Im just a writer, said Gay. I dont have access to magical Negro wisdom that white people dont have access to. Everything is now political. We have the responsibility to make the political personal.

Gay called on booksellers to learn from Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee, where owner Daniel Goldin reached out to the black community when she made an appearance there so that every face in the audience was not white, and from black bookstores like Eso Won Books in Los Angeles and Source Booksellers in Detroit.

Circling back to diversity, said Gay, Im not going to provide the answers or absolution. You can get political. You can get uncomfortable. You are the stewards of sacred spaces. Rise to the occasion. Rise.

Booksellers responded with a standing ovation. As ABA president Betsy Burton, co-owner of The Kings English in Salt Lake City remarked afterwards, "Gay gave us the kick we need. It was a sentiment echoed by many booksellers in the audience.

Janet W. Jones, owner of Source Booksellers, was excited to have Gay kick off Winter Institute and to hear her challenge the idea of diversity as the answer. Her word today is you have to put money behind [inclusiveness], and it takes money. Its something people need to do, Jones said.
MOLINE -- Six young men met Saturday to talk about sex.

It wasn't in a locker room.

It was in a church.

And it wasn't like stories told during a presidential romp or teenage trash talk.

It was a frank discussion about the "responsibility, respect and role of young males in relationships."

The one-day free workshop, sponsored by the Mu Chi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., was held at the Grace City Center church at 2313 44th St., Moline.

"It's all about education," project coordinator Terry Saul said. "Our kids need to be better informed.

"We hope to protect our young men to make smarter choices and increase their awareness of what could go wrong," he said.

His son, CJ Carter, 17, a senior at Pleasant Valley High School, said the presentation was beneficial and "not embarrassing at all," despite the "elephant-in-the-room" type of discussions and photos.

Project Alpha is a national program designed to help young men make better and more informed choices about their sexual behavior, chapter treasurer Milton Shaw said.

The workshop was billed as an annual event for hundreds of local young males to talk "man-to-man" about sexuality issues. Mr. Shaw was hoping for 20 or 30 kids between the ages of 12 and 18, but said his "whole purpose is to impact at least one life."

Other topics addressed during conference sessions included abstinence and the consequences of early sexual activity, peer pressure, HIV/AIDs, teen pregnancy, being a responsible father and being a responsible man.

Project Alpha is designed to be a "unique mentoring program" offering to help African-American, and all minority, young men become positive role models for the next generation, according to materials Mr. Shaw provided.

Since 1980, Alpha Phi Alpha and the March of Dimes have been working together to help young men make the right decisions about the complex issues surrounding sex. "Sharing knowledge, challenging attitudes and providing skills" are listed as the program's three goals.

The men of Alpha Phi Alpha are committed to helping the next generation of young men live healthy, productive and smart lives, chapter president Stewart Carter said in a related news release. Project Alpha is just one way that we can continue to change our communities for the better, from the inside out.

For information, visit its muchilambda.com website.
MOLINE -- As President Donald Trump's administration prepares to address terrorism threats faced by the nation, leaders of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities thought it would be a good idea to bring in a local homeland security expert to assess possible problems.

The local federation will host a two-part, free "Terrorism and the United States: Where do we stand" lecture led by Western Illinois University professor Dean C. Alexander, a Homeland Security Research Program director in Macomb.

"I believe a new administration makes it important to reassess the situation and see can be done to reduce the possible potency of terrorism," he said. "It's a time to have intellectual discussions and insights of what may be done in communities to lessen the threat."

Mr. Alexander will present "Terrorism Challenges Facing the Trump Administration" at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St., Moline. He will return to the library for a 6 p.m. March 2 presentation, "ISIS in America: Threats and Responses."

Mr. Alexander said terrorism threats may be heightened to test the new administration.

"President Trump will be facing significant domestic and international terrorism challenges, some long entrenched and others incipient," he said in information provided by the Jewish Federation.

"Domestically, terror threats include individuals who are aligned with foreign terrorist organizations, state-sponsors of terrorism, and others, who embrace disparate extremist ideologies, whether hate-based, single-issue, or otherwise," he stated.

"Concurrently, lone wolves, cabals, terror groups, and state-sponsors of terrorism threaten American interests overseas," according to Mr. Alexander. "Combating these vast and difficult perils are diverse political, economic, social, military, intelligence, legal, and law enforcement responses.

"The new administration's assessment of these threats, and its efforts to address them, will determine the impact of terrorism on the United States and its interests in the next four years and beyond."

For more details, visit

or call 309-793-1300.
President Donald Trump's travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations entry into the U.S. has sparked protests around the country Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

Foreign-born U.S. residents who could have been barred from re-entering the United States under the order have been allowed back into the country, according to a Department of Homeland Security official who briefed reporters on Saturday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to publicly discuss details of the matter.

Trump's order Friday barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States for 90 days. That meant that even those with permanent residency "green cards" or other visas risked not being let back in to the United States.

However, the official said all green card holders from the seven countries who sought to enter the U.S. Saturday were granted special permission.

A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court order would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and the court order affected a small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return.

The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports. A look at what is happening:

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CHICAGO

A crowd of demonstrators held a rally at O'Hare International Airport. The Chicago Sun-Times reports protesters blocked vehicle traffic to O'Hare's international terminal for a time. The newspaper says some arriving travelers joined the protest, while others were upset by the demonstrations.

Lawyers working with the International Refugee Assistance Project tell the Chicago Tribune that 17 people who had been detained at O'Hare all released by late Saturday.

Among those released before the federal judge's order was Hessan Noorian, a suburban Park Ridge resident returning with his family from Iran, the Tribune reported.

Noorian, who is of British and Iranian citizenship and has a green card, was detained at O'Hare after he and his wife, Zahra Amirisefat, a U.S. citizen, arrived from Tehran, the newspaper said.

The couple, who told the Tribune that they work at a community college in the Chicago area, said they were questioned for five hours.

After Noorian was released, his wife told the Tribune: "I can't believe something like this can happen to someone with a green card."

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SEATTLE

Individuals detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as a result of President Trump's executive order have been released by the Department of Homeland Security, a Port of Seattle spokeswoman said Sunday.

Kathy Roeder said DHS told port officials the individuals can continue their travels. She didn't know how many people had been released.

About 3,000 protesters holding signs and chanting "no hatred, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" and "let them in" gathered Saturday evening and continued demonstrating into early Sunday morning.

Roeder said the crowd dispersed shortly after midnight, but that about 30 to 35 were arrested during the demonstration and face various misdemeanor charges. She said there were no injuries or damage to the facilities.

The Port of Seattle Commissioners, which oversees the airport, issued a statement criticizing the executive order.

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NEW YORK

Cries of "Let them in!" rose up from a crowd of more than 2,000 people protesting at John F. Kennedy Airport, where 12 refugees were detained Saturday. Celebrities including "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon joined the demonstration. "What Donald Trump did in the last 24 hours is disgusting, disgraceful and completely un-American and I'm here in protest," said protester Pamela French.

The agency that runs the airport tried to restore order by shutting down the train that runs to airport terminals. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, reversed that decision, saying people had a right to protest. "The people of New York will have their voices heard," he said in a statement.

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

More than 120 people clutching signs denouncing the Trump immigration orders gathered at Newark Liberty International Airport. NorthJersey.com reports that they joined lawyers who'd rushed to the airport to defend the rights of refugees and immigrants who were being detained and denied entry.

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FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Dozens of protesters inside Washington Dulles International Airport chanted "Love, Not Hate, Makes America Great" and "Say It Loud, Say it Clear, Muslims Are Welcome Here," as travelers walked through a terminal to a baggage claim area to collect luggage and greet their loved ones. There was a heavy police presence during the peaceful protest.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said during a press conference at Dulles that he has asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to look into "all legal remedies" available to help individuals who may be detained in Virginia.

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DENVER

Dozens of people converged on Denver International to show their support for refugees. Standing in the main terminal Saturday, they sang "Refugees are welcome here." Some held signs declaring their identity, such as Jew or Christian, and the phrase "I come in peace." Denver has some direct international flights but it wasn't clear whether anyone has been detained under the president's executive order.

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DALLAS

Protesters who gathered at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Saturday evening voiced their displeasure with Trump's executive order. The crowd of a few dozen ballooned into hundreds of demonstrators who frequently chanted "Set them free!" At times, cheers erupted from the crowd as those who were detained got released.

Among those still held at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at midnight Saturday was a 70-year-old Iranian widow, Shahin Hassanpour, whose son said she suffers from high blood pressure and had breast cancer surgery four years ago. She obtained an immigrant visa in November on her son's petition.

Bahzad Honarjou, a 43-year-old network engineer, said he spoke twice to his mother by phone after her 9 a.m. arrival, but that they hadn't talked since courts stayed the executive order, meaning she should have been released.

Hundreds of protesters stood in the waiting area and chanted "This is what democracy looks like."

Immigration agents were not being very communicative, Honarjou said.

"They were like a machine when I talked to them today," he said. His mother only speaks a few words of English and a fellow passenger was translating for her from her native Farsi as no immigration agents spoke the language, he said.

Hassanpour was originally going to be deported on a Sunday flight, she informed her son the first time they spoke.

"She was about to cry," he said. "She is not able to take (tolerate) a 20-hour flight back to Iran."

Honarjou said he is a U.S. citizen, obtained entry in a lottery, and has been in the country for seven years. Why did he come?

"To have a better life and to make more money," he said. "And, you know, for the freedom."

___

PORTLAND, OREGON

A protest by several dozen people in and around Portland International Airport briefly disrupted light rail service at the airport. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the demonstrators carried signs and chanted "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "No ban no wall America is for us all."

___

LOS ANGELES

About 300 people expressed their displeasure with the ban at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night. Protesters entered the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal after holding a candlelight vigil.

Avriel Epps held a candle and a large photo a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy who washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015 and became a haunting symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis.

___

SAN FRANCISCO

Hundreds of protesters blocked the street outside at San Francisco International Airport's international terminal to express their opposition to the barring of some people from Muslim-majority nations.

___

SAN DIEGO

As motorists honked their support, demonstrators outside San Diego International Airport chanted "No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here."
The statistics are quite startling -- since 2000, the United States has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs.

Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Wisconsin account for nearly a third of the manufacturing jobs lost, with wage levels in the manufacturing sector in these states either flat or sharply down.

It should not come as a surprise to anyone that President Donald Trump, who promised to bring jobs back to America, carried all five of these states.

So what accounts for this huge loss of jobs? Some of it was the result of U.S. companies shifting manufacturing operations to countries with lower wages. Maytag is an example of this. In 2004, Maytag shut down its refrigerator manufacturing plant down the road from us in Galesburg and shifted production to Reynosa, Mexico.

That, however, is only part of the story. Much of the job loss is the result of increased use of robotics and automation. When I first visited the John Deere Harvester Works plant in East Moline in the mid-1970s, highly-skilled welders were hard at work welding together various components of the combines the plant was manufacturing. Workers in protective gear were spray-painting parts for the combines, either John Deere green or yellow depending on what the blueprints called for. Today, much of the welding is done by robots while an automated system dips the parts to be painted in vats of John Deere green or yellow. In short, many welders and painters have been displaced by automation.

The broader picture tells much the same story. During the Obama years, U.S. manufacturing production increased by more than 20 percent. During the same period, however, manufacturing employment increased by only 5 percent, falling short of the number of manufacturing jobs lost during the 2008 recession.

In an online article entitled Manufacturing Jobs Are Never Coming Back, Ben Casselman states, In recent years, factories have been coming back, but the jobs havent. Because of rising wages in China, the need for shorter supply chains and other factors, a small but growing group of companies are shifting production back to the U.S. But the factories they build here are heavily automated, employing a small fraction of the workers they would have a generation ago.

President Trump has the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the crosshairs, blaming this 20-year-old treaty for the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs. The extent to which this is the case is a matter of considerable debate. There is no question about a substantial number of U.S. manufacturing jobs being lost. But how much of this is the result of NAFTA and other trade agreements, compared to the impact of automation on employment levels? There is no consensus on this matter.

A NAFTA provision states that a country can withdraw from the agreement six months after giving notice. If President Trump were to take unilateral action of that sort, the result would probably be quite chaotic. Most observers believe that he is not going to do that. Rather, his recent rhetoric suggests that his intent is to renegotiate the agreement with his counterparts in Mexico and Canada.

That, however, is where matters start getting quite complicated. In his inaugural address, President Trump made very clear his commitment to an America first policy. Is there any reason to believe that his counterparts in Mexico and Canada would be willing to make concessions beneficial to the United States without getting something in return? And if not, what concessions would the United States need to make in a renegotiated trade agreement? Moreover, would the end result of a renegotiated agreement, when all is said and done, actually result in more manufacturing jobs in the United States, while diminishing the number of manufacturing jobs in Mexico? It is hard to imagine Mexicos president, Enrique Pena Nieto, agreeing to those types of concessions.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Mexicans are enraged by President Trumps unilateral decision to construct a new wall between the two countries -- a wall he said during the campaign that Mexico would finance because he would tell them to do so. President Pena Nieto has emphatically stated that Mexico will not pay for the wall.

There are a lot of balls up in the air. How this sorts out remains to be seen.
Our new presidents first working week might be likened to a bull blundering into a china shop. Fragile things are at hazard and some breakage already is evident. One worries just how much damage may ensue.

The executive orders are coming at a rapid, if scattershot, rate. The Affordable Care Act was up first with nothing definite, but enough to shake the insurance industry with prospects of changes presaging a steep rise in rates for less coverage.

Torture and black site prisons are once again available to the CIA and the Defense Department, if they choose to use them. And Guantanamo will remain as a stain on the national conscience. President Trump also wants a congressional investigation into his fantasy of millions of illegal immigrants voting for Hillary Clinton.

It was no great surprise that the oil pipeline destined one day to pollute the Midwest was given approval. What was a tad unexpected was his order to cut off all funding for cities that offer immigrants safe haven. To their great credit, dozens of mayors and Californias Gov. Jerry Brown refused to back down.

Very little that the president is proposing can be affected without the cooperation of Congress. House Speaker Paul Ryan agrees with building a great wall, a beautiful wall, on our southern border at taxpayers expense. Apparently, we trust that Mexico will reimburse us with pinatas, if not in cash.

I think its obvious that the Republican leadership happily will approve the wall with money they can find by eliminating Great Society and New Deal programs. The plans for that already afoot.

What worries me most is that we could lose the ability to know exactly what is happening to us and the world. One can discern the outline of a grand strategy making shape in some discreet changes which recently came to light.

We are told that certain agencies are to cease contact with the public; no exchange of information or press releases. Its uncertain whether or not this is a blanket order or concentrated on the EPA and other departments which some of Trumps allies find bothersome.

Coupled with this is an alarming change in the Voice of America, the international radio network set up after World War II to connect with other nations in their own language. About a year ago, it finally was made available to American listeners.

In the omnibus bill which Obama had to sign to keep the government going, there was a provision which changed the structure of the VOA. It had been managed by an independent board of broadcast specialists. That board was eliminated in favor of a CEO appointed by the president.

The obvious fear is that what has served as an independent source of information could very well become an instrument of propaganda for the television personality who would love to have his own broadcast system.

I have not tried to delve deeply into this stuff as I am distracted just now by other concerns and, frankly, I am past any real involvement in political action. Age and its attendant inconveniences have a way of asserting themselves when the spirit suggests donning armor and re-entering the fray.

A friend who took part in one of the many womens marches wrote of her experience: It was gratifying to be among the women, men, children, whole families, white-haired grannies, people in wheelchairs and walkers, various colors and shades, Christians, Muslims, Jews, all in solidarity against No. 45 and his ilk. All sentient people need to put their angry wigs on over their thinking caps and save America.

Well, I could use a wig, but marching is not an option these days, so I read, watch and wonder.
You cant believe everything your parents told you any more. The world is changing so fast that if my parents were still around, theyd likely be shaking their head.

Life might be easier today, but back then it was much simpler.

My father was a hands-on guy, as many dads were back in the 1950s and 60s. If things needed fixing, you got out the tools and did it. I still put his training to use regularly, although my childrens generation is much more likely to hire to get the work done.

No disrespect to them -- the huge advances in technology mean its next to impossible to do things yourself. Back then, when your car ran bad, you cleaned the carburetor and changed the air filter and spark plugs. Today, cars dont have carburetors and are run by computers.

Dad swore by Sears and Craftsman tools and for good reason. First, they had a lifetime warranty. Then if you bought something from Sears it was easy to get parts through the Sears Parts Store. If there was something you didnt feel comfortable tearing into, they had crews that would come to your home and repair it for you.

The parts store here is long gone. You can get some parts at the mall or the Hometown store, but many must be ordered online. Last time I tried to set up home service through a Sears contractor, it was going to take 10 days until someone could look at my hot water heater. Ten days without hot water?

Meanwhile, Sears and K-Mart stores have been closing and the Craftsman name is being sold to Stanley Black and Decker for $900 million. At the same time, the sale was announced earlier this month, Sears said it would close 150 more stores.

Why does SBD need another tool line? According to industry reports, only 30 percent of Craftsman revenues today come from tools. The rest is in outdoor power equipment, which would be virgin territory for SBD. At the same time the purchase also blocks other potential Craftsman buyers from gaining market share in the tool side of the business.

I'm hopeful the Craftsman name will mean quality under the new owners and Im still leading the cheering section that hopes Sears can turn things around.

Sears is not the company my dad loved, but most companies change over time. He also was a big champion of Briggs & Stratton: lawnmowers, edgers, snow throwers -- he swore by their engines. The folks from Wisconsin continue to turn out quality American-made motors. Many Craftsman mowers have Briggs engines. Buying things Made in the USA always is good advice.

My dad was good with his hands. Me? I get by. Im not sure what advice of mine my children will choose to follow. At the rate things are changing, whatever I tell them is going to be outdated by the time they are ready to pass advice along to their children. Thats kind of a shame.

Part of growing up is being able to decide what advice your parents gave you that you should heed and which you should ignore. Parental advice that is quickly obsolete cant be good for society. Maybe its time to focus more on philosophical advice rather than the mechanical/technical challenges in life.
When black performers were excluded from all acting categories at the Academy Awards for a second year in a row in 2016, the shutout sparked a second year of an impassioned social-media movement: #OscarsSoWhite.

You could say the campaign was a success. A week later, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences pledged to phase out senior members and enlist new, diverse voters who would, if all recruiting goals were met, double minority membership by 2020.

Tuesday morning, for the first time, three black actors were nominated in the same category, supporting actress: Viola Davis for Fences, Naomie Harris for Moonlight and Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures. Denzel Washington was also nominated in the lead actor category for his performance in Fences, and Mahershala Ali in the supporting actor category for Moonlight.

But Hollywoods diversity problem isnt solved. By many measures, its still as bad as ever. And the studios biggest minority deficit by far involves the very people living and working outside their walls in virtually every direction -- Latinos.

There were no egregious snubs for Latinos -- as expected, Lin-Manuel Miranda got a nod for original song for Moana -- but thats only because there were so very few roles for us to begin with. Though the Mexican auteur Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the Oscar for director in 2015 and 2016, and his countryman Alfonso Cuaron took home the same award in 2014, the two directors are elite aberrations.

In a report published last year, USC found that Latinos got only 5 percent of speaking roles in the top-grossing 100 films released in 2015. The glaring absence extends to television. UCLAs 2016 Hollywood Diversity Report found that Latinos were the most underrepresented group in TV for the second year in a row. The previous year, UCLAs annual report found that Latinos got only 2 percent of the roles in scripted broadcast TV, while Asians got 4 percent and black characters were overrepresented. According to the reports longtime author, Darnell Hunt, Hollywood has actually been losing ground with minorities because the Latino populations growth is outpacing the industrys reluctant attempts to diversify.

Even when rare lead roles are scripted for Latino characters, they are often filled by non-Latino actors. Ben Affleck played the Mexican American CIA operative Antonio Tony Mendez in the 2012 film Argo, and Jon Favreau played the Cuban entrepreneur behind the El Jefe food truck in his 2014 film Chef. More recently, the British actor Charlie Hunnam, best known for his role in TVs Sons of Anarchy, was criticized for taking the role of a Mexican American narco-boss in the upcoming feature American Drug Lord.

The dearth of Latino storytelling and overlooking of Latino talent is especially remarkable when you consider that about 3 out of 4 people in Los Angeles County are minorities, and about half of them are Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Latinos surpassed whites as the largest ethnic or racial group in California in 2015, and we make up nearly 1 out of 5 Americans. We also accounted for almost 1 out of every 4 tickets purchased by frequent moviegoers in 2015, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. In the same year, more Latinos headed to theaters regularly than African-Americans and Asians combined.

For these reasons, the African-American activist Najee Ali is bringing back the boycott this year, but with a focus on Latinos. In a telephone interview, he called the industrys snubbing of Latinos disturbing. In another interview, Alex Nogales, chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition and a longtime advocate for diversity in film and TV, told me that his group will be joining criticism of the Academy.

Yes, theyve done better with African-Americans, he said, but diversity is about more than just one group. Were being ignored.

Nogales was echoing a sentiment expressed by the actor America Ferrera in a column for Deadline last year. At a certain point, it becomes unavoidable to notice that were being ignored, Ferrera said. In a scathing piece for the Hollywood Reporter in 2014, Chris Rock argued that the industry sees Latinos only as a service class. Forget whether Hollywood is black enough, Rock wrote. A better question is: Is Hollywood Mexican enough? Youre in LA, youve got to try not to hire Mexicans.

Elyce Helford, director of Jewish and Holocaust studies at Middle Tennessee State University, has argued that Hollywoods Jewish founders established a lily-white vision of America because they feared anti-Semitism and wanted to stave off any suspicions or accusations that their values were un-American. A similar fear has led some of Hollywoods most celebrated Latino talents, including Rita Hayworth, to adopt professional names that belie their south-of-the-border heritage.

This year brings an added concern -- that an industry that has long portrayed Latinos as banditos, gangsters, and busboys will serve to fuel the racism and hatred generated by a divisive election in which the winning candidate attempted to brand Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists. If theres hope that Latinos will ever been seen as three-dimensional, assimilated, and American, it can be found just outside the studio gates.
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BBC News (Translated by RAWA), January 28, 2017



Self-immolation has been practiced in alarming rate by desperate Afghan women who lack access to justice and protection. (Photo: Paula Bronstein)

More Photos Self-immolation has been practiced in alarming rate by desperate Afghan women who lack access to justice and protection. (Photo: Paula Bronstein)

Doctors in Herat hospital of Herat province say that 700 suicide attempts have been recorded in this hospital from the beginning of the solar year, and 33 of these have resulted in death. The methods used included hanging, taking poison and self-immolation.

The most recent case was recorded the night before on Friday (27th January) when a 27-year-old hung himself to death.

Family issues, poverty, and drug addiction, were said to be the main causes of these suicide attempts.

Mohammad Rafiq Sherzai, the press administrator of the hospital, told BBC that 70% of the victims were women, These victims fall into different categories of age and sex and come from different parts of Herat. Of these cases, 70% are women and 30% are men. The victims faced different problems like family issues, financial difficulties, drug addiction, and other mental issues that forced them to commit suicide.

Mr. Sherzai also said that the cases of suicide attempts have increased by 2% compared to last year. Last year, 500 suicide attempts were recorded in the same time period.
Zaranj News (Translated by RAWA), January 29, 2017

The district chief of Dashte Archi district of northern Kunduz province says that the shadow governor of Kunduz province, who had been injured in a blast, was taken to Tajikistan for treatment with the help of Russians. Nassruddin Nazari said that Mullah Abdul Salam was injured in a suicide blast a week back.

Nazari said, Taliban have direct contact with Russia and Tajikistan. Russia has given ammunition and money to Taliban in Dashte Archi so they (Taliban) are no longer taking money from the people. The Russians transferred Mullah Abdul Salam to Tajikistan for treatment. Someone called me yesterday and told me that he has died and his body will be transferred to Afghanistan soon.

This local official claimed that the Taliban had taken several Humvee tanks from their fighting with the Afghan forces and had handed them over to the Russians. The Russians had given them arms and ammunition in return. He also added that ISIS is actively present in the Mullah Qalo part of this district. Expressing his concern he said, The suicide attacker that targeted Mullah Salam was from ISIS. They are about 120 in number.

A security official confirmed that Salam had been injured in a blast but stated that he had no knowledge of his transfer. He also said that there is no evidence to prove Taliban ties with Russia.

Said Mahmood Danish, the governors spokesperson denied the matter and said, The district chiefs claims are his own. We deny that such a thing has occurred and no other source has confirmed this either.

The Taliban have not said anything on the matter yet.
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What looks like a ransacked and burgled room is actually Judith Ortiz Cofers office in her 
The Election Commission on Sunday ordered poll authorities in Goa to register an FIR against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks about bribes made at a poll rally in the state.

The poll body also termed as "scurrilous" the AAP leader's claim that the Commission is encouraging bribery by restraining him from uttering such statements.

The poll body said FIR/complaint be lodged against the AAP leader under provisions of the Representation of the People Act dealing with bribing voters and relevant sections of the IPC.

"Being Chief Minister of Delhi and a star campaigner of AAP in Goa, he is expected to conduct in an exemplary manner in election campaigns in a law abiding manner so as to be a role model for others to emulate but he has on several occasions again violated provisions of MCC by breaking his assurance to EC...

"The Commission directs that necessary legal action be initiated by filing an FIR/complaint against Arvind Kejriwal for the statements...compliance report in this regard should be sent to the Commission latest by 3.00pm on January 31," the poll panel said.

The Commission recalled that it has censured Kejriwal for violating the provisions of MCC and expected him to be more circumspect in public utterances during election time.

"Arvind Kejriwal has again written a letter... stating therein that he is not abetting bribery by appealing to voters to accept money from any party but to vote in favour of Jharu (AAP)... he stated that the Commission is encouraging bribery by refraining him from uttering such statements.

"These submissions being baseless and scurrilous are totally unjustified in the light of the provisions of law on bribery and are not acceptable to the Commission," the Commission said.

While directing the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa to lodge FIR/complaint against Kejriwal, the Commission also responded to his letter in which he had asked that he be allowed to raise issue of voters being bribed.

"The Commission is quite concerned about your conduct, public utterances and demeanour. Even after being reprimanded by the Commission... you are still continuing with your statements of instigating voters to take money from other parties.

"Instead of making wild allegations, you are most welcome to adduce any evidence of distribution of black money...," the letter to the AAP leader said.

The poll panel once again directed him "not to indulge in making any further statements which directly or indirectly instigate voters" in accepting money.

It warned of "stern action" if Kejriwal continued with his statements on the issue.

In a statement, the Aam Aadmi Party said the Election Commission has directed Kejriwal not to make any further statements in the reference to his bribery remarks.

The party said, the order "does not convey that any criminal case has been registered against Kejriwal".

"Rather it is being highlighted that section 171(b) which defines the offence of bribery in the Indian Penal Code and its punishment defined under Section 171(e) of IPC, is not only a non-cognizable offence, but is also bailable. So being a non-cognizable offence no FIR can be registered for this particular offence," the party said in a statement.

The party said Kejriwal's statement does not amount to any offence. "We have decided to avail all legal remedies available after any order is communicated to us or comes to our notice," the party said.

The party hit out at the poll panel again, this time questioning its independence and targeting Election Commissioner A K Joti.

"Election Commissioner Joti never worked outside Gujarat in his entire career. A 1975-batch IAS officer, Joti retired as chief secretary in January 2013. Is Election Commission impartial & independent? One of the commissioners was chief secretary of Gujarat before he retired in 2013??

"Within 24 hours of PM Modi dictating criticism of EC is not acceptable, EC orders registration of FIR against @ArvindKejriwal coincidence?" Nagender Sharma, Media Advisor to Kejriwal, said in a series of tweets.

His tweets were retweeted by Kejriwal.
Iran said on Saturday it would stop United States citizens entering the country in retaliation to Washington's visa ban against Tehran and six other majority-Muslim countries announced by President Donald Trump.

'While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the US government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,' a Foreign Ministry statement said.

'The restrictions against travel by Muslims to America... are an open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation in particular and will be known as a great gift to extremists,' said the statement, carried by state media.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said it was no time to build walls between nations and criticised steps towards cancelling world trade agreements, without naming Trump.
An Indian-origin teacher has been suspended after a video of a controversial classroom stunt that shows her firing a water gun at an image of President Donald Trump and yelling "die" went viral online.

Payal Modi, an art teacher at Adamson High School in Dallas, Texas, was caught on camera shooting a squirt gun as a video of President Trump at his Inauguration ceremony projected onto a whiteboard.

An eight-second video was posted to a personal Instagram account on January 20, the date of Trump's inauguration, showing Modi holding a water gun, pointing it at an image of Trump projected onto a whiteboard, and yelling "Die!" as she shoots the gun.

Tens of thousands of people have seen the video since it was posted online Wednesday, prompting an investigation from officials at the Dallas Independent School District.

Dallas Independent School District (DISD) Spokeswoman Robyn Harris was quoted by the Dallas Morning News as saying that Modi was placed on leave. However, she said DISD would not comment as it investigates the incident.

"Today, we were made aware of a social media posting being circulated involving a teacher at W H Adamson High School. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave and the district has opened an investigation. This is a personnel matter and, as such, we cannot comment," the statement said.

However, that has not stopped parents from voicing their concerns.

"Five of my grandchildren go to Dallas ISD schools... do you have a venue where concerned voices can be heard?" one Facebook user asked.

Some students admit Modi's actions were inappropriate, but ultimately, the majority believe the teacher was just making a joke, CBS News reported.

"Although her actions didn't display that she was a good role model, she's always there and supports my classmates, my peers," Briana Castillo, a senior at the school, was quoted as saying.

Adamson High School junior Leslie Jaimes said she was in Modi's second-period class when the teacher pulled out a squirt gun she had taken earlier from a student.

"Trump came out and she shot at him, but like, it was just a water gun," Jaimes said. "It's no big deal".

Churches, synagogue offer own houses to burnt mosque members

Meanwhile, in a demonstration of solidarity, four churches and a synagogue have offered the use of their own houses of worship for the displaced members of a mosque that was gutted by fire in Victoria in the US state of Texas.

The Islamic Center of Victoria was destroyed in early morning fire on Saturday when nobody was in the building in Victoria city, about 185-km southwest of Houston.

The mosque, built in 2000, was the victim of a burglary on January 21 and in July 2013, a man admitted painting H8 - short hand for hate - on one of the mosque's outside walls.

The Islamic center's president, Shahid Hashmi, refused to speculate about whether it was arson, but said the building was burglarised a week ago.

The incident occurred within hours of President Donald Trump announcing a ban on citizens from seven Muslim majority countries entering the United States.

Although Hashmi, a surgeon, said the mosque was uninsured, he took comfort in a deluge of funds donated from across the internet to a gofundme.com page created to help the group rebuild, Victoria Advocate newspaper reported.

So far, more than $360,855 had been given, it said.

"Closer to home, at least four Victoria churches and a synagogue offered the use of their own houses of worship for the displaced members of the mosque," it said.

One woman donated a handmade prayer rug. "A guy who has a truck said, 'I will come and haul dirt for you,'" said Abe Ajrami, a mosque member.

"When our peaceful norm is interrupted like this, I think it unites the community," said Gary Branfman, a member of Temple B'nai Israel.

Mayor Paul Polasek said he was hardly surprised by the Victoria community's ability to rally around their own.

"I grew up here, and I know how people are," he said. "We take care of each other, and we are self-reliant. I'm very pleased by it, but not necessarily surprised."

Leigh Ann Grant, whose grandfather founded Christ's Kitchen, said when her father Allan Crouch was hired to build the now-destroyed mosque, she began to appreciate the value of respect.

"Dr Hashmi was very kind and respectful to us," she said in a written statement. "It was a beautiful building, too. It's a shame it burned down."
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at airports across the US to protest the ban announced by President Donald Trump on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, extending solidarity to those affected as chaos and fear gripped individuals trying to enter the country.

Image: Protesters gather outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport in opposition to US president Donald Trump's proposed ban on immigration in Queens, New York City, US. Photograph: Stephen Yang/Reuters

As news of immigrants, even those holding green cards, being held and banned from flying into the US and entering the country spread, people started gathering at nation's airports, holding banners opposing Trump's action.

For hours, the crowds stood outside the arrival terminal of city's busiest John F Kennedy international airport, raising slogans blasting Trump's order suspending entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days, barring Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocking entry into the country for 90 days for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Image: A female veteran holds a sign as people protest against the travel ban, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas. Photograph: Laura Buckman/Reuters

The ban impacted several individuals, who had valid US visas and green cards and who had travelled abroad for work or on personal visits. Similar scenes of chaos and protests quickly poured in from other key ports of entry in Boston, Los Angeles and in Houston.

Hapless individuals, whose family members were stuck at airports or were not allowed to board flights to the US took to social media to vent their anger and frustration.

"Three weeks ago my wife and my newborn daughter went to Iran so that she can visit her grandparents for the first time. It is not clear they can come back to the US. And this feeling eats me alive," an individual Amin Karbasi, who one person pointed out was a professor at Yale University, wrote on Twitter.

Image: A man holds a sign as people protest against the travel ban imposed by Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas. Photograph: Laura Buckman/Reuters

Lawyers soon began to throng the country's airports, offering to provide legal assistance to individuals and families who were detained at the airports. Volunteer lawyers, sitting on the floor at airport terminals, worked pro-bono on a preparing habeas corpus petitions for detainees at JFK.

American Civil Liberties Union National said on Twitter that "lawyers are stationed at airports across US. If you know someone entering country, tell them not to sign anything before talking to lawyer."

Image: A protest sign hangs from a vendor both as people gather to protest against the travel ban. Photograph: Laura Buckman/Reuters

Partial relief to those detained at airports or in transit came as US judge Ann Donnelly in an order temporarily halted removal of individuals detained in the country.

The ruling by the federal judge in New York came after the ACLU filed a petition on behalf of two Iraqi men, detained at the JFK International Airport.

In the ruling, the judge said government could not remove "individuals with refugee applications approved by US Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the US Refugee Admissions Programme, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen legally authorized to enter the US."

Image: Demonstrators yell slogans during anti-Donald Trump immigration ban protests inside Terminal 4 at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. Photograph: Kate Munsch

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman applauded the stay ordered, saying Trump's executive action is "unconstitutional and in clear violation" of federal law.

"I will do everything within my power to help lead the fight to permanently strike it down. I will not allow voiceless refugees, and all those targeted by this reckless action, to be victimized by an unlawful, unconstitutional, and fundamentally un-American decree from the President," he said.

The protesters held banners that read 'No ban, no wall', 'Christians against the Muslim ban', 'Say it loud and clear, refugees are welcome here', 'No human is illegal', 'Immigrants, refugees welcome'.

Extending their solidarity with the protest against the ban on Muslims arriving in the country, cabdrivers at JFK said they will stop work and not ferry travelers for an hour.

"NYTWA drivers call for one hour work stoppage @ JFK airport today 6 PM to 7 PM to protest #nobannowall," the New York Taxi workers union said on Twitter.

"We cannot be silent. We go to work to welcome people to land that once welcomed us. We will not be divided," they said.

Image: Protesters gather outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport. Photograph: Stephen Yang/Reuters

Unfazed by growing criticism, President Trump defended his controversial immigration order that bans travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, asserting that it is working "very nicely" even as he maintained that it is not a ban on Muslims.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump told reporters even as the sweeping immigration order caused chaos and confusion at airports across the country, triggering widespread protests.

He, however, denied that barring refugees from several predominantly Muslim nations amounted to a ban on Muslims.

"It's not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared," Trump told media persons after he signed three more executive orders related to lobbying ban, plan to defeat ISIS and reorganisation of National Security Council.




Febbraio

February

Not many people have a classic comedy dedicated to their birthday. I doalthough thats far from February 2s only claim to fame. This date may always signify Groundhog Day to fans of Bill Murray and believers in the shadow-fearing furry creature who put the little town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on the map. But in Italy, it marks the feast of La Candelora (Candlemas), which honors the purification (la purificazione) of the Virgin Mary.

According to Jewish tradition, after giving birth, women were not allowed to "touch any hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary" for forty days. Candlemas falls forty days after (quaranta giorni dopo) Christmas--on February 2.

La Candelora is also la festa dei ceri, with the blessing of the altar candles to be used in churches during Mass and other religious celebrations. Blessed candles were believed to protect against lightning strikes (fulmini) and hail (la grandine) and to comfort the ill (gli ammalati).

Long before groundhogs got involved, Italians viewed il giorno della Candelora, between the dark of winter and the light of spring, as a good time to forecast the weather: Quando vien la Candelora, de linverno semo fora; ma se piove o tira vento, de linverno semo drento. (When Candelmas arrives, we are out of winter, but if it rains or its windy, we are still in winter.)

Another saying looks ahead to the feasts that precede the long Lenten fast: Per la Candelora, chi non ha carne impegni la figliola. (For Candlemas, whoever hasnt got meatessential for Carnevaleshould pawn his daughter.)

February 3 marks la festa di San Biagio (Saint Blaise), a doctor and bishop martyred in the fourth century and acclaimed for his miraculous healing ability and compassion. He is most famous for il salvataggio di un bambino che stava soffocando dopo aver ingerito una lisca di pesce (the rescue of a boy who was choking after having swallowed a fishbone).

On this day Catholics place their necks between a V formed by two crossed candles and receive a special blessing to ward off threats to their throats. In Milan, families eat the last of their Christmas panettone as a propitiatory gesture against the evils of coughs and colds. Others celebrate with special dumplings, meatballs, breads and sweets such as tarallucci of San Biagio, shaped like small donuts mixed with anise seeds, and cudduri San Brasi, cakes with hazelnuts and almonds blended with honey.

February's others feasts include la festa degli innamorati (the feast of lovers) on February 14 and the nonstop revelry of Carnevale (both subjects of upcoming posts). May you enjoy them all!

Sayings and Expressions

*Febbraio nevoso, estate gioioso -- Snowy February, joyful summer.

*Corto febbraio: mezzo dolce e mezzo amaro -- Short February: half sweet and half bitter.

*Primavera di febbraio reca sempre qualche guaio -- A February Spring always brings some damage.

*Se la viola esce a febbraio, serba il pagliaio -- If the violet comes out in February, conserve your haystack.

Dianne Hales is the author of La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language and Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered.
A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017

crime
For Americans and Russians looking for clues about how relations will shape up under U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin and White House readouts of his first postinauguration phone call with Vladimir Putin had something for everyone -- and not quite enough for anyone.

Beyond the upbeat talk of mending badly strained ties and cooperating against terrorism, the two statements left plenty of questions about exactly what the two presidents discussed in the January 28 call and what, if anything, they agreed on in any detail.

RFE/RL takes a closer look at what the readouts said -- and left unsaid -- about four key issues.

Sanctions

If youre skeptical about speculation that Trump is about to ease or lift sanctions imposed on Russia by former President Barack Obamas administration, youve got plenty of grounds for it: Neither the Kremlin statement nor the much shorter White House readout, issued a few hours later, made any reference to sanctions.

Furthermore, officials on both sides said the sanctions -- imposed over Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014, support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, and alleged interference on Trump's behalf in the U.S. election -- were not discussed in the call, which came a day after Trump said it was very early to be talking about lifting them.

But those who think Trump may be closer than he suggests to easing sanctions found support for their suspicions in the Kremlin statement, which said the presidents stressed the importance of "restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties" between their countries.

Some observers in both Russia and the West interpreted that as a hint that at least some of the punitive measures will go on the chopping block to clear the way for commerce.

And what of the insistence in Washington and Moscow that Trump and Putin didnt discuss the sanctions at all?

Well, the argument goes, at this point it is in neither presidents interest to move too quickly, at least in public. Trump is under pressure from both U.S. political parties and key European allies to keep sanctions in place. For Putin, its because Russia has made a show of saying that it can endure any hardship and is not pleading for the punishments to be lifted.

Ukraine



In Kyiv, Trumps election has prompted fears that the United States could sacrifice support for Ukraine for better relations with Russia. That would make the country even more vulnerable to influence and interference from Moscow, which has also backed separatists in a war against government forces that has killed more than 9,750 people.

Those concerns were hardly soothed by the Kremlin readout of the call, which said that the two agreed to establish partner-like cooperation" on international issues including what it called "the crisis in Ukraine.

For some observers, that read like a suggestion that Ukraines fate would be in the hands of a newly forged partnership between Moscow and Washington.

Fanning such fears may have been the Kremlins intent. But it could also be an overinterpretation; the wording might mean little more than that Trump and Putin agreed that their countries should interact constructively on a range of global issues -- the anodyne stuff of past statements, at least during warmer times in the relationship.

Anyone who hoped Trumps team would shed more light on the subject was disappointed: There was no mention of Ukraine in the White House statement.

Syria And Terrorism

Putin has long accused the United States of double-standards on terrorism. The Obama administration said Moscow used the fight against the extremist group Islamic State as a pretext for a Syrian air campaign aimed mainly at backing President Bashar al-Assad.

Remarks by Russian officials suggest that the election of Trump, who has repeatedly expressed hop that the two countries can get together and knock the hell out of Islamic State, has raised the Kremlins hopes that closer cooperation against terrorism -- and with it, perhaps, closer positions on issues ranging from Ukraine to human rights -- is imminent.

Both readouts support that idea, making clear that fighting Islamic State and terrorism was the main topic and a top priority.

The White House statement, in fact, mentioned no other specific issue aside from bilateral relations, while the Kremlin readout listed several others including Ukraine, the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula, and nuclear proliferation.

But the Kremlin statement, which was substantially longer than the White House readout, seemed to hint at more specific cooperation -- particularly in Syria, where the two countries have conducted separate bombing campaigns.

The presidents called for the establishment of real coordination of Russian and American actions with the aim of crushing [IS] and other terrorist organizations in Syria, it said.

The White House statement did not go quite that far, saying that topics addressed during the hour-long call ranged from mutual cooperation in defeating [IS] to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world, including Syria.

It concluded by saying that both presidents are hopeful that after todays call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern.

Face-To-Face

A phone call is one thing, but face-to-face talks would be likely to send a stronger signal that ties are on the mend. Meeting in person sooner rather than later is arguably of particular importance to Putin, who may be eager for the optics of a superpower summit.

After initial talk of a meeting soon after Trumps inauguration, Russian officials have sought to manage expectations recently by saying it could take months to arrange.

Still, the Kremlin statement seemed to suggest that the presidents could get together soon, saying that they agreed to order subordinates to come up with a potential time and place for a personal meeting.

The White House statement made no mention of a personal meeting.
Ukrainian authorities said four soldiers had been killed in fighting Russia-backed separatists, some of the worst violence in weeks in war-torn eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said the clashes occurred January 29 near Avdiyivka, a town north of the regional center Donetsk.

The town is home to a major coke producing plant and a steel smelter.

Motuzyanyk said at least one separatist fighter was killed in the fighting which involved large-caliber mortars and artillery.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine, which erupted nearly three years ago, has ebbed and flowed amid repeated efforts to cement a lasting cease-fire.

The latest truce was announced in December.

More than 9,750 people have died in the conflict, which began shortly after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled amid violent antigovernment protests in Kyiv in February 2014.
By RFE/RL

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Afghanistan is experiencing a "large influx" of returning refugees that is severely testing the country's ability to absorb so many displaced people.

In a report issued this week, the IMF said more than 700,000 refugees returned to Afghanistan last year, mainly from Pakistan, but also from Iran, Europe, and elsewhere.

"This is seriously aggravating the government's capacity to absorb refugees in an already difficult environment of high unemployment and internally displaced people after decades of conflict," it said.

The organization urged the country to strengthen internal coordination and planning and said the international community needs to play a role in providing financing and humanitarian support to avert a crisis.

The IMF said that many of those coming from Pakistan are not coming "voluntarily."

It said analysts estimate that up to 2.5 million more will return over the next 18 months, representing almost 10 percent of the Afghan population.

Decades of war and instability have driven millions of Afghans from their homes and out of the country.

Millions of refugees returned to Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion of 2001 drove the Taliban from power, but security has deteriorated since 2014, when most NATO combat forces had withdrawn from the country.

The security situation now remains difficult in many areas of the country, with militant groups like the so-called Islamic State (IS) battling Afghan government forces and remaining U.S.-led forces.

"Many of the Afghans who lived abroad for decades are returning to a country facing conflict, insecurity, and widespread poverty," the IMF said.

"Given the difficult economic climate, prospects for returnees are generally poor," it added. 'While there are also wealthier returnees, a typical returning refugee has a high risk of falling into poverty."
Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine.

But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown.



The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes  dual-use technology.

The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case.

The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war.

At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products.

But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States.



A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers.

These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components.

The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China.

Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU.

"Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24.

"Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

Chinese Cameras, California Chips

Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets.

Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media.

"The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019.

The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components.

One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone.

Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers.

Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military."

The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology.

Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone.

Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication.

Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone.

Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran."

"TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said.

Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions.

"This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

'No Authorization'

Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP).

The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia."

"As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. .

But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020.

The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries.

The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine.

BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward."

The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes.

"For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations."

BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines."

Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump stressed the importance of the NATO alliance to global security during their first call since Trumps inauguration.

The leaders agreed on the NATO alliance's fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of our North Atlantic community, according to a White House statement on January 28.

In this vein, the leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security."

Trump has worried some European allies after criticizing NATO, at one point calling it "obsolete" because it had not done enough to fight terrorism and saying that many members were not pulling their weight financially.

The two also discussed the "need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilize conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa."

A joint statement said that Russia and Ukraine were also discussed, without giving details.

A spokesman for Merkel said Trump had accepted the chancellors invitation to attend the G20 meeting in Hamburg in July.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and The Washington Times
A recent spat between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan is probably the lamest dispute between two Central Asian countries I can remember, though I think I know the real cause of the problem.

Tajikistan is talking about constructing a new railway line that would connect the country to Russia via Uzbekistan. Some poorly considered language was used in the statement about this project and that was seized upon by Turkmenistans Foreign Ministry, which fired off an equally ill-advised statement rebuking Tajikistan.

And while Tajikistan might technically have started this row, I get the feeling nerves are becoming frayed in Ashgabat these days over more important matters than a new railway line from Tajikistan to Russia.

In a January 24 statement, the deputy head of Tajikistans state railway company, Usmon Kalandarov, mentioned the proposed new railway line that bypasses Turkmenistan.

On January 25, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry released a statement calling Kalandarovs comments unethical and unfriendly.

The Turkmen Foreign Ministry expressed bewilderment (they do that a lot in their statements, makes me wonder) and reminded that Turkmenistan has initiated a number of specific projects that involve Tajikistan and are aimed at further expanding cooperation between the two countries in the transport and communication spheres.

The Foreign Ministry added: This statement by one of the leaders of the Tajik railways does not contribute to the practical efforts to achieve the above mentioned objectives.

Assuredly not, but a quick look at the map shows there would be no reason for a railway from Tajikistan through Uzbekistan and on to Russia to ever pass through Turkmenistan. The line would have to be extended much farther west to incorporate Turkmenistan.

So the project itself doesnt seem to be the problem. It seems more to be that a Tajik state official publicly mentioned Turkmenistan being left out of the project.

That is what has irritated the Turkmen government and spurred a response from the Foreign Ministry.

International rights organizations mention Turkmenistan critically all the time, but governments do not. For most of its 25 years as an independent country, Turkmenistans isolationism, couched as a state policy of positive neutrality, has kept the country out of international arguments, conflicts, and alliances. The name Turkmenistan just doesnt come up too much when top officials in other countries make policy statements.

But that has changed lately.

At the start of January, Iranian officials launched a verbal attack on Turkmenistan after Ashgabat shut off (Turkmen authorities say limited) gas supplies to Iran over an unpaid debt.

The National Iranian Gas Company issued statements indicating Turkmenistan was violating their contract and threatened to take Turkmenistan to arbitration, which finally prompted the Turkmen Foreign Ministry to issue two separate responses in a 24-hour-period to defend Turkmenistans position that Iran was in the wrong.

One year ago, Turkmen authorities were issuing similar statements after Russias Gazprom tore up gas agreements with Turkmenistan and refused to import any more Turkmen gas citing, very publicly, Ashgabats intractable position in negotiating prices.

And before that, there were Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaevs comments in mid-October 2015, right after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that the security situation along Turkmenistans border with Afghanistan was troubling.

The Turkmen Foreign Ministry released a statement that same day that read, The Turkmen side expresses its extreme bewilderment (eds: what did I tell you?) and concern at this statement by the Kazakh side which is irrelevant to the situation on the state border of Turkmenistan.

The statement went on to recommend Nazarbaev and others receive their information from more credible sources in the future, ignoring the fact that the Afghan government and media were acknowledging there was fighting in northwest Afghanistan near the border with Turkmenistan.

Russias Federal Security Service and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, which does not include Turkmenistan, have also expressed concerns similar to Nazarbaevs since October 2015.

Turkmen-Tajik relations probably wont be affected much by this recent tiff. There was a meeting of the Turkmen-Tajik intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation in Ashgabat on January 26-27.

And the Turkmen Foreign Ministry was correct in pointing out it has initiated a number of specific projects that involve Tajikistan that are aimed at furthering cooperation between the two countries. Turkmenistan has offered to supply Tajikistan with electricity and oil but so far this has been impossible due to Uzbekistans refusal to allow these exports through its territory.

That is the reason Turkmenistan and Tajikistan agreed to build the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway line that finally made it from Turkmenistan into Afghanistan at the end of 2016.

Turkmen authorities might now wonder if Tajikistan could lose interest in TAT should the new railway project from Tajikistan through Uzbekistan advance.

Of course, now that Uzbekistan has a new president, Shavkat Mirziyaev, who has vowed to improve ties with Central Asian neighbors, new opportunities for cooperation between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan could open up and TAT could soon become TUT (Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan), a shorter and much more secure route.

Turkmenistans diplomatic problems are coming at the same time economic problems are hammering Turkmenistan.

The latest blow is the January 27 reports from Pakistani media that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will be delayed by one year due to problems with financing (Qishloq Ovozi says even that is overly optimistic). Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has been promising for several years that TAPI would start operations by 2019 and Turkmenistan would have a new export route for 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of its gas annually.

Turkmenistan needs TAPI after losing Russia, and probably Iran soon as customers, two countries that 10 years ago combined for nearly 50 bcm of Turkmen gas sales.

So the Turkmen Foreign Ministrys terse statement to Tajikistan might have been ill advised but it is to some extent understandable. Almost nothing seems to be going right for Turkmenistan lately.

With material from RFE/RLs Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, and Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.
More than 2,000 people rallied in St. Petersburg to protest a decision by the city administration to turn the landmark St. Isaac's Cathedral over to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Protesters said they fear the church will not maintain the public museum status of the cathedral, which is a popular tourist attraction.

We won't give St. Isaac's to the church. We want to save it as a museum," local official Boris Vishnevsky told protesters on January 28.

The money earned by the cathedral was the city's, but now it will be for the church. It's not fair," Tatiana Tsenkovskaya said.

Some also expressed concerns about the growing power of the church.

"The church has claimed too much in recent years. Russia is a secular state," Filipp Gotfrid said.

A few dozen counterprotesters also gathered to support the plans.

St Isaac's, founded in 1818, is one of the top tourist sites in St. Petersburg and has been a museum since 1917.

Based on reporting by AP, RT, and AFP
Russian authorities say security forces have killed three suspected militants in the North Caucasus province of Daghestan.

The Interior Ministry's branch in Daghestan said its forces surrounded a house in the town of Khasavyurt where the suspects were hiding on January 29.

Spokesman Ruslan Ibragimgadzhiev said the three alleged militants refused to surrender and died during a firefight.

There were no casualties reported among security forces or local residents.

Daghestan has become the epicenter of violence for militants seeking to establish an Islamic state in the North Caucasus.

Some militants in the province and elsewhere in the North Caucasus have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Based on reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax
The regional police chief in the north of Kosovo has been suspended after he was accused of refusing to implement the government's policy on phasing out license plates issued by Serbia when Kosovo was still part of the country.

Nenad Djuric was suspended after the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo announced on November 3 that he is suspected of criminal offenses related to his refusal to implement the plan.

Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla said that the refusal to implement the governments decisions represents a serious threat to the security and stability of Kosovo.

The Kosovo police is one [force] and all its members should have the same mission: the rule of law and the creation of a safe environment for all citizens regardless of difference, Svecla said on Facebook. We will not allow any action that violates this mission, and together with the Kosovo Police we will continue its implementation.

The main party representing Serbs in Kosovo, Serbian List, said that the decision to suspend Djuric was illegal.

Goran Rakic, chairman of the party, said that the Serbs should "strengthen and build" their own institutions in northern Kosovo in cooperation with Serbia.

Rakic said that he has called an extraordinary meeting of the Serbian List with the mayors of four municipalities in the north of Kosovo with Serbian majorities. The meeting will be held after the "illegal and anti-Serbian decision" to suspend Djuric, he said.

Radic said he will call on Serbs to vacate institutions in the north, including judicial, police, and other institutions.

Meanwhile, the head of the office for Kosovo in the Serbian government, Petar Petkovic, told a news conference on November 3 that Djuric was suspended because "he stood in defense of the Serbian people."

He questioned what mistake Djuric had made by refusing to participate in the decisions of Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, which are political."

Djuric said on November 2 that the police in the north would not implement the government's decision to issue warnings to drivers who have cars with license plates issued by Serbia.

Djuric was appointed regional police commander in the north in June 2013 after Kosovo and Serbia reached the first agreement on the normalization of relations in the dialogue mediated by the European Union.

The agreement stated that the regional commander in the four municipalities with Serbian majority is to be appointed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo.

Kosovo has attempted several times this year to require its Serb minority to change their old car plates from before 1999 when Kosovo was still part of Serbia. Authorities began implementing the latest plan to phase out old vehicle license plates on November 1.

Kurti announced the plan last week, saying drivers would first be given warnings during an initial three-week period starting on November 1. That is to be followed by a two-month period when 150 euro ($149) fines will be issued. There will then be another two-month period during which temporary license plates will be valid.

If drivers do not change their plates by April 21, their vehicles will be confiscated, according to the government decree.

Kosovo and Serbia fought a war in 1998-99, with Kosovo eventually declaring independence from Serbia in 2008.

Ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo have been using car plates issued by Serbian institutions since the end of the war with the acronyms of Kosovar cities such as KM (Kosovska Mitrovica), PR (Pristina), or UR (Urosevac).

The government in Kosovo regards the plates as illegal but until now has tolerated them in four northern municipalities with Serb majorities.
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The Center for Rural Culture (CRC), a non-profit dedicated to preserving rural culture in the Central Virginia Piedmont, has acquired Fall Line Farms. The CRC and Fall Line Farms operate local online farmers markets for the region, with the common mission of connecting local farmers with customers in search of fresh, local food year-round.

The CRCs online farmers market, Local Roots Food Co-Op, founded in 2010, serves the counties of Goochland, Hanover, Louisa, Powhatan and Cumberland, and the town of Farmville. Fall Line Farms, founded in 2008, serves the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield and Henrico.

Fall Line Farms and Local Roots will retain their names and continue to function in tandem under the experienced management team of Becky Lillywhite and Mary Delicate. Customers will continue to have access to a growing number of local farms and producers. The online farmers markets currently support over 29 farms, representing 1,200 acres of farmland in production. Customers can pick up their weekly orders at 20 locations throughout Central Virginia.

Fall Line Farms founder Molly Harris envisioned the market as an incubator for small farms.

The CRC, operating under the mission to support local economies and agriculture, protect rural landscapes and traditions, and to conserve natural and historic resources, shares the founders vision and commitment to supporting a sustainable local farm to customer culture.

I live in a county without a traditional grocery store or a single industry supporting a work force, said incoming CRC President Catherine Fleischman. No interstate or railroad, plus 16,000 acres of state forest, help my county maintain a slower pace and bucolic setting. Joining the CRC has helped me connect to an economy of small sustainable farming that supports why I live here. I love shopping online for great, healthy, local food and promoting workshops and programs that bring people in urban and rural communities closer to the land. I am committed to sharing what the CRC has to offer in the coming year and welcome the members of Fall Line Farms to our volunteer organization.
"We have been working to better understand the facts of these situations and, importantly, both the intent and impact of these events on members of our community," the provost says.
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The five Democrats who hold Virginias statewide offices on Saturday decried President Donald Trumps order suspending the admission of refugees to the United States as contrary to American values.

Meanwhile, two of the four GOP candidates for governor  Corey Stewart and state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach  backed the presidents move, saying his first priority is to keep Americans safe.

Another GOP candidate, Ed Gillespie, the frontrunner for the nomination, has not weighed in yet. Matt Moran, spokesman for Gillespie, said in an email: Ed keeps a busy schedule and has been on the road for the last two days. He hasnt had a chance to review the executive order.

The issue underscores the challenge Gillespie faces in seeking to navigate the GOP primary field in the Trump era while contemplating how a stance might play in heavily Democratic Northern Virginia in a general election campaign.

On Friday, the president signed an order to suspend the admission of refugees for 120 days and increase the vetting of potential refugees from predominantly Muslim nations in order to screen out radical Islamic terrorists.

The order blocks Syrian refugees for an indefinite period. It blocks for 90 days entry into the U.S. by citizens hailing from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

In an appearance with Attorney General Mark R. Herring at the international arrivals section of Washington Dulles International Airport, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said his team is assessing the legal and policy steps they can take to oppose the policy. McAuliffe urged the president to rescind the executive order and return the United States to its place as a beacon of hope for all.

Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, one of two candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor, criticized the presidents action during a late afternoon availability at the lieutenant governors office in Richmond.

This is outrageous and contrary to the ideals and principles from which our country and commonwealth was founded, Northam said. Not only are we a nation of immigrants, we are a nation founded by religious refugees. This action ignores the very essence of who we are.

Northam added: America has always been made stronger because it has been a beacon for freedom. This is symbolized by the Statue of Liberty and its famous inscription: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 

Northams Democratic opponent in the June primary, former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, issued a tweet storm, calling the presidents executive order a disgrace and an affront to Virginian and American values.

Perriello also called on Gillespie to spell out where he stands on what Perriello called Trumps anti-American executive orders.

Stewart, who was fired in October as chairman of Trumps Virginia campaign for taking part in an unauthorized anti-establishment protest at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, praised the presidents executive order on refugees.

I think this is a necessary step to make sure that were not importing terrorists, he said Saturday in a telephone interview. I think its common sense that youve got to single out those areas of the world where theres been a problem with terrorist acts.

Its his responsibility to protect the country. Sometimes that requires a very hard stance, as hes done here.

Wagner, who served as a co-chair of Trumps Virginia campaign, said in a statement: After years of increasingly liberal Obama immigration policies, President Trump decided to stop these actions and give his new administration time to study the effects of these policies and implement new ones. Its a four-month pause to allow the administration to put policies in place that will keep Americans safe.

President Trumps course of action should surprise no one; this is what he said he would do, Wagner said.

He is keeping his campaign promise. Authorities believe this order will impact between 150-175 international airline passengers per day. Its an inconvenience to less than 200 people per day from terrorist states. This is a small price to pay to ensure that Americans are kept safe. The presidents number one responsibility is to provide safety for Americans first.

Wagner added that the executive order includes a clause that allows waivers to be granted on a case-by-case basis. This is not a complete ban on travel to the United States.

The fourth GOP candidate for governor, Denver Riggleman, co-owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County, could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

Virginias U.S. senators  Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner  also criticized the presidents move.

Warner tweeted: This is shameful. How is this making America safe? @Potus needs to end this dangerous #MuslimBan.

Kaine, the unsuccessful nominee for vice president, said in a statement that the order makes the U.S. more vulnerable.

I am appalled by the cruelty the Trump administration has demonstrated over the past 24 hours. By indefinitely suspending the Syrian refugee program and imposing a religious test at our borders, he has defied everything our nation stands for, Kaine said in a statement.

Hes also weakened our national security by empowering ISILs narrative that the West is at war with Islam and encouraging Muslim countries to further cooperate with adversaries like Russia and Iran.
With the change of guard at the White House, it seems clear that the administration of President Donald Trump will be eager to execute major foreign policy shifts. A focal point of those changes will be the approach to Iran.

Years of engagement and dialogue with Tehrans rulers have emboldened a bullying regime to extend its tentacles of terror outward, while continuing to trample on the human rights of Iranian citizens.

In his efforts to revise U.S. policy towards the Tehran regime to better align it with Americas values and strategic interests, Mr. Trump will not be alone. Such a policy must reject engagement with the turbaned tyrants in favor of embracing the Iranian peoples democratic aspirations.

That approach would win the resounding support not just of the Iranian-American community, but also of Congress, which overwhelmingly opposed the Iran nuclear deal.

Earlier this month, we were encouraged to hear that nearly two dozen former top American officials had urged Mr. Trump to work with Irans opposition in order to send a strong message to Tehran.

The letter signed by 23 former officeholders specifically calls on the president to consult with the main coalition of opposition groups, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The longest-standing political coalition in Irans history, the NCRI represents a broad grouping of democratic organizations and personalities. Founded in 1981 in Tehran and now based in Paris, it embodies a microcosm of Iranian society, with representatives from ethnic and religious minorities such as Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, and Kurds.

***

The main component of the NCRI is the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a progressive Muslim movement that for the past 50 years has waged a valiant struggle against Islamic fundamentalism and extremism, calling for democracy and separation of church and state.

The NCRIs platform calls for a secular, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran that respects international law, human rights, and gender equality. Women comprise 50 percent of the councils members, and its president-elect is also a woman, Maryam Rajavi.

As Mrs. Rajavi has reiterated, We want a nonnuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction.

The letter by American experts and former policymakers states that given the opportunity to engage directly with the NCRI, unfiltered by regime propaganda, U.S. officials will learn that in the 1980s, as a political strategy to challenge Irans harsh fundamentalism that denies all rights to women, the resistance adopted a policy of gender equality  rare in the Muslim world  and elevated women to leadership roles.

***

The letter was signed by a truly bipartisan group of American statesmen, including Tom Ridge, former Homeland Security secretary under President George W. Bush; Gen. Jim Jones, former national security advisor to President Obama; Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; former Sen. Joseph Lieberman; and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

This stellar list of Americans proves once again that when it comes to a more decisive policy on Iran, Washington is clear-eyed and united.

In their message to Mr. Trump, the group said, We urge your Administration to adopt and pursue an Iran policy that recognizes the interests and inalienable rights of the Iranian people, and not just the clerical regime ruling over them.

President Obama expressed the hope that nuclear negotiations would induce Irans leaders to act with greater consideration of American interests. It is now clear that Irans leaders have shown no interest in reciprocating. ... Through their extremely high rate of executions at home, and destructive sectarian warfare in support of the Assad regime in Syria and proxy Shiite militias in Iraq, Irans rulers have directly targeted U.S. strategic interests, policies and principles, and those of our allies and friends in the Middle East.

To restore American influence and credibility in the world, the United States needs a revised policy, the former top officials and experts added. We strongly agree and echo this call.

The Iranian regime must be held to account for committing egregious human rights abuses and crimes against humanity, including the horrific massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, many of them supporters of the MEK, in 1988.

Iranian-Americans are optimistic that the new administration will open a historic chapter in its policies toward the worlds largest banker and supporter of international terrorism: Tehran. As the 23 former officials told Mr. Trump, there is an alternative to the ayatollahs: the true representatives of the tens of millions of Iranian citizens yearning for a free, democratic and non-nuclear Iran.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Analysts are unanimous in asserting that public welfare in recent years has been growing across the world, saying that if this is so, demand for jewelry is growing as well. Meanwhile, diamond consumption and diamond prices are inexorably going south in the last few years. However, the market of luxury goods, including jewelry, does not show any significant fall, staying at the same level year after year.

If jewelry demand is really growing, what are people buying instead of diamonds?

For a long time, we have been passionately surveying the market of synthetic diamonds and its aggressive marketing. Against this background, we lost sight of another interesting market - the market of colored gemstones, which, seemingly staying in the shadows, demonstrates rapid growth. And the emergence of another strong player on the jewelry market makes the overall situation even more complicated and confusing.

Make it in color

Colored gemstones have been known to the world for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Rubies, sapphires and emeralds adorned the crowns of many ancient rulers and had exactly the same chance to become broadly popular, but diamonds and the A Diamond is Forever campaign fired first. For a long time, this kind of mining industry had no large-scale development prospects: major deposits of colored gems were in African countries, which presented huge political risks in the 20th century (not to mention the trivial risk for life), while the broad marketing campaign launched by De Beers left little chance for investments in their production to pay back through sales.

However, political risks have petered out, while mining technologies made a step forward and the art of marketing diamonds as an eternal value was very "timely" suspended. This has contributed to the emergence of several players in the 2000th, who are now very successful in mining and selling colored gemstones. The largest of them, Gemfields recently posted the results of 2016, including prices for their goods.

Changes in prices for gemstones in 2010-2016:





(Source  Gemfields annual report for 2016).

According to the graph above, prices for colored gemstones have increased by a multiple of 3.5 only in recent years. When did we see last time diamond prices going up threefold  well, at least by 30 per cent?

Gemfields calls its business model Mine and Market. The company mines gemstones and dedicatingly invests in marketing, thereby forming demand for its goods on a relatively "empty" market. The marketing campaign is going on across the entire board: Hollywood stars graced with its bright jewels willingly pose on the red carpet, while well-known bloggers make video records for social networks. Colored gemstones are being positioned in all market segments at once  both as everyday jewelry and as an engagement gift (for which purpose a separate marketing campaign has been launched, Say Yes in Color). Judging by the price graph presented above, this kind of marketing is more than successful.

The business press takes comments from affluents buying jewelry with rubies and sapphires and cites females finally happy to splurge big colored jewels and feel safe without any bodygurads around.

Colored gemstones are tangibly cheaper than diamonds. And if their low price makes happy even the wealthy, imagine what response it has in the hearts of the vast majority of rank and file consumers. The prices for the same Riviera Pave ring made in 18k white gold and put up for sale on the website of the well-known online retailer, Blue Nile differ by a factor of two depending on whether it is encrusted with diamonds or colored stones. There is a diamond ring, which costs $ 980, while an absolutely similar one with rubies is sold for $ 695, with sapphires  for $ 550, and amethysts  for $ 475.

In one of the previous reviews, we have already mentioned that consumers consider design and price to be the most important criteria, when choosing a jewelry piece. They are not very interested if it is a natural stone or what its country of origin is. For half the price, consumers of colored stone jewelry are offered a huge selection of colors and shades that can emphasize their individuality. This option may also be very appealing to millennials who aspire to special things, different from the rest, in everything.

More is not always better

A wide range of products displayed on the market is probably a good thing for the consumer. However, it does not bode well for producers: the total amount of money, that consumers are willing to spend on jewelry, remains the same, just to be divided between a larger number of market players.

The problem does not involve a mere loss of income. The emergence of alternative products, different from each other, can naturally lead to market fragmentation, not only by price but also by "ideological" tokens. Think of the smart phone market, where you can find adherents of Apple, choosing it for its status brand and design. There are fans of Samsung, who appreciate more powerful hardware stuffing and highly customizable software. And there is a market for all the other smartphones, which are sold in great quantities, mainly cheap, and their manufacturers names are hardly a buzz word for most people.

Something of the kind may happen to the jewelry market. Diamonds, of course, will stay - but only as a premium product for very wealthy people or for true fans who are ready to spend any money for their heartthrob object. Most people are likely to continue associating a diamond with engagement and consider it the most expensive stone, but in reality they will buy jewelry more relevant to their income and not requiring half a year to save money for a ring.

The market of cheap jewelry is divided into two parts. One is for those who prefer bright individual jewelry with colored stones. The second - selling synthetic diamonds - is for those who like diamonds, as well as for those who are concerned about environmental issues and human rights violations. For those who do not have enough money for such jewelry, there will always be moissanites, cubic zirconia or Svarovski crystals.

That said, it should be noted that the damage in this situation will be sustained by diamond mining companies only. It does not matter for diamond manufacturers, if they are cutting synthetic or colored stones or natural diamonds  their production technology does not change. For jewelers, it is not at all important, what exactly will be inserted into the ring, if this something will attract demand. Moreover, modern jewelry retailers prefer to avoid following a single-product strategy in any case and their assortments have jewelry of different types and characteristics anyway.

However, in this case diamond producers may find themselves in a very delicate situation. If natural diamonds will become a premium product for affluent customers, then there will be no need any longer to have 130 million carats of diamonds that are mined in the world now to meet this demand. It is a big question, if the world will need at least 5 million carats, or maybe even that amount will be in excess?

The premium segment has traditionally been using high quality diamonds from one carat and more in size. The share of such diamonds in any miner's production footprint does not exceed 10%. And there are no tell-tale signs on the ore body of a diamond deposit pointing to where you will find a flawless two-carater and where there is nothing but a handful of minor bort. In any case, you will have to mine and recover everything there may be found in the retrieved ore and then sell non-premium quality diamonds at a price close to that of synthetics  well, maybe adding a small markup for their natural origin.

So much for the several million carats for the premium segment. As for the remaining one hundred million carats of diamonds  small and dark or containing inclusions, which currently typify the mass-market, - they will simply turn redundant. Accordingly, there will be no need in industrial operations mining them, including open-pit and underground mines. In fact, to meet demand from the premium segment it will be enough to have several diamond placers, the more so that alluvial diamonds are often of good quality. To develop such deposits, it will be enough to have a few hundred people scattered around the world - rather than hundreds of thousands, as it is now.

In the past one hundred years, diamond mining was developing industrial technologies being one of the most science driven branches of economy. It learned to find deposits lying deep beneath the earth and extract diamonds from a depth of 3,000 feet at the lowest cost. It studied the properties of diamonds to beneficiate ore without the use of heavy chemicals. The biggest worry for workers in this industry was that technological development would sometime replace their labor by machines - like remote-controlled trucks, for instance. However, today the technology of producing enhanced and synthetic stones and the aggressive promotion of alternative goods put the entire diamond industry under a threat of what looks like every inch the true de-industrialization.

Elena Levina for Rough&Polished




Muse and The Weeknd have been announced as two of the headlining acts for this year's Firefly Music Festival.

Twenty One Pilots and Bob Dylan will also serve as headliners, while Chance the Rapper, Flume, Weezer, The Shins, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Dillon Francis, Miike Snow, Kesha, Franz Ferdinand, Galantis, Glass Animals, Tory Lanez, Phantogram, AFI, Capital Cities, OK GO, Kaleo, Busta Rhymes and O.A.R. will also perform. More artists are expected be announced soon.

"We've always emphasized the importance of producing a festival for our guests, and now we'll be the first festival to truly give fans a voice and the ability to guide the future of Firefly," said Christiane Pheil, Director of Creative Programming at Red Frog Events.

The 2017 Firefly music Festival will take place June 15-18 in Dover, Delaware.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Entertainment News
Japan will on Monday release December figures for retail sales, highlighting a quiet day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

Retail sales are expected to fall 0.5 percent on month and rise 1.7 percent on year after adding 0.2 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year in November. Large retailer sales are called lower by 1.0 percent on year after dipping 0.3 percent in the previous month.

Thailand will see December figures for its current account balance; in November, the current account surplus was $3.19 billion.

Finally, many of the regional are shuttered for the Lunar New Year, including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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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.
Inside Dress for Success Billings, an airy downtown boutique filled with racks of tastefully arranged womens clothing and jewelry, little miracles regularly happen.

The clothing, most of it described as lightly worn, is donated to the shop at 304 N. 29th St. The clients, some low-income and many low on self-esteem, are getting ready for a job hunt.

With help from volunteer personal shoppers, women select an outfit from a variety of fashionable clothes, jewelry and shoes. They can even get new makeup and an updated hair-do.

A transformation happens both outside and inside, said Jodie Hart, one of the nonprofits volunteers.

When the client looks in the mirror and sees herself in clothing that makes her feel presentable in a way she hasnt known how to do, or didnt have the finances for, theres a lot of tears, Hart said. When theyre finally able to talk, theyre usually very thankful and surprised and they actually begin to believe they can apply for jobs that they thought were out of reach.

Suiting up

Dress for Success is an international organization that, according to its website, empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Since its start in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to nearly 145 cities in 21 countries and has helped more than 925,000 women.

The Billings affiliate opened in 2000. Over the past 17 years it has served 7,000 women, said Briana Rickman, executive director of Dress for Success Billings.

Its initial focus, and still a big part of its work, is what Rickman calls suiting  helping women referred to the program find an appropriate outfit for a job interview. About 35 percent of the referrals come from Passages and the Montana Womens Prison, and probably another 40 percent from HRDC (Human Resources Development Council), Rickman said.

We also work with women who are victims of abuse and women who have been stay-at-home moms for 15 years and have to re-enter the workforce, she said. We have women who are laid off after 30 years and have to find a new skill set and we work with a lot of single moms and a lot of homeless women.

The Billings affiliate is also starting to work more with college students who are entering the workforce. The only requirement for clients is they have to be referred to Dress for Success by one of its partnering agencies.

Cultivating skills

Once she gets a job, a woman can return and get three to four additional outfits, clothing appropriate for her job. And after she has been employed for 30 days, she can return and pick out one final outfit.

But the clothing is only one aspect of how Dress for Success helps women, Rickman said.

I really believe professional development is just as important as clothing, if not more so, she said, in her upstairs office at the downtown store.

The Billings affiliate opened a career center a couple years ago, which focuses on helping women develop resumes, conducts mock interviews and sometimes helps them search for a job. The center also has access to an online training portal, where clients can earn training certificates to broaden their computer, business and customer-service skills.

Since Rickman was hired last May, she has worked to expand the opportunities available to clients. In December, the first of what will be quarterly professional development workshops was offered to clients.

After attending a workshop, each attendee is invited to join a monthly networking group. At those sessions, members will hear talks that range from professional growth, budgeting and financial planning, stress management and healthy living to how to be a successful working mother.

A mentoring program was also added in January, which pairs clients and professional businesswomen in the community. The volunteers will help guide clients through their journey of getting and keeping a job, and give them support to move forward in their lives.

These mentors are women who have done a lot in their careers and will be valuable to the women looking to better their lives and their families, Rickman said.

Dress for Success Volunteers also visit Passages, a womens pre-release center, weekly to staff a computer lab. The volunteers teach computer skills and help residents create resumes and fill out job applications, find housing and other services theyll need once they are released.

Jan Begger, chief operating officer for Alternatives Inc., which runs Passages, said Dress for Success has been a tremendous help to the residents.

I think its really nice for them to see professional women as role models who are helping them through this journey, Begger said. I dont know what we would do without them.

Walking with confidence

Adela Awner, job development manager at Passages, said one of the first things the staff does after a woman comes to prerelease is give them a referral to Dress for Success. When a woman goes over to the boutique, Awner encourages them to have a good time shopping.

She praised the volunteers for their kindness in helping the clients choose the clothing and jewelry, shoes and, in winter, a coat and snow boots. They clients also get new underwear, makeup and a referral for a haircut.

So many of the women, when they come back from the shop, theyre excited and they feel good, Awner said. And they look so nice when they put the things on.

She called their time spent at Dress for Success such a good way for them to start out on this part of their re-entry and feel good about themselves.

Jodie Hart, a Dress for Success volunteer for three years, works with women both at Passages and at the Montana Womens Prison in Billings. Often, women leaving prison dont have a way to get civilian clothing to wear when they step out the door.

So we started bringing clothing to the womens prison for women getting ready to be released, Hart said.

For some women who havent worn regular street clothing for years, the opportunity to don something nice begins to alter their self-perception, she said.

Hart also is serving as a mentor to women in the Dress for Success program, and she praises the work that Rickman has done in putting the mentoring and workshop programs in place.

My excitement is that Briana understands whats going to help the women be successful long-term, she said.

Positive outcomes

One of the women Hart is mentoring is Janell McCurley, who first came to Dress for Success in August from Passages. McCurley stopped by Dress for Success on a recent day to talk about her experience with the nonprofit.

She was joined by Lisa Harris, another client who came to Dress for Success through Passages. Both McCurley, 35, and Harris, 39, say the clothing and the career counseling have helped a lot.

The workshop was amazing for us, it helped us to know our strengths and weaknesses and what to say when we walked in the interview, McCurley said, wearing one of the outfits she got from Dress from Success. So I walked in there with confidence knowing that I looked OK.

McCurleys self-confidence got her not one but two jobs. She works days packaging products at Grains of Montana, and in the evenings she is a sales associate at Herbergers department store.

McCurley is looking forward to being part of the networking group and taking additional courses. She also appreciates the support she gets from Hart.

Shes been a guide to help me along the way and helped me to have a perfect perspective, McCurley said.

Harris was appreciative of the friendliness she felt from volunteer mentor Kimberly Armstrong the moment she walked in to the Dress for Success boutique last summer.

I was feeling low, Harris said. But she made me feel welcome and not judged with her warm and calming attitude.

The encouragement Harris got imbued her with a confidence that allowed her to apply for a job as a server at Bernies. She got a call back the same day and was hired.

Now Harris, who has a 2-year-old son, is hoping to go to college. She is grateful to Armstrong and the others she has met at Dress for Success.

When you are kind of in a depressed state with all life has thrown at you, it helps a whole lot, Harris said.
By SA Commercial Prop News - Flanagan & Gerard Property Development and Investment

Aerial photograph of the progress of Middelburg Mall. Image gallery



Middelburg Mall, poised to be Mpumalangas premier shopping destination, is already 95 percent let, well before its opening date of 19 April 2012 - even though the developers have increased the GLA from the 34,000m originally planned, to 43,555m.

The mall, located off the busy N4 highway, enjoys access via both the Fontein Street offramp and the Tswelopele Avenue. Flanagan & Gerard Property Development and Investment, in partnership with the Moolman Group, are driving the development.

Strong retailer demand prompted us to expand the size of the mall to allow for a tenant mix of 94 stores, says Patrick Flanagan of developer Flanagan & Gerard.

The mix is built on a strong base of national retailers, including Checkers, Woolworths, Edgars, Pick n Pay and Game.

Middelburg Mall is set to provide a comprehensive retail destination for the fast-growing and increasingly affluent population of both Middleburg itself, as well as surrounding areas like Dullstroom, Machadodorp, Ermelo and Steelpoort.

Leases have recently been signed with a number of high-profile retailers.

With a strong base of major retailers, including Mr Price Home, Clicks, Musica, Pep, Incredible Connection, Truworths, Foschini, Sportscene, Markham, Total Sports, Exact @home, CNA, Miladys, Cape Union Mart, Donna Claire, Identity, Queenspark, Bargain Books, Torga, and Legit.

Galaxy, NWJ, Sterns and ASJ Jewellers will take space in the mall, providing even more choice for fashion shoppers.

A new FNB branch joins the other major banks in providing a comprehensive selection of banking outlets.

As for food choices, theres something for everyone  whether shoppers are looking for a family outing or a snack while shopping.

Family favourite Wimpy, Mugg & Bean and the ever-popular Steers are all opening in the mall, as are Debonairs, Fishaways and Giramundo.

Services for shoppers are well covered too, with two local optometrists locating their practices to the mall, along with two local hairdressers and a Perfect 10 nail and body studio.

And of course there are specialty stores to provide expert products and services.

Raslo Music specialises in musical instruments and equipment, while Kanhym Meat Deli provides quality services and meats.

The developers remain conscious of the strong, steady demand from retailers being enjoyed by the mall.

We have built in expansion potential at Middelburg Mall that could see GLA increase to more than 50,000m if demand continues at its current pace, says Jannie Moolman of the Moolman Group.
By SA Commercial Prop News

Hotel group turned residential letting company, the Don Group on Wednesday said it planned to delist from the JSE after buying out minorities. FILE PHOTO: The Don Group CEO Thabiso Tlelai



Hotel group turned residential letting company, the Don Group on Wednesday said it planned to delist from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) after buying out minorities.

Last year the group sold its remaining five hotel properties resulting in the company being classified as a cash shell in terms of the JSEs listing requirements.



The company had a period of six months after this classification to enter into an agreement relating to the acquisition of viable assets that would satisfy the conditions for listing or face suspension of its listing.



The company said that on August 15 2013 the last of the properties was transferred which meant The Don was classified as a cash shell.



The Don Group had until February 15 2014 to enter into an agreement relating to an acquisition but as it had been unable to do so the JSE has advised the company that its listing would be suspended with immediate effect.



The board has decided to make an offer to shareholders to buy back the shares in The Don at a price equal to the net asset value of the company and thereafter to delist The Don from the JSE.



It said further details would be released in due course.
The makers of "Padmavati" on Saturday clarified that there is no dream sequence or objectionable scene between the characters of Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji and said the attack on the film's director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was "uncalled for".

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali has shot two films in Jaipur and despite his love for Rajasthan, for the safety of his crew, we have decided to leave the city post the shocking incident where miscreants damaged property and misbehaved with the crew on the shoot of 'Padmavati'," said an official statement issued on behalf of Bhansali.

"SLB had directed the opera 'Padmavati' to packed houses in Paris and earned worldwide praise for it. He was inspired by the beautiful and courageous queen and is making a feature film on the story.

"We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film... The attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur," the statement added.

The statement also mentioned that the entire crew of "Padmavati" is "grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage.

"We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," the statement read.

On Friday, the activists of a Rajput organisation, Karni Sena, entered the Jaigarh Fort and assaulted Bhansali, slapped him and tore up his shirt.

They even misbehaved with the crew and criticised the National Award-winning director for "distorting" history in the film about the medieval-era Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati.

They damaged cameras and other equipment, forcing Bhansali to stop shooting.

The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in leading roles.
A literary session being addressed by JNU student activist Kanhaiya Kumar had to be cut short at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet (KLM) here on Saturday after ultra-Left activists raised slogans against him and the sponsors.

Kumar, who has penned a book 'Bihar to Tihar', was addressing a session of the KLM at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium here, about five km from the main venue Victoria Memorial.

About half an hour into the session, as Kumar was answering queries from the moderator, Mudar Patherya, some young activists holding aloft posters decrying the meet stood up and demanded the student leader reply to their posers.

Kumar tried to pacify them, saying he would reply to all the issues raised by them during the question-answer part of the session.

However, the activists - under the platform of Bastar Solidarity Network India - raised slogans against the former Jawaharlal Nehru University's Students' Union president for attending a literary meet organised by a corporate and "accepting corporate hospitality".

Slogans like "Kashmir Maange Azaadi" and "Maqbool Maange Azaadi" were also heard, as the protesters held aloft the placards blocking the view of the audience..

After some time, Kumar managed to pacify them saying "This is a new form of protest. I shall use it in my JNU also."

There was more disturbance about 20 minutes later as the protesters raised their voice demanding an explanation from Kumar as to why he was there.

The policemen guarding the stage and the organisers threw a protective ring around Kumar, who continued to plead with the radical leftists to allow the session to continue.

But some of the protesters mounted the dais and tried to put forth their point of view to Kumar, who asked one of them whether he was a Communist.

"Yes," the young activist answered.

"Which party?" Kumar asked.

"I don't have any party," the activist said.

"Then you are not a Communist. Go and learn Marx and Lenin properly," Kumar said.

The organisers and some of Kumar's associates repeatedly requested the activists to sit down, but the latter were in no mood to listen.

"Kumar is behaving like a bourgeois. He talks a lot about the plight of the adivasis (tribals), but sides with those who oppress tribals. We have come here to protest against the meet and Kumar gracing it," said a female protester. "Some of the protesters are students, and some others activists. We do not belong to any particular party".

There was more chaos as some senior members of the audience sharply criticised the protesters.

But as the commotion and slogan shouting continued, he was forced to cut short the programme.

"I apologise to the audience . I would have loved to answer their queries, but these friends will not allow me to speak.

"I did not expect this to happen in Kolkata," he said as the organisers and the police took Kumar away by throwing a cordon around him.
Two ships ferrying petroleum products collided outside Tamil Nadu's Kamarajar Port on Saturday, but there was no major damage to the ships or oil spill, authorities said.

Shipping industry professionals told IANS it was "providential" that no major damage occurred due to the collision which seems to be due to grave human error.



In a statement, port authorities said the collision took place around 4 a.m. between M.T. BW Maple carrying liquefied petroleum gas and M.T. Dawn Kanchipuram carrying petroleum oil lubricants.



The LPG carrier was outbound while the other was inbound.



"There is no damage like oil spill and no casualty or injury to any person. Both vessels are afloat and anchored. The extent of damage is under assessment," the statement said.



"All top port officials are closely monitoring the situation that is under control. An enquiry has been ordered to find the cause of the accident. All other ship movements are normal."



An Indian Coast Guard official told IANS: "We have issued notice to the ship owners as to their action plan on the spill."



He said as per an aerial survey done by the Coast Guard's helicopter, a very thin sheen of oil was seen on the water surface.



The Coast Guard has sent one of its ships to the spot in case of need, he added.



The Coast Guard said crew of both vessels are reported to be safe.





The port deployed three tugs for immediate assistance and they laid a boom around MT Dawn Kanchipuram to contain the spill, it said.



The coastal security agency said the owner of the vessel/agent have been advised to expedite all repairs and undertake survey of ships for bringing these to the port to facilitate early discharge of cargo.



"The Coast Guard is maintaining a close watch, especially toward marine environment. Presently, there is no damage to the marine or coastal environment," the statement added.



Port Chairman and Managing Director M.A. Bhaskarachar told IANS that he had no additional information on the incident.



Port officials told IANS that the operations at Kamarajar Port is as usual.



The cargo from M.T.Dawn Kanchipuram will be unloaded, a port official said.



"Piloting a ship in and out of harbour is a tricky operation. Further a ship has a lot of inertia and hence it is difficult to stop it," a marine engineer told IANS.



"A ship does not have a brake. Simply put, a ship is slowed by reversing the propellers' rotation," he added.



"It could certainly be said that it was a lucky escape as no major damage has happened to the vessels," Girish Sehgal, LNG Vessel Technical Adviser, told IANS.



He said the collision could have happened mainly due to human error.



Industry professionals said even if the LPG tanker is empty, there is always a risk of explosion due to presence of gas traces in emptied tanks.
With bitter memories of large-scale violence fresh in the minds of people, Haryana was on high alert on Sunday as a section of the Jat community started fresh protests in some districts.

Paramilitary forces and Haryana Police were monitoring the situation in Jat-dominated districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat and others.



The call to resume the protests has been given by the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Jat leader Yashpal Malik in 19 districts.



The Jats are demanding fulfillment of demands like release of youths arrested during the Jat agitation last year, jobs to kin of Jats killed in the agitation and action against officials responsible for firing on Jat agitationists.



"Security agencies are keeping a close watch on some Jat leaders, especially those owing allegiance to the AIJASS," a senior police officer said here on Sunday.



The Haryana government has requisitioned 55 companies of central police forces and ordered the deployment of 7,000 Home Guards, besides the Haryana Police personnel, in districts where trouble was expected.





Central forces and Haryana police carried out flag marches in Rohtak and some other places on Saturday to instill confidence among people.



The Jat agitation in February last year left 30 people dead and over 200 injured.



Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar and some other districts were the worst affected during the Jat agitation.



Government and private property worth hundreds of crores was damaged and set on fire. Large-scale looting of commercial and business premises and even motorists was reported from the 10 worst affected districts.



In a communication to senior officers in districts, the Haryana government last week directed that security of all major critical points like drinking water supply to Delhi in Karnal and Sonipat, traffic movement on the G.T. road (National Highway No 1) and roadways depots should be secured.



Haryana Director General of Police K.P. Singh said earlier that if anyone was found indulging in any illegal activity or causing loss to public property, action would be initiated against him.



Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said people should refrain from participating in any agitation. He said the government will strictly deal with the situation if it gets out of hand.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in Goa and learnt about the surgical strikes on terror hubs in Pakistani territory from television, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Sunday.

"The Defence Minister came to know of the surgical strikes from TVs when he was in Goa," Singh told the media here.



He also said it was wrong on Parrikar's part to have credited his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) training for the surgical strike and not Indian armed forces which carried out the strike.





"I am sorry to say that a person who has been a Chief Minister and now the Defence Minister refuses to give credit to the Army, but instead gives it to the RSS," Singh said.



"This has been done earlier and even the former chief of army staff said these things have been done earlier. But such things are not taken credit for in public," Singh said.
One person was killed and 40 others were injured in a massive 35-vehicle highway pile-up near Rajasthan's capital city of Jaipur on Sunday, the state police said.

The accident took place in dense fog around 8.30 a.m. near Kanota, about 15 km from Jaipur, on the Agra-Jaipur highway.



"Due to dense fog, 35 vehicles rammed into each other. One person was killed on the spot, while 40-45 were injured. Of the injured, about five are critical," a police official told IANS.



The seriously injured have been referred to the SMS Hospital in Jaipur.
Google's India-born Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on Saturday critcised US President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the entry of people from Muslim-majority countries to the United States and stressed its negative influence on US attractiveness for foreign talent.

Pichai suggested that the ban could affect at least 187 Google employees as the Internet search giant ordered its travelling staff to return to the United States.

"We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," The Wall Street Journal quoted Pichai as saying in an e-mail to staff.

"It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," he added.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order blocking from entering the United States all Syrian refugees until the adequate changes are made to the Refugee Admission Program (USRAP) and suspending the entry for all nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

"Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected," he assured his staff, urging them to reach out to Google's global security team if they were abroad and needed help.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also expressed his concern over the order. "We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat," he wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

Immigrants make up much of the workforce in Silicon Valley, including many executive roles, and the tech industry has long advocated for more open immigration laws in the US, saying they need more skilled foreigners to fill technical jobs, the WSJ added.

Earlier on Saturday, thousands of academics, including 11 Nobel Laureates, signed a petition against the immigration ban calling it discriminatory and detrimental to the country's national interests.

Trump's order means that thousands of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries may not be allowed to board flights bound for the US -- even if they hold "green card" (permanent residents' permit).

Trump said the measure would "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US". But rights groups said there is no link between Syrian refugees in the US and terrorism.

According to the BBC, there were already reports of travellers from the countries targeted being turned away as they tried to board flights to the US.

Some Republicans welcomed Trump's announcement, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, who said it was "time to re-evaluate and strengthen the visa vetting process".
A federal court here blocked part of US President Donald Trump's immigration order banning citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

The Brooklyn District Court came to the aid of scores of refugees and others who were trapped at airports across the US on Saturday after an "extreme vetting" by Trump which bans citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen from entering the country.



Judge Ann M. Donnelly on Saturday prevented the government from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by the executive order.



The order stopped short of letting the already arrived people into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's actions, the New York Times reported.



The judge nominated by former President Barack Obama ruled that sending back the travellers to their homelands would cause them "irreparable harm".



The case played out amid global turmoil as the order signed on Friday shut the borders of the US for an Iranian scientist headed to a lab in Massachusetts, a Syrian refugee family headed to a new life in Ohio and countless others across the world.



It also suspended entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.



The Department of Homeland Security said the order also barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the US.







The White House said green card holders from the seven affected countries who are outside the US would need a case-by-case waiver to return.



Trump has been accused of constitutional and legal overreach by two Iraqi immigrants, defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).



Meanwhile, large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce the new President's ban, The New York times reported.



According to lawyers for ACLU, who sued the government to block the order, about 100 to 200 people were detained upon arrival at American airports.



Hundreds of people waited outside of the courthouse chanting, "Set them free!" as lawyers made their case.



"We've gotten reports of people being detained all over the country," said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project. "They're literally pouring in by the minute."



Trump earlier on Saturday said: "It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared."



"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."



There were numerous reports of students attending American universities who were blocked from returning to the US from visits abroad.



Legal residents who have a green card and are currently in the US should meet a consular officer before leaving the country, a White House official said.



A Stanford student, Nisrin Omer, a legal permanent resident, said she was held at the Kennedy International Airport here for about five hours but was eventually allowed to leave the airport.



Others who were detained appeared to be still in custody or sent back to their home countries, she said.
A boat carrying 31 persons aboard has lost contact with the authorities in Malaysia, an official said on Sunday.

It sailed from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah state on Saturday, and carried over 20 Chinese tourists, Xinhua news agency quoted the Consulate General of China as saying.



According to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the boat was enroute to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of Kota Kinabalu.



The agency has sent out ships and helicopters to the site for rescue operations.



A maritime communications officer in Sabah said: "The search area covers 400 nautical square miles and involves waters between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum."



It was not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat.
Network Against Drug War Killings urges probe, fears govt cover-up

NAKPhilippines says Duterte has brought human rights crisis to new, more dangerous level

Press Release

November 22, 2016

MANILA  The Philippine government should hold accountable members of law enforcement agencies implicated in the extrajudicial killings of civilians in its war on drugs, the newly formed Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) said today. At the same time, the Duterte administration should thoroughly and credibly investigate the thousands of summary killings attributed to unidentified gunmen since June 30, 2016.

Since the start of Dutertes war on drugs, not a single law enforcer has been brought to court to answer allegations of extrajudicial executions during so-called legitimate police operations. What the police and President Duterte himself have done is to defend the actions of police officers involved in these operations even though a credible investigation has yet to take place. We fear not only a lack of accountability but possible government cover-up for these crimes, said Father Amado Picardal, one of the groups convenors who also serves as its spokesperson.

The government has likewise failed to launch any meaningful investigation into the more than 3,000 so-called death under investigation killings, indicating a serious failure to fulfill its responsibility and duty to investigate crimes  particularly crimes of this brutal nature with no semblance of due process  and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Duterte administrations failure to investigate these summary killings is a serious lapse in its human rights commitment but at the same time also indicates complicity in these atrocities, Father Picardal said.

Several human rights advocates and civil society organizations, concerned about human rights, civil liberties and rule of law in the Philippines, formed NAKPhilippines early this month. We organized ourselves because civil society needs to take a firmer, stronger and principled stand against extrajudicial killings and the continued erosion of universal human rights in the Philippines, the group said in its launching statement released today. Like the human rights advocates that have campaign against death squad killings since 1999, we are outraged by these violations and are committed to do what we can to stop the killings, demand accountability from government, assert human rights for all, and protect human rights defenders.

NAKPhilippines said the administration of President Duterte has not only made the human rights situation in the Philippines worse  it has brought it to a whole new and more dangerous level as the killings in its war on drugs continue. It is time for these killings to stop and for the killers to be brought to justice, it said.

Unlike previous administrations that have denied complicity in past extrajudicial killings, the Duterte government encourages these abuses and even promises protection to the perpetrators, taking an already egregious human rights situation to a whole new and more dangerous level, it said.

In the first five months of the Duterte administration, nearly 5,000 people have been killed in its brutal war on drugs, with the police saying that more than 2,000 of that died in police operations while the rest were killed by unidentified assailants, what the police calls deaths under investigations that appear to be death squad killings. A number of children were among those killed.

NAKPhilippines will hold its launching activity on Nov. 23, which is also the 7th anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre. It will hold a National Day of Prayer and Solidarity for Victims of Extrajudicial Killings and Their Families through a Mass to be celebrated by Bishop Broderick Pabillo at 4:45 PM at the Shrine of Mother Perpetual Help, Redemptorist Church in Baclaran, Manila. Families of victims of the drug have been invited to attend the Mass and the solidarity activities that will follow. Convenors and supporters of NAKPhilippines will also be present. A press conference by Bishop Pabillo and the groups representatives will also be held at the Sinirangan Cafe inside the church compound.
Tiumalu Faalogo Iakopo is the Top Sales Agent for Samoa Life Assurance Corporation (S.L.A.C) for 2016-2017.

His hard work was acknowledged at Tanoa Tusitala on Friday night during the Corporations annual awards.

Tiumalu reached a net annual premium of $246,345, which according to the Chief Executive Officer, Leiataua Alden Godinet, is one of the highest premiums ever reached.

The top sales agent this year was able to break the record and reach the net annual premium of $246,345 this is the highest and hardly any agent reach such a net annual premium, said Leiataua. So congratulations for all of the hard work that you have done throughout the past year.

Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, also congratulates the Sales Team for their hard work.

Think back on what weve learnt and the methods that need to be improved for the development of the corporation this year, he said.

We should also be looking at those people who cannot afford the service and in what ways we can help them.

49 percent of the elders in Samoa are not getting this support so you might want to think of ways we can be able to help this 49 percent to get this support.

Tiumalu is humbled by his success.

I want to thank my wife and family for their support. I know that without their understanding I wouldnt be standing up tonight to accept this award, he said.

I want to thank my General Manager, the management and all the staff of Samoa Life for their support and hard work.

Tonight I am so happy because this was one of my goals to win this award and there were a lot of challenges but on a personal level I achieve it.

So whats the secret?

Tiumalu said it is about explaining to people why life insurance matters.

I have been with Samoa Life for over 16 years I was in the division of loans, he said.

However, last year I joined the sales team so its been a year and a half since I joined the Sales team but now I am able to receive this award.

I have no secret but the key factor of being a good sales person is to never give up. For the work that I did I tried to make the people understand of how important it is to have life insurance.

When people truly understand the importance of life insurance they would want to come and join because they know that life is hard and if God suddenly calls them home at least they know that their children and family are financially supported.

Thats the secret behind it all.
Love what you do. Whatever that is.

That is the opinion of Apineru Apineru from Avao Savaii

Speaking to the the Village Voice, the 18-year-old believes life will be a lot easier if we love what we do  even when its hard.

I live to love my family, he said. I grew up in the village of Avao, Savaii all my life until my uncle called me last year to come and help him out with some of our family stuff here at Vaitele-Fou.

I finished my school when I was in Year 12 so that I could look after my parents and family.

Back in Savaii we have our own plantation to rely on, so we hardly buy anything from the shop. We grow bananas, taro and other crops which is both sold and used for daily meals.

Even though, we earn a little from our plantation but were still happy.

The only time we need money is when it comes to faalavelave, village and church obligations...I think those are the most expansive ones nowadays.

Apineru said there is a big difference between the life in Apia and Savaii.

Life is very peaceful and perfect in our village...I miss my family.

Apineru had to forgo his education to help his family.

That is the main reason I quit school. I believe God has different talents for everyone and I think my one (talent) is to look after my family and love them.

Many people ask me why; I answer them with a smile and say I do it out of love, I do it because my family is a gift and a blessing for me.

For me, my one and only priority is my family and now Im staying with my uncle....yes its good to experience life in Upolu.

As Ive told you before, I want to stay back and help out around the house.

Now, Im with my uncle and his children here in Upolu, Ill look try to find a job soon so that I could provide for my family.

For the future, Apineru feels that he can serve his family better with his farming skills that he had when he was young.

Living in Upolu, Im still trying to attach to the life here, I can see that people can do whatever they want to do, entitled to their own opinions....

At Avao, this is not the case, you have to make sure to take care of your actions, when you walk, talk, sit in wherever and everywhere youre going.

Were not allowed to eat and walk, talking while standing...and we all know, its all about respect (faaaloalo ma le ava fatafata).

He went on to say I have to be strong for those I love and that is all that matters most in life. Ill try to live my life to the fullest and try to stay away from unlawful behaviour because its a waste of time.
Have the courage to follow your heart.

So says Tafaoata Lepule, 57-year-old mother and grandmother of six from Vaitele-Fou.

Tafaoata believes that in this life, everyone goes through challenges but its how they respond that matters.

For her, life is constantly a struggle. Money is always an issue.

Personally, thats not a lie, Tafaoata told the Village Voice.

The fact is we can only spend $10 for just one to two items then gone, its not that easy and we have to stay strong and have faith.

With all the issues, Tafaoata said everyone needs to stand together and work together.

We all need to work together as one, she said.

For me, I have to make sure that theres a plate of food on the table to feed my grandchildren day and night.

She is worried that the high cost of living could lead to serious sickness and crimes.

Im praying that the high cost of living does not lead to mental illness, depression and many other issues we are seeing in the world today, she said.

Parents cant afford to put their children in school not only that, many youths have become violent and disobey their parents.

That means the number of crimes will increase.

To address these issues, she believes everyone has a part to play.

We want them to grow up healthy and be well educated, but not to struggle in life, he said.

The only hope is God. Remember when we pray and rely on God - miracles happen, mountains move, just let Him fight our battle.

He understands our daily struggles and Hes already made a way. Just believe and have faith.

To support her family financially, Tafaoata runs a barbeque on the side of the road.

I started this barbeque at the end of last year to help us out.

Ive made really good money from it, so thats why Ive decided to continue on until today... but for Saturdays only.

This is my contribution to my children especially my grandchildren.

Schools are back next week. To be honest I have many grandchildren and thats why Im doing this  I want to help them with their registrations at school, uniforms and much more.

I dont want to just sit around and do nothing. My children have all grown up, have their own (families), but that doesnt stop me from always being around them all the time.

The BBQ sales have picked up.

Last Saturday, I collected $200 profit for just one day, and it really helps. We sell turkey tail, chicken, ham, sausages and other food items for $10 a plate.

The reason we are running this little barbeque stall is to support and help my family financially.

I am very grateful to my children for always there for me when I need something, especially when sales are too low to deal with. And always work together.
Dear Editor

This is a power struggle between the P.M. (he should only hold one power) and Judges and Court System (the other of three powers).

There should always be three different and separate branches of government (power) in Samoa.

The P.M. should not interfere or control the other two branches of government in Samoa. Each of these three different branches (power) of the Samoa government checks and balances the roles and functions of the other branches.

This checking maintains the balance of power between the three branches and does not allow the Executive (administrators,) the Parliament (Prime Minister/Ministers) or the Judiciary (Judges and Courts) to assume too much or all power.

The Judiciary (judges and court system) should be independent of the Parliament (P.M./Ministers) and are very important for maintaining the balance of power in Samoa.

It is very important that the Judiciary (Court system) is independent of the P.M. (Legislature) and his influence.

No matter what the P.M. says about how inefficient the Judiciary is - he is lying! What the P.M. is trying to do is become the ultimate dictator (control all three power branches of Samoa politics  no, no, no, P.M.! You cant do that!)

He wants to be: (1) The Law Maker  P.M. makes all the laws in Samoa (P.M. should stick to only what is his only given power and not interfere with the other two powers)

(2.) The Judge  P.M. wants to interpret his laws the way he sees it (keep away from this power P.M. it belongs to the Judges and Court system!) The P.M. is lying when he says they are inefficient or he is receiving so many complaints - give us the hard evidence. Dont believe anything that comes out of his mouth.

(3.) The Administrator - the P.M. wants to have control of how to run the day to day operations (P.M. stop interfering with the day to day running of those offices  P.M. keep far away from there!)

The political system in Samoa should not bow down to any dictator like the Prime Minister. He has given limited powers for a very good reason (even if H.R.P.P. won 99% of votes it does not matter) and it is designed that way for the benefit of all Samoans.

Too much power given to one man (P.M.) makes him all crazy in the head. Again the political system in Samoa should be always based on the principle of the separation of powers into three (3) branches:

(1) Executive - execution of laws (2) legislative - Creation of laws and (3) Judicial - interpretation of laws

The Judges here are rightfully attempting to prevent the Prime Minister from gaining too much power.

So again for the Samoan political system to operate freely and fairly

the Executive does not create or pass laws (that is the role of the legislature (P.M. and Ministers.) The Executive does not interpret laws (that is the role of the judiciary (judges and court system).

The Executive only enforces the law that was created or passed by the legislature(P.M. and Ministers) and interpreted by the judiciary (judges and court system).

So the P.M. should not and cannot interfere with the Judge and court system. He knows that, but he is trying his best.

The P.M.s only job is to create and pass laws but not to enforce them (that is the executive division) otherwise he becomes the all powerful (having control of all three powers - law maker, judge and administrator)

Keith Alderson
For Temukisa Semo from the village of Leone, life is far from easy.

Aged 43, Temukisa is a mother of seven children.

Looking after seven children and budgeting the little money they get is tough.

Temukisa said her family has been struggling financially.

She said that she fears that her children will share the same fate as she does and they will struggle through life.

I am a mother of seven children, and I dont have a job, said Temukisa.

My husband is the only one who works, but he doesnt earn enough money for me and the children.

Four of my children are at the age where they can go to school and the other three are still young.

Temukisa went on to say that she helped to find money for her family by selling goods on the streets to earn extra money.

Like I said, we really struggle when it comes to money. But we always try and find ways to get ahead.

For me, I sell goods on the streets and one of my children helps me with selling.

He helps me after school and during the holidays. He has been helping me a lot all throughout the holidays.

I worry about him sometimes but then he is always offering to help me out. Sometimes I tell him to stay home, but he refuses to.

He said he wants to help me earn money for our family.

Temukisa did not hesitate to say that her family really needed help, financially.

You see the thing is, I have a big family to take care of. The money we get from my husband is never enough to raise my children and you know we also have other obligations.

This includes church donations, other things for the family and also family faalavelave.

Moreover, Temukisa said the cost of living is one of the reasons why it is hard for them.

You know it is tough when you try to stretch the little money you get to provide for your family.

Especially now that school is going to start soon, its going to be difficult because we have to buy school uniforms for the children, give them their lunch money and also provide stationery.

Life isnt cheap anymore.

However, having just graduated from a training programme by the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development, Temukisa is set to start a new beginning for her and her family.

I am grateful to the Ministry for selecting me as part of this programme. The programme was very useful and it was fruitful to be honest.

Ive learnt so many things from the training and I will use all the new skills and apply it to my life and family.

One of the areas we talked about is investing in our children. I know I havent been the best mother to my children, but thats because we dont have enough and I always struggle and hide my love for my children.

But deep down, I want them to grow up and have good lives.

So I will work hard on this new business I am going to start. I will start selling seis (flowers) and printed sarongs.

With the help of the Ministry and S.B.E.C. I will get the right tools that I can use for my business and save up money for the future of my children and family.

This year, I will send my children to Apia Primary School and I will keep pushing them to go to school and do well there.
Samoas Jordon Milroys Give a Little page says it all.

Ten towers climbed, 16 wheelchairs donated, 21,000 inspired, lets take it to the next level, Empire State Building.

And this week Jordon is doing just that.

He will be taking part in what has been billed as one of the most iconic events in all sports  the Empire State Building Run-Up (ESBRU).

This inspirational achiever who has Cerebral Palsy, will add to his 10 epic climbs around the world by climbing the 86 flights  1576, stairs of the Empire State Building on Wednesday February 1 (Tuesday January 31).

And its all to fundraise and raise awareness about disability.

Although for Jordon himself, he says, When I climb, I leave my disability at the bottom step.

According to the Empire State Building website, while visitors can reach the buildings Observatory via elevator in under a minute, the fastest runners cover the 86 floors in about 10 minutes.

His aim is always to raise awareness for people with disabilities, said his mother, Raema von Reiche on the eve of departing Samoa to support him.

He usually gets a bit nervous before each climb.

With Raema, will be family friend, Pepe McDermott and Jordons sister Luana Milroy who will be climbing with Jordon as his support person.

His record to date speaks for itself. Melbournes Eureka Towers 1800 steps in 2012; the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 2013; donating 16 rugged wheelchairs to young people in Samoa; eight more towers conquered  over 42,000 steps in total and 21,ooo supporters for his Jordons Climb for Awareness Facebook page.

Jordon and his support team are hoping that they too will receive support from any Samoans living in New York.

Meanwhile supporters can access Jordons Climb for Awareness Facebook page, www.facebook.com/jordonsclimb and keep up with updates in the Samoa Observer.

Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills. The ways CP effects Jordon are that he has mobility problems such as walking with bent kneels and fine motor skills, however, this is aided by wearing A.F.O.s ( leg supports) on his legs, as well as using a frontwards walking frame and a wheelchair for long distance. Jordon does not have any mental issues linked to Cerebral Palsy, however, when first coming into contact with him, this can be misjudged due to his slurred speech.
The government of Samoa need not worry about what will become of the facilities housing Samoas biggest, private employer, Yazaki Samoa.

Yazaki EDS Samoa is closing down at the end of this year.

Concerns have been raised not only about the potential loss of 700 jobs, but the future of the Yazaki facilities and buildings.

However, Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has assured the nation that there are a lot of other companies interested in operating from the Yazaki site who may also be able to absorb their unemployed staff.

Tuilaepa made the comments during his weekly talkback show with 2AP.

There have been a lot of proposals, said Tuilaepa.

Companies just cant wait for Yazaki to move out. Most of the proposals we have received, are from local companies.

One of the proposals is from a Mattress Factory, said Tuilaepa.

I didnt believe when I first got the proposal. But I went and had a look at the mattresses they make and I was surprised.

I touched the materials they use and the mattresses as well and they are very comfortable. Man, they were the best mattresses. Not like the other ones which will just give you back pains. These mattresses will help you live long.

Most of these mattresses are exported to Vietnam and Australia and this factory has asked to use the facility at Yazaki.

Moreover Tuilaepa said, other interested businesses include a call centre.

And they have asked to be able to use the whole space and facilities, said Tuilaepa.

There will be more than ten companies who can have call centres there and each will employ at least two hundred people.

Said Tuilaepa, there are also other businesses and companies who have made proposals to operate their businesses at the Yazaki.

The funny thing is, we were worried in the beginning that these facilities would go to waste. But whats happening now, is that there are a lot of people interested and demanding to use up this facility.

So we are just waiting now for Yazaki to officially close by the end of this year.

The date has not yet been finalized.
In government as in business, its easy to tell leaders from mere politicians: Leaders tend to produce results, while politicians settle for addressing problems, usually by spending more of somebody elses money.

Early this month, Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced his intention to address San Diegos homeless crisis, with details to come in a few weeks. This gives taxpayers a chance to demand that he lead instead.

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This homeless crisis did not start overnight and it will not be solved overnight, Faulconer said Jan. 12. But there is more that our region can do and will do. This is an unprecedented problem that demands an unprecedented level of cooperation.

The mayor is absolutely correct in his diagnosis. Yet he failed to mention the real tragedy of San Diegos crisis  it is entirely avoidable and readily fixable.

Dont get me wrong. There will always be homeless people, driven outside respectable society by endless combinations of bad luck, lousy decisions and untreated mental illness.

Still, it has been our collective, very local decision to leave them there. For many, especially the 1,100 or so whove lived outdoors for a year or more, those mentally and physically disabled people labeled unsheltered chronically homeless under the federal definition, societys neglect amounts to a death sentence.

The average chronic street camper dies somewhere between age 42 and 52, depending on which study you believe. Thats the prime of life for the rest of us, who can expect to live to 79.

Homeless deaths have more than doubled in San Diego, from 54 in 2014 (when Faulconer was elected mayor) to 117 in the fiscal year that ended in September.

And make no mistake, the survivors are suffering. Paramedics cope with conditions ranging from untreated mental illness and diabetes, to runaway staph infections and skin problems ordinarily confined to Third World countries.

Politicians would have us believe that homelessness is sad but inevitable, like some malevolent natural force.

But they are dead wrong. Homelessness is not the weather, and California is not Calcutta.

We know this because of remarkable success in other major cities. The best example is probably Houston (with Harris and Fort Bend counties), where a determined mayor, Annise Parker, built a public-private campaign that has rescued 77 percent of the regions unsheltered homeless population, reducing their numbers from 5,194 in 2007 to 1,186 as of last January.

During the same decade, San Diego Countys overall numbers of unsheltered people soared by 58 percent, from 2,950 to 4,658 in 2016, according to a federally mandated snapshot count held each January.

When it comes to leaving thousands of people to fend outside, San Diego has traded places with Houston in dramatic fashion. We are a national disgrace.

Even Los Angeles, a basket case if ever there was one, has reduced its unsheltered population by 13 percent (about 5,000 people) to a still-shocking 30,950.

Before the social media trolls blast me, theres no evidence that Houston or L.A. bussed large numbers of their homeless to San Diego. Besides, San Diego has shipped 1,000 out of town in recent years through a family reunification program, which many large cities operate.

City sheds 10,000 homes

Not only have we failed to pick up our homeless from the streets, but local and state politicians also have practically pushed them out.

Over the last six years, a Union-Tribune investigation found, San Diego officials have agreed to remove about 10,000 affordable units from the citys rolls, mostly to make them available for private redevelopment. That sum canceled out the entire total the citys housing commission helped build since 1979, despite a longstanding ordinance that requires one-for-one replacement of the cheap units used by the working poor and intermittently homeless.

As for the state, Proposition 47 and prison realignment has released tens of thousands of drug offenders and felony thieves from jail, even though politicians have broken promises to increase treatment and secure safe transitional housing for them.

The clear result: We have more addicts and other untreated mentally ill people living on the streets, and more felons available to prey on them  and the rest of society.

In this 2016 file photo, Waddell Robinson, 50, was waking up on a downtown sidewalk. Robinson, who said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and heard constant voices, had repeatedly had all his possessions stolen, leaving him without identification or a jacket. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune)

To me, our disgrace plows fertile ground for optimism. As we caused this crisis, so can we fix it.

Not surprisingly, effective leadership is more important than more taxpayer money.

Parker turned compassion into action as early as 1993, when she and her partner took in and raised a teen who became homeless when his grandparents kicked him out for being gay.

As Houstons mayor from 2010 to 2016, a first step was to reframe the usual struggles over public funding.

Homelessness is not fundamentally a resource issue, its about whether you can distribute those resources in an efficient way, Parker told me last week.

Its pretty much the Houston way: Make the business case, she said. Were not doing this because its the right thing to do for these poor homeless people, were already spending this money so lets spend it more effectively.

Houston starts with veterans

Parker started by accepting  and completing  a federal challenge to house 100 veterans in 100 days. After housing a second 100, and then a third, the city decided to adapt lessons from the campaign to Houstons general homeless population.

An early analysis found the city was spending $100 million a year on the homeless, much of it on emergency medical care. Yet programs to house and support them depended exclusively on federal and philanthropic funding, so the mayor couldnt simply redeploy homeless spending from the citys general fund.

The key was my ability to use my power as a convenor; to get everybody that does something with the homeless into the same room, Parker said.

She hired a special assistant, Mandy Chapman Semple, as the citys primary point of contact on homelessness. One throat to choke, as the former mayor puts it.

They spent the next couple of years identifying sources of funding and redirecting spending. This was essentially how Salt Lake City officials launched their dramatically successful effort in 2004. In Houston as in Utah, the process provoked blowback.

What most large cities have is a lot of really good nonprofits doing great work with the homeless. But they all want to hold onto their piece of cheese. Everybody works in parallel, Parker said. I had to be willing to be unpopular with some great organizations.

Houston officials found that shelters and transitional programs were used mostly by people who were homeless temporarily because of major life events, and rarely returned.

As is the case in San Diego, the big shortfall in Houston came in providing for the chronics, who by definition are so disabled that few can return to independent living.

So Houston got busy building several thousand apartment units, complete with ongoing social and medical services, to permanently house the chronically homeless. Parker replaced the head of the citys housing commission.

Hard choices have few friends

Adding units for the homeless required pulling resources from other low-income programs, which caused heartburn among progressives. And it provoked social conservatives who didnt like the idea of handing keys to people actively addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

Why would you give housing to some deadbeat? Parker said. They are there (on the street), they arent going away. If you want a different result, you need to do things differently.

Houston also created incentives for chronically homeless to accept all this new help.

We also did some tough-love things, I got vilified from coast to coast. We passed some ordinances that limited the ability of people to feed the homeless. If youre going to feed more than six people, you need a permit, Parker said. I had pastors coming down to council for weeks telling me I hated the homeless.

To help keep her accountable, she formed a business advisory council that included an archbishop, major philanthropist, head of the downtown business group and others. Every other month, the mayor and her adviser reported their progress to this council and listened to feedback.

Once the business community started to see tangible progress, private funding increased as well as broadened beyond the usual donors. A pastor recently disclosed that Beyonce, the music mogul, had given $7 million anonymously over the course of several years to house the homeless of Houston.

Can San Diego embrace this basic approach, of compassion combined with hard-nosed fiscal conservatism, to solve its crisis? Absolutely, if a leader will step forward.

Paradoxically, the dramatic decline in conditions for the homeless also boosts the opportunities to emerge as a great reformer.

Politically speaking, Faulconers greatest risk may come from doing too little.

San Diegos latest homeless population explosion coincides almost precisely with the first three years of his term. This mayor didnt cause the crisis by himself, but he surely owns it now.

Herbert Hoover didnt cause the Great Depression, yet the public saw the nations vast homeless encampments as Hoovervilles. If our booming tent cities arent yet Faulconervilles, they soon will be.

The mayor seems to realize that history is calling.

His plan outlined this month would add 300 emergency shelter beds, deploy 10 more psychiatrists to an outreach unit, urge nonprofits to use an existing database, and solicit proposals for an intake center.

Mayor floats hotel tax hike

And, most speculatively, Faulconer said he would ask voters to raise hotel taxes to expand the convention center and fix roads, with a portion going for the homeless.

Lets not beat around the bush. Along with being inadequate, much of the mayors plan so far is either naive or downright cynical.

For example, those 300 shelter beds dont even make up for recent losses. In 2015, cheered by Faulconer, the city stopped erecting winter tents and instead funded 350 year-round shelter beds at Father Joes Villages.

But the city didnt add beds somewhere else, so incoming shelter occupants simply shoved out homeless people trying to recover in Father Joes transitional programs. San Diego needs to triple the mayors number, right away.

Or consider the intake center. Great idea; a key ingredient to success in Houston and other cities.

Thats why homeless advocates in San Diego prepared a detailed plan to locate one at the edge of downtown, on 7 acres of the citys maintenance yard at B Street and 20th Avenue. It could securely house 800 homeless people in a contained, campus setting with access to full social and medical services, nearly eliminating San Diegos downtown problem in a matter of months.

The proposal has been on Faulconers desk since at least August. So why is he asking for proposals in January? Good question.

Then theres the convention center tax hike. If voters shunned higher hotel taxes in November to keep the Chargers  after rejecting a 2004 hike for public safety  what makes Faulconer think voters will embrace the homeless and the hotel industry in 2018?

I give the mayor credit for making a beginning.

Faulconer hired a assistant, Stacie Spector, to focus on homelessness policy. His Housing Our Heroes program, in less than 10 months, has helped about 500 people secure homes using Veterans Administration vouchers.

Relief for all renters, maybe

And in the long run, the mayors proposal to speed permitting and increase density for private-sector developments could  if boldly expanded someday  unchain the market forces required to solve the regions overall affordability crisis.

Some say San Diego could never build units like Houston can. Its just not true.

Our shocking housing costs flow directly from restrictive zoning, hefty fees and neighborhood opposition that chokes supply. Like the regions homeless population, all renters and would-be homebuyers suffer at the hands of local policy.

Yet so far, Faulconers efforts echo San Diegos past: Talk up some new spending and hope the problem goes away. There is much more he could do.

First, the mayor should declare a public emergency and refocus resources on the most needy.

The citys old library is vacant. Shelter tents can sprout quickly on empty lots. Monica Ball, a downtown Realtor, suggests a short-term lease for an empty fitness center in the East Village that offers 43,000 square feet, including showers and locker rooms.

Meanwhile, the city council should fast-track the permanent intake center on B Street and hire nonprofits to run the complex. Theres room to also build up to 400 spartan, low-cost units of permanent supportive housing for the most disabled chronics.

Every major homeless agency and nonprofit in San Diego County should be drafted to the enterprise, because every category of homeless person would pass through this and other intake centers for evaluation on their way to various programs. As incentive, the regional agency that distributes federal funding should tie grants to adoption of the existing database and participation in the intake process.

Donors ready to match?

One private estimate puts the intake cost at $6 million. Im told that prominent business leaders are ready to donate half the amount as soon as they see action from the politicians and $3 million in matching public funds.

Such emergency measures may appeal to the tough-love crowd.

We need to give the homeless three basic choices: Accept help, because now we have a bed for you; or heres a bus ticket out of town; or we have a jail cell ready if youd rather keep killing yourself out here doing drugs and urinating on sidewalks, says Bob McElroy, who as head of Alpha Project has improved thousands of lives over 30 years.

McElroy is convinced that adding significant housing for the homeless will reduce their numbers  not attract more.

The word will get out that if you want to come to San Diego, youve got to enroll in a program, he said.

Court orders have barred local police from clearing out homeless encampments on a large scale until there is enough housing for them all.

Giving a ticket to a person who has to sleep somewhere violates the 8th Amendment, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment, said Tim Cohelan, an attorney who sued to stop crackdowns.

Yet Cohelan told me this fall that he and other advocates would gladly back off once the city produced sufficient housing. They will need persuading, however, that permanent units are in the pipeline, because shelter beds can vanish as quickly as they appear.

This brings us to the harder, structural reforms that are badly overdue in San Diego, where nobody is in charge of homeless funding and nobody knows where all the money hides.

The biggest problem? The homeless have no lobby in San Diego, so they will never command a lasting share of public resources.

Heads of nonprofits dont stick their necks out, because politicians can  and do  chop funding of those who cause trouble or embarrassment. Of all major homeless service outfits, only San Diego Rescue Mission thrives without a dime of taxpayer spending, and even Rescue has faced opposition and zoning drama when it has tried to open facilities.

Here is where San Diegos business community is essential to solving this crisis for good. Writing checks is not enough.

If I controlled a hotel empire or tech fortune in this town, I would make it my business to replace any politician who allowed the helpless and the deranged to live on my streets.

Besides, San Diego is home to some of the worlds top developers and financiers. They can donate time and expertise as well as cash.

Plenty of money to spend

Movers and shakers should know they confront a target-rich environment.

County government, which holds $1 billion in cash reserves on its books and says it spends $158 million a year on homelessness and homeless prevention, clearly controls vast resources for ongoing social services and mental health care.

San Diego, where officials have said they spend $80 million a year on homelessness and prevention, has plenty of money for the relatively small population of unsheltered homeless.

For example, in 2008 the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ruled that San Diego had improperly borrowed more than $139 million of Community Development Block Grant money that was legally destined for programs to help the poor.

The purpose was to create new debt with no real intention of repaying it, so the city could shift tens of millions in extra property-tax revenue away from schools and other government entities.

Poor owed millions by city

A resulting settlement created a $215 million balance due from San Diegos former redevelopment agency to the citys CDBG part of the ledger, which must be used for the poor. The agency has just started to make payments, gradually. It can be bonded or redirected to homeless projects.

Then there is the city governments Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund, reported at a restricted balance of $319 million in 2016. Most of that staggering sum appears to be loans to developers that wont necessarily be repaid, but there is about $36 million in cash and land held for resale that seems readily available.

Another potent example comes from the San Diego Housing Commission. The agency spends most of its energy issuing federal rent vouchers and financing construction of subsidized housing, although its broad portfolio includes management of the citys homelessness efforts.

Sure enough, the commission helps fund housing, but the units come online slowly and generally cost between $300,000 and $500,000 apiece. Such costs, comparable to what the private sector pays to build luxury apartments, sharply reduce the total number of subsidized units.

Yet the commission struggles even to overspend. To wit, its cash equivalent reserves have grown from $76 million in 2007 to $148 million last year.

Rick Gentry, the commissions chief executive, says nearly all the cash is being held to fund future construction, maintenance and vouchers. State bureaucracy can slow project applications, and developers need money fast when the green light appears.

But theres no boom in public housing on the horizon to justify that level of hoarding. And in any case, the project slate for the next few years cant explain a near-doubling in cash over the last decade.

Moving at the speed of government

And remember, this is the same housing commission that failed to offset the loss of 10,000 low-income units in just six years. The fault lies with the mayor and city council and not Gentry, yet the housing commission has manifestly failed in its central task.

Nobody is slow walking, Gentry said in a recent interview. We are not sitting on money.

To be fair, Gentry is a smart and canny administrator. Yet passionate advocacy for the homeless and forthright civic leadership is not in his job description. Thats a problem, one of many in the commissions parastatal structure.

For openers, Gentry lacks a boss. Technically, the commissions governing board is the entire city council. But theres also an advisory board that is nominated by the mayor. The structure saps power from the commissions chief executive even as it diffuses political accountability for operational and strategic failures.

Giving the mayor direct control  and accountability  over housing policy seems like a no-brainer.

Another easy reform: San Diego demands from its own subsidized housing the same fees and other public costs that market-rate developers must pay, often totaling tens of thousands of dollars per unit.

The system seems crazy, until you realize that it allows the citys general fund to skim cash from housing projects financed mostly with federal tax credits, private donations and HUD funding. Waiving the fees would boost homeless housing production.

For those keeping score at home, this brings us to at least $400 million the city can muster in some fashion for the homeless. This is by no means an inclusive list, and doesnt include gains from efficiency.

Poor compete with the poorest

Speaking of money, San Diego officials must stop shirking hard choices that inevitably pit the poor against the poorer.

From 2005 through 2016, the housing commission helped fund construction or purchase and rehab of 8,018 subsidized units. Just 615 of those new units were designated for the homeless, over that entire 12 years.

San Diegos government will never produce enough subsidized housing for every low-income working family that wants or needs it.

But it can dramatically improve the lives of 1,100 or so chronically homeless. Not to mention save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars on emergency medical care, policing, jailing and other hidden costs.

Its the fiscally rational choice, no human decency required.

Before a chilly dawn Friday, hundreds of volunteers fanned throughout the county into canyons, parks, alleys and shelters to count and interview the homeless as part of the federal governments nationwide point-in-time count. There is no reason to believe that San Diegos total unsheltered population  measured at 4,658 a year ago  has declined substantially.

The human suffering behind such numbers is on very public display, especially in downtown neighborhoods.

Late last month, I met with a young homeless mother who, after enduring hours of labor under a tarp tied to a restaurant fence, gave birth in an emergency room to a girl with heroin and methamphetamine in her bloodstream. Thankfully, she gave the infant the enduring gift of adoption.

Near Horton Plaza I talked with a man, sober as a judge yet unable to remember his name, who described with great precision how Prince Charles was controlling our winter weather. And I met a mostly rational sidewalk resident who was living with seizure disorder, along with the indignity of having been robbed of his prosthetic leg.

Setting aside the case for compassion, consider the growing lawlessness and disorder multiplying in our communities.

One recent day as I strolled to work, a shock of white flesh alerted me to an elderly man, naked from the waist down, changing his underwear not 10 feet away. Two blocks later, a shirtless and shoeless young man dodged office workers to scrounge obsessively through bushes against a bank building, relaxing only after hed recovered a glass meth pipe, which he held up to the sun to inspect in plain view.

This is terrible for society. Such disorder tends to breed more serious threats to basic public safety.

Yet the experience of Houston and other cities suggests that compassion provides the fuel for significant progress. Fear is not enough.

San Diego needs a heart transplant when it comes to its homeless. Yet three years into his term, Mayor Kevin Faulconer is offering the policy equivalent of baby aspirin.

Previous columns in this series:

Street population soars after SD ups homeless spending (Aug. 21, 2016)

Back story: San Diegos homeless problem soars (Aug. 21, 2016)

Great weather cant explain away San Diego homeless crisis (Sept. 4, 2016)

Leniency has been hard on homeless (Sept. 18, 2016)

In failing the homeless, San Diego stands apart (Oct. 31, 2016)

In the agony of childbirth, a homeless woman finds help (Nov. 27, 2016)

Homeless for the holiday, yet joy flickers (Dec. 25, 2016)

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dan.mcswain@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1280 Twitter: @McSwainUT
CITY COUNCILS

CARLSBAD

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The Carlsbad Housing and Planning commissions have set two public meetings to discuss updates to the citys housing element, a state-required plan to ensure the city can meet future housing needs, including for low-income and special-needs residents. The housing element is part of the General Plan, the citys blueprint for land use. The Housing Commission will meet Feb. 9, and the Planning Commission Feb. 15, both at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive. Copies of the plan are available at city libraries, Faraday Center, Senior Center, City Hall and at www.carlsbadca.gov/planning. Comment at the meetings or by emailing scott.donnell@carlsbadca.gov. Call (760) 602-4618.

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas City Council will meet in special session at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive, for a community workshop on developing a legally compliant Housing Element Update.

ESCONDIDO

The Escondido City Council will meet in closed session to discuss litigation and property negotiations at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in City Council Chambers, 201 N. Broadway. In open session at 4:30 p.m., the council will discuss possible sites for a BMX course, including at Kit Carson, Mountain View and Jesmond Dene parks. The council will hold a public hearing on proposed water, wastewater and recycled water rate increases of 5.5 percent for five years, to take effect every March 1 from 2017 through 2021. Fax (760-735-5782) or mail protests by 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, or bring to the hearing. Protests must be signed by the owner or tenant and contain the address and/or assessor parcel number.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside City Council will meet in closed session at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Council Chambers, 300 N. Coast Highway, to discuss litigation. In open session at 4:30 p.m., the council will discuss the Railroad Crossing Safety Improvements project, which includes three traffic alterations on North Myers Street between Civic Center Drive and Sportfisher; and an ordinance amending city code to limit remarks by councilmembers to 10 minutes per item.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

ESCONDIDO

The Escondido Union School District board will meet in closed session to discuss litigation at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the district office, 2310 Aldergrove Ave. In regular session at 7 p.m., the board will hear updates on the Local Control Accountability Plan, and from the Declining Enrollment Task Force.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside Unified School District board will meet in closed session at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 2111 Mission Ave., to discuss litigation and the superintendents evaluation. In open session at 6 p.m., the board will hear a proposal from the city to install underground pipe and two injection wells at Foussat Elementary to pump treated water into an underground aquifer. The board will also discuss its long range facilities master plan.

POWAY

The Poway Unified School District board will meet in special closed session at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Courtyard Marriott, 11611 Bernardo Plaza Court, San Diego, to discuss the superintendent search. The board will also meet in closed session at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, to discuss a superintendent candidate. In open session at 6 p.m., the board will discuss board self-evaluation goals and the Safe Haven proposal.

SAN DIEGUITO

The San Dieguito Union High School District board will meet in closed session to discuss personnel at 6 p.m. Thursday at the district office, 710 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. In open session at 6 p.m., the board will consider an agreement with San Dieguito Alliance for Drug Free Youth to support the districts Tobacco Use Prevention Education program, including Friday Night Live clubs, minor decoy operations, Study Buddies, Start Smart Driving Safety Class and PTA training through June 2019, for $79,350.

SAN MARCOS

The San Marcos Unified School District board will meet in special session at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Media Center of the North County Regional Education Center, 255 Pico Ave., for a public hearing on the transition to by-district voting. The board will also conduct public interviews of consultants specializing in searches for public school superintendents.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com
In 1999, Dr. Ronald Epstein published a medical-journal article titled Mindful Practice that became required reading in medical schools across the country. Now the professor at the University of Rochester in New York has a new book, Attending, that uses case histories to explore how health care is improved when doctors get beyond rote approaches and pay closer attention to their patients. The commodification of medicine, he writes, has forced clinicians focus from the healing of patients to the mechanics of health care  productivity pressures, insurance regulations, actuarial tasks, and demoralizing metrics that measure what can be counted and not what really counts, sometimes ironically in the name of evidence-based and patient-centered care.

Dr. Ronald Epstein: Book reading and signing, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Warwicks, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Free; reserved seating available. (858) 454-0347 or warwicks.com

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john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-2236
Steve Bassett and his wife started working with Bread of Life Rescue Mission 14 years ago, after meeting the founders and discussing ideas for a mission project for the organization. The Bassetts had done similar work previously with another ministry program in Carlsbad by providing food, clothing and resources to people in need, and they were happy to move on to work on something new in Oceanside.

My wife and I felt we were called to service in this ministry and we had a passion for the needs of people who needed help, and God was pulling on our hearts to do more, he says.

Bassett, 69, lives with his wife, Raylene, in Oceanside and together they have five children and seven grandchildren. As director of Bread of Life, Bassett serves as pastor for the religious non-profit while also managing volunteers, conducting case management, and coordinating activities in the community. The organization serves six cities in North County (Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Escondido and Encinitas), feeding thousands of people each month and serving as a temporary sober and drug-free shelter from December through March of each year. Bassett took some time to talk about the work they do, how hed like to see them grow and his love of the outdoors.

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Q: In what capacity did you first begin working with Bread of Life?

A: I started as a volunteer for a few years and helped with cooking meals. My wife and I continued for that time and then were hired as part-time staff. We became more involved with organizing, setting people up to provide meals through a monthly calendar, and just trying to build and grow the services offered. We developed partnerships with other ministries, like North Coast Presbyterian Church in Encinitas and their food ministry. We partnered with them to get more food so we could open a food pantry, and after a couple of years, we were giving away a bunch of food from our pantry. All of this was part of our growth and growing into new areas to help people in need.

Q: Why did you want to start working with them?

A: During this time, we were seeing people change and many who werent doing well  either because of drug abuse or just not going in the right direction in life, generally  were making big, life-changing decisions. These were the very reasons God had called us to do this work with Bread of Life.

Q: What is your current role with the non-profit?

A: I work on the board of directors to build us into a place where people can come for help. The need is huge in the areas we serve, and we continue to try and do more in the different areas of service the mission provides. We see the need to open up shelter for more days than just December through March with our winter program. We see the need for a year-round mission that is open overnight for the homeless. This could help change our communities from having so many people on the streets.

What I love about Oceanside 

Where I live (in a retirement community), I enjoy talking to the people in the neighborhood about how they are doing in their later years of life.

Q: What are your responsibilities in this role?

A: As my job goes, its very busy and multifaceted. I have pastoral duties in helping those in need, and I also have organizational duties with regard to directing volunteers and people who take on supervisory roles. With case management, we invest time in the lives of others to help them move in a direction of self-sustainability, and get them working on their assignments to help them reach the goal of having a positive, sustainable life. I also go to meetings in the community, connecting with people in our areas Alliance for Regional Solutions  North County San Diego to meet and work together on all the needs of all the non-profits involved in helping the homeless community.

Q: What are some of the services you provide?

A: We have food boxes for people on fixed incomes and those who have no income. Our soup kitchen serves meals to those who are hungry, poor or homeless. And our winter shelter serves to help people get off the streets during the coldest months of the year.

Q: Which services seem to have the greatest need?

A: The greatest need is the winter shelter and to get into a home of their own. Although San Diego County generally has warm weather during most of the year, the outdoors can be unsafe, dangerous and unfit for anyone to be able to live a good life.

Q: What are your goals for Bread of Life?

A: Wed like to some day have a facility owned by the ministry, to become a year-round facility for housing people who need shelter while also helping them get permanent housing for themselves; to have an ongoing food program that provides meals and helps people with food, like food boxes for temporary help. Were different than most faith-based non-profits in that we have chapel service, we have prayer and continue to be a religious organization, but we go from that to operating as an ongoing winter shelter that has no religious services, and we have an overnight program that receives federal funds. We do a great job of separating church and state.

Q: Whats involved in case management and why are people required to be sober in order to receive assistance?

A: Case management is part of what we use as a memorandum of understanding, requiring all shelter clients to follow. If they follow the instructions of their case managers, this allows them to stay in the program until we get them on track and into housing. Anyone who comes to Bread of Life for our soup kitchen meals or for our shelter program must be sober and not use drugs; if not, we refer them to a recovery program and afterward they can receive services. We do this because we want to avoid having problems in the soup kitchen or the shelter, and also because many of our clients are recovering from these kinds of addictions themselves.

Q: What do the people who come to your organization say that they find most helpful?

A: They mostly say that they feel the love we give them, a sense of being part of our family and a break away from the loneliness of living on the streets.

Q: What do you think other people misunderstand about homelessness?

A: Most people think most homeless people are on drugs or drinking alcohol, and many are, but some are also victims of losing their jobs, divorce, loss of a spouse or partner, or serious health issues that are prohibitively expensive.

Q: Has your work with the organization changed your perspective on homelessness?

A: Yes, very much so. After many years of serving in prisons and jails doing outreach work, Ive changed a lot in terms of believing more in people and having more hope.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: To be patient and listen to what people say about their lives and what they tell me about their dreams to prosper.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A: Maybe I have a little redneck blood in me because I like being outdoors camping, fishing and hunting.

Q: Describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: Camping out at the ocean and being with family and friends.

Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @lisadeaderick
Hundreds of California teachers gathered Saturday in downtown Los Angeles to protest President Trumps nominee for secretary of education, calling her an extremist with an anti-public school agenda.

Members of the California Teachers Assn., which represents 325,000 teachers, urged the rejection of Betsy DeVos nomination at her Senate committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Her blatant extremist, anti-public school political agenda violates every students civil rights at the most basic level, the CTA said in a statement. Social justice for all begins with a quality, free public education.

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DeVos, a Republican fundraiser from Michigan, has supported the growth of for-profit charter schools and the use of public money to subsidize tuition at private schools. Although Trump said little about education on the campaign trail, he did at one point suggest that legislation to create a major school voucher program would be one of his priorities for his first 100 days.

On Saturday, the National Education Assn. also issued a statement denouncing DeVos nomination, saying, she would be the first secretary of Education with zero experience with public schools. She has never worked in a public school. She has never been a teacher, a school administrator, nor served on any public board of education.

carlos.lozano@latimes.com

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Yoga instructor Shawna Schenk said she was in the middle of an hour-long drum circle in Sedona, Ariz., in March when it dawned on her that San Diego needed a yoga festival  and she needed to make it happen.

Ten months later, the San Diego Yoga Festival launched in Ocean Beach, with some 800 people participating in the four-day celebration of the diverse ways people from all walks of life can harness the practices healing power, even if they cant touch their toes.

Writing is yoga; surfing is yoga, Schenk said Saturday. Its anything that allows you to talk to yourself. If youre drinking wine and stretching your mind, I support you.

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Starting Friday, festival-goers had their choice of dozens of ways to get their yoga on, from participating in traditional classes overlooking the ocean, to a namastoked sunset surf session, to wine-tasting-based yoga and yoga with canine friends at the dog beach.

1 / 14 Attendees participate in Inspirational Bhakti Flow Yoga at Sunset Cliffs during the San Diego Yoga Festival. Bhakti Flow Yoga is a style of yoga that emphasizes the connection between the breath and the movements of the body. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 14 Kevin Paris provides the soothing music to students in the Wine and Yoga: Vino-Vinyasa class held in the tasting room at Gianni Buonomo Vintners on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach during the San Diego Yoga Festival. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 14 Aly Auffenberg, along with others, participate in Cardio-Yoga-Mindful Tapas for Power and Strength class near the Ocean Beach Pier, led by instructor Melanie Williams during the San Diego Yoga Festival. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 14 Attendees participate in Inspirational Bhakti Flow Yoga at Sunset Cliffs led by instructor Jack Greene during the San Diego Yoga Festival. Bhakti Flow Yoga is a style of yoga that emphasizes the connection between the breath and the movements of the body. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 14 Those who took the Wine and Yoga: Vino-Vinyasa class held in the tasting room at Gianni Buonomo Vintners on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach during the San Diego Yoga Festival were surrounded by wine barrels. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 14 The four-day San Diego Yoga Festival which began on Friday and runs through Monday January 30th, has events at numerous locations around Ocean Beach. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 14 Yoga instructor, Rachel DeRose-Hosler, leads a yoga class for children with Maya Smith and McKenna Carroll during the San Diego Yoga Festival. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 14 Attendees participate in Inspirational Bhakti Flow Yoga at Sunset Cliffs during the San Diego Yoga Festival. Bhakti Flow Yoga is a style of yoga that emphasizes the connection between the breath and the movements of the body. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 14 Attendees participate in Inspirational Bhakti Flow Yoga at Sunset Cliffs during the San Diego Yoga Festival. Bhakti Flow Yoga is a style of yoga that emphasizes the connection between the breath and the movements of the body. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 14 San Diego Yoga Festival attendees participate in Cardio-Yoga-Mindful Tapas for Power and Strength, near the Ocean Beach Pier. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 14 Attendees participate in Inspirational Bhakti Flow Yoga at Sunset Cliffs led by instructor Jack Greene during the San Diego Yoga Festival. Bhakti Flow Yoga is a style of yoga that emphasizes the connection between the breath and the movements of the body. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 14 Tina Kroger along with others participate in the Wine and Yoga: Vino-Vinyasa class held in the tasting room at Gianni Buonomo Vintners on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach during the San Diego Yoga Festival. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 14 Julie Dassault Remillard, along with others participate in the Wine and Yoga: Vino-Vinyasa class held in the tasting room at Gianni Buonomo Vintners on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach during the San Diego Yoga Festival. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 14 San Diego Yoga Festival attendees participate in Cardio-Yoga-Mindful Tapas for Power and Strength, near the Ocean Beach Pier, led by instructor Melanie Williams. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune)

On Saturday, more than 20 vendors had set up tents in the grassy park next to the Ocean Beach pier, offering jewelry, yoga pants, crystals, chakra tune-ups, spiritual readings, organic juice and healthy snacks. People, many of whom brought their dogs, watched yoga demonstrations that seemed to defy gravity and listened to soothing music played on a Bali handpan.

Festival-goers young and old attended yoga classes, workshops and meditations in the park, on the beach, at nearby businesses, and at Sunset Cliffs, hosted in partnership with 70 San Diego businesses.

Planning and executing the festival was a nine-month labor of love, said Melanie Williams, owner of TriPower Yoga in Ocean Beach, and co-coordinator for the festival.

We felt like we needed to usher in new life to San Diego yoga, and we felt like nine months is how long it takes to make new life, Williams said.

Instead of presenting yoga as a traditional practice of breathing and stretching, Williams and Schenk wanted the festival to help people see that yoga can be almost anything, and that it welcomes everyone.

The festival is the full rainbow spectrum of everything yoga can be, Williams said. Every time youre moving mindfully, thats yoga.

For Rachel DeRose-Hosler, a yoga instructor at Pollinated Palette in San Diego, children are particularly fun students, because they demand creativity in their practice.

On Saturday, DeRose-Hosler led a childrens yoga class on the grass at the park near the Ocean Beach pier. They arranged their mats in a circle in the shade of several palm trees and stretched out for moves with kid-friendly names, such as windshield wiper legs.

Children are also fun because they are natural yogis, DeRose-Hosler said. They are innately true to themselves and their values, and at its heart, thats all yoga is.

Yoga is just being with yourself and going inward, she said. You dont have to be able to touch your toes. You just have to be able to sit with yourself and listen to yourself and breathe, and thats yoga.

One of the girls practicing Saturday with DeRose-Hosler said the best part about yoga is how it makes her feel.

I like how you get to calm yourself down, and it lets your frustrations come out and makes you calm down, said Maya Smith, 9, of San Diego.

Finding that calm, quiet place where one can be at home with oneself is what gives yoga its healing, anxiety-destroying power  not the exercise one gets from stretching, said Madan Bali, a 92-year-old yoga teacher from Montreal who taught a class Saturday at the festival.

Its not about abs of steel, its about decompressing your gut, Bali said.

Schenk and Williams said they hope to put on the festival again next year.

Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35

morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com
Herb Johnson has announced he plans to step down as the San Diego Rescue Missions president and CEO this June after more than a decade leading one of the regions best known homeless agencies.

I have been truly blessed and humbled to serve the San Diego Rescue Mission for these past 11 years, Johnson, 73, said Tuesday. With Gods grace, I have witnessed first-hand how lives do change here. We have become a strong and determined voice for the homeless. I have had the deep honor to work with an outstanding board of directors, staff and community. We have done good work together.

Johnson said his retirement will be effective June 30, but he plans to remain a part-time consultant into early next year.

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This has been a great run, he said. Ive had a chance to build a lot of programs.

Johnson said one of missions biggest accomplishments in the past decade was the creating of a recuperative care center, and hes also proud of the rebuilt Nueva Vida Haven emergency shelter for women and children. Staff members also were relocated to a building across the street, and improvements were made to the main building that houses clients and provides services.

Its a great job, he said. One of the best jobs Ive ever had, and not what I intended to do.

Before being hired as the head of the mission, Johnson was a volunteer at the nonprofit and already had a successful 30-year business career that included leading Summit Concept, a supply chain and executive partnership firm based in San Diego. He also served as executive vice president for supply chain management of Premier, Inc., president of the Council of Logistics Management,and held critical roles for the national drug store chain CVS Corporation, a $16 billion business.

Johnson said the last decade has been rewarding, but its taken its toll.

Im still here plugging away at a very worthy job, but a job that takes a lot of energy, he said. Its very common for me to be home signing signatures until 10:30 or 11 oclock at night. And I put myself in as many places as I can.

Johnson said the time was right for retirement. None of the people he graduated with are still working, and two close friends who were younger than him died in the past year, he said.

Following his retirement in June, Johnson said he plans to take a few months off but return as a consultant around September to work part-time for another six months.

Until then, Johnson said hes looking ahead to more innovations at the nonprofit, which next month will beginning working with the San Diego Community College District to offer classes at the mission.

I think hes a remarkable guy, a man for all seasons, said County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister, a friend of Johnson since the late 1990s. I think hell be missed, and he wont give up his passion for this important subject.

McAllister said the retirement was difficult for people concerned with the plight of the homeless.

Its kind of a sad day because he has meant so much to the Rescue Mission, he said. This guys a 24/7 worker. He never lets up with his compassion for others.

McAllister also called Johnson, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a well-educated man who is very street-savvy.

In a recent blog post, Johnson wrote about how he spent three hours at the front door of the Rescue Mission, personally greeting people coming in for Thanksgiving dinners.

I feel so blessed to be able to offer these individuals a chance at a new life, new hope, he wrote.

To bring greater attention and empathy to the homeless, in 2007 Johnson introduced Sleepless San Diego, a day of service opportunities followed by a night of sleeping outdoors. The event draws more than 1,000 participants.

Each month, the Rescue Mission provides nearly 12,500 nights of shelter to San Diegos homeless, serves more than 37,000 hot meals, and provides more than 82,000 hours of education, work training, rehabilitation and Christian care to residents in its long-term care programs.

Johnson and his wife, Carol, live in Kensington and have five children and 12 grandchildren. They are active members in Christ United Presbyterian Church, and both spend significant time serving on several boards throughout the county.

The Rescue Mission was founded in 1955 and is the only major homeless shelter in San Diego that does not receive government funding for its program. It offers shelter, restorative care and rehabilitation services to the homeless, addicted, abused, and poor in the community.
Ralph Bronners heart may have been in Wisconsin  where he was born, raised and worked  but his soul was in North County, the home base for the soap company founded by his father.

Mr. Bronner and his brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Trudy, took formal leadership of Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps in the 1990s, a financially difficult time for the company.

Together, the trio led Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps out of bankruptcy and into a new era of stability and growth, while maintaining the original All-One philosophy and mission of social responsibility. The company was based in Escondido for decades before moving to Vista last year to accommodate its growth.

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Mr. Bronner, whose official title with the company then was vice president but he was known by everyone as Uncle Ralph, became a one-man promotional force for the family business upon his retirement from teaching. He visited stores, handing out soap samples  often staying to play his guitar and sing.

He would fly out, hop in his (company) van, and drive around to visit everyone, said Bertine Kabellis, a longtime friend of the family and general manager of a Dr. Bronners warehouse in Vista. He treated everyone as if they were relatives, whether hed known you for a minute, a year or 50 years.

When I started working for the company in inside sales and would call around the country, people would ask, Hows Uncle Ralph? I would hear stories of Uncle Ralph walking into a store and giving the manager $50  to buy employees lunch. He would walk into a health food store and end up staying for hours telling stories and singing songs.

Mr. Bronner died Feb. 10 of complications from a heart attack at a Milwaukee hospital. He was 78.

Amid the companys financial troubles, advisers urged Ralph and Jim Bronner to sell a 1,200-acre parcel that their father, Emanuel Bronner, had bought in the 1970s in Chihuahua Valley north of Warner Springs, where Emanual Bronner had attempted to develop a rainforest.

My grandfather made no preparations for passing on the company, so there was a lot of debt from the inheritance tax, about $3 million, and about the same amount in annual revenue, said Michael Bronner, Mr. Bronners nephew and the current vice president.

The brothers refused to sell, and instead donated the land  worth $1.4 million at the time  in 1998 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. The nonprofit planned to build a residential camp and outdoor education center. Despite years of work on camp plans, the project proved financially impractical because of environmental regulations, said Danny Sherlock, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater of San Diego.

The Bronner family allowed the nonprofit to sell the property to finance construction of a much-needed Boys & Girls Club in Valley Center. The James A. Bronner Family Branch opened in March 2013.

We have a beautiful club there and kids go there every single day, Sherlock said. It wouldnt have happened without the funds from the sale of the property. Over 100 kids a day go to that club.

Ralph Bartholomew Bronner was born June 12, 1936, in Milwaukee to Emanuel Bronner and Paula Wohlfarht Bronner. Mr. Bronner was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with a degree in education and a reading certification. He taught reading and audio visual classes at John Muir Middle School in Milwaukee for 32 years. He was a member of St. John United Church of Christ and the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, where he had served as vice president.

Mr. Bronner was a fixture around Escondido, visiting his brother and sister-in-law often, particularly during his summers off. He would call ahead to the former Metaphor Cafe downtown, where he liked to play music, to let owners know he was coming town, often before he told his family, his nephew said. Kabellis, neighbors with Jim and Trudy Bronner, first met Mr. Bronner 18 years ago, long before she joined the company. Mr. Bronner would visit the Kabellis childrens schools, including Westminster Presbyterian preschool and L.R. Green Elementary, to play music and sing camp songs for the students.

The kids were mesmerized by him, Kabellis said. The kids loved him, and he loved them.

Mr. Bronner is survived by his sons, Eric of St. Louis, and Mark of Wisconsin; sisters-in-law, Trudy Bronner and Heide Putensen; and 11 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Gisela; son, Scott of Lancaster, Pa.; brother, Jim; and sister, Ellen.

A celebration of life was held in Menomonee Falls, Wis. The family suggests memorial donations to The Dr. Bronners Family Foundation or Wellspring, Inc., an educational center and organic farm in Wisconsin.
A few readers last week contacted the Union-Tribune to say they didnt like the play in last Sundays paper of the Womens March in San Diego. They had wanted to see it covered with a big A1 photo.

A picture from the Womens March in Washington, D.C., received the lead play  a six-column wide, 6-plus-inch-deep shot. Below it appeared a two-column wide, 2-plus-inch-deep photo of a girl at the San Diego event. The caption teased to a story on the San Diego march on A3 written by three U-T staffers. The story was accompanied by two photos  a six-column-wide shot and one three columns wide.

The coverage was insufficient for reader Jean Walcher of South Park.

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I just wanted to voice my great disappointment at the ... coverage of Saturdays Womens March in Sundays paper, Walcher wrote. To be among 40,000 fellow San Diegans marching through downtown San Diego was beyond inspiring. Many of us would have been so excited to have looked at Sundays paper and been greeted with a big front-page photo of our hometown march. Instead, the cover photo was of the D.C. march, and we were relegated to A3.

I know the paper had photographers there, so cant understand this thinking of not featuring our hometown march. Would have resonated so much more for your readers.

The event was a rare occurrence  tens of thousands of people marching in San Diego eclipsed by an even more enormous related demonstration in the nations capital.

We too thought depicting San Diegos march on page 1 was important, which we did with the photo of the young girl and a reference to our comprehensive local story on A3, said U-T Design Director Michael Price, who designed that days A1. But the home base, if you will, of the protest was D.C. Washington was its heart, all other protests across the country and the world sprung from the plan to march on Washington.

The photo we chose to run largest on A1 and its accompanying national story, I believe captured the sweep and gravity of the event in terms of reporting and visuals, and provided the context necessary to support what was nearly five pages of related coverage.

Massive protest and a profanity

Reader Paul Tessaro of Mission Hills caught something in last Sundays front page photo of the Womens March with aid of his iPad, which he used to enlarge the picture.

In the lower right, a sign can be seen that displays the vulgar word President Donald Trump used in the infamous Access Hollywood recording in 2005. Although small, the word can be read without the photo being enlarged.

Photo editors routinely scan protest-type shots when they edit photos to guard against profanity being published.

If we dont run those words in stories, we dont run them in photos, said David Poller, one of the U-Ts photo editors.Despite photo editors best efforts, a word or image can slip by, especially when the photo is like the one of the Womens March, in which a sea of handmade signs appeared.

San Diego Countys Mount Laguna

A story on A1 Jan. 20 about the weather reported on how much snow was expected to fall on the peak of Mount Laguna. A story about the weather Jan. 21 also referred to the top of Mount Laguna. Can you spot the error?

Gary Mortenson, a former U-T copy editor, did and called in. Mount Laguna is an unincorporated community in the Laguna Mountains. It is not a mountain peak.

adrian.vore@sduniontribune.com
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP)  Hundreds of people have been marching through the streets of Bolivias capital tossing flowers and dancing to celebrate the return of a 2,000-year-old icon of the god of prosperity, Ekeko.

The Museum of History in Bern, Switzerland, recently sent the 6-inch (15.5-centimeter) image back to Bolivia.

It was created by the Pucara culture that flourished from about 200 years B.C. to 200 years A.D. near the shores of Lake Titicaca.

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Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi reportedly took the icon from several locals in 1858 in return for a glass of cognac.

Saturdays celebration comes during the feast of Alasita  a word meaning buy me in the Aymara language. Its held each year in honor of Ekeko.
I do love an invitation. Last week I signed up for a pretty exciting trip to Orange Walk. Most exciting because, for years, I was operating under the belief that those who visited the northwest district of Belize were going to see one of Belizes grandest Mayan sites  Lamanai. Only.

Its a do not miss.

But Orange Walk, also known as Shuga City, is known throughout Belize for much more. Lamanai, sugar production, tacos, the Mennonite communities and rum. And I had tried to get tours of the last five on the list  unsuccessful. Id even scheduled appointments with the rum company and arrived to find them closed.

Sowhen I received a full itinerary from Lamanai Landings Resort & Marina, I immediately signed up.

Let me tell you about one of the busiest 24 hours Ive spent in a long time. Friday at noon, I met the group at the Smokey Mermaid in Belize City. Located on the bottom floor of Belize Citys beautiful colonial building  the Great House Hotel.

We were whisked off to David and Debbie Geggs new enterprise  RAZ or the Rain Forest Adventure Zone. Located in Sand Hill, about 30 miles north of Belize City, the area is easily accessible by the Northern Highway. They have set up 6 brand new ziplines (all the equipment was still shining), rafting and kayaking on the Belize River and a bunch of other attractions.

As we entered, we passed a few of the crocodile ponds. Working closely with ACES (the American Crocodiles Sanctuary), many crocs (often problemed ones  who are hurt or are too comfortable around humans) are relocated from other parts of the country now live in ponds here.

First the morelets. Did I mention it was a GORGEOUS day?

And then a larger pen for JAWs, a wounded expat from San Pedro, who lives in his own pond thanks to a grant from the Bridgitte Bardot Foundation (who knew?). You can check out his story here  super sad picture but so good to see him here and safe.

Our afternoon, starting with lunch, was jam packed. Lets start with zipping. 6 lines  many going over the Belize River.

Always the ridiculous group photo in the oh-so-flattering safety helmets.

Thanks Janelle of the San Pedro Sun for this shot of me. In case there are some Doubting Thomases out there.

Next was a tractor ride though the really pretty savanna, cashew farm and past a few bulls and their harems  this can also be a 30 minute hike but we were running behind schedule and had lots of other stuff to see.

We stopped once to see a part of a trail that highlighted traditional Mayan life  that of the working folks rather than the elite who were living in the famous ruins.

We saw a traditional hut, cooking methods and some crazy fierce traps that were set for animals and birds. I love this fish trap

We made our way to the New River for a bamboo raft tour (you can also kayak). I wont lieI was a bit suspicious of this water craft. A few bamboo poles strapped together

We drifted lazily on the river, very Huck Finn if Finn had been spotting howler monkeys, crocs and orange iguanas.

It was getting late. We loaded into the van heading to the hotels for dinner, a croc tour on the lagoon and an early wake-up for a jam packed morning. We arrived in the evening, checking into our rooms

very comfortable bed, sitting area and set right over the little lagoon with a private balcony

heres the morning view of the property

and had a huge meal. Ceviche and salpicon (which, if you havent tasted it, is a delicious salsa made with cooked pork dish, like a pork ceviche), fresh fish and flan and key lime pie for dessert.

The croc tour is similar to the one in San Pedro  kids and teens absolutely LOVE itactually most people do. The guide teaches you all about crocodiles and why they are so unique. He them gets in the water (AT NIGHT!) and wrangles one into the boat. Seriously. A bit of learning with a dose of adrenaline.

Up early for birding. My interest in birds has been growing. On 7 miles north on Ambergris Caye, Ive been spotting some AMAZING birds. Great horned owls, wood storks, roseate spoon bills. I EVEN bought a Birds of Belize book  such a great manual. That basically means that I am one serious birder.

The small lagoon at the hotel is gorgeous. And filled with birds  in about 15 minutes we saw a grooved bill ani, herons, egrets, olive throated parakeets, a snail kite, an anhinga, blue-grey tanager and more.

Thats my kind of birding.

NEXT! We were off to Shipyard, a conservative Mennonite Village about 15 minutes away  and for my favorite tour. A few years ago, with a friend, we drove through this very village and while it was interesting, it was just looking at folks through a window. Ive long wanted a more in depth experience and this tour was a great start. Lamanai Landings Resort can also set you up with an one day trip where you tour and eat with a Mennonite family. I am ready to sign up.

I remember on my first visit to Belize being a bit shocked to see Mennonites and then to learn that they make up almost 4% of the population.

We drove into Shipyard, picked up a local guide named Aaron and made a number of stops and asked about one thousand questions. Heres a bit of what I learned

The Mennonites in Belize moved from Russia to Canada to Mexico to Belize looking for freedom from government intervention.

All of Shipyard is private property  the community maintains the roads, street lights and has their own local government

Almost everyone in the community speaks Spanish and then, at home and with others, Low German. Here are two school books in the local store.

Everyone uses horse & buggies for transport. Driving cars & trucks is not allowed  so they hire outside drivers when trucks are needed.

The area is organized in camps  a map our guide had in his wallet.

We stopped at the markets, at the seed shop, at the Medical clinic and just gawked at the beautiful green farming landscape. One not always expected in tropical Belize.

I feel as though I am forgetting something; we did so much. After lunch, we were whisked back to Belize City for the trip home. 24 hoursabout 6 different activities. Or more.

A really really good time. And NOW I can easily answer your question when you ask What is there to do in Orange Walk?

Thanks Lamanai Landings.

And so that you remember when you visit, please, stick a pin in it.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Two Florence County sheriffs deputies have received the Medal of Valor from the South Carolina Sheriffs Association.

The two were honored during a special ceremony Thursday evening in Columbia.

This is the second Medal of Valor that Cpl. William Odom and Deputy Tyler Urquhart will have received since September when the pair saved a womans life after her vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer and began burning.

On Sunday, Sept. 25, Urquhart and Odom were parked in their patrol vehicles near the Interstate 95 and U.S. 52 interchange. It was around 11:30 p.m. when the men heard a call about a collision on northbound I-95 involving a passenger vehicle that had rear-ended an 18-wheeler.

We just happened to be two and a half three minutes out, Urquhart said. When we came up the hill on I-95, thats when you could see it. The car was wedged underneath the trailer and was starting to catch on fire.

Urquhart was in the southbound lanes when he saw the crash scene and knew he didnt have time to double back, so he parked his patrol car and ran across the median. Odom arrived at the same time as Urquhart and both saw the driver was still trapped in the burning vehicle.

Odom grabbed a fire extinguisher from the driver of the tractor-trailer while Urquhart searched for a way inside the burning vehicle. As Urquhart broke the rear driver-side window, Odom fought the flames, trying to keep them away from the driver, who was struggling to free herself.

The drivers door was pinned so we couldnt get it open, Urquhart said. We had to bust the back glass out and then I reached in there and open the door. I reached in to lower her seat. Everything slowed down at that point.

The fire was coming into the drivers compartment. I just kept knocking it down, trying to keep it down, Odom said. Then we had the 18-wheeler tire that was on fire and I said, If one of them blows its going to throw fire all over us. It was a mess.

The deputies were able to free the woman just moments before both her vehicle and the tractor-trailer were engulfed in flames.

All I could think was two more minutes, Odom said. Lets say we werent at 95 and 52 or if we wouldve went down and doubled back, theres no way shed have made it.

The woman survived but suffered serious injuries during the crash. She was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released. Neither of the men knows what the ultimate cause of the wreck was.

The deputies havent heard from the victim herself since the crash, but said they have been contacted by her family members, who praised them for their bravery and expressed their unending gratitude for their life-saving actions.

Her daughter sent me a message on Facebook and thanked me, Odom said. It means a lot. It feels good to be appreciated. It keeps you motivated to get out here and keep working hard.

Ive spoken to both her daughters, Urquhart said. That was the most encouraging part of all of it, the family reaching out. Thats when things start to sink in that you really made a difference.

The men have received multiple awards and recognition for their heroism including a resolution of appreciation by the Florence County Council and two Medal of Valor awards: one from the state sheriffs association and the other from the state law enforcement association. Media outlets from across the state reported their story. But the deputies dont see themselves as heroes at all.

For Urquhart, the recognition and publicity are not something he expected or wanted. Urquhart said he was just doing his job.

Its nice to get a good job every now and then but this is overwhelming to say the least, Urquhart said. Everybody gets that once in a lifetime opportunity and this was it.

For Odom, saving a life just creates a deeper passion for his career as a law enforcement officer.

You dont forget it, Odom said. It makes you love your job more and appreciate it.

When you save a life, it makes everything worthwhile.
South Carolinas new governor, Henry McMaster, has boatloads of political and governmental experience. But that doesnt mean he cant learn a little, especially from people who have occupied the same seat that he took over this week.

From predecessor Nikki Haley, sworn in this week as Americas ambassador to the United Nations, McMaster can learn the lesson of being seen when it matters. Haley might want people to remember her for being a governor of job creation, but that was an obvious priority at the tail end of a recession. It might be better for McMaster to look at how Haley dealt with various crises  a hurricane, floods shootings  during her six-year tenure and realize that part of effective leadership is taking charge in a crisis and being seen a lot by people to illustrate things are under control.

From her predecessor, Mark Sanford, McMaster might learn more of what not to do as governor. Sanford had a my way or the highway attitude in dealing with the legislature, which often pitted him against lawmakers of his own party. The takeaway from this relationship for McMaster should be to listen more.

Former Gov. Jim Hodges used innovative thinking and political muscle to get approval of his big-ticket agenda item: an education lottery. It has wildly exceeded expectations, opening the doors of college to tens of thousands of South Carolinians like never before. From Hodges, McMaster can learn to think outside the box.

The four-year term of Gov. David Beasley offers the lesson of courage for McMaster. As governor, Beasley, a Republican, sought to remove the Confederate flag from the top of the Statehouse dome. He also opposed unregulated video poker, incurring the political wrath of the gambling lobby, which poured millions into Hodges campaign. While Beasley lost his 1998 re-election bid, the flag eventually came down and video poker went away. Beasley later won the coveted John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for standing up to institutional forces and doing the right thing.

The leadership style of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell, a Republican who led the state for eight years with a Democratic legislature, offers lessons for McMaster. Many people might remember Campbell for his focus on getting government to work more like a business or for pushing restructuring after Operation Lost Trust cracked the old way of doing business at the Statehouse. But as former Campbell top staffer Bob McAlister recalled this week, In these times of incredible political turmoil where people are spitting vitriol and acid out of their mouths, the modern interpretation of Carroll Campbell is how to get things done with people with whom you dont agree philosophically. (This is a lesson that might have served Sanford and Haley, too, in their dealings with state lawmakers.)

Dick Riley of Greenville will be remembered forever as South Carolinas education governor. Riley, who later served as U.S. secretary of education under President Bill Clinton, continuously pushed South Carolina to do more to educate its children during his two terms as governor. Even today through the Riley Institute at Furman University, Riley beats the drum of bettering education to improve opportunities for the states residents. Recent governors havent had strong education records. McMaster would be wise to pick up the drumsticks and push for full funding of K-12 education as well as more early kindergarten opportunities.

Finally theres former Gov. Fritz Hollings, challenged in 1986 for his U.S. Senate seat by a young McMaster in his first political bid. While Hollings prevailed, McMaster can look back to Hollings days as governor (1959-63) and find inspiration related to innovation (technical education and economic development) and focusing on moving the state forward.

In his first days of office, its clear that McMaster already has his eyes on the election of 2018 for which he is the obvious frontrunner, thanks to the power of incumbency. For much of his life, hes wanted to be governor. Now he is. So now lets see what McMaster has and, hopefully, use it to make South Carolinas future even brighter.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
As 2017 rolls around, the South Carolina legislature will soon be considering a proposal to legalize medical marijuana in a very controlled and limited fashion.

The new bill, being labeled the Compassionate Care Act by supporters, would provide access to medical marijuana for patients suffering from specific diseases listed in the bill. The legislation would also provide for the creation of a review board and strict guidelines for access, such as a limit to no more than two ounces every two weeks.

We should all express our respect and gratitude for the individuals who wrote and submitted this bill in order to provide support and relief to so many people in South Carolina suffering from incredibly painful and life-restricting diseases. We should also do whatever is in our power to ensure that this bill passes by calling our representatives and expressing support.

It is time for South Carolina to move into the 21st century in regard to its drug policy, even if it has to tip-toe in order to get there. It is absolutely shameful that, in a country that prides itself on freedom, Americans are hunted down and locked into a cage simply because they are in possession of a plant.

I should add that this plant, for which so many people have been imprisoned, has never caused a single death, is not addictive and has been repeatedly demonstrated to have extraordinary amounts of benefit to health. Its time to finally bring an end to the war on drugs.

BRANDON TURBEVILLE

Florence
It sounds more glamorous than the reality.

Cameras trained on the compound, FBI agents in tactical gear, a tense standoff 20 miles from the Eastern Montana town of Jordan and just a few feet from the end of the world.

But the months-long standoff between federal agents and the "Freemen" was a combination of mud, sweat, boredom, camera rigging and ice cream bars.

The Freeman Standoff in 1996 was one of many memorable events Billings Gazette photographer Bob Zellar captured during his 36-year career at Montana's largest newspaper. Zellar's last day at The Gazette was Jan. 20.

Zellar was one of the photographers who rotated on a weekly basis, stationed outside Jordan in 1996, waiting for something  anything  to happen. Most days were spent standing outside, filming the occasional changing of the guard. Set back a half-mile, Zellar and his fellow photographers had to rig lens upon lens just to get a picture. A good day was when you got a man with a gun coming out to relieve the guards. A really good day was once when the media got to watch Freemen kids play outside while others in the compound mowed a hay field.

Some days were muddy and rainy, and news crews would take refuge in cars. Other days were hot and dry. National media down to local press would stand waiting, puzzling about what photo to send back for the telecasts or next day's paper. Zellar recalls a 3 p.m. color deadline in which he hustled back to his motel room to develop the film and transmit it back via a finicky modem to The Gazette.

Off hours, Zellar spent time playing pool and talking with a crew from a fledgling news organization that no one quite took seriously called FOX.

On the final day of the standoff, FBI crews told them it would end around 8 a.m., and pushed the field of trucks and cameras back to a mile away. Because Zellar had rigged a tripod contraption for his lens, he was able to capture the surrender on film.

The crews had been positioned well before 8 a.m. But as the day dragged on, the media waited under a blazing sun. A Schwan's delivery man came down the road, and Zellar remembers an Associated Press reporter flagging the man down and purchasing ice cream bars for everyone. So there they waited a few more hours for the conclusion of a nationally televised standoff, content with ice cream and even happier to be leaving.

Zellar was also part of the award-winning news crew from The Gazette that covered the Yellowstone National Park fires in 1988. Maybe Zellar's best remembered photo showed firefighter Jill Jane in silhouette, watching for sparks crossing a fire line near Lewis Lake, and a wall of flames in the background.

Zellar said the picture, which became one of the iconic images from the disaster, was taken on the first day he arrived, June 19. The incident commander asked if he and a reporter wanted to go out on the night fire line to observe a backburn. While the fire didn't jump the fire line, it grew larger than originally planned, creating the wall of flame effect. The silhouette photo was remembered, although Zellar shot the same scene using a flash to show Jane's face. That picture never had the same impact.

Other photos, while maybe not as widely recognized, have helped document the history of Billings.

Zellar was on staff during the visit of every U.S. President since Ronald Reagan. When Bill Clinton was here in 1995, Zellar remembers the president going outside the overflowing Rocky Mountain College venue just to shake the hands of those who couldn't get in to see him.

Zellar also had an eye for wildlife, filming almost every critter to inhabit this region. One of his more memorable photo shows a squirrel sharing the same tree as a bald eagle.

"It was near Lake Elmo and it was snowing," Zellar said. "I was looking for a weather photo."

He noticed the bald eagle and he heard the squirrel chattering boldly at the mature eagle. The squirrel would chatter and charge, getting bolder and bolder with every attempt. Zellar said he never saw the eagle attack, instead just watched.

And as black-and-white has given way to color film, and as film itself has given way to digital imagery, Zellar's work has changed formats from in print to online. Zellar's collection of Big Sky sunrises and sunsets has become a staple of local Twitter feeds.

"It started with my dad," Zellar said of his father, a farmer in Minnesota. "He didn't care about people behind the desk or car crashes."

Needing something to send to him as a daily photo, Zellar literally took to the sky, capturing brilliant colors as they painted the morning and evening horizons. He would take several photos from "every possible angle" trying to vary the pictures. It's become a habit and a ritual, and in the process taken on a life of its own -- kind of like his career shooting photographs for The Gazette.

"Now (my dad) is gone, but I am still doing it," Zellar said.
It started as a group text message among four friends from graduate school about new kids, puppies and jobs. You know, the successes and struggles that are the building blocks of everyday life.

In the wake of the election, the discussion changed. While everyday life continued, the four friends - all women working in the climate and ecology fields - faced a new reality. Their discussions turned into an email chain, which grew to include a group of women, until finally it spawned a pledge of inclusivity in science and the need for reason in politics that's now been signed by more than 14,000 women in science.

The group, dubbed 500 Women Scientists, was created in response to President Trump and his anti-science, anti-women comments. Its pledge vows to protect the scientific enterprise from his attacks as well as "build a more inclusive society and scientific enterprise."

It's part of a growing movement of scientists pushing back against the rise of what can best be described as a disregard of facts. Trump's cabinet nominees all dodged questions on climate, for example, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently said the world is closer to Doomsday because of the swell of anti-science rhetoric. Scientists have been coordinating online and organizing marches to protest these developments (a number also participated in last weekend's Women's March).

While inclusive of all scientific disciplines, Jane Zelikova, one of the original texters and a fellow at the Department of Energy, said climate change was one of their top priorities in drafting the pledge. That's in part because Zelikova and her friends work in scientific fields and at agencies closely focused on those issues, but also because the climate field had been one singled out by the Trump administration for cutbacks.

RELATED: Trump's War on Science Is Sparking the Next Big March in Washington

"[The Trump administration] directly impacts me," Sarah Myhre, a paleoclimate postdoc at the University of Washington and a pledge signatory, said. "My job security, the currency or value of my work in the public eye, where my research funding will come from, how I chart my career path: It impacts everything."

Beyond climate research and policy, the administration has also signaled a shift away from fact-based policy making. Moreover, early executive actions on immigration and reproductive issues have underscored that women, minorities and immigrants could face further setbacks under Trump, to say nothing of his comments released during the election about sexually assaulting women.

All of these issues have factored into the 500 Women Scientists' pledge. It's also why the group blew past its initial goal of signatories. As of Friday, more than 14,000 women scientistshad added their names. There has also been an outpouring of international support, with signatories from 109 countries.

"Much of the science useful to me and my country originates in the U.S.," said Andrea Vincent, a climate-focused ecologist at the University of Costa Rica and a pledge signatory. "At the same time, the U.S. benefits from our discoveries and perspectives, i.e. from scientists abroad engaged in collaboration with U.S. scientists. Science is a deeply interconnected community of people from around the world."

While Trump's election was the catalyst, the group is about much more than confronting the president. It's focused on combating systemic disparities in science.
Press Release

January 29, 2017 Fathers, adoptive parents to benefit from expanded maternity bill too

ANGARA: LONGER MATERNITY LEAVE TO HELP ENSURE CHILD'S NUTRITION "To lengthen maternity benefits is to safeguard our nation's future." This is according to Senator Sonny Angara who explained that the longer period will free up time for mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies, and in turn, ensure their child's nutrition. In 2013, the World Health Organization reported that the Philippines has a breastfeeding rate of only 34 percent for infants younger than six months, missing the 50 percent breastfeeding target of the World Health Assembly where the Philippines is an endorsee. As a result, 3.3 million Filipino children aged 5 years old and younger are stunted, based on the latest national nutrition survey. The first 1,000 days of a child's life, covering nine months in the womb and the months before their second birthday, is the critical window particularly in preventing child in stunting and wasting. Angara, who has also been pushing for the passage of the First 1,000 Days bill, cited studies that show that if a child's nutrition is assured during this period, it would not only prevent more child deaths per year, it would also improve school attainment thus increasing wages and reducing poverty because well-nourished children more likely to escape poverty as adults. "Any measure that helps break the perennial or the inter-generational cycle of poverty, perhaps the most persistent problem of our country, deserves our full support," he stressed during his co-sponsorship speech on Senate Bill 1305 or the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, which extends the number of days of paid maternity leave from the current 60 to 120. Angara thanked Senator Risa Hontiveros, chair of both Senate committees on health and women, for prioritizing the measure. "Putting mothers first and providing them utmost care is one of the most binding things in societies across the world," he said. In addition, under SB 1305, 30 days of the proposed 120-day maternity leave are transferrable to alternate caregivers including the child's father, the mother's common-law partner, and relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity. Adoptive parents of minor children are also entitled to 30 days of parental leave. "Every mother--every parent for that matter--should be afforded ample time and opportunity to care for their children," said Angara, a father of three. The senator further assured that investments needed to implement this measure will lead to enormous returns for the country which may not be felt in the short term but will have a positive impact in the long term. "Doubling the number of paid maternity leave days would definitely incur costs to businesses and to productivity, but its social and familial benefits far outweigh the costs for sure," he added.
Press Release

January 29, 2017 Nancy to power stakeholders: Help protect consumers vs Malampaya shutdown rate impact As the scheduled 20-day maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas facility began over the weekend, Senator Nancy Binay again appealed to all power industry players to prioritize the interest of consumers. "I applaud the efforts that our power industry stakeholders have laid out to cushion possible price shocks brought about by the shutdown. All we have to do now is be vigilant against a supply deficiency situation in the days to come," Senator Binay said. "I ask all our partners in the energy industry to always think about the welfare of every Filipino consumer as we face the challenge of this maintenance shutdown," the lady senator said. The maintenance work, which started last Saturday, January 28, is expected to last until February 16. During the period, the Malampaya gas field's underwater facilities will be fully repaired, with its platform and onshore plant receiving upgrades. The Malampaya gas field provides natural gas to major power plants Ilijan (1,200MW), Sta. Rita (1,000MW), and San Lorenzo (500MW). These three plants cover almost half of the Luzon grid's power supply requirements. Currently, among the measures that are being implemented by the Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the power supply deficiency is to have some of these plants run on alternative fuel. However, this is more expensive and will definitely bring about a hike in electricity rates. Meralco said generation costs are expected to surge by P1.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). With tax and other charges, the rate increase is estimated to cost up to P1.44/kWh. This power rate adjustment is expected to reflect in consumers' electricity bills in March 2017. Senator Binay, the Senate Committee on Energy vice chair, continued to call on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to exhaust all means possible to temper the rate increase. "Given that we still have no final determination of the actual power costs, I urge the ERC to extensively review all power supply agreements (PSAs) and secure all options that can offset or minimize the possible rate hike," she said. Binay added that if there are any pending customer rebates, the ERC should allow these to be reflected in the March 2017 bills to further lessen consumer spending. "We also should be open to the possibility of staggering the payment of electricity bills. If we can, let us have the bill collection spread out over a longer period of time so the public can pay lower increments every month." she added. Aside from these contingency measures, Binay appealed to the ERC and DOE to finalize their review of lowering the secondary price cap offer of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). It can be recalled that during Malampaya's last maintenance shutdown in November 2013, WESM prices surged forcing Meralco to announce a P4.15/kWh rate increase due to a huge deficiency in the supply. This excessive hike prompted the ERC to lower the primary price cap from P62/kWh to P32/kWh in December 2013. The power industry regulator also implemented a price-threshold mechanism of a P6.245/kWh secondary price cap that is activated once an average of P9/kWh is reached within a 168-hour period. "I pray that our government agencies will be able to immediately issue their final decision on the secondary cap before any shortfall in the supply will be announced. This immediate decision can ultimately curtail any excessive spike in power rates in the WESM during the Malampaya maintenance shutdown," Binay said. The legislator also encouraged the public to heed DOE's calls for efficient and effective use of electricity during the period. "Let us all support DOE's campaign for energy efficiency. If we are able to lower the country's overall electricity demand, this can redound to a more stable power supply with minimal price shocks," the senator urged.
Press Release

January 29, 2017 Gatchalian Seeks Creation of Research Institute to Modernize Energy Sector In a bid to bring the Philippine energy sector up to speed with innovative international technologies and make the industry more responsive to the demands of consumers and sector players, Senator Win Gatchalian has filed Senate Bill No. 1290, which proposes the establishment of a Philippine Energy Research and Policy Development Institute (PERPDI) in the School of Economics of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. "The energy sector is naturally characterized by rapidly changing technologies. Unfortunately, most of the country's policy instruments cannot keep up due to limitations in local research and technical capacity. This bill seeks to address these limitations by establishing an institution which will bridge research and policy gaps in pursuit of Philippine energy security, affordability, and sustainability," said Gatchalian, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy. The neophyte senator said that because of scarce databases in universities and research centers focusing on energy, government has been tapping private foreign-funded institutions and organizations to access essential data for policy discussions. To address this problem, SBN 1290 mandates the PERPDI to "undertake collaborative energy research and policy development among the academe and stakeholders; provide timely technical assistance to the government on energy issues needing policy direction and advise; and create and administer programs intended to build the capacity of government agencies, energy stakeholders, and the academe." In executing its mandate, the PERPDI will also be charged with ensuring that the results of energy research and policy development activities are utilized to improve the energy sector, the economy, and the lives of the people." Through the PERPDI, Gatchalian said the government will be armed with the capacity to formulate multidisciplinary research-based policies and strategies for the cost-effective use of energy resources towards environmentally-sound energy development. "Formulating and executing a concrete blueprint for the future of the energy sector is critical to fostering inclusive long-term growth and development for our country. The creation of PERPDI will be an important milestone in our quest to achieve these ambitious socio-economic goals," said Gatchalian. The concept of PERPDI is modeled after similar institutions hosted by top American universities, including the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, the Cornell Energy Institute, Stanford's Precourt Institute for Energy, Boston University's Institute for Sustainable Energy, and the Energy Institute of the University of Michigan, among others.
Press Release

January 29, 2017 PANGILINAN TO HOUSE OF REPS: FAST-TRACK COCO LEVY FUND BILL INSTEAD OF DEATH PENALTY MANILA - As the House of Representatives is scheduled to begin discussing the bill restoring death penalty this week, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Sunday asked congressmen to instead fast-track the coco levy trust fund bill, another priority of the Duterte administration. "Nakapag-umpisa na kami sa Senado at malayo-layo na rin ang aming narating. Bukas, Lunes, naka-schedule ang ikatlong interpellation natin sa ating panukalang batas ukol dito. Sana unahin din ng ating mga kinatawan sa Mababang Kapulungan itong makakatugon sa problema ng kahirapan at kawalang-katarungan ng ating magniniyog imbes na sa death penalty. Patayin ang kagutuman, huwag ang gutom (We at the Senate have started on this and have made good progress. Tomorrow, Monday, is the schedule of the third set of interpellations on this measure. We hope that our representatives in the Lower House would focus on this problem of poverty and injustice of our coconut farmers instead of on the death penalty. Let's eliminate hunger, not the hungry)," said Pangilinan, author of a coco levy trust fund bill that is scheduled for interpellation in the Senate this week. On winning his third Senate term, Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate committee on agriculture, immediately filed a coco levy trust fund bill. Taking a cue from President Duterte's economic priorities, Pangilinan's committee finished hearing the bill on September 1 and rushed to get the Senate's approval of the committee report on November 9. "Hinihimok natin ang ating mga kasamahan sa Kongreso na umpisahan na ang hearing sa panukalang-batas sa coco levy trust fund. Ang balita sa atin ay nagkaroon pa lang ng technical working group meeting pero wala pang hearing. Naipasa na ito ng Mababang Kapulungan noong nakaraang Kongreso nang i-certify ito as urgent ng dating Pangulong Aquino (We urge our colleagues in Congress to start hearing the coco levy trust fund bill. We were told that there have been meetings of the technical working group but no hearings. The Lower House passed this bill in the last Congress after then President Aquino certified this bill as urgent)," said Pangilinan. "Siguro, dapat na ring i-certify as urgent ng Pangulong Duterte ang panukalang batas na ito para umusad na sa Mababang Kapulungan (Perhaps President Duterte also needs to certify this bill as urgent so that it will move in the Lower House)," he added. At the height of the election campaign last year, President Duterte and his running-mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano promised coconut farmers that in the first 100 days of administration, they will ensure that the coconut farmers will benefit from the now over P76-billion coco levy fund. In a manifesto signed in front of coconut farmers, the two vowed "to open a new and happy chapter in the lives of our coconut industry and small coconut farmers" and "to support going after the remaining funds left with cronies" who used the levy collected from poor coconut farmers to create his corporate empire that includes the food giant San Miguel Corp., a bank, and coconut processing companies. "Meron tayong malinaw na mensahe mula sa administrasyon para ituwid ang kawalang katarungang ito na bunga ng martial law. Dapat nating madaliin ito para sa ating mga naghihirap pa ring magniniyog (We have a clear message from the administration to correct this particular martial law injustice. Let's do it as soon as possible for the sake of our impoverished coconut farmers)," Pangilinan said. In 1973, a year after the late President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law, the late dictator ordered that coconut farmers pay additional levy or tax for a share in future investments in the coconut industry. But he, together with his cronies, used these taxes, now known as the coco levy fund, to buy the United Coconut Farmers Bank and invest in San Miguel Corp. and enrich themselves. After Marcos was deposed in 1986, coconut farmers, with the help of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, filed court cases to recover their investment. For over 40 years, the money was trapped in court disputes. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the coco levy fund is public fund and awarded it to the government solely for the development of the coconut industry. The monies are already with the national treasury and cannot be spent without congressional approval or a new law. "Ibig sabihin, kailangang gumawa ng batas ang Kongreso na magpapahintulot sa paggamit ng pondong ito (This means Congress needs to enact a legislation that will allow for these funds to be utilized)," Pangilinan explained, adding that the immediate passage of the coco levy trust fund bill would unlock the over P76 billion coco levy funds for the benefit of the 3.5 million Filipino coconut farmers. Once enacted into law, Pangilinan said, this landmark bill will: Specify that the fund in cash and assets of the coco levy fund will go only for the development of the coconut industry.

Establish a perpetual trust fund which will only use the interest income earned.

Create a fund trustee, the Trust Fund Committee, of which six of its eleven members, or a majority, are either from coconut farmers groups or their representatives. It will be chaired by the Secretary of Finance, and co-chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture.

Specify the formulation of a Coconut Development Plan.

Ensure the active participation of coconut farmers at every stage of the implementation of the law.
Press Release

January 29, 2017 Trillanes: Aguirre, former VP of CDC, knew Jack Lam's illegal operations as early as 2013 Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV blasted anew Department of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, saying that the he knew all the illegal operations of Jack Lam's Fontana Leisure Park Hotel and Casino, as he was the Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of Clark Development Corporation (CDC) during the previous administration. Trillanes said, "As mentioned by Sec. Aguirre during the Senate Blue Ribbon hearing, the illegal operation of Jack Lam's casino has been going on for more than 10 years already. But since Aguirre was VP and chief legal counsel of the CDC from March 2013 to June 2016, then he surely knew about this operation." During the hearing conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Sec. Aguirre mentioned no raid was conducted as regards the illegal operations of Jack Lam because the CDC thought the operation is legal since they are duly authorized by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA). "As CDC's Chief Legal Counsel, Aguirre should know and definitely knows that immigration laws were being violated by Jack Lam's casino and that CEZA's permits cannot be used in other freeports in the country. But still he allowed it to operate then. So, the 100 million peso question now is, 'Is the shakedown, Aguirre's way of saying he is the new boss in town?'," Trillanes added. Trillanes earlier raised questions on the holes in Aguirre's testimony: Why did he meet with suspects in a case inside a hotel in the first place? Why did Aguirre invite his frat brother, Argosino to the meeting instead of Comm. Morente? Before he left that meeting, why did he say to Argosino, "ikaw na ang bahala"? Why did he tell Argosino not to coordinate with Calima? Why did he tell Sombero to coordinate with Argosino and not Calima? How did he know the amount of the supposed bribe of 50 to 100 million pesos as early as Dec. 1 when nobody supposedly told him about it? Why did Argosino ask 100 million from Sombero if his frat brother/boss, Aguirre did not approve of it (Sombero could simply validate this directly with Aguirre)? If Aguirre wasn't in on the extortion/bribery, why would Sombero give 50 million pesos to Argosino when he knows that Argosino doesn't haven't the authority or power to release the Chinese workers? "Aguirre has a lot of explaining to do. Now, instead of resorting to name-calling, he should start rehearsing his story to cover the holes in his previous testimony which implicated him to this bribery scandal," Trillanes further noted.
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Thousands of demonstrators outraged by President Trumps executive order denying refugees and foreign citizens from predominantly Muslim countries entry into the U.S. protested Saturday afternoon at San Francisco International Airport after hearing reports of travelers being detained there.

Trumps order instantly went into effect Friday night, closing borders for at least 90 days to travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Syrian refugees were barred indefinitely.

But by 6 p.m. Saturday, several organizations  notably the American Civil Liberties Union  obtained an emergency injunction from a federal judge in New York that halts enforcement of Trumps order against those with valid visas.

The horde of protesters had gathered at the International Terminal, waving signs reading, I Stand With Refugees and One Earth, One People, One Love.

The crowd erupted into cheers upon receiving the news of the emergency stay, which will stop detainees at U.S. airports from being immediately deported. But hundreds pledged to stay until all the travelers at SFO are released.

Among the protesters were local politicians, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, who held a sign reading, We are a sanctuary state! Let them in!

The group, many of which piled into BART trains to head to SFO, started its demonstration inside the International Terminal before spreading outside to the sidewalk. The crowd became so large it extended into the road in front of the terminal, forcing police to cordon off the area. Airport officials closed the lower level road at the International Terminal, forcing motorists to use the departure level or garages to pick up and drop off travelers.

Cody Wofsy, an attorney with the ACLU, said at least 30 immigration attorneys have been camped out in the international terminal, trying to see how they can help.

The problem is ... we cant get information from the government about who is being detained, he said.

Many protesters referenced the last time the U.S. turned away refugees  Jews during World War II  by wearing yellow stars and chanting, Never again.

Some shared their stories.

Bahareh Bakhtiari, 35, said her parents have traveled back and forth from Iran to her home in San Jose for years. They went through a rigorous vetting process to obtain their green cards, but now are stranded in Dubai.

They live here, she said, shaking her head. They own a business here.

Besides the emotional turmoil from the uncertainty, Bakhtiari said, having to figure out last-minute travel is costing her family a small fortune. Im very upset, she said. For lots of these people, this is thousands of dollars up in the air.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Jessica Blank, 37, of San Bruno said that as the descendant of Jewish ancestors, she would not be here if they had not been allowed to immigrate to the United States.

I stand here because I know Im next, she said. Im of Jewish descent, atheist, transgender. I am not going down quietly. Trump will not divide us.

As the constitutionality of the ban continues to be challenged, Trump has called the measure a way to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas.

Samin Nosrat, 37, of Berkeley reflected on her parents journey to America as she protested.

My parents came from Iran right before I was born, Nosrat said. I am the child of refugees. If they were not allowed to come here, I do not know what my life would look like. ... This is unacceptable.

Vivian Ho and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo, @JennaJourno
Oakland leaders had ambitious goals three months ago when they sought to bring basic services and help to a squalid, needle-strewn homeless camp at 35th and Magnolia streets.

The idea, they said, was to offer a humane alternative to sending in cleanup crews and clearing the 39 homeless people out. Instead, city employees hosed off the sidewalks, added portable toilets and trash bins, and provided counselors to help get the campers into housing. They installed concrete barricades to prevent the camp from growing and set a March 31 deadline to get everyone housed.

Halfway through the effort, officials are finding out just how difficult it is to follow through with their bighearted intentions. They reunited one camper with family and shuttled 17 others into temporary shelter at the Henry Robinson Multi Service Center downtown, where they await permanent homes. More homeless people have moved into the camp, replacing those who left. Officials have no clear plan for how to shut down the camp by March 31. And the citys involvement has stirred controversy, with some neighbors applauding the efforts and others denouncing them.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

Perhaps the most entrenched problem facing the city is that many of the homeless people at 35th and Magnolia streets are addicted to heroin. No city official  from the Police Department to the city administrators office  would comment on what the city is doing, if anything, to crack down on drug trafficking, which area residents say moved from the camp itself to areas near their homes after the city installed the barricades.

Officials were caught off guard by the extent of heroin use in the sanctioned homeless camp, and outreach workers struggled to keep needles and syringes from piling up in the trash bins and bathrooms. Oaklands contracted garbage hauler, Waste Management, stopped serving the camp in December, saying the used syringes pose a danger to workers. The citys Public Works Department now picks up the trash.

The heroin use was much more thorough-going than I expected, said Sara Bedford, head of Oaklands Human Services Department, which has teamed up with Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaneys office to oversee the camp.

It was McElhaney who conceived the Compassionate Communities idea and secured $190,000 in city funding to start the project in her West Oakland district. She deemed it a forward-thinking way to treat the citys homeless as a constituency to be served, rather than a problem to be solved.

The goal was not to make this a cool place to live, it was to put people in housing, McElhaney said. Weve seen that people living in this community have mental health and addiction issues, and those things are continuing to emerge. We knew this was loosey-goosey.

At the same time, McElhaney noted, Oakland has made some progress. The camp used to sprawl four or five blocks, with tents spread among piles of feces and garbage, and the stench of urine wafting along 35th Street. Public works employees cleaned much of that up when the city adopted the camp. Now, there are trash bins and toilets, and campers sweep around their tents with donated brooms. The concrete barricades confine the camp to a one-block strip of roadway. Staff from the HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County exchange syringes and distribute antioverdose medication each week. A nonprofit outreach team called Operation Dignity hands out food, blankets and toiletries, and helps assess the needs of individual campers.

Everybody has been more inspired since the city got here, said Kent, a 51-year-old resident of the camp who declined to give his last name. Gravelly-voiced and burly, he grew up three blocks away from the camp on Mandela Parkway. He became homeless six months ago after his marriage fell apart  he blames his crippling addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine.

A year from now, I see myself in an apartment, with a job, off drugs, Kent said. He is waiting for a slot in the Henry Robinson center.

Leah Millis / The Chronicle 2017

In many ways, the Compassionate Communities experiment has revealed Oaklands limitations. The scrappy East Bay city lacks the infrastructure of neighboring San Francisco, which spends about $45 million each year on direct homeless services  ranging from showers to street medical care  and an additional $196 million on broader assistance for the poor, including rental subsidies and eviction protections.

Oakland, by contrast, has an annual budget of just under $10 million for transitional housing, shelters, and food donations. And unlike San Francisco, Oakland has no official homelessness office or czar  such responsibilities have largely fallen on concerned council members and on the Human Services Department, which also runs the citys Head Start and violence prevention programs, and services for the elderly.

Strapped for resources, some Oakland officials see sanctioned camps as a necessary, albeit temporary, fix for a complex problem.

McElhaney is stubbornly optimistic about the citys odds of success.

If everything goes as planned, then on March 31, everyone is housed, the site is decommissioned, and we take the services to another camp, she said. The street will get cleared, and then well just patrol it like we would any other street.

But success wont come easy. Oaklands most recent one-night homeless census, taken in January 2015, found 1,400 sleeping outside. With the next count scheduled to take place Jan. 31, the citys homeless population has grown increasingly visible, with camps now brushing up against gentrifying neighborhoods and retail corridors. As rents continue to rise, longtime residents are getting squeezed out: Most members of the Compassionate Community camp grew up just blocks away, Bedford said.

Oakland officials are doing the best they can with what they have, said Sam Dodge, deputy director of San Franciscos Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Because they lack funding, and given the time it takes to open all these programs, theyre kind of backed into these meanwhile solutions.

Several people who were recently interviewed at the camp said they tried at many points to find an apartment, but faced formidable obstacles.

Every time I go to fill out the forms for a place, they want a credit check, said Noel Cole, 51. It costs $30 to $50 each time, and then I dont pass, and they keep my money.

Cole, a former salesman and warehouse stocker, grew up in North Oakland and attended Berkeley High School. He has been homeless since 2006 after losing a sales job in Stockton and becoming estranged from his father, who still lives nearby.

He was living in his car at the time Oakland started the Compassionate Community camp, but started coming by to use the toilets and get food donated by various churches and other charitable groups. When his car was towed a week ago, he began sleeping next to the camp, on a chair.

The homeless thing, its in your face, now, said Loris Mattox, executive director of the countys HIV Education and Prevention Project.

Mattox and her staff werent at all surprised to find that many people at the encampment use heroin. She called the heroin use at the camp a small but representative sample of the opioid epidemic in Alameda County. To an increasing degree, Mattox and other health workers have seen ordinary people become over-reliant on prescription pain medications to cope with ailments or injuries. Many of them turn to street heroin, which is cheaper and has similar effects, after their doctors refuse to keep prescribing the medication.

And when you see an increase in chronic homelessness, you see an increase in drug use to cope. She added that many encampments  including the one at 35th and Magnolia  are composed of people with similar behaviors, meaning they tend to use the same substances.

Some residents of the surrounding neighborhood have grown to tolerate and sympathize with people in the encampment, and several told The Chronicle they are grateful that the city has stepped in. Others criticize Oakland for perpetuating what they say is a community blight.

Michael Macor/The Chronicle

Augie Ramos, a carpenter who lives just three doors away from the camp, said that because the city has put up concrete barricades at 35th and Magnolia, drug dealers can no longer park there  so theyve moved their activities closer to his house. City staff put those barriers up in an attempt to monitor the camp and keep it from growing, but in the meantime, Ramos said, officials have largely allowed the drug problems to persist.

Containing the camp did not make it better, he lamented. I just cant wait until its over.

Representatives of the Oakland Police Department declined to comment, and Bedford said she wasnt aware of any concrete plan to curb drug trafficking around the encampment. McElhaney said that officers and other officials are tiptoeing around the drug issue.

Were aware of it, the police are aware of it, the councilwoman said. Were telling (camp occupants) Were not trying to police your use.

Its anybodys guess what will happen when Oakland hits its deadline to close the camp. Bedford is confident the city will have some form of shelter for the original 39 campers, though shes not sure what will become of the new people who have straggled in. The Henry Robinson centers executive director, Jamie Almanza, said that anyone who lands at the 137-bed shelter has a good chance of finding housing, although it might not be in the form of a house or an apartment.

Were really focused on family reunification, Almanza said, noting that about a third of the Henry residents who get shepherded into homes wind up living with kin  say, an estranged grandmother who still owns a house in East Oakland. Others find themselves a variety of creative living situations, from rented trailers to bunk beds.

We had a gentleman who was incarcerated because he was a pyromaniac, Almanza said. We found him a $300 boat to rent.

She said that in the three years since it opened, the Henry Robinson center has reached an 80 percent success rate of getting people off the street, and 90 percent of those people retain their housing a year later.

Whether Oakland has the money, time and staff to replicate its Compassionate Communities experiment somewhere else is another lingering question. McElhaney insists that the model can be transferred to another site, though she is depending on the citys administration to find one and work out the details.

For the time being, she is willing to try other approaches to Oaklands homeless crisis. Last year, the City Council set aside $80,000 for Laney College students to build two tiny-house models that officials hope to mass-produce this spring, and place on vacant public land or in donated church parking lots. And Alameda County voters overwhelmingly passed a $580 million affordable housing bond measure in November.

I think everyone will be housed, McElhaney said brightly. My mind just doesnt conceive of failure.

Bedford, however, was more cautious, describing the Compassionate Communities project as an achievement by some measures, but also as a reality check.

Weve hit the edge of our existing resources, she said. Weve learned we need more.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
San Francisco Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Hillary Ronen are calling for the city to boycott any business that helps build President Trumps wall along the Mexican border.

Its important for people to stand up in every conceivable way, and if that happened  including in (pre-World War II) Germany  the world may have been a different place, Peskin said.

Ronen said she got the idea from a Bernal Heights resident she met during her supervisorial campaign last year. I dont want corporations profiting off human rights abuses at the border and our city participating in that, she said.

The legislation she and Peskin are floating would prohibit the city from doing business with any company that receives a contract to participate in any way in constructing the wall.

Its more than a symbolic protest, they say.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

San Francisco works with all the major construction firms in America  in fact, we are putting the finishing touches on an over $2 billion transbay terminal involving hundreds of companies, Peskin said. And if other cities and states that spend billions on public works projects start adopting similar measures, then it sends a powerful message.

San Francisco political leaders have long used the threat of pulling city contracts to make a political point or right the worlds wrongs.

Most recently, Mayor Ed Lee banned all nonessential city-employee travel to North Carolina to protest a law in that state that opponents said discriminated against the LGBT community.

The mayor ordered a similar ban when then-Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana signed a religious freedom bill that many also viewed as discriminatory against gays and lesbians. Pence later put his signature on an amended bill passed by the Indiana Legislature, and the travel ban was lifted.

And in 2010, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on city-employee travel to Arizona  and tried to extricate the city from any Arizona-related contracts  in response to an anti-immigration measure in that state.

Some actions have been far-reaching.

In 1978, San Francisco became one of the first cities to pass legislation barring investment in companies doing business in or with South Africa  a campaign that eventually spread to the federal government and within a decade led to the dismantling of South Africas apartheid system.

And in 1996, San Francisco supervisors passed the first equal benefits ordinance  a move that forced United Airlines, based at SFO, to provide equal benefits to gay and lesbian couples, and eventually led all airlines to follow suit.

Other efforts have had unexpected consequences.

A 2005 ban on sweatshop products, for example, became so burdensome for companies to comply with that they simply stopped bidding for city contracts. At one point the city was unable to keep up with police demand for bullet-resistant vests.

Early warning: If San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and other Bay Area officials were surprised by President Trumps executive order calling for a reduction in federal funds for sanctuary cities, they shouldnt have been  the feds were sending out warning signs even while Barack Obama was still president.

Buried in a 28-page Justice Department memo in May was a heads-up to cities and counties that members of Congress had asked the agency to examine whether jurisdictions with sanctuary policies were in compliance with federal immigration laws as part of the upcoming grant process.

The memo also said that if the Justice Department receives information that indicates that the applicant may be in violation of any applicable federal law, that applicant may be investigated, and ... may be subject to criminal and civil penalties.

County and city legal departments throughout the Bay Area were still trying to figure out what the warning meant for them when Trump changed the entire discussion with his executive order.

Now, nobody knows what the rules will be, said Alameda County Undersheriff Richard Lucia.

You might think Lucias agency is safe  Trumps order cuts off federal grants to sanctuary jurisdictions except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes  but the language is so vague, no one knows for sure.

One unknown: What exactly amounts to refusal to cooperate with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency?

For example, in the past six months, ICE has asked San Francisco for the release dates on 41 people in its jail. Sheriff Vicki Hennessy hasnt said no  she simply hasnt responded to any of them, after determining that none of the cases fell within the citys guidelines for cooperating with the feds.

How the new administration responds to that lack of response is what everyone is waiting for.

And finally: Yes, that was former Police Chief Greg Suhr, cooling his heels waiting for a table at Original Joes in North Beach the other night, while District Attorney George Gascon  whose push for police reforms helped force Suhrs resignation  was hosting a large gathering of D.A.s in town for the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys convention.

No big deal, Suhr says.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
Two hours after President Trump signed an executive order banning the entry of all citizens from seven Muslim countries Friday, an Apple employee stood at the arrivals gate of San Francisco International Airport with his eyes locked on a monitor overhead.

For an hour, he stood, transfixed, hoping to see the two faces he recognized. Two faces from Iran, the country of his birth. Two faces that, after Fridays news, he wasnt sure he would ever see again.

Just before 5 p.m.  more than three hours after Trump signed the order that would turn away thousands  his relatives appeared.

There were rumors circulating about people with green cards being handcuffed and sent back. ... It was so stressful, said Siamak, an Iranian American employee of Apple who asked that his last name not be used to protect the identity of his family members, who have legal visas but have not yet been granted permanent permission to reside in the United States. I wouldnt wish that kind of stress on anybody. And even now, we have no assurance that theyre going to be safe here.

Siamak is one of hundreds of tech workers in the Bay Area for whom Trumps sweeping directive was painfully personal.

In the midst of chaos, confusion and protests at airports across the country, those directly impacted took some comfort in the display of solidarity from powerful tech firms, which gave sharp rebukes of Trumps actions and promised aid to their employees and others.

Yet for many, who remain uncertain about their future in a country where they have for years lived, earned degrees, started businesses and chased dreams, those assurances fell short.

An estimated 250,000 Muslims live in the Bay Area. Of those, more than 60 percent were born outside the U.S. Many more non-Muslims, like Siamak, who identifies as an atheist, have immigrated from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  the countries named in Trumps order, which brought immigration to a grinding and emotional halt Saturday.

Even those with dual citizenship and specialty-worker H-1B visas from those countries were barred from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. Permanent residents, also known as green-card holders, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, according to a senior Trump administration official.

For large tech companies in the Bay Area, many of which employ immigrants with specialty visas or green cards, the order could immediately impact hundreds of workers. Starting Friday, tech executives and power brokers began clamoring to respond to Trumps action.

They warned it would affect their business. They derided it as un-American. They offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid groups and free, temporary housing to refugees. They pointed out that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was born because his father was a Syrian refugee who had been allowed to enter the country.

The Internet industry is deeply concerned with the implications of President Trumps executive order limiting immigration and movement into the United States, the Internet Association, a tech-industry lobbying group, said the Internet Association, a tech industry lobbying group. While this order impacts many companies outside of the tech industry, Internet companies in particular thrive in the U.S. because the best and the brightest are able to create innovative products and services right here in America.

Sergey Brin, who co-founded Google, appeared at a protest at SFO late Saturday, hours after Google CEO Sundar Pichai issued a directive asking impacted staff to return to the U.S. right away.

Brin was 6 years old when he fled Soviet Russia with his family and came to the U.S. as a refugee. On Saturday, he posed for photos with protesters, spectators and a baby, who sat in a stroller affixed with a cardboard sign. Its message was simple: I want my grandparents back from Iran.

Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle

Trumps order immediately suspended U.S. acceptance of refugees and left many across the world in legal limbo as American lawyers scrambled to file writs. Late Saturday night, a New York judge issued a stay, stopping the government from enforcing the order against people with visas or green cards until the court could hold a hearing on the matter.

In the meantime, countless American-visa holders remain uncertain of their future.

Sasha Eslami, 28, is the chief executive and co-founder of Eversnap, a booking firm for event photographers. Though he has a green card, the Iranian citizen said, he remains unsure about whether he will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. after completing a business trip in Argentina.

Eslami, who lives in San Jose, said he flew to South America on Thursday night, before Trump signed the travel ban. He thought he, a permanent resident, would be safe from a ban. Had he known, he might have reconsidered the trip.

I started thinking about how this was going to affect everything Ive built as a company, as a person. All my stuff is in the United States; I didnt pack my life up to go on this business trip, said Eslami in an interview from Argentina. I started wondering, if I cant get back in, what country I should try to go to? Maybe Canada? Maybe another country in Latin America? I dont know.

Eslami said that as an entrepreneur with a relatively small business, he is glad to see big-name tech firms voicing their opposition and disapproval. But he wishes they would do more.

If you have that much power and youre the CEO of a billion- or multibillion-dollar company you can do a lot more than write a Facebook post or write an email to your employees, he said. They should defend people publicly and not just talk. Anybody can talk, but when you have those resources, that power, you can do so much more to make an action.

Several companies offered legal aid to their employees.

Uber said drivers who were separated from their families due to the ban would be compensated, though CEO Travis Kalanick did not expand on how. Some of his peers, meanwhile, took more concrete action.

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Brian Chesky, the chief executive officer of on-demand lodging startup Airbnb, announced that the international company would provide free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the U.S.

Lyft, the ride-hailing app, on Sunday pledged to donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years. Addressing Trumps order directly, the company wrote in a note to users that banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyfts and our nations core values.

Executives and venture capitalists like Twitter backer Chris Sacca offered to match donations to various human-rights organizations including the ACLU.

Shobeir Shobeiri, an Iranian American entrepreneur who helped connect concerned families with legal aid at SFO on Saturday, said he was inspired to see so many big-name tech executives taking a stance.

Im happy that these CEOs are realizing the true impact of this, that its going to affect them, its going to affect their employees, said Shobeiri, who had attended a Middle-Eastern-themed tech conference, TechWadi, earlier in the day in San Francisco. Maybe this will be a wake-up call that they need to do more.

It certainly felt that way to Siamak, who returned to the airport the day after he picked up his relatives from the very same terminal.

The couple, his wifes aunt and uncle, had been trying to win entry to the U.S. via the Diversity Visa lottery for 12 years. Each year, the program admits up to 50,000 immigrants, who are then granted green cards. His family members names were drawn two years ago, though they had not received the proper clearance until late last year.

Siamak decided to bring the couple with him when he heard that lawyers at the airport needed Farsi translators. When they got there, he said, his relatives were surprised to see what an American protest looked like.

The protests in Iran are pretty violent, and I think they thought they were going to see garbage cans on fire and Molotov cocktails, but then we got there and people were dancing and serving pizza, he said. They were excited. I explained that theyre now protected under the First Amendment. It was great to watch. ... They think theyre safe now.

But Siamak is not so sure. Because he is a citizen  and because he works for Apple, whose CEO Tim Cook wrote a memo heralding the companys diversity and decrying Trumps order  he feels more protected than most. But even still, he doesnt feel safe. Not anymore.

Whats stopping the next order from targeting American citizens who were born in Iran or one of those seven countries? he said. I know a lot of Iranians who work for Apple who are here on work visas, and I dont know whats going to happen to them. The person who works next to me, the person who I go to the gym with. I dont know if Im going to see them tomorrow.

Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Marissa_Jae
It is hard to imagine now, when celebrities appear on talk shows just to promote a product, but there was a time when an intellectual like the writer and activist James Baldwin could hold forth on a major network, on Dick Cavetts ABC late-night chat fest. And Baldwins conversation, snippets of which appear in Raoul Pecks Oscar short-listed documentary I Am Not Your Negro, is anything but trivial.

And there were only three networks then, Peck says. To let someone explain a whole idea all the way through  you cannot do that today. You can either say yes or no in an interview today, not explain your thought or the contradiction or complexity of your thoughts. There is no more complexity. 

It is the complexity of James Baldwin that serves as Pecks inspiration for I Am Not Your Negro. The Harlem native, who died in 1987 of cancer at age 63, was a towering literary figure of the 20th century, the author of the novels Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovannis Room and If Beale Street Could Talk; plays The Amen Corner and Blues for Mister Charlie; and the books of essays Notes of a Native Son, The Fire Next Time and No Name in the Street.

He also was on the front lines of the civil rights movement, close friends with three leaders assassinated for their activities: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1979, Baldwin told his agent he intended to write a book about these men, Remember This House.

He never completed the work  only 30 pages exist  but they were enough to point Peck in the direction he wished to go in making a film about Baldwin, whom the 63-year-old Haitian filmmaker first read as a 16-year-old.

It took me four years to figure out how to enter the story, says Peck. Then one day (Baldwins sister) Gloria gave me those notes about Remember This House, a book that was never written. Then, for me, the film was there. He never wrote that book, and that book was supposed to be his ultimate, all-in story about America, using the deaths of three of his friends. I thought, Wow! If I can revive that, if I can give it back, that would be great.

Knowing all his work, I didnt see what new I could bring than what he already did, he adds. For me, my job was to go and find that book. The book was already written. He just didnt put it together. My job was to go everywhere, since I had access to everything, to find all the pieces and put them together. That was the film.

The Baldwin family not only offered Peck rights to all of James Baldwins work, but they set no time limit on his option, so that Peck was free to take his time to find his story and then make the work, a journey that ultimately took a decade.

I think something happened between us when I met Gloria, Peck says. It was as if we knew each other for a very long time. The family said, Do what you think is needed.

I Am Not Your Negro is free of talking heads. Instead, actor Samuel L. Jackson reads Baldwins words in character as Baldwin. Clips of Baldwin, scenes from Hollywood films, news clips and other archival footage make up the images. Not all of the clips are historical, as Peck connects Baldwin to our modern moment and recent developments, such as the Black Lives Matters movement and the unrest in Ferguson, Mo.

I dont make movies for the past, Peck says. To me, its an engagement to the world. Its an engagement to whatever Im living through, going through. Its an instrument for engagement. Its an instrument for conversation. Its an instrument for change. Making a film and spending many years of your life working on it, its for the present and the future. ... Its about, How do I bring an important voice to our current problems?

The more I worked on those words, the more those words hit me as a very contemporary dealing with today. ... Its as if Baldwin is commenting on the images on TV right now. They fit.

Pam Grady is a San Francisco freelance writer. Twitter: @cinepam

I Am Not Your Negro (PG-13) opens Friday, Feb. 3 at Bay Area theaters.

To see a trailer: www.iamnotyour negrofilm.com/trailer.
Week one of the Trump presidency will go down in American history as the most tumultuous debut since Abraham Lincolns  but the madness that swirled around Old Abe as he took office was not self-induced. Crowd size, voter fraud, the wall, torture, take their oil, the war on the media (or the opposition party). Trumps rambling and self-promotional remarks at CIA headquarters last weekend set the tone for the next seven days of Bizarro World. Though it scared and stunned every rational American, Trumps speech at Langley was given a rave review  by the president himself: a home run  one of the great speeches ... the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl.

On cable news shows throughout the week, Washington insiders repeatedly used words like crazy and unhinged to describe Trumps frantic premiere. A dazed-looking House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi went before news cameras to tell the country, I pray for him, and I pray for the United States of America. Which did nothing to reassure a deeply rattled citizenry. By weeks end, when the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to 2 minutes before midnight (i.e., the apocalypse)  the closest its been since the most frigid days of the Cold War  it only confirmed our darkest foreboding about the blathering and belligerent billionaire who has accomplished a hostile takeover of our fates.

It seems like Trumps frothing base and Wall Street are the only euphoric corners of America, with the Dow topping 20,000 by midweek on the presidents early moves to slash corporate regulations and taxes, further enriching the superrich at the expense of his forsaken deplorables.

ByChris Messina/Courtesy photo

I spent week one of Trumps danse macabre huddled in the frozen tundra of Park City, Utah, where I trekked to watch the Sundance Film Festival premiere of my son Joes first film, a dark comedy ironically titled American Paradise. If I thought I could escape the blizzard of weirdness in this liberal and creative oasis, I was soon set straight. The 2017 Sundance film lineup was littered with testaments to the broken and bleeding state of the world. But nothing in the Sundance schedule was more disturbing than The New Radical, a terrifying look at the cyberanarchist underworld that has emerged as the world spins off its axis and the center does not hold.

The documentary follows the embattled paths of two Millennial radical disruptors, Cody Wilson, creator of the 3-D printable gun, and Amir Taaki, co-inventor of bitcoin, the dark money exchange that allows for all sorts of shady  and often criminal  transactions. Wilson, the son of an Arkansas Baptist minister, and Taaki, a British Iranian programmer raised in London, were born days apart in 1988 and were brought together by their shared contempt for state authority.

Democracy has been liquidated, says Wilson, a creepy but charismatic propagandist for his cause who calls to mind Justin Timberlakes Sean Parker in The Social Network. Liberalism is what we whistle as we assert our dominance over the world.

Wilson, who equates real freedom with gun freedom, called his plastic gun invention the Liberator. He believes that only when all Americans are packing will we have true control of our destinies. What about the victims of never-ending gun massacres, including bullet-ridden schoolchildren? Its an unfortunate aspect of freedom. People can abuse responsibility. But thats no reason to abridge the Second Amendment, according to Wilson.

Unnervingly, Wilson receives support in the film from Julian Assange. When asked if Wilsons spread-the-firepower crusade is the WikiLeaks of guns, Assange replies, If people dont have access to the hardware of coercive power, then theyll be subject to whomever does.

While Wilson preaches his armed and anarchistic vision of the future  through the dissemination of digital files that allow for a do-it-yourself armory of revolvers and assault rifles  his fellow cyberwarrior Taaki promotes Dark Wallet, a bitcoin app that allows for the financing of whatever the human mind can imagine. Justice Department authorities cracked down on bitcoin, worrying that the technology would make the governments eyes go dark. To which Wilson replies, Good, lets go dark.

I understand where Wilson and Taakis embrace-the-darkness philosophy comes from. They came of age in a world where neoliberalism promised the end of history  only to deliver too much of it, in the form of gross income inequality, environmental disaster and a permanent war-surveillance state. But their dystopian view of the future only ensures more human suffering. Wilson describes himself in the film as some cherub of the disaster to come, and he almost gloats about it.

In the films conclusion, which director Adam Bhala Lough rushed to update after Trumps victory, Wilson says a Hillary Clinton victory would have been a disaster for gun freedom. And though Wilson didnt vote for Trump  whom he thinks will fully exploit the repressive powers of the national security state  he makes it clear that he sees Trumps victory as some kind of warped vindication of his thinking. People are so desperate for some disruption to modernity that they will choose the void, chaos.

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The film so agitated me that I stood up during the post-screening discussion to confront Wilson, who appeared alongside of Lough. I told him that as a veteran of 60s generation struggles, I had seen his extremist philosophy at work before, with groups like the Weather Underground and Black Panthers. I said that the desire to bring the crisis of America to a weaponized climax would only bring horrific results  especially for those in our society who are most vulnerable to massive police firepower.

Wilson regarded me with the sneering self-confidence of youth. He said he knew all about people like me. Im a Frankenstein monster of your generations own creation, he told me, apparently referring to our failure to win the revolution. I dont will a gun on you. But when the day comes you need one, youll thank me for creating that possibility.

And so this is the dark precipice at which weve arrived in the mad days of Trump.

San Francisco Chronicle Columnist David Talbot appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email: dtalbot@sfchronicle.com
By Press Trust of India: New York, Jan 29 (PTI) Scientists have found a 38,000-year-old engraved art in a rockshelter - bearing the image of a wild cow surrounded by rows of dots - that offers a window into the lives of modern humans during the period.

"The discovery sheds new light on regional patterning of art and ornamentation across Europe at a time when the first modern humans to enter Europe dispersed westward and northward across the continent," said Randall White, an anthropologist at the New York University, who led the excavation in Frances Vezere Valley.

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The findings centre on the early modern humans Aurignacian culture, which existed from about 43,000 to 33,000 years ago.

Abri Blanchard, the French site of the recently uncovered engraving, a slab bearing a complex image of an aurochs, or wild cow, surrounded by rows of dots, was previously excavated in the early 20th century.

Researchers began their exploration of remaining deposits at the site in 2011, with the discovery occurring in 2012.

Aurignacian art offers a window into the lives and minds of its makers - and into the societies they created, White said.

"Following their arrival from Africa, groups of modern humans settled into western and Central Europe, showing a broad commonality in graphic expression against which more regionalised characteristics stand out," he said.

"This pattern fits well with social geography models that see art and personal ornamentation as markers of social identity at regional, group, and individual levels," he added.

Abri Blanchard and its sister site, Abri Castanet, previously excavated by Whites team, have long been recognised as being among the oldest sites in Eurasia bearing artifacts of human symbolism.

Over time, hundreds of personal ornaments have been discovered, including pierced animal teeth, pierced shells, ivory and soapstone beads, engravings, and paintings on limestone slabs.

The research appears in the journal Quaternary International. PTI MHN MHN

--- ENDS ---
Two highways slice through the eastern half of San Francisco, stranding between them Potrero Hill. The north slope rapidly gentrifies while the south side of the hill continues to host the public housing projects where Danny Glover and O.J. Simpson lived as children. At the neighborhoods heart sits Daniel Webster Elementary School, once described as a dumping ground but now part of a growing trend: groups of parents with the means to go private or move elsewhere instead making pacts to send their children to public schools together.

The maneuver neatly facilitates the enrollment of white, middle-class students in racially and economically isolated schools. Achieving the end goal of education built by and for the entire community, however, has proven far more messy.

There hadnt been a middle-class family that stepped foot on that campus for 20 years, Jennifer Betti said about the public school down the block from the home she purchased prior to having children. She hadnt given the issue much thought, however, until she and her toddler ran into former Mayor Art Agnos walking his dog and picking up trash in 2005. He asked, Whats it going to take to keep a young family like yours in the city? When she cited access to good schools, he offered to set up a meeting.

On a Friday that December, Betti reached out to Daniel Websters principal only to hear that the San Francisco Unified School District planned to shut down the school. Four days later, she and other residents of what was once named one of the 10 Bloggiest Neighborhoods in the country walked into the school board meeting with 300 signatures to keep the school open, collected with the help of local businesses, as well as representatives of three elected officials.

During the next few weeks, the group  which included professionals in communications, law, data, marketing, grant writing and technology  orchestrated an article in the newspaper, an appearance on a morning radio show, and a community meeting that nearly filled the neighborhoods branch library.

When the vote came down, it was decided the school would remain open. Over the course of the following year, the group also persuaded the school district to lease them unused bungalows at Daniel Webster for $1 a year to house a mixed-income preschool, and  in a move Betti described as purely marketing  to add something to Daniel Websters elementary grades that had become all the rage in the city: a Spanish-immersion track.

They organized a nonprofit called the PREFund, raised half-a-million dollars, and got busy revamping the campus. Rebuilding Together SF committed to repaint the school, add a mural by Dreamworks, and plant street trees  in partnership with corporate sponsors such as Salesforce and Ernst & Young. Stacey Bartlett, another PREFund founder said: We turned Folsom Prison into this vibrant little spot in the neighborhood. The place had been super scary, and now it was welcoming and warm.

When time came for Bettis son to apply, however, quite a bit of uncertainty remained. The new immersion track had gotten off to a rocky start, and most of the middle-class kids had left within the first year.

In winter of 2008, four families sat down to dinner together at Serpentine, a hip restaurant in a former tin can factory. After a few glasses of wine, one mother reached into her bag and pulled out a completed application listing Daniel Webster in the first slot. She waved it in the air, Betti said, and we all decided to hold hands. Their five children started kindergarten together that August, along with a few other neighbors whose parents had gotten wind of the PREFund pact.

In 2009, no formal agreement was required because the preschool graduated its first full class, including Bartletts daughter. Id taken on the role of director for the preschool, she said. So that year it was just me running around to all the parents saying, Youre going to Daniel Webster, right? Youre going to Daniel Webster, right? Sixty-eight percent of the class enrolled.

Before the other side of the hill got involved, there were no parents who had the bandwidth to fund raise, Bartlett said: It was all they could do to get their kids to school. A PREFund parent started a PTA, and last year it raised $200,000  more than $100,000 of it in one night through the Taste of Potrero, a food and wine-tasting event. Daniel Webster now offers outdoor education, continuous arts enrichment, a unique tutoring program, and more.

Miraloma Elementary School wasnt on the closure list in 2005, but it could have been. Lorraine Woodruff-Long said that when she first looked into the districts 70-odd elementary schools a few years before, there were only seven that most English-speaking, middle-class white parents considered acceptable. Her son and friends from his co-op preschool didnt get into any of these. Instead, several of them were assigned to a very unpopular school in the neighborhood, that was mostly busing kids in from across town and had not-great test scores, she said.

Together the parents toured the school  tucked up in the spine of the hills that cuts through the center of the city  and didnt hate what they saw, but the schools reputation was so bad that none of them felt comfortable taking the leap alone. So we said, Ill do it if you do it, recalls Woodruff-Long, and then we sat there and really hoped no one backed out.

The families made a point of talking up the school around town. Woodruff-Long said: I remember walking through the grocery store wearing a Miraloma T-shirt in 2003. I was in the meat checkout line, and a woman said, Oh, do you teach there? When I told her my son was in kindergarten, she said, I would never send my child there. A few years later, she wore the same T-shirt to the same store, and said, People were chasing my cart around asking, How do we get in? By the time her kids graduated, parents who went there by choice were raising hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

According to Michelle Parker, around when Betti ran into Agnos and Woodruff-Long spread the word about Miraloma, the Jewish Community Center of San Franciscos preschool hosted a fair with information tables from both private and public schools: one huge room stuffed to the gills for the former, and a few people in a separate room for the latter.

The year before, four pairs of Jewish Community Center parents had agreed to send their children to the same unremarkable public school, Sherman Elementary. Parker said she probably wouldnt even have considered it, if she hadnt known of that group and heard that their kids were thriving. It just gives you a little bit more confidence, she said, knowing there are parents who are willing to pitch in.

Parker wanted her kids to attend public school, just like she and her husband had, but from the minute she moved to San Francisco everyone around her said shed be crazy to do it. Seeing those first few parents tip-toeing in, she said, made me think, we can do this, we can make this vision a reality.

Other families followed. We put sweat equity into it, said Parker, and a decade later Sherman is one of the highest demand schools in the city.

The mix of motivation differs for each of these parents, but most cite a rising tide lifts all ships mentality: We wanted to bring our resources, connections, and efforts to bear not just for our kids but for every kid, said Bartlett. Betti echoed, We got parents of means to come in and help, and we raised the bar for everybody.

The fundraising and programming triumphs of these three schools paint a rosy picture of public school pacts, but closer inspection turns up thorns.

People act like Daniel Webster just opened, said Shervon Hunter who attended the school in the 1980s when her grandmother worked there as a teachers aide. Her own daughters graduated just before the PREFund group formed. I thought the school was well-equipped, Hunter said: Not once did I think Daniel Webster wouldnt give them the education that was needed. Yet, they come in and you get treated as if you didnt have any value before, she trailed off quietly, before returning in a tone laced with steel: Thats the sad reality with gentrification.

Across the city, as the popularity of Miraloma and Sherman elementary schools increased, the schools student bodies changed, becoming whiter and wealthier. Reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones said this pattern is typical of formerly under-enrolled, segregated schools: [they] tend to go through a brief period of transitional integration, in which significant numbers of white students enroll, and then the numbers of Latino and black students dwindle.

Is that happening at Daniel Webster? Join us next week as we fast-forward 10 years and ask what the schools post-pact reality means for both a changing San Francisco and a national public education system in desperate need of improvement.

Gail Cornwall is a former public school teacher and recovering lawyer who now works as a stay-at-home mother and freelance writer in San Francisco. Her work has been published by the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, Huffington Post, and Scary Mommy, among others. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter, or read more at gailcornwall.com. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.

A shifting student body

The demographic changes at Miraloma Elementary School might simply reflect a changing San Francisco, but thats not the case. From 2000 to 2015, San Francisco Unified School District served about 10 percent fewer Asian students, 7 percent more Latino students, 4 percent fewer African American students, and 5 percent more white students. Turnover at Miraloma occurred along the same lines, but on a much larger scale.

That doesnt mean the parents promise to send their children to Miraloma (similar to Daniel Webster parents pact), is the only factor behind the whitening of the student body, however. Former executive director of Parents for Public Schools-SF Lorraine Woodruff-Long said a cash-strapped school district discontinued bus service to Miraloma from the largely low-income Bayview and Excelsior neighborhoods. They couldnt get there anymore, she said: Families were facing a two-hour trek on public transit, so people who could afford to drive their kids filled in those spots. She also notes that affluent families moved to the neighborhood as the schools reputation soared.

Theres no way of knowing whether the San Francisco Unified School District would have continued offering transportation if more parents couldnt drop off their kids, or what the school would look like had busing continued alongside the parental pact efforts . Regardless, the details of Miralomas transformation reveal it to be just one more chapter in the familiar tale of housing segregation fostering educational inequality.

Next week, Part 2

Ten years after some middle-class parents agreed to send their children together to Daniel Webster Elementary, students have chalked up gains. But the challenge remains to create schools the community considers theirs.
President Trumps continuing insistence, without any apparent evidence, that more than 3 million people across the nation cast ballots illegally in Novembers presidential election doesnt match the reality of California voting, state and local election officials argue.

Thats not to say problems dont happen, but they dont come near the magnitude Trump is alleging, said Dean Logan, county clerk and registrar for Los Angeles County, whose 5.19 million registered voters is a greater number than the entire population of 28 states.

We get reports that someone signed the (vote-by-mail) ballot of a spouse or a child, said Logan, who is president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. Or well find someone using an address that turns out to be a commercial building. But we dont see anything that we can quantify as a major problem.

It takes a lot of those one or two potentially illegal voters to add up to the 3 million to 5 million ballots Trump said were cast in the November election.

But logic  or even math  hasnt swayed the president, who has said he will call for a nationwide investigation into voter fraud. On Friday, he doubled down on his complaints, tweeting a shout-out to a conservative former Texas and Mississippi health care official who days after the election said he had found that more than 3 million noncitizens voted, but has since refused to release any evidence to back up that claim.

Look forward to seeing final results of VoteStand, Trump tweeted. Gregg Phillips and crew say at least 3,000,000 votes were illegal. We must do better! VoteStand is Phillips mobile app that where people may report alleged voter fraud.

While the Nov. 8 election gave Trump the Electoral College victory he needed to become the nations 45th president, Democrat Hillary Clinton beat him by nearly 3 million ballots in the popular vote, thanks largely to overwhelming victories in heavily populated, strongly Democratic states like California and New York.

But even as he moved into the Oval Office, Trump has seemingly been obsessed by those totals, arguing theres no way he could have lost the popular vote without millions of illegal voters showing up to cast illegal ballots for Clinton.

You have people that are registered who are dead, who are illegals, who are in two states, Trump said in an ABC News interview last week. There are millions of votes, in my opinion.

And none of those purportedly illegal votes was for him, the president added.

They all voted for Hillary, Trump said. They didnt vote for me. I dont believe I got one.

The numbers behind Trumps claims become even sketchier if he believes the bulk of those illegal votes came from undocumented residents. The total number of undocumented residents in the country is estimated at 11 million, including millions of children and teenagers younger than 18.

While California election officials dont deny local voting rolls too often include the dead people and double registrations Trump has railed against, its a huge leap to equate technical woes with purposeful, organized voter fraud.

Its very hard to cast more than one ballot, said John Arntz, San Franciscos elections chief. Everything requires a signature, and we check them against our database. But its certain that some of our 515,000 registered voters are going to have a change in their registration data before the next election.

Keeping up with those changes, known in the election business as maintaining the rolls, is a constant challenge, as Trump has discovered.

The presidents youngest daughter, Tiffany, was apparently registered in both New York and Pennsylvania, where she attended college. Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law; Sean Spicer, his press secretary; Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to Trump; and Steve Mnuchin, the presidents nominee for Treasury secretary, also were registered to vote in more than one state in November.

But the fact that people are registered in two states or counties doesnt mean they voted twice, said Neal Kelley, Orange County registrar. Errors and inefficiency dont necessarily translate to fraud.

When people move, change their name after getting married or have a spouse die, Their first reaction isnt, We better call the registrar, he said. Maintaining the rolls is like mowing the grass. You have to do it constantly.

Keeping up with those life changes is why Arntz and other election officials check the newspaper obituaries every Sunday and rely on the Postal Service or the DMV to send in notices of address changes.

A national study that looked at ways to get changes in voting information to counties quicker would be helpful, Logan said.

There are reasons, though, that Trumps proposed probe might be useful, said Harmeet Dhillon, a San Francisco trial lawyer who is the states Republican national committeewoman.

While theres no evidence of any Democratic plot to coax illegal voters to the polls, that doesnt mean there arent problems, she said.

What about people who think they have the right to vote because they now have all the accompaniments  a drivers license, health care, their kids in school, Dhillon said. When you have undocumented residents who might think they have the rights of citizens when they dont ... thats absolutely a valid area to investigate.

But Trumps unswerving pursuit of the chimera of those millions of illegal voters has baffled Republicans all too anxious to get on with the business of gathering the political spoils of their surprise victory. Theyre also worried that the presidents apparent need to best Clinton, even after winning the election, is taking him down a political rabbit hole with no easy way out.

We had an election; it was a decisive outcome. ... Weve moved on, said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. Were ready to go to work.

Democrats were more direct.

President Trumps false claim that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election is absolute nonsense, said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. There is simply no evidence of widespread voter fraud in this country. Period.

Democrats also are worried that theres a political motive behind Trumps call for an investigation, which White House officials have suggested will focus on the results in deep-blue states like California and New York, as well as in urban areas throughout the country, which also strongly backed Clinton.

Trumps complaints are laying the groundwork for an aggressive push toward nationwide voter ID laws that would keep people from the polls and make it even harder to boost the states often abysmal voter turnout, said Alex Padilla, Californias secretary of state.

These allegations are false and dangerous, he said. They create doubts about the integrity of our system in the mind of voters and make them think their votes dont count.

John Wildermuth and Melody Gutierrez San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com, mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth, @MelodyGutierrez
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Build the wall. Ditch Obamacare. Revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. Kill the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Deport undocumented immigrants. Ban Muslims.

President Trump packed his first full week in office with a blur of headline-grabbing executive orders that reflected his campaign promises. But not all executive actions are created equal. Some have the actual, immediate power of law. Some require money from Congress to get off the ground. And some are largely theatrical flourishes during the opening week of a new presidency.

I think of these as a relatively costless way to deliver on electoral promises, said Sarah Binder, author of Stalemate: Causes and Consequences of Legislative Gridlock. These are policies he wants, so he writes an executive order. But he hasnt had to make trade-offs. He hasnt had to make deals. He hasnt had to spend any political capital or figure out a way to pay for these.

In some cases, such as his order to start building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump will need a fiscally conservative, GOP-dominated Congress to allocate at least $14 billion of American taxpayer money to fund it  despite his continued protestations that Mexico will pay for it.

Yet while many in Washington focused on who will pay for the wall, buried deep in Trumps executive order, called  Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, is a description of which immigrants Trump wants to prioritize for deportation. The language is so broad that it could include anybody who has ever entered the U.S. illegally, not just those from south of the border that he has characterized as criminals or job stealers.

They literally categorize everyone as a priority, said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, the immigration advocacy organization funded in part by Silicon Valley tech leaders. Theyre not only talking about people who are convicted of crimes.

To make sense of what Trumps executive orders and memorandums mean and their impact, here are some reality checks:

The Affordable Care Act

Hours after taking the oath of office, Trump signed a nine-paragraph executive order encouraging Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Rep. Tom Price and other federal agency leaders to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the act that would impose a fiscal burden on states or individuals.

Reality check: Its very vague, said Terri Bimes, a professor of political science at UC Berkeley and expert on the presidency. Its more of a suggestion than an enforceable mandate. It seems like hes doing something, but the actual repealing and replacing of Obamacare must be done by Congress.

And judging from what congressional Republicans were saying at their retreat in Philadelphia this week, the GOP doesnt have a replacement plan. Nor an idea of how, exactly, to repeal the health care law.

Wed better be sure that were prepared to live with the market weve created, if its repealed, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), said in a recording of a closed-press meeting at the retreat that was obtained by the Washington Post. Thats going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and well be judged in the election less than two years away.

Building the border wall

The headline-grabbing part of Trumps executive order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements was his demand to immediately plan, design and construct a physical wall along the southern border. It also calls for hiring 5,000 new Border Patrol agents.

Reality check: Walls cost money, and this one would cost a lot of money. Yet nobody can say how Trump would pay for it. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he would work on getting up to $14 billion before sending a figurative bill to Mexico. But Ryan would face two onerous ways to raise the money: deficit spending, which he despises, or budget cuts. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus quickly backed off another idea, a proposal the White House floated: to charge a 20 percent import fee on Mexican goods.

Building the wall also would require using eminent domain to seize the private property of the ranchers and homeowners who live along the border.

His lawyers for the Trump Organization are used to being the big guy and not the little guy, said Bruce Jentleson, a former senior foreign policy adviser to Al Gore and who served in President Barack Obamas State Department. Theyre not used to the other guy fighting back.

And as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: Just wait until he realizes with that wall there have to be environmental impact studies, then those have to be put on the Web for comment.

All thats going to mean a lot of legal work for Justice Department lawyers. And a lot of time.

Reviving the Keystone XL

and Dakota Access pipelines

The controversial 1,179-mile Keystone pipeline, which would bring crude oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, was rejected in November 2015 by President Obama and the State Department because it wasnt in the national security interest.

Trump also requested a quick approval for the 1,100-mile Dakota Access oil pipeline, which cuts across four states, that the Army Corps of Engineers stopped by denying a permit to cross Indian land.

Reality check: Keystone XL wont magically reappear because of Trumps presidential memorandum that invites the TransCanada company to reapply for permission to build the pipeline. Trump ordered the secretary of state to consider the application within 60 days of it being resubmitted, which it did on Thursday.

Sierra Club attorney Doug Hayes pointed out that the documents on both pipelines are presidential memorandum that dont change the law at all. Requiring a decision from the State Department on the new application in 60 days would be an incredible rush on the process. It seems like an arbitrary deadline, he said.

Other factors that may derail the Keystone XL project: The pipeline still needs approval from the state of Nebraska, where there is sizable opposition. Plus, Trumps memorandum said to use the Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Department of State in January 2014  a 3-year-old report could be subject to significant challenges.

Three years, Hayes said. Were living in very different times.

The Dakota Access memorandum asks the Army Corps of Engineers to take all actions necessary and appropriate to quickly complete the environmental review the Corps said it would launch when it denied the permit. Its a way for Trump to signal he wants the project to go forward, yet no matter what the Corps decides, lawsuits will follow.

Kill the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Trumps presidential memorandum officially withdrew the U.S. from the trade pact. Instead, he stated that it will be his administrations policy to deal directly with individual countries on a one-on-one (or bilateral) basis in negotiating future trade deals.

Reality check: Binder, who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the TPP has been politically dead for months, so it makes no difference. Like the executive action on Obamacare, this just sends a signal to his political base that hes following through on what he campaigned on.

Cut federal funding to sanctuary cities

In the executive order where he prioritized which undocumented immigrants to deport, Trump called for cutting federal funding to cities and counties  like San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and 140 sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide  that limit their cooperation with federal immigration officials.

The impact could be huge: San Francisco receives $1 billion in federal funds each year.

Reality check: Sanctuary city supporters point to a 1997 Supreme Court opinion by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia that said the federal government cant force state and local jurisdictions to comply with a federal mandate  in this case obeying immigration law. Also, Trumps power to hold sway over sanctuary cities could be limited by what the high court found in 2012 during a case involving the Affordable Care Act in which it said the federal government couldnt force states to expand their Medicaid programs for fear of losing their Medicaid funding.

This is another embodiment of a Trump campaign talking point, but hell soon find out that creating laws is a lot tougher than delivering a sound bite. Hes in for a big legal fight here, UCs Bimes said. And it is going to be difficult to sift out what federal funds he wants to cut. Can he preserve funding to police while cutting federal funding to health care and education?

No tax dollars for organizations that talk about abortion

Trump reinstated a rule begun during the Reagan years and suspended during Democratic administrations that bans tax dollars to overseas nongovernmental organizations that mention abortion to their health care clients or perform abortions. At risk under whats known as the Mexico City Policy is potentially $9.5 billion under what abortion rights advocates call a global gag rule.

Reality check: While this appeals to a conservative Christian base of GOP voters  many of whom were suspicious of Trump, a one-time abortion-rights supporter  this executive action is one that will have a real world impact, Binder said.

Extreme vetting of visitors from Muslim countries

On Friday, Trump signed an order that would ban refugees from any country for 120 days and forbid citizens from up to seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days. It also would cut the number of refugees admitted from 110,000 this fiscal year to 50,000.

Trump said he was doing this to protect the country from radical Islamic terrorists. We dont want them here, he said.

Reality check: This is not theater. This is real, said Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights for the ACLU of Northern California. As president, Trump has the power to set immigration quotas, but must do so in consultation with Congress.

But the order has so many vaguely written pieces that it is unclear, for example, if it would apply to people who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and one of the banned countries. And Trumps comments that Christian refugees from Muslim countries would get priority over others, is completely antithetical to refugee protections.

This is like nothing weve seen in our history, Pasquarella said. The U.S. has been a leader on refugee protection and this is a complete reversal.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
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Every dog has its day, but only one would come out on top Saturday at the Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show.

The annual competition is the self-proclaimed premier benched dog show on the West Coast, which meant general spectators paid 15 bucks not only to see the canines compete, but to also interact with them outside of the ring in benches organized by breed.

At the Cow Palace arena, right over the Daly City-San Francisco border, 1,174 pure-bred pooches from 134 breeds sought the coveted titles of Best Dog in Show on Saturday or Best Puppy in Show, which would be decided after Sundays events, which will begin at 8 a.m. and run through the afternoon.

The matriarch of the whole affair was perhaps 97-year-old Jeanne Bobbitt, a retired handler who teaches obedience classes in San Francisco. She walked through the arena, wooden cane in hand, to support several of her clients who were competing with their pets.

Dogs love the competition. You can tell because of the way they move when theyre down there, Bobbitt said, looking out at the ring. Every one of these dogs was bred to do a job.

Some owners came out just to marvel at the sport, with no dog in the race, so to speak. Others were professionals, like Sharon Wong, trying for a win.

Olive Oil, Wongs Giant Schnauzer with dark black fur, was poised to compete in the first elimination round of the day, and groomed to perfection.

Shes ready. See that? Wong said, opening Olive Oils mouth to expose her teeth.

Beautiful, Bobbitt said.

After nearly 30 years handling Schnauzers, Wong compares them to her own kin.

These are really, really fun. Theyre good companions, Wong said. Its like a child. You have to put exercise and discipline in. You have to have boundaries. Otherwise ...

You have an unruly kid, Bobbitt chimed in.

The dogs were divided into seven categories: There were sporting dogs, which include gregarious golden retrievers like Air Bud, and working dogs, including industrious Great Danes like Scooby Doo. There were also terriers, such as the famous Cairn terrier Toto from The Wizard of Oz, and non-sporting dogs like the beloved pups from 101 Dalmatians.

Not to forget about toy dogs, like the Taco Bell Chihuahua, or herding dogs like Queen Elizabeths Pembroke Welsh corgis.

And of course there were hound dogs  not of the Elvis variety  like the famous Peanuts beagle, Snoopy.

Spectators could find their pick of the whole bunch outside of the ring at the benching area, where the dogs were on display.

In the grooming area, Breccan, an Irish red and white setter, stood still as his owner, Arleen Wilson, blew his fur with an hose-shaped air dryer while brushing him at the same time.

Hes spoiled, Wilson said. Every night he sleeps on the bed.

But Wilsons friend Paula Rinch, who came out to help her with Breccan, made sure to add that he isnt lazy.

He works for a living, she said. Hes not just some pretty boy. He has to earn his Kibble.

But the whole event was really a way for dog fans to come together. Katie Smart, 29, came from Sacramento, wearing a shirt that said, Im here to pet all the dogs as she walked from breed to breed.

We just are dog lovers, said Smart, who brought her sister to the event.  Theyre just so friendly and cuddly, and mans best friend, you know?

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Protesters, civil rights lawyers and families descended upon airports across the country Sunday amid confusion over the enforcement of an order signed by President Trump barring entry of people from seven majority-Muslim countries.

A string of legal decisions, including the late-Saturday ruling by a federal judge in New York halting the government from enforcing Trumps order against people with valid visas, had added to the uncertainty. Advocates on the ground said customs officials had appeared confused about how to enforce the dueling edicts of the executive order and the federal stay.

As Trump continued to double down on the ban, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a major clarification Sunday night  that green-card holders would automatically be allowed to enter the U.S., unless there is some evidence of a threat to public safety.

By Sunday afternoon, all detainees at San Francisco International Airport affected by the executive order had been released, said Doug Yakel, a spokesman for the airport. A White House official told reporters that all 170 green-card holders who applied for a waiver had received one as of Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, at SFO, many who had been waiting anxiously for family members caught in the orders web were reunited.

One Iranian American man had been waiting more than 12 hours for a call from his older brother who was detained at SFO. Finally it came at 7 p.m. Saturday: Im safe. Im sound, said his brother, who was attempting to come to the U.S. from Iran with a valid visa.

Then the phone cut off. Nothing.

The family was set to have their first reunion in six years. But the man was detained. The family is not Muslim and requested anonymity due to fears of religious persecution in Iran.

The federal court ruling appeared to offer hope by preventing the government from sending back travelers, such as the older brother from Iran. But on Sunday, family members were told by their attorney that the older brother was being sent from a detention facility back to the airport for a flight to the Middle East.

They were stunned. The family went to the airport and waited. Just after 3 p.m. Sunday, they got word he was being released. The two brothers ran to each other in the airport, held each other and cried. Their mother almost collapsed from joy.

I never thought Id see this. I thought this was a lost fight, the younger brother said. The peoples willpower works.

A group of other immigrants had been released earlier Sunday, including an elderly Iranian couple who had been traveling with a visa but were held for more than 30 hours at the airport.

I think customs and border control is trying to make sense of a poorly worded executive order and then an emergency stay on that poorly written executive order, said Zahra Billoo, head of the Bay Areas Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter. Thats led to confusion and even less clarity than we ordinarily get in border stop situations.

Billoo, who was at the airport Saturday evening, said it was difficult to figure out exactly what was happening behind closed doors. Unless people traveling provided itineraries, or their families made contact with them, attorneys were out of the loop. And while those traveling from abroad may contact family when they land, phone use is generally not permitted as they go through customs, she said.

Its very challenging, Billoo said.

Meanwhile, as Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina criticized the order, Trump doubled down on the edict. Trump said the two senators were weak on immigration.

To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting, he said in a statement. This is not about religion  this is about terror and keeping our country safe.

Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, told NBC Sunday morning that it was possible more countries could be added to the list of those currently barred  Sudan, Syria, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Iraq and Yemen.

Senate Democrats were gearing up to fight the order in Congress. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she would introduce two bills on Monday. One would rescind the order, while the other would add congressional oversight over the presidents authority to ban people from the U.S.

The presidents blatantly discriminatory executive order should be rescinded immediately, she said in a statement. The consequences of this order will be far-reaching and were obviously not carefully considered. People all around the world will be affected, including Americans.

Meanwhile, the impact of the order remained painful to families across California.

Khayrat Rochan, a 41-year-old Syrian American who owns a business in Daly City, canceled a planned flight for his mother set to arrive in San Francisco Monday. His 78-year-old mother holds a green card, and Rochan had spent his recent days setting up a home he had rented for her. His mother had sold her land and house in Syria because she planned to come and live in the U.S.

It is inhumane. ... I dont know what to do, he said of his mother, who must be transported at airports in a wheelchair and has limited vision. He did not want her to travel during the uncertainty of how the order was being implemented.

Elsewhere, an attorney for a 12-year-old girl in Yemen whose parents are U.S. citizens in the Central Valley and who was turned away from a flight to the U.S. on Saturday had sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti requesting that she be allowed to come the U.S. The family has yet to receive a reply.

And in Berkeley, Omid Solari, a 28-year-old Iranian obtaining his doctorate at UC Berkeley who is in the country on a student visa, was contemplating whether hed ever see his family again. An appointment for his parents in Iran to apply for a visa was suddenly canceled this weekend.

Now neither I can go out of the U.S. to meet my family and come back, nor they can come here and meet me. I really miss my family, he said.

Trumps order temporarily halts refugee admissions while indefinitely suspending Syrian refugees from being admitted into the country. The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday night that the agency was working closely with airlines to prevent those would not be allowed into the country under the order from getting on flights.

Therefore, we do not anticipate that further individuals traveling by air to the United States will be affected, the statement read.

A department official said Saturday evening that 73 people had been told not to get on airplanes headed to the U.S.

For many Muslims living in America, the Trump order was met with shock, said Dalia Mogahed, the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

I've been in two states over the past 48 hours meeting with families and students and I can tell you these executive orders have triggered widespread trauma among Americans who are Muslim, she said Sunday. These edicts send a simple message: If you're a Muslim, the White House doesn't want you here, and looks at you with suspicion because of your faith. The impact of these decisions is the breakup of families, the disruption of work and education. They do absolutely nothing to make us safer.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
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Bay Area air quality regulators issued a Spare the Air Alert for Monday, banning wood fires for the day in anticipation of stagnant weather and the potential for heavy smoke pollution.

Residents of the nine counties around the bay face a possible $100 fine for using a fireplace, wood stove, pellet stove, outdoor fire pit or any other fixture that burns wood or manufactured logs. Exemptions are made for those who rely solely on such devices for heat.
A San Jose man who tortured and killed 21 cats may have to register as a sex offender.

Robert Roy Farmer, 25, was ordered to return to court on March 2, when a sentencing date is expected to be set, reports the San Jose Mercury News.

In October 2015, San Jose police found Farmer asleep in his car, with a dead cat beside him, and was arrested.

He pleaded guilty to 21 felony counts of animal cruelty, one count of misdemeanor battery, and one count of being under the influence.

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A necropsy on the orange female tabby cat found in his car determined that the animal died of blunt force trauma and may have been sexually abused.

Farmers DNA matched samples found on the cats claws, evidence could may require the man to register as a sex offender.

Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Ellis told a crowd gathered outside the courthouse that the sentencing was taking such a long time because there are so many sentencing laws at play, the Mercury News reports.

The people have asked the court to consider 290 registration, which is sex offender registration, Ellis said.

Farmer is in custody at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas. He faces up to 16 years and four months in prison.
The Shiv Sena has slammed the BJP over making Ram temple an election affair after it was promised in the manifesto for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. It also alleged that Devendra Fadnavis government of Maharashtra is scam-tainted.

By India Today Web Desk: It seems that the BJP and Shiv Sena are now in an open war while sharing power at the Centre and breaking apart downwards.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut questioned the BJP over the promise of Ram temple in Ayodhya in its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh polls.

Raut said, "Why do they talk of Ram temple during elections only? Why do you send Ram Lalla into banishment after the polls?"

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READ| BJP-Shiv Sena split: Did Uddhav snap 25-year-old alliance for Raj Thackeray?

Shiv Sena also came down heavily on the Maharashtra government and the state BJP. Sanjay Raut alleged that 'scams are happening in Maharashtra government."

Reacting to statements from various BJP leaders against Shiv Sena, Sanjay Raut said, "Those living in glass-house should not throw stones on others."

His comments came a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed Shiv Sena as a spent force in the state saying that the BJP would show the 'old partner' its might in the upcoming urban body elections.

READ| We will show them our 'aukaat', BJP doesn't need alliance with Sena: Fadnavis

Responding to another query, Raut said, "BJP ne party mein gunde bhar rakhe hain (BJP has accommodated goondas in the party).

Earlier, Fadnavis had accused Shiv Sena of being involved in extortion and corruption. "You carry the saffron flag in one hand and resort to extortion and corruption. This is not at all acceptable to us," Fadnavis had said.

ALSO READ|

BJP likens Mumbai civic polls to Mahabharata, says Shiv Sena like 'kauravas'

--- ENDS ---
1 Airport closure: The city of Santa Monica and the federal government on Saturday said they reached a deal to close the communitys airport, ending a lengthy legal battle over the site. Under the agreement, the city can close the airport after 2028 and carry out plans to turn the 227-acre property into a park, city officials said. In the meantime, the city can shorten the airports single runway to 3,500 feet from its current length of nearly 5,000 feet, which means larger jets will no longer be able to take off or land. Santa Monica has long sought to shut the airport. Residents have raised concerns about noise, air pollution and the risk of planes crashing into neighborhoods. Shortening the runway will reduce jet operations by 44 percent, and jets are responsible for 95 percent of the noise complaints, said Mayor Ted Winterer.

2 Party shooting: Ten people in western Tennessee were injured in a shooting at a party at a National Guard Armory, authorities said. State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland said the shooting in Brownsville occurred before midnight Friday when a fight broke out at the armory. Authorities believe the facility had been rented out for a party. The victims, including two juveniles and eight adults, were transported to Jackson General Hospital. Two were expected to be transported to a hospital in Memphis with non-life threatening injuries. The incident is under investigation.
President Trumps executive order

President Trump signed an executive order Friday making major changes to Americas policies on refugees and immigration. A look at its key elements:

Syria

Trumps order directs the State Department to stop issuing visas to Syrian citizens and halts the processing of Syrian refugees. That will remain in effect until Trump determines that enough security changes have been made to ensure that would-be terrorists cant exploit weaknesses in the current vetting system.

Refugees

Trump ordered a four-month suspension of Americas broader refugee program. The suspension is intended to provide time to review the way refugees are vetted before they are allowed to resettle in the United States.

Trumps order also cuts the number of refugees the United States plans to accept this budget year by more than half, to 50,000 people from around the world.

During the last budget year the U.S. accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 people from Syria. President Barack Obama had set the current refugee limit at 110,000.

The temporary halt to refugee admissions does include exceptions for people claiming religious persecution, as long as their religion is a minority faith in their country. That could apply to Christians from Muslim-majority countries.

Extreme Vetting

Trumps order did not spell out specifically what additional steps he wants to see the Homeland Security and State departments add to the countrys vetting system for refugees. Instead he directed officials to the review the refugee application and approval process to find any other security measures that can be added to prevent people who pose a threat from using the refugee program.

During the Obama administration, vetting for refugees included in-person interviews overseas, where they provided biographical details about themselves, including their families, friendships, social or political activities, employment, phone numbers, email accounts and more. They also provided biometric information, including fingerprints. Syrians were subject to additional, classified controls that administration officials at the time declined to describe, and processing for that group routinely took years to complete.

Terrorism Concerns

Trumps executive order suspends all immigration from countries with terrorism concerns for 90 days. The State Department said the three-month ban in the directive applied to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen  all Muslim-majority nations. The order also calls for Homeland Security and State department officials, along with the director of national intelligence, to review what information the government needs to fully vet would-be visitors and come up with a list of countries that dont provide it. The order says the government will give countries 60 days to start providing the information or citizens from those countries will be barred from traveling to the United States.

The temporary ban extends to citizens of those seven countries who hold U.S. visas or green cards. Anyone who was abroad when the executive order was signed is now barred from coming back to the country for at least three months. There is an exemption for people whose entry into the country is deemed in the nations interest, but its unclear how that exemption may be applied.

Barring any travel to the U.S. from those seven countries, even temporarily, appears to at least partially fulfill a campaign promise Trump made to ban Muslims from coming to the United States until assurances can be made that visitors are properly vetted.

Other Immigration

The State Department now requires interviews for all visa applicants, except for those under 14, over 79 or who previously held a similar visa that expired less than 12 months prior. Diplomats and other official applicants also are exempt. Previously, the interview requirement was waived for applicants applying within 48 months of expiration.

There are no changes to the Visa Waiver Program, under which citizens of 38 countries, most of them in Western Europe, can visit the U.S. for 90 days or less without a visa. As of 2015, however, visas are required for those who have visited any of the seven Muslim-majority nations of heightened terrorism concerns.
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President Trumps executive order on immigration indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the United States, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, refugees or otherwise, from entering the United States for 90 days: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The order unleashed chaos on the immigration system and in airports in the United States and overseas, and prompted protests and legal action.

Here is a quick guide to what we know and what we dont know about the order.

What we know

The executive order was signed Friday.

The order does not affect naturalized U.S. citizens from the seven named countries.

After the order was signed, students, visitors and green-card-holding legal permanent U.S. residents from the seven countries  and refugees from around the world  were stopped at airports in the United States and abroad. Some were blocked from entering the United States and were sent back overseas.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in New York blocked part of Trumps order, saying refugees and others being held at airports across the United States should not be sent back to their home countries. But the judge stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trumps actions.

Federal judges in three other states  Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington  soon issued similar rulings to stop the government from removing refugees and others with valid visas. The judge in Massachusetts also said the government could not detain the travelers.

On Sunday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said it would comply with the rulings while it continued to enforce all of the presidents executive orders. Prohibited travel will remain prohibited, it said in a statement.

Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, said Sunday that green-card holders from the seven banned countries would not be prevented from returning to the United States going forward. That appeared to be a reversal from one of the orders key components.

Priebus also said border agents had discretionary authority to subject any travelers, including American citizens, to additional questioning and scrutiny if they had been to any of the seven countries mentioned in the executive order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection instructed airlines to stop passengers from the banned countries from boarding flights and to remove any who had already done so. Airline crew members from the seven named countries were also barred from the United States, it said.

An official message was sent to American diplomatic posts around the world instructing them to immediately stop visa interviews for citizens of the seven banned countries and to halt the processing or printing of any pending visas.

What we dont know

It was not clear on Sunday how consistently airport officials across the country were complying with the court rulings that partly blocked Trumps executive order.

Application of the order appeared to be uneven on Saturday, and it was unclear what criteria were being used to decide whether a detainee should be admitted to the United States.

Officials did not clarify what criteria had been used on Saturday to determine whether a green-card holder from one of the banned countries would receive a waiver from the order. The executive order said only that a waiver could be granted when it was deemed in the national interest.

Priebus statements on Sunday morning did little to clarify how the executive order would be interpreted and carried out in the days and weeks ahead, in particular how border agents will exercise their discretionary authority.

Liam Stack is a New York Times writer
A federal judge in New York blocked deportations nationwide late Saturday of those detained on entry to the United States after an executive order from President Donald Trump targeted citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the deportations after determining that the risk of injury to those detained by being returned to their home countries necessitated the decision.

Minutes after the judge's ruling in New York, another came in Virginia when U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order to block for seven days the removal of any green-card holders being detained at Dulles International Airport. Brinkema's action also ordered that lawyers have access to those held there because of the ban.

Trump's order reverberated across the world Saturday, making it increasingly clear that the measure he had promised during his presidential campaign was casting a wider net than even his opponents had feared.

Confusion and concern among immigrant advocates mounted throughout the day as travelers from the Middle East were detained at U.S. airports or sent home. A lawsuit filed on behalf of two Iraqi men challenged Trump's executive action, which was signed Friday and initially cast as applying to refugees and migrants.

But as the day progressed, administration officials confirmed that the sweeping order also targeted U.S. legal residents from the named countries - green-card holders - who were abroad when it was signed. Also subject to being barred entry into the United States are dual nationals, or people born in one of the seven countries who hold passports even from U.S. allies, such as the United Kingdom.

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More for you An old Trump Hotels tweet got new life after Muslim ban

The virtually unprecedented measures triggered harsh reactions from not only Democrats and others who typically advocate for immigrants but also key sectors of the U.S. business community. Leading technology companies recalled scores of overseas employees and sharply criticized the president. Legal experts forecast a wave of litigation over the order, calling it unconstitutional. Canada announced it would accept asylum applications from U.S. green-card holders.

Yet Trump, who centered his campaign in part on his vow to crack down on illegal immigrants and impose what became known as his "Muslim ban,'' was unbowed. As White House officials insisted that the measure strengthens national security, the president stood squarely behind it.

"It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely, and we're going to have a very, very strict ban, and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

In New York, Donnelly seemed to have little patience for the government's arguments, which focused heavily on the fact that the two defendants named in the lawsuit had already been released.

Donnelly noted that those detained were suffering mostly from the bad fortune of traveling while the ban went into effect. "Our own government presumably approved their entry to the country," she said at one point, noting that, had it been two days prior, those detained would have been granted admission without question.

During the hearing, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt informed the court that he had received word of a deportation to Syria, scheduled within the hour. That prompted Donnelly to ask if the government could assure that the person would not suffer irreparable harm. Receiving no such assurance, she granted the stay to the broad group included in the ACLU's request.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official had no comment about the rulings late Saturday and said the department was consulting with its lawyers.

The official said enforcement of the president's order on Saturday had created minimal disruption, given that only a small number of the several hundred thousand travelers arriving at U.S. airports daily had been affected.

Nationwide, he said, 109 people had been denied entry into the United States. All had been in transit when Trump signed the order, and some had already departed the United States on flights by late Saturday while others were still being detained awaiting flights. Also, 173 people had not been allowed to board U.S.-bound planes at foreign airports.

The official said that officers doing case-by-case reviews had granted 81 waivers so far to green-card holders.

DHS began implementing the president's order immediately after he signed it, according to the official. He declined to say whether the department had an operational plan ready at that time.

Though several congressional Republicans denounced the order, the majority remained silent, and a few voiced crucial support - including, most prominently, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who had rejected Trump's anti-Muslim proposals during the campaign. "This is not a religious test, and it is not a ban on people of any religion,'' Ryan said Saturday. "This order does not affect the vast majority of Muslims in the world."

The president's order, signed Friday, suspends admission to the United States of all refugees for 120 days and bars for 90 days the entry of any citizen from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. That list excludes several majority-Muslim nations - notably Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia - where the Trump Organization, now run by the president's adult sons, is active and which in some cases have also faced troublesome issues with terrorism.

According to the text of the order, the restriction applies to countries that have already been excluded from programs allowing people to travel to the United States without a visa because of terrorism concerns. Hewing closely to nations already named as terrorism concerns elsewhere in law might have allowed the White House to avoid angering powerful and wealthy majority-Muslim allies, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Amid widespread confusion on Saturday about how the order will be enforced, some administration officials acknowledged that its rollout had been chaotic. Officials tried to reassure travelers and their families, pointing out that green-card holders in the United States will not be affected and noting that the DHS is allowed to grant waivers to those individuals and others deemed to not pose a security threat. It can take years for someone to become a green-card holder, or lawful permanent resident authorized to permanently live and work in the country.

"If you've been living in the United States for 15 years and you own a business and your family is here, will you be granted a waiver? I'm assuming yes, but we are working that out,'' said one official, who could not be more specific because details remained so cloudy. A senior White House official later said that waivers will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and that green-card holders in the United States will have to meet with a consular officer before leaving the country.

But officials made clear that the federal officers detaining refugees and migrants with valid U.S. visas and restricting them from entering the country were following orders handed down by top DHS officials, at the White House's behest.

The order drew outrage from a range of activists and advocates for Muslims, Arabs and immigrants. More than 4,000 academics from universities nationwide signed a statement of opposition and voiced concern the ban would become permanent. They described it as discriminatory and "inhumane, ineffective and un-American."

The executive action has caused "complete chaos" and torn apart families, said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

At Dulles, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) addressed more than 100 people protesting Trump's order. He said: "I remind everybody we are a land of immigrants. . . . Discriminatory tactics breed hatred.''

In New York, lawyers for two Iraqi men detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport - one of whom served the U.S. military mission in Iraq - filed a federal lawsuit challenging the order as unconstitutional.

One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released Saturday afternoon without explanation from federal officials. "This is the humanity, this is the soul of America,'' he told reporters. "This is what pushed me to move, to leave my country and come here. . . . America is the land of freedom - the land of freedom, the land of the right.''

Other advocates promised further legal challenges. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the order and said it would file a lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional.

In a conference call with reporters, immigration lawyers and advocates said Trump's order violated the Constitution, along with U.S. and international laws that guarantee migrants the right to apply for asylum at the border and the Immigration and Nationality Act, which forbids discrimination in the issuance of visas based on race, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.

But Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, praised Trump.

"It's a prudent measure," he said. "It's not the end of the world. It's not the Statue of Liberty crying. The reaction has been hyperbolic."

The effects of Trump's order played out nationwide.

In Dallas, Behzad Honarjou, 43, was supposed to pick up his mother, 70-year-old Shahin Haffanpour, at the airport on Saturday. But when she arrived from Iran via Dubai, she was told that because of the executive order she would be sent back to Iran the next morning.

"I don't know what to do," Honarjou said. He said he was seeking an attorney to file an emergency habeas petition, but the courts were closed. Haffanpour has an immigrant's visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, last year.

In Philadelphia, Sarah Assali said six relatives from Syria - two uncles, their wives and two cousins - were detained after arriving at the airport there early Saturday. Although they are Christian immigrants with valid visas to join family in this country, they were put on a plane back to Doha, Qatar, three hours later, Assali said.

She said her family members were not allowed to call or contact their family in the United States before being removed. "We don't know what's going to happen next."

- - -

Philip Bump in Brooklyn, Louisa Loveluck in Beirut, and David Nakamura, Philip Rucker, Mike DeBonis, Lori Aratani, Carol Morello and Rachel Weiner in Washington contributed to this report.
The meeting has raised speculations about the estranged cousins joining hands against the BJP for the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra including the BMC.

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: In the backdrop of the Shiv Sena and the BJP snapping ties, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar met Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray at his Bandra residence on Sunday.

The meeting has raised speculations about the estranged cousins joining hands against the BJP for the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Developments so far:

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1. According to sources, Nandgaonkar who is a close confidante of MNS Supremo Raj Thackeray had a 15 minute meeting with Uddhav Thackeray. The MNS leader met the Shiv Sena chief with a proposal that the MNS was keen to join hands with the party.

2. Sources added that the MNS has kept no specific demands for seats with the Shiv Sena, but wants to put up a united force in Mumbai to stop the BJP.

3. However, political observers believe that it could be too late to begin the alliance talks now, as the process for filing nominations has already begun. What the estranged cousins can do at the most is a strategic understanding at few places in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik.

4. Sources said that the MNS is willing to extend support to the Shiv Sena in Mumbai and Thane, in exchange of help in Nashik.

5. The MNS is the ruling party in Nashik but almost all key leaders and more than half of its corporators have deserted the party making the chances of the party bleak this time.

6. The BJP too is aggressively making a pitch in Mumbai and other metros. The proposal is being seen as an important turning point in the politics of Maharashtra. If the proposal is accepted, Raj and Uddhav together will be a formidable challenge for the BJP.

7. However, the Shiv Sena is yet to respond to the proposal.

Also read: BJP-Shiv Sena split: Did Uddhav snap 25-year-old alliance for Raj Thackeray?

--- ENDS ---
The message comes one day after Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days.

According to the latest Canadian census, from 2011, one out of five people in the country are foreign-born.

By Reuters: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

A day after US President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from the seven countries, Trudeau said in a tweet: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

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A second pointed tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Trump's immigration policy, included an archive photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport in 2015.

Confusion abounded at airports around the world on Saturday as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new US rules.

While Trudeau was tweeting a welcome to refugees, others on the social media platform were questioning whether Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen - a Somali-Canadian refugee - would be able to travel to the United States under the new rules.

Hussen's office did not respond to a request for comment.

WHAT NEXT

In Canada, WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday to comply with an executive order signed by Trump on Friday. WestJet spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline would give full refunds to anyone affected by the order. It did not say which country the passenger had come from.

The order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks, the president said.

Also read: Donald Trump says Syrian Christian refugees will be given priority

Stewart said WestJet had been informed by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) that the ban did not apply to dual citizens who had passports from countries other than those covered by the ban: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

"US CBP has confirmed it is the citizenship document they present to enter the country, not the country of where they were born," Stewart wrote in an email.

In Vancouver, an employee at the American Airlines counter said one person traveling on an Iranian passport had been turned away Saturday morning.

Also read: Green card holders impacted by Trump's anti-refugee order

Also read: Rights groups slam Donald Trump's plans on Muslim immigrants, refugees

Air Canada, the country's other major airline, said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had yet denied travel to any passengers.

"We are required to ensure passengers have the required documents for entry into, or transit the countries they are travelling to," said spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur. "In the case of these nationalities, they are not permitted to enter the US."

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A spokesman for Porter Airlines said the Toronto-based carrier will be restricting passengers from travelling to the United States from the listed countries until further notice. Porter will waive fees for changing destinations and offer refunds for cancelled trips related to the advisory.

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By Press Trust of India: Dehradun, Jan 28 (PTI) Despite its own candidate entering the electoral fray in Uttarakhands Dhanaulti constituency, Congress has decided to lend support to Independent candidate from the seat Pritam Singh Panwar, a member of the PDF that was supporting the Harish Rawat government from inside.

Making the announcement at a press conference addressed jointly by him and PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay here today, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said, "The AICC has taken a decision to extend support to Pritam Singh Panwar from Dhanaulti seat and we are with the partys decision."

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However, Rawat did not say anything on whether the partys official nominee Manmohan Mall will be asked to withdraw.

Mall, who was also sitting at the press conference when it began, left midway, throwing up indications that the partys decision had not gone down well with him.

Mall filed nominations from Dhanaulti yesterday as Congresss official candidate, landing the party in a difficult situation, as Panwar -- a minister in Harish Rawats cabinet -- was already in the fray from the seat as an Independent and had also sought the partys support.

It can deepen the Congresss problems on the seat as the party is already grappling with rebellion in more than half a dozen seats after announcement of candidates.

What has flummoxed political observers here is the dichotomy in Congresss stand on its alliance with PDF.

Questions have also been raised as to why Congress gave the party symbol to Mall and allowed him to enter the fray if it was in favour of supporting Pritam Singh Panwar. PTI ALM BSA

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Kalaktang(Arunachal Pradesh), Jan 29 (PTI) Cross border terrorism on the Indo-Bhutan border along Arunachal Pradesh has been controlled after SSB Tezpur Frontier set up its three Border Out Posts (BOPs) in Arunachal, a senior officer said.

SSB Tezpur Frontier Inspector General Sarwan Kumar told PTI that there was no movement of terrorists along the international border area following the BOPs.

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On earlier reports of militant outfits, specially National Democratic Front of Boroland Songbijit faction NDFB(S), taking shelter in the dense forests bordering Bhutan, Kumar said after setting up of the BOPs in Arunachal Pradesh towards Kalaktang no movement of insurgents have been detected.

He said Bhutan has also set up permanent border outposts manned to ensure full security cover.

Arunachal Pradesh shares about 700 km border with Bhutan and out of this 217 km area is manned by the SSB.

Stating that huge quantities of narcotics substances like cannabis and others totalling 1,300 kg worth Rs 11 crore were seized, Kumar said the SSB Tezpur Frontier also conducted operations in various areas and seized Rs 1.12 lakh fake currency notes, Rs 6.71 crore worth timber and above Rs 15 lakh worth wild life materials, besides destroying 31 acres of cannabis plantation at Kalaktang.

According to SSB officers, the force was also working to increase the number of women in its combat force.

The force has 67 battalions on ground at present (about 67,000 personnel) and in the next two years it would raise more such contingents to increase its number to 73 battalions, they added. PTI COR ESB DKB

--- ENDS ---
US President Donald Trump said his order imposing "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority nations does not amount to a Muslim ban.

Trump's immigration order has sparked protests in some places in the US (AP photo)

By Press Trust of India: Unfazed by growing criticism, US President Donald Trump asserted his "very strict ban" on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries was working "very nicely" and should continue.

Trump has ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.

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"It's working out very nicely. You see it in the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely," Trump told reporters yesterday.

'NOT A MUSLIM BAN'

"We are going to have a very, very strict ban and we are going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years," Trump said.

He, however, denied that barring refugees from several predominantly Muslim nations amounted to a ban on Muslims.

"It's not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared," Trump said.

The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

Also read: Tit for tat? Iran bars entry for US citizens after Trump immigration order

TECH LEADERS SLAM ORDER

The order, which bars Syrian refugees and halts the country's refugee resettlement programme for four months has triggered widespread criticism, including from Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Indian-American Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a note on LinkedIn, saying the company "will continue to advocate on this important topic." He said as an immigrant and the company's CEO he had "both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world."

Micro-blogging platform Twitter too spoke up on the issue, saying it stands with immigrants.

Twitter is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always.

Also read: After Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai slams Trump's immigration order

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Election Commission (EC) appointed surveillance teams today seized about 900 cases of illegal liquor and beer worth over 9.5 lakh from the poll-bound Sangrur district of Punjab.

They said the teams searched an alleged illegal godown at Kohrian road where 119 cases of beer, 220 cases of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 11 cases of country liquor were seized.

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At an another location in the said district, the EC appointed teams seized about 500 such cases, they said.

"The case pertains to excess stocks of liquor and beer stocked at these locations. Stocks worth over Rs 9.5 lakh have been seized. The action is being taken to check illegal inducements during the polls process in the state," they said. PTI NES RCJ

--- ENDS ---
PARIS  Hard-left Socialist rebel Benoit Hamon heads into Frances left-wing presidential primary runoff as a surprising favorite to beat pro-business pragmatist Manuel Valls, in a vote that will realign Frances unpredictable presidential campaign.

Hamon is the favorite in Sundays vote after arriving in pole position in the first round with 36 percent of the votes.

He proposes a determined and optimistic leftist alternative. His most talked-about proposal is a 750 euros ($800) universal income that would be gradually granted to all adults.

He is now backed by another left-wing candidate, Arnaud Montebourg, eliminated from the race with 17.5 percent of the votes.

Valls, who arrived second with 31.4 percent, criticized Hamons unrealistic promises.

A former junior minister and briefly education minister, Hamon left the government in 2014. He then led a group of rebel Socialist lawmakers who opposed the government's economic policies.

Nassera Mohammad, living in Trappes, the suburban city west of Paris where Hamon was elected, said he believes the hard-left candidate proposes real innovation in French politics. That's where we have to go, toward a renewal ... and not to be pleased with the old programs or with very small reforms, Mohammad said.

Ten French economists, including Thomas Piketty author of the best-seller Capital in the Twenty-First Century  last week published an article to argue that the universal income can be relevant and innovative.

Valls has tried to make an asset from his experience as prime minister from 2014 to 2016 despite his association with unpopular President Francois Hollande.

Valls promotes authority and security values as the country is still under threat from potential terror attacks. He says he represents a credible left seeking a balance between Frances social model and reforms adapting the country to globalization.

I don't want to be the candidate of the taxes; I leave it to my adversary, Valls said in a rally near Paris Thursday. I want to be the candidate of work value, of jobs, with a clear and serious roadmap offering a future to the French people.

Vivien Chauffaille, a Parisian attending Valls' rally, said he is the only one able to be a statesman and implement his proposals.

The French Socialist party has been torn for years between advocates of a radical left, including Hamon and Montebourg, and others sharing center-left views, like Valls and Hollande.

Divisions are so deep that if Hamon wins Sunday, some supporters of Valls are expected to back centrist figure Emmanuel Macron, who is campaigning for president as an independent.

Early polls showed the Socialist nominee, whichever is chosen, is currently ranking at the fifth position in the race for president. Not only far-right leader marine Le Pen and conservative leader Francois Fillon appear to be far ahead, followed by Macron and far-left figure Jean-Luc Melenchon.

The primary is open to all voters who pay 1 euro ($1.04) and sign a document saying they share the lefts values.

Sylvie Corbet is an Associated Press writer.
The U.S. government wants to keep the public in the dark. Thats nothing new to journalists and other citizens who have tried to access government information. But last week's news blackout  effectively gagging taxpayer-funded public information officers  is a new low.

Its especially disturbing that the gag orders targeted agencies that deal with vital scientific research. Regrettably, issues involving the Environmental Protection Agency have been politicized, but the agencys decisions on pollution control, clean air, land and water must be based on sound science. If science is muzzled or perverted to achieve political aims, there is no effective protection for the health and safety of the American people.

Associated Press reporters reviewed emails sent to EPA staff since Trumps inauguration. These directives banned press releases, blog updates or posts to the agencys social media accounts. Although EPA websites and social media usually have multiple new posts daily, nothing new was posted between Friday and Wednesday, according to the APs report Wednesday.

Incoming media requests will be carefully screened, one directive said. Only send out critical messages, as messages can be shared broadly and end up in the press.

USDA employees in the Agricultural Research Service were told not to release any public-facing document including news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds and social media content.

Years ago, the Society of Professional Journalists had an advertising campaign that asked: If a free press doesnt tell you, who will?

Americans now know the answer: The Trump administration will tell us all they want us to know. Americans can see just how that works in Russia, China, North Korea and other nations ruled by tyrants. The state runs the media; the media is an arm of the state. Dissent isnt tolerated. Independent journalists disappear.

The U.S. Constitution created a different role for the American press, enshrining freedom of speech and the press in the First Amendment, along with freedom of religion and assembly. That amendment also guarantees no prohibitions on the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Citizens cant effectively redress their grievances if the government doesnt allow them to know what its doing.

Even temporary prohibitions on communicating public information to U.S. citizens is disturbing. There was no crisis, no emergency.

Before President Donald Trump's inauguration, a group of 60 journalism organizations, led by the Society of Professional Journalists, wrote a letter inviting him and Vice President Mike Pence to discuss freedom of information issues, including reporter access to government experts and the presidents activities. Instead, the Trump administrations first moves were to restrict the flow of information.

Freedom of the press and access to our government agencies are critically important if were going to demand excellence from them, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said in a news release Tuesday. Transparency is fundamental to our democracy.

Its time for the administration to rethink its stand on public information. Self-government wont survive on presidential Tweets alone.
The Election Commission has directed the Goa administration to initiate legal proceedings against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for violation of Model Code of Conduct.

By India Today Web Desk: The Election Commission has ordered legal action to be initiated against Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi party convener Arvind Kejriwal for violation of Model Code of Conduct for polls.

The poll panel said, 'necessary legal action be initiated by filing an FIR/complaint against Arvind Kejriwal for statements on and after 8 January in Goa."

The Election Commission has stated that compliance report regarding legal action on Arvind Kejriwal should be sent to the Commission latest by 3.00 pm on 31 January.

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Earlier, the Election Commission had censured Arvind Kejriwal for his bribery remarks at a poll rally in Goa on January 8.

Kejriwal had reportedly told the voters to take money from the BJP and the Congress but vote for Aam Aadmi Party in the assembly elections.

The BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, which later issued notice to Kejriwal.

The poll panel said that Kejriwal's Goa speech violated the model code of conduct, which came into force on January 4.

The Election Commission held that Kejriwal's statement amounted to 'abetting and promoting electoral offence of bribery'.

RESPONSE FROM AAP

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party has refuted the reports of Election Commission directing for lodging an FIR against Kejriwal.

It said, "The Aam Aadmi Party has gone through the communication dated 29.1.2017 passed by the Election Commission of India against Arvind Kejriwal... the communication of the Election Commission of India does not convey that any criminal case has been registered against Arvind Kejriwal."

AAP further said, "It is being reported in the media that some order has been passed by the ECI for registration of FIR/complaint, but no such order has been communicated to Arvind Kejriwal..."

The AAP further reiterated its stand that Kejriwal's bribery remarks "does not amount to any offence" and that "it can be taken to be an inducement or abetment" for bribery.

Watch video: EC orders FIR against Kejriwal for 'bribe' comment

--- ENDS ---
1 Chemical weapons: Iraqi forces discovered a mustard chemical warfare agent in eastern Mosul alongside a cache of Russian surface-to-surface missiles, an Iraqi officer said Saturday. Iraqi and U.S. officials have repeatedly warned of Islamic State group efforts to develop chemical weapons. When Iraqi forces retook Mosul University earlier this month, they found chemistry labs they believed had been converted into makeshift chemical weapons labs. Iraqi special forces Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil said French officials tested the Mosul chemical and confirmed it was a mustard agent. Iraqi forces have declared Mosuls eastern half fully liberated, just over three months after the operation to retake the city from Islamic State began.

2 Birth control: The Dutch government announced Saturday that it is putting 10 million euros ($10.7 million) into an international fund to finance access to birth control, abortion and sex education for women in developing nations after President Trump cut U.S. funding for such services. Lilianne Ploumen, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said she was making the initial contribution and launched the fund  She Decides  Global Fundraising Initiative. Trump signed an executive memorandum last week reinstituting a ban on U.S. funding to international groups that perform abortions or even provide information about abortions. An international sexual health and rights organization based in the Netherlands, the Rutgers Foundation, will manage the new fund.
AMMAN, Jordan  Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan took a first hopeful step toward moving to the United States last fall, submitting to an initial security screening. But his dream of a better life was abruptly crushed when President Trump banned Syrian refugees from the U.S. until further notice.

Sawan learned of the ban while watching late-night TV news with his wife in their small apartment in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished, the 40-year-old said Saturday, a day after Trumps executive order.

He and other Syrian refugees bristled at the idea that they pose a potential security threat, saying they are peaceful people fleeing persecution.

Some warned that the new U.S. policy will be seen as singling out Muslims and further inflame anti-American sentiment in the region.

This decision made the U.S. lose its reputation in the world as the biggest economy, the biggest democracy, said refugee Nasser Sheik, 44, who was paralyzed by a stroke two years ago and lives with his family in Amman.

We are not going out to harm people of other countries, added his wife Madaya, 37.

On Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review designed to ensure that terrorists cannot slip through vetting. Trump also issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria.

At the time of Trumps decision, more than 27,000 Syrian refugees from 11 Middle Eastern host countries were being considered for resettlement in the U.S. and were in various stages of the approval process, according to the International Organization for Migration.

During the last budget year, the U.S. accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 from Syria.

Close to 5 million Syrians have fled their country since an uprising against President Bashar Assad erupted in 2011 and escalated into civil war.

Most refugees have settled in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon where their struggle for survival gets tougher every day.

Savings have run out, jobs are poorly paid and refugee children learn in crowded classrooms. Many refugees prefer to return home, but thats not an option as long as the war continues. Eager to escape tough conditions in the host countries, resettlement to the West now seems the best alternative.

Refugee aid groups said Trumps ban is hurting innocent people.

It will not make America safer, Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said by phone from Oslo. It will make America smaller and meaner.

Karin Laub is an Associated Press writer.
BEIRUT  Syrian troops gained control of the main water source for Damascus on Saturday in a major development that caps weeks of fighting with rebels in the area, according to Syrian state TV and opposition media.

The advance ends the standoff over Ain el-Fijeh village that restricted the water flow to nearly 5 million residents of the Damascus area for over a month. The fighting had also trapped tens of thousands of civilians in the Barada Valley area, where the water source is located.

Alaa Ibrahim, the local governor, said the evacuation of rebel fighters to northern Syria was delayed for one day because of rain storms and freezing temperatures. Maintenance of the water plant will begin as soon as the military declares the area secure, officials said.

The opposition monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces entered Ain el-Fijeh along with ambulances to transport the injured as part of a deal to end the fighting there. The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdurrahman, said rebel fighters remain in other villages in the valley, including militants with the al Qaeda-linked affiliate in Efra, a village about six miles from the water source.

The cease-fire, brokered by Russia and Turkey and in place since Dec. 30, was tested by the fighting in the valley. The fighting was sparked by government claims that rebels poisoned the water source at Ain el-Fijeh  a claim the rebels denied.

The deal also requires the evacuation of those rebel fighters who refuse to put down their weapons. The military media said about 1,200 fighters are expected to surrender their weapons, but it is not clear yet the final number of fighters to be evacuated.

On Saturday, maintenance teams were inspecting the water facility at Ain el-Fijeh. Damascus residents have been struggling to deal with the water shortage since late December.

Syrian government and allied troops have been closing in on rebel-held areas around the capital in recent months.

Sarah El Deeb is an Associated Press writer.
New Zealand's monthly trade deficit was little changed in December from the year-earlier month as imports and exports both slid by about the same amount.

The country had a $41 million trade deficit in December 2016, compared with a $42 million deficit in December 2015, Statistics New Zealand said. The deficit is less than the $98 million anticipated by economists, according to a consensus forecast. The value of New Zealand's exports in December shrank by $41 million, or 0.9 percent, to $4.38 billion, while imports reduced by $42 million, or 0.9 percent, to $4.42 billion.

The decline in exports was led by a $93 million fall in the value of meat and edible offal exports, the country's second-largest export commodity group. Beef exports slid by $47 million, or 17 percent, while the quantity reduced by 12 percent. Lamb exports also dropped $47 million, or 17 percent, with the quantity down 18 percent.

Bucking the trend, exports of milk powder, butter and cheese, the largest commodity export group, advanced $109 million, or 8 percent, to $1.47 billion. Milk powder exports rose $60 million, or 7 percent, to $857 million even as the quantity exported declined 4.7 percent.

Wood exports, the third-largest commodity group, were little changed in the month, down 1 percent to $347 million, while exports of fruit, the fourth-largest group, jumped 51 percent to $49 million.

Meanwhile, the slide in imports was led by a 2.5 percent fall in the value of intermediate goods. Imports of processed industrial supplies such as palm oil cake, plastics and fertilisers declined by $75 million, or 8.6 percent, offset by a $58 million lift in the value of processed fuels such as automotive diesel and jet fuel.

The statistics agency noted that Wellington's CentrePort had been affected by the Nov. 14 Kaikoura earthquake and is only partially operational. The value of exports through CentrePoint dropped 90 percent in December, compared with the year-earlier month. Exports through CentrePort accounted for 0.4 percent of the total value of the country's exports by sea, compared to an average 2.7 percent for the five previous December months, it said. The value of imports through CentrePort was down 40 percent from the same month in 2015 and it accounted for 3 percent of the total value of imports by sea, lagging its 6.1 percent average for the previous five December months.

On an annual basis, exports declined 1.1 percent to $48.4 billion in the 2016 year, compared with 2015, while imports slid 1.7 percent to $51.6 billion. The annual trade deficit was $3.2 billion or 6.6 percent of exports.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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By Press Trust of India: Sasaram, Jan 29 (PTI) An FIR has been lodged against six officials of Madhya Bihar Grameen Bank at Model Police Station in Bihars Rohtas district after scrapped currency notes worth Rs 1.19 crore went missing from the banks chest earlier this month, a bank official said today.

The FIR has been lodged under relevant sections against Madhya Bihar Grameen Banks chief branch manager Ashok Kumar Sinha, Nageshwar Manjhi and Rajendra Tiwari (cashiers), Yugal Kishore Sinha, K K Singh and Ajit Kumar (bank officials) in connection with the missing currency notes in denomination of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 deposited in its currency chest at Sasaram main branch, the banks regional officer Ravindra Nath Trivedi said.

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The officials were responsible for maintaining records of the cash amount deposited in the banks chest till December 30, 2016, he said.

A total amount of Rs 229 crore from 83 branches of Madhya Bihar Grameen Bank in scrapped currency notes were deposited at Sasaram main branch, but a difference of Rs 1.19 crore was found in the amount deposited with the RBI as per its receipt and the amount lying in the chest, Trivedi said.

Model Police Station in-charge Md Irshad said a probe was on in the matter. PTI CORR KDK DKB

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: London, Jan 29 (PTI) Emmaunelle Riva, the French actor whose 60 year career came to a triumphant climax with her Oscar nomination for Michael Hanekes "Amour", has died. She was 89.

Riva, who had cancer, died on Friday night in Paris, but was working until last summer, when she made a film, "Alma", in Iceland and performed at the Villa Medici in Rome, reported Guardian.

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The actress won a BAFTA and a Cesar award for "Amour", which portrayed the love story of an older couple, and Frances Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema paid tribute to the star following her death.

The Academie said in a statement, "We will all always have the image in our hearts of the immense joy to see her ascend the stage at the Theatre du Chtelet in 2013 and receive the Best Actress Cesar... A great and sublime actress has left us."

After her death, French President Francois Hollande praised the actress contribution to French culture, saying that she "deeply marked French cinema and created intense emotion in all the roles she played."

Last year she shot the movie "Alma", which is still in post-production, in Iceland and it will be the final film to feature the actress.

Emmanuelle never married and had no children. PTI JCH JCH

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: avalanches: Rawat

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Global warming, ecological changes and heavy shelling by Pakistani troops are triggering avalanches in places like Jammu and Kashmir, which had not reported such instances earlier, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said today.

"Ceasefire violations and use of heavy weapons by Pakistani troops are leading to loosening of soil, hereby creating danger of a landslide. Global warming is also leading to cracks in glaciers," he told reporters after paying homage to Major Amit Sagar, who lost his life in an avalanche on January 25, at Sonmarg.

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The Army Chief lauded the contribution of Major Amit Sagar, officer of the Territorial Army, saying he had volunteered for the posting despite the hardships there.

As many as 21 persons, including 15 army men, have been killed since last week due to avalanches and snowfall-related deaths in Kashmir valley.

Rawat said the state has been witnessing heavy snowfall over the past 72 hours, and is likely to witness similar conditions for the next two-three days.

"Due to global warming, glaciers are witnessing cracks. There are avalanches in areas which had not reported such cases earlier. Avalanches have occurred in Dawar areas, Machil sectors. We have erected some posts for counter-infiltration. Some posts are very near to enemy posts.

"There has been a lot of ceasefire violations and heavy weapons too are being used. Many times it affects the soil and loosens it up. When there is a heavy snowfall on such a loose soil and if there is a slope, it triggers danger of an avalanche," Rawat said.

He said the Army withdraws troops from places where there is possibility of an avalanche. However, some posts are vulnerable to insurgency.

Our soldiers are facing it (the danger). Their task is counter-infiltration and despite the hardships they are doing their duty. I wish to assure you (the soldiers). You have been doing your duty with dedication (but) we have to deal with infiltration, he said.

He said the Army has been taking help of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to map avalanche-prone areas.

Rawat also appealed to families of the jawans who lost their lives in the avalanche to bear with them as "weather is playing a spoilsport in bringing back the bodies of their dear ones."

"Because of the bad weather, some of our jawans lost their lives. (The bodies) are still in the Kashmir Valley and our priority is to bring them back and hand them over to their dear ones," the Army Chief added. PTI PR SRY

--- ENDS ---
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Today's archive page is from May 22, 1943.

Margaret Taylor, a home economist, will address a meeting of the Health for Victory Club.

The meeting, sponsored by the Staten Island Edison Corporation, will take place at 3:15 p.m. at PS 8, Great Kills.

The importance of dehydration and brining to preserve foods for next winter's meals will be discussed.

On Tuesday, home economist Doris Carter will address the West Brighton Club. The meeting will take place at 3:15 p.m. in PS 45, West Brighton.
Over the past decade, the demand for shutting the casinos of Goa has become an issue for the Assembly elections. Six casinos on the banks of Mandovi river have become a contention.

Casinos were allowed after the Congress came to power in the early 1990s, and were intended to give the state's tourism a leg up. Before the 2007 elections, the BJP assailed casinos as dens of corruption and promised to shut them immediately if it came to power. It lost the election, but kept up its attack on the Digambar Kamat government on the issue.

In 2012, the BJP renewed its anti-casino campaign, but made a U-turn after coming to power - Laxmikant Parsekar also made a case for letting the industry run unhindered to prevent job losses and fall in revenues and promised to relocate casinos to deeper waters off Goa within four years - a deadline that has long expired.

The incumbent BJP government is no longer opposed to casinos in principle, but claim that they will move the casinos off-shore which is 5 nautical miles from the sea.

The opponents of the casinos are the Congress, GSM and AAP. Goa Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said, "There is tremendous amount of illegal betting that goes on. Whether it is the Mandovi or others, all offshore casinos will be done away with. Even with regard to land casinos, the government will take an initiative of creating the right balance or may be even take action against it." His party, while calling for a public opinion poll on whether casinos should be banned entirely, has also demanded a ban on casino ads like the one on cigarettes and alcohol, so that they are not able to "influence young minds".

The AAP, which is running a fierce anti-drug addiction campaign in poll-bound Punjab, is playing the BJP's 2007 and 2012 card - promising to root out the casino industry altogether.
55math.jpg

PS 55 second-grader Declan Burko knows math can be fun when it involves an interactive game. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The main office is painted orange. The lunchroom is purple.

Students pass through blue doors and bright yellow hallways. Even the principal's office is a soothing lavender.

PS 55 in Eltingville is a rainbow of happy hues, and the color scheme reflects a learning environment that is equally vibrant.

In the eight years she's led the school, principal Sharon Fishman has transformed the atmosphere in her building, one room at a time.

"The color was raw concrete" when she took the reins, she recalls. "There was no life to it. It was very institutional."

The warm colors that bathe the school today reflect an approach to education embodied by Fishman and assistant principal Paul Giordano.

Second-graders Mariela Gaeta and Ava Casale are all smiles. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

"We're their friends. The [students] feel comfortable with us," she explains. "When we visit a classroom, the first thing they do is run to show us their work."

PS 55's staff of nearly 60 is equally welcoming to parents.

"We have an open-door policy. When a parent wants to talk to us, we stop what we're doing. There is no such thing as waiting," Fishman emphasizes.

PS 55 opened its doors at 54 Osborne St. in 1965 when the borough's South Shore was quickly filling up with duplexes, brick ranches and growing families.

Fourth-grade teacher Dawn Roman works with Robert Pascale and Victoria Mart. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

The school is named for Henry M. Boehm, a teacher and Staten Island school commissioner who lived in Greenridge until his death in 1862 at the age of 43. His Dutch farmhouse now sits on Arthur Kill Road as part of Historic Richmond Town.

EMBEDDED IN THE COMMUNITY

Civic engagement and school spirit are priorities at PS 55. With support from United Activities Unlimited, the school hosted a catered Thanksgiving dinner for 250 families, and donated extra trays of food to a Project Hospitality soup kitchen.

In October, when students learned how Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, the school organized a toy collection for children in the hardest hit communities.

In every classroom, the approach is student centered rather than teacher directed.

On a recent morning, fifth-grade students were self-assessing their progress during a science unit on deforestation.

"I'm getting there," said one student. "But I'm struggling a little bit."

"Your perseverance is admirable," reassured teacher Stacey Crabbe.

In Dawn Roman's fourth-grade language arts classroom, students were working in small groups to assess realistic fiction stories for content and voice. The process lets them experience what it's like to work as an editor, she said.

PS 55 fifth-graders Jareth Guzman Sanchez and Christopher Davila use laptops to research deforestation. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

High expectations have paid off. Last year, PS 55 boasted a 19.5 percent increase in literary scores on state tests. Principal Fishman credits the self-assessment approach to learning.

"It's about the growth, not the grade," she explains.

Special education is also a priority at PS 55, where 24 percent of the school's 630 students have special needs. Integrated co-teaching (ICT) classrooms in every grade provide the support they need.

For 10 years, PS 55 has served as the host school for a two-day adaptive physical education dance festival in March. The event draws students in kindergarten through fifth grade from across the Island.

"We're a barrier-free school. Our passion is to tear down the walls so all students have the same great education," Fishman says.

The arts are alive at PS 55 beginning with music appreciation in kindergarten and first grade. Recorder in second grade, chorus in third grade and violin and band in fourth and fifth grades, plus drama and visual arts, round out the program.

Fishman vows to sustain the arts program "no matter what happens to the budget."

A PASSIONATE EDUCATOR

Principal Fishman always wanted to be in the classroom.

"Ever since I could walk and talk, my favorite game was playing teacher," she recalls.

The Brooklyn native is a graduate of PS 114, Bildersee Intermediate School and South Shore High School, all in Canarsie, plus Northeastern University in Boston and Brooklyn College.

"Kids are running through the door and can't wait to get here," says PS 55 principal Sharon B. Fishman, left, joined by assistant principal Paul Giordano in the school lobby. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

She taught in Boston for five years, followed by an 18-year stint in management and human resources, before returning to New York -- and to the classroom -- in 2001. She spent seven years teaching and completed training at the New York City Leadership Academy before her appointment as PS 55 principal.

Fishman is only the third principal to lead the Eltingville school in five decades. Thousands of graduates fondly recall Seymour Richman, principal from 1965 until his retirement in 1998. Kathleen Schultz led the school through Fishman's appointment in 2009.

Unfazed by an arduous commute from her home on City Island, the Bronx, to her principal's office in Eltingville, Fishman is focused and building community and "moving the pedagogy" at PS 55.

"I'm a lifelong learner," she says. "I feel most alive when I'm engaged in learning."

Third-grader Ella Chen masters the violin in the PS 55 auditorium. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

As facilitators for the last four years in a DOE teacher leadership program, Fishman and her staff mentor teachers and administrators from seven schools who meet each month.

She works hard to recruit and retain strong teachers. PS 55 is the only school in the five boroughs to boast two recipients of the Big Apple Award, a citywide recognition program that celebrates educators who inspire students, model great teaching and enrich their school communities.

Jessica Russo and Angela Saccaro are PS 55's Big Apple honorees.

"We're moving in the right direction," Fishman says. "We're creating an exciting world of learning. Kids are running through the door and can't wait to get here."
A federal judge's emergency order Saturday temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban. The judge said travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.



The impact of the ban on refugees and citizens of seven mostly-Muslim countries from entering the United States was felt immediately in Britain.



A British lawmaker who was born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad said on Sunday he feels discriminated against "for the first time in my life."



Nadhim Zahawi, a member of parliament since 2010, says lawyers advised him he will not be able to enter the U.S. under the ban introduced on Friday.



Zahawi describes the impact on him and his family as "demeaning." He told local television his sons studying in the U.S. would not be able to visit Britain without facing a 90-day delay in returning to their studies.





An Iranian woman living in Scotland, Hamaseh Tayari, was stranded in Costa Rica in the wake of the ban, unable to board her scheduled flight home because it stopped in New York. She was seeking an alternative route with help from funds raised by a crowdfunding campaign.



British Prime Minister Theresa May has criticized the order, saying through her official spokesman said Sunday that May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the US government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.



The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey the decision was a matter solely for the United States.



After she returned to Britain from a whirlwind visit to Washington, where she met Trump at the White House, and Turkey, her spokesman said Britain did not approve of Trump's policy.



The British government is studying the order to gauge its impact on British nationals.



A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German leader believes the Trump administration's travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong.



Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that "she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."



Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone Saturday for the first time since his inauguration. A joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans.



The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and it affected a relatively small number of travelers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return.





The emergency order was issued by U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York Saturday night after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.



The judge's order addressed only a portion of Trump's executive action. As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.



The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.



It was unclear how quickly the judge's order might affect people in detention, or whether it would allow others to resume flying.



The Iraqi government says it understands the security motives behind Trump's decision to ban seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iraq, from entering the United States, but underlined that their "special relationship" should be taken into consideration.



Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi says Iraqis are hoping that the new orders "will not affect the efforts of strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States."



Al-Hadithi told The Associated Press on Sunday the government hopes the "measures will be temporary and for regulatory reasons and not permanent at least for Iraq."



The order, signed Friday, included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. It also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months.



Dubai Airports, the operator the world's busiest airport for international travel, said it is "monitoring the situation"



"Realistically, we don't even know if people are going to be allowed onto the planes," ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said. "This order would protect people who they allow to come here and reach U.S. soil."



DHS said the court ruling would have no effect on the overall executive action.



"President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place -- prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," according to the DHS statement.



Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said: "Nothing in the Brooklyn judge's order in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect."



Under Trump's order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency green cards or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trump's order had been prevented from entering the U.S.



Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.



In her three-page order, Donnelly wrote that without the stay "there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders and other individuals from nations subject to the Jan. 27, 2017, executive order."





Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.



Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.



The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.



As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns. He told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."



"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."



The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports, including New York's Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Fort Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read "Portland Coffee Is From Yemen" and chanting anti-Trump slogans. U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the move.



Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military. Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.



The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.



Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S.



Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.





Trump's order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that don't provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.



The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country."
Green card holders already overseas seeking to return to their homes in the US will be processed through a waiver authority that has already been established.

One official said there is a case-by-case admissions process and another said it is being done "expeditiously."

By Indo-Asian News Service: The US government will not automatically allow green card holders who travelled to countries placed under a temporary travel ban by President Donald Trump, back into the US.

Instead, those travellers will have to apply for a waiver to the executive order that instituted the ban, informed sources told CNN on Saturday.

The countries targeted by US President Donald Trump's executive order include the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen.

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GREEN CARD HOLDERS TO SIGN WAIVER

Green card holders already overseas seeking to return to their homes in the US will be processed through a waiver authority that has already been established.

Also read: Donald Trump's refugee order dashes hopes of Iraqis who helped the US

Also read: Donald Trump says Syrian Christian refugees will be given priority

One official said there is a case-by-case admissions process and another said it is being done "expeditiously."

People from the seven countries who have green cards -- a government document granting permanent residence in the US -- should not leave the country because they may not be allowed back in the US, one source familiar with the matter said.

There's been significant confusion over the precise terms of Trump's executive order since he signed it on Friday, particularly over how it pertained to visa holders who are travelling and if any different treatment was afforded to green card holders.

Also read: After Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai slams Donald Trump's immigration order

Also read: Rights groups slam Donald Trump's plans on Muslim immigrants, refugees

EXEMPTIONS AT AUTHORITIES' DISCRETION

Exemptions will be at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, and criteria for exemptions include refugee status for religious minorities facing persecution, if denying admission would cause undue hardship or if not doing so would not pose a risk to the security or welfare of the US.

Those travelling without a green card who landed in the United States after the order was signed would be detained and put back on a flight to their country of citizenship, an administration official told CNN.

Separately, Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledged people who were in the air would be detained upon arrival and put back on a plane to their home country.

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By Karishma Kuenzang: Sundays are all about dressing up in your best, and enjoying a nice, warm meal with people you'd like to laze around with. In a city where restaurants are always coming up with brunches and Sunday specials, it's difficult to carve a niche with non-complicated, non-exotic elements. But Dirty Apron, the dining area of The Pianoman Jazz Club, offers a basic, flavourful Sunday brunch, with lots of scrumptious options, abundant sun and an ambience which can make you want to never leave the place.

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Served on the rooftop of the building that also houses The Piano man Jazz Club, the sun-kissed brunch area allows guests to watch their barbeque options being made right in front of them, while the mixture of old school jazz standards and swing music keeps the mood of the place upbeat, tempting us to dance along as the aroma of the grill wafts nearer.

Also read: This cafe near Mumbai is worth a ride across the Arabian sea

We start out meal with a few detox shots (much-needed if you've had a Saturday you can't remember) - the fresh, light and cold Green Apple and Vermouth Soup Shot, which leaves a bitter aftertaste, and the tangy Cherry Tomato and Basil Shot. We are quite surprised by the Parmesan Cups with avocado, Feta Mousse amuse bouche, a powerhouse of strong yet not overpowering flavours. The bacon and arugula salad is a sea of green with a strip of bacon which is a tad too sweet, though the arugula balances the flavours. The Turkey and Orange salad that my companion picked seems to be the better option - it's light and actually makes non-salad fanatics consume something healthy before we move on to the grills.

Also read: 6 places to go for your winter weekend brunch in Delhi

Accompanied by a refreshing mojito and strong, fruity in-house red wine sangria, we start our mains with the perfectly done BBQ chicken wings, and the Grilled Harissa Chicken. While the former's recipe should probably be handed out to people who want their chicken wings to have a balanced flavour, the latter was a tad undercooked, though the garlic and slightly spicy harissa sauce wooed our tastebuds enough to ensure a second date. Not being a huge fan of fish, we apprehensively reach for the Char grilled Jerk Fish, which has a peppery zing, though it's the zesty, melt-inyour-mouth Coal Grilled Lemongrass Fish, that we end up ask more of. The juicy, tender, fatty, remotely spicy Char Siu Pork Belly charmed our tastebuds too. We grab a helping of their takeaway desserts, velveteen Red Velvet and creamy Banoffee Pie cup, as we walk out of one of the most memorable brunches.

-The Sunday Brunch at Dirty Apron (The Piano Man), B 6- Commercial Complex, Safdarjung Enclave is between 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm. Price per head with alcohol is Rs 2,200(plus taxes)

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The Iranian Foreign Ministry said US President Donald Trump's order barring arrivals from seven Muslim-majority nations is an "open affront" and "a big gift to extremists".

By Indo-Asian News Service: Iran indicated it could bar entry to US citizens in response to a move by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order temporarily barring most arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Iran said Trump's wide-ranging order, which was signed on Friday, among other things, prevents most travelers from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen from entering the US, was insulting and that it would respond in kind while the restrictions are in place.

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Calling Trump's decision "an open affront against the Iranian nation and the Muslim world", the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the measure would backfire and promote more violence and extremism.

Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, tweeted, "While respecting Americans & differentiating between them &hostile U.S. policies, Iran will take reciprocal measures to protect citizens."

'GIFT FOR EXTREMISTS'

"Despite its false claims of combating terrorism and ensuring the safety of the American people, (the executive order) will go down in history as a big gift to extremists and their supporters," it said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier had indirectly criticised another Trump executive order that assigns federal funds for the construction of a wall on the border separating the US and Mexico.

The current era is one of "reconciliation and coexistence and not of putting up walls between countries," he said.

A further deterioration in Iranian-US relations was expected with the coming to power of Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the nuclear deal signed in July 2015 between Iran and six major world powers.

Watch Video: Trump's ban on Muslims from 7 countries leads to confusion, tension

Also read: Mark Zuckerberg challenges Trump as ban on Muslims goes live in US

Also watch: Google CEO Sundar Pichai criticises Trump's immigration orders

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By Press Trust of India: Jamshedpur, Jan 29 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who was in the steel city to attend the oufits North East workers meet.

The Chief Minister flew to Jamshedpur from Ranchi this evening and was closeted with Bhagwat for around 20 minutes before he returned to the Jharkhand capital.

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BJP Jharkhand unit spokesman Rajesh Shukla confirmed the meeting and said it was a courtesy visit as "Bhagwatji is in the city for the last four days" to attend the RSS North East workers meet.

Earlier, on Saturday, former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda had an informal meeting with the RSS chief. PTI BS SUS ANB

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UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, said last year that Ulaanbaatar was one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. It found that the lungs of children in the districts with the highest pollution did not function as well as those of children living in rural areas, putting them at risk of chronic respiratory diseases as they grow older.
It's back to school time. And parents' bank accounts are hurting.

Rubbing salt into a wound caused by seemingly endless Christmas shopping, the purchases of uniforms, bags, shoes, stationery - and in many cases an iPad or laptop - proved a double blow for parents in the lead-up to the school year.

So how much does it cost to kit a kid up for school?

After surveying the parents of 10 private and public ACT primary school students in various grades, Fairfax Media calculated an average pricetag of $495 per student, which included uniforms ($220), shoes ($180), book packs or books and stationery ($80) and lunch items ($15).
Canberrans were reminded how to stay cool and how to look out for signs of heat related illness, especially in those most vulnerable such as the elderly and children.

With the mercury in Canberra set to remain well above the 30C mark this week, a total fire has been declared in the ACT and nearby regions in NSW, including Queanbeyan and the Southern Tablelands, for Monday.

It's a total fire ban in Canberra on Monday.

The ACT Emergency Services Agency Commissioner said there was a severe fire danger rating forecast, with 39C temperatures and west to north-westerly winds expected to reach 65km/h, creating perfect conditions for a fire.

Meanwhile, ACT emergency services, including ACT Fire & Rescue, were helping the NSW Rural Fire Service with a fire at Spring Hill with eight units in attendance.
With Our Glad Berejiklian  the archetypal girl who works harder than the boys  replacing pin-up boy Mike Baird as Premier of NSW, should the citizens of other states be envious? Don't be too sure.

True, Berejiklian, like Baird before her, came to public office from a job in banking, rather than a post-uni career as a political apparatchik, though she did spend time as a ministerial staffer. Baird didn't even have that.

Politics is becoming a priesthood  a lifetime calling, culminating in elected office  with ever fewer politicians having spent most of their lives working in a normal job with normal people.

I doubt we're better governed under this development.
Australian consumers are predicted to become more attractive targets for fraudsters and scammers when a $1 billion real-time payments system launches later this year, prompting banks to beef up their anti-fraud defences.

A new system coming in 2017 will for the first time allow customers of different banks to transfer money in real-time, rather than payments taking up to three days, as occurs now.

While promising greater convenience for customers and businesses, switching to real-time payments can also increase the rise of fraud. That is because when funds settle instantly, banks will no longer have a day or more to investigate and stop payments that appear suspicious.

Albert van Wyk, the head of fraud at information agency Experian, said he expected scammers to step up their attempts to get consumers' private financial information  used to commit fraud  when Australia moved to a real-time payment system under the New Payments Platform (NPP).
As of December 2016 there were more than 87,000 listings on Airbnb in Australia. By end of this month it is expected almost 100,000 Australian homes will be listed in the Airbnb platform, more than double the number the same time last year. Grattan Institute director Jim Minifie says "regulators will need to ensure platforms do not abuse the power they acquire as their user bases grow". Credit:Louise Kennerley The company, which late last year was valued at about US$30 billion, receives service fees (up to 12 per cent) from both guests and hosts in conjunction with every booking. Sydney is now one of Airbnb's top 10 cities globally, with more than 22,000 local listings. The city was also the fourth most popular city to rent on the platform on New Year's Eve behind New York, Paris and London. Labor's shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh. Credit:Louise Kennerley

"Overwhelmingly, Airbnb hosts in Australia are everyday people  mums and dads, seniors and young families  who occasionally list their primary residence or spare room to make a modest extra bit of income," an Airbnb spokesman said. Uber has 54,000 drivers Ride-sharing service Uber, which now serves more than eight million passengers in about 70 countries, has also seen rapid local growth. Uber, which was valued at US$68 billion in December 2016, came to Australia in April 2014. There are now 54,000 drivers across the country and 2.4 million riders registered on the Uber app.

"More than 50 per cent of Uber drivers across Australia drive fewer than 10 hours a week," an Uber spokesman said. But rules and regulations are failing to keep up with the rapid growth of sharing economy services. Uber has mounted a legal challenge against the Australian Taxation Office after the agency said it would force thousands of Uber drivers to register for and pay GST. And in June last year a landlord successfully booted her tenants from a Melbourne apartment after they illegally rented it out through Airbnb. Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh said the government needed to ensure that regulators, operators and consumers do not continue to languish without rules that fit the new sharing economy.

Grattan's report Peer-to-peer pressure, How the government should make the most of the sharing economy, called for reform of competition, consumer and tax policy. Call to compensate taxi drivers The report made several recommendations to policymakers, including that state governments follow the lead of ACT, NSW and Western Australia and legalise ride-sharing, but with minimum safety requirements. The report suggested the impact of Uber and other similar services such as GoGet on the traditional taxi industry be dealt with via state governments lowering taxi and hire-car licence prices, with the possibility of compensation for those people who bought taxi licences recently and/or who suffer severe financial hardship. The report suggested laws surrounding short-stay accommodation also limit noise and loss of amenity and that state governments give owners' corporations more powers to control short-stay rentals, including the power to ban them.

The report also made several recommendations to regulators, including calling on the ACCC to adapt existing competition law principles to the peer-to-peer economy. Tax take needs to grow The report also noted that multinationals like Uber and Airbnb were engaging in tax minimisation, as a recent Senate inquiry into tax avoidance had heard. Uber says it paid $2.5 million in tax in Australia in 2016. Uber's director of public policy Brad Kitschke admitted at the inquiry that about 25 per cent of each transaction in Australia is routed to its head company in the Netherlands. And Airbnb's country manager Sam McDonagh said there is a 3 per cent fee applied to booking in Australia. So if a transaction is $100, $97 of that goes into the host's pocket and $3 goes to Airbnb Ireland.

The Grattan report said: "Taxation laws should be tightened to ensure that the tax take does not fall as the peer-to-peer economy grows". THE SHARING ECONOMY: QUICK FACTS - Airbnb has over 2 million listings in 34,000 cities and almost 200 countries worldwide. As of December there were more than 87,000 listings on Airbnb in Australia. - On average Australians hosting on Airbnb earn about $4500 a year by listing their home for 28 nights a year. The average age of Australian hosts is 44 and the average stay per guest at an Australian Airbnb listing is 3.6 nights. - Airbnb's top five destinations Australians travel to are Paris, London, New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles. Airbnb's top five origins of Airbnb guests to Australia are Singapore, London, Hong Kong, Auckland and Paris.
Wild scenes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after President Donald Trump signed an executive order. Credit:AP "Employers are not allowed to ask where their employees are from but, if they are going to the US for business or a conference, they now have to ask, in case that staff member will be banned. "At least having the 90 days gives some time reference, but the Australian government and even the American Embassy need to keep the public informed." Kerry Stokes (left) talking to Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce at the opening of the airline's hangar at Los Angeles airport. Credit:Patrick Hatch James Pearson, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the order and its rapid implementation would cause uncertainty for Australian businesses, particularly those whose staff had dual nationalities and needed to visit the US.

"These businesses will be working overtime to see how they will be affected by the changes," Mr Pearson said. In the US, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings called it "a sad week" and added: "It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity." Apple chief executive Tim Cook sent a letter to employees saying Mr Trump's order was "not a policy we support" and promised to help affected employees. "We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our co-workers and our company," Mr Cook added. Elon Musk, the South African-born founder of Tesla and SpaceX who met recently with Mr Trump, said on Twitter: "The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country's challenges."

Television magnate and Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, visiting the US, said Australia shouldn't worry too much about Mr Trump because it was on the right side of its trade balance sheet and was too strong to be led into acting against its own interest. "I really don't care," the West Australian Rich Lister told Fairfax Media in Los Angeles on Saturday before Mr Trump's executive order was announced. "The more things change they more they stay the same." In Mr Trump's first week as president he suggested a 20 per cent tariff on all Mexican goods, as well as on goods from some other countries, and threatened to rewrite trade deals. Mr Trump's administration this week also suggested intervening to stop China taking over territory in the South China Sea. "I think we've got about a $60 billion credit with America against imports ... so Mr Trump should fall over us to keep us," Mr Stokes said.

"We're pretty strong, we've got a good government and I don't see us getting pulled into anything we don't want to be involved in." Mr Stokes was visiting Los Angeles at the start of the annual G'Day USA week, which promoted Australian business, tourism and culture, and was attending the opening of Qantas' $40 million hangar at Los Angeles International Airport. "It's great to see Qantas setting the standard because, at the end of the day, our entire future ... is about the importation of capital, goods and tourism," Mr Stokes said. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce echoed Mr Stokes' ease about the Trump administration, saying he doubted the protectionist president would affect the airline's business. "We have a long tradition here, we're very comfortable at doing business here, this is a big market for us: none of that's going to change," Mr Joyce said.

"I don't think that's going to change with this administration or any administration." Separately, Emirates airline announced it had been forced to change flight attendant and pilot rosters on services to the United States following the travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. "The recent change to the US entry requirements for nationals of seven countries applies to all travellers and flight operations crew," a spokeswoman said on Sunday. "We have made the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements." The airline said the impact on the airline would be minimal due to its diverse workforce. Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, employs over 23,000 flight attendants and around 4000 pilots from around the world including from the US, Europe and Middle East.
Sales of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 have skyrocketed since the garish orange dawn of the Trump presidency and especially since a Trump spokesperson went on national TV to declare the obvious lies about the size of the crowd on inauguration day were simply, "alternative facts".

We mainly think of 1984 as an indictment of totalitarianism and the decay of language to a point where "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength." In fact it's equally a novel about history and how one of the roles of a paranoid out-of-control State is to re-write and cleanse the past.

We mainly think of 1984 as an indictment of totalitarianism and the decay of language to a point where "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength." In fact it's equally a novel about history and how one of the roles of a paranoid out-of-control State is to re-write and cleanse the past.

So enemies of the State must be "vaporised"  they are not only executed, their very existence is erased from history. And at one point the rebel hero Winston Smith drinks a toast not to the future but to the past. "The past is more important."

Australia has been grappling with its past and especially its treatment of Indigenous Australians for decades. That struggle is brought into sharp relief every Australia Day. Is it a celebration of great achievement or a day marking pain, dispossession and oppression?
"Back in the 1920s Gladys was a relatively common name, writes Leo Schofield of Potts Point. "One thinks of the great British actress Gladys Cooper and the admired contralto Gladys Ripley, a favourite of Elgar's. Here we had that magnificent musical comedy star Gladys Moncrieff, so beloved of the public that her name was, in the great Aussie tradition, diminutivised. Will our new Premier generate sufficient affection to be dubbed, as was Moncrieff, Our Glad?"

I had exactly the same response from Australia Post as Ms Park (C8) when I advised that I had not received several letters, says Theresa Smith of Illawong. "I'm wondering if this display of indifference to customer service is all part of their strategy to discontinue that pesky snail mail service."

But, for balance, from Ann Babington of Shortland. "I was much luckier because I posted a card to my granddaughter from Neutral Bay to Denistone West on Thursday 26th (a public holiday) and she received it yesterday, Friday 27th. Sometimes Australia Post works way above its reputation."

From Aiko Hagiwara of North Turramurra. "The green plastic grass in Japanese sushi boxes (C8) is a cheap substitute for bamboo leaves (sasa-no-ha).Originally real sasa-no-ha leaves were placed in the box but they wilt so here comes plastic leaves."

One cannot get more Aussie than Chesty Bond, right? asks Dave Horsfall of North Gosford. "Imagine my distress when after purchasing a size 22, I found in the rear bottom right-hand corner "Designed in Australia / Made in Cambodia".
By Press Trust of India: London, Jan 29 (PTI) Londons Pakistan-origin mayor Sadiq Khan slammed US President Donald Trumps ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations as "shameful and cruel" and said the policy "flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance".

Trump in an executive order on Friday suspended refugees from entering the US and barred visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out."

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His controversial decision has led to chaos at home and around the world, with hundreds of thousands of people gathered at airports across the US in protest against the ban.

Khan released a statement responding to Trumps executive order, describing the ban on immigrants as "shameful and cruel". He said the policy "flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance", the Independent reported today.

The 46-year-old first Muslim mayor of London pointed out that many British citizens will be affected by the new rules and was pleased that UK Prime Minister Theresa May had also raised concerns.

"The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President cant just turn his back on this global crisis - all countries need to play their part," he said.

"While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.

"Im pleased that the Prime Minister has now said she and the government do not agree with President Trumps policy, which will affect many British citizens who have dual nationality, including Londoners born in countries affected by the ban," he added.

Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, and the US President have a history of clashing and in the past the Mayor criticised many of Trumps campaign tactics.

During an interview with ITV Good Morning Trump responded to Khans previous remarks and said they were "ignorant" and "very rude". PTI ABH

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New information from the ACT Asbestos Health Study paints a worrying picture of the strain the Mr Fluffy crisis has put on the mental health of affected homeowners in the territory.

Much has been made of the financial costs of the ACT government's demolition scheme and the possible health risks of exposure to the deadly asbestos.

But this study now gives a strong indication that many affected homeowners have suffered serious psychological distress. The study found while most affected home owners reported relatively good health with low anxiety, some had experienced high levels of distress.

A quarter of the 1022 affected households that are part of the scheme participated in the survey.

Consideration too must go towards all of the people who have lived in and worked on these homes in the years between the installation of the asbestos in the 1970s and the current demolition scheme.
With just 207 weeks of Donald Trump's first presidential term remaining, the world appears to have changed. Whether or not it has changed for the better remains to be seen.

On the plus side, billions of people from around the globe are engaged with the American political process to a degree not seen since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy.

There is also the arguable benefit we are, in the context of the ancient Chinese curse, about to live through some "interesting times".

This is due to the new commander-in-chief's willingness to pick fights - within his own borders and outside of them - his predecessors didn't care to have.
Donald Trump's surprise election in the United States has given the political right around the world new affirmation and new confidence. It would be easy to dismiss this as a fringe phenomenon; our reports today show why that would be a serious mistake.

Australian politics has always had a right-wing fringe. Today it is at its strongest in decades, and it is affecting mainstream politics. In the United States obviously it has gained the pinnacle of power. Here, the Trump victory has given far-right supporters an enormous boost. It raises the question: how good are our mainstream politicians at meeting and overcoming such a challenge?

Like Donald Trump, One Nation's Pauline Hanson thrives on being dismissed by mainstream politicians, journalists and commentators. The more her ideas are belittled or deplored by people who think they are smarter than she, the more her supporters rally round her. They, like Ms Hanson, believe they have been marginalised, ignored and despised in Australian politics. They point, with some justice, to the way mainstream debates have become governed by unwritten rules which control what can and cannot be said and what opinions are fit to be expressed. Right-wing politicians bring a certain understandable glee to smashing these rules in favour of speaking what they see as the truth, a practice which makes them inherently popular.

When this degenerates into mere racism and xenophobia, the result is inevitably ugly and destructive. When however it attempts a reasoned critique of, for example, repressive Islamic attitudes to women and gay people, or income inequalities as the result of globalisation, it becomes something else: a possible basis for a political platform. Overseas examples show that given an able leader capable of effective persuasion, it might be taken far.

Could Ms Hanson be that leader? As we report today, in her second incarnation as a federal politician Ms Hanson brings a new-found confidence based on overseas ideas and models, and on the support she has gained through internet-based connections with like-minded people. This broader network appears to have sharpened her thinking and made her look more adept than she did during her first foray into politics. Even then, during the late 1990s she posed a problem for the Coalition, drawing away significant support. It is to John Howard's credit  though it is unlikely that historians will ever praise him for it  that he managed to draw that support back from the fringe to the mainstream. It will be interesting to see how well Malcolm Turnbull fares, faced with a similar problem in a new, globalised and more sophisticated form. Mr Turnbull has spent much of his time in office as Prime Minister concealing sides of his character which voters thought they knew; perhaps in the fight to shore up Coalition support against reinvigorated opponents on the far right he will now reveal some hidden faculties they never realised he possessed.


John Hurt presents Actress Dame Helen Mirren with her Lifetime Achievement Award at the Women In Film And TV Awards, London, 2009. Credit:Getty Images At various times throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he could be found at the Colony Room - known to its habitues as Muriel's - part of a drinking coterie that included Oliver Reed, Richard Harris and Peter O'Toole. Drink, he insisted, fuelled his creative side in those days, and worked against a crippling shyness that was a legacy of an isolated childhood. John Hurt posing at the Venice Film Festival after interviews for the film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Credit:AP He once claimed to have consumed seven bottles of wine a day to get into character as the dissolute Max in Midnight Express (1978), though he later revised the estimate to three.

Yet Hurt's creativity was tempered by self-destruction. A family propensity for mood swings  "ups and downs", as he termed them  cast a long shadow over his childhood and early career, exacerbated by private misfortune. John Vincent Hurt with the Outstanding British Contribution award during the Orange British Academy Film Awards 2012 at the Royal Opera House. Credit:Getty His first marriage, to the actress Annette Robinson, lasted just two years, while a long-term relationship with the French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot ended in tragedy when she was killed in a riding accident in 1983. "Drink doesn't make you feel better," he said of that time in his life. "It just exacerbates the mood you are in." His last public drinking binge, in 2004, saw him thrown out of the Spearmint Rhino lap dancing club for lewd behaviour, before slurring his way through an awards speech the next day.

The youngest of three children, John Vincent Hurt was born in Chesterfield on Jan 22 1940 and grew up in Shirebrook, a colliery town in Derbyshire. His father Arnould was an Anglican vicar with exacting expectations of his sons, which Hurt  who was not of an academic disposition  struggled to meet. Packed off to an Anglo-Catholic boarding school at seven and a half, Hurt's faith gradually ebbed away, though he retained a fascination with the ritual of worship. Consequently, the theatre appealed to him from a young age and he took to the stage in various school productions  usually cast in the female roles. His parents would not countenance the notion of a career on the stage, however, and instead a talent for drawing took him to Saint Martin's School of Art in 1958, on the understanding that he might become an art master.

He was awarded a grant of 4 a week and lived, profoundly unhappy, in a room in Earl's Court. A friend who worked at a Wimpy bar kept him going with surreptitious fast food offerings and persuaded him to apply to Rada after hearing him hold forth during a alcohol-fuelled evening. "I was an hour early for the audition," Hurt recalled. "I was so cold and hungry that I sat down on the steps outside and fell asleep." He was offered a scholarship in 1959 and joined a class which included Sarah Miles and Ian McShane. The latter became his closest friend. Hurt's talent was such that he had been signed by an agency before the course was over, making his first television appearance as a young private in Local Incident (1961).

For the next few years, he concentrated on theatre as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with a starring role in David Halliwell's satire of the 1960s protest movement, Little Malcolm And His Struggle Against The Eunuchs (1966), at the Garrick Theatre in London. Recuperating in Ibiza after filming his second major film project, John Huston's Sinful Davey (1969), Hurt met Marie-Lise Volpeliere Pierrot. She followed him back to England and the couple lived together for the next 16 years. He became involved in shooting The Naked Civil Servant just after finishing his run in Tom Stoppard's Travesties in London and rejected the opportunity to act in the production on Broadway in order to play Crisp. At the time, the tale of a flamboyant homosexual was considered too politically charged for the BBC, which turned it down. Hurt's performance won a Bafta for best actor in 1975 and moved the man himself to declare Hurt "my representative here on Earth". The following year brought further acclaim with I, Claudius, Hurt turning in a deliciously over-the-top performance as the ghoulish Caligula.

Hurt continued to work in film throughout the 1970s, with a handful of forgettable horror films including The Ghoul (1977). It was not until the end of the decade that he had cemented his position on an international stage, thanks to a Bafta-winning turn in David Puttnam's Midnight Express and one of cinema's most memorable  and grisly  death scenes in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). Hurt's transformation into John Merrick, the severely deformed hero of The Elephant Man, took seven hours to achieve every second day; to film every day would have risked doing permanent damage to Hurt's skin. With everything applied, his head became so heavy it was impossible to rest for any length of time. The experience proved so exhausting that he decided to take a sabbatical from acting, though it was too late to prevent a temporary split from Marie-Lise. He spent the next few months in Oxfordshire with Claire Rimmer, a West End actress. After Marie-Lise's death in 1983 Hurt decamped to Kenya, where he had been filming the historical drama White Mischief, and set about building a house near Nairobi for himself and his second wife, Donna Peacock The marriage eventually ended in 1988 when Hurt flew to London to film Scandal. While there, he fell in love with Jo Dalton, an assistant to the director, and settled with her in Ireland. Their first child was born in 1990. Having realised a long-held ambition to play Winston Smith in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, he began to accept parts in films such as Contact (1997), Robert Zemeckis' superior sci-fi blockbuster, and as the wand-maker Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter films  though the latter was primarily undertaken because "my children would never have spoken to me again if I hadn't."
Protests tend to be irritating  long, dull, attractive to the barking mad. At least they usually have hopeless sound systems so you don't have to hear the long, dull, and often mad speeches.

But they are vital to our democracy, no matter how irritating they may be, and those who belittle peaceful protesters belittle the democracy they serve. Patriotism can be telling your country it's got something wrong, especially when it's unpopular.

A demonstrator holds up a flare during a protest outside the US Republican Party's annual policy retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday. Credit:Bloomberg

How predictable, then, to have such an overreaction to Australia Day protesters, ignoring the lesson that often protesters have been reviled at the time, only to be celebrated later.

How sad that NSW, in a fit of unnecessary pique, invented an "aggravated" new form of trespass last year to protect business (read coal seam gas sites) from protest, as if being charged with the simple offence wouldn't be aggravating enough.
It started in 2011 as the O'Farrell-Baird show. Mike Baird as treasurer did a good job and built enough of a profile that when he rose to Premier it was basically a one-man band. His transport minister then treasurer Gladys Berejiklian did well too, although her public profile was subdued.

Now the state's voters have an even more mysterious double act: Ms Berejiklian as leader alongside right-wing quid pro quo Liberal deputy Dominic Perrottet.

Protesters mar the ministry announcement by Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro in Queanbeyan. Credit:Bevan Shields

While the Herald supported the factional deal that elevated Mr Perrottet at age 33, the economist-lawyer is hardly known outside his party. Having toiled away in the backrooms of Finance for a few years, he has served his apprenticeship and will be the face of the NSW economy as Treasurer from Monday.

But add in the relatively unknown freshman Nationals leader, Deputy Premier and Regional Minister John Barilaro, and it's a Neville Nobody leadership trio to most NSW voters.
For many years, the work of the High Court focused on arbitrating disputes between the Commonwealth and the states. This might be a case involving whether the Commonwealth can set down an industrial relations law for the nation, or whether the federal government can protect the environment by stopping a dam in Tasmania.

Such perspectives do not sit easily with the expert, rules-based approach of the court. Rules and procedures can be viewed as inconvenient by leaders wanting to implement community-backed policies at any cost. Courts can find themselves in uncomfortable opposition to strong-arm leaders determined to win public favour by having their way irrespective of the legal niceties.

The new chief justice takes over from Robert French at a time when the High Court is held in high regard. Its independence is unquestioned, as is the calibre of its membership. On the other hand, danger signs are emerging from the swelling of populist, anti-elite opinion in Australia and overseas.

At 10:15am on Monday morning, Susan Kiefel will be sworn in as chief justice of the High Court. She will be the 13th person, and first woman, to hold Australia's most senior judicial office. Her appointment came as no surprise. She is the longest-serving member of the court, and has a record of incisive legal reasoning, hard work and integrity.

Today, disputes of this kind rarely come before the High Court. This is due to the court itself, which has handed down decisions which so greatly favour the Commonwealth that there are few legal limits to its ability to intervene in state affairs. The court more often decides cases involving limits on the power or spending of governments. These can arise because parliaments have granted extraordinary new powers to ministers, and can put the court in direct conflict with a government.

The laws in question often relate to terrorism or asylum seekers. They permit citizens to be detained without charge or trial, the collection of data about every member of the community and the transfer of asylum seekers to offshore detention centres at the discretion of a minister. Some powers can be exercised in secret, and carry jail terms even for journalists reporting on government wrongdoing.

The High Court can be called upon to ensure politicians stay within the bounds of the law in exercising these powers. Many matters of this kind will be heard by the Kiefel court. Foreshadowed cases include a challenge to the Border Force Act imposing a two-year jail term on workers within the immigration detention system who make an unauthorised disclosure about conditions. Another possible case is a law permitting dual nationals to have their Australian citizenship stripped because of suspected, but unproved, involvement with terrorism.

Challenges involving asylum seekers and national security can touch a raw political nerve. Where a government suffers a loss, it may lash out at the court, and indeed the rise of populist pressures make it more likely to do so. There are many examples of this in Australia and overseas, suggesting a growing intolerance for the work of judges by politicians and the media.

Donald Trump has not been shy in seeking to gain public favour by attacking members of the judiciary. Nor has the UK media. In response to a High Court decision that Parliament must vote for the UK to leave Europe, the Daily Mail responded with a front-page splashed with the photos of the three judges involved. Its headline declared them to be 'Enemies of the People'.
"He called me up, he said, 'Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally.'" Late Saturday local time a federal judge in New York issued a temporary halt on deportations. [Brooke Seipel/The Hill] The decree caused chaos across America at international airports as companies and border officials were left scrambling to enforce the changes. [Fairfax] Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus insisted it was not chaos. In an excruciating interview he repeatedly said Green Card holders were and were not affected. [Alexandra Jaffe] Wild scenes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all immigration from countries with terrorism concerns for 90 days. Credit:AP

Kellyanne Conway, who gave us the wonderfully Orwellian term "alternative facts" last weekend, was back on Sunday television, arguing that disrupting the travel of "one per cent" was a "small price to pay," for protecting US borders. [FoxNews] And this is my must-read for today: Eliot A. Cohen on how Trump will be undone is the article for anyone despairing about planet Trump. [The Atlantic] 3. Calls to cancel Trump's state visit to Britain U.S. President Donald Trump, right, walks with Theresa May, U.K. prime minister, outside of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. The British prime minister is planning to pitch a free-trade deal to the new U.S. leader just as the reality of a new era of protection for American workers sinks in. Photographer: Olivier Douliery/Pool via Bloomberg Credit:Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May has been under pressure at home to stand up to Trump.

She set these expectations herself by promising ahead of her Friday trip to Washington that she would not be afraid to stand up to the president when they disagreed (granted she was speaking about issues relating to Trump's treatment of women at the time). But put to the test while standing alongside her Turkish counterpart after departing Washington, May said "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees." [BBC News] Just after midnight, 10 Downing Street belatedly issued a statement saying the PM did not agree with Trump's ban. Too little too late, writes Anushka Asthana. [The Guardian] By contrast, several Tory MPs have rushed to criticise the ban, including the conservative Nadhim Zahawi who said Trump's ban is reminiscent of discrimination he hasn't felt since little school.

And the tension between Boris Johnson and May is as evident as ever. The Foreign Secretary didn't shy away from saying what the PM initially wouldn't. May's limp response to Trump is in stark contrast with the response from leaders across Europe, notably German Chancellor Angela Merkel who explained the Geneva convention to Trump during their phone call on the weekend. [Simon Marks/Politico.eu] France says its a nation's duty to consider the plight of refugees. [Reuters] UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has stepped up strongly. He's calling for Trump's State visit to be put on hold for as long as the Muslim ban is in place. [ITV News]

4. Refugee deal to be honoured President Donald Trump speaking to Malcolm Turnbull from the Oval Office on Sunday with Mike Flynn and Steve Bannon. Credit:AP And the government breathes a sigh of relief. Just in the last fortnight I spoke to one official who conceded that the refugee swap deal negotiated under Turnbull and Obama was considered lost with the election of Trump. But in a surprise move, Trump says he will honour the deal. [David Wroe/Fairfax] As of Friday, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection says there are 21 different nationalities represented by detainees in Nauru and Manus, with the bulk coming from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iran. Iran is one of the seven countries on Trump's banned list.

In other politics news: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Rohan Thomson Turnbull is upbeat about 2017, a year George Brandis is set to be posted to London and Christian Porter elevated to replace the Queensland Senator as Attorney-General. [Karen Middleton/The Saturday Paper] While I doubt Turnbull's inherent political ineptness is anything that can be rectified in the long or short term, Turnbull should be looking at the Trump experiment with a degree of glee. Trump is what happens when those who claim to be the 'silent majority' impose their far-right views on the mainstream. This is Brietbart, Fox News and the Heritage Foundation et al lived out. And it's chaos.

If there was ever a time Turnbull could feel confident about finally standing up to the conservative right (which is already fractured in Australia) it is now, as the realisation that Trump wasn't just campaigning in poetry but actual prose reverberates around the world. This point best demonstrated by right-wing commentator Andrew Bolt. [News Corp] Anthony Bell, Tony Abbott and television presenter Karl Stefanovic. Credit:Attila Szilvasi Trump's far-right and often aggressive agenda occupies the space Tony Abbott now claims to represent. Et voila. Tony Abbott's latest round of hypocritical attention seeking is his renewed call for Malcolm Turnbull to abolish the Renewable Energy Target, which he chose to reduce but not abolish when prime minister. (I really need that thinking face emoji right here.)

Abbott's latest attack on Turnbull was made to the Young Liberals conference in Adelaide. [Simon Benson/The Australian] He's also written an opinion piece bemoaning that Australian politics has become gridlocked and has become less like Westminster and more like "Washminster." He proposes a referendum to let twice-rejected legislation be put before a joint-sitting without the need for a double-dissolution election. [The Australian] If Tony Abbott wants to study the point where Australian politics became gridlocked, he might want to begin with 2009, when as an obstructionist opposition leader he blocked just about everything Labor tried to do, including the proposed asylum-seeker swap with Malaysia, which Abbott himself now concedes might have worked to stem the deluge of boats. What a staggering world of denial, delusion and complete lack of self-awareness Abbott occupies. 5. Suu Kyi adviser assassinated

Ko Ni, an adviser to Aung San Suu Ki, has been shot dead. Credit:Facebook A legal adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi has been shot outside Yangon's international airport after returning from a trip to Indonesia. Our south-east Asia correspondent Linsday Murdoch reports the gunman's motives were not immediately known, but the murder is set against the backdrop of the army's brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in western Rakhine state. [Fairfax] 6. Federer wins 18th grand slam What a champion. [Linda Pearce/The Age]

(And if you're not following our amazing snapper Alex Ellinghausen on Twitter and Instagram, you're no Double Shotter of mine.*) *jokes** **kinda Loading
Melania Trump's first glossy magazine cover as first lady is on Vanity Fair Mexico - but the timing (just as her husband's border-wall plans are souring the U.S. relationship with Mexico) and the pose (FLOTUS is pictured twirling a string of diamonds as if they were spaghetti) are just a little... well, off.

The magazine hits newsstands just as the relationship between the United States and its neighbour to the south are fraying, thanks to President Trump's plan to build a wall along the border, and his insistence, despite Mexican leaders' statements to the contrary, that Mexico pay for it.

The cover promises a look at the glamorous First Lady's family, how she deals with her husband and how she plans to become the new Jackie Kennedy.

The photo shoot and the accompanying interview are actually recycled content - they originally ran in sister (or is it brother?) publication GQ last year.
I once heard that women who own a shoe rack take 30 minutes less to get ready in the morning, such is the compound effect on the rest of their morning routine.

The point is, having a capsule work wardrobe, as opposed to choosing from your entire clothing collection each morning, actually gives you more freedom, and therefore easier choices.

Until Australia Day, most companies take a more relaxed approach to dressing but as of Monday, it's time to tackle the work year head on, which means you'll need the right gear to kick some professional butt.

Think about your absolute favourite item in your wardrobe, even if it's NSFW. Is it the cut of a jacket that makes you feel confident, or a dress in a fabric that makes you feel both stylish and comfortable? Is there a garment that gets you compliments every time you wear it (and re-wear it)?
My daughter, Alana, was diagnosed prenatally with a rare chromosome difference, Tetrasomy 9p. With many physical anomalies (of the brain and other body systems) detected on ultrasound, Alanas prognosis was poor, and my pregnancy was high-risk. Physicians prepared me for a stillbirth, but Alana is now an eccentric, intuitive, and hard-working teenager.

Alana believes everything, even oatmeal, tastes better with a dollop of sour cream. She is always one step ahead of me. When I am tearing up the house to find my purse, Alana is waiting in the car with it in her lap. Alana is our tiny tornado, and from dawn to dusk she is shredding newspapers for our chickens nesting boxes, making dog treats, crushing cans, or drumming up some mischief with her three younger siblings ages 6, 4 and 2.

Graduation crisis

Last month, I called a meeting with our case manager and her supervisor with Developmental Educational Assistance Program. I wanted to dig deep into a plan for transition to adulthood. Sadly, reality, not rumor, has it that once youth like Alana graduate high school, one of the parents typically quits work to care for the child. With two years to go, I wanted to proactively prevent such a situation, but the meeting ended with more concerns than comforts. After graduation, my daughter will have just nine hours a week from a direct service provider. I was told, more hours could only become available if there was a crisis, and graduating from high school was not a crisis.

I agree. Graduating high school is not a crisis. However, the lack in services, even on the Medicaid waiver, is a crisis. Alana has high needs. Although school budgets for special education are tight, Hysham provides a one-on-one aide to support Alana during her 8-hour school day. With her DEAP direct service provider and her school aide), Alana has 41 hours of one-on-one support weekly. After graduation, nearly 80 percent of this support will be removed. Yes, this is a crisis for our family.

Learning from Alana

Five years ago, my husband and I chose to live simply, on his teachers salary alone, to grow our family. This was always seen as a short-term sacrifice to raise our young children. When the youngest started kindergarten, we planned for me to return to work as a special education teacher. A family of six, we qualify under the newly passed Medicaid expansion, but relying on these sorts of programs was just supposed to be a hand-up in the short term. However, with Alanas graduation from high school, and the subsequent loss of services, we cant see our way out of poverty, and this is a crisis.

I urge you to value my sour-cream-eating, tiny tornado. Alana teaches the lessons of patience, compassion, acceptance and respect  messages our society so desperately needs. Whether in Billings or in Forsyth, we have continually struggled to give our daughter the rich life she deserves. It is time to evaluate and improve the developmental disabilities service delivery system through an interim legislative study. We need solutions before my six-year old son, Sal, is asking the question, How can I work and care for my sister?

It is time to celebrate and support intellectual diversity and end the crisis.
The Prime Minister played the teacher, the adviser and the friend to students, and asked them to not treat exams as a matter of life and death.

By India Today Web Desk: Ahead of the Board examinations and other competitive exams, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today played the teacher, the adviser and the friend to students, and asked them to not treat exams as a matter of life and death.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had sought suggestions from students, teachers and parents ahead of his 28th Mann ki Baat radio programme. This was the Prime Minister's first radio address in the new year.

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Here are the top takeaways from the Prime Minister's address: Exams should be a time of pleasure, not pressure. Do not think about exams as pressure; they should be celebrated as festivals. We sometimes do not see exams in the right perspective; exams are not a benchmark of your success in life. If your mission and ambition are in sync, marks will follow. A happy mind is the secret of a good mark sheet. Sometimes, the weight of expectations is more than the weight of a schoolbag. The root of problems are expectations, acceptance that makes things easy. Parents should focus on three things: accept your children the way they are, mentor them and give them time. Three things that are important during exams: proper rest, sufficient sleep and physical activity. Take small breaks, return to books feeling fresh. Try deep breathing, it is very relaxing. Lack of self-confidence forces people to take shortcuts like cheating during exams. To cheat is to be cheap. If you focus on knowledge you expand your horizon, if you focus on marks, you limit yourself. Sachin Tendulkar could achieve what he did because he competed with himself, not others. The competition should be with yourself.

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As I neared the end of my first year back in the workforce after having a child, I sat down and calculated exactly how much money we had spent on childcare.

The figure was staggering: we were $23,700 out of pocket for the year. Had the government's Child Care Rebate not existed, we would have spent $31,200 in post-tax dollars on childcare. And it's not because we were cruising on easy street and had expensive taste.

Our daughter attended a terrific early learning centre in Sydney's CBD four days a week. Neither myself nor my husband worked in the city so the location was hardly convenient but it was the only spot we could get. The price tag of $156 a day was steep but, again, there was no choice: despite a comprehensive search we could not secure a position anywhere else.

We don't have grandparents or family in Sydney who could look after our daughter on a regular basis and hiring a nanny was out of our reach.
And of course, social media makes it hard to ignore all the things we could be doing but are not doing. The result? An epidemic of envy and FOMO  "fear of missing out"  that's contributing to a rise in anxiety and depression. Not all envy is bad. Psychologists distinguish between malicious envy, which can lead to destructive behaviour, and benign envy. Benign envy can help you determine what you really want and increases your motivation to improve your own position. (That's unless you convert it to admiration and essentially admit defeat.) But envy can also mean that you end up measuring yourself by warped values, which is a recipe for unhappiness.

Author Mark Manson talks about this in his book The Subtle Art to Not Giving a F*ck. He illustrates it with a story about two musicians who were kicked out of their bands on the verge of the big time. They were Dave Mustaine, who was in the early line-up of Metallica, and Pete Best, who was replaced by Ringo Starr in The Beatles. Mustaine went on to found heavy metal band Megadeth and is widely regarded as a hugely successful and influential musician  but he once admitted in an interview that he couldn't enjoy his success because he never managed to be bigger and better than Metallica. Best sunk into suicidal depression but ended up getting over it, retraining for a career outside showbiz, meeting his wife of the past 50-something years, and is now happy with how things turned out. Manson argues Best is happier because he has moved on, while Mustaine is measuring himself by things he has no control over  the success of his former band. FOMO and its counterpart YOLO  "you only live once"  is also bad for our bank balance because it can lead us to splurge on too many treats or take on unaffordable debt.

A study last year funded by ME Bank, with 1045 respondents across Australia, found nearly one in two of us spend money on the spur of the moment with little thought for the consequences. Most of these YOLO spenders spent $300 or more on their most recent impulse purchase, with nearly half using credit. A separate study funded by Suncorp Bank interviewed 1113 Australians aged 20-29 late last year. The results suggested men in their 20s were more likely to make "now" purchases than women the same age, and spend $504 a month more on average. Men in their 20s even spend more than women on clothing and shoes. You might think this isn't a problem if you are spending less than you earn and paying off your credit card in full each month. But even if it's not sending you into debt or financial hardship, it might prevent you from reaching goals you really care about, such as buying a house or retiring debt-free. It could be contributing to a house full of clutter where you can never find anything you need and you're too embarrassed to invite friends over.

Or perhaps you value experiences over things but as a result you never say "no" to anything and you wind up over-scheduled and stressed. Simplifying your life and learning to be content with having less and doing less can make you happier. My goal this year is to focus on life's simple pleasures. Another camping trip. Hosting friends for dinner. Playing with my children. Exercising  especially swimming. Cooking leisurely meals. Borrowing books from our local library  and returning them on time as well. I also plan to say "no" to a few more things on behalf of my children and teach them that it's OK not to do everything. The thing about YOLO is it's true  you do only live once. I'm a big believer in carpe diem, or seize the day. Don't put off what you really want in life, because one day it will be too late.
Children are twice as likely to suffer bullying at school as opposed to online or at work, according to a new study.

The survey of 1000 young people aged 14-25 also found that 23 per cent of respondents had been bullied in the past 12 months, but only half had sought help.

Bullying ranged from spreading rumours and name-calling to physical bullying, exclusion and cyber-bullying, and often involved a combination of behaviours, according to the online poll conducted by ReachOut Australia, a mental health organisation.

Parents are the most likely source of help for young people who experience bullying, followed by friends, doctors and teachers.
It's a place that sings of the Australian summer: lemon-scented gums, the trill of cicadas, sand underfoot and a sliver of navy ocean on the horizon.



Hussein Haraco and 35 other men from Melbourne's Somalian community had driven down for a weekend at an Anglesea holiday camp.

They were there to talk leadership; how to instil a sense of pride, build something solid.



But instead the group awoke in this idyllic setting on Sunday morning to the ugly news that US President Donald Trump had decreed that citizens of Somalia and six other predominantly Muslim countries would be barred entry to the United States for 90 days.



And this divisive move has taken the gloss off their special Anglesea trip.

"We are shocked, it's very disappointing," Mr Haraco said. "This is banishing normal, honest people who are trying to visit their families."



Mr Haraco, a dual citizen of Somalia and Australia, speaks from personal experience.

His mother-in-law, Nadira Tabid, raised him as her own after she married his father in Somalia.



Now she lives in Houston and he had planned to visit her in July, continuing the rhythm of trips he has always made to her. From Somalia, to her last home in India, and now Texas, the state that abuts another Trump target: Mexico.



Mr Haraco, secretary of the Somali Australian Council of Victoria, doesn't know if he should book tickets or wait to see what unfolds when the 90-day period ends.
Qantas is offering refunds to any passengers travelling from Australia to the United States who are affected by a new entry ban. Dozens of travellers have been detained at US airports and protests have erupted around the country.

The executive order signed by US President Donald Trump has barred citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  from entering the US for 90 days. That includes legal US residents temporarily out of the country.

Qantas was seeking a government bailout in 2014 after reporting a loss of $2.8 billion. Credit:Getty Images

The order has also barred all refugees from entering the US for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Additionally, Australian citizens who have travelled to the seven countries since March 1, 2011 are no longer eligible to enter the US under the Visa Waiver Program, and are now required to apply for a US visa.
Sydney's booming spring property market has delivered the new Berejiklian government a budget windfall.

The amount of residential stamp duty flowing into the state coffers hit new monthly records in November and December, Office of State Revenue figures show.

The NSW government collected $730 million from the residential property transfers last month alone  about $100 million more than the previous December. November's total of $718 million was up by $123 million compared with a year earlier.

The results reversed a mid-year slump in the state's stamp duty receipts.
Nationals MP Melinda Pavey enters cabinet to take on roads, maritime and freight, replacing dumped Nationals MLC Duncan Gay. Dumped: Adrian Piccoli says education is the greatest job a minister can have Credit:Daniel Munoz In other Nationals promotions to cabinet, Sarah Mitchell will oversee childhood education and Aboriginal affairs and Adam Marshall will head tourism and major events. Deputy Nationals leader Niall Blair picks up the trade portfolio, while former deputy premier and Nationals leader Troy Grant has held onto police and adds emergency services to his responsibilities. Former local government minister Paul Toole becomes minister for lands, forestry and racing, while Pru Goward moves from mental health and women to her former portfolio of family and community services. She remains minister for the prevention of domestic violence.

Veteran Liberal MP Brad Hazzard will move from family and community services to health following Jillian Skinner's decision to quit politics. Cronulla MP Mark Speakman moves from environment to attorney-general, replacing Vaucluse MP Gabrielle Upton who takes over environment and the challenging local government portfolio. Ryde MP Victor Dominello moves from innovation and better regulation to finance. Andrew Constance remains Transport and Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet will move from finance to become treasurer. Three Nationals ministers have been dumped: Adrian Piccoli who had education, Mr Gay who had the roads portfolio, and Leslie Williams who had early childhood education and Aboriginal affairs.

Also out of cabinet is Liberal MLC John Ajaka, who was minister for ageing, disability services and multiculturalism. However, Mr Ajaka is set to replace Mr Harwin as President of the Legislative Council. Mr Piccoli will be replaced in education by Pittwater MP Rob Stokes, whose planning portfolio will be taken over by Lane Cove MP and former energy minister Anthony Roberts. Piccoli breaks silence Mr Piccoli declared the NSW education portfolio "the greatest job a minister can have" as he leaves the role after almost six years, having been dumped in today's cabinet reshuffle. In a statement on Sunday morning, Mr Piccoli said it had been a "privilege" to hold the position.

"Like everyone who goes into public office, I entered politics hoping to make a difference," he said. "Education has the power to transform lives; that's why I think it is the greatest job a minister can have. I can look back over my time as minister satisfied with what I have achieved." Mr Piccoli said he was proud of NSW being the first state to sign up to the Gonski education funding reforms. He also highlighted giving principals increased local decision-making authority and "a raft of reforms to support quality teaching, including minimum entry standards for new teachers." "I am particularly proud of our reforms to support students in some of the state's most disadvantaged Aboriginal communities," he said.

"Connected Communities schools are better placed than ever before to improve outcomes for students ignored for far too long. " Despite being dumped from cabinet Mr Piccoli has said he will remain in parliament for the remainder of his term as the member for Murray. The decision is in contrast to that of his former cabinet colleague Mrs Skinner who last week announced her retirement from politics after being told by Ms Berejiklian should would be lose the health portfolio after almost six years, sparking a byelection in her seat of North Shore. Earlier on Sunday, dumped roads minister Duncan Gay said in a statement that he would also leave politics and was "now considering the timing of my retirement from the NSW Legislative Council, sooner rather than later." The Nationals have the right to choose Mr Gay's replacement in the upper house.

"I have spent $38 billion on road, freight and waterway infrastructure since 2011 - the likes of which have never been seen in the history of this state - more than 65 per cent of this total investment has been delivered for projects in the bush," he said in a statement. The full list of the new NSW Cabinet Gladys Berejiklian: Premier John Barilaro: Deputy Premier, Minister for Regional New South Wales, Minister for Skills, and Minister for Small Business Dominic Perrottet: Treasurer, and Minister for Industrial Relations

Niall Blair: Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Regional Water, and Minister for Trade and Industry Don Harwin: Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, Minister for the Arts, and Vice-President of the Executive Council Anthony Roberts: Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing, and Special Minister of State Andrew Constance: Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Brad Hazzard: Minister for Health, and Minister for Medical Research

Rob Stokes: Minister for Education Mark Speakman: Attorney General Troy Grant: Minister for Police, and Minister for Emergency Services Victor Dominello: Minister for Finance, Services and Property Pru Goward: Minister for Family and Community Services, Minister for Social Housing, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Paul Toole: Minister for Lands and Forestry, and Minister for Racing David Elliott: Minister for Counter Terrorism, Minister for Corrections, and Minister for Veterans Affairs Gabrielle Upton: Minister for the Environment, Minister for Local Government, and Minister for Heritage Stuart Ayres: Minister for Western Sydney, Minister for WestConnex, and Minister for Sport Melinda Pavey: Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight

Matt Kean: Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Adam Marshall: Minister for Tourism and Major Events, and Assistant Minister for Skills Tanya Davies: Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Women, and Minister for Ageing Loading Sarah Mitchell: Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Assistant Minister for Education
Gladys Berejiklian has unveiled a cabinet to fight the 2019 election in the face of a revitalised Labor opposition and a rising minor party vote in the regions, including a resurgent One Nation.

Ms Berejiklian and Deputy Premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro announced the new line-up at Queanbeyan, in the regional seat of Monaro held by Mr Barilaro on a margin of just 2.5 per cent.

The unusual decision follows the Nationals' disastrous loss in last year's Orange byelection to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party, which has pledged to target other regional seats.

In a reshuffle designed to "reset" the government for 2019, four ministers have been dumped from cabinet: Nationals Adrian Piccoli who had education; Duncan Gay who held roads; and Leslie Williams who had early childhood education and Aboriginal affairs. Also out of cabinet is Liberal MLC John Ajaka, who was minister for ageing, disability services and multiculturalism. However, Mr Ajaka is set to become President of the Legislative Council.
Give me a C! Give me an O! Give me another C! Give me an A!

It may not be quite how it actually went down, but it was something like that when four people bid more than $100,000 for the individual neon letters of the famed Kings Cross Coca-Cola sign last year.

The eight letters, which had presided over William Street since 1974, were auctioned off to raise money for the nearby Wayside Chapel.

For 21-year-old Max Shand, the dream of owning a three-metre by 2.5-metre letter "a" was borne out of a passion for Sydney and memorabilia.
The appointment of a new minister for counter-terrorism in NSW has been slammed by the Labor opposition as irresponsible and against the public interest.

Unveiling a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced corrections minister David Elliott  not police minister Troy Grant  would take on the new role.

She said it was required "unfortunately due to the circumstances our world is in".

"The sad reality is that this is an area of focus for governments around the world  NSW is already working closely with the Commonwealth and I want the Minister to take this work forward," Ms Berejiklian said.
By Press Trust of India: Chandigarh, Jan 29 (PTI) Aam Aadmi Party today questioned Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on "tacit support" given by ruling Shiromani Akali Dal to Congress party in the fight against Arvind Kejriwals outfit.

AAP campaign committee chairman Bhagwant Mann attacked chief minister Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for allegedly hobnobbing with Congress and for targeting AAP for sacrilege of holy Guru Granth Sahib.

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Sukhbir was home minister of state and he was directly involved in the sacrilege incidents, Mann alleged.

"Before accusing AAP, Sukhbir should explain why he didnt arrest the guilty," Mann asked.

Mann said that when first incident of sacrilege was committed in Bargari, Sukhbir had blamed "Pakistans ISI and German intelligence agency" for the act.

"Sometimes he thinks Russia might be behind the sacrilege. Lately he realised that AAP was the real culprit, he said, mocking Sukhbir.

He alleged SAD is giving "tacit support" to Congress against AAP candidates.

Mann said that Sukhbir had no stand and no morals and that he had ruthlessly and arrogantly ruled Punjab for 10 years thinking that he would purchase the voters with his "ill-gotten money".

He accused chief minister Badal of allegedly allowing Sukhbir and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia to flourish in their "illicit drug trade and illegal mining business".

He asked Badal why he was silent spectator to the corruption by his family members in the cabinet and other ministers.

"The government was virtually run by Sukhbir and Bikram Majithia and Badal was used as stamp to issue clean chits to the corrupt minister," Mann alleged.

He said that Badal must explain his compulsions to support Congress candidates on seats where SAD is on weak wicket.

He said that it shows that SAD had lost ground in Punjab and now it wants to pass on power to Congress, its ally in corruption.

He said that SAD and Congress had fought several elections blaming each other as enemy of Punjab and surprisingly both these parties have now joined hands against AAP as fear of the party has exposed their unholy nexus.

Mann said that "blood of Congress party flows in the veins of Badal family".

"If former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu who worked with BJP for 15 years can claim he is born Congressman then it is birthright of Badal to be loyal to Congress as he had won his first election in 1957 on Congress party ticket," he said.

Mann said that people of Punjab gave utmost love and respect to Badal and made him chief minister for five terms which is a very rare achievement in life of any politician.

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"It is shameful that Badal has cheated people of the state. Unfortunately Badal had fallen from grace at the fag end of his political career," Mann quipped. PTI VJ KUN

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The entry into service of the first of six new government-owned ferries on Sydney Harbour in 16 years has been delayed because the Catherine Hamlin's small rudders and shallow hull make it difficult to manoeuvre in high winds.

The ferry, the first of a fleet of six such craft, was due to be pressed into service this month on the inner harbour, from Watsons Bay in the east to Cockatoo Island in the west, but sources say the retrofit work needed to bring it up to scratch means it is unlikely to be launched until March.

While it is not uncommon for new vessels to need alterations before they launch regular services, the raft of design issues found on the Catherine Hamlin is said to be significantly larger than usual.

The major problem encountered since the catamaran ferry began trials on Sydney Harbour in November has been maneuvering the vessel in high winds due to its shallow hull and small rudders, which has led to it sliding sideways on occasions.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is facing opposition pressure to call the next state election.

Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls on Saturday said the premier needed to set a date for the poll to avoid unnecessary uncertainty.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will spend the week in central Queensland. Credit:Andrew Meares

"What we don't want to see is businesses come to a screaming halt because they are not sure about the election," he told reporters in Brisbane.

An election is due by early 2018 but is widely expected to be called sometime this year.
Indigenous children in intensive care with severe infections are twice as likely to die as other Australian kids, the largest study of its kind has found.

Medical researchers have called for urgent attention over the disproportionately high rate of deaths.

Medical researchers have called for urgent attention over the disproportionately high rate of deaths. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Based on more than 82,750 children and 4864 Indigenous Australian children, the study was the largest to examine life-threatening infections in Indigenous children, with researchers led by the University of Queensland's Associate Professor Luregn Schlapbach.

It also found Indigenous children were three times more likely to catch infection in the first place.
One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has hit back at fresh criticism about the influence of her chief of staff James Ashby from a candidate dumped over a controversial website post.

Peter Rogers, who was axed as the party's candidate for the Queensland seat of Mulgrave on Friday night, claimed Ms Hanson and One Nation had fallen under the control of Mr Ashby.

"I have the final say on who represents One Nation," Pauline Hanson tweeted on Saturday. Credit:Lisa Maree Williams

"My personal view is Pauline is the puppet and he (James) is the puppeteer," he said on Saturday.

Ms Hanson took to social media to dismiss Mr Rogers' claims.
Suburban roads could experience an increase in truck traffic as drivers bypass CityLink to avoid a major increase in tolls set for April 1.

The industry has spoken out against a looming rise in CityLink tolls for heavy vehicles of up to 125 per cent, which will triple the daytime cost of using the road for trucks compared with cars.

Heavy vehicle operators face a large increase in CityLink tolls from April 1. Credit:Paul Rovere

On April 1, the cost of a CityLink day pass will rise from $11.85 to $26.70 and night-time tolls will double from $8.90 to $17.80.

The increase is being imposed to help pay for the $1.28 billion CityLink/Tulla widening project, due for completion early next year, which is being jointly funded by Transurban and the Andrews and Turnbull governments.
Cyberbullying is at the top of parents' minds as they send their teenage kids back to school this week, a study has shown.

Two in five Australian parents who participated in the study said that cyberbullying and bullying were their biggest concerns when sending their kids back to school.

Two in five Australian parents said cyberbullying was one of their biggest concerns when sending their kids back to school. Credit:Rob Gunstone

Frankston High School student Danai Harawa said she thinks every parent worries about cyberbullying.

"They just don't expect it to happen to their child. They might not have that discussion with their children about how to deal with it or that it's okay to speak out," she told Fairfax Media.
A major generator of Victoria's coal-fired electricity is set to be expanded, sparking protests from environment groups over the effect on carbon emissions.

The planned upgrade of the Loy Yang B power station in the Latrobe Valley comes as its majority owner, Engie, prepares to shut down the Hazelwood plant and coal mine in March.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has granted "works approval" to upgrade turbines at the plant, which will result in the burning of an extra 400,000 tonnes of coal each year.

Loy Yang B provides about 17 per cent of Victoria's energy needs.
To be awarded a Nobel Laureate for Medicine is perhaps the ultimate recognition of outstanding achievement in the field. Sir Macfarlane Burnet was one such recipient.

Born in Traralgon, Victoria, in 1899 he is regarded as one of the 20th century's great scientists. A disciplined but lateral thinker his early study of viruses was to prove, some 50 years later, crucial to what is now known as genetic engineering.

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Nobel laureate. Credit:The Age

While pondering the basis of virus infections Burnet developed a major interest in the way the body fights such attacks via the immune system. His brilliant theorising translated into numerous practical benefits for the world at large, including the development of influenza vaccine, to name but one.

People worldwide now benefit from the programs of the Burnet Institute which are a lasting legacy of his work.
Monday has been declared a total fire ban day across the state, with emergency services expecting their worst conditions so far this season.

Temperatures are forecast to hit 42 degrees in parts of Victoria, prompting a health warning in some districts.

Monday has been declared a total fire ban day across the state. Credit:Justin McManus

The Country Fire Authority has issued an extreme fire danger rating for the North East district, and severe rating for most of the rest of the state.

On Sunday evening, a bushfire was burning at Mooroopna, near Shepparton.
Two motorcyclists who slammed into the back of a car that braked suddenly on a suburban road in Melbourne's south-west are in hospital with serious injuries.

A man and a woman, both aged in their 60s, were injured when the motorbike they were on collided with the back of the car on Ballan Road, Wyndham Vale, about 6pm on Sunday night.

Westgate Highway Patrol members are appealing for witnesses following the collision. Credit:Marina Neil/Fairfax Media

The people in the car, a red Ford Focus, fled the scene.

The two riders received serious injuries and were transported to hospital.
Minister of State said that it's premature to comment on the matter.

By Parbina Purkayastha: Union Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju broke his silence on Meghalaya Governor's V Shanmuganathan's resignation over allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment by a young woman. The minister said, "it was too early to order an investigation into the matter citing absence of "documentary evidence".

"As of now, there is nothing in the form of documentary evidence against the former Governor to investigate the allegations. Nothing is in our hands," Mr Rijiju told on the sidelines of the North East Investment Summit in Shillong.

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"I cannot comment on whether the government will institute an inquiry into the allegations. It is too premature to do so," the minister added.

The Union Minister also said Mr Shanmuganathan's resigned on "moral grounds".

Around 100 members of the Governor's House directly contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Mr Shanmuganathan had "compromised the dignity" of Raj Bhavan and turned it into a "young ladies club".

"From the time he has taken over, employees are going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture," the employees wrote.

A woman job aspirant accused Mr Shanmuganathan of misconduct when she was invited to the Raj Bhavan for a job interview.

Based on these charges, Mr Shanmuganathan who was also the in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh tendered his resignation, which was accepted by President Pranab Mukherjee. Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit has been given additional charge of Meghalaya and Nagaland Governor Balakrishna Acharya of Arunachal Pradesh.

Also read | Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as acting governor of Meghalaya

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Washington, DC: A US commando died and three others were wounded in a deadly dawn raid on the al-Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen, which was the first military operation authorised by US President Donald Trump.

The US military said 14 militants died in the attack on a powerful al-Qaeda branch that has been a frequent target of US drone strikes.

Medics at the scene, however, said around 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.

The gunbattle in the rural Yakla district of al-Bayda province killed a senior leader in Yemen's al-Qaeda branch, Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, along with other militants, al-Qaeda said.
Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Credit:Bloomberg The nation's founding principles, as reflected in the Declaration of Independence, included dissatisfaction with what were said to be overly restrictive immigration practices. It defines what non-US citizens should believe Protesters are surrounded by police at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. Credit:AP The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law.

"There is no statutory requirement that non-citizens entering the United States support the constitution," said Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University. "The executive order seems to suggest that even temporary visitors like tourists and students should support the US constitution, which doesn't make a lot of sense." Does Trump have the power to do this? To temporarily reduce investigative burdens on relevant agencies during the review period described in subsection (a) of this section, to ensure the proper review and maximum utilisation of available resources for the screening of foreign nationals, and to ensure that adequate standards are established to prevent infiltration by foreign terrorists or criminals, pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) ... This provision is the key to the power Trump claims. It says: "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate." The provision "gives the President capacious authority to deny entry to any alien or class of aliens", Spiro said. "No court has ever reversed a presidential order under it."

But he added: "In terms of the number of prospective immigrants involved, this is by far the most significant use of the power by any president." Some critics say the order runs afoul of a later law, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, that bars discrimination "in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person's race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence". The tension between the two laws has not been definitively resolved by the courts. Jennifer Chacon, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, said a challenge to the executive order based on the later law's equal-protection principles was the most promising line of attack. In an opinion article in The New York Times, David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian group, said Trump had at least violated the spirit of the later law. "Even if courts do find wiggle room here, discretion can be taken too far," Bier wrote. "If Mr Trump can legally ban an entire region of the world, he would render Congress' vision of unbiased legal immigration a dead letter."

It targets seven countries ... I hereby proclaim that the immigrant and non-immigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants and non-immigrants, of such persons for 90 days from the date of this order ... The countries are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Some people are exempt ... (excluding those foreign nationals travelling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas).

These exceptions are mostly for diplomats, people travelling to the United Nations in New York and others involved in international organisations. The order has room to grow The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the President a list of countries recommended for inclusion on a Presidential proclamation that would prohibit the entry of foreign nationals. The initial list may soon change and expand. But it also extends beyond the seven countries

The Secretary of State shall suspend the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days. This provision suspends all admissions of refugees, not limited to the seven countries. The order prioritises Christian refugees Upon the resumption of USRAP admissions, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is further directed to make changes, to the extent permitted by law, to prioritise refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality. As a general matter, this will give priority to Christian refugees over Muslim ones. Although framed in a neutral way, this part of the order may raise questions of religion-based discrimination. Trump has said he means to favour Christian refugees.

That violates the First Amendment's ban on government establishment of religion, according to David Cole, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "One of the critical questions with respect to the validity of executive action challenged under the Establishment Clause is its intent and effect," he wrote in a blog post. "If intended to disfavour a particular religion, it violates the Establishment Clause." Syrians are 'detrimental' to US interests, it says Pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made to the USRAP to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest. This effectively expands the ban on immigrants from Syria. How it restricts all refugees
But the official, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, also said that border agents had "discretionary authority" to detain and question suspicious travellers from certain countries. That statement seemed to add to the uncertainty over how the executive order will be interpreted and enforced in the days ahead. Reince Priebus appeared to reverse a key part of the immigration order. Credit:AP Part of the president's order gives preferential treatment to Christians who try to enter the United States from majority-Muslim countries. In a Twitter post Sunday morning, Trump deplored the killings of Christians in the Middle East without noting the killings of Muslims, who have been killed in vastly greater numbers in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Allies silent Trump said his order, which indefinitely bans refugees from Syria, was "not a Muslim ban", though he added he would seek to prioritise Christian refugees fleeing the country.

Boris Johnson described the immigration order as "divisive and wrong". Credit:Bloomberg Washington's Arab allies, including the Gulf states and Egypt, were mostly silent. The government in Iraq, which is allied with Washington in the battle against ultra-hardline Islamist group Islamic State and hosts over 5000 US troops, also did not comment on the executive order. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would welcome those fleeing war and persecution. Credit:AP But some members of the parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States.

Iran vows to respond In Baghdad, influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said American nationals should leave Iraq, in retaliation for the travel curbs. French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, right, and newly appointed German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel Credit:AP "It would be arrogance for you to enter freely Iraq and other countries while barring to them the entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. There was no immediate reaction to the curbs from Islamic State, although in the past it has used US monitoring of Muslim foreigners to stoke Muslim anger against Washington.

Kinan Azmeh, 40, a Syrian musician, one of thousands of valid US green card holders who have found their immigration status in limbo after Trump's order Credit:AP The Tehran government vowed to respond in kind to the US ban on visitors from Iran, but on Sunday Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas can enter the country. "Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," Zarif said. Authorities in Sudan, which is also targeted by the ban, summoned the US charge d'affaires in Khartoum. They said the order sent a "negative message", coming two weeks after Washington announced it would ease economic sanctions on the country. Trump's executive order on Friday took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries and plunging America's immigration system into chaos.

The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travellers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. Fuad Sharef, his wife and three children were among the first victims. They had waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off for a new life they saw as a reward for working with US organisations. They were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo airport on Saturday, detained overnight and forced to board a flight back to northern Iraq. 'I am totally broken' "We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters, likening Trump's decision to the dictatorship of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I am broken, I am totally broken."

A 32-year-old Syrian man, Nail Zain, was among dozens of people at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport prevented from flying to the United States on Sunday. He told Reuters he was supposed to fly to Los Angeles, but officials said his visa was cancelled. "My wife and my son are in the United States. My son has American nationality. And we have been waiting for this moment for two years. Finally when I got the chance, they prevented me as a Syrian passport holder from travelling," he said. He was later taken out of the terminal by authorities. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about militant attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the US Congress deemed high risk. He said on Saturday of his order: "It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."

The travel curbs, however, also drew criticism from several other countries around the globe. In Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the Muslim-majority nation deeply regretted Trump's plans for "extreme vetting" of people from some Muslim countries. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said "open society, plural identity, no discrimination" were the "pillars of Europe", while the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian governments also registered their opposition. Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen tweeted: "The US decision not to allow entry of people from certain countries is NOT fair." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country welcomed those fleeing war and persecution, even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
A legal adviser to Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy was assassinated outside a busy airport on Sunday amid heightened communal tensions in the Buddhist majority country.

Ko Ni, a Burmese Muslim and a long-standing adviser to the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was shot in the head by a lone gunman outside Yangon International Airport after returning from a government-led trip to Indonesia.

Police arrested a suspected 53-year-old gunman as he attempted to run away.

Witnesses said a taxi driver who chased the gunman was also shot.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered the Pentagon to devise a strategy to defeat Islamic State and restructured the National Security Council to include his controversial top political adviser, as he forged a partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin in their first official phone call.

Trump and Putin spoke for an hour and vowed to join forces to fight terrorism in Syria and elsewhere, according to the White House and the Kremlin, signaling a potential shift in US-Russian relations that have been marked by high tension.

Meanwhile, Trump signed a presidential memo directing the Pentagon to submit a plan within 30 days to defeat IS, an effort to make good on his campaign promise to more aggressively confront Islamist terrorism than US president Barack Obama did.

Even before Saturday's order, military officials had been at work developing potential actions for Trump and Defence Secretary James Mattis to consider. Those include potentially deploying additional advisers to Iraq and Syria, allowing US military personnel to accompany local forces closer to the front lines, and delegating greater decision-making power to field commanders.
Berlin: A wild boar has gone on a rampage in a northern Berlin park, causing minor injuries to three people before being shot dead by police.

A sounder of boars showed up near the city's Tegel Airport about 2pm on Saturday before one of the male boars moved away from the group to a nearby park, local police said.

The boar then proceeded to attack a number of people, injuring a woman on her leg as well as two other men.

Police shot the animal dead, in order to prevent it from injuring any further passers-by. By that stage, the rest of the animals had already moved on, police said.

Meanwhile, in the western German city of Siegen, a wild boar disrupted traffic and smashed down the front door of a hairdressing salon on Saturday.
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By Press Trust of India: Los Angeles, Jan 29 (PTI) Scientists have identified a metal that conducts electricity without conducting heat - an incredibly useful property which may pave the way for systems that convert waste heat from engines and appliances into electric power.

According to researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and University of California, Berkeley in the US, electrons in vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity without conducting heat.

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The findings could lead to a wide range of applications, such as thermoelectric systems that convert waste heat from engines and appliances into electricity, they said.

For most metals, the relationship between electrical and thermal conductivity is governed by the Wiedemann-Franz Law, which states that good conductors of electricity are also good conductors of heat.

That is not the case for metallic vanadium dioxide, a material already noted for its unusual ability to switch from an insulator to a metal when it reaches 67 degrees Celsius.

"It shows a drastic breakdown of a textbook law that has been known to be robust for conventional conductors," said Junqiao Wu, a physicist at Berkeley Lab.

"The discovery is of fundamental importance to understand the basic electronic behaviour of novel conductors," Wu said.

Using results from simulations and X-ray scattering experiments, researchers were able to tease out the proportion of thermal conductivity attributable to the vibration of the materials crystal lattice, called phonons, and to the movement of electrons.

They found that the thermal conductivity attributed to the electrons is ten times smaller than what would be expected from the Wiedemann-Franz Law.

"For electrons, heat is a random motion. Normal metals transport heat efficiently because there are so many different possible microscopic configurations that the individual electrons can jump between," said Wu.

"In contrast, the coordinated, marching-band-like motion of electrons in vanadium dioxide is detrimental to heat transfer as there are fewer configurations available for the electrons to hop randomly between," he said.

The amount of electricity and heat that vanadium dioxide can conduct is tunable by mixing it with other materials.

When the researchers doped single crystal vanadium dioxide samples with the metal tungsten, they lowered the phase transition temperature at which it becomes metallic.

At the same time, the electrons in the metallic phase became better heat conductors. This enabled researchers to control the amount of heat that vanadium dioxide can dissipate by switching its phase from insulator to metal and vice versa, at tunable temperatures.

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Such materials can be used to help scavenge or dissipate the heat in engines, or be developed into a window coating that improves the efficient use of energy in buildings, researchers said.

The findings were published in the journal Science. PTI SAR MHN

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What you need to know about Powerball's $1.6 billion lottery jackpot

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Tollywood's cutest couple Naga Chaitanya and Samantha got engaged after years of courtship. Superstar Nagarjuna took to Twitter and announced the news.

By India Today Web Desk: Much to everyone's expectations, actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha got engaged today amid the presence of superstar Nagarjuna, wife Amala Akkineni, younger son Akhil Akkineni, and daughter-in-law Shreya Bhupal.

ALSO READ: PETA issues apology for claiming Suriya's pro-Jallikattu stand was for Singam 3 promotion

ALSO READ: Pawan Kalyan on RGV's criticism: Why listen to a man who collects porn at this age?

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Announcing the news on Twitter, Nagarjuna shared the picture of the couple and wrote, "#Chaisam It's official now. My mother is my daughter now. Couldn't be happier!!more pics to come."

#Chaisam It's official now. My mother is my daughter now. Couldn't be happier!!???more pics to come pic.twitter.com/YTv2RULSMO Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) January 29, 2017

Chaitanya, who collaborated with Samantha in films like Ye Maaya Chesave and Manam, reportedly fell in love with the latter while working for the film Autonagar Surya.

Last year, Chaitanya's younger brother and actor Akhil Akkineni got engaged to Hyderabad-based fashion designer Shriya Bhupal after years of courtship.

Wishing Naga Chaitanya and Samantha on Twitter, Akhil wrote, "My brother and my new sister ! I'm the happiest thammudu in the world. Love you guys !"

My brother and my new sister ! I'm the happiest thammudu in the world. Love you guys ! ????????? https://t.co/ONfOMLOseG? https://t.co/UHRNsv9wSf Akhil Akkineni (@AkhilAkkineni8) January 29, 2017

While there aren't any confirmation regarding their marriage, Naga Chaitanya went on the record saying that the marriage is likely to happen this year.

Basking in the success of Premam and Saahasam Swasaga Sagipo, Naga Chaitanya is presently working on his upcoming film with director Kalyan Krishna Kurasala.

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Habitat for Humanity volunteer Peter Gies serves chocolate chili from the Chocolate and Coffee House in Litchfield to Nancy Stein of Pawleys Island.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 79F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.
In a tweet today, the Prime Minister "urged his young friends to join" the conversation. This is also the Prime Minister's first radio address in the new year.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed the nation through the monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme.

Coming soon after the Republic Day celebrations and just ahead of the Board examinations, the Prime Minister focused on education and took questions from students.

Here is what PM Modi said:

Ending the address, Modi expressed appreciation for the efforts put in by Prasar Bharti for his monthly Mann Ki Baat episodes.

Modi thanks Indian Coast Guard, which is completing 40 years of existence on February 1.

I hope my words help you, but don't let my address weigh on you, Modi tells youngsters.

'P for play, P for prepare', a person who plays, shines.

Three things important during exams: proper rest, sufficient sleep and physical activity.

Even if you don't get caught cheating, it will weigh on your for the rest of your life.

Cheating takes your life towards being unsuccessful.

"To cheat is to be cheap"

Lack of self-confidence forces people to take shortcuts like cheating during exams.

We keep talking about the weight of school children's bags, but sometimes the weight of parents' expectations is heavier.

Parents should focus on three things: accept your children, mentor them and give them time.

If you are inferior, you become envious.

If you are superior, you become over-confident.

Sachin Tendulkar could achieve what he did because he competed with himself, not others.

If you focus on knowledge you expand your horizons, if you focus on marks, you limit yourself.

Knowledge, skill and self-confidence are useful qualities in life.

Marks and marksheets have limited utility in life.

Modi refers to APJ Abdul Kalam who failed to achieve his dream of becoming a pilot but went on to become a successful scientist.

Exams are not a benchmark of success in your life.

A happy mind is the secret to scoring good marks.

Knowledge gets buried under pressure.

Power to recall is best when the mind is relaxed.

Smile more, score more, says PM Modi on the topic of examinations.

Modi urges families to create an atmosphere of festivity during examinations.

Those who think of exams as pleasure will win, those who think of it as a situation of pressure

Examinations should be a time of pleasure.

People are stressed during the times of examinations.

Exams are trying times for families.

PM Modi congratulates soldiers and families for winning gallantry awards.

PM urges youth to research personnel of the armed forces.

We will observe two minutes on January 30, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, to reflect our gratitude towards martyrs.

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In a tweet today, the Prime Minister "urged his young friends to join" the conversation. This is also the Prime Minister's first radio address in the new year.

Tune in to #MannKiBaat today at 11 AM. Will specially urge my young friends to join. pic.twitter.com/cTdeORFe14 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 29, 2017

On Saturday, the Election Commission gave a go-ahead to the Mann ki Baat programme with a condition that nothing be said to influence voters in the five poll-bound states.

The government had approached the Election Commission seeking clearance for the regular radio programme as Model Code of Conduct is in force in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur which are going for Assembly polls between February 4 and March 8.

Last week, the Prime Minister had said his radio show will focus on various board and competitive exams where students, parents and teachers will be invited to share their thoughts and experiences.

In his last Mann ki Baat address, the Prime Minister had thanked people for enduring the pain of demonetisation. "I congratulate people for not only enduring the pain but also for giving appropriate answers to those who were trying to mislead them, Modi said in his December 25 address.

ALSO READ:

Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi thanks people for enduring demonetisation pain

Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi seeks support on demonetisation, urges farmers to go cashless

BJP's poll bugle 'UP ke Mann ki Baat' launched; collects over 89,000 aspirations within days

ALSO WATCH

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Objective: To deflect asteroids, thus preventing their collision with Earth







Madrid, Spain (SPX) Jan 27, 2017





An international project, led by Spain's National Research Council, (CSIC) provides information on the effects a projectile impact would have on an asteroid. The aim of the project is to work out how an asteroid might be deflected so as not to collide with the Earth. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal, focuses on the study of the asteroid Chelyabinsk, which exploded over Russian skies in 2013 after passing through the atmosphere. The probability that a kilometre-sized asteroid co ... read more
State Apna Dal chief and Union minister Anupriya Patel said, "I really find it funny that they are calling it a confluence of Ganga-Yamuna. People know how polluted they are. When NDA comes to power, we will clear the filth."

By Anindya Banerjee: On a day Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi came together for the first time before the media and called it a confluence of Ganga-Yamuna, the strongest rebuttal didn't come from BJP, but it's ally in the state Apna Dal chief and Union minister Anupriya Patel.

Patel told, "I really find it funny that they are calling it a confluence of Ganga-Yamuna. People know how polluted they are. When NDA comes to power, we will clear the filth."

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Stressing on the alleged corruption both SP and Congress got embroiled in, Patel justified the usage of word 'filth'. "We know what rampant lawlessness and corruption Uttar Pradesh has been subjected to in the last 5 years. And in the UPA regime, Congress looted the country through various scams. What else would you call than filth?," justified Patel.

ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi invokes Modi's 3 Ps to mark SP-Congress alliance: Progress, Prosperity, Peace

Calling the alliance 'an alliance of convenience', the Union minister praised India Today for asking some tough questions to Akhilesh Yadav.

"I must congratulate your channel for asking that question on why Akhilesh is not endorsing Rahul as Prime Minister whereas Rahul has endorsed him as the CM face. He cleverly tricked out from answering. This shows the mistrust in the alliance. And they are talking of 300 plus," lashed Anupriya Patel.

She also said the new posters calling PM Modi as 'Bahari' is "below the dignity of concerned leaders behind the idea and said Modi is an elected representative from Varanasi, who is very much an intrinsic part of Uttar Pradesh. Calling him an outsider is not only shameful but ridiculous."

ALSO READ: Cong-SP conference: Alliance will get 300-plus seats, we will defeat BJP, says Rahul Gandhi

After the joint press conference, a road show followed. More than 15,000 people - the workers of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party -- gathered at Lucknow's GPO, where the 6-km roadshow started.

Akhilesh Yadav, who recently wrested control of the party from his father Mulayam Singh, is hoping that the alliance will help it counter rival Mayawati and the BJP in the elections which begins next month.

WATCH THE VIDEO

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By Press Trust of India: Washington, Jan 29 (PTI) You may now take calls by simply blowing at your smartwatch, thanks to scientists who have created a number of new ways to interact with small screen devices that are hard to control with fingers.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US created Whoosh, a technique that allows a person to control the watch by blowing, exhaling, shushing, sipping or puffing on the screen.

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The watch uses its microphone and machine learning to identify the breath patterns of each acoustic event, and then assigns an action to each.

For example, a wearer can shush the watch to ignore a call or blow on it twice to accept. The watch can also be locked or unlocked using a correct combination of short or long breaths.

Voice recognition sometimes produces incorrect words when dictating a text message. Blowing quickly on the watch can erase words, while blowing on it longer will send the text message when ready.

The technique also works with smartphones. A user can transfer content from the watch to a smartphone simply by sipping it off the watch and puffing it on the phone.

The technology could have potential for people with disabilities, researchers said.

Another new interaction technique WatchOut uses taps and scrolling gestures on the case and watchband, outside the watch screen.

They are possible because of the watchs gyroscope and accelerometer sensors, according to the researchers. "Other techniques that improve control of smartwatches have included 3D gestures above the screen, bigger screens or adding an extra armband," said Cheng Zhang, a PhD student at Georgia Tech.

"We wanted to show it could be done with existing technology already common on todays devices," said Zhang.

One demo app allows wearers to scroll up, down, left and right by swiping on the watchband. According to Zhang it makes it easier to interact with GPS maps or menus.

The study showed that scrolling on rubber watchbands was more accurate than leather bands due to the different friction of the materials.

They also created an app that creates eight touchpoints on the devices bezel. Rather than scrolling through a long list of apps, the user simply hits one of eight spots on the case to launch Facebook, for example.

"Smartwatches arent very convenient when youre carrying something," Zhang said.

"Thats why we wanted to create a technique that allows the user to tap the watch to accept or deny phone calls. Hitting the right side answers the call; the left side ignores it," he said.

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The final project, TapSkin, allows users to tap on the back of their hand to input numbers 0-9 or commands.

The technique uses the watchs microphone and inertial sensors to detect a total of 11 different tapping locations on a persons skin around the watch. PTI MHN MHN

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BRIDGEPORT  They call them the deniers and want them excluded from President Donald Trumps cabinet.

Theres Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who they claim denies evolution.

Theres Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general, who they claim denies climate change.

Theres Scott Mnuchin, Trumps Treasurer secretary pick, who they claim denied help to foreclosure victims while at OneWest bank.

Theres Betsy DeVos, Trumps choice to lead the Department of Education, who they say will deny necessary programs to schools and students.

And finally theres Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trumps pick as Attorney General, who they say denies equality and is a racist.

Trump and many Republicans, however  even in blue Connecticut  clearly love them and believe theyre the right choice to lead the nation at this juncture in history.

But for an hour, some 50 angry and concerned state residents demonstrated with signs outside the Brien McMahon federal courthouse on Lafayette Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon. More than three dozen then took their concerns to Joe Rodriguez, a deputy state director for Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthals staff.

Blumenthal, who has an office in the building, was not in Connecticut on Tuesday. He is participating in Congressional hearings in Washington.

Were holding a series of events every Tuesday for the next 100 days, said Jennifer Just, who worked on former President Barack Obamas 2008 campaign and until recently served as a digital manager for the states House Democrats.

She said she is very concerned about the Trumps choice of Tom Price to head the Health and Human Services Department because he is opposed to the current Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

My son has a pre-existing medical condition which without ACA would cost over $10,000 a year to cover, said Just.

The demonstrators included members of MoveOn.org., the Working Families Party, 350 Connecticut and participants in last weekends Womens March.

Donald Trump riled up crowds claiming he'd drain the swamp and chase corruption out of Washington, said MoveOn.org Organizing Director Vicki Kaplan. But so far his politics have only furthered a culture of corruption, and nowhere is that clearer than in the greed and hate embodied by the nominees to his Swamp Cabinet.

Lisa Boyne, who helped organize the event and the Womens March in Stamford, handed a folder containing 150 residents concerns to Rodriguez.

I started my life in activism three weeks after Trumps election, said Boyne, a Fairfield resident. She vowed to keep doing the work.

Activism is in the air, she said.

But some members who met with Rodriguez wanted to know how they go about continuing to be heard.

The key is how you leverage what you are doing here today, he told them. Marching, rallying, protesting is all part of it. Thats your God-given right, but you have to be engaged at all levels.

He told them to reach out to others with similar views, join organizations that espouse those views and get involved in local and state politics  including joining municipal boards and commissions.

Jere Eaton, of Stamford, vowed to help organize in minority communities and told Boyne, You are stuck with me.

Eaton also praised Blumenthal, who she said is at every event. If we were more like Sen. Blumenthal, our state and country would be far better ... He doesnt just talk the talk, he does the right thing.

Blumenthal is opposed to several of Trumps choices, including DeVos and Sessions.
BRIDGEPORT  A local Islamic community leader says that hundreds of families are reeling after an executive order by President Donald Trump blocked immigrants from some majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

Its totally against the very basic ideas of our country, and it could even be illegal, Dr. Ahmed Ebrahim said Saturday.

As president of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, Ebrahim serves an estimated 2,000 people in Greater Bridgeport, and has led the effort to purchase a local church. Ebrahim said he fears immediate adverse effects for some of the 700 Muslim families associated with the center, many of whom have visas or relatives abroad. He said disruptions could include travel plans canceled, medical care delayed, or business trips put off for legal immigrants or those with family from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen.

Under the presidents orders, legal permanent residents and non-immigrant visa holders from the countries on the list can leave the U.S., but cant return. Trump has touted the plan as protecting Americans against potential terrorist threats, but opponents say the policy is discriminatory, and that it has already adversely affected families and individuals.

Over the past several days, many travelers were detained at New York airports and barred from boarding flights abroad. To many, like Ebrahim  who works as an associate professor of accounting at Fairfield University  the reports are worrying. I am sure there is someone who was overseas coming back or trying to bring parents to visit, he said. Not to mention students.

There has been at least some temporary relief. A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to the travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated. And, on Sunday, The New York Times reported that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, said that people from the affected countries who hold green cards will not be prevented from returning to the United States. However, he added that border agents had the authority to detain and question suspicious travelers from certain countries.

Protests of the order have broken out across the country. Locally, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT, announced his intentions on Sunday to announce a bill to overturn Trumps order. Also on Sunday, Governor Dannel P. Malloy issued a statement speaking out against the order, which he said conflicts with rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and it must be contested in our courts. As a nation of immigrants, inclusivity and compassion are the hallmarks of who we are. We will not abandon our values. In the face of grave injustice, we will be neither silent nor idle, but stand ready to protect our neighbors and communities.

The University of Bridgeport has advised international students for months to stay calm, but to avoid unnecessary travel. While precise numbers were not available Saturday, UB spokeswoman Leslie Geary said only a few students are from the countries current on Trumps list.

With classes having started on Jan. 17, most students are likely to have already returned from winter break. Fairfield Universitys semester is also in full swing.

While we respect the Trump Administrations desire to keep our country safe, UB President Neil Salonen said, it is important to note the incredible contributions that international students have made to our nation.

Salonen and Ebrahim are urging the Trump administration to reform immigration in completely different way. In the wake of the presidential election, Ebrahim said hes seen two Americas  Main Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue.

We see the America on the ground. The tremendous support from communities around us, Christian and Jewish, he said, including a recent solidarity march with 1,000 people.

In May, Ebrahim expects to close on the purchase of a building bought from the United Congregational Church, a Christian organization that strongly supported the sale.

Thats completely separate what we see from the ... administration in Washington, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
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STAMFORD  A group of Muslim men, women and children meets weekly at St. Francis Episcopal Church. For the past several years, the 50 or so members of the American Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies have come together in North Stamford for potluck meals and soul-searching conversations about religion.

The group, led by Kareem Adeeb, has never convened at a mosque  a source of pride for Adeeb, who heads the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut Board of Directors and is an outspoken proponent of religious tolerance.

The Sunday before President Donald Trump took office, Adeeb invited Hossein Kamaly, a Middle Eastern history and Islamic studies professor at Barnard College, to lead a discussion with his group. In his lecture, Kamaly cited passages from the Quran and offered his take on U.S.-Muslim relations.

Im here advocating for interaction and mutual recognition, he said. We can as Muslims  our children can  enrich the global community by being more inclusive and more integrated.

The message struck a chord with members, many of whom are highly educated, white-collar professionals from Fairfield and Westchester counties.

We need to educate the American society that Islam actually matches the constitution of this country, said Dr. Hossein Sadeghi, a 54-year-old pediatric pulmonary specialist with Stamford Health, who lives in Wilton. We need to make the distinction between what Muslims overseas are doing versus what Islam actually teaches people.

Versions of this message have been echoed by many of the two dozen Muslims The Advocate has interviewed since Trump was elected. In this hostile political environment, many Muslim-Americans  including members of Fairfield Countys thriving Muslim community  are calling for better understanding of their religion, which they say espouses charity and peace.

They also fear the welcome mat the U.S. has for years extended may be withdrawn.

Everybody has challenges, especially minorities and especially the Muslim community, said Adeeb, an engineer and Lebanese immigrant who lives in Fairfield. Some people are scared, others are wary.

Setting the tone is a president who is swiftly following through on his campaign promise to halt Muslim immigration. Trump has signed an executive order to stop the influx of Syrian refugees and temporarily suspend visas for seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa.

The impact of the political climate has been felt by Stamfords Muslim population  a diverse group that is growing larger and more organized.

Theres a fear with Muslim-American people Ive never felt before, said Mushter Moin, a 47-year-old Muslim from Bangladesh and e-commerce entrepreneur who has lived in Stamford since 1991.

People are gravely concerned, said Farhan Memon, chairman of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

In 2015, Memon led an effort to rename Stamfords Trump Parc high-rise, for which a local developer reportedly paid a seven-figure fee to license the Trump name.

Trump has trafficked in prejudice and discrimination, and his campaign was based primarily on the promise he would ban Muslim immigrants, Memon said.

Growing community

Experts believe some 100,000 Muslims  of more than 3 million nationwide  live in Connecticut, clustered in cities like Stamford, Bridgeport and Waterbury.

Not counting the study group  which incorporates prayer  Stamford is home to at least three mosques, the largest of which are the Stamford Islamic Center and Islamic Cultural Center of New York-Stamford. The Al-Hedaya Islamic Center is most well-known among smaller groups.

In recent years, Stamfords Muslims have tailored their mosques to a growing community in need of space to gather and worship.

The ICC-NY was first to expand its masjid. In 2010, the group  which came to Stamford from Westchester County in 1999  added a community room and religious school. The Washington Boulevard building can now hold up to 300 people.

In 2013, the Stamford Islamic Center debuted a new 5,000-square-foot mosque on Outlook Street. In existence since 1993, the West Side group outgrew a home that could no longer accommodate the crowd for Friday prayers. The mosque draws up to 175 people on Fridays, and runs a religious school on weeknights.

Some day this is all going to change, said Talay Hafiz, the mosques board president. We are having challenges in terms of the environment these days. But the truth will always prevail  thats the way we look at these things.

Expat community

Muslims have for decades called Connecticut home. The first wave of Muslim immigrants arrived in the 1960s and 70s, Memon said. This generation, he said, is comprised mostly of educated professionals  the cream of the crop from their countries  who raised another generation of prosperous workers.

Newer Muslim immigrants tend to be working-class, and their children may be the first of their families to attend college, Memon said.

Muslims are represented across the economic sphere, just like everyone else, he said.

The number of Muslims across the nation continues to swell. The Pew Research Center predicts the percent of Muslims represented in the U.S. population will double by 2050. But precise numbers elude experts, since the U.S. Census does not collect data on religion.

In my own community in Norwalk, the population of Muslims has certainly increased, Memon said. The community started out very small, with just a handful of families  predominantly from India and Pakistan.

The regions Muslims now hail from Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

But this religious and cultural diversity is not always warmly received. The Al Madany Islamic Center of Norwalk recently settled a lawsuit with the city that alleged discrimination in its denial of plans to build a mosque. The group now occupies a former Episcopal church and draws 125 families from Norwalk, Wilton, Westport and Darien.

Opening doors

Community members who are not Muslim often are welcome at mosques. Adeeb says his group, which has met for decades, is open to anyone who wishes to learn about Islam  the worlds fastest-growing religion, founded in the seventh century by Muhammad.

Adeebs group offers religious study for children and teens that teaches the Five Pillars of Islam  faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca  and how to be a good Muslim.

Part of that is reaching out to neighbors who live within 40 houses of the mosque, Stamford Islamic Centers Hafiz said. This is one area in which Hafiz says his congregation, comprised mostly of Stamford residents, could improve.

Our creed is that you open doors, not only to your community but to your neighborhood, he said. I think theres a little bit of hesitancy in trying to interact with the other ethnic backgrounds or the black community  and its quite contrary to our creed.

Some of it has to do with language and cultural barriers in the working-class Muslim population, said Hafiz, a longtime Stamford resident who now lives in Westport.

I think its more internal for us. I think we take these things as barriers because most of the crowd here is struggling with their own socioeconomic agenda, he said.

He acknowledges many Muslims may not want to advertise their religious affiliation.

Not many people try to wear it on their sleeves, he said.

eskalka@stamfordadvocate.com
By Press Trust of India: Varanasi, Jan 28 (PTI) The static surveillance team and police today seized more than Rs 10 lakh and 4 kg of silver from three persons who were travelling in their car at Rajghat area here.

During checking, police apprehended the men identified as -- Sanjay Verma, Rajendra Verma and Rahul Verma. They brought Rs 10 lakh and 59 thousand cash and the silver from Bhabhua in Bihar to Varanasi, police said.

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The cash and the silver was seized after the men were unable to furnish any valid documents, they said adding the Income Tax department was informed about it.

The action was taken in the wake of Model Code of Conduct, wherein carrying cash more than Rs 50,000 without valid papers is prohibited, police said.

The 7-phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will begin from February 11. PTI COR ASV

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P olice are hunting for a man after a string of despicable sex attacks on teenage girls on buses in south east London.

The schoolgirls  one who is aged as young as 13  said they were assaulted on buses in Lewisham and Southwark in the past few days.

Police investigating the string of five south east London assaults are warning there could be even more attacks which have not yet been reported.

A string of attacks took place on Friday, January 27, starting with a girl, 17, boarding a 176 bus at 3.15pm, officers said.

Police warning: The string of sex attacks happened on buses across Lewisham and Southwark. / Met Police

The suspect sat opposite her and struck up a conversation before intentionally falling onto her and groping her, the force said.

At around 5pm on the same day, a girl, 13, reported being sexually assaulted on a 363 bus.

Advice: Police said not to approach the man if members of the public encounter him. / Met Police

Later another girl, also 13, reported a man matching the same description made her feel uncomfortable by engaging in a conversation.

At 5.50pm a 15-year-old boarded a 171 bus at Catford train station. The suspect sat opposite her and touched her knee, the Met Police said.

Frightened, she got off the bus but the man pursued her and groped her before she managed to flee, officers added.

Two previous attacks were on two women, aged 22 and 17, on a number 12 bus in Dulwich at around 9.30pm on January 24.

The suspect is described as a black man in his 20s with short black hair and stubble. He wore blue baggy jeans and a black bomber jacket with a white fur trim on the hood.

Detective Constable Alex Price said: "We are keen to trace the suspect carrying out these despicable attacks on young girls and women in public.

"Five victims have been targeted by this man and we believe there could be many more victims who are yet to come forward."

Police warned anyone who sees the suspect not to approach him but to contact 999. Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A train driver was pulled from his train and attacked late last night at a London suburban station.

A man was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after the attack at Epsom rail station in Surrey.

Officers from two police forces  Surrey and British Transport Police  raced to the scene following reports which came in at around midnight.

A Surrey Police officer working in the Mole Valley said on Twitter a drunk male pulled a driver from a train and assaulted him.

Train passenger Sammie McGinlay was on a train passing through Epsom which was forced to stop because reports of a "fight".

She said on Twitter: When your train cant pull into Epsom because theres a fight on the platform and they are waiting for the police. Fantastic.

A spokesman from British Transport Police told the Standard one man had been arrested after the attack on a train driver at Epsom station at 12.05am.

The train driver suffered no serious injuries in the attack, police said.


S adiq Khan has condemned Donald Trumps ban on people from certain countries entering the United States as shameful and cruel.

The Mayor of London released a statement on Sunday slamming the presidents controversial policy which blocks entry to refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.

President Trumps executive order banned Syrian refugees indefinitely and included a 90-day block on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia coming into the US.

But Mr Khan, Londons first Muslim mayor, said the new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom.

What did Donald Trump do in his first week as President?

He said: President Trump's ban on refugees and immigrants from certain countries is shameful and cruel.

Theresa May met with Donald Trump last week. / AP

The USA has a proud history of welcoming and resettling refugees. The President can't just turn his back on this global crisis - all countries need to play their part.

While every country has the right to set its own immigration policies, this new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon.

Late on Saturday night Downing Street announced the PM Theresa May does not agree with President Trumps divisive ban.

Mr Khan said: I'm pleased that the Prime Minister has now said she and the government do not agree with President Trump's policy, which will affect many British citizens who have dual nationality, including Londoners born in countries affected by the ban.

I will work with the government on behalf of Londoners affected.

As a nation that, like the USA, values tolerance, diversity and freedom, we cannot just shrug our shoulders and say: 'It's not our problem'.

Protest: People angry at Donald Trump's travel ban came out in force at JFK Airport. / REUTERS

Mr Khans comments come as mass demonstrations broke out across the US in protest at the anti-immigration policy.

Political commentator Owen Jones has organised a London protest on Monday evening outside Downing Street.
T housands of Londoners are expected to march to Downing Street on Monday in protest at Donald Trumps controversial travel ban.

An "emergency demo" has been organised at 6pm in a show of support to those banished from entering the US under President Trumps border crackdown.

Author and journalist Owen Jones set up the online call-to-arms urging people to join him in protest.

More than 25,000 people have said on Facebook they will be going to the mass protest, with a further 33,000 registering their interest.

What did Donald Trump do in his first week as President?

Among those said to be attending are Lily Allen, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Ed Miliband, comedian Shappi Khorsandi, Bianca Jagger and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron.

Under President Trump's policy all refugees from war-torn Syria are banned indefinitely and people from seven Muslim-majority nations are barred for 90 days.

Writing on the online event, Guardian regular Mr Jones said: Donald Trump has imposed a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

Anger: A crowd gathers during an anti-immigration ban protest outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport. / REUTERS

That includes people who helped the US army. That includes people on holiday trying to get home via the United States. That includes people trying to be reunited with their dying parents.

He called Theresa Mays bid to ally herself with Donald Trump as a matter of national shame  disgracing our country across the world.

Owen Jones giving a speech during the March for Europe rally in Parliament Square before the EU vote. / PA Archive/PA Images

Mr Jones went on: There are moments of terrible injustice throughout history where we look back and rightly ask - what did people do?

Future generations will look back at the targeting of Muslims - as we look back at the targeting of Jews - with disgust, horror and shame. If we do not speak out, we are complicit.

Let's stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump's hateful government, including the people of this country, outside Downing Street and all over Britain.

Late on Saturday night Downing Street issued a statement announcing Theresa May does not agree with President Trumps approach in introducing the travel ban.

Nadhim Zahawi MP tells Andrew Marr how he feels about the Muslim ban on entering the US

She had been under mounting pressure to condemn the policy, which London's Mayor Sadiq Khan deemed "shameful and cruel".

Olympian and London 2012 hero Sir Mo Farah was among the public figures to slam the ban, which would affect him as a current US resident.

'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands 1 /17 'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump walk along the White House Colonnade PA British Prime Minister Theresa May laughs during a news conference with President Donald Trump AP Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office PA President Donald Trump reaches out to shake hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May with US President Donald Trump during their joint press conference PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump by a bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the Oval Office PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer posted this photo on Twitter. PA

Although Sir Mo grew up in the UK and has a British passport with no dual nationality, he was born in Somalia which means he could be liable to be banned under President Trumps rules.

A separate protest, organised by bodies including the Stop the War Coalition, Stand Up to Racism and the Muslim Council of Britain is planned for Saturday, February 4 at the US Embassy.
L ondoners are now able to see exactly how much pollution is in the air outside their homes and at top London landmarks.

Just days after Sadiq Khan was forced to issue the most severe warning for air pollution across the capital, a service was launched allowing residents to see just what they are inhaling through their phone or computer screen.

Airview, launched by Swedish air purification experts Blueair, allows users to type in their postcodes or use their exact location to see pollutants such as carbon dioxide, industry fumes and viruses floating around them.

The free app uses monitoring stations across the capital to measure results and evaluates air quality in the area.

Pollution in London 1 /8 Pollution in London This image taken near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich shows a thick layer of smog hanging over London Anna Rolls This image, taken in December 2016, shows the smog over London Pete Buckney This shot taken in 2015 from Hampstead Heath shows smog hanging over the centre of London Getty Images Pollution: thick smog hangs over London's Docklands PA Pollution hanging over the City of London 2011 FILE IMAGE AFP via Getty Images Smog: A thick layer of smog visible above London's skyline William Smith/@williamsmithorg

Those concerned are then given the option to sign petition calling on the government to improve pollution levels across the UK.

Tourist hotspot: Pollution detected near the Houses of Parliament / Blue air

On Monday, a black warning for air pollution was issued in the capital, with people warned to stay indoors with their windows closed as toxic levels soared to the highest point in six years.

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According to experts from Kings College London, Marylebone Road in Westminster recorded the highest annual mean levels of the pollutant, more than double the legal EU limit, whilst Putney High Street breached the limit over 1,100 times in 2016.

Air pollution causes more than 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK, according to the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health, costing the government at least 27.5bn every year.

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The High Court has ordered the UK environment department to deliver an effective plan to tackle the countrys air pollution crisis by July 2017.

Annika Waller, from Blueair, said: Most people are unaware we breathe large amounts of harmful particles daily.

In big cities and along routes with high traffic, high levels of substances such as nitrogen oxides can accumulate, which in the long run may create respiratory problems.

We want to draw attention to what we and our children actually breathe every day in the hope we contribute to help more people take initiatives for cleaner air.

The app is available worldwide at airview.blueair.com
B oris Johnson has called on Donald Trumps administration to exempt Brits with dual citizenship from the US travel ban.

The Foreign Secretary is locked in talks with Mr Trumps senior adviser adviser Jared Kushner and chief strategist Stephen Bannon to ensure Britons are not affected by the controversial policy.

It comes after Theresa May ordered Mr Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to urgenty contact their American counterparts about the ban.

Downing Street sources said the move showed how seriously she was taking the issue after she was blasted for refusing to criticise Mr Trump at a press conference in Ankara.

Mr Johnson branded President Trump's controversial policy "divisive and wrong", and criticised the decision to "stigmatise" people based on their nationality.

Sir Mo Farah, who was born in Somalia, has spoken out against the ban . / AFP/Getty Images

Citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries - Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - have been barred temporarily along with all refugees.

The Foreign Secretary said: "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality."

Foreign Office officials have been speaking to officials in the US State Department overnight.

Mrs May faced a backlash after she chose not to criticise the President over the ban when repeatedly questioned about the policy a visit to Turkey.

MP Nadhim Zahawi speaks about Donald Trump's border clampdown on the Andrew Marr show / PA

No 10 later said the Prime Minister did "not agree" with the policy and would act to help UK citizens.

Somalia-born Olympian Sir Mo Farah, who lives in America, told how he faced having to tell his children he could be stopped from returning home.

He said: "I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years - working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home.

Nadhim Zahawi MP tells Andrew Marr how he feels about the Muslim ban on entering the US

"Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome.

"It's deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that daddy might not be able to come home - to explain why the President has introduced a policy that comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice."

Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, who was born in Baghdad in Iraq, said he felt demeaned and discriminated against after being told he would be hit by the ban.

Demo: Protesters shout slogans during anti-refugee ban protests. / REUTERS

"For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against, it's demeaning, it's sad," he told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show."

Thousands of demonstrators are planning to protest against the ban outside Downing Street and across the country on Monday from 6pm.

A march organised by a coalition of groups, including Stand Up to Racism and the Muslim Council of Britain, is due to begin at the US embassy next Saturday.
B rits with dual citizenship will be allowed to enter the United States, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

The US Presidents administration told Boris Johnson that Britons who share nationality with one of the seven Muslim-majority countries are exempt from Donald Trumps controversial travel ban.

But UK dual citizens travelling to the United States directly from one of the banned countries will face extra checks.

Mr Johnson was ordered to initiate urgent talks with his United States counterpart by Theresa May on Sunday as she faced growing anger over her failure to criticise Mr Trump over the policy.

US talks: Boris Johnson is involved in talks with Donald Trump's administration to ensure Brits are not affected by the travel ban / PA Wire

His officials later issued guidance about what the border clampdown means for the UK.

What did Donald Trump do in his first week as President?

The statement said:

The ban only applies to individuals travelling from one of the seven named countries - Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Travellers to the US from anywhere other than one of those countries will experience no extra checks regardless of nationality or place of birth.

UK nationals travelling from one of those countries are not included in the ban even if they were born in one of the affected states.

Dual citizens from one of the seven countries travelling to the US from outside those countries are not affected.

Dual nationals might have extra checks if they travel directly from one of the seven countries

Mrs May said last night she did not agree with the order signed by Mr Trump but refused to attack him directly when repeatedly questioned at a press conference in Ankara.

Downing Street said the move showed how seriously the Prime Minister was taking the issue with Home Secretary Amber Rudd also summoned to hold talks with US aides.

Mr Johnson branded President Trump's controversial policy "divisive and wrong", and criticised the decision to "stigmatise" people based on their nationality.

He said on Sunday: "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality."

Citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries - Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - have been barred temporarily along with all refugees.

Nadhim Zahawi MP tells Andrew Marr how he feels about the Muslim ban on entering the US

The policy led some Brits to fear they would be banned from entering the country including Britains most decorated track-and-field Olympian Sir Mo Farah and Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi.

Thousands of demonstrators are planning to protest against the ban outside Downing Street and across the country on Monday from 6pm.

A march organised by a coalition of groups, including Stand Up to Racism and the Muslim Council of Britain, is due to begin at the US embassy next Saturday.
A Conservative MP has said he feels demeaned and discriminated against after learning he will be hit by Donald Trump's border clampdown.

Nadhim Zahawi, who was born Baghdad in Iraq, has been advised by lawyers that he will be barred from the United States under the ban on travellers from seven Muslim nations and all refugees.

The Stratford-on-Avon MP told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I don't think I have felt discriminated since little school when the kids were very cruel, as a young boy coming from Iraq of Kurdish origin.

"For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against, it's demeaning, it's sad."

The Prime Minister refused to criticise President Trump when pressed by reporters on the ban, insisting it was up to America to devise its own policy.

But amid a growing backlash, Downing Street issued a midnight statement saying Mrs May did not agree with the move and would make representations to the US if it hit Britons.

The Conservative MP said he felt demeaned and discriminated against / PA

Mr Zahawi told the programme: "I think my prime minister, quite rightly, was being cautious. It was a developing story.

"I think her being careful is a good thing, but she was also very candid with President Trump."

He added: "I am reassured by my prime minister, Theresa May's statement, because quite clearly says she disagrees with this."

But he warned that "anyone who turns the other way" was an appeaser.

"I don't think we should look away when President Trump makes a mistake," he added.

Protest: People angry at Donald Trump's travel ban came out in force at JFK Airport / REUTERS

Mr Zahawi called for President Trump to "think again" about the "hugely discriminatory" policy.

It comes as thousands of protestors gathered at airports across the US in a series of demonstrations against the presidents so-called Muslim ban.

Up to 200 people including refugees and visa-holders of the blocked countries are currently being detained at airports, the ACLU said.

Many who were already in the air at the time of the order were detained at US airports when they arrived.

But, as tensions rose, a top US judge defied Donald Trumps controversial Muslim ban bringing a temporary halt to people being detained at airports.

The ruling from US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York has brought a temporary halt stopping the US removing people with approved refugee applications, valid visas and other individuals legally authorised to enter the United States.
J eremy Corbyn has joined mounting calls for Donald Trumps state visit to the UK to be called off until he repeals the ban on citizens from several Muslim countries entering the US.

The Labour leader said it is not right to host the US president while the "awful attacks on Muslims" are going on.

An official petition urging the government to prevent Mr Trump's state visit has already gathered over 100,000 signatures.

Mr Corbyn told ITV's Peston On Sunday: "Is it really right to endorse somebody who has used this awful misogynistic language throughout the election campaign, awful attacks on Muslims, and then of course this absurd idea of building a wall between themselves and their nearest neighbour?"

He added: "I think we should make it very clear we are extremely upset about it, and I think it would be totally wrong for him to be coming here while that situation is going on. I think he has to be challenged on this.

"I am not happy with him coming here until that ban is lifted, quite honestly.

"Look at what's happening with those countries, how many more is it going to be and what is going to be the long term effect of this on the rest of the world?"

Protest: People angry at Donald Trump's travel ban came out in force at JFK Airport. / REUTERS

Mr Trump is due to be hosted by the Queen in London later this year after accepting an invite for a state visit from Theresa May.

But there are growing calls for the trip to be cancelled after the US president imposed a travel ban on refugees and citizens from seven mainly-Muslim countries.

'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands 1 /17 'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump walk along the White House Colonnade PA British Prime Minister Theresa May laughs during a news conference with President Donald Trump AP Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office PA President Donald Trump reaches out to shake hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May with US President Donald Trump during their joint press conference PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump by a bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the Oval Office PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer posted this photo on Twitter. PA

Lord Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has questioned the state visit on Twitter.

He posted: "Am I alone in finding it impossible to bear that in pursuit of her deeply wrong-headed policies our PM is now forcing THAT MAN on our Queen?"

Fury: Demonstrators shout slogans during anti-Donald Trump immigration ban protests outside Terminal 4 at San Francisco International Airport / REUTERS

Labour former frontbencher Chuka Umunna backed Mr Corbyn's call for the state visit invitation to be revoked.

"I agree with that," he said "If it was a different position, what would that say to this country's three million Muslims?"

He added: "State visits happen at the instigation of governments and, of course, you have got a prime minister who you want to have a decent working relationship with a US president but they need to understand, just as they will put America first, we will put British values first."

Anger: A crowd gathers during an anti-immigration ban protest outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport. / REUTERS

Alex Salmond, the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman, said he thought the state visit was "a very bad idea".

He told Sky News: "You shouldn't be rushing into a headlong relationship with the President of the United States."

Mr Salmond said reports Mr Trump was reluctant to meet Prince Charles during the visit were "an indication of the sort of enormous difficulties you get into when you hold somebody tight who is unpredictable, who has a range of views you find unacceptable.

"The one thing I can tell you about Donald Trump, and absolutely this is from personal experience, you should never, ever, ever negotiate or deal with Donald Trump from a position of weakness, and that is exactly what Theresa May has been doing."
A top US judge has defied Donald Trumps controversial Muslim ban bringing a temporary halt to people being detained at airports.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a legal case after President Trump made an executive order cracking down on immigration.

All refugees from the war-torn Syria have been banished indefinitely and people from six other Muslim-majority nations have been barred for 90 days.

President Trumps order sparked confusion and anger on Saturday with immigrants and refugees kept off flights and left stranded at airports.

Texas: A police officer walks past people as they gather to protest against the travel ban at Fort Worth airport in Dallas. / REUTERS

Up to 200 people including refugees and visa-holders of the blocked countries are currently being detained at airports, the ACLU said.

Many who were already in the air at the time of the order were detained at US airports when they arrived.

Theresa May and Donald Trump holding hands at the White House before he hailed the US-UK 'special relationship' / EPA

But the ruling from US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York has brought a temporary halt stopping the US removing people with approved refugee applications, valid visas and other individuals legally authorised to enter the United States.

Protesters at airports across the US cheered at the decision, although the court action does not reverse the Presidents order.

Along with Syria, the ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding.


By Press Trust of India: From M Zulqernain

Lahore, Jan 29 (PTI) An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has acquitted for lack of evidence 115 suspects accused of torching more than 100 houses of Christians at Joseph Colony in the city following an alleged blasphemy incident in 2013.

Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Azam yesterday accepted the arguments of defence and ordered acquittal of the suspects, observing that evidence presented by prosecution against the suspects was "insufficient" to convict them.

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On March 8, 2013, thousands of protesters armed with sticks, clubs and stones ransacked Joseph Colony and set over 125 residential properties, shops as well as some motorcycles and rickshaws and a church on fire after a word was spread in the locality that a Christan had committed blasphemy.

A clash between police and the arsonists had also left a number of people injured but no casualty was reported.

During yesterdays hearing, defence lawyer Ghulam Murtaza argued that the prosecution had failed to provide a "single evidence" to establish the charges against his clients.

He said the prosecution had lingered the case for more than three years but could not come up with any solid evidence against the suspects. He requested the court to acquit the suspects because of want for proof.

A prosecution lawyer argued the evidence provided by the prosecution team is enough to convict the suspects.

"This incident not only spread a wave of terrorism in Lahore but also brought a bad to name to Pakistan," he said. The judge, however, termed the evidence "insufficient" and acquitted all the suspects.

Hundreds of Christians were displaced following the incident. Initially police had booked more than 1,000 Muslims, 80 of them were nominated. Later, it arrested 115 suspects who were acquitted yesterday.

Police had also arrested a Christian, who was accused of blasphemy. A trial court had tried him under blasphemy charges and sentenced him to death in 2014.

Imran Shahid had accused Sawan Masih of making blasphemous remarks.

However, Dilawar Masih, who lost his house and shop in the attack, said, "Both Imran and Sawan are close friends and the former has made the allegation only to settle a personal score because they had quarrelled over some petty matter." PTI MZ ASK AJR ZH

--- ENDS ---
N igel Farage has backed Britain introducing extreme vetting measures as he defended Donald Trumps controversial travel ban.

The former Ukip leader suggested the UK Government should adopt similar border policies as he insisted the US President was entitled to enforce his widely criticised immigration crackdown.

Mr Farage told the BBCs Sunday Politics he blamed the ban on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country's open-door policy towards those fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East.

He said: "I mean frankly since I made those comments we had the Merkel madness, and I think Trump's policy in many ways has been shaped by what Mrs Merkel did.

What did Donald Trump do in his first week as President?

"He is fully entitled to do this, and as far as we are concerned in this country, yes I would like to see extreme vetting.

Nigel Farage was the first British politician to meet with Donald Trump / PA

He was elected to get tough, he was elected to say he will do everything within his power to protect America from infiltration by Isis terrorists.

"Now there are seven countries on that list, he is entitled to do this, he was voted in on this."

Mr Farage said he agreed with Mr Trumps policy even though he previously called for Syrian refugees to be allowed into Britain.

Mr Trump signed an executive order on Friday which has banned all refugees from entering the United States for a month while entry from seven Muslim-majority has been suspended for 90 days.

He said it was designed to crack down on radical Islamic terrorists but has faced an angry global backlash from businesses and political leaders.

A petition calling for Mr Trumps state visit to Britain to be cancelled passed 300,000 signatures hours after its launch  smashing the 100,000 required to trigger a debate in Parliament.

Mr Farage, who is close with Mr Trump and became the first British politician to meet him after his election, said the US President was voted in on the promise he would introduce tougher vetting and he is doing "exactly" what his voters want.

He said: "We have elections so voters can make choices and they voted for Donald Trump to become president, and he said he will put bans in place and then move towards extreme vetting.

"Now, as far as Syria is concerned, he has made that decision. But that is what he was voted in for."
S ir Mo Farah is "relieved" after he was given the green light to return to his family in the United States, his spokeswoman said.

It comes after Boris Johnson revealed Brits with dual citizenship will be exempt from Donald Trumps controversial travel ban.

Sir Mo, Britains most successful track-and-field Olympian, said Mr Trump seems to made me an alien as he slammed the policy on his Facebook page.

He trains in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife Tania and their four children and was said to be unsure how and if he will be affected by the travel ban.

But he has been assured he will not be affected personally. He said while he was relieved by the clarification he still fundamentally disagrees with the policy.

London 2012's Team GB hero Mo Farah with daughter Rhianna and wife Tania. / AFP/Getty Images

A spokeswoman for the star said: "We understand from the statement released this evening by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office that the executive order will not apply to Mo, and we are grateful to the Foreign Office for urgently clarifying the situation.

"Mo is relieved that he will be able to return to his family once his current training camp concludes. However, as he said in his earlier statement, he still fundamentally disagrees with this incredibly divisive and discriminatory policy."

Earlier on Sunday, the four-time Olympic champion, who has a London-born dad and grew up in the UK before moving to the US, said it was deeply troubling I will have to tell my children that daddy might not be able to come home.

Sir Mo said he "fundamentally disagrees" with the policy / Getty Images for Nike

He said: On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm.

On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.

"I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years - working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home.

"Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome.

"I was welcomed into Britain from Somalia at eight years old and given the chance to succeed and realise my dreams.

"I have been proud to represent my country, win medals for the British people and receive the greatest honour of a knighthood.

"My story is an example of what can happen when you follow polices of compassion and understanding, not hate and isolation."

Sir Mo spoke out as Mr Trump launched a crackdown on immigration into the US from seven Muslim-majority countries including Somalia where the athlete was born.

Citizens from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have also been barred from entering the country.
M ass protests have been held at major airports across the US after President Donald Trump banned refugees from entering the country.

The controversial leader signed an executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and stop travellers from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen entering for 90 days.

He claimed the measures were necessary to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US.

The order, titled Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, also banned Syrian refugees indefinitely and halved the annual cap on refugees to 50,000.

Demo: Protesters shout slogans during anti-refugee ban protests at San Francisco airport. / REUTERS

Some migrants were detained in airports around the country because they arrived just after the order was made, while others realised they were now barred from the country they worked or studied in.

Pictures have emerged of thousands of protestors holding demonstrations at airports including New Yorks JFK and OHare in Chicago.

An array of placards was on display with messages including Stop Trumps carnage and America is ashamed.

The US protests come as pressure mounts on the government to cancel a planned state visit by President Trump to the UK.

An official petition urging the government to prevent the President's state visit has already gathered 100,000 signatures.

The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said visas were already being denied and that green card holders would be blocked from returning to the US.

Protests rage across airports around the US following the Trump travel ban

ADCs Policy director Abed Ayoub wrote on Twitter: Visas being denied immediately. Chaos at airports and in the air.#MuslimBan will apply to green card holders attempting to return tonight.

More demonstrations were planned for later in the day as stories of those being banned from entering the US began to emerge.

A postgraduate student at the University of Glasgow was stranded in Costa Rica after being prevented from taking her connecting flight to New York due to her Iranian passport.

Fury: Demonstrators shout slogans during anti-Donald Trump immigration ban protests outside Terminal 4 at San Francisco International Airport / REUTERS

Hamaseh Tayari, who grew up in Italy, told the Guardian: I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a PhD. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax.

I am destroyed. I did not know that I could cry for so long. It feels like the beginning of the end. How this is possible? I am really afraid about what is going on.

Amid international condemnation of the so-called Muslim ban, a federal court granted an emergency stay blocking the deportation of migrants detained at airports around the US.

However, the measure does not mean they must be allowed back in to the country, leaving them in a grey area.
T his is the heartstopping moment a pickup truck ploughed into the side of a bus at high speed in New York.

The truck became embedded in the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (Centro) bus after it careered off the highway in Syracuse, local police said.

Several passengers were injured in the smash but none were seriously hurt.

Shocking footage shows the truck veer off the road onto a grassy bank after it apparently swerved violently to stop hitting traffic.

Horror smash: The truck hit the bus at high speed / PA

Surveillance video released by Centro shows unsuspecting passengers on the bus moments before the truck ploughs in from the side.

The impact of the crash threw them from one side of the vehicle to the other. The crash took place on January 19.

The Syracuse Police Department said the 54-year-old bus driver was taken to hospital for chest pain along with several passengers.

The 82-year-old truck driver was not injured but his 75-year-old wife also suffered chest pains.
T heresa May has said she does not agree with Donald Trumps refugee ban hours after she was blasted for refusing to condemn the divisive policy outright.

The Prime Minister was attacked by critics after she dodged questions about her view on President Trumps policy to ban all refugees from entering the US for four months.

All refugees from the war-torn Syria have been banished indefinitely and people from seven Muslim-majority nations have been barred for 90 days.

Just after midnight on Saturday, as Mrs May landed in the UK from Turkey to a storm of fury, Downing Street released a statement saying the PM does not agree with the travel ban.

The fury at Mrs May comes just days after she met with President Trump, who hailed the US-UK 'special relationship' / PA

A spokesman said: "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking.

"We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals.

'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands 1 /17 'Special relationship': Donald Trump and Theresa May hold hands US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA US President Donald J. Trump holds hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump walk along the White House Colonnade PA British Prime Minister Theresa May laughs during a news conference with President Donald Trump AP Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office PA President Donald Trump reaches out to shake hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Prime Minister Theresa May with US President Donald Trump during their joint press conference PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump by a bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the Oval Office PA Prime Minister Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House PA White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer posted this photo on Twitter. PA

"If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

Conservative MPs were among the critics, including MP Nadhim Zahawi, who said he would be affected by the border clampdown which targets people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Mrs May was pressed repeatedly about her views on the refugee ban during a press conference in Ankara where she had been holding talks with Turkish leaders.

After initially dodging questions, the Prime Minister then insisted it was up to America to devise its own policy.

She told reporters: "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees.

"The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees and our policy on refugees is to have a number of voluntary schemes to bring Syrian refugees into the country, particularly those who are most vulnerable, but also to provide significant financial contributions to support refugees in countries surrounding Syria."
A tourist boat carrying 31 people has gone missing off the Malaysian coast in stormy conditions, authorities said.

The catamaran lost contact after departing Kota Kinabalu in the eastern state of Sabah on Saturday.

Search efforts for the boat, which has around 20 Chinese tourists on board, have reportedly been hampered by bad weather.

The boat went missing on the first day of Chinas week-long New Year celebration, which is celebrated by people of Chinese ethnicity who live in Malaysia.

It had left the harbour at 9am (1am GMT) and was heading 60km west to the popular tourist island of Pulau Mengalum.

Authorities are searching a section of the South China Sea of about 400 square nautical miles, according to The Star daily in Malaysia, but are contending with strong winds and choppy waters.

Arwin Musbir, the captain of another boat that left for Pulau Mengalum at the same time, told the New Straits Times newspaper that he was following the missing boat but lost sight of it shortly after they left.

He said he realised it had gone missing only after he arrived at the island.
T he Queen is set to make history when she becomes the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee.

Elizabeth II will have reigned for 65 years on February 6  the day of her coronation.

Unlike her Golden Jubilee in 2002, there are no grand festivities planned to mark the historic milestone.

The Queen is, at this stage, not due to be out and about on official engagements on the landmark day.

The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday last year / John Stillwell/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The monarch missed church over Christmas due to a heavy cold but is now will undoubtedly be matter of fact about this historic occasion.

The Queen is set to make history when she becomes the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee.

Elizabeth II will have reigned for 65 years on February 6  the day of her coronation.

Queen's 90th birthday at Windsor

Unlike her Golden Jubilee in 2002, there are no grand festivities planned to mark the historic milestone.

The Queen is, at this stage, not due to be out and about on official engagements on the landmark day.

Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Home Park, Windsor 1 /22 Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Home Park, Windsor Scenes from the marriage of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh are shown during the final night of The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at the Royal Windsor Horseshow Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge along with Queen Elizabeth II during the final night of the Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Windsor Chris Jackson/Getty Images Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly present the televised celebration of the Queen's 90th birthday in the grounds of Windsor Castle in Berkshire Andrew Matthews/PA Australian singer Kylie Minogue performs for The Queen during the final night of The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at the Royal Windsor Horseshow Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Gary Barlow performs during the televised celebration of the Queen's 90th birthday in the grounds of Windsor Castle in Berkshire Andrew Matthews/PA The Royal Cavalry of Oman perform for The Queen during the final night of The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at the Royal Windsor Horseshow Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images A pantomime horse and corgi perform for The Queen during the final night of The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at the Royal Windsor Horseshow Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images James Blunt performs during Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Home Park, Windsor Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images Italian singer Andrea Bocelli performs for The Queen during the final night of The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at the Royal Windsor Horseshow Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Dame Shirley Bassey and Declan Donnelly on the final night of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Windsor Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales as she arrives for the final night of her 90th Birthday Celebrations at Windsor Chris Jackson/l/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth laughs as she attends the final night of her 90th Birthday Celebrations at Windsor Chris Jackson/l/Getty Images Imelda Staunton performs during the televised celebration of the Queen's 90th birthday in the grounds of Windsor Castle in Berkshire PA Dame Helen Mirren performs during Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Home Park, Windsor Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images Katherine Jenkins performs during Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Home Park, Windsor Getty Images Prince Charles, Prince of Wales greets Dame Shirley Bassey on the final night of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations Chris Jackson/Getty Images Beverley Knight performs during Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Home Park, Windsor Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

The monarch missed church over Christmas due to a heavy cold but is now will undoubtedly be matter of fact about this historic occasion.

In 2015, when she thanked the nation for its kind messages after overtaking Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history, she admitted bluntly that the royal record was "not one to which I have ever aspired".

She added: "Inevitably, a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception."

The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday last year and had a busy schedule commemorating the occasion, with a walkabout, beacon lighting and a black tie dinner for family and friends in Windsor on her actual birthday.

A weekend of national celebrations, including a party on The Mall, was held for her official birthday in June.

Royal family attend Sandringham Christmas service 2016 1 /8 Royal family attend Sandringham Christmas service 2016 The Queen was not in attendance due to illness PA Wire/PA Images Prince Harry outside the church on the Sandringham estate PA Wire/PA Images Princess Eugenie leaving the Christmas Day service PA Wire/PA Images The Duke of Edinburgh leaving the Christmas service PA Wire/PA Images The royal family arriving at the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church PA Wire/PA Images The Duchess of Cornwall attended the service with Prince Charles PA Wire/PA Images

It is likely that any large-scale jubilee celebrations will be reserved for the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 - although any events will take into account the fact that Queen is due to turn 96 that year.

The Duke of Cambridge is about to become a full-time royal this summer and will increase his official duties on behalf of the Queen. William and the Duchess of Cambridge are carrying out an engagement on Monday February 6, but not to do with the Queen's record-breaking reign.

They will be attending Place2Be's Big Assembly at a primary school in north London to mark Children's Mental Health Week.

The anniversary of Elizabeth II's accession to the throne in 1952 is a poignant time for the Queen, marking the day her father George VI died.

She often spends Accession Day privately at Sandringham, having staying there through the Christmas period. She usually makes her return to Buckingham Palace a few days later.

Royal gun salutes will be staged in London on February 6, as is the tradition.

A 41-gun salute will be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park at noon,

The Band of the Royal Artillery will play a selection of celebratory music close to the firing position, and 89 horses will pull six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into position in the park.

A 62-gun salute by the Honourable Artillery Company will be fired at the Tower of London at 1pm.
A Cheyenne legislator wants to amend civil rights-era legislation to bar transgender individuals from using public bathrooms in Wyoming.

People would be subject to imprisonment for using a bathroom that does not correspond to their sex identified at birth by the persons anatomy under House Bill 244, which would expand the crime of public indecency.

To be charged with public indecency under the existing law, a person must engage in an activity with the intent of arousing the sexual desire of himself or another person.

Sponsor Rep. Lars Lone, R-Cheyenne, declined to speak with a Star-Tribune reporter at the Wyoming Legislature.

Bathroom bills, meant to bar transgender people from using public restrooms, have become popular among socially conservative Republican legislators around the country.

Transgender peoples gender does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a transgender womans birth certificate might list her as a male. But House Bill 244 would bar even individuals whose birth certificate has been amended to reflect their gender.

Lones bill would also amend Wyomings anti-discrimination law.

The law governing access to public accommodations, passed in 1957, allows all persons of good deportment access to any public establishment and bars discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex or national origin.

House Bill 244 would make that legislation subject to the new definition of public indecency and allow barring access to bathrooms on the basis of sex. People convicted of using the wrong bathroom would be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months imprisonment, a $750 fine or both.

The anti-discrimination statute was originally passed after Republican Gov. Milward L. Simpson warned the Legislature that by the mid-1950s Wyoming was one of the only non-southern states that did not permit all citizens access to public accommodations, according to an article in the history journal Annals of Wyoming.

House Bill 244 would allow cleaning staff and people providing medical aid to enter any bathroom they need.

While he could not be reached for comment by the Star-Tribune, Lone told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle before the legislative session began that his main priority was solving the states budget deficit.

Reduce spending is the first goal we have to accomplish, Lone said.

In addition to House Bill 244, Lone has sponsored five other bills, including one that would require all Internet-enabled electronics sold in Wyoming to include software blocking obscene material like pornography, a bill that would make it easier to stop making alimony payments and a bill that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls.

House Bill 244 was filed Thursday and has yet to be assigned to a committee.
The book traces Pakistan's journey from an optimistic start towards a rather pessimistically-painted doom, to which it now seems to be hurtling.

By Rana Banerji: The book traces Pakistan's journey from an optimistic start towards a rather pessimistically-painted doom, to which it now seems to be hurtling. Written with flair and analytical precision by a trained intelligence professional, now retired, it delves deep into problems which Pakistan faces. Dealing with most issues with empathy and objectivity, the author supports his narration with an impressive array of carefully marshalled facts. He offers clear-cut, if somewhat firm and unpalatable, solutions.

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The framework or structuring of the book is refreshingly readable.

Starting from the foundations of the Pakistan movement, it traverses through the building blocks of ideology, covers Pakistan's provincial dilemma of perceived Punjabi domination, deals with the emergence of the army as self-proclaimed defender of the country's ideology and sovereignty, sequentially going on to discuss perennially fraught civil-military tensions.

Also read: Excerpts from Khali's biography: My physique set me apart from the others Islamisation, used intermittently as a crutch by military dictators, attendant sectarian strife and terrorism are dealt with next, before going on to the delightfully tongue in cheek acronym of 'WEEP', a chapter which brings out Pakistan's endemic crises in water management, economic development, lack of adequate investment in proper education and the unemployment chasm confronting its emerging youth bulge.

Discussing civil-military relations, the author identifies 'at least three occasions' when civilians could have clipped the army's wings.

Bhutto senior had the best chance, after 1971, but his own character failings, ill-concealed arrogance and quick temper perhaps cost him dear. Surprisingly, there is no reference in the book to the calamitous findings of the Hamoodur Rehman Commission of Enquiry, which were suppressed from public gaze then. Two other occasions listed here are Nawaz Sharif's opportunity after Kargil and post-Abbottabad, for the Zardari government. While dwelling on 'windows to the world', the author sets the tone through pithy chapter headings - India is dealt under the 'quest for parity', Afghanistan as a 'quest for domination', ties with China are seen as a 'quest for succour' and the now tension fraught relationship with US as a 'quest for dependence'.

In his concluding chapter, the author lists out 'a wish list' which could cause the Pakistani establishment to reform its behaviour, to help avert its inevitable slide toward the abyss. Understandably, this wish-list is India-centric, fulfilment of which seems 'absurd and would constitute appeasement of the worst kind'. In the absence of drastic educational, religious and societal reforms, the author does not give much time for Pakistan to get its act together.

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This is a depressing scenario and reckons without a crisis driven resilience which enables the State or some of its stronger institutions to rally and overcome, or even temporarily sweep under the carpet difficult problems and survive. The army, under Raheel Sharif, has tackled the domestic terror threat from TTP robustly enough, to bring down violence and suicide bombings in the last two years. Albeit, this crackdown has been selective and terrorism refuses to fade away.

Though applauded earlier in the past, as the author has noted, there is today persisting civil society ennui, even antipathy against future military take-overs, which is evident to the generals. Asim Bajwa's over-hyped veneration of Raheel Sharif was disliked and the DG, ISPR's post has been reduced to two-star rank by new Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Not much is being heard about the one-judge enquiry against the Dawn news leak about which the army was baying for the leaky bureaucrat's blood. In the Panama corruption case, the judiciary is displaying new streaks of independence.

Pakistan's journey through the woods may be fitful but it need not go in an irreversibly negative direction. With generous dollops of economic aid from China in the pipeline already under the CPEC, there is buoyancy in spirit among not only traditional apologists of the right but also discerning political analysts, who see the recent disappearance of social media bloggers as 'the revenge of the resurgent State'.

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The writer is former Special Secretary, Cabinet SecetariatThe book traces Pakistan's journey from an optimistic start towards a rather pessimistically-painted doom, to which it now seems to be hurtling.

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Protesters have gathered outside airports across the United States of America and are rallying against President Donald Trump's executive order that bans people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Librya, Yemen and Syria from entering the country for 90 days.

By India Today Web Desk: After last week's Women's March, Americans in large crowd have now gathered at airports across the country to protest the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump's refugee ban.

Trump has temporarily suspended the entire US refugee program which applies indefinitely to the resettlement of refugees from war-torn Syria. The order also blocks all people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days.

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The order is being slammed by activists, immigration lawyers and democratic politicians.

To challenge this decision, the American Civil Liberties Union (AUCL) had approached a federal court in Brooklyn on behalf of two Iraqi nationals who were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Protest against Trump's immigrant and refugee ban at Chicago's O'Hare Airport (Photo: Twitter/@jacobinmag)

Photo: Twitter/@jack_dot_bin

AUCL sought to block the order in an emergency hearing and was successful as a federal judge in Brooklyn temporarily halted parts of the executive order.

"Nobody is to be removed," US District Judge Ann Donnelly told the government lawyers as reported by Buzzfeed.

Signed judge's order. No refugees are going to be immediately deported pic.twitter.com/sbfaG7DBt0 ACLU National (@ACLU) January 29, 2017

But to protest the sweeping executive order, protesters gathered outside Terminal 4 at JFK airport carrying placards that read, "we are all immigrants!", and "no ban! no wall!". Even outside the courthouse in Brooklyn, a large crowd gathered and chanted "let them stay, it's the American way!".

Absolutely massive crowd at JFK airport outside international arrivals to support refugees & detainees & protest Trump's #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/5K25EvaNtW Julia Carmel (@JuliaCarmel__) January 28, 2017

Hundreds of protesters have gathered at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York, Portland, Logan, Hartsfield to protest against the executive order. More protests are scheduled in Orlando, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington and Chicago, mostly at airports.

Protesters at Dulles International Airport rally against President Trump executive order barring refugees #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/2hifp3wdc2 Nael Shami (@NaelShamiNL) January 29, 2017

Donald Trump during his presidential campaign had promised "extreme vetting" to protest Americans from terror attacks. After signing the order, he told reporters in the Oval Office that his order was "not a Muslim ban". However, the ban imposed is on travellers coming from several Muslim-majority countries.

Also read: Trump order halting some Muslim immigrants hits roadblock

Also read: Unfazed by backlash, Donald Trump says immigration order "working out very nicely"

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Since the mid-1990s, Khalistan has never been a rallying point in state elections.

Kanwarpal Singh, spokesman for the Dal Khalsa, rejects alliance with Indian political parties; says his group is a votary of independent Sikh state

By Harmeet Shah Singh: Images of slain militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale are a common sight at most gurdwaras in Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia.

And so are the portraits and photos of the assassins of the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi.

In the streets of Amritsar, small retail stores openly sell T-shirts with Bhindranwale's face printed on their front. Also available at the stalls are calendars bearing pictures of Sikh extremists killed in security operations of the 1980s and 1990s.

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Once banned, memorabilia of Punjab's militancy resurfaced in the state almost a decade-and-a-half ago.

In 2003, a year after Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal lost power to Captain Amarinder Singh, Bhindranwale was declared a martyr by the Akal Takht. The head of the highest seat of the Sikh temporal authority in Amritsar is an appointee of the SGPC, which was then - and is even now - controlled by the Badals.

Since the mid-1990s, Khalistan has never been a rallying point in state elections.

But mainstream political parties of Punjab have routinely accused each other of hobnobbing with separatists in what political experts say is a shrewd tactic to influence the state's sizeable Hindu population.

The vote of 2017 is no different.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party is debuting in Punjab's assembly elections, is facing the same accusation. Of the two main Khalistan advocacy groups in the state, the Dal Khalsa pledges no allegiance to the Indian Constitution. The other, Simranjit Singh Mann's Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), is pushed to the margins in Punjab's electoral politics.

The former IPS officer, who became an MP in 1989 with an overwhelming support, hasn't had any electoral luck for over years now. Still, he keeps trying.

Unlike Mann's SAD (Amritsar), the Dal Khalsa does not participate in state or national elections.

"We boycott elections under Indian dispensation," said Kanwarpal Singh, the group's spokesman. He described his Dal Khalsa as an organisation espousing a sovereign state for the Sikhs.

"We are a votary of an independent, sovereign Punjab. We want the Sikhs be given the right of self-determination in this regard," he said.

Singh insists his group has no truck, covert or overt, with any Indian political party.

Pro-Khalistan Dal Khalsa activists boycott Indian elections, constitution and the national anthem

A fierce opponent of the Badals for their alleged misuse of the SGPC and other religious institutions, the Dal Khalsa said it had nothing in common with Kejriwal's AAP. "The Aam Aadmi Party is not pro-Punjab or pro-Panth (the Sikh community)," Singh alleged. "It's a pro-Indian party, with strong nationalistic streaks. We are poles apart."

Also read: How desecrations cracked Akalis' core constituency in Punjab

Fringe Khalistani leaders overseas share Dal Khalsa's ideological position.

On numerous occasions, they have been seen protesting visits of Indian Sikh leaders - from across the political spectrum - to their countries of residence. They would oppose the Badals, Captain Amarinder Singh and even then prime minister Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh PM of the world's largest democracy, alike.

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New York-based Sikhs for Justice, for example, has legally accused Manmohan Singh of "funding crimes against humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in India" as Finance Minister.

In Punjab politics, the Badals have now come under fire from moderate Sikhs as well, largely because of their handling of religious issues.

Committed to Indian Constitution and the nation's electoral processes, this dominant bloc of Sikhs was stunned when the Akal Takht pardoned Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem in 2015. The Dera head was accused of blasphemy for dressing up like Guru Gobind Singh.

Also read: Punjab Assembly election: Modi invokes Pakistan threat to seek votes for Akali-BJP alliance

Many Sikhs felt the pardon was orchestrated by the Badals, who have the SGPC in their stranglehold. However, the ruling family denies the charge.

Sikh protests forced the Akal Takht to revoke its remission later but not before it dented the institutional credibility of the religious authority in the eyes of the faithful.

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"Those who are worried about their faith and want to restore the glory of their religious institutions cannot be termed extremists," said Kiranjot Kaur, a senior SGPC member. "It's their right to work democratically to cleanse the system of malpractices."

Dilvar Singh Sekhon runs a successful transport and gas business in New Jersey. He migrated to the United States back in 1996. Sekhon (53) is pro-Khalistan.

Dilvar Singh Sekhon holds a 'Sikh sovereignty' banner at a religious parade in New York

But at present, he says, his concern is not his "political demand" of a separate nation but the issue of drugs in Punjab.

"Punjab's youth are in a crisis. They are drowning in drugs," Sekhon said. "The scourge has epidemic proportions. Neither the Akalis nor the Congress can be exonerated. Punjab needs a transformational change that puts an end to drugs. Period," remarked Sekhon.

Also read: Punjab Assembly election: Political parties fight a troll war on social media

Watch the video

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If you think youve been seeing more bald eagles in Nebraska over the past few years, youre right. The magnificent predator has gone from being virtually nonexistent as a breeding species in the state to becoming relatively common in less than a quarter century, according to Joel Jorgensen, Game and Parks nongame bird program manager.

In 2016, a record 159 active bald eagle nests were documented in Nebraska by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and its wildlife partners. It was the third consecutive year the number of nests has broken the previous years record. Some of the increase is attributable to increased surveying efforts, but the numbers also reflect a real increase in breeding pairs.

Weve grown accustomed to bald eagle nests number breaking records year in and year out, but the spike in numbers in 2016 was a big surprise, Jorgensen said.

To view cutlines, click on photos.

Although the eagle is Americas national bird, it was a rare sight in the mid-20th century, thanks to indiscriminate pesticide use, illegal shooting and habitat loss. The pesticide DDT interfered with the eagles calcium metabolism, making the bird either sterile or unable to lay healthy eggs and causing thinning of the eagles eggshells. In the 1800s up to a half million birds lived across the United States, but by the 1950s there were only 412 nesting pairs in the 48 contiguous states.

The bald eagle was declared an endangered species in the U.S. in 1967. They were on both federal and state endangered species lists and remained there as late as 2007 and 2008, respectively. In the early 1980s, when federal recovery plans were written to save populations in the lower 48 states, the recovery goal for Nebraska was set at 10 breeding pairs. In 1991, Nebraska recorded its first successful bald eagle nest in approximately a century. In 2007, the number of nests had grown to 54 active nests. Less than a decade later in 2016, the number of known active nests increased to 159. The 2016 total exceeds 2015s record of 118 active nests and represents a notable 35 percent increase from the previous year.

In addition to being the symbol of the United States, the bald eagle is a sacred bird to many Native American cultures. It ranges from northern Mexico to Alaska, preying mostly on fish and waterfowl. It prefers to live near water and nests mostly in tall, old-growth trees. It grabs its prey with long talons and can carry fish or other prey equal to its own weight.

Adults are brown with a white head, which gives the bald eagle its name, and a white tail. Females are about 25 percent larger than males. Juvenile birds remain brown until they rach sexual maturity at about four or five years. Their beaks, feet and irises are bright yellow. The immature birds have a black beak with a yellow tip. They resemble a golden eagle but have a longer head and more protuding beak and are usually mottled with lighter feathering underneath. Golden eagles glide with their wings slightly raised rather than flat and have feathering down to their talons.

Bald eagles in Nebraska can weigh more than 13 pounds with a wingspan of 7 1/2 feet. The birds are generally larger in northern populations, with the largest found in Alaska. The average lifespan of bald eagles in the wild is about 20 years. They often mate for life. Nesting bald eagle pairs usually return to the same nest and add material every year. They build the largest nest of any North American bird.

To get a glimpse of the majestic birds, check out spots along the North Platte River and major tributaries. Bridges, such as those at Melbeta and McGrew, are good places to check out. One pair has been seen often south of the river from Riverside Park.

For more information on bald eagles in Nebraska, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/baldeagle.
From this day forward it is going to be only America first, America first President Donald Trump said in his Jan. 20 inaugural address. His pledge to be only America first lasted only four days, when on Jan. 24 he signed a memorandum asking a foreign corporation (TransCanada) to re-apply for a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Trump said this would create 28,000 jobs.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts was quick to pile on, adding, Keystone XL will create good-paying jobs for Nebraska workers and bring property tax relief to counties along the route. On WNAX radio Ricketts said the KXL will create jobs here in our state . . . and become less dependent on foreign oil.

Not to get outdone, Congressman Adrian Smith quickly added, A large majority of Nebraskans want to see Keystone XL completed, knowing we need long-term solutions for affordable energy. I am pleased President Trump is acting right away to encourage private investment in our infrastructure and move this project forward.

There is so much wrong with what these three men said, I guess I will start with jobs. Trump said 28,000 jobs. The truth is, according to Nebraskas own Department of Environmental Quality study, in the employment section, page 21, clearly states the number of workers in Nebraska will be 2,700, and only 110 of them will be local folks from Nebraska. Nice try Mr. President.

Governor Ricketts must confine his reading to TransCanada press releases too, because those good paying jobs he mentioned will come and go within a 20 week period, according to the Nebraska DEQ study. Oh, and if Ricketts wants to read his own states study, hell find that after the pipe is in the ground, there will only be 15 new jobs in Nebraska. FIFTEEN!

Ricketts also said the KXL will make us less dependent on foreign oil. What, is Canada no longer a foreign country? Of course it is, unless I missed a Trump executive order annexing Canada or Ricketts and Trump plan to buy the country. We may have to buy maps for these politicians.

Rep. Adrian Smith wants the KXL completed so well have long-term solutions for affordable energy. Whats wrong with that? Nothing, except Smith knows the tar-sand oil going through the KXL will not stay in the United States.

According to Oil Change International the KXL is an export pipeline. The Port Arthur, Texas refiners at the end of the route are focused on exporting to Europe and Latin America. They add that Valero, the key customer for KXL has explicitly detailed an export strategy to its investors. And since Valeros Port Arthurs refinery is in a Foreign Trade Zone, they can export tax-free.

Okay then, lets talk taxes. Governor Ricketts says the KXL will bring tax relief to counties along the route. He is right. The pipeline is property and in Nebraska we all know how high our property taxes are. What the Governor didnt tell you, is that pipelines unlike our homes, can be fully depreciated in 15 years, when the counties will be left with no more pipeline property tax, AND a 15 year-old steel pipe lying in wet ground.

Rep. Adrian Smith knows all too well about the tax break he wont do anything about on Canadian tarsands coming into the United States. You see, piped oil has to pay 8 cents per barrel into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to be used to clean up when these pipelines rupture. But not Canadian tarsands. The House Ways and Means Committee said years ago that tarsand was neither oil nor petroleum, so the IRS ruled it could not be taxed by the Oil Spill Fund. Adrian, who sits on that committee, has known about this for years and refuses to do anything about it, preferring to wait until we get around to major tax reform. Since 2010, when Keystone-1 went in service this has cost us over $103,000,000 in lost tax revenue, and the pipeline has leaked a dozen times.

Folks, this Keystone XL pipeline is not in our national interest. The oil companies like China Petrochemical, China National Offshore Oil, and PetroChina have invested over $30 billion in the Canadian tar-sands and they want their oil. The problem is TransCanada has to get this tarsand to a port and the United States is in their way.

Oh, did I mention TransCanada is suing the United States of America (you and me) for $15 billion in lost profits because the KXL was delayed? Did I mention tarsands sink in water? Did I tell you exactly what will be in that KXL pipe? Thats for later, and it will shock you. But apparently is doesnt bother Trump, Ricketts and Smith at all.

I would like to know if you think a foreign corporation should be able to use eminent domain to take control of farmers and ranchers land just for private gain. Let me know at greg.awtry@starherald.com
The Prime Minister said Punjab is a border state and faces threat from Pakistan. He asked people to vote for a strong government.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invoked threats from Pakistan to urge people to vote for the Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab to provide a strong government in the border state.

Modi warned people not to vote for parties who were eyeing to form the government for their vested interests.

"Punjab is a border state. Pakistan always looks for opportunities to destabilise Punjab. If a weak government or a government of outsiders or a government of those indulging in luxuries comes, this will be bad for Punjab and the country," Modi said in Kotkapura, which is 225 km from Chandigarh.

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The elections to 117 assembly seats in Punjab takes place on February 4 with the main contest being among the Akali Dal-BJP combine, which has been in power in Punjab since 2007, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

ALSO READ: Punjab: Can't take Kejriwal for granted, admits Captain Amarinder Singh

Here's what the Prime Minister said in his campaign rally: "We have to ensure that we have a strong government. You have to ensure that you vote properly," the Prime Minister said ahead of the Assembly election in the state. Modi cautioned people in Punjab against being misled by the Congress. "Congress leaders painted all Punjab Sikh youth as terrorists. Now Congress has called all Punjab youth drug addicts. Save Punjab from people who will drag the state back to the dark days," Modi warned. In an obvious reference to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, Modi lamented the declining standard of language being used during campaigning in Punjab. "I am pained to hear what all things are being called for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal," Modi said. "Very wrong words are being used for him (Badal). This is dictatorial language. Can democracy work like this? If democratic traditions are broken, it will be bad for the country. People who have done injustice to Anna Hazare, do you think that they will show regard for Badal?" He said in his political life he had held two leaders, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Parkash Singh Badal, in high regard as they never talked ill of anyone. "We should learn from these leaders how to conduct in public life. We have also fought against the Congress. But we do not talk saying that we will send so and so to jail," he said. He said the AAP leadership, instead of finding faults with the Election Commission and alleging that the EC was dancing to his (Modi's) tunes, should focus on its work. "They (AAP leaders) will lose in Punjab and Goa because of their own actions (karnamas)," Modi said. Lauding Badal for public service in the past seven decades, Modi said: "Badal only thinks and talks of Punjab and its people and farmers." The Prime Minister dwelt at length on the new schemes and policies introduced by his government at the Centre for the benefit of farmers. These include micro-irrigation, crop insurance from natural calamities, modernising agriculture through technology and others. Modi also assured that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will fully investigate the incidents of the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and bring the culprits to book.

ALSO READ:

Punjab polls: Modi targets Kejriwal at Faridkot, tells AAP to go back to Delhi

Punjab assembly polls: Satire, spoof and the ridiculous big hit in elections

ALSO WATCH

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With one hand holding a bottle of champagne and the other an oversized certificate declaring him the winner of $1 million from Publishers Clearing House, Bruce Saunders stood on the front porch of his western Davie County Monday and rattled off a list of things he plans spend his spend money on  medical bills, fixing his lawnmower and helping family members.
Political parties are using social media in Punjab to troll each other while posting cartoons, videos on Facebook and Twitter.

By Manjeet Sehgal: The election war rooms set-up by various political parties in Punjab have become a battleground to troll rivals on social media.

The parties are using a number of methods including purchased Facebook page likes, Twitter followers by launching digital campaigns, cartoons, videos and statements against the rivals to establish that they are the most trusted and followed party in the digital space.

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Punjab has over 13.46 million internet users out of which 4.71 million are rural and 8.75 million users are urban. With the introduction of 3G and 4G networks in the state, the number of internet users has grown manifold as compared to 2012 Assembly elections.

"Social media is free and gives an opportunity for the people to have their say. There are over 30 lakh internet users who fall within the age group of 18-35 years. Internet, while at one hand, has given an opportunity for the parties to reach voters, it has also become a tool for common people to voice their concern," says head, social media, Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC), Paroma Bhat.

TARGETING RIVALS WITH VIDEOS

The Facebook page of Aam Aadmi Party (aappunjab) has been liked by nearly 9 lakh followers. Apart from the videos of Bhagwant Mann, this page also has a video which shows Arvind Kejriwal giving third degree torture to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. The page also shows Sukhbir Badal liking AAP's FB page and an AAP missile chasing Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Similarly ,the Congress page (Punjabdacaptain) with 9.31 lakh followers also carries cartoons targeting either Badals or Arvind Kejriwal. The popular hashtags being used by the Congress are #AAP-Hi-SADhai (AAP is Akali Dal), #AAPPunjabVichSaaf (AAP has been cleaned in Punjab), #SADisBAD (Akali Dal is bad). Masking the faces in a Bollywood song, the party has also unofficially released a video showing Captain Amarinder Singh beating up Badals and Kejriwal.

Also read: Punjab Assembly election: Can't take Kejriwal for granted admits Captain Amarinder Singh

Sources say the techies sitting in the election war rooms not only prepare animations and funny jingles but also the cartoons and videos which are unofficially circulated using differennt apps like WhatsApp. There are over a dozen such animations being circulated on social media. We found Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp sections or social media sections in the war rooms of the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The techies employed by these parties not only regularly post content but also comment on each post, giving an idea to the organic user that the page, tweet or post is popular among the people.

AAP Punjab's social media war room head, Akashnoor Gadri said they simply ignore such comments or content which the rivals use to target their party."The rivals do post derogatory comments and employ techies to post replies and tweets but we ignore such comments. We do not have funds to employ techies. Rivals are spending crores of rupees on social media campaigns and on war rooms. We simply rely on organic traffic," claimed Gadri.

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DIRTY POLITICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The rival SAD leaders said they were forced by other parties to monitor and manage the social media. The party has a cell in its war room which regularly deletes the objectionable cartoons and videos posted by rivals on their Facebook page.

"There are planted stories and dirty politics going on social media, which we regularly monitor and delete. Social media is an essential part of campaigning but it is losing its sheen," says SAD spokesperson, Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

Interestingly, all the parties spending huge money on social and digital media campaigns refused to give details about the expenses, following the Election Commission capping.

Also read: Punjab Assembly election: Modi invokes Pakistan threat to seek votes for Akali-BJP alliance

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Requiring a U.S. pipeline to buy American steel may not sound like a bad idea, but it is.

It raises the cost of the project. It violates various trade agreements and it represents government intrusion into private-sector contracts.

President Donald Trump doesnt share any of those qualms. On Tuesday, when he moved to speed approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, he also ordered the Commerce Department to require that all such projects use American-made materials.

We will build our own pipeline; we will build our own pipes, the president said.

Actually, Mr. Trump, it isnt that simple. It would explicitly violate certain U.S. commitments at the World Trade Organization, says Daniel Ikenson, a trade policy expert at the Cato Institute. We are supposed to treat foreign products and companies the same way we treat our own products and companies.

The U.S. has frequently, and often successfully, brought complaints against other countries on this very issue. If a Buy Canadian or Buy Japanese restriction is unacceptable, then so is a Buy American one.

Trumps memorandum will put pressure on TransCanada, which proposed the Keystone XL, and Energy Transfer Partners, builder of Dakota Access. Five years ago, TransCanada pledged to buy 50 percent of its steel pipe from a U.S. producer, while saying the rest would come from Canada, Italy and India.

U.S. steel pipe producers already benefit from dozens of tariffs protecting their products against alleged dumping by China, Japan and other nations. In many cases, that already makes domestic pipe the cheapest choice.

If TransCanada has to boost its U.S. purchases to 100 percent, however, the price will go up. If theres no competition, theres nothing restraining suppliers from charging higher prices, Ikenson says. You need to be able to have a reality check.

Higher costs would hurt both TransCanadas shareholders and the companies that want to ship their oil through the pipeline.

Thats why Trumps memorandum represents a dangerous extension of the Buy American movement. Existing Buy American laws govern federal contracts and federally funded transportation projects, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, has vowed to strengthen them.

Those laws, by the way, dont benefit as many people as you might think. When Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, studied the Buy American provisions of the 2009 stimulus program, he found that the number of jobs affected was a rounding error.

In 2017, moreover, we have nothing like the jobs crisis of 2009. We are close to full employment, Schott notes, and despite the political rhetoric you hear, the unemployment rate in manufacturing is 4 percent.

Besides, its one thing for the government to spend more of its own money in an attempt to protect jobs. Its quite another  and possibly not within the presidents power  to order a private company to make the same trade-off.

In fact, Trumps memo may be weaker than his rhetoric makes it sound. It orders the secretary of commerce to develop the Buy American plan to the extent permitted by law. International trade agreements have the force of law, and his policy appears to violate both WTO rules and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

This may be just another instance of the president using his bully pulpit to bend companies to his will. The pipeline firms, clearly grateful to Trump for restarting their stalled projects, are probably willing to buy more American steel with or without an enforceable presidential order.
Thinking about taking a job at a small company? Dont expect a good retirement plan.

At companies with fewer than 50 workers, not even half the employees have access to a 401(k) or pension, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At companies with 500 workers or more, 90 percent of employees have access to a retirement plan.

This gives large corporations a huge advantage in hiring talented people, and it leaves millions of Americans without an easy way to save for their futures. Companies with fewer than 100 workers employ 36 percent of the U.S. workforce, or about 42 million people.

Even when small companies do have a retirement plan, it is likely to be astronomically more expensive than those offered by large companies. These high fees eat away at returns, making saving for retirement far more difficult than it needs to be.

Lawmakers in Washington and in several states are exploring ways to make it easier for more Americans to save for retirement. Theyre especially focused on employees of smaller companies, who  along with part-timers  are the least likely to get a 401(k) or pension. Small-business owners arent enthusiastic about all these policy proposals, according to a new survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts, but most recognize the retirement problem they face.

The smaller a business is, the less time and money it usually has the luxury of spending on a retirement plan. Small-business revenues tend to be unpredictable, making it difficult to commit to matching 401(k) contributions every year, said Larry Sher, an actuary who helps design retirement plans as a partner at October Three Consulting. Even when small companies have the money, they might not have a staff member who knows how to set up and administer a retirement plan properly.

Then theres the cost of hiring an outside firm to set up and administer a 401(k) plan. These costs can be considerable when there are few employees to share the burden. While some low-cost, no-frills 401(k) plans are now available to small businesses, many instead go through local financial advisers who charge hefty fees.

Its a lot easier to just skip offering a 401(k). Cost was the main reason owners of small and medium-size businesses didnt offer a retirement plan, Pew found in its survey, followed by worries about administering the plans.

Five states are in the midst of shaping bold plans to change all this. California, Maryland, Oregon, Illinois and Connecticut are all setting up portable individual retirement accounts that can follow workers through their careers. Each state is requiring employers either to offer a retirement plan or to sign workers up for state-run, automatic IRAs. In California, for example, the mandate will eventually apply to all companies with five or more employees.

The Pew Charitable Trusts asked business owners what they think, surveying more than 1,600 companies with from five to 250 employees. The majority liked the general idea of an auto-IRA plan, with 27 percent strongly supporting and 59 percent somewhat supporting the concept.

Still, business owners were skeptical about the government getting involved. Just 41 percent supported the federal government sponsoring auto-IRAs, with 59 percent opposed, and just 44 percent supported state government-sponsored auto-IRAs. By contrast, 82 percent liked the idea of mutual fund companies sponsoring auto-IRAs, and 72 percent favored insurance companies running the program.

Its not clear how these business owners will feel about specific auto-IRA programs when theyre rolled out over the next few years. The auto-IRAs are technically public-private partnerships, with state governments planning to hire private investment managers to administer the accounts.

Other ideas at the state and federal levels may appeal more to business owners than auto-IRAs do. New Jersey and Washington State are setting up retirement plan marketplaces  state-run websites on which employers could shop for lower-cost retirement plans. All but 14 percent of business owners told Pew they like this idea.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has proposed offering additional incentives for small businesses to set up retirement plans. He would also make it easier for employers to join so-called multi-employer plans, allowing businesses to join forces to share the costs of offering a plan. I look forward to working with my fellow Finance Committee members and senate leadership on how to get these much-needed policies enacted into law, Hatch said in a statement.
When it comes to investing, you may not actually be your own worst enemy.

Despite ample evidence that individual investors very often get it very wrong, a new study shows that actually paying attention to stock market holdings pays off.

Looking at brokerage records that show not just buying and selling but also the amount of time investors spent on their brokers website doing a variety of activities, the study shows improved risk-adjusted returns for those who put in the time.

We show that attention is positively related to investment performance  both at the portfolio return level as well as the individual trades level  and provide evidence that the superior performance of high-attention investors arises because they behave as momentum traders that purchase stocks early in the momentum cycle, several months before reversal sets in, Antonio Gargano of the University of Melbourne and Alberto Rossi of the University of Maryland write in the study, published in October.

The effect is especially large for large capitalization, highly followed stocks with a fair amount of volatility: Think about stocks like Facebook, about which there is a large amount of uncertainty.

The results are pretty good: for every standard deviation increase in overall attention investors saw a 7 percent increase in their Sharpe ratio, a standard measure of risk-adjusted returns. If you look at potentially more meaningful measures, such as the amount of time spent on the brokerages research pages, the increase in Sharpe ratio rises to 10 percent.

The study looked at a previously unexamined data set: the brokerage records of 11,000 accounts at an unnamed firm from January 2013 to June 2014. This allowed for an examination not just of what a given client traded but how often they logged in, what kind of content they were exposed to and how long they spent on given web pages. These were not day traders: the mean client went 27 days between logins and 40 days between trades. On days they did log in, however, they were quite active, doing so almost 11 times on that day for almost 29 minutes.

So much for the oft-offered advice of rebalancing your accounts once a year and paying no attention otherwise.

This research is striking because the literature on individual investor performance is not encouraging, nor is the evidence on the benefits of higher activity.

A study from 2000 found that individuals who traded frequently had net returns only of about 60 percent of those who trade infrequently, a result the authors ascribe to the effects of over-confidence. Indeed, the new study found that while more attention did help risk-adjusted returns overall this was an effect that diminished to effectively nothing among the top quintile of attention payers.

While measuring mutual fund investors rather than brokerage clients, a study by consultants DALBAR of individual investors has famously shown that the typical mutual fund investor is a master at timing the market badly. The 2016 study found that the average equity mutual fund investor has made just 3.52 percent annualized over the past 20 years, against 8.19 percent over the same period for the S&P 500.

Some caveats  big ones  are in order. The study doesnt measure whether those involved did better than they would have if theyd simply held index funds. What we can say is that if you are going to have a brokerage account it seems you will do better if you spend more time managing it.

And the positive impact from attention on given trades only persists for about five months, meaning that a high-attention market-beating strategy presumably depends on stringing together good trades over time. It may well be that those involved only identified opportunities every so often. The supply of good momentum trades, in other words, may be less than that needed to make the whole enterprise worthwhile.

The time period studied, the 18 months from Jan. 1, 2013, may also have affected results. Stocks during this period were floating upwards with fairly metronomic regularity, with the S&P 500 advancing by more than 35 percent over the period. Whats more, volatility was low and generally stayed stable. The Vix index of volatility only went above 20 once, briefly, during that time.

In other words, this was a good time to pursue a momentum strategy of buying what was going up. It also was a time without huge drawdowns of the kind when nervous and over-active individual investors commonly shoot themselves in the foot.

Attention does pay, it seems, but we still dont know if the wages are sufficient.
After years of development, protest and regulatory red tape, the first genetically modified, nonbrowning apples will soon go on sale in the United States.

The fruit, sold sliced and marketed under the brand Arctic Apple, could hit a cluster of Midwestern grocery stores as early as Feb. 1. The limited release is an early test run for the controversial apple, which has been genetically modified to eliminate the browning that occurs when an apple is left out in the open air.

No St. Louis-area stores have been announced as being among those selling the apples.

Critics and advocates of genetic engineering say the apple could be a turning point in the nations highly polarizing debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While genetic modifications have in the past been mainly defended as a way to protect crops, the Artic Apple would be one of the first GMOs marketed directly to consumers as more convenient.

What companies are desperate for is some really popular GMO product to hit the market, said McKay Jenkins, the author of a forthcoming history of the debate. Any successful product could lift the cloud over GMOs.

Industry executives predict the apple could open a whole new trade in genetically engineered produce, potentially opening the market to pink pineapples, antioxidant-enriched tomatoes and other food in development.

We see this as less about genetic modification and more about convenience, said Neal Carter, founder of the company that makes the Arctic Apple. I think consumers are very ready for apples that dont go brown. Everyone can identify with that yuck factor.

GMO critics say they are hopeful, however, that consumers will continue to show skepticism about the produce. Despite a growing consensus in scientific circles that GMOs pose little risk, environmental and consumer groups have successfully mounted campaigns against GMOs over the past 30 years, successfully limiting the practice to commodity crops such as soybeans and corn.

Anti-GMO groups have successfully pushed for GMO crop bans in places such as Boulder, Colo., and Sonoma, Calif., and several major food brands have agreed not to use genetically modified ingredients. Critics have also questioned how consumers will be able to judge the freshness of sliced apples when they dont brown.

This apple is understudied, unlabeled, and unnecessary, said Dana Perls, the senior food and technology campaigner with the environmental nonprofit Friends of the Earth. Its only a matter of time before consumers realize theyre being falsely marketed to. ... And then there will be an uproar.

Carter and his company, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, have bet millions of dollars that this will not be the case. The Canadian fruit grower, now a fully owned subsidiary of the biotechnology firm Intrexon, has spent the past 20 years developing the Arctic Apple under the direction of Neal and his wife, Louisa. Neal, a bio-resource engineer and longtime apple- and cherry-grower in British Columbia, planted his first crop of non-browning Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples in 2003.

After nine years of testing, the Carters petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deregulate the apples, which would allow them to sell in the United States. Despite vocal opposition from anti-GMO groups  which organized petition drives and sent public comments by the tens of thousands  the agency ruled in February 2015 that the apple posed no significant health nor environmental risks.

For the Arctic Apple, however, the greatest test is yet to come: whether the convenience of a nonbrowning apple is enough to persuade consumers to look past GMOs negative reputation.

I dont know what their chances are  its a very polarized debate, said Michael White, an assistant professor of genetics at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. But I think this is huge. What the Arctic Apple is doing, trying to push GMOs on their own merits, could lead to a more positive discussion.

Public concern

Despite widespread scientific consensus that genetic engineering is not dangerous to human health, the practice remains controversial and poorly understood. Both the World Health Organization and the National Academy of Science have concluded that there are no health reasons for avoiding the current slate of genetically engineered foods.

But in a 2016 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 39 percent of Americans said that they believed genetically modified foods were worse for their health than other foods. And the Non-GMO Project, a nonprofit that opposes genetic engineering and administers the Non-GMO label seen on some North American foods, points out that 92 percent of American consumers believe that genetically modified products should be labeled, according to Consumer Reports.

Most Americans already consume a large number of GMOs or GMO-derived ingredients every day. Ninety percent of all corn and soybeans grown in the United States are engineered to improve agricultural efficiency and withstand frequent pesticide applications. The resulting corn and soy are frequently fed to animals intended for human consumption, or routed into such processed foods as cornstarch, corn meal, corn syrup, soybean oil, soy lethicin and dozens of other derivatives.

Yet even if consumers already eat GMOs, very few do so knowingly. To date, most agricultural engineering has focused almost exclusively on improving yields for producers. The exceptions are the Flavr Savr tomato  the worlds first commercialized GMO, which suffered lackluster sales and was eventually pulled after its introduction in 1994  and the more recent nonbrowning Innate Potato, currently sold at Walmarts and several other stores under the White Russet brand.

But the Arctic Apple has a distinct advantage over its predecessors: Its being sold sliced in 10-ounce bags as a convenience snack food. The Carters say theyre imitating the baby carrot model, which has proven a success for vegetable growers, helping to catapult sales of the vegetable. Pre-sliced apples, currently treated with chemicals to prevent browning, enjoy a similar popularity in school cafeterias and Happy Meals.

We might eventually sell them to distributors for service in schools, Carter said. We thought our initial go-to-market strategy would be through food service. But a significant number of retailers reached out, and we realized  theyre ready for us.

Marketing push

Just in case theyre not, of course, Okanagan has hired a marketing consultant and a consumer research firm, convening apple-tasting focus groups and commissioning surveys. Okanagan, which had six full-time employees 14 months ago, plans to quadruple that workforce in the next two years.

The February trial run is part of that public relations campaign; Okanagan wants to validate our messaging and go-to-market strategy before launching commercially in the fall, Carter said. The apples will be available at 10 locations of a few regional Midwestern grocery chains, which Carter declined to name, where employees will be on hand to poll customers about their first impressions.

Crucially, the apples packaging will not explicitly declare that theyre genetically engineered  to get that information, shoppers will have to scan a QR code with a smartphone. This was one of the most controversial points of the GMO labeling law enacted under President Barack Obama. The law requires that genetically modified ingredients be noted with an on-package statement, approved symbol or electronic code. Okanagan has argued that, thanks to media coverage, most consumers will already know that its apples are GMOs.

This nonbrowning technology could theoretically be applied later to any number of tree fruits, including pears and cherries, which Okanagans scientists have already begun to research.

The success of the Arctic Apple could embolden the creators of other consumer-directed GMOs waiting in the wings. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved an engineered pink pineapple containing the pigment lycopene, which has been found to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease in consumers who eat tomatoes. In Britain, researchers have developed a tomato that contains extra antioxidants. And many of the United States major agrochemical firms, including DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto, have indicated a desire to introduce GMOs with marketable consumer benefits, if consumers seem ready to accept them.

That concerns critics of the Arctic Apple and genetic engineering. More than 130,000 people signed just one of the petitions opposing Okanagans initial deregulation petition, citing concerns over yet-unknown negative unintended impacts on human health and the environment.

Among the loudest critics of the apple are Friends of the Earth and Food & Water Watch, both environmental groups, and the Organic Consumers Association, Consumers Union and Center for Food Safety, all of which represent customers. CFS has particularly faulted Okanagan for not running more tests on the impact of genetic change to the apple tree, as opposed to just the fruit.

Its an unnecessary genetic change intended to grow market share, said Martha Crouch, a plant biologist and consulting scientist for CFS. It carries with it environmental and health risks. That puts a larger burden of proof on the company that makes it.
Its always a special pleasure to have Duo Noire back in town, and Saturday night at the Ethical Society was no exception. Classical guitarists Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett created a relaxed, informal atmosphere as they presented an eclectic program that included two world premieres.

One of those premieres was Hocus Pocus by Clarice Assad which, according to Flippin, gets a little weird. Sure enough, in the first section, Abracadabra, there were lots of clicks and thumps, strings bent violently sideways and a rhythmic pattern that sounded like a herd of horses at full gallop. In the second section,Shamans, they used tablespoons to slide up and down or beat on the strings producing an eerie, sci-fi sound. The third section  Klutzy Witches  ended with a loud thump produced by four feet hitting the floor and both players slapping the bodies of their guitars.

The other premiere, Soli Deo Gloria, by Courtney Bryan was much shorter and a lot less weird. Flippin described it as a kind of prayer which began softly, with soft single notes played alternately by each guitar and long pauses in between. Then the piece gathered itself for a brief, jazzy climax before returning to those initial softer notes, single tones fading into silence.

The program opened with Four Brazilian Pieces by Celso Machado, one of which was loosely translated as grandfathers old jalopy and you could just about picture it bouncing down the roadway. The program closed with Milwaukee, a part of a larger piece called From Some Towns and Cities. There didnt seem to be any beer drinking going on, but bluegrass influences popped up at every turn.

In between were pieces like Astor Piazzollas Libertango. Mallett introduced it by tracing the evolution of the tango from the rhythm of fighters to the dance hall to the concert hall and, finally to couples therapy. The performance was certainly suave enough to settle comfortably into any serious music venue. The same could be said of Mallorca by Isaac Albeniz. Flippin and Mallett made the most of its lovely melodies and gentle, seductive rhythms.

Composer Nathaniel Detts ancestors were freed slaves who escaped to Canada to avoid persecution. Juba is his take on a dance performed in a time when slaves were not allowed to have drums, so they beat on their thighs and chests. Duo Noire did no thumping on their chests, but there was a lot of it on their guitars, as there was in Paulo Bellinatis Jongo.
TOWN AND COUNTRY  Amid the protests, lawsuits and attempts on Sunday to clarify confusion created by an executive order that banned citizens from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States, Yousef Abdulnabi, a Town and Country cardiologist, was trying to learn the answer to what would have been a simple question a few days earlier: When was his mother-in-law coming home?

Abdulnabi, a U.S. citizen, said his mother-in-law, Mariam, traveled 10 hours from Damascus to Beirut, navigating multiple government checkpoints and a snow storm to catch a flight back to the U.S.

But an order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday prevented her from boarding the plane even though she holds a green card.

All weekend, government officials had given contradictory statements about whether the order applies to permanent U.S. residents, or those with green cards.

On Sunday, Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, told NBCs Meet The Press that moving forward the ban wouldnt affect green card holders. But Priebus also said that permanent U.S. residents from the seven countries  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  would be subject to additional questioning at the discretion of immigration authorities.

I heard somebody on the news from the White House this morning saying it should not apply to the green card, Abdulnabi said. However, I dont know if there is any guide to the airlines applying that. Some airlines are still applying the full ban on all Syrian citizens ... So I dont know.

Trumps order banned citizens from the seven countries for 90 days and suspended the Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. It repeatedly invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks, though the order does not apply to the countries the hijackers came from, including Saudi Arabia  where 15 of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 originated.

For the second day, the order sent protesters by the thousands to airports across the country, especially in places where immigrants in transit to the U.S. had been detained.

In St. Louis, roughly 1,000 people gathered at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Sunday to protest the order.

Organizers and Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge battled beforehand about airport restrictions on demonstrations. The airport initially said it would only allow 50 people at a time to protest. But the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit Sunday morning on behalf of the protesters.

By the time the demonstration got underway at 1 p.m., the airport had softened its stance. About 100 people had already arrived and the crowd kept growing. Airport police directed demonstrators to the northeast entrance at the end of Terminal 1, then erected barriers so the protest did not stop traffic.

Traffic at Terminal 1 was forced to merge from three lanes to one. But Hamm-Niebruegge said she had not heard of any passenger missing a flight because of the protest.

An intermittent intercom message informed passengers that the peaceful protests was not against the airport but a new immigration policy. Airport officials allowed demonstrators to gather inside occasionally to warm up or use the restroom.

After about an hour and a half of peaceful demonstration, Anthony Rothert, an ACLU lawyer, said that he no longer believed it was necessary to have a hearing on the lawsuit.

We have had lots of protests in the past and we always work with the people, said Hamm-Niebruegge. We have had sort of the standard that says 50 at time and thats mainly not to obstruct...

But an order signed by a man 800 miles away had forced her to make a concession  one of many adjustments people were making all across the nation.

The changes, however, weighed more heavily on some citizens than others. Abdulnabi said he wasnt just worried about his mother-in-law, but his own mother, who also has a green card and was staying in Damascus. Would she be able to return?

Abdulnabi said he had always taken pride that the U.S. was a nation of laws. Now it appeared to him some laws were being cast aside. New rules were being written. No one seemed certain about how to carry them out.

Chaos is all it is now, he said.
WASHINGTON  Missouris two senators have sharp differences on President Donald Trumps executive order temporarily halting travel to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Trump was following through on campaign promises, and that concern over U.S. security merited the presidents action.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she had serious questions, and tweeted that a report of an Iraqi man who had helped the U.S. as an engineer, interpreter and contractor but had been held up from coming into the country despite having a visa makes me want to throw up.

The man, Hameed Darweesh, was later released into the U.S. after being detained for 18 hours, and he praised the United States as the land of freedom.

McCaskill is the top-ranking Democrat on the Senates Homeland Security Committee. In a statement, she referred to reports that Trump would give Christians priority over Muslims on decisions on whom to allow into the country, flies in the face of our sacred value of liberty and freedom of religion.

Blunt issued this statement:

The President is doing something that people have seen too little of in recent years. He is doing what he told the American people he would do. I would not support a travel ban on Muslims; I do support increased vetting on people applying to travel from countries with extensive terrorist ties or activity. These seven countries meet that standard. Our top priority should be to keep Americans safe.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., reacting to reports that more than a dozen people, including two babies, had been detained at OHare International Airport in Chicago, called that action needless and dehumanizing.
Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav addressed their first joint press conference in Lucknow, followed by a joint road show.

By India Today Web Desk: Addressing their first joint press conference, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were a picture of brothers-in-arms--both hugged each other, wore similar outfits and spoke in one voice.

Ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the two leaders projected the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance as the one that stands for peace, progress and prosperity--the 3Ps that both said will defeat the BJP in the state.

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"Our alliance is people's alliance. We will form the government in Uttar Pradesh. This tie-up is to make sure that there is no scope for a lapse," Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said.

Later at a road show in Lucknow, the Congress leader took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "Modi ji doesn't listen to people, he is only interested in his mann ki baat". In the seven-phase Assembly election in the state starting February 11, the Congress will fight on 105 seats while the Samajwadi Party will field its candidates on 298 seats.

ALSO READ:

Present Budget after elections or UP may miss out on central schemes: Akhilesh to PM Modi

BJP says it will build Ram temple at Ayodhya if it wins full majority in UP election

All you need to know about the Rahul-Akhilesh joint show: "We were and are sure of crossing the majority mark on our own. But now with the 'hand' joining the 'cycle', we are confident of crossing the 300-seats mark," Akhilesh said. Rahul Gandhi compared the alliance to coming together of Ganga and Yamuna, and said "this is not an opportunistic alliance but an alliance of hearts". While both the leaders evaded questions on the deadlock between the two parties over seat distribution in Amethi and Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi said the two parties will "compromise as and when there is a need". On Sonia Gandhi and Mulayam Singh campaigning ahead of the election, Rahul Gandhi said, "Whoever represents our vision, can join us in this campaign. Uttar Pradesh's DNA doesn't embody anger, but brotherhood". He refused to divulge campaign details. When asked about Priyanka Gandhi campaigning in the state, brother Rahul called her an "asset to the party" but said it is for Priyanka to decide if and when she wants to campaign. On the issue of Ram Temple, the Congress leader said the matter is subjudice and therefore he will not comment on it. "The BJP rakes up the issue before elections," he said. Both Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi attacked the Prime Minister on demonetisation. "This alliance will answer those who made the nation stand in queues," said Akhilesh, adding that the country is yet to witness "achche din". "We want to stop the politics of anger and hatred," said Rahul Gandhi and called the tie-up between the two parties a "historic alliance to defeat fascist forces".

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In Congress-SP duet, Rahul, Akhilesh strike a jarring note on Mayawati

NOTA only option: Over 1200 villagers from Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur to boycott Assembly election

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A 39-year-old Sudanese student, studying in Standford University and living in the United States since 1993, said she was detained and handcuffed.

By Reuters: A 39-year-old Sudanese student with a legal US residency said she was briefly handcuffed at a New York airport, following President Donald Trump's order restricting entry into the country for people from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Nisrin Elamin, 39, a Stanford PhD student in anthropology who has lived in the United States since 1993, said she landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday night and was detained for about five hours.

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Also read: We are all immigrants: Protestors descend on airports across US to decry Trump's refugee ban

Trump's order signed on Friday upended the travel plans of people without U.S. citizenship who were arriving in the United States from those seven countries, including Syria, Iran and Sudan, causing confusion and sparking protests at airports as immigrants and refugees were stranded.

Elamin said she had been in Sudan for academic research and boarded a plane on Friday morning. After presenting her U.S. green card, a designation of legal permanent residence, at JFK, she said she was questioned, patted down and handcuffed.

Also read: US states discussing lawsuit over Donald Trump's immigration order

"It was an uncomfortable pat down, they touched my breast area and my groin area," Elamin said in a phone interview. "Then I got handcuffed and I just started crying."

Elamin said the handcuffs were soon removed and it appeared authorities were using them to escort people between areas of the airport.

Elamin was released, but she worried about leaving the country again and about her parents in Sudan, whom she hoped one day to help immigrate to America.

Also read: Unfazed by backlash, Donald Trump says immigration order "working out very nicely"

"It scares me that I'm not able to see them if I want to," said Elamin, who lives in New Jersey.

Trump's executive order means legal permanent residents who have passports from the seven countries have to be cleared back into the United States on a case-by-case basis, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters.

The Department of Homeland Security, which overseas entry at airports, in a statement later said it will "treat all of those we encounter humanely and with professionalism."

The executive order also upended the plans of some people planning to leave the United States.

Also read: Social media users have decided to boycott Uber for breaking strike, collaborating with Trump

Shirana Navabha, 57, a U.S. citizen originally from Iran, said she was scheduled to fly to Iran on Sunday, but will not go after Tehran said it would stop U.S. citizens entering the country in retaliation to Trump's action.

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"I told everybody that I'm coming, everyone was so excited and now I'm not going, it's just frustrating," Navabha, who lives in Dallas, said by phone.

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HUNDREDS of NHS staff working in our region have been assaulted over the past year, as the number of such incidents continues to rise across the country.

At the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, 177 assaults were recorded meaning that for every 1,000 staff working at the organisation, 42 assaults were recorded.

The picture for the West Midlands Ambulance Service is even worse with 304 assaults reported in the last 12 months, 65 per 1,000 staff members.

West Midlands Ambulance Service head of security, Steve Elliker, said: It is deeply disappointing to see the figures rising so rapidly. There are now just over 24 attacks per month, which is an appalling situation.

It is extremely disappointing that any of our staff suffer at the hands of people they are trying to help.

The Trust has a zero tolerance policy in place and works extremely hard to bring the full weight of the law to bear on anyone who attacks our staff. It is simply not acceptable that staff who are there to help people, suffer at the hands of patients, their relatives or other people at the scene.

Helen Lancaster, Director of Nursing, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, added: Employee safety is one of the Trusts main priorities. We care about our staff because they enable us to deliver outstanding care to our patients. All Trust employees receive specialist training to help them effectively deal with aggressive behaviour.

In addition, we have robust reporting procedures where staff are encouraged to report all incidents, whether near misses or actual assaults. Every reported assault is investigated and staff are provided with full support following any incident.

Due to the nature of the conditions we treat, there is a risk to staff. However, we are proactively working and care planning with patients and families to minimise these risks.

Overall more than 70,000 assaults were reported nationally in 2015/2016 and the Royal College of Nursing is urging the government to step in to tackle the problem.

Chris Cox, director of membership relations for the Royal College of Nursing, said: Nursing staff are working in difficult enough conditions as it is this Christmas.

It is unacceptable that going to work brings the threat of violence and danger.

With longer waits and the pressures of understaffed units, the atmosphere can become a tinderbox. Violence often has a lasting impact with threats and assaults leading to traumatised staff who need time off, or leave the profession  wards become still more short-staffed and patient care suffers.

Assaults against staff cost the NHS more than 60million per year which should be spent on attacking the factors that contribute to violence in the first place. It is likely that the reported assaults are just scratching the surface of the problem, with many not being reported because staff dont believe that action will be taken. For this reason and to deter potential perpetrators, sanctions should always be imposed on those who wilfully hurt staff.

The government needs to take action now and introduce a national programme to tackle violence head-on before this issue spirals out of control.
Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi says he is saddened to learn that Donald Trumps new immigration order will mean that he and his wife will be banned from travelling to the US.

On Saturday evening the Conservative politician confirmed via Twitter that as both of them were born in Iraq, even though they are British and hold British passports, he and his wife will not be permitted entry to the US under new rules.

Mr Zahawi protests about Trump ban on his Twitter account.

In a further tweet at around 9pm on Saturday, Mr Zahawi said: I'm a British citizen & so proud to have been welcomed to this country. Sad to hear Ill be banned from the USA based on my country of birth.

An executive order signed by Trump on Friday bans all people from certain terrorism-prone countries from entering the United States for 90 days. The text of the order doesn't name the countries, but a White House official said they are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The same order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until it is reinstated for nationals of countries that Trump's cabinet believes can be properly vetted.

As outrage over Trumps action escalates, and amid scenes of chaos at American airports, Prime Minister Theresa May is under increasing pressure to condemn the new presidents immigration policy,

Many British newspapers reported that the Trump policy would see Mr Zahawi banned, as well as British Muslim sporting hero Sir Mo Farah, who was born in Somali and has a dual passport.

However, Mrs May, who met with the new president on Friday, refused to be drawn into criticising the policy, and merely said: The United States is responsible for the United States policy on refugees.

See Thursdays Herald for our interview with Mr Zahawi and for more on this story.
Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi, who yesterday learned that Donald Trumps new immigration order would mean he is banned from travelling to the US, has reacted to an announcement this evening that those travelling from Britain are exempt.

The Conservative politician confirmed via Twitter that as both he and his wife were born in Iraq, even though they are British and hold British passports, they will not be permitted entry to the US under controversial new rules.

But in an announcement this evening, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who today held conversations with the US Government, said: "The Presidential executive order only applies to individuals travelling from one of the seven named countries.

"If you are travelling to the US from anywhere other than one of those countries (for instance, the UK) the executive order does not apply to you and you will experience no extra checks regardless of your nationality or your place of birth.

"If you are a UK national who happens to be travelling from one of those countries to the US, then the order does not apply to you  even if you were born in one of those countries.

If you are a dual citizen of one of those countries travelling to the US from OUTSIDE those countries then the order does not apply to you.

"The only dual nationals who might have extra checks are those coming from one of the seven countries themselves  for example a UK-Libya dual national coming from Libya to the US.

"The US has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the expeditious processing of all travellers from the United Kingdom."

Mr Zahawi, whose reaction made national headlines today, told the Herald exclusively tonight: "I commend the Government and the FCO for working through the day and tonight to seek this very important clarification and assurance for British Citizens. Many Brits will feel better tonight.

But he added: "I still think a policy to exclude genuine refugees fleeing persecution from countries like Syria is a mistaken policy and runs counter to the values and freedoms of a great country like the United States of America."

An executive order signed by Trump on Friday bans all people from certain terrorism-prone countries from entering the United States for 90 days. The text of the order doesnt name the countries, but a White House official said they are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

The same order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until it is reinstated for nationals of countries that Trumps cabinet believes can be properly vetted.

As outrage over Trumps action escalates, and amid scenes of chaos at American airports, Prime Minister Theresa May has come under increasing pressure to condemn the new presidents immigration policy.

And, today she ordered her foreign secretary and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, to contact their US counterparts about the travel ban, pressing Mr Trump's advisers to exempt Britons with dual citizenship from the 90-day ban on visa holders from seven countries.

Earlier Mr Johnson tweeted it was "divisive and wrong" to stigmatise people on the basis of nationality.

Full reaction in Thursday's Herald.
By Martha Newsome, President and CEO, Medical Teams International

PORTLAND, Ore. & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Recently I had a chance to take a whistle stop tour through three of five remote districts in Uganda hosting 967,054 refugees from six nations. Quietly and without fanfare, violence, or struggle 1,600 to 1,800 refugees are arriving at the transit sites from South Sudan every day  day after day. They line up quietly waiting for Medical Team International staff, working with translators, to poke at them and their children and determine their bill of health. They sit under trees or on benches for hours, barely talking, waiting for their kit of rudimentary supplies, so they can then be bused to some barren plot to build their own makeshift house and begin their lives as refugees in Uganda. A large percent of them are women and children, having left the men behind to try and farm, to defend their land, or to fight in the ugly civil war ravaging the country side.

Uncomplaining staff from Medical Teams International, United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and many other non-profit organization partners work diligently for hours all clad in their branded t-shirts. There is no time to waste as every day, more refugees arrive and need to be registered, receive their supplies and health screening and get to their small plots of land all within 24 hours. The only hint of a security concern is that the transit site tells us they have sent the small number of Dinka arrivals to a separate and enclosed sleeping quarters  a remaining sign of the ethnic tension being fomented by President Salva Kiir in a desperate bid to stay in power.

The makeshift and temporary health centers are teeming with people, the pediatric wards full of wee ones on drips for malaria. One third of all patients seen have this dreaded disease but once over the border they are treated; I dont want to think about the ones on the other side without any health services or medicines to keep people from dying. At home in the U.S., this is a completely unknown tragedy. While we fret about Syrian refugees and immigration, the South Sudanese have no hope of jumping across the vast ocean separating our continents. Although far from U.S. shores, we must not ignore the burden that faces countries like Uganda, Lebanon, and Turkey as they take in thousands of extremely vulnerable people every day. In fact, in listening to our news, Im afraid there are some pretty mistaken notions about refugees, international aid, and our borders, and its time to bust these popular myths. To read more, please go here.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170128005020/en/

for Medical Teams International

Lee Keller

[email protected]

Source: Medical Teams International
EAST GREENWICH, R.I., Jan. 29, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Breiding Chiropractic Clinic has developed specially priced wellness packages for East Greenwich chiropractic clients and area residents. This is an ideal opportunity for those who have made New Years resolutions for gaining better health! Dr. Mark Breiding favors a holistic approach to health that supports a balanced body and lifestyle.

The goal of a chiropractic wellness plan is to treat the patient regularly to fix spinal alignment and other muscular-skeletal problems early, so issues are addressed right away. This approach is much more effective (and means having a lot less pain) than waiting until there is a noticeable problem and then receiving treatment.

Purchasing a wellness package allows East Greenwich chiropractor Breiding Chiropractic Clinic to create an individualized plan to address subluxations efficiently so that they dont lead to more serious imbalances like inflammation, headaches, digestive issues, chronic pain, and other health issues. In this way, chiropractic care can become foundational to positive health and wellbeing. Being proactive about spine and nervous system health can help avoid a range of more serious issues down the road.

Current pricing from Breiding Chiropractic Clinic for care includes a $75 first time chiropractic assessment and treatment and just $40 for each subsequent visit. However, Dr. Breiding has created wellness package plans (after the initial $75 visit) which include a three pack for $105, and a 10 pack for $300. These discounted plans offer Greenwich chiropractic clients an opportunity to save on an important investment - their health and overall wellbeing.

Breiding Chiropractic Clinic is conveniently located in East Greenwich Rhode Island right off Rt. 4 and is easy to reach from Providence, Warwick, and North Kingstown.

Mark Breiding, DC says, Our wellness plans address your current issues while also setting a course for ongoing health and wellness for a lifetime. The goal is to maintain a high quality of life through regular chiropractic exams and adjustments to help address spinal issues while they are minor and highly treatable.

Breiding Chiropractic Clinic is located at 5544 Post Road (Rt. 1) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island and serves Providence, Warwick, and North Kingstown as well. To learn more about the clinics wellness plans call (401) 352-5744. Additional information is also available on their website at http://breidingchiropractic.com/.

Breiding Chiropractic Clinic, (401) 352-5744

Source: Breiding Chiropractic Clinics
The defence counsel of Salman Khan who is representing the actor in the blackbuck-poaching case has allegedly been threatened by an international gangster.

Salman Khan's lawyer has been threatened by an international gangster

By India Today Web Desk: Salman bhai is in trouble now...from the real bhais.

Salman Khan's defence counsel, who is representing the Dabanng actor in the blackbuck-poaching case, has claimed that an "international gangster" has given him a death threat for acquitting Salman in the case.

ALSO READ: Salman acquitted, didn't kill blackbuck. Twitter explodes!

ALSO WATCH: Salman acquitted by Jodhpur court in 1998 poaching case

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On January 18, Salman Khan got acquitted of all charges under the Arms Act in a case registered against him in Jodhpur in 1998. In addition to the Arms Act case, Salman was also charged of poaching chinkaras and blackbucks while shooting for his film Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Salman's lawyer HM Saraswat said that two days ago, he received a phone call from a person identifying himself as an "international gangster". The person allegedly threatened Saraswat for getting Khan "acquitted" in the Arms Act case, saying "he was not happy with it".

The caller, according to Saraswat, asked him "to be ready to face dire consequences and none could save him".

Saraswat has filed a complaint with the police and he has been provided with armed security.

ALSO READ: Salman says blackbuck died of 'natural causes', Twitter has a field day

"We have provided him the armed policeman for his security and have started investigating the matter," Police Commissioner Ashok Rathore said.

Saraswat added that the same person had called Salman Khan and demanded from him "protection money." But the actor refused.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) January 29, 2017

A newly-published article suggests there there is little good data on the effectiveness of second-line treatment in patients with recurrent pleural mesothelioma. Surviving Mesothelioma has the details on its website. Click here to read the full article.

The article written by a trio of doctors from England and Italy points to what the authors see as flaws and weaknesses in previous second-line mesothelioma treatment studies and calls for better-designed studies in the future.

"Patients enrolled in the trials should be well balanced according to existing prognostic scores," writes lead author Dr. Alfredo Addeo of the Bristol Cancer Centre in Bristol, England. "Particularly, patients should be stratified based on the duration of disease control obtained with first-line chemotherapy."

In the JAMA Oncology article, Dr. Addeo and his co-authors say mesothelioma patients should be informed that, based on the lack of good evidence for second-line treatment, palliative care alone is a reasonable option.

"While some mesothelioma patients do decide to try second-line treatment, we think it is important for them to have all the facts, including an understanding of the available data on the practice, in order to make the most informed decision," says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor for Surviving Mesothelioma.

Although the US National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) seems to support the idea of second-line mesothelioma treatment, several European groups recommend clinical trials as a better choice for relapsed mesothelioma patients.

To read more of what the authors had to say about second-line treatment of pleural mesothelioma, see Second-Line Mesothelioma Treatment: "Uncertain" Evidence, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.

For nearly ten years, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/01/prweb14024242.htm
By Eric Knecht and Maher Chmaytelli

CAIRO/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Arabs and Iranians planning U.S. trips reacted with fury on Saturday to new American travel curbs they said were insulting and discriminatory, as five Iraqis and a Yemeni were stopped from boarding a New York-bound flight in Cairo.

In some of seven Muslim-majority countries affected by the restrictions, would-be travelers preparing family visits, work trips or seeking to escape war reported chaotic disruption to their plans. Some said they had been humiliated.

Iran, one of the seven countries, said it would stop U.S. citizens entering the country in retaliation to Washington's visa ban, calling it an "open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation".

"It's not right to portray huge groups of Arabs and Muslims as possible terrorists," Najeeb Haidari, a Yemeni-American security manager in Yemen, said a day after Trump put a four-month hold on refugee arrivals and temporarily barred travelers from war-torn Syria and six other mainly Muslim nations.

"This is a stupid, terrible decision which will hurt the American people more than us or anybody else, because it shows that this president can't manage people, politics or global relationships," Haidari added.

Sudan called the decision to ban entry of its citizens very unfortunate in light of "historic steps" just weeks earlier to lift U.S. sanctions for cooperation on combating terrorism.

In the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, Trump signed an executive order on Friday to pause the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

He said separately he wanted the United States to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the war there. The travel curbs began immediately, causing confusion for would-be travelers with passports from the seven countries.

UNFAIR DECISION

Sources at Cairo airport said the five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni, arriving in transit to Cairo airport, were stopped and re-directed to flights headed for their home countries despite holding valid visas.

A Syrian family holding U.S. visas who had traveled overnight from Beirut to Paris was prevented from boarding a connecting flight onto Atlanta, Lebanese airport sources said. They flew back to Beirut later on Saturday.

In Doha, Qatar Airways advised passengers bound for the United States from the seven newly banned countries that they needed to have either a U.S. green card or a diplomatic visa.

Farea al-Muslimi, a U.S.-educated Yemeni political commentator with the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies said, "It's insane - but what part of Trump is sane?"ers."

"This punishes thousands of innocent people for things they have no control over, when the last few attacks in America had to do with radicalized U.S. citizens, not foreigners."

A 34-year-old Sudanese man who won the U.S. Green Card lottery said he was worried he would be forbidden entry. "If Im barred...this will destroy my life because I resigned from my work in Sudan and was preparing to settle in America," he said.

Fariba, an Iranian-American who declined to give her family name and lives in New Jersey, said her parents would not be able to make a planned visit to celebrate Iranian New Year in March.

"What have we done to deserve such a ban? ... This ban will ruin our lives. Thank you Mr. President. Are you making America great by hurting innocent people?"

Some people planning U.S. travel said the curbs would harm their careers. Others feared for the safety of their families.

"HUMILIATING INSULT"

In Baghdad, Bayan Adil, a doctor working in the Iraqi Health Ministry who applied for a U.S. visa to attend a medical seminar, said Iraqi academics should visit Europe instead of the United States, where they were no longer welcome.

"Trump's decision is unfortunately a humiliating insult not only for us as academics but for all Iraqis," she said.

Her comments were echoed by Abd Al-Jafar, a 43-year-old university professor in Sudan's capital Khartoum, who said he had sought to go to the United States for doctoral studies.

"This decision, if implemented, will be a disaster," he said. "I have work in Sudan and have no desire to emigrate to the U.S., just to study there. This decision is illogical."

In Beirut, Joumana Ghazi Chehade, 34, a refugee from Yarmouk in Syria living in the Lebanese capital's Burj al-Barajneh camp, said the decision would "destroy a lot of people".

"Of course we're not going to go blow anything up ... All we are asking for is security and freedom."

Mirna, an American and a mother of two living in Syria, said it was clear Trump "doesn't want to receive Syrian Muslims ... we have to expect the worst from him because he is a crazy man."

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Babak Dehghanpisheh, Noah Browning, John Davison, Khalid Abdulaziz and Ahmed Elumami.; Writing by William Maclean; editing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by Helen Popper)
DUBAI (Reuters) - An off-duty policeman was shot dead in Bahrain on Sunday in what the interior ministry called a "terrorist act," state news agency BNA reported.

The shooting follows increased unrest in the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom after the execution this month of three Shi'ites convicted of killing three policemen in a bomb attack in 2014.

"The Interior Ministry mourns with great sadness and sorrow the martyr Lieutenant Hisham Hassan Mohammed al-Hammadi, who was shot and killed in the Bilad al-Qadeem area," southwest of the capital Manama, the interior ministry said.

"Initial indications suggest that it was a terrorist act and that he was not on duty."

Mass "Arab Spring" demonstrations in 2011 led by the island's Shi'ites were crushed by the authorities with help from Gulf Arab neighbors, deepening sectarian rivalry in the region.

(Reporting By Noah Browning; Editing by Stephen Powell)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have recaptured all towns and villages in the Wadi Barada valley near Damascus, the Syrian military said on Sunday, in another blow to rebels who have fought for years to unseat President Bashar al-Assad.

"Units of our armed forces, together with ... allied forces have achieved their mission in returning security and stability" to the area, the military said in a statement read out by a spokesman on Syrian state television.

The military's offensive, launched last month, aimed partly to seize control of a major spring and water pumping station which supplies most of the capital's water. Fighting and damage to the site caused acute water shortages in Damascus this month.

State TV broadcast footage of Syrian soldiers standing in the water pumping station in the village of Ain al-Fija.

The recapture of Wadi Barada signals the fall of another rebel-held area in western Syria, and comes weeks after insurgents were driven from areas they controlled in Aleppo, their last major urban stronghold.

Military support from President Bashar al-Assad's foreign allies, including Russia, Iran and Lebanese group Hezbollah, have been instrumental in helping turn the nearly six-year civil war in his favour.

On Saturday the army took over the spring in Ain al-Fija as part of an agreement reached with rebels, who had held the area since 2012, pro-Damascus media outlets and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

Under the agreement, dozens of rebel fighters were expected to be bussed out of the area on Sunday with their families and head for Idlib province, an insurgent stronghold.

Similar previous deals in western Syria have seen rebels evacuate areas they had held for years and depart with their families for Idlib. The opposition says this amounts to forced population transfers.

The deals have usually been struck in places where government forces and their allies have either besieged rebel-held areas or have gained the upper hand militarily.

(Reporting by John Davison and Kinda Makieh in Damascus; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Irans Foreign Ministry has censured a recent insulting decision made by the new US government to restrict arrivals from the Islamic Republic and six other Muslim countries, vowing that Tehran would respond to the move in kind.

In order to protect the dignity of all the Iranian people inside and outside the country, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will scrutinize the short-term and long-term outcomes of the decision by the US government on Iranian nationals and will take appropriate consular, legal and political measures, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Trumps decision to ban visas was an open affront against the Iranian nation and the Muslim world.

The statement said the Iranian government respects the American people and distinguishes between them and the hostile policies of the US government.

It, however, emphasized that Iran would respond in kind in order to support its nationals rights until the offensive US restrictions are lifted.

The Iranian ministry said the visa restrictions run counter to Washingtons claims of countering terrorism and establishing security for the American people and would be marked in history as a big gift presented to extremists and their supporters.

Read more: Trump suspends US refugee program, entry from seven Muslim countries

At a time that the international community needs dialogue and collective efforts to uproot violence and extremism, the US governments injudicious and discriminatory measure against Muslims would prepare the grounds for extremist terrorists to spread violence, it added.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has adopted strategies to make appropriate decisions based on national interests, the statement said.

The recent decision [made by] the United States of America includes illegal and irrational expectations which are against international law, the ministry pointed out.

It warned that any US move to extend discriminatory measures against the Iranian nationals would be illegal and said the Islamic Republic reserves the right to react to any violation of international law by Washington.
By India Today Web Desk: The assault of Padmavati director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Jaipur has left Bollywood in shock and sadness. Bhansali was thrashed by members of the Karni Sena, who also vandalised the film's sets, for Bhansali's alleged distortion of Rajputana history in Padmavati. Like many B-Towners, Sushant Singh Rajput was outraged by the attack, and the actor dropped his surname on Twitter, as protest.

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ALSO READ: Padmavati director Sanjay Leela Bhansali thrashed on film's sets for 'distorting history'

ALSO READ: Sanjay Leela Bhansali stops shooting Padmavati in Rajasthan after attack

The "heartbroken" actor tweeted, "We would suffer till the time we're obsessed with our surnames. If you're that courageous,give us your first name to acknowledge. #padmavati." He also posted, "People quote history to search for their relevance in future, not knowing that their names surely will be forgotten forever."

People quote history to search for their relevance in future,not knowing that their names surely will be forgotten forever.#selfmusing Sushant (@itsSSR) January 28, 2017

We would suffer till the time we're obsessed with our surnames.If you're that courageous,give us your first name to acknowledge.#padmavati Sushant (@itsSSR) January 27, 2017

Meanwhile, Bhansali stopped the shooting of the film in Rajasthan and the statement from his production house cleared the air on the rumoured romantic sequence between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji. "We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film. In spite of this, the attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur. We are grateful to the authorities at Jaipur who responded promptly and limited the damage on shoot. We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world," the statement read. ALSO WATCH: Karni Sena protestors vandalise Padmavati's sets

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British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday promised steps to ramp up trade between Turkey and Britain ahead of Brexit but also urged Ankara to uphold human rights following a failed coup.

On her first visit to Turkey as premier and fresh from meeting new US President Donald Trump at the White House, May held three hours of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

May sought to strike a delicate balance between showing Britains keen interest in expanding trade with Turkey following the June vote to leave the European Union while echoing European alarm over the scale of the crackdown after the July 15 attempted coup.

May announced the creation of a joint group to boost trade ahead of Britains departure from the EU and also oversaw the signing of a deal for Britains BAE Systems to develop a new Turkish fighter jet.

Turkey and the United Kingdom plan to sign a free trade deal once Britain leaves the European Union, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.

Yildirim made the comment in a joint news conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who was visiting Ankara after a trip to the United States.

May said after meeting Erdogan at his palace she was proud Britain had stood with Turkeys democratically-elected government when the coup struck. But she added:

Now it is important that Turkey sustains that democracy by maintaining the rule of law and upholding its international human rights obligations, as the government has undertaken to do.

 May stressed that Turkey was one of Britains oldest friends with relations going back over 400 years, referring to the establishment of relations between the Ottoman Empire and England under Elizabeth I.

Earlier, a spokeswoman countered criticism from some MPs that Britain was cosying up to Turkey while turning a blind eye to its human rights record.

The spokeswoman said: I dont think there are any issues that the prime minister is afraid to bring up. Around 43,000 people are under arrest on charges of links to the coup bid, which Ankara blames on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. He denies the charges.

Mays visit is also seen as the first to Ankara by a major Western leader since the attempted putsch, although then US vice president Joe Biden held talks with Erdogan in August.
US President Donald Trump has given crucial roles to pro-Israel American Jews by appointing at least eleven influential members in his administration, reports say.

The presidents Jewish advisers, who are expected to play key roles in shaping the US policy during Trumps four years in office, include his son-in law, Jared Kushner, who is serving as a senior adviser in his administration.

Jared Kushner: Senior adviser

Kushner, 36, who is married to Trumps daughter, Ivanka, will work on the Middle East and Israel as well as partnerships with the private sector and free trade, without receiving a salary, according to The New York Times.

Kushner also played an influential role in Trumps presidential campaign, especially on Israel. He also worked on Trumps speech to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in March 2016.

David Friedman: US ambassador to Israel

Trump has appointed Friedman to serve as ambassador to Israel. Friedman has previously expressed support for Israelis illegal settlements, and funded construction in the occupied territories. He has even expressed doubt about the future of the two-state solution.

Friedman, who speaks Hebrew, has decided to live in his own personal apartment in al-Quds (Jerusalem) rather than residing in the Ambassador's Residence in Herzliya.

Stephen Miller: Senior adviser

Miller, who has described himself as a practicing Jew, has played a key role in Trumps campaign by writing his speeches for rallies. The thirty-one-year-old joined the Trump campaign in early 2016.

Jason Greenblatt: Special representative

Trump has appointed Greenblatt to work as special representative for international negotiations focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as US-Cuba ties and American trade agreements with other countries.

Greenblatt has long been chief legal officer for the Trump Organization. He studied at West Bank Yeshiva University in the mid-1980s and did armed guard duty in the occupied territories.

Gary Cohn: Top Economic adviser

Cohn is walking away from a career at Goldman Sachs to head the White House National Economic Council with a salary of $285 million.

Steven Mnuchin: Treasury secretary

Mnuchin, who worked as Trumps national finance chairman during the campaign, serves as Treasury Secretary. Trump and Mnuchin have been friends for 15 years.

Boris Epshteyn: Special assistant

Epshteyn, a Republican political strategist, works as special assistant to the president. He is in his early 30s and has appeared as a surrogate for Trump on TV during his presidential campaign.

David Shulkin

Shulkin, 57, will lead the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), if confirmed by the Senate. He is the current undersecretary for health, and would be the first holdover appointment from the administration of former President Barack Obama.

Carl Icahn: Special adviser

Icahn, 80, a businessman and investor, is Trumps special adviser on regulatory reform issues. He is working as a private citizen rather than a federal employee or special government employee.

Reed Cordish

Cordish, a longtime friend of Trumps family, serves as assistant to the president for intra-governmental and technology initiatives.

Avrahm Berkowitz: Special assistant

Twenty-seven-year-old Berkowitz is serving as special assistant to Trump and assistant to Jared Kushner. Berkowitz, who was finishing up his last semester at Harvard Law School last year, directed a Facebook Live talk show for the Trump campaign. He also worked for Kushner Companies.
Congress doesn't need mass leaders these days, they only want managers who can handle a situation, SM Krishna said a day after he resigned from the party.

By Nolan Pinto: A day after former Union Minster SM Krishna resigned from the Congress, the senior leader hit out at the party saying it doesn't need mass leaders and wants only managers.

"The Congress doesn't need mass leaders these days, they only want managers who can handle a situation," he said at the press conference in Bengaluru where he made a formal announcement on his resignation.

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"What pained me was how the Congress sidelined a loyal worker and cited my age for sidelining me," the veteran leader said.

SM Krishna said he was yet to decide on his next step and ruled out any plan to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ALSO READ: SM Krishna to India Today: Karnataka heading towards constitutional crisis

SIDDARAMAIAH BEHIND THE EXIT?

It is believed that his decision to leave the party was prompted by the alleged high-handedness and dictatorial behaviour of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Krishna, a former Karnataka chief minister, sent his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday, but his letter to Gandhi did not elaborate on the reasons for his departure.

Krishna served as the Minster of External Affairs in the UPA II government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also had a run as the governor of Maharashtra.

ALSO READ: 'No comments', SM Krishna on Siddaramaiah's administrative skills

Here is all that he said:

According to me, age is a state of mind. Age should not be a criteria for deciding what the situation needs. There are people who are inactive even when young. Ultimate test is your intent.

The party demands only managers. They don't need time-tested leaders and workers like me.

I toured the state during the last elections and nobody thought I was old. Suddenly, they have discovered that I am old and need rest. I felt the Congress did not need me.

With pain and anguish, I have decided to quit the Congress and have told Central leaders that I stand by it.

This is a time to do some introspection. I took this decision (resigning from the Congress) just a day before. I did not consult anyone but my wife.

ALSO READ: Siddaramaiah upset over rebels meeting SM Krishna

ALSO WATCH

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CHEYENNE, Wyo.  Wyoming lawmakers will hear testimony on a comprehensive K-12 school funding proposal on Monday night.

The hearing on House Bill 236 will be held at Cheyenne East High School auditorium, across from the temporary Capitol facilities, in order to accommodate an expected large crowd. It's set to start at 6 p.m.

Public comment will be limited to two minutes per person and those wishing to address the committee are strongly encouraged to prepare written statements for their reference when testifying. People can also submit public comment on the Legislature's website through Feb. 6.

Lawmakers and Gov. Matt Mead have cut state spending significantly over the past couple years but per-pupil spending continues to top $17,000 per year. Only Vermont, Alaska and New York spend more, according to Republican Sen. Charlie Scott, of Casper.
The currency was cleverly concealed in pockets of three trousers which were kept in their hand bags.

By Virendrasingh Ghunawat: Two Sri Lankans have been caught by the customs department from Mumbai airport while they were trying to smuggle out US dollars to Colombo.

On examination by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers, two Sri Lankan nationals Aathil Abdul Jabbar and Mohammed Ramzan were found carrying foreign currency notes of 31,000 USD equivalent to Rs 21.23 lakh while departing to Colombo by Jet Airways flight.

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Officials said the currency was cleverly concealed in pockets of three trousers which were kept in their hand bags.

The officers seized the currency under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 read with Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of currency) Regulations, 2015.

Further investigation is in progress. Since the beginning of this month, AIU has seized foreign currency worth about Rs 80 lakh on the departure side of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, which were being illegally smuggled out of the country.

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Medical students from the University of Auckland will have the opportunity to train in Whakatane from this year with the launch of its new regional rural medical training programme in the Bay of Plenty.

For the first time, 18 fifth-year medical students from Auckland will be based at Tauranga Hospital and spend nearly three months placement training at Whakatane Hospital.

Dean of Medical and Health Sciences Professor John Fraser says the goal is for half of all Auckland medical graduates to choose a career in General Practice and at least 30 per cent to work outside urban centres.

To achieve this, we need to partner with regional health boards, hospitals and general practices to provide high quality clinical training, so that students experience the benefits and joys of practising medicine outside big city hospitals.

The powhiri to launch the new programme was held at Whakatane Hospital and attended by executives and staff from the Bay of Plenty Health Board, the hospital, and the university.

I cannot stress how important our partnership is with the Bay of Plenty DHB and Whakatane Hospital  after all, these students in your care will likely be your next junior doctors and GPs, says John.

This is an important step in our commitment to providing quality regional and rural immersion experiences for New Zealands future doctors.

He says the decisions young doctors make in choosing to work in urban versus rural or choosing specialist over generalist careers are complex and are not all influenced by their education.

One simple fact that is supported by extensive research, is that medical students who have a high quality regional experience are more likely to return there as qualified doctors.

The governments strategy to reduce New Zealands over reliance on overseas trained doctors involves increasing the number of domestic graduates by 50 per cent over a period of 10 years, growing the national GP training scheme and limiting the availability of specialist training places.

Medical graduate numbers are expected to grow from seven per 100,000 in 2010 to 12 per 100,000 by 2020.

This will put New Zealand equal to or ahead of the UK, Canada and the USA, says John. But as a consequence, it increases the demand for training places in hospitals and general practices across the country.

There will be a total of 58 medical students from the university in the Bay of Plenty this year with 24 fourth-year, 18 fifth-year and 16 sixth-year students based at the University and BOP DHB Tauranga Hospital Clinical School.
More people presenting to the Tauranga and Whakatane Emergency Departments were treated and discharged within six hours, according to the latest quarterly national health target results.

During the October-December 2016 quarter, more than 96 per cent of patients across the two hospitals were seen within the Ministry of Healths six-hour target waiting time.

The ministry expects 95 per cent of patients will be admitted, discharged, or transferred from an ED within six hours. This measure indicates how efficiently acute/urgent patients flow through the hospital.

Even more pleasing for the Bay of Plenty District Health Board is the fact the result was achieved despite ever-increasing numbers attending the two EDs, says chief executive Helen Mason.

This is our best ever result and is testament to great co-operation and co-ordination across our two hospitals, to meet the needs of our acute care patients.

This result has been achieved during a time when acute care pressure was high with record numbers of people presenting. There were often more than 200 people presenting daily at our two EDs. I would like to thank all staff involved in achieving this great result for our patients.

Over the past 10 years there has been a 40 per cent increase in the number of patients presenting to both EDs. In December 2006 a total of 4787 patients were seen, compared with 6683 in December 2016.

Record numbers came to Tauranga Hospitals ED in the week leading up to Christmas last year and this pattern continued into the first days of 2017.

On New Years Day, 208 people presented and the following day, January 2, the highest ever number of people seen at Tauranga ED was recorded with 221 people coming through its doors.

Hospital EDs assess and treat patients who have serious injuries or illnesses. If you are unsure whether your condition is an emergency phone your GPs number, any time of the day or night.

If your GP is not available your call will be automatically redirected to a registered nurse who will give you the health advice you need.

Visitors to the Western Bay, or those who are not registered with a GP, can call 0800 367 432584 (0800 FORHEALTH). Visitors to the Eastern Bay, or those who are not registered with a GP, should call 07-306-2360.

For more information about the Ministry of Healths National health Targets, visit www.health.govt.nz
Waikato Regional Council is urging farmers who find the damaging pest plant velvetleaf to eradicate it quickly before it seeds and spreads.

Velvetleaf, which is easiest to spot in summer, has been confirmed on 30 properties in the Waikato and was recently discovered in a maize crop by a Morrinsville landowner just before Christmas.

Waikato Regional Council pest plant officers are now working with the landowner to develop a biosecurity management plan for the property.

Now is the right time to be looking for velvetleaf, and particularly near gateways where machinery first enter, as well as in the first 12-20 outside rows of the crop, explains biosecurity pest plants team leader Darion Embling.

Right now its buttery-yellow flowers will be starting to develop and may even be out, and its distinctive seedpods or capsules should still be green.

Darion is imploring farmers who spot velvetleaf to move quickly to eradicate the plants before they seed and this pest spreads further.

Our pest plant officers can provide expert advice around how to best do this.

Meanwhile, pest plant officers have begun inspecting about 70 properties found to be at risk of being infested with velvetleaf in April last year. This work is continuing, but so far no new infestations have been found.

In the Waikato a small number of the infestations found last year were linked to imported fodder beet seeds. But subsequent tracing found it had spread in the Waikato via infested maize and maize silage, and by unclean harvest machinery.

Velvetleaf is considered one of the worlds worst cropping weeds and reduced yields, combined with the cost of control, could mean a significant loss of income if not controlled.

For more information, advice and help visit the Waikato Regional Councils website waikatoregion.govt.nz/velvetleaf or call 0800 BIOSEC (246 732).
Police are advising members of the public to exercise caution when receiving notification of infringement notices via email.

From time to time they become aware of people receiving emails which appear to be from New Zealand Police to advise them they have been issued an infringement notice.

Police do not send infringement notices via email.

Instead, they are processed electronically via the officers mobility device and sent by post to the persons address, explains Police Infringement Bureau manager Inspector Kelly Ryan.

The emails circulating attempt to legitimise the request by stating the fine can be registered with the State Penalties Enforcement Registry. This is an Australian agency and NZ Police do not register unpaid infringement notices with any external agency.

Kelly says in New Zealand, if you do not pay an infringement notice then it is referred to the Ministry of Justice for collection

Police do not collect money received by infringements, instead, the money is collected by the Police Infringement Bureau on behalf of the government.

The Police Infringement Bureau is a registered biller with banks so if you pay by internet banking you have assurance that the money is going to the correct place. You can also pay by credit/debit card, sending a cheque or at any NZ branch of Westpac bank.

This is a timely reminder to members of the community to verify the origin of all requests for money before paying, even if they appear to be a reputed company or government agency.

The people behind these scams know how to make them appear legitimate. They are cunning and intimidating, often resorting to threats of bad credit or legal action.

Kelly says if you receive any emails, phone calls or post from an agency stating that you owe them money do not be afraid to double check the authenticity of the agency.

Look their details up online or in the phonebook and call the public number to verify whether you owe them money and the correct method of payment.

Instructions for paying infringement can be found on the New Zealand Police website or for more information about scams visit the Department of Internal Affairs website at: www.dia.govt.nz/Services-Anti-Spam-Reported-Scams#rep
Hundreds of people are joining Gareth Morgans political party which he founded in November of last year.

The Opportunities Party is going through the registration process with already more than 2500 members signed up.

The Electoral Commission posted notice of the registration application on January 21.

Im told by the guys who work with other parties that 2500 members already is big, says Gareth. They just go to the website and sign up and pay their twenty bucks.

So far the party has released policy statements on immigration, tax and the environment.

Gareth has identified property as one of the biggest election issues this year.

Property has driven a massive wedge between the haves and the haves not. If you look at some of the lower paid jobs, their wages havent gone down but actually their discretionary income has gone down through the floor.

The reason for the obsession about property is because its the easiest way to make money, he says.

Wages is just a mugs game. You only earn yourself enough wages to get yourself on the property ladder and thats where you make your money.

I know people who have never paid tax in their lives after that first job, he claims. They earned enough money to get on the property ladder and ever since then theyve basically done up houses. Lived in them. And then used them to go again, and go again, and again.

And those of course are the people who are most stridently opposed to what Im talking about. I have friends like this, Ive said to them, but youve made that on the back of other people. Youve had a tax break but the other people havent.

I really struggle with that.

Gareth says theres quite a big elite in New Zealand now because theres been a property phenomenon which has been the easiest way to make money.

New Zealand has also been through government after government, ever since Douglas, where people have made money from property and kept it, he adds.

I had this conversation with Key years ago when he was in his second term and he said yep its the right thing to do isnt it? and I said totally. And he said unless you do the owner occupied house it will never work and I said no thats right youve got to do the owner occupied house its the core of it. Theyd never go for it, said John Key.

And I said so what? You just let the problem get worse and worse until you get a massively negative and extreme reaction to it. Because youre locking more and more people out of the property market.

Gareth talks about the demographic thats getting locked out - young families, millennials and anyone with strong student debt, plus those starting life over after relationship breakdown or other reasons.

He believes his message will resonate most with people who care beyond themselves.

People right across the political spectrum actually. They walk up to me on the beach all the time and quite often you get a husband and wife, and the wife is for you but the husband isnt. So that should be interesting.

His ambitions seem fairly modest. Hes worked out half a dozen policies that would make a massive difference to this country for the positive. He plans to present them to the New Zealand public, thrash them in the media over the next 12 months and let everyone decide.

If people want to say nah go back to the beach and leave us alone, well thats fine. But at least my conscience is clear. You wont argue me down on them, theyre pretty thoroughly researched and Ive commissioned a lot of good people to do the work. So the arguments against them wont hold up.

What will hold up, he believes, is not the prejudice so much but the desire to avoid and resist change. He reflects on how Brexit and Trump was change that came as a shock.

Basically the liberal experiment, if you like, in the US and UK, has not delivered, maintains Gareth.

If you put that into the NZ context, it hasnt delivered trickle-down. The gaps are just getting wider in terms of the inequality. The promise 30 years on hasnt been fulfilled.

Do we just keep it rolling? he asks.

John Keys modus operandi was a steady hand. The one thing he achieved that I would give him big ticks for is he pulled NZ back from going hard right with Brash and all those guys.

But to me, where he lost it, is he allowed inequality to get bigger again. Its been the property thing thats done that and made housing and rent unaffordable. So its just chewing more and more of those peoples incomes so their actual discretionary income is going down quite strongly.

Gareth believes the youngest baby boomers are now in their early 50s and in a position to do something about this.

People under that age group comprise 54 per cent of the voting public, but the percentage of that 54 per cent who vote is ridiculous, he adds. Its really low.

Weve done some testing and sampling amongst those ones, to see what would bring them out to vote. Asked them what is the most important issue to them. Its pretty depressing when you get their response. Number one is marijuana.

So you go, ok that might be an issue but thats number one? Talk about first world bloody problems.

He believes the government has benefited those who already own property but not anyone else.

If youre a tenant or a generation just going out to buy your first home which is eight times the average income instead of three, then you have problems.

People my age do care, he declares. Im getting that. People do care. And people dont care. They are very polarized. I can see it on my Facebook.

Some want to give back but others say theyve scrimped and saved their whole lives, contends Gareth.

Ive said hang on youve paid $150,000 for that house and now its worth $650k. The $500k is nothing to do with you. They say well its not my fault and now its mine. I say so what youre telling me is that you dont care, which is fine but its actually what you are saying so dont disguise it as anything else. He pauses.

That sets them on fire and away we go.

He states that no one is advising him politically.

Im very much a lone wolf type of guy. I have a tight team of six around me, and thats it. Everything Ive done my whole life, Ive started with a blank sheet of paper and worked it up.

Ive done a lot of work on it. Theres all the policies that Ive been working on for years and Ive written books on them so when people ask what are you going to say in this area I tell them to go read the bloody book on it, and it will tell you.

He has now released policies on tax, immigration and the environment. And from provocative locations. Outside John Keys house, at Wellington Airport with the Gandalf backdrop, on a dairy farm with the environment policy. This week he went head-to-head with Winston at Ratana. Gareths is view is that the environment and economic growth should be soul mates, compatible.

Hes clearly annoyed that people ask if hes grandstanding with money, achieving nothing.

People always say that with whatever they do, they say youve got money therefore you must be evil. And I say back to them Im totally self-made. Are you saying people shouldnt make money? What are you actually saying? People have a tall poppy syndrome. Thats what we had here with the council and the sculpture.

You get a lot of people who are just resentful, he says. And I say rather than attacking the messenger have you anything to say on the issue? And they reply no.

He laughs.

Gareth likes people to be reasonably literate with economic issues before coming and asking questions.

Economics does require that you think about the issue, he says. That you do a bit of homework before you mouth off. But what we see is that everybody is an expert and unfortunately when you look at the things that a lot of people say you see that they dont know the difference between cash and income.

You might say that Ive spoken down to that person but I say it does require a certain amount of literacy. Theyve got no right to be lazy buggers and then ask questions.

We cant be experts in every field, he reiterates. Theres a difference though between a lay person in a field who is enquiring or who has a legitimate point and is relatively civil about it, and somebody who just rants at you from some position of prejudice.

Trump and Brexit.

He likens Trump to Bob Jones.

Made a lot of money in the property thing and then in Trumps case dabbled across in the show biz thing with his Apprentice. And he came out of the block representing the working man.

I think the fascinating thing with Trump is how come the mainstream media got it so wrong all the way up to the day of the election. I would be looking at that and say how could they read it so wrong.

Gareth and his wife Joanne have travelled extensively through the southern states of the USA on their motorbikes. Gareth recalls Joanne saying the day Donald Trump announced he was going to seek the nomination of the Republicans that hed win easily.

I said how can you say that, the guys mad!

She reminded him of all the people theyd seen and talked with across the country who Trump was representing.

The version of the American dream these days is not the house in the burbs with a car or a pickup, says Gareth.

Its a trailer home with a ride-on mower. Theres twenty million of them who live in trailers, not on camps. On their own piece of land with beautifully mowed lawns. You look at those people and theyre so alienated from the ones in Washington and California, its like different planets. Thats who he appealed to. It was all about were bringing jobs back, youve been ignored by the liberal Democrats.

It seems Trump somehow identified the average Americans point of pain. Could Gareth do likewise for NZ?

Property, declares Gareth. Property has driven a massive wedge between the haves and the have nots. Its a huge wedge. If you look at the lower paid jobs, their wages havent gone down.

Actually once you take accommodation out their wages have gone down enormously. So their discretionary incomes gone through the floor.

Its interesting to Gareth that people are joining The Opportunities Party who have never previously belonged to a political party.

Gareth and the Greens

The 2017 Mount Albert by-election will be held in the Mount Albert electorate on 25 February 2017. The seat was vacated following the resignation of David Shearer, a former Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. National decided not to put up a candidate, Jacinta Ardern is contesting the seat for Labour and Julie Anne Genter for the Greens.

What the hell is going on there? asks Gareth. Julie and Jacinta both running. Hes implying that the two parties are not working together, that its a needless home goal.

We cant trust Labour and the Greens to win the election because they have personal ambition and ego always trumping whats best for NZ.

I took the Greens on about that early in 2015 and said you guys are now saying youre not going to work with the Nats. Thats ridiculous! Are you an environmental party or not? You should be able to say that youll work with anybody. Russell Norman was still the boss.

He considers that the Greens must have other agendas not just the environment.

Otherwise theyd work with National, he opines. The reality of the Greens is that its two parties melded into one. Its a sort of far left economic party with Metiria Turei and then theres your more rational economically but also more heavily environmentally conscious side represented these days by James Shaw.

So theyre sort of uncomfortable bedfellows in a lot of ways. The Greens always say theyre very democratic but what that actually means that unless they have a consensus of those two factions it will blow up in their face. So thats their leg iron. Theyve got that going on.

And now theyre trying to get with Labour. Its a god-almighty mess in my view. Theres the idea put out by them that National is anti-environment so they say we have to change the government. And I say no you dont! You have to get the government to do more of the policies that you support. Its not about the people.

They will never be anything but an enemy to the environment, he continues, discussing the Greens. I dont think thats credible. Theyre pretty weird. Individually the people seem quite fine but as a group I dont understand them.

What the hell are Labour and the Greens wanting to have these by-elections for? And then I figure I wonder if theyre doing it because they just dont get enough press. And if they keep doing it, theyll just p*** National off so much theyll call an early election. What are they up to?

We will work with whoever the party in power is, says Gareth. We dont care who they are, its the policies we want to see in place.
The Waikato Regional Council is calling for tenders to occupy up to 240 hectares of fish farming space in the Firth of Thames.

The space is in the Coromandel Marine Farming Zone which is about 10 kilometres west of Coromandel Town, and once operational, will be the first fish farming zone off the North Island.

Fish would be farmed in sea cages and the regional council believes the 300 hectares zone could eventually support the production of about 8000 tonnes of farmed fish  roughly comparable to the production of farmed salmon in the Marlborough Sounds.

Senior coastal policy advisor Graeme Silver says council began preparations for a tender last year after an expression of interest in taking up space.

Shellfish aquaculture around the Coromandel and Firth of Thames, and related processing, generates just under $100 million of revenue a year and directly employs over 550 people, making us second only to the Marlborough Sounds in terms of production and employment.

We believe that, over time, successful fish farming in the Firth of Thames zone could generate additional revenue of over $50 million.

Several years ago there was strong interest in farming kingfish and hapuku in the region. The Coromandel zone was subsequently established in 2011 by a central government amendment to the Waikato Regional Coastal Plan

Then the global financial crisis struck and interest in fish farming waned. But recently theres been renewed interest in taking up space in the zone.

Space available in the zone will be released for development by the tender process which council is announcing, says Graeme.

The successful bidder or bidders will be selected by considering their environmental management practices, the economic benefits to the community, and any monetary contribution to council and central government.

Successful tenderers will then need to apply to the council for a resource consent.

Graeme says it is essential that environmental risks are adequately managed and mitigated through a comprehensive resource consent process.

Any application for a resource consent to farm fish would have to be accompanied by a site specific assessment of potential environmental effects and a monitoring plan, including a baseline survey.

The resource consent process will determine whether that impact is sustainable. The major risks from fish farming are nutrients from feed and fish wastes stimulating the growth of algae, and farm operations interfering with marine wildlife.

We believe these risks can be minimised through appropriate resource consent measures and a staged approach to development to ensure any emerging problems are dealt with.

Graeme says from an environmental protection perspective, the relatively deep Coromandel Marine Farming Zone was a preferable area, compared to the Wilson Bay Marine Farming Zone in the Firth of Thames.

More information for potential tenderers is available at www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/aquaculture or by calling Senior coastal policy advisor Graeme Silver on 0800 800 401.

The 300ha Coromandel Marine Farming Zone is about 10 kilometres west of Coromandel Town.
Sridevi earlier today shared a recently clicked photo of herself with daughter Jhanvi Kapoor and the mother-daughter duo was looking prettier than ever.

By India Today Web Desk: Sridevi was and still is considered one of the most beautiful women to have ever graced the silver screen in India.

In her lifetime, she wowed men and women alike and probably broke a million desi hearts when she got hitched to producer Boney Kapoor.

SEE PICS: Sridevi's daughter Jhanvi clicked with boyfriend Shikhar Pahariya

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Now, Sridevi and Boney's daughter Jhanvi Kapoor is all grown up and together in photos, gives ample competition to her mother's good looks.

Sridevi earlier today shared a photo of herself with her beautiful daughter Jhanvi and it is pretty difficult to figure out who's the prettiest of them all.

Jhanvi Kapoor will soon be making her Bollywood debut in a Karan Johar project. However, we still do not know the details of this film-to-be.

Expect a bang when Jhanvi Kapoor hits the big screen and fills the millennial nainon with sapna...

ALSO WATCH: In conversation with diva Sridevi

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The closure of the highway, which is the lifeline of essential supplies to the landlocked Kashmir Valley, has caused shortage of vegetables, mutton, etc.

By Ashraf Wani: After remaining closed for four consecutive days due to snowfall the strategic Srinagar-Jammu highway opened for one-way traffic. An official said light-motor vehicles were allowed to move towards Kashmir after clearance of landslides at Panthal.

"Over 300 light motor vehicles stranded at Ramban were allowed to move towards Kashmir on priority basis," said the official.

He said no traffic would be allowed to move towards Jammu. The closure of the highway, which is the lifeline of essential supplies to the landlocked Kashmir Valley, has caused shortage of vegetables, mutton, etc.

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Authorities assert enough supplies of petroleum products including cooking gas were available in the valley, but people in many areas have been complaining of shortages.

Meanwhile, mortal remains of 14 soldiers who died in avalanches are being airlifted by helicopters from Gurez to Srinagar after some improvement in weather.

Met department has predicted improvement in weather but has issued warning for snow avalanches in Bandipora, Kupwara and Kargil districts as opening of sky and improvement in temperatures may trigger snow avalanches in hilly areas of these districts after accumulation of 5 to 8 feet snow there.

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Many can still remember the historic event from Jan. 28, 1986, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff or in a mere 73 seconds. The tragedy that unfolded on live television killed all seven crew members, including mission commander Francis "Dick" Scobee.

It was a particularly young audience that witnessed the explosion. One of the crew members, Christa McAuliffe, was a New Hampshire high school teacher poised to be the first civilian and teacher to step into space. In fact, the crew members  Scobee, McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Michael J. Smith  belonged to the first Teacher in Space Project.

NASA had arranged the missions satellite broadcast for students to see the groundbreaking moment across the country.

Later on it was determined that explosion was the result of the failure of an O-ring seal in the Challengers right solid rocket booster.

Challenger Mission Timeline

In a 2012 tribute, Space.com dubbed Challenger as one of NASAs greatest triumphs  but also its darkest tragedy, one that changed spaceflight forever.

The shuttle was originally intended to be a test vehicle. In November 1975, Rockwell started to build it and sent it to Lockheed for structural testing beginning April 2, 1978. NASA said that computer models at that time were not high-tech enough to calculate stresses on the vehicle during different stages of flight.

The shuttle STA-099 underwent nearly a year of vibrating testing via a specialized rig, a custom-designed machine simulating all flight phases including liftoff and landing. Weighing a million pounds of force each, three hydraulic cylinders substituted for the main engines.

Heres a quick timeline of succeeding events:

1979 The American space agency awarded Rockwell a contract to convert the test vehicle into spacecraft, which would expand the fleet to two spacecraft alongside Columbia.

Oct. 23, 1981 Work on the Challenger was completed, including strengthening the wings and installing an actual crew cabin.

Jan. 20, 1983 Supposed date for the shuttle to go into space to release the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, later on becoming one of a series that astronauts used for staying connected with controllers on Earth. The delay was caused by factors such as a hydrogen leak found in the No. 1 main engine aft compartment, and cracks in the engine discovered to be causing the said leak.

April 4, 1983 Successful launch on STS-6 mission, with crew members setting the satellite free. This was followed by milestones including the first American female astronaut and first Canadian riding the shuttle.

April 1984 The memorable moment when STS-41C mission featured the first-ever satellite repair by an astronaut.

Jan. 28, 1986 Day of actual space launch, when temperatures were below freezing and worries on the integrity of the seals on the solid rocket boosters already surfaced. Challenger exploded 73 seconds post-launch, and McAuliffe never got to give lessons in orbit as planned.

May 20, 1986 Unidentified remains were buried and honored in an Arlington Cemetery monument.

Salute To The Fallen Heroes

NASA is set to commemorate the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia at a ceremony to be held Jan. 31 on the Day of Remembrance. Similar events will be conducted at different NASA sites honoring the employees and families of those lost in the cause.

It is hard to believe its been more than three decades since we lost the crew, but Im certain they would be pleased to know their mission has continued and incredibly proud of all that has been accomplished, June Scobee Rodgers, widow of the Challenger commander and the Challenger Centers founding chair, said in a statement.

The center is dedicated to keeping the missions educational spirit alive, each year providing more than 250,000 students the opportunity to discover innovation and the sciences through learning experiences.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By India Today Web Desk: When Tamil actor Suriya joined the pro-Jallikattu bandwagon, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had hit out at him saying that it was "no coincidence that Suriya decided to speak only when his film S3 is about to release." Now, the animal rights organisation has offered a "wholehearted apology" for its statement.

ALSO READ: Suriya's Singam 3 not postponed, producer rubbishes rumours

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PETA CEO Poorva Joshipura issued an apology letter which said, "We received a copy of the legal notice sent to us through the law firm you engaged. If what you are now saying is correct, please consider this a wholehearted apology for implying that your public pro-Jallikattu comments might be related to the planned release of your upcoming film."

She added with a tinge of sarcasm, "We support the promotion of a good film but not the promotion of cruelty to any living being, or spectacle that put animals or humans in harms way and we thought you would feel the same way."

The PETA CEO shared a link to a video which showed animals being treated cruelly at Jallikattu events and said, "In Singam film, you are a honest, dutiful police officer. I hope the role of this character could help you appreciate why it is so important for us to ensure the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 is honoured and upheld."

Suriya had issued a legal notice to PETA, demanding an apology for the statement that his pro-Jallikattu comments were linked to the promotions of his film and his advocated R Vijayanand said that Suriya had voiced his support for the sport on several occasions in the past and there was no need for him to indulge in "cheap publicity."

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By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Jan 29 (PTI) In a bid to provide multi-disciplinary panel of cancer experts to patients, Tata Memorial Hospital today introduced a service called Virtual Tumour Board (VTB).

The Board comprises various cancer experts, surgeons, paramedics from major government-run as well as private hospitals and cancer institutes, where complex cases of cancer patients are discussed to get opinions on treatment and its procedure. The discussions are web-based and conducted at certain hours.

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"VTB provides the hospitals a free expert opinion from leading cancer specialists including TMH experts to plan treatment of cancer patients in an effective and timely manner," said Dr C Pramesh, professor and chief, thoracic surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, TMH.

While the Board was officially launched today in the presence of Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Maharashtra Health Minister Deepak Sawant, it has been functioning for last two months on a smaller scale.

Dr Kailash Sharma, Director, Academics, Tata Memorial Centre said, "There are 96 centres in country that are currently linked with this centre. We are steadily increasing the number of participants in the board.

"On a specified day, the cancer experts as per their availability are participating in the virtual discussions, where some centres present the cancer patients case and other provide their opinion. Cancer patients cases are complicated and one city can not have all types of experts. In such situation, the required experts can chip in once they get to know the details of the patients, disease and its complexity."

He said another benefit is that patients need not have to travel to major city for treatment.

"Once the centre that is treating the patients decides the course of action after listening to the experts, the patient can be treated the centre itself. This will save a lot of expenditure of patients on travel and living in major cities," Sharma added.

Dr C Pramesh said the Board can have participants such as surgeons, pathologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and imaging technologists among others.

"Outcome is far more superior as a group of cancer specialists are present for the guidance. Most of the major cancer hospitals in major cities discuss the disease case with group of exerts and then prepare the course of treatment. (More) PTI ND NSK JMF

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The Venezuelan government will increase cooperation with Colombia's military and police forces to face transnational crimes caused by drug trafficking, announced Friday by the Minister of... | Read More
The UK has clearly specified that they do not agree with the restrictions on immigration and are studying what can be the consequences for British nationals.

By India Today Web Desk: Leading to an international outcry, heads of states across the globe are reacting with sharp words against US President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.

Here's a wrap-up of who's saying what against the order:

British Prime Minister Theresa May:

The UK has clearly specified that they do not agree with the restrictions on immigration and are studying what can be the consequences for British nationals.

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"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals," a spokesperson for the British PM said.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim:

"Regional issues cannot be solved by closing the doors on people. We expect the Western world to lighten Turkey's burden," Yildirim told a news conference.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani:

In retaliation to Washington's visa ban against Tehran and six other majority-Muslim countries, Iran said they would stop US citizens from entering the country.

"While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the US government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Also read: Tit for tat? Iran vows 'reciprocal measures' in response to Trump immigration order Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has welcomed those fleeing war and persecution even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau said on Twitter.

A second tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Trump's immigration policy, included a 2015 photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport.

Besides these nations, France, Germany and Luxembourg have also voiced disquiet over Trump's decision.

At a joint news conference with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said many of Trump's decisions worried the two US allies, including new immigration restrictions.

Also read: Unfazed by backlash, Donald Trump says immigration order "working out very nicely"

(With inputs from Reuters)

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By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 29 (PTI) President Donald Trump today directed US military to develop a "comprehensive strategy" within 30 days to defeat the ISIS, asserting that America must take decisive action against the dreaded terror group.

"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is not the only threat from radical Islamic terrorism that the US faces, but it is among the most vicious and aggressive. It is also attempting to create its own state, which ISIS claims as a caliphate. But there can be no accommodation or negotiation with it," Trump said in his executive order.

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"For those reasons I am directing my administration to develop a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS," he said.

The plan to be submitted to the President within 30 days calls for a comprehensive strategy to defeat the ISIS and recommend changes to any US rules of engagement and other American policy restrictions that exceed the requirements of international law regarding the use of force against the terror group.

Trump said the ISIS has engaged in a systematic campaign of persecution and extermination in those territories it enters or controls.

"If ISIS is left in power, the threat that it poses will only grow," he warned.

"We know it has attempted to develop chemical weapons capability. It continues to radicalise our own citizens, and its attacks against our allies and partners continue to mount. The US must take decisive action to defeat ISIS," Trump said.

The terror group is responsible for the violent murder of American citizens in the Middle East, including the beheading of James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Peter Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as well as the death of Kayla Mueller, the executive order notes, the executive order said.

In addition, ISIS has inspired attacks in the United States, including the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, and the June 2016 attack in Orlando, Florida, it said.

"ISIS is complicit in a number of terrorist attacks on our allies in which Americans have been wounded or killed, such as the November 2015 attack in Paris, France, the March 2016 attack in Brussels, Belgium, the July 2016 attack in Nice, France, and the December 2016 attack in Berlin, Germany," said the executive order.

The plan seeks public diplomacy, information operations, and cyber strategies to isolate and delegitimise ISIS and its radical Islamist ideology; identification of new coalition partners in the fight against ISIS and policies to empower coalition partners to fight ISIS and its affiliates; and mechanisms to cut off or seize ISISs financial support, including financial transfers, money laundering, oil revenue, human trafficking, sales of looted art and historical artifacts, and other revenue sources. PTI LKJ PMS

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Unless the final version of Louisianas 2017 Coastal Master Plan takes a more scientific and less politicized approach than its current draft, legislators must reject it.

The states Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority for the past couple of years has formulated the plan, revised every five years, that outlines the states agenda for maintaining a sustainable coast. Meetings to solicit comments ended last week, but the public still can weigh in through March 26 by contacting the agency. The end product then heads to several legislative committees and on to both chambers, who during the 2017 regular session must vote up or down the entire package.

Budgeted at $50 billion over 50 years, the preliminary document bases project selection upon an assessment of future environmental changes. Using forecasts of several inputs, experts prepared a range of likely scenarios and released this analysis in October 2015.

Perhaps the most controversial data used were estimates of sea level rise, based upon several studies made since the 2012 report that had postulated scenarios of 50 and 100 centimeter rises by 2100. Unfortunately, the questionable use and quality of science involved often turns these estimates into exercises hardly more accurate than tossing darts while blindfolded. Among other sources, the 2017 draft utilized information from the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report long on politics and short on science and the 2014 National Climate Assessment replete with overstatements and mischaracterizations. It also cites a 2013 Maryland state report, the conclusions of which are not supported by the data.

Nonetheless, the CPRA drafters of the update came up with a projection of sea level rise (adjusted to Gulf of Mexico waters) essentially identical to the 2012 plan, in a slightly altered range of 31 to 198 cm. Three months later, Gov. John Bel Edwards took office and over the next few months appointed nearly all of the CPRAs members. Subsequently, it issued the full report now under scrutiny  which presented three scenarios of SLR of 100, 150, and 200 cm, making the highest from 2012 the lowest of 2017 and the 2017 highest double that of 2012.

Note that the forecast range of sea level rise, based on admittedly imperfect science, hardly changed from 2012. Only the politics changed, with installation of an administration friendlier to big government  although Edwards personally doesnt entirely embrace the notion of significant anthropogenic climate change. The report appears to ignore refutations of climate change studies by the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change or other groups.

From these estimates, the CPRA identifies coastal projects, the costs and benefits of which depend heavily on the scenario chosen. If the agency acts on the basis of dubious conclusions, for decades to come Louisiana could spend inefficiently on expensive but low-yield items while ignoring undertakings that produce more bang for the buck, and consequently do better to protect and restore the coast.

To that end, the CPRA should adjust the scenarios in its final report to something more realistic, like 50, 100, and 150 cm, and revise its project lists accordingly. If not, then the Legislature should reject and return the plan stating this as the reason for disapproval. In addition, the Legislature and its committees will vet the CPRAs 2018 Annual Plan  also open for public comment through March 26  that details project progress and new projects commenced over the next three years; this also, unless revised, deserves a veto for its agenda based upon the currently flawed draft Master Plan.

Louisiana cant afford mistakes on this issue. Policymakers can reduce this possibility by minimizing the impact that politics plays in making decisions concerning this crucial policy area.
"A failure to act is not an option," the experts say of reforming Louisiana's tax system.

We're not so sure that applies to the Louisiana Legislature.

Failing to act has been a problem for the past several years, as lawmakers wrestled with the gap between state spending and revenues. In desperation, a slew of short-term fixes have been passed since the last year of Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and the first of Gov. John Bel Edwards.

And while taxes have been raised to fill some of the gap, the tax system has arguably become much worse, with a one-cent sales tax increase and other changes that make taxes more complicated for business. And the hot mess only gets hotter in 2018, when many of the short-term tax increases will expire.

Failure to act? The Legislature has that down.

What is clear, given the record, is that changing the tax system will take more courage and cross-party alliances than we've seen so far with a GOP Legislature and a Democratic governor.

The heart of the several tax changes pushed by the blue-ribbon tax panel is a grand bargain, giving conservatives lower tax rates and giving liberals new revenues by broadening the base of taxes.

There are several ways to achieve that. The business-led Committee of 100 for Economic Development worked out options more than a year ago, and the blue-ribbon panel has considerable overlap with those ideas.

But the bottom line for us is that the state must get rid of the emergency penny of sales tax, passed last year and expiring next. To make up that large a change, one in five pennies of the state sales tax, big new revenues must be generated, probably through the income tax.

The reasons for skepticism that the lawmakers will act has to do in part with the mechanics of the process. It's one thing to cut tax rates, an easy vote. But then several hard votes would be needed to raise other revenues to offset the losses.

Each hard vote represents, in the minds of politicians, the opportunity for an unscrupulous attack ad denouncing lawmakers voting for a new system, even if overall the state is far better off with a new system entirely.

Parts of the tax system that might be changed are locked into the state constitution, so the people would have to vote for amendments; legislators are quick to say, covering for their inaction, that the people won't vote for this or that. So why try?

A certain portion of the GOP caucus in the Legislature is going to be reflexively anti-tax on everything  the damaging path that Jindal led them along until the money ran out. Now that the state is in such a fix, the never-taxers are unrepentant, even as their Jindal policies cratered state finances.

Is there a two-thirds vote that can be had in House and Senate come April for a tax package? The old answers to the same questions still apply, in terms of policy, but the obstacle is politics.

Failing to act is not an option, unless obstructionists will it to be the case.
Mike Yenni's got to be wondering when, or whether, it gets better.

It's certainly not getting back to normal, despite the scandal-plagued Jefferson Parish president's best efforts to carry on as if the sexually charged texts he sent to a 17-year-old boy back when he was Kenner mayor had never come to light.

The drive to collect signatures to trigger a recall election remains far short of its daunting goal, which is one-third of all registered voters, or roughly 90,000. Still, organizers reported having collected about half that by the midpoint of the 180-day window, and they continue to knock on doors and keep the temperature up.

Yenni dipped his toe back into one aspect of public life last week when he appeared on a live radio call-in show. But instead of focusing on parish business, host Eric Asher and most of the callers spent their time questioning the married father of two about his behavior.

He also launched a task force to recommend ways the school system can raise its letter grade back to a "B" after having dropped down to a "C." That's not his jurisdiction, although it's not unusual for municipal and parish leaders to try to play a role in these matters. And the move let him link his name to some well-known establishment figures, including state Sen. and former Education Committee chair Conrad Appel and business group leaders Todd Murphy and Tony Ligi, after a period of being shunned by many fellow politicians and community leaders.

Yet it also serves as an uncomfortable reminder that the Jefferson Parish School Board barred him from its campuses after the texts were reported.

+5 Angry radio show callers pepper Mike Yenni with questions about texting scandal During an appearance on a midday radio show Monday, Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni wa

Has anyone gone through a period like this and emerged with a career intact?

Actually, sort of. If there's an identifiable precedent for the purgatory Yenni's experiencing, it's the period after former U.S. Sen. David Vitter's phone number was discovered in the records of a Washington, D.C. prostitution ring.

Among the similarities are the public revulsion over both revelations. There's also the fact that, while Vitter was never charged with a crime and Yenni may well not be either, both found themselves connected to embarrassing investigations. Vitter was on the witness list in the madam's trial but was never called, and Yenni's electronic communication with a teen who was underage according to federal law prompted the FBI to look into the matter.

Yet there are some big differences between their situations.

By the time Vitter's scandal broke a decade ago, he was pretty well entrenched. And if he didn't inspire widespread affection, he was able to tap into some combination of institutional strength, loyalty, fear and self-interest from fellow Republicans who didn't want to give then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco the chance to appoint a Democratic replacement. Soon after the news came out, Vitter managed to engineer a show of public support from the rest of Louisiana's GOP delegation  including even a visibly ambivalent Bobby Jindal, who was in the midst of launching his own gubernatorial race and clearly didn't want the taint.

Yenni, meanwhile, wasn't a year into his first term when his troubles began, and they were met with immediate and near-universal condemnation and calls for his resignation from fellow parish officials, including those he'd considered his allies.

Vitter's job in the Senate also gave him the benefit of physical distance, an ability to better control his public appearances and avoid situations like Yenni's on-air grilling, and a workable strategy for surviving re-election: campaign not on his own character, but as a foil to unpopular President Barack Obama. It was only once Vitter tried to come home by running in the less-partisan 2015 gubernatorial race that it all caught up with him.

Yenni's position as parish president offers no such advantages to help him power through.

Nor can Yenni match either Vitter's acute political instincts, or his thick skin.

When you think about it, few politicians can.

Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@theadvocate.com.
'Rabbit' Stewart: 39'ers had array of weaponry used in multiple murders; see ballistics graphic

'Rabbit' Stewart: 39'ers had array of weaponry used in multiple murders; see ballistics graphic
An effort to curb the freewheeling nighttime culture of Bourbon Street by encouraging early-morning revelers to stay inside bars after 3 a.m. is being pitched as a move to increase public safety.

But the plan announced Monday  a step back from an earlier proposal by Mayor Mitch Landrieus administration that would have ended the city's tradition of all-night bars  targets an hour thats well after crime has peaked and that actually marks the start of a lull in police activity, an analysis of New Orleans Police Department data shows.

New Orleans $40 million security plan: cameras in 20 neighborhoods, tamping down on street parties in the early morning An unprecedented number of electronic eyes will soon be deployed throughout New Orleans, wat

All of the headline-making shootings on Bourbon Street in recent years, which served as a catalyst for the administrations plan, occurred earlier than the 3 a.m. street-sweeping the mayor's proposal envisions.

In fact, there hasnt been a reported shooting between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Bourbon Street in at least six years.

The latest version of the Landrieu administrations $40 million security plan, which includes installing surveillance cameras in 20 neighborhoods and an increased police and code enforcement presence in the French Quarter, does not tamper with the relatively loose rules that allow bars to serve patrons at all hours.

However, it has riled bar owners and French Quarter business groups because, if approved by the City Council, it would require that they keep their doors closed after 3 a.m. and would try to reduce the number of people partying outside  steps officials have said are aimed at both increasing public safety and reducing complaints about quality-of-life issues.

In fact, the proposal misses the hours when such complaints are most prevalent, an analysis by The New Orleans Advocate shows. Crimes throughout the city peak far earlier in the day, and even near bars on Bourbon Street, by 3 a.m. police activity is on a slide toward its lowest point.

That conforms with what business owners in the French Quarter say has been their experience dealing with crime and crowds on the citys busiest strip.

Thats been pretty much our contention: Thats not when most of the crimes happen, said Alex Fein, with the French Quarter Business League. The majority of that stuff isnt happening that late.

Landrieu press secretary Erin Burns said in a statement that requiring bars to close their doors after 3 a.m. "is one piece of our larger, $40 million public safety improvement strategy that is designed to address the issue as a whole" and that was arrived at "after consulting with several security experts and local stakeholders as well as analyzing the practices of other cities."

Burns said most of the other cities studied "completely close (bars) at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., and many of the security experts we consulted suggested that we do the same," but she added that New Orleans "is a 24-hour city, and we do not feel that closing bars completely would be appropriate for the authenticity of our unique culture."

However, she said, having bars "simply close their doors at 3 a.m. could encourage people to move inside. We believe this will contribute to a more controlled physical environment, and when coupled with the other security measures in our plan, it (will) allow us to see progress in reducing crime on our streets."

The Advocate analyzed NOPD records on the more than 404,000 incidents that garnered a police response in 2016, determining when they occurred and how close they were to the roughly 1,500 businesses with a license to sell alcohol.

Those businesses include both bars and establishments like grocery stores and restaurants that likely would be closed by 3 a.m. but that also would be covered by the changes the Landrieu administration is proposing.

The analysis shows that less than 1 percent of all crimes in the city occur within 150 feet of a bar between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. And of those, fewer than a fifth were on Bourbon Street, the area that would likely be most affected by the proposed changes.

On Bourbon Street, the number of crimes in the hour after 3 a.m. is lower than at any time between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. That early-morning hour is actually one of the safest times to be outside of a business with an alcohol license anywhere in the city, the data indicate.

In part, the lack of early-morning crimes isnt a surprise. Relatively few people are out and about at that hour, even in the Quarter and even with no mandatory closing time for bars.

And overall, the French Quarter is relatively safe. The 8th District, which includes the French Quarter and Central Business District, had fewer shootings last year than any other district in the city. While the district does have a relatively high number of calls to police about other crimes, that has to be weighed against the millions of tourists who frequent the area every year, crime analyst Jeff Asher said.

When you factor in the sheer amount of people that come, its not an unsafe area; its a pretty good area in terms of safety, Asher said. It highlights that the State Police and the NOPD in the 8th District are pretty good at policing that area.

The Thanksgiving weekend shooting on Bourbon Street that left one person dead and nine injured  and sparked the administrations new security plan  occurred 90 minutes before bars' doors would be closed under the proposal. A similar shooting in 2014 came 15 minutes before the plan calls for sanitation crews to make their way down Bourbon Street to break up the crowds.

The administrations proposal does make sense from at least one perspective. As might be expected at a time when those who arent carousing are likely to be in bed and criminal complaints are at their lowest, complaints in and around bars  and those on Bourbon Street in particular  make up a greater share of the NOPD's workload during early-morning hours than during the rest of the day.

More than a third of police calls between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. are from within 150 feet of a business with an alcohol license; those same areas make up less than a quarter of all calls over the course of a full day.

One variety of crime does occur in greater numbers in the wee hours: fights, disturbances and simple batteries near bars. At least 187 of those incidents in 2016 occurred near bars after 3 a.m.  about 10 percent of all such cases that police responded to last year. On Bourbon Street, those relatively minor scuffles peaked in the hour after 3 a.m., with a total of 59 cases over the course of the year.

The proposal to close bars' doors seems misguided to some French Quarter groups. Fein, who owns the Court of Two Sisters and whose group represents 50 businesses in the area, said he applauds the administration's focus on trying to prevent crime, but he doesn't believe early-morning hours are the problem.

He noted that while one of his employees was punched in the face recently, that happened at 6 p.m.

Initially, the Landrieu administration approached business owners with a plan that would have marked a dramatic change in New Orleans' permissive drinking culture: a 3 a.m. last call, Fein said. That was rejected immediately by bar owners, as was the softer version that was in the final proposal announced Monday, he said.

It sends a message to everyone else that youre not safe here after 3 in the morning, he said.

While Fein said his group supports security measures, particularly more police, he said changes to how bars operate could be a major shift for the city.

Its what makes us who we are. To be able to come here and have a beer in your hand on the street at 4 in the morning, its what makes us unique in the world, he said. I dont know why youd want to mess with that in any way."

That sentiment was echoed by the French Quarter Business Association, another group that represents about 280 French Quarter businesses.

The French Quarter Business Association is opposed to changes to the nightlife culture of the French Quarter, said Tim Spratt, who heads the group. A 3 a.m. door closing would change the 24-hour nightlife culture that the world expects from New Orleans, especially in the French Quarter and on Bourbon Street. It simply sends the wrong message.
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 29 (PTI) President Donald Trump today hailed elite US forces successful raid against al-Qaeda in Yemen in which at least 14 jihadists were killed, even as he condoled the death of the American soldier who died in the operation.

"In a successful raid against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) headquarters, brave US forces were instrumental in killing an estimated 14 AQAP members and capturing important intelligence that will assist the US in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world," Trump said in a statement.

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Trump said Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in this fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism.

"The sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, and the families they leave behind, are the backbone of the liberty we hold so dear as Americans, united in our pursuit of a safer nation and a freer world," he said.

"My deepest thoughts and humblest prayers are with the family of this fallen service member. I also pray for a quick and complete recovery for the brave service members who sustained injuries," Trump said.

One US service member died of wounds suffered in the raid against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen yesterday.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members," said Commander of US Central Command Gen Joseph Votel.

"The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe," he said.

Three US service members were wounded in the raid.

A US military aircraft assisting in the operation experienced a hard landing at a nearby location, resulting in an additional US injury.

That aircraft was unable to fly after the landing. The aircraft was then intentionally destroyed in place.

The operation resulted in an estimated 14 AQAP members being killed and the capture of information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots, CENTCOM said.

This is one in a series of aggressive moves against terrorist planners in Yemen and worldwide.

Similar operations have produced intelligence on al-Qaeda logistics, recruiting and financing efforts. PTI LKJ ASK ASK

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If dual premiership player Matt Suckling struggles to make the early part of the AFL season it won't be for any lack of work or dedication throughout the arduous and testing summer months.

Speaking from the Sunshine Coast where the club is in the final stages of a pre-season camp, the 28 year old admitted that he was on a specific program to prevent any recurrence of the Achilles injury that cruelly prevented him from being a part of three AFL flags in a row.

Hard at it: Bulldog Matt Suckling. Credit:Daniel Carson/AFL Media

The long and penetrating left footer, who left Hawthorn at the end of 2015 for a new start at the Bulldogs, said he and the club had been understandably cautious during his pre-season preparation.

"The Achilles put me back a little bit. I started running just after Christmas and just working through that at the moment. It's a lot of hard work at the moment but looking good," Suckling said from the Sunshine Coast.
Tens of thousands of young Australians with hairdressing qualifications are so badly trained they are unemployable, the industry says.

The job seekers say they have spent thousands on course fees  a basic qualification costs an average $11,650  but have little hope of finding work in their dream industry.

Sandy Chong (right), chief executive of the Australian Hairdressing Council, at her salon, Suki. Credit:Simone De Peak

Meanwhile, the state government continues to pay the training colleges thousands of dollars per student.

"The system has churned out probably thousands of unemployable but qualified, well, let's call them hairdressers," says Sandy Chong, chief executive of the Australian Hairdressing Council.
Recent remarks by Alan Jones, Ross Cameron and Bronwyn Bishop about Gladys Berejiklian occasioned me to reflect on the apparent oversupply of bongo juice in the community. Then reality took over and I remembered that old perennial explanation: delusions ... of grandeur.

Gough Whitlam's biography A Certain Grandeur was well named. Sure, he made terrible mistakes, trashed the economy and thousands of jobs in the process. At the same time he touched the hearts and minds of a generation. Beginning a campaign speech with the words "Men and women of Australia" was just the start. He articulated a grand vision for us, who we were and wanted to be.

Gladys Berejiklian is the real thing. Credit:Daniel Munoz

No one will give a similar title to a book about Kevin Rudd. Certain his God-given gifts gave him special insight, he was determined to be prime minister. It didn't go well. The Labor Party dumped him. Undeterred by what he saw as their mistake he proceeded, despite protestations to the contrary, to undermine his successor and returned to the prime ministership.

Australia's decision to sack him at the subsequent election didn't bruise his self-belief at all. He set about telling the world that it would be a better place if he were in charge of the United Nations. Labor luminaries said he was delusional. They didn't need to tell us.
Iranian-born NSW Senator, Sam Dastyari, fears he and members of his family may be among those caught up by the Trump administration's freeze on visitors from seven Muslim nations, as confusion reigns around the world in the wake of the US order.

Senator Dastyari, who migrated to Australia at the age of five with his parents and older sister Azadeh, told Fairfax there was shock and sadness throughout the Iranian-Australian community at President Donald Trump's executive order, which slaps a temporary ban on Muslim migration and a 90 day halt on entry for people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

The ban also applies to those with dual citizenship, the Wall Street Journal reports, which includes the great majority of Australia's 65,000 or so Iranian-born citizens.

Senator Dastyari said he had taken steps to divest himself of Iranian citizenship prior to his entering parliament, but the process was complex and expensive ( costing up to $20,000 employing lawyers in both countries) and most Iranians did not have the resources to undertake it.
Australians are probably wondering what it will take? What breach of national values or irresponsible strategic posturing by Washington will be damaging enough to get a rise out of Canberra?

It's a serious question. Axing a long-held joint commitment to free trade after leading a 12-nation process in good faith? Demanding a Chinese retreat, from territory to which the United States makes no claim, on pain of military action? Abandoning a non-discriminatory immigration policy, and thus being seen to inflame religious tensions with direct implications for Australia and the rights of its citizens?

As the Turnbull government feels its way forward with the unpredictable, amateurish presidency of Donald Trump, the answer seems to be none of the above.

Australians are well versed in the claimed worth of the US-Australian relationship: shared values, compatible cultures, an unshakable adherence to the separation of powers and rule of law, and a rock-solid commitment to the international system for peaceful dispute settlement.
As thousands of Americans flooded airports in the wake of President Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban'  which prohibits entry to the US for citizens of seven predominantly-Muslim countries  celebrities have joined in the protests both on the ground and online.

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Filmmaker Michael Moore was in the thick of the demonstration at JFK airport, using his considerable social media presence to broadcast the scene and also encourage others to follow him.

Thousands protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. Credit:Stephanie Keith

And follow they did.
She vowed not to marry Joshua Sasse until same-sex marriage is legal in Australia, and while that looks like it still might be some time off with how things are looking in parliament, surely you'd think Kylie Minogue would lock in her only sister as her bridesmaid?

But Dannii Minogue, 45, told Fairfax Media this week: "She hasn't told me anything about it, I don't know. I don't know what's happening."

As a Let It Shine host, L'Oreal Professionnel ambassador and mother to Ethan, six, this reporter pointed out: "You are a busy lady, doesn't she need to lock you down?"

"You'd think I'd know, I really don't. If I did, I'd say, 'I know but I can't tell because it's in the vault,' but I don't know. There is nothing that I know about it. Nothing.
Gladys Berejiklian and John Barilaro's first cabinet is a strange mix of reward, square-ups and preparation for the 2019 election fight.

With an eye on the rising tide of support for minor parties such as a resurgent One Nation and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, the pair took the extraordinary step of announcing their line-up in regional Queanbeyan.

The spin is that this shows the new administration is serious when it says it will "govern for everyone".

But it was lost on nobody that it was in Barilaro's seat of Monaro, which he holds by a tiny margin of 2.5 per cent and not long after the Nationals' disastrous loss of Orange to the Shooters at last year's byelection.
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 29 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to NATO and recognised that it must be capable of confronting 21st century threats during talks with leaders from EUs traditional power couple France and Germany.

During a call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday, the first between the two leaders after Trump occupied the White House, they held an extensive conversation covering a range of issues, including NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, relations with Russia, and the Ukraine crisis.

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"Both leaders affirmed the importance of close German- American cooperation to our countries security and prosperity and expressed their desire to deepen already close German- American relations in the coming years," the White House said.

They agreed on the NATO Alliances fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of the North Atlantic community, it said.

"In this vein, the leaders recognised that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defence requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all Allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the White House said.

The leaders agreed on the need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilise conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa, it said.

Trump accepted the Chancellors invitation to attend the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July, and said he looked forward to receiving the Chancellor in Washington soon.

In a phone call with his French counterpart Francois Hollande same day, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to NATO.

"President Trump reaffirmed the US commitment to NATO and noted the importance of all NATO Allies sharing the burden on defence spending," the White House said after the phone call.

"The leaders discussed our military and defence cooperation both bilaterally and through NATO," the White House said, adding that during the call, the Trump expressed his desire to strengthen US-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially on counter-terrorism and security.

"The leaders also lauded our combined efforts to eliminate ISIS in Iraq and Syria," the White House said.

"Trump expressed his condolences for the loss of life in terrorist attacks in France over the past two years. The two leaders agreed to continue close coordination between Washington and Paris on issues of mutual concern," it said. PTI LKJ ZH

--- ENDS ---
Steve Dickson announces his defection to One Nation with Pauline Hanson. Credit:Facebook Such is the strength of the resurgent party, which received 20 per cent of the senate vote at some Queensland booths during the federal election, that it could secure balance of power at the coming state election. "It is very humbling. I have never been the leader of a political party before  and I am very excited about it," Dickson told media at a press conference with Hanson. Senator Pauline Hanson has given a wide-ranging interview to the ABC. Credit:Andrew Campbell Hanson said she would "drain the Billabong".

Addressing the issues, he said he wanted to get on with an 80-year-old plan to drought-proof the state known as the Bradfield scheme. Televangelist Pat Robertson was one of the first people to suggest Islam should be treated as a political ideology. Credit:EDDIE ADAMS And he had this to say about Islam: "We welcome anybody from all over the world to come to Australia  If you want to come here and have two or three wives, if you want to treat women like dogs, if you want to mutilate little girls, there are many countries you can do that but none of them are called Australia. "We are not going to take a backwards step, this is a positive campaign with positive policies." Embracing the ani-Muslim agenda: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Credit:Lisa Maree Williams

Dickson has fallen into line with the policies of his new party. In launching both One Nation's Queensland and Western Australian campaigns, Hanson focussed on a plan to ban the wearing of burqas. "We're going to lead the way in Queensland, so no drivers' licenses wearing the burqa or anything like that," she told Sky News, though at present Australian law does not permit women to have drivers' licence photographs taken while wearing the burqa. The party's website details a slew of policies targeted at Islam or Muslims, ranging from the banning of the construction of new mosques to the video surveillance of existing ones to Trump's own suspension of immigration from Muslim countries. But it is the argument made in Hanson's policy statement that Islam is not a religion that Dorling says reveals much about how right-wing ideas are being transferred from the American right to the Australian.

"Islam sees itself as a theocracy, not a democracy. Islam does not believe in democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press or freedom of assembly," reads the policy document in part. "It does not separate religion and politics. Many believe that it is solely a religion, but the reality is that it is much more, for it has a political agenda that goes far outside the realm of religion. Islam regulates the Muslim's social and domestic life, their legal system and politics  their total life. Its religious aspect is fraud; it is rather a totalitarian political system, including legal, economic, social and military components, masquerading as a religion." Dorling notes that though the idea that Islam is not a religion might be a "radically new proposition within Australian public life", it is an idea with a history among right-wing evangelical Christians in the US, where anti-Islamic sentiment rose after the September 11 attacks. "As early as June 2007 the conservative American Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson told his national radio audience that 'we have to recognise that Islam is not a religion. It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination of the world'," Dorling writes in the Australia Institute paper. "In April 2008 he broadcast that 'I want to say it again, and again, and again: Islam is not a religion, it is a political system meant on  bent on world domination, not a religion. It masquerades as a religion, but the religion covers a worldwide attempt to exercise power and to subjugate the world to their way of thinking'."

This line of reasoning can be found discussed Breitbart, the online news outlet that helped foster the alt-right movement, as the new white nationalist movement in America has been called. Breitbart's former chief executive is Steve Bannon, who now serves as the Trump's senior counsellor, having helped help run his election campaign and write his "America First" inauguration speech. Dorling traces the intellectual history of the argument to back further to virulently anti-Islamic scholars and activists. One is Iranian-born Canadian ex-Muslim activist Ali Sina, who argues that Islam is not a religion but rather "an unreformable, violent, militant political cult". Sina has offered $50,000 to anyone who can disprove his charge that the prophet Muhammad was "a narcissist, a misogynist, a rapist, a paedophile, a lecher, a torturer, a mass murderer, a cult leader, an assassin, a terrorist, a madman and a looter". Dorling quotes Sina's website: "I find the word 'Muslim' very derogatory and insulting. It is synonymous to stupid, barbarian, thug, arrogant, brain dead, zombie, hooligan, goon, shameless, savage and many other ignoble things. I don't know whether this most disgusting word elicits the same meanings in you or not. So when I want to show my despise [sic] of someone I call him 'Muslim'. But because Muslims are stupid, they don't know all these things and they are proud of this name. This is a win/win situation because I insult them and they are happy and thank me for it. Isn't that smart?"

Sina's writing has been quoted by Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, who travelled to Australia last year to help launch the Australian anti-Islam party Australian Liberty Alliance. Dorling traces similar ideas to Rebecca Bynum, publisher and managing editor of the British far-right New English Review and an otherwise obscure American former professor of engineering, Bill French, who writes under the name Bill Warner. Warner has published "statistical analyses" of the Koran and other Islamic texts to argue that Islam is "political, not religious. Islam is a political ideology." The contention that one of the world's three great Abrahamic religions is not in fact a religion serves a specific purpose in the American context. It allows religious critics of Islam, such as the evangelical right, to argue that it should be stripped of constitutional protection extended to religious thought and expression in the US bill of rights. Similarly in Australia, he writes: "One Nation seeks to deny Islam's status as a religion and thus deny Australian Muslims constitutional protection for their human rights of freedom of religion and belief."

The paper notes that when asked how the party established its position that Australia was at risk of being "swamped by Muslims", One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts told Channel 10's The Project: "We've got an adviser who goes into all of that called Frank Salter." Salter is an Australian academic who undertook post-doctoral research at the former Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Germany. He contends that discrimination against ethnic minorities is an "inborn response" all humans have, Dorling writes. "In his view monocultural societies are inherently 'fitter' than multicultural ones, and that ethnic diversity leads to corruption, weak public services and a decline in government institutions. South Africa's former apartheid regime is described as an example of 'aggressive social control' used to preserve the 'fitness' of society." Both Salter and Hanson declined to be interviewed for this story. Speaking with Fairfax Media, Dorling said the political purpose of One Nation's adoption of its stance on Islam was simple. Hanson, he said, launched her career by attacking Asians and Indigenous Australians. She is renewing her support by harnessing an international fear of terrorism linked to Islamic extremists.
Police hope a violent spat between two bikie gangs - which started when a former club president was bashed in Darwin - has ended as they launch a fresh bid to solve fire bombings on two tattoo parlours.

The parlours in Seville and Lilydale, in Melbourne's outer east, were gutted by fire in May 2015 in arson attacks Echo taskforce detectives believe was retaliation for the bashing of national Comanchero president Mick Murray.

The gutted remains of the Seville tattoo parlour. Credit:Victoria Police

Murray, who was facing attempt to pervert justice charges at the time, had his bail varied to allow him to holiday in Darwin in April 2015. He was spotted by members of rival club the Rebels in a local nightspot and set upon.

It sparked an almost two-year feud involving assaults, shootings and fire bombings, including the arson attacks at the parlours owned by Rebels members on May 13.
The brother of the accused Bourke Street killer Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas has spoken out for the first time from his hospital bed, telling Melbourne to "stay strong".

Angelo Gargasoulas is recovering in The Alfred hospital after his brother allegedly stabbed him on the morning of January 20.

Angelo Gargasoulas has been discharged from hospital. Credit:Facebook

Hours later, Dimitrious Gargasoulas is alleged to have driven a maroon Holden through lunchtime crowds in Melbourne's busy Bourke Street, killing five including a three-month-old baby boy and a 10-year-old girl.

On Sunday, Angelo took to social media to send a message of support to "all the families involved in the tragedy".
The last time former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev made American news, he sounded upbeat.

Of the incoming US president Donald Trump, he told the Associated Press in December: "He has little political experience, but, maybe it's good."

Of his successor, the autocratic Vladimir Putin, Gorbachev said: "He is a strong person.

"Together, they could lead the world [to peace]," he told the reporter, and sang a song after the interview.
Sanaa: Helicopter-borne commandos have launched a raid in southern Yemen, killing around 30 people including al-Qaeda suspects and civilians.

Residents and officials as well as al-Qaeda itself said the attack at dawn on Sunday was carried out by the United States, which did not immediately acknowledge the operation.

A boy with fake blood on his face and clothes to represent a victim participates in a protest against Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, in November 2016. Credit:AP

The gunbattle in the rural Yakla district of al-Bayda province killed a senior leader in Yemen's al-Qaeda branch, Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, along with other militants, the local witnesses said.

Medics at the scene said 30 people were killed, including 10 women and three children.
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 29 (PTI) US President Donald Trump will speak with the Saudi King and Crown Prince of United Arab Emirates today over phone, amid an uproar over his controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Trump will also talk to the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, the White House said yesterday.

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"In the afternoon, the President will speak with the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud. The President will then speak with the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed," the White House said.

"The President will end his day with a call with the Acting President of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn," the White House said.

The new Republican president, who took office on January 20, last night spoke with the leaders of Japan, Germany, Russia, France and Australia.

Earlier in the week, he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump had his first foreign visitor on Friday when he met the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Oval Office.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE are among the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by Trumps sweeping executive order barring visas for 90 days to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The executive order signed by Trump bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days. There is exception for Christian refugees. PTI LKJ AMS PMS AMS

--- ENDS ---
It pays to look overseas for investment opportunities in some sectors more than others. Healthcare is an example. A lack of large healthcare stocks on ASX limits choice and arguably inflates their valuations compared with overseas peers.

At $128 a share, Cochlear trades on a forecast Price Earnings (PE) multiple of 29 times FY18 earnings, using consensus analyst forecasts. Global medical-devices giant Medtronic Plc is on a forward PE of about 15 times FY18 forecast earnings, at US$74.44 a share.

Cochlear, a great company, is a fraction of Medtronics size and does not have its product or geographic diversity. Yes, Cochlear deserves to trade at a significant premium to the Australian average, but should its valuation multiple be almost double that of Medtronics?

The same is true of Ramsay Health Care, another fantastic Australian healthcare company. Ramsay trades on a forecast FY18 PE multiple of 22 times, using consensus estimates. HCA Holdings Inc, the largest private-hospital owner in the US, trades on a forward PE of 11.2.

Cochlear and Ramsay are not alone. Several well-performed Australian healthcare stocks trade on valuation multiples that are considerably higher than those of their offshore peers. Put another way, Australian investors are paying more for local healthcare stocks, which, in many cases, have greater risk because of their narrower product and geographic focus.

Do not take that as a criticism of Australian healthcare stocks. Ramsay and others have rewarded their shareholders handsomely over many years. But successful investors obsess about value and in healthcare it is often more compelling overseas.

Nevertheless, finding value in the global healthcare sector has been hard work in the past few years. Investors know that an ageing population, technology advances and the emergence of the Asian middle-class are great tailwinds for healthcare and have priced stocks accordingly.

The ASX-quoted iShares Global Healthcare Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has starred with an annual return of 21.4 per cent over five years to December 2016. Having identified this ETF for The Bull in late 2013, I am pleased with the results.

Chart 1: iShares Global Healthcare ETF over five years Source: The Bull

But after soaring for several years, the iShares healthcare fund is in retreat. The ETF lost 5.7 per cent in calendar year 2016 and is down almost 4 per cent this month. Donald Trumps surprise United States election win has put shivers through global healthcare stocks.

Chart 2: iShares Global Healthcare ETF over two years Source: The Bull

Trumps key healthcare policy goal is to repeal and replace the US Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act allows millions of newly health-insured Americans to visit hospitals; without it, hospital occupancy rates and earnings could fall. Device manufacturers that sell to hospitals would also suffer.

At the same time, Trump has pharmaceutical companies in his sights. Repeated warnings that he will bring down drug prices weighed on the share prices of large pharmaecuticals. CSL could be among the few winners if a Trump government created free-market drug pricing  a big ask given the US pharmaceutical industrys lobbying power.

Trump is making good on his election healthcare promises. One of his first Presidential executive orders this week was to urge government departments to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

Investors need to ask if the market has over-reacted to Trumps healthcare plans, given the extent of share-price falls this year and last. Make no mistake: Trump adds uncertainty to the sector and price falls were warranted. But the selling looks a little overdone.

I favour the iShares Global Healthcare ETF for a few reasons. First, it is based on an index of 1,200 healthcare stocks worldwide. This diversification helps reduce risk if Trump takes a bigger axe than expected to aspects of the US healthcare system.

Second, about 70 per cent of the index on which the ETF is based, by market capitalisation, is in pharmaceutical, biotech and life-science stocks. The rest is in healthcare services and equipment. Also, about a third of the index is invested in non-US companies.

Third, the ETF is unhedged for currency movements. A lower Australian dollar relative to the US dollar this year, which I expect, would lift returns in the ASX-quoted ETF. Do not count on big falls, but the Australian dollars outlook strengthens the case to invest offshore.

Finally, the ETF is down almost 10 per cent from July 2016. It will fall further if Trumps rhetoric continues to spook US healthcare stocks and if policies, which will take some time to enact, lead to significant declines in hospital usage in the US and in earnings.

There is a view in the US that Trumps healthcare plan will eventually be watered down and that it might not affect earnings of hospital and pharmaceutical companies as much as feared. If so, recent price weakness is a buying opportunity.

Nevertheless, investors might stand aside until the volatility subsides and put the iShares Global Healthcare ETF on their portfolio watchlist, in anticipation of better value.

Chartist and active investors will look for the ETF to hold price support at $120. If it breaches that level, further falls are likely, based on technical analysis.

For all the short-term risks, healthcare is a great long-term sector for portfolio investors and the ETFs average PE multiple of 21 is less than that for many large Australian healthcare stocks. The trick is to be alert for when irrational market sentiment drives prices too low in the global healthcare sector.

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Tony Featherstone is a former managing editor of BRW and Shares magazines. The information in this article should not be considered personal advice. The article has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the information in this article you should consider its appropriateness, regarding your objectives, financial situation and needs. Do further research of your own or seek personal financial advice from a licensed adviser before making any financial or investment decisions based on this article. All prices and analysis at January 25, 2017.
In theory investor demand for any given stock should be driven largely by consumer demand for whatever product or service the company provides and the resulting earnings. In practice what drives the price is not consumer demand for the product but rather investor demand for the stock itself based on market sentiment about the present or future status of the stocks earnings.

This explains the phenomenon some newcomers to share market investing find puzzling. How is it that the stock of a newly listed company without any revenue or profit can catch fire? The answer is perception of future value trumps reality of present value, or lack of it.

Company news announced to the world more often than not acts as a catalyst, propelling stock price in either direction, depending on market perception of the news. News that upon further due diligence appears to have little if anything of substance to alter company earnings over the long haul can present a buying opportunity. In addition it can provide a shorting opportunity for investors bold and bright enough to employ that strategy. Shorting is essentially a bet the price of a stock will decline.

In the last month several healthcare stocks have been in the news with price movements accompanying the announcements. One example is especially worthy of note.

On 22 December of last year a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report raised the spectre of conflicts of interest issues regarding the nominee for the cabinet post of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), orthopedic surgeon and member of the US House of Representatives Tom Price.

It seems Representative Price, or his agents, have been trading in healthcare stocks that could be affected by healthcare legislation in which he was involved in the US Congress. Among his holdings is ASX listed Innate Immunotherapeutics (IIL). Apparently Mr. Price bought between $US60,000 and $US110, 000 in shares of Innate spanning four trades in 2015 and 2016. According to the WSJ the share price of IIL has more than doubled since his last purchase in August of 2016. Here is the price movement chart.



The share price got another boost following a 13 January article in the New York Times. The times pointed to the fact Innate has yet to have any approved drugs and appears to have no interest from any high profile venture capital firm. The article highlighted the companys multiple flirtations with diminishing capital and the prospect of closing its doors. Another influential member of the US House of Representatives is Innates largest shareholder and sits on the companys board, according to the NYT.

On 16 January The Australian jumped into the conversation with its own article centering on the reaction of Innates CEO and Chairman of the Board, both of whom stated they had never heard of many of the prominent US investors who have bought stock in the company. The article goes on to note Innate has one drug under development, a treatment for patients with an advanced form of multiple sclerosis. The drug is undergoing clinical trials in both Australia and New Zealand with results expected to be released in the middle of this year. According to The Australian Innate offered shares to sophisticated US investors at a discount and the price of the stock has quintupled since the offering. The stock trades in the US OTC market with a symbol of INNMF.

Innate apparently is hoping to attract a big pharma suitor and the market sentiment certainly seems to indicate the companys well connected shareholders can help.

The positive sentiment driving the price seems to be based on the belief that the impressive list of US shareholders means there is something to the company, which as yet has nothing more than promise, although earlier Phase 1 and preliminary Phase 2 trials were successful enough to take the next step. Given the paucity of the companys pipeline, the risk of poor results from the upcoming trials would seem to make IIL a highly speculative investment, despite its influential backers.

There are other healthcare stocks making news of late that are worth mentioning, although none of them can match the price movement of IIL. The following table lists the stocks of interest.



Two of the stocks in the table  Primary Healthcare Limited (PRY) and Sirtex Medical Limited (SRX)  both lost the company CEO under the cloud of investigation. However, there are significant differences between the two investigations.

The CEO of Primary was under investigation for actions taken while working for Leighton Holdings, now CIMIC Group Limited (CIM). The Sirtex CEO was dismissed for trading activities from October of 2016 that purportedly drove down the company share price. The CEO dumped $2 million in shares not quite one and a half months before Sirtex issued a profit downgrade that saw the share price drop from $28 to $14. Here is a two year price movement chart.



Note that Sirtex shareholders have been through dramatic drops before, with the stock shedding around $1 billion in market value back in March of 2015. Sirtex markets a successful treatment for liver cancer, but it is considered a salvage treatment as it is used as a last resort in the event traditional chemotherapy does not work. The company had a study underway with the hope of showing its treatment could be used effectively in earlier stages. The results disappointed investors eager to see an expansion of the companys target market. Sirtex is still at it, with two additional studies underway, FoxFire Global and SARAH that could get the stock price moving forward again.

Navigating news like the removal of a CEO requires understanding the potential impact on the companys earnings. In the case of Sirtex, it appears non-existent at best and minimal at worst.

Regulatory concerns saw Primary Healthcare assume a place on the ASX Top Ten Short list for much of 2015 but the stock price has recovered admirably over the last year. Here is a five year price movement chart for PRY.



The share price began its recovery in February of 2016 following the release of Half Year Results that were moderately positive despite changes in government funding schemes for the companys medical, pathology, and diagnostic imaging centres.

Revenues were up a modest 4.6% and in Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) rose 28.5% increase due to the sale of assets. Net profit excluding one-offs fell 9%. Full Year Results reported in August were similar, with rising revenues and a small drop in profit. However, the company has reduced its debt and was the subject of takeover rumours during 2016, which seemed to have contributed to the share price increase.

The resignation of the PRY CEO for actions taken while not with the company should not affect the fundamentals of the business although market sentiment did push down the stock price about 3%, from $3.97 to $3.80.

On 11 January the new US President, Donald Trump, held a press conference during which he added the US pharmaceutical industry to the sectors drawing his ire when he claimed the big pharmas were getting away with murder and went on to promise billions of dollars in savings due to new procedures for negotiating drug prices.

Trump made soaring prices of prescription drugs in the US an issue during the campaign so the statement did not come as a surprise. The immediate impact in the US was a 2% decline in the sector and the following day some ASX stocks followed suit, among them Mayne Pharma Group (MYX).

Mayne has traded on the ASX since 2007 and shareholders have been rewarded with an average annual rate of total shareholder return of 39.3% over five years and 21.7% over three years. The company has manufacturing facilities in Australia and in the US, making both branded prescription and over the counter drugs as well as a growing number of generics following its acquisition of generic drug portfolios in the US from Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan. The deal vaulted Mayne into the top 25 of US generic drug manufacturers and directly into the crosshairs of the US Department of Justice.

President Trump is not the only powerful figure in the US casting a wary eye on drug prices, even the lower priced generics. The antitrust division of the US DOJ has been investigating allegations of price-fixing in the generic drug sector and Mayne Pharma was one of many companies receiving a subpoena in November of 2016. By mid-December Bloomberg was reporting two executives from small generic manufacturers had pleaded guilty, fueling the fires of the investigation. On 16 December, 20 states in the US filed a lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to fix prices on two drugs against six generic manufacturers, among them Mayne Pharmaceutical.

The share price dropped about 16% in response. The following price movement chart tracks the rise in price following the expansion of the companys US generic market followed by the decline as more bad news surfaced regarding the DOJ investigation and the lawsuit.



The entire US Healthcare Sector is under the microscope. The Pharmaceutical industry has a powerful lobbying presence with the US Congress so Trumps threats may be difficult to translate into action. Generic drugs are far less costly in the US than their prescription counterparts and the growing fury over drug prices may lead to streamlining the generic approval process, which would be good for Mayne. But the massive uncertainty in the US Healthcare Sector suggests adopting a wait and see attitude towards MYX for risk-averse investors. However, the company has stated that its balance sheet is strong enough to withstand any financial penalties that might be assessed, making the current price attractive for risk tolerant investors focusing on the companys substantial long term growth potential.

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 28/01/2017 (2107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From time to time, every municipality finds itself in a slippery situation, but the RM of La Broquerie might be the only one to seek out such circumstances in an effort to combat slick roadways and sidewalks during unpredictable prairie winters.

The municipalitys public works department is currently spreading an innovative sugar beet-based brine called Fusion 60/40 onto its streets and sidewalks. The new liquid solution is comprised of 60 percent beet juice concentrate, 30 percent water, and 10 percent sodium chloride, and replaces traditional salt brines and sand mixtures used throughout Canada for decades.

What we do is we introduce the brine into the beet juice concentrate and it lowers the freeze point to -30 [Celsius], said Jeff Gulyas, sales and marketing manager for provincial supplier Collet Transport Inc. located in Notre Dame de Lourdes. Ordinary salt brines are effective until -15 C, Gulyas said, while the beet brine, once dry, lays dormant before being activated by precipitation.

JORDAN ROSS | THE CARILLON Ron Kowalchuk, public works supervisor for the RM of La Broquerie, oversees the application of Fusion 60/40 beet brine to a sidewalk along Principale Street in La Broquerie.

It will not refreeze on you, Gulyas said.

Public works supervisor Ron Kowalchuk said the solution is performing admirably in a winter that has brought huge snowfalls, extreme cold spells, and unseasonably mild weather.

I think its doing excellent. Its working very well for us I think, Kowalchuk said.

Three forms of the beet-based product are used by the municipality: the Fusion liquid solution for paved roads and sidewalks, an infused traction sand for intersections, and a granular form for stairs and ramps.

Beginning in December, the public works employees began applying the sand to sidewalks several times per week, and also sprinkle the granules onto municipal steps. Unger Excavating Inc., a local supplier that secured a contract to apply the liquid on municipal streets, and has completed at least 10 applications, Kowalchuk estimated.

The product has both immediate and long-term benefits. The tacky compound not only improves traction as it dries, but also makes snow and ice easier to remove when it is applied to bare surfaces before a snowfall.

They call it an anti-icer not a de-icer, Kowalchuk clarified.

While the product is more expensive, its reduced salt content harbours numerous advantages.

The beauty of this stuff is [that] its eco-friendlyIt doesnt hurt vegetation, its good on concrete and asphalt, said Kowalchuk. The cost is a little bit more but I think in the end, with the [reduced] cost of the cleanup of the sand, it will make up the difference, and I think it works better.

Gulyas estimated the beet brine decreases the volume of abrasives applied to streets and sidewalks by 30 percent. This will be welcome news for allergy and asthma sufferers, he said, who are affected by the dust left over after snowbanks melt. It does not stain vehicles either, Gulyas said.

He explained how sugar beets are transformed into raffinate, a substance created by processing sugar beets.

When the sugar beets go to a sugar plantthe sugar is extracted from the beet. They peel the beet, it goes into a pulp, and then its boiled and extracted. The remaining product is used for many things, including animal feed, said Gulyas.

The leftover raffinate is imported by Collet from sugar beet factories in North Dakota and Minnesota. Collet then partners with local suppliers like Unger Excavating, who apply the brine locally.

So far, Jeff Friesen, operations manager with Unger Excavating, said he is pleased with the very user-friendly beet cocktail.

Its an effective product. Its environmentally friendly and non-corrosive, he said. In addition to his contract with the RM of La Broquerie, Friesen says he supplies private customers who spread the product on their sidewalks and parking lots, or apply it using handheld sprayers.

Gulyas said Collet has been distributing beet-based roadway products in Manitoba for approximately five years. Winnipegs Assiniboine Park is a customer, he says, as are Portage la Prairie and Lac du Bonnet.

Thats all they use for their roads now, said Gulyas of the latter, adding that his company has seen interest from Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation and the City of Winnipeg. Reeves and mayors were keen to explore the product at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities annual convention two months ago, Gulyas said.

Nationally, the products appeal has gradually spread eastward, he explained. Use in Ontario and Quebec communities has sparked a growing interest in Alberta and British Columbia.

Were finding more and more communities are looking [into it], he remarked. It sticks to the ice and roads where it needs to be, as opposed to drier sand-salt mixes that blow off the road, says Gulyas.

Randy Reimer, head of the City of Steinbachs public works department, told The Carillon that the product remains expensive to purchase for use on a larger scale. The city continues to opt for a salt and sand mixture instead.

While some industrial products have a strong or unpleasant odour, the dark brown liquids earthy smell is likened to cola, coffee grounds, or molasses.

Kowalchuk said he has yet to hear feedback from residents on the beet solution, but based on its performance this winter, the new product appears to be producing sweeter, stickier, and less stressful winter driving conditions in the municipality.

But will the sight of beet juice on streets and sidewalks prompt picky eaters to re-evaluate the polarizing root vegetable when it lands on their dinner plate?

Im not sure on that one, replied Friesen with a laugh.
Blackwood repeats

Kirk Blackwood of ND Life Spa in Bismarck has received a fourth consecutive Innovative Doctor of the Year award, given at an annual natural health summit in Las Vegas.

Black appointed

Robert Black was appointed by former Gov. Jack Dalrymple to serve as an executive committee member on North Dakota Cares.

North Dakota Cares is a coalition charged with improving collaboration and coordination on behavioral health services for service members, veterans and their families and survivors.

Black is employed by CHI St. Alexius Health as the CEO/administrator of Linton Hospital and Clinics. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in 2000 and is a volunteer U.S. Army Reserve Ambassador for North Dakota.

Two lead in sales

Judy Maslowski and Shirley Thomas are Bianco Realtys Realtors of the month for December, for having the most closed sales.

Malmedal certified

Nikki Malmedal is now a board-certified registered nurse first assistant by the Competency and Credentialing Institute.

Malmedal works in the surgery department at Sanford Health in Bismarck. She has been with Sanford for eight years

Two join staff

MaryBeth Stacey and Kyra Erhardt have joined Choice Financial as frontline customer service representatives in Bismarck.

Stacey has lived in North Dakota for a majority of her life.

Hansen in tax office

Diane Hansen, Bismarck, has joined the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner as an auditor in the individual income tax and withholding section.

Originally from Waterloo, Iowa, Hansen obtained a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, and was previously a certified public accountant in Texas. She has experience as a financial consultant and in customer service.

Keller with Sanford

Mark Keller has joined Sanford Health in Bismarck as the radiology director.

Keller previously worked in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as an imaging director in radiology and cardiology.

Herman with firm

Missy Herman has been hired as a bookkeeper at Ritter Adair & Associates P.C., Bismarck.

She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Mary and has more than seven years experience in customer service, administrative services, payroll and bookkeeping.
By Press Trust of India: circular

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, has attacked the Maharastra government for not mentioning the name of the Father of the Nation in its circular regarding a two-minutes silence to be observed on his death anniversary tomorrow.

Tushar, in a couple of tweets, expressed his annoyance over the matter, asking that "why the ideology that murdered Bapu will commemorate it?"

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"Maha Govt circular regarding 2 min silence tomorrow does not mention Gandhi Punyatithee. Ito pay homage to martyrs of freedom movement," he tweeted.

He embedded his previous tweet while saying why would the ideology that murdered Bapu commemorate the occasion, without naming any party.

"Oh but why would the ideology that murdered Bapu commemorate his murder?," he tweeted.

Tushar is the son of Arun Manilal Gandhi, the grandson of Manilal Gandhi and the great grandson of the Mahatma. He had led the 75th anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March in March 2005. PTI VIT SPG SC

--- ENDS ---
Shortly before a federal judge stayed the deportations of hundreds of immigrants on Saturday evening, Donald Trumps most loyal cable news defender was on CNN sharing some alternative facts about the discriminatory policy.

Jeffrey Lord began by contrasting President George W. Bushs negligence before the September 11th attacks with the profile in courage that President Trump is supposedly presenting in his decision to ban refugees and immigrants trying to enter the United States from a handful of Muslim-majority countries .

But then, he went further. If George W. Bush had instituted the measures that Donald Trump is instituting now, 9/11, A, would never have happened, according to the critic, Lord said. And, B, you would have had all these complaints from people exactly as you're complaining now, that they're being kept out of the United States and this is terrible. He continued to say, I cant tell you how much I respect Donald Trump for doing this.

CNN host Poppy Harlow was quick to point out a fatal flaw with Lords assertion. If that is the argument you're making, then why does this ban not include any of the four countries where the 9/11 hijackers came from? she asked. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon and Egypt.

In addition to Syria, the list of countries on Trumps executive order are Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Other countries, where Trump has business ties , including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, were conveniently left out.

The other key part of all of this is, why is it that you cannot point to, nor can the Trump administration point to, a single terror attack carried out by a Syrian refugee in the United States? Harlow asked Lord.

When Lord replied by saying the world is a very small place and cited terror attacks in France as evidence, Harlow noted that those attackers did not go through the same two-year vetting process that is in place for refugees coming into the U.S. You cannot compare the two, she said.

No matter how hard Trump and his loyal lapdogs try, they cannot justify action that so blatantly flies in the face of American values.
To longtime Jeff Sessions observers, the chaos that unfolded in American airports on Saturday morning wasnt a surprise. At all.

Rather, the refugee ban was the predictable culmination of years of advocacy from two of President Donald Trumps most trusted advisors: White House Senior Advisor Stephen Miller and attorney general designate Jeff Sessions. For years, Sessions and Millerwho was the Alabama senators communications director before leaving to join the Trump campaignpushed research and talking points designed to make Americans afraid of refugees.

Press releases, email forwards, speeches on the Senate floorMiller and Sessions used it all to make the case against Obamas refugee program was a huge terror threat. The executive order Trump signed late in the day on Friday is just the logical conclusion of their work.

I started getting press releases that Miller sent on behalf of Jeff Sessions in March of 2013, shortly after I moved to D.C. to cover Congress. The emails went to my Gmail, and kept coming over the yearshundreds and hundreds of them. By the time he left Sessions office to join the Trump campaign, Millers press releases were legendary among Hill reporters: There were just so many of them, at all hours of the day, and they never stopped. Some were lengthy diatribes; some were detailed, homemade charts; some were one-liners; one was just a link to Facebooks stock page on Google Finance with the subject line, Does this mean Facebook has enough money now to hire Americans?

I wanted to put together a little book of the best emails I ever sent, Miller told Politico last June. I spent hours and hours of research on those.

Some of that research had serious methodological problems, according to Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Millers work vastly overstates the threat of foreign terrorists to the homeland, Nowrasteh said.

He pointed to Millers efforts to chronicle cases of refugees implicated in terrorist activity. Its true that some refugees in the U.S. have been indicted for terrorism-related crimes, Nowrasteh said. But instances of refugees actively planning terror attacks on American soil, he added, were vanishingly rare.

Almost all the refugees that I was able to specifically identify in his set were trying to support a foreign terrorist organization, mostly Al Shabab in Somalia, by giving them money or something like that, Nowrasteh said. I dont know about you, but I think theres a big difference between sending a militia in your home country funds and trying to blow up a mall in Cincinnati.

The collective effect of Miller and Sessions messaging was to enthusiastically push a narrative that now dominates the Trump administration: that refugees and other immigrants steal Americans jobs, suck up too much welfare money, incubate terrorists in their communities, and, overall, are a big problem.

The conclusion was always the same: The government should let in far fewer refugees, and it should think twice about welcoming Muslims.

And now, thats exactly what Trump is doing.

For instance, in one Dear Colleague letter that Sessions co-authored with conservative Republican Rep. David Brata letter Miller blasted out to his press listthe would-be attorney general ripped into the refugee program.

There can be no higher duty as lawmakers than to keep our constituents and their families safe, Brat and Sessions wrote. Yet our reckless refugee programs, lax green card and visa policies, utter failure to enforce rampant visa overstays, along with our wide open southern border, put the U.S. at grave and needless risk.

Grave and needless riskits a view that clearly informs Trumps decision to temporarily ban refugees.

And a Miller press release blasted out on Nov. 25, 2015, included this ominous title: U.S. Issued 680,000 Green Cards to Migrants from Muslim Nations Over the Last 5 Years.

Sessions then forwarded that email to his email list on Jan. 12, 2016, the day of Obamas final State of the Union address, and added this note: Some numerical context for any discussions of refugee policy that may arise tonight. As further context, the top-sending country for migrants are Iraq and Pakistan, according to Pew, Nearly all Muslims in Afghanistan (99%) and most in Iraq (91%) and Pakistan (84%) support sharia law as official law.

The implication was clear as a bell: Muslim immigrants are flooding into the U.S., and theyre bringing Shariah with them. Someone who agreed with Millers assessment would do what Trump just did.

Just about any time a refugee living in the U.S. was charged, implicated, or otherwise connected to terrorism, Miller emailed his list about it.

Another Sessions press release, sent jointly with Sen. Richard Shelby, also included ominous intonations about refugees and Muslims.

Congress must cancel the Presidents blank refugee check and put Congress back in charge of the program, Sessions and Shelby said. We cannot allow the President to unilaterally decide how many refugees he wishes to admit, nor continue to force taxpayers to pick up the tab for the tens of billions of unpaid-for welfare and entitlement costs.

The omnibus would put the U.S. on a path to approve admission for hundreds of thousands of migrants from a broad range of countries with jihadists movements over the next 12 months, on top of all the other autopilot annual immigrationabsent language to reduce the numbers, the release continued.

That same statement also suggested that refugees were robbing elderly Americans of their benefits.

Refugees are entitled to access all major welfare programs, and they can also draw benefits directly from the Medicare and Social Security disability and retirement trust fundstaking those funds straight from the pockets of American retirees who paid into these troubled funds all of their lives, Sessions and Shelby said.

Now that Trump is president, those numbers are getting reducedand fast.

Another foreboding subject line from Miller showed up in reporters inboxes on Nov. 20, 2015: ICYMI: Each 5 years, U.S issuing more new green cards to migrants from Muslim nations the population of Washington, D.C.

Sessions also took to the Senate floor to argue that Muslim immigrants are uniquely dangerous. On Nov. 19, 2015, the Alabaman said the following about Muslims:

It is an unpleasant but unavoidable fact that bringing in a large unassimilated flow of migrants from the Muslim world creates the conditions possible for radicalization and extremism to take hold.

In the speech, Sessions argued that the U.S. should set up safe zones in Syria where refugees could settleinstead of allowing any of them into the United States. Miller emailed reporters as Sessions spoke to highlight his argument. Now its Trumps position.

At Breitbart, Julia Hahn covered Sessions speech in an article headlined AFGHANISTAN MIGRATION SURGING INTO AMERICA; 99% SUPPORT SHARIA LAW. News broke earlier this week that Hahn got a job in the White House as an assistant to Trump and senior advisor Stephen Bannon.

And on and on and on, for hundreds of emails, without even a whisper of flip-flopping.

Trumps crack-down on Muslims and refugees shouldnt surprise anyone. Hes just taking his advisors advice.
At 4:42 p.m. on Friday, President Donald Trump signed an insanely sweeping executive order citing 9/11 to justify a ban on all travel to the United States from citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries. Those didnt include any of the countries the hijackers came from, or any of the countries where his own businesses have been the most active. It did include American green-card holders, and dual citizens of allies like Britain.

As planes landed Saturday morning, people already vetted by the United Stateswith families and lives herefound themselves caught in a nightmare, a world that had changed while they were in the air.

A Clemson professor visiting her family in Tehran posted that she was trapped there, scrambling to find someone here to watch her dog. A Syrian family of six with visas was placed on a plane back to Doha. A translator whod worked with our military in Iraq was put in cuffs, before two New York Congressmen intervened on his behalf. Others were questioned about their opinion of President Trump and pressed to show their social media accounts to federal officials.

Incredibly, the government wont (or perhaps cant) say how many people have been detained, though an unnamed senior official at the Department of Homeland Security official told the Washington Post Saturday that 109 people had been denied entry upon arrival and 173 had not been allowed to board flights at foreign airports. Thats the same DHS that didnt see the order until hours before Trump signed it, according to CNN , and was unable to offer a legal analysis until after it was in effect.

Saturday evening, Federal District Court Judge Ann Donnelly asked the government to explain itself. It could not. In a remarkable display, U.S. attorneysrarely at a loss for an argumentwere as flummoxed as many of the rest of us.

They briefly tried to argue that since the two named parties in the ACLUs request for a temporary stay on parts of Trumps order had already been released, the group lacked standing.

What about the others in the class, asked Donnelly, about the possibility they would suffer irreparable damage if they were sent home. If they had come here two days ago, we wouldnt be here, right?

This has unfolded with such speed, Eastern District U.S. Attorney Susan Riley replied, on Trumps behalf, that we havent had an opportunity to address the issues, the important legal issues.

Or, as some of the hundreds of Brooklynites protesting outside of the courthouse might have put it less formally, beats the shit out of me.

These people were caught in transit, American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Lee Gelernt argued, adding that hed been informed during the hearing, slightly after 8:00 p.m., that we just got word that the government is threatening to put someone on a plane at 9:20. He added a few minutes later, hed just then been told that person is a Syrian, who would be sent back to that war-ravaged nation.

Donnelly pressed the government on how it could claim those already vetted and now suddenly rejected by the United States wouldnt suffer irreparable harm if they were sent back to some of the most dangerous places on earth.

Thats not a trick question, but one part of the four-part balancing act a judge must use to decide on a request to halt such an order. Again, the governments lawyers didnt even attempt a real answer, just went on for a bit about how many different people with different circumstances would be affected in many different ways by the order.

Asked how many people had been detained, Riley said: The government does not have sufficient information to answer.

Donnelly had heard enough.

Thats exactly why Im going to grant the ACLUs request, she ruled at about 9 p.m.with perhaps 20 minutes to spare for the unknown Syrian.

The judge then noted drily that I dont think the government has really had a chance to think about this, and asked if they could return to court next Friday morning to discuss the issues now that shed granted the emergency motion, Is that too soon?

Yes it is, your honor.

The parties will meet again in mid-February, with the order ensuring that those now detained will not be deported until the government attorneys have had their chance to think about this, and the court then rules on their arguments.

Meantime, the ACLUs Gelernt noted, that it sounds like the government is going to keep all these people in detention, adding that theyre not letting us see all the people in the airport. He asked for a list of them.

We dont know. People are coming in all the time, said Riley.

Donnelly ordered a list be provided, adding if there is somebodylike the Syrianwho is in danger of being removed, I direct you to communicate that we have a stay.

The whole point of this hearing is to preserve the status quo, she said. I don't think it's unduly burdensome to identify people we are talking about here.

And with that, the status quo was preserved for at least a few more days  at least if the Trump administration respects the court's order. In an emergency motion for clarification and enforcement filed early Monday morning, the ACLU warned of "repeated reports of individual members subject to the Order who have been placed on planes, possibly deported, and subject to intimidation to sign removal orders after the issuance of the Courts Order."

One U.S. Attorney, the group said, "refused to confirm that Respondents would respect the Order nationwide."

These are Trumps new functionaries, wrestling with how to justify the unjustifiable once they're summoned back to court. Beats the shit out of me.
For interpreters who have worked with the U.S. military, the presidential order signed by Donald Trump on Friday is cruelty of the worst sort.

They served bravely to assist American military forces in Iraq, even at the risk of violence to themselves and their families. They spent years navigating a byzantine immigration process to get a visa to escape to the United States. Upon finally receiving one, many of them sold all their earthly belongings to make the journey to a new home.

Now they're left stranded in a country where their lives are threatened. After being granted hope, just as America's promises to them were to be fulfilled, their aspirations have been snatched away at the last second.

Trumps order prohibits Iraqis and the citizens of six other predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. There are no exceptions: not for permanent residents, not for those with legitimate visasnot even for heroes.

While a judge issued a stay on the order on Saturday night, as of press time, it only applied to visa-holders and green-card-holders who were already in the U.S. or en routenot to those who were set to arrive later this week.

"Thanks to Mr. Trump I'm homeless," said Youssef*, a 35-year-old who began working with coalition forces in 2004. "We don't deserve to be left behind This is not the American ethic."

After receiving a special visa designed for those who have assisted American forces in December, Youssef sold the small house he lived in with his two-year-old daughter and his wife to pay for the flight to the United States. It had taken him close to three years to receive a visa.

He was planning to fly to the U.S. on Monday.

"I sold all [that] I have to buy the ticket," he told The Daily Beast. The presidential order has left him stranded in a country where he receives regular threats from those virulently opposed to the United States. "They wrote on my door, 'traitor.'"

"I know for a fact SIV [Special Immigrant Visa] applicants sold their houses and cars and lost their jobs in Iraq in order to travel to the U.S." said Abdullah*, who began working as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in 2003. "Banning them from entering is a big mistake because they will have to start from zero and they dont know how long they will live like this."

All of these interpreters had been granted approval to enter the U.S. through the SIV process, a special visa designed for those who aided the American military. It involves perhaps the most rigorous vetting for entry to the United States: applicants must receive letters of recommendations from their American supervisors; every major U.S. intelligence agency is required to approve the visa; and most applicants are even subjected to a polygraph test.

Talking about extreme vetting, it doesnt get any [more] extreme, noted Ali*, an Iraqi who worked as an engineer and translator for the U.S. government. He was personally threatened by terrorists for his work and had to go into hiding.

Ali received a recommendation from a three-star Army General, a retired Navy captain, a Navy commander and an Air Force major. He was vetted thoroughly by intelligence agencies. After nearly three years, he was issued his visa just three days ago.

But then the Trump presidential order was signed, which prohibits him from enter the United States for 90 daysand by the time this period is up, his visa may no longer be valid.

Dont get me wrong, I am all up for keeping America safe. But banning Iraqis who were employed by the U.S. in Iraq, those who risked their lives by helping the coalition forces, doesnt seem the proper measure, Ali told The Daily Beast. I dont recall a single terror incident inside the U.S. in which an Iraqi citizen was part of. On the other hand, many of those terror attacks on U.S. soil were carried out by nationals of other countries which are not on the ban list. This is absolutely unfair.

Some individuals have worked with more U.S. military units than the average Iraq War veteran. Yasin* worked with the 1st Cavalry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, the 25th Infantry Division, the 1st Infantry Division and the Oregon National Guard. Over years of service, he has seen eight IEDs go off within range of his convoy. He is threatened constantly by militias.

It took nearly five years for Yasin to get an SIV visa. He had finally decided to go live in a small town in Texas, where he was scheduled to fly in just over a week. Now, theres just uncertainty, after already so much waiting.

"I am afraid they [will] call me and say that my flight is canceled," Yasin said.

The organization No One Left Behind is dedicated to helping foreign interpreters who supported the American military but are now in personal jeopardy, and are trying to immigrate to the United States through a Special Immigrant Visa.

The demand for help from No One Left Behind has gone through the roof since Friday afternoon.

In the first 24 hours since Trump signed the order, they have received some 250 messages from SIV applicants who have not yet made it to America.

Jason Gorey, the COO of the group, is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who volunteered for the Trump Inaugural Committee and assisted the Trump transition teamcertainly no knee-jerk opponent of the administration.

But the order Trump signed on Friday was too indiscriminate, he says, and need an exception for those who served alongside U.S. forces.

"They have earned and deserve our protection. They are being hunted by ISIS and the Taliban for their service to America, and even a short delay in the SIV program will undoubtedly result in deaths," Gorey said. "America will be judged by how we treat and protect our interpreters and similar allies, and I am very concerned that my brothers and sisters who are involved in future conflicts will not be able to find interpreters willing to serve with and protect them if we do not fully support the SIV program."

*The names of Iraqi interpreters used in this story have been altered in order to protect their identities. As SIV holders, they have demonstrated that there is a risk to their personal safety in Iraq due to their work with the American military.
BERLIN, GermanyMaybe, just maybe, President Donald Trump will feel something akin to sadness to know that his new border rules prompted Austria to cancel three hundred transit visas, which had been intended for Iranian Christians, Jews and Bahai trying to flee religious persecution at home.

For decades, Austria has been acting as the go-between for refugees from Iran who have a prospects of admittance to the United States (which doesnt have an embassy in Tehran). The program began originally as an endeavor by the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg to help Jews and Evangelical Christians out of the Soviet Union, but developed into a national program focused on Iran, which also makes other religious minorities in Iran eligible for refugee status, most notably the much-persecuted Baha'is.

This week, around 300 hopeful applicants were getting ready to travel from Iran to Austria with documents that would allow them to stay there for about six months. The stay itself hardly rates raves, given there is little to do but trudge through the asylum application process with help from a local NGO, go to the U.S. embassy for interviews, and bite ones nails while waiting for official approval from the United States come summertime. It was a nerve-wrecking experiencebut worth it.

No longer, though. U.S. authorities told us that the onward trip for people to the USA, who received visas from Austrian authorities as part of the program, would be put on hold for now, Thomas Schnoll, the Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman, told the Associated Press. The message reportedly arrived several days before Trump signed the decree on Friday.

The Foreign Ministry in Vienna has been trying to contact the 300 applicants to inform them that they cant come to Austria after all. But so far, theyve only reached 100 people. We dont know many of the remaining 200 are already on the move from Iran to Austria. The Foreign Ministry in Vienna has been spending the weekend searching through its records for airline bookings in order to track down these remaining applicants and put a last-minute stop to their quest for refuge.

Three Iranians (one elderly couple and one young woman) were left stranded at the airport in Vienna on Saturday, despite having valid travel documents and tickets for flights to the U.S. The woman took a flight back to Iran, while the elderly couple spent the night in Vienna.

Meanwhile, Schnoll has said it is legally impossible for Austria to accept the Iranian asylum seekers in the USAs stead. And the small countrys tough line doesnt just come as a response to Washingtons latest. Austria, strained by 2015s influx of refugees, has been introducing caps and stricter security measures ever since. It was never interested in being more than a short-term transit point for the Iranians, and it certainly isnt now.

And this was made coldly clear in a State Department email on Tuesday: Any previously approved applicant who now tries to enter Austria anyway will be blocked permanently.

As for the estimated 30 Iranian applicants who are already in Austria on a short-term visa, their fate is uncertain. In prior years, The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS, a processing centre in Vienna) told refugees who got rejected in Austria not to go back to Iranbecause the discrimination and harassment that forced them to leave in the first place was likely to get even worse upon their return.

So where else can they go? By way of Austria, Iranian Jews can travel to Israel, but that is not an option for other religious minorities. (And it is very difficult to immigrate to Israel from Iran directly).

We dont know yet how Trumps hasty orders will shake out once the courts are done with him, and how nations that have acted as points of transit for the United States so far will reshape their own border policies accordingly. Austrias government, like several other European countries, hasnt even made a statement condemning Trumps actions yet. (German Chancellor Angela Merkel, despite a polite phone call with Trump, finally had her spokesman come out Sunday and denounce Trumps unjustifiable general suspicion against people of a certain origin or a certain religion).

In the past, there have been several discussions about curbing the Iranian Lautenberg immigration program, which, according the HIAS, eases the burden of proof for members of historically persecuted groups. Critics have argued that many other refugees would benefit from a move to the United States more than religious minorities in Iran.

But for now, these discussions are finished, because US officials have simply suspended the program. If, when and on what terms it will begin again? No one knows.

If this is what happens to the refugees that Trump supposedly favors, one must wonder what on earth can we expect to happen to all the immigrants that he so obviously loathes?
Watching Meghan Markles trip to India as a charity ambassador this week unfold on social and mainstream media, it was hard not to be impressed by the remarkable positive attention she attracted to very unglamorous causehealthcare and education for the worlds poorest women.

It was also impossible not to imagine how it might be if she was doing this kind of work as a Princess of the United Kingdom.

Shed certainly be a huge media draw. Outlets around the world, from the British tabloids to the Hindustan Times covered the trip which saw Meghan, 35, spend several days in some of the poorest communities in the world, working as an ambassador for World Vision Canada in Delhis notorious slums.

Meghan--who had an extensive henna tattoo drawn on her arm during the trip by local women--was bringing much needed attention to the plight of females in extreme poverty, and the ways in which they can be positively impacted by better education and health care policies.

It was an interesting dress rehearsal, and a good sign of how effectively Meghan--the most googled individual of 2016might harness the position of being Prince Harrys wife, despite a number of factors that on first blush might make her seem an unlikely addition to the Royal Family.

It is not, for example, entirely standard procedure for prospective entrants to one of the oldest family firms on the planet to have a deadbeat brother who gets arraigned on gun charges after a drunken fight with his girlfriend.

Nor is it completely typical for future British princesses to be three years older than their beau, divorcees or successful actressespace Koo Starkwith a steamy showreel.

However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Meghan really does have the right stuff to take on the role in the modern era. Royal brides used to be required to be two thingspretty and quietbut those days are, thankfully, dead and buried.

Everyone acknowledges this now. It is a reassuring sign of how extensively and effectively the Royal Family has modernized that an American woman who is intelligent, actively socially committed and unafraid of the inevitable invasion of privacy that a life in the public eye entails has been welcomed into the fold by Prince Charles and Kate Middleton, rather than being dismissed as attention-seeking gold-digger as she would have been two decades ago.

While rumors that the two are secretly engageda la Prince William who privately asked Kate Middleton to marry him several months before it was publicly announcedare wide of the mark, friends of the royals do now feel Harry, 32, is more likely to marry Meghan than they ever felt he was to get hitched to ex-girlfriends like Cressida Bonas or Chelsy Davy.

It could be that Meghan is thinking herself into the role, preparing for the possibility of a full time life of philanthropy as she focuses on that and cuts back on her acting workwhich would certainly have to go if she really married Harry.

Markle is said to have devoted a great deal of time and energy to researching and organizing the trip: "She didn't want to be given notes by someone else and just show up. These are important areas of interest for Meghan and issues she feels extremely passionate about," a source told US Weekly.

She writes well on her lifestyle website The Tig (one piece, published on MLK day, about her mixed race heritage, was a great example of her work), and her record on humanitarian issues is faultless.

Meghan Markle ticks a lot of boxes.

The ball is very much in Harrys court. If he doesnt ask Meghan to be his wife, youd be forced to wonder who would constitute the ideal candidate for what he has often referred to as the role of being his wife.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Two women were today arrested for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs 27 lakh at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.

They were intercepted on their arrival from Bangkok by customs officials.

"On baggage search, pieces of gold wire coated in white colour, weighing 1.09 kg and worth Rs 27.30 lakh were recovered from them," a press release issued by the customs said.

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The gold was seized and both the passengers, who hail from Panipat in Haryana, have been arrested, it said. PTI AKV GVS

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Top Republican leaders have refused to criticize President Donald Trumps sweeping executive order that temporarily bans natives of seven Muslim-majority countries from entry into the U.S., while others in the GOP are saying it could undermine Americas national security. Meanwhile, administration officials are sowing confusion about who exactly the order affects.

GOP members of Congress have largely supported the executive order, save for a handful of Republicansmany of whom never supported Trumps candidacy in the first place. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Friday that the president is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country. Ryan has yet speak publicly since then. On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped short of criticizing the order.

The president has a lot of latitude to try to secure the country, and Im not going to make a blanket criticism of this effort, McConnell said on ABCs This Week, deferring to the courts for further review. However I think its important to remember, as Ive said, that a lot of Muslims are our best sources in the war against terror.

McConnell added that we need to be careful with these orders so as to not impose a religious test. But thats exactly what detractors are calling it, because it gives priority to religious minorities in the Muslim-majority countries. Democrats, who are dubbing the order a Muslim ban, pointed to Ryans and McConnells past criticisms of Trump after he called for a blanket ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

The GOP detractors include Reps. Barbara Comstock and Justin Amash, and Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Ben Sasse and Jeff Flake. Amash said banning green-card holders in particular is troubling, while Sasse called the executive order too broad.

McCain and Graham, who have not hesitated to condemn Trump when they disagree with the president, said Sunday in a statement that it was clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted.

They added: Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.  This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims into our country.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus defended the order, saying on Sunday that individuals who hold citizenship from the seven countries listed in the executive order and have valid green cards will not be barred from returning to the U.S. But as federal officials began to interpret the order, individuals who hold citizenship from one of those seven nations but have valid visas were either prevented from boarding flights to the U.S., or detained upon arrival at U.S. airports.

The executive order doesnt affect green-card holders moving forward, Priebus said on NBCs Meet the Press. He added that Customs and Border Protection agents have discretionary authority to give additional scrutiny to individuals traveling from the countries named in the executive order Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemenuntil a better system is put in place.

As the order was taking effect nationwide, green-card holders and individuals with valid visas who hold citizenship from those seven countries were detained after arriving from overseas at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Washington Dulles International Airport outside the nations capital and Los Angeles International Airport, among others.

A federal judge issued a ruling late Saturday that blocked deportation for people with valid visas who were being detained at airports. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said on Sunday the detentions of certain foreign nationals is temporary and circumstantial, and that the judges ruling does not affect the executive order.

In terms of the upside being greater protection of our borders, of our people, its a small price to pay, top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News Sunday. I am told by the officials that anyone who has been detainedif theres no further threat, if theyre not dangerous to this countrythey can expect to be released in due course, as most of them have already.

Amid the chaos and protests popping up at airports nationwide, the executive order was condemned as unconstitutional and poorly planned and implemented. The order also suspends the refugee program for 120 days, and the Syrian refugee program was suspended indefinitely. Those edicts have been largely overlooked since Friday as Democrats turn their attention to those who were detained at U.S. airports.

Iraqi translators who worked with the U.S. military and were set to soon arrive in the U.S. after being thoroughly vetted by intelligence agencies and granted visas were suddenly blocked.

In a statement Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security stood by the White House and said detainees are treated humanely and with professionalism. The statement added: President Trumps Executive Orders remain in placeprohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety.

The White House says Fridays decree is not a religious test, claiming instead that the Trump administration is seeking to protect persecuted religious minorities. Trump himself said during an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network that persecuted Christians will be prioritized.

What were going to do is make sure that people who have been persecuted for either religious or other reasons have an opportunity to apply and go through a vetting system that ensures theyre coming to this country to seek asylum, to seek a new life for themselves or their family, but to do so with peaceful purposes, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on This Week.
One American service member has been lost and four more injured in the first boots-on-the-ground raid of the Trump administration, against al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen on Saturday.

The raid took place in Bayda Province, where Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula has thrived and grown its operations as the civil war in Yemen has raged since 2015. AQAP was deemed the most serious threat to the U.S before the rise of ISIS, responsible for sending underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in a failed attempt to bring down a Detroit-bound plane. U.S air strikes just over a week ago killed 5 militants.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members, said U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel. The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe.

The raid marks President Donald Trumps first known order to send troops into harms way, and the first combat casualties of his presidency, as controversy rages over a temporary ban on refugees and citizens of seven majority Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

But a U.S. official tells The Daily Beast that planning for this raid started under the Obama administration, including the use of troops on the ground to gather sensitive intelligence known to be at the scene. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to share the information publicly.

This was a deliberate raid planned well in advance, the official said. It was not top-down drivenpercolated from the operators the ground, who alerted Central Command officials that the target needed to be hit.

The sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, and the families they leave behind, are the backbone of the liberty we hold so dear as Americans, united in our pursuit of a safer nation and a freer world, Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Sunday afternoon. My deepest thoughts and humblest prayers are with the family of this fallen service member.

A Central Command statement said an estimated 14 AQAP members had been killed. According to an al Qaeda official, as reported by the AP, 30 people died in the raid. The U.S. official said they are still assessing that number, but had surveillance on the scene 24 hours before the raid and throughout, and did not spot civilians in the area nor see the number of casualties now being reported. The AP reported that al Qaeda claimed women and children were among the dead. One of the children reported to be among the dead was Nora, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American cleric killed by the U.S., according to the girl's grandfather.

We had eyes on for a long time. Id be surprised if there were any civilian casualties, the official said. Al Qaeda often inflates casualty reports, knowing that the U.S. is slower to produce a counter-message especially when it involves raids in a remote location.

Three of the U.S. service members were wounded while taking the target, while another was injured when an aircraft was damaged while landing.

We had a KIA and lost an airplane, so its hard to say it was successful but did get some of what was expected at the scene, the official said, referring to the hard landing of a V-22 Osprey aircraft at the scene, damaging it so badly that it had to be left behind and destroyed.

No detainees were taken from the scene, the official said. That wasn't the goal. The overall goal was all along site exploitation, meaning the gathering of computers, phones, documents and whatever else is found at a scene to mine them for intelligence to drive future raids.

The Central Command statement added that the raid led to the capture of information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots, adding that This is one in a series of aggressive moves against terrorist planners in Yemen and worldwide, to gather intelligence on al-Qaeda logistics, recruiting and financing efforts.

The name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until their loved ones can be notified.

Special operations in Yemen have traditionally belonged to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka SEAL Team Six. The last widely reported U.S. raid in Yemen was in 2014, an attempt to rescue American hostage Luke Somers and South African Pierre Korkie. Al Qaeda killed the hostages before the raiders could reach them.
Protestors at JFK airport got an unexpected treat tonight: Pies and pies of pizza that seemed to apparate out of thin air.

"Somebody handed it to me," one woman handing out slices told The Daily Beast.

"The delivery guy wanted a photo," said another.

"It just appeared," said a third.

Behind barricades and police in riot gear, protesters took it upon themselves to feed their comrades. At 10pm, there were more pizza boxes than signs littering the floor.

But no one could pinpoint their origin. When one of these reporters called South Shore Pizzathe parlor from where many of the boxes seemed to originatea man who answered the phone said bluntly: "We're closed."

He added they hadn't just spontaneously delivered the pizzas, either. Someone had placed an order to be delivered to JFK.

Then one of these reporters spotted a young woman in a pink flower hijab. She held three boxes of pizza out in front of her.

And she knew just where they came from.

Fatimah, 18, had woken up with a fever on Saturday morning. She cancelled all her plans and decided to stay home to recover.

And then she saw the protests against Donald Trump's immigration ban, which targeted refugees and holders of visas and green cards from seven Muslim-majority countries. (The ban was stayed in part on Saturday night.)

She roused her dad, Kariam, and her younger sister Zainab. They decided to order 30 pizzas for the people defending Muslims at JFK, loaded their car with some Qurans to hand out, and headed on over.

We said, hey, we should come out here, and everyone here is going to need some food, Fatimah said.

By the time she hit the sidewalk with the slices, Fatimahs sickness had faded. The 18-year-old Hofstra sophomore was all smiles.

They cant say anything to me, Im just a girl with a flower scarf, she said. Im Muslim, but Im just as much an American as any.

Her father, Kariam still sounded a bit hoarsebut didnt regret being out on the streets in the least.

"It is incumbent on us, it is our duty as Muslims," he said. "We are very grateful to all the people for being out here.

The family brought Qurans from the Islamic Center of Long Island in Valley Stream. And on the way, they reached out to friends at other nearby Islamic Centers. The others ordered more pizzasbetween 60 and 90 extra pies, they estimated.

Kariam asked that the familys last name not be used because they got hate mail after appearing in other news reports. Fatimah, for instance, said she got negative messages after advocating for Eid to be a holiday in Long Island public schools.

"I've received hate mail and I'm only 12," Zainab chimed in. "Some kid in my school put a terrorist sign on my back."

The family follows politics but doesnt protest much. Saturday was Zainabs first time at a protest, while Fatimah had only come across a few in her time in college. The family supported Bernie Sanders, then Hillary Clinton; Kariams first protest, he said, was when Trump came to Long Island.

"I'm not really a protest guy," he said. "But unfortunately the situation has made me a protest kind of guy."
No known terrorists were among the first detainees under our presidents executive order Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States.

But the detainees did include a 53-year-old avowed Trump fan who fled Iraq with his family after a decade in the employ of the U.S. government, during which he was credited with saving numerous American lives as an uncommonly brave interpreter for the 101st Airborne.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh was detained for 19 hours at JFK Airport despite possessing a special visa that took him two years to obtain and happened to be issued on the day of the inauguration.

Upon his release, Darweesh still said this when reporters asked him about Trump: I like him.

Darweesh then added, But I dont know. This is a policy, I dont know.

The policy being Trumps order to ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countriesIraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemenfor at least 90 days, and all refugees for at least 120 days. None are even the familial homeland of any of the terrorists who mounted major attack in America, including 9/11, San Bernardino, and Orlando.

The irony of this moment on Saturday became HUGE as Darweesh declared that he had seen Americas true greatness firsthand in the small army of outraged lawyers and activists who mobilized on his behalf as word spread that he and a fellow Iraqi had been detained at JFK Airport even though they had valid visas.

This is the humanity, this is the soul of America! exclaimed the Trump fan in giving thanks to those who had hurried to rescue him from Trump policy. This is what pushed me to move, leave my country and come here.

Darweesh had been tearful when he first emerged from under the WELCOME TO NEW YORK sign that hangs over the arrivals portal in Terminal 4. He had placed his hands behind his back to show how he had been handcuffed.

What I do for this country? They put the cuffs on, Darweesh said to reporters. You know how many soldiers I touch by this hand?

Even as he spoke, his story was spreading at the speed of social media to his native Iraq and everywhere else.

Worldwide, counter-terrorism cop on the scene later noted.

No doubt the tale of Darweeshs Trumpian welcome to New York was of particular interest to people in Mosul, where American special forces are now urging the Iraqi army on in a grim and protracted battle with ISIS. Darweesh is said by court papers filed Friday seeking his release to have served in Mosul and in Baghdad as an interpreter for the U.S. Army.

Between March 20, 2003 and September 30, 2013, he was contracted by the U.S. government to work in a variety of positions that placed him in substantial risk of being targeted, attacked and killed by anti-American militias and insurgents, the papers say. Mr. Darweesh was directly targeted twice for his association with the U.S. Armed Forces.

The man who would later be detained at JFK Airport worked for the U.S. at Baghdad Airport between 2004 and 2005, and during that time Baghdad Police searched his house, saying they were looking for a terrorist.

The Baghdad Police are widely known to be closely affiliated with anti-American militias, the papers say. Shortly after this incident, two of Mr. Darweeshs colleagues were killed as soon as they arrived at work.

The killing convinced Darweesh to move to Kirkuk.

In the second instance, in July 2009, Mr. Darweesh was stopped at a market in Kirkuk where he was informed by a local shopkeeper that men were driving around in a BMW asking for him by name and the location of his house, the papers report. These men returned a second time the following week, and Mr. Darweesh had strong reasons to suspect that the men searching for him were terrorists.

Darweesh fled with his wife and three children to Erbil.

Based on these threats and his over ten years of service to the U.S. government, Mr. Darweesh applied for an Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status on or around October 1, 2014, the papers say, adding, Congress created the Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs to provide safety and refuge in the United States for Iraqis and Afghans who face or have faced serious threats on account of their faithful and valuable service to the United States.

More than a year of paperwork and vetting ensued before he obtained the necessary certification that he had provided faithful and valuable service to the United States and has experienced or is experiencing a serious threat. The visa was officially approved on January 26, 2015, but the process was not even halfway done.

It took over two years for Mr. Darweeshs visa and visas for his family to be processed, the papers note. Mr. Darweesh appeared for an in-person interview at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on April 12, 2016 and went through administrative processing, including security background checks as well as medical exams.

On January 20, 2017, Inauguration Day, the official approval was officially approved. He received the visa in Erbil on January 27, 2017. He immediately set off for America with his wife and three children, aged 20, 15 and 7.

Because of the sensitive and dangerous nature of Mr. Darweeshs situation, the family immediately boarded a flight from Erbil to New York City, via Istanbul, and arrived in the United States on January 27, 2017, around 6:00 PM EST, the papers say.

The family had tickets to fly on to Charlotte, North Carolina, but they were detained at JFK Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. Trumps executive order had gone into effect just 78 minutes before.

Mr. Darweesh and his family waited to be processed by CBP for about an hour, the papers say. Mr. Darweesh himself was moved into secondary screening.' The family waited for over an hour before a CBP officer and Mr. Darweesh emerged to return passports for every member of Mr. Darweeshs family except for Mr. Darweesh himself. Mr. Darweesh was then taken back into secondary screening.

Darweesh was handcuffed. He sat in a chair in a holding room while his family was allowed to pass under the WELCOME TO NEW YORK sign and continue on into the arrivals area.

Word spread and a team of lawyers who specialize in immigration and refugee work appeared at the terminal and sought his release.

When the attorneys asked Who is the person to talk to? the CBP agents responded, Mr. President. Call Mr. Trump, court papers report.

Protesters had begun to arrive when Darweesh was finally freed at midday Saturday. He will need more time in this country before he will be able to appreciate fully the ironies. He did discern one clear truth.

America is freedom! he exulted. America is freedom.

Meanwhile, the lawyers worked to free a second Iraqi who had been detained at the airport. Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi is 39. His wife, Duniyya Alshawi had worked for a time as an accountant with a U.S. contractor.

Due to the familys association with the U.S. military, insurgents thought that they were collaborators, court papers say. In 2010, insurgents attempted to kidnap Ms. Alshawis brother. A month later, an IED placed on Mr. Alshawis sister-in-laws car detonated, killing her husband and severely injuring her and her daughter.

Alshawi and his wife also fled Baghdad for Erbil. She successfully applied for refugee status and settled in Houston, Texas with their son. The family then applied for and received a visa for Alshawi.

Mr. Alshawi arrived in at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City on January 27, 2017 at approximately 8:22 PM EST, court papers say. Upon arrival at the gate, Mr. Alshawi was blocked on the aircraft by CBP.

The CPB officers then escorted Alshawi off the plane and detained him. Court papers say the attorneys who inquired about him got the same answer.

Call Mr. Trump.

As night fell, the number of demonstrators outside Terminal 4 swelled well past 1,000. Ever more arrived via the AirTrain serving JFK until it was barred to all but ticketed airline passengers. A Muslim woman drove up with a mini-van filled with little girls in hijabs so they could witness this passionate protest against bigotry.

We should all wear hijabs, a demonstrator named Nancy Cardozo told the woman.

Cardozo was rewarded with a hug. Cardozo also saw a young woman wearing a black niqab that covered everything but her eyes. The young woman videoed the protesters with a baby blue cellphone.

This is beautiful! the young woman exclaimed.

You could see her eyes were happy, Cardozo later said.

Outside Brooklyn federal court, another crowd chanted Set them free! as lawyers sought in an emergency Saturday night hearing to convince Judge Ann Donnelly to do just that. Donnelly was reluctant just to order the detainees released, but she did rule that they could not simply be sent back to their point of origin.

At the end of a day when he managed to detain a Trump fan who had served America with great dedication and courage, our president had this to say:

It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over.
This week Spanish police announced that seventy-five people across Europe have been arrested as part of an investigation into illegal art and antiquities trafficking. The investigation involved collaboration between Interpol, Europol (the European policing agency), and UNESCO as well as the cooperation of law enforcement in (among other countries) Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

The arrests that resulted from Operation Pandora (the investigations code-name) were made last November, but only announced this week. While a full inventory of recovered items has not been released to the public, Spanish police reported that in the city of Murcia they recovered about 500 archeological artifacts, including nineteen that had been stolen from the citys archeological museum in 2014. Europol is reporting that, in total, 3561, have been recovered and ninety-two new investigations have been initiated as part of the operation.

Among the items retrieved as part of operation Pandora were several of greater archeological significance. In Greece, the Hellenic police retrieved a marble Ottoman and tombstone, a post-Byzantine icon of St. George, and two Byzantine era artifacts. But there are plenty of other important artifacts that have yet to be returned to their home countries and while many of them are lost others are on display in foreign museums.

1. Dove with Green Peas

In 2010 a lone hooded thief managed to climb into Pariss Museum of Modern Art. The alarms did not sound when he entered the building and he was about to steal five priceless works right out of their frames. Among them was Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso, Pastoral by Henri Matisse, Olive Tree near lEstaque by Georges Braque, Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani, and Still life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger. The heist, which reminded commentators of the Pink Panther movies, was valued at between 100-200 million euros.

More than a year later three men were placed under official investigation. According to his story the five masterpieces ended up crushed by a garbage truck. Even though two men were convicted in the case, no evidence of the artwork was never discovered. One of the alleged accomplices, a 34 year-old watchmaker, told the French police that he had panicked and thrown the canvasses into a trash container. Police were skeptical of his story. Its possible that the art was thrown out like common trash, or someone out there still has the art on very private display.

While there are many prominent art thefts out there, the Art Loss Registry in London said that this was one of the biggest art heists ever, considering the estimated value, the prominence of the artists and the high profile of the museum.

2. Nazi Artwork

It wouldnt be a listicle about stolen artifacts if we didnt mention the Nazis. Theres no end to the stories of gold, artwork, and other valuables they stole from prominent Jewish families during World War II.

Whats less known is how the art was effectively returned to Nazi-families in the 1950s and 60s. In the years that followed the end of the war American officials returned more than 10,000 pieces of art to the Bavarian authorities with the intent that they be returned to the families from which they had been plundered. For example, as a New York Times story revealed, Hitlers private secretary, Henriette von Schirach, and her family effectively lobbied the Bavarian State to return nearly 300 pieces of art to them at a discounted rate. Among them was a small painting, View of a Dutch Square, by Jan van der Heyden. The landscape had originally been owned by the Kraus family, a Jewish family who had fled Vienna in the war and whose art collection was seized by the Gestapo in 1941. Rather than return the painting to the Krauss descendants it was sold to von Schirach for 300 Deutschmarks (approximately $75 at the time). A subsequent investigation by the Krauses great-grandson, John Graykowski and the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, revealed that hundreds of pieces of art were resold to Nazi-tied families for a small fraction of their worth.

3. Priams Treasure

Even if the Nazis were the most precocious looters of artwork in the twentieth century, they received a taste of their own medicine at the end of World War II. In 1837 German classical archeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered a horde of gold and copper ancient weapons in Anatolia (modern Turkey). Among the artifacts were 8,750 gold rings, buttons, and other small gold objects. Schliemann was convinced that he had found the ancient city of Troy and named his discovery after the citys ill-fated king. Schliemann smuggled the cache to Berlin, their removal only being discovered when Schliemanns wife, Sophia, audaciously wore the jewels for the public. The Ottoman official who had been assigned to oversee the dig was imprisoned and Schliemann returned some of the treasure in exchange for permission to excavate at Troy again. The rest of the hoard was exhibited at the Royal Museums of Berlin.

But in 1945 Priams Treasure disappeared out of a bunker under the Berlin Zoo. The Soviet Government, whose Red Army was known to have stormed the city denied an knowledge of the whereabouts of the gold. That is until 1993, when the treasure went on display at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Technically speaking the Russians are obligated to return the treasure, but they are currently refusing to do so. The directors of the Pushkin claim that they are keeping the treasure as part of reparations owed to them by the German government.

4. Lioness Attacking a Nubian

As the city of Baghdad fell to coalition forces in 2003, reports began to emerge that the National Museum of Iraq, home to arguably the worlds finest collection of Ancient Near Eastern artifacts, had been repeatedly looted. Initial reports stated that 170,000 items had been stolen, but these numbers were later shown to have been greatly inflated. As the smoked cleared it emerged that the tally was closer to between 10,000 and 15,000 pieces and not every looter knew what they were doing. There were professional looters who cherry picked the most prized treasures, random looters who stole mostly excavation site pieces but also ended up lifting worthless replicas intended for the gift-shop, and there were insiders who focused on jewelry and cylinder seals. A stellar investigation by US Lt-Col Matthew Bogdanos led to the return of many items but a number, including the huge collection of cylinder seals, remain missing.

Still missing though is Lioness attacking a Nubian a remarkable eighth-century BCE ivory plaque. It is set with lapis lazuli (one of the Bibles most precious jewels) and carnelian and overlaid with gold. There are two similar plaques in existence and both of them are currently housed in the British Museum. Other prestigious items from the collection like the Warka Head were stolen and returned and others still like the Golden Lyre of Ur (one of the oldest stringed instruments in the world) was hidden from thieves and damaged by flooding. A complete list of items still missing from 2003 can be found on a University of Chicago Oriental Institute website.

5. The Wiener Collection

In December 2016, New York art collector and antiquities dealer Nancy Wiener was arrested for smuggling, laundering, and arranging the sale of plundered Asian art . Her prestigious Upper East Side gallery has sold art to private collectors and also to important public collections like the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to the complaint against her, Wiener purchased antiquities from thieves, had them restored in order to erase the evidence that they had been looted (for example modern saw marks are a clear sign of recent interference), and then laundered through Sothebys and Christies. Part of her strategy, it is alleged, was to create a false paper trail of owners in order to falsify the provenance (legal chain of ownership) to a period before 1972, when UNESCO regulations about antiquities began to be implemented.

The investigation into Wiener and the identification of trafficked items that have passed through her galleries owes a great debt to the remarkable work

of James Felch, author of the antiquities trafficking blog Chasing Aphrodite. Felch was instrumental in exposing the illegal origins of many items in the Getty collection and is the co-author, with Ralph Frammolino, of the book Chasing Aphrodite. In just the past few weeks Felch and his readers have identified a number of pieces of doubtful provenance. Victoria Reed, a curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, shared details of five items in their collection about which she was concerned. These include an exquisite tenth century CE Sandstone sculpture of Shiva Lord of the Dance from Central-eastern Madhya Pradesh. Wiener sold the sculpture to the museum in 1992 and it has no known provenance.

How did Wiener get away with this for so long? In part because she was a second-generation trusted dealer and buyers and immigration authorities never fact-checked her paper trail. If they had, they likely would have realized that many of the owners of the items she was selling were fictitious.

Operation Pandora focused on criminal networks and on antiquities trafficking that involved cultural spoliation (this is trafficking that involves forcible removable of antiquities, especially from war-torn areas), but the most revealing and troubling thing about antiquities trafficking is just how far and high it goes. Illegal art and antiquities trafficking extends from terrorist groups like ISIS, plundering local archeological sites to fund their obscene war; to criminal networks and art thieves trying to turn a tidy profit; to governments who protest that plundered artifacts are just reparations; to museums, art galleries, and even royalty who claim either that they are rescuing artifacts or that time has effaced the negative circumstances under which they acquired their artifact. From the most universally hated element of our global society to the most elite and respected institutions many people have their fingers in the antiquities pie.

If we are outraged by ISIS (and we are), we should be similarly concerned by those willing to smuggle and purchase plundered artifacts and those hesitant to return them to their rightful owners. And we really, really have to check their paperwork.
Originally published at Foreign Policy.

In this, the 70th anniversary year of the establishment of the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), we have good news and bad news about this vital nerve center of the U.S. government out of the new administration. The good news is that  after a first week in office in which it was clear that there was little or no inclusive, government-wide decision-making process on any of the White Houses major moves  we now know that they have actually started to give thought to just such a process. The bad news is that the president continues to show little understanding of how such processes are supposed to work and bad judgment about who should be involved in them.

The past week has been an excellent case in point on the dangers of not having a process by which executive branch decisions are arrived at through consultation with senior officials within Cabinet agencies (not to mention with Congress or other sources of expertise). From the Executive Order on Friday of the presidents un-American, ill-considered, and badly executed suspension of U.S. refugee programs and ban on admission to foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim nations to the continuing damage being done to Americas global standing as a consequence of the commander-in-chiefs itchy Twitter finger, the dangers of shoot-from-the-lip government were once again revealed.

According to a CNN report, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly did not see the Executive Order regarding refugees and the Muslim ban-lite, until shortly before it was issued. (Despite a denial from the administration that the order amounted to a Muslim ban, close Trump pal and advisor Rudy Giuliani indicated that the origins of this weekends action were an expressed desire by the president to craft just such a program targeting Muslims.) The result is that neither Kelly nor the agency he runs was able to prepare to implement the ban.

Chaos reigned at American airports, where arrivals from these countries  including some who had supported the U.S. military in Iraq and others who had special visa clearances and had been carefully vetted  were turned away. Of course, beyond such purely practical matters, the absence of a broad policy development process where multiple voices are heard and active debate of pros and cons takes place (as was the intention behind the creation of the NSC with the National Security Act of 1947) increases the likelihood that one ends up with extreme, ill-considered, very likely illegal, and certainly mean-spirited policies  contrary to the American spirit and our traditions. This is exactly what happened with Trumps orders this weekend. But in this administration, according to many sources  including some at the State and Defense Departments  no such process has taken place on virtually any issue of importance.

One might argue it is early days. But the reality is that the transition period could have been a time for consultation and preparation. It was not. The transition will almost certainly go down in history as the most badly executed and chaotic in modern American history, as has been reported and noted previously here at Foreign Policy. Even though senior officials are not yet in place in key agencies (due as much to delays in appointing deputies and next-level officials from the Trump team as to hold-ups in Congress) consultation could have taken place with acting officials from the agencies to at least ensure legal precautions were taken and that implementation was practicable. But no, there was none of that. And thats to say nothing of the off-the-cuff elements of Trumps foreign policy, as occurred when the president escalated a growing problem surrounding the impending visit of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto with an ill-considered, early-morning tweet that resulted in the cancellation of his visit  starting off on a very wrong foot a relationship with our important neighbor to the south.

Trump seems to believe that it is appropriate for him to make foreign policy on the fly. Sometimes he seems as though he does not understand that is what he is doing  that indeed, everything a president does is foreign policy. His continued attacks on the U.S. press send the message to despots everywhere that such affronts are now okay in the eyes of the worlds most powerful nation and its leading democracy. This has a chilling effect on the advance of the values that have long been central to U.S. foreign policy, and that specialists from both parties have long believed were strongly in the U.S. national interest.

The presidential memo about the NSC suggests at least that Trumps team may undertake something of a more traditional, perhaps slightly more disciplined process  although there is little in the presidents history to suggest he will have the patience or open-mindedness to actually reap the benefits such processes, well-run, typically provide.

This is where the bad news comes in. In Trumps memo about the NSC, he tipped his hand about how he views the process. He established that two vital members of his national security team  the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence  would be as needed members of the Principals Committee of the NSC, joining discussions only when their expertise was requested. This is a departure from past practice, as the last two administrations made them permanent members. Given the sometimes fluid nature of NSC meetings, where discussions and topics can change in real time, not having them in the room will mean that their expertise and views will not be taken into consideration. Given that one of these individuals is the senior member of the U.S. military and the other is mandated to be the head of the U.S. intelligence community, it is difficult to imagine any national security discussions that would not benefit from their perspectives and involvement.

Worse  much worse, in my view  the president decided to give a permanent seat at the National Security Council table to his chief strategist and senior counselor, Stephen Bannon. Bannon, formerly the publisher of an extreme right-wing, often racist and sexist website called Breitbart, not only has very limited U.S. government experience, he has almost no relevant experience with any aspect of high-level national security decisionmaking (beyond a graduate degree and then a seven-year stint in the Navy, some three decades ago). Combine that with the egregious lack of character his exploits at Breitbart illustrate and his past radical statements  like the instance in which he characterized himself as a Leninist seeking to bring down the entire system of the U.S. government  and you have precisely the sort of person who has no business at all being at an NSC meeting. But even if you were to set aside such profound character flaws and gaps in experience, the idea that a purely political advisor should be at the table while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence are not shows a profound lack of understanding of what the NSC has been  or what it should be.

The National Security Council was created in the wake of World War II to ensure that the president not only had the best advice of his Cabinet, but that once a presidential decision was made on how to act, that the agencies of the U.S. government could implement it in an effective and efficient way. For the NSC to work properly, you need the right people at the table, a well-managed process where all feel they have a fair say, and a president that will respect that process. The Trump NSC will not have the right people at the table. National Security Advisor Flynn, who is supposed to manage that process, was at least until recently under FBI investigation for his too cozy relationship with the Russian government. Just as bad, he has a reputation for being a my way or the highway manager during his tenure running the Defense Intelligence Agency. Add to all this a president who has no experience in foreign policy, is alarmingly impulsive and seemingly allergic to advice, especially that which might run contrary to his own views, and is inclined to pursue policies that could be damaging to the United States (as we have seen from Mexico to the refugee fiasco, from China to Russia), and you have a recipe for disaster.

In other words, if there was ever a president that needed a high-functioning National Security Council it is this one. The early signs as to whether he will have one or whether he will listen to it even if he does are not encouraging.

David Rothkopf is the CEO and Editor of Foreign Policy, where this article originally appeared. He is also the author of several books, including Running the World: The Inside Story of the National Security Council and the Architects of American Power.
Team Trumps travel ban, or pause, or whatever reverse politically correct term you want to call it, has sparked simmering fury among Americas Muslim allies. The media splash meant to show that President Donald Trump means business about keeping America safe, and keeping his campaign promises, is ironically damaging the very campaign against terrorism he wants to put into overdrive.

Key allies in the fight against the so-called Islamic State are dumbfounded, but few are making official statements, unwilling to pick a fight with the pugnacious new White House.

Iraqi parliamentarians have called for similar bans against U.S. citizens, and Iranian-backed militia groups have called for American troops to be ejected from their country.

But the Iraqi government, managing a fragile and fractious multi-ethnic coalition against ISIS, is treading carefully. Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi told the AP that Iraqis are hoping the "measures will be temporary and for regulatory reasons and not permanent at least for Iraq."

Other allies? Not so diplomatic.

This is an insult to us all, said one Afghan official reached Sunday. To treat all as terrorists is not what inspires support and confidence among friends.

Afghanistan is not among the seven nations listed in President Donald Trumps executive order, but the official said the public response to the order was prompting questions in Kabul about how long the government could allow U.S. troops to remain, without suffering a backlash from its own people.

The order signed Friday suspends travel for 90 days for travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations deemed to be centers of terrorist activity  Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The executive order also suspends the entire U.S. refugee program for four months. Trump insists its not a Muslim ban but hes also spoken of giving Christian refugees priority, which has been read in the Muslim world as casting them as second-class citizens.

Anger is spreading to the Arab street, reflected in social media and newspaper articles  the kind of RAGE that fueled the Arab Spring revolt against Mideast dictators  therefore, the kind Muslim leaders take very seriously.

Like the Afghan official, others say that if this sentiment builds, it will make it harder to cooperate publicly with the U.S. on counterterrorist issues, and harder still to host U.S. troops on their soil.

The various officials who spoke to The Daily Beast say they understand the implementation had to be a surprise, so as not to spark a rush for the U.S. border ahead of an announced deadline. But the haphazard execution at U.S. border entry points, and the lack of briefings even after the order was signed have made it harder for them to defend Americas actions back home.

We read about it in leaks to the media, and kept waiting for State Department officials to brief us, but the calls never came, said a senior Mideast diplomat who didnt know what to tell his government when the news broke.

That may be because most State Department officials were blindsided too, according to multiple persons familiar with the matter. U.S. diplomats in Baghdad complained the ban would keep a top Iraqi general in the ISIS fight from visiting family in the U.S., stop General Electric from hosting Iraqi delegates in the U.S. as part of a $2 billion energy deal, and send the wrong signal to some 62,000 applicants being considered for relocation for aiding the U.S. during the war. That was among the possible fallout of the new policy, listed in a letter obtained by The Wall Street Journal, sent Saturday from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to the State Department.

A State Department spokesman declined to comment on the letter, but said they remain in close contact with our coalition partners on a range of issues, in the quest to defeat ISIS.

Already, Iraqi militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr called on all American citizens to leave Iraq. Sadrs group killed hundreds of U.S. troops during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, but has held its fire during the ISIS fight, as it technically answers to the Iraqi prime minister, under the umbrella of the 140,000-strong Popular Mobilization Forces. General Stephen Townsend, who commands the coalition effort in Iraq, told The Daily Beast in December that PMF forces were behaving mostly lawfully and not attacking U.S. troops. The U.S. even intercepted some communications from some members asking their leadership for permission to attack the Americans  and being told to stand down.

But that was before the Trump White House delivered what is being taken as an insult to Muslim pride  seeming to apply suspicion to all, in the same vein as National Security Adviser Michael Flynns tweet that Fear of Muslims is rational.

So far, the mission against ISIS has been going as planned.

We remain focused on killing the bad guys, with strikes, training, surveillance and intelligence support to the Iraqis and other local forces continuing, said a U.S. military official who is part of the fight. All those missions continue with no disruption.

But it's unclear to U.S. military officials what sort of knock-on effect this will have on programs that bring Iraqi officers or politicians to the states for short term courses or high-level meetings  the kind of effects the U.S. embassy warned of in its letter.

We gotta let the rules play out and determine what the impact is, the officials said.
Late Saturday night, in the jam-packed baggage terminal for international arrivals at Washington Dulles International Airport, dozens of lawyers and hundreds of protesters watched as the first major Constitutional crisis of the Trump presidency played out.

The day before, Trump signed an executive order barring people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. But many people traveling to the U.S. from those countriesincluding legal permanent residents of the U.S.were already in the air and couldnt turn around. As a result, airports across the country turned into lawfare zones, with cadres of volunteer lawyers squaring off against bureaucrats in the Customs and Border Protection agency. Late-night rulings from federal judges made a legally unprecedented situation even more dramatic, with all three branches of the federal governmentlegislative, executive, and judicialwarring with each other. At stake: the lives and safety of people trying to legally enter the U.S.

At about 7:30 p.m., a boisterous crowd of several hundred pro-refugee protesters had circled around the International Arrivals baggage claim at Dullesflanked by police who cleared a passageway so people getting off planes could get through. Protesters waved signs saying refugees were welcome (some signs read Welcome in Arabic), denouncing President Trump, and calling for Christians to show Christlike love to people fleeing terrorism. They carried Welcome Home balloons and they sang songs.

And there were chants, including Let them see their lawyers now!

There were dozens of lawyers, brought together by the International Refugee Assistance Project. A handful actually practiced immigration law, and dozens more with non-immigration backgroundsbankruptcy, litigation, you name itshowed up to try to help.

Early in the evening, a huge piece of news broke: Two federal judges, Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York and Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia, had made rulings that would stall the implementation of Trumps anti-refugee executive order.

For the lawyers at Dulles Airport, Brinkemas ruling generated a ton of excitement. She ruled that the travelers detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had a right to see lawyers.

After the ruling came out, lawyers bustled around, filling out forms declaring that detainees were their clients (someone had thought to bring a printer). Any minute, they expected, they would be able to see the detainees and try to help them get into the U.S.

At this point, it wasnt clear how many people were detained and which of them were legal permanent residents of the U.S. Lawyers didnt even know all the names of the people they were trying to help. It wasnt clear if some detainees had been put back on planes returning to their countries of origin, or if detainees had been shuttled off to immigrant detention centers in Northern Virginia. The travelers were all being held in whats called secondary inspection, referred to as secondary. Its part of the CBP screening process where lawyers are rarely, if ever, allowed to be present.

But lawyers who spoke to The Daily Beast said its also unheard of for government agencies like CBP to prevent people who have the legal right to live in the U.S. from seeing their lawyers. And thats what was happening.

After Brinkemas order came down, and lawyers at Dulles prepared to meet their new clients, the CBP balked, barring these lawyers from seeing their would-be clients.

Time ticked. Protesters chanted. CBP officials were invisible; for hours, lawyers didnt know if CBP officials at Dulles had even acknowledged Brinkemas ruling existed.

Lawyers wrung their hands. And then, slowly, detainees started trickling out, one or two at a time. One woman who had been detained doubled over sobbing as she walked through the crowd. She nearly collapsed onto a loved one. Another man who was detained, Javad Fotouhi, calmly fielded questions from a scrum of reporters about the four hours he spent in secondary. When CBP finally let him go, he said, they didnt say why.

We saw elderly people and disabled people, he said.

Then two wheelchair-bound peoplean 88-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife, both of whom have green cards, according to their granddaughtercame out. Their granddaughter, Pegah Rahmani (an American citizen who lives in Fairfax, Va.) doubled over to hug them. She told The Daily Beast that her grandmother had recently had a stroke and her grandfather was legally blind.

They really werent treating them very nicely, she said, of their time in detention. They took a lot of their stuff.

That included medication; neither of the feeble octogenarians had access to their meds, much less to lawyers.

Another Iraqi man who was detained made a beeline out of the airport as soon as he was set free. Standing at the curb, he lit up a thin cigarette and told reporters that there was a family still detained, including a wheelchair-bound young woman with mental disabilities.

As the night wore on, it became increasingly clear that CBP was defying Brinkemas ruling. Lawyers concluded that that meant someone was in contempt of court. The judge could theoretically send in federal law enforcement officers to force CBP to let the lawyers meet with the detainees. But sending in the U.S. Marshalswho are part of the Department of Justiceto take on Customs and Border Patrolwhich is part of the Department of Homeland Securitywould have been a bureaucratic clash of the titans. And, like everything else that night, it would have been unprecedented. It didnt happen.

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Though detainees were slowly being released, lawyers were disturbed that they couldnt meet with them. What if CBP tried to coerce detainees into signing paperwork that could jeopardize their legal status? Release wasnt enough. A federal agency was defying a federal judge, and no one was quite sure what to do.

Then at around 11:45 p.m., New Jersey Senator Cory Booker showed up.

He had come to get the travelers out of detention, or at least access to an attorney, he told The Daily Beast.

Then he disappeared down a hallway blocked off by police, back to where the CBP officials had quarantined themselves.

Booker stayed back there for about half an hour, and then he pushed through the crowd of roaring protesters andflanked by glowering policemenaddressed the crowd. After a few opening words, he held up a copy of Brinkemas order.

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I am now of the belief that though this was issued by the judicial branch, that it was violated tonight, he said. And so one of the things I will be doing is fighting to make sure that the executive branch abides by the law as it was issued in this state and around the nation. This will be an ongoing battle.

The crowd cheered.

We see tonight what I believe is a clear violation of the Constitution, he continued. And so clearly tonight we have to commit ourselves to the longer fight. Clearly tonight, we have to commit ourselves to the cause of our country. Clearly tonight, we have to be determined to show this world what America is all about.

Booker told The Daily Beast that CBP didn't give him an explanation for why they wouldnt let lawyers access detainees.

They told me nothing, and it was unacceptable, he said. I believe its a Constitutional crisis, where the executive branch is not abiding by the law.

A source familiar with Bookers exchange with CBP officials told The Daily Beast that officials with the agency refused to see him face to face. Instead, Booker wrote questions on a piece of paper which he handed to police officers, and those officers gave the paperalong with a copy of Brinkemas rulingto CBP officials. Those CBP officials then wrote out their answers to the senators questions, according to the source. The source described it as a half-written, half-spoken game of telephone.

It was a surreal moment: An executive agency was defying the ruling of a federal judge, and a U.S. senator was tryingunsuccessfullyto make that agency comply.

At the end of the night, at least one traveler was still detained: a Syrian woman, who had a J-2 non-immigrant visa. Her husband is a doctor working at a hospital in D.C., and she had come to try to be with him. Her lawyer, Rob Robertsona tall, large man with a pinkish chambray shirt, cargo pants, and a snowy white goateetold The Daily Beast that he expected her to be taken to an ICE facility on Sunday, where an ICE agent would interview her to assess if she was truly afraid of going back to Syria. Robertson, who was representing her pro bono, said she would pass that interview process with no trouble; if she went back, she could be in serious danger.

The womans husband, eyes bloodshot, implored Robertson: Would she be comfortable tonight?

He said she probably would, and he was optimistic that she would be free in two weeks or less. This wasnt Robertsons first showdown with ICE, and wont be his last.

This is fun, he said.
It might have just gotten a lot harder for undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S., becauseaccording to immigration attorneyssome Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices have taken away a key legal strategy that let undocumented immigrants ask prosecutors to temporarily postpone their deportations.

Immigration attorneys told The Daily Beast that the ICE field office in Buffalo, N.Y., as of Friday afternoon, has stopped granting any requests for prosecutorial discretion. This means immigrants who havent committed crimes and arent linked gangs or terrorism can no longer ask government immigration attorneys to postpone their deportation proceedings in order to focus on deporting undocumented immigrants who actually present a security threat.

This change is the direct result of an executive order Trump signed on Jan. 25, and it could potentially tee up the deportations of hundreds of thousands of law-abiding undocumented immigrants. Initially, Trump administration officials indicated they would keep enforcing immigration laws in a similar way. In his first White House press briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the Trump administration will prioritize deporting undocumented immigrants who have criminal convictions.

That appears to no longer be the case.

Matthew Kolken, an immigration attorney who is based in Buffalo, said he has about a dozen clients who have requested prosecutorial discretion to temporarily postpone their deportation proceedings. He said the change in Buffalo means it is now much harder for those clients to stave off deportation

Its a big deal, said Kolken, who frequently represents undocumented children. Basically, its full steam ahead for deportations.

For immigration attorneys trying to keep their clients from being deported, the abrupt and dramatic change is confusing.

The way Ive been hearing it phrased is, theyve been asked to take a temporary pause in processing any sort of requests for prosecutorial discretion, said Elizabeth Dobosiewicz, an immigration attorney and liaison with ICE on behalf of the Upstate New York Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Were not really sure what the scope of that means.

Reached for comment by The Daily Beast, the ICE field office in Buffalo would not confirm or deny the moratorium on prosecutorial discretion. An ICE official who spoke on background said that the agency itself hadnt put a moratorium on the use of prosecutorial discretion. But that hasnt stopped local ICE offices from stopping the practice on their own.

And its not just Buffalo.

Heather Drabek Prendergast, who chairs the American Immigration Lawyers Associations ICE Liaison Committee, told The Daily Beast that different ICE offices are reacting to the executive orders in a variety of different ways. Some ICE field offices are still accepting requests for prosecutorial discretion, she said.

Ive heard reports from other offices that their attorneys are being told that theres a moratorium on prosecutorial discretion, and no decisions are being issued, she said. And then weve heard from other of a couple of offices that have taken kind of an extreme approachand not necessarily the office itself, but more like rogue agents out in the field who are interpreting the executive orders quite literally, without any actual guidance regarding what should be done to line up with those enforcement priorities. So its really kind of across the board.

And, she added, thats because the Department of Homeland Security hasnt told them how to comply with the executive order.

I think its confusing for everyone, she said. Its a fluid situation. Its changing literally throughout the day in each jurisdiction.

Trumps order effective reverses the Obama policy on immigration enforcement. That policy, detailed in a November 2014 memo, prioritized the deportation of undocumented immigrants who had been convicted of serious crimes or who threatened national security.

The rationale was that since the federal government has limited resources, it might as well find a way to concentrate on deporting dangerous people.

Now that some ICE field offices have stopped using prosecutorial discretion, that may no longer be the case. For the time being, some of those field offices seem to be assuming the executive order means a crackdown on all undocumented immigrantsnot just those convicted of serious crimes.

That said, this could change. The Department of Homeland Securitywhich handles immigration enforcementis currently a disorganized mess, thanks to the Trump administrations poorly organized transition process. So Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices have had to figure out on their own how to comply with Trumps immigration executive orders. Until Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly sends more direction to ICE field offices on how to understand and implement Trumps executive order, different ICE offices will try to figure out on their own what exactly the presidents executive order means.

Kolken said its possible the end of prosecutorial discretion will become a national policy, and a permanent onefast-tracking deportations for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants currently waiting for their day in court. And Kolken said this is a central part of Obamas legacy on immigration.

He handed him half a million deportations on a silver platter, he said, referring to the 530,000+ backlog of cases in immigration courts. He cooked the turkey and left it for Trump to carve up.
Let it be said that when it comes to catastrophic presidencies George W. Bush set the bar high. For a start, he blew up the Middle East on falsified intelligence, elevated Iran to a regional power, allowed the U.S. to become an intrusive surveillance state with the impunity of communist East Germany, and allowed Wall Street to design the collapse of the world economy.

Given the chance, Donald Trump could easily top that performance and, on the basis of his gothic inaugural address and erratic behavior since then, he might actually succeed.

The disasters of the Bush years are prologue to the urgent and severe test we face now: whether journalism, our democracys last line of defense against abuses of power is up to the job. In the case of Bush, journalism was fatally gullible when it needed to be vigilant, pliant when it needed to be ineluctable. The press, and specifically our most serious metropolitan dailies, failed to expose what amounted to a secret conspiracy in the White House to take the nation to war, the worst foreign policy fiasco since Vietnam.

The scandal of the Iraq war was also a scandal of journalistic scrutiny and diligence, or lack thereof.

For example, it took the Washington Post seven years, well after the event, to reveal in a series of investigative reports how far Vice President Dick Cheney had dominated and corrupted the process of policy making by sexing up intelligence, something Bush himself only realized when it was already too late.

This is not to say that conspiracies deep inside government are easy to crack. The people conducting them work within a regime that gives them institutional cover in the name of national security. Anyone threatening that regime risks brutal reprisal, as Cheney demonstrated when a former ambassador, Joe Wilson, exposed as a lie the claim that Saddam Hussein had acquired nuclear material from Niger. As a result, Wilsons wife, Valerie Plame, was deliberately outed as a CIA agent, ending her career.

Cheney and neo-con zealots like Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz employed a technique with reporters that goes back to the intrigues of medieval courts: present falsehoods as fact in the guise of offering privileged access. Fatally, the New York Times swallowed another bogus piece of intelligence about Saddams nuclear arsenal that didnt actually exist, involving aluminum tubes, and the paper ended up as a virtual co-conspirator in justifying the war. The Dixie Chicks showed more integrity.

Its a very different Times nowand a very different media ecology. Dean Baquet, the executive editor, and Joseph Kahn, the managing editor, have said that the papers transition from print to digital publishing called for a smaller and more focused newsroom. But at the same time they are investing $5 million in the specific mission of covering the Trump administration, resources that few other news organizations can deploy.

You might well argue whether we can really believe in the journalistic acuity of the news organizations that so spectacularly underestimated the Trump phenomenon. August editorial boards, once they began to feel queasy, sent some of their best writers into Appalachia to locate the source of the grievances that Trump was channeling. The pieces that followed read like nineteenth century dispatches sent in cleft sticks from the deepest recesses of the Congoit was noted, with undisguised astonishment, that along the back country roads there was a church every five miles, and that there were high schools where teachers still discouraged pupils from advancing to college because college campuses were in the hands of secular libertines.

In any event, it is obvious now that the old ways of covering Washington are no longer adequate or, in many ways, even relevant. There is a new gang in town with its own covert programs to press forward. The integrity and credibility of the White House are being questioned as never before. As Gideon Rachman wrote in the Financial Times: Mr Trumpis in a different category of dishonesty from the villains of yesteryear, such as Dick Cheneythe lies are so frequent and so flagrant that they are undeniable.

The lies are also unavoidable and could distract from the business being conducted behind them. Most immediately, it will be challenging for reporters to detect and reveal how an entirely new kind and level of vested influence will flow between the executive and legislative branches.

This influence has arrived in the cabinet and at the head of departments in the persons of former corporate and banking executives with no previous experience of public office. (Only 55 percent of all cabinet level appointments have government experience compared to 96 percent of the George W. Bush choices.) They include no fewer than six alumni of Goldman Sachs. And then there is Carl Icahn, a voracious corporate raider who has created nothing in a long lifetime except a personal fortune, who is now an advisor onof all thingsderegulation! Collectively these people represent an unprecedented assault on public policy without in the past having displayed any of the ethical instincts that are normally expected of those holding public office.

Given how formidable this concentration of power is, the old vocational niches of newsrooms need to be abandoned. A more effective use of the reporting talent would be to break away from the over-reliance on access based political reporting. By definition this is spoon-fed journalism, merely relaying an administrations spin, only the news that they want you to know. Real news is always what somebody somewhere doesnt want you to know. Reporters working within their specialist silos tend to become captives of the fields they cover, as we saw in the run-up to the Iraq war. White House correspondents, for example, become very attached to their turf, but their accreditation relies on their respect for briefing rules that, in essence will now be dictated by a president with no respect for independent journalism. We have already seen how Press briefings conducted by the hapless Sean Spicer can turn into displays of testiness rather than explanations of policy.

Accredited correspondents in news-rich places like the departments of state, defense and justice have to navigate between observing the rules on which confidential briefings are based and remaining open to sources that flout those rules. In the most contentious cases they can find themselves having to protect the anonymity of sources and whistleblowers against serious legal threats.

This is not a suddenly novel problem ushered in by Trump. Politicians of any stripe who run large departments quickly develop zero tolerance toward whistleblowers. Dana Priest, a Washington Post reporter with a string of consequential investigations to her credit, has said, Obamas attorney general repeatedly allowed the F.B.I. to use intrusive measures against reporters more often than any time in recent memory. The moral obstacles have been cleared for Trumps attorney general to go even further.

The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has spoken in soul-searching personal terms of how easily the Washington press corps was bamboozled by Trump theatrics and failed to dig deeper: Well have to figure out new ways of doing things while focusing on journalism, not stenography.

Kristofs own editors have agonized over their degree of readinessagonized too much, it could be argued, beginning with their late recognition that when Trump was lying, as he was every day, they might actually use the word lie in a story and a headline. Then there is the case of the Russian dossier that had been known about by many newsrooms for months (including The Daily Beast) but was very hard to source and verify. Liz Spayd, The Timess public editor, chided her paper for being too timid in its handling of this story.

There is an unsettling theme that runs through The Timess publishing decisions. In each instance, it was the actions of government officials that triggered newsroom decisionsnot additional reporting or insight gained by journalists, Spayd wrote.

And dont expect any insight from the major TV networks. The formulaic 30-second stand-up delivered from the White House lawn gives the impression of reporting when it is nothing more than a headline. Anchors spend little time doing actual reporting and when they do they have too little time to explore issues: The Tyndall Report that monitors network news programs found that in the 2008 election the three main networks devoted a total of three hours and 40 minutes to coverage of election issues in the whole year; in 20016 it fell to just 36 minutes. And yet in 2016 hours of prime time were given to unfiltered Trump verbiage.

Television journalism doesnt deal in the big picture scoops. It was Dana Priest who, finally, worked independently of specialist reporters to bust open the fake intelligence and black ops of the Bush White House. Her reinvigorated paper is now pouring more resources into investigative teams who are similarly free to choose their targets without being hobbled by regular beats.

But the citadels of secrecy in our national security state as it has now evolved will always have far greater defenses against scrutiny than either congress or the press can penetrate. The rare and really big busts made on behalf of the public interest have usually been the work of disaffected insiders, and came cheap to the newspapers that published them.

Something equal to the release of 720,000 secret documents from the state and defense departments by WikiLeaks and Edward Snowdens amazing data dump is well beyond the stuff of normal journalistic scoopsas were the Pentagon Papers in the time of Vietnam. The Guardian, the New York Times and the Washington Post assigned their own reporters and resources to sift, check and clear the materialto make sure, for example, that lives were not endangered by the revelationsbut the coups were not initiated by them and required no months of expensive investigative reporting.

Only Snowden and Chelsea Manning could unbury this treasure and how many more like them are going to risk similar exposure now in a political atmosphere of rabid so-called patriotism? Cheneys bare-fisted personal reprisals will seem almost gentlemanly against Trumps vicious reflexes.

Journalistic vigilance can only function freely on the precarious defense of the need to know, while the concept of our right to know is continually being litigated. Since 9/11 that tension has greatly increased, as the interests of the national security state have become far more assertive. That is not going to change. Indeed, with the arrival of Trump in the White House, it is clear that the basic concept of a right to know will always be subverted by his own interests and secretslike his tax returns.

Richard Nixon was not exposed and brought down because the systems to check presidential malfeasance worked. They didnt. Journalism worked where the other institutions did not. In the first year or so of Bob Woodwards and Carl Bernsteins Watergate reporting theyand their newspaperwere way out on their own. Other lofty editorial voices accused them of running a vendetta without any basis in truth. These days around half the country would have refused to believe anything they wrote while having total faith in Breitbarts garbage.

And so we enter the unknown, with trepidation. Reporters face a wall of accumulating lies. Trump sits in the White House tweeting with the imperiousness of Charles Foster Kane and the paranoia of Captain Queeg. His real direction and purpose are hard to fathomand perhaps that is the idea. He and his flacks present a false choice, between his Orwellian version of truth and that pursued by the people he called among the most dishonest people on earth

Stephen K. Bannon made clear that he is the doctrinal enforcer behind the White Houses assault on the press in a rant this week, saying that they should be humiliated by their failure to foresee the outcome of the election:

The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while.

In one respect Bannon was more right than he probably realized. He complained that the media had become the opposition party. That is the point. As the modern Western democracies evolved the first principle of journalism was that it should be, whatever the party or regime in power, the permanent non-political opposition, the guarantor of the public interest. Not to understand thatindeed, to resent itis the mark of the demagogue.

George Orwells masterpiece 1984 is enjoying a new lease of life, sales are soaring. But Orwell described a tyranny based on what he knew, a society like Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia combined in which the state could eliminate its critics as non-persons. Orwell never saw a democracy as endangered as oursalthough the idea of alternative facts could have come straight from his novel. But the other George Orwell, the journalist, would not have had any patience with the modish concept of post-truth politics. When it came to the integrity of language he was out there in the front line trenches and this concept would have seemed too defeatist to him.

Orwell considered language to be the host of truth and language, he argued, couldwith hard workbe purged of debasement: Our civilization is decadent he wrote, and our languageso the argument runsmust inevitably share in the general collapse He disagreed, arguing that the process was reversible, and in his essay Politics and the English Language he went on to suggest how that could be done with specific examples:

Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchistsis designed to make lies sound truthful and murder sound respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

Trump and his gang have taken this technique to a new level, creating a parallel universe of lies delivered with angry conviction. Trumps demagogic inclinations will now be even more empowered by office. This is the way despotism begins, and it would be foolish to expect from this White House any outcome that is not indicated by the character of the man.
A hashtag #deleteuber emerged on Twitter shortly after Uber announced that the surge pricing was off at JFK airport while the New York Workers Alliance announced an hour-long boycott of the airport.

By India Today Web Desk: Soon after New York Taxi Workers Alliance announced an hour-long boycott of John F. Kennedy International Airport to "support all those who are currently being detained at the airport because of Trump's unconstitutional executive", Uber declared that it would reduce the surge pricing at JFK airport.

#deleteUber Here's the NY Taxi Workers Alliance Statement on the refugee ban. @Uber is still trying to go to JFK anyway pic.twitter.com/qQAkPm2r9s Eric Murphy (@EricRMurphy) January 29, 2017

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Uber received massive backlash for "breaking the strike" and collaborating with Trump. A hashtag #deleteuber emerged and Twitter users decided to boycott Uber, delete its mobile application and urged others to do the same.

Also read: Trump's ban on immigration: See how the world is reacting to it

@Uber_NYC deleting your app forever, bc of your boss' Trump support ProgGrrl (@ProgGrrl) January 29, 2017

Uber: CEO Travis Kalanick basically said we have to support whoever is president. spineless response, & that's why Lyft is the new move ??? vimto mami (@lunarnomad) January 29, 2017

Uber - whose owner is a Trump ally - scabbed on the NYC taxi drivers union during today's solidarity strike at JFK #DeleteUber BaburBalos (@BaburRealer) January 29, 2017

Several protestors, with placards saying "Uber collaborates, we resist", even barricaded the front of Uber headquarters in San Francisco and employees were not able to enter the building.

Also read: Unfazed by backlash, Donald Trump says immigration order "working out very nicely"

However, the company tweeted a justification saying the announcement for surge pricing being off was not meant to break strike and posted a statement of the CEO.

Last tweet not meant to break strike. Our CEOs statement opposing travel ban and compensating those impacted: https://t.co/joWvPvux9J Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) January 29, 2017

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is a member of Donald Trump's economic advisory team.

In a Facebook post, Travis Kalanick said that Trump's executive order will have an immediate impact on the company and will be hitting thousands of Uber drivers who often travel back to their countries to visit family.

He said that the company is figuring out a process to identify these drivers and "compensate them pro bono during the next three months".

Also read: We are all immigrants: Protestors descend on airports across US to decry Trump's refugee ban

"We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table," Kalanick wrote in the memo. "We will have more details on this in the coming days", the post read.

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Kalanick also wrote that he decided to join Trump's economic advisory group so that they can present the citizen's voice and speak up for them.

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Nike Cuts Ties With Kyrie Irving Over Hate Speech

JUST DID IT

The brand has suspended its relationship with Irving and will no longer release the Kyrie 8.
By Press Trust of India: From Aditi Khanna

London, Jan 29 (PTI) British Prime Minister Theresa May today came under fire from her party lawmakers and opposition members for her delayed rejection of US President Donald Trumps ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations.

May had said the immigration policy was a matter for the US, before Downing Street today clarified she "does not agree" with it. Her initial comments and refusal to condemn Trumps executive order on the ban had sparked controversy yesterday.

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"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States. But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

May visited the US on Friday, before Trump issued an executive order halting the entire US refugee programme, and also instituting a 90-day travel ban for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

She was, by then, in Turkey, where she declined to condemn the order before Downing Street clarified her stand today.

Protesters are planning to assemble outside Downing Street to criticise Mays response and a petition calling for Trumps proposed state visit to the UK to be cancelled crossed over 100,000 signatures, prompting a possible House of Commons debate.

There are fears that British athletes, including Somalia-born Olympic champion Mo Farah, who trains in the US, could be affected by the ban.

Opposition politicians and some of her own Conservative party MPs have criticised May for not speaking out sooner.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused her of a "weak failure" to stand up for British values, indicating that Trump should not be invited to the UK for a state visit intended for June.

May had invited Trump to Britain on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II when she visited him in Washington DC earlier this week and the US President had accepted her invitation.

"Donald Trump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with his shameful Muslim ban and attacks on refugees and womens rights," he said.

"Theresa May would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trumps actions in the clearest terms. Thats what Britain expects and deserves," Corbyn added.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told BBC: "She shouldve argued against this from the beginning, but once it became apparent that this was going to affect British people. You would expect the British prime minister to fight Britains corner."

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Conservative party MP Nadhim Zahawi, who was born in Baghdad, told BBC the ban meant he would be unable to visit his sons who are studying at Princeton University in the US.

"Im hoping he will reconsider this decision, I think its hugely discriminatory," he said.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan described Trumps move as "shameful", adding that "As a nation that, like the USA, values tolerance, diversity and freedom, we cannot just shrug our shoulders and say: Its not our problem." PTI AK AJR ABH AJR

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The third novel in Fort Worth author Jeff Guinns award-winning western trilogy is Silver City (Putnam, $27 hardcover) and its another thriller that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens to main character Cash McLendon.

For two years, McLendon has been hoping to win back the lover he unceremoniously jilted in St. Louis and make a new life together in California. After their breakup, Gabrielle Tirrito moved to Arizona Territory with her aging father. McLendon pursued them to the town of Glorious, but had to make a hasty exit when the man known as Killer Boots hunted him down.

McLendons problem is that he married his wealthy bosss crazy daughter in St. Louis, choosing money over love. When she committed suicide, McLendon headed west. His ex-boss blamed her death on McLendon and sent Killer Boots to bring him back for a private and brutal execution.

After McLendon escaped from Glorious, he ended up in Kansas with a band of buffalo hunters and eventually found himself fighting for his life in the middle of a fierce Indian attack at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, in the Texas Panhandle.

Surviving that, and receiving an encouraging letter from Gabrielle, Cash McLendon again heads to Arizona, this time to the prosperous mining town of Mountain View where Gabrielle and her father are living.

But the vengeful ex-boss learns of McLendons new location and once again sends Killer Boots, or Patrick Bautigan, to capture McLendon and bring him back so the boss can get the satisfaction of personally watching him die a painful death.

Meanwhile, Cash is trying his best to convince Gabrielle that he is a changed man and that his love for her is genuine. Just as it looks like they might be able to put the past behind them and move forward, Killer Boots shows up.

And then the leisurely pace of the story turns into a hair-raising life-and-death thriller.

Readers new to the series need not have read the first two books in the trilogy  Glorious and Buffalo Trail  to pick up the story in as it unfolds in this third volume. The author briefly recaps the previous events in McLendons life that have eventually led him to Mountain View.

But the first two books are now available in paperback, so if youre interested in reading the entire trilogy (which I highly recommend), you should start with Glorious, then Buffalo Trail and then Silver City or wait for it to come out in paperback, probably in about a year.

Again, though, its not mandatory to have read the first two tales in order to pick up on the action in this new hardback. So feel free to plunge in. You will be in for a treat. Guinn, the former book editor at the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the author of about 20 books, really knows how to keep a reader zoned in.

Guinn writes fiction and nonfiction on widely diverse topics ranging from Santa Claus to Bonnie and Clyde to Charles Manson. His next book, due out in April, delves into the tragic story of preacher Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre.

Glenn Dromgoole writes about Texas books and authors. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.
Tucked away just beyond Downtown Bryan  and close enough to the train tracks to feel the rumble of passing locomotives  stands a small temple, aged but still majestic, waiting patiently for its turn to receive new life.

Built in 1912, Temple Freda stands as the oldest religious structure in Bryan, the only temple in the country to be named after a woman and one of only two Jewish temples in the world to receive its namesake from a non-Biblical woman.

Now, the former Jewish temple is poised to take its place as a vibrant part of the community once again with help from the City of Bryan and other community partners.

Recently receiving a $40,000 matching grant from the Texas Historical Commission, City of Bryan Director of Strategic Projects Lindsey Guindi said Temple Freda now has the financial support it needs to begin the process of revitalizing its infrastructure.

We are taking small bites on this project, Guindi said. This [grant] should get us through the first year of the restoration effort. It will get us started.

She said the grant, along with the private donations raised so far through the Brazos Heritage Society  which is partnering on the restoration effort  and a downtown improvement grant from the city, will get us to the point that the structure is stabilized.

After being cared for by a number of stewards over the past several decades  the most recent being Texas A&M physicist William Bassichis  Guindi said the City of Bryan stepped in to manage Temple Freda about three years ago during the rise in Downtown Bryan restoration work.

Stephanie Sale, a member of the citys Friends of Temple Freda committee, said interest in the temple sort of coincided with the success of the restoration effort in Downtown Bryan.

Somehow as everything else looked better, Temple Freda looked more and more in need, she said. The general feeling was, Isnt it a shame about Temple Freda?

Outside of its cultural significance, City of Bryan Senior Planner Randy Hanes said Temple Freda also has deep historical ties to several other religious groups in the area.

Hanes, who also serves as a member of the Brazos Heritage Society, said over the years the temple has served as a venue for a number of other faith groups without a structure of their own to have religious services.

Even stretching back to its inception, Hanes said the construction of Temple Freda was a communitywide effort that received assistance in the form of everything from materials to a gift of the land on which it was built.

When they went to [build the temple], it became sort of a communitywide effort, Hanes said. The Jewish community was very accepted by the community; there didnt seem to be any kind of rancor. Really, not only were they accepted, they were popular people.

Hanes said over time what would become Aggie Hillel was established by Jewish faculty members at Texas A&M and by the 1950s, the community had mostly shifted from Temple Freda to the location in College Station.

After that, he said the temple was used on loan by several start-up congregations of other faiths over the next few decades until a year or two before the City of Bryan stepped in, effectively shutting its doors so that the restoration process could begin.

Once the renovation of Temple Freda is complete  in an estimated three to five years  Guindi said the plan is to resume the buildings role as a servant of the community.

Although it will no longer be used solely as a synagogue, she said the space is expected to become a venue for respectful events such as weddings and receptions, educational events, concerts and more.

Its going to operate very similar to how it has for many decades at this point, Guindi said. Its been open to the community, and it will continue to be open to the community. We think it will be a fabulous asset to the building inventory of Downtown Bryan.

While the city is the owner and caretaker of the property, Guindi said the plan is for a yet-to-be-determined nonprofit organization to take on ownership and maintenance of the building to oversee the temples long-term management.

Sale said while looking back on the temples history, she had been particularly moved by the language in the lands original deed, which stated that Temple Freda only be used for benevolent purposes.

Whatever its used for, it has to be reflective of that request, Sale said. That is guiding a great amount in the restoration effort.

More than anything, Guindi said she believes Temple Freda represents the essence of what the community has stood for over the past century.

[It stands for] an appreciation of history, diversity, hope, Guindi said. These are all things that our community represents today. One-hundred and five years later, I think this effort represents Bryan. It isnt just one group in the community  its people from all backgrounds, all faiths, all financial capabilities coming together. I think thats what Bryan is about.
Many Brazos Valley Catholics are counting down the days until two first-class relics of St. Anthony of Padua make their way from Italy to Bryan.

The relics  a fragment of the saints ribs and skin from his cheek  will make a stop at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Bryan on Feb. 13 during a 10-day tour of the Austin Diocese.

Michael Beauvais, deacon for St. Anthony Catholic Church, said the occasion is a chance to venerate the churchs namesake.

There is a lot of excitement in the parish, in part because it is a celebration of our history  because we were named after St. Anthony of Padua  and this is a reaffirmation of the dedication we have to that, Beauvais said.

He said this excitement extends to the greater area.

All the Catholic parishes in the area have the opportunity to come together, he said. I think this is the whole point of relics  the understanding that the church is much larger than the individual. Its much larger than the individual parish. It does not only include the people here on earth, but the people who came before us.

The relics will be brought by the Rev. Mario Conte, a Padua-based priest and executive editor of a magazine called The Messenger of Saint Anthony.

Conte has been traveling across the world with the relics since the 90s, but Tom Muscatello, a representative for the holy relics tours in the United States, said more dioceses have asked for Conte to visit with the relics in recent years.

In explaining the importance of the relic coming to Brazos Valley, Beauvais draws on a speech given by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 during World Youth Day. During the speech, the pope referenced relics of the Magi, or the three wise men who grace Nativity scenes around Christmas, and said, in the end, these are indeed just human bones, but they are bones that belonged to individuals touched by the living power of God.

Its not that were worshiping a saint or worshiping these relics. Were coming to celebrate the fact that the church is 2,000 years old, and people have contributed to that in great ways and small ways, he said. Saints have contributed in great ways. We recognize that we all have the potential to that.

Among other things, Beauvais said the saint is known by Catholics for the work he did in his lifetime and for helping people find lost things.

People usually pray for his intercession when theyve lost things, because traditionally people have suddenly found the things theyve lost when theyve asked for his intercession, Beauvais said.

The relics also will visit Austin, Waco, Belton and San Marcos before they are taken back to Italy. When he leaves, Conte will bring prayer cards filled out by parishioners in the Austin diocese to St. Anthonys tomb. Muscatello said Conte generally takes home around 8,000 to 10,000 of these cards during a trip of this length.

Longtime parishioner Judy Comeaux said her prayers will be among the stack. She said its a blessing in itself for a relic to be in Bryan-College Station.

Relics remind us of the holiness of that saint, so we would ask their intercession to help us lead a holy life, she said. So to be in the presence of a part of a saints body is just an amazing thing.
Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the SP was capable enough to contest and win elections alone.

By India Today Web Desk: After the first joint roadshow by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today, SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav has expressed his displeasure over the alliance.

Mulayam Singh today said that the SP was capable enough to contest and win elections alone and there was no need for the alliance with the Congress for the upcoming UP Assembly election.

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The SP chief also said that he will not go anywhere to campaign for this (SP-Congress) alliance. Mulayam Singh Yadav, without mixing his words also added that he was against this alliance.

The leader expressing his disappointment also said, "What about the SP leaders whose tickets have been cancelled because of the alliance. What will they do now"

The formal announcement of SP-Congress alliance took place after hectic parleys and tough bargain by the two sides over last several days before they agreed to 298-105 formula with the grand old party as the junior partner in the pre-poll arrangement to thwart BJP's attempt to storm back into power after 15 years.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi defines his chemistry with Akhilesh Yadav: This is an alliance of hearts

The deal was sealed after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav agreed to give 105 seats to Congress, which was looking for an honourable escape from its earlier position of contesting alone on all seats in UP.

Ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi today projected the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance as the one that stands for peace, progress and prosperity--the 3Ps that both said will defeat the BJP in the state.

"Our alliance is people's alliance. We will form the government in Uttar Pradesh. This tie-up is to make sure that there is no scope for a lapse," Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said.

Watch the video here: SP is capable of winning election alone: Mulayam expresses disappointment with Congress alliance

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Rumors have been rampant since Bryan school superintendent Tommy Wallis abruptly resigned under pressure last October. Most of the rumors center on his performance or his relations with subordinates or the board. Some, however, are unsavory to say the least.

The rumors exist because there are few facts known to the public.

We do know that Wallis came to Bryan in 2011 from the Palestine school district, where he was superintendent. Last spring, the school board extended Wallis' contract a year to June 2019.

We do know that on Sept. 19, according to a recording made public by the school district in late December, then-Bryan school board president Doug Wunneburger and then-deputy superintendent Timothy Rocka -- now interim superintendent -- sat down with Wallis, with Wunneburger directing him to resign. Wunneburger expressed concerns that Wallis had applied for at least 17 jobs in other school districts, which the board president termed a "betrayal of trust."

Wallis refused to resign, to which Wunneburger responded that he was confident the rest of the board would support his position. He told Wallis, "I suggest that, to preserve your reputation and Bryan [school district's], that you accept it."

In response to a question from Wallis, Rocka said things in the district "aren't good," adding, "They're not good, Dr. Wallis, when you apply for 17 jobs and you focus on yourself and not the best interest of the district. When you have your sole focus on 'what's next for me and what's my pay,' when you position yourself for your own benefit -- this district's too good for that."

Rocka said, "We can't continue down this path."

Wallis then took personal leave and resigned nine days later.

We also know that Wallis asked for $280,000, but the school board refused. He was paid a little more than $83,000 -- his salary through the end of December. As part of the settlement between the board and Wallis, Wunneburger wrote a glowing letter of recommendation praising Wallis accomplishments with the Bryan school district that said, in part, "Dr. Wallis began his service in April 2011 and commendably served Bryan ISD until October of 2016. ... As you can see, Dr. Wallis is an accomplished leader, dedicated to children and learning."

Wallis since has been named interim principal at Hightower High School in Missouri City in the Fort Bend school district.

Both The Eagle and KBTX-TV filed open record requests for the Sept. 19 recording and documents related to Wallis' resignation. The new media and its lawyers contend the information should be made available under the provisions of the state's Public Information Act which says that unless specifically exempted, records kept by government agencies are presumed to be public -- available to the people who own and pay for the government. The attorney general agreed, ordering release of the recording and other documents relating to Wallis's tenure in Bryan.

The district said it would comply, releasing the recording and preparing to release the requested documents. But Wallis sued to prevent the document release, saying it would harm his professional reputation if they became public. Of course, just by saying so, Wallis probably hurts his professional reputation in the absence of facts.

A Travis County district judge issued a temporary injunction barring the release and, after a brief heard in Austin on Thursday, extended the injunction until a hearing scheduled for Oct. 2.

That's just too long for the public to have to wait to see documents state law says we all are entitled to. By October, Bryan is bound to have a new superintendent -- Rocka has applied for the job and a search firm has been hired to seek other potential applicants. Any questions the public might have of superintendent candidates based on the Wallis "resignation" will be moot.

And other school districts in Texas that are looking at hiring Wallis will not have all the information they need to make an informed decision.

Simply put, public information that isn't made public isn't, well, public after all.
Officials in the offices of attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaii said on Saturday they were evaluating what specific claims could be filed, and in which court.

By Reuters: A group of state attorneys general are discussing whether to file their own court challenge against President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the United States, officials in three states told Reuters.

Democrat attorneys general are expected to be a source of fierce resistance to Trump, much as Republican AGs opposed former President Barack Obama. A lawsuit brought by states would heighten the legal stakes surrounding the president's executive order, signed late on Friday, as courtroom challenges to the ban have so far mostly been filed by individuals.

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Officials in the offices of attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaii said on Saturday they were evaluating what specific claims could be filed, and in which court.

Also read: Tit for tat? Iran vows 'reciprocal measures' in response to Trump immigration order

"We do believe the executive order is unconstitutional," Hawaii attorney general Douglas Chin told Reuters on Saturday. He declined to give further detail.

The states could decide not to file, and it is unclear how many states would ultimately sign on for such an effort.

"There certainly are conversations underway," said Joe Grace, a spokesman for Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro.

A Trump representative could not be reached immediately for comment.

Also read: Mark Zuckerberg challenges Trump as ban on Muslims goes live in US

Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the US Congress deemed to be high risk. He told reporters in the Oval Office on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue.

However, his order hit a roadblock late on Saturday when a federal judge in New York said stranded travelers could stay in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the emergency court order, said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at U.S. airports after Trump signed the order.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it would comply with judicial orders but that Trump's immigration restrictions remained in effect.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Also read: Trump's ban on immigration: See how the world is reacting to it

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The trend of warmer Arctic temperatures and melting Arctic ice appears to be worsening. Less ice means more global warming. Last year was the warmest year on record replacing 2015. We saw a number of extreme weather events in 2016 and ongoing evidence of the global warming trend, particularly in the Arctic.

A WMO report presented at COP22 at the end of 2016 indicates that in recent years parts of Arctic Russia, temperatures were 6C to 7C above the long-term average. Many other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions in Russia, Alaska and northwest Canada were at least 3C above average. The global average temperature increase is around 1.5C above average.

The report also revealed a cascade of related phenomena including sea level rise associated with rapidly melting polar ice. Over the past five years, Arctic sea ice is 28 percent below the average of the previous 29 years. The impact from this melting trend is not only rising sea levels it is also decreasing global cooling from the ice associated with the albedo effect (light or radiation that is reflected by a surface). Simply put, less ice means more warming.



Arctic ice reached its equal second-lowest extent in the satellite record in September 2016 and in the fall of 2016 the Arctic was very hot and the extent of sea ice covering the polar ocean was at a record low. The ice was also slower to freeze in the fall of 2016 and it is much thinner than normal.

While the winter, spring, and summer were abnormally warm in the Arctic, the departure from the mean increased in October, November, and December.

In November, Arctic ice normally increases, however, over a period of five days it saw 19,000 square miles of ice cover melt away. NOAA said this was very unusual and almost without precedent. In November Arctic temperatures were 18 degrees warmer than normal. The abnormally warm Arctic was partly responsible for second-warmest November global temperatures on record.

Richard James, a meteorologist who is also the author of a blog on Alaska weather, analyzed 19 weather stations surrounding the Arctic Ocean and found that the average temperature was about 2 C (4F) above the record set in 1998. Since November, temperatures have risen even higher. It is amazing to see that the warmth has become even more pronounced since the end of October, James wrote on his blog. Towards the end of last year, Arctic temperatures were about 20C (36 F) higher than normal above 80 degrees North Latitude despite the onset of the polar night.

Despite onset of #PolarNight, temperatures near #NorthPole increasing. Extraordinary situation right now in #Arctic, w/record low #seaice, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA posted to Twitter.

As reported by NASA, a large hot cyclone that crossed the Arctic in December 2015 thinned and shrunk the sea ice cover during a time of the year when the ice should have been growing thicker and stronger.

This phenomenon repeated in December 2016. As reported by the Washington Post, Arctic expert, James Overland with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration {NOAA), said that the jet stream transported warmth northward into the Arctic. This is highly abnormal in terms of both persistence and magnitude.

As reported in Slate, much warmer than usual temperatures have dominated the Arctic at the end of 2015 and into 2016. [T]he northernmost permanent settlement, Norways Svalbard archipelago, has averaged 10 degrees C (18 degrees F) above normal this winter, with temperatures rising above the freezing mark on nearly two dozen days since Dec. 1. That kind of extremely unusual weather has prompted a record-setting low maximum in Arctic sea ice, especially in the Barents Sea area north of Europe.

Writing on his blog, former NASA scientist Roy Spencer said that February 2016 featured whopping temperature anomalies especially in the Arctic.

In a Huffington Postarticle, Michael Mann said that February stands out for its record-setting heat particularly in the NortherHemispherere.

For the first time on record, we crossed the 2 degrees C dangerous level of warming (for the Northern Hemisphere, the best-measured part of the globe)It is unlikely we will see this anomalous warmth sustained for the remainder of the year, but it is a reminder of how perilously close we are now to permanent dangerous levels of warmth. It is yet another warning of the urgency of reducing global carbon emissions.

According to Mashable , Februarys warmth was especially pronounced in the north. The Arctic saw record low sea ice and temperatures that were about 6 degrees C (almost 11 degrees F) above normal.

Mark Serreze, who heads the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., agreed that something odd is going on. Both air and water temperatures unusually warm. There are some areas in the Arctic Ocean that are as much as 25 degrees Fahrenheit above average now, Serreze said in December. Its pretty crazyThe sea ice is at a record low right now, for this time of year, thats one thing, Serreze said. And why its so low  again, theres so much heat in the upper ocean in these ice-free areas, the ice just cant form right now. The oceans just got to get rid of this heat somehow, and its having a hard time doing so.

Another Washington Post article said, its premature to say if these events are becoming more frequent, the intensity of the warm air reaching the Arctic is almost certainly increasing. 

[T]he warmest midwinter temperatures at the North Pole have been increasing at a rate that is twice as large as that for mean midwinter temperatures at the pole, a Nature study published in mid-December 2016 said. It is argued that this enhanced trend is consistent with the loss of winter sea ice from the Nordic Seas that moves the reservoir of warm air over this region northwards.

The trend is unmistakable. A study by National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA researchers revealed that the length of the melt season for Arctic sea ice is growing by several days each decade, and an earlier start to the melt season is allowing the Arctic Ocean to absorb enough additional solar radiation in some places to melt as much as four feet of the Arctic ice caps thickness.

A Yale 360 article by Peter Wadhams indicates that melting sea ice is triggering a cascade of effects that will amplify global warming and could destabilize the global climate system. Wadhams continued, The planet is swiftly heading toward a largely ice-free Arctic in the warmer months, possibly as early as 2020.

Wadhams is a scientist who specializes in Arctic sea ice, he is professor emeritus of ocean physics at Cambridge University. Wadhams says that over his 46-year career as a scientist he has observed the thickness and extent of Arctic sea ice shrink by 50 percent since the early 1970s. Even steeper declines (75 percent) in volume have been observed. Wadhams explains that there are global feedback effects associated with the arctic ice death spiral:

The great white cap that once covered the top of the world is now turning blue [changing the regions albedo causing only 10 percent of solar radiation to be reflected back into space compared to 50 percent when the surface is covered with ice.] a change that represents humanitys most dramatic step in reshaping the face of our planet. And with the steady disappearance of the polar ice cover, we are losing a vast air conditioning system that has helped regulate and stabilize earths climate system for thousands of years.

Arctic waters have been generally below zero for tens of thousands of years in the summer. With much less ice in the warmest months, Arctic ocean temperatures have risen as much as 7 F in some places. Now rather than cooling the Earth the Arctic is contributing to global heating.

According to one recent study, a warm Arctic is responsible for 25 percent of global warming. Together these impacts are driving global warming. As explained by Wadhams, overall ice/snow albedo effect in the Arctic could add as much as 50 percent to the direct global heating effect of CO2.

There are a number of complex feedback loops at play. Lower levels of sea ice increase ocean temperatures and warmer sea melt even more ice. declining sea ice creates another feedback loop. Less sea ice cover east of the Nordic Sea helps create a passageway for warm air. Other feedback loops affecting the Arctic include more waves that further dismantles ice, warmer terrestrial temperatures that increase the albedo effect on land and water runoff from the warming land or melting ice. Other feedback loops include water vapor, the slowing of the global ocean conveyor belt and major shifts in the northern hemispheres jet stream.

Wadhams says the most dangerous feedback loop is methane trapped in ice on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. Methane traps heat in the atmosphere 23 times more efficiently per molecule than carbon dioxide. More than five years ago Russian scientists had already documented methane seeping from Arctic ice.

These changes represent a spiritual impoverishment of the earth, as well as a catastrophe for humanity Wadhams said. This is a wake-up call Wadhams concluded, the time for action has long since passed.

Maybe part of the problem is that people just dont relate to the Arctic on a personal level. With that in mind here is a historic performance in the middle of the Arctic Ocean by acclaimed Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi. Described by Paul Hawkins as, without question, the best video ever made on climate change.

Ive been about to see the purity and fragileness of this area with my own eyes and perform a song that I composed on the best stage in the world, Einaudi said. It is important that we understand the importance of the Arctic, [and] stop its process and protect it. Einaudi is one of eight million people from across the world demanding protection for the Arctic.

Related

Rising CO2 Emissions and Ongoing Heat Records Especially in the Arctic

Arctic Sea Ice is Disappearing

Arctic Warming Feedback Loops: Algae Blooms and Thawing Permafrost
Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav today appeared together for the first time since the Congress and the Samajwadi Party announced an alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.

By India Today Web Desk: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi addressed the press at a nearly hour-long conference in Lucknow. The two leaders, appeared together for the first time since the alliance between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party was announced.

The two young leaders will also hold a road show in Lucknow later in the day.

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Here's what happened at the conference:

With that, the two young leaders got up to prepare for the road show in Lucknow.

The BJP rakes up the Ram Mandir issue before every election, but it wouldn't be proper for me to comment on it, Rahul says.

On the issue of Ram Mandir, Rahul says it's a matter with the court. What the court says will happen, the leader adds.

Narendra Modi's words and actions are contradictory, Gandhi asserts.

Congress wants to support Akhilesh's intention to bring change in Delhi: Rahul.

On the issue of Rahul being the PM candidate in 2019, Akhilesh says it is a question for the future.

Congress believes in politics that benefits the poor, the party vice president adds.

'An alliance is a give and take': Rahul.

Political negotiations involve a lot of 'posturing', says Gandhi, adding, the press takes the posturing too seriously.

Congress-SP will win more than 300 seats, Uttar Pradesh will move ahead, Gandhi says.

Both the leaders avoid answering how the seats in Rae Bareilly and Amethi, both bastions of the Gandhi family, will be divided between the Congress and SP.

We are going to fight united and show the BJP that you cannot divide this country, you cannot trample over the people in this country and win elections: Rahul.

Akhilesh echoes Rahul on whether Dimple Yadav, the UP CM's wife, will be on the campaign trail.

On whether Priyanka campaigning, Rahul says it's a decision that's up to her.

SP- Congress alliance in Lok Sabha not yet discussed, but is a possibility, the Congress vice president says.

Our goal is to defeat the RSS-BJP ideology: Rahul

This is a historical alliance, Gandhi says, responding to a reporter's question.

Uttar Pradesh's DNA holds brotherhood and progress, not anger, Rahul Gandhi says.

'Ache din waalon ne ache din dikhaaye nai' (Those who meant to show us the good days haven't shown us the good days), Akhilesh says, taking a dig at PM Narendra Modi.

The two parties, Rahul adds, are fighting the election together based on their similarities.

We want to bring a new kind of politics to Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader.

The country and its people are hurting because of politics of anger, says Rahul.

We are two wheels of a cycle moving towards development, says Akhilesh on alliance.

Together, Congress and the SP will speed up the progress and prosperity in UP, the CM adds.

There is no doubt that we will secure a majority in the Assembly election, Akhilesh says.

People want this alliance to succeed, Yadav adds.

We've known each other, but I am happy that we now get to work together, UP CM Akhilesh says.

This is a triple P: Progress, prosperity and peace, says the Congress vice president.

This is like the meeting of Ganga and Yamuna, says Rahul.

Rahul hugs Akhilesh once. Cameramen request for an encore. The duo. They oblige.

Theme song prepared for SP-Congress alliance plays before the two address the gathering.

The Congress is contesting 105 seats while the ruling Samajwadi Party is contesting 298 seats. Uttar Pradesh will be voting for a new state assembly in a seven-phase election, voting for which begins on February 11 and concludes on March 8.

Also read: After Priyanka Gandhi speaks to Akhilesh Yadav, Congress to contest all 10 seats in Amethi, Rae Bareli

Watch video

--- ENDS ---
WACO rolled past Montezuma in a playoff game

A collection of photos from WACO's win over Montezuma in a Class 8-Man quarterfinal playoff game Thursday at Wayland.
























































































TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our livesIf we remember those times and placeswhere people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we dont have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

--Howard Zinn



I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him.

--Martin Luther King Jr.

True religion consisted in an inward life, wherein the heart does love and reverence God the Creator, and learns to exercise true justice and goodness...I found no narrowness respecting sects and opinions, but believed that sincere, upright-hearted people, in every society, who truly love God, were accepted of him.

--John Woolman



Love each other as I have loved you.. I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father.

--Jesus in John 15: 12-15



...Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.



You have answered right, said Jesus, do this and life is yours...



Who is my neighbor?



Jesus replied with the Parable of the Good Samaritan [heretic, outsider, enemy].

--from Luke 10:27-37

Religion has been emphatically embodied, not in speculative theories, but in practical righteousness, in active virtues, in reverence to God, in benevolence to man- the latter being the only sure test of the former.

--Thomas M'Clintock



...It is safer to approach God through the Holy Spirit than through the door of theology. We can identify the Holy Spirit whenever it makes its presence felt. Whenever we see someone who is loving, compassionate, mindful, caring, and understanding, we know that the Holy Spirit is there.

--Thich Nhat Hanh


Its been a few weeks since we got back from Guatemala, but after moving into our new place in San Francisco, immediately upon landing, its taken me a little while to finally get through all of the footage. But better late than never, right?

As I mentioned in early January, Cs family invited us on a 10-day trip exploring Guatemala. Id never been to Guatemala before but Cs sister had been a couple of times and is basically the expert on all things Guatemala. This is probably the first and only trip Ive played no hand in planning, but it was kind of nice to sit back and enjoy the ride.

I thought Id share our itinerary with you as well as some words of wisdom is if youre planning a trip to the area.

We went to four different destinations on the trip so I thought I would break the post down based on locations. It was a whirlwind 10 days so I hope youll come along for this Guatemala Travel Guide!

We flew into Guatemala City as its the main international airport in Guatemala. I wouldnt recommend spending time in Guatemala City unless youre feeling particularly adventurous. Fortunately, its easy to hop another flight out of Guatemala or a bus or van to any of the destinations we visited.

VISITING TIKAL

We caught a flight from Guatemala City up to Flores and then took a van from Flores to the Mayan ruins at Tikal (about an hour away). If youve been to Chichen-Itza, Tikal is very similar but is older and far more spread out. It feels way less touristy and equally as impressive.

We spent the day walking the ruins and covering a lot of ground across the park. Beware of howler monkeys who are guaranteed to scare the living wits out of you.

Where we stayed + ate: Hotel Tikal Inn, which was lovely and a perfect little jungle oasis. We also ate all of our meals there. Food is pretty minimal in the park so be prepared to eat most of your meals at your hotel or another hotel. Bring snacks!

From Tikal, we took a bus back to Flores where we spent the night before our flight back to Guatemala City.

VISITING FLORES, GUATEMALA

Because you have to fly into Flores airport in order to get to Tikal, we ended up having about 24 hours to explore this adorable little city. Truthfully, you dont need more than 24 hours here as its really small (you can walk across the city in 10 minutes), but it was worth a visit if youre already up north. We also spent New Years here and I was totally impressed by the whole citys stamina. We went to bed just after the fireworks at midnight and when we woke up around 6:00 AM to head back to the airport, people were very much still partying. These guys know how to have fun.

Where we stayed: Hotel Casa Amelia  this place was so cute and the rooftop terrace offered a beautiful view of Flores and the lake. Definitely request one of the top three rooms if you stay here as they offer the best view and easy rooftop access.

Where we ate: I wouldnt say that the food in Flores was anything to write home about. If you do find yourself there we ate dinner at Raices, which is worth visiting for the grilled meat kebabs and San Telmo for the rooftop bar and healthy eats.

From Flores, we flew back to Guatemala City and then took a van from the airport directly to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, which took about 3 hours. We then hopped on a Lancha (boat) ride directly to our hotel. Dont pay more than 25Q/person to take a lancha on the lake!

VISITING LAKE ATITLAN

Years ago I saw a travel Groupon for a yoga retreat on Lake Atitlan and was completely blown away. I had no idea this place existed in Guatemala, let alone that the lake itself is surrounded by three volcanoes. We got way more than we could have asked for here. There is plenty to do, markets to explore and villages to visit, but after the crazy travel of the first few days, C and I ended up wanting to spend as much time as possible relaxing at our hotel (which was spectacular).

We did walk through the hippie town of San Marcos (think the Ubud, Bali of Lake Atitlan) and did the Indian Nose hike for views of the entire lake and volcanoes. Unfortunately, the views were somewhat obscured by fog, but it was still beautiful. If you do plan to do this hike, I highly recommend hiring a guide in San Pedro and having them drive you to the trail and lead you to the point. Otherwise its a bit confusing and youre likely to get lost. There is so much to do here and even if your goal is simply to relax and refresh, that is 100% an option too.

Where we stayed: Casa del Mundo  if theres one place that you cannot miss on your trip to Guatemala, it is this place. If you can stay there, do it or at least stop by for a meal.

Where we ate: We ate most of our meals at the hotel as it isnt easy to get around unless youre willing to take a lancha (boat) ride to eat. Plus the food there was really good! We did have yummy falafel at Shanti Shanti in San Pedro and enjoyed a carrot juice at Gypsys in San Marcos.

At the end of our 4 day stay, we took the lancha back to Panajachel where we took a van about 2 hours to Antigua.

VISITING ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA

Ive heard varying opinions on visiting Antigua, but I absolutely loved this city! After a week off the grid, it was nice to come back to a bit of civilization and explore this world heritage site.

Take a walk around the city and explore La Merced Church and the local markets (we did a ton of apartment shopping at the artists market). Be sure to do the De La Gente Coffee Tour for a completely unique and educational experience or head out of the city for a volcano hike.

We didnt end up doing a volcano hike but the city is surrounded by volcanoes and it was crazy cool to watch Fuego go off. We got some pretty epic views of it up at Cerro San Cristobal.

Where we stayed: Posada San Sebastian  this place was huge and very kitchy but comfortable and the service was lovely. I wouldnt necessarily go back here, but mostly because the collection of dolls totally freaked me out. But I will say that the owner was wonderful and the staff was very sweet and its certainly a great alternative if youre not picky.

Where we ate: I think the reason I loved Antigua so much was because of the food scene. I felt like I could endlessly explore its restaurants for days. Here were some highlights:

Samsara  a healthy foodies haven! The smoothies were to-die-for (working on a version you can make at home!) and I loved their amaranth energy balls.

Epicure  Definitely on the fancier/pricier side but so worth it! I tried polenta gnocchi and it was soooo good.

Saberico another healthy favorite to add to the list. The service is super slow but the environment is awesome and the food was delicious.

Sky Bar  the nachos were awesome and the drinks are decent. Its really the view over Antigua thats worth the visit!

The Refuge Coffee Bar  if youre looking for a casual spot with good wifi and great lattes, this is your place.

Fat Cat Coffee House loved this place for great guatemalan coffee. A few doors down is a cute bakery with gluten-free options  I forgot the name!

From Antigua, we took a 45 minute van ride back to Guatemala City Airport to fly home!

SOME ADVICE ON VISITING GUATEMALA

1. Bring some warmer clothing  while it certainly isnt Canada in the winter, it definitely gets chillier at night. I somewhat expected it to be more like our Mexico or Costa Rica trips, weather-wise but it was actually much cooler. A jacket and scarf will be perfectly fine for nighttime.

2. The currency in Guatemala is the Quetzal and while credit card is taken some places, it is not the norm. Be sure to either fill up on cash beforehand, or use the ATMs which are reputably quite scarce.

3. When it comes to getting around, most things are negotiable. Because we were a group of 6, we mostly took private vans to get from place-to-place but the chicken buses (school buses) or shared vans are always an option. Most can be negotiated right outside the airport or bus terminals.

4. When it comes to eating vegetables, confirm theyve been sanitized before consuming. Food poisoning is very real if you dontjust ask C 

What a way to kick off 2017! Im so excited to continue the adventures tomorrow as I head across the globe to ISRAEL to explore the food scene there with Vibe Israel. Follow along on Instagram and Snapchat so you dont miss the adventure!
NORWALK  Police responded to a report of an armed man acting strangely at a restaurant on Wall Street Friday evening.

Employees called police after the man, who had been dancing and acting strange, appeared to have a steak knife in his pocket. Once he left, employees said they locked the front door behind him but he tried to re-enter through a back door.

The employees said he did not threaten anyone, and asked that he not be arrested after police arrived. Also observing strange behavior, police called emergency medical services who arrived and determined the man was not in need of medical attention.

The man told police the steak knife in his pocket was for cooking and fixing cars. He was released and warned not to return to the restaurant.

kkrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
NORWALK  The start of the Walk Bridge replacement may be a year off, but The Maritime Aquarium and Norwalk Seaport Association are already looking for a safe place to relocate their two vessels.

The best location for The CJ Toth, a 45-foot ferry operated by the Seaport Association, would be the Norwalk Visitors Docks at the David S. Dunavan Boating Center at Veterans Memorial Park, according to association President Mike Reilly.

The obvious and best suited location for the CJ Toth during the 2018-2023 (Walk Bridge) timeframe would be the visitors docks at Veterans Park, Reilly wrote in a recent letter to Mayor Harry W. Rilling. The NSA believes it provides the needed visibility and parking along with space for a customer service/sales location.

The Seaport Association has asked to meet with Rillings office and the Norwalk Department of Recreation and Parks to formulate a plan for the vessel in advance of the Walk Bridge replacement and upcoming repairs to the Stroffolino Bridge.

David Sigworth, Maritime Aquarium spokesman, said the aquarium is exploring with the city relocation options for its vessel, R/V Spirit of the Sound.

We have met with several representatives from the city but we are awaiting a firm date on when the current docks will be impacted, Sigworth said. We want to make sure The Maritime Aquarium and our neighbor, The Norwalk Seaport Association, have a location for our vessels. As we get more details, we will pass them along so we can keep the community informed. 

In mid-2018, the Connecticut Department of Transportation plans to begin replacing the Walk Bridge, a 120-year structure that carries Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad trains over the Norwalk River. For all the disruptions the estimated $1 billion project will cause on land, there also will be impacts on the water.

The CJ Toth shuttles tourists and students between 4 North Water St. and Sheffield Island during the summer. Spirit of the Sound, a 63-foot research vessel owned by The Maritime Aquarium, operates from 10 North Water St. and offers visitors and students wildlife, bird watching and other education-oriented cruises.

Relocating the two vessels to Veterans Memorial Park during the bridge replacement, however, wont prove easy, based upon recent discussions among local officials.

Perfect storm

DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said the transportation department has been in contact with the city, Maritime Aquarium and Seaport Association regarding the need to relocate the vessels.

Discussions have centered on utilizing Veterans Park as a replacement location for the duration of the project, Everhart said. The department will work with both the Aquarium and Seaport Association as necessary to determine their eligible relocation expenses.

John T. Pinto recently told fellow Norwalk Harbor Management commissioners that the visitors docks are shaping up to become a perfect storm. He cited the Seaport Association and Maritime Aquarium vessels, and plans to anchor a U.S. Fish & Wildlife research boat at the docks this summer.

Michael Griffin, state of Connecticut harbormaster for Norwalk, said the research boat would be kept inside the north dock. The other two large vessels would have to go on the outside.

The Seaport boat and the Maritime Aquarium boat both would have to be berthed on the outside, closest to the channel, in order for them to be able to operate because of under-keel clearances and just the difficulty of maneuvering around, Griffin said. The space that they would have to have would be either on the south dock outside or the north dock outside.

The north dock spans 150 feet in length. Of that, 50 feet is blocked off for the pump-house station under an agreement with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Griffin said.

If you were to put the Maritime Aquarium vessel (there), that would completely take up use of the north dock, Griffin said.

The south dock extends 200 feet. Of that, 50 feet are occupied by the Norwalk Fire Department boat. The Seaport Association vessel, if placed there, would take out a big chunk of the remaining space, Griffin said.

The city would have to basically commit to supporting both the Maritime Aquarium vessel and the Seaport vessel, understanding that the transient use of the visitors docks during that window of time would pretty much be non-existent, Griffin said.

Memories of Island Belle

The Department of Recreation and Parks operates Veterans Memorial Park where the David S. Dunavan Boating Center and visitors docks are undergoing improvements. The boating center is closed this winter to allow the raising of the parking lot, construction of a seawall and installation of new boat-launch ramps.

Department Director Michael A. Mocciae has asked for $1.9 million in the coming fiscal year to replace the docks and pilings that support them. That work would start in October and wrap up in December. The project will not significantly expand the dock space. Mocciae said keeping the Seaport Association and Maritime Aquarium vessels there isnt an option.

I cant accommodate them with the existing (space) because their boat would be in the channel, Mocciae said. Thats almost like bringing back the Island Belle, so it wouldnt work.

In 2012, the city ordered the Island Belle, a 110-foot Mississippi river paddleboat, out of the visitors docks. According to regulators, the 110-foot, three-story vessel was too large for Norwalk Harbor and extended into the Federal Navigation Channel. Later that year, during Hurricane Sandy, the vessel broke free from the docks, and Norwalk police and firefighters risked their lives to secure it, according to city officials.

Mocciae hasnt ruled out use of the visitors docks in some capacity for the Seaport Association and Maritime Aquarium vessels.

We could have the Maritime Center launch, pick up people and drop people off there but not dock there permanently, said Mocciae before presenting another option. Were looking at Veterans Park, where the master plan had put another dock further down, and were looking at that with the harbor commission and the state to see if thats possible.

New dock?

The 2012 Veterans Park Master Plan calls for allowing commercial use of the visitors docks provided such use doesnt exceed capacity and is properly balanced with the continued use of the dock by recreational boaters and emergency vessels.

The plan recommends a public fishing pier and marina on the west side of the park and constructing it in a way to avoid adverse impacts on intertidal resources; provide an appropriate set-back from the federal navigation channel; and avoid interference with navigation to and from the Visitors Dock.

Pinto said securing DEEP approval to build a new dock  if even only temporary  south of the visitors docks will prove difficult given the presence of mudflats. Such a plan also would require review by the harbor commission.

Wed have to look at that very carefully because of the congestion in that area to begin with, Pinto said.

DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain said the department officials are aware and very sensitive to the need to maintain water-dependent uses in that area  even during the bridge construction project. He said the harbor commission is serving as a liaison between the department and Maritime Aquarium.

We have had conversations with them  as well as with CT DOT  about the matter of relocating the vessels, Schain said. A project to relocate the vessels - even on temporary basis (and given nature of project temporary could mean more than a few years)  would require review and approvals from DEEP because of location in state regulated coastal area.

Schain said the DEEP is glad to work with all parties to this to make certain any plans they propose are mindful of aquatic resources in the area.

rkoch@hearstmediact.com
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With incidents of police brutality making national news, now is the time to recognize that issues of race are as prevalent in the current national dialogue as they ever have been.

To help start this all-important discussion, Kelly Brown Douglas, professor of religion at Goucher College and author of Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, will lead a community conversation on the racial realities of our time at

St. Pauls on the Green.

Douglas will examine how the racism of our culture has fostered so much inequality, oppression, and even death, and what well-meaning people can do to help ensure the safety and well-being of all.

This event, which happens on Monday, Jan. 30 beginning at 7 p.m., is the third in a series called Faith in A New Millenium, which encourages dialogue and discussion about important contemporary issues.

Hors doeurves and non-alcoholic beverages will also be served during the event, and admission is free. All are welcome to attend and participate fully.

For more information, email Peter Thompson at thompson@stpaulsnorwalk.org or call 203-847-2806.

When National Freedom Day, a celebration of the 13th Amendment to the American Constitution, rolls around on Feb. 1, dont miss the opportunity to learn about the law that changed the fabric of the country.

Mark Albertson, who teaches World War I history in Norwalk Community Colleges Extended Studies Program, will lead a discussion on the law that abolished slavery, and how it still remains relevant in todays society, on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 6-8 p.m. in the community room at the Norwalk Library.

Put forth Jan. 13, 1865, the 13th Amendment reads: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

However, as Albertson points out, America has over 2.3 million people in prison, or one-quarter of the world's prison population, and many well-known companies use prison labor to pay people .50 cents an hour to $30-$35 weekly to work for them while behind bars.

Those interested in joining the discussion can register for the event online at the Norwalk Librarys website, www.norwalklib.org.

ROWAYTON

The Rowayton Arts Center is inviting residents to come and celebrate artists abilities to think way out of the box  the paint box that is  when it opens its new Beyond Brushwork on Sunday, Jan. 29.

This is the one exhibit where brushes get the brush off. The show is an exhibit of everything but traditional paintings  digital art, drawings, mixed media, paper cuts, pastels and prints.

The exhibit will be presided over by Kathleen Weinstock and Pat Atkin, and Josephine Robinson, an instructor at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center in New Canaan, will be the exhibition judge.

The exhibit will remain open until Feb. 19.

SILVERMINE

Are you looking for new ways to jump start your creative process, or are you interested in developing deeper levels of perception within your creative process?

The Silvermine School of Arts will be hosting its The Art of Creativity seminar on Sunday, Feb. 5 from 1-4:30 p.m.

Teacher Dmitri Wright will lead attendees through a thematic discussion on creativity and the five levels of perception operating within the creative process. During the $75 seminar, Wright will also delve into the idea that perception is the interpretation of sensory information, shaped by former experiences, memory, expectation and attention.

The goal of the seminar is to have participants come away with a renewed awareness of the embodied experience of the creative process and deeper awareness of ones internal dialogue and structure of ones experiences intentionally oriented towards discovery.

To register for the event, log on to the Silvermine Art Centers website at www.silvermineart.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.
Given the current technology  both in the imposition of tolls (requiring no reduction in speed) and the payment process (bills mostly get paid directly from debit/credit cards or bank accounts  no fumbling for a combination of coins or small bills), Im astounded there is such opposition to the reestablishment of tolls in Connecticut.

Look no farther than routes 287 and 84 in New York state for tolled roads enjoying a lack of congestion, and unless youre the most diligent of checkbook balancers, Id wager most drivers dont notice that a toll has been paid. This is a simple, fair, and effective way to level out our states budget and improve roads.

The citizens of Connecticut are effectively subsidizing the ease of people from neighboring and nearby states. How many thousands of travelers from New York, Pennsylvania, and points south drive along route I-95 from Greenwich to Stonington en route to Cape Cod or Maine? How many New Yorkers travel toll-free to the casinos in New London County? How many people from Massachusetts take the Wilbur Cross and Merritt parkways to enjoy cultural or sporting events in the New York City area? And, what is the volume (and value) of interstate commerce on Interstates 84, 91 and 95 combined?

These out-of-state motorists enjoy a free ride on Connecticuts roadways with impunity. Due to our fortunate geography, in most cases, those very people passing through have no choice but to take the roads across our state en route elsewhere. (And given our notorious gas tax, most will generally wait to refuel until they are in Rhode Island or New Jersey  so we dont even get the benefit of their fuel purchases.)

Therefore, in exchange for the traffic and pollution they create, anyone entering the state  including Connecticut residents  should accept a tariff in exchange for use of our roads. Most, if not all, states in New England and the mid-Atlantic have some form of tolls on major highways  why has Connecticut chosen to be the exception?

The strongest protests may come from those who remember the booths in Greenwich, Stratford, Branford, etc. and the accompanying delays in traffic, fumbling for cash, and being stuck behind someone whose only ability to pay was perhaps a Canadian $50 bill. This no longer will be the case.

The other likely objection  citing the 1983 Stratford accident  should be disregarded entirely as an outlier and an emotional argument with no basis behind it. Remember, in the same year, a section of the Mianus River bridge collapsed on I-95  has there since been an outpouring of anti-bridge sentiment in the state? Clearly not.

Our state is unquestionably having a budget crisis. The income tax introduced 26 years ago is never going away. Sales tax can only go so high before it becomes discriminatory to lower income brackets. Local taxes are spent by towns and schools before they are paid by citizens.

In order to maintain our infrastructure (and ideally at some point improve it), we have to be realistic about modern technology, the burden and emissions of non-residents, and the practices of neighboring states.

Therefore we need to reinstate tolls  even if just a limited number and only at specific crossings  as soon as feasible.

Paul Mazzarulli is a resident of Wilton.
CENTRAL CITY  The 15th annual Nebraska Christian Dinner and Benefit Auction will be March 24 and 25 at the Nebraska Christian Schools gymnasium in Central City.

Proceeds of the auction during the past 14 years have helped Nebraska Christian supplement teachers salaries and provided scholarships for students who may not otherwise have been able to attend.

The weekend event will begin with preview night from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 24. Preview night attendees are encouraged to view all the items available at the event, place bids on silent auction items or even guarantee a purchase on items before Saturdays dinner and auction event. No reservations or entry fees are required for this night.

On Saturday, March 25, the reservation-only event will begin at 5 p.m. with hors doeuvres and final silent auction bidding. Dinner will be served at 6:30, followed by the live and scholarship auctions. The Knights of Rhythm Orchestra will provide music.

Reservations for the March 25 dinner and live auction cost $50 each. An entire table for eight may be purchased for $400, or a corporate table, complete with special corporate recognition at the event, can be purchased for $1,000. Seating is limited. Call Kristy or Deana at (308) 946-3836 to make reservations. Courtesy valet parking will be available.
In the world of reality TV, Donald Trump was a king  an unrivaled ruler who loved delivering his signature judgment: Youre fired! As a businessman, he dealt largely with people who owed him their jobs, their contracts and their profits. He could cut them down or cut them off.

Being president doesnt work the same way. He might be the most powerful person in the world, but there are also distinct limits to his power. Reality TV is not real. Its fiction. If Trump doesnt understand the difference, if he doesnt recognize and respect real reality, he cannot be a successful president.

Start with Congress. Yes, the president can pressure lawmakers, offering rewards and threatening reprisals. And most Republicans have a vested interest in his success.

But he cannot fire them. Every one of the 535 members won their own elections. They all have to represent the interests of their own communities and constituencies. They are not his employees or his lackeys.

Nor can the president alter another reality: Senate rules that give the minority many opportunities to slow down, and even block, the presidents agenda.

His fundamental rule is that if you come after me, in any way, Ill come after you, said David Axelrod, a close adviser to Barack Obama, to The Washington Post. He thinks he can bully people into cooperation. My experience has been that can drive people further away and make it harder. There are some things that hes talking about wanting to do that hes going to need Democratic votes for.

Heres another fact: The president cannot fire all those pesky journalists who keep contradicting his penchant for exaggeration and fabrication. True, the president can circumvent the mainstream media by using the TBN, the Trump Broadcasting Network, to deliver messages directly to millions of followers on social media. He can conduct a running war with the press corps and demean them as among the most dishonest human beings on earth.

But he cannot silence or intimidate them. He cannot stop Chuck Todd of NBC from telling key Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway that alternative facts are not facts at all, but falsehoods.

During their clash on Meet the Press, Conway lectured Todd that its not your job ... to call things ridiculous. But she got it exactly wrong. Its the job of every journalist to hold the powerful accountable for their ill-starred statements and actions  especially the president.

The president cannot silence the satirists, either. Saturday Night Live is not The Apprentice. Even the commander in chief could not stop a shirtless Vladimir Putin from saying to Trump on last weeks SNL broadcast, If youre going to lie, dont be so obvious.

Trump is still learning the difference between campaigning and governing. He won the presidency by generating enormous enthusiasm and devotion among his core supporters. He took 41 percent of the vote in the Republican primaries, but that was sufficient to triumph over a weak and fragmented field.

He won only 46 percent of the vote in the general election, but again, that was good enough to beat a Democratic opponent who failed to elicit anything like the passion and purpose that marked the Womens March the day after Trumps inauguration.

The new president was absolutely correct when he tweeted during the march, Why didnt these people vote? If they had all voted  and advocated and organized  the outcome last November might well have been different.

Still, the demonstrations were deeply meaningful. For every voter who wears a red hat saying Make America Great Again, there is another American wearing a pink one that says, in effect, Where is my place in Donald Trumps America?

Yet Trump continues to stay locked in campaign mode. His inaugural speech appealed only to red hats, not pink hats; to division, not unity. There were no gestures of reconciliation, no attempts to alleviate the anxiety and fear that prompted so many citizens to take to the streets in protest.

There is no question that Trump has exacerbated the divisions that already existed in the United States, on important issues from national security to civil rights to climate change, Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University, told Reuters. Dividing the country is a recipe for winning elections, but it is not a recipe for successful government.

The new president cannot fire his critics. He cannot fix problems by proclaiming alternative facts. He cannot create his own reality.

He has to face real reality now.
North Dakota's coal industry is looking to divert some of the money it contributes to a fund for county and school construction projects to develop clean coal technology.

The legislative path forward has seen little opposition, though it is undergoing some administrative hurdles, as many view development of new technologies as imperative to the survival of the industry  and without the coal companies, their would be no Coal Development Trust Fund at all.

Wade Boeshans, president and general manager of BNI Coal, said he sees the proposed change as vital to keep the fund going. If the coal industry does not develop the technology it needs to meet new regulations, it's possible the industry would have to close up shop, meaning no more contributions for the fund. Boeshans said he believes communities understand this.

Fund origination

While 30 percent of the coal industry tax revenues are allocated to the Coal Development Trust Fund, which has a balance of $68.4 million for county and school construction projects, an amendment industry plans to introduce to SB 2014, the Industrial Commission's appropriations bill, would drop that amount to 15 percent, the minimum required by state law.

The 15 percent drop had been proposed as part of SB2014's sister legislation, SB2074, which was killed by lawmakers last week. Jason Bohrer, president of the Lignite Energy Council, said the amendment process complicates things, making industry more "nervous" about its omission but he's still optimistic.

We spent the last year educating (lawmakers) about where we are and what our challenges are, he said, adding he felt industry has done a good job letting lawmakers know the future of coal production depends upon new technologies that will meet federal carbon emissions standards.

The Lignite Energy Council is very aware it has launched its efforts for the creation of a fund to finance larger clean coal projects at the same time the state is facing a budget shortfall. So in the short term, it is hoped the diverted tax money could go to the Lignite Research Fund, which Bohrer indicated is sufficient for the next couple years.

The diversion would add about $1.5 million to the Lignite Research Fund for the biennium, and the legislation creates a mandate that the money is targeted at advanced energy technology.

While the funding is not enough for industry to build larger projects coming down the pipe, such as a zero-carbon emissions technology called the Allam Cycle and a carbon scrubber retrofit for current plants called Project Tundra, it does allow it to complete the groundwork on those projects viability.

By waiting, our window for (the projects) success gets a lot smaller, said Bohrer. Lets do what we can now.

While coals contribution to the states economy isnt as large as oil, the industry needs the funding to keep moving forward, according to Bohrer.

In a year like this, coal is the reason we can afford to do anything at all during this legislative session, he said.

Injection of cash

Boeshans said a minimal increase in funding is key to the next phase of research and development in preparation for a pilot.

"We feel good about where were at," Boeshans said. "Hopefully, we come out of this session with the funding we need to continue moving projects down the path.

Dale Niezwaag, Basin Electric Power Cooperatives senior legislative representative, echoed that optimism. Because this proposed legislation involves shuffling existing funds rather than asking for new money, he said the industry has a better shot at successfully moving a pilot program forward.

The bill is being considered in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Ron Sorvaag, R-Fargo, who sits on the committee, agrees funding clean coal projects is a "big deal for the industry going into the future" and he sees it as an investment. Sorvaag said a lot of work remains to be done on the budget, and shifting the funds from the Coal Development Fund may not be the final answer, but he expects the details to be worked out in the next few weeks.

Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said he also expects the Legislature to find funding for the industry, likely shifting the money from one fund to another rather than awarding a new appropriation, because the industry has a lot of support from lawmakers. And he said he was glad to hear industry shift from placing sole blame for its financial troubles on regulations and accepting that competition with natural gas and wind power is a factor.

"I'm in support of research," he said. "If we can do coal without pollutants, hallelujah."




lying outside the purview of copyright protection--right Kats?

I can understand perfectly how the report of my illness got about, I have even heard on good authority that I was dead. James Ross Clemens, a cousin of mine, was seriously ill two or three weeks ago in London, but is well now. The report of my illness grew out of his illness.



The report of my death was an exaggeration (emphasis added).

You dont need as much as that [ 1000 words ]. Just say the report of my death has been grossly exaggerated.

see image on the left

When Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman) first enters the Cafe Americain, she spots Sam (played by Dooley Wilson) and asks him to "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." After he feigns ignorance, she responds, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'." Later that night, alone with Sam, Rick (played by Humphrey Bogart) says, "You played it for her, you can play it for me," and "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"

Merpel has done a quick check of the USPTO and she found several applications or registrations, none of which however are still valid. Go figure.

Most of us will likely make use of a famous short quote (let's call it a quip) at some point. We do so because such a quote () has transcended its specific context and has become part of our broader verbal heritage. Presumably, use of such a quote, pregnant with widely- shared meaning, will improve the quality of our communication. Nevertheless, it is not infrequently the case that that the quote as used is not identical to what was originally said. The discrepancy between the original, versus popular, form of the expression, is seldom, if ever, due to malice, but rather reflects how utterances can be altered in the usual process of transmission and public adoption. Consider two notable examples, one regarding the well-known US author, Samuel Clemens, known by his pen name, Mark Twain , and the other regarding the iconic movie  Casablanca ".Twains famous utterance (in various forms) is -- the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated, the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, or reports of my death are grossly exaggerated. The admonition has come to express that some anticipated end may not be as certain as it appears. However, it appears that none of these variant forms is the precise utterance made by Twain.In May 1897, Twain found himself in London, as part of a world-wide speaking tour intended to raise funds to help him cover substantial debts that he had accumulated due to several failed business ventures. A rumor began to circulate that Twain was seriously ill, and later came a report that he had passed away. As the story goes, an American newspaper reported that Twain had died. When this was brought to Twains attention in London, he was then reported to have quipped one of the variants above.In fact, a reporter in London for thehad been asked by his editors in New York in late May 1897 to inquire about Twains health. Twain replied in writing,So here we have the precise form of the original quote. The source of the more familiar, albeit imprecise, form of the quote, seems to have come from a popular biography of Twain, written by Albert Bigelow Paine in 1912, two years after Twains death. In Paine version of Twains famous quip, Twain was approached in London by a young journalist, who was expected to write a 1000-word piece on Twain if had passed away (and only 500 words if he were still alive). In response to the journalists inquiry, Twain was reported to have remarked:The upshot seems to be that while most scholars use the version set out in Twains own handwriting (), the more popular version(s) rely on a version based on Paines book. The quote itself, however imprecise, has become a staple of (at least American) English, benefiting from its witticism and its attribution to Twain.While the story of how Twains famous quote has been memorialized in a slightly imprecise fashion, the tale of the famous line from the move, "Casablanca" (according to some, the greatest movie ever made), is a bit more puzzling. Most Kat readers will probably recognize the line, Play it again, Sam. The problem is that line was never actually uttered in the movie. As summarized on Wikipedia:Nowhere in this exchange was it ever said Play it again, Sam.Unlike Twains quote, there is nothing special in the contents of the utterance, Play it (again) Sam. Its enduring popularity seems to derive from the cinematic magic of the scene as epitomizing the relationship between Bergman and Bogart, not to say the beauty of the song , "As Time Goes By", which will never go by. As such, it might seem that this line would be ripe for use as a powerfully suggestive trademark. [Having regard to these two examples, it is notable how their cultural durability is not a function of their historical accuracy. An utterance is made and recalled, and it is then refashioned as it takes on popular currency of use. Scholars may take care to use the precise form of Twains quip, or correct Bergmans never quite said famous line, but for the rest of us, it is irrelevant. By now, the more popular forms of use have acquired separate cultural meaning. And one final Kat commentif any Kat readers have any further examples, please do share them.
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, January 29, 2017 09:00 2106 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0bd34304 1 People gratiagusti-chananya-rompas,kota-ini-kembang-api,poetry-book,poem,poetry,#poetry,poet,#Poet,books,#books Free

Written by the co-founder of the BungaMatahari (BuMa) poetry community Gratiagusti Chananya Anya Rompas and published in 2016, Kota ini Kembang Api (This City is Fireworks) is said to be a poetry book that represents the irony of light and darkness in life.

Unlike other poets who usually use one of their poems titles as their books title, Anya said Kota ini Kembang Api was, in fact, part of her unnamed poem. This happened after I read my manuscript and saw that I often explored darkness and light to describe setting or emotion in each poem, she told The Jakarta Post via email. I feel there are many ways to play with irony between light and darkness, and fireworks certainly represent this.

Fireworks usually show up in crowded and festive events, but actually its beauty of light can go out fast, Anya stated, adding that Kota ini Kembang Api was her first poetry book. This reminds me of humans life, meaning that we actually live in this world for a while, and then perish.

Those who usually read poetry in a structured form may find the book different. Take a look at Hujan (Rain), for example, where the poem is placed in the middle of the page, or Mabuk Lampu (Drunk of Light), where the words are arranged at the bottom of the page, therefore readers need to turn the book upside down in order to absorb the poetry. In addition to that, in Pendar Pendar Cahaya Menyelinap Ruang Mata (Lights Sneaking the Eyes Spaces), each word is unified with each other, creating sentences that made the poem.

(Read also: Seno Gumira Ajidarma: No rest for the wicked)

The cover of "Kota ini Kembang Api."(Shutterstock/File)

Born in Jakarta, Anya recalled her time as an English literature student at the University of Indonesia (UI), where she read poems of different themes and form, as well as learned various elements of poetry. At that time I just couldnt wait to apply them in my poems, she said. I realized that every letter, word, line, punctuation and how those elements are placed can add meaning into a poem []. For me, a successful poem should be able to conceptualize what its writer wants to convey.

However, Anya believed what she had done for Kota ini Kembang Api was not brand new. What I had done is not a new thing in history and tradition of poetry, she said. I was just trying to implement what I had found, but I also wanted to add different touch, something that comes from both my heart and mind.

Kota ini Kembang Api was initially a collection of poems that had been launched at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in 2008. The book itself consists of poems that had been written from 2003 to 2008.

At the Sukaria Kembang Api (Fun Fireworks) event in November 2016, some of the poems within the book were musicalized by musicians such as Gabriel Mayo, Junior Soemantri and other notable names. Some of Anya's poems have also been published in newspapers, magazines and several anthologies.

What I realize about myself after the manuscript was finished is how I [perceived] time as something that moves like spiral, not linear, Anya stated, adding that she is currently preparing for her second poetry book. (kes)
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Linkedin Moazzam Malik (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, January 27 2017

Last month Indonesia hosted the ninth Bali Democracy Forum focusing on the theme religion, pluralism and democracy. With ministers and ambassadors representing 95 countries and preceded by a civil society and media dialogue, the forum concluded that all major world religions, including Islam, are compatible with pluralism and democracy.

At a time when extremists and bigots  whether Islamist or anti-Muslim  would tell us otherwise, the forum highlighted that more than 60 percent of the worlds Muslims are citizens of democracies. The forum showcased the fact that in these emerging democracies, Muslim communities around the world are able to debate ideas, cope with differences and strive to uphold the rule of law.

Indonesias role as the host of the Bali Democracy Forum is significant. As the worlds third largest democracy and with the worlds largest Muslim population, Indonesia is showing the way. Despite many challenges, support for extremism in Indonesia is lower than elsewhere. Estimates indicate that around 800 Indonesians have joined Daesh in the Middle East. Drawn from 220 million Muslims, in relative times this is amongst the smallest contingent globally.

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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, January 27 2017

State-owned lender Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) sailed smoothly through rough seas in the financial industry last year, thanks to robust growth in its loan business and internal improvements.

The publicly listed banks industry-beating loan disbursement growth has helped improved its net profit amid rising operational costs and a lower net interest margin. It recorded loan growth of 20.6 percent to Rp 393.28 trillion (US$29.4 billion) last year, boosting its net profit by more than 25 percent to Rp 11.34 trillion.

BNIs lending growth rate was more than twice as high as the industrys average. Amid sluggish credit demand last year, the countrys banks saw loan disbursement grow by only 8.5 percent as of November from the same month in 2015. The industry failed to achieve Bank Indonesias (BI) projection of 2016 loan growth between 9 percent and 10 percent, despite the fact that the central bank had revised that figure down twice in the course of the year as the industry kept facing weak demand and a high non-performing loan (NPL) ratio.

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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, January 27 2017

The tax authority is flexing its muscles to teach tax evaders a thing or two about the consequences of money laundering, namely the confiscation of their assets.

The strategy is based on the assumption that the existing minimal repercussions do not provide a sufficient deterrent effect for potential tax evaders.

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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Bekasi  Sun, January 29, 2017

Five candidate pairs running in the Bekasi regency election will face off in a debate scheduled for Feb. 6.

Bekasi General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Idham Kholik said on Friday the debate would be on specific topics, such as how to increase local welfare, improve public services, solve local problems, make local development in line with national development and to strengthen national unity.

The debate will reflect the candidates vision, mission and strategy for developing the regency and their solutions to current local issues," Idham told The Jakarta Post. The KPU Bekasi decided the topics, he added.

Idham said the debate, which would be conducted in the form of a talk show, would also touch on narcotics issues, as well as children's protection and women's empowerment.

(Read also: KPU to invite foreign observers for Jakarta election)

Bekasi regency, which has been famous for being dubbed as another planet despite its status as Southeast Asia's largest industrial area, has five regent and deputy regent candidate pairs running in its upcoming election.

They include incumbents Neneng Hasanah Yasin and Eka Supriatmaja and two independent candidate pairs, Obon Tabroni-Bambang Sumaryono and Iin Farihin-Mahdfudz Al Hafidz. Obon is a well-known labor rights representative in a regency where blue-collar workers account for around 60 percent of the population.

The other pairings are Sa'duddin and musician Ahmad Dhani and duo Meilina Kartika Kadir-Abdul Kholik.

Among Bekasis persistent issues include traffic congestion because of the many trucks and heavy vehicles flowing in and out of its industrial parks, and poor road infrastructure. (ebf)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, January 29, 2017

Amid growing tension in the Jakarta gubernatorial race, Democratic Party patron and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued a press statement calling for the neutrality of the government and its various bureaucracies.

Democratic Party deputy secretary-general Rachlan Nashidik confirmed the authenticity of the statement.

Yes, the press statement is authentic, he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

It was signed by Pak Yudhoyono and [Democratic Party secretary-general] Hinca Pandjaitan, he added.

Dated Jan. 27, the statement, which comprises seven points, opens with the Democratic Partys concerns over the latest developments in Indonesian society, particularly the political dynamics in the Jakarta election.

The Democratic Party has observed that the political competition, which should have been run peacefully, fairly and orderly, has moved in the opposite direction, the Democratic Party says in the statement.

The people have also observed signs of bias in the state and its bureaucracies along with inappropriate interventions, it asserted.

The Democratic Party expresses the hope that the Indonesian Military, the National Police and the State Intelligence Agency can stay neutral and abstain from taking the side of any one particular candidate.

In point five, the party calls on law enforcers to refrain from concocting trumped up charges against its candidates Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Sylviana Murni.

In the statement, the Democratic Party also calls on all volunteers with the Agus campaign to actively guard and secure the candidate and to fight against any form of cheating, intimidation and bias in state bureaucracies.

"Stay alert to the possible presence of people not eligible to vote at polling stations and fight other violations that could sully this election and betray the true choice of the people.

All [parties] have the right to remind all societal elements to maintain neutrality in this political contest. I think this normal, Democratic Party spokesman Dede Yusuf said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Rob Gillies (Associated Press) Toronto  Sun, January 29, 2017

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by US President Donald Trump: Canada will welcome you.

He says he also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada's refugee policy.

Trudeau reacted to Trump's visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting Saturday: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said he has a message for Trump.

"The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak," spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.

Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon.

The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. More than 75 percent of Canada's exports go to the US.

Brad Wall, the conservative premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, offered his support to Trudeau.

"Sask has welcomed approx 2000 refugees this past year," Wall posted on Twitter. "We stand ready to assist fed gov't re: anyone stranded by the US ban."

Toronto Mayor John Tory also weighed in, noting that the city is the most diverse in the world.

"We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality," Tory said in a statement.

Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

White House National Security adviser Michael Flynn told Canada's national security adviser that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban, Purchase said.

"We have been assured that Canadian citizens traveling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process," Purchase said.

The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canada's election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada. Tima Kurdi, the aunt of the boy who became a symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis, called the US ban on Syrian refugees inhumane and said she was proud of Canada.

Trudeau's tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. "Welcome to Canada" trended on social media in the country. (**)
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, January 29, 2017

In response to accusations of her alleged involvement in two corruption cases, Sylviana Murni, the running mate of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, says she has no time for people attempting to hamper the pairs election bid.

Sylviana, a former aide of incumbent gubernatorial candidate Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, vehemently said she was sorry for those who are attempting to ruin her and Agus chances to be elected. She said she also prayed for those people because they really don't know what they have done.

I don't want to waste my time responding to them. It's better for me to concentrate on listening to the aspirations of residents while on our guerrilla campaign, Sylviana asserted.

She was speaking during an event where 60 Muslim mass organizations declared their support to Agus-Sylviana at the pairs campaign headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

(Read also: Agus says Sandiaga's move against Ahok 'normal tactic')

Police have questioned Sylviana in their investigations of two graft cases. The first case centers on alleged irregularities of a mosques construction project, which commenced when she was serving as Central Jakarta mayor. The second case is related to the allocation of social assistance funds by the Jakarta administration to the Jakarta Scout Movement in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

Previously, Jakarta Police questioned Sylviana's husband Gde Sardjana as a witness in a treason case implicating Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of first president Sukarno. (ebf)
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Linkedin Alicia A.Caldwell (Associated Press) Washington  Sun, January 29, 2017

Confusion, worry and outrage grew Saturday as President Donald Trump's crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries took effect. Airlines blocked people traveling to the United States, legal challenges were underway and doubts abounded about whether the order would make America safer.

The immediate fallout from Trump's order meant that an untold number of foreign-born US residents now traveling outside the US could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days  despite holding permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. And some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday were being detained at US airports, told they were no longer welcome.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee program.

Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the US, then said he would implement "extreme vetting" for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is "not a Muslim ban."

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order drew criticism from US lawmakers and officials around the globe.

Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad."

"If we send a signal to the Middle East that the US sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse said. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to US citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith."

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the US military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New York's Kennedy airport Friday night. Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the US Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003. Later he worked as a contract engineer. He was allowed into the US Saturday afternoon, hours after his attorney petitioned a federal court to let the two men go.

In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawai's wife had worked for a US security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the US military.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the US.

Those already in the US with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trump's order also directed US officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the US and draft a list of countries that don't provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The US may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trump's order.

"There is no evidence that refugees  the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation  are a threat to national security," said Lena F. Masri, the group's national litigation director. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didn't address America's "primary terrorism-related threat"  people already in the US who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trump's order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

"We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. "With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years."

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the US for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the US on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the US resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the US would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

No refugees were in the air when the travel ban was signed Friday, but about 350 people were in transit in Nairobi, Kenya, and were now stuck there, said Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy for HIAS, a refugee resettlement aid agency. She said several hundred more people who were booked on US-bound flights in the next week were now stranded around the globe.

"This in effect could be a permanent ban," she said. "Many of these people may never be able to come."

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker in Washington, Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco, Jeff Karoub in Detroit, and Rachel Zoll, Verena Dobnik and William Mathis in New York contributed to this report.

___

Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap (**)
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Linkedin Julie Pace and Vivian Salama (Associated Press) Washington  Sun, January 29, 2017

President Donald Trump had an hourlong discussion Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin  the first since Trump assumed office last week  raising questions over the fate of US sanctions against Moscow and whether the two will look to enhance military cooperation against the Islamic State group.

The White House provided a thin readout on the call between the two leaders, saying it was "a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair."

The two leaders discussed "a range in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria," the White House statement said, using an acronym for the militant group.

A White House official later said sanctions did not come up in Saturday's call between Trump and Putin. The official said Putin brought up several times that Islamic terrorism was a "common foe" for the US and Russia. The official was not authorized to disclose details of the call by name and insisted on anonymity.

Contrary to statements from the White House, the Kremlin said that the two leaders addressed the importance of "restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries."

The Kremlin also said that Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran's nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has applauded Trump's promises to rebuild US-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in US elections. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on the plan to defeat the Islamic State group Saturday, including in it the possibility of teaming up with "new coalition partners," suggesting that pairing up with Russia on counterterrorism issues isn't off the table.

Trump was noncommittal about whether he was considering lifting the economic sanctions ahead of the call, telling reporters Friday: "We'll see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that."

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, drawing widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States.

In response, sanctions were implemented against sectors of Russia's economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defense. The Obama administration also sanctioned people in Putin's inner circle.

Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama also ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds in the United States and expelled 35 diplomats that he said were really spies. These sanctions followed an assessment by US intelligence that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump become president.

Trump's tempered approach to US-Russia relations has already raised concern among several European allies who believe keeping Russia in check is essential to regional security.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose country  as part of the European Union  also has punished Russia for its provocations in Ukraine, voiced the view of many in Europe, telling reporters in Washington on Friday: "We believe the sanctions should continue."

Vice President Mike Pence and other senior advisers joined Trump for the call with Putin, including his national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior strategist Steve Bannon. Trump also spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Japan, Germany, France and Australia.

Two Republican senators  Arizona's John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Ohio's Rob Portman, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee warned the White House about easing any punishments on Moscow and they pledged to turn the sanctions into law.

"I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course," McCain said in a statement. "If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law."

Portman said lifting the sanctions "for any reason other than a change in the behavior that led to those sanctions in the first place would send a dangerous message to a world already questioning the value of American leadership and the credibility of our commitments after eight years of Obama administration policies."

McCain has emerged as a frequent critic of Trump among Capitol Hill Republicans. He takes a dim view of trying to reset relations with Moscow and says Trump should remember that Putin is "a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn."

"For our commander in chief to think otherwise would be naive and dangerous," McCain said.

McCain and Portman are part of a bipartisan group of senators who have introduced legislation designed to go beyond the punishments against Russia already levied by Obama and to demonstrate to Trump that forcefully responding to Moscow's meddling isn't a partisan issue.

The bill would impose mandatory visa bans and freeze the financial assets of anyone who carries out cyberattacks against public or private computer systems and democratic institutions.

The legislation also mandates sanctions in Russia's all-important energy sector and on investments in the development of civil nuclear projects to rebuke Moscow for its provocations in eastern Ukraine and military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

___

Associated Press writer Howard Amos in Moscow contributed to this report. (**)
An Iraqi pleaded for his life to President Donald Trump. A former Iraqi translator for the US military landed in his new home with words of praise for America still on his lips. And community and church groups, geared up to welcome Syrian families, looked in dismay at homes prepared for refugees that may never be filled.

Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee program.

Around the country and the world, refugees and foreign-born Muslim visitors already approved for asylum here but not yet arrived, and families and refugee workers who had been eager to greet newcomers, adjusted to Trump's ban abruptly barring them and others from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

"What's next? What's going to happen next?" asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, on Saturday after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained at a transit stop and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in detention. "Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?"

Refugee-rights groups and others immediately challenged the orders in court, and said the bans scapegoated Muslims and Arabs without making the United States safer.

Trump's order came down as Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the US military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats over his US ties, was just minutes away from landing at John F. Kennedy airport in New York.

US officials detained Darweesh and another Iraqi whom the US government also had already approved for entry to this country. After lawyers for refugee-rights organizations filed emergency petitions in federal court for their release, Darweesh walked free, to the applause of sign-waving demonstrators gathered at the airport to protest the ban.

"This is the soul of America," Darweesh told the crowd and reporters there, of those who had worked for his asylum and his release.

Asked what he thought of the United States now, Darweesh pointed a finger in the air, and said emphatically, "America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world."

Meathaq Alaunaibi, also a refugee from Iraq, was hoping to soon be reunited with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are in Baghdad. Alaunaibi, her husband, a son and another daughter were settled last August in Tennessee, as the twins completed their government review to enter the US After Trump signed the order, she spoke by phone with her daughters.

"They are so worried and afraid because they're stuck there in Baghdad," Alaunaibi said Saturday. "They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them."

Staff at US agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the order and girded for the wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the US Several staff who spoke to the AP burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

"It's complete chaos," said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the US State Department. "It's heartbreaking."

The International Refugee Assistance Project, which aids foreign nationals targeted for their work for the US government as well as other refugees, was sending the same message to asylum-seekers, most of them who had been waiting for years.

"We have to reach out to hundreds of our clients and explain that their future has been taken away from them, and we don't know when they'll get it back," said Becca Heller, the group's executive director.

An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Islamic State group had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now canceled, indefinitely.

"If you can write to Mr. Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please," the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his US lawyer by email.

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the US, said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the US are settled by religious groups, who organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been coordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a 1-year-old and 5-year-old who arrived Tuesday.

Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and it's unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group.

Countless visitors from the seven countries targeted by Trump were turned back as well.

Nour Ulayyet, 40, of Valparaiso, Indiana, said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday and told she couldn't enter the US to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.

"My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that she's having," Ulayyet said.

___

Associated Press writer Verena Dobnik contributed to this report from New York. (**)
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Linkedin Evan A. Laksmana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, January 30 2017

Indonesia-Australia relations seem to have hit another snag this year. In early January, Kompas daily reported that the Indonesian military (TNI) was suspending all military cooperation with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

As the news was confirmed by the TNI spokesman, the suspension made numerous domestic and international headlines. With the 24-hour news cycle, and the fact that Indonesia-Australia defense relations tend to be controversial, speculations ran wild and included some unnecessary ad-hominem attacks on the TNI commander.

It was only after the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister clarified that the temporary suspension only covered language training activities  rather than defense-wide cooperation  that the dust began to settle.

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Linkedin Indra Budiari and Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, January 30, 2017

Sumira recalled her anxiety when she was hired to work as a domestic helper at the Amurva Bhumi Temple in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, six years ago.

As a Muslim, she feared she would face a dilemma if her supervisor asked her to cook a dish that contained pork for the visitors to the temple. As much as she enjoyed working at the temple, she admitted she would be uncomfortable cooking pork dishes, an ingredient that is considered haram (forbidden) in Islam.

However, she was made aware that the temple committees would not ask her to do that. The temple officials would hire other people to cook any dish that contained pork in it.

I did not even tell them that I might not be able to cook pork because they took the initiative by themselves, she told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

Since then, Sumira has been working at the Amurva Bhumi Temple. Her duties include cleaning and cooking.

Like every other Chinese New Year celebration, locally known as Imlek, the temple provided various dishes for the congregation and visitors. Sumira was assigned to prepare traditional dishes such rujak (vegetable salad), fried chicken, tempe and tofu. The temple provided food for the ChineseBuddhist community and also for general visitors.

Suleman, the temple administrative assistant, said the tradition respecting visitors from other religions and faiths had started years ago at the Amurva Bhumi Temple. He said those who prayed at the temple wanted to maintain good relations with local residents and people of other faiths.

With dozens of police officers guarding the temples front gate, he was glad that Imlek could be held peacefully this year without any disorder. This years Chinese New Year 2568 celebrates the year of the fire rooster.

(Read also: Chinese-Indonesians spend Rp 10 million on average for Lunar New Year: Survey)

Meanwhile, in Semarang, Central Java, thousands of people from various backgrounds flocked to the Sam Poo Kong Temple, the oldest in the province, to witness the Imlek celebration over the weekend. The temple held various performances such as a collaboration between Reog and Barongsai dancers for the congregation and the general public.

I take my kids to see Chinese cultural attractions here. It is always interesting, said Ananto, a resident of Kendal in Central Java.
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, January 30, 2017

The recent arrest of former mid-ranking Finance Ministry official Triyono Utomo after being deported from Turkey for attempting to enter Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) radical movement with his family has changed the discourse on the groups support base in Indonesia.

Earlier, experts suggested that economic factors could be the main driver of the influx of Indonesians going to Syria in past years, as IS reportedly offers high wages and allowances for its fighters and their family members.

But Triyonos decision to leave a well-paying job at the ministry to live under IS in Syria shows that the militant group could appeal to anyone regardless of economic or educational background.

Triyonos profile does not match that of most IS sympathizers in Indonesia.

The 40-year-old former civil servant acquired an applied science and accountancy joint degree from the highly competitive State Accounting Academy (STAN) in 2004, whose graduates are automatically offered jobs at the ministry.

In order to ascend the ministrys ranks, Triyono left the country to pursue a masters degree in public policy at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, from which he graduated in 2009.

Ministry spokesperson Dina Anandita confirmed that Triyono was a former official at the ministry with a IIIC rank, but added that the public should not associate what Triyono had done with the ministry because he officially left his job on Aug. 16, 2016.

The only reason he provided when resigning from his job was that he wanted to manage a pesantran [Islamic boarding school] in Bogor, West Java, Dina told The Jakarta Post on Saturday, He submitted his resignation in February and the ministry approved it in August, she added.

(Read also: Alleged IS supporter quit civil servant job for own reasons: Ministry)

The National Polices counterterrorism squad Densus 88 is currently interrogating Triyono and his wife, Nur Khofifah, 44. The couple also brought their children  NA, 12, MSU, 7, who was born in Australia, and MAU, 3  on their aborted journey to IS-controlled areas.

We have seven days to conclude the investigation. We will find out who motivated and facilitated him [to go to Syria], National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul told the Post.

Initial information acquired by Densus 88 from Triyonos questioning disclosed that he sold all his assets including his house in Jakarta to fund his trip to Syria to live in a country that applies Islamic sharia [law].

The spokesperson said the police could only charge Triyono and his wife with terrorism if the investigation later discovered that they were organizationally linked to IS and involved in terror activities in Syria or in Indonesia.

However, Triyono could be released after the probe if it could only be concluded that he was just an IS sympathizer.

Terrorism expert from the University of Indonesia (UI) Ridwan Habib said the war on radical ideology in Indonesia had become tougher as IS chief ideologues overseas could directly influence highly educated Indonesians through the internet and social media.

Triyonos case proves that IS [propagates] ideology that can win the minds of educated people and is no longer [] just winning over the stomachs of [poor people in Indonesia], Ridwan said.
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Linkedin Eileen Ng (Associated Press) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Sun, January 29, 2017

The captain and a crew member from a missing Malaysian boat made it to safety Sunday while others among the 31 people on board, including 28 Chinese tourists, on the boat may be drifting in the water waiting to be rescued, authorities said.

Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin tweeted Sunday evening that some victims had been found but gave no details.

Several Malaysian navy and police ships and at least one plane were searching for the boat, according to a statement from the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency.

A maritime official said the rescuers were being hindered by high winds and choppy waters. The search area is about 400 square nautical miles (nearly 1,400 square kilometers) of the South China Sea.

The captain and a crew member were found Sunday afternoon in the waters between the island of Pulau Tiga and an offshore oil drilling platform, Malaysia's The Star Online reported. The boat had left Kota Kinabalu in Sabah state on Saturday morning on its way to Pulau Mengalum, an island about 60 kilometers (38 miles) west.

The Chinese consulate in Kota Kinabalu said multiple survivors "were reported drifting at sea waiting for rescue," the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Chinese state television said the crew reported helping passengers put on life jackets as the boat was sinking, then tried to look for help.

Malaysia deployed search and rescue ships and helicopters after receiving a call Saturday night about the boat's disappearance, Xinhua reported.

Arwin Musbir, the captain of another boat that left for Pulau Mengalum at the same time, told the New Straits Times newspaper that he was following the missing boat but lost sight of it shortly after they left. He said he realized it had gone missing only after he arrived at the island.

The maritime agency official said 28 Chinese passengers and three crew were on board. The official declined to be named because he isn't authorized to speak to the media.

Many Chinese travel abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday, which began Saturday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a tweet Sunday afternoon that he was monitoring developments in the search.

___

Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Beijing contributed to this report. (**)
Company to showcase its flagship software platform, Kerauno, February 8-10 at worlds leading business technology show

Indianapolis, IN  January 27, 2017  Axia Technology Partners (AxiaTP), a national leader in VoIP and UCaaS solutions, announced today that it will be showcasing its Unified Communications Platform, Kerauno at ITEXPO, held February 8-10, 2017 at Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. ITEXPO is the worlds leading business technology tradeshow, and will converge education, innovation and networking across the entire community of IT professionals and thought leaders. Meet Axia Technology Partners at ITEXPO at the Kerauno booth (#731) to learn more about AxiaTPs strategy for changing the landscape of Unified Communications and Collaboration through an API First approach to software development.

At ITEXPO, executives, technology buyers, sellers, resellers and manufacturers from companies of all sizes and industries will assemble to forge new business partnerships, collaborate and learn together and from one another. Dozens of conferences sessions, keynotes and panels will be focused on helping attendees move their businesses forward.

One of the great things about being at a show like ITEXPO is getting the opportunity to show people the power of our platform in person, said Josh Ross, Managing Partner at Axia Technology Partners. We will be launching Kerauno version 2.0 in the second quarter of this year, so ITEXPO attendees will get a sneak peak at some of the new features we are rolling out.

Kerauno is AxiaTPs flagship software platform, providing unified communication and collaboration tools that optimize business workflows and enhance efficiencies. The drag & drop interface makes all tasks from transferring a call to setting up a call flow  intuitive and easy to manage. The REST-driven API provides seamless integration with third-party software, including virtually any proprietary system a company might have. In addition, Kerauno has out of the box integrations with Salesforce, core banking software from Fiserv, Jack Henry, and Corelation, and version 2.0 will incorporate integration with JIRA

.

We are very excited about our new core banking and JIRA integrations, Ross said. This should give our wholesale partners and resellers a competitive edge in several targeted markets. AxiaTP is actively seeking a limited number of highly qualified wholesale partners to join their network. Get more information about this opportunity at www.axiatp.com/partnerprogram.

Registration for ITEXPO is now open. For the latest ITEXPO news, updates and information follow the event on Twitter at @ITEXPO.

About Axia Technology Partners:

Indianapolis-based Axia Technology Partners is a leading national provider of converged IP technology and software solutions, with industry-leading service offerings including nationwide VoIP Phone Services, Unified Communications, Business Internet Access, and Managed Network Services. AxiaTPs clients include municipal governments, banks and credit unions, hospitals, schools and universities, law firms, manufacturers, and a host of SMBs across the country. For more information about Axia Technology Partners, please visit www.axiatp.com. For more information about Kerauno, go to www.keraunoUC.com.

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Youve probably heard of the cool Danish trend known as hygge and, more recently, the Swedish way of living that they call lagom.

Celebrity Cruises But in case neither of those work for you, psychologist Dr Saima Latif, of, has rounded up lifestyle trends from around the world that might be more to your liking

Sisu, from Finland

(Celebrity Cruises)

Finding it hard to stick to your New Year resolutions? Sisu is all about determination in the face of adversity.

The idea that you pick yourself up and carry on is perfect for those that often catastrophise their failures, says Latif. The key is the sustainability of this stoic determination, that will help you tackle adversities whether big or small.

Jugaad, from India

(Celebrity Cruises)

Jugaad is all about the process of finding ingenious solutions to tough problems. Latif describes it as a life-hacking exercise.

This approach to life would assist us in understanding that problems in life or errors that occur do not need to pull us down or cause us more stress  for there will be a solution and a way of fixing the problem, she explains.

Gemutlichkeit, from Germany

(Celebrity Cruises)

The German word gemutlichkeit is used to describe a state of warmth and friendliness. Latif believes this simple concept can make a big difference to mental wellbeing.

Whether its gathering friends together for good food and drink, or taking the time to make others feel welcome  the sentiment of togetherness can banish feelings of loneliness that can often take their toll on our mood and even physical health, she adds.

Pono, from Hawaii

(Celebrity Cruises)

There is no literal translation of pono into English, but the general description is  treat others as you would like to be treated.

What makes this way of life particularly unique is that it is all-encompassing, Latif says. This sense of morality can benefit us by allowing us to feel harmonised and at balance.

Wabi-sabi, from Japan

(Celebrity Cruises)

Not everything in the world is perfect and wabi-sabi teaches you to accept that.

Latif explains: Taking time to accept and even appreciate the naturally imperfect world can positively change our perception of the world and alleviate the stress that striving for perfection can cause.

Friluftsliv, from Norway

(Celebrity Cruises)

Friluftsliv is all about embracing nature and the outdoors to free the mind and spirit.

By taking yourself out of your busy urban environment and into the quiet of nature, even just for a few hours, your mind is given the mental space free from distraction and noise to order your thoughts, put things into perspective and therefore encourage a sense of calm, Latif says.
Today, President Trump's executive order banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries came into effect. For 90 days, the USA will not issue visas, or conduct visa meetings, with nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

I'm a British citizen & so proud to have been welcomed to this country. Sad to hear ill be banned from the USA based on my country of birth  Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 28, 2017

@timothy_stanley What if you are British of Iraqi origin, as I am? A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA.  Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 28, 2017

2. Westminster Hall has great significance & should be reserved for leaders who have made an outstanding positive difference in the world  Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) January 28, 2017

PM's refusal to condemn Trump Muslim ban is shocking, wrong and cannot stand. It flies in the face of the values of people across Britain.  Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) January 28, 2017

It has been reported that the move will also affect dual nationals, even if they hold a passport from a country not on the list. Trump's 'Muslim ban' has not only placed an indefinite ban on Syrians from entering the country, but he has ordered a four-month ban on all refugees. Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon, Nadhim Zahawi, claims he will be among those barred from entering the United States.Born in Baghad, Mr Zahawi left Iraq aged nine with his Kurdish parents, due to threat of persecution by Saddam Hussein's government, according to his website . He founded YouGov alongside Stephan Shakespeare in 2000, but left to pursue his own career in politics. He's not the only UK politician to publicly speak out against the ban, despite the Prime Minister herself refusing to do so at a press conference earlier today Chair of the Health Select Committee and Conservative MP for Totnes, Sarah Wollastone, took to Twitter to deliver a series of messages about the new President. She's called for Trump to be barred from speaking at the Houses of Parliament when he makes his state visit to the UK later this year.She went further, calling Trump a "sickening piece of work" in her final tweet on the subject. Labour MPs have also riled against both the Prime Minister and the President. Corbyn tweeted that May's refusal to comment was a "disgrace", whilst former party leader Ed Miliband was damning about the PM's involvement.
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Making an Italian connection: Brand Connect Asia lands renowned Zenato

PHUKET: Local beverage distributor Brand Connect Phuket, a subsidiary of Brand Connect Asia, has recently inked a deal with premium Italian winemaker Zenato for exclusive distribution rights in Phuket. Managing Director of Brand Connect Phuket, David Ghani, says securing the Zenato account over local wine specialist Wine and Taste was a boon for the young company, established in 2013, which has been steadily growing its portfolio of brands.



By Mark Knowles

Sunday 29 January 2017, 10:00AM

The Zenato deal was announced during a recent visit to Phuket by Nadia Zenato (3rd from left), who heads up the brands global sales and marketing efforts.

Wine and Taste did an excellent job with Zenato in the Phuket market. We appreciate all the work that they did with the brand previously and we are looking forward to taking the brand to the next level. Zenato is a great addition to our growing portfolio of premium wine brands, said Mr Ghani.

Mr Ghani said that landing the Zenato account continues the companys recent string of successful brand acquisitions. Last year Brand Connect Phuket secured distribution rights for several big spirit makers including the Branca Portfolio (Fernet Branca, Branca Menta, Carpano) and Beluga Vodka. They have also won the rights for several winemakers such as Gaja Ca Marcanda and Bruno Paillard Champagne and have secured contracts with premium hotels Trisara and Outrigger to supply their house-pour spirits.

Brand Connect Phuket was initially set up to take advantage of the lack of premium, niche spirits brands available on the island. The spirits business globally has moved on from your standard commercial brands to more hand-crafted spirits and small batch luxury products, said Mr Ghani.

As we grew more familiar with the island, it became apparent that the wine market had also become quite stagnant and there was a clear opportunity to innovate and breathe new life into the industry, he added.

The Zenato deal was announced during a recent visit to Phuket by Nadia Zenato, who heads up the brands global sales and marketing efforts. Ms Zenato said she was pleased to be partnering with Brand Connect Phuket and its partner importer GFour Fine Wines and Spirits, who she said are well positioned to promote both their premium and entry-level wines on the island.

I think our wines can really grow in this market. They (Brand Connect Phuket) are people that really know about Italian wines, about our story and our culture, she said.

During her recent visit to Phuket, Ms Zenato hosted a wine dinner at the Pullman Arcadia to showcase the brands range of wines to consumers, media and the local hospitality industry.

I think events like these are important, I try to transmit our passion, our story, so they can promote the wines with their customers, she said.

We are a truly family business, my father started it in 1960, my brother is the head winemaker, and Im in charge of sales strategy and marketing.

My father passed away six years ago, he was a great teacher and we are carrying on the tradition, we have a nephew joining the business, so I am very positive about the future, she added.

Zenato has 70 hectares of established vineyards in the Verona region of Northern Italy, just outside of Venice, and according to Ms Zenato, they are planting a further 20 hectares this year to increase their production capacity. The company exports 70% of its production and Ms Zenato said that Thailand in particular and Asia in general are a fast growing market for wine.

We sell our wine in more than 60 countries and Im sure that in two or three years Thailand will be an even more important market. Bangkok is changing quickly and so is Hanoi, so I believe there is a lot of possibility to grow here in the Asian market, she said.

The style of our wines is very adaptable to Asian food or Thai food, its not just for Italian food, she added.

Mr Ghani said established old-world wine brands like Zenato are easier to market at a premium, because, despite their typically higher price tags, they have strong brand identity associated with quality and expertise.

Its definitely easier to sell premium old world wine, but a lot of the volume comes from the cheaper new-world wines. Rose is the perfect wine for this climate so we hope sell a lot of Zenatos Rose.
Phuket Opinion: Waiting for the dust to settle on Phuket illegal hotel demolition threat

PHUKET: Governor Chockchais recent announcement, that 860 illegal hotels in Phuket  63% of all hotels on the island  must register as hotels before Jan 31 or face demolition, seems pretty clear cut.



By The Phuket News

Sunday 29 January 2017, 08:00AM

Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan. Photo: PR Dept

It appears, however, that the current Governors amnesty, ending on Jan 31, appears to have been in effect for many years  how else could 860 large buildings have been constructed and used as hotels for all these years with few, if any, operators attracting the significant punishments proscribed for those operating illegal hotels? According to Hotel Act of 2008, anyone who operates a Hotel without a licence is liable for a fine of B20,000, a B10,000 fine for each day of the illicit operation, and up to one year in prison.

It will be interesting to see what effect the Governors ultimatum will have. According to their own statements the government has identified all of the illegal hotels so after the deadline it should be simply matter of checking those who registered off the list and sending the bulldozers out to knock down the rest.

However, there is one significant factor that makes this threat ring hollow. A Ministerial Regulation (MR) announced in August 2016, to make it easier for more property owners to obtain a hotel licence, which gives owners of existing buildings five years to complete an application to register the building as a hotel (two years if the building requires structural modification). So even if every illegal hotel registers by the deadline, they will still not have to meet any hotel building codes for at least another five years. And thats just the time limit for the application to be completed  who knows how much longer it could take the Ministry of Interior to process 860 detailed applications?

So while the Governor talks tough on this issue, it seems highly unlikely that it will have much effect on the current status quo, at least not for another five years when the MR requirement comes into effect. So if the hotels register, the Governor can claim victory while simply kicking the can of real reform down the road for his distant successor to deal with.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how many operators take advantage of the amnesty, because those that dont should be easily identified by the Governor, and if he sticks to his word, be prosecuted and face significant fines and custodial terms as mandated by the Hotel Act.
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A day after Karni Sena vandalised the sets of Padmavati and manhandled director Sanjay Leela Bhansali citing distortion of history on his upcoming film. Like many B-Towners, Sushant Singh Rajput was outraged and dropped his surname Rajput, as a protest.

In his tweets he expressed his displeasure over peoples obsession with their surnames, We would suffer till the time were obsessed with our surnames. However, his act of dropping the surname is the only step taken against the gruelling incident.

The members of Karni Sena accused Bhansali of presenting wrong facts. Although the makers clarified that there is nothing objectionable in the film that would harness the image of the historic figures, The attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur, the makers were quoted as saying.

Padmavati which stars Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, is set for a Diwali 2017 release.
BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday alleged the Congress and Samajwadi Party had joined hands at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and asked the people, specially the minorities, to be careful of them.

The four-time UP Chief Minister said that the alliance has been entered into after the approval of the BJP so as to ensure that it sails through comfortably after the Muslim vote is divided.

"All these parties have connived together to ensure that the BSP falls short of the majority in the state assembly polls," said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief in a statement.

"SP is neck deep into corruption and has unleashed its goons on the people of the state and the Congress has still tied up with it to indirectly benefit the BJP," she alleged.
The Centre will invest Rs.15,000 crores to develop 1,253 kilometres of roads in Assam into National Highways over the next few years, Union Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said on Sunday.

"When Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonwoal met me, he demanded to declare 1,253 kilometres of state roads as National Highways. Today I am declaring that those will be developed as NHs," he said here.

Inaugurating the second road bridge over Brahmaputra here, the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister said the Centre has already sanctioned an investment of Rs.15,000 crores for developing the existing roads as National Highways.

"I have ordered to prepare the DPR (Detailed Project Report) and it will be over soon. I hope the CM will initiate land acquisition process soon. As soon as the state government gives us the land and forest clearances, we will start the work immediately," he said.

Gadkari said the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) will spend Rs.8,000 crores over the next two years for developing 143 kilometres of road, including a few bridges over Brahmaputra.

"The work on preparing the DPR for the bridge connecting Sonowal's constituency Majuli has already started. I have asked the officials to make a light weight and cost-effective bridge there," he said.
With bitter memories of large-scale violence fresh in the minds of people, Haryana was on high alert on Sunday as a section of the Jat community started fresh protests in some districts.

Paramilitary forces and Haryana Police were monitoring the situation in Jat-dominated districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat and others.

The call to resume the protests has been given by the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Jat leader Yashpal Malik in 19 districts.

The Jats are demanding fulfillment of demands like release of youths arrested during the Jat agitation last year, jobs to kin of Jats killed in the agitation and action against officials responsible for firing on Jat agitationists.

"Security agencies are keeping a close watch on some Jat leaders, especially those owing allegiance to the AIJASS," a senior police officer said here on Sunday.

The Haryana government has requisitioned 55 companies of central police forces and ordered the deployment of 7,000 Home Guards, besides the Haryana Police personnel, in districts where trouble was expected.

Central forces and Haryana police carried out flag marches in Rohtak and some other places on Saturday to instill confidence among people.

The Jat agitation in February last year left 30 people dead and over 200 injured.

Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar and some other districts were the worst affected during the Jat agitation.

Government and private property worth hundreds of crores was damaged and set on fire. Large-scale looting of commercial and business premises and even motorists was reported from the 10 worst affected districts.

In a communication to senior officers in districts, the Haryana government last week directed that security of all major critical points like drinking water supply to Delhi in Karnal and Sonipat, traffic movement on the G T road (National Highway No 1) and roadways depots should be secured.

Haryana Director General of Police K P Singh said earlier that if anyone was found indulging in any illegal activity or causing loss to public property, action would be initiated against him.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said people should refrain from participating in any agitation. He said the government will strictly deal with the situation if it gets out of hand.
Rajghat will showcase a new look on the 69th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Monday as it has got a facelift after 15 years.

The memorial to the Father of the Nation last got a facelift in 1999-2000 under then Urban Development Minister Jagmohan and his successor Ananth Kumar.

For the first time, a 157 word brief profile of Mahatma Gandhi and a 131 word description of his 'Samadhi' will be put on display, both in Hindi and English, at all the three gates of Rajghat, the Ministry of Urban Development said in a statement on Sunday.

It said 30 'Amrit Vachans' (thoughts of Gandhi) have been engraved on marble and displayed on granite stone pedestals, each illuminated by LED light atop aesthetically designed light post, for inspiring the visitors to Rajghat, it saidm adding the LED lights will result in energy saving of 60,000 KWH annually.

"Solar panels have been installed above roof tops and cycle shed at the parking area of Rajghat that will generate 52 KW of energy," it said.

For enhanced security and better monitoring of visitors, 27 CCTVs have been installed with a central control room for monitoring at Rajghat.

"More than 10,000 domestic and foreign visitors visit Mahatma Gandhiji's Samadhi at Rajghat every day, (but) there was nothing much to engage them about his life and and thoughts other than the black stone platform that marks the spot where he was cremated.

"To enhance the engaging experience of the visitors, the Rajghat Samadhi Samiti undertook several initiatives during the last two years and they will be inaugurated tomorrow (Monday) on the occasion of the 69th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," the statement said.

Besides inaugurating these new initiatives on Monday, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will also release a special edition of Rajghat Samadhi Patrika, commemorating the 100th year of Champaran Satyagraha launched by Gandhiji.

Other major initiatives taken up include setting up of Kasturba Gandhi souvenir store in the parking area, landscaping, improvement of water bodies and plantation.

Laying of cobbled stone road between parking area and the Samadhi itself to regulate speed of vehicles, setting up of Central Industrial Security Force control rooms, modern security gadgets like door frame metal detector and X-ray machines near the main gates were among the other measures undertaken.
Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Sunday ruled out a probe into the alleged "inappropriate behaviour" of V Shanmuganathan, who was forced to resign as the governor of Meghalaya.

"As of now, there is nothing in the form of documentary evidence against the former Governor to investigate the allegations. Nothing is in our hands (central government)," he said on the sidelines of the first North East Investment Summit here.

However, he described the resignation of Shanmuganathan, who was also the governor in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh, was done on "moral grounds".

"I cannot comment on whether the government will institute an inquiry into the allegations. It is too premature for me to do so," the minister said.

Earlier, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that he was communicating with the central government on the controversy.

Shanmuganathan resigned on January 26 after nearly 100 employees of Raj Bhavan in Shillong sent a five-page letter to the Prime Minister's Office and Rashtrapati Bhavan, demanding that the governor be recalled for what they alleged was "turning Raj Bhavan into a Young Ladies Club".

From the time Shanmuganathan took office, the employees alleged, they were going through "severe humiliation, mental stress and torture".

The protest letter by the Raj Bhavan staff came after an English daily report quoted a woman accusing Shanmuganathan of making advances by "hugging and kissing me".

The woman was one of the seven candidates selected for an interview for the post of a Public Relations Officer at Raj Bhavan.
The arterial Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was thrown open for one-way traffic on Sunday, five days after snowfall in the valley had led to the closure of the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and the rest of the country.

"The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has been opened for traffic and vehicles have been allowed to ply from Jammu towards Srinagar," an official of the Traffic Control department said.

He said following the improvement in the weather, the highway was cleared off snow and debris left by landslides and one-way traffic was allowed this morning.

The nearly 300-km road was closed for traffic in the wake of snowfall on Tuesday.

It remained shut for five days, choking the supply of essentials to the valley where prices of these commodities have more than doubled in the past week.

Kashmir experienced fresh snowfall on Tuesday which continued intermittently on Saturday as well.

The snowfall also hit flight operations at Srinagar airport here.

While morning flights were delayed on Saturday, all afternoon flights were cancelled due to snowfall.This morning as well, the flights have been delayed, an official at the airport said.

Meanwhile, most areas of Kashmir received rains and snowfall on Saturday, but the weather stayed mainly dry for most part of the night.

Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place in Kashmir division last night even as the minimum temperature there improved. The mercury in Leh settled at minus 5.2 degrees Celsius up nearly five degrees from the previous night's low of minus 10.1 degrees Celsius, an official of the MET department said.

Gulmarg in north Kashmir Baramulla district was the second coldest place with a minimum of minus 4 degrees Celsius.

Other places, including the summer capital Srinagar, also witnessed night temperatures around the freezing point, the official said.

The MET Office has forecast scattered rainfall or snow over two days from today, after which, it said, there is possibility of fairly widespread rainfall or snow on January 31.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in Goa and learnt about the surgical strikes on terror hubs in Pakistani territory from television, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Sunday.

"The Defence Minister came to know of the surgical strikes from TVs when he was in Goa," Singh told the media here.

He also said it was wrong on Parrikar's part to have credited his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) training for the surgical strike and not Indian armed forces which carried out the strike.

"I am sorry to say that a person who has been a Chief Minister and now the Defence Minister refuses to give credit to the Army, but instead gives it to the RSS," Singh said.

"This has been done earlier and even the former chief of army staff said these things have been done earlier. But such things are not taken credit for in public," Singh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invoked threats from Pakistan to urge people to vote for the Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab to provide a strong government in the border state.

Modi warned people not to vote for parties who were eyeing to form the government for their vested interests.

"Punjab a border state. Pakistan always looks for opportunities to destabilize Punjab. If a weak government or a government of outsiders or a government of those indulging in luxuries comes, this will be bad for Punjab and the country," Modi said in this town of Punjab's agricultural Malwa belt, 225 km from Chandigarh.

"We have to ensure that we have a strong government. You have to ensure that you vote properly."

Elections to 117 assembly seats in Punjab take place on February 4 with the main contest being among the Akali Dal-BJP combine, which has been in power in Punjab since 2007, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Modi warned people in Punjab against being misled by the Congress.

"Congress leaders painted all Punjab Sikh youth as terrorists. Now Congress has called all Punjab youths drug addicts. Save Punjab from people who will drag the state back to the dark days," Modi warned.

In an obvious reference to the Congress and the AAP, Modi lamented the declining standard of language being used during campaigning in Punjab.

"I am pained to hear what all things are being called for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal," Modi said.

"Very wrong words are being used for him (Badal). This is dictatorial language. Can democracy work like this? If democratic traditions are broken, it will be bad for the country. People who have done injustice to Anna Hazare, do you think that they will show regard for Badal?"

He said that in his political life he had held two leaders, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Parkash Singh Badal, in high regard as they never talked ill of anyone.

"We should learn from these leaders how to conduct in public life. We have also fought against the Congress. But we do not talk saying that we will send so and so to jail," he said.

He said the AAP leadership, instead of finding faults with the Election Commission and alleging that the EC was dancing to his (Modi's) tunes, should focus on its work.

"They (AAP leaders) will lose in Punjab and Goa because of their own actions (karnamas)," Modi said.

Lauding Badal for public service in the past seven decades, Modi said: "Badal only thinks and talks of Punjab and its people and farmers."

The Prime Minister dwelt at length on the new schemes and policies introduced by his government at the Centre for the benefit of farmers. These include micro-irrigation, crop insurance from natural calamities, modernizing agriculture through technology and others.

Modi also assured that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will fully investigate the incidents of the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and bring the culprits to book.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes to soldiers who died in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir.

"When we were happily celebrating Republic Day, soldiers were killed in an avalanche," Modi said in his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "I salute them."

At least 15 soldiers were killed after two avalanches hit a military post and a patrol along the Line of Control (LoC) last week.
American President Donald Trump has sent a positive signal in his first telephone conversation with Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday by inviting him to Washington. If he decides to go, this will be Modi's fifth visit to the US since he took over  this to a country which had once denied him a visa.

According to the White House statement Trump told Modi that United States considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world. Despite Indian apprehensions about the Trump presidency it is believed that his attitude towards India may turn out to be yet another positive chapter in India-US bilateral ties.

New Delhi had obviously prepared the ground after Trumps victory in November when a high-powered team led by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar went to Washington to discuss with the Trump team all broad issues including a meeting between the two leaders.

Trump is unknown and untested for India. During the campaign he declared, "Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House". He has also called India a natural ally adding,  we are going to do a lot of business with India. We are going to have a phenomenal future together. With the growing influence of the Indian Diaspora on Capitol Hill, Trump will certainly see the advantages of doing business with India. The American billionaire already has family business connections with India.

President Obama had gone out of the way to send signals about Indias importance to the US. He was the only president who had visited India twice and he also hosted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the first state guest in November 2009. He had continued the same warmth towards Prime Minister Modi inviting him to Washington twice. Obama has supported Indias claim on the UN Security Council membership and also in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

How would Trump deal with India? Will he give the same importance as Obama did? On bilateral relations, with growing bipartisan support and the hugely influential Indian Diaspora, one does not expect any radical change in the Trump administrations policy. The ties have reached such a stage that not much may be rolled back. The telephone conversation itself is a great start for now.

On the positive side, there are many areas of converging interests. There is already increasing military cooperation between the two besides huge defence deals. India is an attractive market for American business interests. On India's concerns such as cross-border terrorism, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi resolved that the United States and India stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism, according to the President's spokesperson. Trump has used strong words on the need to curtail ISIS and curb immigration from countries that export terror. India is concerned about the growing ISIS influence among its younger generation.

New Delhi will watch Trumps policy towards Pakistan and China. During the campaign he declared that Pakistan was the worlds most dangerous enemy and the US needed to work closely with India to check it. Similarly on China also, he has been making remarks describing it as one of the US's top adversaries which should make Beijing nervous. He is also keen to raise Indias profile as a counter to China. They also discussed security in the region of South and Central Asia,  the White House statement said, indicating his mood.

The other areas include immigration, outsourcing, trade, student visas and H1B visas, the Indian IT industry and Indian auto part makers. On the economic side, opening up of the US oil sector, as Trump promised, could lead to price stability globally. It could also throw open massive business opportunities for Indian oil companies.

Trumps inaugural speech on January 20 was emphatic about his protectionist tendencies asking Americans to "buy American and hire Americans", which could hit Modis Make in India project. Trump also wants American corporates to relocate their plants from Mexico and other countries. India too will be affected if American plants in India are relocated.

Secondly in the IT sector India leads the outsourcing of Americans. Trump has canvassed for increasing the visa fee to discourage US compnaies from hiring workers from outside. He had earlier termed the H1B visa regime unfair but later softened his stand to woo Indian American votes. Many Indian software companies like Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy may be affected by cut in outsourcing. Cutting down on immigration has been a running theme of his campaign. But Trump may be unpredictable because he sometimes mimicked Indian call centre workers and other times praised Indian wokers.

The third area is trade. Trump vowed that he would slap duties, taxes and tariffs. This would affect India where several American companies including Ford and Microsoft have set up their plants. Trumps threat to scrap Obamacare would also be bad bews for Indian pharmaceutical companies. This sector provides the second biggest exports to the US accounting for $66 billion.

It is too early to predict what Trump will do. But the beginning is good as it is expected that the two nationalist leaders- Trump and Modi  could do business and speak the same language. No doubt one telephone call is not enough to predict the future but South Block is pleased because the White House called Modi ahead of other leaders including those in Beijing, Germany and even Moscow.
Just as the referendum on Brexit on June 23 last year was (at least theoretically) testament to the resilience of democracy and the voice of the people, so too has the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom upheld the pivotal role of the judiciary and the legislature.

Last Tuesdays watershed ruling does not accord short shrift to the wishes of the people  however marginal the victory  or the role of the executive. By effectively rejecting Prime Minister Theresa May's appeal about the procedure to be followed in triggering Britains departure from the European Union, the court has upheld the criticality of balance of power in the democratic engagement.

The ruling ought never to be misinterpreted as a judgment about Britain exiting the EU. By declaring that MPs are entitled to vote on whether to trigger Article 50, the Bench has upheld the rule of law which has now been accorded precedence over the rule of Whitehall. And there can be no two opinions over the legal and constitutional importance of the ruling.

The Leave vote will now be subject to constitutional procedures. Markedly, it has ceased to be a certainty over the past seven months, most particularly in the context of the increasing groundswell of reservations over the issue.

That uncertainty had intensified with the resignation of Britains ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers. Clearly, 10 Downings belated presentation on the issue has failed to convince the other two organs of democracy  the judiciary and the executive. Mrs May's cardinal mistake was to keep her post-referendum strategy as secret as possible.

By dismissing the governments appeal, the Supreme Court has upheld parliamentary sovereignty in the EU departure process. Most importantly, the judiciary has ensured that Mays government cannot take Britain out of the EU on what they call prerogative powers or without Parliaments authority.

That is a cardinal principle and the court was right to uphold it. Ergo, the legislature has scored a moral victory over the executive, the underlying message being that a landmark development in British history, such as Brexit, cannot be the prerogative of the executive.

The court has also underlined its own independence in the aftermath of the criticism by the pro-Brexit section of the media and Brexit campaigners. Though ministers have been generally muted in their response to such attacks, the government was notably gracious in the face of the Supreme Court order.

The issue has now moved from the people to Parliament via Whitehall, and the court has kept open the question of ratification of Britains post-referendum relationship with EU. The exit per se is now open to question. The Supreme Court has confirmed that the referendum is not and cannot be the last word on so momentous an issue.
Reams of newsprint and thousands of web pages have recently devoted themselves to scrutinizing the importance, execution and the long-term impact of the latest large-scale intervention introduced by the NDA government through the sudden demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. However, amidst all the hype and hoopla that demonetisation has brought with it, a more pertinent concern has managed to skip the limelight over the past year. This is an issue which could impact the Indian economy far more significantly than even this groundbreaking change in monetary policy, something that will be responsible not just for the stable economic growth of this country but also the welfare of our future generations. That issue is of job creation, or more specifically, Indias urgent need to tackle jobless growth and create large-scale employment opportunities.

In the current scenario, the problem of unemployment exists as an entirely different demon, completely unrelated to Indias fairytale growth story. More than a million Indians become eligible to join the workforce every month. Unexpectedly, for an economy considered to be one of the fastest growing on the world stage, most seekers have to be turned away.

So though the countrys GDP growth continues to be healthy, the bad news on the jobs front warrants the Union governments immediate attention as jobless growth does not help anyone. According to the Labour Bureau, Indias main agency for collecting statistics related to the creation of jobs in labour-intensive sectors, no new jobs were created; there was actually a fall of 20,000 jobs across eight labour intensive sectors in the December quarter of 2015.

It would be naive to argue that the government should be able to employ all the new or displaced job seekers, despite the existing paucity of qualified people to take up so many vacant posts in the public sector. While Prime Minister Narendra Modis efforts to make the bureaucracy a lean, mean and efficient administrative machine are laudable, what it also means is that the public sector will have to inevitably shrink. Compared to 1996-97, when more than 19 million people were employed in government jobs, 2016 saw the occupation of such positions reduce to 17 million, despite the massive rise in population.

If the public sector is unable to hire, then jobseekers will automatically turn to the private sector. This is where Indias broader employability problem comes into the picture. However, this has to be seen in the light of one contradictory report that says that occupation under the governments flagship rural employment program, MGNREGA, saw more than 200 per cent hike in November and December 2016. While MGNREGA workers were not more than 3.5 million in months preceding demonetization, the post-demonetisation period saw this figure touching 8

million.

This trend is worrying as it could mean that the number of jobs contracted in the MSME sector after trade and commerce got hit due to the cash crunch in the months following demonetisation. Is there a way out? Even when we remove demonetisation from the backdrop, job growth figures have always been a painful area for the present government. Add to it the growing number of job-seekers and the looming threat of automation that will replace humans like never before.

Here it needs to be emphasised that agriculture, manufacturing, and services by themselves cannot fully meet the employment needs of the workforce. There has to be a way out to prevent the migration of labour from asset-building jobs to MGNREGA jobs that are nothing but sops. Let us now see how this can be achieved. To generate more asset-building jobs across the country, industry should be able to look at cost-effective inputs with abundant and cheap raw materials to get its mojo back.

In the current scenario, the labour-intensive construction industry and the infrastructure sector have tremendous potential to generate substantial numbers of jobs. Since the Union Budget 2017-18 will be presented soon, the government can ensure a boom in this sector by addressing some long-pending issues faced by stakeholders. Cement and steel being key construction inputs, it is time for our government to resolve the major pain areas of cement and steel producers.

Talking about the cement sector, the industry is currently burdened with high excise duty and the demand has not been as promising as was anticipated after the Finance Minister presented the 2016-17 General Budget, where the Urban Rejuvenation Mission, Gram Sadak Yojana and Housing for All schemes were expected to bring a boom.

It is to be noted that the prevailing excise duty framework for cement sector is a vague combination of specific and ad valorem rates, which, as per analysts is a reason why duty incidence on cement remains on the higher side. Another point to be noted is that cement industry provides substantial tax revenue to the government (annually about Rs 35,000 crore), next only to tobacco, liquor, and petroleum. Hence this critical sector cannot be allowed to suffer the adverse impact of the irrational tax structure and rates.

Coming to the steel industry, high import duty on nickel and coking coal, which are vital components of steel-making, has added to the cost of manufacturing, thus making the industry uncompetitive when compared to steel imported from China. There is no doubt that the domestic industry has been hit hard by a surge in below-cost import of steel. Add to this the excise duty pain and stagnant demand. Although the government has been imposing anti-dumping duty on imported steel products, this sector will not witness the desired growth unless domestic taxes are rationalised. Presently, the annual excise duty collection from iron and steel sector is about Rs 20,000 crore.

While the profits of big players in the steel industry are declining, the performance of small and medium units is assuming alarming proportions. From H1 201314 to H1 201415, the net profit margin for small producers became negative to the extent of about 40 per cent, and for medium producers it is about 4 per cent. Meanwhile, the capacity utilisation of many small and medium producers has gone well below 50 per cent (Source: RBI Bulletin and NCAER Report).

In view of these facts, it is suggested that in the budget for FY 2017-18, our Finance Minister must rationalize excise duty on both steel and cement, along with other duties on products that are used in their manufacturing. To ease the pain of demonetisation and also to kick-start infrastructure growth and job creation, the Union government needs to give a significant boost to these critically important industries by levying lower or near-zero or even nil excise duty on these products for the next 2-3 years.

Infrastructure growth can receive a major boost if steel and cement providers are given benefits that will enable them to stay competitive. If the government takes this step, it will automatically push demand. Then both 100 per cent capacity utilisation and economies of scale can be achieved. Needless to say, job growth will see the kind of rise that the government and job-seekers really want.

With infrastructure development, workers will be absorbed in both construction of roads and buildings and also in steel and cement manufacturing. As far as government budgetary revenue is concerned, according to financial experts and government estimates, the direct tax growth owing to demonetisation, where the tax on higher than justifiable scrapped currency notes deposited and transparency in profit reporting of businesses, plus some dividend income from RBI, have the potential to compensate for the losses.

The BJP-led government may be expecting an uptick in its support from the general public owing to the patriotic fervor involved, which did not let demonetisation spark any wide public unrest. However, the underlying truth is that the public will judge the Union government and policymakers from the many impacts that demonetisation will bring in the short, medium and long term. If contracted job growth and lessened trade and commerce will be the only outcomes, then the party in power cannot expect voters support in the upcoming elections.

(The writer, a chartered accountant, has served on boards of nationalized banks, the General Insurance Corporation and the Rural Electrification Corporation.)
A new lawsuit by a mining company based in northeast Minnesota, Essar Steel Minnesota, against its former parent company, Essar Global Fund, is the latest scene in a drama that began in 2007, when the India-based parent steel company bought an existing taconite operation in northeastern Minnesota. In that boom era, it soon announced plans for a grandiose new plant, which, at one point, would have included the core of a modern steel mill.

Those plans collapsed along with the global commodities super-cycle. More recent scenes center on unpaid contractors, unmet loan payments and stiffed Minnesota taxpayers. The shakeout was messy. While the Minnesota operation, now known as Mesabi Metallics, is still nominally a subsidiary of the Mumbai-based parent, the lawsuit is part of an effort to completely sever the Minnesota business, including a partially completed $2 billion plant, from the parent.

The economic concept relevant today is at the core of the lawsuit just filed. It is the broader issue of transfer pricing, a necessary accounting task for all international corporations. The question may be similarly important if the new administration in Washington really is able to impose high tariffs as promised on imports of autos and other items manufactured in Mexico or Japan.

To start, the lawsuit alleges that the parent company charged its Minnesota subsidiary hundreds of millions of dollars for materials and business services that it did not, in fact, provide. This took money directly from the subsidiary and indirectly from local vendors and Minnesota taxpayers and then transferred the funds back to owners in India.

This specific case might constitute fraud, but, in general, manipulating payments between different entities of the same underlying corporation to reduce taxes or camouflage the transfer of capital is a common business practice.

It goes back to the days when most international commerce was between companies rather than within them. Centuries ago, traders perfected the arts of under-invoicing and over-invoicing. Abuses of transfer pricing arose from these.

Consider a Brazilian coffee merchant in the 1950s who agreed to sell 500 tons of coffee to a U.S. buyer for $400 per ton. That could be paid for with a $200,000 check. But at that time, all international transactions had to be run through Brazils central bank. And the exporter might have reasons to desire minimizing the sums involved. So he might say, Let me present an invoice to you for 500 tons at $300 per ton. You pay that $150,000 and Ill deposit it at the Bank of Brazil. But we will also forward a supplemental invoice for the extra $50,000. Please pay that into our account at a Miami bank.

It would be no skin off the buyers back to accommodate this request. The exporter would have accomplished two goals, reducing his reportable income in Brazil and surreptitiously moving $50,000 out of the country. This was against the law. A sharp-eyed comparison of the official invoice to the actual grade of coffee embarked might catch it. But the risk was small and such under-invoicing was common whenever the Brazilian government controlled all international payments.

Or, a Brazilian industrial equipment manufacturer might buy 5,000 electric motors from a German vendor at $250 each. If it was an established sales relationship, and the German seller was experienced in dealing with developing-country customers, the Brazilian buyer could say, We owe you $125,000. But could you do us the favor of invoicing us for the motors at $350 each? We will forward the $175,000 through the Bank of Brazil. A couple of months from now, well notice that you made an error. Issue a corrected invoice and send it, along with a $50,000 refund, to our agent in Switzerland. If the vendor cooperates, the Brazilian manufacturer has just increased their expenses for income tax filings by $50,000 and moved the same amount from Brazil into a Swiss bank via over-invoicing.

What was a well-known, if not necessarily common, practice between international traders was even easier to implement within a company that moves goods or services between different divisions of itself, as was the case with Essar.

Every international corporation has to determine transfer prices to keep its books. This necessary task can be used or abused. At some point abuse can become fraud, either against tax authorities or against the local partners or creditors of a subsidiary in another country. That is what Essar Minnesota alleges has taken place. A judge will eventually rule unless there is a negotiated settlement first.

So what about the Trump administration and import tariffs? Say Germany-based Audis Mexican subsidiary manufactures in that country but sells most of its cars to the corporations U.S. subsidiary which, in turn, sells them to authorized dealers and then to the public. When Audis Mexican entity sells to its U.S. entity, what value is entered on the customs declaration? The lower the sum declared, the fewer dollars on which any hypothetical 35 percent border tax much be paid. A lower price will reduce profits in Mexico, but increase them in our country.

Yes, there is not much room to play with on values of high-end autos. You cannot list an A6 at $5,000. But dont assume that some play wont occur. And yo-yoing exchange rates introduce much room for games. The higher border taxes are, the greater the incentive for manipulating the numbers that go on invoices and tariff declarations. And the greater the incentives for corruption.
It is never healthy to join issue with the Election Commission, particularly when polls are in the offing and the model code of conduct has come into play. Yet, it would be cowardly not to note the dismay in the strategic community, military circles, and among several civilian defence watchers, over Nirvachan Sadan enforcing a virtual media black-out of the Combined Commanders Conference (CCC) which was held at the prestigious Indian Military Academy in Dehradun ~ in one of the states where Assembly elections will be conducted a few weeks hence. If the EC apprehended that some state-specific goodies would be announced (there is a substantial fauji vote in states going to the polls) it could have issued the kind of caution it has done for the presentation of the general Budget. That would have been preferable to keeping under wraps any major decisions taken at a gathering of the top military leadership and its interaction with the Prime Minister. In a nation in which serious discussion on security/military issues is a rarity, (the defence debate in Parliament now lacks genuine quality), the CCC is closely monitored at home and abroad: although only a sanitised version of the Prime Ministers speech is made public. With even that being censored last week, there will be considerable reliance on stray references, insinuations and leaks. Surely the Election Commission did not desire that on so critical an issue, and if it feared any seeking of political capital from military matters the answer was available in the gallantry awards announced on Republic Day. So was the media black-out of the CCC a case of over-drive?

There can be no argument that the view of the Prime Minister is required on several key issues that raise concerns today. Apart from the continuing tensions along the land borders, terrorist forays across the LOC and the threat from the sea to the west of the mainland, the forces are now faced with a Facebook crisis as the command structure is being pressured by the airing of grievances on social media. The OROP controversy has not died down, nor have anomalies in the Pay Commission award been resolved. Simultaneously do programmes of modernisation and domestic production of advanced equipment need emphasis with a make in India thrust. The defence minister has hinted at reform of the system of higher defence management: surely that calls for a categorical statement from the political authority. After all, it was another off-the-cuff remark from Manohar Parrikar that preceded the supersession when appointing the Army Chief. The Prime Minister might have offered some light on these matters, but the EC has condemned the nation to a degree of darkness on security policies.
In his book, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and Future of American Power, the American author, Robert Kaplan, had argued that the geopolitics of the 21st century will be decided by events in the Indian Ocean rim which is emerging as the new geopolitical centre of the world. Kaplans narrative rests on the premise that the Indian Oceans regular monsoon winds, which carried traders across the ocean since antiquity, had established cultural and economic patterns which are still very much in action. There has been little research so far on issues relating to security, stability and sustainability of the Indian Ocean Region and its future potential from the geopolitical and strategic perspectives of the 21st century. The concept of proactively promoting and engaging in a broader Indian Ocean grouping still lies at the periphery of our national objectives and geopolitical goals, ignoring the advantages conferred upon us by history. We are still unmindful of what Nelson Mandela had prophetically said in 1995, The natural urge of the facts of history and geography should broaden itself to include the concept of an Indian Ocean Rim for socio-economic cooperation and other peaceful endeavours.

One of the earliest works on the subject, Histoire ancienne des etats hindouises d'Extreme Orient published in 1944 (translated as The Indianised States of South-east Asia) by the French archeologist George Cdes explores the dharma-dhamma continuum that is evident even today in the thousands of Hindu-Buddha temples practically all over South-east Asia ~ Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar. Indias relations with these countries date back at least to 1st millennium AD or even earlier; even countries on the eastern and southern coast of Africa and in the Middle East share thousands of years of close socio-cultural interaction through maritime trade links with India.

In 1947, K M Panikkar had observed, Millenniums before Columbus sailed the Atlantic and Magellan crossed the Pacific, the Indian Ocean had become a thoroughfare of commercial and cultural traffic. That was one of the earliest globalisations on record. Sanjeev Sanyal, in his book Ocean of Churn, had mentioned that the Middle East and Iran had trade links with the Indus Valley people since the Harappan era, that the merchant ships from Guajrat used to sail along the Makran coast trading along the way, past Gwadar and Sutkajen-dor (now near the Iran-Pakistan border). Discovery of Harappan artifacts and seals as far as Southern Iran suggests a continuum of economic and cultural trails all along. The trail survived till the 1960s, The Indian rupee was legal tender in most Middle East countries including Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and UAE; they resorted to their own currencies only after the sharp devaluation of the rupee by the RBI in 1966. The supreme living trail is of course the hundreds of thousands of Indians who live and work in the Gulf countries.

Sanyal narrated how seafarers from Odisha and Bengal had started visiting Sri Lanka from the sixth century BC. The first Indianized kingdom emerged in Vietnams Mekong delta around 1st Century BC, established, according to legend, by a Brahmin named Kaundinya, to whom both the Chams of Vietnam as well as Khmers of Cambodia trace their ancestry. By then, Indian mariners had learnt enough about monsoon winds and ocean currents to follow the north-eastern monsoon to sail to Sri Lanka in mid-November, an event that is still commemorated in Odisha on the day of Kartik Purnima. After replenishing the fresh water and provisions in Sri Lanka, mariners would set sail again in January, following ocean currents to Sumatra, then known as Swarnadwipa, and from there, to continue their voyage past the Malacca Strait on to Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Vietnam, or southward along the western coast of Java, then known as Jabadwipa, on to Bali. After trading for two months, by mid-March, they would start their return journey to reach Sri Lanka in time to catch the south-west monsoon that would take them back home.

With more knowledge about ocean currents and monsoon winds, Indian seafarers became more adventurous. They sailed not only from Odisha and Bengal, but also from Andhra and Tami Nadu. Cotton was the most important export, and Indian cotton carried the seeds of Indian culture, language and religion to the countries of South-east Asia. Hinduism and Buddhism spread within a few centuries, and Mahabharata and Ramayana struck deep roots along with Sanskrit in South-east Asia. This has survived the onslaught of Islam and colonial rule by the Portugese, the Dutch and the British till today. Hinduism is still dominant in Bali and Buddhism in Myanmar. The ninth century Buddhist temple of Borobudur and the 10th century Hindu temples of Prambanan in Indonesia and the 12th century Hindu temple of Angkor in Cambodia still attract millions of tourists. The Indian links are remembered with considerable warmth.

The Hindu Srivijaya dynasty in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula (7th-13th centuries), Angkor (Khmer) in Cambodia (9th-15th centuries), Majapahit in Java (13th-16th centuries) and Kingdom of Champa in Central and Southern Vietnam (2nd-17th centuries) remained enduring powers in the region, before the gradual spread of Islam from 14th Century onwards and then colonisation by Europeans would eclipse their glory.

Along the west coast of India also, merchant fleets from Arabia negotiated the waters of the Arabian Sea, sailing south hugging the western coast of India, past Saurashtra and the Gulf of Khambhat, through the estuary of Narmada to the modern port of Bharuch, then Barygaza. The Arab merchants would reach the shores of Kerala within a few centuries. It was through this route that groups of Christians and Parsis fleeing persecution in Iran would reach India, making it their home forever.

It is indeed paradoxical how the adventurous, seafaring people of India gradually turned insular and lost their strength before succumbing easily to foreign invasions, and how even crossing the sea (Kalapani) became stigmatized in society. In his seminal work, Project Mausam: Maritime Routes and Cultural Landscapes was launched as a transnational project by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India in 2014, to rekindle the long-lost ties across nations of the Indian Ocean and to forge new avenues of cooperation and exchange. The project, launched by India in partnership with member states, will mark a significant step in recording and celebrating this important phase of world history from the African, Arab and Asian perspectives. But to regenerate the economic links is even more important, and a sustainable way to achieve this is through the Blue Economy.

Gunter Paulis 2010 book, The Blue Economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs promises to shift society from scarcity to abundance with what is locally available, by tackling issues that cause environmental and related problems in new ways. It relies on the design of sustainable systems to fuel blue growth which addresses the problems of resource scarcity and waste disposal, while focusing on sustainable development in a holistic manner. Blue Economy holds immense promise for the Indian Ocean region which has a treasure of vast untapped natural resources. It has the potential to offer many benefits, from utilising the untapped marine and mineral resources of the Indian Ocean to interconnecting, boosting and synergising the coastal national economies of the region. It can also revive the IORARC as an Ocean-based, close-knit and vibrant community. In fact, IORARC has already adopted the Blue Economy as a top priority, and identified eight priority areas for cooperation between the member states including fisheries and aquaculture, renewable ocean energy, seaports and shipping, seabed exploration for minerals etc. One only hopes that the ideas are translated into action, because like in the past, what happens in the Indian Ocean now will determine the course of human history once again.

(Concluded)
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland share 1,624 km of Indias border with Myanmar, which is open in the sense that the inhabitants of the border areas  mostly hill tribes  are allowed to travel up to 16 km on either side, without documents, for the simple reason that national boundaries cannot divide tribal societies. Standing close to such a border post, one may get a feeling that the man-made frontiers make little social and economic sense. Thus the reported move by the Myanmar government to fence the border between border pillars Nos 145 and 146 has caused some concern in India.

However, the scenario has chan-ged after the June 2015 ambush by the NSCN (Khaplang) faction in Manipurs Chandel district in which 18 jawans were killed. The Army swiftly responded and destroyed the militant hideouts inside Myanmar. Before that the restoration of democracy after the 2015 election in Myanmar though somewhat limited as the 2008 constitution, which allowed the Army a strong say in governance, is still in force  has made it necessary to see the Indo-Myanmar relationship from a long term perspective. And, this may as well begin with a look at the history and culture that the region shares with Myanmar.

To cut a long story short, around 12th century, the evolution of the ethno-cultural identity of the Burman was complete with the fusion of races like the Mon, Shan, and Pyus, a Tibeto Burman group with the Burman,who came from different regions of South-east Asia and Tibet and settled down in the Irawaddy valley.

Interestingly, in the 13th century the Ahoms, also a Shan tribe from the ancient kingdom of Mung Man in the upper Irawaddy valley, entered the Brahmaputra valley and established the Ahom empire and a dynasty that, according to historians, survived for the longest period ever in the world and was overthrown by the Burmese in 1821-22. The devastation and the atrocities the Burmese invaders committed on the people of Assam are still recounted in Assamese folklore.

The Burmese conquest of Assam posed a threat to the ill- defined British frontiers in the east under the Bengal Presidency, the military-trade-administrative power structure of the East India company. The British responded by sending an expedition to Burma that led to the annexation of Arakan, presently Rakhine, Tenassarim and Pegu provinces, in 1824; and later Assam, following the Treaty of Yandabo (1826) after the Burmese defeat. Two more wars, in 1852 and1886, led to the annexation of the rest of Mandalay and upper Burma, primarily to stop French influence and to protect the commercial interests of the British companies engaged in the exploitation of timber and

minerals.

Initially placed under the Bengal Presidency, Burma became a province of British India. It got separated in 1935 and attained freedom in 1948.

The Burmese experience of colonial rule was strikingly similar to that of Assam, as while it was tea, forest-based resources, coal in Assam, it was exploitation of teak wood, hydrocarbons, gold, and strategic minerals like copper, zinc and later uranium.The colonial- capitalistic mode of production entailed only extraction of natural resources for the enrichment of the imperial power and, therefore, the colonial state developed infrastructure solely to meet the demands of the extractive economy.

However, this very process integrated the Burmese economy into that of the Indian provinces along the east and west coast, North-east and and South East Asia and thereby exposed its people to the modern world and systems of education, trade, markets and banking.

There is yet another historical parallel  the British used Burma as the base to counter the French power in Indo-China and, therefore secure its Burmese assets. The British advanced further north to the region inhibited by tribes like the Karen and the Kachin, bordering China and the French-held territories, which were not under the Burman-led government before.

The inclusion of these areas in Burma that followed also led to the spread of Christianity among these tribes and sowed the seeds of ethnic identity politics and insurgency, much like the way it developed in the North-east. Some of these trade links were active till the Army take-over of Burma in 1962 and later renamed it Myanmar and closed its door to the world but unorganised trade along its borders with the North-east continued on a modest scale.

The rise of Aung San Suu Kyi to power in 2015 has raised hopes for a paradigm shift in Indo-Myanmar relationship and it appears efforts under the Look East Policy  now Act East Policy  have achieved some results as Indias exports to Myanmar are up from $ 3,799 million in 2011 to $4,892 million in 2015, while imports have marginally increased from $ 9,106 in 2011 to$ 9560 million in 2015.

Myanmars share of Indias trade with Association of South East Asian Nations is close to 10 per cent, indicating a substantial rise, as in 2009 our import from Myanmar was worth $1,196 million while exports were only worth $209.75 million. However, the regions contribution to this trade was meagre then and now is just about one per cent. This is entirely due to the components of merchandise trade as Indian exports mainly consist of high-value products like electrical, machinery parts, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel and machine tools, which are not manufactured in the North-east, and also sugar and mineral oils.

And imports from Myanmar are mainly primary products like vegetables, oilseeds, coffee, fruits and wood and wood products for, which there is limited demand in the North-east. This is also true of the regions trade with other Asean members, which suggests that more than the lack of connectivity with Myanmar and Asean, it is the tardy growth of manufacturing that stands in the way of trade expansion with Myanmar and the Asean.

The hard reality is that manufacturing of the standard required to reach the Asean is unlikely to come up in the near future, mainly due to adverse economies of scale for the technology and investment needed to manufacture a product competitively. Thus, the only option for the North-east is to go in for a service sector- led trade development strategy to enter Myanmar for the following reasons.

With a population of 53 million, a low population density of 81 per sq km, as compared to 416 in India and 1,188 in Bangladesh, and richly endowed with natural resources, the present GDP of Myanmar of $ 26.3 billions (estimated at 2005 prices) and a per capita GDP of $490 indicate that Myanmar is a resource-rich yet income-poor country with a huge potential for fast growth. It will need, first of all, a skilled work force for which a base exists already with 91 per cent adult literacy and its government has accorded high priority to education.

The North-east, with its network of 17 universities and scores of engineering, medical and management institutions, can step in to offer higher education to Myanmar by taking advantage of the fact that English continues to be the medium of university education in the region.

Second, quality health care as some hospitals of the North-east do have the potential to attain global standard with necessary support backed by the regions reputation as a major source of trained nurses and para-medical staff. Tourism could be another. Last, science and technology collaboration has vast possibilities in areas of common concerns like flood moderation, earthquake risk evaluation and preparedness for natural calamities. Myanmar is a disaster-prone country. During 2003-2012, more than 1,39,000 people died due to calamities while the damage to properties was estimated at $ 4,564 million, according to the World Development Report of the world Bank, 2014 . As these calamities are related to climate change ,there is much scope in scientific collaboration in a project mode and prospects of putting up joint manufacturing and service facilities to combat climate change.

A related area is agriculture, horticulture, fruit processing, livestock and dairy development in which Myanmar has vast potential. In these fields, scientific institutions of the North-east have established competence in areas like the deepwater rice cultivation, which could be used in Myanmar given the similarly of agro- climatic conditions.

Myanmar is the natural entry point for the North-east to the Asean and to promote this each North-east state must prepare a Myanmar-centric trade -investment and technology plan under a regional framework, which the North Eastern Council could help develop .

This is the standard practice in all regional groupings because without it the completion of connectivity projects may not expand trade, and only impose a huge maintenance cost to the Centre.

(THE WRITER IS A RETIRED IAS OFFICER OF THE ASSAM-MEGHALAYA CADRE AND HAS SERVED AS A SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANT IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.)
US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed during a telephone conversation on the "fundamental importance" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for transatlantic relations.

Trump, who had called that organization "obsolete," and Merkel agreed on Saturday on "the NATO alliance's fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of our North Atlantic community," the White House said in a statement, Efe news reported.

"The leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all Allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the official note said.

Many times during last year's electoral campaign, Trump had called NATO "obsolete," and this month repeated that opinion in two interviews with European media.

The new US president also criticized America's NATO partners in Europe last year for not contributing a fair share of funds to the alliance, and suggested he might even reduce US support for the transatlantic bloc, while simultaneously talking about better relations with Russia.

Trump and Merkel also spoke Saturday about the "need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilize conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa."

The president and chancellor talked as well about Russia and the crisis in Ukraine, and the importance of close German-US cooperation for the peace and security of both countries.

Finally, Trump on Saturday accepted Merkel's invitation to attend the G20 Summit of developed and emerging countries in the German city of Hamburg next July.

The first official talks between Trump and Merkel since the magnate took office on January 20 lasted "45 minutes", White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Twitter.

That dialogue came on a day of telephone conversations Saturday between Trump and several other national leaders, including Francois Hollande of France, Japan's Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin of Russia.


Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed to work together to fight the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups in Syria, as well as normalize bilateral relations, the Kremlin said.

A Kremlin summary of the phone call also talked about the two leaders discussing several other subjects, CNN reported on Saturday.

Some of the other issues included restoring trade ties, international terrorism, the situations in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, and the coordination of military action against IS (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups in Syria.

The White House called the one-hour chat a significant start to improving a relationship "in need of repair".

In their first conversation on Saturday, over telephone, since Trump was inaugurated on January 20, the two leaders gave priority to battling what they agreed was their nations' gravest threat  international terrorism, the Russian government said, Efe news reported.

The two leaders spoke on the civil war in Syria, where efforts to stamp out terrorist groups continue even though a ceasefire has been in place since December 30.

They also discussed the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian nuclear deal, the conflict in Ukraine and nuclear non-proliferation.

Putin also addressed the "importance of re-establishing mutually beneficial economic and trade ties," according to the Kremlin, which said both sides expressed a willingness to work constructively and as equals to improve bilateral ties.

The Russian leader and the US president agreed to stay in regular contact and study a possible time and place for a face-to-face meeting.

The Kremlin did not say if the leaders discussed economic sanctions imposed by the US.

In 2014, the US imposed sanctions on Russia following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, a move that followed a coup that installed an anti-Moscow regime in Ukraine.

Speaking on Friday at his first White House news conference, Trump indicated a willingness to work with Moscow.

However, he said it was "too early" to discuss removing sanctions that his predecessor, President Barack Obama, imposed on Russia.

Both Trump and Putin said before the call that they would like to see warmer ties between their two nations.

Relations between Trump and his team and Russia have been under scrutiny following allegations that Moscow meddled in the US election last year.

Following Trump's electoral victory on November 8, US intelligence officials concluded that Putin was behind what it characterized as an effort to harm Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton's prospects in the election and to discredit the democratic process.

In reprisal for that alleged electoral interference, then-President Barack Obama imposed economic sanctions late last year on several Russian intelligence agencies and private firms and expelled 35 Russian diplomats.

Russia, which has consistently denied interfering in the election, reacted angrily to the sanctions and expulsions, but did not respond in kind.

Trump advisers suggested prior to the phone conversation that the issue of sanctions was on the table, but the president said Friday that it was too soon to make any firm statements in that regard.

Trump faces major domestic opposition to any rapprochement with Russia, with prominent members of his own Republican Party demanding Putin be labelled a war criminal over Moscow's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his nation's long-running armed conflict.
The US government will not automatically allow green card holders who travelled to countries placed under a temporary travel ban by President Donald Trump, back into the US.

Instead, those travellers will have to apply for a waiver to the executive order that instituted the ban, informed sources told CNN on Saturday.

The countries targeted by US President Donald Trump's executive order include the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen.

Green card holders already overseas seeking to return to their homes in the US will be processed through a waiver authority that has already been established.

One official said there is a case-by-case admissions process and another said it is being done "expeditiously."

People from the seven countries who have green cards  a government document granting permanent residence in the US  should not leave the country because they may not be allowed back in the US, one source familiar with the matter said.

There's been significant confusion over the precise terms of Trump's executive order since he signed it on Friday, particularly over how it pertained to visa holders who are travelling and if any different treatment was afforded to green card holders.

Exemptions will be at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, and criteria for exemptions include refugee status for religious minorities facing persecution, if denying admission would cause undue hardship or if not doing so would not pose a risk to the security or welfare of the US.

Those travelling without a green card who landed in the United States after the order was signed would be detained and put back on a flight to their country of citizenship, an administration official told CNN.

Separately, Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledged people who were in the air would be detained upon arrival and put back on a plane to their home country.
A federal court here blocked part of US President Donald Trump's immigration order banning citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

The Brooklyn District Court came to the aid of scores of refugees and others who were trapped at airports across the US on Saturday after an "extreme vetting" by Trump which bans citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen from entering the country.

Judge Ann M Donnelly on Saturday prevented the government from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by the executive order.

The order stopped short of letting the already arrived people into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's actions, the New York Times reported.

The judge nominated by former President Barack Obama ruled that sending back the travellers to their homelands would cause them "irreparable harm".

The case played out amid global turmoil as the order signed on Friday shut the borders of the US for an Iranian scientist headed to a lab in Massachusetts, a Syrian refugee family headed to a new life in Ohio and countless others across the world.

It also suspended entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.

The Department of Homeland Security said the order also barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the US.

The White House said green card holders from the seven affected countries who are outside the US would need a case-by-case waiver to return.

Trump has been accused of constitutional and legal overreach by two Iraqi immigrants, defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Meanwhile, large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce the new President's ban, The New York times reported.

According to lawyers for ACLU, who sued the government to block the order, about 100 to 200 people were detained upon arrival at American airports.

Hundreds of people waited outside of the courthouse chanting, "Set them free!" as lawyers made their case.

"We've gotten reports of people being detained all over the country," said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project. "They're literally pouring in by the minute."

Trump earlier on Saturday said: "It's not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared."

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."

There were numerous reports of students attending American universities who were blocked from returning to the US from visits abroad.

Legal residents who have a green card and are currently in the US should meet a consular officer before leaving the country, a White House official said.

A Stanford student, Nisrin Omer, a legal permanent resident, said she was held at the Kennedy International Airport here for about five hours but was eventually allowed to leave the airport.

Others who were detained appeared to be still in custody or sent back to their home countries, she said.
Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, right, shakes hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May following their join news conference after their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. Turkey and Britain signed a 100 million British pounds (nearly 125.5 million US dollars) deal to jointly build fighter jets during May's visit to Ankara on Saturday, even as the British leader called on Turkey's government to uphold democracy and abide by human rights standards.(Prime Minister's Press Service, Pool photo via AP)
US President Donald Trump once again took aim at two of his harshest critics, the New York Times and Washington Post, accusing them of dishonest coverage.

"The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning. Said I would lose the primaries, then the general election. FAKE NEWS!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday, Efe news reported.

He also referred to a post-election Times letter to readers in which it claimed it treated both Trump and Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton (whom it endorsed) fairly but acknowledged underestimating the real-estate mogul's appeal among many Americans and vowed to "rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism."

"Thr (sic) coverage about me in the @nytimes and the @washingtonpost gas (sic) been so false and angry that the times actually apologized to its dwindling subscribers and readers," Trump wrote. "They got me wrong right from the beginning and still have not changed course, and never will. DISHONEST."

Trump did not indicate what sparked his latest tweet storm, although the Times and Post regularly post scathing editorials criticizing Trump and his administration's policy proposals.

The tweets also came a day after both dailies extensively covered his signing of executive orders that, among other things, suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days and imposed a 90-day suspension on the issuance of visas to anyone planning to travel from seven Muslim-majority countriesLibya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran.

The New York Times fired back at Trump on Twitter.

"Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters," the paper said.
Hundreds protested after 11 people were detained Saturday at JFK Airport, as a part of President Trumps new executive order barring people from seven countries from entering the United States.

Joining the protests on Saturday was the NY Taxi Workers Alliance, who called for a work stoppage from 6 p.m.  7 p.m. with no taxi pick ups or drop-offs at JFK Airport.

Earlier Saturday, lawmakers released a twelfth person, an Iraqi man. According to court papers filed in Downtown Brooklyn, Hameed Khalid Darweesh had worked on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq for 10 years.

The other detainee, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was coming to the United States to join his wife, who had worked for a U.S. contractor, and young son.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York tweeted that he and Rep. Nydia Velazquez had secured the release of Darweesh.

Governor Cuomo released a statement on Saturday directing government agencies to explore all legal options to assist anyone who has been detained.

I never thought Id see the day when refugees, who have fled war-torn countries in search of a better life, would be turned away at our doorstep. We are a nation of bridges, not walls, and a great many of us still believe in the words give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. This is not who we are, and not who we should be.

Nadler and Velazquez added that 12 travelers have been detained at Kennedy Airport while customs agents clarify how they should be responding to the Trump executive order.

Several hundred protesters gathered at the airport to demand their release.

(AP)
Confusion, worry and outrage grew Saturday as President Donald Trumps crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries took effect. Airlines blocked people traveling to the United States, legal challenges were underway and doubts abounded about whether the order would make America safer.

The immediate fallout from Trumps order meant that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days  despite holding permanent residency green cards or other visas. And some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday were being detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop radical Islamic terrorists from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trumps order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement extreme vetting for people from countries with significant terror concerns.

Trump told reporters Saturday the order is not a Muslim ban.

Its working out very nicely, Trump said of the implementation of his order. Were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.

The order drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe.

Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is too broad.

If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion, Sasse said. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom.

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trumps ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldnt be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, regardless of your faith.

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New Yorks Kennedy airport Friday night. Darweesh had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003. Later he worked as a contract engineer. He was allowed into the U.S. Saturday afternoon, hours after his attorney petitioned a federal court to let the two men go.

In their court filing, his lawyers said Alshawais wife had worked for a U.S. security contractor in Iraq. Members of her family had been killed by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. military.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trumps order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasnt authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trumps order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trumps order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that dont provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trumps order.

There is no evidence that refugees  the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation  are a threat to national security, said Lena F. Masri, the groups national litigation director. This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality.

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didnt address Americas primary terrorism-related threat  people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trumps order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years.

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trumps order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

No refugees were in the air when the travel ban was signed Friday, but about 350 people were in transit in Nairobi, Kenya, and were now stuck there, said Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy for HIAS, a refugee resettlement aid agency. She said several hundred more people who were booked on U.S.-bound flights in the next week were now stranded around the globe.

This in effect could be a permanent ban, she said. Many of these people may never be able to come.

(AP)
Anger erupted on Saturday  along with some praise from the far-right  about U.S. President Donald Trumps ban on refugees entering the United States.

The French president vigorously urged European leaders to present a united front against populism while the German foreign minister noted that love thy neighbor is a key part of Americas Christian traditions. Turkeys prime minister insisted that you cannot settle this issue by building walls.

In Israel, meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Trumps plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as a great idea.



FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE

Europe is facing a moment of truth. The issue is populism. What we are hearing from the U.S. encourages populism and even extremism. They are saying that Europe should not take immigrants, shouldnt stay together, not believe in climate change.

We should engage in discussions (with the U.S.) that sometimes should be very firm. And as long as there are statements from the U.S. president about Europe, when he speaks about the model of Brexit for other countries, when the U.S. president talks about climate change  saying hes not convinced of it, we should respond to him. When he takes protectionist measures, we should respond to him. When he destabilizes the economies of other countries, not only European ones, we should respond to him. When he rejects the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we should respond to him.



TURKISH PRIME MINISTER BINALI YILDIRIM

You cannot settle this (refugee) issue by building walls. Nobody leaves their homes for nothing.

Turkey has admitted some 3 million Syrian refugees since the start of the war in its neighbor.

They came here to save their lives and our doors were open. And if the same thing happened again, we would do it again.



NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER MALALA YOUSAFZAI

Donald Trump should not turn his back on the worlds most defenseless children and families. Refugees and immigrants, she says have helped build your country.



IRANIAN PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI

Those seeking to create walls between nations have forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed years ago.



GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER SIGMAR GABRIEL

Love thy neighbor is part of this (American Christian) tradition, the act of helping others.



FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER JEAN-MARC AYRAULT

We have signed international obligations, so welcoming refugees fleeing war and oppression forms part of our duties.



THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

The agency is calling President Donald Trumps suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program a harmful and hasty decision. IRC President David Miliband says America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope.



NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL

Trumps decision will not make America safer, it will make America smaller and meaner.



BRITISH PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY

The United States is responsible for the United States policy on refugees.



ISRAEL PRESIDENT BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

Netanyahu tweeted that Israels wall along its border with Egypt had stemmed a swell of African migrants: President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israels southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea.



FAR-RIGHT DUTCH POPULIST GEERT WILDERS

In a tweet, the Dutch anti-Islam populist Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is polling strongly ahead of the countrys March 15 election, says: No immigrants from Islamic countries.

(AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will welcome you.

He says he also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canadas refugee policy.

Trudeau reacted to Trumps visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting Saturday: To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.

Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Torontos airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said he has a message for Trump.

The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canadas immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak, spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.

Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon.

The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. More than 75 percent of Canadas exports go to the U.S.

Toronto Mayor John Tory also weighed in, noting that the city is the most diverse in the world.

We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality, Tory said in a statement.

Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop radical Islamic terrorists from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trumps order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canadas election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada.

Trudeaus tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. Welcome to Canada trended in Canada.

(AP)
The government of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is taking exception to the Israeli prime ministers praise of a border wall to keep out illegal immigration.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Saturday that President Trump is right for building a wall.

I built a wall along Israels southern border, he wrote. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea.

Mexicos Foreign Ministry said in a communique that it had expressed its profound surprise, rejection and disappointment in the prime ministers message on Twitter to Israels ambassador. Mexico is Israels friend and should be treated as such.

(AP)
President Donald Trump had an hourlong discussion Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin  the first since Trump assumed office last week  raising questions over the fate of U.S. sanctions against Moscow and whether the two will look to enhance military cooperation against the Islamic State group.

The White House provided a thin readout on the call between the two leaders, saying it was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair.

The two leaders discussed a range in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria, the White House statement said, using an acronym for the militant group.

Contrary to the statement from the White House, the Kremlin emphasized that the two leaders addressed the importance of restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries, hinting that the two men discussed the sanctions, implemented by the Obama administration as a consequence of Russias actions in Ukraine.

The Kremlin also said that Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Irans nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has applauded Trumps promises to rebuild U.S.-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on the plan to defeat the Islamic State group Saturday, including in it the possibility of teaming up with new coalition partners, suggesting that pairing up with Russia on counterterrorism issues isnt off the table.

Trump was noncommittal about whether he was considering lifting the economic sanctions ahead of the call, telling reporters Friday: Well see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether sanctions were discussed on the call.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraines Crimea region and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, drawing widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States.

In response, sanctions were implemented against sectors of Russias economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defense. The Obama administration also sanctioned people in Putins inner circle.

Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama also ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds in the United States and expelled 35 diplomats that he said were really spies. These sanctions followed an assessment by U.S. intelligence that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump become president.

Trumps tempered approach to U.S.-Russia relations has already raised concern among several European allies who believe keeping Russia in check is essential to regional security.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose country  as part of the European Union  also has punished Russia for its provocations in Ukraine, voiced the view of many in Europe, telling reporters in Washington on Friday: We believe the sanctions should continue.

Vice President Mike Pence and other senior advisers joined Trump for the call with Putin, including his national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior strategist Steve Bannon. Trump also spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Japan, Germany, France and Australia.

Two Republican senators  Arizonas John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Ohios Rob Portman, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee -warned the White House about easing any punishments on Moscow and they pledged to turn the sanctions into law.

I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course, McCain said in a statement. If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law.

Portman said lifting the sanctions for any reason other than a change in the behavior that led to those sanctions in the first place would send a dangerous message to a world already questioning the value of American leadership and the credibility of our commitments after eight years of Obama administration policies.

McCain has emerged as a frequent critic of Trump among Capitol Hill Republicans. He takes a dim view of trying to reset relations with Moscow and says Trump should remember that Putin is a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn.

For our commander in chief to think otherwise would be naive and dangerous, McCain said.

McCain and Portman are part of a bipartisan group of senators who have introduced legislation designed to go beyond the punishments against Russia already levied by Obama and to demonstrate to Trump that forcefully responding to Moscows meddling isnt a partisan issue.

The bill would impose mandatory visa bans and freeze the financial assets of anyone who carries out cyberattacks against public or private computer systems and democratic institutions.

The legislation also mandates sanctions in Russias all-important energy sector and on investments in the development of civil nuclear projects to rebuke Moscow for its provocations in eastern Ukraine and military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

(AP)
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed to a meeting with federal prosecutors over alleged corruption during his time at City Hall.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara will interview Mayor de Blasio in the next two weeks over a pay for play investigation, a probe which seeks to determine if de Blasio accepted political donations in exchange for government favors, NBC News reported Friday.

Bharara requested the meeting and de Blasio accepted without the protection of immunity, according to the report.

It is a bold and risky move, legal experts say, but de Blasio believes he can be cleared of wrongdoing and convince them to drop the investigation, sources told NBC News.

In addition to challenging President Trump often in the past year, de Blasio might have another battle on his hands: Hillary Clinton.

Clinton has been urged to run against de Blasio in the next mayoral election, Newsmax chief political columnist and White House correspondent John Gizzi reported.

(Source: Newsmax)
A federal judge in New York has issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trumps travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the order Saturday evening after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

Cheers broke out in a crowd of demonstrators outside a Brooklyn courthouse as the decision, effective nationwide, was announced.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention.

(AP)
First Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner hosted members of President Donald Trumps cabinet at their home Friday night for a Shabbat dinner, the Daily Mail reports.

In Jewish tradition, Shabbat is a weekly day of rest that begins Friday at sunset and ends Saturday after sunset.

According to the report, White House Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks, Trumps nominee for the Department of Commerce Wilbur Ross and his wife Hilary Geary Ross, and Department of the Treasury nominee Steve Mnuchin and his fiancee Louise Linton were among the guests in attendance.

Also invited were Ivankas personal unofficial adviser Dina Habib Powell and husband Richard, and Gary Cohn, who is the former president of Goldman Sachs and President Trumps chief adviser on the economy.

Chabad Rabbi Levi Shemtov was also seen at the residence Friday afternoon, said the Daily Mail.

The couple recently moved into a new home in Washington DCs Kalorama neighborhood.

(Source: i24 News)
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat made good on his threat to launch a municipal strike this morning, Sunday, 2 Shevat if the Finance Ministry does not approve additional funding. The strike, which is labeled as illegal by the Finance Ministry, brings a halt to city services.

The mayor explains the Finance Ministry continues to discriminate against the city and as a result of current realities, the city will be compelled for fire hundreds of employees. The sharply-worded letter sent to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon did not avert the strike, with Kahlon accusing the mayor of poor management, particularly in the area of collecting annual arnona property tax, hinting this is a major portion of the citys deficit.

The City Council will be holding a protest meeting on Sunday which will be attended by representatives of the Histadrut national labor federation.

Despite the strike, city schools will be operating on a regular schedule.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
New Jersey prosecutors said Friday they will not pursue a criminal misconduct case against Republican Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal.

Bergen County assistant prosecutor John Higgins said in a letter to Superior Court Judge Bonnie Mizdol that the state does not believe it can prove official misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt and will not be bringing charges.

The letter deals a blow to the misconduct case stemming from a complaint filed by former Teaneck firefighter William Brennan, who has declared himself a Democratic candidate for governor. A municipal court judge is set to hear arguments for the second time in a probable cause hearing next month.

Brennans complaint says that Christie violated the states misconduct law when he failed to reopen local access lanes in Fort Lee that were closed in an alleged political revenge plot to punish a mayor who didnt back Christies re-election bid in 2013. A Superior Court judge this month sent the complaint back to municipal court for a new hearing.

Brennan said in an interview that the decision not to pursue charges shows that prosecutors cannot be fair and impartial.

This vindicates my position that a special prosecutor is needed, he said. A Superior Court judge earlier rejected Brennans request for such a prosecutor. County prosecutors are appointed by the governor in New Jersey.

Christies office said in a statement that the governor was gratified the baseless fiasco has ended.

It is right and appropriate that this injustice against the Governor is finally over, spokesman Brian Murray said.

Two of Christies former aides were convicted in federal court in November in the scandal. Christie has denied wrongdoing and was never charged in the case.

Mizdol agreed earlier this month with arguments from Christies attorneys that the lower courts October finding of probable cause was flawed. But in turning down the request for dismissal, she rejected their arguments that the evidence Brennan offered, which was testimony from the federal trial, wasnt sufficient for a probable cause finding.

If Brennans complaint is allowed to go forward, prosecutors would have to collect evidence and present it to a grand jury, which would have to hand up an indictment before Christie could face a criminal trial.

But in Fridays letter, prosecutors say theyve examined the transcripts from the federal trial and have concluded they could not prove the charges sufficiently.

Official misconduct is punishable by a potential prison term of five to 10 years upon conviction.

(AP)
The leaders of Britain and Germany joined other American allies Sunday in criticizing President Donald Trumps U.S. entry ban for people from some Muslim-majority countries, even as far-right politicians on the continent celebrated the move.

British Prime Minister Theresa May does not agree with Trumps order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals, a spokesman said. The official comment came after May refused to condemn the ban during a visit to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders. She said in Turkey that the decision was a matter solely for the U.S.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also regrets the travel ban.

She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesnt justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Merkel raised the issue during a phone call with Trump on Saturday, citing the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention that calls on signatories to take in people fleeing war, Seibert said.

The German government will now examine what consequences the U.S. governments measures have for German citizens with dual citizenship and, if necessary, represent their interests toward our American partners, he said.

An initial joint U.S.-German statement following the call made no mention of the topic of refugees or travel bans.

Among the first leaders to voice criticism was French President Francois Hollande, who said Saturday that when (Trump) rejects the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we should respond to him.

Meanwhile, nationalist and far-right groups in Europe applauded the U.S. travel restrictions.

The Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders said in a tweet: Well done @POTUS its the only way to stay safe free. I would do the same. Hope youll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon.

Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is polling strongly before the countrys March 15 election, later tweeted: No more immigration from any Islamic country is exactly what we need. Also in The Netherlands. For Islam and freedom are incompatible.

The far-right National Democratic Party in Germany celebrated what it described as the massive restriction on the entry of pseudo-refugees and Muslims to the USA.

For the first time ever one can say from a nationalist perspective: keep going, USA, the party wrote on its official Facebook page.

In Italy, the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party expressed admiration for Trumps entry ban.

What Trumps doing on the other side of the ocean, Id like it done also here, Matteo Salvini told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. Referring to the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers and economic migrants brought to Italy in the last few years after being rescued in the Mediterranean, Salvini said there is an invasion underway which needs to be blocked.

Salvini is pressing for early elections and courting other far-right leaders for a possible campaign coalition.

(AP)
An op-ed appearing in Sundays NY Daily News compares President Trump to Hitler YMS. The article was written by Karen Hinton who is the former press secretary for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The following are excerpts of the column:

Normally people hesitate to compare any violator of human and civil rights on a grand scale to Hitler for fear of minimizing what Hitler did.

And, while most Americans can never know what it was like to be Jewish in the time of Hitler, perhaps we  after ten days of Trump  can start to imagine, especially if we recall what we know about Germany in Hitlers adolescent days.

In Forward magazine, Andrew Nagorski, who wrote Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power, described Jews and non-Jews slow wake-up call to the Nazi danger:

In the very early 1920s, when Adolf Hitler was still only a local rabble rouser in Munich, two men from Munichs American consulate made a point of observing his rallies: Robert Murphy, the young acting consul, and Paul Drey, a German employee who was a member of a distinguished Bavarian Jewish family.

Do you think these agitators will ever get far? Murphy asked his colleague. Of course not! Drey replied. The German people are much too intelligent to be taken in by such scamps.

Nagorski wrote German Jews and many Americans in Germany thought Hitler would never act on his most extreme rhetoric, and besides, the donations would keep him reasonable.

Almost 100 years later, we are hearing similar remarks from smart and politically-seasoned Americans. Its all going to calm down. He needs to placate his base. The Republicans wont let him destroy the party.

Meanwhile, Trumps actions could very well result in refugees being murdered when they return to their homelands. Their lives should matter to the President and to all Americans.

READ FULL OP-ED AT THE DAILY NEWS
President Donald Trump joined his chief strategist Friday in characterizing the media as the opposition party, expressing an unusually high level of antagonism toward the press just a week into his administration.

Trump, echoing comments made by strategist Steve Bannon earlier this week, told CBN News that a big portion of the media is guilty of dishonesty, total deceit and deception. It makes them certainly partially the opposition party.

Trump continued that the media is much more capable than the opposition party. The opposition party is losing badly. Now the media is on the opposition partys side.

The comments are hardly the first time a president has expressed open hostility toward the media. Richard Nixon referred to the media as an enemy and his vice president, Spiro Agnew, called reporters nattering nabobs of negativism. Lyndon Baines Johnson once complained that if he could walk across the Potomac River, the headline the next day would be President Cant Swim.

But Trumps antagonism toward the media just a week after he took the oath of office is far from the norm, historians said Friday, citing the many past presidents who made at least the appearance of reaching out to the press.

To come right out of the blocks in this extremely adversarial stance is kind of unprecedented, said David Greenberg, a professor of history at Rutgers University who has written about the Nixon presidency. Even when Nixon began he promised an open administration.

Trumps statement extends the tenor he struck with the media even before he took office, said Mark Updegrove, the director of the LBJ Presidential Library who is also a presidential historian. A week in, its clear that there will no honeymoon period for this president with the media, he said.

Trump made no secret of how he felt about the press during the campaign and during the transition. That was unusual. So there were shots that were fired well before the inauguration and it portended the relationship, Updegrove said.

Greenberg, a former reporter and editor, said the media has played a consciously adversarial role with the presidency since the 1960s or 1970s, seeing it as their job to hold power to account and investigate administrations. Criticism of the media can resonate with a presidents supporters. But Trumps criticism is outsized, he said.

Most presidents find themselves lashing out, or at least being privately upset at how theyre treated. I think its human nature. Trump is just an extreme case, he said.

(AP)
URBANA -- Eastern Illinois Foodbank will distribute products at a pop-up food pantry on Wednesday evenings, utilizing the former County Market location at 312 W. Kirby Avenue, Champaign. The space is being donated by Niemann Foods. Weekly distributions will begin Wednesday from 4:30-6 p.m.

When approached with this opportunity, Niemann Foods was quick to offer their space to the food bank.

Were just so happy to partner with Eastern Illinois Foodbank and give back to the community thats given so much to us, said Gerry Kettler, director of consumer affairs for Niemann Foods.

This pop-up pantry will feature fresh produce, bread, bakery items and more gleaned from local retailers and is open to the public who meet income eligibility guidelines (below). These distributions will allow people to acquire fresh produce and other pantry items to supplement what they may already be receiving from their local food pantries or emergency food programs. It is a first-come, first-serve distribution and attendees should bring their own bags or boxes to haul their goods.

The Foodbank has seen an increase in the amount of produce and perishable donations from our retail partners, said Jim Hires, president and CEO of Eastern Illinois Foodbank. These pop-up pantries offer us some flexibility, in terms of location and hours of operation, to respond to the needs of our clients. With the generous support of Niemann Foods, we now have a way to move it from our warehouse and into the hands of our hungry neighbors.

All local residents who meet income eligibility criteria are welcome. To be eligible, a household must have an income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or approximately $3,746 per month for a family of four. People will be required to self-attest to their monthly household income. Full eligibility criteria are listed below:

Per household size, monthly income must be at or below

1, $1,832

2, $2,470

3, $3,108

4, $3,746

5, $4,385

6, $5,023

7, $5,663

8+, $6,304

Eastern Illinois Foodbank works to alleviate hunger in eastern Illinois through cooperation with a network of food pantries, agencies and other programs. The Foodbank distributes donated and discounted food throughout a 17-county service area in cooperation with over 200 member agencies and programs.

Through these agencies, the Foodbank provides meals to more than 116,000 men, women and children each year. The Eastern Illinois Foodbank is a member of Feeding America, Feeding Illinois, the United Way of Coles County, and the United Way of Champaign County.
I am all for greater transparency in the financial world, be it in terms of the charges taken from our pension funds or the propensity of an insurer to meet a claim on a policy.

It means we, as consumers, can make more informed buying decisions and stay clear of those providers who put profits before our best financial interests.

Slowly, we are getting there on the transparency front although there is still a way to go  as evidenced by the forensic work that has had to be done in recent weeks to work out exactly how much wealth manager St Jamess Place rakes in on the funds it recommends to clients.

Under the spotlight: Slowly, we are getting there on the transparency front but there is still a way to go

In terms of progress made, most insurance companies now produce half-yearly updates on the percentage of claims they meet on financial protection policies.

Such data has helped restore faith in an insurance that many people previously avoided on the basis they never thought a claim would ever be met.

The Financial Ombudsman Service and the regulator have done their bit, producing statistics on how well (or badly) individual companies deal with complaints.

The Ombudsman data, well worth a look, gives you a clear idea of which companies treat complaints seriously and those that would rather obstruct in the hope you drop your complaint and go away.

The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has now attempted to shine a little light into the world of general insurance by publishing claims data for individual companies. It covers everything from home policies through to insurance sold as stand-alone or as an add-on to home or motor cover.

If you are looking for cover or thinking of moving insurer, the data is worth more than a cursory glance (fca.org.uk).

It will give you an indication of which companies are more likely to accept a future claim (some have claim acceptance rates below 70 per cent).

The regulator says the data is designed to encourage insurers to improve the value they offer consumers. Let us hope it works.

Compare insurers: The Financial Ombudsman Service and the regulator have done their bit, producing statistics on how well (or badly) individual companies deal with complaints

Insurer Phoenix may have a miserly record for paying with-profits policyholders an annual bonus (23 per cent did not get one last year) but it talks sense when it comes to clamping down on pension fraudsters.

Its latest research indicates that pension cold-calling is on the increase ahead of a ban, details of which are likely to be unveiled in the Chancellors March Budget.

Phoenix wants any future ban not to be confined to cold-calls. It says it should extend to all forms of electronic communication, such as emails and texts. Wise words. It would be a bonus if it got its way.

Changes ahead: Pension cold-calling is on the increase ahead of a ban, details of which are likely to be unveiled in the Chancellors March Budget

If you are a saver, you should wake up tomorrow morning feeling a little reassured. Not, I hasten to add, because banks and building societies are turning over a new leaf by paying you a bit more interest on your savings. That, sadly, is some way off.

No, it is a result of an increase in the safety net available through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

From tomorrow, this statutory compensation scheme will protect your savings with a bank, building society or credit union up to a maximum of 85,000. Previously, it was 75,000. The scheme estimates the change will result in 98 per cent of savers having their deposits fully protected.

If you want to double-check your savings are under the protective wing of the scheme, visit its protection checker at fscs.org.uk/protected.

It should prove a reassuring exercise. First, you will get the chance to listen to luvvie Benedict Cumberbatch talk about how the scheme operates. (I wonder whether his fee for doing this exceeded 85,000?)

Second, and more importantly, it will allow you to type in details of the institutions you have savings with so that you can be reassured they are covered by the safety net. This process will also highlight some of the anomalies which exist.

For example, if you have savings with Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Birmingham Midshires, they are covered by a single safety net of 85,000 rather than three separate 85,000 nets.

This is because the brands share the same authorisation by virtue of being owned by Lloyds Banking Group. Savers with Lloyds branded accounts have their own safety net of 85,000.

Of course, State-owned (but not for much longer) Lloyds should never go bust.

But it is good to know exactly where you stand from a savings perspective if the financial world goes to pot in the future and we are drawn into another 2008 crisis.

Stranger things have happened, after all.
The plunging price of BT shares has seen the value of stock owned by the companys 700,000-strong army of small private investors plummet by 900million as the company battles with the effects of an accounting scandal.

BT remains one of the most popular stocks for private investors more than 30 years after it became the first of the major state-owned industries to be privatised by Margaret Thatchers Government.

Small investors have up to 1,600 shares each in the media and telecoms company, which means the value of their combined shareholding amounts to 3.3billion at Fridays closing price of 302p.

Falling: The plunging price of BT shares has seen the value of stock owned by the companys 700,000-strong army of small private investors plummet by 900million

This was down from 4.2billion before the company announced on Wednesday that the problems at its Italian division were much worse than previously thought.

About 8billion was wiped off the total value of BTs shares on Wednesday after revelations that its Italian managers allegedly depressed costs to inflate profits.

It was the worst ever fall in the share price since BT was privatised in 1984.

It looks like the major damage has been done in terms of share price, but if a retail investor is just holding BT then I think they should be thinking about diversifying, said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

BTs chief executive Gavin Patterson said it would have to write down the value of its Italian business by 530million.

The company also warned that a slowdown in Government contracts in the UK would depress earnings for the next two years.

Its profits for the three months to the end of December fell by 37 per cent to 526 million.
Key City trading firms are looking to open offices in the European Union after Brexit, a stock market boss has said.

The companies  known as market makers  may have to set up trading functions within the EU to continue trading stocks listed on European markets, said Mark Hemsley, head of stock exchange operator Bats Europe.

Most of them are picking Dublin and Amsterdam, said Hemsley, who runs the largest platform for trading across European stock markets. But he added that moving could be unnecessary if an EU access agreement is reached.

Moving out: Key City trading firms are looking to open offices in the European Union after Brexit, a stock market boss has said

Amsterdam may be especially attractive because of its long trading history, he added.

The role of market makers is not widely known outside the City, but they serve as a crucial intermediary between buyers and sellers, trading with their own money and making shares they hold available to buyers.

Market makers are both independent firms and divisions within major investment banks.

The suggestion they could move their operations out of London comes ahead of a vital meeting tomorrow between German financial regulator BaFin and 20 investment banks.

BaFin is set to outline what it expects from banks looking to open offices in Frankfurt to cater to European clients.

Banks expect Britain to lose crucial passporting rights after Brexit, forcing them to move thousands of jobs to the Continent to continue advising and lending to European firms. BaFin is expected to require banks to set up substantial operations within the EU, managing capital locally.

Meanwhile, challenger bank Monzo is looking to open a Dublin office post-Brexit, according to founder Tom Blomfield. The City-based bank offers a fee-free payment card that is managed by an app to its 100,000 UK customers.

It has been operating on a restricted banking licence since summer and hopes to win a full licence this year, letting it offer full current accounts.

Additional reporting by Almara Abgarian.
Tesco's surprise 3.9billion takeover of cash and carry group Booker has alarmed suppliers.

It will see the supermarkets tentacles reach into thousands more stores and almost half a million pubs, restaurants, canteens and other food outlets, critics have warned.

The deal last night led to calls for a competition probe and for the grocery watchdog to receive new powers.

'Dream team': Booker boss Charles Wilson, left, and Tesco boss Dave Lewis, right

One senior retail figure suggested Tesco could be required to guarantee savings would be passed to shoppers as a condition of the deal.

But, despite industry fears, the City welcomed the deal, which will create a 59 billion turnover business and allow the combined group to make cost savings of 200million a year. Tescos stock market value soared by 1.5billion on the news.

Analyst Dave McCarthy, at HSBC, described the pairing of Tescos Dave Lewis and highly respected Booker chief executive Charles Wilson as a dream team. He said the cost savings could exceed 600million a year in the longer term.

Tesco already has more than 3,500 stores and controls almost 30 per cent of the food market, while Booker is the leading wholesaler to thousands of small shops, and owns the Londis, Budgens and Premier chains.

Analysts estimate that the deal would hand Tesco another 2 per cent of UK grocery sales  which could be too much for the Competition & Markets Authority to tolerate.

The proposed acquisition would also make the newly expanded Tesco a major wholesaler to about 125,000 independent food stores and other small retailers, as well as 468,000 pubs, restaurants, leisure facilities and caterers supplied by Booker.

The deal will give Tesco far greater negotiating power with suppliers, many of whom are asking for higher prices from supermarkets to cover the painful effect of the falling pound. Tescos row with Unilever over the price of Marmite last year was the most public of many spats over price.

Market price: The deal will allow Tesco to make cost savings

Lewis said the deal with Booker would not add to the number of Tesco-branded stores and did not threaten suppliers. He said he had already received endorsements for the deal from suppliers and food producers, without giving names.

He added: Over the past two and a half years weve changed completely how Tesco wants to engage with its suppliers.

'Weve been very open and transparent about how we want to build the business together and share the benefits. Weve also seen how suppliers have rewarded us in surveys, saying we are their preferred retailer to deal with.

When pushed on tensions that might result from the deal, he said: While some of what you suggest may be historically relevant, I dont think its where we start from now.

But one rival grocery executive said suppliers would be alarmed at the prospect of a fresh squeeze on profit.

Tesco always had the muscle  now theyve got even more. Not just with small suppliers but with the big ones like Coke, he said. I cant see theres much front-end logic to this at all  its all back office.

'The extra profit is mostly coming out of the suppliers. There will be areas where they could have more than 50 per cent of the business into the UK on certain branded products.

One former grocery market executive said: You can bet your life that the supply base will be complaining.

'This deal has been incredibly well received by investors, but I am surprised Dave Lewis has been so blase about competition issues.

'During the last Government supermarket inquiry, the main concern was that the power balance between big food retailers and their suppliers meant supermarkets might do things that were against the interests of consumers  most notably around range and choice.

Cause for alarm? Tesco's surprise 3.9billion takeover of cash and carry group Booker has alarmed suppliers

That inquiry led to the creation of the Grocery Code Adjudicator, a watchdog intended to ensure fair treatment of suppliers by big supermarkets. Its powers, however, do not extend to a wholesaler like Booker.

Supermarket sources said the role of the adjudicator would need to expand. The source said: The main rationale for this merger is to reduce the cost of goods and of buying, so I dont think its beyond the Competition and Markets Authority to ask for reassurance that some of it might be passed on to consumers.

But sources familiar with the watchdogs remit said direct controls on pricing could be difficult to enforce. The CMA declined to comment. The deal has solved a mystery  the sudden resignation this month of Tesco non-executive director Richard Cousins, also head of catering and food service group Compass.

Tesco admitted on Friday that Cousins decision was due to the Booker deal, but would not elaborate.

Cousins spokesman did not respond to calls for comment, but he is likely to face questions on the matter at Compasss annual meeting on Thursday at Twickenham rugby ground.

Tesco investors are likely to be in the scrum to get in.
Financial choices are not for life. Indeed, loyalty rarely pays. Even when you believe your mortgage provider or your insurer has made it nigh impossible for you to escape, there is usually a route out.

Like Steve McQueens character in the movie The Great Escape, there are ways to jump free. Often, the benefits of breaking out will outweigh the penalties, enhancing your finances in the process.

Share and fund investments

Purchases of funds or shares made years ago without the protection of a tax efficient wrapper such as an Isa carry a potential financial sting in the tail.

Escape now: Even when you believe your mortgage provider or your insurer has made it nigh impossible for you to escape, there is usually a route out

Recent buoyant stock markets have brought a cheer to many an investor. But lurking in the background is the taxman ready to take a slice of your profits when you decide to cash in.

Tax is charged on capital gains at 10 per cent for a basic rate taxpayer and 20 per cent for a higher rate payer.

This tax dilemma can affect someone who inherited shares long ago and those who received shares over many years through their workplace share option schemes.

Escape route: Regular spring cleaning can limit unwanted tax bills down the line.

Stephen Womack, director of financial planning firm David Williams IFA in Northampton, says: Everyone has an 11,100-a-year capital gains allowance so it is worth selling enough investments each tax year to soak up the exemption.

If you want to stay invested in the same sector, you can rebuy similar investments, such as selling one UK equity fund and using the proceeds to buy a rival one. This sets the clock to zero again in terms of capital gains sums.

If the original purchase date is uncertain, play it safe by selling shares or funds equivalent to the value of the annual exemption. Or track down the purchase value of the shares through the companys share registrar or fund manager and work out the sums.

Womack adds: Even if you bought shares a couple of years ago it can be worth selling to take the gains and make use of the annual exemption. You can then switch them to a tax-free Isa and you will not have to worry about gains again.

Be careful how you sell any investments. If you have owned shares for a while, you are likely to hold them in paper form. This will add to the cost of selling. In some cases, you could pay three times as much to sell paper shares as those held electronically.

For example, broker The Share Centre charges one per cent or a minimum 25 for the sale of paper shares. This compares to a minimum 7.50 for electronic sales.

Best value brokers for share certificate based transactions include Halifax and Barclays Stockbrokers. Among the low cost options for electronic dealing are AJ Bell Youinvest and The Share Centre.

With-profits funds

Pensions and bonds invested in with-profits funds were bought heavily in decades past.

They appealed to investors because providers promised to smooth returns by holding back some profits in years when markets performed well to enhance returns in poorer years.

But many of these investments have failed to deliver and returns on a majority of plans have been stubbornly poor, made worse by high charges.

Investors can feel trapped because a terminal bonus is applied to plans on maturity and will be lost if cashed in early.

Pensions and bonds invested in with-profits funds were bought heavily in decades past

Plus an early exit penalty called a market value adjustment may also apply, especially if stock markets are in freefall when you sell.

Another drawback is many with-profits funds are now closed to new business, reducing the incentive for fund managers to manage the underlying investments well.

Escape route: Many experts argue investors can replicate a with-profits strategy on their own, more cheaply and tax-efficiently. They can do this by putting a range of diversified investments in an Isa or Self Invested Personal Pension.

For those considering an exit strategy, there is an argument for moving soon.

The stock market is currently high, meaning exit penalties are less likely to be applied.

But savers should hold off if they believe their insurer is about to add value to their with-profits plan through the addition of an annual bonus.

Investors should check what guarantees they might give up if they exit. Also, higher rate taxpayers need to factor in possible tax charges on any gains.

If unsure of the next step, seek independent financial advice. Find a qualified adviser at websites unbiased, vouchedfor or financialplanning.org.uk.

Pensions

Millions of retirement savers have old pension plans that carry exit charges as high as 10 per cent.

The good news for those wishing to move elsewhere or exercise their rights under new pension freedoms, is that such excessive charges will be banned from April.

Under the new regime, the maximum that a pension provider can charge to get out of an old pension is one per cent. Some providers, including Scottish Widows, have already scrapped such penalties.

Millions of retirement savers have old pension plans that carry exit charges of 10 per cent

Escape route: To be sure of avoiding exit penalties, delay any move until April. But before making a switch, check closely what you might be giving up.

Many older plans carry attractive promises, including guaranteed growth rates or annuity rates of up to 12 per cent  as much as three times standard rates available now on the open market.

Find out more at pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk or seek the help of a professional adviser.

Fixed-rate mortgages

Borrowers who took out a long-term fixed-rate mortgage a few years ago to ensure predictable repayments might not feel so happy now, with rates tumbling to record lows.

Fixed-rate deals tie in borrowers with hefty early exit charges, sometimes as high as five per cent of the value of the loan. This charge often applies throughout the fixed period.

Borrowers who took out a long-term fixed-rate mortgage a few years ago to ensure predictable repayments might not feel so happy now

Escape route: Not all exit penalties are onerous and some reduce as each year passes.

David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker London & Country, says that a borrower who took out a popular five-year fix with NatWest three years ago at a rate of 4.89 per cent would see their monthly payments fall from 929 to 691 by moving to a fee-free, two-year fixed rate with Barclays at 1.84 per cent.

This assumes their property value has grown, allowing them access to the cheaper deal.

If the remaining loan is 150,000, that is a monthly saving of 238, which would total almost 5,700 over two years.

The three per cent early repayment charge on the old loan would cost 4,500, meaning a net saving of about 1,200.

Leave the switch until July and the exit charge falls to 2 per cent  though who knows what mortgage rates will be then.

To work out if a switch makes sense, ask a mortgage broker or as a first step try London & Countrys calculator at landc.co.uk/calculators/compare-two-rates/

Life insurance

Policyholders with life insurance often feel trapped. This is because they believe that if they cancel a policy in favour of a new one, the premiums will be higher because they are older. But this is not necessarily the case.

Escape route: It is possible to cut premiums by rearranging cover through a discount broker. Also, those who were smokers when they took out a policy but have since given up can also shave premiums by taking out a new policy.

Ian Williams is managing director of discount broker Cavendish Online. He says: Even if someone has had a policy for a few years they may be able to save money by taking out a new one.

Escape route needed: Policyholders with life insurance often feel trapped

The cost of life insurance has decreased over the last decade so even someone whose circumstances have not changed may still be able to cut their premiums.

Williams warns: Do not cancel an old policy until the new one is in place.

Compare deals using a discount broker or comparison website such as MoneySupermarket or payingtoomuch.

Using a financial adviser will usually cost more but they can help you choose the right policy.
Demand for home delivery of groceries is soaring, with sales up 29 per cent last year.

Here, The Mail on Sunday looks at how you can keep delivery costs to a minimum while analysing some of the more bespoke  and traditional  delivery services available.

THE SUPERMARKET

The online grocery shopping revolution has been driven by the high street supermarket.

Organic: A box of fruit and veg from Guy Watsons Riverford farm in Devon costs 20.95

Researcher Mintel estimates that 48 per cent of households now do most of their grocery shopping online, while 11 per cent buy all their provisions over the internet.

In total, 10 billion a year is now spent on online grocery shopping, but Mintel predicts that by 2020 this will have risen to almost 15 billion.

The major supermarkets are the biggest beneficiaries of this shift towards online shopping  Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose  and online supermarket Ocado.

Grocery comparison service mySupermarket rates Asda as the cheapest overall when looking to buy a selection of popular branded products.

But it also highly rates Ocado for its quality of service. MySupermarket spokeswoman Terri Witherden says: Each store group has its strengths. For example, Asda and Tesco are often the best value for everyday items such as milk and bread, while Waitrose and Sainsburys are top for specialist ingredients or premium lines.

But Ocado is widely regarded as the leader for home delivery. It is best at providing updates on when a van is near and keeping to agreed delivery times.

The choice of which online supermarket service to use is one of personal preference and will vary depending on where you live and what you buy.

All the supermarkets have different delivery charges and these also vary depending on where you live and demand on a particular day.

Charges: Asda charges start from 1 for Tuesday to Thursday deliveries between 1pm and 4pm

ASDA: Charges start from 1 for Tuesday to Thursday deliveries between 1pm and 4pm. The peak delivery charge is 6 for Saturday between 7am and 12 noon and Sunday 9am to 12 noon.

But you can pay 5 a month for a delivery pass for anytime deliveries with a minimum shopping spend of 40.

MORRISONS: Charges start from 50p for Wednesday, 10pm to 11.30pm. Delivery charges then rise to 1 between 6.30am and 9.30am and 7.30pm to 10.30pm on Wednesday.

The peak delivery charge is 4.50 on Saturday from 9am to 8.30pm. But if you pay 7 a month you get a delivery pass for anytime drop-offs. The minimum order is 40.

OCADO: Delivery charges are usually free between 5.30am and 11pm on a Wednesday.

The peak delivery charge is 6.99 and applies on a Saturday and Sunday but this may be waived if demand is low.

You can pay 10.99 a month for a delivery pass for anytime deliveries. The minimum order is 40. There is no charge for mid-week orders of more than 100.

SAINSBURYS: Delivery charges start from 1 between 3pm and 11pm on a Wednesday.

The peak delivery charge is 7 between 8am and 10.30am on Saturday and 8.30am and 10.30am on a Sunday.

You can pay from 5 a month for a delivery pass for anytime deliveries. The minimum order for these prices is 40.

A home delivery for 25 of goods can cost 7. There is no charge for orders of 100 or more.

TESCO: Delivery charges start from 2 between 11am and 11pm on a Wednesday. The peak delivery charge is 7 between 8am and 10am on both Saturdays and Sundays.

You can pay from 5 a month for a delivery pass for anytime deliveries. The minimum order is 40.

WAITROSE: There is no delivery charge. The minimum order is 60.

VERDICT: Ideal if you wish to avoid pushing shopping trolleys.

THE ORGANIC FARMER

There is no substitute for visiting a local high street grocery store or farm shop for top fresh produce. But you can also buy fresh organic produce online.

Riverford Organic Farmers in Devon began its delivery service 30 years ago. The internet transformed its business and it now delivers fresh fruit, vegetables and meat to 47,000 people a week.

The company claims it can beat high street supermarkets on price for organic groceries because as a farm  and with links to other suppliers  it cuts out the middleman.

It also tries to stand out from the crowd by offering seasonal vegetable boxes and recipe boxes with all the ingredients required to cook a meal, plus online cooking tips.

Eco-credentials: Abel & Cole likes to boast that it is committed to comply with the Modern Slavery Act and only burns fuel on eco-friendly delivery routes

Deliveries are free and the day and time of a delivery largely depend on where a customer lives. Usually it will deliver once a week.

The cost of a large box with eight types of vegetable and three different kinds of fruit is 20.95.

Farmer Guy Watson founded the company and still runs it. He says: A lot of vegetables in the supermarket look fantastic but are bland when you eat them and have been shipped halfway across the world.

ERNEST IS STILL SHOWING HIS BOTTLE 150 YEARS ON My round: A scene form Raymond Brigg's Ethel and Earnest You might have thought the friendly milkman was a dying breed. But they are making a comeback. The 4,000-strong army of milkmen is now offering a range of goods as well as dairy produce to compete with supermarkets and provide a more rounded home delivery service. Delivering to two million homes a day, the profession offers the biggest shopping delivery service in Britain. Service: Milkman Terry Jennings with his dog Jess The modern-day milkman not only delivers milk in bottles like Ernest in the hit animation film Ethel & Ernest, but more than 250 other groceries. Everything from basics such as bread and eggs to luxuries such as chocolates and champagne. You also no longer need to slip a note in a bottle if you want any extras  you can change an order using a smartphone. Milkman Terry Jennings, 45, from Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, does a milk round for the company milk&more around Saffron Walden, Essex. Last November, he found a lost dog early on his round. He saw a lost poster for the pet and got the dog Barney returned home that same day. Terry says: We offer a local service that you wont find from a supermarket delivery man. I see myself as serving the community. Even though he works anti-social hours  between 3am and 9am  he still has time to stop for a chat with customers to make sure they are OK. Terry says: My job does not stop at delivering milk and groceries. If milk has not been collected from the doorstep we check to make sure everything is fine. People say we are like a fourth emergency service. The job satisfaction of being valued by customers is wonderful. It is a privilege to do what I do. Increasingly, milkmen have had to adapt to the shopping demands of the 21st Century. So if a customer emails an order up to 9pm the day before, it will be delivered on the next round. Terry drives a diesel van but a quarter of milkmen still use electric floats as they have done since the 1950s. The milkman first appeared in the 1860s pushing a milk pram loaded with churns and pouring milk into jugs. Milk was still hand-pulled on delivery carts up until the 1950s as depicted in the award-winning Ethel & Ernest, the graphic novel and animation film by Raymond Briggs. You can find details of your local milkman at website findmeamilkman.net. VERDICT: Gold top for milk, grocery basics and social service.

We focus on flavour and although organic food is not always the cheapest, it tastes the best and supports British farmers.

Organic vegetables are grown without pesticides, synthetic fertilisers or genetic modification. Meat is reared without the use of growth hormones.

It typically costs 20 per cent more than non-organic food but Watson believes an increasing number of people are appreciating its value for basic food-on-the-table needs.

He says: We have a mix of customers, not just one type of person. Knowing where your food comes from is vitally important.

The small price premium is not about us making more money but represents the added costs of providing better food.

Abel & Cole also delivers organic food. Deliveries cost 1.25 but new customers get a free cookbook and the fourth fruit and vegetable box they order is free.

Its large magnificent box  eight types of vegetable and three varieties of fruit  costs 27.50.

Organic marketing can seem sanctimonious. For example, Abel & Cole likes to boast that it is committed to comply with the Modern Slavery Act and only burns fuel on eco-friendly delivery routes.

Those who want to know where their meat comes from should use a local butcher.

But there are also online meat specialists, such as Field and Flower, that sell grass-fed, free-range meat and fish caught by fishermen who have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

VERDICT: Often the tastiest option if you can afford it.

READY-MADE MEALS ON WHEELS

Those who struggle to get to the shops, rarely cook for themselves or are simply looking for convenience can opt for a ready-made meal.

Elderly and vulnerable people should check with their local council if they might qualify for meals on wheels help.

Visit website link gov.uk/meals-home and enter your postcode to obtain details of who you should ask.

There are also charities willing to help. The most famous is the Royal Voluntary Service which helped victims of the Blitz during the Second World War, when people were bombed out of their homes and unable to cook. It provided hot meals to those in need.

Budget: Fern Britton stars in Wiltshire Farm Foods TV ads

There is now a growing trend for ready-made meals delivered to the doorstep which can be heated up at your convenience to eat. They vary in quality.

Describing itself as a gourmet grocery shop, national chain Cook has a high street presence and delivers dishes to the door.

Home delivery is free as long as you order at least 50 of meals, so you will need space in the freezer. Otherwise, the minimum delivery order is 30, with delivery ranging from 5 and 6.95, depending on where you live.

James Rutter, brand director of Cook, says: We have chefs who prepare the meals in our kitchens.

The dishes are not made on a production line like you might expect from supermarket ready-meals, though the sizes of the pots and pans we use are a lot bigger than usual because we are preparing meals for 1,500 at a time rather than just one or two people at a dinner table.

He adds: The beauty of freezing is that we do not need to use additives and preservatives.

Another provider of frozen dishes that targets those on a tight budget is Wiltshire Farm Foods. The firm is perhaps best known for its TV advertising once fronted by the late comedian Ronnie Corbett, but now starring television presenter Fern Britton. Its delivery service is free for select areas, but a minimum order of 19 is usually required. Deliveries tend to be once a week.

Oakhouse Foods, another provider of frozen ready meals, offers free delivery on orders of more than 30.

VERDICT: Great for convenience.
Millionaire plumber Charlie Mullins has been facing a torrent of abuse on social media  and even a death threat.

The founder of Pimlico Plumbers  and a former adviser to David Cameron  bankrolled the successful legal bid to give Parliament a vote on Brexit and has been an outspoken backer of the Remain case.

It has not made him popular in some quarters. Its like Britains at war at the moment, he declares.

Driven: Charlie Mullins has had a good year, but isn't sure it will last after Brexit

I had a death threat from some guy and the police got involved. Something on Facebook. I didnt report it, but one of our customers reported it and the police investigated it. Weve had the normal amount of abuse which you can live with and accept.

But the death threatsthats just way out of bounds.

Mullins has been more behind the scenes in the case than Gina Miller, the fund manager who was the face of the Article 50 case. The case, of course, won in the Supreme Court last week, forcing the Government to table a bill in Parliament to quit the EU.

But as the main paymaster of the plan, Mullins has not avoided attack and had to hire security for the court hearings. Its disgusting. But I dont think we got it to the same level as her, he says, referring to Miller.

They might seem an unlikely alliance. Mullins began his plumbing career by bunking off school and has since built an empire which last year turned over 30million.

He may not be an obvious member of the global liberal elite, but he is rich. I have a nice car, I have a Bentley. I drove it to the court, and everyones saying typical Remainer.

Attacked: Mullins has not avoided attack and had to hire security for the court hearings

But Remain people and Leave people, were all the same. Theres a mixture right across the board.

'People that have got no money, people that come from no money, to people that are wealthy. It doesnt matter how much you earn or what job youre in, if you vote Remain or Leave, thats your decision. I dont think we should put people in pigeon holes.

So how did the blunt-speaking tradesman Mullins meet Gina Miller?

Well, my lawyers Mishcon de Reya mentioned that this case was going to be happening. We had a meeting there. I liked what she had to say. I thought she was very positive, very meaningful, and a very brave woman. We became the main financial backer.

I have a Bentley. I drove it to court and everyones saying typical Remainer

I did it for the benefit of my children, grandchildren, and for the future of Britain.

Mullins says he would prefer it if the Brexit vote was overturned, but he will accept leaving the EU. I mean democracy is Parliament, isnt it? Thats what theyre there for.

Unfortunately, I think the referendum has been so misleading and divided the country so much, Im getting tired of it now. I just really want to get on with it. If were going to leave, just show us how were going to leave and lets leave in the best possible way.

He adds: But what none of us voted for in the referendum is to be poorer and worse off.

Im not a politician and I dont claim to be. Im only working off common sense. But nobody can tell me to shut the window on 500 million customers in the EU, and 225 billion worth of trade. I think its 45 per cent of all trade goes through the EU. You havent got to be a politician to work out: that aint a bad deal.

Maybe, in a couple of years it turns out for the better. But as a betting man, I believe this will be the end of Theresa May once it all kicks in, and I believe its a recession coming.

Funding: Mullins has been more behind the scenes in the case than Gina Miller, the fund manager who was the face of the Article 50 case

Perhaps inevitably, Mullins, 64, has faced accusations that he only supports staying in the EU because his plumbing business employs large numbers of East European workers.

I get a load of stuff on Twitter: Yeah, he wants to stay out of the EU so that he can keep paying Polish plumbers. Its a load of rubbish, Mullins insists.

I employ 350 people and Ive got two or three foreign workers. Ive got a guy who works in the yard that comes from Lithuania. Ive got another one starting on Monday that comes from Lithuania, who is a friend of his. Ive probably got the odd Italian and the odd French and thats it.

But if we stop free movement and a lot of the people from the EU do go home, Londons construction is going to come to a standstill. Lets not kid anybody. When you go by a building site now its full of people from the EU, whether we like it or not. London will come to a standstill.

Foreign building labour is essential to major projects past and future, he argues. Take them away and we wouldnt have had the Olympics and we wont be getting another runway done, we cannot do it. And all these from the EU that work in Starbucks etc, theyre adding to our economy. Take them away, I tell you what, London is going to be in trouble.

The skills shortage that is drawing many European workers to the UK is better solved by Government action rather than leaving the EU, argues Mullins. My answer is: Its the benefits system thats stopping us working, not the EU.

I spoke to a very established City bank and they say no one wants to invest in the UK

All the Government has got to do is, rather than give the youngsters job benefit money, turn it into job allowance. Give it to the employer who will put it towards a better living wage.

Ive had these conversations with Boris, Theresa May, Cameron, Osborne. That is what you need to do to resolve the apprenticeship thing, solve youth unemployment. Simple. But despite the challenges and uncertainty, business is booming for Pimlico Plumbers in Lambeth.

He said: Weve just taken out a major advertising campaign with a television channel to run until September. We need to boost up because people are going to be tightening their belts and not spending.

Between now and December we will have recruited another 50 people. Were doing great. Were heading for a 35million turnover. Last year, it was 30million.

But that doesnt mean its going to continue. Everyone keeps saying to me: Charlie, how comes you say Brexits a bad thing but your business is doing good? The answer is: I dont believe Brexits kicked in yet, I really dont.

I spoke to a very, very established bank in the City, and their take is that the last place investors want to invest at the moment is the UK.

And when bankers are saying that the last place that anyone would invest at the moment is the UK, now that says everything, doesnt it?

One suspects the angry Twitter crowd will not agree.
The year is barely a month old but the withdrawal of banks from the high street has escalated to a level never witnessed before.

Villages and towns up and down the country are waking up to the fact that their communities will no longer be served by a bank.

The high street branch is vanishing, leaving people with no choice but to bank online or rely on a local post office.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL LIST OF BRANCH CLOSURES

Mass closures: Villages and towns up and down the country are waking up to the fact that their communities will no longer be served by a bank

Data compiled by The Mail on Sunday shows that already this year, some 423 bank and building society branches have either been axed or put on notice of closure.

The current rate of closures means that 2017 is on course to be a record. Over the past two years, 1,046 branches have been shut by the countrys major high street banks.

Although HSBC continues to shut more branches than rivals, the closure bug has now spread to some building societies which have been reluctant to withdraw services from the communities they serve.

Last week, Yorkshire Building Society announced it would be axing 48 branches over the next 18 months as part of a major restructuring which will see the Norwich & Peterborough brand it owns disappear.

It has also put 100,000 current account customers on notice that come August the society will no longer offer such a banking facility as it concentrates on its traditional savings and mortgage markets.

Once a champion of branches, the society now admits that falling usage has forced it to trim its network.

It claims that last year an average seven customers a day used over the counter services at the branches it is shedding.

'DON'T THEY REALISE WE WANT A BUILDING SOCIETY WE CAN GO TO?' Bring them back: Market stallholder Jo Chalklin says customers want a high-street presence Yorkshire Building Societys decision to axe its Norwich & Peterborough branch in Cambridge met with widespread disappointment last week. Market stallholder Jo Chalklin, who lives in nearby Longstanton, says the impending closure of the St Andrews Street branch reflects a building society which is out of touch with customers who want a high street presence. Jo, 42, had been a longstanding customer of Norwich & Peterborough until last year  but now does her business and personal banking with HSBC and Halifax respectively. Unlike other towns, Cambridge offers residents a variety of banking choice with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Metro, NatWest, Santander and TSB all represented on the high street.

New boss Mike Regnier insists the society remains committed to the high street, despite the impending closure programme.

Even after the branches shut, he says the society will have more branches per 1 billion of assets (six) than Lloyds (2.5) and building societies Nationwide (3.1) and Coventry (2.5).

He adds: We believe in a face-to- face service. It is the way most customers prefer to deal with us.

'But falling usage at certain branches presents us with challenges we have to respond to. All the savings we make from this business restructuring will go back to improving the service we provide for customers.

Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland says simple branch transactions across its RBS and NatWest networks have fallen 43 per cent since 2010. Online and mobile phone banking transactions have increased by more than 400 per cent.

HOW YOUR POST OFFICE CAN HELP FILL THE GAP For many people looking to bank on the high street, their only option now is to use a local post office. The Post Office has responded to this demand by broadening its banking service to both business and personal customers. Under a deal just struck with the banks, it claims that 99 per cent of personal bank customers and more than 75 per cent of business customers will now be able to do their day-to-day banking at a local post office. It will embrace basic banking services such as cash withdrawals, cash and cheque deposits and balance enquiries. The Post Office has a 11,600-strong branch network with more than 4,000 of them open on a Sunday. It is supported by more than 2,500 cash machines. Some 99.7 per cent of the population live within three miles of a post office. Nick Kennett, chief executive of Post Office Financial Services, says the network plays a key role in many local communities, acting as the lifeblood to consumers and small businesses. It is currently in the midst of reducing the number of post offices it manages itself  so called Crown branches  because of rising running costs. Some of these outlets are being axed in favour of branches located in retail stores such as WHSmith.

The bank says branches will continue to play a vital role for customers, providing a failsafe when things go wrong and customers need a hand sorting it out.

It is also introducing mobile banking services  a bank on wheels  to some of the locations where it is axing its branch.

Similarly, HSBC says use of its branches has fallen by nearly 40 per cent over the past five years. In confirming its latest batch of closures, it says it will shut no more this year.

Only Nationwide Building Society seems committed to keeping its branch network intact.

On Friday, it said: We believe people of all ages like face-to-face contact with our branch teams as well as access to technology which allows customers to come into a branch and speak to an adviser via a screen-based system.

Record levels: The current rate of closures means that 2017 is on course to be a record

The society is in the throes of opening a new branch in Glastonbury, Somerset, a town which is currently bankless. If this proves successful, it will consider opening in other bankless towns.

Resistance to closures is on the wane following the abandonment of the Campaign for Community Banking Services.

Sponsored by charities and small business groups, it had called for new community banks which customers of all banks could use. But the initiative was thwarted by banks on competition grounds.

Jane Vass, director of policy and research at charity Age UK, says the impact of closures on elderly people should not be underestimated.

She says: If a branch closure happens in an area where bus services are poor, or there is patchy internet service and mobile black spots, it can make banking life extremely difficult for the elderly.
Hundreds of thousands of small firms will be forced to assess their own business rates under plans being drawn up by the Government to pass the red tape of calculating the 26billion tax on to business.

The switch, which would be similar to the move to self-assessment for individuals liable for income tax, is thought to be the Governments preferred choice for overhauling the unpopular business rates system, which has become a focus of business anger in recent years.

About two million premises would be affected by the change.

Passing the buck: Hundreds of thousands of small firms will be forced to assess their own business rates under plans being drawn up by the Government

The plan would allow the Government to cut the cost of running the Valuation Office, which is overseen by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

It would also enable it to increase the frequency of revaluations  possibly to annual reviews  compared with once every five years at present.

One source, who declined to be named, expected the Department to press ahead with the self-assessment plan, with an announcement likely in the Budget in March.

The idea was mooted in a consultation document last year, with a deadline for contributions in July.

The source told The Mail on Sunday that Government representatives had discussed the idea with senior figures in accountancy and property in recent weeks.

John Webber, head of ratings at property consultant Colliers International, said: My understanding is that the Government is now seriously looking at self-assessment and that it is now the favoured option.

The official line is that its looking at other options. But our understanding is that it has been discussing with the Big Four accountancy firms how self-assessment works in the sphere of personal taxation and corporate tax and how it could apply the same principles here, he said.

Predictions: One source, who declined to be named, expected the Department to press ahead with the self-assessment plan, with an announcement likely in the Budget in March

The Mail on Sunday has separately learnt that major accountancy firms submitted responses to the Government inquiry into the future of business rates.

However the documents, and a host of other submissions, have yet to be published on the Governments website and it is not clear when or if they will be released.

Although self-assessment would create a new layer of red tape for companies, an annual review of rates would be widely welcomed.

It would remove shock swings in bills, such as those currently facing London-based businesses, where property values have risen significantly in recent years and rates with them.

The overhaul is expected by 2022, when the next revaluation is due.

Self-assessment is likely to be a headache for both large and small businesses, which would need to find extra resources to conduct the assessment.

Those that failed to provide the right information would face a swingeing system of penalties and fines, one business rates specialist said.

A spokesman at the Department for Communities and Local Government said: There are no plans at this time to introduce self-assessment.

'However, this Government is committed to ensuring the system for business rates is fair and accurate, and will consider all options in order to do this.
CHARLESTON -- Leading Eastern Illinois University through the financial hardships related to the states ongoing budget impasse has helped earn President David Glassman the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerces Outstanding Citizen of the Year award.

During the award presentation Saturday evening, Glassman said he did not want to dwell on the challenges that Eastern has gone through due to the state not having a budget in place for a year and a half now.

EIU is only looking forward. We have managed our resources effectively and we will emerge from the budgetary impasse stronger than ever, Glassman said.

The Outstanding Citizen honor and three other awards were presented as part of the Chambers annual dinner in the University Union Grand Ballroom.

Glassman, who became EIUs president and a Charleston resident 19 months ago, said he was drawn to Eastern by the passion of the faculty and staff there. He said his love for the university soon extended to the rest of the Charleston community, where he felt very welcomed in his new role.

In particular, Glassman said he has enjoyed developing a working relationship and friendship with Charleston Mayor Brandon Combs. He said Combs loves his community and his alma mater of EIU.

Mayor Combs and I share a common vision for Charleston and our community, a vision that sees EIU as Charleston and Charleston as EIU. We are intricately intertwined and our success is predicated on the other, Glassman said. We envision EIU with an enrollment of 9,000 or 10,000 students again, but we know that it will not be easy and will take both the city and EIU to accomplish this together.

Off campus, Glassman said he has been pleased to see new businesses opening and aesthetic improvements being made along the Lincoln Avenue "gateway" to Charleston and Eastern.

On campus, Glassman said EIUs ongoing Vitalization Project is helping ensure that the university offers academic programs and support services that students are seeking now to ensure that they can start careers after they graduate. He said EIUs placement rate from last May showed that 94 percent of EIU students found work in their fields of study within six months of graduation.

We are ramping up our marketing efforts well beyond what we have ever done before to make sure that Eastern and Charleston do not remain the hidden secret, the best secret, in Illinois higher education anymore, Glassman said.

During Saturdays dinner, the chamber also presented the Volunteer of the Year award to Tim Camden. The award honored Camden for helping start Astronomy Night at the Charleston Carnegie Public Library and for his other community service.

Camden said he enjoys hearing the oohs and the aahs of new star gazers as they use telescopes to glimpse Saturn or other celestial objects. Camden, who is a bird watcher, too, also promotes the natural beauty that can be found down on Earth around Lake Charleston.

These are things I love doing. I love trying to share with people and show them what a wonderful place we live in here and just get out there and enjoy it, Camden said.

The Small Business of the Year award was presented to Bob and Therese Kincade for their Whats Cookin restaurant, which has been open for 37 years. Whats Cookin, known for its signature strawberry bread, is a fixture downtown and has hosted countless meals, community group meetings and fundraisers.

We believe small business is the backbone of any community. Small businesses provide jobs, small businesses sponsor your daughters softball team, small businesses donate to your causes and, in our case, small business provides the place for family and friends to go and make memories, Therese Kincade said.

The Chamber Diplomat of the Year award was presented to Paul Tomshack, an insurance agent with Clarence Miller Insurance. The Diplomats are volunteers who help set up venues for the annual dinner and other events, provide staffing, and clean up afterward.

Chamber President Cindy White said Tomshack is someone they can always count on to cheerfully and enthusiastically help us out with anything. She added that he is a past chairman of the Diplomats.

In addition, White paid tribute to the memory of former Chamber executive assistant Jill Age. She passed away on Jan. 18 at age 65 after a year-and-a-half-long battle with cancer. White said Age worked in the Chamber office from 2005 to 2015 and helped organize 10 annual dinners.

She always represented the Chamber with grace and poise and professionalism, White said. She was really a special woman and will be greatly missed.
MANZINI  Students of the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) engaged in a protest action yesterday, demanding the reduction of fees charged by the university.



They staged an unexpected protest in the morning yesterday, before gathering for a meeting to discuss the same issue.

They said the university charged high fees that were far off from the Christian principles and values that were the foundation of the institution.

The fees that they want the university to decrease include the tuition fee, which they said was E15 500 for a degree programme.



They are demanding that this fee be lowered to E12 000, an amount they said was equivalent to what was charged by the University of Swaziland for a similar course.

They are also demanding that the university waives the late fees payment penalty of E112 that students are charged for each day that passes without payment being made to the school.



About 400 students who are part-time scholars, are enrolled in the institutions Bachelor of Education Degree (primary and secondary school) programme.

They usually have their lessons on Saturdays and school holidays.

What began as a normal school day yesterday ended in chaos as students vacated classes and took to the corridors and premises of the university, marching in protest of the fees.

The protest began at around 9am.



All classes were stopped and lecturers were left stranded in class, with no one to teach.

After about two hours of protest action, filled with dance and song, the student leadership urged the students to convene in the university auditorium.

That is where they held a meeting to discuss their grievances and planning how these would be conveyed to the administration.

Other grievances that were raised at the meeting include the provision of free learning aids.

These include free internet services.
BUHLENI  Government has since dismissed the contractor of the stalled construction of the E120 million Buhleni Police Station.



Khula Construction, a Mbabane- based company, has been ordered to vacate the construction site with immediate effect.

The termination letter was written by project managers, for the project, Ngwenya Wonfor.



It was dated January 17, 2017.

The project managers wrote the letter on behalf of Makhosini Mndawe, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. According to the letter, the termination of the contract follows Khula Constructions failure to complete and deliver the project on time.



You have remained in default, relative to the matters defined in the above notice in that, you have failed to proceed with the works with due skills, diligence, regularity and expedition skills, reads the letter in part. The company was then ordered to immediately vacate the site.



You are herewith instructed not to remove anything that is, plant and material, on the site until a record of same is prepared on January 20, 2017.

In an interview, PS Mndawe confirmed that the contractor had been removed from the project.

He said the termination of the contract was due to some inefficiencies of the company that were noted on the project.

The PS said government was still in discussions with the company over the same issue.



According to sources close to the matter, government is already engaged in the process of engaging another company to complete the project.

The source said the Public Works Ministry appeared before the Tender Board on the same issue on Monday.

A new contractor would be on site very soon and we anticipate that the project would be delivered on time, he said.
NEOGA -- A fire was sparked Friday evening in a fuel-laden pickup truck that was being driven on the shoulder of Interstate 57 without a passenger side front tire or rim.

Assistant Chief Alan Baker of the Neoga Fire Protection District said the driver was unharmed by the fire, but the blaze destroyed the truck and temporarily closed both southbound lanes of I-57 south of Neoga.

The sight of sparks shooting out from the truck's empty wheel led to several motorists calling 911 Friday evening, Baker said. Neoga firefighters were called to the scene at approximately 9:40 p.m. after the fire started and the truck came to a rest, he said.

Baker said the fire was triggered by the truck's engine being severely damaged while this vehicle was being driven without a passenger front tire or rim. He said the flames were fueled by the truck bed containing a supplemental diesel fuel tank and two propane tanks.

"It made a pretty big fire," Baker said. "The fire was so big it was shooting across both (southbound) lanes."

Baker said the two southbound lanes were closed for a time and one of them was later reopened to traffic while firefighters were still on the scene. He said the firefighters sprayed 750 gallons of water onto the blazing truck and ultimately used a fire extinguisher to douse the supplemental diesel fuel tank.

Firefighters cleared the scene by approximately 12:30 a.m. Saturday after Illinois Department of Transportation crews spread out sand to prevent the water and diesel fuel-covered roadway from becoming slick, Baker said.

Illinois State Police and Neoga Police Department officers helped with traffic control at the scene. The accident is being investigated by the state police.
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By Naeisha Rose

More than 1,000 demonstrators converged on Kennedy Airport Saturday after President Donald Trump banned Muslims from seven countries from entering the United States for 90 days.

In less than one day, Muslim citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen were stopped at Kennedy and other airports around the country. Noticeably absent from the list were people from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the three Muslim-majority states that have business ties with the president, Reuters reported.

Trumps executive order allowed Christian minorities from those countries to enter the United States. Entry was denied to refugees from all countries for 120 days.

Later in the evening a Brooklyn federal judge issued a temporary stay, reversing the order.

Trumps ban resulted in at least a dozen people with valid visas being detained at JFK, including Iraqi translator Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who risked his life to assist the U.S. Army. He was freed after several hours of detention.

One soldier from Connecticut came to protest outside Terminal 4 in support of the translator and the others who were stopped apprehended.

I served in Desert Storm back in the early 90s and this isnt the country that I served in Desert Storm for, said Greg Schulte, 49. They risked a lot more in lives than anybody in the Trump family ever did theirs.

He added, I have a problem with his blatant disregard for the people whose lives are in his hands and that he thinks that hes an expert in everything  its scary on many levels.

The crowds grew during the day as people from around the tri-state area rushed to the airport to express their anger at the ban on people entering the United States, including those who are permanent residents holding green cards.

Peter Wagoner, a Catholic from Williamsburg was disappointed by Trumps affront on religion.

Im here because America was founded by immigrants, particularly people who are the most vulnerable, said Wagoner, 29. Christ tells us to help people who are being marginalized by society and hurt  they are the least likely to be a dangerous to us and we are oppressing them the most.

Helping to bring order to the protests was Carlos Gesus Calzadilla, 19, a freshman at Long Island University in Brooklyn and the president of the Young Progressives of America.

This here right now is one of the most important movements and protests in my lifetime and the lifetime of anyone who has lived in the United States, said Calzadilla, a native of Miami. Trump is cracking down on the freedom of press, on free speech, and now he is banning a religion, which has never happened in American history before and we will not let that happen.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a suit in federal court to challenge the ban.
Beaver County preparing for robust Election Day turnout

As the Nov. 8 midterm election approaches, nearly 114,000 people are registered to vote in Beaver County.
Troy

The city will begin its study Monday of the two proposals submitted to redevelop the vacant 1 Monument Square lot where City Hall once stood.

The 10-member Review Committee will choose between Bonacio Construction or Redburn Development Cos. as the preferred developer for the 1.5-acre site between River Street and the Hudson River.

This is the city's fourth attempt since 2010 to fill the gap created by the City Hall demolition.

"The submissions will be evaluated on Vision and Development Strategy, Relevant Project Experience, Financial Capacity and Development Team," according to a statement posted on the city website, http://troyny.gov

While the city has released the name of the competing developers, it has not made the details of the proposals public.

"They should release the proposal," City Council President Carmella Mantello, a Republican, said. "There should not be secrecy about what the developers proposed."

Mayor Patrick Madden, a Democrat, said the city would eventually release the proposals.

"I don't want to jeopardize our ability to negotiate and work out a deal," he said Thursday.

The 10 Review Committee members are Matt Ammerman of Apprenda; property owner Russ Brooks; Dennis Fagan, founder of Fagan Associates; John Finelli, a contractor and property owner; Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski; Dan Lyles, a South Central resident; Zack Mian of IEM, a North Central business; Graciela Monroy, an architect; Tobi Saulnier of First Playable; and Steven Strichman, the city commissioner of planning and community development.

There also is a three-member non-voting advisory Team composed of Madden, Stephen Riddler of the state Department of State and Mike Yevoli of Empire State Development.

Mantello said Madden should have included a City Council member on the advisory committee.

kcrowe@timesunion.com  518-454-5084  @KennethCrowe
Colonie

More than 300 people Sunday filled the first floor of Albany International Airport expressing opposition to President Donald Trump's order barring refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, joining many other protests that took place across New York state and the nation.

"I know there are people here from different religious backgrounds. I know there are people here from different sexual backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, but guess what?" Colonie resident Husn Din said. "This is what America is about, all of you right here coming together."

Din, a Muslim woman who came to the United States from Afghanistan as a refugee when she was 3 years old, said she was compelled to join the protest at the airport because she wants to ensure that others are given the same opportunities she had.

Other protests in the Northeast took place at locations including Boston and at Battery Park in New York City. They were sparked by a White House executive order Friday that bans refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 120 days. Those with legal papers establishing U.S. residency were also initially denied boarding in those countries or detained upon arrival in the U.S., but the Trump administration later said those with green cards will be allowed entry after screening.

The protesters at Albany's airport alternated between songs, like "God Bless America," to chanting "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here."

So far there have been no reports of any travelers bound for the Capital Region detained by the executive order. However, protesters shared accounts of Muslim friends worried about leaving the country and being unable to return.

"She has a green card. She didn't feel safe enough to go home to her family," Latham resident Nandini Seshadri said, speaking about an Iranian friend who decided not to leave a Kansas home to visit family in Iran.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus Sunday defended Trump's order saying it is protecting Americans against terrorist threats, and that travelers from the seven countries will still be subjected to more questioning until a better system is put in place. Also, he said border agents already have "discretionary authority" to detain and question suspicious travelers from certain countries.

An immigrant herself, Seshadri moved to the U.S. from India 14 years ago and was naturalized in November 2015. She's not Muslim, but many of her friends are so she and her two children joined the others in solidarity.

"I love this country, and I want to keep loving it," she said. "I want to teach my kids to be part of it, too."

Delmar resident Mark Lewis, 67, said he came to the Albany protest for his grandparents, Jews who fled Russia during the Holocaust. Lewis said his grandfather lost his entire family during that time.

"The one thing I've learned from my grandfather was that hate never stops, it always needs a target," he said. "If it's Muslims today, (Trump is) going to have to move on to some other group somewhere else. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

afries@timesunion.com  518-454-5353  @mandy_fries
Dakota Chappy, a Minot-based womens clothing store known for its Total Tight one-piece body suit signature clothing pieces, opened a Bismarck location in early December.

Owner Chappy Windsor held a pop-up store at the Kirkwood Mall and, during that event, she said customers kept asking her to open in Bismarck.

Windsor said a Bismarck location was so far off my radar but a loyal Total Tight customer changed her mind. Tara Haugen, who helped her with the Bismarck store, convinced Windsor to let her run a local store.

She worked with us for those days, and she was incredible, Windsor said of Haugen and her work ethic.

When the former Cherry Berry location opened at 559 S. Seventh St., it was like fate, Windsor said. The Minot store is in a former yogurt store location, too.

We love it. Bismarck loves it. Its just been really incredible  Bismarck has been great for us, Windsor said of the new location.

In about three weeks, Windsor said she hopes to be hold a launch party for new items in her Total Tight line.

The store is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with extended hours until 8 p.m. Thursday.

Dentists give back

A local dental clinic is providing free dental procedures to low-income adults in the community.

Prairie Rose Family Dentists annual Dentists with Heart event is Feb. 11.

The event, established in 2010, is for those 18 years of age or older with urgent dental issues who cannot afford dental treatment.

The event starts at 8 a.m. at the Prairie Rose Family Dentists South office, 121 E. Front St., Bismarck.

Patients will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. No prior appointments will be scheduled. It is recommended to arrive before 10 a.m. to secure an appointment.

For more information, call 701-223-1194.

Manufacturing organization awarded

The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded $500,000 to Impact Dakota, for a manufacturing extension partnership in Bismarck.

Impact Dakota is honored to be the recipient of this award from NIST. Our mission at Impact Dakota is to positively impact business results of manufacturers, CEO Tony Richards said in a statement, and the award ensures that every state, including North Dakota, has funding available to support manufacturers.




The event shows more than 500 people planning to attend.





Trumps executive order bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen) from entering the United States for the next 90 days and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days.

Aftermath of today's gathering where people did something besides complain about long lines during the holidays . . .You decide . . .
Cowtown Hungry for Tech

Golden Ghetto Gunfire Today

Rock Chalk Kansas Catholic School Crackdown Unnecessary

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Kansas City Artsy Moment

Right nowhotness dominates our thoughts while the world rages against an immigration crackdown that we all knew was coming.Closer to home, these links offer a glimpse at what's happening in our backyard. Take a peek:And this is thefor right now . . .
No substantive progress was reported at Thursday's Eurogroup meeting towards jumpstarting negotiations aimed at concluding the now delayed second review of the Greek program (third bailout), despite the public pleasantries later expressed by European officials over Greece's economic performance in 2016.

Creditors are demanding pre-emptive austerity measures to ensure that crisis-battered Greece meets fiscal targets after 2018, something that the embattled leftist government in Athens has refused to consider. The latter finds itself solidly behind its primary center-right political rival in opinion polls and more-or-less isolated on domestic political landscape.

As "Naftemporiki" reported earlier on Thursday amid the ongoing Eurogroup session, creditors have now coalesced around the position that new austerity measures as necessary. The development emerged after the EU Commission was the last creditor to align its position with the opinion expressed by the IMF.

According to reports, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin was the only Eurozone official to offer a differing view -- sans the Greek side, of course -- saying that although he favors the detailing of austerity measures that would be taken if necessary, he is against legislating the measures beforehand.

Although the French position echoed Athens' proposal for a compromise, the "lame duck" status of the current Hollande government and the French Socialists' dim prospects in the upcoming presidential election minimized the impact of Sapin's support.

European and democratic values

Speaking to reporters afterwards in the evening, Greek FinMin Euclid Tsakalotos said

you cannot demand a country legislate something that it will do (after) 2019 ... European and democratic values are sidelined as a result, while warning that such a process would weigh on future European governments.

The impasse towards closing the second review was also demonstrated by the fact that no date was set for a return of creditors' representatives to Athens to resume negotiations. No reference was made at subsequent press conference either.

Before the Eurogroup began, creditors' representatives met and reportedly agreed that a most recent letter by Tsakalotos was not aligned with the position expressed by EZ partners and institutional lenders.

The leftist Greek government mostly referred to the length and level of primary budget surplus targets (after 2018), whereas creditors cited the need for legislation in the present to guarantee the fiscal targets after 2018 -- the year that the bailout ends in August.

A subsequent meeting between Tsakalotos and the rest of the Greek delegation with creditors' representatives was later described as unproductive, with both sides insisting on their positions.

Another meeting between the Greek delegation and Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem and EWG president Thomas Wieser also failed to record any progress or compromise, reports state.

Nothing changed, as expected, during a latter meeting between German FinMin Wolfgang Schaeuble and the Greek side, represented by Tsakalotos and Alternate FinMin Giorgos Houliarakis. Going into the meeting, in fact, Schaeuble commented that Athens must meet its obligations.

Economic performance

Laudatory statements by Dijsselbloem about the Greece's economic performance, after the Eurogroup, failed to gloss over the fact that no positive communique was issued.

The Dutch FinMin was quoted as saying that the Greek economy is recovering faster than expected, with Athens set to surpass 2016's fiscal targets. "We encourage them to continue in this way and implement reforms," he said.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the biggest obstacle was in the demand to legislate the measures now, while also referring to other "open issues".

"The end of a program is always more difficult," he added.

He declined to answer press questions over the possible return of negotiators to Athens or over the issue of primary budget surplus targets.

EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici appeared reassuring, referring to a "good discussion" in the Eurogroup that allowed for future steps with "optimism", while merely adding that a decision on when negotiators will return to Athens will come soon.

In more substantive comments, both men made it clear that there was no chance of European creditors disengaging from the IMF on the Greek program.

The inconclusive result of Thursday's Eurogroup means that unless creditors' representatives return to Athens by early February, then an unofficial deadline to conclude the second review by the Feb. 20 Eurogroup meeting will be missed. European officials have warned that Feb. 20 is essentially the last "open date" before an extended election period begins in several Euro zone member-states, something that will bump the review far down the priority list of European lawmakers.

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 Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have called for European unity in facing growing internal and external threats

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have called for European unity in facing growing internal and external threats, in a joint message on Friday.

The threats highlighted by Merkel and Hollande included a rise of populism across the continent and threats from the US to scrap a free trade deal.

"Europe faces big internal and external challenges which we ... can only master by working together," Merkel told a news conference on Friday with Hollande.

She added: "We need a clear, common commitment to the European Union, to what we have accomplished, and to the values of our liberal, democratic democracies."

Hollande said the rise of populists on the continent was a major threat for the European Union.

"To be very honest, what threatens Europe doesn't only come from outside. It is also from inside. This means the rise of extremists who use external factors to cause disruption internally," Hollande said.

The two leaders did not take questions.

Both Merkel and Hollande are expected to speak to with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, an announcement from the White House said.

Reuters learnt that Merkel is expected to speak with Trump about Russia and sanctions imposed on Moscow in regards to the crisis in Ukraine.

Trump is also expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: Reuters

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




The security guarantees must be maintained, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has told his British counterpart Theresa May

The security guarantees must be maintained, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has told his British counterpart Theresa May, after a meeting between the two on Saturday.

Yildirim said that he exchanged ideas with May, and that a solution needs to be just and viable for the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots that live in Cyprus.

He added that the communities living in Cyprus need to be secure, so that the experiences of the past cannot be repeated.

On her part, May said that her government is pleased to see that the negotiations have moved so far.

She added that a solution is needed that ensures the security and stability for the long-term in Cyprus.

A solution, which will be good for all the people of Cyprus, which is what we are working towards, she said.

Earlier May met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, where they discussed the Cyprus issue and trade relations.

Source: CNA

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
The search and rescue operation at Italys avalanche-hit Hotel Rigopiano is officially over

The search and rescue operation at Italys avalanche-hit Hotel Rigopiano is officially over, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni announced today.

Italys national fire brigade pulled the last two bodies from the wreckage, putting the final death toll at 29.

11 people survived the rescue operation.

Everyone known to have been at the central Italian hotel at the time of the disaster has now been accounted for, reported Euronews.

Some guests were waiting to be evacuated when the avalanche ploughed into the building, partially overturning it and pushing it some ten metres away from its original site.

Multiple earthquakes had struck the region earlier that day (January 18), while the roads surrounding the hotel were blocked by heavy snowfall.

Gentiloni said more than two metres of snow fell within 72 hours on the isolated hotel, and the quakes. The ensuing landslide and avalanche dumped more than of 60,000 tons of snow, rocks and uprooted trees on top of the resort, burying 40 people inside.

NO SCAPEGOATS

Gentiloni acknowledged delays and malfunctioning in the initial rescue effort, after local authorities brushed off the first alarms about the avalanche.

The PM told parliament yesterday that now was not the time to find scapegoats.

Two people escaped and called for help, but the Pescara prefects office initially brushed off the alarm thinking it was a joke and that the hotel was safe, reported The Guardian.

The rescue operation started an hour or two later, and it took eight hours for the first crews to reach the site, travelling on foot because the roads were impassable.

CAUSE OF DEATH

Prosecutors said post-mortems on the first six bodies examined showed most died from the initial physical trauma of the hotel collapsing, with some also showing signs of hypothermia and asphyxiation.

Gentiloni said a criminal investigation into the deaths had begun.

Source: Euronews, The Guardian

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
Dozens of Turkish soldiers working at the countrys NATO mission are seeking asylum in Germany

Dozens of Turkish soldiers working at the countrys NATO mission are seeking asylum in Germany, newspaper Tagesschau has reported on Saturday.

The newspaper reported that approximately 40 officers are seeking asylum.

Germanys Federal Department of Immigration and Refugees has said that the issue will be examined, as is done with all asylum requests received.

Stephan Mayer, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkels sister-party CSU, told the newspaper: There is no doubt that we cannot return these soldiers to Turkey.

Another group of eight Turkish soldiers seeking asylum in Greece, after a failed coup attempt on July 15, have been remanded into custody in Athens, following a decision from the Supreme Court to not extradite them to Turkey.

Since the decision, denying Turkeys extradition request, Ankara has criticized Athens, and said that relations between the two countries could be affected.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has threatened the cancellation of a bilateral agreement between Ankara and Athens for the readmission of refugees and migrants to Turkey.

The readmission agreement is part of a broader EU framework agreed in March 2016 in an effort to quell the waves of individuals reach Greeces Aegean islands, seeking asylum in Europe.

Source: ANA-MPA

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
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the world's leading aluminium smelters based in Bahrain, today (January 29) marked the final session of the 2017 Town Hall Meetings which was held at Alba Oasis Hall, in Manama.



The meetings commenced on January 15, and covered more than 89 per cent of Albas workforce through nine sessions, said a statement from the company.



This year, the Town Hall Meetings sessions also witnessed the participation of dignitaries from various private and public organisations in Bahrain, it said.



Tim Murray, CEO of Alba, said: The meeting was launched with the purpose of establishing a direct line of communication between employees and the management as well as to convey our companys performance and expectations in a simple and transparent manner.



We believe that these sessions help bridge the gap between different layers of the company and build synergy amongst various teams, he said.



Alba had a great year in terms of safety and operational achievements in 2016. We must now prepare for 2017 as what makes us successful at one level is not what makes us successful at the next, he said.



By building on our 2017 Expectations, namely: Safety Tomorrowland; Line 6 Transformation; Titan DNA and Do Your Job A+, we aim to exceed our targets and achieve beyond excellence in everything we do, he added.



The meeting was a special initiative introduced by Murray in January 2014 as a way of directly communicating with the employees and updating them on the companys performance and achievements of the past year and the goals for the coming year, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Olympus Corporation, a high-end optics and precision electronics manufacturer, has launched its regional headquarters for Middle East and Africa (MEA) in Dubai, UAE.



Olympus president Hiroyuki Sasa flew in from Tokyo, Japan to inaugurate the office in the presence of Abdulrahman Al Owais, UAE Minister of Health and Prevention.



The new MEA affiliate will be led by healthcare veteran Maurice Faber, regional managing director, who will oversee operations in 72 countries that make up Olympus MEA.



The two thousand square metres Olympus MEA regional headquarters located in Dubai Science Park covers a vast territory stretching from the western shores of the African continent across the Levant and the Middle East to Iran and Turkey.



The Dubai RHQ, reports in to Hamburg-based Olympus Europa, which acts as the regional centre for the larger EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.



Our presence in the region will help further expand Olympus operations so that we can support our business partners requirements, effectively promote growth and problem solving strategies designed locally, said Faber.



Marwan AbdulazizJanahi, executive director of Dubai Science Park, said: "Our partnership with Olympus further demonstrates Dubai Science Park's commitment to supporting Dubai's vision towards an innovation-based economy. Olympus' new headquarters at Dubai Science Park, a member of TECOM Group, will provide state-of-the art technology to the region and equip local talent with skills and expertise.



The Olympus RHQ will have one of the most advanced repair & service centre to conduct all major repairs within the region. It will also have a training centre to train partners and clients on its high-technology instrumentations, as well as stock critical equipment to supply clients as replacements while their items are being serviced.  TradeArabia News Service
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All we knew about North Macedonia was that it was somewhere near Greece. We knew nothing of the lovely people or their pride in their country. We had no concept of Macedonias rich history or its beautiful landscape. We had no idea how great the food was, how refined the wine was, or how affordable it was to travel there. But, pretty quickly, we learned a lot about the great things to do in North Macedonia and all the remarkable things to see there. Heres a look at some of our favorites.

Things to do in North Macedonia

Old Bazaar

The Old Bazaar is still a business center

Since the 12th century, Skopjes Old Bazaar has been the center of trade and commerce. Composed of Ottoman, Byzantine, and modern architecture, the Bazaar reflects the long and varied history of the city itself. Today it is composed of shops and restaurants as well as mosques, churches, museums, and other important buildings.

Statues of Skopje

Alexander the Great is unmissable in Skopje

Its impossible to miss the statues in Skopje, North Macedonias busy capital city. As you walk around the city center, the results of the governments Skopje 2014 project are everywhere. Fountains and statues honoring people and events in Macedonias history soar into the sky, dwarfing visitors andin some instanceseven nearby buildings. The project was not without controversy due to its scale and cost. But, as a visitor, it is fascinating to see a country still shaping its present and past at the same time.

Matka Canyon

Outdoor activities are popular in Matka Canyon

Just 10 miles southwest of Skopje, its like another world in Matka Canyon. An easy half-day trip from the capital, a visit here is one of the best things to do in North Macedonia. The outdoor destination is a prime location for hiking, and fishing and swimming are popular in the Treska River.

One of the most common ways to see Matka Canyon is to rent a boat to explore Matka Lake the canyons caves. The canyon area is also home to several historic churches and monasteries with remarkable frescoes.

Try traditional food

A delicious Macedonian spread

North Macedonian cuisine is full of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences (similar to the food we tried in Albania). That means lots of fresh vegetables, grilled meats, and wine. The North Macedonians also love their condimentsin particular, a spread called ajvar made from roasted bell peppers, paprika, and garlic. Also dont miss their flaky, savory burek pie; pleskavica, a grilled hamburger-like specialty; or tarator, a yogurt and cucumber dip.

Macedonian National Theater

The Macedonian National Theater is Skopjes pride and joy. Its sumptuous interior design and perfect acoustics make it an ideal home for the worlds best opera and theater performances.

Mount Vodno cable car

Rising high above the city, Mount Vodno is the site of one of Skopjes more popular attractionsthe Millennium Cross. Finished in 2002, the 216-foot-tall cross is the biggest cross in the world and was constructed to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity in North Macedonia.

Visitors to the cross can reach the top via a hiking trail that cuts its way up the mountain or by a cable car (only about $2 roundtrip). The views from the cross base at nearly 3500 feet are impressive.

Cable car over Mount Vodno with Skopje in the distance

Memorial House of Mother Teresa

Gonxha Bojaxhi, otherwise known as Mother Teresa, was born in Skopje in 1910. Her birthplace and other related landmarks are no longer standing, so the Memorial House of Mother Teresa has been constructed in her honor on the site where she was baptized. The house (actually a combined museum and chapel) displays memorabilia related to the Nobel Peace Prize winner who lived in Skopje for 18 years. The church upstairs is surprisingly ornate and futuristic looking.

Popova Kula winery

Wine aging in barrels

North Macedonia is home to nearly 100 square miles of vineyards and has a wine-producing heritage that stretches back centuries. Popova Kula, one of the countrys best wineries, is known for its high-quality Balkan wines like Stanushina, Vranec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. What they dont grow on the property, they source from smaller vineyards within just a few miles.

Theres also a great restaurant overlooking the vineyards and an on-site hotel which gives visitors ample time to roam among the vines (and sample more than a couple of Popova Kulas fabulous vintages). Grab a bottle and some space at a picnic table on the lawn, and enjoy.

Old Town of Ohrid and the lake

The town of Ohrid, on the shores of Lake Ohrid, is one of oldest European settlements. Built mostly from the 600s, Ohrid is home to a number of historic monasteries and famous Byzantine-style icons as well as remarkable architecture and ancient ruins. These are just a few of the reasons its been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In addition to its deep history, Ohrid features more recent Ottoman architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries and is now a bustling seaside city with charming restaurants and an inviting boardwalk by the beautiful lake. The town is easily walkable, and you can spend hours wandering the cobbled streets, strolling by the shore, or dipping a toe in the lake.

Cooking class

Taking a cooking class is always a great way to learn about the people and food of a particular place. Thats why it was one of our favorite things to do in North Macedonia. At Ristos Guest House in Ohrid (part of which doubles as the family home), we made pastries, traditional savory pies, and sweets treats. Under the direction of owner Anita, we learned the perfect way to roll Macedonian pastries and ate amazing dishes we made ourselves while learning about her and her family.

Medieval monasteries

St. John of Kaneo

One of the most famousand certainly the most picturesquemonastery is St. John of Kaneo overlooking Lake Ohrid. The 13th century monastery contains wonderful medieval frescoes and is accessible by walking from Ohrid or by boat.

Less than 20 miles from Ohrid (also on the lake) stands the Monastery of St. Naum and the Springs. One of the most visited pilgrimage sites in North Macedonia, the complex dates as far back as the 10th century, and the beautiful artwork inside is over 500 years old. Macedonians believe you can still hear the saints heartbeat by pressing an ear to his tomb.

Monastery of St. John Bigorski

Another impressive monastery, the Monastery of St. John Bigorski is a little over an hour away in Mavrovo National Park. Known for its carvings and artwork, the monastery supposedly contains the forearm relic of St. John the Baptist. Rebuilt several times of the centuries, St. John Bigorski is not as old as some of the other monasteries, but is impressive in its own way. And the brothers there will even stop to chat with visitors.

We were guests of JayWay Travel, specialists in custom tour packages across destinations in Central and Eastern Europe. All opinions of the natural and historic are our own.
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Tour Operator Terry Dale
My sister, Judy, and I were in our PJs, snuggled under Pendleton blankets, savoring steaming cups of coffee. It was a rare moment of post-holidays quiet, and we were thoroughly enjoying doing nothing but catching up on each others lives.

She said, Were hygge-ing!

Were what? I asked her.

Oh my gosh, Mary Carol, this is going to be one of the biggest things in the new year, she said as she whipped out her laptop and did a quick Google search of one of todays hottest trend: hygge.

If youre like me, and you have never heard of hygge (pronounced hoo-guh), heres a quick fill-in: This Danish word doesnt have a direct translation into English, but cozy seems to come the closest. One of Oxford Dictionarys finalists for 2016s word of the year, hygge is how the Danes make their long winters bright and land themselves at the top of the list of the worlds happiest people. Hygge is enjoying moments of comfort and relaxation, contentment and well-being, savoring lifes indulgences, having a heart of gratitude.

Like all big sisters, Judy seems to always know whats up. She has been teaching me what is cool since we were kids. Her internet search that morning showed me how hygge is taking the world by storm. It makes sense to me, because right now, our world is stormy. Each of us needs a soul-filling sanctuary, a time and place to restore and revive. So, when we are filled up, we can get back out there and make a positive difference.

Thats exactly what Judy and I were doing on that lazy winter morning. And, I imagine, you have been doing your share of hygge-ing, too. Hygge may not have an English equivalent, but those of us who love our homes totally get it, dont we? Many of us have been cultivating this practice in our lives for years as we feather our nests, making our spaces warm and welcoming.

Hygge is expressed differently by each of us. For me, its surrounding my dining table with good friends and good food. Its quiet moments with Dan, curled up in front of the fireplace, reading a good book, Lyric at our feet. Its relishing all my relationships, from my family to those I meet every day. Its celebrating the big and the little moments. Its choosing joy.

In my home, living a hygge life means adding beauty everywhere I can. A delightfully set table, even when its just an everyday meal. A luxurious bed covered in pillows and blankets that welcome me as I dive in each night. Sink-into chairs that look out over the lake. Warm lamp light. Walls covered with artwork that makes me smile. Shelves and tables dotted with treasures Ive collected along my journey.

This year, I wish for you a life of hygge. Of togetherness with those you love. Comfort food. Clothes that make you feel sensational. Experiences that help you grow. A sanctuary of a home that wraps its arms around you. What more could we ask for out of life?
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 28

In yet another haul, the Amritsar Central Prison authorities seized as many as 20 mobile phones from inside the jail premises during a surprise checking yesterday evening.

The authorities have sent a complaint to the Gate Hakima police chowki, where a case under Section 420 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Prisoners Act has been registered against four persons.

Those booked were identified as Puneetpal Singh of Mustafabad, Kulwinder Singh Mintu of Bhikhiwind, Sakattar Singh of Chhiddan village and Palwinder Singh of Sur Singh village in Jhabal, Tarn Taran district.

According to the police, the four were found in possession of one cell phone each while the remaining 16 phones were found abandoned on the jail premises.

Repeated instances of seizure of mobiles from high security prisons has become a headache for the administration, which has been trying hard to curb sneaking of prohibited material inside the jail complex.

Earlier on January 20, the jail authorities confiscated 20 cell phones while before that on January 13 seven mobile phones were recovered. Six mobiles were seized on December 30 and 18 phones were confiscated on December 15 last year.

The jail administration has urged the Punjab government for installing mobile signal jammers at various prisons a number of times. Although the government has given assurance in this connection, it never materialised for obvious reasons.

The Amritsar Central Jail has prisoners from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. Besides, notorious gangsters and smugglers are also lodged at the jail.
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 29

Though the district administration has imposed a complete ban on the sale of China-made dor (string) used for flying kites, its sale is going on unabated in the city.

In one such incident yesterday, a pigeon was killed due to Chinese string in the Amrik Singh road area of the city. The incident only belies the claim of the authorities that the Chinese string is not available in the city markets.

Sonu Maheshwari, president of the Naujawan Welfare Society, said, Despite the ban, Chinese string is being sold like hot cakes in the city and the administration has failed to check the violators.

Rakesh Narula, a social activist, said though the Chinese string had been banned, it was being sold in the market openly. The ban on the string should be implemented strictly and the Deputy Commissioner should form teams to check its sale, he added. We appeal to the kite sellers not to sell it. People should not allow their children to use the string as it has killed many birds in the past, he said.

City resident Geetika Garg said, The order issued by the district administration is not enough. It is not acting as a deterrent for the illegal sellers of the deadly string. Every year, a ban is imposed on the sale and storage of the Chinese string in Punjab. But there is no respite for the innocent people falling victim to it.

The Chinese kite string is made of polythene and is very flexible as compared to the traditional local string. The chemical coating on it makes it sharp and dangerous. Moreover, because of the colours used, the string is also not easily visible to the human eye.

It may be mentioned that the Chinese string has claimed many innocent lives in the past.

A senior police official said the sale of Chinese string is banned. We are raiding the shops and seized Chinese string from various shops in the city in large quantity.

He also stated that he appealed to the public to inform the police immediately in case they had any information about the sale and storage of Chinese string.
New Delhi, January 27

Hero Cycles today opened a global design centre in Manchester, UK, at an investment of 2 million (about Rs 17 crore) to develop next generation bikes based on latest technology.

The company is working on increasing its revenue share from overseas markets from around 20% currently to 60% by 2018. It did not provide the revenue figures.

As we focus on global expansion plans, we need to harness global talent and have a design centre that is located closer to some of our targeted markets, Hero Cycles CMD Pankaj Munjal said.

With major expansion plans in Europe, the Global Design Centre (GDC) will help the company produce technology and design to cater to differentiated products to suit the needs of different European markets, he added.

The bikes designed at the GDC will be made at Heros plant in Sri Lanka and exported to Europe, Africa and India.  PTI
Aarti Kapur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 29

Ambala Division has proposed four new trains from Chandigarh to various destinations in the coming Union Budget. It has submitted the proposal to the higher authorities, demanding a train from Chandigarh to Hisar, the train from Nagal Dam to Patna via Chandigarh, a train from Sarangpur to Ludhiana via Chandigarh and another one from Chandigarh to Ludhiana.

Ambala Division has also proposed that the third Shatabdi, which at present does not ply on Sunday, should be allowed to operate on that day for the convenience of passengers. Rather, it should not be run on Wednesday from Chandigarh to New Delhi.

Ambala Divisional Railway Manager Dinesh Kumar said the proposal for the new trains was sent to the Railway Ministry for consideration in the Budget. He said the demand for the Hisar train was raised by the Member of Parliament from Hisar and it was considered by the division.

He said in the Budget, they had also demanded funds for two railway underbridges, to be constructed near the HUDA residential area in Panchkula and between Chandigarh and Chandimandir.

Besides, the city MP, Kirron Kher, had also submitted a proposal raising the demands of residents of Chandigarh. In a letter to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Kher has demanded extension of the Sadhbhawna Express (which runs between Chandigarh and Lucknow) to Pratapgarh or start a new train from Chandigarh to Pratapgarh. She has also demanded a stoppage for the Paschim Express at Shri Mahavir ji station.

In the letter, she said there were a large number of people in the region from Uttar Pradesh. At present, there was a direct superfast train  the Sadbhawna Express  from Chandigarh to Lucknow. Passengers hailing from places such as Rae Bareli, Amethi and Partapgarh had to change their train at Lucknow, which caused a lot inconvenience to them. The train was usually crowded and there was a need for another train on the same route, she said.

She also mentioned in her letter that Shri Mahavir ji was a famous pilgrimage site of the Jain Samaj. A large number of Jain devotees from Chandigarh and the neighbouring states visited the pligrimage site by the Paschim Express. They faced a difficulty because the train did not stop at Shri Mahavir ji station. Therefore, a two-minute halt should be permitted for the Paschim Express at Shri Mahavir ji station.
Charu Chhibber

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 29

In less than a month since the launch of the Annapurna Akshaypatra Yojana, a project initiated by the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), UT Branch, Chandigarh, the number of meals being sold every day has reached up to 1,500 and the number of locations is now six. The scheme was launched on January 2 with 665 food packets being sold at five locations. And as usual, the food is being sold out at all six designated sale points within a few minutes.

Keeping in view the overwhelming support the scheme has received and the ever-soaring demand for the reasonably priced food, the authorities have decided to extend the scheme. Soon, the food will be sold at five more locations, informed officials of the IRCS.

Rice will soon be added to the menu, which means once or twice a day, the food will comprise rice with vegetables instead of chapattis and vegetable as is the current practice, informed Sushil Taak, training supervisor, Red Cross Society, who is actively involved in the scheme. The variation was being planned to provide wholesome and nutritious food to the masses, said IRCS officials.

In order to facilitate easy transportation of food to all locations, the Indian Oil Corporation has donated five vans procured at a cost of Rs 20 lakh on January 15 towards the cause.

Notably, on the occasion of Lohri, Member of Parliament Kirron Kher had extended the scheme to include Labour Chowk, Sector 44, under the scheme so as to provide hygienic and wholesome food at low prices to local residents.

The IRCS has initiated the project with active support of the Health Department, the Labour Department, the Food and Supplies Department, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Sewa Bharti, Chandigarh, the Panchkula Gaushala Trust, Panchkula, and the Market Committee, UT, Chandigarh.
Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain

WHAT do avalanches have to do with Kargil and the lessons from 1999? This needs explanation. On social media recently there have been comments on the spate of avalanche casualties of the Army in Gurez valley and Sonamarg areas of Kashmir. People wished to know why the Army was reluctant to vacate areas which were vulnerable to avalanches in the high-altitude terrain. If not permanently, then at least for the winter when dangers from avalanches exist; the same could be re-occupied later as the weather improves. Responses were quick, bringing out the essential facts about the LoC and the necessity for maintaining its sanctity through physical presence. The Kargil syndrome isn't a term used in social media but responses alluded mostly to that broad understanding. It goes back to the days when the Army suffered a walk- in by Pakistani troops, into winter-vacated areas of Kargil, Dras and Batalik sectors in the winter of 1998-99. The Army suffered a heavy toll of casualties in recovering these through conventional assaults at obnoxious heights in the next summer.

On hindsight, the Army is obviously playing it extremely safe. It has minimised winter vacation and left little to chance. Obviously, lesser the vacation in winter greater will be the casualties. How does this policy work and is their scope for more pragmatism through execution of winter vacation as part of winter redeployment? These are inevitable questions Indian citizens will ask as they get better informed on matters strategic. More technology is available for drone, helicopter, unattended sensor and satellite-based surveillance which many consider as alternatives.

In 2011-12, the Army suffered horrific casualties when a field workshop company was wiped out by an unexpected avalanche of such intensity that it threw lorries 300 metres away in its wake. Eighteen good soldier-technicians of the electrical and mechanical engineers died in the tragedy which occurred at night. The next day, the Army's transit camp was hit similarly, at Sonamarg with more casualties; the snow flood jumping right through a river and crossing to the plateau on the other side, something unimaginable. Both areas have been hit again this year, although not the exact spots. What the layman has to understand is that avalanches rarely strike at the same place twice and the predictability factor is rather poor. The Sonam avalanche, which buried 10 brave jawans in February 2016, witnessed a rare ice fall. Although the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), Manali has its detachments all over Jammu and Kashmir and does a marvellous job in issuing avalanche warnings, accurate predictions of time and place can be extremely difficult. SASE also does mapping of avalanche-threat areas, based upon data collected over years. Bulletins issued by it need to be read in detail to get an idea of potential avalanche areas.

The problem is that a very large number of posts and picquets of the Army and other forces are deployed tactically keeping domination, defensibility, approaches and inter se distance between such posts. Vacating one may create an unviable gap or endanger the security of another. With this in mind, some posts are stocked and considered winter cut off. This denotes that except for the fact they occupy the real estate there are only limited tactical functions they can perform. The manpower deployed at these is without relief for as much as six months and no logistics resupply is done; men are specially selected for this arduous duty after spending leave and STD facilities are provided on priority.

Occupation of a forward winter posture with maximum posts remaining occupied is done for two purposes. The first is to prevent a Kargil-like walk-in occupation by Pakistan in places where the snow level on their side is lower than ours. It ensures the sanctity of the LoC without any operational risk except that of avalanches or being heavily snowed up.

The second purpose is to prevent infiltration into the Valley zone and the Poonch sector. Terrorists seek to take advantage of gaps created by winter vacation of some posts. Every year, frozen bodies of a few terrorists are invariably found although some may succeed in getting through. The Army delays such vacation till the last when it seems almost impossible to hold on any longer. There lies the dilemma of decision-making by senior commanders. In 2008, I requested permission for vacation of a post as the weather-prediction charts revealed heavy snow days approaching. I was advised to hold a little longer. The post had to remain deployed until abandoned in the face of an almost impossible situation. In the process of moving to another location a major avalanche struck, leading to deaths of 13 servicemen and civilian porters. I regret that situation till date. It was completely avoidable. Thereafter, the authority to withdraw was delegated to much lower commanders.

Later, in the position of authority I made it known to my command that a few terrorists getting through could be accepted as we would soon neutralise them. However, lives of our own soldiers risked under climatic and terrain threats was not acceptable. Kargil has no doubt stymied our thinking to a great extent. It is not easy risking loss of posts or occupation of vacated areas by the adversary. In places such as Gurez valley, the scope for redeployment of posts is extremely limited due to space constraints and the lay of the ground. Besides that, many of the posts are under direct adversary observation. Building avalanche-deflection walls is a limited measure that works wherever there is a history of regular avalanches.

Can portions of Gurez be vacated? It all depends on the state of trust with our adversary, Pakistan. Under the circumstances, more can be spent on technology and surveillance. However, encroachment or occupation by the adversary cannot be prevented if the latter is determined to play dirty. All actions will need to be reactive should we choose to vacate for winter and the posts are occupied by Pakistan. Drone flights and helicopter-surveillance sorties are surveillance measures to give an early warning of infiltration or occupation of vacated areas. The intrusions may be detected but ultimately will have to be physically countered and evicted.

We are not at that stage where we can trust our neighbour not to back stab us. There can be no carte-blanche policy on the vacation of posts. This has to be entirely situational. The government could spend more on avalanche-rescue equipment, and build infrastructure to restrict avalanches. Perhaps a review of some posts which may have lost relevance could be authorised. Reluctance in this regard is very much likely while playing safe under the Kargil syndrome. The time for mass vacation of avalanche-prone areas on the LoC and the deployment of technology for detection of intrusions is not yet upon us; perhaps someday it will be. Situational discretion remains the flavour and rightly so.





The writer, a former GOC of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, has extensive experience in handling high-altitude operations.
MK Bhadrakumar

THE Bolshevik Revolution is famously described as 10 days that shook the world. A hundred years later, the 10 days, since January 18, become another slice of intensified history. Why January 18? Why not January 20, when the US President Donald Trump assumed office?

The point is, while the role of individuals in history is undeniable, the crux of the matter is the dialectical relationship between the individual and the great forces that govern the movement of society. Therefore, in the ultimate analysis, Trumps activities quintessentially amount to an inevitable link in the chain of inevitable events, to borrow a poignant expression from the classic essay by the Russian revolutionary and theoretician, Georgi Plekhanov  The Role of the Individual in History (1898).

If in Trumps inaugural address we can hear the dull roar of the US retrenchment as superpower from the world stage, in the extraordinary speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping two days earlier at Davos, we came across an unexpected delight as if around a bend in the road the weary traveller found a misty waterfall beginning to descend. Suffice it to say, what makes the present period in world politics engrossing is the evolution of the world order that is taking place.

Trump signalled that an inflection point has been reached in the US decline and it needs to regenerate itself. However, even more consequential for the world community would be the imperatives of globalisation (and its discontents in world politics) that Xi highlighted. Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wrote last week, Politicians and military leaders sound increasingly belligerent and defence doctrines more dangerous It all looks as if the world is preparing for war.

However, this turbulence can also be contextualised. When a redistribution of economic power is under way  and the resultant political leverage it brings  severe contestation becomes inevitable. But then, these are also the birth pangs of a sustainable multipolar system. Some Indian pundits may blithely assume that Russia and China each would be primarily relating themselves to the US and multipolarity is a chimera. This is an ingenious falsification to reinforce the unipolar predicament.

The heart of the matter is that the fundamental interests of Russia and the US remain contradictory. What can be expected at the most under Trump in the near term would be some form of cooperation on Syria settlement, and, perhaps Afghanistan. To quote Dmitry Trenin at Carnegie Moscow, US political elite has offered Trump a Faustian bargain of acknowledging the legitimacy of his election in exchange for a consensus from his administration that Russia is an enemy of the United States. Moscow realises this. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian Duma last week, It is clear that time and serious efforts are required to overcome the serious damage to Russian-US partnership caused during the Barack Obama administration we have no illusions about another reset of our relations with the United States.

In such a power dynamic it is inconceivable that Moscow would engage in conversations with Trump on containing China. On the contrary, strategic partnership with China forms the bedrock of Russian strategies for Greater Eurasia, which is Moscows top economic and geopolitical priority in the 21st century. Again, to quote Lavrov at the Duma, We see these relations (with China) as a model for responsible world powers in the 21st century. Our foreign policy cooperation (with China) has asserted itself as an important factor in maintaining global stability. For the foreseeable future, therefore, Russia and China will continue to push back at the US attempts to exercise its awesome military superiority to introduce confrontational solutions based on coercion to have its way in world politics.

On the other hand, given Trumps own priorities of Make America Great Again and America First, he is likely to divert attention away from foreign entanglements and he may well realise the importance of support from Russia and China. On the whole, therefore, in an environment where US-Russia tensions may ease in 2017 and US-China relations may somewhat deteriorate but slightly, the triangular equation between these big powers will not undergo any drastic changes.

Meanwhile, there could be a paradigm shift if Euro-Atlanticism dissolves in the era of Trump, or if Trump himself confirms his stated commitment to focus primarily on the US problems instead of expending energies and resources on its trans-Atlantic leadership. The visit to Berlin last week by Francois Fillon, frontrunner in the French presidential election slated for April, and his discussions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel can be seen in this light. In a sensational joint interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Le Monde, Fillon described Trump as a threat to Europe. He said, Europe has been warned. It must organise itself in the face of an American policy that will do us no favours. This means more than ever European initiatives. What Trump has announced began before Trump.

Fillon called for closer ties between Germany, France and Russia, based on finding a settlement of the US-instigated wars in Syria and Ukraine. He outlined proposals for an economic government in the Eurozone, led by Paris and Berlin. Influential German politicians have also expressed similar views. The SDPs candidate for Chancellor in the October election for Bundestag, Sigmar Gabriel, stated that Europe and Germany should not react to Trump by being afraid or submissive, but rather firmly pursue their own interests. Germany is a strong country and Europe a strong continent, which must stick together. According to Gabriel, Germany and Europe needed a new orientation toward China and Asia. If the US starts a trade war with China and throughout Asia, then we are a fair partner, he added.

Clearly, India should comprehend these complex realities and break loose without further loss of time from the evil spell of its own unipolar predicament that characterised in varying measures the broad sweep of its foreign policy through recent decades since the disbandment of the Soviet Union. Through proactive participation in multilateral frameworks  BRICS, SCO, G-20, EAEU, proposed RCEP (and even China-led OBOR)  India should craft a pragmatic, independent and multi-directional foreign policy that effectively serves its interests and enhances its regional and global influence. The demand for making international life more democratic can only get louder in the period ahead. Indian diplomacy should position itself accordingly. Those who decry multipolarity are essentially advocating that like the tramp in Samuel Becketts celebrated play, India should simply wait for Trump on the wayside. Alas, that can only be an interminable wait predicated on vain hope.





The writer is a former diplomat
Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, January 29

Millennium City was shaken to its core on when two women executives were gangraped following an armed robbery at Pataudi here.

Around 10 robbers targeted a local company and local poultry farm past midnight and gangraped two women employees who were sleeping inside.

They carried on with the plunder and rape for over four hours. The incident came to light today when the company owner, a resident of Gurugram, filed a police complaint.

According to the complaint, the robbers posing as cops got opened the gates of the company. After gaining entry they took the employees hostage on gunpoint and robbed the premises of whatever they could find. They spotted the women employees sleeping there.

I am in a state of shock since I have come to know about the incident. My employees told me that they ransacked and raped from the midnight till 4 am and had no fear of being caught, company owner Preetam said.

The police said that medical examination of two women confirmed gang rape.

We are investigating the matter and have registered a case. Teams are looking for accused whose sketched have been made. The crime branch is on the job, Pataudi ASP Tanya Singh said.
A house on the outskirts of Lincoln is an unlikely hotspot for a style of Japanese drumming called Taiko.

"Neighbors will ask 'what are you doing,' because it's so loud," said Maureen Brase-Houchin, who learned the choreographed technique in the 1990s in Japan and now teaches it from her Lincoln home.

Brase-Houchin and her group Kokyo Taiko shared their deafening rhythm on drums of hardwood and rawhide as part of the Chinese New Year Celebration on Saturday at Auld Pavilion.

The celebration, which marked the beginning of the Year of the Rooster on the Chinese lunar calendar, drew people from diverse backgrounds.

According to Rebecca Reinhardt, the cultural program coordinator at the Asian Community and Cultural Center, at least nine nationalities were represented.

"It's a big festival for Asian countries," Reinhardt said. "But this event is not only for people from Asian countries; we also want to provide it to the community."

Nine performances were scheduled, including two traditional lion dances and two cultural fashion pageants.

Children were also greeted with red envelopes containing money -- a staple of every Chinese New Year's celebration.

Restaurants, including Suji's Korean Grill in Omaha, provided a variety of ethnic foods -- dishes from India, Korea, China and Vietnam.

According to organizer Veronica Zhang, preparation for the event starts in early December. This is the first year the event was held at Auld Pavilion in Antelope Park. In past years, Sheldon Art Gallery hosted the celebration.

Zhang said the event caters to Lincoln's large immigrant population.

"Lincoln is becoming increasingly diverse," Zhang said, "and people are inevitably exposed to different cultures, so this event contributes to the harmony of the community."

For Brase-Houchin, who has performed at the New Year's celebration for many years, Taiko drumming maintains a connection to her Japanese heritage.

"We keeps close contact to our group in Japan," Brase-Houchin said. "They feel such a connection that I could carry that art to America and start a group ..."

The New Year's celebration provides an opportunity for other groups to maintain similar connections.

"It brings so many cultures together," Brase-Houchin said, "and it gives those cultures an opportunity to share with the greater community."
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 29

Jats began their sit-in protests in several parts of the state amid heightened security arrangements in the state on Sunday.

Protests have so far been peaceful.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday reprimanded Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini for his comments on Jat reservation issue. He told him to observe restraint while issuing statements

Saini had opposed government's announcement of jobs to the kin of those killed by police during last years February riots.

While internet and mobile services were suspended in Jhajjar. Order on closure of liquor shops on Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh road was also passed by the DC.

Reports from parts of the state:

KARNAL: Two platoon of Rapid Action Force along with police and home guard have been deployed at Munak Canal to keep a vigil.

HISAR: Around 300 Jat samiti activists gathered near a railway track in Ramayan village. Jat leader Mahender Punia said in his address: "Those leaders who are betraying the community by siding with the government will have to face the consequences. The community will teach such leaders a lesson. The time is right for us to show our strength.

BHIWANI: Jat samiti activists start dharna in Dhanana village.

KURUKSHETRA/JIND: Jat groups hold dharnas at Jainpur village in Kurukshetra and Ikkas village in Jind district

PANIPAT: Jats begin dharna at village Choupal of Ugrakheri in Panipat despite not having permission.

KARNAL: Members of Akhil Bhartiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti begin sit-ins at Ballah village. District president Nafe Singh, who leads the protest, accuses the state government under Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of going back on their promises twice. Demands are: Cancellation of FIRs registered against Jats for involvement in last years violence and their release; martyr status for youngsters killed in the violent protests.

AMBALA: Nearly 40 people stage peaceful sit-in at Naraingarh.

CHANDIGARH: Sirsa Police serve notice under Section 69 of Haryana Police Act 2007 to Jats protesting outside mini secretariat without permission. Sirsa authorities, meanwhile, claim they have earmarked a site in Sector 19, HUDA, for the protest.

CHANDIGARH: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar reprimands Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini for his comments on Jat reservation and tells him to observe restraint.

JHAJJAR: Mobile and internet services suspended. (Inputs from Haryana team)
Chandigarh, January 29

Pressing for their demands, members of Jat organisations on Sunday started their agitation in most districts of Haryana.

The call for the fresh stir has been given by some Jat outfits, especially those owing allegiance to the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) headed by Yashpal Malik.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar reprimanded Kurukshetra BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini for his comments on the Jat reservation issue. Khattar told the MP to observe restraint while issuing statements.

Saini had opposed government's announcement of jobs to the kin of those killed in police action in February last year.

Members of the Jat community are staging peaceful dharnas at Ramayan village near the Hisar-Bhiwani railway track, Jolilath village on Sonepat-Gohana road, Jassia village on Rohtak Highway, Rasalwala Chowk in Jhajjar, Umrakheri village near Panipat-Shamli road, Bala village near Assandh road in Karnal, Malik told PTI.

"The agitation in Yamunanagar, Panchkula and Mewat districts of the state will begin from January 31," Malik said, adding "the dharnas are peaceful...we are not blocking rail or road traffic".

Violence in last year's Jat stir claimed 30 lives and caused huge damage to property in the state.

However, officials said Haryana this time has been put on maximum alert.

Section 144 has already been imposed in sensitive districts including Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar and at other places as a precautionary measure, they said.

The assembly of five or more people in about 500 meters from national and state highways as well as railway stations in the city has been banned, officials said, adding paramilitary forces and state police personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain strict vigil.

"We are fully geared up to deal with any situation.

Although the leaders of various agitating organisations have promised to hold dharnas in a peaceful manner, yet the administration is fully geared up to maintain law and order," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said.

The Haryana government had sought 55 companies of paramilitary forces from the Centre besides deployment of 7,000 Home Guards in the state.

Some companies of paramilitary forces have already reached Haryana, Niwas said.

Rapid Action Force has been deployed at Munak canal, which was damaged by the protesters during the 2016 February stir, officials said, adding central forces are also conducting flag marches in some sensitive areas since yesterday.

Rohtak and some of its neighbouring districts including Sonepat and Jhajjar were the worst-hit in last year's violence, which had also affected Delhi as protesters had cut water supply to the national capital.

Deputy Commissioners (DC) and Superintendents of Police (SP) have been directed to ensure that highways and railway tracks are not obstructed and no damage is caused to property, they said.

Meanwhile, 'Khap' (council) leaders stated that their immediate demands include the release of Jat youths from jails, withdrawal of cases registered during last year's agitation and government jobs to kin of those killed during the stir.

The Haryana government has assured jobs to kin of those killed during in the 2016 agitation.

In Jhajjar, the administration has suspended mobile phone services like voice-call, SMS and internet in the district from 8 am to 6 pm on daily basis.

District Magistrate Ramesh Chander Bidhan has directed telecom service providers to ensure compliance of these orders, an official spokesman said, adding the decision was taken to "prevent disturbance of public peace and tranquillity".

Anyone found violating these orders will be punished under Section 188 of IPC, he said.

The magistrate has also ordered that all liquor shops within 5 km of Rasalwala chowk and Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh Road would remain closed till further orders, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Fatehabad SP O P Narwal suspended ASI's Naresh Singh and Suchha Singh and head constables Kuldeep, Surjeet and Subhash for dereliction of duty during a flag march, he said.

Faridabad DC Sameer Pal Srow said there is complete peace in the district.  TNS/PTI
Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, January 29

With nine panchayats of the Solan development block having abysmally low child sex ratio of less than 850, the health authorities face a challenging task of setting things right.

Figures available with the development block of Dharampur revealed that nine panchayats of Gangudi, Jagjitnagar, Darva, Surajpur, Kasauli Cantonment, Ganol, Chamiya, Garkhal-Sanawar and Garkhal-Kasauli had a low child sex ratio (0-6 years) of less than 850. This has sent alarm bells ringing.

The states average in this category is 879.

Four other gram panchayats  Nari, Bhaguri, Hudang and Ganguri  of the same block have a child ratio between 850 to 900. This too was not considered healthy given the fact

that the field-level functionaries like anganwari workers and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) were monitoring expectant mothers.

The figures stated that six other gram panchayats of Dharampur  Goyla, Garsi, Anji Matla, Jangeshu, Badalag and Jadla  had the ratio between 900 and 950, which is slightly better.

Interestingly, gram panchayats lying in the vicinity of urban places like Dharampur and Parwanoo had scored better in terms of child sex ratio and this figure stood at more than 950 in the two areas. Even 18 other panchayats located near other urban dwellings had an appreciable child sex ratio of 1,000 and more.

Chief Medical Officer Dr RK Baria said they had appointed 572 ASHA workers to track each expectant mother in rural/urban areas. He said ultrasound clinics were also monitored on a quarterly basis and the health authorities of neighbouring Haryana could raid such clinics in Himachal as they often had concrete information about such cases.

Baria said besides creating awareness on saving the girl child, the state government had initiated several award schemes to honour those promoting the campaign.

Child Development Project Officers are also keeping a tab on such cases through the anganwari workers. But due to lack of coordination, officials of the Health Department as well as Child Development Project varied on figures pertaining to the ratio.

The CMO said once the process of online registration of deaths and births in the panchayats was completed, the figures of various departments would match, thus making the task simpler.
Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 29

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has asked J&K to form a special policy for the girls with special needs by preparing individualised education plan for them.

The suggestion was made by the Programme Evaluation Organisation of NITI Aayog after it came to the fore that a majority of special girls studying in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) could not continue their education due to various reasons.

Pertinently, children with special needs incentive is provided in the form of aids and equipment such as hearing aids, brail books, spectacles and tricycles.

Sources claimed that teachers of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in J&K, where children with special needs were enrolled, did not prepare the individualised education plan unlike Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

They further said that NITI Aayog had found that serious efforts had not been made to address the needs of the special children in the state.

One of the main reasons for the poor state of affairs is that there is an acute shortage of subject teachers in KGBVs since long. The individualised education plan for special children can be made only when a specific policy will be prepared by the state government, an official claimed.

Furthermore, there should be funds and guidelines for special facilities for these students in the schools and hostels. Overall, teachers of only 42 per cent of schools, where such children are studying, prepare the individualised education plan. The KGBV teachers have taken no initiative to address the needs of the special children, the official maintained.

At present, there are 95 KGBVs in the state, where 4,708 girls are enrolled against the target enrolment of 6,700.

Sources claimed that NITI Aayog had stressed tightening the security of the KGBVs in the state to address the security concerns of the girls. They said that lack of boundary wall and security guard were the main security concern for the girls.

These two deficiencies need to be rectified for running the residential schools for girls. Concerns like no male entry in girls hostels also needs also to be addressed, a NITI Aayog statement said.

The KGBV scheme was introduced by the Centre in August 2004. It was then integrated into the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to provide educational facilities to the girls belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minority communities and BPL families in educationally backward blocks.
Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 28

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today accused Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of working as per Ajit Doval doctrine and not as per the Agenda of Alliance (AoA), which was the base of formation of the PDP-BJP coalition government.

He also cautioned her of BJPs hidden agenda of diluting the special status of J&K through judiciary by dragging Article 35 (A) of the Constitution in the court.

Speaking on the demands of grants of departments falling under the Chief Minister at the Legislative Assembly this afternoon, Omar had come well-prepared and tried to outplay his political rival.

Mehbooba will be responding to the discussion on Monday afternoon.

Saying since this government had been formed not a single issue from the AoA had been implemented, Omar said, As far as it is about dealing the state, unfortunately, you are not working as per the AoA. If you would have been dealing as per the AoA, the situation would not have deteriorated.

I have said it in an interview and will tell here today also that you are not working as per the AoA but as per Dovals doctrine. It is the truth and it is not a bad thing if you want to run government like that. But first accept it, Omar said.

Doval is currently National Security Advisor (NSA) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

To prove his point, Omar asked the CM and other MLAs to search for a speech of Doval of October 10, 2010, which he delivered in Hyderabad.

In that speech, Doval had analysed the dealing of situation by our government in the state during the 2010 unrest and talked about relations between India and Pakistan. What Doval said in 2010 and how you are dealing today, have no difference. He had talked about how to suppress an agitation, how to ignore political ideology and philosophy, how it shouldnt be accepted anywhere that J&K is a political issue and should be dealt politically, how to deal with Pakistan, how to marginalise Hurriyat and everything is there in his speech, Omar said.

My point is that either you should work as per the AoA, in which you talked about dialogue, peace process, unity and other things or work on same footprints on which you are working these days. Either the AoA can work or the Doval doctrine, but not both, Omar added.

The NC working president also cautioned the government about BJPs design of diluting Article 35 (A) through judiciary. Those who think that the BJP is silent about the abrogation of Article 370, should not be in slumber as the BJP will use judiciary to attack Article 35 (A). At that time you should not put the blame on us that we are raking up this issue but government should hire services of professional lawyers and shouldnt be dependent on Advocate-General or other officers, whose result we have seen in SARFAESI Act case, he said.

Omar asked Mehbooba to clear as what she wanted to say on Police Commemoration Day when she said that the police should adopt fatherly role and not kill local militants during encounters if they come to know the militant hiding is local.
Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 28

After bearing the brunt post the Centres demonetisation move, bankers are struggling again as most of them have been put on poll duties along with the staff from other government departments.

According to managers in nationalised banks, barring one or two persons, the entire staff has been put on election duties in the field.

We have got about 18 staff members, but 16 of them have been put on election duties due to which the work of the entire branch is suffering. We will have to manage the entire work of the branch with just 2 to 3 staff members. In such a scenario, the public is bound to suffer. Customer services in banks will be hit next week because of election duties, said a manager at a nationalised bank near Bharat Nagar Chowk.

Another senior official working at a bank in Miller Ganj area said: There will be three consecutive holidays in banks next Friday, Saturday and Sunday (February 3, 4 and 5) and the public dealings will suffer.

The banks have already faced the wrath of the public because of demonetisation in the last two-three months. If they will not be given proper services, they will again get an opportunity to defame banks. But the fact remains that most of the staff in banks are on election duties in other offices, field, villages etc. as directed by the Election Office and the staff can do little in this, the officer said.

Commenting on the staff put on election duties, one of the Returning Officers said there was nothing to crib about. The bank staff and public should understand that this is also part of their job. Elections have to be conducted smoothly in the entire state and for this, the staff in government departments has to be deputed for election duties. Everyone has to and must cooperate and accommodate, the returning officer said.
Bengaluru, January 29

Taking potshots at Congress leadership a day after his exit from the party, former Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran leader SM Krishna on Sunday said it did not need mass leaders but only wanted managers as he complained of being sidelined due to his age.

With pain and anguish, I have decided to quit Congress, he stated, adding that self-respect was important for him but declined to spell out the next step, saying he would have to think about it.

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Stating that Congress had suddenly discovered I was past my age, 84-year old Krishna said, Unfortunately it is somebody else who makes up the mind. It is somebody else who decides. Hence I felt for sometime now that Congress does not need me.

Congress today depends more on managers who can manage the party. They do not want time-tested leaders or time-tested workers like me. Hence I have taken the decision, however painful it has been because today I am going away from a house in which I was familiar, said Krishna.

The former External Affairs Minister said he had seen both good and bad and tasted sweetness and bitterness in the party but he had always remained steadfast in his loyalty.

But it now seems the Congress is in a confusion whether it needs mass leaders or not. Just managing the situation seems to be good enough, he said.

Considered a charismatic leader with pockets of influence in the Vokkaliga belt in the old Mysuru region, Krishna had dashed off a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi conveying his decision to resign from the primary membership.

With his move, Krishna had stunned the party, which is facing challenges both at the central and state levels.

Caught off guard, the central and state leaders tried to persuade Krishna till the last minute before his press conference to step back, but he made it plain to them that he remained firm on his decision.

I reminded the leadership that I am still in existence, he said on a sarcastic note, adding, they said they took note of it.

On his next step, he said, This (quitting) is a decision which I have taken without consulting anyone except my wife.

What my next step will be, I will have to ponder, contemplate, introspect and look around and take a decision. Krishna also said he was not retiring from politics, adding, The word retirement is not in my dictionary.

He said Sonia Gandhi had given him special respect but took veiled digs at the central leadership.

On the respect shown by Rahul Gandhi, he shot back, I will not speak about vice-president. I will speak about the president.  PTI
KV Prasad

Diplomats are peripatetic by the very nature of their job. They continue to build bonds and ties in the country of their posting and then move on to new areas of operation. Only a handful of them have the luxury of returning to a country of their former posting  that too a fond posting.

Truth, it is said, is stranger than fiction and it may be a co-incidence that an envoy who began his innings with a stint in India chose to bid farewell to the world in the city he made his second home  Delhi.

As the nation remained glued to the Republic Day parade, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs broke the news of the passing away of Russian Ambassador Alexander M Kadakin and soon tributes started pouring in.

Kadakin, 67, a strong votary of Moscow-New Delhi ties, spoke fluent Hindi, at times correcting either the diction or phonetics of the native speakers. He came to India at a time when the nature of engagement turned strategic, what with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signing the historic pact.

Posted in New Delhi as the Ambassador for two terms between 1999-2004 and 2009 till now, Kadakin endeared himself both to the diplomatic community and members belonging to others walks of life. He earned grudging admiration from other envoys for the ease of access to leaders and political parties across the spectrum in India, even as the nature of engagement of India with Russia was altering.

Yet, till the end, he remained a strong proponent of the need to preserve and protect Indias strategic partnership ties with Russia while assiduously seeking to retain the status in the light of altering Moscow-Islamabad ties.

Not shy of speaking his mind, a colleague recalls how Ambassador Kadakin rose to the defence of a Trust set up in memory of another fellow Russian like him, painter and thinker Nicholas Roerich, when a controversy broke.

The Kullu-based International Roerich Memorial Trust of which Kadakin was a founder-member, vice-president and life-long trustee, mourned his death noting that it had suffered an irreparable loss. A host of leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the CPM general secretary, were among those who reached the embassy to sign the condolence book.

Taiwan diplomat home after a decade

On a different note, as the month draws to a close, India will miss the charming and affectionate presence of another diplomat, Theresa TC Yu, who was several things rolled into one.

Working as a communication and public services outreach person at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Centre, she is returning to Taipei to work at the ministry. Besides memories of her stay and travels across India, and appreciating the Indian culture of respect of the elders, guess what else is her takeaway  a huge box of spices and readymade popular brand masalas, enough to last for two years by her own admission. Unwilling to part with a small teaspoon of it back home even with best friends.
New Delhi, January 29

The Enforcement Directorate has claimed that IDBI bank hastily sanctioned and released Rs 350 crore to Kingfisher Airlines after a holiday meeting with the embattled liquor baron despite the companys financial crisis.

The money sanctioned was part of nearly Rs 900 crore that the bank has been accused of illegally extending the airline that had been on been plagued with a great financial strain.

The agency is currently investigating the loan after it found that that the bank had intentionally and illegally initiated proceedings to re-structure the airlines loan because Mallya did not intend to pay it back.

"PMLA investigation indicates that the marketable value and quality of the collateral security offered by Ms KAL (KFA) and its promoters was not assessed. There is a complete lack of due diligence on the part of the bank coupled with the fact that undue haste was shown while disbursing the initial two tranches of loan amounting to Rs 350 crore.

"It is apparent that the said loans were disbursed post meeting of Mallya with then CMD (Yogesh Aggarwal) of the bank on a holiday. It does not need an eagles' eye to decipher the cause of immediate disbursement of the loan amount of Rs 150 crore on October 7, 2009 and Rs 200 crore on November 4, 2009," the Enforcement Directorates (ED) report said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is also investigating the case, arrested and charged Aggarwal and eight others in connection with the case a week ago. Although Mallya has also been charged in the case, he is currently in the United Kingdom and has been declared a proclaimed offender.

The report said that the transaction  where "substantial amounts" were sanctioned to KFA made ad-hoc basis and without due diligence pointed to a deep rooted criminal conspiracy between the bank officials and the promoters of KAL (KFA)".

The report also contains Aggarwals statement to the ED made to an investigator on March 23 last year. Aggarwal is believed to have told the investigator of a call Mallya made to his office in October 2009 to request for an "urgent meeting the very next day".

"As the next day was a holiday, it was pointed out to him... and he could meet at a later day. However, he (Mallya) informed that he was leaving Mumbai next day evening and as the matter was urgent, he would be grateful if he could meet the next day despite it being a holiday to which he (Aggarwal) agreed," the former executive of IDBI said, adding Mallya, accompanied by a former MD, then advisor of the bank and an executive director of IDBI, met him the next day.

"Mallya informed that Ms KAL (KFA) was in a severe crunch and needed funds urgently to keep flying," Aggarwal said in his statement.  PTI
Hyderabad, January 29

Ridiculing the Centre's demonetisation policy, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said many former RBI Governors had opposed the move, so the Modi government must have "consulted some RSS pracharak" before taking the decision.

He said the government's move from demonetisation to 'remonetisation' was not "notebandi" but "notebadli".

"...it is a decision taken without consulting those who should have been consulted. The Finance Secretary, the banking secretary and the Chief Economic Adviser were not consulted, so who was consulted?...They must have consulted some RSS pracharak," Chidambaram said addressing a meeting of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee here.

The former finance minister said a series of RBI Governors had opposed demonetisation for 27 years and none of them thought demonetisation was the answer.

"We had Raghuram Rajan as Governor for three years. He did not think demonetisation was the answer and he categorically told the government 'no'do not do demonetisation. Then, a new Governor (Urjit Patel) comes and in 64 days, he agrees for demonetisation," he alleged.

Chidambaram said no major country has demonetised its currency in the last 50 years.

"History books will show that Zimbabwe, North Korea, Libya and...India demonetised its currency...It is a shame...May be this government thought these were the most prosperous countries in the world," he said.

"First they (Centre) talked about demonetisation and now they are saying remonetisation. Of the 15.44 lakh crore worth money demonetised, every rupee has come back to RBI. Now you are remonetising. Why are you doing this? Why should you demonetise and then remonetise...this is not 'notebandi' but 'notebadli'," Chidambaram said.

He said he would have resigned as Finance Minister during his tenure, if the then Prime Minister had insisted on demonetisation.

"Why did you do it and what was the purpose of this exercise? Anyway, people are aware that this is the biggest scam of 2016," Chidambaram charged.

"They (Centre) demonetised 2,400 crore notes. The capacity of all four printing facilities...if they work round-the-clock for every month is 300 crore. So, to print 2,400 crore notes it will take eight months.

"We are now coming to the end of three months (since demonetisation was announced)...half of the ATMs are not working...most ATMs do not have currency," Chidambaram alleged.

Citing seizure of new notes across the country, the senior Congress leader asked, "How did the new Rs 2,000 bundles reach wrong hands...how did they get the new currency notes...it is the biggest scam of 2016. Ordinary people could not get their own money.

"They (government) said this (demonetisation) is to put an end to corruption. I look at the new notes....is it written anywhere on these that they are not valid for giving bribe," Chidambaram quipped, adding, "The person taking bribe in old notes will now do so in new currency."

The Congress leader said due to demonetisation, thousands of people were put to misery.

"Everyday, 11 crore people are standing in queues for hours to take out their own money. Thousands of farmers have been affected...every commodity price crashed. There are 45 crore people in this country who depend on daily income," he said.

"Manual labourers and others... for four to six weeks had no work...the government does not utter a word of giving compensation to such people and they (Centre) have started talking about cashless..." said Chidambaram.

Further explaining his stand against demonetisation, the former union minister said, "80 per cent transactions in Germany and Austria is cash-based, in Australia it is 60 per cent, Canada 56 per cent and US 46 per cent, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India will go 100 per cent cashless."

All these are attempts to confuse and deceive people, he alleged.

"Did people ask for demonetisation and cashless society?...These are serious issues we must take to the people. Did BJP say before elections that they will demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes? They said they will put Rs 15 lakhs in people's accounts, but now they are not allowing you to take out your own money," he charged.

"We delivered 7.5 per cent average growth over 10 years (under UPA rule). Here they (NDA) have adversely impacted India's growth," Chidambaram added.  PTI
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln reiterated its support for 3,000 employees and students who have come to its campuses from around the world -- including the countries targeted by a travel and immigration ban signed by President Donald Trump on Friday.

As part of the announcement published to UNL's website Sunday, the university is asking students and faculty from the seven countries impacted by the ban "to defer travel outside the United States until there is more clarity on the situation."

"We at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are committed to supporting all members of our community," Sonia Feigenbaum, associate vice chancellor for international engagement and global strategies, said in a letter to the university's international students and scholars.

"We are an inclusive, globally engaged university that has welcomed students and scholars from around the world for more than a century," Feigenbaum wrote. "We have built a university community that embraces cultural and linguistic diversity, and we have thrived by working toward a common goal to make the world better through education and research."

Last fall, UNL said 14 percent of its student body hails from countries outside the U.S., a record-breaking figure. According to a campus census, UNL enrolls about 100 students from each of of the seven countries targeted by Trump's executive order -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

"We write to express our unwavering commitment to all who may be affected by the measures stated in the executive order," the letter states.

Students in the U.S. under student visas are being encouraged to not travel outside of the country until UNL receives more information.

"If you are from any other country that is predominantly Muslim, you may want to follow the same precautions until more details are obtained."

Those with questions are being asked to contact the International Student and Scholar Office at 402-472-0324 or by email at isso@unl.edu.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha has also asked students to halt plans to travel outside the country.

"If you are from one of the countries listed here, you can remain in the U.S. as long as you maintain your status," an advisory to students said. "However, travel outside the U.S. is not recommended at this time."
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 29

Nepal will host in the first week of February the next meetings of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Eight member states of SAARC have agreed to attend a meeting of the programming committee in Kathmandu to be held on February 1 and 2 while the foreign secretaries of BIMSTEC member-countries will hold a daylong meeting in Kathmandu on February 7.

For India, both these meeting hold great significance on two counts. One: The last SAARC Summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad last year had to be cancelled since India and other nations protested that the atmosphere was not conducive for talks. The India-Pakistan narrative since then has been on an all-time low with India sticking to the line that terror and talks cannot go together.

Two: India is also trying to get the South Asian nations together into a new regional block. BIMSTEC for India offers a good alternative and last year in Goa on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, India had also invited the leaders of the BIMSTEC grouping with this in mind. Since Pakistan is not a member of BIMSTEC, it also served Indias purpose of holding a meeting of regional nation-stares minus Pakistan. BIMSTEC member states include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

People privy to the developments said both India and Pakistan have already confirmed that they would be attending the SAARC meeting. The meeting will be held at the level of joint secretary/director. But as it would finally see India and Pakistan sitting together, willing to hold discussions, it is being read as a positive sign.

Nepal currently holds the chair for the BIMSTEC summit also.
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 28

In a move that will change the way India prepares for war, the Ministry of Defence has okayed a policy to maintain total military readiness for a minimum of 10 days, indicating the possibility that future conflicts could be short, swift and sudden.

A month ago, on December 30, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, after consulting the armed forces, okayed a policy that says forces should be fully stocked up to last a minimum 10-day intense conflict.

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The Vice-Chiefs of the three services have been given adequate fiscal powers to maintain this level of readiness, which has opened up the long held back slow-moving procurements. This includes weapons, ammunition, missiles (launched from land, air or sea) and ensuring all radars are functional.

In military parlance, this is called the Minimum Accepted Risk Level (MARL).

As per the operational doctrine, India is required to maintain a war wastage reserve (WWR) of 40 days of intense war and is militarily called the 40-I level. The 40-I targets shall be on track as usual but within that, the 10-day intense war benchmarking will be the new normal. It does not mean reducing higher stock levels of most of the other ammunition types, sources said.

The reality is that a 40-I level is very expensive to maintain. Ammunition being an expendable commodity with a fixed shelf life, maintaining stocks at a full-fledged war requirement level at all times was not a wise move, a senior functionary explained. Wisdom, it was added, lies in maintaining optimal stocks as per security contingencies and having the capacity to ramp up production.

The Army Vice-Chief would have the authority to spend up to Rs 200 crore for ordnance stores (ammunition) in consultation with the internal financial auditor. The Navy Vice-Chief can authorise expenses up to Rs 80 crore to repair ships and submarines. The CAG had in 2015 pointed out the low levels of WWR.
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, January 29

Due to dense fog at least 30 vehicles rammed into each other that left two persons dead and at least 40 others injured on the Agra-Jaipur highway at Kanota near Jaipur on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Sohel Khan, 17, and Moolchand, 60, of Dausa district, SHO Kanota Gauri Shankar told The Tribune.All the forty injured were rushed to SMS Hospital in Jaipur, of which four are critical.

Highway traffic was disrupted from 8 am to 10 am due to the mishap and cleared for traffic movement by mid noon, the SHO said.
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 29

Brothers James, David and Hugh from Scotland are passionate about keeping alive their family links with the Indian Army. The three of them are on a visit to India. Their father, Peter Hugh Rattray, was the last British Commander of 3 Sikh Regiment, then known as 45 Rattrays Sikhs.

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In fact, three members of the Rattray family have commanded the regiment during different periods of time.

The brothers will travel to Gurdaspur in Punjab for the centenary celebrations (on January 31 and February 2) of the regiments role in World War-I (1914-1918), then commanded by HB Rattray, their grandfather.

They are carrying a book published by their family, detailing the events during 1856-1858. It is based on notes prepared by their great-grandfather, Col Thomas Rattray, who founded the regiment in 1856.

The Rattray Sikhs, originally raised as Bengal Military Police Battalion, consisted of a large number of former soldiers in Maharaja Ranjit Singhs Army. Till the time our father died in 1994, we had only heard stories of this mystical regiment. In 1997, Col (later Brigadier) JM Devadoss (retd) invited us here and we were able to revive our links, says James.

Our friends back home too are excited over our India connect, say Hughs children Patrick (28) and Rhiannon (25).

The Rattray brothers run an Anglo-Sikh heritage trail in Scotland to help connect local people and tourists with places associated with Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Sikh ruler of Punjab, who spent most of his life in Britain.
Washington, January 29

In a significant blow to US President Donald Trump, a US judge has issued an emergency order staying deportations for people who have arrived in America with valid visas from seven Muslim-majority nations but were detained on entry due to the immigration ban.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a petition on behalf of two Iraqi men detained at the Kennedy International Airport as thousands joined demonstrations at airports across America to protest over Trumps immigration ban on Muslims.

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Judge Donnelly, appointed by Barack Obama, ordered that the government could not remove individuals with refugee applications approved by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, holders of valid visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen legally authorised to enter the US.

She ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports. The judge said sending those travellers back to their home countries following Trumps order exposes them to substantial and irreparable injury.  PTI
Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Baiji, baithan ton pehlan mukh mantri wali kursi check kar liya je. Kitey ohde ch chitte diyan pudiyan na reh gayian hon ehna diyan, quips a lean youngster as he cranes his neck inside the side window of Bhagwant Manns white Toyota Fortuner. The SUV moves slowly through a young crowd. If someone quickly tells him that he has come all the way from Australia for campaigning, another is barely able to say that a group of 150 youngsters have joined AAP under his leadership. Many just fold hands, some hold Manns hands warmly. Selfies are the rage. With his head and shoulders popping out of the car, the AAP MP sits at the window seat and starts waving at people. In the background are the Shivalik foothills. The eighth rally of the day has just finished for Mann at Balachaurs Rattewal village. With a police pilot gypsy and a Toyata Innova in tow, the SUV heads towards Nangal.

Before that, he reminds the gathering that while Capt Amarinder Singh and Sukhbir Badal are yet to brush their teeth, hes already done with four rallies. Today, I held the first rally in a Bathinda village at 8 am, you must have seen it live, he says. He shows the dark circles around his eyes and tells us that theres no rest for him, not even at night. Supneyaan ch Majithiye naal hi panga peya rehnda. Kade oh mere magar peya hunda, kade main ohde, he laughs, taking a potshot at Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia. Ik hor syaapa: neend ch bhajiya ni janda.

A chowkidar never sleeps, he says, but hastens to add that a chowkidar alone cant stop burglaries. One person from each house should stay awake.

He quotes President APJ Abdul Kalam: Supne oh nahi hunde jo neend ch aunde ne, supne oh hunde ne jo bande nu saun ni dinde. The dream of restoring Punjabs glory doesnt let us sleep. He talks about farmer suicides, drugs, employment, girls safety.

Then he targets several Akalis in one go. Before Baisakhi, Majithie, Tote, Maluke, Toni, Boni, Poni, Bante, Chhante, Mante, Rozy sab andar honge. Are these names of political leaders? They sound more like the names of kulche-chholewale.

He next trains his guns at the turncoats. He compares the careers of Navjot Singh Sidhu and Balwant Singh Ramoowalia with milkmens motorcycles. Jidhar nu marji teda kardo, othe hi khar jande ne Stand di koi lor ni... he smiles and the crowd cheers again.

After a five-hour wait, the crowd is all charged up within 15 minutes. Mann gauges the mood. He recites what the people are dying to listen: Harsimirat Kaur Badal ki kehndi ae:

Kikli kaleer di

Gapp Sukhbir di,

Chitta mere bhai da,

border ton mangai da,

Chitta gali-gali aa

Kyon ke sarkar naal rali aa

Chitta saada lahu ve,

Main Badalan di bahu ve

The improvised boli seems to have become AAPs theme song in this election, even as Inquilab Zindabad reverberates in the air.

Its 9.08 pm. He is already running almost five hours behind schedule. Two rallies are still left  one at Nangal in Anandpur Sahib and another at Mohali, where he had to reach at 7. Address the Mohali rally over the phone, comes a message on the walkie-talkie from his staff from the other car. He apologises for not being there due to bad weather. The front seat of the SUV becomes a stage for the next seven minutes. Sukhbir, Captain, Majithia and Chhante, Bantte feature again in his speech. Another kikli kaleer di Another rally concludes.

How did he come up with this kikli? A journalist from Delhi, he tells us, texted him a line and it didnt take him long to make the entire song. Now this kikli depicts Punjabs reality, he claims.

I draw inspiration from the people I meet every day, he says. The other day, an elderly woman walked up to me in Ferozepur and said she was blind, but had come to see me. He puts his right hand in the pocket of his black Nehru jacket and starts looking for something. He brings out a silver ring that a young man gave him. He shows a chhala given by another person and a handmade miniature jharu. He points to a rakhi on his wrist. A girl tied it, but not before telling me that she had lost her brother to chitta. Horaan de bharaa bachaune ne. How can I sleep when I see all this? Punjab was never like that before.

He tells his driver to speed up. Else we will miss the Nangal rally too. The driver promptly overtakes the pilot vehicle. Eh Punjab police diyan gadiyan choran nu ki swah phadan giyaan. 70 ton uppar taan jandiyaan ni. The needle of the SUVs speedometer crosses 120kmph. He also plays the navigator: Oh motorcycle wala, dekh ke, dekh ke. Then an approaching truck on a curve scares him. This car, he says, is his drawing room, office and sometimes bedroom too. Ehna nu puchcho ehna naal ki kutte-khani hundi hai? he quips, referring to his personal assistant. The latter, dead tired, is already sleeping. Hes my PA as well as social media manager.

The SUV is speeding. Its dark but the sky is clear. Ah Naina Devi mandir aa, he points to a temple near Anandpur Sahib and tells us that its a popular place of pilgrimage for Malwa residents.

Four hours late, at quarter to 10, he arrives at the jampacked Nangal Staff Club. Theres no sign of fatigue. He unleashes his most potent weapon -- kikli. The crowd cheers.
Rajmeet Singh & Praful Chander Nagpal

Tribune News Service

Jalalabad, January 29

If Lambi is witnessing the biggest battle of the upcoming Assembly election  former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is taking on incumbent CM Parkash Singh Badal  Jalalabad is a close second. At stake are the power and prestige of the sitting MLA, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Hes up against two formidable opponents  AAP candidate Bhagwant Mann and Congress nominee Ravneet Singh Bittu, both MPs. The contest will test Sukhbirs famed skills in election management.

Mann can boast of a head start compared to Bittu, whose candidature was announced only recently. With anti-incumbency at play and resentment prevailing against SAD halqa incharge Satinder Singh Manta, the Akalis are apparently trying to divide the Rai Sikhs, who account for about one-third of the voters in this constituency. Mann has been pulling crowds at public meetings held in villages dominated by this community.

The Congress decision to field Davinder Singh Ghubaya, son of SADs Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, from the neighbouring Fazilka Assembly segment has made the party hopeful of garnering Rai Sikh votes in Jalalabad as well. However, the sleazy video targeting Sher Singh has given a nasty twist to the contest. The key question: Will the controversy prove disastrous for the Ghubayas or help them get the sympathy of Rai Sikh voters?

In the 2012 elections, Rai Sikhs had helped Sukhbir win by a margin of 50,224 votes. A prominent local Congress leader, Hans Raj Jossan, who had polled 30,000 votes as an Independent, and Sher Singhs brother Munsha Ghubaya, are now canvassing for Bittu, the Ludhiana MP.

Being the star campaigners of their parties, Sukhbir and Mann have tasked their family members and top local leaders with the job of canvassing here. Bittu is relying on the legacy of his grandfather, late Chief Minister Beant Singh, to connect with the locals. Sardar Sukhbir Singh came to power with your votes, but he has pushed you into drugs. What will concrete bylanes do if the young generation does not survive? he asks, reminding the gathering of the partys promise of a turnaround in the state.

Manns sister Rajwinder Kaur calls the poll battle a moral struggle for justice. At Jhottianwala, Akali MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal calls upon the villagers to forget old issues. She promises to withdraw police cases registered against members of the local Naujawan Sabha, who had protested against the diversion of floodwater towards their village.

Sher Singh, an elderly man who is playing cards with his friends at Kathgarh village, tell us frankly: Our Rai Sikh leaders have prospered. We are as poor as we were earlier.

Sons of Akali leaders from the area have been recruited in the police at the cost of genuine candidates. No effort has been made to generate employment. Work on the sewerage line has been started near the elections, says an irate taxi driver from Chak Arni Wala village, hinting at imminent change in the rural belt.
Minna Zutshi

Tribune News Service

Khanna, January 29

Its drizzling. But that has not dampened electioneering. In Khanna posters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Aapna Punjab Party (APP) vie for space on walls of business establishments. Even vegetable vendors have party flags atop their rehris.

A crowd of 100-odd people from various walks of life have gathered at the residence of a retired principal at Lalheri. Congress candidate Gurkirat Kotli is to address the gathering. He had defeated Akali candidate Ranjit Singh Talwandi by 7,278 votes in 2012. Steaming hot tea, crisp mathis and intense political discussions keep the audience engaged.

As Gurkirat arrives with his supporters and key campaign incharge and Beant Singh loyalist Ujagar Singh, the audience stands up, some for a better view, others to make the right impression and still others because of sheer imitation. The host (retired principal) delivers a speech. Then come loud, acerbic speeches by union leaders. Most speeches are a provocative mix of facts, figures and feelings. However, the common thread is Gurkirats Sardar Beant Singh connection. (Gurkirat is the grandson of slain Punjab CM Beant Singh).

As Gurkirat speaks, the faces of elderly women in the audience light up. The speech ends. Some enthusiastic members in the audience declare hes a cabinet minister in the making. It is all music to Gurkirats ears, who has had a hectic day  travelling, visiting different localities and giving directions to his son Mankirat, who is handling his election office.

At Samadhi Road, Gurkirats daughter Dilpreet, a Class VII student, and his mother are busy canvassing. The mohalla residents are excited to see a team of press wale (mediapersons). They begin raising slogans in favour of the Congress, thinking that everything is being recorded to be later aired on the TV. Children prattle Congress party zindabad. Asked if they know what it means, they burst into laughter.

Politics is not new to AAP candidate Anil Dutt Phalli. He and his wife are Khanna municipal councillors.

The electorate knows who can deliver the goods. I have been successful (as a councillor). I am sure that I will be successful as a legislator, he says. He mentions AAPs Delhi model of development. Public meetings, door-to-door canvassing, condolence meetings have all to be squeezed in a days schedule. But Phalli is unfazed.

Its noon. At Malerkotla Road, SAD candidate Ranjit Singh Talwandi is meeting shopkeepers. Hands folded, he greets them all. His supporter interjects: Sada dhayan rakhyo. Talwandi has public meetings lined up till late in the evening. All candidates and their supporters change their pitch according to the audience they encounter. A Ludhiana-based academician quotes from the book Persuadable Voter by Dr Hillygus and Shields. fragmentation of the candidates campaign communications leads to dog-whistle politics  targeting a message so that it can be heard only by those it is intended to reach, like the high-pitched dog whistle that can be heard by dogs but is not audible to the human ear!
Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 29

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati will address rallies in Phagwara and Mehal Kalan tomorrow.

The party, which had fielded candidates on all 117 seats, is down by six candidates now. The papers of Lambi candidate Harpreet Singh had been rejected on the grounds that he had faced conviction in a case in 2011. Khemkaran candidate Gursewak Singhs papers were not cleared due to to goof-up in his authorisation letter. Kapurthala candidate Jaswant Singh Bhandal had withdrawn his papers in support of Congress MLA Rana Gurjit Singh. There are no candidates now on Fatehgarh sahib, Atam Nagar and Patiala Urban seats.

State BSP president Rachhpal Raju said, We fielded candidates on all 117 seats. While the officials got the papers of some of our nominees rejected, in other cases there was so much pressure on our nominees that they chose to withdraw later. But we are not disheartened. Tomorrows show of strength will set things right for us.
The controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline would cross 4,500 feet of Antelope County -- currently buried under a foot of snow -- that pioneer John Garland homesteaded in 1886.

And his great-great grandson, Robert Johnston, is cheering President Donald Trumps promise to fast-track approval of the pipeline, which would link crude oil producers in Canada and North Dakota with refineries and export terminals along the Gulf Coast.

My main reason all along for supporting (the Keystone XL) has been the Nebraska tax base, said Johnston, who grows corn, soybeans and alfalfa. We have to broaden our tax base. I dont know how else we can do it other than to bring in any development we can into this state.

But even with the presidents blessing, pipeline builder TransCanada could face another protracted battle in Nebraska as it seeks route approval and the authority to use eminent domain to force easements from a group of landowners who have pledged to fight against the project.

Legal battles and political wrangling in Nebraska helped delay the last attempt to build the Keystone XL, originally slated to begin moving oil in 2012, giving opposition groups time to galvanize and turn the project into a symbol of the fight over how the nation addresses climate change.

We stopped it once, I think we can stop it again, said Art Tanderup, a Neligh farmer.

Tanderup and his wife, Helen, hosted a fundraising concert in 2014 headlined by Neil Young for pipeline fighters, and the couple remains opposed to TransCanadas plans to lay 1,179 miles of 36-inch diameter pipe.

Trump last week made good on campaign promises to revive the project by issuing memorandums inviting TransCanada to reapply for the cross-border construction permit that former President Barack Obama rejected as antithetical to the United States taking a leading role in curbing climate-warming emissions.

TransCanada filed a $15 billion arbitration claim through the North American Free Trade Agreement after Obama's decision, which the company continues to pursue.

Trump also ordered the Commerce Secretary to come up with a plan for requiring TransCanada to use American-made steel in building the pipeline. TransCanada says it will review the plan when details are released.

TransCanada, which has miles of mothballed pipe sitting in storage yards ready to go, previously has said 50 percent of the steel for the Keystone XL would be milled by a Little Rock, Arkansas, company with the rest coming from Canada, Italy and India.

Trumps presidential nudge also seeks to jumpstart construction of the 1,172-mile Dakota Access pipeline, which is nearly finished except for a segment that would cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe depends on the lake for water and has organized protests to stand in the way of construction.

Trump ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to quickly review and approve construction and easement requests that would bring the Dakota Access pipeline to completion.

TransCanada submitted paperwork to the U.S. State Department on Wednesday and plans in the coming weeks to submit a route for approval by the Nebraska Public Service Commission, according to company spokesman Terry Cunha.

Cunha said in an email that TransCanada looks forward to continuing our dialogue with the Commission and State leaders, including Governor Ricketts.

TransCanada hopes to build the northern leg of its Keystone XL from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, along the Nebraska/Kansas border, where it will meet up with an existing network of oil pipelines.

The proposed route essentially will be the same one TransCanda submitted for evaluation by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in 2012 and which was approved by former Gov. Dave Heineman in 2013.

Heinemans thumbs up became the basis of a lawsuit that ended in the Nebraska Supreme Court and delayed the project for months.

This will be the first time the state Public Service Commission, a five-member elected board, has dealt with the siting of a major oil pipeline, however it has overseen natural gas pipelines and other common carriers like taxi cabs, grain warehouses and telecommunications.

The Public Service Commission process is expected to take eight months to a year, and approval is needed before TransCanada can move forward with eminent domain.

The company already has more than 90 percent of the easements it needs to build the Keystone XL in Nebraska and all of the right of way it needs in South Dakota and Montana.

Jane Kleeb, chairwoman of the Nebraska Democrats and head of the activist group Bold Alliance, said pipeline fighters will forge a two-pronged strategy against the Keystone XL in Nebraska -- first encouraging people to file protests or interventions with the Public Service Commission and continuing the fight in the courts.

Kleeb said Bold plans to revive calls for creation of an energy corridor in Nebraska that would mirror the path of the original Keystone Pipeline, which went into production in June 2010. That plan would require a rerouting of the Keystone XL, possibly adding months or years to completion.

Omaha-based Domina Law plans to continue to represent the bulk of landowners refusing to sign easements, said Attorney Brian Jorde.

If TransCanada gets approval for its path and moves forward with eminent domain, Jorde said, landowners plan to sue to stop it by arguing that the Keystone XL is not for public use, which is a requirement of eminent domain.

Building the $8 billion pipeline would create thousands of construction jobs -- which has helped attract support from numerous labor unions -- as well as give a boost to local hotels and restaurants catering to construction crews. But it would yield only a few dozen permanent jobs.

Proponents also argue moving oil through a pipeline is much safer than shipping it via rail or truck.

Opponents argue the risk of a leak -- the pipeline would move up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day -- endangers wildlife, the environment and local water supplies, including the Niobrara River and Ogallala Aquifer, the source of drinking water for millions of people in several High Plains states as well as water for irrigation and livestock operations.

It also would encourage further extraction of Canadas oil sands, a source of bitumen, a thick oil with a large carbon footprint that requires energy-intensive processing to get it ready for refining into products like gasoline and lubricants.

Nebraska landowners facing the prospect of eminent domain argue a private company based in Canada shouldnt be able to trample on their property rights.
Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Kotkapura, January 29

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a stable, capable and reliable government in Punjab was necessary for the security of the country when a belligerent state like Pakistan is sharing border with it.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

So not only for Punjabs security but for the countrys need, the SAD-BJP alliance government is necessary in the state. Dont rely on those have aristocratic lifestyle and the outsiders for the security of the state and country, Modi said making a veiled reference to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. He was addressing an election rally in Kotkapura.

Modi was highly critical of those using foul language when "they threaten to send Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to jail".

Such language is intolerable in a democracy. Until law takes its course, such threats are uncivilised, said Modi.

Pakistan is always alert to exploit the situation and eager to stoke trouble in India whenever there is a weak government in Punjab, a border state, Modi said.

The entire nation is watching the elections in Punjab with high curiosity as the countys security is at stake, Modi said.

Modi alleged that first it was the Congress which defamed Sikhs as terrorists in the 80s all over the country and now the AAP is defaming the youth of this state as addicts.

What matters most for Badal sahab is welfare of Punjab, its farmers and the people, Modi said.

"In this election, to destroy Punjab, it (AAP) is eager to create its own world at the cost of the state. Those who are having such dreams should be sent back to Delhi from where they have come," he said, apparently hitting out at the new entrant AAP in the state.

He also asked the people to first question AAP as to what it promised and the responsibilities it honoured in Delhi.

"Ask it to first fulfil its responsibility of that place (from where they have been elected). Fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi," the Prime Minister said.

Referring to the incidents of desecration of the Sikh religious text, the Prime Minister said the inquiry into the matter has been handed over to CBI.

"CBI will probe this matter thoroughly and I do not say I will send them to jail. I say CBI will find out the culprits and the judicial system will do justice. Everything is run by law," he said.

Modi also took a swipe at AAP for accusing him of running the Election Commission.

"I went to Goa...When somebody comes to know that they are facing defeat (Goa polls) then they start creating a situation, find ways to wriggle out of the situation. What they promised in Goa, they gave interviews to newspapers, saying that Modi was calling the shots and running the EC," he said.

He said nobody should point fingers at the EC.

"But (for them) the EC is useless. What is the fault of EC? Its fault is why it decided the same date for polling in Punjab and Goa.

"Their second grudge was why polls are being held first in Punjab and Goa, and third was that the elections are being conducted simultaneously so that their political party is defeated," he said.

The AAP's defeat was certain because for their "poor" performance in Delhi, he said.

During the rally, Modi also showered praise on Chief Minister Badal, saying he understood the problems of farmers and that the Akali Dal was working for their welfare in the state.

"Out of all the leaders in Punjab, only Parkash Singh Badal cares for farmers. Can anyone say that there is any farmer leader in Congress or other parties (AAP)," Modi asked.

He said there were only three leaders after Independence who dedicated their lives for the welfare of farmers -- Chaudhary Charan Singh and Chaudhary Devi Lal, besides the Punjab CM.

Hitting out at the previous Congress government at the Centre, he alleged it created roadblocks in the path of Punjab's welfare.

"For eight years of Badal's 10-year term, the Congress government at the Centre created stumbling blocks in the way of Badal's work for the progress of Punjab. But he never lost his cool," Modi said.

"Today the Centre and the Badal government have resolved most of the old issues of Punjab and put the state on the path of development. The state has achieved a new high in terms of growth.

"Had been our government from the beginning, Punjab could have touched new heights of development," he said.

Seeking votes for the development work carried out by the Badal government in Punjab, he said the Akali-BJP alliance in Punjab and NDA at Centre would bring a new dimension of growth to the state.

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal attacked Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for nurturing an ambition of becoming Chief Minister of Punjab. She said only a person with dastar can become CM, not one wearing a topi.

Calling state Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh a hankari (arrogant) raja, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "You can make this raja a beggar by not voting for the Congress.  With PTI inputs
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, January 28

Entering Fazilka town from national highway number 7, the newly built buildings of the District Administrative Complex and the Judicial Court Complex catch ones attention. There is also an under-construction building of a 100-bed district multispecialty hospital and cancer centre. Banking on the development plank, three-time Cabinet minister and BJP stalwart Surjit Kumar Jyani (60) is seeking re-election from the constituency.

Besides anti-incumbency, he is facing a tough challenge from three political greenhorns. The Congress has fielded Davinder Singh Ghubaya (25), son of SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya. He belongs to the Rai Sikh community. Of the 1.62 lakh voters in this border constituency, about 52,000 are Rai Sikhs, most of whom live in the border villages.

Traditionally, the community gets a kook (voice), considered as an edict from the elders. The community is known to vote en masse as per the diktat, says veteran Rai Sikh leader Harbans Singh. Davinder is largely relying on the kook, besides the Congress traditional vote bank and the backing of his fathers Akali supporters. However, the controversy over a sleazy video, purportedly showing Sher Singh, has made things tough for the debutant.

Samarbir Singh (26), son of a former sarpanch of nearby Rampura village, is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominee. He figured on the partys first list, announced in August last year. He has been running a sustained campaign over the past several months to woo the young voters. Samarbir is highlighting the misdeeds and failures of the SAD-BJP combine and the Congress and pleading for a change of guard.

Slain gangster-turned-politician Jaswinder Singh Rockys Amritdhari sister Rajdeep Kaur (44) is contesting as an Independent after she was denied the Congress ticket. She is drawing a good response at her meetings in rural areas and other localities. She is trying to cash in on the popularity of her brother, who had bagged 39,209 votes as an Independent in the 2012 polls. He had lost to Jyani by a narrow margin of 1,692 votes.

Kirti Siag (27), an engineer, is contesting on the Aapna Punjab Party (APP) ticket. BJP rebel Ramesh Kataria is also in the fray.
Geetanjali Gayatri in Chandigarh

The Jats in Haryana are out in the field yet again to wage a war till their demands are met. The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government is on pins and needles, wary of the communitys peaceful protests and unsure of the course the protests will eventually take.

The communitys unfulfilled demands include withdrawal of cases against their people after last years February agitation spun out of control, OBC status, compensation for the injured and a job for the families of the martyrs. Their sit-in began earlier this week.

The Khattar government, despite repeatedly promising to meet these demands, has only dallied. Last years unprecedented violence following Jat reservation stir left 30 dead and a trail of destruction plus an irreparable damage to the social fabric. As the protestors went on rampage, field officers went into hiding and frantic calls to the police went unanswered. All this and more found mention in the government-appointed Prakash Singh Committee report which made scathing remarks against the administration and police.

The top brass of the once-bitten-twice-shy police department claim to be geared up to meet any eventuality during the proposed agitation. Senior officers closely monitoring the situation to avoid a repeat of the last years arson: police armouries were looted at three places in Rohtak alone while weapons of individuals deposited at a police station were taken away. So far, only three double-barrel guns of private individuals and two rifles have been recovered as the police brace themselves with a fresh round of protests.

Adequate force has been deployed in various districts and supply of arms and ammunition is adequate. We are keeping an eye on all protests, says ADGP (Law and Order), Muhammad Akil.

This time around the one big difference is that the government has been able to make inroads into the Jat camp and the khap camps, leaving them a divided house. A repeat of the Jat-versus-non-Jat agitation seems unlikely with the BJP keeping its motormouth Member of Parliament, Raj Kumar Saini, and his non-Jat brigade tightly reigned in.

Government sources maintain that the proposed protests have more to do with the ongoing election process in the Jat-dominated western Uttar Pradesh. The community leaders believe the sentiment in the government so far seems to pit the Jats against each other.

The agitation is likely to boil down to the anti-government group headed by Uttar Pradeshs Jat leader Yashpal Malik. The faction claims support of nearly 30 khaps and is adamant on holding dharnas in 19 districts of the state. The anti-protest section is led by Hawa Singh Sangwan. Its is also supported by a few khaps. The Sangwan faction is holding talks with the government and has publically expressed its disinterest in taking the agitational course. The BJP government, elected on the non-Jat vote, realises it is caught between the devil and the deep-sea: it cant ignore the Jats anymore and it cant afford to offend the non-Jats. Thats why the government is seem dragging its feet on various contentious issues.

Let the BJP government say it will not give us reservation and it will not withdraw cases. The government wants to maintain silence on reservation after an assurance to us by their Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The government does not want to fulfil its promise of dropping police cases registered last year. But it expects us not to protest. They are working on dividing us, says Rajmal Kajla, convenor of 11 khaps which have extended support to Maliks protests slated to roll out on January 29. Representatives of some khaps have decided to side with Malik and participate in full strength in the protests. But representatives of other khaps, which met in Sonepat, have decided to distance themselves from protests and await the court decisions.

Our protests will show the government it is not easy to go back on commitments, said Naresh Balhara, speaking on behalf of the khaps that extended support to Malik after a meeting in Rohtak.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 29

Former Delhi Speaker and Congress observer for Uttarakhand Dr Yoganand Shastri today said note ban would cause the fall of the BJP.

Addressing a press conference in here today, Dr Shastri said the note ban was like forced sterilisation of men done during Emergency as it led to the fall of the then Congress government, it would now also result in the fall of BJP governments across the country.

He pointed out that by forcing note ban, the Modi government had made the people thief and beggar. If one goes to bank to deposit his money, he is being looked with suspicion and if he wants to withdraw, he has to stand in long queues and becomes more or less of a beggar, Shastri said.

He also held that the BJP was promising moon to voters and the people of Uttarakhand would not be fooled by the party. He said Harish Rawat led Congress government would emerge victorious.

Responding to a query, Yoganand Shastri also said people of Uttarakhand would teach all turncoats a lesson. People understand all and I am sure that they will teach all turncoats a lesson, Shastri said when asked about a large number of Congress leaders switching over to the BJP in recent months.
SMA Kazmi

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 29

The controversy over the allotment of Congress party ticket to Manmohan Mall from the Dhanaulti Assembly segment has not only exposed the double standards of the party towards members of the alliance partner Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) but also differences between Chief Minister Harish Rawat and state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay.

The flip flop on the nomination of Manmohan Mall from Dhanaulti could cost the party the seats which the ruling party has a fair chance of winning in the closely fought poll.

The Congress had given ticket to Manmohan Mall, a former Mussoorie Municipal Council chief who had also fought from the seat in 2012 poll and lost to Mahaveer Rangad of the BJP. Interestingly, after Manmohan Mall filed his nomination papers, a communication from the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) stated that the party had given support to Pritam Singh Panwar, a minister in the Congress state government who is fighting as an independent from the seat.

Pritam Singh Panwar was a member of the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), a conglomerate of three independents, three BSP and lone Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) candidates which had supported the state government. Elected from the Yamunotri seat in 2012 as a UKD candidate, he has shifted to the Dhanaulti seat this time as an independent.

However, the confusion over the ticket was a fallout of the tussle between CM Harish Rawat and Kishore Upadhyay. Upadhyay, who had lost the Tehri seat in 2012 to Dinesh Dhanai, an independent, who also later become a minister in the Congress government, was against supporting PDF members and favouring party candidates against them but Harish Rawat wanted to reciprocate the gesture of support by not fielding party candidates against Dinesh Dhanai at Tehri and Pritam Panwar at Dhanaulti.

Dinesh Dhanai and Pritam Panwar were also given the option of fighting the elections on the Congress ticket which they both refused prompting the party to field Naresh Ramola and Manmohan Mall from Dhanualti. But later, Pritam Panwar pleaded with Harish Rawat for help by withdrawing party candidate against him.

But, Manmohan Mall despite persuation by Harish Rawat and Upadhyay has refused to withdraw. He has alleged that it is a conspiracy by the party leadership, particularly by Chief Minister against him. He argued that party had adopted double standards by dealing with PDF ministers at Tehri and Dhanaulti differently. Dinesh Dhanai has decided to fight as an independent and refused to accept any support from the Congress due to his old rivalry with Upadhyay.

With Manmohan Mall as Congress candidate from Dhanaulti, the party has a fair chance of winning the seat since the BJP has given ticket to Narayan Singh Rana, a close relative of senior party leader Rajnath Singh, who is an outsider. Congress party spokesperson Surendra Aggarwal stated that the issue would be resolved and Manmohan Mall would be persuaded to withdraw in favour of Pritam Panwar.
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, January 29

Adamant on boycotting the Assembly elections, residents of several villages in Pithoragarh, Gangolihat and Dharchula Assembly constituencies have sought assurance from Election Commission officials, who had gone to make the villagers withdraw their boycott call. We had gone to Quiri Jimia village in Munsiyari after getting information that villagers are adamant on boycotting the poll, but could not persuade them for voting as they have sought written assurance from us to construct road to their village, said Gopal Giri, an officer from the District Election Office, Pithoragarh.

Besides Quiri Jimia, village, badly devastated by natural disaster in 2009, residents have been demanding road to their village for long. They have decided to boycott the election this year. As we have been neglected by the administration, we need not vote because it will not serve any purpose, said Devendra Singh, a villager from the Quiri Jimia village in the Dharchula Assembly constituency.

Along with villagers of the Dharchula Assembly constituency, several residents of Tirathal, Biktya, Khitoli and Lothi villages have also announced to boycott the poll as their demand to construct village road has not been fulfilled. They said the sitting Congress MLA had assured them to fulfil the promise in the last election.

Until, we get concrete assurance on the construction of road, we will not go to vote this election, said Thakur Singh, a villager from Torathal village. Besides Torathal, villagers from Bhama, Jakhni, Upreti and Maraknali villagers in the Gangolihat Assembly constituency have also decided to boycott the 2017 Assembly poll.

In the Pithoragarh Assembly constituency, villagers of Grahwalkhola hamlet of Suwakot village have decided to boycott the poll while residents of Harakot, Malupati, Ritha Matena and Papri villages have also announced the same due to unfilled assurance of road to their respective villages. We are trying our best to pursue the villagers to withdraw their boycott and come forward to poll in maximum numbers, said Ranjit Sinha, District Election Officer of Pithoragarh district.
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 29

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter that candidates have been using to reach out to voters have also become a cause of worry for them due to regular smear campaigns.

The smear campaign involving three candidates from Gangotri have come to light in Uttarkashi. Supporters of these leaders filed a complaint with the police against some smear posts aimed at maligning their image to hurt them electorally.

The first post that was put on Facebook falsely claimed that BJP rebel Surat Ram Nautiyal, who is in the fray from Gangotri, would join the Congress on January 30. Nautiyals supporter Biharilal Nauitiyal met the returning officer at Bhatwadi and filed a complaint against the Facebook post. The returning officer took cognizance of the complaint and ordered a police investigation. In the second incident, a video claiming a clash between supporters of Vijay Pal Sajwan posted on Facebook has been reported to the police.

A similar Facebook post was brought to the notice of the returning officer that a consignment of illicit liquor seized in the Manera police station area belonged to Gopal Rawat, BJP candidate from Gangotri. Gopal Rawats supporter Sudarshan Singh Rawat filed a police complaint against a person whose ID shows Nitesh Rana as his name on Facebook. Uttarkashi police station in charge Mahadev Uniyal informed media persons that they had started investigations in complaints in the three cases. Action would be taken against those found guilty, he added.

Meanwhile, town residents have asked the Election Commission to keep a watch on such derogatory posts that are likely to rise in number as campaigning picks up in the state.
Aden: The elite US forces launched a dawn raid against Al-Qaida in Yemen on Sunday, killing at least 14 suspected jihadists in an operation in which an American soldier also died. The assault marked Washingtons first major military action in Yemen under President Donald Trump, who has vowed to step up the US fight against Islamic extremism. The US military said the raid in the Yakla region of Baida province killed 14 members of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which US views as the global networks most dangerous branch. A Yemeni official gave a higher toll of 41 presumed militants. afp
SANAA, January 29

Helicopter-borne commandoes launched a raid in southern Yemen at dawn on Sunday that killed around 30 people, including al Qaeda suspects and civilians, residents and local officials said.

Residents and officials as well as al Qaeda itself said the attack was carried out by the United States, which did not immediately acknowledge the operation.

The gunbattle in the rural Yakla district of al-Bayda province killed a senior leader in Yemen's al Qaeda branch, Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, along with other militants, the local witnesses said.

Medics at the scene said 30 people were killed, including 10 women and three children.

If confirmed, the raid would be the first in the country by the American military since Yemen descended into civil war nearly two years ago. It would also be the first such operation during Donald Trump's presidency.

In a message on its official Telegram account, al Qaeda mourned al-Dhahab as a "holy warrior" and other slain militants, without specifying how many of its fighters were killed.

"The operation began at dawn when a drone bombed the home of Abdulraoof al-Dhahab and then helicopters flew up and unloaded paratroopers at his house and killed everyone inside," one resident said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Next, the gunmen opened fire at the US soldiers who left the area, and the helicopters bombed the gunmen and a number of homes and led to a large number of casualties."

A Yemeni security officer and a local official corroborated that account. Fahd, a local resident who asked that only his first name be used, said several bodies remained under debris and that houses and the local mosque were damaged in the attack.

US special forces attempted to rescue an American and a South African hostage held by al Qaeda in another part of the country in December 2014. The captives were killed in the subsequent firefight.

The United States conducted dozens of drone strikes in Yemen throughout Barack Obama's presidency to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded as one of the global militant group's most dangerous branches.

The local al Qaeda unit organised the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack in Paris in 2015 and has repeatedly tried to down US airliners.  Reuters
OTTAWA/TORONTO, January 28

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

In pointed tweets a day after US President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from the seven countries, Trudeau said refugees were welcome in Canada.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau said on Twitter.

A second tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Trump's immigration policy, included a 2015 photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport.

Confusion abounded at airports around the world on Saturday as officials tried to interpret the new US rules.

Trudeau's office said US authorities had confirmed Canadian passport holders, including dual citizens from the seven countries, would not be affected.

Trudeau has walked a fine line with the Trump administration, avoiding direct criticism while promoting the progressive policies of his one-year-old Liberal government.

The prime minister would discuss Canada's immigration and refugee policies with Trump, Trudeau's press secretary, Cameron Ahmad, said. He did not say when that would be.

WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday to comply with Trump's executive order but did not say which country the passenger had come from. Spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline would give full refunds to anyone affected.

In the western province of Saskatchewan, Iranian doctoral student Mohammadreza Tayfeh found himself comforting the Delta Air Lines employee he called about a refund.

"I said, 'It's all right. It's going to be fine. Don't worry about it.' She was so upset," he said in an interview from Saskatoon.

Tayfeh, an engineering student living in Canada for seven years, had been invited to San Diego to meet with investors for his telecom business. While he had a visitor's visa, he missed the cutoff to travel by hours.

He decided not to risk flying from Saskatchewan in case he was detained on arrival in the United States. He said an Iranian friend who has been living in the US and working at NASA for years was detained at the Doha airport in Qatar late Friday.

"You don't want to put yourself in that situation, to go there and they ask you questions and just deport you," he said.

In Vancouver, an employee at the American Airlines counter said one person travelling on an Iranian passport had been turned away Saturday morning.

Air Canada said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had denied anyone travel.

A Porter Airlines spokesman said the Toronto-based carrier would be restricting passengers from travelling to the United States from the listed countries until further notice.  Reuters
WASHINGTON - There are several ways to understand the political cacophony emanating from Washington over this past, frenetic week.

Some of it represents a noxious partisan effort to eradicate everything done by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress, whether it worked or not. This is the kind of tribal revenge more common in primitive societies, a score settling designed not only to crush the other party but also to demoralize and punish the voters who support it. Neither the White House nor the Republican leadership now bother even to make the pretense that they intend to consult or work with Democrats. And Democrats are responding in kind with party line votes against Cabinet nominees. With a Supreme Court nomination, this partisan warfare will shift into Defcon 1.

Neither Republican partisanship nor conservative ideology, however, can adequately explain the unconventional behavior of the new president, who spent much of his first week in office spinning tall tales about the size of his inaugural crowds, the massive voter fraud that lay behind his popular vote loss, the deep respect he has for an intelligence community he once called incompetent, or his still-evolving scheme for getting Mexico to pay for the $25 billion wall along the Rio Grande.

Ideology and partisanship cannot explain why the president continues to tweet out policy pronouncements at all hours of the night based on what he saw on the Internet or cable news.

To the Washington political establishment - the politicians and bureaucrats, the lawyers and the lobbyists, the policy wonks and the campaign hacks - Trump's behavior seems crazy, counterproductive and comical. But, of course, that's just the point. From the beginning, his campaign and his political persona have been about one thing - exposing and defeating Washington's meritocratic elite. And now that he's won the presidency by defeating that establishment, there is nothing that gives him more satisfaction, or endears him more to his core supporters, than flouting the norms of political behavior that the elites have long used to disqualify challengers and keep themselves in power. Trump is not satisfied to have conquered Rome. He means to sack it.

What Trump understands, and what the elites have trouble accepting, is that he won the presidency not in spite of his insulting tweets, his bald-face lies, his lack of knowledge and his refusal to follow political convention, but because of them. And the more he does it, the more he is criticized for it, the longer it allows him to dominate the news and suck the oxygen out of the political conversation, the more power he will have over the governing process.

The political math for the moment is working in his favor. It is true that only about a third of the country approves of Trump and his antics and share his anti-establishment fervor. But, roughly speaking, there is also a third of the country that identifies itself as ideologically conservative and another third who are partisan Republicans. The three groups overlap significantly, but not completely, and it was by drawing support from all three groups that Trump was able to eke out an Electoral College victory. Now in office, his strategy for holding together that coalition is to offer Republican partisans and die-hard conservatives enough of the what they want so that they are willing to overlook his crazy ideas and governing style.

At this point, the best hope Democrats have of derailing the Trump Express is not by whipping its own base up in a frenzy, as seems to be their strategy. Rather, it is to persuade a handful of Senate Republicans to jump off the train before it builds up too much momentum, either out of fear for their own personal political survival or out of more high-minded concerns about the direction of policy, the competency of the new administration or the dangers of untethering the political process from long-established norms. All it would take would be one high-profile setback on an appointment or piece of legislation for Trump's coalition of convenience to start to unravel.

In the past, Republican Sens. Sasse, Neb., McCain and Flake, Az., Graham, Ga., Collins, Maine, Murkowski, Alaska, Paul, Ky., Rubio, Fla., Lee, Utah, Portman, Ohio, Corker and Alexander, Tenn., have been willing to challenge Trump or break from the Republican ranks. Surely they all understand the consequences of the devilish pact they are being asked to sign onto. But it would require a genuine profile in courage to withstand the furious attacks and political ostracization that would surely befall any who dared to defect. Never underestimate the capacity of politicians to rationalize the irrational.

Otherwise, we should prepare ourselves for at least two years of weeks like the last one, with wild swings in policy based on "alternative facts," personal pique, empty boasts and political vendettas. It was the voters, not the political or media establishments, who handed Trump the keys to kingdom and it may require the voters to take them away.
BAGHDAD, January 29

Iraq plans to lobby against new restrictions on travel to the United States by Iraqis, arguing the two countries need to preserve their alliance against Islamic State, two members of the Iraqi parliament, who declined to be identified, said on Sunday.

The Iraqi government itself has so far declined to comment on an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Friday, which suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days

The order caused angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 US troops are deployed, helping Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the war on Islamic State.

Some members of the parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States.

"Iraq is in the frontline of the war on terrorism (...) and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," said the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the USadministration," the committee said in a statement after a meeting on Sunday in Baghdad.

Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight Islamic State, called on the Iraqi government to expel US nationals.

"The foreign ministry will be contacting the US administration to review their decision,'' said an MP who sits on the parliament's foreign relations committee.

The Iraqi government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to reciprocate, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation in the war" on Islamic State, a second lawmaker said.

The US-led coalition is critical in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from Islamic State.

Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces have taken over the part of Mosul on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which divides the city, and were preparing to attack the militants on the western bank.  Reuters
Berlin, January 29

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday condemned the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, seeing them as unjustified, her spokesman said.

The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries, Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion. The German government will now examine the consequences of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

A federal judge yesterday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Merkels condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.

The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, he said.

The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterdays phone call with the US president.

In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a catastrophic mistake in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.

More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the countrys doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution, although the influx has slowed in recent months.  AFP
Tehran, January 29

Families split, a father unable to reach his sons wedding and officials warning of a gift to extremistsPresident Donald Trumps visa ban on seven Muslim countries has triggered shock and confusion among those affected.

There is mass hysteria among the Iranian-American communitythats no exaggeration, said Saam Borhani, an attorney in Los Angeles.

He said clients were bombarding him with questions since Trump passed an executive order on Friday, suspending refugee arrivals and imposing tough controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the restrictions have already caused chaos for students, businessmen and families.

I have several clients impacted by the executive ordermarried couples whose spousal visas have been stopped, causing them to be separated. A father living in Iran who is unable to come to his sons wedding in California, said Borhani, who was himself born in the US to Iranian parents.

US State Department figures show Iran accounted for around a quarter of the 31,804 visas granted to citizens from the seven countries last year.

Among thousands facing difficulties, an Iraqi family was barred in Cairo from taking their connecting flight to New York yesterday.

I had sold my house, my car, my furniture. I resigned from work and so did my wife. I took my children out of school, Fuad Sharef, 51, told AFP.

Donald Trump destroyed my life. My familys life. I used to think America was a state of institutions but its as though its a dictatorship, he said.

An Iranian woman blocked from boarding at Tehran airport today said she had waited 14 years for her green card.

Even during the hostage crisis at the US embassy (in 1980), the US government didnt issue such an order. They say the US is the cradle of liberty. I dont see freedom in that country, she said, asking not to be named.

The US embassy in Baghdad said on Facebook that dual nationals from the seven countries would be barred from entering the United States, excluding those with American passports.

Daeshi decision, Baghdad resident Nibal Athed wrote in response to the post, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

He asked why the list excluded Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which he described as the biggest sponsors of terrorism.

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today that Trumps move will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.  AFP
Washington, January 29

US President Donald Trump today directed the US military to develop a "comprehensive strategy" within 30 days to defeat the IS, asserting that America must take decisive action against the dreaded terror group.

"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is not the only threat from radical Islamic terrorism that the US faces, but it is among the most vicious and aggressive. It is also attempting to create its own state, which ISIS claims as a 'caliphate'. But there can be no accommodation or negotiation with it," Trump said in his executive order.

"For those reasons I am directing my administration to develop a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS," he said.

The plan to be submitted to the President within 30 days calls for a comprehensive strategy to defeat the IS and recommend changes to any US rules of engagement and other American policy restrictions that exceed the requirements of international law regarding the use of force against the terror group.

Trump said the ISIS had engaged in a systematic campaign of persecution and extermination in those territories it enters or controls.

"If ISIS is left in power, the threat that it poses will only grow," he warned.

"We know it has attempted to develop chemical weapons capability. It continues to radicalise our own citizens, and its attacks against our allies and partners continue to mount. The US must take decisive action to defeat ISIS," Trump said.  PTI
New York, January 29

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at airports across the US to protest the ban announced by President Donald Trump on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, extending solidarity to those affected as chaos and fear gripped individuals trying to enter the country.

As news of immigrants, even those holding green cards, being held and banned from flying into the US and entering the country spread, people started gathering at the nations airports, holding banners opposing Trumps action.

For hours, the crowds stood outside the arrival terminal of citys busiest John F Kennedy international airport, raising slogans blasting Trumps order.

The ban impacted several individuals, who had valid US visas and green cards and who had travelled abroad for work or on personal visits. Similar scenes of chaos and protests quickly poured in from other key ports of entry in Boston, Los Angeles and in Houston.

Hapless individuals, whose family members were stuck at airports or were not allowed to board flights to the US took to social media to vent their anger and frustration.

Three weeks ago my wife and my newborn daughter went to Iran so that she can visit her grandparents for the first time. It is not clear they can come back to the US. And this feeling eats me alive, an individual Amin Karbasi, who one person pointed out was a professor at Yale University, wrote on Twitter.

Lawyers soon began to throng the countrys airports, offering to provide legal assistance to individuals and families who were detained at the airports. Volunteer lawyers, sitting on the floor at airport terminals, worked pro-bono on a preparing habeas corpus petitions for detainees at JFK.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National said on Twitter that lawyers are stationed at airports across US. If you know someone entering country, tell them not to sign anything before talking to lawyer.

Partial relief to those detained at airports or in transit came as US judge Ann Donnelly in an order temporarily halted removal of individuals detained in the country.

The protesters held banners that read No ban, no wall, Christians against the Muslim ban, Say it loud and clear, refugees are welcome here, No human is illegal, Immigrants, refugees welcome. Extending their solidarity with the protest against the ban, cabdrivers at JFK said they would stop work and not ferry travelers for an hour.  PTI

Muslim world shocked, outraged
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, January 28

A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York issued an emergency stay on Saturday that temporarily blocks the US government from sending people out of the country after they have landed at a US airport with valid visas.

The American Civil Liberties Union estimates the stay will affect 100 to 200 people detained at US airports or in transit, but government lawyers could not confirm that number.

The ruling by Judge Ann Donnelly of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York came during a hearing called after President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking people from seven Muslim-majority from entering the United States and putting a temporary halt to refugee admissions.

Trump's order for "extreme vetting" of visitors and legal US residents from seven Muslim-majority countries sparked outrage and protests on Saturday with activists arguing in court to try to block deportations of people stranded in US airports.

The new Republican president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other countries. Immigration lawyers, activists and Democratic politicians reacted furiously, and many worked to help marooned travellers find a way back home.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

A large crowd chanting "Let them stay, it's the American way!" outside the courthouse.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York and elsewhere while inside, anxious family members waited and worried for travellers.

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, brothers Bardia and Ayden Noohi waited for four hours for their father Kasra Noohi  who has an Iranian passport and a US green card  to be allowed through.

They knew Trump had pledged tougher rules but did not expect they would affect holders of green cards, which allow foreigners to live and work in the United States.

"I didn't think he'd actually do it," Bardia Noohi, 32, said. "A lot of politicians just talk."

Trump, who took office just over a week ago, had promised during his campaign what he called "extreme vetting" to do more to protect Americans from terror attacks.

He told reporters in the Oval Office that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump said.

"We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

Chaos

The ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Green card holders will not be allowed back in until they are re-screened.

The order seeks to prioritise refugees fleeing religious persecution. In a television interview, Trump said the measure was aimed at helping Christians in Syria.

Confusion abounded at airports as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules, with some legal residents who were in the air when the order was issued detained at airports upon arrival.

A chaotic scene played out in the arrivals terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where a group of lawyers had filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqi men who had worked for the US military who were in the air when Trump signed the order.

Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo.

Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a Jewish group that works with refugees, said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week.

The US technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, hit back on Saturday, with some leaders calling the order immoral and un-American.

Colleges also spoke out on behalf of students from the countries, and warned students in the United States that they should avoid travel lest they not be allowed back in.

Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa said the order was humiliating and discriminatory. It drew criticism from US Western allies, including France, Germany and Britain.

Iran condemned the order as an "open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation" and vowed to retaliate.

Of the seven countries targeted, Iran sends the most visitors to the United States each year  around 35,000 in 2015, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban.

Canadians welcome those fleeing persecution, terror and war "regardless of your faith", Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter post.

Legal residents stunned

During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to clamp down on immigration as a way to prevent attacks. He first proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States, modifying that later to "extreme vetting" of immigrants from certain countries.

It was unclear how many legal permanent residents would be affected. A senior US administration official said on Saturday that green card holders from the seven affected countries have to be cleared into the United States on a case-by-case basis.

According to State Department guidance, travellers who have dual nationality of one of these countries will not be permitted for 90 days to enter the United States.

Legal residents of the United States were plunged into despair at the prospect of being unable to return to the United States or being separated from family members trapped abroad.

In Cairo, five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York on Saturday, sources at Cairo airport said. Dutch airline KLM said on Saturday it had refused carriage to the United States to seven passengers from predominately Muslim countries.

US agencies scramble

In Washington, the agencies charged with handling immigration and refugee issues grappled with how to interpret the measure, and enforcement was uneven.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the executive order and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public.

At the State Department, a senior official said lawyers were working closely with their counterparts at Homeland Security to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the "national interest. However, a federal law enforcement official said: "It's unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is".

Senior administration officials said it would have been "reckless" to broadcast details of the order in advance of new security measures. The officials told reporters that Homeland Security now has guidance for airlines.

"I don't think anyone is going to take this lying down," said Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold. "This is the tip of the spear and more litigation is coming."  Reuters
Students from the University of Mary walked Friday with signs and a huge banner reading "March for Life" at the nation's largest anti-abortion march and rally Friday in Washington.

The students joined thousands of people who rallied at the Washington Monument, then marched down Constitution Avenue to the steps of the Supreme Court building across the street from the Capitol.

Students from St. Mary's Central High School and Bishop Ryan Catholic School in Minot also were in attendance.

It was truly an historic march, 21-year-old Katrina Gallic, a senior at U-Mary, said by phone Saturday while on a bus coming back to Bismarck.

The march occurs every year around the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. This year, University of Mary students led the march and Gallic was one of several speakers at the rally, including Vice President Mike Pence.

The U-Mary group included roughly 600 students, faculty members and administrators.

Were there to inspire changes in policies and laws; but, even deeper than that, its to inspire an internal change for that each of us, individually, treat every person with dignity and respect that humanity deserves. This march really represents that movement," Gallic said.

Growing up in New Jersey, Gallic attended the march when she was a kid, but doesnt remember it well. She was invited by Pence's office to attend a reception Thursday for all the speakers, but the university's buses were still about four hours away.

"There was no way we were going to make it," Gallic said. Still, it was so cool to get a call from the vice president about the March for Life. I was not expecting that at all.

The University of Mary group still got to hear Pence speak at the rally, where pro-life supporters spoke about being hopeful for the new administration.

It showed clearly where (Pence) stood on this issue," Gallic said. It really brought a lot of hope, I think, and a lot of joy to the pro-life movement, to hear him speak and to hear that encouraging message."

The rally started at noon, and the group began marching at 1 p.m. The crowd was a mix of older and younger people, students said.

It was actually really incredible. There were young people, families and little kids, said Patrick Yantes, 22, a senior at U-Mary who attended the march for the first time.

We all came together for one thing: human life. And thats definitely something that people take for granted," said Victoria Degenstein, a junior nursing student at U-Mary.

The students left the capital city Saturday and planned to return Sunday evening. Last year, U-Mary students on the way back from the march got caught in a blizzard and were stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 20 hours. The students managed to remain optimistic during that time, and they appear to be in high spirits this year, as well.

Its super easy. I thought a 30-hour bus ride was going to be the most miserable thing ever, but everyones spirits are up and its just a good time," Yantes said after the buses stopped in Pennsylvania for food.
Before elected officials start talking about the proposed budget for the University of Nebraska they ought to take a minute to think about the impact the university has on the state.

For starters, NU and its four campuses are the gateways to rewarding careers for students.

And, almost as importantly, NU is one of the biggest economic drivers for the state of Nebraska.

Thats what taxpayers and elected officials in state government should keep in mind as they contemplate the severity of the spending cuts proposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Anti-tax advocates in Nebraska seem to have great success in selling tax cuts as a stimulus for economic development. According to the think tanks bankrolled by billionaires, tax cuts are the beginning and the end of economic development.

But if you talk to the people who actually are engaged in boosting local economies, you hear a different story. What do businesses look for when locating or expanding? They look for communities and states where the schools are good, where the work ethic is strong , where the quality of life is high and where opportunities exist for workforce development.

Nebraska ranks reasonably well on the first three items.

The biggest complaint that employers have about Nebraska is that its difficult to find workers who are properly trained.

What does NU do?

Bingo. It develops a modern workforce for 21st century jobs.

Educate young Nebraskans and doing research that helps businesses thrive in todays economy is one of NUs most important and basic missions.

Thats whats at risk in the deep cuts that Ricketts has proposed for the current year and the coming two years.

The impact of proposed budget cuts this year and the next biennial budget came into sharp focus Friday in the presentation that NU President Hank Bounds made to the Board of Regents.

--Eliminating about 350 staff and faculty jobs could cover about half the $58.3 million drop in state support.

--A tuition hike of 7 percent would cover the other half, but enrollment would drop an estimated 1.5 percent.

Looking strictly at state expenditures, its true that state support for NU has increased over the years. But in the big picture state support for the university has been declining as a share of overall state spending.

In 1984 NU was 21.3 percent of the state budget. Now its down to 13.3 percent, Bounds said. Since 2000 total state appropriations have risen 89 percent. In comparison, appropriations for NU have increased only 57 percent.

Theres little doubt that the recent downturn in state revenue means that elected officials need to find places to trim spending. But the deep cuts proposed for NU are counter-productive. The cuts mean fewer graduates and fewer job opportunities. They mean slower economic growth. Thats not in the Nebraskas long-term interests.
With the start of tax season, stress levels are rising at many small businesses.

Even owners who are organized, keep good books and stay in touch with their accountants can find compiling returns to be a painful process.

One reason is that tax laws change often, says Rosamaria Bravo, a certified public accountant with the firm MBAF in Miami. One of this years big differences: Partnership returns must be filed by March 15, a month earlier than in the past. Companies known as C corporations have a filing deadline of mid-April, after having a March due date in past years.

Its very hard to stay on top of all the information, Bravo says. The average business owner is more worried about their day-to-day operations.

Here are some lessons small business owners learned:

Use software wisely: When Christina Divigard started an advertising agency, she bought accounting software and began keeping the companys books herself. When tax season arrived, she discovered that out of inexperience, shed incorrectly entered some information and misclassified some types of deductions. It took two weeks to get her books in order.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have put more effort and budget behind setting up systems properly from the get-go, says Divigard, managing director of New York-based Valvespring.

Divigard subsequently hired a bookkeeper to help set up accounts and understand how to input income and expenses. She also learned more about the need to put expenses into different accounting categories  for example, meals during a business trip are different from meals to entertain customers under the tax law.

Having a system that is correctly set up has reduced the chance of errors, and even if Divigard has to do repair work, now it takes me a day rather than two weeks.

Keeping up with the changes: Complying with tax law revisions can be hard even with a bookkeeper and accountant, Barbara Karpf has learned. As of this year, businesses must file W-2 forms and 1099 forms with the IRS by Jan. 31. While companies were previously required to give those forms to workers by the end of January, they didnt have to get them to the government until the end of February. The government can charge a penalty if it gets the forms late.

That created extra pressure for Karpf. Her home decor company, DecoratorsBest, moved offices in New York right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of its busiest sales days. After she hired movers and a painter for the new space, she realized she needed to get information like Social Security numbers and addresses from eight people.

Well into January she was still getting all the information together so 1099 forms for freelancers and other contract workers could get to the government, as well as the workers, on time.

Its more work in a shorter period of time, Karpf says.

Keep track of expenses: When an owner is running a business day by day and also trying to do long-term strategic planning, details like tax-deductible expenses can get lost in the shuffle, creating a headache later. Deborah Sweeney has learned to look at her books monthly to be sure expenses like charitable donations and the costs of employee meetings are entered properly.

That way, we dont have to scramble at the end of the year, says Sweeney, owner of MyCorporation.com, a Calabasas, California-based company that helps businesses incorporate online.

Sweeney recalls errors of past years, such as not taking a deduction for a service contract on a printer. She has also learned to take her questions to her accountant to be sure shes not missing some of the finer points of rules about deductions. For example: How do we categorize new furniture  do we write it off or depreciate it? What amount of an owners health care costs is deductible?

Find the best help: Diane Hamilton, though, has struggled to find an accountant whos a good fit for her company, which makes computer and phone apps. She has worked with large accounting firms in the Richmond, Virginia, area where her Binary Formations business is located. But the bills climbed as she called with questions.

You look at how much they charge and the amount of revenue you bring in, and it isnt working, she says.

When she switched to a much smaller accounting firm, she found herself doing as much work as when she tried to handle her taxes herself. Shes still hoping to find the right tax professional for her company.
As neither presidential candidate was my first choice, I've been watching the newly-elected president's nominations for cabinet posts and other appointments with interest. It seems to me that he's nominated just about every buddy, friend or medal winner of Mr. Vladimir Putin that the US has to offer for high ranking posts in our government, plus hired a law firm that has won an award from Russia, for being the best law firm in America representing Russia. Maybe his hats that read "Make America Great Again" should have read "Make America Russia for the First Time."
The downtown Rotary Club of Tulsa started an introspection a couple of years ago.

As part of a strategic plan review, the groups leadership initiated an assessment to see how well the club reflected the community it serves.

To me, in this country, we are all becoming more polarized  news sources are polarized and people hang out with people who look like them and think like them. Thats not how the world really is, said Jeff Hassell, past president of the club.

There are people saying bad things about other people but dont know them. Its so important for them to be in personal contact with those who are different from them. Thats for every organization.

The downtown Rotary Club was established in 1915 and is one of the largest in the international organization. Traditionally, it has been a predominantly male and white club.

Through the decades, changes were made to be more inclusive including allowing women membership 28 years ago and changing to a civic prayer instead of an exclusive Christian one.

But, members noticed a stagnation and set out to reignite an effort to bring in more ideas and people of different backgrounds as members and speakers. Its an acknowledgement that all demographic indicators show the community is becoming more diverse, not less.

We are a service club and are responsible for educating and entertaining our members, he said. We should be a leader to inform our members about those who look different and to form relationships. You are going to be way more informed of an opinion once you have a relationship with those people who are different from you.

During Hassells term, the newly formed diversity and inclusion committee made three recommendations: amending bylaws to explicitly express a commitment to diversity and inclusion, taking steps to feature diverse speakers at luncheon meetings, and hosting events to showcase diversity and inclusion.

All were approved.

Attorney Hannibal Johnson, who has written about the Tulsa Race Riot and provides consultation services on diversity, has been a member of the club for 11 years. He led the committee that made the recommendations and will be president of the club in 2018.

Johnson said there has been no push-back or opposition to the incremental changes.

Quite the contrary; Ive received compliments on this new direction, he said.

The committee remains intact with a goal of recruiting people of diverse backgrounds including professions, race, ethnicity, faith and gender.

We want to make sure our offerings in terms of speakers and value-added elements help attract and retain a broad array of Tulsans who feel welcome and included at our meetings and have opportunities to rise through the leadership ranks, Johnson said.

Current president John Rains has remained committed to the effort, saying diversity includes socioeconomic status.

We felt diversity is important and very crucial to being effective in the community, Rains said. We need diversity if we are going to go in and do service projects. There is such value to connect to service projects with people of different backgrounds.

Speakers are sought to introduce different perspectives of experiences, opinions and needs in the community. Some of the seating arrangement has been tweaked to encourage more interactions.

Its really empowering our clubs work to be more relevant and effective in the community, Rains said. This is intentional inclusivity. Its really assessing everything we do in the future  Are we really a reflection of the diversity about our community and engaged in those projects necessary to make the community better as a whole and not just better for some.

The effort is not about checklists, goals or quotas. Its a philosophical return to the mission of community service.

Its not about attracting new members or claiming 23 percent are women. Thats all irrelevant to me, Rains said. The point is collaboration with groups to make change in the community. Its the work thats important.

Along the way, diversity of membership will change, as it already has started.

It seems to be appropriate and fitting to have people of many different views and listen to what they have to say and get to know them, Hassell said. Its not a big change, but you have to be deliberate about it.

I hope we can look back in a few years and be proud of what weve done. I think we will.
Nuclear weapons remain the most powerful on the planet, and how President Donald Trumps team manages nuclear issues is critical to our security. These are hard challenges; none were perfectly addressed under President Obamas leadership. But we made them a priority from day one. Whether or not the new team puts them at the top of the to-do list, here are five issues that will demand their attention before too long.

1. Dealing with a nuclear North Korea: This is a hard problem. I know. Ive been working on it since the early 1990s, including when I was the U.S. government lead monitor at the Yongbyon nuclear facility in 1995-1996. Despite Americas best efforts, North Koreas nuclear and missile programs could soon threaten the United States directly. Having crossed the nuclear threshold in the early 1990s, North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un has made clear possession of nuclear capabilities and advancement of missile technology are his definition of power and control. He will not willingly give them up. President Trump drew an early red line Tweeting that a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile flight wont happen, practically daring Kim to test the new U.S. leadership. How President Trumps national security team decides to address this creeping crisis  through deterrence, containment, enhanced pressure, or even military prevention  while reassuring our critical allies, South Korea and Japan, will be a key challenge. Kim will want their answer sooner than they think.

2. Nuclear relations with Russia: It remains unclear how President Trump intends to deal with Russias aggression in Europe and nuclear saber-rattling. During the final years of Obamas term, we were increasingly concerned that any crisis with Moscow could spiral out of control and lead to early use of nuclear weapons by Russia. Putins paranoia that our goal was regime change was that strong. Why do you think we worked so hard to avoid a military accident over the skies of Syria? Softer words between Presidents Trump and Putin are nice but wont ease Moscows fear that Washington seeks an ability to conduct a splendid first-strike that could eliminate most Russian nuclear missiles using advanced conventional weapons, leaving only handful to be mopped up by increasingly capable missile defense. How the White House navigates its desire to advance missile defense and military spending while defusing Russian nuclear fears also remains to be seen.

3. The nuclear future of Iran: Republicans made no secret of their hatred for the nuclear deal with Iran. They might as well have called it ObamaDeal. Of course, now that we are out of office those who demanded the deal be killed dont think it quite so bad. In reality, if the deal is implemented it will prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon for decades, if not permanently. But the agreement requires constant care and feeding. And we have seen Republicans torpedo similar effective nonproliferation agreements before. The 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea  also negotiated by a democratic president and hated by GOP  froze that countrys nuclear program for eight years, until Newt Gingrichs Congress froze funds to implement the deal. Instead of begging for a new deal, North Korea developed new nuclear facilities and was off to the races. Repeating this mistake with Iran would be the definition of insanity  doing the same but expecting a different result. Whether Trumps team will have their heart in preserving the Iran deal remains to be seen, but allowing it to collapse has predictable results.

4. Preventing nuclear terrorism: Among the many successes of the Obama administration, perhaps none is as underappreciated as the Nuclear Security Summit process. Over eight years, four summits and countless hours of hard, under-the-radar work, enough nuclear material for hundreds of weapons from dozens of countries is no longer at risk of theft by nuclear terrorists. But there remain many caches of nuclear stocks in places where it should not be allowed to remain. How Trump convinces these states with nuclear materials to comply with global standards and give up their goods is a key question. How he does it when he seems to also be willing to undermine our relations with allies and global partners is a better question.

5. Walking the razors edge on disarmament: How does the old adage go? You catch more nuclear diplomats with honey than with vinegar? There is an increasing number of countries that have grown impatient with the pace of nuclear disarmament  and for some reason. Several of these states have launched U.N.-sponsored negotiations to create a legally binding global ban on nuclear weapons. Now if the Trump team was irritated at the U.N. before, wait until they hear about this! But this centrist approach  to defend the step-by-step pace of disarmament that has reduced the number of U.S. nuclear weapons to a 50-year low  might not be popular with the Ban crowd, or with key actors in the new administration, but it has been essential to keeping wavering U.S. allies in Japan, Germany, Holland, and others from backing the ban movement. Losing allied states to the dangerous extreme of a global ban treaty could put the existing nonproliferation regime under pressure and weaken the norms at the very moment we need them most. How we get states like India, Pakistan, China, and North Korea to show nuclear restraint when we are throwing the old rules under the bus will be a pretty dicey proposition.

There are too many ways in which nuclear weapon issues can go sideways. Accidents, mistakes, conflicts that get out of control  these can happen at any time, and no administration is ever fully prepared. But these five issues are real and persistent and will test the new team soon.

Getting out of the gate cleanly  something they have not been able to do on foreign policy  is essential. Without it, the new team can find themselves playing Whac-a-mole with nuclear weapons.

Not a great way to make America great again.

Jon B. Wolfsthal served as senior director for arms control and nonproliferation at the National Security Council.
New episodes of Madam Secretary resume on TEN in early February.

The show picks up with S3E7 Tectonic Shift which aired in the US in November.

It will be interesting to see if the show has to address the new US presidency, given recent edicts from the White House. I doubt the mediating Elizabeth McCord would last under the current President

After Venezuelas president and his immediate successors are killed in a devastating earthquake, Elizabeth works to stop a power grab by the late presidents son, as well as secure the release of the international aid team he arrested.

Elizabeths brother Will is torn between saving his marriage by settling down and taking a job at Walter Reed Medical Centre or going to Venezuela to assist in the relief effort.

With the eavesdropping sandal Henry is involved with, the McCord family are facing further turmoil.

9:30pm Wednesday February 8 on TEN.
Some organizations want to portray school choice as a movement against public schools. Personally, Im very grateful for my own K-12 public education and the public educations of my children at district schools here in Lincoln, as well as district and charter schools in other states. The school choice movement is about embracing K-12 education in its many forms so that each and every child can access the educational resources that will help them to reach their goals ("Private, charter school advocates gather at Capitol," Jan. 27).

For most kids in Lincoln, public schools work very well and will continue to work well as more choices become available. Some kids need other options, however, and as we embrace and support those options, well send the rising generation the message that their educations are so important that we put politics aside to ensure they get what they need. A child is not worth less to our community because he homeschools or attends a private or online school. They are as much a part of the public as a child who attends the neighborhood district elementary school.

If we truly value equal opportunity, don't children deserve our attention and support? Promoting school choice is simply supporting the individual educational goals of all of our communitys children. What could be more public-spirited than that?

Rachel Terry, Lincoln
There were regrets aplenty among the UEFA Europa League contenders at the weekend as Roma and Fenerbahce lost ground in their domestic title hunts and Anderlecht spurned the chance to go top in Belgium.

Roma's pursuit of Juventus took a hit as the Giallorossi suffered a surprise 3-2 loss at Sampdoria after taking an early lead through Bruno Peres. The result left the capital side four points adrift of Juve having played one game more, while there were goals too as fellow last-32 hopefuls Fiorentina drew 3-3 at home with Genoa.

Bastian Schweinsteiger scored for United Getty Images

As for Fenerbahce, they slipped to their first defeat in ten games in all competitions in a 4-1 reverse at Kayserispor. Their heaviest Super Lig loss since they went down 3-0 at Besiktas in November 2009, that left Fener seven points shy of leaders Istanbul Basaksehir in fourth.

Anderlecht are a point off the Belgian summit, meanwhile, having been unable to build on a 2-0 victory for UEFA Europa League compatriots Gent at home to pacesetters Club Brugge. Instead, they could only draw 0-0 with nine-man Standard Liege. There was better news for the English contingent, as both Manchester United and Tottenham progressed through to the FA Cup fifth round.

MONDAY

Besiktas 5-1 Konyaspor

SUNDAY

Genclerbirligi 1-1 Osmanlspor

Gent 2-0 Club Brugge

Vitesse 2-1 AZ

Ajax 3-0 Den Haag

Ethnikos Achnas 2-3 APOEL

Fiorentina 3-3 Genoa

Sampdoria 3-2 Roma

Panetolikos 0-1 PAOK

Manchester United 4-0 Wigan (FA Cup last 32)

Kayserispor 4-1 Fenerbahce

Toulouse 0-3 St-Etienne

Anderlecht 0-0 Standard

Veria 1-2 Olympiacos

Athletic 2-1 Sporting Gijon

SATURDAY

Villarreal 2-0 Granada

Tottenham 4-3 Wycombe (FA Cup last 32)

Lyon 1-2 LOSC Lille

Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-0 Ironi Kiryat Shmona

Leverkusen 2-3 Monchengladbach

Mechelen 1-0 Genk

Leganes 0-2 Celta

FRIDAY

Schalke 0-1 Frankfurt

NO GAME

Astra Giurgiu: the Romanian Liga 1 is on winter break until the weekend of 4 February

Kbenhavn: the Danish Super League is on winter break until the weekend of 18 February

Krasnodar, Rostov, Zenit: the Russian Premier-Liga is on winter break until the weekend of 4 March

Legia Warszawa: the Polish Ekstraklasa is on winter break until the weekend of 11 February

Ludogorets Razgrad: the Bulgarian A League is on winter break until the weekend of 11 February

Shakhtar Donetsk: the Ukrainian Premier League is on winter break until the weekend of 25 February

Sparta Praha: the Czech First League is on winter break until the weekend of 18 February
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
As Jim Vokal spouts income tax cuts for the wealthy and property tax relief from his Ricketts funded soapbox ("Dont believe the spin against income tax reform," Jan. 22), he continually and with intent leaves out very important information.

For example, he always references Florida, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. However, he never states that in Florida the poorest 20 percent of its citizens pay 13.2 percent of Florida's tax bill, the middle 60 percent pay 8.3 percent and the highest 1 percent pay 2.3 percent. In Texas, the state's poorest 20 percent pay 12.6 percent, the middle 60 percent pay 8.8 percent and the top 1 percent pay 3.2 percent. Meanwhile, in Arizona, the poorest 20 percent pay 12.9 percent of Arizona's tax bill, the middle 60 percent pay 9.7 percent and the top 1 percent pay 4.7 percent.

Washington, a state with no income tax, has a sales tax of 8.8 percent, a gasoline tax of 37.5 cents per gallon and the 20th highest property tax in the nation.

So, Jim Vokal, the next time you offer information please discontinue your practice of being disingenuous and instead please give us the rest of the information.

Alvin Guentehr, Dunbar
The baseball, still with its original box, has been certified by Professional Sports Authenticator, which gave it a score of 8.5 on its 10-point scale. Bidding will start at $50,000.
The company would increase the capacity of the plant to 790 million litres a year in 2024 and 1.215 billion litres a year in 2030, as well as extend the projects life to 50 years.

At the ceremony to hand over the certificate of investment, Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the Hanoi Peoples Committee said he appreciated the contribution of American investors in general and Coca-Cola Vietnam in particular in the export of Hanoi as well as the citys socioeconomic development. He said the city would do all it can to facilitate the operation of Coca-Cola Vietnam.

Coca-Cola Vietnam started investment in Vietnam with a project in Hanoi in 1994. The project is located in Duyen Thai commune of Thuong Tin district.

From 1994 to 2013 the company did not pay a dime of corporate income tax though it continuously invested in expanding operations. In 2014 however, the company reported profit and paid the authorities $20 million in tax.

The company was among many multinationals in operating in Vietnam suspected of transfer pricing. According to number earlier released, since its establishment in February of 1994 to the end of 2010 the company incurred cumulative loss of VND3.768 trillion ($166.8 million), higher than the initial investment of VND800 billion ($35.42 million). In 2011, 2012 and 2013 it continued to report loss. The reason for the loss, according to the company, is the very high cost of ingredients that it has to import from the parent company, and this expense accounts for between 70 and 85 per cent of the cost of production.
Localities in Vietnam are promoting procedural streamlining and anti-corruption stances in search for FDI Photo: Le Toan

In late November 2016, the northern province of Hung Yen, over 30 kilometres southeast of central Hanoi, witnessed a special event.

Japans Sumitomo Corporation and Thang Long Industrial Park II, of which Sumitomo holds a 92 per cent stake, established the Hung Yen Province Japan Desk.

The desk serves as a liaison point for Japanese companies who are considering expanding into the province. It works with relevant state agencies to help fast-track investment applications, establish companies, and certify supporting industries.

Specifically, it is aimed to reduce the time needed to grant an investment certificate to Japanese investors in Hung Yen by at least 80 per cent.

Japan currently makes up over 70 per cent of the provinces total foreign direct investment (FDI).

At the Thang Long Industrial Park II, about half of the tenant companies are small- and medium-sized Japanese firms, and many represent their companies first ventures overseas.

To assist in the expansion of these firms, the park has concluded agreements with the Japanese local governments of Kanagawa and Hyogo prefectures and Hamamatsu city on providing exemptions from management fees for the first year and other support.

Since its establishment inside the park, the desk has helped some Japanese firms obtain their investment certificates within two days, instead of the 18 days it might have taken previous.

Many Japanese firms are interested in developing supporting-industry projects in Vietnam, where the supporting industry remains weak, said the desks member Goki Nobute. What we do at the desk is examine investors investment dossiers, provide them with consultancy, and then complete procedures to grant them an investment certificate within the shortest time.

Japan Desk is seen as a big breakthrough in Hung Yens attempt to attract more foreign investment, said Nguyen Van Phong, Chairman of Hung Yen Peoples Committee.

Before, if Japanese investors wanted to seek information and obtain investment or business registration certificates, they often had to go to the local departments of Planning and Investment, and Natural Resources and Environment, or to the provincial Industrial Park Management Board, to get the necessary paperwork.

But now, they go to only one place which can fully satisfy their needs, Phong said. And clients dont have to pay for any of the services.

In fact, the model of the Japan Desk has also been effectively implemented in other localities, such as Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Bac Giang, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. As of December 20 last year, Japan was Vietnams second biggest foreign investor in terms of registered capital, with 3,282 valid investment projects worth over $42.1 billion.

Quang Ninh is also the lone region in Vietnam that has a co-operation programme with the Japan External Trade Organization, which provides consultancy for the province to attract more Japanese investments. Currently, the province has seven Japanese valid investment projects registered at $430 million.

Innovation allures FDI

Innovations in FDI attraction by provincial governments have helped transform the countrys FDI landscape over the past few years.

In 2015, Danang launched a campaign via a video clip named Lets smile, which demonstrates the citys business-friendly climate. The video shows Danangs administrative staff presenting clients with smiles when they help them process administrative procedures.

In addition, the city has allowed businesses to register their establishment online, which enables investors to obtain business certificates within one to two days, two days less than before. The online registration system has also truncated nearly 50 per cent of investment-related procedures.

The Lets smile campaign, the online registration system, and the citys one-stop shop for dealing with investor issues all contributed to Danangs first ranking in the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industrys Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for 2015. Danang has placed first in PCI for three consecutive years, and six times total since the index was launched in 2005.

For richer regions like Ho Chi Minh City, the local government has its own initiative. Since late October 2016, the municipal Department of Planning and Investment began online services for foreign investors, including investment registration, capital contribution, and stake purchasing.

In February 2016, the department also launched an at-home business registration service for foreign investors.

Notably, last year, the city earmarked a financial package of VND1 trillion ($45.45 million) for supporting startup activities, and another package worth VND2 trillion ($90.9 million) to prop up city-based enterprises to modernise technology.

As a result, the city saw 36,000 newly-established enterprises in 2016, up 12.7 per cent year-on-year. In addition, there was a 35.8 per cent rise in expanded capital of operational enterprises.

Another typical case is the northern province of Bac Ninh which is home to South Korean-backed Samsungs electronics investment projects, worth $6.5 billion in all.

Last month, leaders of South Koreas Hanwha Techwin Company, a specialist in making security equipment, went to Bac Ninh to discuss the companys $50 million project. The firm is expected to begin construction within 2017s first quarter.

Hanwha Techwins CEO Yang Jin Seol said in addition to the one-stop shop in dealing with bureaucracy that Bac Ninh has offered, he liked seeing the provincial leaders directly deal with investors difficulties. This includes punishing all staff involved in corruption or bribery.

Currently, Bac Ninh has 920 valid foreign-invested projects, registered at over $21.25 billion. This includes last years figures of over 150 projects worth $454 million.

Hanoi has also been known as a good destination for enterprise establishment. In October 2016, Swiss State Secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch and a delegation of Swiss enterprises visited the Hanoi Business Registration Office. Ineichen-Fleisch said that she was very impressed by the achievements and efficiency of the business registration reform programme in Vietnam over the past years.

The time needed for establishing an enterprise at the office was reduced from 15 days in 2010 to about two days now.

The business registration reform programme in Vietnam started in 2008 with support of international organisations such as the Swiss Cooperation Office for Vietnam (SECO). From 2010 through 2018, SECO will have provided financial support of over $12.3 million for two projects: Technical assistance to business registration reform in Vietnam and Expansion of the national business registration system to new business entities.

We expect that in 2017, 100 per cent of business registration dossiers will be conducted online [compared to 70 per cent in 2016], said Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi Peoples Committee.

If you had been here about five years ago, you would have seen how significant this change was. Enterprises no longer have to stand in a long queue to submit dossiers or to receive guidance, he added.

In search of bigger fruit

Vietnam went up nine places in the World Bank Doing Business 2016 report, which ranks economies worldwide by measuring their business environment. The country jumped to 82nd place out of 190 economies. Vietnam posted improvements in such indicators as access to electricity (+5 places); protecting minority investors (+31); paying taxes (+11); trading across borders (+15); and resolving insolvency (+1).

It is clear that apart from the central governments efforts to construct a more enabling and responsive government in favour of enterprises, innovations made by local governments in FDI attraction have leveraged Vietnams position on global investors radar screen.

For Japans Sumitomo Corporation, thanks to the Japan Desk model, this firm has been more successful in alluring tenants to the Thang Long Industrial Park II. Sumitomo is planning to increase the parks rental land from the current 30,000 square metres to 60,000 square metres within the next few years to meet growing demand.

Optimistic about the provinces outlook to attract more Japanese investors, Chairman Phong of Hung Yen provincial said that in the time to come, the time needed for establishing an enterprise in the province will have to be reduced to only one day and the time needed to process other administrative procedures to be cut by 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh Citys Department of Planning and Investment reported that in 2017, the city will further improve its business climate so that this year will see 50,000 newly-established enterprises, and the figure is expected to rise to 500,000 by 2020.
Why do you want to talk about changes of enterprises in 2017?

In 2016, entrepreneurs always said that they believe in and support the governments efforts to build up a more enabling and responsive government. However, they still dont trust specific state employees.

Earlier, due to economic woes, many enterprises stopped performing, while the rest have been struggling to stay afloat. So enterprises confidence is not high. However, the government is making great strides to revive their confidence.

In early December 2016, at the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2016 in Hanoi, you highlighted a series of hurdles facing enterprises. Could you elaborate on these?

Vietnams business environment has yet to reach the average level of ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand). Some standards of the Vietnamese economy are lower than the average level of ASEAN-6 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam). Thus local enterprises health remains weak, making it difficult to compete and co-operate with foreign enterprises.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently removed a series of regulations that we earlier mentioned at the VBF 2016, such as the elimination of the energy labelling procedures before products customs clearance is conducted, and the removal of planning on rice exports.

Although much remains to be done by this ministry, what it has done is very encouraging.

The same is also true at the local level. For example in the north-western province of Dien Bien, the leadership wants to continue dialogues with enterprises and learn from other localities ways to improve the provinces business climate. Dien Biens provincial competitiveness index (PCI) is ranked 53rd out of Vietnams 63 provinces and cities. Such a low PCI means enterprises remain unhappy with Dien Biens business environment.

However, the changes will strengthen enterprises confidence. But such changes are not enough, and will become really successful when state officers accomplish their duties with enthusiasm and gusto, not because they were ordered to do so by their bosses. Thats the nature of an enabling government.

As it goes with institutions, so it goes with enterprises. Enterprises are eager to grab opportunities. This is a very important condition for Vietnamese enterprises to achieve the goals that they have missed out on in the 10 years Vietnam has been a member of the World Trade Organization.

Industry leaders are seeking ways to keep the future economy inclusive and relevant for Vietnamese values Photo: Le Toan

You once said that the fourth industrial revolution will significantly change the global trade picture. Do you think that this will bring bigger challenges to Vietnamese enterprises?

The US Ford Group has recently annulled its billion-dollar project in Mexico, while a Japanese insurance firm has sacked 34,000 employees to use artificial intelligence instead. Taiwans Foxconn Group has replaced many employees with 60,000 robots. This evidence shows that Vietnams advantages, such as cheap labour and labour-intensive sectors like footwear and garments, will not be the mainstay for economic growth.

Even the agricultural sector, which is often considered one of the economys impetuses, is also being faced with great challenges caused by climate change, which is forcing farmers to change their crop structure, with high-yield rice varieties used for production.

We also think about why Vietnams culinary culture is not famous worldwide, though the country has many excellent types of foods. Some Vietnamese foodstuff firms have even been sold to foreign firms.

Vietnamese firms are finding ways to answer such questions, with new business strategies and development orientations. Of course, their efforts must be fuelled by the governments support. But all big changes must start with small actions. Enterprises need safer and more transparent policies to make changes.

Vietnam will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit (APEC) 2017 in November in the south-central city of Danang. This will be a great opportunity for the country to promote its image and improved business climate to the world. What stories will you, as the CEO of the APEC CEO Summit, tell to the world?

I will talk about Vietnams enterprises in an inclusive economy. The enterprises include small- and medium-sized ones, and households who are trying to make their lives better. I will also talk about local big enterprises which are focusing on producing organic vegetables and safe meat, in collaboration with farmer households.

Additionally, I will talk about Vietnams young people and students coming back to their homeland from overseas to establish startups, with traditional products which have international standards and are sold both in physical locations and online.

It is also necessary to stress that APEC 2017 will, for the first time, use the term inclusive economy, in which super-small enterprises roles are included in the events agenda.

I do believe that local enterprises stories will provide an unforgettable narrative for the APEC leaders and global CEOs. Moreover, Vietnamese enterprises also need to listen to these stories.

I also want to talk about the gift that we will present to the APEC leaders and global CEOs. We have selected the statue of a mother embracing her children, a depiction of the legendary Au Co  the mother who gave birth to Vietnamese civilisation. In the legend, she bore an egg sac that hatched one hundred children, 50 of whom were boys and 50 of whom were girls. The legend is the symbol of Vietnams Dao Mau religion.

The legend of Au Co conveys a message about our communitys solidarity, which we hope will resonate with APECs guests. We want, via the symbol, to entice them to come to Vietnam for business or travel, just as symbols like the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, or the Manneken Pis statue in Brussels intrigue us about those places.

Currently, the final design is being considered. I think that it can be used as a gift or can be placed in a park or a tourism area.

Do you think that APEC will also offer great opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises?

Yes. From the past through now, APEC has referred to the participation of major economic groups.

However, at APEC 2017, the roles of super-small enterprises, households, and individual entrepreneurs will be mentioned. Why? Because while the Trans-Pacific Partnerships future remains in question, the APEC leaders hope to head for a new economic institution with deeper integration and advanced technology, without anyone being left behind.

In this new message, Vietnams enterprises have seen many opportunities for themselves  in co-operating with big enterprises, and even in becoming wealthy global entrepreneurs.

Of course, in order to prevent opportunities from turning into challenges, local enterprises must continue improving themselves to reach the worlds common standards. Otherwise, they will be left behind.

I also expect that local enterprises will always keep in mind the humaneness in business via their experiences. Thats the business culture of Vietnamese people  tolerance and sharing, with responsible businesses and environmentally friendly products. They can leave their business imprints in the inclusive economy with their own creative business path.

My colleagues and I are also seeking local specialities to introduce to special guests at the APEC 2017. In 2000, former US President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam and enjoyed Vietnamese noodle soup pho. Also, in May 2016, when visiting Vietnam, outgoing US President Barack Obama enjoyed bun cha [a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodle] in Hanoi. This event made big media headlines.
Whether they are in fintech, e-commerce, or agriculture, when it comes to startups there is no reward without a little risk Photo: Le Toan

A quest for creativity

Vietnams hottest buzzword for 2016 must have been startups, as never before have millions of young Vietnamese been so warmly encouraged to innovate and start their own business. To show its commitment to young entrepreneurs, the Vietnamese government named 2016 as the year of startups.

Under the spotlight, the passion young Vietnamese have for innovation is more evident than ever. In just a few years, these ambitious minds have come up with creative solutions for various industries within Vietnam, and brought some fresh ideas to seemingly boring sectors.

Take financial technology (fintech) as an example. According to the World Bank, 70 per cent of the Vietnamese population remains unbanked, while the rising middle-class has more sophisticated financial needs than ever before. Vietnam Banking Forum also estimates that 38 per cent of the Vietnamese population owns a smartphone.

Young entrepreneurs have immediately identified opportunities regarding these trends, and 30 fintech startups have been launched within the last four years. Unlike banks, which tend to be conservative and formal, fintech startups are user-friendly and trendy in design.

Among them is MoMo, which implements the novel idea of making cashless payments via point-of-sale terminals in urban and rural areas. Via mobile technology, the startup aims to make e-payments easier, even for those living in remote areas without a bank account.

To gain customers trust, MoMo has built a two-level security system for e-wallet users. We launched fingerprint identification and acquired the PCI DSS security certificate. 2016 has been a wildly successful year for us, as we currently have 4.5 million users, 2.5 million of whom have registered for the e-wallet, MoMo deputy chairman Nguyen Ba Diep told VIR.

Besides fintech, Vietnamese entrepreneurs have used their creativity to tap into other traditional sectors such as agriculture and medical care, although returns may take longer. For example, Le Anh Duc, the owner of Lee Farm, beamed with excitement when talking about his 10,000sq.m organic farm in Binh Phuoc province.

I realised that as Vietnamese customers become more health-conscious, the demand for organic produce will surpass supply. As a fruit and vegetable lover myself, Ive seized this opportunity by adopting a Thai-based greenhouse farming module and a drip irrigation system from Israel. This combination for organic farming is the first of its kind in Vietnam, Duc said. In 2017, he plans to double the size of his farm and apply for a business licence.

In medical care technology, eDoctor is a mobile app that allows people to access healthcare information and connect with doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies via smartphones. And it all started with a simple observation: the founders noted that people in the countryside have to travel long distances to get medical care in the city, which is costly and time-consuming.

Using eDoctor, people can find and connect with their doctors through calls and in-app messages. If they need to see a specialist, they can even use the app to book a visit to the closest clinic. People are also able to save and track their own health records, as well as records of family members and dependents, said the firms CEO Vu Thanh Long. As of December 2016, eDoctor had reached 210,000 users. A target of one million users is set for the end of 2017.

The legal roadblock

With the wide range of examples above, it is not hard to see that Vietnamese entrepreneurs are bursting with creativity. However, just like a young bird that is excited to fly, Vietnamese startups still need more assistance to reach the distant horizon.

One of the major issues is Vietnams legal system, which lags behind the fast-changing world of startups, and creates confusion that frustrates entrepreneurs. In July 2016, controversy broke out over Article 292 of the revised Criminal Law, which stated that all businesses must acquire permission before offering online services.

As processing paperwork in Vietnam can take longer than in countries like Singapore, many startups have called on the government to install more progressive rules. In response to the uproar, last October lawmakers proposed to eliminate Article 292 and assured that it would not hurt startups activities.

Diep of MoMo hoped that the legal framework would be more responsive to new services and products made by startups. For instance, the State Bank of Vietnam has released guidelines on intermediary payment but not peer-to-peer lending or crowdfunding.

The government has paid due attention to creating a startup ecosystem on a national scale, to attract investors as well as entrepreneurs. The legal procedures, however, are somehow much more complicated than in neighbouring places like Singapore or Hong Kong, posing a major hurdle for investors who want to reach out to local startups, said CEO of Liti Florist Krystine Nguyen.

Meanwhile, Long of eDoctor acknowledged recent efforts made by the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee to promote entrepreneurship, but called for more detailed rules on preferential taxes and bank credits for startups. He also feels a stronger startup ecosystem in Vietnam is necessary.

Vu Tuan Anh, head of the Community Startup Division at Hoa Sen Group and founder of Vietnam Institute of Management, suggested that the government dedicates a certain amount of seed money for startups and provide training for entrepreneurs  essentially acting as an angel investor. He called this a startup value chain that can groom young students into business-savvy entrepreneurs within five years.

Helping from outside and in

The government is indeed listening to the suggestions of startups as part of its master plan to turn Vietnam into a startup nation. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, during a meeting with university students in Hanoi last November, remarked on his belief that Vietnam must do everything it can to push the entrepreneurial spirit in young people.

The young generation in Vietnam is very creative, and yet among 90 million Vietnamese, there are only 600,000 businesses. I request relevant ministries, the Youth Association and universities to help young entrepreneurs create new value for society and move the country forward, he said.

In response to the prime ministers request, the authorities have rolled out various programmes to assist startups. Last month, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology commenced Speedup 2017, under which entrepreneurs can receive up to VND2 billion ($88,500) in capital from the department and participating investors. Startups will receive training and networking opportunities as well.

The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee has also launched a Business Startup Support Centre as an incubator for startups to raise capital, learn management skills, and network. Similarly, the Hanoi Peoples Committee established an incubator for IT startups last November.

Besides clarifying the issue with Article 292 of the revised Criminal Law, lawmakers are pushing the entrepreneurship agenda in their meetings. The National Assembly has added startups into the proposed Law on Supporting Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises, which will be up for further debate in 2017.

Various companies such as FPT Corporation, Hoa Sen Group, Lotte Group, and AIA have announced plans to support Vietnamese startups, in the form of capital or knowledge sharing.

However, it is vital that startups themselves have enough confidence, drive, and talent to serve their community. In his meeting with university students, the prime minister reminded aspiring entrepreneurs that their innovations do not have to be grand or exotic  it can begin with a need to solve a common, everyday problem.

Sometimes new ideas arent accepted by the market yet, but thats fine  young startups should not let failures block their way to success, Phuc said.

Please remember that as long as you follow your dream, youre contributing to the future of Vietnam. I suggest that you focus on your studies, participate in community activities, and intern at companies to understand what Vietnamese society needs and build your product offerings around that.

Similarly, CEO of FPT Corporation Truong Gia Binh advised young entrepreneurs to start small and focus on serving the needs of their community. Binh himself built FPT Corporation in 1988 to give Vietnamese people access to technological breakthroughs, such as internet, TV, and computer software.

When we started FPT Corporation we struggled a lot. Its true that nine out of 10 startups will fail, but it also means one chance of success  and I think young entrepreneurs should go for that. I believe this is a great time to start a business in Vietnam as the country is growing, the majority of the population is young, and the average income level is rising, said Binh at a recent startup event in Ho Chi Minh City.

Anh from Hoa Sen Group noted that new startups should also reach out to a wider variety of sectors, such as education, tourism, niche e-commerce, or the overseas export of Vietnamese traditional specialities.

Of course, as Vietnam is new to the startup landscape, more debates will follow. For now however, Vietnam will enjoy a young generation full of innovative ideas, a drive to succeed, and a national campaign to push them forward. And hopefully, this spirit will bring on a new chapter for Vietnam.
Cubans wait for the passage of Fidel Castros ashes outside a clinic on the route to the Moncada Barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, on Dec. 3. Castros thoughts on self-determination have spread across Cuba after his death.
The Omnipotent Owl  Why Are We Drawn to This Ancient Symbol of Wisdom?

Like a great sage, an owl sits stock-still, seeing everything, but saying nothing. When she takes action, it is swift and precise. These bold characteristics have earned the owl both respect and fear among humans; yet any great big eyes set into a fluffy body is sure to have broad
The British secretary for International Development says she is deeply concerned at the worsening drought situation in Somalia.

At the end of a visit to Mogadishu Saturday, Priti Patel said the drought is affecting millions of people and Britain plans to step up providing support to Somalia.

Millions of people in Somalia are currently living in desperate conditions as drought threatens lives and instability, which is why the UK is stepping up support to save lives and provide basic food, clean water and nutrition, she said in a statement.

Building a secure, stable and prosperous Somalia is a top priority for the UK and while great progress has been made, significant challenges remain, the statement said.

Millions of dollars in aid

Patel announced that London will provide several million dollars in support for the people affected by the drought. She said the money will be delivered through three U.N. agencies: the World Food Program, U.N. Childrens Fund and the Food and Agricultural Organization.

Several days ago, the international community appealed for $864 million to help 3.9 million Somalis who needed urgent life-saving assistance, a statement said.

Delayed and insufficient rainfalls have been blamed for the drought.

The Somali government warned against possible famine in parts of the country unless urgent humanitarian deliveries are made to the regions in the northeast, central Somalia, southwest and Somaliland.

Worst drought in 25 years

The government said this is the worst drought in 25 years. The drought has affected nomadic communities and farmers, according to the government.

She said Britain will host a conference for Somalia in May attended by members of the international community to offer future support for Somalia.

In Mogadishu, Patel met interim head of state Mohamed Osman Jawari.


The woman at the center of the trial of Emmett Tills alleged killers has acknowledged that she falsely testified he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book.

Historian Timothy B. Tyson told The Associated Press on Saturday that Carolyn Donham broke her long public silence in an interview with him in 2008. His book, The Blood of Emmett Till, comes out next week.

She told me that Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him, said Tyson, a Duke University research scholar whose previous books include Blood Done Sign My Name and Radio Free Dixie.

Brutal, galvanizing event

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old black tortured and killed in 1955 in Mississippi after allegedly whistling at a white woman, then known as Carolyn Bryant.

His murder became national news, was a galvanizing event in the civil rights movement and has been the subject of numerous books and movies. During the trial, Bryant said that he had grabbed her, and, in profane terms, bragged about his history with white woman. The jury was not present when she testified.

Donhams then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half brother, J.W. Milam, were acquitted by the all-white jury. Both men, who later told Look magazine they did murder Till, have since died. Milams widow, Juanita Milam, would later tell the FBI she believed that Carolyn Bryant had fabricated her story. Juanita Milam died in 2014. The Justice Department re-examined the case a decade ago, but no one was indicted as a murderer or an accomplice.

Tyson said that he spoke with Donham after her daughter-in-law, Marsha Bryant, contacted him. Bryant had read Blood Done Sign My Name, about a racist murder during his childhood in Oxford, North Carolina, and invited Tyson to meet with her and Donham.

Historian interviews Donham

Tyson said he and Donham had two conversations that both lasted two-three hours and that he planned at the time to place the material in the archives at the University of North Carolina. Asked why he waited so long to publicize his findings, he responded that historians think in different terms than journalists.

Im more interested in what speaks to the ages than in what is the latest media thing, he said.

He added that he wasnt sure whether Donham knew about the book. He said he had fallen out of touch with the family and that when he last spoke with Bryant, a few years ago, she said Donham was in poor health.

On Saturday, the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation shared news reports about the book and asked if Donham would have the decency and courage to speak with Tills relatives.
International reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry to refugees and citizens from seven mostly-Muslim countries has begun.

In addition to barring residents of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days, the Trump executive order put a permanent ban on admission of Syrian refugees and a 120-day ban on all other refugees entering the U.S.

The president said that only people who support the United States should be allowed into the country. The executive order he signed discussed identification and verification procedures that U.S. consular officers should use in extensive detail.

"We want to make sure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people," Trump said in announcing the ban.

A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Merkel "is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."

May faces criticism



Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May has been slammed by her fellow politicians for not condemning Trump's ban when she was in Ankara meeting with her Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. May said in Turkey, "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees."

Back in England, May said that Britain does "not agree" with Trump's ban on Muslims, adding that the approach was "not one we will be taking."

British lawmaker Heidi Allen said on social media that "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong ... I don't care how special the relationship is - some lines just shouldn't be crossed."

Another lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn said, "Theresa May should have stood up for Britain and our values by condemning [Trump's] actions. It should sadden our country that she chose not to ... After Trump's hideous actions and May's weak failure to condemn them, it's more important than ever for us to say to refugees seeking a place of safety that they will always be welcome in Britain."

Trump is scheduled to visit Britain later this year, but British lawmaker Sarah Wollston said the U.S.leader should not be invited to address Parliament, adding that "those who wish to fawn over him" could do that someplace else.

Other world reactions



French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said of Trump's ban, "Welcoming refugees, who flee war and oppression, is part our duty."

Ayrault's German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel said, "The United States is a country where Christian traditions have an important meaning. Loving your neighbor is a major Christian value and that includes helping people."

Retno Marsudi, the foreign minister of Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, but was not included in the nations whose citizens face restrictions for entering the United States, told Reuters in a social media message, "We have deep regrets about the policy."

Iran on Saturday announced it will bar all U.S. citizens from entering the Islamic republic in retaliation for the curbs on citizens from its country. "Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to express his country's attitude towards refugees. He tweeted, "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. #Welcome to Canada."

The Canadian leader also tweeted a photograph of himself greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport.
Iran says it will ban all U.S. citizens from entering the Islamic republic, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order limiting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

In a statement Saturday, Iran's Foreign Ministry directly linked its ban to Trump's order, which Tehran called "an obvious insult to the Islamic world." The statement predicted that Trump's order "will be recorded in history as a big gift to extremists and their supporters."

Tehran further cautioned that the U.S. ban, set Friday by Trump at 120 days, would not make America safer. The ministry also said its retaliatory measures would remain in place until the U.S. restrictions were lifted.

The Iranian reaction was the first official response from any of the seven Muslim-majority nations named in Trump's ban. The other six countries are Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia.

Trump's order suspends entry to the United States of all refugees for four months and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. It also blocks green-card holders from the seven countries from re-entering U.S. territory, while directing U.S. agencies to fast-track entry procedures from minority Christians in those countries.

The White House said the "extreme vetting" measures would protect the U.S. "from foreign nationals entering from countries compromised by terrorism."

Reports spark criticism, praise

Hours after Trump's decree, news outlets began reporting from U.S. airports on individuals directly affected by Trump's ban, including the case of an Iraqi national who worked as a translator for the U.S. Army after American forces invaded Iraq in 2003.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who like many other U.S. contractors was eventually allowed safe haven in the United States, was detained overnight Friday along with another Iraqi national at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Hours later, lawyers filed an emergency motion that gained Darweesh's release, while the other refugee remained in detention.

"What I do for this country? They put handcuffs on," Darweesh said. "You know how many [U.S.] soldiers I touch by this hand?"

Darweesh's lawyers also filed emergency motions to extend the lawsuit on behalf of their client to include all refugees found to have been detained at U.S. airports since Trump issued his order late Friday.

The New York Times quoted airport security officials as saying nine travelers had been detained by midday Saturday at Kennedy's Terminal 7. Two others were in reported in custody at Terminal 4, sparking small, peaceful protests at the huge facility.

Elsewhere, security officials in Cairo said an Iraqi family of five had been barred from boarding a flight for New York, while Qatar Airways warned U.S.-bound travelers they would need a diplomatic visa or other official documentation before boarding U.S. flights. Authorities said a sixth U.S.-bound migrant, identified as a Yemeni national, had left the airport and returned to the capital.

Others responded to the ban with praise, including far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who tweeted that the ban "is the only way to stay safe."

In New York, Kathleen Ganci, whose firefighter husband was killed in the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, told The New York Times, "I don't care how difficult [the ban] makes it for these people to come over. I don't want other Americans to go through what I did  because we have to care for our own first, before we care for others."

ACLU rips decree

Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Trump's order violated the U.S. Constitution's ban on religious discrimination because it barred immigration from Muslim-majority countries.

" 'Extreme vetting' is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims," he said.

For its part, the U.S. State Department said Saturday that it was working to put the executive order into effect, telling VOA the "safety and security of the American people always comes first."

"We take seriously our responsibility to safeguard the American public while remaining committed to assisting the world's most vulnerable people," acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Adding to confusion surrounding the decree, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told Reuters green-card holders would eventually be included in the ban. But spokeswoman Gillian Christensen did not provide details.

On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, called the refugee ban "shameful" and said it "does nothing to enhance homeland security." He also warned that the ban would have a "destabilizing effect on our relationship with our allies and partners in the fight against terrorism."

Trump defends order

The president said Friday that only people who support the United States should be allowed into the country. The executive order he signed discussed identification and verification procedures that U.S. consular officers should use in extensive detail.

"We don't want them here," Trump said. "We want to make sure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people."

Trump had pledged during his campaign for the presidency that, if elected, he would temporarily suspend refugee and immigration programs from countries or regions with a "proven history of terrorism" against the U.S. or its allies.
An initial volley in a potential barrage of legal challenges to President Donald Trump's new restrictions on immigration came on Saturday on behalf of two Iraqis with ties to U.S. security forces who were detained at New York's JFK Airport.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the men are challenging the directive on constitutional grounds. The suit says that their connections to the American forces made them targets in their home country and the pair had valid visas to enter the United States.

The lawsuit, which seeks to block Trump's order on behalf of a class of visa-holders and asylum-seekers, highlights some of the legal obstacles facing the new administration as it tries to carry out the directive.

The plight of one of the men, a former U.S. Army interpreter, is especially compelling, said David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association who is not involved in the suit.

"Here is a guy who was a translator who worked for the U.S. military for years who himself was targeted by terrorists," he said. "It is clear that if he is sent back, he facing a direct threat to his life."

That man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released later on Saturday and told a crowd of reporters outside John F. Kennedy International Airport that he did not have ill feelings about his detention.

"America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world," he said.

Darweesh, 53, worked for the U.S. Army and for a U.S. contractor in Iraq from 2003 to 2013 as an interpreter and engineer, the lawsuit said.

The second plaintiff, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, was still being held. He is the husband of an Iraqi woman who worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq, and she already lives in Houston, the suit said.



Ten other travelers not named in the suit were being detained at JFK Airport on Saturday afternoon, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, told reporters.

Trump, a Republican, on Friday signed a sweeping executive order that put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries. The order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks, the president said.

Representatives for the White House could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.

Supporters of the order say the president has wide authority to limit the entry of foreign nationals from specific countries when it is in the national interest.

"If we decided to give green cards only to redheads who can play the spoons, we can do that," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies.

The lawsuit on behalf of the Iraqis challenges Trump's order on several grounds. It says the order violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of due process by taking away their ability to apply for asylum, and violates the guarantee of equal protection by discriminating against them on the basis of their country of origin without sufficient justification.

It also says the order violates procedural requirements of federal rulemaking.

Another legal challenge is expected on Monday, when the Council on American-Islamic Relations has said it plans to announce a lawsuit arguing that the order targets Muslims and violates the U.S. guarantee of religious freedom.

Trump's order does not mention specific religions, but in an interview on Friday with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump said he was acting to help Christians in Syria who were "horribly treated."

Comments like that could come back to haunt the president in litigation over his order, said Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration expert at UCLA School of Law.

"There were comments during the campaign that focused very much on religion as the target," Motomura said. "If the record showed that the origins of a particular measure were based on targeting a particular group, that could be challenged in court."

Eric Rothschild, senior litigation counsel at religious liberties group Americans United For Separation of Church and State, said Trump has created a perverse situation for asylum-seekers.

"People will be quizzed on their faith in order to gain access to the country, maybe motivating them to deny their faith," he said.
Pakistans leading opposition politician, Imran Khan, is urging President Donald Trump to ban Pakistanis from entering the United States, after he suspended immigration from seven Muslim majority countries.

The controversial U.S. ban currently applies to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Addressing a rally in the central Pakistani town of Sahiwal on Sunday, Khan denounced the ban as anti-Muslim and praised Iran for its retaliatory action of banning Americans from entering the Islamic Republic.

I want to tell all my fellow Pakistanis today, I pray that Donald Trump really bans visas for us." Khan said, suggesting that such a move could help prevent brain drain from Pakistan.

He went on to urge educated and skilled Pakistani youth to abandon U.S. travel plans in search of a better economic future, and to focus instead on building Pakistan.

And then if America tells us they are stopping visas for us we will also, like Iran, tell them we are going to stop visas for Americans, Khan vowed.

Khans Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party is the third major political force in the national parliament, and rules the countrys northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhaw province.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs government has not yet commented about Trumps ban on Muslim countries.

Officials in Islamabad are hoping for improvement in their usually uneasy relations with Washington under the Trump presidency.

Pakistans alleged support for anti-Afghanistan and anti-India Islamist militant groups sheltering on its soil has been a major irritant in tensions with Washington.

On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus hinted that Pakistan could be included in the list of countries from which immigration has been banned.

You can point to other countries that have similar problems like Pakistan and others -- perhaps we need to take it further. Priebus told CBS News.
Officials in Myanmar say a legal advisor to the country's ruling National League for Democracy party has been shot dead outside Yangon's international airport.

Ko Ni, a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, was gunned down as he was waiting for a taxi outside the airport. He had just returned to Myanmar after an overseas trip.

A taxi driver was wounded in the attack.

Officials say the gunman has been arrested.

"We have detained and are questioning the gunman to find out why he killed him, and who is behind it or paid him to do it," presidential spokesman Zaw Htay told Reuters.
An Iraqi parliamentary committee asked the country's government Sunday to "reciprocate" against the controversial U.S. immigration curbs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on citizens from seven Muslim countries.



The Iraqi government so far has not commented publicly on President Trump's executive order barring residents of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. The Trump executive order places also an indefinite ban on admission of Syrian refugees and a 120-day ban on all other refugees.

But officials in Baghdad say they will lobby the U.S. administration to overturn the curbs or at least soften the executive order's impact on Iraqis.

And they plan to warn the White House that the temporary immigration ban risks undermining cooperation in the war on the Islamic State terror group.



Governments in other Arab countries have been muted in their public responses to the ban, opting to lobby Washington strongly behind the scenes.



United Arab Emirates and Saudi leaders were to speak by phone Sunday with President Trump. According to an official in Dubai who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity, they planned to caution the U.S. president not to add either emirate to the travel ban list.

White House officials on Saturday warned other countries could be added to the seven states already listed in the executive order, "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States."



Four U.S. federal judges have imposed stays on the travel ban, which applies to refugees and visa holders  including U.S. permanent residents  born in any of the seven countries listed. The judges issued rulings in quick succession, blunting the order's effect as rights lawyers called its constitutionality into question.





Iran on Saturday announced it would bar all U.S. citizens from entering the Islamic republic in retaliation for the curbs on its citizens. In a statement, Iran's foreign ministry dubbed Trump's order "an obvious insult to the Islamic world." The statement described the travel ban as "a big gift to extremists and their supporters."



Tehran further cautioned that the U.S. ban would not make America safer. The ministry said its retaliatory measures would remain in place until the U.S. restrictions were lifted.

Administration claims overreaction

White House officials say the ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen is part of an effort to stop terrorists from entering the United States.



Trump and his aides say those who oppose the executive order are overreacting. "It's not a Muslim ban," the president told reporters in the Oval Office. "We were totally prepared. It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely."





That isn't the view of European leaders. While Arab governments have opted so far for a quieter lobbying approach on the travel ban, Trump's executive order has sparked a wave of outrage not only across the Middle East but in Europe, where national leaders denounced the ban.



On Saturday, French President Francois Hollande said defending democracy "requires observing fundamental principles," among them welcoming refugees. "And when he [Trump] refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond," the French leader said in a statement issued by his office.



Luxembourg warned that Trump immigration curbs risk bolstering "hatred towards the West." The country's foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, condemned the move, saying, "The decision is bad for Europe, because it's going to strengthen even further the mistrust and hatred towards the West in the heart of the Muslim world."



"The American president is dividing the Muslim world into good and evil with this," Asselborn told the German newspaper Tagesspiegel.



The French and German foreign ministers, meanwhile, voiced their concern after talks in Paris.

"Welcoming refugees who are fleeing war is part of our duty," France's Jean-Marc Ayrault said after a meeting with his new German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel. "This decision can only cause us concern. But there are a lot of other issues that are causing us concern," Ayrault said, with Gabriel at his side.



German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Trump's immigration curbs. She said it is "not justified to put people from a specific background or faith under general suspicion" in order to combat the terrorism of the few.





A spokesman for Merkel said, "The chancellor regrets the U.S. government's entry ban against refugees and citizens of certain countries. She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."



Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, who met Trump in Washington Friday, was careful while visiting Turkey the day after to refrain from criticizing the curbs. But on Sunday she shifted position, issuing a midnight statement saying she does not agree with the policy.



May said she would appeal to the U.S. if the ban affected British citizens who hold dual citizenship with any of the listed countries. "We do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking," she said in a statement from Downing Street.



Her statement came after an Iraqi-born British lawmaker from May's Conservative Party revealed he had received confirmation he would not be allowed to enter the U.S. The leaders of Britain's main opposition parties are now calling for May to withdraw her invitation for Trump to visit Britain.





Soldiers decry ban

In Mosul, where Iraqi forces are battling militants in a bid to oust the Islamic State terror group from its last major urban stronghold in Iraq, soldiers expressed anger at the ban, saying it could prevent them from visiting relatives in the United States.



"It's not fair, it's not right. I should have the right to visit my family,"Assem Ayad, a 23-year-old soldier deployed in Mosul who has three cousins living in Texas, told AFP news agency. "This decision was made because there are terrorist groups in Iraq. But there are also innocent people" including those who are fighting against militants, added Ayad.



Another Iraqi soldier, Haider Hassan, told AFP he has a cousin living in the United States who he wants to visit. Referring to U.S. military personnel deployed in Iraq, Hassan asked: "Why would they ban us from coming to America when they are in my country and have bases here?"
Thousands of demonstrators gathered Sunday near the White House in Washington, launching a second day of protests in cities across the United States against President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries.

Chanting "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here," protesters took aim at Trump's executive order, which blocks the arrival of all refugees to the United States for at least 120 days. It also bars visa holders from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days and bans Syrian nationals indefinitely.

Protests also were under way in New York's Battery Park, which overlooks the Statue of Liberty -- America's iconic beacon that has inspired and welcomed immigrants from across the globe for more than 140 years. Protests also were held in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, Boston, Atlanta, Louisville and Detroit.

At the Battery Park protest, U.S. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he urged new Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to take action in the dispute.

"I have told him in no uncertain terms that he has a moral, a moral obligation to go to the president and tell him to rescind these orders," Schumer told the crowd. Trump's order "makes us less humanitarian, less safe and less American.

A 25-year-old Iraqi medical student studying in the United States told VOA she was joining protests in Los Angeles to "support her brothers and sisters... stuck at the gate at the airport." She also said plans to visit her family in Iraq were on hold, and that family members will not be allowed to visit her in the United States.





Separately, a Somali-American father who has lived in the United States for 10 years told VOA his wife was blocked at Dulles International Airport outside Washington Saturday. Farhan Sulub said immigration authorities told him she was not allowed U.S. entry because of her nationality, but that his children traveling with her could stay.

Trump on Sunday appeared unfazed by the rising opposition to his refugee order. "Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, now. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world -- a horrible mess," he tweeted to his nearly 23 million followers.

The order spread confusion across major U.S. and foreign airports on Saturday, prompting lawyers for two Iraqi nationals detained in New York to seek and win a court order temporarily barring the deportation of foreign nationals with legal standing in U.S. territories.

Watch part of the protests in Washington:

Elsewhere, security officials in Cairo said an Iraqi family of five was barred from boarding a flight to New York. Qatar Airways warned U.S.-bound travelers they would need diplomatic visas or other official documentation before boarding U.S. flights.

The first large protest against the ban erupted Saturday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. By nightfall, more than 2,000 people, many of them carrying signs and chanting anti-Trump slogans, were joined by celebrities who called for the immediate release of 12 international travelers detained by airport authorities.

Three thousand more chanting demonstrators later jammed the international airport serving Seattle, Washington. The Port of Seattle Commissioners, which oversees airport operations, issued a statement decrying the ban, saying it "runs counter to our values. America is great because we are a land of immigrants, and that is what made us great to begin with."

Katherine Gypson contributed to this report
The U.S. military says one service member was killed and three others wounded in a raid targeting al-Qaida in Yemen.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members," said Commander of US Central Command Gen. Joseph Votel. "The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe."

A statement from the U.S. Central Command said 14 fighters from the local al-Qaida affiliate were killed in the operation.Officials said the raid was carried out by the Navy's Seal Team Six counterterrorism unit.

A U.S. military aircraft involved in the operation was disabled following hard landing, resulting in an additional U.S. injury, the statement said, adding that the the aircraft was destroyed.

A White House statement said the "successful raid against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" captured "important intelligence that will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world."

Tribal and local sources say three alleged senior al-Qaida leaders were among those killed.

The military operation occurred in Bayda province.
THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

January 28, 2017

NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM  3

MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT

THE SECRETARY OF STATE

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY

THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY

THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY

THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF

THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR

NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS

THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT

THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF

SUBJECT: Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq

and Syria



The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is not the only threat from radical Islamic terrorism that the United States faces, but it is among the most vicious and aggressive. It is also attempting to create its own state, which ISIS claims as a "caliphate." But there can be no accommodation or negotiation with it. For those reasons I am directing my Administration to develop a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS.

ISIS is responsible for the violent murder of American citizens in the Middle East, including the beheadings of James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Peter Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as well as the death of Kayla Mueller. In addition, ISIS has inspired attacks in the United States, including the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, and the June 2016 attack in Orlando, Florida. ISIS is complicit in a number of terrorist attacks on our allies in which Americans have been wounded or killed, such as the November 2015 attack in Paris, France, the March 2016 attack in Brussels, Belgium, the July 2016 attack in Nice, France, and the December 2016 attack in Berlin, Germany.

ISIS has engaged in a systematic campaign of persecution and extermination in those territories it enters or controls. If ISIS is left in power, the threat that it poses will only grow. We know it has attempted to develop chemical weapons capability. It continues to radicalize our own citizens, and its attacks against our allies and partners continue to mount. The United States must take decisive action to defeat ISIS.

Sec. 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States that ISIS be defeated.

Sec. 2. Policy Coordination. Policy coordination, guidance, dispute resolution, and periodic in-progress reviews for the functions and programs described and assigned in this memorandum shall be provided through the interagency process established in National Security Presidential Memorandum  2 of January 28, 2017 (Organization of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council), or any successor.

Sec. 3. Plan to Defeat ISIS. (a) Scope and Timing.

(i) Development of a new plan to defeat ISIS (the Plan) shall commence immediately.

(ii) Within 30 days, a preliminary draft of the Plan to defeat ISIS shall be submitted to the President by the Secretary of Defense.

(iii) The Plan shall include:

(A) a comprehensive strategy and plans for the defeat of ISIS;

(B) recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement and other United States policy restrictions that exceed the requirements of international law regarding the use of force against ISIS;

(C) public diplomacy, information operations, and cyber strategies to isolate and delegitimize ISIS and its radical Islamist ideology;

(D) identification of new coalition partners in the fight against ISIS and policies to empower coalition partners to fight ISIS and its affiliates;

(E) mechanisms to cut off or seize ISIS's financial support, including financial transfers, money laundering, oil revenue, human trafficking, sales of looted art and historical artifacts, and other revenue sources; and

(F) a detailed strategy to robustly fund the Plan.

(b) Participants. The Secretary of Defense shall develop the Plan in collaboration with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

(c) Development of the Plan. Consistent with applicable law, the Participants identified in subsection (b) of this section shall compile all information in the possession of the Federal Government relevant to the defeat of ISIS and its affiliates. All executive departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, promptly comply with any request of the Participants to provide information in their possession or control pertaining to ISIS. The Participants may seek further information relevant to the Plan from any appropriate source.

(d) The Secretary of Defense is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

DONALD J. TRUMP
President Donald Trumps travel ban barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations entry into the U.S. has sparked protests around the country.



A look at what is happening:

NEW YORK

Cries of Let them in! rose up from a crowd of more than 2,000 people protesting at John F. Kennedy Airport, where 12 refugees were detained Saturday. Celebrities including Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon joined the demonstration.

What Donald Trump did in the last 24 hours is disgusting, disgraceful and completely un-American and Im here in protest, said protester Pamela French.

The agency that runs the airport tried to restore order by shutting down the train that runs to airport terminals. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, reversed that decision, saying people had a right to protest. The people of New York will have their voices heard, he said in a statement.

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

More than 120 people clutching signs denouncing the Trump immigration orders gathered at Newark Liberty International Airport. NorthJersey.com reports that they joined lawyers whod rushed to the airport to defend the rights of refugees and immigrants who were being detained and denied entry.

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Dozens of protesters inside Washington Dulles International Airport chanted Love, Not Hate, Makes America Great and Say It Loud, Say it Clear, Muslims Are Welcome Here, as travelers walked through a terminal to a baggage claim area to collect luggage and greet their loved ones. There was a heavy police presence during the peaceful protest. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said during a press conference at Dulles that he has asked Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to look into all legal remedies available to help individuals who may be detained in Virginia.

DENVER

Dozens of people converged on Denver International to show their support for refugees. Standing in the main terminal Saturday, they sang Refugees are welcome here. Some held signs declaring their identity, such as Jew or Christian, and the phrase I come in peace. Denver has some direct international flights but it wasnt clear whether anyone has been detained under the presidents executive order.

CHICAGO

A crowd of demonstrators held a rally at OHare International Airport. The Chicago Sun-Times reports protesters blocked vehicle traffic to OHares international terminal for a time. The newspaper says some arriving travelers joined the protest, while others were upset by the demonstrations.

Lawyers working with the International Refugee Assistance Project tell the Chicago Tribune that 17 people who had been detained at OHare all released by late Saturday.



Among those released before the federal judges order was Hessan Noorian, a suburban Park Ridge resident returning with his family from Iran, the Tribune reported.



Noorian, who is of British and Iranian citizenship and has a green card, was detained at OHare after he and his wife, Zahra Amirisefat, a U.S.citizen, arrived from Tehran, the newspaper said.



The couple, who told the Tribune that they work at a community college in the Chicago area, said they were questioned for five hours.



After Noorian was released, his wife told the Tribune: I cant believe something like this can happen to someone with a green card.





DALLAS

Protesters who gathered at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Saturday evening voiced their displeasure with Trumps executive order. The crowd of a few dozen ballooned into hundreds of demonstrators who frequently chanted Set them free! At times, cheers erupted from the crowd as those who were detained got released.



Among those still held at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at midnight Saturday was a 70-year-old Iranian widow, Shahin Hassanpour, whose son said she suffers from high blood pressure and had breast cancer surgery four years ago. She obtained an immigrant visa in November on her sons petition.



Bahzad Honarjou, a 43-year-old network engineer, said he spoke twice to his mother by phone after her 9 a.m. arrival, but that they hadnt talked since courts stayed the executive order, meaning she should have been released.



Hundreds of protesters stood in the waiting area and chanted This is what democracy looks like.



Immigration agents were not being very communicative, Honarjou said.



They were like a machine when I talked to them today, he said. His mother only speaks a few words of English and a fellow passenger was translating for her from her native Farsi as no immigration agents spoke the language, he said.



Hassanpour was originally going to be deported on a Sunday flight, she informed her son the first time they spoke.



She was about to cry, he said. She is not able to take (tolerate) a 20-hour flight back to Iran.



Honarjou said he is a U.S. citizen, obtained entry in a lottery, and has been in the country for seven years. Why did he come?



To have a better life and to make more money, he said. And, you know, for the freedom.



SEATTLE

At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, about 3,000 protesters holding signs and chanting no hatred, no fear, immigrants are welcome here and let them in gathered Saturday evening and continued demonstrating into early Sunday morning.



Aayah Khalaf, a Muslim American, was sitting at home watching the protest on television when she and her friend studying from Egypt decided to join the rally. It was her second time joining a protest. The first one was the Women's March.



The Port of Seattle Commissioners, which oversees the airport, issued a statement criticizing the executive order.



The Port of Seattle Commissioners, Tom Albro, Courtney Gregoire, Stephanie Bowman, Fred Felleman and John Creighton are here today to express our concerns over the immigration ban executive order that was issued late last night. As the government that operates this airport, this executive order runs counter to our values. America is great because we are a land of immigrants and that is what made us great to begin with, the statement said. 

PORTLAND, OREGON

A protest by several dozen people in and around Portland International Airport briefly disrupted light rail service at the airport. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the demonstrators carried signs and chanted Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here and No ban no wall America is for us all.

LOS ANGELES

About 300 people expressed their displeasure with the ban at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night. Protesters entered the airports Tom Bradley International Terminal after holding a candlelight vigil.



Avriel Epps held a candle and a large photo a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy who washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015 and became a haunting symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis.



SAN FRANCISCO

Hundreds of protesters blocked the street outside at San Francisco International Airports international terminal to express their opposition to the barring of some people from Muslim-majority nations.

SAN DIEGO

As motorists honked their support, demonstrators outside San Diego International Airport chanted No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here.


The U.N. refugee agency says Syrian and other refugees pose no national security threat to the United States. The UNHCR, other U.N. agencies and human rights advocates are urging the United States to reconsider its ban on immigration.



The U.N. refugee agency says there is no merit to a claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that Syrian refugees threaten national security and should be banned from entering the United States.



On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order denying entry of citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries into the United States for 90 days. The new policy also calls for the suspension of all refugee resettlement to the U.S. for 120 days and an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees from entering the country.





UNHCR spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci rejected assertions that Syrian refugees are terrorists. She said refugees are victims of terrorists and those proposed for resettlement are among the most vulnerable people on Earth. They include women and children, people with disabilities and serious medical needs.



She told VOA that refugees undergo a very rigorous screening process before they are admitted to the U.S. for resettlement.



"I think it is fair to say that refugees coming into the United States to be resettled are some of the most vetted individuals entering the United States," said the spokeswoman.





In a recent interview with U.S. media, President Trump said the U.S. has taken in "tens of thousands of people" without knowing anything about them, adding that they were not vetted. The president is calling for "extreme vetting" of immigrants coming to the U.S.



Maestracci said the UNHCR carefully screens all refugees proposed for resettlement in the United States and more than 30 other countries. She said the U.S. decides which refugees it will accept; a process that can take two years.



"There are many, many layers to it within the U.S. system," she said. "I think eight federal government agencies are involved. There are six different security data base, five separate background checks all done by the U.S."



The Office of Refugee Resettlement reports 14,333 Syrian refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since 2012. This number pales in comparison to other countries, such as Turkey, which currently hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees.
A federal court has intervened after U.S. President Donald Trumps executive order limiting immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries led to widespread confusion as refugees, green-card holders, students and workers were detained at American airports or barred from boarding international flights to the U.S.

Late Saturday, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York had issued an emergency order that temporarily barred the deportation of people who had been detained after landing at U.S. airports with valid visas. The order also barred the detention of anyone with an approved refugee application.

Donnelly said in her order There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations who are subject to the presidents order.

Similar court actions have followed in other jurisdictions, including Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington State.

A Homeland Security statement issued early Sunday said it will comply with judicial orders, but went on to say it will also implement the presidents Executive Order to ensure that those entering the United Stated do not pose a threat to our country or the American people.

Reports from federal authorities indicated at least 170 people had been detained since Trump signed his order at the White House on Friday.

Trump responds

Trump brushed off comments that his order could be seen as an anti-Muslim measure, and said the very strict crackdown he had ordered was working out very, very nicely. The new immigration rules target people from seven nations  all where a large majority of the population is Muslim  judged as possible threats to the United States.

WATCH: Protesters gather at New York's JFK airport

At airports in New York, Washington, San Francisco and other cities, however, large crowds of protesters were gathering. Lawyers, many of them from the American Civil Liberties Union, also came to airports to offer counsel to airport detainees or any other U.S.-bound travelers stranded abroad.



WATCH: Protests at Los Angeles Airport

Fearful family members of those unable to enter the country were thrown into confusion by the new rules and what they said was a lack of information about how they were being enforced. Thousands of people at the New York airport chanted their support for refugees, and for love, not hate, and held signs condemning the presidents policy.

Democrat Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the November election and rarely commented since, tweeted I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values and our Constitution. This is not who we are.

As he signed his executive order Friday night, Trump said: Were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting [of would-be immigrants], which we should have had in this country for many years.

By extreme vetting, Trump was referring to his plan to carefully and intensively investigate Muslims and other people deemed to be possible threats to the United States before they are allowed to enter the country.

WATCH: Trump: 'It's not a ban on Muslims'

Slamming shut the doors to the United States of America, which has rigorously vetted refugees for years, is an attack on the basic accepted notion that people should be able to flee for their lives, said Jason Cone, the executive director of the U.S. branch of Doctors Without Borders. Refugees are mothers and fathers and children who want what we all want: a safe place to live their lives, free from war and persecution.

Retno Marsudi, the foreign minister of Indonesia, which has the worlds largest Muslim population, but was not included in the nations whose citizens face restrictions for entering the U.S., told Reuters in a social media message that We have deep regrets about the policy.

.Lawmakers speak on both sides

U.S. lawmakers are speaking out both for and against the immigration restrictions.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican like Trump, defended the ban in a statement delivered by an aide Friday, even as his opponents circulated posts on social-media highlighting a strong statement Ryan made six months ago denouncing discrimination against Muslims.

This is not a religious test, and it is not a ban on people of any religion, Ryans spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, said Trump was properly focused on protecting U.S. borders, but he added that the decree, as written, was too broad.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona said Trump is right to be concerned about national security, but its unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away....

Lena F. Masri, the national litigation director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said of Trumps order: This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality.

John Cohen, a former Homeland Security official, said the presidents ban did not address the countrys primary terrorism-related threat,  people already in the U.S. who are inspired to radicalism by what they see on the internet.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul praised Trumps order. McCaul said in a statement with the stroke of a pen, Trump had done more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that calls and emails to more than a dozen other top Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, went unanswered in the first day of the bans implementation. But some Republicans spoke out against the new policy.

Other lawmakers speak out

Congressman Charlie Dent, a Republican from Pennsylvania, counts a sizable Syrian population among his constituents in the metropolitan area of Allentown. He told The Washington Post of six people from the same family, owners of a home in Pennsylvania and all carrying valid visas, who were stopped at Philadelphia International Airport after arriving in the country on a Qatar Airways flight.

This is ridiculous, Dent said. I guess I understand what his [Trumps] intention is, but unfortunately the order appears to have been rushed through without full consideration.

This family was sent [back to the Middle East] despite having all their paperwork in order, Dent added. Its unacceptable, and I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be reinstated.

Shame. Shame. Shame, said Republican Senator Brian Schwartz of Hawaii in a tweet. I feel sick.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, told a reporter the ban is an unbelievable action. Its one thing to see that an individual is properly vetted. Its an entirely different matter to say that because someone comes from a particular country or is a member of a particular faith that he or she has no access to this country.

Other travelers have been thwarted in their attempts to enter the country as well, adding fuel to the protests at airports from coast to coast. The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that most of the detainees there were from Iraq or Iran.

A 25-year-old medical student from Iraq studying in the U.S. told VOAs Michael OSullivan at the Los Angeles airport she was joining the protest there because of the pain her brothers and sisters are feeling while stuck at the gate at the airport. She also said her plans to visit her family in Iraq now cannot happen, and they will not be allowed to visit her.

No access to those detained

Federal officials have not been allowing family members or lawyers any contact with detainees, so details are sketchy.

One immigration attorney, Jordan Cunnings, told the Los Angeles newspaper one of the detainees was a young Iranian mother who has held a U.S. green card, or legal work permit, for five years and is schedule to take her oath of citizenship in two weeks. Cunnings said the woman is traveling with her 11-month-old baby, who is an American citizen.

People dont have phone access or communication access to the people waiting for them, or their attorneys, Cunnings said.

Cunnings also told the paper that without information, legal aid workers are scanning the crowds for people who might be looking for someone who has not shown up.

Were literally walking around asking people, Are you waiting for someone who has been detained? he said.

Somali refugees

Somali refugees who have been waiting years for resettlement in the United States told VOAs Somali service their flights to the United States were canceled by the order.

We come from Dadaab [refugee camp] and have been in the U.N. complex in Nairobi [Kenya] for days, for the preparation of our flights to the U.S. on January 31, Farah Mahad Bille told VOA Saturday. We are told this morning that we are going back to Dadaab because of the U.S. presidents order. Its an absolutely devastating loss of hope to us.

Farhan Sulub, a Somali-American father who lived in the United States for 10 years, told VOA his wife was stopped at Dulles International Airport, outside the nations capital, although Sulubs children were allowed to enter the country.

The immigration officers in the airport called me as I was waiting for my wife and children, he said. They told me that my wife is not allowed to enter the U.S. because of her Somali nationality, but my children can go with me if I needed.

UN urges US to reconsider

The United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Immigrants have joined the growing numbers of advocacy groups criticizing U.S. actions.

The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater, and the U.S. resettlement program is one of the most important in the world, according to a joint statement by the two groups. Since the previous U.S. policy of welcoming refugees has enriched both the lives of the refugees and their new American societies, the two groups urged U.S. officials to reconsider the new policy.

Resettlement places provided by every country are vital, the international refugee-aid groups said, adding they are hopeful that the U.S. will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution.

VOA's Somalia Service contributed to this report.
RACINE  Roughly three weeks ago, Maurice Robinson, his wife, Kim, and their four children found themselves with nowhere to stay.

Kicked out by family members and with no resources, the Kenosha family was out of options. But a chance referral from Veterans Outreach led them to the Homeless Overnight Sanctuary (HOST) and the shelters director, Yusuf Buckley.

We were trying to find somewhere to stay, Maurice Robinson said. When I talked to Yusuf, he took us right away.

Robinson tells a similar story to many staying at the new low-barrier community shelter, which is leasing the second floor of the former Lincoln Lutheran building at 2000 Domanik Drive through the end of March. The shelter had just one guest when it opened on the unseasonably warm night of Nov. 1. But despite the relatively mild weather persisting for much of the winter so far, HOST is now regularly housing 45 to 50 people per night.

We never really put a number on capacity, but we thought, based on what happened last year, we would probably see about 20 people and when it got cold, it would get up to 30, Buckley said. We had no idea.

HOST has had to hire two additional staff members to support the large numbers, which has left the shelter struggling to get by financially, even after a $25,000 donation from SC Johnson in November. But the willingness of Buckley and his wife, Tina, to open HOSTs doors to anyone in need of shelter has had positive consequences as well.

Most significantly, HOSTs staff and the men, women and children staying there have formed a family of their own.

Family atmosphere

Robinson is effusive in his thanks for Buckley taking in him and his family, and in commenting on the welcoming atmosphere HOST has created in its three months.

Everybody makes us feel like family here, said Robinson, 34. We get along with everybody. My kids, they play with Yusufs kids. Its like a big old family in here to me.

Buckley said eight children have stayed at the shelter at some point since its opening. With Tina handling administrative duties and some day-to-day operations for the shelter, it only made sense for the Buckleys to bring their three children along as well to give the other kids playmates.

Their day is not complete unless they come to the shelter, Buckley said of his children. Thats all they want to do is come to the shelter. They literally cry if they dont come to the shelter.

The sense of family extends beyond the literal families staying at the shelter. Racinian Curtis McNeal, 59, was one of HOSTs first guests in November.

Its virtually like having a big family you never knew living with you, McNeal said. Its a very, very good thing that these people are doing this.

Guests like Robert McAllister, 59, said the shelters positive atmosphere emanates from Buckleys generosity, which McAllister says includes paying for food for guests out of his own pocket.

He treats everyone well, McAllister said. If you have a problem, whether its personal, financial, hell help you.

Buckley is aided in his generosity by the shelters bus driver, Ron Funderburg. Funderberg takes guests to food sites, Gateway Technical College and Racine County Workforce Solutions as part of his regular route.

Sometimes he goes above and beyond, such as when he drove the Robinson children to school in Kenosha for three days when the familys car broke down recently. Funderberg once even took a displaced woman all the way to Chicago.

Its a great opportunity to meet people and to do things for people, he said. Thats what this is all about, to help people.

Getting back on their feet

Even if the guests get along like family, the goal remains for them to ultimately leave the shelter and find their own housing and steady employment. Buckley said 14 people who have stayed at HOST thus far have found jobs, with four of those people finding housing as well.

McAllister was evicted by his landlord in Kenosha and became homeless when he moved to Racine. Hes currently collecting unemployment benefits, but is using his time at HOST to look for housing and work.

Its given me an opportunity to get back on my feet, he said. Im looking at this as a stepping stone.

McNeal finds himself in a similar situation to McAllister. He had temporary work at Amazon in Kenosha in 2016 that was on the verge of becoming permanent, but said confusion on his background check left him once again unemployed.

Eventually, McNeals landlord evicted him in October and he was staying on the street for two to three weeks before coming to HOST. Since then, he procured a medical card, set a doctors appointment to take care of a lingering health issue, and is hoping to get back to work soon.

Im just trying to see this doctor, he said. Once I get that done, Ill be trying to find work for sure.

Robinson has a job at IMS Fastpak in Kenosha, but isnt working it right now since hes sorting out his familys situation. Hes actively searching for housing and plans to return to work once he finds it.

In the meantime, hes thankful for Buckley and HOST for providing his family with an option when they didnt have any.

I just thank God that Yusuf came through for us and opened his arms up to me and my family, Robinson said. I really appreciate it.
U.S. Homeland Security chief John Kelly says he believes admitting lawful permanent residents into the United States is in the country's national interest, and does not go against the provisions of President Donald Trump's executive order on refugees and immigration.

Kelly's statement late Sunday clarifies some of the confusion surrounding Trump's executive order limiting immigration. It basically halts immigration for 90 days from seven Muslim majority countries he says have spawned terrorists.

Trump defended his order against the global outcry, saying it is not about religion but about "terror and keeping our country safe."

"America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border," he said in a statement from the White House on Sunday.

The president noted that former President Barack Obama had identified the seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - as sources of terror.

He pointed out that more than 40 Muslim majority countries are not affected by his order, and he took a characteristic swipe at the media for calling his order a ban on Muslims.

Trump's executive order issued Friday will be in effect for 90 days, but has led to widespread confusion. Refugees, green card holders, students and workers have been detained at American airports or barred from boarding international flights to the United States.

A senior administration official told reporters late Sunday that the president's executive order was written by the top Republican immigration experts on Capitol Hill, and that the legal significance of how it will be carried out was carefully considered.

But U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued an emergency order Saturday temporarily barring the deportation of people with valid visas being detained at U.S. airports. The order also bars the detention of anyone with an approved refugee application.

The judge wrote "there is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations" who are subject to the president's order.

The Homeland Security Department says it will comply with judicial orders, but stressed it will continue to enforce all of the president's executive orders.

But reports from federal authorities indicated at least 170 people had been detained at U.S. airports since Trump signed his order Friday.

Two senior Republican senators criticized Trump's order Sunday.

"It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said. Such a hasty process risks harmful results.

People affected by order

Twenty-eight-year-old Iranian national Neda Daemi, a 16-year legal U.S. resident, was released after being detained for 10 hours Saturday. Daemi spoke with two lawyers and added she was not asked to sign any papers. She explained she had flown to Los Angeles from Tehran, Iran, where she was visiting family members.

WATCH: Protests at Los Angeles Airport

Somali refugee Binto Siyad Aden and her children were released late Saturday after they were detained in Virginia. They had arrived on a family reunion visa from Kenya.

Adens husband, Farhan Sulub Anshur, a U.S. citizen from Minnesota, said he believes his wife and two children were released after a court intervened. You cant image our joy and feelings now. They have been released and we are here together at a hotel near the airport,  Anshur said.



He told reporters his wife was subjected to harsh treatment from law enforcement while in detention at the airport. They harassed her and threatened her with handcuffs and arrest; they forced her to sign a form stating that her and her children will be deported, but she refused to sign for the kids and told them their father is an American citizen, he said.

A Seattle judge issued an emergency stay of removal from the U.S. for two people, and another judge in Virginia banned the deportation of green card holders for seven days and ordered immigration officials to allow detainees access to lawyers.

Other congressional reaction

Trumps allies on Capitol Hill are treading carefully amid the controversy following his order.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said the president has a lot of latitude to try to secure the country.

We need to be careful as we do this. I think we need to be careful we do not have religious tests in this country, McConnell said.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona said Trump is right to be concerned about national security, "but it's unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away ..."

Democrats, however, believe Trump is doing more harm and playing into the hands of the enemy.

What Trump is doing is harming our national security. It will incite attacks against us. ISIS (Islamic State) is already using this ban as propaganda, U.S. Representative Seth Moulton said.
Majority Leader McConnell, Mr Speaker, Distinguished Members of the Senate and Representatives of the House.

I would like to thank Congress and the Congressional Institute for the invitation to be here today. The opportunity to visit the United States is always special. And to be invited to be the first serving Head of Government to address this important conference is an honour indeed.

I defy any person to travel to this great country at any time and not to be inspired by its promise and its example.

For more than two centuries, the very idea of America  drawn from history and given written form in a small hall not far from here  has lit up the world.

That idea  that all are created equal and that all are born free  has never been surpassed in the long history of political thought.

And it is here  on the streets and in the halls of this great city of Philadelphia  that the founding fathers first set it down, that the textbook of freedom was written, and that this great nation that grew from sea to shining sea was born.

Since that day, it has been Americas destiny to bear the leadership of the free world and to carry that heavy responsibility on its shoulders. But my country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has been proud to share that burden and to walk alongside you at every stage.

For the past century, Britain and America  and the unique and special relationship that exists between us  have taken the idea conceived by those fifty-six rank-and-file, ordinary citizens, as President Reagan called them, forward. And because we have done so, time and again it is the relationship between us that has defined the modern world.

One hundred years ago this April, it was your intervention in the First World War that helped Britain, France, our friends in the Commonwealth and other allies to maintain freedom in Europe.

A little more than seventy-five years ago, you responded to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour by joining Britain in the Second World War and defeating fascism not just in the Pacific but in Africa and Europe too.

And later, in the aftermath of these wars, our two countries led the West through the Cold War, confronting communism and ultimately defeating it not just through military might, but by winning the war of ideas. And by proving that open, liberal, democratic societies will always defeat those that are closed, coercive and cruel.

But the leadership provided by our two countries through the Special Relationship has done more than win wars and overcome adversity. It made the modern world.

The institutions upon which that world relies were so often conceived or inspired by our two nations working together.

The United Nations  in need of reform, but vital still  has its foundations in the Special Relationship, from the original Declaration of St James Palace to the Declaration by United Nations, signed in Washington, and drafted themselves by Winston Churchill and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund, born in the post-war world at Bretton Woods, were conceived by our two nations working together.

And NATO  the cornerstone of the Wests defence  was established on the bonds of trust and mutual interests that exist between us.

Some of these organisations are in need of reform and renewal to make them relevant to our needs today. But we should be proud of the role our two nations  working in partnership  played in bringing them into being, and in bringing peace and prosperity to billions of people as a result.

Because it is through our actions over many years, working together to defeat evil or to open up the world, that we have been able to fulfil the promise of those who first spoke of the special nature of the relationship between us. The promise of freedom, liberty and the rights of man.

We must never cease, Churchill said, to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law, find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.

So it is my honour and my privilege to stand before you today in this great city of Philadelphia to proclaim them again, to join hands as we pick up that mantle of leadership once more, to renew our Special Relationship and to recommit ourselves to the responsibility of leadership in the modern world.

And it is my honour and privilege to do so at this time, as dawn breaks on a new era of American renewal.

For I speak to you not just as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but as a fellow Conservative who believes in the same principles that underpin the agenda of your Party. The value of liberty. The dignity of work. The principles of nationhood, family, economic prudence, patriotism  and putting power in the hands of the people.

Principles instilled in me from a young age. Principles that my parents taught me in the vicarage in Southern England in which I was raised.

I know that it is these principles that you have put at the heart of your plan for government.

And your victory in these elections gives you the opportunity to put them at the heart of this new era of American renewal too.

President Trumps victory  achieved in defiance of all the pundits and the polls  and rooted not in the corridors of Washington, but in the hopes and aspirations of working men and women across this land. Your Partys victory in both the Congress and the Senate where you swept all before you, secured with great effort, and achieved with an important message of national renewal.

And because of this  because of what you have done together, because of that great victory you have won  America can be stronger, greater, and more confident in the years ahead.

And a newly emboldened, confident America is good for the world.

An America that is strong and prosperous at home is a nation that can lead abroad. But you cannot  and should not  do so alone. You have said that it is time for others to step up. And I agree.

Sovereign countries cannot outsource their security and prosperity to America. And they should not undermine the alliances that keep us strong by failing to step up and play their part.

This is something Britain has always understood. It is why Britain is the only country in the G20  other than yours  to meet its commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence, and to invest 20% of that in upgrading equipment. It is why Britain is the only country in the G20 to spend 0.7% of gross national income on overseas development. It is why my first act as Prime Minister last year was to lead the debate in Parliament that ensured the renewal of Britains independent nuclear deterrent. And it is why the Government I lead will increase spending on defence in every year of this Parliament.

It is why Britain is a leading member  alongside the United States  of the coalition working successfully to defeat Daesh; why we have agreed to send 800 troops to Estonia and Poland as part of NATOs forward presence in eastern Europe; why we are increasing our troop contribution to NATOs Resolute Support mission that defends the Afghan government from terrorism; and it is why we are reinforcing our commitment to peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, South Sudan and Somalia.

And it is why Britain is leading the way in pioneering international efforts to crack down on modern slavery - one of the great scourges of our world - wherever it is found. I hope you will join us in that cause  and I commend Senator Corker in particular for his work in this field. It is good to see him here today.

As Americans know, the United Kingdom is by instinct and history a great, global nation that recognises its responsibilities to the world.

And as we end our membership of the European Union  as the British people voted with determination and quiet resolve to do last year  we have the opportunity to reassert our belief in a confident, sovereign and Global Britain, ready to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike.

We will build a new partnership with our friends in Europe. We are not turning our back on them, or on the interests and the values that we share. It remains overwhelmingly in our interests  and in those of the wider world  that the EU should succeed. And for as long as we remain members we will continue to play our full part, just as we will continue to cooperate on security, foreign policy and trade once we have left.

But we have chosen a different future for our country.

A future that sees us restore our parliamentary sovereignty and national self-determination, and to become even more global and internationalist in action and in spirit.

A future that sees us take back control of the things that matter to us  things like our national borders and immigration policy, and the way we decide and interpret our own laws - so that we are able to shape a better, more prosperous future for the working men and women of Britain.

A future that sees us step up with confidence to a new, even more internationalist role, where we meet our responsibilities to our friends and allies, champion the international cooperation and partnerships that project our values around the world, and continue to act as one of the strongest and most forceful advocates for business, free markets and free trade anywhere around the globe.

This is a vision of a future that my country can unite around  and that I hope your country, as our closest friend and ally, can welcome and support.

So as we rediscover our confidence together  as you renew your nation just as we renew ours  we have the opportunity  indeed the responsibility  to renew the Special Relationship for this new age. We have the opportunity to lead, together, again.

Because the world is passing through a period of change  and in response to that change we can either be passive bystanders, or we can take the opportunity once more to lead. And to lead together.

I believe it is in our national interest to do so. Because the world is increasingly marked by instability and threats that threaten to undermine our way of life and the very things that we hold dear.

The end of the Cold War did not give rise to a New World Order. It did not herald the End of History. It did not lead to a new age of peace, prosperity and predictability in world affairs.

For some  the citizens of Central and Eastern Europe in particular  it brought new freedom.

But across the world, ancient ethnic, religious and national rivalries  rivalries that had been frozen through the decades of the Cold War  returned.

New enemies of the West and our values  in particular in the form of Radical Islamists  have emerged.

And countries with little tradition of democracy, liberty and human rights  notably China and Russia  have grown more assertive in world affairs.

The rise of the Asian economies  China yes, but democratic allies like India too  is hugely welcome. Billions are being lifted out of poverty and new markets for our industries are opening up.

But these events  coming as they have at the same time as the financial crisis and its fall out, as well as a loss of confidence in the West following 9/11, the military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and sporadic terrorist attacks  have led many to fear that, in this century, we will experience the eclipse of the West.

But there is nothing inevitable about that. Other countries may grow stronger. Big, populous countries may grow richer. And as they do so, they may start to embrace more fully our values of democracy and liberty.

But even if they do not, our interests will remain. Our values will endure. And the need to defend them and project them will be as important as ever.

So we  our two countries together  have a joint responsibility to lead. Because when others step up as we step back, it is bad for America, for Britain and the world.

It is in our interests  those of Britain and America together  to stand strong together to defend our values, our interests and the very ideas in which we believe.

This cannot mean a return to the failed policies of the past. The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are over. But nor can we afford to stand idly by when the threat is real and when it is in our own interests to intervene. We must be strong, smart and hard-headed. And we must demonstrate the resolve necessary to stand up for our interests.

And whether it is the security of Israel in the Middle East or Estonia in the Baltic states, we must always stand up for our friends and allies in democratic countries that find themselves in tough neighbourhoods too.

We each have different political traditions. We will sometimes pursue different domestic policies. And there may be occasions on which we disagree. But the common values and interests that bring us together are hugely powerful.

And  as your foremost friend and ally  we support many of the priorities your government has laid out for Americas engagement with the world.

It is why I join you in your determination to take on and defeat Daesh and the ideology of Islamic extremism that inspires them and many others terrorist groups in the world today. It is in both of our national interests to do so. This will require us to use the intelligence provided by the finest security agencies in the world. And it will require the use of military might.

But it also demands a wider effort. Because one of the lessons of fighting terrorism in the last 15 years or so is yes, killing terrorists can save innocent lives. But until we kill the idea that drives them, the ideology, we will always have to live with this threat.

And as they are defeated on the ground, the terrorists are exploiting the internet and social media to spread this ideology that is preying on vulnerable citizens in our own countries, inspiring them to commit acts of terror in our own cities.

That is why the UK has led the world in developing a strategy for preventing violent extremism, and why the British and American governments are working together to take on and defeat the ideology of Islamist Extremism. I look forward to working with the President and his Administration to step up our efforts still further in order to defeat this evil ideology.

But of course, we should always be careful to distinguish between this extreme and hateful ideology, and the peaceful religion of Islam and the hundreds of millions of its adherents - including millions of our own citizens and those further afield who are so often the first victims of this ideologys terror. And nor is it enough merely to focus on violent extremism. We need to address the whole spectrum of extremism, starting with the bigotry and hatred that can so often turn to violence.

Yet ultimately to defeat Daesh, we must employ all of the diplomatic means at our disposal. That means working internationally to secure a political solution in Syria and challenging the alliance between the Syrian regime and its backers in Tehran.

When it comes to Russia, as so often it is wise to turn to the example of President Reagan who - during negotiations with his opposite number Mikhail Gorbachev - used to abide by the adage trust but verify. With President Putin, my advice is to engage but beware.

There is nothing inevitable about conflict between Russia and the West. And nothing unavoidable about retreating to the days of the Cold War. But we should engage with Russia from a position of strength. And we should build the relationships, systems and processes that make cooperation more likely than conflict  and that, particularly after the illegal annexation of Crimea, give assurance to Russias neighbouring states that their security is not in question. We should not jeopardise the freedoms that President Reagan and Mrs Thatcher brought to Eastern Europe by accepting President Putins claim that it is now in his sphere of influence.

And progress on this issue would also help to secure another of this nations priorities  to reduce Irans malign influence in the Middle East.

This is a priority for the UK too as we support our allies in the Gulf States to push back against Irans aggressive efforts to build an arc of influence from Tehran through to the Mediterranean.

The nuclear deal with Iran was controversial. But it has neutralised the possibility of the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons for more than a decade. It has seen Iran remove 13,000 centrifuges together with associated infrastructure and eliminate its stock of 20% enriched uranium. That was vitally important for regional security. But the agreement must now be very carefully and rigorously policed  and any breaches should be dealt with firmly and immediately.

To deal with the threats of the modern world, we need to rebuild confidence in the institutions upon which we all rely.

In part that means multinational institutions. Because we know that so many of the threats we face today  global terrorism, climate change, and unprecedented mass movements of people  do not respect national borders. So we must turn towards those multinational institutions like the UN and NATO that encourage international cooperation and partnership.

But those multinational institutions need to work for the countries that formed them, and to serve the needs and interests of the people of those nations. They have no democratic mandate of their own. So I share your reform agenda and believe that, by working together, we can make those institutions more relevant and purposeful than they are today.

I call on others, therefore, to join us in that effort and to ensure they step up and contribute as they should. That is why I have encouraged Antonio Guterres, the new UN Secretary General, to pursue an ambitious reform programme, focusing the United Nations on its core functions of peacekeeping, conflict prevention and resolution. And it is why I have already raised with my fellow European leaders the need to deliver on their commitments to spend 2% of their GDP on defence  and 20% of their defence budgets on equipment.

It is also why I have already raised with Jens Stoltenberg  the Secretary General of NATO  the need to make sure the Alliance is as equipped to fight terrorism and cyber warfare, as it is to fight more conventional forms of war.

Americas leadership role in NATO  supported by Britain  must be the central element around which the Alliance is built. But alongside this continued commitment, I am also clear that EU nations must similarly step up to ensure this institution that provides the cornerstone of the Wests defence continues to be as effective as it can be.

Yet the most important institution is  and should always be  the nation state. Strong nations form strong institutions. And they form the basis of the international partnerships and cooperation that bring stability to our world.

Nations, accountable to their populations  deriving as the Declaration of Independence puts it their just powers from the consent of the governed  can choose to join international organisations, or not. They can choose to cooperate with others, or not. Choose to trade with others, or not.

Which is why if the countries of the European Union wish to integrate further, my view is that they should be free to do so. Because that is what they choose.

But Britain  as a sovereign nation with the same values but a different political and cultural history  has chosen to take a different path.

Because our history and culture is profoundly internationalist.

We are a European country  and proud of our shared European heritage  but we are also a country that has always looked beyond Europe to the wider world. We have ties of family, kinship and history to countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and countries across Africa, the Pacific and Caribbean.

And of course, we have ties of kinship, language and culture to these United States too. As Churchill put it, we speak the same language, kneel at the same altars and, to a very large extent, pursue the same ideals.

And, today, increasingly we have strong economic, commercial, defence and political relationships as well.

So I am delighted that the new Administration has made a trade agreement between our countries one of its earliest priorities. A new trade deal between Britain and America must work for both sides and serve both of our national interests. It must help to grow our respective economies and to provide the high-skilled, high-paid jobs of the future for working people across America and across the UK.

And it must work for those who have too often felt left behind by the forces of globalisation. People, often those on modest incomes living in relatively rich countries like our own, who feel that the global system of free markets and free trade is simply not working for them in its current form.

Such a deal  allied to the reforms we are making to our own economy to ensure wealth and opportunity is spread across our land  can demonstrate to those who feel locked out and left behind that free markets, free economies and free trade can deliver the brighter future they need. And it can maintain  indeed it can build  support for the rules-based international system on which the stability of our world continues to rely.

The UK is already Americas fifth largest export destination, while your markets account for almost a fifth of global exports from our shores. Exports to the UK from this State of Pennsylvania alone account for more than $2 billion a year. The UK is the largest market in the EU  and the third largest market in the world  for exporters here.

America is the largest single destination for UK outward investment and the single largest investor in the UK. And your companies are investing or expanding in the UK at a rate of more than ten projects a week.

British companies employ people in every US state from Texas to Vermont. And the UK-US Defence relationship is the broadest, deepest and most advanced of any two countries, sharing military hardware and expertise. And of course, we have recently invested in the new F-35 strike aircraft for our new aircraft carriers that will secure our naval presence  and increase our ability to project our power around the world  for years to come.\

Because of these strong economic and commercial links  and our shared history and the strength of our relationship  I look forward to pursuing talks with the new Administration about a new UK/US Free Trade Agreement in the coming months. It will take detailed work, but we welcome your openness to those discussions and hope we can make progress so that the new, Global Britain that emerges after Brexit is even better equipped to take its place confidently in the world.

Such an agreement would see us taking that next step in the special relationship that exists between us. Cementing and affirming one of the greatest forces for progress this world has ever known.

Seventy years ago in 1946, Churchill proposed a new phase in this relationship  to win a Cold War that many had not even realised had started. He described how an iron curtain had fallen from the Baltic to the Adriatic, covering all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe: Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia and Bucharest.

Today those great cities  homes of great culture and heritage  live in freedom and peace. And they do so because of the leadership of Britain and America, and of Mrs Thatcher and President Reagan.

They do so - ultimately - because our ideas will always prevail.

And they do so because, when the world demands leadership, it is this alliance of values and interests  this Special Relationship between two countries  that, to borrow the words of another great American statesman, enters the arena, with our faces marred by dust and sweat and blood, to strive valiantly and know the triumph of high achievement.

As we renew the promise of our nations to make them stronger at home  in the words of President Reagan as the sleeping giant stirs  so let us renew the relationship that can lead the world towards the promise of freedom and prosperity marked out in parchment by those ordinary citizens 240 years ago.

So that we may not be counted with the cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat, but with those who strive to do the deeds that will lead us to a better world.

That better future is within reach. Together, we can build it.
Rihanna. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

As Donald Trump implemented his executive order barring refugees and persons from several Muslim countries from entering the country this weekend, Hollywood responded with outrage. Indeed, as protests broke out across the country, a number of famous Trump detractors voiced condemnations of the policy on social media. From insulting Trump to sharing immigrant stories, from demanding involvement of lawmakers to applauding the ACLU for winning a temporary stay of the order, from donating money to denouncing Islamophobia and xenophobia, here are some of the ways celebrities including Rihanna, Kumail Nanjiani, and Kim Kardashian are responding to the new world order.

Disgusted! The news is devastating! America is being ruined right before our eyes! What an immoral pig you have to be to implement such BS!!  Rihanna (@rihanna) January 29, 2017

How to make terrorists:



1. Ban everybody from a certain group from entering the country.

2. Wait.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

Hey @mike_pence @SenJohnMcCain @SpeakerRyan, you should be ashamed of yourselves. On your deathbeds you will know you made the world worse.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

You're saying to a billion people "You're all the same. You're all dangerous to us." Children hear this. You breed evil here & everywhere.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

This #MuslimBan is also messing up attendance at our bi-weekly "Undermine Western Civilization" meetings.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

To our Muslim neighbors in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man.  Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 28, 2017

#muslimban is making me cry LIBERAL TEARS for our country and its future, and you know what that means? COMPASSION, YOU MOFOS!!   Rachel Dratch (@TheRealDratch) January 28, 2017

and i will match your 100K donation sia - #resist https://t.co/xkjVGeMWuR  ROSIE (@Rosie) January 29, 2017

Life is short & hard enough for everyone. The fact that our evil piece of shit President is already causing so much misery is unforgivable.  billy eichner (@billyeichner) January 28, 2017

Steve Bannon is the devil & he must be stopped at all costs. Its literally like having Charles Manson or David Koresh in the WH. #StopBannon  billy eichner (@billyeichner) January 29, 2017

Dear @realDonaldTrump ,



Shove it up your ass.



Sincerely,



America  Nick Offerman (@Nick_Offerman) January 29, 2017

Donald Trump is an unwell, evil human being. To the core.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 28, 2017

To All Trumpsters & BernieBros alike, who, with dripping contempt, called me a "Fearmonger" --Fck You. #Muslimban #wall  Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) January 28, 2017

Sick to my stomach today about the #MuslimBan

Don't understand why? Go to @Stl_Manifest & learn the awful history of US rejecting refugees  kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 28, 2017

The 9/11 attackers were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt & UAE--not the 7 nations in the immigration ban. These all do have Trump properties though.  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 28, 2017

The GOP leadership has cravenly capitulated to Trump's immigration ban. We look to our brave federal judiciary to check his madness. #Resist  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 29, 2017

If the White House disobeys the federal court orders, we must be prepared to take to the streets to preserve our democracy.  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 29, 2017

Going to go out on a limb and say America was greater a week ago.  Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) January 26, 2017

Can't believe he's actually doing the disgusting unconstitutional things he promised to do. The Muslim ban is awful & will not be tolerated.  Emmy Rossum (@emmyrossum) January 28, 2017

Amplifying words of one of my favorite filmmakers, Asghar Farhadi, who like too many others will be turned away from the Land of the Free. pic.twitter.com/CcskcFueuo  Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 28, 2017

Along with liar,racist,misogynist,fool,infantile,sick,narcissist-with the Muslim ban we can now add heartless & evil to DT's repertoire.  Rob Reiner (@robreiner) January 28, 2017

We've lost something very precious.



And traded it for a cowardly, foolish illusion of safety.



I'm ashamed.#MuslimBan  Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) January 28, 2017

And the fact that they did it on Holocaust Memorial Day...

the most vile thing I've seen in a long, long time.#MuslimBan  Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) January 28, 2017
Photo: 2017 Getty Images

A day after it was reported that Iranian director Asghar Farhadi would likely be unable to attend this years upcoming Oscars ceremony due to President Donald Trumps newly enacted Muslim visa ban, Farhadi has released an official statement on the matter, confirming he wont attend the ceremony even if granted an exception. Trumps executive order, which bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries as well as all refugees from entering the U.S., went into effect this weekend. In his statement, Farhadi  whos nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for directing and writing The Salesman  acknowledges that he never had the intention of skipping or boycotting the event, but he ultimately changed his mind. It now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip, he explained. Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an us and them mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of them and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.

The filmmaker also expressed his condemnation over the unjust conditions the ban forces upon the affected countries, saying to humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity. (You can read his full statement in the New York Times here.)
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Kal Penn took the high road to wildly successful heights on Saturday when he responded to a racist troll with a charitable endeavor. Penn started a crowdfunding page for Syrian refugees after an Instagram commenter told Penn you dont belong in this country you fucking joke. Penn outlined his mission effectively, titling the fundraising effort Donating to Syrian refugees in the name of the dude who said I dont belong in America. The page adds, We are better than the hateful people who tell us we dont belong in our own country, that America cant be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigotry, along with the Presidents, into love. Penn launched the crowdfunding campaign the same day that the country instituted Donald Trumps executive order banning refugees and people from seven dominantly Muslim countries, and, as in the efforts to resist the ban, the support for Penns mission has been considerable. So far, nearly $525,000 has been raised, with the money going specifically to the International Rescue Committee to help in the crisis.
Larry Wilmore speaks during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Awards Night Ceremony at Basin Recreation Field House. Photo: Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival

People often talk about the Sundance bubble, a week and a half in which the film community comes together to watch movies and romp together in the snow in Park City, where it seems like the world is one big, happy, and progressive creative community. But as the festival handed out its awards Saturday night, many of the artists and documentary subjects whod come from Muslim-majority countries didnt know when, if ever, theyd return to America. And many journalists and festival workers were anticipating stepping off their flights and right into protests at LAX and JFK.

I am from Mexico, said Gael Garcia Bernal. But today Im from Iraq, Im from Iran, Im from Syria. Even though I grew up Catholic, today I am a Muslim, said Larry Wilmore later on. Though, tomorrow I have to go to the airport so Ill be Catholic again.

On day one of the festival, Sundance Institute executive director Keri Putnam had avoided getting too political, but what a difference a week of a Trump presidency makes. Announcing Global Filmmaking Awards for the writer-directors in Iran, France, Brazil, and Poland, she urged everyone in the room to remember how important international voices are to the creative community. I want to take a moment to acknowledge artists and documentary subjects from Muslim-majority countries who joined us at this years festival to share their work, she said as the crowd rose to its feet. We know that closing our borders to these international artists will stop the flow of ideas and inspiration that are so vital to the global community. We stand with you, and we stand with all people risking their lives for their values, or seeking refuge from violence or persecution who are now denied entry to our country.

The awards that began rolling in reflected a very different vision of humanity than the one flowing out of the White House via executive orders. Especially when Last Men in Aleppo, following a group of volunteer first responders in the wreckage of their city, won the Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema Documentary. We are Syrian. We are not ashamed of this word, said director Feras Fayyad. We do our best to fight for freedom of speech and for the humanity and for the justice. We do all this to change for the best. and I hope that people in the U.S., they can change, they can fight like our fight. It was one of three movies about Syria presented at the festival.

Joining Aleppo with various prizes were Gook, from director-actor Justin Chon, about a Korean family defending their store during the Rodney King riots; Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, a documentary about Native Americans who shaped rock-and-roll; Chasing Coral from the Chasing Ice team; Crown Heights, a narrative feature based on the true story of a wrongfully convicted black man; and Icarus, a gonzo documentary about the whistle-blower who exposed the Russian doping scandal at the Sochi Olympics and is now hiding out in protective custody. The jury created a special Orwell Award for the film, deeming it a documentary that recognizes the truth when truth is no longer a commodity.

A few speeches touched on the other topic du jour: feminism. As she handed out the Audience Awards, host Jessica Williams remarked, If you think about it on an election level, thats sort of the award Hillary Clinton won. Not over it. And Eliza Hittman, winner of the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award for Beach Rats, got a ton of cheers for speaking her mind. I think, unfortunately, there is nothing more taboo in this country than a woman with ambition. I am going to work my way through a system that is completely discriminatory towards women. And Hollywood, Im coming for you.

Ultimately, nearly every speech seemed to touch on whats happened in America over the last couple of days. The director of Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, about a Hong Kong musician who organized a massive civil-rights protest against China, said he hoped people would see the movie and be inspired to stand up in their own country when their government is oppressing them. Yance Ford, transgender director of Strong Island, which is about his black brothers shooting death 20 years ago at the hands of a white car mechanic, urged the room not to fall into a trap of silence or neutrality. When we leave this place, we must interfere, disrupt, document, and prevent our nation from folding in upon itself, he said. Each of us must stand and stand together wherever we are as pillars of fire in the darkness. The time is now, summon your courage, gather your courage and your cameras. America needs us more now than ever.

The mood seemed best reflected in the surprise Grand Jury Winner for U.S. Dramatic, I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore, which had opened the festival to middling praise, but whose depiction of a strange, backwards world where people have stopped treating other people with decency clearly grew more and more resonant as the week went on.



But the stakes of recent events, and the message that theres still cause for hope, came through most powerfully during a speech from director Tarik Saleh, who won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Dramatic for his noir thriller The Nile Hilton Incident, about a corrupt Cairo cop investigating a murder in the 2011 Egypt uprising. Im always kept in the room when I enter into the United States, Saleh told the crowd. Since 9/11 basically, Ive always sat there for an hour or so. Theyve always been polite and nice with me. And then on the day of the awards, flying back to Park City, hed managed to forget his passport at his L.A. hotel. I thought I was not going to make it here, he said. And I told the security guy, I have a film at Sundance and there is an award show tonight, and he said, Im going to make sure that youre on that plane. Because of the security guys willingness to see Saleh as an individual, he was able to make it back to Sundance to accept the biggest award in his category and give his speech. You know, it wasnt the majority that voted for him, said Saleh before walking offstage. I just want to say that.
RZA. Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

RZA is reaffirming his commitment to fists of iron by directing an episode of Iron Fist. The director of 2012s The Man With the Iron Fists helmed the sixth episode of Netflixs upcoming Marvel series, according to star Finn Jones. Jones dropped the news during an Extra Live Q&A, revealing that RZAs involvement was one of the many very close ties to hip-hop music and the Iron Fist series, as 90s hip-hop is a big part of the shows sound. Jones also praised RZAs vision, saying, he really understands that genre, the martial arts genre. RZA is the latest Wu Tang Clan member to team up with Marvel, after Method Man wrote a Ghost Rider comic.
Do you think Donald Trump is just Mike Pences puppet?

Interesting idea, right? Particularly since the very idea would make our new president totally nuts. Hehehehe.

And its possible. Trump is not a man who concentrates on policy issues. So far, the parts of the job that have obsessed him most are crowd size and vote size. And yeah, the wall. But there has to be somebody behind the scenes deciding the non-ego questions. Pass the word that its Pence.

The best early evidence is reproductive rights. Not an issue that Trump seemed all that interested in during the campaign  you generally had to sort of poke him to bring it up. Yet one of the first things he did as president was to sign an order that will eliminate American aid to international health programs that provide information on abortion.

Every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has issued the order, which is often referred to as the global gag rule. But Trumps seems much worse. The Reagan-Bush-Bush version covered family planning programs. Trumps targets global health in general.

So when it comes to combating the Zika virus in South America, well only be helping organizations that are willing to order their staffs never to bring up the fact that abortion exists. Were talking about a potential loss of billions of dollars in American aid.

I know some of you are having trouble giving the president credit for anything right now. But this doesnt sound like him.

If a woman Trump knew was pregnant and learned she had a virus that could cause terrible brain damage to the fetus, his immediate reaction would not be barring everybody from mentioning the word abortion. The only politician who would behave like that would be someone who had spent his entire career trying to impose his deeply held conservative religious values on people who had different beliefs.

That would be Mike Pence. This is the guy who, as a member of Congress, co-sponsored a bill that would allow hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women who would die without the procedure. Whose war against Planned Parenthood when he was governor of Indiana led to the closing of five clinics. (None of them did abortions. They did, however, provide testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and one of the counties where a clinic was closed suffered a big HIV outbreak.)

Pence, by the way, also voted against the Lilly Ledbetter act for equal pay for women. He once argued that having two working parents would lead to stunted emotional growth in children. In 2006, he said same-sex couples were a sign of societal collapse. I am just mentioning this for you to remember the next time you hear people say they hope that President Trump is impeached.

Trump was once very vocally pro-choice. When he became politically ambitious, his attitude went through a dramatic change  in terms of evolution, it was as if a little amoeba floating in the ocean suddenly turned into a killer whale. In 2016 he went all the way over the deep end and told Chris Matthews on MSNBC that he thought once abortion was illegal, women who got them should be punished.

He backtracked on that one.

Ive been told by some people that was an older line answer and that was an answer that was given on a, you know, basis of an older line from years ago on a very conservative basis, he explained.

Obviously that doesnt make any sense, but you do get the general idea that Trump was getting his talking points from someplace other than his deepest heart.

The early Trump administration, however, looks as if its being run by somebody who cant wait to jump into the abortion fray. Republicans in Congress are working away on defunding Planned Parenthood  an organization that Trump once said he admired. And the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees womens right to get birth control coverage in their health insurance, is of course target one.

Women who are economically stressed and counting on those benefits are so frightened, said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood.

Richards said Planned Parenthood clinics are fielding desperate calls from women who want to get birth control while they can  many of them opting for IUDs under the theory that theyll need something that could last four years.

They also ask what they can do to fight back. Shes telling them to call their senators, or member of Congress, and show up if their legislator holds a town hall  possibly wearing one of those pink hats.

All that makes perfect sense. But given the kind of guy that Donald Trump is, I propose you also spread the word that the president has only gone on this anti-reproductive rights bender because hes under Mike Pences thumb.

How do you think hed feel about being referred to as Lap Dog Trump? Lets go for it.
RACINE  SC Johnson and its chairman and CEO, Fisk Johnson, on Saturday announced a combined donation of $150 million to Cornell University, the largest gift ever to the Ithaca, N.Y.-based school and the second-largest to name a college of business.

The donation will support the newly named Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, which includes the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, the School of Hotel Administration, and the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

With the newly combined College of Business and the new tech campus in New York City, Cornell is at an important inflection point, said Fisk Johnson. It is my hope that this gift will give the business program at Cornell significant new impetus for growth, while enhancing its three individual schools and the qualities that make each exceptional.

While the naming of the school by Cornell is an honor, this isnt about me or my family, Johnson continued. Its about Cornells future as the countrys top business school, and the success of the three highly respected schools that comprise it.

The gift includes a $50 million challenge grant that will build the colleges endowment for faculty, students and programs. The challenge is expected to raise an additional $150 million. Combined with the gift by SC Johnson and Fisk Johnson, the challenge will bring the full impact to $300 million, which will bolster the colleges endowment.

Johnson ties to Cornell

Cornell has been part of my family for more than a century, Johnson said. In 1918, my great-grandfather dispatched my grandfather to Cornell after one of the companys products wreaked havoc on the Model T radiators it was designed to protect. So, our very first graduate chemist, my grandfather, attended Cornell, and today Cornell has one of the top business schools where the company regularly recruits many talented graduates.

Another element of the donation is the creation of the SC Johnson Scholars Program. Undergraduate students chosen from the Dyson and Hotel schools will have the opportunity to participate in various events hosted by the company, including summer internships.

With this gift, we can increase Cornells competitiveness for top students and fund new interdisciplinary research initiatives in areas such as sustainability and technology, said Hunter Rawlings, interim president of Cornell. It provides significant and permanent resources for all faculty, students and programs in the College, while supporting the unique strengths and legacies of its individual schools. It is truly a transformative opportunity.

The Johnson family has been committed to Cornell and its mission for generations, the company said. Olaf Brauner, father-in-law of Fisk Johnsons grandfather H.F. Johnson Jr., began teaching there in 1896 and founded the Department of Art where he was a professor for more than 40 years. H.F. earned his degree in 1922. His son and daughter-in-law, Sam and Gene Johnson, both graduated from Cornell in the early 1950s. All four of their children attended Cornell, including Curt Johnson, Helen Johnson-Leipold, Fisk Johnson and Winnie Johnson Marquart.

Over the years, the Johnson family has donated repeatedly to the university, including:

The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

The Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Herbert Fisk Johnson Professorship of Industrial Chemistry

Herbert Fisk Johnson Professorship of Urology

Imogene Powers Johnson Senior Scientist

Robert G. Engel Associate Dean and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs

Samuel C. Johnson Chair in Sustainable Global Enterprise in the Johnson School

The naming gift for the Johnson Graduate School of Management has delivered $100 million to date. When given in 1984, it was the largest ever from individuals to a business school.

Legacy of philanthropy

Since 1937, SC Johnson has designated 5 percent of pretax dollars for philanthropy. The company is known for its commitment to health, environment, economic development and education. Notably, last year, the company announced a donation of at least $15 million to help protect children and pregnant women against mosquito-borne diseases like Zika.

Education has always been a priority for the company, the company said in a news release. To name a few:

$12.3 million to create 21st Century Preparatory School, a K-8 charter school focused on economically disadvantaged children in Racine. Last year, this school earned a state report card rating 20 points higher than that received by the Racine Unified School District.

$15 million in matched donations to educational institutions by the company and SC Johnson people in the last 20 years.

$10 million in scholarships for SC Johnson people and their families since 1959.

$3.5 million to Gateway Technical College for technical certificate boot camps and other initiatives for chronically unemployed people.
RACINE  A new study says Racine doesnt just have cheap housing; it has the most-affordable housing, in relation to local incomes, among hundreds of housing markets worldwide.

The 13th annual Demographia International Affordable Housing Survey, released last week, is a study of 406 metropolitan housing markets in nine countries (Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States). The survey, by Performance Urban Planning of New Zealand, uses third-quarter data from 2016.

Of the 406 housing markets surveyed, Racine comes in at No. 1 internationally in housing affordability.

The study hinges on the median multiple, which allows comparisons of housing affordability between widely different markets around the globe. That number is the median housing price in a particular market divided by the median income.

For example, the Racine market gets a 1.8 median multiple: the median-priced house, $104,000, divided by the median income of $58,400.

Racines housing affordability is one of the things we use when we compare and talk to people about Racine versus the Chicago and Milwaukee markets, Mayor John Dickert said. When we look at overall cost of living, those numbers are really good for us.

Its one of the assets we can use to sell our city, he added.

Simple, ingenious

I remember well how difficult it was (previously) to put a figure to housing affordability which is also internationally comparable, Oliver Hartwich, executive director of The New Zealand Initiative, writes in the introduction to the 84-page study.

Demographias median multiplier approach closed this gap, Harwich continues. It firmly established a benchmark for housing affordability by linking median house prices to median household incomes. It is as simple as it is ingenious.

The median multiple is not perfect, Hartwich says, because it does not account for house size or build quality. But is it the only index that allows a quick comparison of different housing markets, and it is the best approximation of housing affordability measures we have to date.

Demographia says the median multiple is widely used for evaluating urban markets and has been recommended by the World Bank and United Nations.

Demographia considers housing markets with median multiples of 3.0 or less to be affordable, and Wisconsin has two others. Appleton scores a 2.5 with a median house price of $156,900 and median income of $62,500. Oshkosh matches that 2.5 with a median house price of $134,300 and median income of $53,200.

There are 99 accordable housing markets of all sizes including 82 in the United States, 10 in Canada, four in Australia and three in Ireland.

And all 11 affordable major housing markets  those with populations of 1 million or more  are also in this country. Rochester, N.Y., with a median multiple of 2.5, is the most affordable of those. It is followed by another New York city, Buffalo, at 2.6, followed by Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh at 2.7 each.

Milwaukee has a median multiple of 4.1 from its median house price of $238,000 and median income of $57,400.

Sign of failure

Demographias reports and countless other surveys and studies do not leave the slightest doubt that unaffordable housing is almost everywhere, Hartwich writes, and every time caused by the same factor: housing supply restrictions. The more restrictive the market, the more prices will increase over time.

At the high end of the costly housing spectrum are 94 severely unaffordable housing markets, defined as those with median multiples of 5.1 or greater. Thirty-six of those are in this country, led by San Jose, Calif., with a median house price of $1 million and median income of $104,100, for a 9.6 median multiple.

The single most unaffordable U.S. city in the study is Santa Cruz, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area, with an 11.6 percent score.

But the city of Hong Kong, in China, makes both of those California cities housing costs appear moderate: Hong Kongs median house price is $5,422,000 and median income is $300,000, producing an astronomical median multiple of 18.1.

We should not accept extreme price levels in our housing markets, Hartwich comments. High house prices are not a sign of a citys success but a sign of failure to deliver the housing that its citizens need.
WATERTOWN  The historic Mullens Dairy Bar & Eatery sign still hangs above the door at 212 W. Main St.

A Facebook page and Kickstarter campaign all tout Mullens and the plans to reopen the iconic business. The former owner, Ron Luepke, wore a gray long-sleeve T-shirt with a Mullens logo on his upper left chest last week, while Josh Keepman, who is partnering with his two brothers and Luepke to run the business, donned a red Mullens fleece jacket as he showed off remodeling plans.

There is much excitement in this city of 24,000 people and beyond for the day when the front door opens and ice cream made in the back is scooped into cones, dishes and tall stainless steel cups for shakes and malts.

But when the business reopens, possibly by May, its unclear if the Mullens name will be a part of the operation.

Tumultuous times

A case is pending before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C., in which Luepke contends that he has the right to the Mullens name, not Troy and Shannon Milbrath. The Milbraths bought the business from Luepke in 2005, filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and closed the shop in September after Luepke, who owns the building, exercised his right not to extend the lease for the Milbraths.

Im putting this together as a dairy bar that has been here since 1932, Luepke said of his plans. Its going to be adorned with Mullens Dairy memorabilia, people in town are going to be calling it Mullens Dairy and whether its called Mullens Dairy or not its always going to be Mullens Dairy.

After closing his shop, Troy Milbrath announced a plan to open Mullens in another location and began dismantling the Mullens interior that included cutting up and tossing the ice cream counter into a dumpster. Equipment from the shop was put up for auction but most of it was purchased by Luepke.

Then in October, the tale took another twist when Milbrath was charged in Jefferson County Circuit Court with 16 felonies and three misdemeanors. Hes accused of allegedly opening and using credit cards and loans in the name of his business partner and his business partners wife with balances that exceed $65,000.

Regardless of the pending criminal case, Milbrath contends he has the rights to the Mullens trademark. In November, Luepke filed a notice of opposition to Milbraths 2015 U.S. trademark application.

A response by Milbraths attorney, Daniel Kattman, filed on Dec. 30, rejects the notion that Luepke only licensed the Mullens name to Milbrath and counters that Luepke abandoned the trademark rights after he sold to Milbrath.

You can guess how it sits with me, Milbrath said last week when reached by phone at his Watertown home. There are people who we are close to that thought we sold the name but our company is still the owner.

Kattman said trademark cases can take months or possibly years to finalize but that both sides are talking. One option would be for Luepke to buy the trademark from the Milbraths. Both Luepke and Kattman declined to say if an offer has been made. In addition, Kattman believes that if Luepke opens an ice cream shop and continues to use the Mullens Dairy Bar exterior sign without owning the rights, he would be in violation of trademark law.

Trademark law is based on preventing consumer confusion, Kattman said from his Milwaukee office. Our case is pretty darn strong but we have talked about resolving and were all trying to be amicable here.

Brotherly partnership

At the same time the shop was in turmoil last summer and fall, Luepke was talking with Josh, Adam and Matt Keepman, three brothers, two of whom worked at the Kiltie Drive-In in their hometown of Oconomowoc while in high school. In addition, Matt Keepman, 40, and his wife, Angela, live in Dallas, where they own Savoy Sorbet, a company that makes gluten-free, vegan-friendly and dairy-free sorbet.

The brothers are now partnering with Luepke and pushing ahead to make improvements and open the doors of the Watertown shop even though the Mullens name is not a guarantee.

Its something weve always been interested in, Josh Keepman said about owning a business with his brothers. Given our diverse backgrounds of my brothers and I it just really comes together well for a business like this.

Josh Keepman, 42, is a 1996 UW-Whitewater graduate who has spent his career in industrial sales. Adam Keepman, 38, is a UW-Eau Claire graduate who was in a punk band in Chicago where he also worked for Whole Foods and Starbucks. He now works as a chef at Sendiks Food Market in Hartland. Both Josh and Adam each have two children and are both expecting their third child this spring.

A fixture since 1932

Mullens has been a destination for decades and when the shop closed Sept. 11, it lit up Facebook pages and websites around the world. The business was founded in 1932 by Frank Mullen Sr. and his sons in a small building just west of the current location.

In 1939 the milk bottling operation moved into its present site, a building constructed in 1907. Ice cream production was added in 1940 with route sales of milk to small grocery stores, factories and homes.

Bill Mullen, Frank Mullens grandson, purchased the business in 1976 before selling to Luepke in 1997. Luepke operated the business for nearly 20 years before selling to Milbrath but financed part of the deal himself. When Milbrath filed bankruptcy, Luepke lost more than $300,000 while Milbrath lost his house.

Remodeling plans

The Keepmans and Luepke estimate it will cost about $100,000 to remodel and reopen the ice cream shop. The plans call for elevated booths, a restored 1933 vintage nut case and the return of a penny scale. The black-and-white checkered floor has been repaired, painting is underway and the two Emery Thompson ice cream machines that can each pump out 40 quarts in just over 10 minutes remain in working order.

The Keepmans and Luepke are also in the final stretch of a Kickstarter campaign to raise another $40,000 to make other improvements. Those projects include spending $15,000 to rebuild the ice cream counter, $7,000 to restore the lighted exterior sign that hangs above the front door and $18,000 for the addition of a family bathroom on the main floor.

For the life of the business, the bathrooms have been in the basement and only accessible down steep flights of steps. Those bathrooms will remain but the family bathroom would be located at the rear of the shop near the kitchen.

As of Friday, the Kickstarter campaign had $15,501 from 136 backers and a private donor has stepped forward to match future pledges. If the $40,000 goal is not met by the Feb. 7 deadline, no money is awarded according to Kickstarter terms.

Wed like to have (the ADA bathroom) done by the time we reopen but if the Kickstarter doesnt come through its probably going to be two years out, Josh Keepman said.

The Keepmans and Luepke believe they can remodel and reopen without upgrading the bathroom situation. Doug Zwieg, the citys building inspector, said that he needs to see plans before he can comment.

Luepke, 63, said he and his wife, Gloria, were immediately taken when they visited Mullens prior to buying the business. Luepke is hopeful another chapter can begin in a few months for the Keepmans and the community and that ultimately the Keepmans can purchase the business and the building.

We came here to try and keep part of Americana going, Luepke said. These brothers now see the passion people have for this business. This building is Mullens. Its just so intertwined with the community.
The McLennan Community College Foundation is having its 15th annual Hearts in the Arts Theatre Gala on Feb. 23.

The gala will feature a McLennan Theatre performance of the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

A pre-show reception will start at 6 p.m. at MCCs Northwood House, followed by the production at 8 p.m. at MCCs Ball Performing Arts Center.

Tickets cost $75, which includes the reception, performance and a post-show dessert reception with the student cast and crew. Proceeds will benefit MCC student scholarships.

Reservations are required by Feb. 15.

For reservations, call 299-8604 or reservations@mclennan.edu.

Vanguard open house

Vanguard College Preparatory School, 2517 Mount Carmel Drive, will have a prospective student open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the schools Jaworski Building.

Parents and students can tour the school and meet with teachers, current students and parents.

Vanguard offers a college-style campus with small academic class sizes for students in seventh through 12th grades.

Tuition assistance is available.

For more information, call 772-8111.

Distinguished pianist

Pianist Jon Nakamatsu, winner of the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997, will conclude this seasons Distinguished Artist Series at Baylor University with a guest recital Thursday in Baylors Roxy Grove Hall.

Nakamatsu will perform works by Mozart, Brahms, Schumann and Chopin.

Tickets cost $15 for general admission or $10 for students, senior citizens and Baylor faculty or staff.

For tickets, visit www.baylor.edu/tickets or call 710-3210.

Rotary Club meeting

The Rotary Club of Waco will meet at noon Monday at the Lions Den, 1716 N. 42nd St.

Patrick Harrison, Rotary district public relations director, and Amber Scarborough, from the South Austin Rotary Club, will discuss Rotary Branding and Public Relations.

Cost is $10 for a catered lunch from Georges Restaurant.

For more information, call 776-2115.

HOT Sweethearts

The Heart O Texas Fair & Rodeo will accept applications through noon Friday for its 2017-18 HOT Sweetheart program.

Applicants must be a sophomore, junior or senior in high school for the 2017-18 school year.

Sweethearts volunteer a minimum of 100 hours throughout the year to promote, support and represent the Heart O Texas Fair & Rodeo at parades, festivals, events, fundraisers and benefits in the Waco-McLennan County area.

Sweetheart selection is based on personal interviews, personality, congeniality, poise and communications skills.

Applications can be picked up from local high school counselors, at www.hotfair.com or in the Heart O Texas Fair & Rodeo Office, 4601 Bosque Blvd.

The 2017 Heart O Texas Fair & Rodeo will be held Oct. 5-14.
Thousands of boys have tied knots, paddled canoes and learned to build fires at Camp Jim Braley on the shores of Tradinghouse Lake for the past four decades.

This weekend, McLennan Countys only Boy Scout campground hits the end of its long trail.

Power giant Luminant has leased the 197-acre campground to the Boy Scouts since 1969, soon after it built the lake to cool power plants. But the company sold the camp area late last summer as part of a larger sale to a rancher and businessman who has other plans for the property.

Waco-area Scouts are meeting this weekend for a freezoree featuring outdoor competitions and winter games, including homemade sled racing, regardless of the mild weather in the forecast.

The campground has no water service and few improvements other than latrines and a metal building thats mostly used for storage. But the rustic atmosphere is part of the camps charm, said Mike Stone, an official with Waco Boy Scout Troop 308 who helped set up the camping trip.

I just like that its local and still feels very remote, said Stone, whose own adult sons grew up going to Scouting events there. Its a great place to get away and camp.

The closure leaves Camp Tahuaya near Belton and Camp Shuler at Lake Whitney as the closest Boy Scout camps to Waco. John Coyle, executive for the Boy Scouts of America Longhorn Council, said there are no plans to buy land to replace Jim Braley.

Its not likely, because we have Tahuaya, and our focus is to raise a significant amount of money to get it up to speed, Coyle said. If someone offered us land, we would look at it.

The Boy Scouts had a 99-year contract with Luminant, but the contract allowed either party to end the lease.

Plans for private use

Coyle said he has had a friendly meeting with the new owner, Jim McDonald of Dead River Ranch, and they set Feb. 1 as the date to move out. McDonald, the former CEO of Scientific American, has already been installing new gravel roads throughout the property.

The new owner has plans for private use, Coyle said. He wanted to do some development on it for his family.

Local Scouting officials said McDonald has helped them with donations and allowed them to camp on other property he owns.

McDonald, who owns thousands of acres around Tradinghouse Lake and the Brazos River, could not be reached for comment.

Records from the McLennan County clerks office and a federal bankruptcy court show Luminant sold McDonald 460 acres of surplus property in late summer 2016 at a total cost of $2.3 million.

Luminant and its sister company, TXU Energy, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 but emerged last October as a single company called TCEH.

Company officials would not comment on the land sale, but they said the 2,010-acre lake and the old power plant site for which the lake was built are not for sale. Luminant is still pursuing a new air permit allowing for a future gas-fired power unit to replace the old one.

McLennan County Judge Scott Felton said he doesnt expect Luminant to end its 99-year lease with the county on Tradinghouse Lake Park, which sits near Camp Jim Braley on Wilbanks Drive.

I think they understand how important that park is to the community, Felton said.

Felton, who happens to live next door to the land McDonald bought, said he doesnt expect any major development there.

I have not discovered that hes going to do anything significant. Hes more a buy-and-hold kind of guy, he said. I know hes a good taxpayer for the community and McLennan County.

Camp Jim Braley was named for a Waco-based Scout executive who was instrumental in starting the camp. Braley died in a fall, two years before the camp opened at a special camporee on April 23, 1975.

Randy Page, now a Waco attorney, recalls helping build the campground with other Scouts when he was a teen.

A great place

I think I still have the patch for the opening, Page said. It was a great place to camp, just 25 miles from downtown Waco.

Page recalled camping one time with a group of mixed-age Scouts as young as 11.

A couple of them went down in the shallow water, and when they came back they had caught a catfish by hand, he said. They werent noodling, but these kids had just enough country in them to catch catfish by hand.

Jake Ballard, an Eagle Scout from Waco who now attends Texas A&M University, was disappointed to hear of its closure.

That was the place I got the Order of the Arrow at a ceremony right by that big tree, Ballard said. I remember going to those freezorees every year. It was cold but super fun because you were there with your buddies doing little competitions, making small fires and trying to put together a teepee.

Its the perfect location, not too far from Waco, and the amount of room they have out there was great, he said. Its a special little camp. Its kind of hard to replicate.
Ray Westerfeld, 90, and Ira B. Gohlke, 91, have a lot in common. Theyre cousins and live in McGregor. Both served in the U.S. Army during World War II and spent time together at Fort Riley, Kansas. And they married sisters  in a double ceremony.

Westerfeld and Gohlke met their wives  Helene, 88, and Margaret (nee Schulte) of McGregor, 89,  at dances in Crawford while in high school. Westerfeld dated Helene, while Gohlke courted Margaret. When the men joined the military, the women wrote frequently.

If we didnt get a letter in three weeks, then there was something wrong, said Gohlke, who was born in western McLennan County and raised in Coryell City. He finished high school in Gatesville.

Ill tell you one thing, that gal (Helene) can write, said Westerfeld. He grew up in the Crawford area and had seen the sisters around.

Gohlke received his draft notice in August 1944; Westerfeld got his in December. Both were in the Horse Calvary, Gohlke in saddle school and Ray in horseshoeing. Neither used those skills for the Army.

Gohlke was assigned to Fort Riley, followed by Westerfeld a few months later. Westerfeld knew his cousin was there, but Gohlke didnt know he was coming. I walked in on him, said Westerfeld. He probably said, What the heck are you doing here?  Gohlke disagrees. I was glad to see someone I knew, he said.

Their commonality didnt end there, either, as each was hospitalized with pneumonia  though not at the same time  while in the service.

Separated by Uncle Sam

From Fort Riley, their paths parted, as Gohlke went overseas, while Westerfeld remained stateside. Gohlke was at Fort Riley for a year, expecting to be sent to China, but that never came around, he said. Instead, he boarded a ship bound for Japan.

From California, Gohlke sailed to Pearl Harbor before arriving in Japan, where he joined the 25th Division. By then the war was winding down. News of the Hiroshima bombing led to ships using lights  crews assumed the war was over. But by the second night, blackout orders resumed when Japanese submarines were detected. The ship arrived in Osaka on Sept. 2, 1945.

Gohlke recalled the ship entering a narrow channel guarded by mines. They sent for a Japanese admiral to help them navigate through the dangerous waters. Once on shore, Gohlke was among a group crammed into a standing-room-only truck and could see the destruction as they rode through the city.

It was torn to pieces. You couldnt see anything standing, he said. I was surprised it was so calm.

Japans second-largest city at the time, Osaka had taken a tremendous beating from bombing raids that

resulted in over 10,000 civilian casualties.

Despite the damage, Gohlke said he never had a minutes trouble with the Japanese people.

With the war over, American soldiers didnt have much to do. Gohlke stayed a year before returning to the States, discharging as a corporal on Sept. 7, 1946.

Westerfeld, on the other hand, left Fort Riley to train in Camp Adair in Oregon. He then moved to California, awaiting overseas orders. Instead, he was sent to Camp Hood, where he supervised a restoration section of five men who facilitated the needs of soldiers released from the stockade. Like Gohlke, he wasnt given much to do, because there was little to be done.

Long-distance relationship

Id hitchhike from Camp Brownwood home to see her (Helene), said Westerfeld. I had all those pretty girls out there, but Id still come home to her.

He was discharged with the rank of sergeant on July 25, 1946, after serving two years.

Because both couples were engaged, the four decided a double wedding was in order, and on Nov. 14, 1946, they made things official. They recently celebrated their 70th anniversaries. The Westerfelds have four sons, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. The Gohlkes raised two sons and have six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Today, both men are retired from farming and live around the corner from each other.

As for their military service, theres no doubt it left an impression on the cousins.

It was good, but Id hate to do it again, Gohlke said. It was a changed life. Some of my friends were killed in the service. In a 4-square-mile area near Coryell City, six men didnt return from the war.

As for Westerfeld, he wasnt disappointed that he didnt go overseas. His dad had served in brutal trench warfare in France during World War I.

I decided to do the best that I could, he said.

And thats the most anyone can do.

Voices of Valor, featuring stories about Central Texas veterans, publishes every Sunday in the Waco Trib. To suggest a story about a Central Texas veteran, email voicesofvalor@wacotrib.com. Voices of Valor is proudly sponsored by Johnson Roofing.
Theres a great deal of talk these days about alternative facts and how they seem to be replacing the truth in our political discourse. I cant imagine that this trend has staying power, but if it does, please remember Im 6-foot-8, strikingly handsome, was an All-Star centerfielder for the Cardinals and regularly sell out concerts at the Rose Bowl!

Ongoing research and tracking by Public Policy Polling indicates the vast majority of Republican voters believe the unemployment rate went up during the past eight years (it was basically cut in half) and the stock market went down (it basically tripled). In fact, only 27 percent recognized what actually occurred. Given this, its worth taking a few moments for a fact-based, emotion-free retrospective as the baton passes from one president to the next.

When President Obama took office, he faced a massive recession with job losses exceeding 700,000 per month, markets in a state of shock and free fall, a massive housing crisis with soaring foreclosures, a decimated financial sector and, for largely unrelated reasons, an automobile industry that was virtually bankrupt. He turns the reins over to his successor with an unemployment rate that is at levels traditionally considered full employment and an economy that has posted 75 consecutive months of job growth.

Markets are healthy, the financial system is thriving, housing is well on its way to recovery and the automobile industry is expanding. That is the big picture and, by any objective measure, history will justifiably confer high marks on this era. It is not, however, the whole story for at least two reasons.

First, some numbers beneath the surface are not so encouraging. For example, income inequality has expanded in recent years and wage rates are only now beginning to increase. While the deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product has fallen notably in recent years as the recovery has taken hold, structural factors in place will cause this to explode in the next few years if not addressed (mainly having to do with a growing number of retirees from the baby boomer population). Regulatory burdens have notably increased, thus reducing our global competitiveness in energy, manufacturing, transportation, financial services and other sectors. The tax structure encourages firms to keep profits abroad and even restructure their business domiciles to foreign countries. All that is to say the economy is very complex and dynamics are always pulling things in multiple directions.

Second, although we inevitably attach the names of presidents to things that happen in any era, the reality is that one person does not define what happens. The best (or worst) plans of any president can be thwarted or aided by Congress or the courts; the actions of countries around the world can profoundly affect economic outcomes; and things as diverse as weather, natural disasters and emerging technologies can alter the path of U.S. business activity at warp speed.

Moreover, some decisions made by others take a while to manifest themselves. For example, the financial crisis that will be forever linked to President George W. Bush had its origins in policies that were in place before he came into power as well as in those he promoted. Thus, presidents often get the credit and blame for things that are far removed from their ability to control or, at times, even influence.

The economy is always a mixed bag and no individual determines what happens. Still, President Obama left business conditions a lot better than he found them and for that history will remember him well, as well it should. Lets hope the next president does the same.

Nationally known economist Ray Perryman is president and chief executive officer of the Waco-based Perryman Group. He was selected as the 2012 Texan of the Year by the Texas Legislative Conference and received the 2013 Baylor University Distinguished Service Medal.
On the strong chance state legislators dont know it, heres a definition of the word precipitous: an action done suddenly and without careful consideration. Use in a sentence: State leaders are acting precipitously in pressing the issue of school choice when they havent yet fixed the states nightmare of a school finance system.

Last week, during National School Choice Week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke to a crowd of several hundred school-choice boosters on the steps of the State Capitol, vowing to sign school-choice legislation that lands on his desk: This is common sense. One size doesnt fit all when it comes to education. Why should government force a child to attend a school thats wrong for them?

Thats a compelling message. Most of us who subscribe to a free-market system built on efficiencies and competitiveness subscribe to the idea of allowing private schools to draw from public funds if public schools dont get the job done of properly educating our kids. But its precipitous to start funneling taxpayer money to private schools before legislators fix their own abysmal school finance system.

While the Texas Supreme Court last year disappointed school districts statewide by holding that the states school finance system was constitutional, justices such as Don Willett  one of President Trumps original choices for the U.S. Supreme Court  also made clear that the states system for funding public schools was undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement.

During last months public meeting in which members of the Waco City Council, McLennan County Commissioners Court, Waco Independent School District and McLennan Community College outlined their priorities for local lawmakers, Waco ISD Superintendent Bonny Cain proposed school choice be shelved till state officials ensure school finance for public schools is equitable and adequate. Makes sense.

And pro-business conservative and school trustee Cary DuPuy correctly questioned the idea that charter and private schools be allowed to skirt standards by which public schools must rigorously abide. He voiced alarm about private schools picking off promising students while ejecting problem students who then wind up back in public schools, driving down academic scores and campus rankings and reinforcing political rhetoric about public schools.

Add to this problems that such schools as Midway Independent School District reportedly have because of tax cuts passed by state legislators and a populist but short-sighted move underway by some legislators to further hamstring local districts abilities to manage their finances by tightening their ability to raise tax revenue and one must question whether anyone in charge in Austin even sees the big picture.
In his first eight days in office as our most unconventional president, Donald Trump has signed executive orders to undo regulations governing the controversial Affordable Care Act, set in motion construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and pulled the plug on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact while calling for the North American Free Trade Agreement to be renegotiated, perhaps junked. He has continued warring with the press over the size of his inaugural crowd compared to Barack Obamas and what he claims (and many state and federal officials vigorously deny) is widespread voter fraud. He claims this is why he lost the popular vote in the election by nearly 3 million votes. By weeks end his order regarding refugees from parts of the Middle East had sparked Muslim vows of retribution.

On Tuesday, Trib opinion editor Bill Whitaker sat down with five Waco-area residents who voted for Trump. Three in the past year have written letters published in the Trib supporting Trump; a fourth penned a column in support of him. In a free-wheeling conversation that ran more than an hour, they discussed what they expect of a Trump administration; how they reassure family and friends nervous about the impulsive president and his unguarded remarks and tweets; and just how the press and public are to hold Trump accountable. This last question derives from Trump apologists who say his comments should be taken not literally, only seriously, and that one should pay more attention to deeds, not words.

Offering their insights in this spirited conversation: Lester H. Beaird, 75, of Lacy Lakeview, retired from a career in prison administration, including the Texas Department of Corrections; Lloyd Coffman, 59, of Hewitt, a retired Air Force master sergeant who worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and is a Military Order of the Purple Heart national service officer and president of the McLennan County Veterans Association; businessman and onetime Republican congressional candidate Jack Burgess, 79, of Waco; Joseph Bays, 84, a Navy veteran (nuclear technician) and onetime lawman in Seattle who now lives in West; and Walter Seeger, 82, of Waco, retired after many years at the cooling and plumbing company Lochridge Priest. Seeger grew up in Nazi Germany.

Q First, what specifically do each of you expect of a Trump administration? What will determine in your mind whether this administration is a success?

Walter Seeger There are at least four issues this nation has to face up to. Internal security, immigration, health and law enforcement. These things must be addressed. Theyre almost equally important. And, of course, its a matter of opinion as to what we think is most important. But we better get some action on this.

Q Yes, but what specifically do you want to see? The last administration also took action on priorities. You might not agree with them, but, well, lets take immigration. What do you want to see done regarding immigration?

Seeger Well, for one thing, just common sense. We need to make sure we have controlled immigration. We have to identify people, we have to know who we send out and, most of all, we need to make sure these people actually have the intention to assimilate, which is not the case right now.

Q How would you do this?

Seeger Assimilate?

Q No  and actually most Mexican migration is headed out of the United States now. But given that this has been a problem in the past and could be again, what do we need to do in immigration reform? Do we need to build that wall?

Seeger We need to understand that sending a few million people out is not going to solve this problem. For instance, [wife] Jeanne and I  our house burned up and over the last 10 years we did various things to [fix] it. And who did the work? Mexican nationals. Now for us to send people out who have established jobs and are willing to raise families here and educate those families here, why would we want to send them home? Now, they may not be identified, so an essential part of this is we have to accept identification [as part of any immigration reform plan].

Q Anything else specific you want to see?

Seeger Become more lawful. Fight and oppose lawlessness. We have demoralized our security system, our police system.

Q How? Tougher sentencing  an issue where some Republicans disagree with the next attorney general, Jeff Sessions?

Lloyd Coffman I would just enforce the laws on the books. And to say that Trump is going to just run people out of this country is ludicrous and ridiculous. Just enforce the laws that you have. There are plenty of laws now, theyre just not being enforced. Why? I dont know. But I do know that I can look at highway construction going on around this nation and I can tell whos building it. [Immigrants.] And thank God theyre here. This may sound bad, but youre not going to get the common white boy sitting at home in Hewitt to get out there and work his ass off on that damn hot road all day long. And I thank God that theyre here. But enforce the laws. If theyre here, rubber-stamp [vet and legally certify these immigrants] and move on.

Q Joseph, when you look at the Trump administration, whats one thing you want to see done?

Joseph Bays I would like to see the pipelines completed.

Q Why is that important to you?

Bays Well, thats important because we are capable of being energy-independent and we should be and hopefully Trump will make that happen.

Q Anything else?

Bays Well, Id like to see immigration control.

Lester Beaird I have to answer your question in a different way. What I would like to see Trump do is deliver the best he can on his campaign promises. He got elected because hes not a politician. The anti-politician attitude in this country keeps going higher and higher and, if he does his level best to deliver on his campaign promises, were going to see an improvement in the economy.

Q But he made hundreds of campaign promises. I concede all politicians do this, but is there anything specific you want to see?

Beaird Im not talking about specifics like, I saved 500 jobs here. Im talking about the general idea of the economy, lowering the corporate tax and doing some of those things that can bring some of that money back from other places and get some jobs going. I like the idea of infrastructure. I dont like the idea of going deep, deep, deep, deep into debt about it. There is a thought  and I dont know if I buy into it entirely  that some of that money [from corporate profits held offshore] that is repatriated and comes back will take care of all that. Maybe, maybe not. I dont know who in the world would even want to be a president of the United States. The job to me seems like a guy thats on a high wire riding a unicycle and blindfolded, juggling, and people are throwing up chainsaws and bowling balls to him that dont like him. [Laughter.] How in the hell can you be a success at everything? You cant. Nobody can. And we havent had a president that was totally good.

Q Well, they all upset us sooner or later.

Jack Burgess I think hes going to do the things these gentlemen are talking about  the big promises. But what I want to see him do is what I had hoped Obama would do and thats bring our country together, especially racially. He can do this if he really goes to work on those inner cities and, as Ive written to you [privately], if we can do a better job of educating our minorities.

Q Thats a noble cause, Jack. I ask all of you then: President-elect Trump got into it with civil rights icon John Lewis. You can argue whether Congressman Lewis was right to say Trump is an illegitimate president, but it was surely his right as an American to say so. And its Trumps right to respond. So Martin Luther King III goes down to Trump Plaza at Trumps request, calms things down, Mr. King comes out later and says very nice things about the president-elect. And shortly thereafter Trump goes after Lewis again, aggravating matters. Explain the logic in how all this helps racial relations.

Burgess Its not. Its not. I dont know why the man has to defend himself on every minor little thing.

Q Does he need to put his Twitter down?

Burgess He sure does.

Q Does everybody agree with that?

Coffman I dont mind the Twitter. I do mind the rhetoric on his Twitter. If the Twitter meant something, then it wouldnt bother me. But every now and then Ill see a Twitter come out and Ill go, Why doesnt he just close his mouth? He sounds so much better when he does [exercise restraint and tact]. Hes a smart man, he aint stupid, but, well, I dont know if someones running his Twitter for him, but its ridiculous.

Beaird I can see Twitter being anathema to the news print people  TV too  but Im impressed there is a way for him to keep me and everybody else in the general public attuned to whats going on. Granted, his version may be slanted and biased sometimes. Everybodys is. We dont have politicians who have a very good ear about what their voting public put them into office to do. And that Twitter is one of the most direct ways to get me to pick up the phone and call my legislator and say: Hey, what about this? What are you going to do?

Q Ill give you that much. He certainly killed off  well, he delayed  that Republican congressional move to shut down the House ethics office a couple of weeks ago.

Beaird Yes, that was a good thing. And not all of his battles are going to be with the Democrats.

Q This past week we had this strange situation where the National Park Service released an aerial picture of the Trump inaugural crowd. Someone compared it with the Obama 2009 inauguration crowd, which appeared lots bigger. So more people went to Obamas than Trumps and he tweets all about its being faked or wrong. I wanted to call this president and say, Why on earth are you doing this?

Coffman I dont care that theres more people [at Obamas inauguration]. Why are you [President Trump] bringing up issues that have nothing to do with nothing?

Q Can anyone defend this sort of behavior?

Beaird Probably his rationale is: If somebody puts out something I believe may not be factual  and newspaper and TV people do that sometimes  Im going to contest it because I want to stop it from gaining traction because over a period of time these lies become believed.

Q But, Lester, this involved photographic evidence.

Beaird Uh, do we know if the photographic evidence is factual and actual and real?

Q So youre suggesting that the National Park Service doctored it?

Beaird Well, it may not have been at the same time  Ive seen other pictures of Trump in the foreground, talking to a group of folks that extends way back there.

Seeger Were not going to change Trump. We have to sort of bend with the punches. We need to be learning how to figure out what does not even pertain to our wellbeing, you know. We just have to recognize what really affects us and what doesnt.

Burgess I think if he keeps using his Tweeter, hes going to wear his welcome out.

Q Well, over time he could undermine his credibility. But, Lloyd, you sound like you deal with some realities. Whats one thing at the end of four years you want done?

Coffman Im not the smartest man in the room, Ill tell you that much. But immigration has got to be one of the biggest ones. What Id like to see him do is get rid of sanctuary cities. There are laws on the books for these things and, if police or anybody else in a city is ignoring those laws, thats a problem. Now there are a lot of ways you can attack this. You can go to Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco  your funding just got cut off. Instead of getting, say, $13 million a year, were going to hold it back. If somebodys here illegally and you know theyre here illegally and you just let them walk  and, you know, you get these extreme cases where they go out there and kill somebody  thats when it gets bad. But, well, theres a lot of [illegal immigrant] folks out there who are hard-working too. I dont know what that balance is. I dont know the best way to attack that. Do you pick up everybody? You cant. But there are ways to force people [city officials] to do what youre supposed to do. Thats your job, thats your mandate. And if youre not going to do your job, then go find another one.

Q So immigration is a big problem in this country?

Coffman I dont think its as big as we make it out to be, but when you got people afraid they may get deported, it becomes a big problem.

Q Thank you, Lloyd. Now, Joseph, you draw the card on starting this next question. There is a lot of anxiety and fear in our neighborhoods and across this nation. Trump is a different kind of president. There may be things you like about him and things that really scare others. For me, thats leaving NATO. I mean, I learned from my history books how it staved off World War III. Anyway, how will you reassure me about Mr. Trump, Joseph?

Bays Well, leaving NATO is, I think, a great idea.

Q Really.

Bays Yeah, because I think NATOs time has come and gone. I think Trump has the right idea.

Q Why has NATOs time come and gone?

Bays Well, the old Soviet Union has dissolved into a bunch of independent countries and whats his name is trying to [bring] back the USSR.

Q So wouldnt that actually be a good excuse to keep NATO?

Bays Well, no, I think NATO is useless.

Q Wow. OK. But you were going to tell me something that would reassure me about President Trump and you sure didnt do that. [Room erupts in laughter.]

Bays Well, I think hes going to put the missile system in Poland and Hungary and Czechoslovakia or the Czech Republic as its now called  the anti-missile missiles. I think the Israelis called it the Iron Dome.

Q Well, Lester, Im not sure Joseph got me settled, but what do you tell doubting friends? You saw Hugh Hewitts column in our Sunday paper where he tries to reassure friends who are moderate Republicans but worry about Trump. Hewitt is a very conservative radio host.

Beaird I applaud the absolute absence of political-correctness junk that so many politicians use. I like the fact he tells it like it is, right or wrong. And sometimes hes wrong obviously. I try to tell folks that a little less hidden agenda from him [is good], that what you see is what you get. If you give him time to get some economic things tweaked, youre going to see that things get better. I usually ask, Do you honestly feel youre better off now than eight, 12, 16 years ago? Most people dont. Do you want your taxes more reasonable rather than being so complex that you have to hire a CPA to do it? Do you want to be able to do your taxes? Do you want your unemployed kids to maybe have a chance to get a job? Just give it a little bit of time. Thats the first thing. I dont know what you do about guys like the one who wrote the letter you had in the paper the other day that called all the people who live in the country a bunch of naive idiots [for voting for Trump] and how, after they elected Trump, they were buying [non-stink] underwear they saw advertised on TV because they were too naive to understand that  I didnt like that letter and if I hadnt been too busy I wouldve written one. [Room erupts into laughter.]

Q Well, you got it off your chest just now. So you believe these things youre saying will reassure friends and neighbors?

Beaird I have some of those folks, yes. You know, I think Trump got himself some votes by going into the inner cities and saying, What the hell do you have to lose? Try me. Lets try a different direction.

Q Jack, how about you? What are you going to do to reassure me? And you and I probably vote more alike than the rest of these folks.

Burgess Well, I did not support Trump in the primary election, but look at his family and how he has run his business and how his family loves him and he loves those kids. Those kids have to be brilliant, but they like him. He could not be the evil person people [believe] who are making all this noise. And he could not have built his business without working through an awful lot of very talented people. Look who hes picked for his Cabinet. Now there may be a few more military people than some folks want.

Q Ive heard good things about Mad Dog Mattis.

Burgess Hes picked people who are going to talk back to him. I think hes going to do a great job and I really  and Im the liberal here  but I really do think hes going to make an effort to help downtown Detroit and some of these other places. My understanding is hes the type of guy who, as hes going around these construction sites, has as good a time talking to somebody with a jackhammer as he does the superintendent. I think hell treat our country that way.

Q Excellent. Lloyd?

Coffman Well, concerning NATO, its like any bloc sitting out there. If youre not all on board, whats the purpose of having it? If Im not going to get the backing from NATO, then go ahead and get me out. Everybody thought the United Nations was a great idea. Im not going to argue whether it is or isnt, but there was a cry back when to get out of the United Nations. It was a problem for the United States.

Beaird And another big problem was parity in who paid for what [among NATO member countries].

Q Good point. Of course, you do recall that, in NATOs long history, the only nation to call upon it for help was the United States.

Coffman Yeah, but thats what we need. With terrorism the way it is all over the world, if you cant team up, youre fighting individually. We should be helping each other. We should be helping England, France, Spain, whatever. But weve got to get NATO together. If were not  well, the United States should not send 10,000 troops to Iraq and England send five. Thats ridiculous. Either fight this fight or get out of it. Dont send young men to die if were not going to let them win. If youre not going to let them win, dont even go. If it were up to me  and this is the scary part, pardon me for saying this  Id cut the military loose. Do whatever you got to do, but end this thing. Weve been in this since 1990 and Im tired of it. Lets take this fight to them and lets get this damn thing over with.

Q Good point. But tell me something reassuring youve said to family or friends who didnt see things the way you did this election.

Coffman Oh, my God, you have no idea.

Q How do you talk to them and say, Hey, listen, this is going to be a good deal for our nation.

Coffman Basically just that. Im sure everybody has said the same thing. Just give it a chance. The man may be an idiot. I dont know. But hes not a politician, he is a millionaire and everybody hes putting in there [Cabinet posts] seems to be millionaires. These guys know how to run businesses. Give him a chance. Give it a couple of years. You dont like him? Kick him out. I dont care. Just give it a chance. Im sure youve all seen, theyre calling for his impeachment. Hes only been in office two days! They were calling for his impeachment even before he became president! Just give him a chance. Thats all I ask.

Q Walter, you know that a lot of things said about Trump involve his being an autocrat, an authoritarian in the mold of Adolf Hitler. You grew up in Nazi Germany. How do you respond when people say, Well, Walter, you of all people ought to recognize these tendencies.

Seeger Lets start with Trump. Hes dynamic, hes going to do something  theres no question  and he proved that on his first day. And if at the end of the day he can look back and has done something  now that something is going to be the question. Whatever direction we go, this country needs to be supportive of what is right and we need to be together on this thing.

Q A liberal friend of mine is reading this book on how Hitler assumed tyrannical power and he quotes what he sees as parallels with what Trump is doing now.

Seeger America has a system that will not fail. It will only fail when it breaks down within itself. We will stand a chance of going the wrong direction if were not united because, after all, [consider] this congressman saying [Trump] is an illegitimate president. Thats a bunch of nonsense, but it was everybody. We need to accept the system that has worked for 200 years and remember the safeguards here and there [constitutional checks and balances] that will keep us from going overboard.

Coffman You bring up a great point: You are what you show yourself to be. And he is a dynamic man. But how many Democrats said they werent going to the inauguration? What message were they sending? And think of Madonna: I want to blow up the White House.

Beaird Its a federal crime.

Coffman It should be. If I said it or you said it, wed be in jail. Kids and college kids were there listening to that idol of theirs saying stuff like that. What does that tell them? You had six women dress up like vaginas and march. There were kids down there. If we dressed up as  well, what do you think theyd do to us? By doing this, all youre doing is generating more hate. Thats all youre doing. And the Democrats  I think thats one reason they lost the election. Theyre getting further away from [the political] center. If we get too far to the right, were going to pay for it. If you get too far to the left, youre going to pay for it. Theres a balance in there. When Obama became president, did I like it? No. Same way with Slick Willie. I didnt like him, either, though he did great for the country. The country prospered under him, monetarily speaking and jobs. But give this man a chance. But the rhetoric were hearing  and from both sides, no doubt  its pulling America apart.

Q Its been said by people who support Trump that the press and the public shouldnt take what he says literally, only seriously. I ask you now: How is the press or a skeptical public supposed to hold this new president accountable when were not supposed to trust what he says but what he might possibly mean?

Beaird I dont know that Ive got a good answer for that. You see talking heads on TV criticizing the man because of the way his tie is tied and his coats not buttoned.

Q President Obama said, in touting health-care legislation, that if you liked your doctor, you could keep him under the Democrats health-insurance plan. The press and public held him accountable for his words. And what he said was not true, judging by what many Americans claim. This is a real example Im giving you. Why should I not hold President Trump to the same standard? A week ago he said there was going to be health-care insurance for everybody.

Beaird Well, thats a point there. He said there would be health care [insurance] for everybody. Is there going to be? No. Can it happen? Probably not. Is there going to be resistance from Republicans as well as Democrats? Yes. But I think people can look at his intent and his efforts to do what he said he wanted to do and judge him on the basis of that.

Coffman I dont think theres any separation there. If you make a statement like, Im going to redo health care and were going to get health care for everyone out there, thats a pretty bold move and its probably not going to happen as soon as you said it. And the press is going to hold your feet to the fire.

Q So should we not hold the president accountable?

Coffman No, you should hold his feet to the fire. Hes the president. He answers to us. I dont care whether its the media or anybody sitting out there, he answers to us, just like any congressman we elect. Im not smart enough to figure out health care for 300 million people. But, yeah, anytime the commander in chief opens his mouth, he better think before he says it or hes going to look like an idiot.

Q Is there one thing you would say people need to keep in mind as we begin a Trump administration? Im thinking of people who are scared as well as those who are excited and hopeful.

Coffman Lets give him a chance. If you dont like him, we can kick him out. And remember that if you dont like what hes done, we can undo it.

Beaird Most of my life, I didnt pay too much attention to what politicians did. I probably voted against more presidential candidates than I ever did for them. I am enthused about a non-politician, someone who has been successful as a businessman making some sensible businessman decisions about how this government runs. Our bureaucracy is so bloated and, frankly, so insane in a lot of things that it does that no one man can keep up with what it does. Im enthused about the caliber of people that he has nominated for key posts in his administration. I think he can probably get some things done. I know hes going to try. Some of these other pure politicians I see go into office seem more interested in getting all their ducks lined up for the next time so they can get re-elected.

Seeger This nation has existed for 200 years. There is a reason for it. We have been blessed with elements and essentials that gave us all the opportunities and people in our past have taken those opportunities. We are Americans. We need to honor the system, honor the people no matter where they are or how they go and we need to know we are still the best nation in the world. Go somewhere else and see whats going on. Anybody ridiculing or belittling what we have here  even what you and I are doing here now  were trying to focus on the common denominator. We cant start off being ridiculous or negative about it. We need to be looking up and giving this guy a chance and judge him by what he can do for Americans. I was in World War II. In 1945 I was 11. The American troops came through our town. We heard them coming 40 miles away, cannons, tanks and all that. The American troops came in and the way they behaved was 180 degrees from what happened in east Germany [involving Russian troops handling of German civilians]. People were coming our way because they wanted to get away from the Russians. What happened was indescribable. But the American soldiers among us, the children, they distributed prayer books, little booklets with Bible stories. They were God-led people and they behaved accordingly. For them to bring religious literature among us left a lifelong mark on us.

Q Jack, what would you add?

Burgess Were all Americans.

Q Yes, but in regard to what we need to keep in mind.

Burgess We survived Jimmy Carter. [Laughter erupts.]

Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Bill Whitaker.
Trump-o-mania!

Where to begin? So many topics, so little strength.

 First: Doesnt even one Trump supporter cringe at the fact that the main substance of President Trumps address at the CIA (in front of that sacred wall) was the medias misrepresentation of his crowd size? I believe its duration was nine of the 15 minutes that he spoke. And when he blamed the crooked media for his so-called feud with the intelligence agency, I threw up a little in my mouth. He should have done the same with that lie on his tongue.

 Second: The fact there were worldwide protest/activism marches for many womens causes as a show of unity should give anyone pause instead of criticism. Im sure glad women got the vote in 1920, because the 2017 mentality would not have permitted passage of the 19th Amendment.

 Third: Yes, Melanias inaugural suit was stunning! I have a weakness for powder blue. It reminds me of an outfit and shoes that my mother had and how I loved clunking around in those shoes. Powder blue . . . one could lose ones mind. But having the Oval Office redecorated during the inauguration was a first. I mean, that was really an important and necessary priority. How could he actually sit down for the first time in there without his gold?

 Fourth: The irony of hearing about giving our new president a chance and showing respect  which I shall certainly do when I see reason for it  and yet still hearing those same people engaging in the same repeated attacks regarding the outgoing president is remarkable. Forget about Obama. Remember? Trump won. Hypocrisy, move over. You got some big butts coming.

And if you cant say something nice, dont say anything at all? Well, if its good enough for the first White House press conference, its sure good enough for me!

Linda Gilleland Stewart, Crawford

* * *

Protests are happening all over the world in response to Donald Trumps inauguration. Many people believe these protests are futile. I agree. But that doesnt mean protesters dont have the right to show their dissent. The First Amendment guarantees citizens the right to peaceably assemble. Key word: peaceably.

Every person protesting is experiencing the deep-seated feeling of being on the losing side. Those of us who are pleased with the electoral outcome, indifferent or simply not inclined to protest should remember what losing feels like. The cornerstone of this democracy is the right to your beliefs and the right to express them. Whether you agree or not, it serves all of us well to respect the beliefs of others. In turn, we will receive the same respect.

What does not warrant respect is senseless violence. Breaking windows and burning cars shows people have no regard for anyone but themselves. Violence may feel good. Being booked at the nearest jail does not. Remember: there is always someone on the other side.

Rylee Seavers, Waco
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the Turnbull government will support Donald Trump's "strong immigration and border protection policies", as the leaders of Britain and Germany criticise an executive order banning entry to the United States for refugees and citizens from a range of majority Muslim countries.

Speaking in Los Angeles after events promoting Australian business and tourism, Ms Bishop said the Turnbull government was working closely with the White House to ensure Australians would continue to have access to the United States and consular officials were assisting travellers on the ground.

"I'm confident that the Australian government and the US government will continue to support each other in ensuring that we can implement our strong immigration and border protection policies," Ms Bishop said.

"The Australian government is working very closely with the administration and the US officials and we want to ensure that Australians continue to have access to the United States, as they have in the past, and people from the United States have access to Australia."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has received Donald Trump's personal assurance that a deal for the US to resettle refugees from Nauru and Manus Island will go ahead, despite the US President's harsh immigration policies sending shockwaves around the world.

Fears the deal, struck last year with Barack Obama, might be torpedoed by Mr Trump were allayed during a phone call between the Australian and US leaders on Sunday, Fairfax Media understands.

US President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday morning. Credit:Bloomberg

The assurance came as an executive order signed by Mr Trump clamping down on refugees and broader immigration from some Muslim-majority nations caused large protests in the US. It also prompted concern from Australian MPs from both sides, especially over how the order might affect Australian dual nationals.

Mr Turnbull's office declined to comment on the 25-minute phone call with Mr Trump. Fairfax Media has been told the President confirmed his administration would honour last year's agreement, though it remains unclear how many of the roughly 2000 asylum-seekers held on Nauru and Manus Island will be resettled in the US.
A leading refugee advocate has called on the Turnbull government to begin negotiations to resettle people held on Manus Island and Nauru in Canada, capitalising on Justin Trudeau's record in welcoming nearly 40,000 Syrians in two years.

Melbourne community organiser Anne Horrigan-Dixon said the announcement that US President Donald Trump would honour a deal signed with the Obama administration last year to resettle some refugees raised a series of questions, including how many people being held by Australia would move to the US and how long the process would take.

Advocate Anne Horrigan-Dixon with Syria-born former refugee Michael Aboujundi in Melbourne. Credit:Darrian Traynor

Mr Trump's controversial executive order on Saturday suspended entry to the US for refugees for 120 days and barred Syrians indefinitely. It will also block entry for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Though the crackdown was expected, US Homeland Security officials continued interviews of refugees held by Australia on Nauru as late as Friday.
A decommissioned Lugar pistol seized off Michael James Holt. Credit:NSW Police In a surprising turn, Holt is being represented by Muslim community advocate and lawyer Lydia Shelly. She declined to comment on the case. Deradicalisation academics have also put him in touch with a reformed white supremacist who is helping to change his views. Firearms paraphernalia found in his mother's home in Windsor. Credit:NSW Police Holt, who dropped out of a business degree at Evocca College in Gosford, is not believed to be associated with any far right groups and is largely a loner with developmental difficulties.

Until his arrest in September 2015, he divided his time between his mother's house in Windsor, his grandfather's house in nearby Hobartville and room five at the Tall Timbers pub hotel in Ourimbah. A friend said the homemade firearms made by Michael James Holt showed a high degree of skill. Credit:NSW Police In July 2015, the Firearms Squad received a tip-off that he was manufacturing homemade guns, knuckle dusters and slingshots in his grandfather's garage. A month later, when Holt attended the "Big Show" Militaria, Guns Collectibles Fair in Toowoomba, he was caught with a knife and knuckledusters and was charged by Queensland police. The caller led police to the Tall Timbers Hotel, where Holt had eight firearms hidden in the cupboards and a flick knife and slingshot in the fridge of his rented room.

Many of the homemade guns were known as "slam fire" guns, capable of firing a single shot. Pipes and other gun parts, hand drawings relating to making guns, Nazi memorabilia and white supremacy propaganda were also found. "Of particular concern, it was reported that the offender often talked about loading weapons into his vehicle and driving to a very public place where he would 'just start shooting it up' most recently saying he wanted to do this to Westfields at Tuggerah," the statement of facts said. After his arrest in September 2015, a raid of his mother's home unearthed knuckle dusters, sling shots, gun parts, ammunition and a further nine unregistered or imitation pistols including a loaded "slam fire" gun on a lounge-room table that children had access to. Holt has Asperger's syndrome and low intellectual capability yet was described by one friend as an angry "genius" whose homemade guns showed incredible skill.

He had several books and diagrams on gun manufacturing and had "liked" many YouTube tutorials. On one online profile, he described himself as "anti-system, anti-religion, anti-politics, pro-gun" and professes a love of "shotgun death metal music" and heavy metal tracks with titles like "End It With A Shotgun" and "Carnal Decay". He listed his job as boss of the Reaper's Disciples Private Security Company and wrote: "I will do anything for those i love" and "Ausfailia can go to Hell". A friend of Holt's, who never met him but spent hours talking to him on pro-libertarian forums, said he was an angry man who had "zero tolerance for government oppression and overbearing nanny state interference". He said Holt had previously been persecuted by authorities and had a mental state "which would easily be radicalised".

"Obviously he fell through the cracks when he just needed some help, everyone became his enemy," the friend, who didn't want to be named, said. "He ended up looking like he must've been one of those Asperger's genius people after I saw police pictures of home-made contraptions he engineered." He said Holt made no secret of his neo-Nazi views. "Should it be wrong to be proud of a Teutonic heritage? No. However, being proud to be who you are if you are white instantly gets one a stigma if mentioned in public. Asperger's obviously has little comprehension of this," he said. He believed Holt liked owning guns because it made him realise he was "a slave to no tyrannical government". However, he had been banned from holding a licence because of his troubled youth.

Court documents state that Holt first attracted police attention at 15 when he was seen walking around local shops with a pistol that turned out to be a toy. He was caught with three knives at school in 2005 and had concerning social media posts passed on to police in 2014 and 2015. "I honestly don't think he would act out anything evil," the friend said. "Just a big mouth with no political correctness filter." While Sunni Islamist extremism is the major terrorism threat facing Australia, violent anti-Islamic and white nationalist extremism is growing, ASIO director Duncan Lewis said last year. "It has come off a low base. But it has presented, really, probably in the last 18 months or so," he told a senate hearing.

In August, Melbourne man Phillip Galea became the first right-wing extremist to be charged with terrorism offences, triggering experts to warn about public complacency. Greg Barton, counter-terrorism expert at Deakin University, said political developments in Europe and America were fanning the existing flames of extremism in Australia. "One of the things you want Australians to pay attention to is recognising that hateful speech and incitement to hatred in the political field is not just something that remains a political play," he said. "It has the potential to give people a sense of a green light to be more outrageous in their opinions and eventually those individuals have some sort of social license to try some sort of attack." Much like other forms of extremism, he said vulnerable young people looking for a sense of belonging are targeted by recruiters. However, others may have no "visible network on the ground" but extensive online activity.
Some owners frequently risk their family finances because they don't fully understand their legal obligations as company directors.

Owners often structure a new business as a company (as opposed to a sole trader) for tax benefits and legal protection through limited liability.

Being a director has huge responsibilities attached. Credit:Jon Boyes

But legal experts say many SME directors do not understand how the law (Corporations Act) applies to them and the consequences can financially cripple them for life. A common scenario is directors being personally liable for outstanding tax and employee superannuation  even if it wasn't their job to manage the bills.

Malcolm Campbell, managing partner at Dooley & Associates Solicitors, said family or friend-managed companies were particularly vulnerable.
Donald Trump is who we thought he was.

The 45th President campaigned as a radical break from both politics and policy as usual in Washington, promising to restore strength to the White House and the country while ignoring all tradition and political correctness.

He spent the first week of his presidency doing just that - beginning with an executive order triggering the United States' withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, continuing through a midweek executive order to begin the process of building a wall along the US' southern border and culminating on Friday with Trump's executive order temporarily halting refugees from entering the country and instituting a full entrance ban on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

In between all of that, Trump again invoked his idea that millions of illegal votes had been cast in the 2016 election and pledged to get to the bottom of it.
Consular services available online from today

The Department of Consular Services (DoCS) has introduced online legal service system to assist in and facilitate various consular related matters.
Debunking a few myths

Forget the failure of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), the swing to the far right across Europe with an anti-immigrant stance and Eurosceptic views shows a weakening of the European Union (EU)s integration efforts.
Ghodepani hotels filled to the brim with Chinese tourists

The hotels and lodges in the renowned tourist hotspot at Ghodepani of Ghar VDC  1 are filled to the brim with Chinese tourists celebrating their New Year holidays.


Ride for Hope Bahamas, a registered Charity in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, was formally constituted in 2009 (first ride was in 2006). It was established for the purpose of raising money to support initiatives related to health, wellness and human development in The Bahamas. Ride for Hopes designated focus is cancer. The organizations flagship fundraiser is The Ride for Hope  now a ten year old bike-a-thon held in the spring time in The Bahamas. The event includes a weekend full of events, riding, music, and great weather. Without exception, every dollar raised by participants is applied to programme support. Visit their web site here...

Ken Chaplin, Broker with ERA Dupuch Real Estate, a cancer survivor has been biking the Ride for Hope since its inception 2006.

Jeff Robertson, President of Bahamas Wholesale Agencies, Ltd took up the challenge a couple years ago, so this will be his third ride.

Both these gentlemen are avid bike riders to begin with but have said beside the supporting a great cause with the job Ride For Hope does the challenge of riding 100 miles is always daunting but motivating. In addition to their personal fitness the camaraderie with their fellow riders just cant be beat.

Raising about $5,000 each per ride over the years means Jeff and Ken have raised a combined total of roughly $65,000 for their 11 rides so far. Wont you help them this year please?

I know you wish them well, but we need you to send the big bucks to help Ride For Hope.

Please make your cheque payable to Ride For Hope and mail it to Ken Chaplin at P.O. Box N-531 Nassau Bahamas or Jeff Robertson at P.O. Box SS-6280, Nassau Bahamas.

This years event is scheduled for Governors Harbour, Eleuthera, Bahamas February 17 - 19, 2017. Check out the following video from 2013 to get a feel for this fabulous event.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jan. 28, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 28, 2017 | 02:19 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The Kiwanis Club of Paducah has announced that applications are being accepted for their 2017 scholarships, available to high school seniors of McCracken County. All students are encouraged to apply through their high school guidance counselor.



In their mission to serving the children of the world, the club gave away over $14,000 in scholarships in 2016, and plans on meeting or surpassing that number in 2017. Each scholarship will be no less than $500 and could be as high as $2,000.



Scholarships will be based on academic achievement, essay content and writing ability, and extracurricular and community involvement.



Funds for the scholarship program are raised through BBQ on the River, the annual Kiwanis Christmas Charity Auction, and other BBQ cooks through the year.



The Paducah Kiwanis Club meets weekly on Thursdays at noon at 701 Broadway. Visitors and prospective members are always welcome. The club is a group of men and women dedicated to philanthropic efforts (focusing on childrens charities) and community service.



For more information on the Kiwanis Club of Paducah or with questions regarding the 2017 scholarship program, contact club president Brent Housman at bhousman@hilliard.com .
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jan. 28, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 28, 2017 | 07:29 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Several Paducah Police officers responded to a church Saturday afternoon after a report of someone inside, but say they found nothing when they arrived.



A Paducah Police officer told West Kentucky Star they responded about 2:15 pm to Gospel Lighhouse Church at 312 Clements Street, after getting a call from a worker who came to the church and saw a person inside. When they arrived, they set up a perimeter, then searched the building and found nobody inside, and no signs of forced entry.



The pastor's wife told West Kentucky Star that the pastor had been there earlier, and locked the church when he left. The worker called police after first calling the pastor. Folks at the church believe the intruder escaped before police arrived by using a rarely-used door, which was found unlocked by police.



Police said someone called to report that shots had been fired, but their investigation determined another noise in the area was mistaken for gunfire.



The pastor's wife said since someone had previously broken into the church, they were grateful that police helped them secure the building and everything turned out O.K.
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By The Associated Press

Jan. 29, 2017 | WASHINGTON, DC

By The Associated Press Jan. 29, 2017 | 11:51 AM | WASHINGTON, DC

The White House chief of staff says President Donald Trump acted early on in his term to impose a travel ban on refugees to block "people who want to do bad things to America."



Reince Priebus says there's nothing to apologize for after Friday's executive order drew widespread protests. A court order has temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting certain people.



Trump is temporarily barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.



Priebus tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the action "doesn't affect green card holders moving forward"  the subject of legal challenges.



Scores were detained Saturday upon arrival at U.S. airports, spurring the judge's order. Priebus says officials were using "discretionary authority" to ask "a few more questions" at U.S. airports.



Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told "Fox News Sunday" that a federal judge's emergency order last night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trump's travel ban "really doesn't affect the executive order at all." Conway says Trump's order is about "preventing, not detaining" and says that only a very small percentage of travers have been impacted.



Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio says "I think we should slow down" and that lawmakers "ought to be part" of the discussions about how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.



Portman tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he doesn't think Trump executive action was properly reviewed before he signed it.



Portman is urging everyone "to take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants."
By The Associated Press Jan. 28, 2017 | 01:46 PM | OWENSBORO, KY

A shipment of thousands of gallons of whiskey is making its way from Kentucky to Louisiana the old fashioned way: By barge.The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports that about 150 barrels of whiskey are making the two-week journey down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the Cane Land Distilling Co. of Baton Rouge.The whiskey sourced from an undisclosed Tennessee distillery has been stored at the O.Z. Tyler Distillery in Owensboro since September. It was loaded onto a barge at the Owensboro Riverport Authority on Friday.Cane Land's president, Walter Tharp, says once the 5-year-old whiskey arrives in Louisiana, it will be transferred to French cognac barrels for finishing. The product will then go on sale this spring under the name Original Mississippi Floated Whisky.Jonny Ver Planck, Cane Land's head distiller, said the transportation method will affect the taste of whiskey."The spirit should gain additional character from the rocking motion of the river on its journey south," he said.

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By Jim Waters

Jan. 29, 2017 | LEXINGTON, KY

By Jim Waters Jan. 29, 2017 | 02:25 PM | LEXINGTON, KY

President Donald Trump's administration is taking some cues from the productive Kentucky Legislature.



After a frenetic first week of the 2017 session of the Kentucky General Assembly during which seven bills were passed, the new Trump administration offered a proportional amount of accomplishment during its first five days in the White House.



Trump took 15 major actions in his first five days, including steps toward ending Obamacare and withdrawing the nation from the Trans-Pacific Partnership  a victory for Kentucky farmers, who grow more than 87,000 acres of tobacco annually.



I called for both actions in this column during the recent election season.



The Obama administration embedded its hatred of the tobacco companies into the 12-nation TPP deal, excluding these firms from protections available to all other industries against foreign governments taking property without compensation or seizing assets in the name of "public health."



While the deal contained some attractive tax and tariff cuts, it's unacceptable to single out a specific industry and its legal product based on ideology and the running amok of political correctness.



Still, it's important for our nation's security and for Kentucky farmers and manufacturers to maintain a strong, open trading relationship with willing countries.



As Frederic Bastiat, the great 19th century free-market French economist, believed: "If goods don't cross borders, armies will."



Democrats who lost the Kentucky House on the same night they turned over the keys to the White House complain about the feverish pace of it all.



Yet most of the legislation debated and passed in Frankfort during the first week in January  right-to-work, repeal of costly prevailing-wage mandates on public construction projects, making part-time politicians' pensions transparent and pro-life bills  had been debated and passed by the state Senate for years.



School-choice legislation also fits that scenario.



It's likely this session won't end before Kentucky becomes the 44th state with a charter-school law and perhaps also the 18th state to turn tax-credit-friendly donations into scholarships allowing children from countless numbers of families access to a private education.



Louisville Rep. Phil Moffett's charter-school legislation would offer Kentucky's kids the opportunity to attend schools that will allow them, in many cases, to break the cycle of generations of poverty, illiteracy and failure.



Opponents continue to offer recycled claims about how empowering parents to choose the school that best fits their children's educational needs somehow is a vast right-wing conspiracy to destroy public education.



But wait a sec'.



Charter schools are public schools.



Along with the reality that policies like Moffett's bill haven't caused an implosion of public education in those 43 other states is the expectation taxpayers have when they fork over their hard-earned dollars  $10.1 billion designated for K-12 schools in the commonwealth's current biennial budget.



Hardworking taxpayers want that money used for educating children, not propping up failing systems or sustaining jobs programs for adults.



While discussing his bill at a recent education forum in an inner-city church in West Louisville, Moffett told the largely minority crowd: it's time to take a cue from its neighbor to the North.



Indiana is changing its approach  "to thinking about public education, not public school systems," the former GOP gubernatorial candidate said.



The shift has resulted in many more options for Hoosier State parents  from charter schools to vouchers to tax-credit scholarships and even individual tax credits for private-school enrollment and tax deductions for homeschooling families.



The Hoosier State has one of America's biggest school-choice buffets and fastest-growing economies.



Kentucky will take major steps toward setting its table with the same kind of spread with similar results when it gets back in the kitchen on Feb. 7.



It can't happen fast enough.



Jim Waters is president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentucky's free-market think tank. Read his weekly Bluegrass Beacon column at www.bipps.org. He can be reached at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com and @bipps on Twitter.
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem described the U.S. border with Mexico as a war zone last year when she sent dozens of state National Guard troops there. Noem said theyd be on the front lines of stopping drug smugglers and human traffickers. But newly released records from the National Guard show that in their two-month deployment, the South Dakota troops didnt seize any drugs and sometimes went days without encountering any migrants at all. Noem justified the deployment and a widely criticized private donation to fund as a state emergency because of drugs making their way across the southern border to South Dakota. But the records cast doubt on whether the deployment was effective in addressing that.
Has PM struck deal with UML?

If Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahals statement of January 22 were to be followed, he should have declared the dates for local elections on Saturday.
Locals gradually allow outsiders to settle in Mustang

The tightly knit community of Mustang, which once used to bar outsiders from settling in the district, is gradually opening up, as access to road network and growing number of educated youths have started working as agents of change.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/01/2017 (2106 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province is suing a First Nation over who should own a tiny, rarely visited provincial park in southeastern Manitoba.

Last month, a federal arbitrator ruled in favour of Buffalo Point First Nations right to Birch Point Provincial Park. The decision was the first time a reserves title to a provincial park has been recognized by any level of government.

The arbitrator ended a 25-year battle over claims to ownership of the park.

In her Dec. 22 ruling, federal arbitrator Sherri Walsh wrote, I find that the Birch Point selection is eligible to be set apart as reserve (land) in accordance with the principles for land selection and acquisition, having regard for the wording of the Manitoba Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement.

In accordance (with that), I also find that the province is required to take the necessary action to give effect to this determination, Walsh ruled.

Earlier this month, the province acted to protect public interests in the land, filing an application to overturn the arbitrators ruling with the Court of Queens Bench. A hearing is set for Feb. 10.

Buffalo Point First Nation, a small Ojibwa reserve on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, is best-known for its resort properties and its contentious legal battles with non-indigenous cottagers who own homes within its boundaries as well as bitter internal disputes with its own 56 indigenous members. It is located about 200 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

By facing off with the province, Buffalo Point is now the spearhead in an unprecedented battle, very likely to encourage other First Nations to press claims to land in provincial parks.

The ruling was the first time the province had been ordered to hand over ownership of a provincial park to a First Nation, noted Chris Henderson, executive director of the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee of Manitoba Inc.

This decision is a game-changer, and it was a victory for TLE in Manitoba, Henderson said.

The committee provides technical assistance to First Nations owed land in compensation for being shortchanged when their reserves were established.

Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation is now closely eyeing the court challenge. It claims 900 acres in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Buffalo Points claim to the provincial park also predates the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee process. The First Nation made its claim in 1994 based on the 1873 Treaty 3, which it signed.

Since then, the First Nations hereditary chiefs have consistently pressed the claim, over the provinces objections. Current Chief John Thunder claims the park as part of Buffalo Points traditional holdings, a commonly held observation. Even the provinces provincial park website states the area was historically known to be frequented by indigenous people.

The park, created in 1961 with 32 acres, is on the opposite shore of Buffalo Bay from where the First Nation is located. The First Nation claim is for 105 acres at the location, including the 32-acre park.

Small as it is, Birch Point is strategically significant to the province. Its the only public access point with a boat launch on the portion of the Lake of the Woods thats located in Manitoba.

The provinces application states the ruling is in error partly because the provinces long-standing opposition is well-known. For 20 years, Manitoba has refused to discuss provincial parks with First Nations, insisting that, with some exceptions, they are exempt from Treaty Land Entitlement Committee talks.

There are indications, however, the provinces position may now be softening, despite the appeal.

In an emailed statement last week, the provinces top spokeswoman for the Progressive Conservative government suggested the appeal is more of a bid to buy time to review the ruling than an outright rejection of it.

As the decision is based on an exception to the general rule that land in existing provincial parks is not eligible for selection, we believe it is reasonable for us to take the time necessary to review the decision and make a determination on how best to proceed. To that end, the Manitoba government filed requisite paperwork before the appeal deadline in order to afford us more time for review and decision, Olivia Baldwin-Valainis said.

First Nations leaders, however, are preparing for battle.

This is so unfortunate and contrary to the honour of the Crown and contrary to Manitobas very own the Path to Reconciliation Act, which was adopted in the Manitoba legislature last spring before the 2016 general election, Henderson said.

He said the provinces position is baffling given the opposite tact it takes with industrial activity in some provincial parks. He cited mining permits, for example, in the northern Manitoba Grass River Provincial Park, which is the focus of ongoing environmental criticism.

Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation threatened to blockade Whiteshell Provincial Park in 2010. Their claim is to Whiteshell sites that contain petroforms  small rock formations  that are important to Brokenhead.

Chief Jim Bear said by text Tuesday its relations with the province over such land issues are contentious no matter what party is in power.

Its unfortunate the province is not willing to work with First Nations to resolve TLE. They appear to be putting their interests before that of First Nations, he said.

As for the petroform sites, the First Nation is concerned about heavy tourism traffic in the area.

One would assume the province would want to preserve the sacred Whiteshell area in the interests of reconciliation, Bear said.

The longer the province is not willing to reconcile, the more chances of the sacred sites being desecrated and vandalized.

Nineteen First Nations are owed nearly a million acres under treaty land entitlement in Manitoba. The Treaty Land Entitlement Committee framework set up a process 20 years ago to speed up the settlements, which involve negotiations with federal and provincial levels of government.

So far, about half the claims have been settled.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
MoH nod must for govt docs before pvt practice

The government doctors should mandatorily take approval from the Ministry of Health (MoH) to practice at any private clinics or hospitals by second week of March.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/01/2017 (2106 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sixty-five years ago, a pair of tragic accidents that happened 12 hours apart killed six people in a field outside Carman. Despite the initial headlines, the Carman Air Disaster was quickly forgotten by all but those who were there and the families of those who died.

The year was 1952, and though the Second World War was over, Manitoba continued to be an important pilot-training centre for air forces around the world.

In a massive postwar reorganization of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), No. 2 Air Training School was established at what was then called RCAF Station Winnipeg on the west side of Stevenson Field, now James Richardson International Airport. To become Canadas largest military air-training school required a multimillion-dollar investment that included new hangars and other infrastructure  a welcome economic shot in the arm for the city.

WINNIPEG TRIBUNE FILES An RCAF officer examines whats left of the crashed plane.

One former wartime pilot who signed on to be an instructor was Charles Chow-Leong of Lethbridge.

Chow-Leong was the eldest of eight children born to Chinese immigrants. His father, Ling, came to Canada in 1901 to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1920, he married May Ho, and the couple established a wheat farm near Lethbridge, where they raised their family.

When the Second World War broke out, Chow-Leong wanted to enlist in the RCAF but found it was off-limits to people of colour.

That wasnt the only discrimination Chinese Canadians faced. There was the federal governments head tax on Chinese immigrants, which was $50 when it was first imposed in 1858 and $500 in 1903. In 1923, when it was found the fees didnt curtail Chinese immigration as expected, the Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted to ban it outright.

As the war dragged on and entered the Pacific region, the Air Force was desperate for new recruits and changed its acceptance policy in October 1942. Chow-Leong was among the first Chinese Canadians to sign up for flight training and graduated from No. 7 Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Fort McLeod in September 1943.

Jim Chow, Charles youngest brother, still lives in the Lethbridge area and recalls through his wife, Judy, that when Charles informed them he had enlisted, There were many tears.

The family was sad and scared when he left but were also very proud of Charlie for serving his country.

Chow-Leong took part in the Burma campaign, then was stationed to India, patrolling the Indian Ocean. An RCAF spokesman told the Winnipeg Free Press in 1952 he specialized in paratrooping, supply-dropping and glider-towing.

COURTESY CHOW FAMILY Flying Officer Charles Chow-Leong was among the first Chinese Canadians to join the RCAF.

In all, about 600 Chinese Canadians fought for Canada in the Second World War. It was thanks in large part to their service that the Chinese Exclusion Act was finally repealed in 1947.

After the war, Chow-Leong went to China and flew for a Chinese commercial airline. He returned to Canada in 1951. At the time, he was 29 years old and had 6,000 flying hours under his belt  just the type of man the RCAF was seeking for its training schools.

The C-45 Expeditor was a favourite training aircraft for the RCAF in the years after the Second World War.

WINNIPEG TRIBUNE FILES RAF Acting Pilot Officer Peter Frederick Harvey, 20, of Cambridgeshire, England.

WINNIPEG TRIBUNE FILES RAF Acting Pilot Officer Edward Scanlan, 18, of London, England.

WINNIPEG TRIBUNE FILES Dominion Bridge worker Walter Burtnyk, 28, of Winnipeg.

WINNIPEG TRIBUNE FILES Dominion Bridge worker Jake Dyck, 23, of Grunthal.

Flight Officer Chow-Leongs flight was one of 11 to leave No. 2 Air Training School on the morning of Feb. 4, 1952.

He departed Winnipeg at 11:28 a.m. in his C-45 Expeditor along with two pilots in training, Acting Pilot Officer Peter Frederick Harvey, 20, of Cambridgeshire, England, and Acting Pilot Officer Edward Scanlan, 18, of London, England. They were part of a class of about 50 mostly Royal Air Force trainees who arrived in Winnipeg in November 1951 and were to graduate the following August.

It was a blustery, foggy morning in southern Manitoba, and as the flight continued, the weather worsened.

At noon, Chow-Leongs flight was nearing Carman. Just a couple of kilometres outside of town stood the CBC Manitoba transmitter. Opened in 1948 to broadcast CBC Radio, four years before television broadcasting arrived in the province in 1954, it consisted of a 175-metre tall steel tower and a 279-square-metre service building.

Chow-Leongs plane struck one of the guy wires that anchored the tower to the ground. The plane spun and crashed in a field about 500 metres away. An area farmer saw what happened and sped to the transmitters building to inform the staff. They grabbed fire extinguishers and rushed to the scene, but it was too late. The three men had already died in the burning wreckage.

Not long after, a second RCAF plane also buzzed by the tower, narrowly avoiding a second air disaster.

One of the men at the scene was the transmitters chief engineer, R.L. Punshon. When the fog began to lift, he noticed the top 25-metre portion of the tower was leaning at a 30-degree angle. Fearing it could fall onto the building, he contacted Dominion Bridge of Winnipeg  the company that installed the tower  to assess the damage.

At 6 p.m., a team from Dominion Bridge arrived and determined the guy wire needed to be replaced, and a more detailed examination of the structure could be made when the weather improved.

By the time the necessary equipment, including spotlights and heavy gauge wire, arrived at the scene, it was late at night.

At 12:05 a.m. the next day, three employees  Walter Burtnyk, 28, of Winnipeg, Jake Dyck, 23, of Grunthal and Ronald Erickson, 19, of Tyndall  began their ascent to the top of the tower.

Twenty minutes later, the men were still climbing when Punshon said, I heard a cracking noise up the tower Then I saw something falling, high up, and heard the foreman shouting, Shes away.

The top 25-metre portion of the tower had broken away and fell to the ground. The remainder of the tower stood for a few seconds, then it, too, began to collapse. It was described by a Free Press reporter as being like an angry, giant boa constrictor, writhing and twisting as it fell.

Punshon later told the weekly magazine CBC Times, There were about 25 technicians and engineers around the base, and as the tower started to fall, they all ran trying to avoid both the falling tower and the broken guy wires that were whipping around It was a miracle that all on the ground escaped.

When the wreckage settled, would-be rescuers rushed to look for the men who climbed the tower, but all were dead. Erickson, nearest the top, was thrown free, while the other two were amid the tangled steel. Torches had to be used to remove their bodies.

The remains of Chow-Leong, who left behind a widow and infant daughter, were returned to Lethbridge for burial. Hundreds of residents lined the route from the hall where he lay in state to the cemetery. His military funeral included a military flypast and gun salute.

The two British airmen, Peter Harvey and Edward Scanlan, had their funerals in Winnipeg at different churches and were buried on the same day in the military section of Brookside Cemetery.

The bodies of the Dominion Bridge workers were returned to their respective hometowns for burial.

Numerous inquiries were held into both incidents, including a 15-member RCAF board of inquiry, though none appears to have assessed any blame. The RCAF report, if it was released publicly, appears not to have been reported on in the newspapers of the day.

This lack of followup may seem strange today, but at the time, such accidents were a common occurrence. There were at least two other fatal RCAF accidents on Canadian soil that same week. The RCAF Association of Canadas inventory of postwar RCAF training fatalities notes more than 30 deaths in 1952 alone.

The CBC was knocked off the air until 6:45 a.m. on Feb. 7, when a temporary transmitter was erected. In that 54-hour period, the CBC missed reporting on the biggest international news story since the end of the war: the Feb. 6 death of King George VI and the proclamation of his eldest daugther, Princess Elizabeth, as Queen.

WINNIPEG TRIBUNE FILES Dominion Bridge worker Ronald Erickson, 19, of Tyndall.

Christian Cassidy writes about local history on his blog, West End Dumplings.

COURTESY CHOW FAMILY Chow-Leongs funeral included an RCAF flypast.
I was born in Saint Paul and raised there, and then I got married and moved to Minneapolis. My first husband Wally worked for Sears. And we got transferred to the Chicago area. We had five years there and then we were transferred to Winona, and then he died very suddenly in 1982.

They described it then as a short circuit in his heart. We had just had a wonderful weekend with my parents. He came in and said, Do you want a drink? So he went to mix a drink, came back, had them both in his hands and he sat down and he said, You know I dont feel very good. And that was it. He toppled over onto the floor.

My youngest son  he was there. (My oldest son) Steve was a young man around town. He was out walking. He always felt bad because he wasnt there for his dad. And he always felt like he failed his dad for that reason.

The only thing I could do was try to help him. I think its something that people kind of have to do themselves because its a matter of believing.

People can tell you things ten times in five minutes and if youre not going to believe it, youre not going to believe it. You just gotta work at it. And try to think about the things you did do.

I stayed (in Winona) and I met another wonderful guy and got married again. I was 50. And gained a couple stepchildren and that were just like my own. Now theres ten grandkids and 6 great grandkids and Ive got a great family. Im blessed. Im just blessed. (Ronnie) was a friend of friends. I wasnt interested in getting married again. Thats not what I was looking for. But I said, Its nice to get out and be with people. So thats how that happened. We dated for a while.

He had a motorcycle. And I had never liked motorcycles. I thought they were the devils invention. He asked me if I wanted to go for a ride and I said, I dont know about that. Well take just a little ride. My son Steve said, Mom, just go. So we did. We went for a ride. And it was kind of fun!

And then Ronnie started with Alzheimers. He died in 2008 and it was about 15 years before that that we knew he was progressing. That started a whole new chapter of life. You found out who youre friends were.

You dont stop your life right away. Theres degrees. We made up pretty well those first few years. But it came a time in 2006 when he had to get, you know, a facility. And we did go out and check the ones in town here so that Ronnie could decide when the time came ... where he wanted to go. Its so easy to say go here go there you do this you do that, but they still have to have some say and make some of their own decisions as long as they can.

He chose Saint Annes. I was there every day. And it got to the point where we couldnt have any kind of conversation any more because all he could say was just gibberish. But Id sit and just smile and say, Okay. Pretend like youre having a conversation. But every day I walked in that door and Id say, Hi, honey. And I get that big grin and his eyes would sparkle. Whether he knew who I was, he knew that I was somebody that was there all the time. Of course, I told myself he knew it was me.

I was fortunate enough to be there when he passed. You think youre ready for it, but youre not. It was a shock. And after that I didnt know what to do with my time. It took me a little while, but I said, well lets give back to Saint Annes. So I did that and started volunteering there.

The folks there, the residents, they teach you an awful lot about appreciating what you have. Its not, oh thank God Im not like that. Its thank God I have what I have.

Look at what you have. Forget about what you dont have. What you have makes you happy. What you dont have is whats taking you down, so forget it. I guess that works for me.

Theres always something good to find. I have to believe that. Id be too big of a grump not to. The kids bought me one of those swings (hammocks), and I just love to sit outside with a book and enjoy the sunshine and maybe have a nap. Oh the sunshine. It just makes you feel good.

How can you not feel good if the sun is out?

My children got together and gave me, for Christmas a few years ago, a half an hour in a stunt plane. My friends thought I was nuts. It was more fun! They do all the aerobatics in the air. It was the most exciting thing. Every time wed go upside down, the headphones were so heavy theyd start falling off. Little things like that. It was such a gorgeous day. The sun was out. The sky was blue. I must have been 65.

It all kind of started with the motorcycle ride. I wanted to do things that I was afraid to do or was reluctant to do. I had always been so conscious of my size, my height. I always thought I had to stay in the back row and not draw attention to myself. Thats why something like this, it was really far out. I had just decided I had been in the back row long enough.

You have to push yourself. Try it once; you might like it.

I dont know about skydiving, though. I always said that was one thing I dont think I want to do. But Id probably do it if I had the chance. Well, Im only 83 now. So If I get to be 85, maybe Ill tell the kids I dont want anything for Christmas, just give me money toward skydiving. I want to try it.

Just be happy. Find the sunshine.
Habitat for Humanity Winona-Fillmore Counties has named a new executive director.

Amanda Hedlund joined the organization earlier this month. Hedlund is a Twin Cities native with more than 10 years of nonprofit and community building experience. She said she is excited to join her extended family in Winona, and to work with Habitat in their mission to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope.

Habitat for Humanity and our dedicated volunteers and staff have made a profound difference here in Winona, and I am thrilled to be a part of it, Hedlund said. I look forward to working beside you at build sites, hosting you at our annual dinner and hearing all of the Habitat stories as I meet families and supporters.

Hedlund previously worked at Neighborhood HealthSource in Minneapolis, where she oversaw the delivery of eight community health programs focusing on reducing disparities in disease prevalence and death rates among high-risk populations, primarily low-income families and racial or ethnic minorities.

As a member of the senior leadership team, she had responsibility for all fundraising, marketing and communications, community health planning and delivery and patient satisfaction monitoring activities.

I was passionate about the people and the work, and the only thing that could have pulled me away was the chance to live and work in Winona, which I love, she said.

On behalf of the Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors we welcome Amanda with open arms, said Deb Skarlupka, Habitats board secretary. We look forward to the strategic vision and dynamic community presence she will bring to our affiliate as it grows moving forward.

The hiring comes at a time of exciting growth. Habitat plans to rehabilitate 30 homes in Winona and Fillmore counties through their A Brush with Kindness program  more than ever before in a single year  with a stretch goal of rehabilitating 40 homes. The program revitalizes neighborhoods, gives homeowners stability and pride in place, and helps make Winona a great place to live.

Over the last 23 years, Habitat has built 50 homes locally, built 27 homes abroad, and completed 52 A Brush with Kindness projects.
Public concern and caution regarding the future of our elementary buildings in Winona is completely understandable and expected. The Winona Area Public Schools district is currently facing a situation that has been building for years. As former Superintendent Scott Hannon said in a board meeting during my second year on the board, this community cannot continue to kick the can down the road.

As a board member, I approach this facility decision by prioritizing first our student needs, next a stable school budget, and finally the school building.

As reported in local media, our low student test scores in many areas are no secret and the board and administration have tried to be as transparent as possible about this. Student learning and the programs needed to support the whole and equitable development of the child come first in board considerations. Inadequate programming and resistance to reasoned change contribute to our communitys current situation. Regarding this, Ive seen things that are red flags.

WAPS has the highest percentage of special education population of all Big Nine and other area schools. It is also known that WAPS provides the least regular classroom support in the area of Title 1 reading and math of all area schools. Title 1 is federal funding channeled through the states to provide assistance for lower income children.

Most schools find it necessary to supplement spending in the area of reading and math with money from their general fund. WAPS has not spent money to do this. All other charter and private schools in Winona provide more Title 1 services than our public schools. La Crosse provides Title 1 services through grade 5. Other area schools generally provide service through grade 4 and beyond.

Our current Title 1 services cover the second semester of kindergarten through the first semester of second grade. This is not enough service for the dozens of our children who need more instruction.

Could we potentially reduce the number of students in special education and improve test scores in the regular classroom by spending money from our general fund on more Title 1? Im betting we can. Along with this, administration must continue the work of supporting the culture of learning within the classroom. This means periodically determining how much the child has actually learned and then supporting the child with either remediation or enrichment as soon as possible.

We should serve approximately 200 additional children with comprehensive Title 1 service. Our current targeted services do not reach all children needing the extra help. Providing upwards of 14 additional staff members who are experienced, well-trained teachers in reading and math may be required. Savings from staffing efficiencies through building consolidations must be spent on this instruction.

Second, in order to ensure proper programming, we must keep our eyes on the budget. The WAPS budget receives regular auditing from the state and earns high ratings. School financing is complicated and very strict in the terms of how money is spent. There are no secret piles of money sitting around. State Senator Jeremy Miller and State Representative Gene Pelowski can explain the complexities and shortcomings of rural and outstate school funding, especially related to facilities. And, if the public would like additional explanation, the district will provide this.

Unlike area communities such as La Crosse and Rochester, Winona has experienced stagnant population growth, with only about a quarter of our families with school children. This declining enrollment hits WAPS hard. The loss of nearly $7,000 per child as enrollment declines hits every area of the budget and every empty desk in our buildings. This forces scrutiny of everything from busing to buildings to business practices.

We must respect the taxpayer by ensuring that needs are properly funded first and wants are funded as possible.

And finally, we know that facilities must play their proper role in education. Winona has 80-year-old buildings that have been kept in good repair over the years. I have been in the belly of these buildings several times. While these buildings need modernization, they are built as solidly as the Rock of Gibraltar and offer great potential for alternative uses. I look forward to working with the city to develop a plan. These buildings must be returned to the tax base to benefit the entire city and the school district.

The lack of an identified school site in the east end of Winona is of concern to me. Yes, I voted in support of the Goodview and Jefferson site recommendation made by the community task force. But I continue to believe there could be a better solution.

For the record, I have long supported the expansion and remodeling of the W-K site; however, the 2.2-acre city block is too small as it currently stands. We either expand the campus by a city block or we must find another site in the east end. Or, we are forced to remodel and expand at Jefferson Elementary.

It is my sincere desire to find ways to bridge the divide of what separates us and to build upon the solid ground of what unites us so that we may realize the many opportunities available to our community.
Mongolians protest over air pollution: 'Wake up and smell the smog'

Thousands of Mongolians took to the streets of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, on Saturday to call for the government to take action on air pollution.
Columbus readers, like those across the country, are checking out more digital books than ever before.

Wisconsins Digital Library  a shared, statewide collection of ebooks, audiobooks, and streaming video available for free to all Wisconsin public library card holders  announced recently that it had set a new record for lending digital books in 2016, with an 11 percent increase in the number of downloads from 2015.

Locally, Columbus Public Library patrons increased their downloads by almost 20 percent, with 6,007 items downloaded in 2015 and 7,173 items downloaded in 2016.

Wisconsins Digital Library joins an elite circle of 49 libraries in three countries that surpassed 1 million digital books borrowed. Five of the 49 libraries surpassed 3 million digital books borrowed and Wisconsins Digital Library circulated the most with 3.9 million eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming video borrowed from the librarys OverDrive-powered collection.

Wisconsins Digital Library has produced large numbers for lending digital books with a robust collection, curated lists, and personalized recommendations that have engaged more readers and connected them with their next great read. In addition, the library has demonstrated ongoing success in their marketing efforts to reach more of their community with specialized sections for kids and teens and multi-lingual website interfaces.

Library users in Wisconsin can access digital books from Wisconsins Digital Library with a library card and any major computer or device, including iOS, Android, Chromebook, Kindle and the highest-rated eBook app for libraries, OverDrive. Borrow eBooks and audiobooks anytime, anywhere at http://dbooks.wplc.info.
Morcha to hold demonstrations in Tarai on Feb 5

The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM), an alliance of seven Madhes-based parties, on Saturday
Nepali diaspora in Australia

I have come to Australia five times and lived with my children in Darwin, Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney for a total of 34 months, spread over a period of 18 years.
Red Hat, Inc. provides open source software solutions to develop and offer operating system, virtualization, management, middleware, cloud, mobile, and storage technologies to various enterprises worldwide. It offers infrastructure-related solutions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, an operating system platform that runs on hardware for use in hybrid cloud environments; Red Hat Satellite, a system management offering that helps to deploy, scale, and manage in hybrid cloud environments; and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, a software solution that allows customers to utilize and manage a common hardware infrastructure to run multiple operating systems and applications. The company offers application development-related and other technology solutions, such as Red Hat JBoss Middleware, a solution for developing, deploying, and managing applications; integrating applications, data, and devices; and automating business processes in hybrid cloud environments; The company's application development-related and other technology solutions also includes Red Hat cloud offerings, a software solution that enables customers to build and manage various cloud computing environments; Red Hat Mobile, a software development platform that enables customers to develop, integrate, deploy, and manage mobile applications for enterprises; and Red Hat Storage, a software solution that enables customers to manage large, unstructured, or semi-structured data in hybrid cloud environments. It also provides consulting, support, and training services; and realtime operating system, distributed computing, directory services, and user authentication. Red Hat, Inc. has collaboration with Juniper Networks Expand to provide a unified solution for enterprises designed to manage and run applications and services. The company was formerly known as Red Hat Software, Inc. and changed its name to Red Hat, Inc. in June 1999. Red Hat, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Orange farmers rue lack of market access

Although orange production in Rukum district has been on the rise, farmers have not been able to benefit much due to the lack of market access.
Pine trees vanishing from Doti forests

Pine wood trees are disappearing from community forests in the district fast.




China News on Women





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Two students were rushed to a hospital in critical condition after consuming a large dose of caffeine during a college experiment, according to court documents in the United Kingdom.

Alex Rossetto and Luke Parkin were taking part in an experiment at the Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The goal of the experiment was to measure the effect of three cups of coffee on exercise. Each cup of coffee contains around 0.1 grams of caffeine.

The students were supposed to consume 0.3 grams of caffeine, which is the equivalent of 3 cups of coffee. However, an error occurred and the students consumes 30 grams of caffeine, which is the equivalent of 300 cups of coffee.

The students collapsed and were rushed to the hospital, where they were placed on dialysis. Luckily, the students survived.

Doctors credited their survival on a super active and healthy lifestyle. The Northumbria University has been slapped with a 400,000 pound ($500,000) fine for negligence.
Truck plunges into Trishuli river, one missing

A person has been reported missing after a truck fell into the Trishuli river at Dharechowk VDC  4, Chitwan on Sunday.
A man was rushed to hospital after he severed an artery while puncturing the tire of a car that blocked his vehicle in a parking lot, according to police in Canada.

Esquimalt police said that the incident unfolded on Thursday evening, as the 37-year-old man was leaving the parking lot of the Pearkes Arena.

When the man tried to leave the parking lot, he noticed that another vehicle blocked his car and he was unable to leave. The man got angry and pulled out a knife from his pocket.

He then punctured the offending vehicleas tires, but in the process he stabbed himself in the leg. The man called an ambulance after losing a large amount of blood.

He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors performed surgery to correct a severed artery. Police have asked witnesses to come forward as charges against the man are pending.
Ace Brown with the Pizza Hut employee

By: Alexis Bell WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) A man in the United Kingdom, went to a Pizza Hut with his girlfriend.

He found the doors open, but the store was empty and there were no workers in sight.

Ace Brown, who is a music producer, said that he became very concerned over the missing workers.

He decided to go look for them to see if they were OK.

Brown recorded himself as he entered the restricted kitchen area at the restaurant in Bristol.

He walked around for a few moments while calling out to the workers. However, he did not get a response.

Brown found a door to a side room. When he called out to see if anyone was there, he finally received a response. Soon, two employees, a male and female, came out and threatened to call the police.

Brown explained that he was agoing to call the police to make sure they were OK.a

Brown accused the two workers of having sex. However, the woman denied the claim saying: aNo, we were not. We were doing the money.a

The employees asked Brown to delete the video, but he refused. Instead, he posted it to Facebook, where it went viral.

A spokesperson for the Avon and Somerset Police are now investigating the incident.

Police said that they received a call on Wednesday morning over the incident at Pizza Hut at the Imperial Park in Bristol that occurred on Tuesday evening.

aWe are aware of a related video on social media and will be looking into the circumstances,a police said.

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut denied the allegations made by Brown, and said that the pair was closing up the restaurant at the time of the incident.
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
Timothy Ciboro and Esten Ciboro

By: Mason White WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) A father and son severely abused an innocent girl for many years after her mother left the child in their care, according to police in Ohio.

Toledo police said that they have arrested 53-year-old Timothy Ciboro and his son, 28-year-old Esten Ciboro, after being accused of locking the 13-year-old girl in a basement, where they raped her multiple times.

Now, Timothy has been found guilty of three counts of endangering children, two counts of kidnapping, and five counts of rape while Esten was found guilty of two counts of endangering children, two counts of kidnapping, and three counts of rape.

Timothy has been sentenced to life in prison while Esten has been sentenced to 68 years to life in prison. The two will also have to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

According to the police investigation, the girl and her mother were living with the father and son for several years. One day, the girlas mother left to Las Vegas, Nevada, and she never returned.

Since then, the father and son severely abused the girl, locking her in a basement, where she has been raped. The girl was forced to eat spoiled food, and was given a bucket full of ammonia to use as a toilet.

After several years of abuse, the girl managed to escape and call the police.

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Trump executive order: US judge temporarily halts deportations

A US judge has issued a stay temporarily halting the deportation of visa holders or refugees under an executive order from President Trump.
Arson Attack in Coedpoeth

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jan 28th, 2017

Arsonists have this evening started a deliberate fire at a builders yard in Coedpoeth.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to the fire, which involved 20sq metres of building rubble at Castle Road, Coedpoeth at 8:10pm.

One crew from Wrexham attended the incident  with one hose reel jet used to extinguish the fire.

A spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the fire was started deliberately.

*Picture tweeted to Wrexham.com by Pete
Weather Warning For Ice in Place With Temperatures Set to Plummet

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jan 28th, 2017

Temperatures in Wrexham are set to plummet overnight with the Met Office issuing a weather warning for ice.

The yellow weather warning, which means be aware, is in place from 10pm this evening until Sunday morning.

It is expected that the icy weather may lead to difficult driving conditions on untreated roads.

Details about the weather warning are provided within the Chief Forecasters Assessment, which reads: An area of rain, sleet and some snow over northeast Scotland will clear overnight, whilst bands of showers, some falling as hail, with sleet or snow over high ground, moving east across many other parts of the warning area during the first part of the night. Showers becoming more restricted to western parts by Sunday morning.

Temperatures will fall below freezing between the showers and more widely later in the night, leading to a risk of ice, particularly on untreated surfaces.
Thousands of protesters converged on major airports across the United States yesterday to demand the release of immigrants detained by US officials following an executive order by President Donald Trump. Those detained are the first victims of Trumps orders, which ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries and lay the pseudo-legal framework for the detention and deportation of millions of immigrants across the country.

The first detainees included students, scientists, translators and lawyers. Many are legal permanent residents of the US. Weve gotten reports of people being detained all over the country, Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told the New York Times. Theyre literally pouring in by the minute.

A federal judge in New York issued an emergency stay on the ban late Saturday night, but only for those who were either detained Saturday or who were on board flights to the US at the time of the ruling. In other words, Trumps executive orders take full force beginning Sunday.

Two Iraqis who were detained at New Yorks John F. Kennedy airport were reportedly released from custody after being held for several hours, while others will now be released following the stay. Detainees also reported that they were not allowed to speak with their lawyers and that they were subjected to intense questioning by immigration officials, who demanded access to their social media accounts and asked them for their political views on Donald Trump.

Immigrants and permanent residents were also removed from flights before departing for the US, and reports show that immigration officials did successfully deport some immigrants yesterday by forcing them on to return flights departing the US.

The executive orders create a dictatorial legal regimen aimed at whipping up anti-immigrant hysteria. The crackdown recalls the anti-communist Palmer Raids of 1919-20, the internment of hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act in the 1850s. The orders are unconstitutional and they violate international law.

The order applies both to new immigrants and current permanent residents (Green Card holders) from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In all, some 500,000 people are legal permanent residents from these countries. However, the unprecedented act to ban the reentry of permanent residents, who for decades have been allowed to travel with minimal restrictions into and out of the United States, throws the fate of tens of millions living in the US into question.

The order banning entry from the seven countriesindefinitely for those from Syria, for 90 days for those from the other six countries namedis just one piece of Trumps anti-immigrant program. His executive orders on immigration also include:

* Banning all refugees from entering the US for 120 days;

* Slashing the number of refugees the US will accept each year in half;

* Ordering the removal of all immigrants in the US who have committed or been charged with a crime, which could include the charge of entering the country illegally;

* Incarcerating asylum applicants in internment camps before their court date;

* Hiring 10,000 immigration officials to speed up deportations;

* Hiring 5,000 border patrol agents to capture migrants attempting to enter the US;

* Ending the sanctuary city policy and forcing local police to aid in immigration round-up efforts; and

* Constructing a heavily-militarized wall on the US-Mexico border.

The imposition of this program would require the establishment of internment camps to detain millions of immigrants. Rounding up immigrants will involve a massive police mobilization, resulting in the establishment of virtual martial law conditions in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and many more.

Immigration court proceedings will be increasingly devoid of any basic due process rights or will be abandoned altogether. The lives of tens of millions will be upended, families destroyed, and many migrants will die in the deportation centers or in the violence of their home countries where they will be forced to return.

Trumps executive orders mark a point of departure, a qualitative shift in the scope and intensity of the states attack on immigrants. However, Trumps executive orders cite as legal authority statutes passed with the support of the Democratic Party. Trump cites the authority vested in me by the Secure Fence Act of 2006, and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) as legal authority, as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act.

IIRAIRA was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton after House and Senate Democrats provided enough yes votes88 in the House and 22 in the Senateto pass the law. House Democrats provided the Secure Fence Act with 64 yes votes, enough to secure a majority, while two-thirds of Democrats in the Senate voted yes, including then Senators Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer.

Trumps deportation and border militarization plans are extensions of policies implemented by the Obama administration, which deported 2.5 million immigrants, more than every previous president combined. The Obama administration also established that even immigrant children as young as three years old do not have the right to an attorney and must appear by themselves in court.

According to a 2015 UN report, there are 63.5 million refugees worldwide who have been forced to abandon their impoverished and war-ridden home countries, the highest figure in human history. Tens of millions of those, including from the seven countries targeted by Trump, are fleeing countries devastated primarily by US imperialism, which has laid waste to the Middle East and North Africa for 25 years, leaving over one million dead.

The groundswell of protests that broke out yesterday shows that Trumps anti-immigrant policies are reviled by tens of millions across the United States, a country where one sixth of the population is foreign-born.

Further protests and meetings should be organized in neighborhoods and on campuses to demand a halt to the anti-democratic and fascistic attack on immigrants and the entire reactionary policy of the Trump administration.

However, the defense of immigrants must be based on a fight against both the Trump administration and the Democratic and Republican parties. It must be aimed at mobilizing the working classin the United States and internationallyto defend immigrants and to put an end to imperialist war and inequality which drive people from their homes.

The police state methods that are being unleashed against immigrants and refugees will ultimately be turned against the entire working class. The defense of democratic rights can be advanced only through the unification of the working class against their common enemy, the capitalist system.

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Trump launches war against immigrant workers

[26 January 2017]
GRAND FORKS -- The timeline for a plan to demolish eight buildings on the University of North Dakotas campus is uncertain at this point, said Alice Brekke, UND vice president for finance and operations.

The list of eight structures was released Wednesday as part of an ongoing plan to take aging campus buildings offline from university functions. The announced intent to tear down the structures kicked off an approval process mandated by state law, with an endpoint Brekke said could be months away.

As part of that process, the announcement marked the start of a 60-day period for the State Historical Society of North Dakota to assess the historic significance of the properties and issue any recommendations for preservation or documentation.

Lorna Meidinger, an architectural historian with the society, said her office has received a letter from UND identifying the buildings marked for demolition.

Meidinger said a team from her office will look at each building as both an individual element and as part of the UND Historic District, a campuswide designation logged with the National Register of Historic Places. Buildings in a historic district can be deemed either as contributing or non-contributing to the historic status of the district as a whole. Meidinger said that designation is one of the aspects the society considers when assessing the significance of each building.

Three of the buildings appear to contribute to the district as it was listed in 2009: 2912 University Avenue, Chandler Hall and the Womens Center.

As far as the individual merits of the buildings are concerned, Meidinger said the historians will evaluate each building on the same criteria they use when submitting an element to enter the National Register of Historic Places.

We get together our staff here and, if we have questions, we research and identify which buildings we have concerns about, she said.

One early research area is the Era Bell Thompson Multicultural Center building. Meidinger said the historical society has some information indicating the building was once the home of the UND Black Student Union.

We need to look into a little bit of that history and what potential there is for finding that story, she said.

Meidinger added the request from UND is a little different given the number of buildings it includes. Typically, the society sees one or two buildings in a single project.

Brekke said the number of buildings identified for demolition is a product of a reality check for a campus that sustained several years of building and growth. The eight buildings in question are among 13 identified as strong candidates for closure. The fate of the five remaining buildings has yet to be finalized.

Were certainly sensitive in particular with this next grouping because there are some buildings with historic considerations, Brekke said. We want to be respectful of conversations that may need to occur in that regard.

In a campus memo written last summer, UND interim President Ed Schafer said closing all 13 buildings would yield an annual operating cost savings of approximately $1.1 million, along with a deferred maintenance reduction of $32 million. Administrators have stated the total deferred maintenance backlog on campus stands at about $500 million.

If the demolitions are approved, UND will have to come up with a way to fund them.

Brekke said the announced demolitions could cost about $700,000 to complete, but could account for a total deferred maintenance reduction of about $7 million.

Additionally, she estimated the teardowns would cut as much as $500,000 in annual operating and maintenance costs.

Brekke said the decision to move forward with the demolition process for those eight buildings was motivated in part by campus utilization studies that suggested the campus footprint could be contracted. At least three of the buildings have already been vacated.

Moving forward, the close of the historical societys 60-day assessment will lead to a decision at the state level to approve or deny the request for demolition. That decision will be made either by North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott or by the State Board of Higher Education, depending on the insurable value of the building in question.
Two Iraqis lead legal fight against Trump order blocking entry

A federal judge blocked the deportation on Saturday of dozens of travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations, stranded at U.S. airports under an order from President Donald Trump, after a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Iraqis with ties to U.S. security forces.
YAKIMA, Wash. - A Sunnyside man has been formally charged in connection with the theft of a 
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IDF forces and Palestinians clashed overnight Sunday during an IDF arrest operation in Jenin, in which one Palestinian was killed and five others wounded. There were no IDF casualties.

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Soldiers were attacked by a group of Palestinians who hurled explosive devices at them, moderately wounding a soldier. Soldiers returned fire at the group and wounded two, according to an IDF statement.

IDF forces during Jenin operations (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Palestinians identified the dead man as a 19-year-old belonging to a family known to Israeli security forces. Just last Thursday, five members of the man's extended family were arrested during an IDF raid in Jenin for wanted suspects.

IDF anti-terror activities have increased recently as a result of several attacks in the last week.

Sunday night two suspects were detained in Deir Abu Mash'al by the Shin Bet and the IDF's elite Duvdevan unit. The two were arrested for attempting to plan a shooting attack near Nili in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus tweet in support of Trump building a wall on the US-Mexico border has incensed Mexican diplomatic officials.

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The Mexican government sent a strongly worded letter to the Israeli government, saying the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs has expressed to the Israeli government - via its embassy in Mexico  the Mexican governments absolute shock, disappointment in, and rejection of Prime Minister Netanyahus statement regarding the construction of a wall on the border.

President Trump retweeting Netanyahu

The message also noted that Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Caso stood with the nation of Israel on for International Holocaust Remembrance Day which was on Friday.

Israel-Sinai border (Photo: Meir Ohayon)

Mexican-Jewish community leaders also expressed their outrage over Netanyahus tweet.

Saturday night Netanyahu tweeted "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea." He ended the tweet with Israel and American flag emojis. Netanyahu's tweet was based on the government's decision to build a fence along the border with Egypt. Trump later retweeted Netanyahu's tweet.

A spokesman for the MFA, Emmanuel Nahshon, also took to Twitter, though his post seemed to seek to put off any potential crisis with Mexico. He wrote that Netanyahu "referred to our specific security experience which we are willing to share. We do not express a position on US- Mexico relations."

US Mexico Border (Photo: AP)

Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Yonatan Peled also tweeted in Spanish It is impossible to compare the Israel-Sinai border with the US-Mexican border. (Our border) was closed to defend ourselves from terrorism. His statement didnt placate the Mexican government however.

Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who is still in country despite the fact that his posting has ended, attacked Netanyahu's position on the American wall proposal via Twitter.
A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the US from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban , saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

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US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

Muslim immigrants at JFK airport (Photo: Reuters)

The judge's order affected only a portion of Trump's executive action. As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

The order barred US border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the US with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the judge's order might affect people in detention, or whether it would allow others to resume flying.

"Realistically, we don't even know if people are going to be allowed onto the planes," said ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt. "This order would protect people who they allow to come here and reach US soil."

Protests against immigration ban (Photo: AFP)

Under Trump's order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born US residents now traveling outside the US could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trump's order had been prevented from entering the US.

Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at US airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

Photo: AFP

In her three-page order, Donnelly wrote that without the stay "there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders and other individuals from nations subject to the Jan. 27, 2017, executive order."

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the US. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee program.

"It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

The order sparked protests at several of the nation's international airports, including New York's Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Fort Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read "Portland Coffee Is From Yemen" and chanting anti-Trump slogans.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed coalition chairman David Bitan to approve the Regulation Bill following the second and third readings to be held this week.

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Meanwhile, Netanyahus Chief of Staff Yoav Horowitz met with residents of Ofra to tell them that Netanyahu is determined to pass the law. He also told the residents that Netanyahu is working to get 68 additional housing units approved for the town, specifically for those families who will be evicted from their homes.

Ofra in the West Bank (Photo: Moshe Cohen)

The regulation bill has been subject to previous criticism, including from the prime minister. Netanyahu sad that this bill needs to be managed with care, and said that it will help direct the government in its policies for settling the West Bank.

The Knesset Constitutional, Law, and Justice Commission will discuss the law proposal, and the votes of the second and third readings. After the meeting with Horowitz, Cabinet Secretary Tzahi Browerman along with Ofra residents, decided to delay a hunger strike which Ofra community leaders were planning to hold.

The law, which was proposed by Shuli Mualem (Bayit Yehudi) and Betzalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi), is an attempt to regulate the status of Jewish communities in the West Bank, including both Amona and Ofra. Residents of these two communities are being evicted from their homes following an Israeli Supreme Court decision.

The law says that people whose homes have been built on private Palestinian land should not have their houses demolished, and that the Palestinians should be given monetary compensation instead.
Billionaire Arnon Milchan has reportedly told police he had been sending "gifts" to the tune of hundreds of thousands of shekels to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for years, based on demands from the prime minister , Channel 2 reported over the weekend.

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According to the Channel 2 report, Milchan told investigators that the giftswhich included cigars, champagne and jewelrywere given over the course of a long, continuous period of time.

Milchan explained that the gift-giving began as part of his friendship with the prime minister and his family and that he was eventually giving gifts solely to the Netanyahu couple.

Arnon Milchan and Prime Minister Netanyahu, 2015 (Photo: gettyimages)

These "gifts" were given based on specific and detailed demands, which included reminders to renew the stock of cigars or champagne.

While confirming that the accumulating worth of the gifts reached hundreds of thousands of shekels, he claimed these were not considered significant sums for a businessman of his stature.

He reportedly said the receipts for these gifts, which he presented to police investigators, were not kept as evidence, but as part of his bookkeeping.

Milchan also claimed that while the giving of gifts in this manner was unusual, they were given as part of his friendship with the Netanyahu couple and that he did not expect to receive anything in return. He added that he did not have any business interests in Israel and that the shares he owned in Channel 10 were put in a trust.

Another ongoing investigation against the prime minister concerns his alleged efforts to make a deal with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes to change the coverage of him.

As part of that investigation, Channel 2 reported on Saturday, Mozeswho also controls Ynet and Ynetnewsprovided investigators with written and recorded evidence to indicate that Netanyahu had a hand in editing the free daily Israel HayomYedioth's rivalas well as "negotiated matters concerning the free paper as its owner."

Police are in the final stages of both investigations. Investigators now intend to question Australian billionaire James Packeralso suspected of giving the prime minister illicit giftsand casino mogul Sheldon Adelsonthe owner of Israel Hayom. Police are also planning on questioning Milchan again.

Netanyahu attacks the media

Netanyahu took to social media on Saturday night, minutes after the report on the recent developments in the investigations, claiming the media was trying to orchestrate a "coup" against him using "fake news."

In a combative post on Facebook, Netanyahu accused journalist Dana Weiss of "unintentionally exposing the system of pressures imposed by the leftist media, which determines the limits for the attorney general and the State Attorney's Office."

Quoting Weiss, Netanyahu continued: "'You can't close a case like this as far as the public is concerned'even if no offense has been committed! Have you heard of such an absurd thing? They are shamelessly trying to use public pressure to prevent the closing of the case at all cost."

Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The prime minister went on to wonder, "On behalf of which public are they speaking? The leftist media in channels 2 and 10 represents the public as much as (Channel 2 journalist) Amnon Abramovich represents the Jewish settlement in Hebron."

"Every night at 8pm they broadcast inciting propaganda against me, which is false and tendentious, with the goal of carrying out a coup, changing the regime without elections," Netanyahu continued.

"Every evening they produce fake news here," he charged, referencing US President Donald Trump's accusations towards the media in his own country.

"We won't let them, they won't succeeded," Netanyahu concluded his post.
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump's call for a military plan to defeat ISIS is likely to see the Pentagon revisiting options for a more aggressive use of firepower and American troops.

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But US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, doubt the country's military will advocate fundamentally changing a key strategy refined during the Obama administration: relying on local forces to do most of the fighting, and dying, in Syria and Iraq.

"I think it's going to be very successful. That's big stuff," said Trump as he signed an executive order on Saturday requesting the Pentagon, joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan in 30 days for defeating ISIS, fulfilling one of his campaign trail pledges.

ISIS fighters leading Turkish soldiers out of their cage to their execution spot

The order calls for the combined experts to recommend any changes needed to US rules of engagement or other policy restrictions, to identify new coalition partners and to suggest mechanisms for choking off ISIS funding sources. It also demands a detailed strategy for funding the plan.

Trump made defeating ISIS - which has claimed responsibility for several attacks on American soil and is frustrating US military operations across the Middle East - one of the key themes in his campaign. But he avoided talking about specifics of any plan to combat the radical group.

Any shifts by the US military would have broad repercussions for US relationships across the Middle East, which were strained by former President Barack Obama's effort throughout his administration to limit US military involvement in Iraq and Syria.

Turkish soldiers before being killed by ISIS

Trump's Defense Secretary James Mattis has advocated a more forceful approach against ISIS, but how he will pursue that remains unclear.

US military officials have long acknowledged the United States could more quickly defeat ISIS by using its own forces, instead of local fighters, on the battlefield.

But victory, many US military officials have argued, would come at the expense of more US lives lost and ultimately do little to create a lasting solution to conflicts fueled by bitter ethnic, religious and political divides in nations with fierce anti-American sentiment.

David Barno, a retired lieutenant general who once led US forces in Afghanistan, said it would be a major escalation if Trump's administration opted to rely on US troops by putting them into a direct combat role and effectively substitute them for local forces.

"We've been down that road, and I don't think the American people are excited about that idea," said Barno, who now teaches at American University in Washington, D.C.

Experts said the Pentagon could still request additional forces, beyond the less than 6,000 American troops deployed to both Iraq and Syria today, helping the US military to go further and do more in the fight.

ISIS in Sinai shoots a rocket at Israel

But they also said the Pentagon may focus on smaller-scale options like increasing the number of attack helicopters and air strikes as well as bringing in more artillery. The military may also seek more authority to make battlefield decisions.

Obama's administration found itself for years battling accusations of micromanaging the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

"I do think the Pentagon will argue for, and get a lot more authority, to put advisers and special operators closer into the fight," Barno said.

Raqqa ramp-up

Trump, who pledged in his inaugural address to eradicate ISIS and like-minded groups "from the face of the earth," met military chiefs at the Pentagon for about an hour on Friday.

A US defense official, speaking to reporters after the talks, said they discussed ways to accelerate the defeat of ISIS, among other hot-button issues, including the threat from North Korea, but offered no details.

"The chiefs did most of the talking," the official said.

In Syria, the big step for the US-backed forces will be finally taking control of the ISIS's de facto capital of Raqqa.

In his Senate confirmation hearing, Mattis said he believed the United States already had a strategy that would allow the American military to regain control of Raqqa. But he said that strategy needed to be reviewed and "perhaps energized on a more aggressive timeline."

One key decision awaiting the Trump administration is whether to directly provide weapons to Kurdish fighters in Syria as they push toward Raqqa, despite fierce objections from NATO ally Turkey.

ISIS tank

The United States views the Kurdish fighters as its most reliable ally in Syria but Ankara sees them as an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include the Kurdish fighters, launched a multi-stage operation in Raqqa province in November aimed ultimately at capturing the city from ISIS.

Across the border in Iraq, local forces backed by US-led coalition airstrikes and advisers on the ground have secured a major part of ISIS's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.

Still, US military leaders warn ISIS will likely morph into a more classic insurgency once it loses Raqqa and Mosul, meaning the fight could stretch on for years.
The joint Israeli-US missile defense system known as David's Slingpart of Israel's multi-layered missile defense programis nearing operational readiness and has been cleared to be presented to potential customers abroad, such as Poland.

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David's Sling is part of Israel's anti-missile defense program, and is meant to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets, and cruise missiles fired at ranges of 40km to 300km.

David's Sling tests (:  ""  )

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The system recently passed a series of comprehensive tests and trials in the past week in which advanced missiles fired from F-15s were successfully intercepted over the Mediterranean Sea.

Joint US/Israeli cooperation

David's Sling is the result of cooperation between Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and American defense contractor Raytheon, which produces the Patriot missile system.

The Israeli and American governments collaborated closely on the development of the system, for which the US government provided $600 million. Additionally, members of the American Missile Defense Agency at the Pentagon regularly attended technical and administrative meetings.

David's Sling test launch (Photo: Ministry of Defense)

According to a Rafael official identified as Shlomo, "Raytheon is our strategic partner and is creating jobs and employing hundreds of small and medium sized manufacturers in the US. After our recent round of tests, we received heartwarming messages from our friends at Raytheon and there is a very high level of mutual respect between our two companies and countries."

Other Israeli defense contractors contributed components such as Israel Areospace Industries (IAI), which developed the system's radar, and Elbit Systems, which developed the command and control mechanisms.

Future prospects

The system has passed several tests and trials in the past, including the ability to destroy heavy salvos of long-range rockets and short-range ballistic missiles.

While system components have already been integrated into IAF facilities, the air force is expected to declare the system operational soon and has already drafted a large corps of soldiers to be trained on the new system.

With the system set to be operational in the very near future, the Israeli government is already vetting potential customers along with the US government.

"We have already received licenses from both governments to show it to potential customers, such as Poland. The intercept capabilities are higher quality and significantly cheaper than competing systems, which will help with tenders. I hope we will see significant progress this year towards exporting the system and its components," said Shlomo, an official with Rafael.
MAKHACHKALA -- Russian security forces have killed three suspected militants during a firefight in a volatile province of Russia's North Caucasus.

A spokesman for the Russian Interior Ministry's branch in the province of Dagestan says that its forces surrounded a house in the town of Khasavyurt where the suspects were hiding on Sunday. Ruslan Ibragimgadzhiev says that they refused to surrender and died in an armed confrontation.
Former prime minister Ehud Barak visited the home of Labor MK Stav Shaffir last week, reportedly in an effort to convince her to run for the leadership of the party.

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Shaffir was joined for the 2.5-hour meeting by some 20 of her close associates, who have been accompanying her since she was first elected to the Knesset.

Barak, who has recently become a very vocal critic of the government and particularly of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Shaffir that the Labor party needed a younger leadership to breathe new life into it, according to one of the meeting's participants.

Ehud Barak (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

MK Stav Shaffir voting in the Labor primaries (Photo: Ido Erez)

Barak and Shaffir have met several times over the past year. Labor officials believe Barak has no interest in running for the party leadership himself and say he is merely concerned of the state of the party while Yesh Atid is gaining strength at the Labor's expense.

Labor MKs Amir Peretz and Erel Margalit have already announced intentions to run for the party leadership, while former environmental protection minister Avi Gabay, who recently joined Labor, said he was considering it . Former party leader Shelly Yacimovich has yet to decide, while current leader Isaac Herzog is expected seek reelection.
The new administration of President Trump failed to acknowledge Jews and anti-Semitism in an official White House statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, "Despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered."

President Trump (Photo: Reuters)

In the statement, Hicks also included a link to a story by the Huffington Post, which stated that not only six million Jews were murdered, but also five million others including priests, gypsies, physically and mentally disabled people and others.

When CNN asked Hicks if the White House would like to comment on President Trump not mentioning Jewish victims in order not to harm other groups persecuted by the Nazis, Hicks said, "It was our honor to issue a statement on this important day."

CNN noted that Trump's remarks on the victims of the Holocaust as "innocent people" stands in marked contrast to past presidents such as Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Photo: Reuters)

The head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, questioned why the statement left out the six million Jewish victims and called the statement "puzzling and troubling."

CNN asked Greenblatt for a response concerning the White House statement and he responded that the UN established International Holocaust Remembrance Day not only because of Holocaust denial, but also because of the refusal of many countries to recognize Hitler's attempt to exterminate the Jewish people and instead to focus on the general suffering the Holocaust caused.

"The attempt to downplay the extent of the goal of exterminating the Jewish people during the Holocaust is a common idea among nationalist movements in Russia and eastern Europe," said Greenblatt.
Israeli green-tech companies are building cultural bridges to help provide Syrian refugees in Jordan with clean, free cooking gas.

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One of these firms, HomeBiogas, co-sponsored two HomeBiogas systems to be set up in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.





Homebiogas system in Jordan (Photo: T.H. Culhane)

The Zaatari Refugee Camp hosts around 80,000 people who fled Syria in the wake of the civil war going on there.

The HomeBiogas system provides cooking fuel by taking organic kitchen waste or animal waste and putting it into a digester tank. Bacteria in the digester tank then break-down the waste in a processes called anaerobic digestion, thus creating biogas, such as methane. The gas is then funneled to a kitchen stove via a pipe, providing a clean, free, renewable way to cook food.

Syrian refugee tents in Jordan (Photo: T.H. Culhane)

This helps to replace the dangerous and unsanitary cooking fires which the refugees have been using to cook on in the camp. These cooking fires have already caused deadly fires to break out in the cramped refugee camp several times.

Additionally, HomeBiogas has installed biogas conversion systems in Bedouin villages in Israel as well as in underserved communities in the West Bank as part of a project with the Peres Center for Peace.
BEIRUT -- Syrian government forces have recaptured all towns and villages in the Wadi Barada valley near Damascus, the Syrian military said in a statement on Sunday.

"Units of our armed forces, together with ... allied forces have achieved their mission in returning security and stability" to the area, said the statement, read out by a military spokesman on Syrian state TV.
Amona residents wrote a letter to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mendelbilt that they are voluntarily evacuating their homes, and that they are putting their struggle on hold for the time being.

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However, they are only agreeing to do this as long as the Israeli government abides by its pledge to build them alternate housing on a neighboring hill.

Houses in Amona and several others in Ofra are due to be demolished due to their being built on private Palestinian land.

Amona (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

However, the Israeli Supreme Court is set make a judgment on the agreement between the government and the residents of Amona, following an appeal by left-wing rights group Yesh Din, which claims that the replacement housing is set to be built on privately owned Palestinian land as well.

The verdict will determine how peaceful the Amona and Ofra evacuations will be.

Yesh Din even issued their objections to the supreme court over the three plots designed to re-house the Amona residents.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the construction of 68 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Ofra to replace the nine houses that the High Court of Justice had ordered to be demolished.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the American embassy in Israel should be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, injecting himself once again into a charged campaign trail promise of US President Donald Trump.

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Netanyahu's comments at his weekly cabinet meeting appeared aimed at countering reports that Israel was concerned about the fallout of such a move, which is vehemently opposed by the Palestinians and has sparked fears of a renewed outbreak of violence. It comes a day after Netanyahu unilaterally endorsed Trump's call to build a wall along the Mexican border, saying the Israeli model along its border with Egypt has proven successful.

"I would like to clarify unequivocally that our view has always been, and continues to be, that the United States' embassy should be here in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said. "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and it is appropriate that not only the American embassy will be here but that all embassies will move here and I believe that in due course most will come here, to Jerusalem."

Netanyahu in Sunday's cabinet meeting (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

Currently, nearly all foreign embassies are located in the coastal city of Tel Aviv because their countries have refrained from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital until its status is resolved in future peace talks. Israel has long called for the embassies to be relocated but hasn't pushed hard for it given the widespread international opposition.

But Trump's rise has emboldened Israel's nationalists. His campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of two decades of international diplomacy in the region, and he has signaled that he will be far more tolerant of Israeli settlement construction than his predecessors.

Both his designated ambassador to Israel, David Friedman , and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner , now a top aide and Mideast envoy, have deep ties to the settler movement. Friedman and Kushner's family foundation have both been generous contributors to the Beit El settlement, and a delegation of settler representatives was invited to Trump's inauguration.

The Palestinians want the West Bank and east Jerusalemareas captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day Warfor their hoped-for state. Former President Barack Obama, like the rest of the international community, considered the building of settlements an obstacle to peace and frequently criticized their construction. But Trump did not comment when Israel announced a major housing drive last week

At the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu also said his government planned to introduce a bill to legalize dozens of West Bank settlement outposts later this week.

US Embassy in Tel Aviv (Photo: Asaf Magal))

There are about 100 outposts across the West Bank that Israel considers illegal but tolerates and often allows to flourish. The bill is being pushed by the pro-settler Bayit Yehudi party, which has threatened to quit Netanyahu's coalition if it doesn't go through.

The bill was cited as one of the reasons the Obama administration allowed a United Nations Security Council resolution to pass that challenged the legality of the settlements.

US officials said that after previously vetoing anti-Israel resolutions, they felt compelled to abstain because of continued Israeli settlement construction and efforts to retroactively legalize dozens of them in exchange for compensation for the original Palestinian landowners.

Also Sunday, Israeli troops killed an 18-year-old Palestinian and wounded five others after they came under attack in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin , Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

Trump in Philadelphia (Photo: AP)

Palestinian police said a group hurled rocks at the Israeli troops, who responded with fire and fatally shot Mohammed Khalefeh. The Israeli military confirmed the account, saying that its forces were attacked with pipe bombs before they responded. Israeli forces routinely carry out arrest raids in the West Bank against wanted Palestinian militants.

Since 2015, Palestinian attackers have carried out numerous stabbings, shootings and vehicular assaults that killed 40 Israelis and two visiting Americans. Israeli forces killed 235 Palestinians in the same period, most identified as attackers.

Palestinians and rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force in some of the confrontations.

Israel says the violence is fueled by a Palestinian campaign of incitement compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks. Palestinians say it stems from frustration over decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim for a state.
Religious or not, the report about Rabbi Shteinman's condition evoked responses from many politicians. The president, prime minister, minister of public security, minister of culture and sport and others posted and to social media prayers for the 104-year-old rabbi's wellbeing.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday wishing fast recovery for the rabbi, saying, "We are changing today's schedule a bit on account of Rabbi Shteinman's illness. I would like to wish him a fast and full recovery. He is a very important man not only in the Haredi world, but also in the Jewish community as a whole, and I join the vast public wishing for his wellbeing and recovery."

President Reuven Rivlin spoke with Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center CEO, Rabbi Shlomo Roshiled, and with MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) and said, "My prayers go out to this outstanding rabbi of the generation, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman." He added that "he is in the best hands. Thank you for your kind and devoted care; we will keep him in our prayers."

Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman

Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev (Likud) tweeted that she "prays with many for the wellbeing of Rabbi Shteinman who is currently fighting for his life. May God heal him." Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan (Likud) posted that he "prays for the full recovery of Rabbi Shteinman's, one of our generation's greatest minds." Minister of the Interior Rabbi Aryeh Deri (Shas) posted, "Rabbi Shteinman, who lived in asceticism for 104 years praying for the Jewish people, needs our prayers. Religious or not, take a minute to pray for his wellbeing."

Shteinman, one of the leaders of the Haredi community, was hospitalized yesterday in Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak. On Sunday, it was reported that his condition worsened, and the hospital stated that "a group of our senior physicians is running tests to find the source of infection in his body."

The 104-year-old rabbi, who is the senior rabbi of the Lithuanian-Haredi movement and one of the leaders of the United Torah Judaism political party, was hospitalized for "acute respiratory distress" just one month after he was hospitalized for 8 days for acute pneumonia.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) joined the Mexican foreign ministry in criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday for having tweeted support for the US president's planned wall along the American-Mexican border the day before.

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Deri claimed that he had received many outraged calls and messages concerning Netanyahu's support for Donald Trump's proposed wall, which he has said that Mexico will fund. The interior minister specified that most of the angry messages were from the Jewish community in Mexico asking why Netanyahu was grabbing hold of such a hot potato.

When Shabbat ended, the prime minister tweeted, "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea." He ended the tweet with Israel and American flag emojis. Netanyahu's tweet was based on the government's decision to build a fence along the border with Egypt. Trump later retweeted Netanyahu's tweet.

Deri (L) and Netanyahu (C) (Photo: Yonatan Zindel/Flash90) (:   / 90)

The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexico's foreign ministry.

"The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahu's message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall," the ministry's statement.

"Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister," it said, noting that Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday.

Mexico City further announced that it summoned Jonathan Peled, Israel's ambassador to Mexico, for a formal reprimand. Unusually, it was the foreign minister himself who summoned Peled, which speaks to the Mexican government's anger at Israel.

The Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico issued a statement saying it "forcefully rejected" Netanyahu's comment, while several prominent Mexicans of Jewish origin sharply criticized the Israeli leader on Twitter.

Trump's retweet

"So you like walls @netanyahu? Here you have a couple of nice designs," said Mony de Swaan, a former head of the Mexican telecommunications regulator, posting images of walls commemorating Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp where diarist Anne Frank died, and the Warsaw Ghetto.

A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emmanuel Nahshon, also took to Twitter shortly after the prime minister's tweet. He wrote that Netanyahu "referred to our specific security experience which we are willing to share. We do not express a position on US- Mexico relations."

'I don't understand why you needed to get into it.'

At a forum of party leaders on Sunday, Deri, along with Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin (Likud) that the wall that Israel had built did indeed stop illegal immigration arriving from Egypt. Deri said, "It's needless to say that if the prime minister hadn't built a wall in the south, immigrants would continue to arrive en masse."

The prime minister replied jokingly, "Why 'needless'? Say it again and everywhere!"

After complimenting Netanyahu, the interior minister also expressed criticism: "Let's really talk about walls. You came out in support of Trump and for the wall, something which has driven the Jews of Mexico and the very large Jewish community that lives there crazy."

Referring to the prohibition from writing on the Sabbath, Deri continued, "Jews in Mexico even desecrated Shabbat and signed petitions in synagogues against that reply. I don't understand why you needed to get into it. It's their internal matter."

Netanyahu stopped his minister there and replied, "I didnt' get into their matter, with all due respect. The argument between the US and Mexico isn't whether there'll be a wall. The debate is who will fund its construction, and I didn't get into that, so it wasn't getting involved in an American matter and certainly not interference"

Deri did not relent, replying, "I, the little guy, think that it might be desirable for you to reconsider this. Even to tweet an apology on Twitter, and I'll share it, or I'll tweet in your name."

Netanyahu replied, "Talk about that with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

At the end of the meeting, Deri did indeed post his own tweet, writing, "I just now spoke with PM Netanyahu on the need to continue warm relations between Israel and Mexico. The PM told me that Israel will not interfere in the dispute between eh US and Mexico on funding the fence. We will continue to strengthen the relations with Mexico in which much of the Jewish people live in dignity." Shortly thereafter, Deri reposted the tweet in Spanish.
But hours earlier, across town at Homebush, Paul Fletcher, the Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure, was less keen to discuss the citys housing affordability crisis.

I suspect the people of Sydney have a lot more things that they're thinking about on a daily basis than that," Fletcher said.

According to statistical data released by the Labor Party, the number of rental properties in New South Wales that have been snapped up by investors has grown by 61% since 2013. Of these acquisitions, more than half were in Sydney.

Labor obtained the statistical data using freedom of information laws.

Australia has the most generous tax concessions for property investment in the world, Bowen said. We also have, despite [NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklians] claims to the contrary, a housing affordability crisis.

Figures from the Office of State Review show that the number of properties in Sydney purchased specifically to rent rose from 1,660 per month in 2013 to 2,670 in 2016.

In contrast, the number of first-home buyers in NSW has been on the decline. Since 2011, the percentage of first-home buyers entering the market in NSW has fallen from 18% to a mere 8%.

Negative gearing is a major source of policy dispute in Canberra, with the Turnbull government ruling out changes to the investment property tax break.

Related stories:

Australia Has The Third Most Expensive Housing Market In The World

REINSW President Calls For Stamp Duty Reform
LIVE-2 Inning |05-9

SRI LANKA VS ENGLAND

SL 141/8 VS 133/6 ENG

England need 9 runs in 9 balls at 6 rpo
LIVE-2 Inning |05-9

SRI LANKA VS ENGLAND

SL 141/8 VS 137/6 ENG

England need 5 runs in 6 balls at 5 rpo
Jill Heinerth has a message to kids: dream big.

Heinerth, one of the world's top marine explorers, was in Winnipeg Friday to speak to elementary students at Bairdmore School.

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society's explorer-in-residence told stories about visiting some of the most remote places on Earth.

"I'm swimming inside the veins of Mother Earth. This is the lifeblood of the planet, the freshwater that pulses through beneath our feet and people don't even think about it," Heinerth told CBC Radio's Up to Speed.

From Antarctic icebergs to the Bahamas to the Sahara desert, Heinerth has more than a few stories to tell, including the tale of one dive that could have killed her.

The dive, inside an iceberg cave, almost turned deadly after Heinerth and another diver got trapped inside the world's largest iceberg.

"It was terrifying thinking that we might not be able to get out. We were literally struggling for our lives," Heinerth said.

She said she just thought about the next best step she could take and hours later she and her friend were back up to the boat. "I looked up and said, 'The cave tried to keep us today.'"

The ordeal was part of an inspiring message Heinerth shared with Winnipeg students Friday  one that included encouragement to never stop chasing your dreams, even if it's scary at times.

"That tingle of fear that you're feeling is telling you that you're doing something new, something edgy," Heinerth said, adding having a little bit of fear is a good thing.

For Heinerth, her fear is a little simpler than most might think.

"People ask me what I'm afraid of and it's usually driving to the gig," she said.

Heinerth also encouraged the students to take care of the Earth.

"My generation has messed up this planet pretty badly, but I am inspired when I meet these young kids. They're filled with hope and ideas."
Iranian Winnipeggers turned away from flight to U.S. for academic conference

A husband and wife studying at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg are coming to terms with new restrictions after they say they were turned away from a flight to California on Saturday because of a new executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Elnaz Afsharipour and her husband are from Iran and have lived in Winnipeg for four years on student visas. The couple was headed to an academic conference in San Francisco.

But when they arrived at the airport at 4 a.m. Saturday, less than 24 hours after Trump signed the order, they were unable to check in. After an hour-long wait, they were told it was because they are Iranian.

Trump's order imposes a 90-day ban on entry to the United States for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  all predominantly Muslim countries. The order, which the L.A. Times has posted in full on its site, also halts the processing of all Syrian refugees for the next 120 days.

'I was shocked'

Prior to their conversation with officials at the airport, the couple said they knew about the ban, but said they didn't think it would affect them  they had spoken to a professor on Friday about it.

Afsharipour said she broke into tears at the airport.

"I really got upset at that time," she said.

"Last week, or during this week, we have been hearing a lot of news about these kind of rules. He's signing something new, he's preparing a draft. But I couldn't  you know, maybe I was not reading the detail of the news, or I maybe couldn't believe."

Afsharipour said the Air Canada representatives who spoke with them at the airport were friendly, but unable to help.

"At first, yes, I was shocked. But when it's like  the time was going and I was feeling that we were missing the flight, and they can't do nothing."

Visas from 2016

Afsharipour said she and her husband had been planning the trip since spring 2016. She is completing her PhD at the U of M and was to present a research paper on photonics at the conference, which she says is one of the field's largest.

Story continues

She said she'd been working on the paper for months and had to ask a professor to do her presentation for her. She was supposed to present it herself on Monday and says without the presentation, the paper can't be published.

The couple applied for visas for the trip in October 2016 and were approved in November, Afsharipour said. In order to get the visas, they had to fly to Montreal for an interview.

They spent $400 Cdn on their U.S. visas, and had to fly to Montreal for an in-person interview for the application process. All told, Afsharipour's husband, Ramin Soltanzadeh, estimates they spent about $5,000 on arrangements for the trip.

Air Canada released a statement on Saturday alerting travellers of its policy following the ban. According to the statement, any customers who hold passports from the seven countries named in the order who purchased a ticket before Jan. 29 can change their plans free of charge to travel to a different location or at a later date.

Customers can also request a refund or credit towards future travel, the statement reads.

U.S. about-face on dual citizenship

Despite U.S. State Department statements earlier on Saturday that Canadians with dual citizenship with the seven countries in the order would be refused entry, U.S. National Security advisor Michael Flynn said Canadian passport-holders would not be affected by the ban, even if they are dual citizens.

"We have been assured that Canadian citizens travelling on Canadian passport will be dealt with in the usual process," the PMO told CBC News after it says Flynn's Canadian counterpart sought clarification from the U.S.

Following the ban, politicians throughout the country spoke out on the issue, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman wasn't available for comment on Saturday, but he addressed the ban in a tweet.

A city spokesman confirmed the tweet was referring to the order.

On Sunday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister tweeted that the province will "welcome any and all newcomers whatever the circumstances."

Avoid U.S. travel from now on

Following the ban, Afsharipour and Soltanzadeh said they wouldn't go back to the U.S. on principle, even if the ban was lifted.

"This is the fact, actually, that we have to accept right now," Afsharipour said.

"And, yeah, maybe the next time I would, even if I have the option, I would select the European conferences or the conferences inside the Canada."
A teenager who suffers from an ultra-rare skin condition that sees her shed her skin every two months has been thrown out of school because of her extraordinary appearance.

Shalini Yadav, 16, described as being like a human snake, suffers from a rare inflammatory skin disease called Erythroderma or red man syndrome.

It causes the skin over almost the entire body to become scaly and flake off.

The Indian teenager has to soak her body in water every hour and smear herself with lotion every three hours to stop her skin from hardening and seizing up, and has shed her skin every 45 days since she was born.

She has now been thrown out of school because fellow pupils are frightened by her strange appearance.

Human snake  Shalini suffers from an ultra-rare skin disorder that sees her skin shed every two months (Pictures: SWNS)

Shalini said: I wanted to study but they threw me out of school as the children would get scared by seeing my face.

Everybody in the family is suffering because of my medical condition. But what is my fault? What sin did I commit to be cursed with such a disease. I want to live. Please help me, if you can.

MORE: These 5 things in your house are covered in germs  but you never clean them

MORE: People who enjoy sick jokes are actually more intelligent, researchers find

Shalinis desperate parents are so poor they are struggling to afford the moisturiser to help their daughter while they try to provide food for eight people, including her grandparents.

Her mother Devkunwar, a caregiver in a state-funded community centre, said: Shalini is suffering from the disease since childhood.

Desperate  Shalinis parents say the disease is taking their daughters life bit by bit

We saw several doctors but none of them could cure her and her condition has continued to get worse.

I feel so helpless when I see her skin coming off, causing excruciating pain to my child. We have no idea where to go to and who to consult.

The heartbroken mother, who has two other children who dont suffer from the disease, said death would be kinder to her daughter.

She added: It is better to die than living a life of misery. This disease is not killing her but taking her life bit by bit.
By Mica Rosenberg and Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - U.S. judges in at least five states blocked federal authorities from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

However, lawyers representing people covered by the order said some authorities were unwilling on Sunday to follow the judges' rulings.

Judges in California, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington state, each home to international airports, issued their rulings after a similar order was issued on Saturday night by U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York's Brooklyn borough.

Donnelly had ruled in a lawsuit by two men from Iraq being held at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

While none of the rulings struck down Friday's executive order by the new Republican president, the growing number of them could complicate the administration's effort to enforce it.

The rulings add to questions about the constitutionality of the order, said Andrew Pincus, a Mayer Brown partner representing two Yemeni men who were denied U.S. entry from an overseas flight despite being legal permanent residents.

"People have gone through processes to obtain legal permanent resident status, or visas," Pincus said. "There are serious questions about whether those rights, which were created by statute, can be unilaterally taken away without process."

Trump's order halted travel by people with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, and stopped the resettlement of refugees for 120 days.

He said these actions were needed "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States."

The order sparked a global backlash, including from U.S. allies that view the actions as discriminatory and divisive.

Attorneys general from California, New York, 13 other states and Washington, D.C., meanwhile, in a statement condemned and pledged to fight what they called Trump's "dangerous" and "unconstitutional" order.

Story continues

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sunday said it "will comply with judicial orders," while enforcing Trump's order in a manner that ensures those entering the United States "do not pose a threat to our country or the American people."

SAFE, NOT SORRY

Striking that balance has caused confusion, according to lawyers who worked overnight and on Sunday to help travelers at JFK Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, and elsewhere.

Immigration lawyer Sharifa Abbasi said some Border Patrol agents at Dulles refused to let lawyers talk with detainees, even after being shown an order from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema requiring such access.

Abbasi said the agents instead told the lawyers to call their agency's office, where no one was answering.

"There is really no method to this madness," Becca Heller, director of the New York-based International Refugee Assistance Project organization, told reporters on a conference call.

Supporters of Trump's order said authorities acted properly in swiftly taking steps to enforce it.

"It is better (to) be safe than sorry," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies in Washington.

Lawsuits on behalf of more than 100 individual travelers have been filed nationwide, activists and lawyers estimated.

Some have come from large corporate firms including Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

CURBS ON TRUMP'S ORDER

In Boston, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs on Sunday temporarily blocked the removal of two Iranians who have taught at the University of Massachusetts, and had been detained at the city's Logan International Airport.

Burroughs' ruling appeared to go further than Donnelly's by barring the detention, as well as the removal, of approved refugees, visa holders and permanent U.S. residents entering from the seven countries. Donnelly's order forbade only removal.

Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, in a statement called Burroughs' ruling "a huge victory for justice" in the face of what he called Trump's "unconstitutional ban on Muslims."

The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion. Trump's order sought to prioritize refugees fleeing religious persecution, which the president said was aimed at helping Christians in Syria.

Burroughs' ruling also prompted some Trump critics to urge holders of green cards, which allow foreign nationals to live and work permanently in the United States, to fly into Boston, to lessen the risk of detainment.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said several times on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Trump's order does not affect green card holders "moving forward" or "going forward."

In a ruling on Sunday, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles directed the return to the United States of Ali Khoshbakhti Vayeghan, who authorities had sent back to his native Iran following Trump's order.

The ruling from Brinkema, in Alexandria, Virginia, barred the Homeland Security agency from removing an estimated 50 to 60 legal permanent residents who had been detained at Dulles.

In Seattle, U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly barred the government from removing two people, who were not named in court papers. He scheduled a Feb. 3 hearing on whether to lift that stay.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Mica Rosenberg and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung, Dan Levine and Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Mary Milliken)
GERMANTOWN, Tenn., Jan. 29, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To raise awareness of pet dental care importance, the doctors at Forest Hill Animal Hospital are offering a 10 percent discount to pet owners for dental visits in honor of National Pet Dental Health Month in February. Even though it is preventable, periodontal disease is the most common oral condition in cats and four out of five dogs over age three have the disease. Forest Hill Animal Hospital, a veterinary clinic in Germantown Tennessee, provides dental services to pets that prevent periodontal disease and more serious health problems from developing, along with the pain and discomfort that often accompanies them.



Pet parents can look forward to February as it will be National Pet Dental Health Month. Forest Hill Animal Hospital, an animal hospital in Germantown, Tennessee, is celebrating the occasion by offering a 10 percent discount coupon for dental visits throughout the month of February. Besides dental appointments, Forest Hill Animal Hospital provides boarding, grooming, training, light therapy, a full-service pharmacy, and other services.

Periodontal disease begins as gingivitis or inflammation of the gums. This common dental disease often includes inflamed gums, plaque buildup, and bad breath, with the latter being particularly bothersome. Many pet owners, however, aren't aware of the serious consequences of untreated gingivitis, which can lead to periodontal disease and infections of the kidneys, heart, and other organs. However, this condition is preventable with regular veterinary dental visits.

"It's sad to see how many pets suffer from periodontal disease when it can be prevented with consistent pet dental care," says Dr. Darryl Dixon DVM, a Germantown veterinarian at Forest Hill Animal Hospital. "We're hoping that the discount will encourage awareness of how important dental care is for pets. Dental examinations are not a luxury service; they're vital to the whole scope of good health."

Dr. Dixon, DVM also recommends that good dental hygiene in pets begins at a young age much like humans. Regular tooth brushings, teeth cleaning treats, and chewing on toys can all be incorporated into the pet's routine to ensure the longevity of healthy teeth.

Pet owners can receive the coupon at the Forest Hill Animal Hospital website now and throughout the month of February.

About Forest Hill Animal Hospital

Dr. Darryl Dixon, Dr. Gram Johnson, and Dr. Haley Hanks all practice their expertise at the Forest Hill Animal Hospital and can be reached at (901) 730-8855. The hospital takes pride in helping their furred friends by providing dental, boarding, light therapy, surgery, and dog training services to pet patients in the areas of Germantown, Memphis, South Haven, Olive Branch, and Collierville in Tennessee. Visit their website for more information at http://foresthillah.com/.

Forest Hill Animal Hospital, (901) 730-8855
ritula wrote:

A recent article stated that only 5.5% of American colleges grant the majority of their degrees in the liberal arts. Citing this, a reader wrote to lament that this was further evidence of the decline of academic rigor in American post high school education.



Which of the following is an assumption on the part of the reader?

a The percentage of American colleges granting liberal arts degrees would continue to drop.

b All colleges should grant the majority of their degrees in the liberal arts.

c Most post-secondary scientific, engineering, and vocational training does not involve as much academic rigor as liberal arts training.

d Academic rigor is the most important aspect of post high school education.

e Of the colleges that do not grant the majority of their degrees in the liberal arts, many granted fewer than a quarter of their degrees in the liberal arts.

Option A :

This isn't the correct answer because the reader is only lamenting about the decline in academic rigor in the existing American educational institutions. Change in their number hasn't been discussed/assumed anywhere.

Anyway even if we assume this option as true, it doesn't support the reader's claim about declining academic rigor.

Hence Option A is incorrect.

Option B :

This option looks more like a probable solution suggested by the reader than an assumption to his argument. In other words, it doesn't precede his argument but follows it.

Hence Option B is incorrect.

Option C :

The reader is pointing at the low number of American colleges awarding majority of their degrees in liberal arts and is suggesting that as an evidence for the decline in academic rigor in American post high school education. This does take the assumption that liberal arts training requires much more academic rigor.

Hence Option C is correct .

Option D :

The fact that the reader is lamenting about the decline in academic rigor is enough to conclude that Academic rigor is an important aspect of post high school education. But whether it is the most important or not, we don't have sufficient information to infer.

Anyway "the importance of academic rigor" can't be an assumption to conclude about the "decline in academic rigor"

Hence Option D is incorrect.

Option E :

No sufficient information is given regarding the amount of liberal arts degrees awarded by the colleges. Irrelevant.

Hence Option E is incorrect.

So the correct answer is Option C .

Let us look at the options.The percentage of American colleges granting liberal arts degrees would continue to drop.All colleges should grant the majority of their degrees in the liberal arts.Most post-secondary scientific, engineering, and vocational training does not involve as much academic rigor as liberal arts training.Academic rigor is the most important aspect of post high school education.Of the colleges that do not grant the majority of their degrees in the liberal arts, many granted fewer than a quarter of their degrees in the liberal arts.
Wofford09 wrote:

I follow what you're saying, but I think it is just a poor question all around. I am not sure about most other countries, but in the countries I have lived, bringing in a small amount of goods from a vacation is not technically considered "imports" that warrants taxing or especially a tariff (this would be extreme).



therefore

it is cheaper for Y's to spend there holidays there.

it is not cheaper for Y's to buy those stuff.

not so cheap for Y's to buy stuff

"is it cheaper for Y's?"

Wofford09 wrote:

The passage never verifies the idea of purchasing goods in large or small amounts



Wofford09 wrote:

or if taxes are imposed on travelers bringing back small goods .



new

Wofford09 wrote:

How should one know or assume the legislation of Country X?



Country Y

So what I think of 'import' is that it can be any item brought into one's country, especially across from a national border. Items can be big or small. From what I know about imports is that the tariffs/taxes are decided broadly based on the countries trade relation among other complex factors. So we cannot say that because an item is small it should have no tariff, may be it is not charged because of the trade relations between those countries.Next, the next big idea is hidden in the argument itself. If we go back to the argument, it says that exchange rate between X and Y favors guys of Y, andguys in Y go to X for holidays. What can we infer from this? A subtle understanding of behavioral aspect of Y's. i.e. they prefer to go to X becauseNow comes the paradox: that even though the currency is cheaper in Y, those holiday goers still do not buy stuff! Well what could be the problem? ProbablyThat's it.If we can hunt for an answer choice that proves that something - anything - that makes it, that is our answer.Well that is how I arrived at D. B, I believe, does not do a good job in even remotely thinking in the lines of. It talks about fashion, which I could not infer if it was really a behavioral aspect of Y.It does not matter if the goods are small or large. A small sized iphone bought from Taiwan will have import duty levied on it as will a 10k Baju Kurungs from Malaysia.Please note that resolving the paradox involves bringing ininformation. It is from the Strengthen, Weaken family where new information in choices is not just expected but also a feature to have in correct answer.We are talking about the legislation of, who is imposing tariffs/taxes. I think you mistyped Y as X.
nachol98 wrote:

Hello!



Please could you provide me with feedback on my profile:



Profile

Agentinian, Male, 29 years old



Education :

Industrial Engineer, GPA: 7.5/10 (in the top 10 of my class)



GMAT

770, Q50 - V44 - IR 8



Work Experience (5.5 years)



Data IQ (June 2011 - Nov 2012)

Small Business Intelligence consulting firm. Worked as a Business Intelligence Consultant, worked in projects for Pfizer, Telecom and Coca Cola Ecuador.



Coca Cola FEMSA (Dec 2012 - Nov 2014)

Warehouse Processes Jr Analyst. Worked in various process optimization projects with the warehouses. For example: capacity expansion, implementation of a new voice picking system, lay-out redesign.



Coca Cola FEMSA (Dec 2014 - Today)

Supply Chain Planning Ssr Analyst. Strategic planning, middle and long term supplies planning, line shifts and distribution fleet sizing, inventory policies and safety stock definition, KPI calculation and monitoring.



Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (Ago 2012 - Oct 2014)

Opeations Research Teaching Assistant



Extracurricular

- I play bass guitar in a rock band. Have been playing in different bands for about 11 years. I also play guitar and take singing lessons, doing a couple of shows every year

- Passionate for travelling, been to Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, UK, France



Volunteer work

- For the past for years I have been part of the team that holds a Christian spiritual retreat every year for school students fo about 16 years old, as a coordinator, giving talks. Last year I participated also as vice captain of the team

- Participated in a project for Engineering Without Borders, an NGO



Post MBA Goals

Work in Europe in a FMCG or Retail company, in Supply Chain Management or Strategic Planning



Target Schools

INSEAD, IE, RSM, HEC Paris



Thank you!



Ignacio

Dear Ignacio,Great to hear from you!First of all: Wicked GMAT Dude!How did you do that?Second: Sorry for my delay in answering you here. I was abroad for business. But now I'm back in action!Third: With your profile and GMAT, from the list I think only INSEAD might be a real challenge. The other schools, as long as you give a good application should be strong. Since you are a Spanish speaker and applying to IE, you might also look into IESE and ESADE, since they also have very strong connections with Latin America.Other than that what I like is that your profile has a bit of breadth - from your NGO work to your travels, music participation in your religious community. Use it in your applications! It's to your benefit.If you'd like a more in depth review, feel free to fill out our questionnaire and we'll dig in DEEP: http://admissionado.com/free-consultati ... n=mba_blog Best,Jon
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
FARGO -- People bought and sold homes at record prices in the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo area last year, mirroring a trend seen in the Twin Cities in 2016.

The median price for a home sold in Fargo-Moorhead was $202,000 last year, up more than 9 percent from the year before, according to the F-M Area Association of Realtors.

The average sold price -- a number skewed some by upper-end homes -- was just over $228,000, representing a 6 percent increase.

In the Twin Cities, a report from Realtor associations there put the median home price in 2016 at a record high of $232,000, or a 5.5 percent increase over the previous year.

The robust market means a quick turn-around process.

Cindy Deibert and her husband, Ken, sold their house in Perham, Minn. in November and moved to West Fargo in December. They bought a model home for them and their two school-age children.

If you went to an open house, you could see and feel the traffic, Cindy Deibert said. You have to be ready to react.

A doubling of sales volume in the last eight years is also a major indicator of a fast-moving market.

In 2008, sales volume for F-M area realtors was $449 million; in 2016, that number was $911 million.

Shawn Ostlie, president-elect of the FMAAR Board, said even with the rising home prices, he considers a starter home to be about $200,000 and under.

Theres not much new construction in that price range, but there are still a variety of options to choose from.

We havent gone so high that were not getting anything for $200,000, Ostlie said.

Jodi Tollefson, president of the FMAAR Board, said new or recent construction twin-homes are one option, starting at around $165,000.

Theres a great mix of both, and thats what makes our community thrive, she said.

Comparisons in the area

Home price numbers in the largest population center of western North Dakota are similar to that found in the F-M area.

In the Bismarck-Mandan area, the median price for a home sold was $239,000 last year, up from $236,000 the year before, according to the Bismarck Mandan Board of Realtors.

In the Grand Forks area, the average price of a home sold was $238,196 last year, up from $233,668 the year before.

Just like in the Twin Cities area, inventory in Grand Forks is lower than usual.

John Colter, executive at the Grand Forks Area Association of Realtors, said there are 235 homes on the market in the area right now. Hed like to see it back up to at least 350.

Its a very good market for the seller, and its improving for the buyer, he said.

Still, the biggest problem in Grand Forks and nationwide, he said, is that first-time homebuyers are struggling to find homes.

Grand Forks lost hundreds of homes in 1997 to a disastrous Red River flood, most of them in Lincoln Park. They were homes that first-time homebuyers would likely have bought, Colter said.

Whether its a buyers or a sellers market, there always seems to be some choices available. Colter said it just might require a little more patience to find the right circumstances.

No matter what the market or the time of year, serious buyers are out shopping.

Theres always someone looking, Tollefson said.
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Melania Trump appears on the cover of the February issue miming eating a bowl of diamonds and jewelry while decked out in bling of her own. The accompanying article covers topics like how she plans to become the new Jackie Kennedy, according to Business Insider.

Melania Trump, en portada de febrero. Un reportaje que desvela como fue el pasado de esta intrigante primera dama. https://t.co/WP298EtGug pic.twitter.com/ZUNOvkYaEI  Vanity Fair Mexico (@VanityFairMX) 26  2017 .

If you glance through the replies to Vanity Fairs tweet with the article, its a torrent of animosity.

Apologize to Mexico for this stupidity, one commenter wrote. Another described it as an insult to our country, and still another said it showed a lack of respect for Mexican society.

On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled his meeting with Trump after Trump said that he shouldnt come if Mexico was unwilling to pay for a wall on its shared border with the US.

Both the Vanity Fair photo and the story are recycled from an earlier GQ spread. (The magazines share a parent company.)

The cover decision shows how confounding the relationship between the media and the Trump family is.

In December, Donald Trump trashed Vanity Fair in a tweet, seemingly in response to an article that asserted Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America.

Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine Trump wrote. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!

Trump has for years sparred with Carter, the longtime editor of Vanity Fair. Carter was the one who first drew wide attention to Trumps small hands in a GQ article (and in Spy magazine).

But Trumps tirade actually boosted subscriptions to the magazines US edition, to the tune of 13,000 new additions within 24 hours, according to Poynter.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Cancer patients are living longer and in many cases the disease is becoming chronic rather than acute. Access to drugs that help extend life and improve quality of life, and fair prices for those drugs are therefore essential for more and more people. But patients are badly served in this respect, with delays in the availability of new treatments and incomprehensible price rises for well-established therapies, including generics, researchers will tell the European Cancer Congress 2017 today (Saturday).

There is no value for patients if new cancer drugs are developed and approved but they are unable to benefit from them, says Markus Hartmann PhD, Principal Consultant of European Consulting and Contracting in Oncology, a regulatory affairs consultancy based in Trier, Germany.

Approval decisions for cancer drugs are currently granted centrally by the European Commission, in order to ensure that risk/benefit judgments are applied on the same basis across the European Union. But decisions on reimbursement and pricing, and therefore on access to new medicines, are taken at individual EU Member State level, and this results in major differences in the overall availability as well as the time taken before patients are able to obtain new medicines, adds co-author Daniel Droschel, Market Access Consultant at MArS Market Access & Pricing Strategy GmbH, Weil am Rhein (Germany).

The researchers studied approval processes for the 48 new cancer drugs that were evaluated between 2011-15 by the European Medicines Agency for use in the European Union. In 17 cases, approvals were based on a principal trial using overall survival as the primary endpoint; in 19 cases on trials using progression-free survival; and in 12 cases on trials - most often single-arm trials - using overall response rate as primary endpoints.

"These new drugs all show clinical benefit," says Dr Hartmann. "Our data indicate in the overall survival group a median survival gain of 3.0 months, while in the progression-free survival group the median gain was 3.8 months. However, the trial design, trial endpoint and magnitude of effect is evaluated quite differently by the health technology assessment (HTA) authorities in the UK, France and Germany, even though they reviewed the same, or very similar, clinical data."

These disparities in national HTA outcomes depend on a number of factors. Additionally, HTAs use different methodologies in their assessments: France, as well as the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Medical Council, apply health economics that have an impact on the final reimbursement decision, whereas Germany relies purely on a benefit assessment followed by price negotiations.

"In our study, in France and Germany around 80% of decisions were positive, whereas for UK's NICE, every third assessment ended with a negative outcome," Dr Hartmann will say. Patients' access to new cancer drugs in England and Wales is also hampered by later decision-making compared with Scotland, France and Germany, he adds.

In a second presentation, Dr Andrew Hill, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, UK, will tell the congress that UK prices for cancer drugs, including generics, have recently shown a sharp rise. Between 2011 and 2016, prices for some common drugs increased by more than 1000%. At a time when the UK Cancer Drugs Fund is being re-examined because of the pressure caused by high prices, this is particularly worrying, says Dr Hill.

"We were surprised to find several companies consistently raising the prices of cancer treatment. Twenty treatments have shown rises of over 100% in the last five years, and in two - busulfan (used to treat leukaemia) and tamoxifen (breast cancer) - prices have increased by over 1000%. We have found that some companies take over the supply of some generic cancer medicines and then raise the price progressively," Dr Hill will say.

In the UK, the Department of Health is aware of this issue and has introduced the Health Services Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill in order to be able to regulate prices in the future, he says. Companies found to be raising prices with no clear justification will be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority, and could face fines.

Paying these high prices puts undue strain on health systems, and the long-term result could be negative consequences for disease progression and survival. The researchers say that they are finding similar cases in other European countries. In Spain and Italy, failure to accept the high prices demanded for some generic treatments has led to warnings from companies that they could stop their supply.

"We hope that, by explaining what we have found in the UK, other European countries will take note and protect themselves against these kinds of price rises," says Dr Hill. "At a time when cancer patients are living longer and better lives due to effective treatments, this situation is particularly worrying."

Ms Melissa Barber, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, will describe to the congress the results of her analysis of the manufacturing costs of all the medicines used to treat cancer included in the World Health Organisation's (WHO's) Essential Medicines List.

The results show that several key cancer treatments could be manufactured for less than one per cent of the prices charged in the US and UK. "For example, tamoxifen, used to treat breast cancer, can be manufactured for less than two US dollars per month of treatment, and imatinib, used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, can be produced for $54 per month," Ms Barber will say.

Costs this low could form the initial step in setting up programmes in low and middle income countries for the mass treatment of certain cancers, following the successful precedent of mass treatment for HIV and AIDS. The researchers would like to see the expansion of pilot studies for such treatments; such pilots exist already for cancer treatment in Rwanda and Haiti.

"Showing that certain cancers could be treated for very low prices could transform the future of people with these cancers in very low-income countries where there are usually few or no treatment options," Ms Barber will conclude.

Professor Ian Banks, ECCO Board Member and chair of the Patient Advisory Committee, who was not involved with the research, commented: "Research presented at the ECCO Congress covers the whole of the cancer field, including important policy issues like those raised in these abstracts. The availability and pricing of treatments are of great interest and concern to cancer patients, and we consider it important to encourage the widest possible debate on them, as well as on other issues that affect patients' quality of life."

Provided by ECCO-the European CanCer Organisation
HOUSTON  One day in November, a 7-year-old Iraqi boy wrote a postcard to Santa Claus, drew small hearts at each corner and dropped it into a red holiday mailbox at a suburban mall here. The card had the penmanship of a first grader, yet the longing of a refugee: He asked not for toys but to make his family  separated and devastated by war and violence  whole.

Dear Santa, can you Bring my Dad from Sweden pls, the boy wrote. His father, whom the boy had not seen in person for three years, was living in Stockholm while waiting for the United States to officially declare him a refugee and to allow him to reunite with his wife, son and other relatives now living in the Houston area.

On Friday, the boys mother kept a secret from him: His wish was about to come true. His father, a Baghdad-born accountant named Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, had received the necessary paperwork and was on a flight to Kennedy International Airport in New York, the first leg of a journey to Houston.

But a few strokes of a presidential pen threw the lives of Mr. Alshawi and his family into chaos.

While Mr. Alshawi, 33, was on the plane, President Trump signed an executive order suspending the entry of all refugees into the United States for 120 days. Mr. Alshawi was detained at Kennedy by the authorities on Friday evening, setting off a legal battle as lawyers for him and another detained Iraqi refugee sought their release.
WASHINGTON  With what by legal standards was lightning speed, the judicial branch responded to President Trumps immigration order on Saturday night, telling the president that he had moved too fast in barring people from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States.

But the court orders, from judges in at least four cities, were just the initial steps in litigation that may last for years.

The orders were provisional, aimed at maintaining the status quo. They were limited in scope, applying only to people on their way to the United States or already here. They did not rule on the larger question of whether Mr. Trumps executive order was lawful.

They were a signal that the federal judiciary stands ready to assess the limits of presidential power over immigration policy. But they gave only the most preliminary hints about whether the courts will strike down part or all of Mr. Trumps executive order.
It made headlines recently when the Doomsday Clock was shifted from three minutes to midnight to a new setting of two and a half minutes to midnight.

That is the nearest the clock has been to midnight for more than fifty years. The body responsible for the clock said

the probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon.

It should be an urgent warning to world leaders.

The idea of a Doomsday Clock was conceived by the editorial staff of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which was founded by many of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project.

When that publication graduated from being an internal newsletter among the nuclear science community to being a formal magazine in 1947, the clock appeared on the cover. The magazines founders said the clock symbolised

the urgency of the nuclear dangers that [we]  and the broader scientific community  are trying to convey to the public and political leaders around the world.

The clock was set at seven minutes to midnight. Two years later, with the news that a nuclear weapon had been tested by the USSR, the communist state centred on modern Russia, the clock was moved to 11.57.

In 1953, the USA first tested the hydrogen bomb, a fusion weapon much more powerful than the fission bombs that had destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The USSR followed a few months later and the clock was advanced to 11.58 with a warning there was a real chance that

from Moscow to Chicago, atomic explosions will strike midnight for Western civilization.

Then there was a period of modest progress. It gradually became apparent that the new weapons were so powerful that only a deranged leader would consider using them against a similarly armed enemy, given the inevitability of catastrophic retaliation.

In 1963, after they had been continuously testing more and more deadly weapons, the USA and the USSR signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atmospheric testing. The clock was moved back to 11.48.

It was a false dawn. The two super-powers simply shifted their testing of new weapons to underground facilities, while other countries such as Britain, France and China developed their own nuclear arsenals.

The clock gradually moved closer and closer to midnight until the mid-1980s when it stood at 11.57. Then Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the leadership of the USSR and began a series of negotiations to ease tensions and reduce the risk of nuclear war.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 effectively marked the end of the so-called Cold War between communism and capitalism. The subsequent collapse of the USSR led to large reductions in the nuclear arsenals, and by 1991 the clock had moved back to 11.43.

Once again, there were optimistic hopes of an era of peace and an end to the threat of nuclear weapons. It was not to be. The political system in the US made it almost impossible to scale back arms production.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, negotiated in the 1970s, aimed to prevent the spread of weapons beyond the five nations that had already acquired them.

But those countries did not implement their promise to disarm, so inevitably other nations decided that they would be more secure if they had nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan and Israel. The clock moved forward again year by year, reaching 11.53 by 2002.

New threats

Since then, the managers of the Doomsday Clock have added new threats to the original fear of nuclear war. In 2007, they said climate change also presents a dire challenge to humanity and advanced the clock to 11.55.

More recent annual reports have warned that

international leaders are failing to perform their most important duty  ensuring and preserving the health and vitality of human civilization.

The change should be welcomed. Even if nuclear weapons did not exist, climate change and the accelerating loss of biodiversity are serious threats.

Damage to ecosystems is already taking place; climate change is causing loss of life and property, as well as affecting natural systems.

At the same time, the nations with nuclear weapons are still testing new devices and more sophisticated delivery systems. The number of weapons has dropped from its peak of over 60,000 to about 10,000. But that is still enough firepower to wipe out civilisation several times over.

And there are new players, including North Korea and perhaps Iran. As the 2017 report said,

It is two and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is ticking, global danger looms. Wise public officials should act immediately, guiding humanity away from the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must step forward and lead the way.

This really is a call to arms and deserves more attention from our media.

Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Science, Griffith University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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US House committee extends deadline for Trump to produce documents on Capitol attack

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13 dead in cafe fire in Russia

Armenia Security Council chief to head for Poland, Netherlands, Lithuania

Rishi Sunak: State cannot fix all problems

Newspaper: To what extent Armenia adheres to sanctions on Russia?

Biden accuses Twitter of spewing lies

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Qatar FM slams hypocrisy of calls to boycott World Cup

France, Singapore and Switzerland begin joint testing of experimental digital currencies

Oil war is Biden's biggest mistake

Japan considers possible deployment of hypersonic missiles by 2030

Germany to install better air defense system over Defense Ministry buildings

Erdogan and Stoltenberg discuss war in Ukraine

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In October 2016, James Brown, 82, a minister and 40-year resident of Amani, waited for more than 12 hours to testify against All Star Foods, a corner store less than a block from his home, at a Common Council license hearing. The store, located at 27th and Burleigh Streets, allegedly sold tobacco and alcohol to minors, maintained unsanitary conditions and looked the other way when a young girl was trafficked out of the buildings basement.

According to Brown, 12 individuals from the neighborhood showed up at the 9 a.m. hearing to speak against the stores license renewal; by the time he testified, at about 10 p.m., there was only one other resident left. Ultimately, the license was revoked, and the store was closed.

The store was a nuisance, according to Brown, who lives on the 3100 block of N. 26th Street. He said it was important for him to speak out against an establishment that was a negative influence. "Ive been here 48 years, and I dont plan on moving," he said. "Our neighborhood could be just like the neighborhoods in Brown Deer. But, see, people bring down neighborhoods  neighborhoods dont run themselves down."

The opposite can be true, as well, according to Amani residents, neighborhood agencies and law enforcement officials, who have pointed to effective resident engagement and empowerment as the reason for the declining number of reported crimes in the area. Since 2005, reported Class A offenses  which include assaults, breaking and entering, vehicle thefts and homicides  in the four census tracts that make up Amani have dropped by more than 32 percent, compared to a decrease of almost 23 percent citywide over that same period.

"Weve been able to create an interest that allows for people to want to know how they can help," said Dennis Walton, the former Building Neighborhood Capacity Program (BNCP) site captain in Amani and a longtime resident. "I think [its] really important that a community has to be inspired to help itself, as well as bring outside resources in to be a part of that change."

Since 2012, crime in Amani has decreased at an even greater rate compared to the rest of the city. Between January 2012 and December 2016, reports of criminal damage to property, theft, robbery and burglary all decreased more than 30 percent. Assaults and arson have also decreased significantly.

COA Youth & Family Centers Executive Director Tom Schneider, whose Goldin Center is in Amani, attributed some of those gains to the ability of residents to help build neighborhood assets. He mentioned the new Moody Park, a family clinic  the result of a COA partnership with Childrens Hospital  and an early childhood education center as examples of residents ability to advocate for resources that have helped improve their quality of life.

"This type of resident participation isnt being seen anywhere else  not in the city and not in the suburbs," said Schneider. "The residents are there all the time, and they speak up. And they speak up because they know its worth their effort to speak up, because theyve seen the results of their effort."

Milwaukee Police Department Sgt. Timothy Gauerke said the data suggests that the community and police are effectively working together. According to Gauerke, confidence in the police and a growing sense of social cohesion can lead residents to intervene in many situations before a crime happens.

"When the police and the community arent working together, crime often is higher. When crimes higher, you feel less comfortable in your neighborhood, you lock yourself in your house and you dont take back your public spaces," he said.

Part of this change, according to Barbara Smith, president of Amani United, a neighborhood association created as a result of the BNCP grant, is the trust that residents and police have been able to build because of listening sessions organized by the Zeidler Center for Public Discussion.

"It gave us an opportunity to understand, a little bit better, the side of the police, and then for the police also to understand the side of the residents and the youth," said Smith.

Collaboration has been key across the board, from the ability of organizations such as COA and the Dominican Center for Women to secure grant funding for neighborhood initiatives to working with police to close All Star Foods. Walton, who has served as a liaison between community members and neighborhood agencies, said continuing to build relationships is essential to Amanis ongoing success. He added that he believes those working in the neighborhood need to continue to ask, "What is the personality of a healthy community?"

Amani  which is in the 53206 ZIP code, an area where more than 47 percent of residents live in poverty and household incomes are startlingly low  still has its share of challenges, but those working to improve the neighborhood say those efforts need to continue to center around residents.

Walton and Smith said investments in affordable housing and jobs would help community members. And Brown encouraged fellow residents to get more involved in shaping city policy to ensure those investments are made.

"The residents are the power, they are the resource," Walton said. "They have the skills; they have the knowledge; they have the ability. And, the elected leadership has to be in alignment with that wealth that lies within communities."
Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose has said President Muhammadu Buhari has put Nigeria under siege.

Buhari has placed Nigeria under siege - Fayose

Mr Fayose who is also the chairman of the PDP governors forum stated this in an interview with Guardian newspaper when he was asked to react to the recent attempt by the DSS to arrest Apostle Suleman Johnson in Ado-Ekiti.

Nigeria is under siege. We are as good as a people in police state. I said it earlier that the press will be gagged, and is it not happening now? They will graduate from harassing politicians to the press and the church, to the judiciary. Even lawyers will not be spared. A dictator is like a scavenger, and until God defeats a dictator, everybody must be praying.

READ ALSO: Apostle Suleman to appear with 30 lawyers before DSS

We are being governed by a dictator. Let me narrate the story of a rich man, who went to buy a lion and kept it in his house. Some cautioned him against it, but he promised to tame it. We will domesticate it, we will not allow it to taste blood, he said. But his neighbours were not comfortable. Eventually, the lion grew and developed claws.

Before the rich man returned home one day, the lion had eaten his children. But the lion did not stop there; it jumped out of the fence, took over the street and also attacked all the neighbours.

The neighbours suffered because they were not courageous enough to challenge the rich man and say, no, you cannot rear a lion in the midst of people. That is the story of Nigeria now.

Asked what advise he has for President Buhari as a strong opposition voice, Fayose said he wont advise him because he doesnt listen.

He said; "I wont advise him, because he does not listen. Let me tell you why. In a space of three months, the Senate rejected President Buharis Magu; The Senate has APC as majority members. The Senate also rejected the use of Kaduna Airport for international flights. This is the Senate that is largely constituted by members of Buharis party, rejecting many things from him, including financial policies, such as MTEF.

"The Senators represent different constituencies, which means that Nigerians are the ones rejecting what Buhari is doing.

READ ALSO: Detaining Apostle Suleman may set Nigeria on fire - Rights group

"Senate said some people are thieves, but the President said they are saints, flawless. If Ekiti Assembly rejects somebody as Commissioner, and they give reasons and damning reports, since they represent the people from the grassroots, what capacity do I have to go ahead?

"The President has made up his mind and has proved that he would do anything he wanted to do, whether National Assembly supports or not. So, why bother wasting your time advising him? I wont cry in front of a person that will stop me and ask why I am crying.

Source: Legit.ng
Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Nigerias acting president Yemi Osinbajo has told the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that the Ag. President will always act to defend the rule of law and course of Justice.

All Nigerians are equal and loved by God, Laolu Akande replies CAN

Mr Akande, in a statement made available to Legit.ng said Prof. Osinbajo is unwavering in ensuring that anyone who violates the law, should and must be made to face the full extent of the law.

He made the statement in reaction to call by the Christian Association asking the Vice President to defend Pastors who are believed to be under attack by the President Muhammadu Buhari led government.

READ ALSO: Buhari has placed Nigeria under siege - Fayose

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is a pastor with the popular religious ouitfit Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG)

He is firmly committed to the best standards of governance that primes and values the life of every Nigerian, regardless of religion or ethnicity. As far as he is concerned, ALL Nigerians are equal and loved by God, and does not discriminate on the basis of religion, Akande said.

He added that; He has spoken out publicly on the inherent weaknesses in the nation's Criminal Justice System, and is working assiduously within government to bring the reforms necessary, including the option of community policing.

The current limitations of the criminal justice system however affects virtually every kind of crime, including the example of high profile murders of the past, many of which remain unsolved.

This administration will continue to defend and protect the lives of all Nigerian citizens. It's the reason the President gave firms instructions to security agencies-military and police to send reinforcements to Southern Kaduna to enforce the peace. The Southern Kaduna crisis has become a worrying recurrent decimal over the years.

READ ALSO: Buhari setting dangerous precedent  Wole Olanipekun

We -all of us in government, political, religious leaders, traditional rulers and the entire Nigerian people, especially the elites- must work to find a lasting solution.

Situations like the crisis in Southern Kaduna while capable of provoking emotive reactions and potent for divisive rhetorics, call for the display of true leadership virtues from everyone of us. We should resist the temptations to succumb to divisive tendencies.

Source: Legit.ng
Ekiti state governor Ayodele Fayose has alleged that "there is plan to charge Apostle Suleiman and Bishop Oyedepo for incitement and attempt to cause public and make sure that they are not granted so to get them remanded in Kuje Prison perpetually."

Don't plunge Nigeria into religious crisis, Fayose cautions DSS over planned detention of Apostle Suleiman, Bishop Oyedepo

Fayose described the plan as indirect invitation to religious crisis in the country as equally warned the Department of State Services (DSS) over the planned detention and trial of Apostle Johnson Suleiman of The Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide.

He said this plan was to humiliate these men of God as well as silence them and create fear in other people that may want to speak against the heinous crime against humanity being committed daily while perpetrators are being shielded by the federal government.

READ ALSO: Buhari has placed Nigeria under siege - Fayose

In a statement issued on Sunday by is special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said the DSS should tell Nigerians how many of the Fulani herdsmen that killed thousands of Nigerians across the country have been arrested before going after Nigerians who merely expressed their frustration over the to failure of the federal government to protect them.

The governor said; "Even though the DSS has allowed commonsense to prevail by properly inviting Apostle Suleiman as against the Gestapo manner with which the service attempted to abduct him last week Wednesday, it is still questionable that the DSS is more interested in a man who threatened to defend himself against any attack by Fulani herdsmen rather than those herdsmen that murdered thousands of Nigerians.

The governor said; "it is sad and worrisome that after muzzling opposition politicians, judiciary and the press, the APC led federal government has taking its desperation to suppress dissenting voices in the country to the House of God."

Governor Fayose maintained that; If the DSS had acted swiftly like it is doing on Apostle Suleiman so-called inciting comments when people were being killed by herdsmen across the country, so many lives would have been saved.

He advised the government and the DSS not to go ahead with these plans as it will heat up the polity and threaten the peaceful coexistence of Nigerians, calling on well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the federal

government to desist from acts capable of throwing the country into further crisis.

Governor Fayose, who reiterated his call for the release of the head of Nigeria's Islamic Movement (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been in detention since late 2015 despite that the court ruled that he should be released, affirmed that "he will continue to stand for Nigeria and its people, not for any religion and it is my position that rights of all Nigerians must be respected and protected.

The governor urged the APC led federal government to pay attention to the economy it destroyed, with the aim to revamping it and saving Nigerians from the hunger ravaging the land.

READ ALSO: Apostle Suleman to appear with 30 lawyers before DSS

"Nigeria is already being ravaged by war of hunger, economic recession, job loss and lack of leadership direction. It will be disastrous for the country to be plunged into religious crisis.

"Apart from during the civil war, Nigerians have not been badly divided as a nation as we are under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Killings under this government in 18 months are more than what was witnessed in the last 20 years," the governor said.

Meanwhile, Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Nigerias acting president Yemi Osinbajo has told the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that the Ag. President will always act to defend the rule of law and course of Justice.

Source: Legit.ng
AFP News

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was recovering in hospital Friday after a gunman shot him in the leg, with his supporters vowing the assassination attempt will not derail his "long march" bid to return to power. The attack on his convoy, apparently by a lone gunman, killed one man and wounded at least 10, significantly raising the stakes in a political crisis that has gripped the South Asian nation since Khan's ousting in April. Khan "was stable and he was doing fine" at Shaukat Khanum hospital in the eastern city of Lahore, his doctor Faisal Sultan told AFP Friday. Seemi Bokhari, a lawmaker with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said after visiting Khan the former premier was in high spirits. "The doctors are allowing him to move ... He is feeling perfectly well and he will soon be discharged," she told AFP. The 70-year-old former international cricket star had been leading a campaign convoy of thousands since last week from Lahore to the capital Islamabad when he was attacked. Khan suffered at least one bullet wound to his right leg when a gunmen sprayed pistol fire at his modified container truck as it drove slowly through a thick crowd in Wazirabad, around 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of Islamabad. "Everyone who was standing in the very front row got hit," former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, who was standing behind Khan, told AFP. Senior aide Raoof Hasan said it was "an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him". Chaudhry said party officials would meet later Friday to discuss the immediate fate of Khan's campaign march. "The real freedom long march will continue and the movement for people's rights will remain until an announcement on the general elections," he tweeted. - Threats - Party officials also called for supporters to stage rallies and marches across the country after Friday afternoon prayers, the most important of the week. Protesters lit fires and blocked roads in several cities late Thursday as news of Khan's shooting spread. His campaign truck has become a crime scene for now, cordoned off and guarded by commandos as forensic experts comb the area. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Thursday the attacker had been taken into custody. Officials shared an apparent confession video that was circulating online. "I did it because (Khan) was misleading the public," says a dishevelled man in the leaked video, shown with his hands tied behind his back in what appears to be a police station. He says he was angry with the procession for making a racket during the call to prayer that summons Muslims to the mosque five times a day. Pervaiz Elahi, the chief minister of Punjab, said officers who leaked the video would be disciplined. Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist militancy for decades, with right-wing religious groups having huge sway over the population. It has been no stranger to assassination attempts during decades of political instability, and the powerful military has led the country several times. Pakistan's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was shot dead at a rally in Rawalpindi in 1951. Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was killed in 2007 when a huge bomb detonated near her vehicle as she greeted supporters in the city of Rawalpindi. - Kicked from power - Khan was booted from office in April by a no-confidence vote after defections by some of his coalition partners, but he retains huge support. He was voted into power in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform by an electorate tired of dynastic politics, but his mishandling of the economy -- and falling out with a military accused of helping his rise -- sealed his fate. Since then, he has railed against the establishment and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government, which he says was imposed on Pakistan by a "conspiracy" involving the United States. Khan and Shehbaz have for months traded bitter accusations of corruption and incompetence, raising the political temperature in a nation that is frequently at boiling point. Khan has repeatedly told supporters he was prepared to die for the country, and aides have long warned of unspecified threats made on his life. The attack drew international condemnation including from the United States, which had uneasy relations with Khan when he was in power. "Violence has no place in politics, and we call on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment and intimidation," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. sjd/fox/ecl/pbt/dhc
LONDON (AP)  Anger and dismay, along with congratulations from Europe's far-right, rippled across the world Sunday as politicians, community leaders and even a sports star reacted to the entry ban U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations.

As the realization sank in that people with dual-citizenship who live outside the targeted Mideast and African countries would be affected, condemnation mixed with concern about families with traveling members who could be prevented from returning to the United States they call home.

Olympic long-distance running champion Mo Farah  born in Somalia, citizen and knight of Britain, U.S. resident and currently training in Ethiopia  wondered how he would tell his children that "daddy might not be able to come home."

The ban, Farah said in a statement on his Facebook page, "comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice" and "seems to have made me an alien."

In Iran, director Asghar Farhadi said the ban had prompted him to skip this year's Academy Awards, where his film "The Salesman" is nominated for best foreign language film.

He condemned the "unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries," and expressed "hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations."

Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates' national airline, said some of its passengers were affected by the new policies and like other major airlines, was working closely with American officials on the matter.

Leaders of Britain and Germany joined other American allies in criticizing Trump's entry ban, even as some far-right politicians expressed hope the move would inspire similar measures in Europe.

British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals, a spokesman said. The official comment came after May said during a meeting Saturday with Turkish leaders the decision was a matter solely for the U.S.

Story continues

Her main political rival, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, called for Trump to be banned from visiting Britain until the temporary travel restrictions are rescinded.

A petition on the British Parliament's website attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures backing its call for Trump, who has been invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II, to be barred on the basis of misogyny and vulgarity.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has drawn fire for her government's welcoming refugee policies, also regretted the ban.

Merkel raised the issue during a phone call with Trump Saturday, citing the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention that calls on signatories to take in people fleeing war, spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

"She is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion," Seibert said.

He said Germany's government "will now examine what consequences the U.S. government's measures have for German citizens with dual citizenship and, if necessary, represent their interests toward our American partners."

The order Trump issued Friday includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr reacted by suggesting all Americans should be forced out of Iraq in retaliation, according to a statement from his office.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, also was sharp in her criticism of Trump's move.

"All men are first and foremost human beings, with their inalienable rights," Mogherini wrote in a blog post. She added: "It feels so strange that we need to restate this, just days after Holocaust Remembrance Day."

In contrast, nationalist and far-right groups in Europe applauded the restrictions and said they should be used a model for the continent.

The Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders said in a tweet: "Well done @POTUS it's the only way to stay safe + free. I would do the same. Hope you'll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon."

The far-right National Democratic Party in Germany celebrated "the massive restriction on the entry of pseudo-refugees and Muslims to the USA."

In Italy, the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party also expressed admiration. "What Trump's doing on the other side of the ocean, I'd like it done also here," Matteo Salvini told reporters.

Referring to the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers and economic migrants rescued while crossing the Mediterranean and brought to Italy in recent years, Salvini said there is "an invasion underway which needs to be blocked." He is pressing for early elections and courting other far-right leaders for a possible campaign coalition.

Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti, who had held top security roles in recent governments, warned against "equating immigration and terrorism."

"Let's be careful," he said in a speech Sunday to officials from the main government coalition party, the Democrats. "Dissatisfaction and marginalization becomes the culture terrain of terrorism."

___

Frank Jordans in Berlin, Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Raf Casert in Brussels and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
AFP News

Pope Francis warned the world is on the edge of a "delicate precipice" and buffeted by "winds of war" as he held inter-faith talks with one of Sunni Islam's top leaders in Bahrain on Friday. The 85-year-old Argentine decried the "opposing blocs" of East and West, a veiled reference to the standoff over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a speech to religious leaders in the tiny Gulf state. "We continue to find ourselves on the brink of a delicate precipice and we do not want to fall," he told an audience including Bahrain's king and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's prestigious Al-Azhar mosque. "A few potentates are caught up in a resolute struggle for partisan interests, reviving obsolete rhetoric, redesigning spheres of influence and opposing blocs," he added. "We appear to be witnessing a dramatic and childlike scenario: in the garden of humanity, instead of cultivating our surroundings, we are playing instead with fire, missiles and bombs." The pope's visit, aimed at strengthening relations with Islam, comes with the Ukraine war in its ninth month, and as tensions grow on the Korean peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in September, told journalists that there had been "a few small signs" of progress in negotiations with Moscow, warning that peace initiatives should not be "exploited for other goals". Francis, who is on his second visit to the wealthy Gulf, later met privately with al-Tayeb, with whom he signed a Muslim-Christian manifesto for peace in the United Arab Emirates in 2019. "This meeting has great symbolic importance, both locally and internationally, for promoting peace and peaceful co-existence between different religions and civilisations," said Hala Ramzi Fayez, a Christian and member of Bahrain's parliament. - Sunni, Shiite talks? - Leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics, Francis has placed inter-faith dialogue at the heart of his papacy, visiting other Muslim-majority countries including Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. Al-Tayeb, who met with the pope on previous Middle East visits, also called on Friday for talks between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite, to settle sectarian differences. Later, the pope addressed 17 members of the Muslim Council of Elders, an international group of Islamic scholars and dignitaries, at the mosque of the Sakhir Royal Palace. He told them dialogue was "the oxygen of peaceful coexistence". "In a world that is increasingly wounded and divided, that beneath the surface of globalisation senses anxiety and fear, the great religious traditions must be the heart that unites the members of the body," he said. He also struck out at the arms trade, a "commerce of death" that he said was "turning our common home into one great arsenal". The pope, who is using a wheelchair and a walking stick due to long-standing knee problems, began the first papal visit to Bahrain on Thursday by hitting out at the death penalty and urging respect for human rights and better conditions for workers. Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's minister of finance and national economy, insisted the country has "led the region" with its criminal justice reforms. "We have some of the most robust and wide-ranging human rights and criminal justice protections in the region," the minister told AFP on Friday. "There are very well-established channels through which any of these critics can go, well established institutions of accountability," he said, adding that the pope's comments on the death penalty did not single out Bahrain. "It is important to note that that reference... was a general reference to countries around the world," the minister said. Bahrain has executed six people since 2017, when it carried out its first execution in seven years. Some of the condemned were convicted following a 2011 uprising put down with military support from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. cmk-lar/par/ho/th/dwo
2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #4

Posted on 29 January 2017 by John Hartz

Story of the Week... La Nina Update... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... SkS in the News... SkS Spotlights... Video of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus...

Story of the Week...

Last weekend, a massive milieu of women in pink hats descended on Washington, D.C. for the Womens March. The next big protest being planned for the nations capital could involve a sea of lab coats (and likely a few pink hats as well).

A group of researchers have proposed a March for Science. What started as a discussion on Reddit has quickly blossomed into a movement.

Scientists at the 2014 People's Climate March in New York. Credit: Joe Brusky/flickr

Organizers started a private Facebook group and Twitter account on Monday. By Wednesday afternoon, the former boasted more than 300,000 members and the latter had nearly 55,000 followers. A public Facebook page had more than 11,000 likes just five hours after going online. The explosion of support caught organizers off guard, but theyre meeting this weekend to discuss details about the date and full mission statement.

The march would be the latest in a string of actions taken by scientists following Donald Trumps election and his inauguration as president. His administration has been widely viewed as hostile to science  from the transition period through hearings for his cabinet nominees through silencing key federal science agencies and freezing grants.

This is not a partisan issue. People from all parts of the political spectrum should be alarmed by these efforts to deny scientific progress, Caroline Weinberg, a medical researcher who is helping organize the march, said. Scientific research moves us forward and we should not allow asinine policies to thwart it.

Scientists Are Planning the Next Big Washington March by Brian Kahn, Climate Central, Jan 25, 2017

Toon of the Week...

La Nina Update...

It is time to say goodbye to La Nina, and possibly hello to El Nino again later in the year.

Ever since the record-setting El Nino of late 2015 started winding down early last year, commodity markets have been fully focused on the La Nina that forecasters had predicted would dominate late 2016 and potentially much of 2017.

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is one of the most followed global climatic features, as its cool phase La Nina and warm phase El Nino have somewhat contrasting effects on weather patterns worldwide.

El Nino may return in 2017 by Kearen Braun, Reuters/Daily Mail, Jan 26, 2017

Quote of the Week...

Donald Trump has been in office for four days and hes already proving to be the dangerous threat to our climate we feared he would be, said Michael Brune, executive director of the environmental organisation the Sierra Club.

Simply put, Donald Trump is who we thought he is: a person who will sell off Americans property and tribal rights, clean air and safe water to corporate polluters.

Resurrection of Keystone and DAPL cements America's climate antagonism by Oliver Milman, Guardian, Jan 24, 2017

Graphic of the Week...

2016 Was the Hottest Year on Record, Climate Central, Jan 18, 2017

SkS in the News...

It's possible to 'vaccinate' Americans against fake news, experiment shows by Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, qutoes John Cook via Dana Nuccitelli's article, Study: real facts can beat 'alternative facts' if boosted by inoculation, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian.

SkS Spotlights...

Track 0 is an independent, not-for-profit organization serving as a hub to support all those transitioning to a clean, fair and bright future for future generations around the world compatible with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. We convene leaders and provide strategic research, training, advice, communications and networking support to governments, businesses, investors, philanthropies, communities and campaigns run by civil society.

Track 0s mission is to translate the globally agreed well below 2C/1.5C limit on temperature rise set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement into emissions pathways and metrics that can support transformative solutions implementable by everyone. Scientists say we need to reach net zero emissions by around 2050 for a high chance of limiting temperature rise to well below 2C/1.5C. Track 0 supports countries, companies, cities and individuals that are making a commitment to get to zero emissions through setting concrete emission reduction targets aligned with science.

Phasing out emissions to zero is feasible and supported by the science. This goal is recognised in the Paris Agreement, which mandates everyone to work collectively to decarbonise the global economy by aiming to reach a global peaking of emissions as soon as possible so as to achieve a balance in global emissions in the second half of this century. Scientists agree this means bringing the biggest sources of emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industry down to zero as quickly as possible, starting today.

Video of the Week...

Michael Hoffmann of the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions gave a talk October 13, 2016 as part of the Soil and Crop Sciences Section seminar series. Find more seminar videos at http://sips.cals.cornell.edu

Michael Hoffmann: Climate change: A call to action! by Michael Hoffman, Cornell University, Jan 24, 2017

Coming Soon on SkS...

Fact Check: Trump's Cabinet Nominees on Human-Caused Global Warming (Dana)

(Dana) Trump copies Bush censorship playbook, but scientists arent standing for it (Dana)

(Dana) Global warming hiatus claims prebunked (Ari Jokimaki)

(Ari Jokimaki) Guest Post (John Abraham)

(John Abraham) A message to Trump from and a support group for climate scientists (Colin Maessen)

(Colin Maessen) 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #5 (John Hartz)

(John Hartz) 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Waming Digest #5 (John Hartz)

Poster of the Week...

SkS Week in Review...

97 Hours of Consensus...

John Bruno's bio page & Quote source

High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)
They shock, tantalize and  if some people are to be believed  even swing election results. But the rise of fake news in this case seems to be not so much the work of political operatives trying to mold public opinion.

Instead it seems to have been in some cases the work of online entrepreneurs trying  and in many cases succeeding  to make money generated by advertising when readers clicked on their stories.

Clearly the creation of fake news intentionally to make money from clicks stirs some definite moral dilemmas. But it seems important to note the realities here that fake news has become a market  and an opportunity some cannot resist.

Fake News and the U.S. Presidential Elections

In the run-up to the U.S. Presidential Elections, news articles with outrageous assertions flooded Facebook timelines.

Millions of netizens apparently lapped up the information these articles contained. Audiences were no doubt attracted by their outrageous headlines and shock value contents. But many clicks and online discussions later, it emerged that many were, in fact, untrue.

Enter online publishers like Jestin Coler apparently responsible for many fake online stories. Some of the articles he published spread like wildfire, prompting many to speculate whether they may have had an impact on election results.

Coler believes none of his articles could have had any impact on the national election. He also says that the profit  which he told National Public Radio was comparable to the $10,000 to $30,000 a month reported by other publishers  was hard to resist.

Most People Cant Tell the Difference Between Real and Fake News

Meanwhile, Colers belief that his stories had no effect clashes with a recent study by Stanford University which found 82 percent of young people cant tell the difference between real and fake news.

In fact, the study also found many students judged the credibility of these posts only by how much detail they contained or whether a large photo was attached.

Fake News: A Business Opportunity?

Despite Google and Facebooks efforts to shut these publishers out, Coler says there are always new places to post fake news and online advertising networks willing to do business with them.

A BuzzFeed News analysis reveals fake news sites collectively outperformed 19 mainstream news sites  including The Huffington Post and The New York Times  in the final weeks of the election cycle.

It goes without saying the business is set to grow.

Its even going to grow bigger and its going to be harder to identify as it kind of evolves through these steps, concludes Coler.
Were all these controversies worth it for Lajcak, a man who could have made a career in any top diplomatic body in Europe and beyond, and need never have sullied himself with party politics?

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While names like Gabriela Matecna or Peter Ziga might not immediately ring any bells for readers of The Slovak Spectator, Miroslav Lajcak does not require a lengthy introduction. Let us try anyway.

The undisputed number-one Slovak diplomat has headed the Foreign Ministry since 2009, with just a two-year hiatus during the Radicova government.
Winter showed its fiercest, most dangerous side in Slovakia last week. Freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall, and avalanches came to the most of the country and now floods caused by melting snow are now expected.

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The Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute (SHMU) warns of the persisting risk of ice floods, particularly in eastern and central Slovakia. A range of ice phenomena occur in bodies of water and may trigger, or have already triggered, a surge in water levels, especially in small rivers and streams. This phenomenon may result in floods.

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Severe freezing is still expected in the evening and at night of January 16, particularly in central Slovakia, the Sme daily wrote. One of the hardest hit villages is Turcianska Stiavnicka, in the Martin district in the north of Slovakia where the local brook Kantorsky potok swelled by more than a meter. Locals tried to cut the ice floes and take them to the banks; but it took heavy machinery to help handle them. Ultimately, only cellars were damaged in this village.

An ice flood is dangerous for people in that floes are sharp as a razor, Danica Leskova of the SHMU told Sme. The ice floes in rivers and streams can even cut and fell nearby vegetation, and if a person got into water, it could be fatal, she added. Leskova stated that after several years of mild winters, there are many more ice floods this season than in previous years. They appear especially in villages with various small bridges and footbridges or artificial dams and obstacles which reduce the flow of water. When streams freeze through to the bottom, the riverbed is largely blocked and water has nowhere to flow.

Ice flood in Zadiel in south-eastern Slovakia forced fire-fighters to use axes to avoid floes. (Source: Korzar - Judita Cermakova)

The east of the country was left without electric power on January 14 night, when almost 30,000 households were affected. At 6:00 am the next morning, electricity supply had not been restored yet to 14,000 households.

The snow calamity hit the eastern Slovak towns of Humenne, Snina and Medzilaborce the hardest, including trees falling on power lines. Local electricity distributor, Vychodoslovenska Distribucna, said that continued heavy snowfall keeps complicating the situation, Sme wrote.

Heavy snowfall has also prompted local authorities in the eastern Slovak region of Kosice to declare emergencies in multiple locations, the TASR newswire wrote learnt on January 15.

A second degree alert was put in place in Trebisov overnight, head of Road Maintenance Administration of Kosice Region Zoltan Bartos told TASR. A first degree alert was issued for the Kosice-surroundings district this morning.

Trebisov Mayor Marek Cizmar said that persistent snowfall necessitated a meeting of the town crisis staff earlier on January 14. The hardest-hit town overnight was Michalovce where a first degree alert was put in place.

The risk of ice floods persists, particularly in Slovakias northern regions, and a first degree alert is in place, the SHMU announced on January 15. In view of the frigid temperatures, a range of ice phenomena can occur in bodies of water  shore ice, brash ice, anchor ice, ice jams and ice cover, which all reduce the flow of water and may trigger, or have already triggered a surge in water levels, especially in small rivers and streams. Water levels may reach and exceed levels that correspond to floods, the SHMU informed, as cited by TASR.

The alert is primarily in place for northern and eastern parts of Slovakia.

Risk of avalanches continues

On the same day, rescuers helped a skier partially buried under avalanche in the Vihorlat mountain range, near the village of Zemplinske Hamre, in the Snina district. In the afternoon, the Mountain Rescue Service was dispatched to help the female skier stuck in a tree well and partially covered with snow, under the Motrogon hill. Before they arrived, people on site managed to free her and make her warm. She injured her arm and there was also suspicion of a spine injury, so rescuers offered first aid and transported her to the village, from where she was taken to hospital.

The risk of avalanches continues on January 16  although lowered to the second degree of the five degree international scale. However, the danger is mostly local, concentrated on steep eastern, south-eastern, and southern slopes with no winds where a bigger amount of snow has built up. The risk is connected with great additional stresses, especially on steep slopes. Big spontaneous avalanches are not expected, despite the avalanche risk pertaining, the SITA newswire wrote.
The Constitutional Court confirmed that the contract on operating the hydroelectric power plant was invalid.

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The Constitutional Court confirmed the decision stating that the agreement on operating the hydroelectric power plant in Gabcikovo (Trnava Region) is invalid. It thus dismissed the complaint of Slovakias dominant electricity producer Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) on the previous verdict of the Supreme Court.

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The court discussed the case at a closed session on January 1, 2017. It is currently preparing the written version of the verdict which will subsequently be delivered to lawyers representing the disputing parties, the TASR newswire reported.

Read also:

Read also: Lawsuit over Gabcikovo is over, contract for operation is invalid Read more

The dispute concerned the contract for operation of the Gabcikovo plant closed between SE and state-run company Vodohospodarska Vystavba. The Public Procudement Office (UVO) challenged the validity of the agreement in March 2007, claiming that instead of a direct agreement, a public competition should have been announced.

The Bratislava II District Court turned down the lawsuit in November 2013, but UVO appealed the verdict. Subsequently, the Bratislava Regional Court ruled in March 2015 that the agreement was invalid, which was appealed by SE.

The Supreme Court finally dismissed the appeal in June 2016, confirming the verdict of the regional court, TASR reported.

SE has not commented on the ruling, saying they want to wait until they receive it. The company will subsequently consider its next steps.

The same matter is currently the subject of the arbitrary proceeding at the Vienna International Arbitral Centre and we will not comment on it until it is over, said Miroslav Sarissky of SE, as quoted by TASR.
Altogether 1,300 people are expected to find jobs in the new production hall.

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The French company Faurecia starts the production of seats for Bratislava-based carmaker Volkswagen as of January 2017.

Altogether 1,300 people are expected to find jobs in the production hall situated in the building owned by company P3, which was opened after seven months of construction in mid-August 2016, close to the capital, the TASR newswire reported.

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Faurecia will lease about 27,000 square metres in the building, in which it will produce seats for the cars manufactured in Volkswagen, starting with the Audi Q7.

The French firm currently operates plants in Hlohovec, Trnava, Kosice, Zilina and Lozorno. The recent investment amounting to more than 20 million is its biggest in Slovakia.

Altogether 1,300 people will work in this plant, of whom 200 will be administrative and managing employees, said head of Faurecia Slovensko, Gauthier Lerouge, as quoted by TASR.

While 600 people should be sent to the new plant from other factories, the company plans to hire an additional 600-700 employees in 2017, Lerouge added.

Lozorno Mayor Lubomir Hubek has welcomed the investment, expecting that it will contribute about 18,000 to the villages budget every quarter of the year, TASR reported.
The double bachelor or masters diploma, can be obtained by students of universities in Bratislava, Nitra, Banska Bystrica and Kosice.

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Forty university students have obtained the double Slovak-French diploma thanks to the Slovak-French University Institute which unites six schools in both countries.

The institute was established in 2011 under the auspices of the French Embassy to Slovakia and the Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica. Its aim is to allow the students of both countries to study both in France and Slovakia. The students obtain the double diploma at the end of their studies, the TA3 news channel reported in December 2016.

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It is very important to increase the attractiveness of France in the eyes of Slovak students and vice versa, said French Ambassador to Slovakia Christophe Leonzi, as quoted by TA3. This mutual exchange helps develop the relations of both countries.

It is necessary to build cooperation between the universities and potential employers, the ambassador added.

The double bachelor or masters diploma, can be obtained by students of universities in Bratislava, Nitra, Banska Bystrica and Kosice who study management, and economic and political sciences, TA3 reported.
France has implemented a number of reforms in the fields of public finances, competitiveness, reducing bureaucracy and the labour market

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France is a very attractive country for foreign investors, stated representatives of the French Embassy in Slovakia when addressing Slovak entrepreneurs at a seminar dedicated to investment opportunities in France that took place in Bratislava in late October 2016.

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France has a strategic position in Europe  it is the sixth largest economy in the world and the second largest market in Europe, the embassy noted. There are more than 25,000 foreign companies in the country employing some 1.7 million people.

Paris was declared the third most attractive city for foreign investments in the world in 2015, the TASR newswire reported.

The country has implemented a number of reforms in the fields of public finances, competitiveness, reducing bureaucracy and the labour market, which should help France to attract new investors. Human capital, innovations, modern infrastructure and low operating costs should bring in investors as well, said French Ambassador to Slovakia Christophe Leonzi.

By organising this event wed like to bring more balance to investments between the two countries, as there is a lack of equilibrium, Leonzi told TASR. Theres a significant number of French investments in Slovakia, while Slovaks investing in France arent so common. Economic relations between the two countries are very important; trade exchanges amount to 6 billion.

France has much to offer Slovak entrepreneurs, the ambassador added.

First and foremost, political relations between the two countries are very good, which can be confirmed by the numerous visits made by Slovak representatives to France, Leonzi continued, as quoted by TASR. In the economic area there are, for example, tax allowances for innovative companies, great infrastructure and adopted reforms.

Juraj Pala of the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SOPK) pointed to several Slovak companies that are currently building hotels in the French Alps or are supplying hotel complexes with furniture.

It seems that the construction industry will be one of the options in which Slovak companies can operate, Pala said, as quoted by TASR.
The certificate represents very high recognition awarded by the French foreign minister.

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The United School on Slancikova Street in Nitra was granted the LabelFrancEducation certificate, which proves the quality of the French language taught at the school.

The certificate represents very high recognition awarded by the French foreign minister. Only 158 schools in the world have it.

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I hope it will motivate students to achieve better results in their studies, said the schools headmaster Jaroslav Macek, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

The best students of the school also received the diplomas for their results from French Ambassador to Slovakia Christophe Leonzi. All 59 of them learn and test in French which are then corrected in France, TASR wrote.

The school in Nitra joined four other bilingual grammar schools that received the quality certificate in Slovakia. It is also the only Slovak school that was granted the certificate, though it only has one section with extended teaching of the French language.

Leonzi praised the big number of young students from the school that received very good results on the DELF exams. They do not study only the language, but they also have geography, history and civil education in French. The school also promotes French culture, TASR reported.
Currently there are 104 professors in Slovakia who are members of the platform.

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Slovakia has officially become a member of the global social network IFprofs, focused on education in the French language. It was preceded by a meeting of more than 50 professors and professional employees active in French language teaching, representatives of Alliance Francaise and teachers of the French Institute in Slovakia in Bratislava in late September 2016.

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Slovakia represents the platform of one country, while there are 27 more in other countries around the world, attache for education and language collaboration at the French Institute in Slovakia Emmanuelle Daill told the TASR newswire.

Today there were teachers from across Slovakia, Daill said, as quoted by TASR.

Currently there are 104 professors in Slovakia who are members of the platform. Though that number may seem low compared with a total of 2,600 professors across the world, regarding the size of the country it is rich in Francophonie, people willing to spread the legacy of multilingualism and brotherhood. Teaching French does not only mean to teach the language, but also to approach other culture and spread its values, Daill added.

Several teachers have praised the network and its aim to unite all French teachers.
On 19th January 2006, a military plane crashed in the Hungarian village of Hejce flying from Kosovo to Kosice.

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The death of 42 soldiers in the biggest air disaster in the history of the Slovak republic, scarred the armed forces leaving a mark that will last forever, Defence Minister Peter Gajdos said at the anniversary commemoration.

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We will always commemorate their memory because they deserve it, said Gajdos, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

At the same time, Gajdos thanked the Hungarian Defence Minister, Istvan Simicsko, as well as the mayor of the town, Istvan Levay and the local people, for caring about the revered place and memorial.

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Istvan Simicsko expressed his support for Slovakia.

Those soldiers who died here, served for peace. Their remembrance venerates Hungarians and Slovaks too. This tragedy brought us together and forced our two nations to cooperate, said Simicsko, as quoted by TASR newswire.

The Slovak and Hungarian delegations also commemorated the memory of the soldiers with Holy Mass in the local church.
The Herman family survived the winter of 1944-45 in a freezing hole under a haystack.

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Fanny Schlosserova got married in April 1940, at a time when the persecution of Jews had already commenced.

In 1941 our son Herman was born to our great joy. On the other hand, because of the hard times, it was a great worry, as well, Schlosserova said, as quoted by a press release of the Embassy of the State of Israel in Slovakia.

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In 1942, it was to be determined which families were to be deported to concentration camps. Both parents and all four of Fannys sisters were deported and died in the same year.

My whole family was among the deportees, except for my brother Herman Grunwald who was already in a labour camp. Me, my husband Izidor and our son Herman were also to be deported but we managed to escape to the woods in the vicinity of our village, Poruba pod Vihorlatom. We were hiding there till September 1942. Then we managed to return to our home, Schlosserova said.

Later, Fannys brother Herman joined them, as he had managed to run away from the labor camp and escape being transportated to a concentration camp. As it was dangerous to hide a deserter of a labor camp, he decided to leave and go to Ungvar in Hungary, where he was hidden by a distant relative until the German occupation of Hungary began in March 1944. He decided to flee the house and run away again. He wandered the forests for about eight days without food, so he decided to illegally cross the border back to Slovakia and return to his sisters house in Poruba.

In April 1944, the Slovak government decided that all Jews who lived in the eastern part of Slovakia were to be brought to labor camps in western Slovakia. Based on this decision, the Schlossers and Herman Grunwald were sent to the labor camp for families in Zemianska Kerta, close to Hlohovec, where they worked as farmhands or in the kitchen. In August 1944, the labor camp was surrounded by German troops and that meant either a concentration camp or death. So the Schlossers with Grunwald decided to risk it and run away.

Even though they were shooting at us, we escaped without any harm, Schlosserova said. We were lucky, we hid among tall tobacco and corn plants with no idea of our whereabouts.

Looking for help

A few days later, being lost all the time, without any food or water, and with their clothes torn to pieces, they met a man and asked him for help. Especially for their little son Herman, who was starving and exhausted.

That man was named Frantisek Svrbicky. He lived in the neighbouring village of Risnovce. He took them to his house and secretly let them stay overnight. They were given a hot meal prepared by this very kind-hearted family.

They wanted to help us, knowing they were risking their lives to save us, Schlosserova said. He promised he would do all he could to help us.

Svrbicky owned a small grocery store in his house. He dug a hole under the counter where Izidor, Fanny, and Herman stayed hidden during the day. At evenings when the store was closed he pushed the counter away and they could move around a bit. Almost three-year-old Herman did not squat in the hole, he lived in the house and the stores customers were told he was their little nephew who came to visit.

One day, Svrbicky told the parents that they had to leave and disappear quickly because rumours had started spreading around the village that he was hiding Jews at his house.

We were scared and anxious and pleaded with him to at least save our son Herman, Schlosserova said. We told him we were willing to report ourselves.

Living in a haystack

Svrbicky was very kind and thought of another way to help them. He proposed to take them secretly away from the house at night and led them far away from the village to a field with huge haystacks. He dug a hole for an entrance in one of the haystacks and then a space of approximately three square meters.

We were just lying there, three adults and a child in the dark, recalls their son Herman Grunwald. We had a candle but we lit it only for a short time when the child woke up. We could not stand up as the hole was only about 75 cm high.

Svrbicky came once a week at night and brought them water and some cooked potatoes.

Our situation was inhuman; we thought we would not survive, especially when it started to be even colder, Herman says. We had no warm clothes, no blankets; our secretions basically froze right around us.

They stayed there living in a haystack from December 1944 till April 1945. On April 1, Svrbicky unexpectedly came early in the morning and said that they had to abandon the haystack as the Germans were on the retreat and were setting fire to everything.

We came out of our hiding place exhausted, sick and weak, Fanny Schlosserova states in her testimony. Our feet could not hold us as they were frozen.

Svrbicky took them back to his home. Their health was critical, they were very weak and suffering from depression. Approximately one month later, in May 1945, they were able to return to their home in Poruba pod Vihorlatom, but only to find out that the Germans had burned their house to the ground.

Wounds from the past

Inhuman conditions have left permanent marks on both the physical and mental health of Izidor, Fanny, Herman and little Hermann. They suffered from cold burns, coxa injuries, circulatory and heart problems.

For a long time after the war I suffered from horrifying nightmares and hysteric disturbances, Hermann says. Even today I still tend to get nervous and hysteric and I still get nightmares of that dreadful time and wake up all in sweat.

Later, Fannys left leg had to be amputated. After many attempts to leave Czechoslovakia in 1969, the Schlossers succeeded to move to Sweden and Herman Grunwald with his family decided to find a new home in the US.

I am still lucky, because I am alive, Hermann says. If you try to think about how many Jewish children born between 1940-45 remained alive after the end of the war, the numbers are not high.
The Kraus family joined the partisan troops and left a child in the care of a local woman.

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The Kraus family lived in the town of Nove Mesto nad Vahom in western Slovakia. Prior to the war, the family owned a print shop that was later confiscated by the Slovak government. The person in charge of confiscation decided to help the family and got a special document saying that the Kraus family and their business are important for the Slovak economy and therefore they were protected from deportation to death camps in 1942.

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The document was no longer relevant once the Germans entered Slovakia to fight against the Slovak Uprising, declared on 29 August 1944.

To avoid deportation, the Kraus Family fled to the forest. During their time there they met a peasant that was gathering firewood. The peasant's name was Katarina Pastorkova nicknamed Kotorka.

When she saw the little girl of the Kraus family standing there, afraid and freezing to death, she offered to take the girl home with her. Katarina herself was a widow with 5 children and she knew that she was taking a risk. She told the 4 year old girls parents:

If you are going to survive the war, come back and take your child, She told the four-year-old girls parents, as quoted by a press release by the Embassy of the State of Israel in Slovakia. If not, I will raise her like my own.

The parents agreed. As they had no other choice, they joined the partisan troops fighting in the uprising against German occupation.

Kotorka took the little girl Mira and protected her with all her heart and even threatened her neighbors that if they reported the hidden child she would set fire to their house.

Kotorka raised the child and never asked for anything in return. Miraculously, the girl's parents came back for her. When the war was over, Mira kept close contact with Katarina Pastorkova and her sons.
Although Slovakia is not the ultimate destination country for refugees, it serves as transit country for them.

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Over 1,000 refugees have been resettled via the Emergency Transit Centre in Humenne in eastern Slovakia since 2009, the Slovak branch of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced on January 20. It also informed that refugees it assists are heading via Slovakia mainly to the United States, Canada and Norway.

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On January 17, a group of 23 refugees left Slovakia, landing in the US the next day, head of the IOMs Slovak branch Zuzana Vatralova told the TASR newswire. The number of refugees who have been resettled via Slovakia in countries that have provided them with permanent residence has therefore increased to 1,019. Of these numbers, as many as 96 percent (978 refugees) have been resettled in the United States.

Slovakia provided temporary shelter to 1,043 refugees in Humenne between 2009 and January 2017. The IOM transported them from refugee camps in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. UNHCR also participated in their resettlement and included the refugees in a programme called The Humanitarian Transfer of Refugees via Slovakia.

The IOM noted that more than half of the refugees transported to the Humenne centre have been Somalis. Refugees arriving there also come from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, Palestine and Sudan. A majority of them are families with small children or single mothers - i.e. people who can neither return to their home country, nor continue to live in the country of initial asylum and need immediate protection, the IMO stated.

Humenne centre prepares refugees

The capacity of the Humenne centre is 250 people, and it serves as a temporary shelter for the most vulnerable groups of refugees under the UNHCRs protection. They can stay there for a maximum of six months, to prepare for resettlement in safe conditions. Preparation comprises a medical examination, a series of vaccinations and training in cultural orientation that prepares refugees for life in a new country.

Training and international transport of refugees are provided by the IOM. The UNHCR takes care of travel documents for the international transport of refugees, settles expenditures on refugees health care during their stay in Slovakia and provides social services to them.

Small children attend a nursery school, while the older ones go to a school in Humenne where they mainly learn mathematics, geography and English, said Vatralova. For adults, the centre organises literacy, computer and English courses.
Employers complain about the lack of a qualified labour force.

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The unemployment rate in Slovakia decreased moderately in December by 0.02 percent to 8.76 percent. Compared with the same period of the previous year the jobless rate decreased by 1.87 percentage points. The Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR) informed on January 20.

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The year 2016 was characterised by an increased demand of employers for a new labour force, said Jan Richter (Smer), Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister, adding that while labour offices offered 38,200 vacancies on average every month in 2016, it was only 23,700 one year ago.

However, employers are failing to fill vacancies and find qualified workers. Thus they call on the government to ease the terms for admitting workers from third countries. However, the Labour Ministry is against this and would rather see jobless Slovaks requalify.

Slovakias unemployment rate keeps decreasing. While in January 2016 it was 10.39 percent, by the end of 2016 it decreased to 8.76 percent. This means the removal of 49,000 unemployed people (17 percent) from labour office registers, recalled Richter.

The average unemployment rate for the whole of 2016 was 9.48 percent, down 2.02 percentage points from 2015.

In December, the number of jobseekers immediately able to start work was 237,977, a decrease of 403 individuals m-o-m and of 48,848 y-o-y, said UPSVaR general director Marian Valentovic.

The unemployment rate calculated from the total number of jobseekers reached 10.16 percent in December, down by 0.08 p.p. m-o-m and by 2.24 p.p. y-o-y.

In addition, the total number of jobseekers stood at 276,131 in December, falling by 2,061 m-o-m and by 58,248 y-o-y.

The highest unemployment rate was posted in the Presov Region (13.91 percent) in December. Other regions that reported an unemployment rate exceeding the Slovak average were the Banska Bystrica region (12.8 percent) and the Kosice Region (12.76 percent).

Among Slovakias 79 districts the unemployment rate went down in 44, rose in 33 and remained unchanged in two. The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the Rimavska Sobota district (24.58 percent), while the lowest was found to be in the districts of Galanta and Piestany (both 3.29 percent).
Scientists from the Archaeological Institute in Nitra examined remains of Mayan civilization in the rain forest of Guatemala.

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Their research focused on the locality of Uaxactun where Mayan monuments from the preclassical era were discovered

According to archaeologist Matus Melo, the discoveries are from the era of the 4th to 2nd century BC.

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We focused on the groups of pyramids and examined the object called Tiburon, the biggest one in the locality with a base 120x120 metres, explained Melo for the TASR newswire.

Focusing on the architecture of this monumental Maya pyramid, the Slovak archeologists succeeded in discovering and defining the shape of its first terrace. Being able to depict the facade of the pyramid, which has an unexpected shape, was also a big success.

We assumed the bend would change its shape somewhere, but we discovered 12 metres of the same facade. That is really extraordinary for a Mayan building, explained Melo for TASR.

During research - lead by the Department of Comparative Religion at Comenius University  scientists found also other discoveries, such as ceramics and stone tools.
Germanist Jozef Tancer wrote a book, Untangled Tongues, about the phenomenon of multilingualism in historical Bratislava.

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After their first son was born, Germanist Jozef Tancer and his wife decided to raise him as a bilingual, Slovak-German, child. In this way, his long-term fascination with multilingualism, which used to be a typical feature of Bratislava, interconnected with his personal interest. At that time, in 2006, he decided to find people who were raised in historic Bratislava and discover how this multilingualism worked in the city, and what are the best methods for bringing up a multilingual child.

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Tancer found about 70 people, now in their 80s and 90s, who experienced trilingual Bratislava, when its citizens usually spoke German, Hungarian and Slovak. He carried out about one hundred interviews during which he asked participants what languages they spoke with their families, on the street, or in what languages they learned. But he quickly realised that the topic touches not only on linguistics, but also the history of the city and the life stories of the citizens of then-Bratislava.

Language touches upon all aspects of life, Tancer told The Slovak Spectator. So in the end we [in the interviews] often got into matters about which the respondents originally did not want to speak about  the war, deportations or whether surviving in a concentration camp depended on whether the person spoke German or not.

Not all Bratislavans were multilingual

Citizens of inter-war Bratislava used to commonly speak Slovak, German and Hungarian languages. So the trilingualism of Bratislavans is not a myth, yet it is also not the reality, as this phenomenon has many more layers.

Bratislavas trilingualism was more spread out among the lower social classes, i.e. poorer families, said Tancer, adding that this was because children learned to communicate in other languages on the streets when playing with other children. Contrary to this, in wealthier, middle-class families where children had a nanny, such trilingualism was not always fostered. In such families often German was the dominant language, supplemented by private hours of French or English.
The Interior Ministry defends its plan to increase the number of police officers in problematic localities, but mayors would welcome other measures.

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It is necessary to put things in order in Roma settlements, said representatives of the ruling Smer party at their December 2016 congress. To achieve this goal, Interior Minister Robert Kalinak promised to increase the number of police officers in what he called problematic localities and, if necessary, also adopt more repressive measures.

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Not everyone, however, agrees with the recently published list of 200 areas on which the ministry now wants to focus. Some mayors were even surprised at appearing among the problematic municipalities.

I dont have the feeling that the crime rate has recently increased significantly, Attila Agocs, mayor of Filakovo (Banska Bystrica Region), told The Slovak Spectator.

Though Filakovo, situated close to the Hungarian border, has one of the highest concentrations of Roma in Slovakia, they deal with average problems, he added.

Problematic selection

The Interior Ministry prepared the list, which was published only after the Sme daily requested it via the law on free access to information, based on an analysis of socially excluded communities, particularly from the point of security situation, which is regularly prepared by the police.

The analysis reflects not only conflicts between the minority and the majority, but also within communities, the ministrys press department explained to The Slovak Spectator.

The document evaluates the situation in the first half of 2016. Compared with the second half of 2015, the number of conflicts increased, the ministry adds.

Some mayors addressed by the Slovak media, however, were surprised by their localities being listed and claim they have not noticed more crimes committed by Roma. Agocs says they face other, particularly social problems, which cannot be solved by a greater number of police officers.

Also, the Governments Proxy for Roma Communities Abel Ravasz (Most-Hid) finds some choices very questionable.

Though his office runs under the Interior Ministry, they failed to invite him to discuss the list. Ravasz, however, admits that their cooperation is rather formal and logistical, and they only rarely meet to discuss policy issues.

I would have been glad  as an advisory organ of the government  to have been involved in the process of preparing this document, to avoid unnecessary mistakes and conflict, Ravasz told The Slovak Spectator.

Responses mixed

On the other hand, several mayors have praised the activity. Stefan Gregor, mayor of Sahy (Nitra Region), said they welcome every activity aimed at increasing the security of inhabitants.

Also the city of Trnava, which appeared on the list with 15 localities, claims it is necessary to strengthen patrols. Since some violations of the public order create a breeding ground for some radical responses, it is necessary to ensure that everybody observes the law and avoid discrimination of those who abide by the rules, said citys spokesperson Pavol Tomasovic.

The city can eliminate some phenomena only within its own powers and education, but also in this case it is necessary to have legislative support in case the basic behaviour rules are violated, Tomasovic told The Slovak Spectator.

Though also Nitra Mayor Jozef Dvonc welcomed the increase in the number of police officers, he connects the measure mostly with the arrival of Jaguar Land Rover and five more companies, which will result in an increase in the number of inhabitants and commuters for work.

As for Roma, everything is okay as we systematically continue social field work in community centres in Orechovy Dvor and Drazovce, Dvonc told The Slovak Spectator.

Analysts critical

Though the Interior Ministry stresses its analysis is not based on ethnicity, Elena Gallova Kriglerova from the Centre for Research of Ethnicity and Culture (CVEK) calls the proposal a typical approach of the ministry towards any minority, especially Roma.

It creates a feeling that there is a danger and it is necessary to adopt some repressive or restrictive measures, Gallova Kriglerova told The Slovak Spectator.

Also Laco Oravec from the Milan Simecka Foundation questions the proposal, saying that Slovakia has one of the highest number of police officers in Europe.

We instead lack the ability to solve social problems and inequalities in the society, Oravec told The Slovak Spectator, stressing the need to prevent the situation from worsening and creating tension on the local level.

Return of Roma patrols?

The increased number of police officers in Roma settlements should, however, be only one of the measures planned by the Interior Ministry. Its aim is to install more camera systems in problematic areas in cooperation with municipalities and also to open new district units.

Yet it plans to introduce specific measures for respective localities only later, as their preparation is currently underway, the ministry explained.

Several mayors addressed by the Slovak media, however, say they would rather welcome measures focused on prevention, money for social field workers or community centres.

Ravasz also stresses the importance of field work, saying he does not support repressive measures.

Agocs sees one of the solutions in re-introducing the Roma civil patrols, which have been active in Filakovo for 12 years. The project was beneficial for the Roma, but also for the town and the local labour office which was employing the patrols members, he added.

Financing from the EU funds, however, ran out at the end of 2015, and no new project has been launched yet. Ravasz, however, promises to restore the project and claims he has been searching for ways to finance it.

I believe we have now found the resources and hope to jumpstart the programme by the summer of 2017, he added.

Prevention rather than repression

One of the positive features of the patrols is that their members are Roma and know the community, said Gallova Kriglerova.

It is however more important that Roma participate in social field and community work, she added.

Oravec agrees, saying that the Roma patrols may serve as an example of how to increase the participation of Roma in various sectors.

Roma patrols should not be seen as the tool to repress the crime rate, but to increase mutual trust and prevent problems, he added.

Moreover, they can serve as role models for others and help smooth the communication between state authorities and Roma, Oravec said.

Gallova Kriglerova also stresses the need to adopt measures that can help Roma become part of society and fight segregation.

Not to build walls, but to build bridges between communities, she added.
A new diplomatic representation has been opened in the Slovak capital.

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Slovak Foreign Minister, Miroslav Lajcak, officially opened Montenegros new Honorary Consular Office in Bratislava on January 25. The new office will be headed by Rudolf Autner.

Montenegrin Foreign Affairs Minister, Srdjan Darmanovic, who is on a two-day official visit to Slovakia, took part in the inauguration ceremony.

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The two ministers concurred, as quoted by the TASR newswire, that setting up the honorary consulate in Bratislava will bring further impetus to the development of relations between the two countries. Darmanovic praised in particular the support that Montenegro has received from Slovakia in its EU-accession process and its efforts to integrate into NATO, while also highlighting the key role played by Lajcak in the critical period surrounding Montenegros referendum on independence in 2006.

Lajcak spoke about the high intensity and excellent quality of bilateral contacts. Following the opening of our representative office in [Montenegros capital] Podgorica in 2010, we now have full representation for Montenegro in Bratislava, said the head of Slovak diplomacy, as cited by TASR.

Slovak businesses have promising investments in the field of energy, water and transport infrastructure in Montenegro, the Foreign Ministry told TASR. Opportunities for cooperation are also available in the tourism sector and in building an information society and e-government.

Conversely, employing people from Montenegro should help the Slovak automotive sector to cover its shortage of labour.
Children from Slovakia and the Czech city of Brno make a documentary mapping the Roma Holocaust and communist times in their community.

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The children from Brno, Plavecky Stvrtok and Spisske Podhradie made a film in which they asked the survivors of World War II and the communist regime how the period laws contributed to the Roma Holocaust, what were the stories of Roma in Czechoslovakia and how their lives continued in the communist times  and what recent democracy has brought to them.

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The documentary Unwritten Stories / Pribehy, ktere nebyly napsany appeared thanks to the project called We and Our History / My a nasa historia which aims at boosting the perception of won identity in the Roma, while also warning that history can be repeated at any moment.

In community centres, we considered how to help Roma children become more aware of their identity, Petra Melikantova of the project told the TASR newswire in mid-January, when presenting it. They often see themselves as inferior. Thus, they wanted to divert their attention from current issues and focus them more on history. They started asking the children to cooperate on the project.

Roma youths recorded on camera the testimonies of Czech and Slovak Roma elders who talk about their lives and fates throughout the 20th century.

Document brings also surprises

Despite the difficult and often dramatic stories, there are surprising moments  like the support from the majority population during the war; however, the situation got worse after the Slovak National Uprising and the ensuing crackdown and the majority got scared, as the Hlinkas Guards  Slovak Nazi-inclined units  intensified attacks on Roma settlements.

Before WWII, Roma used to go to help the non-Roma in the fields or on farms; but this changed during the war, too. Also, Roma were not allowed to travel on trains freely  they could only use the last carriage. On the local tracks  e.g. from Spisske Podhradie  where there was often only a single carriage they could not travel at all. They were also forced to visit only the doctor allocated to them, and could not be examined by anyone else.

Communist times are remembered by Roma as a time when they had jobs, were allowed to attend schools together with the majority population and felt a higher esteem in society, feeling a part of it. They perceive the current democratic regime as more difficult, as jobs are scarce and the price of food is high, Melikantova noted.

The young Roma who worked on the movie noted for TASR that their respondents perceived the war times as much more difficult and the communist era as rather easier than 21st century democracy.

The documentary is available at pribehyromu.wixsite.com/mysite, with the non-governmental organizations People in Perils / Clovek v ohrozeni and DROM, Roam centre in Brno, cooperating on the project.
FARGO -- As North Dakota stares down a budgetary chasm of $1.4 billion, Gov. Doug Burgum is asking most state agencies to endure at least a 10 percent cut in funding.

So, with austerity in the air, whats going to happen to the budget of the governors own office?

One of Burgums campaign promises was to forgo his salary as a way to save taxpayer money, but so far legal roadblocks have prevented him from doing so. Still, he proposes that his office take an 11 percent cut and feel pain similar to other agencies, said the governors spokesman, Mike Nowatzki.

Burgum, a Republican, said he expects his staff to lead the effort to curb spending across all state agencies. How do we deliver more with less for North Dakota taxpayers? Thats what were working on, he said.

Legislators originally set aside nearly $4.5 million for the governors office budget in the 2015-17 biennium. This budget, which saw cuts in 2016 as slumping energy and farm commodity prices lowered tax revenues, was the one Burgum inherited when he took office last month.

For the 2017-19 biennium, Burgums Republican predecessor, Gov. Jack Dalrymple, floated a pared-down office budget of roughly $4 million, about $3.7 million of which would go to salaries.

On top of Dalrymples recommended cut, Burgum now proposes slicing an additional $41,700 from the offices budget. This money would come from nixing a 1 percent pay increase for all state employees in the bienniums second half and requiring them to start paying 5 percent of their health insurance costs, Nowatzki said.

Right now, Burgums office is spending more on staff salaries than Dalrymples was shortly before he left office. A Forum News Service analysis found that the annual salary total of Burgums office, including the governor's salary, exceeds that of Dalrymples office by nearly $68,000.

However, Burgum says his office is on track to stay within its salary budget while also hiring two new employees: a social media and communications manager, and an assistant to the lieutenant governor. Salaries for those positions have not yet been set, Nowatzki said.

After June 30, which marks the end of the 2015-17 biennium, no money is budgeted to pay the offices second biggest earner, Ron Rauschenberger, who was Dalrymples chief of staff and is now Burgums transition adviser, Nowatzki said. Exactly how long Rauschenberger will continue as Burgums adviser, receiving a $142,224 salary, is unclear.

Rons position continues to be assessed. His expertise and understanding of the legislative session have been invaluable, Nowatzki said in an email.

Including the governor, Burgums office expects eventually to have 17 full-time employees once two more staffers are hired and Rauschenberger departs, Nowatzki said. Dalrymples office had 20 employees, four of whom were part time.

Ultimately, legislators currently in session will decide how much money Burgums office will get. Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, said the Legislature will ensure that the governors office, like other state offices, will see a budget cut of about 10 percent. Everybodyll probably take a little bit of a hit, he said.

Wardner said the governors office budget is usually lean to begin with. I mean, they have their people, and thats it, he said.

The current office budget and the one Burgum proposed for the 2017-19 biennium include money for his $129,091 salary, which is set by law, Nowatzki said. But the governor is looking for a way to overcome the legal requirement of accepting his paycheck, his spokesman said.

Wardner said he thinks Burgum should simply accept the paycheck, given the difficulty of declining a salary. It is not something that you can just do, he said.

Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, agreed. Hes a big boy. He should take that money and write a check and give it away, Mathern said of Burgum, noting that the governors salary is peanuts when considering the larger budget scheme.

Burgum said he expects to get his first paycheck at the end of this month. Until theres a way to forgo his salary, he said, he intends to write a check back to the state for the money he receives.

This money wont be designated for a specific expenditure, but rather will go into the general fund, Nowatzki said.
The Slovak Supreme Court suspends one specific asylum procedure to ask the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) two prejudicial questions.

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The Supreme Court decided on January 24 to suspend the asylum proceeding of young Iranian, Reza M., to consult the CJEU, SC spokesperson Boris Urbancik informed the TASR newswire.

Reza M. has been living in Slovakia since 2009 and has converted to Catholicism for which he could be sentenced in his country of origin, according to Urbancik. The Iranian asked the migration office for international protection. The office has issued seven decisions in his case refusing asylum. The most recent decision was confirmed by the Bratislava Regional Court on August 24, 2016. The Supreme Court  which has always supported the cause of Reza M.  dealt the with the case one more time. It asked the CJEU to clarify whether the European directive on joint proceedings on granting or stripping of international protection shall be interpreted as allowing the state court alone to decide on the granting of protection for the seeker due to previous repeated abolishment of a negative decision and returning the case to the administrative body based on repeated remedial steps which seem to be ineffective.

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Thus, it seems that the interpretation which merely allows the state courts to assess the lawfulness of the administrative body and to only return such a decision to the body without being able to decide on the need for international protection contradicts the purpose of this article of the procedural directive, Urbancik explained for TASR.

International snags to be solved

If the Luxembourg-based CJEU confirmed such a possibility for the Supreme Court, the SC asks whether this authority to grant international protection concerns also itself.

The case of Reza M. has been publicised by the Dennik N daily, for which he said he had given up Islam back in Iran and converted to Christianity. As he was not able to produce the baptism certificate from his homeland, he let himself be conditionally baptised again. Migration officers claim he pretends his religious belief to gain asylum and additional protections, which will ensure permission to live in Slovakia.

The Bratislava Regional Court has identified, too, with the notion that his conversion was not honest and truthful, claiming neither the baptism certificate, nor the statements of religious representatives were sufficient proof. The Migration Office deems his testimonies untrustworthy, as he has changed them several times.

The preacher of Cirkev bratska (Church of Brethren) in Slovakia, Daniel Pastircak, says Reza got into conflict with the totalitarian society in Iran, and his conversion is, rather than an act of religion, an act of rebellion against society. After he emigrated to Christian Slovakia, he met with incomprehensible refusal, Pastircak told the Dennik N.
Roma patrols were one of the few examples that brought actual results for the minority and the majority. But at some point the project was allowed to drown during the change in governments.

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For several years, selected people from within the Roma communities of Slovakia kept an eye on their villages and cooperated with the police to prevent criminality. These were called Roma patrols, and they worked well.

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All the factors that typically contribute to a successful project to integrate Roma were present: empowerment of individuals, participation of the minority in public affairs, lower criminality, building of bridges between the minority and the majority. It was a success, said local governments, the third sector, and even the European Commission.

Governments and non-governmental experts have been scratching their heads for decades now, trying to come up with a reasonable and effective way to integrate Roma, thousands of whom live in what are called socially excluded communities  mostly just a euphemism for urban ghettos and rural shantytowns.

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Roma patrols were one of the few examples where such efforts brought actual results for the minority and the majority. One would think those in authority would have done everything in their power to keep the scheme above water. But at some point the project was allowed to drown during the change in governments.

An encounter between the current government proxy for Roma communities, Most-Hids Abel Ravasz, and his predecessor in the post, Peter Pollak of the opposition party OLaNO, turned into a blame game rather than a substantive policy discussion, with the two pointing the finger at each other when asked to explain why the project no longer works.

Ravasz says it was not extended to 2016 and he is now working to have it renewed come the summer.

More widely, experts working with Roma communities are unanimous that education rather than repression should be the focus of work with Roma people living in excluded communities.

I believe that when working in the social field, community work is much more important than looking after order, Elena Gallova Kriglerova from the Centre for Research of Ethnicity and Culture told The Slovak Spectator.

And there are several indicators that all our alarms should be going off regarding the education of children from the poorest families. Most recently, monitoring tests for fifth graders (i.e. 11-year-olds) has shown what other surveys, including the international PISA tests, have demonstrated before: that children from poor settlements, most of them Roma, fare much worse academically than their peers from other places in the country. While the national average in the tests was over 60 percent, children from socially disadvantaged communities, who constitute some 3 to 4 percent of all the fifth-graders tested, scored under 30 percent.

Their social status and the education that they are getting in their schools  some of which are segregated  give them little hope of climbing the social ladder and going further than their parents did. What is more, experts on the labour market now say that they might even be worse off, because they will possess virtually zero skills that the ever more high-tech labour market will require in the future.

The Slovak education system is one of the few in Europe where a socially excluded child has close to zero chance of breaking through the glass ceiling, experts agree.

Being poorly educated in Slovakia really is an enormous disadvantage, more than in other countries in Europe, Martin Kahanec from the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI) recently told The Slovak Spectator.

This is something to be ashamed of: leaving behind thousands of people, who will most likely never be able to find their place on the labour market, and thus doomed to spend their entire lives in poverty, not just material but also spiritual, while carrying the label socially excluded.

This exclusion is being deepened through the education system. We are officially a society that leaves behinds its most vulnerable at a time when they are destined to become even more vulnerable and threatened than before, while the world around them is, ironically, becoming increasingly multicultural.

This is the time when minorities, and Roma in particular, as Slovakias biggest and most challenged minority, need to be empowered. It starts with education but it also touches upon simple things, like giving Roma the opportunity to participate in making the village or town they live in a better place.
Independence of regulator questioned after PMs overtly political intervention.

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First, the official regulator of utility prices revamped the composition of prices for electricity, natural gas and water without properly informing consumers what the impact would be on their final bills. Then, after consumers complained about steep increases, rather than the reductions in energy prices they had expected, Prime Minister Robert Fico intervened to demand lower prices. By apparently complying, the regulator has put its own independence in doubt  not for the first time.

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We [the cabinet] voiced fundamental political disagreement with the regulatory framework, Fico said on January 18, adding that ministers had asked the head of the regulatory authority to offer a solution. Fico and his Smer party have made stable energy prices a key part of their political programme.

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The head of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO), Jozef Holjencik, responded immediately with an offer to return utility prices to 2016 levels. URSO issued a new regulation on January 25 to enact this.

The regulator completed the price proceeding, which will remove discrimination against some consumers, Radoslav Igaz, spokesperson of URSO, said on January 26. All clients of SSE-Distribucia and SPP-Distribucia will also get, on the basis of the new price decision, new upfront invoices from their suppliers.

The way in which the head of the regulator responded so quickly to the prime ministers intervention has raised concerns about its independence  not just among the opposition parties, but also with Smers coalition partners, the Slovak National Party and Most-Hid. The former has even called on Holjencik to resign. The opposition Freedom and Solidarity party has gone further, and called on President Andrej Kiska to recall Holjencik from his post.

Changes in utility prices

In final months of 2016, the regulator made significant changes to the composition of prices for electricity, natural gas and water. The changes came into effect at the beginning of this year. In general, they increased fixed fees within the end prices for utilities and introduced new tariff rates for final consumers. URSO defended the change as an effort to encourage consumers to move into tariff categories that better reflect their final consumption of electricity and the associated real costs.

As Igaz explained, in the case of electricity, for example, many consumers, via their choice of tariff, reserve excessive capacity. This means that they order a much bigger supply of electricity that they actually consume. This causes problems for the grid and results in a lack of capacity for new clients.

However, the change in the composition of the electricity for end users, which apart from the fees for electricity as a commodity also consists of a plethora of other fees, including a so-called circuit-breaker fee, have led to steep increases in payments for some consumers.

Fico stated that out of three regional distributors, the change in electricity prices caused the biggest uproar in central Slovakia. This area is covered by electricity distributor SSE-Distribucia, which is controlled by the Czech energy group Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH). For the distributors in western and eastern Slovakia, a similar problem was not reported or was smaller in scale, according to Fico.

In central Slovakia the distributor increased the monthly circuit-breaker fee in the lowest tariff rate from 2.00 to 4.59 for a one-phase circuit breaker, and to 11.37 for a three-phase circuit breaker. In western Slovakia the fee increased from 2.35 to 2.78 for a one-phase breaker and to 5.93 for three-phase breakers, the Pravda daily reported.

As a result, URSO applied its remedy only to SSE-Distribucia. In the case of gas, URSO also performed a nationwide U-turn when it reversed its price decision for gas distributor SPP-Distribucia, which is also controlled by EPH. In the case of water, it sent water utilities a detailed manual on how to sort individual clients into tariff rates.

Calls for Holjencik to be removed

Experts see the decision of the regulator to cancel its previous regulation as a very bad omen; Holjenciks independence has already been questioned several times in the past.

It is an extremely bad signal that this environment is liable to political pressure, said Peter Marcan of the Institute for Energy Security, as quoted by the Sme daily.

The opposition is calling for Holjencik to be removed from his post. The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party even submitted an appeal to the office of the Slovak President to investigate the independence of the regulatory authority.

We have a serious suspicion that this office is not independent and that it does not act as the law obliges it, said SaS MP Jana Kissova as quoted by the TASR newswire.

SaS regards Ficos instructions to Holjencik to re-evaluate URSOs original regulations for electricity prices in 2017, and his agreement to do so, as breaching the independence of the regulator.

This is a real reason for dismissal of the head of the regulatory authority, said Kissova.

Others have voiced suspicion that Holjencik has succumbed to the lobbying pressure of companies, to the detriment of consumers.

URSO has denied all the accusations and is insisting that it remains independent.

Who is Holjencik?

It was Robert Fico that proposed to then-president Ivan Gasparovic that Holjencik be appointed as the permanent head of URSO in 2012. At that time, he had already served as acting head of the regulator for five years. Holjenciks current term will lapse next autumn. Apart from the highest post at URSO, Holjencik also heads URSOs regulatory board, which deals with appeals against URSOs decisions.

It is within the sole power of President Kiska to dismiss Holjencik. He can do so for several reasons, one of which is a breach of the independence of the regulatory authority. But the presidents spokesperson, Roma Krpelan, explained that the cabinet must first submit a proposal to do so.

While rumours that Holjencik would resign from his post emerged after the problem with energy prices sharpened, URSO later refused to comment on the reports.

The ruling coalition will now discuss Holjenciks future. On January 24, the Slovak National Party (SNS) called on him to resign, while Most-Hid said it is watching the situation, the energia.sk website, dedicated to energy issues, wrote.

I have taken note of the political statement of the coalition partner, Fico said, referring to the SNS call, as quoted by the website. We will sit down with coalition partners and will solve this request objectively.
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday warned U.S. President Donald Trump against taking a protectionist approach, which he said would have economic and political consequences. "In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead-end," Hollande told Trump in their first official telephone conversation, according to a statement from the president's office. The French president told Trump, who has expressed skepticism about international organisations, that France was committed to the United Nations, that the NATO military alliance was indispensable and the European Union should be reinforced. Hollande, now just four months before the end of his term, said sanctions against Russia should be lifted only when the situation in eastern Ukraine was resolved. Trump said on Friday he was only in the early stages of considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia, but insisted he wanted to follow through on his campaign pledge to pursue better relations with Russia. The president also told Trump democracies could be defended only if founding democratic principles were respected, including welcoming refugees. Earlier on Saturday, France and Germany voiced disquiet over Trump's decision to limit immigration and refugees from some Muslim countries. Hollande also told southern European leaders meeting in Lisbon the new U.S. government was encouraging "populism and even extremism" and that Europe should stick together. (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Ralph Boulton)
By Brian Love PARIS (Reuters) - Benoit Hamon has an enticing offer for French voters if elected president in May: his Socialist government would give each and every one a regular wage, whether they work or not, be they billionaires or paupers. Alongside promises to legalise cannabis, abandon diesel fuel and cancel debts between European Union countries, Hamon, the ruling Socialist Party's candidate pledges a "universal income" for all citizens. The cost, says the 49-year-old, will be around 350 billion euros (298.28 billion pounds), roughly equivalent to the annual budget of Europe's second-biggest economy. An ambitious overhaul of taxes will be pursued to fund it, he says. The idea has captured the imagination of Socialists who feel betrayed by a shift to more pro-business policies under President Francois Hollande and Manuel Valls, the former prime minister whom Hamon beat on Sunday to win the left's presidential ticket. Hamon's win, with over 58 percent of the vote according to partial results on Sunday evening, is yet another upset in an unpredictable presidential race. He was until earlier this month one of several outsiders in a party contest that Valls, a more moderate and more experienced leader, was initially predicted to win. Valls labelled Hamon "the sandman", a seller of dreams which would condemn the Socialist Party to an opposition role for years to come. Valls readily compared his rival Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party. But while Valls struggled to shake off the tag of prime minister to the deeply unpopular Hollande, Hamon struck a chord with left-wing voters by declaring on the campaign trail: "I am running for president so that France's heart will beat once again." Hamon's most visible public roles were as Hollande's junior minister for the social economy and later as education minister. He quit that post in protest at what he viewed as the party's shift towards the political right and big business. ROBOTS VS WORKERS His campaign platform, he says, is based on his conviction that jobs are scarce and will become more so as a digital revolution takes hold and leaves workers displaced by self-driving cars, drones and robots. Society will only adapt if it accepts that people work less and jobs are shared across a greater number of workers, Hamon says - hence his proposals of a shorter working week and a basic income of 750 euros a month for all adult citizens, whether they work or not. "Look at Germany, model country with full employment, where the jobless rate is five or six percent. Nobody sees the poverty rate is 17 percent. In reality, it's a tradeoff: jobs at the price of poverty," Hamon said at a meeting in Marseille. Hamon acknowledges his proposal will require a major revamp of taxes. Among other fiscal policy promises, he plans a "robot tax" levied on the profit margins of digital industry groups as well as higher taxes on giants like Google and Apple. Like other hardline French left-wingers, Hamon says Hollande eroded the spending power of the working class. He wants to raise the minimum wage, currently about 1,150 euros a month, by 10 percent and raise civil service salaries too. But unlike some other staunch socialists, Hamon defends the European Union, at least in as far as the bloc could help reduce tax competition between member states and equip Europe for trade competition with the United States and China. Euro zone rules on budget restraint should however be suspended pending changes that would allow for increased spending on defence and policing to fight terrorism. He proposes a near doubling of the defence budget to three percent of GDP, the hiring of thousands more police, and advocates the creation of a cross-border intelligence agency. Asked if he was a dreamer, Hamon argued that France had lost its way and borrowed a line from Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci: "The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born." (Reporting By Brian Love; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Richard Lough)
By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq will lobby against new travel limits to the United States by Iraqis, arguing both countries need to uphold their fight against Islamic State (IS), Iraqi parliamentarians said on Sunday. The Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. The order stirred angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against IS insurgents. Some members of parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States. "Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism ... and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," parliament's foreign affairs committee said in a statement. "We call on the Iraqi government to retaliate for the decision taken by the U.S. administration," it added after a session on Sunday in Baghdad. Baghdad plans to lobby Washington to review the decision, according to two lawmakers who declined to be identified. One of them told Reuters that the government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to apply similar treatment, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation", in the conflict with IS. Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight Islamic State, urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government to expel U.S. nationals. Influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Sunday American citizens should leave Iraq. "It would be arrogance for you (Americans) to enter Iraq and other countries freely while barring them entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. CRITICAL U.S. SUPPORT AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE The U.S.-led coalition is providing critical air and ground support to Iraqi forces in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from Islamic State. Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recaptured all of Mosul east of the Tigris River that splits the city, and were girding for an onslaught on the jihadists on the western bank. Meanwhile, an Iraqi who worked four years as a translator for U.S. forces in the hope of obtaining a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) felt betrayed by the Trump administration's decision and said he now feared for his life. The man said he was hired by U.S. forces after he tipped them off about a house where insurgents were making car bombs in Mosul. He said that while employed by the Americans, he saved the life of a serviceman after U.S. troops came under militant attack in Mosul. "My life is (now) in danger," said the translator, who spoke in eastern Mosul and asked not to be identified or photographed. He told Reuters he used to consider the Americans to be "brothers but I don't trust those guys anymore. He added that bureaucratic and personal problems delayed his applications to the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa programme designed for those employed by the U.S. military and U.S. civilian agencies until their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. "Please, please, please get me out of this country," he said. "There are currently fewer than 500 Iraqis in the SIV pipeline," said a State Department official. Overall, "more than 20,000 Iraqis have received immigrations benefits" from this programme, he added. Among the Iraqis barred from travelling to the U.S. over the past 48 hours was Fuad Sharef's family, who embarked on the trip after selling their home and quitting their jobs and their school. The parents and their three children were barred on Saturday from boarding a connecting flight in Cairo to New York. Speaking by phone from Cairo airport, Sharef said the family was still in shock for having been detained there, their passports confiscated and being forced to go back to Iraq. (With assistance by Arwa Gaballa and Eric Knecht in Cairo; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
FILE - In this June 23, 2016 file photo, Pope Francis delivers his blessing during his meeting with Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Matthew Festing, left, at the Vatican. The Knights of Malta is still insisting on its sovereignty in its showdown with the Vatican, even after Pope Francis effectively took control of the ancient religious order and announced a papal delegate would govern it through a "process of renewal." ( Gabriel Bouys/ Pool Photo via AP, files)

ROME (AP)  Pope Francis has reassured the Knights of Malta, an ancient Catholic lay order, about its sovereignty, even as a special papal delegate will work to ensure the "spiritual renewal" of its members, after revelations its charity component had distributed condoms.

The order's Sovereign Council in Rome on Saturday accepted the resignation of Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing, who had sacked the order's foreign minister, Albrecht von Boeselager. The minister was removed as grand chancellor following revelations that condoms were distributed in Myanmar under his watch.

But the Vatican intervened on the minister's behalf.

On Saturday, the council scrapped the disciplinary procedures launched against von Boeselager, who immediately resumed his post, a statement from the Knights of Malta said. The Knights say Francis in his letter Friday stressed the order's sovereignty.

The sovereignty tussle was a touchy matter, since the Vatican is a sovereign entity as is the Knights of Malta order. Each side has diplomatic relations with scores of countries worldwide.

Until Festing's successor is elected, Fra' Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein serves as its interim leader. Francis in his letter noted that the interim leader "assumes responsibility over the Order's government, in particular regarding relationships with other States."

But the pontiff also made clear his special delegate "will be operating on the spiritual renewal" of the order, according the statement.

The statement also said it would "ensure its full collaboration with the Special Delegate whom the Holy Father intends to appoint."

Earlier in the week, Festing met with the pope and said he would resign, after losing an internal power struggle. The Vatican said Francis had accepted his resignation.
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - On the afternoon of Jan. 24, a black BMW pulled out of a 16th century palace in Rome, crossed the Tiber River and headed for the Vatican, a short trip to end a brazen challenge to the authority of Pope Francis. Inside the car was 67-year-old Englishman Matthew Festing, the head of an ancient Catholic order of knights which is now a worldwide charity with a unique diplomatic status. Festing was about to resign, the first leader in several centuries of the Order of Malta, which was founded in 1048 to provide medical aid for pilgrims in the Holy Land, to step down instead of ruling for life. The move was aimed at ending a highly-public spat between Festing and the reformist pope over the running of the chivalric institution. The weeks-long conflict had become one of the biggest internal challenges yet to Francis' efforts to modernize the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church. At issue was the Order's reaction to the discovery that condoms had been distributed by one of its aid projects in Myanmar. The Order had fired its Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, whom it held responsible for the condom distribution. Von Boeselager declined to comment for this article. Though condom use goes against Catholic teaching, the Vatican had ordered an investigation into the firing of von Boeselager. It subsequently publicly castigated Festing, who had refused to cooperate with the investigation. Backing down, Festing -- a former Sotheby's art auctioneer -- gave a hand-written resignation letter to Francis in the pope's private residence, according to a senior Vatican source. Festing, who has the title of prince, declined an interview request. Instead of quelling the conflict, however, Festing's resignation was followed by yet another challenge to Francis' authority -- led by vocal pope critic American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, according to Vatican and Knights sources. In particular: Burke tried to convince Festing to withdraw his resignation and keep fighting the pope, these sources say. On Saturday, the Knight's Sovereign Council accepted Festing's resignation and re-instated von Boselager, a clear defeat for Burke. Burke declined to comment for this article. The tussle suggested Francis is still battling to consolidate his power over the Church almost four years into his tenure, Vatican insiders say. Beyond a fight over condoms, the clash pointed to lingering divisions between the Church's conservatives and more progressive factions who support the pope's reformist agenda, they add. Francis is trying to make the Church less dogmatic and more welcoming to whose who have felt excluded, such as homosexuals and the divorced. "While this whole saga was an internal matter that probably should have stayed that way, it metamorphosed into a clash that showed the divide between conservatives and progressives," said Andrea Tornielli, author of several books on Pope Francis. The Vatican declined to comment on the clash and on Pope Francis' efforts to consolidate his power. It directed Reuters to two public statements. One, on Dec. 22, relates to the Vatican order to investigate the firing of von Boeselager. The second, on Jan. 17, followed a pledge by Festing on the Knights' web page not to cooperate with the Vatican. It decried his resistance and ordered members of the order to cooperate. GERMAN ARISTOCRAT The all-male top leaders of the Knights of Malta are not clerics, but they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope. A German aristocrat whose father participated in a failed plot to kill Hitler in World War Two, von Boeselager was fired by Festing in December, and accused of having allowed the use of condoms while he was head of the Knights' global humanitarian projects. Festing fired him in Burke's presence, arguing that the German had hidden the condom use from the order's leaders when he was named Grand Chancellor, according to Knights and Vatican sources. Immediately, the firing set off the conflict between the Knights' hierarchy and the Vatican. Von Boeselager , a devout Catholic, said in a statement on Dec. 23 that he was fully behind Church teachings. He closed two projects in the developing world when he discovered condoms were being distributed but kept a third running in Myanmar for a while because closing it would have abruptly ended all basic medical services to poor people. The Church does not allow condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS. In the same statement, von Boeselager said Festing and Burke told him the Vatican wanted him to resign and that there would be "severe consequences" for the Order if he did not. The Vatican denied, in a letter from its secretary of state to the Order and seen by Reuters, that it had mandated the resignation, saying it had told the Knights the pope wanted a solution through dialogue. The German said his sacking was against the Knights' constitution and appealed to the pope, who ordered the investigation. Festing refused to cooperate, issuing a series of increasingly strident public statements. In one, he called the papal commission that was investigating the firing "legally irrelevant". In a Jan. 14 confidential letter to the top echelons of the order and seen by Reuters, Festing wrote: "In refusing to acknowledge this group of people's jurisdiction, I am trying to protect the order's sovereignty". The institution has the status of a sovereign entity, maintaining diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union and permanent observer status at the United Nations. The pope was irritated by Festing's defiant stand, a senior Vatican source said, and the Vatican shot back with a public statement ordering the Knights to obey. After that public order, Festing changed his tune and resigned in the pope's residence a week later. Festing's resignation came as a shock for many inside the Knights: some of them told Reuters it was akin to the resignation of Pope Benedict in 2013. Four sources said that for many others in the order, it came as a relief. They feared the clash was damaging the image of the institution whose 13,000 members, 80,000 volunteers and 20,000 paid medical staff help the neediest around the world. The day after Festing handed his resignation to the pope, Cardinal Burke drove to the order's headquarters from his apartment near the Vatican and sought to persuade Festing to withdraw his resignation, a source from the Vatican and one from the Knights said. Burke declined to comment on his meeting with Festing. Burke has long been leading challenges against the pope. Pope Francis demoted him from a top Vatican job in 2014 with no official explanation and assigned him to be the "patron" of the Order of Malta. Such "patron" positions are usually given to older cardinals after they retire at 75. Burke was only 66 then and the demotion was widely seen as a sign of the pope's irritation with the cardinal's constant sniping over Francis reforms. In particular, Burke has contested moves by the pope that would allow Catholics who have divorced and re-married outside the Church without an annulment to return to the sacrament of communion. Burke declined to comment on his demotion. Since the demotion, Burke has become even more of a rallying point for conservatives, flying around the world to give lectures to conservative groups and often giving interviews criticising the pope's decisions. In November, he led a rare public challenge to the pope with three other cardinals who accused the pontiff of sowing confusion on important moral issues such as that of communion for the divorced. Burke later said in an interview that if the pope did not respond to their letter, the cardinals might need to "correct" the pope themselves for the good of the Church. The Vatican did not comment on the uprising at the time but many of the pope's supporters publicly criticised the four cardinals. The pope will now appoint a "pontifical delegate" to help run the order, at least until elections can be held for a new Grand Master. In a personal letter to the Sovereign Council on Jan. 27 and seen by Reuters, Francis made clear that the Vatican did not want to interfere with the Order's sovereignty but said his delegate would seek to "renew the spirituality of the Order, specifically of those members who take vows." (Editing by Mark Bendeich, Philippa Fletcher and Alessandra Galloni)
By Elizabeth Piper and Tulay Karadeniz ANKARA (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May signed a $125 million (100 million) fighter jet deal with Turkey on Saturday and briefly cautioned Ankara on human rights following last year's failed coup, in a visit squarely aimed at boosting trade between the NATO allies. May, in Turkey a day after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, avoided criticising his sweeping ban on people from certain countries seeking refuge in the United States. She visited both countries for the first time as prime minister, promoting trade deals that would strengthen her hand in talks to leave the European Union. Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace in Ankara alongside President Tayyip Erdogan, May called Turkey one of Britain's oldest friends and touched on human rights, a sore point for Erdogan, who accuses the West of not showing enough solidarity following a July 15 military putsch attempt. "I'm proud that the UK stood with you on the 15 July last year in defence of democracy and now it is important that Turkey sustains that democracy by maintaining the rule of law and upholding its international human rights obligations as the government has undertaken to do," she said. Rights groups and some Western politicians have been more critical. More than 100,000 people have been sacked or suspended following the failed coup and some 40,000 jailed pending trial. Ankara says the measures are needed to root out supporters of the putsch. At a joint news conference later with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, May was asked more than once about Trump's sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the United States. She said Washington was responsible for its own policies on refugees. May had previously said the nature of the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States meant the allies could speak frankly to each other when they disagreed. In her Turkey visit, as in the United States, it was clear her priority was on securing trade. She said the UK and Turkey had agreed to form a joint working group for post-Brexit trade and would step up an aviation security programme. 'OPEN FOR BUSINESS' The two countries signed a defence deal worth more than 100 million pounds to develop Turkish fighter jets. May said the deal, which involves BAE Systems and TAI(Turkish Aerospace Industries) working together to develop the TF-X Turkish fighter programme, showed "Britain is a great, global, trading nation and that we are open for business". Yildirim said the two countries plan to sign a free-trade deal once Britain leaves the European Union, while Erdogan told reporters that he discussed steps towards defence industry cooperation with May, and that he hoped to increase annual trade with Britain to $20 billion from $15.6 billion now. May's government is keen to start laying the groundwork for bilateral trade agreements for when Britain leaves the European Union, a process that will take at least two years after triggering the formal divorce talks by the end of March. The United Kingdom was the No. 2 destination for Turkish exports in 2015, buying $10.6 billion in goods, according to IMF trade data. Only Germany imports more from Turkey. The countries also discussed the fight against militant groups. Yildirim said he requested legal action against supporters of the coup, who he said are active in Britain. (Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Helen Popper)
BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Bavaria's sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats called for ending sanctions imposed against Russia by Europe and the United States for its invasion of Crimea and its military actions in Ukraine. The sanctions should be lifted this year, Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union (CDU), told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview to be published on Sunday. "I'm arguing for realpolitik not sabre-rattling," Seehofer told the newspaper. "We have to be clear about different positions, such as about the annexation of Crimea, while working to promote sensible business ties." Merkel and other EU leaders, by contrast, have insisted that the sanctions must remain tied to progress on the Minsk peace process aimed at ending the violence in eastern Ukraine. That message was reiterated on Saturday by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault during a joint news conference in Paris. Merkel spoke on Saturday with U.S. President Donald Trump, but their joint statement made no mention of the sanctions issue. Trump this week said he was only in the early stages of considering ending the U.S. sanctions against Russia. [nL5N1FI0PZ] Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke by telephone and agreed to try to rebuild U.S.-Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Seehofer said he also favoured a broader rapprochement between Russia and the West, and agreed with calls to reopen the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised countries to include Russia. Russia used to be part of the so-called Group of Eight (G8) meetings until it was suspended in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula following a popular uprising in Kiev that toppled its pro-Moscow president. "We have to get out of the bloc thinking of the 20th century," Seehofer told the newspaper. "We must focus on finding joint answers to terrorism, migration, climate change." Seehofer also praised Trump for quickly implementing his campaign promises. He said he did not agree with all of Trump's positions, but said the U.S. president had been elected in a free election and that should be respected. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mary Milliken)
By Eric Knecht and Maher Chmaytelli CAIRO/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Arabs and Iranians planning U.S. trips reacted with fury on Saturday to new American travel curbs they said were insulting and discriminatory, as five Iraqis and a Yemeni were stopped from boarding a New York-bound flight in Cairo. In some of seven Muslim-majority countries affected by the restrictions, would-be travellers preparing family visits, work trips or seeking to escape war reported chaotic disruption to their plans. Some said they had been humiliated. Iran, one of the seven countries, said it would stop U.S. citizens entering the country in retaliation to Washington's visa ban, calling it an "open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation". "It's not right to portray huge groups of Arabs and Muslims as possible terrorists," Najeeb Haidari, a Yemeni-American security manager in Yemen, said a day after Trump put a four-month hold on refugee arrivals and temporarily barred travellers from war-torn Syria and six other mainly Muslim nations. "This is a stupid, terrible decision which will hurt the American people more than us or anybody else, because it shows that this president can't manage people, politics or global relationships," Haidari added. Sudan called the decision to ban entry of its citizens very unfortunate in light of "historic steps" just weeks earlier to lift U.S. sanctions for cooperation on combating terrorism. In the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, Trump signed an executive order on Friday to pause the entry of travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. He said separately he wanted the United States to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the war there. The travel curbs began immediately, causing confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries. UNFAIR DECISION Sources at Cairo airport said the five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni, arriving in transit to Cairo airport, were stopped and re-directed to flights headed for their home countries despite holding valid visas. A Syrian family holding U.S. visas who had travelled overnight from Beirut to Paris was prevented from boarding a connecting flight onto Atlanta, Lebanese airport sources said. They flew back to Beirut later on Saturday. In Doha, Qatar Airways advised passengers bound for the United States from the seven newly banned countries that they needed to have either a U.S. green card or a diplomatic visa. Farea al-Muslimi, a U.S.-educated Yemeni political commentator with the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies said, "It's insane - but what part of Trump is sane?"ers." "This punishes thousands of innocent people for things they have no control over, when the last few attacks in America had to do with radicalized U.S. citizens, not foreigners." A 34-year-old Sudanese man who won the U.S. Green Card lottery said he was worried he would be forbidden entry. "If Im barred...this will destroy my life because I resigned from my work in Sudan and was preparing to settle in America," he said. Fariba, an Iranian-American who declined to give her family name and lives in New Jersey, said her parents would not be able to make a planned visit to celebrate Iranian New Year in March. "What have we done to deserve such a ban? ... This ban will ruin our lives. Thank you Mr. President. Are you making America great by hurting innocent people?" Some people planning U.S. travel said the curbs would harm their careers. Others feared for the safety of their families. "HUMILIATING INSULT" In Baghdad, Bayan Adil, a doctor working in the Iraqi Health Ministry who applied for a U.S. visa to attend a medical seminar, said Iraqi academics should visit Europe instead of the United States, where they were no longer welcome. "Trump's decision is unfortunately a humiliating insult not only for us as academics but for all Iraqis," she said. Her comments were echoed by Abd Al-Jafar, a 43-year-old university professor in Sudan's capital Khartoum, who said he had sought to go to the United States for doctoral studies. "This decision, if implemented, will be a disaster," he said. "I have work in Sudan and have no desire to emigrate to the U.S., just to study there. This decision is illogical." In Beirut, Joumana Ghazi Chehade, 34, a refugee from Yarmouk in Syria living in the Lebanese capital's Burj al-Barajneh camp, said the decision would "destroy a lot of people". "Of course we're not going to go blow anything up ... All we are asking for is security and freedom." Mirna, an American and a mother of two living in Syria, said it was clear Trump "doesn't want to receive Syrian Muslims ... we have to expect the worst from him because he is a crazy man." (Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Babak Dehghanpisheh, Noah Browning, John Davison, Khalid Abdulaziz and Ahmed Elumami.; Writing by William Maclean; editing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by Helen Popper)
By Arwa Gaballa, Eric Knecht and Michael Georgy CAIRO/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Fuad Sharef and his family waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organisations. But Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo airport on Saturday. They were sudden victims of U.S. President Donald Trump's new travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. Their passports confiscated, the distraught family was detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning. "We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport. "I feel very guilty towards my wife and kids. I feel like I'm the reason behind their dismay." In the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. He said this would help safeguard the United States from terrorists. The travel curbs took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries. Sharef and his family were among the first victims. Sharef and his family arrived at Erbil International Airport looking demoralised, wondering how Trump could sign a document that shattered their dreams in an instant, even though their papers were in order. He likened Trump's decision to the dictatorship of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I believe it is a terrible error in the U.S., terrible error in the history of the United States. I thought America is an institution and democracy," said Sharef. "I see (it is) like autocracy, someone signs and effective immediately what does this mean? It is just like Saddam Hussein's decisions. Yeah without going back to the Congress, I dont understand." Sharef said he was employed by a pharmaceutical company before leaving Iraq, but had worked on projects funded by U.S. organisations such as USAID in the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. The family applied for a U.S. visa in September 2014 as security conditions in Iraq deteriorated, with Islamic State insurgents seizing swathes of the country and carrying out mass killings. Sharef's work with the United States made him particularly vulnerable to attack by militants who view him as a traitor. "I am broken, I am totally broken, I don't understand how he rewards those people who helped him. I don't understand this. When we worked with them, we put our lives, my life, my family's life, in jeopardy," said Sharef. "And we were easy target every day for terrorist groups. Everyone who works with Americans is regarded as an infidel." AFTER RISKING THEIR LIVES Sharef applied to emigrate via a programme known as Special Immigrant Visa, which was created by U.S. lawmakers to help the tens of thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping Americans after the 2003 invasion. At least 7,000 Iraqis, many of them interpreters for the U.S. military, have settled in the United States under SIV auspices since 2008, while some 500 more are being processed, State Department figures show. Another 58,000 Iraqis have been awaiting interviews under the Direct Access Program for U.S.-affiliated Iraqis, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project. Sharef's friend Mona Fetouh said she had worked with him on a USAID-funded local governance and civil society project in 2004. Fetouh, a U.S. resident, said she gave Sharef a recommendation for his SIV application. Originally due to fly on Feb. 1, the family decided to travel earlier after news leaked of Trump's plan to issue new immigration restrictions. But they were too late. "My plan was to go to Nashville, Tennessee. I have friends there. I have arranged with them and they are preparing house and finding house for me, jobs," said Sharef. "A lot of dreams, yeah...Financially this journey cost me 5000 dollars and all went down the drain." Sharef, father of two girls and a boy, said the family was still in shock and did not know what steps to take next. They would be staying temporarily with Sharef's brother in Erbil. "I don't know. Maybe I will send an email to the American embassy in Baghdad asking for an explanation," he said. Asked if he feared for his life returning to Iraq, he said: "Maybe it's less dangerous in light of the relative regression of Islamic State influence in Mosul, but during my years of work, my life and the lives of my family were constantly in danger and I'm now at risk of being at threat at any moment. There are no guarantees." An Iraqi army offensive has been gradually dislodging Islamic State from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. One of Sharef's biggest challenges is explaining the situation to his children. "My little daughter every day keeps asking me when we are going to America and I tried to explain to her that there is a suspension one month and she was calculating days," he said. "Okay at that date the suspension will finish and the day after we go, yes dad?" (Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)
Theresa May has announced a 100m deal for the development of fighter jets for Turkey, following trade talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking after discussions with Mr Erdogan in Ankara, Mrs May said Britain and Turkey will "prepare the ground" for a post-Brexit trade deal by setting up a joint working group.

It came as the UK-based BAE Systems (LSE: BA.L - news) and Turkish Aerospace Industries signed a Heads of Agreement document establishing a 100m partnership for the continued development of the Turkish Fighter Programme.

Mrs May said: "We both want to build on our existing links and I believe that doing so will be to the benefit of both our countries and for the prosperity of both our nations.

"What has underpinned our conversations has been the opportunity for Turkey and the UK to build on our existing relations, to our mutual benefit for the future."

Speaking alongside Mrs May at the presidential palace, Mr Erdogan said relations between Turkey and the UK would "enjoy a very different nature and position".

He added his hope that annual trade between the two countries could be increased from $15.6bn (12.4bn) to $20bn (15.9bn).

:: Donald Trump '100% behind NATO' after Theresa May talks

Talks between the pair came before a meeting between Mrs May and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Ahead of her arrival in Ankara, Mrs May had been under pressure to confront Mr Erdogan over human rights, as his crackdown on dissent following last summer's failed coup has seen thousands of officials jailed and several media outlets closed.

The Turkish President said the pair discussed social issues, while Mrs May also made a brief reference to alleged human rights violations.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) said: "I'm proud that the UK stood with (Mr Erdogan) on July 15 last year in defence of your democracy.

"Now (Frankfurt: 11N.F - news) it is important Turkey sustains that democracy by maintaining the rule of law and upholding its international human rights obligations, as the government has undertaken to do."

Story continues

Before being taken the presidential palace, Mrs May laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and founder of the Republic of Turkey.

She signed her name in the visitors' book and left a message which read: "It is a great honour to visit this special place of remembrance to the founding father of modern Turkey.

"Let us together renew our efforts to fulfil Ataturk's vision of peace at home and peace in the world."
Today we see much of reality through the rectangle of a phone or an iPad, with anything outside the screen cropped from view.

Frank Buffalo Hyde (Onondaga/Nez Perce) investigates that limited perspective through the prism of his Native background with a twist of his own sly humor.

I-Witness Culture, a series of 14 paintings and three sculptures, opens at Santa Fes Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on Feb. 5. The exhibition will be on view through Jan. 7, 2018.

He has a unique point of view as to as to the kinds of subjects Native Americans can address, MIAC curator Valerie Verzuh said. Its the world around him and how Native Americans fit into it  a very contemporary world.

In Close Encounters of the Selfie Stick Kind, 2016, an iPad frames tribal members on horseback, their selfie sticks raised as a UFO hovers.

Part of my job as an artist is to comment on the times we live in to document them, he said in a telephone interview from his Santa Fe home. Were no longer living in the moment. Were living in very filtered moments.

Eagle Dancer captures a pueblo dance demonstration as viewed through a cellphone. Four Dancers freezes a similar scene of buffalo dancers. A herd of hands cradling cellphones sprouts from the foreground.

Years from now, well say, Thats when phones were hand-held and not embedded in the back of the eye, Hyde said. We dont experience reality directly anymore, but through our cellphones or social media.

Before, it was the Cold War. Now its the Twitter War.

When Hyde attended his first rock concert  Van Halen  the scene carved some strong sense imagery into his memory.

It was stinky, and there was weed smoke, and everybody was loud, he said. Now instead of enjoying it, people have their phones up and theyre recording and sending it. Its voyeuristic. Its like the human hand is technology.

Its like anything; its about your intent, Hyde said. Its definitely a useful tool. However, its at the cost of experience.

The artist turned his satirical vision to Southwestern tourism in Smells Like Teen Spirit, 2016, a portrait of a leaping cheerleader, her hair coiled into traditional Hopi butterfly whorls. Its Native America-meets-tourism-meets-grunge-meets-Americana homage.

The Hopi maiden has become this icon of Come to the Southwest, Hyde said. In my imagination, the Hopi maiden was a cheerleader saying, Come to the Southwest. Ive always been fascinated by the Nirvana cheerleaders (from the 1991 Smells Like Teen Spirit video). Theyre enigmatic of the time. I used the same colors in the Hopi cheerleader.

At first glance, Tribe Called Red Coats seems to satirize Britains Prince William and Kate Middleton by pasting the Sex Pistols logo across their smiling faces. But Hyde uses the image to dive deeply into Native American history. Beneath this updated version of the punk bands God Save the Queen single lurks centuries of colonization.

It was the ultimate symbol of nonconformity Hyde said of the groups logo. I thought it would be fun to update that with the newest royal family. The British Empire has a long history of colonizing Native cultures all over the world.

Hyde courts even more controversy in 2016s They Kill Chiefs Dont They, with the famous image of Jacqueline Kennedy crawling from the rear of the limousine when her husband was assassinated.

In my mind, that is when America totally lost its innocence, he said. For the commander in chief to be killed in front of everybody, its horrifying. Its right up there with 9/11. The U.S. government has killed our children, so we already knew what the U.S. government was capable of. Being a person from an oppressed culture, it was easy for me to believe in a government conspiracy.

Verzuh is already planning a public comments book.

If you go

WHAT: I-Witness-Culture by Frank Buffalo Hyde

WHEN: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday beginning Feb. 5 and runs through Jan. 7, 2018; Opening reception 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5.

WHERE: Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, 710 Camino Lejo, Museum Hill, Santa Fe

HOW MUCH: $12 general; $7 state residents with ID. Museum members free. 16 and under free. Call 505-476-1269. Visit indianartsandculture.org.
WASHINGTON  If New Mexicos population growth were a heart patient, it would be flatlining.

Since 2010, the number of people living in the state has remained virtually stagnant, compared with significant population increases in our neighboring states, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

From 2010 to 2016, New Mexico registered total population growth of just 1.1 percent, compared with 10 percent in Colorado and Utah, nearly 11 percent in Texas and 8 percent in Arizona, according to the Census Bureau.

Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., analyzed the census numbers for the Journal and concluded that the population stagnation is unprecedented in New Mexico history.

Weve had steady and consistent growth in New Mexico since statehood, but from 2010 until 2016, weve been flat, Sanderoff said. That is historic.

Sanderoff and a University of New Mexico population expert attributed the lack of population growth to a faltering economy  one hit by a national recession, federal spending cuts and, more recently, a crash in prices of oil and natural gas.

People will follow the jobs, and lately New Mexico has not been producing them in comparison to our neighbors, Sanderoff said. As long as we are not creating jobs, we will have this population phenomenon occurring. It is particularly troubling since all of our neighboring states have basically come out of the recession but New Mexico hasnt.

Robert Rhatigan, who heads the University of New Mexicos geospatial population studies program at the universitys Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said the exodus is historic.

People are leaving this state en masse and at a rate that has never been seen before, he said.

It is a relatively new phenomenon.

From 1980 to 1990, New Mexicos population grew by 16.3 percent. From 1990 until 2000, the increase was 20.1 percent. From 2000 until 2010, New Mexicos population grew by 13.1 percent.

Then the Great Recession and anemic recovery slammed on the brakes.

A spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, said reversing the outward tide will take economic diversification and less reliance on federal assistance in the state.

The fact is our state is way too reliant on federal dollars  has been for over a century, said Michael Lonergan, the governors spokesman. Because of that, not only did we get hit with the national recession, but we took a second blow with federal budget cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) and a dysfunctional Washington. That put us behind almost every state. To make problems worse, we just saw one of the steepest crashes in the oil and gas industry  another sector weve been reliant on for decades.

Lonergan said the governor has championed tax cuts and job training, adding, We can no longer rely on Washington congressional leadership. Thats why its more important than ever that we continue to grow our private sector and help small businesses grow.

Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat, said early childhood education, improved health care and economic diversification are critical to attracting  and keeping  New Mexico residents. He said President Donald Trumps intention to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act could drive even more population loss.

The loss of health care coverage and jobs could very well send New Mexico into another recession, sending even more people out of state, Udall said. New Mexico is a beautiful state, and its people are strong, and we can turn this trend around if we agree that our goal is to invest in our state and work together to build it up.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, also a Democrat, is scheduled to give a speech to the New Mexico Legislature on Monday that will focus, at least partly, on the problem.

There is a silver lining, according to UNMs Rhatigan, who predicted that the out-migration is slowing and could soon stop.

They (New Mexicans) havent stopped leaving yet, but they will stop by the end of the decade, he said. They have roots here. Whenever you see an out-migration from a place due to a depressed economy, the movement only lasts two to three years because the people who remain are tied to the land and arent going anywhere. The people who are going to leave have left.

Two ways to change

There are two ways a states population can change: the difference between the number of births and deaths, and the difference between the number of people moving into the state versus out of the state.

According to the Census Bureau, New Mexico added 59,585 people due to natural growth (births versus deaths) from 2010 to 2016. During the same time period, however, 37,780 more people left the state than moved in, resulting in a total population increase estimated at only about 21,000.

The resulting 1 percent rate of growth puts New Mexico at the other end of the spectrum from its neighbors.

Colorado, Texas and Utah are growing at a 10 times faster rate than us, Sanderoff said.

As if this data werent troubling enough, a 2015 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that more than seven out of 10 babies born in New Mexico were born to mothers reliant on Medicaid, the state and federally funded health insurance program for the poor.

The vast majority of New Mexicos children are born into low-income households and receive health care through Medicaid, Sanderoff said. This creates an extra strain on our social services in New Mexico, and there is a correlation between poverty and educational attainment levels. That also creates additional challenges for our public schools.

New Mexico also remains stubbornly at the wrong end of several quality-of-life indicators. WalletHub, a personal finance site, recently ranked all 50 states in terms of best and worst places to raise a child. New Mexico ranked last.

The study analyzed health and safety, education and child care, affordability, socioeconomics and family fun.

Out of those five categories, New Mexico ranked second-worst for both education and child care, and socioeconomics; it was the worst state for affordability. Asked what New Mexico could do to improve its reputation as a place to raise a family, WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez, based in Washington, D.C., said boosting the states educational climate would help.

New Mexico could certainly take measures to improve its public high school graduation rate, which is currently the second-lowest in the country, at just 69 percent, she said. Attracting new businesses would also help, as the states unemployment stands at the fourth-highest, at 6.6 percent.

More well-paying jobs could also help reduce the percentage of residents living below the poverty line, she added.

New Mexicos poverty rate is 16 percent, the second-highest rate in the country.

Wallet Hub also ranked New Mexico the seventh-worst state in which to retire, making it difficult to attract well-off retirees who could help stimulate the economy.

Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat who represents northern New Mexicos 3rd Congressional District, said rural New Mexico is hurting from a lack of infrastructure investment.

I have repeatedly heard from small communities across northern New Mexico that a lack of infrastructure and investment in rural areas has hurt our state, Lujan told the Journal . Neighboring states have focused on high-speed internet access, job training and education and other priorities specifically designed to attract businesses and create jobs. For New Mexico to succeed, we need to work together to address the challenge of providing the investments we need, cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship, and providing education and training opportunities for our people.

Youthful departures

Sanderoff said Albuquerque-based Research & Pollings own surveys indicate that younger adults and shorter-term residents are more likely to consider leaving New Mexico than others. Also, those who are not satisfied with their quality of life in the state are more likely to leave than those who are. But nothing factors into the population drain as much as jobs, he said.

New Mexico has numerous assets that are cherished by many Americans, including our great climate, culture, food, mountains and wilderness areas, Sanderoff said. But we need our economy and our jobs to grow. We want our children, after they graduate from college, to stay in New Mexico, and that isnt happening as much as it should.
This letter is in response to the column UN Vote Affirms Humanitarian Law by Iris Keltz that appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on Jan. 19.

She presents a biased view of the Two-State Solution in an effort to present Jewish settlements on the West Bank as being an obstacle for peace.

Keltz begins her column by describing the miracles of Chanukah and Christmas, as the holidays occurred at the same time last year. She states, Miracles are not everyday events, but when they happen they must be acknowledged and celebrated.

Keltz fails to acknowledge the miracle of Israeli independence in 1948 when Arab forces attacked from three fronts with the objective of pushing the Jews into the sea. Being outnumbered, outgunned and without outside assistance, Israeli forces repelled the invaders and expanded their territory.

Had the Arabs accepted the UN partition of 1948, a Palestinian state would be celebrating 69 years of independence alongside Israel.

Keltz goes on to discuss a history of treaties and agreements going back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration. She fails to mention the Oslo Accords in the 1990s that established the Palestinian Authority as a precursor to further negotiate the Two-State Solution.

Keltz fails to mention further negotiations in 2000 and 2008 whereby Israel offered vast concessions of territory and dismantling of settlements for a Palestinian state. The PA leaders, Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, respectively, would not commit to these offers.

Furthermore, Arafat launched a terror campaign against Israeli citizens known as the Second Intifada.

In current times, the PA has refused direct negotiations with Israel. Instead, they turn to nongovernmental organizations like the United Nations for legitimacy and to vilify Israel.

An example is the anti-Israel UN resolution that the United States would not veto on behalf of our staunchest ally in the Middle East.

The Jewish settlements in the West Bank are not an obstacle to peace as Keltz, (former) President Obama and (former) Secretary of State John Kerry contend. The militant Palestinian leadership has rejected offers to dismantle settlements for peace, refused direct negotiations and instigated terror attacks from both Gaza and the West Bank.

These militants benefit from an ongoing conflict to stay in power and maintain a corrupt status quo at the expense of the Palestinian people.

They will accept nothing less than the total annihilation of the Jewish state.
More New Mexicans are becoming victims of auto theft every day, especially in Albuquerque, and it is a deeply unsettling and disruptive experience. But, now, it is even taking lives.

A wonderful 14-year-old, Shaylee Boling, was tragically killed in Albuquerque earlier this month when police say ruthless car thieves crashed their stolen auto into the vehicle in which Shaylee was riding with her mother and 3-year-old brother, who were severely injured.

It is an intolerable trend that shows no signs of slowing. Elected officials and law enforcement must not wait to take strong action to combat car theft.

Albuquerque now has the highest rate of auto theft in the entire United States, according to the most recent report by U.S. New & World Report. No. 1 for car theft in the country.

Over 8,500 vehicles were reported stolen across our state in 2015 and 6,000 occurred in Albuquerque alone.

How much havoc does having your car stolen cause? Families depend on their cars to get to school and work, to travel to medical care and treatment, and to go about their normal daily lives.

People are faced with enormous burdens when they suddenly lose their vehicles to theft. The time lost, and the financial and psychological burdens of this rampant crime on the people of our state is inestimable.

A bipartisan group of legislators, including Rep. Monica Youngblood, Rep. Patrico Ruilobo and Rep. Bill Rehm, all of Bernalillo County, have joined together to push for a law to create important new tools that will help law enforcement to substantially reduce auto theft in New Mexico.

We recently introduced the legislation at the State Capitol alongside State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales and detective Ken Miller of the Albuquerque Police Department.

Many car thieves try to sell their stolen cars to auto recyclers to get cash. Senate Bill 139 and its companion, House Bill 177, will help stem the tide of auto theft across the state by partnering with automotive recyclers to help catch the criminals engaging in it.

It creates a system for auto recyclers to verify with the state Motor Vehicle Department, at the time of transaction, that the vehicle being considered for purchase is not, in fact, stolen.

The bills will strengthen law enforcements ability to gather and share information about potentially stolen vehicles.

Our legislation also will aid investigations into and recovery of stolen vehicles.

Preventing and reducing auto theft by exposing criminals and strengthening penalties is critical. The high risk of being identified at the point of sale, in addition to the profits vs. penalty ratio, will swiftly deter many of these criminals.

We know that it will work. Similar recent programs in other states have provided swift and significant results.

In North Carolina, the Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau received 41 reports of stolen vehicles in the systems first month of implementation. As a result, 22 of those stolen vehicles were stopped from being sold to salvage yards and 19 were confiscated following sales. The Bureau also recovered 33 vehicles.

Enacting car theft legislation will be a victory for New Mexico, and especially the residents of Bernalillo County who have been hard hit by vehicle theft.

When we consider the scope of the problem in New Mexico and the terrible consequences car theft carries, we cannot afford to wait.

New Mexico ranks poorly out of 50 states in so many important categories, such as unemployment, job growth, student achievement, child poverty and child well-being. Rolling back our current status as worst for car theft is one area we can, and must, begin to improve substantially, even in this years meeting of the Legislature.
Congressional committees arent getting a lot of media attention at the dawn of the President Trump era, but thats where much of the heavy lifting gets done in Washington.

And New Mexicos delegation has snagged some notable assignments in the 115th Congress.

Sen. Tom Udall, the Democratic dean of New Mexicos delegation, once again holds the ace card among his colleagues  a seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This powerful perch gives Udall a chance to influence all federal spending bills. Its particularly important for New Mexico, whose economy is so heavily reliant on federal assistance.

Udall has also ascended to the top-ranking Democratic spot on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, another important assignment for the state given New Mexicos abundance of Native American tribes.

The senator from Santa Fe will be busy: He also has seats on the Senate Foreign Relations, Commerce and Rules Committees.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, also a Democrat, will continue to carve out a national security niche with assignments to both Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees.

The Intel Committee post gives Heinrich a powerful voice on high-profile national matters, such as domestic surveillance and torture, while the Armed Services seat ensures an ability to look out for New Mexicos four military bases.

Heinrich will also serve as the top Democrat on the joint House-Senate Economic Committee, which focuses on U.S. employment, production and purchasing power.

On the House side, Rep. Steve Pearce  the delegations lone Republican  has re-joined the Natural Resources Committee, giving him a stronger voice on federal land use and endangered species issues so often contentious in New Mexico.

Pearce also retains his post on the Financial Services Committee, where he will chair a new subcommittee aimed at breaking up terrorist financing networks.

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, an Albuquerque Democrat, will remain on the House Agriculture and Budget committees.

The agriculture post gives Lujan Grisham, who has announced a run for governor in 2018, a platform on issues important to New Mexicos many farming communities. The Budget Committee sets spending guidelines for Congress as it develops specific appropriations bills.

Lujan Grisham has also been elected as chairwoman of Congressional Hispanic Congress. That gives her a big megaphone on issues affecting Hispanics in the U.S.

Finally, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., has retained his seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the most high-profile congressional panels working on a wide array of issues affecting the American economy.

Lujan was also re-elected by his fellow Democrats as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, an important political post that puts him in charge of his partys congressional races nationwide.

  

Heinrich, who is seeking re-election in 2018, recently felt compelled to explain to constituents a late-night vote he took on drug prices early in the new Congress.

The New Mexico Democrat was among 13 Democratic senators who cast a vote early this month against paving the way to lower prescription drug prices in the U.S. by importing drugs from Canada. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, failed narrowly.

Heinrichs vote was part of series of procedural votes related to the repeal of Obamacare. Heinrich supports Obamacare and does not want to repeal it.

Critics of the Democratic senators noted that they had received big bucks from the pharmaceutical industry  in Heinrichs case, $150,500 between 2011 and 2016.

Heinrich and other Democratic senators voting against the move to open the U.S. market to Canadian pharmaceuticals said they were concerned about unsafe and unregulated drugs flooding the U.S. market.

Despite what some have claimed, I have challenged PhRMA (the drug industry) on their top legislative priority and was an original cosponsor of the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, which sought to allow the federal government to use its purchasing power to drive a hard bargain with manufacturers and negotiate lower prescription drug prices, Heinrich wrote on his Facebook page in response to the criticism. On the importation vote, the promise of being able to access cheaper prescription drugs is obviously a goal I have long shared, but so is ensuring the integrity of those drugs.

Email: mcoleman@abqjournal.com. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
SAN DIEGO  When the story of Barack Obamas presidency is finally written, I hope biographers dedicate a few pages to the 44th presidents abysmal record on the issue that seems to have most baffled him: immigration.

Right off the bat, Obama put himself on impossible footing by trying to be simultaneously compassionate and tough. He wanted to please Latinos who identify with immigrants so much that they want to give the undocumented legal status, and also union members who are so afraid of competition that they would prefer to hand them a one-way ticket out of the country.

Ultimately, Obama took care of labor and settled for trying to fool Latinos into thinking he was in their corner. In reality, he was working against their interests by deporting a record number of people.

In his first term, Obama wasted a lot of time and energy arguing with supporters who wanted him to stop deportations  or at least slow them down  and denying that he had the executive authority to act without Congress.

In his second term, he miraculously found that power and gave so-called Dreamers  undocumented young people brought here as children  a two-year reprieve from deportations.

Obama went from soliciting Latino votes in the 2008 election by promising to tackle immigration reform in his first 100 days to never getting around to crafting a remedy for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

And he went from criticizing the George W. Bush administration for sending federal agents to arrest nursing mothers who were torn from their babies to essentially deputizing, through Secure Communities, thousands of local and state police officers to enforce federal immigration law by checking the immigration status of anyone with whom they came in contact.

In recent weeks, the same person who  in August 2010  signed a $600 million border security bill proposed by Senate Democrats that put more agents, fencing and equipment on the U.S.-Mexico border expressed worry about his successors plan to build a border wall.

Its surreal to hear Obama and other Democrats express their indignation at the idea that people could be deported and families separated when, for the past eight years, this has been standard operating procedure for the Obama administration and the party that covered up for it.

There needs to be an honest and serious accounting of Obamas cynical and cruel immigration record.

And yet we cant very well expect the media to provide it. Theyre too busy scrutinizing the current president for threatening to do much of what the last one already did.

At the same time, we have pro-Obama spinners who are trying to wipe his record clean and convince us all that the bad stuff never happened.

It happened, and it went like this.

After winning election in 2008, Obama recruited as his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel who, while he was in Congress, worked hard to keep immigration reform off the agenda. And he named as his first homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano who, as Arizona governor, declared a state of emergency on the border.

Once in office, Obama broke his vow to make immigration reform a priority, deported about 3 million people, divided hundreds of thousands of families and put into foster care tens of thousands of U.S.-born children whose parents got deported.

He also pushed back initially against those immigration reformers who asked that he use executive power to halt deportations, claimed falsely that his administration was only deporting criminals and then tried to pin the whole debacle on Republicans.

And when faced  in the summer of 2014  with tens of thousands of women and child refugees from Central America streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border, Obama ordered most them deported without due process, jailed thousands of others, including infants and toddlers who were put in what activists have come to refer to as baby jails, and released others into the custody of relatives in the United States  only to round them up two years later.

While all this was happening, the liberal media seemed not all that interested and said very little.

Its no wonder theyre so fired up now to go after President Trump on his immigration crackdown. After a siesta that lasted eight long years, theyve got to be well rested.

Copyright, The Washington Post Writers Group.
This legislative session, lawmakers should be having a real if we knew then what we know now moment regarding marijuana. Instead, less than two weeks into the 60-day session, they have introduced 10 cannabis bills  including legalizing recreational pot, expanding the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, and establishing an excise tax on the sale of the drug and sending all revenues to Medicaid funds.

To paraphrase a well-worn idiom, all that activity amounts to lawmakers plucking their buds before theyre mature.

In 2007, when the Legislature passed the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act legalizing medical marijuana for chronic and terminal illnesses (which the Journal supported), lawmakers did not have the brain studies that document the long-term damage the drug can cause and they did not make any provisions for driving under its influence. They just knew New Mexicans dealing with debilitating diseases, such as HIV-AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis, deserved relief from their nausea and pain. But, today, seven qualifying conditions have morphed into more than 20, 182 patients into 33,000-plus and nonprofit producers into those that offer online deals and a multimillion-dollar pot farm.

And still the state Legislature is looking at growing the pot business irrespective of consequences.

It is time to take a breath, and look at the medical research and law enforcement outcomes, and remember that, under current state law, officers have discretion on citing and, if they do, possession is just a petty misdemeanor that carries a possible penalty of up to 15 days in jail and fines up to $100.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine examined 17 years of research and found strong evidence pot increases the risk of schizophrenia and other causes of psychosis, worsens respiratory symptoms, induces frequent episodes of chronic bronchitis and may increase heart attacks. It said there is not enough research to conclude whether it is effective for treating cancers, irritable bowel syndrome, epilepsy, Parkinsons or helping people beat addictions. And a 2014 published study based on research conducted in part at the Mind Research Network at the University of New Mexico found chronic marijuana use causes significant abnormalities in brain function and structure, and may lower IQ.

Meanwhile, a 2016 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analysis found that, in Washington state, 17 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes two years after marijuana was legalized had THC, the component that creates the high, in their system. And a New York University professor specializing in issues involving drugs and criminal policy says studies show using marijuana and driving roughly doubles the risk of a crash.

For years, Rep. William Rehm, R-Albuquerque, has introduced a bill targeting drugged driving, but fellow lawmakers have had little appetite to address the issue. Meanwhile real-life cases here include no charges being filed against a driver who smoked pot, dropped ecstasy, then ran over and killed a teen, and one who shot up heroin, ran over a man changing a tire and killed him.

Rehms latest version would set presumptive drugged-driving blood concentration levels for marijuana, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and methamphetamine. And, as is the law in Colorado, it would make it illegal to drive with a THC level higher than 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood.

Other lawmakers have expressed concern that THC stays in a persons system much longer than the high it induces. The AAA Foundation agrees and says, rather than setting legal limits for THC, police should train officers as drug recognition experts. Its a debate worth having but, in a state with a terrible substance abuse problem  eighth in the nation for drug overdose deaths in 2015, 157 of 398 traffic deaths last year attributed to alcohol  laws should make the state safer, not more dangerous.

(Theres also the very real problem in a state with 6 percent unemployment that employers already dont hire and can, and do, fire employees for using what is still an illegal substance under federal law, even if the employee has a medical prescription card.)

In 2014, Rehm said it was important to look at new studies that show brain damage as a result of smoking marijuana, as well as consider that New Mexicos DWI problem does not need to be increased. It was true then and it is true now. Lawmakers searching for a new revenue stream to help fill the looming nine-figure deficit  supporters claim taxing marijuana could generate $20 million to $60 million annually  need to consider the negative medical effects of marijuana use and the states continual struggle with impaired driving.

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.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

On Good Friday 2016, New Mexico child protective services workers were scrambling to find a temporary home for a troubled 12-year-old boy.

Hello All, I have a kiddo in my office who we may need help watching in the office over the weekend as we are having a difficulty placing him, social worker Frankie L. Trujillo wrote in an inner-office email entitled Overtime opportunity.

New Mexico Children, Youth and Family Department workers had already checked with one shelter for children in Farmington. They said no because of his defiance, wrote CPS supervisor Christina Nuanes in an email. The other problem is he is refusing to go anywhere.

Surely we can convince him. Its Easter!!! another supervisor responded.

Even a veteran caseworker had no luck, replied Nuanes, adding, This kiddo is soooo angry.

For more than a year, children removed from their parents after being abused or neglected have ended up temporarily housed in CYFD offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe while they wait for a new home. Some have such behavior problems, CYFD staff cant find foster homes or even a youth shelter that will accept them.

Under the watch of employees who work overtime night shifts, children have had to sleep on couches or in sleeping bags. CYFD staffers, who by policy arent allowed to take the children home with them, have supplied fast food for their meals, taken their dirty clothes home to wash, and relied on an employees gym membership so children get showers.

We hope our skill level allows us to get them fed, get them stable enough so they can sleep, and then we figure out the next day, said one former placement worker. We do have our moments of where we just have the feeling we dont have the skill level. But we have to do something.

Some CYFD employees have voiced concerns about their safety in the office and the safety of children in their temporary care.

Its a ticking time bomb, said one former employee.

Since 2011, the number of abused or neglected children taken into state care in New Mexico has soared by more than 50 percent, with about 2,600 now in state custody, according to CYFD data and interviews.

The state has shored up the number of foster homes by 20 percent since early 2015, but still cant keep up with demand.

CYFD Secretary Monique Jacobson said last week her agency is trying to minimize the chances of a child ending up stuck in a CYFD office.

Efforts are underway to increase the safety of protective services staff, improve child placements at area shelters, and make CYFD offices more hospitable for children in the hours after theyve been removed from their families.

No child should be staying in an office building, Jacobson told the Journal . But I cant tell you with confidence that we will always be able to find a placement for a child before the sun sets.

The problem isnt unique to New Mexico.

In Texas, child protective services last fall started using armed security guards to help watch over foster children temporarily housed in state offices. The states of Georgia and South Carolina both entered into court settlements last year in part to curb or eliminate the practice of housing children in hotels and government offices.

These are children who the state has determined there are sufficient circumstances to remove them or pull them out of a home, said Ira Lustbader, the litigation director for Childrens Rights, a New York nonprofit involved in the lawsuits in Georgia and South Carolina. So what they need most is support and stability and housing that can meet their needs.

Temporarily housing children in government offices and private shelters, he added, is typically a symptom of a deeper problem. And obviously its the states obligation to get underneath it and address it.

Overnight at CYFD

In Albuquerque, beds for children arent allowed in the CYFD offices because of state fire code. Cots that were brought in ended up getting stolen. Thats why children end up sleeping on couches or in sleeping bags. Some have stayed for days, especially if they were older and harder to place.

CYFD officials last week didnt readily have totals on the number of children housed in offices each month. So far, there have been no reports of serious injuries or harm to any children or state workers.

But life in the office hasnt been easy. Some children have become violent or tried to escape. One day, a boy in custody managed to crawl up to the roof of the two-story CYFD office on Lamberton NE, all the while laughing at those trying to coax him down.

A 17-year-old youth in early December apparently had free run of an area of the Lamberton CYFD office and was suspected of stealing a social workers wallet off her desk, according to an Albuquerque police report. The wallet was never found.

CYFD officials say they have created an after-hours unit and reduced overtime costs for child protective services over the past few years by $200,000. But the overtime cost last year was still $1.7 million.

CYFD boss Jacobson said her agency has made strides in hiring and is enhancing staff training. To address safety, workers will wear devices to call 911 in case of emergency in the office. And when children spend the night, usually two employees will watch them.

Efforts are also underway to secure legislative approval for a waiver that would allow CYFD to renew its San Mateo office in Albuquerque and create an area where beds for children would be permitted, Jacobson said. In November, a five-year lease renewal at the Lamberton office called for the installation of a washer and shower at no extra charge to the state, she added.

Jacobson said CYFD also hopes to maximize use of emergency shelters, but she recognizes that some children have higher needs that would preclude that.

For instance, one CYFD email obtained by the Journal asked for volunteers to watch a 9-year-old with sexual acting out.

Steve Johnson, who runs New Day Safe House in Albuquerque, says his shelter provides up to 90 days housing for CYFDs abused and neglected youths, but I have to be careful of the security and safety of my staff and security and the welfare of the young people living with me.

Some of those who end up in CYFD offices have been with us multiple times and have failed, he said.

To me, this is more of a systemic issue. Its not like its anybodys fault, Johnson said. CYFDs doing their job. Were doing our job. And were all jammed up. Were struggling with a system that doesnt have a place for these young people. This overall system across the state is under a lot of stress.

Young child victims

A Legislative Finance Committee evaluation in 2014 concluded that 36 percent of children who are the victim of maltreatment substantiated by CYFD and remain in the home will be abused or neglected again before they are 18.

The largest segment of child victims in New Mexico in fiscal year 2015  some 1,193 children  were less than 1 year old, according to federal data. The second biggest group: those age 6.

Just last October, Albuquerque police responded at about 5:30 p.m. to the Lamberton CYFD office, where a6-year-old boy was inside a vehicle acting out.

The child was yelling, biting, punching and kicking CYFD staff and his foster mother, a police report stated. The boy had his first visit with his biological mother and when the visit ended he began behaving poorly.

Twice he tried to run away but was caught by private security and then police. CYFD staff called for an ambulance to take him to University Hospital for an evaluation. While in the ambulance (the boy) was screaming at, kicking, yelling at, and punching ambulance personnel, police reported.

The LFC recently concluded that CYFD costs are increasing for care and support of children in the states custody. That is a result of continued increases in the caseload and the cost of serving younger children and more complex cases, according to a report released earlier this month.

Children taken into custody increasingly require specialized care, resulting in a higher cost per child in foster care. Children in specialized foster care generally have higher needs, present increased behavioral health challenges, and have increased physical health problems, the LFC reported.

We (society) are just doing more damage to our kids, said a former CYFD placement worker. It isnt just the dirty home where a mother got mad and spanked them. These days its beating them with a 2 x 4 or hitting them over the head. Or throwing them out of the house. It isnt what used to count as abuse. Its a lot of awful terrible things that happen.
What happens to New Mexico children who arent taken into state custody after child protective services confirms abuse or neglect by their parents?

Increasingly, they are subjected to repeat maltreatment in as little as six months.

It takes a lot to put a kid in CYFD custody, say former employees. Initially, CYFD tries to find ways to safely keep the children in the home and preserve the family.

Sometimes that means by the time that child actually gets picked up (by the state), additional trauma has happened to them, said one former placement worker.

In the latest CYFD performance report, the incidence of repeat maltreatment of children who remained in the home climbed from 7 percent in fiscal year 2013 to more than 12 percent from July to September 2016, with more than 87 percent not re-abused within 6 months.

Highly effective child welfare systems should reduce repeat maltreatment, but New Mexico continues to report increasing rates, according to a report by the state Legislative Finance Committee.

The LFC attributed the rates in part to high staff caseloads and high turnover rates among child protective services workers. Last fall turnover was about 20 percent, but that was reduced from 29 percent earlier in the year.

Child welfare advocates, legislators and CYFD officials say the long-term key to keeping kids safe at home and reducing the need for foster care is prevention.

Theres so much work we need to do, CYFD Secretary Monique Jacobson acknowledged, but, she added, Theres no simple silver bullet fix.

She said her agency has been rolling out programs to engage families that are at risk for child abuse or neglect, including opening family support centers, relaxing eligibility for child care assistance and offering more intense home visiting.

Yet, the LFC in a recent budget document cited the repeat maltreatment trend, contending CYFD dedicated little resources for prevention.

Substance abuse support and behavioral health needs remain some of the most significant barriers to improving family outcomes, stated the LFC.

Jacobson said her agency is really shoring up our core functions and looking at our training (of social workers and investigators).

Her flagship initiative, an advertising campaign called PullTogether, has drawn mixed reviews since its rollout in May.

Jacobson, whose background is in corporate marketing, defended the campaign as a tool to inform New Mexicans about foster care, child abuse, child care assistance and other programs. Its website can be found at www.pulltogether.org.

The advertising contract to create PullTogether cost nearly $3 million, and state records show CYFD is paying nearly $70,000 a year for a program administrator.

Critics say the money could have been used for more direct services or retention bonuses to combat staff turnover.

Weve seen the research and efficacy claims of social marketing programs, like PullTogether, said Miles Conway, spokesman for AFSCME Council 18, which represents CYFD workers. Our unions position is that CYFD needs to improve core, fundamental services before we can go put icing on any cakes.

Im appalled at what we spent (for the advertising contract), said Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque. Because for the same amount of money you could buy a house and have it all fixed up and have a 24-hour staff there so you wouldnt be placing children in (CYFD) offices.

Tara Ford, co-founder of the Albuquerque-based Pegasus Legal Services for Children, said the PullTogether initiative should involve other state agencies, like the state Human Services Department, which oversees federal Medicaid funds that could be leveraged by CYFD.

HSD needs to be accountable for providing the needed mental health services, particularly to at-risk youth and kids who are coming into custody. And preferably before they come into custody, Ford said.

So far, PullTogether has focused on getting the community involved in helping children in New Mexico, such as donating backpacks for foster children.

Jacobson said there are plans to include various state agencies, including HSD and Cultural Affairs, in the PullTogether effort.
Less than two weeks into this years session, Democratic lawmakers already are attacking many of Gov. Susana Martinezs education reform policies, including the teacher evaluation system, school grades and even the office of education secretary itself.

Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, the majority whip, said he believes his colleagues feel emboldened by the shift in power from last years election in which Democrats regained control of the state House and boosted their majority in the Senate.

There are a lot of issues that I think folks have been working on for a while, and with the change in the composition (of the Legislature), I think that will really lend itself to getting some of this work done, he told the Journal.

Padilla has introduced a number of bills that would reshape the educational landscape for New Mexico, arguing that it is time for dramatic change to pull the state out of 49th place on nearly every measure of student success.

One of his proposals calls for an elected state board of education to replace the education secretary position held by Hanna Skandera, who was appointed in 2011. Another would create a statewide department of early childhood education, which would be the only one of its kind in the country.

We should try new things, Padilla said. The status quo isnt working for us. Thats why you see the filing of all these pieces of legislation.

Martinez agrees the status quo is not working and has been battling for specific reforms, many of which she was able to implement without legislative approval. She argues those policies are improving outcomes, pointing to recent statistics like the record 2016 graduation rate and a dramatic increase in the number of high school students tackling rigorous advanced placement exams.

Earlier this month, during a news conference to celebrate the 71 percent graduation rate, she said New Mexicos Public Education Department has raised the bar, and kids are meeting the challenge.

We are not going to keep it low with low expectations, she said. We are going to raise it and have high expectations.

One of her most controversial policies is basing up to 50 percent of teacher evaluations on student testing results.

Now, Martinez said, it is time to take reform a step further by ending the failed practice of moving our kids from one grade to the next when they simply cannot read.

That plan, which calls for some third-graders to be held back if they cant meet reading proficiency benchmarks, has been introduced at the Legislature throughout her administration but never made it into law.

Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, has brought it back for another push during the current session, which began Jan. 17 and runs through March 18.

You are four times more likely not to graduate if you go from the third grade to the fourth without being able to read, Martinez said. We dont want to hold them (students) back; we want to make sure they are prepared to move forward.

Heres a closer look at some of the education bills generating debate.

THIRD-GRADE RETENTION

Sponsors : Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque

Modeled after a system developed under former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the bill calls for third-graders to be held back if they are not proficient readers.

There are exemptions for students who have disabilities, speak English as a second language, test well in other subjects or already have been held back in an earlier grade.

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have used some form of third-grade retention.

Opponents contend that the practice separates children from their social groups and has not been proven to create lasting academic improvement.

EARLY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Sponsors : Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque

A secretary of early education would oversee the new cabinet-level department, which would centralize services currently offered through the Human Services Department, Public Education Department and the Children, Youth and Families Department.

Padilla told the Journal he envisions greater efficiency and consistency for the care of children up to age 5, as well as pregnant women.

Its going to line up the trains the right way, he said. This department will focus early education under one cabinet head. This will be a first in the nation program. Its a big, bold move for us.

PED spokesman Robert McEntyre said he opposes Padillas proposal because the three agencies are already working well together.

CHARTER SCHOOL MORATORIUM

Sponsor : Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque

With lawmakers questioning the funding formula for charter schools, Trujillo is seeking a 2-year freeze on new charters to run from June 1, 2017, to Jan. 1, 2020.

Trujillo has said she is not opposed to charter schools but worries that they are taking money away from traditional public schools. Charter opponents also argue that a number of low-quality schools offer a poor education, earning Fs year after year.

Skandera has said a moratorium is extreme and inappropriate because it limits parents options for their children.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Sponsor : Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque

Padilla hopes to get rid of the education secretary job and replace it with a 10-member state board of education  a system that was in place for many years.

In 2002, voters amended the New Mexico Constitution to create the secretary position; now Padilla wants to go back to them to revive the elected board model, arguing that it brings management closer to home.

ATTENDANCE AND TEACHER EVALUATIONS

Sponsor : Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, and Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho

The two Rio Rancho Republicans would like teachers to be able to take all of the sick leave in their contracts without losing points on their evaluations. Under the current system, attendance counts for 10 points out of 200, or 5 percent of the total.

The Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education endorsed the bill earlier this month.

Currently, teachers are penalized if they are absent for more than three days, though they can lose all the attendance points and still be rated exemplary.

NEW STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FORMULA

Sponsor : Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque

In conjunction with the New Mexico Center for School Leadership, Padilla is advocating for an alternative assessment model that goes beyond standardized test scores.

For instance, students could submit portfolios or final projects, which would be weighed along with their exam results.

That data would be used to calculate school and district grades and teachers evaluations  replacing the current student achievement measure, which is comprised of scores from standardized tests like the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC.

Currently, student achievement makes up half of a teachers evaluation, in most cases, with measures like classroom observation and parent surveys comprising the other half.

Padilla claims traditional tests are limited because they cant capture talent in other areas like art or music.

PRE-K FUNDING

Sponsor : Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque

For the sixth year, Democratic lawmakers are seeking a constitutional amendment to support early childhood education by tapping the Land Grant Permanent Fund.

The plan would invest 1 percent of the $15 billion funds growth to help 78,000 New Mexico kids who lack high-quality childcare.

During a recent press conference, Maestas and Martinez said they believe the amendment could advance this year because over 40 organizations have endorsed it, including both of New Mexicos teachers unions.

Martinez opposes the push to tap the permanent fund, calling it financially irresponsible.

ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BREAKUP

Sponsor : Rep. David Adkins, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque

Under the bill, APS, the 34th largest district in the nation, would be divided into three pieces to increase accountability to the public.

Currently, the district has roughly 85,000 students and 12,000 employees in 141 schools scattered across nearly 1,200 square miles.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Rain showers along with windy conditions. High around 65F. Winds S at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 41F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
LAS CRUCES  After a sunset hike in the picturesque Organ Mountains, a dozen kids from the Boys & Girls Club were asked to describe their experience in a single word.

They wrote on white and pink index cards: cool, enchanting, mysterious, beautiful, adventurous.

The hike belonged to a new initiative launched this month in southern New Mexico called Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, a partnership among three nonprofit organizations to bring Hispanic and underserved youth into the outdoors.

Nationally, people of color are really underrepresented not just in conservation advocacy work but in their visitation to public lands, said Gabe Vasquez, New Mexico Wildlife Federation coordinator in Las Cruces. The mission is to reconnect Hispanic families with meaningful outdoor experiences. By connecting them, they are more likely to become caretakers, stewards and conservation leaders.

Just one in five visitors to national parks self-identified as a minority  Hispanic, African-American or Asian-American  according to the latest demographic survey of visitors by the National Park Service in 2009. The survey has sparked efforts by the agency and nonprofits to boost diversity in parks visitation.

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation, Latino Outdoors and Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks aim to take the kids  as well as their families  on excursions that may include hiking, fishing, bird watching and kayaking.

A fundamental of Boys & Girls Clubs is to give kids opportunities they may not get elsewhere, said Ashley Echavarria, chief executive of the Las Cruces club. If we can find ways to help our kids enjoy the outdoors and have fun, that is a win-win.

Just outside Las Cruces, the newly anointed Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument encompasses nearly half a million acres of Chihuahuan desert, including rugged peaks and historical and cultural sites. About an hour north of the city is Caballo Lake.

Vasquez led the first hike of middle and high school students as part of the Nuestra Tierra, or Our Land, project through Baylor Canyon Pass just east of the city.

Our curriculum, we look at our landscapes through a cultural lens, he said. We talked about the Jornada Mogollon culture. I think the kids were really surprised to hear that the prehistoric people who lived here were on the land for 1,300 or 1,400 years. When I think about the culture and the history of these places, they really tie back to me as a mestizo. This is our history. Nobody should be locked out of it.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
WASHINGTON  Just a few days ago, Enrique Pena Nieto was a pariah president, dogged by protests and cursed with the lowest approval rating for a Mexican leader in recent history.

No more, thanks to Donald Trump.

Months of Trumps insults to Mexican migrants, threats to build a vast border wall to keep out them out, deport those whove arrived and impose crippling taxes on Mexican exports were met with teeth-clenched restraint by Pena Nietos government  infuriating many Mexicans.

But when Trump repeatedly insisted Pena Nieto accept paying for the wall, Pena Nieto finally had enough and scrapped a planned Jan. 31 meeting with Trump in Washington.

Suddenly, the nation rallied around him.

We have to support the president of Mexico, so he can defend the countrys interests, said telecom magnate Carlos Slim, the worlds fourth-richest man. I would be very interested in seeing this unity last.

Even the governments most prominent critic, leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has called on Mexicans who three weeks ago were marching in the streets against the governments polices to support Pena Nieto.

Rising crime, a sluggish economy and a series of corruption scandals in his party had already sent the presidents popularity reeling. Things got even worse when the government  which originally promised lower fuel prices  imposed a sudden 20-percent increase. Nationwide protests and widespread looting broke out and Pena Nietos approval ratings collapsed to a historic low of 12 percent in mid-January.

Then came the mini-showdown with Trump.

Under a national crisis people rally around a leader. Now hes got to keep leading, thats important, said Peter Schechter, senior vice president for strategic Initiatives at the Atlantic Council. There has to be perception he continues to lead.

Former presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar saId the popularity bounce for Pena Nieto may be short-lived.

There is a certain feeling of unity around the president, Aguilar said. But it is very possible that this sentiment could evaporate.

While most Mexicans were flabbergasted that Pena Nieto chose to meet the Mexico-bashing Trump before the election, many economic and political analysts praised his cautious diplomacy, meant to avoid a potentially catastrophic rupture with a northern neighbor that that buys 80 percent of the countrys exports.

But traditional cautious diplomacy may not always work in the Trump era.

Being friendly, being courteous, now appears to be weak, and Mexico should not and cannot appear to be weak, Aguilar said.

Trump has endlessly repeated that hell make Mexico pay for a border wall, and Mexican officials have endlessly ridiculed the idea.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that the administration hasnt yet determined just how to make Mexico pay.

He said the buffet of options could include a tax on goods coming across the border, import and export taxes  even a tax on drug cartels or fines to people who come to the U.S. illegally.

Schechter noted that the spat could increase the popularity of Lopez Obrador, who espouses weakening ties with the United States. It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world.

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor who advocates developing the countrys internal economy, has already declared his intention to make a third run for the presidency in 2018. Lopez Obrador narrowly lost in his first two tries, but Mexico could be a different, angrier place in 2018 with a wall sealing it off from the United States, millions of deported migrants and a potential recession caused by scrapped trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Still, Lopez Obrador  a fiery, irascible and unyielding leftist  may suffer if Mexicans start seeing parallels with Trumps behavior.

I dont see this as automatically implying more votes for Andres Manuel, Aguilar said. It may instead prove damaging to him, if comparisons are made.

If they are compared, the Mexican public could think, Gee, its tough to vote for a messianic guy whos going to get into trouble with the United States.'
YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Armenian Armys establishment, the top leadership of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh visited the Yerablur pantheon and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, who gave their lives for the independence of their country.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, President of Nagorno Karabakh Bako Sahakyan, Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Garegin II, Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and other senior officials visited the pantheon. The officials laid flowers at the graves of Commander Vazgen Sargsyan, Commander Andranik and the memorial for the fallen soldiers of the Nagorno Karabakh War.

January 28 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Army. On January 28, 1992, the Government adopted a historic decision On the Defense Ministry of Armenia, heralding the formation of the Armenian Army. The first draft took place in May of 1992.

On the occasion of Army Day, an awarding ceremony will be held in the Presidential Palace of Armenia. A concert is scheduled to take place in the evening.

On January 29, Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Garegin II will hold a Mass in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiatsin.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. Bako Sahakyan, President of Nagorno Karabakh, sent a congratulatory message to Armenias President Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of Army Day, the NKR Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS.

The message reads:

"Honorable Mr. President,

On behalf of the people and authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and myself I cordially congratulate You on the 25th anniversary of the formation of the heroic Armenian army, a holiday that is dear and memorable to all of us. The Armenian army has passed a glorious way and is the pride of all the Armenians, the main guarantee of our people's security, one of the significant factors of maintaining peace and stability in the region. The Armenian soldier with his unwavering spirit and invincible might brilliantly performs the Motherland defender's mission.



Distinguished Mr. President,

Having been standing at the origins of the Army's formation, You have done everything possible for its development and strengthening. In Nagorno Karabakh we know and appreciate Your contribution and patriotic efforts.

In connection with this cherished holiday I once again congratulate You, the whole personnel of the Republic of Armenia's Armed Forces and our entire people, wishing peace, great successes and new victories on the way of solving national issues and strengthening the Armenian statehood".
YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. Lieutenant Colonel David Ethell of the Royal Marines, Defense Attache of the United Kingdom for Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan released a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Armenian Armys establishment.

The message reads:

"On the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Army I would like to offer my congratulations and best wishes to Armenia. The UK and Armenia continue to have a comprehensive bi-lateral relationship in which defence is prominent, encouraging cooperation between our countries, sharing of many ideals and improvement through high quality training. Armenian willingness to contribute to international missions is a sign of the country playing its role in the world and highlights the values by which Armenia stands. Congratulations on reaching this milestone."
YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. Galust Sahakyan, Speaker of Armenias Parliament assesses the domestic politics situation as normal, without intrigues.

Everything moves on its course, its the usual path of our lives, if you take a path, you must finish it, but if you deviate from that path, then naturally you also lose things. Its the same in politics, Sahakyan said regarding former PM Hovik Abrahamyans departure, adding he doesnt think the 2015 February events will re-occur.

If any problem happens which will harm our state, anything is possible. But such situation cant happen, because its an election process, I think the political teams are sure that after the elections no one can accuse one another for anything, Sahakyan said.

Former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan announced on January 24 that he is stepping down as Vice President of the ruling party (RPA).
YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. On the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Army, the Armenian people shall first commemorate those immortals who gave their lives for defending the countrys borders, President Serzh Sargsyan said in his speech after an awarding ceremony in the Presidential Palace on the occasion of Army Day on January 28.

We, as a nation, stand by the parents who raised these heroes and send to their families the words of compassion and support.



Those boys fell defending their families, their friends and us all. They fell so that Armenia can live, so that aspirations of our people live on and become a reality. They became immortals and together with us will continue the millennia-long and incessant march of the Armenian nation, the President said.

Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the servicemen who were present at the ceremony, who continue the dedicated work of their brothers-in-arms in the Armed Forces.

Be sure that the Fatherland trusts you and believes in you. We are proud of you; you are the worthy sons of our nation, the power and reliance of our people, Serzh Sargsyan said, adding Now, in your presence, I address the people of Armenia with a congratulatory message on the occasional of the Armenian Army Day.

Congratulating the Armenian people on Army Day, the President of Armenia stressed the Armenian Army was created along with the reestablishment of the statehood.

However, the formation of the Army started earlier, and it started not from the top but from the bottom, spontaneously, through the instinct of self-defense of the people.



Hideous events, which had taken place in Sumgait, Baku, and other places in Azerbaijan, awaked our historic memory with the blood-chilling pictures of massacres and forced deportations. Formed spontaneously but deeply consciously the voluntary movement and first units of volunteers had become the axis on which the glorious and victorious structure  the Armenian Army would rise. We, as a nation, had united. Last time, we had been united like this at Sardarapat. The superior resources of the foe did not scare us. On the contrary, that fact made us serious, organized, and focused. Our Army was formed at the battlefield. We were fighting against the enemy literally inside our own home.

I recall a true story: a man with the firearm in hands was fighting the enemy in his own home. He fought and retreated from the doorway to the kitchen, then still fighting he retreated to the living room, then he took back his kitchen and his doorway. This is not an allegory; this is a true story from the heroic battle of Karintak. The war imposed on us, made us all the Army; this is the truth, the President said.

According to the President, during those years we needed officers - professional, experienced, and deeply knowledgeable of the military science.

We have been able to smoothly and effortlessly to intertwine the professional capabilities of the military and the strong battle spirit of the home guard. We were aware that the Fidai movement, even if of a heroic nature, had no prospects. The time had come to create a professional army. Military servicemen all over the Soviet Union answering the call of the Fatherland gathered here and carried out that tremendous task, Serzh Sargsyan said.

Twenty-five years ago, by the order of Vazgen Sargsyan our Army became a state structure. From that day one, we were fighting in the self-defense war at the state level. From that day on, the new and glorious history of the Armed Froces of the Republic of Armenia is being written. Many of the pages and heroes of that history have already appeared in history books. Moreover, that history has become an indivisible part of our national identity. That history is our self-respect, human and national dignity, the proof of our freedom, President Sargsyan added.
YEREVAN, JANAURY 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Army has passed its unique path, becoming one of the most professional structures in Armenia, political scientist Alexander Margarov told ARMENPRESS.

The Armenian Army is the only triumphed Army in the region. Our Army passed its unique path, becoming a professional structure, which is able to respond to those problems which exist in the unstable region, he said.

According to Margarov, Armenian soldiers are distinguished not only by their high level combat training, but also stable morale. All of this is linked with the society. Every citizen is ready to give his assistance to the solution of those problems which the Army is facing. The connection, which exists between the citizens and the Army is one of the achievements and peculiarities of the Armenian Army, Margarov said.

January 28 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Army. On January 28, 1992, the Government adopted a historic decision On the Defense Ministry of Armenia, heralding the formation of the Armenian Army. The first draft took place in May of 1992.
Update 1.45pm: Members of the Independent Alliance have called for an urgent review of how Donald Trump's travel ban is implemented at US Immigration controls in Dublin and Shannon Airports.

The Children's Minister Katherine Zappone has tweeted that she's "deeply concerned that discrimination may be happening" at Irish airports.

Solidarity with all demanding liberty and equality on the streets, at airports and in the courts of the US.  Katherine Zappone (@k_zappone) January 29, 2017

Longford/Westmeath Independent Alliance TD Kevin 'Boxer' Moran says he believes there should be "no facilitation" of the order on Irish soil.

"As a country we have always taken the lead on humanitarian issues and while US immigration policy is a matter for US authorities, it is clear that President Trumps recent decisions will have far-reaching implications, including for Irish citizens and those seeking to travel and visit America," he said.

Earlier:

President Trump's travel ban is being implemented again today by US Customs at Dublin and Shannon airports, as well as at ports of entry across the United States.

It is estimated that up to 200 people are being detained at American airports and in transist around the world as a result of the orders.

Mr Trump's orders include is a 90-day ban on travel to the US by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee programme.

The order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

A note on the US Embassy website in Dublin says that nationals of the countries listed, who have already scheduled a visa interview in Dublin, should not attend their appointment as the Embassy will not be able to proceed with their interview.

The note is titled 'Embassy Statement on POTUS* Executive Order Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S.'

A former Minister with responsibility for Immigration has described Trump's moves as "absolutely outrageous".

Senator Aodhan O Riordain said that across the globe refugees are put through stringent security procedures regardless of the new US President.

"Anybody who wants to get refugee status or apply for asylum anywhere in the world (goes through) extreme vetting," he said.

"Refugee status is a sacred international staus that is not handed out willy-nilly."

Clare-based Senator, Martin Conway - the Seanad Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Human Rights - said the order was a regressive step.

"This goes against what many Americans believe is the right thing to do," he said.

"Unfortunately, we are now living in a new world, (with) a new world order, where one of the biggest stakeholders in world humanity is effectively turning its back on the most vulnerable people in the world.

"That is not the America that many thousands of Irish people emigrated to."

The Executive Order suspends visa issuance and entry into the United States of nationals of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, including people with dual citizenship.

The note on the US Embassy website says: "Nationals of these countries, including dual nationals, who have already scheduled a visa interview at U.S. Embassy Dublin should not attend their appointment as we will not be able to proceed with the visa interview."

Citizens of countries in the US visa waiver programme, including Ireland, will continue to be able to travel to the US for up to 90 days of business or tourism without a visa, provided they receive approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

The United Nations' refugee agency, the UNHCR, said it hopes the US would continue its long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution. External Relations Associate at UNHCR Jody Clarke said the refugee resettlement programme "gives a second chance to people who really have no opportunity to return home to the country they fled from".

Part of Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban for nationals of the seven Middle Eastern countries listed above has been blocked by an American court. (Read more

Read More:

Earlier, Donald Trump insisted his immigration reforms were "not a Muslim ban", and said they were "working out very nicely".

* POTUS = President of the United States.
Published On Jan 29, 2017 By Siddharth for Skoda Rapid

Skoda has given the Rapid its first-ever comprehensive facelift. What is new? And how does it stack up against the competition? We find out.

Car Tested: Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI CR Style AT

Engine: 1.5-litre Diesel Automatic | 110PS/250Nm | 21.73kmpl

ARAI-Certified Mileage: 21.73kmpl

At first, it is difficult to comprehend why Skoda is crying out hoarse over the 'new' Rapid. Sure, it looks new - at least from the front - and has some interesting features added to it, but lets face it: this is a five-year-old car. Look closely though and you will find that the Rapid, especially in the drivetrain configuration we have tested here, is still one of the best sedans you can have for the price.

The Skoda Rapid facelift is also significant for the company in India  Skoda India was involved in almost every facet of the development of this car. From the conceptualisation, to the pre-production planning, localisation of parts, production and after-sales service  Skoda India has made many changes to the Rapid to make it more competitive in the market.

Exterior Design

Finally, the Rapid now conforms to the company's new design language. The headlamps, front grille, bonnet, front bumper are all new. The 'Crystalline' design theme includes the new sleek blacked-out headlights; in the top-of-the-line Style trim, these get projector headlamps and LED daylight running lamps (DRLs). The headlamps certainly add a 'wow' factor to the design; the DRLs are another head-turner (our test unit was in the dull Carbon Steel colour). Together with the indicators, which are a pair of amber bulbs, they aid maximum visibility.

The grille on the Rapid also follows the company's new design philosophy; it has a butterfly's wing-like structure, the new Skoda logo sits on a power bulge on the bonnet rather than with the grille. The 19 vertical slats on the grille add a premium look; the chrome surround adds a bit of flair without being too garish.

The front bumper is all new and complements the angular design that Skoda has set for the Rapid. The air dam now extends from side-to-side, connecting the two rectangular fog-lamp housing. There is a noticeable lip that juts out at the bottom.

What is a cause for concern here is the fact that the fog lamp housing is not recessed in the front bumper. The design flaw could lead to these being the first victims of small day-to-day bumper incidents. Each fog lamp costs a minimum of Rs 1000 to replace, excluding taxes and labour.

We are nitpicking here, but the new headlamps could have been sleeker; when looked at from dead ahead, they seem to be too large for the car. The overall effect also makes the tyres look slimmer than usual - and those are 185mm section tyres!

The excitement about the new design fades a little as you move to the side; The Rapid's similarity to the Volkswagen Vento is clear. The chrome window-sill inserts, chrome door-handle inserts and 15-inch 'Matone' alloy wheels appear to have been added to help differentiate the two, though, the results arent exactly successful.

Move to the rear and you get the feeling that Skoda just gave up. You could criticise them for the decision to not update the rear; but the fact that all Skoda cars are designed at their HQ in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic could have increased the costs prohibitively.

The smoked effect tail lamps are a familiar sight. So is the boot lid with the aggressive cuts around the number plate holder. New visual features here include a boot-lip spoiler, the new Skoda logo, a chrome strip along the bottom edge of the boot-lid and some new creases on the rear bumper.

Interior Design and Feel

Inside the new Rapid, the first thing you notice is the black-and-cream upholstery and the spanking new 6.5-inch infotainment screen.

What you will love about cars from the VW Group is how well integrated everything looks and feels. The infotainment screen is a touchscreen unit, which gels nicely with the familiar-looking dashboard. The infotainment system is now smartphone-compatible via MirrorLink; the system works well with Apple devices for now, full functionality with Android phones depends on the device connected. Though the Rapid only has four door-mounted speakers  the sound quality is just fabulous. There are two things which would have made the new infotainment system perfect  an inbuilt navigation system and it doubling up as a reverse camera display.

These two features should not have been given a miss; rivals  the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Honda City and Hyundai Verna  offer them. The more-affordable Volkswagen Ameo has a reversing camera with a display!

The cabin, otherwise, is a good place to be in. The seats are comfortable and well-bolstered, the quality of materials used in the cabin is high and everything seems durable. The driver seat is height adjustable, the seatbelt is height adjustable for both front passengers, the steering wheel has tilt-and-telescopic adjust and there is a nice fat foot-rest. The steering wheel is chunky and has prominent thumb hangers which make it easy to grip, the steering mounted controls are easy to use and have a tactile feel, the instrument cluster with its two analogue dials and informative MID are easy to read. There are enough spaces around the cabin to keep various items; the door pads have space to keep 1-litre bottles and some knick-knacks, the lower centre console at the front has space for two large cups and some other stuff, there is even a tidy space under the front centre armrest.

Almost all the buttons and knobs around the cabin feel well thought of in terms of placement and are a treat to operate  the ORVM control knob on the driver door feels out of place as it is difficult to operate and feels flimsy. The robust feeling cabin was also let down when we discovered that the driver-door mounted electric boot-release button popped-out of its hold every time we operated it. Interestingly, this is a not a new problem and has been reported in test cars when the Rapid was first launched in 2011!

The rear passenger cabin is a nice place to be in  legroom, knee-room and headroom are generous, the seats are well cushioned and the centre armrest is wide enough to be used by two passengers without engaging in an elbow fight. The black-and-cream theme adds to the plush feel inside, though, the view out the side is not much for the rear passengers. All the power windows have a one-touch up/down functionality which is appreciable. The floor-mounted A/C vents with a stowable bottle holder add to the comfort factor, the noticeably large centre hump and the lack of a three-point seatbelt for the middle passenger makes the Rapid a 4-seater at best.

The 460-litre boot can swallow enough luggage for a group of four to go for a weekend trip, the rear seats cannot be folded down for freeing up additional storage space, though. It is not advisable to use the key to open the boot directly, it requires some effort and can result in the key-retract mechanism on the fob to become loose. You can open the boot using the driver-door mounted button or by long pressing the boot-release button on the key-fob.

Engine and Transmission

The Rapid we are testing is powered by a 1.5-litre, in-line 4-cylinder, turbocharged diesel motor. This is paired to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. The combination is not new for the Rapid  it was first introduced in 2014 on the pre-facelift model. What has changed since then is that the motor has been tweaked for lower emissions  there is also a slight bump in performance on paper.

Drive Experience

On paper, the Rapid TDI AT seems to be the best car overall. It has torquey diesel motor, a fast-shifting dual-clutch transmission, a plush cabin and a well-sorted ride.

Testing it threw up completely different results. The Rapid diesel automatic seems to be better suited for the highway than the city. During our in-city fuel-efficiency runs, the Rapid's DSG on auto mode seemed reluctant to shift up. It would only shift up after the engine crossed 2000rpms at most times  even when driving on level roads. The 1.5-litre TDI is not the most silent engine in the segment, though, it is refined. Combine the loud nature of the engine with the reluctance of the transmission to shift up and you have got an uncomfortable cabin to sit in. The centre armrest does interfere with the easy operation of the handbrake lever, but this is not a deal-breaker.

Out on the highway, the Rapid becomes a completely different car; the transmission seems more willing to shift up to high gears at higher speeds, which in turn makes the engine purr away nicely and that leads to an overall better ambience inside. This also showed up on our fuel-efficiency figures - the Rapid Diesel AT managed to achieve 12.6kmpl in the city and 21.44kmpl on the highway. Skoda claims an overall fuel-efficiency figure of 21.72kmpl, which would be difficult to achieve if you were to use the Rapid predominantly in the city.

The Rapid is a fast car  the torquey motor and the fast-shifting DSG help it gather pace very quickly. The 0-100kmph run takes 11.41 seconds and it is easy to reach too-fast-for-our-roads speeds without much effort.

The availability of a hill-hold assist and cruise control are added bonuses; the hill-hold is not just useful on ghat roads, the slight roller-coaster like roads in Pune also put the system to good use, preventing the car from rolling back when starting on slightly inclined sections of road. The cruise control feature may not be as usable, but it is good to know that it is there.

The Rapid has a confidence-boosting ride  the steering has minimal feedback but it is not vague, the pedals are well spaced out, the suspension is pliant but not overtly soft. Over broken tarmac, the Rapid diesel AT does seem to ride a bit harsher, this was also evident during our first drive. At higher speeds, the Rapid feels very stable with minimal body roll around corners. Couple this ride with the fast engine-transmission combo and you have a car that can eat off kilometres without any hassle. Being front-wheel driven, the car does understeer when you try to push too hard (and it is easy to do that), but the loss in traction is avoided thanks to the car being offered with an electronic stability control system.

Safety

The Rapid is offered with dual front airbags as standard, the front and rear headrests are adjustable and there are three-point seatbelts for four passengers. Front disc brakes, ABS, EBD also add an additional layer of safety.

Verdict

If you are in the market for a good looking, well built, spacious, comfortable, reasonably well-equipped, powerful-but-efficient sedan which will be mainly driven on the highway  the Rapid 1.5 TDI AT is the car for you. If you are looking for city-centric diesel-automatic sedan though, there are better options.

Photography: Vikrant Date
After spending much of last year worrying about the outcome of the presidential race, a recent survey by one of the nations largest life insurance companies found Americans have made New Years resolutions that reflect a hope that a brighter financial future is on the horizon.

The presidential election was a top worry for many people in 2016, both before and after the race was decided, but 32 percent of people who took a survey by Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America said they are optimistic they will make more money in the near future because of the election results,

We like to test the waters and see how focused consumers are in their spending and saving habits. We wanted to take their pulse at the most optimistic time of the year, said Katie Libbe, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life.

While spending less, saving more and paying down debt remain top priorities for many people in months ahead, other perennial favorites based on surveys done by other companies and organizations include health-related resolutions, such as losing weight, de-cluttering, managing time better and focusing on whats important.

In its 8th annual New Year Financial Resolutions study, Fidelity Investments, based in Boston, found 45 percent of Americans feel they are in better financial shape, although economic concerns linger, and 70 percent of those surveyed by Fidelity predict they will be better off financially in 2017.

The top financial concerns for those taking the Fidelity survey are unexpected expenses and the economy. Interestingly, the survey also found that people who make resolutions tend to be more optimistic, debt-free and financially secure.

People who make resolutions on money matters tend to feel better about the state of their finances and are generally in better financial shape than those who dont, said Ken Hevert, senior vice president of retirement at Fidelity.

Perhaps in response to an optimistic financial outlook, more respondents in the Allianz Life survey also claimed they would seek professional help with their finances.

Nearly one in three  29 percent  of those surveyed claimed they would be more likely to seek advice from a financial professional in 2017, the highest percentage in the studys history. Libbe pointed out the lowest percentage of respondents open to seeking financial advice was 19 percent in 2013.

More people are saying they are more likely to seek professional help in 2017, Libbe said. Thats a real demonstration of commitment.

As our study illustrates, despite a great deal of uncertainty about what lies ahead in 2017, many Americans still see positive possibilities for their personal finances.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: A test that measures the levels of five chemicals in the breath has shown promising results for the detection of cancers of the oesophagus and stomach in a large patient trial presented at the European Cancer Congress 2017 [1].

Together, stomach and oesophageal cancer account for around 1.4 million new cancer diagnoses each year worldwide [2]. Both tend to be diagnosed late, because the symptoms are ambiguous, meaning the five-year survival rate for these two types of cancer is only 15%.

The new research, involving more than 300 patients, showed that the test could diagnose cancer with an overall accuracy of 85%.

Dr Sheraz Markar, an NIHR Clinical Trials Fellow from Imperial College London, under the supervision of Professor George Hanna, told the Congress: "At present the only way to diagnose oesophageal cancer or stomach cancer is with endoscopy. This method is expensive, invasive and has some risk of complications.

"A breath test could be used as a non-invasive, first-line test to reduce the number of unnecessary endoscopies. In the longer term this could also mean earlier diagnosis and treatment, and better survival."

The trial was based on the results of previous research that suggested differences in the levels of specific chemicals (butyric, pentanoic and hexanoic acids, butanal, and decanal) between patients with stomach or oesophageal cancer and patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms without cancer. The new research aimed to test whether this 'chemical signature' that seemed to typify cancer could be the basis of a diagnostic test.

In the new study, the research team collected breath samples from 335 people at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; University College London Hospital; and the Royal Marsden Hospital, London. Of these, 163 had been diagnosed with stomach or oesophageal cancer and 172 showed no evidence of cancer when they had an endoscopy.

All the samples were analysed with a technique called selected ion flow-tube mass spectrometry, which is able to accurately measure small amounts of different chemicals in mixtures of gases such as breath.

Researchers measured the levels of the five chemicals in each sample to see which ones matched to the 'chemical signature' that indicated cancer.

The results showed that the test was 85% accurate overall, with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 81%. This means that not only was the breath test good at picking up those who had cancer (sensitivity), it was also good at correctly identifying who did not have cancer (specificity).

Dr Markar said: "Because cancer cells are different to healthy ones, they produce a different mixture of chemicals. This study suggests that we may be able detect these differences and use a breath test to indicate which patients are likely to have cancer of the oesophagus and stomach, and which do not. However, these findings must be validated in a larger sample of patients before the test could be used in the clinic."

Over the next three years, the researchers will continue with a larger trial, using the test with patients who are being given an endoscopy for gastrointestinal symptoms but not yet diagnosed with cancer. This will assess the ability of the test to pick up cases within a group that is likely to contain only a small percentage of cancers.

The team is also working on breath tests for other types of cancer, such as colorectal and pancreatic, which could be used as first-line tests in general practice surgeries.

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Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Breast conserving therapy (BCT, breast conserving surgery combined with radiation therapy) is superior to mastectomy in certain types of breast cancer patients, according to results from the largest study to date, to be presented to the European Cancer Congress 2017 [1] today (Monday).

Professor Sabine Siesling, from the Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL) and University of Twente and Mirelle Lagendijk, MD, from the Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and colleagues from other hospitals, studied survival nationwide in nearly 130,000 breast cancer patients, divided into two groups: those diagnosed between 1999-2005 and those diagnosed between 2006-2012. The patients selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry had no metastases (spread of the cancer to organs other than the lymph nodes close to the tumour). To obtain information on cause of death, data were linked to the cause of death register.

Although randomised trials initiated in the 1980s have shown equal survival outcomes for BCT and mastectomy, trials often exclude elderly patients or patients with existing disease other than breast cancer (comorbidity). Studies with large, population-based groups, including comorbidity and those who are elderly, can add to the knowledge based on these trials and provide outcome that is more widely applicable and reflect daily practice. Several recent population-based studies showed a survival advantage for BCT. However, these studies tended to lack long-term follow-up, evaluated limited patient numbers, had differences in medication after surgery between both groups and lacked the data on cause of death that are needed to evaluate breast cancer-specific survival. All this could have led to the introduction of confounding factors such as severity of disease or death due to other causes, the researchers say.

In the current study, a number of prognostic factors such as age, stage, comorbidity, hormonal receptor and HER2 status [2], and differences in systemic treatments (medication after surgery) were included and considered as possible explanations for the previously reported survival differences between BCT and mastectomy. This enabled the identification of possible prognostic factors that might, in future, predict which patients could benefit most from BCT.

"We looked at two different groups in order to allow us to compare long-term outcomes in a more historical versus a more recent cohort, evaluating patients that had been able to benefit from more sophisticated diagnostics and therapies. A considerably superior survival, both specific to breast cancer and from any cause of death, was found for BCT in the early stage T1-2N0-1M0 [3] cancers in both time cohorts," says Prof Siesling.

To identify patients who could possibly benefit most from BCT, both time cohorts were divided into subgroups. Evaluation of T1-2N0-1M0 cancers, which are at a stage when metastasis to distant organs has not yet occurred, in both groups showed a considerable advantage for BCT in patients with increasing age, those with comorbidity, and those who did not receive chemotherapy.

"Although this study is based on retrospective data with much detailed data, and residual confounding factors cannot be ruled out completely, we believe that this information will have potential to greatly improve shared treatment decision-making for future breast cancer patients in those aged over 50 years and those with comorbidity," says Prof Siesling.

"However, we would like to emphasise that these results do not mean that mastectomy is a bad choice. For patients for whom radiotherapy is not suitable or feasible due to social circumstances, for whom the risk of late side effects of radiotherapy is high, or who have the prospect of a poor aesthetic outcome following BCT, a mastectomy may still be the preferable treatment option. Our study showed that BCT is at least as good as mastectomy and that some patients might benefit more than others from BCT in the future," Prof Siesling will conclude.

###

Abstract no: 4LBA, Practice Changing Trials III session, 12.00 hrs (CET) Monday 30 January, Room Veronesi.

[1] The European Cancer Congress is the only truly multidisciplinary oncology congress in the world. It is organised by the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), a not-for-profit federation of 25 member societies, representing over 80,000 professionals working in cancer.

[2] The HER2 receptor can play a role in the development of cancer. Patients who are positive for HER2 can take drugs that block the chemical signals telling cancer cells to grow.

[3] The TNM (tumour, node, metastasis) is a system used to describe the stage of the cancer, i.e. how a tumour looks and behaves.
Dairy farmers have launched the 'Enjoy Milk' campaign to deliver a free range future for British dairy cows that consumers can trust.

The Free Range Milk Marketing Board (FRMMB), representing a group of more than 700 dairy farmers, launched the new campaign this week.

Campaigners behind the Enjoy Milk cause believe they have a new future for British Dairy cows.

The Enjoy Milk campaign aims to provide consumers with the opportunity to choose milk from guaranteed grazing based farms whilst offering farmers a fair deal.

The integrity of the Enjoy Milk campaign is based upon multiple principles, including the assertion that dairy cows should be allowed to graze grass as often as possible.

Enjoy Milk describes this as 'free ranging' or 'free range', as has long been the case with eggs.

Grazing on pasture

There is a perception from consumers that this is how they would prefer cows to live their lives, with 86% of those surveyed in a 2015 YouGov poll agreeing that UK dairy cows should be able to graze on pasture and should not be permanently housed indoors.

The campaign asserts that the definition of free range dairy farming is crucial in calling for legal clarity over the use of the term.

In the meantime, the Free Range Milk Marketing Board has developed an application process and compliance procedure to ensure 100% integrity of the milk from Enjoy Milk dairy farms.

Enjoy Milk dairy farms have to commit to the achieving maximum milk yield from grazing based forage, meaning that their cows have the most days possible for grazing outside.

Whilst no dairy farm is the same, it is possible to objectively and simply determine whether an individual farm is committed to grazing or not.

Routine housing of the dairy stock at times of the year when its reasonable to expect cows to be grazing in fields is not permitted. Exceptions will be made for adverse events requiring temporary housing, such as flooding or biosecurity issues.

'Clear evidence' of free ranging

All applicants must provide evidence in support of the application to supply free ranging milk. In order to be robust but without causing an additional red tape burden on already hard pressed farmers, this evidence will rely on existing farm data.

All Enjoy Milk producers will be asked to submit annual management plans showing clear evidence of the grazing period achieved. The Enjoy Milk team are also investigating an interactive package of software to make the process of compliance and monitoring easier and real time related.

In the absence of a legal definition of free ranging for dairy cows, the purpose of these requirements is that there is complete clarity as to what the free range Enjoy Milk promise means, so every dairy farmer and consumers can buy in confidence.
Labours deputy leader Tom Watson has for the public to 'buy British' in response to Trump and Brexit.

Speaking at the Co-operative Party Economic Conference in London, Mr Watson said: If Trump says buy American, our rational response is buy British.

Yet to say buy British these days risks sneering derision from much of Britains commentariat and chattering classes, few of whom have been on a factory floor lately. When did you last hear Theresa May say it?

The opportunities in public sector procurement to purchase British-made goods and services are significant.

Mr Watson said the election of Mr Trump added real uncertainty to global trading arrangements, against a backdrop of significantly increased economic nationalism.

He said Britain must keep an "open mind" about the new President's policies of "America First" and protectionism.

'More food secure nation'

Today, British farmers' produce totals about 62% of Brits food supply, and unions and farmers stress that by backing British farming, the country can become a more food secure nation.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has previously called for a focus on agricultural growth which would be a partnership of industry and government backing British farming; valuing and buying more British food and helping to set a framework which supports increasing production and this campaign will play a vital part in this.

NFU President Meurig Raymond said: Anything which can showcase British farming and farmers, not just for they food they produce, but for the value the British farming industry adds to the economy, employment and our beautiful and diverse countryside is a step in the right direction.

Mr Raymond added: The British public have told us time and time again that they want to buy British and we hope that this campaign will help them to increasingly have that option in the future.
A high welfare initiative between television farmer Jimmy Doherty and the supermarket group Tesco could help to maintain strong demand for spent hens.

As we reported previously in the Ranger, prices paid for end-of-lay hens have increased dramatically because of a shortage of supplies. Egg producers have been receiving anything between 30 pence and 50 pence for their end-of-lay birds - three to four times the price they could command just a few months ago. Now, a television experiment by Jimmy Doherty could reinforce demand for spent hen meat.

In a Channel 4 television series, Jimmy, whose Essex farm was made famous in the fly-on-the-wall series Jimmy's Farm, set out to take a number of Tesco's best selling meat products and create higher welfare alternatives at a budget price. Amongst the products produced by Jimmy were free range sausages, which were made from some of the cheaper parts of the pig that would not normally be used, and free range chicken kievs, which made use of spent hens to keep costs down whilst offering a higher welfare alternative. Both products are doing well, but Tesco is particularly happy with the response of customers to the kievs.

This is the first mass-market free range chicken kiev in the UK and were delighted that it is doing so well in store so quickly," said Andrew Yaxley, commercial director at Tesco. "Working with Jimmy, our aim was to give customers more choice and access to higher welfare meat even when their budgets are tight.

Tesco says that the supermarket chain is now selling tens of thousands of kievs every week - six times the volume of their first week in stores and continuing on an upward trend. The company says that the kievs are amongst the best sellers in the category. The number of Tesco stores stocking the product has been increased from 380 to 750.

The supermarket chain said it had been keen to be part of the experiment to make free range more affordable and both products resulting from the initiative were doing well. The sausages were now selling in 17 times the volume of their first week. They were now in 265 stores - up from 120, but the kievs were doing especially well.

Tesco said in a prepared statement, "Weve got two fantastic new products on our shelves, higher welfare sausages and free range chicken kievs. Like all of our own brand products, they had to pass a customer panel first because its you, not us, who decides what makes it onto our shelves. Were always looking to give you more choice and top quality products. We hope this series will give viewers a better understanding of how meat is produced and were pleased that as a result of our work with Jimmy we can now offer our customers higher welfare options even when their budgets are tight."

Tesco said the experiment had resulted in the first mass-market free range chicken kiev in the UK. "Animal welfare is very important to us. Tesco standards on meat are higher than the minimum legislative standards and we carry out inspections across our farms regularly. Although it was sometimes nerve-wracking to be in front of the TV cameras, we were delighted to be able to take part in a project that means that more people can access higher welfare meat."

In the television programme, Jimmy spent time analysing how Tesco's existing budget kievs were produced and their content. He looked into the costings and experimented with ways of using free range meat to produce kievs that could be sold at a price that was competitive with other budget products. He worked with food manufacturers to eventually create a kiev made from spent hens from layer units.

"It's been one of the hardest things I've done so far," he said. "For most people free range food, especially in a recession, is out of their budget. So I thought, 'How can I take three leading products in one of the major supermarkets and turn those products into something that is free range but is also at the same price range as the original products?' " He succeeded with the sausages and kievs, although his attempt at producing free range meatballs was less successful.

As we reported in a previous edition, free range egg producers who may have been paid as little as 11 pence per bird after catching costs back in April, have recently been earning 35 pence after catching costs. The consensus view has been that prices would fall back once supplies returned to normal. But could the success of a product like Tesco's free range chicken kievs help to keep demand strong for end-of-lay birds?

Tim Harvey of A D Harvey in East Anglia has said previously that the current high prices would not last. He said the shortage in the market caused by the cage ban would have corrected itself come next year. But, this month he told the Ranger that prices remained high at the moment for spent hens and there was still a shortage of supply.

"Prices are still pretty high, although producers do need to be careful because some of the small independents possibly offering higher prices may not be Freedom Food registered, which is something that a lot of producers need."

Tim said it was difficult to forecast how something like the Tesco initiative may affect the market for end-of-lay hens. One thing he did point out was that removing meat from a hen could be more costly than from a chicken - putting possibly 50 pence on the cost for each bird.

"What the industry does not want to see is sudden highs and lows. We have seen it with corn - big increases and you know there will be a sudden drop again in the future. We don't want that with hens. It would be better if the movements up and down were just gradual."

Time Harvey said that a decent processor would look after egg producers supplying the hens. The best thing that an egg producer could do was find a good producer and stick with him.
Researchers from St Andrews University claim to have debunked a study by a pesticide manufacturer that found neonicotinoids presented only a low risk to bees.

A study by global agrochemical company, Syngenta, concluded there was only a low risk to honey bees from pesticides.

The study has since been described as 'misleading' in new research published by scientists at the University of St Andrews.

Pesticides called neonicotinoids may be implicated in losses of honey bees and other pollinators, the scientists say.

The economic value of honey bees and bumble bees on the pollination of commercially grown crops has been estimated at over 200 million a year in the UK alone.

A major study conducted by the Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta on the effects of the neonic thiamethoxam on honey bees in the field concluded that there was only a low risk to honey bees.

'Statistically too small'

However, new research conducted at the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) shows even large and important effects could have been missed because the Syngenta study was statistically too small.

Their findings are published today in the international journal Environmental Sciences Europe.

The Syngenta study involved two experiments: an oilseed rape experiment conducted at two locations and a maize experiment at three locations.

At each location, the experiments used pairs of fields  in one field the crop was treated with thiamethoxam at levels normally used by farmers, in the other field the crop was untreated.

The Syngenta study concluded that because the experiments involved so little replication (two cases for oilseed rape and three for maize) a formal analysis of the data would lack the power to detect anything other than very large treatment effects, and it is clear from a simple inspection of the results that no large treatment effects were present. Therefore a formal statistical analysis was not conducted because this would be potentially misleading.

'Fundamentally wrong'

The St Andrews team believe this is fundamentally wrong because formal statistical analysis is only potentially misleading if the wrong method is used and because the mere inspection of the results is always potentially misleading because it is an entirely subjective procedure.

Professor Jeremy Greenwood said: In order to reach valid conclusions about the results of an experiment such as this, one needs not just to estimate the effect of the treatment but also to measure the precision of the estimate. That is what we have done, using standard statistical techniques.

What we found was that the estimates of the treatment effects were so imprecise that one could not tell whether the effects were either too small to pose a problem or, in contrast, so large as to be of serious concern.

In effect, the experiments were on such a small scale that little useful could be concluded from them.

Some farmers warn that if key pesticides are lost, it would increase production costs, decrease yields and lead to environmental damage.

For example, the loss of the pesticide glyphosate would require 49% more man hours a year for crop establishment, according to environmental consultancy Adas.
Courtesy Corp., an Onalaska-based franchisee that operates 59 McDonalds restaurants, plans to rebuild its George Street location in La Crosse in the next several months, and its Losey Boulevard location in the next couple years.

Our last day open (at the McDonalds at 1140 W. George St.) will be Feb. 27, said Rick Lommen, Courtesy Corp. president.

It will close and hopefully the rebuild will start soon after, he said. But thats very weather-dependent.

Lommen anticipates the new restaurant, to be built just south of the current one, will open by early July, although that depends on weather and when George Street road construction work is completed.

The current George Street McDonalds property has been purchased by the state of Wisconsin. That restaurant, which opened in 1972, will be demolished for an upcoming overhaul of George Street as part of a revamping of Interstate 90 Exit 3.

Lommen said four houses have been purchased as part of the new McDonalds site. Plans call for one to be moved and three to be demolished.

The new building will be owned by McDonalds Corp. and leased to Courtesy Corp. It will have the latest McDonalds design, Lommen said.

Lommen said he also anticipates the McDonalds on La Crosses South Side will be replaced with a new building in the next couple years. Its just time to update. The current Losey Boulevard location opened in 1976.

Plans are in the works for a La Crosse Auto used automobile dealership at the former The View Grill & Bar property at N3020 Hwy. 16 in the town of Medary.

The bar and restaurant closed in May 2016; it had opened in 2011 in the former Knights of Columbus Hall.

Theres no official timetable for opening the dealership, a spokesman for the 199 Ride dealership group said last week.

The La Crosse location will be the fifth for the group, which also includes Antigo Auto, Appleton Auto, Wausau Auto and Green Bay Auto. The dealerships sell used cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans.

The La Crosse County Planning, Resources and Development Committee will hold a public hearing on a proposed sign requirement variance for the planned dealership at 6 p.m. Monday in the County Board Room of the county Administrative Center at 212 N. Sixth St.

Onalaska-based Stein Counseling and Consulting Services, Ltd. has opened its third clinic, in Suites 135 and 146 at 206 S. Roosevelt Road in Black River Falls.

The new clinic opened in October. The main clinic is at 571 Braund St. in Onalaska and the firms second clinic opened last July in Mondovia, Wis. The business began in 2001 in La Crosse and has 30 employees.

It provides services to individuals, families and communities, said Karen Wrolson, youth programs and public relations manager.

Along with counseling for people of all ages in our three clinics and in client homes, we offer custody and parenting assessments as well as parenting education, she said. The business also offers free consulting to community agencies.

It serves the Wisconsin counties of La Crosse, Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Pepin, Trempealeau, Vernon and Wood, and the Minnesota counties of Fillmore, Houston and Winona.

Hours at the new Black River Falls clinic are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. We will be expanding our hours as needed, Wrolson said. Soon we will have evening groups dealing with substance abuse.

The new clinic opened because of an expanding need for mental health services in Black River Falls, Wrolson said. There was also a need for a clinic to provide substance abuse services for the drug court in Black River Falls.

The new clinics telephone number is 715-670-8692. For more information, visit www.effectivebehavior.com.

An update on my column item last Sunday, about a new Arbys restaurant opening in February in Black River Falls  it will open Feb. 7 at 607 Hwy. 54, in front of the Walmart supercenter.

The exact opening date wasnt available before my copy deadline for last Sundays business column. For more information, visit www.drmarbys.com.
The 29th annual Phagwah Parade 2017 will be held in Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens borough of New York City on March 12, to celebrate Hindu festival Phagwah, also known as Holi.

It will include multiple floats playing religious music. Starting around ten am from Liberty Avenue & 133rd Street, it will end in Smokey Oval Park (Phil Scooter Rizzuto Park) at 125th Street.

After the parade, Phagwah festival celebrations will be held at Smokey Oval Park till six pm, which will include various cultural and musical performances.

Sponsored by Federation of Hindu Mandirs and Arya Spiritual Center and supported by Hindu Parades & Festivals Committee; its leaders include Ram Lall, Rishi Misir, Herman Singh, Naro Balli, Roy D. Singh, Sagar Rajpal, etc.; according to reports.

Meanwhile, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, commended efforts of organizers and New York City community to keep the religion-culture alive in New York with festivals like Phagwah.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that community in New York City would focus in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

Joie de vivre Hindu festival of color Holi welcomes the beginning of spring and starts about ten days before the full moon of Phalguna. Besides color play, ceremonies also include the lighting of the bonfires, during which all evils are symbolically burnt. Holi also commemorates the frolics of youthful Lord Krishna; and celebrates the death of demoness Putana, burning of demoness Holika, and destruction of Kama by Lord Shiva. Holi falls on March 13 this year.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents. There are about three millions Hindus in USA.

Source : From Our Correspondent
The home of NASCAR, Daytona Beach boasts a picturesque coastal setting overlooking the Atlantic waters. Aside from its adrenalin-pumping international speedway racing events, the city also has a scattering of cultural and historical landmarks to discover.

Things to do in Daytona Beach

Stretching for more than 35 kilometres, the hard-packed sands of Daytona Beach are the heart of the city and home to the bustling Main Street Pier. Enjoy the carnival-like atmosphere and amusement rides of the Daytona Beach Boardwalk and feast on fresh seafood in the waterfront restaurants.

To the south of Daytona Beach is the historic Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, one of the tallest of its kind in the United States. Climb its 203 steps to get a birds-eye view of the beach and stop by the Lens Museum to learn how the lighthouse has helped ships navigate this coastline since 1887.

No trip to Daytona is complete without visiting the Daytona International Speedway, which has been the citys claim to fame since 1959. Time your holiday for one of the regular racing events, join a Speedway Tour to explore its garages and infield or get behind the wheel on the superspeedway track.

For a different perspective of Daytona, head to the Museum of Arts and Sciences, set within Tuscawilla Preserve. Vintage automobiles and Coca Cola memorabilia are on display alongside artefacts from across China, Africa and Cuba, with fascinating multimedia space shows in the on-site planetarium.

Getting around Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach International Airport is next to the speedway, 10 minutesdrive west of the city centre. Private vehicles are the main form of transportation in Daytona and its easily combined with a day trip to nearby Orlando.
Sisters in Crime

Date:

Thursday, February 09, 2017

Time:

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Event Type:

Fundraiser

Organizer/Author:

AAUW Sunnyvale-Cupertino

Location Details:

Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, Soule Hall

728 Fremont Avenue

Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Our annual Sisters in Crime evening is benefiting our Legal Advocacy Fund. We will begin the evening with coffee, tea and desserts. Then, we will have our local mystery writers discuss their books and how and why they write them.



The Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) works to challenge sex discrimination in higher education and the workplace. Our resources range from community outreach programs to backing of major cases. The authors this year are:



Susan Alice Bickford was born in Boston and grew up in central New York. After she discovered computer graphics and animation, her passion for technology pulled her to Silicon Valley where she became an executive at a leading technology company. She now works as an independent consultant and continues to be fascinated by all things high tech. She splits her time between Silicon Valley and Vermont.



Simon Wood is a California transplant from England. He is a former competitive racecar driver, a licensed pilot, a cyclist, animal rescuer and occasionally a P.I. He has won the Anthony Award and one of his books has been optioned for a movie adaption. He has also written under the name of Simon Janus.



Mary Feliz has lived in five states and two countries, but calls Silicon Valley home. Her writing contains elements of irony, serendipity, diversity, quirky intelligence and gentle humor.



Terry Shames was raised in Texas and graduated from the University of Texas. She currently lives in Berkeley. She is the current president of the Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America and America and International Thriller Writers.



Kirsten Weiss worked overseas for nearly 14 years, on the edges of the former USSR and in Southeast Asia. She is interested in the effects of mysticism and mythology and how both are woven into our daily lives. She lives in San Mateo.



$15 donation.
A protest is to take place this coming Thursday at 6pm at Shannon Airport against US President Donald Trump's travel ban in force at the Clare airport as well as the continued use of the airport by the US military, writes David Raleigh.

Limerick AAA councillor Cian Prendiville said that President Trump's travel ban must not be implemented at Shannon Airport.

He also called for the gardai to search US military planes transiting through Shannon to ensure no 'special rendition' planes are landing there.

Cllr Cian Prendiville stated: "Donald Trump's Executive Order barring travel for those from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria is an openly racist act.

"It is targeted at Muslims predominantly, who have been consistently scapegoated and targeted by Trump.

"It is heartening to see the scenes of thousands of people protest at airports at America, demanding that people are allowed in and in opposition to these policies."

"Last summer, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Trump was racist and dangerous. This Executive Order now means the Government has to decide which side it's on.

"Will it show solidarity with Muslims who are the targets of this immigration policy or will it turn a blind eye and allow US pre-clearance to carry out racist discrimination in our airports?"

"According to the US Embassy, this policy is being implemented in Ireland at pre-clearance facilities at Dublin and Shannon airport. Irish officials are involved in the operation of these pre-clearance facilities.

"Irish law and the European Convention of Human Rights operate in Irish airports. Therefore, Charlie Flanagan's statement that this 'is a matter for the US authorities' is entirely inaccurate," he said.

Cllr Prendiville called on the government to "immediately issue a direction to its officials to refuse to co-operate with the implementation of this Executive Order".

"If it continues to operate in Irish airports, then the pre-clearance facilities should be withdrawn until such time as the Executive Order is rescinded."

Cllr Prendiville also raised concerns that Shannon Airport may be being used by US military for special rendition flights, transporting prisoners who have not faced trial to places where they may face torture.

"Trump has clearly stated his support for waterboarding and other forms of torture," he said.

"The Government need to insist on inspecting planes to ensure there are no such rendition flights going through Shannon."

Data published on January 8 this year by the Shannonwatch anti-war group stated that "over 730 US military flights landed at Shannon in 2016.

"Of these, 413 were operated by the US Air Force, Navy or military, and the remainder were contracted troop carriers".
He also called for Irish farmers to develop new markets to counter the negative impact of the British exit from the EU.

Mr Hogan was speaking ahead of British prime minister Theresa Mays expected visit to Dublin next week, during which she will discuss the impact of Brexit with Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Speaking at a conference in Dublin, yesterday, Mr Hogan said we have no certainty as to what the impact will be on Irish farmers.

All we can say, with any certainty, is that, as things stand, we cannot say anything with any certainty, he said.

It is, therefore, imperative that the Irish Government, the Irish agri-food community, and other trading sectors of the economy prepare for a full spectrum of possibilities, Mr Hogan said.

The Brexit referendum, and the presidential election in the US, have impacted on the international trading environment, not least for countries like Ireland, Mr Hogan said.

Brexit, in particular, has sharpened the minds of exporting farmers and agri-businesses in this country. You are all familiar with the statistics in relation to Irish agri-trade to the UK, so I wont repeat them, he added.

He said Ireland will be negotiating from a position of strength within the EU bloc of 27 countries.

If the UK leaves the Customs Union, then there will need to be customs procedures for goods entering the single market. That said, we will certainly look for technical solutions to ensure that any such checks are as efficient, and swiftly, administered as possible, he said.

Despite the inevitable challenges, it should not be forgotten that, as Ireland remains a member of the European Union, it remains part of the most powerful and influential trading bloc in the world  we are, therefore, approaching the trade issue from a position of strength, he added.

One of the key elements of Mr Hogans speech was that Ireland must look to other markets, such as Canada and Japan, to buttress the country from Brexit.

If we take the most recent example, the CETA agreement between Canada and the EU, the positives are crystal clear. CETA is the most ambitious trade agreement on agriculture ever adopted by the EU. It will result in the opening of the Canadian market for key EU exports such as dairy, he added.

We hope to conclude negotiations with Japan soon. This is a very important negotiation for the EU, as regards agriculture, and my particular focus is on beef and veal.

As you know, Japan reopened its beef market in 2013, with eight EU member states authorised to date, including Ireland, Mr Hogan added.

Meanwhile, in Britain, Jo Stevens has quit as Jeremy Corbyns shadow Welsh secretary, after Corbyn forced Labour MPs to back the Article 50 bill.

The Cardiff Central MP said she believed that Brexit was a terrible mistake and cannot reconcile my overwhelming view that to endorse the bill would make it inevitable.

She is the first member of the shadow cabinet to quit over the issue.

On Thursday, Tulip Siddiq quit as shadow early-years minister, after the Labour leadership imposed a three-line whip.

This week, Theresa May became the first foreign leader to meet new US President, Donald Trump.

Ms May met Mr Trump at the White House, after laying a wreath at Arlington cemetery.

Focusing on a post-Brexit foreign policy, she urged Britain and the US to stand united and lead the world together, confronting new challenges, such as a resurgent Russia, rising Asian economies, and the so-called Islamic State.
Feng shui master Priscilla Lam



And the news is no better for Hong Kong investors, says Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple's Priscilla Lam, with dark clouds looming over the same month



By Julia Hollingsworth

The feng shui master who correctly foresaw Donald Trump winning the US presidency believes his run of good luck will continue in the Year of the Rooster  but only until September, when she says his "nightmare" will start. The feng shui master who correctly foresaw Donald Trump winning the US presidency believes his run of good luck will continue in the Year of the Rooster  but only until September, when she says his "nightmare" will start.

Hong Kong is expected to meet a similar fate, with good fortune in the first half of the year before the economy takes a turn for the worse, she said.

Priscilla Lam, who counts actor Jackie Chan among her former clients, said President Trump would face difficulties in September, as protestors aired their grievances and the country became divided.

"In the first half of the year America will be OK, no problem. But in the second half, the nightmare will start," Lam said from her office at Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple in New Kowloon, where she has been telling fortunes for 20 years.

"Trump has made so many people upset or irritated, so when his luck runs out in the second half of the year, problems or challenges will go with it.

"In business he's definitely a successful person, but in politics it's another thing."

Despite polls last year leaning towards a Hillary Clinton victory, Lam tipped Trump to win in February 2016, telling CNN, that "his fire is stronger than Hillary's".

Lam forms her predictions by first studying the person in question, and combining that information with astrology and feng shui techniques.

Trump was born in the Year of the Dog, and is an earth sign, meaning he can rapidly change his mind or break his word depending on the environment, Lam told South China Morning Post.





U.S. President Donald Trump / AFP-Yonhap



"He's says he's a protectionist," she said. "Maybe he will not keep his word."

This means he could soften his stance on China in the second half of the year, but press ahead with his proposed border wall with Mexico, Lam said.

Lam expected Trump to remain president for a four-year term, but wasn't expecting him try for a re-election.

"He's still a lucky person," Lam said, adding that it would be a "bit difficult" for him to be re-elected as his luck was not so good from 2021.

As for Trump's relationship with wife Melania? "No time to talk about love. When the honeymoon time has passed, he faces a lot of things," she said. "Maybe there will be no time to go home."

And any health issues? "Maybe just bone problems."

Unfortunately for Hong Kong, the city's fate looks set to be largely the same as the new president's, said Lam.

"In 2017, only the first half is looking good. In the second half, the stock market does not look good, the housing market [in Hong Kong], also, not so good."

"If you are an investor, better take your money out in September," she added. "The stock market will drop, so it'll be difficult to make big money."

As for Hong Kong's chief executive race in March, Lam said she couldn't comment as she didn't know enough background information.

But after some bad times in 2017, the Year of the Dog in 2018 is set to be a lot better, she said.

Lam said she had told fortunes to 20 clients on Saturday, but they had stayed away from politics, mainly asking about family and money issues.

Wong Tai Sin Temple launched automatic fortune-telling booths to cope with the crowds this year, but the new machines had to be taken away on Saturday as there were too many visitors, a temple spokeswoman said.

The automatic booths  which scan Kau Chim fortune telling sticks will be available sporadically until mid-February.




You know exactly where youre going. Youre pointed in the right direction, thanks to a compass thats moral, innate, or in your pocket. Youre traveling at just the right pace and nothing can deter you  except, as in the new novel Silver City by Jeff Guinn, the man whos about to kill you.

Cash McLendon hated the Western frontier.

Not only was it dry and dusty, but it reminded him of a time when he lost the woman he loved and almost lost his life. The only good thing about it was the frontier  Mountain Home, Arizona, to be specific  where that same woman lived now, and Gabrielle was willing to give him another chance. Hed just fought a ferocious battle against the Indians at Adobe Walls, and fighting left him more settled now, more mature and less impulsive. McLendon was sure he could win his lady back.

Patrick Brautigan knew the rules.

He understood that businessman Rupert Douglass didnt want any laws broken. No fuss, just efficiency when evening a score or taking revenge. Its what the Boss demanded, just like he demanded that Cash McLendon be hauled back to St. Louis.

Years ago, McLendon married Douglass only daughter, and when she committed suicide, Douglass blamed McLendon. If Brautigan succeeded in bringing McLendon back alive, and in a timely manner, Douglass might even let him watch McLendon die.

But catching McLendon wouldnt be easy; the man was sociable and always surrounded by people, so Brautigan had to hire help in the form of Ike Clanton, who flapped his gums too much. Even so, Clanton could take Brautigan through Apache country, to Mountain View from Silver City, a lawless and corrupt new settlement where Brautigan had recently arrived to study the situation.

Brautigan figured that capturing McLendon would surely be easier if McLendons woman was taken first. Capturing McLendon and getting him back to Silver City, however, would be a whole different matter 

Every time a Western cycles to the top of my reading list, I realize anew how much I love them  although Silver City, set in the late 1870s, is a puzzler.

Though you could read it by itself, its characters have been featured in past books and, as such, author Jeff Guinn spends too much time explaining their back-story here; that gets awfully wordy and pretty tiresome. Cash McLendon is a good-enough hero, although not scruffy enough for my tastes: hes too clean-cut, too gosh-darn nice, a bit of a dandy. And oh, my goodness, the characters urinated a lot in this book.

Didnt need that.

To the good, however, Guinn gives readers a good chase up and through the Arizona desert, an exciting fight with a young Geronimo and his men, and a scrappy new heroine with a definite mind of her own, which is not a bad thing.

Overall, neither is this book: it has its flaws, but it also has its moments. Ignore the former, revel in the latter, and Silver City is where you should be going.
My wife Steph and I were sitting in the car about to leave for the last time from our home in Columbus, Ohio.

It had been a long week full of finalizing things with our previous jobs and getting ready to move. This frigid, early morning was the precursor to a 10-hour drive back to our hometown area of Jackson County where we were high school sweethearts after meeting at the fair. For many reasons we had been excitedly waiting for this moment, but in this exact moment we couldnt stop cryingwe couldnt stop crying because we were leaving her.

A little less than four years earlier, my wife and I had just moved to Columbus in search of jobs and a new adventure after graduating from college. We were excited about what was to come and didnt think the 10-hour car ride back home was that bad.

The city life was exciting. We quickly found the best places to eat and the best movie theater in town, which was never too busy and came with padded reclining chairs. We loved to go to the local zoo, which was on several lists as the best zoo in the nation. We were loving the city life, but something was missing.

We had been married for a little more than a year at this point and we wanted children in our lives. We had been trying for a while and were having issues, which caused us concern. We consulted a doctor and we went through countless tests, which didnt lead to any conclusive answers.

Being the brash millennials that we are, we decided to begin fostering children. We had always wanted to do this and we figured there was no reason to wait until after we had children of our own. We started the classes and by November 2013, we had the first foster children in our home.

We came to find out that children were not easy, as I am sure most of you already know. It was a struggle to just get out the door in the morning. Eventually several months had passed and we had welcomed four different children into our homes. All of them stayed for relatively short periods of time, but nonetheless making goodbyes hard.

After about a year in Columbus, we decided to buy our first home. It was a sensible 1,200-square-foot home in a good neighborhood. We painted the walls a light gray, changed the Ohio State Buckeye room downstairs into a movie room and moved in to a house we fell in love with.

A few months later, we got the call that changed our lives. It was a sweet, five-week-old baby girl that needed a foster home. She was just perfect, with her beautiful blue eyes and this perfect bobbed haircut that you could sweep to one side. Most importantly, she had this amazing, sassy personality. We loved her as our own.

Our perfect, little family was creating memories together when we suddenly discovered that Steph was pregnant. It was truly a miracle. It was just like the story you hear all the time, where as soon as you grow to love another child, you have one of your own.

Eight months later, we had our son Carter James-Thomas. Even though he came a month early, he was normal size and had these huge feet, which didnt even fit on the paper the nurse stamped them on. We were ecstatic that we had two amazing children, and were raising a family in Ohio.

Our daughters case was progressing nicely and we were readying ourselves to adopt her. She had learned to walk, knew all of the animal sounds and was enthralled with reading books. You could tell she and Carter were creating a brother-sister bond. He would follow and do everything with her.

One day, we received notice that our perfect little family could be changing.

Our daughters biological paternal grandma wanted custody.

Six months of gut-wrenching court cases and paternity-test drama ensued. It was a roller coaster nearly every day, full of jubilation and gut-punching revelations. We fought for our daughter and her well-being. We fought for our daughter as any parent would doafter all, to us she was our daughter.

We were always told that you shouldnt see foster children as your own childrenthat it was easier that way. The foster parents giving us these suggestions were right, but I dont know how I couldnt get attached, how I couldnt love her.

After our six-month roller coaster, it was done. The judge had made a decision.

Nearly 48 hours later, there was this void.

No one reading the kids books under the TV. No one to sing the ABCs to while washing their hands. No one to play animals with. There were all of these girly toys lying around, but no girl to play with them.

We boxed up the things we didnt send with her, thinking it would help remove the memories. We took down her pictures and returned her Christmas presents. Nothing really helped fill the void.

It was in these trying times that we realized the value of family. We realized we wanted Carter to be closer to his grandparents, his aunt and uncle and his future cousins. We wanted him to have the childhood we had where you could drive 10 minutes and see Grandma and Grandpa.

So here we were sitting in the car on a frigid morning in January, ready to take off on a new adventure in Jackson County, Wis. Even though we knew we needed to do this for the family we now had, we still felt like we were leaving behind a family member.

We reflected that morning on everything we had achieved while we were in Columbus: owning a home, having children and experiencing heartbreak.

The crazy thing is, I wouldnt change anything. I wouldnt change the fact that we moved to Columbus or bought our first home there. I wouldnt change the fact that we decided to foster children. All of these things we did provided us with many fond memories. And most importantly, Columbus provided us with our son.

So now I sit here as editor of the Jackson County Chronicle, falling in love with Jackson County again. Remembering the great, hard-working people that live here. Jackson County is a diverse county full of great promise and opportunity. Several years ago, I would have never guessed I would be in this moment.

She may not be with us in Jackson County, but she is the reason my family moved back home. So today, I challenge you to find your why for living in this gorgeous part of the state.
Brookdale Senior Living Inc. owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors. The Assisted Living and Memory Care segment owns or leases communities consisting of freestanding multi-story communities and freestanding single-story communities, which offer housing and 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living for the Company's residents. This segment also operates memory care communities for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The CCRCs segment owns or leases communities that provides various living arrangements, such as independent and assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing; and services to accommodate various levels of physical ability and healthcare needs. It also manages communities on behalf of others. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned 347 communities, leased 299 communities, and managed 33 communities on behalf of others. Brookdale Senior Living Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand. The company also provides home decor products under the West Elm brand; kids accessories under the Pottery Barn Kids brand; and an organic bedding to multi-purpose furniture under the Pottery Barn Teen brand. In addition, it offers made-to-order lighting, hardware, furniture, and home decors inspired by history under the Rejuvenation brand; and women's and men's accessories, travel, entertaining and bar, home decor, and seasonal items under the Mark and Graham brand, as well as operates a 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and decor industry. The company markets its products through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs, and retail stores. It operates 544 stores comprising 502 stores in 41states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; 20 stores in Canada; 19 stores in Australia; 3 stores in the United Kingdom; and 139 franchised stores, as well as e-commerce websites in various countries in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, and India. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The following companies are subsidiares of Brinker International: BI INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LLC, BI MEXICO HOLDING CORPORATION, BIPC GLOBAL PAYROLL COMPANY LLC, BIPC INVESTMENTS LLC, BIPC MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER AIRPORTS LLC, BRINKER ALABAMA INC., BRINKER ARKANSAS INC., BRINKER ASIA INC., BRINKER BRAZIL LLC, BRINKER CANADIAN HOLDING CO. ULC, BRINKER CANADIAN RESTAURANT CO. ULC, BRINKER CB LP, BRINKER CB MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER FHC B.V., BRINKER FLORIDA INC., BRINKER FREEHOLD INC., BRINKER GEORGIA INC., BRINKER INTERNATIONAL PAYROLL COMPANY L.P., BRINKER LOUISIANA INC., BRINKER MICHIGAN INC., BRINKER MISSISSIPPI INC., BRINKER MISSOURI INC., BRINKER NEVADA INC., BRINKER NEW JERSEY INC., BRINKER NORTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER OF BALTIMORE COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CARROLL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CECIL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OKLAHOMA INC., BRINKER OPCO LLC, BRINKER PENN TRUST, BRINKER PROPCO FLORIDA INC., BRINKER PROPERTY CORPORATION, BRINKER PURCHASING INC., BRINKER RESTAURANT CORPORATION, BRINKER RHODE ISLAND INC., BRINKER SERVICES CORPORATION, BRINKER SOUTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER TEXAS INC., BRINKER VIRGINIA INC., CHILIS BEVERAGE COMPANY INC., CHILIS INC. a Delaware corporation, CHILIS INC. a Tennessee corporation, CHILIS INTERNATIONAL BASES B.V., CHILIS OF BEL AIR INC., CHILIS OF KANSAS INC., CHILIS OF MARYLAND INC., CHILIS OF WEST VIRGINIA INC., Grady's Inc., MAGGIANO'S OF ANNAPOLIS INC., MAGGIANO'S OF HOWARD COUNTY INC., MAGGIANO'S OF KANSAS INC., MAGGIANOS BEVERAGE COMPANY, MAGGIANOS HOLDING CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS INC., MAGGIANOS OF TYSONS INC., MAGGIANOS PROPERTY CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS TEXAS INC., PEPPER DINING HOLDING CORP., PEPPER DINING Inc., and PEPPER DINING VERMONT INC..

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Bill Hutschenreuter, 53, of La Crosse passed away Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, of pancreatic cancer at home with his family.

Life is a series of chapters until one day the book of our life has been written, and is closed. Bill began his life on the front page of the La Crosse Tribune! He happened to be the first baby born in the brand-new wing of the St. Francis Hospital. Born to William H. and JoAnn C. Hutschenreuter (nee Rybarczyk) Jan. 29, 1963, little Billy loved babies. He was excited as he helped welcome into the family a baby girl, then a boy, then another girl and then one final boy. Life was full of adventure as a young boy, playing with siblings, cousins, neighbors and friends. We cant forget his man-to-man time on the farm with Grandpa Rybarczyk and Uncle Moe.

Chapter two of Bills life was less about growing up on the outside, but more about growing on the inside. Because he lived on La Crosses South Side, Bill attended and graduated from Central High School in 1982. He later joined the Army and was initially stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. In 1983 Bill was sent to Germany and spent five years there as part of the 3rd Infantry Division 1-7th Cottonbalers in Aschaffenburg, Germany. There he became a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle Mechanic, which meant he worked on tanks. He loved his time in Germany and was figuratively (and sometimes literally) as happy as a pig in mud.

In 1989, now out of the Army, began Bills chapter three. He was employed for 26 years at Chart Industries, where he made lifelong friends. He also rekindled his interest in auto-racing which he had begun long before going into the military. He was once again as happy as that same pig, revisiting his mud. Bill had the pleasure of racing with so many great guys, including but not limited to Sparky, Rick, Terry, Todd, Andy, Mark, Charlie and Paul (Menard).

Chapter four, Jeanette C. Ritland. Bill liked to tell people how he met his wife in the cemetery where she often walked her dog. He knew that very first day that he was going to marry her and even told her parents so. He also told people that he married her for the great cooking  her Dads.

Since he married later in life, his children had hairy legs  four of them. Bill loved traveling in a motor home, so he could enjoy seeing the countryside. His last (and best) such trip was to South Dakota. He planned every last detail of the trip and it was as close to perfect as a trip could be. He, his wife, and dogs enjoyed seeing the buffalo, wild donkeys and even hearing a rogue cougar one night.

Because Bill is gone, to many of us this world will sadly never shine as bright. He will be missed because he knew how to choose just the right words to make us laugh. He knew how to make the best of what he had and to be content where he was. He was easy to live with, forgiving and understanding. For many of us who loved Bill, we will miss all of his funny Billisms. We will miss his flirty blue eyes. We will miss him every day. May we all be united together in Heaven one day soon.

Bill is survived by his wife Jeanette; his sisters, Carol Hutschenreuter, Joan (Jeff Kittle) McBain; his brothers, Ken Hutschenreuter, Paul Hutschenreuter; his half-sister, Cari (Matt) Servais; and half-brother, David Hutschenreuter; his godparents, Therese and Syl Schaub; his dear friend, Ilse (Mel) Pielmeier; his unofficially adopted son, Dustin (Buddy) Chase; numerous aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews; and his hairy children April and Tegan.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and his grandparents, Herman and Gertrude Hutschenreuter and Joseph and Anna Rybarczyk; and his eight-pound dog, Annie, which he called The Beast.

A memorial service for family and friends will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Coulee Region Cremation Group, 133 Mason St., Onalaska. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of the service.

A heartfelt thank you to Gundersen Hospice, especially Angie, Krissy and Dana.

And all our love to Bills wonderful friends at Chart, Gale, Jerry, Lonnie, Sue, Greg, Frank, Dale and many others too numerous to list.
Teradyne, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports automatic test equipment worldwide. The company operates through Semiconductor Test, System Test, Industrial Automation, and Wireless Test segments. The Semiconductor Test segment offers products and services for wafer level and device package testing in automotive, industrial, communications, consumer, smartphones, cloud computer and electronic game, and other applications. This segment also provides FLEX test platform systems; J750 test system to address the volume semiconductor devices; Magnum platform that tests memory devices, such as flash memory and DRAM; and ETS platform for semiconductor manufacturers, and assembly and test subcontractors in the analog/mixed signal markets. It serves integrated device manufacturers that integrate the fabrication of silicon wafers into their business; fabless companies that outsource the manufacturing of silicon wafers; foundries; and semiconductor assembly and test providers. The System Test segment offers defense/aerospace test instrumentation and systems; storage test systems; and circuit-board test and inspection systems. The Industrial Automation segment provides collaborative robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots, and advanced robotic control software for manufacturing, logistics, and light industrial customers. The Wireless Test segment provides test solutions for use in the development and manufacture of wireless devices and modules, smartphones, tablets, notebooks, laptops, peripherals, and Internet-of-Things devices under the LitePoint brand name. This segment also offers IQxel products for Wi-Fi and other standards; IQxstream solution for testing GSM, EDGE, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, HSPA+, LTE, and 5G technologies; IQcell, a multi-device cellular signaling test solution; IQgig test solution; and turnkey test software for wireless chipsets. Teradyne, Inc. was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in North Reading, Massachusetts.
Juniper Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers. It also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation, and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine, and top-of-rack data center switches; and juniper access points, which provide Wi-Fi access and performance. In addition, the company offers security products comprising SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP. Further, it offers Junos OS, a network operating system; Contrail networking, which provides an open-source and standards-based platform for SDN; Mist AI-driven Wired, Wireless, and WAN assurance solutions to set and measure key metrics; Mist AI-driven Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, which identifies the root cause of issues; Juniper Paragon Automation, a modular portfolio of cloud-native software applications; and Juniper Apstra to automate the network lifecycle in a single system. Additionally, the company provides software-as-a-service, technical support, maintenance, and professional services, as well as education and training programs. It sells its products through direct sales, distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers to end-users in the cloud, service provider, and enterprise markets. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
ONALASKA  Joan M. Solie, 83, of Onalaska passed away Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.

Alf Hansen and his wife, Florence (Fessenden), were blessed with the birth of Joan Mary May 26, 1933. During her childhood Joan decided she wanted to be a teacher and she achieved that goal with honors. During her education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, she acted in various theatrical performances and graduated with honors. She went on to attain a masters degree with honors.

Her passion for teaching was temporarily interrupted Dec. 20, 1958, when she married Dave Solie Sr. During the many years at West Salem High School, where Joan spent most of her career, she devoted a lot of time to directing musicals for which she received several state honors. The focus was always the students however, helping them develop confidence and communication skills. That development included a student opportunity to travel to New York City to experience the culture and see Broadway performances. Students were always a focus for Joan, but her primary focus and joy was her family.

Joan and Dave enjoyed traveling to see their children, Dave Jr. and Sarah. They made visits to Ohio to visit their son who was in law school. They also continued making trips to New York to visit Sarah who was a Broadway performer. Later they traveled the country when Sarah performed with traveling Broadway shows and other musicals.

Joan is survived by her loving husband, Dave; her children, Sarah (Tim) Hemesath of Caldwell, N.J., and Dave Jr. (Janice) of Onalaska; her grandchildren, Grace Hemesath, Kelly (Matt) McMahon, David III, and Katie; and her great-granddaughter, Elanora McMahon. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Susan.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 4141 Mormon Coulee Road, in La Crosse, with the Rev. Harald Bringsjord officiating. A reception will follow the service at the church. Burial will take place at a later date in Oak Grove Cemetery. Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services of Onalaska is assisting the family. Online condolences may be submitted at www.schumacher-kish.com.
Boakye Appiah

27.01.2017 LISTEN

An Accra District Magistrate Court has issued a bench warrant for the immediate arrest of one Boakye Appiah.

Appiah, aged 37, has been accused of defrauding by false pretences contrary to Section 131 of Act 29/60.

He is alleged to have defrauded the complainant (name withheld) to the tune of GH24,000 under the pretext of selling a car to him but failed to do so and went into hiding.

A release issued and signed by ASP Effia Tenge of the Public Affairs Unit of the Accra Regional Police Command, said the suspect is dark in complexion and stands at five feet, eight inches.

According to the police, the suspect, who is believed to hail from the Ashanti Region, is suspected to be hiding in Accra, Kumasi, Agona Swedru and Takoradi.

The Ghana Police Service has therefore called on anybody with information about his whereabouts to report to the Cantonments Divisional Police, the nearest police station or call telephone number 0577-688650 or Crime Fighters Hotline MTN and Vodafone short code 18555 for his arrest.

By Melvin Tarlue
By Dennis Peprah, GNA Sunyani, Jan. 28, GNA - Mrs Victoria Boakye, a United States of America-based Ghanaian Philanthropist has presented assorted items worth GH10,000.00 to some institutions in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

The beneficiaries; The Sunyani Central Prisons, Anyima D/A Primary school in the Kintampo South District and the Compassion is Love in Action Children's Home at Yawhima in the Sunyani Municipality each received imported second hand clothing, footwears, towels, pomade, food items comprising bags of rice and cooking oils.

They also received biscuits, boxes of sardines, tins of milk, beverages and recreooking oils, biscuits, recreational items as well as teaching and learning materials.

Mrs Boakye who is the Founder and President of the Nkoranza North Children Foundation, a New York-based non-governmental organisation said true and steadfast love were required of wealthy citizens to assist the needy and vulnerable in the society.

She expressed worry about the rife in irresponsible parenting, noting that parents who shirked their responsibilities towards the upbringing and development of their children would not escape condemnation 'here and hereafter'.

At the Sunyani Central prisons, Mrs Boakye said the reformation and reintegration of inmates into society after they had served their sentences should be a collective and shared responsibility.

She advised the inmates to take the opportunity provided at the facility to go into skills training to become self-reliant after jail.

ASP Johann Nartey, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service thanked the donor for the gesture and appealed for more support towards the upkeep of the inmates.

The Reverend Mrs Charlotte Osei Kwateng, the Founder of the CILIA said the Home had 36 inmates comprising 18 boys and 18 girls.

She said because some of the inmates were in Senior High Schools, it was sometimes difficult to pay their school fees and appealed to other NGOs and corporate bodies to come to their aid.

GNA
Accra, Jan 28, GNA - The Divisional Police Commander for Adentan-Abokobi Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Joseph Antwi Gyawu on Saturday inaugurated a Police Post at Oyarifa in the Greater Accra Region valued at GHC50,000 Cedis.

The facility, which would serve Oyarifa, Teiman, Ghana Flag and Gravel Pit, all within the Abokobi area, has a fully furnished Charge-Office, an office for the Station Officer, an Amoury, a CID Office and a Male Cell including a toilet facility.

The Police Post has also been equipped with a 32inch Flat Screen Samsung TV set and a VGL Motor bike for their rounds.

ACP Gyawu in an address appealed to all members and residents of the community to support the police in carrying out its daily activities.

He reminded the public that the police served as the first point of call in terms of protection and pleaded with the public to accept the community policing concept to reduce crime.

The Adentan-Abokobi Divisional Police Commander added that residential accommodation had been a challenge to the police administration and called for the support of the NGOs and corporate organizations to assist.

The Oyarifa Police Post was constructed through the efforts of Madam Vida Addai a business woman, the Management of the Rehoboth Properties Limited at Oyarifa and Mr Kojo Owusu Afriyie alias "Sir John"

Mr Afriyie during a vote of thanks expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed to create the beautiful edifice.

He announced that a resident of the area currently living in Britain had promised a pickup for the Oyarifa Police Post.

GNA
By Belinda Ayamgha,GNA

Accra, Jan. 28, GNA - Famous Kwesi Atitsogbe, a journalist, formerly with the Multimedia Group was adjudged the Best Financial and Economic Journalist at the third IFEJ Flamingo Awards.

Mr Atitsogbe, whose award was received on his behalf by his wife, also won the award for the Best in Tourism and Best in Microfinance/Rural Banking and SMEs.

As part of his award for the overall best Financial and Economic Journalist, Mr Atitsogbe would have the opportunity to attend the World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC, USA and also receive an ipad, sponsored by the World Bank Group.

Speaking at the awards event organised by the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalist (IFEJ), on that theme "Strengthening Micro Finance Institutions to enhance the growth of rural and micro enterprises", Professor Ernest Aryeetey, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana stressed the need for Ghana to emulate countries like Sri Lanka and Kenya in the regulation of microfinance institutions.

He said regulation of the microfinance sector would be more workable when linked to larger financial institutions like banks, as practised in Sri Lanka and Kenya.

He said the microfinance business was a risky one and players needed partners, such as commercial banks to share those risks by linking with other initiatives such as education.

"Microfinance can make a difference but depends on how it is managed, structured and regulated.'

Mr Lloyd Evans, President of IFEJ, urged media practitioners to highlight and promote the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to harness their potentials.

"SMEs, when well-developed, can fill the unemployment vacuum the country is currently saddled with,"he added.

Mr Evans announced that IFEJ wouldcollaborate with the Africa Centre for Economic transformation to hold a series of training programmes for its members, among other initiatives.

Others winners at the awards are; Kwabena Adu Koranteng, Best in Extractive, Rebecca Adwoah Awuah, Best Business/Manufacturing, Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Agribusiness, Adnan Adams Mohammed, Best in Finance, and Kwabena Adu Koranteng, Best Development.

Mr Alhassan Andani, Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, who chaired the event urged Journalists to be diligent in their work as a single mistake could create confusion.

He gave the assurance that banks in Ghana would be ready to partner serious microfinance institutions to help grow the sector. GNA
Half-Assini, WR, Jan 28, GNA - The Catholic Bishop of the Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese, Most Reverend John Bonaventure Kwofie, has expressed displeasure about the unpatriotic attitude of some of the Priests in the diocese.

He said the Priests either said things or peddled falsehood about others, which was religiously wrong.

Bishop Kwofie expressed these sentiments at Half Assini in the Jomoro District of the Western Region, when he delivered a sermon during Mass at the Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Half-Assini,to commomerate the"Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese Co-workers appreciation day."

The day seeks to create a platform for the Religious and Priests in the diocese to interact and thank God, and reward deserving parishioners.

The programme organised by the Church under the sponsorship of the Bishop, award over 150 Priests of the Diocese with souvenirs including Clothes, Wall Clocks and Vestments.

Bishop kwofie said "It pains me when I see or hear a brother Priest saying something that was untrue about another. It pains me when I hear a brother Priest peddling information that is not true.

According to Most Reverend Kwofie, the Ministry is a community or fraternity that should encourage people to be helpful to one another and not to lead them astray.

He said the Priests had made a choice which was superior and should therefore stand firm.

Bishop Kwofie urged them to avoid weakened elements and wicked minds who would try to lead them astray, by practising what they preached.

GNA
Franceville (Gabon) (AFP) - Sadio Mane agonisingly missed from the spot to allow Cameroon to beat Senegal 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final tie on Saturday.

The match went to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in the southern Gabonese town of Franceville.

After each side had successfully converted their first four penalties, Liverpool star Mane's effort was stopped by Fabrice Ondoa in the Cameroon goal.

Vincent Aboubakar then stepped up to score and take the Indomitable Lions through to the last four at the expense of a Senegal side who were widely fancied coming into the tournament.

Cameroon, who also beat Senegal on penalties in the final of the 2002 Cup of Nations, can now look forward to a semi-final tie against either DR Congo or Ghana in Franceville on Thursday.
Maputo (AFP) - Mozambique's rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama has accused government forces of violating a ceasefire his armed group Renamo had declared following a surge in deadly violence last year.

Dhlakama, who only gives rare interviews by phone from the central Gorongosa mountains where he has been holed-up since October 2015, claimed the government was not taking its ceasefire overtures seriously.

The army "ambushes, kidnaps and detains" rebels and Renamo supporters, he told AFP in an interview on Friday.

"There have been deaths," he claimed but gave no details.

On January 3, Dhlakama announced a two-month ceasefire, extending a week-long truce he had declared in late December -- a move welcomed by Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi.

Worsening clashes between the ruling Frelimo party government and rebel group Renamo last year had revived the spectre of Mozambique's civil war that ended more than 20 years ago.

Dhlakama's Renamo is an armed insurgent group that led a 16-year rebellion and an opposition political party that took up arms again in 2013.

The death toll in the conflict is unknown but Dhlakama claims that "hundreds and hundreds of people have died between the start of 2015 and the end of 2016".

'Trying to kill Dhlakama?'

Fighters of the former Mozambican rebel movement "Renamo" receive military training in Gorongosa's mountains, Mozambique

While admitting the army has not staged any offensive against his bush military base for a month, Dhlakama castigated what he described as "reconnaissance missions" around the camp where he is hiding.

"What are they doing there? Are they still planning to kill Dhlakama?" asked the 64-year-old rebel, who often speaks about himself in the third person.

"Are they trying to find the river where Dhlakama is drinking from to poison it, or the roads we use to plant anti-personnel landmines?"

Dhlakama, whose Renamo party is the main opposition in Mozambique, retreated in October 2012 to his hideout in Gorongosa with 800 former guerrillas demanding a greater share of power.

In 2013 tensions resurfaced with Renamo fighters again taking up arms against Frelimo, accusing the ruling party of enriching itself at the expense of the southern African country.

On the eve of the October 2014 general elections Renamo and the government signed a ceasefire.

But Renamo refused to accept the results of the 2014 elections when it was beaten once more at the polls by Frelimo, which has been in power since the former Portuguese colony's independence 40 years ago

'Won't give up on truce'

Mozambican regular army vehicles patrol the roads on the outskirts of Vanduzi village in the Gorongosa area, Mozambique

Dhlakama has accused the army of not only targeting Renamo members but civilians too.

"The armed forces go to the villages, open fire to disperse the population, and then ransack the houses making off with chickens and goats, which is typical of Frelimo," he claimed, adding that women had been beaten and houses torched.

"Either Frelimo does not know how to control its troops or there is a clear lack of will," he said.

Abuses have also been reported to international organisations by Mozambicans who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Authorities in December said more than 3,000 people fleeing the conflict now live in government camps, while the UN refugee agency says another 8,600 have been forced to cross the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe.

In spite of the allegations, Dhlakama has no intention of calling off the ceasefire, which he admits he unilaterally proclaimed in a bid to reopen peace negotiations.

The peace talks with international mediators resumed in May last year but failed to prevent the escalation of tensions and by mid-December the mediators quit the country.

"I must speak to President Nyusi in the coming days because we are still waiting for him to give the signal for the return of mediators," said Dhlakama.

The rebel leader said he will leave his mountain base only to sign a peace agreement.

"We are not going to give up on the truce. But every day someone calls me up to ask me to extend it beyond March 4. And I always tell them that it will depend on the progress of the negotiations."
A former Minority Leader in Ghana's Parliament, Rashid Pelpuo has called for investigations into bribery allegations made by the Member of Parliament for the Bawku Central Constituency, Mahama Ayariga against the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.

Mr. Ayariga had accused the Energy Minister of bribing the ten minority members on the Appointments Committee with GHc3, 000 to lure them to approve him for the position.

According to him the money was handed to them by the minority chief whip, Muntaka Mubarak who received it from the chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu.

Meanwhile, Ayariga's claim has been rubbished by all the factions involved.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, Rashid Pelpuo who is also the Member of Parliament for Wa Central said if you have a member of the committee coming out with these tough allegations, it is important for us to look at it thoroughly.

There must be some information derived out of it and a position that would have emerged upon which you would have then made such a powerful statement. For me I cannot say much because I'm not a member of the committee, I can only rely on what the witness is talking about and what emphasis he is putting across, he noted.

I didn't give Ayariga bribe money  Muntaka swears

Minority chief whip, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka says it is untrue he gave Mahama Ayariga money meant to bribe him [Ayariga] and other minority members of Parliament's appointment committee to support the approval of Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.

According to him, he does not recall ever giving Ayariga any gift purportedly from the Chairman of the Appointments Committee [Joseph Osei-Owusu].

I'm a Muslim and Ayariga is a Muslim. I'm swearing by the Allah that created him that I never gave Ayariga anything and I said it was from Osei-Owusu. Osei Owusu has never discussed any money issue with me. He has never given me any money to be given to Ayariga and I've never given Ayariga or anybody any money saying that it was coming from the Chairman.



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
Antananarivo (AFP) - At least 47 people, including 10 children and a newly-wed couple, were killed when a truck carrying a wedding party and guests veered off the road and plunged into a river in Madagascar, police said Sunday.

Police said the accident occured early Saturday outside the town of Anjozorobe, around 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the capital. The truck was transporting passengers who had attended a wedding the day before.

There were "a total of 47 deaths, including 10 children" and the newly-wedded couple, police spokesman Herilala Andrianatisaona told AFP. Twenty-two others were injured.
The Chairman of Parliament's Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu has said he will not discontinue vetting of ministerial nominees despite the scandal in which he, the Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko and minority members on the committee have been accused of bribery.

The Bawku Central Member of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga accused the Energy Minister of bribing the ten members of the committee with GHc3,000 each when he realized that the minority had refused to pass him for the position following some comments he made about former president John Mahama during his vetting.

Mr. Ayariga alleged that the money was given to the Minority Chief Whip, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Osei-Owusu for onward disbursement; a claim, both the Chairman and Muntaka had rubbished.

My only challenge now is that we have postponed consideration of some members for appointment for so long and I'm not sure it is fair to them to postpone sitting again. Otherwise I would have refused to sit until those matters are resolved and who ever took money in whose name is brought out, Mr. Osei-Owusu explained.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, he also disclosed that he will go to court to have his named cleared.

That is precisely where I'm going, he added.

Mr.Osei-Owusu further argued that his hands are clean.

I have never ever received any money from Boakye Agyarko or anybody for that matter for any such purpose. Mahama Ayariga knows that I have never spoken to him or Muntaka or anybody about any money, never. There are not many people on that side I like anyway for me to go to that level.

I took this thing as ordinary thing but I ignored it but when I heard that Mahama Ayariga had gone on air and was mentioning my name when he knows that I'm in no such relationship with him, I'm pissed off and I'm angry. The leadership of been trying to prevail over me not to respond but I think it is getting overboard. On Tuesday I will make a statement on the floor of the House and in that respect and then I will take my personal responsibility for my image from there, he noted.

I swear I didn't give Ayariga bribe money  Muntaka

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak had rejected claims that he gave Mahama Ayariga any money he received from Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.

I'm a Muslim and Ayariga is a Muslim. I'm swearing by the Allah that created him that I never gave Ayariga anything and I said it was from Osei-Owusu. Osei Owusu has never discussed any money issue with me. He has never given me any money to be given to Ayariga and I've never given Ayariga or anybody any money saying that it was coming from the Chairman, he said.



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.

So said 17th Century French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal. He meant that people are more likely to form opinions based on emotions than evidence.

I thought of Pascals insight as I read several excerpts from PARENTSPEAK: Whats Wrong with How We Talk to Our Children  and What to Say Instead (Workman, 2017) by California parent educator Jennifer Lehr.

The gist of PARENTSPEAK is that seemingly innocuous things parents often say to children  Say thank you, for example  are actually psychologically harmful. Other such apparently toxic comments include Say youre sorry, Give Grandma a kiss and Be careful!

Lehr asserts that comments and instructions of this sort are all about control. Rather than taking time to understand childrens feelings, thoughts and motivations, parents focus on obedience.

Whats to understand? Children do not know what is best for them. Their feelings and thoughts, often a muddle, require as much direction as their behavior. They need adults who will take charge when taking charge is called for.

Lehr relates an incident when she instructed her 4-year-old daughter to thank a friend for having her over for a playdate. Although she did eventually mumble thanks, the daughter looked kowtowed. Lehr is convinced she caused her daughter to feel demeaned and resentful and to conclude that how Lehr looks to others is more important than her (the daughters) dignity.

How does Lehr know this? She doesnt, of course. Pascal would say that Lehrs psychoanalysis of her daughters response to Say thank you is based not on evidence but rather nothing more than Lehrs own emotional state. Furthermore, its the sort of thing that often reflects a lack of emotional boundary between parent and child, also known as co-dependency.

My mother  definitely not the co-dependent type  gave me similar instructions when I was a child. I dont recall feeling demeaned or resenting her for lowering my sense of personal dignity. The simple fact is that when it comes to proper manners, children require tutoring until the manners become habit. Proper manners demonstrate respect for others. Therefore, instructing a child in proper manners is good and more accurately called direction, not control.

Besides, theres nothing wrong with obedience to legitimate authority, no matter ones age. Research finds what commonsense confirms: obedient children are happy children; disobedient children are not. In other words, obedience is of great benefit to a child. The inescapable, albeit shocking (to some), conclusion: Children should do what their parents tell them to do, including saying thank you and giving Grandma a kiss before she goes home.

On her website, Lehr identifies as one of her influences the democratic decision-making principals (sic) of psychologist Thomas Gordon, author of Parent Effectiveness Training, published in 1971. Yep, the professional community has been recommending this sort of hogwash for more than 45 years, during which time child mental health has gone down the tubes. Ironically, the more parents have focused on their childrens feelings, the more difficulty children have had keeping their feelings under control.

Research finds what commonsense confirms: obedient children are happy children; disobedient children are not.
By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA

Cape Coast, Jan 29, GNA - A Cape Coast Magistrate court has remanded into prison custody, a 26-year old Nigerian unemployed man for allegedly stealing laptops and mobile phones belonging to students of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

The accused, Divine Okoye, who pleaded not guilty to the charges of stealing and unlawful entry, would re-appear in court on Wednesday February 8, for further hearing.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Christina Sampong, told the court that the complainants, Philemon Opoku Tontoh, Peter Oduro and Eric Annan were students of UCC and residents at the Casely Hayford, Valco and Kwame Nkrumah Halls respectively.

She said Okoye was an unemployed Nigerian who lived at Abeka Lapaz in Accra.

The Prosecution said on Thursday November 24 2016, Okoye went to UCC campus at night and managed to enter room 10 of Casely Hayford Hall and stole a Toshiba Satellite laptop computer valued at GH3,300 belonging to Philemon Opoku Tontoh.

Chief Inspector Sampong said on the following day, he entered room F10 of the Valco Hall and stole a compaq laptop computer, valued at GH 1,500 belonging to Peter Oduro and on the same night entered room C402 of the Kwame Nkrumah Hall and stole an infinix Hot 4 mobile phone valued at GH 400.00 belonging to Eric Annan.

She said some students spotted and arrested Okoye when he was about leaving the Kwame Nkrumah Hall and when he was searched the aforementioned items were found on him.

Chief Inspector Sampong said okoye was handed over to the UCC police and the items were identified by the complainants during investigation.

GNA
29.01.2017 LISTEN

By Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA

Wassa Fiase, Jan 29, GNA - The leadership of the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council has reminded government on the need to refurbish the defunct Bonso Tyre factory to create employment for the teeming unemployed youth across the country.

According to the Council Members, reviving the tyre factory could help fight the menace of galamsey, which was gradually destroying water bodies and vegetation whilst ensuring development.

The leadership of the Council unanimously made the appeal during an emergency meeting at Wassa Benso, the original capital of the traditional area.

Odeneho Akrofa Krukoko, II the Wassa Hene who later addressed the council said the policy of one district, one factory was very commendable and urged government to keep to that manifesto promise to ensure that local economies became vibrant once again.

He called on the people in the area to rally behind and cooperate with the new government to ensure the needed development of the area.

He added that the Wassa Fiase Traditional council still remained a force to reckon with despite the recent chieftaincy issues adding, 'I remain the chief of the traditional area and my doors are opened to investors and other private businessmen for the necessary business partnership'.

The Wassa chief hinted about the reactivation of the scholarship scheme instituted to help needy but brilliant students in the area.

Odeneho Krukoko II called on the traditional area to remain united and resolute in their quest to ensure massive economic improvement and the holistic development of the area.

GNA
By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA

Cape Coast, Jan.29, GNA - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been advised to take advantage of the domestic market opportunities to trade more with itself.

This, according Mr Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy, an International Trade Expert was one of the surest ways to reduce the vulnerability that they faced in the world competitive market.

He also called on Governments to create the needed enabling environment and be committed to tackling the numerous infrastructural and institutional challenges that made it difficult to trade in the Sub-Region.

Mr Okai Addy said this when he made a presentation on 'Exporting to ECOWAS and EU markets' at a capacity building workshop for producers ,exporters and potential exporters in the Central Region.

The workshop, organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry formed part of the Trade Related Assistance and Quality Enabling (TRAQE) Programme which sought to enhance export of Ghanaian products to Regional and Global markets.

It was among other things to create the awareness training to inform the main Business Support Organisations as well as the private sector on how to meet EU trade requirements in Ghana.

It also comprised Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) accompanying measures, designed to fully exploit European Union and West Africa market access for Ghanaian exports, leverage and utilise the EPA to attract investment.

He called on member states to strengthen their communication channels especially with relation to the language barrier.

Mr Okai Addy said ECOWAS had a huge market but its exporters found it unattractive and a disincentive to trade among themselves in horticultural produce due to delays in clearing goods.

He said in a situation where unemployment was a major challenge for many African countries, it was imperative to reduce imports and do more exports because importing products from other countries created sustained jobs in those countries.

He encouraged Ghanaian exporters to form partnerships so as to improve the competitiveness of local industries and the country as business destination to be able to export more.

Mrs Mariella Sandini, Team leader and Technical Assistance at TRAQE said the EPA would not only offer duty-free access to the EU market but also facilitate ECOWAS region to conduct business and deepen collaboration with their counterparts in giant economies like China.

She urged exporters to take issues of safety standards seriously and ensure that they conformed to the European quality standards so that they could penetrate the EU market.

She said the EU had the world's largest single market and by the EPA, offered ECOWAS countries a huge consumer demand, but it was often neglected with the excuse that they did not know how to export to the EU.

She said there were available information on how to export to the EU and therefore advised local exporters to collaborate with their counterparts in the EU countries to know their market dynamics.

She also advised exporters to work directly with their producers and make them understand the issues of standards.

The TRAQE Programme is aimed at addressing the challenge of improving the capacity of Ghana for trade policy analysis, formulation and implementation, as well as elements of the national quality infrastructure, and awareness of private sector in order to cope with requirements posed by the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) agreements in export trade.

GNA
By Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA

Inchaban (W/R), Jan 29, GNA - Mr. Ebenezer Donkor, Assistant Headmaster of the Sekondi School for the Deaf (SEKDEAF) has called on the public come to the aid of the school to help reconstruct a modern place of convenience for the students.

He said the old KVIP for the school had become a death trap to the students as it had developed cracks adding, 'This 12-seater traditional toilet is not able to serve the 359 students adequately'.

Mr Donkor made this call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Inchaban after the staff and management of the Shama Cooperative Credit Union visited and presented assorted food items and toiletries in support of the running of the school.

The Assistant Head master also expressed concern about the leaking school roofs, dormitories and the general lack of infrastructure to help in effective and efficient school administration.

Mr Kwaku Nyarko Addo, Chief Executive Officer of the Credit Union said the donation was from their 2016 business engagements and transactions and gave the assurance that the union would continue to work hard to fulfil its social responsibility aspirations.

Mr Addo announced that the credit union was holding discussions with its development partners in Ireland to set up libraries in all schools across the Shama district.

GNA
By Emmanuel Asante Attakora, GNA

Accra, Jan 29, GNA - The Department of Computer Engineering of the School of Engineering Sciences of the University of Ghana, has entered into partnership with LOTS Services Ghana Limited which would see students from the department engaging in practical field work to enhance a better understanding of the academic work.

LOTS-Services Ghana Limited and its subsidiary company VAS-INTEL are Information Technology and Digital Solutions Companies which have vast experience and interests in projects using Lottery Management Systems, E-Commerce, SMS Gateway Systems, Payment Gateway Systems, Biometric Systems and Supply, Repairs & Maintenance of Point of Sale Terminals (POSTs).

They would also accommodate and train students to equip them with hands-on experience.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu noted at the signing that it was very important students were given such practical experiences even before they came out of the school adding that it would further enhance their understanding and appreciation of the course.

'This partnership stems from the fact that tertiary education is shifting from the old to new, with a modern trend and modern thinking.

'Universities have been lambasted in the past for producing graduates who are not delivering, so the essence now is to bring industry to academia and vice versa to close the gap.

'We started this arrangement a couple of years back and we have tried to incorporate practical learning to our curriculum with the essence of our students being exposed to the rudiments of the hands on training in the industry'.

Professor Owusu noted that it was because of the enormous benefits that necessitated the search for such a partnership.

According to him, the school would give students the theory in the classroom and they would go to the field with LOTS Ghana Services to have their hands on training to gain the experience and understand exactly what would be taught in the classroom.

'LOTS has come in as one of the many partners willing to come on board, they are partnering the department of Computer Engineering to make sure that our students in Computer Engineering benefit from their structure.

'They will offer some levels of training in computer base training, so at the end of it all students will come out better than before' he added.

On his part, the Managing Director of LOTS-Services Ghana Limited Mr McGill Clottey noted that his outfit is partnering with the Department of Computer Engineering of the school of Engineering Sciences of the University of Ghana to provide advanced industry solutions on specific projects while further developing young talents.

'With this partnership we want to bring out talents from the school to the real life experience and also groom them to have an understanding of what goes on in the real world of information technology.

'It will give them the opportunity to exhibit what they have done in school to the corporate arena and through the experience they will get from our end they can take with them for the rest of their lives.

Mr Clottey said the package which also included internships would introduce students to all the technology services LOTS provide in the industry. So the students can utilise the skills and education they have had to be productive anywhere they find themselves after school.

'We understand that the Engineering faculty is actively engaged in addressing leading industry problems in their fields and hence, the partnership' he said.

LOTS Services Ghana Limited provides IT solutions to the National Lotteries in all the regions of Ghana and are also into biometrics and all digital solutions and currently provides automated solutions to the stadia in Ghana.

GNA
29.01.2017 LISTEN

By Laudia Sawer, GNA

Tema, Jan 29, GNA - The Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate (TMHD) has held a stakeholders' forum to address the increasing rate of maternal and newborn mortality or deaths in the area.

The forum was on the theme 'Reduce maternal and newborn mortality now'.

The Tema Metropolis in 2016 recorded 49 maternal deaths and 350 still births while the Greater Accra Region saw the death of 194 pregnant women and 1,884 newborns.

Dr John Yabani, Tema Metropolitan Health Director, said the World Health Organization (WHO) defined maternal death as 'the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental'.

Dr Yabani indicated that despite the numerous health facilities in the Metropolis and a number of interventions put in place by his outfit, maternal and newborn death kept increasing in the area, a trend he described as "worrying".

He disclosed that the Metropolis could boost of five public health facilities, 58 private, four quasi government, and 32 CHPS zones providing several medical services to residents.

He said representatives from all these health facilities, Assembly members, pregnant women, religious groupings, the media, traditional birth attendants, among others met at the forum for brainstorming on the best ways to reduce drastically the alarming figures.

The Health Director mentioned that delay in reporting to health facilities by pregnant women, delay in responding to emergency by health officials, non-availability of needed logistics and delay in referral cases among others contributed to the death of pregnant women.

As part of measures to prevent such deaths, he noted that several meetings had been held with pregnant women, and midwives in addition to the introduction of the kangaroo mother care at the Tema General Hospital.

Dr Yabani added that there was therefore the need for stakeholders to reason together and get commitment from each group on what it would contribute to reduce the mortalities.

Dr Patrick Aboagye, Director of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, said poor quality of care for mother and child, lack of knowledge on danger signs in pregnancy, transport challenges, inadequate risk assessment, unacceptable staff attitude and religious beliefs also contributed greatly to the death of pregnant women.

Dr Aboagye announced that to enable midwives to detect dangers early, his outfit was deploying about 500 ultra sound scan machines to health facilities across the country while they worked at training about 600 midwives by the middle of the year.

He further said community nurses who had interest in midwifery were also been attached to midwives to help them in the discharge of their duties.

He appealed to health professionals to provide compassionate maternity care to clients devoid of inflicting physical abuse on patients, poor clinical care, non-confidential care, verbal abuse, discrimination and detention at facilities.

Dr Kwabena Opoku Adusei, Tema General Hospital (TGH)Medical Director, called for the establishment of specialized hospitals for maternity and child care since children's hospitals in the country were currently providing general services as government was not providing them with the needed funds to function properly.

Dr Adusei also complained about the lack of the needed doctors at the TGH stating that the hospital currently has only three doctors for the obstetrics and gyneacology department which he described as woefully inadequate due to the high number of patients they attended to.

He said it was not realistic for a doctor to work continuously for 24 hours a day as its expected of the three doctors posted to the TGH O&G department.

Dr Sylvia Deganus, O & G Specialists at the TGH, educated participants on pregnancy, labour and pregnancy complications while Mrs Juliana Mitchel, a Paediatrician at the TGH also lectured on newborn period, complications and the way forward.

Participants were grouped and had discussions on the best measures to reduce the mortalities. GNA
Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA

Takoradi, Jan 29, GNA - A cross-section of residents in the Western Region have expressed satisfaction with the appointment of Dr Kwaku Afriyie as the incoming Minister for the Region.

While some described him as a kind-hearted man others also believe has had the well-withal to carry out the development needs of the people in the region.

Mr Afriyie who tried unsuccessfully on two occasions to win the Sewfwi-Wiawso seat on the ticket, was this time elected and it was therefore not surprising he had been nominated for the position.

Madam Serwa Brakatu, a broadcaster with the Rok FM, a local radio station in the Region said although they were having another Regional Minister coming from the Sewfwi areas just like the National Democratic Congress nominated the former Minister from the same area, she believed he would justify his nomination with hard work.

"Any way let us rally behind him and see what he brings to the people of the Region," she added.

Mr Bismark Siabi-Mensah, an Engineer with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency welcomed his appointment and called on him to focus on rural water supply to bridge the gap in terms of coverage.

Madam Hannah Mills, a staff of the Department of Community Development prayed that his administration would revive the department to engage in community outreach programmes.

Mr Isaac Obosu a staff of the Geological Survey Department entreated the New Minister to focus more on partnerships that would fast track the development of the Region.

Dr Afriyie graduated with a bachelor degree in medicine from the University of Ghana, pursued a Master's degree in public health at the Tulane in New Orleans and is a fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.

He was also a part of the John Agyekum Kufour administration.

GNA
Sekondi, Jan. 29, GNA - Five men and a woman have filled and submitted their forms to contest the council of State position in the Western Region at the close of filing at the Electoral Commission's office.

They are Eunice Buah, 52-year old businesswoman, Mr Samuel Boadi, 61 and Antori Bonkyi Akomea, 49 both businessmen.

The rest are John Jojo Welsh, 83 retired educationist, Lt. Col. Anthony Aduhene, 60 a retired Army Officer and Enoch Bart -Plange Tawiah, a 23-year old student.

Mr Steve Opoku-Mensah, Regional Director of the Electoral Commission told the Ghana News Agency at Sekondi that two people each from the 22 districts of the Region are expected to form an electoral college.

He said members from the Electoral College would then converge on the 7th of February to hear from the aspirants why they should be voted for.

Mr Opoku -Mensah said in all 44 People are expected to vote in the election slated for February 9, this year.

GNA

By Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA
By Kodjo Adams, GNA

Accra, Jan 29, GNA - The Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) has organised its fourth annual spirit-filled thanksgiving service at the head office in Accra.

Clad in white attire, the service brought together staff of the company who prayed and danced to show appreciation to God for how far He had sustained and protected them in 2016.

Dr Nortey Omaboe, the Executive Chairman of GCNet thanked God for the feat chalked by the company in the past years.

Dr Omaboe said even though there were some challenges in the previous years, God was good to them by protecting the company to grow from strength to strength.

He lauded the staff for their hard work over the years which had uplifted the company to a high level and implored them to continue to work as a team, exhibit high sense of humility, integrity and service to work.

Dr Omaboe assured the staff that their welfare would continue to be paramount to his administration, because without them, the company would not meet its targets.

Reverend Daniel Asiedu, Resident Minister at Fountain Gate Chapel, Ofankor Branch in his sermon charged the management and staff not to stop giving thanks to God, and that the Bible said 'when praises go up, blessings come down' upon His people.

Rev Asiedu said it was important for them to be grateful for their successes and called on Ghanaians to seek the face of God in everything for His grace and favour.

He called for the blessings of God on the staff and the company adding that God will bless the company with contracts and grant the heart desires of staff in the new year.

GNA
By Emmanuel Asante Attakora, GNA

Accra, Jan. 29, GNA - Telecommunication giant, Vodafone Ghana has taken its health foundation programme 'Healtfest' to Mamprobi and its environs over the weekend, which was aimed treating various ailments for free.

The one day event which was an annual programme and the first for this year saw beneficiaries going through various health screenings for treatment and medication from the makeshift pharmacy shop that was erected at the Mamprobi police station park in Accra.

Mr Ebenezer Amankwah, Corporate Relations Manager, Vodafone Ghana noted in an interview with the Ghana News Agency that the event, done annually, was to give back to society and the less privileged who could not afford to have check-ups regularly and the opportunity to access free healthcare.

'As we do every year, we go to every region in the calendar year to deliver basic medical care to those who cannot afford.

'We guarantee the people that once they come here to access our health facilities created here, they get to access the basic needs that health care can give at any point in time at no cost at all.

Mr Amankwah added that the screening and health checks do not end only for the day but 'if there is the need for a referral for one to go to a regional hospital or for additional attention the Healtfest does it'.

'This gives that first line of health careHealtfest is really about giving back to Ghanaians and making sure that we are contributing to healthcare delivery in Ghana.

'Today we are taking people through test like Hepatitis B, hypertension, HIV, Malaria, Diabetesthere is also a stand for ultra sound scan for pregnant women.'

Healtfest is a holistic structure to provide basic healthcare to Ghanaians.

The concerted effort from Vodafone Ghana at touching the life's of people saw over 500 beneficiaries.

GNA
Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say ice.

From what Ive tasted of desire,

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough to hate.

To say that for destruction ice,

Is also great

And would suffice.

 Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

___

Recently Ive felt the fire.

Now Ive felt the ice.

Here comes metaphorical mush about worlds-end ire,

Wouldnt that be nice?

 Fired and Ice by Chris Hardie

As far as I know, Lucifer is not yet lacing up his skates, but I have journeyed through fire to ice.

Just as my hair was growing back from my close encounter with flames  I hope they were not perdition-prompted  Mother Nature decided to whip up a winter storm that left the farm and a chunk of the state coated with ice.

While politicians and others way above my station and pay grade continue to debate, expound upon and expunge homosapien influence on the stratosphere, were surely going through some wacky weather. Twenty-below zero to snow, rain, freezing rain and 45 degrees  sometimes in just a few days.

Thankfully we live far enough north that big ice storms are not a frequent occurrence. Snows no big deal. We can shovel it or plow it and still move around. Ice is a different story. Yes, we can salt and sand, but as my engineer father turned farmer is fond of saying, the coefficient friction of ice is pretty much nil. In other words, you have more traction walking on a linoleum floor with banana peels strapped to your feet.

Its difficult for drivers, walkers and animals. I always hope when its icy that our Scottish Highland cows dont decide that its time to reestablish their pecking order. But even they seem to sense that one needs to walk slowly.

Precipitation records in January are usually measured by inches of snow, but earlier this past month it was rain, with many parts of our area recording a half-inch. When rain falls on frozen ground for an extended period of time, you have ice and more ice.

Even though this past weeks ice closed schools for a couple of days, it was not a major storm. The National Weather Service in La Crosse said an ice storm from Feb. 21 to Feb. 23, 1922, left ice accumulations of 1 to 2 inches; as much as 4 inches of ice built up on trees and power poles. Power, telephone and telegraph services were knocked out for up to 15 days. The storm dropped 1 to 4 inches of rain while northern parts of the state had up to 3 feet of snow. Property damage was $10 million.

An ice storm March 4 and 5, 1976, left up to 5 inches of ice in the southern parts of the state, knocked out power for up to 10 days and caused $50.4 million in damage.

I also remember an ice storm in the early 1980s when my wife and I were dating. We had gone to La Crosse to see a movie and it started to rain. It was a challenging drive to her home in Mindoro because the country roads were pure ice. I went into the ditch once  was pulled out by a farmer  and then drove about 10 miles with the right tires of the car on the gravel shoulder.

While it wasnt the frozen river Cocytus from Dantes Inferno, our driveway was a solid sheet after this past weeks storm. I discovered the ice cleats purchased for just such conditions might be fine for Rockettes but were clearly not designed for size-12 feet. I shuffled my way to the outdoor wood boiler  and started humming the Game of Thrones theme song as I shoved hot coals and ashes on the ice.

Its usually during such menial chores that my mind wanders to the profound. With ice on my mind I thought of German author and filmmaker Werner Herzog, who said, civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness. Or the transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, in skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed. And Vanilla Ice who said, Ice, ice baby.

Many physicists speculate that the world will eventually end with either death by ice when the expanding universe grows thinner and colder until it reaches near absolute zero  or by fire when it explodes after a quantum leap into a vacuum state at the speed of light.

Those cosmological pursuits are once again above my comprehension, but the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind are part of my regular routine. Japanese Buddhists add a fifth element that describes the area that can be found between my ears  called void.

I was smart enough  more likely lucky enough  to avoid falling as I finished the morning chores. Most of the ice melted a couple of days later with some welcome spring-like temperatures.

Did I say spring? Its much too early for those fanciful thoughts. There will surely be more wintertime tales to follow.
29.01.2017 LISTEN

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest (Mark Twain).

SOME CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS

Assets and liabilities declaration is a patriotic duty.

The President (has already declared his assets according to media reports), the Vice-President, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State, Ambassadors, the Chief Justice, and Managers of Public Institutions must all declare their assets and liabilities in accordance with constitutional stipulations.

All this is to say those who are confirmed by the Vetting Committee must declare their assets and liabilities according to constitutional prescriptions.

The Auditor Generals Department must ensure these prescriptions are strictly adhered to for these appointees to assume their official responsibilities (see Article 281(1) of the Constitution (1992); Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998(Act 550)).

It means the Auditor Generals Department should be properly and fully equipped to carry out its mandate in line with constitutional requirements. Computers, stationery, forensic accountants, mathematicians, lawyers, economists, programmers, operations researchers/management scientists, political scientists, psychologists, auditors, information technology and human resource specialists, financial planners, statisticians, investigators, actuaries, financial managements specialists, etc., should be available to the Department.

Simply put, the Auditor Generals Department should have the necessary logistics and competent men and women for the difficult job at hand.

While carrying out its constitutional mandates, the Department must always stand its ground when it knows it is acting within the remit of the law.

It should stay far away from partisan politics and strive for neutrality and equity at all times.

That is to say, the Auditor Generals Department must not allow itself to be compromised by politicians, lack of logistics, party politics and greed.

We believe also that the Auditor Generals Department should be publishing asset-and-liability declaration documents and making them accessible to the public.

The constitution should therefore be revised to make room for full public disclosures of these documents. This is just one effective way it can avoid the scandalous tag of institutional corruption, the bane of state institutions and of our development as a whole.

Yet it still appears the same Auditor Generals Department has not been enforcing its constitutional mandate. Why Akufo-Addo should be allowed to declare his assets weeks after his inauguration is morally unacceptable, is a wrong move, is a bad-setting precedent.

This delay could have offered him ample room to rather deceive the public by declaring a partial disclosure of assets. The constitution is however unambiguously clear that assets and liabilities declaration is done by public officeholders prior to their formal assumptions of officenot otherwise.

Finally, there should be serious considerations for constitutional reforms where these assets and liabilities disclosures are carried on an annual basis for as long as the terms of those public officeholders who are required under the constitution to declare their assets last.

Generally, this requirement should be sweeping enough to cover the finances, assets and liabilities of children and spouses of those public officeholders who are required under the constitution to declare their assets (and liabilities).

The Auditor Generals Department and Ghanaians at large should push for this path if this is not already the case.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH IS FINALLY HERE

Now that Akufo-Addo has declared his assets, the time has come for his political appointees and others to replicate his example. In fact he has given his ministers two weeks to declare their assets.

This is leading by example. The interesting aspect of it all is that this mandate is captured in the manifesto (2016) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP):

The manifesto has also committed us to implementing an effective asset declaration regime. Its relevant elements are these: firstly, the president shall within 14 days forward a list of appointments made in pursuance of Chapter 24 of the constitution to the Auditor General.

Here, we should note that he has a new law in mind which promises to make public disclosure of these declarations, perhaps the most important component of the asset-declaration philosophy:

Chapter 24 covers all of us. The Attorney General shall forward to parliament a law requiring the Auditor General to publish periodically the list of all persons appointed under chapter 24 of the constitution who have declared or defaulted.

The new law shall provide for public disclosure of assets declaration. These and other measures indicate the importance our party attaches to the fight against corruption

Hopefully this will do away with what the Daily Graphic describes as:

The constitution, however, forbids public disclosure of the assets declared by the public officers concerned unless demanded as evidence by a court of competent jurisdiction

This is all good except that politicians have always found ways to circumvent these progressive laws and steal, rape the public purse to enrich themselves, their cronies and family members, as though there is no tomorrow. But we shall be watching to see how things unfold as the new administrations work takes shape. Let us therefore give Akufo-Addo and his new administration the benefit of the doubt.

Four or eight years, they say, is just around the corner.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The reason we are asking for broad constitutional amendments to existing laws on asset declaration is so that the Auditor Generals Department, among other things, can be put in a situation free from any unnecessary legal logjams, where it is also possible for it to effectively ensure assets are not registered in the names of public officeholders spouses and childrenwhich we broadly define here as loved ones.

Public officeholders should not be allowed to register assets in the names of their loved ones for any reason(s) other than what the law says. This is the proper thing to do. But where do we draw the line when such assets are legally willed to loved ones? What exactly do we do in this special case?

Granted, this broad constitutional empowerment of the Auditor Generals Department we are calling for is sure to give the latter enough room for efficient operational maneuverability in special cases where, for instance, public officeholders somehow succeed in hiding assets excluding liabilities in the names of extended family members and cronies, thereby necessitating grounds for going after these violatorscourtesy of and in conjunction with the Commission Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ).

On the other hand if our calls for constitutional amendment make sense and that these calls are met, in addition to assets and liabilities declaration information being made public, there is a greater chance that the oversight responsibilities of the Auditor Generals Department and CHRAC will not suffer unnecessary and intrusive contingencies.

That is, if these declaration documents are made accessible to the public the chance is that patriotic members of the public who sight inconsistencies in these public documents, might come forward with vital information which the Auditor Generals Department and CHRAJ and the Ghanaian society at large may not be privy to, to implicate potential violators eventually leading to their prosecution and imprisonment if found guilty of the charge of perjury and deceiving public officials, say.

All these call for immediate passage of the Freedom to Information Bill (FOIB), a witness protection program for whistleblowers, and neutrality of the Auditor Generals Department!

But what if a case bordering on conflict of interest potentially arises where, for instance, a public officeholder who also happens to be a relation of the Auditor General or, of any of the powerful officials within the highest echelons of the Auditor Generals Department, intends to hide some assets with full underhanded support of any blood-related official(s) from the Auditor Generals Department?

CONCLUDING REMARKS: EATING KENKEY AND PEPPER HAS NOW BECOME A MODEL DETERMINANT OF MORAL CHARACTER

"I don't believe that Nana Akufo-Addo as president will retire and tell Ghanaians to give him a house. I've been with him and I know him very well, he has a lovely house and morally, I know him and he will stay there, I've eaten kenkey and pepper with him [and so I know him very well]. I can vouch for his integrity, he won't do it (Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah).

Was Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah being metaphorically sarcastic or literally frank? We do not yet know if that was actually the case when he first made those outrageous statements. In any case was there not fish or meat to accompany this kenkey and pepper? We will like to know!

However, eating kenkey and pepper with another begs the question whether that alone can put a person in a privileged position to vouch for anothers integrity, anothers morality or ethos. Hardly so, since different people of all classes, ethnicity, political persuasions, and cultural backgrounds eat kenkey and pepper!

In other words thieves, political criminals, saints and sinners, imams and pastors, armed robbers and murderers, scientists and the unlettered, women and men, young and old, short and tallall eat kenkey and pepper.

So, what was he saying in effect, if we should ask again for the sake of further clarity?

Again, we cannot say without any element of authority whether merely eating kenkey and pepper could qualify as a symbol of humility, incorruptibility, integrity, morality, and the like. What we do know for a fact is that Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah is a greasy political opportunist.

He may have made those captivating headlines just to curry favor with Akufo-Addo in the likelihood that the latter considers him for political appointment. Not too long ago, the same Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah would these outrageous remarks to striking Ghanaian workers:

Every Tom, Dick and Harry gets up and is calling for a strike. If you dont want the job Ghana is not a police state, take your passport and get out of this countryIf you cant sacrifice like what some of us have dont then get out. If the kitchen is too hot for you, get out.

Absent further explanation from him, Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah, one would certainly never know if the hotness of the kitchen he referred to was any hotter than the pepper that accompanied the kenkey he supposedly ate with Akufo-Addo!

Certainly one does not become less greedy by virtue of eating kenkey and pepper if one were indeed already greedy, for, if it were so, our law courts and constitutional would be prescribing kenkey and pepper to curb institutional or public corruption.

On the other hand compared to all the other major regions, then, Accra should be a relatively sinless place since it is the capital of the kenkey and pepper! Is that not the same place where the Flagstaff House or the Golden Jubilee House is located? What about parliament? And so forth?

Thus eating kenkey and pepper with Akufo-Addo does not mean a damn thing. It does not even mean he intimately knows Akufo-Addo.

Rather, his outrageous statements say a lot about his own opportunism and questionable intentions.

By indirectly attacking ex-President Mahamas moral and political ethos, Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah might have thought actually doing so put him in a better position to worm his way into Akufo-Addos good books.

Eating kenkey and pepper has become an act of public service in all its moral and political manifestations.

In fact, prior to assuming office our politicians should be made to eat kenkey and pepper in addition to swearing on the Bible and the Quran!

And let us see what happens to those who are allergic to kenkey and pepper.

When all is said and done, kenkey is still what it is; and pepper is also what it still is. Kenkey and pepper are what they are. In fact kenkey and pepper will always be what they have always been.

Thus Brig. Gen. Nunoo-Mensah should put an immediate stop to patronizing Akufo-Addo while asking him, Akufo-Addo, and the Auditor Generals Department to do their jobs.

Indeed, no wonder Ghanaian politicians are just like Mark Twain's diapers. Hear Twain:

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason

Only in Ghana!

We shall return

SOURCES

Ghanaweb. Auditor General Has No Receipt For Nana Addo To Declare His Assets. January 24, 2017.

Ghanaweb. Akufo-Addo Will Never Demand State BungalowNunoo Mensah. January 23, 2017.

Ghanaweb. Im Old But I Can Still Work For YouNunoo-Mensah Tells Akufo-Addo. January 6, 2017.

Ghanaweb. Nunoo Mensah To Striking Workers: Get Out If October 20, 2013.

Ghanaweb. Nana Addo Finally Declares His Assets. January 26, 2017.

Seth J. Bokpe. Asset Declaration in Ghana: Public Deception or Reality. January 26, 2016.

Ghanaweb. Boakye Agyarko Tried Bribing Us With GHS3000 EachMahama Ayariga. January 27, 2017.

Ghanaweb. I Made Bribery Allegation UpMahama Ayariga Withdraws Claim. January 27, 2017.

Ghanaweb. Declare Assets in Two WeeksAkufo-Addo Tells Ministers.January 28, 2017.

Graphic.com.gh/Ghanaweb. Prez. Akufo-Addo Files His Tax. January 28, 2017.
Ghana Media Center for Social and Economic Justice (Ghana Media Center) is calling on the Speaker of Parliament to raise the bar of governance, by applying the law to punish individuals involved in the Mahama Ayariga bribery scandal which has rocked the house presently.

It is disappointing that corruption has becoming epidemic in all the three arms of government; the Executive, Legislature, and the Judiciary. These are supposed to be our centers of integrity. Unfortunately they have become centers of bribery and corruption.

Whether the MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, framed up the bribery allegations or Boakye Agyarko indeed tried to bribe his way out of the vetting, should not be taken as your word against my word situation. The issue is that there has been a plethora of bribery allegations against the Parliaments of the fourth republic over the years. The Speaker has not been able to purge the house of any of the previous allegations.

The MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Honorable Alban Bagbin is on record as having said that MPs take bribes. Member of Parliament for Effiduase/Asokore K.T Hammond also hinted of corruption against the then Speaker of Parliament, Rt Honorable Doe Adjaho, and the majority members of Parliament in the transaction involving the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz. The Speaker threatened to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee but again we heard nothing there after.

Honorable P. C. Appiah-Ofori also alleged that members of Parliament took $5,000 each in order to approve the Ghana Telecom to Vodafone deal.

Some ordinary members of society have also made allegations of corruption against Parliament. Prof. Stephen Addae has revealed that Parliamentarians used their positions to take bribes for their girlfriends. Martin Amidu has also alleged that MPs demand for money in the delivery of their work. All these allegations have gone uninvestigated, and unpunished.

The Speaker, Right Honorable Professor Mike Ocquaye, is faced with the opportunity to purge the house of all the Charlatans who have found their ways into Parliament. In this regard, Ghana Media Center is calling for a thorough truly independent investigation into the Mahama Ayarigas bribery allegations, and hopes to see severe consequences for those found guilty in the scandal.

James Kofi Annan

(President)
Touchpoint Magna Carta (TPMC), a Reputations Management, Event and Media Consultancy Company, has supported the Kidney Care Project with GHC10, 000.

The donation is to offset the cost of total of 53 dialysis sessions for five of the projects beneficiaries at the Renal and Dialysis at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Staff of TPMC donated part of the funds, while another part was raised at the maiden edition of TPMCs annual health walk, organized in partnership with the Kidney Care Project.

Dubbed The Hunt, the walk sought to support the Kidney Care Project draw awareness to kidney-related diseases while encouraging corporate institutions to keep fit in a fun way.

According to Clarence Amoatey, General Manager of TPMC, the company supported the Kidney Care project because it felt an urgent need to have a positive impact on the millions of Ghanaians living with or at risk of developing kidney diseases.

There is usually a lot of focus on cardiovascular diseases but not much attention is given to other vital organs such as the kidney, he said. The Hunt is our little way of helping people stay healthy while supporting renal patients in need.

Receiving the cheque on behalf of the patients, Joyce Effah, Founder of the Kidney Care Project, lauded TPMCs commitment to support the cause.

We are very grateful and impressed about the kind of help TPMC has extended to these five patients, said Joyce Effah, Founder of the Kidney Care Project. We entreat other corporate institutions to support us.

A second edition of the Hunt will be held on Easter Monday. The 12.6km health walk up the Aburi Hills will be complemented by a scavenger hunt and aerobics. There will also be health screening and talks on how to prevent kidney diseases.

Touchpoint Magna Carta is an indigenous Ghanaian communications agency specialized in providing Events, Media and Reputation Management services. They are affiliated to Magna Carta, an exclusive African affiliate of the Global Ketchum Group, which has more than 100 offices around the globe.

The first edition of The Hunt was supported by Labadi Beach Hotel, Allure Spa, Azmera Restaurant, Aeroshutter, Mens Cabin, Standard Water and Emigoh Ghana, producers of Yomi Yoghurt.
29.01.2017 LISTEN

Due to editorial mishaps and our desire for consistency across, opening portions of this paper may have already appeared in Part 3 for some readers.

What we would emphasize is that, based on current knowledge, the account that says that President Eisenhower and his deputy, Richard Nixon, were embarrassed by the Howard Johnson orange juice incident and as a result of the "private" meeting with Gbedemah committed to supporting the Akosombo Dam, is a big fallacy. It is facile. We identified at least three (3) "permanent interest" reasons why the US would support those projects. As such, the Howard Johnson account circulated for generations by many individuals (e.g, Cameron Duodu, Annor Nimako, Godfrey Mwakikagile, etc.) is an archaic coup plotter narrative and historical fiction at best without the benefit of valid records and up-to-date information, if we must be charitable.

Moving forward, by the current installment, we know that under the CPP, the office of the Auditor-General, an independent agency with responsibility to faithfully and dutifully publish financial information and audit reports related to government expenditures and incomes, was established. While Kwame Nkrumah, as the President, was ultimately responsible for all acts and omissions under his government, the activities of certain officials whom he trusted could not be always effectively policed in those days. Such was the case with Komla "Agbdli" Gbedemah. Gbedemah was a capitalist who oddly, did not to see any advantage in joining the "United Busia Party." But, to the extent Gbedemah remained in the CPP as long as he did, Gbedemah got paid more than double. In addition, he had access to the center of power. He could travel the world freely as Finance Minister. He could pre-negotiate any deal affecting Ghana. He could plan, monitor, and report to the "Masters" the several diabolical schemes exposed in these papers, even to Washington, in person, if necessary.

Regretfully, Gbedemah found many eager, poorly-resourced, and ideologically-bent individuals (e.g. Dr. Busia and Salifu Imoro) to take part in what's best characterized as a scheme to create acute discord and destruction in Ghana, and within the CPP hierarchy. In so doing, Gbedemah would them be catapulted into the top-most position in government, allowing him to parley government assets, resources, and policies deeply into the orbit of the West. The tactics used to create those acute discords and destruction all over Ghana were "terroristic" in nature. If we can refer to Part 3 one more time, the red-lined image titled, "Secret" with the photo of Gbedemah on top right and "Outbreak of Violence" near bottom to the right is directly from the original paper from 1964. The operative words in the Gbedemah "discord" prose include "Kulungugu", "Upper Volta", "bombings", "assassination", and of course "terrorist group". (The 2 rectangular figures blanked out in WHITE are what we would characterize as official actions/decisions. They are redactions imposed on the original document, as FOIed).

In coordination with Busia and the NLM/United Party, Gbedemah was in fact the key person in the Kulungugu massacre.

Further, since the latter 1970s, until today, information on the Johnson-CIA sponsored coup d'etat in Ghana is that it was not "officially" sanctioned by the United States to overthrow Nkrumah before the signing of the VRA Master Agreement. Still, with the sudden commissioning of the Akosombo Dam and competing sponsorship of projects by several Eastern "Block" countries, Nkrumah was suddenly viewed way too independent and a direct threat to western interests (US, UK, France, Germany). As reported by many sources, the CIA outfit in Accra, Ghana, was "given a generous budget", and its agents left with little supervision to manage the "Kwame Nkrumah problem". When President Johnson guaranteed that Nkrumah's aircraft would not be shot down in Hanoi while the latter was enroute to Vietnam, it was a wink by Johnson to CIA to provide clearance to Harlley, Kotoka, Afrifa, etc. to topple Kwame Nkrumah's government.

Komla Gbedemah was not too keen about the CPP's program from Africanization of the Ghana public services!

Up to 1966, the lynch-pin of all the efforts that ultimately toppled Kwame Nkrumah was the person, Komla "Agbdli" Gbedemah and Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia). Through all these events, Gbedemah was in close contact with police commissioner Harlley. In fact, per US State Department records, Harlley, was in frequent contact with US agents. And the reports confirm that Harlley exuded great revulsion towards the policy of independence and socialist planning.

(During 1957-1966, Gbedemah successfully graduated from the UK "asset school" and entered the US "asset school").

REPEAT:

By this historic and DEFINITIVE essay, major gaps in the knowledge and political history of Ghana up to 1964, at bottom of the subversion of the CPP government of Kwame Nkrumah that eventually resulted in the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah two (2) years later, are being laid to eternal rest. At the center of the essay today are Komla Gbedemah and Kofi Abrefa Busia.

Continuing from Part 3........

READ:

"THE TRUTH ABOUT KOMLA GBEDEMAH BY A NON-GHANAIAN INTELLECTUAL", 1964....... A PAMPHLET FIRST PUBLISHED IN FRENCH AND TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH MAKES THESE AND MANY MORE STARTLING REVELATIONS. THE NAME OF THE WRITER, A NON-GHANAIAN INTELLECTUAL, HAS BEEN KEPT SECRET FOR SECURITY REASONS".

"RISKY GAME:

"The tasks given to Gbedemah by the Americans were much more complicated. He had to cause economic and political chaos in the country using the support of the opposition, including the United Busia Party, and prepared an anti-government plot with the view of establishing a regime in Ghana that would pave the way for American business interests. Gbedemah realised that that was a very risky deal. He did not doubt that the coup would be a success counting on all-mighty Washington. He also took into consideration that after the victory over Nkrumah he would have to fight Busia who, naturally, would aspire to the role of Ghana's dictator. That would certainly entail a clash with the British who could cause much trouble after finding out that their graduate managed to secretly graduate from another school and completely forget his first teachers.

To whip up Gbedemah Washington gave him to understand that in case the coup was successful Gbedemah would be given support to spread his power over the neighbouring Togo and Nigeria which eventually would secure him an outstanding position in the entire Pan-African movement.

From this it followed that he, Gbedemah, could become one of the principal creatures of the Americans in Africa and as such would make other African leaders count with his recommendations.

This prospect inflamed Gbedemah's ambitions, especially because together with power it promised money too. The Americans hurried Gbedemah say-ing that any delay was dangerous since the moment for a coup might be lost.

In July, 1961 Gbedemah was asked to come to the U.S. Officially this trip was explained by the necessity of finishing negotiations on the American financing of the Volta project. However, the main subject of talks with Gbedemah in Washington was the thorough elaboration of all details of the coup, which was to take place during Nkrumah's trip to Eastern Europe.

To implement that plan the United Busia Party as well as people recruited by the C.I.A. agents, who worked as clerks in American firms and representations in Ghana, had to be brought into play. It was assumed that the moment the agents instigate disorders in the country and start attacks against Nkrumah, Gbedemah would address the people with an appeal for law and order and would declare the creation of a new government, with opposition leaders in the key posts.

The political programme for the new regime drawn up in Washington included a number of demagogic promises to Ghana's population, an amnesty to all prisoners, the unlimited freedom of private enterprise, etc. Gbedemah was given assurances that at least two of Ghana's neighbours, Togo and Liberia, would immediately recognise the new government. Simultaneously, a campaign would start in the West in support of Gbedemah's regime. The final touch: a report from Washington announcing the signature of the agreement for financing the Volta project.

The September strikes in Ghana, the activisation of the opposition and the increasing differences between the leaders of the Convention People's Party proved the first stage of this master plan. As P. member of the Presidential Commission which executed the functions of Ghana's President when Nkrumah was away, Gbedemah was lying low in expectation of the United Party's actions so as to make short work of the principal supporters of Nkrumah and then declare himself head of the new government.

As everyone knows this has not come to pass.

'PIE CONSPIRACY FAILS:

The main mistakes made by Gbedemah and his patrons which led to the fiasco of the planned coup d'etat were their underestimation of the influence and popularity of Dr. Nkrumah and the Convention People's Party among the Ghanaian population, and an overestimation of the possibi-lities and power of the opposition. Very often the nature of the cult of Nkrumah and "" Nkrumaism "" in Ghana are misinterpreted abroad.

Frequently this cult is pictured as the deification of the dictator forced up on the people.

In reality one has to spend but a few days in Ghana to become convinced that it is the people of that country, true to their national traditions, who put the Osagyefo on a pedestal and took an oath of allegiance and loyalty to him. Explanation must be sought not only in the personal qualities of Dr. Nkrumah as a man but mainly in the successes scored by Ghana under his leadership.

In 1961, Ghana demonstrated that she can develop independently and not only without guidance on the part of the Europeans but even in conditions of imperialist resistance. The "" Ghanaisation "" of the state apparatus and the army has been carried out in the country. Great changes were carried out in Ghana's economy as a result of nationalising a number of large enterprises engaged in the mining of gold and diamonds, foreign trade, the purchasing of agricultural products, etc.

The living standards of the popula-tion showed a steep rise and proved the highest in tropical Africa. Measures taken by the government to create the state sector of the economy and restrictions put on foreign capital provided opportunities for starting planned development of the country. The country's constitution introduced by the British was revised. Parliament began to play an active role. Of special interest in Ghana is the establishment of the Auditor-General's Office.

The Auditor-General enjoys complete indepen-dence and controls the entire financial activities of governmental institutions. The reports of the Auditor-General, very often critical of ministers and government departments, are published regularly.

All these measures ensured popularity for Kwame Nkrumah and his Convention People's Party the latter doubling the number of members from one to two million people in 1960-1961. By that time opposition had no serious support of the masses to speak of. It was backed in Ghana solely by Nkrumah's personal enemies who were striving for power and enrichment, as well as by heads of some tribes who sacrificed the general interests of the nation for clannish ones. The majority of the opposition leaders enjoyed the notoriety of specu-lators, dishonest businessmen and intriguers.

The well-planned and thoroughly prepared campaign of strikes and riots in Ghana did not yield the desired results. The actions of the restricted group of plotters were not supported by the entire population of Ghana. Gbedemah saved his skin because he did not take the decisive step.

As a result the only thing he brought upon himself was Nkrumah's admonitions and accusation of passivity and shilly-shallying during the height of disorders.

All this undermined Gbedemah's position.

Besides, he had all grounds to believe that in the long run the Ghanaian security services would reach him too. He felt that he was losing ground and that the best move now would be to flee from Ghana.

Gbedemah's friends in Washington also arrived at the conclusion that his further stay in Accra was not only dangerous but also quite inadvisable. The failure of the coup only served to strengthen Nkrumah's regime and made conditions very difficult for the opposition and foreign agents.

It was, therefore, decided to make Gbedemah leader of the opposition in "" voluntary exile "" and entrust him with organising compaigns of slander so as to compromise Nkrumah, as well as with preparing another plot, aimed at assassinating Nkrumah and at changing the regime in Ghana.

The Americans recommended that Gbedemah act in close contact with Busia so as to use the United Party for the preparation of the coup, and that he try and rally all opposition forces. Special agents in U.S. higher educational establishments as well as in those of Europe started working on the Ghanaian students abroad with the view of winning them over to the side of the conspirators.

Certain African leaders who resented the popularity of Nkrumah in Africa were also to be used in the campaign of compromising Ghana's President.

On September 29, 1961 in compliance with instructions, Gbedemah gave his consent to resignation, which Nkrumah suggested he should hand in, and declared that from then on he would continue his political activities as a private person.

THE HORNET'S NEST:

On an October day in 1961, after closing hours, several people came together in one of the shops near the railway station in Lome. When they came to the door of the shop they looked around them nervously. Everything went on as in a classical detective story. There was the special knock on the door, the password and even several masks.

However, no masks could conceal from the citizens of Lome the too familiar figures of Togo's Minister of Internal Affairs, Teophil Mally,, and the Commissar of Police of the city of Lome, C. Dekon.

It was more difficult to identify the man with typical Anglo-Saxon features.

But the name of Leonard Desimus meant absolutely nothing to anyone who did not know that it was an alias of George Davis, representative of one of the most powerful western intelligence services. It was this man who declared the meeting of the conspirators open.

Gbedemah briefed the participants on that clandestine meeting on the situation in Ghana.

He said among other things that in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and other cities, especially in the north of the country, there are persons dissatisfied with Nkrumah's socialism and prepared to take very decisive steps against it. In this way the Americans thought to remove Gbedemah's rival at the last moment.

Happy days had begun for Gbedemah. The British began to show more interest in their graduate "", hatching plans similar to the American ones with the only difference that London was preparing Busia for the role of the future dictator, while Gbedemah was to be used for the cloak and dagger and then put on trial as an assassin.

Thus, American dollars and British pounds sterling started flowing with renewed force into Gbedemah's pockets.

He opened personal accounts in several banks in Geneva, Zurich and Basel.

He bought a villa in Nice for one of his mistresses, Dossea Kissey, and occasionally visited her there.

The lust for money in Gbedemah took the upper hand over fear or qualms of conscience. Putting with one hand the pounds sterling and with the other the American dollars into his pockets to pay the services of the terrorists and buy weapons for them, he meted out spurious banknotes for various other services, leaving the hard currency in his own bank accounts.

By the summer of 1962 the conspirators managed to complete a big part of their work. It was reported from Accra that everything was ready for the assassination of Dr. Nkrumah. K. Dekon, Lome's Police Commissar early that year shipped over the border a large consignment of leaflets, weapons and explosives. Several hundred plastic bombs were bought in Paris and shipped over to Lome.

Gbedemah's cousin Adjavon had a real military depot in his house in Lome which could probably compete in size with the national arsenals of Togo.

While visiting Hamburg in June, 1962, Gbedemah received 20,000 Ghanaian pounds from an Ameri-can representative and another 50,000 from London. Later on the U.S. Ambassador in Lome gave him another 50,000 as well as a special "" manual "" on the organisation of coup d'etat, as well as weapons. Out of the 120,000 pounds Gbedemah paid 5,000 to the Ghanaian exile Salifu Imoro, a participant of the plot. And that he did only because it was in the house of Imoro in Lome the address of which is B.P. 20, that the above- mentioned George Davis had lived and who was not supposed to have even the remotest suspicions that Gbedemah was pocketing the money given to him.

The attempt on Nkrumah's life was fixed for August 1st, during his trip to the village of Kulun-gugu on the border with the Republic of Upper Volta. It is common knowledge that the assassins fired and missed. The arrests that followed dealt a heavy blow to Gbedemah's organisation although at that time very few people knew that it was Gbedemah himself who was in the centre of the conspiracy.

Black Magic

The failure shook Gbedemah so much that he immediately left for Cotonou to see Bongu Azevodu, the witch-doctor, and almost in tears, implored the latter to sell him the magic "" juju "" which would help him kill Nkrumah and become President of Ghana....

TO BE CONTINUED....(FINAL)....PART 5......

NOTES/SOURCES:

1. Cameron Duodu. Say it loud!How Komla Gbedemah used the music of the late James Brown to captivate Ghana during the 1969 elections.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/dec/27/howjamesbrowncapturedafric/

2. Godfrey Mwakikagile. 2015, Western Involvement in Nkrumah's Downfall,

3. Annor Nimako, The River's Power, A historical Fiction. Tema, Ghana : Ronna Publishers, 2010, (http://franklin.library.upenn.edu/record.html?id=FRANKLIN_6117161).

4. William Blum. Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, Zed Books, 2003

VISIT WWW.GHANAHERO.COM/VISIONS, FOR MO' INFORMATION:

FOIB - Freedom of Information Bill (FOIB/FOI/Ghana), Ask for it!

SUBJ: Greedy Komla Agbdli Gbedemah and his rascal side-kick Kofi Abrefa Busia!, Part 4, re-post of "THE TRUTH ABOUT KOMLA GBEDEMAH BY A NON-GHANAIAN INTELLECTUAL", 1964, with commentary by Prof Lungu.

Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana (FTOS-Gh) Campaign/Petition:

https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/ .

Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com28 Jan 17.

(Powered by: www.GhanaHero.Com).
There were so many controversial statements made by Donald Trump during the United States Presidential Election, which makes many parties underestimated Trumps chance to victory towards the White House. One of Trumps controversial statements was during an exclusive interview with the New York Times on Sunday, 20 March 2016. Trump said if he is elected as US President, he would be open to Japan and South Korea producing their nuclear deterrent. They should not always be depending on the US military to protect themselves from North Korea and China. The US military would not be able to protect Japan and South Korea for a long period of time. He argued that the US cannot always be the policemen of the world.

Trump also asserted that there will be a point where the US could not be able to do all that anymore. North Korea probably has their nuclear arsenal, so he would rather have Japan and South Korea having a nuclear capability too, as we are living in a nuclear world right now.

This controversial statement alarmed the world and received a strong reaction from various sides. President Obama, during the sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Friday, 1 April 2016, among others stated that all this time the US involvement in the Asia-Pacific region has been important. Because it is also the safeguard key that maintain the peace between the US and countries in that region up until now. Having US presence is very important to withstand any conflicts between each other. Therefore, Obama continued, the person (Donald Trump) who made such comments does not know much about policies, as well as nuclear policy, or the Korean peninsula, or even about the world in general. Japan and South Korea has been considered important as the pillars of US presence in Asia Pacific, as it advantaged the US quite substantially on the trade side, and prevent nuclear escalation and conflict.

Japans Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fumio Kishida as quoted by CNN, also reacted by expressing his disagreement with Trumps proposal, saying it is impossible for Japan to build a nuclear capability. Japan is the only country that has experienced a nuclear attack, and if they follow Trumps proposal, there will be a chance that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedy can happen again.

Contradict

Jonathan Cristal, a professor and observer from a think-thank agency, the World Policy Institute in New York, also commented by saying that Trumps proposal is contrary to the governments commitment to strengthen the alliance with various countries like Japan and South Korea, the two strongest allies in Southeast Asia. Cristal stated that Japan and South Korea will consider various options if true that the US is no longer protecting them. First option, Japan and South Korea will pay a protection fee to the US, similar to the way Estonia contributed 2% of their GDP to NATO for protection. Second option, Japan and South Korea will develop their own nuclear weapon. Cristal concluded his statement by saying if Trump ignored the US alliance in Asia and triggered Japan and South Korea to produce nuclear weapon, there will be a domino effect following to happen to other countries.

Trumps statements is in fact denying international convention, which regulated in the NPT (Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) set by the United Nations on 12 June 1968 in New York, and effective from 5 March 1950, and which the US ratified. Basically, the NPT consists of three pillars, namely: first, non-proliferation, i.e. nuclear-weapon states pledge not to add and must reduce as well as revoke/separate their nuclear warheads; second, disarmament, i.e. nuclear weapons eradication which non-nuclear-weapon states pledge not to acquire and manufacture nuclear weapons; third, peaceful use, that is nuclear energy serve only for peaceful purposes. As a matter of fact, the NPT was inspired by President Eisenhower, one of Donald Trumps predecessors (also from the Republic Party), from his speech in the UN General Assembly session, 18 December 1953, entitled Atom for Peace.

Almost all states ratified the NPT except India, Pakistan, and Israel. North Korea ratified the NPT on 20 December 1985 and withdrawn from the treaty on 10 April 2003. On the other hand, after the NPT signing, there are only five states recognized as nuclear-weapon states, namely US, Russia, UK, France, and China.

We can have a different opinion with the above statement from Trump. But as the new US leader, Trump will do his best for the people of the US, to make US great again as promised in his campaign. Trumps statement is probably due to some of the following. First, US reducing the burden as a country that has been a guarantor of the security of Japan and South Korea if attacked by other countries, and the focus right now came from China and North Korea; Second, renegotiating the terms of payment to be received by the US from having their troops on the ground, as many as 54.000 in Japan and 28.500 in South Korea, in which Japan paid USD 1.6 billion and South Korea USD 866 million annually; Third, creating a balance of power among nuclear-weapon states in East Asia, which is currently being monopolized by China and followed by North Korea; Fourth, if there is a nuclear race, triggered by Japan and South Korea, the US will be very much advantaged as the main supplier, although it would violate the NPT, which the US is one of the signatories. The US weapon industry is allegedly influenced by sympathizers of the Republican Party and many prominent figures from the Party are known to be belligerent. For example when President Nixon, the Vietnam War happened, President Reagan with his Star Wars concept and the bombing of Muammar Kaddafis residence, the leader of Libya, President Bush (senior and junior) the Afghanistan War and Iraq War broke out.

Fifth, diverting or creating East Asia as the new crisis region beside the Middle East, whereas the US will be benefited economically, politically, and militarily; sixth, balancing the military/arms advancement of China as well as to counter the aggressiveness of North Korea.

After the statement and announcement of Donald Trump as the winner of the US Presidential election, there is an interesting development that can be analyzed further. The development is the signing of a nuclear agreement/treaty between PM Shinzo Abe from Japan and PM Narendra Modi from India on 11 November 2016, in Tokyo. The content of the agreement/treaty is that for Japan companies to be able to export nuclear technologies to India. We know that the India and China relation has been hostile for a long time, and just recently the dispute and tension over Senkaku Island is also escalated. The Japan-India nuclear agreement gave a strong indication that both countries are on their way to creating an alliance, in parallel with strengthening the longstanding strategic alliances between the US, Japan and South Korea, to counter the expansive behavior of China and the aggressiveness North Korea. To neutralize the agreement and as not to arouse any suspicions based from Trumps statement, PM Shinzo Abe stated that the agreement constitutes a legal framework to ensure that India is using its nuclear energy responsibly.

After the Donald Trumps upcoming inauguration as the President of the US in 20 January 2017, it is hoped that Trumps statement will not become his policy. The role of the UN to reassure Trump to comply with the NPT is very much needed, similarly to Japan and South Korea as member states of the Treaty, to adhere with the NPT and not to produce a nuclear weapon. As we know that Japan and South Korea are very advanced and have their grip on nuclear technology, so it will not be hard for both countries to produce a nuclear weapon.

If Trump remains on his stance and Japan and South Korea implement the idea, it will create a domino effect where other states in the Asia region will not stay idle. They will definitely take measures to keep and defend their sovereignty. There may be an ASEAN state that will extricate itself from the joint commitment of SEANWFZ (South East Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone) Treaty, putting its national interest above all else. On the other hand, China and North Korea will keep on competing to enhance their nuclear capabilities. As a result, the East Asia region, including ASEAN, will be a hot zone and it is not impossible that a Nuclear War may well be started from East Asia.

Biography

Date and Place of Birth: April 22, 1943  Amurang, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Education: Bachelor in Public Administration

Writer was a member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia (DPR/MPR-RI) period of 1987-1999,

and Chairman of Committee X, cover Science and Technology, Environment and National Development Planning (1988-1997).

Currently as Obsever of Nuclear for peace.
The German Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Christoph Retzlaff, has met with Ghana's Minister of Food and Agriculture(MOFA) Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, to dicusss ways the German Government can contribute towards the growth and development of the sector.

The two parties discussed amongst other things, how the European powerhouse can partner the private sector in order to support the development of Ghana's agriculture.

His Excellency Christoph Retzlaff, who announced this when he paid a courtesy call on the Agric Minister at his office last Friday, observed that there are great potentials in the country's agricultural sector which when tapped will inure to the utmost benefits of all Ghanaians.

He said Germany will readily support Ghana's agriculture particularly in partnership with the private sector to improve its growth and development.

The German Ambassador to Ghana therefore commended the Agric Minister for his zeal and commitment towards his duty.

He therefore requested that the Ministry furnishes him with government's plans and proposals towards revamping the agricultural sector so that his government can adequately contribute.

On his part, the Food and Agriculture Minister welcomed the idea and expressed government of Ghana's readiness to partner Germany in the development of the agric sector.

He said the government under the leadership of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo, made a promise to Ghanaians to modernize the agricultural sector and create jobs for the teeming youths, adding that any effort geared towards the the fulfilment of that objectives will be gladly welcomed.

"Our President is passionate about the development of the agric sector and the creation of jobs, we will therefore not hesitate at all in making sure that objective is fulfilled," the minister emphasized.

The Minister had earlier on met with Ambassadors from Canada, Sweden and other developing partners
- A 41-year-old man identified as Usman Bukar, who claimed to hail from Kano state, has been arrested by police in Delta state for putting a Taxi driver in coma after slapping him

- Bukar was said to have been angered by the driver's claim that President Buhari is allegedly dead

- Spokesman of Delta state police command Andrew Aniamaka confirmed that the victim is receiving treatment while Bukar is in custody

President Buhari departed for the UK on holiday on Thursday, January 19 and is set to return on February 6.

A Taxi driver in Delta state has gotten himself into deep trouble and ended up in a coma after claiming that President Muhammmadu Buhari is dead despite clear warning from the presidency to desist from such statements.

Leadership reports that the man was slapped into deep unconsciousness at the Temple Clinic Junction Asaba by a 41-year-old man identified as Usman Bukar who claimed to hail from Kano state.

READ ALSO: Fresh photo proves President Buhari is alive and well in UK

According to eyewitness account, Bukar was said to have attacked the driver whose name was not given after he openly celebrated an online media report alleging that President Buhari had died.

The driver, who had joined other free readers at a newspaper stand at Temple Clinic Junction was reported to have not only celebrated Buharis death but also made inciting comments about the countrys number one citizen.

He was reported to have said: The body of the President should be thrown into River-Niger, he is very wicked for fish and other wild animals to do justice on him.

The drivers words angered Bukar, who also was also at the newsstand to buy one of the daily newspapers.

Leadership quoted a source as saying that he (Bukar) slapped the driver and following the slap, the man immediately moved into unexpected coma.

READ ALSO: How Buhari's government rejected 2 helicopters donated by Rivers

It was timely intervention of the police that prevented the matter from degenerating into a bloody fight between relations of the taxi-driver who were later invited to the scene.

Leadership reports that the driver was later rushed to a private hospital where he is being revived as at the time of the report.

The spokesman of Delta state police command Andrew Aniamaka confirmed that the victim is receiving treatment adding that the alleged attacker had been arrested and detained for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the date of President Muhammadu Buhari's return has been made known by his special adviser on media and publicity Femi Adesina.

Adeshina made the revelation on Friday, January 27 during a chat with Televison Continental (TVC).

Source: Legit.ng
- The fire was discovered by a convenience store clerk at around 2am and the fire service was called in

- The mosque, which is called Islamic Centre of Victoria, was entirely destroyed despite great effort by the fire service department to stop the blaze

- US authorities say they cannot confirm yet if it was an attack by an arsonist but the Islamic Centre's president Shahid Hashmi said the Imam discovered that the alarm were inactive and doors unlocked in surveillance footage

The Texas mosque called Islamic Centre of Victoria in flames on Saturday, January 28.

A mosque in Texas has been burned down by a fire just hours after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning entry to citizens of seven Muslim countries.

READ ALSO: US immigration begins preventing Muslims from entering United States

Daily Mail UK reports that the fire started in the early hours of Saturday, January 28 and was discovered by a clerk at a convenience store who spotted smoke and flames coming out of the Islamic Centre of Victoria at about 2am.

The flames grow bigger and quickly consume the structure.

The Islamic Centre's president Shahid Hashmi said the imam, who was awake, discovered on the mosque's online surveillance that the alarm had been deactivated and the doors were unlocked.

Hashmi said: He was worried about it and drove over there. By that time, fire engines were already there pouring water on the fire.

A firefighter walks across the front of the mosque as efforts continued to stop the fire.

It's sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge.

It was not clear what exactly happened and US authorities said it was too early to speculate.

READ ALSO: Black man thrown out of restaurant because DONALD TRUMP is president now (photos)

Hashmi said: We don't have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened.

So I'm sure it's going to be a few days, they told us, before they can come up with any answers for us.

There were no reports of injuries recorded.

Firefighters battle to stop the fire in the early hours of Saturday, January 28.

The mosque has been subject of attacks in recent times. Daily Mail UK report that just last week, someone broke into the mosque and stole a number of electronics, including laptops.

Recall that Trump on Friday, January 27 signed an executive order stopping refugees fleeing killings in Syria to from entering the U.S. indefinitely.

Premium Times quoted Trump as saying that the order would keep radical Islamic terrorists from entering the country and also give priority entry attention to Christians and other minority religious groups from predominantly Muslim countries like Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

The mosque in the morning after efforts by firefighters to save it failed.

We dont want them here. We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people, he said.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Brooklyn has issued a nationwide, emergency stay on Saturday night to allow people with a valid visa to remain once they've landed in the US.

The decision did not strike down the executive order, and is only temporary.

Photos: Daily Mail UK

Source: Legit.ng
MELROSE  The indescribably clean scent of Barbicide is in the air, and the clippers buzz like a bumble bee. You look around the room and see the history on the walls and imagine the stories that have been told there.

Everyone is a part of Duane Steiens family when in his barber chair, whether the chair is in Melrose, Taylor or in a customers own own home.

I had a gentleman that was celebrating his 100th birthday, and so I went up to his house, cut his hair and stayed for supper that evening, said Steien reminiscing about that night. This is where Steien first heard the most treasured story in over 40 years of barbering.

Alvin Nelson and his wife, Laura, milked 12 cows, and they had a nail on the beam of the barn. As they milked the cows, they moved the lantern light in the barn on those nails. In 1938, he wired the barn and that night he and Laura went to the barn and Alvin flipped the light switch. The whole barn lit up. He put his arm around his wife and looked her right in the eye and said, Laura, what is this world coming to? said Steien, continuing to discuss the many things people take for granted today.

Steien doesnt take much for granted anymore, not the electricity that turns on the light bulb in his shop or how much the landscape of barbering has changed over the years.

Steien started barber school in 1968 and after 1,248 hours of schooling, went to La Crosse to complete his apprenticeship, journeyman, masters and shop managers courses. In 1973, he was able to open his first barbershop in Taylor, where he continues to barber every week on Wednesday.

He came to Melrose a year later when he bought out Lowell Wegner in Melrose. When he started there were 47 barber-barbers, as he calls them, in La Crosse. After the Beatle-era came in, that all changed.

A lot of men during that time went to beauty shops and got permanents, said Steien. That left me and other barbers right out of that part of the profession.

In 2015, Steien estimates there were a total of six barber-barbers left in La Crosse. Steien went on to explain, It is a profession where in time you wont have what I call us old-time barbers anymore.

Duane gives a lot of credit to his wife, Joyce Steien, for helping his family make ends meet and carrying health insurance. She was a fifth-grade teacher at Black River Falls for 32 years and is now retired. Steien explained, The success of my barbering career is equally shared with her as it is with me because without the benefits I would have probably had to find another job to support the family.

Steiens family is now all grown up, and he has grandchildren of his own. His daughter, Sarah, is currently a dentist in Oklahoma. She is married to Mike Denos, who she has a son with named Rafael. His younger daughter, Dana, is a doctor living in Michigan. She is married to Jeff Weatherhead and together they have a daughter name Sadie.

Children are a common sight in Steiens shop, which is special for Steien because in most cases he can remember cutting hair for their previous generations. In Taylor, Steien is now cutting hair on the fourth generation. I started out with Orville Knudtson. Then I cut Gary Knudtson, which is his son. Then I cut Josh Knudtson, with is Garys son and then now Im cutting Joshs little boy, said Steien.

Steien credits his connection to his customers as the reason they keep coming back. At Steiens barbershop, there are always laughs and good stories. It is common to see his patrons standing at the door when you walk in, not able to leave because of the good conversation and stories being shared in the barbershop. That is, unless it is deer hunting season.

The month of December is always the best haircutting month of the year, said Steien. The deer hunting haircuts are an extra week or two weeks long compared to what they should be and everybody wants to get trimmed up for Christmas.

Steien has never been one to turn down cutting someones hair, no matter how difficult it was. Over the years he has cut a smiley face, lightning bolts and even names into someones hair.

I had a guy that wanted me to shave his name on the side of his head and I spelled it wrong, said Duane. I was able to correct it. It didnt look good, but you couldnt see that I had made a mistake.

Even with over 40 years of barbering under his belt and a few mistakes here and there, Steien isnt ready to hang up his clippers for the last time.

I get asked once a month when Im going to pull the plug completely and be done, but if my health permits Ill probably stay here until one of two things happens  I give out such bad haircuts nobody comes back in or for some reason my health doesnt allow me to continue. Im just not ready to go home and do nothing yet.

In his words, there really is on ly one reason he hasnt retired yet.

In my opinion, I have the best job in the world.
- President Adama Barrow said The Gambia will no longer be called an Islamic republic

- The country was renamed Islamic Republic of The Gambia by former President Yahya Jammeh on December 11, 2015

- The Gambia, despite having a 90 percent Muslim population, with the rest Christian and animist, was a republic "not the Islamic republic," according to Barrow

President Adama Barrow said The Gambia will no longer be called an Islamic republic

The new Gambia President Adama Barrow has removed the Islamic title from the countrys name.

According to Aljazeera, the president made this known at his first news conference since returning to take office on Thursday, January 26.

The country was renamed Islamic Republic of The Gambia by former President Yahya Jammeh on 11 December 2015.

READ ALSO: UNILORIN courses and their cut off marks

As at the time of making the change declaration, Jammeh said it was designed to distance the country further from its colonial past.

According to Barrow, The Gambia, despite having a 90 percent Muslim population, with the rest Christian and animist, was a republic "not the Islamic republic," according to Barrow.

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Recall that Yahya Jammeh, who was defeated by Adama Barrow in the December 1, 2016 presidential poll, finally left the country in the evening of Saturday, January 21, 2017 after 22 years of holding sway as the president of the tiny West African country.

Barrow on the other hand finally returned to Gambia from Senegal to take over the ruling the state by 4p.m. on Thursday, January 26.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Indigenous People of Biafra has cautioned the State Security Service (SSS) over its recent invitation to Apostle Johnson Suleman

- The group said the secret police is being hypocritical in its dealing with individuals who have incited hate in Nigeria

- Rather than invite Suleman for questioning the group further listed names of those the SSS should be interrogating

Apostle Johnson Suleman

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has cautioned the State Security Service over its reported invitation to the founder of Omega Fire Ministries Apostle Johnson Suleman.

In a statement released on Sunday, January 29, the IPOB said inviting Suleman for interrogation is hypocritical.

Recall that Apostle Suleman had last week advised members of his church to defend themselves against attack by herdsmen.

The cleric told his congregation to kill every herdsman that tries to attack them or their family member.

Sulemans statement came after the continuous rise in the killing of Southern Kaduna people by some herdsmen.

READ ALSO: See states Pro-Biafra agitators have carved out for themselves, two from North

Also last week, the SSS made an attempt to arrest the clergy in a hotel in Ekiti but was prevent by the governor of the state Ayodele Fayose.

However, the secret police has asked Suleman to appear before it on Monday, January 30.

But the IPOB in its statement signed by Powerful Emma said the invitation by SSS was incited by the Sultan of Sokoto Saaad Abubakar, who called for the arrest of Suleman.

The group said: We recall that in 2016, Weeklypostng.com reported a message from Zahra Buhari, then 21 years old and daughter of Muhammadu Buhari, in which she stated as follows: killing will keep going on, Muslims who donts (sic) want to adhere to Muslims rules will be killed, Christians will die until they turn Muslims, Biafrans is just a say (sic) dream, political oppositions must follow my daadys (sic) rule."

We also recall that in 2016, the Sultan of Sokoto ordered Muslims in Nigeria to fight anyone trying to stop them practicing Islam without giving details of what he meant by trying to stop them.

In a tweet in 2012, Mallam Nasir El-rufai stated as follows: We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not, that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.

We further remind the world that the public relations officer of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Mr Yakubu Kuzamani, accused Mallam Nasir El Rufai of engaging in hate speech while El Rufai was speaking on an Aljazeera Television programme on Tuesday, 17th of January, 2017, the IPOB said.

READ ALSO: We are disappointed with ECOWAS Court of Justice - IPOB

The group further it is suspicious that none of the people mentioned above has been arrest or invited by the secret police for questioning.

IPOB further called on the Senate to call the SSS to order over suspected act of tyranny and religious bigotry.

It is also very worrisome that Theresa May and her British Government do not see anything wrong with the current persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

This is the same Theresa May who spoke through Boris Johnson to plead for Christians implicated in the failed coup in Turkey. We also remind the world that it was the British that brought Anglicanism to Nigeria but is now working with Moslems to exterminate Christians.

We also recall that Catholicism came from Rome (Italy), Pentecostalism and Baptist Mission came from the USA, the Lutheran church came from Germany, and Presbyterian and Methodist missions came from Scotland.

These countries have their Embassies/Missions in Nigeria but have all kept silent as Muslims go on a rampage against Christians, now culminating in the invitation of Apostle Johnson Suleiman to SSS Headquarters in Abuja for questioning and possible long-time detention.

READ ALSO: It's insane to think Biafra is the solution to our problems - Charly Boy

With the silence of these countries, we are bound to ask if they are only interested in the money they make from church members in Christendom in Nigeria. Why must Muslims be the only people with the unfettered license to hate speech and violence?

Why is the British Government so intensely glued to Islam and highly supportive of their violent ways? What is is it in Islam that the British Government enjoys that they are always supporting Islamic countries but working against existing Judeo-Christian nations or those agitating for their nations such the Biafrans?

Why is the British Government so much in love and in bed with Islam and radical Islamism? Why will the British Government, a supposedly Christian faith based Government, keep quiet and watch Apostle Johnson Suleiman railroaded into the SSS detention cell, come Monday, January 30th, 2017? the group asked.

Source: Legit.ng
- The youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria says that over 900 churches have been destroyed by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents since its emergence

- They urged the federal government to rebuild the destroyed churches and also re-establish Nigeria Inter Religion Council (NIREC)

- According to them, churches that needed to be rebuilt are spread across Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, among others

The Boko Haram insurgents led by Abubakar Shekau was responsible for many bombings in North East Nigeria

Not fewer than 900 churches were destroyed by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents since its emergence in the Northern part of the country.

According to the youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the federal government should rebuild the destroyed churches and also re-establish Nigeria Inter Religion Council (NIREC).

They noted that the demolished churches that needed to be rebuilt were spread across Gombe,Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, among others.

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The body however insisted that doing the above will help in curbing incessant religious violence in the country.

The youth wing Chairman, Evangelist Musa Misal during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Gusau, Zamfara state lamented continued attacks on Christians in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, and Taraba communities and stressed that "this carnage is no longer accidental.

Meanwhile, attackers believed to be Boko Haram members have killed unknown number of people and injured several others in an ambush on motorists in Borno state on Saturday, January 28.

READ ALSO: Catholic priest kidnapped in Delta state, N10m ransom demanded

The ambush occurred along Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu road between old Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) mast called Dogon Wire and deserted Bullabulin village.

Source: Legit.ng
President Muhammadu Buhari has again dispelled rumours of his alleged death with photos of him and his wife Aisha Buhari in the UK in latest proof of life.

President Buhari and wife Aisha pose for a shot in the UK where the president is resting on vacation.

The pictures acquired by Legit.ng showed the smiling and healthy-looking Buhari in different poses with his the First Lady.

READ ALSO: Man arrested for slapping driver to coma over Buharis alleged death rumour

The pictures are the third in the series of picture evidences released to quell rumours of the presidents alleged death.

Recall that the first evidence was a picture of the president released while watching a Channels television eight days ago on Sunday, January 22.

President Buhari and Aisha stand for a shot, prove wrong critics that say he is unfit.

The second evidence were series of pictures of the President meeting with some government officials which was released some days back.

The All Progressive Congress (APC's) UK Twitter handle has tweeted the photos, somewhat confirming the authenticity of the pictures.

Meanwhile, the date of President Muhammadu Buhari's return has been made known by his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina.

Adeshina made the revelation on Friday, January 27 during a chat with Television Continental (TVC).

Source: Legit.ng
- A pastor of the Omega Fire Ministries(OFM), has attacked the federal government

- Rev Fidelis Ayemoba has said Nigerians are yet to see the change Buhari promised

Fidelis Ayeomba

Rev Fidelis Ayemoba who is the minister-in-charge of OFM, Lagos zone, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prove that change is actually what he came to bring to Nigeria.

Ayeomba also called on political leaders in the country to give dividends of democracy to the masses.

While speaking in an interview with Vanguard, Rev. Ayemoba lamented that the current administration was causing the majority of Nigerians to wallow in hunger and poverty.

He said in part: "There was a factor that brought the president to power and if people are not seeing it, it means, he is a failure.

READ ALSO: Apostle Suleman talks tough, threatens to move against DSS

"He came up with the mantra of change and obviously we thought they were going to move us from where we were to where we should be but when we discovered the contrary people are bound to react.

"Two things are involved; one is that the presidents policy of change is not causing a change the way it was expected.

"Right now because of hunger nobody believe the change is even coming. So he needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt in the next possible time that change is actually what he came to cause. How do you think he can tackle the recession?

"First of all, if you are in our shoes who genuinely deal with the masses, you understand that there is hunger in the nation, people are suffering and the Bible says where there is gross darkness, much grace is bound.

"I can say to you categorically that if we are driven out of the cycle, we will discover that solution is very close to us than the solution we less imagined. What do I mean by that?

"Nigeria has recycled leadership over time that younger generations have no place in what is happening in the system and unless we walk out of this cycle well make very slow progress."

Speaking on Nigerian youths, he said:

"There are people who are firebrand; they are young men. In Nigerian system when a young man goes out of the school with so much vision, with qualification in terms of papers there will be criteria that disqualifies him: work experience and that is the secret behind the old people in the power and the young sitting at home.

READ ALSO: Any Christian who plays MMM or Lotto needs deliverance  Suleman

"Children are always begging fathers to eat, instead of fathers retiring and the young ones providing for them. The younger generations are depending on the aged father to feed them till they die and when they die, they hand over to the old man.

"It is a continuity of the old head and whether you like it or not, medically there is a stage you get to and your thinking faculty begins to diminish. Smart thinkers are relegated, dying brain are still being paraded.

"We should stop looking down on the younger generation who are genuinely on fire and can bring necessary change to our country."

"Our leaders should put our resources to use for our future; do the right thing now that they have the opportunity to serve the nation," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has called for an investigation into the act of the Department of State Service (DSS) over unlawful arrest of Apostle Suleman of OFM and detention of people and their continuous refusal to obey court order and release detained personalities.

Source: Legit.ng
Apostle Johnson Suleman will on Monday, January 30 honour the Department of State Services (DSS) invitation over his recent alleged inciting comments that Christians should defend themselves against attacks by Fulani herdsmen with 30 lawyers.

Apostle Suleman will appear with 30 lawyers before DSS

According to a report by Punch, the cleric is expected to tell the DSS how President Muhammadu Buhari would face impeachment threats and how Abuja would experience major fire explosion as contained in his predictions.

A security source also told the newspaper that the man of God will give an insight into his prediction that Buhari will be bereaved in 2017 and that the Presidents health needs attention.

READ ALSO: OFM pastor asks Buhari government for change

The security agency is also expected to drill him on his prediction that Forces in Aso Rock are planning to poison current First Lady (Aisha Buhari).

The security source said most of the actions and predictions of the prophet could destabilise the country.

Already, the Christian body in Nigeria has condemned the invitation of the preacher stating that the government is turning the country into a police state.

Suleman will be appearing before the DSS with about 30 lawyers because we believe that his persecution has become politicised, a source was quoted.

Also commenting, the clerics Communications Adviser, Mr Phrank Shaibu, said he would appear before the DSS on Monday.

Yes, I can confirm to you that he (Suleman) was officially invited and as a law-abiding citizen, he will honour the DSS invitation on Monday. The invitation, though ludicrous and an afterthought, is a welcome development, he said.

Also reacting, former Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence Sunday Ola Makinde, warned that Nigeria should not be turned to a police state.

He should be law-abiding, let him go and face the DSS. Let us see if they will detain him and they will detain so many religious leaders in Abuja.

Nigeria is greater than any religion and Nigeria is greater than anybody. The DSS should watch it. If they like, let me be the next victim. What is annoying them is that Suleman converted from Islam to Christianity.

READ ALSO: Apostle Suleman talks tough, threatens to move against DSS

Self-defence is permissible; they slapped our first cheek. They slapped the second cheek and we have no other cheek to turn for them. We may therefore resort to self-defence because this thing is becoming intolerable, he said.

The invitation is coming four days after Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State foiled attempts by the DSS to arrest Suleman in his Hotel room at Ado-Ekiti.

Source: Legit.ng
The book is set in the late 1940s and was published in the early 90s. But a full house of 67 readers who gathered to talk about A Lesson Before Dying Saturday morning were overcome by its relevance to present-day America.

The Books n Brunch discussion at Myrick Center was the first event of the La Crosse Reads community look at Ernest Gaines novel of racism, social justice and power.

A first-ever partnership between several community organizations and businesses, including the La Crosse Public Library, Western Technical College, the La Crosse Human Rights Commission and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosses Murphy Library, La Crosse Reads is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEAs Big Read program offers grants to communities across the country, helping them put on literary programs to inspire conversation and foster understanding. The NEA promotes books featuring diverse voices and topics, and encourages each community to read and discuss a single book.

The work covers a very timely issue that still plagues this country, said Barry McKnight, community engagement director for the La Crosse Public Library. I think the idea of racism has been such an endemic part of America, since the civil war. We make some progress, but its not an upward slant  it goes up and down. We still have a long way to go.

UW-L English professor Kate Parker co-wrote the $14,000 grant to bring the Big Read to La Crosse. It runs through March 3, with events including a talk by Matthew Hefti of the Wisconsin Innocence Project and a poetry reading from Reginald Dwayne Betts, who began writing poetry in prison before going on to study law at Yale University.

UW-L staff selected A Lesson Before Dying because of its focus on racial tensions and capital punishment. Jefferson, an uneducated African American man sentenced to death for murder in 1940s Louisiana, claims innocence. His defense attorney argues he is of no more value than a hog, and therefore not worth executing. At the urging of his aunt, teacher Grant Wiggins begins visiting Jefferson in prison, slowly building up a friendship with the reluctant, shamed man.

La Crosse attorney Ross Seymour discussed the death penalty aspect of the book with the group, sharing a brief history of capital punishment nationwide and particularly in Wisconsin, which performed its first execution in 1850, a public hanging in Kenosha. Two years after that, the death penalty was abolished in Wisconsin, making it the first state to do so. Seymour shared several famous execution cases with the crowd, noting that 50 percent of all executions are of black people. In the novel, Jefferson is convicted by an all-white jury.

Dee Buchholz of La Crescent found the book selection of particular importance in light of the cases of police brutality, racial profiling and riots that have come to the forefront in recent years.

This book kind of goes back to the origin of the civil rights movement and how we are still fighting some of the same battles, Buchholz said. I thought it was one of the most engaging books Ive ever read ... It gave me a personal feel of what it would be like to experience that injustice.

Michele Strange, who was reading the novel in her book club, found it a striking yet emotionally difficult read.

Its well-written, but the whole subject matter is rather devastating to me, Strange said. The problem is the white privilege ... its hard for me to put myself in (the characters) place, but I am definitely sympathetic with them. I think particularly with the explosive situation in our country right now, its an important read.

McKnight hopes the community will continue to explore and discuss the issues of race and justice in upcoming La Crosse Reads events, the next being Thursdays screening of the film Dead Man Walking.

I think there is interest in this topic across all ages and backgrounds, McKnight said. Its something everyone is thinking about.
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WARSAW  Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, who succeeded John Paul II as archbishop of Krakow and was known for his work with the poor over his 27 years in the post, died on Monday in Krakow. He was 89.

The archdiocese announced his death. He had been in a coma for a month after falling down stairs in his apartment. Pope Francis visited him shortly before his death.

John Paul II put great trust in him when he chose him as his own successor in Krakow, the Rev. Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, a spokesman for the Conference of the Polish Episcopate, said in an interview. John Paul II died at 9:37 p.m.; Cardinal Macharski died at 9:37 a.m. He was following in his footsteps to the very end.

Franciszek Macharski was born into a Krakow merchant family on May 20, 1927. During World War II, with the city under German occupation, he worked as a laborer. After the war he enrolled in a seminary and was ordained a priest in 1950.
It began in the morning, with a small crowd chanting and holding cardboard signs outside Kennedy International Airport, upset by the news that two Iraqi refugees had been detained inside because of President Trumps executive order.

By the end of the day, the scattershot group had swelled to an enormous crowd.

They filled the sidewalks outside the terminal and packed three stories of a parking garage across the street, a mass of people driven by emotion to this far-flung corner of the city, singing, chanting and unfurling banners.

This was the most public expression of the intense reaction generated across the country by Mr. Trumps polarizing decision. While those in some areas of the country were cheered by the executive order, the reaction was markedly different for many in New York. References to the Statue of Liberty and its famous inscription became a rallying cry.

Similar protests erupted at airports around the country.

Word of the protest at Kennedy first filtered out on social media from the immigrant-advocacy groups Make the Road New York and the New York Immigration Coalition. It seemed like it might stay small.
If an online travel agency had not temporarily blocked a credit card payment, forcing him to rebook a later flight, Hameed Khalid Darweesh probably would have landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York before President Trump signed his executive order restricting refugees and immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries.

Instead, the Iraqi immigrant, who worked with the United States military and government for a decade at great personal risk, watched as his wife and three children disappeared into the main part of the arrivals terminal early on Friday evening. Instead of being allowed to accompany them, Mr. Darweesh found himself detained overnight  at times handcuffed  and unsure if he would be returned to Iraq, the country he had fled in fear for his life.

We have a moral obligation to protect and repay these people who risked their lives for U.S. troops, said Brandon Friedman, who, as an infantry lieutenant with the 101st Airborne Division, worked with Mr. Darweesh in Iraq. Mr. Friedman later served in the Obama administration at both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

There are not many Americans who have done as much for this country as he has, Mr. Friedman added. Hes put himself on the line. Hes put his family on the line to help U.S. soldiers in combat, and it is astonishing to me that this country would suddenly not allow people like that in.
WASHINGTON  President Trump on Friday afternoon approved a sweeping executive order that suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States, the Department of Homeland Security said, though the administration said exemptions could be granted.

Here are some major excerpts from the executive order, with comments by The New York Times. The full text of the order is available here.

It invokes the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001

The visa-issuance process plays a crucial role in detecting individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States. Perhaps in no instance was that more apparent than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when State Department policy prevented consular officers from properly scrutinizing the visa applications of several of the 19 foreign nationals who went on to murder nearly 3,000 Americans.

Most of the 19 hijackers on the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa., were from Saudi Arabia. The rest were from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon. None of those countries are on Mr. Trumps visa ban list.

Americas founders were pro-immigration

In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles.

The nations founding principles, as reflected in the Declaration of Independence, included dissatisfaction with what were said to be overly restrictive immigration practices.
WASHINGTON  President Trump began a new era of diplomacy with Russia on Saturday as he and President Vladimir V. Putin conducted an hourlong telephone call, and vowed to repair relations between the countries after nearly three years of conflict that threatened a new Cold War between East and West.

The two leaders discussed fighting terrorism and expanding economic ties, but barely mentioned the wedge that has been driven between Washington and Moscow since Russia annexed Crimea and sponsored a separatist war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Still, although Mr. Trump had previously expressed a willingness to lift sanctions against Russia, the issue did not come up, according to officials on both sides.

The tone of the conversation was reported to be warm, indicating a drastic shift after relations had broken down between Mr. Putin and former President Barack Obama. The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair, the Trump administration said in a statement. Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after todays call, the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern.

In its statement, the Kremlin said: Donald Trump asked to convey a desire for happiness and prosperity for the Russian people, noting that the people in America relate with sympathy to Russia and its citizens. Mr. Putin answered that Russians feel the same way about Americans, the statement said. Neither side mentioned the Russian hacking of the American election in their statements.
WASHINGTON  President Trump on Saturday signed an executive order that strengthens certain restrictions on lobbying that had been adopted under President Obama, while weakening others.

Executive branch employees, including those in the White House, will now be barred for five years after they leave government from lobbying the federal agency where they worked. Under Mr. Obama, they had to wait until the end of the administration, meaning a shorter ban for some departing officials. Former executive branch officials will now also be permanently banned from serving as foreign lobbyists.

Most of the people standing behind me will not be able to go to work, Mr. Trump joked about their prospects after serving in the White House during a short signing ceremony in the Oval Office as advisers  including his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, and counselor, Kellyanne Conway  stood behind him.

Mr. Trump also signed two other memos. One outlined a reorganization of the National Security Council that appeared to include a significant change from the Obama administration, one that would expand Mr. Bannons power in the administration.
OTTAWA  As President Trumps executive order on immigration stranded people around the world and provoked condemnation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada took to social media to restate the countrys open-door policy.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith, Mr. Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Saturday afternoon. Diversity is our strength.

Another post showed him in photograph with a child, apparently a Syrian refugee who had just arrived, with the caption #WelcomeToCanada. The post was shared at least 224,000 times on Twitter.

Mr. Trudeaus immediate priority after he took office in late 2015 was to drastically accelerate the entry of refugees from Syria. From that point to early January, the latest available figures, his administration has admitted 39,671 refugees into a country with a population of about 36 million.
Actors vote for their favorite performances by their peers  and herald Lily Tomlin for her lifes work  at the SAG Awards. Dateline NBC pays tribute to Tom Brokaws half-century career. And its Royals Night on PBS.

Whats on TV

THE 23RD ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS 8 p.m. on TBS and TNT. Performers honor their peers in movies and television in this ceremony, broadcast live from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles. Captain Fantastic, Fences, Hidden Figures, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight will compete for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. Casey Affleck, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Viggo Mortensen and Denzel Washington are in the running for best actor; Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone and Meryl Streep are nominees for best actress. And Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton will present Lily Tomlin with a life achievement award. Red carpet coverage leads in at 6 on E!

THE 65TH MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT 7 p.m. on Fox and Azteca America. Steve Harvey tries to get the winners name right  as opposed to last year  when he hosts this beauty pageant from Manila.
Ms. Tennant was presented at court in 1956, and a year later she married Sebastian Yorke, the son of the novelist Henry Green. The marriage ended in divorce, as did her marriages to Christopher Booker, a founder of the satirical weekly Private Eye, and the journalist Alexander Cockburn.

In addition to her daughter Rose, she is survived by her husband, Tim Owens; a son, the writer Matthew Yorke; another daughter, Daisy Cockburn; a sister, Catherine Tennant; a brother, Toby; and three grandchildren.

Under the pen name Catherine Aydy, Ms. Tennant published The Color of Rain, a dark satire about the British upper classes, in 1963. Her publishers submitted it for the Prix Formentor, awarded yearly in Majorca, Spain. The chairman of the judging panel, the Italian novelist Alberto Moravia, denounced it as a prime specimen of the decadence of the British novel.

Ms. Tennant found her footing in the early 1970s after discovering writers whose anti-realist qualities dovetailed with her own love of myth, magic and dream. In 1980 she told the reference work World Authors:

It became gradually clear to me, after meeting British science-fiction writers  J. G. Ballard amongst them  that a way to the center for me lay in the fantastic; and despite the very deep loathing of the British literary establishment for any writing that could be so described, I set out to read as many Latin American and Central European writers as possible, finding confirmation in such works as Bulgakovs The Master and Margarita and the writing of Bruno Schulz that there was nothing inherently silly, as the English would have it, in showing the world through lenses both fantastic and real: that the English were indeed limited by a creative feebleness and love of irony which left them out of the most interesting writing, all going on in other parts of the world.

This new orientation was reflected in The Time of the Crack and the two novels that followed, The Last of the Country House Murders (1974) and Hotel de Dream (1976).

In 1975 she founded the influential literary journal Bananas, which published new work by Mr. Ballard, Beryl Bainbridge, Angela Carter and the science-fiction writer Michael Moorcock. She served as editor for three years.

Her many novels also included Queen of Stones (1982), a feminist retelling of William Goldings Lord of the Flies; Faustine (1991), about a woman in her late 40s who makes a pact with the Devil to return to her 20s; and The Beautiful Child (2010), a ghost story revolving around an unfinished manuscript by Henry James.
The Antiques

By Kris DAgostino. 289 pages. Scribner. $26.

Theres not a sluggish moment in Kris DAgostinos second novel, which, like his first, follows a family in crisis. Just when you think hes overdone things a bit  the approach of a massive hurricane, a dying father, estranged siblings, financial turmoil, the threat of a redemptive ending with tears and hugs  the narrative strands unfold with plenty of dark comedy. The Westfalls own an antiques store in upstate New York, but they might lose it after the death of their patriarch, George. Family members are forced to confront their troubles and one another. The callous, ethically challenged Josef, whose sex addiction and infidelity killed his marriage, faces bankruptcy if a big business deal falls through; his sister, Charlie, lives in Los Angeles, where she works for a tantrum-prone movie star and pops antidepressants like Tic Tacs; and the sensitive Armie (unmarried, unfocused, demoralized, penniless) still lives at home in his parents basement. Their mother, Ana, doesnt know what to make of any of them: Shed envisioned specific lives for her children and it stung to see reality dash those grand designs. The siblings reunion sets off rounds of score-settling and the reopening of old wounds, and the author lets them play out with sharp, funny dialogue that never seems formulaic. More impressively, he conveys the disorienting and ever-shifting effects of grief.

Image

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

By Kathleen Rooney. 287 pages. St. Martins. $25.99.

New Years Eve, 1984: an 85-year-old woman in a mink coat and wide-brimmed navy-blue fedora strolls around Manhattan, encountering colorful characters as she revisits her past and beloved former haunts. Her reverie takes her back to her early years, working as a pioneering copywriter for R. H. Macys. Lillian Boxfish was once the highest-paid female copywriter in the country, and a popular light-verse poet who published several books. Its an unlikely story based on a real one: the remarkable life of Margaret Fishback, an outspoken protofeminist who also met the demands of her era by being a wife and mother. Lillian is given a rich interior life by Ms. Rooney. As a young woman, Lillian is tough and ambitious, and a regular presence in the society pages. Known for her mordant wit, shes indifferent to propriety and scornful of romantic love. (She prefers the ease of one-night stands.) As she recalls her glamorous days in advertising, along with darker personal struggles to come, she laments the current state of the city  squalid, crime-infested and on edge, thanks to the Subway Vigilante. Undeterred by lurking dangers, she insists on roaming the streets for miles each day. I am old and all I have left is time, she says, adding, Time to kill until time kills me. Lillians wide-ranging meditations are reason enough to read this charming novel, but its also like taking a street-level tour through six decades of New York.
Todays Theme

Ms. Burnikel might or might not be sending us a subliminal message that men are animals, but I wont speak for her. I only make this point because her revealer, MALE LEADS, refers to the four theme entries, which all have the name for a male animal as the first word (or the lead). For example, at 37A, the entry was BULLETPROOF VEST, BULL being the name for a bovine male.

Can you find the other three leading men?

Tricky Clues

 6A: I had BET before LAY, but changed it when I realized that the Vision-correcting procedure at 6D was LASIK.
PARIS  The Iranian director of The Salesman, which is nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film, wont attend next months Oscars ceremony. The Metropolitan Museum of Art worries that exhibitions, archaeological surveys and excavations with institutions in the Middle East will have to be canceled or curtailed. And the Sundance Institute Theater Program may have to scale back its exchange program with artists from the Middle East and North Africa.

As President Trumps executive order seeking to keep many foreigners from entering the United States sowed widespread confusion throughout the immigration system and at airports around the globe, cultural figures and institutions were calculating how the new policies would harm their art and missions.

Scholarly exchanges and international collaborations are key to our ongoing work, and we are very concerned that a number of programs we have in place could be threatened, just at a time when the world needs more, not less, exchange and mutual understanding, said Thomas P. Campbell, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The executive order, which was signed by Mr. Trump on Friday, blocks entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. Artists  and citizens  from the affected countries legally residing in the United States said they did not dare leave for fear of being denied re-entry.
If I was a smart person, I should write more thrillers  they pay me far more than childrens books, he said. But now I have kids.

I watched my daughter go through her princess days looking at reality TV stars and thought, is this the best we have? he continued. I watched my son watch anyone who plays professional ball in the N.B.A. or the major leagues and thought, is this the best we have? My daughter loves reality TV. Thats her Sesame Street.

And that, he concluded, was not good enough. He decided to fight back and show a little bit of a better world by writing childrens books about heroes.

Heroes are never what we want; they are what we need, Mr. Meltzer said. In the Depression, Flash Gordon  it was depressing. As World War II comes, Superman. Its not that he was the most entertaining, he was what we needed. Its why all these superhero movies have taken off. We still need someone to come save us.

He started with Heroes for My Son, which he worked on between thrillers. Then came a daughter, and Heroes for My Daughter. Then he began the I Am series with I Am Abraham Lincoln and I Am Amelia Earhart, both published in 2014, before the world was struggling with fake news and alternative facts.

The appeal of these books is these things really happened, he said, telling the story of a young reader whose father is a friend of his. The little girl reached the last page of I Am Rosa Parks and asked, This is real?

The I Am series, published by Dial Books for Young Readers, is written in the first person. Mr. Meltzer imagines the words of famous people, but does his research: I Am Martin Luther King Jr. mentions as a source Representative John Lewis of Georgia, the famed civil rights leader, whom President Trump criticized on Twitter after Mr. Lewis said he did not consider Mr. Trump a legitimate president.
At the start of the trial, just over three months ago, a Manhattan prosecutor offered a vision of what New York City was like in 1979. Neighborhoods felt like small towns, she said, and children had more independence. They could walk to school, play in the streets and stop in a corner store for a snack, all without parents hovering over them.

Then something changed: On May 25, the Friday before Memorial Day that year, Etan Patz, 6, vanished as he walked alone for the first time to his school bus stop in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.

Its a cautionary tale, the prosecutor, Joan Illuzzi, told jurors in her opening statements in October. It was Etan who will forever symbolize the loss of that innocence.

The man standing trial for murder in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, who at the time of Etans disappearance was 18 years old and a stock clerk at a SoHo bodega, was the one responsible for puncturing that sense of security, she argued. The man, Pedro Hernandez, lured Etan into the bodegas basement with the promise of a soda, she said, and strangled him.
YONKERS  Miguel Ramoss mother, Mirna, set off for the United States when he was almost 4. She was both running away from a violent domestic situation and running toward the same opportunities that have drawn generations of immigrants toward Americas borders.

Left behind, Mr. Ramos bounced between aunts and uncles in his native Honduras and in Guatemala. At 10 he was forced to sell clothes door to door; at 14, he milked cows and did farm chores starting at 3 a.m. But all along, he managed to stay in school, and he even attended college for a few years. And while he saw his mother just twice for brief visits in the 17 years after she left for the United States, he would talk to her nearly every day as he grew older.

In October, Mr. Ramos finally came to the United States to be reunited with his mother. A new program aimed at Central American minors provides young people from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador with a safe, legal alternative to the perilous journey by car, by foot and over rivers that many make to reach the United States.

He settled into her simple apartment building here, about five miles north of the Bronx in Westchester County. The stairs leading to the second floor list to one side. Ms. Ramos, 47, also has a 17-year-old son, Denilson Gonzalez, who was born in the United States. Her two sons share a bedroom.
Some detainees at airports are released

Travelers being held at airports around the country continued to be released on Sunday, while some had already been sent back and others were not allowed onto their flights to the United States.

The number of people still in custody at Kennedy Airport was a floating target on Sunday night. Rep. Joe Crowley, a Queens Democrat, said that based on his meeting with a Customs and Border Protection agent that concluded at around 8 p.m., six people were still being held at the airports Terminal 1.

All six have green cards, he said, and will be processed and released under terms of the judicial stay within a few hours. Five of the six are from a single flight from Turkey. Crowley said he did not know the flight on which the sixth arrived.

Crowley called the executive order horrible and immoral.

But a lawyer organizing aid for detainees and their families said that as many as 52 people had been detained at the airport over the weekend, based on contact with families and other sources. As many as 20 were still detained and two had been deported as of Sunday evening, she said.  SEAN PICCOLI

Yassin Abdelrhman, 76, was embraced by his son, Mohammed Suliman, 37, at Kennedy Airport to cheers from onlookers that included a scrum of pro bono lawyers on Sunday. Mr. Suliman, a British citizen, had traveled to Sudan to bring his father to the United States. But while Mr. Suliman was allowed to enter the country, his father had been detained since 8 a.m. on Saturday. I am so tired, Mr. Suliman said. It has been a long journey. His father did not speak.  RUTH BASHINSKY

Samira Asgari, 30, an Iranian citizen who was scheduled to fly to Boston on Saturday morning to start a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, was told in Frankfurt on Saturday that she could not board the plane. I was pretty excited to join @soumya_bostons lab but denied boarding due to my Iranian nationality, she posted on Twitter. Feeling safer? Dr. Asgari had recently completed her Ph.D. in Switzerland and was planning to study the genetic roots of why people respond differently to tuberculosis infections.  AMY HARMON

Iman Hussain, 50, was reunited with her two daughters, Elaf, 25, and Anfal, 23, at Kennedy Airport after being detained for more than 30 hours. Elaf Hussain said her mother, who lived in Baghdad, had applied for a green card two years ago and it finally came though on Jan. 16.  RUTH BASHINSKY
Anas Alhajj, 26, said he was involved in student uprisings in Sana. He received asylum, and now works for a Yemeni newspaper based in Bay Ridge. He said he is worried that his status could be revoked.

You have to understand where we came from, theres a lot of hardship, dictatorships, Kaled Alamarie said. In their mind, theyre thinking that theyre going to disappear, just like they disappear in Egypt, in Yemen. They just dont believe it.

The meeting was organized by Debbie Almontaser, the president of the board of directors for the Muslim Community Network and a national board member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

If you know people who are at the airports, let them know to refuse to go back on the plane and not to sign any documents. Ask for a lawyer, she said to the group of men around the table.

Fear, she said earlier in the day, is reverberating through our community.

But there was also pride. Ibrahim Qatabi, a legal assistant at a nonprofit, said that his great-grandfather came by boat to the United States from Yemen. He then worked in Buffalo for the railroad. Mr. Qatabis grandfather worked for the Ford Motor Company.
During much of 2004, an Iraqi man whom Ill call Frank, to protect his identity, served with my Marine Corps unit with great distinction. While our platoon lived among Iraqi soldiers in a village outside Falluja, our interpreters were our bridge to the surrounding community. Our relationships with local religious and tribal leaders kept us safe. Although the area was dangerous and attacks on United States troops were frequent, in that town, my unit was never touched. That was thanks to the efforts of Frank and other local interpreters.

That November, my platoon of 30 Marines and 30 Iraqi National Guard soldiers pushed into Falluja for the second day of the fierce battle to retake the city from insurgents. As one of my squads assaulted a building, my platoon sergeant and Frank were shot and had to be evacuated by helicopter. To this day, Frank feels pain in his leg.

His willingness, and the willingness of many other Iraqis like him, to brave battle and help American forces put them and their families in grave danger from militants.

In 2006, another one of my interpreters, Abood, and his family were forced to flee Iraq after militants left a dogs head outside their door with a note saying that they would be next. I owed my life to Abood and cannot count the number of times he put himself in harms way to protect his Marines. Two of Aboods four daughters also served as interpreters. At the time, there was no way for them to immigrate to the United States, so he and his family fled to Jordan, where they waited with faint hopes that America would open its doors.
MANILA  President Rodrigo Duterte is taking his brutal campaign against drugs from the streets to the halls of Congress.

He had said he would be happy to slaughter drug addicts, and since he took office in June, some 7,000 people have been killed in drug-related operations, according to the Philippine National Police. Now he proposes to reinstate the death penalty, which was abolished here in 2006.

A new bill, up for discussion in the House of Representatives this week, proposes to restore capital punishment for 21 so-called heinous crimes. Those include treason, some forms of murder and rape, and violent car thefts  as well as nine drug offenses. If the act passes, the import, sale, manufacture, cultivation or possession of drugs, even in quantities as low as 10 grams for methamphetamines or marijuana oil, will all be punishable by death.

With Congress now back in session, the proposal could pass the full House in a matter of weeks. To become law, the bill would then have to be approved by the Senate and be signed by the president.
FRONT PAGE

An article last Sunday about President Trumps visit to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency quoted incompletely from a comment he made about the election. Mr. Trump said, Probably almost everybody in this room voted for me  not Probably everybody in this room voted for me.

NATIONAL

An article last Sunday about the designers of Melania Trumps inaugural outfits misidentified the historic flag the designer Ralph Lauren helped restore through a $13 million donation. It is the Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History, not the Betsy Ross flag.

NEW YORK

Fund-raising figures accompanying articles on Jan. 15 and Jan. 22 about The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund overstated the totals that had been raised in the campaign by those dates. As of this week, the donations total $5,636,889.30  about $94,000 less than the figure given last Sunday.

SUNDAY BUSINESS

An article last Sunday about the growth of Quicken Loans as a retail mortgage lender misidentified Dan Gilberts position at the company. He is the founder and chairman, not the chief executive. A capsule summary of the article repeated the error. The article also described the history of Quicken Loans incorrectly. Mr. Gilbert founded the company today known as Quicken in 1985, sold it to Intuit in 1999 and then bought it back with other investors in 2002; he and other investors did not first buy Quicken in 2002 from Intuit, nor had Intuit owned it for about a decade. 
SAN FRANCISCO  On Friday morning, Silicon Valley was largely ambivalent about President Trump. The software programmers, marketing experts and chief executives might not have voted for him, but they were hopeful about finding common ground with the new administration.

By Saturday night, much of that optimism had yielded to anger and determination.

Mr. Trumps executive order late on Friday temporarily blocked all refugees while also denying entry to citizens of Iran, Iraq and five other predominantly Muslim countries. The directives struck at the heart of Silicon Valleys cherished values, its fabled history and, not least, its embrace-the-world approach to customers. Two worldviews collided: the mantra of globalization that underpins the advance of technology and the nationalistic agenda of the new administration.

In response, a significant part of the tech community went to the barricades.

Netflixs chief executive, Reed Hastings, wrote on Facebook that Mr. Trumps actions are so un-American it pains us all and that it is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity.

Brian Chesky, the chief executive of Airbnb, made the same point. We must stand with those who are affected, he wrote on Twitter.
Over the past decade, Christians in the United States have grown increasingly alarmed about the persecution of other Christians overseas, especially in the Middle East. With each priest kidnapped in Syria, each Christian family attacked in Iraq or each Coptic church bombed in Egypt, the clamor for action rose.

During the campaign, Donald J. Trump picked up on these fears, speaking frequently of Christians who were refused entry to the United States and beheaded by terrorists of the Islamic State: If youre a Christian, you have no chance, he said in Ohio in November.

Now, President Trump has followed through on his campaign promise to rescue Christians who are suffering.

The executive order he signed on Friday gives preference to refugees who belong to a religious minority in their country, and have been persecuted for their religion.
The federal judge who blocked part of President Trumps executive order on immigration on Saturday night worked for years in the Manhattan district attorneys office, where she was one of the lead prosecutors on the high-profile Tyco International fraud trial.

Colleagues remembered the judge, Ann M. Donnelly, as an astute lawyer unfazed by the spotlight. She found herself in its glare unexpectedly on Saturday night, when she heard an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the executive order barring refugees. She granted a temporary stay, ordering that refugees and others detained at airports across the United States not be sent back to their home countries.

Enforcing Mr. Trumps order by sending the travelers home could cause them irreparable harm, Judge Donnelly ruled.

The order, just before 9 p.m., capped an intense day of protests across the country by opponents of the order, which suspended the entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocked entry for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Even before President Trump issued an order on Friday banning immediate entry into the United States by people from several predominantly Muslim countries, immigration lawyers, having heard rumors of coming action from the White House, were on alert.

On Wednesday, lawyers from the International Refugee Assistance Project at the Urban Justice Center who were concerned that the action would affect the projects clients sent out an email calling for lawyers who could volunteer immediately to go to airports where refugees were scheduled to enter the United States.

It occurred to us that there were going to be people who were traveling who would land and have their status affected while in midair, said Betsy Fisher, the groups policy director.

And that is exactly what happened. Across the country, people were detained on Sunday after being caught up in the aftermath of Mr. Trumps order, even though a petition filed on Saturday in federal court in Brooklyn led a judge to block part of the order. Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, the plaintiffs named in the petition, were originally clients of Ms. Fishers organization.
But as the day went on, they were not alone in their criticisms. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that while he supported stronger screening, the order had been poorly implemented, especially for green card holders. The administration should immediately make appropriate revisions, and it is my hope that following a thorough review and implementation of security enhancements that many of these programs will be improved and reinstated, Mr. Corker said.

Indeed, the administration moved to ease some of those concerns late Sunday, when the Department of Homeland Security announced that lawful permanent residents would be exempt from the ban.

Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, likewise said the order was overly broad and that the blanket travel ban goes too far. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee seemed to echo those criticisms, adding that while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one, which is inconsistent with our American character.

Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, went further, questioning the hastiness of the orders rollout and calling for a re-evaluation of the White Houses unilateral effort. In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security and again for this notion that America has always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants, Mr. Portman said on CNNs State of the Union.

Similar concerns were voiced by some Republicans in the House. Most prominent among them was Representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who said that it was clear that adjustments were needed to the order, but defended it in principle. Representative Will Hurd of Texas, a former undercover C.I.A. officer, called the measure the ultimate display of mistrust that would erode our allies willingness to fight with us and put Americans at risk.

A handful of other Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, also offered criticism, though more cautious, on Saturday.
WASHINGTON  Donald J. Trump said during the campaign that he had a secret plan for the fight against the Islamic State. Eight days into his presidency, he seems to have revealed a small part of it.

ISIL is out. ISIS is in.

An executive memorandum that Mr. Trump signed on Saturday afternoon in the Oval Office repeatedly referred to the Islamic State as ISIS  not ISIL, as President Barack Obama and the rest of the federal government had called the terrorist group since 2014.

This is the plan to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, in other words, ISIS, Mr. Trump said as he signed the memorandum, which called on the Pentagon to devise a comprehensive plan within 30 days.

The White House also used the name ISIS in summaries of the calls Mr. Trump had on Saturday with the Russian and French presidents.
WASHINGTON  Travelers were stranded around the world, protests escalated in the United States and anxiety rose within President Trumps party on Sunday as his order closing the nation to refugees and people from certain predominantly Muslim countries provoked a crisis just days into his administration.

The White House pulled back on part of Mr. Trumps temporary ban on visitors from seven countries by saying that it would not apply to those with green cards granting them permanent residence in the United States. By the end of the day, the Department of Homeland Security formally issued an order declaring such legal residents exempt from the order.

But the recalibration did little to reassure critics at home or abroad who saw the presidents order as a retreat from traditional American values. European leaders denounced the order, and some Republican lawmakers called on Mr. Trump to back down. As of Sunday evening, officials said no one was being held at American airports, although lawyers said they believed that dozens were still being detained.

More than any of the myriad moves Mr. Trump has made in his frenetic opening days in office, the immigration order has quickly come to define his emerging presidency as one driven by a desire for decisive action even at the expense of deliberate process or coalition building. It has thrust the nine-day-old administration into its first constitutional conflict, as multiple courts have intervened to block aspects of the order, and into its broadest diplomatic incident, with overseas allies objecting.
After the order was signed, students, visitors and green-card-holding legal permanent United States residents from the seven countries  and refugees from around the world  were stopped at airports in the United States and abroad, including Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul. Some were blocked from entering the United States and were sent back overseas.

The order quickly prompted large protests across the country. On Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn blocked part of Mr. Trumps order, saying that travelers being held at airports across the United States should not be sent back to their home countries. Federal judges in three states  Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington  soon issued similar rulings.

On Sunday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said it would comply with the rulings while it continued to enforce the presidents executive orders. Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, said on Sunday that green-card holders from the seven targeted countries would not be prevented from returning to the United States.

Demonstrations against the ban continued on Sunday and Monday, and at least 100 diplomats at the State Department signed a dissent memo expressing opposition.

Opponents of the ban got a boost on Monday from Mr. Obama, who criticized the executive order and endorsed the protests against it, and Ms. Yates, who ordered the Justice Department not to defend the executive order in court. She said she did not believe the order to be lawful.
The movement remained relatively obscure until the 1990s, when a radicalized section of the Maoists began to organize. Guided by Nepals current prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal  who goes by his nom de guerre, Prachanda, or the fierce one in Nepali  the war officially began in 1996 and ended with a peace deal in 2006.

In an interview, Surya Kiran Gurung, the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, defended the work of his office.

Cataloging the challenges his staff has faced over the last two years, Mr. Gurung said there was no law in Nepal that criminalized torture, making prosecution tricky, and a short statute of limitations on reporting sexual violence. And money has always been a hurdle, he said.

What I have been asking from the government is to give us the budget that we need, Mr. Gurung said, noting that the commission has yet to hire investigators outside Kathmandu, the capital. Im here to take up my responsibility. Im not here for a job.

Aditya Adhikari, the author of a book on the revolution, sympathized with Mr. Gurung. He added that the commissions work had been hampered by the different agendas of international rights organizations and victims groups.

Victims groups argue that these human rights actors are excessively focused on the idea of prosecution, he said. Just go to a village and ask people what they want, victims what they want. Theyll say jobs, reparations. Very few people will talk about prosecution.

Devi Sunuwar, whose 15-year-old daughter, Maina, was captured by the army in 2004, tortured with the live wire of a water heater and eventually killed, scoffed when asked if the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been working on behalf of victims. The commission is so underfunded, she said, it can barely afford refreshments at events organized for victims.
YANGON, Myanmar  U Ko Ni, a prominent human rights lawyer and a legal adviser to Myanmars leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was fatally shot at Yangon International Airport on Sunday.

Mr. Ko Ni, 65, a Muslim and a member of the ruling National League for Democracy, was returning from Indonesia with about 20 other government officials and civic leaders, who had traveled there as part of a government-organized trip to discuss democracy and conflict resolution.

He was shot in the head at close range as he was about to leave the airport in his family car, according to witnesses.

During the shooting, he was holding his grandchild, said U Aung Myint Oo, an airport security guard. He fell down bleeding on the ground and died on the spot.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan  The Taliban controlled the nearby streets and bullets were popping in the dark when Dr. Marzia Salam Yaftalis neighbors in Kunduz City turned to her for help.

Their relative had gone into labor with twins and was having trouble, the streets to the hospital were blocked, and Dr. Yaftali was their best hope. With urban battle all around, she took the risk of leaving her two young children at home to try to save three lives.

But on that evening last fall, the doctor did not feel like a hero  she felt guilty. Her place was at Kunduz Regional Hospital, where she was the chief doctor, directing her staff members as they handled a wave of casualties. But they had begged her to stay home, feeling she would be at risk if the Taliban or even the militiamen fighting them found a woman in charge.

I still struggle with that feeling  why I was not able to come to the hospital that day, Dr. Yaftali said in an interview at the hospital months later. I am still uncomfortable.
American officials and analysts said the Qaeda leader who was believed to have been killed was Abdulrauf al Dhahab.

The raid took place in Yemen around the time that Mr. Trump was signing a directive in Washington on Saturday afternoon ordering Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to devise within 30 days a more aggressive plan to defeat the Islamic State.

The Islamic State was born from Al Qaedas branch in Iraq, but the two terrorist organizations are now sworn rivals not only in Iraq and Syria, but also in other hot spots like Yemen and Afghanistan, where both groups have affiliates.

Because Mr. Trump had been explicit about his intention to ask for the review to accelerate the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, American military planners had begun drafting classified options to present to the new commander in chief. Some of those options, like pushing more authority to conduct strikes to commanders in the field or loosening restrictions designed to limit the risk to civilians, could also be applied to attacks against Qaeda fighters and Islamic State insurgents.

There were no immediate indications that the rules of engagement had been loosened for the mission in Yemen, military officials said. The Central Commands statement did not elaborate on details of the raid or identify the commando who was killed.

A local resident who witnessed the raid, speaking by phone, said he had seen warplanes bombing several houses in the village around 2 a.m. Sunday. The man said he had seen at least three buildings being struck before he fled. He did not want to be identified because he feared that speaking out would endanger his life.

A Yemeni government official in Bayda Province said the targeted buildings belonged to the Dhahab family, which is known for its ties to Al Qaeda. Two male members of the family have been killed in drone strikes over the past two years.
The announcement of such a move had seemed imminent after Mr. Trumps inauguration on Jan. 20. Officials told the news media to expect news on the embassy, and Mr. Trump, asked about such a relocation on the eve of his swearing-in, said, You know Im not a person who breaks promises.

But Palestinian and other Arab leaders spoke forcefully against the move, saying it would amount to a formal recognition of the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem, after its capture from Jordan in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. Palestinian leaders said they would revoke recognition for Israel, and leaders on both sides worried about violence, here and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, and the Palestinians demand that East Jerusalem be the capital of a future state. No embassies are in the city. Most, including the United States Embassy, are in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, and most world leaders say they will make no moves unless the two sides negotiate a deal on the status of Jerusalem.

While many Israelis say they would like to see the embassy here, few count it high among their priorities, and many say it is not worth risking violence now. Mr. Netanyahu has said almost nothing on the issue since Mr. Trump made his promise during the campaign to move the embassy.

Great, Mr. Netanyahu said last month on a trip to Azerbaijan. He went no further.

Marc Zell, a chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel, which worked to turn out the vote for Mr. Trump among Americans living in Israel, said he sensed a change in the new administrations stance after Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu spoke on the telephone a week ago. Mr. Zell said he had since spoken to American and Israeli officials, who he said told him that Israel did not see the embassy move as something that needed to happen immediately.
The tensions raised by the Salahuddin officials actions cut to the heart of sectarian grievances across the whole country, where tens of thousands of Sunni families have been displaced either by the Islamic State or by government offensives against the group. Even as Mr. Abadis national government has tried to address reports of abuses by the Shiite-dominated security forces and their militia allies, deep distrust persists in Iraqs Sunni communities.

In an interview, Mishan al-Jiboori, a member of Parliament from Salahuddin Province, accused the provincial security commander of human rights violations against the innocent and the repressed.

The Salahuddin operations commander, Brig. Gen. Juma Enad Sadoon, called critics like Mr. Jiboori barking dogs and mercenaries and said they should not interfere in security matters in Tikrit. In an interview, General Sadoon did not indicate whether the removals would be halted.

The evictions have evoked unwelcome comparisons to collective punishments, including home demolitions, imposed by Israel against families of Palestinians accused of attacks. Collective punishment is prohibited under the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions and is generally considered illegal under international law.

Officials in Tikrit cited extraordinary security concerns for the evictions.

This is a very difficult situation for us because of the terrible suffering caused by Daesh, Mr. Hekmat said. We are under great pressure to rebuild our city and impose civil order after almost a year under Islamic State occupation in 2014 and 2015, he said.

Khazhal Hamad, the provinces first deputy governor, said the removals protected families from retaliation by neighbors who lost family members to ISIS attacks. There are hostile feelings toward these people, and these feelings can affect the civil peace we are trying to achieve, Mr. Hamad said.

The Tikrit evictions are perhaps a prelude to postcombat frictions in the city of Mosul, 140 miles north, if government forces can uproot Islamic State forces there.
US President Donald Trump will honour a refugee deal the Obama administration penned with Australia last year, despite Trumps new suspension of Americas refugee intake program.

A huge question mark hung over the deal  which should see a number of detainees currently in offshore detention on Manus Island and Nauru transferred to the United States  after Trump signed yesterdays drastic executive order.

Per the ABC, Trump gave confirmation to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a 25-minute-long phone call the pair had earlier today.

While the White House confirmed they spoke of the enduring strength and closeness of the U.S.-Australia relationship, there was no explicit mention of the refugee deal.

Prior to their conversation, Turnbull said he was very confident and satisfied that existing arrangements will continue due to provisions relating to international agreements within Trumps executive order.

Before Trumps sweeping measures, which also bar anyone from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia from entering the US for at least 90 days, experts were confident the move would proceed as planned.

Source: ABC.

Photo: Pool / Getty.
GRAND FORKS -- North Dakotas lone Democrat in Congress said President Donald Trumps ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries puts Americas safety at risk, but a Republican Congressman said claims like that sound like hysteria.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., wrote Sunday in a lengthy Facebook page post that Trumps ban and requirement of a religious test hurts the U.S. in its war against ISIS by isolating Muslims living in the country who help root out potential terrorists.

It also confirms the lie terrorists tell their recruits: that America is waging a war on Islam, she wrote. This is outrageous.

Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., rebutted those claims in a phone interview with Forum News Service, pointing out the ban is a temporary measure to likely form future policy on refugees. He also said comparing little old ladies from England or Sweden to young Muslim men from Syria as posing the same threat is not compassion, its just foolishness.

Saying the U.S. shouldnt do something because it might irritate its enemies or make them mad is a smokescreen, Cramer said.

To suggest somehow that this somehow emboldens or incites our enemies is to put our enemies in control of American policy, and thats just not true, Cramer said. I think what Donald Trump is doing is hes pulling Americas head out of the sand and facing the reality that we have not been kept very safe by current immigration and refugee policies.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a statement that a review of the nations refugee policy is appropriate.

We face a very real threat from terrorism, at home and abroad, and I believe a review of the refugee resettlement program is reasonable so that we ensure there is a strong vetting process in place to make sure America is safe, Hoeven said.

In fact, Hoeven added, President Obama issued a six-month ban on Iraqi refugees in 2011. We need to do it in a way that follows the law and treats all people with respect.

Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order Friday that places a 90-day freeze on visitors from Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Refugee entry into the U.S. has been halted for 120 days, and the entry of Syrian refugees has been stopped indefinitely.

His orders, which included giving priority to Christian refugees, drew sharp criticism, with some claiming it established a religious test for entering the U.S. and is effectively a Muslim ban.

A federal judge ruled those from the countries named in the ban who had visas and had already arrived in the U.S. could not be removed.

Heitkamp cited in her post a Cato Institute study stating no Americans died from 1975 to 2015 in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil due to attacks perpetrated by foreign nationals from the countries listed in Trumps ban. Saudi Arabia, home to 15 of the 19 terrorists said to be involved in the 9/11 attacks, was not listed as a country of concern in Trumps orders. Mohamed Atta, the apparent tactical leader of the attacks, was from Egypt, while the other three came from the United Emirates and Lebanon -- those countries are also absent from Trumps orders.

Cramer noted some think he should expand the list, but he called Trumps move to start with the seven countries that have been declared by Congress and White House officials as what Cramer called the most dangerous areas for harboring terrorists a common-sense approach.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer pointed to President Barack Obama's actions in his second term to limit travelers from the countries named in Trump's ban as a basis for the Republican's orders. The Obama Administration previously called those named in the travel ban "countries of concern," according to media reports.

Doing more vetting of more people traveling back and forth from these terrorist hotspots and the United States, while it might be inconvenient to the people doing the traveling, its certainly not as inconvenient as the terrorist attacks not just taking place in the United States but across the world, Cramer said. To me, its hysteria thats exaggerated.  Its mostly political.

Cramer called the religious aspect of anti-ban activists arguments a distraction, stating the U.S. policy on accepting refugees has been based on helping minority religions facing persecution.

Youd have to be completely naive, at best, to not understand or not know that in places like Syria  that Christians are the most persecuted people in those countries, and they are the minorities, he said. Suddenly, its not OK to unidentified persecuted Christians as a persecuted group.

Heitkamp wrote the U.S. must continue to keep its doors open to those seeking opportunity and refuge, just as it has for generations. She added immigrants play critical roles in supporting local economies, including in North Dakota, where refugees have been relocated in the past. She also called on the U.S. to focus on true vulnerabilities, such as homegrown terrorism and non-citizens who could seize on anti-refugee and anti-immigrant policies as opportunities rather than obstacles.

We must never take for granted the opportunities we have by closing those doors to others seeking the same hope for a better future, she wrote. We must be America.
2017 News Archive

This page includes links to all the news articles published on pokernews.com during 2017. For your convenience, the articles are segmented by month.
GiantBug Foundation welcomes students from around the globe to Model G20 Summit

By: GiantBug Foundation

1 2 3 Students voting during last year's Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit Students discuss important policies during last year's Model G20 Summit Students listen intently at last year's Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit

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-- GiantBug Foundation in conjunction with Knovva Academy in Cambridge, MA. will host the 2nd annual Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit for high school students from all around the globe on campus at Harvard University from February 1-5th, 2017. The Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit is an annual program that invites students around the world to put aside differences for 5 days as they work, learn and play together.This year, over 100 students representing 13 different countries will be attending the summit, where they will also be introduced to many top names in education and politics along with their international peers.The summit features guest speaker Jonathan Fantini, who served as a former Whitehouse Aide under the Obama administration and Chief of Staff for Management of Immigration and Customs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2010-2016. Jonathan also made the0 list in 2014.Current CNN correspondent Eugenie Scott will also be in attendance, sharing his own experience in politics and media relations with the students before the mock press conference segment of the summit. Also scheduled as keynote speaker is the Managing Director of BNY Mellon, Lynne Marlor.In addition to these top names, summit students will get the chance to attend lectures and classes lead by Harvard professors including Guhan Subramanian who is the Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School and the Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School. David King, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at The Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty Chair of the Masters in Public Administration programs will also be leading his own class during the summit. These top educators plus professor Muhammet A. Bas will teach important lessons in debate, public speaking and international relations. The entire Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit was produced, organized and inspired by two Harvard alumni who now work for GiantBug Foundation.The Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit uses a unique educational role-playing format to teach students about other countries, international communication, and pressing global issues. Model G20 student delegates will take on the roles of political leaders from countries other than their own and work to tackle global and local issues such as infrastructure, education and more."By bringing together high school students from different countries, different cultures, and different backgrounds, the program shows that in order to conduct diplomacy effectively, you need to have so much more than just compromise. You need mutual respect and the ability to see things from someone else's point of view," said Owen Doherty, a student at Westwood High School and a participant in last year's Youth Leadership Model G20 Summit.While the changes they implement aren't real, the changes the students see in themselves during the course of the 5-day program very much are. "I became more confident when communicating with others and my English improved after the last G20 summit. My leadership skills also improved, and this made me able to deal with things in my life better. I am now even working hard to construct a model G20 organization in my school in China," said returning G20 summit delegate Rentain Liu of China.New students are also excited to get involved, seeing the summit as an opportunity for them make a difference upon returning home. "I am from Ethiopia which currently is in a state of turmoil. From this summit I hope to gain the skills and leadership necessary to in one way or another to advocate for Ethiopia and push my country forward," said first-time attendee Yishak Ali.Even more exciting for the students, the summit committee is proud to formally announce that over $8,000 in prize scholarships will be awarded to top delegate performers this year. This is up from 3,000$ awarded during last year's summit.
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-- In a statement made today, Commodore Greg Barnes PCGA, Chairman of Success Dynamics Alliance, announced that the renowned Psychometric expert - Mr. Raymond Walley, would be visiting Manila from 10 - 20 February 2017. Mr. Walley is the incumbent Director of Psychometrics for Success Dynamics Alliance and is currently based in London, UK. During his visit, he will be conducting an analyst training course (Level 2) for Manila based SDA Analysts.About Raymond Walley: Raymond is a specialist in the use, training and development of psychometric management instruments. In 1989, he began development of Personality Profile based on original research by William Marsden. This resulted in the launching of the product 2 years later.He is committed to the use of psychometric tools top provide practical, workable solutions to the challenges that businesses face today. He regularly runs seminars on the use of such systems and has lectured at Imperial College, The American University in London, The Academy for Chief Executives, The Executive Committee, Kingston University and Guildhall University.Having played a major role in the development of Personality Profile and Job Scan, he has a deep understanding of their uses - singly and in conjunction with other instruments - in a range of applications, from team building and training needs analysis to corporate culture and group dynamics. He is actively involved in the further development of new and existing products linked to the ever changing demands of commerce and industry.An experienced trainer, he devises and runs specialist courses, not only in psychometrics, but in such areas as assertiveness and self development.The SDA VP - Media and Communications, Mr. Victor Jeffery, went on further to say, "Raymond will be on a very tight schedule with a lot to do in a short space of time! However, he will be available for a limited number of interviews, so all Press and Media submissions should be directed to me at victor@successdynamicsalliance.com by no later than Monday 6 February 2017."About Success Dynamics Alliance: We provide Chief Executives, Managing Directors and HR Directors with the Psychometric skills and solutions to understand their people and improve the way their people work together.With a team of dedicated staff with years of professional experience, we are dedicated to providing the very best solutions to clients in order to maximize the return on your investment.We do not adopt a 'one size fits all mantra' and with a reputation for providing bespoke solutions, we are more than willing to tailor products and services to complement the needs of a client.
Prime Minister receives Chief of IOM mission in Yemen





SANA'A, Jan. 28 (Saba) - Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Aziz Saleh bin Habtoor met here on Saturday with Chief of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) mission in Yemen Laurent de Boeck.



In the meeting, the IOM official briefed Dr. bin Habtoor on the organization's activity in cooperation with the concerned authorities in the areas of migration and relief for the displaced.



The meeting touched upon the project of fighting against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS disease, which funded by the Global Fund to fight the three diseases, and the current cooperation between the organization and the Ministry of Public Health and Population in this aspect.



The prime minister confirmed the government's support to the IOM activities in Yemen, including the cooperation in the implementation of the project to fight those diseases in the targeted areas.



Dr. bin Habtoor pointed to the disastrous aftermaths of the Saudi aggression war and the blockade on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which require doubling the size of the international support to mitigate them and helping the salvation government to address them.



For his part, de Boeck praised the cooperation between the organization and all relevant authorities with regard to the topics of illegal immigration, as well as contributing to the relief efforts for the displaced people in Yemen.



He affirmed the organization's keenness on strengthening the cooperation to serve the Yemeni people and alleviate their daily suffering because of the exceptional circumstances they are going through at this stage.



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[28/January/2017]
SPC calls Int'l community to lift air embargo on Sana'a Airport





SANA'A, Jan. 28 (Saba) - The Supreme Political Council (SPC) called on Saturday the international community to lift the air embargo imposed by the Saudi-led aggression coalition on Sana'a International Airport and to end all forms of unjust siege on Yemen.



In its meeting, which was chaired by Vice-President Dr. Qasim Labuza, the council confirmed that the blockade has affected the lives and rights of citizens and expanded the circle of poverty and need and is a disgrace to the silent and complicit international institutions.



In the meeting, the members of the national negotiating delegation, Arif al-Zoka and Mahdi al-Mashat, informed the council on the results of the delegation's meetings with the United Nations' envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh, during his recent visit to the capital Sana'a, as well as the efforts to reopen Sana'a Airport before the air traffic.



Al-Zoka and al-Mashat said that Ould Cheikh, during his recent visit, was briefed on the size of the suffering of the Yemeni people as a result of the unfair actions taken by the aggression against civilians, including the imposition of the air embargo and prevent civil and commercial flights to and from Sana'a International Airport, in a an apparent violation of all international laws and customs.



They indicated that the national delegation confirmed to the UN envoy its insistence on a comprehensive cessation of the aggression and lifting the unjust siege on all land, sea and air ports, topped by Sana'a International Airport, to allow free movement of citizens, transfer patients to receive treatment and allow Yemenis stranded in airports of the world to return home.



In this regard, the council hailed the role praised the role played by the national delegation, valuing the efforts of the competent security authorities at Sana'a International Airport to secure the United Nations and international organizations flights.



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[28/January/2017]
Vigil denounces continuing air embargo on Sana'a Airport





SANA'A, Jan. 29 (Saba)  A vigil in front of the United Nations' office in Sana'a Sunday denounced the continuous air embargo on Sana'a International Airport by the Saudi-led aggression alliance.



The vigil, which was organized by the General Union of Commercial Chambers in cooperation with the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Meteorology, called on the United Nations to open Sana'a International Airport and resume the commercial and humanitarian flights.



The participants in the vigil demanded the United Nations to issue a decision lifts the air embargo imposed on Sana'a Airport, which is contrary to all norms and international treaties and conventions.



Deputy Chairman of Commerce Chamber in the capital Sana'a Mohammed Salah and Director General of Air Transport at the General Authority of Civil Aviation Dr. Mazen Ghanem handed over the UN Resident Representative in Sana'a a letter to the UN Secretary General concerning the need for lifting of the air embargo on Sana'a International Airport before the civil and humanitarian flights.



During handing the letter, Dr. Ghanem denied the rumors which are promoted by the aggression states about the existence of a risk to aviation.



"There is no danger to planes that arrive in Sana'a International Airport and the air navigation in general," Dr. Ghanem said.



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[29/January/2017]
Treating head and neck cancer patients with a twice-daily radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy could save more lives, according to new research presented at the European Cancer Congress 2017.

The study, led by Dr Claire Petit, a resident in radiation oncology from Gustave Roussy cancer centre in Paris, included patients with tumours in their mouths, throats or voice boxes, that had already begun to spread to neighbouring tissue. These patients tend to have lower rates of survival than those whose cancer was diagnosed at an earlier stage.

The twice-daily treatment is known as hyperfractionated radiotherapy. By splitting the daily treatment in two portions, a higher and more effective dose can be given to patients. The researchers hope that this can be achieved without increasing side effects.

Around 600,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer worldwide each year. It can be difficult to treat because the area of the body affected contains so many vital structures, including those responsible for breathing, swallowing and speech.

The researchers used a relatively new technique called a network meta-analysis to bring together data from 117 different trials, including 28,804 patients from around the world. This allowed them to compare 16 different treatments to find out which was best at reducing the spread of cancer and deaths from the disease.

They discovered that the twice-daily treatment, when combined with chemotherapy, cut deaths by 20% compared to the best standard treatment of once-daily radiotherapy with chemotherapy. It also reduced the risk of the cancer getting worse by 23%.

Dr Petit told the Congress: "There are a number of new treatments that have shown promise in head and neck cancer trials. This large study has enabled us to compare several of these treatments to see which is best overall in terms of reducing mortality."

Dr Petit cautioned that she has not yet studied the side effects experienced by patients, either during treatment or in the longer term, and that more research is needed to examine this and to confirm the results. "Some of the studies we looked at did not include data on side effects; others did not follow patients long enough to pick up long-term side effects. This will be the focus of more research over the next year."

She added: "Moreover, the method we used, network meta-analysis, which combines direct and indirect treatment comparisons, is a new method that needs to be interpreted with prudence.

"However, this is an important finding for this group of patients who have a higher risk of their cancer recurring following treatment."

Professor Philip Poortmans, President-elect of ECCO and head of the Radiation Oncology Department at Radboud university medical center (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), said: "This research provides good evidence for the benefits of treating advanced stage head and neck cancer patients with a combination of twice-daily radiation therapy and chemotherapy, compared to one or even none of these separately. Before we can apply these very interesting results into daily clinical practice, we need to wait for the outcome of the next stage of this research -- namely the evaluation of the short and long-term side effects. This is of utmost importance for the quality of life of the patients and their relatives.

"Moreover, it would be preferable to perform prospective trials to confirm these results. If that is not feasible, or if we cannot wait for their outcome for some subgroups of patients who have the worst survival currently, then we should at least register carefully all the outcome parameters in prospective multi-centre databases so that they are available later on for analysis."
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Women over 50 who have been treated for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are more likely to be alive ten years later than women in the general population, according to new research presented at the European Cancer Congress 2017.

DCIS differs from breast cancer because it is non-invasive, meaning it cannot spread around the body. However, because it can progress into an invasive breast cancer, which can be life-threatening, it is usually treated with surgery, or surgery and radiation therapy. The number of women being diagnosed with DCIS is increasing because it is picked up by breast screening programmes.

The findings, presented at the Congress by Dr Lotte Elshof, showed that, although women with DCIS have a higher risk of dying from breast cancer, overall they have a slightly lower risk of dying from any cause.

Researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute say their results should provide reassurance to women who are diagnosed with the disease.

Led by Dr Jelle Wesseling, a breast pathologist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the team studied data on almost 10,000 Dutch women who were diagnosed with DCIS between 1989 and 2004. They tracked the patients over an average of 10 years and compared their death rates with the expected mortality in the general population. They found that women over 50 who had been treated for the condition had a ten per cent lower risk of dying from any cause compared to the general population.

Dr Lotte Elshof, research physician and epidemiologist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute who analysed the data, told the Congress: "Being diagnosed with DCIS can be extremely distressing, and research indicates that many women overestimate the risks involved and are confused about treatment. This study should provide reassurance that a diagnosis of DCIS does not raise the risk of dying.

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"It might seem surprising that this group of women actually has a lower mortality rate than the general population. However, the vast majority would have been diagnosed via breast screening, which suggests they may be health-conscious and well enough to participate in screening."

The study shows that DCIS patients had a two and half per cent risk of dying of breast cancer after ten years. At 15 years, the risk was four per cent. These rates are higher than in the general population. However, the study also showed that the rates were getting lower in women diagnosed with DCIS more recently.

Patients were ten per cent less likely to die from all causes combined compared to the general population. Specifically, they had a lower risk of dying from diseases of the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems and other cancers. The researchers say this finding is important because treating DCIS with radiotherapy could cause side-effects, including damage to nearby organs such as the heart.

The team are beginning an international collaboration with researchers in the UK and USA. This will allow them to increase the size of the study and to try to understand why some cases of DCIS progress into invasive cancer, while others do not.

Professor Philip Poortmans, President-elect of ECCO and head of the Radiation Oncology Department at Radboud university medical center (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), said: "Ductal carcinoma in situ can be a worrying and confusing diagnosis for many women, especially due to the word 'carcinoma'. Although it should be considered as being clearly different from breast cancer, it can progress into breast cancer, even after removal of the entire breast or after breast conserving therapy consisting of surgery, generally combined with radiation therapy.

"Moreover, those treatments can have side-effects, including on the heart. This research provides reassurance for women diagnosed with DCIS because it shows that they are as likely to be alive ten years after the diagnosis as people in the general population who did not have DCIS. This is also reassuring with regards to the potential risks of side-effects.

"However, we have to recognise that in one fifth of the patients who die, the cause is breast cancer, which is likely to result from progression of the DCIS they were diagnosed with. Therefore, we are eagerly waiting for the results of further research to identify the factors -- including age, as clearly shown in this study -- that contribute to the risk for recurrence and progression from DCIS for each individual patient.

"Remarkably, the increased risk of dying from breast cancer is completely offset by a lower risk of dying from other causes compared to women in the general population. This might be explained by the generally better health and socioeconomic status of women who regularly participate in breast cancer screening. This could also be tested in the on-going research."
At the end of 2016 Israeli Arrow anti-missile units began receiving the first production models of the Arrow 3. This comes after several years of successful tests. The last major test was in late 2015 when an Arrow 3 was successfully demonstrated its new ability to hit an incoming missile trying to hide among decoys. Success in this test overcame the doubts created when Arrow 3 failed a similar test in late 2014. It took over a year to figure out what went wrong there and come up with a fix. In early 2014 there was a successful test of Arrow 3 and it was believed that this would result in Arrow 3 entering service in 2015. That did not happen because of the failure later in 2014. Getting Arrow 3 into service is important because it can destroy missiles at higher altitudes (over 100 kilometers) and farther away. Thats what it failed to do in late 2014 but succeeded at in 2015. It was only in February 2013 that Israel conducted the first tests of Arrow 3. That followed the successful testing of the then new Block 4 version of its Arrow 2 in 2012. After a few more tweaks version 4.1 was in service by late 2013.

The 2013 Arrow tests also confirmed the effectiveness of new detection capabilities of the Green Pine radar. The improved Green Pine radar entered service in 2012 and the Block 4 version provided greater accuracy and the ability to intercept missiles farther away. Block 4 was in development since at least 2007.

The Arrow system has been in service since 2000 and has racked up an impressive string of successes in test launches. Designed to deal with short and medium range ballistic missiles, it was built to protect Israel from Syrian and Iranian attack. Israel now has three Arrow batteries in service. An Arrow battery has 4-8 launchers and each launcher carries six missiles in containers. The two ton Arrow 1 has been replaced with the 1.3 ton Arrow 2, which can shoot down ballistic missiles fired from Iran and these are being augmented with Arrow 3s.

The United States has long shared the expense of developing Arrow and this includes contributing over a hundred million dollars for work on the Arrow 3. More than half of the nearly three billion dollar cost of developing and building Arrow has come from the Americans. In addition, U.S. firms have done some of the development work or contributed technology. The U.S. has also provided Israel with a mobile X-band radar that enables it to detect incoming ballistic missiles farther away.

Initially the Israeli Green Pine radar can only detect a ballistic missile fired from Iran when the missile warhead is about two minutes from hitting a target in Israel. The X-band radar allows the Iranian missile to be spotted when it is 5-6 minutes away, enabling the Israeli missile to hit the Iranian warhead farther away and with greater certainty. The Arrow 3 is expected to need something like the X-band radar to take advantage of the longer missile range. The Arrow 3 could also use satellite or UAV warnings of distant ballistic missile launches. Arrow 3 weighs about half as much as Arrow 2 and costs about a third less.

In 2010, Israel began increasing the production of its Arrow missiles. Costing over three million dollars each, and partly constructed in the United States (by Boeing), the Arrow missiles are one of the few proven anti-missile systems available. Since Arrow entered service several hundred missiles have been built or ordered. Currently Israel has nearly 200 Arrow missiles available and would like to double that that by the end of the decade. For the moment the ballistic missile threat from Syria is gone and that makes life even more difficult for Iran.

The existence of Arrow means that the only way Iran could successfully hit Israel with a nuke via missile would be to simultaneously (or nearly so) launch several dozen missiles each equipped with a nuclear warhead. Most of these would be shot down by Arrow but at least one would probably land in Israel and detonate. This would be foolhardy because Israel has over a hundred nukes that can be delivered to Iran by ballistic missile, aircraft and submarine launched cruise missile. The Iranians tend to be sensible, but the rhetoric coming from senior Iranian leaders is anything but when it comes to attacking Israel with nukes. In the 1930s the world thought the Germans were sensible people, and Jews everywhere still remember how that turned out. So Israel is ready to defend itself and retaliate.
Corning Incorporated engages in display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses worldwide. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. Its Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, including cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories. This segment also offers its products to businesses, governments, and individuals. Its Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, software; as well as ultra-thin and ultra-flat glass wafers, substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products. This segment serves various industries, including mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables; aerospace and defense optics; radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. The company's Environmental Technologies segment offers ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications. The company's Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products comprising consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware and equipment under the Corning, Falcon, Pyrex, and Axygen brands. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York.
Summit Midstream Partners, LP focuses on owning, developing, and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets primarily shale formations in the continental United States. The company provides natural gas gathering, compression, treating, and processing services, as well as crude oil and produced water gathering services. Its unconventional resource basins include the Utica and Point Pleasant shale formations in southeastern Ohio; the Williston Basin that consists of the Bakken and Three Forks shale formations in northwestern North Dakota; the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which include the Niobrara and Codell shale formations in Colorado; the Permian Basin that comprise the Bone Spring and Wolfcamp shale formations in New Mexico; the Piceance Basin, which include the Mesaverde formation, and the Mancos and Niobrara shale formations in western Colorado; the Barnett Shale formation in north-central Texas; and the Marcellus Shale formation in northern West Virginia. The company also owns an ownership interest in Ohio Gathering, which owns and operates natural gas gathering and condensate stabilization facility in the Utica Shale in southeastern Ohio. It serves natural gas and crude oil producers. Summit Midstream GP, LLC operates as a general partner of the company. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Airbnb, the home-sharing site, has said it will give free housing to refugees and any others not allowed into the United States, presumably as a result of U.S. President Donald Trumps executive order to temporarily ban refugees from the country.

Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, tweeted the offer late Saturday as travellers from several Muslim-majority countries were detained or otherwise placed in limbo at airports around the world.

Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the U.S. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing.

Trump on Friday signed orders not only to suspend admission of all refugees into the United States for 120 days but also to implement new vetting measures to screen out radical Islamic terrorists. Refugee entry from Syria, however, would be suspended indefinitely, and all travel from Syria and six other nations  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen  is suspended for 90 days. Trump also said he would give priority to Christian refugees over those of other religions.

Chesky earlier said singling out countries and refugees in such a way was not right, and we must stand with those who are affected.

Joe Gebbia, another co-founder and Airbnbs chief product officer, also shared his support of refugees in a series of tweets Saturday and encouraged people to donate to the United Nations refugee agency.

Founded in 2008, Airbnb is now a $30 billion (U.S.) company that operates in 50,000 cities in 191 countries.

It was not immediately clear how housing arrangements for any stranded refugees would be made or how Airbnb hosts would be chosen and compensated.

An Airbnb spokesman did not address those questions by email Sunday morning but said the company would have further details later in the day.

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An eight-year effort to develop year-round surveillance capability in Canadas melting Arctic waters was only ever able to monitor marine traffic remotely twice for a few weeks during the hospitable northern summers.

As Canada prepares to spend more than $130 million on new proposals to keep watch over the Arctic, the quiet conclusion reached by military scientists involved in the previous technology demonstration project was that constant tracking of the cruise ships, fishing vessels and hostile forces was a possibility  but a distant one.

For the purposes of our tech demo, what we did was more in line with what we could afford to do, Garry Heard, head of underwater surveillance and communications with Defence Research and Development Canada  the militarys science wing  told the Star in an interview.

The so-called Northern Watch project grew out of former prime minister Stephen Harpers 2005 election pledge to create a national sensor system in the Arctic to monitor Canadian waters for submarines and other marine vessels.

Harper said it would allow Canada to assert sovereignty by forcing foreign ships to ask our consent to traverse our waters.

What scientists came up with were long strings of underwater sensors  known as arrays  that were laid along the seabed to collect acoustic readings. They were complemented by land-based cameras and sensors that pick up surface vessel movements, as well as satellite imagery, which provides only intermittent coverage.

The project was based at Gascoyne Inlet on Nunavuts Devon Island  a place so barren that the island is also used as a simulated Mars habitat. The Barrow Strait, on the south shore of Devon Island, is an Arctic chokepoint, meaning that marine traffic cannot easily avoid passing through.

The need for Arctic surveillance was increasingly in evidence over the projects lifespan. There were increases in fishing and commercial vessels, tour boats and even adventure sailors travelling in personal yachts. For one month in the summer of 2015, the surveillance system logged 21 different vessels transiting through the Barrow Strait.

The Arctic really is quite beautiful and a big attraction for people to go see it, said Heard. Its something very different from the normal populated parts of the world.

The political rhetoric around the Northern Watch project was a success. Harper won the 2006 election and governed for nearly a decade. But the concrete pledge of a comprehensive surveillance network fell short.

The last trial in the summer of 2015 fully demonstrated a remotely operated surveillance capability, reads a concluding report that was submitted to the government last summer. Unfortunately, the duration of the trial was a matter of weeks, not the continuous 365 days, 24-7 persistent local area surveillance that was desired.

A major hurdle was the dramatic costs of transporting the equipment and fuel 3,500 kilometres north of Toronto to Devon Island. Heard also said that existing technology is not yet sophisticated enough to sift through and analyze the sensor data and determine without human analysis if a distant underwater sound is a submarine or a whale.

There were equipment failures in 2009, when sea water leached into and destroyed the sensors; and in 2012, a massive iceberg drifted through, taking with it an underwater acoustic recorder and dashing plans to collect a years worth of baseline sound readings to help researchers determine the normal everyday sounds in that little known part of Canada.

Our best goal was to try to come up with an array design that was reliable and robust and could last for years, but was still not so expensive that you couldnt manage to lose it now and then, said Heard, adding that underwater acoustic work in the field is rife with unexpected events.

One of the first things you learn when you come from school  is that youre only vaguely in control of anything. Youre kind of lucky if you can pull off what you originally planned.

Michael Byers, a professor at the University of British Columbia who specializes in Arctic sovereignty and Canadian defence policy, questioned why the military agency needed underwater-sensing capabilities in the north given the existing satellite capabilities and the aerial monitoring of foreign vessels in the summer months.

What were really talking about is whether Canada needs the capacity to detect a Russian submarine if one were to enter Canadas waters, he said. Quite frankly the Russian submarines were a greater threat during the Cold War than they were in 2006 when this particular project started up.

Byers added that Ocean Networks Canada, a federally funded research group, has already developed and deployed the same type of year-round surveillance tools and collects seasonal data in the Arctic that is made available to scientists and industry.

Was there a redundancy in the Department of National Defences project given that the same federal government is putting money into systems that are operational, proven and are being multiplied in number, including with plans to put them in the Arctic?

But Heard said that his group demonstrated that remote surveillance of the Arctic is indeed possible and added to the understanding of conditions beneath the unknown waters.

It will be up to a future group of Arctic scientists to build upon their advances and to learn from their failures. The government is currently accepting proposals under a new $133-million research program to boost air and maritime surveillance, particularly in the North. The deadline for pitches is Feb. 1.

What we built was an experimental prototype system, Heard said. Its far from an operational device and so people would look at what we did and where our difficulties were and they would look toward a more integrated solution.

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VANCOUVERPrime Minister Justin Trudeau smiled and waved during his latest visit to Vancouver, but didnt stop to answer questions on a number of issues facing Canadians.

Trudeau joined the citys Lunar New Year celebrations Sunday, participating in a blessing ceremony before a traditional lion dance, then leading a parade through Vancouvers historic Chinatown.

Steady rain pelted the marchers and kept crowds along the route thin, but Trudeau continued smiling, waving and wishing the hundreds of onlookers a happy new year. He did not answer questions that reporters shouted to him along the parade route.

He left questions about a controversial American travel ban on citizens from seven countries to his immigration minister who held a news conference in Ottawa Sunday.

The prime ministers visit follows a string of town hall meetings in communities across the country. British Columbia was noticeably absent from the tour.

Trudeau last visited the province in December following the approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that will triple the capacity of an existing pipeline that runs from near Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C. It will increase tanker traffic sevenfold within the densely populated Burrard Inlet.

Trudeau downplayed questions about lengthy protests related the project when meeting with local media last month.

He said some people will disagree with the decision to approve the project and expressing that disagreement is part of the democratic process.

But he also defended the approval, saying, We need to both protect the environment and build a stronger economy at the same time.

Aaron Sam, Chief of the Lower Nicola Indian Band near Merritt, says Trudeau should hold public discussions in B.C.

The Trans Mountain pipeline crosses through the bands territory and members will be voting next month whether they should approve an agreement with Kinder Morgan.

Like much of the country, Sam says attitudes toward the pipeline are varied in his community.

He says he raised concerns about how the pipeline and its related tanker traffic will affect the salmon population the community relies on but doesnt feel that the federal government has taken those concerns seriously.

(The Prime Minister) never sat down with us once, he said in an interview Saturday.

The Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish nations, as well as the Coldwater Indian Band, launched legal challenges against the federal government earlier this month contending they were not properly consulted for the pipelines approval.

Although the Lower Nicola Indian Band has not taken similar action, Sam says the community is disappointed in the Trudeau government for the lack of consultation about the pipeline and failure to meet other promises to boost indigenous rights in Canada.

Shachi Kurl, executive director for the Angus Reid Institute, says previous polls have suggested that about half of British Columbians are pleased with the pipeline approval while only a third are opposed.

Most of the opposition within B.C. appears centred to those who live in city of Vancouver and Burnaby, she says.

While environmental issues are a major concern for Canadians, Kurl said the economy is also a priority that can sway political perception.

Although Trudeaus approval ratings have dipped since he was elected in 2015, an Angus Reid poll in early December shows that he still maintains more than 50 per cent approval nationally.

The prime minister starts year two in a fairly enviable position politically, Kurl says, adding that the town hall tour signals its not a position Trudeau is taking for granted.

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OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau may have taken to Twitter this weekend to defend immigration and diversity, but behind the scenes theres a formidable ghost bedevilling the machinery of Canadian government  Donald Trump.

The U.S. presidents way of communicating  Tweets, various interview musings and executive order pronouncements  have upended the traditional, time-honoured way of conducting the business of Canadas relations with its largest trading partner and top ally.

The effect, sources tell The Canadian Press, is historic because the usual way that Canada and most western governments would make foreign policy has been thrown out the window.

The bottom line, they say, is the absence of something very basic  paper.

Trumps first week in the White House has done away with the usual formula of public administration.

In the pre-Trump world, a foreign government would make an announcement  state its intent to do something  then the paper would follow. That usually meant a written, well-considered policy statement on the way forward, or a piece of legislation that was designed to get the job done.

Canadian bureaucrats would then in turn draft a policy or a response. But their pens are down, sources say, because they have nothing tangible to analyze from the Americans.

The insiders spoke to The Canadian Press on the condition they not be identified because of the sensitivity surrounding the issue.

For the most part, this back-and-forth chaos has meant that Canadas approach has been to adhere to a very strict and basic strategy  reinforcing the positives of the deeply-integrated Canada-U.S. trading relationship with its intertwined supply chains, said one source.

That explains the almost slavish adherence to the talking points that Trudeau and other cabinet ministers have been using  that 35 U.S. states have Canada as their number one customer, that nine million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada.

But on Saturday, Trudeau moved beyond that cautious approach when he used Twitter to react to Trumps order barring citizens of seven countries, including Syria, from entering the United States.

To those fleeing persecution, terror (and) war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith, read Trudeaus tweet, followed by one containing a photo of him greeting a young Syrian refugee.

Meanwhile, Trudeaus officials needed to act swiftly to clarify what Trumps travel ban would mean for Canadians with dual citizenship. Would they be turned away at the border?

Trudeaus National Security Adviser Daniel Jean and other officials reached out to their American counterparts, including Trumps National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, for answers, Trudeaus spokeswoman Kate Purchase said late Saturday.

NSA Flynn confirmed that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban, Purchase said.

That contradicted a statement earlier in the day from the U.S. State Department that said Canadians with dual citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya would be denied entry for the next three months along with citizens from those countries.

The Trump pattern of pronouncements-then-contradictions obscures the connection between what the president said and what gets pursued, sources say.

They cite numerous examples that are sowing confusion, including Thursdays upheaval over a proposed 20-per-cent border tax on imports from Mexico as a way of making it pay for the U.S. wall Trump wants to build between the two countries.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer later climbed down from the proposal, saying it was just an option for paying for the wall.

Examples of this abounded during the Congressional hearings to vet Trumps cabinet choices. Trump blasted NATO as obsolete, but his pick for defence secretary, the retired general James Mattis, spoke favourably about the alliance.

On NAFTA, Trump threatened to tear up the deal prior to his election, but just days after his inauguration one of his senior economic advisers offered Canada reassurance.

Stephen Schwarzman, the head of the presidents Strategic and Policy Forum, said there was no need for Canada to be enormously worried because it is well regarded and will be in a good position should there be a NAFTA renegotiation.

Canadian officials have signalled a willingness to keep the three-country deal alive; or to pursue a bilateral deal with the U.S. that would exclude Mexico. But their preference is a three-country agreement.

Definitely thats still Plan A, said another source.

Canadian companies are affected by these supply chains. It becomes pretty cumbersome (to split up NAFTA).

But the official said everything depends on what Trump does next.

If we feel going it alone is going to give us a better deal, we have to look after Canadian interests, said the source.

But it would be disruptive.

The internal government confusion is mirrored by the divisions among Canadian analysts over whether Trump can act alone on NAFTA or needs the support of U.S. Congress.

The President likely has the legal authority to withdraw the U.S. from the NAFTA on his own, said a recent analysis by the Toronto law firm Bennett Jones.

The firm added that he has considerable latitude to pull the U.S. from the NAFTA with or without Congressional support.

But another recent report, from the C.D. Howe Institute concluded, the ultimate power to withdraw from NAFTA rests with the United States Congress, and not with the president.

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Premier Kathleen Wynnes government assured Mayor John Tory that Toronto would get toll-enabling regulations plus a doubling of the gas tax, according to people involved in talks before Wynne yanked tolls off the table.

Officials and politicians involved in the city-provincial discussions say Tory knew the premier was facing a rough ride from her 905-belt MPPs, but he felt blindsided by a phone call from Wynne to say she would not pass regulations allowing Toronto to toll the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway once the SmartTrack and Regional Express Rail lines are built.

I would describe the mayors reaction as shocked and disappointed, said a city official who was with Tory when he got the call on Jan. 18 and, like others involved who spoke to the Star, agreed to describe the four-month, behind-the-scenes toll talks only on condition of anonymity.

Wynnes public announcement nine days later of a gas tax windfall for all Ontario municipalities, but no tolls for Toronto, sparked joy in communities around Toronto and hammered a wedge into the previously cosy political relationship between Ontarios premier and Torontos mayor.

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Their future partnership on a host of issues is under a cloud after an uncharacteristically angry Tory told reporters he is sick of being treated as a little boy going up to Queens Park in short pants.

Those close to Wynne say she is personally pro-toll but, facing a major caucus revolt and warnings of defeat in the 2018 provincial election, felt she had no choice but to make a U-turn.

The road to their split started in September when Tory went to Queens Park for a regular meeting with Wynne. The main topic was revenue tools: new fees or levies to help the city address a looming crisis over the gap between its ambitions and its means.

For years council had been afraid to use new taxation powers in the 2006 City of Toronto Act, but Tory was persuaded it was time. He presented revenue tool options to Wynne and her top officials, who outright rejected some, including a Toronto-specific alcohol tax.

When Tory raised the idea of tolling the Gardiner and DVP, which the city owns and funds, Wynne said: Go for it, we wont stand in the way, according to city and provincial officials with knowledge of the meeting.

The mayor and his staff kept reviewing options until he decided he would stick his neck out on tolls. Part of the political calculus was that 905-belt residents using the roads would have to pay their fair share, as Tory emphasized in making his tolls pitch during a speech on Nov. 24.

There was little uproar from Torontonians. Politicians representing 905-belt residents, however, were furious. Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown went on the attack, declaring that families cant afford this new toll tax. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath joined him in urging Wynne to refuse to pass the regulations.

Were not going to do that, Wynne shot back Dec. 6, accusing Brown of having no plan for building transit or for building transportation infrastructure in this province and no plan for where the funding would come from.

Inside the government, however, tolls were a tough sell. Liberal MPPs abstained when opposition MPPs voted against tolls.

On Dec. 13, Toronto city council embraced tolls 32-9. Torys office notified Wynnes people, who warned of a caucus problem over tolls.

The third week of December, Wynnes people told Torys office the internal opposition was serious, but they proposed a possible solution: Wynne could double gas tax revenue for all municipalities and, during the spring session, pass regulations allowing tolls only after SmartTrack and RER are built.

Torys staff was thrilled with the extra revenue  one called it historic  and they dubbed the plan Tolls Plus. They were fine with delayed toll implementation, unsure if Wynnes office realized the Gardiner would have been under construction from 2019 to 2023, making toll introduction unlikely then anyway.

In the new year, Torys staff pressed provincial counterparts for details of what would be in the regulations.

At the same time, several MPPs, who had got an earful over Christmas, were passing it on to Wynne. They were already taking enough heat on hydro bills and didnt need another affordability issue. Wynne, however, was unconvinced. Sources say she sees the benefits of road pricing  as do some of her advisers.

On Jan. 17, a day before Wynnes cabinet meeting, city manager Peter Wallace informally talked through how toll regulations could work with Steve Orsini, Wynnes top civil servant. The next day, Wynne faced her cabinet.

Three 905-belt ministers strongly made the case for blocking tolls. They were hearing more about tolls at doorsteps than hydro bills. Seats could be lost, some ministers and MPPs might not even seek re-election if tolls were on their horizon.

Tory staffers eagerly awaited word. It came that evening when Wynne phoned Tory while he was at the opening of the research and development office of e-commerce company Shopify. The Liberal government would not pass any toll regulations.

Wynne said it was not up for debate, that it was a very, very difficult place that she was in, said a member of Torys staff with knowledge of the discussion.

I guess our assumption was that if a premier with a majority government wanted it to happen, it would happen. And it didnt, the staffer said.

Although Wynne was promising Toronto $170 million per year in new gas tax revenue by 2021  if her government was re-elected  it made no sense for us without the regs, the official said. We werent going to trade away our municipal autonomy for $170 million. It had to be both tolls and gas tax. Over the long term, tolls would earn the city more than $170 million per year.

On Friday, as Tory waited at city hall to fire back, Wynne said in Richmond Hill: I know that people are having a hard time keeping up with the rising cost of living. I hear it from people everywhere I go.

Wynnes press secretary, Jennifer Beaudry, in an email Saturday, would not discuss a detailed timeline presented by the Star, saying cabinet and caucus decision-making is confidential.

However, I would like to reiterate what Premier Wynne said yesterday: In all of my conversations with Mayor Tory Ive talked about the need for options and Ive talked about timing. Right from the beginning of this process Ive talked about those conditions that needed to be in place and theyre not in place and you know the fact that we are doubling the gas tax for the municipalities in the GTHA and around the province I think is a pretty clear indication that we are listening to municipalities, that we want that supportive relationship and that we will continue to work with them. 

Don Peat, Torys communications director, said in an email: We are now $170 million closer to a solution but the mayor has made it clear we need to know the provinces plan to increase support to our city, especially for child care, waterfront redevelopment and housing.

The mayor was always prepared to accept that tolls couldnt be implemented until some transit improvements were made. Providing the regulation needed to toll this spring and agreeing to double the gas tax was presented to the city as a way to appease the 905 MPPs while addressing Torontos bold request. It also would have helped to address any concerns about available transit options.

Tory wanted only a simple regulation change and was prepared to suffer the slings and arrows of tolls to get sustainable funding, Peat added.

As for Tory and Wynnes partnership: Mayor Tory remains dedicated to building the infrastructure that Toronto residents need to improve their daily commutes.

Tory and Wynne have their next monthly meeting on Monday.

With files from Robert Benzie

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TOKYOIt has been nearly 250 years since a woman last held the title to Japans Chrysanthemum Throne, and almost that long since an emperor abdicated the position.

Now, as Japan moves to accommodate Emperor Akihitos desire to give up the throne before he dies, many Japanese believe it is also time to clear the way for a woman to reign again someday.

In August, Emperor Akihito, 83, signalled that he wanted to step down, telling the nation that he worried he would not be able to fulfil his duties much longer.

The Imperial Household Law, which governs the succession of emperors in the worlds oldest monarchy, makes no provision for abdication. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abes governing party indicated this month that it would consider one-time legislation to let the emperor give up the throne.

Polls show that a vast majority of the Japanese public believes that the law should be permanently overhauled, not just superseded once. Whats more, the bulk of respondents said that the law, which has been in place since 1947, should also be changed to admit women as rightful heirs to the throne.

This month, when a government-appointed panel tacitly recommended special legislation that would allow only Emperor Akihito to abdicate, it made no mention of the possibility of admitting women as heirs to the throne. Abe, a conservative, has not explicitly spoken on the subject either.

The issue remains contentious among conservative supporters of Abes governing Liberal Democratic Party, who fear that opening the Imperial Household Law to more permanent change would force a debate on female succession. They consider the male line of succession to be sacrosanct.

The Japanese imperial systems value does not lie in the blood of the current incumbent of the emperors throne, but the value is put in the blood that exists in a long lineage, said Hidetsugu Yagi, professor of constitutional law at Reitaku University. Repeating this male lineage is the value of the Japanese imperial system.

If the current emperor is allowed to abdicate, he will be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56. If the Imperial Household Law changes to allow female successors, next in line would be the crown princes only child, Princess Aiko, 15. Under current law, his successor would be his nephew, Prince Hisahito, 10, the only boy of his generation in the imperial family.

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CHICAGO  On Friday afternoon, a group of suburban synagogue members clustered at Chicago OHare International Airport, waiting to greet one of the last Syrian refugee families to be accepted in the United States, to give them the warmest possible welcome to a country that no longer wanted their kind.

In Washington, the presidential limousine was already speeding toward the Pentagon, where U.S. President Donald Trump would sign a paper officially slamming the door shut on Syrian refugees. But here the volunteers had yellow roses, more warm coats than the newcomers would need and, a few miles away, an apartment ready with a doormat that said welcome in 17 languages.

Welcome to chicag Hope you make your selfs at home, said a sign made by one of the youngest members of the group.

Whatever the new president said about the supposed dangers of Syrian refugees, the volunteers, who knew almost nothing about the family they were about to welcome, instantly identified with them anyway. They had already committed to helping guide and care for the newcomers for six months.

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Some of the volunteers were children or grandchildren of refugees.

The Syrian family, and the presidents orders, were coming on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, some of the volunteers noted with tears in their eyes. A hundred synagogue members had contributed in some way to helping resettle the Syrians: renting an apartment steps from a playground, assembling a vacuum cleaner, lining up juice boxes in the refrigerator.

Some of the synagogue members had signed on instinctually, so the Syrians would be helped the way their own parents or grandparents had been aided when they arrived in the United States. Others had joined as a way of countering Trump  just a few of the many Americans, of varied backgrounds, reacting with shock, outrage and concern to his curtailment of the countrys long-established refugee resettlement system.

The Statue of Liberty has always been our symbol of welcome, Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein, the groups leader, said at the airport. It feels like Trump turned off the light, he said.

At the Pentagon on Friday, the preparations for the presidents actions were orderly: High-level officials gathered in a room called the Hall of Heroes, and photographers assembled. But around the country, refugees, resettlement workers and volunteers expressed panic. Resettlement workers did not know if they would have jobs once Trumps refugee and immigration plans have been fully carried out. Volunteers wondered what they would do with furniture and money they had collected for refugees who were supposed to arrive soon.

Resettlement agencies said that volunteers had been swarming their offices and that even more had surfaced last week when Trumps specific plans became public. When the International Refugee Assistance Project put out a call for lawyers to help new arrivals in danger of being turned away, it received 3,000 volunteers in four hours, said Becca Heller, the organizations director.

People are desperate to help refugees as a way to counter these discriminatory policies, she said.

As the minutes passed at OHare, the volunteers checked the time again, tense with the knowledge that Trump was about to commit pen to paper. The family they were awaiting had flown into Washington the night before, meaning they had cleared immigration with less than a day to spare. But the volunteers said they would not be able to exhale until the newcomers landed in Chicago. The flight was delayed, they heard. They glanced at the time on their phones again.

As soon as the Syrian family of four stepped into the baggage claim area, the synagogue members surrounded them protectively, offering the flowers and signs, as a resettlement worker translated. Because they spoke no English, the newcomers wore tags around their necks, like Paddington Bear, so if they got lost, they could be identified.

In a moment, the two Syrian childrens arms were laden with gift bags of toys. The parents said they were too terrified to talk to a reporter, out of concern for family members, some still trapped in dangerous areas of Syria and others who had been cleared to travel to the United States but had not yet received plane tickets.

After hugs and snapshots and many professions of welcome and thanks, the group at the airport dispersed. The refugees headed to their new home with a few escorts, the synagogue members back to their far more stable lives. Just before they parted, Lowenstein gathered his congregants and gave them a charge.

If this is the last group of refugees to get in, we will show them the best of America, he said.

The family was driven to its new home, where a meal and a Syrian-style semolina cake were waiting. Members of the family said they had not checked the news since landing in the United States, and no one from the volunteer group told them what was about to happen. Moments before they arrived at the cozy, fully stocked apartment, Trump, wearing a U.S. flag pin, signed the orders in front of an audience of his advisers and Pentagon officials. As he finished, the clapping in the room was loud.

Behind him hung an oversize medal depicting the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of welcome.

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In 2016, the State Department issued 617,752 immigrant visas and 10,891,745 non-immigrant visas. About 5 per cent went to people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

With the stroke of a pen, U.S. President Donald Trump barred most citizens from seven mainly Muslim Middle Eastern and East African nations from entering the U.S. While the latest executive order of his week-old presidency delivers on a campaign pledge to strengthen Americas borders, it was denounced in advance by human rights groups as an attack on some of the worlds most vulnerable people and will alarm many in the Muslim world.

Under the order  which also placed a 120-day ban on virtually all refugee admissions  nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia wont be able to enter the U.S. for at least 90 days while officials determine what information is needed from other countries to safely admit visitors. While the order doesnt list the countries, it points to laws that cover those seven, which were provided by the White House. Most of the countries are home to conflict or Islamist insurgency, while the U.S. has sanctioned Iran for sponsoring terrorism. So, whats at stake?

Above all, the move will confirm the fears many had of Trump escalating tensions with the Muslim world, Ibrahim Fraihat, a professor of conflict resolution at the Doha Institute, said. With this act, its clear Trump intends to deliver on pledges that many in the region had hoped to dismiss as campaign rhetoric, he said. That means other stated intentions  including the incendiary idea of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to disputed Jerusalem from Tel Aviv  cant be brushed off, Fraihat said.

In an interview, Trump said he wanted to keep out people intent on carrying out tremendous destruction in the U.S. But the executive order is likely to do a very poor job of helping to counter terrorism, said Amir Handjani, a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council based in Dubai. Its more likely to hurt co-operation on terrorism rather than enhancing it, he said. If these countries feel that the U.S. government is shutting their citizens out, they have fewer incentives to collaborate.

In a briefing published Jan. 27, security analysts at The Soufan Group noted that no major terrorist plot or attack in the U.S. since 2001 has involved a perpetrator or plotter from six of the seven countries listed in the ban. A Somali immigrant wounded 10 people in September knife attack at a Minnesota mall that was claimed by Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), it said.

Extremists will use the ban as a recruiting tool, Fraihat said. It provides just the right message to bolster their argument that the U.S. is hostile to all Muslims, he said.

Citizens of Middle Eastern and African nations applying for a U.S. visa already face some of the most stringent documentation requirements. But thats very different from a blanket ban, Handjani said. It will be perceived as very un-American because you are discriminating against people based on country of origin and religion, he said. Relatives of U.S. citizens, students, academics, businessmen and those seeking medical care will be shut out for now. In 2015, the last year for which full official data is available online, citizens of the seven nations were granted a total of 89,387 non-immigrant and immigrant visas.

The order bans entry of aliens from the nations, leaving room for strict interpretation, said the National Iranian American Council, a Washington-based advocacy and civil rights group. If the Trump administration takes a broad interpretation of this order, U.S. permanent resident aliens and dual nationals who arent U.S. citizens and holding a passport from one of these countries may be prevented from entering or re-entering the U.S., it said in a report.

Irans inclusion comes at a sensitive time. Trump and leading members of his Cabinet oppose the 2015 nuclear deal that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. And with Iran holding a presidential election in May, any spike in tensions between the foes could swing support behind hard-line critics of President Hassan Rouhani.

Iranian officials say theyll reserve judgment on Trump until he rolls out policies. So the visa ban may come to be seen as sending the first signal as to how the new administration will treat Iran, Handjani said. Its likely to be interpreted as a provocation and a backdoor way to pressure the Iranian government, he said. The order certainly doesnt do anything to convince Iranians that the Trump administration has any interest in reducing tensions with Iran, said Trita Parsi, author of the forthcoming book Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy, and president of the National Iranian American Council. It will add fuel to arguments of Iranian hardliners who will point to Irans compromise as part of the nuclear accord and say look what it generated: this extremely negative response against Iranian people.

U.S. allies in the Middle East mostly escaped being covered by the order, with the exception of Iraq, a nation that has probably suffered more than any other at the hands of Daesh jihadists and is a key American military partner. Neither Saudi Arabia, 15 of whose nationals were among the 19 men who hijacked aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001, nor Egypt, which is fighting its own Islamist insurgency in Sinai, were subject to the action.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are on opposing sides in many of the regions major conflicts, such as those in Syria and Yemen. Speaking last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said he would work with Trump toward containing Iran. Saudi opposed the nuclear agreement, which has unlocked Irans oil exports, and cut diplomatic relations.

Theres little commerce between the U.S. and the seven nations, most of which are either at war or poor  or both. American citizens and entities are already barred from working with Iran under sanctions not removed by the 2015 accord. But Trumps order will further worry global investors considering a move into Iran but who fear running afoul of U.S. policy toward the country. Any investor whos risk averse or who has significant interest in also maintaining good relations with the U.S. is going to pause and wait six months to see what happens, said a Western diplomat based in the Gulf, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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WASHINGTONAs much of the world alternated between gasping at this weeks White House news and taking mental health breaks from it, Bobby Steele was soaking it in, gleeful.

Steele supported Donald Trump from the beginning, and the new president was doing exactly what he had promised.

He dont talk about getting things done. He gets em done, said Steele, 53, a grocery store manager in northwest Florida. He told you on the campaign trail what he was going to do, and day one, he started doing it.

A week into his tenure, Trump has managed to validate his supporters biggest hopes while also confirming his critics worst fears.

For voters who sought a conservative-nationalist shock to the liberal-multilateralist order, he has done nothing to worry them. For voters who worried that he might blow up the planet in a petty rage, he has done nothing to reassure them.

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Trump has acted swiftly on several of his key campaign promises, even some of the ones his allies had suggested were mere strategic metaphors. Through a blitz of executive orders on immigration, Muslims, trade and health care, he has made clear that he intends to govern as he ran.

And through a stream of needless lies, outlandish boasts and impulsive fury-tweets, he has made clear that he intends to serve as commander-in-chief while behaving as unsteadily as he did when he was running.

The first polls of his tenure reflect what is shaping up to be a historically divisive early presidency. In one of them, by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, Trump had an 81-per-cent approval rating among Republicans and a 4-per-cent approval rating among Democrats.

Here are 12 things we learned from Donald Trumps first week in office:

The incredible, exhausting Trump Show

Just before Trump took office, senior adviser Kellyanne Conway made this prediction: In one weeks time, youre definitely going to feel this is President Trumps government.

She was right, both about substance and style. Trump is making sweeping changes to Barack Obama policies while also burying Obamas orderly no drama era in a blizzard of intentional and accidental diversions. This is the presidency as 24-hour reality show, a spectacle that insists on being watched even when you know you should just go for a soothing walk, and there is simply too much happening for the media to communicate, let alone the casual news consumer to comprehend.

It is just not possible for a person with a life and a job outside of politics to understand what is happening in politics right now, former Obama speech writer Jon Lovett wrote on Twitter.

Trump wasnt just posturing

During and right after the campaign, some of Trumps most prominent backers argued that some of his policies, like his wall on the Mexican border and his border ban on Muslims, were supposed to be taken as symbols, not actual policy.

Trump, though, is actually trying to deliver. He has ordered the construction of a wall, though it wont be as tall as he claimed and though many specifics remain unresolved. Though he hasnt imposed a full ban on Muslim entry, he is restricting the movement of even permanent residents and Canadian dual citizens hailing from seven Muslim-majority countries.

This is not to say he has been wholly consistent with his campaign rhetoric. After denouncing the influence of Goldman Sachs, he has hired at least five people from the Wall Street firm. After saying he would take action on a bunch of major issues on day one, he has done nothing on most of them through week one. But the week should be the end of the silly debate about whether to take Trump literally. The answer is absolutely.

The fringe is now running the world

It was far from the most significant part of Trumps executive action on immigration, but it was probably the most telling: an order to publish a comprehensive weekly list of crimes committed by illegal immigrants in so-called sanctuary cities where local leaders try to protect them from deportation.

Breitbart, the formerly fringe-right website led until last year by Trumps chief strategist Steve Bannon, has a page devoted to black crime. Now the White House is planning to have a page devoted to the crimes of largely Hispanic undocumented people. This is an administration less interested in unity than in the grievances of its base.

The president is detached from facts

When Trump started rambling again about how millions of illegal voters cost him a victory in the popular vote, many Democrats saw a pretext for Republicans to eventually make it harder for minorities to vote.

Perhaps. But possibly even more startling is this: by all indications, Trump really believes this nonsense. The president is a conspiracy theorist, susceptible to elaborate idiocy from crackpots.

The president is preoccupied with popularity

The headlines were straight out of a satire about an unhinged strongman: President Trump boasts of biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning won Super Bowl, Trump Calls Inauguration Crowd Massive, Says God Shielded Event From Rain, Trump pressured Park Service to find proof for his claims about inauguration crowd. They were all accurate. Even after becoming the most powerful person in the world, even after earning one of the most improbable upset wins of all time, a man long fixated on exacting revenge for perceived disrespect is still obsessed with showing the world how beloved he is.

The president is going to profit

Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort doubled its membership fee. The head of Trump Hotels said he is planning a major expansion in U.S. cities. A business lobby group suddenly shifted a meeting to Trumps Vancouver hotel.

Ethics experts say Trump needs to sell his company to avoid conflicts of interest. Because he is merely transferring control to his sons, retaining ownership, he will make a lot of money off of his position.

Unorthodox style, conventional policy

Part of Trumps appeal to many voters was his indifference to traditional ideology. On some issues  Russia, free trade, infrastructure spending  he still deviates from the standard Republican line. On numerous important files, though, he has suggested he will govern as a conventional conservative  giving tax cuts to the rich, cutting funding to Planned Parenthood, slashing regulations on business. His unorthodox rhetoric can be wrongly confused for unorthodox governing.

TV is key

Big corporations spend millions trying to get access to the president and his team. The most effective thing they can do, though, might be to get invited on a morning or evening show. Trump  who does not read books, the New York Times casually noted this week  has continued to watch TV religiously, and he sometimes acts immediately on what he hears. Minutes after a Fox News guest spoke of carnage in Chicago, Trump used the same word and threatened to send in the feds.

Canada is flying under the radar

Its the nightmare of Canadian diplomats in Washington: an American government simultaneously focused on border threats and the downside of free trade. So far, though, the Trump-era discussion has ignored us. As noted by The Canadian Press, Trumps Border Security executive action contained 19 references to the Mexican border and zero to the Canadian border.

They have found a useful enemy

Trump is at his political best when he has an enemy to rail against. In the absence of a campaign opponent, he has settled on one of the few American entities less popular than he is: the media. The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while, Bannon told the New York Times, adding: The media here is the opposition party. That he was clearly intending to bait the media into a reaction does not make the words less chilling.

Facts and science are under threat

America elected a man who came to political prominence promoting an obvious lie about Obama. Unsurprisingly, his administration began with a deluge of obvious lies. America elected a man who believes the fact of global warming is a hoax invented by China. Unsurprisingly, his administration has moved immediately to muzzle environmental scientists, refusing to let them release even routine data to the public without Trump appointees reviewing it first.

There is an opposition

To the dismay of some of the party base, elected Democrats have not seemed to figure out how or when to try to fight Trump. But the base itself is alive and energized, if frequently despondent. The massive post-inauguration womens marches served as a reminder that a unified Republican government does not mean Trump will be unopposed.

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GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBAOn a day when protesters chanted in front of the White House and an American commando was killed in the first counterterrorism raid under the Trump administration, Nasser al Awlaki was once again mourning the death of grandchild he says was murdered by U.S. forces.

Awlaki told the Toronto Star in a telephone interview from Sanaa, Yemen, that his 8-year-old granddaughter was shot in the neck and killed during a raid by American special forces early Sunday.

In 2011, it was the death of his 16-year-old grandson, Abdurahman, an American citizen, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack that sparked controversy both in Sanaa and Washington.

The childrens father was Anwar al Awalki, was a U.S.-born Yemeni ideologue, whose online videos inspired dozens of young Muslims to join armed jihad and encouraged plots in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. He was killed in a separate 2011 U.S. strike, which former president Barack Obama personally approved.

On Sunday, the Pentagon confirmed that an operation had taken place in Yemens Baydah province against alleged members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)  reportedly by the Navys SEAL Team 6  where one service member was killed and four others injured. A U.S. military aircraft had to be destroyed after making a crash landing near the target.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members, U.S. Central Command Gen. Joseph Votel said in a statement. The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe.

The statement said the operation killed an estimated 14 AQAP members and claimed information was gathered that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.

But an unnamed senior American official speaking to the New York Times denied reports that there were civilian casualties.

Denying what? There are pictures, Nasser Awlaki said. Eight women were killed and four children. There are other civilians.

Denials and confusion about civilian deaths often followed aerial or ground attacks under both the Bush and Obama administrations, especially in remote locations in Yemen, Somalia or Pakistan where there is an Al Qaeda presence.

Obama officials never explained the October 2011 killing of Abdurahman Awlaki, although anonymous sources told various U.S. media outlets that he was a lethal mistake. A week after his death, the Washington Post reported that the teenager had been near senior AQAP leader Ibrahim al Banna.

Little was known about the fate of Banna until just earlier this month when the U.S. State Department confirmed that he was still alive. There is $5 million reward was offered for information on his whereabouts.

Awlaki did not apologize for his sons radical views, telling the Star in a 2012 interview from his home in Sanaa that he had worked hard to insulate his grandchildren. He strived to give them a normal life after their father went into hiding in 2009 and became increasingly extreme.

Abdurahman had run away to try to find his father when he was killed.

Awalki said his granddaughter was visiting her mother this weekend when the raid took place. She was in the house asleep, as commandos stormed in he said.

The Associated Press, quoting unnamed Yemeni and tribal officials, said three senior AQAP leaders were among the dead: Sultan and Abdul-Raouf al Dhahab and Seif al Nims. The al Dhahab family are the in-laws of Anwar Awlaki and Abdul-Raouf Dhahab had reportedly been targeted by the U.S. in the past.

A resident of the area who spoke with Reuters on the condition of anonymity said the dawn raid began with a bomb on the al Dhahab house and then helicopters flew up and unloaded paratroopers at his house.

Next, the gunmen opened fire at the U.S. soldiers who left the area.

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ARSAL, LEBANONA frigid wind rips across the mountaintop as Col. Ahmed Assir, a commander in the Lebanese Armys Ninth Infantry Brigade, peers into the valley below. The restive town of Arsal lies at the bottom, inside an army cordon set up two years ago after a brief Daesh takeover.

I ask him where the Daesh fighters are now. He points to the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the town that form Lebanons border with Syria. Its a few kilometres away.

Its empty, he replies. They can have it. Like dogs.

Hes talking tough, but hes also begrudgingly acknowledging the jihadists control Lebanese territory.

Im travelling with the Ninth Brigade around Arsal, on Lebanons mountainous northeastern border with Syria. In August 2014, fighters from Daesh  also known as ISIS and ISIL  and the formerly al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fateh al-Sham stormed out of the mountains and overran the town, winning a stunning victory.

But it was short-lived. During five days of fierce fighting, the army wrested back control. In the end, 17 soldiers, dozens of militants and at least 42 civilians were dead.

The defeated fighters were pushed out, but they didnt go far. Thousands of them dug into the outskirts of town, taking refuge in the caves and natural defences of the mountains between here and the Syrian border.

The battle came with another cost: the jihadists kidnapped 29 Lebanese police officers and soldiers on their way out. Four have since been executed; several are still being held.

Last February, then-foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion announced a Canadian mission to stabilize Lebanon. He warned it was at a tipping point and needed Canadian help to avoid collapse as it struggles with the pressures of the Syrian civil war next door. It is part of Canadas revamped mission to counter Daesh, put in motion after Canada pulled out of airstrikes against the group when Justin Trudeau came to power.

So far Lebanon has weathered the storm, but containing Syrias chaos is an ongoing struggle. There have been bombings, arrests of jihadist leaders and foiled terror plots, all linked to Daesh. As state infrastructure buckles under the enormous strain of the refugee influx, Lebanons warm welcome is cooling. One in four people in Lebanon are now Syrian refugees.

Foreign aid has poured in to ease the burden. But against the towering needs of Syrias displaced, the response falls short. In an interview, UNICEFs chief of field operations for Lebanon said that as of November  almost years end  just 50 to 60 per cent of the groups annual appeal had been funded.

Canadas contribution is a $1.6-billion development and security package (spread over three years) for Lebanon and Jordan  another Mideast ally deemed at risk of collapse.

Signs of the crisis are on full display in Arsal. Originally home to some 30,000 people, it now hosts an additional 60,000 to 90,000 Syrian refugees. Looking down from the army position in the mountains, clusters of white refugee tents dominate the town.

One of Canadas principal aims in Lebanon is to promote social cohesion between Syrian refugees and their Lebanese hosts. But with refugees vastly outnumbering locals in Arsal, and a widely held belief that refugees are sheltering jihadi fighters, the relationship has coarsened. Last summer the municipality imposed a curfew requiring refugees to stay inside between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Today, 5,000 Lebanese troops surround the town, imposing what one conflict monitoring group said amounts to a virtual siege. Driving through the narrow, barely passable mountain roads surrounding Arsal, army outposts are visible every kilometre or so. Sandbag barricades, tanks and artillery guns dot the barren, rocky landscape.

Hardly a day passes up here without exchanges of fire between militants and the Lebanese army. Col. Assir says enemy fighters regularly creep to within range of army positions and open fire with U.S.-made TOW missiles or rocket-propelled grenades.

When its light out and were looking down from these positions and see groups in the mountains, we fire at any target we see, Assir says.

Canada has been quietly busy here over the last year. Canadas Department of National Defence recently confirmed a Canadian Forces team is on the ground in Lebanon, planning a training mission for Lebanese soldiers.

Then in December, Dion stopped in Lebanon to announce plans to fund a forward operating base near the Syrian border. Thats on top of an earlier joint commitment with the United Kingdom to pay for surveillance towers to monitor the border and help bring it fully under Lebanese control.

Canada is also supplying the poorly equipped army with winter gear.

France, the United Kingdom and the United States are also big donors. With Iraq and Syrias future as viable states increasingly in question, theres an international effort underway to prove a multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian democracy can still exist in this corner of the Middle East.

It appears to be working. In Arsal, the army has clawed back territory from the jihadists, arrested Daesh leaders and overall levels of violence are down. For now, the threat appears mostly contained.

But challenges persist. In addition to the fighters lodged in the outskirts of town, the army says more are still hiding among the local population.

In October, militants on motorcycles shot and killed a Lebanese soldier outside his home in Arsal. For Assir and his men, it was a reminder of the armys limited control. We can go in sometimes, but if we go in too often they will remember us and plant a bomb under our car.

Most of the soldiers in our escort wear balaclavas to hide their identities, and Im forbidden from photographing their faces.

Despite the militant presence inside Arsal, the army is hesitant to enter in force to flush them out, fearing another round of open fighting and condemnation from the international community.

We obey international law, so we cant just go in and kill them all, because we cant afford the legal consequences.

Instead, the army maintains a perimeter around Arsal, mining intelligence networks until they receive word a Daesh leader is inside the town. Then they conduct raids and make arrests. One such raid in late November netted a Daesh commander and 10 other militants.

They use similar tactics against weapons smugglers and money mules trying to move large amounts of cash for the militants. Before the attacks, Arsal was a major crossing for refugees, jihadist fighters and gunrunners, but Assir says the army has mostly put an end to that.

As we drive through a checkpoint on the edge of town, Assir clarifies the armys approach.

Its like a border now, Assir says, gesturing toward the empty street crossing. A buffer zone. Anyone who wants to leave should be checked. If youre an illegal refugee you can stay here, but you cant cross further into Lebanon.

Its a frank acknowledgement that the towns limits  which are not a border  have become a corral for refugees and potential terrorists.

Critics say the army has essentially ceded Arsal to jihadists, allowing them to stay put as long as they keep a low profile. But with the town surrounded and access strictly limited, Arsals townspeople are stuck inside with them.

Whenever theres a security problem, they let it fester to the extent that the solution is to turn it into an enclave and close it off, says Sahar Atrache, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.

What they dont understand is that by inflicting this exclusion on Arsal, its creating lots of resentment in the population. It will sooner or later backfire.

She says Canada should promote a more humanitarian, community-based approach by the army.

Asked about the armys relationship with the townspeople, Col. Assir responds confidently. It is excellent. They love that the army is here.

Not everyone seems to think so. Human Rights Watch researcher Lama Fakih told me her organization documented allegations of torture by the army against Syrian and Lebanese terror suspects detained in Arsal. They say the torture extracted false confessions, which were then used to win convictions in military trials.

Fakih says Canada should be auditing assistance to the army to ensure its not supporting violations of international law.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said Canada does audit programming provided to Lebanon, but refused to confirm whether the department is aware of the allegations or answer direct questions about them.

We engage on an ongoing basis with Lebanese authorities on a variety of issues, including those that relate to human rights, Michael OShaughnessy said.

Heading out of Arsal in the late afternoon, we lurch back and forth inside the army jeep as our convoy bounces down an impossibly bumpy military access road. Passing a deep quarry, a large cave opening comes into view on our right. Its about six metres across.

Theyre all over the mountains, Assir says. These natural shelters are what make it so hard to root them out.

I ask him what he thinks its going to take to get rid of them for good.

He thinks for a moment.

Politics, he says. When we have a good government in Syria we can communicate with, you can get them out very easily.

Its an optimistic thought. But with major obstacles to a peace agreement, stable governance there isnt exactly on the horizon.

Col. Assir and his men may yet be out here a very long time.

Corbett Hancey is a Gordon Sinclair Foundation Reporting Fellow.

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Canadians who hold dual citizenship from a long list of countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump will be allowed to travel to and from the United States, but what the ban means for people who have yet to complete the citizenship process is less clear.

Trumps sweeping executive order banning people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen caused chaos and confusion and resulted in large protests at U.S. airports yesterday as migrants, refugees and people with valid green cards were detained, or sent out of the country.

In Washington, the Trump administration showed no sign early Sunday of backing down from the executive order, despite global outcry and late court orders that immediately blocked enforcement of the ban to varying degrees.

Despite those judicial rulings in several cities across the U.S. overnight, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement early Sunday that it would continue to implement https://www.thestar.com/news/donald-trump.htmlU.S . President Donald TrumpENDs action.

The statement said simultaneously that the administration will comply with judicial orders and that the order remained in place.

Prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety, the statement said. No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States or to demand immigration benefits in the United States.

Early Sunday morning, Trump tweeted: Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!

Some Republicans are speaking out against Trumps executive order  albeit to varying degrees.

Its unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry, said Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. Edward R. Royce supports Trumps ban. Pausing the intake of refugees from terror hot spots is the right call to keep America safe, he said. I hope cases of individuals with visas travelling as this executive action went into effect  including some who served alongside U.S. troops  will be resolved quickly.

Trumps former Republican nomination opponent, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner has reservations.

While I am supportive of strengthening our screening processes and securing our borders, a blanket travel ban goes too far, said Gardner, in a statement. I also believe that lawful residents of the United States should be permitted to enter the country.

I urge the Administration to take the appropriate steps to fix this overly broad executive order.

Canadians with dual citizenship, after a day fraught with anxiety and fuelled by mixed messages and few answers, only learned they would be exempt from the ban late Saturday night. That conformation came through a message relayed from U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to the media by Canadas Washington embassy.

The prime minister instructed our National Security Adviser, Daniel Jean, who was in touch over the course of the day with NSA Flynn to seek further clarification, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus office told reporters.

Flynn confirmed that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban. We have been assured that Canadian citizens travelling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process.

In Canada, the severity of the ban coupled with a lack of precise information generated significant alarm, as community leaders struggled to determine what the new rule might mean, not only for Canadians holding dual-citizenship, but also holding permanent residence cards or in the country on work permits.

Bijan Ahmadi, the president of the Iranian Canadian Congress, told the Star that on Saturday morning that they were receiving unverified reports that Iranian Canadians were not being allowed entry into the U.S. He said the Canadian government must issue a clear statement detailing precisely who will be impacted by the ban and resoundingly condemn Trumps decision.

We believe it is a discriminatory policy that targets people based on their country of origin and their race and even religion, rather than any credible security assessment of each case, said Ahmadi.

Read more:

Canadian dual citizens exempted from Trumps travel ban

Syrian family arrived in U.S. just in time before Trump ban

American Muslims prepare to push back against Donald Trump

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security noted that less than 1 per cent of international air travellers arriving Saturday in the United States were inconvenienced by the executive order  though the situation described by lawyers and immigrant advocates across the country Saturday was one of widespread confusion and even chaos at airports where travellers from the targeted countries were suddenly detained.

The virtually unprecedented action does not apply only to migrants, refugees and U.S. legal residents  green-card holders  from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen; those subject to being denied entry include dual nationals or people born in one of the seven countries who hold passports even from U.S. allies, such as the United Kingdom.

Amid chaotic, sometimes conflicting, pronouncements from Trump advisers late Saturday and early Sunday, it remains unclear who is actually affected by the ban.

Federal courts began stepping in as requests for stays of Trumps actions were sought.

Late Saturday, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked deportations nationwide. Her ruling was followed by similar decisions by federal judges in Virginia, Seattle and Boston.

In Brooklyn, Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the deportations after determining that the risk of detainees being harmed if they were returned to their home countries necessitated the decision.

Next came a temporary restraining order by District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Va., who blocked for seven days the removal of any green-card holders detained at Dulles International Airport. Brinkemas action also ordered that lawyers have access to those held there because of the ban.

And just before 2 a.m. Sunday in Boston, two federal judges ruled for two University of Massachusetts Dartmouth associate professors  Iranian nationals who are permanent legal residents in the United States  who were held at Logan International Airport when they landed after travel for an academic conference.

The Boston Globe reported that the judges also imposed a seven-day restraining order on Trumps executive action.

The order triggered harsh reactions from not only Democrats and others who typically advocate for immigrants but also key sectors of the U.S. business community. Leading technology companies recalled scores of overseas employees and sharply criticized the president. Legal experts forecast a wave of litigation over the order, calling it unconstitutional. Lawyers and advocates for immigrants are advising them to seek asylum in Canada.

Yet Trump, who centred his campaign in part on his vow to crack down on illegal immigrants and impose what became known as his Muslim ban, was unbowed. As White House officials insisted that the measure strengthens national security, the president stood squarely behind it.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared, Trump told reporters Saturday in the Oval Office. You see it at the airports, you see it all over. Its working out very nicely, and were going to have a very, very strict ban, and were going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.

In New York, Donnelly seemed to have little patience for the governments arguments, which focused on the fact that the two defendants named in the lawsuit had already been released.

Donnelly noted that those detained were suffering mostly from the bad fortune of travelling while the ban went into effect. Our own government presumably approved their entry to the country, she said at one point, noting that, had it been two days earlier, those detained would have been granted admission without question.

During the hearing, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt informed the court that he had received word of a deportation to Syria, scheduled within the hour. That prompted Donnelly to ask whether the government could assure that the person would not suffer irreparable harm. Receiving no such assurance, she granted the stay to the broad group included in the ACLUs request.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official said late Saturday that 109 people had been denied entry into the United States. All had been in transit when Trump signed the order, he said, and some had already departed the United States on flights by late Saturday while others were still being detained awaiting flights. Also, 173 people had not been allowed to board U.S.-bound planes at foreign airports.

In the wake of the first two judicial rulings late Saturday, cheers erupted at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia as a couple emerged from the grey doors blocking the Customs and Border Protection screening area. Go see the lawyers! about 150 protesters chanted, directing them toward a throng of volunteer lawyers.

The young woman was teary as she pushed a full luggage cart toward the terminal exit. Another woman, who also was crying, ran up to her. Im looking for my parents! They are elderly!

Javad Fotouha said he is Iranian but has a green card. He said he and his wife had been detained for four hours after landing at Dulles about 6:30 p.m.

We saw elderly people and disabled people being detained, Fotouha said.

He said he and his wife had read on their phones during their layover in Istanbul that Trump had signed the executive order about five hours earlier. Yes, I was scared, Fotouha said.

At 11:35 p.m., about 80 protesters and lawyers started chanting Contempt of court! and Let them in! as lawyers said officials were ignoring the federal judges order requiring that they have access to people being detained.

Fatemeh Ebrahimi, an Iranian who lives in Montgomery County, Md., was released at Dulles just before midnight, following a nearly six-hour wait with her two children after their plane landed. She said they travelled to Iran 10 days ago to celebrate birthdays with friends and family.

Ebrahimi said she has a green card, and her children, ages 21 and 7, are U.S. citizens. Her son emerged in a wheelchair with his sister on his lap, saying authorities had given them soup to eat while they waited.

My kids are so tired right now, a weary-looking Ebrahimi said as she made her way through a thicket of lawyers and reporters toward the terminal doors. They just kept us waiting.

Shortly after midnight, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., emerged from a Dulles Airport hallway being guarded by police officers near the customs screening area. Speaking to a crowd of more than 100 protesters, Booker said federal officials had told him that the remaining detainees would be released momentarily.

Volunteer lawyers said one person remained to be released as of 12:30 a.m. The lawyers said others who had been released had told them two additional men had been handcuffed after they refused to give authorities their green cards, and their status was unknown. Lawyers said they still had not been permitted to speak with those being detained  what they called a violation of the federal judges court order.

Booker told protesters that he agreed with the attorneys and predicted a long, arduous and tough fight over the executive order. This is not a one-night thing, and its not a one-day thing, he said.

After most protesters and lawyers had gone home for the night, Binto Adan and her two young children, an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, emerged at 1:20 a.m. Sunday from the customs screening area. Adan ducked under the ropes lining the walkway and hugged two relatives who were waiting for them.

Adans daughter had tears in her eyes as her mother led the children toward the terminal exit. Adan did not speak to reporters, but one of her relatives said the family had endured a 17-hour ordeal.

A nephew of Adans, Najib Abi, said his aunt and her children arrived at Dulles at 8 a.m. Saturday from Kenya. They were supposed to transfer to another flight to live in Minnesota, where her husband was waiting for them. The family is Somali, but the children and their father are U.S. citizens, Abi said. Adan has an I-130 visa for relatives of U.S. citizens, he said.

Abi said immigration officials called his uncle Saturday, saying his wife and children were detained. Abi said his uncle was told that someone would need to retrieve the children by 9:30 a.m. Sunday or they would be sent back to Kenya with their mother.

Abi said he and other relatives arrived at Dulles from Minnesota late Saturday. He said Adan didnt have a cellphone. We werent allowed to talk to them, Abi said.

Then, without any explanation, Adan and her children were released.

As of 2 a.m., one Syrian woman was still detained at Dulles, said Mirriam Seddiq, a volunteer lawyer. Attorneys were told that the woman would be held overnight and would have an initial asylum hearing Sunday morning, Seddiq said.

The woman arrived at Dulles at 7 p.m. Saturday with a non-immigrant J2 visa, Seddiq said. Her husband is in the United States on a J1 visa for professional training, Seddiq said.

Several lawyers would spend the night at Dulles, Seddiq said, with more returning Sunday morning to try to get access to any international passengers detained.

A Customs and Border Protection official at Dulles told lawyers that they were awaiting directions from the Department of Homeland Securitys counsel office, Seddiq said.

Correction

An earlier version of this story misstated Donald Trumps nomination opponent from Colorado. The opponent was Sen. Cory Gardner.

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Global opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump intensified on Sunday as world leaders condemned the move to temporarily limit entry from what are predominantly Muslim countries, while Germany pledged to play a bigger role on the international stage.

World leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Trump and said their nations wont change their immigration policies.

Merkel expressed her concerns about a ban during a call with Trump on Saturday, according to a tweeted statement from spokesman Steffen Seibert. It is not justified to put people of a particular background or religious belief under general suspicion even as governments try to grapple with the threat of terrorism, the statement said. Merkel last week said Germany would continue to pursue a global agenda.

Read more:

Despite court order, Trump shows no sign of backing down on Muslim ban

You need to go back to your country: Travellers stories of Trumps Muslim ban

Worldwide chaos and fury as Trump's ban on migrants takes effect

The growing condemnation exposed dividing lines with U.S. allies and wasnt limited to the world of politics: Netflix Inc.s chief executive officer said the changes were un-American, while Alphabet Inc.s Google advised staff who may be impacted by the order to return to the U.S. immediately.

Two judges temporarily blocked Trumps administration late Saturday from enforcing portions of his order that would have led to the removal from U.S. airports of refugees, visa holders and legal U.S. residents from the seven countries. Neither ruling strikes down the executive order, which will now be subject to court hearings.

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW, Trump told his almost 23 million Twitter followers early Sunday. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!

Under the order, the admission of refugees would be suspended for 120 days. Citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya would be banned from entering the U.S. for 90 days, while the government determined what information it needed from other countries to safely admit visitors. The order didnt list the countries, but pointed to laws that cover those seven, which were provided by the White House.

The ban is a visible insult to Muslims and Iran will reciprocate with legal, consular and political undertakings, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said. Iran also summoned Switzerlands ambassador in Tehran in his capacity as the head of U.S. interests in the country, the Iranian Students News Agency reported. The U.S. and Iran havent had formal diplomatic ties since shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Trudeau, in a tweet, said Canada would welcome those fleeing persecution, terror and war. Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. A similar message was sent by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who said refugees deserve a safe haven regardless of their background or religion. Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said the decision was unfair.

We do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday in a statement, two days after meeting Trump to begin work on a trade accord. Her earlier refusal to condemn the order unleashed a flood of criticism in the U.K., including from some of her own Conservative Party colleagues.

Londons first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, on Facebook called the ban shameful and cruel and said the new policy flies in the face of the values of freedom and tolerance that the USA was built upon. Mexicos former president Vicente Fox said on Twitter that the executive order had united the world against Trump.

U.S. Democrats labelled it a Muslim ban and criticized it as inhumane. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., likened the order to the countrys slow response to the Holocaust prior to U.S. entry into the Second World War.

Faced with the humanitarian crisis of our time, the United States cannot turn its back on children fleeing persecution, genocide and terror, Durbin said in a statement calling Trumps order a ban on Muslims in the United States.

During the Holocaust we failed to fulfil our duty to humanity, he said. We cannot allow mindless fear to lead us into another regretful chapter in our history.

Trumps order would require the government to the extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution. Only people who are religious minorities in their countries would be eligible.

Absent from the order was a provision from a draft of the document, obtained by Bloomberg, that would have required the Defense Department to make a plan to create safe zones in Syria and neighbouring countries for people fleeing that nations civil war.

Syria is a majority Muslim nation, and U.S. officials say that Christians fleeing the countrys civil war have largely wound up at refugee processing centres in areas the U.S. government considers unsafe to work in.

State Department data show that 34 Syrian Christian refugees were admitted into the U.S. in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, and 39 so far in the current fiscal year. By comparison, 12,486 Muslim Syrians were admitted in fiscal 2016 and 4,772 so far this year.

There are Christians being processed, and processed at the same percentage at that which they apply for the program, Lavinia Limon, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, an advocacy group, said in a phone interview. So theyre moving through the process exactly in the same percentage.

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NEW YORKFamily reunions were blocked, refugees from war-torn countries were turned away and border agents detained scores of unsuspecting travellers at airports as the U.S. began a chaotic implantation of U.S. President Donald Trumps plan to fight terrorism by temporarily stopping citizens of seven nations from entering the country.

By Saturday night, a federal judge in New York had issued an order temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trumps travel ban took effect. But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out of the country in the coming weeks.

Among those caught in limbo: Iraqis who had been promised a life in America because of their service to the U.S. military, frail and elderly travellers from Iran and Yemen, and longtime U.S. residents travelling abroad who dont know if they will be allowed to return home.

Read more:

Refugees detained, migrants barred from travelling following Trumps ban

Canadian dual citizens exempted from Trumps travel ban

American Muslims prepare to push back against Donald Trump

Whats next? Whats going to happen next? asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?

Large protests erupted at airports throughout the country where travellers were being held, a day after Trump signed an order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. Trump also suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days.

Thousands of sign-waving people chanted and demanded that refugees be made welcome in the United States as lawyers and representatives of aid groups tried to assist people.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

No green-card holders had ultimately been prevented from entering the U.S. as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent long hours in detention before being allowed in. Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt.

Im so happy hes finally out. He says hes very tired, said his daughter Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears and speaking Farsi with her father.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the U.S. military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at New Yorks Kennedy Airport, following their arrivals Friday and Saturday.

He walked free midday Friday after his lawyers, two members of congress and as many as 2,000 demonstrators went to the airport to try and gain his release.

This is the soul of America, Darweesh told reporters after gaining his freedom, adding that the U.S. was home to the greatest people in the world.

Others were less lucky. Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, Iran, to visit her husband, only to be detained and told she had to go home.

She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates, said her husband Mohamad Zandian, 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University. He was hoping to get her out of the country on a late night flight to avoid her being jailed until Monday.

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the U.S. from summarily deporting people who had arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights.

Staff at U.S. agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the situation. They girded for wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from travelling to the U.S. Donnellys order did nothing to help those people gain entry.

Several staff who spoke to The Associated Press burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

Its complete chaos, said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the U.S. State Department.

Meathaq Alaunaibi, a refugee from Iraq who had settled with her husband, a son and a daughter last August in Tennessee, was hoping to be reunited soon with her twin 18-year-old daughters who are still in Baghdad. Now, shes unsure whether they will be able to come.

They are so worried and afraid because theyre stuck there in Baghdad, Alaunaibi said Saturday. They are young and they are strong, but I am crying all the time. I miss them.

An Iraqi in Mosul, an Iraqi city where the Daesh group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, had seized control, despaired at word that what he had thought was an imminent flight to safety in America was now cancelled, indefinitely.

If you can write to Mr. Trump or find any other way to help me reunite with my family, please, I am dying in Iraq, please, the man, whose identity was withheld because he is still in danger in Iraq, wrote back to his U.S. lawyer by email.

The order also caused confusion for longtime, legal U.S. residents travelling abroad.

Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist born in Syria who has lived in the U.S. for 16 years, left his home in New York City three weeks ago for a series of concerts that included a date with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Now, he doesnt know if he will be able to return home.

I dont know whats going on, Azmeh told The Associated Press by phone Saturday from Lebanon. It is home as much as Damascus, he said of New York City. I really dont know how to react.

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the U.S., said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups, who organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

In Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest had been co-ordinating a group of doctors, community leaders, a local mosque and other volunteers to resettle 15 Syrian families, including a 1-year-old and 5-year-old who arrived Tuesday.

Now, two fully outfitted apartments remain empty and its unclear when, if ever, the other refugees will be allowed to enter, said Marc Jacobs, chief executive of the Jewish service group.

Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Ind., said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving from Riyadh at Chicagos OHare International Airport on Saturday and, as a result, couldnt enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.

My mom was already having pain enough to go through this on top of the pain that shes having, Ulayyet said.

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Social media shook with emotion. Headlines shouted the news. Legal scholars debated the orders scope. But the most immediate effect of U.S. President Donald Trumps executive order barring refugees from entering the United States and halting entry from seven predominantly Muslim countries could be quantified on a human scale: refugees and other immigrants from those seven countries, some on their way to the United States on Friday when Trump signed the order, who were no longer able to enter the United States.

Here are some of their stories.

Fuad Shareefs family, Iraq

Hearing of Trumps plan to slam the door on Muslim immigrants this week, Shareef hurried his wife and three children onto a plane in Irbil, Iraq, early Saturday. They had been cleared to resettle in Nashville, Tenn.  a new life that Shareef considered a great opportunity. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Shareef worked as a translator with U.S. officials and received death threats. But after the Shareefs arrived in Cairo on Saturday, a check-in official spoke to Shareef.

He said they had just received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Shareef said. It said we could not get on the flight.

Speaking by phone from an airport lounge, Shareef said he had sold the family home and car. His wife had given up her job. His two daughters, 10 and 17, had quit school. He had spent $5,000 on flights.

I thought in America there are institutions, democracy, he said. This looks like a decision from a dictator. I dont understand.

Donald Trump ruined my life, he said.

Nisrin Omer, Sudan

Omer, 39, is a green card holder and has lived in the United States since 1993. She graduated from Harvard University and the prestigious Choate Rosemary Hall boarding school, which counts Ivanka Trump among its alumni. On Friday night Omer was detained at Kennedy International Airport in New York as she returned from Sudan, where she is a citizen, after a research trip for her anthropology Ph.D. at Stanford University.

Omer said customs officials were apologetic and appeared confused about what they were supposed to do with the detained travellers. I have to do this, one told her. For five hours they asked about her travels, her academic research and her views on Sudanese politics, which they admitted to knowing little about.

At one point, she said, they aggressively patted her down and handcuffed her. They removed the restraints when she began to cry, but the detainees brought in for questioning after her arrived in handcuffs, she said.

For the brief moment I was handcuffed, I couldnt control myself and I just started crying, Omer said. It was humiliating. I thought I was going to be returned to Sudan.

After Omer was released she said she felt like one of the lucky ones.

There are a lot of people being treated much worse or are being sent back, she said. If they get sent back to Iraq or Syria it is a life-or-death situation.

Ali Abdi, Iran

Abdi, 30, an Iranian Ph.D. student at Yale with permanent residency in the United States, said he left America on Jan. 22 for Afghanistan, where he planned to do field research for much of the next year. He had participated in the womens march in Washington the day before. Now, he said he was in legal limbo as he awaited a visa from the consulate of Afghanistan, unable to return to the United States even with a green card and fearful of returning to Iran because of his activism about human rights issues there.

Speaking by phone from Dubai, Abdi said his current visa limits his stay in the United Arab Emirates to about a month. The possibility that green card holders and refugees could be barred from the United States did not occur to him when he left, he said.

We didnt believe it really, that it was going to be implemented, he said. Maybe we were taking the Trump administration less seriously than it is.

Nada, Iraq

Nada, a Yazidi woman from Iraq, was on her way to be reunited with her husband, Khalas, who lives in Washington. The two of them, their last names not released, were granted Special Immigrant visas to the United States as part of a program created to help thousands of Iraqis with ties to the United States, according to the New Yorker. Khalas, a former interpreter for the U.S. army, was granted his visa in April. Nadas visa was approved about a week ago, and her passport on Thursday.

She was turned away, however, when she arrived at the gate for her flight in Dubai, wrote Kirk W. Johnson, founder and executive director of the List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies. The flight crew sent her back, Khalas texted Johnson, saying they got orders that no Iraqis with American visas should be boarded.

Sarah Assalis family, Syria

Assali, 25, a third-year medical student from Allentown, Penn., said six of her Syrian relatives had arrived in Philadelphia on a flight from Doha, Qatar, on Saturday morning, only to be detained and put on a flight back less than three hours later. The group had obtained family-based immigrant visas.

Assali said in a telephone interview that her six relatives  two uncles, two aunts and two teenage cousins, whom she did not name out of fear of endangering them or their case  are Christians who live in Damascus. Her father was on his way to pick up the relatives from the airport when he got a call from a customs official, she said, who said his family would not be leaving the airport. They told him theyre not coming out, and to just go back. Assali said. And that its confidential and he cant tell them why. They said it was an issue with their paperwork.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, Iraq

Darweesh, a husband and father of three who worked for the U.S. military in Iraq for about a decade, was detained after arriving at Kennedy Airport on Friday night. He was granted a special immigrant visa on Jan. 20. When he filed for it, he said he had been directly targeted because of his work for the United States as an interpreter, engineer and contractor.

Darweesh was released Saturday after lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal court seeking freedom for him, as well as for another Iraqi detained at the airport.

Speaking to reporters and some protesters who gathered outside Kennedy Airport, Darweesh called the United States the greatest nation in the world. He said he was thankful for the people who had worked on his behalf. This is the humanity, this is the soul of America, he said. This is what pushed me to move, leave my country and come here.

Hamaseh Tayari, United Kingdom

Tayari, a resident of the United Kingdom who holds an Iranian passport, was unable to get back to Glasgow, Scotland, where she works as a veterinarian, from Costa Rica, where she was vacationing, because her flight travelled through New York, according to The Guardian. Tayari grew up in Italy and told the newspaper that she had never experienced anything like it. She said it might cost her a months salary to book a new flight home.

I am destroyed, she said. I did not know that I could cry for so long. It feels like the beginning of the end. How this is possible? I am really afraid about what is going on.

Unnamed family of six, Syria

The family members have been living in a refugee camp in Turkey, and were scheduled to fly to the United States on Monday, according to US Together, a refugee resettlement agency quoted in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. The agency had found an apartment for them to rent with another family of Syrian refugees in Cleveland.

Those plans have been cancelled in the aftermath of Trumps order.

It was going to be really perfect, Danielle Drake, a community relations manager for US Together, told the newspaper. I cant even imagine how the family feels right now.

Seyed Soheil Saeedi Saravi, Iran

Saravi, a young scientist in Iran, had been scheduled to travel to Boston, where he was awarded a fellowship at Harvard to study cardiovascular medicine, according to Thomas Michel, the professor who was to supervise his research. Then the visas for Saravi and his wife were suspended, Michel said.

This outstanding young scientist has enormous potential to make contributions that will improve our understanding of heart disease, and he has already been thoroughly vetted, Michel wrote to The New York Times. This country and this city have a long history of providing research training to the best young scientists in the world, many of whom have stayed in the USA and made tremendous contributions in biomedicine and other disciplines.

Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, Iraq

Alshawi, who worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq, was detained after he landed Friday at Kennedy Airport. He had flown from Stockholm to New York, en route to Texas to see his wife and son.

He gave his package and his passport to an airport officer, and they didnt talk to him, they just put him in a room, his wife told The New York Times. He told me that they forced him to get back to Iraq. He asked for his lawyer and to apply for an asylum case. And they told him: You cant do that. You need to go back to your country.

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It is not unusual for the House of Commons to resume post-holidays, having reshuffled its front bench. What is unusual is that this governments recent reorganization is, for the most part, a reaction to an election which is not our own. This reasonable but somewhat disconcerting reality speaks to the systemic disruption at play in our political system as a direct result of the American election.

When the House of Commons adjourned on Dec. 14, Barack Obama was still the U.S. president while Donald Trump waited in the wings. Millions of women and men all over the world had not yet marched in opposition to Trumps policies and style. Stephane Dion was still the minister of Global Affairs. Chrystia Freeland was still the trade minister and John McCallum, the former immigration minister, had not yet been appointed ambassador to China. The Keystone pipeline was dead.

But in a few short weeks, disruption has become the current paradigm as the world scrambles to adjust to a reordering of alliances and partnerships. The isolationist password of America First, not seen since the 1930s, appears dismissive of the rest of the world while Trumps disruptive personality has already led to massive confusion. Four years of this type of turmoil will tax everyones patience.

Disruptive personalities are not new in politics. Toronto managed to cope, in spite of the often unruly behaviour of the late Rob Ford. The danger is that angry personalities may enable and empower others to act in a similar fashion.

The theory of disruption is not the same as a disruptive personality. Rather, it is a tool which generally applies to business, rather than politics. Donald Trump and Kevin OLeary, both businessmen, would have found disruption to be a familiar and innovative modus operandi when dealing with competitors, supply chains and consumer behaviour. However, Michael Kelly, the Dean of the Laziridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University notes that the theory might not be robust enough to handle the complexity of politics and government operations. In other words, a strategy of disruption might create a winning campaign, but a governing model requires discipline and focus.

All governments are used to unpredictability but with the additional uncertainty about Brexit, the continued aggression of Putin and the Chinese push for expanded influence, we have reached a new bar of uncertainty.

How does this churn affect our domestic politics? The statements in Question Period this week will begin to set a pattern as each leader attempts to find a winning narrative.

Justin Trudeau must continue to combine professional outreach to the Trump administration while simultaneously keeping a wary distance. The values that put the PM in office in the first place  values of inclusion and diversity  are not the values of the Trump administration. Fortunately, the PM has already drawn a welcome line of demarcation with his support of the womens march.

Secondly, the issue of Canadian sovereignty is looming on at least two fronts. The expected deregulation of the American economy could quickly lead to arguments for further integration between our two economies  an issue which has always been a flashpoint for many Canadians. Furthermore, the governments strategic interest in doing business with China must not be at the expense of human rights and national security, issues which even the Harper government articulated.

Rona Ambrose, as interim Opposition leader, is equally in a tricky position. As the May deadline for the Conservative leadership looms closer, she will be hard-pressed to keep control of the caucus and candidates, who have their own mini disruptors in OLeary and Kellie Leitch. Will they be able to throw a disruptive wrench into the Conservative party, tailoring it to their personal styles, as Stephen Harper did? Or will the party fight back in an effort to find its own identity again?

The NDP, who have traditionally been the party of protest, have been missing in action, after their decision to turn Tom Mulcair into a lame duck leader. But will the election of Trump and all he stands for throw them a life raft? Could it provide them with a new purpose? They too are hobbled by a leadership race but time may be on their side as they watch events unfold.

Without question, global disruption and powerful disruptive personalities have become the new norm, a norm which will challenge us all. We must confront this reality with pragmatic relationships but as well with a resolve that our values of equality, diversity and compassion are non-negotiable. They dont need to be disrupted.

Penny Collenette is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa and was a senior director of the Prime Ministers Office for Jean Chretien.

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Tyrants always respect and fear an independent media, often more than journalisms ordinary readers. They understand its power to reveal their agendas, to mock their follies, and to delegitimize them. Thats why they do their best to demonize and marginalize journalists. From Mussolini to Chavez to Putin and Erdogan, it is a tactic proven successful  at least in the short term  for tyrants everywhere. Trump has clearly been a student.

His bullying and legal threats to serious journalists did cast a chill on many news organizations. Combined with the huge audiences he delivered to them, in straightened economic times, it made being relentless about a congenital liar difficult.

But the media are one of the three essential guardians of a modern democracy, the others being the judiciary and the military. When the executive branch has control of the legislature and twists it away from democratic practice, judges have often stepped in. This seems a dim hope with this paralyzed conservative Supreme Court.

Military intervention is a nuclear option in a democracy, usually ending in tears. When the revered Israeli military leadership are now quietly discussing moving against the increasingly erratic and unstable Bibi Netanyahu  as Israeli media report they have been doing  you know that democracy is at risk. One hopes the mere threat of their intervention will impose some discipline on that increasingly isolated and nasty government.

That leaves the media as the sole practical guardians of American democracy. It is a role that many have demonstrated considerable public angst about playing. News organizations from right to left have conducted endless public hand wringing about balance, partisanship and their reputations.

The boundaries between that noble role and bias is surely a very bright line.

If as a journalist you have evidence of misconduct, of bald-faced lying, of policies inimical to agreed American self-interest, you report it. You ensure your sources are bullet-proof, you seek out respected endorsers for your findings. But you report it  even if the Trump regime gets advertisers, subscribers and viewers to threaten to walk. A tactic you may be sure they will use.

Tyranny sometimes arrives on quieter feet than burning down the Reichstag. But it always requires threatening and bullying an independent media into submission. Sometimes it is brutal in its repression, but often it succeeds by changing the channel constantly. Introducing irrelevant news stories in response to attack, or staging corny photo ops. Tyrants always use a compliant media to denigrate opponents with phony stories. Like Pravda, in Putins good old days, house organs like Fox and Breitbart have used those tactics with devastating effect.

The institutions of American democracy are marvelously resilient as they have demonstrated for two centuries. They successfully resist attempts to undermine them  from the pushback on FDRs attempt to pack the Supreme Court, to Senators successful denunciation of Joe McCarthys witchhunt, to Watergate. Court-packing, witchhunts and genuine abuses of power may soon be back. Key to defeating them is a fearless press  not one diverted into nonsense, or bullied into silence.

It is a foolish cliche to cite the unpopularity of the media. Lawyers, cops and politicians dont rank much higher. Yet few of us do not cheer when any of them successfully defend justice and defeat the bad guys. When tyrants try to drive the medias reputation down even further its important not to dismiss it, or worse quietly snicker. Failing to smack back at Trumps media taunts is at some point to fail to defend the republic.

If 20-plus million American are suddenly flung out of the health-care system, it will be powerful stories in the New York Times  long, expensively produced, eloquently written stories - that will reveal the pain and suffering, forensically documenting this regimes fundamental incompetence to govern. If a witchhunt is launched against opponents, former candidates, and minority communities it will be CNN cameras that will capture the defiance of activists surrounded by SWAT teams, and the night-time raids on immigrant families.

It is not yet clear whether Americans are heading toward a devastating assault on their democracy. Trump is after all a phony whose views flip like a weathervane. If the republic is successfully steered away from that ditch, it will be the best of American journalism in the drivers seat.

For as the courageous former president of Poland, and the current European President, Donald Tusk says, those who cannot see the echoes of a European politics of nearly a century ago in todays political climate are simply being willfully blind. Those tyrannies, whose success was the tragedy of the last century, could not have succeeded without first crushing an independent media.

Robin V. Sears, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and a Broadbent Institute leadership fellow, was an NDP strategist for 20 years.

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It was as contentious a beginning to a presidency as it was inauspicious. With the world already on edge, Donald Trumps administration spent much of its first week arguing with the media and, by extension, the public over the size of the crowd at his inauguration compared to that of the one at Barack Obamas.

In a spectacular display, Trumps press secretary Sean Spicer was sent out on Saturday to insist to a crowd of disbelieving journalists that their eyes had deceived them and that they had, in fact (or perhaps in alt fact), witnessed the largest crowd ever seen at an inauguration.

It was blatantly untrue. In actual fact, it was a bald-face lie. Watching Spicer haplessly try to convince a room of experienced journalists  from the presidential press secretarys lecturn, no less  of what both he and they knew to be a fabrication was as surreal as it was disorienting.

It was pure Trumpian politics.

But as we have come to expect in this Trump era, petty spectacle over optics occludes other far more significant stories. In the days since the Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has issued a number of executive orders that fundamentally alter long-standing positions of the U.S. government.

A wall between Mexico and the U.S. has been authorized. The Keystone XL pipeline has been revived, along with the Dakota Access Pipeline. The U.S. has immediately withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Funding has been withdrawn from international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortions.

And there is more. Late Friday afternoon, Trump announced that the issuing of visas to people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will be suspended for 90 days.

Each of these is a significant and abrupt policy shift from the Obama era. But none should be a surprise. After all, Trump had made it clear again and again that this is exactly what he would do as president.

Trumps actions may well be belligerent, but they are transparent as well. Transparent in way we have never seen before.

In the past, we have often been left guessing as off-the-cuff remarks from former presidents have set the world on edge. Now, we have a president who cheerfully offers every thought to open scrutiny. His tweets act like a window into his mind, a roadmap to his policies.

This presents Canada with an advantage weve not had before. Typically, weve had to read between lines of speeches, parse conversations, and spend hours analyzing congressional positions to gain an understanding of American policy positions.

In fact, the Obama administration was one of the most opaque in recent memory. Led by a man who defined himself by being measured and even-tempered, it operated in a manner that kept its opponents and allies guessing as to its true intentions.

Take, for example, the Obama administrations slow push against Israel, which developed over the course of eight years. Only in its dying weeks did the administration truly unveil how much it believed Israel to be hampering the peace process, implicitly supporting an unprecedented reprimand of Israel at the United Nations that represented a major break with historical U.S.-Israel unity.

A second example was Obamas approach on the Keystone XL pipeline, which provided significant challenges for the Canadian government. For close observers of the deal, it was obvious that his administration was always uncomfortable with its approval. In spite of this, Obama delayed making a decision for years out of a desire to avoid making concrete commitments. Only in his last days in office did his administration formalize its opposition and kill the process.

Viewed through the prism of traditional government communications, Trumps administration can be seen, in one sense at least, as a breath of fresh air. His pettiness and aggressive use of Twitter offend the senses of many  for good reason, of course  but such a novel approach lends clarity for the purposes of figuring out the administrations view on any given piece of public policy.

There is rarely a question on where Trump stands on an issue. A quick scroll through his Twitter history reveals his thoughts on an entire range of topics.

As Carl Bernstein says, it provides an MRI of his brain. It lets us understand his temperament, the way he thinks and, ultimately, his policy positions.

For the Canadian government, it is akin to playing poker with all of the cards face-up on the table.

And that, regardless of what we think of the man personally, provides a never before seen advantage to Canada in dealing with our single most important bilateral relationship.

Jaime Watt is executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist.

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Anyone following societys increasing awareness of gender identity and its many fluid forms has witnessed a bit of history of late.

As the Stars Jennifer Yang reported, the federal government settled a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint with an agreement that opens the door to removing male or female markers on passports, birth certificates and other documents.

It was a landmark agreement, even if it took five years to settle. And for all those whose gender identity doesnt fit neatly into a specific category, it was the right decision.

As with many human rights cases, the next steps are most important if widespread and tangible change is to emerge. There is good news here, too. Ottawa is working on a government-wide review to assess the value of sex and gender information on identity documents, including an examination of how it collects and uses the information.

The review itself is a step forward and, with no clearly articulated reason why gender must be included on documents, its outcome should be obvious. Federal and ultimately provincial governments should not automatically require gender on identity documents.

The settlement between the federal government and Toronto transgender activist Christin Milloy was approved by the human rights commission on Jan. 18. In a statement last week, the Employment and Social Development Canada said sex or gender data can only be collected if there are legitimate purposes. Since Milloys complaint was filed, the government no longer requires documentation to change sex or gender in the Social Insurance Number register. Another good, if incremental, change.

The statement also said it recognizes that sex or gender data can only be collected if there are legitimate purposes, such as gender-based analysis.

Many have probably never given it a second thought, but in reality, the letters M or F dont properly identify every holder of a passport or birth certificate. For some, these gender markers create confusion at best and at worst, bigotry or violence.

As Yangs story explained, gender markers can be fraught for people who are transgender, gender fluid or have a non-binary gender identity. The wrong gender on a drivers licence can out someone as transgender  making them vulnerable to discrimination or transphobic violence.

Milloys lawyer, barbara findlay (who spells her name with lower case letters) rightly hailed the governments ongoing review. Its a seismic shift in the way that we understand what gender means and how we should be using it.

The advances are impressive but the fight for gender freedom on identity documents is far from over. Canada must keep moving forward.

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Finally, the Trudeau government is starting to pull itself out of a mess of its own making with a plan to make cash-for-access fundraisers more transparent.

The big question is why it didnt do so as long ago as October, when stories about behind-the-scenes $1,500-a-ticket Liberal party fundraising events at mansions with the wealthy first started appearing.

Or why the prime minister kept defending the questionable fundraisers after Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson began asking questions and referred to them as not very savoury. Or why he continued to deny there was any problem even after Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd announced in November that she was launching an investigation.

Or, most importantly, why the Trudeau government doesnt simply ban cash-for-access fundraisers  in which donors put down money to spend time with key decision-makers.

Instead, under legislation to be drafted by newly-appointed democratic institutions minister Karina Gould, the government will simply make the fundraisers more transparent. A government official told the Star the fundraising events will have to be publicly advertised in advance, held in public spaces (as opposed to private homes), and reports will have to be issued after each fundraiser in a timely manner including details of the event.

Rightly, the opposition was not silenced by this tepid proposal. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the governments proposed legislation wont actually ban selling access to ministers, and interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said the new law wouldnt make the fundraisers ethical.

Indeed.

Perhaps the most egregious example of the brazen fundraisers was one in which the prime minister himself was the star attraction. It was reportedly attended by wealthy Chinese-Canadian and Chinese business people, including a Chinese billionaire who is also an adviser to the Chinese government. A few weeks after the event he made a sizeable donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

The event put the prime minister uncomfortably on the wrong side of ethics edicts he had given his own ministers. In mandate letters to the cabinet he made it clear they must observe the highest ethical standards in everything they do and told them there should be no preferential access to government, or appearance of preferential access, accorded to individuals or organizations because they have made financial contributions to politicians and political parties.

And the private fundraising events put the government on the wrong side of the angels when it comes to the evolving practice in other jurisdictions. In Ontario, for example, the Wynne government banned them completely as of Jan. 1. Unfortunately, the Trudeau government isnt going that far, at least not yet.

Still, the proposed legislation is a start. Where there is transparency, a spotlight can be shone on any perceived wrong-doing. And its possible that Gould will be forced by public opinion to bring in tougher legislation than government officials currently suggest is planned.

In the meantime, she may solve another awkward situation for the Trudeau government. Gould was supposed to be working on electoral reform to make the 2015 federal election the last under the first-past-the-post system of voting, as Trudeau promised during the election campaign.

Its an issue the government has fumbled for a year, and one it likely wishes would simply disappear.

Goulds new assignment may achieve that. It will give her an excuse to put electoral reform on the back-burner, where it may just go cold.

Two birds with one stone? Its possible there is more than one reason for this weak legislation on cash-for-access. But if its to be a distraction, all the more reason, then, to toughen it up.

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To analyze nerve sparing performance at an early stage of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, and the correlation between the surgeons' experience and the risk of a positive surgical margin in patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

Patients' records from January 2009 to March 2013 were retrospectively reviewed, and 3469 patients with localized prostate cancer were identified at 45 institutions. Individual surgeon's experience with nerve sparing was recorded as the number of nerve sparing cases among total robot-assisted radical prostatectomies beginning with the first case during which nerve sparing was carried out. Patients were selected by propensity score matching for nerve sparing, and predictive factors of positive surgical margins were analyzed in patients with and without positive surgical margins.

A total of 152 surgeons were studied, and the median number of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy cases for all surgeons was 21 (range 1-511). In all, 54 surgeons (35.5%) undertook nerve sparing during their first robot-assisted radical prostatectomy case. For 2388 patients selected with (1194) and without (1194) nerve sparing, predictive factors for positive surgical margin were high initial prostate-specific antigen level (P < 0.0001), high biopsy Gleason score (P = 0.0379), presence of neoadjuvant hormone therapy (P = 0.0002) and surgeon's experience with >100 cases (P = 0.0058). Thus, nerve sparing was not associated with positive surgical margins.

The surgeon's experience influences the occurrence of positive surgical margins, although a considerable number of surgeons carried out nerve sparing during their early robot-assisted radical prostatectomy cases. Surgeons should consider their own experience and prostate cancer characteristics before carrying out a nerve sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association. 2017 Jan 25 [Epub ahead of print]

Katsunori Tatsugami, Kunihiko Yoshioka, Ryoichi Shiroki, Masatoshi Eto, Yasushi Yoshino, Keiichi Tozawa, Satoshi Fukasawa, Masato Fujisawa, Atsushi Takenaka, Yasutomo Nasu, Akira Kashiwagi, Momokazu Gotoh, Toshiro Terachi, Japanese Society of Endourology

Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan., Department of Urology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan., Department of Urology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan., Department of Nephro-Urology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Aichi, Japan., Department of Urology, Chiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery Related, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan., Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan., Department of Urology, Teine Keijinkai Medical Center, Hokkaido, Japan., Department of Urology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28122393
Volcanic activity worldwide 28 Jan 2017: Fuego volcano, Colima, Turrialba, Sinabung, Sabancaya, Katla

Sat, 28 Jan 2017, 21:00 21:00 PM | 21:00 PM |

Map of today's active volcanoes

Recent earthquakes under Katla volcano as of 26 Jan 2017 (image: Icelandic Met Office)

Strong explosion at Colima volcano yesterday morning (22:03 local time on 26 Jan)

...28 Jan:

(28 Jan

(28 Jan

: Seismic activity has increased at the volcano. A magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred under the volcano on 26 Jan at shallow depth beneath the summit caldera covered by the Myrdalsjokull glacier.Scientists now believe that the increased seismic activity indicates that the volcano is more likely to erupt in the near to medium term future compared to some years ago, but it is impossible to make any precise predictions.Icelandic authorities are increasing their surveillance of the volcano, which is one of the country's largest and most active, with potentially devastating eruptions due to the hazard of catastrophic glacial floods.: Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Darwin (VAAC) issued the following report: CVGHM REPORT ERUPTION TO FL150 AT 28/1735Z. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Darwin (VAAC) issued the following report: DISCRETE ERPUTION WITH ASH TO FL140 OBS VA DTG:28/0415Z : The activity at the volcano remains relatively high. Explosions of various sizes occur at irregular intervals (typically few hours).The largest generate spectacular eruption columns reaching several kilometer height with ballistic impacts all over the cone and sometimes small pyroclastic flows by collapsing material of the eruption column.Part of our team is on its way to location and will hopefully be able to report more in detail soon.: Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington (VAAC) issued the following report: VA EMS OBS ) Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington (VAAC) issued the following report: PSBL VA EMS IN WEB CAM. ) Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Buenos Aires (VAAC) issued the following report: ONGOING INTERMITTENT EMISSIONS OF VA
The Washington areas longtime dependence on federal money has always been something of a blessing and a curse.

It allowed the region to be one of the nations few economic bright spots after the financial crisis gutted the national economy in 2009, attracting job seekers to the District in droves and spurring a development boom here. But four years later, hiring ground to a halt as congressional gridlock forced a government shutdown and federal budgets were slashed as part of the sequestration process, even though the recovery was gaining momentum elsewhere.

Today, some area economists say the countercyclical nature of the regional economy is starting to change, as new businesses push the local economy more toward commercial markets and less toward the government.

The shift became particularly evident in 2016, catching some economists by surprise. Broad-based gains in the health-care, hospitality and retail sectors often overtook new jobs in areas typically associated with government contractors. The regions already-low unemployment rate dropped to an astonishing 3.7 percent, and the region consistently added jobs at a faster clip than the rest of the country.

A historical analysis of 22 economic indicators found the regions economy hit a plateau in 2013 and 2014 after a sharp recovery from the financial crisis, then accelerated throughout 2015 and 2016.

This makes [2016] the best year for jobs since 2000, the third best in history, said Stephen S. Fuller, an economist at George Mason University who has tracked the local economy for decades.

The gains came even as the level of federal spending remains relatively stable, suggesting the surge in jobs did not come from some sudden change in government budgets but rather from business outside of it.

[After a year of strong jobs growth, D.C.s unemployment rate drops to its lowest since 2008]

Economists who study the area have tended to chalk last years success up to a growing cadre of commercial technology companies hiring in the regions suburban periphery. They included growing tech firms such as the online events management company Cvent and the digital education firm EverFi. There was Opower, the Arlington-based energy analytics upstart; Evolent Health, specializing in health-care services; and analytics firm Applied Predictive Technologies. All were in the vanguard of a burgeoning tech sector that created tens of thousands of new jobs, mostly in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland.

The emergence of a commercial-facing industry here is bolstered by a near-complete recovery among federal contractors, some of which used the post-recession period to build out new business units focusing on private industry.

The fact that more businesses in Washington sell to the commercial market could also mean local jobs are more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the national economy.

GMUs Fuller says he sees a substantial slowdown coming in the local job market over the next few years. Macroeconomic factors, such as rising gas prices and interest-rate increases, will probably be a drag on the local economy, even with the arrival of President Trumps more business-friendly policies.

I think were going to experience another recession in the next four years, Fuller said.

Were going to have to say the party is over at some point after 2017, and [the D.C. area] will not be as cushioned from downturns as it has been in the past.

An initial analysis produced by Fullers team predicts that the D.C. areas job market will cool slightly over the course of 2017 with slower growth projected for 2018 and beyond.

In some ways, Fuller is going through his own transition. He officially stepped down from his longtime post as head of George Masons Center for Regional Analysis in 2015, ceding leadership to a transportation-focused economist named Terry Clower. Fuller stayed on in a semiretired role, staying plugged into the local economy while the center he used to run branched out into more nationally oriented projects.

Now Fuller is back to head a new research group at the university called the Stephen S. Fuller Institute, fueled for the next three years by $1 million from 32 private donors.

Fuller and his team plan to focus their research exclusively on the Washington area. Starting this month, they are producing a monthly Washington Economy Watch analysis that culls together 22 data sources to create a single indicator for the health of the local economy, a reprisal of a monthly analysis Fuller conducted at George Mason for about 20 years starting in 1990.

Rather than work for specific clients, the institute plans to carry out analyses free, targeting the media and the general public, Fuller said.
Emmanuelle Riva, in her Oscar-nominated role as Anne in the 2012 film Amour. (Darius Khondji)

Emmanuelle Riva, a French actress whose most memorable roles came more than 50 years apart, first in the 1959 classic Hiroshima Mon Amour, then in 2012s Amour, for which she became the oldest person nominated for a best-actor Oscar, died Jan. 27 at a medical facility in Paris. She was 89.

Her agent, Anne Alvares Correa, confirmed the death to the Associated Press but did not specify a cause.

Ms. Riva was one of the most important film actresses in what became known as the French New Wave of the 1950s and 1960s, first gaining acclaim in director Alain Resnaiss Hiroshima Mon Amour. She played a French actress reflecting on an affair she had with a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) in the aftermath of the destruction of the Hiroshima by an atomic bomb near the end of World War II.

It became a cinematic landmark and was praised as one of the most beautiful films ever made. A Time magazine critic in 1960 called it an atomic horror movie, a pacifist tract, a Proustian exercise in recollection, a radioactive Romeo and Juliet.

Much of its mesmerizing power came from Ms. Rivas riveting performance. With a regal presence and large, expressive eyes, she recited lines from a poetically spare script by novelist Marguerite Duras, as she mused on love, war and memory.

French actress Emmanuelle Riva in 1970. (AFP/Getty Images)

Ms. Riva appeared in several other major films in the 1960s, including Leon Morin, Priest (1961), in which she played a wartime widow who falls in love with a priest, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo. The film was considered scandalous for its time.

In 1962, she had the title role in director Georges Franjus Therese, playing an unhappy wife accused of poisoning her provincial husband.

Notoriously selective in her roles, Ms. Riva resisted popular fare and never made a film in Hollywood or in English. She continued to appear on stage in France and had occasional film roles, including one as Juliette Binoches mother in director Krzysztof Kieslowskis acclaimed Three Colors: Blue in 1993.

Yet Ms. Riva she remained something of a film-buff secret until Austrian director Michael Haneke asked her to appear in Amour. She was 85 when the film was released in 2012.

I immediately sensed that there was something extraordinary about the script, Ms. Riva told the New York Times in 2013. I sensed it intimately, without the least vanity. I knew I could do it, I wanted to do it right away, and I lived through it with passion.

The French-language film is about an aging married couple, both of them music teachers, facing their inevitable decline. The husband is played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, who starred in A Man and a Woman in 1966.

Ms. Rivas character has a stroke in the film and becomes increasingly incapacitated, sometimes humiliatingly so. Her husband feeds her by the spoonful, and when she spits her food in his face, he slaps her in exasperation.

French actress Emmanuelle Riva in 2013. (Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images)

Her performance was a display of remarkable subtlety, often without the use of words. She seemed to shrink in size throughout the film, as her eyes dimmed and her features lost their vitality.

Amour won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival and received the Academy Award for best foreign film. Ms. Riva won acting honors around the world, including the French Cesar award, and in 2013 became the oldest nominee, male or female, for a best-actor Oscar. (She lost to Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook.)

During the two months in which Amour was filmed, Ms. Riva lived in her dressing room at a studio outside Paris. It was part of her immersive approach to acting.

Abandon yourself and give yourself over, she told the Los Angeles Times in 2012. We dont play act  its not a game. Its life.

Paulette Germaine Riva was born Feb. 24, 1927, in Chenimenil, France. Her father was a sign painter.

By age 6, Ms. Riva wanted to be an actress, but her working-class parents discouraged her aspirations and she became an apprentice to a seamstress. She appeared in regional plays before winning a scholarship to a Paris acting school when she was 26.

I wanted to live another life and many lives at once, she told the Times. Acting makes you live plenty of lives.

She never married and resided for decades in a fourth-floor Paris apartment without an elevator. She did not own a television.

In addition to acting in more than 50 films and dozens of plays, Ms. Riva wrote three volumes of poetry. In 2009, she published of a book of photographs she had taken while on location in Japan for Hiroshima Mon Amour.

After her late-career renaissance with Amour, Ms. Riva took on several other film roles, some of which have yet to be released.

Cinema is the art of the instant, she said in 2012. Its in the moment. We practice and practice to find that instant of total liberty. . . . Shhhh. . . . Its hard!
Betsy DeVos, President Trumps nominee for U.S. secretary of education, would not be my candidate for that job. She is too optimistic about private school vouchers as a way to help disadvantaged children and seems ignorant of the congenital flaws of for-profit charter schools.

But some of the negative reactions to DeVos, particularly the criticism of her never having attended a public school, are irritating. Suggesting that a private school education means you cant understand and support public schools is lazy thinking. The false image of out-of-touch private schools ignores the creative strength of our nations diverse approach to teaching children.

[Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said  and refused to say  at her confirmation hearing]

DeVos  who is slated for a Senate committee confirmation vote Tuesday  acquired her primary and secondary education in the Holland Christian Schools of her hometown in Holland, Mich. She graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., a school that has a partnership with the Christian Reformed Church. You might argue that an exclusively nonpublic education is one reason she has been so critical of public schools, until you consider the educational background of another prominent American who seems to be the opposite of DeVos in nearly all respects.

[Hundreds of students, alumni from DeVoss college oppose her nomination as education secretary]

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

That would be former president Barack Obama. Like DeVos, Obama never attended an American public school. His primary school education included two years at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School and a year and a half at the Besuki public school, both in Jakarta, Indonesia. He received much instruction in English there from his mother. He then transferred to the exclusive Punahou School in Honolulu, where he had a scholarship. He subsequently attended Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School, all private.

[Democrats reject her, yet they helped pave the road to education nominee DeVos]

Yet Obama has been an outspoken champion of public schools. Private school doesnt have to make you a snob. Catholic-educated teachers are among the best I have ever encountered in public high schools. To them, teaching is not just a job; its a mission. My heroes in this category include Jaime Escalante of Garfield High School in Los Angeles, Phil Restaino of Mamaroneck (N.Y.) High School and Bernie Glaze of Mount Vernon High School in Fairfax County.

Many other privately educated teachers have done great work in public schools. Dave Levin attended Collegiate and Riverdale, New York City private schools, and Yale University. Yet he and his friend Mike Feinberg became star inner-city public school teachers and founded KIPP, the largest  and one of the most successful  nonprofit charter school networks.

DeVos could still develop an appreciation of the great work being done in urban public schools rather than call them a dead end, as she has done. But she has a long way to go. Like many supporters of tax-funded private school vouchers for disadvantaged students, she has overlooked the lack of many private school spaces for students like that. If private schools ever did accept significant numbers of voucher students, they would be sacrificing their treasured independence. Accepting lots of tax dollars invariably leads to federal regulation.

DeVoss support for vouchers buttresses the false belief that private school students are better taught than public school students. Research shows that public schools achieve about as much as private schools with similar demographics. DeVos also does not seem to understand that for-profit charters are handicapped in recruiting the many fine teachers who prefer that their schools spend every cent on helping students, not investors.

Some education experts have said Obama was wrong to put test pressure on public schools while his daughters enjoyed a deep education free of that anxiety at the Sidwell Friends School. Those experts should have consulted Sidwell parents, like me, who know how driven by testing that school actually is.

Betsy DeVos at President Trumps inauguration on Jan 20. (Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post)

The new bipartisan federal education law gives almost all the power over public schools to states and localities. Most of us have attended public schools and know their progress is dependent on local teachers, both privately and publicly educated. If we get the best people in those jobs, we have a chance for success no matter who the education secretary is in Washington.
A 45-year-old Sparta man was referred to the Monroe County District Attorney on multiple charges after a high-speed chase Jan. 14 in the town of Little Falls.

Police received a call shortly after 12:30 a.m. of a suspicious vehicle stopped in front of a Canary Avenue residence. While police were en route to the scene, dispatch gave multiple updates of the driver, later identified as Jason E. Abbott, moving slowly without its lights, driving through a corn field, driving into a ditch and shutting off off its lights after coming to a stop in the middle of Canary Avenue.

When police in a marked squad car caught up with Abbotts vehicle, it reportedly accelerated, and a chase ensued. The report said the pursuing officer didnt exceed 60 miles per house due to icy conditions.

The report says Abbotts vehicle fishtailed shortly before turning into the Longbranch Bar parking lot in Cataract, ending a 2.4-mile pursuit. He and a passenger exited the truck and walked toward the bar. The report said Abbott displayed signs of intoxication and that the vehicle smelled of intoxicants.

Abbott told police he had consumed four beers, according to the report. He said the two were searching for an acquaintance of the passenger and denied knowing he was being pursued by officers. He acknowledged there was a firearm in the vehicle and said he was a corrections officer with a concealed carry permit.

Abbott was transported to the Monroe County Jail, where he reportedly failed a field sobriety test. A preliminary breath test registered a blood-alcohol count of .14.

Abbott was referred for first-offense drunk driving, endangering safety by use of a weapon and fleeing an officer.

In other Monroe County Sheriffs Office news:

Derrick Michael Adam Parker, 20, and Crystal Marie Denton, 24, both of Tomah, were referred to the district attorney for bail jumping. They are accused of violating a no-contact order while prisoners in the Monroe County Jail.

Caitlin J. Kraemer, 24, Cedarburg, was referred to the district attorney for a Dec. 18, 2016, incident in the Monroe County Jail. She is accused of vandalizing a sprinkler head and exposing herself to jail staff. She was referred for criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and lewd/lascivious behavior.

Tammy L. Blank, 36, Wilton, was referred to the district attorney for disorderly conduct after a Jan. 16 incident at a residence in the town of Wellington. According to the report, Blank came downstairs with a revolver and threatened the life of another person inside the house.

Jesse L. Hansen, 25, Tomah, and Dylan Swenson, 18, Sparta, were referred to the district attorney for battery of an inmate after a Jan. 12 fight in the Monroe County Jail. Video footage reportedly shows Swenson slapping Hansen in the left cheek. The footage shows Hansen stabbing Swenson in the neck with a pencil.

Darrell M. McCarter, 26, and Carlee C. Isensee, 23, both of Tomah, were referred to the district attorney after a Jan. 15 incident in the town of LaGrange.

Isensee told police that the two got into an argument after she denied McCarter permission to use her phone. She said McCarter grabbed her by the hair and threw her backward. When she attempted to call 911, she said McCarter grabbed her and both fell to the floor. She said McCarter put his hands around Isensees neck and struck her in the head. McCarter told police that Isensee threw the phone and bit him on the arm.

McCarter and Isensee were both referred for disorderly conduct and battery. McCarter was also referred for bail jumping.

Russel D. Trost II, 21, Sparta, was referred to the district attorney for first-offense drunk driving.

Police were called the intersection of Iberia Avenue and Icarus Road in the town of Sparta Jan. 15 for a vehicle in a ditch shortly after 4 a.m. The driver reportedly told police he had been drinking at a tavern in Rockland and failed to negotiate a corner. Police told Trost to exit the vehicle and reported a strong odor of intoxicants. During a field sobriety test, an officer had to break Trosts fall during the one-leg stand, according to the report. A preliminary breath test registered a blood-alcohol count of .205.

Edward E. Janusheske, 34, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for possession of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia after an ambulance call Jan. 16 to the town of Lincoln.

Police received a report that Janusheske had overdosed on methamphetamine and that he was locked in a bedroom gasping for breath. When police arrived, Janusheske was conscious and responsive but out of it. The report says Janusheske told police he was sleeping and denied any drug use.

Police searched a backpack, which allegedly contained two baggies containing a crystalline substance police believe to be methamphetamine, a small plastic cap, an empty Glucagon emergency kit and four hypodermic needles.

Gonzolo Vasquez, 22, Sparta, was referred to the district attorney on multiple charges after a vehicle he was driving became stuck in a ditch shortly before 3 a.m. Jan. 15 in the town of Little Falls.

Police approached Vasquez, who said he didnt have a wallet or any identification with him. He reportedly told police he was returning from a strip club and that he had consumed three or four beers. Vasquez reportedly failed a field a sobriety test, and a preliminary breath test registered a blood-alcohol count of .20.

Vasquez was transported to the Monroe County Jail, where a search uncovered a wallet, which allegedly contained a bag with small, powdery substance that police identified as cocaine. He was referred for first-offense drunk driving, possession of cocaine and unauthorized use of identification.

Derrick M. Parker, 20, and Crystal M. Denton, 24, both of Tomah, were referred to the district attorney after a Jan. 14 disturbance in the town of LaGrange.

Police received a report of an argument at a Highway 21 residence. The report says a vehicle was attempting to leave the residence when police arrived. The vehicle reportedly pulled back into the driveway, and Parker and Denton ran into the woods before being taken into custody.

Parker is accused of hitting another person at the residence multiple times, including a blow to the face, which caused a bloody lip. He was referred for disorderly conduct, battery and resisting an officer. Denton was referred for bail jumping.

Scott Denton, 44, and Anthony D. Koopman, 58, both of Sparta, were referred to the district attorney for bail jumping. They are accused of violating a no-contact order. Denton was also referred for operating after revocation, drunk driving-related.
THE DISTRICT

Body found after Trinidad house fire

A body was found Thursday after a fire in a house in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast Washington, fire officials said.

The fire was reported in the 1100 block of Queen Street NE, in a two-story brick apartment house, the officials said.

The body was found in the house, but it was not immediately clear where. No details were available about age, gender or cause of death.

 Martin Weil

Womans hair ablaze during inauguration

In what appeared to be an untoward Inauguration Day event, hair was set on fire on the parade route on Jan. 20, D.C. police said.

The incident occurred about 2 p.m. in the 700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, police said in a statement released Saturday. The victim was described only as female, and no age was given.

A lighter was used, police said. No reason for the attack was provided. Police said they received numerous tips but have been unable to identify a person of interest.

 Martin Weil

Record above-freezing string could extend

Washington extended its record-setting string of January days above freezing to 17 on Friday, and as of Saturday evening, it appeared possible that the string would extend to 18.

As of about 6 p.m. Saturday, the temperature had not touched the freezing mark of 32 degrees since the morning of Jan. 10.

The string was the longest such period in any January since records began to be kept in Washington in 1872.

 Martin Weil

MARYLAND

Two seriously hurt in Montgomery crash

Three people were injured, two of them seriously, in a car crash Saturday in upper Montgomery County, officials said.

One car overturned in the crash on Whites Ferry Road, said county Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer.

The two-car crash occurred at about 5 p.m. near Darnestown Road, and it prompted the closing of Whites Ferry Road, he said.

 Martin Weil

Man slain at home

in Charles County

A Waldorf man was found dead Friday after an attack that followed a domestic argument, the Charles County sheriffs office said.

Officials said that Carlton Bell Sr., 66, was found in his house in the 5400 block of Topsmelt Court after authorities were asked to check on him. He had argued earlier Friday with his son, Carlton Bell Jr., 22, the sheriffs office said.

After leaving the house in a car, the younger man was injured in a crash and taken to a hospital, the sheriffs office said. They said that a murder warrant had been obtained for the son and he would be charged on release.

 Martin Weil

VIRGINIA

McLean deaths appear to be murder-suicide

A McLean man killed his wife and son Friday before shooting himself, police in Fairfax County said Saturday.

Hong Chen, 52, Shirley Zhou, 48, and James Wenjie Chen, 16, were found dead in their home early Friday afternoon. A family member had called police after looking in a window of the Windy Hill Road home and seeing a dead body. When police arrived and searched the home, they found the other two family members dead inside.

The family also has a daughter, who neighbors said is away at college.

He was a very bright young man, said Siddarth Ambardar, whose son was a classmate of James Wenjie Chens on Langley High Schools victorious Virginia Science Olympiad team. We are shocked and horrified. [My son] is distraught. . . . Its just flabbergasting.

 Rachel Weiner
Correction: Earlier versions of this article misstated the date that Nick Hileman died. It was Jan. 6. The article has been corrected.



Anne Arundel State's Attorney Wes Adams (R), whose brother-in-law died of an overdose in January, stands at the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in Annapolis, Md. (Josh Hicks/The Washington Post)

Anne Arundel County States Attorney Wes Adams grew up with an alcoholic father and has spent two years as lead prosecutor of a county hit hard by Marylands opioid epidemic. For a decade, he and his wife did what they could to support her brother, Nick Hileman, whose dependence on prescription painkillers had grown into an addiction to heroin.

So when Adams got an unexpected phone call from Hilemans wife on the morning of Jan. 6, he was pretty sure he knew what he was about to hear.

Hes dead. Hes in jail. Hes in recovery  those are your three phone calls, Adams said. We drew the dead call. Thats what happens. For what I do, its a hard call to hear.

Less than three weeks later, Adams (R) stood with Gov. Larry Hogan (R) at Anne Arundel Medical Center to announce a slate of proposals to combat opioid addiction, which is skyrocketing in Maryland and across the country.

[An addiction crisis along the backbone of America]

Adams told the crowd that he had buried his brother-in-law eight days earlier after a fatal overdose. He talked about how easy it can be for people to become addicted to prescription painkillers, and then move on to heroin in search of a cheaper high. After back surgery four months ago, Adams recalled, his doctor prescribed him 90 opioid pills, even though he reported only moderate pain from the procedure.

Were talking about $7,500 worth of street-level narcotics when I walked out of the hospital, he said. The only warning they gave me was that I could become constipated. Nobody told me about the addiction level that could result from taking an opioid medication.

Hileman, a money manager who lived in Arizona, first got hooked on pain medications that were prescribed to him for dental work and back problems.

Nick Hileman, pictured here after completing one of his weekly treks up Camelback Mountain with members of a support group, died of an opioid overdose this month. (Family photo)

He started using heroin about two years ago, had recently completed a 28-day inpatient treatment program and was attending regular Narcotics Anonymous meetings, said his sister, Kristin Hileman-Adams.

During the last week of December, Hileman visited family in Maryland with his wife and 2-year-old son. He went to a support-group meeting on the first night and spent the next few days catching up with family, exchanging gifts and touring the Baltimore Aquarium, Hileman-Adams said.

Two days after returning to Arizona, he overdosed in his living room. He was 38 years old.

Hileman-Adams said her brother was a popular guy with a happy disposition who showed almost no signs of a drug problem.

Ive come to learn that you cant tell someone is addicted to opioids, she said. You cant predict it just by looking at them, or by how old or what they do as a career or anything else. It really affects people across the spectrum.

Adams says Hileman had trouble accessing treatment programs, with his insurance providing only partial coverage for inpatient care, and even then for less than a month. You dont change the behavior in 28 days, he said.

Many experts agree with that idea, saying health departments need to focus most intently on long-term recovery programs. Nancy Rosen-Cohen, executive director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, said that prevention and most importantly treatment are the major part of the solution.

[Heroin deaths surpass gun homicides for the first time, CDC data shows]

In his first two years in office, Hogan has boosted funding and treatment beds throughout the state, and launched a statewide database to track opioid prescriptions and identify potentially suspicious activity.

Hogan, who also lost a family member to overdose, last week said he would introduce legislation to limit prescriptions for pain medications to a seven-day supply, with limited exceptions, and increase prison terms for drug dealers convicted of opioid sales that result in lethal overdoses.

The governor also signed an executive order establishing a central command center to coordinate local and state efforts to combat opioid abuse, and promised a bill that would allow the state to take action against drug prescribers and dispensers based on investigations by licensing boards and federal authorities.

(YouTube/Larry Hogan)

Many treatment advocates want far more money allocated for long-term, residential recovery programs.

Numbers will continue to rise until the new generation of politicians and health experts understand heroin addiction, said Mike Gimbel, Baltimore Countys former drug czar and a recovering heroin addict.

Adams has experienced the opioid epidemic from nearly all angles. Aside from his personal loss, he prosecutes drug users for snatching purses, armed robbery and other crimes they commit to feed their habits.

He has seen the caseload for Anne Arundels drug court swell in recent years, prompting him to push for a doubling of resources for a program that diverts addicts into supervised treatment. The jurisdiction had 85 overdose deaths related to heroin, and 41 related to prescription opioids, during the first nine months of 2016, both more than double the amount for all of 2015.

I am all about rehabilitating people, because the more people I can take away from the extreme of crime, it has a multiplying effect  a big effect on community safety, Adams said. The complexity of fighting this is at so many levels, he said. You cant just approach it from arresting drug dealers.

Adams presses state and local elected officials to provide more funding for treatment beds, visits to classrooms to educate students about addiction and helps lead panel discussions for Anne Arundels Not My Child public-

awareness campaign.

He was elected in 2014 after promising to work more closely with police and get tougher with plea agreements, mainly by offering less-generous deals for defendants. He became the first Anne Arundel states attorney to authorize a wire tap to infiltrate a drug organization, an effort that led to a 2015 drug bust that included eight criminal indictments and the seizure of nearly $1 million in assets.

Caleb Alexander, a physician and co-director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, said Adamss willingness to share his story of loss, particularly as an authority figure, can help people realize how common opioid addiction has become.

I commend the states attorney for sharing such sensitive and personal and sad news, he said. No single story is going to tip the scales and end the epidemic, but this type of disclosure can serve a very important role.

Adams said he thinks every day about how to use his office to address addiction, especially because he felt powerless to do anything about his fathers alcoholism as a child.

So much of my time has been tied up with responding to this drug crisis, he said. How do I keep the next Hileman family from getting that phone call?
Angus C. Macbeth, an environmentalist and member of an unofficial cadre of lawyers who helped shape environmental regulations in the years following the 1970 creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, died Jan. 22 at his home in Washington. He was 74.

The cause was cardiovascular disease, said a son, Hampden Macbeth.

Mr. Macbeth was among the earliest members of the Natural Resources Defense Council, organized in 1970 by a group of seven classmates at Yale Law School. It is now an organization of about 500 lawyers, scientists and policy experts that litigates and lobbies for environmental issues at the federal, state and local level.

As an NRDC lawyer in the 1970s, Mr. Macbeth helped bring about Consolidated Edison electric companys abandonment of plans to build a power plant at Storm King Mountain on the Hudson River. On behalf of the Hudson River Fishermens Association, he argued in litigation that the plant would be injurious to fish in the river.

During the Jimmy Carter administration, Mr. Macbeth was chief of environmental enforcement at the Justice Department. From 1981 to 1983, he was special counsel to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, which investigated the World War II roundup of ethnic Japanese in the United States and their confinement in camps.

He wrote a report on the commissions work, Personal Justice Denied, which concluded, Not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity was committed by an American citizen of Japanese ancestry or by a resident Japanese alien on the West Coast.

The report served as a basis for the 1988 legislation that gave Japanese internment camp survivors an apology, $20,000 individual reparations and an education fund.

Angus Christian Macbeth was born May 9, 1942, in Los Angeles, where his father was a lawyer.

Mr. Macbeth grew to around 6-feet-2, and his formal manner gave off an air of confident authority. He also spoke with a slightly British accent, likely acquired during his high school years, when he attended an English boarding school.

He graduated in 1964 from Yale University, attended the University of Oxford in England, and graduated in 1969 from Yale Law School.

From 1986 to 2006, Mr. Macbeth was a partner in the Washington office of Sidley Austin, where he headed its environmental group. He was a former president of the American College of Environmental lawyers.

Survivors include his wife of 42 years, JoAnn Engelke Macbeth of Washington; and two sons, Hampden T. Macbeth of Washington and Cullen Oakes Macbeth of Las Vegas.
Great historical occasions such as Inauguration Day are formed by thousands of small events that may take years to learn about and to place in historical perspective. One of those smaller events came to light only Saturday in a way that raised more questions than it answered.

Police said someone approached a female victim in an area that was close to the Inaugural Parade route, and set her hair on fire.

The police said it happened about 2 p.m. in the 700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW on Jan. 20. A lighter was used, the police said.

The victim was not injured, according to police.

It was not clear how the victim escaped injury. Presumably the fire was doused, but no information was immediately available on how that was done. How much hair was burned was not specified.

Nor was any motive or explanation given.

However, police called the act an assault with a dangerous weapon, and said they are trying to determine who was responsible.

So far, the police seaid, they have received and investigated many tips from the public. Nevertheless, they said they have not been able to identify the individual they described as a person of interest in their investigation.

In the brief statement issued Saturday, police said they are encouraging the public to continue to provide information.

They released photographs of someone they described as a person of interest. The photos appear to show someone standing in a crowd. The time given for the incident, 2 p.m. is about an hour and a half before the Inaugural Parade began.

Many people gathered on the parade route well before the start of the parade.

.
Apps designed to make buying and selling more convenient have also created a convenient way to rob people, frustrating police in the D.C. area.

Police in Alexandria and other jurisdictions have seen a spate of crimes through the apps LetGo and OfferUp, which show items for sale in a users area and do so in a picture-heavy interface that many consider more user-friendly than Craigslist or eBay. Both also host their own text-message systems for scheduling in-person local exchanges.

Its like fish in a barrel, said Alexandria police spokeswoman Crystal Nosal. The suspects know theyre meeting up with someone who either has cash, because theyre buying a phone, or a phone on them, because theyre selling it. Youre arranging your own robbery online.

On Jan. 13, Alexandria police arrested two juveniles and a 19-year-old in several recent cellphone robberies. Two of the thefts were set up with LetGo, one with OfferUp, city police said.

Robbers will pretend to be buying or selling something, usually phones or shoes, police said. When the target appears, the robber will take either the item for sale or the money intended to buy it. Both the perpetrators and their victims tend to be in their teens or 20s.

In one Alexandria case, Nosal said, a robber asked to test a phone before paying for it  and then simply ran off.

That was one of 13 app-related robberies in the city from Sept. 24 through last week. Many have taken place near the Braddock Road Metro station, which while public is separated from the nearby residential neighborhood by a large plaza.

OfferUp said in a statement that company officials do not tolerate criminal activity and provide whatever information they can to authorities when robberies occur. They encourage people to meet in public places and possibly at a police station. So does LetGo, which says it uses a combination of human and artificial intelligence to help keep our platform safe and fun to use.

Police said that they assume the robbers then sell the stolen phones online.

OfferUp also has been plagued by sales of stolen goods, but the sales have also made it easier for police to solve some crimes. In the 2015 Christmas season, Montgomery County police helped recover $20,000 in camera equipment stolen from a Germantown car and listed for sale on OfferUp.

The District counted more than 70 robberies last year using social media, the vast majority through OfferUp, D.C. police spokeswoman Aquita Brown said. The department has three offices where people can set up safe sales under police supervision: the 3rd District office on V Street NW, the 6th District office in Deanwood and the Harbor Patrol on the Southwest waterfront.

Prince Georges County reported 61 robberies connected to social-media apps last year and 45 arrests. In one case, police officers set up a sting operation after two teenagers were robbed at gunpoint while trying to buy a dirt bike.

County police suggested meeting at a shopping center and to always try to bring a second person with you.

Cellphone thefts related to mobile apps are so pervasive that theres a YouTube video poking fun at it. In the video, an honest person is trying to sell a phone and an honest person is trying to buy it  but both are too afraid of the other to complete the transaction.
Thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the White House and in cities nationwide Sunday to protest President Trumps immigration ban as the executive order continued to halt travel in some locations, despite being weakened by federal judges overnight and having its constitutionality called into question as rulings spilled into Sunday.

In addition to Washington, large protests took place in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta, as well as at airports in dozens of cities, including at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia, where demonstrators created cheering sections for arriving refugees.

In Washington, swarms of protesters had amassed in front of the White House by 1 p.m. The crowd proceeded to the nearby Trump International Hotel and Capitol building and later made its way back toward the White House, shutting down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Demonstrators cycled through a variety of chants and wielded poster boards bearing messages such as Islamophobia is un-American and Dissent is patriotic.

Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here! No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcome here! they chanted.

No justice! No peace! No justice! No peace!

The tone vacillated between forceful and unifying, as protesters alternately chanted Shame! and partook in renditions of America the Beautiful and This Land is Your Land. By evening, an impromptu Catholic Mass brought hundreds more to bordering Lafayette Square to resist Trumps order.

George Formukong, a police officer in the District, came to the rally with his family still wearing their dress clothes from church.

They flew back from their native Cameroon on Saturday to learn that other travelers were being denied entry.

Because our country was not on the list, we were able to travel, Formukong said. Everyone is an immigrant here. We should have equal treatment.

Also among the protesters was Shohreh Rahnama, of Bethesda, Md., whose 5-year-old son was detained for several hours at Dulles Airport after a flight from Istanbul on Saturday night.

Artiman Jalali was born in the United States and has dual citizenship with Iran. He was traveling back from visiting relatives with his cousin, 25-year-old Aida Mohammadi, a University of Maryland student and a green-card holder.

Rahnama said she waited for hours at the airport with friends and family and a growing crowd of strangers who came to support them and others whose loved ones were detained. Artiman and Mohammadi were finally released around midnight. He was hungry and he was thirsty, and I could not see him, she said.

How can a 5-year-old be banned? Just because his parents are Iranian? We are American, too, she said. I almost died in that airport. I can say it was the worst day of my life.

Sunday morning, she brought her son and other family members to join the protest at Trumps doorstep. She wanted to send a message.

I am here to say: You cannot do this. You are our servant. The people elected you,  she said. Other countries are thirsty for the rights we have in America. We cant become a dictatorship.



Trump reaffirmed the order in a statement Sunday, saying it did not constitute a Muslim ban. He compared it to President Barack Obamas 2011 action blocking visas for Iraqi refugees for six months. Trump said he intends to prioritize persecuted Christians in the Middle East for admission as refugees, and in a weekend television interview, former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said Trump wanted a Muslim ban and asked him to assemble a commission with the knowledge to institute one legally.

[Despite growing dissent, Trump gives no sign of backing down from travel ban]

The ban bars entry into the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Despite a federal judges ruling late Saturday and similar court decisions with varying degrees of power, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Sunday that it would continue to implement order.

Demonstrators also gathered Sunday morning at the Capitol to protest Betsy DeVos, Trumps nominee for education secretary. At least one demonstrator was equipped for both protests, carrying a poster that addressed one of the issues on each side.

Meanwhile Sunday afternoon, several U.S. congressmen squared off with authorities at Dulles Airport to try to get information on the identities and status of detainees.

Democratic Reps. Don Beyer and Gerald E. Connolly, both of Virginia, and Jamie B. Raskin of Maryland, were followed by a crowd to a hallway that led toward internal offices where they believed customs officials were located.

Squeezed up against the narrow hallway, Connolly pressed an airport police officer to get a Customs and Border Protection official to meet with the group.

Are people being detained? he asked the officer, John Damskey, a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police. How can you enforce the law if youre not enforcing a judges order?

Connolly was handed a cellphone. On the line was a Customs and Border Protection congressional affairs official. Connolly asked for information on possible detainees, including those traveling on a flight from Turkey from which airline customers reported that some passengers had been pulled. No one on site from CBP would meet with the congressmen.

That is unacceptable. It is our understanding you are detaining people. . . . Our understanding is you have not followed that order, Connolly said.

Connolly said that a lawyer for one of his constituents was allowed to communicate with his client late Saturday night and that the person was released.

Virginia immigration attorney Sharifa Abbasi was among the lawyers on hand at Dulles on Sunday pressing for information on passengers potentially detained under the executive order.

Abbasi also asked a CBP agent for information on who was currently detained at the airport. She pointed to an order from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria that mandated that lawyers must have access to green-card holders detained under Trumps measure.

[Trump official appears to walk back inclusion of green-card holders in travel ban even as others defend it]

Abbasi said she was turned away.

They wont give us any information, she said.

Inside the airport, hundreds of peaceful demonstrators sang the national anthem and created a cheering gantlet for travelers emerging from customs.

The crowd shouted Let them in! and Welcome! as passengers, including some from majority-Muslim countries, rolled their suitcases through gray doors and into a section of the airport that had become a makeshift law office and civics classroom.

My kids go to school with people from everywhere, said Sasha Moreno, of Reston, Va., whose 6-year-old daughter drew a little, red Statue of Liberty on poster board along with the message: Welcome to America.

Her daughters kindergarten class includes many students from Sudan, one of the countries targeted by Trumps order, which has created a sense of anxiety in Morenos own family. The idea that her daughters friends grandparents would be barred from visiting the United States just because of who they are is unacceptable, and she wants her children to know thats not what America stands for, Moreno said.

There are lots of Muslim students at her school. Hearing this stuff going on is really confusing to them, Moreno said. We like the idea of them having friends from everywhere.

[Uber triggers protest for not supporting taxi strike against refugee ban]

Georgia Warner brought her nearly 3-month-old son to Dulles on Sunday, along with a sign that said Raising my son to tear down your wall #NoBanNoWall.

He was born on Election Day.

Warner is an 11th grade American history teacher in the District nearing the end of her maternity leave.

There might not be a better time in my lifetime to teach the U.S. Constitution and U.S. history, she said. Her message to visitors from around the world: There are still people who will stand by them and defend their rights.

Her husband, Chris Miller, said Americas capacity for inclusiveness deserves to be protected.

Its my job as a patriotic American to stand up for American values, Miller said as he fed and burped his infant. The family also was headed to protest at the White House.

My oath didnt end when my enlistment did, said Lee Carter, a demonstrator who served in the Marines and is running for state office in Virginia. He carried an oversized florescent green declaration: I, Lee Carter, do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic #nevertrump #resist.

For some, the demonstrations were particularly personal.

Amira Hassan, 26, remembered the excitement she felt when she flew into John F. Kennedy International Airport with her family as a refugee from Somalia in 2001.

Hassan is graduate student in public administration at American University and a naturalized citizen. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, she said, she has watched the rise of Islamophobia as her family built a life in the U.S.

Its hard not to feel terrified and angry and sad and heartbroken, she said.

Perry Stein contributed to this report.
Protesters rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jan. 28 in New York. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

The Rev. Heather Kirk-Davidoff, pastor of the Kittamaqundi Community Church in Columbia, Md., got choked up talking about the Afghan refugees who were scheduled to fly into Dulles International Airport on Feb. 8.

The family  two parents and four young children  had been planning to live in Columbia but now are grappling with President Trumps executive order on immigration, which will bar them from entering the United States.

Kirk-Davidoff said her church is sponsoring the family with a Baltimore refugee resettlement organization and had coordinated with five other local congregations to prepare a home: a furnished three-bedroom townhouse.

They had stocked the pantry and planned to host a catered and home-cooked Afghan dinner to welcome them. The five other congregations who had pitched in included Catholics, Jews and Muslims, she said. People volunteered to drive the family to appointments and help their children  ages 14 months, 6, 9 and 11  get signed up for school.

We have a bed waiting for her with her stuffed animals waiting on it, Kirk-Davidoff said tearfully of the 6-year-old girl. That 14-month-old boy  his crib is there. His car seat is there.

She said more than 50 people who prepared for the familys arrival are crushed and feel this action doesnt represent what we know to be true about this country.

Kirk-Davidoff said the church and refugee agency had tried to get the family to the United States before Trumps inauguration but had not succeeded.

She said she could not provide details about the familys refugee status but noted that, in general, refugees from Afghanistan are people who have helped the U.S. military as interpreters or fixers. We have created refugees in these countries, Kirk-Davidoff said, referring also to Iraq.

 Katherine Shaver

Sent back to Iran

Behzad Honarjou, 43, was supposed to pick up his mother, 70-year-old Shahin Hassanpour, at the airport Saturday. But when she arrived from Iran via Dubai she was told that she would be sent back home.

I dont know what to do, he said. They said that they will send her back tomorrow. He looked for an attorney to file an emergency petition, but the courts were closed.

Hassanpour has an immigrants visa, her son said, which she applied for a year ago and received in September at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. She took several months to leave Iran because she had to rent out her home and settle affairs.

[Are you, or someone you know, affected by President Trumps travel restrictions? Tell The Post.]

As soon as she entered the U.S., she would have been a green-card holder, said Honarjou, who won a visa lottery in 2010 and became a U.S. citizen a year ago.

He said his mother was able to call him and was on the verge of tears, saying she did not know what to do. Since then, she has not had access to her phone.

He is worried about her because she had breast cancer and is on several medications. But he is also worried about leaving the country to help her.

Right now I feel really desperate, he said.

 Rachel Weiner

A missed Baptism

A knot of volunteer attorneys and people awaiting news of their detained family members gathered Saturday at the international terminal of San Francisco International Airport.

Among them were the mother and uncle of a 30-year-old Iranian man who was detained at the airport when his flight arrived at 6:40 a.m. Saturday.

The detainee, Hossein, was coming to reunite with his fiancee, already living in the United States, and his mother, who was granted asylum six years ago after converting to Christianity.

Hossein  whose family asked that he be identified only by his first name to protect his security should he be deported  also converted and was to be baptized on Monday, said his uncle, Ben. Now, his family has been told that Hossein could be sent back to Tehran on a flight as early as Sunday.

Im just trying to find a way to save him and not let him go back, his uncle said.

 Emma Brown

Syrian Christians

Sarah Assali said that six of her family members from Syria  two of her uncles, their wives and two cousins  were detained after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport early Saturday.

They were Christian immigrants who had traveled more than 24 hours, through a blizzard from Damascus to Beirut, and then on to Doha, Qatar, and finally Philadelphia. They had visas to join their family members here.

Three hours after they arrived, they were put on a plane back to Doha, Assali said.

They were not allowed to call or contact their family in the United States before being removed, Assali said. They managed to make a brief call via in-flight wireless Internet to alert their family members in Allentown.

We were calling attorneys and the airport, and no one gave us any information, Assali said. She said there had been an outpouring of support, including from their congressman, Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who on Saturday urged the Trump administration to halt enforcement of the order.

But it is far from clear whether Assalis family members will be able to come to this country.

Theyre in shock, theyre confused, theyre afraid, Assali said.

 Emma Brown

Saved U.S. lives

Hameed Khalid Darweesh was on an airplane bound for New York when Trump signed the executive order Friday. He was detained overnight at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and released Saturday only after several prominent immigration-rights organizations banded together to file a lawsuit on his behalf.

Darweesh, 53, had worked as a contractor for the U.S. government in Iraq for about a decade, including as an interpreter for the Army. He and his wife and three children had spent more than two years securing a special immigrant visa, granted to Iraqis who assisted U.S. military forces.

The Darweesh family landed in New York at approximately 6 p.m. Friday, and Hameed Darweesh was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is at risk of being returned to a country where he faces enormous risks to his personal security due to his aid to the U.S. government, the complaint said.

Darweesh told reporters outside the airport on Saturday that he was thankful so many people came to his aid, leaving their families to help secure his release.

This is the humanity, this is the soul of America. This is what pushed me to move, to leave my country and come here, Darweesh said. America is the land of freedom, the land of freedom, the land of the right. . . . America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world.

Brandon Friedman worked with Darweesh in 2003, when he was an infantry officer with the Armys 101st Airborne Division. He said Darweesh, who was among the first Iraqis to sign up to serve the U.S. military, was fearless and saved countless U.S. lives.

This is a guy who has done a lot more for this country than most people who were born here, Friedman said. He said he hopes Trumps executive order is rescinded quickly: This is putting U.S. troops in danger because it is withdrawing the incentive that folks like Hameed have to work with us. And we depend on them to a great extent.

The detention of a man who served the U.S. military was particularly objectionable to Matt Zeller, founder of No One Left Behind, which aims to help Iraqi and Afghan people who worked for the U.S. military secure special immigrant visas.

He said America is breaking its promise to men and women who served the U.S. military at great personal risk to themselves  which is not only wrong, he said, but also undermines trust in the United States and endangers the lives of any future service member sent overseas.

This is going to get future Americans killed in future wars. It comes down to that, he said. Were never going to live down this shame if we let this go on.

 Emma Brown
Our dairy economy is improving, while our corn and soybean economy is struggling, according to the expert analysts at the annual Ag Economic Outlook Forum on Jan. 19. Wisconsin farm net incomes are down for the fourth consecutive year, and the question on everyones mind at the forum was: How many years can we continue to operate this way?

Each year, I attend the Ag Economic Outlook Forum that is hosted by the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This forum offers an analysis of the national and Wisconsin farm economy and forecasts for the future of agriculture over the next year. If you would like to review the data, information and ideas presented, please visit: aae.wisc.edu/

The good news is that Wisconsins dairy outlook is improving. Even though liquid milk consumption is on the decline, the consumption of cheese by consumers is growing. Last year, we crossed the threshold to consume 35 pounds of cheese per capita in the United States. This is more than double the consumption from 40 years ago. This may seem like a lot of cheese, but compared to France and Germany where they consume about 50 pounds per capita, we have some room to grow.

Our cows are producing more milk. The average dairy cow produces an average of about eight gallons of milk per day. To meet our domestic need, we need about eight million cows, but there are more than 9.3 million in the U.S, herd. The production from 1.3 million cows must be exported.

Dr. Mark Stephenson, the Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the UW forecasts that Class III milk will be up $2.50 per 100 pounds of milk, and Class IV milk will be up $3.40. This should bring a WI - All Milk Price up about $2.45/cwt.

Milk production in Wisconsin is expected to exceed 30 billion pounds in 2017. Wisconsin set a goal to produce 30 billion pounds by 2020 in order meet the needs of our cheese producers and other dairy-related businesses. Several years ago, Wisconsin cheesemakers were actually importing milk from other states to meet the demand for their product. Dr. Stephenson predicts that we will reach this goal three years ahead of goal.

The outlook for our corn and soybean farmers is not good for 2017. Corn production in 2016 was at record levels. The carryover of corn (ending stocks) is at the highest level since 1987/88. The price projection for corn for the 2017 crop is $3.65/bushel. The average break-even cost for corn in Wisconsin for many farmers is $4.20-$4.60/bushel. It is anticipated that some acres of corn will be converted to soybeans in 2017.

According to Todd Hubbs from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, the world is awash in soybeans. The U.S. soybean production was a record in 2017. Soybean yields hit record levels. Brazil also had a strong soybean production year. The U.S. carryover of soybeans is at a record level. The average Wisconsin break-even costs for many farmers for soybeans is $9.20-$9.60/bushel. Mr. Hubbs projects the market price of soybeans for the 2017 crop to be $8.90/bushel.

The economic impact of the agricultural economy reach far beyond the farmer and producer in Wisconsin. Many very good paying jobs are related to food production, processing, packaging and equipment manufacturing. For example, heavy tank hauling is hugely impacted by the agricultural economy. One of the premier manufacturers of stainless steel tankers is Walker Stainless Equipment in New Lisbon. Walker employs a lot of people in very good-paying jobs. These jobs are impacted by agriculture as much as the income of the farmer.

Overall, the forum was a very helpful and informative deep dive into agricultural economics. My Senate District is heavily dependent on agriculture. All aspects of the agricultural economy from the farmer in the field to the worker on the packaging line are important to our rural communities.

For more information and to connect with me, visit my website legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/17/marklein and subscribe to my weekly E-Update by sending an email to Sen.Marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov. Do not hesitate to call 800-978-8008 if you have input, ideas or need assistance with any state-related matters.

Republican Howard Marklein, Spring Green, represents the 17th state Senate District.
california

Governor to undergo further radiation

California Gov. Jerry Brown will undergo further radiation treatment for prostate cancer first treated in 2012, his office announced Saturday.

Browns oncologist, Eric Small of the University of California at San Francisco, said the cancer is not extensive and can be treated with a short course of radiotherapy.

The prognosis for Governor Brown is excellent, Small added in a brief statement released by Browns office. He said the 78-year-old governor is not expected to experience any significant side effects.

Brown will continue his full work schedule through treatment, which is planned to occur between late February and early March.

The three-term governor was first treated for early stage prostate cancer in January 2012 and stayed on the job throughout his nearly four-week treatment.

The governors office did not say how the prostate cancer was detected. Cases are typically found through a PSA blood test or a physical exam.

 Associated Press

TEXAS

Targeted mosque destroyed in re

An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago.

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria about 2 a.m. and called the fire department.

Its sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge, Shahid Hashmi, the Islamic centers president, said. It looks completely destroyed.

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshals Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze. Hashmi said authorities have told him it was too early to speculate. None whatsoever right now, the center director said.We dont have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened, So Im sure its going to be a few days, they told us, before they can come up with any answers for us. he said.

The congregations imam was awake in the early-morning hours and checked online surveillance of the mosque and found no alarm active and the doors unlocked, Hashmi said. On Jan. 21, someone broke in and stole some electronics, including laptops.

He was worried about it and drove over there, Hashmi said. By that time, fire engines were already there pouring water on the fire.

No injuries were reported. It took about four hours to extinguish the blaze.

The Victoria Advocate on Saturday reported that in July 2013, a man admitted to painting H8, a computer shorthand for hate, on the outside of the building.

 Associated Press

10 injured in Tennessee shooting: Authorities say 10 people in western Tennessee were injured in a shooting at a party at a National Guard Armory. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland says the shooting in Brownsville occurred before midnight Friday when a fight broke out at the armory. Authorities say the facility had been rented out for a party. Niland says two juveniles and eight adults were transported to Jackson General Hospital.

Suspect in killing of police officer in Florida faces more charges: A Florida man suspected in the killing of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando police officer is being charged with additional crimes. Markeith Loyd was back in an Orange County courtroom on Saturday regarding three charges of aggravated assault with a firearm. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the new charges are related to an August incident that occurred nearly four months before Loyd was accused of killing 24-year-old Sade Dixon. Loyd is facing two first-degree murder counts and a host of other charges related to the deaths of his ex-girlfriend and Lt. Debra Clayton.

 From news services
Rachel Schneider was initially told she had a panic disorder. Years later, a different explanation for her disturbing condition emerged. (Josh Schneider)

Rachel Schneider was 13 years old when it happened the first time. She and a few other children had been singing prayers at her Hebrew school when suddenly Schneider felt that something inside her head had gone wrong and that she wasnt there. Her father brought the terrified girl to an emergency room, where doctors dismissed the episode as a panic attack. They said that Schneider was fine.

It happened again while Schneider was on vacation in Quebec City with her parents and sister. Inside a souvenir shop, she was startled by a man who came up behind her holding a small marionette and speaking rapidly in French. Schneider screamed and ran out of the store. Her mother tried to comfort her, but Schneider could not be consoled.

Suddenly it was like the entire room was pouring into my brain, and the lights, and the sound, Schneider said recently. Speaking of that first incident, she said she felt as if a chasm had opened up inside her head, and she was seeing but not seeing, and hearing but not hearing.

It changed things, Schneider said. It was the biggest one of them Id ever had.

Soon Schneider was diagnosed with panic disorder. For the rest of her adolescence, she avoided going out at night or being in large crowds at concerts or parades, afraid that her symptoms  feeling numb and being sensitive to loud sounds and sensitive to light  would produce another attack. Once, she had an attack in an airport after a long flight. Jet-lagged and hearing her name blared over a loudspeaker, Schneider thought that she was going crazy  but it had just been her father, who was having her paged to make sure that she had made it safely.

[Heres why they call strep an occupational disease of schoolchildren]

At 27, Schneider, a copywriter who lives in New York, finally sought more answers.

I was seeing a psychiatrist, and she wouldnt listen to me when I kept saying, I have sensory stuff; theres something sensory going on,  Schneider said. She would say, No, you have panic disorder. . . . So I found somebody new. Her new psychologist sent Schneider to an occupational therapist, who confirmed the psychologists suspicions: Schneider had sensory processing disorder, or SPD.

For people with this disorder, the brain has trouble receiving and responding to sight, touch, sound, smell, taste, the vestibular sense (balance and gravity), the proprioception sense (body orientation and position in space) and interoception (sensations felt within the body). Defined by occupational therapist and developmental psychologist A. Jean Ayres in 1972 as sensory integration dysfunction  the disorder would be renamed in 2004 by Lucy J. Miller, one of Ayress former research assistants  Ayres coined the term to describe a disorder of children who seemed affected by poor sensory processing, resulting in hyperactivity, behavior problems, speech and language delays, muscle tone and coordination problems, and learning difficulties.

The American Psychiatric Association considers SPD a sub-symptom or co-disorder with autism spectrum disorder, labeling it as oversensitivity in DSM-V, the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Schneider had always been an excellent student, but she had suffered from poor coordination and from anxiety about going places in the dark. She believed that her symptoms had worsened with the onset of puberty, resulting in the misdiagnosis of panic disorder.

[What explained second-graders sudden panic and obsessions?]

As an adult, Schneider, now 33, has had trouble sleeping and has needed deep touch pressure, a form of tactile sensory input provided by firm holding, stroking or squeezing, to calm down. Many people with SPD have similar symptoms: sensitivity to noise, sensitivity to the fit and texture of clothing, sensitivity to touch and to smells. Poor balance and low muscle tone are other effects, along with problems coordinating some physical activities. Some adults with SPD are unable to have sex or drive a car.

According to Teresa May-Benson, executive director of the Spiral Foundation, an SPD advocacy organization, the first challenge is identifying a persons affected sensory systems. Is it a movement, or vestibular, problem? Is it a tactile problem? Is it poor proprioception, muscle information? Is the person oversensitive, having what we would call a modulation problem?

For Schneider, occupational therapy made an immediate difference, starting with the 17-pound weighted blanket that allows her to sleep more comfortably.

That was one of the first tools I got, Schneider said, because everybody [said], Youre not sleeping, because your body is thrashing. It doesnt know where it is in space.  Other habits she picked up include using only natural light in the apartment she shares with her husband and using a deep-pressure brush to help stimulate her sense of touch.

For her, an episode is much less overwhelming now than when she was 13.

But the episodes of dissociation can still frighten her. Sitting on a couch at her home, she teared up slightly, noting, You can tell Im getting emotional talking about it. Im emotional because theyre that scary still.

[Obsessively thinking that youre sick might actually make you ill]

What new techniques reveal

Since Schneider was diagnosed, researchers have been able to get a better picture of the brains of people diagnosed with SPD, using more-advanced technology.

In 2013 and 2016, a University of California at San Francisco research team led by Elysa Marco and Pratik Mukherjee published two studies on children with SPD.

The first showed that the white-matter microstructure in the brains of boys with SPD was different from that of those in a control group, particularly in the areas linked to sensory processing. The second study repeated these findings on a larger group of both girls and boys.

I think our work really strongly shows that these differences are brain-based, Marco said.

To Schneider, this research was validating. It was a eureka moment for me, she said. I knew it existed, I was talking about it for a couple years before then, but suddenly for the first time I had proof. I had proof that Im different, and here it is, heres why Im different.

Schneider, who has an active social life and no obsessive behaviors, does not believe she has autism spectrum disorder. She and many SPD researchers believe that her condition  which Miller estimates may affect 1 in 20 people  should be recognized as an independent diagnosis. Much of the research has been focused on proving that SPD can occur independently, and separate scientific work groups have shown that between 37 and 80 percent of children diagnosed with SPD have no accompanying disorders.

Asked for comment on this issue, Darrel Regier, vice chair of the APA task force that produced the DSM-V, said, I think there is certainly a possibility that SPD would be approved as a separate disorder.

If theres a longer period of consideration, he said, if theres more extensive evidence of people who really do have a separate condition, and they [can be proven] to not have autism spectrum disorder or some other neurological condition, I think it could certainly be approved.

Schneider hopes that approval comes soon.

Over- or underresponsivity to information, yes, she said, but I dont think [autism spectrum disorder] captures my experience right, at all. In 2015 she published a book about SPD, Making Sense: A Guide to Sensory Issues. She says she knows there are more adults like her who struggle with sensory processing and want to know what causes it.

I have faith that I can do pretty much anything if I can only figure it out, Schneider said, because, if it really matters to me, even if I have to do it differently from most people, I will still find a way to do it.

Read more:

This fit young woman was having strokes, and doctors didnt know why

In a medical first, brain implant allows paralyzed man to feel again

Are some kids really out of sync?: The debate over sensory processing disorder

Five simple steps to avoid becoming a medical mystery
President Trumps executive order temporarily prohibiting entry into the United States for migrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and refugees from around the world fueled confusion, angst and a wave of protests across the country Sunday.

Even as administration officials tried to clarify the reach of Trumps action  This is not a Muslim ban, the president said in a statement  the exact limits of its scope and legal questions over its constitutionality remained unresolved. So did the question of whether the administration would comply with orders from federal judges to temporarily halt the travel ban.

Raucous protests erupted in airport terminals from coast to coast. Tens of thousands of people protested outside the gates of the White House, in Bostons Copley Square and in New Yorks Battery Park, with its views over the Statue of Liberty.

Scenes of relief, anxiety and sorrow played out around the globe.

At Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a 70-year-old Iranian woman who recently received her green card was released after being detained overnight. In New York City, a graduate student contemplated whether he would quit his doctoral program to rejoin his wife in Iran after she was blocked from returning to the United States.

(Alice Li/The Washington Post)

And in Iraq, a man who had risked his life working on behalf of the U.S. government bleakly wondered about his future and that of his wife and three children. Visas in hand, the family was due to fly Monday to the United States. Its like someones stabbed me in the heart with a dagger, he said.

[Scholars: Many more legal challenges likely for Trumps executive order on immigration]

Trump issued a statement late Sunday afternoon that offered little clarity, even as he defended his executive order as necessary to protect the United States from terrorism.

To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting, Trump said in the statement. This is not about religion  this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.



The president reiterated that the country would resume issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.

Still, barely 48 hours after Trump issued his order, confusion reigned over its reach and its implementation. Even as the president and other top advisers defended the ban, some Trump officials appeared on Sunday to walk back one of the most controversial elements of the action: its impact on green-card holders, who are permanent legal residents of the United States.

As far as green-card holders going forward, it doesnt affect them, Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said on NBC News Meet the Press, contradicting what government officials had said only a day earlier.

1 of 23 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos from the scene of protest at New Yorks JFK airport against Trumps executive order halting refugee admissions View Photos Entry to the United States is being refused to legal residents, including green-card holders, from seven mostly Muslim countries who were abroad when the executive order was signed Friday by the president, and some travelers were detained at U.S. airports. Caption Entry to the United States is being refused to legal residents, including green-card holders, from seven mostly Muslim countries who were abroad when the executive order was signed Friday by the president. Jan. 28, 2017 People protest the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. President Trump signed an executive order that halted refugees and residents from certain predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

In a separate statement, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly was less definitive, suggesting that green-card holders status would help them gain entry to the country but that they nonetheless would be subject to a case-by-case review.

Meanwhile, Kellys department indicated separately Sunday that it would continue to implement Trumps directive, even as it said it will comply with judicial orders issued by federal judges over the weekend, blocking enforcement of the ban to varying degrees.

Prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety, the agency said in a statement. No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States or to demand immigration benefits in the United States.

Trumps virtually unprecedented executive action applies to migrants and U.S. legal residents from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen, and to refugees from around the world. People subject to the ban include dual nationals born in one of the seven countries who also hold passports from U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom.

As the legal questions surrounding the order remained unanswered Sunday, the uncertainty and resentment unleashed by the executive order he signed two days earlier showed few signs of waning.

At Dulles International Airport, lawyers seeking to represent people who had been detained failed to get information from Customs and Border Protection officials despite repeated attempts.

Even three Democratic members of Congress  Reps. Gerald E. Connolly and Don Beyer of Virginia and Jamie Raskin of Maryland  ran into similar roadblocks. Connolly pressed an airport police officer to get a Customs and Border Protection official to meet with the lawmakers to tell them how many people were detained and to see whether they had been able to communicate with their attorneys.

Are people being detained? Connolly asked the officer. How can you enforce the law if youre not enforcing a judges order?

Connolly soon was on the phone with a CBP congressional affairs official. He and the other members pressed for information on possible detainees, including those traveling on a flight from Turkey. No one on site from the agency would meet with them.

That is unacceptable. It is our understanding you are detaining people, Connolly said. Our understanding is you have not followed that [court] order.

The presidents far-reaching action triggered a wave of criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill, who plan to assemble Monday on the steps of the Supreme Court in a show of solidarity with legal attempts to block Trumps travel ban. In addition, at least one House member said he plans to introduce legislation to overturn Trumps action by forcing him to comply with the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which banned discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin.

Trump also encountered growing opposition Sunday from lawmakers in his own party.

You have an extreme vetting proposal that didnt get the vetting it should have, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Sunday on CNNs State of the Union, even as he stopped short of opposing the order outright.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) also spoke out against the action, saying in a joint statement that the government has a responsibility to defend its borders but must uphold all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.

It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted, they said, adding, Such a hasty process risks harmful results.

In a tweet Sunday afternoon, Trump was quick to criticize McCain and Graham as sadly weak on immigration. And Republican leaders in Congress on Sunday did not join the opposition to Trumps order.

I dont want to criticize them for improving vetting, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on ABCs This Week. He cautioned that the United States doesnt have a religious test for entry into the country, and he stopped short of saying that Trumps action amounted to a Muslim ban.

I think we need to be careful, McConnell said. We dont have religious tests in this country.

The Department of Homeland Security noted that less than one percent of international air travelers arriving Saturday in the United States were inconvenienced by the executive order  though the situation described by lawyers and immigrant advocates across the country was one of widespread uncertainty and disorder at airports where travelers from the targeted countries were suddenly detained.

Federal judges began stepping in late Saturday as requests for stays of Trumps action flooded courtrooms.

A federal judge in New York temporarily blocked deportations nationwide. Her ruling was followed by similar decisions by federal judges in California, Virginia, Seattle and Boston.

[The tumultuous politics of U.S. immigration policy, from Roosevelt to Trump]

Trump, who centered his campaign in part on his vow to crack down on illegal immigration and to impose what became known as his Muslim ban, remained unbowed Sunday. As White House officials insisted that the measure strengthens national security, the president stood squarely behind it.

Just after 8 a.m. Sunday, Trump tweeted: Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!

Later in the morning, Trump tweeted, Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!

Many Americans agreed with Trump. He doesnt hate Muslims, said Kelley Anne Finn of Manassas, Va., who was interviewed at Dulles airport Sunday. He doesnt hate anybody. Hes trying to protect us.

Administration officials said Sunday that they think it is possible for the White House to both comply with a judges order and continue enforcing Trumps executive action. Their thinking is that the court order affects only people now in the United States, and that since the State Department is proactively canceling visas of people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, other travelers who would be affected by the court order are not expected to be able to travel to the United States in the first place.

The officials pointed out that while the order affects deportations, the travelers stranded at U.S. airports are not legally considered to be deported if they go back to their home countries, because they were never technically admitted to the United States.

That interpretation of the law will almost certainly lead to more court battles in coming days and could keep overseas travelers detained at airports in a state of legal limbo. As Sunday wore on, it became clear that the answers to those questions would have to wait until another day.

The protesters outside the White House pushed on, wielding poster boards with messages such as Islamophobia is un-American and Dissent is patriotic, chanting No justice! No peace! and singing renditions of This Land is Your Land.

And in airports from Baltimore to Bangor, from Dallas to Denver, shouts of Let them go! and Let them in! reverberated Sunday. In many cities, demonstrators invoked the same chant: No hate, no fear. Refugees are welcome here.

Philip Bump in New York, Daniel Gross in Boston, and Michael Chandler, Steve Hendrix, Jenna Johnson, Sarah Larimer, Michael Laris, Ellen Nakashima, Ed OKeefe, Abby Phillip, Kelsey Snell, Elise Viebeck and David Weigel in Washington contributed to this report.
William H. Pryor Jr., an Alabama-based judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, would be the only member of the Supreme Court who did a stint as a politician. (Cliff Owen/AP)

William H. Pryor Jr., an Alabama-based judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, would be the only member of the Supreme Court who did a stint as a politician, and it was during that time that he took some of his most notable positions on civil rights and discrimination cases.

As Alabamas twice-elected attorney general, Pryor defended the states practice of handcuffing prison inmates to hitching posts in the hot sun if they refused to work on chain gangs. A staunch defender of federalism, he filed an amicus brief in a Supreme Court case, Lawrence v. Texas, that ultimately invalidated state sodomy laws, arguing that states should remain free to protect the moral standards of their communities through legislation that prohibits homosexual sodomy.

Pryor, 54, has been an especially outspoken critic of abortion rights, calling Roe v. Wade the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history.

If his confirmation to the 11th Circuit is any indication, the judge is in for a lengthy battle if he is nominated by President Trump to the Supreme Court.

When President George W. Bush nominated him to his current post in 2003, Senate Democrats refused to allow Pryors confirmation, calling him an extremist, citing his position on both Roe v. Wade and Lawrence v. Texas as examples. Bush ultimately bypassed the regular Senate confirmation process and appointed him when the Senate was in recess. But it wasnt until two years later, after a deal was struck between Republicans and Democrats, that Pryor received his official Senate confirmation.

Pryor is perhaps the most polarizing figure of the potential nominees, with some groups thinking he leans too far right while other groups view him as leaning too far left.

The editorial page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has labeled him a right-wing zealot and the Alliance for Justice has joined with at least a half-dozen other liberal and Democratic groups to campaign against him. On issue after issue, whether as an advocate or as a judge, he has taken the most far right positions, said Daniel L. Goldberg, legal director of Alliance for Justice.

At the same time, Conservative Christians of Alabama refer to him as the liberal Bill Pryor and the conservative Judicial Action Group is campaigning against his possible nomination, saying his decisions on some gay and transgender rights cases illustrate how he has failed to interpret the Constitution as the framers intended.

Both friend and foe point to the same decisions in arguing over whether he is fit to serve on the Supreme Court.

Theres the often-cited 2003 incident when, as Alabama Attorney General, Pryor prosecuted then-Chief Justice Roy S. Moore when he disobeyed a federal court order to remove a two-ton monument of the Ten Commandments at the state judicial building.

And Pryor was part of a controversial ruling in 2011 involving transgender rights. The three-judge panel in Glenn v. Brumby ruled unanimously that Georgia officials violated the Equal Protection Clause when they fired a transgender employee.

His opponents believe there were legal paths Pryor could have followed to avoid the prosecution of Moore and to come to a different conclusion on Glenn v. Brumby. His supporters say these incidents serve as proof that Pryor will follow the rule of law, not his personal convictions, when he is faced with difficult decisions.

Hes not some kind of rigid ideologue, said Charlie Condon, a former attorney general of South Carolina, who with Pryor founded the Republican Attorneys General Association in the late 1990s. Hes intellectually honest. He follows the law, regardless of his personal beliefs.

Pryor was born on April 26, 1962, in Mobile, Ala., the eldest of four children and part of a tightknit, devout Catholic family. His mother was a schoolteacher; his father a band director at a local high school.

In an interview, Pryors mother, Laura Pryor, defended him against criticism that he might thwart the Constitution in favor of his own personal beliefs.

Hes a constitutional lawyer, she said. A constitutional scholar. He is not going to make up the law.

She described him as hardheaded, but then added, The whole Pryor family is hardheaded.

Laura Pryor said both her sons independent spirit and interest in politics became clear at an early age. He volunteered for his first political campaign when he was still in elementary school, announcing to his parents  both Kennedy Democrats  that he would be campaigning for the Republican candidate in a local election.

He decided he wanted to hand out fliers, and he did it on his own, she said. He was a Republican even back then and he knew it. He disagreed with his momma and daddy a lot.

Although politics and the law became Pryors career, one of the things few people outside of Alabama know about the judge is that his first love was music. He entered college as a music major and a highly skilled timpanist, planning to follow in his fathers footsteps and become a high school band director.

However, during summer break after his freshman year, he spent a significant amount of time watching C-SPAN, something that did not escape his mothers notice.

Pryors family life also shaped his strong views on abortion. His mother remembers her eldest son sitting at the kitchen table the morning she and her husband discussed their concerns and disapproval of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. It affected him more than I realized, she said.

Read more about possible Supreme Court picks:

Neil Gorsuch, a proponent of originalism

Thomas Hardiman, who serves with Trumps sister, has a strongly conservative record
SYRIA

Government troops take key water facility

Syrian government troops gained control of the main water source for Damascus on Saturday, as the military worked to secure it and remove land mines in a major development that caps weeks of fighting with rebels in the area, according to Syrian state TV and opposition media.

The development ends the standoff over Ain el-Fijeh village that restricted the water flow to nearly 5 million residents of the Damascus area for over a month. The fighting had also trapped tens of thousands of civilians in the Barada Valley area, where the water source is located.

The opposition monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces entered Ain el-Fijeh along with ambulances to transport the injured as part of a deal to end the fighting there.

A nationwide cease-fire, brokered by Russia and Turkey and in place since Dec. 30, was tested by the fighting in the valley. The fighting was sparked by government claims that rebels poisoned the water source at Ain el-Fijeh  a claim the rebels denied.

 Associated Press

ITALY

Former PM Berlusconi gets April 5 trial date

A Milan judge on Saturday ordered Silvio Berlusconi to be tried on corruption charges, damping the 80-year-old former Italian prime ministers hopes of running soon for office again after being sidelined by a tax-fraud conviction.

The Italian news agency ANSA, reporting from Milan, said Judge Carlo Ottone De Marchi, after a hearing on an indictment request by prosecutors, set the trial to begin April 5 in that city.

The Milan daily Corriere della Sera says the former three-time premier is accused of shelling out about 10 million euros plus expensive gifts to 20 young women who attended sexy parties at his Arcore villa near Milan. Prosecutors have alleged that Berlusconi aimed to buy the womens silence in various trials involving him. His attorneys have denied any wrongdoing by their client.

 Associated Press

Egypts leader blasts evil people: Returning to some of his favorite topics, Egypts President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi on Saturday called on Egyptians to stand together against terrorism, angrily denounced the evil people plotting against his country and said there would be no comeback if Egypt fell to Islamic militants. Terrorism will not end unless we all stand together, Sissi told participants at a youth conference in Aswan. Did Afghanistan ever come back? Did Somalia ever come back? Why do you think we can come back?

Iraqi forces discover chemical warfare agent in Mosul: Iraqi forces discovered a mustard chemical warfare agent in eastern Mosul alongside a cache of Russian surface-to-surface missiles, an Iraqi officer said Saturday. When Iraqi forces retook Mosul University this month, they found chemistry labs they believed had been converted into makeshift chemical weapons labs. Iraqi special forces Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil said French officials tested the Mosul chemical last week and confirmed that it was a mustard agent. Iraqi and U.S. officials have repeatedly warned of Islamic State efforts to develop chemical weapons.

Missing Pakistani activist reunited with his family: Pakistani poet and activist Salman Haider, who went missing from the capital, Islamabad, just days after four other human rights campaigners disappeared this month, has been found, his family said Saturday. The five missing liberal activists, some of whom have posted blogs criticizing the political influence of the military and speaking up for the rights of religious minorities, had each gone missing separately since Jan. 4. Police sources told Geo News channel that Haider, who vanished Jan. 6, was found late Friday but did not provide further details. There was no word on the whereabouts of the four other missing activists.

 From news services
Matt Zeller is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and the co-founder and chief executive of No One Left Behind

With his latest executive order and immigration ban, President Trump has shut the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who have served alongside our military since 2001. As a combat veteran who has served in the U.S. Army, this action deeply disappoints and angers me. I shouldnt be alive today. I am only here writing this piece because of my Afghan Muslim translator, Janis. He shot and killed two Taliban fighters who nearly ambushed me in a firefight in Afghanistan in 2008.

The presidents actions on Friday are troubling for so many reasons. First, the sweeping ban doesnt take into account that our allied military translators are quite possibly the most vetted individuals aligned with our military. The stringent background checks begin long before they are cleared to work alongside Americans in a combat zone. Then the process for granting the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which allows them to resettle in the United States, is even more painstaking. To even apply for the SIV, one must meet ALL of the following criteria:

Be a national of Iraq or Afghanistan; and

Have worked directly with U.S. armed forces or under Chief of Missions authority as an interpreter for at least 12 months; and

Have obtained a favorable, written recommendation from a military or civilian member of the U.S. government.

All this to simply apply for the SIV. To be approved, the interpreter must clear these additional hurdles:

 Receive the written nomination;

 Prove he or she provided at least 12 to 24 months of honorable and valuable service to the United States war effort;

 Prove he or she is under immediate duress due to that service;

 And, lastly, pass the most extreme form of vetting the United States can muster  a comprehensive national security background investigation completed by every single component of the U.S. national security apparatus (the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency, etc.). All agencies conduct separate investigations and do not coordinate cross-agency. The decision from the national security apparatus must be unanimous, meaning that all the agencies involved must approve the application package. If even one agency dissents on a visa approval, that applicant is barred from entry to the United States and placed on the no-fly list  forever.

These men and women have served our country honorably  in some cases, for more than a decade. A decade of combat service to America, fighting alongside Americans, wearing the same uniforms, bleeding their blood for our country. Is that not the most American thing one could do  fight for the ideals they believe in to better ones country? These wartime allies are true-blooded Americans, though they were born half a world away.

Would we deny a man who was injured in multiple improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, repeatedly led U.S. service members through enemy territory safely and fostered local relations? Would we deny a man who is credited with saving five American soldiers lives, including mine? Remember, this mans name is Janis, and if he were an American-born veteran, wed pin medals to his chest and call him a hero.

This ban leaves thousands of our wartime allies to fend for themselves against the very enemies we asked them to fight. Veterans of the Vietnam War speak often of their half-century injury at having abandoned so many of our Vietnamese allies. Friday, the president cast the same injury upon our newest generation of American veterans and we didnt get a say. Many of our wartime allies have already been waiting on their visas for years and some, with approved visa in hand, will simply not be able to make it to safety because of the presidents decision.

We are permanently harming the fabric of U.S. national security. Our credibility is forever tarnished if not eroded. Why would any potential ally trust the United States to keep its word again? It pains me to think how many U.S. service-members will die in future conflicts because we were unable to recruit the local, on-the-ground support that is often the difference between life and death. These men and women have sacrificed so much for the United States. Fridays order means the enemy wins, and we have turned our backs on our own ideals.
VICTIMS OF domestic violence are often helpless to fight back, for reasons of fear, shame and feelings of defeat. A civilized society enacts laws to protect such vulnerable people. The decision by the Russian parliament to change the law in order to decriminalize some forms of domestic violence is wrong-headed and sends a message that brutality in a family is legitimate.

On Friday, the Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved a bill that decriminalizes domestic battery for first-time offenders. Battery against a family member will be subject to administrative rather than criminal penalty if it does not cause serious medical harm. Violations can be punished with a fine of up to 30,000 rubles or about $500, police custody of up to 15 days or compulsory community service of up to 120 hours. Second-time offenses and those causing serious medical harm would still be criminal violations and punishable by up to two years in prison.

The reason this came about now is that last summer, parliament decriminalized battery among strangers but not among family members, which remained a criminal matter. This irked some lawmakers and the Russian Orthodox Church. They felt that it meant a parent could be punished more harshly for slapping a child than a neighbor. According to the Economist, the church said that reasonable and loving use of physical punishment is an essential part of the rights given to parents by God himself. The result was the legislation just passed. After the Duma voted 380 to 3 on a third reading, the bill went to the upper chamber, the Federation Council, where it is expected to pass easily and then be signed by President Vladimir Putin.

The move fits a larger drive by Mr. Putin and some of his allies to instill what they call traditional family values. Theres precious little data, but by all accounts, domestic violence remains a serious problem in Russian society. One Interior Ministry estimate is that 12,000 women are killed every year in assaults by their partners. But there are deep divisions over the issue. In Soviet times, the presence of the state was pervasive, and now some people say the state should keep its nose out of family matters. At the same time, there has been a growing grass-roots awareness, including a social media campaign in Russia and Ukraine last year under the hashtag #IAmNotAfraidToSpeak.

Whats most objectionable about the law is the broader message it sends: that a domestic assault that doesnt break bones or result in a concussion  a beating that could be humiliating, painful and cause deep emotional damage to the victim  should bring little or no penalty from the state. It is hard to see how a healthy society and healthy families benefit when the most vulnerable are left exposed.
Marian Vayghan reacts after her uncle is released from a detention center for deportation back to Iran as people protest President Trumps travel ban from Muslim-majority countries at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 28. (Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters)

Hadi Ghaemi is the founder and executive director of the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

President Trumps travel ban on Iranians is a gift to the Islamic republic and its hard-line rulers. It will not deter terrorism on U.S. soil. Not a single terrorist involved in the 9/11 attacks or other fatal terrorist attacks in the United States since then has been of Iranian origin.

Instead, Trumps policy is a collective punishment of a diverse and changing nationality, and will ironically serve the purposes of Irans hard-line rulers.

Who are the Iranians who will be harmed by this policy?

I have been helping Iranian refugees reach safety for more than a decade. A recent case is that of Reza, his wife and their 3-year-old daughter. Reza, whose full name I cannot use for security reasons, is a victim of torture at the hands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards at Tehrans notorious Kahrizak prison.

Reza fled to Turkey in 2013, and after years waiting, he and his family were recently approved for resettlement in the United States. He hoped to arrive sometime this year, once security vetting by U.S. agencies was complete.

His hopes are shattered. He and his family are suddenly rendered effectively stateless and homeless, with nowhere to turn. Instead of welcoming a regime opponent to the United States, we are effectively throwing Reza and his family back into the treacherous hands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The Iranian refugees who have settled in the United States over the past decade are chiefly victims of the regimes harsh crackdowns, including students, journalists, womens rights activists and lawyers. These are the Iranians who have vocally and ferociously opposed the Islamic republic.

Another Iranian who was on her way to the United States  but now will likely never reach here  is a young womens rights activist. For years she has led a movement to change Irans discriminatory practices toward women, anonymously through social media.

Her dream is to strengthen her activism and knowledge base by attending a U.S. human rights program, and she has just been accepted to an Ivy League university. Without the travel ban, she would be on her way to fulfilling her dream and upon return to Iran would bring back valuable experience and knowledge for her fight against gender discrimination.

But now the door has been slammed in her face. She and her generation of womens rights activists in Iran will continue their work, make no mistake, but they will have to struggle harder to break out of their isolation and confront their oppressive rulers.

Indeed, the people who are most likely to travel between Iran and the United States  the people most affected by any ban  are Iranians who hold Western values of moderation and tolerance and believe in open political and economic systems. Its in the interest of the United States to strengthen these values in Iran however it can.

Isolating Iran from engagement with the West is not the way to fortify the forces of moderation in Iran  and it is exactly the opposite of strategy adopted by previous presidents, such as Ronald Reagan, who conscientiously encouraged nongovernmental and cultural interaction between citizens of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries and the United States, even at the height of the Cold War.

The Iranian government thrives on isolating its population and choking off criticism. But Irans young population has been striving to break free of this isolation. In Iran, public opinion of the United States is much more favorable than in any other country in the Middle East and North Africa.

By excluding all Iranians, Trump is only making it harder for the most promising elements of Iranian society to stand up to their repressive system and change their country for the better.

This policy will extend the Islamic republics longevity, disrupt the lives of 1.5 million Iranian Americans and fan the flames of anti-Americanism in the region. None of these developments will help secure our country from terrorism.
Visitors walk through a gate with the inscription "Arbeit macht frei" (work sets you free) to enter the grounds of the Sachsenhausen memorial of a former Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg near Berlin, on Jan. 27  International Holocaust Remembrance Day. (Maurizio Gambarini/AFP/Getty Images)

Facing growing criticism for failing to mention Jews in a statement marking the Holocaust, the Trump administration on Sunday doubled down on the controversial decision.

In a statement on Friday, President Trump broke with the bipartisan practice of past presidents by failing to include any mention of the anti-Semitic views that fueled the Holocaust and left 6 million Jews and millions of others dead.

I dont regret the words, said White House chief of staff Reince Priebus when asked to defend the statement on NBC News Meet the Press on Sunday.

Everyones suffering [in] the Holocaust including obviously all of the Jewish people affected and miserable genocide that occurs  its something that we consider to be extraordinarily sad, Priebus added.

Trumps 117-word statement was issued on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Trump remembered the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust without specifically mentioning Jewish people.

What might have been seen as an oversight was confirmed by White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks to have been an intentional decision.

Despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered, Hicks told CNN on Saturday.

On Sunday, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sharply criticized the White House for deploying a well-known tactic of Holocaust deniers.

This is what Holocaust denial is, Kaine said on NBC. Its either to deny that it happened or many Holocaust deniers acknowledge, Oh, yeah, people were killed, but it was a lot of innocent people; Jews werent targets. 

Conservative commentator John Podhoretz slammed the White Houses defense of its actions in a column on Saturday, noting that Nazi ideology rested on the aim of exterminating Jewish people from the face of earth.

The Nazis killed an astonishing number of people in monstrous ways and targeted certain groups  Gypsies, the mentally challenged, and open homosexuals, among others, Podhoretz wrote. But the Final Solution was aimed solely at the Jews. The Holocaust was about the Jews.

There is no proud way to offer a remembrance of the Holocaust that does not reflect that simple, awful, world-historical fact, he added. To universalize it to all those who suffered is to scrub the Holocaust of its meaning.

In fact, the United Nations created the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005 in part to combat a growing wave of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial worldwide.

In a speech on Friday in Washington, the Israeli ambassador to the United States warned against separating the history of the Holocaust from the Jewish people.

For many, the Holocaust is primarily a universal story about mans inhumanity to man, about the evils of racism and xenophobia, about how even the most enlightened societies can descend into darkness and barbarism, said Ambassador Ron Dermer. But if this noble universal vision is not firmly rooted in an appreciation that the Holocaust is first and foremost a Jewish story, it can become not only dangerous but even immoral.

The tactic of minimizing the impact of the Holocaust on Jewish people is also closely associated with nationalist movements in Europe, including the far-right National Front Party in France now led by Marine Le Pen, whose father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was fined for Holocaust denial.

The younger Le Pen has sought to make connections with Trump, calling his victory in the November election a sign of hope for her own political future.

Countries such as Russia are also known to ignore the Jewish dimension of the Holocaust in public statements.

But since International Holocaust Remembrance Day was created more than 10 years ago, former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, during their terms, referenced anti-Semitism or the slaughter of millions of Jewish people during World War II.

I dont understand why this is even a problem, said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League. This is not a political issue, this is a matter of not just sensitivity, its a matter of historical fact.

Six million Jews were slaughtered along with millions of other people, he added. But the Holocaust was about this singular focus on the annihilation of the Jewish people. Thats why we remember it. Thats why there is a day, a sad day like this past Friday, to reflect upon it.

Kaine tied Trumps move on Friday to bar the entry of travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries to the puzzling Holocaust statement issued on the same day.

The fact that they did that and imposed this religious test against Muslims in the executive order on the same day, this is not a coincidence, Kaine said.

But Priebus noted that Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is also a senior adviser in the White House, is Jewish. Trumps daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism before the two married.

You know that President Trump has dear family members that are Jewish and there was no harm or ill will or offense intended by any of that, Priebus added.

It is not clear what role Kushner played in the crafting of the statement. During the campaign, Kushner defended Trump against accusations of anti-Semitism after Trump tweeted out a graphic featuring the Star of David overlaid on piles of money, an image that had been circulating in anti-Semitic circles online.

My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite, Kushner wrote last year.

And later in the campaign, Trumps campaign released a closing argument ad that juxtaposed images of Jewish financiers and public officials with a denunciation of a global power structure. The Anti-Defamation League criticized the language in the ad for leaning on anti-Semitic tropes.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Poland among countries that do not specifically acknowledge Jews as victims in public statements. Poland has long recognized Jews as the primary target of Nazi genocide; its government in exile alerted the United Nations to the mass extermination of Jews in German-occupied Poland as early as 1942. The source of the incorrect information, Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League, has since apologized to the Polish Embassy. The story has been updated.
Immigration policy has changed from Franklin D. Roosevelts to Ronald Reagans and now to President Trumps. (European Pressphoto Agency; Associated Press; Associated Press)

In his farewell address to the nation in 1989, President Ronald Reagan told the story of a Navy sailor patrolling the South China Sea who came upon a leaky little boat crammed with refugees from Indochina trying to find a way to America.

Hello, American sailor, a man in the boat shouted up to the Navy vessel. Hello, freedom man. Reagan couldnt get that moment out of his mind because of what it said about what the United States meant  to those who live here and to the rest of the world.

But history reveals that even as the United States moved from the restrictive immigration policies of a century ago to Reagans advocacy of an open door to refugees, public opinion has oscillated. President Trumps move Friday to bar entry into the United States for residents of seven majority-Muslim countries harks back to a period when the U.S. government regularly banned immigrants and refugees from countries whose people were considered inferior, dangerous or incompatible with American values.

Trumps executive action marks the first time a president has sought to bar people because of their nation of origin  or their religion, as only Muslim-

dominated countries are included in the order  since the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act scrapped national-origin quotas, putting the focus instead on immigrants skills and personal connections to Americans.

[Are you, or someone you know, affected by President Trumps travel restrictions? Tell The Post.]

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

This is a paradigm shift, said David Bier, who studies immigration policy at the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank. This is an explicit rejection of the approach that George W. Bush and Barack Obama embraced, in which a big part of the war on terror was to bring in allies, to prove were not waging a war on Islam and to show that were an open society toward Muslims.

The history of this nation of immigrants is one of open doors and gates slammed shut, of welcoming words like those engraved inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore) and of generations of politicians and activists proclaiming that American values would be undermined by a new influx of foreigners.

Both open and restrictive refugee policies have gotten very high approval in polls through the years, said Roger Daniels, a historian of U.S. immigration and professor emeritus at the University of Cincinnati. In times of trouble, nativist policies  what Trump would call America First  get more attention. Since colonial times, theres been a strong strain of nativism that either dominates or is just ignored.

America must remain American, President Calvin Coolidge said in 1924 as he signed into law a measure that ended the biggest wave of immigration in U.S. history. The new law used the then-popular pseudoscience of eugenics to set drastic limits on entry by groups the government considered socially inadequate  mainly Italians and Eastern European Jews.

That same year, that same president declared the Statue of Liberty a national monument. And four decades later, President Lyndon B. Johnson traveled to the statue to sign the act that is still the basis of U.S. immigration policy. The 1965 law, Johnson said, corrects a cruel and enduring wrong. . . . for over four decades, the immigration policy of the United States has been twisted and distorted by the harsh injustice of the national origins quota system. Under that system, the ability of new immigrants to come to America depended on the country of their birth. Today . . . this system is abolished.

Bier and others argue that the Trump order is illegal because it seeks to restore national origin as a factor in deciding who gets into the country. The Trump administration contends that the president has the authority to suspend entry for any group he finds detrimental to the national interest.

However that issue plays out in the courts, the debate over how to decide who comes to the United States stretches back centuries and has been a hot issue in presidential and local elections for several decades. Although every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has supported admitting refugees fleeing political and religious persecution, those presidents also struggled to defend such policies against strong voices advocating tighter limits on newcomers.

(McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post)

Near the end of World War II, Roosevelt, after a long period of resisting pleas by American Jews to admit European Jews fleeing the Nazis program of extermination, decided to allow 1,000 refugees into the country and put them at an Army base in Upstate New York.

Thats the beginning of the presidential authority to interfere with immigration policy, Daniels said. And it has continued ever since.

Trumps focus on blocking people from predominantly Muslim countries and carving out openings for Christians fleeing those countries is at variance with everything weve done since Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower built our approach to refugees, Daniels said.

Perhaps paradoxically, the gates to the United States have tended not to tighten during wartime. In the late 2000s, George W. Bush increased the flow of refugees into the country as a way to thank people who had helped U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to demonstrate that he was serious about attacking terrorism rather than Islam.

Economic hardship has sometimes led to louder calls for more restrictive immigration and refugee policies, historians say, but surges of nativist sentiment have emerged more from cultural backlash than from hard times or wartime. The restrictive 1924 law, for example, came about in the Roaring Twenties, a time of great economic growth, Bier noted.

From the late 19th century through the 1930s, popular belief in eugenics, along with rivalries among religious groups, fed movements aimed against Catholics, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Asians and Africans.

Its really the civil rights movement of the 1960s that changed the approach, Bier said. After the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, ending legal segregation and banning employment discrimination based on race, religion or national origin, the idea of admitting immigrants based on where they came from seemed anachronistic.

In the 1980s, the immigration debate centered on illegal immigration; policies of that period were driven by the idea that expanding legal pathways into the country might curb the flow of illegal entrants. It didnt work; the battle over illegal immigration continued.

Some anti-immigration activists argued that the problem was not limited to illegal immigration but extended to all newcomers. Those activists focused on crimes committed by noncitizens, and Trump campaigned on that theme, highlighting stories of Americans whose loved ones had been killed by immigrants.

That approach won support from activists who have long sought not only a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border but also sharp cuts in legal immigration. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which seeks low-

immigration policies, welcomed Trumps latest moves, but noted that executive action is not enough. A reduction in legal immigration  which is the most important objective from a jobs or welfare or even security perspective  has to come from Congress, Krikorian said in a blog post.

Bier said, Were seeing populism take control of immigration policy for the first time since World War II. You dont have leaders in politics right now who are willing to say that we welcome people fleeing the enemies of the United States.

Reagan began and ended his farewell speech with powerful pleas for the country to open its arms. The shining city upon a hill that he wanted America to be was, he said, a place teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace. . . . And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.
Donald Trump is who we thought he was.

The 45th president campaigned as a radical break from both politics and policy as usual in Washington, promising to restore strength to the White House and the country while ignoring all tradition and political correctness.

He spent the first week of his presidency doing just that  beginning with an executive order triggering the United Statess withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, continuing through a midweek executive order to begin the process of building a wall along our southern border and culminating Friday with Trumps executive order temporarily halting refugees from entering the country and instituting a full entrance ban on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

[Despite growing dissent, Trump gives no sign of backing down from travel ban]

In between all of that, Trump again invoked his idea that millions of illegal votes had been cast in the 2016 election, and he pledged to get to the bottom of it.

(McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post)

Through it all, he kept tweeting.

Heres Trump on immigration: Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!

And here he is on alleged vote fraud: I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and  even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!

Any one of those moves would have caused a furor among Democrats. The combination of those moves  and all of them being made within the first full week of the Trump presidency  sent people opposed to Trumps agenda into an absolute frenzy.

That frenzy was defined by a single question: How can he be doing this?

The answer is simple, if noxious, to those who oppose Trump: He ran for president on exactly the sorts of ideas he has begun to implement as president.

Take, for one, the Muslim ban. Trump proposed the idea of temporarily halting Muslims from entering the United States in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attacks in late 2015. He was widely pilloried for the proposals by the establishments of both parties  with Republican leaders such as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and former Florida governor Jeb Bush insisting that such a proposal was the antithesis of conservatism.

Know who didnt feel that way? Republican primary voters.

Trumps numbers surged in the wake of the proposed Muslim ban; it was the springboard that catapulted him from a modest front-runner in the race to the clear person to beat.

Trump talked less about the ban during the general election and tried to moderate the terms somewhat. But he never abandoned it  or even came close.

And so, when Trump signed an executive order Friday that stopped all refugees from entering the country and restricted entrance by all visitors from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, no one should really have been shocked.

Ditto Trumps moves on the Affordable Care Act, the border wall and the totally unsubstantiated allegation that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton because of widespread voter fraud.

The assumption  even after Trump was elected  seems to be that he either a) didnt really believe many of the things he said on the campaign trail or b) wouldnt spend the political capital necessary to attempt their implementation.

The first week of the Trump presidency suggests that those assumptions were deeply misguided. Trump meant exactly what he said and appears totally committed to executing on the campaign promises he made in spite of the furor they might cause.

But its more than that, too. This Trump is the Trump who won 306 electoral votes and almost 63 million votes. (Yes, I am aware Clinton got almost 66 million.) People voted for this Trump. He did almost nothing  far less than your average politician  to obfuscate or fudge his views.

While he didnt attach a ton of specifics to his proposals, its very hard for me to believe that the vast majority of people who voted for Trump expected anything other than what they got from him in this first week. In fact, they are likely overjoyed that Trump  unlike most pols  is doing what he said he would.

None of the above is to invalidate or undermine those who oppose Trump. Their objections  and willingness to act on them via protests, petitions and legal means  is at the heart of a healthy democracy.

My point is only this: Trump is governing almost exactly how he said he would during a campaign that he won. No one should be surprised.
Democrats spent the weekend building a full-scale opposition push against President Trumps executive order banning entry into the United States for refugees, migrants and even green-card holders from seven mostly Muslim countries.

On Saturday night, elected officials and candidates for Democratic National Committee leadership positions joined protesters at airports around the country. On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) fought back tears as he announced that Democrats would introduce legislation to stop the order.

This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American, he said, flanked by refugees at a news conference in New York. Look at these faces! Are they any kind of threat to America? No, theyre the promise of America.

Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are inviting all Democratic lawmakers to join them at 6 p.m. Monday on the steps of the Supreme Court to show solidarity with legal attempts to block Trumps travel ban. And in an interview, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said he would introduce legislation to overturn Trumps order by forcing him to comply with the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which banned discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin.

I think ultimately this ban will be struck down by the courts, but we need to put legislation on the table that Republicans could support that overturns the ban, Murphy said. [The president] clearly campaigned on this ban, but the fact that he put no thought into how it was drafted or how it would be implemented is incredibly dangerous.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Given that stance, Murphy said, Democrats must force a debate this week on Trumps order by slowing consideration of the presidents remaining Cabinet nominees, especially Rex Tillerson, his choice to serve as the next secretary of state.

We should take every ounce of time that were allowed on these nominees to talk about the disaster that has been the first week of this administration, especially when it comes to foreign policy, he said.

Schumer and Democrats are eager to move quickly because they believe they have a rare opportunity to ride a wave of GOP opposition to Trumps moves. Democrats argue that one of the only ways they can influence policymaking in the next two years is to drive a wedge between Trump and members of his own party.

[McConnell: We dont have religious tests in this country]

At his news conference, Schumer said he believed legislation could easily move through the Senate given the growing opposition from key Republicans, including John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.).

Details of the legislative proposals were still being sorted out Sunday afternoon, but most are likely to be introduced by Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of refugee and immigrants rights issues, aides said. Schumer was working to coordinate the proposals Sunday; Murphy said he received a call from the leader early in the day to confer.

Democratic leaders also were exploring the options for holding more public events to draw attention to the opposition to Trumps orders  with the party seeking once again to tap into the anger that has driven millions of Americans into the streets.

(Alice Li/The Washington Post)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has taken a leading role in Democratic messaging, said Sunday that the Senate needs to pass legislation immediately which effectively rescinds Trumps un-American and unconstitutional ban on people from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States. He also argued for slowing the nomination process.

Almost without exception, Trumps Cabinet nominees are extremely controversial and way outside of the American mainstream, Sanders said. In my view, the Senate needs to take as much time as possible on the floor for a full discussion and debate about each of these nominees.

For the partys restive base, that fight  just 10 days into the new presidents term  could not come soon enough. While Democrats have embraced the protests against Trump and Republican policies, and while some helped organize more than 70 rallies on Jan. 15 against repealing the Affordable Care Act, progressives have criticized the party for not voting en masse against Trumps Cabinet picks.

You better show up ready to do real work on Monday after all this pro bono work we, the people, did for you on our day off, said CNN host W. Kamau Bell in a Saturday night tweet.

In several cases, Democratic lawmakers took one of the most basic steps available to them as members of Congress: They provided services for constituents. New York Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Nydia M. Velazquez, who represent parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, showed up at John F. Kennedy International Airport and helped activists and attorneys seek the quick release of green-card holders and refugees stuck in legal limbo upon U.S. arrival.

In Houston, where the candidates for DNC roles participated in the second of four future forums, activists filled a ballroom at Texas Southern University to ask why Democrats were not doing more. One attendee could be heard shouting, Elizabeth Warren sold us out, a reference to her committee vote in favor of Ben Carsons nomination to become secretary of housing and urban development .

On Saturday afternoon, before the protests had gotten fully underway, some of the Houston events biggest cheers came when the candidates were asked whether they would oppose all of Trumps nominees  something no Democrat has done.

With what we have seen in the last seven days, I think we may be underreacting, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg said.

[The tumultuous politics of U.S. immigration policy]

Weve got refugees who were vetted more than the Trump Cabinet was vetted, said former labor secretary Thomas Perez.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim member of Congress, said that the party needs to follow the lead of activists and that those activists are needed for direct action against Trump.

It is street action that creates the economic and social conditions for legislation to get passed, Ellison said.

After the forum, Buttigieg joined Perez and South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison at the protests breaking out at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

We knew this would be a day of reckoning when Donald Trump assumed the Oval Office, Perez said to protesters. Lady Liberty has taken a few body punches, but the American people will fight back.

By Saturday night, many more elected Democrats were joining protests  and enabling them. After the Port Authority suspended the AirTrain that transports people from New Yorks subway to JFK Airport, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) reversed its decision. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) showed up at Philadelphias airport in a tuxedo, having left a formal event to help local elected officials negotiate with customs officers to see stranded immigrants and refugees.

At Dulles International Airport, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) did the same  to little avail. At Bostons Logan International Airport, Warren (D-Mass.) delivered a speech against Trumps order that was amplified by the crowd, a peoples microphone that had been used by the Occupy Wall Street movement. And Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) joined marchers protesting Trumps travel ban outside the White House on Sunday afternoon.

Booker, Harris and Warren, considered possible Democratic presidential contenders in 2020, cast three of just 11 no votes against Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly. Murphy noted that the Senate quickly confirmed James Mattis, the revered former Marine general, to serve as defense secretary because he assured us that he was going to argue against the very ban he watched Trump sign. At a summer 2016 roundtable, Mattis said the idea of a Muslim ban would make actors in the Middle East think America had completely lost it.

Many of us gave the president and his Cabinet a little benefit of the doubt last week, Murphy said. I dont see that theres any reason that that should continue. Almost every single one of these nominees try to prop up their nomination by contradicting Trump in their confirmation hearing. Its pretty clear now that Donald Trump and Steve Bannon are running this administration and the nominees that have been confirmed thus far have been marginalized.

By Sunday afternoon, nearly every congressional Democrat had condemned the executive order, including Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who faces a 2018 reelection campaign in a state Trump carried by 35 points. None defended it, but several remained silent. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cautioned that Democrats can only do so much to try to stop Trump, given their diminished powers on Capitol Hill.

Were going to have to pick our battles in the next two years because we dont have the majority, he said. There are so many moving parts here, and we need to prioritize what we respond to and what we propound. We have to be proactively propounding an alternative vision that recalls American core values.

In the House, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a longtime advocate for immigrant and refugee rights, is set to introduce a bill this week that would block implementation of Trumps order, according to senior House aides. And Pelosi informed colleagues Sunday afternoon that among the options her caucus would consider is the filing of a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the American Civil Liberties Union should legal cases to block or reverse Trumps travel ban reach the Supreme Court.

Connolly said he and many other Democrats have been stunned by how organically Americans have been drawn into the streets to protest Trumps early decisions as president. Just days after the Jan. 21 Womens March on Washington, 200 more people than usual showed up at a regular meeting of the Fairfax County Democratic Party.

Thats a sign, he said. And there are all kinds of people networking and asking the question, What can I do? Theres not a sense of Throw up your hands, our fate is sealed. Its quite the opposite. It wasnt a feckless, powerless act. It was a call to arms. And I believe its going to lead to mass organizing across the country to resist this constitutional assault.

Read more at PowerPost
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Benoit Hamon holds a rose, the symbol of the French Socialist Party, as he greets supporters after winning the presidential nomination. (Francois Mori/AP)

A struggling French left named its contender for the presidency Sunday, in the midst of a highly contentious election campaign that is likely to shape the future of a deeply troubled Europe.

The winner was Benoit Hamon, a onetime education minister under Francois Hollande, the historically unpopular Socialist president whose unusual decision not to seek reelection led the way to Sundays leftist primary. Hamon defeated Manuel Valls, Hollandes prime minister, with roughly 60 percent of the vote.

The newly anointed winner promised to unite the warring factions of the French left in advance of the elections in April and May. France needs a left that thinks of the world as it is, he said.

Given Hollandes unpopularity, many were quick to explain the outcome as a rejection of the sitting president, who has struggled with stagnant unemployment figures and terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 230 people in France over the past two years.

But analysts saw Hamons victory as something far more seismic: the likely demise of the French left, and specifically the Socialist Party, as a force to be reckoned with in French and European politics.

Its very much the end of the left as a dominant, governing party, said Gerard Grunberg, a leading expert on the history of the French left at Sciences Po in Paris.

This, experts say, is largely because Hamon promises an unrealistically utopian vision of French society unlikely to sway voters from the now-global appeal of populism and its emphasis on national identity and national security.

Having proposed a universal income  750 euros per person per month, or about $800  that would cost close to 30 percent of Frances gross domestic product every year, Hamon has consistently polled behind both the races centrist candidate, Emmanuel Macron, and its leading conservative contender, Francois Fillon, currently mired in a public spending scandal.

Polls also suggest that Hamon might not even make the second and final round of the vote against Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front Party, largely defined by xenophobic and Islamophobic rhetoric.

Although many voters might have simply voted against Hollande and his legacy, Grunberg said, they ultimately chose a candidate unlikely to appeal to the nation at large  even a nation with as proud a Socialist tradition as France.

In the end, there is also this evolution in the ideology of the left, he said. The left of the left is becoming stronger, and its ideology is anti-capitalist and anti-liberal before all. Theres a growing distance between the left and social democracy as we know it.

With little chance of a leftist victory in sight, Hollande  who spoke with President Trump for the first time on Saturday  warned the French public of the dangers behind the alternative.

In France, once powerful Socialists stand little chance of winning election

Francois Hollande wont seek another term as Frances president

Fillon may end bid for the French presidency if judge pursues case against him

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Fuad Sharef and his family, Iraqi citizens who were traveling to the United States on Saturday, were stopped by Egyptian authorities in Cairos airport after President Trumps immigration ban went into effect. They were told they would have to return to Iraq. (Sharef family )

The photos of the Sharef family spoke volumes about their plight.

In the first two, the Iraqis are happily seated on their plane, smiling. They were flying from their home in Irbil to New York. In the next few, they are seated in Cairos airport, their faces glum and haggard. By then, they had been taken off their plane  and informed they could no longer travel to the United States.

It did not matter that they had valid visas. It did not matter that they were headed to Nashville to start a new life. President Trumps executive order banning entry to citizens of Iraq and six other mostly Muslim nations had caught up with the family of five.

I am a very hard worker, Fuad Sharef, the father, said in a telephone interview because they were not allowed to leave the airport terminal. Going to America was a dream for me and my kids.

Everything has gone down the drain because of Donald Trump.

Down the drain means this: The family had sold their house, their car and all their possessions to aid them in their new life. The children were pulled out of their schools. Sharef quit his well-paying job at a pharmaceutical company. And their air tickets cost $5,000.

Also down the drain is their sense of security. Sharef once worked for a U.S. government subcontractor in post-invasion Iraq as a translator and a program manager. He got his visas, after two years of vetting, through a special U.S. resettlement program for Iraqi employees of the American government. Working for Americans was filled with perils, he said. He and other colleagues faced death threats; he knew co-workers who were kidnapped or killed.

On Sunday, he and his family  his wife, Arazoo, 41; his son, Bnyad, 19; his daughter Yad, 17; and another daughter, Shad, 10  boarded a flight back to Irbil after spending the night inside the airport terminal.

Donald Trump destroyed my life, Sharef said. How can he do this to people who risked their lives to help America?

Read more:

Denied Entry: Stories of refugees and immigrants barred from the U.S.

Trump order temporarily halts admission of refugees, promises priority for Christians

These are peoples lives they are playing with: Worlds airports turn into limbo for many under Trump order

Are you, or someone you know, affected by President Trumps travel restrictions?

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
An Israeli soldier stands guard in the Israeli settlement of Beit El near the West Bank city of Ramallah. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)

In a modern building of beige and black stone, hundreds of Jewish students pore over religious texts and learn of their right to settle the land surrounding this hillside settlement, as promised by God to their forefathers.

The new building for the religious seminary, or yeshiva, opened just a month ago, despite controversy over any new construction here. A sign reading Danger: Construction still hangs on the fence outside.

Located deep inside the occupied West Bank, near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, the settlement is considered illegal by most of the international community. But it has some influential backers, the most famous of whom now sits in the White House.

Several of President Trumps close associates have strong links to the right-wing Zionist community, home to 1,300 families. Trumps pick for ambassador to Israel, his former bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, is president of the American Friends of Bet El Institutions, which raises about $2 million a year. Its website says the group has helped bring about an influx in young couples and is working to create facts on the ground to prevent international attempts to uproot the community.

The family of Trumps son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has donated tens of thousands. Trump himself made a $10,000 donation in 2003, his foundations tax filings show.





Palestinians say such communities present a major barrier to peace and the creation of a contiguous future Palestinian state. It is a view that much of the world shares.

But Trumps ties to the settler movement could upend decades of U.S. policy on dealing with the conflict here, allowing Israel more freedom to build without censure from Washington, which previously considered West Bank settlements illegitimate.

[Israel plans West Bank settlement expansion amid U.S. policy shifts]

The first signs of a shift emerged last week, as Israel made a bold announcement of 2,500 new housing units in West Bank settlements, including some in Beit El. So far, the Trump administration has avoided condemning the move.

We are now more hopeful, Yael Ben-Yashar, who has lived in Beit El for 20 years and acts as the settlements spokeswoman and runs tours, said last week. We think it may be a new era.

Beit El was established in 1977 by members of a right-wing messianic activist movement that thinks Jews should return to repopulate Judea and Samaria, the biblical name for the West Bank. Despite restrictions on building, Beit El has burgeoned from a hardscrabble hilltop outpost of a few caravans to a small town dotted with palm trees and a clinic and schools.

The area of Beit El, meaning House of God, held particular resonance for the settlers. It was believed to be the site where, according to the Bible, Jacob had his dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven, when God promised him that his descendants would return to the surrounding land.

An Israeli soldier standing guard in a monitoring cabin in Beit El. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)

Today, in Beit El, we are living that dream, Ben-Yashar said from an observation point on top of a water tank, from which the view stretches from Tel Aviv to the west to Mount Scopus to the south and the Golan Heights to the north. In the center of the viewing platform, a mosaic depicts a map of greater Israel.

You can see why God promised it here, she said. You can see it all from here.

Nearby, down a dirt track, is the smooth flat rock where believers say Jacob slept. The site and the settlement attract about 5,000 visitors a year, said Ben-Yashar.

Some also visit its small winery, run by Hillel Manne and his wife, Nina, who met Friedman when he came to pick grapes several years ago.

I think it was just after 2008, because I remember we joked hed made a lot of money, Manne said with a chuckle, referring to Friedmans work as a bankruptcy lawyer during the financial crash. His wife described Friedman as a family person.

He came with all the family. His wife is wonderful, too, she said.

Friedman, the son of an Orthodox rabbi, was picked as ambassador by Trump despite having no diplomatic experience. He has publicly said that the two-state narrative needs to end, is a staunch supporter of settlements, and has said he expects to work from Jerusalem. Moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which has been opposed by Palestinians, would be seen as tacit recognition of Israels sovereignty over the contested city.

[Israel says theres never been a more right-wing U.S. ambassador than Trumps pick]

But Hillel Manne said he fears that Friedman, and a more sympathetic ear in the White House, may not be able to change much.

Its good to see people excited, he said of Friedmans appointment. But if you want change, youll need big change at the State Department. The State Department staff, theyve managed the U.S. to bet on a lot of losers.

This land was promised to me as a Jew, Nina Manne said. It is ridiculous that we need to live in this situation. That we have to justify ourselves to be here.

But Beit El was largely established on private Palestinian land that had been designated by the Israeli state for military purposes, according to a report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Approval for 20 new units came last week when the expansion in the West Bank was announced, according to Beit Els mayor, Shay Alon.

The plans are disastrous, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organizations executive committee, said, condemning Israeli land theft.

It is evident that Israel is exploiting the inauguration of the new American administration to escalate its violations and the prevention of any existence of a Palestinian state, she said in a statement, urging the international community to take action.

For Alon, however, the expansion plan didnt go far enough. He said he felt ambivalent about the news, given that 300 new units in Beit El had been promised when several apartment blocks were razed by the government five years ago.

Building permits were restricted for years when Barack Obama was U.S. president, and Alon hopes that Friedman is the sort of person who can bring about a change.

Like other Orthodox residents here, he believes their presence is preordained.

Yishai Babad was in the ninth family to arrive, and he set up a factory that makes tefillin  small leather phylacteries containing verses from the Torah.

He said Obama loved the Arabs and not the Jews, but that the incoming administration would make no difference.

We dont believe that the policy towards Beit El is going to change anything, because its all written in the scriptures, he said. Weve always had difficulties, but all of Israel was built despite the difficulties.

Read more:

Kerry harshly condemns Israeli settler activity as an obstacle to peace

Trump picks a supporter of West Bank settlements for ambassador to Israel

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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President Trump on Friday signs an executive order closing U.S. borders to all refugees temporarily and additionally suspending the entry of anyone from Iraq, Syria and five other predominantly Muslim countries. (Susan Walsh/AP)

In just his first week in the White House, President Trump has sought to redefine Americas most lethal enemy in terms far broader than his post-9/11 predecessors.

The net result of Trumps new approach  outlined in speeches, interviews and executive orders  is a vast departure for a country that has often struggled over the past 15 years to say whether it is at war and precisely who it is fighting.

With a few sweeping moves, Trump has answered those questions with a clarity that is refreshing to his supporters and alarming to some U.S. counterterrorism officials as well as most of the Muslim world.

For Trump and his senior policy advisers, America is locked in a world war for its very survival, and the enemies in this wide-ranging battle are not only radical Islamist terrorists but a chaotic, violent and angry Muslim world.

The world is as angry as it gets, Trump said last week from the White House. Take a look at whats happening with Aleppo. Take a look at whats happening in Mosul. Take a look at whats going on in the Middle East. . . . The world is a mess.

One day later, in an appearance at the Pentagon and in signing an executive order  Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States  Trump laid out his plan to deal with what he had described as a vast and pressing threat. He closed Americas borders to all refugees temporarily and additionally suspended the entry of anyone from Iraq, Syria and five other predominantly Muslim countries.

The optic of this is really awful, said Nada Bakos, a former CIA analyst, of the refugee ban. What theyve done goes too far. All it does is help [Islamic State] recruiting.

Trump also vowed new extreme vetting measures to permanently keep radical Islamist terrorists out of the United States and promised to give Christians from the Middle East and other minority religions in the region priority over Muslim refugees.

Finally, he promised to pump new money into Americas military, what he called a great rebuilding of the armed services of the United States.

Both former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama had defined the enemy in significantly narrower terms while in office, eager to avoid any moves that might make it appear as if the United States was at war with Islam.

For Bush, the enemy was al-Qaeda and state sponsors of terrorism to include former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Iran and the Taliban. Obama insisted that Bushs definition was a recipe for endless war and singled out an even smaller group. To him, the enemy was a series of terrorist death cults that he said were perverting the peaceful religion of Islam.

The executive order on immigration and refugees was produced at a frenetic pace that included none of the interagency reviews that characterized similar orders in the Bush and Obama administrations, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said.

The process was remarkable, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. Nobody in the counterterrorism community pushed for this. None of us ever asked for it.

Trump described the order as a key cog in an effort to prevent terrorists from entering the United States, but the policy does not affect countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Egypt, whose citizens have launched terrorist attacks inside the United States. Not one of the 19 hijackers who struck on 9/11 came from a country targeted by the order.

The measure drew negative responses across the world, some of which was heard by U.S. forces on the ground in the Middle East.

U.S. commanders advising Iraqi forces reported back that their partners were mystified by the order. Its already flowing back, said the senior counterterrorism official. They are asking, What do you think of us? Do you see us as the threat? 

Some Iraqi lawmakers proposed banning U.S. troops and civilians from entering Iraq  an action, if followed through, that could lead the authorities in Baghdad to turn to Russia and seek more support from Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the ban would be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.

Trump on Saturday described the move as sensible and not aimed at any particular religious group.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared, he told reporters in the Oval Office. Its working out very nicely, you see it at the airports, you see it all over . . . and were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.

The stark departure from American policy over the past 15 years is a reflection not only of Trump but the somewhat dystopian vision of his closest advisers.

Were at the very beginning stages of a very brutal and bloody conflict, said Stephen K. Bannon, Trumps chief strategist, in a 2014 speech to a Vatican conference. We are in an outright war against jihadist Islamic fascism and this war is . . . metastasizing far quicker than governments can handle it.

Michael Flynn, Trumps national security adviser, similarly describes the fight against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State as a world war.

We could lose, he wrote in his recent book, The Field of Fight. In fact, right now were losing.

Those sorts of analyses represent a radical departure from Obama, who believed that the United States had succumbed to a season of fear following the 9/11 attacks that produced a disastrous war in Iraq and a betrayal of Americas core values. As commander in chief, he banned torture  a policy Trump has suggested he might revisit  and sought unsuccessfully to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Shameful was the word that Obama used to describe calls from Trump and other presidential candidates to impose religious tests on refugees or immigrants.

Obama was convinced that groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State did not pose an existential threat to the country. Rather, he suggested that the biggest threat came from an overreaction to the attacks that would cause the United States to turn away from the world.

His approach stressed Americas fearlessness in the face of attacks. Thats who the American people are  determined and not to be messed with, Obama said in describing his counterterrorism strategy in 2013. Now we need a strategy and a politics that reflects this resilient spirit.

Trump, meanwhile, has chosen a different route.
People gather at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, to protest the travel ban imposed by President Trumps executive order. (Alexander Schippers/European Pressphoto Agency)

In Turkey, a Syrian American woman worried that if she tried to enter the United States with her Syrian refugee husband, he could be deported back to Syria.

In Moscow, a young Yemeni Russian man said he was denied a U.S. student visa because U.S. officials deemed he was more Yemeni than Russian.

And in Kenya, a young Somali refugee scheduled to fly to the United States on Monday to launch a new life was informed that his trip was canceled.

And so, on the second day after President Trump signed his executive order banning visas to nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, the fallout continues, permeating through the lives of countless people around the globe.

I felt the world turning around and I felt crushed, said Jameel Almaqtari, 23, who carries both Russian and Yemeni passports, after his hope of getting an American education was denied Friday. I feel a great sense of oppression and injustice. It was always my dream to go to the U.S.

The psychological and emotional toll was accompanied Sunday by a growing diplomatic fallout from the decision to prevent would-be immigrants, refugees and even visitors from the affected countries from entering the United States for the next 30 days  or longer. From Europe to the Middle East, politicians who condemned the travel bans said they were unjustified, would do little to combat terrorism and would bring more woes to the most vulnerable people in the world.

[Denied Entry: Stories of refugees and immigrants barred from the U.S.]

The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the U.S. government against refugees and nationals from certain countries, read a statement issued by the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is convinced that even in the necessary resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion.

Iran on Sunday again blasted the executive order, after announcing its own ban on American citizens entering the country. The tensions threatened the diplomatic thaw that took place between Iran and the United States under former president Barack Obama.

The Iranian speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, said that the decision to ban citizens of the seven Muslim-majority countries  Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan  was hasty and based on fear, according to Irans official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Banning Iranians over terrorism concerns is nothing but a lame joke, he said at an open session of parliament, IRNA reported.

In Iraq, some clerics and members of parliament called for the government to implement a reciprocal ban on Americans. The more than 5,000 U.S. troops in the country as part of a coalition to fight the Islamic State are supported by thousands of security contractors on visas, who could be affected.

[He risked his life working for the U.S. in Iraq. Now his visas no good.]

The outspoken Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose militia once battled the U.S. occupation of Iraq following the 2003 invasion, released a statement Sunday calling for American nationals to be expelled.

The United States enters Iraq and other countries with complete freedom while closing its doors to the nationals of those countries, he said.

That is swagger and arrogance, he said. Get your citizens out.

We clearly demanded that the Iraqi government deal reciprocally, Hassan Shwairid, the deputy head of the Iraqi parliaments foreign affairs committee, told Agence France-Presse.

Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said that Iraq hopes that the new procedures wont damage the relationship between Baghdad and Washington. He said that he thought that the changes would not be permanent, as Trump told Abadi that he was keen on developing relations on a recent call.

We understand the security motives behind these procedures, but we stress at the same time on the importance of taking the mutual interests of both countries into consideration, he said.

In Yemen, the Houthi-led rebel government that controls the capital, Sanaa, angrily denied that the country and its citizens are a potential source of terrorism and extremism. And Turkeys deputy prime minister, Mehmet Simsek, said on Twitter on Sunday that refugees are welcome in Turkey, the worlds largest refugee hosting country.

Wed happily welcome global talent not allowed back into #USA, he posted.

Mohammed Abdi, who fled war-torn Somalia, was supposed to be on his way to the United States on Monday. He had boarded a bus from Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world, to a small transit center in Nairobi run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Thats where he was supposed to get a crash course on American culture  how to take public transportation, how to apply for a job, how to navigate a large city after two decades living in a sprawling camp for Somalis who had fled their countries wars.

Abdi was bound for St. Louis. Back at Dadaab, he sold what he owned to buy winter clothes for himself, his wife and his four children. Even the store at Dadaab had an American name: U.S. Clothes. Then, on Saturday, employees of the transit center told him that his trip had been canceled.

They told me this has been suspended by the honorable president of the United States, Donald Trump, he said.

Abdi looked around at the other refugees. Some of them were crying. He tried to stay optimistic, telling the others that nothing was certain yet.

We wish the best, he said, but I dont know what will happen.

In Istanbul, the Syrian American woman and her Syrian refugee husband contemplated their next steps. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are worried they could face retribution both in Turkey and at U.S. entry points. Married for nearly two years, both are humanitarian workers aiding the Syrian people.

[As Trump bars Syrian refugees, life in their camps is getting harder]

The husband received a U.S. visa this month that grants him an immediate green card. They wanted to live in the United States, so they quit their jobs and bought their airplane tickets to Chicago, where the wife is from.

Now, if we travel, we dont know if we can get in, she said.

If her husband is sent back to Turkey, he may not be allowed to re-enter because of strict Turkish immigration rules for Syrian refugees, she said. And if hes sent back to Syria, he would return to a war zone.

We were ready to move to the States, she said. We were looking for places to live, looking for apartments. I was already doing interviews for new jobs. And now all of this happened.

I wont go back to the U.S. without my husband, she added. I just wont.

Kevin Sieff in Nairobi; Erin Cunningham in Istanbul; Ali al-Mujahed in Sanaa; Loveday Morris in Irbil, Iraq; Mustafa Salim in Baghdad; and Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin contributed to this report.

Read more

Trump official appears to walk back inclusion of green-card holders in travel ban

Donald Trump destroyed my life, says barred Iraqi who worked for U.S.

Worlds airports turn into limbo for many under Trump order

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
GRAND FORKS -- A bomb threat prompted officials to evacuate the Grand Forks International Airport early Saturday morning.

Grand Forks officers responded at 5:14 a.m. to the airport after a traveler told a ticket agent there was a bomb in his bag, according to a news release. The suspect, who was taken into custody without incident, was identified as Paraman Radhakishan, 53, of India.

Airport operations were suspended while the Grand Forks Regional Bomb Squad "evaluated the validity of the threat." Officers did not find a bomb or threatening devices, and the airport resumed normal operations.

The Grand Forks Herald was unable to reach airport administration Saturday to confirm how many passengers and employees were in the terminal at the time of the incident.

Its unclear why Radhakishan is accused of making the threat. He was set to get on a flight from Grand Forks to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to police.

A Delta Air Lines plane was scheduled to leave Grand Forks at 5 a.m. for Minneapolis, and the next Delta plane was scheduled to leave for Minneapolis at 11:05 a.m., according to that airline's website.

An Allegiant Air flight was set to leave Grand Forks at 10:42 a.m. for Orlando Sanford International Airport in Sanford, Fla.

All of those flights left on time.

Radhakishan was booked at the Grand Forks Correctional Center on charges of terrorizing.
Photo: Getty Images

A statistically astonishing development in Britain is suggesting that doctors of patients who are expecting not call them mothers. The move is intended to ensure that any transgender men who may become pregnant are not offended. This comes on the heels of news reports of a transgender man in the United Kingdom who is putting his transition on hold to carry a pregnancy to term.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has released a 14-page guidebook, A Guide to Effective Communication: Inclusive Language in the Workplace, to more than 160,000 members and suggests that mothers now be called pregnant people instead of expectant mothers.

The example patient being cited is 20-year-old Hayden Cross  born female and now four months pregnant  who is holding off on a sex reassignment surgery, according to the Daily Mail. Cross has reportedly received death threats due to his decision to have his child.

While Cross seems to be the only transitioning and pregnant transgender man in the U.K., the BMA wants the rule to be instituted, although data shows 775,000 women give birth yearly. The BMA guides explanation of the ban reads as follows:



A large majority of people that have been pregnant or have given birth identify as women. However, there are some intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant. We can include intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant by saying pregnant people instead of expectant mothers.



Activist Laura Perrins said that the BMAs suggestion to use the term pregnant people is offensive and dangerous, adding that this sweeping rule by the association, although intended to defend the interests of a small part of the population, will actually offend more women. Adding to the fervor of the discussion, terms such as born man and born woman are also not to be applied.



Related: Transgender Man Sues Catholic Hospital for Denying Hysterectomy

Related: Study Finds Most Women Who Medically Freeze Eggs Never Use Them

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Mark Ruffalo, Silicon Valleys Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Moore, and Designated Survivors Kal Penn are among the celebrities speaking out against Donald Trumps controversial anti-Muslim immigration ban.

The president signed on Friday an executive order that halts refugees from entering the country, as well as immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Syria, Somalia, and Iran. Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, told Reuters this action also applies to green card holders.

As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult, Nanjiani tweeted on Saturday. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate. Vice President Mike Pence, Senator John McCain, and GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan should be ashamed of themselves, the actor continued. On your deathbeds you will know you made the world worse.

As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

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Hey @mike_pence @SenJohnMcCain @SpeakerRyan, you should be ashamed of yourselves. On your deathbeds you will know you made the world worse.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

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You're saying to a billion people "You're all the same. You're all dangerous to us." Children hear this. You breed evil here & everywhere.  Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 28, 2017

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Penn posted a screenshot of a Twitter user writing to him, you dont belong here you fing joke. The actor responded, To the dude who said I dont belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name.

To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU  Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017

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Other actors and filmmakers have spoken out in solidarity for Asghar Farhadi. Unconfirmed reports allege the Iranian filmmaker, whos been nominated for an Oscar for The Salesman, is barred from entering the U.S. to attend the awards ceremony in February. Author Trita Parsi, who is President of the National Iranian American Council, first tweeted the news, which was quickly followed by outcry from industry members.

Confirmed: Iran's Asghar Farhadi won't be let into the US to attend Oscar's. He's nominated for best foreign language film#MuslimBan  Trita Parsi (@tparsi) January 28, 2017

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Asghar Farhadi, 2 time Oscar nominee, BAFTA nominee, Golden Bear winner, Palme Dor & Cesar award nominee. BANNED from entering US, Jamie Bell tweeted. Let me add Oscar WINNER, Golden Globe winner, Cesar winner & listed on Foreign Policys Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Asghar Farhadi, 2 time Oscar nominee, BAFTA nominee, Golden Bear winner, Palme D'or & Cesar award nominee. BANNED from entering US.  Jamie Bell (@1jamiebell) January 28, 2017

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Let me add Oscar WINNER, Golden Globe winner, Cesar winner & listed on Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers, Asghar Farhadi.  Jamie Bell (@1jamiebell) January 28, 2017

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13th and A Wrinkle In Time filmmaker Ava DuVernay posted quotes from Farhadis 2012 Oscars acceptance speech for A Separation: Amplifying words of one of my favorite filmmakers, Asghar Farhadi, who like too many others will be turned away from the Land of the Free.

Amplifying words of one of my favorite filmmakers, Asghar Farhadi, who like too many others will be turned away from the Land of the Free. pic.twitter.com/CcskcFueuo  Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 28, 2017

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Since Trump signed the order, protestors have gathered at New Yorks John F. Kennedy Airport over the detainment of incoming refugees. Ruffalo called the detainment the day the music died.

The day the music died  Protestors gather at New York's JFK Airport over refugee detainmenthttps://t.co/h8eyFmbAOs  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 28, 2017

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded with a welcoming message to refugees. To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith, he tweeted. Diversity is our strength.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

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See more tweets below.

My heart is breaking today for the Muslim community around the world  troye sivan (@troyesivan) January 28, 2017

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Look, whatever your politics, the #MuslimBan hurts real families & will do little to stop terrorism. My wife's Dad is an Iranian immigrant.  Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) January 28, 2017

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To our Muslim neighbors in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man.  Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 28, 2017

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.@realDonaldTrump FYI this endangers our armed forces in the future. Who would want to help us, when this is how we repay interpreters? https://t.co/JpaeRb84uz  zoe kazan (@zoeinthecities) January 28, 2017

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My best friend, Alaa Mohammad Khaled, is Muslim. His parents were Palestinian refugees. His brother is DJ Khaled. #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/qXOapgvvF7  Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 28, 2017

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I'm sorry @SpeakerRyan but given your absolute silence on the #MuslimBan this tweet, like your smile, is phony and meaningless. https://t.co/Ns0avsYVuf  Josh Charles (@MrJoshCharles) January 28, 2017

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I moved to America 32 years ago. Yesterday was the first day I felt ashamed to be part of this country.  Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) January 28, 2017

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We've lost something very precious. And traded it for a cowardly, foolish illusion of safety. I'm ashamed.#MuslimBan  Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) January 28, 2017

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And the fact that they did it on Holocaust Memorial Day

the most vile thing I've seen in a long, long time.#MuslimBan  Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) January 28, 2017

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The Deplorable States of America. #muslimban  Julie Plec (@julieplec) January 28, 2017

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1. Trump's #MuslimBan is against the law. The 1965 Immigration & Naturalization Act eliminated national origins as a basis for immigration.  Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) January 28, 2017

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THANKU to the protesters @ JFK vocalising their repulsion at the action to ban Muslim refugees & immigrants & green card holders into the US  KT Tunstall (@KTTunstall) January 28, 2017

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JFK Terminal 4 is owned by Dutch group IAT and run by Port Authority. They are not happy today. #MuslimBan  Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) January 28, 2017

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Donald Trump is an unwell, evil human being. To the core.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 28, 2017

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Well a bunch of countries on #MuslimBan are OPEC countries- wonder if this will drive up the price of oil..  Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) January 28, 2017

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Day 1, @POTUS talks 'maybe' going into Iraq to take the oil. But Iraqi refugees who #SupportTheTroops? 'We don't want them here.' #Criminal  Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) January 28, 2017

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Donald Trump has no fucking clue. His desperate need for self aggrandizement is destroying US. Nothing will fill his black heart. #MuslimBan  Rob Reiner (@robreiner) January 28, 2017

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Now that we see that Trump should be taken literally, remember that he repeatedly asked about using nukes during and after the campaign.  Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) January 28, 2017

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All i the Family: Demi Moore Steps Out With Daughters Scout and Tallulah for Pre-SAG Event

Demi Moore and two of her daughters enjoyed a night on the town in Los Angeles ahead of the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

On Friday night, the 54-year-old actress and her daughters, 25-year-old Scout and 22-year-old Tallulah Willis, attended Harper BAZAARs 150 Most Fashionable Women at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California.

All three women wore floor-length gowns to the pre-SAG Awards event. Moore sported a shoulder-revealing black gown, and Scout matched her mother but paired her black dress with a velvet and fur-collared coat. Meanwhile, Moores youngest daughter with actor Bruce Willis donned a billowy printed gown.

This is not the only event Moore and her daughters have attended together recently. In November, Tallulah and Scout joined their mom on the red carpet at the Pantages Theater to watch the opening of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

RELATED VIDEO: Rumer Willis Gets Candid About Her Relationship With Parents Demi Moore and Bruce Willis

Similar to the November event, Moores third daughter, Rumer, was noticeably absent. However, the 28-year-old musician shared a sweet post about her sister Scout hours before the event.

Morning FaceTime chat with my ride or die Icarus and of course my beauteous seestra @scoutlaruewillis, Rumer captioned a screenshot of the sisters FaceTiming.




Asghar Farhadi

Reacting to reports that Iranian director Asghar Farhadi could be prevented from attending the 89th Academy Awards where his film The Salesman is nominated as best foreign language film, the Motion Picture Academy today said that the situation is "extremely troubling."

An Academy spokesperson released the following statement, "The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences. As supporters of filmmakers - and the human rights of all people - around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year's Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin."

The Salesman, which concerns a couple, both actors, whose relationship is in trouble, earned Shahab Hosseini best actor honors at the Cannes Film Festival, where Farhadi also won the best screenplay prize.

Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who stars in The Salesman, recently stated via social media that she would not be attending the Oscars in protest of Trump. She tweeted on Thursday, "Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not,I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest."

Trump signed an executive order on Friday (Holocaust Remembrance Day), suspending refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days. Syrian refugees are suspended indefinitely and seven predominantly Muslim countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen) are suspended for 90 days.

Trump said he is "new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America."

Related: Iranian Actress Boycotting Oscars Over Trump's Visa Ban
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Three Chinese passengers died and five are missing after a tourist boat sank in rough seas off eastern Malaysia, officials confirmed late on Sunday, with 22 people rescued following the shipwreck.

Twenty Chinese tourists and two of the vessel's three crew members were rescued and sent to a hospital in Kota Kinabalu after the boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, according to Malaysian officials.

The third crew member has not yet been found, bringing the total number of missing to six.

The sinking of the catamaran on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, sparked a major air and sea search covering some 400 nautical square miles.

The mission was halted on Sunday night due to bad weather, but will resume early Monday morning, an official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said.

The boat left Saturday morning from the Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites.

The boat owner reported it missing on Saturday evening.

The skipper and a crew member were found alive earlier Sunday off a nearby island, before the discovery of the other survivors.

"According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by waves and sank," Ahmad Puzi Kahar, head of the MMEA, said in a statement.

The search and rescue involved officers from the maritime agency, police, navy and air force.

Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin said naval ships and a C130 aircraft were used in the search.

Roughs seas and strong winds hampered rescue efforts on Saturday night and Sunday, authorities said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said he was closely monitoring developments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping "demanded all-out search and rescue efforts" by Malaysia, his country's official Xinhua news agency reported.

It added that an emergency team, led by an official from Beijing's national tourism administration, had been set up to handle the incident.

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- Soured relations -

China's foreign ministry said its consulate in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged them to do everything they could to rescue the tourists.

"Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and it should have been a happy day. Unfortunately, such a bad thing happened," China's consul-general in Sabah, Chen Peijie, was quoted as saying by Malaysia state news agency Bernama.

An earlier disaster involving Chinese visitors to Malaysia -- the unexplained disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane in March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing -- soured relations between the two nations.

Most of the 239 people on board were Chinese and Malaysian authorities were fiercely criticised for allegedly giving little or inaccurate information about the incident.

Saturday's shipwreck came about a week after another maritime tragedy off the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

Several bodies washed ashore at a beach near the east coast town of Mersing in Johor on Monday after a boat believed to be carrying some 40 Indonesian illegal immigrants capsized in rough seas.
BREMERTON, Wash. (AP)  Three people were found dead inside a Kitsap County home that was engulfed in flames and authorities on Saturday searched for the homeowner, who was missing along with his truck, a sheriff's spokesman said.

The deaths of the two men and a woman were classified as homicides, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said Saturday in a phone interview from the scene.

Authorities asked the public to be on the lookout for the homeowner, 43-year-old John Derek Careaga, and to call 911 if he shows up.

He is believed to be driving a brown 2005 Ford F-150 truck with Washington state license plates CA9383B, Wilson said.

Careaga is considered a missing person at this point in the investigation, Wilson said.

A 16-year-old boy, Hunter Schaap-Jocsan, was found safe Saturday after at first being considered missing and endangered.

Wilson said he was not a suspect but declined to elaborate on how or where he was found.

The incident began with a 911 call at 11:28 p.m. Friday with a report of violence in the home.

Responding deputies found the house ablaze and firefighters quickly found the bodies, Wilson said.

The cause of death has not been determined.

Careaga was the head of a large blended family that included seven children ranging in age from teenagers to young adults, Wilson said.

Wilson didn't know if all the children were living at the house.

___

Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
Bucharest (AFP) - Around 40,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Bucharest and other Romanian towns Sunday, to protest controversial decrees to pardon corrupt politicians and decriminalise other offences.

The biggest march, some 20,000 strong, was in the Romanian capital with numerous families turning out, including children and dogs in some cases.

The crowd, waving national flags, chanted "Romania wake up!", "down with the thieves" and other slogans.

Earlier this month the social-democratic government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu published two emergency decrees to set free inmates serving sentences of up to five years for non-violent crimes.

If the decrees are adopted, about 2,500 people, including several elected officials and magistrates who are behind bars after being convicted of corruption, will be released.

Grindeanu wants to implement the measures through emergency ordinances that would bypass parliament.

"It isn't normal to free thieves. It's a bad message to send to our children," Anca, a 32-year-old mother of two said.

Justice Minister Florin Iordache has defended the proposals, saying they would help ease pressure on overcrowded jails.

The protesters in Bucharest on Sunday passed the justice ministry building, shouting "resign".

In the western city of Cluj some 10,000 people joined other protests which followed similar, but smaller, demonstrations the previous Sunday.

Thousands more marched in the central town of Sibiu and northeastern Iasi.

The planned measures have been heavily criticised by several Romanian officials and institutions, including the attorney general Augustin Lazar, anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, and High Court president Cristina Tarcea.

In its 2015 annual report, the European Commission, which is closely monitoring justice reforms in Romania, warned against any proposals that seek to "pardon individuals convicted on corruption charges".
A team of scientists say they have successfully turned hydrogen into a metal, potentially confirming a prediction made 80 years ago.

In 1935, scientists predicted that the element hydrogen could become a metal if subjected to enough pressure. Teams have been attempting to confirm the prediction ever since, but have not been able to construct a vise capable of squeezing the element enough without breaking the equipment.

But a team of scientists at Harvard University published a paper this week in the peer-reviewed journal Science saying they managed to squeeze hydrogen in a diamond vise to the point that the element became reflective, a key property of metals.

The study is not merely a parlor trick. Metallic hydrogen is thought to be a superconductor, meaning it could conduct electricity without any resistance. Electricity traveling through normal circuits loses energy to resistance overtime, often in the form of heat. This is why it is harder to send electrical currents (say, through the electricity grid) over long distances than short ones. But a current traveling through a superconducting material loses nearly zero energy.

Superconductive metals are used to make the magnets for devices such as hospital MRI machines and particle accelerators such as CERN. The trouble with many superconductors is that the materials now used need to be cooled to extremely low temperatures in order to work, which is expensive.

It is also possible that metallic hydrogen material may be "metastable," according to Science Magazine. This means that, once formed, it may retain its metallic properties even at normal temperatures and pressure levels, like diamonds. If so, it could conduct electricity at nearly 100 percent efficiency in normal conditions. Again, this could dramatically reduce the costs of transferring electrical currents, meaning more powerful and efficient electric motors, and a far more efficient electrical grid.

Scientists have been searching for such a material almost as long as they have known about superconductivity.

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Of course, the study has its critics. Eugene Gregoryanz, a physicist at the University of Edinburgh, told Science Magazine he sees a several problems with the experiment's procedures.

"The word garbage cannot really describe it," said Gregoryanz, of the experiment.

The video below, from Harvard, discusses the discovery in detail:













More From CNBC


Reuters

(Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Friday again declined to block President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, this time in a challenge brought by two Indiana borrowers, even as a lower court considers whether to lift a freeze it imposed on the program in a different case. Barrett denied an emergency request by the Indiana borrowers, represented by a conservative legal group, to bar the U.S. Department of Education from implementing the Democratic president's plan to forgive debt held by qualified people who had taken loans to pay for college. Barrett on Oct. 20 denied a similar request by a Wisconsin taxpayers organization represented by another conservative legal group.
Niloofar Radgoudarzi thanks the crowd for protesting after her father was released from custody at San Francisco International Airport. (Photo: Kate Munsch/Reuters)

The American Civil Liberties Union says it has raised over $10 million since Saturday morning and gotten over 150,000 new members in what the groups executive director calls an unprecedented response to President Trumps executive order blocking entry into the United States from citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Ive never seen anything like this, Anthony Romero, executive director of the civil liberties group, told Yahoo News in a telephone interview. People are fired up and want to be engaged. What weve seen is an unprecedented public reaction to the challenges of the Trump administration.

Romero spoke the day after a federal judge in Brooklyn blocked parts of the Trump administrations order following a hastily ordered hearing Saturday night. The judge, Ann Donnelly, concluded the ACLU and allied groups had a strong likelihood of success that they would prevail in an emergency complaint contending the Department of Homeland Securitys efforts to deport detainees who had already been granted visas to enter the country violated their due process and equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal that ruling  and similar ones by judges in Washington State, Virginia and Massachusetts  to federal appellate courts, possibly in the next few days, setting up a legal battle that could end up fairly quickly before the Supreme Court. But Romero, whose group is spearheading the legal challenges, sees the public protests in response to the order as the harbinger of a new wave of resistance to the initiatives of the Trump administration. Hundreds of demonstrators showed up outside Donnellys courtroom in Brooklyn on Saturday night.

Protesters outside the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Trumps executive order. (Photo: Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and the Democrats in disarray and lacking any spine, the two pincers (opposing Trump) have to be litigation and citizen action, Romero said.

How successful the ACLU will ultimately be before the courts is far from clear. Donnellys order only applies to a small category of those affected by the order: individuals who had already been granted visas to enter the country and flew into the U.S. only to be detained at airports because of their nationality. (The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that this applied to 109 people; Romero says hes gotten reports suggesting the number is closer to 200.) The broader legal fight is over the ACLUs argument that the entire order is unconstitutional because Trump indicated that Christian refugees fleeing persecution would be prioritizes for exceptions over other refugees. This amounts to a carve out for one religious group that the ACLU intends to argue is unconstitutional under the First Amendment, Romero said.

Story continues

Romero is clearly seeking to position the 97-year-old ACLU to be at the forefront of the battle against Trump, filing multiple lawsuits  including one this week seeking documents on Trumps business ties  coupled with appeals for funds on its website. He discriminated: We sued. Donate Monthly, read a banner on the top of the groups website Sunday.

As Romero tells it, those efforts were starting to pay off even before the weekend dustup over the immigration order. Overall, the groups membership has more than doubled since the November election, jumping from about 400,000 to over 1 million, he said. Moreover, there is every sign that will continue: On Sunday, the group and its affiliates were mounting public demonstrations over the order in New York, Boston and elsewhere.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

One factor clearly helping the group is what appears to be confusion and disarray within the Trump administration and the departments charged with carrying out the executive order. Romero noted that during the hearing leading up to the stay, the assistant U.S. attorney charged with defending the Trump administrations position had to defer to a Customs and Border Patrol official, on the phone, to answer the judges questions about how the order was being implemented. Key issues  such as whether it would apply to legal residents with green cards  were unclear and prompted contradictory responses from administration officials.

It was Keystone Cops-like, Romero said. Clearly, they didnt have their act together. (As far as green-card holders going forward, it doesnt affect them, Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said on NBC Newss Meet the Press, contradicting what government officials had said only a day earlier.)

And as the protests mount, Romero is looking for one group to eventually join in: officials and lawyers from within the government itself, which predicts who may ultimately refuse to defend the administrations actions.

I wouldnt be surprised if individuals in the Justice Department, and holdovers from the Obama administration, and even career department lawyers , will have a hard time defending this, he said.

More from Yahoo News:

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President Trump is signing up a storm. (Photo: Getty Images)

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Saturday evening that a federal court in New York had issued an emergency stay on President Trumps executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The courts decision, which will affect people who have been detained in airports, came after the ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as a result of the order.

I hope Trump enjoys losing. Hes going to lose so much were going to get sick and tired of his losing, ACLU national political director Faiz Shakir told Yahoo News shortly after the decision was announced.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the court ruling.

Trumps executive order, which he signed on Friday afternoon, barred people from Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Somalia from entering the United States for 90 days. It also stopped all refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days and indefinitely suspended the entry of refugees from Syria. As a result of the order, some people with current visas have already been detained or turned around at airports.

The class action lawsuit sought an immediate injunction barring the Trump administration from blocking immigrants based on the executive order. It argued that the order violates a 1965 law that banned discrimination in immigration based on national origin. According to a copy of the court decision from Judge Ann Donnelly, it will stop officials from removing individuals with approved refugee applications, holders of valid visas and people from the affected countries who have been authorized to enter  pending completion of a hearing on the matter in court. Donnelly also wrote that the lawsuit would have a strong likelihood of success.

There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa holders, and other individuals from nations subject to the January 27, 2017 executive order, Donnelly said.

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Shakir said the stay will affect those who are currently detained in airports and that the ACLUs lawyers will continue litigating the rest of the people impacted by the order.

Trumps order has led to large protests at airports around the country. Critics charge that it amounts to a Muslim ban, while Trump and his team have maintained that the order is not designed to target any specific religion and is merely aimed at terror-prone nations.

Yahoo News asked White House press secretary Sean Spicer about the order during his briefing on Wednesday. He framed it as a necessary step for dealing with people from countries that have a propensity to do us harm. During his presidential bid, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S. That proposal subsequently evolved into a vague promise of extreme vetting.

Trump touted the executive order while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Saturday. He said the scenes in the airports were evidence of its success.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over, Trump said, according to a White House press pool report.

Read more from Yahoo News:

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Airlines operating at Cairo airport were officially requested on Sunday to prevent U.S. immigration visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries from boarding flights to the United States, Hossam Hussein, an EgyptAir official, said. Hussein, who is responsible for EgyptAir's daily flight to New York, said authorities there had notified them hours earlier of the new restrictions. He said green card holders from Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia and Libya would be allowed to board as would holders of diplomatic passports or government officials. (Writing by Lin Noueihed, editing by Larry King)
CAIRO (Reuters) - Airlines operating at Cairo airport were officially requested on Sunday to prevent U.S. immigration visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries from boarding flights to the United States, Hossam Hussein, an EgyptAir official, said.

Hussein, who is responsible for EgyptAir's daily flight to New York, said authorities there had notified them hours earlier of the new restrictions. He said green card holders from Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia and Libya would be allowed to board as would holders of diplomatic passports or government officials.

(Writing by Lin Noueihed, editing by Larry King)
(SANAA, Yemen)  The U.S. military said Sunday that one service member was killed and three others wounded in a raid in Yemen targeting its local al-Qaeda branch, marking the first-known combat death of a member of the U.S. military under President Donald Trump.

The raid left about 30 people dead, including women and children, according to an al-Qaeda official and a news service linked to the terror group. One of the children killed was Nora, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girls grandfather.

Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Nora was visiting her mother when the surprise pre-dawn raid took place on Sunday.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that a fourth service member was injured in a hard landing in a nearby location. The aircraft was unable to fly afterward and was intentionally destroyed.

It said militants from al-Qaedas branch in Yemen, formally known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members taking part in the raid captured information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.

A U.S. defense official said the raid was approved by Trump. President Barack Obama had been briefed on it before he left office on Jan. 20, but for operational reasons it was not ready to be executed before he departed, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss details beyond those announced by the Pentagon and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the raid in Yemens central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaeda leaders: Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims.

The al-Dhahab family, who are the late al-Awlakis in-laws, is considered an ally of al-Qaeda, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda province. A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed in a U.S. drone strike several years ago. It was not immediately clear whether the family members were actual members of al-Qaeda.

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An online news serviced linked to al-Qaeda in Yemen likened the raid to a massacre against Muslims and said U.S. warplanes were first seen in the sky above the area at 9 p.m. Saturday and that the raid began at 2 a.m. on Sunday, with 16 missiles hitting three houses near Yakla village in Radaa district.

A two-hour gunbattle ensued after American service members landed on the ground, it said. About 30 men, women and children were killed in the raid, it added.

The killed and wounded included some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

An al-Qaeda official sent to the AP Cairo photos purportedly showing the bloodied bodies of several children killed in the raid along with houses showing bullet holes. The official requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaeda operatives in Bayda in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.

The tribal officials said the Americans captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals on Sunday, but the U.S. official in Washington said no detainees were taken in the raid,

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemens civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

Separately, Yemens president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the countrys southern port city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.

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Michael reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Americans who already hold Iranian visas can enter the country, Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday, even though Tehran has vowed to respond in kind to a U.S. ban on visitors from Iran and six other Muslim countries ordered by President Donald Trump. "Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter. (Reporting By Dubai Newsroom, editing by Larry King)
Modern Family star Ariel Winter recently posted another cheeky photo on her Instagram account.

On Saturday, the 19-year-old actress paid tribute to one of her good friends, Jessie Berg, on the latters birthday. In the snap, Winter and Berg have their backs turned towards the camera. They are both wearing swimsuits that show off their buttocks during their recent trip to the beach.

Over the past couple of weeks, Winter has been posting sexy snaps from her vacations via the social networking site.

Meanwhile, the actress celebrated her birthday on Saturday, Jan. 28. Her Modern Family co-star, Sarah Hyland, sent her a touching message via the latters Instagram account. In the post, Hyland can be seen kissing Winter on the cheek. She captioned the photo with a reminder for Winter to enjoy her entire year and to look forward to being in her 20s in the next 364 days. Winter and Hyland play the role of sisters in the hit ABC sitcom.

Julie Bowen, who plays the role of Winters onscreen mom, also posted a photo of the actress just a few seconds before she blew out her birthday candle on the set of Modern Family Season 8.

In other news, the upcoming episode of Modern Family Season 8 will serve as the sitcoms Valentines Day special. Each of the couples in the show will think of a way to surprise their respective partners on the special day. Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) will go on an extravagant boat trip. Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Bowen) will also go out on a date. Manny (Rico Rodriguez) will try to ask her crush out to dinner. Jay (Ed ONeill) also has something special planned for his wife, Gloria (Sofia Vergara).

Modern Family Season 8, episode 12 will air on ABC on Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Ariel Winter

Photo: Reuters/Danny Moloshok
By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Democratic attorneys general across the United States on Sunday condemned President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country and are discussing whether to challenge the administration in court. Democratic attorneys general are expected to be a source of fierce resistance to Trump, much like Republican attorneys general opposed former President Barack Obama's policies. A lawsuit brought by states would heighten the legal stakes surrounding the president's executive order, signed late on Friday, since courtroom challenges have so far mostly been filed by individuals. Trump put a 120-day hold on Friday on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia said in a joint statement they would work together to fight to ensure the federal government respected the Constitution. The officials that signed the statement represent California, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Virginia, Vermont, Oregon, Connecticut, New Mexico, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Illinois and the District of Columbia. "Religious liberty has been, and always will be, a bedrock principle of our country and no president can change that truth," the attorneys general said. The New York attorney general used Twitter on Sunday to appeal to travelers detained at New Yorks JFK airport to contact his office. The states could decide not to file lawsuits, and it was unclear how many would ultimately sign on for such an effort. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk. He told reporters in the Oval Office on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and that measures were long overdue. Federal judges in three states followed a U.S. judge in New York in barring authorities from deporting travelers affected by Trump's executive order. Judges in Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington issued rulings late Saturday or early Sunday. The federal judge in New York said stranded travelers could stay in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the emergency court order, said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at U.S. airports after Trump signed the order. The Department of Homeland Security said it would comply with judicial orders but that Trump's immigration restrictions remained in effect. (Additional reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
(Reuters) - Attorneys general from 16 U.S. states, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"We are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created," the statement said.

(Reporting by Daniel Levine; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
Cotonou (AFP) - Surveying his sprawling car dealership on the fringes of Benin's commercial hub Cotonou, Kassem Hijazi alternates between chainsmoking Marlboro cigarettes and puffing on a hookah.

He and his colleagues don't have much else to do. There hasn't been a single customer since December, when neighbouring Nigeria banned car imports by land as part of a wave of protectionist policies that are strangling Benin's economy.

"We spend our days smoking, it's our life now," Hijazi sighs, sitting in a gazebo beside his stock of thousands of cars steadily accumulating the dry winter dust.

This afternoon, Hijazi -- who, like the vast majority of car dealers in Benin, is Lebanese -- called in his Beninese accountant to help close up shop.

Debts are accumulating and the stress is becoming too much. "I lost in one year what I have earned in 16," Ali Assi, another car dealer, told AFP.

Of the 2,500 Lebanese dealers in Cotonou, 1,600 have packed up and left in the last six months, shutting down businesses that employed dozens of drivers, cleaners and security staff.

"Unemployed people used to come here to find work," said Vincent Gouton, who represents a group of car dealership managers in Cotonou.

The Benin car market began its free fall last year when neighbouring Nigeria entered its first recession since 1994.

Nigeria, an economic behemoth of 190 million people, gobbles up "99 percent of car exports" in Benin, according to Gouton.

Benin, a tiny country with scarce natural resources, relies on its port business to survive.

From the port city of Cotonou, imported cars, fabrics, and food from all over the world get distributed across west Africa.

But since the Nigerian economy crashed following the collapse in global oil prices, Benin has been suffering knock-on effects.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's protectionist policies -- his government has banned a slew of items including cars imported by land -- has only aggravated the situation.

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- 'Encourage smuggling' -

"This decision will encourage smuggling, it's back to square one," Gouton said.

Several agreements were signed in the past between Benin and Nigeria to facilitate legal trade.

But Nigeria accuses Beninese customs of failing to monitor the exported goods and collect taxes.

Buhari hopes that closing land borders will revitalise Nigerian industries and attract business to the port at Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital and largest city.

Today over 20 products -- the list has never been officially published -- are banned from being imported overland.

"For the past 18 months, we have seen a lot of policies that are not market friendly", said Nigerian economist Nonso Obikili.

"The self-sufficiency policy has led the government to create all sorts of hostile environments around import", Obikili said.

"The government wants to ban palm oil (imports) but our plantations are not ready to meet local demand, and it takes two years to get oil from trees. It's a mess," Obikili told AFP.

"And this will encourage illegal trade."

- 'Killing business' -

It isn't just Benin which is hurting.

Nigerian car dealer Olabanji Akinola said he had to fire half of his employees last week as a result of the ban.

Business used to be brisk at Akinola's car dealership, located on the outskirts of Lagos.

Yet now he can't pay any wages. "In Cotonou, they tax 35 percent of the value of an imported car. In Lagos, it's 70 percent", Akinola said. "It's killing the business."

"The price of cars will go up, and the smuggling will increase. There are 200 roads through the bush to come to Nigeria, the borders are porous," Akinola said.

"This morning, customers begged me on my knees to lower my prices, but I cannot," Akinola said.

Ultimately, it may only be the Nigerian government who benefits from the import ban.

In 2016, customs seized 307 contraband vehicles, worth nearly 5 billion naira (about 15 million euros). The figure is expected to rise in 2017.
The skipper and a crewman from a tourist boat that went missing off Malaysia were found alive Sunday but an air and sea search was continuing for some 28 Chinese passengers.

Strong winds and choppy seas were hampering the search for the catamaran, which went missing in poor weather off Borneo island on Saturday morning -- the first day of the Lunar New Year.

It had left Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia's Sabah state en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites.

"The owner of the boat reported it missing on Saturday evening and we have begun a search and rescue mission," said Awil Kamsari, a spokesman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The skipper and one of two crew members who had been aboard were found alive on Sunday afternoon in waters off a nearby island, the agency said.

Their condition was unknown and no further details were provided.

China's consulate general's office in Sabah, citing information from Malaysian authorities, said via a statement that the catamaran is suspected to have sunk after an accident near some islands.

It also claimed that multiple passengers were adrift awaiting rescue but provided no further details.

Malaysian authorities said they will hold a press conference in Sabah Sunday evening.

China's foreign ministry said "around 20" of its nationals were aboard. Its state news agency Xinhua said an emergency team, led by an official from the national tourism administration, had been set up to handle the incident.

An area of 400 nautical square miles is being searched with officers from the maritime agency, the police, the navy and the air force involved.

Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin tweeted that it was "so sad as it happened on CNY (Chinese New Year)" and said navy ships and a C130 aircraft were on site for the search.

"I, like all the relatives of those on board, am hoping for progress in the search and rescue operation," Sabah's tourism minister Masidi Manjun told AFP.

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"Our forces are trying their best."

However bad weather was hampering the search, authorities said.

China's foreign ministry said its consulate-general in Kota Kinabalu had contacted Malaysian authorities and urged them to do everything they could to rescue the tourists.

"Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and it should have been a happy day. Unfortunately, such a bad thing happened," China's consul-general in Sabah, Chen Peijie, was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

The incident came about a week after a boat tragedy off the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

Several bodies washed ashore at a beach near the east coast town of Mersing in Johor on Monday after a boat believed to be carrying some 40 Indonesian illegal immigrants capsized in rough seas.
London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump and will intervene if they affect UK nationals, Downing Street said Sunday.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman said.

"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

May had sparked controversy in Britain on Saturday after refusing to condemn the order by Trump to suspend refugee arrivals, saying Washington was responsible for its own immigration policy.

"The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," May said at a news conference during a trip to Ankara.

Meanwhile an MP from May's Conservative Party on Saturday revealed he would be barred from entering the US under Trump's clampdown.

Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he had had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports.

"A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added.

Zahawi, who has two sons at Princeton University, told BBC's Andrew Marr show on Sunday that "I don't think I've felt discriminated against since little school, It's demeaning.

He called on Trump to reconsider the policy, saying it was "counterproductive" in the fight against terrorism but added he was "reassured by my prime minister's statement on this" and that he understood her "cautious" response.

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- 'Too late, too weak' -

Double-double Olympic champion runner Mo Farah, born in Somalia, was another British citizen potentially affected by the ban, with reports that he would may not be able to return to his base in Oregon, where his family live.

Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted a picture of May and Trump, writing "hand in hand with the man who banned Mo Farah & Tory MP. Yet she remains silent."

The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed with the new president the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU.

Shortly after their meeting on Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

As resistance to the temporary immigration restrictions mount, a US federal judge on Saturday ordered authorities to suspended the deportation of refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

The implications of the restrictions for British citizens led to increasingly loud calls from lawmakers that May denounce the policy.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband called May's response "far too late and far too weak" while First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "The PM should have said this the first time she was asked, not hours later and only under pressure."

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" and demanded that he not be allowed to address both of Britain's Houses of Parliament when he makes a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Colleague Heidi Allen tweeted that "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong" while Opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that May's refusal to condemn Trump "shames Britain".
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Saturday Britain did not agree with "this kind of approach" on U.S. President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration into the United States. May had been criticized by lawmakers in her ruling Conservative Party for not condemning Trump's decision to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barring travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. Her spokesman said: "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government." "But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Mary Milliken)
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada will offer temporary residence permits to people stranded in the country as a result of US President Donald Trump's travel ban, the immigration ministry said Sunday.

"Let me assure those who may be stranded in Canada that I will use my authority as minister to provide them with temporary residency if needed as we have done in the past," Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said at a news conference.

Hussen did not indicate how many people could be concerned by this measure, but he said that the Canadian authorities were so far unaware of anyone stranded in the country by the US order.

Trump on Friday suspended the arrival of all refugees to the US for at least 120 days and barred entry for 90 days to people from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Hussen, who is of Somali origin, said the Trump administration had assured Ottawa that Canadians holding dual nationality with those countries would not be affected by the US ban.

He said that people from those seven countries who have a valid Canadian permanent residency card can still enter the United States. However, under the US order, the ban will apply to people from the targeted countries who are passing through Canada.

More than 35,000 Canadians with dual citizenship are also citizens of one of the seven countries, he added.

Hussen did not condemn the US measure but stressed that Canada would continue to pursue an immigration policy based on "compassion" while at the same time protecting the security of its citizens.

"We welcome those fleeing persecution, terror and war," he said, echoing an open-arm Twitter post by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

Leaders of a group of Canadian technology companies urged the government to provide "targeted" visas for temporary residence in Canada to those displaced by the Trump order.

"Canadian tech companies understand the power of inclusion and diversity of thought, and that talent and skill know no borders," the leaders said in a joint open letter.

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Hussen, questioned about their proposal, said that Canadian authorities were continuing to monitor developments in the situation, but had not made a decision.

An opposition Canadian party, the New Democratic Party, called Sunday for an emergency debate in parliament on the Trump order. The US ban will have "disastrous implications" for thousands of people, an NDP spokeswoman said.

According to the latest Canadian census, from 2011, one out of five people in the country are foreign-born.

Canada has welcomed more than 39,670 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and early January 2017, according to government figures.
By David Ljunggren and Anna Mehler Paperny OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back U.S.-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. In pointed tweets a day after U.S. President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from the seven countries, Trudeau said refugees were welcome in Canada. "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau said on Twitter. A second tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Trump's immigration policy, included a 2015 photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport. Confusion abounded at airports around the world on Saturday as officials tried to interpret the new U.S. rules. Trudeau's office said U.S. authorities had confirmed Canadian passport holders, including dual citizens from the seven countries, would not be affected. Trudeau has walked a fine line with the Trump administration, avoiding direct criticism while promoting the progressive policies of his one-year-old Liberal government. The prime minister would discuss Canada's immigration and refugee policies with Trump, Trudeau's press secretary, Cameron Ahmad, said. He did not say when that would be. WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday to comply with Trump's executive order but did not say which country the passenger had come from. Spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline would give full refunds to anyone affected. In the western province of Saskatchewan, Iranian doctoral student Mohammadreza Tayfeh found himself comforting the Delta Air Lines employee he called about a refund. "I said, 'It's all right. It's going to be fine. Don't worry about it.' She was so upset," he said in an interview from Saskatoon. Tayfeh, an engineering student living in Canada for seven years, had been invited to San Diego to meet with investors for his telecom business. While he had a visitor's visa, he missed the cutoff to travel by hours. He decided not to risk flying from Saskatchewan in case he was detained on arrival in the United States. He said an Iranian friend who has been living in the U.S. and working at NASA for years was detained at the Doha airport in Qatar late Friday. "You don't want to put yourself in that situation, to go there and they ask you questions and just deport you," he said. In Vancouver, an employee at the American Airlines counter said one person traveling on an Iranian passport had been turned away Saturday morning. Air Canada said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had denied anyone travel. A Porter Airlines spokesman said the Toronto-based carrier will be restricting passengers from traveling to the United States from the listed countries until further notice. (Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Jim Morris in Vancouver; Writing by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Grant McCool and Stephen Coates)
By David Ljunggren and Alastair Sharp OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will offer temporary residency to any travelers stranded by U.S. President Donald Trump's orders temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries, a senior official said on Sunday. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told a news conference he did not know how many people might be eligible but said only a small number of passengers trying to fly to the United States from Canada had been denied boarding. Trump's abrupt decision on Friday, which also affects refugees, left people around the world uncertain of whether they would be allowed to enter the United States. "Let me assure those who may be stranded in Canada that I will use my authority as minister to provide them with temporary residency if they need it, as we have done so in the past," Hussen said. The government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has so far refrained from criticizing the United States, which takes 75 percent of all Canadian exports, preferring instead to stress Canada is open to refugees. The Canadian Council for Refugees called on Ottawa to pull put of its so-called Safe Third Country agreement with the United States, under which Canada returns asylum seekers crossing the U.S. border. Such a move would be diplomatically insulting and Hussen said the pact would remain unchanged for now. Local and national politicians in Canada have already condemned Trump's ban. On Sunday, the opposition New Democrats called for an emergency debate in the federal Parliament. Earlier in the day, more than 200 Canadian technology company founders, executives and investors called on Ottawa to immediately give temporary residency to those displaced by Trump's order. "Canadian tech companies understand the power of inclusion and diversity of thought, and that talent and skill know no borders," the letter said. Canada is eager to attract skilled tech workers from abroad while also retaining employees and students who are often lured away by global companies. More than 300,000 Canadians work in California's Silicon Valley. Bob Vaez, the Iranian-born chief executive of tech firm Event Mobi, on Sunday canceled plans to accept an industry award in Las Vegas. Trump's move could push many event organizers to seek alternative locations for their events, he said. "Are they going to keep their conferences in the U.S., knowing that so many people are going to be barred?" he said. In November, Canada introduced new visa measures that would allow tech companies to quickly recruit foreign talent. (Additional reporting by David Ljunggren; Writing by Amran Abocar and David Ljunggren; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Lisa Von Ahn)
By Yeganeh Torbati, Jeff Mason and Mica Rosenberg WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger on Saturday after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports. In his most sweeping decision since taking office a week ago, Trump, a Republican, put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries. Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed to fight the order. Capping a day of confusion and chaos and protests in several airports across the country, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed detained travelers to stay in the United States. Supporters outside the Brooklyn courtroom and at protests at airports in Dallas, Chicago, New York and elsewhere cheered the decision, but a bigger fight lay ahead. The court action does not reverse Trump's order, which was criticized by some of America's closest allies. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about terror attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk. He told reporters in the White House's Oval Office on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue. "It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," Trump said. Along with Syria, the ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. The order "affects a minor portion of international travelers," the department said in a statement, saying the measures "inconvenienced" less than 1 percent of travelers. The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students. Pegah Rahmani, 25, waited at Washington's Dulles airport for several hours for her grandparents, both Iranian citizens with U.S. green cards. "They weren't treating them very well," she said. Rahmani's grandfather is 88 and legally blind. Her grandmother is 83 and recently had a stroke. They were released to loud cheers and cries. 'TIP OF THE SPEAR' Several Democratic governors said they were examining whether they could launch legal challenges, and other groups eyed a constitutional challenge claiming religious discrimination. "I don't think anyone is going to take this lying down," said Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold. "This is the tip of the spear and more litigation is coming." The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security said the order would stay in place. "No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States," the department statement said. Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, called lawsuits challenging the order "last ditch efforts" that would only apply to a few individuals, and he said a broader constitutional argument would be hard to win. "The first amendment doesn't apply to foreigners living abroad. The law explicitly says the president can exclude any person or class of people he wants," Krikorian said. Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American. "This ban will impact many innocent people," said Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc UBER.UL, who said he would raise the issue at a White House meeting on Friday. Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa said the order was humiliating and discriminatory. Iran vowed to retaliate. Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban. Iraq's former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told Reuters that Trump's ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of terror attacks, and could backfire. "We have a strong partnership with U.S., more so in the urgent fight against terrorism. This ban move will not help, and people will start questioning the bond of this partnership, Faily said. Allies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany were critical. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a photo of himself welcoming Syrian refugees. GREEN CARD CONFUSION Confusion abounded at airports as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules. Some legal residents with green cards who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival. However, senior administration officials said it would have been "reckless" to broadcast details of the order in advance. Other officials said green card holders from the affected countries would require extra screening and would be cleared on a case-by-case basis. Airlines were blindsided and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country. Travelers were handled differently at different points of entry and immigration lawyers advised clients to change their destination to the more lenient airports, said Houston immigration lawyer Mana Yegani. At Chicago OHare International Airport, brothers Bardia and Ayden Noohi waited for four hours for their father Kasra Noohi - who has an Iranian passport and a U.S. green card - to be allowed through. They knew Trump had pledged tougher rules but did not expect the problems. "I didnt think hed actually do it," Bardia Noohi, 32, said. "A lot of politicians just talk." Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week. Trump's order indefinitely bans refugees from Syria. In a television interview, he said he would seek to prioritize Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not consulted on the action and in some cases only learned the details as they were made public. At the State Department, a senior official said lawyers were working to interpret the executive order, which allows entry to people affected by the order when it is in the "national interest." However, a federal law enforcement official said: "It's unclear at this point what the threshold of national interest is." (Reporting by Yara Bayoumy, Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu, Lesley Wroughton, Yeganeh Torbati in Washington; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta and David Ingram in New York; Robert Chiarito in Chicago; Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Alissa Greenberg, Joseph Menn, Julia Love and Kristina Cook in San Francisco; Jeffrey Dastin in Redwood City, California; Alex Dobuzinskis and Daina Beth Solomon in Los Angeles; Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Grant Mary Milliken, Bill Rigby and Paul Tait)
I am not surprised by President Donald Trumps antics this week. Not by the big splashy pronouncements such as announcing a wall that he would force Mexico to pay for, even as the Mexican foreign minister held talks with American officials in Washington. Not by the quiet, but no less dangerous bureaucratic orders, such as kicking the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff out of meetings of the Principals Committee, the senior foreign-policy decision-making group below the president, while inserting his chief ideologist, Steve Bannon, into them. Many conservative foreign-policy and national-security experts saw the dangers last spring and summer, which is why we signed letters denouncing not Trumps policies but his temperament; not his program but his character.

We were right. And friends who urged us to tone it down, to make our peace with him, to stop saying as loudly as we could this is abnormal, to accommodate him, to show loyalty to the Republican Party, to think that he and his advisers could be tamed, were wrong. In an epic week beginning with a dark and divisive inaugural speech, extraordinary attacks on a free press, a visit to the CIA that dishonored a monument to anonymous heroes who paid the ultimate price, and now an attempt to ban selected groups of Muslims (including interpreters who served with our forces in Iraq and those with green cards, though not those from countries with Trump hotels, or from really indispensable states like Saudi Arabia), he has lived down to expectations.

Recommended: What Conservatives Get Wrong About Trump's Immigration Order

Precisely because the problem is one of temperament and character, it will not get better. It will get worse, as power intoxicates Trump and those around him. It will probably end in calamitysubstantial domestic protest and violence, a breakdown of international economic relationships, the collapse of major alliances, or perhaps one or more new wars (even with China) on top of the ones we already have. It will not be surprising in the slightest if his term ends not in four or in eight years, but sooner, with impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment. The sooner Americans get used to these likelihoods, the better.

The question is, what should Americans do about it? To friends still thinking of serving as political appointees in this administration, beware: When you sell your soul to the Devil, he prefers to collect his purchase on the installment plan. Trumps disregard for either Secretary of Defense Mattis or Secretary-designate Tillerson in his disastrous policy salvos this week, in favor of his White House advisers, tells you all you need to know about who is really in charge. To be associated with these people is going to be, for all but the strongest characters, an exercise in moral self-destruction.

For the community of conservative thinkers and experts, and more importantly, conservative politicians, this is a testing time. Either you stand up for your principles and for what you know is decent behavior, or you go down, if not now, then years from now, as a coward or opportunist. Your reputation will never recover, nor should it.

Recommended: What Trump's Executive Order on Immigration Doesand Doesn't Do

Rifts are opening up among friends that will not be healed. The conservative movement of Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp, of William F. Buckley and Irving Kristol, was always heterogeneous, but it more or less hung together. No more. New currents of thought, new alliances, new political configurations will emerge. The biggest split will be between those who draw a line and the power-sickwhose longing to have access to power, or influence it, or indeed to wield it themselvescauses them to fatally compromise their values. For many more it will be a split between those obsessed with anxiety, hatred, and resentment, and those who can hear Lincolns call to the better angels of our nature, whose America is not replete with carnage, but a city on a hill.

This is one of those clarifying moments in American history, and like most such, it came upon us unawares, although historians in later years will be able to trace the deep and the contingent causes that brought us to this day. There is nothing to fear in this fact; rather, patriots should embrace it. The story of the United States is, as Lincoln put it, a perpetual story of a rebirth of freedom and not just its inheritance from the founding generation.

Some Americans can fight abuses of power and disastrous policies directlyin courts, in congressional offices, in the press. But all can dedicate themselves to restoring the qualities upon which this republic, like all republics depends: on reverence for the truth; on a sober patriotism grounded in duty, moderation, respect for law, commitment to tradition, knowledge of our history, and open-mindedness. These are all the opposites of the qualities exhibited by this president and his advisers. Trump, in one spectacular week, has already shown himself one of the worst of our presidents, who has no regard for the truth (indeed a contempt for it), whose patriotism is a belligerent nationalism, whose prior public service lay in avoiding both the draft and taxes, who does not know the Constitution, does not read and therefore does not understand our history, and who, at his moment of greatest success, obsesses about approval ratings, how many people listened to him on the Mall, and enemies.

Recommended: What Will the National Security Council Look Like Under Trump?

He will do much more damage before he departs the scene, to become a subject of horrified wonder in our grandchildrens history books. To repair the damage he will have done Americans must give particular care to how they educate their children, not only in love of country but in fair-mindedness; not only in democratic processes but democratic values. Americans, in their own communities, can find common ground with those whom they have been accustomed to think of as political opponents. They can attempt to renew a political culture damaged by their decayed systems of civic education, and by the cynicism of their popular culture.

There is in this weeks events the foretaste of things to come. We have yet to see what happens when Trump tries to use the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation to destroy his opponents. He thinks he has succeeded in bullying companies, and he has no compunction about bullying individuals, including those with infinitely less power than himself. His advisers are already calling for journalists critical of the administration to be fired: Expect more efforts at personal retribution. He has demonstrated that he intends to govern by executive orders that will replace the laws passed by the peoples representatives.

In the end, however, he will fail. He will fail because however shrewd his tactics are, his strategy is terribleThe New York Times, the CIA, Mexican Americans, and all the others he has attacked are not going away. With every act he makes new enemies for himself and strengthens their commitment; he has his followers, but he gains no new friends. He will fail because he cannot corrupt the courts, and because even the most timid senator sooner or later will say enough. He will fail most of all because at the end of the day most Americans, including most of those who voted for him, are decent people who have no desire to live in an American version of Tayyip Erdogans Turkey, or Viktor Orbans Hungary, or Vladimir Putins Russia.

There was nothing unanticipated in this first disturbing week of the Trump administration. It will not get better. Americans should therefore steel themselves, and hold their representatives to account. Those in a position to take a stand should do so, and those who are not should lay the groundwork for a better day. There is nothing great about the America that Trump thinks he is going to make; but in the end, it is the greatness of America that will stop him.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Aden (AFP) - Fierce battles between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels on the country's west coast have killed more than 100 fighters in the past 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.

The bodies of at least 90 Huthi rebels were taken to a hospital in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, which is controlled by the insurgents, while 19 dead soldiers were taken to the southern port city of Aden, the medical and military sources said.

Deadly clashes have shaken the area around the key Red Sea town of Mokha since the start of the year when loyalist fighters launched an offensive to oust the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies.

Loyalists backed by the firepower of a Saudi-led Arab coalition advanced Saturday into the town after having captured its port on Monday, despite strong rebel resistance.

Clashes raged in the town on Sunday, a military official said.

Air strikes by coalition warplanes hit rebel supplies along the route between Mokha and Hodeida, the official said.

Huthi forces had controlled Mokha since they overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced on other regions aided by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Forces supporting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the coalition, launched a vast offensive on January 7 to retake the coastline overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Mokha was Yemen's main port serving as its export hub for coffee until it was overtaken by Aden and Hodeida in the 19th century.

Nearly 370 combatants have been killed since government forces launched their drive up the Red Sea coastline.
Hameed Khalid Darweesh worked as a translator for American troops in Iraq and is a marked man in his country for helping the U.S. government, New York congressman Jerrold Nadler tells PEOPLE. This is a person who risked his life to work with American forces for years, he says, and whose life was in danger back home,

So Darweesh decided to come to America.

After an extensive vetting process, Darweesh was granted a special immigrant visa. On Friday  the same day President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning nationals from Iraq and six other Muslim countries  he, his wife and children flew into New York Citys John F. Kennedy airport.

They get off the plane, his wife and his kids are OK and he is suddenly marched away and he thinks, What the heck?  Nadler says. They held him for 19 hours, he was on a chair, he didnt have any place to sleep, and he was terrified. He thought the United States was a great country and what are they doing?

After Nadler, N.Y. congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and attorneys for Darweesh spoke to people the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Darweesh was released Saturday afternoon.

At a press conference following his release, Darweesh began to cry as he spoke to reporters, and put his hands behind his back to mime handcuffs, reports the New York Times.

RELATED VIDEO: Watch: Natasha Stoynoff Breaks Silence, Accuses Donald Trump of Sexual Attack

What I do for this country? They put the cuffs on, Mr. Darweesh said. You know how many soldiers I touch by this hand?

At the press conference, Nadler called Trumps order discriminatory  and frankly quite disgusting.

As a crowd of protestors swelled at J.F.K. airport, Nadler tells PEOPLE that another detained Iraqi refugee, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, whose wife worked for American forces for years, was enroute to the U.S. to reunite with his wife, who is already in the States.

These are people who helped our military, Nadler says. They certainly are not dangerous.

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He and Velazquez are continuing to work on the release of Alshawi and the 10 other refugees detained at J.F.K., he tells PEOPLE.

Trumps executive order temporarily bans all citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. It also put a temporary 120-day ban on all refugees entering the country with an indefinite ban placed on refugees from war-torn Syria. The executive order also creates a religious test of refugees, giving preferential treatment to Christians and minority religions in Muslim countries over Muslims.

Trump, who said on Saturday that the ban was not a Muslim ban, despite campaigning on such a ban and being labelled a Muslim ban by his critics, said the order was created to ostensibly protect the United State from foreign-born terrorists in the wake of 9/11.

We dont want them here, Trump said while signing the order at the Pentagon on Friday. We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people.

However, the ban does not include any of the countries where the 9/11 terrorists came from  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon.

One wonders what basis he chose the countries he chose as opposed to Saudi Arabia or Turkey or Egypt, says Nadler. We know terrorists have come from those countries.

Early Saturday, lawyers representing Darweesh and Alshawi filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking to have their clients released, and a motion for class certification to represent all refugees and immigrants who they said were being unlawfully detained at ports of entry, according to the New York Times.

Betsy Fisher, policy director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, which helped file the complaint, tells PEOPLE that Darweesh has reunited with his family but is not sure where their next stop is.

Fisher is hearing reports of people being denied the ability to board a plane overseas to reunite with their families in the U.S., even if they are legal permanent residents.

Its horrifying to see these actions being taken, she says, but at the same time there as a lot of campaign rhetoric to let you know that something was coming. In some ways we knew to expect this.

According to the executive order, some refugees may still be allowed to enter the U.S. on a case-by-case basis as determined by both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. It is unclear if the executive order would allow such exceptions for those not seeking refugee status who are still affected by the ban, but a White House source told PEOPLE that some visitors  like Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhardi, who is from Iran  would qualify for a waiver. However, there were no details on what that waiver entails.

In response to the ban, a protest immediately flared up outside J.F.K. airport. Sister protests in support of refugees have also popped up, including a demonstration outside Los Angeles L.A.X. airport.




Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's controversial senior adviser Steve Bannon will have a permanent seat at White House National Security Council (NSC) meetings, solidifying his role as one of the most powerful members of the president's inner circle.

In an executive memorandum signed on Saturday, Trump elevated Bannon, while downgrading the status of the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the security council's principals committee.

The DNI and Joint Chiefs chairman now will only be present at meetings "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed," the memorandum said.

Bannon, 63, credited in large part with successfully orchestrating the billionaire's upset presidential election victory, led the Breitbart News website described as a haven for the "alt-right" anti-mainstream movement.

The site ignited controversy during the presidential campaign because of its alleged alignment with white supremacists, white nationalists and anti-Semites.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in an interview Sunday with ABC television that Bannon was part of "an unbelievable group of folks that are part of the NSC."

"The president gets plenty of information from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and gets briefed and what they've done is modernize the National Security Council, so it's less bureaucratic and more focused on providing the president with the intelligence he needs," Spicer said, explaining the shuffle.

Bannon, "is a former naval officer with a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape we have now," he said.

Spicer added: "Having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings who has a significant military background to help make, guide what the president's final analysis will be, is crucial."

Bannon had a blue-collar upbringing, but he quickly became part of the very establishment he rails against.

He began his career as a Goldman Sachs banker, then became a producer in Hollywood before taking over the Breitbart news platform. Bannon is currently on leave from Breitbart while working for Trump.
Borrow library books, buy train tickets, pick up online orders or even eat dinner with friends -- Taiwan's expansive network of convenience stores takes the concept to a whole new level.

The island of 23 million people is home to the highest density of convenience stores in the world, with more than 10,000 in total -- one per 2,300 people.

But as the number of physical shops plateaus, the retail chains are turning to alternative ways to keep money rolling in.

As well as selling standard snacks and toiletries, Taiwan's plethora of 7-Elevens and FamilyMarts then moved to serve up hot meals, from steamed buns to soups and stews, day and night.

Now they are revamping their dining areas and adding fancier meals to the menu -- Japanese ramen, Korean kimchi stew, pesto pasta -- complete with calorie labels.

FamilyMart, a Japanese chain, has even introduced crossover stores with Taiwanese organic produce vendor Tanhou, selling frozen fish and naturally yeasted breads.

But it is by tapping into the island's thriving online retail culture that the ubiquitous stores hope to become the ultimate one-stop shop.

Taiwan's e-commerce market is worth Tw$1.1 trillion ($35 billion) and is set to grow another 11 percent this year.

However, cash is still most online customers' preferred form of payment and many choose to have their internet orders delivered to convenience stores where they then pay for them.

Morning Shop, a popular new online vendor of imported breakfast cereals and granola bars says 85 percent of its sales are settled at convenience stores rather than paid for online.

"Doubts over the safety of online payments are still quite high and seen as more troublesome," said the firm's product manager Chris Chen.

The firm has seen its monthly sales surge from Tw$620,000 ($19,739) in 2015 to an expected Tw$30 million within the first quarter this year.

Convenience stores are also reaping benefits from the arrangement.

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They make a slim profit from each transaction and are hoping volume will turn it into a moneyspinner.

FamilyMart aims to up e-commerce to 10 percent of its revenue in five years.

President Chain Store Corp (PCSC) which owns the Taiwan franchise of US chain 7-Eleven, says cash payments for online purchases "abolish the non-trust issue".

"Taiwan can do this while other countries can't because we're a relatively small island," it said in a statement to AFP.

- Plugged in -

Convenience stores are also finding a place in the logistics of daily life.

The shop chains double as a delivery network, enabling residents to send belongings from one part of the island to the other.

Student Lee Yun-hsuan uses them as a postal service when she needs to haul books to and from university.

Lee, 20, sends a box of books from a convenience store near her university on Taiwan's east coast to the closest outlet near her home in Taipei.

"Post offices aren't everywhere and they're not always open," she told AFP.

They have even linked up with libraries in Taipei so readers can pick up borrowed books at a convenience store of their choice.

Now they want to take things to the next level so shoppers can access their services on smartphones.

7-Eleven has introduced the 'iBon' system, with machines installed in most of its shops performing a myriad of functions, including photo printing, purchasing train and concert tickets, or paying parking fines.

Taiwanese franchise owner PCSC is working on expanding iBon's reach by turning it into a mobile application.

"We want to get to the point where everyone can have an iBon in their pocket," it said.

As they ratchet up their tech credentials, residents are increasingly using convenience stores as a catch-all.

Taipei resident Serena Chen, 40, says she goes to a local store at least twice a week, paying her bills over the counter and using photocopying and scanning services.

She also has books and magazines ordered online delivered to the stores for pick-up and payment.

But Chen says the shops' more basic offerings -- from sugary treats to potato chips -- still play their part.

"When I was stressed out at my last job I went every day," Chen told AFP.

"I needed snacks!"
As protests broke out around the country against President Donald Trump's executive order banning Muslims from seven countries from entering the United States, and some foreign leaders also criticized the move, there were some nations that went a step further. Canada, Scotland and Turkey were among the countries whose leaders made open offers to immigrants after Trump's ban.

In two tweets Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed his country's commitment to welcoming refugees.

Canada resettled about 39,000 refugees from Syria between December 2015 and December 2016.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon responded to President Trump's executive order by adding her own voice to Trudeau's tweet.

And on Sunday, Mehmet Simsek, the deputy prime minister of Turkey, said his country was already the world's largest host country for refugees, and would welcome more, especially if they were talented.

Trump on Friday signed an executive order that he said would allow for thorough vetting of refugees to ensure that "radical Islamic terrorists" do not enter the US. His order halted refugee arrivals into the country for 120 days and called for an immediate suspension of immigration from countries with ties to terror, including Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya, for a time period of 90 days. It also called for the complete suspension of intake of Syrian refugees for an indefinite period.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  For the second straight week, people searching for a missing Missouri woman have found a man's body.

Relatives of Jessica Runions found the man's body while searching in fields and brush along a roadway Saturday in southeast Kansas City, Missouri. Police said the discovery was being investigated as a suspicious death, but no details have been released.

Police said Sunday they hope to identify the body soon.

The Kansas City Star reports (http://bit.ly/2jKRWBW ) that Runions' relatives have been searching for the 21-year-old woman nearly every week since she went missing in early September.

Last week, they found a man's decomposing body in a creek bed. He was later identified as a 21-year-old man also from Raytown, just southeast of Kansas City, who was reported missing in November. His death is being investigated as a homicide.

"Two bodies two weeks in a row?" said her father, John Runions. "It's unbelievable. ... We're not going to stop looking until we find her. And if we find other people along the way, that's good. Families deserve closure."

Jessica Runions was last seen leaving a gathering of friends in south Kansas City. Her burned vehicle was found two days later in a nearby wooded area.

Kylr Yust has been charged with burning her vehicle, and a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Police have said Yust also has been questioned in the 2007 disappearance of an ex-girlfriend, Kara Kopetsky, who was 17 when she went missing. Yust hasn't been charged in either disappearance.

___

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)  With enrollment in culinary institutes in decline and programs across the country closing their doors, schools such as the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont, which graduated celebrity chef Alton Brown, and the Culinary Institute of Charleston, South Carolina, are committed to staying relevant and in demand.

"We're constantly looking for new ways and opportunities to grow our school," said Michael Carmel, head of culinary arts in Charleston. "It's not necessarily a numbers game, but a quality game. We need to stay current with trends and have to be able to offer our students opportunities."

The reasons for the challenges facing the industry are varied, Carmel and others say. Tuitions can be relatively expensive, while federal financial aid for these "career colleges" has tightened since 2014. Graduates with a high debt load often move into low-paying restaurant jobs.

In addition, there is an abundance of restaurant positions that provide on-the-job training for those looking to get into the business without accruing debt. Carmel said younger students aren't necessarily seeking the high stress factor and long hours of restaurant work, instead placing a high value on a regular schedule, benefits and quality of life issues like time with family.

Despite the challenges, schools like the New England Culinary Institute, where enrollment has fallen from about 800 in 1999 to around 300 today, are consolidating, cutting expenses where possible and adjusting curriculum to attract students. The school is also expanding instruction about the business side of the industry.

"Even our founding chef has always said a chef is a businessman," said Philip Stevens, spokesman for the Institute.

New England's school, which co-founder and former president Fran Voigt recently announced was facing imminent sale but remains optimistic of remaining in Vermont, two years ago partnered with the United States Coast Guard and Sandals Resorts to teach new cooking techniques, another way to expand its reach.

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Carmel's program is also taking steps to attract more students. The Culinary Institute of Charleston, which has seen enrollment fall by 25 percent over the past three years, has begun reaching into high schools to offer college-credit programs, and partnering with local restaurants and the Metro Chamber of Commerce to assist with student tuition.

He hopes those steps will halt the enrollment decline, adding: "We believe it will level out within the next few years."

Other schools have not been as fortunate, with many well respected culinary programs shutting their doors. Le Cordon Bleu was founded in the 1800s in Paris. With that school, which Julia Child attended, will remain open, the last of the 16 Cordon Bleu programs across the U.S. have ceased new enrollment and are closing.

In Minnesota alone, three of the five major culinary schools have announced they are shutting down. Southern New Hampshire University's culinary program announced earlier this month that the culinary program will likely be eliminated, noting that enrollments have dropped by more than a third and applications are down 29 percent over the last four years. A final decision is expected in February.

"This is not just an SNHU phenomenon, it is a national trend, and even better known culinary programs than ours are contracting," University President Paul LeBlanc said in a recent statement. SNHU's overall enrollments are strong and growing, he said, "but Culinary stands in stark contrast and in steep decline."

Rick Smilow, president and CEO of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, said students cannot get the same level of training in a timely manner when learning on the job. Culinary school, he said, provides a "breadth and depth of training that, while possible to get on the job, would typically take years."

While acknowledging the restaurant labor shortage, Smilow still sounded optimistic for the industry.

"The best restaurants are still looking for the level of commitment and curiosity that a young cook demonstrates by going to culinary school," he said.

The challenges don't appear to be discouraging culinary students like Sandra Curiel, 18, of Los Angeles, who was helped by a full tuition scholarship to attend New England Culinary Institute's certificate program.

"It's hard work but you know it's something that I love to do and I want to do that for the rest of my life," she said.
Los Angeles (AFP) - "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore," a movie long on ambition and longer in title, came away with the top prize as the Sundance Film Festival wrapped Saturday.

Starring Elijah Wood, it was announced at its world premiere in the Utah mountains last week as the only festival entrant with a grammatical sentence as its title.

"Green Room" actor Macon Blair's directorial debut is a bloody crime comedy with an escalating body count in the best traditions of Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, the Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson.

The Netflix financed movie co-stars Melanie Lynskey ("Heavenly Creatures") as a nursing assistant worn down by people's unkindness who eventually snaps when her house is burglarized.

It won the grand jury prize in Sundance's "US dramatic competition" section.

Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini's "Dina," described by critics as a "non-fiction rom-com" won best US documentary.

The film follows an eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door-greeter as they navigate their evolving relationship in an unconventional love story.

Many critics have pointed out that this year's festival was more overtly political than in previous years.

Fittingly, Sundance's awards show opened with a sideways dig at President Donald Trump's order suspending the arrival of refugees and tough new controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Sundance Institute head Keri Putnam told the audience she wanted to "acknowledge the artists from Muslim majority countries who joined us at the festival this year."

The US dramatic audience award -- the second prize to the grand jury award -- went to Matt Ruskin's "Crown Heights," the story of a man fighting to clear his name after being wrongly convicted of a crime.

The US documentary directing prize went to Peter Nicks for "The Force" -- a portrait of the Oakland police department -- while the US documentary audience award went to "Chasing Coral," which sounds the alarm on the decline of coral reefs.

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Tarik Saleh's Swedish thriller "The Nile Hilton Incident" came away with the grand jury prize for world drama while Feras Fayyad's "Last Men in Aleppo," about the Syrian conflict, won the world cinema documentary competition.

The Sundance Film Festival founded by actor Robert Redford is considered a showcase for independent and documentary films and festival winners often go on to receive critical acclaim and Hollywood awards season glory.

Last year, the crop of movies shown at the festival yielded "Manchester by the Sea," which is up for six Oscars next month, including best picture and best actor for its star Casey Affleck.

"This has been one of the wildest, wackiest and most rewarding festivals in recent memory," said Sundance director John Cooper.

"From a new government to the independently organized Women's March on Main, to power outages, a cyberattack and snow at record levels, the work of our artists rose above it all and challenged and changed us these last 10 days."

Here is a full list of prizewinners from Saturday's awards:

- US DRAMA -

Grand Jury Prize: "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore."

Audience Award: "Crown Heights"

Directing: Eliza Hittman, "Beach Rats"

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith, "Ingrid Goes West"

Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance: Chante Adams, "Roxanne Roxanne"

Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director: Maggie Betts, "Novitiate"

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Daniel Landin, "Yellow Birds"

- US DOCUMENTARY-

Grand Jury Prize: "Dina"

Directing: Peter Nicks, "The Force"

Orwell Award: "Icarus"

Audience Award: "Chasing Coral"

Special Jury Award for Editing: Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, "Unrest"

Special Jury Award for Editing: Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, "Unrest"

Special Jury Award for Storytelling: Yance Ford, "Strong Island"

Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking: Amanda Lipitz, "Step"

- WORLD CINEMA DRAMA -

Grand Jury Prize: "The Nile Hilton Incident"

Audience Award: "I Dream in Another Language"

Directing Award: Francis Lee, "Gods Own Country"

Screenwriting: Kirsten Tan, "Pop Aye"

Special Jury Award for Cinematic Visions: Jun Geng, "Free and Easy"

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Manu Dacosse, "Axolotl Overkill"

- WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY -

Grand Jury Prize: "Last Men in Aleppo"

Audience Award: "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower"

Directing Award: Pascale Lamche, "Winnie"

Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling: Catherine Bainbridge, Alfonso Maiorana, "Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World"

Special Jury Award for Editing: Ramona S. Diaz, "Motherland"

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva, "Machines"
Updated at 12:02 p.m. ET.

For the first time in its history, the Doomsday Clock, an imaginary timepiece that represents humanity's proximity to annihilation through mechanisms of our own design, has moved 30 seconds closer to calamity, with the minute hand now at 2 and a half minutes to midnight, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced this morning (Jan. 26).

The minute hand's new position for 2017 was determined by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with a team of experts including 15 Nobel laureates. They last reset the clock on Jan. 22, 2015, at 3 minutes to midnight, with midnight representing global calamity.

The clock's new position marks the closest its hands have crept toward midnight in more than 60 years. [Doomsdays: Top 9 Real Ways the World Could End]

Members of the Science and Security Board consider a number of factors when deciding which direction the clock will turn: nuclear threats, such as the total number of nuclear warheads in the world and the security of nuclear materials, as well as threats related to climate change, such as sea level rise and amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide. They also consider the impacts of biosecurity and other emerging dangers, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported.

Facing multiple threats

Reviewing the events of 2016, experts found that expanding nuclear weapons development and ongoing testing in North Korea, India and Pakistan were causes for grave concern. Thomas Pickering, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs (1997-2000) and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria and Jordan, told reporters that the contentious relationship between the U.S. and Russia was also troubling.

Despite the two countries being presently "at loggerheads with little prospect for negotiation," Pickering said, he expressed hope that President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin might "take their now-budding relationship to something further and more meaningful in the area of nuclear arms reduction," he said. [The Top 10 Ways to Destroy Planet Earth]

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Government inaction in the face of climate change also played a part in the board's decision to nudge the clock's hands forward, according to David Titley, a professor of Practice in Meteorology at the Pennsylvania State University. Titley suggested that the new Trump administration should waste no time affirming its acceptance of incontrovertible scientific evidence that climate change is happening and that it is driven by human activity.

"There are no alternative facts that will make climate change magically go away," Titley told reporters.

"The Trump administration has put forth candidates for cabinet-level positions that foreshadow the possibility that the new administration will be openly hostile toward even the most modest efforts to avert this catastrophic climate change," Titley said. "Climate change should not be a partisan issue. The well-established physics of the Earth's carbon cycle is neither liberal nor conservative in character," he added.

Cybertechnology and biotechnology were also identified as emerging threats on a global scale, Lawrence Krauss, director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, announced at the news conference.

Krauss also said that the purported recent intervention of Russia in the U.S. presidential campaign, as reported by U.S. intelligence agencies, highlights the vulnerability of critical information systems in cyberspace and undermines the workings of democracy. Across the world, increased reliance of governments, companies and individuals on the internet raises concerns about the impacts of sophisticated hacking on financial activities, nuclear power grids, power plants and personal freedoms, he said.

And while the development of DNA-editing technology  such as the one called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)  offers new hope for disease cures, it also carries the risk of fueling malicious activities, as the techniques become more widely available, Krauss said.

With tech innovation happening so quickly, the input of scientific institutions and experts will be critical for global leaders to confront and manage new and complex threats, he said.

"The Clock ticks"

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 as a cover illustration for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a journal founded in 1945 by researchers who worked on the Manhattan Project, and who "could not remain aloof to the consequences of their work," according to a mission statement. Intended as a warning about how little time there was for humanity to deal with the consequences of having nuclear weapons, its position was fixed at 11:53 p.m.

Since then, the Doomsday Clock has become a symbol of the ongoing peril posed by not only nuclear weapons but also climate change. Scientists and other experts on the Science and Security Board convene twice annually to assess the scope and scale of deadly global dangers and decide if the clock needs to be reset. The minute hand has ticked forward and back, changing position 22 times in the past 70 years.

It hovered as close as 2 minutes to midnight in 1953, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union tested their first thermonuclear weapons scarcely six months apart, and drifted as far as 17 minutes before the hour in 1991, with the end of the Cold War and the signing of a treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union promising a significant reduction of nuclear arsenals.

Closer to midnight

The Doomsday Clock's minute hand didn't move at all in 2016, but swept forward in 2015  advancing from 5 minutes to 3 minutes before midnight  due to "unchecked climate change, global nuclear weapons modernizations, and outsized nuclear weapons arsenals," all of which "pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity," the Science and Security Board reported.

The failure of world leaders to act on these threats escalated the probability of catastrophe on a global scale, and "the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon," the board cautioned.

Though the Doomsday Clock is just a metaphor, the current deadly risk to humanity and the planet is all too real, according to the Bulletin. Now more than ever, our future hinges on global leaders who can confront and address the twin threats of climate change and nuclear weaponry, and work together to arrive at solutions that mitigate the peril to us all.

As the Science and Security Board warned in 2015, "The Clock ticks. Global danger looms. Wise leaders should act  immediately."

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
By Yesim Dikmen ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Dozens of people were stopped from flying to the United States from Istanbul Ataturk Airport on Sunday, Turkish airport officials said, after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a ban on refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. In his most sweeping action since taking office, Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. He said the moves would protect Americans from terrorism. Although NATO member Turkey is not on the list, Ataturk airport is a major regional hub frequently used by travelers from the Middle East heading to Europe or the United States. Officials at Ataturk, Europe's third-busiest airport, told Reuters they had stopped "dozens" of people from traveling on Sunday, due to the ban. One official said the number was fewer than 80, but declined to give further details. One 32-year-old Syrian man, Nail Zain, told Reuters he arrived at the airport expecting to fly to Los Angeles, but officials prevented him from boarding, saying his visa was canceled. "My wife and my son are in the United States. My son has American nationality. And we have been waiting for this moment for two years. Finally when I got the chance, they prevented me as a Syrian passport holder from traveling," Zain said. He was later taken out of the terminal by authorities. It was not immediately clear whether the ban would have an impact on flagship carrier Turkish Airlines. Officials for the airline were not immediately available to comment on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. (Editing by David Dolan and Larry King)
The Trump administrations moves to temporarily ban immigration from seven countries it deems as security risks are quickly heading for a battle within the federal court system.

President Trump signs an executive order

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to issue a 90-day suspension of entry into the United States for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order appeared to have impacted green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States, as well as people holding valid visas. But on Sunday morning, the White House appeared to exclude green card holders from the ban. The ban also doesnt apply to dual citizens who are United States citizens and also citizens of one of the seven countries targeted in the order.

The order also bars entry of all refugees into the United States for 120 days, and it bars Syrian refugees indefinitely.

By Sunday, federal judges in four courts had issued stays that kept parts of the order from being implemented temporarily. On Saturday night, federal judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn issued a stay that said the federal authorities couldnt deport people from those seven nations who held valid visas who were at airports or border locations or were in transit to those locations. Federal judges in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Washington state issued similar rulings after Donnellys stay.

The Trump administration and a spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan have stated the executive order isnt targeting a religious group. Its not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared, Trump told reporters on Saturday. This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion, said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong, also on Saturday.

The theory that the travel and immigration ban targets Muslims from those seven nations will undoubtedly be the part of the legal debate and court challenges coming in the next few weeks. The case made by the American Civil Liberties Union in New York centered on the constitutional rights of Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, Iraqi nationals who had received valid visas and were detained at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Friday night as they returned to the United States.

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The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioner and others similarly situated violates their rights to Due Process and Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution, Donnelly ruled.

Two federal judges in Boston issued a temporary restraining order that barred government officials from detaining people from the seven countries who had received refugee status, held a valid U.S. visa, or had been granted permanent residence prior to the executive orders issuance.

The Department of Homeland Security has said it will comply with judicial orders and stays. But the Trump administration and Justice Department likely will seek an end to the stays as the cases make their way through the federal judicial system. In addition, Reuters reports that state attorneys general who are Democrats may be getting ready to mount their own legal challenges to the executive order.

Among scholars, the debate over the theoretical constitutionality of such moves has been ongoing for well over a year, when candidate Trump proposed a specific ban on Muslims entering the United States.

The current executive order is careful to state the temporary bans are based on the Presidents power under the Immigration and Nationality Act (or INA) to deny immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in [the INA] that would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

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This article originally appeared on TIME.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that temporarily bans new U.S. visas for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, in an act the administration says is designed to prevent terrorist attacks by foreign nationals.

Yet counterterrorism experts say that the policy could backfire by providing more fodder for propaganda and recruiting by jihadist groups that aim to demonize the United States.

In interviews, analysts and former counterterrorism officials said the proposed immigration restrictions would reinforce the jihadists binary worldview in which a monolithic West conspires to oppress Muslims across the planet. According to the executive order, the new presidents policy will suspend new visas for people from seven nations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The executive order targets citizens of those countries almost indiscriminately, a policy that experts say fuels a narrative of American victimization of Muslims, in which jihadist groups market themselves as the resistance to that domination.

There is no doubt in my mind that, wherever they are, propagandists for groups of the likes of the Islamic State will be looking at whats happening and rubbing their hands with glee. Because this is exactly the kind of world they want to inhabit. Its a world that reifies their ideology, says Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence in London.

Groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda could use the new restrictions to sway new followers around the world, says Clint Watts, a former FBI counterterrorism special agent and U.S. Army infantry officer.

If anything its going to antagonize the narratives of terrorists. Theyre going to use this as further indication that we have a war with Islam, and theyll use that for marketing purposes, says Watts, who is also a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a think tank in Philadelphia.

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Trumps own rhetoric suggests he intends to single out Muslims. The new executive order also closes Americas borders to refugees, and halts the arrival of all Syrian refugees indefinitely. On Friday he said that, once the temporary ban on refugees is lifted, he intends to favor Christian refugees over Muslims. If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible, he told Christian Broadcasting News.

Trumps proposals come at a moment when the worlds deadliest terror group, ISIS, is steadily losing ground on battlefields in Iraq, Syria and Libya. As its self-proclaimed caliphate collapses, the group is expected to return increasingly to the tactics of insurgency and traditional terrorism, and rely on a diffuse network of operatives and acolytes around the world. Experts argue that over the long term, defeating ISIS and groups like it requires an effort to discredit jihadist militancy as an ideology. Trumps immigration plan undermines that effort, says Watts.

Its exactly al-Qaedas original narrative from the 90s, when they said that, They dont want you beyond oil. They are not open to Islam. They dont respect it. Its a Christian country that has a bias toward Christianity, he tells TIME. Were talking about winning the war on ideas. How do we win the war on ideas when we just confirmed their idea is correct?

Trumps proposed policy also does not address the problem of jihadist recruits and sympathizers who originate in the United States and Europe. The United Nations estimated in 2015 that more than 25,000 so-called foreign fighters from 100 countries had gone to join militant groups in Iraq and Syria, including around 4,000 from Western Europe. A report by researchers at the George Washington University referred to official estimates of 250 Americans who traveled or attempted to travel to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Separately, a Brookings Institution report found that the variable that most reliably predicts which countries produce the most jihadist recruits was whether the countrys population spoke French. The profile of potential recruits varies wildly. ISIS seeks to recruit followers in the West who may be Muslim or non-Muslim.

In 2016, ISIS militant leaders shifted from urging Western supporters to travel to ISIS-controlled territory, to urging them to plan attacks in their home countries. A message attributed to ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani last May told supporters, The smallest action you do in their heartland is better and more enduring to us than what you would if you were with us.

Many of the deadliest such attacks in recent years have been carried out by home-grown militants. Omar Mateen, the gunman who massacred 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., was an American-born security guard. Rizwan Farooq, the health inspector who carried out the shooting at a public service center in San Bernardino, Calif., was born in Chicago. His wife and co-conspirator, Tashfeen Malik, was from Pakistan. Dylann Roof, the unemployed white supremacist who murdered nine African-American churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., was born nearby in the city of Columbia. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the planner of the brutal attacks in Paris in November 2015, was born in Belgium.

As a result, experts say that even on its own terms, Trumps immigration proposal overlooks the record of militant plots in the United States. Sixteen of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks came from Saudi Arabia. Weve had no one from these seven countries come and do an attack in the United States, says Watts, referring to Trumps list. If youre going to actually do this on the list that youre going to protect Americans against potential terrorists  I am against any ban, but if youre going to use such a system there are countries that would demand far more scrutiny than the seven they picked.

If a group like ISIS were to attempt to send operatives from abroad, the proposed immigration controls could be circumnavigated.

I dont think that it will have a significant impact because again, there are so many ways to circumvent all of that, be it moving people across our southern border, our northern border, or moving people into the country on board small leisure water craft from Latin America and the Caribbean, says Michael S. Smith II, a leading terrorism analyst whose firm, Kronos Advisory, has briefed the U.S. government.

If you can move tons of cocaine into the United States, you can move hundreds of terrorists into the United States in a year, he adds.




Every year at this time, the evening sky is dominated by the eye-catching constellation Orion, the hunter, and his famous three-starred belt. The constellation contains some of the sky's most spectacular sights within reach of the naked eye, binoculars or telescopes of any size. Orion's spectacular stars and the bright nebulas in his sword and belt are well worth a look on chilly winter nights.

Your favorite mobile astronomy app can help you find them and see what they look like, even if you don't own a telescope. Let's bundle up against the winter chill and tour Orion's wonders.

Where's Orion?

The constellation of Orion, the hunter is well-known for several reasons. First, it straddles the celestial equator, making it visible throughout the world. Second, most of its stars are bright enough to see with unaided eyes, even under light-polluted skies. And finally, the constellation readily evokes a human figure, making it recognizable. [14 Best Skywatching Events of 2017]

The constellation Orion from Johann Bayer's "Uranometria" star atlas, published in 1603. The brighter stars have more elaborate symbols. The ecliptic is the broad band running left to right above him, and the Milky Way is the shaded region on his left. Orion's eastern arm is depicted bearing a raised club, while his western arm usually carries a lion's pelt (shown here), or a shield or cloak. U.S. Naval Observatory Library via Wikipedia

Traditionally, Orion has been depicted as kneeling or standing, with his eastern arm raised and bearing a club. His other arm is outstretched to the west and holds a cloak, a lion's pelt or a shield. His name comes from Greek mythology. In one story, to prevent the great hunter from killing her beloved animals, Gaia, the goddess of Earth, sent a scorpion to kill him. Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, cured Orion, and the scorpion, now called Scorpius, was placed on the opposite side of the sky, never to be visible at the same time as Orion. Ophiuchus was placed midway between the two foes. The constellations of Gemini and Taurus sit above Orion, to his upper left and right, respectively. Beneath his feet, his faithful dog, Canis Major, chases the rabbit Lepus.

Orion is a medium-size constellation, measuring 30 degrees (three outstretched fist widths) high, from his upraised club to his feet, and 20 degrees wide, from his eastern elbow to the cloak. At about 7 p.m. local time on midwinter evenings, Orion is low in the southeastern sky, tilted with his head to the left when viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. As the evening wears on, he rises higher and rotates upright, culminating high in the southern sky around 9:30 p.m. Then, he tilts to the right as he sets into the west at about 3 a.m. local time.

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In midwinter, Orion is tilted to the left in the southeastern sky after dark, and then rises to stand upright in the south at about 9 p.m. local time, as shown here. The constellation is below the prominent winter constellations Gemini and Taurus, and above his faithful hunting dog, Canis Major, which pursues Lepus the Hare across the heavens. Orion's bright stars straddle the celestial equator (shown in white), making it visible worldwide. SkySafari App

Touring Orion's belt and bright stars

Many cultures have assigned significance to the distinctive row of three equally spaced stars that mark Orion's belt. Scandinavian countries have seen a distaff, a scythe and a sword. Predominantly Catholic countries referred to it as The Three Marys (from the New Testament). In the Middle East, they saw the three kings, or Magi. In China, it was known as The Weighing Beam, and the Three Stars. In fact, the top portion of the corresponding Chinese character  (shen) has three identical symbols representing the three stars. In North America, the Lakota called it the Bison's Spine, with the surrounding stars and nearby constellations forming the rest of a great bison in their winter sky.

If you are willing to face the winter chill, bring your phone or tablet and astronomy app outside on a clear evening, and use it to find the stars and objects mentioned below. A backyard telescope will show you most of the objects. Or, you can tour the constellation indoors with an app such as SkySafari 5. Simply search for the objects by name, center them in the app and zoom in to see how they look in full color. Use the Information option to bring up historical and scientific details, as well as additional images taken by amateur astronomers and large observatories.

From east to west (left to right looking at the sky in the Northern Hemisphere), Orion's three belt stars are named Alnitak, Mintaka and Alnilam. In a telescope, Alnitak (Arabic for "the Girdle") is revealed to be double, with the larger star a blue supergiant about 820 light-years away and shining strongly in ultraviolet light. Its surface temperature is a scorching 31,000 kelvins  that's 55,340 degrees Fahrenheit! (For comparison, our gentle yellow sun is a mere 6,200 K  10,700 degrees F.) Astrophotographers love the area around Alnitak. It's loaded with gorgeous gas clouds and nebulas, including the famous Horsehead Nebula and another called the Flame Nebula. A very large telescope is needed to see the spectacular objects with your own eyes, but your astronomy app will allow you to search for them and display full-color images. [Best Telescopes for the Money - 2017 Reviews and Guide]

The very bright star at center left in this image is Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion's belt. A large aperture telescope, or a long exposure image of the area, reveals the spectacular Horsehead Nebula (to Alnitak's right) and the Flame Nebula (below Alnitak). The horse's head is opaque dust obscuring the glowing red hydrogen gas beyond it. The bright star at top center is part of the beautiful Sigma Orionis multiple star system, which is easily seen in backyard telescopes. Image by Ron Brecher of Guelph, Ontario. Ron Brecher, used with permission

The belt's middle star is called Alnilam, which means "string of pearls". It's another large, and very hot, blue-white star, about 1.5 times farther away than the other two belt stars. Aging rapidly and nearing the end of its hydrogen supply, this star is expected to become a red supergiant  the precursor to a supernova, at any time. In fact, considering the star sits more than 1,300 light-years from Earth (with a corresponding delay in our seeing it), it might have happened already!

The third and westernmost star, called Mintaka ("belt"), is also a double star when viewed through a telescope. In fact, there are at least four stars making up what we see as Mintaka, although the others are only evident through spectroscopy. The brightest one has a partner that orbits it every 5.73 days in an eclipsing binary configuration that makes the star vary in brightness. These stars are also hot, blue giants, sitting about 900 light-years away. If you look carefully, Mintaka is actually somewhat dimmer than Alnitak and Alnilam.

To the upper left of his belt, the very bright, orange star Betelgeuse marks Orion's eastern shoulder. The ninth-brightest star in all the night sky, Betelgeuse is a red supergiant located about 500 light-years away. For comparison, if this star were in our solar system, all of the inner planets from Mercury to Mars would be inside the star! Even though Betelgeuse is much younger than our sun, it is a type of star that matures dramatically faster, and thus astronomers think it is approaching the end of its life and is massive enough to explode as a Type II supernova. And considering the light we see now left the star 500 years ago, it might have exploded already!

To the lower right of Orion's belt sits the hot, blue star Rigel. From our perspective on Earth, it appears about as bright as Betelgeuse, but it's much farther away  meaning it emits considerably more light. Rigel, too, is a supergiant star burning with a surface temperature of 12,000 kelvins (21,140 degrees F, or 11,727 degrees C)! In a good telescope, a small companion star can be spotted very close to Rigel. In Arabic, Rigel means "the foot of the great one." In China, Rigel is known as  (Sansu Qi, "The Seventh of the Three Stars").

Orion's western shoulder is marked by the bright star Bellatrix, which translates to "Amazon Star," named after the warrior women of legend. Bellatrix is about 240 light-years away, and burns at a blistering-hot 21,500 kelvins (38,240 degrees F, or 37,967 degrees C). It, too, is well along in its life cycle and is soon expected to enter its next phase of evolution, and become an orange giant. (As the last stages of their lives begin, stars first swell and become orange giants. Later in the process, they redden and swell even larger.) Above and between Orion's shoulders is an open cluster of stars, 1,305 light-years away, that marks his head. The brightest star is named Meissa ("the Shining One"). You can use binoculars or a telescope to enjoy them better, and see how many you can count. [Awesome Binocular Astronomy with the help of Mobile Apps]

Completing our circuit of his body, the western foot, or knee, of Orion is the misnamed star Saiph ("Sword of the Giant"). Another hot, blue-white star blazing at 26,500 kelvins (47,240 degrees Fahrenheit, or 26,227 degrees Celsius), it's also nearing the transition to creaky-old red supergiant.

Orion's cloak, lion's pelt or shield is composed of a crooked line of about nine stars that run up and down off to the constellation's western side. The brightest star, in the middle of the string, is named Tabit ("the Endurer"). On the opposite side of the constellation, the upraised club dips into the Milky Way. As you look higher, you'll see that pairs of stars widen the club. By using binoculars, you'll be able to see the rich star fields there.

Orion's stars serve as pointers to other celestial signposts. Extending the belt stars to the west leads to the bright-orange star Aldebaran in Taurus. With your arm extended, measure two diameters of your fist in the opposite direction to spot Sirius, the brightest star in the entire night sky, in the constellation Canis Major. If you imagine drawing a line drawn from Bellatrix to Betelgeuse, it will point to Sirius' bright puppy, the star Procyon. And a line upward from Rigel through Betelgeuse leads to the two matched stars Castor and Pollux, the heads of Gemini, the twins.

Mobile apps such as SkySafari 5 can be configured to show you all of the stars and deep-sky objects within a constellation. Then, you can touch an object to select it and zoom in to see more detail; call up scientific and historical details; and view imagery from major observatories. Take the app out under the stars, or tour the sky from the comforts of home. Orion's objects all fall within the blue boundaries that separate one constellation from the next. SkySafari App

Orion's sword and the Great Nebula

Orion's majestic sword, hanging well below his belt, contains one of winter's true astronomical treats. Unaided eyes generally detect three vertically arranged patches of light forming Orion's sword. Binoculars and telescopes reveal that the middle object is actually a bright knot of glowing gas and stars known as the Great Orion Nebula, or Messier 42 (M42). It is one of the brightest nebulas in the entire night sky, and at 1,400 light-years away, it is one of the closest star-forming nurseries to Earth. It's enormous: Under a very dark sky, it can be traced over an area equivalent to four full moons! For the best views, pick an evening when the moon rises late or is out of the sky.

Embedded in the core of the nebula is a tight clump of stars collectively designated Theta Orionis. (Orionis is Latin for "of Orion.") It's better known as the "Trapezium" because the brightest four stars occupy the corners of a trapezoid shape. Even a small telescope should be able to pick out this asterism, or stellar pattern, but good viewing conditions and a larger-aperture telescope can show two additional fainter stars. The Trapezium stars are hot O- and B-type stars that were recently born from the same cloud of gas and emit intense amounts of ultraviolet radiation. The radiation causes the gas in which they are embedded to shine brightly, by reflecting off gas and dust as blue light and also by energizing hydrogen gas to emit red light. The two colors together add purples to images of the nebula.

Only after the invention of the astronomical telescope in 1609 did astronomers discover that the object in Orion's sword wasn't simply more stars, but a brightly glowing cloud of gas. In the 1700s, Charles Messier and Edmund Halley (both famous comet observers) noted the object in their growing catalogs of "fuzzy" objects. In 1880, Henry Draper imaged it through an 11-inch refractor telescope, making it the first deep-sky object to be photographed. Within the nebula, astronomers also have detected many "young" (about 100,000 years old) concentrations of collapsing gas called proplyds that will eventually form future solar systems. These objects give astronomers a glimpse of how our sun and planets formed. [The Fabulous Lives of Nebulas]

In a backyard telescope, you should see the tight clump of Trapezium stars surrounded by ghostly gray veils and dark gaps. More photons (particles of light) need to be delivered to your eye for you to see color, so try photographing it through your telescope or using a camera and telephoto lens mounted on a tripod. Visually, use low magnification to enjoy the extent of the nebula before zooming in on the tight asterism. Just above M42, you'll find M43, a separate lobe of the nebula that surrounds the naked-eye star Nu Orionis ( Ori).

Continuing to tour the sword, look just below the nebula for a loose group of stars, 1,300 light-years away, called Nair al Saif ("the Bright One of the Sword"). The most prominent in that group is a hot, bright star surrounded by faint nebulosity that's expected to explode in a supernova one day. Astronomers think the star was gravitationally kicked out of the Trapezium cluster about 2.5 million years ago.

Sweeping down the sword and to the left (east) brings us to the star d Orionis at the tip of the sword. This magnitude 4.7 star is near the limit for visibility in moonless suburban skies. About two finger widths to its right is another star of similar brightness, named Upsilon Orionis. As is sometimes the case with star naming, this star is called Thabit ("the Endurer"), a duplicate of the similarly named star off Orion's western arm.

Moving upward toward Orion's belt, half a finger width (30 arc minutes, or the moon's diameter) above the Orion Nebula, you'll find another clump of stars dominated by c Orionis and 45 Orionis. A larger telescope, or a long-exposure photograph, will reveal a bluish patch of nebulosity around them that contains darker lanes forming the shape of a figure, called the Running Man Nebula. This is another case of gas reflecting light from the two stars mentioned.

Just above the Running Man Nebula, and a bit more than a finger's width to the lower right of Alnitak, sits a loose cluster of a few dozen stars best seen in binoculars. Then, jump higher, most of the way toward Alnitak, to check out a beautiful little group of stars collectively called Sigma Orionis. A small telescope reveals a special treat: four or five stars bunched together. Check it out with your telescope  trust me, it's pretty!

The SkySafari 5 app allows the background sky to be shown in different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, including H-alpha light, which reveals where the concentrations of hydrogen gas are. The large curved feature on Orions eastern flank is called Barnards Loop, part of a gigantic bubble of gas inflated by the recently formed stars in the Orion Nebula and Alnitak regions. SkySafari App

Going beyond

Your astronomy app will guide you to several more of Orion's wonders to chase with binoculars or a telescope. The area around his raised club contains a number of star clusters, including the fairly easy-to-spot NGC 2169, while above the opposite hand sits another one designated NGC 1662. About 2.5 degrees above Alnitak is another Messier object, M78, a faintish concentration of glowing-blue nebulosity lit by the stars within it, and broken by dark dust lanes.

The Orion constellation is a veritable astrophysical laboratory. If your astronomy app allows the background sky to be shown in different wavelengths, try switching to H-alpha to see where hydrogen gas is concentrated in the sky. The entire constellation is embedded inside a massive hydrogen cloud, with a dense clump surrounding Orion's head and a large, C-shaped feature on Orion's eastern flank. Known as Barnard's Loop, the curve is part of a gigantic bubble of gas inflated by the recently formed stars in the Trapezium and Alnitak region. This is just one example of nonvisual ways astronomers peer into the universe.

In future editions of Mobile Astronomy, we'll cover the solar eclipse, review some new apps and more. 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.

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By Mica Rosenberg (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday his administration wants more rigorous screening of refugees and visitors from certain countries to prevent terrorist attacks. Here is what Trump's order on "extreme vetting" - denounced by civil rights groups as discriminatory - includes. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF VISAS FOR CERTAIN COUNTRIES The order bars the entry of foreign nationals from certain countries for 90 days. While no countries are specifically named in the order, it refers to a statute that would apply to seven Muslim-majority nations: Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq. There is an exception for certain types of visas, including for diplomats and the United Nations. The temporary halt is aimed at giving the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the Director of National Intelligence time to determine what information is needed from each country to ensure that visas are not issued to individuals posing a national security threat. CHANGES TO SCREENING FOR IMMIGRATION PROGRAMS The order calls for a review to create a single process for screening people entering the country, which could include holding more in-person interviews, searches of an expanded database of identity documents or longer application forms. Under the current system, some visa applications require interviews but others do not. The government already has extensive databases but some believe they need to be expanded. The order suspends the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which allows consular officers to exempt some applicants from face-to-face interviews if they are seeking to renew their temporary visas within a year of expiration. Immigration attorneys say the changes will make even routine applications much more complicated and time consuming and could mean that more people will need assistance to get through the visa process. In an attempt to ensure wait times for interviews are "not unduly affected," the order calls for the hiring of more consular fellows to work in U.S. embassies abroad. RESTRICTING REFUGEES The order calls for the temporary halt of all refugee admissions for four months so the government can study the process and determine if additional checks are necessary, although there will be case-by-case exceptions. The order also implemented a blanket ban of all Syrian refugees until "sufficient changes" have been made to the refugee program, without giving more details. After the suspension is lifted, the government will give priority to applicants that are suffering religious-based prosecution, but only if they are minorities in their country. Trump said in a television interview that the move would protect Christians. It could also protect ethnic minorities like the Yazidis in the Middle East. This could potentially open the door to legal challenges claiming religious discrimination, some legal experts say. Once refugee admissions resume, fewer will be allowed. The 2017 cap was set at 50,000 people, compared to 85,000 designated by President Barack Obama for 2016. In a nod to certain states and cities that have objected to refugee resettlement, the order also seeks to give state and local jurisdictions a role in deciding whether or not to allow people to live there. COMPLETING THE "BIOMETRIC ENTRY-EXIT TRACKING SYSTEM" The system is aimed at tracking foreign visitors' arrival and departure using information like finger prints. Former President Barack Obama's administration had aimed to start implementing biometric exit checks at the country's largest airports by 2018. Some experts have said that for the system to work properly, it would need to cover all land, air, and sea ports of entry, which is a major undertaking. According to a 2014 report from the Bipartisan Policy Center the system would be expensive to implement and would "offer mixed value for enforcement objectives." (This version of the story has been refiled to fix spelling of "Iraq" in paragraph 3) (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Tom Hogue)
The phone chimes. I know who is calling, even without looking at the screen.

You have heard about it, right? What Trump did, Maryan trails off.

Yes, I read about it on Twitter, I reply, almost without emotion.

Why us? Why always our family? she asks.

Dear, I dont know, walaahi  by God  please calm down.

In truth, I dont know how either of us can be calm right now. The executive order suspending refugee admissions to the United States and blocking entry from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including my parents home country of Somalia, means that my family will likely never be reunited in America.

A quarter century after my parents fled to a refugee camp in Kenya, and 13 years after our family applied to be resettled in the United States, the door has finally been slammed shut. My sister lives in Richland, Washington. My parents were in the final stages of the vetting process for a visa; they are scheduled to be interviewed at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in February. And me? I am still caged in the refugee camp where I was born.

It didnt always feel this hopeless. I remember the excitement of learning that the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) had opened a resettlement case for my family to come to the United States. I was eight and had just started the third grade. It was my first encounter with America, a place the other refugees spoke about the same way they spoke about the hereafter. America was Elysium in their imagination, and my family was among the first to be shortlisted to go there.

My parents stopped sending me to school, assuming I would be in an American classroom in a matter of months. In those days, we were all naive about the resettlement process. People suspended their lives immediately after UNHCR opened their cases  children dropped out of school, families gave away their belongings, and shopkeepers packed up their wares. Couples even stopped making love. A pregnancy, it was said, could delay getting to America.

Story continues

When my sister Maryan finally got her green card in 2005, my interest in the United States grew. I started reading American romance novels  Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel  and the occasional horrors, mostly Stephen King. All paperbacks, old and torn, from the library at my secondary school. Soon I was devouring Morrison, Walker, Fitzgerald, Salinger, among many others.

I dreamed of being a writer, and Maryan gave me hope. In America, she said, you can be anything you want. So I dreamed of doing for Somalia what Khaled Hosseini did for Afghanistan  move beyond the bloody headlines and poignantly tell the stories of my people. Maryan went along with my delusions. She cheered my insanity. She said it was all possible  and I believed her. It was possible for Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiongo, both of whom fled Africa for America. And it was possible for hundreds of immigrant writers who distinguished themselves in the United States: Vladimir Nabokov, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and many others. I was going to be like them.

My parents worried that America would change us if we ever got there, that we would lose our religion, our culture. But they too shared the dream of a better future. They fled Somalia in 1991, when the Siad Barre regime was ousted and the country descended into chaos. My father decided to take his family to a refugee camp in Kenya, where at least it was safe. Many of his close relatives disagreed with his decision. The war, they said, would last only for a couple of months. How could he turn his back on his country? But gradually, those same relatives began to join us in the refugee camp. By then they had lost family members in the war, my father remembers. A son, a daughter, a husband, a wife. I departed early and I dont regret that.

Neither he nor my mother expected to stay long in Kenya. Upon her arrival in Dadaab refugee camp, my mother recalls being asked to plant trees to help make the desert settlement more livable. She declined, saying she wouldnt be there long enough to sit under their shade. Twenty-five years later, she is still there and her resettlement case is still pending. Our family has been through the same required medical examination 17 times. The last time, in January 2016, my 80-year-old father said he was too tired to go. My older brother Ibrahim and I begged him to make one last attempt.

Then in March, Maryan returned to Kenya to say that she had petitioned the U.S. government to allow our parents to join her in the United States (she wasnt allowed to include her siblings on the petition). The petition was accepted, and my parents were waiting to be interviewed at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi when news of Trumps executive order swept through the camp. Why always our family?

But its not just the United States that doesnt want us. Last year, the Kenyan government announced that it would close down Dadaab, citing concerns about terrorism. It set a deadline of November (since extended to May), and began sending anyone who would agree to leave back to Somalia. It says it wont force the more than 250,000 remaining refugees out, but it hasnt said we can stay, either. No one seems to know what will happen to us. Will people like me, who were born in Dadaab, be deported back to Somalia? Kenya wont say.

Many of my childhood friends have made it to the United States, Britain, or Canada, and I often meet them online. They ask if I am still in Dadaab. They ask where I learned English, as if they have forgotten that we have schools here. They are shocked when they learn that I was published in the Guardian, the New York Times Magazine.

You made it while still in Dadaab, they say!

Hardly. My life would have looked so much different if I had been allowed to come with Maryan to America in 2005. Look at Ilhan Omar, who was recently elected the first Somali lawmaker in the United States. Or Fatah Adan, who emerged atop his class and made it to Harvard. Or Muna Khalif, who was accepted at all eight Ivy League schools.

The words I write may travel all around the world, but I am confined to the refugee camp where I was born. I cant move freely in Kenya; I need a permit to leave Dadaab. My whole life, it seems, Ive been living the American dream. I just dont know how much longer I can bear to live it outside of America.

Image credit: TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
My parents are Muslims, but open enough in their faith to welcome the idea I might baptize their eight-month old grandson into Christianity. My wife and I hadnt yet made a final decision, but until this weekend  when President Donald Trumps ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries when into effect  we thought we were clear enough in our motivations.

Britta, my wife, was raised in her small Catholic German hometown with a religious life never available to me when I was growing up on Long Island, New York, surrounded by mainstays of Iranian culture like the Farsi language and Persian New Year celebrations, but little exposure to any Islamic community. I imagined our son, like my wife during her own childhood, could, by joining a church, have access to a sense of history and solace, and perhaps some wisdom, too. Christian theology always struck me as particularly unintuitive compared to other spiritual alternatives, but I cant say it seems any less likely to be true.

Britta and I were more reserved, not just with each other, but ourselves, about an additional motive. We had lived in Germany together before, and we figured there might be some chance that our family would live there again. We are also aware that Germany is an avowedly Christian nation: even lesser Christian holy days are national holidays, public schools teach the Bible, the national government collects taxes on behalf of two officially recognized churches, and politicians describe and defend Christianity as the countrys Leitkultur, its leading culture.

Whether one objects or not to these aspects of German life has always been somewhat beside the point. There are historical reasons for them, and while they arent immune to change, nor are they artificial impositions. So why not put our son in a position where he wouldnt potentially be excluded from the majority, and have access to the cultural privileges that entails? There seemed plenty to gain for his future identity and social life, and at little moral cost.

This was, I now realize, an ignorant calculation. Spirituality aside, there are political stakes that Britta and I both, for our own reasons, found difficult to appreciate. This is the ignorance that Trumps immigrant ban has now exposed, and corrected.

Morality isnt exempt from a decision to join one side of a social divide when it means leaving the other side. What Trump has done is create a new division for Americans to contemplate and confront. Americans have always inherited, and struggled against, race as our great national rift. With an immigration system that now discriminates against Muslim immigrants, we are now adopting Europes tradition of officially dividing ourselves along the lines of religion. Trump has created an American Muslim minority where there was none before.

Of course, Christians have always been the demographic majority of the United States. Perhaps it is inevitable that a president would encourage them to act as a political majority, too. But we can still recognize this shift as new.

As an Iranian-American, I never previously had the sense of a Christian majority jealous of its power, and intent on using the law to enforce its dominance. Which is another way of saying that as a secular Iranian-American, I didnt often feel Muslim. My religious identity seemed a contribution to difference, not a standing invitation to competition or division. I didnt feel disadvantaged by the official representatives of my country, much less a potential object of oppression for the sake of Christian self-esteem.

I do now. How could I not? I have countless relatives in Iran whom Im not sure I will ever see again. I also have two great-aunts  both in their 80s, both holders of green cards  who were fortunate to have arrived at Dulles Airport last week, but may have to make a lifelong choice between seeing their families in Iran, or their children and grandchildren in the United States.

The question of whether America requires defending from my great-aunts allegedly Muslim values dissolves into meaninglessness. What values are at issue, exactly? The desire to live with your family? The hope to age without fear of bureaucratic capriciousness upending everything? Depriving countless Muslims of their dream, or their existing reality, of a life in America serves no purpose except as a temporary balm to Trump voters who were issued a promissory note by their candidate, the cashing of which requires a revolution.

I know that Christians are persecuted in many places in the world; they are not free to practice their faith in the Islamic Republic of Iran, for example, or wherever the Islamic States ravages have reached. Injustices everywhere deserve condemnation. But the United States is the political community I belong to  that my Iranian-American parents and my Iranian-American-German son belong to  and that community is now demanding that its members with personal beliefs that amount to a religious life declare where they stand.

There is a burden in being a minority. But majorities suffer their own moral costs, just as minorities have their own moral privilege. It is a privilege of struggle. There is dignity in turning down political advantages one didnt earn, and in having a lower vantage point from which to observe injustices committed against our peers.

Of course, along any social division, there are many with no choice about the side they to which they are assigned; no choice whether they will be made to experience cruelty and exclusion, or whether they will rather be obliged to reap the rewards of cruelty imposed on others. That is a tragedy, one that Americans have never been spared, however much I always thought our country sought to resist it.

But my wife and I do have a choice for our son, and well make it with the moral dangers of our countries rising prejudice and chauvinism in mind. I see that as a blessing, and hope that eventually he will, too.

The baptism would have been this summer in Germany, but it will now be called off for now. My parents, dual citizens of the United States and Iran, will be spared having to ask an immigration lawyer if they would have been able to attend.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON)  A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trumps travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.

As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.

The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention, or whether it would allow others to resume flying.

Realistically, we dont even know if people are going to be allowed onto the planes, said ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt. This order would protect people who they allow to come here and reach U.S. soil.

Under Trumps order, it had appeared that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days even though they held permanent residency green cards or other visas. However, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that no green-card holders from the seven countries cited in Trumps order had been prevented from entering the U.S.

Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday had been detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome. The DHS official who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

Story continues

In her three-page order, Donnelly wrote that without the stay there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders and other individuals from nations subject to the Jan. 27, 2017, executive order.

Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop radical Islamic terrorists from coming to the U.S. It included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Trumps order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

The directive did not do anything to prevent attacks from homegrown extremists who were already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. It also omitted Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

As a candidate Trump pledged to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the U.S., then said he would implement extreme vetting for people from countries with significant terror concerns. He told reporters Saturday the order is not a Muslim ban.

Its working out very nicely, Trump said of the implementation of his order. Were going to have a very, very strict ban and were going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.

The order sparked protests at several of the nations international airports, including New Yorks Kennedy and Chicagos OHare and facilities in Minneapolis and Dallas-Forth Worth. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the street outside the arrival area of the international terminal. Several dozen demonstrated at the airport in Portland, Oregon, briefly disrupting light rail service while hoisting signs that read Portland Coffee Is From Yemen and chanting anti-Trump slogans.

U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe also criticized the move. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is too broad.

If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion, Sasse said. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom.

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trumps ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldnt be turned away.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, regardless of your faith.

Two of the first people blocked from entering the United States were Iraqis with links to the U.S. military. Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained by immigration officials after landing at New Yorks Kennedy airport Friday night. Both had been released by Saturday night after their lawyers intervened.

The government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied.

Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trumps order would still be allowed into the U.S.

Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasnt authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trumps order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Trumps order also directed U.S. officials to review information as needed to fully vet foreigners asking to come to the U.S. and draft a list of countries that dont provide that information. That left open the possibility that citizens of other countries could also face a travel ban.

The U.S. may still admit refugees on a case-by-case basis during the freeze, and the government would continue to process requests from people claiming religious persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would challenge the constitutionality of Trumps order.

There is no evidence that refugees  the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation  are a threat to national security, said Lena F. Masri, the groups national litigation director. This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality.

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the order didnt address Americas primary terrorism-related threat  people already in the U.S. who become inspired by what they see on the internet.

Trumps order drew support from some Republican lawmakers who have urged more security measures for the refugee vetting program, particularly for those from Syria.

We are a compassionate nation and a country of immigrants. But as we know, terrorists are dead set on using our immigration and refugee programs as a Trojan Horse to attack us, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement Friday. With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years.

It is unclear how many people would be immediately impacted by the non-refugee travel ban. According to the statistics maintained by the Homeland Security Department, about 17,000 students from the seven designated countries were allowed into the U.S. for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015 more than 86,000 people from those countries arrived in the U.S. on other, non-immigrant visas and more than 52,000 others became legal permanent residents.

Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trumps order cut that by more than half to 50,000.

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker in Washington, Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco, Jeff Karoub in Detroit, and Rachel Zoll, Verena Dobnik and William Mathis in New York contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Fortune.

A federal court judge on Saturday night ordered that refugees and other immigrants stuck at American airports should not be sent back to their home countries after President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking them from entering the U.S.

In an emergency hearing in a Brooklyn courthouse, Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York issued a stay of proceedings for President Donald Trumps executive order, which bars citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countriesIran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The judge neither allowed detainees to enter the country nor addressed the constitutionality of Trumps actions.

The stay is immediate and applies nationwide, according to a statement by the National Immigration Law Center. Attorneys were working pro bono through the weekend on cases for those impacted by the sudden order, which Trump signed on Friday evening.

Broad and important nationwide stay granted! This means folks will not be deported. We will get you more information as we have it.  Nat'l Imm Law Center (@NILC_org) January 29, 2017

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No immigrants blocked by the new executive order may be removed at this time, according to Dale Ho, the director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Voting Rights Project, and the U.S. government must provide a list of those immigrants who are affected by the change in policy.

RELATED VIDEO: Watch: Natasha Stoynoff Breaks Silence, Accuses Donald Trump of Sexual Attack

Clarification:Stay covers the airport detainees and those currently in transit. Doesn't change ban going forward. Prev unclear tweet deleted  Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) January 29, 2017

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The stay only affects those immigrants who were detained at U.S. airports or are currently in transit, according to ProPublica senior reporting fellow Jessica Huseman, and does not impact those who have not yet left for the United States.




CAIRO (Reuters) - Five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight from Cairo to New York on Saturday following President Donald Trump's ban on the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, sources at Cairo airport said. Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks. The six passengers, bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport, were prevented from boarding EgyptAir Flight 985 at Cairo airport despite holding valid immigration visas, the sources said. The five Iraqis had arrived in transit from Erbil and were being held at the airport until they could be re-boarded on flights back to Iraq, whereas the Yemeni passenger had arrived at the airport from elsewhere in Cairo, they added. Trump halted the entry of travellers from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for at least 90 days, saying his administration needed time to develop more stringent screening procedures for refugees, immigrants and other visitors. A U.N. refugee agency spokesman said it was not yet known whether the six travellers had been granted visas earlier under the U.S. refugee programme. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Kiev (AFP) - Four soldiers and one rebel fighter were killed in fresh fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed insurgents Sunday, the bloodiest clash in weeks in the war-torn country's east.

The Ukrainian army said it had been hit by rebel fire in the battle for control of the key industrial town of Avdiivka.

The outskirts of the Kiev-held steel town close to the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk has in recent months seen some of the fiercest clashes in the 33-month war.

"Unfortunately four of are troops are dead and five others injured," the army said on Facebook.

"Today, the enemy attempted to seize the Avdiivka industrial zone," Kiev military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said earlier, adding that the firefight involved artillery and large-calibre mortars.

A spokesman for the separatist forces told AFP that one rebel soldier died and another one was injured.

The fatalities came despite a ceasefire announced in December.

About 10,000 people have died since the start of a pro-Russian rebellion in 2014 that Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of masterminding.

Fighting has dragged on and neither side is willing to make concessions in the conflict that has pushed ties between Moscow and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War.
Paris (AFP) - Benoit Hamon, who clinched the presidential nomination for the French Socialist party on Sunday, believes his bold economic and environmental ideas can revitalise the left -- without scaring off voters.

The 49-year-old, whose signature proposal is the introduction of a universal basic income, easily beat centrist ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in a primary run-off.

"Tonight the French left is holding its head high, is turning to the future and wants to win," Hamon said.

The former education minister was seen as an outsider three weeks ago but he dominated the Socialist race with his proposal for a universal income to offset growing automation and robotics, which are making jobs scarcer.

Faced with a "conservative right and destructive far left our country needs a modern, innovative left," the quietly-spoken leftwinger said Sunday.

Hamon proposes paying everyone a basic income, beginning with the young and the jobless poor, that would eventually reach 750 euros.

Socialist heavyweights slammed the proposal, which researchers at Sciences Po university in Paris estimated would cost 480 billion euros ($514 billion) annually.

Hamon's ally on the Socialists' left flank, former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, said the scheme would hoover up France's entire budget, while others argued that it would encourage idleness.

Valls labelled Hamon a dreamer and said his success would doom the Socialists to certain defeat in the two-round presidential election in April and May, already seen as a three-way race between the right, far-right and centre.

But grassroots Socialists were won over by Hamon's proposals for greater protection for the environment and human health, as well as new thinking about the changing role and forms of work.

"He is thinking about the future 15 years from here and the questions that we need to ask ourselves now," chef Loic Lobet told AFP while casting his vote in the primary on Sunday.

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Hamon also wants to raises taxes on robots, legalise cannabis, introduce stricter rules on chemicals and introduce a new corps of state inspectors to combat discrimination.

He said Sunday after wining the nomination that France needed a "new economic model" that was not based on the narrow objective of increasing gross domestic product (GDP).

His campaign, which has the slogan "Make France's heart beat", includes a pledge to build a second aircraft carrier, but he has ruled out increases in income taxes.

- Student protestor -

Hailing from western Brittany, the blue-eyed, fast-talking father-of-two is the son of a secretary mother and dockworker father who moved the family to Senegal for several years while Hamon was a child.

In 1986, aged 18, he joined student protests against proposed reforms that would have raised tuition fees.

His role in the student movement led to his becoming president of the Movement of Young Socialists from 1993 to 1995.

Footage of him giving a television interview around this time, looking dashing with cropped hair and a bright red jacket, was widely shared on social media in the run-up to the primary.

He went on to work for Martine Aubry, the champion of France's 35-hour working week, becoming Aubry's spokesman when she became Socialist Party leader in 2008.

"People who have worked with him have a tendency to underestimate him," Hamon's long-standing friend and spokesman Regis Juanico told AFP.

Socialist Party boss Jean-Christophe Cambadelis had hinted in mod-November at Hamon's ability to spring a surprise when he tipped "little Ben" as a possible winner.

The duel between Hamon and Valls was cast as a fight for the future of the deeply split Socialist party, with Hamon embodying its traditionalist left flank against Valls' reformist centre-left faction.

Political scientist Philippe Braud told AFP that many Socialist voters had voted in line with their convictions rather than for which Socialist might have a slim chance of becoming president.

"You want to go down with the sinking ship rather than lower the flag," he said.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Migrants face executions, torture and other systematic rights abuses in camps in Libya, according to a report prepared for the German government by the German embassy in Niger, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday. "Authentic cellphone photos and videos substantiate concentration-camp-like conditions in so-called private prisons" operated by people smugglers, the embassy said in a diplomatic cable sent to the chancellery and other ministries, according to the newspaper report. "Executions of countless migrants, torture, rapes, bribery and banishment to the desert are daily events," it cited the embassy's report as saying. "Eyewitnesses spoke of exactly five executions a week in one prison - with advance notice and always on Fridays - to make room for new migrants, i.e. to increase the human throughput and revenues of the smugglers," it continued. News of the embassy report comes ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders in Malta next week to discuss ways to control migration from Africa. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also raised concerns about conditions in Libya in a webcast on Saturday, saying Europe should work with the North African country to control illegal migration, but could not sign a deal similar to that reached with Turkey last year until it became more stable. Ska Keller, who heads the fraction of the pro-environment Greens in the European Parliament, said the German government should work to prevent any kind of an agreement with the Libyan government if it was aware of human rights abuses. Signing a migration deal with Libya meant that people would be "sent back into a catastrophic and inhumane situation," the newspaper quoted her as saying. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the newspaper that U.N. conventions provided refugees rights to sanctuary, but did not guarantee them the right to choose where they would go. De Maiziere and other EU interior ministers are moving to finance camps in Africa where the U.N. refugee agency and aid groups would process migrants to prevent them from trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Libya sank into chaos following the 2011 overthrow of veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and the new U.N.-backed government in Tripoli exercises no control over its territory. The sea crossing from Libya to Italy, operated by people-smugglers based in the North African country, is now the main route for migrants bound for Europe. A record 181,000 mainly African boat migrants reached Italy last year, taking the total number of arrivals in the past three years to more than half a million. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by David Evans)
BERLIN (AP)  The man nominated to lead Germany's center-left Social Democrats into the country's upcoming election said Sunday that he would ask all parties to agree on a fairness pact, to prevent vitriol of the kind seen during last year's U.S. election campaign.

Martin Schulz, a small-town mayor from western Germany who rose to become president of the European Parliament, said he wouldn't shy away from debates with his political opponents, but that fake news about candidates and the use of so-called bots to spread messages on social media need to be stopped.

"What we saw last year during the election campaign in the United States, the lack of decency in debates, that shocked me deeply," he told an audience in Berlin. "It opened up rifts and destroyed much in a country which once stood for freedom and tolerance. That mustn't happen to us in Germany."

Members of the Social Democratic Party's national executive agreed unanimously Sunday to make Schulz their candidate for the chancellorship, a post that traditionally goes to the party which receives the greatest share of votes in a general election.

The executive's decision needs to be confirmed at a party convention on March 19, when the 61-year-old also is expected to become party leader. Incumbent Sigmar Gabriel unexpectedly stepped down to make way for Schulz last week.

Polls put Schulz's popularity close to that of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is running for a fourth term in the Sept. 24 vote.

A policeman's son from Wuerselen, near the Dutch border, Schulz has spoken openly of his descent into alcoholism following an injury that ended a promising soccer career, saying he is grateful to have had a second chance in life.

He pledged to campaign for greater social justice while maintaining a "zero tolerance" policy on crime, quoting a fellow party leader who said: "I'm liberal, but not stupid."

In his speech, Schulz also criticized President Donald Trump's comments about women and minorities as "outrageous and dangerous," while vowing to fight against anti-immigrant populism that's boosted the nationalist Alternative for Germany party in recent years.

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Geelong (Australia) (AFP) - Germany's Nikias Arndt won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on Sunday after a tight sprint to the finish line that saw him narrowly beat Australians Simon Gerrans and Cameron Meyer.

Arndt (SUN) took the third edition of the 174-kilometre (108-mile) race in Geelong, Victoria, in four hours, 19 minutes and 15 seconds.

Local stars Gerrans (ORS) and Meyer (AUS) finished second and third respectively on the same time.

It was the first triumph for 25-year-old Arndt since he won a stage of the Giro d'Italia in May last year.

Meyer attacked about 800 metres to go after a solo move by fellow countryman Richie Porte, who won his first Tour Down Under in Adelaide last week, with 4.5 kilometres to go.

Arndt said he was not sure if he could catch 29-year-old Meyer from Western Australia.

"I just didn't stop fighting and I just pushed," Arndt said.

"I saw a teammate after the last climb... Wilko Kelderman.

"He pushed me and he was there doing a big, big pull and I thought, 'OK if he did such a big pull you also have to come back. You cannot give up now.'

"I continued and suddenly, I have to say, the group in front slowed down a little bit and that was to my advantage to come back."

Gerrans said the final sprint was tricky with the headwind.

"No one had team-mates left... Everyone was just ducking for wheels and trying to get out of the wind," Gerrans told host broadcaster Channel Seven.

"Yeah, Nikias went a long way out. He did the whole sprint in the seat and in the end I had nothing left and couldn't get past him."

Three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, who was in contention with a late move, finished 43 seconds behind Arndt.

The victory is the first for Arndt's Team Sunweb this season.

Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten (ORS) won the women's race on Saturday with a time of three hours, four minutes and 13 seconds.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says President Trump tasked him with coming up with a way to legally implement his controversial executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Ill tell you the whole history of it, Giuliani said in an interview with Fox News Jeanine Pirro on Saturday night. When he first announced it, he said Muslim ban. He called me up. He said, Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'

Slideshow: Anti-Trump protesters rally for Muslim and immigrant rights >>>

Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney, said he consulted with U.S. Reps. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, and Peter King, R-N.Y., and a group of very expert lawyers on the plan.

And what we did was, we focused on  instead of religion, danger, Giuliani said. The areas of the world that create danger for us. Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis. Perfectly legal, perfectly sensible. And thats what the ban is based on.

Giuliani and Trump head into a meeting in November. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order barring people from seven countries  Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Somalia  from entering the United States for 90 days. It also stopped all refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days and indefinitely suspended the entry of refugees from Syria.

During his presidential bid, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. That proposal subsequently evolved into a vague promise of extreme vetting, with the help of Giuliani.

I think its a good idea to tighten the vetting process, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on ABCs This Week on Sunday. But I also think its important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas.

I think we need to be careful, McConnell added. We dont have religious tests in this country.

Trump and Giuliani in October. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The Trump administration insists the ban doesnt constitute one.

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Its not based on religion, Giuliani said. Its based on places where there is substantial evidence that people are sending terrorists into our country.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared, Trump said while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Saturday. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency stay temporarily halting the removal of immigrants and refugees detained following Trumps order.

The decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at New York Citys John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Related: Protests at U.S. airports over travel ban

There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa holders, and other individuals from nations subject to [Trumps] executive order, Judge Ann Donnelly said in her ruling.

President Trumps executive order is simply un-American, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on CNNs State of the Union Sunday. It is suggesting that peoples civil liberties can be taken away, even if they are green card holders, even if theyre permanent residents on the pathway to citizenship.  It makes no distinction if someone has a green card and is already recognized on the pathway to citizenship. It makes no distinction if you have served in the U.S. military previously. You still can be detained. In this country, the notion of detention without due process, without probable cause or a charge against you, violates our constitutional norms.

Slideshow: Protests against Trumps travel ban hit the streets of NYC >>>

But Giuliani, who currently serves as a White House cybersecurity adviser, said the ban is simply an example of Trump negotiating in the best interests of the United States of America  not the rest of the world.

Read more from Yahoo News:
By Maher Chmaytelli and Lin Noueihed BAGHDAD/CAIRO (Reuters) - A global backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration curbs gathered strength on Sunday as several countries including long-standing American allies criticised the measures as discriminatory and divisive. Governments from London and Berlin to Jakarta and Tehran spoke out against Trump's order to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily ban travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. He said the move would help protect Americans from terrorism. In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said. She expressed her concerns to Trump during a phone call and reminded him that the Geneva Conventions require the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, the spokesman added. Merkel's sentiments were echoed in Paris and London; "Terrorism knows no nationality. Discrimination is no response," said French Foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, while his British counterpart Boris Johnson tweeted: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality." Along with Syria, the U.S. ban of at least 90 days affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, including those with dual nationality that includes one of those countries. Trump said his order, which indefinitely bans refugees from Syria, was "not a Muslim ban", though he added he would seek to prioritise Christian refugees fleeing the country. Washington's Arab allies, including the Gulf states and Egypt, were mostly silent. The government in Iraq, which is allied with Washington in the battle against ultra-hardline Islamist group Islamic State and hosts over 5,000 U.S. troops, also did not comment on the executive order. But some members of the parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States. IRAN VOWS TO RESPOND In Baghdad, influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said American nationals should leave Iraq, in retaliation for the travel curbs. "It would be arrogance for you to enter freely Iraq and other countries while barring to them the entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. There was no immediate reaction to the curbs from Islamic State, although in the past it has used U.S. monitoring of Muslim foreigners to stoke Muslim anger against Washington. The Tehran government vowed to respond in kind to the U.S. ban on visitors from Iran, but on Sunday Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas can enter the country. "Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," Zarif said. Authorities in Sudan, which is also targeted by the ban, summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires in Khartoum. They said the order sent a "negative message", coming two weeks after Washington announced it would ease economic sanctions on the country. Trump's executive order on Friday took effect immediately, wreaking havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries and plunging America's immigration system into chaos. The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travellers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. Fuad Sharef, his wife and three children were among the first victims. They had waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organisations. They were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo airport on Saturday, detained overnight and forced to board a flight back to northern Iraq. 'I AM TOTALLY BROKEN' "We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters, likening Trump's decision to the dictatorship of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I am broken, I am totally broken." A 32-year-old Syrian man, Nail Zain, was among dozens of people at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport prevented from flying to the United States on Sunday. He told Reuters he was supposed to fly to Los Angeles, but officials said his visa was cancelled. "My wife and my son are in the United States. My son has American nationality. And we have been waiting for this moment for two years. Finally when I got the chance, they prevented me as a Syrian passport holder from travelling," he said. He was later taken out of the terminal by authorities. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about militant attacks during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed high risk. He said on Saturday of his order: "It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over." The travel curbs, however, also drew criticism from several other countries around the globe. In Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the Muslim-majority nation deeply regretted Trump's plans for "extreme vetting" of people from some Muslim countries. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said "open society, plural identity, no discrimination" were the "pillars of Europe", while the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian governments also registered their opposition. Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen tweeted: "The U.S. decision not to allow entry of people from certain countries is NOT fair." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country welcomed those fleeing war and persecution, even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back U.S.-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," he tweeted. (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle in London, Andrew Callus in Paris and Maher Chmaytelli in Baghdad, Yesim Dikmen in Istanbul, and Arwa Gaballa and Eric Knecht in Cairo; Writing by William Maclean and Pravin Char; editing by Ralph Boulton)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. green card holders will require additional screening before they can return to the United States, the White House said on Saturday. Earlier, a Department of Homeland Security official said people holding green cards, making them legal permanent U.S. residents, were included in President Donald Trump's executive action temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. "It will bar green card holders," Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said in an email. A senior White House official later sought to clarify the situation, saying green card holders who had left the United States and wanted to return would have to visit a U.S. embassy or consulate to undergo additional screening. "You will be allowed to re-enter the United States pending a routine rescreening," the official said. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alan Crosby and Paul Tait)
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's immigration ban targeting some Muslims and refugees entering the US does not apply to green cards holders, a top White House aide said Sunday, amid ongoing confusion and anger over the controversial crackdown.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that the temporary ban "doesn't include green card holders going forward," Priebus told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

He added however that anyone traveling back and forth from the countries in question -- including US citizens -- would be subjected to further screening.

Priebus was asked about reports that Trump's executive order issued on Friday affected green card holders, contrary to recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security.

A green card, a document issued by the Department of Homeland Security allowing a person born outside the country to reside and work in the United States, serves as proof that its holder is a permanent resident and often is a step en route to obtaining US citizenship.

"We didn't overrule the Department of Homeland Security, as far as green card holders moving forward, it doesn't affect them," Priebus told NBC.

Regarding the impact of Trump's executive order on US citizens, he added: "I would suspect that if you're an American citizen traveling back and forth to Libya you're likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport," he said.

Priebus also suggested that the current ban -- affecting travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- could be expanded eventually.

"Perhaps other countries needed to be added to an executive order going forward  but in order to do this in a way that was expeditious, in a way that would pass muster quickly, we used the seven countries" already targeted.

A federal judge late Saturday issued an emergency stay on parts of Trump's executive order, but the Department of Homeland Security and the White House on Sunday insisted that the order remains in force.
Actress Taylor Holland gushed over girlfriend Sarah Paulson. The couple might have a few decades32 years to be exactbetween them, but they are wonderfully in love.

I'm the luckiest person in the world, the 74-year-old actress said during a Thursday interview on SiriusXMs Sandyland with Sandra Bernhard. I can't talk about my life today and not mention this wonderful love.

Even though they met 10 years ago, Holland and Paulson didnt start dating until 2015. It has to be part of what is the most wonderful thing in my life, Holland said. The whole embrace of this wonderful relationship, which makes everything else makes sense.

When Paulson confirmed her relationship to Holland, it didnt mean she wanted to be labeled as bisexual. Ive always walked to the beat of my own drum, the actress told People magazine in March about her sexuality.

After a year together, the American Horror Story actress confirmed the relationship to the New York Times in March. What I can say absolutely is that I am in love, and that person happens to be Holland Taylor, she said. If my life choices had to be predicated based on what was expected of me from a community on either side, thats going to make me feel really straitjacketed, and I dont want to feel that.

Paulson likes their age difference. Theres a poignancy to being with someone older, the actress said. I think theres a greater appreciation of time and what you have together and whats important, and it can make the little things seem very small. It puts a kind of sharp light mixed with a sort of diffused light on something. I cant say it any other way than theres a poignancy to it, and a heightened sense of time and the value of time.

Sarah Paulson Holland Taylor

Photo: Getty Images

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BERLIN (Reuters) - German-Israeli satirist Shahak Shapira, who set up a website shaming selfie-takers at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, says he has halted the project for now after a dozen people apologized for their disrespect. His "Yolocaust.de" website had combined selfies, often with the participants grinning or striking poses, taken at the memorial with graphic images from Nazi concentration camps, including piles of bodies. "I'm watching you. Stop doing it," Shapira told Reuters Television. The memorial, located near the Brandenburg Gate, comprises 2,711 tombstone-like slabs of granite of varying heights. It is often used by visitors for picnics, yoga and other activities that Shapira said he found troubling. About 2.5 million people had visited his website, he said. All 12 people whose selfies he used had contacted him and apologized within a week of the images first being uploaded and most had now removed the inappropriate photos from their private websites. Such photographs were also common at other sites including the Auschwitz and Treblinka death camps, he said. "It's about fighting ignorance, making people realize where they are, what this place stands for," said Shapira, who lost half his family in the Nazi genocide. Peter Eisenman, the U.S. architect who designed the memorial, said he loved the fact that people sunbathed or picknicked there. "It is not the camp itself. It is not the sacred ground. It is a ground of remembrance and you can choose to remember in many ways, or not remember," Eisenman said. "It's become part of the fabric of the city." More worrying, he said, was the growing power of the German right-wing and that such a memorial might not be approved in the first place now. Friday is an international memorial day for the victims of the genocide that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jews, 2 million Sinti and Roma people, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled people, and 9,000 homosexuals. The ceremonies occur on the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Reuters Television, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
India's government is expected to ramp up spending in its latest budget this week, seeking to ease the pain from a ban on high-value banknotes that slammed the brakes on the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Ahead of a series of elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will unveil a budget on Wednesday that analysts say will aim to offset the impact from the so-called demonetisation programme with stimulus measures.

"The overarching focus of the budget will somehow indicate a gain from pain mentality -- how the pain of demonetisation helped the government get some extra resources that it can now spread around," Rajeev Malik, senior economist at brokerage CLSA, told AFP.

"It's going to be a budget that is meant to soothe the pain."

Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock decision in November to pull all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation, the International Monetary Fund had forecast India's economy would grow 7.6 percent in 2016, faster than any other major country.

But as authorities struggled to print replacement notes fast enough, causing consumer spending to plunge, the IMF knocked a percentage point off its forecast. The government's prediction is 7.1 percent growth.

By painting demonetisation as a blitz on corruption and cash-hoarding that will ultimately boost tax revenues, Modi has so far escaped a major backlash. While there were massive queues outside banks in the weeks afterwards, they have now subsided while limits on withdrawals have eased.

- Electoral test -

But voters in four states -- including the key battlegrounds of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab -- will have a chance to deliver their verdict when they begin going to the polls in multi-phase elections from February 4.

Analysts say the polls are another reason why the government will be tempted to increase spending on health, education and a rural employment scheme.

There are also expectations of a support package for small and medium-sized businesses which have been particularly hard hit as they are heavily cash-dependent.

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"We 100 percent expect a social focused budget," said Malik as he considered the calculations for Modi half way through his five-year term.

"The focus in the first two-and-a-half years was on reviving growth... We're at the half way point now and there are some elections ahead so the shift is towards the social sector."

Big business, hit by a drop in manufacturing and construction activity after the cash crunch, also wants help.

Pankaj Patel, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said his members hoped for a cut in corporate tax from 30 percent to 25 percent and increased infrastructure spending.

"We're in an uncertain world and we need the support of the government," Patel told AFP.

- 'Uncertain world' -

Analysts are worried about how the government plans to fund that support.

"The central question before the government is whether a fresh round of fiscal stimulus is required to offset some of the ill effects of currency delegalisation," Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings & Research, said in a recent note.

"The fiscal room for stepping up expenditure has to either come from higher revenue collection or higher fiscal deficit. With growth expected to fall... the government is clearly staring at lower tax collection."

One area that offers some wriggle room is the budget deficit target.

The current deficit is 3.5 percent of GDP and the government had said it would reduce that to three percent for the fiscal year starting in April.

But in the face of lower tax earnings and a probable stimulus budget, analysts now expect a revised target of around 3.3 percent.

In a recent note, Morgan Stanley said "the pace of fiscal consolidation will be slower than expected" as the government "will find it difficult to cut back spending aggressively because the economy is recovering" from demonetisation.

Nevertheless, analysts say investors will be unimpressed by any dialing back of fiscal consolidation plans.

"Foreign investors will be cautious about this shift in political orientation," said Malik. "It doesn't change India's structural story, but it takes away a bit of the shine in terms of growth expectations."
Tehran (AFP) - Iran's new charter of rights outlining freedoms of speech, protest and fair trials does not apply to the detention of opposition leaders and dual nationals, the bill's architect says.

The Charter of Citizens' Rights, released last month by the office of President Hassan Rouhani, embodies freedoms including the right to trial in open court without arbitrary detention.

But Elham Aminzadeh, special assistant to Rouhani on citizens' rights, told AFP in an interview that the bill has no power over the judiciary or parliament and only covers the civil service and other parts of the executive.

"I cannot put an article in this charter for the judiciary or legislative," said Aminzadeh, who spent three years compiling the document.

Asked about the continued house arrest without trial of opposition leaders since anti-government protests in 2009, she said: "It is not very related to the executive or administrative power. It is something else. I cannot answer to this."

On the trials of dual nationals, who have recently been jailed in closed-door courts, Aminzadeh said: "Security prisoners have a special process inside the judiciary. We cannot say anything about special security prisoners.

"We talk to the judiciary, but just talk and notifying -- nothing more," she added.

Recent months have seen several cases such as that of British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, sentenced to five years in prison for "sedition", and US-Iranian Siamak Namazi and his father, both given 10 years for espionage, which have caused outrage around the world.

Aminzadeh said she hoped the charter might one day be made into law by parliament and extended to all branches of government, but she indicated this was not a pressing concern.

"In comparing to other countries, I think (the human rights situation in Iran) is good, but it can be better," she said.

Aminzadeh denied the charter was just an attempt to win votes ahead of Rouhani's likely bid for re-election in May. It had been a key campaign promise in 2013.

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"It's not a slogan... It is not just for the Rouhani government, it is for the next 100 years," she said.

- 'Double standards' -

Pressed on the detention of dissidents and journalists, and other allegations of rights violations, Aminzadeh said these were largely invented by the foreign media and NGOs.

"I don't know why of the many different human rights violations around the world, the foreign media is not keen on discussing them," she said, highlighting the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in the 1980s.

She accused Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of picking on Iran and ignoring rights abuses in countries like Bahrain and Yemen -- saying this was "double standards".

In the past five years, Human Rights Watch has written 14 long reports on Yemen and five on Bahrain, compared with four on Iran.

Reformist commentators in Iran have given a mixed response to the charter.

An editorial by the Association of the Reformists, published on social media network Telegram, said the charter was "good but not enough".

Rouhani "should form a committee with representatives of all branches of power and endeavour to execute this bill so it does not look like an election gesture to the public," it said.

But Mohammad Fazeli, an official with the Centre for Strategic Studies think tank, which comes under the president's office, said: "Words are not neutral".

"They will gradually pierce the hard planks of resistance," he wrote in a column for reformist paper Arman.
By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Duke University professor and Iranian dissident Mohsen Kadivar left his home in North Carolina 10 days ago to attend a fellowship program in Germany. Now, stranded in Berlin as a result of new U.S. immigration rules, the longstanding critic of Iran's ruling clerical establishment does not know whether or when he can rejoin his wife and two children in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily banned travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. He said the move would help protect Americans from terrorism. The ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, including those with dual nationality that includes one of those countries, and extends on a case-by-case basis to "green card" holders who are authorized to live and work in the United States. Kadivar, once an active participant in Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution who later fell foul of its leaders, told Reuters from Berlin he was concerned about his family and career in America. "I have a fellowship in Germany until July ... but what happens after that is not clear. I am concerned about my future. I don't know whether I will be able to return to the United States as a green card holder Iranian national," he said. There are an estimated 1 million Iranian-Americans in the United States, including those with U.S. citizenship, dual nationality and green card holders, so Trump's executive order could create myriad travel complications. "My two children and wife live in the United States ... My wife was planning to join me in Berlin, where I arrived on July 18 and was supposed to stay until July ... But we were advised by the university's immigration lawyers to cancel her trip to Berlin," Kadivar said. Kadivar, a research professor of Islamic studies at Duke University in North Carolina since 2009, is an outspoken critic of Iran's hardline clerical leadership. The 58-year-old, who was jailed for a year in Iran in 1999 for "disseminating lies and disturbing public opinion", has called for more autonomy from religion in political life and has been a staunch critic of Iran's most powerful authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In 2001, he traveled to the United States with an invitation from the Islamic Law Program of Harvard Law School for research and teaching. He was awarded the Hellman-Hammett Prize for writers deemed to be at risk from political persecution. Kadivar said Trump's travel ban was "humiliating and discriminatory". "I have received so many emails from my colleagues, who regretted the ban ... Iranians have never been involved in any terrorist act in the United States." 'TURNING IRANIANS HOSTILE' The United States and its allies in the Middle East accuse Iran of supporting terrorism and interfering in the affairs of regional states, including Syria, Yemen and Iraq - charges denied by Tehran. Hardline allies of Khamenei, worried about losing their grip on power since a nuclear deal was reached with the United States and other world powers in 2015, have continued to denounce Washington publicly. However, pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani has sought to reduce tensions with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a Rouhani ally, tweeted on Sunday that the travel ban was "a great gift to extremists". The Tehran government on Saturday vowed to retaliate by banning the entry of Americans, but Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas could enter Iran. "Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he said. Despite differences in tone from factions, political analysts said the U.S. measures would unite Iran's political establishment to some extent, at least for a short while. It would also turn public opinion firmly against the United States, they added. "Besides tearing apart many families, this ban is materializing an objective that the leadership in Tehran has not been able to achieve for decades since the revolution," said Ali Vaez from the International Crisis Group conflict research group. "That is turning Iranians hostile towards the United States. The top-down enmity towards the U.S. risks becoming bottom-up." 'NOT MY AMERICAN DREAM' Iranian author Azar Nafisi, a professor of English literature who has lived in the United States since 1997 and became a U.S. citizen nine years later, said the ban was contrary to American values. "We came to the United States because we believed it is a country of freedom, a country friendly to immigrants. People like me should raise their voice and express their concerns. This is not a political issue," said Nafisi. Another Iranian-born academic, Mohammad, said he was returning to his home in the United States after attending his father's funeral in Tehran, when the ban came into effect. Turkish Airlines refused to allow him to board his connecting flight to New York from Istanbul, he said. Mohammad, 42, who refused to give his family name because he said he was concerned about administrative steps being taken against his U.S.-based family, said the ban was "certainly going to make things harder for mostly well-educated Iranian immigrants. "I have a green card and have been living in the U.S. for years. My two little daughters are awaiting for me. What can my wife tell them?" he said. "This is not what I dreamed about America." (Editing by William Maclean and Pravin Char)
Tehran (AFP) - Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said Sunday he will not attend next month's Academy Awards ceremony, comparing US President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries to the actions of hardliners in his own country.

Farhadi, nominated for best foreign language film for "The Salesman", said in a statement released to AFP by his representatives in Los Angeles he had initially planned to attend the ceremony, but had been forced to change his mind.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday prohibiting entry to the United States to all nationals of seven Muslim-majority states -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

"I neither had the intention to not attend nor did I want to boycott the event as a show of objection, for I know that many in the American film industry and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are opposed to the fanaticism and extremism which are today taking place more than ever," Farhadi said.

"However, it now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip."

He said hardliners in United States and Iran acted with the same mentality.

"For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears," he aid.

"Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behaviour by narrow-minded individuals."

His lead actress, Taraneh Alidoosti, had already announced that she would boycott the annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles over Trump's "racist" visa ban.

Farhadi won the best foreign language Oscar in 2012 for his film "A Separation".

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The subjects of "The White Helmets," an Oscar-nominated documentary about the volunteers who rescue victims of attacks in Syria, will also be unable to attend, it emerged later Sunday.

"We have always said that if we were to be nominated, we would bring Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets, who has spoken many times in (Washington) DC, and Khaled Khateeb, the young cinematographer who risked his life over and over again, as our guests," producer Joanna Natasegara said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

"They've been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize -- these people are the bravest humanitarians on the planet, and the idea that they could not be able to come with us and enjoy that success is just abhorrent."

The White Helmets say on their website that their unarmed rescuers have saved more than 78,500 lives in Syria.

They were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last year, although the award went to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos

"The White Helmets" is nominated for best documentary short at the Academy Awards on February 26.
By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq will lobby against new travel limits to the United States by Iraqis, arguing both countries need to uphold their fight against Islamic State (IS), Iraqi parliamentarians said on Sunday. The Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. The order stirred angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against IS insurgents. Some members of parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States. "Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism ... and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," parliament's foreign affairs committee said in a statement. "We call on the Iraqi government to retaliate for the decision taken by the U.S. administration," it added after a session on Sunday in Baghdad. Baghdad plans to lobby Washington to review the decision, according to two lawmakers who declined to be identified. One of them told Reuters that the government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to apply similar treatment, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation", in the conflict with IS. Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight Islamic State, urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government to expel U.S. nationals. Influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Sunday American citizens should leave Iraq. "It would be arrogance for you (Americans) to enter Iraq and other countries freely while barring them entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. CRITICAL U.S. SUPPORT AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE The U.S.-led coalition is providing critical air and ground support to Iraqi forces in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from Islamic State. Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recaptured all of Mosul east of the Tigris River that splits the city, and were girding for an onslaught on the jihadists on the western bank. Meanwhile, an Iraqi who worked four years as a translator for U.S. forces in the hope of obtaining a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) felt betrayed by the Trump administration's decision and said he now feared for his life. The man said he was hired by U.S. forces after he tipped them off about a house where insurgents were making car bombs in Mosul. He said that while employed by the Americans, he saved the life of a serviceman after U.S. troops came under militant attack in Mosul. "My life is (now) in danger," said the translator, who spoke in eastern Mosul and asked not to be identified or photographed. He told Reuters he used to consider the Americans to be "brothers but I don't trust those guys anymore. He added that bureaucratic and personal problems delayed his applications to the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa program designed for those employed by the U.S. military and U.S. civilian agencies until their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. "Please, please, please get me out of this country," he said. "There are currently fewer than 500 Iraqis in the SIV pipeline," said a State Department official. Overall, "more than 20,000 Iraqis have received immigrations benefits" from this program, he added. Among the Iraqis barred from traveling to the U.S. over the past 48 hours was Fuad Sharef's family, who embarked on the trip after selling their home and quitting their jobs and their school. The parents and their three children were barred on Saturday from boarding a connecting flight in Cairo to New York. Speaking by phone from Cairo airport, Sharef said the family was still in shock for having been detained there, their passports confiscated and being forced to go back to Iraq. (With assistance by Arwa Gaballa and Eric Knecht in Cairo; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq will lobby against new travel limits to the United States by Iraqis, arguing both countries need to uphold their fight against Islamic State (IS), Iraqi parliamentarians said on Sunday. The Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days {nL1N1FH1XY]. The order stirred angry reactions in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against IS insurgents. Some members of parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States. "Iraq is in the front line of the war on terrorism ... and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way," parliament's foreign affairs committee said in a statement. "We call on the Iraqi government to retaliate for the decision taken by the U.S. administration," it added after a session on Sunday in Baghdad. Baghdad plans to lobby Washington to review the decision, according to two lawmakers who declined to be identified. One of them told Reuters that the government will "explain that Iraq as a sovereign country will be forced to apply similar treatment, and that would affect negatively cooperation, including military cooperation", in the conflict with IS. Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups armed and trained by Iran to fight Islamic State, urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government to expel U.S. nationals. Influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Sunday American citizens should leave Iraq. "It would be arrogance for you (Americans) to enter Iraq and other countries freely while barring them entrance to your country ... and therefore you should get your nationals out," he said on his website. CRITICAL U.S. SUPPORT AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE The U.S.-led coalition is providing critical air and ground support to Iraqi forces in the ongoing battle to wrest Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, from Islamic State. Mosul is the last major Iraqi city still under the control of Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The government announced on Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recaptured all of Mosul east of the Tigris River that splits the city, and were girding for an onslaught on the jihadists on the western bank. Meanwhile, an Iraqi who worked four years as a translator for U.S. forces in the hope of obtaining a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) felt betrayed by the Trump administration's decision and said he now feared for his life. The man said he was hired by U.S. forces after he tipped them off about a house where insurgents were making car bombs in Mosul. He said that while employed by the Americans, he saved the life of a serviceman after U.S. troops came under militant attack in Mosul. "My life is (now) in danger," said the translator, who spoke in eastern Mosul and asked not to be identified or photographed. He told Reuters he used to consider the Americans to be "brothers but I don't trust those guys anymore. He added that bureaucratic and personal problems delayed his applications to the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa program designed for those employed by the U.S. military and U.S. civilian agencies until their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. "Please, please, please get me out of this country," he said. "There are currently fewer than 500 Iraqis in the SIV pipeline," said a State Department official. Overall, "more than 20,000 Iraqis have received immigrations benefits" from this program, he added. Among the Iraqis barred from traveling to the U.S. over the past 48 hours was Fuad Sharef's family, who embarked on the trip after selling their home and quitting their jobs and their school. The parents and their three children were barred on Saturday from boarding a connecting flight in Cairo to New York. Speaking by phone from Cairo airport, Sharef said the family was still in shock for having been detained there, their passports confiscated and being forced to go back to Iraq. (With assistance by Arwa Gaballa and Eric Knecht in Cairo; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Iraqi lawmakers voted Monday to approve a reciprocity measure that might see U.S. nationals banned from entering the country in retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trumps executive order on Iraqis in the U.S., a move that could hinder the fight against ISIS.

The Iraqi parliaments foreign committee earlier issued a statement calling on the Iraqi government to act after President Trump controversially ordered that citizens from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries be refused entry to the U.S. for at least 90 days. Iraq is on the front line of the war on terrorism, said the statement, released Sunday. It is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way.

On Monday, the parliament voted to ask the government to retaliate, Reuters reports. Its not clear yet whether a ban on U.S. nationals is a realistic possibility; Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has not yet issued a public reaction to the order.

If a retaliatory ban were to be enacted it could impact thousands of American aid workers, contractors and journalists currently working in Iraq, as well as more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel there to aid Iraqi forces in their effort to oust ISIS from Mosul and the country.

This decision by the U.S. is arbitrary, said Intisar Al-Jabbouri, a Sunni MP from the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. The Iraqi government has the right to reciprocate.

The U.S. withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011, but since ISIS captured swaths of Iraqi territory in 2014, it has slowly sent advisers, trainers and special forces back to the country. Their guidance  as well as weapons and funding  has been key to the fight against ISIS.

Iraqi forces are battling the militants of the so-called Islamic State in the neighborhoods of Mosul, Iraqs second largest city and the largest urban center still under ISIS control. American military advisers are nearby, helping to direct the fight.

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If Iraq were to ban U.S. citizens from traveling to Iraq it would have devastating consequences for our fight against ISIS, al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, said Chris Harmer, a senior analyst with the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. Thats just in the short term.

Nevertheless the idea has caught on in certain, influential circles. Moqtada al-Sadr, a powerful Shiite cleric who led a violent insurgency in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, quickly issued a statement saying Americans should leave. It would be arrogant for you to enter freely to Iraq and other countries while barring them the entrance to your country, Sadr said on his website, addressing the U.S. And therefore you should get your nationals out.

Other Iraqi leaders may be keen to see the Americans leave in the hope that Iran may fill the void left behind, rather than that simple reciprocity for President Trumps ban on Iraqi nationals. Those that are closely aligned with Iran might think this is a good idea  an opportunity to remove American influence from Iraq once and for all, said Renad Mansour, an Academy Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House.

Mansour says Sadr, as well as Iranian-backed leaders, may use Trumps ban for their own political gains and take the opportunity to stoke anti-American sentiment. Now they can say, I told you so.'

Its possible Trumps order could exacerbate cracks in the already fragile coalition in Iraq, in which groups who receive support from the U.S. fight in concert with those who are backed by Iran. Iranian generals have been spotted on the front lines in key battles against ISIS, both in Iraq and Syria. Shiite militias, many funded by Tehran, are ruthless fighters but have been accused of abuses against civilian populations, fueling sectarian tensions.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite militias, also issued a statement on Sunday urging al-Abadi to kick out U.S. nationals. Its going to be tricky for al-Abadi to deal with, said Mansour.

Despite the strong rhetoric and anti-American sentiment in response to Trumps decision, lawmaker Jabbouri says it would be difficult for Iraq to approve and implement such a ban given the essential role the U.S. plays in both its military and humanitarian efforts. There is a strategic need to keep American experts to ensure the sustainability of the coalition fight against ISIS, she says.

But if the Iraqi parliament gets its way, it could provide an opening for Iran to extend its influence on the country. The U.S. scaling-back of operations has already left room for an increasing Iranian presence, Harmer says. Long term, it would complete the decline of U.S. strategic influence in Iraq and pave the way for Iran to increase their already significant influence over the Iraqi government. The effect, he says, would be catastrophic.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi lawmakers have requested that parliament discuss U.S. travel curbs imposed on the nation and six other Muslim-majority countries, an MP said on Sunday. Rinas Jano, a member of the parliaments foreign affairs committee, said he made the request with several other MPs. ``We want officials from the Iraqi foreign affairs ministry to come to parliament to explain the U.S. decision and discuss the matter,'' he told Reuters. The Iraqi government has so far declined to comment on the executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to pause the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Nablus (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A Palestinian was shot dead Sunday and five others were wounded by Israeli soldiers at the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medical sources said.

The person who was killed at the camp located in the northern West Bank was identified as 19-year-old Mohammed Abu Khalifa, the sources said.

The shooting occurred after an incursion into the camp by Israeli forces sparked clashes with young Palestinians, Palestinian security officials said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the soldiers had opened fire after entering the camp and being attacked with explosive devices.

"Faced with immediate danger, the soldiers fired at the main instigators of the violence," she told AFP.

None of the soldiers were hurt, she added.

A wave of Palestinian attacks that erupted in October 2015 has resulted in the deaths of 252 Palestinians, 40 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities, with others killed during protests, in clashes or air raids on Gaza.

Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as a leading cause of the violence.

Israeli authorities have confiscated the bodies of killed Palestinians since the violence began, often keeping them for many months as a means of deterrence and to prevent clashes during funerals.
UPDATE: 2:04 a.m. EST  The second court ruling against President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, passed late Saturday night by federal judges in Boston, applies only to Massachusetts. The court order allows holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, lawful permanent residents, and other individuals from Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya, to legally enter the United States.

UPDATE: 1:52 a.m. EST  Federal judges in Boston passed an order late Saturday night, saying Customs officials could not detain anyone solely on the basis of the executive order by President Donald Trump that bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Original story:

Federal Judge Ann Donnelly issued a ruling Saturday, in Brooklyn, New York, effectively blocking a part of President Donald Trump's executive order on banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Trump's executive order, implemented Jan. 27, halted refugee arrivals into the U.S. for 120 days and called for an immediate suspension of immigration from countries with ties to terror  including Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya  for 90 days. It also called for complete suspension of allowing Syrian refugees into the country for an indefinite period.

Donnelly ordered that refugees and others from the countries on the list, who were detained at airports across the U.S., should not be sent back to their home countries.

Her order read: "There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations subject to the January 27, 2017 Executive Order."

This order will temporarily allow those who have landed in the U.S. with valid visas to remain in the country. But it does not appear to overturn the Trump administration policy,

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and Donnelly stopped short of issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's actions.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of two Iraqi refugees, Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaliq Alshawi,

who were detained by border agents at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City, despite having previously been granted stay in the country and holding valid visas. Both men were released Saturday.

The ACLU lawyers argued that Trump's executive order was "unconstitutional" and a "violation of international law."

The court decision came as protests spread to airports across the country in several cities over Trump's immigration ban.

At least 55 passengers were detained or sent home from at least six different airports so far, and hundreds of people around the world were barred from boarding U.S.-bound flights.

Hundreds of people at the John F. Kennedy International Airport protested against Trump's order, chanting "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here. No hate, no fear, Muslims are welcome here." They also received support from New York Mayor Bill De Blasio.

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Justin Trudeau had the greatest response to Trumps immigration ban, because our Canadian bae never fails us

Oh, Canada. In the wake of Donald Trumps immigration ban, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau sent a hopeful message. Posts across the Canadian PMs Twitter and Facebook channels seem to welcome anyone affected by the ban. We really hope Justin Trudeau can back up these messages, because were big fans of what hes done so far. Remember that gender-equal cabinet he appointed because its 2015? Or the time he became the first Canadian prime minister in history to march in the Toronto Pride Parade? Also, lets just say it like it is: hes a beautiful man, and the fact that hes a feminist only makes him more beautiful.

So what did Justin Trudeau actually say?

On the official Justin Trudeau Facebook page, the PM wrote:

To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. #WelcomeToCanada.

It seems like a pretty strong message, right? We all know why he posted these words and this image when he did. And we really, really want to believe that this is just the preface to some actual policy. But the posts dont actually give us any new information. For example, how many new refugees is Canada willing to take in, and how will they get there?

Strong actions and reactions

Meanwhile, yesterday saw some pretty awesome responses to a terrible situation. Airbnbs CEO invited travelers left stranded by the ban to contact him directly for free housing arrangements. Americans held demonstrations at airports across the country, and volunteer lawyers turned up to offer their help.

LITERALLY on the ground. Volunteer lawyers are working pro-bono on a Saturday preparing habeus corpus petitions for detainees at JFK. pic.twitter.com/ddUeQBi7AY  NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) January 28, 2017

Volunteer lawyers here on the ground in terminal 1 drafting habeas petitions to free detained Iranians and Yemenis. pic.twitter.com/Zyt9csPB2J  Danny Gold (@DGisSERIOUS) January 28, 2017

Apparently, on Saturdays, we protest now. The good news? It sort of worked. A court order issued last night will prevent those currently detained from being immediately deported. Its not a permanent solution, but its something.

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Whats next, Canada?

PBS reports, via a Trudeau spokeswoman, that the PM will discuss Canadas refugee policy (and its successes) with Trump. But will Canada really step in to help out those affected by the immigration ban? We hope so  but its definitely complicated. Just look at Trudeaus response to last weekends womens marches.

Congratulations to the women and men across Canada who came out yesterday to support women's rights. You keep your government inspired.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 22, 2017

Trudeau congratulates the men and women who came out to support womens rights, but we all know that was only one piece of the puzzle.

Later on yesterday, he clarified that Canadian dual citizens with ties to banned countries will be allowed into America if they travel on their Canadian passports.

The Canadian PM is in an awkward position. On the one hand, 75% of Canadas exports go to America, and the two countries share a border. On the other hand, Justin Trudeau has built his reputation on being progressive and ethical. Its not an easy moment for diplomacy, but we really hope he makes the right call here.
The powerful policy and politics network organized by the billionaire Koch brothers made official what many had expected: an opposition to President Trumps ban on visitors from seven countries with Muslim majorities.

In a statement provided to reporters covering the Kochs twice-a-year retreat, top official Brian Hooks said Sunday that the groups under his umbrella would not support Trumps move, which has drawn thousands of protesters against the ban on immigrants and refugees.

We believe it is possible to keep Americans safe without excluding people who wish to come here to contribute and pursue a better life for their families. The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive, said Hooks, the co-chairman of the Koch network. Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. This is a hallmark of free and open societies.

It was merely the latest sign that Trump will not have yes-men in the Koch camp, which runs some of the most sophisticated conservative organizations in the country. Trump and the Koch network already had a tense relationship, and it appears that the groups will continue to operate as an opposition party much the way they did under Presidents from both parties. (Charles and David Koch ramped up their political activity under Republican President George W. Bush because they saw spending speeding out of control.)

The Koch network operates groups such as the grassroots focused Americans for Prosperity, the data-centered i360 and Latino-eyeing Libre Initiative. Together, they spent roughly $250 million on last years elections  while sitting out the White House race. Over the next two years, they plan to spend as much as $400 million. Sundays statement offered a reminder that these hefty donors will not defer to the Republican Party.
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)  A gunman killed a legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy on Sunday, shooting the lawyer in the head at close range as he walked out of the Yangon airport, the government said.

The gunman was arrested after he killed Ko Ni, a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, and wounded a taxi driver who tried to stop him from fleeing, the Ministry of Information said in a video posted on state-run MRTV.

Ko Ni was the Supreme Court advocate for the NLD and a longstanding legal adviser to the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He had just arrived from a trip overseas.

A friend of Ko Ni who witnessed the shooting said the suspected assassin also shot a taxi driver who tried to stop him from fleeing.

"As I stopped my car by the airport, that's where I saw Ko Ni's body lying on the walkway outside of the airport and I couldn't believe that just happened," said Thet Paing Soe, a friend and an NLD supporter. "Then as the shooter tried to run away, the police arrested him."

Thet Paing Soe said a taxi driver known as Nay Win stopped the fleeing assassin but was shot. The ministry's news statement said the driver was wounded.

The Ministry of Information identified the suspect as Kyi Linn from Mandalay. The motive was not known.

Kyee Myint, a former chairman of the Myanmar Lawyer Network who has a close relationship with Ko Ni, also confirmed his death.

"It is a big loss for us that Ko Ni, our beloved friend, has been killed. He is the face of the democracy in our country and this is a big loss for us," Kyee Myint added.

Calls to Suu Kyi's office were not answered, and other leaders of the NLD were not reachable Sunday evening.

Ko Ni was one of the country's most prominent Burmese Muslims. He criticized the NLD in 2015 for not putting up Muslim candidates in the general election. Myanmar is a mainly Buddhist country and anti-Muslim sentiments have increased in recent years following deadly communal violence concentrated in the western state of Rakhine that is home to many Rohingya Muslims.

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Amnesty International urged an independent investigation and said the killing of Ko Ni had the hallmarks of a political assassination.

"His death will send shock waves across the human rights community in the country and beyond, and the authorities must send a clear message that such violence will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished," said the statement from Josef Benedict, Amnesty's regional deputy campaigns director.

The group called Ko Ni a tireless human rights campaigner and expressed condolences to his family.

As a practicing lawyer, Ko Ni had handled more than 900 criminal cases and more than 1,400 civil cases. He established the Laurel Law Firm with two other advocates in 1995.
Paris (AFP) - France's divided Socialists picked leftwinger Benoit Hamon as their presidential nominee Sunday, in the latest twist of a roller-coaster election race that has seen conservative frontrunner Francois Fillon engulfed in scandal.

Near definitive results from a Socialist primary runoff vote Sunday showed Hamon beating his centrist rival Manuel Valls, a former prime minister, with 58.72 percent of the vote in a clear victory for the left-wing of the party.

"Our country needs the left but a modern, innovative left turned towards the future," the 49-year-old Hamon told cheering supporters in a victory speech.

His triumph is another upset in the French poll race, with the former education minister and son of a dockworker viewed as an outsider only three weeks ago.

His nomination completes the list of major candidates for the two-round election in April and May after five years of unpopular Socialist rule.

Hamon's rivals include rightwing Republicans nominee Fillon, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, as well as centrist Emmanuel Macron who some analysts see as likely to benefit from the Socialists' tilt to the left.

Fillon, who was also deemed a long-shot until he clinched the Republicans nomination in November, has consistently been tipped to become France's next leader.

But his campaign has been in turmoil since Wednesday when a newspaper reported his wife had been paid around 500,000 euros ($540,000) over eight years for a suspected fake job as a parliamentary aide.

Those allegations have sparked a preliminary judicial inquiry, but there was more bad news for Fillon on Sunday.

Investigative website Mediapart and the Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported Fillon had used his parliamentary allowance to pocket up to 25,000 euros while working as a senator from 2005-2007.

A poll by Kantar Sofres-Onepoint published Sunday evening showed Fillon losing ground and Macron gaining.

The survey of 1,032 voters showed Le Pen leading the first round of the election with 25 percent, followed by Fillon with 21 percent and Macron on 20 percent.

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While Fillon would easily beat Le Pen in a run-off, he would lose a duel with Macron, the poll showed.

- Fillon 'headwinds' -

In a defiant speech on Sunday in front of thousands of flag-waving supporters in Paris, Fillon said he would not let himself be "intimidated".

"On the road to victory, there will be some headwinds, there will be some squalls. We'll go straight ahead, straight to victory!," he declared.

Earlier, in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche, he denounced a "plot" against him and French democracy.

It remains unclear how the allegations will affect him or the outcome of the vote, which is being closely watched after the Brexit referendum in Britain and Donald Trump's triumph in the United States.

After five years of rule by Socialist President Francois Hollande, France is pessimistic about its economic prospects and fearful about terrorism and immigration.

Far-right leader Le Pen believes the nationalist sentiment that influenced British and American voters in 2016 will also carry her to the French presidency in what would be a profound shock for the continent.

But her National Front party is also embroiled in its own expenses scandal over money from the European parliament.

Valls, who conceded defeat and wished Hamon well on Sunday, took a parting shot at the far-right leader, saying that Socialists "reject Marine Le Pen's face being the face of France in the future."

- Macron hopes -

Hamon's victory and Fillon's woes could boost Macron, the youngest candidate in the race at 39 who quit Hollande's government last year to start his own political movement, En Marche (On the Move).

The former economy minister and investment banker has been drawing crowds of thousands to rallies around the country and polls show him creeping up on Fillon and Le Pen. Hamon has pitched himself as a man of fresh ideas for the left, promising to bring in universal basic income -- a state handout to all adults, irrespective of income -- to compensate for jobs lost to automation.

He also wants to levy taxes on robots, legalise cannabis, introduce stricter rules on chemical products, and introduce a new corps of state inspectors to combat discrimination.

Valls, prime minister under Hollande until December, had lampooned Hamon's programme as unworkable and labelled him a dreamer.

The bill for his universal income programme, envisaged for sometime after 2020, was estimated at a staggering 480 billion euros annually by an economic research unit at Sciences Po university in Paris.
Paris (AFP) - France's Socialists voted Sunday to pick their candidate for this year's presidential polls as a fresh scandal engulfed the election's conservative frontrunner Francois Fillon.

Socialist voters headed to polling stations from Sunday morning for the primary run-off vote between leftwinger Benoit Hamon and centrist ex-prime minister Manuel Valls.

Hamon, a 49-year-old former education minister, won the first round last weekend and has dominated the race with his radical proposals on work, state aid and the environment.

"Hamon brings principles on citizenship, solidarity and the sharing of wealth that are more the principles of the left," 60-year-old architect Annick Descamps told AFP as she voted in northwest Paris.

But Valls, 54, says his experience makes him a more credible choice and claims his rival's tax-and-spend programme would condemn the party to inevitable defeat.

Whoever wins is expected to face an uphill task with polls showing the Socialist candidate being eliminated in the first round of the election in April after five years of unpopular rule by Socialist President Francois Hollande.

The contest is being watched closely after Britain's vote to leave the EU and Donald Trump's victory in the United States.

Polls currently suggest Fillon is most likely to win, ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.

The top two candidates from the April 23 first round will go through to the final vote on May 7.

- Fillon on defensive -

But Fillon's campaign was embroiled in new controversy on Sunday, only days after reports his wife had been paid as a parliamentary aide without working.

The Mediapart website and the Journal du Dimanche newspaper claimed he had also benefited from public funds intended for assistants in the French upper house.

The allegations date from 2005-2007 from his time in the senate where he is alleged to have cashed cheques of 21,000-25,000 euros ($22,000-$27,000), the reports said.

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"It's more than me as a person that is in the crosshairs, it's a higher idea of France that they want to take down mid-flight," Fillon told a rally of thousands in Paris on Sunday.

In a interview with the Journal du Dimanche, he denounced a "plot" against him and French democracy.

Last week, French authorities opened a preliminary inquiry into allegations in the media that Fillon's Welsh-born wife Penelope collected half a million euros ($534,000) as a parliamentary aide -- for little to no work.

Investigators are also looking into payments she allegedly received from a magazine owned by a friend of Fillon.

"They're trying to take me down, through Penelope," Fillon said on Sunday at the rally where he was accompanied by his wife who appeared on stage at the end.

Fillon won the conservative Republicans' nomination last year with promises to slash public spending and bring a more moral leadership to the country.

He insists that his wife's role was real.

A poll by the Odoxa group last Friday showed his approval ratings had fallen four points to 38 percent.

- Socialist result later -

The Socialist primary has confirmed a chasm within the ruling party, between a pragmatic, centre-left camp led by Valls and a staunchly leftist faction around Hamon.

Hamon won a first round of voting last week that whittled the candidates down from seven to two, taking 36 percent to Valls's 31.5 percent.

Around 7,500 polling stations opened at 0800 GMT, with voters able to cast their ballots until around 1800 GMT after paying one euro to participate.

"It's clear that Benoit Hamon goes into the second round of the Socialist primary in the role of favourite," Jerome Sainte-Marie from the polling group PollingVox told AFP.

One of the biggest potential winners of the primary could be former economy minister Macron.

The 39-year-old former investment banker, who quit the Socialist government last year to run for president as an independent, has been drawing large crowds at his rallies and is creeping up on Fillon and Le Pen in polls.

He is tipped for further gains if, as expected, Hamon beats Valls.

Valls, a pro-business centrist who takes a tough line on law and order as well as Islam, has said he will not support Hamon's programme if the latter wins.

Hamon's ideas include a proposal to introduce a universal basic income to offset dwindling work opportunities in an age of automation.

It would entail paying everyone, irrespective of income, a monthly stipend that would eventually reach 750 euros. Valls argues that would be the "ruin" of France.
Reeling from national and international headlines over pipeline protests, new leaders entering state government and growing fiscal concerns, 2016 was a year of change in North Dakota. The state also saw an evolving landscape following passage of multiple ballot measures and continued stagnation of oil prices.

1. Dakota Access Pipeline protests: This movement saw hundreds of arrests, millions in law enforcement costs, the erosion of relations between tribal and state leaders, and a historic gathering of tribes from all over the country at protest camps in southern Morton County. A situation with little or no precedent in state history was easily the most headline-grabbing political development of the year.

2. State budget shortfall: From a time of plenty during a historic oil boom to a budget shortfall of nearly $1.4 billion, state officials grappled with dropping revenues in 2016, which are reaching into the new year as the Legislature must craft a new budget.

3. Doug Burgum elected governor: A former software executive and political newcomer, Burgum upset the state political establishment, taking the states highest elected office in November. The Fargo Republican defeated the popular attorney general from his own party in the June primary and cruised with more than 75 percent of the vote in November on a promise to reinvent state government.

4. North Dakota GOP election wave: State Republicans came away from the 2016 general election with their largest legislative majority in decades after gaining 10 House seats and six Senate seats. Their House majority stands at 81-13 and their Senate majority is 38-9.

5. Oil production drops below 1 million barrels per day: In August, oil production in North Dakota dropped below the symbolic 1 million barrels per day mark for the first time since spring 2014. It rebounded beyond that mark in October.

6. Medical marijuana passes: In November, conservative North Dakota joined the increasing number of states that have passed marijuana initiatives. The state is still working on implementation.

7. Marsys Law passes: The general election in November saw North Dakota voters enshrine the rights of crime victims in the state constitution. The state is assessing the law's impact and how it will affect criminal justice procedures.

8. Special session called: In August, lawmakers returned to Bismarck for a rare special session, their first in five years. The session was used to address the budget shortfall and consisted of three days work on a single bill.

9. Cramer, Heitkamp weighed for Trump Cabinet: Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., became the subject of rumors about potential posts in the administration of Donald Trump after his presidential victory. Neither was selected.

10. State fights federal regulations: North Dakota repeatedly pushed back against federal regulations in 2016 that officials felt could negatively impact the state. One of the chief among them was the EPAs clean power plan for new and existing power plants.
Sunday, January 29, 2017

Yesterday, co-blogger Kit Johnson posted a recap of yesterday's dramatic developments as responses unfolded to President Trump's Executive Order (Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States) on Friday. Besides a nationwide stay entered by a federal court in New York, a federal court in Boston early this morning issued a restraining order. Other courts have entered similar orders. The ACLU of Massachusetts issued this statement about the Massachusetts federal courtorder:

Federal District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs and Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein issued a temporary restraining order this morning on behalf of two lawful permanent residents detained at Logan Airport.

Mazdak Pourabdollah Tootkaboni and Arghavan Louhghalamboth Muslim, Iranian nationals teaching at the University of Massachusettswere unlawfully detained upon reentering the United States. The seven-day order comes on the heels of a New York Federal District Court Judges stay of removal on behalf of two Iraqi nationals and others similarly situated.

This is a huge victory for justice, said Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. We told President Trump we would see him in court if he ordered this unconstitutional ban on Muslims. He tried, and federal courts in Boston and throughout the nation stopped it in its tracks.

The petitioners were represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts legal director Matthew Segal, along with Kerry E. Doyle, Esq. of Grave & Doyle, and Susan Church and Heather Yountz of Demissie & Church.

View the order.

Learn more information about the case.

View the federal stay order.

CNN reports on "Executive Disorder" in the White House, with disagreement within the administration on how to enforce the Executive Order, judicial responses, division among Republican lawmakers, protests across the United States, and a worldwide furor. Reuters has characterized the reaction to Trump's Executive Order as a "global backlash." Expect commentary from academics, which is already coming (and here), to be critical.

Photo courtesy of CNN

More, no doubt, to follow.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2017/01/yesterday-co-blogger-kit-johnson-posted-a-recap-of-yesterdays-dramatic-developments-as-responses-unfolded-to-president-trump.html
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP)  Macedonian conservative leader Nikola Gruevski is uncertain of getting an ethnic Albanian party to join his coalition just hours before his mandate to form a government expires.

Democratic Union for Integration leader Ali Ahmeti has set two conditions for his party's participation. One is for Albanian to be made a second official language throughout Macedonia. The other is for Gruevski to allow the investigation into the wiretapping scandal that shook the country to continue.

Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party has rejected both conditions.

The conservatives gained 51 seats in the December election, and need the DUI's 10 seats to secure a majority in the 120-member Parliament.

Gruevski has until midnight Sunday (2300 GMT) to form a cabinet. If he fails, the Social Democrats, with 49 seats, will get the mandate from President Gjorge Ivanov.
Malala says shes heartbroken over US immigration orders, and we need to listen to her

It pains us to even report on this, but this is the reality of our country right now. On Friday, Donald Trump signed a document banning more than 130 million people, including refugees, from entering the United States. And while many are against it, one of the most poignant voices should be no surprise: Malala Yousafzai is heartbroken over Trumps plans for refugees, and we are feeling that heartbreak right along side her.

Malala, guys. You dont upset Malala.

The young Pakistani human rights activist is feeling heartbroken, helpless, and deeply concerned for the millions of people that Trump, and subsequently the U.S., has decided to refuse entry to.

Those feelings are shared by much of the world.

Federal Judge Hears Challenge Against Muslim Immigration Ban

Trumps plans for restricting immigrants and refugees from entering the U.S. include extreme vetting for immigrants with the intent of keeping radical Islamic terrorists out.

But until the extreme vetting plan is put in place, people from seven Muslim countries will be refused entry.

Malala took to social media to express her heartbreak, writing:

I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war. I am heartbroken that America is turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants  the people who helped build your country, ready to work hard in exchange for a fair chance at a new life.

Her statement in full brings up her own friends who are suffering, and itll break your heart:

Malala Yousafzai's statement on President Trump's latest executive order on refugees:"I am heartbroken that today... Posted by Malala Fund on Friday, January 27, 2017

We still stand with Malala.
Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday slammed the restrictions on immigration imposed by US President Donald Trump, saying it was "not justified" to target people based on their background or religion.

Her spokesman said Merkel had raised the issue in a telephone call with Trump on Saturday, reminding him of obligations under international human rights law.

"The chancellor regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries," spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

"She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion."

The German government "will now examine the consequences" of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality, he added.

Trump has caused consternation at home and abroad after signing a sweeping executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

A federal US judge on Saturday blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.

Merkel's condemnation comes a day after she spoke by phone with the new US president, when they discussed a range of issues from relations with Russia to the situation in the Middle East and NATO.

Statements released by both sides after the call made no mention of the immigration ban, but Seibert on Sunday said Merkel had reminded the US billionaire of his human rights responsibilities.

"The Geneva Refugee Convention calls on the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds," he said.

"The chancellor stressed this policy in yesterday's phone call with the US president."

- 'Unacceptable' -

In an interview with European media earlier this month, Trump said Merkel had made a "catastrophic mistake" in allowing a record number of migrants into Germany.

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More than a million people, including hundreds of thousands from war-torn Syria, have arrived in Germany since the chancellor opened the country's doors to those fleeing conflict and persecution in 2015.

Although the number of arrivals has slowed significantly in recent months, concern over the influx has fuelled support for the rightwing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Trump also came under fire Sunday from former European Parliament president Martin Schulz, who is running against Merkel for Germany's Social Democrats in a September general election.

Trump's "outrageous and dangerous" comments about women, religious communities and minority groups were "unacceptable", he said.

But not all German politicians condemned the US leader.

Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, a Merkel ally but also one of her strongest critics on immigration, praised Trump for sticking to his campaign pledges.

"He is implementing his campaign promises one by one with consistency and speed," Seehofer told Germany's bestselling Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Seehofer added however that he did not agree with all of Trump's decisions.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Bavaria's sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats called for ending sanctions imposed against Russia by Europe and the United States for its invasion of Crimea and its military actions in Ukraine. The sanctions should be lifted this year, Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union (CDU), told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview to be published on Sunday. "I'm arguing for realpolitik not sabre-rattling," Seehofer told the newspaper. "We have to be clear about different positions, such as about the annexation of Crimea, while working to promote sensible business ties." Merkel and other EU leaders, by contrast, have insisted that the sanctions must remain tied to progress on the Minsk peace process aimed at ending the violence in eastern Ukraine. That message was reiterated on Saturday by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault during a joint news conference in Paris. Merkel spoke on Saturday with U.S. President Donald Trump, but their joint statement made no mention of the sanctions issue. Trump this week said he was only in the early stages of considering ending the U.S. sanctions against Russia. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke by telephone and agreed to try to rebuild U.S.-Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Seehofer said he also favored a broader rapprochement between Russia and the West, and agreed with calls to reopen the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries to include Russia. Russia used to be part of the so-called Group of Eight (G8) meetings until it was suspended in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula following a popular uprising in Kiev that toppled its pro-Moscow president. "We have to get out of the bloc thinking of the 20th century," Seehofer told the newspaper. "We must focus on finding joint answers to terrorism, migration, climate change." Seehofer also praised Trump for quickly implementing his campaign promises. He said he did not agree with all of Trump's positions, but said the U.S. president had been elected in a free election and that should be respected. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mary Milliken)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has a new diplomatic invitation to visit the United States after canceling a trip to Washington in response to President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall  this time from a trio of Democratic lawmakers in the heavily Hispanic state of New Mexico.

Democratic state Rep. Javier Martinez of Albuquerque said Sunday that Trump's insistence on making Mexico pay for a border wall extension is a threat to centuries-old economic and cultural ties between Mexico and the state of New Mexico, including recent investments by taxpayers in the Santa Teresa-San Jeronimo border crossing that have spurred trade.

Martinez, with state Reps. Bill McCamley of Mesilla Park and Angelica Rubio of Las Cruces, sent a letter Friday inviting Pena Nieto to address the New Mexico House Chamber during the current legislative session.

"If you look at the way Trump has spoken out against the Mexican president, the country of Mexico, his position to build this very expensive wall across the border and then his suggestions that it be paid for with a 20 percent tariff on imports  those are all statements and actions that can only be detrimental to the state of New Mexico," said Martinez, an attorney and El Paso native who spent part of his childhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

There's no word yet if Mexico's president will accept the invitation. The decision by Pena Nieto to scrap a planned Jan. 31 meeting with Trump in Washington has boosted the Mexican president's lagging popularity as he struggles to contain rising crime, a sluggish economy and a series of corruption scandals in his party.

Republican New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has avoided criticizing Trump on his executive action pushing a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A spokesman for Gov. Martinez said Friday that she "supports strengthening our border and giving the federal government a variety of tools" to protect residents, while declining to comment specifically on the border wall.

Story continues

The second-term governor  of no relation to Javier Martinez  said last year that building fences could impact the U.S. economy and relationship with trading partners in Mexico and farther south.

Martinez was a vocal critic of Trump during the presidential campaign for his derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants and women.

Trump lost the popular vote in New Mexico to Democrat Hillary Clinton by about 8 percentage points.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Just a few days ago, Enrique Pena Nieto was a pariah president, dogged by protests and cursed with the lowest approval rating for a Mexican leader in recent history.

No more, thanks to Donald Trump.

Months of Trump's insults to Mexican migrants, threats to build a vast border wall to keep out them out, deport those who've arrived and impose crippling taxes on Mexican exports were met with teeth-clenched restraint by Pena Nieto's government  infuriating many Mexicans.

But when Trump repeatedly insisted Pena Nieto accept paying for the wall, Pena Nieto finally had enough and scrapped a planned Jan. 31 meeting with Trump in Washington.

Suddenly, the nation rallied around him.

"We have to support the president of Mexico, so he can defend the country's interests," said telecom magnate Carlos Slim, the world's fourth-richest man. "I would be very interested in seeing this unity last."

Even the government's most prominent critic, leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has called on Mexicans who three weeks ago were marching in the streets against the government's polices to support Pena Nieto.

Rising crime, a sluggish economy and a series of corruption scandals in his party had already sent the president's popularity reeling. Things got even worse when the government  which originally promised lower fuel prices  imposed a sudden 20-percent increase. Nationwide protests and widespread looting broke out and Pena Nieto's approval ratings collapsed to a historic low of 12 percent in mid-January.

Then came the mini-showdown with Trump.

"Under a national crisis people rally around a leader. Now he's got to keep leading, that's important," said Peter Schechter, senior vice president for strategic Initiatives at the Atlantic Council. "There has to be perception he continues to lead."

Former presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar saId the popularity bounce for Pena Nieto may be short-lived.

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"There is a certain feeling of unity around the president," Aguilar said. "But it is very possible that this sentiment could evaporate."

While most Mexicans were flabbergasted that Pena Nieto chose to meet the Mexico-bashing Trump before the election, many economic and political analysts praised his cautious diplomacy, meant to avoid a potentially catastrophic rupture with a northern neighbor that that buys 80 percent of the country's exports.

But traditional cautious diplomacy may not always work in the Trump era.

"Being friendly, being courteous, now appears to be weak, and Mexico should not and cannot appear to be weak," Aguilar said.

Trump has endlessly repeated that he'll make Mexico pay for a border wall, and Mexican officials have endlessly ridiculed the idea.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the administration hasn't yet determined just how to make Mexico pay.

He said the "buffet of options" could include a tax on goods coming across the border, import and export taxes  even a tax on drug cartels or fines to people who come to the U.S. illegally.

Schechter noted that the spat could increase the popularity of Lopez Obrador, "who espouses weakening ties with the United States. It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world."

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor who advocates developing the country's internal economy, has already declared his intention to make a third run for the presidency in 2018. Lopez Obrador narrowly lost in his first two tries, but Mexico could be a different, angrier place in 2018 with a wall sealing it off from the United States, millions of deported migrants and a potential recession caused by scrapped trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Still, Lopez Obrador  a fiery, irascible and unyielding leftist  may suffer if Mexicans start seeing parallels with Trump's behavior.

"I don't see this as automatically implying more votes for Andres Manuel," Aguilar said. "It may instead prove damaging to him, if comparisons are made."

"If they are compared, the Mexican public could think, 'Gee, it's tough to vote for a messianic guy who's going to get into trouble with the United States.'"
Maputo (AFP) - Mozambique's rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama has accused government forces of violating a ceasefire his armed group Renamo had declared following a surge in deadly violence last year.

Dhlakama, who only gives rare interviews by phone from the central Gorongosa mountains where he has been holed-up since October 2015, claimed the government was not taking its ceasefire overtures seriously.

The army "ambushes, kidnaps and detains" rebels and Renamo supporters, he told AFP in an interview on Friday.

"There have been deaths," he claimed but gave no details.

On January 3, Dhlakama announced a two-month ceasefire, extending a week-long truce he had declared in late December -- a move welcomed by Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi.

Worsening clashes between the ruling Frelimo party government and rebel group Renamo last year had revived the spectre of Mozambique's civil war that ended more than 20 years ago.

Dhlakama's Renamo is an armed insurgent group that led a 16-year rebellion and an opposition political party that took up arms again in 2013.

The death toll in the conflict is unknown but Dhlakama claims that "hundreds and hundreds of people have died between the start of 2015 and the end of 2016".

- 'Trying to kill Dhlakama?' -

While admitting the army has not staged any offensive against his bush military base for a month, Dhlakama castigated what he described as "reconnaissance missions" around the camp where he is hiding.

"What are they doing there? Are they still planning to kill Dhlakama?" asked the 64-year-old rebel, who often speaks about himself in the third person.

"Are they trying to find the river where Dhlakama is drinking from to poison it, or the roads we use to plant anti-personnel landmines?"

Dhlakama, whose Renamo party is the main opposition in Mozambique, retreated in October 2012 to his hideout in Gorongosa with 800 former guerrillas demanding a greater share of power.

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In 2013 tensions resurfaced with Renamo fighters again taking up arms against Frelimo, accusing the ruling party of enriching itself at the expense of the southern African country.

On the eve of the October 2014 general elections Renamo and the government signed a ceasefire.

But Renamo refused to accept the results of the 2014 elections when it was beaten once more at the polls by Frelimo, which has been in power since the former Portuguese colony's independence 40 years ago

- 'Won't give up on truce' -

Dhlakama has accused the army of not only targeting Renamo members but civilians too.

"The armed forces go to the villages, open fire to disperse the population, and then ransack the houses making off with chickens and goats, which is typical of Frelimo," he claimed, adding that women had been beaten and houses torched.

"Either Frelimo does not know how to control its troops or there is a clear lack of will," he said.

Abuses have also been reported to international organisations by Mozambicans who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Authorities in December said more than 3,000 people fleeing the conflict now live in government camps, while the UN refugee agency says another 8,600 have been forced to cross the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe.

In spite of the allegations, Dhlakama has no intention of calling off the ceasefire, which he admits he unilaterally proclaimed in a bid to reopen peace negotiations.

The peace talks with international mediators resumed in May last year but failed to prevent the escalation of tensions and by mid-December the mediators quit the country.

"I must speak to President Nyusi in the coming days because we are still waiting for him to give the signal for the return of mediators," said Dhlakama.

The rebel leader said he will leave his mountain base only to sign a peace agreement.

"We are not going to give up on the truce. But every day someone calls me up to ask me to extend it beyond March 4. And I always tell them that it will depend on the progress of the negotiations."


The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is seeking ways to save NATO if the United States decides to cut back on its support for the alliance.

European leaders are not sure what to expect under the new U.S. administration.

President Donald Trump has questioned the future of the 67-year-old alliance, calling it obsolete.

Trump accused European nations of not paying their fair share to support NATO operations. In addition, he has said the alliance has not been used effectively to fight terrorism.

On Thursday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she believes NATO should continue guaranteeing the security of Europe. But she thinks the alliance needs to be reformed.



May spoke to Republican Party leaders during a visit to the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NATO cannot have one single democratic mandate, she said. Instead, it should seek to serve the needs and interests of all members.

So I share your [Trumps] reform agenda and believe that, by working together, we can make those institutions more relevant and purposeful than they are today.

May also spoke about her talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. She said they discussed the need for the alliance to also be equipped to fight terrorism and cyberattack threats.



Americas leadership in NATO  supported by Britain  must be the central element around which the alliance is built.

The British leader also called on other NATO members to step up and contribute as they should.

She noted that Britain is the only G20 country other than the United States to meet a target promise to spend 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product on defense. At least 20 percent of this spending should be for military equipment, she added.

May said she already raised this issue with other European leaders and had urged them to meet the 2 percent defense spending goal.

European Union leaders are saying that now is the time for Europe to take more responsibility for its own defense. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently told reporters that Europeans have our fate in our own hands.

But military observers say it would be difficult for E.U. nations to recover from a possible reduction in U.S. support for NATO. Jonathan Eyal is a defense and security expert with Britains Royal United Services Institute.

While there is a lot of discussion about closer cooperation in the European Union, there simply is no substitute for American military power. Up to 75 percent of all the military assets in NATO belong to the United States.

Germany, France, Spain and Italy say they support closer military and intelligence cooperation among E.U. member countries.

This idea also has the support of NATOs foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. She spoke about the future of the alliance during a visit to the recent World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Europeans have started to take seriously their security. We have started to do this, well before the U.K. referendum, well before the U.S. elections - because security is a priority for Europeans.

On January 24, German and Belgian troops arrived in Lithuania in the latest NATO deployment. The troops are part of a 4,000-strong NATO force sent to Baltic countries and Poland. The forces were sent to NATOs eastern border to guard against possible Russian aggression.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Henry Ridgwell reported this story for VOANews.com. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English, with additional material from the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Do you think European nations should take action to strengthen NATO if the U.S. cuts support? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

obsolete  adj. outdated and no longer used

mandate  n. an official order to do something

relevant  adj. current, having to do with the matter at hand

fate  n. power believed to control what happens in the future

asset  n. a valuable person or thing

referendum  n. a vote in which all voters cast ballots to decide an issue rather than representatives in government

contribute  v. to give or supply to others

G20  n. short for the Group of 20 countries

Gross Domestic Product  n. the total value of goods and services produced in a country during a year

cyberattack  n. an attack on computers or computer systems
(NEW YORK)  President Donald Trumps immigration order sowed more chaos and outrage across the country Sunday, with travelers detained at airports, panicked families searching for relatives and protesters registering opposition to the sweeping measure that was blocked by several federal courts.

Attorneys struggled to determine how many people were affected by the rules, which Trump said Saturday were working out very nicely.

But critics described widespread confusion, with travelers being held in legal limbo because of ill-defined procedures. Some lawyers manned tables at New Yorks Kennedy Airport to offer help to families with detained relatives.

We just simply dont know how many people there are and where they are, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Immigrants Rights Project.

Advocates for travelers say they did not have clear picture about whats happening and that the chaos is likely to continue. The executive director of National Immigration Law Center, Marielena Hincapie, said this is just the beginning.

Were really in a crisis mode, a constitutional crisis mode in our country, and were going to need everyone, she said. This is definitely one of those all-hands-on-deck moments.

Protests were planned or underway Sunday, including one in suburban Chicago organized by Jewish groups to show support for Muslims, as well as at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

A federal judge in New York issued an order Saturday temporarily blocking the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trumps travel ban took effect. But confusion remained about who could stay and who will be kept out of the country in the coming weeks. Federal courts in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington state took similar action.

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Michigans civil rights chief, Agustin Arbulu, condemned Trumps order, saying he hoped the federal court ruling would led him to narrow its scope.

During this time of uncertainty and confusion, we urge everyone to act with restraint and not in ways that foster fear and division, Arbulu said.

Criticism also continued abroad.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, lashed out at Trump on Sunday, insisting that instead of building walls, the continent will celebrate every wall which is torn down and every new bridge that is built up.

Among those caught in limbo: Iraqis who had been promised a life in America because of their service to the U.S. military, frail and elderly travelers from Iran and Yemen, and longtime U.S. residents traveling abroad who dont know if they will be allowed to return home.

Whats next? Whats going to happen next? asked Mohammed al Rawi, an Iraqi-born American citizen in the Los Angeles area, after his 69-year-old father, coming to visit his grandchildren in California, was abruptly detained and sent back to Iraq after 12 hours in custody. Are they going to create camps for Muslims and put us in it?

On Saturday, large protests erupted at airports throughout the country where travelers were being held, a day after Trump signed the order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. Trump also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security who briefed reporters by phone said 109 people who were in transit on airplanes had been denied entry and 173 had not been allowed to get on their planes overseas.

No green-card holders had ultimately been prevented from entering the U.S. as of Saturday, the official said, though several spent long hours in detention before being allowed in. Abdollah Mostafavi, 80, was released six hours after his flight arrived in San Francisco from Frankfurt.

Im so happy hes finally out. He says hes very tired, said his daughter Mozhgan Mostafavi, holding back tears and speaking Farsi with her father.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the U.S. military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats, was among at least a dozen people detained at Kennedy Airport.

He walked free after his lawyers, two members of Congress and as many as 2,000 demonstrators went to the airport to seek his release.

This is the soul of America, Darweesh told reporters after gaining his freedom, adding that the U.S. was home to the greatest people in the world.

After an appeal from civil liberties lawyers, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order Saturday barring the U.S. from summarily deporting people who arrived with valid visas or an approved refugee application, saying it would likely violate their legal rights.

Staff at U.S. agencies that resettle refugees were scrambling to analyze the situation. They girded for wrenching phone calls that would have to be made to the thousands of refugees just days away from traveling to the U.S. Donnellys order did nothing to help those people gain entry.

Several staff members who spoke to The Associated Press burst into tears as they contemplated the future for people who had waited years to come into the country.

Its complete chaos, said Melanie Nezer, policy director for HIAS, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that work with the U.S. State Department.

Before Trump signed the order, more than 67,000 refugees had been approved by the federal government to enter the U.S., said Jen Smyers, refugee policy director for Church World Service. More than 6,400 had already been booked on flights, including 15 families that had been expected over the next few weeks in the Chicago area from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Syria and Uganda.

The bulk of refugees entering the U.S. are settled by religious groups, which organize churches, synagogues and mosques to collect furniture, clothes and toys for the refugees and set up volunteer schedules for hosting duties. All that work ground to a halt after Trump signed the order.

Nour Ulayyet of Valparaiso, Indiana, said her sister, a Syrian living in Saudi Arabia, was sent back after arriving Saturday from Riyadh at Chicagos OHare Airport. She was told she couldnt enter the U.S. to help care for their sick mother. Ulayyet said some officials at the airport were apologizing to her sister, who had a valid visa.

Her mother, Ulayyet said, was already having pain enough to go through.

___

Associated Press writers Verena Dobnik and Karen Matthews in New York, Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco and Caryn Rousseau in Chicago contributed to this report.
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP)  Gunmen believed to be Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamic extremists attacked a convoy of motorists along a recently secured highway, killing at least seven people and injuring many others, including soldiers in a military escort, witnesses said.

The Maiduguri-Biu highway has been one of the most dangerous routes in northeastern Nigeria for three years because of Boko Haram attacks. The Nigeria military recaptured it last year and declared it safe, but the military escorts motorists moving in convoy along the road.

Eyewitness, Dauda Pambe, said he was among the travelers guarded by soldiers when gunmen launched the ambush attack on Saturday.

"We were somewhere between Bulabulin and Dogonwaya villages when the Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on the vehicles ahead of us in the convoy," said Pambe. "The first vehicle was hit on the tire and the driver could not proceed so the passengers alighted and fled into the bush. The second vehicle was a pickup van carrying many passengers, and many of them could not escape."

The gun fight continued for some time with many passengers ducking in their vehicles to avoid being hit by bullets, said Pambe.

The incident came three days after Boko Haram gunmen suffered a heavy loss of members after a foiled attempt to attack a military base in Borno state. In that incident, a large number of the insurgents stormed a military base in Kamaya but failed to dislodge the soldiers.

Neither the police nor the military has yet issued a statement on the Maiduguri-Biu road attack.
Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump insisted Sunday that his executive order temporarily halting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries was "not a Muslim ban," after it was met with confusion, global outrage and huge protests across the United States.

"America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave," Trump said in a statement.

"This is not about religion -- this is about terror and keeping our country safe," he said, adding that more 40 Muslim countries were not affected by his order.

His defense came in the form of an official written statement issued by the White House, a rare move for a president who has favored speaking directly to his audience via Twitter.

The president singled out the media, which he has attacked repeatedly since coming into office just over a week ago.

"We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows," he said, referring to the United States.

"To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting."

Trump signed the executive order on Friday, suspending the arrival of all refugees for at least 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely and barring citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

While Trump has cited the September 11, 2001, attacks as justification for his move, he did not target any of the 9/11 hijackers' home countries -- Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Judges in at least four states with major international airports -- Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington -- issued temporary stays to block parts of Trump's executive order, preventing authorities from deporting people who had been detained.

Trump recalled that his predecessor Barack Obama, a Democrat, had paused for six months in 2011 the Iraqi refugee program.

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And he stressed that the seven countries targeted by his ban were also listed by Obama.

But the previous administration's restrictions were of a different sort, requiring visas for people having traveled to those countries in the past five years.

"We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days," Trump added.

"I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as president I will find ways to help all those who are suffering."
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Finding Dory was snubbed when the Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday.

Now it's back in the news, this time because President Donald Trump is reportedly screening the movie at the White House for staff and family  right in the middle of the furor over what is effectively a ban on Muslim immigrants.

SEE ALSO: Lyft pledges $1 million ACLU donation in response to Trump's #MuslimBan

CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller shared news of Trump's family movie screening, which will be shown in the White House Family Theater on Sunday afternoon. Indeed, in a presidential schedule shared with press, a movie screening is planned for 3 p.m.

In between foreign leader phone calls today, Pres Trump hosting a movie screening in the Family Theater. WH aide says it's "Finding Dory."  Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 29, 2017

Meanwhile, protesters are flooding airports across the country to object to Trump's immigration ban targeting all refugees  specifically those hoping to escape civil war in Syria  and citizens from Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, all largely Muslim nations.

Trump has business dealings in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, three majority-Muslim nations not included in the ban.

That the White House selected to screen Finding Dory  the story of a character's attempt to reunite with her parents despite outside forces working against her  is an irony not lost on the internet.

But sure, Trump family, enjoy your movie.

And it's "Finding Dory." For real. This is happening. https://t.co/CnZtrN2sgy  Bronwen Dickey (@BronwenDickey) January 29, 2017

The nation is in turmoil over the Executive Order, and @POTUS @realDonaldTrump will be watching @findingdory. https://t.co/snpcZJuU2k  Derry London  (@Derry_London) January 29, 2017

Bannon running amok while Trump watches Finding Dory pic.twitter.com/odwqyt5Tjp  Joshua Block (@JoshACLU) January 29, 2017

Finding Dory is the story of someone unlawfully detained while trying to visit her family. https://t.co/mKhqezd58a  Jason Sparks (@sparksjls) January 29, 2017

Trump is screening "Finding Dory" today: the story of a foreigner entering the U.S. without authorization to reunite with her parents #Irony pic.twitter.com/FKU7ItiPod  Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) January 29, 2017

Finding Dory is mostly about a family reuniting across a border that wouldn't be blocked by a wall  Jared Rizzi (@JaredRizzi) January 29, 2017

BONUS: Inauguration crowds are looking puny compared to Women's March crowds
London (AFP) - Two days after a friendship-forging meeting with Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday ordered ministers to press US officials after high-profile citizens were drawn into the president's border clampdown.

Downing Street said May does "not agree" with the restrictions and had asked senior ministers to contact their US counterparts to manage the diplomatic fallout from the controversial move.

Meanwhile, one of the country's best-loved sports stars, double-double Olympic Champion Mo Farah, slammed a policy based on "ignorance and prejudice" that could keep him apart from his US-based family.

"On January 1 this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On January 27, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien," wrote the athlete, who represents Britain but was born in Somalia.

An Iraqi-born MP from May's Conservative Party had earlier revealed he would be barred from entering the US under the clampdown.

Nadhim Zahawi said he had "confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq," even though the pair have British passports.

"A sad, sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA," he added.

- 'We do not agree' -

May told Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and interior minister Amber Rudd "to make representations to their opposite numbers in the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, with the aim being to protect the rights of British nationals," said Downing Street.

The prime minister sparked controversy Saturday after refusing to condemn Trump's executive order when pressed by journalists during a trip to Turkey, but later issued a stronger statement as it emerged British citizens had been affected.

"Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," a spokesman from her office said on Sunday.

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"But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. If there is any impact on UK nationals then clearly we will make representations to the US government about that."

Johnson said it was "divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality."

The first foreign leader to meet Trump since his arrival in the White House, May discussed the possibility of quickly putting in place a trade agreement between the two countries after Britain's exit from the EU.

Shortly after their talks, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries -- Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

- 'Too late, too weak' -

Domestic pressure mounted on May to distance herself from Trump, with opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn urging the government to put off the president's scheduled state visit until the ban was rescinded.

May "would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit & condemn Trump's actions in the clearest terms," he wrote on Twitter.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband called May's response "far too late and far too weak" while First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "The PM should have said this the first time she was asked, not hours later and only under pressure."

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston called Trump "a sickening piece of work" while colleague Heidi Allen tweeted that "strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong."

An online petition calling for Trump not to be invited "because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen" has already received 320,000 signatures, meaning it will be considered for debate in parliament.
TORONTO (AP)  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will welcome you.

He says he also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada's refugee policy.

Trudeau reacted to Trump's visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting Saturday: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said he has a message for Trump.

"The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak," spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.

Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon.

The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. Canada wants to avoid becoming a target like Mexico has. More than 75 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S.

Brad Wall, the conservative premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, offered his support to Trudeau.

"Sask has welcomed approx 2000 refugees this past year," Wall posted on Twitter. "We stand ready to assist fed gov't re: anyone stranded by the US ban."

Toronto Mayor John Tory also weighed in, noting that the city is the most diverse in the world.

"We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality," Tory said in a statement.

Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

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Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States.

White House National Security adviser Michael Flynn told Canada's national security adviser that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban, Purchase said.

"We have been assured that Canadian citizens traveling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process," Purchase said.

Trudeau later posted the statement on Twitter with the hashtag "ACanadianIsACanadian."

Earlier the U.S. State Department said that Canadians with dual citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya would be denied entry for the next three months.

The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canada's election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada. Tima Kurdi, the aunt of the boy who became a symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis, called the U.S. ban on Syrian refugees inhumane and said she was proud of Canada.

Trudeau's tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. "Welcome to Canada" trended on social media in the country.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Two weeks after child welfare workers removed four children from a woman's suburban Pittsburgh home in June for alleged neglect, they discovered an even bigger problem: The woman has two other children who are missing, and haven't been seen alive for more than a decade.

Since the summer, police investigators have cast a wide net for twins Ivon and Inisha, who would be about 18 now. A county detective has testified he believes the children are dead but can't prove it. A cadaver-sniffing dog came up empty during a search of another Pittsburgh area house in December.

Patricia Fowler was arrested in August on charges of concealing the whereabouts of her twins after police investigated following the removal of four of her other children. Fowler has claimed the children are safe and living out of state, but no information she's provided to police has panned out, authorities said. She's been free on bail.

As police try to solve the mystery, they have filed additional charges against Fowler, 47, accusing her of illegally collecting more than $50,000 in state food stamps, public assistance and medical benefits for the twins. As of Friday, she had not yet surrendered on the new counts, which include theft.

A criminal complaint filed Wednesday said she had been collecting benefits for the twins since June 2011, and continued doing so through the end of August  weeks after police charged her with concealing the twins' whereabouts. Her public defender would not comment, citing an office policy to not commenting on pending investigations.

Fowler has changed her story several times regarding the whereabouts of Ivon and Inisha. She's told police the two children are living with friends or relatives in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, only to have the names and addresses she's provided not check out, or have relatives tell police they've never heard of the twins. Police said one out-of-state address provided by Fowler turned out to be a vacant storefront, and one Georgia city she named didn't exist.

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At one point, Fowler even told police she sold the children years ago for $2,000 each to a woman she didn't know in a deal brokered by a man she met in a bar. She reversed course and told police that was a lie.

Police have unsuccessfully checked with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, which in September released age-progressed images showing what the twins may look like now. Other databases in various states provide no evidence that the twins ever attended school.

"In my professional opinion, I believe they've met their demise," lead Allegheny County detective Michael Kuma testified at Fowler's preliminary hearing on the concealment charges in October.

The detective said this week he can't comment on the ongoing investigation.

Fowler's son, Datwon, 19, remains jailed on charges he conspired with his mother to hide his twin siblings from authorities.

Datwon texted police at his mother's behest back in August, pretending to be Ivon and saying that he and Inisha were safe and sound and living out of state, police said. But GPS tracked the phone to the home Datwon shares with his mother, and he confessed to the ruse.

Datwon's attorney, Richard McCague, said he believes the new charges are an effort to put Fowler behind bars like her son.

"They don't have a complaint about child abuse and they don't have a body indicating someone has died. They believe these children are dead but they can't prove it," McCague said. "Under those circumstances, what else can they charge mom with?"
The White House issued a statement Friday commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. But in a break with recent tradition, the statement didn't make any mention of the Jewish people or anti-Semitism, only referring to the victims of the Holocaust as "innocent people."

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly voted to observe Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Since then, U.S. presidents have issued statements on Jan 27., which was also the date allied forces liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. Those statements have consistently mentioned the Jewish people.

In 2016, President Barack Obama's statement mentioned "the six million Jews and million of others murdered by the Nazi regime" in the first sentence of his statement. He used similar language in other years, mentioning "six million Jews" in the opening paragraph of the annual statement.

In 2008, President George W. Bush's statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day didn't mention the Jewish people specifically, but did mention the president's visit to Israel's Holocaust museum and stated "We must continue to condemn the resurgence of anti-Semitism."

The U.S. established its own official days of Holocaust remembrance during the Carter administration. A House resolution passed in late 1978 declared April 28 and 29 as "Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust." President Jimmy Carter issued an accompanying proclamation on April 2, 1979. In the second paragraph, the proclamation said "Dachau and other death-centers like Buchenwald, Auschwitz and Treblinka were the means by which the Nazi regime murdered six million Jewish people and millions of other victims in a planned program of extermination."

Trump was accused of using messaging with anti-Semetic themes during last year's presidential campaign. He tweeted an image last summer featuring a picture of Hillary Clinton in front of a background of dollar bills with the phrase "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" in a star shaped like the star of David. In November, after the Trump transition team announced Steve Bannon would be hired as White House chief strategist and senior advisor, the Anti-Defamation League released as statement criticizing the hire.

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The ADL strongly opposes the appointment of Steve Bannon as senior advisor and chief strategist in the White House, the organization wrote. It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the alt-right  a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists  is slated to be a senior staff member in the peoples house. 

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Eman Mohammed, a respected Palestinian photojournalist and TED Talk speaker, has been forced to cancel plans to jury the World Press Photo photojournalism contest in Amsterdam, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that places restrictions on travel for citizens of seven Middle Eastern countries.

Even though Mohammed is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. and she does not come from one of the seven countries listed in the order, she has been advised by her lawyers that, as a Palestinian, the confusion surrounding the U.S. governments executive order means she risks being unable to return to her family if she comes to Amsterdam, reads a statement from World Press Photo. We joined with her lawyer and advised her not to travel, the statement continues. We are angered and saddened that bigotry has prevented this talented member of the photojournalism community from joining us this week.

Mohammed speaks to TIME LightBox.

For the longest time, Ive believed my backstory was my heritage, something Ive been familiar with and very proud of. That backstory slowly shifted through the past year, while the political climate kept on swinging. I started re-editing the details depending on the listener. Sometimes I would neglect stating that my two daughters are American Muslims and Im the immigrant in the family. Occasionally, I needed to emphasis that, No, they dont have any other nationality and, no, we didnt win the green card lottery. They just happen to be Americans with a Muslim faith and an immigrant mother. Its no ones fault. Its just life.

Ive become an expert in reading peoples faces, but it became harder as the political speech became filled with hateful accusations and paranoid statements. Ive trained myself into taking the baby steps towards our American dream, as our family shared what could have been the best way to describe the American family, which is being a former refugee, current immigrant and a citizen. This felt balanced and historically accurate until Mr. Trump called it terrorism and shock our world to the core.

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Ive been taking pride in how Ive shielded my daughters from what I call the Trump Effect. I started to think that motherhood was getting easier thanks to my close, warm circle of American friends of different colors and ethnicities. Their positivity was still enough to make us hopeful despite the elections dramatic results, because they could see the differences and embrace them.

All up until now, Ive been distracting the girls with the fun we will have on our short trip to Amsterdam, where I was invited as a photojournalist to judge the World Press Photo award. It was a great honor I wouldnt have imagined attending while I was still living back home in Gaza under siege, surrounded by closed borders. Not a day has passed without reminding myself of how fortunate I am to live with such a privilege. Ive tasted what its like to be besieged and freedom-less.

My daughters looked forward to being on a plane. But that flight is what made me, as a mother, nervous. I was worried someone wouldnt like the use of my other language, or maybe our darker skin. The surreal decisions President Trump has made in his first week at the White House amplified those fears. There were no words that could silence the restlessness I felt about this trip under the new presidents rule.

On Thursday morning, after a long night struggling with those silent worries, I emailed a devoted immigration lawyer Ive known, who by the nature of the situation quickly became a friend. I explained my fears.

The lawyer answered with her own list of questions. After multiple calls and emails, we agreed that it wasnt going to be a pleasant situation at the immigration and customs desk but that if I answered all of the officers questions on my way back from Amsterdam, that would do it.

On Friday night, I continued packing. Thats when the breaking news alert came, confirming my worst fears: The president had just banned travelers from seven countries from entering the U.S. I scrolled to find the list of countries and sighed with a pathetic and unfair sense of relief when I saw that Palestine wasnt among those countries. Yet, I still struggled with the decision, expressing my concerns to my boyfriend, whose frustration for what the country is turning into got him to book a flight just to accompany my family through the returns horrifying moments. He smiled nervously while confirming the flight and I thought to myself that I was overreacting.

But, a few hours later, my lawyer called again, expressing her reservations against my travel plans. I asked how I could possibly be subjected to the ban since Im Palestinian and she explained that my country, according to the U.S., isnt a country but an occupied territory. How could have I forgotten? After all, this is what I struggle to explain to airline agents every time I book a ticket myself.

Yet, that wasnt the worst news. Not only would I probably be detained and questioned, but my two daughters could be taken away from me, the lawyer told me.

The news was simply devastating. Being a photojournalist and a mother had never been a question of priorities. Until now.

This incident only shows that President Trumps ban is actually targeting innocent civilian families, breaking them apart. This might be the victory he had been seeking all along: he filled our life with fear, made our days longer and much harder to get through, divided our nation and demanded of us to pick sides.

But, my freedom wasnt given to me on a silver platter. I earned it. And in the eyes of the law, I remain a legal U.S. resident while the Presidents ban isnt.

Eman Mohammed is an award-winning photojournalist and TED fellow based in Washington.


President Donald Trump has signed many documents in his first week in office.

The documents set out Trumps policies on health care and international trade, among other things.

Some of these measures are called executive orders. Others are considered White House or presidential memoranda.

In this report, we explain the difference between the two and tell what kind of power each has. We also tell about some of the famous executive orders American presidents have signed.

Executive orders vs. memoranda

Both executive orders and memoranda have what is known as the force of law. In other words, they have the same power as legislation approved by Congress and signed by the president.

But there are differences.

Executive orders are numbered and published in the Federal Register, the official record of actions of the United States government. Memoranda do not need to be published in the Federal Register.

Executive orders must identify whether the order is based on the U.S. Constitution or a law. They must also tell the cost of carrying out the order. Memoranda do not have to state such a cost, unless it is more than $100 million.

Every president except one has signed executive orders and memoranda. The exception is William Henry Harrison, who served just one month in office. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only president who served more than two terms, signed 3,721 executive orders  more than anyone else. Most of them dealt with measures to help the country fight the Great Depression and World War II.

Some executive orders have changed history. Here are some of the most famous:

The Emancipation Proclamation

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This executive order freed all slaves living in states not under Union control during the Civil War. Since the southern states had rebelled against the federal government and left the Union, the order had little effect. But it did ensure that any slaves who escaped to the northern states were free.

The New Deal

During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt signed many executive orders designed to create work for jobless Americans. In 1933, he used an executive order to create the Civil Works Administration. This created about four million new government jobs. He also used an order to create the Export/Import Bank. In 1934, he used an order to create the Rural Electrification Administration to bring electricity to rural, undeveloped areas of the country.

Japanese-American Internment

President Roosevelt signed an executive order shortly after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941. The order gave military leaders rights to identify some parts of the country as military areas  from which any or all persons may be excluded. It also required the military to give food, transportation and housing to anyone forced to leave their home. As a result of the order, 120,000 men, women and children were required to leave the U.S. West Coast and stay in internment camps between 1942 and 1945. Most of them were American citizens of Japanese descent.

Desegregation of the Military

In 1948, after the end of World War II, President Harry Truman signed an executive order that officially ended racial barriers in the United States military. The words of the order were simple: There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the Armed Services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. Before the order was signed, military forces trained, worked and even fought in groups separated by race.

A sign of the times

Very few of the thousands of executive orders and memoranda are as famous as those noted in this story. Some of them are signed because a president was dealing with a Congress unwilling to pass legislation that he wants. Others express the presidents opinions about a subject of importance.

Together these documents tell about American history and the goals of each president and the times in which he served.

Im Dorothy Gundy..

Kevin Enochs reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow 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

memoranda  n. written records or communication; directives

exclude  v. to prevent or restrict; to bar from consideration or inclusion

internment camps  n. places where Japanese Americans were held during World War II

descent  n. the fact or process of coming from an ancestor

national origin  n. the country where you or your ancestors lived
By Nick Brown

(Reuters) - Puerto Rico's governor signed a law on Sunday that allows him to define essential government services and set aside money to pay for them, setting the vision of how to prioritize a mountain of obligations the struggling U.S. territory cannot afford.

Governor Ricardo Rossello, sworn in this month, signed the Puerto Rico Financial Emergency and Fiscal Responsibility Law, replacing a moratorium on debt payments by ex-Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla that had been unpopular with many bondholders.

The new law allows Rossello to define which services are essential to health, safety and welfare, and set aside money in a "lockbox" to ensure their payment.

Under the law, the island will try to pay as much of its $70 billion in debt as possible after payment of services.

The law itself does not create policy, but authorizes Rossello to make decisions through executive orders expected in the coming weeks, as the island tries to pull itself out of an economic crisis.

In addition to its debt, Puerto Rico faces a 45 percent poverty rate, near-insolvent public health and pension systems, and unemployment more than twice the U.S. average.

A federally appointed board, created to manage Puerto Rico's finances, has said the island cannot afford its debt, and must restructure. Bondholder negotiations are gaining steam as Rossello's administration gets up to speed.

"With this law we demonstrate to the entire world that Puerto Rico has credibility again," Rossello said on Sunday.

Creditors had balked at Garcia Padilla's 2016 moratorium, which allowed the government to default on debt and redirect bondholders' collateral to pay for government services.

Whether the collateral goes back to bondholders remains unclear. The new law states that Puerto Rico will try to pay off debt, but does not undo Garcia Padilla's prior actions though it gives Rossello the power to reverse them in the future.

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Rossello's law reflects a vision of a strong executive branch with broad leeway to decide how to use limited funds, mostly through executive orders.

Rossello can take "any and all actions" to preserve essential services, authorize the sale of government assets and appoint receivers at public agencies.

A key first step will be deciding which services are essential.

At a meeting of Puerto Rico's oversight board on Saturday, Christian Sobrino, president of the island's Government Development Bank, said the decision will be "practical, not merely philosophical."

For example, while police and schools serve many critical functions, Sobrino said, not every expenditure is inherently essential.

(Reporting by Nick Brown in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
President Donald Trump to Obamacare ads: Drop Dead!

The Trump administration has reportedly killed media ads designed to encourage people to enroll in insurance coverage through the federal Obamacare marketplace before next Tuesday's open-enrollment deadline.

The White House also has ended other outreach efforts to spur sign-ups on the HealthCare.govmarketplace, according to Politico, which broke the story Thursday.

That outreach includes emails that HealthCare.gov had been sending out to people who began, but did not complete, the enrollment process.

Kevin Counihan, who until last week was CEO of that marketplace, HealthCare.gov, in a statement to CNBC called the move an "outrageous decision" to "sabotage open enrollment" in Obamacare.

His comments were echoed by Leslie Dach, a former top Obama administration health official who is now director of the Protect Our Care Coalition. Dach said in a emailed statement, "This is sabotage pure and simple."

"This proves that this administration doesn't care about people who need health coverage," Dach said. "And It clearly shows that they now own the consequences of their efforts to undermine the health care system."

The White House's reported move comes less than a week after Trump's inauguration as president, and his signing of an executive order authorizing officials to start dismantling parts of Obamacare.



Although the president and Congressional Republicans plan to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, they have yet to publicly unveil any replacement plan for the ACA, much less one that could maintain the gains in insurance coverage achieved under Obamacare.

CNBC has reached out for comment from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which operates HealthCare.gov, but has not received a response.

An HHS spokesman was quoted by Politico as saying, "HHS has pulled back roughly $5 million of the final placement in an effort to look for efficiencies, where they exist."

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But Politico noted that it had previously reported that the Obama administration had paid for and scheduled the ads and outreach to run until Jan. 31, more than a week after Trump''s inauguration.

People will still be allowed to sign up on HealthCare.gov, which serves residents of 39 states.

The former CEO of that exchange, Counihan, told Politico that the cessation of ads and outreach "will clearly have a material impact" on the volume of sign-ups on the marketplace.

In a statement sent to CNBC, Counihan said, "Before January 20, HealthCare.gov enrollment was running ahead of schedule, and more Americans were receiving the security of health insurance than ever before."

"But the Trump Administration's outrageous decision tonight to sabotage open enrollment will mean coverage could cost more next year and insurers could drop out of the marketplace," Counihan said.

"We know that more young people enroll during the final days of open Enrollment, but they need to be reminded of the January 31 deadline," he said.

"Having health insurance is still law of the land," Counihan said. "If the President and Republicans in Congress want to change that, they should come up with a plan and show it to the American people, rather than depriving Americans of the chance to sign up for coverage and financial assistance they remain eligible for."

HealthCare.gov is, by far, the largest government-run exchange. So far this enrollment season, 8.8 million people have signed up for coverage in individual insurance plans sold on that marketplace, slightly outpacing last year's rate. Despite that, Trump has repeatedly called Obamacare "a disaster," pointing to big hikes in premiums this year, and high deductibles of some plans.

The federal exchange and the 12 other exchanges run by individual states and the District of Columbia routinely see significant surge in sign-up volume in the days leading up to enrollment deadlines. That last such deadline was mid-December, when people had to sign up for coverage effective Jan. 1, the day after coverage for 2016 plans expired.

Under the Affordable Care Act, most Americans must have some form of health coverage for most of the the year or face a possible tax penalty. The Obamacare exchanges were set up to provide people with individual plans to comply with that mandate.

Most exchange customers receive federal subsidies, in the form of tax credits, that lower what they pay in monthly premiums. Those subsidies to HealthCare.gov and state exchange customers are available to people with low and moderate incomes.





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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer broke down in tears on Sunday as he announced that Democrats are considering legislation to overturn President Trumps controversial executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American, Schumer said at a press conference in New York City, where he was surrounded by families affected by the ban. It was implemented in a way that created chaos and confusion across the country, and it will only serve to embolden and inspire those around the globe who will do us harm.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order barring people from seven countries  Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Somalia  from entering the United States for 90 days. It also stopped all refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days and indefinitely suspended the entry of refugees from Syria.

But lawmakers, including several Republicans, criticized Trump for issuing the travel ban without warning.

Slideshow: Protests at U.S. airports over travel ban >>>

It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a joint statement. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the departments of State, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security.

On NBCs Meet the Press, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said the administrations lack of advance notice was by design.

I dont think you want a grace period, Priebus said. Because then people who want to do bad things to Americans would just move up their travel date two days in order to get into the country before the grace period is over.

In an appearance on ABCs This Week on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said hes concerned the travel ban may have gone too far.

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I think its a good idea to tighten the vetting process, McConnell said. But I also think its important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas.

I think we need to be careful, McConnell added. We dont have religious tests in this country.

McConnell stopped short of declaring his opposition to the order. But its clear Senate Democrats are ready to push back.

Were demanding the president reverse these executive orders that go against what we are, everything we have always stood for, Schumer said. Were here today to deliver a vociferous no to the president and the misguided executive orders that are shocking to a majority of Americans and are inflicting wounds on this country.

On Saturday night, a federal court in Brooklyn issued an emergency stay temporarily blocking part of the order amid a wave of protests at airports around the country.

Slideshow: Anti-Trump protesters rally for Muslim and immigrant rights >>>

The courts decision, which affects people who have been detained in airports, came after the ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at New York Citys John F. Kennedy International Airport.

More than 100 people, including some with current visas, were detained or turned around at airports as a result of the temporary ban.

Earlier Sunday, a defiant Trump took to Twitter to address the backlash

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW, Trump tweeted. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers, the president continued. We cannot allow this horror to continue!

These orders go against what America has always been about, Schumer added. The orders make us less humanitarian, less safe, less American.

More from Yahoo News:
Shailene Woodley has nothing but praise for Malia Obama after the former first daughter reportedly attended a rally to protest the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

The 25-year-old actress has been a fierce supporter of the Standing Rock Sioux tribes opposition to the four-state oil pipeline. And Woodley recently opened up about seeing the 18-year-old former First Daughter at a Standing Rock solidarity event on Monday at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

It was amazing to see Malia, The Fault in Our Stars actress told Democracy Now. To witness a human being and a woman coming in to her own outside of her family and outside of the attachments that this country has on her, but someone whos willing to participate in democracy because she chooses to.

Because she recognizes, regardless of her last name, that if she doesnt participate in democracy, there will be no world for her future children.

Hundreds took part in months-long protests against the multi-billion dollar oil pipeline project that critics said would damage Native American cultural sites and could have disastrous environmental consequences.

Protesters later praised the Armys December decision to halt construction on the pipeline and reroute the structure.

Shailene Woodley Livestreams Her Own Arrest on Facebook During Dakota Access Pipeline Protest

However, that joy turned to mourning on Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed an executive action to advance the controversial project.

In the wake of Trumps action, Woodley vowed to mobilize.

What we could do now as a population, as a society, is to hold our corporations accountable and hold our banks accountable, because there are a lot of banks that are invested in this pipeline, she told MSNBC. Regardless of any executive order or what our politicians want to do, if theres no money invested in the pipelines, then they cant be built.




Sheryl Sandberg is leaning in when it comes to womens rights overseas

In the wake of President Trump signing an executive order reinstating the global gag rule on abortion, many people are speaking out against the order. And not just Hollywood celebs, but business professionals like Sheryl Sandberg have spoken about womens rights and how his order will hurt women around the world. Known as the Mexico City Policy  and by its critics as the global gag rule  the abortion policy prohibits organizations abroad from using American aid to even talk about abortion as a method of family planning.

In a Facebook post, the COO talks about need for these organizations, and how crucial they are in supporting womens health. The last time the global gag rule was in effect, research showed more women who lost access to contraception had unwanted pregnancies and abortion rates doubled, she wrote. The best way to prevent abortion is through more family planning services, not fewer.

This is a truly important article about a policy that could have terrible consequences for women and families around the... Posted by Sheryl Sandberg on Thursday, January 26, 2017

Statistics from the Guttmacher Institute support this, saying that in Ghana, abortion rates were higher during the gag rule years than non-gag rule years in rural and poor populations. Many organizations that rely on American assistance are going to suffer. Zelda Nhlabatsi, the executive director of the Family Life Association of Swaziland said that:

Our organization could definitely be affected, including our HIV services, and you can imagine how detrimental that could be for a small country like Swaziland thats been heavily affected by HIV.

Instead of decreasing the abortion rate, research suggests that the policy has had a counter intuitive impact. In countries that relied heavily on funding from the United States for reproductive health services, abortion rates rose when the Reagan-era policy was in place. The research suggests that when funding is lost for abortions, the funding for birth control also disappears. This means a higher pregnancy rate and often times unsafe abortions.

In a way to soften the blow of the rule, the Netherlands lost no time in casting itself as a defender of reproductive rights. Its Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it would start an international fund to make up as much as possible for this financial blow. There are no details about how this fund will work, but were excited to what they come up with.
DENVER (AP)  Valentina Shevchenko stopped Julianna Pena with an armbar late in the second round Saturday night, establishing herself as the top contender for the UFC bantamweight title.

Welterweight Jorge Masvidal also stopped Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone with strikes early in the second round of their fight at a UFC show in Denver.

Shevchenko (14-2) likely earned a rematch with 135-pound champion Amanda Nunes by beating Pena (10-2), who appeared to win a competitive first round with a few extra strikes.

Shevchenko dramatically ended the fight a few minutes later with an armbar, once the submission move of choice for Ronda Rousey.

Rousey, the formerly dominant bantamweight champion, lost to Nunes in Las Vegas last month. Nunes attended Shevchenko's victory over Pena, and the champion stepped into the cage afterward to trade barbs with Shevchenko.

"I was working very hard," Shevchenko said. "I was focused only on this fight. I'm pretty sure the next fight will be a title shot, and I'm very excited to take (Nunes') belt."

Nunes beat Shevchenko by unanimous decision last March at UFC 196, but a rematch seems likely. It was only the second loss in the mixed martial arts career of Shevchenko, a Kyrgyzstan-born fighter who lives in Peru and moves her training camp before each fight.

Pena had won four straight bouts since joining the UFC in 2013.

Masvidal (32-11) pulled an upset with his persuasive victory over hometown favorite Cerrone (32-8), who had lost only once in his previous 13 bouts since August 2013.

Masvidal, who was 3-3 in his last six fights, brutalized Cerrone in the first round and nearly ended it shortly before the bell. He increased his onslaught in the second round, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop it 60 seconds in.

"Cowboy is a great fighter," Masvidal said. "He didn't have to come out in the second round, and he did. He's a man. He has all my respect."

Earlier at the Pepsi Center, heavyweight Francis Ngannou (10-1) stopped veteran Andrei Arlovski with punches just 92 seconds into the first round. The Cameroon-born Frenchman was dominant in his third straight first-round stoppage, putting him near the front of the line for a shot at UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
An Iranian woman who graduated with her Ph.D. from a South Carolina University has been barred from returning to the U.S. under President Trumps new executive order, according to reports.

Nazanin Zinouri, a Clemson University graduate, said she was excited to take the trip to see her family in Iran but after hearing rumors about the order, which has bans citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, from entering the United States, she began to worry.

Read: Donald Trump Tells Democrats Boycotting His Inauguration: Give Me Your Tickets

I might be banned from going back?!?! No that can't be true. I'm not gonna let that ruin my trip. But then it got serious so fast. Before I knew it, it was actually happening, Zinouri wrote in a Facebook post.

Zinouri said she quickly got on a plane to Dubai and eventually boarded a plane to Washington but was then removed from the plane.

After waiting in the line to get my documents checked and after 40 minutes of questions and answers, I boarded the plane to Washington, only to have two TSA officers getting in and ask me to disembark the plane!!! Yes after almost 7 years of living the the United States, I got deported!!! She continued.

Zinouri said she has no idea what will happen to her job or life in South Carolina, where she has lived for seven years.

They didn't say it with words but with their actions, that my life doesn't matter. Everything I worked for all these years doesn't matter, Zinouri wrote.

Trumps new order, which was enacted on Friday, will be in effect for the next 90 days, and the ban on Syrian citizens is currently indefinite.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in New York blocked the deportation of people stranded in US airports under the executive action.

Read: Trump Won't Attend African-American History Museum on MLK Day, Will Meet with King's Son Instead

"The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioner and other similarly situated violates their due process and equal protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution," US District Judge Ann Donnelly wrote in her decision.

Story continues

Protests have broken out across the country, including at airports where people are being detained, against what many are calling the Muslim ban.

Watch: Man Threatened to Kill Donald Trump In Twitter Video: Cops

Related Articles:
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  A woman who left her South Carolina home to visit her family in Iran now worries if she will ever be allowed back.

Nazanin Zinouri said in a phone interview Sunday with The Associated Press that she left Jan. 20 for Tehran.

The 29-year-old Zinouri, who has a doctorate from Clemson University, is among those caught up in the chaos surrounding an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that temporarily bans the entry of citizens from seven countries, including Iran. She has a visa and works for a technology company in Clemson.

Zinouri got as far as Dubai but was denied boarding on a flight to Washington, D.C.

Her employer hopes to hire an attorney to help her.
A protest in Iran has raised concerns about broadcast jamming equipment and its effect on human health.

The protest took place on January 9 in the southern city of Shiraz. Demonstrators gathered outside the offices of the governor of Fars province.

One demonstrator sent a video of the protest to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The station reports to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which also supervises Voice of America.

RFE/RL says the protesters blamed the governments jamming operations for health problems among local residents. People accused the equipment of causing problems such as a sharp pain in the head and even cancer.

Irans government has long interfered with Persian language broadcasts by Western media to try to stop Iranians from watching or listening to them.

Some jamming equipment uses electromagnetic waves that critics say are responsible for the health problems.

Former Iranian lawmaker Ali Akbar Mousavi investigated the issue of jamming. Mousavi now lives in the United States. He told VOA the Shiraz protesters were concerned about a comment reportedly made by Irans deputy health minister, Reza Malekzadeh. The official spoke about a link between jamming equipment and public health.

Malekzadeh reportedly said preliminary studies found that electromagnetic jamming signals can increase the risk of cancer. Irans state-operated news agency, IRNA, reported the comment in a story published in December of 2016. It said he was speaking during a visit to a cancer research event in Shiraz. He provided no further details on the studies that he noted.

Irans Financial Tribune newspaper noted that Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi later questioned the importance of his deputys comments. Hashemi reportedly said his ministry still lacked strong scientific evidence to prove that jamming can enhance the risk of cancer or exacerbate health problems.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) says scientific research does not confirm any health effects from exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields. It also said, Some gaps in knowledge about biological effects exist, and need further research.

Ali Akbar Mousavi served as vice-chair of the Iranian parliaments information and communications technology committee. In an email to VOA, he said he had seen many reports of Iranian lawmakers and civil society members speaking out in recent years against the governments jamming activities.

My colleagues and I raised the same concerns (about jamming) as members of the 6th Iranian parliament and succeeded in stopping it through public pressure, he said. Unfortunately, the government started jamming again when (former President) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power (in 2005).

Jamming is barred under rules of the International Telecommunications Union, of which Iran is a member.

Mousavi said he expects criticism of jamming to continue until the Iranian government stops what he called an illegal practice.

Im Kaveh Razaei.

Michael Lipin reported on this story for VOANews.com. Afshar Sigarchi provided additional information George Grow adapted their report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

jamming  n. the act of interfering with broadcast signals on purpose

resident  n. someone who lives in a place or area

preliminary  adj. coming before; beginning or partial

exacerbate  v. to make more violent or severe

exposure  n. the condition of being unprotected; the condition of being subject to an effect or influence

gap  n. a separation in space; a break in a barrier

colleague  n. a co-worker; someone who works with you

practice  n. an activity

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Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan on Sunday summoned US charge d'affaires Steven Koutsis to protest President Donald Trump's visa ban which has already prevented some of its citizens from flying to the United States.

The foreign ministry "expressed its displeasure" with Trump's order to bar Sudanese and citizens from six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for three months.

Koutsis is the most senior diplomat at the American embassy in Khartoum.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday temporarily prohibiting entry to the US to citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and suspending the arrival of refugees.

Fatimah Abu Al-Qassem Al-Qash and businessman Amer Hamed al-Manufi were among the first Sudanese to be hit by the ban.

"We went through passport control at Khartoum airport and flew to Doha. But when we arrived there (on Saturday) we were detained with some Iranians and Iraqis," Fatimah told AFP after her return home.

"A man who identified himself as an American employee told us that we cannot travel further," she said, adding that she had a valid visa and had been planning to visit her brother in the state of Arizona.

Manufi, a dairy farmer, was on his way to Atlanta to attend a fair and sign business deals, when he was told he was not welcome in the United States.

"I run a group of companies... and we are also agents for international firms, including two American companies with which we have been working since 2009," he said.

The US embassy in Khartoum posted on its website an announcement reiterating Trump's executive order and stressing that visas would no longer be issued to citizens of the seven countries.

"If you are a national, or dual national, of one of these countries, please do not schedule a visa appointment or pay any visa fees at this time.

"If you already have an appointment scheduled, please do not attend your appointment as we will not be able to proceed with your visa interview."

The words "do not attend" were in bold print.
Lisbon (AFP) - When Portugal was suffering in the depths of the global financial crisis, Marina Pereira followed thousands of her compatriots and took a job in Angola as it rode the wave of an oil boom.

But now the collapse in global crude prices has hammered the southwest African country's economy and sent Pereira and many others like her heading back to Europe.

"At the start I was earning 4,200 euros ($4,500) a month working in a spa. I was housed and fed, it was paradise," the 33-year-old osteopath said.

In 2012 she had moved to Luanda, capital of the former Portuguese colony, rich in oil and diamonds. But after a dream start, euphoria began to give way to disillusion.

"I started to be paid in kwanzas, the local currency, and my monthly income dropped to 1,000 euros. You can only change money on the black market, at a really bad rate," she said, eventually leaving as the cost of living got too high.

Her return in 2015 to Portugal, then barely out of a deep recession, was a brutal experience. On a wage of 650 euros a month for working in a gym, she said that "it's not enough to have a decent quality of life".

Some 300,000 Portuguese colonists fled Angola as violence flared in the run-up to independence in 1975. Forty years later, Portugal is witnessing a new wave of "retornados" -- returnees -- leaving the African nation as it wrestles with its own economic woes.

- Salary delays -

The exodus began in 2015 and is still going on, according to Paulo Vieira, president of the Portuguese-Angolan chamber of commerce.

The end of Angola's bloody 27-year civil war in 2002, combined with high global oil prices, unleashed rapid development, with Luanda often compared to a new Dubai.

GDP growth peaked at over 20 percent in 2007, but the decline in oil prices, poor governance and lack of investment have seen growth collapse to less than two percent last year.

Although Angola remains Africa's biggest oil producer alongside Nigeria, revenues have halved.

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The Angolan government, reliant on oil for 70 percent of its budget, has put the brakes on public spending, stopping thousands of building projects and imposed currency restrictions, hitting the construction industry.

"Several Portuguese companies in Angola can no longer pay their staff because they are having problems repatriating profits," said Ricardo Pedro Gomes, president of Portugal's construction industry association.

"Of the 100,000 Portuguese construction workers in Angola before the economic crisis, there are only a few thousand left. And there are salary delays going back up to a year," construction union leader Albano Ribeiro said.

Pedro Dias, 42, a salesman for an Angolan electronics company, saw his friends leave, one by one, before returning to Portugal himself as well.

In Luanda, he was paid up to 3,000 euros a month and the company paid for his accommodation, car and food -- a good income to support his wife and three children back home.

But with the currency restrictions, bank transfers to Portugal have stopped.

"I had to leave, my family have to eat," he said, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

- 'Love-hate' -

Dias says he still misses Angola.

"If the situation improves, I'll go back," he says, recalling "the smell of Africa and the savannah".

Expat life in Luanda is full of pitfalls and politics is off-limits in a country ruled by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos for some 37 years.

"You never talk about the Angolan regime in public," Dias says. "If you want to avoid problems you must not get involved in politics."

And Pereira tells of being attacked in broad daylight "with a gun pointed at my head by 10 or 11 year-old children" and almost dying after catching malaria and yellow fever.

Despite these hair-raising experiences, Pereira says she misses her old life, and is already planning to move to another former Portuguese colony, Sao Tome and Principe.

"It's a love-hate relationship, I have always been fascinated by Africa," she says, remembering the "wonderful beaches" and "the smell of damp earth".
David Harewood teased an upcoming episode of Supergirl with a brand new poster.

The key art, which Harewood shared on his Instagram account, shows his character, Jonn Jonzz, standing next to Melissa Benoists Supergirl whos about to take flight. The poster bears the slogan Worlds Clash. Heroes Unite, which appears to tease the arrival of yet another White Martian on Earth in Season 2, episode 11.

According to the synopsis for the episode, titled The Martian Chronicles, a White Martian named Armek (Terrell Tilford) arrives in National City to take Mgann (Sharon Leal) back to their home planet to face her punishment as a traitor. To keep Mgann safe, Supergirl and Jonn, a.k.a. Martian Manhunter, bring her to the DEO. Things, however, get tricky when they find out that Armek shape-shifted into Mgann. With the DEOs security compromised, the team realizes that Armek could be disguised as any of them.

In the comics, Armek is a member of the alien super team known as the Hyperclan. Armek and seven other aliens come to Earth, claiming that they are the last survivors of a world that had been destroyed by environmental irresponsibility. Vowing to never allow such a disaster to happen again, the Hyperclan claims they journeyed through space looking out for planets that are in need of saving. This, however, is just a front to turn public opinion against Earths more prominent superheroes, particularly the Justice League of America.

When Mgann met Jonn on Supergirl for the first time, she told him that she managed to get out of Mars after she was freed by a good-willed female White Martian. Later, however, Mgann admitted to Jonn that she was actually the White Martian who allowed some Green Martians to escape during the conflict between the two Martian races.

The Martian Chronicles airs on Monday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. The episode is directed by David McWhirter from a script written by Gabriel Llanas and Anna Musky-Goldwyn.

Story continues

David Harewood

Photo: Getty Images/Matt Winkelmeyer

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MEDFORD, Ore. (AP)  Harold Hayes, an Army medic and the last survivor of a group of medics and nurses who spent nine weeks evading capture in Nazi-occupied Albania during World War II, has died. He was 94.

All 30 men and women in the group eventually made it out, but it was kept secret to protect partisan fighters who helped them.

Hayes' daughter, Margaret Bleakley, told The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/2kIvLwo) that he died Jan. 22 in a hospital in Medford, Oregon, following an operation to remove a blood clot from his leg.

Hayes was among 13 medics, 13 nurses and four crew members to board a twin-engine cargo plane in Nov. 8, 1943, in Sicily expecting a two-hour flight to help wounded troops in Italy.

"It sure wasn't something any of us expected," said Hayes in a 2013 interview with the Medford Mail Tribune. "We thought we would be in Italy for a very short time, then return."

Bad weather caused the plane to go off course, and it was attacked by German fighters before ducking back into the clouds, finally running low on fuel and landing 25 miles inland.

"The pilot made a skillful landing," Hayes said. "But it came to an abrupt stop when the wheels bogged down in the mud. It turned up on its nose and fell back again."

A 23-year-old crew chief was the only casualty, unable to walk with a knee injury, and the others carried him for much of their 600-mile trek out. Along the way they suffered dysentery, lack of food, lice, and the dangers of German patrols and getting caught up in Albania's civil war.

"We were caught in the middle of all that," Hayes said. "Some days we walked 24 hours without stopping."

They were listed as missing in action and letters went out to their families.

In late November, British intelligence in Albania learned the American plane had crashed and those aboard were alive. American and British rescue plans were developed.

On Jan. 9, 1943, 10 nurses and 17 medics and crew members boarded a British launch and crossed to Italy. Three nurses who remained behind in the German-occupied city of Berat made it across in March 1944, riding pack mules to the coast and then a torpedo boat across the Adriatic.

The escape was kept classified for years because some partisans who helped the Americans were shot by Germans and, after the war, those suspected of helping the Americans were executed by Enver Hoxha, Albania's Communist dictator. He died in 1985.

"For many years, I didn't say anything about what happened in Albania," Hayes told The New York Times in a 2015 telephone interview.
By Mohammed Ghobari and Phil Stewart SANAA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. commando died and three others were wounded carrying out a deadly dawn raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, in the first military operation authorized by President Donald Trump. The U.S. military said it killed 14 militants in a raid on a powerful al Qaeda branch that has been a frequent target of U.S. drone strikes. Medics at the scene, however, said around 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed. Two more U.S. servicemen were injured when an American military aircraft was sent to evacuate the wounded commandos but came under fire and had to be "intentionally destroyed in place," the Pentagon said. The new U.S. president called the operation a success and said intelligence gathered during the operation would help the United States fight terrorism. "Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," Trump said in a statement. The gunbattle in the rural Yakla district of al-Bayda province killed a senior leader in Yemen's al Qaeda branch, Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, along with other militants, al Qaeda said. Eight-year-old Anwar al-Awlaki, the daughter of U.S.-born Yemeni preacher and al Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki, was among the children killed in the raid, according to her grandfather. Her father was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011. "She was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours," Nasser al-Awlaki told Reuters. "Why kill children? This is the new (U.S.) administration - it's very sad, a big crime." In a statement, the Pentagon did not refer to any civilian casualties, although a U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could not be ruled out. The Defense Department said the raid netted "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots." The American elite forces did not seize any militants or take any prisoners offsite, the official said, adding that the group had come under fire. The Pentagon did not say how the team's one death occurred, and the U.S. military official declined to give details on the fatality. The operation's goal was to gather intelligence on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is regarded as one of the global militant group's most dangerous branches, the official said. DAWN ATTACK "The operation began at dawn when a drone bombed the home of Abdulraoof al-Dhahab and then helicopters flew up and unloaded paratroopers at his house and killed everyone inside," said one resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Next, the gunmen opened fire at the U.S. soldiers who left the area, and the helicopters bombed the gunmen and a number of homes and led to a large number of casualties." A Yemeni security officer and a local official corroborated that account. Fahd, a local resident who asked that only his first name be used, said several bodies remained under debris and that houses and the local mosque were damaged in the attack. In a message on its official Telegram messaging account, al Qaeda mourned al-Dhahab as a "holy warrior" and other slain militants, without specifying how many of its fighters were killed. American forces have not conducted any special operations in Yemen since December 2014, months before nearly two years of civil war rendered the country even more dangerous and offered al Qaeda leeway to expand into more lawless areas. The United States conducted dozens of drone strikes in Yemen throughout Barack Obama's presidency to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded as one of the global militant group's most dangerous branches. The local al Qaeda unit organized the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack in Paris in 2015 and has repeatedly tried to down U.S. airliners. (Additional reporting by Mohammed El Sherif in Cairo; Writing By Noah Browning and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Susan Fenton and Jonathan Oatis)
Damascus (AFP) - The Syrian army said on Sunday that it had recaptured a flashpoint area from rebels near Damascus that supplies water to the capital.

Wadi Barada had been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between regime and rebel forces that tested a fragile nationwide truce and left millions in Damascus facing water shortages.

"Our armed forces... have accomplished their mission by restoring security and stability in the region of Wadi Barada", the army said in a statement carried by state television.

The announcement came a day after the army entered the water pumping station in Wadi Barada for the first time in four years.

Under a deal with the authorities, rebels can choose to stay in the area but hand over their weapons, or leave to the northern province of Idlib, last major bastion of the armed opposition.

Hundreds of rebels began to leave Wada Barada on Sunday for Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Around 5.5 million people in Damascus and its suburbs have been without water since fighting intensified in the Wadi Barada area in late December.

Government forces have battled to regain control of Wadi Barada and the water installation at Ain al-Fijeh since rebels overran the area before Christmas.

Damascus governor Alaa Ibrahim said Sunday that repair work had begun at the plant, adding that while damage to the facility was "significant", he hoped mains water would resume to the capital "soon".

Earlier in January, residents agreed a truce with Syrian authorities to allow maintenance teams into the area, but the deal was called off and violence flared after a chief mediator between the two sides was murdered.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011 with anti-government protests that were brutally repressed.

Many battlefronts have quietened since a nationwide ceasefire by regime backer Russia and opposition ally Turkey came into effect last month.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces took back control of an area near Damascus that provides most of the capital's water supplies after reaching a deal for rebel fighters to withdraw, pro-government media and a monitoring group said. The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive last month to drive insurgents from the Wadi Barada valley, which they have controlled since 2012, and to recapture a major spring and pumping station. Syria's mainstream rebel factions are under intense pressure after losing areas they held in the northern city of Aleppo to government forces at the end of last year, and now face a fierce assault by Islamist militants elsewhere. Wadi Barada, which lies northwest of Damascus, has become one of the fiercest battlefronts in Syria's civil war. Disruption to water supplies, including infrastructure damage, has caused acute shortages in the capital this month. Government forces entered the village of Ain al-Fija, where the spring and pumping station are located, early on Saturday, a military media unit run by Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus, reported. "The Syrian army has entered Ain al-Fija ... and raised the Syrian flag over the spring installation," a statement by the unit said, adding that the development was due to a deal reached with insurgents by which the rebels would leave the area. Teams were preparing to enter Ain al-Fija to fix the pumping station and the army had secured control of the village, it added. INTENSE FIGHTING The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said government forces had begun moving into the spring area as rebel fighters withdrew. Under the deal reached between the government side and local representatives, rebels hailing from outside the Wadi Barada area would leave for the northwestern province of Idlib, an insurgent stronghold, carrying light weapons, the Observatory said. Rebels from Wadi Barada would be allowed to leave too, but could also opt to stay and serve with pro-government forces, it added. The Syrian government has struck similar local ceasefire deals with the opposition in several western parts of the country, usually involving the transfer of rebel fighters and their families to Idlib. The opposition has said the process amounts to forced population transfer. Intense fighting raged for weeks in Wadi Barada, and knocked the water spring out of service in late December. The United Nations has said "infrastructure was deliberately targeted", without saying who was responsible, leaving four million people in Damascus without safe drinking water. It warned the shortages could lead to outbreaks of waterborne disease. Rebels and activists have said government bombardment damaged the spring. The government said insurgent groups polluted it with diesel, forcing the state to cut supplies. Rebels in Wadi Barada had been allowing government engineers to maintain and operate the valley's pumping station. Fighters have, however, cut water supplies several times in the past to put pressure on the army not to overrun the area. (Reporting by John Davison and Kinda Makieh in Damascus; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Helen Popper)
Beirut (AFP) - Six Syrians including Christians were turned away from Philadelphia International Airport in the United States and sent back to Lebanon, an official at Beirut airport told AFP on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday prohibiting entry to the United States to all nationals of seven Muslim-majority states -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The ban also prohibits entry to all refugees, regardless of origin, for 120 days and indefinitely for refugees from Syria, which has been ravaged by a deadly war since 2011.

"Six people, including Syrian Christians, were turned back at Philadelphia airport on Saturday and were back in Beirut on Sunday," the source in Lebanon said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

They then headed back to Syria.

The Lebanese official said three children were among those turned away at Philadelphia. Their journey had taken them via Doha in the absence of direct flights between Beirut and the United States since the 1980s, when Lebanon was in the middle of a civil war.

The US ban stipulates that at the end of the 120-day period, however, priority for entry to the US will be given to refugees persecuted for their religion, an implicit reference to Christians in Syria and Iraq.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have recaptured all towns and villages in the Wadi Barada valley near Damascus, the Syrian military said on Sunday, in another blow to rebels who have fought for years to unseat President Bashar al-Assad. "Units of our armed forces, together with ... allied forces have achieved their mission in returning security and stability" to the area, the military said in a statement read out by a spokesman on Syrian state television. The military's offensive, launched last month, aimed partly to seize control of a major spring and water pumping station which supplies most of the capital's water. Fighting and damage to the site caused acute water shortages in Damascus this month. State TV broadcast footage of Syrian soldiers standing in the water pumping station in the village of Ain al-Fija. The recapture of Wadi Barada signals the fall of another rebel-held area in western Syria, and comes weeks after insurgents were driven from areas they controlled in Aleppo, their last major urban stronghold. Military support from President Bashar al-Assad's foreign allies, including Russia, Iran and Lebanese group Hezbollah, have been instrumental in helping turn the nearly six-year civil war in his favour. On Saturday the army took over the spring in Ain al-Fija as part of an agreement reached with rebels, who had held the area since 2012, pro-Damascus media outlets and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Under the agreement, dozens of rebel fighters were expected to be bussed out of the area on Sunday with their families and head for Idlib province, an insurgent stronghold. Similar previous deals in western Syria have seen rebels evacuate areas they had held for years and depart with their families for Idlib. The opposition says this amounts to forced population transfers. The deals have usually been struck in places where government forces and their allies have either besieged rebel-held areas or have gained the upper hand militarily. (Reporting by John Davison and Kinda Makieh in Damascus; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Ulil Abshar-Abdalla was the top student in his Arabic language class at a madrasa in Indonesia when he was a teenager. A madrasa is a place where people learn about Islam, the religion of Muslims. Abshar-Abdallas madrasa was in his hometown of Pati, Central Java.

The teenager received a prize for his success in the class. He got six months of free education at the Institute for the Study of Islam and Arabic, or LIPIA. It is a university in Jakarta that Saudi Arabia built and supports. When the six-month period ended, Abshar-Abdalla was given six more months of free education.

When he completed the year of study, he was offered -- and accepted -- four years of free education at the university. He earned a bachelors degree in Islamic law, or shariah. In 1993, after five years at LIPIA, Abshar-Abdalla was offered a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia.

This time, he said no.

Once you accept that, youre on their payroll for life, he told VOA.

It was not easy to reject the free study. Abshar-Abdalla said Saudi Arabia made a very appealing offer.

I am from a poor family, and it was quite tempting. I think they managed to pull a few good minds from my generation that way.



Saudi Arabia has been using education to quietly spread Salafism in Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim country, since 1980. The two ways Saudi Arabia does this is through the LIPIA and scholarships for higher education in Saudi Arabia.

Salafism is a severe form of Islam. Its believers want Islamic laws -- as defined by the Koran -- to govern the world. The Koran is the Islamic holy book.

LIPIA teaches Wahhabi Madhab. A religious expert from the 1200s, Ibn Taimiyah, led this version of Salafism.

People who have studied at LIPIA and in Saudi Arabia hold powerful positions throughout Indonesia, including in a conservative political party and the top levels of government. Some have also become preachers and religious teachers. They work to spread Salafism throughout the country.

An agency linked to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Jakarta gives scholarships to students to study in Saudi Arabia. But Saudi diplomat Saad Namase would not tell VOA how many students are given free education.

He said we don't really work with the Indonesian government. We just try to strengthen cultural ties between our two countries by, for example, holding Koranic recitation competitions.

He said many countries, including the Netherlands and the United States, give scholarships to Indonesian students. He said the Saudi program is just one of many that help students pay for their studies.

Din Wahid is an expert on Indonesian Salafism at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta. He says the Saudi agency pays the wages of well-known Salafi preachers, and sends Arabic teachers to schools throughout Indonesia.

Several Saudi Arabian universities also give scholarships directly to Indonesian students.

Dadi Darmadi is a researcher who studies the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj. Darmadi says the Indonesian government is not likely to try to stop the Saudi efforts. He says it is concerned that Saudi officials might react by limiting the number of Indonesians who can travel to Mecca.

Darmadi says Saudi Arabia just gave permission for 10,000 extra Indonesian visitors for the Hajj this year.

Divergent Paths

Hidayat Nur Wahid is a member of Indonesias House of Representatives and a leader of the Prosperous Justice Party. He is one of the best-known national politicians to have studied in Saudi Arabia. He received scholarships for undergraduate, masters and doctorate degrees in theology and the history of Islamic thought at the Islamic University of Medina.

In his words, The majority of Islamic texts are in Arabic, which is why I wanted to study in Saudi Arabia. Plus, the spirit of the Prophet Muhammad animates Medina. I enjoyed my years there.

Nur Wahid praised his studies in Medina.

We just learned how to be good Muslims, he said. And its a misconception that everyone who studies in Saudi Arabia becomes a preacher or religious teacher. Many graduates become officials or politicians like me.

Researcher Din Wahid said many Muslims think Saudi Arabia represents true Islam because it is the birthplace of Islam.

Abshar-Abdalla became a critic of the Salafi movement during his studies. He began to read other Islamic books, including ones written by Sufi and Shia Muslims. In 2001, he created the Liberal Islam Network.

Some Indonesian officials worry that Saudi-educated preachers are leading Indonesian Muslims to become more conservative in their beliefs. They are even more worried that Salafi teachings could incite terrorism or extremism.

Hidayat Nur Wahid says Saudi Arabia is helping many Indonesian students but that it is not clear what changes Salafism will bring to his country. He says all that is clear is that Salafism is here and its growing.

Im Marsha James.

And Im John Russell.

Correspondent Krithika Varagur reported this story from Jakarta. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. 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

scholarship  n. an amount of money that is given by a school, an organization, etc., to a student to help pay for the student's education

payroll  n. a list of the people who work for a company and the amount of money that the company has agreed to pay them

tempt  v. to cause (someone) to do or want to do something even though it may be wrong, bad or unwise

managed  v. was able to

generation  n. a group of people born and living during the same time

preacher  n. a person who speaks publicly about religious subjects in a religious center or other public place

recite  v. to read (something) out loud or say (something) from memory usually for an audience

animate  v. to bring life to

misconception  n. a wrong or mistaken idea
NEW YORK (AP)  Google, Apple and other tech giants expressed dismay over an executive order on immigration from President Donald Trump that bars nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

The U.S tech industry relies on foreign engineers and other technical experts for a sizeable percentage of its workforce. The order bars entry to the U.S. for anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

The move, ostensibly intended to prevent extremists from carrying out attacks in the U.S., could now also heighten tensions between the new Trump administration and one of the nation's most economically and culturally important industries. That's especially true if Trump goes on to revamp the industry's temporary worker permits known as H-1B visas, as some fear.

BITING BACK

"I share your concerns" about Trump's immigration order, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a memo to employees obtained by The Associated Press. "It is not a policy we support."

"We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company," he added.

Cook didn't say how many Apple employees are directly affected by the order, but said the company's HR, legal and security teams are in contact to support them. "Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do," Cook wrote  an apparent reference not only to the company's foreign-born employees, but to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the son of a Syrian immigrant.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was forcefully blunt. "Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all," he wrote on Facebook . "Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe."

"It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity," he continued. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg criticized the order in similar, though more carefully couched, terms on Friday .

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Technology investor Chris Sacca, an early backer of Uber and Instagram, said on Twitter that he would match ACLU donations up to $75,000 after the organization sued over the ban  and then decided to donate another $75,000 , for a total of $150,000. EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, the child of Iranians, complained that the order was "simple bigotry ."

Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has recently appeared to be cultivating a relationship with Trump, tweeted that "many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US" who don't "deserve to be rejected." Musk is an immigrant from South Africa.

GOOGLE GRUMBLES

Google told its employees from those countries to cancel any travel plans outside the U.S. and to consult with the company's human resources department if they're not currently in the U.S., according to a company-wide note described to The Associated Press. That memo was first reported by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in the note that at least 187 Google workers could be affected by Trump's order. It is not clear how many of those workers are currently traveling outside the U.S. "We've always made our views on immigration known publicly and will continue to do so," Pichai said in the memo.

Company representatives declined to discuss the memo or to answer questions about the affected employees. In an official statement, Google said: "We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S."

Microsoft also said it is providing legal advice and assistance to its employees from the banned countries, noting they are all working in the U.S. lawfully.

A BIGGER ISSUE

The tech industry may be bracing for further immigration-related hits. Leaks of draft executive orders, still unverified, suggest that Trump might also revamp the H1-B program that lets Silicon Valley bring foreigners with technical skills to the U.S. for three to six years.

While the tech industry insists the H1-B program is vital, it has drawn fire for allegedly disadvantaging American programmers and engineers, especially given that the visas are widely used by outsourcing firms. Trump's attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, is a long-time critic of the program.

Venky Ganesan, a managing director at venture capitalist firm Menlo Ventures, acknowledged that the program is "not perfect" and subject to some abuse, but noted that it provides an invaluable source of skilled workers and plays a "pivotal" role in the tech industry.

"If we want to buy American and hire American, we do that best by creating companies in America," he said. :Having the best and brightest from all over the world come and create companies in America is better than them creating companies in India, Israel or China."

___

AP Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this article from Detroit. AP Technology Editor David Hamilton contributed from San Francisco.
By Radu-Sorin Marinas and Sinisa Dragin BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Romanians protested in Bucharest and other main cities on Sunday against government's plans to decriminalize certain offences and pardon convicts through emergency decrees that could hurt an anti-graft drive. The plans unveiled earlier this month by the Social Democrat government have been criticized by President Klaus Iohannis, by the prosecutor general, the Supreme Court, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor, civil rights groups and diplomats. Police said about 50,000 people took part in the rally in Bucharest, making it the biggest demonstration in a recent wave of protests. Shouting "Thieves, thieves", protesters gathered in freezing weather in the capital's main square Piata Universitatii and then rallied outside the justice ministry, the ombudsman's office and the government's headquarters. According to the drafts, the government intends to decriminalize abuse of power actions causing financial damage of less than 200,000 lei ($47,500). Abuse of power accounts for a third of anti-corruption investigations. The ruling leftist Social Democrats' leader Liviu Dragnea is currently on trial in an abuse of power case. Dragnea, who received a two-year suspended jail sentence for a 2012 referendum-rigging conviction, has branded the recent street protests an attempted coup. "I am here because I can't believe that 27 years have passed and I find myself in the same place in the same square," said actress Adriana Moca, recalling the eruption of the 1989 anti-communist revolution in Bucharest. Thousands of people also protested in main cities in the country and in several European Union capitals. On Monday, Justice Minister Florin Iordache will hold a round of public consultations over the plan - on which the country's top panel of magistrates has already issued a non-binding, negative opinion. Protesters shouted anti-government slogans and asked for the resignation of the justice minister, chanting: "Stop corruption,", "No pardons, yes schools and hospitals," and backed President Iohannis's calls for a nationwide referendum to step up the anti-corruption fight. The government is also seeking to pardon convicts sentenced to less than five years for committing certain crimes, and cut sentences by half for all prisoners aged over 60, and those having a terminal illness, regardless of their crime. President Iohannis said on his Facebook page on Friday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he had a telephone discussion at her initiative said: "The Chancellor expressed full support for efforts to maintain progress made by our country, but she expressed concern that certain steps initiated during this period do not affect the fight against corruption in Romania." The European Commission keeps Romania's legal system under special monitoring. It has praised magistrates' efforts to fight widespread graft, but noted Romanian politicians have a history of trying to pass legislation which could weaken investigative powers. (Writing by Radu Marinas; Editing by Stephen Powell)
By Frank McGurty and Nathan Frandino

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people rallied in U.S. cities and at airports on Sunday to voice outrage over President Donald Trump's executive order restricting entry into the country for travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.

In New York, Washington and Boston, a second wave of demonstrations followed spontaneous rallies that broke out at U.S. airports on Saturday as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began enforcing Trump's directive. The protests spread westward as the day progressed.

The order, which bars admission of Syrian refugees and suspends travel to the United States from Iraq, Iran, Sudan and four other countries on national security grounds, has led to the detention or deportation of hundreds of people arriving at U.S. airports.

One of the largest of Sunday's protests took place at Battery Park in lower Manhattan, within sight of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, long a symbol of welcome to U.S. shores.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York told the crowd that Trump's order was un-American and ran counter to the country's core values.

"What we are talking about here is life and death for so many people," Schumer said. "I will not rest until these horrible orders are repealed."

The march, estimated to have grown to about 10,000 people, later began heading to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in lower Manhattan.

In Washington, thousands rallied at Lafayette Square across from the White House, chanting: "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here."

It was the second straight weekend that Washington was the scene of protests. Last Saturday, hundreds of thousands of women participated in an anti-Trump rally and march, one of dozens staged across the country.

On Sunday, many of the protesters left the White House area and marched along Pennsylvania Avenue, stopping at the Trump International Hotel where they shouted: "Shame, shame, shame."

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A crowd that police estimated at 8,000 eventually arrived at the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where a line of uniformed officers stood guard.

As the crowd passed the Canadian Embassy en route to the Capitol, protesters chanted: "Hey hey, ho ho, I wish our leader was Trudeau." It was a reference to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Saturday Twitter message affirming his country's welcoming policy toward refugees.

Trump defended the executive order in a statement on Sunday, saying the United States would resume issuing visas to all countries once secure policies were put in place over the next 90 days.

"To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," Trump said. "This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe."

'NEVER AGAIN MEANS NEVER'

Aria Grabowski, 30, of Washington, was carrying a sign that read: Never again means never again for everyone.

Above the slogan was a photograph of Jewish refugees who fled Germany in 1939 on a ship that was turned away from Havana, Cuba, and forced to return to Europe. More than 250 people aboard the ship were eventually killed by the Nazis.

Rhonda Reese, 56, of northern Virginia, said: "As a Muslim, I do appreciate the support that I see. Our community feels under siege right now."

About 200 protesters chanted on Sunday afternoon at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia near Washington.

About the same number gathered at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where anxious families awaited relatives detained for hours after flights from countries affected by the presidential order.

At Los Angeles International Airport, hundreds of people had gathered at Tom Bradley Terminal to protest Trump's order, as chants of "refugees are welcome here" echoed through the arrivals hall. Travelers at times struggled to make their way around the boisterous yet peaceful crowd, which blocked an entrance to the hall.

Organizers estimated that more than 10,000 people gathered at Boston's Copley Square to hear speakers including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a vocal critic of Trump and a leader of the Democratic Party's liberal wing.

During the protests, dozens of Muslims, some of them kneeling on protest signs, bowed in prayer on rugs laid out on a grassy patch of ground in the square.

In Houston, which was already filling up with visitors for next Sunday's Super Bowl, about 500 people marched through the downtown.

Jennifer Fagen, 47, a sociology professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, said she hoped she did not lose her job for protesting.

"I'm Jewish, and it's supposed to be never again," Fagen said, referring to the Holocaust. "Jews should be the first ones to defend Muslims, considering what has happened to us, and it seems it's being repeated under Trump."

(Additional reporting by Susan Corwall, Ian Simpson and Lesley Wroughton in Washington, Brian Snyder in Boston, Ruthy Munoz in Houstona and Chris Francescani in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lisa Von Ahn)
(VICTORIA, Texas)  An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago.

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m. and called the fire department.

Its sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge, Shahid Hashmi, the Islamic centers president, said. It looks completely destroyed.

Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshals Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze. Hashmi said authorities have told him it was too early to speculate.

None whatsoever right now, the center director said. We dont have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened. So Im sure its going to be a few days, they told us, before they can come up with any answers for us.

The congregations pastor, known as an imam, was awake in the early morning hours and checked online surveillance of the mosque and found no alarm active and the doors unlocked, Hashmi said. On Jan. 21, someone broke in and stole some electronics, including laptops.

He was worried about it and drove over there, Hashmi said. By that time, fire engines were already there pouring water on the fire.

The structure was built in 2000.

No injuries were reported. It took about four hours to extinguish the blaze.

Hashmi, whos lived in Victoria 32 years, said the congregation of about 140 has had few other problems and has enjoyed support from the city of about 115 miles southwest of Houston. He already has received offers of temporary quarters for the congregation to worship.

When 9/11 happened, Muslims and non-Muslims, we all got together, he said. Of course, we will rebuild.

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The Victoria Advocate on Saturday reported that in July 2013, a man admitted to painting H8, a computer shorthand for hate, on the outside of the building.

On Jan. 7, a mosque under construction near Lake Travis in Austin was burned to the ground.

The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said like that blaze, it would monitor the investigation of the Victoria fire.

Because of growing anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation, and because of the recent spike in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and individuals, we urge investigators to keep the possibility of a bias motive for this fire in mind, CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said.

Theres been no determination yet for the Austin blaze, Diane Kanawati, with CAIR-Austin, said Saturday.

In December, a man was sentenced to four years in prison for setting fire to a Houston mosque where he worshipped. Gary Nathaniel Moore pleaded guilty to arson and using a fire as a deadly weapon in a Dec. 25, 2015, blaze that caused significant damage at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston mosque.
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Links to President Donald Trump are shaping up to be a liability for Silicon Valley's golden boys. Case in point: Uber.

The hashtag #DeleteUber has been spreading on social media amid protests against Trump's Muslim travel ban. The ride hailing service was accused of "strike breaking" in New York Saturday, while others condemned remarks made by Uber CEO Travis Kalanick indicating he would work with the president.

In a statement, Kalanick said the "ban will impact many innocent people." He added that the company would compensate drivers stranded outside the country for the next three months.

SEE ALSO: Airport protests against Muslim ban spread across the U.S. via social media

Hundreds travelled to New York's John F. Kennedy airport Saturday to demonstrate against Trump's executive order, which prohibits citizens of seven majority Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

In response to the ban, the NY Taxi Workers Alliance called for an hour work stoppage at the airport in protest. After Uber tweeted that surge pricing had been turned off at the airport, the company was quickly condemned by some as a "strike breaker."

Longtime Trump ally and adviser Roger Stone praised Uber in a tweet.

.@Uber stepping up in a big way for American people during the manufactured outrage against @POTUS. Unions don't dictate the rules anymore.  Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) January 29, 2017

Meanwhile, other Twitter and Facebook users began to share screenshots of themselves deleting their Uber accounts, including the message they were sending to the company.

"Uber has actively chosen to support racism, xenophobia, and bigotry," @katebergie wrote.

"Uber CEOs are collaborators with Trump and therefore support fascism," @flwrwrk wrote.

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Uber picked the wrong city in which to be racist scabs #deleteuber pic.twitter.com/nWKZ9NZka0  Kate Berg (@katebergie) January 29, 2017

Don't just delete your @uber app. Deactivate your account too. Tell them we don't have time for their support in fascism. #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/BXpBQW8e6F  lee j. (@flwrwrk) January 29, 2017

In response to the criticism, Uber's New York account tweeted late Saturday that its "last tweet not meant to break strike."

"We had no intention of 'breaking up a strike,'" an Uber spokesperson told Mashable. "Rather we wanted to let people know that Uber was an option to get to/from JFK at the time of the protest, at normal prices."

Last tweet not meant to break strike. Our CEOs statement opposing travel ban and compensating those impacted: https://t.co/joWvPvux9J  Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) January 29, 2017

Uber's CEO has weathered criticism for being a member of the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, alongside Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, and Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.

In his statement, Kalanick defended his decision to join the forum. "We've taken the view that in order to serve cities you need to give their citizens a voice, a seat at the table," he wrote.

"We partner around the world optimistically in the belief that by speaking up and engaging we can make a difference. Our experience is that not doing so shortchanges cities and the people who live in them."

He said he'd raise the Muslim travel ban with the president at a meeting of the business advisory group on Friday.

Uber CTO Thuan Pham is one Uber executive who has spoken out against the president in an internal email, according to Business Insider, calling the president a "deplorable person."

"How can we sleep peaceful at night for the next 4 years knowing that the biggest societal problems rests on his lack of intellectual curiosity, judgment and temperament? It is indeed terrifying!" Pham wrote in the leaked email.

Despite Uber's official response, it does not appear the #DeleteUber campaign is slowing down.

While the American technology industry's ethos has been mostly one of open borders and free market principles, Trump's populist agenda will test the strength of those values.

The coming months will show what any openness to Trump's agenda, the Muslim travel ban notwithstanding, means for a company's public image and bottom line. After all, perception of Uber matters not just in the U.S., but in Muslim countries like Pakistan and Indonesia, and everywhere it operates.

#deleteuber I'm done with companies normalizing what's happening. Uber is trash. pic.twitter.com/gcWrZMBGRu  Brian Lupo (@brianlupo_) January 29, 2017

Passing along that you can sign in to delete not just the app but the account (& tell them why) here: https://t.co/sC2atQOPBZ #deleteUber pic.twitter.com/qwGxgb4NeS  John Cotter (@smalllights) January 29, 2017

Which actually reminds me. Nows a great time to #deleteuber and be sure to tell them why. pic.twitter.com/9HWSb2biwF  Oliver! (@OliverCarle) January 29, 2017

UPDATE: Jan. 29, 2017, 6:51 p.m. AEDT Uber spokesperson comments added.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Tens of thousands of people marched through Romania's capital and other cities on Sunday to protest a government proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners, a move critics said would set back anti-corruption efforts.

Protesters massed in Bucharest's University Square called the ruling Social Democratic Party "the red plague." They later marched to Victory Square, where the government has its main offices.

Premier Sorin Grindeanu has requested an emergency ordinance allowing the government to pardon prisoners to ease prison overcrowding. On Sunday, he said the protests had been "politicized" and criticized President Klaus Iohannis, who took part in a similar protest a week ago.

Critics say the proposal would benefit party allies convicted of corruption. Romania's top prosecutor has criticized the plan.

It would primarily affect people serving sentences of less than five years, except those convicted of sexual or violent crimes.

Prisoners over age 60, pregnant women and inmates with young children would see their sentences halved regardless of the charges on which they were convicted.

According to a draft of the proposal, the government also intends to decriminalize official misconduct that involves financial damage valued at less than 200,000 lei ($47,800.)

The government says its proposal would lead to the release of 2,500 prisoners. Prison authorities estimate 3,700 would be freed.

Along with Bucharest, protests were held in the Cluj, Timisoara and more than a dozen cities around Romania.
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)  A gunman killed a legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy on Sunday, shooting the lawyer in the head at close range as he walked out of the Yangon airport, the government said. The gunman was arrested after he killed Ko Ni, a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, and wounded a taxi driver who tried to stop him from fleeing, the Ministry of Information said in a video posted on state-run MRTV. Ko Ni was the Supreme Court advocate for the NLD and a longstanding legal adviser to the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  Malaysian authorities expanded the search Monday for six people, including five Chinese tourists, still missing two days after their boat sank off Borneo island. Twenty-two people were rescued, but three Chinese tourists died. Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement that the search area has been expanded by about four times to 1,500 square nautical miles of the South China Sea, off Sabah state. It said Brunei has also deployed a plane to search in its waters. Government minister Shahidan Kassim was reported by the national Bernama news agency as saying that the 20 Chinese tourists rescued were weak, shivering and sunburnt but had sustained no serious injuries.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, says President Donald Trump's ban on citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the U.S. could hurt the global fight against terrorism. Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said Monday that the policy is the sovereign right of the U.S. but Indonesia, which is not one of the directly affected countries, "deeply regrets" it and believes it will have a "negative impact on global efforts to fight terrorism" and the handling of refugees. "It is wrong to associate radicalism and terrorism with a particular religion," Nasir said in a statement. "Efforts to combat terrorism must be carried out by promoting international cooperation, including in addressing the root causes of terrorism." Trump on Friday signed an executive order placing a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S.

Story continues

BANGKOK (AP)  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where 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 oil and gas reserves: ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. ___ WHITE HOUSE ON COLLISION COURSE WITH CHINA? The new U.S. administration is heating up rhetoric over the South China Sea with a promise to challenge China's occupation of disputed islands.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  President Donald Trump had agreed to keep an Obama administration promise to resettle refugees languishing in Pacific island camps despite the U.S. toughening its stance on Muslim immigration, the Australian prime minister said Monday. Trump had agreed that during a 25-minute telephone conversation on Sunday to accept an unspecified number of refugees as promised in the final months of the previous administration, ending weeks of uncertainty, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said. "I thank President Trump for his commitment to honor that existing agreement," Turnbull told reporters. He declined to say how many refugees might be resettled in the United States.

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Philippine airstrikes have killed 15 Muslim militants linked to the Islamic State group, including a suspected Indonesian militant, while one of Southeast Asia's top terror suspects was seriously wounded in the country's south, the military chief said Sunday. Military Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said the body of the suspected Indonesian militant, known by his nom de guerre Mohisen, was recovered by troops along with three dead Filipino followers of militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was seriously wounded in the hilly outskirts of Butig town in Lanao del Sur province. Eleven other militants were reportedly killed, Ano said, citing intelligence, but added their bodies have not been found.

BEIJING (AP)  A tiger-mauling death at a Chinese zoo is under investigation by local authorities who say the victim climbed a fence into the tiger's enclosure. The attack occurred Saturday at a resort on Dongqian Lake in eastern China's Zhejiang province. A local government statement says the victim, identified only by his surname of Zhang, climbed a fence with a friend instead of buying tickets. Zhang entered the tiger enclosure and was attacked by a tiger. A photo shared on Chinese social media appears to show Zhang lying next to the tiger. Zhang died later in a hospital. State television reported the tiger was shot dead by local police, and three others nearby were dispersed using firecrackers.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ The only insurgent leader to sign a peace pact with Afghanistan's government will return to the country within weeks, his chief negotiator says, in a move that could shake up Afghan politics and complicate the much wider war against the Taliban. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord who battled U.S. forces after the 2001 invasion and nursed a bitter rivalry with other Afghan factions, agreed to lay down arms last year. Amin Karim, his chief negotiator, told The Associated Press earlier this week that he would return to the capital in ``a matter of weeks, not months.'' Hekmatyar is seen as a potential rival to President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who have governed the country through a shaky, U.S.-brokered power-sharing agreement since the disputed elections of 2014.

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  A 23-year-old dental student from France won the Miss Universe crown Monday in the annual pageant held this year in the Philippines. Iris Mittenaere from the small town of Lille in northern France said in reply to a final question from pageant host Steve Harvey that she would be honored if she just landed among the three finalists, but was visibly stunned when she was announced the winner among the field of 86 contestants. Mittenaere was speechless and put her hands on her face as the outgoing winner from the Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, crowned her as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause at the packed Mall of Asia Arena by Manila Bay.

PATTAYA, Thailand (AP)  Theerayut Charoenpakdee was terrified when police stopped her outside a mall in Pattaya, a Thai resort famous for its sordid nightlife. A urine test on the spot revealed meth coursing through her veins. "I thought I was going to be thrown in prison with all the men because I still have the title of Mr.," the transgender woman said. "I was afraid. News and TV tells us that being sent to prison is scary." It turned out not to be the ordeal she expected. The prison she was destined for  Pattaya Remand  separates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners from other inmates, a little-known policy despite being in place nationwide since 1993, according to the Department of Corrections.
President Donald Trump's crack down on immigration could result in the deportation of legal immigrants and lawful permanent residents, legal scholars say.

Trump signed two executive orders on immigration policy Wednesday. One set the framework for construction of a wall along the southern border of the U.S. The other, titled "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States," sought to remove federal funding for sanctuary cities -- cities that do not seek to deport unauthorized immigrants. It also prioritized the deportation of removable aliens who are convicted of "any criminal offense."

However, many news reports incorrectly used the term "undocumented immigrants" in place of "removable aliens" when reporting on the executive order. The two terms, however, are not interchangeable.

A removable alien is anyone in the country who is not a citizen and has committed a crime which makes them removable. The definition includes lawful permanent residents and green card holders who are in the country legally, as well as undocumented immigrants. Under the executive order, legal residents could be deported if they "have been convicted of any criminal offense" or even if they have only "been charged with any criminal offense, where such charge has not been resolved."

Rosa Goldensohn, a reporter with Crain's New York, reached out to seven immigration law professors who confirmed that the executive order applied to legal residents as well as undocumented immigrants.

"All undocumented immigrants are removable, but not all removable immigrants are undocumented," Adam Cox, a law professor at New York University, wrote to Goldensohn. "Many immigrants in lawful status -- even green card holders who have lived for decades in the U.S. -- can become 'removable' if they run afoul of the grounds of removability codified in section 237 of the immigration code (e.g. if they are convicted of an offense that makes them deportable under that section of the code.)"

Criminal offenses include misdemeanors and felonies. In some states, like Florida and Texas, possession of a small amount of marijuana is still a criminal offense. Civil violations, which include minor violations like speeding, are not criminal offenses.

Related Articles
Finding quality, low-cost housing can be a problem for university students, especially in The Netherlands.

Last year, the average cost to rent a house in Amsterdam rose to over 2,000 euros a month.

Now, students have another choice: they can live with refugees.

The "Startblok" project is a group of city-owned apartment homes that opened in July 2016.

The project has 463 studio apartments and 102 rooms. Half of them are for Dutch students and recent university graduates. The other half are for refugees who have official permits to live there.

In exchange for low-cost housing, the students and refugees are expected to take care of the property together. The goal is to mix the two sides together so they learn more about each other's culture.

Everyone in Startblok is between the ages of 18 and 27. The Dutch are mostly students or those who recently finished their studies. Of the refugees, two-thirds come from Syria and Eritrea.

City officials hope that as the young people share the responsibility of operating the apartments, the refugees will become a part of the local community sooner.

Nahom Berhane is a 24-year-old Eritrean refugee. He arrived in Europe after crossing the Mediterranean Sea by boat. He says he is happy the local government found a place for him in Startblok.

"The life here is more of observing from a lot of people around me. When I see them, I can learn a lot of things from them. Whenever I have problems with translation, homework or anything, everyone is open to help you any time..."

A graduate student in architecture, Abdellah Zkert fled the war in Syria. He enjoys living with other students much more than living in a refugee shelter.

"We got something so important, it's the friendship. We have a lot of friends in here, and maybe if we are out of Startblok, we will not get these friends..."

Tequisha Begeer is a Dutch university student. She moved to the project because she could not find low-cost housing in Amsterdam. She says she had never met a refugee before living here.

"In the beginning, I had my thoughts about it because of the culture difference. But from the beginning (that) I was living here, it was all gone."

Other European cities are interested in the Startblok model.

Fleur Eymann is a graduate student who also takes care of public relations for the project. She is surprised by how much good attention they are receiving.

"So there's, for example, the municipality of Antwerp, Berlin, Athens, Vienna. They all came over here and showed interest..."

The Netherlands has accepted large numbers of refugees. Other programs in Amsterdam have given refugees space for a short period in old prisons.

Im Jill Robbins.

Marthe Van Der Wolf wrote this report for VOANews.com. Dr. Jill Robbins adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Now its your turn. Does your country host refugees? How are they becoming part of the communities where they now live? Write to us in the Comments section.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live

rent - v. to pay money in return for being able to use (something that belongs to someone else)

graduate  n. someone who has completed a study program

translation  n. the act or process of taking one language, and changing the words into a different language
By Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his move to ban entry of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority nations and said the United States would resume issuing visas for all countries in the next 90 days as he faced rising criticism at home and abroad and new protests in U.S. cities. Trump signed the directive on Friday, but the policy appeared to be evolving on the fly. Democrats and a growing number of Republicans assailed the move amid court challenges and tumult at U.S. airports. Trump's critics have said his action violated U.S. law and the U.S. Constitution. Outside the White House, where some viewing stands from Trump's Jan. 20 inaugural parade still stood, several thousand protesters denounced him, carrying signs such as "Deport Trump" and "Fear is a terrible thing for a nation's soul." Tens of thousands turned out at protests in cities and airports in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Dallas and elsewhere. Trump, a Republican, on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a three-month bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Border and customs officials struggled to put Trump's directive into practice. Confusion persisted over details of implementation, in particular for the people who hold so-called green cards as lawful U.S. residents. Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee and a Trump supporter, said the president's order had been poorly implemented, particularly for green card holders. "The administration should immediately make appropriate revisions, and it is my hope that following a thorough review and implementation of security enhancements that many of these programs will be improved and reinstated," Corker said. Trump defended his action. "To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," Trump said in a statement on Sunday. "This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order." He added: "We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days." White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said people from the seven countries who hold green cards would not be blocked from returning to the United States, as some had been following the directive. "As far as green card holders moving forward, it doesn't affect them," Priebus said on the NBC program "Meet the Press." Priebus added that these green card holders would be subjected to "more questioning" by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents when they try to re-enter the United States "until a better program is put in place over the next several months." MORE NATIONS MAY BE ADDED Priebus also said Customs and Border Patrol agents would have "discretionary authority" when they encounter someone arriving who they suspect "is up to no good" from certain nations. Asked why Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt were not included on Trump's list, Priebus said that "perhaps other countries needed to be added to an executive order going forward." U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, prominent Republican foreign policy voices, said in a joint statement that Trump's order may do more to help recruit terrorists than improve U.S. security. "Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism," they said, adding the United States should not stop green card holders "from returning to the country they call home." "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country," the added. Trump blasted the two senators in a Twitter statement, calling them "sadly weak on immigration." In a another Twitter message earlier on Sunday, Trump said the United States needed "strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW." "Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" added Trump, who successfully tapped Americans' fear of attacks during his election campaign and has presented the policy as a way to protect the country from the threat of Islamist militants. Trump's tweet did not mention that many more Muslims have been killed in the bloody Syrian civil war and other violence in the targeted countries. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Republican-led U.S. Senate, seized on the mixed messages from Trump's administration after Priebus' comments. "We need clarification. But it shows you, above the bad nature, the horrible nature of these (orders), the incompetence of this administration," Schumer told a news conference. "One hand doesn't know what the other is doing." A senior administration official said green card holders would be subject to a rescreening but it had not been determined where and how those screenings would be carried out. Specific guidelines were being put together, the official said, adding: "They could be screened in many different ways and in many different places." "I think banning refugees, banning immigrants, banning religions like Islam or any other religion, is un-American," said Will Turner, 42, draped in a U.S. flag among a crowd of several thousand people in front of the White House chanting: "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here." Condemnation of the order poured in from abroad, including from traditional allies of the United States. In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion," her spokesman said on Sunday. An official of the conservative billionaire industrialist Koch brothers' political network of donors criticized Trump's immigration order at the donors' winter gathering in Indian Wells, California. "Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. This is a hallmark of free and open societies," Brian Hooks said in a statement. Civil rights and some religious groups, activists and Democratic politicians have promised to fight Trump's order and Schumer said his party would introduce legislation to overturn it. Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but several senior Republicans voiced concern. Priebus said that of 325,000 people who arrived from foreign countries on Saturday, 109 people were detained for further questioning, and most of them were moved out, with just a "couple dozen more that remain" detained. "It wasn't chaos," he said. One of those detained was a Sudanese man with a green card who was released around noon on Sunday after being held by federal authorities at JFK airport in New York, the man's son said. Mohamed Suliman, 37, a British citizen, told Reuters he had traveled from Britain to Sudan, and accompanied the older man back to the United States. He said he was detained for about an hour upon arrival, but his father, Yassin Abdelrahm, 76, was held for 16 hours. COURT ORDERS A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a reprieve late on Saturday evening. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing two Iraqis caught by the order as they flew into the country, successfully argued for a stay that prevented travelers denied entry to the United States from being deported. Federal judges in three states followed that in orders late on Saturday or early on Sunday, barring authorities from deporting affected travelers. Separately, Democratic attorneys general from California and New York were among states discussing whether to legally challenge the order, according to officials. Immigration and civil rights attorneys and advocates said officials at several airports were not complying with federal court orders, including the judges stay. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Cornwell, Steve Holland, Yara Bayoumy, Lesley Wroughton, Nathan Frandino in Washington, Richard Cowan in Indian Wells, Calif., Dan Levine in San Francisco; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta, Andrew Chung, Chris Francescani and David Ingram in New York; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Andrea Shalal and Andreas Rilke in Berlin, Paul Sandle in London; Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Arwa Gaballa, Eric Knecht in Cairo, and Michael Georgy in Erbil; Writing by Will Dunham and Frances Kerry; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)
By Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump fought back on Sunday amid growing international criticism, outrage from civil rights activists and legal challenges over his abrupt order for a halt on arrivals of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries. He and senior aides sought to defend the policy and play down the chaos sparked by Friday's order. But confusion persisted over details of implementation, in particular for green card holders who are legal residents of the United States. In his most sweeping action since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump, a Republican, put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. "Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" added Trump, who has presented the policy as a way to protect Americans from the threat of Islamist militants. Trump's comment could fuel charges that the new policy singles out Muslims. The militant Islamic State group has targeted minorities with brutal attacks and systematic oppression in Syria and Iraq, but it has also killed, tortured and punished both Shiite and Sunni Muslims in areas under its rule. In an indication that the policy is evolving on the fly, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on NBC's "Meet the Press," that the order "doesn't affect green card holders moving forward." However, he added that such people would be subjected to extra questioning by Customs and Border Patrol agents when they tried to re-enter the United States. A senior administration official said green card holders will be subject to a rescreening but it had not been determined where and how those screenings would be carried out. Specific guidelines were being put together, the official said, adding "they could be screened in many different ways and in many different places." Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians have promised to fight Trump's order, which caused anguish for affected travelers and sparked protests at several U.S. airports throughout Saturday. Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, said on Sunday his party would introduce legislation to overturn the policy. Schumer said he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to express his concerns about the order and Kelly had told him that the executive order would not affect legal permanent residents. "We need clarification. But it shows you, above the bad nature, the horrible nature of these (orders), the incompetence of this administration, Schumer told a news conference. Several senior Republicans also voiced concern. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said on ABC's "This Week" program, that it was a good idea to tighten the vetting of immigrants, but "it's important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism, are Muslims, both in this country and overseas ... We need to be careful as we do this." A Republican colleague in the Senate, John McCain, was more critical, saying the order had been a confused process and could give Islamic State propaganda material. "It wasn't chaos," Priebus told NBC. He added that of 325,000 people who arrived from foreign countries on Saturday, 109 people were detained for further questioning, and most of them were moved out, with just a "couple dozen more that remain" detained. Such travelers were spared the threat of deportation by a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, who granted a temporary reprieve late on Saturday evening. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing two Iraqis caught by the order as they flew into the country, successfully argued for a temporary stay that prevented travelers denied entry to the United States from being deported. Federal judges in three states followed the one in New York in barring authorities from deporting affected travelers in orders issued late on Saturday or early on Sunday. Separately, Democratic attorneys general from California and New York were among states discussing whether to legally challenge the order, according to officials. 'GENERAL SUSPICION' Condemnation of the order poured in from abroad, including from traditional allies of the United States. In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said on Sunday. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about attacks by Islamist militants during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk. He told reporters on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban," adding the measures were long overdue and were working out "very nicely." The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late on Saturday that about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. The department said it would comply with judicial orders but that the immigration restrictions remained in effect White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration was working to make sure its allies understood the purpose of the order, which affects Iraq, whose citizens and military work side by side with U.S. forces against Islamic State. "We shouldn't let people just re-enter the country who are not citizens of the United States because they have gone to a place we have concerns about," he told ABC. The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students. Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American. 'TREATED LIKE DRUG DEALERS' The new rules upended plans that had been long in the making for some people, such as Iraqi Fuad Sharef and his family. They waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organizations. Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo on Saturday, detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning. "We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport. Iraq's former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, said Trump's ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of attacks, and could backfire. Iran vowed to retaliate. Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban. Britain's most successful track athlete, Olympic champion Mo Farah, slammed the policy in a statement. "On 1st January this year, Her Majesty the Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien," said Farah, who was born in Somalia, came to Britain as a child and who currently lives with his wife and children in Oregon. Immigration and customs officials at U.S. airports struggled to interpret the new rules on Saturday. Some green card holders who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival. Airlines were caught by surprise and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country. Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, has had to change flight attendant and pilot rosters on services to the United States because of the ban, an airline spokeswoman said Sunday. Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Cornwell, Steve Holland, Yara Bayoumy in Washington; Dan Levine in San Francisco; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta and David Ingram in New York; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Andrea Shalal and Andreas Rilke in Berlin, Paul Sandle in London; Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Arwa Gaballa, Eric Knecht in Cairo, and Michael Georgy in Erbil; Writing by Frances Kerry; Editing by Mary Milliken)
President Trump signs addition executive orders in the Oval Office on Saturday. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

President Trump on Saturday touted his executive order blocking citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.

The order has led to people being turned away and detained after landing in the country. In response, a large protest broke out at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, with notable demonstrations at airports around the country. Speaking in the Oval Office to reporters, Trump denied that the order was meant to target Muslims and cited the scenes at American airports as evidence that the ban is a success.

Its not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. Its working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over, Trump said, according to a White House press pool report.

The order, which took effect on Friday afternoon, affects citizens from Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Somalia. It bars people from these nations from entering the United States for 90 days. Authorities said this includes people with current visas who may have temporarily departed, some of whom were detained or turned around after attempting to return to the U.S.

Trumps order also stops all refugees from being allowed to enter the country for 120 days and halts the entry of any refugees from Syria indefinitely. On Wednesday, Yahoo News asked White House spokesman Sean Spicer about the order in his daily briefing. Spicer described it as an effort to take the necessary steps with people from countries that have a propensity to do us harm and framed it as part of Trumps campaign promise to establish extreme vetting for immigrants.

During the presidential campaign, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. That proposal subsequently evolved into a vague promise of extreme vetting. In addition to measures affecting immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries, top Trump administration officials have not ruled out the possibility of taking steps that could affect people from those nations who are already in the U.S.  including deportations or the establishment of a registry.

Story continues

The immigration ban is part of a suite of executive orders Trump signed last week, which was his first in office. Trump also signed another order with measures to curb illegal immigration, including the construction of a wall on the southern border and hiring of additional immigration officers and Border Patrol agents. On Saturday, Trump discussed the immigration ban in the Oval Office as he signed three new executive actions: a set of new ethics regulations for executive branch appointees, a reorganization of the National Security Council, and a plan to defeat the jihadist organization ISIS.

I think its going to be very successful, Trump said of the plan for ISIS. Thats big stuff.

Read more from Yahoo News:

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US President Donald Trump will speak by phone with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, amid an uproar over his travel ban for some Muslim majority countries.

Trump also will talk to the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, the White House said Saturday in a brief statement.

The new Republican president, who took office on January 20, first will speak with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the afternoon.

The next call will be with the crown prince of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE are among the seven Muslim majority countries affected by Trump's sweeping executive order Friday barring visas for 90 days to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The migrant crackdown, which also included a 120-day suspension of the US refugee resettlement program, sparked protests across the United States on Saturday.

A federal judge late Saturday blocked part of the temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

Trump's planned phone call with South Korea's acting president comes as North Korea steps up its nuclear and missile capabilities. Pyongyang's missile program and its pursuit of nuclear arms have drawn repeated sanctions from the UN Security Council.

Regime leader Kim Jong-Un said in a New Year speech that the country was in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Such an ICBM could theoretically target the United States.
Nearly six years after Noriko Matsumoto and her children fled Japan's Fukushima area, they face a new possible hardship: cuts to government assistance for housing.

People who lived near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear center feared for their health after a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011.

The nuclear centers reactors released high levels of radiation. It was the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet republic of Ukraine in 1986.

Matsumoto is among nearly 27,000 people who left areas that the government did not identify as required evacuation zones.

Now, the Fukushima local government is preparing to cut unconditional housing assistance at the end of March. Many people will face the choice of returning to places they fear are still unsafe or learning to deal with financial hardship.

"Because both the national and the local governments say we evacuated 'selfishly,' we're being abandoned. They say it's our own responsibility," Matsumoto, who is 55, told reporters, her voice shaking.

"I feel deep anger at their throwing us away."

A local official noted that while the housing assistance ends on March 31, smaller amounts of aid will still be provided, if needed. The official spoke on the condition that media not identify the official by name.

At the time of the earthquake, Matsumoto lived with her husband and two daughters in Koriyama city, about 55 kilometers west of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

Japanese officials declared a no-go zone 30 kilometers around the plant, but Koriyama was outside of that area.

When her younger daughter, then 12, began suffering nosebleeds and diarrhea, Matsumoto and her children moved to Kanagawa, near Tokyo.

Her husband, who operates a restaurant, stayed behind in Koriyama to ensure they could make payments on their home loan and other bills. But, because of travel costs, the family can only meet every one or two months, and they face social pressure.

"People like us, who have evacuated voluntarily to escape radiation, have been judged by our peers as if we selfishly evacuated for personal reasons," said Matsumoto.

She feels her only support is housing aid that the Fukushima government gives to voluntary evacuees, who numbered 26,601 by October 2016.

The payment is generally about 90,000 yen, or $795, for a family of two or more in Matsumoto's area, a Fukushima official said. He added that full rental payments on housing are covered until March 31.

"Things here now are safe, but there are people who are still worried about safety and we understand that," he said.

The housing assistance will no longer be given to all families. Instead, officials will consider the needs of individual families.

A city official said radiation levels in Koriyama are now safe, that they have decreased by time and clean-up efforts.

But areas where radiation is high remain, say activists, and Matsumoto still worries.

"I'm a parent, and so I'll protect my daughter," she said. "Even if I have to go into debt, I'll keep her safe from radiation."

Im Alice Bryant.

Alice Bryant adapted this Reuters story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

__________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

tsunami  n. a great sea wave produced by a volcanic explosion or movement of the earth

evacuate - v. to remove a person or people from a dangerous place

zone - n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

abandon - v. to leave and never return to (someone who needs protection or help)

diarrhea - n. an illness that causes you to pass waste from your body very frequently and in liquid rather than solid form

peer - n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else
By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump discussed Syria and the fight against Islamic State with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in one of several calls with world leaders that the new U.S. president used to put his stamp on international affairs. Trump's call with Putin was their first since the New York businessman took office and came as officials said he was considering lifting sanctions on Moscow despite opposition from Democrats and Republicans at home and European allies abroad. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin mentioned a discussion of sanctions in their statements about the roughly hour-long call. "The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair," the White House said. "Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today's call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern." Former President Barack Obama strongly suggested in December that Putin personally authorized the computer hacks of Democratic Party emails that U.S. intelligence officials say were part of a Russian effort aimed at helping Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election. Trump's relationship with Russia is being closely watched by the European Union, which teamed up with the United States to punish Moscow after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Trump spoke to two top EU leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, on Saturday in addition to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. His call with Merkel, who had a very close relationship with Trump's predecessor, former President Barack Obama, included a discussion about Russia, the Ukraine crisis, and NATO, the U.S. and German governments said. Trump has described NATO as being obsolete, a comment that has alarmed long-time U.S. allies. A White House statement said he and Merkel agreed NATO must be capable of confronting "21rst century threats." Trump's executive order restricting travel and instituting "extreme vetting" of visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries already puts him at odds with Merkel, whose embrace of Syrian refugees was praised by Obama even as it created political problems for her domestically. Trump has said previously that Merkel made a "catastrophic mistake" by permitting more than a million refugees, mostly Muslims fleeing war in the Middle East, to come to her country. In his call with Hollande, Trump "reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO and noted the importance of all NATO allies sharing the burden on defense spending," the White House said. Hollande warned Trump against taking a protectionist approach, which he said would have economic and political consequences, according to a statement from the French president's office. The refugee order created confusion and chaotic scenes in airports on Saturday and largely overshadowed the news of Trump's calls with foreign leaders, which took place throughout the day and which photographers captured in photos and video outside the Oval Office. During his call with Japan's Abe, Trump affirmed an "ironclad" U.S. commitment to ensuring Japan's security. The two leaders also discussed the threat posed by North Korea. They plan to meet in Washington early next month. Trump spoke to Australia's Turnbull for 25 minutes and emphasized the close relationship between the two countries. (additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Andrea Shalal, Andrew Osborn, Alexander Winning, and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Tehran (AFP) - Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that US President Donald Trump's decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries was "a great gift to extremists".

"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.

"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."

Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and bar visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Iran's foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.

But Zarif added that its restrictions would not apply to Americans who already have a valid visa.

"Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he wrote.

With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the travel restrictions are expected to cause chaos for students, businessmen and families travelling between the two countries.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the measures were proof of America's "violent racist spirit".

The foreign ministry released a travel advisory, calling on all citizens travelling to the US to "make completely sure" before leaving that they will not face obstacles.

Travel agents in Tehran said Saturday they had been instructed by foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, not to sell US tickets and that Iranians holding American visas were not being allowed to board US-bound flights.
Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump vowed to improve floundering ties with Russia, while also reassuring close US allies he supports NATO.

Trump faced a first legal defeat amid growing international alarm over his halt to refugees and travelers from certain Muslim majority countries, with a federal judge blocking part of the ban.

The temporary stay orders authorities to stop deporting dozens of refugees and other travelers who had been detained at US airports since Trump signed his measure Friday afternoon.

British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated she does "not agree" with the restrictions, and will intervene if they affect UK nationals.

French President Francois Hollande warned of the "economic and political consequences" of the American leader's protectionist stance.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that Trump's decision to ban arrivals was "a great gift to extremists".

"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.

"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."

Yemen's Huthi rebels also slammed the ban, saying any attempt to classify Yemen and its citizens as a probable source for terrorism "is illegal and illegitimate."

Trump's sweeping executive order suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.

The move sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators chanted "Let them in, let them in!"

- Better US-Russia ties? -

Trump's friendly stance toward Putin, whom France and Germany accuse of seeking to undermine Western unity, is being scrutinized since he won the US election in November.

Story continues

The White House hailed the call with Putin as a "significant start" to better US-Russia ties, while the Kremlin said the pair agreed to develop relations "as equals" and to establish "real coordination" against the Islamic State group.

Trump took office last week with US-Russia relations at new Cold War-level lows amid accusations by American intelligence agencies that the Kremlin hacked Democratic Party emails as part of a pro-Trump campaign to influence November's election.

The president -- who has raised the prospect of easing sanctions imposed against Russia after its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 -- has cast doubt on whether Russia meddled in the election.

In a flurry of calls that began early in the morning and rounded out an already frantically paced week, Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin, Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The conversations gave the US president an early opportunity to explain new policies that have baffled and unnerved much of the rest of the world -- particularly his order to temporarily halt all refugee arrivals and those of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

European leaders are also concerned about Trump's virulent criticism of NATO -- he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" -- at a time when it stands as the main defense against Putin.

But in his call with Merkel, Trump agreed on NATO's "fundamental importance," the White House said.

The United States provides significant funding to NATO, and Trump has urged other member nations to step up their contributions.

- 'Extreme vetting' -

Trump's pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travelers from Islamic countries to "extreme vetting," which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists."

"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump insisted.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," he told reporters.

The new protocols specifically bar Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat.

The legal challenge, which won a first battle in US District Court in New York, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after two Iraqi men were detained late Friday at JFK.

- 'Greatest nation' -

One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked for the US government in Iraq for 10 years.

"America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world," Darweesh said after his release.

Mark Doss, a supervising attorney at the International Refugee Project at the Urban Justice Center, said Darweesh's detention and release showed the new policy was being implemented "with no guidance."

The ban has also triggered a political backlash.

"To my colleagues: don't ever again lecture me on American moral leadership if you chose to be silent today," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, tweeted late Friday.

His tweet was accompanied by the now iconic photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015 after a failed attempt to flee Syria's brutal war to join relatives in Canada.

International groups and civil liberties organizations have roundly condemned Trump's orders.

"'Extreme vetting' is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims," said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero.

Romero said Trump's order breached the US constitution's ban on religious discrimination by choosing countries with Muslim majorities for tougher treatment.

Iran answered in kind by saying it would ban Americans from entering the country, calling Trump's action insulting.

But the US leader did get backing from Czech President Milos Zeman, who praised him for being "concerned with the safety of his citizens."
By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien NEW YORK (Reuters) - After immigration agents detained two Iraqis on Saturday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, their lawyers and two U.S. representatives accompanying them tried to cross into a secure area - and were stopped themselves. "Step back! Step back!" the agents shouted at them. A few minutes later, Heidi Nassauer, chief of passenger operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the airport, was called over. Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez, both Democrats from New York, wanted clarification on whether an immigration ban issued on Friday by President Donald Trump prevented the Iraqis from consulting with attorneys. Nassauer had no clear answer. "We are as much in the dark as everybody else," said the border protection official at one of the largest U.S. airports. The tense exchange, witnessed by Reuters, was representative of the confusion at airports across the United States and others overseas after Trump abruptly halted immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries and temporarily put a stop to the entry of refugees. Throughout much of Saturday, government officials and security workers were left to guess who from those countries could enter the United States legally and who could not. The day ended with U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn issuing an emergency stay that temporarily allowed stranded travelers with valid visas to remain in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the stay, said it would help 100 to 200 people with visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at U.S. airports. Across the country, more than a dozen similar petitions on behalf of individuals being held at airports had been filed by the end of Saturday, according to a Reuters review of data collected by WestLaw. By Sunday morning, federal judges in three more states - Massachusetts, Washington and Virginia - issued orders blocking authorities from deporting travelers impacted by Trump's executive orders. RECKLESS In a media briefing on Saturday, the Trump administration said it would have been "reckless" to give details to government agencies and airports more broadly in advance of launching the security measures, which it says are aimed at preventing attacks from foreign groups. But career officials in the Homeland Security and State departments told Reuters the administration failed to appreciate the complexity of enforcing the order consistently or the need to prepare agencies and airlines. Affected travelers had varying experiences at different airports, according to nearly 200 accounts gathered by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Many holding visas told the association they were allowed into the country without a problem despite Trump's executive order banning them. But some lawful permanent residents  those with so-called green cards  were turned away despite guidance to airlines from the CBP that they should be allowed to travel. At about 10 p.m. on Friday in Seattle, some eight hours after Trump signed the executive order, an Iranian with dual Canadian citizenship from Vancouver was sent back to Canada, the traveler reported to AILA. A half hour later in New York City, an Iranian arrived at JFK and entered the United States on a valid visa without any problems, according to AILA. A senior administration official said Trump's order - aimed at citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - needed to be implemented urgently to protect Americans. "There's a very strong nexus between our immigration and visa programs and terrorist plots and extremist networks inside the United States," the official told reporters in a briefing. "It would be reckless and irresponsible to ... broadcast to the entire world the exact security measures you're going to take." Key figures at the Department of Homeland Security were informed, the official said, declining to elaborate. "Im not at liberty to reveal exactly who was briefed and who wasnt briefed, but everyone that needed to be briefed was briefed," the official said. OUT OF THE LOOP At the State Department, one of the main agencies dealing with visas and immigration, most officials first heard of the executive order on immigration through the media, according to two department officials. While some offices were aware an executive order was coming, there was no official communication or consultation from the White House, they said. "Was there any inter-agency coordination or consultation? No, said one senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Immigration enforcement is among the federal governments most complex endeavors, involving seven agencies from the U.S. Coast Guard and CBP to the State and Justice Departments. Two senior officials in the Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday that they had not heard of any officials in the relevant agencies - or the congressional committees and subcommittees that oversee them - who had been consulted by anyone who helped draft the president's order. "If the result is confusion and inconsistency, the responsibility all lies at one address," said one of the officials, referring to the White House. The official, like others, requested anonymity to discuss Trump's order. Another Homeland Security official told Reuters that the White House worked on the executive orders with limited department participation. It has been a challenge but folks are working through it," the official said. CONFUSION OVER GREEN CARDS One of the Iraqis detained at JFK was Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a 53-year-old Kurd who had worked as a U.S. Army translator in Iraq and had been threatened there for helping the Americans. Visas for him and his family were finally issued on Jan. 20, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Darweesh and another Iraqi, who had also worked with U.S. military. But as soon as he landed at JFK, he was detained by CBP officers and barred from contacting his attorneys. When his attorneys, from the International Refugee Assistance Project, asked the CBP officers whom they could contact, the agents responded, Mr. President. Call Mr. Trump, according to the lawsuit. Eventually, Darweesh was allowed to leave and met the lawmakers and his lawyers, clutching his passport and weeping with joy. The other Iraqi who was detained, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was also allowed to enter the country. But dozens of others were less fortunate. Conflicting media and government reports caused confusion for airlines struggling to deal with the order. CBP informed air carriers about the executive order in a conference call late on Friday, said a person familiar with the agency's communications. CBP then sent written guidance before noon on Saturday saying that green card holders were "not included" in the ban and could continue to travel to the United States. The source said airlines were allowing travelers with green cards on flights until told otherwise. The Trump administration official later told reporters that U.S. green card holders traveling outside the United States need to check with a U.S. consulate to see whether they can return. "It's being cleared on a case-by-case basis, the official said. On Sunday morning, the administration addressed the issue again but left questions over how green cards holders would be screened and by what agencies. "The executive order doesn't affect green card holders moving forward," White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus addressed told NBC's "Meet the Press." He added that they would be subjected to extra questioning by CBP agents when they tried to re-enter the United States. A senior administration official told Reuters, however, that it had not been determined where and how those screenings would be carried out. The nature of the screening will be up to CBP or the State Department, the official said, and specific guidelines were being drafted. "They could be screened in many different ways and in many different places," the official said in an interview. (Additional reporting by John Walcott, Jeff Mason, Mica Rosenberg, Lesley Wroughton, Jeffrey Dastin, Yara Bayoumy, Yeganeh Torbati and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Brian Thevenot; Editing by Kieran Murray and Bill Rigby)
By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After immigration agents detained two Iraqis on Saturday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, their lawyers and two U.S. lawmakers accompanying them tried to cross into a secure area to consult with the men.

Border protection agents held them back, sparking a heated exchange.

"Step back! Step back!" the agents shouted.

A few minutes later, Heidi Nassauer, chief of passenger operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the airport, was called over.

U.S. Congress members Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez, both Democrats from New York, wanted clarification on whether an immigration ban issued on Friday by President Donald Trump prevented the Iraqis from consulting with attorneys.

Nassauer had no clear answer.

"We are as much in the dark as everybody else," said the border protection official at one of the largest U.S. airports.

The tense exchange, witnessed by Reuters, was representative of the confusion at airports across the United States and others overseas after Trump abruptly halted immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries and temporarily put a stop to the entry of refugees.

The Trump administration, facing criticism over the executive order's implementation, on Saturday it would have been "reckless" to give details to government agencies and airports more broadly in advance of launching the security measures, which it says aimed to prevent attacks from foreign groups.

But career officials in the Homeland Security and State departments told Reuters that the administration failed to appreciate the complexity of enforcing the order consistently or the need to prepare agencies and airlines.

Throughout much of Saturday, government officials and security workers were left to guess who from those countries could enter the United States legally and who could not.

The day ended with U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn issuing an emergency stay that temporarily allowed stranded travelers with valid visas to remain in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the stay, said it would help 100 to 200 people with visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at U.S. airports.

Story continues

Across the country, more than a dozen similar petitions on behalf of individuals being held at airports had been filed by the end of Saturday, according to a Reuters review of data collected by WestLaw. By Sunday morning, federal judges in three more states - Massachusetts, Washington and Virginia - issued orders blocking authorities from deporting travelers impacted by Trump's executive orders.

OUT OF THE LOOP

A senior administration official said Trump's order - aimed at citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - needed to be implemented urgently to protect Americans.

"There's a very strong nexus between our immigration and visa programs and terrorist plots and extremist networks inside the United States," the official told reporters in a briefing. "It would be reckless and irresponsible to ... broadcast to the entire world the exact security measures you're going to take."

Key figures at the Department of Homeland Security were informed, the official said, declining to elaborate.

At the State Department, one of the main agencies dealing with visas and immigration, most officials first heard of the executive order on immigration through the media, according to two department officials.

While some offices were aware an executive order was coming, there was no official communication or consultation from the White House, they said.

"Was there any inter-agency coordination or consultation? No, said one senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Immigration enforcement is among the federal governments most complex endeavors, involving seven agencies from the U.S. Coast Guard and CBP to the State and Justice Departments.

Two senior officials in the Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday that they had not heard of any officials in the relevant agencies - or the congressional committees and subcommittees that oversee them - who had been consulted by anyone who helped draft the president's order.

"If the result is confusion and inconsistency, the responsibility all lies at one address," said one of the officials, referring to the White House.

The official, like others, requested anonymity to discuss Trump's order.

Another Homeland Security official told Reuters that the White House worked on the executive orders with limited department participation.

It has been a challenge but folks are working through it," the official said.

UNEVEN ENFORCEMENT

Affected travelers had varying experiences at different airports, according to nearly 200 accounts gathered by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Many holding visas told the association they were allowed into the country without a problem despite Trump's executive order banning them.

But some lawful permanent residents  those with so-called green cards  were turned away despite guidance to airlines from the CBP that they should be allowed to travel.

At about 10 p.m. on Friday in Seattle, some eight hours after Trump signed the executive order, an Iranian with dual Canadian citizenship from Vancouver was sent back to Canada, the traveler reported to AILA. A half hour later in New York City, an Iranian arrived at JFK and entered the United States on a valid visa without any problems, according to AILA.

One of the Iraqis detained at JFK was Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a 53-year-old Kurd who had worked as a U.S. Army translator in Iraq and had been threatened there for helping the Americans.

Visas for him and his family were issued on Jan. 20, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Darweesh and another Iraqi, who had also worked with U.S. military. But as soon as he landed at JFK, he was detained by CBP officers and barred from contacting his attorneys.

When his attorneys, from the International Refugee Assistance Project, asked the CBP officers whom they could contact, the agents responded, Mr. President. Call Mr. Trump, according to the lawsuit.

Eventually, Darweesh was allowed to leave and met the lawmakers and his lawyers, clutching his passport and weeping with joy. The other Iraqi who was detained, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was also allowed to enter the country.

On Sunday morning, seven more detainees at JFK airport were allowed to enter the United States, said ACLU immigration attorney Andre Segura. The organization knew of at least five others that remained in the custody of border protection officials, Segura told Reuters.

CONFUSION OVER GREEN CARDS

Conflicting media and government reports have caused confusion for airlines struggling to deal with the order.

CBP informed air carriers about the executive order in a conference call late on Friday, said a person familiar with the agency's communications. CBP then sent written guidance before noon on Saturday saying that green card holders were "not included" in the ban and could continue to travel to the United States. The source said airlines were allowing travelers with green cards on flights until told otherwise.

The Trump administration official later told reporters that U.S. green card holders traveling outside the United States need to check with a U.S. consulate to see whether they can return.

"It's being cleared on a case-by-case basis, the official said.

On Sunday morning, the administration addressed the issue again but left questions over how green cards holders would be screened and by what agencies.

"The executive order doesn't affect green card holders moving forward," White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus addressed told NBC's "Meet the Press." He added that they would be subjected to extra questioning by CBP agents when they tried to re-enter the United States.

A senior administration official told Reuters, however, that it had not been determined where and how those screenings would be carried out. The nature of the screening will be up to CBP or the State Department, the official said, and specific guidelines were being drafted.

"They could be screened in many different ways and in many different places," the official said in an interview.

(Additional reporting by John Walcott, Jeff Mason, Mica Rosenberg, Lesley Wroughton, Jeffrey Dastin, Yara Bayoumy, Yeganeh Torbati and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Brian Thevenot; Editing by Kieran Murray and Bill Rigby)
By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's call for a military plan to defeat Islamic State is likely to see the Pentagon revisiting options for a more aggressive use of firepower and American troops. But U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, doubt the country's military will advocate fundamentally changing a key strategy refined during the Obama administration: relying on local forces to do most of the fighting, and dying, in Syria and Iraq. "I think it's going to be very successful. That's big stuff," said Trump as he signed an executive order on Saturday requesting the Pentagon, joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan in 30 days for defeating Islamic State, fulfilling one of his campaign trail pledges. The order calls for the combined experts to recommend any changes needed to U.S. rules of engagement or other policy restrictions, to identify new coalition partners and to suggest mechanisms for choking off Islamic State funding sources. It also demands a detailed strategy for funding the plan. Trump made defeating Islamic State - which has claimed responsibility for several attacks on American soil and is frustrating U.S. military operations across the Middle East - one of the key themes in his campaign. But he avoided talking about specifics of any plan to combat the radical group. Any shifts by the U.S. military would have broad repercussions for U.S. relationships across the Middle East, which were strained by former President Barack Obama's effort throughout his administration to limit U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Syria. Trump's Defense Secretary James Mattis has advocated a more forceful approach against Islamic State, but how he will pursue that remains unclear. U.S. military officials have long acknowledged the United States could more quickly defeat Islamic State by using its own forces, instead of local fighters, on the battlefield. But victory, many U.S. military officials have argued, would come at the expense of more U.S. lives lost and ultimately do little to create a lasting solution to conflicts fueled by bitter ethnic, religious and political divides in nations with fierce anti-American sentiment. David Barno, a retired lieutenant general who once led U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said it would be a major escalation if Trump's administration opted to rely on U.S. troops by putting them into a direct combat role and effectively substitute them for local forces. "We've been down that road, and I don't think the American people are excited about that idea," said Barno, who now teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. Experts said the Pentagon could still request additional forces, beyond the less than 6,000 American troops deployed to both Iraq and Syria today, helping the U.S. military to go further and do more in the fight. But they also said the Pentagon may focus on smaller-scale options like increasing the number of attack helicopters and air strikes as well as bringing in more artillery. The military may also seek more authority to make battlefield decisions. Obama's administration found itself for years battling accusations of micromanaging the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. "I do think the Pentagon will argue for, and get a lot more authority, to put advisers and special operators closer into the fight," Barno said. RAQQA RAMP-UP Trump, who pledged in his inaugural address to eradicate Islamic State and like-minded groups "from the face of the earth," met military chiefs at the Pentagon for about an hour on Friday. A U.S. defense official, speaking to reporters after the talks, said they discussed ways to accelerate the defeat of Islamic State, among other hot-button issues, including the threat from North Korea, but offered no details. "The chiefs did most of the talking," the official said. In Syria, the big step for the U.S.-backed forces will be finally taking control of the Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa. In his Senate confirmation hearing, Mattis said he believed the United States already had a strategy that would allow the American military to regain control of Raqqa. But he said that strategy needed to be reviewed and "perhaps energized on a more aggressive timeline." One key decision awaiting the Trump administration is whether to directly provide weapons to Kurdish fighters in Syria as they push toward Raqqa, despite fierce objections from NATO ally Turkey. The United States views the Kurdish fighters as its most reliable ally in Syria but Ankara sees them as an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include the Kurdish fighters, launched a multi-stage operation in Raqqa province in November aimed ultimately at capturing the city from Islamic State. Across the border in Iraq, local forces backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and advisers on the ground have secured a major part of Islamic State's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul. Still, U.S. military leaders warn Islamic State will likely morph into a more classic insurgency once it loses Raqqa and Mosul, meaning the fight could stretch on for years. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton.; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Bill Rigby)
ANKARA (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the United States is no solution to problems, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday, adding that Western countries should do more to help ease Turkey's refugee burden.

The new Republican president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, although NATO ally Turkey was not among them.

When asked by a reporter about Trump's ban during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Ankara, Yildirim said: "Regional issues cannot be solved by closing the doors on people. We expect the Western world to lighten Turkey's burden."

"You can build a wall but it's not a solution. That wall will come down like the Berlin wall," he said, adding Turkey has spent some $26 billion on sheltering refugees.

May, who met with Trump in Washington a day earlier, told the news conference that the United States was responsible for its position on refugees. She has previously said a "special relationship" between the United States and Britain meant the two countries could speak frankly to each other when they disagreed on issues. [S8N1EY00D]

Yildirim said little directly about Trump. "We are not very informed about Trump's decisions. But problems are solved through dealing with the causes," he said.

Turkey, a member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, has been hoping for a reset in its relationship with the Washington under the Trump administration. Ankara was long frustrated by former President Barack Obama's decision to back a Syrian Kurdish militia. Turkey considers the group a terrorist organization.

Turkey is home to the world's largest refugee population sheltering some 3 million people, most of them Syrians.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Elizabeth Piper; Writing by David Dolan)
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey called on Germany on Sunday to reject asylum requests by several dozen Turkish soldiers, who reports suggest fear jail over last year's failed coup if they return home.

Days before German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit Turkey, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said Germany should "absolutely" reject the requests.

German media reports on Saturday said that 40 Turkish troops, mostly high-ranking and stationed on NATO bases, were seeking asylum in Germany.

"German courts and German authorities must assess this very carefully, and they must absolutely not accept their asylum requests," said Isik.

In a video posted on the state-run news agency Anadolu's website, the minister added it was his "expectation" that Germany would not approve the applications.

The Turkish officers seeking asylum were quoted in German media as saying they feared jail and possibly torture back home.

Isik said they were accused of involvement in the July 15 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He appeared to suggest any approval would have an impact on relations, which are already strained by Berlin's repeated expressions of concern over the magnitude of the post-coup crackdown.

"For a country like Germany that has very strong cultural, social and political relations with Turkey, it would be strictly unacceptable to give protection," he said.

German Chancellor Merkel is due to come to Turkey on Thursday in what will be her first visit since the failed putsch.

Merkel is expected to discuss the refugee crisis as Turkey has been vital to European Union (EU) plans to stop the mass flow of migrants from the Middle East and Africa into the bloc, especially to Germany.

Some 43,000 people have been arrested on suspicion of having links to coup plotters.

One of the officers seeking asylum insisted he had no connection to the coup attempt or sympathy for those behind it, and was quoted as saying: "If I return to Turkey I risk imprisonment, or perhaps torture."

Isik added that he would discuss the matter with his German counterpart at a NATO security conference next month.

Around three million Turkish-origin people live in Germany, the legacy of a massive "guest worker" programme in the 1960s and 1970s.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - German authorities should reject requests for asylum from some 40 former Turkish soldiers Ankara suspects of having links to the failed July coup, Turkey's defense minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. Fikri Isik also said that failure to reject the asylum applications could harden relations between Germany and Turkey, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. German media reported on Saturday that around 40 mostly high-ranking Turkish soldiers who worked at NATO facilities in Germany had requested asylum. Germany's interior ministry has confirmed that asylum applications had been received from Turkish military personnel, without giving any numbers. "Our expectation from Germany is that they will never accept the asylum requests," Anadolu quoted Isik as saying. He said he would bring the issue up with his German counterpart at a NATO security conference planned for next month and that acceptance of the asylum requests would affect relations between the two countries. Isik said the soldiers applied for asylum after they were dismissed from the military following the July 15 failed coup. More than 100,000 people have been sacked or suspended from the police, military, civil service and private sector on suspicion of supporting the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Turkey blames for the coup. Some 40,000 people have been jailed pending trial. The scope of the crackdown has worried rights groups and some of Turkey's Western allies, who fear President Tayyip Erdogan is using the coup attempt as a pretext to curtail dissent. NATO member Turkey says the moves are necessary to protect democracy and root out supporters of the failed putsch. On Thursday, Greece's Supreme Court denied an extradition request for eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece in a helicopter the day after the attempted coup. The men have sought political asylum, saying they fear for their lives in Turkey. The court decision has infuriated Ankara, which has threatened to scrap a migration deal with Athens if Greece does not reconsider. (Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
An increasing number of countries are banning North Koreas state-owned airline because of United Nations Security Council restrictions.

Last January, North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test. In response, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution placing strong economic restrictions, or sanctions, on the North.

Among those restrictions is the use of airplanes to move banned items for supply, sale, transfer or export.

Resolution 2270 calls for all member states to deny permission to any (North Korean) aircraft to take off from, land at or overflyunless under the condition of landing for inspection.

The Security Council recently reported that Malaysia has banned Air Koryo from taking off from or landing in any airport it controls. Malaysian officials at the U.N. confirmed the report. It said Air Koryo airplanes also will not be permitted to fly over the country.

Air Koryo began flying from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, to Kuala Lumpur once a week in 2011. The U.N. report says the airline made its last flight to the Malaysian capital on June 8, 2014.

Since the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 2270, more countries have been banning North Korean passenger jets.

In October, the air transport director at the Kuwait International Airport sent VOA an email about the issue. It said that the Kuwaiti government had banned Air Koryo from landing in the countrys airport. The airline had been flying to Kuwait City from Pyongyang since 2011.

Air Koryo airplanes often stopped for refueling in Pakistan when they were flying between Pyongyang and Kuwait. But in July, Pakistani officials told VOA that they had decided to ban North Korean flights from its Benazir Bhutto Islamabad International Airport because of the Security Councils sanctions.

An Air Koryo flight last stopped at the airport on June 28, 2016.

In April, Air Koryo stopped flying to Bangkok, Thailand, shortly after the Thai government said it supported the Security Council sanctions. The government suggested that it was considering taking action against the airline.

Im Mario Ritter.

VOA News Writer Ham Jiha reported this story from Washington. Jenny Lee contributed to the report. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow 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

sanctions  n. actions taken against a country to cause it to obey international law usually by restricting trade in some way

items  n. objects or products
ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish soldier was killed in clashes with Islamic State militants near al-Bab in northern Syria on Sunday, the Turkish military said, as fighting between Turkey-backed rebels and Sunni hard-liners grinds on. Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes, have been besieging the Islamic State-held town since December. Turkey has repeatedly said it is close to taking al-Bab, although troops have been bogged down in street battles with Islamic State, slowing progress. The militants have also used car bombs and other tactics to inflict damage on the rebels. One Turkish soldier was killed on Sunday morning in the latest clashes with militants in al Ghuz, west of al-Bab, the military said in a statement. Turkey launched its Syrian incursion, dubbed "Operation Euphrates Shield" in late August, sweeping Islamic State from its Syrian border. (Reporting by Yesim Dikmen; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Stephen Powell)
White House adviser Steve Bannon, target of the #StopPresidentBannon hashtag.

Twitter erupted with the hashtag #StopPreidentBannon over the weekend after President Donald Trumps chief strategist was elevated to a position in the National Security Council (NSC). The position change, coupled with Bannons influence in the White House, led citizens to voice their concern via Twitter with #StopPresidentBannon.

According to Time, Bannon was granted a position in the NSC on Saturday, one day after Trump signed an executive order banning visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.

The National Security Council is the primary group that advises the president on matters of national security and foreign affairs. Bannons shift to the NSC on Saturday signaled a shakeup in the normal structure of the of the Council. Since Bannons appointment, military and intelligence leadership has been diminished and will only participate when discussion pertain to their areas.

Steve Bannon standing with other White House staff while Donald Trump speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin. [Image by Andrew Harnik/AP Images]

Bannon will now be privy to high ranking discussions about national security in the NSC, but Bannons influence is unnerving to many people observing the Trump White House. Trumps executive action that barred immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and Syrian refugees was made more restrictive under Bannons direction.

Bannon actively defied the Department of Homeland Security and their recommendation to permit green card holders, lawful permanent residents, back into the country. However, Bannon personally intervened to counter the DHS recommendation and include green card holders in the executive action ban.

Click here to continue and read more...

Twitter Reacts To Steve Bannons Immgration Policy, Starts #StopPresidentBannon Hashtag is an article from: The Inquisitr News
In a decision that underscores the iPhones stringent security protections, the UK Ministry of Defence recently opted to go with Apples iPhone 7 as the device of choice for sensitive communications that warrant the utmost security against malicious actors.

Don't Miss: Scientists find a way to turn hydrogen into a metal

According to a new report from TechRepublic, the telecommunications company BT Group is already hard at work implementing heightened security safeguards on the iPhone 7 for military and defense personnel. Once finalized, users with secured iPhones will be able to adjust the security mode of their device depending on the level of sensitivity a particular communication demands. Whats more, the report relays that BT is also working on methods to develop secure storage containers for top-secret data.

Interestingly enough, Steve Bunn, BTs technical business manager for defence, explained that their initial efforts to roll out a secured communications device began with work on a Samsung Note 4.

But as more and more development and testing was done, Bunn explained, the security associated with it wasnt deemed to be sufficient, so thats why we moved [to iPhone].

Following the report, BT Group, in an apparent effort to remain as diplomatic as can be, issued a follow-up statement indicating that the Note 4s security wasnt inadequate.

We would like to clarify that the MoD has not expressed any views about the suitability of dual-persona technology from specific handset/technology vendors and is prototyping a range of devices, the statement reads.

Indeed, its not as if iPhone has always been or is even currently the universal device of choice for hyper-sensitive communications. To wit, many security-minded organizations use heavily modified Android smartphones such as the GSMK Cryptophone 500, the Boeing Black, and the pricey Solarin.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
By Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration after coming under criticism from lawmakers in her own party for not condemning his executive order when initially questioned. On a visit to Turkey on Saturday, she was asked three times to comment on Trump's move to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and to temporarily bar travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would protect Americans from violent Islamists. May - who had flown to Turkey from the United States where she was the first foreign leader to meet the new U.S. president for talks she called successful - replied that Washington was responsible for its policy on refugees. But after the prime minister flew back to a political storm in London late on Saturday, coming under fire from within her own party, her spokesman said Britain disagreed with Trump's ban. "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," he said. "But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals." Britain's disapproval sharpened on Sunday when Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a tweet: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality". "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad," Johnson added. Government minister David Gauke earlier defended May's initial refusal to voice any criticise, saying she was not a "shoot from the hip" politician and wanted to take a considered view. "The important thing is we are saying that we disagree with it and we think it's wrong," he told BBC TV on Sunday. Britain will make representations to the United States on behalf of any British nationals affected by the policy, he said. OUTCRY Trump's executive order plunged America's immigration system into chaos, with legal U.S. residents being turned away at airports, and drew criticism from Western allies including France and Germany. The U.S. ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. According to State Department guidance, travellers with dual nationality will also be affected. May had been enjoying a positive response at home for revitalising the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, which could be a vital trading partner after Britain exits the European Union. But her response while in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan triggered criticism from her party. "Trump really is a sickening piece of work," tweeted lawmaker Sarah Wollaston, a member of the ruling Conservative Party. She said Trump should be snubbed by parliament when he comes to Britain for a planned state visit this year. "I don't care how special the relationship is, some lines just shouldn't be crossed," Conservative MP Heidi Allen tweeted. "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of." Another Conservative lawmaker, Nadhim Zahawi, said he would be banned from the United States as a British citizen of Iraqi origin. "A sad sad day to feel like a second-class citizen," he tweeted. "Sad day for the USA." Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said it should sadden Britain that May chose not to stand up to Trump. He reiterated his total opposition to the ban and said Trump's planned state visit should be put on hold. "We need to find out exactly what his intentions are in the long run and how much the U.S. parliamentary system is going to protect fundamentals of rights and freedom," he told ITV television. (Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Pravin Char/Mark Heinrich)
By Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration after coming under criticism from lawmakers in her own party for not condemning his executive order when initially questioned. On a visit to Turkey on Saturday, she was asked three times to comment on Trump's move to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and to temporarily bar travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would protect Americans from violent Islamists. May - who had flown to Turkey from the United States where she was the first foreign leader to meet the new U.S. president for talks she called successful - replied that Washington was responsible for its policy on refugees. But after the prime minister flew back to a political storm in London late on Saturday, coming under fire from within her own party, her spokesman said Britain disagreed with Trump's ban. "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," he said. "But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals." Britain's disapproval sharpened on Sunday when Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a tweet: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatize because of nationality". "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad," Johnson added. Government minister David Gauke earlier defended May's initial refusal to voice any criticize, saying she was not a "shoot from the hip" politician and wanted to take a considered view. "The important thing is we are saying that we disagree with it and we think it's wrong," he told BBC TV on Sunday. Britain will make representations to the United States on behalf of any British nationals affected by the policy, he said. OUTCRY Trump's executive order plunged America's immigration system into chaos, with legal U.S. residents being turned away at airports, and drew criticism from Western allies including France and Germany. The U.S. ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. According to State Department guidance, travelers with dual nationality will also be affected. May had been enjoying a positive response at home for revitalizing the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, which could be a vital trading partner after Britain exits the European Union. But her response while in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan triggered criticism from her party. "Trump really is a sickening piece of work," tweeted lawmaker Sarah Wollaston, a member of the ruling Conservative Party. She said Trump should be snubbed by parliament when he comes to Britain for a planned state visit this year. "I don't care how special the relationship is, some lines just shouldn't be crossed," Conservative MP Heidi Allen tweeted. "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of." Another Conservative lawmaker, Nadhim Zahawi, said he would be banned from the United States as a British citizen of Iraqi origin. "A sad sad day to feel like a second-class citizen," he tweeted. "Sad day for the USA." Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said it should sadden Britain that May chose not to stand up to Trump. He reiterated his total opposition to the ban and said Trump's planned state visit should be put on hold. "We need to find out exactly what his intentions are in the long run and how much the U.S. parliamentary system is going to protect fundamentals of rights and freedom," he told ITV television. (Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Pravin Char/Mark Heinrich)
By Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration after coming under criticism from MPs in her own party for not condemning his executive order when initially questioned. On a visit to Turkey on Saturday, she was asked three times to comment on Trump's move to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and to temporarily bar travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would protect Americans from violent Islamists. May - who had flown to Turkey from the United States where she was the first foreign leader to meet the new U.S. president for talks she called successful - replied that Washington was responsible for its policy on refugees. But after the prime minister flew back to a political storm in London late on Saturday, coming under fire from within her own party, her spokesman said Britain disagreed with Trump's ban. "Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," he said. "But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals." Britain's disapproval sharpened on Sunday when Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a tweet: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality". "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad," Johnson added. Government minister David Gauke earlier defended May's initial refusal to voice any criticise, saying she was not a "shoot from the hip" politician and wanted to take a considered view. "The important thing is we are saying that we disagree with it and we think it's wrong," he told BBC TV on Sunday. Britain will make representations to the United States on behalf of any British nationals affected by the policy, he said. OUTCRY Trump's executive order plunged America's immigration system into chaos, with legal U.S. residents being turned away at airports, and drew criticism from Western allies including France and Germany. The U.S. ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. According to State Department guidance, travellers with dual nationality will also be affected. May had been enjoying a positive response at home for revitalising the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, which could be a vital trading partner after Britain exits the European Union. But her response while in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan triggered criticism from her party. "Trump really is a sickening piece of work," tweeted lawmaker Sarah Wollaston, a member of the ruling Conservative Party. She said Trump should be snubbed by parliament when he comes to Britain for a planned state visit this year. "I don't care how special the relationship is, some lines just shouldn't be crossed," Conservative MP Heidi Allen tweeted. "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of." Another Conservative lawmaker, Nadhim Zahawi, said he would be banned from the United States as a British citizen of Iraqi origin. "A sad sad day to feel like a second-class citizen," he tweeted. "Sad day for the USA." Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said it should sadden Britain that May chose not to stand up to Trump. He reiterated his total opposition to the ban and said Trump's planned state visit should be put on hold. "We need to find out exactly what his intentions are in the long run and how much the U.S. parliamentary system is going to protect fundamentals of rights and freedom," he told ITV television. (Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Pravin Char/Mark Heinrich)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Mixed messages from Washington have left Syrian Christians confused about the effect of U.S. restrictions on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, with some seeing hope fading away. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries. The order also seeks to prioritize refugees fleeing religious persecution, a move Trump separately said was aimed at helping Christians in Syria to leave. But hopes were dashed for at least one Syrian Christian Orthodox family, who were turned away at Philadelphia international airport and had to return to Lebanon. Christians in Damascus, where Syria's conflict is still felt as fighting rages through much of the country, said pledges to prioritize minorities made little difference to them. "Getting U.S. visas has been the dream of all citizens in developing countries, no matter their religion," said Youssef Touma, 34, attending a church service in Damascus on Sunday. "Syrians of all faiths were used to queueing at the U.S. embassy's gates (to try to get visas). But it was almost impossible to get them, and has been harder since the war started. "What I heard is that there will be exceptions for Christians from the ban, but not the easing of Christians' travel - so that means there are still the same difficulties getting a visa," Touma said. Norma, a 30-year-old IT worker at the same church who declined to give her surname, said travel to the United States was a distant and impracticable dream. "I don't know or have anyone in the U.S. If there was someone I knew, an aunt or uncle, then I'd think about going myself, of course. And it would be better to undertake a safe journey to America instead of a risky one by boat to get to Germany," she said. Syrians in neighboring countries like Lebanon and Turkey have said they will primarily seek refuge in Europe, where some countries like Germany have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees. Many have made dangerous crossings by boat from Turkey. Christians wishing to leave Syria said the U.S. preference for religious minorities could play into the hands of Islamist extremists. At the very least, it would have no real impact. "I think (Islamist) extremists here would love for us to leave, to be rid of us," said Damascus resident Joseph Memari, reached by phone. Trump wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday: "Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" Touma said statements made no difference. "Minorities are always targeted by extremists and Trump's statements will not increase or decrease that," he said. "They have been targeted since before Trump became president. The Christians of Maaloula (near Damascus) left the country before Trump was even considering the presidency. "Christians of the Damascus countryside, like Harasta and Douma, were forced to leave their homes five years ago," he said. (Reporting by Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Writing by John Davison in Beirut; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
New York (AFP) - Silicon Valley heads have slammed US President Donald Trump's temporary ban on refugees and many Muslims from entering the United States, fearing it could prevent them from accessing a global reservoir of talent.

The sweeping immigration crackdown moved many tech bosses to criticize measures that could impact sector employees.

"Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do," said Tim Cook in a memo to staff obtained by AFP.

The company's founder Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian immigrant.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called the president's first week in office "very sad," saying in a Facebook post that "Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all."

"It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Nearly 200 Google employees are directly impacted by the measures, according to an internal memo from CEO Sundar Pichai.

"We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," said the head of the internet giant.

Trump's hardline executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days, and for the next three months bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

- 'Best and the brightest' -

Immigration law specialist Ava Benach -- who told AFP she has been flooded with calls from clients -- said those already in the US should stay put, and those abroad risk being blocked from boarding aircraft.

"I would advise against leaving the US because I don't believe that they will be able to return," she said.

As resistance to the temporary immigration restrictions mount, a US federal judge on Saturday ordered authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travelers stuck at US airports.

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US District Judge Ann Donnelly's decision to issue a temporary stay -- which stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's order -- came after dozens of people were detained at US airports following Trump's actions.

"As an immigrant and as a CEO, I've both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, for the world" said Microsoft head Satya Nadella, who is of Indian descent.

The company had warned Thursday that immigration restrictions could impact its ability to fill research and development positions.

Globalization has been a boon for Silicon Valley, which employs a significant population of foreign engineers. Some 250,000 Muslims live in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Internet companies in particular thrive in the US because the best and the brightest are able to create innovative products and services right here in America," said Michael Beckerman, the head of a leading industry lobby group.

Trump met last month with a handful of America's most powerful tech executives -- a bid to mend fences with a largely pro-Democrat industry.

No announcements were made following the summit, however.

In the short term, many tech companies are offering legal assistance to staffers impacted by the executive order.

"We are assessing the impact on our workforce and determining how best to protect our people and their families from any adverse effects," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP.

Chris Sacca, a major financial backer of the sector, vowed to donate $150,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that has hit the executive order with legal challenges.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick vowed to raise the issue at a meeting next week of Trump's business advisory council, which the executive is a part of.
Baghdad (AFP) - Washington faced a growing backlash in Baghdad on Sunday to its decision to bar citizens of Iraq, a key partner in the war against jihadists, from entering the United States.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering the US for at least 90 days, a move he billed as an effort to make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists".

The move has sparked anger in Iraq, whose forces have been fighting against the Islamic State group with American assistance for more than two years, and led to calls for a reciprocal ban on US citizens.

"We clearly demanded that the Iraqi government deal reciprocally in all issues... with the United States of America," Hassan Shwairid, the deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee, told AFP.

Because of its role in fighting IS, Iraq is worthy of special treatment rather than restrictions, Shwairid said.

"It is not possible for Iraq to fight (IS) today on behalf of all countries of the world (and) be dealt with like other countries," the lawmaker said.

Shwairid said that the call did not apply to the thousands of American military personnel in the country as part of the US-led coalition against IS.

It "is not related to the soldiers because they are present in the framework of the forces of the international coalition", he said.

A foreign ministry official said that meetings were ongoing to determine Iraq's response.

"Intensive meetings are taking place now and a crisis cell was formed in the foreign ministry to discuss the stance of the American administration," the official said on condition of anonymity.

- 'Get your nationals out' -

Earlier on Sunday, the Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful paramilitary umbrella organisation that includes Iran-backed Shiite militias that fought against American forces in past years, called for US citizens to be banned from the country.

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"After the decision of the American president to prohibit the entry of Iraqi citizens to the United States of America, we demand Americans be prevented from entering Iraq, and the removal of those of them who are present," the Hashed said in a statement.

The statement did not specify if the call applied to American military personnel in Iraq, and the Hashed al-Shaabi's spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment.

Both units from the Hashed and American troops are deployed in the Mosul area as part of the operation to retake the city from IS, and heightened anti-US sentiment among militiamen could increase the danger to Washington's forces.

The Hashed al-Shaabi has played a significant role in halting IS's sweeping 2014 offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, and later in pushing the jihadists back.

But it has also faced repeated accusations of abuses including summary executions, kidnappings and destruction of property in the course of the war against IS.

Trump's travel restrictions also drew condemnation from populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, America's bete noir for much of its 2003-2011 war in Iraq.

"You enter Iraq and other countries with all freedom and prevent their entry into your country," Sadr, the scion of a powerful clerical family who rose to widespread fame due to his condemnation of and violent resistance to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, said in a statement.

Sadr condemned this as "arrogance" and told the US to "get your nationals out before removing expatriates".
WASHINGTON (AP)  The White House on Sunday vigorously defended President Donald Trump's immigration restrictions, as protests against the order spread throughout the country. Some Republicans in Congress publicly opposed the changes amid legal challenges to the order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, though top congressional Republicans remain largely behind the new president.

In a background call with reporters, a senior administration official declared the order's implementation "a massive success story," claiming it had been done "seamlessly and with extraordinary professionalism."

But there was confusion at airports around the world, and late Sunday the administration appeared to walk-back how the order would apply to certain groups, like legal permanent U.S. residents.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a statement Sunday saying that, absent information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, residency would be a "dispositive factor in our case-by-case determination." That means citizens of the seven countries who hold permanent U.S. "green cards" will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. Officials had previously said they would be barred from returning. It remains unclear what kind of additional screening they will now face.

Trump's order, which also suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely bars the processing of refugees from Syria, sparked widespread protests and denunciations from Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Many have accused the administration of rushing to implement the changes, resulting in panic and confusion at the nation's airports.

"You have an extreme vetting proposal that didn't get the vetting it should have had," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who urged the new president to "slow down" and work with lawmakers on how best to tighten screening for foreigners who enter the United States.

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"In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security" and reflects the fact that "America's always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants," he said.

Several Democrats in Congress said they would introduce legislation to stop the ban.

During a round of Sunday show interviews, Trump's aides stressed that just a small portion of travelers had been affected by the order and emphasized its temporary nature.

"I can't imagine too many people out there watching this right now think it's unreasonable to ask a few more questions from someone traveling in and out of Libya and Yemen before being let loose in the United States," Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said. "And that's all this is."

As of Sunday afternoon, one legal permanent resident had been denied entry to the country as a result of the order, according to a federal law enforcement official. The official was not permitted to discuss the order's impact publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said the changes were "a small price to pay" to keep the nation safe.

But it's unclear whether the order will accomplish that. It does not address homegrown extremists already in America, a primary concern of federal law enforcement officials. And the list of countries in Trump's order doesn't include Saudi Arabia, where most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from.

Priebus said that other countries could be added to the list. Trump spoke by phone Sunday with leaders from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Neither country is among the seven specified in Trump's order.

The president, meanwhile, defended his actions, insisting it was "not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting."

"This is not about religion  this is about terror and keeping our country safe," he said.

Trump also said he has "tremendous feeling" for the people fleeing the bloody civil war in Syria and vowed to "find ways to help all those who are suffering." The White House said later that King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, had both agreed to support safe zones for refugees, but offered no further details.

The developments came a day after a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from the seven majority Muslim nations subject to Trump's 90-day travel ban.

The court barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.

The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order.

"President Trump's executive orders remain in place  prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the department said in a statement.

Top congressional Republicans, meanwhile, were backing Trump despite concerns raised Sunday from a handful of GOP lawmakers and condemnation from the Koch political network, which is among the most influential players in the conservative movement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he supports more stringent screening, though he cautioned that Muslims are some of the country's "best sources in the war against terror."

Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, expressed fear that the order could "become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."

"This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security," they wrote.

Trump fired back on Twitter, calling the pair "sadly weak on immigration."

Priebus was on NBC's "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation," Portman was on CNN's "State of the Union," while McConnell appeared on ABC's "This Week."

___

Associated Press writers Alicia Caldwell in Washington and Steve Peoples in Palm Springs, California, contributed to this report.

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Follow Colvin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj
Aden (AFP) - Elite US forces launched a dawn raid against Al-Qaeda in Yemen on Sunday, killing at least 14 suspected jihadists in an operation in which an American soldier also died.

US President Donald Trump said Americans were saddened at the news of the death of a "heroic service member".

The assault marked Washington's first major military action in Yemen under Trump, who has vowed to step up the US fight against Islamic extremism.

The US military said the raid in the Yakla region of Baida province killed 14 members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington views as the global network's most dangerous branch.

A Yemeni provincial official gave a higher toll of 41 presumed militants and 16 civilians killed in the raid, including eight women and eight children.

Washington did not specify how the US soldier died. It said three more American servicemen were injured in the raid along with a fourth who was hurt in a "hard landing".

"Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," Trump said.

He said in a statement that sacrifices by the armed forces "are the backbone of the liberty we hold so dear as Americans, united in our pursuit of a safer nation and a freer world."

A statement from US Central Command said that an aircraft used in the raid had to be "intentionally destroyed".

A US defence official told AFP that "no prisoners had been taken" during the operation.

- Tribal chiefs -

A civil war in Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and pro-government forces has killed more than 7,000 people since March 2015 and allowed extremists including AQAP and the Islamic State group to gain ground in the impoverished nation.

Fierce clashes between Yemeni loyalists and the Shiite rebels have killed more than 100 fighters in the past 24 hours on Yemen's west coast, officials said on Sunday.

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Sunday's US raid was said to have targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to Al-Qaeda.

The provincial official said Apache helicopters also hit a school, a mosque and a medical facility which were all used by Al-Qaeda militants.

The three prominent tribal figures with known Al-Qaeda links killed in the attack were identified as brothers Abdulraouf and Sultan al-Zahab and Saif Alawai al-Jawfi, the official and other sources said.

Among the children killed in the raid was the daughter of slain US-born preacher Anwar al-Awlaqi, Nura, who lived with the family of her maternal uncle, a relative said.

Awlaqi himself was killed in September 2011 in a drone strike and his son Abulrahman was killed two weeks later in a similar attack.

Local officials said an Al-Qaeda chief in the region was also killed in Sunday's raid.

The operation, which Trump said "will assist the US in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world", was the first major US military action in Yemen since he took office on January 20.

- 'Heinous crime' -

A statement from AQAP said that 30 people died in the raid -- "only women and children... with some tribal leaders who have no connections" to the group, according to a translation provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.

AQAP claimed an Apache helicopter fired more than a dozen rockets at three houses in the area, condemning what it called a "heinous crime".

Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, the US dramatically increased its use of drone strikes against suspected jihadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan.

Although the US only sporadically reports on its long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to operate armed drones over Yemen.

On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing of a senior Al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike.

Yemen's long-running conflict escalated in March 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition began bombing raids against Huthi rebels who had stormed the capital and taken swathes of central and northern territory.

Around 7,400 people have died in air strikes and clashes since then, the UN says, and aid agencies have warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest nation.

Baida province is mostly controlled by the Huthis, but Yakla is ruled by tribes, and has at least two training bases for Al-Qaeda, local sources said.

Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have mounted offensives against jihadists in the south, but the militants remain active in several areas.
Marseille (AFP) - France international Dimitri Payet said on Monday he didn't have to justify his behaviour after forcing through a return to Marseille from West Ham for a club-record transfer fee.

Payet rejoined the Ligue 1 side on a four-and-a-half-year deal after Marseille shelled out 30 million euros ($31.3 million, 25 million) to bring him back to the Stade Velodrome.

"It's what I wanted. It was clear from the start," Payet told a news conference after concluding an acrimonious divorce with West Ham late Sunday.

"Thanks to all the staff for doing what was needed. I wanted to be part of this project that is just getting started. It came at a time when I missed France."

The 29-year-old received a warm welcome on his return to his former club, but he refused to apologise for the controversial manner in which he left England.

Payet starred for the Premier League side last season, scoring 12 goals and being named to the PFA Team of the Year, but when the transfer window opened earlier this month he refused to play as his priority was a return to France.

"It was drawn out because I started my stand-off with West Ham a long time ago. If (the move) hadn't gone through I would have lived with it," said Payet.

"But I didn't feel very good over there. (West Ham boss) Slaven Bilic had his view, but I don't have to justify my behaviour.

"I had an amazing year in England. It didn't finish how we had hoped, but I'll have very good memories of West Ham supporters."

Payet could make his Marseille debut, for the second time, in Tuesday's French Cup clash against Lyon in the last 32.

He had signed last February a new five-and-a-half-year contract worth 125,000 a week with the Hammers, but Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud said Payet "had accepted a signification reduction in pay" to re-sign with the nine-time French champions.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The White House says it has yet to determine how Mexico will pay for a massive wall at the Mexican border that President Donald Trump has promised to build.

Chief of staff Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that a "buffet of options" remains. He says that could include a tax on goods coming across the border, import and export taxes  even a tax on drug cartels or fines to people who come to the U.S. illegally.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto last week canceled a meeting with Trump amid tensions over Trump's plan to build a wall at Mexico's expense.

Priebus says it's early in the planning process. He says the broader point is that Trump is fulfilling a campaign promise to build the wall.
Trump signs executive orders calling for the extreme vetting of visa seekers from terror-plagued countries on Friday. (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

President Trump lashed out on Sunday over those challenging his controversial executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border, Trump said in a statement issued late Sunday afternoon. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say.

The seven countries named in the executive order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror, Trump continued. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion  this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.

He added: We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days. I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering.

Trump releases statement defending travel ban amid fierce backlash: https://t.co/XSeAkZuM02 pic.twitter.com/JxvEJIqILs  Dylan Stableford (@stableford) January 29, 2017

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order barring people from seven countries  including Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Somalia  from entering the United States for 90 days. It also stopped all refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days and indefinitely suspended the entry of refugees from Syria.

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But critics, including several Republican lawmakers, say the policy goes too far.

I think its a good idea to tighten the vetting process, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on ABCs This Week on Sunday. But I also think its important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas.

I think we need to be careful, McConnell added. We dont have religious tests in this country.

Trump was apparently unmoved.

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW, Trump tweeted earlier Sunday. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers, he added. We cannot allow this horror to continue!

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world  a horrible mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Others criticized Trump for issuing the travel ban without warning, a move that led to chaos at some U.S. airports.

It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a joint statement. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security.

On NBCs Meet the Press, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said the administrations lack of advance notice was by design.

I dont think you want a grace period, Priebus said. Because then people who want to do bad things to Americans would just move up their travel date two days in order to get into the country before the grace period is over.  And if you ask, a lot of the people at the customs and border patrol would just tell you youve got to just rip off the Band-Aid and you have to move forward.

Trump was more forceful in his response.

The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong  they are sadly weak on immigration. The two  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong  they are sadly weak on immigration, Trump wrote on Twitter. The two [senators] should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.

The executive order sparked a wave of protests at airports around the country after more than 100 people, including some with current visas, were detained or turned around.

Weve got a couple dozen more that remain, Priebus said. And I would suspect as long as theyre not awful people that they will move through before another half a day today and perhaps some of these people should be detained further, and if theyre folks that shouldnt be in this country, theyre going to be detained. So apologize for nothing here.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn had issued an emergency stay temporarily blocking part of the order.

The decision, which will affect people who have been detained in airports, came after the American Civil Liberties Union and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at New York Citys John F. Kennedy International Airport.

There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa holders, and other individuals from nations subject to [Trumps] executive order, Judge Ann Donnelly said in her ruling.

Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to Trump, said the chaos caused by the executive order was a small price to pay for greater security.

Conway said those who were detained represent just 1 percent of the 325,000 who flew into the United States on Saturday.

I was stopped many times  after 9/11, she added. I didnt resemble, or share a name with or be a part of any type of terrorist conspiracy. But this is what we do to keep a nation safe.

Conway added: This whole idea that theyre being separate and ripped from their family  its temporary.

More from Yahoo News:

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Related slideshows:

Slideshow: Protests against Trumps travel ban hit the streets of NYC >>>

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Slideshow: Protests at U.S. airports over travel ban >>>
Hours after a federal judge blocked a key component of President Donald Trumps executive order banning refugees and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, the White House is backtracking on the orders applicability to legal permanent residents of the U.S.

As far as green-card holders moving forward, it doesnt affect them, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Sunday morning in an appearance on NBCs Meet the Press. But he added that those green-card holders could be subject to additional interviews if they frequently travel to the countries in question. Youre going to be subjected, temporarily, with more questioning, he said.

The chaotic implementation of the Friday order could be seen nationwide, as students, travelers, and businesspeople hailing from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia were forced to scrap travel plans. Dozens of U.S. green-card holders were detained at U.S. airports, as tearful family members filled television screens Saturday awaiting their reunification. A federal judge granted an emergency stay late Saturday to prevent the deportation of those who have arrived and are in transit to the U.S. with valid visas.

CNN reported Saturday that the White House overruled the Department of Homeland Securitys interpretation of the order to say that the order did include green-card holders. A senior Administration official told reporters Saturday that U.S. green-card holders from one of the affected countries currently abroad will need to apply for a waiver before being allowed to return to the U.S. Green-card holders from those countries currently in the U.S. would be required to meet with a consular officer before departing the country, the official added.

The White House defended the implementation of the order Saturday, commending the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for their efforts. But there were obvious signs that the government agencies werent prepared for the orders scope. Career DHS officials were not allowed to review the final order until late Friday, just before its release, an official said. The case-by-case waiver process was still being developed Saturday, and guidance from the agencies to airports and carriers was incomplete even late Saturday.
Paris (AFP) - Several world leaders and governments have hit out at the immigration restrictions imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Here are some of the top reactions:

- BRITAIN -

Downing Street said on Sunday Prime Minister Theresa May does "not agree" with the restrictions and would intervene if they affected British nationals.

While US immigration is a matter for Washington, "we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking," London said.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted Britain "will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality."

- EUROPEAN UNION -

European Union foreign policy supremo Federica Mogherini pledged the bloc would "continue to support, welcome and take care of those who flee from war".

"We will continue to celebrate for every wall that is torn down and for every new bridge that is built up. We will keep working for peace and coexistence. This is our history, this is our identity, our work and our commitment," added Mogherini.

- CANADA -

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not directly criticise Trump but said on his official Twitter account: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."

This tweet was followed by one showing him with a young refugee at a Canadian airport and another that used the hashtag #ACanadianIsACanadian, as his office confirmed Canadian passport holders including dual nationals were unaffected by the ban.

- IRAN -

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed Trump's move as "a clear insult to the Islamic world" and said it "will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters".

Zarif said Trump's decision "only serves to provide a fertile ground for more terrorist recruitment by deepening the ruptures and fault-lines which have been exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks".

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His ministry said earlier it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country, though it will not apply to those who already have a valid visa.

- GERMANY -

Angela Merkel's spokesman said the German chancellor "regrets the entry ban" and "is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism, it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion".

Berlin "will now examine the consequences" of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, added the spokesman.

- INDONESIA -

Indonesia "deeply regrets" the move "because we believe it would affect the global fight against terrorism and the refugees management negatively," foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told AFP.

"It is wrong to link radicalism and terrorism with one particular religion," Nasir said.

- FRANCE -

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said: "Welcoming refugees who are fleeing war is part of our duty."

"We must... ensure that this happens in a fair, just way and with solidarity ... This decision can only cause us concern."

- SWEDEN -

Swedish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallstrom called the decision "deeply unfortunate".

"This decision increases mistrust and tensions between people. Not since World War II have so many people fled war and conflict," she wrote.

"It is the joint responsibility of all countries to help them, including the US."

- SWITZERLAND -

Trump's decision is "wrong", Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Burkhalter said.

"We have always been opposed to discrimination against human beings on the basis of religion or nationality," he said. "In that sense, the US order clearly goes in the wrong direction."

Burkhalter said the Swiss government would confer with American representatives to find out how the order would affect Swiss residents, especially dual nationals from countries affected.

Burkhalter also invoked the Geneva Conventions, saying they "mean that all countries welcome people affected by war for humanitarian reasons".

"It is therefore contrary to the Conventions to stop welcoming people coming from Syria," he added.

- THE NETHERLANDS -

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said all refugees fleeing war and violence "deserve a safe haven, regardless of their ethnicity or religion".

He added that while his government is conscious of the potential to abuse the refugee system, "we regret the US decision to ban the travel of people from seven Muslim countries and we reject it."

However, Geert Wilders, a lawmaker from the far-right Freedom Party, tweeted Sunday: "Less Islam means more freedom" and "No more immigration from an Islamic country is exactly what we need. Also in The Netherlands, Islam and freedom are incompatible."

- CZECH REPUBLIC -

Going against the grain of global condemnation, a spokesman for Czech President Milos Zeman came out in favour of the ban.

"US President Trump protects his country, he's concerned with the safety of his citizens. Exactly what EU elites do not do," Jiri Ovcacek said.

- POLAND -

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski also refused to condemn the ban, saying "it's the right of every sovereign state to determine its own immigration policy".

"The scale of this phenomenon is so large that in many countries at the moment the immigration issue is a matter of government policy and should remain government policy," he told Polish private news channel Polsat News on Sunday.

"No country currently has the obligation to welcome immigrants. Countries have the obligation -- in accordance with international conventions -- to welcome refugees, if they arrive," he added.




On Friday evening, President Trump signed an executive order to temporarily bar the citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and immediately halt to the U.S. refugee program for four months  with Syrian refugees barred indefinitely. By Saturday, protests had erupted at international airports across the nation, calling for the release of people being detained because of the executive order.

Amid the chaos and unrest, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, were getting ready for a night out on the town in black tie apparel.

Late Saturday night, a judge blocked the deportations.

And late Saturday night, the Trump-Kushner couple tweeted a photo of themselves, pictured above, all dolled up and ready for a night out.

It was the tweet seemingly heard around the world, as people immediately took to social media to decry the fact that Trump and her husband showed off fancy attire while the lives and security of refugees were in question, with a mounting number of Americans filling every nook and cranny at airports to protest the detention and deportation of refugees.

It also didnt help that Ivankas dress, reportedly $5000, was metallic silver jacquard.

@amjoyshow @IvankaTrump It reminds me of when Germans danced to Richard Wagner and went to concerts as Jews were led into gas chambers.  Katie (@wrennywrenn) January 29, 2017

@IvankaTrump Refugees who sold their belongings and were told they'd be welcome are turned around at U.S. border: https://t.co/EP42ZgtlRW  John Green (@johngreen) January 29, 2017

@IvankaTrump Your father is responsible for two senior citizens with green cards being illegally detained at O'Hare for 10 hours.Have fun!  Cher (@thecherness) January 29, 2017

.@IvankaTrump But, you know. Enjoy your party or whatever. Looks fancy.  Mike Satcher (@satchmoagain) January 29, 2017

@IvankaTrump Oh, good, the world is burning and families are being torn apart, but you're decked out in tin foil. Cool. #MuslimBan  Christopher Ehlers (@_ChrisEhlers) January 29, 2017

Quickly, the hashtag #lethemeatcake popped up on social media, as people compared Ivanka Trump  and by association, the entire Trump family  to Marie Antoinette.

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Antoinette, while married to French King Louis XVI, is associated with the phrase Let them eat cake! in relation to her supposed reaction upon hearing about the struggles of the people of France, including a food shortage that left many families without staples like bread.

The open question on social media was the following: Could Trump be so deep in a rarefied bubble that tweeting a photo of herself and her husband before a black tie event wearing a $5,000 evening gown seemed like an appropriate message while the country was embroiled in protests over the rights of immigrants and the safety and well-being of refugees?

What do you think? Tell us in the comments, below.

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Photo: Facebook

A video of a woman arguing with a man in a coffee shop has gone viral after she posted the exchange on Facebook.

I was just literally on my computer, minding my business, and I look up and see a guy with a camera pointing at me, Asma Elhuni told Creative Loafing.

The exchange happened at Joes Coffee Shop in East Atlanta Village. Elhuni says that the man, who calls himself Rob in the video, took a picture of her. At the beginning of the clip, we can see him holding his phone.

You like taking pictures? Elhuni asks him, you like taking pictures of me in particular? Rob then sits down near her and asks, Why are you so uptight?

Id like to know why youre coming in here taking a picture of me, she responds.

The man says: Im standing in a coffee shop, which I thought was interesting. I see this guy sitting here looks like hes the DJ, and I thought it was a really chill place, so being from Detroit I took a shot of the coffee shop and that guy sitting there, whos obviously not the DJ, and we were going to have a laugh. I was going to share that on Facebook. And then you started acting like a bitch.

Its then that things gets heated, and after an exchange of words, Rob finally asks, Do you have a green card? before getting up and walking out.

Elhuni, 39, a Muslim women who wears a hijab, is in fact an American citizen and a Georgia State University political science graduate student. Shes also a legislative intern for State Rep. Brenda Lopez.

The exchange hit social media just as President Trumps travel ban on foreign nationals from Muslim majority countries goes into effect. Protests across the country have sprung up in response, and several federal judges have moved to halt implementation of the order.

The video has been viewed nearly half a million times, and an outpouring of public support for Elhuni has come from Atlanta locals and Internet commentators alike. Bosco Palapava writes on Facebook, I am so sorry that this man treated you so poorly. I admire your courage and restraint.

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One Mais T Salman-AbuJrees posted a screenshot in the comments on the video. The photo shows the same coffee shop and a message from a Rob Koehler describing the incident as him being confronted by a Muslim activist. In the post, it appears he is apologizing for his interaction with her.

Joes Coffee Shop has issued a statement on Facebook saying There is a video floating around on Facebook of an encounter with one of our dear customers and a man saying horrible things to her. We DO NOT condone such behavior and are, frankly, disgusted by it. Joes is a welcoming place, a SAFE space for people of all races, colors, and sex, ETC. If you are ever in our store and feel threatened or uncomfortable please tell a staff member. PLEASE remember to love people and show kindness always.

Fight back with your cameras yall. writes Elhuni on Facebook.

Related: Women Scared to Wear Hijabs in President-Elect Trumps World

Related: Western Dress Blamed for Mass Sexual Harassment in India

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President Donald Trump this past Friday signed off on an Executive Order which restricts refugees from 7 predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. In turn, Trumps new immigration initiative has been widely criticized from all angles and has sparked sharp criticism and waves of protests across the country.

Don't Miss: Scientists find a way to turn hydrogen into a metal

Notably, tech industry giants have been particularly vocal in their opposition to Trumps new immigration policies. This past Friday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a heartfelt email to Google employees (obtained by The Wall Street Journal) stating that as many as 187 Google employees may be affected by the aforementioned travel ban. Pichai added that the search giant will do any and everything in its power to help them.

Were upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US, Pichai said. Its painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues.

Also entering the fray, Apple CEO Tim Cook over the weekend sent out a company wide email expressing similar concern regarding Trumps immigration policies. Incidentally, its worth noting that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was himself the son of a Syrian immigrant.

Cooks letter to Apple employees, via Business Insider, can be read below:

Team, In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, Ive made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration  both to our company and to our nations future. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do. Ive heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support. There are employees at Apple who are directly affected by yesterdays immigration order. Our HR, Legal and Security teams are in contact with them, and Apple will do everything we can to support them. Were providing resources on AppleWeb for anyone with questions or concerns about immigration policies. And we have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company. As Ive said many times, diversity makes our team stronger. And if theres one thing I know about the people at Apple, its the depth of our empathy and support for one another. Its as important now as its ever been, and it will not weaken one bit. I know I can count on all of you to make sure everyone at Apple feels welcome, respected and valued. Apple is open. Open to everyone, no matter where they come from, which language they speak, who they love or how they worship. Our employees represent the finest talent in the world, and our team hails from every corner of the globe. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now. Tim

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As for other tech companies taking a stand, Lyft over the weekend promised to donate $1 million to the ACLU to help them fight on behalf of refugees.

Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyfts and our nations core values, Lyft said in a statement. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community.

In a similar vein, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings took to Facebook where he characterized Trumps immigration plan as patently un-American.

Trumps actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity.

Also of note is that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky promised to provide free housing for refugees unable to stay in the United States.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also chimed in on the matter.

Some other statements of note include remarks from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Box CEO Aaron Levie.

Nadella relayed the following via LinkedIn.

As an immigrant and as a CEO, Ive both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic.

And perhaps taking the strongest position of all, Levie had this to say on the matter.

Well make sure to update this post as the saga continues to play out.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Moving the manufacture of Apple iPhones from Asia to the US could add $30-100 to the price of each unit, say analysts (AFP Photo/STR) (AFP/File)

San Francisco (AFP) - As US President Donald Trump pushes hard for goods to be "made in America," how realistic is it to expect Apple to stop manufacturing its iconic devices in China?

The freshly installed president vowed while campaigning that he would force Apple to bring production to US soil.

Yet, as other big companies have sought to appease the new administration with promises of jobs or investments in the United States, Apple has stayed low-profile.

Major Apple contractor Foxconn this month confirmed that it is considering a $7 billion investment to make flat panels in the US in a joint project with Japan's SoftBank.

"I have discussed with my major clients about going to (the US) and they are also willing to invest, including Apple," Foxconn founder Terry Gou told reporters in Taipei.

Taiwan-based Foxconn has given no details, and Apple declined to comment.

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry believed that moving manufacturing to the US, where many customers are, was more of a commonsense move than a political one.

"You need to manufacture local products in local markets," Chowdhry reasoned.

Making things locally gives better control of distribution networks and lets manufacturers customize goods for local markets, the analyst noted.

- Logistics puzzle -

Whether politically motivated or not, Apple is not in the same position as automakers which relocated US factories overseas to cut costs, according to IHS manufacturing processes chief analyst Dan Panzica. Apple never moved jobs offshore, it created them there.

"The Apple jobs were never here," Panzica said.

"The entire supply chain grew in China."

Apple benefits in Asia from a network that goes beyond subcontractors assembling smartphones, tablets or laptops. The California-based firm relies on a dense ecosystem of companies that make components and spare parts for its devices as well.

China also offers sources of important raw materials, along with cheap, flexible and abundant labor to keep iPhone assembly lines cranking along.

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It would be "very hard to replicate" that situation with US workers without using "more robotics and less workforce," undermining the political aim of creating jobs here, according to Endpoint Technologies analyst Roger Kay.

Exacerbating the challenge, "it makes no sense to make phones here if you have to ship all the components from China," said technology analyst Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates.

- Sacrifice profit or price -

The MIT Technology Review in June considered several scenarios, from simply bringing assembly to the US to simultaneously shifting the manufacture of parts here.

The Review estimated the extra manufacturing cost of an iPhone 6S Plus at $30 to $100 as a result of those moves.

It is difficult to imagine that Apple would risk its status as the world's most profitable company to absorb such a hike in manufacturing costs.

"Apple will never lower its margins on its flagship product, the iPhone," said Ovum consumer technologies analyst Ronan de Renesse.

Apple is under pressure from investors to keep its high margins, and already faces slowing growth of iPhone sales.

So, would US consumers put their money where the political talk is and pay more for iPhones stamped "Made in the USA"?

Not all analysts were convinced.

It was seen as more likely that Apple would make a symbolic move to appease Washington, such as investing more in making Mac Pro computers here, or in a facility for higher-priced, limited-edition devices such as an "anniversary edition iPhone" to mark the handset's 10th birthday this year.

"I would be very surprised to see a major production shift to the US," Gold said while discussing Apple.

- Carrots or sticks -

Breaking the US technology star's successful business model should be out of the question for the Trump administration, and there is likely to be a compromise such as "financial incentives," according to Ovum analyst de Renesse.

Foxconn is already trying to get US states to woo it with grants of land, cheap energy, or tax breaks.

Apple could seek tax amnesty for the $200 billion or so in profits it keeps overseas in exchange for increasing local manufacturing.

The economic equation would change if Trump went on the offensive by imposing heavy customs duties on Chinese imports.

Given Apple's dependencies on partners in China, and its keen desire to gain traction in that market, Apple could find itself an early casualty in a US trade battle with Beijing.
An artists conception shows passengers looking through one of the windows in Blue Origins New Shepard suborbital spaceship. (Blue Origin Illustration)

The folks who ride New Shepard, the suborbital spaceship being tested by Jeff Bezos Blue Origin space venture, will be given barf bags to tuck into their flight suits. But they almost certainly wont need them.

Thats the word from former NASA astronaut Nicholas Patrick, who is now working out what passengers aboard New Shepard will experience. His official title at Blue Origin is human integration architect.

Patrick and other Blue Origin employees showed off what the companys done so far, and what it plans to do over the next couple of years, for a standing-room crowd of about 500 folks on Friday night during an Astronomy on Tap presentation at the Peddler Brewing Company in Seattles Ballard neighborhood.

Over the past 14 months, New Shepard has made five successful uncrewed flights to space and back, rising beyond 100 kilometers (62 miles) in altitude from Blue Origins test site in West Texas.

If all goes according to plan, Bezos has said New Shepard could start carrying trained test astronauts by the end of this year, and take on paying passengers next year. Patrick basically confirmed thats still the plan, but declined to provide a more detailed timeline.

We dont publish the details of the flight test program, thats proprietary information, Patrick said. So what I can tell you is I expect well be flying people in the next year or two.

When that happens, passengers can expect to take an 11-minute ride that goes roughly straight up and straight down from a launch pad thats about a two-hour drive from El Paso. Up to six passengers will take their seats, looking downward through big picture windows.

There wont be a pilot on board. Instead, launch and ascent will be controlled remotely and autonomously, with backup systems set up in case something goes wrong. New Shepards escape system was successfully tested in October under worst-case conditions.

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Passengers will experience 1.5 to 3 Gs of acceleration on the way up, which is about what youd feel when youre riding a roller coaster. At the top of the ride, youll have 3.5 to 4 minutes of weightless. Thatll be your opportunity to unhook the straps and float around the roomy 530-cubic-foot cabin.

An array of cameras will be placed all over the cabin, so you shouldnt have to worry about taking your own selfies (or bringing up a bulky camera that could pose a flight hazard).

On the way down, the crew capsule will be slowed by parachutes, and you should flump back down onto West Texas rangeland with a jolt of less than 5 mph.

During Friday nights Q&A, Patrick provided more details about the anticipated passenger experience. Heres an edited transcript of the discussion:

Q: How will you let passengers know that its time to stop floating around and get back in their seats?

Patrick: The answer is not just one, not just two, but three or four different methods. The first method is that therell be what you would call an idiot light by every window that says Fasten Your Harness.

Method No. 2 is that well have a capcom, capsule communicator in our mission control, wholl get on the radio and say, No, really, get back in your seats. The view may be fun, but youll want to get back and talk about it.

And the third thing is, weve got this wonderful system called the base of the vehicle. Its really going to be generating Gs. If nothing else persuades people to get back in their seats, that will surely do it.

Q: How much will it cost to take a ride on New Shepard?

A: The answer is not a closely held secret. The answer is, we havent decided yet. I can tell you that there are other companies doing this, and youre welcome to go to the Web and figure out how much they charge. Its quite a lot. [Spoiler alert: The cost of a ticket to space is $250,000 for Virgin Galactic, and $100,000 to $150,000 for XCOR Space Expeditions.]

Obviously, everybodys goal is to get this price down a long way. Were not going to get millions of people living and working in space by charging a quarter of a million dollars or $100,000 just for a suborbital flight. We need to get that cost down to thousands or even hundreds of dollars eventually. That way we can afford to send a lot of people up there, which is when the space-based economy will really take off.

Blue Origins Nicholas Patrick talks about the New Shepard space tourist experience at an Astronomy on Tap presentation at Peddler Brewing Company in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle)

Q: How much training will passengers need?

A: Its a short flight, so we wont be asking people to train for a year, the way NASA astronauts trained for a shuttle flight, or three years, the way they train for a long space station mission.

Were going to get this training down to a matter of days, or less. Thats because we dont have very many tasks. You need to know how to get out of your seat gracefully, and back into your seat safely.

Well teach you a few safety procedures, like how to use the fire extinguisher  and maybe how to use the communication system, although that will come naturally to many people.

What well probably spend some time on is training people how to enjoy it. What are they going to take with them and use up there? How are they going to play? How are they going to experiment? Not too much training, just enough to have fun.

Q: Where are you putting the barf bag?

A: I hope we wont need any. Heres why: Youve all heard of the Vomit Comet? This is the airplane that NASA uses to expose astronauts to microgravity and to send up experiments and give them a little zero-G time.

This airplane flies parabolas, up and down. It would fly 40 parabolas, and then come home to Houston. Im not particularly immune to seasickness or motion sickness. I found that when I flew this thing, the first time I did it, my doctor said, Calibrate yourself. Dont medicate and see how long you last. I lasted 23 parabolas. I medicated gently on subsequent flights on that vehicle, and I didnt get sick.

This is one parabola. Its an enormous parabola, but Im hopeful that the vast majority of people will not get sick on this flight. If they do, well give them a barf bag. Well put it somewhere in their flight suit where its handy.

Hundreds of people listen to an Astronomy on Tap presentation by Blue Origins Nicholas Patrick (left) at Peddler Brewing Company in Seattles Ballard neighborhood. GeekWires Alan Boyle is the guy in the orange jacket sitting on the floor in front. (Astronomy on Tap Photo / Nicole Sanchez and Brett Morris)

Q: What kind of spacesuits will people wear?

A: Spacesuits are a fascinating subject. But were not going to require spacesuits on this vehicle. We looked really hard at whether or not we would need them, and what they would add to the flight, and weve concluded at this point that we are able to fly people in flight suits.

Its simpler, its easier and its more comfortable. It will make for a better experience. And were not going to spend a long time in orbit where we cant come back immediately. We know where were coming back. Its 11 minutes after we launch. The cabin is full of air, and we have an emergency oxygen system. Thats how weve chosen to address that issue.

Blue Origin hasnt yet set a ticket price, and its not taking reservations. But you can join a mailing list that provides updates on the ventures progress, including missives from Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin is taking applications for summer internships, but the deadline to apply is Tuesday. The company is also listing nearly 120 job openings. Most of those openings are at Blue Origins headquarters and production facility in Kent, Wash.

The next Astronomy on Tap Seattle event will take place at Seattles Peddler Brewing Company on Feb. 22. The speakers will be Rory Barnes, a University of Washington astronomer who specializes in the search for potentially habitable extrasolar planets; and Dan Dixon, the creator and director of Universe Sandbox, an interactive space and gravity simulator. Keep watch on the Astronomy on Tap website and Facebook page for further details.

More from GeekWire:
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg isnt a fan of Donald Trumps recent Executive Orders regarding immigration. In a lengthy note on the matter posted on his personal profile page, Zuckerberg expressed concern over the long-term ramifications that Trumps new Executive Orders will have on the United States.

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Noting that both he and his wife are the product of immigrants, Zuckerberg offered up a heartfelt explanation as to why being accepting of immigrants and refugees is so important.

Like many of you, Im concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump, Zuckerberg said on Friday. We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who dont pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.

We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help, Zuckerberg added. Thats who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscillas family wouldnt be here today.

We are a nation of immigrants, Zuckerberg concluded, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here. I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone.

At the same time, Zuckerberg also expressed optimism with respect to Trumps plans to work something out for immigrants who came to the United States at a young age.

You can check out Zuckerbergs full post over here.

Incidentally, Facebooks relationship with Trump is rather interesting given Trumps ties to Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder who currently sits on Facebooks board of directors.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
A Sony Xperia XA (2017) prototype just made an appearance on YouTube. By the looks of it, the device will not sport a different look from its predecessor.

Loyal Sony fans who have been waiting for the Japanese company to drop more details about its upcoming smartphones are in luck this week. One of the devices that Sony will be showcasing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona has already made an appearance online ahead of the February exhibition. The Xperia XA gave a good impression to consumers despite its mid-range status last year. Hence, Sony is planning to impress more people this year with the release of the Xperia XA (2017).

Just this Friday, YouTube channel TechLover HD shared a video showing what appears to be a prototype for the new Xperia XA. Based on its appearance, consumers shouldnt expect a drastic change in the form factor of the handset. The large top and bottom bezels are still there to irritate people who are more invested in bezel-less phones.

The prototype that TechLover HD got has the model code G3121. It isnt clear if Sony is debuting the device with this code. The leak doesnt mention anything about the specs and features of the smartphone, but the video title claims the upcoming Xperia XA (2017) is sporting a 23-megapixel back camera. Should this be the case, Sony is doing a big jump from the 13-megapixel rear shooter of the original Xperia XA.

The handset in the video appears to be running on Android 7.0 Nougat, and it even has the Jan. 5, 2017 security patch installed. This means either the prototype is a recent one, or that its a old prototype with an updated software. When the original Xperia XA was launched, it debuted with Android OS v6.0.1 Marshmallow, so it wont be surprising if the successor will run the latest OS available at present.

According to Android Headlines, the phone in the video leak seems to have more of a matte color on the sides and at the back. The tech news site pointed out that this is the trend Sony is embracing this year for its Xperia X series of devices.

Sony is expected to unveil five new devices at MWC this year. The companys press conference is scheduled to happen on the first day of the trade show. Its quite likely for Sony to only introduce smartphones and tablets at the exhibition, for it has already outed its other products at CES 2017 this January.

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Expressing his regret, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has confirmed that he will not attend the Academy Awards on February 26  even if exceptions were to be made for my trip, he said in a statement today. Word had begun to spread yesterday that an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, which prohibits entry into the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries including Iran, could prevent the 2012 Oscar winner and current nominee from traveling to Los Angeles.

Farhadi won the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2012 for A Separation and is nominated again this year in the same category for The Salesman. On Saturday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences called the possibility that Farhadi could be prohibited from attending the Oscars due to the ban extremely troubling. Hollywood also responded in solidarity.

In the statement released today by his Canadian distributor Elevation Pictures, quoting a New York Times interview, Farhadi said he had fully intended to attend the ceremony, and share his opinions about these circumstances with the local press. I neither had the intention to not attend nor did I want to boycott the event as a show of objection, for I know that many in the American film industry and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are opposed to the fanaticism and extremism which are today taking place more than ever.

When I spoke with him from Tehran on Tuesday after the Oscar nominations, he sounded eager to retun to Los Angeles for the annual Oscar nominees luncheon and related events.

But today he said, It now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip.

The powerful statement (see it in full below) says, To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity. Farhadi also speaks of hardliners not only in the U.S., but his own country for whom instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.

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On a hopeful note, he adds, I believe that the similarities among the human beings on this earth and its various lands, and among its cultures and its faiths, far outweigh their differences.

Earlier this week, The Salesman star Taraneh Alidoosti said she would not attend the Oscars as a protest against Trumps then-proposed order. She called the visa ban racist.

Heres Farhadis full statement:

I regret to announce via this statement that I have decided to not attend the Academy Awards Ceremony alongside my fellow members of the cinematic community.

Over the course of the past few days and despite the unjust circumstances which have risen for the immigrants and travelers of several countries to the United States, my decision had remained the same: to attend this ceremony and to express my opinions about these circumstances in the press surrounding the event. I neither had the intention to not attend nor did I want to boycott the event as a show of objection, for I know that many in the American film industry and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are opposed to the fanaticism and extremism which are today taking place more than ever. Just as I had stated to my distributor in the United States on the day the nominees were announced, that I would be attending this ceremony along with my cinematographer, I continued to believe that I would be present at this great cultural event.

However, it now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip. I would therefore like to convey via this statement what I would have expressed to the press were I to travel to the United States. Hardliners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an us and them mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of them and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.

This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same. For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears. Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.

However, I believe that the similarities among the human beings on this earth and its various lands, and among its cultures and its faiths, far outweigh their differences. I believe that the root cause of many of the hostilities among nations in the world today must be searched for in their reciprocal humiliation carried out in its past and no doubt the current humiliation of other nations are the seeds of tomorrows hostilities. To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity. I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations.

-Asghar Farhadi, Iran

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Netflix

At this point it should be no surprise that a piece of Netflix original programming blew peoples socks off and became a huge hit, but last December it was shocking and almost confusing when a little-hyped documentary series about a Wisconsin crime called Making A Murderer appeared on the streaming service and immediately became one of its most popular shows ever.

Season two was announced in July but no release date was tied to the project. That still remains true six months later, and now Netflixs VP of original content Cindy Holland has given us an update on the sequels status.

The story is still ongoing, so you will see new episodes coming sometime this year as this story continues to unfold, she told USA Today in a recent interview. We dont know when for sure new episodes will be coming.

Laura and Moira are (in Manitowoc) shooting regularly and working on what the right story is to tell in the next set, so were deferring to them on when it will be ready. Very few people inside of Netflix actually know the details of what were getting because were wanting to keep it really under wraps and it is an ongoing case so were trying to be sensitive to that.

Getty Image

Thats the thing about a documentary: it cant come together faster than the source material its based on, and the second season of the show is dealing with the slow moving appeals of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey. Every motion and counter motion can take months, making even Cindy Hollands promise of this year a bit ambitious.

But there is reason to be hopeful we could see the conclusion of their case this year. Brendan Dassey was almost allowed to leave prison back in August when a judge accepted his lawyers writ of habeas corpus and tossed out his confession. The Wisconsin attorney general fought his release, and now were waiting for an appeals court to hear the case. Dasseys lawyers literally wrote the book on wrongful convictions (as in the one students read in law school) so theres reason to be hopeful Dassey could be set free.

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While most people who have watched Making A Murderer agree that Brendan Dassey was railroaded into prison, theyre less certain Steven Avery is innocent. His road to release lies through being exonerated by forensic evidence, and to that end his lawyer is in the process of retesting several pieces of evidence with new scientific methods. The results of those tests should be given to the courts in the next couple of months.

Who knows what will come of them and how long it will take the legal system to respond, but there is no doubt in our minds that they should make for an explosive second season of Making A Murderer, one that could see either Steven, Brendan, or both walk free.

(Via USA Today)
Celebrities are not happy with President Donald Trump's anti-Muslim immigration ban.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that bans more than 130 million people from the United States and denies entry to all refugees. Shortly after, a number of A-list celebrities took to Twitter to express their opinions on the new controversial policy.

WATCH: Natalie Portman Calls Out Trump During Moving Speech at L.A. Women's March

Sophia Bush was one of the first to take action, retweeting a post from the Tribeca Film Festival's official Twitter account, which read, "Oscar nominee Asghar Farhadi has been banned from entry into the U.S. to attend the ceremony in Feb. This is heartbreaking and unacceptable."

"Unacceptable," Bush added. "Now more than ever, storytelling is essential. #Resist."

Sia offered to match up donations made to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "Help our queer & immigrant friends," she wrote on Twitter. "Send me your donation receipts for the @aclu & I will match up to $100K  #RESIST"

help our queer & immigrant friends. send me your donation receipts for the @aclu & I will match up to $100K https://t.co/P9zVRH0WH0 #RESIST  sia (@Sia) January 28, 2017

Jamie Bell chimed in on the conversation, noting a few of Farhadi's accomplishments. The 44-year-old director is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for The Salesman.

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"Asghar Farhadi, 2 time Oscar nominee, BAFTA nominee, Golden Bear winner, Palme D'or & Cesar award nominee. BANNED from entering US," Bell shared. "Let me add Oscar WINNER, Golden Globe winner, Cesar winner & listed on Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers."

Asghar Farhadi, 2 time Oscar nominee, BAFTA nominee, Golden Bear winner, Palme D'or & Cesar award nominee. BANNED from entering US.   Jamie Bell (@1jamiebell) January 28, 2017

Ava Duvernay then posted quotes from the acceptance speech Farhadi delivered in 2012, when he won an Oscar for A Separation.

"Amplifying words of one of my favorite filmmakers, Asghar Farhadi, who like too many others will be turned away from the Land of the Free," she captioned it.

Amplifying words of one of my favorite filmmakers, Asghar Farhadi, who like too many others will be turned away from the Land of the Free. pic.twitter.com/CcskcFueuo  Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 28, 2017

WATCH: Madonna, Scarlett Johansson and America Ferrera Deliver Powerful Speeches at Women's March

Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani also weighed in, writing, "As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate."

"Hey @mike_pence @SenJohnMcCain @SpeakerRyan, you should be ashamed of yourselves," he continued. "On your deathbeds you will know you made the world worse. You're saying to a billion people, 'You're all the same. You're all dangerous to us.' Children hear this. You breed evil here & everywhere."

Kal Penn, star of Designated Survivor, received a hateful message from a user on Instagram after he posted a series of heartbreaking texts sent to him by his friend about families "being torn apart" thanks to Trump's "un-American" decision.

"You don't belong in this country you f**king joke," the comment read.

Penn took a screenshot of the message and posted it to his Twitter along with this message: "To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name."

To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU  Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017

WATCH: Katy Perry, Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron, Ariana Grande and More Attend Women's Marches Across the Nation

Miley Cyrus also spoke out on the ban via social media, simply posting a photo collage of the Statue of Liberty with the words "STAND WITH IMMIGRANTS."

And Mark Ruffalo brought attention to the peaceful group of protestors at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, who gathered together on Saturday to express their concerns over the detainment of refugees.

"The day the music died..." he tweeted.

The day the music died...  "Protestors gather at New York's JFK Airport over refugee detainment"https://t.co/h8eyFmbAOs  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 28, 2017

See more tweets below.

Donald Trump is an unwell, evil human being. To the core.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 28, 2017

Protest happening at LAX (& airports around the country)! Let's stand up 4 one another LA! #NoBanNoWall #RefugeesWelcome #ImmigrantsWelcome pic.twitter.com/8jex7OSV2R  America Ferrera (@AmericaFerrera) January 28, 2017

Disgusted! The news is devastating! America is being ruined right before our eyes! What an immoral pig you have to be to implement such BS!!  Rihanna (@rihanna) January 29, 2017

LA Protest on #Muslimban TODAY 1-5 at Federal Immigration Office, 300 N. Los Angeles St. https://t.co/y2KOOJmqWx  Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 28, 2017

To our Muslim neighbors in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man.  Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 28, 2017

My best friend, Alaa Mohammad Khaled, is Muslim. His parents were Palestinian refugees. His brother is DJ Khaled. #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/qXOapgvvF7  Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 28, 2017

My heart is breaking today for the Muslim community around the world   troye sivan (@troyesivan) January 28, 2017

THANKU to the protesters @ JFK vocalising their repulsion at the action to ban Muslim refugees & immigrants & green card holders into the US  KT Tunstall (@KTTunstall) January 28, 2017

THESE ARE LADY LIBERTY'S WORDS MY FRIENDS!!!!!! https://t.co/bJvBL6aWkH  Lauren Jauregui (@LaurenJauregui) January 28, 2017

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There was barely any room to walk at the 20th Annual Kumquat Festival on Saturday in Dade City.

Festival organized by Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce

More than 400 vendors at festival

Visitors got to taste kumquats, purchase jelly, vinegar, wine and other kumquat products

People got a chance to taste kumquats, and purchase kumquat jelly, vinegar, wine, pie and beer among other things.



Frank Gude, who co-owns Kumquat Growers Incorporated, told us it has been a tough year for his business. He said the citrus greening disease and root weevils damaged a large number of his kumquat trees.



We have lost a great percentage of our old trees, but were replanting and well have probably twice as many trees when we get through as we have now," said Gude. "But itll probably take us maybe five years to get back in full production."



Gude said his kumquats are usually sold in Publix, but they wont be there this year. With the help of replanting, he hopes to have them back in Publix next November through April.



Gude was one of more than 400 vendors at the festival.



The festival is organized by the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber estimates more than 40,000 people attend every year.
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TWIN FALLS  A man charged with murdering his girlfriends 2-year-old son made the uncommon choice of taking the witness stand in his own trial this week, opening himself up to questions by his own attorney and a deputy prosecutor.

Speaking slowly and in a low voice, Brian James Wagner, 34, calmly answered every question posed to him, including the most important one.

Did you do anything to Jeff (Singleton) to cause him any injury on October 31, 2014? Wagners defense attorney, Doug Nelson, asked him.

Absolutely not, Wagner responded.

The jury agreed with Wagner, returning a not-guilty verdict Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge about 15 months after a grand jury indicted him for the death of Jeffrey Charles Singleton, the son of his former girlfriend whom Wagner said he considered like his own son.

He wanted the jury to hear it from his own mouth that he did nothing to injure the child, Nelson told the Times-News of his clients decision to testify.

Prosecutors accused Wagner of inflicting a deadly blow to the back of Singletons head on Halloween 2014. They sought an indictment in October 2015, and Wagners trial began Jan. 18. After about three and a half days of testimony, the jury needed just three hours to acquit Wagner, an Air Force veteran who grew up in Buhl.

Singleton died Nov. 2, 2014, days after suffering a traumatic injury to his head that caused a skull fracture and brain swelling and ultimately led to his death.

Benicia Rush, Singletons mother, also took the stand during trial, as a witness for the prosecution. She testified in a strong, clear voice, except when talking about Singleton. Through tears, Rush told the jury the boy was 2 years, 3 months and 2 days old when she decided to take him off life support after it became clear he wouldnt get better.

I loved him unconditionally, Rush said. Later, through more tears, she recounted how she held the toddler in her arms as he died.

Rushs testimony was the emotional peak of the states case, which began with Twin Falls County Deputy Prosecutor Julie Sturgill telling the jury during her opening statement that Singletons injury could not have been caused by a fall from a couch, like Wagner told police.

The evidence will prove that a fall from an 18-inch couch did not kill Jeffrey Singleton, but that Brian Wagner killed Jeff, Sturgill told the jury.

Nelsons opening statement presented an alternative theory.

All the evidence will show one of two things happened, Nelson said. Either Brian Wagner intentionally bashed in the head of a child that he considered to be his own. Or, Brian Wagner witnessed the worst thing that anyone could witness  the accident of a child considered to be your own that results in that childs eventual death.

Nelson called just three defense witnesses, including his client. The first two were a forensic pathologist and a biomedical engineer specializing in accident recreations and pediatric head injuries. Both testified that the fall that Wagner described to police  Singleton was standing on the couch and fell directly on his head  could have caused the injury that killed him.

Then Wagner took the stand, explaining that he was babysitting Singleton while Rush was at work. He said Singleton was excited all night as trick-or-treaters came to the door, and while Wagner was trying to do homework on his computer, Singleton fell.

Nelson said his client was relieved to avoid prison, but overwhelmingly sad about the death of Singleton.

He treated him as his own son, Nelson said. He was shocked that anybody thought it was anything but a tragic accident  It was the worst of the worst for him  first, a child he was responsible for dies in front of him, and then hes prosecuted for something he didnt do.
TWIN FALLS  Could Magic Valley police soon be roaming local neighborhoods in search of illegal immigrants to deport? If executive orders signed by President Donald Trump are carried out to their full extent, that could be the case.

While much of the attention this week was focused on Trumps executive orders halting refugee resettlement and ordering a border wall be built along the southern border with Mexico, immigrant-rights advocates are just as troubled by the orders calling on local and state law enforcement agencies to perform the functions of immigration officers.

That wording was used in two executive orders signed by the president Wednesday.

Everybody who advocates for immigrants is extremely worried, said Chris Christensen, an immigration lawyer with Andrade Legal and the chair of the Idaho Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Quite frankly, were worried about the direction the nation is moving.

Local politicians and police are also concerned about how the policy will affect the regions labor force and their families, many of which are foreign-born.

The presidents call for local law enforcement to perform federal immigration duties was contained in both the executive order that called for the border wall and one aimed at cutting off federal funding for cities that provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants.

Immigrant advocates are particularly worried about the potential for abuse if police officers and sheriffs deputies are asked to take on immigration enforcement.

The way the system works now, police officers and sheriffs deputies have no involvement in issues of immigration. If they believe a crime suspect is in the country illegally, they call the Border Patrol, explained Twin Falls County Sheriff Tom Carter and Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall. But the local involvement ends there.

If local officers are asked to enforce immigration, it will lead to racial profiling, immigration advocates argued, and make nonresident crime victims fearful of reporting crime, which would in turn make them vulnerable targets.

What happens to a place when immigrants are fearful of police? asked Jordan Moody, who heads the Boise office of the immigration law firm Wilner and OReilly. It discourages people from reporting crime  Society should want people to report crimes against them.

Local police enforcing immigration presents a conflict of interest, Moody explained.

Were supposed to trust (police) and feel theyll be reasonable, Moody said. You have to put yourself in their shoes. Would you be willing to call police if they might deport you?

Carter, the Twin Falls County Sheriff who said hes still kind of reeling from the order to enforce immigration, echoed the same fears expressed by the attorneys.

It could also prevent the victims of domestic battery from calling in, Carter said, because they dont want their loved one deported.

If victims are fearful of reporting crimes, the sheriff explained, it could also hinder law enforcement and put patrolmen and courts in a conundrum.

Carter and McFall said their biggest roadblock to enforcing immigration policy is a lack of resources and know-how.

Weve got our plates full, McFall said. The last thing were going to do is put together teams of deputies going out looking for illegal immigrants. We dont have the manpower or resources.

Leo Morales, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, said local and state agencies typically dont want to enforce immigration because of the extra work it creates and the increased possibility of litigation.

Their role is to be peace officers and protect all people, regardless of where they may come from, Morales said. This is order is dangerous for all citizens, not just immigrants.

Importantly, the executive orders say that for local law enforcement to begin immigration enforcement, they must first have an agreement in place with the secretary of Homeland Security. And there are other safeguards in place.

The orders also talk about hiring CPB and ICE, and it sounds like theyre ramping up everything to do Hollywood-style removal and deportation, Moody said. But the law requires people to see an immigration judge and go through removal proceedings before being deported.

And thats not a quick process, with immigration judges already swamped with cases. Moody said some of his clients in Boise and Oregon have hearing dates at the end of 2018, while clients at his firms Los Angeles office have hearings set out as far as December 2020.

Idaho lawmakers react to orders

Republican lawmakers from across Idaho and the Magic Valley offered support for Trumps immigration policy set forth in the executive orders signed Wednesday.

As we move forward to fix our broken immigration system, public safety and national security must come first, Congressman Raul Labrador said in a statement. I am ready to work with my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee and the White House to pass necessary legislation.

Congressman (Mike) Simpson supports the executive order to secure our border, spokeswoman Nikki Wallace said in a statement. He believes that our border security policy should encompass a combination of measures including increased border patrol agents, a wall in some areas, as well as enhanced surveillance techniques.

Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch also released statements supporting Trumps executive orders, though Risch made clear there must be a plan in place to pay for the wall.

I am  mindful of our nations dire fiscal situation and expect that President Trump will engage with congressional leaders to ensure this and other needed measures are done through the proper channels and in a fiscally responsible way, Risch said.

Magic Valley lawmakers and agricultural leaders were more cautious about throwing their support behind Trumps executive orders.

Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, worries about how effective a wall would be.

People on the border who have fences already say it doesnt keep people out, Stennett said.

She also worries about the cost of building a wall and wonders how spending that much can be squared with reducing the federal deficit, as Republicans have said they want to do.

Americans are going to pay for that wall, Stennett said. (Trump) says the Mexicans are going to pay for it. I dont know how they can or why they would want to.

And, she worries about what would happen to the dairy industry in south-central Idaho if Trump increases the number of deportations.

That was a concern echoed by Bob Naerebout, the executive director of the Idaho Dairymens Association, and Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, whose district has a large immigrant population.

Bell said it sounds reasonable to deport people who have been convicted of a crime, but she worries about how stepping up deportations could affect both the labor pool for local dairies and the people in Jerome.

I think what troubles me (is) most of the people who live in Jerome are families, she said. Theyre working families. Deportation can tear families apart, and that concerns me more than anything.

Naerebout, whose organization has long sought to establish a clear immigration policy, said its time for people to recognize the value of foreign-born labor in the agriculture and dairy industries.

There are no visa programs available to dairies because the work is not seasonal or temporary, Nearebout explained, and while dairies are supposed to use only documented workers, he knows many of the laborers are undocumented.

The economic viability of the state rests on the shoulders of our labor force, Nearebout said. Much of that is foreign born  When youre below 3 percent unemployment, across the valley we dont have access to an adequate labor supply. We need to have a working immigration policy in place  Its a critical issue for a vibrant Magic Valley as a whole, not just for agriculture.
HEYBURN  When J.R Simplot Co. announced in May 2002 it would close its Heyburn potato-processing plant and put nearly 650 people out of work, many feared Mini-Cassia would dry up like Idahos mining ghost towns.

People were really worried, and it absolutely was a tough time, economist Jan Roeser said.

But as the 15th anniversary of that day approaches, Mini-Cassias economy is thriving.

Minidoka and Cassia county population, which dipped after the plants 2003 closure, began a slow ascent by 2007 and now has grown by more than 3,000 people. Since 2009, the area has added 3,344 jobs. Unemployment dropped to a low 3.1 percent last year. And on the same site where Simplot produced french fries, workers now make cheese, provide drug counseling and wash semi trucks.

How did Mini-Cassia accomplish its phoenix rise?

In short, the community embraced the costs of growth.

Motivated by Simplots departure, Burley, Rupert and Heyburn voters approved bond issues to expand and upgrade wastewater systems. That allowed Brewster Cheese Co., Dot Foods, Fabri-Kal, High Desert Milk, Gossner Foods and other companies to come to Mini-Cassia, stabilizing and diversifying the economy.

The wastewater improvements sent a strong message that we dont want to sit on our sorrows, said Roeser, a regional economist with the Idaho Department of Labor. We want to make changes.

And the changes worked.

A difficult time

People were concerned about Simplot closing, said Mark Mitton, Burley city administrator. Its hard for a community to absorb hundreds of lost jobs and put that many people back to work.

The 650 workers displaced in the Heyburn plants phased shutdown were offered severance bonuses for staying until the end and training programs to prepare for new careers. But some workers still struggled to find jobs with similar pay and benefits as they ate up retirement savings or lost their homes and cars.

And the impact rippled through the community.

It was pretty traumatic, Roeser said.

The loss of a major employer hurts the tax base, the housing market, the suppliers of goods to the business and  as the newly unemployed have less money to spend  a host of support businesses such as grocers, banks and movie theaters.

Farmers who contracted with Simplot, John Remsberg said, scrambled to find other stable markets for their potatoes or undergo the process of switching crops. That meant investing in different equipment and selling off potato-harvesting equipment.

Remsberg, a Rupert farmer who contracted his potato crop with Simplot from 1976 until it closed the Heyburn plant, said potatoes are expensive to grow. When prices are low, farmers can lose their rear. And banks that loan the money to grow potatoes prefer that farmers have contracts in place, stabilizing the market price.

Coming off a few good years with some money in the bank, Remsberg, now 76, retired from farming after the Heyburn plant closed. At Remsbergs post-retirement farm sale, the markets glut of potato-harvesting equipment meant he got little more than the price of scrap iron for his.

In 2006, Mini-Cassia took another hit.

Kraft closed its Rupert plant, putting another 100 people out of work. The problem was compounded by the recession that hit at the end of the decade.

The unemployed who were able or willing to move likely regained their footing more quickly and were more likely to match their former wages. But its common for Idahoans to be reluctant to relocate, Roeser said, making the recapture of wages more difficult.

The $22 million gift

The late Burley Councilman Denny Curtis knew J.R. Simplot, a businessman who grew up in Declo. Curtis and Mitton began discussions with Simplot shortly after the plants closure on a deal that would help the community get back on its feet. The deal: one empty processing plant.

Simplot called it the $22 million gift, and the reason they said that is they were able to write it off on their taxes, Mitton said.

The deal didnt come without effort. Mitton and Curtis drove to Boise about 15 times to discuss the deal with Simplot and spoke on the phone with him at least that many times.

In March 2004, the company gave Burley the entire 278-acre parcel, which included the potato plant, the companys wastewater facility across the Snake River, property east of U.S. 30 and property west of the plant. The city incurred $52,500 in costs to take over the property  and Burleys industrial park was born.

To manage the industrial park, Burley contracted with The Boyer Co., which pays to develop the park and gives the city 10 percent of the gross rental revenues. The city has some costs for lighting and lift stations, but last year the city received more than $118,000 in its share of rents from the property. Simplot continued leasing the freezer from the city until 2013.

The structures in the industrial park are nearly all leased, Mitton said, but the park still has room for construction.

Out of the ashes

Since the Simplot plants closure, Mini-Cassia has recruited employers in a variety of sectors.

Im not saying Mini-Cassia is totally out of the woods, Roeser said, because the area now deals with growing pains like housing shortages and wage competition.

But another indicator of a vital community, she said, is the need to build new schools.

After voters passed a bond issue in 2015, Cassia County School District is building schools in Burley, Declo and Raft River and upgrading many others.

Thats an indicator of a growing work force, Roeser said.

Fortunately, Roeser said, the Simplot closure came at a time when Magic Valley leaders had also begun to work together at regional economic development. And Mini-Cassia officials doubled efforts to diversify the economy  to lessen the effect of any future business closures.

Diversity is the key to a healthier community, Roeser said. If the baskets are split its easier to bear.

Yes, Burleys industrial park is in Heyburn, so Heyburn and Minidoka County receive the taxes.

Mayor Cleo Gallegos, who has lived in Heyburn for more than 50 years and was on the Heyburn City Council when the Simplot plant closed, directly felt the effects of the plants shuttering, as her three brothers, mother and father lost their jobs. Being on the council during the closure announcement and its aftermath, she said, was a roller coaster.

Now, Gallegos says giving Burley the plant was the right thing for Simplot to do.

Looking back, I dont know if Heyburn would have withstood the impact of having it just sit there, Gallegos said. And Heyburn may not have had the resources to develop it like Burley did.

In a battle with Simplot over electrical rates, Heyburn had shouldered huge attorneys fees prior to the plants closure. The city eventually settled out of court and, as part of the agreement, sold its electrical utility to a third party.

My personal feelings are that Burley getting the property was best for the community, Gallegos said.

Heyburn received land from Simplot that was later developed as the chamber of commerce and the Heyburn Riverside RV Park, arboretum and walking path.

It was all sagebrush and tumbleweeds, Gallegos said. The closure announcement 15 years ago was devastating when it happened, she added. But look at what has happened in the city since then.

Heyburn hasnt entirely recovered, though.

We use to have two grocery stores and now we dont. We havent completely built it back, Gallegos said.

Across U.S. 30 from the former Simplot plant is Tonys Service, a gas and convenience store  now the only store in Heyburn that carries groceries. Its co-owned by Heyburn native Carolyn Gallegos, who worked at Simplot for 20 years, and her husband, Tony, a Simplot employee for 18 years.

We felt the impact of it closing a little but not a whole lot, Carolyn Gallegos said.

An old-school attitude had kept the couple relatively debt free, she said, so the dip in customers didnt break their business.

And it wasnt long before other businesses started opening in the old Simplot complex.

The comeback

When Gossner built a new Swiss cheese plant at the industrial park in 2005, Mitton said, it put Burley back on the map with site selectors.

Every time we had an announcement, it hit all the trade magazines, he said. You cant buy that kind of notoriety.

Mitton said the City Council at the time and the councils since all have supported growing the economy. Burley has been careful to offer grant assistance only to companies that paid good wages with benefits, and city officials do site visits at any prospective employers that the city thinks could have an unwanted impact on the community.

The city has focused on attracting smaller companies, so when a business closes it doesnt blast a Simplot-sized crater in the economy.

A week ago, the Labor Departments release of preliminary 2016 data painted a healthy Mini-Cassia economy: annual average unemployment of just 3.1 percent  down from 3.5 percent the year before and almost 4 points lower than the 6.9 percent high reached after the Simplot closure. The two-county region added 300 jobs to bring the number of people employed to 21,782 last year.

Six-hundred and fifty families felt immediate pain and loss when Simplot closed in Heyburn, and countless others lost potato contracts or felt an indirect economic punch. But through taxpayers willingness to shoulder the costs of growth, and government leaders wisdom to know what needed to be done, the wound healed.

And the resulting diversity made the community more resilient.
MONDAY kicked off Education Week for the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, which sets the states budgets, and on the first day they heard from the heads of the states colleges and universities, including College of Southern Idaho President Jeff Fox. The week was also National School Choice Week, kicking off with a breakfast and rally at the Capitol that morning. School choice advocates were everywhere in the Capitol that day, many of them easily identifiable in their yellow scarves.

Also on Monday Rep. Clark Kauffman, R-Filer, introduced a bill to create an exception to the states dog-racing ban for exhibition-style events at county fairs.

TUESDAY morning the House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to approve the yearly bill conforming the states income tax code with the federal one to make filing easier, but with two Republicans, Reps. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg and Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, opposed. The bill recognizes same-sex marriage for the purposes of filing state income taxes, and although Hartgen supported the compromise language in the bill last year, he said this year he believes the landscape has changed due to Donald Trumps election as president and he hopes the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015 will be overturned, returning to the states the power to define marriage. Idaho voters amended the states Constitution in 2006 to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The conformity bill would go on to pass the House on Thursday, with 16 other Republicans joining Nate and Hartgen to vote against it.

That afternoon, Idaho Transportation Department Director Brian Ness gave his annual report to the House and Senate Transportation committees, highlighting the improvements his department has made in recent years and some of the national awards they have gotten. They also talked a bit about how Idahos needs would be addressed in the large infrastructure funding plan President Donald Trump has been talking about. Ness worried the plan might shortchange Idaho if it relies too heavily on private financing.

WEDNESDAY the Senate Resources and Environment Committee held its confirmation hearing on Greg Cameron of Rupert and Jerry Meyers of North Fork, the two newest Fish and Game commissioners. Gov. C.L. Butch Otter appointed them last year after not reappointing Mark Doerr of Kimberly and Will Naillon of Challis, in a move widely seen as motivated by a dispute between the two commissioners and some lawmakers over the sale of hunting tags.

The governor appoints commissioners but the state Senate has to confirm his appointments. If the committee votes to confirm them, it then moves on to the full Senate.

THURSDAY morning was a busy one. JFAC heard Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra present the public schools budget, which represents the biggest chunk of the states general fund spending. As she spoke, downstairs legislation to cut income and personal property taxes by a combined $59 million was introduced in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. And next door, a bill from Rep. Paul Shepherd to set up a way for the state Legislature to nullify federal laws it deems unconstitutional was being introduced into House State Affairs.

FRIDAY the House and Senate Health and Welfare committees held their yearly joint public hearing. Some people came to call on the state to expand Medicaid coverage to the 78,000 people in the Medicaid gap, an option many lawmakers were reluctant to support before and have basically ruled out now that Trump is president. Others criticized the states new medical transportation provider Veyo, saying the contract has resulted in long delays, untrained drivers and unsafe working conditions, according to the Associated Press.

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, asked on the House floor to be let back onto her legislative committees. Scott, one of the most conservative members of the Legislature, was stripped of her positions by House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, as punishment for comments that female legislators advance to head committees through sexual favors. Bedke said her request was duly noted and that they should talk honestly and sincerely.

Also Friday, Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, introduced a bill to let the College of Southern Idaho offer some four-year degree programs.

NEXT WEEK is Health and Human Services Week at JFAC, so they will be hearing from the Department of Health and Welfare, another massive chunk of the states budget. The week will likely be busier than the last, as more bills are introduced and more hearings held.
BOISE  There will still be plenty to do at the Idaho Office for Refugees on Monday morning, helping people who already live here.

What the office wont be doing anytime soon is greeting new refugees at the airport and helping them start their new lives in America.

We will have our hands full making the best of a bad situation, Idaho Office for Refugees Director Jan Reeves said.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a far-reaching executive order that ends all refugee resettlement for four months while changes are made to the screening process, bans all travel from seven Middle Eastern and African countries for 90 days and suspends any resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely.

When the four-month moratorium is lifted, only 50,000 refugees will be allowed to resettle in the fiscal year running from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, as opposed to the 110,000 that former President Barack Obama would have allowed.

And the order says to prioritize, as much as legally possible, refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country of nationality. In the case of people from the Middle East, this would mean prioritizing in the future Christians and other non-Muslim refugees over Muslim ones.

This is not the American way, Reeves said. Its discrimination in terms of religion and national origin, and its very troubling.

Reeves said the president certainly has every right to examine (the vetting process) and improve it where he thinks he can, but the one in place now, which includes security checks by multiple agencies and takes 18 months to two years on average, is really quite robust.

Boise and Twin Falls are the two cities in Idaho where refugees are resettled, and while refugee resettlement has been a controversial issue throughout the United States, the controversy started earlier and burned hotter in Twin Falls than most other places.

We did hear back from a lot of people in the Magic Valley who were very concerned and wanted something done, Lindsay Nothern, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said Friday evening.

A movement started to shut down the refugee center in Twin Falls, which is run by the College of Southern Idaho, in 2015, after news came out that some Syrians could be among the refugees to be resettled. No Syrians have been sent to Twin Falls, although some have been resettled in Boise. Supporters of shutting down the refugee center couldnt get enough signatures to get a ballot initiative in 2016, but the controversy flared up again over the summer after news came out about a young girl who, authorities said, was sexually assaulted by three boys from refugee families.

Throughout his campaign, Trump talked about the potential security risk posed by Muslim refugees, calling for an end to resettlement of refugees from Syria and terror-prone regions and saying he wouldnt resettle refugees in communities where they are not wanted.

Reeves said the political rhetoric surrounding the issue has been a cause for concern for some of the refugees he has talked to.

This isnt new, Reeves said. Theres been an anti-refugee, anti-immigrant sentiment in this country for some time growing in certain circles. Refugees hear that and they begin to wonder if theyre still welcome in their communities, if people will consider them outsiders and not feeling welcome  in our communities. Its a cumulative effect. Its not just one particular action taken by the Trump administration.

At the same time though, he said, many more people have also been offering support and expressing interest in helping refugees.

Even though we have a certain element in our society that are fearful, we also have hundreds and thousands of people who are stepping up every day to say What can we do to help, Reeves said.

Nothern said he hadnt yet asked Crapo about the executive order specifically. But he did point back to Crapos past statements that he supports stronger vetting while opposing blanket bans on people from certain countries  which is what Trumps order does  as well as his past support for Gov. C.L. Butch Otters call in November 2015, in the wake of a terrorist attack in Paris, for a halt to refugee resettlement until the vetting process can be improved.

We heard throughout the state at all the town meetings we did that people were concerned about the process, Nothern said.

Twin Falls state lawmakers have generally taken a middle line on the program, echoing concerns Republicans throughout the country have expressed about the screening process and sometimes calling for it to be slowed. No local lawmakers have called for a complete end to refugee resettlement.

Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, said on Friday that when the issue became controversial in Twin Falls he even tried to plan a trip to the camps in neighboring countries where Syrian refugees are living, to get a better grasp on how the vetting process works, but he wasnt able to arrange it with the State Department.

I think that the vetting needs to be improved, Clow said. Whether or what they can do a better job (with) ... I dont know.

Clow said he isnt opposed to suspending resettlement from certain countries. There are refugees in plenty of other places who need help too, he said.

We can bring in refugees from other parts of the world, he said.
Doris E. Youtz

June 8, 1914 - January 26, 2017

Doris Elaine Youtz, 102, a remarkable woman who lived a long and energetic life, finally ran out of steam and peacefully left us in Boise, Idaho on Thursday, January 26. She devoted her entire life to the support of music, education and the arts as a teacher, musician, fund raiser and promoter.

Doris was born June 8, 1914 in Monowi, Nebraska to Donald and Bess Helvey. She began the study of piano at the age of six. During her junior high school days she served as Sunday school pianist and during high school she was the organist for the Presbyterian Church in Fairmont, Nebraska. She attended the University of Nebraska and University of Wyoming specializing in elementary music education.

Her first teaching job was in a one room school house in rural Nebraska where she taught all eight grades, and each morning started a fire in the wood stove and pumped water for the day from a hand pump outside in the school yard. She was nineteen years old.A few years later, while teaching in Wyoming, Doris met a handsome, soft spoken young teacher named Don Youtz in the same school system. They fell in love, married and were together for sixty years until his death in 2002. Don and all four of his brothers served their country in WWII, Don in a counterintelligence unit, and three of his other four brothers as decorated combat pilots. After the war Doris and Don lived in Wyoming until 1953 then moved to Twin Falls, Idaho where Don took a position with the University of Idaho Ag Extension Service.

Soon after moving to Twin Falls, Doris jumped into everything involving music and community arts. She became a member of the National Federation of Music Clubs, serving the local club in every leadership position including vice-president and president, and scholarship chairman for fifteen years. During her years as scholarship chairman over $160,000 in grants and awards were raised for Idaho's young musicians.

Doris was also a founding member of the Dilettantes, the first community musical theater productions in Twin Falls, in which she was the pianist in the orchestra for Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, and Brigadoon. Doris' love of music, in combination with her organizational skills, landed her the job of Executive Director of the Sun Valley Music Camp for several years, which was responsible for bringing young artists in contact with some of the finest musicians in the country.

Doris was also responsible for bringing Ballet West to Twin Falls, the Utah Symphony, and co-chaired the effort to bring the first full length opera to Twin Falls, Madame Butterfly. She served as ticket chairman for seven more opera productions, with the proceeds always going toward scholarships for young musicians. It was also during this time the community recognized the need for a Fine Arts Center on the campus of the just-developing College of Southern Idaho. She served as group leader for a fund raising effort that raised a significant amount of money for this important project. During all of this time for 25 years, Doris also taught private piano lessons to young students, retiring in 1975.

When the Governor's Conference on the Arts was formed to promote the arts in Idaho and recognize Idaho citizens who have made invaluable contributions to the arts in Idaho, Doris became just the third person in Idaho to receive the Governor's Award for the Arts in 1974, which was presented to her by Governor Cecil Andrus.

Doris has also served on the Board of trustees for the Magic Valley Regional Medical Center's Health Care Foundation; served as President of the Twin Falls Mental Health Association and was Vice-president of the State Mental Health board from Region III. In 1978, Doris was awarded the Woman of the Year by the American Association of University Women for her service to the community. In 1982 she was named Volunteer of the Year by the Idaho Mental Health Association, and in 1983 she was recognized as Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.

Doris is survived by her son Jeff Youtz (Tina), of Boise and daughter Melody Ilk (Ron), of Arvada, Colorado, and several terrific grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband Don in 2002, and a son Dennis in 2005. Per her wishes no formal service is planned, other than a private get together for family at Sunset Memorial Park in Twin Falls.

Memories of Doris Youtz can be left for family members at the Accent Funeral Home website, www.accentfuneral.com. People whose lives were touched by Doris can also honor her by donating to a music, education or arts organization of their choosing. She would have liked that.
President Trump says that it is not safe to accept certain kinds of refugees without extreme vetting that he has yet to detail. So he has now banned people from seven countries, including Syria, which I fled with my family in 2014. But we were thoroughly vetted before we came here, just like other refugees  exhaustively, endlessly vetted. We are not terrorists. And if wed been stopped from coming here, we would be suffering horribly right now.

When our 7-day-old son died while receiving treatment for jaundice in a Damascus hospital, my husband and I decided to flee the country with our daughters. (I described the experience in an essay for The Post, parts of which are adapted here.) We ended up in a cramped apartment in Tripoli, Lebanon, where we soon spent our savings; we were living hand-to-mouth.

After a year, I received a call from the United Nations asking if my family would like to resettle somewhere else. Based on our documents, stories and circumstances  our large family, five girls, my husbands potential as a healthy worker  we had been deemed eligible to apply for refugee status.

We could not return home to Syria. We could not continue living on the brink of starvation in Lebanon. A safe option was available: We began the application process to come to the United States.

The process started with a series of meetings with U.S. government representatives  at least five in-person interviews with each of us and countless phone conversations. The questions were very detailed: about my family, my friends, how I spent my time. The interviewers often knew the answers to the questions before they asked them. They asked about my life going back to the day I was born; they even knew the location of the hospital. My story is my story, so I knew that the details would match their information. But I was stunned by the level of scrutiny and the length of the process.

Each member of the family told their story, and those stories had to be consistent with interviews given by other people who knew us. If our answers didnt match information U.S. officials already had, or if they couldnt validate our information, we didnt progress to the next step. I had only a glimmer of hope that this would work  and that we could have a safe life for my daughters. We lived on that hope.

Finally, more than a year after we began applying and more than two years after we fled Damascus, we were cleared in December 2014 to resettle in Baltimore. We had $30 for the journey. During an airport layover in Germany, I bought a drink and, without realizing it, spent a third of our savings on a $10 bottle of water. My husband joked that now we were really finished and should just turn back.

We, too, have been appalled by the Islamic States terrorist attacks around the world, and we condemn them wholeheartedly. My family and I lived through horrific acts like these. I believe the screening we underwent was so intense, so thorough and so long that it would be impossible for militants to come here.

Now my daughters, who previously spoke no English, are in school, and my husband has a good job as a driver for a clothing company. My biggest dream is for them to have a good education and good careers, and for us to be part of this society: to learn the language, to do something productive, to integrate. Thats exactly what Trump believes is impossible.

If we hadnt been able to come here, we would have been stuck. My parents and siblings are still in Tripoli, and they say the situation is so bad that you cant imagine it. Theres no work, the rent for houses is unaffordable and half the people are supported by the U.N. There is little medical assistance, and people who get sick dont have money for medicine. The situation is very bad. It is like this in other refugee destinations, too  in Jordan, Turkey and Egypt.

Things in Damascus, my hometown, are even worse. My sister still lives there with her sick husband and five children; we talk by WhatsApp every once in a while. They go four or five days without eating, even though she was recently pregnant. Because there are few doctors (and the ones that remain cost too much money), my sister gave birth by herself at home seven days ago. She isnt well-nourished enough to nurse the little girl, so theyve begun cooking rice kernels and feeding them to the infant. They are going to lose the baby if they keep that up, but its really hard to see your kid starve to death in front of you, so what are they supposed to do?

Trump says he wants to fight terrorism, but instead hes fighting the victims of terrorism. I want to ask him: If America is based on diverse people from different cultures and countries, what right do you have to tell suffering Muslims that they are unwelcome. Even your wife is an immigrant! Is it because shes not from a Muslim country?

With Trumps policy, we are telling people who are dying: We cant help you. Stay where you are, and die there.
Nearly one year ago, the proposed Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine was announced at the governors office alongside dozens of supporters. On that historic day, we knew we had several opportunities in front of us: the opportunity to grow graduate medical education in our state so more students can stay and train in Idaho and surrounding states; the opportunity to partner with great hospital systems already doing innovative work; and the opportunity to educate the next generation of physicians in Idaho.

Of course, with most great opportunities come obstacles. Weve encountered some opposition along the way  conversations we readily entertained to educate on the dire need for physicians in Idaho and the huge economic opportunity of Idahos own medical school. Many of the initial concerns have been alleviated with more information and the demonstrative progress ICOM has made in the last year. Weve worked hard to foster strong partnerships, build a formidable team, and recruit enthusiastic and talented preceptors.

In December, ICOM presented at our first public accreditation hearing in Chicago. It was the first important step toward securing the future of medical education and improving access to health care in Idaho. Prior to that meeting, ICOM hosted accreditation inspectors in Meridian. While both meetings returned favorable reviews, the commissioners  as is often the case  determined the need for further review. In researching the accreditation process, we anticipated this possibility. In the end, the time allows ICOM the opportunity to continue those critical conversations and education. ICOM anticipates being on the agenda for the next accreditation body meeting and we are excited to participate in the next step of this rigorous and thoughtful process.

ICOM has been instrumental in advancing the development of graduate medical education in our five-state region by securing a letter of intent from Benefis Health System in Montana for 78 new residency positions. They are committed to these positions and will soon resubmit an application to the graduate medical education accreditation body. We are confident Benefis  and other ICOM partners  will be ready to accept ICOM residents by their 2022 medical school graduation date. ICOM has also made significant progress with other hospitals and health systems and will make additional announcements soon.

Idaho still ranks 49 out of 50 in terms of physicians per capita. Our state is growing, and our need for physicians continues to grow. Having an Idaho-based medical school will ensure a steady supply of physicians for Idaho and the region. It will also give local opportunities for Idahoans to go to medical school. ICOM will be a private medical school supported through tuition rather than taxes.

ICOM is on the right track and is making great progress. The process of bringing a medical school to Idaho is a complex and worthy endeavor. It will also bring significant and lasting social and economic impact to our state and region. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of the medical community and of our many friends and stakeholders across the region to help make this a reality.
This appeared in the Idaho Press-Tribune:

The state Department of Correction projects to turn back $3.7 million of its budget to the state coffers in the next fiscal year. Lets throw a party and celebrate. Give the department an award for keeping a watch on state spending. Send letters congratulating these folks for a job well done.

The rest of the story is not so pleasant. The state is releasing prisoners possibly before they are ready to go, putting a strain on law-enforcement authorities in Canyon County and throughout the Gem state. As Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue tells it, Youre putting these guys who are potentially very, very dangerous individuals, out on the street with little to no integration.

Some of them end up at Canyon Countys infamous tent facility, which all-too-often ends up being the equivalent of a get-out-of-jail-free card, for those who dare to escape. Housing costs are not cheap  at least for the counties. The state is required to reimburse the county jails $45 per day for each inmate, but Donahue says his cost is $64 a day  and more than that if medical care is needed. Ada Countys cost is $96 a day.

It should not be this way. Its incumbent on the department to alleviate this problem, and there are steps that authorities can take.

The problem is the result of the Justice Reinvestment Act, approved by the Legislature in 2014 and led by Rep. Patti Anne Lodge of Huston. The concept is good. The act is aimed at removing non-violent offenders from our prisons and putting them in rehabilitation programs. Lodge has said, and we agree, that Idaho cannot continue to build new prisons.

Donahue also sees merits for the program. But in practice, Donahue says, its a failure across the board, considering the toll it takes on the county.

There may be some relief. Gov. Butch Otter is asking the Legislature to approve $11.2 million for felony probation and to help deliver mental health care to parole offenders.

The department could help in the cause. Instead of returning $3.7 to the state, use at least part of that money to upgrade its in-house rehabilitation efforts. The idea behind the Justice Reinvestment Act is to prepare non-violent offenders for employment and life in society. The fact that so many of them end up in the county jails means the state needs to do a better job.

Henry Atencio, the Department of Corrections newly appointed director, is well-aware of the problem and promises to try to fix it. He has a talent pool to help him find a solution  including legislators, mental health professionals, the Idaho Sheriffs Association and the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole.

Solving the problem should be within reach of an ambitious new director working with smart professionals. If it means putting $3.7 million to good use, rather than returning it to the state, then it would be money well spent in the interest of public safety for Canyon County and all of Idaho.
Silencing scientists. Obsession with crowd sizes. Insistence that Mexico pay for the border wall, perhaps through heavy tariffs that amount to a regressive tax on consumers. Relentless attacks on the peoples press. More needless Twitter wars. Fixations on irrelevant criticism. A rush to repeal a health care law without a replacement plan. Another endorsement of torture.

Welcome to the administration of President Donald J. Trump.

Our commentary is usually devoted to local affairs, but today we simply cant stay silent in the face of such a marked shift from what Americans have come to expect in presidential decorum. For us, the most troubling aspect about the new presidents first days in office doesnt have to do with misguided policy, although theres plenty to talk about there. Its the administrations aversion to truth, even in the face of cold, hard facts.

Not alternative facts, but real, indisputable truths. Remember those?

So lets set policy aside for a moment and talk about something that matters even more in a president: the expectation from the American public going all the way back to George Washington that American presidents tell the truth.

Americans can forgive a lot from their presidents, but weve never forgiven presidents who lie. We shouldnt stop now.

For someone who often referred to his opponent as Lying Hillary, youd think Trump would be overly cautious about avoiding being pegged with the same moniker, especially now that hes won and no longer in campaign mode. Instead, weve seen lie after lie from the new administration, often on the most trivial and provably false things, like crowd sizes at the inauguration and the Womens March the next day.

By now, the Trump administrations playbook is clear: Create its own version of the truth and discredit anyone who disputes it, especially the media.

But it goes further. Trump is now attempting to silence the very government he controls from providing facts, as weve seen with his Twitter bans for public agencies and gag orders about releasing public information on science, even of the most benign variety.

The Sawtooth National Forests Minidoka Ranger District didnt file a snow report with the newspaper this week over concerns it may upset the administration by sharing with the public such facts as the snow depth at ski reports, the status of Nordic trail grooming and avalanche dangers in the South Hills and Albion Mountains.

When pressed about the absence of the report, the Forest Service told us it would resume sending the reports next week. The administration, Forest Service officials said, told the agency to follow agency guidelines.

Apparently, that no longer means censoring snow depth reports. When federal employees question whether they can provide basic facts to the public without enduring presidential wrath, the country is headed down the wrong path.

Yes, America requires a president who doesnt lie. But we also expect a president who doesnt censor the truth. Regardless of whether you voted for Trump or whether youre a Republican or Democrat, all Americans should be able to agree with those two notions.

So lets continue to debate policy. Robust argument is good for democracy. But collectively, we cannot tolerate a leader who filters facts for his own political agenda and ego. That only serves to harm our republic.
The daily bump-and-grind has ways of wearing anyone down to the bone. It would be nice to hunker down in the security of your home and have a sip of your lolas sinigang. Sangkap Filipino Restaurant offers just that experience.

Chef Raymar Reyes unique twists to the Philippines best cuisine allows one to have a taste of home with every juicy bite. The restaurant offers your favorite local dishes like kare-kare, kilawin and kaldereta, but Chef Raymar ups the ante by placing the spotlight on the tastes of the different regions in the country.

Sangkap Filipino Restaurants Sangkap Rice is both tasty and filling

Spring rolls with vanilla ice cream offers a surprising twist

Imagine sinking your teeth into the flavors of Batanes, Pampanga, Zamboangaor maybe having a sip of Cebu, Ilocos or Iloilo. Whether or not youre familiar with these places, Sangkap makes sure to marry comfort and adventure when they land on your taste buds. People who like the classic and experimental, I believe both of them will enjoy [these], remarks the chef.

Customers are served comfort food, reminiscent of home but at the same time mixed with the subtle thrill of trying something new. One of their specialties is the Cebu Lechon Sinigangthe perfect combination of two all-time Filipino favorites. With just the right tang of tamarind and the hearty savor of lechon, its enough to wash away fatigue from your weary bones.

So when youre in the mood to travel, but the familiarity of home is too soothing to resist, bring home your taste buds to Sangkap and taste adventure on a plate.

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Pancit

Humba

The Menu Group (TMG), established in 2015, is the brains and brawn behind Sangkap and three other restaurants, Sasa, Splice and Sobremesa, all featuring exciting cuisines catering to a variety of markets. This group of passionate, young restaurateurs has successfully opened their ventures in popular up-and-coming spots in Ortigas and Mandaluyong.

Sangkap Filipino Restaurant is located in Portico, Captain Javier Street, Oranbo, Pasig City. Follow SangkapPH on Facebook and Instagram to get a better taste of what theyre serving.

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TRECE MARTIRES, CaviteCavite sixth district Rep. Luis Jon Jon Ferrer IV recently led local officials in inaugurating two covered courts and a four-storey senior high school in this city.

The building, named after Francisco Osorioone of the 13 Filipino martyrs from Cavite during the Spanish rule over the Philippines, from which this city takes its nameis at Barangay Osorio together with the covered court at the National High School also bearing his name.

The other covered court was turned over at Golden Horizon in Barangay Hugo Perez here.

NEW BUILDING. The city of Bacoor recently unveiled the Bulwagan ng Liga ng mga Barangay, one of the new buildings at the Bacoor Government Center Grounds in Barangay Bayanan. City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla, Rep. Strike B. Revilla, Vice Mayor Karen Sarino, members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, and Councilor Victorio Toto Guerrero Jr., the ABC President and the Chairman of the Committee on Barangay Affairs, attended its inauguration. Benjamin Chavez

Joining Ferrer in the ceremonies were Mayor Ony Ferrer and Cavite Councilors League Federation president Kerby Salazar.

The lawmaker also said road widening projects will continue in this city. The General Trias-Amadeo road is being widened from two lanes to four, same with the roads and bridges along Governors Drive from Barangay Manggahan to Trece Martires City.

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Footbridge projects are also nearly finished at Lyceum-Manggahan near the Export Processing Zone in Bacao and at Robinsons Place in Barangay Tejero.

Meanwhile, Imus City Rep. Alex AA Advincula also turned over three new Isuzu NHR ambulances for Barangays Anabu-II, Bucandala III and Tanzang Luma I.

Barangay Chairmen David Sapitan Jr, (Anabu II), Amado Sarreal (Bucandala I) and Roberto Dones (Tanzang Luma I) received the ambulances from Advincula.

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Manila Mayor Joseph Erap Estrada has pledged to members of the Filipino-Chinese community he will speed up the redevelopment of Binondo, the worlds oldest Chinatown.

In his speech during the Chinese New Years Eve Countdown at Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo, Estrada said he will spend his last years in office beautifying and improving this old Chinese enclave and hub of commerce.

As mayor of Manila I have made it one of my top priorities to redevelop Binondo and surrounding areas, because Binondo is the oldest Chinatown outside of China, he said.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada hands out ang pao or Chinese red gift envelopes to the citys residents during the float parade for the Chinese New Year celebrations last Saturday in Binondo.

Thats why we are proud of Binondo. This is what we are going to fix, the mayor added of the district, established in 1594 by the Spaniards.

By next month, Estrada said the city government will introduce electric tricycles or E-trikes in the streets of Binondo to attract local and foreign tourists and boost local businesses.

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Binondo is one of the priority areas of the Estrada administrations Urban Renewal Program, aimed at reviving Manilas old beauty and glory.

We will continue to undertake a massive cleanup and rehabilitation here in Binondo, so that all tourists can go here and give us more business, the mayor said.

Estrada, accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua, led the grand Chinese New Years Eve Countdown with a great firework display and the traditional dragon and lion dances. The two leaders later distributed tikoy (Chinese sticky cakes) to the crowd.

Were looking forward to another year of possibilities, and because the Chinese community here in Manila is the largest and oldest community in the world, its custom and traditions have become part of our national heritage, Estrada stressed in his message.

For his part, Zhao conveyed the Chinese governments gratitude to the Philippines and the City of Manila for enhancing bilateral relations with China.

A new beginning signals new changes and new opportunities, Zhao said in his message. Lets work together to make sure the Year of the Fire Rooster will give every one of us good luck and good fortune.

With Philippine-China ties getting stronger, Zhao said more bridges will be built, more railways will be built, and more Chinese tourists will come, that means more rapid progress for the Philippines.

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev also graced the countdown, thanking Estrada for inviting him to the event.

Its a big pleasure to be present tonight with you, and celebrate with you this great holiday, Khovaev said. In this occasion, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best, to have a more prosperous year, happiness and good health to all of you, to all your family, to all your loved ones, and I strongly believe that our future will be better and in the future all of us achieve new success.

Estrada and Zhao also led the Chinese New Year Grand Float Parade that started from Magallanes Drive up to Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo.

Manila Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau chief Liz Villasenor said over 50 elaborate floats celebrating Fil-Sino relations took part in the grand parade.

It would highlight the friendship The Mayor is always saying the Filipino-Chinese community is supportive of the city government of Manila, so in return we also give our due respect to them by giving them this kind of festivity. Villasenor said.

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LISBONFrench President Francois Hollande urged Europe to form a united front and provide a firm response to US President Donald Trump, at a gathering Saturday of southern European Union leaders.

We must conduct firm dialogue with the new American administration which has shown it has its own approach to the problems we all face, he said at the end of the gathering as he was flanked by the other leaders who took part.

Trump has rattled Americas traditional European allies with a range of radical policy plans.

He has called NATO obsolete, announced he would rip up a planned transatlantic trade plan and supported Britains move to leave the EU, praising the decision as a wonderful thing during a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Friday he also signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough controls on travelers from seven Muslim countries.

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French President Francois Hollande (AFP)

During his first phone conversation with Trump late Saturday, Hollande stressed the economic and political consequences of a protectionist approach, adding that the principle of acceptance of refugees should be respected.

Faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response, Hollande was quoted as saying in an Elysee Palace statement.

Hollande had earlier told the gathering that when he adopts protectionist measures, which could destabilise economies not just in Europe but the economies of the main countries of the world, we have to respond.

And when he refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond.

While officially the new administration in Washington was not on the agenda, the six other European leaders who took part in the summit also alluded to Trump.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe was ready, interested and willing to cooperate with the Trump administration.

But we are Europe, and we cherish our values, he added.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended the EU project, saying it had helped transform Europe into the world region with the highest level of progress, civil rights and well being.

Also meeting in Lisbon were the leaders of Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal.

The summit was a follow up to a first gathering in Athens in September 2016 as part of a push by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to create a strong southern axis to counter the influence of nations in northern Europe.

The group is often referred to  sometimes dismissively  as Club Med, even though one of its members, Portugal, is not on the Mediterranean.

It includes some of the nations hardest hit by the financial crisis.

Portugal and Greece both needed international bailouts worth tens of billions of euros which came with demands for tough austerity measures and economic reforms.

As in the first meeting in Greece, the mostly centre-left leaders gathered in Portugal urged Brussels to do more to boost flagging growth in the bloc.

A joint declaration signed by the participating countries said the EU should boost funding for strategic investment.

We share the urgency of promoting investment, growth, employment, with a special focus on youth employment, it read.

The Lisbon summit comes ahead of a February 3 meeting of EU leaders in Malta to look at the future of the bloc without Britain, its second-largest economy and its richest financial center.

Rajoy said Madrid would host a third summit of southern EU nations in April.

These countries meet informally and they have no other goal other than to work for the people of the entire European Union, he said.

The goal is not to create an organization inside Europe but to act in the service of the entire European Union, added Hollande.

The so-called Visegrad group  made up of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland  have also held their own meetings to present a united front.

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In an opinion piece in Time Magazine, former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev raised the specter of a third world war. Gorby is best remembered as the last man to preside over the then Soviet empire. His conciliatory move defanged the powerful Soviet empire with his policy of Perestroika which restructured the top leadership of the Communist Party. Doing so created a more stable world order but it also saw the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Gorbachev cautioned both Russia and the US of the looming arms race wherein funds are readily found for developing more powerful nuclear weapons while money meant for social and humanitarian causes are getting scarce. He suggested US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin take the initiative in the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution for a nuclear weapons moratorium. Gorbachev, however did not make mention of Chinas military buildup in Southeast Asia and North Koreas nuclear saber-rattling. Yet, it is the simmering territorial dispute in the South China Sea which has turned the region into a virtual power keg.

China reclaimed land from the sea to build artificial islands to install military facilities such as an airstrip and naval stations to advance its aggressive nine-dash line claiming nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea. The seabed under the SCS is seen as potentially rich in oil, mineral and gas which could make a rising China more powerful in the region, if not the world.

Is the world in 2017 really hurtling toward self destruction with the rise of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and North Koreas Kim Jong-Un? Lets not forget our own belligerent and bellicose Rodrigo Duterte whos adding to the heady mix of loose cannons by aligning himself with China and Russia.

But let me go back to Gorbachev and his Perestroika policy which helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. Only 54 when he stepped into the Soviet presidency, Gorbachev had a new outlook and applied a new approach to the challenges that faced his country. Perestroika, which means restructuring was the key word that Gorbachev used to undertake major internal reforms that were matched by new directions in foreign policy. Although he and US President Ronald Reagan were diametrically opposed as leaders of the free world and communism, they found common ground to hold five summits between 1985 and 1988 that resulted in the signing of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1997 that reduced Russias and the US nuclear stockpile.

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Boris Yeltsin foiled a military coup that tried to remove Gorbachev from power as the old order saw the peril of Gorbys wide policy of reform. Perestroika has reached the other republics and loosened the Soviet grip on its other satellites states.

In a speech at the United Nations, Gorbachev astounded the world when he declared that all the other countries under the Soviet Union should be free to choose and form their own republics. On Dec. 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned from the presidency of a nation that no longer existed as the Soviet empire dissolved into 15 individual republics. The world owes Gorbachev that much.

But the world is again in flux with the ascendancy of Donald Trump as US president. The man is prone to riling other countries with his abrasive tone and unpredictable foreign policy. There is reason to be concerned with the statement of White House Secretary Sean Spicer that North Koreas intercontinental ballistic missile test wont happen. Does that mean a preemptive US strike at Pyongyang?

What about the US pledge to protect international shipping lanes from falling into the clutches of China? Is the US ready to confront China to protect its own interests as a Pacific power which was the compelling reason for its pivot to Asia? These are vexing questions that can only be answered by Americas response to the global challenges confronting it and the rest of the world.

At the UN, the European Union is trying to verify reports Trump is going to lift economic sanctions on Russia. Although on the surface that looks conciliatory, in fact an act of appeasement, EU members see the move as removal of the world sanctions for Russias territorial grab of Crimea from Ukraine.

Because of his announcement to build a wall along the US-Mexican border to prevent illegal migrants from south of the border, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled a planned meeting with Trump at the White House. While this may seem a minor border and migration problem, the issue could alienate Mexico to seek alliances with other countries, Russia and China included.

How would this affect the staunch US Monroe doctrine to keep off hostile powers from gaining a foothold in South America? Recall that President John F. Kennedy almost went to war with Russia when Nikita Kruschev installed Russian missile launching pads in Cuba. Mexico is nearer and shares a border with the US. This is an even more serious threat if it falls into unfriendly hands.

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On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce and the Agri-Business Committee will host the annual Agri-Business Banquet at the Holiday Inn Downtown. This event has existed as an appreciation and celebration of Montanas local farmers and ranchers for nearly 50 years. The evening features a cocktail hour before dinner, live music and the great conversation and company of your neighborhood agriculture workers. The events title sponsor is Missoula Electric Co-op. Gold sponsors are Will Johnson and Associates, Farm Bureau Financial Services and Lithia Ford of Missoula.

The Chambers website describes the ag committee as liaisons between the agricultural and business communities. Their goal is to foster a better understanding and appreciation of agriculture in western Montana and encourage individuals in the ag community to do business in Missoula. This committee of volunteers works to cultivate the relationship between agriculture workers in Montana and the business community under the leadership of Campbell Barrett.

Past committee chair Francis Gjefle described the committees efforts: We work as advocates to and for the local community and the (agriculture) community to look for ways to make doing business together a more rewarding experience for all concerned. We work with the Western Montana Fair to highlight as much for agriculture as possible. We support 4-H programs where we can. We learn about weeds and weed mitigation. ... We follow various topics in the political arena as it affects the people who work in agriculture and try to keep them as informed as possible.

Current chair Barrett said, the committee has done community work such as sponsoring the meal for hundreds of attendees at the annual 4-H Extravaganza event in the spring for decades. Recently, the committee has been more active in building up locally grown and locally sourced foods to connect business and producers and foster more positive relationships there. A lot of folks spend their money on agriculture here in Missoula and that supports the entire region of farmers and ranchers. (The Agri-Business Banquet) is a great way for the business folks to give back to our regional producers, and thats why I think it continues to be a popular event.

Farmers and ranchers in Montana are not only providers of produce, dairy and livestock for our local economy, but also a large portion of Montana consumers. The Agri-Business committee makes every effort to use local beef and produce for the event. This year is no exception. The Chamber asks all businesses to request local option pricing in addition to regular meal pricing when setting up an event. The committee also would like to recognize the efforts and support it has received from the Holiday Inn Downtown regarding using local products.

The 2017 Agri-Business Banquet will be a fun opportunity to celebrate and appreciate these men and women. For more information on the Agri-Business Banquet or to purchase tables, go online to missoulachamber.com.
A few months ago, I watched "A River Runs Through It" for the first time since I moved to Montana. It is a classic Montana tale, but perhaps not in the way most people think. Yes, it is a poignant tale of the importance of family, nature and outdoor recreation. But it is also a story about a kid raised in Montana, getting educated and, in the end, leaving Montana to find a good job.

This story is far too common. Nearly 65 percent of native-born Montanans with a college degree live outside of Montana. In part, Montanans leave to pursue opportunities and experiences not available in Montana. In part, they leave to find better paying jobs.

Earnings for college graduates in Missoula are among the lowest in the country. Median earnings for Missoulians with a bachelor's degree are $32,000. This is only 63 percent the national median ($50,500).

The natural question is what, if anything, can (or should) be done to address this? What might be done to create more opportunities for people in Missoula?

In recent decades, the core engine of regional prosperity has shifted. Historically, regional prosperity was primarily linked to natural resources and/or access to transportation networks. Today, while natural resources and access to transportation networks still matter, knowledge drives a greater share of local prosperity. As a result, economists find that places with knowledge-based economies enjoy certain advantages. Specifically, they enjoy faster growth, higher productivity, better quality of life, higher rates of entrepreneurship and greater resilience.

In theory, a knowledge economy can thrive anywhere. Knowledge work is people-based. It is not innately tied to place. To succeed, many knowledge firms simply need an idea for a good or service, the resources to execute the idea, and the ability to deliver their good or service to markets. With modern communications and transportation technology, knowledge work can be done almost anywhere. In practice, though, it tends to concentrate in places with certain characteristics.

Missoula has two key features that economists argue increase the odds that a place can develop a robust knowledge-based economy. First, it has a large research university. Second, it has a large population of college-educated workers. Forty percent of Missoulians over age 24 have a college degree. This makes Missoula one of the top 25 most educated metropolitan areas in the country.

Unfortunately, Missoula also faces a couple challenges that may inhibit the development of a more robust knowledge economy. First, Missoula is not particularly large. Large, dense cities enjoy advantages (e.g., access to a deeper pool of workers) that make their firms and their workers more productive. As such, knowledge work tends to cluster in large cities. Second, Missoula is somewhat isolated. Greater integration with other, large markets makes it easier for firms to obtain inputs and to sell their outputs.

Thus, to improve opportunities in Missoula, we must figure out how to take better advantage of Missoula's resources and figure out how to overcome Missoula challenges. Entrepreneurs are essential to achieve both of these.

Entrepreneurs are the people who come up with ideas for goods or services that can support successful businesses. They are also the people who have to figure out how to execute that idea in Missoula. As such, they must have the skills and energy to figure out how to overcome Missoula's challenges and successfully deliver products to market.

However, entrepreneurs do not need to do this alone. The community must continue to build and maintain the capacity (e.g., the skilled workers, the access to infrastructure) that entrepreneurs need to execute their business ideas. The community must work to learn from its entrepreneurs. If entrepreneurs (both successful and unsuccessful) continue to run aground on the same boulders, we want to understand where these boulders are and work to remove them. Finally, the community must encourage and nurture our nascent entrepreneurs. If someone has an idea that might be successful, we want people to pursue it and we want them to understand that the community has the resources and interest to help them succeed.

Missoula is developing a thriving culture of entrepreneurship and has many successful entrepreneurs. However, if we are to create more opportunity for ourselves and our children, we need to continue the never-ending work of building Missoula's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The general membership of the Missoula Downtown Association approved the appointment of five people to the MDA Board of directors and ratified a slate of new officers at its 2017 annual meeting last week.

Those approved to serve on the MDA Board of Directors include:

 Katie Ghen Simpson, the owner of Bathing Beauties Beads at 501 S. Higgins. With a lifelong passion for beading, she bought the store in 2014 after working there for 17 years. Originally from Philadelphia, she followed her high school sweetheart to Montana and earned her B.A. in business administration and marketing from the University of Montana. She will serve on the MDAs Membership and Parade of Lights committees. Simpson also serves as vice president of the Hip Strip Society. She is married to Neil Simpson.

 Paige Livingston is the owner of One Eleven Boutique at 111 N. Higgins. She bought the store in 2010 after managing the business for nearly a year. A native of Missoula, Livingston managed a fine dining restaurant in Portland before returning home. She previously served on the Mayors Downtown Advisory Commission in 2015-16 and will serve on the MDAs Retail and Festival of Trees committees. Livingston recently got engaged to Randolph Chitwood.

 Bob McGowan is the Student Services Associate at Rocky Mountain School of Photography (RMSP) at 216 N. Higgins. Originally from southern California, he came to Missoula to attend RMSP and is now in his 12th year as an employee. He has a 20-year career in retail management, but this is his first move into nonprofit service. McGowan has served on the Downtown ToNight Committee for several years, and he was the 2014 Downtown Volunteer of the Year.

 Tom Snyder is the owner of Five on Black at 325 N. Higgins and at 3850 S. Reserve. He has also opened restaurants in Bozeman, Denver and Boulder, Colorado. A native Missoulian, he holds a B.S. in business finance from UM and won the UM Business Plan Competition in 2011. He also serves on the Providence St. Patrick Hospital Foundation Board and will serve on the MDA Advocacy Committee. Tom is married to Lauren, and they have a baby daughter named Clarke.

 Ben Wright is the Director of Client Services at the Montana Idaho Community Development Corporation at 229 East Main. He moved to Montana from Washington, D.C., seven years ago to work for the University of Montana. He is a certified public accountant and has a B.S. in physics from Shippensburg University and an MBA from Penn State. He is married to Stephanie, and they have a 3-year-old son, Henry, and are expecting their second child in February 2017.
Antiques are wrapped up in history and sentiment. And anyone who has watched Antiques Roadshow knows that a bit of mystery also surrounds antiques as owners and dealers try to find out how a piece ended up where it did.

The mystery behind antiques also imbues Jane K. Clelands series about New Hampshire appraiser Josie Prescott, making her 11th appearance in the lively Glow of Death. Clelands series works well as a well-plotted amateur sleuth novel, as an insiders view of antiques as well as how a workplace becomes a second home for many and co-workers become a second family.

In Glow of Death, Josie is asked to assess a Tiffany lamp owned by the wealthy Towsons. The knowledgeable Josie knows that most lamps that people believe to be a Tiffany are really excellent duplicates. While a good copy can fetch up to $50,000, the real thing can bring in more than $1 million. Naturally, Josie is more than thrilled to discover the lamp is real and that she will earn an extra commission by selling it for the couple.

Then Ava Towson is found dead in her home, but this woman is not the same person Josie met with days before. And is that the same lamp Josie authenticated? While the police are occupied investigating the couples marital problems and finances, Josie does her own sleuthing.

Cleland keeps the plot of Glow of Death realistic as Josie is drawn into the investigation because her reputation as an antiques appraiser and business owner are called into question. Josie is an appealing character with a believable love life and solid business skills. She has made Prescotts not just a place to work, but a family with employees who consider her and their coworkers family.

Bits of history  from the provenance of the Tiffany lamps to a side story about valuable marbles  are smoothly added to the brisk plot of Glow of Death.
He called her Elf, because she was a young and diminutive reporter whose only defense was her pen. And he was a large, intimidating man who admitted to killing eight women and stashing them to rot in his familys fetid house.

For more than a decade, the reporter and the serial killer corresponded, talked on the phone and met a few times in a prison visiting room.

Kendall Francois loved it. He was a narcissist who basked in Claudia Rowes attention.

But Rowe wanted something, too. She used Francois to understand the origins of the cruelty that had defined her childhood and stunted her heart.

Rowe, now an education writer at The Seattle Times, has captured her 18-year odyssey with Francois in The Spider and the Fly: A Reporter, a Serial Killer and the Meaning of Murder.

The story starts in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where Rowe was working as a stringer for The New York Times. After six women  known drug addicts and prostitutes  disappeared, Rowe alerted her editors and started following the story.

It led to Francois, a member of one of the few African-American families in Dutchess County. He was arrested, and eventually confessed to killing eight women and stashing their bodies in his familys home, where dishes were left to be blanketed by mold and the plumbing seized.

Five bodies in the attic, three in the basement.

Rowe dutifully reported on Francois case as it wound through the legal system, and he was finally sent to Attica Correctional Facility. But she couldnt let it go.

It just stayed in my head, she said recently, of that time in 1998, grinding and grinding over it.

A year later she wrote to Francois, asking for an interview, an explanation for his crimes.

It was a way of looking at various types of violence in my own life, Rowe said. A couple of things about him triggered me. A sense of being lonely in your own community. Not fitting in.

***

Like Francois, Rowe was deeply alienated early on by her mother, who was verbally and emotionally abusive. In school, she felt ostracized.

I thought that (Francois) might be able to tell me what I needed to know, Rowe said. What is the motivation for cruelty? What makes a person knowingly hurt? I was frantic to know that, and he was going to be a way in.

Francois gave her little about what drove him to rape and murder eight women and toss them, like trash bags, into a heap.

How I deal with the awful things Ive done is personal, he wrote in one letter. Even if I wanted to pour my heart to you, I couldnt  It is far more complicated than you know. Rage was the vehicle, but not the cause or trigger. I no longer believe anger management would have helped me.

Its hard to understand why Rowe turned to a serial killer to better understand her mother.

Im aware thats a stretch, for some, she said. But to me, it was a compulsion. It was not rational. I told myself I was going to identify the mysteries of cruelty. It was personal for me. And that was why I couldnt stop.

***

Rowe didnt get too personal in the book. She makes brief mentions of rides in cabs, late-night partying and sex, but doesnt really delve into what she did, or why.

Lots of high-risk behavior in high school, Rowe said, when pressed. Self-destructive. I did every awful thing. It was bad. That comes out of growing up in a fractured, fractious home.

Rowe grew up in privilege on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Elite schools, nice clothes, vacations. But her parents had explosive fights, and her mother was prone to caustic, withering criticism.

My mother wanted to be a good mother, but she was in a difficult marriage and had her own problems, Rowe said. Those  created a cauldron of real rage.

As a result, Rowes childhood was marked by fear and confusion, a constant current of terror, she said.

This was the emotional setup that propelled me toward the story.

***

Eventually, she was propelled away from Francois and from Poughkeepsie to Seattle, where she got a job covering education at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2003.

But she brought with her all her correspondence with Francois, along with the police and court documents, and a handful of interviews she had with his former friends and colleagues. The Francois family never spoke with her.

Only years later, when she started writing the book, did she see what Kendall Francois had taught her, that compassion is comprehension in a fuller way. Its not weak or soft, you just try to look at people who repel you.

That allowed her to reach a deeper understanding of her mother.

It helped me understand all kinds of people, even the most reviled, and what may be the forces within them, she said, and see her as a person with very conflicting impulses  love and anger  and that those things can coexist.

Rowe lives in Seattle with her family. She reads, cooks and has a secret addiction to Project Runway. 

She continues to cover education, and sees her job as bearing witness to daily change and inspiration. Classrooms are where so many things can be started, nurtured  and prevented.

Think what could have happened, she said, if someone had taken the time with Francois  or his victims, whose families didnt even report them missing.

If someone, such as a teacher, had looked them in the eye and asked how they were, told them they were better than they had been led to believe. Listened.

Education seems dry and wonky and impenetrable, she said, or soft, like cookies and bake sales. The roots of a persons character and soul can be made in connection to a teacher.

In Rowes case, though, it took a connection with a killer to pull the roots of her own pain.
A Missoula woman who defrauded a 70-year-old man with dementia out of roughly a quarter-million dollars in assets  tens of thousands of which she gambled away  was given a judgement this week that means she will likely be out in the community under supervision.

In early 2015, Sara Louise Snyder, 39, was charged with two felony counts of exploitation of an older person or a person with developmental disabilities. In November, a jury found her guilty of both counts.

Ive done a few trials, this is the first time Ive heard audible gasps from the jury, senior deputy county attorney Karla Painter told Missoula County District Court Judge Karen Townsend, calling Snyders behavior deplorable.

With the prosecutor asking for prison and Snyder's defense attorney seeking a deferred sentence, Townsend chose to do neither. Saying there was absolutely no excuse for what Snyder had done, the judge imposed a sentence of 20 years in the Department of Corrections, all but five of which was suspended.

You just used all of his property as if it was yours, Townsend said. All of the stuff that he had built up was lost.

Townsend further said she would recommend that Snyder be placed in either a pre-release center or out in the community under intensive supervision, rather than be incarcerated.

Defense attorney Christopher Daly, who indicated Snyder intends to appeal her conviction, asked Townsend not to have her taken into custody until the appeal is finished, which the judge agreed to do.

***

Snyder, who had worked for the mans wife and been friends with the couple, reconnected with him after the wife died in 2002.

In the years that followed, a court affidavit said Snyder became the man's caretaker, and began to run some of his finances, including collecting rental income from his properties. That income was never deposited into the mans bank accounts.

Erica Grinde, the countys director of risk management and benefits who previously worked as a lawyer in the county attorneys civil division, said she was contacted by the states Adult Protective Services in 2013 to file a guardianship for the man Snyder was exploiting after he lost his home and was unable to care for himself.

This is an extreme situation in terms of what (the man) lost, she said in court Tuesday.

Snyder had power of attorney for the man. Shortly before the court revoked it, she withdrew nearly $50,000 from his accounts using ATMs located in casinos around town. The mans sister was eventually appointed by the court to serve as the mans guardian.

While Snyder was managing his finances, roughly $135,000 in real estate sale proceeds went unaccounted for and she spent around $32,000 of his money on her personal expenses. His home was foreclosed on for unpaid property taxes and other financial requirements. Snyder also took a pair of camper trailers, a pair of cars and a boat belonging to the man.

She took everything. She took his home. She took his vehicle, she took his RV, she took his boat, Painter said. She knew his financial situation, she knew how generous he was and she capitalized on it.

Christine Altemus, who has worked in bankruptcy and collections cases at First Security Bank for the past 25 years, said at Snyders sentencing she had never seen a case this egregious.

I took somebodys home away in foreclosure because of what happened, she said. The outcome needs to be commensurate with that.

After he was diagnosed with dementia, the man eventually moved to an assisted living facility, and Snyder portrayed herself as his granddaughter, despite him never having children or adopting. Information about his court-appointed guardian and the care agency she hired to make sure he got his medicine were deleted. The guardian told Snyder to stop contacting the man, an order she ignored.

Painter asked Townsend to impose a 20-year prison sentence, half of which would be suspended. She said Snyder has a total lack of remorse and even after being convicted has yet to acknowledge she committed a crime.

Daly requested a pair of six-year deferrals of sentences that would run consecutively. Not being in custody, he said, would give her the best chance to repay the nearly $80,000 in restitution Townsend had already ordered in the case.

He said his client and the man was a long-standing relationship that went very awry at the end, but that she was not a serial predator who would go out and find another older person to take advantage of.

Daly said Snyder had lost most of the money she took from the man because she is addicted to gambling. He read a statement she had written in which she said she never intended to prey on him.

I would never have intentionally hurt him, Daly said on Snyders behalf.
While Washington, D.C., headlines warned that President Donald Trump was potentially starting a trade war with Mexico on Thursday, Missoula business leaders were meeting with an Israeli trade representative to discuss possible international deals.

The mixed message was a top question among the participants at Accelerate Montanas presentation with Israeli Consul General Andy David at the University of Montana. How should a business evaluate an overseas relationship when national governments appear intent on rewriting many of the rules?

Thats the big question, said Cody Rose, a UM master's degree student studying business and public administration. Rose had recently returned from a trip to Australia and New Zealand where he was researching sustainable business practices, and was preparing for a trip to Israel in April. He said the uncertain political environment would keep things interesting.

David said in addition to politics, facts on the ground have been changing the business world. In Israels case, the recent discovery of huge off-shore natural gas fields along the coasts of Israel, Egypt and Lebanon have given the formerly resource-poor nation a new identity as an energy producer.

Were already seeing an impact on the national economy, where natural gas production has boosted GDP growth by 1 percent in 2015, David said. Thats prompted changes in the geo-strategic arena around us. We have better relations with Egypt because of the energy economy that affects both of us. Weve seen reconciliation with Turkey reached through the energy development, because exporting much of that will go through Turkey.

The Montana World Trade Center is recruiting local business owners to join a trade delegation visit to Israel in April. David said whether they can travel overseas or to the Israeli consulate in San Francisco, opportunities in everything from agriculture to cybersecurity await partnerships.

Theres a lot of trust that needs to happen when doing business across the world, said conference attendee Tara Blyth of Kamut International, a specialty wheat producer based in Montana. I didnt know a lot about the Israeli business climate. Their government really helps out entrepreneurs and bears a lot of the risk. That model doesnt exist in the states in the same way.

Pam Voth said shes rethinking her photography business in light of the world trade situation. Her Tree and Sky Media Arts firm was getting ready to attract foreign tourists to take photo safaris of places like Yellowstone National Park in search of wildlife. But since the change of presidential administrations, shes hearing that it may become harder for foreigners to get visas to visit the United States.

I may not be able to bring business to Montana, Voth said. I may have to start looking at taking people to other places like India or South Africa.

On the other hand, web developer Nora McDougall-Collins said her international clientele already was used to rolling with changing border rules. Dealing with intellectual property raised far fewer issues when countries started considering trade wars.

Ive got clients from Canada who ended up doing their work in Thailand, McDougall-Collins said. Where we are is kind of irrelevant. And being a big corporation is one thing, while being a small business is totally different.

Montana World Affairs Council member Bob Seidenschwarz helped arrange Davids visit to Missoula, and was involved in the Israelis previous tour a year ago. While political conditions have changed radically in the intervening 12 months, he said business has to keep going.

They still have goods and products they have to get out the door, Seidenschwarz said. There may be additional costs. A lot of this is theater, but the real hard work will take years. Businesses love predictability, and a trade war means uncertainty. But there are ways to hedge that with currency markets and other ways.
The competition was strong when Ruth Ann Swaney applied to fill the vacant Ward 2 Missoula City Council seat.

She was interviewed by City Council the same day as a former state legislator, a candidate for justice of the peace last year, and a pharmacy director.

So was she surprised when, after two quick rounds of voting Monday night at City Council, her name received the majority vote.

Yes! she said emphatically Thursday, leaning forward over her desk in her office on the first floor of the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation building at the University of Montana, eyes wide, smile huge.

It was unexpected, she followed up. There were some pretty strong candidates.

Swaney is the first Native American woman on the Missoula City Council, a factoid she called baffling, given Missoulas age and proximity to a large Indian reservation.

Shes barely even the first Native American to serve: Patrick Weasel Head holds that honor, when he was appointed to represent Ward 4 in February 2016.

Isnt that crazy? Swaney said. I think thats just wrong.

Swaneys plenty qualified herself  she just wrapped up her doctorate work in forestry and conservation sciences after earning her masters in organismal biology also from UM, as well as a bachelors in elementary education from the University of North Dakota and a couple of associate degrees from tribal colleges.

The last two years shes headed the Native American Natural Resource program, which gives community and mentorship to Native students at the university. It offers everything from help finding internships and jobs to letters of recommendation and academic advising.

Swaney holds a gathering at least once a month where she cooks for the students.

***

Though the campus community is strong, Swaney quickly realized how little Native Americans are involved in local government when she moved to Missoula.

In 2007, Swaney and her husband Bill, who works for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, enrolled their two oldest children, then 7 and 9, in elementary school.

Swaney became involved with the schools parent group and started to gain a sense for how disenfranchised Native Americans were from so many different communities in the city.

She credits the absence of Native Americans in city affairs to a few factors  but said her primary disconnect came from growing up on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

There, aside from the City Council and mayor who ran things in New Town, was a tribal council that most Native Americans felt more comfortable going to.

As a Native person, if you want to see more representation, you have to throw your hat in the ring, she said. I want to see Native people as part of Missoula.

Just five people spoke Monday night on behalf of candidates, though several emailed city councilors with their thoughts on the right person.

Of those five, four supported Swaney, with a student of hers reminding the council shed be the first Native American woman to serve on the body.

She is not only a leader to the Native American community, but all people, Lauren Small Rodriguez said.

Ward 1 representative Bryan von Lossberg nominated Swaney first, though Ward 4 representative Jon Wilkins tried after, before nominating another candidate so as not to double up.

Von Lossberg said Thursday the replacement process was a difficult one, but he kept in the front of his mind what he considered the most important aspect: How can we add a voice that represents those who arent already represented?

Ive really enjoyed over the last three years working on this council, given theres a great diversity of talents and viewpoints," he said last week. "I think that that diversity is our strength and I think Ruth would add to that immensely."

Although Ward 3 representative Emily Bentley voted for Gail Gutsche, she said Monday night that Swaney was a close choice.

For almost all my profound moments on council, Dr. Swaney has been there, has (been) here in this room with us, she said.

The specific example Bentley gave was the morning after the election, when Swaney showed up to speak in support of the councils resolution to stand with the Standing Rock water protectors.

Swaney spoke with her daughter hugging her leg, reaffirming the councils work in local government.

***

Swaney hasnt yet decided if shell run for the Ward 2 seat this fall, but even if she does, she isnt counting on winning.

Im here until November. What can I do? I dont want to be a bump on a log, she said.

Her focus will be on reaching out to more groups  whether thats Native American involvement, or maybe single mothers who just dont have the time to come to public comment in person.

During her interview she suggested renaming streets or parks with Native American words or monikers for the area, though she acknowledged it would cost money.

In the short time she's spent so far at committee meetings and doing lots of reading, she already sees more opportunities. When there are openings on local citizen boards, she can encourage qualified Native friends or coworkers to apply.

Its exciting when you can start to see yourself reflected in the world around you, Swaney said. You start feeling like youre part of something and have that investment in it.
The National Weather Service in Missoula says a significant winter storm will move into the area Monday night, potentially dumping 6 to 8 inches of snow by Wednesday from Polson to Stevensville and 8 to 12 inches of snow in Condon, Seeley Lake and Superior.

The weather service said Sunday afternoon that there was still some uncertainty about where the band of snow will form "but the likely area looks to be over west-central/northwest Montana, including the Mission valleys, Seeley-Swan valleys, Highway 200 in the Ovando/Potomac region, I-90 corridor stretching from Lookout Pass to Deerlodge and Missoula/northern Bitterroot valley.''

A Canadian cold front is predicted to move in Tuesday evening, dropping temperatures to the single digits or low teens by Wednesday morning.

Light to moderate snow could linger into Wednesday along and south of the I-90 corridor, but the weather service said there is "quite a bit of uncertainty'' about that prediction.
Zoe Leake spent a week in Polebridge this winter learning about the community and the geography of the North Fork, and she doesn't believe she'll forget the lessons.

She was steeped in the experience.

"You remember what you've learned," Leake said. "You actually carry it with you throughout your entire life because you were able to really focus on it."

For the natural resource conservation major at the University of Montana, the course also is a good deal. She paid a fee, but the tuition for those credits gets rolled in with spring's tuition.

"So you don't pay any extra for those extra credits," Leake said.

The long winter session at UM has downsides, too, though, and interim Provost Beverly Edmond has heard the positives as well as the negatives. One down side? The deal for a student is lost revenue for UM.

Also, the lengthy period between fall and spring may have unintended consequences, including on student retention, she said.

This school year, the last day for finals was Dec. 20, and the first day of spring semester didn't start until Jan. 23. Some students may choose to work a couple weeks over the holiday, and then just keep working through spring semester.

Their plans to return in the fall can go by the wayside.

"Many times, life happens. They don't come back," Edmond said.

Edmond, however, said she doesn't have hard data yet that shows what's best for students or UM's budget. To determine the way forward, the provost is charging a task force with reviewing the academic calendar's structure and making recommendations to the cabinet  for not only winter session, but for the full calendar.

"The best way to look at this, in my opinion, is to look at the entire academic year," Edmond said.

She has asked for the work be completed sometime in April.

As Leake experienced, winter session courses allow students to get out of the classroom and learn in a different place. This year, eight students traveled to Vietnam to study climate change, as they have since 2011.

In a blog about the course, senior Max Longo said he was excited to learn about the economic impacts of climate change in Vietnam. He took the course partly to gain insight about climate change policy in the U.S. compared to Vietnam, and to more fully understand international policy.

"Visiting Southeast Asias first offshore wind farm was an amazing experience for me," wrote Longo, studying political science and climate, on the class blog. "I have never seen such a large-scale renewable energy project in person before. ...

"As I walked through the immense turbines, I felt the strong winds, which constantly blow along the coasts all over the world. I had a feeling of hope about the future. I knew I was looking at a project of the future."

Earlier this month, Zak Reimer headed to Helena for a class about public policy and the Montana Legislature. Reimer, seeking a master's degree in social work, said being at the Capitol goes hand in hand with the social work course, where he met Gov. Steve Bullock and Montana Supreme Court Justice Jim Shea.

"It is a cool opportunity to take a class that you didn't think you had time for that would benefit either your professional career plans or just general interest," Reimer said.

At the same time, he said the time between fall and spring semesters is long compared to other schools. So he can see both benefits and downsides to the winter session.

"I don't know if I can fall on one side or not," Reimer said.

This spring, Provost Edmond aims to glean information that sheds more light on the best academic calendar for UM. If the university does make changes, she said she wants them implemented in a respectful timeline that doesn't unduly disrupt people's schedules.

"There's no immediate change to winter session," Edmond said. "There may be some recommendations that we consider to either do away with, modify or enhance winter session."
Jan. 20 was my last day at work. Under the Obama administration, I served as a political liaison for NASA on Capitol Hill. I watched up close while 2016 revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our democracy. As the American West opens up before my windshield on the drive home to Montana, I am compelled to say why I pledge to vote in Montanas upcoming special election.

I pledge to vote for many reasons, but this year, I am mostly concerned about the state of our democracy. The Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded the United States from a full democracy to a flawed democracy in its 2016 Democracy Index. People want reassurance that our elections can be free and fair, and that the leaders we elect have the best interests of the nation and our future generations in mind. If voters dont turn up, those things wont happen.

When it comes to making democracy work, Montana is a model for the country. We often travel long distances through harsh conditions to get to our polling places. Despite these obstacles, Montanans consistently have one of the highest voting rates of any state.

Montana voters are also intriguingly independent. We often split tickets between parties. In 2016, we voted for a Republican president and a Democratic governor. This shows that we care less about party affiliation and more about the values individual candidates stand for.

This combination of independence and high turnout reflect Montana values  rugged self-reliance combined with fierce patriotism.

And when national politics tilt precariously, Montanans help balance the country. In 1916, at the height of the womens suffrage movement, Montanans elected the first woman to Congress. In 1972, while Watergate shook Americas faith in federal government, Montanans updated and strengthened the state Constitution. During the nauseatingly expensive 2012 election, Montanans challenged the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to allow unlimited campaign spending by outside organizations.

In 2017, as allegations of election hacking and fraud dampen voter enthusiasm, Montana can remind America about what makes voting great.

At a time like this, there is no better place than Montana for a bellwether election. To me, Montana is the best place in America, hands down. Its land, people, and way of life are second to none. I am a minority, but I always proudly identify as Montanan first. I never question my identity because I always feel like I belong in Montana.

During the drive home, I pass my birthplace of Bloomington, Indiana, I imagine what my parents were thinking when we moved to Montana. My dad grew up on a farm in northern Indiana. My mom moved from Korea to attend Indiana University. She has lived in America as a naturalized citizen for nearly four decades.

They were probably nervous about moving to a faraway state, but it quickly became home. My parents loved raising my younger sister and me in the Missoula community. We attended public schools, played music and sports, and always had friends over for dinner, excited to taste moms cooking.

Through Montanas acceptance of us, we love the state in a special way. It may be hard for some to understand if theyve never experienced being a minority. But let me tell you, if you find yourself in a place where you are different from everybody else, its nice to be treated as an equal.

And so, its for equalitys sake that I also pledge to vote this spring. Equality is our nation's founding principle and most basic unifying concept. It is what made my life in Montana possible.

This spring, lets make voting great again. If anyone can do this, its Montanans.

Activate your voter registration. Educate yourself about our candidates and engage with them. Drop the identity politics and negative labelling. We have too many external threats to face right now to turn against ourselves. During your conversations, speak to others in a way that will invite a handshake instead of a punch in the face. By doing these things, we will ensure the voice we send to Washington is our strongest.

So, Montana, I look forward to coming home. Im ready to wholeheartedly engage in politics again. I hope you are too.
Its among the biggest problems facing the state, yet nobody seems to want to do anything about it. With each passing day, unknown numbers of potentially significant public records are being lost to the people of Montana.

The state is failing to store official emails, lacking sufficient storage capacity and specific protocols for doing so. Social media accounts just disappear whenever an employee leaves or a new administration comes on board. Public officials from the governor on down the chain of command are routinely using personal email accounts to conduct state business.

Similar activity has gotten certain federal officials into a lot of hot water in recent years, but state leaders appear unconcerned. No one in the legislature has proposed a substantial, comprehensive solution. And Gov. Steve Bullock, whose leadership is badly needed to institute best practices in record-keeping across the various state agencies, is instead setting a poor example by using a personal account himself to communicate with other officials.

Why should they refrain from using personal accounts to email, text and post on social media? Why bother spending limited time and money coming up with a system to capture these communications and make them available to the public? Because to do otherwise is to deprive the people of this state of their right to know  on a massive and unprecedented scale.

Montanas Constitution contains some of the strongest sunshine laws in the nation, with Section 9 clearly stating the publics right to know: No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.

State law requires that important emails be treated the same as other public documents and stored in state archives. To date, however, not a single such email has been archived.

Currently, when a state employee changes agencies or leaves a job, that persons emails are automatically deleted after one month  often without any kind of review. When government employees, including elected officials, use personal accounts to create public documents, these documents are inaccessible to the public unless the employee chooses to make it available  which few, on their own, ever choose to do.

State employees are routinely violating state laws, leaving Montana vulnerable to lawsuits. That potential alone ought to light a fire under our government leaders to bring official record-keeping systems into legal compliance.

Clearer rules would not only enhance open government, it would also provide government employees with a greater assurance of privacy, as private messages would no longer be mixed up with public ones. As an added benefit, better rules could also prevent the unnecessary storage of electronic information that doesnt need to be preserved, freeing up valuable storage space.

New technologies have made communication more efficient and convenient than ever. Its to be expected  applauded, even  when public officials make use of these tools to boost communication abilities. According to the Missoulians State Bureau, all but five of the states 36 agencies have at least one social media presence, and many prominent officials also have individual accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

Its unlikely every text or tweet will have immense value as a public document. Sometimes, the value will only become apparent in hindsight. In any case, electronic communication is here to stay, even as the means of communication continues to evolve. Montanas Constitution provides for those changes by stating explicitly that public records must be made available to the public, without regard for format.

Unfortunately, each branch of Montanas government oversees its own records management, and individual agencies make their own rules as well. An archivist who works under the governor shares responsibility for record-keeping with the records manager in the Secretary of States office.

Montana can begin building a cohesive record-keeping system by taking a page from states that have set up successful archives. North Carolina, for one, is regarded a national leader in social media preservation; it collects all posts from more than 130 different accounts onto one public webpage.

Whatever system is eventually adopted, the state must be sure it includes these provisions:

State employees, and especially elected officials, must be required to use state accounts for all official business, no matter how seemingly minor the matter. After all, its up to the public to decide whether the communication is important  something we cannot do if we never get to see the communication in question, or are unaware of its existence.

The state must provide sufficient record-keeping capacity. True, this means paying for storage services at a time when the state is trying to tighten its belt, but a lawsuit could end up being even more costly.

Montana must establish clear policies and procedures so that employees know which records to keep, how to store them and when to delete them. The State Records Committee should be given clear direction to compose and distribute comprehensive guidelines that work for every agency and every branch of government, and which also comply with state law.

Montana have already lost years worth of public documents, and the loss is growing with each passing day. Our elected officials need to quit ignoring this unacceptable situation and start discussing potential fixes. These discussions, too, should be part of the public record.
It has been shockingly disappointing that the left-wing liberal progressive Democrats and their minions have not been able to pull themselves together and behave as civilized adults during the transition of power in Washington, D.C. As a matter of fact, as a person who is living in his eighth decade, the behavior demonstrated by the Democrats and their minions is downright childish.

These politician children spend time talking about how they dont want division, yet how is boycotting the inauguration not divisive? Somehow they have deluded themselves into believing they are disrespecting President Trump when in fact they are disrespecting the office of the president of the United States. The inauguration is about the office, not the person. Childish!

Then there are the childish demonstrations the left-wing liberal progressive Democrats are inciting. The childish reality looks like I cant have my way so lets throw a stink bomb into the proceedings. This is very much like a child throwing a temper tantrum in the grocery store. Not civil, adult behavior.

Im still waiting for all the left-wing liberal progressive Democrat celebrity clowns who promised to leave the United States if President Trump was elected, to leave. What am I thinking? More left-wing liberal progressive Democrat talk with no action. More talk with no conviction.

So, my Montana left-wing liberal progressive Democrat friends, does this childish behavior make you proud? Or are you, as Montanans, adult enough to be somewhat embarrassed about those of your political persuasion, at the national level, who just cant seem to cowboy up and behave as civil mature adults?

Do you think they know just how silly the whole thing looks? At least half the nation and most of Montana is laughing at them.

Steven J. Rossiter,

Missoula
As an American and Montanan, I appreciate honest, transparent government and I completely agree with President Trump that money buys influence and that we need to get it out of politics - we can start with his.

It is utterly disingenuous and contradictory that he will not release his tax returns. Write and email Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, and Rep. Ryan Zinke (he's still our representative at the moment) and urge them to support any legislation that requires President Trump, and future presidents, to release their tax returns, including at least the three preceding years.

This isn't a Republican, Democrat, Independent or Libertarian issue; this is an American issue and it's standard presidential decency and accountability.

If President Trump has nothing to hide then he has nothing to fear. It will take you five minutes to write an email. Find Daines', Tester's and Zinke's emails here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

John Beaver,

Helena
We don't have to list here all the wonders with which the year 2016 has graced our culture. But if we note anything, it must be the soaring increase in violence in the United States of America.

No statistic, no statement of fact, brings home this reality better than the 56 percent rise in the murder of law enforcement officers  in one year!

From this, we can reasonably extrapolate at least a 56 percent rise in incidents of police officer injury. In Montana, murders are up dramatically, but aggravated assault has become almost commonplace, increasing by double digits each of the last few years.

We can, and do, argue incessantly about the root causes of an increasingly violent society. But if there is anything we can agree on, maybe it's respect and support for law enforcement, for enforcement of the rule of law.

"The rule of law, not of men" is a much revered mantra of democracy. Those entrusted with the enforcement of that law must be well trained, well paid and well respected. And they must be held to the highest level of integrity.

Our men and women in the military deserve our highest respect and we often rightly offer them a "thank you for your service." While something like one in 11 military members are actually put in harms way, our law enforcement officers face the threat of violence every day. They have to be lawyers, psychologists, social workers and self defense experts. Let's start training them, paying them and thanking them.

Bob Pyfer,

Helena
HELENA  One issue dominated testimony to the School Funding Interim Commission last year: a backlog of major maintenance statewide. But legislators disagree on how best to help districts  or if they can afford to do so at all.

A District Court judge ruled in 2008 that the Montana Constitution requires the state to chip in for significant school repairs and updates. Yet, state leaders have repeatedly failed to provide enough funding or to adjust regulations about district budgets that make it difficult to save money. The challenge is largely two-fold: State assistance must be adequate and it also must be equitable, so a student in Grass Range receives an education equal to one in Missoula.

Two programs the state had used to assist some schools in recent years went unfunded or underfunded in the 2015 session. Both are on the chopping block this session as legislators debate how much responsibility the state has to pay for these projects and the fairest way to divide the money between the states more than 400 districts.

The discussion is heading in a reasonable direction, Montana Quality Education Coalition Director Dianne Burke said. But its not going where it needs to go because really theres that adequacy aspect unaddressed. Theres no money.

Legislators and educators agree: The need is clear.

Until Missoula passed its $150 million bond, Sentinel High School was one blown boiler away from canceling school for a week or two weeks to fix that boiler, take care of all the broken pipes and then all the water, said Sen. Tom Facey, D-Missoula, a retired teacher who led the interim commission. St. Ignatius had a $3.5 million bond that failed and the guy just wanted to fix stuff. He didnt want to build a damn thing. Without the state involved, it puts pressure on homeowners, small business.

Almost a decade ago, a first-of-its-kind inventory of thousands of school buildings across the state identified more than $360 million in needed repairs, a figure education advocates and architects say has grown.

The average age of a school building in Montana is 53 years. Although the core structure could last decades longer, some periodic maintenance is needed. Roofs deteriorate; aging boilers fail and parts are no longer available; windows seep energy that drives up district bills; a rural district has to make accessibility improvements for a student with disabilities; electrical wires and internet cables must be replaced; and walls must be moved to adjust class sizes as enrollment or accreditation standards change.

Because of how the state regulates school finances to ensure an equitable education, most districts cannot simply save money for major repairs. Schools must return unspent money to the state each year except for a small amount they roll over to smooth out cash flow dips.

Districts can create a building reserve fund but to fill it they must pass a bond, levy more taxes or be lucky enough to have oil and gas revenues. The smallest districts dont have enough tax base to pay for the costly projects while the needs of the largest districts dwarf the existing state assistance.

There is such an enormous backlog in most districts, its probably going to take years and years to get caught up, Rep. Kathy Kelker, D-Billings said.

***

Montana has operated two main programs to help districts finance repairs in recent years.

The Quality Schools Grant Program solicited applications from districts and typically paid out about $30 million every two years to complete about 50 projects. Education advocates said the program gave an unfair advantage to schools with grant writers while leaving hundreds of others without any help. In 2015, legislators did not fund the program at all. This session, the governor has proposed about $5 million, the result of slowed timber harvests and the loss of some riverbed rents after a lawsuit.

Another program, funded by the same sources, promised to help districts pay interest on bonds. So many participated that payments were prorated. Without a new revenue source to support it, the program is effectively dead.

So far, three bills are being considered as possible solutions.

House Bill 66, written by Facey and co-sponsored by Rep. Amanda Curtis, D-Butte, would set aside a little money for every district in a new state-managed account. Each district would be credited an $8,000 base payment plus extra for every quality teacher, an estimated annual cost of about $5 million. Districts would have to petition the state for access to that money by providing a matching amount of local funds, details on the project and a long-term facilities plan.

Facey also has proposed Senate Bill 5, which would make it easier for schools to borrow from the Montana Board of Investments INTERCAP loan program and pay back the loans over a longer period of time, allowing districts to fund projects without increasing taxes for local residents. He hopes schools could combine the loans with the new savings accounts created by HB 66. The INTERCAP bill passed the Senate 42-8 and appears set to pass the House next week after a 94-6 preliminary vote on Friday.

Republicans are crafting a different proposal to pair with the INTERCAP loan changes.

Billings Rep. Jeff Essmann, also a member of the interim commission, and Conrad Sen. Llew Jones, who chairs the Finance Committee, said details are not finalized. One idea being considered is to divert some interest money, and maybe principal, from the Coal Severance Tax Trust Fund into a new facilities account that would provide grants to a limited number of projects each year and require applicants to have a local match.

Is it better to try to get a little bit of money to everybody or to get more effectively spent money to the districts that have engaged in the planning process? I prefer the planning and ranking approach, Essmann said.

The other issue were going to have to face at some point is that were in the slow and deliberate phases of voluntary consolidation in some of the districts. At some point they may realize their communities would be better off if they maintained one building instead of two, one set of teachers instead of two,'' he said. "Its better those communities make those decisions on their own terms, but it may not be in our best interest as a state to try and preserve every building at this point.

Jones said requiring a local match, likely with a bond or levy, is one way the state can ensure schools spend wisely.

Its amazing how much more frugal we are if we tell our local people weve got to participate, he said.

Montana Rural Education Association Executive Director Dennis Parman, a former deputy state superintendent, said he is encouraged by the discussions but cautious during a session where a tight budget is forcing cuts to many programs.
Mike Boltz has two wells near his house in Seeley Lake, but he doesnt use either of them.

Neither does anyone else in town use theirs, because the ground simply soaks up their wastewater, rendering the water undrinkable.

This is the most unique scenario Ive ever seen, Boltz said of Seeleys groundwater situation.

Most places the ground is too hard to soak up sewage, but in Seeley, well, itll accept anything you dump at it," Boltz said.

He and his wife June own Seeley Lake Motor Lodge, located about halfway up the lakeside community along Highway 83 in the northeast corner of Missoula County.

Boltz said if he dumps water from his septic tank into the ground, it soaks it all up.

Groundwater test wells in Seeley taken since 2004 have shown consistently high nitrate readings, which can be harmful to infants and pregnant women.

Since everyone in Seeley Lake relies on individual septic tanks, theres no way to filter that water.

So the few hundred people who live in Seeley Lakes sewer system boundaries drink lake water, Boltz said.

The sewer systems are supposed to clean up the environment, he said, "to make sure the water thats going back into the ground is drinkable.

The waters just going bad without any containment.

Last year, Seeley Lake received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build a community sewer system, but a vote in December to accept a loan to supplement the grant failed.

Boltz, whos also the president of Seeley Lakes sewer board, said the town isnt done.

Along with Missoula County public works officials, hes appealing to the USDA, despite the failed vote, to fully fund the sewer system.

Theres a fraction of all of this that winds up in the Blackfoot River, the Clearwater River, in Missoula, he said. Were not going to give up.

Jim Erven, an environmental health specialist for the Missoula City-County Health Department, echoed Boltzs assertion that Seeley is a unique situation.

In Seeley we have this extremely densely populated area on the lakeshore, Erven said. And theyre all on septics.

Those septic systems are great at decontaminating water from biological hazards, but not nitrates, he said.

The septics then, combined with the density of systems in the small community, combine to put a lot of pressure on Seeleys groundwater system.

Its not having a chance to dilute, he said. Thats a driver of the high concentrations.

While there are septic systems that filter out nitrates, Erven said theyre quite expensive, and, for a community of Seeleys size, not as logical as a community sewer system.

Seeley would get its own water treatment plant too, purposefully built away from the lake.

Those two things: the placement of it and the function of it, would remove a lot of nitrates from the water, Erven said.

***

In 2015, regulations aimed at preventing the spread of nitrate contamination were written into the county health code, officially recognized by the county in designating the Seeley Lake sewer district a Special Management Area after state-mandated nitrate testing began a decade earlier.

All water issues in Seeley, Erven said, revolve around nitrate contamination.

Montanas Department of Environmental Quality mandates, through a federal charge, that all water systems be tested annually for a variety of contaminants.

If high levels of nitrates are detected  over 5 milligrams per liter (mg/L)  testing is required four times a year until four tests in a row show nitrate levels under the limit. Seeley has done quarterly testing since 2004.

One of three test wells has registered 10 mg/L, the lowest nitrate level thats deemed unsafe for humans, three times since 2004, most recently in June 2016.

Nitrates are a natural by-product of wastewater treatment, created when animal and human waste is broken down, according to the state DEQs website.

A Montana State University Extension study of nitrate levels effects on livestock and humans found that the oxygen/nitrogen combination causes oxygen deficiencies in human bloodstreams, which can cause blue baby syndrome or birth defects if pregnant women drink the tainted water.

Adult humans dont have to worry about nitrates affecting their health until levels reach around 20 mg/l, much higher than Seeley has seen since 2004.

High nitrate levels in lakes and streams can lead to accelerated eutrophication or "aging" of lakes, evidenced by large amounts of algae appearing on lake surfaces, such as blue-green algae blooms in nearby Salmon Lake in 2013.

It just started to become apparent that it was an issue, Ervin said. Theyve remained high over the years.

The Seeley Lake Sewer Board secured a very significant $12.5 million grant and loan package in 2015 to help start their water system, which County Public Works Director Greg Robertson said was the largest ever given out in Montana.

Getting a water system has been fairly elusive, Robertson said.

The last time Boltz was aware that Seeley had a chance for a water system was about 40 years ago.

The EPA offered the town a fully paid water system installation, but the town wasnt interested.

The 2015 package included $5.7 million in grants from the USDA's Rural Development fund and a $4.4 million loan.

Repaying the loan would have cost homeowners around $50 a month, Boltz said, and business owners somewhere around $75. Those in the Seeley Lake Sewer district voted on the loan in December.

This was the first successful bid to get the design, the money, the grants and the vote, he said.

The measure failed by 49 votes, according to the Seeley Lake Pathfinder, with 137 in favor, 186 against, and 170 ballots unreturned.

At its Dec. 15 meeting, the sewer board protested the election, citing issues with who got ballots, how many ballots were actually sent out and ballots counted that shouldnt have been.

About 35 percent of the town could not vote because of the really quirky way the elections office ran this election, Boltz said.

The Pathfinder reported on Dec. 22 that members of the board had confirmed a few ballots were filled out and returned from people living outside the sewer district and vice versa.

That, to me, is problematic, Roberston said. The goal is to preserve the funds and give the district another opportunity.

The board decided to appeal the voting requirement to the USDA, which sent Robertson and Boltz to Bozeman recently to meet with officials and discuss the idea.

Boltz asked the USDA to simply fund the entire project, to get this over with.

Robertson said since sewer board members are working hard to make the water system work, hes confident the USDA will work with them.

He said there hasnt been pressure from the state or the Environmental Protection Agency to finish the project, because of Seeleys continued effort at solving its water quality issue.

So far the EPA and the state have been hands off, Robertson said. Were right at the threshold of making it go.

***

One hundred miles southeast of Seeley Lake in Granite County sits Philipsburg, with a sewer district of 900 people that's roughly twice the size of Seeley Lakes.

Philipsburg is experiencing from the EPA what Seeley could feel in a few years  the pressure to upgrade its water system, no matter the cost.

John Vukonich, director of Philipsburgs public works department, said when he started at the job about five years ago, the town council turned down a $4.5 million grant that would have built an oversized water treatment plant for the town.

I agreed with (the vote), and I still do, he said. That was way too much.

But five years on and grants are hard to come by. The town raised water rates in 2015 to start saving money for upgrades in the absence of large outside funding.

A March 2015 article in the Philipsburg Mail said the town council was even exploring a resort tax, to the vexation of its residents, to try and cover the estimated $5 million it would cost for a new wastewater treatment plant and repairs to sewer lines.

The article went on to say that without additional funding water bills would increase $50 to $70 per person.

Philipsburg has about $300,000 to clean up sludge in one of its reservoir lagoons, but Vukonich said most of the grants it seeks would pay for engineering studies, not actual work, so the council has ended up turning some down, even as the EPAs five-year deadline looms.

Its been a journey here, he said, Were at a point where we want to upgrade  but it takes time.

Erven said if Seeley Lake fails to secure the USDA grant and loan deal, there may not be many places to turn.

The EPA could step in, like it did in Philipsburg, but right now theres no clear way for Seeleys situation to improve.

We dont have a direct action at this point to fix it, he said.

Kristi Ponozzo, the public policy director for Montanas DEQ, said Seeley Lake is on a list of potential projects to fund through the states revolving loan program.

Boltz said hes worked for years to find community backers, like the owners at the Paws Up resort, but hasnt had any luck outside of government loan deals, as he put it, knocking on a lot of blank doors.

Its a problem statewide, Vukonich said. Water quality issues are not going to go away.
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
Concerned relatives raced to hospitals in search of their loved ones Sunday as South Korea grieved the deaths of at least 153 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s. They got trapped and crushed after a huge Halloween party crowd surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul. Tens of thousands of people were believed to have gathered Saturday night in Itaewon for festivities. Witnesses say the streets were so densely clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was practically impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to reach the alley near Hamilton Hotel, as the situation quickly developed into one of the countrys worst disasters in years.
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I watched a movie on the bombing of Pearl Harbor last night with friends. It was a poignant reminder of how many brave men and women were killed on December 7, 1941 -- being attacked on American soil was horrific and resonated how hideous all war is -- no matter where.

Watching the movie made me so grateful for the freedom I enjoy every day here in Montana, thanks to the ultimate sacrifice of those who have chosen to protect us and keep us safe and out of harms way, thanks to people like my dad, Andy, and all our veterans.

I was not a fan of Obama, nor was I looking forward to the possibility of having another Clinton Administration. I decided that no matter who was elected, I should look at the big picture and do the best I could personally do to support our leaders and our country, which is what I am going to do. I was appalled at the riots, violence and marches that took place in our country over the past weekend and wonder if some of those very people engaging in these activities have forgotten the ones who died to give them their daily freedoms and lifestyle.

The great Abraham Lincoln once said that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," which is so true. I also found a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, who is one of my heroes and former neighbor from Tabernash -- Colorado! "Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed -- else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."

-- Nondi Harrington, Sheridan
So much for collaboration in Helena. Rep. Austin Knudsen's grim address and combative appearance during his GOP response to Governor Bullock's State of the State address gives little hope for Montanans to expect civil working across the aisle. Knudsen threw down the gauntlet to any kind of partisan cooperation for prudent financial plans for Montanans for the next biennium. One might even say that his inappropriate use of the word "despicable" aptly fits his own Republican-us-against-them message. Several misleading statements in his address cause serious concerns as well.

After Knudsen's abrupt 2015 shutting down of the House Session, barring any further discussion of the much-needed infrastructure bill, it is disconcerting that the GOP leadership seems locked into the same ideology of my-way-or-the-highway. Their leadership began this session on Jan 4th when the House Rules Committee majority Republicans obstructed fair rule amendments by their minority colleagues for legislative participation. Despite the fact that the GOP has majority in both houses, their actions removed references to Montana statutes ruling the legislative processes and obstructed bill passage and debate out of committees to restrict fair play for minority participation. You can listen to this egregious action on mt.leg.org archives on the internet.

Please contact you legislators and demand partisan cooperation to get Montanan's work done.

-- Pat Bradley, Twin Bridges
If TransCanada accepts President Donald Trumps invitation to build the Keystone XL, that pipeline will become the biggest taxpayer in Phillips County. The pipelines proposed route would take it through six Eastern Montana counties, generating tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenues for state and local governments. The pipeline would also become a major customer for the local rural electric co-op, a development that is expected to lower electricity prices for other customers.

Two years ago, on Jan. 16, 2015, The Gazette opined on Montanas big stake in the Keystone XL. The reasons why the pipeline should have been approved in 2015 still stand today. Environmental impact statements prepared for the U.S. State Department found no significant risk of environmental harm if the project incorporated numerous recommended safety features.

President Barack Obamas decision against issuing the pipeline permit didnt keep oil from going to market; it kept oil from being transported on this pipeline. Transportation of hazardous materials, such as oil, is not risk free. However, the risks of other modes of transportation are arguably greater  fiery train car derailments, and explosive highway crashes.

According to the TransCanada plan, the yet-to-be-built line would carry up to 800,000 barrels of oil per day south from the tar sands pits in Canada through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. From there, the oil would flow south via existing pipelines to the Texas Gulf Coast for refining or export.

The project would create thousands of jobs along the three-state route during a year or so of construction, and support a small number of ongoing pipeline maintenance jobs.

For Montana, the project as approved by our state, would include an on-ramp near Baker that would carry 100,000 barrels per day of Bakken crude. That new access line would improve efficiency and likely lower the cost of getting Bakken oil from Montana and North Dakota to market.

Paired with Trumps executive action Tuesday on the Dakota Access pipeline, Bakken oil transportation infrastructure would be vastly improved.

Our enthusiasm for these projects doesnt negate valid concerns about leaks, spills and other accidents. Safety must be the highest priority  for workers, neighbors and the public.

Trump got these executive orders right: The planned Keystone XL and the mostly finished Dakota Access pipelines should be built for safety, energy security and economy.

-- The Billings Gazette
The initial operations of B-29 Superfortress bombers of the 20th Air Force against Japan were, for a variety of reasons, not nearly as successful as the Army Air Forces had hoped. The stupendous costs poured into building the B-29 fleet were compared to the meager returns of strategic bombing of industrial targets, and the math was bad. For one thing, the jet stream over Japan (and the higher operating altitude of the B-29 compared to B-17 and B-24 types) meant bombing accuracy was somewhat appalling.

These poor results were a major factor in the well known switch from daytime precision bombing to night incendiary attacks that razed Tokyo and so many other cities in the last months of the war.

One other mission the B-29s undertook is virtually forgotten today, but had an impact far out of proportion to the effort expended.

That mission was Operation Starvation, the offensive aerial mining campaign against the Japanese home waters.

A simple glance at a map shows that as an island chain, Japan is critically dependent on sea traffic to move supplies, people, and commodities. Further, virtually all of Japans strategic industries were almost wholly dependent on commodities that had to be imported from either the islands of the South West Pacific or from the Asian mainland. From almost the first day of the war, the US Navy had instituted an effort to deny the Japanese the use of these sea lane, primarily through its submarine force.

At the urging of ADM King, GEN Hap Arnold agreed to devote a small percentage of 20th Air Force missions to aerial mining.

Beginning on March 27, 1945, B-29s of the 313th Bombardment Wing would eventually fly 1,529 sorties in 46 missions, and lay 12,135 mines. That accounted for just under 6% of 20th AF sorties. In return, postwar survey would reveal that the mines accounted for an astonishing 670 vessels sunk or damaged, with a tonnage of 1.25 million tons. Considering the Japanese merchant fleet was estimated to have only about 2 million tons available when the campaign began, this was a stunning return on investment.

Additionally, in addition to direct losses, the minefields effectively forced Japan to cease shipping to many ports, and through many sealanes. Operation Starvation was aptly named. Japan was unable to feed itself from domestic crops alone, and by the end of the war, the mining, combined with the submarine force blockade, meant that food shortages in Japan were rapidly becoming critical. Whether such a blockade would have been enough to preclude the need for the atomic attacks has been hotly debated for years, but clearly offensive aerial mining was a potent weapon against those nations that relied on the sea for their survival.

All this at a cost of only 15 B-29s lost, less than a 1% loss rate.

The US would not forget the success of Operation Starvation. When the US began its involvement in the Vietnam War, virtually the first request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Johnson White House was to allow the aerial mining of Haiphong Harbor. President Johnson declined.

Eventually, in 1967, President Johnson would authorize the aerial mining of several rivers in North Vietnam, and on the night of February 26, 1967, for the first time since World War II, and for the first time ever by jet, the US delivered aerial mines that effectively shut down traffic on those rivers.

For a more detailed analysis of aerial mining in World War II, and especially Operation Starvation, read the paper submitted below.

Operation Starvation by Arthur Barie on Scribd
MUSCATINE, Iowa  An owl, a hawk, and a bald eagle were some of the raptors to visit Muscatine's riverfront on Saturday, and residents enjoyed a presentation about the majestic creatures.

Elly Cowan, a naturalist with Wildlife Prairie Park, and Joe Hand, a volunteer naturalist at the park, brought five raptors to the Pearl City Station and introduced residents to the birds. Cowan said she hopes by doing educational programs like the one on Saturday, they will help raise awareness of the animals' habitats and help people feel more connected to them.

"We do hope that with some of our birds that are on the threatened or endangered list that people will become more aware of, like before you cut down that tree check for a nest or maybe if you can put nest boxes on your property," she said.

The park also runs heavily on volunteer help, Cowan said, so she hopes some of those watching the presentation may become interested on helping at the park.

"And then just seeing the look of wonder on people's faces, especially when they come up to the park and they've never seen a deer before because they live in the city," she said. "Just being able to educate kids that science and nature is cool, that's huge."

Cowan and Hand told the more than 20 guests to the educational program about how Ollie, a barred owl, Jessie, a barn owl, Mo, a turkey vulture, Scarlet, a red-tailed hawk, and Mikitcha, a bald eagle, came to the park.

Mikitcha was around eight months old when he was shot in Illinois, Cowan said. The injury to his wing has made him unable to fly, so now he travels with naturalists to help raise awareness of the protected species.

Hand has been working with Mikitcha since 2001, and he said he hopes people will see the eagle is still wild. Hand said even when Mikitcha is sitting on his gloved hand, he would not let Hand reach out to touch him.

"They may think they're pets and they're not," he said.

Although eagles are more spread out this year due to a lack of ice on the river, Cindy Klebe, a ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and an organizer for the Eagle Watch event, said they will still spend time near the dams along the Mississippi because fish are easier to snag in the area.

"So we'll still see some around but just not as congregated," she said.

Although eagles are no longer endangered, they are still a protected species. Klebe said she hopes the Eagle Watch event will highlight the importance of protecting eagles and their habitat.

"We hope it continues to stress to the public that the eagle habitat is still around, we want to protect that habitat," she said. "And the efforts that the environmental organizations and the DNR and the Fish and Wildlife Service are making is actually working."
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 []
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Two leading GOP senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, joined other Republican officials on Sunday in criticizing President Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees.



McCain of Arizona and Graham of South Carolina issued a joint statement saying, "Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders."



It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trumps executive order was not properly vetted," the two senators said. "We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security. We fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security."



They continued, "We must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation."



Trump responded in a series of tweets from his personal account, calling the two senators "wrong" and "sadly weak on immigration."

The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration. The two...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Shortly after the president tweeted, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee released a statement to ABC News.



We all share a desire to protect the American people, but this executive order has been poorly implemented, especially with respect to green card holders, said Corker. The administration should immediately make appropriate revisions, and it is my hope that following a thorough review and implementation of security enhancements that many of these programs will be improved and reinstated.



Corker is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.



House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, an adviser to Trump on counter-terrorism during the presidential campaign, broke with the White House on green card restrictions.



"We should not simply turn away individuals who already have lawful U.S. visas or green cardslike those who have risked their lives serving alongside our forces overseas or who call America their home," McCaul said in a statement.



Some leading Republicans said they support the order but criticized its implementation.



The order signed Friday immediately suspends immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa -- Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya -- for 90 days. It also blocks refugees from entering the country for 120 days; refugees from Syria are barred indefinitely.



"President Trump has finally taken necessary national security and public safety measures regarding refugees and non-immigrants seeking entry," according to a statement from Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho. But, he said, "Inadequate review and poor implementation of this executive action threatens to undermine otherwise sound policy. I remain a strong supporter of President Trumps bold efforts to keep America safe, but they must be legally sound and uniformly enforced." look forward to working with the president on these issues."



A handful of other Republicans over the weekend slammed the order, many of them expressing concern that the order is too broad and questioning its effectiveness in reducing the threat of terrorism.



Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a statement Saturday titled "Border Security and Muslim Nations" in which he said the ban was too far-reaching.



"The president is right to focus attention on the obvious fact that borders matter," he said. "At the same time, while not technically a Muslim ban, this order is too broad."



Sasse, who was critical of Trump during the presidential campaign but now supports him, also questioned if the order was the most effective way to fight jihadism.



"There are two ways to lose our generational battle against jihadism by losing touch with reality," he said. "The first is to keep pretending that jihadi terrorism has no connection to Islam or to certain countries. That's been a disaster. And here's the second way to fail: If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion. Both approaches are wrong, and both will make us less safe. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."



"There are two ways to lose our generational battle against jihadism by losing touch with reality," he said. "The first is to keep pretending that jihadi terrorism has no connection to Islam or to certain countries. That's been a disaster. And here's the second way to fail: If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion. Both approaches are wrong, and both will make us less safe. Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom."

Statement on Border Security and Muslim Nations: https://t.co/aA4OEaKDkb pic.twitter.com/lh7mrEyrZV  Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) January 28, 2017



Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake also suggested that the travel ban is too broad.



"President Trump and his administration are right to be concerned about national security, but its unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry," Flake said in a statement Saturday. "Enhancing long-term national security requires that we have a clear-eyed view of radical Islamic terrorism without ascribing radical Islamic terrorist views to all Muslims."

My view on immigration executive order https://t.co/9PvXbqE5JK  Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) January 29, 2017



As for GOP members of the House of Representatives, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania echoed Sasse and Flake's concerns that the ban is too far-reaching, as well as questioning how it will affect U.S.-based multinational companies.



"This order appears to have been rushed through without full consideration to the wide-ranging impacts it will have," Dent said in a statement to ABC News. "As a result, I fear that this order may imperil lives, divide families, and create uncertainty for many American businesses that operate internationally."



He added, "This is unacceptable and I urge the Administration to halt enforcement of the order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated."



Dent also said that he had been working to assist a Syrian Christian family who held valid visas but were detained at Philadelphia International Airport and forced to leave the country.



Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a libertarian whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Middle East, wrote a series of tweets Saturday slamming Trump and his executive order.

1/ Like Pres. Obama's executive actions on immigration, Pres. Trump's executive order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system.  Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017



"Like Pres. Obama's executive actions on immigration, Pres. Trump's executive order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system," he wrote, adding, "It's not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality. If the president wants to change immigration law, he must work with Congress."



In another pair of tweets, Amash wrote, "The president's denial of entry to lawful permanent residents of the United States (green card holders) is particularly troubling. ... Green card holders live in the United States as our neighbors and serve in our Armed Forces. They deserve better."



His final tweet read, "While EO allows admittance of immigrants, nonimmigrants, and refugees 'on a case-by-case basis,' arbitrariness would violate Rule of Law."



GOP Reps. Mike Coffman of Colorado and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania also questioned the effectiveness of the administration's order.



Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent, said in a statement the action "entirely misses the mark," while Coffman said he opposed a travel ban based on "ethnic or religious grounds."



Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement the order is "overly broad," and called its implementation "immediately problematic."



"For example, it could interfere with the immigration of Iraqis who worked for American forces in Iraq as translators and body guards -- people who literally saved the lives of our troops and diplomats during the last decade and whose lives are at risk if they remain in Iraq."



Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called on Trump to more narrowly tailor the visa ban to reduce "unnecessary burdens on the vast majority of visa-seekers that present a promise - not a threat -- to our nation."



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
There's a familial aspect to mafia movies that makes them something unique, mysterious, and perhaps a bit romantic. The idea of an organization or a "family" being the primary source of crime in a particular area often proves to be a great source of suspense and drama. When used correctly, this familial element of organized crime can produce a solid little crime thriller that allows the audience to bask in the glory of criminal dealings as intrepid police investigators struggle to keep up with their traditional game of cat and mouse. With 1969's 'The Sicilian Clan' directed by Henri Verneuil from the Auguste Le Breton (Rififi) novel, we're treated to a family of Italian criminals living in France whose aid to an outsider could be their end.

Vittorio Manalese (Jean Gabin, La Grande Illusion) has spent a lifetime building an empire. To most people in Paris, he's a man who built his fortune designing table games and pinball machines. It's innocuous enough that most people wouldn't believe that such an amiable gentleman and his sons were actually international criminals. With the proceeds of each successful heist, Vittorio buys more and more acreage of his homeland in Sicily. Even when he has more than enough - Vittorio's greed is insatiable. After springing renowned murderer and criminal mastermind Sartet (Alain Delon) from prison, Vittorio can't help himself when the prospect of stealing millions of dollars worth of diamonds is brought to their attention. With the dedicated police Commissioner Le Goff (Lino Ventura) searching relentlessly for Sartet and the people who sprung him from jail, the risks may outweigh the benefits of such a grand scheme.

'The Sicilian Clan' is an interesting sort of "proto-Godfather" family-based criminal film. The novel and this film adaptation arrived the same year that Mario Puzo's 'Godfather' reached bookstore shelves. Side by side, it's difficult to separate the thematic similarities between the two stories about a patriarch who has committed his family to a life of crime. That familial bond is the essence of their criminal entrepreneurial successes. Trust is built on the foundation of family blood. When the Manalese blood becomes tainted by a pair of outsiders in the form of Delon's Sartet and Irina Demick's Jeanne who married into the family, Vittorio's empire becomes threatened.

While I absolutely enjoyed 'The Sicilian Clan' - I enjoy crime films of this nature where there is an internal blood bond - the final film can be a bit sluggish at times that may put people off. At the front end, Director Henri Verneuil wisely lets the film slow down after the tense and suspenseful Sartet prison break and let the film establish the numerous characters. Given the complexity of things, I appreciate that the film didn't rush headlong into a contrived caper just for entertainment's sake. However, I can't shake the feeling that this movie would have benefitted from a slightly quicker pace. While we watch Lino Ventura's Commissioner Le Goff turn over every stone he can to find Sartet, the A plot involving the Manalese family doesn't really move or go anywhere until it absolutely has to. By the time the heist is actually being pulled off, you'd swear you were seeing the end of the movie but there are a solid 30-minutes left to go.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Sicilian Clan.' Given the time of the film and its source material, I couldn't help but compare and contrast this film against the 'The Godfather' as there are a number of striking similarities among the respective families. Not that I would ever ardently say one was better than the other, it's just interesting to see how the two approach similar material differently. Add a jaunty score by Ennio Morricone and you have the makings of a great little crime story. It may not quite be the grand epic it sets out to be, but it hits most of the important notes and proves to be well worth the time you put into it. Between the 118-minute U.S. Cut and the 125-minute International Cut, the differences in the story are only slight, mostly scene extensions or material that didn't add or improve the story - so either cut makes for a fine viewing experience.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'The Sicilian Clan' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber and their Studio Classics label in a two-disc set. Both the U.S. Cut disc and the International Cut disc are Region A BD-25 discs and are housed in a standard sturdy 2-disc Blu-ray case. Both discs load to their respective main menus with traditional navigation options and individual bonus features.
WASHINGTON  One week into office, President Donald Trump was trying to clean up his first international incident.

The president shifted a jam-packed schedule Friday to make room for an hourlong phone call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who had abruptly snubbed the new president by canceling a visit. Trumps team had appeared to respond by threatening a hefty border tax on Mexican imports.

By the end of the conversation, Trump had tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner  a real estate executive with no national security experience  with managing the ongoing dispute, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call.

The episode, an uneven diplomatic debut, revealed the earliest signs of how the new president plans to manage world affairs. In a matter of days, he both alarmed and reassured international partners. He picked fights, then quickly backed away from them. He talked tough, and toned it down. And at each step, Trump relied on the small clutch of advisers that guided his norm-breaking campaign, a group with scant foreign policy experience but the trust of the president.

Much of the foreign policy decision-making has rested with Kushner and Steve Bannon, the conservative media executive turned White House adviser, according to administration officials and diplomats. Rex Tillerson, his nominee for secretary of state, is still awaiting confirmation. Officials at the National Security Council, an agency Trump has described as bloated, are still seeking marching orders from the new administration.

Some of Trumps early diplomatic moves have followed standard protocols. He scheduled early phone calls with friendly allies, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who both plan to meet Trump at the White House next month. Additional calls were planned Saturday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, key European partners.

But Trump also moved swiftly to announce a new era. He declared an end to efforts to pursue multi-nation trade deals and used his first executive action to withdraw the U.S. from a sweeping Pacific Rim pact. He also effectively closed off the United States to refugees, at least temporarily, and risked angering the Arab world by halting visas for people from seven majority Muslim nations for at least three months.

On his first full day as president, he told members of the intelligence community gathered at CIA headquarters that the U.S. should have taken Iraqs oil for economic reasons, given Americas efforts in the country, adding, But, OK, maybe youll have another chance.

Some officials at the National Security Council raised concerns over several elements of the refugee measure, as well as other early actions the president took on border security. But administration officials say Trumps inner circle has addressed few of their concerns.

Administration officials and diplomats insisted on anonymity to disclose private dealings with the White House.

Kushner and Bannon have been heavily involved in the Trump administrations early dealings with some European partners, leading during both phone calls and in-person meetings with diplomats and government officials.

In a discussion with British officials, Kushner is said to have angrily denounced the United Kingdoms decision to support a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements. The U.S. abstained from the vote before President Barack Obama left office, brushing aside Trumps demands that the U.S. exercise its veto.

Asked about Kushners involvement on foreign policy, a White House official said he was particularly well-suited for sensitive negotiations and relationship building.

In contrast with the Trump teams strong views on Israel, European partners have been left largely in the dark about Trumps approach to Russia. Some are on edge over a phone call with Putin on Saturday and fear he may strike a deal that leads to the removal of U.S. sanctions on Russia. The call was said to be arranged by national security adviser Mike Flynn, who has kept a low profile in recent days amid scrutiny over his ties to Russian officials.

Trump did little to ease anxieties Friday when he pointedly refused to say whether he planned to keep in place economic sanctions on Russia as punishment for its provocations in Ukraine.

Well see what happens, Trump said during a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

The prime minister was the first world leader to meet Trump following last weeks inauguration, underscoring Mays eagerness to get a reading on a man who is a mystery to many world leaders. Trump was measured during their brief joint press conference, but he also showed flashes of charm, joking with May about a British reporters pointed question about his position on torture and complimenting her for being a people person.

A visit from Pena Nieto to Washington had been expected to follow Mays. But after Trump needled the Mexican president on Twitter, saying it would be better for him not to come if he couldnt commit to paying for Trumps proposed wall along the U.S. southern border, Pena Nieto told the White House he wouldnt be coming.

The White House quickly threatened to slap a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico to pay for the wall, though officials quickly tried to walk the proposal back, saying it was just one option being considered.

Kushner, who already wields enormous power in the White House, is expected to work through the dispute with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray. The two men, who know each other from the financial circles, also worked together to arrange Trumps surprise visit to Mexico during the presidential campaign.

The readouts released by the two countries after Fridays call pointed to the work to be done. A statement from Mexico said the presidents agreed to no longer speak publicly about their dispute over payment for the border wall.

The White House statement made no such promise.
A few years ago, a national magazine editor called me with an idea that should have made me ecstatic. The editor wanted me to write a how-to story about having a cheese-fondue party at home. I teach cheese-appreciation classes and publish a blog about cheese, so the publicity value would be tremendous. Just share a few tips for fail-proof fondue, she said. And your best fondue recipe.

I hung up the phone feeling queasy. I couldnt confess to the editor that I had never made fondue. I certainly had never had a fondue party. And, honestly, wasnt fondue a little 1970s?

The magazine wanted to photograph my fondue party so I had to fake one. The editor instructed me to invite some attractive friends (yes, she said that) and tell them to wear their most stylish sweaters, to imply it was January instead of July. If anyone needed to purchase a little something to complete their outfit, no problem; there was a wardrobe budget. Needless to say, I bought a few little somethings.

You know those food-magazine features where all the guests look amazing and the dining table looks like an ad for Ralph Lauren Home? I now know the back story. This magazine did not just send a photographer to my Napa residence. They also sent a photographers assistant, a prop stylist, her assistant, a hair and makeup artist (from Los Angeles) and a wardrobe stylist. The prop stylist pulled up to my house with a rented van full of plates, glasses, linens, lamps and accessories to remake my living and dining room. The wardrobe stylist wheeled in a packed clothes rack in case my friends choices didnt measure up.

My home has never looked so put together, and after an hour with the hair and makeup gal, I looked camera-ready, too. I have never felt so glamorous, before or since.

A friend had given me his tried-and-true fondue recipe so I was no longer worried about that part. Lassa Skinner, at the time the manager of Napas Oxbow Cheese Merchant, had volunteered to be a faux party participant and supply the cheese. My guests and I would pretend-eat, dunking bread cubes into the bubbling cheese while we pretend-laughed and mugged for the camera. Then when the photo team left, I would whisk away the fondue pots and serve a real dinner. I had a summery pasta sauce waiting in the fridge and salad fixings ready. It was a warm July night, for heavens sake. Surely nobody really wanted fondue.

But Skinner showed up with an extraordinary Swiss mountain cheese (I wish I could recall which one) and a beefy Fontina Val dAosta in prime condition. I grated the two cheeses coarsely and tossed the shreds with a little potato starch, as instructed. I rubbed garlic against the sides of the ceramic pots, then poured in some white wine. On my kitchen stovetop, I heated the pots until the wine simmered, then added the cheese a fistful at a time while the camera clicked and lights flashed. I stirred and watched the shreds melt into a cheesy puddle, then carried the vessels into the dining room and set them over their little Sterno cups in front of my attractive, fashionable guests. The toasty, garlicky aroma that wafted up from those crocks suddenly made me question how pretend this party would be.

By the time the photographer called it a wrap, I knew my pasta sauce would live another day. If I had tried to remove those still half-filled pots, I would have been skewered with a dozen fondue forks.

Any notions I had about fondue being passe evaporated that evening like water hitting a hot skillet. Made with top-notch cheeses and shared with friendswell-dressed or notfondue never goes out of style.

Cheese Fondue My Way

James Ayers, cheesemonger at JCB Atelier in Yountville, gave me this recipe. The better the cheese, the better the fondue. A fondue made entirely with aged Comte will not disappoint, but mixing cheeses yields more complexity. Look to hard Swiss, French and Italian mountain cheeses like Comte, Beaufort, Gruyere, Red Witch, Le Marechal or Challerhocker. Ayers recommends using a stronger cheese like Raclette, Appenzeller or Fontina Val dAosta for one-third of the blend. I had a fondue in France a couple of years ago with cracked pink peppercorns on top and loved what they added.

1 pound of cheese, preferably more than one type (see recipe introduction for suggestions)

1 tablespoon potato starch or potato flour

1 clove garlic, halved

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon Kirsch, optional

Kosher or sea salt

Coarsely cracked black, pink or green peppercorns, or a combination

Day-old pain de campagne or other rustic bread, cubed, for dipping

Optional: steamed vegetables for dipping, such as cauliflower, broccoli or potatoes

Cut away any cheese rind. Grate the cheeses coarsely with a box grater. Combine the cheeses and potato starch in a bowl and toss well.

Rub the bottom and sides of a heavy fondue pot (preferably enameled cast-iron) with the cut clove of garlic. Set the pot over the heat source and add the wine. When the wine simmers, begin adding the cheese mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When all the cheese has melted, stir in the Kirsch, if using, and taste for salt. Scatter the peppercorns on top and serve immediately with bread cubes for dipping.

Serves 4 to 6
ANGWINA remote rural village of 3,500 people on the slopes of Howell Mountain overlooking the Napa Valley is the improbable walking commute capital of the Bay Area.

The Association of Bay Area Governments gave Angwin the per-capita crown a few years ago using U.S. Bureau of Census data. Updated statistics through 2015 show Angwin remains on top.

Angwin is tucked amid forested hills northeast of St. Helena that seem a world away from the hustle-and-bustle of south county cities. It has 1,940 commuters, of whom 504 walk to work. Thats 26 percent.

I would say we have kind of a culture of walking, Angwin resident Nancy Lecourt said.

By comparison, the California smart growth metropolis of San Francisco has 10 percent of its commuters traveling on foot. Berkeley, the center of all things progressive, has 17 percent.

But anyone watching Angwins main drag of Howell Mountain Road during morning rush-hour last Wednesday might think the communitys ped commute cred is a mere statistical hiccup. Only a few bundled-up people walked by the frosty lawns and landscaping.

Angwin is the unlikely walk leader because it is a small community with a large employer  Pacific Union College, the Seventh-day Adventist Christian college established in 1909. PUC is the pedestrian hub.

Lecourt, who is PUC academic dean and vice president for academic administration, does her part. Shell walk the mile from her home to work about three times weekly.

Its certainly scenic, because its Angwin, Lecourt said. I pass a 19th-century stone winery on my way, I walk past woods, I walk past a preschool and see the children playing.

Holly Jeske promotes health and wellness at PUC. She sometimes walks to work, a mile journey with little traffic that includes taking a trail through the woods.

We have lots of hills, Jeske said. The people who commute, even though it might be a short distance, its pretty hilly.

College faculty and staff arent the only ones boosting Angwins pedestrian commute numbers. David Vautin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said students who walk to a campus job count as walking commuters.

PUC offers such jobs to students as tutoring, doing landscape maintenance and working in the cafeteria. Many of the Angwin student commuters live in on-campus dorms or in the village.

One statistic from the U.S. Census Bureau bears out the role students likely play in the Angwin walk-to-work crown: the median age of foot commuters there is 21.

In its rural nature, Angwin differs from Berkeley and San Francisco as a pedestrian powerhouse. Residents can walk to the College Market, but theyll have to travel miles to find a shopping mall.

You have housing and you have the college there, Napa Valley Transportation Authority Executive Director Kate Miller said. Their biggest challenge is they do not have much of anything else out there.

Thats reflected on the website Walk Score, which rates communities nationwide on their walkability. Angwin receives a mere three on a scale of one to 100, with 100 being the best.

This location is a car-dependent neighborhood so almost all errands require a car, according to Walk Score.

Its a double-edged sword. The lack of stores and services that would give Angwin a high walkability score is what makes the area rural instead of a city. The group Save Rural Angwin opposed a failed attempt to bring a so-called eco-village development to Angwin as being too urban.

Even so, Napa County wants to make Angwin a better, rural walking experience.

The county and Napa Valley Transportation Authority are working on a pedestrian study for unincorporated areas that will go to the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 7. The proposed plan by consultant Fehr & Peers lists projects to make walking safer and easier, should money be found.

Possible improvements for Angwin include installing speed feedback signs and rumble strips near Howell Mountain Elementary School, improving an informal path along Howell Mountain Road from College Avenue to Clark Way and improving crosswalks by adding high-visibly striping.

Most of Angwin apart from the college area lacks that mainstay of pedestrian safety measuressidewalks. That doesnt seem likely to change, given that adding sidewalks would change Angwins rural ambiance.

The Napa County Planning Commission held a Nov. 2 hearing on the proposed pedestrian plan. It eschewed the sidewalk solution that makes sense in cities.

I frankly kind of pressed the consultant, county Deputy Public Works Director Rick Marshall told commissioners. I said, I need stuff to work with that makes sense in a rural setting.

One answer is to create well-marked road shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists where no visible shoulders exist, he said.

Angwin isnt the only big pedestrian-commuting community in Napa. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission prepared its own list that excluded small, unincorporated pockets such as Angwin and stuck with the cities and towns.

On the MTC list, with Angwin out of the picture, Berkeley is king at 16.2 percent in 2014. But Yountville is second at 14.2 percent, St. Helena fifth at 8.8 percent and Calistoga ninth at 5.7 percent.

Vautin didnt express surprise at the strong showing by Napa Countys smaller communities.

Often when you look at rural communities throughout the United States, they have two modes of travel, Vautin said. People either drive or the town is so small they can walk to their workplace.
A driver died early Sunday morning in Angwin when his car crashed and caught fire, according to the California Highway Patrol.

At 3:35 a.m., a 2000 Acura driven by 25-year-old Christopher Stanton of Windsor was headed south on Howell Mountain Road at an unknown speed when it veered off the shoulder and struck a tree near the intersection with Linda Falls Terrace, the CHP said in a press release.

The car burst into flames, and Stanton was unable to escape the blaze, according to the highway patrol.

CHP and Cal Fire were called to the scene. The car fire scorched a patch of vegetation about 20 feet square but did not threaten any structures, according to Capt. Will Schunk of the Cal Fire station in St. Helena.
Having moved to Napa just seven months ago, I was heartened and inspired by Saturday's Women's March. I feel proud to be a part of this community, and proud to stand up with others in support of values we hold dear.

But much work remains to be done. Napa lags behind other progressive communities in California, particularly on measures of reproductive healthcare access for women. Since moving here, I have seen protestors outside the Napa Planned Parenthood clinic every day, creating an environment of shame and intimidation.

I have also learned that the Ob-Gyn department at Queen of the Valley Hospital refuses to provide any form of birth control for women after childbirth.

As a woman and as a physician, I am appalled at my own lack of options. Where will I go to deliver my own children? Where will my daughters go for birth control and STD testing?

For those seeking ways to continue to spread the message we so proudly voiced at the Women's March, consider taking those same signs and slogans and spending a few hours on any given afternoon at the Planned Parenthood office on Jefferson Street, or outside Queen of the Valley Hospital. We, our friends and family, our daughters, deserve the same choices and access that women in the Bay Area and elsewhere in California enjoy.

Now more than ever, it's time to start insisting on it--not just for our country, but for our local community.

Christine M. Henneberg

Napa
Genres : Anime

Plot Synopsis

The year is 1968, the war in Vietnam is approaching its zenith, and the counterculture movement that's been sweeping the world is engulfing Japan. While others are in the streets protesting, one young medical student becomes embroiled in a different kind of battle. As new medical technologies to save and extend lives come into play, the temptation for a surgeon to play God has never been so powerful. Even as he strives to prove his own skills to his colleagues, Hazama Kuroo begins to suspect that the potentials for abuse inherent in the medical system are already being exploited. To attempt to change the system means risking his own promising career as a surgeon, and to move against the perpetrators will put his own life in danger. However, as a doctor, how can he not act when lives are on the line? The diagnosis is murder as the origin of Osamu Tezuka's legendary rogue surgeon Black Jack is finally revealed in YOUNG BLACK JACK!
NEWBURYPORT, Mass.  A Massachusetts man fighting a speeding ticket in court had a unique explanation  the officer's radar gun may have picked up a deer.

The Newburyport Daily News (http://bit.ly/2jmJV53 ) reports that Dennis Sayers, of Haverhill (HAY'-vruhl), was clocked going 40 mph in 30 mph zone in West Newbury in November.

He got a $105 ticket.

He appealed in court on Thursday, asking Officer Royster Johnson if he was 100 percent sure his radar captured Sayers' speed or the speed of a deer that could have been in the vicinity.

When confronted by the skeptical judge, Sayers replied that anything was possible.

The fine was upheld.

Deer, by the way, can run approximately 30 mph.
Our Mediterranean cruise ended in Barcelona, Spain. I thought, Why not extend our trip with a 14-day drive through Spain?

My preferred method of travel is to be independent and meander. The experiences are so much more serendipitous when youre not on a schedule or traveling with a group. There are pluses and minuses with both, but this mode of travel makes my heart sing.

My 80-year-old friend, JoRene Kerns, was up for the challenge.

The only hitch was that neither of us has a good sense of direction. In fact, most people watch which way we exit a hotel room to find the elevator, and turn in the opposite direction.

Araceli Valdes, a teacher from Murcia, in southeastern Spain, flew up to join us in Barcelona. She taught with me at Silverado Middle School (she was on loan with five other teachers from Spain that year) for one year, and we formed a bond and friendship that has endured 13 years.

Our reunion was amazing. The years disappeared.

We walked everywhere and found ourselves in El Born barrio, a charming, cafe-loaded neighborhood that was everything I dreamed late-night Barcelona would be.

We were fortunate to be there the week of The Festival La Merce, the biggest festival of the year in Barcelona, to honor the city patron. At every corner, there were marches, protests, and dignitaries speaking to massive crowds. Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, and the Catalonians want to secede from Spain, as evidenced by all the protest groups we witnessed and Catalon flags we saw.

Spain wakens at 9 p.m. and on our second night we booked a walking edible excursion of Barcelonas tapas, wines, neighborhoods, and back alleys with hidden cafes, all led by an eclectic, in-the-know, aging hippy guide.

Day Three began by getting lost three times trying to find Gaudis La Sagrada Familia, a huge Roman Catholic church, begun in 1904 and promised to be completed in 2026 (not likely).

Back in El Born, our young hip female taxi driver directed us to a hidden restaurant, La Pedrata. You stand in line, pick out your fresh seafood or fish and tell them how you want it cooked, all at the counter. We shared our feast with others nearby and they reciprocated. It was informal, convivial  a find.

Another find was a special exhibit with the ruins, history and country fought in the El Born barrio over the centuries.

We were tired, with sore feet, but we saw lots of people walking with a purpose. Following them, we ended up in a huge square with thousands of people celebrating the harvest. JoRene and I were made a little uneasy by the boisterous group of protesters angry at mass tourism. Their banners read, Mi casa no es tu casa (My house is not your house!)

We wound our way through the hordes into the middle of a riotous parade of the gigantes 15-foot tall paper mache puppets, dancing and singing down the narrow streets. The giants, who usually represent historical or popular characters, are an important piece of the Catalan culture and always part of the festivals.

Now, came the real test.

It took two of us senior women more than an hour to figure out the gizmos of the rental car. The agency finally locked the door to prevent me from running back in one more time to ask a question. They just smiled and waved. Even with two GPSs, we were lost leaving the city.

Our goal was to drive from Barcelona west to Santiago on the other coast. We wanted to follow the yellow arrows situated along the 800-kilometer path, known as pilgrim ways, to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.

Our first stop was Logrono, the capital of La Rioja wine province. The angel of travel was with us. We found ourselves in the middle of a annual, multi-day end-of-harvest town celebration.

We jumped right in.

As the evening progressed, we found a horseshoe of narrow streets known for their pintxos Galician tapas. There were an excess of 50 pintxos bars all jam-packed. We quickly learned to push with the locals.

On the long way back to the hotel, we became lost. At every street corner I stopped someone and asked in Spanish, Can you help us find our hotel? Finally, I stopped two middle-aged couples who took a liking to us. They insisted on walking us to the door of our hotel, which was way out of their way.

What a night. People around the world are incredibly warm, friendly and helpful, and they love to talk to you. It helps to be able to communicate in their language because what I have found as I travel around the world, is that English is not the universal language. Having said that, warmth and a sincere desire to help and be friendly is international, crosses all cultural barriers, and needs no common language.

From Logrono, we ventured out into the countryside to explore the famous La Rioja bodegas (wineries). This has been on my bucket list for decades. Check!

Jorene and I decided to explore a village and ancient church and soon realized that again we were lost, this time in a village built for horse carts. The sun was setting; we began to panic, until we spied a tiny shop with homemade cheeses, hams, olive oil and sausages by a smiling, beret-clad Riojan.

As we drove west from La Rioja to the Navarra province in the Basque country, we were struck with the starkness of the high desert landscape. It was a surprise.

We came to Pamplona, capital of Navarra, a compact city with its narrow cobbled streets squashed together to fit within its commanding walls. The streets were empty. Spaniards take their siesta seriously. We had the city to ourselves.

Pamplona is famous for Hemingway and the San Fermin Festival, the annual running of the bulls. Runners get badly gored every year. (I know a certain teacher from Silverado Middle School in Napa who is going back to run for the third time!)

As we were dipping churros into the famous thick, rich hot chocolate, while viewing a monument to the Basque separatist revolt, an old Spanish woman approached us, placed her hand on my arm, and held audience with us for more than an hour. She just wanted to share her history with these two American women.

We spent the blustery rainy day with the architecturally amazing Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The giant spider and puppy sculptures, and architectural design of the building scream at you before you ever enter.

So close to the Basque region of France, we thought, Why not go to Biarritz, right in the heart of this region that spans the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France?

We were accustomed to the friendliness and helpfulness of the Spanish people wed encountered, so, when we got to a tollgate crossing the border into France, and couldnt figure out what to do with the non-manned money taker, we gestured to a soldier standing nearby. He shook his head and said, No. We were stuck. We couldnt read the French to know how much, and where to throw it. Finally, a man ran up, threw some coins into our machine, and threw up his hand to tell us please move. Giggling, we realized that our several Euro toll had just been paid by a stranger.

Welcome to the Basque country of France!

We began with our foray into Biarritz, a seaside community on the Bay of Biscay. I was infused with the beauty of the bucolic, lushly-green landscape, with rolling hills and the Pyrenees rising. Fat, content sheep, horses and cows with tinkling bells were everywhere. I felt like I was in a childrens picture book.

Meandering without plans is a great way to travel and this day in the Basque region of France was one of a kind. Discovering the Euskara language, specific to the Spanish and French Basque regions, was a challenge. I am in love with everything Basque!

Back in Pamplona, Spain, Jorene and I fell in love with thinly-sliced Serrano ham and Manchego cheese sandwiches, slathered with mayonnaise on fresh crispy rolls. We started making them in our hotel rooms at night and munched them during our daily drives. (We carried some home in our suitcases and ate them in Napa.)

As we followed the Pilgrims trail, on the way to Santiago de Compostela, we spent the night in Burgos, and ended up with a roving band of musicians from Murcia, in southeastern Spain. These tuna bands are all over Spain. They raise money for college by playing music as they travel. Theyre given food and drink as they entertain in the restaurants.

Anecdote in Burgos: In ancient city center hotels, which have been modernized, the infrastructure is still not commensurate with modern day standards. As we entered the underground parking garage of our hotel, no one warned us that the curved lanes would be so narrow. At the first hairpin turn, we got stuck. We couldnt go forward or backward without crunching the wall to execute the turn. It was a nightmare.

When we left the next morning, I begged the management to drive the car out.

They did.

Finally, we were on the last leg of our journey.

Our destination was Santiago de Compostela. Thousands of spiritual hikers, walk, ride horseback or bike El Camino de Santiago. As we drove, we meandered through diverse landscapesfrom the parched brown fields with tall sunflowers to the lush, verdant landscape as we neared the coast.

High in the mountains, we drove into a low-lying fog. Mounted lights in the ground saved our lives. We passed almost no people on this road. Several times we thought we were lost, but we had the most amazing encounters. One young farmer who was so excited to talk to us when we asked him for directions; he wanted to know who we were voting for in this election and offered what HIS opinions were. He shared that his dream was to go and drive Route 66 in the U.S., but he knew that it would never happen.

I told him to follow his dream and never give up.

As always, after we checked into our hotel in Santiago, and proceeded to walk into the center of the old city, we got lost. I asked a young college student if he could direct us to the Black Cat Bar, reputed to have the best seafood pintxos and padrone peppers in Santiago. He insisted on giving us a tour of the old center of Santiago, and also through the hordes of late night revelers until he delivered us to the door. We would never have found this place without his unbelievable assistance.

Not knowing what to do or where to stand, we made friends with this couple who helped us order and ended up spending the rest of the evening with the two American women. Not a word of English was spoken. The owner of the Black Cat insisted on posing with us, completing the warm, welcoming experience.

On the way back to the hotel, a couple of hikers, giddy and euphoric on completing their pilgrimage, insisted on accompanying us.

Everyone we met that night was warm, welcoming, helpful and convivial. Spain is incredible.

For five days, we used Santiago de Compostela as our home base. Every time we talked to a stranger, their suggestions veered us in a new direction, with great consequences.
Genres : Anime, Action, Adventure

Plot Synopsis

Galaxy Angels Reporting For Duty!! Milfeulle Sakuraba is the newest member of the Angel Brigade, a branch of the Transvaal Empire military whose primary mission is to search for relics known as 'Lost Technology'. The only problem is that no one actually knows what the Lost Technology is! Relegated to performing menial tasks of the highest priorities: a search for lost kittens, defusing of a talking missile, and delivering an old school I.D The Angel Brigade s here to save the galaxy... one planet at a time!



Contains all 26 episodes of the TV series. Special Features: Clean Opening, Clean Closing, TV Spots, Promotional Videos, Now I Get It! GA Lectures With On Screen Text Translated Into English For The First Time Ever, Character Bios, Relationship Chart, and Forte's Wishes. Directed by Morio Asaka (Sword Art Online, Gunslinger Girls, Chobits) and animation by Madhouse (Black Lagoon, Death Note, Magic User s Club!).
11:31

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation in his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat:





I congratulate families and personnel who won gallantry awards on Republic Day. I urge youth to research on them by using internet and spread the word.





My condolence to the brave jawans who lost their lives due to avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir.





We will observe a silence of 2 minutes on morning of 30 Jan to pay respect to martyrs who gave their lives for the nation.





In the light of recent Republic day celebrations I'd say the stress laid on rights must also be laid on duties.





I want to talk about exams and what so many people have written to me.





Why should exam time be a time of stress or sadness? Do not think about exams as pressure; they should be celebrated as festivals. I will tell all students smile more and score more.





During exams there should be an environment of festivity, it will turn P for pressure into P for pleasure. When you are relaxed, the recall value will be more; Relaxation is the best tonic for memory. A happy mind is the secret of a good mark sheet. The exams that you'll give are a test of this year not of a lifetime.





We sometimes do not see exams in the right perspective; Exams are not a benchmark of your success in life. See example of Dr Kalam. He wasn't able to get into the forces, if he would've let it hamper him, we wouldn't have had a great man like him





If your mission and ambition are in sync, marks will follow. You should compete with yourself to see how can tomorrow be made better than yesterday.





Only studying for marks will lead to shortcuts and one will limit himself or herself. Its important to study for knowledge. See the example of Sachin Tendulkar, for 20 years he kept breaking his own records hence getting better every time.





Look at life of Sachin Tendulkar; he kept challenging himself and bettered his own records, which is what is inspiring





Competing with others can make you unhappy and jealous. Complete with yourself and you will be energised and more determined to excel. Root of problems are expectations, it is acceptance that makes things easy.





I urge parents to accept rather than expect. Our expectations from our children should not get heavy. Parents' expectations are much heavier than the school bags of students.
Four people who have been convicted by the special court are Zahida Parvez, Saba Farooqi, Saqib Ali and Taabish Khan.

The Trial court found the four accused guilty of the crime and convicted them. One accused was later given pardon by the court.

After thorough investigation, charge sheet was filed against may 25, 2012 under the section 302, 120-B, 201 of the Indian Penal Code and under the section 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.

The case was registered on the allegations relating to daylight murder of Masood, a resident of Bhopal and an RTI activist and a business women on August 16 by a gunshot wound inflicted while she was sitting in a car in front of her house at Old Safia College Road in Bhopal.

Later, on the request of Madhya Pradesh Government, the CBI had registered the case on September 3, 2011. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) national president Amit Shah has said that they will try to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya according to the constitutional norms. "The government under BJP rule will follow constitutional norms and build Ram Mandir in UP. By winning more than 300 seats in UP, the BJP would form the government," he said. Shah asserted that there is no difference between building Ram Mandir and development. Days after declaring that a "grand" temple will be built in Ayodhya if BJP gets majority, state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya sought on Friday to make amends, saying it would be built after Supreme Court's order but Uttar Pradesh will see 'Ram Rajya' if his party wrests power. "Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya only after the order of the Supreme Court, but 'Ram Rajya' will soon prevail in the state with the party sweeping the UP assembly polls," Maurya said. Shah today released the party's manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which will be held in seven phases from February 11. While releasing the manifesto, called 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra' (Pledge for People's Welfare), the BJP president said the party will form government in Uttar Pradesh with a two-thirds majority. As parties brace for assembly elections in seven states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat in 2017, the Supreme Court earlier ruled that "religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process" and that election of a candidate would be declared null and void if an appeal is made to seek votes on these considerations.(ANI)
India's stealth frigate INS Teg, which was in the vicinity, noticed a visual distress alert by the crew of yacht sailing 400 km southwest of Salalah yesterday morning at around 9:15, a Navy official told UNI.

The yacht on passage from Colombo to Djibouti had 2 male Chinese crew.

The boat suffered total power failure and had no back up, leaving the crew helpless in the deep sea, said the official.

Immediately after getting the alert, INS Teg reached the spot and provided assistance by restoring power supply.

"Our warship not only provided them power backup enough to sustain at least 10 days but also ration and drinking water to the Chinese sailors," said the official.

The Indian Navy along with about 30 other navies of the world has been continuously deploying its at least one warship in the Gulf of Aden for the anti-piracy patrol since 2008 onward. UNI MK SHS ADG 0956

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Genres : Drama

Starring : Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll

Director : Jeff Nichols

Plot Synopsis

From acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, Loving celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry  and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since.
A tug of war between India and China to claim the legacy of Buddha for projecting their "soft power" is entering a new phase with New Delhi pushing a plan to trace the milestones of the route Buddhism took to spread far corners of the east. In order to firmly establish India as the Mecca of Buddhism, an effective tool New Delhi to reach out to South Asian and South East Asian Nations, the Archeological Survey of India has proposed to trace the spread of Buddhism from India to China by travelling from Kashi to Kashgar (in China). Ministry of Culture, Archeological Survey of India, Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have have join hands for the mission which is of far reaching benefits for India in longer run. As a visible shift have taken place in India's policy towards East, which being called as the Act East Policy under the Narendra Modi Government in the past almost three years, the new proposal by Director General of ASI Rakesh Tewari was being seen as masterstroke. The proposal is likely to get positive response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been connecting the dots of Buddhism by travelling to several Buddhist nations ever since he took over the office, starting from a neighbouring Buddhist country in South Asia, Bhutan and then to Nepal where Lord Buddha was born. His first official visit outside South Asia was to another Buddhist country, Japan. As the mission "Kashi to Kashgar" involves visit to numerous sites in China, clearance from the Chinese authorities was needed, which is not likely to come easily as Beijing projects itself as "Buddhist Superpower". Sensing the importance of the proposal, Indian Council for Cultural Relations has also chipped in, with its President Dr Lokesh Chandra batting for the same. He knocked at Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's door to discuss the proposal and it can get through. Since the route passes through the areas which China regards sensitive, including Xinjiang, a forward movement has not been seen in the Indian establishment, Dr Chandra told UNI. The tallest scholar on Buddhist Studies in the world, Dr Chandra says that the ASI was competent to trace the route as it was engaged in engaged in reviving Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm Temple in Siem Reap in Cambodia, Vat Phou Temple in Laos, Ananda Temple in Bagan in Myanmar, Thiruketeeswaram Temple in Mannar in Sri Lanka. It is slated to take works on My Son group of temples in Vietnam. The expedition is proposed to move through the Xinjiang Uighur Region of China which is the centre of Islamic unrest in the country. Moreover, China had been investing billions of dollar to establish itself as the Buddhist superpower and India's move has potential to challenge Beijing claims. UNI MK SHS ADG 1021 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127155.Xml
A green filed inland container yard will come upat Nanjangud in the district with an investment of Rs 100 crore bythe Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) in order toprovide export units seamless connectivity for cargo and freighttransport. A long-pending demand of the local industrialists inMysuru-Nanjangud area, the facility will be a reality with the Stategovernment handing over 55 acres of land at Kadakola near Nanjangud. CONCOR Group General Manager Anup Dayanand Sadhu said that theState government is expected to hand over the possession certificateof the land next week, while the survey to delineate the boundarywill commence from Monday. CONCOR paid nearly Rs.22 crore toacquire the land, he said. The facility will be about 1 km from the existing Kadakola Railway station on the Mysuru-Nanjangud section, and plans are to lay two sidelines and construct warehouses to deal with the export-import traffic. It will stimulate local industries in the region and give a fillip to export business not less than two rakes of cargo are generated from the region per week and is transported by road. The bulk of export traffic generated from the region is coffee and tobacco, besides exports from Nestle India, JK Tyres and a host of other manufacturing units and electronic industries. Besides, Asian Paints is establishing the world's largest paint manufacturing unit near Tandya-Kadakola industrial belt, Mr Dayanand said. At present, export units in the region transport their finishedproducts by road to the CONCOR terminal at Whitefield, from where itis sent to the Krishnapattanam Port near Nellore in Andhra Pradeshor the Chennai Port. But, CONCOR will provide local industrialistsfreight connectivity to the New Mangalore Port, which is emerging asa new gateway. It will also tap the hinterland in Hassan, Kodagu,and Chikkamagalur for additional export traffic. In addition to transportation, the inland container depot will have a warehouse facility and function as a single-window agency tocomplete exports, imports and customs formalities, which otherwiseare taken up at the port of departure, he said.UNI BSP RS HVB CS 1112 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-1127193.Xml
The producers of historical drama 'Padmavati', whose director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted by activists of the Rajput Sena on Friday, have expressed shock over the 'unfortunate' incident and said that they stand by the SLB. In a statement issued last night, the COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Ajit Andhare said, ''The incident that took place yesterday on the sets of 'Padmavati' is shocking. SLB is a veteran with an acclaimed body of work." "We stand by him and our film which is a celebration of the Rani and what she represented. We truly don't wish to hurt the sentiments of any person or community. We didn't expect this," he said. Some activists of the Rajput Sena on Friday assaulted Bhansali on the sets of the film. The incident has evoked strong condemnation from members of the film industry who have called upon the industry to unite against such forces.UNI AR SHS ADG 1125 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0140-1127240.Xml
Police said the professor V Rama Krishna was on his way to the college on a two-wheeler to perform as invigilator in the police constable recruitment examination, being held at the MIC Engineering college.

A speeding car, going towards Vijayawada from Hyderabad, hit the bike killing him on the spot.

Police registered a case and shifted the body to Government hospital here. The car driver was arrested.UNI DP CS 1213

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1127278.Xml
A close contest between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi party seems to be on the cards in Punjab with the entry of firebrand leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Navjot Singh Sidhu providing a much needed boost to the Congress party in the run up to the state Assembly polls, scheduled to be held on February 4. Mr Sidhu's entry on the campaign trail for the Conrgess has acted as a morale booster for the party, which now senses an opportunity of regaining power in the state after a 10 years of the rule of the BJP-Akali Dal government. He may have made a late entry in the Conrgess- his joining the Congress came almost two months after the entry of his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu- but party sources say that his whirlwind campaign has provided sails to the campaign of the Congress , which has been facing a tough challenge to the party in the state. Political analysts say Sidhu's speeches, made in his characteristic style, replete with one liners, couplets and quotes, his conversing with the people of the state in their local Punjabi language and his fluency in English, Hindi as well as Punjabi, had led his rallies to evoke a rousing receptions among the crowds. While Sidhu has been busy campaigning throughout Punjab, sources said that he has been asked by the Congress to concentrate on 30-35, including seats where the Congress lost by a small margin in the 2012 assembly elections. Party leaders feel that with Mr Sidhu leading the campaign, these seats could go in favour of the Congress in these polls. Infact, Mr Sidhu's wife has been indulging in a door-to-door campaign in Amritsar (East), from where she is a sitting MLA and from where Mr Sidhu is contesting this time, to seek votes for her husband. The Congress leaders claim that the party would bag all four Assembly segments in Amritsar city, given the huge popularity enjoyed by Sidhu in the region. They also point out that BJP candidates in the region, as also in other parts of the state have been on the defensive in the issue of demonetisation. BJP's candidate from Amritsar North Anil Joshi, a minister in the Badal government, has been apologising for demonetisation. In his public meetings in his constituency, Mr Joshi has been urging voters not to punish him for what Modiji has done. However, notwithstanding the boost provided by Mr Sidhu's entry into the Congress, a number of political observers say that AAP continues to pose a tough challenge to the party in the state. Though the last few months have witnessed a slight drop in popularity of the Aam Aadmi Party, political analysts say that AAP continues to enjoy a huge popularity among the youth of the state. Infact, AAP's campaign against the drug menace in the state over the past few months has struck a chord among the youth of the state which form a sizeable per cent of its population. Infact, the AAP manifesto for the Punjab elections made several promises to alleviate the situation cause by drug addiction in the state. The manifesto outlined a series of steps to tackle the rampant drug use problem among Punjab's youth: government jobs to recovering addicts, free de-addiction centres, life imprisonment for convicted drug dealers and random blood and urine tests for candidates running for office. In its manifesto AAP also promised free laptops for students ahead of their board exams, meals costing just Rs5 at subsidized canteens, cheaper electricity and the abolition of property tax , all of which are likely to draw a sizeable section of the voters to Arvind Kejriwal's Party . Political observers say that given the huge anger and resentment among the people of Punjab for the BJP Akali Dal regime, the Akali Dal-BJP Governmet in the state is headed for a rout. In this sense, they say that the real fight for the anti-Badal votes is between AAP and the Congress. Both the Congress and AAP are hoping that the voters disgruntled with the ruling party would vote for them in the elections. Though it is a neck and neck battle between Congress and AAP, analysts say that despite the setbacks suffered by AAP in recent months, including the desertion from its ranks, it has a slight edge in the contest in Punjab between the Congress and the Arvind Kejriwal led party. Political observers say that while Congress has an edge over AAP in Majha region, in areas like Malwa, which accounts for a number of seats, AAP continues to have a strong presence. This, coupled with the fact that AAP has a strong following among youth makes it a formidable opponent to the Congress. It is a battle that is sure to "go down to the wire".UNI AR SHS ADG 1229 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127205.Xml
Less than three years after he joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Navdeep Singh Goldy today rejoined the Punjab Congress, extending his full support to Captain Amarinder Singh in the Punjab Assembly polls. Mr Goldy, a former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee secretary, who had contested the 2008 Amritsar (South) assembly bypoll on Congress ticket, said he was happy to be back `home'. Captain Amarinder welcomed Mr Goldy's homecoming. Mr Goldy, who had joined the Akali Dal in 2014, said the dictatorial and anti-people functioning of the Badals and their party had made him rethink on his earlier decision and encouraged him to go back to his alma mater. The Congress was the only hope for Punjab's future, he added, pledging his total allegiance to Captain Amarinder.UNI XC SV SNU 1325 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1127310.Xml
A 15-year-old girl was killed while another injured after a mini bus in which they where traveling to their school, overturned near Maujgarh Village of Dharamkot Sub Division here. The deceased, identified as Manpreet Kaur, resident of Bakarwala, was student of 9th standard at the Government Senior Secondary School in Kalley Village. Another girl, Simranjeet Kaur, was seriously injured and has been admitted in the Civil Hospital Moga. The accident occurred yesterday when driver of the bus, en route to Dharamkot from Rerhva Village, lost control over the vehicle and it overturned, according to police. The bus driver was identified as Mejor Singh, a resident of Bakarwala Village. The bus driver fled the scene. Investigation was on.UNI XC SV SNU 1340 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1127329.Xml
Dr. Ram Boojh, the Programme Officer for Natural Sciences & Secretary, SACAM (South & Central Asia MAB Network) of UNESCO and M L Rao, Adviser of UNESCO, have apprised the Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang on the progress of UNESCO initiatives being undertaken in Nagaland and also requested the support of the State Government. According to official sources today both the officials called on the Chief Minister during their 4-day visit to Nagaland from January 22 to 25. It may be mentioned here that pre-feasibility studies had been undertaken in 2016 for designating Dzukou Valley and Doyang Valley as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The feasibility report submitted to UNESCO also included Saramati Range to be taken up at a later stage. These areas have been identified taking into consideration the uniqueness, rich biodiversity and also initiatives shown by the community in conserving biodiversity, which can be a model for the rest of India and the world. The Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change undertook this initiative in collaboration with UNESCO, recognizing the role of the communities in conserving biodiversity in Nagaland bearing in mind that many such areas in Nagaland are owned by the communities. The next stage is to prepare a dossier with concrete plans in collaboration with Government of Nagaland, Government of India and UNESCO. Besides bringing recognition and strengthening the conservation efforts in Nagaland, the objective is to link conservation with sustainable development of the local communities. Nagaland Forest Minister Dr. Nicky Kire, Nagaland Legislative Assembly Speaker Chotisuh Sazo were present at the meeting, sources said. UNI AS KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1127412.Xml
The Government and the Opposition both are all braced up for the Budget session of Parliament beginning from January 31, one of the most important tasks before which would be to clear the GST Bill for new tax regime to be put in place from July next as targeted by the Government. The session which is happening in the midst of the process of election to five state Assemblies, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, will be providing a platform to both the Government and the Opposition to send across their message to voters. The session is not expected to be smooth this time too as the Government may not find it easy to secure ready cooperation on various issues of the Opposition, especially the Congress, the SP and BSP, which are along with the BJP main players in the elections in biggest state Uttar Pradesh. The continuing stand off between the Mamata-ruled West Bengal-and the Centre on various issues like demonetisation and alleged violence against BJP workers by her Trinamool Congress actvists was going to have its impact in the Lok sabha. The aggressive stance of the Trinamool Congress was likely to turn more aggressive following the booking up of its MPs by the CBI in various scams. The Opposition had strongly opposed the presentation of the Budget while the election process was on and demanded its postponement arguing that the budget provisions could be used by the government to influence the voters. However, and the Election Commission before whom the matter was taken by the Opposition parties gave a go ahead to the government on the budget but said it should not announce any schemes for poll-bound states. This will be the first budget that will be presented on February 1.The Government while advancing the date said that it wanted the Budget to be cleared so that work could begin properly from the April I the date the fiscal year starts. The impact of the demonetisation on various sectors of the economy and on the commonman in general would continue to be one of the main issues on which the Opposition would try to corner the Government. Minister of State in the PMO Dr Jitendra Singh told UNI that his party's appeal to the Opposition parties would be to see reason and not make an issue of demonetisation on which it had now become very clear that the people of the country were with the Prime Minster. He said this session had a special significance as it was for the first that the Budget presentation was being advanced, breaking from the old colonial practice, so that timely allocation could be made forvarious welfare schemes.More UNI NAZ ADG 1406 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127375.Xml
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijaya Singh today alleged that the attack on Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Jaipur was at the instance of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan. Responding to a question during a press conference at the party state headquarters in the city, he said,"Why these things are happening only in BJP-ruled states. What was the Rajasthan Police doing. I also saw that video. Not a single police man was there. ''Usually when film shooting takes place generally police make bandobust. My charge is that this has been done deliberately at the instance of the ruling party in Rajasthan,'' the AICC General Secretary said. Some activists of the Rajput Sena on Friday last had reportedly assaulted Bhansali on the sets of his film 'Padmavati'. The incident has been condemned by members of the film industry.UNI AKM AE SNU 1433 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1127411.Xml
Threats from the Trump administration to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities have caused California to start looking for methods to not pay taxes to the Federal government.

California's long-time status as a "donor state," one that pays more tax than it receives in federal funding, has been a contentious issue. Teapublicans have also long claimed the government has no right to tax people, anyways, and it'd be super fun to see what they have to say about liberals using their rhetoric against them.

Regardless, it should scare the ill-fitting pants off our illegitimately elected President that the most populous state, contributing the most money to his coffers, has state officials looking for ways to not pay taxes, and a public movement to secede. He may be in a place to push his bigoted and hateful policies forward, but California doesn't want to pay for them.

CBS Local:
The State Lokayukta has ordered an investigation into bogus project-affected certificates issued in the name of relatives of Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.The order is the outcome of a demand made by an RTI activist Sunil Salve who had submitted a memorandum to the Lokayukta on September 9,2016 seeking a probe into the bogus project-affected certificates issued to relatives of Bawankule.The RTI activist had said that on the basis of the bogus certificates, the relatives of Bawankule derived benefits applicable to project-affected people such as compensation, lands, jobs, and other benefits.The Lokayakta was urged to file criminal offences against the bogus beneficiaries and recovery of entire amounts.Taking serious note of the demand, Lokayukta Tahliani conducted a hearing on the matter. During the hearing, it was said that Chandrashekhar Bawankule, during the period from 1990 to 2014, used his political clout and Constitutional post for preparing bogus project-affected certificates in the name of his relatives and provided them jobs in Mahagenco and MSEDCL.In view of all the facts, the Lokayukta ordered the Divisional Commissioner and District Collector to conduct a probe into the matter against Mr Bawankule.UNI PK RSA SNU 1450 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1127426.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, while addressing his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', tried to relate sense of mission with ambition to encourage the students to score better in examinations. "Once you have a clear ambition with a mission to succeed it, you need not worry about the marks in the exams. You will automatically score better," Prime Minister Modi said while answering a student who asked whether scoring higher marks in exams was mandatory. "No one cares to know with how much marks he got through the exam. People are more interested in the fact that he is a doctor and would certainly serve his patients with his knowledge, skills and expertise," he added. The Prime Minister further said restricting oneself to a limited amount of course or knowledge might harm one from achieving success. The Prime Minister also motivated students to compete with oneself instead of competing with others. "Self competition would help students in improvising in every single aspect and step." He reiterated on the importance of self-introspection, which would lead to a better individual. "Start comparing yourself with the way you used to be and the way you are now," he said. "In that way changes in students can be easily found which otherwise would lead the way to betterment," he added. This motivational speech of Prime Minister Modi would definitely be a pathway to the students to accomplish the right amount of success and would surely eliminate the fear of scoring better marks in the examination. (ANI)
Reacting on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's comment on the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) ideology not dangerous like that of the BJP, Adityanath said people with destructive mindset can only utter foul words.

"Have you seen the older symbol of the Congress? It was a couple of bulls, which showed that it will destroy Uttar Pradesh, not prosper it," said the BJP MP.

"Expecting destructive people to speak something good is in itself wrong to think," he added.

Rahul Gandhi, in a joint press briefing with Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav earlier today in Lucknow, scoffed at the BJP, saying that at least BSP's ideology was not dangerous like that of the saffron party, adding that he holds immense respect for Mayawati.

Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on February 11. (ANI)
After taking blessings of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched their joint election campaign for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls with a grand road show here today. Both the leaders, sitting in the 'Uttar Pradesh Vijay Rath' started their road show with thousands of party supporters raising slogans in support of both the SP and Congress.Before the road show both Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav held a press conference.After the press conference, both leaders reached the GPO roundabout from where the road show had to start at around 1500 hrs, about one hour late from scheduled time.After waiving hands towards thousands of followers, who thronged the venue there since morning, both leaders garlanded statue of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Then both entered into UP Vijay Rath. Security personnel particularly the SPG of Mr Gandhi had a hard time to control the crowd as everyone wanted to shake hand with the leaders.Thousands of supporters of Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav raised slogans like 'Jai Jai Jai Akhilesh' and 'Rahul Gandhi Zindabad' when they saw their leaders. Many of them were waving flags of SP and Congress while some had pictures of AKhilesh and Rahul both on their flag.Several women leaders of both the parties were witnessed to be more vocal in raising slogans for their leaders. Anjali, who came from Rae Bareli said, ''I am here for Rahul Gandhi. He is our leader. After alliance SP and Congress will form the Government in UP.'' A local, Tahir said, ''Akhilesh bhaiya was wining the elections alone but alliance with Congress will bring more seats and Akhilesh Yadav will be Chief Minister again.''When the Vijay Rath started some security personnel climbed upon the vehicles and many others covered the whole vehicle and supporters started chanting slogans in support of both the leaders.To catch the attraction of camerapersons there some supporters started dancing and climbing on the vehicles. Some of them were standing at the pillars there.Vijay Rath, campaigning vehicle, moved towards Halwasiya from where it will go to Ghantaghar via Lalbagh, Kaiserbagh, Nakkhas, and Chauk Chauraha. At Ghantaghar both leaders will address a public meeting.Due to the roadshow going through the old city areas, the Sunday market in the busy Chowk was suspended today.UNI JDM MB AE SNU 1817 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1127616.Xml
When two ' achche ladke ' (good boys) appeared on the decks of makeshift Mercedes bus known as ' Uttar Pradesh Vijay Rath', there was a roar of approval as the boisterous crowd shouted ' Jai Jai Jai Akhilesh, Jai Akhilesh Jai Akhilesh.'. Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav immediately tried to convey something from the top of the bus to his close confidant and MLC Sunil Kumar Sajan who was walking with the bus. The words got drowned in the cacophony of slogan shouting, but Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi smiled. He got hold of Mr Akhilesh Yadav's right arm and raised it skywards making a V sign . This is the beginning of new history witnessed on the streets of the state capital here today as both Congress and Samajwadi Party started their 'Vijay Abhiyan' through joint road show. As the Rath reached Mayfair crossing, hardly 300 meters from Hazratganj crossing, from where it started, the crowd dominated by Samajwadi Party youth wearing red party cap, shouted "UP ko yeh Saath pasand hai" .As the Rath reached Mayfair crossing, hardly 300 meters from Hazratganj crossing from where it started, the crowd dominated by Samajwadi Party youth wearing red Samajwadi Party cap, shouted "UP ko yeh Saath pasand hai" . This was the turn of Mr Yadav to smile and now he made a victory sign throwing a glance towards Mr Gandhi who was waiving to the crowd. The Rath passed through three assembly constituencies dominated by minority community. "It is nice to see two young leaders trying to rewrite UP's fortune. They are full of ideas. The only question crosses my mind is whether they are serious or it is opportunistic alliance limited to UP only," Rameshwar Saran, a school teacher said as he watched boisterous youth perched on makeshift barricades set up for construction of Lucknow metro. There was enthusiasm among people about this new alliance. They climbed the top of building to have a glimpse of the Rath crawling through the multitude of masses. "I will vote for BJP but have come to see this yatra. The crowd is good," he said. When asked whether this alliance will dent BJP's chances he said: " Let's see." Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah was a bit reticent when asked about alliance when he said: " They have made a late beginning. There is a challenge before them to take this unity down to the ground level." Before the road show both, Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav held a joint press conference where the Congress leader said SP- Congress is the alliance of hearts which will take the state to new heights. Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav formally launched the alliance of the party in the UP Assembly polls claiming that they have made a political ' sangam' (a confluence of rivers) ''to take on the fascist forces led by Narendra Modi in the country''.UNI MB RSA SNU 1841 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1127636.Xml
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the CBI to conduct a quick inquiry into the sacrilege incident at Bahbal Kalan in Faridkot district as well as expose and punish those behind this heinous crime. Addressing a huge gathering here, the SAD president said incidents of sacrilege started in Punjab after the entry of AAP into the state. He said the Punjab Government had solved around 30 cases of sacrilege and only the incident at Behbal Kalan remained unsolved. "I request PM Sahab to get a quick inquiry conducted into this case". Mr Badal said the extent to which AAP Convener was bent upon spoiling the atmosphere of the state could be seen from the fact that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had stayed at the residence of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) leader Gurinder Singh in Moga last night. He said Gurinder was responsible for killing a "pujari". Speaking about sacrilege, the SAD president said the Congress had done the biggest sacrilege by sending tanks and artillery into the Darbar Sahab. He said AAP was no less. "The AAP government bulldozed the historic piau at Gurdwara Sisganj. AAP also disrespected Sri Guru Granth Sahab ji by comparing its election manifesto with the holy Granth". Stressing that the country needed a strong Prime Minister, Mr Badal said "even Pakistan is wary of doing any mischief now". He said the NDA Government had been good for Punjab with road infrastructure being improved tremendously besides grant of institutions like AIIMS and IIM. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal while speaking on the occasion, said the Congress party was responsible for taking Punjab's water out of the State. He said now Congress and AAP both wanted to take away half of the remaining water left in Punjab. He said as far as the SAD- BJP Government was concerned, it had taken everyone along with it. "We have beautified the precincts of the Darbar Sahab as well as developed Ram Teerath Sthal and Guru Ravi Das shrine at Kuralgarh. We have devised a scheme to take people of all religions on pilgrimage to their holy places". The Chief Minister said under NDA rule the funds received by Punjab from the Centre had increased from 32 per cent to 42 percent. He said it was of utmost importance that the same government continued in both the State and the Centre to ensure speedy development. Union Minister for Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal while speaking on the occasion condemned AAP for launching a defamation campaign against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. She said Badal Sahab had always worked selflessly for Punjabis and was known as the champion of peace and communal harmony.UNI JS AE SNU 1839 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1127642.Xml
The Aam Aadmi Party's dangerous combination of the extreme left and extreme right ideologies could once again plunge Punjab into the dark days of terrorism, Punjab Congress President Captain Amarinder Singh warned today, dismissing both the Badals and AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal as big-time phonies, who were out to sell Punjab's interests to inimical forces. Addressing a public rally here, Captain Singh launched a scathing attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying that he had the same mindset, which had led Punjab into terrorism, causing more than 35,000 people to lose their lives, in the 1980s. Caught between the extreme left (Naxalite) and right (Khalistani) philosophies, the AAP had absolutely no policies or programmes for the development of Punjab, and its leader Kejriwal, only wanted to capture Punjab by making false promises, warned the Congress chief ministerial candidate. Mr Kejriwal has his eyes on Punjab's chief ministership, and eventually wants to become the Prime Minister, said Captain Singh, adding that his 'khichdi' party of two different ideological extremes would vitiate the atmosphere of the state. Mr Kejriwal is a complete outsider with no roots in Punjab, Captain Singh pointed out, adding that if, God forbid, he succeeds in his ambitions, the state of Punjab would once again end up in the grip of terrorist forces. Referring to the Delhi Chief Minister's NGO, which was funded by the Ford Foundation, Captain Singh alleged it had the backing of CIA, Khalistanis and a whole lot of other forces inimical to India. Pointing to the exorbitant spending of AAP on advertisements and publicity in Punjab, the PPCC chief questioned the sources of these funds and warned the people that supporting him would be detrimental to Punjab's interests. Captain Singh also questioned Mr Kejriwal's over two-year governance in Delhi, saying that he had done nothing but make sham promises to the people of the national capital, just as he was doing now in Punjab. The PPCC President dubbed both Mr Kejriwal and Parkash Singh Badal as `maha gappus' (liars who talk in the air), saying they could not be trusted an inch. While the Badals had been busy minting money at the cost of the interests of the people of Punjab, Kejriwal was now trying to grab whatever was left of the state to further his own interests, he added.Reiterating that he had decided to contest from Lambi in order to rout Badal completely, once and for all, Captain Amarinder said the Akali Government had destroyed every vestige of development in Punjab and their leaders would have to pay for it. ''I will throw Badal and anyone else found guilty of the sacrilegious incidents in the state into jail," vowed Captain Singh, making it clear that religious intolerance could not be tolerated at any cost in Punjab, which has already suffered immensely due to communal strife and terrorism. Captain Singh also promised to punish the Chhota Badal (Sukhbir Badal) who was busy making hotels and other assets by diverting public funds and said the `Lambu' (Bikram Singh Majithia) would also have to pay for his sin of destroying a whole generation of the state's youth with his drugs and chitta. The Akalis have devastated Punjab and brought the economy to its knees, said Captain Amarinder, pointing to the total collapse of agriculture and industry in the state, as well as the widespread unemployment and mafia rule.''I will not spare any of them,'' he added. The Congress candidate from Barnala, Kewal Singh Dhillon, also came down heavily on the Badals for neglecting Barnala and blamed them for the total lack of development in the region.UNI XC RJ SNU 1857 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1127651.Xml
Intensifying probe into the alleged involvement of ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency in carrying out subversive activities in India, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) personnel today quizzed family members of two outlaws who were killed for their failure in exploding pressure cooker bomb planted on tracks near Ghodasahan railway station in East Champaran district on October 1 last. NIA sleuths quizzed family members of Arun Ram and Deepak Ram at their native Lakshmipur Pokharia village under Adapur police station area in the district to know antecedents of both outlaws who were killed in Nepal, allegedly at the behest of an ISI operative and a Dubai-based Nepalese citizen Shamsul Hoda. However, NIA personnel refused to divulge any detail of their exercise and left the village without entertaining any query from the media. A native of Bakhri village, Aras Ram had lodged an FIR at Adapur police station on January 14 when his brother Arun Ram and nephew Deepak Ram went missing after other accused with suspected ISI links took them to an undisclosed place on December 25 last. Later, bodies of Arun Ram and Deepak Ram were recovered from Kalaiya in Nepal on December 28.MORE UNI DH BM -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0214-1127981.Xml
In a statement, AICC Secretary Girish Chodankar said Mr Gandhi would be addressing an election rally, which was expected to be attended by over 20,000 people.

AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Luizinho Faleiro and others would attend the meeting.

Mr had addressed a public meeting after participating in the party's Janajagruti Yatra last month.

''The party had this time run a subdued campaign with more stress for door to door campaign rather than the public meetings. Congress has been projecting the U turns of BJP government in the state. A detailed charge-sheet was already issued by the party in the past.

''The manifesto of Congress for the elections has been getting thumbs up from the voters. The promises which are made in the manifesto will change the way Goa has been getting governed under the BJP rule. The party has decided to put stop to the fake assurances of BJP.

''Congress has already decided that once voted to power, the manifesto would be handed over to the State Chief Secretary, who will decide his actions depending on that. The entire state's policies would revolve around the manifesto,'' Mr Chodankar said.

Congress has fielded its candidates in 37 constituencies. Assembly elections in the state, to be held on February 4.UNI AKM NP RJ 2216

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US President Donald Trump once again took aim at two of his harshest critics, the New York Times and Washington Post, accusing them of dishonest coverage. "The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning. Said I would lose the primaries, then the general election. FAKE NEWS!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday, Efe news reported. He also referred to a post-election Times letter to readers in which it claimed it treated both Trump and Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton (whom it endorsed) fairly but acknowledged underestimating the real-estate mogul's appeal among many Americans and vowed to "rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism." "Thr (sic) coverage about me in the @nytimes and the @washingtonpost gas (sic) been so false and angry that the times actually apologized to its dwindling subscribers and readers," Trump wrote. "They got me wrong right from the beginning and still have not changed course, and never will. DISHONEST." Trump did not indicate what sparked his latest tweet storm, although the Times and Post regularly post scathing editorials criticizing Trump and his administration's policy proposals. The tweets also came a day after both dailies extensively covered his signing of executive orders that, among other things, suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days and imposed a 90-day suspension on the issuance of visas to anyone planning to travel from seven Muslim-majority countries - Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran. The New York Times fired back at Trump on Twitter. "Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters," the paper said. EFE --IANS pgh/ ( 279 Words) 2017-01-29-05:12:07 (IANS)
Under the 2004 Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, refugees that are turned away from the US are not allowed to seek entry into Canada.



While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tweeted that Canada "will welcome you, regardless of your faith," the existing law makes that promise hollow.

A petition to the Prime Minister asks him to rescind the agreement so that these desperate people can take him up on his offer. You can  and should  also call you MP's constituency office (here's how) and the office of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen, at (613) 954-1064. Write Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 (Minister Hussen, a Somali-Canadian dual national, is presently barred from entering the USA under Trump's Muslim ban).

The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement came into effect in 2004, and it states that "refugee claimants are required to request refugee protection in the first safe country they arrive in". The United States is considered a "safe country" under this law. As of today, refugees from across the Middle East and North Africa who have spent months or years seeking status in the United States are at risk of arriving there only to be turned back to their country of origin. Because of the Safe Third Country Agreement, they cannot then seek refugee status in Canada. Call your Member of Parliament's constituency office. Call the office of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen1, at (613) 954-1064. Write Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2. Sign this petition. Tell your friends.

Something to do

[Ned Zimmerman/The Great Islander]





(via Neil Gaiman)
Lawyers for two Iraqis with ties to the US military who had been granted visas to enter the US have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the US government after they were detained when they arrived in New York. The lawsuit could represent the first legal challenge to Trump's controversial executive order, which indefinitely suspends admissions for Syrian refugees and limits the flow of other refugees into the US by instituting what the President has called "extreme vetting" of immigrants, CNN reported on Saturday. Trump's order also bars Iraqi citizens, as well as people from six other Muslim-majority nations, from entering the US for 90 days, and suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until it is reinstated "only for nationals of countries for whom" members of Trump's Cabinet deem can be properly vetted. According to court papers, both men legally were allowed to come into the US but were detained in accordance with Trump's move to ban travel from several Muslim-majority nations. One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who worked as an interpreter for the US during the Iraq War, was released from detention early Saturday afternoon. "America is the land of freedom," Darweesh told reporters at the airport shortly after his release. "America is the greatest nation." Asked about Trump, Darweesh said, "I like him, but I don't know." He added that he was separated from his family Friday at the airport. A source with knowledge of the case confirmed Darweesh will be allowed into the US due to provisions in Trump's order that allow the State and Homeland Security departments to admit individuals into the US on a case-by-case base for certain reasons, including when the person is already in transit and it would cause undue hardship and would not pose a threat to the security of the US. The suit said Darweesh held a special immigrant visa, which he was granted the day of Trump's inauguration on January 20, due to his work for the US government from 2003 to 2013. The other Iraqi man named as a plaintiff in the suit is Haider Sameer Abdulkaleq Alshawi, who was still being held at JFK as of early Saturday afternoon. Nadler and Velazquez railed against Trump's order and pledged continued action. --IANS pgh/ ( 393 Words) 2017-01-29-05:58:06 (IANS)
British Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly refused to condemn the ban on refugees and entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. She was speaking just a day after meeting the new President in Washington, where the pair pledged their commitment to the "special relationship" between Britain and the U.S., reports the Independent. May who is presently in Turkey for bilateral talks, held a joint press conference with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Their talks were overshadowed by global debate over Trump's executive order to ban Syrian refugees from entering the US indefinitely, halt all other asylum admissions for 120 days and suspend travel visas for citizens of "countries of particular concern", including Syria, Iraq and other Muslim-majority nations. When pressed for her view on Trump's executive order, May replied: "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees, the United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees." Yvette Cooper, the former shadow Home Secretary, sent a letter to the Prime Minister urging her to echo condemnation from French and German ministers over the "deeply troubling" executive order. Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, said the Prime Minister's refusal to condemn Mr Trump's Muslim ban "is shocking, wrong and cannot stand". He added: "It flies in the face of the values of people across Britain." Meanwhile, the United Nations has condemned Trump's ban on refugees. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration called on the new President's administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, a right protected by international law. "The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the US resettlement program is one of the most important in the world," the two agencies said in a joint statement. (ANI)
The leader of Bavaria's sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats called for ending sanctions imposed against Russia by Europe and the United States for its invasion of Crimea and its military actions in Ukraine.The sanctions should be lifted this year, Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union (CDU), told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview to be published tomorrow."I'm arguing for realpolitik not sabre-rattling," Seehofer told the newspaper. "We have to be clear about different positions, such as about the annexation of Crimea, while working to promote sensible business ties."Merkel and other EU leaders, by contrast, have insisted that the sanctions must remain tied to progress on the Minsk peace process aimed at ending the violence in eastern Ukraine.That message was reiterated yesterday by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault during a joint news conference in Paris.Merkel spoke yesterday with US President Donald Trump, but their joint statement made no mention of the sanctions issue. Trump this week said he was only in the early stages of considering ending the US sanctions against Russia.Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke by telephone and agreed to try to rebuild US-Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said yesterday.Seehofer said he also favoured a broader rapprochement between Russia and the West, and agreed with calls to reopen the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised countries to include Russia.Russia used to be part of the so-called Group of Eight (G8) meetings until it was suspended in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula following a popular uprising in Kiev that toppled its pro-Moscow president."We have to get out of the bloc thinking of the 20th century," Seehofer told the newspaper. "We must focus on finding joint answers to terrorism, migration, climate change."Seehofer also praised Trump for quickly implementing his campaign promises. He said he did not agree with all of Trump's positions, but said the US president had been elected in a free election and that should be respected.REUTERS AKC 0434 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127092.Xml
Migrants face executions, torture and other systematic rights abuses in camps in Libya, according to a report prepared for the German government by the German embassy in Niger, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported today."Authentic cellphone photos and videos substantiate concentration-camp-like conditions in so-called private prisons" operated by people smugglers, the embassy said in a diplomatic cable sent to the chancellery and other ministries, according to the newspaper report."Executions of countless migrants, torture, rapes, bribery and banishment to the desert are daily events," it cited the embassy's report as saying."Eyewitnesses spoke of exactly five executions a week in one prison - with advance notice and always on Fridays - to make room for new migrants, i.e. to increase the human throughput and revenues of the smugglers," it continued.News of the embassy report comes ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders in Malta next week to discuss ways to control migration from Africa.German Chancellor Angela Merkel also raised concerns about conditions in Libya in a webcast yesterday, saying Europe should work with the North African country to control illegal migration, but could not sign a deal similar to that reached with Turkey last year until it became more stable.Ska Keller, who heads the fraction of the pro-environment Greens in the European Parliament, said the German government should work to prevent any kind of an agreement with the Libyan government if it was aware of human rights abuses.Signing a migration deal with Libya meant that people would be "sent back into a catastrophic and inhumane situation," the newspaper quoted her as saying.Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the newspaper that UN conventions provided refugees rights to sanctuary, but did not guarantee them the right to choose where they would go.De Maiziere and other EU interior ministers are moving to finance camps in Africa where the UN refugee agency and aid groups would process migrants to prevent them from trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.Libya sank into chaos following the 2011 overthrow of veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and the new UN-backed government in Tripoli exercises no control over its territory.The sea crossing from Libya to Italy, operated by people-smugglers based in the North African country, is now the main route for migrants bound for Europe.A record 181,000 mainly African boat migrants reached Italy last year, taking the total number of arrivals in the past three years to more than half a million.REUTERS AKC 0839 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127111.Xml
A new ban on US travel for nationals of seven Middle Eastern countries caught the airline industry unprepared, with flight crew from those states also barred from entering, the International Air Transport Association said yesterday.US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has briefed the global trade group that passport-holders from states such as Iran and Iraq, including cabin crew, will be barred entry to the United States, IATA said in an email to its member airlines, seen by Reuters.The email underscores airlines' confusion about the situation as well as the challenge some may face from crew scheduling. Airlines also stand to lose business: for instance, around 35,000 travelers from Iran visited the United States in 2015, according to the US Department of Homeland Security."Much of this development has come over the weekend and at a time when IATA's Facilitation team has been on duty travel. Unfortunately, our response has been slower than we would have preferred," the email said. "A number (of questions) have yet to be resolved."The executive order by President Donald Trump bans travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.IATA was informed that lawful permanent residents of the United States - or green-card holders - from those countries are not included in the ban.However, a Trump administration official told reporters that green-card holders from the countries need to check with a US consulate to see whether they can return, causing some confusion for airlines, which still plan to follow CBP guidance.Qatar Airways said earlier on its website yesterday that passengers would need a green card or diplomatic visa to enter the United States.REUTERS SHS RK1044 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127176.Xml
A federal judge blocked the deportation on yesterday of dozens of travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations, stranded at US airports under an order from President Donald Trump, after a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Iraqis with ties to US security forces.In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the two men challenged Trump's directive on constitutional grounds. The suit said their connections to US forces made them targets in their home country and that the pair had valid visas to enter the United States.The lawsuit highlights some of the legal obstacles facing Trump's new administration as it tries to carry out the directive, which the president signed late on Friday to impose a four-month ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries.In an emergency ruling on Saturday, US District Judge Ann Donnelly ordered US authorities to refrain from deporting previously approved refugees as well as "approved holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas and other individuals ... legally authorized to enter the United States" from the countries targeted in Trump's order.The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the temporary stay, said it would help about 100 to 200 people who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports after Trump signed the order."I am directing the government to stop removal if there is someone right now in danger of being removed," Donnelly said in the court hearing. "No one is to be removed in this class."Many of the people in a huge crowd that had gathered outside the Brooklyn courthouse broke out into cheers after word of the ruling filtered out.It was not immediately clear if the ruling would require the US government to allow travelers detained at airports to enter the United States or would only prevent their deportation back to the countries from where they came."This has unfolded with such speed that we haven't had an opportunity to address all the legal issues," U.S. Department of Justice attorney Susan Riley said during the emergency hearing."TARGETED BY TERRORISTS"The plight of one of the men who brought the lawsuit, a former US Army interpreter who was detained at John F Kennedy International Airport, is especially compelling, said David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, who is not involved in the suit."Here is a guy who was a translator who worked for the US military for years, who himself was targeted by terrorists," he said. "It is clear that if he is sent back, he is facing a direct threat to his life."That man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was released later yesterday and told a crowd of reporters at JFK Airport that he did not have ill feelings about his detention."America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world," he said.Darweesh, 53, worked for the US Army and for a US contractor in Iraq from 2003 to 2013 as an interpreter and engineer, the lawsuit said.The second plaintiff, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, was also detained at JFK Airport but has since been released. He is the husband of an Iraqi woman who worked for a US contractor in Iraq. She already lives in Houston, the suit said.Trump, a Republican, has said his order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.The lawsuit on behalf of the Iraqis challenges Trump's order on several grounds. It says the order violates the US Constitution's guarantee of due process by taking away their ability to apply for asylum, and violates the guarantee of equal protection by discriminating against them on the basis of their country of origin without sufficient justification.It also says the order violates procedural requirements of federal rulemaking.The next hearing in the case was set for February 10.Supporters of the order say the president has wide authority to limit the entry of foreign nationals from specific countries when it is in the national interest."Even if they do and they win, my answer is so what?" said Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies."We are talking a few dozen people - that is just a last-ditch effort to get the last few people in. It doesn't really change the policy," he said.Trump's order does not mention specific religions but Trump said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday he was acting to help Christians in Syria who were "horribly treated."Comments like that could come back to haunt the president in litigation over his order, said Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration expert at UCLA School of Law."There were comments during the campaign that focused very much on religion as the target," Motomura said. "If the record showed that the origins of a particular measure were based on targeting a particular group, that could be challenged in court." REUTERS SHS RK1045 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127177.Xml
After immigration agents detained two Iraqis yesterday at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, their lawyers and two US representatives accompanying them tried to cross into a secure area - and were stopped themselves."Step back! Step back!" the agents shouted at them.A few minutes later, Heidi Nassauer, chief of passenger operations for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the airport, was called over.Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez, both Democrats from New York, wanted clarification on whether an immigration ban issued on Friday by President Donald Trump prevented the Iraqis from consulting with attorneys.Nassauer had no clear answer."We are as much in the dark as everybody else," said the border protection official at one of the largest US airports.The tense exchange, witnessed by Reuters, was representative of the confusion at airports across the United States and others overseas after Trump abruptly halted immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries and temporarily put a stop to the entry of refugees.Throughout much of Saturday, government officials and security workers were left to guess who from those countries could enter the United States legally and who could not.The day ended with a federal judge issuing an emergency stay that temporarily allowed stranded travelers with valid visas to remain in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the stay, said it would help 100 to 200 people with visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports.RECKLESSEarlier yesterday, the Trump administration said it would have been "reckless" to brief government agencies and airports more broadly in advance of launching the security measures, which it says are aimed at preventing attacks from foreign groups.But career officials in the Homeland Security and State departments told Reuters the administration failed to appreciate the complexity of enforcing the order consistently or the need to prepare agencies and airlines.Affected travelers had varying experiences at different airports, according to nearly 200 accounts gathered by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).Many holding visas told the association they were allowed into the country without a problem despite Trump's executive order banning them.But some lawful permanent residents - those with so-called green cards - were turned away despite guidance to airlines from the CBP that they should be allowed to travel.At about 10 p.m. on Friday in Seattle, some eight hours after Trump signed the executive order, an Iranian with dual Canadian citizenship from Vancouver was sent back to Canada, the traveler reported to AILA. A half hour later in New York City, an Iranian arrived at JFK and entered the United States on a valid visa without any problems, according to AILA.A senior administration official said Trump's order - aimed at citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - needed to be implemented urgently to protect Americans."There's a very strong nexus between our immigration and visa programs and terrorist plots and extremist networks inside the United States," the official told reporters in a briefing. "It would be reckless and irresponsible to ... broadcast to the entire world the exact security measures you're going to take."Key figures at the Department of Homeland Security were informed, the official said, declining to elaborate."I'm not at liberty to reveal exactly who was briefed and who wasn't briefed, but everyone that needed to be briefed was briefed," the official said.OUT OF THE LOOPAt the State Department, one of the main agencies dealing with visas and immigration, most officials first heard of the executive order on immigration through the media, according to two department officials.While some offices were aware an executive order was coming, there was no official communication or consultation from the White House, they said."Was there any inter-agency coordination or consultation? No," said one senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.Immigration enforcement is among the federal government's most complex endeavors, involving seven agencies from the US Coast Guard and CBP to the State and Justice Departments.Two senior officials in the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday that they had not heard of any officials in the relevant agencies - or the congressional committees and subcommittees that oversee them - who had been consulted by anyone who helped draft the president's order."If the result is confusion and inconsistency, the responsibility all lies at one address," said one of the officials, referring to the White House.The official, like others, requested anonymity to discuss Trump's order.Another Homeland Security official told Reuters that the White House worked on the executive orders with "limited department participation.""It has been a challenge but folks are working through it," the official said.CHAOS AT AIRPORTSOne of the Iraqis detained at JFK was Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a 53-year-old Kurd who had worked as a US Army translator in Iraq and had been threatened there for helping the Americans.Visas for him and his family were finally issued on January 20, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Darweesh and another Iraqi, who had also worked with US military. But as soon as he landed at JFK, he was detained by CBP officers and barred from contacting his attorneys.When his attorneys, from the International Refugee Assistance Project, asked the CBP officers whom they could contact, the agents responded, "Mr President. Call Mr. Trump," according to the lawsuit.Eventually, Darweesh was allowed to leave and met the lawmakers and his lawyers, clutching his passport and weeping with joy. The other Iraqi who was detained, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was also allowed to enter the country.But dozens of others were less fortunate.Conflicting media and government reports caused confusion for airlines struggling to deal with the order.CBP informed air carriers about the executive order in a conference call late on Friday, said a person familiar with the agency's communications. CBP then sent written guidance before noon yesterday saying that green card holders were "not included" in the ban and could continue to travel to the United States. The source said airlines were allowing travelers with green cards on flights until told otherwise.The Trump administration official later told reporters that US green card holders traveling outside the United States need to check with a US consulate to see whether they can return."It's being cleared on a case-by-case basis," the official said.The green card issue has left immigration attorneys confused about how to advise their clients. Attorney David Leopold, from Cleveland, Ohio, said he is erring on the side of caution, advising his clients to stay in the United States to avoid being stranded abroad.That can create some agonizing dilemmas."A Syrian doctor who has a dying mother in Europe cannot go visit her not knowing that he will be able to get back into the United States," Leopold said. REUTERS SHS NS1201 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127251.Xml
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian during a clash today in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian medical officials.An Israeli military spokeswoman said Palestinian rioters had "attacked and hurled pipe bombs" at soldiers operating overnight in the area of the Jenin refugee camp."Responding to the threat, forces fired at (the) main instigators," the spokeswoman said.Palestinian hospital officials said one man was killed and five were wounded by the Israeli gunfire.Israeli forces regularly carry out raids against suspected militants and arms caches in the West Bank, land the Palestinians want for a future state.REUTERS SHS RK1252 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1127313.Xml
Airlines operating at Cairo airport were officially requested today to prevent US immigration visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries from boarding flights to the United States, Hossam Hussein, an EgyptAir official, said.Hussein, who is responsible for EgyptAir's daily flight to New York, said authorities there had notified them hours earlier of the new restrictions.He said green card holders from Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia and Libya would be allowed to board as would holders of diplomatic passports or government officials. REUTERS SDR NS1438 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1127421.Xml
While the American public's attention was focused on the thousands of families whose lives were disrupted and even put at risk by Trump's ban on Muslims entering the USA, the US Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were removed from the list of permanent attendees in the President's National Security Council. They were replaced with white nationalist Trump advisor Steve Bannon.

Trump announced the changes shortly after speaking with Putin for an hour.

Presidential press spokesman Sean Spicer downplayed Bannon's lack of expertise, describing the avowed racist as "a former naval officer." Bannon left the Navy in 1983. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Bannon is replacing, is an active-service four-star general.

White House insiders say that Bannon personally intervened to extend the Muslim ban to Green Card holders, an illegal move that heightened the controversy around the ban.

Counseling Trump in the effort will be Stephen K. Bannon, the White House chief strategist whose influence inside the administration is expanding far beyond politics. In a separate presidential memo, Trump reorganized the National Security Council to, along with other changes, give Bannon a regular seat on the principals committee  the meetings of the most senior national security officials, including the secretaries of defense and state. That memo also states that the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will sit on the principals committee only when the issues to be discussed pertain to their "responsibilities and expertise." In the previous two administrations, both were included as regular attendees. The White House thinks the changes will make the NSC more adaptive to modern threats. Trump said the changes would bring "a lot of efficiency and, I think, a lot of additional safety."

Trump orders ISIS plan, talks with Putin and gives Bannon national security role

[Philip Rucker and David Filipov/Washington Post]
The German government regrets a US travel ban on refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries and will review the consequences for German citizens with dual nationalities, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said today."The chancellor regrets the US entry ban against refugees and citizens from several countries," Steffen Seibert said, adding that Merkel had expressed her concerns to US President Donald Trump during a telephone call yesterday.She also reminded him that the Geneva Conventions require the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, Seibert said.He said the German government would now review the consequences of the ban for German citizens with dual nationalities and would "represent their interests, if needed, vis a vis our U.S. partners."REUTERS SDR GC1620 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1127540.Xml
Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain did not agree with US President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration after facing criticism from lawmakers in her own party for not condemning his executive order when initially questioned.On a visit to Turkey on Saturday, she was asked three times to comment on Trump's move to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barring travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would protect Americans from violent Islamists.May - who had flown to Turkey from the United States where she was the first foreign leader to meet the new US president - replied that Washington was responsible for its policy on refugees.But after the prime minister flew back to a political storm in London late yesterday, coming under fire from within her own party, her spokesman said Britain did not agree with Trump's ban."Immigration policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States, just the same as immigration policy for this country should be set by our government," he said."But we do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new executive order to see what it means and what the legal effects are, and in particular what the consequences are for UK nationals."Government minister David Gauke defended May's initial refusal to voice any criticise, saying she was not a "shoot from the hip" politician and wanted to take a considered view."The important thing is we are saying that we disagree with it and we think it's wrong," he told BBC TV today.Britain would make representations to the United States on behalf of any British nationals affected by the policy, he said.Trump's executive order plunged America's immigration system into chaos, with legal US residents being turned away at airports, and drew criticism from Western allies including France and Germany.The US ban affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. According to State Department guidance, travellers with dual nationality will also be affected.May had been enjoying a positive response at home for revitalising the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, which could be a vital trading partner after Brexit.But her response while in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan triggered criticism from her party."Trump really is a sickening piece of work," tweeted lawmaker Sarah Wollaston, a member of the ruling Conservative Party. She said Trump should be snubbed by parliament when he comes to Britain for a planned state visit this year."I don't care how special the relationship is, some lines just shouldn't be crossed," Conservative lawmaker Heidi Allen tweeted. "Strong leadership means not being afraid to tell someone powerful when they're wrong. It's an ethos this country is proud of."Another Conservative lawmaker, Nadhim Zahawi, said he would be banned from the United States as a British citizen of Iraqi origin. "A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen," he tweeted. "Sad day for the USA."Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said it should sadden Britain that May chose not to stand up to Trump.He reiterated his total opposition to the ban, and he said Trump's planned state visit should be put on hold. "We need to find out exactly what his intentions are in the long run and how much the US parliamentary system is going to protect fundamentals of rights and freedom," he told ITV television.REUTERS SDR VN1818 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1127731.Xml
Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed when pro-Russian rebels attacked government positions in Avdiyivka on Sunday, cutting off power supplies to the eastern frontline town, Ukrainian officials said.The two-year-old Minsk peace agreement has failed to stop fighting in eastern Ukraine with each side accusing the other of violating the terms of a ceasefire on a near-daily basis.Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said troops had repelled an early-morning attack by rebels seeking to storm their positions in Avdiyivka's industrial zone."The situation remains very tense. The enemy continues to fire artillery and mortars at our positions, although it is not on the offensive for now. Ukrainian troops along the whole front line are in a state of higher alert," he said in a regular daily briefing.The latest shelling also left much of Avdiyivka, which had a pre-conflict population of around 35,000, without electricity as of 1130 GMT, the news agency Interfax Ukraine quoted local official Pavlo Malykhin as saying.As a result, only one of four power feeds at Avdiyivka Coking Plant - one of Europe's largest producers of fuel for the steelmaking industry - is currently running, chief executive Musa Magomedov said on Facebook.Meanwhile separatist officials said Ukrainian forces had fired from tanks and artillery more than 900 times at rebel positions on the other side of the front line near Avdiyivka.One rebel fighter was killed and another wounded, separatist website DAN reported.Close to 10,000 people have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in April 2014.Kiev and NATO accuse the Kremlin of supporting the rebels with troops and weapons and the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict, as well as for its annexation of Crimea.The latest clashes come ahead of a visit by President Petro Poroshenko to Berlin on Monday to discuss the state of the conflict with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who helped broker the much-violated Minsk peace deal.Kiev is anxious that international resolve to hold Russia to account not waver following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has expressed a desire to improve ties with Moscow and spoken of possibly lifting sanctions.REUTERS CJ BL2155 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1128002.Xml
According to media reports, two office bearers of ASWJ met deputy secretary general of the Muslim World League at a meeting hosted by head of another banned outfit Ansar ul Ummah in Islamabad.

Following the meeting, some media reports criticised the Federal Interior Ministry for failing to take any action against the banned outfits who continued their activities despite Pakistan imposing a ban on them for involvement in terrorism.

"They were not only encouraged to hold public meetings, but now they were allowed to host foreign officials in Islamabad. Neither the government lodged protest with the Saudi embassy over meeting of a Saudi official with the banned terrorist outfits' leaders nor took any action against the banned outfits' leaders," said AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA), an Iranian online news aggregator.

The Muslim World League is an NGO based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia that propagates Islamic teachings specifically Wahhabism, a religious movement or branch of Islam widely described as "ultraconservative" and "austere".

On the other hand, Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi, who heads the Karachi chapter of ASWJ, has often been accused of spreading religious hatred.

Saeed is wanted by India and the United States for his alleged role in masterminding the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed 166 lives.

He even carries a bounty of 10 million USD (approx. Rs 66 crore) on his head for his role in the attack.

Pakistan claims to have banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but following the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2002, it re-emerged as Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD). The United States has designated the JuD as a front for the LeT. (ANI)
Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn has warned British Prime Minister Theresa May that she will be failing the country if she does not cancel American President Donald Trump's state visit in the wake of his ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the U.S. Corbyn said that the summer visit should be called off if Trump's indefinite ban on Syrian refugees remains in place, even if time-limited restrictions put in place have lapsed by then, reports the Guardian. "Donald Trump should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with his shameful Muslim ban. Theresa May would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trump's actions in the clearest terms," he said. His remarks came as British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, condemned Trump's policy. "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality," he tweeted. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron also called for the state visit to be cancelled. Trump's executive order places a 90-day ban on travel to the US for those from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen, seemingly including those with dual nationality. Trump has also banned refugees from entering the country for 120 days and those seeking asylum from Syria have been banned indefinitely. Meanwhile, during a trip to Turkey on Saturday, May declined three times to say she condemned Trump's executive order. Amid growing criticism, including from some of her MPs, a spokesman for the PM released a statement shortly after midnight saying she disagreed with the policy. (ANI)
Sudan summoned the US charge d'affaires on Sunday to complain about an order by President Donald Trump that temporarily bans the entry of its citizens to the United States.The Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement the decision sent a "negative message", coming two weeks after the United States announced it would ease economic sanctions on Sudan. It urged the United States to reconsider the decision.Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries including Sudan, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.REUTERS CJ BL2303 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1128030.Xml
Under the decree approved by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Russian citizens are granted an entry visa for 30 days for the first time, renewable one time only for another 30 days, Xinhua news agency reported.

The decree will "enhance strategic cooperation and the common ambitions" of the two countries, said the report.

The UAE is considered the 10th largest foreign investor in Russia, with projects valued at 66 billion dirham ($17.98 billion) up to 2014.

In 2015, non-oil trade between the two countries reached 9 billion dirham.

The UAE has also received more than 600,000 Russian tourists in the past two years.

--IANS vgu/

( 148 Words)

2017-01-30-03:06:08 (IANS)
MOSCOW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The outgoing U.S. administration of Barack Obama has been attempting to "undermine the legitimacy" of Donald Trump's presidency and to ruin his policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday just days before Obama leaves office.

Putin said there has been a "continued acute internal political struggle" in the United States, which is aimed at undermining the legitimacy of Trump's win in the election and preventing him from taking office.

The "slander campaign" launched by the Obama administration against Trump and Russia is also trying to box in the president-elect so that he would fail to fulfill his election promises, including restoring U.S.-Russia relations, Putin added.

Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin does not have any phone contacts scheduled with Obama before the end of the latter's term.
PARIS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- France postal service company La Poste issued a full version of zodiac stamp as well as rooster collection stamp to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year and embrace the year of Rooster.

The initiative to issue Chinese zodiac stamps dated back to 2005. Each year the French postal service company celebrates the Chinese New Year by issuing the stamp featuring the year's zodiac animal.

The rooster collection is divided into two kinds -- one for French distribution and another for international distribution.

The Chinese astrology has 12 animal figures and the rooster is the 10th in the series, representing trust and accuracy in the Chinese culture because it wakes up people in time.

The designer of the stamps is Chinese painter Li Zhongyao, who has been the creator of the zodiac stamps since 2005.

A French philatelist Martin told Xinhua that the design is pretty and futuristic. He said he has participated in the issuing ceremony since 2005.

Martin is one of the French philatelists who have been collecting the zodiac stamps for 12 years. What attracts them the most is the fine and exquisite Chinese art design.

Chinese ambassador to France Zhai Jun and Philippe Wahl, president and chief executive officer of La Poste, attended the issuing ceremony.

The new stamps will be on sale on Jan. 30 in French post offices and the site of the postal service company.
A female protestor yells at a supporter of Donald Trump during the protest in Washington D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2017. More than 200 people were arrested as American protesters clashed with riot police in Washington Friday afternoon after Donald Trump was sworn in as the new U.S. President. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

MOSCOW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Moscow hopes U.S. authorities will drop charges against a Russian reporter who was detained while "performing his professional duty," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Friday.

Alexander Rubinstein, a reporter for RT America TV, was arrested in Washington last Friday along with other reporters covering a protest against the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and kept in custody for nearly 24 hours.

He has been released on bond, with a preliminary court hearing scheduled for February 16.

Rubinstein was charged with felony rioting, which under U.S. law is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of 25,000 U.S. dollars.

"We hope that this incident will be meticulously investigated and the charges against Alexander Rubinstein and other journalists be dropped," Zakharova told a news briefing, stressing that police officers detained Rubinstein although he presented his media credentials.

Zakharova noted that representatives of the media community and various international institutions had condemned the violation of journalists' rights by U.S. authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

MOSCOW, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to stabilize and deepen bilateral cooperation during a phone conversation on Saturday, the Kremlin said.

"The two sides expressed willingness to work actively together to stabilize and develop Russian-American cooperation on a constructive basis, as equals, and to mutual benefit," the Kremlin said in a statement issued after their first phone conversation since Trump's inauguration last week.

Putin and Trump highlighted the priority of joint efforts in the fight against the main threat of international terrorism during the call, which was widely scrutinized to see if there will be a thaw in the soured relations during the Obama administration.

"The Presidents called for establishing a real coordination of U.S. and Russian actions to defeat the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Syria," the statement read.

They also stressed the importance of restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business communities of the two countries, which could further boost development of bilateral relations.

Russian and American people see each other positively, said the two leaders, who agreed to maintain regular personal contacts. Both sides are working to set possible date and venue for a Putin-Trump meeting.

The presidents discussed and agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, the Korean Peninsula issue and the Ukrainian crisis.

"The conversation took place in a positive and businesslike manner," said the Kremlin statement.

Russian ties with the United States and other NATO members experienced a record low during the Obama administration, mainly due to the Crimea issue, the Ukrainian crisis and the hacking accusations.

In the last weeks of Obama's presidency, the United States expelled Russian diplomats and expanded economic sanctions.

Putin was among the first leaders of major powers to send congratulations to Trump after the result of the U.S. presidential election was announced in November.

During a call in mid-November, Putin and the then U.S. president-elect agreed that the current ties between Russian and the United States "could not get worse" and vowed to help "stimulate a return to pragmatic, mutually beneficial cooperation."
OTTAWA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Saturday extended Canada's welcome to refugees a day after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength," Trudeau tweeted Saturday. He followed it up by tweeting a photo of himself greeting a young Syrian refugee.

Trump on Friday signed an executive order which prohibits citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya from entering the United States in the coming three months, and also bans refugees from Syria indefinitely. Trump said the order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

Canada was caught up in the executive order because of some Canadian dual citizens.

The Canadian government didn't immediately offer any direct comment after the U.S. State Department confirmed that dual citizens of the affected countries would not be allowed to enter the United States over the next several months.

Bijan Ahmadi, president of the Iranian Canadian Congress, said he's outraged by the new policy.

"It's unacceptable. It's very unreasonable," he said. "It's very discriminatory to target people based on their race, their religion, the country of their origin and the country of their birth. And the community has that same outrage."

Canada's WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States Saturday in order to comply with the Trump executive order, adding that it will give full refunds to anyone affected by the U.S. executive order, according to Canada TV Saturday.

WestJet has been informed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the ban did not apply to dual citizens who had passports from countries other than those covered by the ban against the seven countries.

"U.S. CBP has confirmed it is the citizenship document they present to enter the country, not the country of where they were born," the TV quoted a spokesperson of WestJet as saying.

Air Canada, the country's other major airline, said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had yet denied travel to any passengers.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an executive order that bans government officials from lobbying for five years and from lobbying for foreign countries for life.

"This is a five-year lobbying ban," Trump said in front of cameras in the Oval office.

"Most of the people behind me will not be able to go to work," he joked as he gestured at his top staff including Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and counselor Kellyanne Conway.

"It's a two-year ban now and it's full of loopholes," Trump said.

The ban was part of Trump's campaign promise to "drain the swamp" in the federal government. In his inauguration speech, he pledged to stop government officials from filling their own coffers at the expense of the common people.

Despite the anti-corruption rhetoric, Trump has filled his cabinet with wealthy businessmen, raising questions about how committed he is to tackling vested interests in Washington.

Trump then signed a memorandum on an anti-ISIS strategy that he said is "going to be very successful."

The action came after Trump signed a previous executive order that indefinitely bans refugees from Syria and also imposes a 90-day ban on immigrants from a handful of Middle Eastern Muslim countries.

On Saturday, Trump also signed a third executive order outlining a reform plan for the National Security Council.
This undated photo shows a port in Kota Kinabalu, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, has lost contact with the authorities since it sailed out from Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said on Sunday. (Xinhua)

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, has lost contact with the authorities since it sailed out from Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said on Sunday.

A statement from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the boat, with three crewmembers on board, sailed out at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday from Tanjung Aru to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night, and then sent out rescue ships and helicopters to the site for rescue.

A report from the New Strait Times quoted a Sabah MMEA communications officer as saying that "the search area covers 400 nautical square miles and involves waters between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum."

It is not clear yet what caused the disappearance of the boat, but an official from the Chinese consulate said there were stormy waves at the waters on Saturday.
U.S. President Donald Trump waves upon his arrival at the White House from Philadelphia, in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge issued an emergency stay on Saturday that bars the U.S. government from deporting valid-visa holders detained upon arrival in the country under an executive order of President Donald Trump, U.S. media reported.

The executive order, signed Friday and widely described as a "Muslim ban," includes a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and a four-month suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

Related:

Trudeau welcomes refugees after Trump's executive order issued

OTTAWA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Saturday extended Canada's welcome to refugees a day after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed his desire to strengthen U.S.-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially on counterterrorism and security.

In a telephone conversation with French President Francois Hollande, Trump reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO and stressed the importance of all NATO allies sharing the burden on defense spending, the White House said in a statement.

Trump and Hollande also discussed military and defense cooperation both within bilateral frameworks and through NATO.

In a recent interview, Trump said NATO was "obsolete because it was not taking care of terror," and he complained that various members of the bloc were not paying their dues, which was "very unfair to the United States."

At a joint press conference with Trump in Washington on Friday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.S. president confirmed that he is "100 percent" behind NATO.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday agreed on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship.

In a telephone conversation, the two leaders also reaffirmed the military bloc's role in ensuring the peace and stability of the North Atlantic community, the White House said in a statement.

"In this vein, the leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," said the statement.

In a recent interview, Trump said NATO was "obsolete because it was not taking care of terror," and he complained that various members of the bloc were not paying their dues, which was "very unfair to the United States."

At a joint press conference with Trump in Washington on Friday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.S. president had confirmed that he is "100 percent" behind NATO.

During Saturday's phone conversation, Trump and Merkel also affirmed the importance of close German-American cooperation to the security and prosperity of the two countries and expressed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations in the coming years.

In addition, the two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and to work to stabilize conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa.

Trump accepted Merkel's invitation to attend the Group of 20 (G20)Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July, and said he looks forward to receiving the chancellor in Washington soon, according to the statement.
CANBERRA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has assured the Australian government he will honor a deal to take around 2,000 asylum seeker from Australia's offshore processing centers at Manus Island and Nauru, local media reported on Sunday.

There were doubts Trump would go through with the deal - brokered between Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the previous Obama administration - after the new president issued an executive order restricting asylum seekers from entering the United States.

Following a 25-minute phone call between Trump and Turnbull on Sunday morning, the Australian government is confident the asylum seekers will be accepted by the United States.

In a brief statement issued by the White House following the phone call, it was said that the Australia-U.S. relationship remained as strong as ever.

"Both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship that is critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally," the statement said.

Meanwhile Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton refused to confirm the asylum seekers would be taken by the United States, but did say the government would continue to "work with" the United States to come up with an acceptable agreement.

There is still speculation surrounding how many of the roughly 2,000 asylum seekers, currently on Manus Island and in Nauru, will be resettled on Unites States soil.
PARIS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande on Saturday warned his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump about the economic and political consequences of a protectionist approach, calling him on respecting the principle of accepting refugees.

In a telephone conversation between the two leaders, Hollande said that "faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response," according to a press release issued by the Elysee Palace.

Hollande was responding to an executive order signed by Trump on Friday over the suspension of a U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days.

During the telephone call, Hollande also stressed the importance of the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Trump has expressed his intention to untie climate policies and promote domestic energy development as part of his "America First" agenda.

With regard to Russia, Hollande reaffirmed his will to continue and intensify dialogue on all subjects, but insisted that the sanctions linked with the situation in Ukraine could only be lifted when the situation in the east of the country is settled with full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

On Syria, Hollande said that the settlement of the issue had to be sought within a framework and under the aegis of the United Nations (UN). "No other solution would be sustainable or credible," he said.

Hollande said that the actions of the UN must be supported by all, starting with the permanent members of the Security Council, and the United Nations remained a "unique and irreplaceable" instrument for resolving conflicts and keeping peace.

"The two heads of state agreed to continue their exchanges on key issues," the press release concluded.

However, the White House statement on Trump-Hollande phone talks highlighted NATO, saying in their discussion, Trump reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO and stressed the importance of all NATO allies sharing the burden on defense spending.
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Some 300 protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Saturday evening to demonstrate solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees detained under President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban."

Chanting "Trump has to go," "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascism in USA" and other slogans, the crowd called on people to defy Friday's executive order that slaps a 90-day ban on travel to the country by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

At least seven foreign nationals have been detained at LAX and told they were no longer welcome, the Los Angeles Times reported, noting that they were allowed to board flights before the order took effect.

The protesters' demand was echoed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who tweeted Saturday night that "Los Angels will always be a place of refuge."

A candlelight vigil and protest were scheduled to be held Sunday.

Trump's travel ban, widely described as a "Muslim ban," has triggered confusion and chaos across the country and drawn concern and criticism from across the world.

Similar protests have erupted at airports in many other cities. In Chicago, more than 1,000 rallied at the O'Hare airport. In Denver, Colorado, dozens of protesters gathered outside the international airport to show support for refugees.

This was the second weekend of demonstrations in Los Angeles after Trump was sworn into the Oval Office. More than 1 million people came out last weekend for the Women's March.